Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Special Thanks: goes out to khaleeisofthewolves, Sachiko Heiwajima, Tamani, DUH BOMB, mangetsu no hime, Danish78, Michiyo-chama3, DivineGlory, OriSweatshirt, HitoshiKirako, anonnie, pheecat, Guest, SahelTheWaltzingDinosaur, and Eurkin for all your reviews! Also thanks to everyone who's added this story to their favorites and follows lists!

Author's Note: I love this chapter. So much. I hope you all enjoy it, too, and thanks for reading!

*~Chapter XLI~*

~Awakening~

Music played somewhere: A happy, upbeat song, fairly familiar, though Sasuke's sleep-fogged mind couldn't quite put a finger on it. He cracked open his eyes and looked around, trying to figure out where he was.

Ah, right. After putting Hinata to bed the night before, Sasuke had cleaned the kitchen, then stretched out on her couch for the night, not liking the thought of leaving her alone. He'd not expected to sleep much at all, but meant to get up early, leave her a note, and slip out before she woke up and had a heart attack on discovering him still in her condo, let alone crashed out on her couch like he had. But warm sunlight poured through the windows behind the couch, and that infuriating song still played somewhere close by.

Sasuke finally figured out it was a phone ringing, and sprang off the couch to track it down. Just as he took his first step toward where the music came from, it stopped. Rats! Almost immediately, though, it started playing again. He followed the sound to the entryway of Hinata's condo, where he noticed the flashing screen of her phone just inside the top of her purse, which sat on top of the credenza against one wall. Since it lay right there in full view, he felt only a little guilty as he slipped his hand inside, picked it up, and looked at the caller ID.

Tenten. Sasuke made a split-second choice. Obviously Hinata, still fast asleep in her bedroom, behind the closed door between him and her, hadn't heard her phone. Tenten calling so urgently meant either really good news or really bad news. If the former, he'd wake her up and give her the phone. If the latter... Well, he'd try to come up with a good way to soften the blow. At least she wouldn't be alone when she got the word.

He pushed the button to accept the call. "Hello?" He tried not to think about how awkward it was, him answering Hinata's phone.

Silence crackled through the line for a long moment. Then, hesitantly, "Sasuke, is that you?" Tenten queried. She sounded merely confused, rather than shocked or angry. He let out a silent sigh of relief. He had a strong feeling Neji would have reacted in a totally different way.

"Yeah." He ran his hand through his hair and looked around for a clock to see exactly how long he'd slept. "Once Hinata's pain pills kicked in and she went to bed, I didn't really feel comfortable just leaving her alone. I - ah - I slept on the couch, just in case she needed something in the middle of the night." Though, apparently, he'd been sleeping like the dead and probably wouldn't have known if a tornado had ripped right through the building. It had been a long time since he'd had such a good night's sleep. And now, since he was a little more awake and aware, he realized he felt well-rested and ready to go.

"I see." Tenten cleared her throat before humming for a second. Sasuke closed his eyes against the awkwardness of the whole thing. "Thank you for taking care of Hinata. Sometimes she gets awfully sick when she has a really bad migraine. I'm glad you were there to be with her if that happened. It was very sweet of you."

"No problem." Sasuke padded barefoot across the living room and poked his head into the kitchen, shocked to see it was almost ten o'clock. He wasn't sure he'd ever slept that late before in his life. "How's your husband?"

"That's why I'm calling, to let Hinata know what Dr. Watanabe said this morning." Tenten's voice took on a joyous note. "He said Neji is doing so well, they're going to let him wake up today, and start sitting him up in bed. By tomorrow, he'll probably be walking a little bit."

Privately, Sasuke thought that sounded like it would be awfully painful for Neji; but aloud he said sincerely, "That's great news, Tenten! Do you want me to wake Hinata so you can tell her yourself?"

"No, no. Since she had such a bad headache last night, if she's still sleeping now, she needs the rest. Just - just tell her when she finally wakes up that it looks like Neji is going to be okay." Tenten let out a little laugh that sounded halfway like a sob, and somewhat delirious either way.

"Of course." Sasuke moved back into the sitting room. "That's really good news. I'm really happy for you all."

"Thanks, Sasuke. For everything." There was a distinct smile in Tenten's voice, and he was glad to hear it. Though he hadn't known her long, he considered her a normally cheerful person; seeing her so emotionally wrung out at the hospital yesterday made him feel sad for her.

"No problem." They hung up. Sasuke went to set Hinata's phone next to her purse on the credenza. Now he had to make his decision: should he wake her and tell her the good news, or wait until she woke up on her own and do it then?

He turned and went back into the living room, coming to an abrupt halt when he saw Hinata standing at the end of the short hallway, yawning and rubbing her eyes. Her sleep-tousled hair fell in uncombed, classic bed-head disarray around her face, framing her pale, delicate china-doll features. She looked adorable, in a fresh-from-the-bedroom sort of way. Sasuke experienced a sudden urge to wrap her in his arms, kiss her until she was breathless, take her home, and make her his forevermore.

