Itachi helped his father out of the car, receiving a swat for babying him. "Do you know what's going on?"

Itachi shook his head. "You know as much as I do." Well, he might have an idea of what was happening.

Hinata and Sasuke sent out an invitation to their combined family to meet them for dinner after a full week of not contacting anyone other than Hinata resigning and assuring everyone they were fine. Sasuke took the week off work. No one had seen them since they walked out.

With the look on Sasuke's face when he left, Itachi wasn't surprised that whatever they talked about would make some changes, but no one was sure what would change.

They were led into a private dining room mostly full of Hanabi, Neji, Lee, and Mikoto. Itachi took pity on his father and sat in the empty chair next to his mother. She had been spending the last few weeks driving him insane. Maybe once her husband got back, she would spend more time at her own house. "Does anyone know what we are here for?"

Hanabi shook her head. "I'm hoping this is an elaborate pregnancy announcement." Neji's head whipped around to her.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Hinata appeared at the door with Sasuke following after her. Sasuke put his hand around her waist as she stopped at the end of the table. "I'm not pregnant."

"This is our wedding reception." Sasuke pulled out Hinata's chair.

"You didn't!" Hanabi's screech of excitement covered Mikoto and Neji's gasps. Itachi put his hand on his mother's arm to keep her down. Hinata and Sasuke sat while the information rippled down the table to mixed reception. Fugaku sat back with a stone, an unreadable expression. Itachi at least expected him to be surprised.

"We didn't want to make a big deal of it." Hinata tried to calm her sister down.

Sasuke sat back with a smile. "Hinata just wanted to get married for the cake."

"Oh, I wish you should at least throw a bouquet!" Lee grabbed Neji's hand while he went red up to his ears.

Mikoto made a few comments under her breath about how 'untraditional' and 'disrespectful' eloping was, but she was just upset she missed out on planning the wedding.

"This is a different ring." Hanabi took hold of Hinata's hand, making Fugaku perk up.

"The Uchiha ring didn't really feel right," Hinata said in a lower voice to not make a scene about it, but it was too late.


Hanabi and Lee decided that since it was a wedding reception, they wanted to dance, and they should go for karaoke, and Mikoto had just enough glasses of wine to agree to join them. Hinata waved Sasuke and the others ahead while she waited for Fugaku. Itachi took one look at her and turned to his father. "I'll wait in the car."

Fugaku waited for her to collect her thoughts. Hinata rolled the velvet box in her fingers while she tried to find something to say, but when nothing else came out, she simply held it out to him. "We wanted to return this."

Fugaku took it. This felt familiar. "You're wearing your mother's necklace."

Hinata touched the pendant. "Yes… I wore it when we got married."

Fugaku sighed, not finding the next thing to say easily. This was odd for both of them. So much to say, and none of it was coming out.

Hinata flinched down and bowed her head deeply. "Thank you for everything!" Fugaku was transported back thirty years, and he snorted. Hinata's head came up in confusion. "Huh."

Fugaku only laughed harder. "Ugh… you really are just a carbon copy of your mother." Hinata blinked at him. He huffed and opened his arms. "Whether you like it or not, you're family now."

Hinata's face twisted miserably. What did she think he was going to do? Banish her? She buried herself in him as the floodgates opened. "I'm sorry."

Fugaku pulled a hand up to pet down her hair. "Do you know how much trouble my boys have caused me over the years? You're my least troublesome child." Hinata hiccuped. "I'm retired. It's the board's problem now."

Hinata backed up to look at him. "Retired?"

"I realized that if I was pushing so hard that you were doing most of the work and I still put myself in the hospital, it was time to stop. I missed too much of the boy's lives and don't want to miss my grandchildren's too." Fugaku rubbed her arms to comfort her when her face stayed in a state of shock. "No pressure from me… Mikoto has that covered."

Hinata covered her mouth as her cry turned into a laugh.

"It will be alright, kid." Fugaku tucked her under his arm to head toward the car. "What do you plan on doing now?"

"I… was contacted by Suna to possibly run a department." Hinata hazard.

"Uh, the brat. Good for you." Fugaku hugged her tighter to his side as Itachi got out of the car to help him. "I had a minor stroke. I'm not decrepit."

Hinata waved Itachi off before helping him into the car. Fugaku made a face as he realized she tricked him into doing what Itachi was trying to do.


Hinata sipped her coffee, giggling. "Mother again?"

"I hate you two for getting married. Now she is determined to play matchmaker." Itachi exasperatedly pressed ignore on his phone.

"At least she's not trying to set you up with Sakura." Sasuke propped his hand upon his chin. "Her mother set her up on a blind date with Naruto last week. I think they are engaged already."

Itachi's face twisted. "Your dork friend?"

"She laid out this whole plan that she wanted to be married and have kids before she was thirty, and he was on board." Sasuke shrugged. "Yeah, I don't get it either."

