DISCLAIMER: All characters from Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

+ SASUKE +

SHIT HITS THE FAN

Heroes – The Wallflowers

"YOU DAMNED FOOL!" Father shouts the moment I enter his study. He even throws a fucking stapler at me. I dodge it, of course. I had to. My father's aim is almost always perfect. The stapler hits the door behind me, exactly where my head was. He brandishes the paper clenched in his hand. "You knew better than pull something like this! The whole place was crawling with press people! Of course, someone's going to see you!"

It's actually Hinata who kissed me. I say nothing, though. Itachi goes over to join our mom on the couch. Mom looks serious. Which is scarier than Father's rage. I sit down on the chair in front of Father's desk quietly, keeping a wary eye on him. No one says anything for a while. Father keeps pacing back and forth. Sometimes he would throw me a dirty look.

Well. This is a first. Who knew I'd be in so much trouble because of a girl? I've slept with countless women before and my family pretty much turned a blind eye. They couldn't care less so long as I don't get someone pregnant. I knew from the start that if I go after someone who belongs to an equally prominent family like Hyuuga Hinata, it was going to be complicated as fuck. But, technically, she's not the heiress anymore. So, what's the big deal? I usually steered clear of rich and influential women because. Complicated. But, well, dicks are never known to be a voice of reason.

Father finally sits the fuck down. He glares at me. "Are you serious about her?"

"I'm eighteen." I state the obvious.

Which then prompts Father to whack my head with the paper angrily. "You little shit!"

"You're eighteen next month," Itachi points out, sighing.

"Same thing," I insist petulantly.

"This is all my fault," Mom bursts out all of a sudden. "I knew Sasuke liked Hinata and did nothing to stop it. I admit that the thought of her as Sasuke's girlfriend is very appealing to me."

"How did you know?" I ask Mom. I don't think I was that obvious.

"Of course, I know. I'm your mother."

"If there's anyone that should be blamed here, it's me," Father grumbles morosely. "I've let our youngest son do whatever the hell he wants."

I am a bit spoiled. I shift uncomfortably on my seat. But it's not like I can help it. Women threw themselves at me. What the fuck was I supposed to do? I remember the first time Mom caught me sneaking inside the house in the middle of the night after I met with a senior high when I was in middle school. Mom dragged Father to my room then forced him to give me a 'talk'. It was very awkward. He just told me gruffly to never forget to wear a condom and that my partner should be willing. Otherwise, he would chop Little Sasuke himself if I force myself on anyone. And then he left. That's it. That was the 'talk'. Other parents would have definitely prohibited casual sex altogether. Or told their kids to have a special someone instead. My father, though. I don't know why he just let me be. Maybe he's proud that I get laid all the time. That I get to experience many different… varieties of women. Maybe he thought it was like living vicariously through me. Him and Mom married young, after all. Twenty years old. And before that, well, he never had the chance to date. He was busy preparing for his duty as the next clan leader. Guess that's why him and Mom makes out all the time. I shudder. Better not think about that.

"No," Itachi tells us seriously. "It's my fault. As his big brother, he is more inclined to listen to me. However, like Father, I also just let him do whatever he wants."

And then there's Itachi. He's just as good-looking as I am. Women also throw themselves at him. But he couldn't care less. Why? Because he is so in-love with his childhood best friend, Uchiha Izumi (very distant relative, mind you). It's ridiculous. Don't get me wrong. I like her a lot and I approve of their relationship. But they've been together for so long – they've been friends since they were five and became a couple in high school – how are they not sick of each other by now? I asked Itachi that once, but he just smiled and said when you love someone you'll know. Cryptic, cheesy asshole.

"It's all our fault," Father declares firmly. "But there's no point blaming ourselves. Sasuke made his own choices and decisions. He may only be just seventeen, but he's smart. He made those choices and decisions with a sound mind."

Okay. That's… good.

