Hinata turned out of the car to find a hand held out to her, or rather Sasuke waiting there for her to take his hand. Her father only gave them a passing sour look as he and Hanabi continued into the event. Hinata took the hand out of the car and a moment to ensure her whole dress got out.
"You look surprised," Sasuke commented.
She was. "I wasn't expecting you to meet me out here."
"I have to come in with my date." Sasuke retook her hand once she was done fussing with the dress. "But I didn't think you wanted me to pick you up on my motorcycle."
Hinata tried to not smile at the thought. "Do you plan to drive that thing into the office every day?"
"Dad takes a car service. I assume that's what I will have to do." Sasuke made a face at the thought of giving up his bike. "But you know 'cool' CEOs are a thing now."
"Uchiha's image is one of dependability. You should keep that in mind when making decisions like that." Sasuke circled a hand around her back to help her up the stairs in her heels. She would be lying if it didn't make blood rush to her face.
"Hyuga's is…?" The cameras flashed aggressively as they passed to catch his hand on her waist.
"Traditional values, you might be able to get away with something that new age in Uchiha, you wouldn't get away with it in Hyuga," Hinata forced a trained smile for the cameras.
Sasuke lowered his head to her ear, making the cameras flash faster. "Well, aren't you glad you will be running the cool company then?"
Hinata couldn't shift her face to give him a look, but she was able to get them inside, away from the cameras. She was sure they would be plastered all over the gossip sites tomorrow. Earlier than she would have wanted, but the sooner this all became old news, the better.
Sasuke pulled her toward the drinks, first handing her what looked like champagne but smelled like juice. "I remember when you used to hide behind the refreshment table the whole night."
Hinata would rather not remember that. "Itachi-san used to slip me sweets and sit with me encase we got caught because I was too afraid to take them and risk my father seeing me."
"I used to get really mad about that," Sasuke admitted side-eyeing his brother in the crowd.
"Why?" Hinata avoided the evil eye Itachi was giving her from across the room. It was clear she did not heed his warning. He didn't want this to become public, probably why he cornered her when he did. Once this became public, there was no turning back from the headache it would cause. It would follow them even if they didn't want to continue the relationship because people would still want to know what happened.
"Because I wanted him to spend time with me, he was always so busy, and I didn't understand why he would want to sit and hide with you at an event instead of spend time with me." Sasuke face flattened with the old pain. It would feel sour now that he felt like his brother was betraying him.
"If it makes you feel better. I am sure the reason Itachi-san chose me over you had more to do with him feeling bad for me and not because he didn't want to spend time with you." Itachi understood the pressure she was under, probably why he tried to use that same understanding of pressure to coerce her.
Sasuke corrected the look on his face. "Yeah, I get that now, but it didn't make sense to a kid, and that's on him for not explaining it to me." There was no guarantee that Sasuke was going to understand. With all fairness to Sasuke, even he would probably admit that he was a brat when they were younger, and Itachi probably wasn't taking the chance that Sasuke wouldn't tattle on them to get his brother all to himself.
"Are you going to act like you know?" Hinata should have asked before they came in, but it was something they should be on the same page on.
Sasuke puffed out a long breath. "I was just not going to talk to him. He doesn't bring it up. I won't bring it up." He raised an eyebrow at her as an ask for permission.
Sasuke wanted her to decide for him? "Avoidance is an action you can take, but in the event that he does approach one of us, we should be prepared. If you want us to seem in sync, we should go with you knowing. There is a benefit in it looking like I wouldn't hurt you with that information as it makes me look more in love with you than you are me, but since he asked me not to, it may also make me look weak and like I bent to his will even if it wasn't as far to do as what he originally asked."
Sasuke blinked at her analysis. Hinata felt her cheek heat up. Maybe just picking an option without an explanation would have been better. "Do you think about everything like this?" Hinata would like to say she didn't, but that would be a lie. Threat assessment was how she was raised. Honestly, this whole fake relationship was something she had to play out, but there were, unfortunately, more benefits if it played out well than risks if it didn't. Her father could set her up in a loveless marriage tomorrow. Even if Sasuke couldn't deliver on his promise, she at least knew he was on her side. "You're still doing it, aren't you?" He chuckled at the look on her face. "Alright then, we go with you told me. Simple and keeps the story straight if we are telling the truth."
