AN: Two chapters left. I'm getting the itch to write more ItaHina so I dunno, I might work on expanding on Ruby Slide (it would probably be set up as its own story or whatever I have no idea) because…well…ItaHina is sexy. And I really like writing Itachi. I've written him in a few different fics with slightly different personalities and I've enjoyed doing each one (I loved writing him in The Ties That Bind Us because he's all hush hush about his vanity)

Okay, so there is ItaHina in this chapter and a bit of Itachi joking around (My attempts at making him light hearted) and Awkward Mom Moments. Mikoto was fun to write in this story too, now that I think about it. Anyways enjoy!

xxxxx

5

xxxxx

Glancing at the girl sitting across from him, Itachi tried to go through his mind reasons why he had been the cause of her break up with the Sabaku boy. They were in his room sitting at the 'dinner table' provided – it was really just a small round table and two chairs, laughable when one grew up with nothing but the best. Hinata held a cup of tea in her hands, not looking at him. In front of him on the table was a cup of coffee that he had every intention of dousing in an absurd amount of cream and sugar – it had become a habit because it had annoyed Sasuke so much – but first he wanted some answers.

"Now," he began "Considering that you did not tell me about your relationship with your ex –" she winced at that "until you were already five months into the relationship and we had…ceased contact for this past four, I am quite confused as to how I am the direct cause of your breakup."

Guilt crossed her features and she looked up at him apologetically "I…I shouldn't have said that. It's not…I don't really think it's your fault directly…"

"So it's indirectly?" he cut in, slightly confused.

"Yes." She admitted but then frowned at her words "No…maybe. When I asked him he said it was 'Yes and No'."

This wasn't working. "This is a little confusing with just bits and pieces," he told her "could you start from the beginning?"

"I'm sorry." Taking a sip of her tea she shook her head "I'm not upset with you or anything…I just…"

"Hinata. Explain."

She sighed "Two days ago I was with Gaara on a small date at this café we had wanted to go to before in passing," she began "He commented on the fact that I had been sad and I explained to him that it was that I didn't know if you were angry with me or not because you had stopped talking to me. He…he kept asking me questions and it had felt strange at the time so…"

"Continue." He told her, although he already had a pretty good idea as to what happened. Why he had done it, Itachi had no clue.

"He asked me what was the last thing I sent you before we broke off contact. I told him about the e-mail and he started acting even stranger."

Gaara was a genius, Itachi was well aware of this. He had not received quite as much attention as the Uchiha, but he was not stupid. The Uchiha knew what e-mail she was talking about. Gaara had seen his lack of communication to Hinata, the contents of the e-mail, and his appearance outside the café and easily put it all together. He had known Itachi was there for Hinata.

But why break up with her over it? He already had her; surely he didn't think at that point that he was competition? Hinata had clearly cared for the boy; she was loyal and wouldn't have dumped her current boyfriend just because he was here. It didn't make sense. "What happened next?"

"W-well he said that…childhood friends form unbreakable bonds…that…in comparison to an outsider, they would…I guess have a connection that the other would never be able to compete with. I think."

So, it was as he suspected. It still didn't explain why he broke up with Hinata. So what if some other guy liked his girlfriend? That didn't mean anything would happen and for some reason Itachi had the feeling that it had been a calculated move, not one done out of jealousy or anger.

"He told me that…he didn't love me. I tried to tell him that it was okay…I mean…you can't really expect to fall in love in nine months but…he still wouldn't…"

Half of him had stopped listening after 'he didn't love me'. It still…didn't make sense. Obviously Gaara had given up because he had decided that he didn't want to be in the running anymore, but why over him? There was a piece missing. Something else had made Gaara decide that it wasn't worth it to continue the relationship.

Could it have been because… "Hinata," he gave her a soft look "when you talked about how we were not communicating, how did you describe our prior relationship?"

"What?" the girl frowned at him in confusion "I told him that we had grown up together, and that you saw me as your little sister. And I…" suddenly all of the color drained from Hinata's face "But that doesn't make any sense," she began to mutter half to herself "I told him that you only saw me as a little sister so…"

And the last piece of the puzzle clicked in. Hinata had told Gaara that she had held feelings for her 'big brother', that was why he ended the relationship. He didn't want to be involved if both parties still had feelings for each other. Basically, Gaara had decided to give Hinata up to him, because he didn't love her…but her 'big brother' did.

