This is a Sasuke and Hinata story because I've been writing too many yaoi pairings (well, to me I am, anyways). I bold important parts of my Author's Notes (which you can see is a lot for this chapter, but it's the first so I have a lot to say).

I guess it kind of counts as sort of a drabble, but not really. The chapters don't flow into a connected story, but all the chapters kind of go together, if that makes any sense.

Each chapter is inspired by a cliché, a quote, or a song lyric excerpt (found at the start of each chapter) and the chapter genre will be the chapter title.

Warnings: Naruto-bashing (Uh…well don't kill me, but he's not always my favorite character.) Akatsuki and Orochimaru are not in the story (like, they were never created), so it's an AU story. Slight Sakura/Ino-bashing, I think.

Chapter 1—Drama—

Love makes time pass; time makes love pass. —Euripedes

They never thought it would happen like this.

She always thought that she would end up with Naruto. They would have two children who would be raised to follow their dreams (she would never force them like she was forced to train). Then she would end up living a quiet, comfortable life in a nice house somewhere in Konoha.

Kids, a peaceful future; that's what she had been expecting. She loved Naruto, after all.

He thought—well, he never really thought much about it. He just took it as a fact that he would settle with some strong kunoichi who could give him many children, so he could restart the Uchiha clan. That girl never crossed his mind. In fact, as annoying as Sakura was, he had been considering her. Somewhere deep in him, he sort of liked her a bit—mostly, as a friend when she wasn't fawning over him, but actually being a kunoichi. Or maybe that Ino person; she was pretty, though just a regular kunoichi.

As the saying goes, time makes love pass. And it certainly applied to her. Before, when she felt great warmth and happiness with Naruto, she now felt nothing. The happiness was there; she still considered Naruto a great friend, but she was starting to see his faults.

One could only like a person so much. And it took her another conversation over ramen while he talked about Sakura to make her realize she never had a chance. He had always been set on Sakura. And knowing him, he would never stop.

After this realization struck her, she started seeing things that made her wonder why she ever liked him.

She had always told herself that his courage and his 'never giving up' attitude were amazing. But…that was more of just admiration, not love.

And she started noticing. He never ate the ramen. He was actually gulping it down—practically inhaling it at that speed. And he ate so much! Up to thirteen bowls in one sitting, and who knew how many times he went there a day.

Also, he was so incredibly dense. Even she knew that the way she acted around him made it painfully obvious that she liked him (you know, after she realized she didn't like him all that much and looked over her actions) and yet he never showed any reaction.

His attitude completely changed in battle, and yet in normal life, he was just—in a word, obnoxious. She could be walking down the street and suddenly hear him yelling her name at the top of her lungs. She didn't want to ignore him (he had had enough of that when he was a little kid) but she didn't want to encourage him either. So she would just give a weak little wave. Which he would return by waving nearly his whole arm.

It was—to be blunt—embarrassing. Every time that happened, if the Hyuuga Elders saw, they would give her disapproving glares. As if he was too low for someone of her stature to communicate with him. She ignored him, but each glare made her wilt a bit.

She started thinking; maybe, just maybe she shouldn't be talking to him so much.

But she squashed that thought instantly. She couldn't possibly do something as cruel as that.

He was with Sakura and Ino. Possible future wives (he shuddered at that thought just slightly; he still wasn't very ready).

Itachi wasn't able to produce children. Partly because he was dating Deidara, who, despite looking girly, was definitely not a girl. (1) And partly because he just wasn't able to. He forgot why exactly; it was some medical condition as far as he remembered.

So it was all left to him. If he didn't do it there would be no Uchiha's left after Itachi and he died.

Between Sakura and Ino, he couldn't choose. Not that he liked them both a lot, he just liked them the equal amount (which was actually, pretty much nothing).

They were both extremely excited. On the way to the restaurant (he figured; half the time he would just be eating instead of having to talk to them) they were chattering excitedly. More than once he heard his name spoken. He was at a loss; didn't they find it weird that two girls were going on a date with one guy? Surely they knew he would only choose one of them.

The sat down at one of the tables in the back. He felt it was more comfortable without people being able to look at you that much. A nice restaurant; barbeque, Ino suggested it. He knew that her team came here often.

Kiba and Shino invited her to go out for lunch. She gladly agreed. They hadn't been spending that much time together, since they could take single missions. And she dearly missed little Akamaru (who really wasn't so little anymore). Of course she missed her teammates too.

They decided on barbeque. That place was the best. They sat down at a table near the front and ordered some food. Kiba started off the conversation by bragging about his missions loudly, while Shino calmly explained how things actually happened softly to her, causing her to giggle quietly.

Her hand was under the table, stroking Akamaru's fur. (He fit underneath; the table was quite large. Except for the fact that his tail stuck out, it was pretty unnoticeable.)

His eyes strayed around the room as the two girls talked to him about something he didn't understand. He just gave a 'hn' every now and then, which made them think he was listening.

Hinata.

He jerked back in surprise, hitting the table with his knee.

"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" Sakura asked, concerned. His eyes flicked to her.

"Hn? Oh, yeah. It was nothing."

