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There was a rumor that was floating around, not that Hinata paid much attention to those. She was in her second semester of university and was quick to notice how everyone around her was already pairing off, if they hadn’t already in high school. Hinata felt she never had the time to do it, never really tried.
There were a few guys who asked her out, especially during college meetups, but she was quick to turn them down. It didn’t help that her eyes would always go to Naruto.
Hinata sighed into her cup of tea, it was always Naruto. Her decade long crush couldn’t be extinguished so easily, and she knew it.
Although, there was a silly rumor about how there was a witch on campus. One who gave potions to students who asked very nicely. The potions were mainly to help them succeed in their studies, but some were to find fortune or even love…
Hinata shook her head, it was silly to think about. Magic potions didn’t exist. She went to grab her cup of tea, but then a hand reached down to grab it.
Hinata looked up at the barista, with bright orange hair who smelled slightly of herbs and steeped tea.
“How was it?” she asked, taking the mug.
“It was delicious, like usual,” Hinata smiled, “Thank you.”
“Of course, I brew it special.”
“Really?” Hinata asked, tapping her fingers on the table to give her some courage to continue the conversation. “H-how long do you steep the tea?”
“Oh, about three minutes. I watch it carefully.”
“It’s always worth the wait,” Hinata sighed. “I find that it relaxes me right after classes.”
This delighted the barista, “Does it now? That makes me so happy! That blend is made to help keep you calm.”
“I think you accomplished that,” Hinata smiled widely.
“You’re Hinata, right?” the barista asked. “I’m Mei.”
“Hi Mei,” Hinata said. “I always really enjoy your hair color.”
Mei smiled brightly, “You are seriously my favorite customer. But I always see you coming in here and sighing…do you truly enjoy my tea?”
Hinata waved her arms in front of her, “Yes! I d-do. I just have my own issues that I think about.”
“Like what?”
“Well,” Hinata bit her lip. “There’s a boy that I like. I-I have liked him for over a decade now and I think that it’s time for me to move on from him.”
“Hmm,” Mei tapped her finger to her chin. “Do you really need to? Why don’t you invite him for a cup of tea?”
“I don’t know…we don’t really hang out like that.”
“Oh Hinata, it doesn’t need to be anything more than a friendly outing with one another. You have both known each other for 10 years, right? I’m sure he would be willing to hang out with you.”
“I-I guess I could try…”
“Bring him here! In fact,” Mei winked, “I will have a special blend for you both. Just let me know when.”
Hinata’s eyes widened. Was Mei the witch? Could she read thoughts?
“You should text him right now.”
Hinata looked down at her phone, taking in the black screen. She did have his phone number, and she doesn’t think he changed it since high school. They talked every so often, especially when all of their friends got together. But she didn’t really text him, except for when they had to work on a class project together that one time.
A surge of something came over Hinata. A wave of something calm, of clarity. For once her anxiety wasn’t paralyzing. She thinks she could actually do this.
“I will,” she said, taking the phone in her hands. “When is your next shift?”
“I’m off tomorrow, but I’ll be here on Friday. The afternoon. Not many people have classes that day, right?”
“Right,” Hinata nodded. She had a morning one with Naruto, but didn’t think he had any in the afternoon. That would be perfect.
Hinata: Hello Naruto! I hope your semester is going well and that you’re staying warm in the cool weather. I was wondering if you wanted to catch up on Friday after our class?
Hinata hit send before she chickened out. She closed the screen and put her phone on the table before placing her hands on her face.
“I-I can’t believe that I just did that!”
“Looks like that tea worked after all,” Mei smirked, “There was a dash of bravery in there, you know?”
Hinata looked at her with wide eyes, “B-bravery!?”
Mei laughed, throwing her head back. “Bravery. Although, most people would call it thyme. I grew some and thought it would work in our chamomile blend this season. Did you notice the flavor?”
