A/N: I hope you guys enjoy, this was a hard chapter to translate from imagination to written word. Please forgive any spelling mistakes, I mostly write these chapters on my phone.

Safe Travels

Hinata's hands trembled as she slid the lock into place. She took a breath to calm her racing heart and faced the man who had been her lover these last years. Sasuke stood a small distance from her, an unreadable expression on his face. He looked good, she suddenly thought. Traveling had been kind to him, and while there was still a heavy burden creating the lines of his forehead, it seemed to have lightened some. The tension between them was palpable, and her heart thudded painfully in her chest. He must be so angry with her, she thought. For getting pregnant, for waiting so long to tell him, appearing for all the world as if she had chosen Naruto even while his child grew within her. She opened her mouth to explain, to apologise, but he beat her to it.

"I - I'm sorry, Hinata," he said lowly, shocking the young woman completely. Why was he saying that? What did he have to be sorry for?

"Sasuke?" He brushed his bangs back so that she could see both his eyes, something he only did when he wanted to lay himself bare before her. That he counted her still worthy of the privilege astounded Hinata.

"I...I was selfish the last time I saw you. I shouldn't have -"

"No, I was selfish," Hinata said, neatly cutting him off, indignation on his behalf making her bold. She took a step forward, aching to touch him but not daring to give herself permission.

"I - I knew how you felt about me, knew you needed me in a way Naruto didn't, and I still couldn't let him go." She looked away, her pearlescent eyes filling with self anger and shame, before swallowing heavily and continuing in a much smaller voice, a delicate hand held in a tight fist at her chest.

"I'd wanted him for so long, longed for the acceptance and return of my feelings so desperately, that I was blind to how I felt about you. I didn't want to admit that you had become everything to me. I tried to tell myself that the love I felt for you was no different than the love I felt for Neji or my teammates, but the lie always tasted sour on my tongue. So I should be the one to apologize," she said, sinking to her knees before him and pressing her forehead to the polished floor, "for hurting you so deeply when I always told myself I wouldn't. I'm so sorry, Sasuke," she said, her voice a wobbly, tearful whisper when she finished. There was silence, the only sound the rushing of her blood in her ears. It lengthened, and Hinata sternly told herself she didn't deserve his forgiveness, that if he walked out that door she would have only herself to blame, and -

A gentle hand pulled her up from her kneeling position, and Hinata found herself staring into mismatched eyes swimming with barely concealed emotion. His hand came around to cup her cheek, thumb wiping away the tears it found there. He touched their foreheads together, and Hinata fisted her hands in the fabric of his poncho.

"Don't ever lower yourself before me like that again, hime," he said quietly. "I don't deserve it."

"Sasuke -"

"I'm...I'm trying to be selfless with you, hime. I want you to be happy. I don't know if I'll be capable of loving you the way you deserve, and I'm," he closed his eyes briefly and swallowed hard, the words he wanted to say seeming to lodge in his throat and choke him. She gently caressed his neck, and he sighed, leaning subtly into the touch.

"I'm scared I won't be a good enough for either of you. I'm scared I won't be able to live up to what a good husband and father should be." He whispered, the confession piercing her soul with sadness. She framed his face with her hands, ensuring his gaze and attention were focused on her.

"Neither I or the baby want a perfect man, Sasuke. We just want you." She watched his eyes widen dramatically and listened to his sharp intake of breath at her declaration. Be brave, Hinata...

She pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around him and nestling his face in the crook of her neck. He exhaled, shuddering, and slumped against her, his arm wrapping around her and holding her so tightly she could barely breathe.

"I understand if you don't believe me, but I love you, Sasuke," she whispered and was gratified when she felt him press a kiss against her throat. She began to slowly rock them, humming a low, soothing song, much as she had when he came to her after killing Itachi, bloody and half wild with rage and grief.

"Please stay with me tonight, Sasuke," she begged quietly, continuing to rock him so that he knew her comfort was not dependant on his answer. He nodded, somehow managing to tighten his hold, before breaking away from her and pulling them both to their feet. She saw tears wetting his cheeks before he turned away from her, kicking off his shoes and making himself comfortable on her couch. She watched him a moment longer before retreating to the safety of her bedroom, her thoughts full of relief and worry over what lay ahead for them.

Hinata tossed and turned on her bed, shoving the blankets past her rounding belly and sighing in frustration. A glance at the clock told her it was long past two in the morning, and experience told her she wouldn't find sleep until she did something about her little problem.

Heat burned her cheeks at the thought of it. For two months now, ever since the start of her third month of pregnancy, she was plagued with an insatiable lust. During the day, she was able to control herself by occupying her mind with other things, but during the nights, when her mind was still and the only sounds were her heartbeat and Naruto's snoring from his place in the living room (the man refused to leave her to herself even knowing what she had done), her body was aflame with tension.

It was unbearable; memories of Sasuke, his mouth on hers, his hands leaving a trail of scorching heat where ever they touched, his tongue licking up her thighs while he watched her with hungry red eyes, his dick inside of her throbbing, tormented her. She tried, countless times, to take care of herself, but it was never enough. Nothing ever felt as good as he did. That's when temptation set in and rode her as hard as Sasuke ever did because Naruto was always just a call away. He was present, gorgeously formed, loved her with an intensity that startled her, and he was willing; she could see that in the smouldering heat of his eyes when he would check on her in the middle of the night. His eyes would sweep over her prone and sweaty form, lingering on her breasts and the juncture of her thighs, voice husky with longing as he asked her if she needed him for anything.

