Day 20 Prompt: "A sudden confession"
Hinata bites her thumb while she sits on the edge of the bathtub, her knee bouncing uncontrollably as she waits.
The box only said five minutes, but she could swear it's been longer than five. It feels like it's been ten whole minutes. The seconds tick by as she stares at that pink stick with nothing except the control line on the screen. Wonders why she didn't just splurge an extra few bucks for the kind that shows in plain words 'positive' or 'negative'. She squints, leans in a little closer as if she can intimidate it into showing a second line. Not that she's sure whether she wants there to be a second line or not, but…
Finally, her phone buzzes. It's been six minutes, just to be extra sure, and no other line has appeared.
With a little sigh, she picks up the test and opens the bathroom door, looking the one person who needs to know most straight in the eye.
"It's negative."
"Oh, thank God!"
Well…it might have been nice being an aunt, but as long as Hanabi's happy, she's happy.
"You're sure?" Hanabi takes long strides over, peaking into her hands. Hinata holds it out for her to take and Hanabi looks closely, before letting out a long breath. "Good…that's good."
Hinata bites her lip, looking at her sister to properly gauge her reaction. "Is it good?"
"Yeah." Hanabi looks up quickly, drawing her eyebrows together. "Of course it is. I'm barely going to be 21. I can't…have a kid. I'm way too young."
"You are young," Hinata agrees and Hanabi's hands fall. Gently, Hinata takes the test from her hand and sets it aside before stepping closer to her. "It's okay to be a little disappointed."
"No, that's stupid," Hanabi snaps, turning her head away.
Hinata twists her lips before nudging her head back toward the bathroom. Hanabi follows and Hinata tugs the faucet on, then takes the soap dispenser and holds it over Hanabi's hands. Something about it brings her back to childhood before anything bad could happen to them. Just big sister taking care of little sister. They both wash their hands together, letting the water pour over one hand into the other, bubbling up.
"It's not stupid to mourn the loss of something you might not have wanted right now but might want later."
Hinata doesn't look at Hanabi as she says it but sees her hands go still under the water. Hinata takes her hands into her own and slides them together to finish cleaning them, then shuts off the water. As she dries her own hands, she looks up finally to see little pools of tears in Hanabi's eyes and she frowns. Hinata reaches up and wraps her arms around her taller sister's neck and pulls her down, only flinching slightly when her wet hands press against her stomach.
"He seemed excited when I told him…" Hanabi mumbles against Hinata's shoulder.
"He'll understand."
After Konohamaru picks Hanabi up from Hinata's apartment, she feels a little better knowing her little sister is in the best of hands. But she's suddenly left feeling…confused.
Not about her sister, but about herself. She wonders what she would do if she had a pregnancy scare like this. It's never something she's even remotely thought about, but having to worry about it for her sister has her thinking.
It's now been about three months of being in a relationship with Sasuke and she's starting to wonder. Her brain starts wandering to unpleasant places like it had when they first started dating.
But it's different now. They've talked about it over and over again. Somehow, Hinata has been made the lead in this relationship. Every day they spend together, her confidence blooms further and further. Some of that confidence tugs at her brain, telling her to stop worrying and take matters into her own hands.
So maybe it's time.
Hinata pulls up the family group chat on her phone that Hanabi created ages ago that her father only participates in when someone asks him a question specifically ('Come see me in person if you need something').
Hello my lovely family
I'm thinking about making dinner at our home
How does tomorrow at 6 p.m. sound?
In through the mouth, out through the nose.
She pulls up her message with Sasuke.
I'd like you to meet my family
Hinata pulls her phone to her chest.
It's the most important next step, she thinks.
Neji responds first.
I'll be there.
She nods at her own phone. Neji is always punctual.
While she waits, she decides to busy herself. Picks up around her apartment, straightens the books on her bookshelf, folds a loose blanket. Tries not to look at her own phone too many times.
