Hello, all. For those of you who have been reading my stuff since That Girl, I want to apologize to you for my lack of updating. I know you've probably seen me updating for my other stories that aren't SasuHina. I just feel like I'm not good at writing SasuHina but I started this story and I'm gonna finish it, damnit. I know you've seen how poorly this was written which is why I'm coming back to fix it and along the way, I'm gonna read through it and gather all of my thoughts so that I can start back up writing. Okay, that's the end of my rant. Thanks for sticking with me!
I don't own Naruto or the characters used in this story.
"He said Neon Lotus café, 1pm. It's over a half and hour later and he's still not here." I grumbled, gradually getting more and more pissed off as the minutes passed. Hinata put her hand on mine and squeezed lightly.
"Will you calm down? Don't you think that you should be a little more patient with the person who's supposed to be showing us potential apartments?" She asked, trying to alleviate some of the anger that I have. "Look, I think that's him." She said, gesturing behind me at some moron in a powder blue blazer and black dress pants speed walking in our direction.
"I hope not." I frowned as the man stopped in front of us.
"Mr. Uchiha, I presume?" He said as he fixed his tie. I nodded and extended my hand.
"Toshio?" I asked as the man shook my hand.
"Oh, no. Toshio called in sick this morning. My names is Haru Senhi and I'll be showing you...Two properties today, is it?" He asked as he looked down at his clipboard. "Yes, two. Ah, you must be Mrs. Uchiha. Lovely to meet you." He said as he extended a hand to Hinata.
"A-Actually-" She stammered with a pink face as she shook his hand.
"Sorry I'm late. I'm unfamiliar with the area, you see." Haru interrupted. Hinata frowned and ignored the mans rudeness. "Shall we get going?" He said as he began walking. Hinata and I looked at each other as she took hold of my hand and we began walking. "The Ryoma district is known for having many stores, parks and monuments for sight-seeing. I hope that you will enjoy living here if you choose this apartment." He rambled as we walked down the road. "Ah, here it is. 1569 Ember Avenue." Haru smiled. This one was Hinata's choice.
Haru led us into the gated community, up several flights of stairs until we finally got to the apartment where we waited for him to open the door.
"Hopefully you'll love this one." He said as he opened the door. Hinata smiled at me as we stepped in. However, that smile was wiped off of her face as Haru closed the door behind us. "This apartment was owned by-" Haru hesitated.
"Animals." I finished, sarcastically. I looked around for a moment, taking in my surroundings. The carpet had so many different stains that it looked like homeless people had been squatting in it in more ways than one. The walls had a yellow tinge to them and let's not forget the fact that there was a fist sized hole in one of them.
" Well, lets look around. Shall we?" Haru began. Hinata raised and eyebrow and walked over to the front door.
"Let's not. I've seen about all I need to. I'd like to leave, please." She said in a disgusted tone. I nodded and followed after her. She looked up at me with a sad face. " It's bad...Really bad." She said, looking down at her feet.
"It could have been worse." I told her, placing my hands on her shoulders. She nodded as Haru came out of the apartment.
"I-I apologize for that. I had no idea that the apartment was in this condition . I hope you can forgive me for this blunder." The real estate agent apologized.
"It's not your fault. Let's just hope the next one doesn't look like this." I said, patting the man on the back.
"Ri-Right. On to the next one." He said as he began walking out of the community and down the road. On the way, we passed several different businesses. A car dealership, a smoothie bar, a pet shop, several clubs, some department stores, a grocery store and a yogurt place. Finally we stopped at a fairly new looking, red brick apartment. The apartments next to and across from this one were nice too. "Lets go inside, shall we?" Haru smiled as he opened the door. I watched as Hinata flinched when the door opened, as if it was going to be so bad that it hit her.
"Oh my goodness." She gasped when she finally peered inside. This one was immaculately clean. White walls, gray blue carpets and few floor to ceiling windows. Hinata was silent as Haru lead us through the apartment, rambling on about the square footage of the rooms, how new it was and how much we were going to like it here if we decided to choose this one. Which, judging by Hinatas face, we were.
"So, how do you like it?" Haru asked me as we stood in the kitchen. Hinata was off somewhere in the apartment.
"All things considered, I think she likes it. Now, around what amount are you looking for, for the security deposit and down payment?" I asked, shoving my hands in my pockets as Hinata finally came into the kitchen and stood beside me.
