What Happens Next?
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Notation: I remember seeing Hinata call Neji brother at the Chunin Exams, even though they are cousins. So I am using the term cousin in this rather generically. Basically in this interpretation of things, the Hyugas would refer to any other Hyuga as "cousin," if they weren't more closely related than that.
Chapter 21
A few days later, Sasuke sighs. He could easily make Hinata forget about Tenji and any other disapproving members of her family, when she was with him. But he knew it was getting to her. His kitten wasn't nearly as good as hiding her emotions, as she liked to believe. She just had too honest of a face to get away with that.
"That was not a sigh of contentment. I would have thought you would still be overjoyed about the house and spending time with your intended." Fugaku says as he walks over to his youngest son to speak with him.
Mikoto had scolded him for deciding to check up on Sasuke of course. Fugaku was more subtle about it, but he could be just as overprotective as his wife. He just wouldn't let anyone actually know that.
"Oh I am. The house is beautiful and we appreciate the privacy. It's just Hinata is upset because some of her family doesn't approve of our relationship. She won't tell me who, but some bastard made her cry." Sasuke mutters and barely holds back a snarl.
Now it was Fugaku's turn to sigh. Honestly, he had expected it. He was only surprised that it hadn't happened sooner. That of course didn't make it any easier for Sasuke or the shy Hyuga woman, but he digressed.
"Tensions have been high between our Clans for generations. I would be surprised if there weren't any Hyuga Clan members who objected. Some of which are naturally going to be cruel in how they voice their objections. I am sorry that she had to go through that. She does seem like a very sweet girl." Fugaku offers.
"She is. Hinata refuses to give me the scum's name." Sasuke mutters in irritation.
The Uchiha Patriarch chuckles. It was not difficult to see WHY that was the case. Hinata likely didn't want Sasuke to kill the son of a bitch. He probably would have. (Fugaku knew he would have, if he was in the same situation as his youngest son.)
"Hinata understands that having you murder a Hyuga, won't lessen tensions. She's an intelligent woman in that way. It doesn't matter how justified such a reaction would be. You don't want to make things worse." He chides Sasuke gently.
"I know. I didn't expect them all approve of us overnight. But he made her cry. That's unforgivable." Sasuke growls.
He nods sympathetically. The Uchiha Patriarch would have been out for blood, if positions were reversed. Fugaku could emphasize, but secretly he was glad Hinata hadn't given Sasuke a name. If she had, chaos would have erupted.
"I know. People just need time to adjust. You'll see." He states.
"Maybe. At least our Clan is taking it better than hers." Sasuke mutters in annoyance.
"That's because our Clan knows what will happen if they challenge my approval of the courtship and sees that she is a nice girl. She's hardly threatening. You on the other hand…" Fugaku trails off.
"Are you saying that it's my fault? That if I was meeker they'd like me better?" Sasuke demands.
Fugaku chuckles. Sasuke was normally fairly mellow by Uchiha standards. But he could have just as explosive of a temper as the next Uchiha when the mood struck him. He was certainly a terror on the battlefield. Yes, he knew that all those things just added fuel to the fire.
"Perhaps, but that has never really been in our nature. You shouldn't have to change who you are to earn their "approval." You like her. She likes you. That's what is most important." The elder Uchiha counsels him.
"Yeah. Well I'm not going to have her suffer because her Clan is slower to accept change." Sasuke says.
Fugaku raises an eyebrow. God only knows what was going through his youngest son's mind at the moment. He gestures for him to continue.
"She's happier here. Our Clan isn't as judgey." Sasuke elaborates.
"Sasuke, judgey is not a word." His father notes with open amusement at this.
"It is if I say it is. But that's not the point! The point is I'm not going to have her suffer for no reason. How do you tell what size ring a woman wears?" He asks.
Fugaku was almost certain his eyebrow could not be raised any higher. There was really only one logical reason that Sasuke would ask THAT. He was contemplating proposing.
"I would say that Hinata is likely a size six when it comes to ring size. Which means you should get a seven." He states.
"Why should I get a seven, if she's a six?" Sasuke asks in confusion.
"Sometimes on hot days, your fingers can expand. That and overtime people do tend to put on more weight." He notes with some amusement.
Sasuke gives him a look. Fugaku shakes his head. No he wasn't saying that Hinata was going to get fat. She was a ninja. That was rather unlikely, unless she decided to become a housewife, like Mikoto did. (Mikoto bless her, still had the same figure now that she did at twenty, Fugaku wasn't sure how she did it exactly.)
"I'm not saying either of you are going to get fat. Neither of you are completely grown either. Anyway, seven." He repeats himself.
"So you aren't going to object? We haven't been together that long. We are both young. Things between the Clans are still tense." Sasuke says.