She was not proud of how close she came to taking him up on his offer.

She couldn't stand it any longer. Raising and parting her legs, Hinata's eyes slid closed as she slowly pushed her hand under her soaked panties to tentatively touch her clit. A shaky sigh escaped trembling lips as she rubbed it in slow circles, her mind conjuring memories of the man sleeping on her couch. Her inner walls flexed as she touched herself, releasing more of her liquid and coating her massaging fingers as she increased the pressure and frequency of her rubbing. A choked moan escaped her, and she was heedless of the way the needy sound echoed down the hall. The heat between her legs was unbearable, but she was getting there, she was almost -

"What are you doing, Hinata?" She froze, her breath catching harshly in her throat. Heat scalded her cheeks as she opened her eyes and turned her head to her open bedroom door to see Sasuke leaning against it and staring intently at the hand nestled between her open and spread legs. She hurriedly yanked it out and struggled to sit up, but he was already crossing the room in long strides, catching her wet hand in his and bringing it up to study.

"I -" He sucked her index finger into his mouth, eyes burning into hers as he cleaned her fingers one by one, his tongue swirling over the pads of each delicate digit and increasing the aching in her center until she felt like she would die of frustration.

"I could hear you moaning down the hall. Did you really think I'd sleep through that, or were you attempting to torture me?" He asked, gently pushing her shoulders back until she resumed laying down then stepping back to pull his shirt over his head and step out of his boxers. She stared at him, hands clenched at her sides so she wouldn't launch herself at him.

"I - I didn't want to assume that you'd - that you'd still want to do that after what I put you throu - ahhhhh, Sasuke!" While she had been trying to explain herself, Sasuke crawled between her legs and latched on to her covered clit, sucking greedily and groaning as her taste exploded on his tongue. He didn't give her time to adjust, shoving the crotch of her panties to the side and working two fingers into her drenched slit, forcefully throwing her over the edge of the orgasm that had eluded her for so long.

Hinata panted weakly as she watched him stand up, her legs quivering from the force of her climax. His mouth was wet from her juices, and his eyes were wild and red with desire. Sasuke bent down to gather her up, careful of her expanding womb and he bent her over the side of the bed and spread her legs wide to give himself room. He hunched over her, his chest molded to her back, his mouth pressing wet kisses to the back of her neck and shoulders, his manhood a hard heat rubbing insistently against the lips of her pussy. He gripped himself and lined up with her hole, the head of him just barely pushing in. She whined.

"Don't be stupid," he growled before sliding home. They both moaned as he stretched her, their bodies straining helplessly as they became reacquainted with the pleasure they created together. Hinata faintly registered his groans as he thrust into her, her entire being utterly focused on the thick length inside her filling her, completing her, giving her exactly what she needed.

He leaned his upper body against her, forcing her to support them both with her braced arms, and snaked his arm around her to cup the swell of her belly with a gentleness that made her throat tighten with an almost painful tenderness.

"I missed you, Sasuke," she moaned helplessly, tilting her head back to rest on his shoulder and gripping the rock hard bicep in his amputated arm so tightly there would be faint red marks in the skin for two days. His hold on her increased, his thrusts growing in ferocity until he was slamming into her, the wet slapping of his balls against her clit making his teeth grit in savage satisfaction.

"I missed you, too, so fucking much," his voice was a near snarl as his climax neared, the spasming, wet walls of her pussy tunneling his vision and focusing his attention until all he could think of, all he could be, was her.

His hand left her belly to wrap around her throat, applying just enough pressure that her vision went white her and she came around him violently, practically sobbing as her muscles clamped down around him like a vice and dragged his orgasm out of him so suddenly that he froze against her, his mouth open around a silent scream, his cock pulsing and throbbing as it emptied his load deep within her. Hinata felt wetness on her shoulders and neck, and she knew the force of his climax had brought him to tears. She was near that point herself, her limbs shaking with exhaustion, but she wouldn't move from this spot even if her life depended on it.

Eventually, he pulled out of her and collapsed on the bed, pulling her with him and tucking her into his side. She bit her lip anxiously, wanting to touch him the way she used to, but even now afraid that he wouldn't let her. As if he read her thoughts, Sasuke grabbed her hand and placed it on his face, shaping it until she was cupping his face. He nudged her nose with his, and when she met his eyes, he kissed her gently. There was a tremulous, vulnerable look in his dark eyes when he finally released her lips, and Hinata vowed anew that she would not dare hurt the man in her arms again.

"I love you," she said emphatically. He stilled, and she knew he was wondering if he imagined the words.

"I love you, Sasuke. I love you," she repeated, her voice getting firmer with each reiteration of a fact she had long sought to distance herself from. No longer.

A small but joyous smile briefly quirked his lips, and Hinata's soul bloomed as if feeling the first rays of a new morning sun.

"I know," he said and settled them both down to sleep.