Straw Saga 25

"What does your sister even like?" Sasuke asked, hands shoved deep into his pockets.

He wasn't asking out if his own interest of Hinata's younger sister, but of his own interest in getting out of the mall as fast possible.

"Um," Hinata hummed, looking through a random rack in front of her. "I'm not sure. A lot of stuff."

"You're not sure." He drew the syllables out. It was a constant fight of nature, to be kind when he was annoyed.

His hands were crushed down, deep in his pea-coat, his lapels pushed up to shield himself from the passing, leering women. He didn't appreciate the crowds, or the pathetic looks of the other down trodden males, drug here by a significant other, trying to find solidarity in group suffering. Sasuke glared at them too. Because, fuck them.

"You didn't have to come." Hinata reminded him, gently and without malice.

Sasuke bristled.

What a trap woman set. No, it was much better shouldering on. Suffering. Scuffling his wing tips on the dirty tiles, made grimy by the soles of his predecessors. The miserable men that had come before.

Yes, it was dirty. It smelled like soft pretzels. There was an unequal ratio between regular shops and smoothie stands. But he was not here for pretzels or smoothies.

He was here on a mission.

"I told you I was coming. So I came." He grumbled, stiffly.

Hinata paused, and naturally their pace slowed. Her eyes softened as she smiled up at him. "Thank you."

Sasuke's heart most definitely did not start beating faster. Nor did his throat feel hot and harder to swallow. There were definitely not any clichés of embarrassment happening to him at that very moment. He definitely wasn't wanting to kiss her all over her stupidly cute face. Nope. Definitely not him.

He cleared his throat and turned away from her. "Well, I don't have all day."

She slipped her hand through his elbow, handing onto the crook of his arm.

It was mind numbingly boring. Hinata did not have a plan for what exactly to get her little sister, which was becoming increasingly more irritating as the time passed.

"How do you not know what to get her?" He huffed.

After they had only browsed the second store.

Hinata slid a perturbed look at him, unable to muster a glare. "Do you know what you would get your brother?" She asked.

"Of course." He scoffed.

That was easy.

He wouldn't get him anything.

"Well, Hanabi is a person that already has everything. And I don't want to get her just anything. I want it to be thoughtful. Special. I just, don't know what that is yet."

Sasuke sighed. That was a very Hinata thing to say.

They walked around for another hour before Hinata spotted an floral shop. "Oh, look at that." Hinata smiled.

There were sculpted pieces, out of flowers. Hearts, teddy bears, other cutesy things.

"Isn't that adorable." Hinata smiled.

This is where Sasuke thought the true differences were in between the chromosomes. Because all he saw was overpriced bullshit.

Hinata gushed. "This is perfect! Hanabi would love this. It's so unique."

Sasuke shrugged a shoulder, exasperatedly. "Alright. Go in."

"What are you going to do?" She asked, letting him go.

"Don't worry about it." He stepped away from her. "I'll meet you back right here." He promised.

He had spotted a little shop, that he was familiar with. So far, Sasuke had gifted Hinata with earrings, for her birthday/Christmas and asking her to be his girlfriend. He had got her a matching bracelet for Valentine's Day. There was something else that he was thinking of now.

How annoyed he was, every time she had to go back to her apartment. How disgusting he thought her apartment was in the damn first place. Now that Naruto was gone, he thought that it was high time that he got a roommate that he actually wanted to have around.

He thought that popping that particular question needed something a little more special to sweeten the deal.

Sasuke finished up his shopping quicker, since he had known what he was coming for, unlike some woman he knew that would remain nameless.

Said woman, was not quite finished yet, but he didn't mind. He shoved his gift into his pocket, since he wasn't planning on asking her just yet.

When she did finally head out of the shop, she was all smiles.

"Done yet, are you?" He nudged her.

"Yes. Thank you so much." She grabbed onto his arm again.

He led the way out. "Yeah, yeah."

He always had to keep himself from smiling, when she insisted on thanking him for things. So, he either forced himself to scowl or smirk

"Thank you so much for coming with me," Hinata fiddled with the buttons in the elevator. "Again."

"I told you it wasn't a big deal." Sasuke grumbled, messing with his suit coat.

He wasn't having much of a hard time not smiling, this time.

He had been neurotically fidgeting since they had left his apartment. Not because he was nervous or anything. Not because Hinata's dad was one of the biggest assholes he had ever had to go head to head with. Not because he would rather run back into the street and get flap-jacked by oncoming traffic than actually head up to dinner.

It had been a couple days since they had gone to the mall, and now it was time to sit through dinner with Hinata's family.

He was wearing a suit from work, wishing that he had come home early to change, but not willing to waste the time. Work was still his second priority,

His number one, hanging onto his arm, also dressed from work. She still looked pretty in loosely curled hair, hung long around her shoulders, a light pink sweater, nice, tailored jeans and her signature clogs.

If he wasn't so stressed he would've complimented her.

Natsu answered the door, looking just as impeccable as the last time Sasuke had seen her. Her blonde bob perfectly smooth and platinum. She was wearing a tight green dress, befitting a trophy wife. But instead of the smile that usually greeted them, she looked a thousand different shades of stressed.

"Hinata," Natsu spoked cautiously. "I tried to tell him not to. But, you know how your dad is."

"What?" Hinata asked startled.

Natsu frowned, but was quickly and literally knocked aside.

