Thanks for everyone who continues to read! Read on :)

*I do no own Naruto*

Chapter Four: Realization

"See ya later Sasuke!" Naruto called out to Sasuke as he got ready to leave. Today involved another hard but rewarding training session, leaving Naruto with a grin as always. Sasuke nodded and watched Naruto quickly sprint home again, no doubt in trouble with Sakura for something else now. Sasuke took in a deep breath as he got up from the tree he was leaning against and started walking in the opposite direction, going home himself. He looked up in the sky as he started his walk, admiring how the sky looked now that the sun was setting. The cool air of dusk started to surround him but Sasuke didn't pick up his pace; he enjoyed the cool air, anything to relieve him from the heat Kohona had been getting recently. Getting closer to his house, Sasuke thought about heading in right away but ultimately decided against it.

Sasuke spent the next hour wandering around Kohona. He passed a few people he knew along the way and nodded to them before walking on but, for the most part, people left him alone. Even though it had been a few years, some people were still not happy that Sasuke had come back to the village. While he understood why, he thought people should just mind their own business and get over themselves. Almost back to his street, Sasuke was about to round the corner when he heard the one voice he never cared to hear.

"Sasuke!" 'Damn it,' Sasuke thought to himself. 'Where did he come from?'

"How are you my friend?!" The person jumped out from a bush, revealing himself to be none other than Lee.

"How long were you in that bush?" Sasuke asked, obviously annoyed.

"A couple of hours! A ninja should always be ready for attack!" Lee shouted this, his enthusiasm for life never-failing.

Sasuke started to walk away, not wanting to engage with pleasantries with him any longer. "Sasuke wait! How is Hinata?!" Sasuke just shrugged, not bothering to stop his pace.

"I hope your marriage is well!" Lee cried out as Sasuke walked away. "May your marriage be forever youthful and may it produce youthful young ones!"

'This guy is ridiculous' Sasuke rolled his eyes to himself as he finally got to his house. He unlocked the front door and walked in.

When Sasuke came home , he expected the same thing he always got: a clean house, the aroma of a hot dinner cooking, and a wife who didn't love him. However, he opened the door and found none of the above. 'Where is she?' he asked himself in his mind. An uneasy feeling most would interpret as worry washed upon him but he quickly waved that away.

Sasuke walked down the corridor that lead to his bedroom and opened the door. He stepped foot in the room and found Hinata sitting on the bench in front of their chest of drawers, staring straight into the mirror. Sasuke looked at her and he knew she could feel his presence.

"H-hi" Hinata said softly, turning to face Sasuke. Hinata tried to hold her head up but it wavered due to everything held inside of it. Sasuke only nodded in response to her. He put his training bag down on the floor before turning around to leave, only to be stopped by the next words he heard.

"Sasuke…I-I'm sorry," the meek kunoichi said quietly. Sasuke didn't turn around, not knowing how to react. He had waited for those words for three months and now that he heard them, he didn't know what to do.

"I'm sorry. F-for the w-way I a-acted that day. The day of…Naruto's wedding." Sasuke listened, still standing in the doorway.

"I've b-been trying to make it up to you ever s-since that d-day." 'Curse this awful stuttering,' Hinata thought to herself. "B-but I-I just realized now that I…never said I'm sorry. That makes me an awful person."

Indeed, Hinata felt truly sorry. After her breakdown, she cleaned herself up and moved into the bedroom to clear her mind and think. It was something she hadn't let herself do in a while and felt that her current situation seriously called for it.

Sasuke stayed standing at the door. As always, his face was emotionless. 'So you're sorry…so what? Why should I care?'

Once again, Sasuke prepared to leave before Hinata started to speak again. "B-but you should know why I-I…did what I did that night. W-why I-I…called out Naruto's name."

The mention of the incident caused a pain to shoot through Sasuke's body but he didn't show it on his face. He slowly turned around and faced Hinata, his black eyes staring into her lavender ones. His stare sent a shiver down Hinata's spine; she didn't know whether to interpret it as one of fear or arousal.

"I haven't b-been the best wife. I-I know that. But you haven't been the best husband either." Hinata paused, wondering if Sasuke was going to say something. His stare never faltered but his mouth didn't open so she continued.

"You're cold Sasuke," Hinata said bluntly, something that truly shocked Sasuke. He didn't know his wife had it in her to be so brutally honest with people. "You'd leave me alone for days on end, making me worry about you endlessly. Then, you'd come back and not speak to me at all. I tried speaking to you about anything – the weather, training, even Sakura."

"Sakura is annoying as hell. That's the reason I-"

"But you ignored me," Hinata continued, interrupting Sasuke's inner thoughts. "You ignored me. And it hurt." Hinata, still afraid of Sasuke's glare, had gained enough confidence to lose her speech impediment, something Sasuke took note of.

"I even tried connecting with you in other ways…physical ways…and you ignored me every time."

Sasuke couldn't deny anything that was coming out of Hinata's mouth; he had ignored her and he had to admit he was distant – that was just the way he was. Even thouugh Hinata continued to talk, her mention of his denial of physical intimacy elicited a memory in his head. He tuned out Hinata's words as the memory began to play out in his mind.

