Friends, Romans, Countrymen! Lend me your ears! LOL that is how it starts right? Don't mind me, I just recently remembered how much I love "Julius Cesar" and well I was thinking about when I did the famous Mark Antony monologue. But anyway, without further adieu, I present to you all, AFL: The Sixth Chapter. Note: No chickens were harmed in the making to this chapter.

All For Love

KawaiixKisses

Friend

For days she hid in a stranger's home, too afraid of her husband to return to her own house. Naruto would kill her – quite literally – if she came back. She could see him now; eyes bloodshot and angry, lips curled back, eyebrows crunched together. Oh yeah, he'd be pissed. A pissed off Naruto was not someone she wanted to be around. So here she hid, unable to bring herself to leave Sasuke's apartment. He had been understanding and helpful even, he allowed her to stay in his home for as long as she needed to and also suggested she not go to work for a while lest Naruto showed up there. The thought had never crossed her mind really, though it should have, she planned on going into work the next day. Sasuke however, not only pointed out that Naruto could show up at any time, but also that she didn't have any clothes to wear. There were so many things Hinata hadn't even considered before running away; she just knew that she had to escape him somehow.

Sasuke had been ridiculously kind to her; it was something she was unused to. After the first night of her being there, he had gone out and bought her some things to wear, mentioning that for her to stay in the same thing all the time would be troublesome. The things he had picked had surprised Hinata. He had obviously been paying attention to her for he selected things she would have chosen for herself. Hinata had kindly thanked him before cleaning up and changing into the clean clothes he provided for her. Part of her, the Hyuuga in her, was ashamed at needing him to take care of her. It seemed to her that she was never able to take care of herself – always needed someone to look out for her. Why couldn't she be strong like Ino and Sakura? Why did she always need someone to hold her hand with everything? Just for once she wouldn't have minded being able to do something for herself – just one time be able to say 'I did it'. Just once. The dark haired woman let out a deep sigh as the door opened.

Uchiha Sasuke sauntered into his home, placing his brief case down on the floor as he shut the door behind him. From the instant he walked in he knew she was there. His once painfully bland apartment smelled like her now – not that he minded really. It was a pleasant smell, something he couldn't quite name but didn't hate and that was saying something. His shoulders relaxed a bit as he moved further into his home, pulling his jacket off his shoulders and setting it on the back of a chair.

"You're here," came a soft voice from the corner. The Uchiha turned his gaze to her, studying what she wore that day. The fair lady donned a pair of form fitting jeans and a white top, her shoulders covered by a soft yellow cardigan. Sasuke briefly acknowledged his fashion prowess, noting that what he had picked for her looked good. "Hn," he said at last, his gaze shifting back to her eyes. She looked sad, sadder than she usually did for some reason. Sasuke supposed it was reality settling in on her. He had no doubt in his mind that what she was going through was difficult for her to endure. She had pretty much left everything she had known to hide out in her boss's apartment. He wondered vaguely if she had even left the apartment since the night he found her. Probably not; her skin looked as if it hadn't seen sunlight in a while – not that she had much color to begin with. "Welcome home," she said to him, offering him a small, pleasant smile despite the sadness he had noticed there not too long ago. Sasuke nodded his head in her direction. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was starting to like having her tell him 'welcome home' each night. It was refreshing really. Those two simple words were enough for him to feel slightly relaxed after spending all day confined to four walls.

"I made dinner if you're hungry," she said to him, walking by him and into the kitchen. The small woman removed the covers from a few pots on the stove, the delicious fumes hitting him hard. Everyday when he got home he was tempted to tell her no, that he wasn't hungry but it was hard to lie when the food she made smelled that delicious. It was amazing to him that she able to cook such things using the little bit of food he stocked his kitchen with. Had it not been for her, he would have wasted tens of thousands of yen on take out in the past few days. It was almost a godsend having her there. She cooked him three meals a day, kept his place clean and said very little. It was perfect. He acknowledged that part of him would miss her when she finally did move out. "Yakisoba," she said to him as he walked into the kitchen. "There wasn't much but…"

