I do not own Naruto.
Author's Notes: I apologize that school takes up so much of my time, or I would have been able to post this yesterday. For those who would like to send hate mail to my professors, which I encourage as I'm not allowed to do it until I graduate, I will very happily let you take up with them the monopolizing of my life. Until such time, I hope you enjoy this chapter, which not ONLY incoporates the most wonderful couple of all time, it also introduces the sadistic best friend of the blond.
Thank you to all who reviewed! ( Fanfiction is anal about me actually putting their pen-names on here, but you know who you are, and you're awesome.)
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"I know that you believe that you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure that you realize that what you heard is not what I meant." - Robert McCloskey
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Hinata's heels clacked against the polished wood floor as she surveyed her work space. It was large, airy, with floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides to show off the New York sky line in all its cold, foggy glory. It had her bemoaning her own rabbit-hutch of an apartment. Small, crowded, and inescapably narrow in a steel skyscraper that was as irritable as its occupants. This room—this wonderland of mirrored surfaces and empty space—was a divine change from the crowded hustle and bustle of the city.
She ripped her sketchbook out of her bag and started imagining.
A crystal chandelier—Naruto said he wants Paris as a theme, so… maybe each crystal shaped as an Eiffel Tower—or a Fleur-De-Li? Definitely Fluer-De-Li's...It could hang from right there, right in the center, and there could be a dance floor! Just soft music of course, but enough room for the occasional string quartet… We can have the backs of the chairs shaped like the Arc de Triomphe I suppose… make it a totally new world as soon as they step in through the door. Such as that movie theater in Hollywood. Like nothing they've ever seen before and—
Someone tapped her shoulder.
Hinata whirled, sketchpad raised to clobber—a bred reaction to the wonderful experience of living with a particularly mischievous sister and having a best friend with a dog as big as she was—and lowered it quickly. It was only Naruto, arms raised in surrender, grinning like a loon.
Hinata decided, right then, that she needed to destroy this habit before it could cause serious and permanent damage to some unsuspecting personage that went tapping.
Like a client.
"Naruto!" Hinata gasped. "I am so sorry! I was j—just—"
"Lost in your own little world?" Naruto offered. "Does that happen often?"
"I try not to do it in public," Hinata admitted, blushing and clutching her sketchbook to her chest. "I was just… thinking…"
"Thinking what?"
Hinata handed him the paper, and his eyes got wide as he perused. "This is…"
"It's too expensive," Hinata agreed immediately, reaching out for her sketch. "It was just a rough draft, I can fix it…"
"No!" Naruto said, pulling the paper away, smile getting wider as he stared. His smile reached all the way to his eyes, making them crinkle and shine with undisguised happiness. "I love it. I love it. I hadn't even thought about a dance floor! That's what this is, right? And we could do displays with the food here too. I've got a guy here that can do some pretty incredible stuff with knives… What are these?"
Hinata peeked over his shoulder. "Oh. We can make the back ripple with all the different sights of Paris. And you see here? The tablecloths could be rimmed with black lace in the shape of mini Towers…"
"Yeah! Yeah!" Naruto enthused, looking up and down from room to drawing. "Awesome. This is going to be great! I mean, really, really great!"
"But—the cost…"
"Oh," Naruto blinked. "Yeah. I don't handle that much." He turned and hollered at the swinging doors leading to the kitchen: "Sasuke! Sasuke! Money!"
When this elicited absolutely no response at all, Naruto took a deep breath and hollered: "OH NO! NOT THE WINDOWS!"
The doors opened with a bang, and a handsome man in a dark suit came stomping out, seething in anger, his black eyes narrowed to poisonous slits.
Hinata took a step back, but Naruto gave her a wink of reassurance and met the thunder cloud of a man head on with quick cheer and an utter lack of anything resembling the common sense of fear. "Sasuke! There you are. Glad to see your ears still work. The designer's here to discuss price!"
The man (Sasuke, she supposed) took this happy speech in two ground-eating strides and cuffed Naruto on the head. "Do not," he ordered. "Joke about the windows. Do you know how much those windows cost? Do you?"
"Enough?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, dark spiked hair practically humming in anger. "Yes. Enough."
"Well great," Naruto said, and pulled Hinata forward. "Hinata, Sasuke Uchiha—my pain-in-the butt of a business partner," he introduced, hands on her shoulders. "Sasuke, Hinata Hyuuga—our beautiful designer… person."
Hinata held out her hand, pushing down the flame trying to work its way into her cheeks from the compliment. "Hello. It's very nice to meet you."
It was like a switch had been flipped. One minute Sasuke stood there angry, and the next he was cordial. He shook her hand gently, eying her curiously. "So you're Hinata."
