Hinata had dreamed of getting married once upon a time, but her controlling family quickly stomped that out when they continuously forbade her from seeing anyone she brought home who was…less than. There had only been one instance in which she outwardly fought her family, but she always did her best to push that soul-shattering moment to the back of her mind where it would never see the light of day if she could help it.

Now, in her mid-twenties, she was more than happy to remain single, but her family was pushing her more and more to marry someone—anyone—they picked out for her. She was struggling to continue holding them back, so she finally agreed just to get some peace. Her family didn't waste time in setting her up on dates and while they were nice enough, they seemed to either see her as a piece of meat or arm candy…or both. She wasn't interested in being either; she didn't want to shut her family up that much.

Hinata wanted to, at the very least, be respected by her husband and possibly be friends. She didn't see any reason to be in a hateful marriage.

Currently, she was waiting for her last date to arrive in a cafe her family had chosen that was right across the street from her favorite park. She waited, staring out of the window at all the people who were passing by in a blur. Thinking to herself, she realized that this person was her last chance and that she needed to make it work.

The kind waitress, who seemed to be looking at her with something like pity, refilled her glass of water. Dressed as nicely as she was, it wasn't that difficult to guess that she was waiting for her date…who was nearly thirty minutes late. She took a few sips from her glass, determined to wait until this glass was finished in order to forget the date and return home to her writing when someone suddenly stood before her.

She smiled politely up at the person, a man with black hair and equally black eyes dressed in a fine suit. "Hello. Is there something I can help you with?" She asked.

"Are you Hinata Hyuuga?" He returned with. His voice sounded very much like he did not want to be there any longer than he needed to, and she couldn't blame him.

She nodded. "Yes, I am."

"I am Sasuke Uchiha, your date for this evening," he explained. Hinata got to her feet and bowed in greeting.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Uchiha."

"Likewise. I apologize for my tardiness. I was held up in a meeting. Would you like to continue the date here?"

She nodded to the park across the street. "There's a lovely park right over there. It's too nice out to stay indoors, don't you think?" She pulled out her wallet and pulled out money to pay her small bill.

"Sure," he said. "I can pay your bill, however."

She shook her head as she headed to the door. "No, thank you." He followed her and they left together. They waited quietly with a crowd of others for the light to change so they could cross. It wasn't necessarily awkward or uncomfortable, and Hinata was thankful for that at least. From what she could tell, this man wasn't very interested in her.

When they came to her favorite bench in a more secluded part of the park, they took a seat and Hinata leaned her head back as the breeze blew.

"I got you this gift," Sasuke said, holding a velvet box out to her. She took it and opened it. Inside was a gorgeous dainty necklace that held a single diamond on it.

"This is beautiful, thank you," she said. She took it out and held it out to him. "Would you mind putting it on me?" Despite looking uncomfortable, he agreed. She lifted her long hair up and out of the way as he clasped it around her neck. Hinata smiled at him before returning to watching the clouds slowly move.

"Is this…what you consider to be a date?" He asked haltingly.

"Well, we both don't want to be here so I'd hate to have you spend more money on something you dislike," she said, playing with the necklace. "Although, I certainly wasn't expecting you to buy such an expensive gift." She giggled softly.

At this, Sasuke's shoulders seemed to relax a bit. "I see. So your family has been pestering you as well?" She nodded. "This is my tenth meet-up this month. And you?"

"Fifth date this week. You're the last of the suitors my family has chosen for me," she said with a sigh.

"Were the others that bad?" When Hinata turned to look at him, she was pleasantly surprised to find a tiny smile on his face.

She shrugged just a bit. "I didn't like the way they looked at me when they thought I wasn't looking. I was compelled to take a taxi home each time. What about you?"

"Actually, I had the same problem but I had to come up with every excuse in the book not to go up to their apartments," he admitted.

