#Sasuke Sunday because I missed Saturday

[sasukesofficiallawyer]

I just wanted to say that I love your blog, you are great and I hope you have a great day and the best luck in life.

thank you so much anon! I don’t know if you’re here for my Naruto posts, gravity fall posts, mha posts, or my shit rants about my life, but I’m glad you like it here lol, thank you again!

[iambilliejeanok]

🤎Spoiled Girlfriend🤎pt 1

Just a quick lil drabble to calm all you hoes down before I post the next wild fantasy.

Starring: Kakashi and Reader

No warnings just fluff! But there’s a warning for pt 2

Kakashi was really busy this week, the exploding humans situation having him tied up with paper work, trying to communicate with other Kages and Sasuke. He never had time to entertain you these past three days, leaving you feeling a little lonely and upset. You found him in the office of your home, focusing on all the papers scattered across the desk, the pen in his hand being worked as he tried to figure out and connect the dots. Amidst his thinking he didn’t hear the soft ‘Kashi’ that came into the room, way to focused on getting everything sorted as soon as possible. “Kashi..”, you called again, a little louder this time, wondering why he didn’t respond the first. He still didn’t respond. “Kakashi!”, you raised your voice, now upset that he was neglecting you. He finally lifted his head from his paper work, looking up to see you dressed in nothing but one of his sweaters and a pair of knee length black socks. You looked so cozy, standing in the doorway with you sweater paws and your hair twisted and tied into a bun, your favourite sleep scarf wrapped around to form a bow at the top, keeping your hair nice and protected. “What is it y/n”, he asked, as though he was trying to get you to spit it out so he could get back to his work. “Are you done with work yet?”, you asked, knowing damn well he wasn’t anywhere near being done. You just wanted his attention for a little bit. A sigh left his lips, “Y/n you know I’m not done”. You leaned on the doorway, fiddling with the oversized sleeves on your sweater. You opened your mouth to say something before shying away from his gaze, unsure if you should continue to talk because of the serious look on his face. His mask was off and his handsome face was even more expressive without the mask. He wasn’t playing games with you today but you really hated how you hadn’t been able to hang out with him these past few days. “Is there something you need y/n”, he asked, making you frown in disappointment. He was calling you by your full name and hadn’t cuddled you since Saturday. Today was Wednesday. “Is everything okay”, you spoke, barely audible but his sharp ears could still hear you. “Yes”, was all he said in response, grabbing his pen to continue working since you weren’t saying anything. “Do you still love me?”, you spoke, loud and clearly. He dropped his pen again to look up at you, sighing in defeat knowing exactly what was coming. “Baby, I don’t have time for this right now”, he said. “You only called me baby once today and we haven’t cuddled in a long time”, you complained, the cutest frown on your face as you expressed your feelings for the 8th time in a row in the past three days. He’d been sleeping at home with you despite the workload and would hold throughout the night since you’d miss him too much for him to simply let you lay on him. You need him to hold you and he had been doing that every night he’d been in bed with you since Sunday. You obviously just wanted attention and that’s why you were trying to pick a fight. He could tell from a mile away. “Baby, I’m working. We’ll talk about this later. Just be patient, as soon as so this is over I’ll take you out and we can spend more than night time together okay. The safety of the villagers is at stake right now”, he tried to explain for the 100th time to you. “But I wanna watch a movie with you before I got to bed. I miss you”, you pouted your eyes a little glossy as you tried to hold in tears. “How many times do we have to go through this y/n”. There he goes again, calling you by your name. “So you don’t love me. I knew it”, you squeaked, trying your damn best not to cry. “Y/n stop. Go watch a movie and drink some tea now. I’ll come join as soon as I’m done”, he said, looking back at his paper work. “Please come watch the movie with me”, you faintly spoke, but he could still hear you. “Y/n. No. Not right now. I’m not going to repeat myself”.

Wow. Just wow. He really said no to you? You couldn’t fight back the tears anymore. “Fine!”, you yelled, stomping off crying into your hands to keep you quite as you angrily marched around the house. You really just needed some comfort. You stomped back into his office and this time he immediately looked up at you. You just stood there, hiccuping from how hard you were crying, wiping your tears and sniffling. Kakashi sighed, pushing his chair back and patting his lap. “Baby, come here”, he said and you almost ran to him, crying even harder as you sat on his lap, wrapping your arms around his neck and burying your face in his shoulder, balling your eyes out. He pushed himself back towards his desk, picking up his pen to continue his work, one hand rubbing your back while the other flipped through the papers. He wasn’t going to entertain any of your tantrums tonight. You need to accept that he wouldn’t always give into you and that’s okay. But for now he’d let you cry. Crying tires people out so he figured you just fall asleep here on his lap. He wasn’t watching the movie with you right now and wasn’t going to watch movies with you until all this was done. So he’d let you just cry until you got over it, looking over your shoulder to finish his work. You were at least less of nuisance like this.

Part Two

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Eighty-Five: An Artist ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uchiha Itachi ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

He’s never been one much for the arts. That’s always been more his brother’s calling, despite their father’s begrudging acceptance. While Itachi pursued music, Sasuke took to filling Fugaku’s expectations and going to school to major in business.

Granted, Itachi’s doing quite well - arguably better than his younger brother. Lessons from age four, of course, give him a little edge. Add in natural dexterity and talent, and he’s already playing in recital halls packed to the brim to hear him play his melancholy notes.

But Sasuke can’t bring himself to be jealous. Sure, he’s still hanging from a rather low rung of the corporate ladder, but it’s stuff he finds fairly mindless and easy. While many hate their jobs, Sasuke simply...does his, neither actively enjoying or disliking it. It’s just something he does for about eight hours a day, five days a week. So far he’s managing a rather frugal lifestyle just fine.

Granted, it’s also a rather lonesome lifestyle. Sasuke’s not much of a socializer to begin with, but occasionally a friend will drag him out for something. But mostly, he enjoys doing things either with his family, or on his own.

Today is one of the latter days.

Just down the street from his apartment is a niche little coffee shop he frequents. Itachi teases him about how hipster it seems, but Sasuke just brushes the comments aside. He doesn’t much care what it’s like besides being quiet, quaint, and hosting (in his opinion) perfectly brewed black coffee.

