A Perfect Circle

chapter seven; a new storm

Sunlight peaked through the blinds of Hinata's window, creating a line of white on her face. Her eyes fluttered open, and outside, the snow sparkled against the sunrise. A little bird pecked around on the windowsill, and she grinned. Hinata liked the way the sun reflected off the snow in the wintertime.

Having the weight of another person beside her in her bed was something she'd never felt before. She looked over to Sasuke, and he was bare, his skin illuminated in the natural light. His features were relaxed and soft from his rest. He breathed shallowly, contently, as though he were experiencing a true sleep for the first time. For a moment, he was not the troubled Sasuke Uchiha whose past weighed down his chest like an anchor, but he was a simple man, and Hinata thought of him as timeless. She reached up and touched his peaceful face, gently, so he would not wake. She was delicate at first, her fingertips merely grazing his warm skin, until she fully cupped his jawline and felt the ruggedness of his skin. She was so close to him, she could smell him; the combination with the physical contact was endearing, giving her a burning feeling in her stomach. She wanted to kiss him.

When his eyes fluttered open, Hinata was dropped right back into reality. She squealed and skittered away from him, praying that he didn't notice that she was touching him.

"Where are you going?" he asked groggily, reaching out for her. He grabbed her by the torso and pulled her into his chest. His heartbeat was so calm, unlike hers, which thudded up to her throat. He rested his chin on her forehead, and within seconds, he was right back asleep. Hinata's body had never felt so hot; she gripped his back, and one of his legs pushed forward, wedging itself between hers. She instinctively moved her hips towards him, but stopped herself. She wiggled out of his grasp and sat up with a heaving chest. Feeling dirty, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and left the room.

Hinata tidied up while she waited for Sasuke to wake up. He seemed too content and she just didn't have the heart to wake him. She bathed and began to prepare breakfast. She hoped that the smell of food would naturally pull him from his sleep, and she was right. As she prepared the eggs, Sasuke lazily appeared in the bedroom doorway.

"Hey," he said. She looked over her shoulder and smiled. He was rubbing his eye like an innocent, sleepy child.

"Good morning," she said. He yawned and sat at the kitchen table. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did. Better than I have in a long time." Years, he thought. Hinata wore a warm grin on her face as she set down a plate of food in front of him. With her own, she took the opposing seat. "Thanks," he said.

"M-hmm," she sang. It had been quite some time since Hinata had woken up feeling so refreshed and at ease. She truly was glad to have Sasuke back in the village. As she began to eat, he did the same, and she found herself thinking about him more in depth. This must be how Naruto and Sakura feel when Sasuke comes around, she thought. Do they get as lonely without him in the village as I do? Hinata's eyes softened somberly. Sasuke might stay around for a while, but he would surely leave again.

Sasuke watched as her gratified expression melted to sullen, and he stared at her through half lidded orbs. Hinata peered up and blushed.

"What?" she asked, flustered, but he continued to stare. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Mm." He put down his chopsticks. "I think you need to get away from this village for a while."

"To where would you suggest?"

"Have you ever been to the Land of Tea?"

"No, I haven't."

"The Land of Tea isn't occupied by ninja. Because of this, there are many common folk looking to hire ninja for protection as they travel, or for other reasons. I'm going to go there next and make some money. Plus, you like tea, don't you?"

She nodded.

"Like the name suggests, there are plenty of tea houses."

"Okay," Hinata said. "What exactly are you asking?"

"Come with me." He picked up his chopsticks and continued to eat the food she made him. Hinata sat on it for a moment; she knew he would leave, but she didn't anticipate he would invite her along. She released a tiny sigh.

"I can't just leave, Sasuke-kun," she said. He raised his eyes to hers.

"Why is that?"

"Well, I have a life here."

"Yeah, a life you hate," he mumbled.

Hinata's eyebrows furrowed. "I don't hate my life."

"I'm not trying to piss you off," he said. "I'm just telling you what I see. I'm not so different; I'm almost always angry about something. But you're just sad."

"Sad?" Hinata clasped her hands together. He was right; she was sad, and also bored. Becoming friends with Sasuke was the most interesting thing to happen to her since the village was rebuilt. "Maybe you're right," Hinata said. "But I still can't leave. I have responsibilities. I work for the village and for my clan."