Suddenly, Hinata had a thought. She turned her whole body to him, facing him with intent. "Mr. Uchiha, do you have anyone special in your life that you would like to marry or could see yourself marrying?" She asked excitedly.

"Not really. I'm rather dedicated to my job and all the women I've been on dates with have expressed a dislike for my work schedule," he replied.

Hinata's smile grew wider. "I think I have a solution for the both of us." He raised a brow and waited for her to continue. "What do you say we get married? I'd like my family to stop pestering me, and I wish to continue my writing career. I have no interest in a marriage, but I'd like to at least be able to live with a companion if my family is going to continue insisting."

Sasuke leaned back a little. "What's it in for me?"

"Well, for starters, I am not in love with you or attracted to you sexually so you needn't worry about that. And as long as I can continue my career, I don't care how much you work as I don't have any expectations," she explained.

Sasuke seemed to think about it for a moment before leaning back against the bench and spreading his legs out as he looked up at the clouds. "And let's say I do want to sleep with someone?"

"I wouldn't mind so long as you were honest with me about any relationships you may have. I do not want to be the clueless wife."

"And you would also tell me if you wanted to sleep with someone else? I also don't want to be a clueless husband."

Hinata nodded. "I don't think that'll really be a problem as I don't really ever leave my house," she explained. "But I would tell you."

"I see," Sasuke hummed. "I will admit that you are the best date I've had in quite a while. This seems like a spur-of-the-moment thing, so why don't we both take some time to think about it? I will tell my father that we're going to be going on another date, so he won't set me up with anyone else."

"I will say the same thing. When would be a good time to meet you?" She asked. Sasuke pulled out his phone and tapped on it a few times before scrolling.

"I can fit you in between two meetings sometime next week, but you'll have to come to the company since the time slot is so short," he said.

"I don't mind. Shall I bring some food?"

He shook his head. "It's after lunch." He handed her his phone. "Put your contact information in and I'll send you the details in a message. Despite me arriving late to our date, I do not appreciate tardiness. I like to be punctual and I expect that of others."

Hinata nodded along as she put her details in. "That's fine. I'm the same way, but I suppose I'm a bit more patient," she chuckled. She handed his phone back. "Thank you for considering this, Mr. Uchiha."

"It's supposed to help both of us, so it's not like I'm just doing you this favor, right?"

"Yes, I guess that's true." She looked back up at the clouds and noted the sun setting. "I enjoyed our time together, but I should be going now. I need to get back to my novel."

"I was told you were a published author, but I haven't read any of your works. What genre do you write?" He asked curiously as they stood up.

Hinata bit back a smug smile as she made eye contact with him. "Erotica," she said casually. "I would have been more surprised if you had read them before." The look on Sasuke's face made her giggle. "I look forward to hearing from you soon. Have a good night."

Sasuke caught her shoulder. "I can give you a ride home," he offered.

"I don't live far from here and a walk always helps me think best. I appreciate your offer though. Please get home safely." With that, she turned and walked away.

Sasuke Uchiha was nicer than she ever expected of the very last person her father had lined up. In fact, he was perfect in many of the ways she had been looking for. She didn't need a best friend and she didn't need a lover. She just wanted someone there that she got along with and who held her family at bay. Sasuke checked both of those boxes off, and that's all that mattered. He was just a workaholic who was somehow in the same position she was with her family.

When she got home, she immediately changed into her home clothes and took off the necklace before putting it away in her jewelry box. On her way home, she had come up with the next few lines she wanted to write for her current book and she quickly got to work.

We're back with a new fic! It's off to a small start, with tons of drama in the middle, and it is estimated to only have 12 chapters in total :)) Check out our Tumblr to get the link to their wedding website (RSVP for an exclusive wedding invitation to be sent to you via email! We thought that would be fun to do). For those who don't have Tumblr, I'll add it to our profile here.

We hope y'all enjoy this fic!

-hina

NEXT UPDATE: 09/20/24