Ch.10 Why Sasuke Hates Cooking

"Goodbye…Sasuke." She said softly. He nodded his head towards her and she slowly smiled again before turning around.

"We'll cook something else next week!" she called to him before closing his door, making him smile.

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"Hinata-sama, where are you going?" Neji asked with curiosity as he watched Hinata making her way towards the door one Friday afternoon. He knew he was overly protective of her, but he didn't want to make it seem like she didn't have any private time to herself. But he couldn't help but wonder at what was different in her life now. Over the past couple of weeks, she's been smiling a little bit more, she seemed more at peace with herself and the wedding disaster. She's been healing, he knew that, but there was something. Something that was a catalyst to that healing of her heart, and he wondered with great interest at whatever it was.

Hinata turned around at the sound of her name, to see Neji leaning on a doorpost looking at her curiously.

"Oh…um…I'm having a girl's night with Ino…w-we plan on having one every Friday." Hinata said softly, looking at his chest instead of his face. It was hard enough lying to him and making it sound convincing, let alone looking him in the eye and lying to him. She knew her cousin was a human lie detector and that she was a terrible liar, but some things must be kept secret. She had a feeling Neji wouldn't exactly be thrilled knowing she was going to be with Sasuke. He would only talk her out of it, when she finally decided for herself that she was going to see him.

She still wasn't sure if this was the right thing. How could a man that was everything that Naruto wasn't, help heal her heart? A man, who at one point in time, only thought about killing his brother and was willing to sacrifice everything for it? Hinata mentally shook her head, it wasn't fair to Sasuke that she would judge him by his past, he wasn't like that anymore. He seemed to be more settled, more balanced and at peace. But he was still nothing like Naruto. But maybe that's exactly what I need. A change, something different, a break, a breath of fresh air. And who better than Sasuke?

"…leaving so early?" Hinata blinked her eyes and shook her head, shaken from her thoughts.

"I said, why are you leaving so early?" Neji repeated for her.

"Oh, well…we…we need to get everything…for tonight." She said, at least that one wasn't a lie. She was planning on going grocery shopping before going to Sasuke's, she had noticed that he didn't have that much variety of food. So she would pick up a few things for their cooking lesson today.

"Oh…well…have fun." Neji said to her with a small smile. She smiled brightly at him as she thanked him then turned and left her house.

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Hinata stood outside Sasuke's apartment with the bags of food, knocking for a few minutes, but was sorely disappointed when he didn't answer. Maybe I should have called first. She was just about to turn around and leave when someone lightly tapped her shoulder. Turning she saw an old man with a welcoming smile.

"Excuse me, but would you by any chance be Hyuuga Hinata?" he asked her. She looked at him with a surprised expression.

"Um…yes, I'm Hyuuga Hinata." She said hesitantly. The old man smiled wider.

"That's wonderful, I got the right woman…not that it was too difficult." Hinata blushed slightly at what he said, she didn't particularly like how much she seemed to stand out with her freakishly white eyes.

"Um excuse me sir, but…who are you?" she asked, wondering how he knew who she was. The old man looked at her with a shocked expression and then started chuckling to himself. A smile started to tug at her lips, his laughter was infectious, like Naruto's was.

"I'm sorry, I must seem like some crazy old man. I'm Sasuke's landlord, Mizuno Hideo. He told me that a beautiful woman with lovely pearl eyes would come to his door by the name of Hyuuga Hinata." He explained, making Hinata blush a deeper shade of pink. "He asked me to give you this." He said as he held out his hand, palm up and open. A small silver key was shining in his hand.

"It's the key to his apartment. He said he was going to be a little late." He told her. She slowly held her hand out to gently take it from him, for some reason it felt weird to have a key to a man's apartment.

"Thank you." she said softly as she fingered the cool metal in her hand and bowed politely to him.

"Oh not a problem, I'm just glad you're the right woman. Would hate to know what that young man would do to me if I gave it to one of his fangirls." The old man shivered slightly thinking of the prospect then looked at her with a hard gaze. "You aren't a fangirl are you?" Hinata fought back a smile and shook her head no.