The last man to meet her family was Shino, and that was a very, very long time ago. Hinata's dated on and off, but it's never led to anything substantial enough to where she thinks her cousin, much less her father, should meet them. Throughout high school, Neji loomed over her as an ever-present intimidator, and the nature of the private school and her family didn't really allow secret rendezvous'. While her classmates hopped in their cars and had private house parties after school, she was studying with Neji, playing chess with Shino, or her biggest stretch of freedom: going shopping with Ino.
Her phone buzzes with Sasuke's username popping up.
Yeah, I'd love to
She's imagining that he probably grimaced when he first read over the message but came around fairly quickly. It's always awkward meeting the family of people you know, she imagines it's even worse when you're in a relationship with said person. She thinks about how she met Sasuke's family fairly early on when they weren't even a couple. Now that she can look back on it with a somewhat clearer vision of the night, she can see why everyone likely thought they were already a couple. It's not often you ask someone to a wedding you're not romantically involved with. But meeting his family was fairly easy, they seemed friendly enough, even his father was nicer than she was expecting.
Even though she thinks that was likely the beginning of her interest in Sasuke. Sasuke in a tuxedo is something that lives in her brain rent-free.
She thanks him in her message, tells him the date and time, and that she'll pick him up.
Shortly after, her father responds with a simple 'okay', and she just waits for Hanabi.
When she finally does respond, her heart sinks.
sorry sis we're goin to a movie
have fun xx
"Oh, rats!" Hinata curses, trying not to slam her phone down on her dining table.
Naively, she'd been counting on Hanabi to be there as the buffer between Sasuke and their father and cousin. It was so much easier for her to distract their father and make Neji laugh. Her extroverted nature was supposed to lighten the mood, put everyone at ease, make everything simpler for Hinata. Hanabi was supposed to be there!
Quickly, she pulls up her phone, ready to claim she made a typo for the date, but she's too late.
Can't wait
What're you up to now?
"Shoot! Shoot!" Hinata stomps her foot in a rare tantrum. "Shit!"
Doesn't even cover her mouth, just lets the negativity out.
Hinata spends the rest of the night acting normally with Sasuke, resisting the urge to call her sister and beg her to reschedule her movie. At one point, she texts her old caretaker, Kō, to let him know of her plans. Kō asked her what she wanted to have for dinner, and Hinata tried to insist she would prepare dinner. It was in vain, so she simply told him whatever her father would like or request would be fine (likely some form of tempura and buta udon).
The next day, Hinata decides to go to Sasuke's sooner than she intended and even decides to show up unannounced for dramatic flair.
Her soft knock goes unanswered, so she opts for the doorbell.
"I'LL GET IT!"
"Oh," she breathes out to herself, recognizing the voice from the other side. The door swings open to reveal Shisui. He offers her his widest, lopsided grin as he waves her in.
"Why if it isn't Hinata!" She walks in at his beckoning, biting her lips together, wondering how she'll have this all play out. "Here to see lover boy, I assume."
"Lover boy?" she giggles out, scanning his space to find Sasuke at his small dining table, looking at her expectantly. He just shrugs, sliding off of his seat to approach her. When he immediately wraps her up in his arms, she feels a little safer knowing how comfortable he is to show affection. Though it does make her a little nervous thinking about later, in front of…
"Impromptu visits now?" he asks, kissing the top of her head. "Guess I have to return the favor at some point."
She wants to tell him that probably wouldn't be the best idea, but she keeps it back. Hanabi and Ino appear at her door unannounced fairly often anyway. Maybe she could be okay with it when it's Sasuke.
"We were just going over the logistics of meeting the fam."
Hinata cocks her head as Sasuke sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as his other arm falls off her.
"That's actually the reason I came early…" Hinata places her hands on the back of one of the chairs while Shisui settles into the one across from her. He places his chin in his palm, eyes glimmering with excitement. She looks at Sasuke, who stands next to her, leaning back against the table with his arms folded. "I was hoping to…well, discuss how this will go."
"Well, you're the expert here," Shisui pipes up while Sasuke looks contemplative, "on your family and all."
"Uhm…" Hinata bites her lip, looking back and forth between the two of them. Sasuke looks over his shoulder at Shisui who looks oblivious. She sucks in a breath. "Hanabi's not going to be there, it's just going to be my father and Neji…and – eh…they're not the friendliest."