"Sasuke...it's late. Come to bed." Hinata and he were sitting on their couch. She had just finished reading a novel while he was meditating quietly. "You go. I'm not tired yet." Sasuke had said simply, not bothering to open his eyes. Hinata looked at him and touched his hand. "Sasuke...please." Sasuke opened his eyes at her touch. There was a glint in Hinata's eyes that Sasuke picked up on and immediately he knew what she wanted. "Hinata, go to bed. You're tired."

Hinata didn't listen. Instead, she moved closer towards him, inching until she was right up next to him. Her face blushed and she moved herself so that she was sitting on top of Sasuke, straddling his hips. "Sasuke...I-I..." She looked at him with so much wanting. Sasuke felt the heat between them and lost his concentration. Hinata had hinted at this for weeks but Sasuke pretended to be oblivious, hoping that she would get discourage. He looked at his wife and realized that she was more determined than ever. Hinata moved her head closer to her husband's, inching closer and closer. Sasuke began to lose his composure, leaning towards Hinata as well. The bold Hinata turned him on and it was difficult to ignore that feeling. However, he managed to stop midway before their lips touched. Looking away from her, he lifted her off his body, placing her on the cushion she was on before.

"Go to bed," he said distantly. "You're tired."

He didn't look back in her direction to know she had left. His only indications were the sounds of footsteps and suppressed sniffling as she walked away sadly towards their bedroom.

"But the thought of Naruto always made me happier." Hinata's mention of Naruto made Sasuke snap back into the conversation. "He makes everyone he talks to feel important and he helps others get stronger – he's helped me get stronger. So when he decided to marry Sakura, it crushed me. A tiny part of me always thought he'd come rescue me from this loveless marriage but reality made it clear that would never happen."

"So that night, I wanted comfort. When I kissed you, I knew it was you. I knew it was you who was making me feel better. But my mind always associated Naruto with happiness so unconsciously…I said his name."

After she had finished explaining herself, a heavy silence fell in the room. Hinata was thinking about what else to say while Sasuke was just trying to take everything in. Finally, Hinata stood up from the bench and walked over to Sasuke. She didn't get too close to him, but close enough to make him turn around to face her. "Sasuke…do you want this marriage at all?"

Sasuke knew the answer to this immediately but didn't answer right away. "No," Sasuke finally uttered, his eyes on Hinata. Hinata looked down again; the words coming from Sasuke's mouth weren't surprising to her at all but it still made her hurt inside for some reason. Hinata sighed and nodded. "Right," she said softly. "Then maybe we should…not be married anymore."

Hinata's suggestion truly surprised Sasuke. His inflated ego expected her to be begging on her hands and knees to stay with her. He knew that this marriage was important to both of their families and Hinata's father would be furious at her if she messed this up.

"You mean get a divorce?" Sasuke asked, eyes still fixated on her.

She nodded, finally looking up at Sasuke once more. "Y-yes."

"Uchias don't give up on a promise." The words came out of Sasuke's mouth in a matter-of-fact tone, as if Hinata should've known this from the beginning. Sasuke finally left the room and headed towards the living room to sit on the couch. Hinata followed him and sat on the couch next to him, leaving much space between the two of them.

"Hyugas don't give up on promises either you know," Hinata started softly. "But look at us – we're not in love." The sad tone in Hinata's voice was clear but Sasuke didn't respond to it.

"People will start to wonder soon why we're never seen together in public. Or why, when we're together, we don't seem happy. Eventually people will start to ask...why we don't have children."

Sasuke mentally sighed. He knew Hinata had a point but his stubbornness and pride was still burning inside of him. "We're not getting divorced" Sasuke said in a low tone.

"If you're worried about blame, people won't blame you. They'll blame me. Everyone always blames me and you can just find ano –"

"We are NOT getting a divorce." Sasuke said this with such fierceness that it caused Hinata to gasp and jump back in her seat.

"I-I-I…" Hinata started but didn't finish. She was too afraid to say anything at this point. Tears formed in her eyes and she stood up. "I'm s-sorry Sasuke. I-I j-just thought this is what you wanted. I know you hate me." Hinata started to walk away, ashamed in herself that she had messed up once again.

"I don't hate you." Hinata paused when she heard the voice call out behind her. She turned around to look at Sasuke. "Y-you don't?" she asked so quietly that Sasuke strained to hear her.

"No."

"But you don't love me either."

"No."

"Then what are we?"

Sasuke just stared at Hinata, keeping his composure. He had wondered the same thing ever since the pair married. The fact that both shared the same thoughts made Sasuke realize that they might have something in common after all.

Sasuke looked towards the window in their living room. "Look, my mother wanted this for me. The least I can do is follow her wish." He looked towards Hinata and saw that she still had that same look in her eyes, causing him to give a disinterested one back. "You wouldn't understand."

"I-I do." Hinata inched forward from the corridor. "My father wants this for me as well. He think it's the best way I can redeem myself in the eyes of the clan." A teardrop fell from Hinata's eyes.

"Even after all this time, everyone thinks I'm a disappointment."

