When they entered the elevator Sasuke withdrew his arm from her. Meanwhile, Hinata's mind was too busy racing through different possibilities to notice. Kabuto would fire her as editor-in-chief, or at least ensure that she saw no promotion in the near future (if at all). All the effort she put into getting into Sasuke's good graces would be gone with the wind. Her manuscripts would never see the light of day at that rate.

As they walked through the desks of their floor, the workers held a strange glint in their eyes. She made out vague murmurs regarding marriage and Hinata could only conclude that a busybody coworker eavesdropped on the conversation in Kakashi's office.

Great.

Sasuke held open their office door and Hinata strode to her desk with a quick thank you. Beads of condensation dripped from her coffee cup and Hinata placed it under a napkin before the water reached any important paperwork. The whipped cream had melted into the coffee. Hinata sighed as she flicked away a strand of hair from her vision. She could always get another one.

A USB flew through the air and she caught it robotically. "I will take a look at the final manuscripts and you can do the others."

Hinata's left eye twitched. Sure, she had lived through strange days while working for Sasuke but this one was on its own level. Well, perhaps the Orochimaru incident came close. Even if it was Sasuke's idea and he was the one to poison the snake, the one who bought the mystery substance was her. Under his orders. The looming shadow that was her consciousness prevented her from fully acknowledging the fact that she wasn't told about the plan.

In the back of her mind, she did know. It was Uchiha. He held a grudge like no other person she has ever met and Orochimaru did something. She wasn't sure what exactly that something was and that was a feat on its own considering how much power she held over Uchiha's schedule. There was not a second in his life that she did not know what was going on.

It was a bit disturbing now that she thought of it.

Hinata pointedly ignored the jab of guilt in her chest. While Sasuke may have lied his way out of getting fired, it was only a temporary measure. He truly would need to marry into Suna citizenship before his two weeks were up. Was he being serious about getting married? She wouldn't put it past him to be serious and she wouldn't put it past herself to accept out of a misguided sense of responsibility— and perhaps a bit of self-interest. "What was that earlier?"

"It's my job to approve or reject anyone that wants us to publish their works, so I get final manuscripts," Sasuke explained patiently. She should know as much by now, but it was alright. It was just an off day for Hinata. Or– it better be, more precisely. "Your job is to assist me by reviewing other manuscripts. As they aren't final copies, I can afford to let you make a mistake or two."

Her gaze trailed from the melted coffee to the USB and felt her mood sour. He was genuinely clueless about her conflict or avoiding the topic, either was equally likely. "You told Mr. Hatake that we were getting married. What was that?"

"Ah, that." Sasuke shrugged as he turned his attention to his computer. "My visa expired."

"And what is your solution?"

"I can't renew my current visa so I will be getting a fiancé visa instead," he said simply. "I need the first manuscript in there done as soon as you can."

"So you were serious about that?" He wasn't listening. Hinata paced across their office with a stress ball in hand and keeping the wish to slam her head against the wall at bay. From a pragmatic perspective, if anything happened to Sasuke she was screwed.

A person with talents like his could either be your greatest ally or your worst nightmare. After several years of working for him, her affiliation in the publishing world was very clear and with his absence, who else would be able to endorse her ascension? Not Kabuto and definitely none of her coworkers if they were under the impression that was sleeping her way to the top. Their opinions alone were irrelevant, but collectively, not so much.

From a more sentimental perspective… he had been a decent mentor. No editor-in-chief in their right mind would let an assistant— not an editor— handle manuscripts, but Sasuke did every now and then and even better than that, he never questioned that permanent crossword puzzle tab on her computer despite his disdain for distracted employees. Even with all his eccentricities she would miss him. Hinata shook away that final revelation from her mind.

"Of course it'll work and when all the paperwork is done, we will get a quickie divorce." Sasuke finally appeased before turning his phone to Hinata. A coffee shop's menu in the iced drink section. "Caramel or mocha?"

"Mocha, please," Hinata answered automatically before swerving to face him. "You're two weeks away from being deported, and the first thing that comes to mind is trying a new coffee shop? Shouldn't we try to figure out an actual plan?"

"Out of courtesy for the years you've worked for me, I would rather bribe you than figure out alternative methods to… convince you. I know you like iced coffee even if it's freezing out there." Sasuke glanced at the window and sure enough, bits of frost covered the edges. Despite that, Hinata's plants remained standing tall on the windowsill. "And I still need your brainpower to get you through the rest of the day without making stupid mistakes."

"I'm not going to marry you."

Sasuke's airy nonchalance dissipated with every word until only cold seriousness remained. With slow methodical steps he reached his desk and took a seat. "Yes you will, you dream of touching millions of hearts with your words and I need a visa. Let's help each other." Hinata narrowed her eyes and he propped his face with one hand and waved the other in the air. "You think Kabuto won't fire you the second I'm gone?"

"It's— it's a ridiculous plan, you didn't even ask me!" Hinata's face was flushed from the pacing and hyperventilating. "It was one thing to spike Orochimaru's drink, I agree that he deserved it and that I played a part in that incident, but to commit fraud against the government of Suna is a whole different game."

"I'm asking you now, marry me." That was a statement.

Hinata's pacing came to an abrupt halt. "I'm not familiar with immigration law, but the punishment will be severe for both of us if we're caught." Convince me.

Sasuke suppressed a smirk and gestured for her to take the seat across from him. Looks like Hyūga was open to negotiations.

"Name your terms."

Hinata's lips thinned and she glanced to the side. It felt incredibly immoral of her to take advantage of the situation. She forced herself to relive the late nights of endless work, the running around trying to accommodate both work related and personal appointments and the rage that briefly reached her heart every time Uchiha rejected her work because it wasn't good enough. Four years of sleep deprivation and catering to his every whim was a lot and even she had her limits.

"I want you to review my manuscript and— and…" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. The first part was suspiciously easy enough. "I want you to publish my work."

The second not so much. "Three hundred copies."

"Five hundred."

Sasuke tapped a finger against the desk thoughtfully. "Done, but you will revise if I find that your manuscript needs it."

Hinata nodded with shining eyes. For a moment Sasuke thought his heart stopped beating and all of a sudden her request seemed incredibly simple. The Hinata now somehow seemed bright. So bright that dulling that shine would be a sin.

"I can do that," she promptly agreed.

"Perfect. Now, the manuscripts, if you will." He needed coffee too. He was losing his mind. When Hinata didn't budge from the seat he suppressed the urge to sigh. What more did she want? He needed to restore balance to his mind before he agreed to something truly absurd.

Hinata seemed to hesitate before leaning forward. His eyes followed her inky hair cascading on his desk before returning to her face. How odd of her to let her hair loose. "I want to be an editor."

Sasuke frowned, snapping away from a foolish train of thought. "I think I'm being rather generous already."

"I— I don't expect a freebie promotion, sir… just consider me— seriously and impartially consider me. I can replace Kabuto, I have the ability to meet your standards if you would give me a chance."

Sasuke hummed pensively and Hinata's hands clenched the excess fabric of her pants into fists. The rest of her body language appeared… challenging. Mirroring her movements, he leaned forward to meet her half way across the desk. "You truly think you meet the standard?"

"I know I do." He was certain now. It was a challenge dancing in white eyes and he was not one to back down from one. "You wouldn't allow me to touch any manuscript otherwise."

Sasuke cracked a smirk and raised a finger to her lips. Somehow the scratchy sense of chapped lips managed to be soothing to the touch. "No need to convince me. Do we have a deal?"

Hinata gulped. "We have a deal."