Heart on my sleeve

Chapter one

New Life

"Since when...did you have...so much crap, Sasuke?!" A sweaty and out of breath Naruto Uzamaki gasped out as he set down a single box filled with God knows what onto the floor of my new living room. I bit back a giggle at the pained expression he shot Sasuke, who was right behind him, having no trouble carrying two boxes. Sasuke disregarded him with a simple glance and roll of the eyes. Sakura, of course, was right behind.

With a smug look on her face, she said. "Well Naruto, perhaps if you ceased eating those microwaveable ramen noodles all of the time and tried going to the park once in while, you wouldn't be so out of shape. Maybe next time Sasuke jogs, you could go with him." She turned an amused gaze at Sasuke. "I'm sure he would enjoy your company. Right, Sasuke? It's a good male bonding opportunity."

Hunched over a box of books, Sasuke didn't even bother to turn around. "If by male bonding, you mean Naruto pitifully being left behind. Then yes, Sakura. It's a great male bonding opportunity." He finished sarcastically. He then started to take out books, the titles unknown to me. Being a lover of books, and seeing that Sasuke was my new...roomie, surely I would find out soon enough. Unless he didn't like people touching his things.

Sakura chuckled and continued looking out one of the large windows that overlooked on busy daytime Tokyo. I could hear Naruto grumbling indistinct words, although I'm sure they were less then complimentary towards Sasuke. I smiled to myself, genuinely happy on the inside. Although I would be lying if I didn't say I was envious of the relationship the three of them had. They always got along so easily. Sure there were little bickers here and there, but for the most part it was fun to watch them.

Neji, Hanabi and I used to be a little like that. I missed that the most.

Like a pot of hot water, the past events of the last few weeks flooded my mind, and for a short moment my mind was scalded. Images of my father, his lips taut with disapproval, flashed. Then the yelling and hurtful jabs at my person. And then finally the words that threw me off completely, "Leave Hinata. Permanently." A life change. A point where I thought I was completely alone. Two weeks at the on campus dorms, living in TenTen's death trap of a room. Hanabi and Neji being there to help. And then Sasuke and his unexpected offer of...something. I still wasn't completely sure why Sasuke of all people had did what he did.

And then this. I thought. As I sat quietly in the background, a box of picture frames before me, I watched Naruto comically stick his head into the fridge, complaining how there was nothing to eat and he was starving. Momentarily Sakura came up behind him and yanked him away, scolding him. Sasuke would merely glance at them, shake his head in indifference, and then get back to his task of sorting out his books. I would watch...

Suddenly I felt a nudge. Shaking my head from my thoughts, I looked up to see Sasuke's slender frame looming over me, one delicate brow raised. His lips were slightly parted, as if he were thinking about saying something, but for some reason, decided to let it go. A few seconds of silence, until he finally asked, "Can you cook?"

Naturally being anxious, I sub-consciously grabbed a strand of my hair and began to twist it in between my fingers as I looked away. "Not really." Honestly it was a little embarrassing that I didn't know how to cook. Growing up where I grew up and not having a mother, everything was always done for me by assistants, maids, and chefs. Everybody always commented on how I seemed like I would be really good at it too! Which made it even worse considering that I wasn't.

I had expected a reply from Sasuke, but instead I felt him come closer. On reflex I was going to turn my head to see what he was doing. Instead I felt Sasuke grab my chin, making me face him directly. He ignored the surprise that registered quite clearly on my face.

With a sigh, he said, "When speaking with someone, you look at them. Conversation is much more enjoyable when you do. So, let's try this again." Letting go of my face, he stood upright again, as he had before, and gave me the same look.

"Can you cook?"

Wanting badly to look away, I willed my eyes up to his and said slowly. "No...I can't." His dark eyes greatly overpowered mine. Pushing all other thoughts out of my mind, I concentrated on looking into Sasuke's eyes, wondering what I might find. As I attempted to delve into his thoughts, as I did with other people, I felt as if I had hit a barrier. I could see absolutely nothing. No emotion. He was very careful to keep his facial expression neutral. He never once faltered. Sasuke had practice.

His eyes floated over to the kitchen, where Sakura and Naruto were going through the cabinets. "Then, tonight," He started to turn around. "we're going out." Giving me a parting gaze from behind his shoulder, he continued. "Around seven." Turning completely around, he returned to his corner of books and continued his organizing them.

