Warm Roman air hit Hinata in the face when they finally exited Fiumicino Airport, an entire arsenal of luggage surrounding them. She was relieved when she saw a man holding a sign that said "UCHIHA" waving at their group, and she followed the rest of them out of the airport and towards three black vans, which would take them to the Haruno villa.
Over the last 17 or so hours––including time spent in Fiumicino, in which Naruto whined until he was allowed to go to a bar, and Sakura complained about walking through customs in her heels––Hinata began to notice a certain amount of tension distributed among Uchiha family that hadn't been as apparent as before. Being so close to them all so suddenly, it was clear that this family was dysfunctional at best.
For example: Everyone was absolutely disquieted by Sai, who said and did nothing but stare at them all blankly; Izumi seemed to be pretending that everything was okay, although she periodically stuck her head into her book or her cellphone, or whispered tightly into Sakura's ear; Sakura tolerated this whispering, but it was clear that she and Izumi weren't the best of friends because afterwards she seemed exhausted by the exchange; Itachi and Shisui refused to look or even be next to each other, but Hinata had noticed the long stares they both shared over the heads of group, when they thought the other wasn't looking; Naruto helped Sakura with everything; Sasuke helped Sakura with nothing; and Shikamaru seemed somewhat mortified by Ino's presence on his arm.
At least the last part made sense. In the bathroom at the airport, Ino had whispered her connivings to Hinata as she attempted to freshen up. Hinata smiled with amusement––it seemed like the plot of one of those romance novels Ino carried around, but Ino assured her that there was nothing romantic between her and Shikamaru: they were long-time friends, and had Shikamaru owed her a favor, apparently. He agreed to get her a spot on the flight.
Ino's relationships were the least of her concerns––she had all of the shifting Uchiha dynamics to worry about.
She followed Ino into the second black van, almost losing sight of Sasuke who was following Sakura into the first, until he noticed her and pulled Sakura in their direction. Naruto, not wanting to leave Shikamaru and Sasuke's side, followed them as well.
"There are other vans you know," Shikamaru complained as he was squished to the side with Ino in the middle Hinata on her other side. Sasuke and Sakura took up the middle two seats, and Naruto laughed as he took the passenger seat.
"Ugh, and have to sit with Itachi and Sai? I'd rather just walk," Naruto said as he rolled down a window and stuck his head out the vehicle. "Hurry up you guys! I'm getting hungry!"
Itachi just stared at him as he helped his pregnant wife into the vehicle. If looks could kill…
"Hinata, do you mind contacting Magda?" Sakura said, turning in her seat to look at her. "She's my Head of Staff. I want to make sure that the private chef has arrived and that lunch will be ready. We'll need a lot of coffee to fight off the jet lag and––"
"Sakura," Sasuke cut off his fiancée sharply as Hinata jumped to attention at her name being called in such an authoritative manner. She shifted uncomfortably as an odd silence filled the van. "Hinata is my assistant, not yours. You can't just order her around like that. That's not how it works."
"Don't be so harsh, teme," Naruto piped up from the front seat after an even thicker silence fell across the van. "I'm sure Sakura is just tired and thought––"
"I don't need you to defend me," Sakura said tersely, turning her head to look out the window at the bright Roman landscape. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon, while in Konoha it would be close to midnight. "Sasuke is right, I overstepped. I apologize, Hinata."
Sakura didn't look at her when she said it, but Hinata nodded anyway. Awkwardly, "Um…it's o-okay, Sakura-san, I'd be happy to help in anyway if––"
"No," Sasuke said. "We'll have enough work to do for the conference. Besides that, I expect you to use this opportunity as a needed vacation. I heard you've never even left the country before."
Hinata's cheeks warmed, remembering their discussion in the jet's bathroom. She turned even more red when she realized other people could hear all of this and Ino was fixing her with another intrigued stare.
Unfortunately for Hinata, Sasuke had just opened a rabbit hole. From the front seat, Naruto stared back at her like she'd just grown a third eye. "You've never been out of the country before Hinata-chan?!"
