Chapter Text
Yakiniku-Q was filled with the sound of boisterous laughter and sizzling meat. Hinata looked around at the tables filled with her friends and fellow ninja with a smile on her face, flushed pink from the smoke from the grills and cups of sake she had indulged in.
It was not an easy feat these days to get the Konoha Twelve together for a night out, but if anyone could manage it, it was Yamanaka Ino. They were celebrating the blonde kunoichi’s eighteenth birthday a day early due to conflicting schedules, but were making up for it by continuing to drink and eat well past midnight. Shikamaru and Neji had left ages ago as had a more reluctant Lee due to an early morning escort mission and now, nearing three in the morning, the rest of them were starting to tire.
“Ino, might be time to call it a night! Kakoi-san is going to chew you out if you show up to Kekkai-Han hungover,” Sakura said, her cheeks almost as rosy as her hair. Beside her, Chouji and Kiba were fighting over the last piece of pork belly that Shino ended up swiping with agile chopsticks.
“I’ll just have a shot in the morning to keep the party going,” Ino said with a wink. She reached out for another bottle of sake only to have it quickly pulled out of reach.
“I’ll walk her home,” Sai said with a pleasant smile, placing the sake bottle down on his other side by Tenten and away from Ino.
A heavy weight fell onto Hinata’s shoulder, drawing her attention away from the birthday girl’s antics. Naurto burrowed into her neck with a sleepy groan. She brushed his mussed hair away from his face, feeling his heated cheeks against her fingertips. His hair was growing out a little from its short cut. “I should bring Naruto-kun home as well,” Hinata said, her soft voice barely rising above the din.
She waved goodbye to her friends and let Sai help her maneuver Naruto to the front door.
“Are you sure you’ll be fine on your own?” Sai asked, even as he supported the full weight of Ino.
Hinata shook her head. “Thank you, but we’ll be okay. Goodnight, Sai-san.”
He nodded goodbye, guiding Ino down the street with a hand on her waist.
“Hinata-chaaaan.”
She glanced down to find bright blue eyes staring up at her. It was remarkable how Naruto managed to fold himself into her despite having a good seven inches of height on her. She hummed questioningly as she secured his arm a little tighter around her shoulder.
“You smell really nice, Hinata-chaaan,” Naruto slurred.
Hinata smiled, turning away as she started to walk them towards Naruto’s apartment. “You smell like o-sake,” she said mildly.
He huffed petulantly. “So do you!”
She giggled. “I thought I smelled nice?”
“You smell like sake and like grilled beef and like Hinata-chan,” Naruto listed. He would have dislodged himself from her with his propensity to talk with his arms if she hadn’t predicted it and tightened her hold.
Luckily Konoha was a small village and Naruto’s apartment was in the heart of it, close to Yakiniku-Q, Ichiraku and all the most popular eateries. The stairs to his apartment were a bit of a challenge, but the cool September air had sobered Naruto up enough that she didn’t need to drag him up. Not that she couldn’t, if needed, but this way was more comfortable for the both of them. By the time they reached his doorstep he was mostly holding himself up, arm around her more for closeness than support.
When she started to let go of him, he used his arm on her shoulder to pull her back into his chest and she was abruptly reminded of how much taller he was. “Stay the night?” he asked, voice sweet and wheedling.
Hinata blushed and nodded. Spending the night with Naruto was a new development in their relationship. It didn’t grant the most restful sleep with Naruto’s tendency to sprawl across most of the bed, but it was something she wanted to get used to.
Naruto was quick to kick off his sandals and head into the bathroom while Hinata took her time carefully slipping her sandals off and lining them up by the door before putting on a pair of house slippers. She headed into the bedroom, eyeing Naruto’s drawers unsurely while he bustled around brushing his teeth by the sounds of it. She wondered if she should start bringing some personal items if this was going to become a regular occurrence.
Suddenly there was a tan arm reaching around her to pull open one of the drawers. Naruto handed her one of his white t-shirts and a pair of shorts, grinning down at her with some toothpaste at the corner of his mouth. “Bathroom’s free,” he said before flopping down onto his bed.
