Contrived Flaws
Ch. 6: The Rules
Hyuuga Hinata had been married nearly seventy-two hours now. Not that she was counting.
Presently she was seated with the 'girls' of Konoha, who had insisted she come to lunch with them. She reasoned it was most likely to extract information, they were ninja after all. And girls.
Truthfully there wasn't much to report. The first day she had awoken to a very quiet house; Quiet and empty. Her father had called her to the compound for a meeting, which she followed up with a meal and time well spent with Hanabi. When she returned later that evening, there was still no sign of Itachi, and before long she retired to her room and fell asleep.
The second day she, again, awoke to a vacant house. After finally wandering out to train with her team she had hurried home in case her husband was finally there. She wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved when she had again fallen asleep before his return.
Which brought us to today when she, surprise, woke up and Itachi was nowhere to be found. She was sure he had been sleeping there, or at least dropping in, as there was always half a pot of coffee and a soiled mug in the sink. Before she could make it to the training grounds to meet up with her team, Ino and Sakura had cut her off and asked - no, demanded - she come to lunch with them. She insisted that her team was waiting, but with a dismissive wave of the hand, the blonde girl had assured her that Tenten was presently taking care of that.
And that was how she ended up poking at the half-eaten food in front of her as she listened to Ino go on about Sasuke's antics before the wedding.
"Oh no, you have to do something," the blonde insisted, "I can't believe that gorgeous little jerk would do something like that?"
"And Naruto too," Sakura added, "He's just as guilty!"
The blonde snorted, "Naruto's too stupid to come up with a plan like that."
"He's not…" the medic-nin trailed off.
"Told you, forehead!" Ino said triumphantly.
"Shut it, pig."
"I-i don't really think it's a g-good idea to get back at anyone," Hinata finally spoke up.
"You have to stand up for yourself, Hinata, or Sasuke will just keep jerking you around," Ino insisted.
"I-itachi-san said-"
"Are you going to hide behind that Uchiha now?" Tenten finally voiced her opinion on the matter, "Don't let that pompous clan bastard think you can't take care of yourself!"
"Stop projecting, Tenten, it's unattractive," the blonde said easily before turning her attention back to Hinata. Tenten shoved a large bite of food in her mouth and averted her eyes.
Hinata practically withered under Ino's sly gaze. She just wished someone would change the subject, she didn't want revenge on her brother-in-law, she just wanted everyone to talk about something else. Was that too much to ask for?
"So," the blonde gossip queen paused dramatically, "How was it?"
The Hyuuga heiress shot glances to the table's other occupants, "H-how was wh-what?"
"Your first night with the Uchiha, of course."
Okay, she had kind of walked into that one. Maybe talking about revenge wasn't so bad after all. Much to her dismay a blush steadily crept up her neck and over her ears, even as she consciously fought against it.
"Ah ha!" Ino exclaimed victoriously, "I knew it! Spill it, Hyuuga!"
"I-it's not what you think," she protested. But it was too late. The three other girls were already exchanging glances. There was no getting out of it now.
Hinata never imagined her wedding night would be so eventful, not with Itachi, at least.
But there she was, straddling her new husband, face bright red, heart thrumming against her chest.
It had all started so innocently, really.
After showing Hinata her room, in his rather detached manner, Itachi had declared he was going to take a shower. The Hyuuga heiress couldn't blame him, he had been touched and congratulated by more Uchiha's and Hyuuga's than he'd probably like to remember. She imagined him the sort of man that didn't like to be touched, but that remained to be seen. Not something she should be considering at the moment, she decided. Tentatively sitting on the bed, she folded her hands neatly in her lap and glanced around.
Her new room was smaller than the one she'd had back in the Hyuuga compound, but not by much. She was surprised to see most of her belongings there, set up in much the same way they had been in her own room. She was caught between feeling slightly violated and just a little bit impressed, but settled for the latter. Her mind then wandered to her sister and cousin, wondering if they missed her. A silly thought, she supposed, she had only been gone a couple of hours. They probably weren't even thinking about her; Perhaps they were still enjoying the reception.
Shaking her head free of such thoughts, she stood and walked over to her wardrobe, hoping a change of clothes would help her feel a bit refreshed. Her mind was buzzing with all of the activities of the last few hours, and she feared it might spin out of control if she didn't occupy herself.