Sasuke nodded his head and reached for a plate out of the cabinet, but she stopped him. "Let me…" she said quietly, reaching past him for the plate before he could. Sasuke stared down at her. That was probably the only thing that bothered him. She never let him do things for himself. She was always coddling him, trying to take care of him. It was almost motherly. It didn't bother him a lot, it was only slightly annoying. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the counter, watching as she filled his plate with the noodles. His dark eyes studied her troubled expression, watching as her brows crunched slightly together as she fished around in the draws for a pair of chopsticks. "What's on your mind?" he inquired after a while, walking behind her as she carried the plate into the dinning room, setting it down on the table. "Nothing," she answered him, turning her a pleasant smile onto him. He cocked a brow at her, not believing her for even a minute. Even so, he still sat down at the table and began to eat and she soon joined him.

He couldn't help watching her over his plate, studying the expressions she made. She was a terrible liar it seemed; anyone looking at her would know that something was up. "Tell me," he said at last, earning himself a strange look from her. He waited a while though for her to speak. The woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, turning her gaze down to her plate. "I just…" she started off, her voice soft. "I feel weird." Sasuke stared at her, his brows knotting in question. Look up at him, she noticed the question on his face and took that as a signal to go on. "I feel as if I-I'm…intruding." Oh, so that was it. Sasuke could understand why she would feel that way. "I-I mean… I must be in the w-way… There are th-things you want to d-do, but can't since I'm h-here." That he could understand too. Honestly he wouldn't be doing much if she weren't there. Other than work from time to time, he did very little. Occasionally, he did receive the unwanted visit from his brother and from his 'friend' Suigetsu. "Don't worry about that sort of thing," he said after a while. "I told you to stay here, its not as if you asked me." To him, it seemed like she hadn't thought of it that way for her eyes widened slightly at him. "You're okay," he said to her, biting into his food at last.

Hinata stared at her boss, a million and one different thoughts swirling around in her head. She had never viewed it from that angle. In her mind, she was a burden on him, something unwanted and in the way. She never once considered her living situation being one proposed by him. She had gotten used to things being her fault, over everything that went wrong being a direct result of something she may or may not have done. The fair skinned woman nodded her head slowly and began to eat, her shoulders relaxing slightly. The two finished their meal in silence.

The house was a wreck, a complete and total wreck. Dust littered the furniture and pets had yet to be feed. Where in the fuck was his wife? Naruto let out an irritated breath as he walked around his empty mansion. He swore over and over again that when his wife finally did remember where she lived, he was going to kill her. He would end her life the moment she walked through the door. How dare she just leave him like that? Walk right on out during the middle of the night. What in the hell was she thinking? If she thought that even for a second that she would just leave him like that without a word, she was out of her mind. That little bitch owed him. The blonde male fumed silently as he went down the stares and into the kitchen.

Lucky for her he knew how to take care of himself. Had he been unable to cook, he really would kill her for starving him. The male took out a few spices from the cabinets, readying himself to prepare his dinner. "A week… A whole fucking week," he grumbled under his breath, tearing the chicken from the package it came in. What woman disappeared from their house for an entire week? Had she lost her mind? At first, he thought someone had kidnapped her for ransom, but when he received no call or letter from the kidnapper, he knew she had ran away. "She had better get her ass back here…" he grumbled, seasoning the chicken after having had washed it off. Where could she have gone though? She wouldn't have gone home and she wouldn't have gone to her friends' house. Naruto knew his wife perfectly; he knew her mannerisms and the way she thought down to a T. Yet some how, he couldn't figure her out on this one.

He had paid a visit to her job a few days ago, hoping to catch her and drag her back home. Only, when he got there they told him Hinata hadn't come in since the night she ran away. The male pondered this as he began chopping off the limbs attached to the chicken. "Fuck it," he swore, tossing the knife to the side. He wasn't just going to sit around and wait for her to come back, he'd find her. There was no way he was going to let her do this to him. Once the word got out that the wife of one of the candidate for Prime Minister was missing, the whole country would be up in arms searching for her. Oh yes, she'd be coming back, quite soon actually.