"Oh good, those women are scary." At that she did smile. "Anyways, I better be getting back, it's good to meet you Hyuuga-san."

"It was very nice meeting you Mizuno-san." She replied as she watched him walk away. Then turning back to the door, she looked down at the key in her hand. Taking a deep breath and biting her bottom lip, she unlocked and opened his door.

Taking her shoes off, she walked into the silent apartment, looking around as if to find Sasuke, though she already knew he wasn't home. She noticed again how clean he kept his apartment, not a single dirty dish or dirty clothes anywhere. Naruto never was very tidy, he wasn't exactly a slob, but there always were some dirty dishes and smelly socks somewhere around.

Feeling awkward and uncomfortable without him around while she was in his apartment, she put away the groceries and then walked into his bedroom, at least there she could lie down and take a rest. She was training with Neji and Hanabi this morning, usually she just trained with one or the other, but taking on both of them was a bit difficult for her. So walking over to his bed, she slowly stretched out on top of his covers, not wanting to mess it up. Hinata closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in Sasuke's scent. He always smells so good.

Opening her eyes once again, her eyes found something that had eluded her the other times she was here. It was a small picture frame face down in the corner of his desk. Hinata frowned slightly as she slowly sat up, nibbling her lip with indecision. She didn't want to be rude and poke through his things, but she was insanely curious at who was in the picture that was currently face down. Her feet touched the cool floor softly, making as little noise as possible while she slowed her breathing so that it couldn't be heard. Picking up the frame gently, it seemed to take forever for her to flip the frame so she could see the picture. When she saw who it was, her eyes softened. It was a beautiful young woman with long dark hair and black eyes, her eyes were soft and her smile was loving.

"It's my mother." Hinata heard a deep voice from behind her making her gasp, she didn't realize he was here. Turning quickly towards him, Hinata looked at him with panic in her eyes.

"I-I'm so sorry. I…I didn't mean to" she tried explaining to him.

"It's alight." He said cutting her off, but his eyes were down, looking at the picture in her hands. Hinata followed his gaze to look at the woman who was Sasuke's mother.

"She's beautiful." Hinata said softly, Sasuke nodded his head slightly.

"She always was." He said, his voice distant and sad. Hinata looked up at him, his face was blank, but she could hear the hurt in his voice. She, too, knew the pain of losing a mother.

"She looks like she loves you very much." Hinata said, her eyes no longer on the picture, only on the man who now seemed like a lost lonely boy. But he didn't respond, he just continued looking at the picture. Hinata sighed as she turned to put the frame back onto his desk, this time it wasn't down, instead she kept it upright, proudly showing the picture.

"I wish I could have met her…find out what she was like." Hinata said, more to herself than to him. It would have been interesting to know Sasuke's family. She wondered how different he would have been had they lived, if his brother hadn't killed them. Finally Sasuke's eyes left the picture and turned to look at her, closing the distance between them he lifted his hand up, his fingers softly diving into her hair, feeling the silkiness of her hair.

"You remind me of her." He said to her softly. Hinata looked up at him with surprise, but what she saw in his eyes made her doubt her vision. There was such warmth in his eyes, not like when he was thinking of kissing her, no; this was deeper, more meaningful, and it almost looked like…love. Her heart suddenly started pounding quickly. No, that couldn't be. It's just because he's thinking of his mother. Yeah, he's just thinking of his mother.

Sasuke could see the panic in her eyes, she wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to hear the words, especially not from him. His heart squeezed painfully, how he wanted to just hold her and tell her he loved her, to hear her tell him that she loved him back. He sighed inwardly while each beat of his heart ached painfully in his chest. Shuttering the feelings he had from his eyes, looking like his normal self, he brought his hand back down to his side.

"So what are you going to make me cook this time?" he asked her, bringing the subject back onto safer grounds. Hinata felt relieved when the nameless emotion left his eyes, it scared her, it frightened her…she didn't want to know what it was. And yet…she felt ashamed that she had felt that way, she had told him that she wanted him to be more open with her, yet how could he when she would panic and feel frightened every time he showed her what was inside.

