Sasuke looked up at the door, surprised to see Hinata standing there expectantly. Not to mention what he was doing, she had caught him at an inconvenient time.

He continued to hold up his black fitted shirt that exposed his stomach and abdomen, standing in the hallway in front of the mirror. Naturally, his well-chiselled body was in full view, a fading scar stooping just before his left side. Hinata turned her head in slow motion, her ears firing red under her neat hairdo.

"Hey."

She didn't say a word. Clearly, she couldn't. She gulped and looked down, her phone vibrating loudly.

As if this wasn't awkward enough.

She picked it up with her back turned to him, and he let the hem of his shirt go, totally mesmerised by the shining obi on her beautiful flowing hair that caught the breeze when she flung the door open mere seconds ago. He examined her floral skirt, breezy and old-fashioned, but she pulled it off and managed to look even cuter. He couldn't help but let out a low whistle; she looked good.

He would've loved to see her at the dance, but he knew he couldn't. She was probably furious he had let her sister and teammates down, since she doesn't 'date her friends', and had stormed in on their behalf.

"Kakashi sent me here." She explained as she hung up the phone.

Or that dummy sent her here. She didn't come because she wanted to either way.

"Are you the nurse he was on about?" He raised an eyebrow, grimacing at their awkwardness. It should've been different. He should've been happy to see her. Cleary, he was not.

She looked at him like he had said something completely stupid. His stomach twisted into a tight knot, and before he realised it, he felt he was…blushing? Okay, now his emotions were toying with him.

"I'm not available for baby-sitting. M-my sister is kinda selfish." She didn't mock, instead she was lightly teasing him. Hinata? Teasing Sasuke? That didn't seem right.

"That's too bad. But you managed to squeeze in a bit of time for me today to somehow redeemed yourself? Ha! Your efforts won't go unnoticed."

"Sasuke." She said, hurt filled in her voice, in her eyes, in how she stood to one side. "What happened after I l-left yesterday?"

Her trembling voice struck a chord inside him, and felt that he should hug her and tell her it's okay. But he was Sasuke and Sasuke doesn't know how to show affection so he shrugged, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Nothing much; just had a near-death experience and was tortured at A&E. I mean, imagine if the last words I heard were 'Fuck you'?"

She flinched like he had punched her gut. Her eyes glistened with sudden tear she'd been holding back. He couldn't bring his thoughts to stop. He continued, inwardly hating himself for it.

"And to think you were worth my time…" He tutted, now his back was turned to her.

"Stop, Sasuke. That's not why I'm here."

"You don't care if I'm dying. But then again, no one does."

A strangled sob broke from her chest, her hands curled into fists, begging him to stop.

"I'm sorry." Her voice broke. He could tell this was torture to her, when he barely said anything. He looked at the wreck behind him, his eyes searching for hers. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I took it out on you, I'm sorry you collapsed last night, I'm sorry I'm here right now, I'm sorry for ever stepping into your life and ruining everything. I'm sorry- I know you're sick of dealing with me. I know you want to hate me." She stepped forward and sucked in sharply, looking him straight in the eye.

"B-But if you'd died with my back turned to you, I swear I'll never forgive myself."

Those words hit him hard, like ten different wounds had been re-opened. Shell-shocked, confused and stunned, he gaped at her. No one had ever said anything like that to him. No one had ever said that to him and meant it with every ounce of their being.

She hiccupped, not quite done. "A-and -"

Sasuke placed a hand of her lip, silencing her straight away. "Shhh. You don't need to prove yourself." She glanced up, her eyes wide with tinkering hope mixed with slight relief.

Would you feel happy if you were around someone who appreciated you?

No, he thought. Happy wasn't the word for it. It was more of a heavy dose of satisfaction, knowing that you have some sort of acceptance from someone.

For a minute, they just stared at each other. Both wanted to say more, but they knew senseless talking won't exactly weaken the tension in the air. Sexual tension? They didn't know.