Hinata felt embarrassed, thinking that her mind was still jumping to magic potions and witches. Halloween did just pass last week…
“I didn’t notice,” Hinata said, “But I’ll try to keep that in mind for next time.”
“Friday!” Mei said, smiling at her fondly. “I gotta go, it was nice to officially meet you. Also, I think you have a notification from him.”
“Nice to meet you too!” Hinata grinned back, before looking down at her phone. The screen lit up with a text from Naruto and Hinata looked back up, but Mei was across the room, collecting other mugs and wiping down tables.
Hinata blinked, accepting that today was just a weird Wednesday, and opened her phone to check her messages.
Naruto: Hinata-chan!! wow it’s been like ages since we spoke??? would love to catch up with u!!!!
Hinata felt her heart leap out of her chest. She couldn’t believe that Naruto texted her back…and so quickly at that. It felt like she was floating. She floated all the way home and Hanabi and Neji thought she was drunk. Her father gave her a strange look when she smiled at him before leaving for class the next morning. Nothing was going to bring her down from how happy she was feeling right now.
Hinata was in the best mood up until Friday. She really felt that spill of anxiety inside her now, just before she got to class. Did Naruto even know that she was in this class with him? Of course he did, he says hi to her every time he enters the classroom - always a little late.
Today was no different. Naruto passed by Hinata and said a soft “see you later” before heading to his seat.
Hinata found it very hard to pay attention to the history lesson.
Once the professor called it quits around noon, Hinata began to gather her things.
“So, you know a place, right?” Naruto asked, sidling up to her. Hinata almost dropped her pen but was able to place it in her pencil case before nodding.
“Yes, there’s a café that I go to not far from here. Is that o-okay?”
“Absolutely,” Naruto grinned, tugging his backpack across his left arm. “I think I might know the one. Does it have the cute flowers and interesting plants in front?”
Hinata nodded, pulling her own bag on her shoulder. “Yes, that’s the one. Have you gone there before?”
“Eh,” Naruto scratched his head. “Maybe once or twice. Sasuke likes going there.”
Hinata wasn’t surprised by this, she did actually notice Sasuke there on more than one occasion. “Yes, I have seen him around.”
“Have you?” Naruto grinned, his blue eyes widening and holding the door open for them to step outside. “Do you talk to him often?”
“N-no!” Hinata said, “I don’t even think he remembers who I am.”
Naruto looks at her before laughing out loud, “You’re funny, Hinata. I’m so glad we’re doing this. It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? I mean, I see you come to our parties and stuff, but I haven’t really had the chance to talk to you in a hot minute.”
“It’s alright,” Hinata said, trying to keep pace with him as they walked towards the café. “I know that you’re a popular person.”
“Eh!?” Naruto exclaimed, “Do you really think so?”
Hinata nodded her head, “Yes! Everyone knows who you are.”
Naruto laughed again and Hinata could feel the warm fuzzies in her heart. It was always easy for Hinata to talk to Naruto. He never had a problem moving the conversation forward, always knowing when to ask a question to keep the momentum going. Hinata had always been envious of Naruto for that. It’s why she knew that he was so loved.
“-and then he tried to chase after me, but I was way too quick for him! Geez, I thought I was going to shit my pants.”
Hinata giggled at his story and realized they were already at the café. Naruto opened the door and stepped through, while Hinata followed after him. It was a little busy, but Hinata noticed there was a free table towards the back.
“Hinata!” Mei greeted from the front. “Go take a seat and I’ll get you taken care of.”
Hinata nodded and Naruto followed after her, setting his things down before looking around the place.
“This is a pretty cozy spot, huh?” he asked, “I get kind of antsy in places like this.”
Hinata was quick to apologize, “Oh no, I’m so sorry! We could have gone somewhere else.”
“Nah,” Naruto brushed her off. “I don’t mind! Like I said, I’ve been here before, so it’s not a big deal. What do you like about this place?”
“Well—”
“Clearly, it’s the tea,” Mei said, bringing both of them a spot of tea, placing a mug in front of each of them. “It’s on the house,” she said with a wink, before swishing off.