After redressing, she decided that she'd have a closer look at the house, and found herself lingering in the kitchen. She loved to bake, she found it relaxing. It was methodical, precise, and had yummy results. She often talked Hanabi into baking with her, but the younger Hyuuga was not so fond of it. She was impatient, and imprecise, not two qualities that had a particularly delicious outcome.
Hesitating, she decided to see if the house was stocked with food, and was surprised to find that, in fact, it was. As she stared at the baking ingredients, she faintly heard the shower in the background. Mentally, she checked off ingredients until she was satisfied that she had what she needed to bake some cookies. It was a win-win situation, she decided. It would relax her to bake, and if she was lucky, It would even please her new husband.
Smiling to herself, she started the oven before fetching a bowl and ingredients. Busting open two eggs, she paused, wondering how many cookies she should make. When she baked at home, no one but her sister and herself ate them. She wasn't sure how many Itachi would eat, but to be safe, she decided to make double the amount she normally did. On her way back across the kitchen with the eggs, she tripped over a small rug in front of the sink, that she swore hadn't been there before.
Mourning the loss of her eggs, which were now splattered across the kitchen floor, she decided she'd continue with her baking, and clean the mess up afterwards. After gathering eggs, again, she continued with the process of adding and mixing ingredients until the only thing left to add was flour. By now, she couldn't help the tiny humming noise that was escaping her as she fell into the routine she had perfected over so many years.
"What are you doing?" Famous words.
After that, everything happened so quickly.
Hinata squeaked, having been unaware that anyone was in the room. Yes, she would have to work on that, ninja and all. She stumbled backward, away from Itachi and his startling presence. In turn, he stepped forward in an effort to catch her, but slipped on the offending eggs. In one swift motion, he fell on his back, taking Hinata with him. Still holding the flour in her hands, they both landed with a resounding poof and Itachi was bathed, quite thoroughly, in the white powder.
And Hinata? There she was, straddling her new husband, cheeks beet red from a mixture of surprise and embarrassment, her heart straining to escape her chest.
Itachi, on the other hand, didn't look too pleased, what with the flour sticking to his freshly washed hair.
Remorse and laughter warred inside Hinata as she took in the situation with wide eyes. Unexpectedly, a giggle escaped her throat and she immediately clamped her hand over her mouth, her eyes growing even wider.
Later she would chalk it up to being downright delirious from the events of the days previous, but it hardly mattered at the time. Despite her most valiant efforts she was soon shaking with laughter. The great Uchiha Itachi, bested by two little eggs.
"I do not share your amusement," Itachi's voice broke through her giggling. "Would you mind removing yourself from-"
"O-oh," she practically squealed, jumping up so quickly she nearly fell over again. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so s-sorry!"
Without sparing her a glance, he picked himself up from the floor and replied tonelessly, "Clean this mess up and go to bed."
Of course that's not what Hinata told the girls. She knew far too well what it meant to have a reputation, being in a clan, and she wasn't about to trample the great Uchiha Itachi's. That, and she didn't have a death wish. She just wanted this whole marriage thing to go as smoothly as possible.
"A-and he snuck up behind me while I was w-watching the snow," she finished her story which was not entirely untruthful.
Sakura had her mouth practically hanging open, presumably from shock at how anticlimactic the story was. Ino kindly closed it and muttered something about foreheads.
"That's not romantic," the pink haired medic pointed out, sounding a bit outraged.
"That's all that happened?" Ino pushed, raising a fine blonde eyebrow in question.
"He to-took a shower?" Hinata added questioningly, as if wondering if that was pertinent information. She had managed to keep her innocent facade in tact around her girlfriends as practice. Neji had pointed out that it could be used to her advantage. People have a tendency to let their guard down around the shy girl, he'd said, and once you have their trust, then you strike.
Of course, sometimes Hinata wasn't acting, she really was just that innocent.
"With you?" the blonde inquired hopefully.
The heiress shook her head in the negative while discreetly eyeing potential escape routes. She really didn't need Ino pursuing this line of questioning any further.
"There you are," a male voice suddenly exclaimed, "We've been looking everywhere for you!"
Hinata turned to see her two teammates, Kiba and Shino, the former of which had just spoken. "First we went to your house cause it's kinda habit and we forgot you were married," Kiba continued, pausing to grin wildly, "Then we remembered you lived somewhere over on the Uchiha compound but we don't know where because you've yet to invite us over. Boy did they seem a little touchy when we asked where you were. Anyway, finally we ran into Neji who turned out to be entirely unhelpful. Shocker. Then I caught your-"
Kiba stopped his incessant tumbling of words at Shino's very pointed clearing of the throat. "It appears we have interrupted some sort of lunch date that Hinata failed to mention." He shifted his sunglasses, causing the light to reflect off of them momentarily.