...Yeah, he really should have high-tailed it out of her apartment several hours ago.

Hinata dropped her hands as she turned toward the kitchen, then stopped and spun toward him. She blinked owlishly at him for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise, "You are still here!"

Yes. Yes, I am. Instead of voicing that rather flippant response, Sasuke managed a strangled smile. "I wanted to be here in case you needed something in the middle of the night."

"I - um - thank you." Hinata's cheeks blossomed with bright pink, and she reached up to tug her fingers through her long, tangled hair. "I-I appreciate it." Her pale eyes darted around the room nervously. "I thought I heard my phone ringing, and then you talking. I thought I was just dreaming, but-?" Her voice trailed off on an inquisitive note.

Sasuke tucked his hands into his pockets and managed another smile. "I woke up to your phone ringing. I hope you don't mind, but I answered it because it was Tenten."

Hinata's hands flew to her cheeks, her eyes going wide in apprenhension. "What- What did she say?"

Sasuke repeated what Tenten had told him, ending with, "It looks like your cousin is truly going to be all right."

"Oh! That's wonderful news!" Hinata flew across the space separating the two of them and grabbed him in a hug, pressing her body against his in her exuberance.

Sasuke's arms automatically rose to embrace her. A sudden awareness of how thin was the fabric of her nightclothes shot through him, igniting an intense surge of desire. Fiercely squelching his body's instantaneous reaction, he thought, Oh, yeah, I so shouldn't be here! After a too-long (for him), agonizing moment, he gently extricated himself, saying, "The pills and the sleep must have done their jobs. You're feeling better?"

She smiled up at him brilliantly. "I don't even feel hungover like usual, since you gave me the news about Neji. Oh, I'm so happy, I could just - just burst!"

He smiled back at his totally clueless love. "Why don't you get ready to go to the hospital while I start breakfast."

"Okay." She started to turn back toward the hallway, then paused and gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any coffee yet. I do have some breakfast blends of tea, though, that are thoroughly caffeinated. C'mon," she bustled ahead of him into the kitchen, "I'll show you where the tins are, and you can choose. In fact, I'll start a pot steeping now, so you can get a head start." She busied herself doing just that, after indicating a cabinet to him. "The tins are there. The strongest probably are the Scottish breakast blend, and the Java blend."

He let out his breath on a silent sigh. He knew he should make his excuses and leave. He should go home, see to Ninja, change out of his sleep-rumpled clothes.

That was the smart thing to do.

But Sasuke did the exact opposite. Coming up behind Hinata, he circled her waist with his arms and then nuzzled his nose through her tousled hair until he could press a kiss to the nape of her neck. He inhaled her unique scent - vanilla, lilac, and something vaguely fruity - and, just for a moment, allowed her to fill his senses to the brim.

For the first time in his entire life, Sasuke felt like he was truly, wonderfully, absolutely home.

Hinata sensed Sasuke come up behind her, but she didn't realize how close he was until his arms wound around her waist. She tensed instinctively, surprised, as his solid chest pressed tightly against her back and his hands splayed on her stomach. She opened her mouth - to say what, exactly, she wasn't sure - but froze completely when she felt him nestle his nose into her hair.

And then all the tension drained right out of her when his lips touched her nape. If not for Sasuke's arms around her, she might very well have landed right on the floor.

"I love you so much." Sasuke's voice was husky, so raw and openly honest Hinata had a feeling she was seeing far deeper into his true self than anyone else had ever had the privelege to do. "I know I said I'd wait, and I fully intended to, but after this with Neji-"

"Yes!" The word escaped Hinata on a breath, strong and confident. He hadn't spoken the actual words aloud, but he didn't need to. She knew, because she'd heard them in her heart, and she knew it was right.

Sasuke's chin came to rest on the top of her head. "How did you know what I was going to say?" he asked. He didn't sound annoyed or disappointed that she'd stopped him before he could get the words out, merely curious that she was so obviously on the same wavelength.

Closing her eyes, Hinata set down the tea pot she held, and settled her hands over Sasuke's. The cool band of her garnet infinity-symbol promise ring felt solid around her left ring finger. Excitement blossomed in her as she realized she'd have to move it to her right ring finger really soon. "I don't know," she replied honestly. She didn't have any words to describe how she knew. She just had. "But I knew it, and I knew exactly what I wanted to say. Hearing the entire proposal wouldn't have made me feel any differently. I still would have said yes."

"Good." Sasuke's gentle exhale ruffled the hair atop of her head, making her shiver a little. "I have your engagement ring already, you know. I bought it online in New York, at the same time as I got your promise ring." He tapped the side of it lightly with the edge of his thumb.

The New York trip felt like forever ago, but in truth they were barely home from it. Hinata found it a little shocking, how strong her feelings were, how quickly they'd grown. But at some point, without her even realizing it, she discovered she really did want to spend the rest of her life at Sasuke's side. The idea of his being so famous, of running the risk of the media finding them and hounding them to death about anything and everything, did scare her a little bit. But they would handle it the same way they'd handled their recent encounters - together.