“Oh, tea!” Naruto said, looking at the mug in front of him. “Sasuke actually really loves tea.”
“Does he?” Hinata asked, placing both of her hands around the mug.
“Yeah—actually there he is right now.”
Hinata turned around to see that Sasuke did in fact just walk into the café. He was scowling at them both and before she knew it, Naruto was having him sit down with them.
“You don’t mind, right, Hinata? Sasuke was going to give me a ride later anyways. What a coincidence that you were here!”
Sasuke ended up sitting next to Hinata and he looked a little confused. She didn’t have many classes with him, but somehow would end up seeing him often around campus. She would even argue that Sasuke was more popular than Naruto, but she wasn’t sure why. He was good looking, but he kept to himself and was known for starting fights in high school. Hinata didn’t really pay him too much attention but knew that he was one of Naruto’s best friends.
“So I’m going to be honest, Hinata,” Naruto began, getting up. “I’m actually more of a coffee person. Sasuke can just have this mug, right? Sasuke loves tea. I’ll be right back; did you need anything?”
Hinata was having a hard time wrapping her head over what was going on, but she knew that she could at least shake her head. Her face felt hot, and she wasn’t sure what was happening, but Naruto clearly wasn’t fine with tea and somehow she still wasn’t going to be left alone with him and it was silly to even think that the witch could help her and—the tea!
“Oh!” Hinata reached out for the tea, but it was too late. Sasuke had already brought it to his lips. She watched the way his face changed after taking a sip, where he looked pained to be there to widening his dark eyes and looking up at her.
“Sorry,” Sasuke said, looking at her. “Did you want this mug?”
“N-no,” Hinata shook her head. “No, it’s fine.”
This was unbelievable. Mei wasn’t a witch, and Sasuke didn’t drink a love potion, certainly not one for Naruto! She stared down at the mug in front of her, the tea delightfully steaming out from the cup. She could smell a hint of vanilla, something stronger than what she usually gets.
“I’m just going to ask for some cream—”
“I can do it,” Sasuke said. “Cream sounds like a good idea. Did you want sugar too?”
Hinata looked at him and nodded. Sugar sounded just fine.
“I’ll grab some.”
Then she was alone. She looked down at the mug and was completely puzzled. So maybe she wasn’t able to talk to Naruto alone, that’s okay. Maybe the next time.
It shocked her when Sasuke came back with not just sugar and cream, but a cinnamon bun as well.
“You like these, right?”
Hinata looked up at him, almost dazed. “Huh?”
“Cinnamon buns. You would have them in high school a lot during lunch.”
“Oh,” Hinata blushed, “I-I mean—”
“Not a bad thing,” Sasuke said, slowly smiling at her, “I don’t have the same sweet tooth, but you always made them look good.”
“I’m back,” Naruto said, carrying his mug of coffee to the table. His was dolled up with whip cream and cinnamon on top. Hinata looked back at the counter, but Mei was faced away from them.
“Why didn’t you get me a treat?” Naruto frowned, taking a sip of his coffee and wincing from the heat.
“Because I crashed Hinata’s hang out,” Sasuke reasoned, taking another sip of his tea. Hinata watched as he grabbed a spoonful of sugar and then poured some cream into the mug, before passing it towards her.
“It’s my hangout too,” Naruto grumbled. “I don’t see you apologizing to me.”
“You’re too much of an idiot to even grasp the understanding of an apology.”
Hinata watched them bicker, as she spooned three spoonsful of sugar into her own cup before adding a dash of cream. For some reason, she craved something sweet today. Especially with the tea. The vanilla wasn’t enough, she needed more.
“Hinata, what’s your major?” Naruto asked, while licking his lips.
“I am going into business,” she said, stirring her cup of tea.
“Really?” Sasuke asked, “Not writing?”
Hinata’s eyes widened at that.