Which is why he’s currently seated at his favorite corner table, sipping a cup and going over a presentation he needs to deliver next week. It’s already finished, but it’s an excuse to get out of his living quarters and get some liquid energy. While he can’t practice the auditory part here, he can tinker a few details and...mostly spend the afternoon browsing his favorite sites.

...that is...until he feels eyes on him.

His own flicker up, the only part of him moving as they search for the intruder. But every other face is turned away - either browsing their own laptops or phones, reading, talking to a table mate, or...scribbling on a rather large pad of paper.

Dark eyes squint just a hair, watching.

It’s a young woman - about his age, maybe a little younger...her face is rather soft, so it’s hard to tell. Seated in a booth along the opposite wall, she has her knees brought up to rest against the lip of her table, and a sizeable sketchbook is propped atop them. He can tell she’s not writing - her hand flies across the paper far too much to be anything but drawing.

Huh...he has to wonder what she’s sketching. Not that he knows much about it, but surely the setting is quite nice. A still life, maybe - seems like something rather eye-catching to draw. Or so he’ll guess. Itachi would have far more idea about than he. His talents might lie in music, but he knows the artistic side of things in general better than Sasuke ever will.

After a minute or so, he goes back to his laptop screen, sipping his coffee and absorbing back into the work.

When he starts packing up to head home, she’s already gone.

The work week passes, and it’s not until the following Saturday he can make it back. Unlike his last visit, it’s pouring rain this time. A wet umbrella rests against his chair. The same project - to be presented Monday - is back on his laptop screen...but mostly just as an excuse. He told Naruto he couldn’t go to some local league basketball game he’s playing in due to work.

It’s...half true. He hasn’t given the presentation yet. It’s still a work in progress. But he also hasn’t touched it in three days because the powerpoint part is done. While he could be home rehearsing it...Naruto has a nasty habit of dropping in even when told no. Hence hiding out here.

Besides, he’s got it memorized already. He’s not missing much by loligagging here.

The shop’s a bit more crowded today - probably because warm drinks are the perfect staple for a cool, rainy Spring day. And who wants to be out in the weather? Better to just...cozy up here until the rain stops.

The numbers don’t bother him - he got here early enough to claim his table, and no one’s dared ask to steal a chair or join him. Whether he intends it or not (though usually he does), Sasuke has a rather distance-inducing aura. Or at least, that’s how his brother oh so politely puts it.

Sasuke, on the other hand, knows he just has a major case of resting bitch face. And he’s more than glad for the annoyances it spares him...at least, with anyone intelligent enough to read it. Hence why Naruto still hangs around...he just doesn’t quite get it.

Today he’s indulging in a bitter cup of sugarless hot cocoa when that same feeling returns: like someone’s watching him. Looking up, he still doesn’t catch anyone staring.

...but he does notice she’s back. Sketchbook lady. Returned to the same spot, shying a bit from her neighbors but still scribbling away. This time it’s not just a pencil - some colored...somethings sit in a neat tray atop her table. Not pencils, and...he doesn’t think they’re crayons? Oh, who cares what they are. Either way, she must be coloring her previous shot, given her same vantage point and what looks to be the same sketchbook.

Huh.

A bit more curious this time, Sasuke takes to watching her. Every so often, she looks up and studies the wall behind him: the one directly across from her. Shrewd, pale eyes squint as she examines it before going back to her coloring.

...he sort of wants to see it.

Sasuke also can’t help but wonder how she’s accounting for the change of people. There’s more of them, and they’re surely different than last weekend. Did she just...go over what she had? Or is she improvising? He’s never really given such things a thought before, but...watching someone in the act of creating, admittedly, piques his interest.

But after a little while, it gets a bit repetitive...and he can’t exactly see what she’s doing. A little disappointed, Sasuke goes back to his procrastinating, eventually noting that the rain has stopped. Should he risk going back home…?

Maybe not yet.

He stays a few hours more, ordering another cup and an everything bagel to pass the time. Not the best lunch he could have, but...meh. He can have something better for him for dinner. Only once he gets a text from the knucklehead proclaiming victory (and whining he didn’t show up) does Sasuke deem it safe to head home.

The next morning, he wakes to his phone vibrating against his nightstand. Groggily he grabs it, swiping to answer and mumbling, “Hullo?”

“Sasuke, good morning.”

He blinks slowly. “...’tachi?”

“Forgive me for calling so early, but I wanted you to be the first to know: I’m going to be back in town for the week. I’ll be flying in this afternoon.”

Dark eyes quickly brighten, sitting up. “Really?”

“Yes. I was going to tell Mother and Father tomorrow morning - I thought, for today, it could just be the two of us.”

A kind of childish glee at both the falsehood (his brother never lies) and his indulging of Sasuke’s constant pining to see him beget a smile. “Yeah, sure - got anything in mind?”

“Oh, I thought we’d just wander around downtown and see what jumps out at us. I haven’t been back in almost a year, I want to see what’s changed.”

“Okay, yeah - sure.”

“I’ll meet you at your building - I’ve got a rental car arranged. I should be there about three?”

“I’ll be waiting!”

Hanging up, Sasuke can’t help but grin at his brother’s number before it fades back to the homescreen. Well...talk about a great start to a week!

By the time Itachi makes it, he’s been bored for hours, having little else to do on a Sunday but wait around. They immediately leave again, going on foot to simply explore.

“I’ve missed this city,” Itachi admits wistfully, hands in his coat’s pockets and simply looking around.

“And we’ve missed you - how’re all your gigs going?”

“Wonderfully. I’ve been planning a little tour with another artist: a vocalist who’s been practicing with me the past few weeks.”

“Any stops near here?”

“In here, as a matter of fact - but not for a few months. We’ve got quite a bit of practice and arranging to do. But I will let you know.” Slowing to a stop, Itachi cocks his head curiously at an open door. “...Sasuke, care to go in?”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Apparently an art exhibition - locals, seems like.”

It might not be his scene, but...well, Itachi’s the guest, and it’ll make him happy. “Yeah, sure.”

