Straw Saga 21
Road Head
Sasuke looked over fondly at his adorable girlfriend, sitting in the front seat of his car. She was nibbling the stale peanut butter cookie that had been left abandoned in his cup holder. Sasuke, not being one for crumbs or unnecessary clutter but unable to throw her cookie away on his way to and from work on Monday, especially after his thwarted attempt at trying to trying to get her back during her lunch break.
Though, thankful that it had worked out. Especially with how much sex involved with making up, which he had honestly not seen coming. Even with his normal arrogant personality and just sheer power of will to make Hinata understand and forgive him, it had gone much, much better than anticipated.
He let his right arm drape over her shoulders, his hand rest at the base of her neck, letting his fingers dragging up through her hair, massaging her scalp. Her hair was up in a messy bun and her bangs were clipped back, making her ears more accentuated. They weren't big or ridiculous, almost like a cuddly little panda. Sasuke wasn't usually the type of man to admit such pathetic things.
Like how utterly adorable his girlfriend was.
His girlfriend.
Possessive, certainly. Not that he cared. There wasn't anything in between them anymore. Sakura wasn't even a disappearing spec is his rear view. She was basically nonexistent, where him and Hinata's relationship was concerned.
Hinata didn't break up with him and he got to fuck and cuddle her to his heart's content.
Speaking of fucking…
"Hinata,"
She glanced over, digging his fingers deeper into her bun. She had stopped nibbling the cookie in favor of her fingernails. He knew she was worried about her little sister, but -
"Do we need to get Plan B? Or something."
It was an awkward question. Sasuke had never really given much thought to children. His brother's sons were annoying as hell and had few redeeming qualities, besides Izuna. There wasn't a girl he'd imagined himself copulating with, definitely not Sakura. Not even when their relationship wasn't tenuous. No, children would take up his time and his money, and ruin his apartment.
He had Naruto enough for that.
But, now with Hinata, he still didn't feel ready for kids. Just, not in the same way he knew he didn't want to have kids with Sakura (or anyone else). Yes, he knew he wanted to be with Hinata. He loved her, she was the one. Still, their relationship was young. SHE was young. Barely out of college. He had no idea what her thoughts on children, or marriage or any of those things were.
It felt too early to discuss as well. Besides what he had said to Sakura, about time not being a factor, when reality settled in, it obviously was. It didn't factor into his certainty about her. There was no questioning that. But, in real life, especially in the city, the short amount of time they'd known each other didn't warrant discussions of marriage.
They barely allowed for his socially acceptable "I love you" confession. Not that telling her when he had was all that romantic, or the way he had intended. But there was enough time for him to comfortably admit that without coming off as a crazy stalker.
The time spans didn't really allot him asking her how she felt about marrying him sometime in their lifespans.
Or talks about kids.
Maybe kids with her gorgeous, exotic eyes. Hair so dark it sometimes shown blue in the street lights. Maybe they'd have adorable panda ears.
"Oh." She squeaked next to him. "Um, no. That's okay."
Not really the answer he was expecting. His stomach fluttered uncomfortably. She could've been a lot more excited for children than he thought.
Her cheeks reddened as she glanced over at him, catching what must have been a confused expression on his face.
"I'm on birth control." She said.
"Since when?" He shifted his jaw back, looking out at the street but not really seeing it.
Her cheeks darkened even more as she bit her lip. Sasuke always loved when she was fresh faced. When her blushes were unimpeded.
She shrugged. "Since, ever? I guess."
Sasuke, with vague annoyance, recalled their first time with an awkward condom retrieval and a time in her bedroom that without any protection that regulated him to just oral. Not that he minded. But why hadn't she even mentioned it?
"That's, convenient." He muttered more to himself.
And it was.
Fucking her raw was amazing. Knowing that he could've been doing it for weeks now was only a mild blip on his radar. He drummed his free hand on the steering wheel.
Oh, the possibilities.
"I'm sorry. I just thought it was like a paranoid lawyer thing."
Sasuke side eyed her, trying not to smirk. "Paranoid lawyer thing." He echoed.
Her face was in flames.