“Why would she go into writing?” Naruto asked.
“Well, she wrote for the school newspaper. The one that you would use for your spit balls during gym, remember those?”
“You write, Hinata!?” Naruto exclaimed, ignoring Sasuke’s comment. “That’s really impressive. What did you write about?”
“I wasn’t really good or anything,” Hinata said, fumbling, “I would just write about the different events happening around school and stuff.”
“There’s a club on campus for writing,” Sasuke told her, “Have you joined?”
“I was thinking about it,” she twirled her fingers in front of her. It was something that she was still working up towards. She did enjoy writing, but she didn’t think she wanted to write in a newspaper setting again. Although, she did work on her own pieces occasionally.
She would spend time each day working on her own original stories, but that was just something silly.
“I am surprised you picked business,” Naruto told her. “You seem like someone who would become a preschool teacher or something. You have one of the kindest souls. Sakura is always talking about how you’re such a sweetheart.”
Hinata blushed at that, “That’s too kind of her, but she’s sweeter than me. She’s trying to become a doctor and that’s impressive on its own.”
“Hn,” Sasuke said, taking a sip. “I don’t think I could go into that field.”
“Yeah, medical stuff is hard. At least we will keep her in business, right? She probably got so much experience trying to patch us up throughout high school.”
Hinata enjoyed hearing them talk amongst one another, but she couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed that it wasn’t just her and Naruto. Although, Sasuke was able to carry the conversation just fine and she was very sure that this is the longest that she ever spoke to him in one go. She was impressed to learn that he was going to school for fun, still trying to figure out what he wants to do. Naruto knew that he was going into political science, just like his dad did. But he also felt that being a teacher wouldn’t be so bad.
Hinata got to know more about the two of them and for that she was grateful. It took an alarm going off for them to realize how much time had flown by.
“Oh shoot, sorry Hinata, but I have to go now! I have to go to work.”
“That’s no problem,” Hinata reassured him, trying to tamper down her disappointment.
“Maybe we can hang out another time? Oi, you should share contact information with Sasuke so he can tell you more about that writing club,” Naruto suggested, while grabbing his stuff.
Hinata looked at Sasuke who was giving Naruto one of the dirtiest looks she’d ever seen. It made her feel a little taken aback, but she would understand why he wouldn’t want her contact information.
“I am sure Sasuke doesn’t’ want my contact—”
“It’s fine,” Sasuke interrupted her, “Here.”
He handed her his phone and she took it to write her number in, creating the contact in his phone. She quickly said goodbye to both of them and found it strange how things worked out. By the time both of them had left, she was the only one in the café.
“Interesting,” Mei said, making Hinata jump out of her thoughts. Hinata didn’t even realize that she was standing there.
“What is?”
“You and your friends.”
“They’re not really my friends,” Hinata said, a little sad. “Just some classmates I’ve known for a long time.”
“You’re interesting too, Hinata,” Mei smiled at her, not as big as her other ones, but this one felt more genuine than those. “They seemed pretty friendly with you. Naruto didn’t like the tea, huh?”
“No,” Hinata shook her head, “Sasuke drank it instead.”
“Not a bad thing,” Mei said. “I would rather someone drink it because they wanted to. Seems like Naruto doesn’t really suite tea anyways.”
“I…learned that about him today,” Hinata had to agree.
“I’ve seen Sasuke before. He is almost as frequent as you are.”
“Really?” Hinata asked, “I’ve seen him once or twice, but haven’t really paid too much attention, I guess.”
“I bet you’ll pay more attention now,” Mei said, a mischievous look on her face appeared. Hinata just smiled and shook her head. Sasuke was never going to think of Hinata again.
==
“Hinata, hey,” a voice interrupted her thoughts, and she found herself looking up at the person she expected the least. Sasuke had appeared at her table, and it had only been a few days since she last saw him with Naruto.
He did indeed text her about the journalism club, but he also shared some writing events that were happening around the campus or city, especially now that it was November.
