Grabbing a pillow, Hinata wraps it around her head, trying to muffle the irritatingly loud beeping of a reversing truck.

It does little to prevent the sound travelling from hundreds of feet below to her very sensitive ears.

Flinging the pillow to the other side of the bed, she wills her exhausted body to the window sill to slide it shut. Squinting against the harsh light of the morning sun, she then draws the blinds.

Immediately the room morphs from a sunny inferno into a vampiric cave.

She should be more alarmed at waking up in an unfamiliar room, but the brain fog of a hangover subdues her usually panicky state of mind.

Sitting on the bed, she notices a bottle of painkillers and a glass of water. She doesn't think twice about popping one of the pills into her mouth and downing it with the lukewarm water. Greedily she tilts the glass back, causing the liquid to spill onto her face and trickle down onto the bed.

The bed that probably costs more than her tuition for this semester. It was most likely stuffed with something abhorrently cruel, like the feathers of a beautiful, endangered bird.

Furiously, she dabs at the small damp area with the comforter.

Sasuke was going to kill her if she ruined his bed.

Her eyes widen at the realization of whose room she is in and of the memories of last night that begins to trickle in. She doesn't remember another body next to her when she woke up, but still, she glances over to the far end of the king-sized mattress.

It's empty.

She sighs in relief for not having made a drunken mistake that she wouldn't be able to take back.

By no means does she desire a one-night stand with her grumpy neighbor who was infamous for his philandering. It's naïve and probably unrealistic, but she wants her first time to be special and with someone she loves. Someone like Naruto.

Her heart wrenches at the memory of seeing him with his pink-haired amore.

She drops back onto the bed stifling her groans of heart break and physical discomfort. How stupid could she have been to believe he would truly reciprocate her feelings.

Why would he choose a weird, frumpy lump over the dazzling gem that is Sakura?

In that moment, she would give anything to teleport to her tiny, hard bed and cry on the shoulders of her roommate.

Wiping away a few droplets of tears, she tells herself that she somehow needs to sneak out of this room and apartment without bumping into Sasuke. She doesn't need his judgemental cold glare to add to her list of troubles.

She rummages through a laundry hamper looking for her winter coat. Maybe she left it at the bar last night or maybe she didn't wear one to begin with. Her foggy mind has a hard time remembering.

Her search is futile. She looks down at the thick white robed draped across her body. Would she look like a lunatic if she left the building like this? What would she do if Neji caught her? Better to look crazy and homeless than lose a finger to frostbite.

Quietly she pries open the bedroom door and tip toes down the hallway. Halfway to the living room, her head turns toward the bathroom.

Knowing the toilet is a few feet away, brings on the intense urge to relieve herself of the liquor she used to poison her body. She has no choice now but to use the restroom as to not risk further embarrassing herself on the Tokyo subway.

Hinata is relieved that the sound of her tinkling is drowned out by both the bathroom fan and the automatic turning on of the central heat. It made her think she still had a chance to leave without bumping into her host. But unfortunately for her, these background sounds also mask the thud of the front door shutting.

When she creeps toward the foyer and is about to retrieve her red heels, a chirpy feminine voice addresses her, "Leaving so soon without saying hello?"

Hinata wearily turns around to see a very pregnant woman smiling cheekily at her from the unlit kitchen.

"Izumi-san," Startled, Hinata breaths out and nervously claws at the cotton robe.

The front door then opens, revealing another well-known face. One she had crushed on when she was a little girl, but now revered as her own blood.

Itachi hauls in two large shopping bags, dropping them next to a freshly cut, spruce tree.

Wearily, he mutters, "Why do we need a Christmas tree when we are only going to be in the city for a few hours?"

"Because it smells nice and calms us down," Hinata notes the affectionate manner in which Izumi rubs her protruding stomach, "We can always take it back to Konoha."

Occupied with grabbing a few more bags from outside the apartment, Itachi has yet to notice Hinata standing in his hallway.

If she wasn't in a concrete box in the middle of the sky, Hinata would have most likely jumped off the balcony and scamper all the way back to Konoha, just to avoid meeting and explaining to Itachi why she was in his home.

After tucking the multitude of shopping bags away from the middle of the foyer, and moving the tree against the wall with his booted feet, Itachi looks forward.

"Hinata?" Large, dark eyes widen in confusion, "What are you doing here?"

Hinata's mouth opens and closes, but no words come out, she fights back the tears that are threatening to fall. How could she explain the events of last night to a man she respected, and still retain her dignity?

Down the hallway, a door creaks open, re-directing Hinata and Itachi's attention.

Striding out from his brother's room in nothing but his boxer briefs, Sasuke enters the kitchen. Eyes half closed; he groggily greets his sister-in-law.

