Note: There is a poll in my profile concerning the gender of the triplets. You want a particular gender – go vote. Enough votes just might sway me.
Excuse: I have a a life and no internet connection... thats pretty much self explanatory right there.
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Err – enjoy.
Her eyes clutched firmly closed, her heart pounding vehemently, and the grip on his hand tightened uncomfortably.
Seconds turned into minutes and the silence remained.
Hinata let out a breath and loosened her hold on Sasuke's hand.
She did it.
"Good." Sasuke muttered. Hinata smiled in return.
Hinata Hyuuga, over a month after her confession to her cousin (who was more of a brother than anything) successfully held onto her food, without the use of the pills that Tsunade had issued her.
If that wasn't a feat then she didn't know what was.
(Little did she know, that Morning sickness would become just that – in the morning.)
And with the ability to not throw up what she ate, cravings were starting to form – thankfully, she was still too wary about her disastrous gastrocolic functions and wasn't willing to push it in the food department... even if she was starving for some ice-cream with pickles and mustard...
"Hinata." Sasuke called, breaking her out of her stupor. Sasuke eyed her as she apologized. She had been doing that a lot as of late. She would stare at her empty plate with such... longing and space out for a few moments before he had to snap her out of it. "Just tell me what you were thinking." he continued exasperated.
"Well, a-ano..." She got that look again and something changed, "I'm actually craving for some ice-cream with pickles and mustard – ah, and some potato chips." She continued wistfully.
A tick formed on Sasuke's left eye lid but really he should have seen this coming. The books that Tsunade – and surprisingly Naruto – had gotten him on pregnancy had mentioned things about cravings and just how it would/could affect Hinata.
And as annoying as the request were, he had been worried about their health (they being Hin- err... his children) and how little Hinata been eating when she was technically eating for four.
"Alright. Would you like to go out and get some?" Sasuke asked as neutrally as he could.
"O-out?" Hinata seemed perturbed by his question and looked at him in askance. "N-no... I'm sure you'll find what I want just fine." Hinata said quietly.
"I... see." Sasuke stared at her for a few more seconds before standing. He didn't even want to address how weird it felt to hear that tone from Hinata.
Hinata smiled as he left. That wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.
She would tell him what she wanted more often.
"Is," Sasuke paused, tried out his question in his head before deeming it as the only option, "there a reason why you're here?" Sasuke twitched at his tact.
"T-there is." Hinata replied.
"Ah." Sasuke said, staring at her. Hinata complied to their mini-staring contest before looking back at the magazine she held in her hands.
"Would you mind enlightening me?" Sasuke asked after five minutes.
"Y-yes... I w-would m-mind."
More silence.
A cough interrupted their interaction and the two kekkai genkai user's turned to the amused weapons mistress.
"Sorry Uchiha. I wanted to talk to Hinata about something. You can take her now – she's been eating all of my food." Tenten mentioned cheerfully. They were so cute together. Tenten resisted the urge to squeal.
Looks like becoming pregnant has given little Hinata-chan a spine, Tenten thought fondly. Hinata's stomach chose that moment to make itself known. She blushed and pressed a hand to her stomach.
Sasuke's anger simmered and his face became carefully blank but Tenten didn't miss the affectionate look in his eye as he watched Hinata rub her tummy before pulling her up from her seat.
"Hn."
They were gone and Tenten's smile fell. She really hoped that the meeting with Hinata's father in two days would turn out fine.
But if the unsettling sensation she was feeling was telling her anything – it probably wouldn't.
He was completely and utterly... disgusted. But it was like a car accident – he couldn't look away!
Hinata grabbed a particularly large potato chip, put a pickle on it, and scooped some ice-cream with it. Then she poured an unhealthy amount of mustard... and proceeded to shove it all in her mouth. The process was repeated even when the chips were starting to become smaller than the pickle.
Abruptly, Hinata tensed and he unconsciously mimicked her. His eyes darted to all the possible entry points before stretching out his senses.
Sasuke's eyes focused on Hinata when she let out a whimper.
Sasuke was at her side the next instant, his Sharingan active and focused on her stomach, checking to see if there was anything wrong.
