A/N: It's here! And it only took me a week and a half this time and not three.

As always, thanks for the click, and double-thanks for all the kind reviews that have been left. Enjoy a little bit more of the intimate side of these two. n_n

Earnest x Honest

Everything from the walk home to the moment she fell asleep yesterday felt like a total blur to Hinata by the time she opened her eyes that Saturday morning, a full hour before her alarm was set to go off and wake her. She sat straight up and brushed her hair away from her face, rubbing her eyes with one hand and reaching for her window curtains with the other.

Dawn poured into her bedroom, and as the sun's first rays warmed her face and slowly stirred her further from sleep, a smile spread across her face, blooming slowly into a reserved but emotional expression of excitement.

She took her towel and toiletries and tiptoed quickly and sprightly down the hall into the bathroom for a quick and thorough cold morning wash, coming out wide awake and refreshed as she scurried just as quickly back into her bedroom to get dressed.

Hinata didn't have much in the way of variety when it came to her casual clothes, so deciding what she was going to wear never took too much thought when she planned to go out. Black panties and a matching bandeau, bought specifically because it was the kind of underwear Sasuke liked to see her in, was the first to come on, and after a moment of consideration standing at her closet with her hands on her hips, she decided on long, loose jeans and a simple dark blue t-shirt, completing the outfit with her favorite lavender hoodie.

Dressed and ready for the day ahead, Hinata took a deep breath and stepped out of her room, only to flinch in surprise as she nearly ran into Hanabi who was walking past in her nightclothes.

"You're… up kinda early, sis," the younger Hyuga spoke with an inquisitive furrow of her brows. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Um…" Hinata smiled and rubbed the back of her head as she stepped around her little sister to continue heading down the hall. "Yeah. Just to go and meet up with a friend for a little while, is all."

"A boyfriend?"

Hinata nearly staggered, pausing and spinning around again to regard Hanabi with an astonished look and a pinkening blush. "W-What…? He's- I mean… What would… make you think that, Hanabi?"

The girl put her hands on her hips. "You've been acting weird since the end of last school year. Growing your hair out, leaving the house more, and just… I don't even know how to word it. Trying to hide that you're happy? Like right now."

Hinata forgot at times how precocious and keen Hanabi could be. The way she spoke sometimes, one would think they were only one year apart and not five.

"W-Well…" she murmured. "You say that's weird, but is any of that really a bad thing?"

Hanabi shook her head. "I didn't say it was bad, sis. I was just making an observation. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but… whatever it is you're up to, if it makes you happy, then I'm happy for you. Just promise you're not doing anything weird in the bath. Or at least, let me go first in the future, if you are."

Hinata shook her head. "I-I promise I wouldn't do anything weird. And… thanks, Hanabi."

The younger Hyuga nodded before turning and continuing down the hall to enter the bathroom herself.

Hinata smiled lightly. It reassured her fragile heart that her sister still seemed to think well of her. And yet…

No, there was no 'and yet'. Hinata shook her head to clear her errant thoughts before she could ruin this moment for herself. Sasuke wanted her, and she needed to go.

With these thoughts did Hinata line her mind as she turned to hurry and continue on her way out of the house.

Sasuke's alarm clock didn't have time for one full chime before his hand reached out to press the button and silence it. He stared up at the ceiling with a furrowed brow as he listened to the sounds of movement and wordless activity outside his bedroom. Slow, calm footsteps walked up the hall and past Sasuke's bedroom door without pause, growing quieter as they passed, before a different door opened further away.

For another few minutes, things were silent, then Sasuke heard the reverse. A distant door opening and those same footsteps coming past his bedroom door once more, back toward the living room. The front door opened and closed eventually, leaving Sasuke with the house to himself again.

He sighed as he finally rolled out of bed and stretched his arms over his head, unsure what Itachi needed to get from the house and his old room, but completely sure that he didn't care. He was just glad that his brother was in and out quickly, and that he didn't have to kill time until he left, should Hinata have arrived while he was still there.

Just as quickly as she came to mind, Sasuke heard his phone buzz on his nightstand, and reached over with a raise of his brow to check his new message.

I'm on my way. I should be there in about an hour and a half.

With a smirk, he tapped out a quick reply.

Good. I'm waiting.