Hinata pretended to ignore the 'Shut-up!' and 'I'll kill you' gestures Naruto was making behind her, and smiled. "Yes."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted, and raised an eyebrow at Naruto. "Interesting." He turned back to Hinata so fluidly she almost missed him moving at all. His movements were almost serpentine, and she found herself wondering if he danced. "What is the estimated cost?"
"Well," Hinata demurred. "There will be a lot of specialty work that has to be done with the current design, which can be modified, but I know a lot of people that can get it to us for relatively cheap…"
To her surprise, Sasuke agreed with every part of her design, and only winced a little at her estimated cost. "Naruto," he explained, when he caught the question in her eyes. "Knows good work when he sees it. He knows what will draw people in, make them stay, and pay through the nose for it. We'll get it all back."
"So Naruto is the face of the company?" Hinata asked hesitantly.
"Basically," Naruto agreed cheerfully. "I get to go to board meetings and wow them with my spectacular personality-" here, he smiled winningly. "—and Sasuke steps on my foot when I'm about to say something dumb."
Hinata laughed, and nodded approvingly. "Sounds like you're quite the team."
Sasuke muttered something quietly, and Naruto elbowed him in the gut, smile only slightly strained.
"Well," Hinata said. "Do you have any more questions for me?"
"Um," Naruto floundered, and Sasuke chose that moment to make a speedy exit. "Yeah. I do."
When nothing else was forthcoming, Hinata prompted him with all the patience of a master—one who had spent years entertaining the halting speech of the terminally brain damaged: "Yes?"
He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "What are you doing for dinner?"
Hinata was utterly confused. "I was thinking I would just heat up the stir-fry I made yesterday."
Naruto pouted. "Oh come on."
Her confusion mounted. "I'm sorry, am I missing something?"
Slowly, his usual grin came back. "You're… not hit on often are you?"
Her confusion peaked, and the most intelligible sound available to her befuddled mind turned out to not be intelligent at all. "Huh?"
"Hit on? Asked out? An in… I'm asking you out. On a date. With me."
"Oh."
"Now she gets it," he said, scratching at the back of his head. "Wow."
"Sorry," Hinata said. "And sorry again, because I—I'm sorry, but I don't date clients."
What are you doing? She shrieked at herself. He's out of your league, but he still asked you out! Go. Go!
"Really, really sorry."
"It's cool," Naruto said, shrugging. "I can understand that. Sasuke forbids me to do the same. He keeps this nifty little steel ruler just in case though…"
Hinata smothered a laugh, feeling incredibly awkward, and ugly, and stupid.
"Can I walk you out?"
Hinata desperately wanted to shake her head. Of course he couldn't. This was officially going on her list of things she Never Wanted to Have Happen Ever Again; and he was so, so cute…
"Sure."
Dang it, she thought.
They took the elevator down, standing an appropriate distance apart, with Hinata trying to shrink in on herself for being an imbecile of epic, Three Stooges type proportions. Since the first time she had seen him, Naruto had a frown on his face for a prolonged period of time.
However, as soon as they got near the subway entrance, the grin was back in full force. "So when do you figure you'll be done with the place?"
"Two weeks," Hinata squeaked, caught by surprise. "Maybe three."
"So you're free the Friday after next after next?"
Hinata stared at him, probably pulling off an excellent imitation of a goldfish, and stuttered: "I—I—I—guess so…"
"Hinata," he said firmly, putting his hands on her shoulders and staring into her eyes. He had gold flecks in there, hidden among the blue. "If you're not interested, tell me now."
"I'm interested," Hinata said quickly, pulse thumping and head spinning full of too many thoughts to properly pin down and arrange into properly constructed sentences involving words actually used in the English language.
"Okay then," Naruto said, beaming. "Then we have a date for the Friday after next after next?"
"Um, yes?"
He pecked her on the forehead, waved, and headed back the other way—whistling I'm Getting Married in the Morning loudly.
Hinata found herself at the bottom of the subway stairs, staring after him; hand pressed to her forehead, face on fire, and quite possibly in shock.
Wow, she thought, and only remembered to get moving when her toes morphed from human flesh to ice-cubes. Wow.
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Author's Notes: I don't own My Fair Lady. I felt you all should know that, seeing as I stole their song very happily, and have abolutely no musical talent myself. Also, who else had to read the quote at the top like a bajillion times to get it? If, you know, you actually even read the quotes...
But even if you don't read the quotes, I hope you read the chapter, and I hope the chapter was good enought that you review. (Hint, hint!)
Oh, I almost forgot, I hate my summary, and I was wondering if everyone else did too, or if it's just me. Mind giving me an idea?