Hinata spoke on the phone in hushed tones. She didn't want to wake him.
She wasn't sure what had happened, but her stomach was still queasy from getting a call from the hospital and seeing him in that bed. His face was black and blue, radiating from his nose, and it was only getting worse by the hour as the bruises set in. What if it was something far worse?
She forced herself to look away. She needed to stop staring at him. At some point, he was going to wake up, and she was sure the pain was going to make him crankier than usual without the meds.
'You really are cute.'
Hinata scrunched her face up and shook her head. He was more like Itachi than she realized. It caught her off guard. Her heart went to her throat before she realized it was the painkillers.
Hinata hung up the phone as the call ended and went over to check on him.
Hinata put the back of her hand on the side of his face, it was warm, but the swelling wasn't spreading. "You should be more careful." She whispered. Taking the now warm ice pack, he dropped his sleep away. "You make me worry about you." She pulled the blanket up to cover him up better.
"I did it for you," Sasuke mumbled.
Hinata flinched her hands back as his eyes lazily came open.
Sasuke's eyes closed slowly. "Don't cry anymore."
Hinata backed up as he was clearly asleep just as quickly as he woke up. She put a hand over her heart. She didn't want to wake him up with how loud it was beating. She put her hands on the side of her red face and shook her head. She wasn't going to get close to him again until his meds wore off.
Itachi smiled as Sasuke side-eyed at him. Something had changed. Sasuke wasn't upset that his big brother was here for her anymore. He was upset that she invited over his big brother when they were alone.
Itachi couldn't keep the grin off his face. "How did you break your nose anyway?" Itachi asked.
Hinata seemed to not know as she looked at him curiously.
Sasuke's lip twitched with irritation. "Nothing interesting."
"It looks like a bad break," Hinata murmured in a low, concerned voice.
Sasuke looked down into his tea. "I'm fine. The medications are working fine."
"That doesn't mean it's not going to hurt." Hinata countered.
Sasuke's eyes flicker up, annoyed with her tone but just as quickly flicker back down when he sees the concern in her eyes.
"Where have you been lately anyway?" Sasuke grumbled back at Itachi.
Hinata pressed her lips together and made eye contact with Itachi. Did she know? "Not everyone sits in an office all day as part of their jobs. There are factories to see, products to test." Itachi lied, leaning back in his chair. He had been lying to his face for so long it was almost too easy.
"Tsk," Sasuke grumbled.
"It's getting late," Itachi commented. "I can drive you home."
"His cars here," Hinata said too quickly.
Itachi raised an eyebrow at her, and she turned red, but she held her ground.
Then there was a knock on the door.
They all turned.
"Were you expecting someone else?" Itachi wondered.
Hinata shook her head and headed toward the door. "Might be my neighbor. She's always losing her cat."
Sasuke frowned with his hands clenched on his lap. Itachi eyed him and wondered what they were in for as Hinata answered the door.
Hinata opened the door with a greeting, but it died in the throat.
Hanabi stood with her fits tightly balled at her sides. Her head is down, and her face is divisive.
"Hanabi-chan?" Hinata whispered, feeling her eyes fill with tears and her lip quiver.
Did she hug her? Did she beg her to stay? What was she meant to do?
Hanabi let out a sob and hit her chest full force as she dug her face into her chest and wrapped her arms around her. Hinata wrapped her shaky hands around her head and held her tightly.
Hinata couldn't bear to let her go. Hanabi lifted her head to miserably wipe her face. "Why did you come to get me?!"
"You didn't call. I thought you would have if you wanted me to come." Hinata pulled the hair that was sticking to her face away. Patting it away gently, Hanabi sniffled.
"I waited for you!" Hanabi cried.
Hinata didn't have an excuse. She didn't know that Hanabi would have wanted to come to her. She was so independent. "We're here now," Hinata assured her.
Hanabi went back to crying in her chest.
"Let's close the door," Itachi said from behind them.
Hanabi wiped her face aggressively and sniffed as Itachi led them to the couch.