"We-well. Typically, the down payment is included in the first months rent. It's usually double the first months rent. So, all in all, to move in you would need about $1,300.00." Haru flinched as if I was going to hit him because of the cost. Hinata and I looked at each other and nodded.
"Sounds about right. We'll go half and half, hmm?" Hinata asked. I nodded.
"So…So you're getting it?" Haru asked. I looked down at Hinatas giddy face.
"It's up to her." I told him. Hinata smiled even wider than she already had been.
"Are you kidding me? Of course we're getting it." She beamed, throwing her arms around me in the process.
"Good. So, if you'll just come with me to the real estate office and fill out the paper work, you can move in as soon as you're ready...
It's been two weeks since we moved in.
"We really ought to go grocery shopping." Hinata said as we finished bringing in small dining room set that Hinata's dad got us as a gift. And I'm glad for it. I really, really don't like going out to buy home furnishings. It takes too long and it's boring as hell. So far, the apartment was almost completely put together. Minus the minor things that Hinata insists that we get. Small things like curtains, things for the kitchen and bathrooms, and random ass plants that serve no purpose. All in all, the place looks pretty good.
We decided to put my bed in our room and Hinatas in the guest room. What's the point in throwing away a perfectly good bed set? Since we couldn't decided on whose room furniture to use, we got new dressers and whatnot for our room and put the rest in the guest room. But, being the nice boyfriend that I am, I let Hinata keep her vanity mirror, dresser thing in our room. Our closet, if that's even the right thing to call it, just the right size. Her clothes on one side, mine on the other.
I just let Hinata run wild with the rest of her graduation shopping money. Gray suede couch, complete with the 'L' shaped section that I now love so much because of how long it is, coffee tables, entertainment center. She went all out but it looks pretty good.
"I mean, we're not doing anything right now." I called from the living room. Hinata sighed and closed the refrigerator.
"Whose car?" She asked, sitting on the couch beside me. I shrugged.
"Why drive when we're within walking distance of a grocery store?" I stated, as I looked around our little apartment.
"Because I don't want to carry grocery bags by hand." She whined, giving me the pouty face.. I rolled my eyes playfully.
"Stop complaining." I smiled as we got up off of the couch and headed towards the front door.
" I'm glad we did this." Hinata smiled as she locked the door behind and took hold of my hand as we walked down the street. "Sasuke look, they're hiring." She said after a while of walking. She had been pointed towards the frozen yogurt shop. I nodded towards it.
"Then go check it out. I'll meet you inside the store." I told her as she nodded and went inside. On the way towards the grocery place, I just so happened to walk past this car dealership. Normally, I would have kept my hands securely shoved in my pockets and kept on walking but for some reason, this navy blue Lexus was calling me. So, I casually strolled in to look at it. This work of art just stood out against all of the other ones. It… It was perfect.
"Sir, could you tell me a little bit about this car?" Some woman who looked to be in her mid thirties asked me, gesturing to the exact same car that I have now. I was about to tell her that I didn't work here until she started walking over to the car. "You see, my son's 16th birthday is coming up and I know he wants a car but I'm not sure what to choose."
"Well, ma'am, this car has an ECO Start/Stop system, 7 speed automatic transmission with shift paddles, agility control suspension and excellent gas mileage. It's pretty spacious and drives smoothly, I have no problems with it. What I've been told is that it's been rated as a top safety pick but, that's coming from someone who doesn't even work here." I told her with a smirk. I just watched as the woman's face turned red.
"I-I had no idea you didn't work here. I would have thought you did with all that information you just gave me." She flushed. I shrugged my shoulders.
"No, he doesn't work here but he could." Said some brown haired man. My name is Tenzo Yamato, owner of Yamato's Auto. Young man, you've exemplified some very nice skills." He said as several people, mostly women made their way toward us. " And with a face like that, you could sell reading glasses to a blind woman. Would you consider applying for a job here?" He asked. I sighed.
"I would, but I just graduated not too long ago. So I'm not really qualified for this job." I told him. He shrugged his shoulders.
"And? Half of the people who work for me aren't qualified. They learned on the job. You could too." He said.
XXXX
"Welcome to MominPo. My name is Yuhara. How can I help you today? Can I interest you in some free samples?" The bubbly strawberry blonde woman in a light blue uniform at the counter beamed. I smiled and made my way over to the counter.