The pair enter, quickly seeing a variety of works and mediums by a vast array of artists. While Itachi speaks to the host, Sasuke starts wandering, not as invested as he’s sure Itachi will be. Thumbs hooked in his belt loops, he glances over several pieces before coming to a standstill.

Wait...but that’s…?

Still staring as Itachi joins him, Sasuke barely hears his question. “...huh?”

“I asked if you found something you like…? Oh...well that looks an awful lot like -”

“It’s me.”

“...are you sure?”

“Yeah, I…” A bit flabbergasted, Sasuke shifts his weight, gesturing. “I go there all the time. That’s my table, and my laptop -” His umbrella even made it in the shot. There’s no doubt about it: even the angle matches. This has to be that woman, from before! She was drawing...him…?

“Can I help -? Oh!”

Both brothers turn to an approaching figure, and Sasuke locks surprised eyes with none other than the artist. Her own are wide, and color lightly tints her cheeks.

“It...it’s you!”

“Yeah...me,” Sasuke replies. Now it makes sense: why he kept feeling watched.

“I...I-I hope you don’t mind me using you as a model, I...I mostly do street drawing. I just...draw what I see. I was lucky to catch you twice, and so quickly! I just finished this piece this morning, I almost couldn’t bring it…” A hand tucks stray hair behind her ear. “...I’m Hinata.”

“Sasuke. Nice to actually meet you, I guess.”

“L-likewise!”

Behind him, Itachi gives a knowing smile. “May I ask, are your works for sale?”

“Oh, well...no, technically not.”

“Ah...forgive me.”

“No no, that’s okay! Would you...like to buy it…?”

“It’s rare to see my brother captured in such a way,” Itachi muses, earning an embarrassed glower from Sasuke. “You truly did a fantastic job. Of course, if you’d like to keep it -”

“No, I understand! I’m just delighted you f-found it! This city’s rather big, after all…”

“As am I. And I’m always a fan of supporting local creators. So, may we negotiate…?”

As the talk turns to money, Sasuke scowls and sulks off to one side, eyeing her other works. True to her word, most are just...captures of various local places and people. Though stylized to a point, he can still recognize quite a few places just at a glance, and further looking shows a great amount of detail.

Signing a check, Itachi hands it over with a smile. “A pleasure, miss Hyūga. I do hope you keep creating - your works are lovely.”

She ducks her head shyly, and then glances to the slip, eyes going wide. “...but you said -?”

“Please, consider it a well-deserved tip. I know enough artists to know they often undersell themselves. And yours is a talent worth supporting.”

Looking awed, Hinata breaks into a soft smile. “I’ll...go see about packaging this for you. Thank you s-so much.”

Itachi nods, turning as his brother steps back up. “Are you truly so opposed to the piece?”

“No...I’m not. It’s just kinda weird.”

“Why?”

“I dunno. Just is.”

“Well, it’s clear your territories overlap - perhaps she’ll be able to draw you again, hm?”

He doesn’t have an answer for that.

Returning with the framed artwork carefully wrapped and bagged, Hinata hands it over with another thank you. “Um...s-sorry again for stealing your visage.”

“Don’t worry about it. I guess now I get to see what you were working so hard on.”

Another light blush pinkens her cheeks. “I’ve wanted to do a portrait in there for ages...you just had the right...look, I guess.”

That earns a small snort. “Suppose I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Miss Hyūga, might I have your cell number in case I find any other potential investors in you and your work?”

“Oh! Um...sure!”

“Sasuke, you should do the same.”

“What?”

His brother gives him a look that clearly says not to question him. “It’s never a bad idea to stay connected. Besides, given I’ve taken her only copy, Hinata might want to arrange another portrait.”

Squinting suspiciously, Sasuke nonetheless agrees, exchanging digits.

“Thank you so much, miss Hyūga.”

“Oh, please just call me Hinata.”

“Very well - I hope you enjoy your evening.”

Once the brothers take their leave, Sasuke rounds on Itachi. “What was that all about?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“All of that!”

“What, I can’t buy art of you?”

“No, that’s - you were - and the number -”

“It’s clear she finds you intriguing,” Itachi replies briskly. “And not just in a superficial way. She could have captured anyone in that shop, but she chose you. Hinata saw something that caught her eye about you that no one else had managed. I just thought keeping a person with that impression of you close might be...wise.”

“...you’re setting me up.”

“Connections, Sasuke - they’re important.” Itachi gives him a smile, eyes twinkling. “Don’t they teach you that in your line of work?”

Having no retort, Sasuke just stuffs his hands in his pockets. “...c’mon, we’ve still got daylight to burn.”

“If you insist.”

     Oof, this is...very very long compared to most entries, and now it's super late, I gotta get hopping to bed xD      I got the idea not long after reading the prompt, and honestly thought it wouldn't be long enough...and then it ended up twice as long as most drabbles I've done for this challenge! But it was a cute concept, even when I realized it was gonna sop up the rest of my evening, haha!      Anyway, I'm wiped, so I better call it. Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!

[twentyminutemiso]

11-13th

Texting chiara, getting ready for pxssy palace, venting to han and zaahid about what chiara said to me. I feel quite disappointed and annoyed about her defensive reaction, which seems to have limited empathy, she wasn’t putting herself in my shoes. But she’s preoccupied with her relationship so she might not have time for other people’s shoes. Can’t help but feel that’s so boring. I want to be a good friend but not sure how much i can intervene

Taking several hours to get into my korra costume, playing hinky pinky with zaahid and han on the train, attractive proactive, type A personality, han forgetting their ID and going home, me being smashed already from half a bottle of that lidl vodka, two patron shots, a ‘pussy juice’ for me and for mina (mina’s birthday), mina being sasuke’s brother, saw afi shani khadija jasmine darlington bilan ray. Sin kai wan complimented my outfit and said they were tony leung. Anairin took a video of me. At least 4 people recognising who i was. 2 asking if i was katara and 1 asking if i was chun li. Going home hink pink, zaahid made caramelised banana pancakes.