He guessed that his previous need for condoms with other women was in fact a 'paranoid lawyer thing', but he didn't feel that way for Hinata. If he was going to have kids, which he still wasn't sure about, Hinata was a good person to have them with. She was sweet, and nice, and actually knew how to take care of kids. And, he loved her, so there was that.
Not that he wanted kids right now.
Or ever.
But if he did, definitely with Hinata.
He shook his head out, feeling beyond stupid. Even alone in his thoughts. He clenched his jaw and the steering wheel, trying to focus on something less pathetic.
The conversation had done a sufficient job in distracting Hinata, at least. She had been notably upset since her step-mother called, trying to hide it underneath fidgeting and nail biting. She was getting worse and worse, though the closer they got. Twisting her fingers, biting her lips.
By the time Sasuke had pulled into the closest parking garage adjacent to the hospital that Hinata had directed him to, he decided that physically interfering with Hinata's anxious fidgeting, helping to calm her and himself in one foul swoop of his arm, he took his Hinata around the shoulder and nestled her against his body.
They made a mismatched pair, Sasuke in a rumpled suit from the day prior and Hinata in a sweatshirt and messy bun. Not that he had ever minded what she dressed like, women's fashion was beyond trivial to him. He thought she was pretty cute anyways.
It took Sasuke longer than expected to notice that it was Sakura's hospital. Not that it's name was 'Sakura's hospital' but it was the one she worked at. He hadn't seen, nor spoken to Sakura since he told her very specifically that he, under no circumstances (lest Ino drag them into a group chat) that he did not want to see or speak to her. Ever.
Or at least a long while.
Long enough for her to get that he was dating Hinata through her thick five-head.
But being in her hospital, left an uncomfortable feeling churning in his gut. His arms tightened around Hinata, in a pathetically insecure attempt to ground her to him. To feel her against his chest. Hinata, who didn't have Sakura or possibly him at all, was practically dragging Sasuke down the hall as they neared the directed room number.
They had been directed to more of a long term ward, which he could tell had put Hinata even more on edge.
She was counting the room numbers, muttering along, trying to remember the one her step-mother had texted, when said step-mother popped out of a room down the hall.
Hinata startled momentarily, and then took off like a pitbull, bred specifically for hauling large objects, pulling Sasuke down the hall.
Sasuke let go when Hinata's blonde step-mother greeted her with a warm hug.
"Hinata," Natsu cooed, pressing Hinata's cheeks together. "I told you, you didn't need to rush."
Natsu stepped back, appraising Hinata's outfit of choice which was completely contrary to how put-together Natsu looked, even at the early hour. Hinata blushed to her exposed ear tips, her hands tucked into the sleeves of her sweatshirt.
"I know." Hinata mumbled.
Sasuke saw what could've been a peak into Hinata's adolescence. Adorable, meek.
He rubbed he bridge of his nose tiredly.
Natsu glanced over at Sasuke with an impish grin. He shoved his hands in his suit pockets and nodded his head, with the same amount of respect as a punch ass middle schooler. But instead of adolescent angst, it stemmed from the sheer awkwardness of the exchange.
Yes, Sasuke was an adult, who normally wouldn't give a flying fuck about other people knowing that he was piping down his lady whenever he wanted to. But just him being here with Hinata in the middle of the night was pretty obvious, let alone his rumpled suit. Incriminating at best. Still, not that he cared. Yes, he fucked Hinata. And liked it. But with her step-mother, just staring at him, and Hinata's bangs clipped back, little ears poking out, he felt old. Dirty.
He cleared his throat.
Natsu just smirked at Hinata, moving around Hinata's best collar in a mother action that really did nothing more than jostle her layers.
"This is not your father's night."
Natsu turned on her heels, leading the way into the room.
The room looked at big as the maternity rooms that Sasuke vaguely remembered Izumi being in when her and Itachi had their boys. He hadn't usually been in town when Izumi had given birth, maybe for only one or two of his nephews and from that he had probably only visited once while she was in the hospital. But Sasuke's shitty past history as an uncle aside, he at least knew that this room was large, larger than most. Though he shouldn't be surprised with the expanses of the Hyuuga wealth.
