Hinata continued to not think about the Sasuke issue for the next couple weeks. This unfortunately meant that she rarely responded to Hanabi's questions about the subject and avoided most of Sasuke's messages. Thankfully, now that the contract was finalized, they didn't have as many in-person meetings, and most of their work could be done via email. But while Hinata might be able to ignore Sasuke's invitations to hang out, there was no escaping Hanabi.

"So have you figured out what you're going to do?" Hanabi asked, appearing in Hinata's apartment doorway like a ghost that refused to pass on. Hinata startled so badly that she almost dropped her cup of coffee.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "How did you even get in?"

"I made a copy of your apartment key when you were on that trip to Suna," Hanabi said, with a shrug. "Besides, did you think I was just going to let you leave me on read?"

"I've been busy, you know I can't respond to every message you send. And can you come inside already?" Hinata shooed Hanabi out of the doorway and peeked down her empty apartment hallway in case there was anyone listening in.

"Have you even texted him? Like at all, even just a hello," Hanabi asked, exchanging her shoes for house slippers.

"I, uh, was going to ask him if he wanted to meet at a cafe," Hinata lied.

Hanabi raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "Going to? So you haven't yet."

"...No."

"You should do it now," Hanabi declared. She flopped down on Hinata's couch, twisting onto her stomach and propping her head with her hands. "You're going to forget if you do it later. Or chicken out."

Hinata wanted to argue, maybe try changing the subject outright. But Hanabi had inherited their father's stubborn streak and trying to fight her on it might be more trouble than simply sending a text.

With a sigh, Hinata took out her phone and tapped out a quick message asking Sasuke if he wanted to meet at a cafe that week. "Happy now?" Hinata asked, showing the text to Hanabi.

"Very." Hanabi sat up and took a closer look. "Huh, he's responding already."

Hinata squeaked and almost dropped her phone. Sure, does 1pm this Tues work?

While Hinata tapped out a reply, Hanabi rolled onto her back and splayed out her limbs like a starfish, draping them over the back and side of the couch. "Answering this quickly at 10pm on Saturday night? For a guy who's been called Konoha's biggest heartthrob, he's actually kind of boring." Hanabi turned and gave Hinata a thumbs up. "The two of you are a great fit."

Hinata rolled her eyes. Nosy little sisters had their uses, she supposed.

The day came quickly (it was only two days). Hinata sat in the cafe, fifteen minutes early, trying to resist the urge to cancel at the very last minute. That didn't stop her from hoping that Sasuke would miraculously text that something had come up and ask to cancel.

UnfortunatelyFortunately, Sasuke had manners and arrived at 12:55pm still in his office attire — a black suit with a white undershirt.

"Hello, it's been a while," he said, taking the seat across from her. "I'm sorry if I kept you waiting."

"You're right on time, I just came a bit early," Hinata assured. "Do you want coffee? I already ordered a latte."

"It's fine, I've had plenty for today."

Hinata nodded and smiled, for lack of anything to say. The barista came over to gently place Hinata's latte down in front of her. Finally, Hinata hesitantly said, "Um, how have you been, Sasuke-kun?"

Instead of answering her question, Sasuke said, "Did I do something to offend you?"

Hinata's eyes snapped up to meet Sasuke's and her mouth opened slightly. "What-um, what do you mean?"

"You've been avoiding me," Sasuke stated, blunt and to the point. "For about three weeks now. I was wondering if I had done something to make you angry without knowing it."

"No, no," Hinata said, bewildered and slightly alarmed. "It's not like that at all."

The crease in Sasuke's brow relaxed. "Then you haven't been avoiding me?"

Hinata wanted to say no, this was all a misunderstanding. "Well, um, I..." she mumbled, tapping the side of her coffee cup with the tip of her finger. She could feel the pressure of Sasuke's gaze, and her face burned. She wanted to be anywhere but here.

"You…"

Hinata bit her lip then blurted out, "Did you know that everyone else thinks that we're dating?" She stared at the foam leaf the barista had drawn in her latte, unable to look at Sasuke.

"Who's everyone?"

"My family, Kiba, Tenten, Ino..."

Sasuke frowned. "Ino promised me that she wouldn't say anything."

Hinata stared at Sasuke. "You knew?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said somewhat sheepishly. "I asked Ino not to say anything to you. I figured you wouldn't appreciate being gossiped about."

"It doesn't annoy you? That people are talking about who you're dating? I know you never liked it when we were in school."

"I don't mind," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "Does it annoy you?"

"Not at all," Hinata found herself saying. Her brow furrowed a little at her words, yet it was true. She hadn't enjoyed being the last to know, but she actually didn't mind that other people had assumed that they were dating.

"Because the people they thought I was dating were annoying," Sasuke grimaced. "They weren't people I wanted to date or were ever interested in."

"Does that mean you want to date?" Hinata teased, expecting him to deny it.

Instead, to her surprise, Sasuke nodded stiffly. "I'd like that. Though I don't mind staying friends, if you prefer."

All the blood in Hinata's body rushed to her head. She was certain that her face was probably redder than a cherry tomato. "I-wasn't expecting that," she stammered.

I wouldn't give up so easily, Ino had said. Clearly she had known something that Hinata didn't.

She took a sip of her latte. "I wouldn't mind either." He was someone she liked being around, and a person who had her back when she needed it, both professionally and socially. He had become one of her trusted friends.

A rare grin spread across Sasuke's face, like a sun breaking out from behind a cloudy sky. She was so dazzled that she couldn't help but smile back.

"I didn't think that you'd want to."

"I didn't think you'd want to either," Hinata laughed, all the stress and adrenaline suddenly making her giddy. "You're the Konoha Heartbreaker after all."

"I hate that nickname. Half of the stories behind it are fake, and the other half are from school," Sasuke said, making a disgusted face.

"Alright, I won't bring it up again," Hinata said. "But I'm curious: when did you find out that everyone thought we were together?"

"Well Ino asked about it the day of the Garden Show. You'd already left by then. I told her not to spread rumors, but I guess it still got around," Sasuke said. "Itachi thought so too, but he's not the type to gossip. He's more of a meddler."

"All his comments make sense now," Hinata said, thinking back to the cryptic things he'd said at all those parties and social events they'd all attended. "And he took my seat during the dinner, so we had to sit together."

Sasuke grimaced. "He doesn't know when to butt out of my life."

"That's what siblings do," Hinata said fondly, thinking about her own sister and cousin. She leaned back in her chair, taking in the absurd situation. "I can't believe that this all happened because we were trying to get away from those corporate parties."

Sasuke chuckled. "Don't let my Father know. He'll use it as proof that I should be attending even more."

Hinata chuckled softly as well. "Well, when we have to go, at least we'll have each other."

A/N: And that's a wrap folks! I'm so relieved this is finally done and published. Special thanks to Danish78, redlala87, xueryukii, LaCrazyWriter, km987001, LB Cat, Lulu, rei2022, huaniri35, NikaTora, dumdeedum, Yuzuki476, Behla, amp07, Kiats10, Amezaiku, Heart Quinn, Guest, shyhinata144, tactics2012, rei, zsyree, Mendokuzai21, SHFan23 for leaving such lovely and encouraging reviews. Also thank you to everyone who favorited and followed, or just enjoyed reading the story.

You can also find me on AO3 under this same username. I will try to finish the WIPs I have on , but I'm strongly considering making any new stories AO3 only because is quickly becoming unusable and whoever owns the site refuses to maintain it. As someone who's had this account for 10+ years, it's sad to think about leaving but I suppose all good things come to an end.