Hinata scampered around the kitchen. Sasuke tried to help, but she was too stressed out to give him proper instructions to help her. Sasuke delegated himself to clean up around her and move what he could out of her way, taking in the face she made when she bumped into him or realized he took the spoon she was using. "You've never really talked about your cousin."

Hinata rinsed her hands. "Well, he's been deployed for so long." Hinata flickered her hands dry before starting to chop. "He lived with us after his parents passed away, but once when he said he wanted to join the military, father told him no. When he went anyway, dad all but disowned him."

"Sounds like your dad does a lot of that." Sasuke dipped his hands back into the sink.

Hinata gave him a look. "Don't make jokes like that in front of him. Neji-san is the opposite of Hanabi-chan."

Sasuke got a sly grin on his face, tilting his head. "She's going to be worse."

"I know." Hinata whimpered.

Sasuke dried a dish, chuckling. "She called to scream about getting you pregnant."

Hinata stopped chopping. "What!?"

"She wasn't sure you were telling the truth." Sasuke eyed the knife on the board. "Careful."

Hinata huffed outwardly.

Sasuke dried his hands, hesitating as he put and hands on her arm. "What are you going to tell them?"

Hinata looked down at his hand, considering it. What did she tell them? It was complicated. They were at the start and end of a relationship at the same time. How did you explain to someone new to this whole situation that you were freshly starting a relationship with the man you were engaged to? How much of the truth should she tell them? Hinata didn't want to lie, but her overprotective cousin didn't need to know every little detail that brought them to this point. "I don't know."

"Have you thought of calling it an arranged marriage?" Hinata gave Sasuke a look, setting down the knife and leaning her hip on the counter. "It's sort of accurate. Dad set it up."

Hinata waved her hands. "That's just going to make Neji-san worry."

Sasuke crossed his arms, leaning like she was. "I hate that you couldn't just introduce me as your boyfriend."

Hinata chewed on her lip. Was that what he was now? Their relationship was fuzzy at best. They were engaged, but they had never dated. In all the confusion with Mikoto, work, the articles, and now this, they didn't have time to talk about what it was they were. They were just letting it happen.

"Don't do that." Sasuke put a hand on the side of her face, thumbing over her abused lip. Hinata's heart rate shot up. Feelings made this complicated. If it was just a fake engagement like it was with Itachi with no feelings attached, it would be easy to explain.

"You shouldn't do that while Neji-san is here, either." Hinata pushed her eyes back to the chopping board.

Sasuke lowered his face to hers. "What if I wanted to."

Sasuke would find himself in a ditch. "Don't. Neji-san used to corner the boys who dared give me a valentine's card."

"He's not here now." Sasuke grinned.

"No, but I have cooking to do." Hinata challenged him. Closing the distance for a brief peck. "Be good. Neji-san has a temper."

"If I get more after." Sasuke bargained.

Hinata gave him a side eye as she went back to her cooking.

Hinata tapped her phone again. They weren't late, but she was nervous. A cab stopped, and Hanabi got out first. Hinata covered her mouth with both hands. What did he do to his hair?

It was the first thing Hanabi mentioned. "Look at this." Hanabi pulled down on his arm, so she could reach to ruffle the crew cut. "It's like I don't know him anymore."

Neji irritably frowned. He held out a pastry box. "I didn't know you moved into the city."

Hanabi should have told him at least that. "I got a good job. Come in." Hinata took the pastry box and led them to her floor. "Did you get settled?"

Neji nodded. "Thank you for getting me a hotel. I'll pay you back."

"Don't worry about it." Hinata thumbed on the box to lower her nerves. "We'll figure things out after dinner."

"What is it you do now?" Neji eyed the hallway as they got out of the elevator.

"I am an executive assistant," Hinata answered vaguely.

"THE executive assistant." Hanabi corrected, promptly getting elbowed. Hinata handed her the pastry box to open the door.

Sasuke was on the other side, with his hand in his pocket, where she had left him when she went down to meet her family.

Neji's eyebrows knit together at the sight of him, but Hanabi came in first, sticking a finger into his face. "Watch your back, Uchiha."

