Disclaimer: No ownage whatsoever of any characters or things related to Naruto.
The calm before the storm, Naruto liked to call it.
Before the ladies of Konoha Heat (who yearned for more than just the editor-in-chief's favor) rushed in, pushing one another and squeezing in the front doors just to deliver the perfect cup of steaming hot coffee and the most delicious packet of cookies to Uchiha Sasuke, the building was extremely quiet. Not a single gaggle of ladies standing to gossip, not one frantic shout about not being able to finish up an article, no muttering about how dreamy or how much of a jackass the boss was (unless Naruto was taken into account, but Naruto was Naruto).
Of course, to beat even the most tenacious of Sasuke's admirers, one would have to wake very early, and not many was up for such a task, with the exception of Sasuke himself, Sakura, Naruto, and Hinata.
Personally, Hinata enjoyed the hour that the calm lasted. Work was less hectic, and she had the freedom of working at a more leisurely pace, and to have a tranquil sip of tea or even visit and have a quick chat with Naruto or Sakura in between. Oftentimes Naruto would bounce over and distract her with his antics, and then Sakura would come over to reprimand him about not letting Hinata finish her work, leading to the two bickering, and Hinata would just giggle the whole hour away at the outrageous comebacks Naruto threw.
As for Sasuke, he would lock himself up in his office. As usual.
It was like any other calm, with Naruto and Sakura at Hinata's desk. Except for one anomaly.
"You're awfully late today, Sasuke. Had to let myself in." Naruto flashed a key, probably pilfered from Sasuke's desk drawer, Hinata speculated. "What happened to being the first one up here," Naruto leered, relishing in the fact that even perfect Sasuke erred and skived off schedule.
Emerging from the elevator, Sasuke only grunted in reply, and slammed the door to his office after entering, the sound tearing into the peaceful silence, making Hinata jump.
"He's not a real morning person," Naruto said to Hinata, sounding almost like a mother apologizing for her child's rudeness. His voice held a hint of mockery. "That Sasuke, he's a real handful. I don't know what to do with him," said Naruto, with his hands on his hips, and his tongue sticking out at Sasuke's door.
"Naruto!" Sakura admonished, but a twinkle was apparent in her green eyes. Looking in the direction of Sasuke's door, she sighed. "Sometimes, I worry about him though. Twenty-two, and already the editor-in-chief of your own company. Must be tough."
Naruto didn't seem to think of it much, however. "Yeah, well, at least he's got us, right Hinata?"
Hinata only gave a distant nod. She, at least, had some idea of what Sasuke must be going through. At the age of eighteen, she was already supposed to be leading Hyuuga Corporation. The pressure, the expectation, and the cautious, yet risky game one had to play—it was all overwhelming and could drown a person, and sometimes, it all felt like no one else could assuage the pain. But that was three years ago, and Hinata had dodged that obstacle.
Just then, the elevator doors went off with a sharp ping, and slid open to reveal the first two of Sasuke's admirers of the day.
It was a new day, and with new hope in their eyes and fresh, piping hot coffee from Mug o' Leaves, they noisily sauntered past Hinata's desk, constantly checking each other's hair and makeup, into the direction of Sasuke's office.
Naruto glanced at his watch. "It's that time again. Expect the rush soon, girls." He slid off the desk he was lounging on. "I better go, ah, 'entertain' them, y' know, for Sasuke's sake. Or what sanity he has left."
Hinata and Sakura gave a quiet laugh behind their hands.
"Well, the day is starting. I better go. Oh, and…Have you figured out what your next article will be about?" Sakura left with a wink and an encouraging smile, but Hinata's stomach dropped like a stone.
Another reason why she liked her early mornings: it allowed her, even if only for an hour, to forget all her troubles. But once the day started, it hit her like a ton of bricks.
Hinata attempted to resume work (What was she working on again?), but thoughts about her next article (which, she mortifyingly noted, was due in two weeks) kept rearing its ugly head, often breaking her concentration, and she would stop and ponder over what to do. To others, it seemed like Hyuuga Hinata was either unwell or possibly suffering from a hangover, and they often waved a hand in front of her to shake her out of her reverie, asking her if she was all right or if she had "Been hitting those drinks a little hard, eh Hinata?"
After she had decided it enough was enough, Hinata rose to go to the staff room for a quick sip of tea to sooth her nerves.
It was in the staff room that she found Sasuke alone pouring out what she noticed was the cream-colored coffee from Mug o' Leaves into the sink.
She bade him a good morning, to which he didn't answer. His face was furrowed into a deep scowl, and Hinata didn't know what he was angrier at: the coffee, the woman who brought him the coffee, or the woman who stood in the room with him at the moment.
"Do you not like coffee, Uchiha-sama?"
"It was poisoned, spiked with a date drug in an attempt to pacify me for uses I would never have submitted to awake," said Sasuke matter-of-factly.
Hinata's eyes widened the size of saucers.
"A joke," he said. But unlike Naruto, when the joke was over, there were no sheepish grins or mirthful twinkles. Sasuke smirked. "I wonder, would you have accepted a drugged drink if I seemed honest enough? It was only sweet as malt, Hyuuga, and unfortunately for whoever gave me this drink, I have no sweet tooth."
"Oh. O-okay," she gulped, and hurriedly busied herself with making a cup of tea, before Sasuke could make another jab at her.
But it didn't stop Hinata from peering over her shoulder to look at Sasuke, who was now pouring himself a cup of strong black coffee. Was he really just as bitter as the coffee he drank, or was it work that often had him on the edge, Hinata wondered. Perhaps, if she hadn't refused her position as a Hyuuga, she would have ended up like him, a grumpy workaholic who was mean and rough…
"Uchiha-sama, do you…Do you ever wish you could run away?" Her musings had tumbled out of her before she could even stop herself. It was a bit personal, maybe even out of line.
He appeared to have not have heard her, as he continued to sip his mug of coffee.
Grabbing her tea, Hinata started to walk out of the room with her head bowed, hoping that maybe he really didn't hear her and she could just slip out unnoticed. But right when she was at the doorway, she stopped.
"I don't run away," he huskily answered. And he swept past her with a lingering stare.
Hinata let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.
It still didn't answer her question.
Time moved by quickly, not only when you are having fun, but also when there was a deadline with an axe that could possibly behead you, Hinata thought somberly at lunchtime. She rubbed her temples. Her next article was due in a week and a day, she had yet to think of a topic that could convince Sasuke she was serious stuff, and not a lightweight newbie.
Naruto was on her right with his feet propped on the table, shuffling through the weekly newspaper, and scarfing down his ramen. Sakura
"Hey, hey! Hinata! You could do an article on Cloud Nine! He's coming to sing in Konoha next week! Says he'll be on concert Monday, and will be here all week."
Hinata, never being one on the largest fads, asked, "Who exactly is he?"
"Dunno, but I think Sakura told me that he's pretty popular with the ladies. Heh, could prove to be some competition for Sasuke, don't you think?"
Hinata was still not convinced. "Do you think he's good enough to actually impress Sasuke?"
"Well, he better be, judging on the price of his tickets. Is that three zeros I see?"
Hinata beamed at Naruto and felt as if she could just kiss him.
The worst was over. Now, it was time to get the ball rolling.