Hinata changed into Naruto’s shirt, foregoing the loose shorts in favour of keeping her own leggings on. She brushed her hair quickly but precisely and washed her face with cool water. She eyed Naruto’s orange toothbrush for a moment before shaking her head and using her fingers to brush her teeth with toothpaste as best she could.
Shutting off the lights, she carefully crossed Naruto’s bedroom in the dim light of the moon. She found the boy already knocked out, snoring loudly with his arms and legs stretched out to all four corners of the bed. Sighing, Hinata managed to squeeze herself onto one side. Luckily she had never needed much room to sleep even in her own spacious room at the Hyuuga compound. She let her own tiredness and Naruto’s warmth lull her to sleep.
The next morning saw Hinata waking with the sun. She wasn’t necessarily a morning person, if her preference for midnight training sessions was any indication, but she’d always been a light sleeper. Even slight changes in light or atmosphere were often enough to disturb her. Anxiety would also keep her up at night and worm its way into her dreams, making it difficult for her to sleep for long.
She delicately extricated herself from a sleeping Naruto and made her way to the bathroom. Once she had washed up, she broached the kitchen. Hands on her hips, Hinata surveyed the area. It was somehow simultaneously unkempt and unused. She checked the contents of the cupboards and fridge, dismissing the ramen cups as unsuitable for breakfast and setting on miso soup, tamagoyaki and, of course, tea.
Hinata decided to start with the tea. Naruto didn’t seem to have a proper tea set from what she could see, so she compromised with boiling water in a small pot on the stovetop. She couldn’t find a sieve so she resolved to do her best with a spoon and her own dexterity once it was ready to serve.
A sharp and deliberate knock on the door startled her as she turned the stove off. Eyes still heavy with sleep and skin dewy from the steam from the stove, Hinata slowly made her way over to the door. She wondered who could possibly be visiting earlier than six in the morning.
“S-Sasuke-san.” Hinata winced internally as she stumbled over the name. Uchiha Sasuke was the last person she expected to see. As far she knew, he hadn’t been back in Konoha in months.
He nodded in greeting, looking completely unperturbed at finding Hinata here. She stood there dumbly for a few moments before stepping aside to let him in.
“Naruto here?” he asked as he stood in the small space separating the front door from the kitchen.
Hinata tucked her hair behind her ear self-consciously. The Uchiha was dressed in dark-coloured ninja attire, his fully covered frame in direct contrast to her own clothing. She was suddenly very aware of Naruto’s oversized shirt, the stretched neckline hanging loosely around her collarbones.
“Mm, he’s still sleeping,” she replied, glancing between Sasuke’s tall figure in the entrance and the apartment beyond him. Trying to shake off the surprise of his visit, she edged her way around him and into the kitchen. “I’ll get him. You could…sit?” she suggested, peeking over her shoulder. She made eye contact with Sasuke’s lone uncovered eye briefly and immediately broke it out of habit.
Once in the bedroom, she shut the door behind her and took a moment to collect herself. She did her best to wake Naruto gently, but he somehow ended up rolling out of bed and hitting the floor with a loud thunk that made her wince.
“Naruto-kun…”
“Sasuke’s here?!” he yelled, voice still groggy from sleep, even as he stumbled out into the kitchen. “Sasuke!”
Hinata stifled a giggle from the doorway as she watched Sasuke deflect a hug from Naruto.
“Take a shower, idiot, you stink like sake,” Sasuke said with his face as unemotional as ever. He glanced over at her and she felt herself blush, reminded that she likely smelled of sake as well from last night.
“Yeah, yeah,” Naruto grumbled light heartedly as he lumbered into the bathroom. The door snapped shut and Hinata found herself facing Sasuke again.
“Oh! The tea!” Hinata rushed over to the stove to stir the pot. Fortunately the tea didn’t look like it had steeped too long, the aroma of oolong was pleasant in the air.
“Would you like some tea, Sasuke-san? I was also about to make breakfast, if you would want to stay…unless you have other plans…?” She busied herself with grabbing some mugs, talking more to the kitchen wall than Sasuke.
“Tea is fine.”
Hinata did her best to pour the tea into three mugs, capturing any dregs with the spoon. When she turned around, she found Sasuke seated at the small kitchen table, chin in hand.
