hi! thought in italic , dialogue in " ", POV alterning and Naruto's still not mine.

Chapter 5

Sasuke sighed as he put the last of the documents in the drawer.

These new Anbu applications were underwhelming. None of them showed even a fraction of promise in his not so humble opinion.

Most, certainly had the necessary physical skills to qualify; they had strength, speed and stealth.

But there was something missing. He wasn't even sure what it was yet.

Most of them were good little soldiers. And maybe therein lies the problem. An Anbu needs to be more than just a perfect killing machine. They had to take initiative, be capable of solving problems on the go and be able to lead and get their subordinate to listen to them.

No that's not it. All those applicants were so obvious.

He needs a few more versatile agents, someone who would be overlooked and constantly underestimated but still have that killer instinct.

For some reason his mind conjured the mirage of a certain blue haired kunoichi.

Sasuke shook his head, his brain keeps doing this to him. She seems to inhabit his thoughts a lot lately.

I have got to get off this assignment.

Back to his musing (on a strictly professional level of course). Hyuuga Hinata would on paper make a strong applicant. She'd be invisible most of the time, people tend to overlook her. She was quiet, friendly and have a tendency to aspire trust; so, she'd be good at gathering intelligence.

Also, from her files (yes, he snooped. Don't judge him) she can play the part of the diplomate and princess perfectly which considering her heiress status is understandable. So, she would be good for infiltrating different territories and playing the cutthroat political games.

The profits that their village and her clan made when she was part of the diplomatic missions was impressive. As was Shikamaru Nara's silent evaluation of her.

As a future prominent political figure, she had to be evaluated, although rumor has it the title of Head of the Hyuuga clan was to go to her younger sister.

And she certainly can kill silently, being a Hyuuga and all.

She was skilled enough, in need of more training of course.

He'd love to tease out all of that hidden potential. In a strictly professional sense of course.

But…On the other hand it would be a shame to expose her to all that darkness, that may snuff out her light.

No, it would be a waste.

Plus, she was adamant on pursuing her medical-nin career; working at the hospital and taking field missions.

How did he know that you ask? Well because it was stated in her file ( that he totally had clearance to read) that she was offered a place in a special training branch of the Anbu corps.

The seduction and infiltration branch.

He would've paid a fortune to see the look on her face when she was told that.

Sasuke grinned as he imagined her face getting as red as a tomato, and steam coming out of her ears before she passes out.

"What are you laughing about Teme?"

Sasuke's grin faded as he took in Naruto's appearance with the Hokage clock in his dark little office at the top of the Anbu facility.

"Steamed tomatoes" He answered with a dead pan face.

This is getting ridiculous. Was his thought at the distraction that keep plaguing his mind.

"Geez. And they say I'm obsessed with ramen" Naruto said as he dropped on the couch Sasuke sometimes used when he was too tired to go back to his apartment. Which was ironic especially when he had the capacity to open portals and move through dimensions.

"Aren't you supposed to be in your office, dealing with a crisis or something?"

"hey! My day is almost over and I left a clone there anyway" Naruto answered admiring the rising moon.

"What do you want Dobe?" Sighed Sasuke.

"I wanted to ask about your ongoing investigation" Naruto answered his hands supporting his head.

"Investigation." Sasuke's tone was dripping with sarcasm.

"Fine..your snooping. How is she?"

"She's…." Fascinating. "…okay" is all Sasuke said as he tries to banish her from his thoughts again.

This curiosity has got to stop.

"Okay?.. Teme come on tell me! Is she really doing okay? Did she talk about it? Did she seem broken?" Naruto said exasperated with his friend's nonchalance

"You think too highly of yourself. Someone like Hyuuga doesn't break easily." Sasuke was starting to get annoyed.

" I didn't say that! I know Hinata is strong. It's just that…well she keeps everything bottled up and she ends up hurting herself more" Naruto said his eyes glazed over. Confronted with his companion's silence he continued "Talk to her"

" I don't like to talk. We are not that close." He looked at his Hokage as if he was an idiot.

Which in Sasuke's opinion he was.

"Temeeee!" Naruto whined

"Even if I were to entertain such an absurd idea, there's no guarantee Hyuuga would talk anyway"

"You need to get her to vent"

Sasuke sighed again, he knew nothing would stop Naruto once he gets an idea in his head. No matter how absurd of an idea it is.