The van pulled away from the airport as Hinata struggled to answer the blond. Shikamaru was already sleeping with his head against the window, Sakura had her arms crossed tightly against her chest, and Sasuke was rubbing the skin between his eyebrows.
Hinata didn't know if she'd survive this.
-:-
Half an hour later, they had driven past the Roman city limits and into the countryside. Hinata was met with the pleasant sight of rolling green hills, colonies of cypress trees, and deep olive groves. She practically squished her face against the window to get a better view of it all. Sasuke, sitting on the same side as her, caught her eye a few times and gave her a small, knowing smile. It was kind of him to acknowledge how big this was for her, and it filled her belly with the same, uneasy jittery feeling she had come to associate with him.
The vans pulled past a twisting iron gate and the villa unfurled around them. Hinata felt like she was in a fairy tale––the building was massive, with stairs all around, little hills and courtyards everywhere. Even more endearingly, it was a russet red color with perfectly square windows and flowerpots outside of each one. They were uphill, so behind the villa was the most gorgeous picture of the countryside––small houses, farmland, and greenery spread out at Hinata's fingertips.
"There's a pool," Sakura said as she gathered her things into her lap. She placed her heels back onto her feet. "And a vineyard and a small olive grove. Feel free to explore the grounds after we eat. We'll have to figure out bedroom arrangements…"
A small staff came from the entrance––the door was at least 10 feet tall and adorned with wood carvings of garden nymphs––and hurried to the third van, which was the empty one save for all of their luggage. Now Hinata understood why they needed three cars.
As she climbed out of the van with Naruto's help, a small gray-haired woman hurried down the steps. Behind her, a staff member held a tray of wine glasses, which he was quick to hand out to them all. Hinata graciously accepted her own as she watched Sakura hug the older woman, her body bending to account for the height difference.
"Magda," Sakura said, her voice full of a nostalgic fondness Hinata had scarcely experienced in her own life. "I'm so happy to see you again. Come, come, let me introduce you to Sasuke and everyone else!"
She did long introductions as Hinata leaned against Ino, who happily drank down the wine and wiped sweat off her brow. Their cheeks were all quickly pinkening from the wine and the sun, but it was nice to be outside, in a completely different place, in a completely different context. Hinata relished in it, smelling the air, feeling the breeze––privately, she couldn't wait to dig out her travel guide and figure out how to get to the city. She could try out her rusty Italian and stop by restaurants for aperitivo. Not to mention the museums and monuments! She had to calm herself down to remember that she was here for work––two kinds of work. She had to keep her head clear. She didn't have time to be confused.
Before she knew it, she was being led inside, stepping over the warm brown tile and beautiful green houseplants, until they were in a sepia room with a dining room table. It was covered in Italian dishes––pastas of all kinds, wines, and bread. The smell was divine enough to make Hinata sway on her feet.
After they ate––Hinata, trying not to stuff her face in fear of being impolite, but it was all so tasty––Sakura dolled out rooms with a precise, and perhaps vindictive hand. Hinata would be on the ground floor in a small room beside the gardens. Across from her would be Sai; he was staying in a room meant for children, since he was a last minute addition. On the other side of the ground floor was the Master Bedroom where Sasuke and Sakura would stay, far away from everyone else.
Upstairs, Itachi and Izumi were given the second largest room, Shikamaru and Ino would take a smaller room with a double bed, and Shisui and Naruto would be sharing a room with twin beds. Nobody complained too much, and Hinata just felt grateful that she would have her own space.
If only it wasn't across from Sai, who unnerved her greatly. He walked behind her silently as they both went towards that side of the villa and the feeling of his stare on her back sent chills up her spine. When she got to her bedroom door, she wished him a quiet "see you later," and he said nothing in return.
What was worse was that they had to share a bathroom across the hall.
Hinata's room itself was a beautiful, plain, square with warm brown walls and cream-colored curtains that billowed in the wind. The bed was full and covered with a lavender comforter, and she had a little bed-side table to store her things. Even better––there was a door leading to the courtyard, which she was quick to walk out of, despite how tired she was.
She wandered around for a while, taking time to crouch and smell bunches of flowers or to inspect a little statue here or there that littered the property. She could hear others outside as well; Shikamaru's low voice as he smoked a cigarette, Naruto's laughter, Izumi humming. Was this what it was like to have a family? All these voices coming together to paint a picture?