"She's a little medicated." Natsu warned.
The 'she' referring to Hinata's little sister, tucked into a hospital bed clad it gown, bracelets and IV tubes.
Hinata gasped, abandoning Sasuke at the door and rushing to her sisters side.
"I thought you said everything was fine?" Hinata said, voice reaching a shriller octave than her normal voice.
Hanabi flubbed her lips in a "shhbb" dismissive sound, her head lulling to one side of the bed for a moment, one hand slapping the air, shooing Hinata's worries away, but clearly under the influence of some form of pain killer.
"I said I had a headache and instead of an Advil like a normal person, Dad glared the the nursing team until they brought in the big guns." Hanabi voice slurred.
"She had a fucking head injury, it's not insane that I kindly requested appropriate god damn medication." Hinata Dad, sitting at a table and chairs at the back of the room, next to that poor sap Udon.
Udon, who looked far, far worse off than Hanabi in the bed. Udon had broken glasses, what looked to be a previously bleeding nose, a fat lip and both his hands were bandaged. He also kept glancing at Hiashi and around the room, meeting Sasuke's eyes like a hostage desperately looking for an escape route. Whereas Hanabi looked almost completely unscathed.
"This is probably some of the root problems of the opioid epidemic." Hanabi lamented.
Hinata giggled, shaking her head.
"You brought him?" Hinata's Dad looked back and forth between her and Sasuke, accusatory in very manner.
The same uncomfortable feel settled in Sasuke stomach, as Hiashi Hyuuga looked at his clearly rumpled suit, Hinata's disheveled look, piecing it together with the ungodly hour.
He shouldn't care.
He really shouldn't.
"Sweetheart," Natsu chided softly, taking her spot next to her husband.
Hinata glanced behind her to Sasuke in a small, apologetic smile. Sasuke tilted his head in return. He'd be fine.
Placated enough with his silent reply, Hinata went back to doting on her sister.
"So what happened?"
"Well," As Hanabi was beginning to drawl, Sasuke caught the tensing of Natsu and glaring scowl of blatant furry Hiashi was pinning down Udon with.
Sasuke was quite used to observing people, it helped to see little twitches in opponents when going over documents, searching for their weakness, loop holes on just an eyebrow twitch over a certain passage.
Hinata, whose eyes had promise, Sasuke remembered her darts on Thanksgiving, but was only trained on Hanabi.
Sasuke settled against the wall, suddenly much more interested in how this all came about.
"So, basically - fender bender. Udon got fucking railed by the airbags, and I hit the back of my head on the steering wheel." Her voice was almost blasé, even rolling her eyes a little at the end. "Which is why Big D.a.d. over there is getting his panties in a twist."
"Hanabi," Hiashi obviously not appreciating his rapper name his youngest had gifted him.
She wasn't phased. "Knickers in a twist?" She tried to concede, as if they type of metaphor was the root of the problem.
The glare that had been previously trained on Udon had switched to Hanabi herself, with enough strength to rival Fugaku Uchiha's, or at least Sasuke's fussy high school memories of his fathers deep disapproval.
"Thong in a-"
"So, you were driving?" Hinata cut in, basically saving Hanabi's life from the sheer wrath of her the Hyuuga Corps Head. "Why didn't the airbag hit you too?"
"No Udles was driving."
…Udles?
Sasuke clenched his jaw as the poor college age young man looked down in his shame.
"Wait, how did the back of your head hit the steering wheel while he was driving?" Hinata asked, still confused.
Sasuke, having already pieced the scenario together in his head, had shoved his hands back into his pockets and put on his best courtroom face of blank boredom. Fully avoiding Hinata's father's gaze, and just being overtly thankful that he was only witnessing this mortifying situation with front row seats and not actually dealing with it himself.
Natsu looked at Hinata like the car accident was actually happening right before her, biting her lip and shaking her head slightly. Just trying to convey the universal 'please stop'.
Hanabi at least had the presence of mind to try and look embarrassed, her cheeks tinging pink, reminiscent of her older sister but nothing close to Hinata's actual flush.
"But I don't get it." Hinata continued with none of her questions answered.