Fugaku shakes his head in amusement. All of that was true. But he wasn't actually object. It was his own damn fault really. He had encouraged Sasuke to marry outside the Clan and that was what he was trying to do after all. He was just being a good son and following his wishes.
"Sasuke, I trust your instincts to keep you safe in battle. I'll trust your instincts in this case as well. If you truly believe that you love her and she loves you, there's really no reason to wait. Now Hiashi might be a bit skeptical due to how short the courtship has been. But as he helped to match you, I doubt his objections will be that serious in nature." He muses.
"What do you mean that he helped to match us? We matched ourselves?" Sasuke asks.
"Oh…nothing. Good luck. Would you like me to go with you to choose a suitable ring?" He inquires, trying to change the subject.
Sasuke gives him a look. It was clear his son was trying to figure out if it was worth the effort to uncover Fugaku's "secret." It looked like Sasuke had decided it wasn't. (There were very few men more stubborn than Fugaku Uchiha and Sasuke knew this.)
"No. I think it's something that is more meaningful if I do it myself." He says.
"A fair point. I hope you find something to your and her liking. I should probably go visit Itachi. Poor man is probably at his wit's end by now. The first pregnancy is always the most…interesting for both parties involved." He mutters and Sasuke nods.
"Thanks. Give Itachi my love." Sasuke says as he flits off to go buy a ring and Fugaku nods.
Meanwhile Neji had cornered Tenji. He wanted to make sure the other man didn't do anything stupid. He certainly wished that Hinata would find someone else. But he wasn't going to allow anyone to speak so cruelly to her.
He was also aware of this hard truth. Thoughts tended to become words. Words sometimes became actions. If he acted on his objections, things could get ugly and fast. He wouldn't allow a Clan War to be triggered because Tenji couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"I hope you have realized that speaking in such a way to Lady Hinata accomplishes nothing. You likely only drove her further into his arms. Why wouldn't she? If her own family is treating her so cruelly, there is nothing to prevent her from seeking the only comfort she can find. You are an idiot." Neji growls.
"You're smarter than this! How can you possibly condone such a relationship?!" He bellows at the other man.
Neji twitches. Yes, he knew Tenji was going to be difficult. It seemed he was going to be really difficult. But that was alright. The Branch member would deal with this personally. Hinata didn't need to be exposed to such unpleasantness. Neji would handle it.
"I don't condone it, but my objections appear to be irrelevant. The same as yours. Lord Hiashi gave his approval for the courtship. If you actively seek to undermine it, you are questioning him. Are you really so set on tearing them apart, that you would risk being accused of treason by our family?" The other ninja demands.
Tenji silently seethes with rage. He wondered if Neji would report him to Lord Hiashi. If he did, things would become very difficult for him.
He couldn't fathom why the Hyuga Patriarch had approved such a disastrous match, but it didn't matter. If Hiashi found out that he was trying to undermine it, things would get ugly and quickly.
"I am not a traitor to our Clan. I am merely pointing out the obvious. An Uchiha and Hyuga will NEVER be a good match. You know that as well as I do. You are just too worried about upsetting Lady Hinata to admit it." He mutters.
"That may well be the case. But it is their decision to make. Please stop this. You are going down a very dangerous road. I have no desire to lose you, cousin. The Uchihas are not like us. They do not talk out such disagreements. They solve them through battle." Neji warns him.
Tenji's eyes narrow at the implication. His "cousin" may not say it directly, but he knew what he was implying. Neji thought he would lose. He believed if Tenji fought Sasuke, he would lose.
"Your faith in me, cousin is touching." He hisses.
Hyugas tended to call each other brother, sister, or cousin. Your precise biological tie was largely viewed as irrelevant other than to determine your house and who you could marry safely without worrying about birth defects. They were not actually cousins. Well at least not first cousins anyway.
"Oh I am not questioning your skill. I just know Sasuke Uchiha. If it comes down to a battle, he will end you. Recognizing your limitations doesn't make you weak. It makes you smart. Please drop this matter. I implore you. If they are truly incompatible, I am certain their relationship will end naturally on its own." He continues.
Tenji glares at him. The other Hyuga wisely departs. He knew he would lose his temper soon. Neji was a good Hyuga. He was just acting in a way he viewed as logical. He would do the same.
He heads into the village. He needed to go on a walk and clear his head. That might help. The Hyuga smirks when he saw Naruto. Perfect.
"Jealousy is a quick way to end a relationship. Sasuke is well aware that Hinata used to have feelings for the blonde. It shouldn't take much." He muses and soon enough a plan begins to form in his mind.
Meanwhile Hinata goes to the Uchiha District. She frowns when she realizes Sasuke wasn't at his house. Maybe he had gone to visit his parents or brother? She decides to check Mikoto and Fugaku's place first.