Sasuke hated when Hinata teared up or started crying. He never knew what to do and he hated feeling useless. "Hinata look," Sasuke started as she wiped away the stray tear. "You're not a disappointment. The fact that you married me for your family shows that you're dedicated to them."

"Y-you think so Sasuke?" Hinata asked quietly but with a more cheerful tone that before. Sasuke just nodded in response. Even though the response wasn't verbal, it made Hinata feel better.

"Thank you Sasuke." Hinata felt like hugging him to show her appreciation but she knew that wasn't appropriate. At that same moment, her stomach started to growl and she realized that it was long past dinnertime. She scurried into the kitchen with warning to start cooking quickly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in her direction, wondering why she was working so quickly.

In just 30 minutes, Hinata had managed to make Sasuke's favorite meal and set the table. When Sasuke saw the meal, he looked at Hinata who was still in the kitchen cleaning up a bit. "What's the special occasion?" he asked skeptically.

"I just wanted to say thanks for your kind words earlier. They meant a lot." A soft blush appeared on Hinata's face, which Sasuke noticed. He smirked, the closest thing to a smile, he ever did and said "No problem."

They sat down at the table together and ate in silence as usual. However, the silence today wasn't stiff or uncomfortable. Rather, the silence was relaxed and casual.

Sasuke looked up from his meal for a moment and looked at Hinata. He started to take notice of the way she ate her meal; her hands moved delicately whenever she moved some food to her mouth and no bite was too big for her to chew, clear signs that the royal training she received as a child remained with her.

Hinata looked up and caught Sasuke staring at her again, making her blush. "Yes Sasuke?" she asked, wondering why he was looking at her like that. Sasuke quickly refocused his gazed so that he didn't look so fixed on her features. "Nothing. I was just thinking."

"Hmm, about what?" she responded before taking another part of her food.

"Maybe you're right. We shouldn't really be together should we?"

Now it was Hinata's turn to give Sasuke a questioning glance. 'Just an hour and a half ago you were adamant about not divorcing. Now you want to leave?'

Sasuke picked up on Hinata's glance and explained himself. "We both did this for our families but what did we get in return? Nothing. It's only right that we're fair to each other."

Hinata thought for a minute, putting her utensils down. "So you want a divorce now?" she asked, not really knowing where he was going with his words.

"No," Sasuke said simply. "It would be too much hassle to do that. My plan is this – we continue living in the same house, just to save face, but we live independently of each other."

Hinata took in Sasuke's words and digested them for a minute before responding. "You want us to be like…r-roommates then?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I guess you could call it that." Sasuke didn't really know how to label this arrangement that he was proposing. He had thought about what Hinata said ever since she had mentioned it; even though he didn't want a divorce, creating this arrangement would give him the freedom to do what he wanted while saving face, which had been especially important to him ever since he came back to the village and couple years ago. Sasuke wanted to prove he wasn't going to betray the village again but at the same time, he didn't want to be tied down to someone he had no feelings for. So Sasuke decided to take Hinata up on at least part of her offer – it was her idea in the first place anyways.

"Okay," Hinata said quietly as she kept her eyes on him. "We should lay some ground rules then."

'Oh this I gotta hear…' Sasuke thought to himself, wondering what Hinata could come up with.

"I get the bedroom and you get the spare, we take turns cooking and cleaning, I'm not in charge of your laundry anymore and –" Hinata paused before she finished what she had to say. Sasuke gave her a look, indicating to her to go on. Hinata took a deep breath.

"And if you fall in love with a-anyone else…you have to leave."

The words that came out of Hinata's mouth were harder to say out loud than she thought. She knew there was no chance for them becoming a successful couple but she knew that everyone should be with the person they love.

"I don't want to s-stand in the way of true love. Everyone deserves that in their life."

"A-and you wouldn't have to w-worry about the blame from people," Hinata stuttered out, repeating herself from earlier on in their conversation. "T-they would blame me. But that's okay, I can take it." She tried to manage to fake a smile after the last part of her statement but Sasuke saw right through her façade.

'She seriously would put up with all the hate from the village if I left her for another woman because she believes in true love? Hinata really does think of others before herself. A bit foolish if you ask me.'

Sasuke took in her words while thinking to him, still keeping his gaze from before. He finally responded, holding out his hand towards her. She looked at it for a minute until she recognized what he wanted to do. She slowly brought her hand from her sides and brought it to meet his. "There – it's a deal" Sasuke said as they shook hands. "Right" Hinata responded.

Their hands separated and they looked around the room for a while, not knowing what to do next. Sasuke then suddenly stood up and started to clear the table. "I got it," he said, not even looking at Hinata but knowing the questioning glance she must've been giving him. Hinata watched him walk off into the kitchen while she stayed seated at the table.

'Well, I guess this is a new beginning.'

What will happen to our couple now? Well I guess you'll just have to wait and see :) Please leave reviews! I read them all and take them into consideration when writing a new chapter. P.S I made this chapter shorter cause the last one was just way too long haha. P.P.S Yes the beginning might be random but I wanted interaction with other people so I made it happen :P Until next time! ~lovelyangelxox