'Don't get it, my ass.' Sasuke smirked to himself, thinking about Friday night when Hinata was more than willing to do a little something-something in his own car.
"Oh," Hinata said, quietly to herself, head tilting for a moment, until her spine practically snapped in realization. "Oh! Oh no. Oh my god. Oh-"
The chair Hiashi had been sitting in clatter back and he stood abruptly. "Coffee. You all want fucking coffee. Snot Nose and I," He paused, grabbing the back of Udon's jacket and none too kindly yanking him out of his seat by the scruff like mother cat. "We're getting coffee."
Udon nodded quickly, walking along with the powerful older man, not willing to upset the CEO of one of the most powerful companies in Konoha. Not after he wrecked a car while his youngest daughter was giving him road head.
If Sasuke was a lesser man, if Sasuke was Naruto, he wouldn't have been able to hold down the laughter even if he wanted to.
Beside the fact that Hanabi was hospitalized, something Sasuke thought was a gross overreaction from a man who had loss too much already to something as simple as motor vehicle accidents, the entire thing would've been laughable.
"And you?"
Hiashi had stopped right in front of Sasuke, looking as annoyed as if it was all Sasuke's fault they were here. Hiashi was shorter than him, by far, though he held a presence of a man much, much taller. He was soft too, like Hinata, like he was almost fat but not quite. He had a hard, cold stare and Sasuke knew that was how this man commanded an entire company.
"You coming?" Hiashi asked, slowly and clipped at Sasuke.
It was a very calculated question. One Sasuke couldn't refuse.
Hinata had turned around, and didn't look anywhere pleased to her father singling him out, but Sasuke couldn't allow Hinata to save him.
He nodded, pushing up off the wall.
Before Hinata could protest he gave her a small, side eyed smirk. "I'll bring you back something."
The walk down to the cafeteria didn't even scratch the surface of awkward.
Not only, did he not want to be walking around with Hinata's pissed off Dad at a hospital in the ungodly hours of the morning. But he definitely didn't want to be meandering around Sakura's fucking hospital. At any hours of the day. With anyone. Let alone his girlfriends dad.
His one mission consisted of getting the cafeteria, picking something out for Hinata and getting to her.
Then hopefully leaving.
His luck had been pretty shitty lately, beside Hinata forgiving him and then fucking the everloving fuck out of him, which had been pretty great. But he knew it couldn't last forever. And having Sakura go off bat shit in front of Hiashi would probably be the worse thing he could think of.
Beside maybe a meteor falling from the sky and killing them all.
But just besides that.
The selection the hospital had was to be expected. Limited and unappealing. Not that he was one to find sweets appealing. But lucking (or unluckily), the trays of sweets were right next to the coffee station. The rest of the cafeteria almost completely cleared out beside the couple people working it.
Sasuke plucked up a prepackaged cinnamon bun and considered his self imposed mission basically a success.
"Six coffees." Hiashi ordered, a barista nodding her head and vanishing behind some esspresso machines.
"I can get my own."
Sasuke wished he had kept his mouth shut as soon as his eyes met the older mans. So similar to his girlfriend's, yet cold and icy. Foreboding.
"What are you Sasuke, thirty? Forty-five?"
Sasuke clenched jaw, trying not to lick his lips in annoyance. "I'm-"
"It's fucking irrelevant." Hiashi cut him off quickly.
It was harder than expected, for Sasuke to keep his poker face, his perfectly honed stone face perfect for boardroom meetings, courtroom monologues and anything else he'd need it for. It helped that his natural face was a usually a blank, frown or sometimes a sneer.
Sasuke said nothing, though his opponent wasn't finished.
Hiashi grabbed the cinnamon roll from his hand. "I'll get this for you, bud." He clapped his arm hard, jarring him as he albeit ripped the plastic container out of his grasp.
Hiashi leveled his stare straight faced, daring Sasuke to talk back against the obvious emasculating tactics Hinata's Dad was using against him.
"Hinata doesn't like coffee." Sasuke settled for instead, through gritted teeth.
