CHAPTER 13: LUNCH

The blue-haired lady woke up a little extra today and volunteered to prepare Hanabi's bento, like every other day. Even though her little sister still hasn't spoken to her, Hinata still does what big sisters do. Today was a little different though, instead of preparing just one bento, she decided to make one for Sasuke too. She knows what she's doing is a little risky, but after listening to Ino's story, she is determined to at least be friends with her soon to be husband.

After preparing Hanabi and Sasuke's bento, she took a shower and scanned through the clothes Ino chose for her yesterday. After 30 minutes of looking through her clothes, she settled on a yellow-spaghetti strapped-sundress that fell above her knees, it showed a little amount of her cleavage which made her uncomfortable. She remembered Ino telling her to cover it up with a shawl instead of her oversized sweater, so she took a thin white shawl and tied it around her shoulder. Her cleavage was still visible but the shawl modestly hid it.

"Hinata-sama!" Natsu gasped the moment Hinata walked out her room.

"Has something happened, Natsu-san?" Hinata looked at her petrified.

"No, no…You just look different," she said, looking at Hinata from head to toe. "Is it bad? Should I change?" Hinata answered worriedly.

"No! It's a good-different!" Natsu puffed. "You look very beautiful, Hinata-sama!" she complimented.

"Thank you, Natsu-san." Hinata blushed.

—-

Hinata walked through the Sharingan building guided by a guard to Sasuke's office. When she arrived in front of his door, she was contemplating whether she should give it or not. 'Hinata, now is not the time to back out, you have come this far.' She muttered to herself. She slowly pushed the door and was welcomed by a hard chest. She looked up quickly and was relieved by who she saw.

"Shikamaru-san!" She gasped.

"Hinata-sama." He acknowledged her, "Is Sasuke expecting you today?" Shikamaru tilted his head.

"Uh.. um-m… I-i-i-" Hinata was at a loss for words. What was she supposed to say? She shouldn't have come here.

"Alright, you can wait inside. I'm sure he'll be back in a few minutes." He smirked looking at the poor girl whose pale face had turned a crimson red. "I'll leave for lunch, do you need anything?" Hinata shook her head and Shikamaru left the room.

Hinata was now alone inside Sasuke's office. She observed how plain Sasuke's office was. There were no other colors besides black, white and a cream color. The room is neat, she applauds Sasuke for that, but it was lifeless. There was a large window behind his desk, that was now the source of light, a black sofa in the corner with a plain black canvas hanging above. Why would someone hang a black, empty canvas? On the other corner were shelves, and a table with a coffee maker on top. She then thought to herself, if Sasuke and her would become friends in the future, she would probably add some flowers to lighten up the mood, maybe some flower paintings, and maybe change the black curtains, oh and-

"What are you doing here?" A cold voice interrupted Hinata's thoughts. She looked back and was faced by a glaring Sasuke.

"Sasuke-san!" Hinata instantly bowed down and pushed the bento box towards the man in front of her.

Sasuke looked at her astounded. Was that the only reason she came here? Instead of taking what was in Hinata's hands, he ignored her and walked towards his desk. Hinata soon realized that Sasuke had left her bowing, so she slowly fixed her stature and watched as Sasuke sat on his chair. Sasuke looked back at her and gave her a threatening look but Hinata did not budge, instead stared back at him with her pale big eyes.

"What do you want?" Sasuke broke the silence.

"I-i just w-want t-to give you this b-bento. I m-made it myself." Hinata forced a smile. When Sasuke did not answer, she slowly walked towards Sasuke and placed the bento box in front of him.

"I am not hungry." Sasuke remarked, but this time it was Hinata who ignored him. She continued what she was doing as Sasuke glared at her.

Sasuke watched Hinata intently and noticed she wasn't wearing her usual oversized sweater. He noticed how pale and smooth her skin was, he was also shocked to see her bountiful chest peeking out her dress that she tried to conceal with her thin shawl. 'So, that is what she was hiding under those ugly oversized clothes' He smirked to himself, there was a sudden change of his mood after the realization that she was walking around the city, this building full of men, wearing that. He doesn't know why he suddenly felt protective, and he didn't like the idea.

"Oh! You don't like eating with someone watching you." Hinata exclaimed. "I'll come back tomorrow for the bento box." Before Sasuke could speak, Hinata had already left the room.