Sasuke left his room for a hot shower to warm, relax, and refresh his body, and after coming out, picked a simple, comfortable set of long pants and a t-shirt out of his selection of black clothes in his closet. Before heading out to the living room, Sasuke spared himself a glance in the mirror, looking himself quickly up and down before meeting eyes with his own cool onyx stare, the glint of anticipation upon his eyes, and the lurking shadow of frustration just behind them. Sasuke squinted slightly and did his best to bury those feelings of his family that prickled at his thoughts and darkened his eyes. If he could see them, Hinata might be able to as well, and Hinata didn't need to see them.

When he was finally content with how he looked, Sasuke took to the living room and… checked around. Despite telling himself he didn't care about Itachi's business, he had to admit that he cared marginally. He didn't expect there to be anything mind-blowing about his work, whatever it was, to be just carelessly laying around; Itachi was far too meticulous for that. But if he left something behind that even had a chance of catching Hinata's attention, he wanted it out of sight.

In between checking around the house and moving this and that around, Sasuke made himself and ate a light breakfast, wanting to take care of as many things as possible that could distract either of them. With all the idle things he was occupying his mind and actions with, time passed rather quickly, but the doorbell pulled him suddenly back to reality.

Sasuke glanced at the clock as he moved straight for the door. It was a little after 8. He wondered to himself for a brief moment what time it might be by the time she left, but when he opened the door and saw her, he decided it didn't matter.

She stood with her head slightly lowered and her hands folded in front of her as the door opened, but looked up to him with a smile on her soft lips and a gleam of anticipation to match his own in her pale eyes.

"Good morning, Sa-...!"

As Hinata spoke, she cut herself off as Sasuke reached for a grip on the front of her hoodie, tugging her forward into the house and nearly causing her to stagger in surprise. As Hinata stumbled, Sasuke's other arm coiled quickly around her waist to pull her fully and firmly against him, and just as quickly and firmly, he sealed his lips against her own in a kiss that overflowed with raw and wanting desire.

Hinata's shocked eyes fluttered closed, speechless against the embrace, close to mindless. Before she allowed her thoughts to turn completely to hot mist in her skull, she clumsily slid out of her shoes, leaving them untidily by the door as Sasuke pulled her from in front of the door and pushed her against the wall just by the doorframe.

Mashed between the hard wall and Sasuke's firm form, Hinata's hands had no choice but to wrap around him and hold on for dear life as his greedy, avid liplock threatened to steal all the breath from her lungs. He was restless, ravenous, unrelenting, damn near overwhelming. But he wanted her. With every fiber of his being, he drew her into his singular passion, and she quivered with almost guilty delight and endured his pressure.

His lips finally left hers after so many uncounted seconds, and he set his forehead upon hers as their hot panting mingled in the space between them. He grinned and spoke coolly.

"Morning."

"M-Mmhh…" Hinata whimpered out a puddle of noise, all that her poor, dust-scattered thoughts could hope to produce in that moment as she began to recover herself.

His gaze trapped her own, and as Hinata panted for breath and rebuilt her senses, she couldn't look away from that dark stare and the devilish grin that accompanied it. His hands rose to caress her body in slow and familiar motions, starting by cupping his hands gently around her slender neck and feeling the warmth of her soft skin and the gentle thump of her quickened pulse.

As Sasuke's hands began their slow journey downward, Hinata's hands continued to cling fondly to the back of his shirt, just as passionately, though not nearly as desperately as when he stole her breath away a moment ago. He glided over her shoulders, skimming his hands down the soft fabric of her hoodie as his fingers fell slowly across her arms.

"It felt cruel having to wait through a whole day of the usual mess at school to get here, didn't it?" he chuckled. "But here we are again… Nothing to distract us, or force me to let you go until I feel like it."

Hinata gulped hard, as he knew she would, with the words he chose. His touch fled her arms for her waist, feeling the curves of her figure beneath her modest attire, and eventually slowed to a halt at the front of her jeans, fingers ready to pop the front button at any moment.

"Talk to me. Be honest with me."

Hinata couldn't resist that low and commanding tone of his, especially when he wasn't in a position where he needed to restrain or duly lower his voice. He told her to speak, and she spoke.