"Mmm… Sasuke?" Hinata murmured, his finger still tingling against her incredibly soft lips. He jerked his hand back and let it dangle in front of her face, his jaw tensing slightly.

"Yeah?" He hesitated and straightened his broad shoulders. He felt a new-found confidence, a wave of comfort in the words she said.

I swear I'll never forgive myself. I swear I'll never forgive myself.

"Tsk. Only you can make me feel like I owe you something."

She shook her head reassuringly. "No one's perfect. Sadly, not even you." She allowed herself to giggle. Sasuke relaxed a little. "And you don't owe me anything. I feel like I should apologise a million times for what I did. I want to start over…" She whispered the last line as faint as a feather, and Sasuke leaned in to catch it.

She couldn't help it. Seeing him at such a close proximity was something else, something breathtakingly new. It wasn't shocking, and she didn't feel flushed and unsettled. She felt like an examiner, her all-seeing eyes nearly missing the tiny details on his face. He had gleaming white teeth that poked out of his rare smiles, almost transforming his face into a playful guy. The even eyebrows and long eyelashes game him a feminine touch. The glistening in his eyes were the eyes of a child stuck in time. She'd recognise those eyes anywhere.

She wanted to cup his cheek and stare into those eyes forever, finding her own tranquillity in his voice, melting into his frame, whispering sweet things that he needed to hear. She needed him so badly. She wanted to understand him and give him the same comfort he was somehow radiating on to her.

"Come." She grabbed his sleeve and walked past him, manoeuvring towards his brown leather couch and pulling him down on the seat beside her. Sasuke silently obeyed and watched as she pulled a hair tie from her creamy arm and slipped off her obi, tightening it into a high pony tail. She looked, admittedly amazing.

"You look better with your hair up." He said. Because she did.

She smiled, her eyes shining at the simple compliment, turning towards him with her legs crossed, like they were old buddies having a catch-up. "You have to p-promise you're not going to laugh," Sasuke nodded.

"I'm going to tell you something that I haven't told anyone, and then I'll sing you happy birthday."

Sasuke closed his eyes for a second, trying to process this. "What?"

"Just… listen. And try not to interrupt." She looked unsure for a second, then smoothed out her skirt and smiled.

"Sure, whatever." He said. Just hurry it up so I can stop staring at you.

"You know when Iruka Sensei said I was meant to be in your squad?" She paused to take a shaky breath "They had asked for my father's permission then and I remember how he looked at me in such an unexplainable way. I was only 10, my kid sister 5. She was c-clearly better than me, because I was a slow learner. And do you know what he said? 'She'll never be able to cope. She's fragile, and will only get in the way'. This wasn't anything new, but what he said after had me broken for the past seven years. He said, 'She was always a heavy burden to carry, especially since she won't get over the fact her mother's dead.'"

Sasuke's eyes widened, his face immediately darkening. He knew that Hiashi had no sincere love for his daughters, but this was just unacceptable- even by his terms.

"Hinata…"

"Wait." She pressed between pursed lips. "That first day I taught in the Academy I couldn't stop thinking about it. How I heard every single word because I decided to sneak around my father's room and would sit comfortably around my mum's small shrine, unaware that ten minutes after I'd be a crying a river. It was so unfair how he hadn't even given me a chance. So, I confronted him. A week ago. I felt scared. So scared. No one knew about it so I had a sense of privacy, but most of all I felt I needed someone to be there and keep pushing me. When I found him, I stopped and stared and froze like a complete idiot. My father was standing in front of her grave, crying, yes crying so much, I felt like my own thoughts began stabbing me through the back. I was planning to scream at him, to demand why I had been treated so differently, to ask he if appreciated me, but I saw it all. He was hurting so much more than I was. He'd lost his wife. His best friend. The only person who actually saw him as a person. To ensure that he's never feel like that, he'd neglected his feelings and cut off his emotions. And you know what? That night I thought of you. I cried at how wrong I've been, and how maybe I could start over and try to be there for you. That's what I did last night. I came to support you, and say that you don't have to do this alone."

