Hinata stared into the thick, swirling crowd and turned around. Her body shook with fear at the mere sight of all those skimpily clad bodies pressed together in that . . . monstrosity called a group of friends. She didn't think the whole high school was coming, but then again, this was a high school reunion. Anyone that had been part of her graduating year was bound to be here. Every single one of them.

She placed a trembling hand to her chest, closing her eyes and trying deep yogic breathing exercises. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Deep and full breaths. Her heart slowed down a bit. All this was was a conference. A big, comfy conference of friendly faces and old companions getting together to review over their successful years.

There, that was a little better. Opening her smoky-treated eyes, she smoothed out her glittery blue-green sleeveless scoop-neck minidress. Yes, that's right, minidress. It was Hanabi's idea, and black solid tights were in this fall anyways, so she was good. Now, she was standing the giant foyer of Temari's house, trying to calm herself down.

She looked to her black Marc Jacob three-and-half-inch Mary Janes and sighed. It was now or never. She fluffed her hair, hopping the soft ringlets her stylist had put in looked alright. It softened her sharp cheekbones and gave her face this radiance worthy of even the Queen of England. Her full lips were glossed in soft pink that tasted of strawberry and a little blush had gone a long way.

A trembling hand reached up and wrapped around her gold charm bracelet, the sharp ends of her charms poking into her sweaty palm. Her opal eyes scanned the crowed before she took a deep breath and steadily made her way inside. It was now or never. Now or never she'd get to see Gaara again, because after four months, he'd be gone and she hated to see him go.

The reaction to her appearance was instantaneous. Everyone's head surged to see her sauntering (think Hanabi! think Hanabi!) by. A teenager in a French maid's outfit held out her tray and Hinata politely thanked her for the champagne flute and was on her merry way. Almost instantly, people surrounded her, air-kissing her cheeks and saying hello after years of seperation.

She felt a little overwhelmed. But that was fine. She needed to grip the situation and reign it in. After a while, she was on a roll, kissing cheeks, laughing at inside jokes from long ago and catching up on friends. Well, acquaintances. She hadn't been extremely popular in school, but she had some friends outside of the "Rookie Nine" as they were called.

Finally, the crowd calmed down and everyone was back to their groups, talking and laughing, waving at known faces and just generally enjoying themselves. Hinata glanced around, seeing the general theme of the reunion. It was black tie optional. Meaning go fancy, but not too fancy. Some went over the moon in bright red no-back halter dresses with trains. Hinata tried hard not to scrunch her delicate ski-slope nose at them. That was uncongenial, as she saw it. A train was definitely unnecessary.

"Hinata." Two fingers tapped her shoulder and she twisted around to see Shino. Her face practically split in two as she threw herself in his arms, careful of their champagne.

"I haven't seen you in so long!" She laughed, the butterflies in her stomach dispersing. If Shino was here, Kiba was not far behind.

He chuckled, patting her back. "Yes, it has been awhile. I was in Africa for a few weeks. Very interesting but also very hot."

She eyed his tanned face. "You are so lucky. Wish I could just get up and go to exotic places."

He smiled faintly. "It's my job to go around the world."

Kiba popped up, wrapping Hinata in a hug and saying to Shino, "Whatever! You claim it's your job but it's really because all the women down there are hot as hell!"

Hinata's cheeks turned bright pink as Shino shot Kiba a glare over his glasses. "That was highly unnecessary Kiba. Hinata is standing right there."

"Where?" Kiba squinted his eyes and shaded his eyes as if looking for her. He promptly got a smack to the head.

Hinata burst into giggles and hid them behind her champagne flute as Kiba glared teary-eyed at Shino. "What for?!"

"For being incompetent." Shino raised an eyebrow as Kiba's eyes registered confusion, even though he was still scowling. "I'm not going to say."

"Well, you're insufferable." Kiba crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out, Hinata giggling beside Shino. "Yeah, see, I know big words too."