"I… I…" Hinata let out a small, shivering breath before her thoughts poured free. "You've been more earnest than usual lately… Did something happen? Do I really… deserve all this?"

A nervous, shaky chuckle escaped Hinata's lips as she glanced briefly away from him, but she pursed her lips as he just as quickly raised a hand to tilt her head back to look at him again, before returning it readily to her jean button.

"D-Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I don't want it. I… I do want it. I want… you..." The words felt slightly odd as Hinata spoke them, but Sasuke's expression didn't change. "Um, that is, I'll…"

"You're trying to put a voice to that text you sent yesterday at lunch," Sasuke spoke up as she trailed off. "You think I don't owe you anything."

"Sasuke, I'll always owe you so much more than you'll ever owe me..." she blurted. "S-So…"

"Then let me put my voice to the response I texted back to you. Since it seems the words weren't clear enough without it." Sasuke leaned closer, hearing Hinata draw in and hold a breath as he set his lips close to her ear. "What I owe you? What you owe me? What you deserve? ...That's not for you to decide here."

As those firm, decisive words came forth, Sasuke popped open the button of her jeans and pried apart the teeth of her zipper in one sudden motion. Hinata shuddered out her held breath as he felt his fingers lingering teasingly against her bare skin just above the waistband of her exposed panties.

"That humble attitude of yours is part of what makes me want you the way I do," he said as his grasp grew firmer upon her hips and he pulled himself away from her ear so he could spin her around to face the wall.

"But you gave yourself to me, didn't you?" he continued as one hand reached around, clutching her shirt and hoodie to tug them up and hold the fabric just over her belly.

"Yes…"

"Said you'd do anything for me, didn't you?" He let his other hand glide smoothly over her stomach and down the waistband of her panties without pause, rolling his fingers in torturously slow circles around her tender clit as her thighs clapped together and she squirmed against the wall.

"Y-Yes…!"

"Then do this for me. Stop worrying about what you think you deserve to have. Let me worry about that..." Sasuke grinned. "Just put your voice again to the next thing you texted me. I want to hear you say it."

Hinata chewed gently on her lip and furrowed her brows. Even though her building pleasure was muddling her thoughts, that exchange was still fresh in her mind.

"Thank you…"

"Hm…?"

Sasuke's hand dove deeper to fill Hinata's panties, and his fingers danced dangerously against her folds as her loosened jeans began to slowly slip from her hips.

"Thank you, Sasuke…~!" Hinata spoke a small bit louder, her voice dripping with the sort of unrestrained desire that he couldn't hear from her during school, and Sasuke drank it all in eagerly.

"Heh. Good girl…" he muttered in her ear as his teasing fingers finally filled her folds as deeply as they could dive.

So shortly after being let up for air, Hinata found her mind drowning once more in Sasuke's overwhelming bliss, while Sasuke immersed himself fully in Hinata and all that the soft squeaks and yelps of her soft voice and the torrid wiggles of her gorgeous body had to offer him. Lost in each other as they were, little else mattered, least of all their personal problems.

He kissed and nipped needily at Hinata's neck, holding her close to him, his hips grinding against her pantyclad ass as her jeans continued to slide slowly down her legs. She balled her fists against the wall, curled her toes against the floorboards, and tightened her core against his relentless attention, only to find herself driven hastily to the edge of an unexpected climax anyway. Her jaw fell open and a shaky breath tumbled free as her release overtook her despite her feeble efforts to contain herself. Her slick inner walls quivered around his fingers as the flickering rhythm of her orgasm rolled its way from her core to her limbs, making her unsteady on her feet.

At last, as Hinata's body relaxed with a rapturous sigh, her jeans finally tumbled to her knees. Sasuke's hand slid free from her panties and caressed down her thigh to push her pants all the way down to her ankles, for her to step out of as he pulled her away from the wall and further into the house, guiding her to the couch.

"On your knees," Sasuke ordered, reaching to grip the hem of both her hoodie and the shirt she wore beneath.

As Hinata obeyed and lowered herself to her knees in front of the couch, she raised her arms to allow Sasuke to hoist her garments up over her head in the same motion, tossing the shirt and hoodie aside to the farther end of the couch and leaving Hinata knelt before him in just her underwear as he took a seat.