Her chakra coils were working hard as the fetuses in her stomach extracted chakra at a slow rate for their own life. He wasn't sure but that probably wasn't supposed to happen with babies. The sight was fairly disorienting.
The product...s of a Sharingan father and a Byakugan mother... I wonder-
His train of thought was broken when Hinata began to sniffle. She grabbed Sasuke's arm and looked at him with such a heart breaking face that even Sasuke felt it in his small, ice cold heart-
"T-t-t-there," Hinata sucked in a breath of air and Sasuke checked his apartment once more. There wasn't anybody and all the main entry points were closed with elaborately placed Genjutsu – he even fixed the god damn door! What could possibly be upsetting her!
"-are no more chips." Hinata finally got out. "I'm still h-hungry Sasuke-kun." she said with unshed teals pooling in her eyes.
As Sasuke ground his teeth in an effort to keep from shouting obscenities at her-
She's pregnant, she's pregnant...
...he wondered when he had gained a honorific.
He sighed for what must have been the fourteenth time. If he hadn't been left all the Uchiha's assets, he would have been worried. But as he was the last remaining Uchiha, he could only sigh and mourn for his reputation.
Because buying out vendors of their potato chips was something he would never live down.
"Hinata better appreciate what I'm doing for her." Sasuke grumbled as readied himself to leap to the roof tops. He wasn't one to grumble but at the moment it seemed appropriate.
"Bastard!" Naruto yelled with a wave.
Sasuke turned and straightened from his crouch. He wasn't in any particular hurry but remembering Hinata's heart broken face gave him the urge to return home as soon as possible.
"Dobe."
"Hey, have you heard about the-" Naruto froze and stared at the bags that Sasuke was carrying... potato chips.
"Is... there a reason why you bought out all the chips."
Naruto now understood why Choji had been freaking out a few moments prior.
"Hinata's starting to... crave things." Sasuke said, resisting the urge to shiver. The way things were starting off was giving him an ominous feeling.
"Don't you think your overdoing it?" Naruto commented.
Sasuke glared.
"Want – ah, help?" Naruto offered, scratching his left middle whisker. Naruto thought the middle, the longest of his whiskers, had character and had a habit of scratching that one specifically.
Sasuke wordlessly handed Naruto half of his bags, at the very least, making him look less ridiculous.
"So... when are you meeting Hiashi?" Naruto asked.
"Two days." Sasuke answered. Naruto let out a low whistle.
"Think your ready to face the Hyuuga Clan?"
"Hn."
"I guess thats a no." He received a glare for his interpretation. "Look, just admit your nervous. If I were you, I'd be shitting my pants." Naruto remarked.
"Idiot."
"Aw, come on... not even a little nervous?" Naruto asked with a snicker. "Any real guy would be – especially when the news is that you knocked up his daughter."
Sasuke was saved from answering when they landed on the roof of his apartment. He activated his Sharingan to momentarily remove his defenses and ignored Naruto's comment ("Somebody's a bit overprotective.") before getting in.
"Here are your damn chips." Sasuke said, grabbing one from his bags.
"T-thank you." Hinata nodded but didn't reach for the offered bag and instead stared at Naruto with an eerie contemplative look.
"...I-I haven't had I-Ichiraku ramen... i-in a w-while." Hinata mentioned. Naruto gasped.
"Not since we were there the last time?" Hinata nodded in confirmation. "Thats a crime! To old Teuchi's we must go!" Naruto yelled, grabbing Hinata and pulling her up to a standing position. Quickly nodding to himself as he thought back to his funds – he hadn't used his Ramen money for the day just a half hour before on lunch because Choji had nabbed him to complain about his missing chips.
"Y-yes, lets." Hinata agreed with determination.
And then they were gone.
Thirty seconds after they left, Sasuke regained his senses and dropped his bags on the floor before exiting his house in a much calmer fashion than the other two... all the while resisting the urge to bang his head against a wall.
"Hey – Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled as she jogged to catch up with him. Sasuke paid her no mind as he continued on his trek to the blasted establishment that Naruto held in high regard. He didn't bother with trying to decipher Sakura's sudden need to speak to him.
Sakura wasn't deterred.
