Hi Everyone! I know you are tired of me saying the end is coming and this chapter was supposed to be it but it was reaching over ten thousand words and I still had two more big scenes to write so I am going to be posting part two in a few days. I hope you aren't upset that I'm dragging it out for another chapter I just didn't want to do a quick rushed wrap up. Although part of me is eager to write a new SasuHina story another part is sad to see this one end. Enough rambling on to the chapter and I will see you all in a few days with the true final chapter of Secret Desire.

"Are you sure you are ready to do this?" Hanabi asked as she and Hinata stood outside facing the steps leading up to their school. It was Monday morning and the usual rush of students entering the building had slowed down due to their presence. Most students slowed down to do a double take at the girls looking shocked by their return. Tenten told Hinata of rumors flying around that they were not returning because Hiashi had sent both of them off to some fancy boarding school. Hinata was annoyed rumors were still going on about her but these were tame in comparison to the rumors people were saying about her just a week ago.

Hinata took a deep breath and straightened up as she gave her sister a big confident smile, "Yes I am sure Hanabi let's go." Hinata had wanted to return for a few days now but Hiashi would not agree until the police found out who had at least made and posted the pictures. Over the weekend the police were able to not only get the website taken down but find out who most of the posters were and gave their names to the school along with finding the perpetrators of the photos. The principal ensured Hiashi over the phone that he would be calling them in early this morning and giving everyone some expulsions and for some of the people who posted just suspensions. Hiashi wasn't happy that all of them weren't getting expelled but decided that he could live with it if the bigger offenders got what was coming to them. He was still undecided on whether to press charges against them, Hinata however was sure she didn't want to. She felt that being expelled this late in their senior year and being unable to graduate or attend college in the fall was punishment enough for her and she was more than ready to put this whole mess behind her and move on.

She placed her foot on the step glad to be able to walk without the pain in her ankle anymore and started to walk up the stairs. She stopped midway when the doors to her school burst open and an angry looking male and woman stormed out with a familiar pink haired student trailing behind them. The man not caring that he was now the focus of everyone's attention yelled loudly, "I cannot believe you did this Sakura!"

Sakura was crying and this wasn't the fake tears she put on for Naruto, Hinata could tell these were real, "I said I was sorry Daddy!"

"You shouldn't just be apologizing to me you should be apologizing to that girl you bullied."

"I didn't bully her I- "

Sakura's father put his hand up in the air which immediately silence Sakura who flinched slightly, "Enough your principal didn't believe your lies and neither do your mother and I! Now clean out your locker and meet us in the car right away. And when you do you better have a plan on what to do with your life now that you've been expelled."

Hinata wasn't surprised to witness what she just had; over the weekend a police officer came to her house to ask her some questions. Learning from her past mistakes she told the officer everything including the part where Sakura admitted she was the one who started the posts. Sakura's parents walked towards their car leaving Sakura alone with everyone's eyes on her. Looking around at everyone Sakura forcefully wiped the tears from her green eyes as they narrowed at the people around her and her thin lips pursed themselves together. "What are you all looking at? Get a life all of you!" She turned but stopped when she saw Hinata standing a few feet away from her, "Look who finally came back. I would say welcome back but we all know it will only be a matter of time before you run away again."

"Shut up Sa-" Hanabi stopped talking when Hinata pulled her sister back and gave her a look not to talk anymore.
She was tired of having other people fight for her, she could see all eyes were now on the two of them waiting for her to respond. "I have no plans to run away from anyone and even if I was you won't be around to see it since you just got expelled."

There were snickers and chuckles from the people around them watching them which only made Sakura angrier, "Oh you think this is funny do you. You ruined my life!"

"You ruined your own life by trying to ruin mine. If you would have just left me alone none of this would have happened."

"No none of this would have happened if you had just left Naruto alone not that I care about him anymore anyway." Sakura made a disgusted looking face when saying Naruto's name and it told Hinata something had happened between them recently.