"Don't try me, brat." Sasuke snapped back, playing along.

"Neji-san, this is Sasuke Uchiha. He works with me." Ease him into it.

Neji shook hands with him, but he already looked suspicious, wondering why Sasuke was there and why he was friendly with them. Hanabi got an evil grin on her face behind Sasuke's back. Hinata gave her a warning look to behave.

"Uchiha… as in…?" Neji didn't look terribly upset with the name Uchiha. He probably didn't know about her father's past with them.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, those Uchihas."

"His father's the director," Hanabi added. Not helping.

Hinata guided everyone to the table. "That's the company I work for."

Hinata padded to the kitchen to grab dishes. Neji jumped up to help her. She tried to refuse, but he took a bowl right out of her hands, leaning down with his real motive. "Is it appropriate to have an heir to your company at your apartment?" Oh, it was going to get much worse.

"Sasuke-sama," Hinata called. "Can you grab the drinks?"

"If you stop calling me formally," Sasuke grumbled, heading for the glasses.

Hinata looked up pointedly at Neji as Sasuke proved her point. Neji's nose twitched. His formalism seemed to only get worse in the military. He turned to put the dish on the table.

"Do we want some dry wine?" Sasuke teased.

"No." Hinata shot back. Sasuke grinned back.

"How's university?" Neji asked Hanabi, effectively distracting himself.

"You forgot something," Sasuke whispered, holding up the Uchiha ring she took off while she had her hands in things. That was important. Hinata went for it. Sasuke pulled it out of reach. "Shouldn't I put it on?"

"Don't start with me, Sasuke-san." Hinata snagged the ring, put it on, and grabbed the last to come to the table.

Sasuke was taking the tension better than she was. They sat down. Hanabi's university dominated the conversation for a while, giving Hinata a moment to breathe. Neji kept tossing looks at Sasuke. He had questions.

"Do you plan on staying now?" Hanabi asked Neji.

"I've finished my contract," Neji agreed, but he hesitated to continue eating. He didn't know what he was going to do now, any more than they did.

Hanabi pierced her lips. "Do you think you and dad…?" No one knew if it was a sensitive topic. They hadn't really talked about it since he left.

"I already have a plan," Neji said too quickly. "I think you should meet them." Neji's face turned red, and his eyes shot down.

Hanabi took the dangling bait. "No way! You're seeing someone."

Neji put his hands out defensively. "Just meet them first. I, um, I don't want to talk about it." It was a weird reaction, but maybe he was just avoiding endless prodding.

Hanabi shifted her eyes to Hinata and opened her mouth before she could be stopped. "Hinata's seeing someone too."

Neji's eyes shot up at her. All embarrassment melted to pure protective mode. Hinata melted into her seat. "Hanabi-chan…"

"We had to get to it at some point." Hanabi excused.

Neji's first question was, "Does your father approve?"

Hinata and Hanabi both retracted. "Dad disowned Hinata," Hanabi whispered.

"What?!" Neji snapped. "Because…?"

"No," Hinata snapped. "Let me explain. A lot happened all at once." Neji patiently listened. "When I started working for Uchiha." Hinata waved her hand at Sasuke. "I was unaware father has a history with the director."

"He came into the office and smacked Hinata." Sasuke crossed his arms. What was he so mad about? He wasn't even there.

Hinata backtracked. "After he found out, he drove into the city and barged into the lobby…" Neji sat back, taking it in. Hanabi filled in a few more details from her end, like how she was convinced that Hinata abandoned them. Hinata filled in a few things about their mother's friendship with the director.

"You left out when you broke my nose." Sasuke scolded Hanabi.

Hanabi glared at him. "I thought you would want that left out."

Neji tilted his head in thought. He knew more than anyone what Hiashi would do if they deviated from his chosen path. Neji got most of her father's wrath when he was still living with them. Hinata remembered the day he came to her to talk to her about leaving for the military because he was afraid that he wouldn't be there to be the lighting rod anymore. He stared at the table intensely, filing all the information about her father. His face suddenly changed as his eyes refocused. "Is that an engagement ring?"