Hinata nodded, sipping her drink.
"Do you drink?" Sasuke wondered, sipping his own drink. "I've never seen you drink."
"I'm not allowed to drink at events," Hinata answered automatically.
"That's not what I asked." Sasuke tilted his head to this side.
Hinata looked into the fake champagne. Sasuke knew enough to know that she wouldn't want a real drink. "Not really. I don't have much interest." The numbing feeling wasn't something she wanted. If she numbed her feelings, she might want to do any time she felt pain, and she didn't want that to become a habit in her current situation.
"Why was your immediate answer 'not allowed'?" Sasuke made a face as he realized how odd it was.
Hinata felt an uncomfortable embarrassment creep up. "I have been asked by many men if they could get me a drink. The easiest answer is 'not allowed.' My father won't correct me. Though usually, the next attempt is to make me break the rules. It's annoying for them to keep hearing so…"
Sasuke eyebrows shot up, making a face at the idea. "Well, now you have someone to turn down drinks for you."
That would make it easier. "We should make some rounds."
Sasuke rested a hand on her lower back and led her forward. "Ready?"
"No," Hinata answered honestly.
Sasuke lowered his lips to her ear as they approached the crowd. "I trust you."
Hiashi took one look at their closeness and snapped up to her face for a long moment before looking away. It was a warning to behave. If he wanted to give her more instruction than that, he should have given it in the car. His hands-off decision in this was making her concerned. Her father always had an opinion. If he didn't voice it, it was tactical.
The question was his tactic to release her into being the Uchiha's problem or something else. It wasn't a question she could ask, but it was one she was afraid to find the answer to.
Sasuke put them on the outskirts of their family's circles. Events like this were for networking, extending your reach by talking to the right people while they were available. It was a good way to get funding from unlikely sources, pulling investors with a good pitch. Planting seeds and trying to foster relationships that would benefit you. The image was more important than the facts.
If they wanted this to work, they needed their image.
Hinata slipped her arm around Sasuke's elbow. The correct amount of intimacy to tell people that she was his date. Not that that meant as much. Having a date for an event like this meant really nothing. Men escorted women all the time just because it was 'proper' to do so, but that was where image came in. Sasuke and Hinata were from families known to feud, so they had eyes on them from the moment they came in. This simple hand tucked in his elbow would make the gossips frenzy.
Hinata put on her best smile as they were greeted by people they knew. Introducing each other as their date vaguely raised a lot of eyebrows and brought up a lot of 'Hyuga and Uchiha finally getting along?' comments.
Sasuke lowered his head to her. "If one more person says that, I will scream."
Hinata hid her giggle by turning her face into his shoulder. "That's mean."
"I mean it," Sasuke grumbled.
"Get used to it. This is what you signed up for." Hinata continued to giggle at him as his face twisted miserably.
"I didn't sign up for it. This is why I needed you." Hinata flinched as she felt his lips press to her ear before he straightened back up. Blood rushed to her face. Was he getting more comfortable with that, or was that for show? If she could convince herself it was just for show, she might not faint, well, if that was what was making her heart race.
Having someone tell her she was needed was not something she was used to either.
"Aren't you two cute?" Mikoto stepped up to them. Hinata was dreading talking to his parents. She had only passing interactions with them, which was always tense. "I never thought I would see the day that I would see you bring a date." Subtext: you have rejected all the dates I would try to set you up on.
Sasuke's face became childishly sour. "Mom, you've met Hinata." He ignored her jab to introduce her. Hinata bowed her head.
Mikoto's painted smile spread, not really telling Hinata what she was thinking, but that was the art of being a good socialite wife, never letting anyone know your true opinion. She could either be plotting what she would have to do to fix this, or she already knew the color she would be putting in their wedding. "Sasuke, your brother would like a word with you." Mikoto pointed a perfectly manicured finger toward Itachi. "I can keep Hinata company for a while."
Oh, no.