She found a hanging swing amongst a sprig of pink roses and sat wistfully for a while, letting her body melt into the wood of it. It had been a long flight, full of anxiety, after all. Would anyone be upset if she simply went to sleep? She could let the voices of these people lull her to slumber, and while that thought should alarm her, she couldn't feel anything other than ease. She was in a different country and she could feel the wind through her hair, on her skin––
"You," a monotone voice called, disrupting her peace, from a few feet away.
Hinata's eyes sprang open, and her heart rallied painfully against her rib cage. She had let her guard down. She was doing so much of that, lately.
Sai was standing across from her, face perfectly blank. His hands were in his pocket, though his body language seemed less than casual.
"O-oh, hello again, Sai-san," Hinata said, trying not to let her discomfort swallow her voice. "How are you enjoying the grounds? Have you b-been to Italy before?"
Sai ignored her questions. "Your eyes," he said, tilting his head. His stare was piercing and Hinata looked away, pretending to fuss with the hem of her shirt. "They're specific. I've met someone with eyes like that before."
Alarm thrummed through her, but she told herself to calm down. It was true not many people had eyes like the Hyugas, but her Uncle was a public figure. He could be the reference. Besides, on missions, Hyuga agents tended to wear contacts.
"T-they're a recessive trait…" Hinata said quietly, blinking up at him with an innocence she pulled from the same place she held most of her most innate fears. "Perhaps t-they were a distant relative of mine?"
"Perhaps," Sai said. "Maybe spending more time with you will help jog my memory."
"M-Maybe," Hinata suggested. A breeze went through the courtyard, causing goosebumps to appear on her forearms.
Sai said nothing further, and walked away––towards the voices, and the laughter, and the familiarness shared among this group.
Perplexed and now paranoid, Hinata watched Sai disappear into a path of tall cypress trees. She left for her room soon after that; Sai had given her the reality check that she had so desperately needed.
-:-
"This might work out better than I thought," Ino said, as she rolled all four of her suitcases into a corner so that Shikamaru might be able to cross the small room. It was cute, with large windows, but didn't have much walking space between the full bed, the armoire, and the chaise against the wall.
"Yeah," Shikamaru agreed sarcastically. "There's a whole chaise for me to sleep on. So comfortable."
Ino looked at him, annoyed, "I'm not talking about that, you idiot. I'm talking about Hinata."
Shikamaru fixed her with an annoyed look of his own as he diligently tucked his one and only suitcase under the bed after pulling out more casual attire. He was about to take the best nap of his life on this chaise, no matter how small it was. If only Ino could just get to the point already….
"Get to the point already," he said.
Ino merely smiled like she was holding some big secret. She was unpacking a pair of tiny silk pajamas that Shikamaru prayed she wouldn't wear, but of course she was––that was just how she was.
"I think Sasuke is sweet on our girl," she said, grinning.
"Your girl," Shikamaru responded tiredly. "How did you come to that conclusion? And how the hell is that supposed to help? He's basically married."
Shikamaru had no formalized thoughts on neither Hinata's nor Sasuke's reactions to each other–– though he did think it was strange the way Sasuke defended her in the car, and he was a lot more open with her than he had been with previous assistants––but all of that seemed circumstantial. Hinata was a good worker and had proven herself. Then again…Sasuke had never taken another assistant out of the country, good worker or not.
But there was still the practically married part. Sasuke had been with Sakura for years, and while he hadn't always been faithful, he'd always known who he was going to end up with and why. He wouldn't jeopardize that––especially when it was so important to his father.
Besides, the woman was a spy. Who knew what she was doing to manipulate the situation so that she came out favorably?
To Shikamaru, it seemed like Ino was scheming herself into a dead end with this theory, but who was he to argue? He flopped down on the chaise, wincing when his neck hit the wooden armrest, and tried to make himself small.
"You can sleep in the bed with me, you know," Ino said, instead of answering his questions. She did that often: she told him what she thought, he poked holes into it, and then she ignored him. "Just don't be weird."