"Usually, that's what a girl says to chase a man away." Itachi tilted his head. "How's the new job?"

Hinata set her drink down. "Busy, but nothing compared to what I was doing before."

Sasuke side-eyed her. "I think your boss likes you."

"I wouldn't know. I don't look. I'm married." Hinata gave him a look. "But no, he just likes that I get things done."

"Sure. That's why he wants to have dinner with you every other week." Sasuke prodded back.

"Because we might work late." Hinata countered. "And every single time, I have told him we should go home and start again in the morning." She reached out her hand, and Sasuke took it, wrapping his arm around hers and laying his head down on her arm childishly.

"Mhm." Sasuke was mostly joking. Mostly. "Oh, her father called."

Itachi perked up. "He did."

Hinata tilted her head. "It was really strange. Hanabi-chan must have told him I got married. He called. Told me congratulations… then I thought he hung up, but then he asked me for your father's number."

"And?" Itachi wondered.

"I don't know if he called." Hinata shrugged.


Fugaku tilted his glass, watching the ice shift back and forth as he waited.

Hiashi sat in the seat across from him. "Drinking already?"

"Can't." Fugaku held up his soda. "I had a stroke last month."

"We're getting too old anyway," Hiashi asked for tea.

Fugaku raised a brow, waiting for what he reached out to say. "What did you want?"

"I thought this was overdue." Hiashi waved his hand between them. "Clearly. I missed our children's wedding."

"They eloped." Fugaku corrected.

Hiashi sighed, more exasperated. Now Fugaku knew what it felt like to Itachi pushing buttons. It was fun. "I never thought it would happen. Even when I saw them in the paper."

Fugaku always wondered if the media about Sasuke and Hinata got back to him. He wasn't sure because he always pictured Hiashi trying to drag Hinata out but her hair if he knew. "You know who knew it would happen?" Hiashi glared at him. Fugaku shrugged. "She wanted our kids to be friends, wished it into existence. Not even we could stop them."

Hiashi purposely released the tension on his face. "How is Hinata?"

"Oh, you care now?" Fugaku prodded. Hiashi's face twitched. "She quit." Hiashi blinked. "I retired. The whole company is run by my cousin now." Hiashi took a full moment to process, only breaking when his drink was sat in front of him. "Ironically, I thought you sent her to ruin the company to get revenge." Hiashi's face twisted. Yeah, it didn't make much sense to him now. Hiashi was petty and might not be above sending his children to do his dirty work, but it was unlikely she would have been able to do that much damage if he hadn't caused most of the problems himself. "But ultimately, our downfall was me being too hard on her."

"I don't think we can compare that." Was the admittance of guilt?

"Well, she's happy now." Fugaku wasn't sure he deserved to know that. "She wears that gala necklace…"

Hiashi huffed before he could even finish his sentence. "You still had that?"

"Call it sentimental value." Fugaku countered.

"The only reason you bought that was because I was planning to get it for her birthday." Hiashi accused.

Guilty. "And she loved it."

Hiashi huffed, losing all of his steam as the reality that they were talking about better times hit him. "Every time I look at Hinata… it's like looking at her. It hurt every time."

"She would smack you knowing what you've done to her. Especially with that bull shit reason." Fugaku countered.

"Yeah." Hiashi sipped his tea, clearly wishing it was something harder.

"Go to her grave and beg her for forgiveness." Fugaku held his drink up. "And if you so much as ever say anything like you did to her last time or ever think about raising a hand to her again, you won't have to worry about me. Mikoto will have your hide." Hiashi grumbled, hitting his glass against his.

Hiashi's face twisted. "I can't believe you married that woman."

"Me either, but she has one good quality, and it's protecting her cubs." Fugaku sat back. "I think she would have preferred if we had girls. I think Hinata's her favorite now when Hanabi isn't giving her sass."

Hiashi almost cracked a smile. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

"I have something I want you to see." Fugaku reached back, pulling out the picture book. "The kids made me this."

Hiashi opened the picture book, and his face twisted in a deep frown. What Hinata and Itachi didn't know was who took those pictures. "They're all grown up."

"They'll have their own kids soon, and if you want to see that. You have a lot of making up to do." Fugaku flipped to the back, where he added a single picture Itachi didn't find because it wasn't with the others of the three of them thirty-some years ago smiling at the camera at arm's length. "Because I think she would want to see us together again."

Hiashi ran his thumb over the edge of the picture as he sighed. "Yeah, she would."

**Author Note**

Hey there, shameless self-plug:

Want ItaHina? Death Wishes
Want KisaHina? Lavender Umbrellas
Want GaaHina? Lavender Sand
More SasuHina? Lavender Memories, Wheels, Testing Success, What He Left Behind, I Will Love You

Updates and Asks on my tumblr lavender-long-stories