"Hinata," he made sure that he had her attention. "There's –"

"I don't understand why it mattered if he said he wasn't jealous!" Hinata suddenly exclaimed, looking highly distraught "How could he just…leave…like that? After everything…" she began to cry again, burying her face in her hands. "I really was falling for him. I don't understand…it doesn't make any sense…I know he said he didn't love me but…does that mean that he…I mean to end it just like that when we've…"

Instead of trying to speak again he instead withdrew a bit mentally. Had they been lovers? Well, she was a fully grown adult and it wasn't as if he was a blushing virgin himself but…it bothered him. It bothered him for so many different reasons there was no way to pinpoint them all.

Sabaku shouldn't have given her up; it was obvious Hinata had moved on and had fallen in love with him.

Ah, but he doesn't love her. He reminded himself. While the Uchiha understood the logic in Gaara's actions, it still didn't mean the end results didn't hurt anyone.

Then he found himself smiling inwardly at the irony. It appeared Gaara and Itachi both lived very structured lives. Once an undesirable situation emerged, they would do what logically needed to be done to fix it. In this case, it was breaking up with Hinata. It was a little frustrating, because it meant that Gaara really hadn't thought the relationship was worth it; that Hinata hadn't been worth pursuing. Once again, he grimly reminded himself that Gaara didn't love Hinata, which really was the catalyst. Had he cared enough, things would have been different. Instead he had given up to the guy who held more feelings for her. Itachi wasn't sure if that was admirable or really messed up.

Briefly, he wondered if this was how his prior girlfriends had felt when their relationship had ended and Itachi hadn't truly cared. It had been fun, it had even been intriguing, but it hadn't been enough for him to want to keep his attention whenever something complicated had come up.

I wonder if he'll eventually find that person that's worth uprooting his life and moving out of his comfort zone.

Should he try to explain it to her? It wouldn't hurt…he hoped.

"Hinata," he began "Around the time I turned twenty I began seriously dating other women." Seeing that he had her attention, he continued "None of them had lasted for very long but all of them had initially really cared for me. A month would go by and then we would split up. It was usually for various reasons, being intimidated by my background, my personality in general. I had liked every single one of those girls, I wouldn't have dated them otherwise…but I never loved them. The moment a snag in the relationship developed I dropped it without looking back. To me, it was the logical thing to do; if something undesirable comes up, you get rid of the cause and continue on. I never really thought about how I must have appeared to them, simply giving up on the slightest thing that popped up."

She began wiping at her eyes, "But you said you liked them so…?"

"Yes, but I did not like them enough to pursue any complications that would arise from the relationship. To me, it was an unnecessary hassle, why put yourself through the stress when you can simply back away and move on?"

Wrapping her arms around her she shivered, although it wasn't cold "That sounds…so horrible to me." She admitted "It's so…it seems so cruel."

"Yes," he said softly "It does. But there is a deeper reason for why I did what I did."

White eyes flickered up at him "What do you mean?"

"It wasn't so much the fact that the relationship had hit a snag and I did not want to deal with it, it was the fact that it would have disrupted my world of complete structure and order. If you become more involved, it becomes more difficult to react logically, meaning that it becomes more difficult to predict, organize, and plan actions in accordance to those scenarios. Acting on emotions means that anything can happen and it is outside your realm of control. For someone like me, it is an extremely disturbing prospect. I suppose you can say it's a form of obsessive compulsiveness, wanting to be able to organize and control any scenario so that it is favorable to you in the end."

Hinata frowned thoughtfully, understanding what he was trying to say "S-so you're saying that…Gaara broke up with me because I was a threat to his way of thinking?"

He tried not to sigh. It really did make them sound like bastards when said out loud. "That's a good way to summarize it, yes."

"But then, if you think like that, you'll never be able to be in a relationship with anyone!" Hinata shook her head as if in doing so it would change their mindset "What happens when you finally fall in love?"

"You stop thinking logically." He answered simply. "You decide that the person is worth the discomfort because wanting to be with them is more important. You force yourself to adapt."

Her smile was bitter sweet "So I guess…because he didn't love me it wasn't…worth it."

"It's his loss Hina, not yours." He smiled thinly when she gave him a surprised look "I am only sorry that I was the reason. Even inadvertently, I would never want to hurt you."

They looked at each other for a moment until Hinata lowered her head "No, it…I'm sorry for saying that. It wasn't your fault at all. If not that, it would have been something else eventually…right? So…"

She began to wipe at her face again before turning away from him "I'm sorry." She sniffed "You came all this way and I'm here…"

Getting up, he grabbed the box of tissues that came with the room and handed it to her. She accepted it with a small 'thank you' before blowing her nose rather loudly, making him smirk slightly. Well, he supposed that was what happened when you were that familiar with someone, you didn't care what they saw, even if it wasn't pretty or graceful.