“Here you go.” Hinata set a mug down in front of Sasuke and sat down across from him with her own. A third mug sat on the counter, lazy tendrils of smoke wafting in the morning sunlight peeking through the kitchen window.
They sat in relative silence, the muffled sounds of Naruto’s shower in the background. Hinata chose to focus on the warmth of the ceramic against her palms rather than the man seated a short distance away from her. Sasuke hadn’t seemed interested in eating and she couldn’t imagine being able to fit the three of them and dishes in such a cramped space anyway.
Soon enough the bathroom door burst open and Naruto was dashing around holding a one-sided conversation with himself. He came into the kitchen while pulling a shirt over his head, water still clinging to his tan skin. It wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar sight, but somehow Sasuke’s presence while she sat in a shirt that wasn’t her own with a half-naked Naruto cupping a damp palm around her cheek made Hinata’s insides squirm with a different type of embarrassment.
Still, she couldn’t help the pleased smile from spreading across her face when Naruto pressed a swift kiss to her hair.
“Bye, Hinata-chan! Gotta go kick this sorry bastard’s ass, but I’ll see you later!” Naruto called, dragging Sasuke out by the arm.
They exited in a whirlwind and Hinata found herself alone in the now quiet apartment. Laughing softly, she took a sip of her tea only to grimace. She set the half-full mug down and peeled a dried tea leaf from her bottom lip.
Eyes widening in realization, she shot up and reached for Sasuke’s mug only to find it completely drained except for two shriveled leaves at the bottom.
The third mug still sat untouched on the kitchen counter.
“Ha! Is that all you go— whoa!” Kiba hollered as Shino’s kick sent him flying. Akamaru’s head perked up from where he was laying in Hinata’s lap as she bandaged her sprained wrist. She had twisted it strangely blocking a hit from Kiba earlier.
Kiba managed to right himself in the air and land in a crouch with a grunt. “I almost barfed up my breakfast!” He complained, rubbing his stomach.
Shino lowered his right leg. “We should get lunch,” he said, looking over at Hinata.
Tying up the ends of her bandage with deft fingers, Hinata nodded in agreement. She gave Akamaru a quick head rub before standing.
“Hey, I wasn’t done!”
“We should eat now. Why? Because you said you have plans with Hana-san in the afternoon.”
“Akamaru’s hungry too,” Hinata chimed in, Akamaru barking in agreement.
“Aw, fine.” Kiba jumped up to his feet, dusting off his pants. Akamaru quickly ran to his side, circling him playfully.
“Sorry, I didn’t have time to pack us lunch today,” Hinata said as they started making their way out of the training ground.
“It’s fine. We can’t expect you to cook for us all the time, Hinata-chan,” Shino said.
“Yeah, Hinata-chan. Even if you make the best bentos.” Kiba folded his arms behind his head, walking at a leisurely pace with Akamaru faithfully trailing him. “So, what are we feeling? Lighting Burger?”
“Definitely not,” Shino vetoed immediately.
“How about Amaguriama?” Hinata suggested hopefully.
“Desserts aren’t appropriate for lunch, Hinata-chan,” Shino said seriously.
Hinata pouted and blew a stray lock of sweaty hair from her face.
“I think I ate enough barbecue last night to last me a month,” Kiba said, “And don’t even think of saying Ichiraku!” He pointed accusingly at Hinata and she shut her mouth with another pout.
“Shushu-ya is the best option.”
“What, no explanation?” Kiba asked.
“It’s self-explanatory.”
“Self-explanatory?!”
“Their yakitori is very good,” Hinata mused.
“I’m not saying it isn’t!”
“Then what are you saying?”
Hinata smiled at her teammates’ routine banter.
Later, when they were finishing up the last bites of a large plate of yakitori, Kiba brought up the return of the last Uchiha.
“So I guess Sasuke’s back? Training Ground Three was a damn mess and that’s Team Seven’s old stomping grounds. Didn’t see any craters from Sakura’s punches, but Akamaru’s fur was on edge from the electricity just walking by.”
“Naruto must be happy,” Shino said.
Hinata simply nodded. She felt Shino’s gaze from behind his sunglasses and smiled up at him.