It had been months since Hinata had broken up with Naruto and still Sakura was linking the two of them together. It became clear to Hinata that there would never be any getting through Sakura's pink haired head, "If you really think that is true even after all this time, I feel sorry for you."

Sakura's jaw dropped as if she just heard the most absurd thing, "You feel sorry for me?! I'm not the one dating a guy who has fucked more than half the girls in our senior class. And at least the whole school isn't speculating about what a whore I am."

Hanabi couldn't stop herself from jumping in and saying, "They don't need to speculate its common knowledge."

"Stay out of this you little bitch." Sakura snapped back quickly.

"Hey!" Hinata raised her voice to a volume that surprised even herself, "You do not talk to my sister like that."

"Oh, what are you going to do about it Hinata? Your boyfriend isn't here to protect you."

Sakura was taunting her trying to get a rise out of her but Hinata wasn't going to do that she stayed calm, "I don't need him to protect me, not from you or anyone else. There is nothing left for you here so why don't you just leave and stop this stupid vendetta that has only ended up hurting you." Sakura took a deep breath which made her nostrils flare. "I'm getting out of here because once again you have wasted my time and I unlike you have class to get to. Goodbye Sakura and I really hope one day you get the help you so desperately need." Hinata gave Sakura a big fake smile as she linked arms with her sister and walked up the stairs with her head held high as the people around watched her in awe.

Once they were inside Hanabi looked back and saw Sakura yelling again at the people around her acting crazy, "Hinata that was awesome I still don't know how you kept your cool it really got to her that you didn't go off on her. You know I wouldn't be able to do that and would have told her to go fuck herself but you got in her head! I have to remember that the next time someone pisses me off. I'll be like you and just fuck with their mind."

Hinata felt better about that interaction then her previous one with Sakura she felt better knowing that was probably the last interaction she would ever have with her. Hanabi was hesitant about leaving Hinata but she assured she would be fine and made a point to walk away before Hanabi could continue to object. Students were still looking at her with shocked expressions along with whispers and pointing at her as she passed, Hinata just kept walking ignoring all of them as she made her way to her locker. Once there she couldn't help but look over her shoulder at Sasuke's locker. She had hoped to find him standing there leaning against his locker as he usually was waiting for her. She was upset with herself for feeling down when he wasn't there because there was no way he could have been. It had been a week since she last saw him and he had yet to tell her of any plans for his future or to return home. She didn't want to push him for details because she knew this was a tough decision for him but she missed having him by her side. As she finished with her locker, she looked back one last time at Sasuke's abandoned locker hoping he'd be back soon.

As Hinata was making her way to class Sasuke was on his way back with Itachi. The two checked out of the motel that morning and were on the road heading home. They had been driving for a few hours when Itachi turned down the radio to talk to Sasuke, "We should be arriving in Konoha soon. Before I drop you off at the house, I want to swing by the apartment my friend told me about if we both like it, I'll sign the lease today." From what Sasuke had seen online the apartment didn't look too bad. It was much smaller than either of them was used to and they would have to share a bathroom but it was in a nice neighborhood where he could easily walk to school or to Hinata's from there. He knew it was juvenile but he still felt the sting from losing his car. He wanted to hope it would be in the driveway when he returned home but he wouldn't allow himself since he knew deep down it was hopeless to do so. His car was gone, the car that he had loved ever since he was a child and had created so many memories in, most of the new ones involving Hinata. It was where they shared their first of many kisses, the car that they had their first date in and if it weren't for the potential of losing his car, he would have never asked Hinata for her help and started to hang out with her. He swore that when he figured out what he wanted to do for the rest of his life he would be a success at it so one day he would be able to buy his car back not a similar car the exact car his father so carelessly sold to a stranger. Sasuke was wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost missed that Itachi was still talking. "After we get home I'm going to shower and change and head to the office."

"You're going to work? What are you going to say to Dad?"