"Cinnamon rolls" Naruto continued. At the arched brow of the raven-haired man, he elaborated "she's a stress eater. Get her cinnamon rolls and let her talk." Naruto grinned satisfied with his own brilliance

"Why are you fixated on this?" Sasuke asked carefully, feeling a clenching in his gut "Do you want her back?" He seemed to hesitate

"NO!" Naruto startled him " I mean, Hinata's great but…I really hurt her Sasuke" He sat up facing him

"she's my friend, I care about her. And I hurt her when I decided to pursue her without being sure. Then I hurt her again. I just…made a terrible mess out of everything, and ended up hurting her the most" Naruto swallowed that sense of guilt he felt every time he thought about his blue haired friend.

It was true. Pursuing her had been a mistake.

She was always there for him. Her feelings as clear as day.

Naruto was ashamed to admit that he was getting tired of watching Sakura yearn for Sasuke. He just wanted to feel wanted. And so, he thought why not give this a chance?

Hinata was pretty, gentle and kind. And she yearned for him.

Maybe he wasn't fated to end up with the pink haired kunoichi.

So, he asked her out. But then Sakura came to him crying and they opened a bottle of sake. And when she asked him to make her forget with her big green sad eyes, he couldn't deny her.

He still felt guilty about that. But what made his guilt unbearable was that he still wanted to try with Hinata. Except he didn't do it because he was in love with her, but out of a sense of misplaced obligation and honor. In retrospect Naruto now could see that that was probably his biggest offense.

But she was apprehensive to take him back. And he was frustrated with himself.

He sought comfort with Sakura again. She also didn't deny him.

He should've stopped there, except Hinata told him she forgave him the very next day.

How could he ever break her heart again? This girl who always cheered him on and was always there for him. His friend that he genuinely did love.

He ended up breaking her heart later anyways.

And then there's the Sakura of it all.

Naruto's morose thoughts were interrupted by Sasuke's voice

"Are you going to tell me what exactly happened?"

"I'm coming to the hospital tomorrow to see Sakura-chan. We plan to tell you after"

We. Huh? Seems I was right Sakura was involved.

Naruto stood up, shaking his limbs as if to dispel his pensive mood.

"I'll see you tomorrow bastard. Don't forget! Cinnamon rolls" He said before jumping off the window, not giving Sasuke the chance to object.

Sasuke sighed for the hundredth time that night.

The things I do for this idiot.

He chose to completely ignore the part of him that was thrilled with the prospect of interacting with the Hyuuga princess.

I should've stayed in bed.

Hinata came to the conclusion that this day was going to suck on so many levels. She started by sleeping through her alarm, arriving late to the hospital and spilling coffee on her favorite scrubs. Then the lecture she gave to the group of chunin wasn't up to her usual standards as she was distracted by the fact that the operation she had been preparing for for weeks has been taken from her.

It made her doubt herself. Why would Shizune think she couldn't do both ; give the lecture and assist on the case? Did she give the impression that she couldn't handle it? Sakura had many responsibilities and still she was everyone's first choice.

Sakura was on another level. She was an excellent medic, there's no doubt about that.

She was trusted enough to accomplish many tasks a day, on top of being pregnant.

Hinata swallowed at that thought.

Not that anyone knew anyway.

At least she thought no one did, except maybe Sasuke for he was Naruto's best friend.

Hinata wanted to prove herself so badly, and yet that opportunity was taken from her.

The feeling of inadequacy left her empty.

Was she ever going to be enough?

Hinata dispelled the tears of frustration as she kept her eyes on the chart, she was writing in. She refused to let her emotions impact her work.

And just as she thought her day couldn't get any worse, she glimpsed the source of her heart ache passing through the haul next to the pink haired kunoichi. It wasn't hard to guess where they were heading. Second floor; the maternity ward.

Naruto was here for Sakura's check-up. He took the time out of his busy day to support her.

She couldn't resent him for that. He was such a good person.

Yet he wronged her. He tried to make amends every time she has to report to his office. And although she avoided him, she couldn't help but notice how he didn't take time out of his schedule to seek her out and make her listen to his apology.

Neither did Sakura for that matter. The pink-haired medic avoided her more than she did.

They weren't close friends but still, she didn't even bother to apologize.

Maybe that wasn't fair for her to think that. She was probably a mess herself ; an unplanned pregnancy was probably stressful.

Hinata was so lost in thought, she didn't notice the dark-haired shinobi sliding up next to her.

Sasuke admired the profile of the woman next to him, she didn't even seem to notice him. He took a moment to take her in, then followed her gaze toward the couple making their way up the stairs.

Where they a couple? He'll know later.

"Hyuuga" he cleared his throat.

"oh! Sasuke-san hi. We missed you today at the lecture" She said gracing him with a small smile.

He liked how she genuinely smiled at him.