"Aburame Shino! Is that you?" Someone shouted and Kiba smirked as Shino turned to see a woman with dark brown hair in soft curls and deep ocean-blue eyes saunter up. "What's this? Shino's got himself an old girlfriend?"

He cursed under his breath as he held his head, from Shino's swift slap, squatting down to his knees. Hinata burst into laughter as Shino went to meet the woman in the crowd. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her arm and she gasped. Swiveling her head around, she turned to face Sasuke, who seemed unfazed by all his old fan girls falling hard for him again.

She tried to ease her arm out of his vice-like grasp. "Um, may I help you, Sasuke?"

He whisked her away, maneuvering her through the thick crowd of the ballroom. "We have business to finish."

"What?" she squeaked, looking to him, the slight breeze ruffling her bangs. "I thought we finished everything! Is it Russia? Or maybe Hong Kong?"

He grunted something, but she couldn't catch it, because of the chorus of "Hi Sasuke-kun" coming at them. She felt slightly sick. Tonight she was supposed to look like the fun-loving type. Someone who Gaara could be interested in. Not being whisked out of the place because she had paperwork to finish up and Hiashi wanted to her to.

And that's all it took for her to get angry. She roughly snatched her arm out of Sasuke's, who turned to her with a raised eyebrow. She smoothed down her glittery dress and fluffed her bangs before looking him right in the eye. She wanted everything to go without a hitch tonight. And if that meant she had to blow Hiashi off, then so be it.

"I'm sorry Sasuke," she began, her voice devoid of emotion. "But I'm going to stay here. We can finish up on Monday."

He crossed his arms, his icy demeanor filling up the space between them. "Unfortunately, Hinata, you don't have a choice. We have to finish up here very quickly, and then we may join back in the festives."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why here? What's here that we have to finish up?"

He snatched her arm back and they were making their way through the crowed again. "Subaku."

Her heart rate sped up. The butterflies in her stomach returned. She felt tongue-tied. Gaara was here! And she had business to conduct with him! Things were turning out better than she thought. The minute Sasuke left them; she had Gaara all to herself.

She snatched her arm back and began speed-walking with Sasuke, speaking calmly despite the sudden adrenaline rush, "I can walk just fine on my own, thank you."

This was her chance to finally have Gaara to herself. Her heart raced. God, she was sounding more and more selfish everyday.

Note to self: loosen up a bit. Have Ayame order a spa day.

-

"Uchiha," Gaara gave a slight nod to Sasuke before turning to Hinata. "Hyuga."

Hinata blushed and hoped that in the dim lighting of the drawing room, it would pass of as blush. Gaara had always been polite, even in Honolulu, when they had (or she thought) they had gotten to know each other. Her heart raced as she bowed with Sasuke, both mumbling with their greetings.

They sat down at the round, glass table, Gaara looking just as at ease as if this were his place. It occurred to Hinata that this grand mansion might be his home when he was in Japan for whatever reasons. She smiled to herself. This would be the place where she too would soon be staying at.

Sasuke leveled her with a swift poke to the kidney. She bit down on her lip and shot him a nasty glare before flipping open the manila folder set in front of them. Gaara reached into his jacket (like into into, not into his pocket) and pulled out a Mont Blanc pen.

She took it from him with a gracious smile and skimmed over the documents. Her brow furrowed in confusion. There was something wrong. She could tell. These terms weren't written like this. And the deal had been changed by a slight bit. And there was much more going on than she had clearly seen.

Something went click in her mind and she snapped up, glaring at Sasuke. "Are you serious?"

His level gaze was ice cold, like a bucket of ice water on her head. "Very. Now sign. We've discussed everything already Hinata. We just need your consent."

She shook the folder. "This is not what we agreed upon, Sasuke! What happened to my opinion! My effort on this! My right to be involved in our business! You're cheating Subaku-san out of his right!"

She could tell he wanted to roll his eyes as he spoke in a level voice. "Calm yourself, Hinata. Subaku and I have discussed everything before hand. We just did not want you to interfere."