“They better leave the other training grounds alone. They’re not the only ones who want to train around here!”
“It’s unlikely they will be able to train that often. Why? Naruto is busy and I’m certain Hokage-sama will keep the Uchiha occupied,” Shino said. “I’ll go pay.”
Kiba and Hinata shared a smile as Shino went up to the front to settle the bill. No one from Team Eight had been very good at letting others pay for them so they had needed to learn to take turns treating each other. Shino was the best at keeping track, but that just meant Hinata and Kiba had to be careful to make sure he didn’t pay more than his share instead of reminding them when it was their turn.
“Bye Hinata-chan!”
“Bye Kiba-kun, say hi to Hana-san for me! Bye Shino-kun, be safe on your research trip!” Hinata waved to her teammates as they disappeared down the street. Pausing for a moment, she decided to head to Konoha Tea Avenue.
The streets were in a busy state of construction. Not even a year had passed since the war and so there was still much to be rebuilt. Public amenities had taken precedence, but the private shops hadn’t been forgotten. It was strange to see the streets of her childhood so changed, as much as they’d tried to keep the resemblance to the village pre-Pein.
Amaguriama had been re-vamped, the shop sign shiny and new. After waiting in line for a few minutes, she ordered a half-dozen cinnamon buns and watched patiently as the server picked them out and placed them in a cardboard box. Bowing in thanks, Hinata was about to leave when she caught sight of a distinctive head of pink seated on the bench out front.
“Sakura-san,” she greeted, coming to a stop beside the kunoichi.
“Hinata! Sit, sit. I was just grabbing some anmitsu between shifts,” Sakura said, gesturing to the empty stretch of bench beside her. She held a near empty bowl in one hand, a spoon in the other.
Hinata sat, hugging the box of cinnamon rolls close to her chest.
“Ah, it’s like it never slows down at the hospital. No such thing as an easy shift,” Sakura said, chattering away about her day.
Hinata listened quietly, offering a hum of acknowledgement every now and then.
“Ne, Hinata,” Sakura said after a pause, “Did you know Sasuke-kun’s back in the village?”
Hinata turned to find Sakura staring forlornly at her knees.
“I only know because Naruto stopped by the hospital to get his arm looked at after they sparred this morning. He bragged about giving as good as he got — you know Naruto — but Sasuke-kun didn’t come….” Sakura trailed off sadly. She seemed to shake it off and smiled at Hinata. “But I went to see Kakashi-sensei and he said Sasuke-kun will be sticking around Konoha at least for a little while, so I’m sure we’ll be able to see each other.”
Hinata looked at her friend sympathetically.
Sakura sighed. “You know, I always wanted to come here with Sasuke-kun when we were genin. But it was hard enough to get him to show up at Ichiraku and he doesn’t really like sweet things. Maybe someday….”
Hinata didn’t know much about Sakura’s relationship with Sasuke other than the girl’s evident feelings so all she could offer was a stilted, “I’m sure you will.”
Sakura smile grew, seemingly brightened by the thought. “Thanks, Hinata. I should head back to the hospital now, but I’ll catch up with you later. It’d be nice if it didn’t take another birthday to get us all together again.”
Hinata got to her feet and left Sakura with a wave as the other girl ran back inside Amaguriama to return the used bowl and spoon.
Walking slowly through Konoha Tea Avenue, Hinata reminisced on her childhood. She came down here fairly often now at seventeen and had even frequented it in her genin days, sometimes with Kiba, Shino and Kurenai, but often alone.
She had walked these same streets as a young girl, accompanied by Ko, maybe even once by her mother. Those memories were the blurriest, veiled by some dark fog in her mind. Hinata tried to imagine herself at four or five, dressed in the restrictive yukatas she’d been required to wear prior to starting at the academy, clutching Ko’s hand as she peered around curiously. Maybe she would have walked past younger versions of her friends; a small Kiba or Shino or Shikamaru following their parents. Sakura’s talk of their genin days had made her nostalgic.
Hinata stopped outside the window of a tea shop. There was a sign advertising different tea blends and a beautiful tea set sat on display. After a few seconds of consideration, she went inside.