"Your ring's still at the house, in my luggage. I'll get it to you really soon." Sasuke moved one hand from her waist to her jaw to guide her head to the side enough so he could reach her lips with his.

For a moment Hinata floated in total happiness, lost in Sasuke and his kiss. But the whistling of the teakettle eventually popped her little happy bubble. She squeaked and squirmed out of her fiancé's arms so she could lift it off the stove, and pour part of the boiling water into the tea pot to warm it. "Ah, sorry." And she didn't even have the infuser ready.

"If you want, I'll go get your ring right now." Sasuke sounded excited in a way Hinata had not heard him before.

"As much as I'd love to see the ring, I'd much rather you stayed for breakfast." Hinata emptied the water out of the pot, dropped in the infuser, and poured fresh hot water over it. She set the timer on the microwave. "Besides, I-" She stopped, feeling as though a pail of ice water had just been dumped over her.

Father.

His image reared up from her memory as she remembered his reaction to her promise ring. How would he react to an engagement ring? It would be even less favorable, she had no doubts about that. She unconsciously shivered.

Sasuke must have sensed her sudden change in mood, because he rubbed his hands soothingly up and down her bare arms as he asked softly, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Hinata closed her eyes, trying to regain some of the excitement she'd felt before. "My - my father," she whispered. "He's not going to be happy with our engagement."

"I know he's not happy about your going to New York with me. Or seeing me. Or-" He hesitated, as if wondering how much he should say. Then, as if deciding he might as well come on out with it, he continued, "Or about a lot of decisions you've made about your life. Do you remember what Neji said at the dinner party, after I said I didn't want to be the cause of a rift between you and your father?"

"Yes." A faint frisson of pain pulsed behind Hinata's right eye, and her stomach tightened against the slightest feeling of nausea: sensations she'd experienced so often in her life when dealing with her father. She took a shaky breath as she faced the reality of what she'd been. Even though she flinched inwardly from admitting it, she said softly, "I've spent most of my life being a coward, trying to please Father, not so much to win his approval; on some level I've always known it to be a futile pursuit. I just wanted to avoid his censure, though I never succeeded in that, either. Neji told me once when we were still barely more than children that I'd do far better to be respectful, of course, but to live my life the way I wanted. Because nothing I did would ever be enough for him, never be right in his eyes. But I never had the courage to do that - until I met you, Sasuke."

She met his black eyes, so full of love, and sympathy, and support, as she blinked away incipient tears, seeing the truth of it now more than ever before. Yes, it had been at Hiashi's instigation that Hanabi moved in with her. But she'd grown unexpectedly close to Hanabi since then, because the old defensive walls they'd been forced to maintain around their father eroded away once they were both outside the immediate sphere of his influence. Hanabi was now not just her sister; she was Hinata's friend, too.

And Sasuke- Hinata laid a tender hand alongside his definitely bristly jaw. "You've helped me open up my heart, my love, to gain confidence in myself and my abilities. I'll never be able to please my father, but now I know that's not due to any lack in me. Dissatisfaction with those who should be closest to him has always been his choice."

As she finally accepted the way things were, she noticed how the sun shining through the window seemed brighter than before, the birds singing in the bushes louder. Everything seemed so different. Letting out a breath, she opened her free hand, releasing her old insecurities and hurts and anger into the air, allowing them to become nothingness.

"Hinata." Sasuke softly drew her to him. "My most beautiful, precious Hinata. You're the one who set me free. You had the courage to confront the cantankerous recluse in his lair; to draw me out of my solitude. I can never thank you enough for giving me a life, not just an existence." He bent his head towards hers, tipping it a little to one side as his lips approached hers-

The doorbell rang.

Hinata and Sasuke both froze, their lips only millimeters apart. She couldn't help the flash of fear that shot through her, as she wondered if it was her father. Surely not-! They exchanged a look, and she saw he was clearly wondering the same thing.

When they went to peer through the peephole in the front door, however, they discovered something nearly as bad: The media.

"Go back to your room and get dressed," Sasuke said in a low voice once they'd withdrawn into the sitting room again. "I'll take care of them, tell them you're recovering from a severe migraine, but that your cousin is going to be fine." She started to protest, but he gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. "For anything else, I'll just use Temari's line of, 'No comment,' and refer them to Jiraiya. No arguments, love. I saw that wince earlier. I don't think either one of us wants your headache to fire up again."

Hinata reluctantly acquiesced. Listening to Sasuke's firm, confident voice drifting through the crack she'd left in her door, she marveled at how far they both had come, and determined that, from this moment on, she would hold on to the promise of her future with him and really live.

*~To Be Continued~*

Author's Ending Notes: It surprised me as much as it did Hinata when Sasuke popped this question while I was writing this chapter, but it felt so right. Life is short, fragile, and precious, and after seeing just how true that was, it made sense that he wouldn't want to waste any time. And Hinata had another breakthrough about her Father! I've been slowly working and building my way up to that moment the whole story, and it was such a relief to be able to write that part and release Hinata from that burden. Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you all again for next week's update!