Hinata wasn’t used to attention from Sasuke. Maybe he was just trying to be nice to her?
Before, he would just be a shadow in the background, but now he was putting himself front and center. It was almost as if…if he had consumed something that made him that way! Hinata felt anxious just thinking about it, but how did anyone even bring it up? Hey Sasuke, I think you consumed a love potion and now you are under a spell that might be forcing you to think you want to talk to me!
There was no real good reason for Sasuke to talk to Hinata, besides the fact that they had mutual friends and graduated from the same high school. Hinata was sure that anything she was interested in, Sasuke, would turn a nose up at it. And that was just how things were.
“Hi Sasuke, how are you?”
“I’m doing good,” he said, a small smile on his face. “How are you?”
“I’m doing good too,” Hinata said in response, before they fell into an awkward silence. Hinata noticed Sasuke’s eyes traveling to the seat across from her before she got the hint. “Did you want to sit down with me?”
“Sure,” he said, pulling out the chair.
It was awkward at first, because Hinata wasn’t really sure what to say, but then slowly realized that she really didn’t need to say anything at all. Sasuke seemed content to just sit there and sip on his tea and work on his homework along with her. Occasionally he would ask what she was working on or how her classes were, so she would do the same. She found that Sasuke was considering going into law school, because he didn’t feel the need to become a cop like most of his family, but at the same time he felt comfortable with the law. Hinata could see him being a Criminal Justice major.
Nights like this slowly became routine. Sometimes Hinata would get there first or Sasuke would. They would sit next to each other and do homework and converse more frequently. There were times when Hinata would enter the café and Sasuke had already gotten a pastry for her, a cinnamon roll that was fresh out of the oven.
Whenever Hinata saw it, it brought a smile to her face. She was quite grateful for Sasuke’s consideration.
After a few weeks of this, Hinata was surprised by how much she looked forward to seeing Sasuke. He knew her tea order by now and he was helpful when it came to her statistics homework, having taken the course himself the semester prior. She helped him with his own history homework and the smile that he would give her made her light up inside.
Yet, there was a gnawing feeling inside her that made her feel like none of this was right. If Hinata’s suspicions about the tea were right…if Sasuke was the one to drink it instead of Naruto, then maybe that was why Sasuke had ended up talking to her more. Maybe that’s why she felt he was nicer to her and spent more time with her, more than he normally would have.
Hinata dreaded to find out, now that she was getting to know Sasuke…she was starting to consider him a friend, but maybe there could be something more between them.
November flew by and before she knew it, it was already December and the first snow fall of the season was happening.
Hinata was at the shop by herself, waiting for Sasuke to get off from his class. It wasn’t unusual that there wouldn’t be anyone here, it was a Tuesday night, and most people didn’t find themselves at the shop when it was so cold out like this.
“How’s the semester going?”
Hinata turned to find Mei cleaning the table beside her. Hinata wasn’t seeing much of her, but it was nice when she was able to. This time, her hair was a light shade of blue, something that seemed to match the weather outside.
“It’s going good,” Hinata smiled, “How about for you?”
“Classes are going by fast. I’m in my final year and I feel it’s the easiest of them all so far. Seniors definitely have it pretty swell, at least in my major.”
“I don’t think you’ve told me about your major,” Hinata asked, watching as Mei wiped down the chairs.
“I’m a Creative Writing major, although I’ve been thinking about continuing on and getting my Master’s.”
“Do you enjoy it?” Hinata asked, thoroughly interested in what Mei had to say. Hinata explored majoring in Creative Writing, but she wasn’t sure if that would really be a good fit for her or not. She knew that it would make her father frown in disappointment, but Hinata found comfort in writing. In fact, ever since Sasuke brought up the newspaper or creative writing clubs, Hinata had started to pen her own ideas again…something more on the side whenever she had time, but she felt happy when she did.