Throwing up and being in bed all day saturday with han and zaahid caring for me. Going to amber’s party with her walthamstow mates who always nourish me with their secondary school banter. Jamilla, thomas, aasiyah, amber and al-husain catching up on the gossip between their schoolmates. So and so is pregnant now, also that tiny boy (motioning with a hand at waist level to indicate small stature) who tried to shoot his shot in amber’s twitter dms. Amber’s mum splitting up with her stepdad and she’s moving back to their house so it’ll be amber george and her mum. Vanessa’s friend who has a boyfriend called pro (very sunnily clarifying Professional) and she identified, like amber, as a lesbian with a boyfriend (‘there are many of us’)

Thursday 10th

SOAS, meeting Anna for a steak sandwich, the Soane museum, feeling the start of summer.

Jeng and Kaitlene came round, I didn’t stay because I went to see piglet at avalon cafe. Beautiful harmonies and a saxophonist. Two mancunians(?) theo and hester. Two people in the warmup band, osian and a dude with a curly bob. Running to get the bus.

Sunday 14th

Mina’s birthday party and it’s funny cos the two demographics shes a part of are gay Asians and gay northerners

A walk through covent garden to reach the southbank. Finding dad’s spot. Feeling emotional walking through the piazza and something about making me cry. Occasionally do cry when I think of my dad these days, probably because I miss him but there’s something more than that. This specific past iteration of my dad in covent garden triggers my emotions more than when I see him. It must be like how kevin cried about grandad being senile but wouldn’t hang out with grandma even though we were all in China. It comes from something sore inside ourselves rather than only something about the other person. Mum, dad and kevin don’t really vocalise things that upset us. They try to put them out of their minds. Afterwards when I called dad he said the thought of going back there made him want to rage, which probably is part of why I was sad too. I’m very sentimental and I don’t like the thought that something that was a big part of us is gone now. I told him it’s pretty good that he managed to get 20 years out of it. To be honest what street performer today would be able to get a mortgage off their earnings?

Rachel, elete, sandy, christine, audrey. Bumping into naila and rojda. Sonia Jeunet. Was happy to catch sight of edi as i walked out. For ages talking to micha’s sister paz’s friend who goes to soas who had an upset with a tiramisu date who changed his hinge profile AFTER agreeing they were dating exclusively.

[roraewrites]

eight

[ sakura’s secret ] rating: m

// x.x.x songs of the night - i’ve been in such a daze today, but i really appreciate all the support and kind words. you all keep me going ! i’d like to think that sasuke is a tease -- it just fits him?

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The Monday after Naruto’s birthday, everyone seemed to be talking about how great of a party it had been. Sakura had fun, but she had even more fun spending an extraordinary amount of time with Sasuke afterwards. All in all, it was a great weekend -- she even managed to finish her homework on Sunday. Although Sasuke’s sweatshirt had been a distraction, it also motivated her to finish her work and stay on top of her studies. What kind of girl would he think she was if she didn’t do the work he assigned her?

She now sat in her desk, waiting for him to enter the room. Ino had been perturbed with her this morning when she showed up, and Sakura knew exactly why.

“Where did you go Saturday night?” Naruto poked at her shoulder from behind.

Sakura’s head turned slightly, the corner of her lip lifting. “Home,” she responded.

“Ah. Ino said you disappeared--”

“Ino was the one to disappear,” Sakura snapped back almost instantly. While Ino had every right to be angry with Sakura, Sakura also had the right to be upset with Ino as well.

“Sorry,” Naruto muttered under his breath.

“Alright, everyone sit down and shut up,” Sasuke snapped the second he walked through the door. Sakura felt her stomach flip the moment she saw him.

His eyes shot to her first, obviously making sure she was there today, but when he looked away, she could see the scowl forming on his face. He wasn’t particularly happy when he dropped her off yesterday, either.

“Turn your homework in. If you didn’t do every single page -- make that every single question -- it’ll be an automatic zero.”

A wave of whines and groans passed throughout the room and Sakura frowned. What was his problem today? He looked tired, his hair messier than usual while his clothes looked wrinkled.

“Uchiha-sensei, are you okay?” Karin interrupted him. The sudden glare he shot her way didn’t go unnoticed, and the small squeak that escaped from her echoed throughout the class.

“Go to the office, Karin,” he retorted. Every single student in the classroom looked to Karin who broke out in tears before leaving the room. Now the room was extremely quiet while Sasuke stood behind his desk with smoldering eyes. “Anyone else want to join her?”

“No, Uchiha-sensei,” they all spoke quietly. Sakura didn’t respond though, her eyes remained on him as he took a seat.

Class drug on, but the moment it ended, every student filed out as fast as they possibly could. Sakura even went along with the crowd, but her mind remained on Sasuke.

.

.

.

School was over before she knew it, and as Naruto walked out ahead of Sakura, she called out to him, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. I have some stuff to finish up.”

Sasuke sat at his desk with his forehead in his palm while his other hand marked a paper he was currently grading. He didn’t move nor say a word when Sakura walked up to him.

“Sasuke--”

“What is it, Sakura?”

Sakura pulled her hands to her chest and raised her eyebrows at him. His tone was rough, but when his eyes looked at her, she felt her entire body go numb.

“Are you okay?” She muttered.

He didn’t answer, only turn his head back towards his desk and continue to mark the paper he was looking at. His handwriting was neat and clean, and the more he wrote down, the longer Sakura watched.

“My brother is an idiot,” he finally scoffed. “A god damn idiot. Coming all the way here just to bug me with some stupid proposition. He could’ve called, but no. He just had to show up and ruin my night.”

Sasuke looked tired the moment he sat back in his chair. The heel of his right foot came to rest on his left knee, while his fingers fumbled around with his pen.

“Is that what happened yesterday?” Sakura kept her voice as soft and as quiet as possible.

“Hn,” he responded back quickly. “I had other things going on. That asshole.”

Sakura felt the ghost of his lips against her jawline, a light blush dusting her cheeks at the memory. His lips were entirely soft and gentle, tender and sweet. The small amount of moisture left on her skin the moment he pulled away seemed to never fade, and although she scrubbed her face last night and this morning, she still felt the heated sensation that he left behind.

