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An Unexpected Situation
They found out their respective spouses were cheating;
that's how their love story began.
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Chapter 4:
Senbei's was Itachi's favorite place, not only did it serve the best dangos in town, his words. Sasuke was not a fan of sweets, but it was a rare occurrence when Itachi openly praised something, so it must've been a good thing. Sitting at one of the smaller tables, the one that was close to the window where you can look at people coming and going, across from him was this woman who was drinking her latte, he opted for an iced americano.
She was really pretty.
He couldn't help but admit from time to time. From what he knew she was quiet, well-mannered, and very mindful. But in his mind it took more than that to impress him; she wasn't trying to impress him. Nothing that she had done so far had that purpose; he didn't know how to feel about that.
"Is your hair color natural?" he asked suddenly; it was a particular color and he had been wondering about it for a while. It was an odd question to ask, he admitted in the solicitude of his mind, but he was naturally curious.
She looked confused but retook the conversation as gracefully as possible. "Yes, I got it from my mother," she explained.
"It's peculiar," he said.
"You think so? I once tried to dye it full black, but it stripped quickly," she recalled.
"Don't do it again," he said. "Take it from me is kinda boring having black hair," he took a sip from his drink.
"Your hair is not boring," she protested slowly.
Sasuke chuckled. "You think so?"
She nodded, and silence fell upon them one more time. People in the background were talking, some working on their laptops, and if you listened closely some fast typing could be heard. Hinata found the place intriguing, just like the person in front of him. "I.." she nervously licked her lips before starting, the movement caught Sasuke's eyes for a second. "I wanted to thank you,"
He waited for her to finish before he said anything, he liked the way her eyes while looking icy could emanate warm, how her hands seemed interlaced with each other as if giving her courage to talk. He wasn't sure why she seemed so nervous, but he kinda liked it, or rather the idea that he made her nervous.
"Helping me the other day, even though you were going through your own..." she gave a nervous laugh, "situation. I appreciate it," she smiled sincerely. "You're very kind, Sasuke-san,"
Even though he was a hermit for most of his life, he got called a few names in his life. The majority were rude, sometimes harsh, which barely got to him by the way. However, never in his lifetime, he has been called 'kind'. Let alone someone talking with that tint of honesty, it was rare.
It made him feel warm. She didn't seem like the type to say things like that and didn't mean it. "You're welcome," a rare occurrence of his manners just took place. "Itachi is good, he'll divorce you without much hassle,"
"He did your paperwork?" she asked.
He nodded. Got divorce yesterday,"
"That fast,"
"Perks of being a lawyer, or being the brother," he took a sip of his drink, "Maybe both,"
Hinata laughed a little at that. "I trust that I'm in good hands," she agreed.
They spend the half day talking. It all started with laws and explaining was some procedures took longer than others, why he did what he was doing, and how it was easy for him to choose.
"So that figure, of the law being blind, is not true?" she asked.
"No, not really." by that point he had a black coffee delivered to him. "That's the common misconception for the civilians," he started. "Justice works by the weights you put to balance," he explained. "I'm currently working on a case, I can't say much, but it's obvious the individual is in some shady stuff. But my job is to find law statuses that get him a clear out,"
"So, it's about bending it?"
"In a way yes," he said. "You can be guilty, but if by the law you're fine, then you are free,"
"Innocent into proven guilty"
He nodded.
"So, law is like everything, not black and white, but grey,"
"Well, there are some situations that can be black and white,"
She titled her head with interest. 'Like what?' she seemed to ask with a smile.
"Public indecency," he was fascinated with the way she openly laughed at that.
Some neighboring consumers turned to look at her and her get cheeks got red at the attention. Hinata muttered apologies while covering her mouth with her hands.
Sasuke found the gesture adorable; having a spurt of spontaneity he pulled out his wallet.
"Ano.. Sasuke-san," she protested. "I told you it was my treat."
"You can get the next one," he said interlacing his hand in front of his mouth.
At the time, she didn't get it, but slowly it dawned on her that the real message was between the lines.
Neji and she had a tradition, they always made food at each other place whenever one of them returned from a trip. At around six, she returned from her job in the editorial feeling happy that she was seeing her favorite cousin, from time to time Hanabi was invited but for this occasion, it was going to be the two of them. Taking a quick scan inside her refrigerator she decided to make pizzas. It's been a few difficult days so she felt this was the perfect time to indulge a little.
An hour later, after a quick relaxing shower and a sage green lounge set, she heard the bell ring. Good thing she finished cutting some green peppers, so she went to the door and there was Neji Hyūga, to the world he was this cold calculated individual, businessman, and very respectable. What almost no one knew was that Neji was a great hugger.
"You smell nice," she commented letting him go.