“It’s really freeing,” Mei said, “I don’t know if I’ll ever do much with it, but I find it fun. I feel like it helps me move forward, when I have something to write about, which is always. What about you, what’s your major?”
“I’m just a business major…,” Hinata said, holding her warm mug against her hands, “But I think I would have liked to go into Creative Writing…”
“You should!” Mei exclaimed, “It’s a great major and we are a fun group of people. You should at least take the beginner class next semester. Get a feel for it, you know?”
“That makes sense,” Hinata nodded, making a mental note to check the upcoming schedule for any creative writing classes.
“Hey, did you like that tea blend?” Mei asked, looking at the empty mug in front of Hinata. “I can get you a refill if you’d like, completely on the house.”
“Oh,” Hinata said, looking down at it. Now was her chance to ask Mei about her suspicions, but she wasn’t sure how to! Wasn’t it weird if someone was asked if they were a witch?
Hinata gathered some courage, “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” Mei smiled.
“Are you…a witch?”
Mei looked at her before laughing, “A witch? Wasn’t Halloween like a month ago?”
“I’m s-sorry,” Hinata said, blushing, before the word vomit came out. “There was a rumor that there was a witch on campus and I thought that your teas were magic potions and I thought that maybe you gave me a potion for courage that one night so that I could invite my crush over, but then he didn’t end up drinking the love potion, our other friend did, but after that he started to hang out with me more often and I thought it was because of the love potion and—”
“Wait, wait,” Mei said, calming Hinata down. “You think he only likes you because of a love potion? Hinata, I’ve seen him come in here before you even met up with one another…He was always looking at you.”
“He…wait, what?”
“The guy you’re always with. He would come in and sit down, order some tea and then just steal glances at you. I’m pretty sure he liked you before that day. Also, when Naruto came over to order coffee, he mentioned that he was trying to set the two of you up. I thought you knew that.”
Hinata felt her head swirling. Naruto was trying to set them up?
“But…the love potion…You said you would make something to help.”
“Well, yeah, tea is comforting and helps with conversation. Especially if there’s something that soothes your throat and keeps you calm, so you can talk more. Although, I feel like you gave me an ego boost if you feel my tea is equivalent to magic potions,” Mei said with a wink.
“I really thought they were,” Hinata groaned, putting her head in her hands. “I am so embarrassed!”
Before Mei could reply, the door opened with a ring and Hinata noticed that Sasuke was walking inside. Hinata realized that her stomach did a flip, and she realized that Sasuke was smiling now that he was looking at her.
Did he genuinely like her?
Hinata watched as he set his stuff down and watched as Mei walked with him up to the front so that he could order tea, just like he had so many times before. This time though, Hinata felt like her skin was about to burst. She didn’t realize how close she had gotten to Sasuke in the last few weeks. Why would he even care about her? They didn’t even talk to each other much growing up, besides the few class projects or common friend group hangouts.
Tea with Sasuke was calming though. Hinata realized that she really enjoyed spending time with him and it would make her sad if they stopped.
Hinata looked up at Mei and she smiled at them, before going off and doing something in the backroom. It was just the two of them now and Hinata knew that she couldn’t let this sit. So instead, she took a deep breath in and imagined that she just drank a courage filled magic potion cup of tea.
“Sasuke?” Hinata asked, right as Sasuke was adding some cream to his own tea.
“Yeah?” He asked, looking up at her. “What’s up?”
“Do you…like me?”
Sasuke’s hand flinched and he almost knocked the tea over, but was able to stop himself in time. He looked up at her with widened eyes and Hinata waited patiently for him to collect himself.
“I do,” he confirmed, scratching the back of his head. “I do like you. I’ve…liked you for a while.”
“Really?” She asked, a little stunned.
Sasuke nodded, “Yeah, when Naruto told me that you had asked him to hang out, he tried to convince me to go. He said it would be the perfect chance, because he knew how long I’ve liked you. I knew that it wasn’t right to do so. I mean, anyone with eyes and half a brain knew that you liked Naruto.”