"Nothing, he is in court today I checked. I still have a job to do, Izumi covered for me these past couple of days but I won't have my reputation be tarnished over missing more days of work." He caught Sasuke rolling his eyes. "Even though Dad handed me the job I work hard at it everyday Sasuke. And I've made some great connections for my future and established myself as a hardworking, bright, and determined future lawyer. And I'm not going to throw it all down the drain right now."

Sasuke understood Itachi wasn't the type of person to quit anything and doing that would just give their father something else to throw back into their faces. Still, he didn't like the idea of Itachi still working for their Dad, "It's a shitty job and Dad is just going to make your life miserable for disobeying him."

"Maybe but right now if we are going to move out, we need income coming in. Once we are all settled, I will look into finding another job." He was hoping for a clean break from their Dad but they would have to use the money they both received from him over the years to start their new lives. He didn't like the idea but he was faced with no other option so he had to relent and agree to Itachi's plan.

A few hours later Itachi pulled his car into their empty driveway even though Sasuke knew his father wasn't in there he could still feel his presence. He was glad the apartment was to their satisfaction and Itachi signed the lease right away, the keys to his new apartment where jingling in his pocket as he got out of the car. He felt bad about not discussing it with his Mom first but they didn't want to risk losing out on the apartment. They planned to tell her together over dinner that night but before Sasuke wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with her. He wanted to tell her about his college plans and he hoped she would be ok with them.

Sasuke felt a bit uneasy as he entered the quiet home there was no sign of Mikoto which he found odd since she seemed overjoyed when they called her from the car to tell her they were on their way back. When they walked in, he noticed there were bouquets of flowers on almost every surface some obviously had been there for days as they started to droop downwards. Sasuke assumed they were apology flowers from Fugaku it was just like him to throw money at the problem. It also was clear to Sasuke that his was the only relationship Fugaku wasn't trying to repair. He hated that Fugaku didn't even have to be around to make him feel terrible, he tried to shake off the feeling as he went to his room to shower and change. Itachi was dressed in his work attire and waiting by the window in the living room when Sasuke came back down, "Still no Mom?"

Itachi craned his head to get a better look outside, "No she's probably out grocery shopping or something." A car pulled up in front of the Uchiha home that made Itachi lean into the window to get a better look, "Is that Naruto's car?"

Sasuke walked into the room to get a better look and saw Naruto getting out of his car holding a folder in his hand. He walked around his car and started making his way to the door when he spotted the brothers looking at him from the window. He awkwardly waved at them and looked back at his car looking unsure if he should continue towards the house or not. Sasuke hadn't spoken to Naruto since the morning where he wrongfully accused him of putting up the pictures. His Mom had told him Naruto had been stopping by with his homework since he had been gone. Seeing by the folder in his hand he was here to do it again.

Naruto took a deep breath and continued walking towards the door which Sasuke decided to open for him. "Hey, you are back."

Sasuke nodded his head at his former best friend, "Yeah..."

He held out the folder for him, "I brought your homework I don't know if your Mom told you I've been bringing it every day."

"Yeah, she told me." Sasuke took the folder and the two awkwardly stood there neither one knowing what to say. "Want to come in?"

Naruto seemed pleasantly surprised by the offer, "Sure, thanks."

Sasuke stepped aside to let Naruto in and was starting to close the door when another car pulled up in front of the house. This time when the driver's side door opened Sasuke recognized Izumi stepping out. She spotted him and smiled and waved as she made her way around her car. Sasuke turned to tell Itachi she had arrived only to find him already behind him putting on his jacket, "I'm leaving you my car Sasuke, see you for dinner."

Itachi seemed eager to get out and Sasuke assumed it was because of the girl waiting for him outside. Sasuke watched to two embrace as he closed the door and went to find Naruto. He was in the living room looking uncomfortably at a photo of Sasuke and Hinata that Mikoto had placed on the mantle. Hearing Sasuke's footsteps enter the room, Naruto turned around looking embarrassed to be caught looking at the photo. "You two look…. happy."