I breathed out. Blinking a few times and getting back into focus, I reached for the cloth I had been using to clean off the picture frames. I only had one question running around my mind, seemingly in circles. Why was he doing this?

We had been friends when we were kids. That much I could remember. In all honesty, I didn't have the best childhood. It wasn't particularly a part of my life I wanted to remember. It was filled with hurt and anger...and sadness. But there was one instant, when I was younger, when I met this stubborn little boy who made me smile. The moment was like a flash. As soon as it began, it ended. Of course we didn't know we were supposed to rival each other. Our oblivion. Innocence. And then one day, he was gone.

Until that first day of high school. A flash again. At the end, I was walking home. It had been windy that day and a paper had slipped. Of course I ran for it until the wind died down and it landed at someones feet. I kept my eyes on the ground as I watched a hand reach down and grab it.

Lifting my head, I readied myself to thank whoever it was. And I met black eyes. I opened my mouth and embarrassingly forgot to close it as I realized who was standing before me. Funny enough, he didn't seem that surprised to see me. It was almost as if he knew that we would meet again. Unfortunately before any words could be passed, I saw an arm link with his and a female voice laugh, "Come on, Sasuke! Everybody's leaving already and we want to get good spots. I don't trust that idiot Naruto to save any seats."

In a swift motion, he was turned around and...taken. I stood there for the next few minutes, frozen, as his name echoed through my mind. Sasuke...Sasuke....Sasuke. As they walked across the front school yard to a waiting car, he turned his head and looked at me from over his shoulder, the girl still linked to his arm. I saw one corner of his mouth lift, as he seemed to tilt his head in acknowledgment. Something inside me turned, and for some reason I could feel my cheeks redden. I think it was my heart.

The minute my father found out I was schooling with a Uchiha, I was immediately transferred. I didn't see Sasuke for a couple years after that. Until that one business retreat that my father hauled me along on. He was trying to familiarize me with the settings of business. But that wasn't and still isn't me. Being only a child, I had no choice but to comply. On the second night of the retreat, Hanabi (who had also attended) and I went to the hotel bar, even though we were both too young to drink anything. Sasuke had been casually leaning on a counter, looking bored as he propped his chin up on the pad of his hand. He was with his brother, and a fruity looking something was sitting before him. And of course Hanabi had to jump at the prospect of flirting and drinking. Even though our family didn't associate with the Uchiha's didn't mean we didn't know who they were or didn't see them. We did.

And so that night, while Sasuke's brother, Itachi, got his share of amusement from my kid sister, Sasuke and I sat and exchanged words of greeting. He offered me some of the drink, claiming pridefully that it was too feminine for his taste. Before I could even answer, Hanabi already had her painted fingers on the drink, sipping. This earned her a chuckle from Itachi and a irritated glance from Sasuke. I was seventeen. So then, we come to now. Hinata Hyuga. Eighteen. More or less disowned for wanting to go into the medical field instead of the family business. Quiet. Neat. In her first year of college and studying neuroscience. Oh, and living with a childhood friend who offered to board with her for some unknown reason.

"Hinata?! Yoohoooo! Hinata, you there?" Naruto's voice jolted me awake, as I looked around with confusion. Instead of seeing bright, blue eyes staring at me, I came face to face with the colorful wrapping of...an instant ramen noodle pack.

Naruto grinned. "We feast." He shook it in front of my face, the inside contents shaking. I just sat there, my eyes wide, admiring Naruto's natural enthusiasm. No matter how bad things became, he still found a reason to smile. And that was one of the thing I liked about him most. He was just one of those generally happy people. I wished I could be more like that. More ecstatic about life. Taking a quick look at Sasuke, who was still sorting through his collection of books, I wondered briefly how the future would be.

Naruto dropped on the floor in front of me, crossing his legs as mine. He was still grinning as he said, "Okay, so we have chicken, beef, teriyaki, shrimp, beef with low sodium, spicy chicken..." He trailed off as his current facial expression was replaced with a dreamy gaze. Seconds later I could distinctly hear a stomach growl and I was pretty sure it wasn't mine.