“Was it that obvious?” Hinata laughed weakly, feeling herself blush from Sasuke admitting it out loud.
“Yes,” he laughed, but there was something serious in his eyes. “Yes, but also, I wanted you to look my way for once. I ended up agreeing in the end and took advantage of the opportunities to keep talking and seeing you. I should feel guilty, but I don’t. I genuinely enjoy your company and conversation.”
Hinata was at a loss for words.
How could someone like Sasuke even choose to like Hinata? She wasn’t even sure how to wrap her head around that. Sasuke was so popular and could have any girl he wanted, but he chose her.
“Why me?” Hinata asked, completely confused. “I…I know this sounds silly, but I heard of a rumor about this shop and how there are magic potions and maybe…”
Sasuke starts laughing, “Magic potions? Hinata, I’ve had a crush on you since we were twelve years old, I don’t think there was any sort of magic potion in play here.”
“Since we were twelve? But…but why?”
“You didn’t treat me like everyone else did. You didn’t put me on a pedestal or think I was hot shit,” Sasuke shrugged. “I mean, I don’t think you even really cared, since you were probably focused on Naruto. But there was a time when we were twelve and you offered a pencil to me in class. I had forgotten one, but I didn’t really say anything, I was just going to deal with it. But you noticed and you just placed an extra one on my desk without saying anything. It was surprisingly really touching. I kept thinking about that, because most girls would make a scene, but you didn’t.”
“Well, that was just me being nice…,”
“Exactly, you did it without really thinking about it and that’s the kind of person you are. After that, I found myself paying attention to you. I would read your articles that you wrote for the school paper and I knew when you would help our friends out because they would always mention it. I picked up things about you from them. But I had a hard time breaking through to you and letting you know that I like you, because I wasn’t sure I could take it if you didn’t like me back.”
Hinata was full on blushing now. She wasn’t sure what she would do in a situation like this and never imagined that something like this would ever happen to her. She imagined that maybe one day Naruto could eventually be the one to confess to her, but never in a million years did she think that Sasuke would be the one.
Her heart swelled and Hinata felt like she wanted to cry, because there was genuinely a guy in front of her who had known her for years and cared about her. He knew about her love of tea and cinnamon rolls. He knew that she loved to write and wanted her to continue doing it. Sasuke proved that magic potions weren’t real, but Hinata knew that some sort of magic was happening regardless. It just took a little longer for the spell to take place.
“I’m not sure what to say,” Hinata began, nervously clasping her hands. “But I really am honored for you to tell me. I thought that I would like only Naruto, because it really has been him for so long that I didn’t really think to consider someone else. But you…I am really enjoying your company, and I wouldn’t m-mind getting more of it.”
Her cheeks were so warm, she was sure that she was about to blow up from the blushing that she knew she was doing. When she looked up, Sasuke was smiling widely.
“You wanna hang out more?” he asked, slowly reaching across the table and taking one of her hands, so that she didn’t keep shaking. “I would love to treat you to dinner.”
“I-I would really like that,” Hinata whispered, smiling softly at him.
So maybe there were no such thing as magic potions, especially not seeped in tea. Hinata was sure that the rumor was a silly rumor, but when Hinata was leaving the shop, Mei winked at her and the lights in the shop turned off. That night, Hinata enjoyed some warm soup with Sasuke and laughed softly with him as they enjoyed their first date. She could tell it would be the first of many, for there was something in her gut that told her so.
It was not so much of a shock to her when she visited the café the next day, only for a sign to be up stating that they were permanently closed. Hinata had a feeling that she wouldn’t be seeing Mei anymore, even after she had changed her major to Creative Writing the next semester. Yet, the thought of Mei lived on, as Hinata sold her first novel of a story that involved love potions and teas.
Sasuke stood right beside her when she hosted her first signing event and Hinata was happy to sign a free copy to the first person in line – a very familiar woman with pink hair who smelled of steeped tea. There was something almost magical about her.