"Hinata." Hanabi, looked far better than the last time Sasuke had saw her in a hospital bed. "Hinata, forget what I said. You have to leave."

"What is going on?" Hinata stepped closer to Sasuke.

"Oh, is Hinata here?"

Sasuke's jaw clenched involuntarily.

Hanabi grimaced, her eyes flittering from Sasuke to Hinata. She mouthed 'I'm sorry' before stepping back from the door.

Her dad, short, still dressed in a suit, was glaring inside his perfectly decorated, oversized apartment.

Sasuke's stomach churned in equal parts dislike and extreme jealously.

They made their way back to the dining room, Sasuke categorizing all the parts of the Hyuga house that he could possibly recreate in his own apartment. Hinata looked much more concerned, her hand on Sasuke's, her other vaguely out in front of her like she was going to have to defend the both of them at any moment.

He himself didn't hold much stake in how weird her sister was. She was always spouting off something peculiar, or causing a traffic accident with public indecency.

He really fucking should have.

As the entirety of Hinata's family arrived into the dining room, Sasuke included, Hinata stalled. Sitting closest to them was Udon, looking as snooty nose, sweaty and pathetic as ever. How Hinata and Hanabi had ever thought Sasuke could come and deflect off of that pathetic noodle was beyond him.

But there was another person too. Someone that Sasuke didn't immediately recognize. Which he would never want to admit. He thought of himself as a relatively intelligent person. Smart enough in most aspects.

But he didn't fully recognize the man until after he had spoken.

He stood slowly, coming to a height that must've been even taller than Sasuke. His hair was almost white, his eyes husky blue. He smiled. "Hinata."

The man.

Sasuke stopped.

The man. Was the same man in the photos online? That he had googled. Of Hinata's ex-boyfriend. Billionaire, CEO, from Kumo.

Toneri Otsutsuki.

…He was in her father's house. At the dinner table.

Sasuke was annoyed. Mad even. That Hinata's dad would drudge up her ex-boyfriend and put them all in an awkward situation, ruining Hanabi's birthday.

Okay, he really didn't care that much about everyone else.

He was mostly pissed for himself.

Obviously.

It didn't hold a candle to Hinata.

He had almost forgot that she was even there, until her hand, clenched down on his wrist like police zip ties. He almost protested, audibly, until the swear died in his throat.

He had never seen Hinata that mad.

Which was really saying something because Hinata had once woken in the middle of the night to Sasuke arguing with his drunk ex-girlfriend about the validity of her abortion, that he had kept from her.

He had, rightful, assumed that was the peak, the apex, of the anger that Hinata had in her.

He was dead wrong.

She was awash in pure, unadulterated fury.

Sasuke's shoulders relaxed a little, as one would do when someone had come to the rescue. He had less to worry about with his own, personal, rage army ready to attack for him. The only thing he had to worry about is if his hand would still have viable tissue after this dinner was over.

She actually looked… kind of hot.

Her jaw was clenched, her eyes were narrowed.

"What's going on?" Her voice had turned icy.

Sasuke bit his lip.

Yeah, it was definitely hot.

He loved how nice Hinata was, how sweet and thoughtful. That is what he had first noticed about her. When he had been a complete piece of shit and sassed her for the straw and she had just decided to be a nice person and get it for him.

He did love that about her.

But this… this side of Hinata. He could equally appreciate.

Especially when it wasn't directed at him.

"Well, Toneri was in town, and I just thought, why not-"

"Daddy," Hinata cut him off.

Sasuke bit his bottom lip, trying not to make a face, since she was talking to her ACTUAL father.

"This is so disrespectful. To not only myself, but Sasuke."

Sasuke looked over at her, her eyes narrowed through her bangs fiercely. Fuck, she was so hot.

"I'm sorry, Hanabi. But…" Hinata swallowed, and ultimately nodded her head in resolution. "Sasuke and I will be leaving. Perhaps we can do something else for your birthday."

Hanabi nodded, looking to completely understand her sister's feelings.

Hinata then turned on the heels of her clogs and marched back the way that they had come from, dragging Sasuke along with her.

They didn't speak the entire way home. Hinata sat in the passenger side of his car, arms folded over each other, fuming in foreboding silence.

It was a lot less sexy when he was the only victim around.

Luckily for him, she never lashed out. She just plopped herself down on the couch, arms folded with a deep frown.

Sasuke sat next to her, not knowing what the boyfriend etiquette was, he was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to turn on the TV. So instead, in lieu of doing something to make her more upset, he did nothing.

Until he got bored.

"You're pouting."

Hinata looked away. "I am not."

Sasuke smirked. "Are you still mad?"

"Yes." She finally snapped exasperatedly. "And I'm embarrassed." Tears well in her gorgeous eyes. "Sasuke, I'm so sorry."

He actually felt a twinge. "It's alright." He hugged, awkwardly patting her on the back.

"It's not. My dad – It was so rude!" She lamented. "And disrespectful. And embarrassing." She sniffed.

"Everyone's family is embarrassing." Sasuke promised.

"I bet yours is fine." She pouted.

"No, no they're ridiculous." He promised. "A complete shit show."

"Really?"

"Oh, hell yeah. The worst."

She smiled, looking a tad bit better than before. Sasuke sighed internally, glad to have fixed it.

"When am I going to meet them?"

…Fuck.