"No kidding," Sasuke deadpans and she smiles a little.
"They're both fairly serious men."
"I'm so sorry for you." Shisui shakes his head in his palm. "Surrounded by stuffy dudes, including this one."
"I'm not stuffy," Sasuke retorts, glaring. "But you know, I'm not exactly bouncing off the walls. So, this should work out, right?"
Hinata isn't sure how to tell Sasuke that his usual pessimistic, funny sarcasm won't play well with them. "Yes, it should be alright."
"Yeah." Shisui snorts, slapping his hands on the table. "He's gonna piss 'em off."
Sasuke glares and Hinata waves her hands. "No, no! That's not what I'm trying to say!"
"Just smile and nod." Shisui points at Sasuke, ignoring Hinata. "Don't make snarky comments, resist sarcasm, don't be weird."
Hinata sees Sasuke stiffen a bit with that last bit, but she pushes forward. "My cousin likes to talk about self-improvement, things like keeping healthy and mindfulness, and my father likes quiet…so I think, uhm, if you just keep your answers short."
"Short and sweet." Shisui knocks on the wood. "Sasuke's specialty."
"Also, my father loves tempura," Hinata says, suddenly, because she remembers the time Ino came over and asked why the table was covered in pure flour and grease. Her father found this offensive for some odd reason. "So please don't say anything about the amount of it."
"I like tempura." Sasuke shrugs, reaching behind him to pluck a flower from the little vase in the middle of his table. Hinata had become accustomed to bringing him flowers every few weeks, and he diligently took care of them every time. She smiles when he pulls it up to his eyes and twirls it.
"He really likes it," she reiterates, watching him spin the flower.
"And don't you worry." Shisui pulls her attention, reaching out for a flower, too, only to have his hand smacked away by Sasuke. "I made Sasuke something to bring."
"To bring?" Hinata's nerves spike.
"It's only polite!" She looks from Shisui to Sasuke, who shrugs. "I brought some mapo tofu for him to 'wow' your family."
"Well – " Hinata flinches when Shisui shoves his seat back and starts for the fridge. "My cousin has a sensitive stomach to spice, so I just hope – "
"No worries!" Shisui pulls out a container with the food and shoves it in the microwave. "Everyone loves my mapo tofu, I just took some over to Itachi and Hana yesterday and her family loved it!"
"O-okay." Hinata bows slightly, hands clasped. Sasuke reaches out for her, hand finding her waist to pull her against him.
"It's going to be good," he whispers, lips against the top of her head and she nods instinctively.
Hinata goes over a few more things with Sasuke before they leave, like making sure he doesn't bite his nails (he never has before), keeping his elbows off the table (as silly a custom she thinks that is), grooming his hair so it doesn't sit over his eye (even though she personally thinks it's cute). Shisui wishes them luck as they climb into her car, and off they go.
To her childhood home. To see Neji…and her father.
It's been a few months since she last saw him.
It's not on purpose, she swears it. She's just been so busy, with exams, working, and…everything else.
And yes, it's completely on purpose that she didn't mention Sasuke in her initial text. Maybe (certainly) she's being foolish, but she can't even envision how it would go if she had actually revealed her intentions. No, it's best to put them on the spot so they can't come for her (or him) immediately.
So when Neji answers the door, she immediately steps inside, tugging Sasuke along with her, before bowing in front of him.
"I missed you."
"I…" Neji's voice falters as he bows back, and she knows he's glaring at Sasuke. "Hello."
"Hey," Sasuke responds as Hinata pulls back and starts peeling off her coat. Sasuke looks awkwardly back and forth between them with a container of food in one hand, which Hinata quickly takes from him so he can shed his jacket as well.
"Neji," Hinata starts, grasping his sleeve to tug his hand out. "This is Sasuke."
Sasuke holds his hand out and Neji immediately takes it, and their handshake holds on for too long.
"Pleasure to meet you," Neji says it in this testy way and Hinata can almost feel how tight the hold between them is. As if there's some unspoken flex happening between them.