His dark eyes found hers and his breaktaking smirk appeared. “Have plans tonight?”

“No,” she breathed out quietly.

Sasuke remained quiet for a moment before leaning forward and writing a final score on the paper he had been working on.

“If you stay awhile, we can get something to eat.”

Sakura felt nervous, anxious, and excited, but most of all, hesitant. “Is that okay to do?” She inquired.

“I don’t see why not. I just need to finish grading these and print out assignments for tomorrow. Everyone will be gone by five. It’s up to you,” he finished with a side-eyed glance at her.

Sakura nodded before taking a seat at the closest desk. She pulled her bag up to her desk and removed her textbook and a notebook along with a pen. She even pulled out her headphones and inserted one into her ear before turning on some background music and sitting in silence while Sasuke finished his work.

An hour later, her phone buzzed and her eyes glanced at the screen. It was her mother.

Where are you?

Sakura unlocked the phone and typed her message back.

Stayed after school. I’m going to get a bite to eat afterwards, so I won’t be home for dinner.

When she placed her phone back on the desk, she found that Sasuke was watching her.

“It’s my mom,” Sakura smiled shyly. She felt like a child saying it, but the look that Sasuke gave her made her feel more confident.

Alright, darling. Just turn the lights off when you get home tonight. Love you.

Sakura responded back and then exhaled. She hated lying to her mom, but then again, she couldn’t exactly be honest about what was going on. After another half hour of waiting, a different sensei popped her head in. Her ruby red eyes looked absolutely stunning, and the way her wavy hair framed her face made her look drop dead gorgeous.

“You’re the last one out tonight, Sasuke. Have a good one-- oh, hello, Sakura,” she waved before leaving.

“Who was that?” Sakura asked quietly.

“Kurenai. She’s a new instructor for one of the other classes,” he answered from behind his computer screen. The only thing Sakura could hear after that was the clicking of the keys and a click or two of the mouse, and he stood up.

“You ready?”

“Yup!” Sakura chirped as she packed her book and notebook back into her bag. She threw it over her shoulder and began to follow Sasuke out of his room. The moment he turned the lights off, Sakura realized that it was also dark in the hallway and outside.

“Wow,” her voice echoed throughout the hall. “It gets dark.”

“It’s not too bad,” Sasuke retorted as he pulled his phone out and turned the flashlight on. They walked side by side down the hallway in silence. He opened the door for her and followed her out.

Sakura basked in the idea of purchasing her new peacoat, because it was freezing outside currently. She shivered slightly as Sasuke locked the door behind them.

“What are you hungry for?” He asked as he turned to meet her shivering form.

“Eh, whatever sounds good to you.”

“We’ll just get a pizza then,” he stated quickly before smirking. “What’s your favorite kind?”

“Just cheese,” Sakura answered back with a smile.

“Hn, that’s how my mom is too. So boring.”

“Hey!” Sakura called out before following after him. Once she caught up and walked beside him, he glanced at her and gave her another smirk. “What’s that look for?”

“Nothing,” he looked over at his car as the headlights and tail lights flashed to life. “I find it amusing when you’re flustered.”

“Whatever,” Sakura muttered before he took her bag from her. “Just cheese is great. You’re missing out.”

“Whatever you say, Sakura.”

And there was something about the way her name rolled off his tongue that made her freeze in place, shivers emerging on every last inch of skin she had to offer. His dark eyes watched her with interest now as she held the car’s door handle in her hand and stared back at him.

The moment he opened his door, she opened hers as well and they both slipped into the car. She wasn’t sure what was changing inside of her, but there was just something oddly familiar about him. The ice around his personality began to melt and unlike the mean side he showed to everyone else, Sasuke was actually a very sweet man on the inside.

Sakura found that she was growing more comfortable around him each and every time they saw each other. When she went home yesterday, she began to think that she wouldn’t have any more alone time with him for awhile; yet here they are, on their way to get dinner.

The engine roared to life and while the car sat in idle, Sasuke fiddled with the stereo. It was the only light offered in the car and from the reflection, Sakura could still see that same god damn handsome smirk on his face.

“You’ve been smiling a lot more lately,” Sakura finally stated.

Sasuke looked up from the stereo and shook his head slightly. “Not sure why.”

A song started up and it wasn’t anything like the song she heard one of the first times she rode in his car with him. It was much more upbeat but still mellow, with a female singer speaking words that Sakura hadn’t been listening to. The beat was addictive, though.

Their drive to one of the local pizza shops was short-lived, and instead of both of them going in, Sasuke informed her that it’d be better if it was just him.

“Right,” Sakura agreed before he left. She hadn’t realized it, but Ino texted her about an hour ago and she was just now looking at it.

Why’d you stay after school?

Studying.

She waited for Ino’s reply, not very interested in speaking to the blonde at this point in time. When her phone vibrated though, she felt sick to her stomach.

Oh. Are you still mad at me? Btw, just saw your sensei stop by Akimichi’s shop. He must be taking some home for date. ;)

Sakura locked her phone and threw it back inside of her bag. Was Ino really inside? She felt sweat begin to gather at her hairline, and her eyes scanned the doors for Sasuke’s figure. Within seconds, he was pushing through the doors with boxes in his hands a blank look on his face.

She opened her door for him when he came around to her side and handed the boxes over. He didn’t say a word, only shut the door behind him and got inside his seat.

“Ino was inside.”

“I know,” Sakura replied.

“Oh?”

“She texted me.”

“Saying?”

“That she saw you. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t go in with you,” Sakura huffed out. She could feel her palms sweating and the nauseous feeling still lingering within her stomach.

Her and Sasuke were playing a dangerous game.

.

.

.

“You hardly ate any,” Sasuke pointed out the moment he walked behind the kitchen counter.

Sakura only replied with a small smile and shrug of her shoulders. “I don’t eat that much!”

“You can just take it home with you. I don’t eat this boring stuff, anyways,” he jabbed at her. Sakura only rolled her eyes before looking back to the television.

She had pulled her book out to start some homework, but the second Sasuke turned the show on that they had been watching yesterday, she became completely distracted.

