When Onyx Met Lavender

VII | "Closer"

Sasuke immediately head for the bar itself, taking a seat and ordering some wine. Hinata stood by the entrance, observing everyone and the lonesome Uchiha. She quietly made her way towards him to make sure if he was doing alright despite knowing that sometimes he really just wanted to be alone.

He noticed this of course, and he pretended to be unaware as she took the seat beside him. "Are you okay, Sasuke-san?"

His glass of wine arrived just in time as he took a sip, glancing at her. At some point recently, he noticed that the honorific "san" irritated him whenever it came from her. He'd been called like so a couple times in the past but he never imagined she wasn't the type to address him by "Sasuke-kun".

As he remained silent, deep in thought, Hinata observed him, watching as he took sips from his glass of wine. She began to think that maybe she said something wrong or that maybe she was invading his privacy.

She got up to leave but he quickly stopped her, prompting her to sit back down. She found it strange but decided that he perhaps wanted a bit of company, and she was more than glad to be there.

"Where were you before I left the village?"

The strange question startled her, and she leaned over the counter, staring up at him. "I'm certain that I was recovering from the preliminaries against Neji-niisan. Why do you ask?"

Sasuke wasn't sure if it was okay for him to be here and talking to her so casually while they were basically all alone. It surprised him at how comfortable she seemed to be. He had expected that she would atleast be a little uneasy to be sitting here right beside him in a bar where all of their other friends minded other things.

He remained silent as he tried to think of something else that could grant him a conversation with her, since he wasn't around to witness her fight with Neji.

"I've heard that you merged and mastered great techniques at a young age. Like that silver-haired geezer. It seems interesting."

Hinata caught on to the point that maybe Sasuke was trying to start a conversation with her, something that caused her to giggle as she ordered a glass of wine as well. "Ever since my defeat against Neji-nii and seeing Naruto-kun's determination back then, I aspired to become strong and be able to prove myself that I too, can... be as strong-willed and truly powerful as the both of them."

The raven-haired male remembered seeing her in the training fields once with Neji and her younger sister Hanabi as she performed the technique. From first glance, he knew that it required excellent chakra control, and he wasn't too surprised that she was able to pull it off.

"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists huh..." Secretly, he admired how strong she was and knowing that she worked very hard to get stronger with little help from anyone else. He set down his glass, turning to face her and staring straight into her eyes.

The flustered Hyūga took a sip of her wine, averting her eyes from the Uchiha's intense black orbs. His eyes were something that anyone could probably stare into forever. They were so dark that it was easy to see your reflection. They were so dark that they can sometimes, (rarely) be difficult to look away from. But most of all, they were so dark that she wasn't sure if she would be capable of telling apart emotions that they could possible hold.

Her behavior caused him to smirk, reaching for his glass again whilst keeping his eyes on her. He could swear that she would stiffen under his gaze everytime, and it was quite entertaining to watch.

But seeing her up-close and catching her scent and everything else about her made him recall the incident at the beach. He wasn't sure why or how he came up with the idea of almost stripping in front of everyone and carrying her once again, feeling her soft skin on his.