Ino shifted nervously in her seat as a few beats passed before Hinata turned to her with realization, "You s-said that Tenten was going to tell them!"
The blonde's eyes widened, "Tenten," she said, turning the blame on the brown haired girl, "You didn't?"
The weapon's mistress scoffed, "You are not blaming this on me. It's the first I've heard of it."
Ino turned to smile sweetly at the bug user, "Sorry, Shino-kun, someone was supposed to tell you that we were stealing Hinata for the day."
Kiba let ouf a huff, "Girl stuff," he muttered as Shino merely nodded his agreement and they were soon strolling off down the street.
"Okay," Tenten slammed her hand down on the table, causing Hinata to jump, "What the hell was that?"
"M-my teammates are just a l-little-"
"Not that," she paused to nod her head toward the blonde haired kunoichi seated at the table, "That."
Ino flipped her hair behind her shoulder and took a great interest in her manicured nails, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You didn't know?" Sakura said with a mischievous grin, "Ino has a thing for the bug guy."
"Forehead! I told you that in confidence," the blonde replied, looking positively betrayed.
"Whatever, like you don't prance off to tell any willing ear after I confide in you."
"That's different."
"W-wait," Hinata interjected, trying desperately to catch up to the conversation, "You l-like Shino?"
"What I said was, 'Isn't he kind of attractive?' which forehead butchered into having a thing for him."
Tenten scoffed again, "Who knows, he wears more clothing than the civvies in snow country."
All at once three heads swiveled to stare at Hinata. "Surely you've seen him without that overcoat and those sexy shades, Hinata?" Ino was the one who spoke.
The heiress swallowed roughly, she knew she should've excused herself to follow her teammates. "W-well, may-maybe? I don't re-remember."
"You have to," the blonde insisted, and suddenly, Hinata couldn't wait to get back to her new empty house.
The white-eyed heiress' body sagged in relief as she saw her new home come into view. She couldn't wait for the respite it held from the incessant gossiping of Konoha's finest. It wasn't that she didn't like the girls, she did, it was just that she'd never seen the appeal of such pointless chatter. She could spend her time more wisely, that was for sure. And there was that distinctly uncomfortable feeling that came with being put in such a group dynamic with a few aggressive girls. They knew they could grill her, and while she could occasionally get one over on them, more often than not, she caved.
A small smile crept onto her face as she pushed the door open, fully prepared to plop down in the large plush chair in the corner of the sitting room and relish the quiet.
"Where have you been?" the stern voice of Uchiha Itachi greeted her, destroying the precious silence she had been looking forward to.
She blinked a few times in astonishment. It was so… strange to see Itachi there. She hadn't seen him once after that embarrassing baking incident, and here he was, home, and it was still light outside. "I…" she trailed off as she took in the strangely casual look he was wearing. She had never seen him in anything less than formal attire or standard shinobi gear, but there he was, in sweats and a tank.
"I-I was h-having l-lunch with some… w-with some friends," she managed, standing just inside the - still open - door.
Wordlessly, Itachi strode toward her and for a few agonizing seconds she felt as if her heart was going to break free from her chest. She squinted her eyes shut and took in a sharp breath. This was it, he was going to scream at her, or strike her, or-
Click
She opened her eyes to see the Uchiha standing beside her, having closed the door. "It is well past lunchtime," he stated as if he was somehow in disbelief of her whereabouts. She felt him just beside her, facing away, as he gazed down at her through squinted eyes.
"Th-the girls w-were-"
"I trust you are not hungry then?" he sounded so casual, despite his intimidating form. She imagined him just as easily asking someone if they'd prefer a senbon to the heart or a katana to the throat. As if he cared.
She turned to face him and looked up in an attempt to study his expression. She had no doubt that Uchiha Itachi did not ask simple questions. There was something more, it was loaded. It had to be. She swallowed roughly, her tongue feeling like sandpaper against the roof of her dry mouth, "I d-didn't say that."
The corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly at her ambiguous answer and she wondered whether or not that was a good sign. "Good," he said, after a moment of silence, "I made dinner."