“What’s this?” He asked the moment he made his way back over to the sofa. In his hands was the drawing that Sakura doodled on her first day of school. She snatched it from his hands before he could take a good look at it.

“It’s nothing!” She laughed out nervously.

“Cause that’s believable.” His eyes watched her as she held the picture upside down in her lap. Of all the things he could’ve grabbed, of course it was the drawing she had done of him.

“I drew you.” Sakura frowned before handing the picture back over to him. His eyes scanned the paper before he looked back up to her.

“Do I really look this happy?” He joked before handing it back.

Sakura’s cheeks burned from the blush that settled there, and as she reached for the picture, her fingers brushed his. It felt both frightening and exciting at the same time, but she instantly pulled her hand away and looked at him with wide, viridian eyes.

“Afraid to touch my hand, yet you’ll latch onto me after a few drinks?”

“What?” Sakura gasped out instantaneously.

Sasuke smirked before shaking his head. Sakura sat in her place, drowning from anxiety because of what he just said. Instead of letting the thought eat away at her mind, she grabbed her pen and began to take more notes.

They sat in silence for about an hour until Sasuke’s body shifted.

“When you write, you look really focused.”

Sakura looked up with parted lips and glassy eyes. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No.”

Sakura looked back to her notes and continued writing. She couldn’t shake the fact that Sasuke continued to watch her with those gorgeous, dark eyes of his, either. When she glanced over at him, she narrowed her eyes playfully. “If you keep distracting me, I won’t pass any other class but yours, Uchiha-sensei.”

It was his turn to frown back at her now. “You think I’m being distracting?”

Sakura didn’t answer, only smile mischievously. Her smile faded when he started to inch towards her, though. Closer, closer, closer. Until his leg brushed hers and she could see the silver flecks reflecting in the dim lighting of the room.

“If you think I’m being distracting by simply sitting here, then I could probably show you how much of a distraction I can be.”

Sakura swallowed hard before she felt his fingers take her hand and remove the pen from her fingers. She didn’t speak, only watch him move gentle and slowly; careful to not frighten her. She watched as his jawline tensed, and within seconds, his lips were pressing subtle kisses to her knuckles.

Sasuke moved slowly, his eyes no longer on her own, but watched her hand as he opened her fingers and pressed one, long lasting kiss to her palm. Now that he held her hand to his lips, he glanced at her through her fingers and smirked underneath her hand. The vibrations from his words tickled, but she didn’t flinch or pull away.

“Tell me. Are you distracted?”

Her heart was racing as she watched him, her mind unable to shake the feeling of his touch. Her core was growing hotter by the second, and when she began to nod, the words finally stumbled from her lips.

“Y--yes.”

His devious smirk just about sent her heart beating through her chest, and when he laid her hand back on her notebook, he retreated back to his side of the couch. Sakura sat with her emerald green eyes wide with shock while she curled her fingers inward, her nails biting into the spot on her palm that Sasuke had just kissed.

“You’ll probably fail those classes if you don’t study,” he reminded, that same devious smirk painted on his lips while his eyes glimmered with mischief.

“Smart ass,” Sakura breathed out before her eyes scanned the page, searching for where she had left off, but to no avail. Her blood was still rushing, her head pounding while her skin felt cold to the touch, but hotter than hell.

If a simple kiss to her hand had this much of an effect on her, the she pondered what an actual kiss would do to her.

She swallowed before hiding her face; hiding the blush that dusted cheeks.

She’d think about that later, when she was at home and alone.

[newrageinc]

Day 14 Sunrise

Part Five of high school au. Note: Due to my outburst I’ll no longer be posting to ffn. Future stories/one-shots will only be posted on here and Ao3. I should be caught up by Sunday…

Hinata could not begin to explain to people her continuing relationship with Sasuke.

It’d been three weeks since Shizune’s project. She had never imagined herself being able to get along so swimmingly with the Sasuke Uchiha. He was funny. So much funnier than she would have thought someone who frowned so much to be capable of. He was also nice. At least, when he felt like being nice which with each passing day, at least to her, was more often than not.

She had just settled into a bench under a tree for her free period. Browns, oranges, and reds swirled around her as a breeze kicked up the fallen leaves from their place on the ground. She zipped her hoodie up and was rummaging through her bag for a book when she felt her pocket buzz.

[Heads up. Party at Choji’s this weekend. Ino’s about to ask you, she spotted you from the foyer.]

She squinted down at the text message, Sasuke’s name sandwiched between two storm cloud emojis at the top of the message app. She was about to send a response when a familiar floral perfume filled her senses as slender arms wrapped around her frame.

“Hinata! You’ll never guess.” Ino bounced up and down in her seat, jostling Hinata since Ino’s arms were still wound tightly around her. Shikamaru and Choji came around the corner and stood in front of them. Shikamaru sighed.

“Ino, you’re scaring her,” he shifted on his feet and tilted his head back, watching as fat, fluffy clouds drifted lazily in the sky.  Choji dug around in a bag of chips, fishing out a handful and bringing it up to his mouth.

“I’m having a party on Saturday, Hinata, I’d really like it if you would stop by.” He spoke around his mouthful. Ino pouted.

“You guys are no fun,” she squeezed Hinata a little tighter, rubbing their cheeks together. “It’d be great if you could come Hinata.” Hinata felt Ino’s face firm up in a smile next to her. “Everyone is going. And everyone also happens to include-“

“Come on Ino, we’ve got other people to find.” Shikamaru interrupted, reaching over to untangle her from Hinata. “See you later Hinata.”

Hinata looked after them for a beat before turning back to the phone still clutched in her hand. He thumbs hovered over the screen as she mulled over what to say.

She shouldn’t be entertaining the thought. Her father would never go for it. He had said he was raising the finest minds in Konoha and therefore there was no time for trivial distractions.

But…

But she really wanted to go.

“Maybe I can sell him with studies.” Sasuke sighed as Hinata continued. “I can write him a paper. I’d have all of tonight to write it a-and can include statistics of how stressing high school can be.”

She had come over today so they could work on their physics homework together. Hinata claimed she was lacking on the subject but she hardly ever needed help applying what they’d learned in class to the homework. There was a small part of him that wondered if she used this as an excuse to get out of the house.

