Hinata Hyuuga was walking in the snow with a big smile on her face. The twenty-year-old woman had a purple cloak around her shoulders and a basket of warm, steaming cookies in her hands. Her eyes, like the snow, were glimmering under the light purple sky, with the moon just rising over the horizon. She was heading over to a small get-together at Tenten’s, admiring the houses as she went along. Everyone in Konoha decorated with trees and lights, the whole town glittering and sparkling.
Hinata stopped and glanced up. One house wasn’t lit up. The Uchiha compound was absolutely dark and sad, the energy weighing down on Hinata’s shoulders. She sighed and her breath seemed to freeze in the air. “Poor Sasuke..”
Hinata fought with herself for a few minutes, wondering if she should knock on his door and offer him a warm cookie. Finally, she squared her shoulders and went up to his front door. It seemed colder on his porch but she knocked quickly, biting her lip.
The door swung open and Sasuke stood there in all his glory. Hinata blushed, seeing that he was only in a towel, with wet hair. “Can I help you?”
"A-Ah, I was wondering if you were, um, busy. I can see that you are," she turned away, "I’m sorry."
"I’m not. Come back," Sasuke commanded.
Hinata sucked in a shaky breath. “Could you put something on?”
She heard a low chuckle. “Am I making you nervous? Come inside. Hurry up, you’re letting cold in.”
Hinata followed him inside, blushing. He dissapeared in his bedroom and came back a moment later with loose, ankle-length pants and a tank top on. “Haven’t you got anything warmer?” Hinata asked, her blush now dying down.
"I don’t. Why did you come?"
She remembered the back in her hands and held it up. “I made cookies, and I wanted to see if you’d like one. They’re still warm.”
"I don’t like sweets."
"Oh, okay, um," she scratched her cheek, "I should head out then."
Sasuke stopped her before she could get up. “I know you didn’t make those for me. Why did you come by?”
"Some of the girls are having a party, but on the way there I saw how cold it looked by your house, so I stopped by…"
Sasuke seemed confused but nodded, saying, “Tonight was a bad night to have a party.”
Suddenly scared, Hinata asked, “Why?”
Sasuke pointed to a window. “Snow storm.”
Hinata flew up from her seat. “No!”
The snow outside was whizzing by, and it had piled up several feet. “You can’t go back out there,” Sasuke chided.
Hinata sucked in a breath. “Why not?”
"You’ll freeze."
"Lend me a coat," she chirped softly.
"I don’t have one. Besides," he sai, moving nearer, "it’s up to your knees out there."
Hinata bit her lip, staring into his stony gray eyes. “They’ll worry about me…”
"You’ll get lost," he sighed.
Hinata was noticing just how handsome he looked, and in the same second, how lonely Sasuke was. A rush of emotions came over her, and she thought about all the lonely holidays he spent here, how many years went by without decorations. Her heart swelled and she wrapped her arms tight around him suddenly, pressing her face into his neck. “I won’t go,” she promised.
The normally stoic Uchiha was shocked, and stood rigid for a moment. He relaxed when he smelled the gingerbread and cinnamon shampoo in her hair, and he put his hands on her hips.
The two stayed like that for a while, as the snow whizzed and flurried outside his house.