She sucked in a breath, her head snapping back. Gaara didn't want her to join in with their deal? Her stomach twisted into a horrid knot as she looked to Gaara. He didn't deny it, instead nodding his head. His serious face reveled nothing, and she was absolutely sure that was how he felt. She could read through Hiashi's legendary face. She could surely read this twenty-seven-year-old's emotion.

She blinked and in an instant, she clamped a lid on her feelings. That was all she needed. It was obvious Gaara wanted nothing but a business relationship. And what had she not learned from Sasuke? Office relationships never got far anyways.

Clicking the pen, she flipped to the last page, where she had to sign, pressing her lips together. "Oh. I see."

"I hope you can understand," Gaara explained, but she didn't look up, instead opting to focus only on her neat handwriting. She couldn't bear to hear what he had to say, because it became twisted in her mind. The tears building in her eyes were sure to fall the minute she looked at him.

Just as soon as everything started, it was finished. She stood up and took a deep breath, reaching across to Gaara for a quick handshake. Excusing herself, she steadily made her way out of the room and out into the hallway. The faint noise of the party carrying on without her reached her pierced ears. And that's all it took for the tears.

She ducked into a bathroom and closed the door with a soft click. Glancing in the mirror, she stared at her flushed cheeks and running mascara. Hanabi had once said water-proof mascara could only do so much.

She sniffed and gently dabbed her face. It was looking a little better, but not much. But she had to remain composed. If anyone caught her crying tonight, it would only show up in the gossip magazines halfway across the world tomorrow. For the last few years she had been with her father's company, she had done nothing but show her tough, yet gentle side. They had yet to experience a crying Hyuga, and she wasn't about to deface them tonight.

After a good twenty minutes of composure, she allowed herself the privilege of leaving the bathroom. She nearly swallowed her tongue slamming into Sasuke's broad chest. He took her shoulders to keep her from stumbling, but she only slapped them away in a burst of anger. How dare he touch her! Couldn't he see this was his fault?!

She thinned her lips before giving him the brunt of her anger in a glare, speaking icily. "Yes, Sasuke?"

He looked down at her, his eyes as black as a lake at night forcing her to look back. "What crawled up your ass?"

She scowled and turned on the heel of her Mary Janes, holding back tears of self-pity and screams of frustration. "Nothing. May we please get back to the party? I'd like to catch up on some old-," She blinked as he pulled her back and kissed her.

The familiar warmth spread through her body, filling her with that familiar feeling. Her heart raced. She could feel the lust spreading through her veins. For a dear second, she remembered how everything was. It all was she needed to relapse.

And relapse she did.

-

Hanabi smirked, turning towards Gaara. "You are good!"

He chuckled as she patted his chest pocket. "Thank you. I didn't really have to do anything."

Hanabi clapped her hands gleefully and bounced on the toes of her black short boots (she changed her mind on the suede), barely concentrating on his words from the sounds escaping from her sister not ten meters away. "She's gonna hate me for this, but whatever! At least I'll get to be related to the Uchiha. I can't wait for their babies."

Gaara chuckled again before Hanabi tugged on his dark blue designer sports jacket. "We better get out of here. I don't want to be here when they get too active, you know?"

They shuffled down the hallway, half wanting to fall back and keep watching and half wanting to giggle over their deviousness.

-

Maybe it was the circumstance, that's why she relapsed. Because Gaara had blatantly rejected her, she needed something to make her feel better. That this feeling blossoming in the bottom of her stomach wasn't love.

Sasuke's fingers brushed along her skin and she pressed her lips harder to his. She tried to deny anything to do with love, just enjoy the experience, while it lasted. Surely, it wouldn't get farther than a month again. And soon, they'd be fighting harder and she'd be sobbing louder, because the second time always hurt the most, despite what people say.

Her breathing gets faster, her skin tingling with old passion. She's taking this way to seriously. Sasuke wants nothing more than to fuck her silly, then quite possibly leave. And they're in someone else's room. They'll get caught, she's sure of it. It's bound to happen in someone else's house.