"Oh…well…I was thinking about something that was still a little bit simple, but more than what we did last week." She explained hesitantly, looking at him through her lashes. He just continued to look at her with an expected look. "It's um…Oyako-donburi…is that alight?" she asked him. Sasuke just turned and walked away, making her head snap up in surprise.

"Well are you coming?" he called from the kitchen. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief, she didn't offend him. She didn't know how she could have, except maybe if he didn't like Oyako-donburi. Walking over to the kitchen she could see Sasuke standing with his arms crossed and a serious expression on is face.

"So what do I have to do?" he asked her with reluctance. A small smile started to tug at her mouth.

"Is it really that bad…learning how to cook?" she asked him. He did say that he would only be better than her once he learned how to cook, so in a way, it was his idea.

"Yes." He said with what almost looked like a pout, producing a small giggle from Hinata while she pulled the food out. A small smile graced his lips hearing her giggle as he walked over to her. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he pulled her close to him and leaned down so that his lips were inches from her ear.

"But it's better when you're with me." He whispered softly, his warm breath making her shiver and blush. She was beginning to get use to his flowery compliments, they were a common occurrence with Naruto, but she bet Sasuke didn't give out compliments easily…making them that much more rare…that much more…special.

"Thank you." she said softly, not really knowing how to respond to such a statement. Sasuke chuckled to himself, feeling her get flustered by his words and his proximity. He didn't like to make her unconformable, but he did enjoy making her get flustered.

"Oh, I uh…got you something." Hinata said suddenly, pulling away from his embrace. A single brow quirked up as Sasuke watched her dig through one of the bags to get…an apron?

"I don't think so." He said while she held it up for him to see. It was plain white, but just the idea of himself in one of those things…made his shiver. Hinata's happy expression dropped at his words.

"It's just so that your clothes won't get dirty." She said with sad look.

"That's what laundry is for." Sasuke said looking at the offended piece of clothing. Hinata suddenly pouted her lips and looked into Sasuke's eyes with a sad expression, wondering if her tactic was going to work with Sasuke as it does with Neji. Walking over to him with the apron draped over one arm, she gently tugged on the front of his shirt.

"Please…Sasuke-kun…wear it…for me." She said with a small smile and hope shining in her eyes. Sasuke cursed how sweet and innocent she looked, how the tugging at his shirt, the look in her eyes, the smile on her face, and the way she softly held herself, was going to make him wear a stupid apron.

"Fine." He sighed deeply, his eyes on the ceiling. Feeling small arms wrap around him, he quickly looked down to see Hinata smiling brightly and hugging him close.

"Thank you." she said happily as she reached up and planted a sweet chaste kiss on his lips before slipping the apron over his head. Moving quickly behind him she tied the apron together and then stood back to look at him. She bit her lip to stop from giggling at how cute he looked.

"Now all you need is a chief's hat." She said. Sasuke looked up at her with a half angry and half horrified expression.

"No. Absolutely not." He said sternly making her laugh.

"Don't worry…I didn't get you one of those." Hinata said with a giggly voice, getting her own new apron on.

"How do I look?" she asked a little shyly as she slowly spun around in her light purple apron. A small smile drew upon Sasuke's lips as he watched her turn around showing off her apron, she looked like a little girl showing off a new dress, she looked absolutely adorable. Sasuke cleared his throat.

"You look fine." He said off standishly. Hinata gracefully smiled at him before turning back to the food.

"Shall we get started?" she asked.

"I guess." Sasuke said with a shrug and slightly rolling his eyes making Hinata bite her lip to stop from laughing again at his expression. Who would have thought that Sasuke could make me laugh this much?

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So through out the rest of the afternoon they chopped, sliced, cut, stirred, fried, taste, and had fun. Sasuke smiled softly down at the woman next to him who had took the cut vegetables and moved them to look like a happy face, then proceeded to tell him he was doing a good job. Hinata would softly giggle at how intensely Sasuke would stare at the chicken in the pan to make sure it wouldn't burn and when he had trouble cracking the eggs and getting the yolk all over his apron.