"Well, my silence hasn't exactly helped you any, for that I'm sorry." He said sincerely "Sasuke told me how upset you had been over it. I was wrong for doing what I did."

Her small hands wrapped around her tea cup again but he couldn't read her expression "Why did you stop talking to me?"

Standing up, he gave her a blank stare "That's not an answer you need to deal with right now." He said flatly "You are almost done with your studies and you're already stressed from your break up."

Confusion danced in her eyes "But you said…you weren't angry at me so…why does it sound like it's a bad thing?"

He continued to remain impassive "I wasn't angry with you." She opened her mouth but he cut her off "Hinata. It is not an answer you need to hear right now. Just know that I wasn't angry and you had done nothing wrong."

When he had turned to go into the other room he had taken three steps before a small hand grabbed the back of his shirt in a surprisingly tight grip. They stood like that in silence and he waited for her to speak up first.

"What happened between Gaara and I…" she began softly "it does hurt. I am sad and really upset at his reasons. But that…that's nothing in comparison to how I've been feeling these past four months." He heard her take a soft breath "You just…you just stopped having anything to do with me, can you imagine how that made me feel?"

He didn't respond, because anything he said would come out hollow in comparison. Instead he continued to stand, not turning to face her.

"All this time I thought that I had done something wrong, that you were angry with me. I was so hurt and confused…and n-now you're saying that you weren't mad a-and that I hadn't d-done anything…I think…" if possible her grip tightened even more "I think I deserve an explanation, Itachi."

It was his own fault for forgetting how stubborn she could be about things very important to her. He felt very uncomfortable because he didn't know what he should do or say and he had no idea how she would react if he told her the truth. He didn't want to hurt her, yet there didn't seem to be a 'right' solution to his problem. Itachi hated it, he hated how there were too many unknowns, too many things that he couldn't determine. He wanted control, he wanted to be able to confidently tell Hinata what she needed to hear so that he didn't hurt her. The Uchiha couldn't lie to her, Hyuuga had this inner ability that made them finely tuned bullshit detectors and considering that she had known him more than half of his life…

So he blocked out his over analyzing mind and just decided to let whatever happen, happen. Turning, he faced her, taking in her appearance. Although there was sadness and pain in her expression, it did nothing to detract from her beauty. When she had looked like that during their childhood, Itachi would pull both her and Sasuke up near him and all three of them would huddle together until they all fell asleep. Of course, she had been a child so whatever it was she had been worried about had been forgotten by the time she opened her eyes again.

But they weren't children anymore.

Gently, his large hands framed her face, his gaze carefully blank as he looked down at her. For a moment he hesitated. How would she react? What would happen between them? Would this destroy their relationship altogether? He didn't know, wouldn't know until he acted. A part of his mind, the so-called 'logical' one, was insisting that this scenario was simply too undesirable and that he should just cut his losses. That side was telling him how many other females he could possibly encounter mathematically and the chances of him feeling the same way as he did for Hinata. After a moment he pushed those thoughts aside. Was it really logic speaking or was it fear? The line seemed to blur between the two.

"The reason I stopped speaking to you," he began, letting his over-active mind go silent once more. He closed the distance between them and he could feel her slightly pressed against him. A hot feeling moved through him and he had to push away the urge to clamp down on it as he normally would have. Pushing her away would solve nothing. Before he realized it his lips were inches away from hers. He heard the small intake of breath, the small shudder that went through her. He tilted his head "I stopped speaking to you," he repeated "because you told me you had a boyfriend."

And then he kissed her.

xxxxx

"I stopped speaking to you because you told me you had a boyfriend."

So many questions and emotions went through her mind from that confession. This was the first time she had ever seen him like…this. Although his face had looked blank, there had been no mistaking the emotions he felt through his eyes as he forced their gazes to lock.

Then she felt warm lips slide over her own, her eyes widening in complete shock. Growing up she had imagined this scenario so many times, albeit under different circumstances. Silly little daydreams and fantasies that she had never thought would happen. This was no daydream or fantasy, the man she loved since she was thirteen truly was kissing her. The shock of this revelation sent her mind into lockdown.

He parted from her briefly before kissing her again, his lips firmer along hers. Still stunned, her body began to react automatically, her hands sliding up and around his neck as she began to return his kiss. Strong arms came around her and quickly their gentle kisses turned into passionate ones, one hand sliding up her back to move through her hair.

