"But we have several varieties of pie," said the pie salesman. "Apple pie, cherry pie, pecan pie, chicken-pot pie-"

"I can't, I'm allergic," said Naruto apologetically.

"We have flourless pie? Or gluten-free pie? Non-dairy pie?"

"I'm allergic to pie!" Naruto screeched, flipping the table.

Chapter 24

The next afternoon, after hours of traveling through tree branches, the group had stopped for the afternoon to restock. There was plenty of water in the area, unfortunately however, little food to speak of.

Sasuke unraveled the final length of his bandages around his neck. Standing by the lake, he peered down at his reflection, his mouth slightly open, his face a mask of apathy.

Too-long bangs hung in his face, perfect teeth gleamed, eyes that had been dull and tired were dark and vivid again. Any sign of the rash had disappeared.

At the sound of a rustle, he spun around, arms raised in a fighting stance, but then relaxing. "Hinata?"

He could sense her now, and it was…odd. He had never been so intimate with a person that he could recognize the sensation of their chakra.

She poked her head out from behind a tree before reluctantly approaching him, trying to look nonchalant, and not like she had been spying, but her blush gave her away.

So instead she tried to look at his face, but couldn't help staring at his muscled torso. "The rash is gone," Hinata mused, before raising her eyes to meet his. "So can you talk to me now?"

The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched. "Why talk?" he said, folding his arms across his chest. He leaned down until his nose brushed hers. Nervously giggling, Hinata leaned up and closed the kiss.

A few yards away, across the lake, Uzumaki Naruto lay spread-eagle in the tall grass. He stared up at the clouds, every fluffy white mass seeming to look exactly like-

"Dammit," he growled, wrinkling his nose. He folded his arms behind his head, unwittingly raising it up just enough for him to notice two figures...across the lake...making out.

"ACK!" the high-pitched squawk caused the two figures to freeze. Dropping his head, Naruto flattened himself against the weeds again, hoping to remain hidden. He released an annoyed huff. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" It only seemed to heighten his frustration. I knew it! I – knew – it! His anger wasn't due to any lingering attraction toward Hinata or jealousy toward Sasuke. No. It was just that – that–

Sakura.

So he was jealous of Sasuke, but in a different way.

And he apparently hadn't been drunk enough that night in Gaara's office, because he could still feel her kisses on his lips – his neck–

"Shit," said Naruto, pounding his fist against the forest floor. Climbing to his feet, he leapt into the lake, causing a miniature water explosion, which in turn caused one of the figures to scramble away, and the other to remain still, linger, and stare.


They had reached the nearest town, and had found a small restaurant where they sat and silently ate together. Naruto had sent them to get food, and Hinata had the tremendous suspicion that this wasn't what Naruto-kun had meant.

The place was scattered with lunching parents and their children, husbands and their wives, and girlfriends with their boyfriends. Many people took notice the black and white-eyed strangers, stopping by the table to gush about what a cute couple they made. The Uchiha took to glaring at the passerby, while the Hyuuga merely nodded and thanked them.

Sasuke frowned down at his meal. He found that his eyes were constantly flickering upward to the girl across from him, who was absently shuffling a piece of broccoli around in her plate. Pink lips slightly parted, and large eyes half lidded, she seemed to be lost in thought. Though her face was alluring, his eyes drifted downward.

Hinata's body was equally nice. She had ample curves in all the right places. Though her clothing covered her up most of the time, he couldn't help remembering the glimpses he had gotten here and there, and the sensation of her body all the times she was pressed against him, lean stomach, full hips, long legs, and huge–

Sasuke paused mid-thought to notice his sharingan was activated. Cheek twitching, he deactivated it, cursing himself for his lack of self-control. It wasn't as though the sharingan could even see through clothing, not like the byakugan. Furthermore, it didn't seem normal for a man to use powerful doujutsu in an attempt to perve on someone. It would be like Shikamaru using his shadow imitation for bondage, or Chouji perfecting an Akimichi technique to make his penis three feet long. As Sasuke vowed never to think about such things again, he glanced back at Hinata and found himself staring again. That hazy look on her face was enough to throw anyone off.

The Hyuuga sighed down at her plate.

It was her first ever, real life, neutral, consensual, date.

Too bad it was already weeks following her first 1,000 kisses, and according to Sasuke, their date was "just a formality."

Just a formality.

Apparently he wanted to do a bit more than dining with her while in the village.

But how (the hell) could a date just be a formality when one says that it is "just a formality" – right before...right before...

Hinata felt her cheeks burn. She wondered whether she would be able to go through with it now that Sasuke was back to himself.

Then again...

She looked up, a piece of broccoli halfway into her mouth, when she noticed that Sasuke was watching her eat.

No. He was staring at her.

Hinata began to choke, and what had before been an absent gaze had become an odd look. He turned it to the window.


"I'm sorry, I – ano...I wasn't paying attention to what I was eating..." she had apologized numerous times as they left the restaurant, clutching his wrist as she followed him further into the town.

Sasuke sighed, irritated that Hinata required his forgiveness for choking in his presence. But she was slowly getting less insecure with him all the time, and maybe someday, rather than apologizing, she would just blame him. "It's okay Hinata, it was...really sexy." He was disappointed that she did not blush. She was getting accustomed to his taunts.

She instead shook her head and did something just as brutal. She tapped his arm and waited for him to turn to her, before leaning on her toes to kiss him sweetly on the cheek. Afterwards, he looked flustered and embarrassed, and Hinata liked the effect, so she kissed him again.

