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Sakura was intelligent, pretty, and confident, but that wasn't why Hinata liked her. Hinata liked her because once upon a time, Sakura had been weak and self-conscious but had managed to bloom into a talented and capable kunoichi.
Hinata was too shy to do more than watch her from a distance. Sakura already had a best friend in Ino and a crush in Sasuke, so there was really nothing that she could add. Even when the relationship between Sakura and Ino soured, Hinata told herself that she couldn't get involved, for who was she to take the place of someone as inspiring as Ino?
So, she watched Sakura grow stronger and stronger, and thought that maybe it was a good thing she was too timid, since Sakura attracted boys like bees to a flower but never reciprocated their affections, even when they were boys like Naruto or Lee, who shone with optimism and good intentions.
Her first Chuunin exam was the turning point. She watched Sakura and Ino fight, and knew the fight was about more than progression to the next round: it was Sakura and Ino reshaping their childhood friendship into friendship between kunoichi. It inspired her, and even though neither passed, they both fought their hardest against each other, trusting that the other would do the same. When it was Hinata's turn to fight her own battle, every time Neji knocked her down, she stood up again, since her cousin was far too important to give up on either.
In the end, Hinata still lost, and more importantly, her cousin still hated her, but she still gained something, for if she could stand up to her cousin, who had been her boogeyman since childhood, how could she find talking to Sakura to be frightening?
Hinata stood in front of Sakura's door with a homemade cake, and when Sakura answered it, quietly asked if she were free. Later, as they laughed together, talking about anything and everything, Hinata wondered what she had ever found so hard.
--
With Hinata, things were so easy. Forget boys who were arrogant, distant, and self-absorbed, forget boys who claimed to care about you but still left at the first opportunity, and forget boys who promised you the world while never listening to a word you said. Hinata had the kindness and compassion that had attracted Sakura to Sasuke, and she had a core of steel and stubbornly stayed and fought for what she cared about. (Sakura wasn't bitter, but she couldn't help but notice that Hinata had repaired her relationship with her family, while Sakura's teammates had left her behind in Konoha to pick up the pieces.)
It helped that things felt so natural. When Sakura slipped her hand into Hinata's, Hinata didn't blush. She just swung the picnic basket in her hand a little higher and smiled a little brighter. When Sakura pulled Hinata onto her lap, Hinata giggled and handed her another piece of pie. When they kissed, Sakura tasted the sweetness of her lips and wondered how she could have missed this for so long.
--
When Ino found out, she told Sakura that it was about time, and that Hinata had liked her for ages.
When Lee found out, he gushed and gushed about the glorious budding romance in the springtime of their youth until Neji knocked him out to shut him up.
When Naruto found out, he whined about all the cute girls being taken, though he learned not to when Ino was around.
Sasuke never found out.