Sakura was in the kitchen, not putting anything up. Sasuke had told me that the apartment would already be completely furnished, spared no expense. So there wouldn't be any need to bring anything except the things that were absolutely necessary, such as clothes, my computer, and obviously myself. I kept that past thought in my mind as I watched Sakura admire the new, modern kitchen, dragging a manicured finger across the granite counters.

So when Naruto screeched out her name, telling her to plug in the microwave, she visibly flinched. I could see her chest move up and down with a sigh. And she was about to plug it in, when a melodious ringing entered the room. I recognized the song because I had previously heard it on the radio the day before. It was a song from Hikaru Utada's most recent album Ultra Blue. It was very like Sakura to have the song as a ringtone.

"Now who could that be...Probably Ino, complaining about how she couldn't find that hair salon..." Sakura murmured to herself, as she dropped the plug and calmly walked over to her large, stylish black purse, her white sundress almost flowing behind her. She dug around in her purse for a few minutes, before finding the pink mobile and flipping it open.

"Hey, it's Sakura!" She said, while inspecting her nails.

Not wanting to be directly nosy, I got back to wiping off my picture frames. Not that I would like to be reminded of home, but having them in my room would remind me of some of the more happier memories. And then it occurred to me that I hadn't ever seen the room I would be living in while I was here. I knew that there were three, one of which would be mine, the other Sasuke, and the empty one for whoever might want to stay over.

My room. The reality hadn't set in that I no longer lived at home. That I would soon...that I was at that moment living with Sasuke. My room would no longer be exactly six feet away from Hanabi's. I would no longer be made breakfast and dinner by good Seigo. I would no longer be yelled at like a child. I would no longer be forced to do something I didn't want to do. I was...free. Even though I would never say it out loud, being a Hyuga was parallel to being imprisoned if you didn't do what you were told. I felt like I was being smothered. What the company needed was put before anybody and everything else. Both Neji and Hanabi wanted to travel that path. The path that my father paved. but I didn't. And I was the oldest, which made things worse. I was a waste, a disappointment, he said. It hurt, when he said those three words telling me to leave, but I couldn't say that a little something didn't open up inside me. A little something called relief and in it hope. Finances and business and rivaling and cut throat deals...they just weren't me. I never felt right dealing with those types of things. But I loved helping people. The joy I felt when I helped out a stranger...to me, it was like no other feeling in the world.

Setting the cloth down, I stood up and stretched, straightening out my jeans. My gaze wondered over to the polished, wooden stairs. Might as well pick out my room now. I thought as I slowly walked up the stairs, breathing in the newly renovated smell homes had before their owners marked it with their own. As I came to the beginning of the stairs, I saw that light was shining all down through the carpeted hallway. Past the three doors, I saw a lonely window open, the sun making itself home. Pretty soon, the sun would set. From that window, I knew you would have the best view.

Peering into the first door, I saw the first room. Much to my surprise, it was already being used. The walls were already painted a deep blue, the crisp, and pressed looking bed already made with fluffy white pillows. It was clean, not a speck of dust seemingly anywhere. There were dressers, probably with items already inside. There was a closet with a sliding door that I could see already had clothes hanging in it. And then there were pictures. Three very interesting ones. One large one hanging over the headboard of the bed. One on one wall that would otherwise be blank. And then another one, opposite that same wall. All of the pictures were the same and yet then, they were all different. It seemed like a different, complex technique was used for each picture, but the colors remained the same. It seemed like the artist had attempted to just spatter colors randomly, but while trying to do that made something beautiful. Everything just worked.

"On the side, Itachi paints. But nobody knows that except me, him, and now you. Those pictures you're looking at are the originals of his first works." Sasuke said casually from behind me. Slightly flinching because I had absolutely no clue that he had ever been behind me in the first place, I turned and saw that Sasuke stood, a pair of car keys dangling from his fingers.

Unsure of why he told me Itachi had a second hobby, and unsure of how to respond I merely nodded, and eyed the car keys. "Are we...going somewhere?" I asked dumbly.

He shook the keys. "I do recall mentioning that we were going out, right? I didn't think Naruto and Sakura would leave so early, so we're not leaving at seven anymore. The more time, the better."

I frowned. "Naruto and Sakura left?"

