Much to his dismay, now that she knew she was well enough to have small dinner parties, she requested more. He wasn't keen on trying to patch up with everyone at once, but she was happy, so he would suffer through it.
Hinata was only worried about one more group of people, in particular, her team. He had admitted that he had sent word of her condition every so often to her team, so they didn't come to knock down the door. They had visited when she was unconscious, but they had checked out so soon after she woke up and then had been on and off their missions from what he understood because she was already planning to retire.
He watched her flutter around the kitchen, asking questions about them further than he had gotten in the story. He didn't have too many answers, more than the things she had told him off-hand when she had come home from missions or he heard in passing. They could have kids for all he knew.
Nonetheless, she was excited, but he warned her there were parts of the story she was missing, and he reserved the right to remove someone if he felt it got out of hand. It was clear who it was meant for. She agreed with a small smile at his distrust.
She was surprised when she saw them. They were a few years older than she remembered. Kiba had grown facial hair, Shino had changed his esthetic slightly, they both looked more mature. Though whether she was hiding that she noticed or not, it was clear that Kiba was wary of her, even hesitant to give her a hug she openly came for.
"You are feeling better now?" Shino asked.
"Somewhat." She answered truthfully.
"But you don't remember anything?" Kiba asked, scratching the back of his head, this caught Sasuke's attention, and he glared. What the hell was he hoping she forgot?
"Not for years." She said, looking at Sasuke, noticing his anger. "Is there a part of the story I haven't got to?" Looking over to him for answers.
"I don't know, is there?" He bit out pointedly at the nervous nin.
"Uhm, it's nothing." Kiba shrank into himself. Shino's nose scrunched at the lie. So he knew as well.
"Well, I haven't gotten past the first year of marriage..." Sasuke steered her toward the food.
"We can worry about it later," Sasuke told her.
Kiba had been acting nervous the whole meal. She had known him for years. She knew he was lying through his teeth. He had never been good at it. She had no clue what he was hiding, but from Sasuke's reaction, it was not something he knew about, but she wasn't sure if it was something Kiba said to her before her mission or something she had just chosen not to tell him about.
Shino was annoyed with his behavior. That was clear. He cut him off multiple times, changing the subject when he rambled, and even quietly snapped at him once. However, when he looked at her, he just turned his eyes back to his meal like he too knew and didn't want to say.
She was getting annoyed by it. These were her teammates treating her like glass. Of all people, she thought they would respect her.
She finally put her chopsticks down and looked at the two with a frown. "I'm sorry, I can't handle this. Tell me what it is that is needing to be said."
Kiba shrank down, refusing. Shino pierced his lips together. "You're not showing," Shino said carefully, not looking up from behind his glasses.
"What?" Hinata looked at Sasuke as he went pale, furthering her confusion. "What?"
"She didn't tell you?" Shino asked, seeing his reaction. Sasuke shook his head. "She meant to before she left."
"What are we talking about? What should be showing." Hinata started to feel fear as Sasuke's face twisted, and he put his face in his hands. She laid her hand on his shoulder, unsure why he was getting upset.
"Hinata, you were sure you were pregnant," Shino informed solemnly.
Hinata stared at him for a moment, not really understanding. "And I went on a mission?"
"It wasn't meant to be dangerous. You getting hurt was a complete surprise." Kiba defended quickly. "And you weren't even sure yet. You just thought you were."
"You were excited," Shino added with a sigh.
Sasuke only raised his face to run his hands down his face. "Damn it." He growled. "I was out after you left the house. You wouldn't have found me at the house. I wouldn't have let you go or went with you... or something. Shit."
Hinata frowned mindlessly, rubbing the spot her hand was on his arm to comfort him and looking down at the table. She wasn't pregnant. Had she lost the baby, or was she never pregnant? She didn't know how to feel about this. Should she be upset, should she be sad? She might just be in shock.
"You were sick all morning during your briefing. You counted your days from your last cycle but tried to assure us you could finish your last mission," Shino explained.