"Mhm," Sasuke hums.
Okay, not an ideal response. Hinata places her free hand on Sasuke's shoulder and holds out the container of food. Sasuke glances at it and is forced to be the one to let go first. They both step out of their shoes while Neji begins walking away already, but Hinata's not concerned, even if Sasuke gives her that look that says 'is this normal?'
It is.
Hinata guides him to the kitchen in silence until Kō appears from a side room, greeting her with his biggest smile. "Miss Hinata!"
"Kō!" Hinata bows and Kō bows deeper. "Oh, this is Sasuke!"
Sasuke looks a little more at ease with Kō, which she's pleased with because that's to be expected. Compared to Neji, Kō looks like sunshine. Sasuke bows slightly, still looking a little out of place.
"He brought something for dinner; it's mapo tofu." Hinata gestured for Sasuke to hand it over, and he does.
"That's very thoughtful." Kō gives him a nod as he takes the container into his hands. "Though, it really wasn't necessary."
Hinata clears her throat, raising her eyebrows up at her former caretaker, who glances at her before stiffening up. With a small giggle, she takes Sasuke by the hand and continues leading him down the hall.
"Uh – nice to meet you." Sasuke waves over his shoulder, a little friendlier and more relaxed.
Now for the final, most important part.
Though, she isn't surprised when she walks into the dining room and her father is not yet seated. Instead, she reaches for one of the side chairs, but Sasuke scrambles to snatch it away from her before she gets the chance. In doing so, the chair smacks her hand and she lets out this squeaky yelp that causes both Sasuke and Neji to snap their eyes at her in concern.
"Shit!" Sasuke curses, letting go of the chair in favor of grabbing at the offended hand, which leads to the chair toppling over onto its back. Hinata immediately starts trying to placate and reach for the chair. Sasuke does this strange stretch where he's both holding her hit hand while reaching down to grab the chair. She covers her mouth with her free hand as she watches him bumble around, side-glancing at Neji who is glaring.
"Well, this is a surprise."
Hinata jumps at the sudden voice of her father behind her and snatches her hand out of Sasuke's grasp, causing him to stumble forward. She's unsure if this could get much worse.
Once Sasuke has the chair right side up, he faces forward toward her father, and without an ounce of hesitation, he bows, deeper than she's ever seen him bow. "Mr. Hyūga, my name is Sasuke."
Hinata's jaw drops slightly because this is not what she was expecting. Must be a way to deal with the embarrassment. As cool as she thinks Sasuke is, she can admit he's kind of a huge dork, too. She never knew those two things could exist in one person, but here he is, bowed perpendicular to her father, whose eyes blink down at him, seemingly unimpressed. To be fair, her father is a hard man to impress.
"We should sit," Hinata interjects. "Thank you, Sasuke."
Slowly, everyone gets settled in while a tray of edamame is set out. Neji sits directly across from Sasuke, while Hinata sits between Sasuke and her father, who is at one end of the table. She reaches out for a pod while warily looking back and forth between Neji and Sasuke, neither seeming willing to take their eye off the other. She looks at her father and reaches out for the sake flask to pour him a drink.
"You did not inform us that you would have company," Neji kicks off the conversation that is sure to be dreadful, but necessary.
"I apologize." She bows her head.
Before she can continue, Sasuke cuts in. "It's my fault. I thought it'd be a good opportunity to finally meet Hinata's family, so I asked if I could tag along."
Hinata flickers her eyes over him, then looks to her cousin and father to gauge their reactions. Her father remains emotionless, simply sipping his tea with his full sake glass next to him. Neji tilts his head slightly, clearly curious. Could be a good sign.
"Tell me, how did you two meet, then?" She mentally breathes a sigh of relief that Neji has the courtesy not to blatantly point out that they are a couple just yet. Clearly, they are, but she's not sure she's ready to hear it out loud from them.
"Well, it was kind of an accident," Sasuke starts and Hinata's eyes get wide. "I was coming into work and she was –"
"Coming up behind him!" Hinata interrupts. Sasuke gives her a look. "He held the door open for me, such a gentleman!"