It wasn't hard to decipher his desires, and so Hinata didn't need any more words of instruction. She grasped the waistband of his pants and tugged them down to free the rigid length hiding beneath, taking him in one gentle hand and caressing him steadily from base to tip.

With her mind still simmering-hot from her release, Hinata was more than eager to spread the pleasure between them and bring him the same sort of bliss he'd brought to her and then some. Eager to please, desperate for his approval, she closed her eyes, parted her lips, and bobbed her head down to engulf him with a low, warm groan.

Yearning for pleasure, desperate for her affections, Sasuke gazed hotly down upon Hinata as she bobbed her head up and down in fervent rhythm, the light tug and welcoming warmth of her soft lips and roaming tongue blooming rapture in his toned chest, her soft noises inspiring deep, vocal groans and sighs of his own.

"Hinata…"

He ran his fingers over the top of her head and through her hair as she moved, using both hands to bunch her long beautiful hair close together to hold firmly in one fist, creating a messy ponytail that spilled out of his hand. Sasuke bit his lip, reminded at once of the image of Hinata he'd been holding so close at mind since that Thursday night, of her standing in the bath, dripping wet with her hair pulled back, hip turned and leg raised to accentuate that curvaceous figure trapped torturously in the tiny confines of his smartphone as she showed off at his request.

Ecstasy soaked his thoughts. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, letting out a deep pant as he lost himself briefly in his due enjoyment, only to look back down to find Hinata's pale gaze glinting up at him, brow furrowed and motion slowed and stilted. It was only then that Sasuke realized just how tight his grip had become.

He contained himself and released her hair, bringing his hands instead to her shoulders to raise her up. Hinata rose obediently, smiling as he drew her closer onto the couch with him and settling her knees comfortably on either side of him. As he tugged the dampened seat of her panties aside, she leaned forward, pressing her chest against his, circling her arms around him and resting her chin against his shoulder. Finally, Sasuke took hold of her hips, adjusted her position, and eased her down on top of him to fill her depths deeply.

Hinata groaned into Sasuke's shirt, her breath hitching with each steady upward buck, and her own body undulating against him in turn. With each soft clap, each satisfied breath he lavished against her neck, her heart swelled and her blood raced. Each moment they stayed connected, his earnestness mounted. Much as Sasuke wished he could just sit back with his arms folded behind his head and let Hinata bounce and wiggle to her heart's content, he wasn't in that kind of mood.

He began to shift their position, turning them over so that Hinata was on her back upon the couch and he loomed over her… only for him to fret at how little space there was for them, widthwise, not quite enough for her to spread her legs as far as Sasuke would like without her hanging halfway off of it. It was a comfortable couch, but only so suitable for fucking on, at least to Sasuke's liking.

So instead, Sasuke lifted himself up from the couch and pulled Hinata to her feet with him, guiding her half-shivering legs instead past the living room and further into the house, toward his own room.

It was a good change in venue. Noon struck, and Hinata laid across the familiar comfort of Sasuke's bed, her mouth agape, her eyes covered by one of her raised arms, her toes curled, her underwear discarded carelessly to the floor, and her legs spread good and wide, with Sasuke's head between them.

Stars began to crackle and burst behind her pale eyes as his skilled tongue against her shuddering folds left her breathless, her body squirming, almost heaving with desire against him as her back arched lightly up off the bed. A gentle chorus of shaky gasps and half-yelped moans and mewls filled Sasuke's bedroom, and he relished every sound she offered him as his gleaming eyes gazed up her shimmering body.

His grip grew firmer upon her held-apart thighs as they began to quake and shudder with the euphoric rhythm of another mind-clearing orgasm, and while Hinata was lost and panting in bliss, he raised himself and brought himself forward slowly over her, pausing at her chest to treat one of her tender nipples with a slow swirl of his tongue and suckling kiss before rising further still, settling his face against her neck as he nestled between her open legs and rolled forth to fill her as deeply as he could.

Passion carried Hinata's heated voice to every corner of Sasuke's room and she whined and hissed and clung to the shirt he still wore as he kissed, nipped, and suckled on a singular spot at the base of her neck, until a small, rosy red lovemark was left behind from his attention. It was just then that he felt himself beginning to reach his limit, as he could see from the red of Hinata's face that she was approaching weariness as well.