Her shoulders were shaking, and her head was hung low. Sasuke watched her intensely, repeating what she had said in his mind. I swear I'll never forgive myself. He was already holding her, and she didn't resist, just collapsing into him with broken down sobs escaping her lips, single tears sliding down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry…"

"Stop apologising."

"I didn't… w-want-"

"Shhh… it's okay." Everything was not okay. He felt as though he was going to explode into a fit. But he didn't. He held her warm body close, breathing in her lavender scent just as he did that night.

Oh yeah… I better tell her about that.

He saw she was unsure whether this was okay, and he held her closer on that thought alone.

"Don't look at me like that." He murmured, his lips brushing her temple. "It's not the first time you got this close to me."

She tilted her head questionably and made a face. She narrowed her eyes and pulled back, her hands planted on his shoulders. "When?" She demanded/asked cautiously/unknowably turned Sasuke on.

"Coincidentally- the first day of your job. When we had that heated conversation on how much life sucks." There was a hint of a smile in his words, and Hinata pressed on for details. "You were clinging on to me for dear life." His smile grew bigger.

"D-don't lie…" She bit her lip nervously, her fingers slowly slipping off his shoulders.

"You started mumbling in your sleep about how much you wanted to screw me."

Hinata gasped and slapped his shoulder. "Sasuke! That's so vile and ew why on earth would I want to do that, like I'm only 17 I don't need to be the second one to get pregnant and-"

"Hinata."

"-then I'll have to go and get married and my family will never see me again and-"

"Hinata!"

"Then I'll have a depressing life with one illegitimate kid and an 50-year-old husband-"

"HINATA!"

She stopped short and blinked at the shout. Sasuke breathed deeply across from her, rubbing his temples in agitation.

"I was just messing with you." He sighed. If he knew she was going to start spurting nonsense like her sister than he would've kept his mouth sooner.

"Oh." She blushed, running a hand through her fringe. "Sorry."

"Stop apologising."

She winced and thought about apologising again, but calmly set back a practiced smile on her face.

"Okay…" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, humming her usual tune. Sasuke smirked and braced himself, leaning back to get a good look at her face.

"Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday to You,

Happy Birthday, Dear Uchiha Sasuke-kun,

Happy Birthday…. Toooo… Youuuuu!"

She opened her eyes shyly, waiting to see his reaction. To her horror, he was filming her the whole time, a devilish grin plastered all over his face. All colour drained from her face and her mouth hung open. Without warning, she pounced on him, struggling to get the phone, whining like a baby.

"SASUKE-KUN! Stop, p-please that's so unfair!" She cried, not caring for her chivalrous behaviour and his exaggerated shocked expression.

"Chill, man. You look so good in it, I promise." He snorted, enjoying this too much for her liking. God, he was soooooo evil.

"P-please?" Hinata bit her lip. "Okay, you win. Games over. Just delete it?" She compromised, like she would do with a five-year-old. The full-grown adult stood up straight, raising his eyebrows.

"You mean it? I'll win?" He opened his mouth disbelievingly. "No, I think I'll keep this. It's so much more worth it."

Hinata wanted to strangle him so bad but she had to control her temper. She could almost hear her mother frowning down at her. Confidence, Hinata- she'd say.

She stood face-to-face (well, more like face-to-broad-shoulders) with him and crossed her arms, showing him she could be just as imitating. She shifted her weight on her hip, her lips forming a pout and one eyebrow raised.

I wanna kiss you so bad. Sasuke's eyes dropped to her adorable pout and let his mind wander.

I wanna punch this prick so bad. Hinata watched his mysterious orbs wander shamelessly and she rolled her eyes at him. She didn't want to know what was running through his thick skull. Especially now that he had such footage of her.

Just then, a tanned woman who looked no older than in her late twenties strolled in, stopping suddenly to stare at them, gasp and then retreat back in embarrassment. Sasuke and Hinata blushed furiously, spinning away from each other, heads snapped towards the opposite side.