"Um, hi. The sign outside says that you're hiring and I-" I began but was shortly cut off.
"Oh, thank heavens! You see, we just opened not too long ago and there are only two of us available." Yuhara wailed from the other side of the counter. She came out and walked around me, as if she was giving me an inspection. I couldn't help but blush under the pressure.
"U-Um, wh-what are you doing?" I asked, covering myself as if I wasn't fully dressed. Yuhara smiled and clapped her hands together.
"You're perfect! Oh, Yuuske, come look at how cute she is!" She called as she instructed me to lift my arms.
"Who's perfect?" Another strawberry blonde called as he emerged from the back, wearing a light blue short sleeved button up similar to Yuhara's. "Yuhara, would you stop doing that? Maybe that's why no one ever asks for an application." Yuuske chided, playfully swatting my inspector away. "Do you want a job here, sweetheart?" He asked me, placing his hands on his hips in an effeminate way.
"Um…sure." I nodded slowly. That seemed to set Yuhara into a bouncing frenzy as she bounced into the back, returning with another blue uniform.
"You've got the job." She smiled, thrusting the uniform into my arms. I looked at her with a shocked expression.
"H-Huh? I-Isn't there supposed to be some sort of interview?" I asked, looking down at the powder blue clothes. Yuuske sighed.
"Can you add?" He asked. I looked at him and nodded. "Can you work a scale?"
"Yes."
"Do you know how to work a cash register?"
"Yep."
Can you wipe off counters?"
"Yep."
"Can you sweep? Restock topping containers? Stack chairs? Mop? Can you pour yogurt mix into a chiller?"
"Yes, yes, yes, yes and show me where to pour it." I answered with a smile. Yuuske eyeballed me for a moment before leaning in too close for comfort.
"This question is the most important." He breathed. I gulped lightly and nodded. "Can you…. Stand behind a counter, be cute and greet customers with a peppy attitude?" He asked with a smirk. I smiled and rolled my eyes.
"Of course I can." I beamed with a overly campy voice. He smiled and clapped his hands together, much like Yuhara had done.
"You're hired. Go talk to Yuhara and she'll give you your work schedule. Oh, and welcome to the MominPo family." He smiled as he walked into the back with a slight switch in his hips. Odd.
And that was that. I was to start in two days. I smiled as I walked out of the shop with my new uniform in my arms. As I began walking, I passed this little pet shop. In the window, seven little white puppies crawled around on the blanket of their cage. The little name plate ontop of the cage said Dalmatian puppies. I let out a small "aww" as one puppy slept by himself in the far corner of the cage making little whimpering noises that I could barely hear outside of the shop.
"Window shopping, are we?" A familiar voice called from behind me. I turned around to see Sasuke standing behind me with a smug look on his face.
"No, I was just looking. Aren't they adorable?" I smiled, still looking at the puppy. Sasuke smiled and took hold of my shoulders, edging me towards where we were really supposed to be going.
"We've got grocery shopping to do." He said as we walked down the street. He looked at my arms and nodded towards my uniform as we walked into the store. "What's that?" He asked, grabbing a shopping cart and pushing it down the aisle. I set my clothes inside the child seat of the cart and shrugged my shoulders with a smile.
"Oh, you know, just my new uniform." I said, trying not to sound too excited as I placed two gallons of milk, a carton of eggs and two packs of bacon into the cart as Sasuke pushed it.
"Uniform for?" He asked, genuinely confused.
"Well, you know that little yogurt shop on the way?" I asked as Sasuke placed two loafs of bread into the cart while I scoured the shelves for tomato soup. For Sasuke, not me.
"Yeah, what about it?" He asked, placing a few cups of instant ramen and a bag of rice in as well.
"I work there now." I smiled as Sasuke pushed the cart towards down the aisle while I added several more things to the cart and headed towards the produce section. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
"Really now? That was kind of fast." He smirked. "Congratulations. I guess I should tell you that I've been offered a job at that car dealer ship."
"Really? That's amazing. I guess today's our luck day" I smiled. "How many tomatoes do you want?" I asked, turning my nose up at the nasty confused little organic abomination. Fruit or vegetable? I will never no, nor do I care to know.
"Just two. Do we need onions?" He asked. I nodded.