His mouth latches onto her nipple and she moans, arching her back. They shouldn't be doing this. It's wrong. Hiashi would fire them on the spot. Another moan leaves her lips and she tries to control the pants and gasps and groans leaving her, but resistance is futile.

Her legs squeeze his hips, mostly like to stop herself, but it only encourages him. His mouth moves down her stomach, pushing her closer to a complete and total relapse. She bits down on her lip, her hands resting on his shoulder, about to push him away, but she can't. She knows she's a sad excuse of a protester, but it's too good.

"Sasuke," she moans, but the protest dies on her lips as she feels his fingers slid up her stomach as his mouth goes lower. A loud moan, much too loud for the door on the other end of the room, escapes her before it becomes straight screaming. Her back arches, she's barely sucking in enough air before another scream leaves her.

The orgasm hits her full blast and she collapses back to the bed. Her sweat is most likely ruining the silk sheets underneath them. Her skin feels flushed and sweaty. Her eyes are feeling heavy. But she knows he wants more.

Should she give him more?

His easily slips between her legs and she lets him. Her eyes close, anticipating the next move. His mouth lands on her nipple again, and she shivers against him, thrusting her hips along his length. This is it. She was officially addicted to this drug all over again.

He slowly dragged a scream out of her, smirking like he was the best. And she knew the truth. He was much better than he let on to be. God, did she know the truth.

Her manicured nails ran lightly over his bare back as she arched her back, crying out. Everything from their delicious month together flooded back. Everything she had asked for then had come back. But she quickly pushed those away. It was stupid of her to think that this was love. It was lust. Nothing more. After this quickie (could this be considered a quickie?) she had to get back to the party and enjoy herself.

He thrust into her and she let out another cry. Was it wrong to do this even though she didn't believe in it? He wrapped his arms around her, thrusting into her again and again and again. She let this one totally envelope her. She didn't want to think. Just do, just do. That could become her motto.

This orgasm was even better. She let out one more scream, indulging in this warm, complete feeling. This feeling of completely letting go. It was delicious. Addictive. And she was sure he was the only who could do this to her. And the sad truth, she was most likely right.

He held her like a porcelain doll, her head resting against his chest. If the taupe silk sheets weren't ruined then, they were certainly ruined now. She was sure of it. But that was fine. In this glazed I-just-did-it state, she didn't much care. She just wanted to close her eyes and most likely sleep till the wee hours. But there was a party to be handled.

She closed her eyes anyways, nestling closer to Sasuke.

-

TenTen pressed her palms to a very upset Neji's Gucci suit jacket, her warm chocolate-brown eyes warning him. "Let 'em be. The way Hinata was screaming, I don't think they'll be out for a while."

Sakura shook her head as Naruto snickered, the others grouped in front of the glossy walnut door. "I can't believe you just said that. I can't believe we actually listened to them. This is a certain invasion of privacy."

"Relax," Temari laughed, her sea-foam green eyes sparkling. "It was only the last few minutes. I'm sure they're sleeping by now." She laughed louder as Shikamaru shook his head, shoving his hands into his pockets.

The door cracked open and Sasuke's obsidian eyes glared out at them, flashing the slightest crimson, a special gift of his. "I'm going to murder you all in your sleep."

The scrambled out of the hallway, giggling and snickering to themselves (save for Neji, Shino, Gaara and Shikamaru, who believed they all had better things to do than listen to Uchiha do Hyuga.)

No! This isn't the last chapter! I'm going to stretch it out a little. Give you some time to get used to the fact that, soon, it'll all be over XD I'm a brutal bitch. But who cares?! You love me!

You really, really love me XD

I hope you enjoyed! Keep waiting for Chapter 21! w00t! Chapter 21! Praise me XD :3

(Oh, and you'll get to meet Shino's friend too X3 I have chosen the name . . . You'll have to find out!)

BTW: This is the longest story I have ever written! Not joking! I barely get past chapter 15 before it's over! AND this is also the longest chapter I've typed on comp! Not joking! Over 3,000 words!

I'm bragging, I know, but I just needed to share that :3