Author's Note: I've decided to make this into a collection of NejiHina short stories based on prompts (like what it said on the summary box) so feel free to send in your prompts for me to write and post! This prompt was falling in love. Enjoy!

The Day I Fell in Love

Rating: K

Neji was never one to acknowledge this thing called "love". He had always thought that love wasn't really important at such a young age. He is simply too busy and occupied to give love a thought.

But now as he gazes at his cousin's trembling figure, her hands resting her weight on her knees as she pants for breath, his whole perspective changes. He is startled, without a doubt, when he looks at Hinata's smiling face after he praised her regarding her improvements as a kunoichi and Hyuuga heiress.

His heart pounds against his ribcage, and his hands slightly tremble. He clenches his fists on his sides, and closes his eyes as he takes deep breaths to calm his racing heart. It is out of character for him to feel like this—especially regarding his cousin.

"Are you all right, Neji-nii-san?" Hinata asks gently.

He can feel warmth rising to his cheeks and spreading to his ears. Hinata is beautiful in his eyes. Her skin is as white as milk. Her eyes seem to worry over him at his current state. Her drenched bangs are sticking to her forehead. Her body is curved in all the right places. Since when did innocent little Hinata become such a voluptuous young woman?

His whole face feels like it's burning when her hand came in contact with his cheek.

"Your face is burning, nii-san," she says.

She is very close to him, causing his heart to pound even faster than before.

"I-I'm sure it's nothing, Hinata-sama." He answers her.

He feels relieved, yet slightly disappointed, when she drops her hand to her side.

"Shall we end our training for today?" she suggests with a kind smile.

He shyly looks away from her gentle gaze. "Sure."

"Let's go home, Neji-nii-san."

He simply nods his head as an answer.

Walking back to the compound together with Hinata behind him makes him feel even more uncomfortable and nervous than before. Both his fists are clenched on his sides, and he mentally assures himself that he is feeling this way about Hinata because of the heat. He tells himself this repeatedly until he feels at ease. That all ends when he has the urge to look behind just to see Hinata. He tries hard to resist, but he finally loses to this urge that is stronger than his will to resist.

He glances over his shoulder to see if Hinata is still following. Her sparkling animated eyes look above her into the clear blue sky. He smiles to himself at the sight of her looking very happy at such a beautiful summer day. Her eyes wander and meet his. He swears that he saw her cheeks quickly turning a bright shade of pink. She is always cute when she blushes.

"Walk next to me, Hinata-sama." He finally tells her.

Her eyes widen in surprise at his request, but she seems happy that he told her to do so.

"Yes."

He feels much better now that she is walking next to him. She is near him, and he is happy that she doesn't seem as untouchable as before. Now she is Hyuuga Hinata, his dear cousin who has always been so kid, so forgiving, and so sweet to everyone—to him.

Everything is clear to him now as they walk down the bridge towards the Hyuuga compound. Birds are chirping cheerfully in the trees. The sky is clear and blue. It's not the heat that he's feeling like this towards his cousin.

It doesn't take long for him to acknowledge and admit that he is slowly—ever so slowly—falling in love with Hinata. He neither plans to deny it nor does he plan to confess to her his newfound feeling towards her. It does not matter if she's in love with someone else. That matter does not bother him. What matters is that he forever wants to see that sweet and beautiful smile on her face and the animated sparkled in her eyes.

It's a beautiful summer day in the Leaf Village—the day he falls in love.