Sasuke didn't respond he was unsure what made him invite Naruto in, they hadn't spoken a word to each other since their big fight which Sasuke didn't want to admit but he thought about more often than he'd like to. Naruto seemed just as uneasy as Sasuke as he was swaying back and forth and trying to come up with something to say. "So…did someone die? Your house looks like a funeral parlor."

Sasuke noticed a fresh bouquet on the coffee table that must have arrived when he was upstairs. He pulled out the card which read 'My dearest Mikoto, We need to speak. I can fix everything if you give me a chance. Love your husband Fugaku' Sasuke shoved the card back into the flowers as it made him feel ill to read his father's lies. He shuttered to think how he would fix this situation. "No."

It was a short response and Naruto knew it was all he was going to get so he moved on, "How was your trip? Your Mom said you and Itachi went off for some brother bonding."

"We went to Kirigakure."

Naruto looked relieved to have a more than one word response and it gave them something to talk about. "Oh, it's nice over there. I was there a couple of weeks ago with my parents to check out the university."

"Are you going there?" Sasuke had barely spoken to Naruto about colleges before so he hadn't known where he had applied to.

"Yeah, I just registered for orientation. My parents aren't too happy with me moving away but I really need a fresh start. My therapist thinks it will be good for me."

"Your therapist?"

"Yeah…I've been seeing them for over a month now."

Sasuke couldn't help but realize the time line of Naruto's therapy wasn't that far from when he started dating Hinata. Naruto spoke confidentially and it was then that Sasuke noticed this new aura around Naruto. He seemed much happier than he was before as her seemed to be fighting a smile as he stood there. His curiosity got the better of him and he asked, "What made you decide to go to therapy?"

"It was more of my Mom's decision then my own. She saw how upset and angry I've been lately and made an appointment. I was only going to go to one session to appease my Mom but I ended up liking it. Even though going there made me see what an asshole I've been for the past year."

"I could have told you that." Sasuke's unintentional joke started to ease the tension in the room.

Naruto sat down on the couch feeling a little more comfortable, "Well we weren't talking so, how could you? My therapist helped me see how wrong I was and I want to apologize for everything I said about you."

This was a different Naruto then the one he had previously known. He seemed calmer and more self-aware. "It's not like most of what you said wasn't true."

"True about the old you, people grow and they change most of the times for the better. I am hoping I can change for the better too. I want to apologize to Hinata really apologize but I think I should leave her alone. I've done enough to her but I hope one day I can. I realize now that I only wanted her back to prove I wasn't as bad of a guy as I was. I felt guilty about cheating on her but I couldn't stop myself and when she broke up with me, I thought I could down play what I did by getting her back. Like somehow if she took me back that would mean me cheating on her wasn't that bad."

"That's stupid, but I can see how you would think that."

Naruto let out a small chuckle and playfully said, "Shut up."

Even though they had fought it felt nice to talk to Naruto again. It wasn't the first time they fought they had many disagreements over their years of friendship. The last time was the first time their fights got physical. He didn't think this would happen again but it looked as if therapy was really helping Naruto. "I should probably apologize as well for the way you found out about Hinata and I. I should have just told you."

"I wouldn't have taken it any better if you had. When I think back, I knew it was pretty obvious even if you weren't officially dating there was something there. You were changing into this better person and I was jealous so I kept trying to drag you down. That was my defense mechanism instead of dealing with my own insecurities I was just attacking you."

"Therapy is really working for you huh?"

"It's done a lot for me but I've still got a lot of work to do. Apologizing to you was second on my list of things to do to earn a clean slate. First was apologizing to Sakura and making it clear that I wanted nothing more than maybe friendship from her."

"How did she take that?"

