In-Character Hinata + Possessive = A Hard Hinata to Write
But here we go.
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It was an odd tug-o-war Hinata currently had with her emotions towards Sasuke.
On the one hand, she liked him a lot and was surprised that he actually felt something for her, too.
On the other hand, the thought of people knowing about them put a bad taste in her mouth.
She hadn’t yet put much thought into why that was. Perhaps, she thought, she didn’t like Sasuke as much as she thought she did, but she must have fooled herself pretty darn well for her heart to still burst and her nerves to still fry whenever she saw him.
Yet here she was, in this restaurant Sasuke convinced her to go to after she said she wanted something different to drink. He’d been trying to get her to go somewhere public with him for a while, but she was always afraid of being spotted by someone they knew. She didn’t want to deal with the inevitable “What are you two doing together?” that would only prove to be awkward.
“They were out of vanilla.”
Hinata looked up just as Sasuke sat down next to her with a takeout cup.
“Mocha should be good,” he said as he set the cup in front of her.
“Thank you,” Hinata murmured as she sipped her drink.
She was already dizzy, she noted. He hadn’t done a single thing yet, but she was already flustered to her breaking point. Why he had this affect on her, she still didn’t know. They’ve been getting to know each other for four months now, and Hinata was still waiting for some spell to lift from her.
“You dressed down today,” Sasuke said, absently tracing designs on her thigh under the table. “Why is that?”
Hinata shrugged. She didn’t think an oversized shirt and jeans were “dressing down,” but maybe it was a change from the bright blouses, wispy dresses, and stylish jackets she had been wearing. It certainly had nothing to do with the uncomfortable and irritated expression that would flash across Sasuke’s face when someone interrupted their conversations to compliment her. Certainly not.
“Why are you touching me?” Hinata looked Sasuke in the eyes.
He stared at her, his motions stopped. “Does it still bother you?”
Hinata pressed her lips together, her eyes shifting for a moment. “It’s just that...we’re in public and I don’t like feeling -- for you -- in front of them.”
Sasuke stared at her a second longer. “When are you going to claim me?”
Hinata looked away and busied herself with her drink. She couldn’t think about being in a relationship. It was an odd concept. Sasuke wanting to be with her seemed like a delayed realization waiting to happen, and she didn’t want to be in too deep when he realized he could do better.
“Can we go to your place, please?” Hinata said. “I don’t feel well being here.”
“Does the thought of us make you that uncomfortable?”
Hinata smiled softly at him. She didn’t know why. Asking clearly hurt him in some way, but it was small confirmations like this that made Hinata realize that maybe he genuinely cared for her.
“I’m sorry.” Hinata placed her hand on his knee. “I just want to be alone with you.”
Sasuke’s expression softened. He didn’t believe she just wanted him to herself, but at least she wasn’t trying to part ways so soon.
“Fine,” he said.
After Hinata finished her drink, they both stood and headed out the chain eatery. They were no more than a few feet down the road when a loud, “SASUKE!” stopped them in their tracks. They turned to see a young man with white hair and sharp teeth waving and walking their way flanked by two other girls.
“Suigestu,” Sasuke said, and Hinata felt as though that was for her benefit.
“Hey. Who’s this?” Suigetsu looked Hinata over.
There was a slight hesitation before Sasuke said, “My coworker.”
“Huh. Nice to meet you.” Suigetsu’s gaze lingered on Hinata before focusing on Sasuke. “If you’re not busy, there’s a double date I need you for. As you can see,” he gestured to the two girls, one dark-skinned girl who was standing closer to Suigestu than the other brunette who was quite obviously making mental claims on Sasuke, “I am in need of a friend for my friend.”
“I see.” Sasuke looked at the girl in front of him. “Well-”
“He can’t go.” And Hinata realized all too late that not only she had been the one who had spoken, she was also standing flush against Sasuke and she had grabbed Sasuke’s hand while her other rested on his upper arm. “Um... Th-that is-”
“Damn. I was afraid of this.” Suigetsu put his arm around the dark-skinned girl as they both looked at the brunette. “Come on, then. I have a couple more people we can try.”
Sasuke and Hinata watched them walk away. Once the trio were gone, Sasuke cleared his throat.
“So what does this mean?” he asked, amused.
Hinata released him, though her face was as red as ever and she was shaking noticeably. “I-I don’t know what that was.”
“I have an idea.” He smiled briefly at the sky. “But we can talk about it when you’re ready.” He pocketed one hand. “Are you ready to go?”
Hinata nodded without looking at him.
After they arrived at Sasuke’s apartment, Hinata suspected Sasuke left one hand out in the hopes that she would take it. She probably would have, if she hadn’t been too shocked at her own action to notice.