Naruto pushed himself away from the counter and headed up to his home office. There were a few calls he had to make in order to have his wife returned to him.

It was his idea for them to go out that day. He said her staying in the apartment all day would do nothing for her sanity – he said something about cabin fever, Hinata had not been listening fully. She found herself in a book store, following her boss around like a lost puppy. She hadn't admitted it to herself – not fully anyway – but she was afraid of being alone. What if someone recognized her out there? She'd give anything not to have to go back to Naruto. Just thinking about the blonde and his cold blue eyes made her uneasy. At times, the thought of being captured made it hard for her to breathe and she found herself struggling for air. It was frightening, deathly frightening. If or when Naruto found her, things would not be looking pretty for her.

"Uchiha-san…" she whispered quietly, earning a curious look from him. The two had been in the bookstore for all of an hour and he had yet to make a selection. The male looked down at the fair lady, cocking his brow at her as if to question her reasons for calling him. Hinata turned her gaze away, unable to look him in the eye for whatever reason–lately she had been feeling nervous around him; then again she was never good with members of the opposite sex.

"What are we…doing here?" she questioned softly, her transparent gaze focusing on her feet. The raven-haired male stared down at her for a moment or two before turning his attention back to the book he had in his hand. "Shopping," he answered simply, reading the back of the novel.

Her brows crunched together slightly before relaxing back to their regular position. She knew they were shopping – she wasn't an idiot – she just didn't know why they were shopping. Naruto was pretty well known, while she wasn't as known as he was, someone might recognize her face. It was a long shot, but it could still happen. And the fact that it still could happen, made her nervous and a little paranoid. She found herself looking carefully over her shoulder, closing her eyes in anticipation if she felt someone brush past her. It was too scary being out in the open. She'd rather stay back in his apartment, cleaning the bathroom than being out book shopping at the moment.

Sasuke, sensing the uneasy tension rolling off of her looked down to her once more. He studied the worried expression on her face for a moment or two, already knowing what was bothering her. "You can't stay locked up in the apartment forever," he mentioned, placing the book back on the shelf and moving on.

Hinata looked up to find his back retreating from her and she quickly followed, afraid of being alone out there. "But… Naruto –"

"Doesn't know where you are," he cut in, turning the corner and entering the mystery section. That's true, he didn't know, but that didn't mean he couldn't find out. Naruto wasn't the type to sit around and wait for things, if he wanted something – like he wanted her – he went and got it. Which only meant it would be a matter of time before he stalked her down and dragged her back to their cold, lifeless dungeon of a home. "You don't know Naruto like I do he… he's… crazy," she said, whispering the last part.

To her dismay and utter shock, the male cracked a lopsided grin. How could he find amusement in any of this? This was her life they were speaking about, her very well being. If she were to be captured she was pretty sure she'd never see the light of day again. Naruto would probably lock her up in the house and force her to breed his children – which was something she no longer wanted to do. The thought actually had her thinking of the child she had taken away from her. Subconsciously, her hand rubbed her lower side of her tummy, missing the child that was once there. "It's not funny," she said quietly, her voice suddenly sad.

Sasuke tossed her a glance, only to have his eyes widen slightly at the sight of her rubbing her stomach. His gaze moved from her stomach and hand to her face, noting the expression there. She looked lonely all of a sudden, as if something was missing. "Are you alright?" he asked her, stopping and turning so his body faced her completely. She nodded her head slowly, her white eyes looking up at him with that same sadness. For whatever reason, the way she looked at him then made him feel…strange. As if somehow it was his fault – no, as if he wanted to make it better. He didn't know how, but he wanted to make it better. He wanted to tell her everything would be okay and mean it. Something about her just made him want to protect her. To him, someone like her didn't deserve to be hurt, or sad, or lonely. She was like a glass doll, pretty and nice to look at, yet easy to shatter.

