Sasuke woke her, getting out of bed. He rolled over, kissing her bare shoulder, and whispered he would be back and for her to wait for him. He came back with a pot of tea and cups along with some leftover pastries she kept in the cupboard. She smiled and sat up, holding the sheet over her chest more out of fending off the morning cold than modestly.
He set the tray on her bedside table and crawled back in bed, sitting comfortably then pulling her down with him. She giggled. "I thought I was meant to have morning tea."
"I'm getting warm again first." He kissed whatever he was closest to.
She sighed into the covers taking in the light kisses. Her skin was not quite awake yet, giving it a more sensitive feeling of comfort.
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly into her skin. "With what happened last night."
She pressed her lips together, wondering why he thought he needed to ask. She had been willing, shy, but willing. She had encouraged him the best she could. She had incited it. Did he need the confirmation? Did he think that she wouldn't have stopped him if she was uncomfortable? She had in the past. She lifted the blanket revealing his face under it at her shoulder, his eye downturn not looking at her, looking both worried and prematurely ashamed of himself. Like he was waiting for it to be the last straw that she left on.
She frowned, feeling her heart clench. "Of course."
He looked up at her, but his expression didn't yet change. "Don't say it just because you think you should."
She frowned at him. "I stripped on purpose." She demanded, feeling a tad annoyed he wasn't accepting her answer. "I never told you to stop. I told you to continue. You did as I asked."
"I know." He sighed, resting his face on her bare skin and closing his eyes. "I just have this horrible feeling that this is all going to be taken away from me, like a dream that starts well and then turns into a nightmare."
"Have you been thinking I am not real again?" She hummed, feeling any annoyance wash away and filled with sympathy.
He didn't reply, just pushed his face flatter to her skin like he was listing for a heartbeat. She hugged his head to her and slid her finger through his knotted hair combing out the tangles.
"I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere." She promised. "Even if I don't remember our beginning, I remember now, and because I know you and care now, I chose this, not because we were married or we have done it before."
He seemed to expect the answer closing his eyes, turning his face toward her heart.
Hinata hummed, laying her head back in the bath. She was alone this time as Sasuke only wanted a quick wash rather than also soaking. She took the time to worry about him. He had been doing well, but some days were better than others. She didn't want to leave him alone right now, but he had insisted.
She hoped that he would someday understand that she wasn't going anywhere. She was his wife again in every way but a memory now. She could accept that may never change, but could he?
She sighed. She was done soaking. She finished her bath and got dressed, heading to the living area expecting to see him at the counter or the couch. Instead, she found a note. 'If you finish your bath early, I went to the store. I'll be back soon.'
She wondered if he just needed to be alone for a little while and felt telling her would upset her.
She looked at the kitchen with a sigh. She had an annoying craving for something spicy.
She wrinkled her nose, wondering if she ever craved spicy, she looked in the cabinet, but neither of them really ate spicy, so there wasn't much to find. Maybe she would make something spicy for dinner.
She gave up and sat and waited, and when she heard him put his keys in the door, she got up to open it for him. He looked up, ready for the door to be opened but held up the grocery bag to her.
"What's this?" She wondered. Looking in the bag, it looked like he had gone to the nearby quick mart. Inside was an array… of spicy snacks.
He rubbed the back of his head and looked down at his shoes longer than it took to slip them off. "I wasn't sure if you would still want them."
"How did you know..." She looked back at the cabinets that she had just been digging in.
"It's what you crave… after sex." He clarified. "Well, usually."
She blushed, slowly realizing that he had sent her to the bath so he could go get them. "Oh..."
"I guess that hasn't changed." He set the bag on the counter, pouring out hot crispy junk food. "I always thought it was funny. It wasn't something like chocolate." He pulled open one of the bags and held them out. "I didn't think you would ask, but I went out and got them anyway."
She smiled, but she felt like his tone and demeanor still was very guilty, like he was making up for the fact they had slept together. "Do you always do this?" She asked, taking the snack and savoring the spicy flavor.
"Bring snacks? Yeah, you never bought them, so I would go get them in the morning." He explained. "I knew you were planning something when you bought them, which is probably why if you did buy them, you would hide them." She blushed, looking down at her treat.
"I didn't mean that." Though now she wished she did. "I meant, do you always act like you did something wrong? I told you I was okay. I wanted it."
He scratched the back of his head. "I know. I guess I just feel weird about it." He grumbled. "It's been a long time, and I know you weren't comfortable with it before, and I accepted that. I think I just got it in my head that if I had wanted more than that, I was… I don't know… disrespecting your comfort zone."
"You've convinced yourself that what you wanted was wrong because I wasn't ready, and now it's still all you can think of?" She tried to make his sentence make more sense.
"Yeah." He trailed. "I want you to feel comfortable. And I know sometimes you put your comfort aside for mine, and I never want you to do that for this. Ever." He said pointedly.
"If there is any time I don't want to, even if you do. I will tell you." She promised.
Sasuke nodded, looking a little relieved that he had gotten her to say that.
"Do you want some?" She wondered, holding out the bag.
"I hate those so much." He chuckled. "How do you even eat them?"
"They are so good right now." Hinata hummed.
"You're lucky you're cute." He sighed, wrinkling his nose at the smell of the bag.
"Did I ever try knitting?" Hinata asked, looking up from her shopping list.
"You can't sew. What makes you think you can knit?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. He had lost some of his earlier guilt.
She sighed. "I was hoping to make something for Hanabi-chan's baby."
"Make a quilt." He shrugged.
"You just insulted my sewing skills." She puffed at him.
"Babies don't care." He excused. "And the more homemade it looks, the more it will annoy your father, and I am all for that."
She continued down the street, peaking in a fabric store. "What about a teddy bear." She pointed in the window at a handmade bear on display.
"So you want to give the kid nightmares?" He asked.
Hinata pouted at him.
"I'm kidding. You could try it, though, buy some extra fabric. You'll need it." Sasuke chuckled as she swatted at his shoulder.
They headed in, looking through the fabrics. "What about the eyes." She held up two white buttons resembling Hyuga's eyes.
"I think you need one red and one white" He picked up a red one in the same size and shape, just red. "To piss them off."
"I don't think we need to make a statement with a child's bear." She picked out the white ones. "Maybe for our child, since we know it's likely they will have both blood limits." She added, catching a strange look on Sasuke's face. "I don't think I'm pregnant." She quickly added.
He nodded, looking a little concerned. "Maybe we should go back to the birth control until you're ready..."
"I am ready. I'm just rather sure that I didn't get pregnant the first night." She whispered back, giving a reassuring look. "And if I am, I am completely fine with it. However, I'm starting to think that you are not."
He sighed. "It's not that."
"We can talk about it later." She assured him. "This is just for our nephew."
"Now, that sounds weird." He grumbled.
"What?" She wondered.
"I'm an uncle of a Hyuga." He made a face.
"The Hyuga heir." She pointed out.
"Even worse." His face scrunched.
She giggled.