"Those are basic manners, Hinata," Neji bites.
In the back of her mind, she knows it's not a big deal to forget your identification card once in a while, but she would just rather these two people of all people not know it happened. Too many times growing up had she made mistakes that they berated her for, and she doesn't want to risk a berating in front of Sasuke.
"We ended up having lunch together, right?" Hinata looks at Sasuke, brows raising, hoping he takes the hint. He just nods.
"Right."
"And what do you do for a living, Sasuke?" Neji continues his questioning. Hinata chews on a new pod as she watches Sasuke explain that he works in insurance, goes into a mild spiel about what his job entails. Neji squints slightly, but mostly maintains a look of indifference. When Sasuke finishes, he reaches out for his water, and Hinata watches him as he takes loud gulps. She clears her throat in the hopes it covers the sound. Neji speaks again, "that's…interesting. For what reason did you choose that?"
With a completely serious face, Sasuke responds, "I don't like to be cheated, so what better way to not get cheated than to know all about how it works in the first place, right?"
Hinata's eye twitches when Neji simply glares. She cuts in. "Ehm, yes, he actually saved me quite a bit of money. It's why my insurance payments dropped so much."
Neji purses his lips briefly before nodding. "Yes, I can understand that insurance is quite…frustrating to deal with." Hinata can practically see painstaking flashbacks on Neji's face of prior encounters with health insurance agents.
Before he can continue, plates of tempura come out (and as she guessed, quite a few), along with side soups and salads. It silences them all for a moment as they begin eating, everyone politely quiet as they chew. As much as Hinata likes silence, she knows it cannot last.
"And this," Hanabi's old caretaker, Natsu, pipes in as she enters the room with a tray of bowls, "is mapo tofu, brought by Sasuke himself!"
She sets each bowl down, Hinata thanking her with a smile.
After a few peaceful moments in which her father looks pleased with the tempura, Hinata decides to chime in. "Tsunade says I'm doing well." She looks at her father from the corner of her eye, and even though he's not looking, he slows his eating a tad. "She's enthusiastic to write me a letter of recommendation when I obtain my license."
She takes a neat spoonful of mapo tofu into her mouth, then her eyes go wide. Spice numbs her tongue almost immediately and she looks at Neji with panicked eyes, noting he hasn't yet taken a bite.
There's no time to react, though, because her father actually responds. "I'm pleased my old mentor is finding you acceptable."
"She was your mentor?" Sasuke asks incredulously, looking at Hinata. Her mouth opens slightly as she gawks at him for asking such an accidentally rude question.
"Nevermind that," Neji saves Sasuke for whatever reason, and Hinata momentarily forgets the spiciness of the mapo. He looks Sasuke in the eye once more. "What are your future plans with Hinata, Sasuke?"
Hinata tries her best not to choke on a fried green bean. Sasuke sputters a little, too. "My-uh, my plans?"
Then, Neji spoons a large amount of mapo into his mouth, and Hinata grits her teeth, her mouth salivating as she watches him. His eyes get really big and his lips thin to a line, pulling downward. Hinata reaches out to push his water towards him. Before he can take it, and before Sasuke can respond, they hear a phone ring.
Neji frantically reaches into his pants pocket and Hinata knows it must be an emergency call because he would never have his phone volume on during dinner. She feels bad for him as he swallows down the spicy mixture while hastily swiping his phone on. He shoves his chair back while coughing out a greeting. "Neji Hyūga."
Her father doesn't even seem to notice the tense situation, but Hinata and Sasuke stare at Neji like he's a sideshow. Neji's coughing while trying to down water as he walks out of the dining room. They hear him in the distance.
"Yes, yes." Cough. "I'll be there in a-a few minutes." Cough, cough. "Which e-eye?" Cough, cough. "I'm fine! I'll be there soon."
She can't help the giggle that escapes her as her cousin's red face returns for just a moment to inform them that he's being called in for emergency eye surgery (she figured). Bids goodbye, begrudgingly tells Sasuke it was nice to meet him, and grabs a water bottle from the fridge before he disappears.