"Why would I be weird?" Shikamaru cracked an eye open to stare at her. "You're the one who manipulated her way into this trip. If anything, I should be worried about you."
"Worry about what I just told you, okay?" Ino said, voice suddenly irritated––possibly because she knew he was right and it annoyed her. "And keep Sai away from Hinata. I don't trust him."
"Nobody does," Shikamaru responded. He grabbed his pillow and fell into the bed, turning his head to the opposite side of the room when Ino began to change into those annoyingly small pajamas. "I'm going to sleep. We can talk more about your 'theories' later."
"They're not just theories," he heard Ino grumble as she pulled the blanket aside to slip into bed beside him. "Just watch how he looks at her."
-:-
It was no secret that Naruto had had a crush on Sakura since their college days, but that didn't mean that it didn't irritate the hell out of Sasuke on very specific occasions.
Like now, when he heard him giggling while laying on his back on a floaty in the pool, arms spread wide while Sakura rubbed sunscreen across her face. She was wearing a forest green bikini and a visor as she dipped her legs into the cool water. Naruto kept coming up and pretending like he was going to pull her down under, and Sakura screamed with delight––or irritation––Sasuke couldn't tell.
It shouldn't irk him so much that he hadn't been invited––but it did. He stood in one of the courtyards, holding a glass of wine as Shisui read a book on a wicker chair, looking unimpressed by it all. How the man managed to look happier while working a job he hated back at home in Konoha was completely beyond Sasuke.
"Jealous?" Shisui said, pulling the book from his eyes as he too turned his head towards the direction of all the screaming and giggling. He squinted at Sasuke against the sunlight, who shook his head.
"Naruto wouldn't do anything," Sasuke said, which wasn't much of an answer, and both of them knew it. Shisui had been in Sasuke's life since he was a kid, so he couldn't lie to him as much as he could lie to his older brother.
The truth was that jealousy actually didn't feel like the right word at all. He knew he was meant to marry Sakura, and she was a wonderful person and beautiful fiancée who would easily fit into his life––but the two of them had never laughed like that over something as simple as a few pool splashes.
Naruto had pined over Sakura for years. It started right after high school, when they spent all summer back home in Konoha expanding their social circles. That's when they both met Sakura at a Yacht party. She had been with Ino, but Ino had deserted her for a boy, and Sakura stood alone waiting for the boat to dock. Naruto and Sasuke had been irritated with the party as well, and noticed her standing there. The three of them smoked a joint together as they talked about their college plans––and the rest was history. They spent the rest of the summer as a trio.
Into college, it was much of the same. Although Sakura attended a school overseas, she was quick to see them on breaks, and often invited them to England where Sasuke and Naruto would stay for weeks at a time––especially when they were avoiding Fugaku. On breaks, they would travel together, sometimes bringing along Shikamaru or other friends. They became a small unit for a few years after college, when they all returned home, and everything felt fresh and new and important: they rode around in Sasuke's drop-top, spent grotesque amounts of money on alcohol and expensive foods, threw parties, and hopped on last minute flights to Hong Kong when the pressure to become successful was starting to become too intense.
Most of that stopped by the time Naruto and Sasuke went to law school. By then, Fugaku had expanded his visions for the Uchiha Syndicate, and began focusing on changing their image in order to help make his goals a reality. Fugaku approached Sasuke and told him that he needed to change––and while that took many years, Sasuke was intent on seeing his fathers plan through. If Sasuke was going to be in the public eye, he needed to do it right. No more partying. No more women. No more danger.
It was lucky, he guessed, that Sakura had always had a crush on him and was also becoming more and more serious about her career and status as the years went on. For years, Sasuke had ignored this crush, until it became apparent that he would need someone to help him and his family to his goal; he would need someone successful, someone smart, someone beautiful, and someone who had a certain amount of pedigree. At 24, Sakura was already a social media star, having the eyes of Konoha's elite on her back at all times––she was considered a sweetheart by her fans.
Slowly, Sasuke began to see what others saw in her. They began hanging out one-on-one, going to restaurants and social events together. People began to notice and take note. She helped him stay focused on his studies and came over for long nights with batches of flash cards and mixed drinks. She made sure he was fed, cared for, and ready for the day––even when they were just friends. She was happy to do it.