"You aren't a prisoner, Hinata," he stated. "You're allowed to leave the village."

"No… I really can't." She averted his stone gaze. "My father would be angry, and my friends would ask questions. I can't."

"You can," Sasuke said. "But I'm not going to push you. If you don't want to go, you don't want to go."

Hinata took a deep breath. Sasuke was going to leave again, probably for months, while she would remain as she had been for a long time; depressed, alone, and spiritless. Her time spent away from him had been dreary, but now that he was back, her chest felt warm, like the sun had started shining after taking a vacation. She didn't want him to disappear again.

"I want to go," she said lowly. "I just don't know what I'd say. My father will surely talk me out of it."

"Then don't say anything to him. Leave a note on the door and just leave. Say you'll return in two weeks."

"I can't do that. If, by some chance, I'm called upon for a mission, Kakashi-sama won't be happy about me leaving without his permission. I'm still a kunoichi, even if work is sparing."

"All right, then go ask him. I doubt he'll mind."

Hinata gulped. "Two weeks… I suppose that isn't a very long time… I couldn't get in too much trouble, right?"

Sasuke smirked. "Right."

She bit her lip. "Okay. Okay, I'll go speak to Kakashi-sama today… And then my father."

"Good," he said. "I don't want to be away from you again."

Her face flushed, and Sasuke's even did a bit too. He cursed himself for saying something weird, but played it off cool and finished his meal in silence.

Sasuke sat by the river, waiting for the Hyuga girl to arrive. She was later than she said she would be, and he couldn't shake the nervous feeling in his chest. She was so damn timid; he was concerned that she was going to back out due to her father's wishes. He hoped that wasn't true. The idea of having Hinata to himself for two weeks was intriguing, to say the least.

His hands grew sweaty when he thought of the way she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, and the way she allowed him into her bed to innocently sleep the night away. She really was beautiful, and when he spoke to her, he often found his eyes lingering on her pink lips, or noting the way her black lashes framed her white irises like two perfect circles, two moons. He still didn't know how she was able to affect him in such a way. He had wanted to kiss her, many times, but the timing never seemed right. The idea made his mouth water, but the ongoing unease of being rejected left him with an unpalatable taste.

Hinata did have feelings for Naruto, that had already been confirmed, but Sasuke had no idea how Hinata felt about him. It made him apprehensive. Whether Hinata's feelings for Naruto had been transferred to him were unclear, though it was evident that she felt something for him. If Sasuke were to step from his boundaries, to kiss her without knowledge of her sentiments, he might ruin whatever they had from developing. Sasuke laughed and shook his head. That damn Naruto, he thought. He never thought that his best friend would become an obstacle in his life in a way like this.

At the sound of Hinata's footsteps, Sasuke stood up and turned around. She appeared through the bushes, sheepish, as always, and he was oddly relieved to see that she had brought a travelling bag.

"Hey," he said as she approached him.

"Hi," she said.

"How did it go?"

"It went well." A smile crossed her lips. "Kakashi-sama was all for me taking a vacation. He even asked me to pick him up some tea while I'm there," she trailed off. "My father wasn't quite as ecstatic."

"And what did you say to him?"

"Well, I explained to him that I'm an adult… He was passive aggressive about it, but I was dismissed. I think he's angry with me."

"You can worry about that when you get back." Sasuke gestured towards the forest, and Hinata nodded. Swallowing her uncertainty, she followed the Uchiha into the forest, soaring into the trees like a dove set free from her cage.

Hinata knew it was going to be a cold journey. It was winter, after all, and she had prepared herself with her warmest clothing. She, howbeit, did not bank on the tips of her fingers going numb, frost biting her nose to the point where she could not feel it, and her ears feeling as though they could chip off at any wrong movement. Sasuke didn't mention anything about the worst blizzard she'd ever seen.

They'd been travelling for hours, and it was reaching night time. The storm wasn't letting up, and Hinata had used all of the chakra she could spare heating up her body. It didn't help that the forest had abandoned them, and the only land stretching for miles was a pure, snowy plain. Sasuke trudged ahead of Hinata, wearing his strong face as he faced the cold with her. He wasn't about to display any weakness, to let her know that he was freezing as well. The snow was piled high; it practically came up to her knees, making running a difficult option.