"He's on call for eye emergencies," she whispers to Sasuke, who has looked bewildered for the duration of the events that just unfolded. He just nods absently, looking back at his food. "I'll have to speak with Shisui about what constitutes spicy."
"So." Again, her father utters the rare word here and there, so they both look up. "Tell me, Sasuke. What is your family name?"
"Uchiha."
"Hmm." Her father hums, spooning in a mouthful of mapo. He gives another hum, this time one seeming like approval, and Hinata feels a little excited about that. At least this might cancel out the disaster of Neji's sensitive tongue. He sips his water before continuing. "Do you have any siblings?"
"My older brother…Itachi."
There's a pause as her father blinks, slowly. "Itachi…your father wouldn't happen to be Fugaku, would it?"
Hinata clutches her chopsticks firmly, staring at her bowl. Will the surprises ever stop coming? If Sasuke's tense about it, she can't tell. He responds in a nonchalant way. "That's right."
"Interesting…" Her father casts his gaze to the side, looking far away now.
The silence becomes a little suffocating, and Hinata decides she's done eating. She gets up to gather her dishes, excusing herself to the kitchen and hoping maybe leaving them alone for a little bit will allow them to converse more freely. Or maybe she's just trying to escape.
She has faith in Sasuke.
She thinks.
She pushes her way into the kitchen where Kō chats with Natsu as she cleans. They both look up at her entrance, and Natsu makes a face at her. "Miss Hinata, I always tell you to let one of us do that!"
"And I always tell you I want to," she says back, casually. This part of her home is where she feels more relaxed, and these are people she's comfortable around. Kō laughs.
"Let her help if she wants, Natsu." Hinata gives him a smile as begins scraping food from the dishes. "Besides, it's the perfect excuse to escape, isn't it?"
"That –" Hinata purses her lips in a pout, annoyed to be read so easily.
"He's a nice man, isn't he?" Natsu changes the subject for her, taking each dish as Hinata finishes removing food.
"Is he?" Kō asks, folding his arms and tilting his head.
"He's very nice," Hinata whispers, taking her sweet time ensuring every last bit of food is off the dish she's working on. "Very nice."
"Very, very nice?" Natsu asks and Hinata sees her give Kō a look.
Kō shrugs. "As long as he treats you well."
Hinata hums to herself for a moment before handing off the last dish. She looks up at Kō and very seriously says, "he treats me better than anyone else ever has."
"I believe you." Kō nods, tapping one foot as he leans on the other. "But you know if there's ever any trouble…"
"I have an army," she finishes for him as she steps forward. He chuckles as she gets on her toes to kiss his cheek, then repeats it on Natsu. "Sorry, Hanabi didn't come up."
"That girl," Natsu huffs, shaking her head. "Doesn't care about old Natsu at all."
Hinata giggles softly as she retreats from the kitchen, Natsu and Kō bantering friendly back and forth behind her.
In the dining room, Sasuke sits alone. He looks up at her and gives her a weak smile.
Oh no. Did Sasuke actually scare Father off?
Honestly, that would be impressive.
"He excused himself," Sasuke explains, getting up from his seat while collecting his dishes. "He was holding his stomach…"
"Uh oh." Hinata glances at the bowl of unfinished mapo tofu where her father was sitting. His eyes follow.
"Was it really that spicy?" he asks, stacking his dishes with her fathers while she circles to take Neji's.
"I think Uchiha genes are just more accustomed to spice." He laughs quietly as he follows her into the kitchen, where Natsu and Kō are leaning over the island countertop across from each other, resting on their elbows. Probably gossiping about the two in question.
"Oh, dear." Natsu gets up and takes the dishes from Hinata's hands. "You're entertaining company, not supposed to be cleaning!"
"That's right, Miss Hinata," Kō teases as Sasuke sets his set next to the sink. "Why don't you show Sasuke the old house?"
"Well, alright." Hinata nods, looking over her shoulder at Sasuke.
"And why don't you spend the night while you're here?" Kō offers, which surprises Hinata, and she sees a similar reaction on his expression, too. "In the guest room, of course."