"Yes. And carrots, snap peas, baby corn and broccoli." I told him. I smiled at our casual conversation. Sasuke frowned.
"I'm not getting snap peas. They're nasty." He said simply, placing the other vegetables in the cart. I narrowed my eyes.
"Fine. You go get steak, chicken, whatever kind of fish you want and shrimp and I'll get the snap peas." I smirked and placed said peas into the cart. Sasuke shook his head and went into the meat section while I placed several fruits into the cart.
"So you're dating Sasuke now?" Some woman with a black pixie cut, tight tank top and short shorts said to me as she inspected a container of strawberries and placed them into her basket. I turned to face her as I set a bag of grapes into our nearly full cart.
"Say again?" I asked, eye balling the stick figured woman. She shifted her weight to her left hip and looked me up and down.
"I mean, you've got a nice chest and all but besides that and your eyes, you're pretty plain." She scoffed. "What he sees in you, I'll never know."
"Um. I'm sorry. And you are?" I asked, unaffected by her words.
"Miku. Sasuke's girlfriend before you." She informed me with a tinge of sass to her words. I smiled coyly at her.
"Exactly. That means you're an ex. That means you are no longer with him. That also means that you weren't good enough." I told her with a slight attitude.
"Hinata, you okay with salmon?" Sasuke asked as he walked over, slowly halting his steps. " Miku?" He asked, placing the fish into the cart.
"Sasuke! I haven't seen you in forever." She suddenly smiled as she wrapped her arms around Sasuke. He stood there with a disgusted look on his face, not bothering to return her hug.
"Still as handsy as ever, Miku." He frowned when she let go of him. "Is that everything we need, Hinata?" He asked, now ignoring his horrid ex. I nodded and with that, he pushed the cart down the isle and towards the check out line, leaving the flat chested, scantily clad woman in his wake. I didn't even bother looking at her. "She was really clingy." He admitted as we put our groceries on the small conveyor belt.
"Really?" I said sarcastically but with a genuine smile.
"I dumped her at her parents barbeque. She clung so close to me that if I burped, she could tell you what I had for lunch." He smirked. I laughed at his little joke as we collected and paid for our groceries and headed down out of the store. The clerk was nice enough to put my uniform in a separate bag for me.
"Okay, so maybe we should have taken one of our cars." Sasuke admitted as we walked down the sidewalk, arms stuffed with big paper bags. Sasuke shrugged his shoulders.
"Then we wouldn't have passed the dealership or that yogurt place and you wouldn't have been hired." I said.
"True." He added before I stopped in front of the pet shop again to look at that lone Dalmation puppy.
"Hinata, we're not allowed to have pets." Sasuke told me, catching my attention. I sighed sadly.
"I know but Sasuke, look how cute he is." I pouted. He sighed and stood beside me, watching the small dog. After a while, we started walking again.
"Aye, did you get car jacked or something? Why are you walking?" A cheerful voice rang through the streets. We turned to see a rather new looking, canary yellow pick up truck pull up beside us. I smiled at the driver.
"Hi, Naruto." I said.
"Sup,man?" Sasuke nodded. Naruto smiled and looked down the road and then to our bags.
"Get in." He gestured with a smile. And so we did. I sat in the backseat along with our groceries. "What's going on guys? Neither of you live anywhere near here, so why are you two so far out?" Naruto asked as he started down the road.
"Actually we do." I began with a smile. He looked at me in the rear view mirror.
"Huh?" He asked.
"We moved down here about two weeks ago." Sasuke smirked. Naruto tweaked his eyebrows.
"What's all this 'we' stuff?" He asked. Sasuke and I waited a minute so that it could fully resonate with our not so smart friend. "Ohh! You two moved in together!" He said finally. We nodded. "But wait, didn't Sasuke have his own place already?"
"Yeah, but my parents paid for it. We got our place by ourselves. Speaking of our place, you just passed it." Sasuke said calmly while I laughed in the back seat. Naruto laughed and made a rather illegal U-Turn in the middle of the road and headed towards our apartment. When he pulled into the driveway, his eyes widened a bit. He let out a whistle.
"Nice place." He complemented as we all got out and carried the groceries inside.
"Thank you." I smiled as we put everything away, making idle chit chat as we did so.
Alright kiddos, that's that. How we doing so far? Review and let me know.
Until next time!
Next Chapter: Brings Me Back