"Not well." Naruto shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he recalled what happened. "All I can say is she should take up soccer and I'm not a hundred percent sure I will be able to have kids now." Sasuke covered his mouth to try to hide his chuckle as he sat on the couch with Naruto. "I probably should have done it before I told the principal it was her that started the posts. She got suspended today and I feel guilty since this is all my fault if I had been straight with her from the beginning maybe she wouldn't have taken her frustrations out on Hinata. I wish I could go back and undo everything I've done but then you and Hinata would probably not be together now if I did that."

In a weird way if it wasn't for Naruto's screw up none of this would have ever happened. Hinata coming into his life had changed so much. And it made him wonder what his life would have been like if she hadn't. He was still not going to let Naruto have the satisfaction of claiming credit, "Doubt that she would have realized sooner or later how much better I am then you and come running to me anyway."

In the past Naruto would hit him back with another jab but instead he smirked and chuckle softly, "Yeah probably, I was a shit boyfriend maybe I'll do better if I get a chance in college."

"I guess we will see."

"We?"

"I'm going to Kirigakure University." It was the first time Sasuke had said the phrase out loud to Naruto of all people but it still felt good to say.

"What I thought Uchiha's all go to T.U?"

"Yeah, it's a long story but that is why we were visiting to check out the campus." Not a complete lie but Sasuke felt Naruto didn't need to know the whole truth.

The front door opened and Mikoto walked in holding two big bags of groceries, "Sasuke you are home! Oh, and Naruto so nice to see you again." His Mom looked like she was in a good mood as he walked over to help her with the groceries. She leaned in to kiss his cheek which slightly embarrassed him in front of Naruto. "Have you two eaten I can make something for you if you haven't?"

Naruto got up from the couch, "Thank you, Mrs. Uchiha but I should get back to school I just dropped by on my free period to bring Sasuke his homework."

"Ok dear but I hope to see you around more often. Sasuke you can't get a girlfriend and forget about your friend." She pointed her finger at her son playfully before heading into the kitchen.

Naruto headed for the door, "Thanks for inviting me in, I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

Naruto tentatively held his hand up to give Sasuke a high five. Sasuke looked at Naruto's hand in mid air and rolled his eyes as he gripped the bags with one hand in order to return the high five, "See you tomorrow." It was unexpected but it was a small relief to start settling things with Naruto. He was unsure what would happen next for both of them. He didn't know if they would be friends like before but it felt good to put things into prospective with his friend. He hoped his next conversation would go just as smoothly, as he went to the kitchen after his Mom.

Mikoto was happily putting away the groceries when Sasuke walked in, "How was your trip?"

He set the remaining bags on the table and went to help his Mom who was struggling to place some cans on a high shelf, "It was good…. Itachi and I really explored most of Kirigakure."

"I'm so glad you and your brother got to spend all that quality time together. You two should do that more often."

"Yeah, I'm sure we will." He helped his Mom in silence for a few minutes trying to gain the courage to say something he had never said before, "Mom I need to talk to you about something."

Mikoto's sunny disposition faded quickly upon hearing Sasuke's serious tone, "You need to talk to me? You never want to talk. If this is about your father, I wanted your brother to be here so we can all talk together."

He hated to see the worried look in Mikoto's eyes he almost thought about forgetting the whole thing and trying again later since she had just come home. He figured since he had started it, he was going to keep pushing through. "No, it's not about Dad. It is something serious so maybe you should sit down."

Mikoto dropped the bag of groceries she was holding as she gasped and covered her mouth with both hands, "It's Hinata she's pregnant, isn't she?"

Sasuke nearly dropped the bag as he was picking it off the floor, "What?!"

"Of course, that's it what else could it be? You are both so young and have graduation right around the corner, and then college in the fall! This couldn't have come at a worse time for the two of you!"

It was just like his mother to go off when the idea of him and Hinata came into her head. She probably thought about Hinata and Sasuke's future more than they did. "Mom, Hinata is not pregnant."

Mikoto's hand clamped down on her chest as she took a deep breath in to relax herself, "That is a relief although you were such a cute baby and so was Hinata so I can only imagine how cute my grandchild would be."