The bluenette knocks on the door. After a few moments, Mikoto opens it. She smiles and gestures for her to come in.
"Morning, Lady Mikoto. Is Sasuke here? He wasn't at his home. So I thought maybe he was visiting you and Lord Fugaku." She mumbles quickly.
"Hinata, you don't have to call us Lord and Lady. Our Clan is not nearly as formal, when it isn't a public function. But no, I'm afraid he's not. Perhaps he got called in at the station? I'm sure he'll be back soon." She says with a smile.
"Oh thank you, L-…I mean Mikoto." Hinata stammers.
Mikoto shakes her head in amusement. Sasuke had certainly picked someone who was his Sister-In-Law's opposite in everyway. Hinata was so shy. The Uchiha Matriarch wasn't entirely certain how she would handle being part of such a boisterous Clan, if the courtship was successful.
"Would you like anything to eat or drink?" She asks.
"Some tea would be lovely. Thank you." Hinata answers quickly.
Mikoto nods and saunters off into the kitchen. Hinata marveled at the other woman's grace. She hadn't been an active combat ninja for over two decades, yet her footsteps were still completely silent.
"Is Green Tea, alright?" The Uchiha woman calls out.
"Yes!" Hinata answers and Mikoto soon comes out with the tea.
The older woman privately ponders what would be the best way to coax Hinata out of her shell. She knew that the bluenette was rather reserved. So if she did anything too outrageous, she'd likely faint. Therefore, she decides to go with a "safe" topic.
"How do you like the new place?" She asks gently.
"Oh. It's beautiful! It was really generous that you two gave him a house." HInata says.
"Well it was partially motivated by personal gain. I love my boys more than anything, but it is nice to have some privacy to." The Uchiha Matriarch comments.
At the word privacy, Hinata blushes. Mikoto raises an eyebrow. Perhaps she wasn't that shy after all. Then again, if you gave two teenagers a house, it was expected that nature would take its course.
"Y-es, I imagine so. It is nice not to have the entire Clan staring at us." Hinata mumbles.
Mikoto nods sympathetically. Having the two largest Clans in the Leaf watching your every move, had to be nerve wracking. She did feel a bit sorry for her youngest son and his intended. That couldn't be easy.
"How are things at the hospital?" She asks.
"Oh good. I'm still mostly doing physicals and going through more training. But that's alright. It takes a long time to learn how to be a medic and I'm happy that Lady Tsunade trusts me to do physicals this early." Hinata says.
"I did consider becoming a medic briefly. I decided against it though. It really wasn't worth it to me. Fugaku can be rather jealous. I don't think he would have taken too kindly to me giving other men physicals. I'm glad to see that Sasuke is reasonable enough not to have an issue with it." The Uchiha Matriarch says brightly.
"D-o you think he would? He hasn't said anything." The Hyuga woman replies nervously.
"I doubt he does. If he did, he would have said something by now. Sasuke is many things. Shy is not one of them." She reassures Hinata.
Later that day, Sasuke heads back to his home. He quickly prepares a romantic dinner and draws a hot bath. It was Hinata. So he added bubbles and rose petals. (She had never said she liked bubble baths particularly, but it seemed like something she would enjoy.)
He smiles, just as he got done doing that. Sasuke felt Hinata's chakra signature approaching. The bluenette must have sensed her lover and was heading straight towards him.
"Sasuke!" She cries out and practically tackles him.
Sauske blinks. She was holding him rather tightly. Not that he would ever protest her embrace, but she seemed almost worried?
"What's wrong?" He asks gently and runs his hands along her slender back in a soothing fashion.
"You weren't here this morning. I was worried. Mikoto said that you might have gotten called into the station. But I couldn't help worrying." She mumbles.
"Sorry about that. Yeah, I did. I'm okay though. Let me make it up to you, kitten." He says and kisses the top of her head.
Scaring her probably wasn't the best way to start a proposal. Damn it. He should have left a note or something. Oh well. It was too late now.
"It's alright. I shouldn't have worried. I know that you can handle yourself." she mumbles.
Sasuke shakes his head. He sits down at the table and pulls her into his lap. She was such a cute kitten, always fretting over everything.
"It was my fault. I should have let you know that I got called in." He says and hand feeds her, while caressing her cheek with his other hand.
"This is really good." She mumbles and Sasuke smiles.
"Glad you like it." Sasuke replies and eats with her, musing that if she said yes…next time it might be breakfast in bed.
He smiles and scoops her up in his arms once they were done. Sasuke carries her Bridal Style to the bathroom. The Uchiha smirks when he heard her gasp at the rather elaborate bath.
"Join me?" He whispers into her ear and Hinata nods shyly.
Sasuke had to admit, he enjoyed the show when she slowly strips. He almost wished that he had some of Sai's artistic abilities. It would have been fun to paint her. Unfortunately, his artistic abilities were modest at best. (Barely more than stick figures and she definitely was not a stick figure!)
