A/N: i bring you fluff! to help soothe any present or future wounds over schism….
"No." His refusal was stated adamantly, leaving no room for argument.
"Sasuke…" She tried to turn her wide, doe eyes on him. It wouldn't work, not this time. Not if he wasn't looking directly into the pools of lavender.
She grabbed his crossed arm in a show of desperation. "I promise that what happened last time won't happen again!"
The Uchiha was deliberately looking away from his girlfriend. She wouldn't rope him into going, no way.
"What if…" She was thinking, exercising her options. "What if I take you to that weapon convention you've been wanting to go to? I can call out of work?"
He shook his head, steadfast in his decision, still staring off elsewhere.
"I'll cook tomato dishes for a week!"
No response.
"A month?" She cringed at the thought of consuming all of those tomatoes.
"You could cook tomato dishes for a year and I'd still say no," he was monotone, unimpressed with her attempts.
Hinata huffed audibly and laid her head on his shoulder in exhaustion. She had been trying to convince Sasuke to go to the Hyuuga dinner party for weeks and he hadn't budged, not even an inch.
He uncrossed his arms and put one around her to tuck her into his side more comfortably. He wasn't mad at her or anything - he was just asocial and especially didn't want to attend this prestigious family event. Staying home sounded like a much better alternative. He wouldn't have to bat off snide remarks and ignore frosty, accusatory glares.
Silence settled between the two, with Hinata stewing over a good scheme to get Sasuke to go. The man in question was relaxed on the couch, grateful for the reprieve.
Suddenly, Hinata turned to face him with a slow grin spreading on her face.
He raised an eyebrow in suspicion. That expression can't be good, at least not for him.
She placed her lips near his ear and spoke in a low, sultry murmur.
Onyx eyes widened at her proposition and Sasuke nodded immediately. He would go to the damn social function, but only because he's wanted to do this for so long.
She pulled away to look at him, beaming.
The clanging of metal colliding with metal echoed in the field they used as a training ground. A few trees and bushes were smoking, singed by stray fireballs. A crater marred the ground, where a particularly nasty chidori struck.
The Uchiha pulled out all the stops on this session; he hadn't fought the Byakugan user in so long. She didn't hold back either, managing to disable his right arm by hitting a crucial chakra point.
Training with her caused his heart to beat wildly, and it wasn't just from the exertion of physical exercise.
Her gaze became focused, sharp, and she was just the slightest bit aggressive, especially when the odds were against her - it seemed she had a secret competitive streak. She moved like water, artfully dodging thrown weapons and blasts of fire, and she struck like a snake, her gentle fist anything but.
It excited him.
The two individuals were sweating, already three hours into combat in the blazing Konoha sun. When they began to pant in quick, short bursts, they decided to take a break in the shade of oak trees.
"Why don't we spar any more?" Sasuke asked in between sips of water from his canteen.
She eagerly drank from her own, equally as thirsty. Then her drinking slowed, she was hesitant to answer.
"Well…" She looked down. "It's just…"
He stared at her, expectantly.
"… you mope." She finished lamely, glancing at him to gauge his reaction.
"What?" Sasuke tilted his head, confused - he did not mope. It was beneath him.
Hinata fidgeted with her hands, old habits surfacing.
"Remember last time? When I…" she tried to search for the right word, but couldn't find it, "When I beat you?"
His expression remained neutral and he nodded.
"You sulked around the house for three days before Naruto dragged you out to train."
"I didn't…" Sasuke began, but could not continue. Did he really mope? Sure, sometimes he went through minor mood swings but he wasn't a sore loser… Was he?
"And the time before that, when it was a close draw but my shadow clone managed to distract you long enough for me to bring the kunai to your neck?" Her voice was small and she paused, as if she didn't want to reveal this information. "You didn't speak the whole walk home."
Flashbacks of the (few) moments he lost, whether in battle or in games, put a bitter taste in his mouth. He felt the ghost of indignance rise up to haunt him and was struck with the revelation that he may have been more affected by losing than he thought.
He blinked, trying to digest this.
Hinata rested a hand on his back in consolation, smoothing over sore muscles, "I hate seeing you sad…"
Her opal eyes were fixed on him. Her brows scrunched up in concern.
The worry on her face struck him with its intensity and he had another epiphany.
This woman… this woman loved him. For all of his faults, his petty tendencies, his possessiveness, his demons and past actions, she still cared for and fussed over him.
She diligently chipped the ice away from his heart and resuscitate it from the black, shriveled lump that it was. God knows what he would be doing now if she didn't come into his life, he probably would have wandered - lost and fractured after the war.
Although he was bad at losing, he was good at winning. He treasured Hinata more than any revenge or rivalry that had driven him in the past.
Fuck, he was so in love with her.
A light touch on his right arm brought a rush of chakra flowing back into the limb. He took the opportunity to cup her cheek and bring their lips together in an almost bruising kiss.
Her boyfriend's sudden affection caught her off guard, but she wrapped her arms around him and welcomed the embrace.
Slightly chapped lips moved against each other in fevered movements, it was overwhelming. Then his teeth nipped at her and she drew away to breathe.
A blush tinged her cheeks and his own were dusted with light pink. Their eyes were dilated and their dark hair mussed up. When Hinata's tongue darted out to soothe her bottom lip, it was abundantly clear that they wouldn't make it home.
Before she could voice the questions that were dancing in her eyes, he tugged her into his lap and stole another kiss. This one was slow but just as passionate, matching the lazy summer heat they were basking in.
When they pulled away, the adoration in Sasuke's gaze made her heart leap. A shy smile appeared as she asked, "Everything okay?"
"More than okay," he affirmed with a smirk.
He didn't know what god he appeased to have her in his life - it was more than he ever deserved - but he would not forsake her.
A wandering hand slipped beneath the mesh top to trace her spine and she shivered.
"Why don't I finish what I started?" He whispered, mischievous.
Since most of the oxygen had escaped her lungs, she could only press her lips to his in affirmation.