Sasuke pressed his palm to his forehead and shook his head back and forth in slight frustration as he gestured with his other hand to the kitchen table, "Mom please sit."

"Oh of course here you are wanting to tell me something important and I'm going off on impossible things. You and Hinata just started dating you are so far away from having sex with each other."

Sasuke was glad her back was turned towards him or else she would have seen the awkward look on his face. He sat across from her and took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet. He pulled out the folded acceptance letter and unfolded it for his Mom and placed it in front of her on the table. He watched as his Mom leaned in and slowly read it, "This is an acceptance letter."

"Yeah, I'm just as surprised as you are."

"That's not what I am surprised about Sasuke. I know what a bright student you are when you apply yourself. Any college would be lucky to have you I'm just surprised you didn't mention it. I understood when you didn't mention the rejection letters but you should have told me about this Sasuke."

She had said it so calmly, Sasuke was unsure if she had actually said it. He had only told Itachi about the letters so outside of him Hinata and his Dad he was sure no one else was aware of the letters. "You knew about the rejection letters?!"

"Of course, I did. Who do you think cleans this house? If you don't want me to find out then don't leave them in the trash can in your father's office."

"Why are you going through the trash?"

"Stop trying to change the subject. Why didn't you tell me about this? Kirigakure University is a good school a little far for my liking but a good school. Did you check it out while you were there?" Sasuke nodded. He was in such a state of shock over Mikoto's reactions to form sentences right now. "I'm glad you did I bet it's beautiful, I can't wait to visit it myself."

"Wait, I'm going?" It was something he had decided for himself but it felt weird for Mikoto to say it.

"What do you mean? Don't you want to go? I know you've never wanted to go to T.U."

"If you knew why didn't you say something?"

"I did Sasuke!" His mother said exasperatedly. "I kept asking what you thought about going to T.U. and becoming a lawyer like your father countless times and you would shut me down every time saying it was what Dad wanted and you were fine with it. I did the same with Itachi and he said the same thing. At least at the end of the day I knew Itachi wanted to be a lawyer regardless of what your father wanted. But Sasuke you had no other plans for your future so I figured your father's plan was better than no plan at all. I still tried dropping hints to you and that's why I was sad but also happy to find those rejection letters because it meant my plan on Hinata being a good influence on your life was working."

Sasuke's jaw nearly hit the table, "Your what?"

Mikoto looked a little sheepish on the other side of the table. It was obvious she hadn't meant to let that slip. "My plan...well plan makes it sound devious. I just saw the two of you hanging out and it was clear to anyone that you two liked one another so I may have kept pushing you two together in hopes that she would rub off on you and help you see that you wanted more for your life."

He sat there in sheer disbelief and shock he could not believe that his Mom had been plotting this in the background the entire time and he had no idea, "That's why you were pushing us together, so I would create my own path and not Dad's."

"That and I really do think you two are great together and bring out the best in one another. And I was also tired of you sneaking yourself or random girls in and out of my house all the time."

"How much do you know?" Sasuke held his hand up to stop her from answering, "On second thought the less I know the better."

"I hope you don't' think of me as a manipulator. I was just trying to help guide you to what was best you made all the decisions on your own. I was wanted to help you see that you could make those decisions to get what you really wanted. I didn't know what else to do since talking to either of you wasn't getting me anywhere."

"Do you have a plan for Itachi too? What's pushing him and Izumi together going to do for him?"

Mikoto tried to play it coy, "Oh, I don't know perhaps I thought a girl like that could make Itachi realize that he needs to be assertive in his own life and take steps to doing things the way he wants to. And not that I want him too but he's probably going to tell me soon of his plans to move out."

He had the palms of both his hands pressed against his forehead feeling overwhelmed by all of this, He was supposed to be the one revealing information not Mikoto. "I can't believe you know everything, Itachi and I spent half the car ride home preparing how we were going to break the news of us moving out for nothing."