Hinata made a soft noise and then she felt his mouth part. A low noise came from him when his tongue delved into her mouth, exploring. His grip on her was so tight it was bordering on discomfort. His kisses became hotter and heavier and she found herself surprised. It felt like now that he had started kissing her he couldn't stop. It was as if he was kissing her for the first time in years and was making up for lost time. It was little effort to free his hair from its ponytail and she felt a small tremor move through him when her hands moved through the silky strands. He had amazingly soft hair; maybe he used the same conditioner as her cousin?

They were breathless when they parted, Itachi's forehead pressed against hers. It seemed as if he was struggling through something internally, his hands were slightly shaky as he held her. Then he slowly moved away from her, backing up a few steps. He actually looked flushed although he had already calmed his breathing. The look he was giving her was one she couldn't identify. Considering how long they have known each other, that was saying a lot.

"I…" she was first to break the silence "I don't understand."

He gave her a look that clearly showed he didn't believe her. "You are not stupid, Hina." He said low, his dark gaze still on her face.

Now that her brain was functioning again she was scrambling to make some sort of sense out of what just happened. She currently had two absolute facts. One, he had stopped talking to her because obviously he had been jealous over the fact that she had been dating. Two, he obviously had feelings for her that went beyond familial friendship. Waaay beyond friendship if that kiss had meant anything.

"Why would you be jealous?" she asked, understanding that it was a rather unintelligent question yet it had been the first thing to come to mind.

He didn't respond and it didn't take her long to realize that he wasn't going to answer her question at all. Itachi had given her an explanation, he had been jealous, and that was all she was probably going to get from him until he felt like addressing it further. Hinata was so confused, what was going on? How could he have feelings for her when he had never once shown an interest? He wasn't shallow enough to have started liking her just because she had gotten a boyfriend.

"I'm flying back tomorrow." He announced and she just stared at him.

"But…you just…got here…" too many confusing things at once. Why had he even come here if he was just going to leave after the first day? Didn't he want to spend time with her?

"I've been here for a week now," her eyes widened a bit at this information "I had been stalling on coming to see you." His eyes narrowed "I can't stay here."

Too fast. Everything was happening too fast all at once "Itachi –"

"When you return," he promised "I will address any question you have. I came here to set things straight between us due to my…foolishness. Staying will only make things worse."

He's backing away because he knows that this is too much for me to deal with all at once. She thought, remembering his earlier words. She had three months left, time that she could sit and think with a level head about what was going on. Right now she felt a little numb about her situation with Gaara, this heart stopping revelation was on a much wider scale than her ex boyfriend. Unfortunately, it was such a huge deal that she couldn't even register it properly. It would take time.

Slowly she nodded, showing that she understood.

"It's a little late now, so if you'd like, you can sleep on the bed." He offered "I've personally found it to be a tad too soft, so I've been utilizing the couch instead."

Hinata nodded again because it seemed to be all she could manage without feeling spastic. "A-alright um…goodnight then."

"Sleep well, Hina."

xxxxx

Gently setting down his cup of coffee, Itachi looked over at his mother on the other side of the booth and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose despite the headache that was beginning to expand throughout his head. He should have known better, he should have told Sasuke and let him deal with telling their mother what had happened. The angry phone call he would get afterwards from his little brother would have been well worth it.

He didn't like people delving deeply into his personal life, his mother was no exception. He did confide in her often and he did value her opinion, but then she'd go into 'Mother Mode' and become extremely embarrassing and awkward to be around. This was one of those times.

She was already asking about grandchildren.

"Mother," he began calmly "It is a little premature to assume anything at the moment…" why was he talking to her about this? He hated being verbal about things so personal to him "I wasn't about to take advantage of her." And if I had stayed I would have, I realized that the moment I kissed her.

"Do you think you two would have twins?" Mikoto asked, completely ignoring what her son had just said to her.

His mother was doing this on purpose, but he couldn't exactly call her out on it either. She was in a small way getting back at him for the situation with Hinata. He couldn't remember a time when his mother had ever not taken her side on something. Mikoto had tried to spoil Hinata since she had no girls of her own.

"I am not aware of many Hyuuga having twins although her father and uncle are." He responded and took a sip of his now light brown coffee. If Sasuke were around, he would have looked at his coffee in disgust. For his little brother, it was black or none at all. "There is also the fact that Hinata and I are not together and that it could very well not happen in the foreseeable future."

With a snort his mother waved him off before taking a bite of her cheesecake "Nonsense." Came the admonishment "Hinata has been in love with you since she was a little girl. I say you should just go ahead and talk to Sasu about doing a double wedding."