Hiashi tilted his head, boring down further into him, but that kind of intimidation didn't really work. He grew up with a cop for a Dad, and his boss was one of the worst men he'd ever met. Hiashi Hyuuga wasn't going to scare him. But it was annoying.
Especially because the man wanted to have the tape measuring contest in the middle of a hospital cafeteria.
"You think you know more about Hinata then I do, do you?" He have off a little laugh, though his face never twitched unto a smile.
Sasuke wetted his lip for a moment and said nothing, still not looking away.
"That's rich. Cute almost." The word cute almost uttered as a curse word the man so greatly favored.
"No, no, sorry son, but no. See I don't have to worry about you. Hanabi, she's a wild card, and I'm gonna have to drive off this pathetic wet noodle," he glanced over at Udon, the poor kid looking like he was going to shit his pants. "But I don't have to give you a second thought."
Sasuke knew for a fact that his face didn't even twitch, not for a moment. But Hiashi proceeded anyways, acting as if a question had been raised.
"You don't think so? No? I do know my daughter, you pathetic little 'lawyer'. I might not have been the best Dad. I made some mistakes with Hinata. I didn't understand her then. But I do now. Hinata knows what she wants, you can't talk her out of it or into something else or any which way."
Sasuke finally did glance around, but it still looked like a ghost town, the only person around to team up with was fucking Udon and honestly Sasuke would trip him to save himself.
"That fucking teacher made sense." Hiashi continued. "But that lasted about a minute and a half. Then she went to Kumo and dated that fucking Otsutsuki and thought that would be it. Richer than you. Richer than me. What else would she need? But that didn't last. And you?"
Hiashi laughed again, still not smiling. "You, who's probably from country bum fuck nowhere, trying to to come to the city and became a lawyer and think you have some money. Pathetic. No, you're everything Hinata could've had and didn't. Want. And in whatever amount of time she decides to stop playing around with you, you'll be nothing."
Sasuke hadn't even noticed that his mask had slipped off until he felt his glare crushing his eye sockets and his jaw clenching, creating a migraine.
"Will that be everything?" The lady asked, popping back up.
Hiashi finally smirked at him, and turned slowly on his heels, setting down the cinnamon roll with exact care. "One hot chocolate please."
Walking back to the room was a tad bit worse of a journey now that Sasuke had truly figured out that Hinata's father was batshit crazy.
He had been trying to formulate some sort of excuse to leave without seeming like an insensitive asshole.
And at least he had Hiashi to thank for that.
"Well, sorry you have to leave, son. But proud of you for prioritizing your job." Hiashi announced as soon as they walked in.
Momentarily caught off guard, but almost thankful, Sasuke just nodded.
Clearing his throat awkwardly. "Feel better, Hanabi."
Hanabi turned, shooting finger guns at him in an awkward salute. "Later skater."
Hinata walked out of the room to bid Sasuke goodbye, with a sweet hug and kiss, which Sasuke would absolutely not admit was greatly appreciated.
"I'll see you later." She turned to rejoin her family, when Sasuke caught her wrist.
"You're going to stay with your sister for awhile?"
She nodded, looking at him confused.
Sasuke grabbed his keys out of his pocket, and grabbed his house key, fiddling with it for a moment before managing to slide it off the key ring.
"Just go to my apartment after. It's closer."
Holding the key out to her, she made no move to grab it, just staring at him in shock.
"Sasuke," she breathed. "You don't need to do that. My dad wouldn't mind taking me back to my apartment."
He reached down, grabbing her dainty wrist and pressed the key, forcefully into her hand.
"I want to see you when I get home."
Hinata looked up at him, eyes wide, cheeks spreading a healthy pink. She fought down a smile, looking down embarrassed. "Oh. Okay."
Sasuke didn't know why Hinata made him feel that way. The same feeling he had when Hinata had been going to lunch with Shino and Kiba. The feeling always bubbled up so quickly sometimes that he didn't get to think it through.
He grabbed her quickly, his mouth on her mouth so fast he could taste her 'okay'.
The soft material of her sweatshirt balled into his fists and her soft lips molded into his.
Fuck her dad. Fuck any of that shit that wasn't her and him.
He nodded. "Okay."