Rumors with Love

Another chapter for my delightful readers… Did someone mention.. tribute? I also want to apologize but this blasted site didn't allow me to respond to my reviews. So hereby, a great thank you for all the lovely reviews!

Rumor by: mimichan08, Lone Silver Angel, ShadowOfAShinobi, Adelaide 'Adell' Peirce, ilovem0808, Yamazaki Miyu NaruHina, keke1010, harley944, math music reading, Birdy-chan and majorfangirl.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't bitch.


Italian Tomato Sauce

Rumor has it that Hinata Hyuuga doesn't like to share.

It was a delightful little restaurant in the better part of town, Sasuke supposed, but the only valid reason why he was even bothering to come dine here in the first place was because of his –slightly frightening- unhealthy obsession for tomato-based recipes.

Crunch, crunch, crunch

Oh and the fact that he was trying to arrange a business deal was also very important. His companion was a valuable representative of the Yamunaki corporation and he really couldn't let this opportunity slip through his fingers.

His company was the intelligent, albeit a bit shy, Hinata Hyuuga, who was dressed stunningly for the occasion in her black sequined dress and her suede matching pumps. Her boyish short haircut was actually quite suitable for her outfit and he didn't dislike the two longer strands from her bangs hanging in the crane of her neck.

His ebony eyes widened slightly when she asked, politely, for another appetizer and excused herself for her inappropriate behavior by saying she hadn't had a decent bite all day. Sweetly, the ivory-eyed girl placed a small piece of buttered bread into her mouth and chewed it softly.

"So," he leaned with his elbow on top of the wooden table and made a bridge with his fingers, "What do you think about an alliance between our companies? I'm sure this will greatly benefit our profit."

Swallowing, Hinata nodded and pushed the tip of her white napkin against her lips. "Of course, the problem is the inevitable loss of staff."

"I'm sure," the raven-headed man took a sip from his excellent red Italian wine, "We can keep those to an absolute minimum."

The waiter, an Italian stereo-typed tanned man in a typical suit, came to their table and asked them to choose their meal for this evening, he of course recommended the ravioli, but Sasuke took the initiative and ordered spaghetti bolognaise for both of them. Scribbling it down elegantly, the waiter walked over to the white swaying door with the 'kitchen' printed on top of it in dark bold letters.

"I certainly hope so. We do not want to lose our philanthropically image in front of the press." Her eyes longed for another piece of bread and Sasuke pretended not to notice by continuing the conversation.

"We'll try to re-school our employees for better purposes." He wiped a strand of his charcoal-colored hair out of his line of sight.

"Naturally." Her hand reached for another loaf of bread but the waiter suddenly reappeared with an enormous plate.

"I didn't know they served food in this large quantities…" Sasuke muttered while eying the large plate of spaghetti, accompanied with a bowl of shredded cheese.

"You asked for the spaghetti bolognaise, no?" His Italian accent flickered throughout his sentence.

"Of course, but I.. Oh lord, you mean you want us to share?" Hinata's cheeks turned a vague pink and she looked down at the tablecloth.

"You ordered it, didn't you? The spaghetti bolognaise for two." Sasuke was fighting the urge to complain, but deciding his temper would give away any opportune consequences, he nodded, although severely disdain.

"We'll share.. If that's alright with you, Uchiha-san." Her voice was strained with nervousness and obliged by her request, Sasuke gave a gruff sound that resembled a yes.

Uncomfortable by their current position, the indigo-haired woman idly stuck her fork into the mass of pasta and started to wind it around her fork, the tomato sauce shimmering on the silverware. He followed her example and started to chew bits of spaghetti, savoring the taste of tomatoes. If he recalled correctly, the sauce at the Italian restaurant on the other side of town was a little bit spicier.

"It's fairly good, huh?" She smiled when he swallowed and nodded with specs of tomato sauce all over his chin.

"Exquisite." Sasuke added and shoved a meatball into his mouth.

A choir of violins started to play in the background and the obnoxious waiter started to dim the lights, to create a romantic effect for all the couples in the room. The ebony-eyed man glanced at his companion, who blushed sweetly at the atmosphere but recommenced eating. He faintly wondered how she managed to stuff that much food into her stomach. She must be famished. Then again, Sasuke pondered, there is a lot of stress on women keeping their figure.

Chit-chat about unimportant and totally not business-related subjects came across and he was close to actually enjoying this woman's company. Hinata smiled at his point of view on the economical crisis and even laughed about his Wall street anecdotes. She didn't excuse herself once to go to the bathroom to 'powder' her nose and it was a welcomed relief from all those other girls Sasuke had ever taken onto a date.

They nearly finished the gigantic amount of pasta and there was only one strand of spaghetti inside the plate. His ebony eyes glanced at her while she was staring hungrily at the piece. Her fork picked at it and she started to twist it around the silverware. Sasuke however, didn't want to let her enjoy the last bit of tomato-splattered pasta and also started to whirl the spaghetti around his fork.

"Against common beliefs, I don't share my food that easily, Uchiha-san." He laughed at her remark and brought the pasta to his mouth.

"Funny, neither do I." Hinata smiled sweetly and started to suck on the spaghetti.

At some point during all this, they both stood up and made their way towards each other mouths. She, blushing furiously, refused to give the last piece up and gained a small victory. Soon their lips met each other and Sasuke bit the spaghetti into two, letting her enjoy this well-earned triumph. His tongue cleared her lips of tomato sauce and he nonchalantly seated himself back upon the chair.

"So…" He stated matter of fact, Hinata just glanced at him with mild curiosity, trying to cool down her flustered cheeks.

"What do you want to order for dessert?"


Now tell me, isn't this the best way to negotiate business?

Want to spice things up with the next flavor? Take a guess.

1. Pepper

2. Sugar

3. Salt