Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Betaed by the lovely Dreaming Cynic

Flashback

Glancing at her watch she stifled a groan of annoyance. It was already 6:20 and Uchiha Madara's birthday celebration was set to begin at 7. For the past hour she had been trying her damnest to get her husband to leave his office, but so far all she had gotten for her efforts were excuses.

"I'll be done in ten minute."

"Five more minutes I'm almost finished"

That five minutes had turned into a half an hour and she was definitely running out of patience.

Hinata was not looking forward to this party in the least, but it was a major social event and what with Sasuke being the heir and all they couldn't afford not to go, god knows their families were looking for any excuse to smear her name.

Madara was Sasuke's great grandfather and had been the patriarch of the Uchiha clan since his father had passed on the mantle at the age of 35. Now the esteemed head of the Uchiha clan was turning 93 today and had outlived his own son and Sasuke's own father thus he still retained his position as head of the family. Sasuke privately referred to him as the "old bastard who wouldn't die."

She was inclined to agree. All her encounters with the family head had been cringe worthy, his air of arrogance and condescension rivalled that of the Hyuuga elders and unlike them he did not mince words and was sharp-tongued and incredibly frank.

After the car crash that had taken the lives of Sasuke's parents when he was still a teenager, his brother, Itachi had broken ties with the Uchiha clan not long after, leaving Sasuke under the care of Madara.

He had capitalized on the young boy's vulnerable and lonely state hardening his heart, drilling into him the traits of an Uchiha, manipulation, ruthlessness and an unquestionable devotion to doing his duty to the Uchiha clan. His sole focus in life was to uphold the glory of his clan and to do his duty as expected.

But her presence had changed things, unintentionally of course, but Sasuke was swaying from their control, he wasn't their puppet anymore dancing at their slightest whim. By refusing to abandon her he had shown his first sign of rebellion, which was unacceptable. She would find no friendly face in that crowd tonight, but she wasn't going to bend backwards and give them any ammunition to use against them. So Sasuke was going to have to get his butt out of the house now.

Reaching down she pulled off her black pair of Louboutin pumps, wincing at the blisters that were already forming on her poor feet. Hinata didn't wear heels often, she preferred her feet being flat on the ground, thus these pumps hadn't been broken into yet and she was well aware her feet were going to hurt like a bitch, but she would convince Sasuke to rub them as payback.

Stealing into his office quietly, she bit back a grin at her stroke of luck, he was still engrossed in his discussion on the phone.

Moving behind his desk she quickly disconnected his flash drive, placed his computer into sleep mode before beating a hasty retreat. She needed to hide the data stick and fast.

Spying an ornamental vase she dropped it in hurriedly only to hear sudden footsteps advancing from behind her. Crap, looks like he figured out what she'd done sooner than she thought.

"Hinata give it back!" he called in ire.

"Come find me" she taunted in return.

Taking a furtive glance back she saw his shadow approaching from around the corner.

Pushing more speed into her legs, she raced down the corridor, her heart thumping wildly inside her chest, the ruffles of her full shirt whipped behind her, her carefully secured chignon had become undone wisps of her hair brushed her face, obscuring her vision, pins were dislodged and plinked as they hit the floor in her wake. She almost slammed into the wall as she was unable to find any traction, quickly bracing herself before pushing off against it. She just had to make it down the side stair case, across the foyer and out the front door.

Then from an alternate passageway Sasuke stepped out in front of her directly in her path, his breathing rapid, his eyes furious and his body tense with rage making an imposing figure in his black suit. Her breath caught in her lungs, this is what an irate god would look like she imagined. It was too late to stop, much less change directions her momentum was going to carrying her right into his arms.

Shit.

As she knocked into him her force unsettled his balance, she made a fleeting effort to try and escape, but he was too determined and so much stronger than she was wrestling her to the ground as she struggled and squirmed to get out of his grasp, but it was too late he had already pinned down her hands, his larger frame looming over her in his straddled position.

Their uneven breathing was matched.

"Where is it?" he demanded, pressing down his weight slightly as an intimidation tactic.

With a triumphant, mischievous quirk of her lips she retorted, "It doesn't matter. We have a party to attend."

"Screw the party I need that flash drive back now Hinata."

"And I have been telling you to wrap up your business for the last hour Sasuke" she mocked though she could feel the spark of anger ignite inside of her. Didn't he understand how important this party was they didn't need to invite anymore trouble from their families.

"I don't care, just give me back the fucking flash drive! You don't understand the mess you've made woman," anger sharpened his tongue, each word felt like a stinging lash.

She flinched at his harsh language her own frustration and helplessness getting the better of her, she hated being trapped and vulnerable like this it reminded her of too many sessions as a child being knocked on her ass time and again by her father, her sister, her family.

Most of all she hated that she couldn't hide the tears she had been furiously trying to blink back, always being taunted by her weakness. Dammit couldn't she even get pissed off without all the waterworks. Hell her makeup was probably all smudged and ruined. And that was the least of her worries she sighed.

Hinata refused to stay silent and accept his scolding as though she were some petulant child, she had been bullied and belittled by enough people in her life and she was not going to allow the man she loved to treat her the same.

Glaring at him defiantly with tears stinging the corners of her eyes she rebuked him, "It's you who doesn't understand. What is your family going to think when the heir of their precious clan shows up late? I don't want to give them anymore reasons to hate me Sasuke. You can't protect me from them all the time."