Sasuke almost seemed to scoff. "That phone call Sakura received was from their landlord." He sighed. "It would seem that room two-oh-four had smoke billowing out from the window and the door. The idiot's room. Sakura's room is right across from his. Conveniently enough, after the phone call was received, Naruto remembered that he had put on lunch. You can figure out the rest."

My eyes widened as I thought of all the scenarios. A burning building, people being evacuated. Possibly those already burned...

"Is anybody hurt?"

Sasuke ran a hand through his long, black locks and shrugged. "Only smoke for now. I believe the fire department has already been called, so there shouldn't be any casualties. Only a very pissed off landlord and tenants." A look of realization hit his face. " And a homeless Naruto."

His hand dropped. "Let's go." He said, suddenly very intent on leaving.

As my mind considered the possibility of Naruto staying, I followed Sasuke down the stairs and outside as he locked the door. I couldn't help but laugh when he made sure the door was locked only about three times. So that Naruto couldn't somehow find a way to stay without begging, because he knew that Sasuke would immediately refuse. And most likely if Naruto stayed, Sakura would insist she stay as well. To keep an eye on him.

If Sakura wouldn't mind sharing a room with Naruto. I thought, a smile of amusement on my face.

When we were in the lobby, Sasuke immediately walked up to the woman holding the front desk, and held his keys in front of her.

"Car retrieval, please."

The red-lipped woman smiled happily. For a moment, she glanced down and then back up at Sasuke. "Of course, Mr. Uchiha. Your car will be out front shortly." She held out her hand and took the keys from Sasuke as he promptly nodded. She then glanced at me. Slightly leaning forward, I smiled. Since she was still smiling, she didn't return it, but I was sure I saw envy in her dark brown eyes. Oh, how nice.

I hadn't noticed that Sasuke had already moved on, and was starting to walk toward the front entrance. When he noticed that I didn't notice, annoyance etched across his features as he grabbed my wrist firmly and turned me around, guiding me towards the front entrance glass doors. He pushed them open, while letting go of my wrist, and let me walk through first.

A gust of wind hit me as I walked outside. Not a second after, a sleek, sliver car pulled up in front of me and a man in uniform hopped out, looking extremely star-struck. Before I knew it, Sasuke had already opened the passengers door, and had situated himself in the drivers seat, his hand on the steering wheel. He adjusted his mirrors.

Slowly I got in, almost afraid I would scratch the seemingly untouched car. Oh, Hanabi would have loved this. I closed the door, almost nervous. Would he drive fast? Did Sasuke like to drive...dangerously? I looked at him from the corner of my eye, wondering briefly if I should fear for my life while Sasuke had the wheel.

He was in the middle of adjusting the air conditioner, when he abruptly stopped. Almost as if he had read my mind, he said. "Put your seat belt on. I like to drive..." Almost as if on cue, a corner of his mouth lifted, "more dangerously then most." My heart skipped a couple beats. Funny, how he seemed like such a calm and in control person when he wasn't driving, but when he was...

Still unsure of where we were going, I held on tightly to the door handle as Sasuke went at least thirty miles over the speed limit, maybe more! I was slightly confused, though, when he pulled up in front of a market store. The look of confusion was obvious on my face because even I could feel it. Why were we at the store? Sasuke knew I didn't know how to cook, right?

"I asked if you didn't know how to cook." Sasuke started out smoothly. "But you never asked if I knew how. And I do, by the way. Art was always Itachi's thing. The art of cooking was mine. And since you're going to be seeing me a lot more, it's something you need to know. I hate microwaveable dinners and anything instant."

I smiled softly. "I do, too."

I would have never imagined that Sasuke...knew how to cook.

I would have never imagined that at all.

Glad you got this far! ;) Reviews would be greatly appreciated. Tell me if you would like me to continue!

Chapter two:

You know when things just feel right? When everything is going exactly as it should be? I felt that as I laid in bed, in the same exact clothes I had been wearing the day before, with Sasuke's head innocently lying on my stomach. As wrong as it looked, it felt good. Sasuke was warm. I could feel his chest move up and down with his breathing. It calmed me. I still wasn't completely sure how we became entangled like we were then. But I didn't feel badly, as if something...awkward had happened. So I didn't panic. I just took what was given to me and went along with it.

Until he woke up.