He turned and walked away, disappearing into the kitchen and leaving a slightly bewildered Hinata behind. "You c-cook?" she questioned in disbelief, finally forcing her legs to follow. As she took in the sight of pots and pans of food, along with a few plates set out on the table she couldn't help but be lost. It was all terribly domestic and… strange.
He ignored her pointless query and instead ordered her to sit at the table, which she did without protest. "I need to discuss some things with you," he sat a plate of food in front of her before taking his own seat across the table.
She felt panic bubbling up in her chest as she twisted her fingers into the end of her shirt, "I-i'm sorry about-"
Itachi raised a hand, palm out, to silence her, "There are some boundaries that need to be laid out now that you are my wife."
She let out a quiet, "Oh," as she awaited these so called boundaries. Instead, Itachi began eating, letting the anticipation drag on as Hinata shifted nervously in her seat. Just as she moved to start eating, the Uchiha spoke, and she briefly wondered if he was messing with her.
"To begin with, you are not to interrupt my training. Ever."
The heiress nodded, fighting back a blush at the memory of her delivering brownies to the great Uchiha Itachi.
"I will not interrogate you in regards to your whereabouts and you will require no such information from me. However, you will not be allowed to take missions outside of fire country."
Hinata had placed a bite of rice in her mouth in an attempt to look casual, but it quickly came spluttering out as she choked on her husband's words. "N-no missions?"
For the first time since she arrived, Itachi looked her in the eyes, cold and serious,"I did not say you could not go on missions." The irritation was evident in his tone.
She worried her bottom lip for a moment before speaking, "But I c-can't leave the c-country?"
"There are plenty of low rank missions to be had in fire country. We are not discussing the issue any further, Hinata," he said with finality and then dropped his gaze to continue his meal.
The heiress stared blankly at her hands in her lap. She wanted to ask why? She was the heiress of the Hyuuga clan and had never been restricted in such ways, why should she be now! And damn it, she wanted to know why he chose now, of all times, to address her as simply Hinata.
"The Uchiha clan does not wish to involve you in their matters for at least a few months," he continued on, as if nothing was the matter, "But when they do you will be required to attend meetings and the like, just as you are for your own clan."
She nodded briefly. She could understand that they wanted to feel her out a bit before letting her in on their clan business, but she didn't mind. She didn't particularly like those dealings as it were, she just tolerated them. She was usually quite bored, and mentally a step ahead of the proceedings. She felt that she could make competent decisions as a clan head, she just didn't think she'd enjoy it. Being a part of two clans? She hadn't given it that much thought, and the idea was enough to make her mentally grimace.
She reached for her glass of water as she discreetly watched Itachi eating. He seemed so collected all the time, how she wished to be that way. Just as she took a sip, Itachi spoke again, "We are not required to consummate our marriage immediately."
Hinata, once again, choked on his words, sending her sip of water flying across the table in front of her. She wiped the excess from her chin and began spouting apologies as she tried to wipe up the mess on the table.
Itachi seemed unfazed as he continued, "Furthermore, both clans have agreed to give us a maximum of five years before expecting children."
"Ch-children?" she blurted, before filtering her very chaotic thoughts.
"Of course," he replied easily, fixing her with his dark eyes, "You did not think that after uniting the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans that the elders and council would not require children?"
She felt quite stupid when he put it that way, and she felt her cheeks darken a shade further, "W-well I guess I hadn't th-thought about it."
"It won't be a problem, will it?" he raised a fine eyebrow, and his tone suggested that it better not.
"N-no, of c-course not." She snuck a glance up at him and blushed deeper at the thought of doing anything required in the process of making children. With Itachi. She suddenly felt ill and barely heard her husband as he stated that was all for now, and they both finished their meal in silence.
Gasp! An update. I know, I'm shocked too. This has been sitting on my computer for too long and I had an itch to write on this story.
I hope I haven't lost all of you. I know it's been a very long time but life has kicked me in the butt lately and I just haven't had the oomph to write. A creative writing class this semester has kicked me into gear and hopefully I'll stay there. I'm excited for this fic as I have plans and we're finally getting there...
Please, if you're still with me, let me know by reviewing. Also, as a matter of opinion, would you all prefer this to stay strictly serious, or do you enjoy my fits of (hopefully) humorous content (Like rabbit-shaped brownies and Hinata spilling flour all over our favorite Uchiha?).