Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.
Part: 7/12
Dedication: for this chapter goes out to the wonderful renoa-heartilly, who posted some jaw-droppingly amazing art for Coffee Connections on her art tumblr (idontliveinatent). I've always loved her SasuHina art, and the fact she drew something for this fic just completely blew my mind. Thank you again, and this chapter's for you!
Special Thanks: goes out to CallMeSenseiKuchiki, aurora0914, farahb, BloodyAyame23, JustFabulous, KindMiss, Encuentrame, Wendbria, hinatafan, and wow for all your lovely reviews! Also thanks to everyone who has favorited and followed this story (and me!) - I get excited and re-inspired every time I see a new alert in my e-box!
Author's Note: A day-early update since tomorrow is going to be kinda crazy, and I don't know if I'd have time to update - and I'd rather update a day early than a day late. This chapter does kind of an angsty swing, but I can promise the cute, happy hilarity will be back before the end of the fic. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy!
*~Chapter VII~*
~History~
Making a fool of himself seemed to be the norm for Sasuke now.
Despite the fact his name resided on the accepted vistors list by the guard's desk in the lobby in Hinata's building, Sasuke still found himself sitting on one of the plush couches to wait for her, thanks to the paternal guard - a wiry man chewing a long toothpick as if it were hard candy - who offered to ring Hinata's apartment before allowing him to go up. Rather than having his surprise spoiled by his presence being announced ahead of time, which would kind of defeat his purposes, Sasuke agreed to stay down in the lobby.
Just as he wondered if he'd perhaps mistimed things and missed Hinata's departure altogether (and if the guard was secretly enjoying his barely-concealed discomforture), the lift chimed and the doors opened, depositing the woman in question in the lobby. Dressed in a sharp business suit similar to the one she'd worn when they first met, with her hair pulled up in an elegant twist at the back of her head, Hinata looked the picture of stylish sophistication.
Getting quickly to his feet, Sasuke said softly, so as not to startle her, "Hinata-san."
Hinata's head turned in his direction, and though she smiled, he saw the bemused glint in her lavender eyes. "Sasuke-san! What are you doing here?"
Tucking his hands in his pockets, Sasuke smiled. "Good morning to you, too."
"Oh, good morning." Hinata said the words in a perfunctory tone. She continued to stand there and stare at him, waiting for the answer to her question.
"I thought I'd ride the train with you and walk you to work. My job is only a few blocks from you, so it won't take long and I won't be late." Turning, Sasuke headed for the doors, expecting Hinata to follow him.
She did. "You said something about 'see you in the morning,' but I had no idea this was what you meant." Hinata smiled up at the sunny, cloudless sky as they fell into step with each other, Sasuke automatically adjusting his longer stride to match hers. "You really don't have to do this, Sasuke-san. I've been riding the train and taking myself to work quite safely for the past two years, and never yet run into a problem."
Sasuke felt his lips twitch. "Until a stranger dumped his coffee on you one morning, as I recall."
The corners of her soft peach lips quirked upwards. "Well, yes, except for that. But the gentleman in question was very nice about it, and in fact, I now count him as a friend." Anxiety drifted across her face as Hinata darted a quick glance at him, as if she wondered if he felt the same.
Friend. The word socked him in the gut, leaving him speechless for a moment. So he'd been in the right last night, then, when he stopped himself from kissing her. "Hn," he said noncommitally. He knew she was hoping he'd say he counted her as a friend, too, but he just couldn't - not when he wanted her to be so much more.
Disappointment briefly flared in Hinata's eyes, hitting him as hard as her comment had. Tightening his lips against the urge to say something he might well regret later, Sasuke followed her down the steps into the station, through the turnstiles, then onto the train, all in silence.
They made occasional comments to each other as they rode, but for the most part they stood (in Sasuke's case) and sat (in Hinata's case) quietly and watched the rest of the passengers board and depart around them. The train made an unscheduled stop once, when the power went out for a few minutes, but they were soon speeding back on their way.
Sasuke half-wished he and Hinata had been alone in a lift when the power had gone out. It had worked for his brother, after all. But, unfortunately, it seemed Itachi had much, much better luck than his sibling.
When their stop was announced at last, Sasuke and Hinata joined the other passengers congregating by the doors to exit in the downtown station. Mere moments later they reached street level again, and Hinata began walking briskly in the direction of Sarutobi Jewelers, her low heels clicking purposefully against the pavement.
"You go on, please," Hinata told Sasuke firmly. "There's no point in both of us being late, Sasuke-san. What with the power going out on the train the way it did-"
"That's all right," Sasuke interrupted smoothly, shaking his head. "I'll still walk you to work. I said I would, and I will. I'm a man of my word." He would undoubtedly be a few minutes late, but even at that, his first patient wasn't scheduled until eight-thirty. He'd still have plenty of time to get ready for it before the dog and its owner showed up.
Hinata nervously bit her lower lip. "I know a shortcut," she said at last. "It won't shave much time off our route, but hopefully it should be enough to keep us from being very late."
Sasuke wanted to say being late to work would be well-worth it just to spend some extra time with her, but he refrained yet again.
There was no point in pushing Hinata into something she clearly did not want.