With a soft groan and a hiss of his own, Sasuke pulled free just before reaching imminence, and with a few more good, long strokes, the satisfaction of finality washed over his features as his warm release washed lightly over Hinata's belly. She laid still and let her chest heave quickly for breath, while he sighed out and turned to rest his back against the wall along his bed.

When Hinata could sit up, she reached for his nightstand, going into the drawer for the tissues she knew he kept there, and drying her stomach before scooting over across the bed and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Monday, the council's going to be talking officially about the upcoming festival."

Hinata opened her eyes, listening closer as Sasuke continued.

"I want to hear a serious idea from you about what you might want to do. Now, if you have one. But it doesn't have to be. Definitely for the record on Monday."

"..."

Hinata lowered her eyes. She hadn't given it much thought, especially not today… But with her mind slowly but surely making room once more for other things besides Sasuke and being ravished almost from the front door to his bedroom, she wondered…

What am I… good at?

Sasuke raised a brow, almost able to sense the emotional temperature dropping around them. "Like I said, doesn't have to be now."

"What are… you doing for the festival, Sasuke?" she finally wondered quietly.

Sasuke's head tilted briefly to the side. What first came to mind…

"...Piano, most likely," he said. "You're not... thinking of a duet, are you? In front of everyone?"

Hinata pursed her lips. "I can't really play any instruments. Maybe the koto, but not well enough... I can't sing well, either. My voice starts to break when I raise it too high."

"I know."

Hinata whined and buried her face in Sasuke's shirt, to which he smirked and traced his fingers up her back.

"W-What I'm trying to say is… I don't know about a duet, but still… maybe… something with you?"

Now it was Sasuke's turn for cooling silence. He stared ahead at his door, and though Hinata could peer into the depths of his eyes, she couldn't quite tell what he was feeling.

"Keep thinking, for now," he finally spoke, in a tone she couldn't quite read, either.

Unsure how to feel, Hinata simply nodded, closing her eyes as she clung lightly to Sasuke once more.

"Can I… um…" she eventually spoke up again, drawing his eyes in her direction, his lips brushing her forehead. "...use your sink? Just to, you know… rinse off and freshen up a bit?"

Sasuke's tepid expression grew slightly warmer. "You think we're done…?"

He tilted Hinata's head, kissing just under her chin, relishing in her incredulous expression, unsure of what to do with herself.

"I still need that picture first."

Hinata sighed softly at his jest, smiling and nodding as he stood and went for his phone. "How do you want me?"

"Knees on the bed… Scoot over so that you're in front of the window a bit more…"

Hinata raised herself up onto her knees and did her best to position herself exactly as Sasuke wished, while he aimed his phone at her.

"Flip your hair behind your shoulders and give me a look."

"A look…? What sort of look?"

"An honest look. Just let your face show me how you're feeling."

Fair enough, Hinata thought. Of course he wouldn't want her to show him a fake expression she had to try for. She nodded and took a breath, before taking the final step and flourishing her hair so that it flipped behind her shoulders, setting her hands on her thighs and… looking honest.

"Perfect," Sasuke hummed approvingly, before moving to sit down again and giving Hinata a push on her back. "Go freshen up, then. And grab the rest of your clothes while you're out there."

Hinata nodded quickly, pressing her lips together as she collected her underwear from the floor, before stepping out to return to the living room. Sasuke watched and listened amusedly to her footsteps, before breaking out into a small grin when Hinata's naked form eventually darted past his bedroom door again on her way to the bathroom with her clothes in her arms.

He sighed and looked down at his phone, at the picture he just took of her, naked on his bed, illuminated by window light behind her, with the most beautiful, gentle, aching, acquiescent smile on her face.

Hinata left the bathroom as unsuspectingly fresh as she was going to be, stopping in front of the bedroom door and nodding to Sasuke as he slipped back into his pants.

"I should get going," she said. "Thanks… for having me over, Sasuke."

"Mm. Get home safe."

Sasuke rolled his neck and sighed, coming out of his room to go into the bathroom himself, but pausing at the sound of Hinata's voice by the door.

"Is this really you?"

He turned around to see Hinata looking at his family picture that was on the endtable by the doorway.

