Crack Whims

By: firefly

Characters: Hinata, Sasuke

Prompt: Hobbies

A cool spray of water erupted from the overhead nozzle with a dull hiss, showering the bunches of tied coriander on the grocery shelf.

Hinata waited for the spray to subside before taking her pick, tentatively lifting out a bushel and giving it a firm shake to dispel the water. Fumbling with the plastic bag, she set down her shopping basket, concentrating on getting the bushel inside.

The flurry of browsing shoppers, punctuated with the occasional burst of conversation, floated over to where she stood. A blend of sweating customers, cleaning solution, mixed greens and fresh fruit gave the air a distinct smell—not bad, not good, but familiar and comforting in some strange way.

That may have sounded bizarre to some, but to Hinata, the grocery store was one of her favourite places to be in the entire world. She could browse around mindlessly for as long as she wanted, could carry pleasant conversations with the friendly old ladies without blushing or stuttering, and best of all, could put her secret hobby to good, financially beneficent use.

For you see, Hinata’s hobby, harmless as it was, was rather strange for someone her age and rather wasteful in the eyes of a certain cousin.

Hyuuga Hinata…was an obsessive coupon-clipper.

She couldn’t help it; five cents or five dollars off broccoli or an extra gram or two of rice—if there was a coupon for it, she had to have it, even if it was for a product she could never realistically see herself using.

Pathetic as it might have sounded, she got a wonderful thrill out of picking up an item and sorting through her envelope of coupons to see if she had one for it; if, perchance, she did, her stomach would flip and her cheeks would redden in suppressed joy. The old ladies she knew told her they knew the feeling. Neji told her she had an addiction and needed help.

Which was nonsense, of course, Hinata assured herself as she picked through a bunch of turnips. Besides, there had to be someone else her age that did it too, right?

“Those ones are moldy.”

Hinata nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sound of the voice, clutching her heart and whipping around. The blood drained out of her face, then almost immediately shot back into it when she saw who it was.

“S-Sasuke-san,” she stammered.

The Uchiha boy stood behind her, holding his own basket and regarding her nonchalantly. From the looks of his bounty, he’d already done most of his shopping.

“Um…” Hinata practically folded into herself under his stare, poking her fingers together. “Thank you. For…um, telling me.”

He nodded once before turning away. Hinata quickly turned her attention back to her shopping but couldn’t help stealing a few glances towards Naruto’s brooding teammate. He was shopping alone, of course, and seemed to be in no hurry to grab what he needed. Instead, he leisurely made his way through the rows of produce, poking and prodding with a patient, expert touch.

Soon, he stopped and stared at the row of tomatoes.

Hinata’s eyes widened when he reached for them.

A coupon—I’m sure I have a coupon. It’s the least I can do after he told me those turnips were moldy…

Before she could reconsider, Hinata hesitantly walked up to him, withdrawing the twenty-five cent coupon and flipping it nervously between her fingers. He was placing a few of the tomatoes into his basket when she spoke.

“…Sasuke-san?”

He turned around and she immediately thrust the coupon into his face, lowering her head as her cheeks turned a bright shade of maroon. Now this was unprecedented; never had her coupons come in handy for the purpose of expressing gratitude. She felt tingly all over.

When Sasuke didn’t move to take it from her, she raised her gaze and found him looking visibly startled.

“Um,” she began nervously, fidgeting. “If y-you don’t want it…”

He blinked when she spoke, then reached forward to take it from her hand. Before she could react, he lowered his gaze to her basket and reached into his pocket, fishing out a slip of paper.

Her heart gave a massive thump when she saw what it was.

“Fifteen cents,” Sasuke said slowly, catching her gaze meaningfully. “Off coriander.”

Hinata nearly dropped her basket. They stared at each other for a long moment, unmoving. Then, slowly, Hinata reached forward to take the coupon, swallowing a lump in her throat. As their fingers brushed, she felt the inexplicable and unmistakable sensation of her soul finally finding harmony with the universe.

“Sasuke-san,” she murmured, almost breathlessly. “Do you…?”

“Yes,” he answered, transfixed. “And you—?”

Hinata nodded fervently.

Sasuke took a step forward. “Do you want to—”

“Yes,” she squeaked euphorically, eyes shining.

There was no more to be said. The two quickly went to the cashier, paid for their items, and ran out of the store together.

“I’m telling you, Ino-pig, she’s been going over there every Sunday for the past month!”

“I won’t believe it till I see it, forehead-girl.”

“Oh, you’re about to see it all right, trust me…”

Sakura and Ino inched deeper into the bushes outside Sasuke’s kitchen, getting a clear view of the dining table.

Ino gasped. “Is that…?”

“Yes,” Sakura said grimly. “And I still have no idea what they’re doing.”

Inside the kitchen, Hinata excitedly clasped her hands as Sasuke set a cup of tea down for each of them and spread a stack of flyers and ads all over the table.

“Are these for the upcoming garden plants sale?” Hinata asked with a small gasp, putting her hand on a green flyer. “I thought these coupons were in limited supply!”

“They are,” Sasuke said complacently. “We have the last ones.”

Hinata shot him a beaming, admiring smile, wondering why she ever found him intimidating as he gave a faint smile in return. Without further delay, Sasuke pulled out his scissors and handed her a pair, unaware of the indignant and scandalized shrieks from outside as they bent their heads close together and started snipping.