It seemed Sasuke's strange mood had carried over from the previous evening. Upon seeing him in the lobby, his "I'll see you in the morning" comment from the night before made sense; at the same time, why in the world had he gone to the trouble when he clearly didn't want to keep associating with her? He was a walking study in contradictions, one driving poor Hinata crazy.
At last, unable to stand the uncomfortable silence stretching between them, Hinata cleared her throat and spoke. "How long until your brother's wedding?"
Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "Didn't I already tell you that?"
She shook her head. "You just said 'in a few weeks.'"
"Oh." Sasuke walked a few more steps silently, eyebrows scrunched as he apparently tried to remember the conversation. "So I did. Sorry about that. As for the wedding date, it's two weeks from this coming Saturday - May 17."
Hinata nodded, mentally flicking through her calendar. She wasn't particularly social, so she didn't have anything planned for that day. "Thank you."
"Hn." Sasuke avoided a biker using the sidewalk as his own personal highway. His arm brushed hers with the motion and made gooseflesh ripple across her skin. Apparently feeling her shiver, he asked, "Are you cold?"
"No." In fact, Hinata felt very, very warm. Perhaps she was running a fever? But other than feeling so warm, she felt fine.
It was probably (likely) Sasuke's presence which was having such an effect on her. And she couldn't let on like it did, because apparently he didn't even think of her as a friend, let alone anything more.
Glancing subtly at her watch, Hinata winced. "Even with the shortcut we're going to be late. I'm sorry, Sasuke-san."
"It's all right." His voice, formerly gruff, sounded much softer this time. She looked at him in surprise, but he kept his gaze focused straight ahead. "Fortunately you'll only be a couple of minutes late. My first appointment isn't until eight-thirty, so even though I'll be a little late, I'll still have plenty of time for preparations."
"Good." Hinata perked up when she saw a familiar turn coming up in just a few steps. "Ah, Sasuke-san, here we go. We're almost to my short cut." She picked up her pace, relieved. Just a quick trip through that alley, a few steps to the corner just past, turn right, and then she'd be at Sarutobi Jewelers.
A hand as strong as iron locked around her wrist and yanked her to a very unexpected and abrupt halt. "Where are you going?" The words came out of Sasuke on a growl. When she looked at him, his fierce scowl made her heart give an involuntarily little jump of fear in her chest.
"It's the short cut I was telling you about, Sasuke-san," Hinata said, confused. She made a little motion with her hand, indicating the entrance to the alley now only a handful of steps away. "It shaves a good five minutes off the trip. I take it often when I'm in danger of being late." As a matter of fact, she'd taken it the day Sasuke spilled his coffee all over her, and it had kept her from being late that day.
Late, as a matter of fact, was something she was definitely going to be today, even with the short cut, since Sasuke didn't seem interested in letting her keep on with her journey.
For that matter, he glared at her as if she'd just gravely insulted him. With his brows pulled down over his dark eyes, snapping with angry fire, a deep frown on his lips, and an iron grip on her wrist, Hinata began to wonder if she'd misjudged Sasuke completely. Was he dangerous?
For the first time, she felt unsafe in his presence. She looked around uneasily, but the sidewalk which had been bustling with traffic not two minutes before hand was suddenly eerily deserted as everyone who had been heading to work arrived at their destinations. It was still too early for customers to be arriving at the shops along the road, and all the signs in nearby windows still showed "closed."
She felt utterly and completely alone.
Lifting his free hand, which Hinata distantly noticed trembled slightly, Sasuke pointed to the entrance of the alley. "That alley," he said through gritted teeth, "is anything but safe."
Hinata blinked. "But Sasuke-san, I've gone through there a hundred times-" perhaps a slight exaggeration on her part, but that was beside the point "-and nothing has happened. I've never even seen anyone else in there. It's the perfect shortcut between the train station and the shop."
"It's not safe!" Sasuke's voice was just a few decibels away from being a roar.
Shrinking back from him as far as his grip on her wrist would allow, Hinata felt tears spring immediately to her eyes. Blinking furiously to keep them from spilling down her cheeks (she would not let him see her cry!), she shakily queried, "Sasuke-san, why are you so worked up about this? It's just an alley. Akimichi's is just on the other side, across the road, and Sarutobi Jewelers around the corner. It's perfectly safe." But are you? she nearly added.
Sasuke's other hand lifted, wrapping around her upper arm with a grip equally as strong as he had on her opposite wrist. For a moment Hinata felt sure he meant to shake her; instead, he glared straight down into her shocked face, his features twisting into a look of such grief it made her heart twist painfully in her chest.
"My parents were murdered in that alley, Hinata," he said, voice so soft and hoarse she nearly missed his words. So struck was she by the expression on his face, the force of anguish in his voice, she didn't even notice until much later that he'd dropped the honorific at the end of her name. "It is not safe-" his voice broke, but he cleared his throat and powered on, eyes drilling intently, furiously, into hers "-and I refuse to lose you to it, too!"
*~To Be Continued~*
Author's Ending Notes: An early update, since tomorrow is going to be crazy and I'd rather update a day early than a day late, and I really don't think I'd have time to post tomorrow. Sorry for the rather angsty turn this chapter took, but I can promise the cute hilarity will definitely be back before the end of the story. For those of you who cross over and also read Light and Dark, I'm not going to update this week, but the next chapter will definitely be up sometime next week. In the meanwhile, thank you all so very much for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I also hope to see you all for next week's update!
