Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

The blue-haired girl walked down the street, bowing her head shyly. She had nothing to do, and was avoiding going back home. Hiashi had been rather angry during his most recent lecture, and Hinata felt no need to go back and stir the flames of his already fiery temper. She often wandered the village alone when she felt this way: worthless, and weak.

Hinata saw other girls out gossiping about their lives in general, and she felt like an outsider. Hinata was considerably lucky, being an heiress, but it was a curse at the same time. So much was expected of her, and she felt like she couldn't live up to the expectations. On days like this, she just walked past the other girls without a word.

Despite her silence, someone noticed her. Onyx eyes gazed silently as she passed, wondering what was troubling her. She seemed so different from other girls, not drooling over boys at every opportunity or travelling in a pack. He always saw Hinata going around alone, and for some unknown reason it made him want to know why.

Hinata suddenly stopped and turned around, byakuugan activated just to play safe. All she could see was the people she had walked past, nothing to be scared of. There was still a nagging feeling that wouldn't go away, but she let it slide. Even with her excellent vision, she couldn't see the boy watching her from the shadows. With a sigh, she decided to finally go home. As the boy saw the display of disappointment, he decided to wonder about her wanderings later. He had his own problems to deal with, right?

Hanabi gave her elder sister a weak smile as they passed in the hallway but said nothing. She seemed to understand, but at the same time she was also causing part of the problem. Hinata found her way to her room and laid down on the bed without even stopping to change. She watched the ceiling above her and closed her eyes. Another day done, what next?

In the morning Hinata counted her lucky stars she didn't have training since she had woken up late. She went down and ate breakfast quickly, hoping to get out of the house and find something to do for the rest of the day. On her way out the door she noted that it was brighter out than usual, and decided to shed the usual jacket. As soon as Hinata hit the streets, she found that things had changed somehow.

"Hinata-chan!" Sakura was waving at her and Hinata smiled back shyly. "What are you doing today?"

"N-Nothing," Hinata said, not wanting to say she was avoiding going back home.

"Well, my Dad said he would let me buy a cat, want to come help?" Sakura smiled at her sweetly.

"S-sure," Hinata said and followed her.

xXxXx

"Oh no," Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw the familiar pink-haired girl walk into the pet shop. He'd only been hired the day before, and he didn't plan on dragging his fan club here. He hid as fast as he could, and watched out of the corner of his eye for her to come any closer. The manager gave him an odd look, but when he spotted the girls he laughed and didn't pull Sasuke out of hiding. Sasuke was surprised to see Hinata there as well, but didn't dare come out of his spot.

"Oh! Look at this one!" Sakura pointed at a kitten happily. It was a blonde tabby with blue eyes, and through the glass he was trying to reach out to Sakura.

"Would you like to see that one?" The manager had come up to them to assist.

"Please," Sakura looked at the kitten dreamily, someone had found the new love of her life. The manager gently pulled out the kitten, which immediately went to Sakura. Hinata grinned as Sakura picked up the kitten and it snuggled into her arms. Sasuke noted the distraction and went back to work cautiously, noting that they seemed busy.

"I t-think y-you found your k-kitten," Hinata stumbled.

"Yes, she's adorable!" Sakura walked over to the counter with the manager leading and Hinata following behind. Hinata had always enjoyed pet shops and loved to look at the cuddly animals. She stopped and smiled down on the display of all of the bunnies. Like any girl, she couldn't resist something so adorable and soft.

"You can pick them up if you want," The manager called over to her as he rang up Sakura's kitten.

"R-really?" Hinata asked and the man nodded.

She carefully reached her hand into the bin holding them, and petted them carefully, testing which one to try and pick up. One in particular seemed to call to her, it had floppy ears and black and white spots. It was like she had never held an animal before, and it cuddled into her like it had found it's new best friend. Hinata couldn't help but sigh when the bunny looked up at her with it's black eyes. Something about that gaze made her melt inside.

Sasuke happened to glance back at the girls, making sure he hadn't been spotted, and saw Hinata holding the bunny. He even smiled inwardly, it was the same one that he'd stop to pet a time or two when he could. But that wasn't what really caught his eye, it was the way she was looking at this animal. In her eyes this bunny was the most precious and beautiful thing that had ever been on this earth. Sasuke felt himself soften at the look in her eyes, he hadn't seen a look that loving since before he'd enrolled in the academy.

Unfortunately, he stared at her too long as he refilled the grain for the pets they kept for customers. It overflowed and toppled over, making a loud crash. Sasuke cursed himself for being so careless and immediately bent down to pick up the mess. At the same time he tried to hide his face, but it was too late.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura looked over at him, a look of surprise on her face. The manager rolled his eyes at the boy, not willing to chew him out in front of customers. Both Hinata and the bunny were staring at him in surprise, it was oddly the same expression on both of their faces.

"Sorry," Sasuke apologized to the manager, and nodded politely to Sakura and Hinata.

"Since when have you worked here?" Sakura questioned and stroked her kitten without thinking.

"Just started," Sasuke answered.

"Here's everything you need, thanks for coming," The manager said and handed Sakura food and cat litter. Hinata reluctantly set down the bunny and helped her friend carry all of the things she had purchased.