"Hn"

She went back to gazing at the stairs even after they disappeared. Sasuke slid the box he was holding towards her until it touched her elbow.

"What's this?" Hinata asked confused.

"Some nurse gave it to me. Take it."

Hinata opened the box curious, her eyes momentarily lit up at the sight of her favorite dessert. The incomparable cinnamon rolls.

"Are you sure? They're still hot" She hesitated as if afraid he'll take it back and ruin her day further.

"I don't like sweets" Sasuke shrugged pretending to be busy writing a report. The project was almost finally over. He couldn't help but be slightly disappointed for some reason.

Hinata took one bite of the delicacy and almost moaned out loud. She proceeded to eat it slowly savoring it. A few minutes passed, before she plucked the second one, right as Shizune passed by.

Sasuke noticed how she bit more aggressively.

"Ever notice how Shizune-senpai is a jerk" the indigo-haired medic said after swallowing " I mean why does she get to decide I can't handle that surgery."

She raised her hand to take another bite not noticing how the shinobi next to her gave her his undivided attention.

"Everyone is just making these decisions, not even considering how it'll affect me. How I'll feel." She didn't even notice when Sasuke handed her a third roll. "They're leaving me completely out of the conversation. Springing those decisions on me and I'm just supposed to be ok with it. Hey Hinata guess what? I'm taking away that case you worked so hard on." She said in a poor imitation of Shizune's voice.

Sasuke couldn't help but be amused by the lack of stutter that completely disappeared in the face of frustration and sweets.

He ignored the urge to reach over and wipe the white cream on her upper lip and trace them with the pad of his finger.

"Hey Hinata, I'm going to have a baby and your just have to be ok with that."

"Shizune-san is having a baby?" Sasuke asked pulled out of his daydream that involved the Hyuuga's perfect lips.

Get a grip. He chastised himself internally

"No not Shizune-senpai. Naruto…. Naruto's having a baby" Her voice broke

Not many things took the Uchiha by surprise, but this he didn't see coming.

"He just sprang it on me. Again. And he's leaving me behind. Again. So we're done." Her lavender eyes shining with unshed tears " But I miss him. How pathetic is that?"

Sasuke couldn't say anything in the face of that declaration.

"God. I'm a terrible person. I should be happy for them." She said forcing a smile

"you are not a terrible person" Sasuke finally spoke "You are allowed to feel angry, sad or frustrated. You are allowed to feel negative emotions too"

Her smiled turned more genuine " Thank you Sasuke-san…For listening."

"Anytime."

It occurred to Sasuke there and then, that if this "investigation" (as Naruto likes to call it) was a real mission he would have had to withdraw because he was irrevocably compromised.

He did the equivalent of getting too close to his target and changing his allegiance.

It was treason.

Thankfully for Sasuke nothing as dramatic as that had happened. He was after all just doing a favor for a friend.

Except he knew that the conversation they just had will not be reported to Naruto.

It will feel like a breach of trust. The Hyuuga didn't even tell Yamanaka about it yet she talked to him.

Telling Naruto was out of the question.

He also feels compelled to help her. Looking at her he saw a hint of frustration still there, that was good. Certainly, better than pretending to be ok. Before he could second guess himself, he spoke.

"Hyuuga" When she focused her attention on him again he continued "You haven't been to the training session for the med-nin."

"No, I haven't" she said sheepishly

"Come to training ground 4 this afternoon" He said with a hint of authority

"Is that an order Commander Uchiha?" Hinata said teasingly, now a lot more comfortable with him. Whether it was his kindness or the sugar high she didn't know.

"If I say yes, will you be a good girl and come" Sasuke smirked , then his ears slowly turned red at the unintentional innuendo.

Maybe she didn't notice.

That possibility completely flew out the window when he saw the flushing of her cheeks.

All that she managed to say was a breathless yes. Her mouth slightly open.

Sasuke filed that interesting little reaction for future reference.

He playfully pocked her forehead before walking away.

"See you later" He left her holding her forehead completely reeling from the whole exchange.

As Sasuke left the hospital, it occurred to him that his futile attempts at denying his attraction to the Hyuuga princess has come to an end.

One thing was clear.

He was completely.

Irrevocably.

Fucked.

AN: Denial is a river in Egypt and in Sasuke's head. Thankfully it's starting to dry out.

I put a small POV for Naruto to explain his regrettable but still human actions. I'm debating doing the same for Sakura( I don't believe in bashing her character. Maybe a little bit. )

Also thank you for the reviews, they really do make my day.

Stay tunned for the next chapter: training session , funny banter and more.

Yours truly, Lady Thunder Storm.