Sasuke looked behind to Hinata for the first time since they'd left the woods. She held the collar of her jacket over her bright red face. Snow coated her hair, making it appear almost completely white, and her eyelashes were freezing. Her pace was gradually slowing, and he knew she was losing energy. The plain was empty, save the snow, and with nothing to obstruct the wind, they were getting the absolute worst of the storm.

"We should run," Sasuke shouted over the sound of the whirling wind.

"I-I can't!" Hinata exclaimed. She yelped as her feet got caught in the snow, causing her to trip and land on her hands and knees. Sasuke was immediately beside her, pulling her out of the snow bank.

"We need to find shelter," he said. "Come on, you need to run."

"I can't do it, Sasuke-kun. I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I'm so cold."

"Fuck, you're too weak," he grunted. He kept her hoisted up as he searched across the field. Everything around him was pure white and he could no longer make out the shape of the forest. Calling upon his hawk was an option; it would be less exhausting than paving the entire way there with his fire jutsu. He knew the mighty bird could handle the weather, as it wouldn't be their first time flying through a snow storm. He was also aware of how much colder it was in the sky than on the ground. Hinata might freeze before they even made it to a nearby shelter. He had an idea of where he was; he'd crossed that field many times while heading through the Land of Tea. When it was free of snow, it only took about an hour on foot to reach the first tea house, which was quite a ways away from town. Hinata's weight on his arm was practically dead, and when he looked at her face, he felt a pang of guilt.

"This is my fault," he said. "But you're gunna be fine." Sasuke made a quick hand seal and braced himself for the wind from the wings of the bird. He tucked his poncho over Hinata's head, and in a matter of seconds, the fell bird appeared, screeching as its master commanded it to be at bay.

"What is that?" Hinata frantically asked. She moved Sasuke's poncho and her eyes widened at the bird.

"My summon," he said, offering her a hand. "It's our best chance of getting to shelter as soon as possible."

"O-Okay," she said, accepting his hand. He pulled her towards the bird and set his hand on it, letting it know that Hinata was getting on. He lifted her up by the torso and she climbed on, clutching onto the feathers. Sasuke hopped on with ease, seating himself behind her.

"It's going to be a lot colder," he said, positioning his legs around her. He pulled her close to his chest so he could hold onto her with one arm while they flew. "But we'll get there faster."

Hinata simply nodded, her only concern being getting to warmth as soon as possible. She had never been so utterly freezing in her life.

"You need to hold on," Sasuke said calmly. He gave the signal, and the beast took them into the sky. Hinata squealed; she'd never flown before, and she would have been excited about it, had she been thinking straight. Rather, she was terrified, but the arm clutching her torso kept her feeling safe. Her eyes were clenched shut the entire time.

Sasuke kept the hawk as low to the ground as he could. The skin on his face burned from the frost bitten air, but he endured it, his only concern being to get the Hyuga to warmth as soon as he could. She trembled beneath him, tortured by the afflicting weather, and Sasuke had never felt so guilty for putting someone in a position. Hinata was the first girl he'd known to offer him genuine kindness without wanting anything in return. He was convinced that both Sakura and Karin had chased after him for their own selfish desires, but Hinata seemed so selfless, so effortlessly nice, and he repaid her by dragging her out into the most strident blizzard in the land.

He tightened his grip on her when the roof of the small building came into sight. He urged the hawk to fly faster. It swooped down and landed, the power of its great wings causing the snow beneath to part. Sasuke mentally thanked Garuda as he hopped down, pulling Hinata with him. The bird had truly saved him many times. When Sasuke and Hinata were safe on the ground, he gave the signal for the hawk to leave, and it took off, disappearing into the hazy sky. Hinata's knees buckled when Sasuke set her down, and she would have fallen, had he not caught her. He picked her back up and walked towards the small building. He forced the locked door open and slammed it behind him, finally, safe from the wind.

The world seemed much quieter once the door was closed. The wind battered against the building, but at least he could hear himself think. He glanced around the completely vacant tea house. Dust coated the tables, and cob webs had formed in the corners. The owners must have abandoned it for the winter. He had been there before in the summer time, and pondered how different it felt without the withered faces of travelers who rested their souls with sedative tea. Sasuke carried Hinata into the back of the building, where a single bedroom was attached to the kitchen. He set her shivering body down on the bed and lit the fire place using his jutsu.