"A what?" his question had came out rather ineloquently before he could stop it "No...mother, I'm not marrying Hinata." Was his mother insane? He couldn't just randomly ask her to marry him like that, especially when he didn't want to do something like that in the first place.

"Why not?" she asked bluntly "It's not as if you wouldn't know what to expect, you two know each other better than anyone else. You've already been a part of her life for the past seventeen years. You know all of her habits, her likes and dislikes, you'll know what living with her will be like -"

"She was fifteen when she went back home, mother. That was seven years ago." Wait, why was he having this conversation with her? Why was he indulging her? "I'm sure her habits might have changed slightly since then."

"Hinata-chan?" his mother looked doubtful "She was always very neat and tidy, unlike my two boys." She said with a playful glare.

Smirking, he took a drink of coffee "I'd prefer it if you called it 'organized chaos'. I always know where to find anything I am looking for, thusly, I am very organized and tidy. Besides, it's only the desk in my study, I keep my apartment clean. My mind is organized, beyond that it's debatable."

Mikoto blinked at him in confusion "I thought you hired people to clean your apartment."

"Details." He murmured, smiling slightly. "I'm a busy man, after all."

His mother laughed and he smiled warmly at her, feeling relaxed. It wasn't often that he acted so light-hearted and he missed the days when he had been able to have those few moments of freedom as a child, when he had laughed all the time and didn't have to be anyone but himself. Not Itachi the genius, not Itachi the heir of the Uchiha corporation, just Itachi.

Still smiling, she looked at her son "What do you plan on doing when she comes back?"

Well, I had hoped to get her off the topic… Inwardly he sighed "I don't know." He answered honestly "To be honest, probably nothing. I've made my interest in her quite clear, it's up to her if she wants to accept it. I won't force her and I'll still wish to be her friend if that's what she wants in the end."

"Have you heard from her?"

"No, but I don't expect to. She won't approach me until she knows exactly what she wants to do. To that extent, I will not be greeting her at the airport when she arrives in a few months." He held up a hand when she began to protest "It needs to be her choice, mother, on her terms. I'm only telling you this so that when she arrives she doesn't think I'm upset with her. I hope you'll be able to pass the message on."

After a long moment his mother sighed "Of course I will." She paused "All this waiting is going to drive me crazy though."

He took another sip of coffee "I can empathize." He said lightly and her eyes widened.

"Oh!" she waved a hand "I didn't mean it like that…"

"I was mostly teasing." He said softly, leaning back "To be honest, even if she did decide to be with me I have no idea what I'd do about it. I suppose when you've wanted something for so long that you find yourself at a loss when you acquire it."

Mikoto's smile was understanding "Are you trying to say you're nervous?"

"Possibly." This time he did sigh out loud "It's a difficult thing, dealing with such intense emotions. If nothing happened I would accept it, but I would also be very unhappy. I've been acting irrationally and lately I am at a complete loss concerning most decision-making processes. Things seemed much easier when I did not allow myself to become emotionally involved or attached."

Her smile was sad "But you were unhappy then as well, Itachi. I think the only time I ever see you happy or smile is when you're around Hinata-chan, Sasu, or myself and even then no one else can be around when you are. You put too much stress on yourself when you're always guarded and never relax. I think when you and Hinata-chan get together it'll be good for you to be able to go home and actually relax and allow yourself to drop all those walls you put up around people." She sighed "As a mother, it's hard watching your son grow and he's constantly unhappy or guarded. You want your children to be happy and content with life."

He did not bother to argue the fact that it was a rather large unknown concerning Hinata, but he also knew she was doing it for her sake more so than his. Instead he took in her words as he finished his coffee "You three were the constants in my life. You who was there for both of us and argued with Fugaku about allowing me more free time instead of having me immediately start working in the office simply because I had been intelligent enough to do so. You helped give me some semblance of childhood. Sasuke and Hinata…I had always seen myself as somewhat of a protector concerning those two. They wanted and needed me, but not in the ways Fugaku did. They loved and admired me unconditionally simply because I existed. Without the three of you, I would be a very different person. I do not think there would be anyone else who could bring me the sort of happiness you three have. I am 'happy' and 'content' with this. Please do not feel as if I am miserable; I may not be married and have children, but I am not unhappy with my life."

Mikoto nodded, smiling warmly. She actually looked a little more relaxed as well "I'm glad. I did always worry that I didn't do enough for you..."

"You did what you could, that is all a person can do. Every moment you gave me I cherished and while I had never expected more, I was grateful when it happened." He gently placed his hand over hers on the table "You are a wonderful mother, do not ever believe otherwise."