"Oh my gosh I didn't mean to disturb anything!" She shrieked, hiding in the hallway. A hearty chuckle shook the walls. A man who had discarded his ANBU Black Op mask walked through into the living room, hushing the blushing woman in after him. Sasuke and Hinata muttered something about "It's not what it looks like…" and "No, we're sorry" to the man and woman who had just invited themselves in.

"We came here on the orders of Lord Kakashi. Excuse us for our interruption, but we assumed you'd been expecting us."

Hinata had never felt so out of place in her life. She needed to bolt, and quick. No way was she allowing the intruders to assume they were doing something mushy or private before they walked in.

"It seems like Kakashi doesn't appreciate me having a little personal space." He directed it more to his companion than the trespassers, his usual, bored mask plastered back on his face. Of course, the small woman flushed and glanced anxiously at the man, like they'd just killed the moment. Well, according to Sasuke, they kind of had.

"Allow me to introduce myself." The brown-haired guy smiled a charming smile. "I'm Aki, and this is my wife, Sarah. I'm assigned to do a sealing jutsu when your treatment is complete. She's a qualified medic and knows all about your infection."

Hinata winced and Sasuke sensed it. She hadn't been informed about the life-threatening disease they though that he caught from elsewhere, and judging by her pained reaction, she doesn't like it one bit.

"Nice to meet you both." Sarah beamed, stepping forward to shake Sasuke's hand and give Hinata a quick hug.

"You already know my name. This is Hinata, my-soon-to-be-"

Hinata nudged his sharply in the side, careful not to harm his infected area, glaring at him at the corner of her eyes.

Don't you dare finish off that sentence.

Sasuke smirked and pretended to double over in pain, so he could whisper in her ear.

"Play along and I'll see about that video."

Sarah and Aki didn't notice a thing, cooing inwardly at the 'couple'. Hinata flushed a brilliant red, fanning her face as the jerk finished off his sentence.

"-Wife. As you can see she's a bit flushed, but the shyness will go away once you get to know her."

I'm going to kill that man! Hinata could sense the smirk in his stupid statement, and could hear the evil laugh cackling within him. She felt sick. She felt betrayed.

"Okay," Aki clapped a hand behind Sasuke. "I'm new to this Village, so if you don't mind showing me the best bits, then that'll be appreciated."

Sasuke looked pissed, obviously he wasn't used to being a tour guide, and saw the victory smile blooming on Hinata's face. God, was she piss-taking.

"Whatever." He muttered, grabbing his jacket and sword, brushing past the Hyuuga and her new best friend.

"Maybe Sarah can cook us something in the meanwhile?" The Black Op winked at the two women, pulling on his own jacket and ruffling his blonde hair. The two ravishing men looked more like two models getting ready for a photoshoot. Hinata never knew the day she'll be cooking for her husband and friend would come so soon.

Fake Husband, she reminded herself. No way was she going to play along. As if Sasuke knew she was planning, he quickly pulled her aside into the kitchen.

"You like cooking, don't you?" He grinned, showing off his award-winning teeth again. If Hinata wasn't so busy glaring at him her heart would've fluttered.

"Women belong in the kitchen? How stereotypical. And I'm telling Sarah the truth, w-whether you like it or not."

"Whatever. I thought friends are supposed to do favours." Sasuke sighed. "Too bad, I was gonna return it when these two left us alone." He took a menacing step forward, his head tilting slightly.

Hinata didn't like where his tone was going, and if they were alone, she would've shoved him backwards.

"How are you blackmailing me twice in one day?" Her voice wavered, stuck between shouting and whispering.

"Because," He leaned in, "I wouldn't ask anyone else to do this for me. Consider yourself the first girl I've ever had a second thought on."

She scoffed. The first part had her a little nervous, like he was going curl a loose strand of hair behind her ear and swoop down into a movie-scene kiss. The second part made him sound like a complete and utter jerk.

"I'm flattered. You owe me something after this, and I'll hold it against you for a long time, Uchiha."

