A flurry of thoughts crossed Hinata's mind in the single second that it took for her to form a response to Sasuke's invitation – Why? Why do you want to have dinner with me when you could spend that time with your wife and daughter that you've never met? Why are you here and not Naruto? What would we even talk about over dinner? – but in the end, all she said was – "Okay."

A corner of Sasuke's mouth curved up ever so slightly in the smallest of semblances of a smile that Hinata could have easily missed had she not been looking ever so intently at him, trying to gauge his intentions in any way possible. "Good." He said, turning to walk away into town, his face hidden from her view. Hinata moved to catch up, walking beside him, eyes on the road ahead.

They walked in silence, Hinata's thoughts drifting away to the previous night once again. Her eyes welled up and fists tightened as her mind rode unbridled into the chasms of sadness once again. The threads that held her family together were snapping at that very moment, and there she was, agreeing to have dinner with a man she had never met.

"We're almost here. Where would you like to eat?" Sasuke's voice cut through her melancholy, and Hinata looked down at her feet as she replied, afraid of him noticing the glimmer of tears in her eyes – "Anywhere but Ichiraku's."

If her response seemed strange to Sasuke, he didn't mention it. Instead, he directed her into an unassuming little shop, nestled quite unnoticeably between two large, well-lit establishments. Sasuke strode in with easy practiced steps and seated them both at a table in the far end of the small space. Hinata took in her surroundings – the shop had but about six or seven tables in total, and of the few people that were there, everyone seemed to have either a bowl of miso soup or some fish and rice, and some tea. Hinata smiled to herself as the aroma of the tea reached her nostrils, momentarily foregoing her earlier thoughts. She immediately felt a sense of intense liking to the quaint place.

"Do you come here often?" She asked, finally turning around to face her acquaintance. Sasuke had his fingers interlocked, resting on his chin, eyes on her in a pose that made it seem like he was studying her. "Yes, whenever I'm in Konoha."

"If your visits weren't always a secret, you could eat at our house, Uchiha-san." Hinata realized the idiocy in her words the moment she said it. If his visits weren't a secret, why would he not want to eat at his own house, with his own wife and child? She closed her eyes in exasperation, attributing her momentary stupidity to the instability of her thoughts in general. A moment ago, she was angry at this man for ignoring his family, and now she was inviting him to ignore them some more.

"I will have to take you up on that offer sometime soon. Naruto does not have enough words to compliment your cooking." Hinata blushed, in part due to his thoughtful compliment, and in part because it was the second time that evening that he was letting her get away with something she had said without calling her out on it.

"Ah, thank you, Uchiha-san."

"It's Naruto you should be thanking, Hinata."

"Perhaps you can thank him for me then, when you see him later tonight." Hinata smiled in earnest, her voice barely veiling the sadness behind her words.

Sasuke could not respond before bowls and plates of food were set at their table, along with two cups of hot tea. The man serving gave Sasuke a nod of recognition, before hurrying back to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry –" he said, "You cannot choose what to eat here. This is all they serve."

"It's quite all right, Uchiha-san" Hinata said, leaning down to breathe in the scent of her tea. "This will do nicely."

Sasuke didn't respond, instead picked up his chopsticks to begin eating. Hinata did the same, feeling a sudden lull in conversation. She hadn't expected much else – there weren't too many things she could talk about with him that wasn't confidential or sensitive in some way or form, except perhaps the weather.

So she did exactly that – "It's getting chilly these days." She said, not looking up at him or expecting him to answer.

"Do you really have nothing to talk to me about, Hinata?"

Hinata's eyes darted up, embarrassment clouding her features. Sasuke had a very vivid smirk plastered on his face – it wasn't one that hinted any sort of malice, but there was a genuineness to it that Hinata scarcely expected from him. She had hardly ever seen any expression other than anger, frustration, irritation or sobriety on Sasuke's face, ever since he was a child. The look he held at that moment unnerved and moved her in equal parts. "I – " She swallowed the rice in her mouth, suddenly feeling bold – "Why are we here, Uchiha-san?"

"Why are we here? To eat, of course." Sasuke finished with a chopstick full of rice in his mouth, as if emphasizing what he had said. Hinata did not miss the hint of humor in his words, but she didn't back down – "I mean, why are we here, eating? We have hardly ever spoken before, Uchiha-san. Why now, today, like this?"