"I never really stopped to look at this on the way out. I don't think I've ever seen you smile like this," she chuckled. She looked back at Sasuke as he approached the door as well, but her smile faded when she saw that curious look on his face again, an expression she couldn't place, and that it seemed he didn't want her to place.

"...Yeah," he grunted simply, distractedly. He glanced between the photo and Hinata, before reaching out to open the door for her. "I'll see you Monday."

Hinata nodded silently, letting that be the last word between them as she left Sasuke's home.

Did something happen…?

Somewhere along the line, Hinata had forgotten that she'd even asked Sasuke that question, and that he'd never really answered it.

Meanwhile, at Konoha High, Saturday didn't necessarily mean that the school had stopped functioning or that students had no business there. Sakura, as vice president of the student council and an apprentice to the principal herself, had more than a little business walking the halls that afternoon and helping the administrator's office with some of their various needs, as well as keeping up with Dr. Tsunade on her academic progress.

One of those various needs involved a decently large stack of envelopes and folders in her arms which she retrieved from the council clubroom. She whistled casually to herself as she left the room and began to make her way back towards the office, before being stopped by a call for her attention.

"Sakura. Do you have a moment?"

She tilted her head and turned around, raising her brows as she recognized Neji approaching her from further down the hall. Of course, as an office aide, he probably had his own business at the school he was obliged to take care of, and she wouldn't be surprised if Neji's business happened to coincide with her own.

"Neji! How are you doing?" she asked with a friendly nod. Neji's calm face pulled a bit more tense for a moment, but he slowly bowed his head to her in greeting as well.

"I'm fine. But seeing you reminded me that there's something I need to get off my chest," he said.

"Um… sure, shoot. Is there a problem…? I haven't been taking work from you in the office or anything, have I? I have these docs here, but if you want to bring them to-"

"Just listen to me." Neji crossed his arms and knitted his brows. "I'm… concerned… with the way that it seems that Sasuke and the rest of the council are allowing Hinata to be treated."

"H-Huh?" Sakura's brows flew up in surprise again.

"I can see you from time to time when I'm here during school hours, and when she's around you, you seem to be treating her kindly, most of you. But I just can't abide anyone taking advantage of her nature."

"Neji, what are you talking about?" Sakura shot back with a frown. "None of us take advantage of Hinata. Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"

"This past Thursday," Neji started. "She was left alone and made to clean the council clubroom all by herself with no help. And it almost made her unacceptably late getting home. That can't happen again. And if you're really a friend of hers, I would think you might make sure it wouldn't."

Neji could almost see the question marks swirling around in exasperation over Sakura's head, and curled a brow as he waited for her response.

"That's not… huh? The only thing that happened that Thursday after our meeting adjourned was Sasuke asking Hinata to stay behind so he could talk to her about some other things. She told me herself it was festival stuff. We didn't leave any cleaning to her."

"...What?"

"Yeah... The council clubroom didn't even need cleaning that Thursday anyway. What made you think… Did Hinata tell you that…?"

Neji's mind was somewhere else, his face a storm of confusion, deep thought, and growing upsetness. Finally, after several moments, he bowed his head to Sakura and took the documents from her arms.

"Forgive me. ...I will deliver those for you, actually."

"..."

A quiet storm of thought also began to brew behind Sakura's eyes as she watched Neji walk away down the hall.

A/N: Oooh. I wonder what's gonna happen next. :P

I'm happy to say that the direction of the story is slowly coming together more and more in my mind. There are a couple of events I know for certain I can see happening, and the story now is a matter of connecting the dots between those events and what leads up to them. Some of the reviews have even touched slightly on some of those future events, which definitely makes me smile to see.

More than probably anything, I've seen a lot of curiosity as to how Hinata and Sasuke got together in the first place, which is a really good question. There have been little things and lines here and there talking about little snippets of their early relationship, but nothing definitive or substantial just yet. It's one of those things that I definitely have plans of writing out over the course of this little adventure, but am still thinking out the when and how it'll be written. Hopefully, the here and now is more than enough to tide over for this chapter, though.

Once more, thanks for the read. I'm relieved that writing this chapter didn't once make me want to beat myself with self-criticism and start all over, so I'm hopeful that it turned out alright. Lemme know if it did, and till next time!