"I mean, I shouldn't impose," Sasuke scratches the back of his head, but something like excitement bubbles in Hinata. She's not sure why, they can spend the night together whenever, but something about having a boy (man) over in her childhood home itches a scratch she's had since she was just a pre-teen.
"You should impose!" Hinata pipes up finally, and he glances at her, confused. "Or, I mean, it's not imposing. You should stay, so you can say a proper goodbye to my father in the morning."
"Perfect reasoning," Natsu says, playfully while Kō starts shooing them.
"You've seen the kitchen now. But there's so much more!"
Hinata giggles under her breath as Sasuke follows her, looking mildly confused. Once they're in the safety of the hallway, where she's fairly certain Natsu and Kō won't be able to hear them, she turns to him. He looks at her with raised eyebrows and a tilted head. "I feel like we're being treated like teenagers."
"It's kind of nice, isn't it?" She bounces on the balls of her feet with her hands clasped behind her back. "I've always wanted to show a boy around my home."
For this, his lopsided smile comes back. "I like to think I'm not so much of a boy anymore."
"Come on."
Excitedly, she gives him the full tour she always thought about giving to someone she really cared about. Different from the way she cared about Shino and Ino, more intimately. Laughs with him about having a living room with a T.V., and a sitting room with no T.V., but a piano instead. When he asks if she can play, she dodges the question, because she'd rather not embarrass herself (she did have lessons as a child, but never got very good at it). Shows him their little game room and Sasuke lights up when he sees a pinball machine.
"Is this real?" he asks, dragging his finger across the side of it. Hinata tells him her father loves pinball, which only surprises him for a moment before he sees the table tennis set up. He rubs his nose and looks at her seriously for a minute. "Our dads know each other."
"Oh!" She smacks her forehead, unable to believe she already forgot. "Right! Did he tell you how?"
"Table tennis." She blinks at him as he deadpans. "Corporate games. They're…rivals."
"W…what?" She feels like she's short-circuited. "That's…"
"Insane?" He bobs his head, setting his hand back on top of the pinball machine. "Guess it'll make it easier for our families to meet at some point...or harder."
The idea of their families meeting hadn't actually occurred to her until now, but the fact he's thinking about it makes her feel good. He's really taking this seriously. It's a relief.
Hinata shakes her head and steps forward, reaching behind the machine to click a button, which causes it to flicker to life. Metal balls stack on the side, the caricatures begin moving, and the lights and sounds synchronize. She admires the glow of it against Sasuke's skin, the shine in his eyes as they gloss over, watching. As if he hasn't played pinball in fifty years. "Play a game," she tells him.
"I mean…your dad won't mind?"
She shakes her head and is delighted when he takes her word for it. She steps back and hops up to sit on top of the table to watch him. Honestly, she's never seen him look so kid-like before. She's seen him vulnerable, happy, sad, angry, all the good stuff a couple should see in each other, but this is the first time she thinks she's seen him just looking joyful. His movements are jerky, he laughs when the ball falls between the paddles, he looks over his shoulder at her to ask, "did you see that?!" while jamming his finger where the ball made a particularly wacky bounce.
Once the final one slides through the paddles, he groans in an exaggerated way, more playful than she's ever seen him, and he turns to look at her. She's covering her laugh with her hand, and he fakes a pouty glare at her, steps up and pulls her hand down with one hand, and pokes at her lips with the other. "You find my misery funny?"
"Of course not," she responds, sliding her fingers between his that pulled her hand down. "I think you look rather cute, playing games like that."
"Me?" he asks, raising one eyebrow. "I'm not the cute one."
Flirting.
It feels less and less foreign every day, but it never stops feeling good.
She shows him their gym area, where there's a special corner sectioned off for her to dance in. He makes her promise to show him that sometime. She makes a vague promise because she's not sure she's quite ready for him to see that part of her, but she knows if they keep going like this, she will be, sooner rather than later. That actually excites her. She takes him to the backyard, the part she's most excited about because it has all of her favorite plants growing practically everywhere.