Back in Suna, they had been high on all the intimacy going on around them, and now that their first attempts at sex had failed, Hinata felt increasingly nervous, and half expected Sasuke's throat would close up again. It was as though fate was telling them not to do it.

When they got to the hotel, Hinata stared through the window, and watched the blue clouds drift across the darkening sky.

It had to be the Hyuuga curse.

"It's not the curse," said Sasuke, as though reading her mind.

Hinata turned to face him. "You know about it?"

"I read up on it at an old Uchiha shrine. As far as I can tell, it was just an old folktale to deter Hyuuga and Uchiha from interbreeding so not to corrupt either bloodline."

Everything Sasuke said seemed completely logical, but Hinata still struggled to suppress the lingering doubts in her mind. What if the Hyuuga curse was real? What if she and Sasuke were sacrificing their minds to consummate their affections?

"It would be worth it…if we went insane," he mentioned, approaching her and taking a lock of her hair in his hand. It was too long…which was what he really liked about it. He idly observed the violet undertones, and Hinata couldn't help but smile.

"It would," she agreed, blushing.

She thought about the doubts she had had about Sasuke, ever-flickering, ever-present, like a half-screwed light bulb or a frayed electrical wire. What if he didn't love her like he said. After he had her, would he be done for her? She knew by that point that she was just looking for excuses, but her heart was racing, and her doubts continued to tauntingly persist. The words spilled from her mouth before she could stop them, "I c-can't." She couldn't forget the things Sakura had told her that night in the tent. Maybe Sasuke's heart was cold from abuse, and he never really loved anyone anymore. "I can't," she repeated, a little more softly, a little more to herself.

She wondered what Sasuke would do. Would he be angry? Would it all be over? Had this been the sole event their relationship had been leading up to all along?

"Oh," he said.

She met his eyes.

"Why?" Sasuke added, as an afterthought. He looked rather irritable about the whole thing, and yet his reaction was so mild, so him, she wasn't sure why she had thought there would be anything else.

"S-so you're o-okay with it?" said Hinata.

"No," Sasuke deadpanned. He twitched as she smiled. "I'm going to sleep."

"Wait," she grabbed his hand before he could go to the bed. The whole thing must have seemed really sadistic to him. "I was…ano…j-joking," she said unconvincingly.

"Funny," Sasuke responded with sarcasm.

"Y-you're not just t-trying to revive your clan, because–"

"Not now," said Sasuke firmly, so she dropped it.

"Then you have p-p-protection?"

He leaned to her ear. "Since the day I met you."

He seemed both amused and impressed when she pushed him away, looking flustered. She then walked to the bed and flung herself onto it. "Okay, you can have me."

Sasuke chuckled, and she had never heard him chuckle before. It was attractive, but also eerie, and she opened one of her eyes.

Sasuke sat on the bed beside her, grabbed the front of her jacket, pulling her up and catching her lips in one motion.

Hinata responded to the kiss despite her nervousness, and she tried to keep up. Sliding her pullover off her shoulder, Sasuke's lips moved to a spot there he knew it be sensitive, and her body relaxed in response. A sexual groan escaped her lips, which just made her redden, quickly clamping her mouth closed. Sasuke ignored this, too busy kissing her sensitive spot, causing her to weaken and weaken in his hold.

"I…ano…that's really…nice," she told him, her body tingling.

Her eyelids drooped, and her breathing deepened, until Sasuke was satisfied with the state she was in. He began to slide down her zipper, and she didn't resist like she usually did

"Do you want it to be me?" he asked.

She couldn't imagine it being anyone else.

"Do you want me to stop?"

Hinata shook her head. No.

He successfully pulled off her shirt, leaving some of her hair hanging in her face. She helped him pull off his, desperate to break through the fogginess.

When his shirt was off, Hinata's fingers gently traced his spine, feeling it tremble beneath her touch. A small smile crossed her face when Sasuke's nose bumped hers, his eyes squeezed shut.

"You're very sensitive," Hinata said, finding laughter in her voice. She moved her hands to Sasuke's hair, which allowed his body to relax for the moment. I was only touching his back, Hinata thought.

"Un," said Sasuke, opening his eyes again. "I'm-" he searched for a less stupid word, and failed, "ticklish."

Hinata's smile broadened and she pecked his lips, one, two, three times for good measure. On the fourth, Sasuke maintained the kiss, and pushed her down to the mattress beneath him. He continued to kiss her, distracting her from his hand that had begun to unbutton her pants. Hinata deeply inhaled, but wiggled her hips to help him slide it off her.

When she only had a bra and panties left, Sasuke climbed more fully upon her, reaching behind her to unclasp the hooks of her bra.

Hinata's hand reached up and fumbled along the wall until she hit the light switch, but they were bathed in moonlight from the window. He finally got her bra off. Now fully naked, she shivered. He must have thought she was cold.

He pulled a blanket over them. "Better?"

She nodded, and knowing not what to do, reached to unbutton of his pants, but her hand grabbed something else.

Sasuke's took a sharp breath, and she quickly retracted her hands, blushing hotly.

"It's fine," he said, a faint blush on his cheeks, and Hinata was reminded that he was a virgin as well.

Reaching more carefully for the button of his pants, she unzipped it, and kicked them off him, fastidiously avoiding his erection throughout the process. This left just some panties and boxers between them.

Sasuke surveyed her. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Hinata said in a defensive tone.

His lips curled. "Then let's get started." In silent consensus, they removed their remaining articles of clothes, until nothing remained between them, and maybe nothing ever would.