'You did it Hinata.' Hinata mentally patted her back.

Sasuke sat there looking at the door then back at the bento box. What was he supposed to do with it now? He usually doesn't eat lunch, but the blue haired girl who was just here a minute ago made an effort, so he took a couple bites, not realizing that he had finished all of it.

"You finally ate lunch." Shikamaru entered with a smug face. "Didn't know it takes an arranged marriage for you to do so." He teased.

"Shut up." Sasuke barked which earned a throaty laugh from Shikamaru.

"She looks different…" Shikamaru smirked at Sasuke, he already knew what Shikamaru was thinking. "If she wasn't engaged" he scoffed, "I'd want to…" Shikamaru trailed off as he noticed a change in Sasuke's demeanor.

—-

Hinata came back every single day for a week to Sasuke's office, providing him with her homemade lunch, and every single time she'd leave him alone to eat. Sasuke wouldn't admit it to himself, but he had anticipated Hinata's presence every day.

Today, however, Hinata hasn't arrived yet at the exact time she usually comes. Sasuke felt fidgety waiting for her.

'Sasuke! Sasuke! We're not supposed to be comfortable around her. The plan is to tarnish her image to convince your parents that the arranged marriage was a wrong idea." He scolded himself.

Getting very impatient, Sasuke thought drinking whiskey for lunch was a good idea. As he got up from his chair, he was startled by his door opening revealing a disheveled Hinata, she was obviously running from how she was out of breath.

—-

Hinata and Sasuke sat awkwardly across from each other in a pasta place a block away from the building.

"I'm sorry I didn't bring you lunch, there was an emergency at the hospital." Hinata apologized.

"I wasn't expecting it." Sasuke coldly answered.

"I promise I'll pay." Hinata assured Sasuke. Sasuke wasn't even sure why he suddenly agreed to eat lunch with her. When he heard her voice trembling, apologizing for not being able to make him lunch, he somehow felt bad and wanted to make her not worry by accepting her offer for a lunch out.

"Don't worry about it." He muttered looking away from the girl in front of him.

After finishing lunch, both did not utter a single word. They walked back to the Sharingan building side by side.

"Sasuke-san, Ino has invited us for her birthday this Saturday." Hinata stated.

"Hn."

"You'll be there, right?" Hinata looks up at him expecting an answer but she doesn't get one.

"I know this must be fiddly for you since you two dated before." She giggled.

"Hyuga." Sasuke stopped his tracks, Hinata looked up at him and she instantly realized he probably doesn't like talking about it. She looked at him as his eyes wandered elsewhere.

Sasuke spotted a familiar red head walking out from his office, thinking she would probably blow him up if she saw him, he quickly grabbed Hinata's shoulder and dragged her inside a small storage room and they cramped up inside of it.

The space was so tight that they were not able to move their body. Hinata's hand was sitting awkwardly on Sasuke's chest, while Sasuke's hands were on the wall, on either side of Hinata's head. It became more awkward when Sasuke felt Hinata's chest brushed up on his body. Why did he have to drag her along? And then he remembered how Karin can be so brutal, she'd probably lash out all her anger on Hinata. And how was Karin able to get through the securities, anyway?

"Sasuke-san!" Hinata gasped but Sasuke quickly placed his hand on Hinata's mouth, to keep her from making a sound.

Hinata felt the heat rise up to her cheeks as she had never been this close to a guy before. She can feel Sasuke's breath fanning on her face, and what she's wearing wasn't helping at all.

Suddenly, Hinata felt something crawl on her legs, she tried to stop herself from shrieking and quickly latched on Sasuke's neck. Sasuke absentmindedly held Hinata's hips to stop her from wiggling. Realizing the position they were in, both of their breath hitched, instead of moving away from each other, they both stared at each other's eyes, wide-eyed.

Sasuke's heart beat rapidly, so fast he felt like it would come out from his chest, as he stared at the girl under him who was blushing furiously. He wanted to let go, but there was something about her that had trapped him in her hold.

Something falling from the shelf brought them back to reality and they both instantly let go of each other. Sasuke hurriedly opened the door and left Hinata in the storage room, and Hinata who had no idea what to do, silently left the room a few minutes after Sasuke, and went home right away.

Hinata placed her hand on chest trying to calm it down. "What is wrong with you, Hinata! This is not how a lady should act!" She angrily whispered to herself.