"They would have checked when I was admitted..." Hinata said weakly.
"You had a full workup done. They said your hormones were out of balance, but they attributed it to you canceling your birth control. I didn't ask more." Sasuke said, ruffling his hair with frustration.
"So you're not pregnant?" Kiba asked carefully.
Hinata shook her head. She would be showing now if she was. It had been a while since her release from the hospital, and while before that before she had her accident, assuming she would have had to be a few weeks pregnant to start having morning sickness, she would have a sizable bump by now.
"Well, either way, I'm sorry," Kiba said, lowering his head rubbing at the back of the neck.
Sasuke's mood went from devastated to angry in a split second. "What did you say."
Shino calmly added. "It doesn't matter now. The point is it shouldn't have been said."
"What did you say to my wife?" Sasuke snapped.
Hinata frowned, tightening her grip on his arm, worried he would jump the table.
"I'm sorry I was all around upset and shouldn't have commented." Kiba defended.
"Kiba-kun..." Hinata interrupted, looking between them. "I think that diner is over. I'll send you two with dessert."
Shino nodded, dragging Kiba up toward the door. "Thank you for the meal."
Hinata made him wait for her to bring them their dessert, and she insisted Sasuke wait in the kitchen. She asked one last time what he had said. She wished she wouldn't have, making him feel all the guiltier and her sickness to her stomach looking at him for a whole moment.
Kiba bowed at his knees on the porch as low as he could respectfully. "I didn't mean it. We had been fighting about your retirement and canceling your birth control. I wasn't getting anywhere with you. I didn't think you would want to see me for a while after, so I stayed away until invited. Please forgive me." She stared at him, bowing, and looked up at Shino, who looked at her with a frown and a nod telling her he was torn up about it.
"Not yet." Was all she could muster before closing the door and turning to a livid husband and dissolving.
She grabbed tightly to his shirt as she silently sobbed, keeping him there while Shino dragged her teammate away on the other side of the door.
Sasuke tried to get her to repeat what she was told, but she refused because of all it would hurt him more. She didn't remember wanting a baby, but he did. So the words against her would be double to him.
He moved to have her sit on the couch and let her keep her face buried in his shoulder while she tried not to let the words echo in her head. 'That man could never be a father. If you haven't realized by now, he had a history of leaving those who trust him. When he finally leaves like always does, that kid will be nothing but pain and punishment and a full-time reminder of how we all told you he was not worth your time.'
She didn't want to be angry with him for something said so long ago, and he felt so guilty for, but of all things she had heard him say when he was angry and out of the things Sasuke had told her about, it was the worst, targeting not her but her family, or rather the family she was to have. It was far worse than insulting her. She would rather he called her something dreadful.
She had learned so much about this man that loved her, he was rough around the edges still, and she was sure that wouldn't change, and she didn't mind, but he was passionate when given cause, and she had no doubt that he loved her and would love whatever child she would have bore. She had no worries about him leaving her if he was going to leave. He had an opportunity when she lost her memory. Instead, he doted on her and spent time telling her their story rather than summarizing their years together.
He ran his finger down through her hair. "Can we not have any more guests for a while."
She nodded, tightening her grip on him.
Sasuke watched her cry and then go dazed until she went to sleep. He was furious. He didn't care what the mutt keeper had said. He had made her cry yet again. This was ridiculous coming from a long-time friend and teammate of hers. She was too forgiving. He was fed up. This one bridge he hoped she left burned. However, she knew she wouldn't.
This was what made him madder than anything, she opened to let people hurt her again, and while she had been cutting people off more before her accident, she was trying to patch, which meant this whole system would start again. He wanted to warn her away from her kindness, but he also knew that he couldn't shelter her like that. It was controlling, and he refused to go so far as to tell her who she could and could not talk to.
However, he wasn't having her team over again without express permission to attack her teammate if he ran his mouth ever again.