"Hinata," he said. She mumbled in response. She had curled into a tight ball on the bed, her body still making small convulsions. "You need to change your clothes."

"I know," she said shakily. It hurt to move, but she managed to hoist herself up. Sasuke assisted her stand, keeping his hand on the small of her back so she wouldn't topple over. He helped her peel off her jacket, before she asked him to turn away so she could remove the rest of her clothing.

As quickly as she could, Hinata stripped naked. The fire was beginning to warm the room, but goose bumps still covered every inch of her purpling skin. While she changed, Sasuke searched for something for himself in the closet. There was an old, brown robe. It was dusty, but it would do. He made a mental note to buy new clothes when they made it to town.

"I'm sorry," Hinata said, pulling a dry shirt over her head. "For being so weak."

Sasuke removed his poncho. "I shouldn't have said that."

When Hinata was dressed in dry clothing, she turned to face him. She felt better now that her freezing bones were thawing out. She was even able to characteristically flush red when she turned to find that Sasuke was naked, his back facing her.

"Sorry," she stuttered, covering her face as she twirled the other way.

"Hm?" He looked at her as he slipped the robe on. "Oh, right. My bad."

"It's okay," she peeped. When they were both dressed, Hinata took their wet clothing into the kitchen area and hung them up on an empty pot rack. She returned to the bedroom to find Sasuke sitting in front of the fire, his black eyes lost in the flames.

"Come here," he spoke without looking at her. She did as he asked and sat beside him, farther than he'd have liked. She pulled her knees to her chest so her feet could receive some of the heat from the fire. They were quiet for several minutes.

"I can't believe I flew," Hinata said, curling her toes.

Sasuke glanced at her. "You didn't enjoy it very much."

"No, I didn't." She chuckled softly.

"You might like it more when it isn't freezing."

"Yeah, maybe." Hinata looked around the room. It was cute, she thought, with little décor other than a few paintings of different tea pots. "Is it really okay to stay here?"

"It was either that, or freeze," he said. "It seems like this place isn't used in the winter. It's fine."

"I suppose so."

Sasuke sat up straight, his forlorn gaze still reflecting the burning wood. "I didn't know that was going to happen," he said. "The storm, I mean."

"I know." Hinata hugged her knees. "There's no way you could have."

He studied her profile. Her tired, pearly white eyes stared reticently over the fire. "You seem to trust me," he said.

A soft smile touched her lips. "I do trust you."

"Why?"

She looked at him serenely. "You're gentle, Sasuke-kun. More gentle than you know. At least, you're gentle with me, and it makes me feel," she stopped herself and looked away. "Good."

"I've hurt a lot of people," he said, crossing his arms. "My closest comrades. Naruto, Sakura, Karin… The list goes on. Why would you trust someone like that?"

Hinata nervously shifted her weight. "I know that," she said. "But I don't think you want to hurt me."

He was quiet for a moment. "I don't." He shuffled closer to her and rested his arm behind her so it grazed her back. "I just have these thoughts in my head sometimes," he said. She reached over and took his hand in hers. He looked down at her tiny, pale digits grasping onto him and half-smiled. "Thoughts about you," he reiterated.

"A-About me?" she queried. Sasuke looked at her then, a sort of earnest curiosity in his eyes, while Hinata stared at his lips. He returned the gesture. For a split second, she thought that maybe he was going to kiss her, but when he looked away, a lump grew in her throat. If he didn't want to kiss her, then why did he hold her hand? Why did he hold her at all? Suddenly, Hinata's chest felt compressed. She'd thought about kissing him—a lot, actually—and now the opportunity was right there and she felt like she was going to faint. There was a difference between thinking of doing it and actually doing it, but at that moment, she pushed her ambiguity to the back of her mind. If he wasn't going to kiss her, then she could kiss him.