"Bye Sasuke," Sakura smiled but was immediately distracted again by the kitten she held. Hinata glanced longingly at the bunny before waving good bye to Sasuke and following Sakura out the door.

"I was hoping that kitten would find a good home, that one was the only one left of it's litter," The manager went back to help Sasuke clean up.

"Hn," Sasuke responded and picked up more grain. They worked in silence until all of the grain had been picked up. It took awhile, considering how much would come out when it tipped.

"Hey…How much is that rabbit?" Sasuke asked. "And… A cage for it?"

The manager seemed surprised by the question but answered anyway, "Well, it's $20.00 for the rabbit, and a cage is 25 off if you get the animal with…."

"How much is the cage to start with?"

"A standard would be about $25, with the discount it'd be $18.75," The manager answered but raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Thinking of getting it?"

"Hn…Maybe," Sasuke answered. Something had hit him while he'd watched Hinata with that rabbit, other than grain that is. She kept catching his eye when she was alone because that's how he felt. He knew how she felt, to be shadowed by a sibling and expected to do great things. Sasuke couldn't explain what he was feeling, but he knew it wasn't like anything he'd ever felt before. He had to get her that rabbit, just to see her smile like that again. He did the math in his head and figured out how he would be able to do it without too much of a problem. The manager was pleased when he shared how he'd pay and took the rabbit home with him. Two animals gone to owners, who would love them dearly, that's a good day of work for him.

xXxXx

Sasuke went over to the Hyuuga manor and paced. He could do missions and battle high ranked ninjas, but he couldn't go up to Hinata's front door. Sasuke was scolding himself for being a coward…And at the same time another voice told him that sometimes it was okay to run. Finally, he made himself walk up to the door and knock. When it opened he opened his mouth to talk but pause when a pair of white eyes looked at him surprised. 'Hey… That's not Hinata…' He thought and unconsciously held the cage behind him.

"Who are you?" The girl, Hanabi, asked.

"Uchiha Sasuke," He answered, feeling more uncomfortable every minute. "Is Hinata here?"

"Yeah…" Hanabi allowed him to come in, watching him carefully as she showed him to where Hinata was. Sasuke barely noticed and watched where he was going, the house was even larger than the estate he'd been left with.

"Hinata," Hanabi knocked on the bedroom door. "Open up."

"Go away," A voice on the other side said and Sasuke couldn't help but smile.

"You have a visitor," Hanabi turned back to Sasuke when she heard Hinata stirring on the other side of the door. "I'll leave you two alone, but I'll be close enough to hear anything funny," The girl raised an eyebrow suspiciously and walked off as Hinata opened the door. 'Weird sister,' Sasuke thought as he watched her go.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" Hinata's eyes were wide with surprise, he didn't say anything but watched her face. He missed the smile he'd seen not long before, and wondered what else could make her smile. Sasuke shook the thoughts away and handed her the cage, since that was what he had come to do.

"For you," He said and noted happily that she was starting to light up again. Something about that particular bunny seemed to have that effect on her.

"R-really?" She was surprised, when he nodded she smiled at him. "Thank you!"

Now it wasn't that Sasuke wasn't used to touch. It was just that he had never been hugged in the way that Hinata hugged him before. After she said thank you, she swept one arm up around his neck and leaned into him. This surprised him, as it had been a long time since he'd felt like this, it was a …warm... feeling. But still, Sasuke felt himself return the hug and he didn't want to let her go.

Hinata let go of him gently and brought the cage into her room to set on a table. She calmly pulled the bunny out and held him in her arms, it snuggled into her warmth and she smiled like she had in the store. Sasuke grinned, he had gotten to see that look again. She looked up and him and turned slightly pink. No one had ever done something like this for her before, even her own Father. When he came over and petted the bunny as well, she felt like she should say something to him but didn't. It felt like they needed no words to understand each other, and somehow that was what worked best for both of them.

"Hinata," A deep voice called from the hall, and both teens and the bunny looked up. Hinata's smile faded, she knew it was Hiashi. Sasuke took note of the dampened mood and watched the door. Sure enough, Hinata's father entered the room and his eyes settled on the bunny. "What is that?"

"I-It's a r-rabbit," Hinata answered timidly and felt herself stroke the rabbit comfortingly.

"Fine…" Hiashi turned his gaze from the animal to Sasuke. "And why are you here?"

"I brought her the rabbit," Sasuke answered. Hiashi studied him for a moment before finally turning to Hinata. "You skipped training today."

"I d-didn't have t-training t-today," She stuttered badly.

"You have it everyday," Hiashi said clearly. Sasuke looked from Hinata to Hiashi and back, noting the tension. Then he decided to jump in.

"Not all teams train everyday, sir," Sasuke spoke up and received a glare from Hiashi. "Many have the weekend off, and today is a Sunday."

"Hn," Hiashi appeared speechless for a moment and Hinata looked at Sasuke in awe. "Fine." Both teens breathed in relief when Hiashi turned and left.

"Sasuke-kun…" Hinata started and he glanced at her. She was smiling up at him and he couldn't help but smile back. "Thank you…for everything…"

"Sure," He responded and reached out to pet the rabbit, allowing his hand to rest on hers for the briefest moment. She blushed and he smiled even more, as they sat there in silence petting the bunny's black and white spots.

A/N: Not exactly how I thought it would turn out but cute none the less. Please R&R!