Father fixes me with a glare. "So that is why you should give up on Hyuuga Hinata."

Excuse me, what. "What?"

"If you are the smart son that I know," Father explains, "you will give up on her and admit to yourself that you can't have everything you want."

And wow. That's just. "It's not like that."

"Then what is it?" he slaps his desk in annoyance. "I asked if you're serious about her and you answered that you're just a teenager. Implying that you're in no way regarding this whole thing with the Hyuuga girl as very serious."

"Well, she's not taking me seriously, either," I burst out in frustration. I had no intention of telling them anything, but what the hell. "I asked her to be my girlfriend, okay? She rejected me."

"This is about your ego, then," Father surmises. "Your precious ego couldn't accept the fact that someone was not falling for your crap."

"Fugaku," Mom admonishes softly.

"What?" Father snaps at her. I close my eyes. Oh, no. "That right there is why we're in this shit show. We don't want to hurt our precious Sasuke's feelings. We can't tell him the truth, he's too sensitive. Bullshit."

"I'm talking about your language," Mom snaps back, glaring at Father, "but since you suddenly find it relevant to criticize my way of raising our youngest son, do go on."

I groan, burying my head in my hands. I hate when my parents argue. They argue all the time, but I never get used to it. Their fights are never serious, though. They make up so fast it's as if they were not at each other's throats just minutes ago. Actually, I think they like arguing just so they can make up afterwards. And thinking about it weirds me out. Better not think about it.

My mind drifts to Hinata. As it always does these days. I bet she's also summoned by her family. The Hyuugas are much more conservative, after all. I can't help feeling a little worried. Will her family tell her to stay away from me? I don't care what they order her to do so long as they do it kindly. She doesn't need any more crap from her family. Not after what she had to endure last night. Fuck. What if she gets another panic attack? And no one's there to calm her down?

I look at my phone clutched in my hand. I read every messages on the way here. Most of them from relatives and acquaintances wanting to know if it's true. Unsurprisingly, nothing from Hinata herself. I can't help but feel stupid, though, for being disappointed that she didn't text me. Just because she kissed me doesn't mean shit. But maybe I should text her first. Ask her if she's okay. Nothing wrong with that, right?

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

I jump a little at Father's raised voice. I look up and everyone's staring at me. "What?"

"We're giving you a lecture," Father says incredulously, "and you're not even listening?"

Well, you and Mom are having your foreplay. I don't say anything, though. I try to look like I'm regretting my past indiscretions. The sooner this is over, the sooner I can check up on Hinata. Itachi, the traitor, scoffs at me. I glare at him. So much for having my back, Aniki.

Father groans as he leans back on his chair and clutches his nape. "This is not good for my blood pressure."

Mom gets up from the couch and stands right next to Father. She puts a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. She looks at me with resignation. "We can't tell you what to do, Sasuke. As your family, we are here to give you some advice. You're not going to like it, but… sweetheart, Hinata's been through so much already. You saw the way her own mother treated her last night. Her father's probably worse. I can't even begin to imagine the entire Hyuuga clan's reaction."

"Why is this such a big deal?" I ask, "She's not the heiress anymore."

"But she's still their clan leader's eldest daughter," Itachi answers, "Her only purpose now is to marry into a family that their clan approves of. They wouldn't want her to be involved with someone so publicly. And the Hyuuga clan doesn't like you."

What the fuck? Marriage? She's only seventeen. What is this, the 16th century?

"Yeah, well," Father mutters from where he's still leaned over with his eyes closed, "if I had a daughter and she's seeing someone like Sasuke, I'd disapprove too."

Okay, that's the second time they said the Hyuuga clan doesn't like me. "What are you talking about?"

Father opens his eyes to glare at me, but it's Itachi who answers, "They denied the rumor that you and Hyuuga Hinata are dating."

"They called it 'groundless and preposterous'," Mom adds stiffly, clearly offended. "They could have declined to give a statement like we did, but they didn't."