"It's bad enough they think I'm a screw up, I can't even perform a basic biological function like giving you a child," she mused bitterly "but could you at least let me show them I'm not a complete failure as your wife."

She closed her eyes, turning her head away from him. Her mascara mingling with her hot, burning tears leaving darkened streaks along her pale cheeks.

Sasuke sagged above her as the tension and anger dissipated from him.

Releasing her he transferred his hands to her face, caressing the line of her jaw, brushing away her tears.

Slowly he straightened, sinking back on his heels before he pulled the upper half of her body off the floor, holding her pliant form against him as his arms laced around her trembling form.

He buried his face into her tousled hair, his voice soft and remorseful, "I'm sorry. I'm not like them. I will never be like them."

"Forgive me" he whispered,

Sasuke felt the wetness of her tears soaking through his shirt, but he could hardly care. He'd been selfish and distracted, he knew explicitly that they would be walking into the lion's den tonight and as much as he tried to shield her from the brunt of their family's discontent to put it lightly he couldn't keep their malicious words from hurting her, from wearing at her spirit.

"You're right I have made things worse, I am the one who messed up. But you must listen to me, you have to believe me. I am the one you should believe when I say you are not a failure. They are foolish and conceited and completely blind if they can't recognize the strong, intelligent, brave woman who am I fortunate to call my wife.

She let out a croak of laughter at his last words, disbelieving.

"No its true", he protested, "I am not one to say things I don't mean and I've been damn lucky to end up with a wife who just happens to be so damn beautiful and kind, I shudder to think what wretch they would have thrown at me if it hadn't been you."

She wanted to believe those words so badly, she wanted to tattoo them unto her skin so that she wouldn't forget. So that every time she was assaulted and beaten down by her doubts and her insecurities and worst of all the cruelty of her family she could read those words and remember, remember that someone saw something good and worthwhile in herself that she never did.

Sasuke deserved a partner who was confident and fearless and strong like he was and god knows she wanted to be that woman. But throwing off the weight of a lifetime of self-loathing and feelings of worthlessness wasn't the easiest task in the world, changing that part of herself that felt so inherent and ingrained was going to take so much from her. For so long she had thought of herself as a defect, a disgrace, a stain upon her family's name, she never believed she was capable or useful, that she was someone to be proud of, that she mattered.

Taking hold of that shaft of sunlight she returned his embrace, holding on tightly as though she could absorb all the strength and conviction he felt.

Who knows how long they sat there on the floor in each other's arms , that was until Sasuke's phone began ringing and with a grunt he reached into his pocket, reading the name on the flashing scene before his eyes darted to the time. Five past seven.

It appeared they were going to be late anyhow they looked at it.

Answering the call he made his apologies and gruffly explained they were having "car troubles" and would be later than expected. When he ended the call he gave her a smirk, "Maybe we'll show up in time for the cake?"

That made her smack her forehead in exasperation trying to hid the smile tugging at her lips.

Realizing that Sasuke wasn't showing any intention of getting a move on she decided it would be up to her , bemoaning her current disheveled state, she was certainly going to have to do something with her hair and definitely fix her makeup, she probably looked like an extra from a horror flick. At least her dress didn't look too bad.

As she rose, she felt a bit of resistance, but continued her ascent which was suddenly accompanied by the ominous sound of fabric ripping. Hinata was horrified to realize that her husband had been sitting on the edge of her navy blue dress and now there was a momentous tear on the delicate tulle of her ruffled skirt starting back at her.

With a cross between a chocked sob and a laugh she plopped back down, exhaling nosily feeling a rising bit of hysteria knowing that any moment now she was going to be blubbering like a child or laughing like a lunatic.

Then feeling a bit of childish petulance she raised her eyes to meet his as she accused him, "You ripped my dress!"

His mouth had a spasm, a snicker escaping him as she gaped in outrage which caused Sasuke to officially lose it and he began chortling on amusement, before it escalated into full blown laughter. His eyes were closed, his lips upturned, Hinata had never seen look as young and as carefree as he did in that instant. Giving into the sudden playful mood she tackled him giving a mock growl before he reached up and stole a kiss, smirking at her at her until they were both tumbling around on the ground in plain sight. Lips meeting, teeth clanking, tongues dueling.

It was sloppy and clumsy, interrupted by short spurts of laughter in between.

It was perfect.

A/N: Ok decided to make it chapter 10.

You guys were missing the SasuHina love so much I decided to include little flashback scenes that will help you see the evolution of their relationship and help you get to know them better, I will also try to fill in some background info and maybe clear up any lingering questions.

Special thanks to Umnia and Mei Ju.

Also in particular this scene takes place after she loses Megumi, but before she left Sasuke shows that even though their relationship has changed and so have their feelings towards each other, Hinata is still very insecure and low in self esteem and they have a lot of challenges they have to face. She wasn't strong enough the first time around so she left, but by the time she and Sasuke meet again I want her to have developed and evolved into a self-assured, capable person who will stand up for what she wants, so that no matter what their clan throws of them she can handle it and that she knows and believes that she is worthy of being loved.

If you have any ideas for snippets of their past you would like to see feel free to tell me! I'll see what I can do.

Sincerely,

CharmGirl24.