"I'll give you a better tour of this tomorrow when the sun is out," she tells him while running her fingertips over some of the petals. He follows her closely behind while holding her free hand, other hand stuffed in his pants pocket. He tugs at her hand to stop her and she looks back questioningly. He pulls her around so she faces him, then into his chest so he can wrap his arms around her, eliciting that tiny 'eep' she can't seem to shake, but always makes him smile.
"Very pretty under the moonlight, squeaks," he teases and she shakes her head, looking to the side while settling her arms around him.
"It is, isn't it?"
"It is, but I meant you." Hinata's stomach flutters in the best way because no one's ever spoken to her this way until Sasuke, and every single time, it feels like the first time.
Finally, she brings him upstairs, points to Hanabi's old room, Neji's old room, and her own old room. All are kept in the condition they left them in, untouched unless they return home for whatever reason. She appreciates that he doesn't question why Neji might live here. Unfortunately, before she gets a chance to show him her old room, he stops to look at a picture that had slipped her mind.
"Whoa." She whirls around to see what he's looking at and her stomach drops. "This guy looks just like your dad…is he your dad's twin?"
She really thought she'd get through this night without a panic attack, she'd been doing so well.
Her body locks up and he looks at her, and his face immediately falls.
"Shit," he breathes, stepping towards her to wrap her up in his arms like he's done before. "Damnit, I'm sorry – I –"
"I killed him."
Her heart feels painfully clenched like it's in a vice grip, and she's not really processing the words that are coming out of her mouth.
"That…that can't be true."
It's like all of her bad feeling are stuffed inside of her, bursting at the seams, slowly leaking out over the years. When it rains, when she sees a crumpled car on the side of the road, when she sees a picture of her uncle, it leaks out. But now it feels like a knife has been sunk in, and it all just comes pouring out.
"It is true, it was raining and I wasn't paying attention, I was driving, I had Neji, Hanabi, Uncle Hizashi all in the car and it was raining and I had just gotten my driver's license and we were celebrating by going to eat and my dad was busy with work so my uncle offered to go and it was raining and I didn't even see them because their headlights were dim and it was raining and –"
"Hey!"
Her words run together like garbled mush. She snaps her eyes up and realizes she needs to breathe, now.
She pulls away from him and throws her hands over her face.
This moment was always going to come. It was always, always going to come. Foolishly, she thought she had more time. Always thought she had more time. Just a little more time so she could figure out how to do this on her own terms. Why would she invite him here? Where evidence of her uncle touches every wall? Every bowl, every chair, every paint set, the piano, and the pinball machine. How could she possibly think this wouldn't happen here, tonight?
Foolish, foolish, foolish.
"The guest bedroom," her voice comes out horribly trembly. She points down the hall. "It's…it's down there."
She can't bear to look at him because she knows he probably has that confused, hurt look on his face. But she's always been a confusing person, why stop here, she figures.
Sasuke doesn't say anything, just backs up and starts to walk away. She hears his footsteps fade, then the click of a door, and she lets out a haggard breath.
Hinata lifts her head and reaches up to wipe at her eyes. There are no tears this time. Her breathing is still rapid and her heart rate is still elevated, but it's not nearly as awful as it normally is. She turns her head to look at the family photo from just under 10 years ago, with her father, herself, Hanabi, Neji, and her uncle. She bites her lips together, trying not to let her throat close up.
She doesn't want to be like this. She doesn't want to break down every time there's rain. She doesn't want to have a meltdown whenever she thinks of her uncle. She doesn't want to be a shell of a person.
She wants to be whole again, even with pieces of her missing. Her mother, her aunt, her uncle. Those pieces will always be hollow, but she wonders if there's a way to be whole, despite it.
It's what forces her feet forward, the will to be whole again. She stops in front of that guest bedroom door and does her little breathing exercises. She reaches up to knock and her hand trembles. It sits centimeters away from the door, frozen.
Then the door swings open and she's greeted to Sasuke's chest. Slowly, she lifts her eyes to meet his and he's looking at her so very seriously. Then he snakes his arms around her waist and sweeps her off her feet, pulls her into the bedroom, and shuts the door with his foot.