Well, fuck them. "I don't care what they think."

"We don't either," Itachi declares, "but you know how it is. They slight one member of the Uchiha clan, they slight all of us."

"That's why we asked if you're serious about Hinata," Mom explains, "So that we can give our statement."

Mom and Itachi look at me expectantly, as though I can tell them the answer to that question. Am I serious about Hyuuga Hinata? Fuck if I know the answer to anything anymore. "Look," I begin, "I honestly have no idea. I'm still trying to figure things out. Me and Hinata both. We're still just figuring everything out. And when things are finally starting to make sense, this shit happens. So, yeah. I don't know."

For the first time in my life, I have rendered my parents and Itachi speechless. They stare at me with raised eyebrows, as though they could not quite believe what I just said. I send a questioning look toward Itachi. Is this silence a good thing or a bad thing? Itachi shrugs surreptitiously. But before I can break this terse silence, Father stands up.

"We will release no statement," he says finally, "If someone asks our opinion on anything with regards to Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata, we say nothing. At least we won't have to scramble our asses off again for damage control if this… thing between them yields unfavorable results." He then turns to me and fixes me with a piercing glare, "Can we trust you to be a lot more careful from now on?"

"Absolutely."

V^^V

A little over an hour later, here I am. On my motorbike with Hyuuga Hinata behind me.

There was no doubt in my mind when I received a text message from an unknown number saying 'Hinata needs a ride' with an address, that Hinata needed me. I wasn't suspicious of whatever the purpose or even the identity of the sender. Much to Itachi's dismay. I just got a lecture, after all. And then I was off to meet the person involved with this shit show. Good thing I kept my bike at my parents' place. I was able to leave right away. Also, a good thing: the address was only 20 minutes away from our house, so I supposed I arrived just in time. I was sitting outside, staring at the large imposing gate for maybe 3 minutes, when a side door opened and out came running was Hinata herself. I just saved her from the evil clutches of her family.

I'm sure Father and Itachi would be proud.

I pull over on an alleyway of some street that is maybe two or three blocks away from the Hyuuga mansion. Gotta put on our helmets before taking the main road. Don't want us getting arrested on top of everything else. I'm supposed to be a lot more careful, after all.

I turn the engine off and had to pause. Because I'm pretty sure Hinata is laughing.

Laughing. Hinata.

Which, yeah. Haven't heard her laugh before, but I'm certain she is currently laughing hysterically. As she removes her arms from where they were wrapped around my waist. Fuck, I love her arms around my waist.

"Did – did you see their faces?" she asks breathlessly, dismounting from my bike. "It was so funny!"

I smile back. I can't help it, okay. Her laughter is adorable and infectious. "Yeah, it was."

Hinata stops laughing, though, and looks around. "What are we doing here?"

"Helmets," I answer, detaching the one I tied around a handle and put it on Hinata. I carefully rearrange her soft as fuck hair and maybe I'm stroking it a little (a lot) with some unknown expression on my face because for some reason, Hinata won't stop staring. Which I have absolutely no objection whatsoever. So, I stare back. We stare at each other.

And then I panic a little as her eyes get all teary. I swear my heart skipped a beat. But then it starts a freaking marathon when she steps closer to me.

"I am upset," she mutters through trembling lips, clutching my shirt. "But, please, help me forget that I'm upset."

"How can I help?" I ask without hesitation.

"Let's do it. Sex."

October 15, 2020 – Whenever I hit a slump, I need to take a breather. Stop writing for a while 'cause I don't wanna force myself. But then one day turns into one week and one week turns into one month. It sucks. So, apologies for that. And for the mistakes all over this chapter.

Thank you to all of you lovely people for reading, following, and taking the time to review. You guys are amazing!

Our country's still in quarantine (it's been 7 months, goodness gracious), so WEAR A MASK. WASH YOUR HANDS. PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING. KEEP SAFE.