"Are you sure?" Her voice was nothing like Hinata's; he had heard Hinata's voice a few times before. Sure, Sakura's voice was smooth, but Hinata's had this quality that calmed—

He mentally hit himself on the head. What was he doing, comparing those two? No way would he ever be with the Hyuuga heiress. She liked Naruto, didn't she? That caused him to smirk just slightly. Since when did something like that stop him from getting what he wanted?

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, you know? We should do this more often. It's really fun, ne?" Ino gushed.

"Hn, yeah. Why not?" he answered absently. Was that a tail sticking out from under their table? How big had that dog thing grown?

She felt like—no, she knew someone was staring at her. Her eyes slowly drifted around, trying to be as discreet as possible. Her eyes locked on black for a split second, and then she looked away. She managed to catch a hint of a smirk, though.

"Ah, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun…I'm going to use the restroom, okay? I'll be right back." They had been friends for years, so she never stuttered around them. They nodded, and she stood up.

The bathroom was located at the back, near the area where Sasuke was sitting (actually, you had to get to their table, walk straight for a few steps, then turn right down a hall, but it was still pretty near).

She didn't go in though, instead, she stopped next to their table.

"A-ano, Uchiha-san, is there something y-you needed?" She forced herself to control her stutter, and it mostly worked.

He smirked, and she felt like frowning.

Captivating. Her eyes were captivating. And he was so very surprised when she same over to talk to him.

"A-ano, Uchiha-san, is there something y-you needed?"

He wondered how to word his question without sounding rude (since when did he care about sounding rude?) He smirked to stall for a few seconds to think.

"You still like Naruto?" She blushed horribly and then frowned.

"I do not think that is any of your business," she snapped uncharacteristically, her sentence stutter-free as she turned down the long hallway towards the bathroom.

He smirked. Yes, this girl would be perfect.

During their whole exchange, neither of them noticed Sakura and Ino glaring at them.

She splashed her face with cold water, and then carefully dried off.

'Who does he think he is, asking something personal like that?' she thought in annoyance. Then she paused in surprise. She never got annoyed. What…? Why could one person cause her to act so differently?

It felt kind of exhilarating, actually. She couldn't explain it well, but something about him made her feel different. Like nothing she had ever felt before.

'Do I like him?'She thought about it. And the more she thought the more perfect he seemed.

An Uchiha—the Hyuuga elders would be supporting, unlike with Naruto.

He was good-looking—this provided by the fact that he was pursued by nearly every girl in Konoha.

He was interesting—she didn't know whether in a good way or bad; only that he interested her.

He didn't have a flaw—everything he did seemed to be perfect. In school he had had perfect grades and been at the top of the class.

Opposite of Naruto—Okay, that comparison was a bit mean. But, he didn't eat like Naruto; he ate with grace. He didn't talk like Naruto; rather, he preferred not to talk at all. His personality wasn't like Naruto; he was more arrogant than obnoxious actually. She was sure that a person could grow out of a superiority complex if someone helped them, though. Neji had, after all. He was slowly changing for the better after that one single match.

He was, statistically speaking, her perfect match.

But everything and anything 'perfect' will always have a hidden flaw—or more.

When she exited the bathroom, she found him standing right there, causing her to jump in surprise.

"Sasuke-san!" Her hand rested lightly on her chest in an attempt to calm her heart. "P-please don't do that!"

He smiled. She froze in surprise. Everyone knew he never smiled at anyone. What was he planning?

"Do I scare you?"

"What?" That question caught her by surprise. "Why would I b-be scared?" He leaned uncomfortably close to her. (Which, really, was still a few steps away, but it was too close for her to be with a stranger.)

"Well, there's that stutter. I know that when you're comfortable with people, you don't stutter."

Her pale eyes narrowed slightly.

"A-and why would you know s-something like that?"

"I'm not stalking you, if that's what you're suggesting," he said, looking away carefreely. She felt slightly hurt for some reason, and her mouth moved faster than her mind.

"What? I'm not good enough for the great Uchiha?" she said sarcastically. It caught both of them off guard. She recovered faster and walked off gracefully back to her table.

He smirked. Very interesting.

"Hinata, what took you so long?" Kiba asked.

"Oh, I just saw some people I knew," she replied quietly. They resumed their talk, this time with Hinata talking about her missions and the two of them asking questions. The rest of the day passed uneventfully—besides the pair of eyes watching her.

"Sasuke? Why did you go off with her?" Sakura asked. He shrugged.

"She's interesting." The two girls felt a sting in the heart.

'I'm the one that's going to end up with Sasuke-kun,' they thought at the same time.

Uh. Okay. They are kind of OoC, but I tried to keep it as in character as possible. And I think that someone like Hinata would end up getting annoyed at someone like Sasuke. It's the start of a shaky relationship. Uh oh!

I was trying to write more than usual, but still only came up with this much. It's a start, right?

(1) I didn't know who to pair with Itachi, so I brought in Deidara, since there was never an Akatsuki it's okay to use. Itachi is there because I might need him later on. Not sure yet.

If you have any clichés, quotes (include the person who said it), or song (just put the title and band/singer name) leave it in a review. If I get an inspiration from one of them, I'll gladly credit you.

This is updated at random. When I find something that makes me think of a short story, then I'll post. And only if the idea is longer than…say, four pages.