"Um," Hinata cheeped, and he looked at her. She moved away from him and sat on her knees, their eye contact etched in stone. All of the cold she had felt before was replaced with more heat than the burning fire. Sasuke remained still, but his chest was just as engulfed with flames. Hinata bit her lip and swallowed, moving a strand of her hair behind her ear with her trembling hand. He watched her eagerly as she scooted closer to him, so their bodies were right before each other, and she put her hands on his neck. He blinked at her in disbelief, reluctantly touching her back. Hinata inched her face closer to his, so close that he could feel her shallow breath against his lips. He didn't back away, so she closed the gap between them and pressed their mouths together.

It was slow at first; clumsy, but Sasuke instantly returned the kiss. When she opened her mouth to give him better access, he was the first to get their tongues involved. He gripped her back and pulled her legs around him, carefully guiding her to the floor so he was on top. He never expected her to make the first move, but he was glad she did; in spite of all the outrageous things Sasuke had done in his life, from bravery to recklessness, he didn't have the guts to simply kiss her. Now that she had let him in, however, he was more than willing to explore this new sensation.

He kissed her harder and ran his hand up her shirt, but stopped when she wiggled beneath him. He pulled away and looked in her eyes.

"U-Um," she stammered. "Maybe we shouldn't."

"Okay," he said. He kissed her once more before he rolled off, allowing her to sit up and face him. Her cheeks were reddened from desire, and he cursed that he had to hide how turned on he was in that stupid robe. Hinata opened her mouth to speak, but he stopped her by grabbing her head and kissing her again.

"S-Sorry," she said breathlessly when he pulled away.

"Don't be sorry, stupid," he said. Hinata clenched her legs and rubbed her knees together, biting her lip at the memory of what just happened. She was turned on, too. She didn't want to stop, but she wasn't sure having her first kiss and losing her virginity at once was a good idea without thinking it through. This was Sasuke, after all. As much as she'd grown to care for him, that fact remained the same. Before their spontaneous friendship, Sasuke had never been the man she imagined herself with. He had never been the one who she wanted to share such moments with. Despite that, she didn't regret what she did in the slightest. On the contrary, she was relieved.

Sasuke's stomach was still in knots. When the heat of the moment died down, a silence fell over them, and he was able to think rationally again. He glanced at her and saw that her cheeks were still pink, and her lip was still being bit. Maybe Hinata was having doubts. Maybe she was still thinking about Naruto. This thought dug an unfamiliar pit in his gut, but he ignored it. She had kissed him, and that was more than enough.

"Let's get some sleep," he said.

"Okay." Hinata crawled into the bed with Sasuke close behind her. She curled up facing the wall and he pulled the blanket over them. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck once, causing her to shudder. He looked back on what she had said earlier. He had brought harm to many people with no care for the repercussions, even to those who cared for him. He remembered what it felt like to have no empathy, but he couldn't imagine himself feeling that way towards Hinata. He definitely did not want to hurt her.

Based on the sound of the wind outside, the storm had calmed down, though a new one had been created in the safety of the tea house. They both drifted asleep, clutching onto each other, dwindling on the things they'd like to do to each other as the fire burned out.

A/N: *blushes madly and runs away*

UHH yeah. So that happened. :P

I am THE MOST nervous about this chapter. I really really hope that it wasn't bad. I tried my best to portray their emotions and the buildup to their inevitable kiss without making it seem lame or rushed or anything. Gah.

Well, anyway. I struggled with myself a lot about this chapter, but it's been too long since I updated, so whether it's satisfactory or not is all up to you readers. I sincerely hope I did not disappoint any of you. Writing a first kiss is always nerve wracking because there are so many ways to mess it up. I rewrote their kiss quite a few times. I was initially going to have Sasuke kiss her first, but I thought it would be sweeter if Hinata did. I like the idea of her being more confident with him than she is with Naruto in canon. Hinata is really shy by nature, but she's only a basketcase around Naruto, not so much the other characters.

There will be relatively mild sexual content in this fic, which is why I rated it M. I figure none of you mind, since you're reading it, knowing the rating (but I don't necessarily write "smut", js)

*is super embarrassed*

Also, thanks so much for reviewing. I got over 60 reviews on chapter six, and that is just wonderful. I'm really hoping for the same kind of positive feedback on this chapter, so if you liked it, please feel free to review with your thoughts. Or if you hated it! Soo yeah!

Please review!