"So... are you really with Hinata?" Sakura continued as she walked by his side.
No -chan? Sasuke didn't no why he had been expecting one but he didn't bother with answering Sakura's stupid question.
"Its not like you Sasuke-kun. You usually go for the more... outgoing type."
Keeping his head to the ground, Sasuke took a peek at Sakura. She looked on ahead but her brow was furrowed in confusion and... frustration.
Sasuke sneered and thought the dobe deserved so much better.
"Why Hinata when you already hav-"
"Enough." Sasuke said through clenched teeth. He was tired of this thing with Sakura. He was tired of having to avoid her simply because she had feelings for him that just wouldn't go away. He was tired of walking on eggshells with Naruto because of her. But most of all, he was tired of watching her use Naruto.
And there was also the fact that she kept insinuating that Hinata wasn't good enough for him.
If anything, she's too good for me.
At that moment... Sasuke realized how true that was.
"Don't bring Hinata into your petty jealousy." Sasuke murmured as his eyes narrowed.
I'm tired of your existence.
If only he could say it.
But he wouldn't because it wasn't true and he wasn't one to blurt things out like a child. He was just in the heat of the moment and he owed Sakura so much more. As much as he was annoyed with her, Sakura had been with him through much much worse. The least he could do was wait until she got over her stupid crush.
For the rest of the walk they remained silent and just as silently walked into Ichiraku's.
Sakura's eyes widened when she realized just who was there.
"Sasuke-kun!" Hinata called as she noticed him walk under the flap. Once she had eaten a bowl, guilt had consumed her for leaving Sasuke behind like that. He eyed her for a moment but deemed it fine to sit beside her since it seemed like she had already gotten more food into her stomach.
"I-I'm s-sorry for rushing o-off like that." Hinata apologized, her fingers unconsciously poking together.
"Are you full?"
"Y-yes?"
"Then its fine." Sasuke said with a smirk. Hinata blinked before smiling in return. Sasuke bent over to kiss her before remembering that they were in public and not in the safety of his apartment.
Hinata, realizing the same thing at just about the same time he did, squeaked and looked down in embarrassment as her face heated up. Naruto snickered at the whole interaction before glancing at the still flabbergasted Sakura. He frowned and turned to look at his ramen.
"Why are you turning a blind eye?" Sasuke had said to him.
I'm not though! Naruto thought, his frown deepening. Every time he had thought to confront Sakura about her feelings concerning Sasuke, he chickened out.
Because what if... what if she still-
"Aha!"
Naruto blinked and turned to find Ino pointing at Sasuke and Hinata.
"I told you it was true! Pay up, Shika." Ino said, cupping her hand expectantly. Shikamaru chose that moment to appear.
"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered as he took out some money and handed it over to Ino. Choji followed closely behind and hurriedly took a seat beside Naruto and ordered some pork ramen.
"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked since it seemed no one else would.
"Ah, Shikamaru didn't believe me when I said that Sasuke and Hinata were together. We've been arguing about it since we left for our mission." Ino explained. "Of course I was right."
"You aren't, I don't know, mad?" Naruto asked confused. Wasn't Ino in love with Sasuke?
"Mad?" Ino echoed, confused by the question before her face lit up in understanding. "No way! Sasuke was so a Genin phase. No offense Hinata but he so no worth it, no matter how pretty he is." she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Naruto snorted and laughed at Sasuke's oddly indignant face.
"I-its okay."
"Your not supposed to answer that." Sasuke muttered, annoyed. He wasn't really all that annoyed though. Ino had long been one of his annoying fan girls and it was a relief to know she wouldn't be chasing him anymore.
"B-but," Hinata whispered as Team 10 sat and ordered food, "Y-you are r-really pretty."
Naruto, who had an acute sense of hearing, choked on his noodles and Ino pounded him in the back yelling at him to eat at a more sedate pace before he really killed himself. Sakura had taken refuge on Sasuke's right side and observed quietly... it seemed like she was mulling over something.
Good, maybe she'll finally get over her problems, Sasuke thought slightly pleased. After a second thought, he wiped a hand over his face in exasperation. The dobe is never going to let this go.
Especially when Hinata looked so serious while she said it.