He was decidedly less shy. Sasuke quickly strips and joins her in the bath. He smiles and pulls her against his chest. He decides to apologize for scaring her in his own unique way.
He kisses her neck and rubs her shoulders. Sasuke heard her give a few soft sighs of contentment and smiles. At the moment, the rest of the world ceased to matte.r there was only her and him.
"That feels nice." HInata whispers and tilts her head back enough to kiss him.
Sasuke returns her kiss. After he breaks it, he reaches over and grabs a glass of champagne and two wine glasses. He smiles when he notices the full moon casting it's light through the window. He had found his Moon after all.
"Thirsty?" He asks and Hinata nods.
The Hyuga woman grabs the bottle and uncorks it. Sasuke had to admit he was impressed by how quickly she managed to do that. Those bottles could be rather annoying when it came to opening them.
She smiles and pours them each a glass. The bluenette blinks in confusion when she saw something sink to the bottom of the glasses. She reaches into it and pulls it out and gasps.
Sasuke smirks. She had definitely found it. The Hyuga woman was now looking at her find.
"Sasuke?" She asks uncertainly as she gazed at the beautiful ring.
It had to be a wedding ring. The ring was too beautiful and expensive looking to be anything else. It had a silver band with a large sapphire in the center. Diamonds framed in such way that the gems were arranged to look like a flower. There was no mistaking this for anything other than a wedding ring.
He smiles and kisses her forehead. Sasuke suddenly realized he had spent more time setting the stage, than actually working on the proposal itself. Damn it. He'd have to wing it.
"Hinata, I love you. I want to marry you. I love seeing you everyday and hate when you have to leave." He whispers to her and caresses her cheek.
It was short. He really wished he had come up with something smoother. But it was honest. Maybe that would work.
"You're proposing?" Hinata asks in a stunned voice and nods.
Alright. She was in shock. He realized that he did spring this on her. They hadn't even been together a year yet. It was natural that she would be shocked. Still that wasn't a no…
"Yes, I am. It's okay, if you aren't ready. I know we haven't been together that long an-" Sasuke didn't get to finish his sentence, he is tackle hugged by his lover.
"YES!" Hinata cries out and Sasuke blinks.
He didn't know that Hinata could be that loud. He was pretty sure the entire District had just heard someone shout, "Yes!" They were probably wondering what was going on.
"Really?" He asks, almost wondering if maybe he had imagined it.
He gets a lot more yeses and some kisses to go with them. Sasuke smiles and returns them. That was definitely a yes then.
Sasuke holds her closely after a few minutes. Now that he had actually processed that he was engaged, he realized the hard part was coming up. He knew his father approved. His mother would likely be ecstatic. Sasuke was less sure about how Hiashi would take it.
It was one thing to court Hinata. He knew that the Hyuga Patriarch would likely see it as another to marry her. Then there was the matter of his Clan. The Uchihas on the surface were more accepting of his relationship with Hinata. They seemed to like her. They were less enthused about the rest of her family though.
"Don't worry. We'll figure something out. I doubt father would really object. If he wasn't happy about the thought of us getting married, he wouldn't have approved the courtship." Hinata mumbles quickly.
"Yeah. Good point. So how are we going to do this exactly, kitten?" Sasuke asks and places a kiss to her shoulder, as she had scrambled back onto his lap.
Hinata frowns. She really didn't know what would be the best way to do it. It would likely be a good idea to get everyone together at once. That way they wouldn't have to keep explaining over and over again. But that could be quite chaotic and they would need a good reason to organize such a gathering.
"We need to get them all together at once." She observes.
"Yeah. But how?" He wonders.
"The Leaf is having a festival to celebrate it's founding next week. Perhaps that would be the best time to do it?" Hinata suggests.
Sasuke nods. It was a logical plan of "attack." Almost everyone would go. They'd be in one place. Most of them would be in a good mood.
"Beauty and brains, how did I get so lucky?" He wonders and cuddles into his lover.
"Well I think it was mostly because of the Truth Jutsu and the mission." Hinata replies.
"Hinata, that was more of a rhetorical question." Sasuke responds with amusement and his future bride blushes a bit.
"Oh right." She mumbles and Sasuke kisses her, she really was too cute sometimes.
Hinata smiles and kisses back. It was amazing how the gesture seemed so innocent, despite the situation. They were both naked and in a romantic bath together. But somehow it was still innocent.
It didn't stay that way for long. Sasuke soon deepens the kiss and begins to seduce her tongue with his own. The bluenette moans into the kiss. She decided that it was a good thing they were already in a bath. she saw the way the moonlight reflected off his ruby red eyes, she was suddenly sure that it was going to be a long and very pleasurable night.