"Sure thing, make those sexy stir fries and I'll think about it." He paused dramatically. "Hyuuga."

And with that, he led Aki through the front door and shut it loudly. With them gone and out of the way, Hinata let out a deep sigh, almost shrieking when Sarah nudged her arm.

"If I wasn't married I'll tell you how jealous I am. He's gorgeous!" She scrunched her nose giddily and wandered to her bag, a wide smile on her face. Honestly, Hinata found her happiness weird at first. Now, it's friendly and welcoming.

"He's not unpleasant to look at, that's for sure. But I guess I don't even n-notice sometimes. I'm more caught up in his stoic manner." She heard herself saying, like her and Sarah were old friends.

"Well, it's the personality- isn't it? I'd say a person that only has his good looks is still a spoilt child in the inside, just waiting to grow up."

Hinata nodded. She felt this woman might've understood her. "Exactly. People that are considerate and thoughtful are seen as more mature." She stopped and wondered. Maybe that's how people see her?

"How long are you engaged, Hinata-chan?" Sarah asked, checking the contents of a scroll, sealed officially by the Hokage.

Hinata had to think quick. "uh… A-ano, since two nights ago…" She blushed.

Sarah almost dropped the scroll, staring at her with twinkly eyes. "Oh my God, congratulations!" She hugged her tightly, moving left and right like a happy child. Hinata bit her lip and glanced to the side, scratching her cheek with a guilty conscious.

"Thank you. W-we haven't told anyone yet." Which was true. Because their stupid engagement was fake.

"I'm the first one to hear about the cutest couple in Konoha? I'm so honoured, Hinata-chan!"

She gushed and gushed, constantly jumping up and down in excitement. Hinata felt her lips smile and her eyes twitch with happy tears. Her heart was swelling with unbelievable joy she had never experienced before. Is this how Tenten felt when she got engaged? Was this how she expected Hinata to react?

She brushed the thought aside, too happy to fake it, and danced around the kitchen with her new friend.

"When Aki proposed to me, I kinda had a feeling he was going to do the traditional boring way. But he surprised me! He wrote 13 letters everyday before the Rin festival, all sweet poems about nature and the beauty of it. Then on the day of Rin, the last letter began with 'E?' and that's it. No poem, just 'E?'. So, I went to him and demanded for an explanation, feeling deflated and let down. He smiled and told me to show him all the letters, then circled the first letter of each poem. To my surprise, I started to figure it out and gasped when it spelt out 'WILL YOU MARRY ME?'."

Sarah stared at the ceiling in remembrance, clutching the scroll like it was a love letter. She glanced to Hinata and waited for her story. Hinata unknowingly bit her lip when she figured out it was her turn, and moaned because she couldn't possibly beat that over-the-top-romantic-gesture.

But if she was gonna try and at least be somewhat honest, then she'll say it like she meant it.

"When Sasuke proposed to me, I almost thought of saying 'No' as a reflex. Sasuke's simple and doesn't like to over-complicate, and although I appreciate that, I'm a girl. I can't help but feel a little special." She bit her lip, giggling at the shocked Sarah, who gestured for her to carry on.

"So when he said it, yes, SAID IT- he didn't even ask- I was too stunned to say anything. So I just pouted and turned my head. 'What's wrong?' He said, as if everything was alright before but I somehow was ruining it. 'Say it again and I'll think about it.' I demanded, and he almost chocked on air."

Sarah tugged my arm, laughing disbelievingly. "No. Frickin'. Way! You asked him to propose again?"

"I demanded him to. And eventually, he did." Hinata smirked, almost convincing herself that this happened.

"How did he say it compared to the first time?" She spluttered, clenching her stomach. Hinata allowed herself to laugh and then straightened up, putting on the best frown she could muster.

"Try No.1: Marry me."

Sarah was wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Take 2: Okay, Alright. Can you just please marry me?"

Both girls rolled back laughing, their cheeks hurting and their abdomens aching.