"I'm sorry," he found himself saying to her. It was weird. She was weird. He should be finding reasons not to like her, not want her around. Searching for some reason to be uncomfortable with her in his apartment, but he couldn't. He couldn't dislike her. At times it was frustrating really.

"Its okay…" he heard her say quietly, turning her gaze down. Well… he did hate when she did that. Every once in a while she did or say things that proved just how insecure she really was. He supposed that had something to do with her husband. He had only met the man once, but could tell he was a nightmare. Just the way he looked at Hinata made him uneasy. It was a sick possessive stare, not the kind of possessiveness that comes from love, the kind that comes from obsession. It was animal-like. Scary.

"Hn. Lets go, I'm hungry," he said, looking away from her and heading off towards the door. He could hear her small feet walking behind him, following him dutifully. He was only slightly annoyed by that, but didn't mention it. "Do you want me to make you something to eat?" she asked him as they walked through the parking lot. Sasuke stopped moving and spun around to face her. He stared down at her for a long while, watching as her eyes drifted away from his.

"Look at me," he said to her, his voice calm and even. She nodded her head and looked up at him, forcing herself to keep from turning away. He made her nervous – not like how Naruto did though, it was a different kind of nervousness. A nervousness she didn't want to dissect at the moment. She felt that it was much better if she was unaware of her feelings when it came to the man before her. She couldn't get hurt too badly if she remained detached, nonchalant in regards to him.

"Uchiha-san…" she questioned softly. For the past few awkward moments, he had only stared down at her, studying her with knotted brows. She watched as his face leaned closer to hers, his eyes focused on her lips. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized what was happening here. Her brain scattered, searching for something to say, something to feel. It wasn't that she didn't want him to kiss her, it was mostly…mostly… She couldn't find the words for it. All she knew was that him kissing her wouldn't lean to anything good. She needed to remain detached, no matter how impossible it seemed. She turned her gaze down, tilting her head down in the process and succeeding in blocking whatever attempt he might have been trying to make at kissing her.

The male stopped moving, finding himself once more. What had he been thinking? He had been meaning to tell her to relax, that she didn't have to work so hard to please him, but when he looked at her, all he could think of was her lips. He found himself wondering how they would feel – because they looked extremely soft – and it perplexed him. Why should he care if they were soft or not? It wasn't making any sense to him, but his body didn't seem to care for it began moving on it's own according. What the hell was that about? He barely knew her… not that it mattered really because he did more than just kissing with women who's last names were mysteries to him. With Hinata however, it was different. She deserved better than random, meaningless sex. She deserved better than being felt up on by some horny guy who couldn't control himself. As mushy and ridiculously feminine as it sounded to him, she deserved someone who cared about her. It damn sure wasn't her husband and he didn't think it was him either. It would be best if he left her alone.

"Forget about calling me –san anymore," he said at last. The female looked up at him finally when he turned away from her, studying the back of his head as he began walking towards the car once more. She hurriedly walked after him, trying to catch up. "Eh?" she asked when she was in hearing distance from him. "Don't call me, Uchiha-san, anymore," he expanded.

Hinata stopped, but only for a moment, to stare at him. "Then what sh-should I call you then…?" she asked him, curious as to what his answer would be.

"Sasuke."

"Sasuke?" she echoed, his name sounding foreign to her. "You can add –kun if it makes you feel any better," he said to her, pulling his keys out of his pocket and opening the car for them both when they finally reached it. "But… you're my boss… I c-can't…"

"You don't work for me anymore," he said to her as the two of them climbed into the car. She stared at him, her brows knotting together slightly. What on earth was he trying to say to her? Hinata never thought herself to be stupid, but none of what he was saying was making any kind of sense to her. "Uchiha-san…"

"Sasuke-kun," he corrected her as he slid the key into the ignition, turning the car on. "From now on we are friends."

"Friends?" she echoed, as if she had never heard of the word. He nodded as he pulled out of the lot and began to drive towards his apartment. "Hn."

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I liked writing it. I wanted to have it up by friday (January 14th, 2011) but I kept getting distracted, but today is good, ne? (January 15th, 2011). Anywhoooooooooo, Review pretty please