"Us? You are moving out too? I hadn't expected that…"

Sasuke always considered himself a tough individual and the only two people capable of breaking down the tough exterior it had taken him years to cultivated were Hinata and Mikoto. Seeing his mother sadden over his news made him rethink his whole plan. "You know this has nothing to do with you but I don't know what is going to happen with you and Dad. Or me and Dad for that matter but all I know is him and I can't live under the same roof."

Mikoto shook her head and took a deep shaking breath in, "I know that Sasuke. On one hand I'm proud of you for making this decision but on the other hand I don't want you to leave either of you but especially you because you are my baby. I wish I could do something to change your father he wasn't always like this or maybe he was and I was too busy trying to make a perfect home that I was just sweeping problems under the rug instead of fixing them. Maybe if I had none of this would have happened."

A tear started to roll down her cheek followed by a few more making Sasuke feel even worse than before, "Please don't cry." He reached across the table to place his hand over hers he felt in this moment the least he could do was show her some compassion. "You made a great home for us, if it wasn't for you, I would have been out of here years ago."

Mikoto sniffled as she grabbed a napkin off the counter to dab both of her eyes, "You are such a sweet boy thank you. I wish I could tell you what's going to happen with your father and I but I do not know. Him and I have a lot to discuss he has changed in a lot of ways since we've been married and I'm not happy with the person he's become. I put up with too much over the years just trying to keep this family together and now…" Mikoto stopped herself it was like she was about to go down a road she wasn't ready to discuss with her son, "Now it's time for you to do what you want to do and it that is to move out I support that decision. As long as you continue to keep your grades up and stay out of trouble and don't think I won't be stopping by to make sure both of you are doing what you are supposed to do."

He sensed Mikoto was trying to stay away from talking about Fugaku, he wasn't sure if his parents were going to get a divorce and it seemed she was unsure as well. He hated to see her in such a state of distress and he hated even more that he was adding on to it. Mikoto reached across the table and gently placed her hand on his cheek, "I can see in your eyes how conflicted you are by all of this, I would tell you not to worry about me but I know that's not who you are. Although you pretend not to be, I know you will always be my sweet and caring baby boy." He bit his tongue as he disliked being referred to as a baby again and just let her have it just this time. She seemed pleased with his silence, "Now we can discuss this more with your brother when he gets home but these groceries need to be put away and I want to hear all about your visit to the University do not leave a single detail out. Oh, and one more thing." She leaned across the table and place her hand under Sasuke's chin gently squeezing his face, "I am very proud of you." She tapped him gently on the cheek before getting up grabbing his acceptance letter as she did. Sasuke watched as she placed it proudly on the fridge with a magnet.

Sasuke didn't know when he'd have this much time with his mother and devoted the next couple of hours spending it with her. Putting away groceries and helping her start to prepare dinner for that evening. He forced himself to talk more than he usually did hoping it would take her mind off all the negative things that had been going on in both of their lives. Mikoto was excited about the University she offered to talk to Fugaku to pay for it but Sasuke as politely as he could shot down that idea. He didn't want his father having anything to do with his future plan. If he failed his father would just say he knew he would and if he succeeded, he would claim it was because of his financial assistance that he was able to do so. Mikoto didn't like the fact that her son was willing to struggle to get what he wanted but she also admired his determination since it was something he hadn't previously shown.

Mikoto looked at the clock on the stove noticing the time, "Sasuke school ended ten minutes ago I thought you wanted to pick up Hinata."

He double checked to make sure his Mom was correct and saw the clock tick away another minute, "Shit yeah, I've got to go but we will be back later tonight."

Mikoto shooed him out of the kitchen, "Go already! I bet you are so excited to see the girl you love!"

"What?" There was yet another thing he hadn't told his Mom.

Mikoto acted innocent, "Oh what are you two still pretending you don't?" Sasuke started to wonder what little was out there that Mikoto hadn't secretly known all along but he had no time for that. He grabbed Itachi's key on the way to the door and ran out of the house to be reunited with Hinata.