Or maybe even spend some extra time with him.  

But he didn’t dwell on that thought long. Instead he leaned his back against his mattress from his place on the floor, legs outstretched on his carpeted floor as Hinata paced, occasionally stepping over his legs. Her arms fluttered around her as she talked. He wouldn’t have pegged her for a nervous babbler but the more he knew her the more he was surprised by her. At this point that in and of itself should no longer be surprising.

She groaned, crumpling and plopping herself on the floor next to him, bending her legs up and circling her arms around herself. He reached up and patted her arm awkwardly.

“He’ll never buy any of that,” she sniffed into her knees.

Sasuke felt useless, watching her agonize over the different way she could possibly try to convince her father to let her go to the party. It wasn’t that he didn’t have any ideas to offer. The problem was that he did, and judging by her current position next to him on the floor of his room, it seemed like it was also likely her only choice.

He continued his patting, the suggestion at the tip of his tongue.

But the memory of her standing in the entryway of her family’s law firm, face contorted and body trembling with the force of holding back her sobs as traitorous tears streamed down her face held him back.

He didn’t want to get her in trouble. He’d hate for them to get caught and for her to be ordered to stay away from him, forever branded as a bad influence in the eyes of the Hyuuga patriarch. He shifted where he sat, scooting closer to her to put an arm around her. She lifted her head to reposition herself and lean against his shoulder.

His fingers brushed against the soft fabric of her sweater as she snuggled closer to him, her nose brushing the fabric of his t-shirt as she sighed. He felt her shoulders slowly lower themselves as she relaxed against him and the gentle scent of her shampoo filled his senses.

His bedroom door remained open, per his father’s request. He could hear his mother moving around downstairs, pans clanging loudly in the relative silence of the house. Hinata had settled against him but, even though she was relaxed, he could almost hear the thoughts buzzing around her mind.

“Why is it so important you go?” He murmured against her hair. She lifted herself from him, separating their contact. He immediately missed her warmth but kept himself where he was.

“I just… I mean haven’t you notice that I haven’t been to any kind of party, birthday or not, since we’d turned thirteen?” She huffed, lips puckering in a pout. “I just… I just work really hard. I want to be what he wants me to be. B-but I’m not a robot!” She turned to him, eyes shining. “You were right before, about me being up tight. I don’t w-want to be seen like that… all the time.”

She licked her lips and he glanced down at them briefly before looking back up to her eyes. “I’ll sneak you out.”

“Hanabi-“

“Absolutely not. This is ridiculous and I’m not going down with you.”

“Hanabi, please I’ll owe you-“

“Too much! Besides, aren’t teenage parties supposed to be dangerous?” Hanabi kept her arms crossed over her, chin tilted upwards and away from Hinata who kneeled before her. Hinata huffed, puffing her cheeks out exaggeratedly.

“You watch too many movies, Hanabi. It’ll be at Choji’s house. You know Choji, he’s nice, yes?” She could see her sister looking at her out of the corner of her eye and she felt a small sliver of hope flutter at her chest. “Yes?”

“Will there be alcohol?”

“I’m not-“

“Yes or no question, Hinata.”

“… I don’t have an honest answer to that.” She took a deep breath. She appreciated her sister’s concern but she was the older one. She also considered herself incredibly responsible so she wasn’t sure why her younger sister was reacting this way. “Hanabi, please this means a lot to me. I really want to go.”

Hanabi shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Hinata blinked up at her, hands clasped together as she looked up at her sister. Hanabi glanced down then turned away sharply. She hummed a few notes before sighing, shoulders drooping dramatically. “Fine! I’ll cover for you. Not that you have much to worry about, I don’t think he’ll be home until tomorrow.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Yeah, yeah thank me. Please just… be careful. Try not to get caught… too.” Hinata embraced her sister, twirling her small frame around once before putting her back on her feet and running back to her bedroom.

Their father had sent them a message that he had to stay at the office tonight and would likely be back sometime tomorrow. Her fingers couldn’t switch message screens fast enough as she typed up a message to Sasuke to let him know. This would simplify things for their plan tonight.

She could hardly contain her excitement, skipping the last few paces to her room so that she could get ready.

Sasuke was annoyed.

Arms crossed, he scowled down at Sakura who was sitting in front of her vanity curling her hair. Naruto was sprawled on her bed, arms circled around one of her pillows, on his stomach, as he watched curiously.

Sakura was driving tonight. It was her turn, as Sasuke had driven the last time they went out like this and Naruto the time before that. They didn’t often go out together but they always made sure to keep track of the rotation to keep things fair.

So Sakura’s current attitude at his request was rubbing him in all the wrong ways.

“I don’t think it’s an unreasonable request,” he bit, walking over to where she sat to catch her eye in the mirror. She kept her eyes focused on her reflection as she wound some hair around her curling wand.

“You’re right,” her tone was clam, almost bored as she continued her movements around her head. “It’s not an unreasonable request, but as I said before, she’s kind of out of the way from the rest of us. Can’t she borrow her dad’s car? Aren’t they rich?” She wrinkled her nose as the finished off the last bit of her hair. Sasuke felt his nostrils flare.

“Why do you have to be such a fucking bitch sometimes?”

“Woah, guys chill. Sakura, Hinata’s really not that out of the way. Is it really such a big deal to swing by and grab her and then drop her off?” Naruto pushed himself from Sakura’s bed, sitting up to look between his two friends. Sakura sniffed, pulling some eyeliner from her make-up bag and shifting closer to the mirror.

“She is though. My dad is already upset I’ll be out tonight with you two losers, I don’t think he’d appreciate me also taxi-ing half the school around.”

“I’m asking you to pick up one girl. Naruto is staying with me tonight, it’s not even an extra trip! I didn’t give you this much push back when you wanted to go to iHop at three in the morning.” Sakura slammed her eyeliner down.

“I already told you I can’t do it! And maybe it’s also because I don’t want to. Hinata and I aren’t even friends like that Sasuke. You told her you’d get her to that party, I didn’t.” She huffed, digging roughly through her bag before getting frustrated and throwing it back on to the table. She turned in her seat, freshly curled hair flying around her. He had never seen her look so upset at him. “If you need to get her there, you figure something else out but she’s not riding with me.”