When she turned 25 and had just been accepted into a PHD program, Sasuke finally asked her to be his girlfriend. She was over the moon, and he felt happy––it felt like his life was falling into place, like this was the last step towards a new phase of his future, like he was doing everything that he needed to be doing. Sakura was a perfect fit to his family; she knew already about the Syndicate, and already had the social finesse needed for Itachi's political career that was just starting up at the time. She was business savvy, and worked closely with her mogul father on the side. She was just the right amount of busy, social, and homely.
Naruto had been privately crushed, but he couldn't complain. He'd heard the conversations between Sasuke and his father. He knew what was at stake. And what was worse––he'd been too scared to make the first move. He hesitated. He and Sasuke both knew that all Naruto needed to do was say the word––to tell Sasuke to stop––but he didn't.
He missed out.
So. Sasuke couldn't feel bad. That was how life worked. Naruto and Sasuke had been raised together, so Naruto should know better than anyone else––But now, he was giggling with Sasuke's fiancée, and Sasuke was beginning to feel weird about it.
"You brothers," Shisui said, with a note of distaste on his tongue. It was here when Sasuke noticed the man had been drinking more heavily than the rest of them. "Can never get your relationships together. It's a damn shame."
"I'm not sure what you mean," Sasuke said, voice hard, irritated.
"You mean to tell me," Shisui sat up, the book sliding to the ground as he looked towards the pool. "That you love that woman?"
"Of course. Sakura is incredible," Sasuke said, parroting an answer that lived in the back of his head like a script. "She's––"
"I'm not interested," Shisui cut him off. "You want to talk fake shit like that? Go talk to your fucking brother."
Perturbed by Shishui's behavior, Sasuke promptly turned and went inside, leaving the brooding man and the giggling poolside attendants behind him. Despite the fact that he was here for business, there was over a week and a half before anything important would be coming up––Fugaku had sent them all prematurely, after all––and he was supposed to be relaxing. Instead, he was being irritated and questioned by his drunk friend.
Shisui had been acting odd since the baby shower, and because Sasuke had nothing else to do, he thought it best to go bother his brother about it. It was only right.
"Hey," Sasuke said, knocking on the door to his room. It was large, with pale pink walls and ceilings. The wall with the king-sized bed against it featured a large fresco-facsimile of The Birth of Adam painted as a mural across it. Sasuke blinked at it, momentarily taken aback. "That's a lot."
Itachi looked up from where he was standing in front of the painting, looking back at it too with a small frown. "It's quite bizarre," he agreed. He turned back to his bags, moving bunches of clothes from his suitcase into a smaller duffle bag. "What do you want?"
"What are you doing?" Sasuke strode into the room without being invited in, and stood across from his brother. His mission to question him about Shisui's attitude was forgotten. Instead, he reached over and tugged the duffle bag towards him. "Going somewhere? We just got here."
Annoyed, Itachi grabbed the bag back from him. If they were younger, say adolescents, they would've started punching each other, but instead Itachi breathed deeply and made his hands still. He was a beacon of patience.
"Izumi doesn't want to be here, she says the sun is making her break out."
"It's just as warm in Konoha," Sasuke said flatly.
"Yes, but Konoha is close to the mediterranean, foolish little brother. I'm afraid this soiree isn't as…relaxing as it could be. We will be departing to Aosta Valley in about an hour. Izumi wants to see the Dolomites and the castles, and I would like to do some skiing myself."
A wave of irritation hit Sasuke with enough force to make him snatch Itachi's bag back from him. Okay, so maybe he was being a bit of a diva, but if Itachi could just leave––so could he!
Besides, Aosta Valley was a cherished place to him as well; their mother used to take them skiing there when they were small children. She loved walking through Aosta Old Town and taking cooking classes while Sasuke, Itachi, and Fugaku went skiing and snowboarding down the Dolomites. They had even taken Naruto once, after they adopted him, and Sasuke remembered teaching him how to snowboard while Mikoto fussed over Naruto's bright orange snowsuit she'd had specially made for him.