"Morning, Zumi." He affectionately and lightly taps her tummy, then reaches out for a glass from the cupboard. While the tap water fills into his cup, he asks, "Where's Itachi?"

With an amused smirk on her face, Izumi points toward the front door.

Before his bleary eyes have enough time to register the two occupants in the foyer, Itachi bellows, "Sasuke! What did you do?"

Itachi kicks off his winter boots, and is about to grab his brother by the shoulders, when Hinata intervenes, "Itachi-nii, it's not what it looks like."

Teary eyed, wearing Sasuke's robe, while said man casually saunters around half-naked, she had a good idea of the picture they painted.

Sasuke huffs and rolls his eyes, "Always one for dramatics." He takes a seat on a stool next to the kitchen counter and slowly drinks from his glass of water, "Nice to see you too, Aniki."

"One of you care to explain what's going on?" Itachi's tone is stern and demanding.

Hinata starts, "Sasuke was kind eno-", but Sasuke cuts her off, "I got wasted, didn't want to leave my car on campus, everyone else was too drunk to drive, so little miss goody two shoes here drove me home."

Not one to lie, the casualness of Sasuke's dishonesty makes her uncomfortable, but yet she is grateful for it.

A smile forms on Itachi's face as he expresses his gratitude, "You should have left him to sleep in his precious car, but thank you. I am sorry for thinking the worst." He ruffles her long hair, making it messier than it already is, and places a kiss on her cheek, "Stupid of me to think you would ever be foolish enough to fall for this idiot's charms."

"I think the world of you too," Sasuke grumbles as Itachi moves past him and down the hallway. Izumi follows her husband, after giving the two students a knowing wink.

Alone again, Hinata faces the awkwardness she was trying to escape, "Thanks for your help last night. I am sorry for being an inconvenience."

After a few seconds of silence with no response from Sasuke, Hinata adds, "I should leave."

"I'll give you a ride," Sasuke states rather than offers.

"I don't want to trouble you anymore."

"You're not. I have an exam soon."

She nods her head and looks away when he stands up baring his near naked physique.

Izumi and Itachi return to the kitchen as Sasuke retreats to his bedroom to get ready. Itachi invites her to sit with him at the kitchen counter while his wife prepares breakfast.

Rifling through the cupboards, Izumi pulls out a box of oatmeal, "Are you hungry? This is all we have. Sasuke never stocks up on food, probably just survives on the blood of broken hearts."

Hinata can't help but to giggle, then politely declines, "Thank you. But I am not hungry, and I don't want to stall Sasuke as he is giving me a ride back."

"He'll wait if you want to eat," Itachi informs flatly while tapping away on his mobile.

In the background, Hinata hears Sasuke brushing his teeth in the bathroom. She cringes at the thought of poor Itachi falling victim to her morning, post-drunken breath.

While the water is boiling on the stove, Izumi tidies up the kitchen and casually asks Hinata about school and her family.

Sasuke remerges, fresh faced as if he had a full night's sleep. The opposite to Hinata's visage. If she wasn't frantic to leave, she would be mulling over the unfairness of not being blessed with the same genes as these two men.

He slips on his winter coat, "Zumi, I need one of your old coats for Hinata."

"It's okay, I don't need a coat. This is fine." She gestures toward the robe, "It's very warm, and I'll return it to you as soon as I wash it."

"It's below zero outside and you look ridiculous."

Izumi removes the bubbling pot of oats from the stove to place it on the white, marble countertop, "All my skinny girl clothing are in storage."

Sasuke grabs a large, puffer jacket and shoves it in her hands. Hinata doesn't protest because she just wants to leave and hurry back to the privacy of her dorm room.

"See you on Sunday," Sasuke slips on his boots and holds the door open for Hinata.

"Nice seeing you again, Hinata-chan. We'll see you soon for your birthday," Hinata nods her head, and is about to walk out when Izumi strides toward her and stretches her arm out, "I can take the robe, I'm planning to do laundry while we are here."

Hinata is unable to formulate a plausible reason as to why she still needs the robe. Reluctantly, she pries it off her body. She tugs at the hem of the dress, hoping she can magically make it longer.

"Maybe we should keep Santa's little elf to help us with our gift wrapping," Izumi teases, then scrunches her nose a bit, which Hinata believes is a reaction to the lingering scent of vomit.

Hinata doesn't dare look back towards where Itachi is seated, but she hears his low chuckle. She is about to sputter something incoherently about being forced to wear the degrading outfit, but Sasuke pushes her out the door and locks it. "Let's go."


Next chapter will be from Naruto's POV.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I am tired of my stories always being depressing and overly emotional, so I am going to try to squeeze in some cute, light moments before things turn south for Hinata.

Thanks for the reviews and I hope to hear your thoughts on this chapter.