"I am not pretty." Sasuke whispered back. He couldn't have her agreeing with every girl that thought it was best to comment on his looks.
"Sasuke. Stop lying." Hinata answered. She frowned, paused for a moment before slowly pulling her hand through his hair. Sasuke found himself unable to find his voice to protest. Annoyed at his sudden inability to speak, Sasuke grabbed her wrist before he admitted he liked her hand running through his hair.
"All you need is a wig and you'd be a very pretty girl." Hinata finally said.
Naruto burst out laughing, rolling on the floor, holding his stomach. Shikamaru and Choji were laughing. Even Sakura cracked a chuckle.
Ino gasped.
"Thats so... true!" Ino yelled, clasping her hands. "We would need some conservative clothing – can't have those muscles giving you away after all – but a little make-up, the right wig, and we can-"
"I. Am. Leaving." Sasuke said standing, slightly mortified. He would not stand to be told he looked like a GIRL.
"Oh, um, s-sorry for s-suddenly l-leaving." Hinata stuttered out before quickly following after him.
"Who would of thought that. Sasuke and Hinata." Shikamaru muttered.
"I know but it sort of... fits." Ino said. "What do you think forehead?" She turned to look at Sakura only to find her seat empty.
"Whats up with her?"
"... I don't know." Naruto answered quietly.
From the forlorn look on his face, Ino was pretty sure he did.
By the time Hinata caught up with Sasuke, he was unlocking and disabling all the traps at the front door.
She was worried that she had over stepped his boundaries. Just because they had been in each other's company for the past month didn't mean she could make comments like that.
Finally getting inside, she closed the door behind her and ran into the room where Sasuke lay and... sulked.
"I-I'm s-sorry!" Hinata yelled, getting in the bed with him because for the most part, he was ignoring her. Tears pooled at the corner of her eyes from guilt.
"...Its fine." Sasuke sighed and pulled her to him. He didn't want her crying after all... tears were annoying, especially Hinata's for some reason.
"B-but...!" Hinata wasn't sure why she was protesting. Maybe if she...?
Hinata looked up at Sasuke through her lashes and noticed how he was watching her and instead of feeling embarrassed, she stared right back.
They did that sometimes. Stare at each other. Hinata didn't know why maybe it was a quirk of theirs but its something they did and Hinata wasn't about to make an attempt to change anything...
Maybe because it always led to them kissing.
Hinata loved kissing Sasuke, a fact that made her flush. But Sasuke's kisses were always so passionate regardless of the emotion fueling them– if any. But maybe that was why she was enjoying them so much... lately they were fueled by feelings no matter they're sexual underlining.
But she enjoyed the chaste kisses as well simply because Sasuke seemed baffled by them every time he gave her one.
So, without breaking eye contact, Hinata lowered her face and kissed him briefly.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow as she pulled away. Hinata wasn't usually so forward.
"You aren't nervous?" Sasuke felt compelled to ask considering the meeting with the Hyuuga's was in two days time.
"Y-yes." Hinata answered, already knowing what he was referring to.
"Then why are you trying to seduce me." He mentioned blandly. Hinata's face was less than an inch away and he felt his eyelids lower.
"I-I'm n-not." Although she did not pull away (because it wasn't exactly a lie after all) Hinata did blush a few shades of red.
She was aware of Sasuke's absence once he thought she was asleep but it wasn't her place to question him. He was doing something that he thought she didn't need to know and so she wasn't going to worry about what he did.
But when they had sex, she could tell how reluctant he was to leave her and that made her feel so much better.
"Too bad."
Maybe... Sasuke wouldn't leave tonight.
Along with my financial problems, (which really became apparent on my 17th birthday in April) I was forced into hiatus with all my stories and was forbidden to update anything. They of course forgot that I have an iPod with a rather convenient note thingy and though a bit frustrating to edit it does its job. So while I didn't exactly finish this, (hence the even longer wait) I was able to start the next chapter.
Heads up – people may or may not actually like what happens in the next chapter and if you don't well... I don't know what to say.
And once again go check my profile for the poll and if you want to know the progress of this story check that out there as well.
P.S.
Is is just me or are these chapters getting longer?