"Sandawool body scrub is a game changer," he commented following her into the kitchen.
"Oh, nice," she said. "Can you get the cheese grater from the second drawer to your left, please?"
He complied and for the next minutes, they were finishing prepping the ingredients. The oven announced the desired temperature was all set. "How was Kyoto?"
"I barely saw any of it until the last night," he said. "Uncle had us cope up in the same conference room for long hours,"
"I'm sorry," she said empathetically.
"Pretty tense, your father is picky. He wants specific clauses in all his contracts, and he cannot get a negative or else..." he exhales. "Anyways, give me that," he gestured at her dough." your shape looks wonky,"
She scoffed. "You're picky too," she accused in a humorous tone. "I was fond of the way I was doing it,"
"Please, it was suffering under those clumsy hands of yours,"
"Meanie," she stuck her tongue out. Hinata turned around to find a bottle of wine; besides the fact that they both liked to cook, they were wine aficionados. For the longest time, it was just Neji and her, always together, he knew her better than her father, and she liked to think she knew him very well. They were each other safe's space, so she was glad he was there with her at this precise moment when she needed him the most.
Her vision became blurry.
"Hinata?" Neji must've sensed her emotional status. "Are you ok?"
She let out a tiny sob.
"Hey, it wasn't that wonky," he said, a little panicked. "Well, it was but it wasn't the worst."
She laughed at that.
"What's wrong, 'nata?" he asked.
"I have to tell you something," she said solemnly; but overall she was relieved she could finally tell someone about her situation with Naruto.
"That dumb fuck," Neji exclaimed after she told him how she found out her husband was being unfaithful. "A public park..." he took a sip of his red wine.
She nodded. "I got the call at three in the morning," she recounted.
"You didn't fight the girl right?"
"What? No," she said. "I didn't pay attention to her, she was busy with her husband," she finished slowly remembering the tall handsome guy she shared coffee with earlier.
"The Disrespect," her cousin muttered."He's lucky I wasn't here,"
"Let it go, Neji-nii," she said. "I forgive him,"
"Oh please, Hinata," he said. "That's too soon, even for you,"
"The truth is that the relationship was over, probably before his affair began,"
"But if he wasn't in love with you anymore, he would've told you..." he commented, teeth clenched in the way she knew he was containing his anger, "There are ways to break up with someone, he wasn't a man enough,"
"I agree," and she did, she took a bite of her prosciutto and burrata pizza.
"You're filing for divorce, right?" he said taking a bite of his pizza, mozzarella, black olives, and chicken.
She nodded. "Today,"
"Good,"
"I need to tell Father, though," she said. "My lawyer requested a copy of the prenup, I don't have one since it was his request I got one, just in case." she shook her head about to cry again "I can't believe he was right," she put her face into her hands.
"Hey, Uncle loves you, he did what was best for you, and maybe at the time, he saw something you weren't seeing." he consoled. "Heck, I didn't see this one coming. Naruto wasn't my favorite person, but he looked like he cared for you a lot,"
"He was here this morning, picking his stuff up," she said.
"If he knows what was good for him, he should've done just that,"
"He wanted to stay, but I gave him a deadline, I'm glad he respected it."
"Again, the least he could do," he looked over at his cousin's pensive posture. "I'll get that copy of your prenup," he said.
"Really?" she looked hopeful.
"I mean, you have to eventually tell him about your divorce. Especially when Hanabi returns; he's going to ask for the Sunday breakfast and he would expect to see him there, your mom too; you know she always does ramen just for his childish cravings,"
She didn't think about that; this divorce wasn't between Naruto and her but with her family. She was in for a few uncomfortable conversations, she sighed at that.
"I'll buy you some time until you're ready to talk to them, ok?" he put a hand over her head. The same gesture he used to do when she was going through a thought time. It was nostalgic and warm, she had never been more comforted than this moment.
"I wasn't even married for a full year, Neji-nii," she whispered what she considered a failure.
"It does not matter, Hina," he said. "You'll move on from this and be happier than ever,"
"You think so?" she whimpered the question like a lost puppy.
"Of course," he said. "You're beautiful, smart and you have the biggest heart ever," he said cleaning her tears with his thumbs. "I promise if I see Naruto I won't hurt him... much,"
"Neji," she protested, laughing a bit.
"I warned him, remember? He probably is expecting it any of these days." he smiled.
"He likes his nose a lot," she said.
"Thanks for the tip," he whispered into her foreheard before giving it a fraternal kiss.
On that night, she felt something in her was cured.
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Message from the Author:
Hello! So, I recently discovered Neji is a cancer, from July (yes, I do believe the month makes a difference) I wanted to play into that in this fic. I do love Cancerians a lot, is my favorite sign. Let me know your thoughts!
-LaCrazyWriter