"Okay, well, we're all going then," Sasuke decided stubbornly, after he had already pictured himself flying down a snowy mountain with a board attached to his feet, sitting by a fire with a cup of mulled wine, and visiting the great trees and lakes that surrounded Aosta. "I'm going to get everyone ready. Where are you staying, the Mont Blac?"
It was where their family always stayed. Itachi slowly closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead in irritation.
"Sasuke, I really think––"
"Oh give it up, Itachi," Izumi came out of the bathroom then, a hand on her belly. She shook her head when she saw Sasuke standing there, a somewhat crazed look on his face as he took out his phone and began booking rooms. "We got caught. Did you really think Sasuke would let you go to Aosta without him?"
"...I had hoped he wouldn't notice," Itachi said disdainfully, now packing with an aura of sorrow that would be off-putting to almost anyone else.
"I'll see you both in an hour," Sasuke said, typing away at his phone as he booked various rooms for their group. He was secretly delighted––he had been having trouble conceptualizing spending a week and a half in Sakura's villa with all of them there, waiting for something to actually happen, and now he could go somewhere else and ski and snowboard and disappear into the mountains like some sort of feral wolf.
It helped that this town reminded him of his mother, and he could think of her as a young, energetic woman, and not the frail sickly woman she was now. It pained him to have to leave Konoha so early, knowing she was sick, but now at least he could go somewhere that would remind him of her.
He busied himself getting everyone together. Naruto and Sakura were done at the pool by the time he came downstairs, and he found them both dripping wet, eating strawberries in the sun-lit kitchen. They were ecstatic at the news, and both ran back to their rooms. Sakura's family kept snow gear in a closet, and she went to dig some out for the group.
Shikamaru didn't care and said "as long as I don't have to drive," and Ino looked delighted––she'd never been. Shisui looked like he had been asked to drink motor oil and sulked off to his shared room with Naruto, and Sai said absolutely nothing.
Finally, Sasuke stopped at his assistant's door and knocked. She opened it shyly and Sasuke noted that the small, sun-lit room seemed perfect for her. She'd laid out a few books and her laptop on the lavender comforter and looked freshly showered, her dark hair wet and curled around the sides of her face. Something stuttered in Sasuke's chest when she looked up at him, but he ignored it.
"Sasuke-san," she said as he stood there. "Do you need me to work on something for you?"
"No, no," he said blinking as if he had forgotten that she worked for him and that that was one of the only reasons he had to speak to her. "I came to tell you that we're leaving. Heading up to Aosta Valley for a few days for skiing and snowboarding."
"O-oh!" Hinata said, nodding as if it made sense to her, which Sasuke knew it did not––they had just gotten to central Italy, and now they were heading north the same day. "W-well, please enjoy! I'm sure I can make myself busy with—"
"What?" Sasuke said, rather crudely, making Hinata jump and begin to turn red. "I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. You're coming with us. We're all going."
"Ummm," she seemed to chew on this, before nodding. "Right, okay. When are w-we leaving?"
Sasuke leaned against the door, watching her. She looked more nervous than usual; perhaps it was because they were out of their typical office setting. She grabbed her suitcase, just one, and still unpacked and bit her lip self-consciously. "When are we leaving? I'm afraid I don't have any warm clothes…"
"Don't worry about that," Sasuke said. "I'll buy you what you need. Just come load up the van, we'll take the same cars we came in."
Hinata frowned, "You don't have to buy––wait, we're leaving right now?!"
Amusement flashed across Sasuke's face as he ventured into her room and grabbed her suitcase, pulling it out of the room. Hinata followed behind it gingerly, her books and laptop in her arm. All around her were the other's bringing their own bags down the stairs.
"This is the life of an Uchiha, Hinata," Sasuke said teasingly, as they went outside and into the sun. Hinata blinked at the brightness and her cheeks pinkened when she noticed his playful tone. "Better get used to it."
An. You may be wondering–––did I lose the plot? I mean, yes but no, but yes! They deserve a vacation. I'm just having fun. We'll get back to our regularly scheduled debauchery, spying, and crime in just a few short chapters.