"See…aren't you glad that I got you to wear the apron?" Hinata said with a small laugh. Sasuke looked down at the mess on him with disgust, sighing with frustration he looked back up at Hinata.

"We'll don't you feel smart?" He said sarcastically, before taking a small amount of yolk off his apron and onto his fingers, and with a flash of his hand Hinata suddenly found her cheek smeared with egg yolk.

"Sasuke!" Hinata squealed as she tried to dodge yet another yolk attack from him.

"Come here Hinata, I've got a little present for you." he said sweetly. Hinata squealed with laughter as she ran from him. Sasuke smiled widely as he proceeded to chase Hinata around the kitchen. All thoughts of sadness, all thoughts of confusion, were effectively wiped away as the two continued with their playful banter. Finally adding a bit more speed, Sasuke caught one of Hinata's wrists, turning her around and yanking her towards him. Catching her with both arms, he held her wiggling body close to his.

"Now you got egg yolk on your apron too." He said with satisfaction and a smile on his face. Hinata's eyes were bright with merriment and her smile was brighter as she looked up at him.

"Okay okay…I give up." Hinata said slightly out of breath from running. Sasuke smirked.

"Good. Now as the victor…I get to claim a prize." He stated with mock authority. Hinata laughed as she continued looking at him with an expectant gaze, wondering what he wanted.

"How about a kiss from my cooking sensei?" he asked her, the playful mood slowly beginning to be replaced by something else. Hinata's eyes shifted down to his lips, his beautiful and sensual lips. Slightly nodding her head she leaned up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Closing her eyes she lifted her face to his and gently brushed her lips against his in a bare whisper of a kiss. It thrilled her when she could feel Sasuke tense in her arms when her teeth started to nibble at his lips. Sasuke's arms around her tightened.

"Don't you remember what I said about teasing?" he whispered to her, their lips mere centimeters apart. It's rude to tease, Hinata remembered, that was when she asked him to kiss her. Hinata took a deep breath to try and banish her nervousness as her lips pressed against his more, clinging to the kiss. Sasuke bit back a moan as he felt her hesitant tongue enter his mouth and wrap around his own. She always tasted so good, so sweet, so wonderful.

One of his hands lifted and dove into her hair at the base of her neck, applying more pressure to their heated kiss. Hinata shivered in his arms as his tongue caressed hers and making it feel like he was caressing her whole body. His lips began to trail to her chin and then down to her neck. Hinata tilted her head back and sighed with pleasure, his lips on her neck felt amazing. Her heart was pounding quickly and her body felt warm, she slowly opened her eyes to see burnt pieces of chicken in the pan. She opened her mouth to say something but instead gasped as she felt a small nip on her neck from his teeth.

"Sa-Sasuke." She sighed slightly. "The…the chicken…" Sasuke's heart was racing a mile a minute as his mind was filled with how good she felt in his arms and wonderful her skin tasted.

"The chicken…is…" Hinata continued trying to say with her mind distracted. Chicken? What the hell is chicken? What is she talking about? Sasuke continued lavishing her neck with his tongue and dragging his lips across her skin.

"…burning." He heard her say. Burning? Then he could suddenly smell the definite scent of burnt chicken.

"Damnmit." He murmured on her skin as he buried his face into her neck, not wanting them to stop. But Hinata pried herself out of his arms to attend to the black chicken. Sasuke sighed deeply with frustration. And she wonders why I hate cooking.

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AN: W00t! Yes! Another chapter done. I hope you guys like this one, I like this one, I thought it was kinda cute…at least, I tried writing it that way. Thank you all for my wonderful reviews, please keep them coming, they make me more determined to write and get more chapters to you faster. And I'm willing to propose a little vote. In my original idea, I never ever talk about Sakura in the story again…but I'm getting a lot of people saying they want to see Sakura die or something. I can't guarantee that's what I'll do, but if you want to eventually see what will happen to her let me know. Till next time my wonderful and totally awesome reviewers, ja!