Hanabi took one look at Sasuke and pointed at him. "What are you doing here!?" Sasuke cringed then flinched as the scrunching of his face hurt his nose. Hanabi lowered her face to the damage. "Did I break your nose?"
Hinata looked between them. "What?"
What?!
"Yeah," Sasuke grumbled.
Itachi snorted.
Hinata waved her hands. "What? You hit him?"
Sasuke put his hand up. "It was my fault. I deserved it."
"Hanabi-chan, you shouldn't hit people." Hinata pressed. When had they even met?
"He did deserve it," Hanabi crossed her arms.
"Probably," Itachi added.
Hinata pointed a finger at him harshly. "Don't encourage her."
Hanabi smiled at her, and it didn't matter anymore.
Hinata's head throbbed after a few hours of catching up. It was a long day. "Hanabi-chan, you should go home before your father finds out you have been here."
Hanabi's face scrunched up like it did when she told her she needed to go to bed when she was a toddler. "I don't want to go back home. I want to stay here with you."
Hinata shook her head. "This all isn't going to go over any better if you go out all night with no explanation. It's a very long train ride back. You're already going to be late."
Hanabi crossed her arms and planted herself back into the pillows. "Dad's not going to like this no matter what I do, and I am an adult. I don't have a curfew anymore. Why can't I live with you?"
"Because then I have nowhere to crash when I'm avoiding my mother," Sasuke said snidely.
Hanabi's nose twitched at him. "My father's worse."
"Is he trying to marry you off?" Sasuke quipped.
"No," Hanabi said with confusion.
Sasuke shrugged. "I win."
"I'll drive her home," Itachi said, getting up before they could start arguing more about the topic. "You can say you were studying with a TA." Hinata wondered if he came with cover stories on the spot a lot.
"I don't want to go!" Hanabi complained.
"Hanabi-chan, I want you here, but you can't just cut father off like that. It's only going to make things worse." Hinata reasoned. "We can talk about you coming to live with me after we find a way to talk to your father about this mess."
Hanabi pouted but got up and followed Itachi out.
"Brat has a personality to match her fist," Sasuke grumbled, lightly touching his bandages.
Hinata patted his hand away from his nose. "You shouldn't touch it." She sat down beside them. "How did you two…?"
"I found her because I wanted to see if all this," Sasuke gestured to her. "Was an act."
Hinata frowned at him with a tilt of her head, telling him she didn't understand.
"You win. I don't think you're faking it. Now, I just think you're pathetic." Sasuke said.
Hinata just took the insult and looked away.
"See, that is what I am talking about. Where is all that fight from the other night?" Sasuke pointed out.
"Sasuke-sama..." Hinata started.
"And stop that," Sasuke added. "-sama bullshit, you're older than me."
"You are my boss's son." Hinata defended.
"Where was that attitude when I tried to drive you home?" Sasuke countered.
"I shouldn't have snapped at you." She wasn't going to use alcohol as an excuse.
Sasuke huffed and swung out his arms. "You should have. You have a right to."
"No, I don't. Would you have taken the behavior from your own staff?" Hinata asked.
"Hinata, this is different. You run my dad's life. It's a little more intimate than my chauffeur or the gardener." Sasuke reasoned.
"No other assistant he had before was close to the family." Hinata had the documents to prove it.
"No one was around long enough." Sasuke shrugged.
"I understand the director wants to treat me like family, but this is work. I am not family. When I lost sight of that, I lost my sister." Hinata curled around herself.
"You have her back now!" Sasuke countered. "And I'm sure dad will be parading her around like one of his own pups before long too."
"Sasuke-sama…" Hinata started.
Sasuke's face lit up with anger. "Nevermind!" He snapped. "I'm going to bed." He stood up abruptly to make his point.
Hinata shrunk in her spot. "Don't forget your medication."
Just like that, all the rage seemed to melt away.
Sasuke took a deep breath and sat back down, rubbing his temple. "Sorry." Hinata shook her head. "No, I'm being a jerk, and you have had a long day."
Hinata wasn't sure which she should be concerned about, that he was quick to anger or that he was more upset about his anger than she was.
"I think we both need some rest." Hinata offered.
"Yeah." Sasuke agreed.