Sasuke put his chopsticks down, all traces of humor having left his face. Hinata regarded him intently, wanting to let him know that she was expecting a response. He returned her gaze, and sighed softly, as if defeated in some way – "I don't know, Hinata."

Confusion flashed across Hinata's face and for a moment, she wondered if he was lying. "I saw you there and I could have left, but I didn't." His gaze slipped down from her eyes, as if he was recollecting some lost memory – "I make it a point to never stay too long in Konoha, lest someone notice me." In and out, like a shadow – Hinata thought. "I should have finished reporting to Naruto by now, and I should have been leaving. But I'm not. Instead here I am."

He said it like it wasn't a complete ambiguity like he'd just described it – like his intentions were as certain as they could be – his words meant one thing and his tone signified the opposite.

If he was there for no real reason at all, then she might as well be too. Hinata decided that maybe, just maybe, it would be for the best if she put aside all her thoughts for a while, and just talked to him. 'Here I am' – He was there, he had offered to accompany her for dinner, she might never see him again for all she knew, he was practically her husband's brother, and he was talking to her. She would put her sadness regarding her family, her judgment against his treating of his own family, and every other thing aside. Maybe they could just spend the next few moments talking, and maybe that would bring her mind some peace that it so desperately craved at that moment.

"I think – " Hinata began, voicing one of the first thoughts that came into her head, "I think Boruto would love to meet you, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in genuine curiosity – "Is that so? Naruto tells me he's worse than he ever was at that age – which I find hard to believe."

A giggle escaped Hinata's lips as she lifted her tea cup for a sip. "He's always annoyed at his father. He doesn't understand the responsibilities of a Hokage. To him, his father has taken up too much on his shoulders." Hinata paused, an image of Boruto yelling in frustration at his father's absence on his birthday flashing through her mind. She pushed it aside with some difficulty. "He would think you were much cooler."

"Because I apparently roam around without a care in the world?"

"While being as strong as his father too."

Hinata watched as Sasuke shook his head slightly in amusement, the smile never leaving her.

"Maybe I can train him, someday."

"I'm afraid he would quickly get on your nerves, Uchiha-san – " Hinata offered in sweet sympathy. "He's rather boisterous, and – " she paused, a mixture of embarrassment and pride clouding her features "-not very humble."

"Not humbler than the dead-last who called himself the number one ninja when he was his age?"

Hinata's cheeks colored a light pink as images of her husband as a young boy filled up in her mind – back when his own boisterous nature and confident attitude were exactly what made her admire him. She had always thought the resemblance between father and son was uncanny – they were so alike both in looks and personality that she honestly did know what part of her Boruto had inherited.

"He looks like you though."

Hinata looked up at Sasuke unbelievingly, in slight alarm that he had practically read her mind.

"He has Naruto's obvious features, but besides the hair and eye color, his face is almost entirely shaped like yours."

"Ah – " Hinata's focus slipped and her eyebrows furrowed as she made a mental image of her son's face, trying to discern whether Sasuke's observation was true. "Now that you mention it – " She suppressed a giggle at the fact that it was. She was his mother and in all the eleven years of his existence it had never struck her. She was just so used to everyone claiming he was Naruto's clone that she never saw it.

Sasuke finished the last bits of his rice and fish and moved on to his tea. A thought crossed Hinata's mind right then – "Uchiha-san, you've never met Boruto."

Sasuke looked at her over his tea cup. "Naruto has pictures all over his office." He placed the tea cup down, dabbing his lips with the back of his hand. "Your daughter though, she looks just like the dobe."

On instinct, Hinata opened her mouth to refute his claim, but Sasuke raised an eyebrow and tilted his head at her, as if prodding her – Think, Hinata – and her mouth closed just as fast. She blinked a few times – in the time that it took for her to realize that once again, he was right. Once again, he had proven to have made better inferences of her children from a couple of pictures than she had made in their entire lifetimes. Hinata didn't know whether to laugh out loud or curl up in embarrassment at the thought. In the end, she settled for laughing soundlessly – "You are quite observant, Uchiha-san."

It was strange – the situation that they were in. Hinata felt a sense of other worldliness in the way they conversed with apparent ease – like it wasn't real – like she didn't feel lighter, some of the thick fog burdening her mind having lifted ever so slightly.

Caught up in the mirth of the moment, Hinata slipped up once again – "Do you think Sarada looks like Sakura-chan then, Uchiha-san?"