They glared at each other, the silence of the room enveloping them like a heavy blanket. Naruto looked on helplessly, unsure what to say to placate both of them.

Sasuke grunted, accepting the stalemate and turned, leaving them both without a word.

Hinata looked different.

Not in a bad way.

Hinata normally looked simple. She seldom wore more than maybe some lip balm at school and her clothes were modest, generally staying away from loud prints or colors. Hinata was clean cut, keeping with her trend of sticking to the background. The most he’d ever seen her dressed up was for Career Day.

Tonight she… Did something.

Her hair was pulled up into a high pony tail, hanging down her back in a sleek cascade of straight midnight. Her eyes were framed with dark mascara and the edges of her lids shimmered with gold flecks of glitter that made her eyes shine.  

She blinked up at him, beaming as she shouted a good-bye over her shoulder before shutting the door and skipping up to stand beside him. He could feel the excitement rolling off her in waves and felt his scowl from earlier fade into a smirk to match her smile. She was wearing a dress.

A dress.

A dress that was a rich shade of navy blue and cinched at the waist and fluttered around her pale legs playfully as she shifted and shimmied, seemingly unable to stand still. She pulled at the edges of her cardigan and bobbed up and down on the balls of her booted feet. “A-ah, I though Sakura and Naruto were-“

“They’re meeting us there.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and jerked his head towards his brother’s car. “Come on.”

She shrugged off his comment and followed after him, giggling when he’d opened the passenger side door for her and offered her a bow.

He had felt relieved when she’d said her father wouldn’t be home tonight so there would be no actual sneaking when it came to getting her to the party. When he had gotten that message earlier today he had made the mistake of hoping tonight would go well. That he’d have a good time with little to no drama.

Foolish of him to even fathom that thought.

Sakura had been distant lately. More specifically, she’d been distant whenever he brought Hinata with him to hang out in between classes or during their free periods or at lunch. She’d remained civil, Sakura was never the type to get catty if she had a choice, but she also wasn’t warm which had upset Sasuke. Hinata normally kept to herself. She wasn’t mean or rude and she seemed like she genuinely wanted to get along with Sakura when they were together. She even did her best to remain calm for Naruto. She wanted to be friends. He couldn’t understand what Sakura’s deal was.

Especially with the whole ride thing. He wasn’t even asking her to do anything nefarious like drive with the headlights off and parking a block down from the Hyuuga mansion since they didn’t have to sneak. He was about ready to really bite her head off and he would have…

But Sakura was one of his best friends.

He just didn’t get girls.

Hinata’s soft gasp pulled him from his thoughts. He shook his head slightly to clear his head to focus on what she was reacting to.

Cars.

A lot of them.

Up and down on both sides of a nondescript street. He pulled over, mindful of his brother’s car and parking towards the end of the street where there would be less traffic. Hinata leaned up towards the window, gaping at the amount of teenagers walking down the sidewalk to make it up to a house that had the music blaring so loud the windows were shaking. She cleared her throat before turning towards him.

“This… Suddenly doesn’t seem like such a good idea.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and averted her gaze, looking down into her lap where she fiddled with the edges of her sweater.

“I thought you were excited?” He raised his eyebrows at her, holding back a chuckle when she ducked her head. She was blinking rapidly, eyes wide as she continued her stare down of her knees.

“I thought so too?” She said quietly, after a few moments of thinking. She sighed. “I also didn’t think there’d be so many…” Someone whooped just outside her door and an incessant tapping started tapping at his window.

“People?” He finished for her, glancing at who was at his window to see Naruto grinning back at him, continuing his staccato beat. He flipped him off and returned his focus on the girl next to him. She had starting drumming her fingers against her bare knees. She had painted her nails a pale peach color. He reached over and put a hand over both of hers, noting how small they seemed underneath his and how soft the skin of her knees were when his fingers brushed against them. The tips of her fingers were cool against his skin. Or maybe he was just warm.

“It’ll be okay. I promise. Just stay close to me and after a bit we can leave if you really aren’t having fun.” She turned one of her hands around and laced her fingers with his. She gave them a squeeze before nodding, not looking up from their entwined fingers. He returned her squeeze before letting go to get out.

Hinata kept a firm grip on the sleeve of Sasuke’s dark jacket and kept her eyes wide as he lead them through the crowd of people.

The last time he had been to Choji’s house was when he had his twelfth birthday party here four years ago. The house looked the same but this was definitely a different kind of party than the one he had been throwing back then.

Most of the furniture had been pushed against the walls. There were white folding tables set up with snacks and drinks. She wrinkled her nose when they passed a little too closely to the punch and she felt the distinct burning scent of alcohol assaulting her. The music was loud, the bass pulsing so deeply it felt like her whole body pulsated with the rest of the house.

People were talking, faces split too wide in too large smiles as they laughed and joked, red solo cups in their hands as they milled about. Some people turned and even smiled at her when they recognized her to which she returned tentatively, never loosening her grip on Sasuke who seemed determined to cut straight through and out of the house. When they started crossing the threshold of the back door through the kitchen she realized why.

Choji’s house was built into the side of a hill. The sliding doors lead to a porch that had stairs that led down to an open deck that overlooked the city. Fairy lights were strung around the railing and Hinata felt her breath catch. Her hand fell away from Sasuke’s sleeve as she gaped. He paused when he felt her the absence of her hand.

It was quieter outside, the thumping music turning more into a gentle hum mixing with the voices of everyone who was standing around the porch. She happened to catch Sasuke out of the corner of her eye, pushing his unruly hair out of his face only for it to fall around him again, framing his features in that devastating way the other girls often spoke of in the bathroom between class periods.

Her pulse quickened when he saw she was watching him and he smirked. “Want a drink?”

Hinata was magic.

He was convinced.

Her eyes were still sparkling and he was stuck between deciding if it was because of the twinkling fairy lights or because Naruto was giving her some favorable attention at the moment. The blond was leaning in close so that they could hear each other and laughing often as they joked. She looked slight next to Naruto’s taller frame, even with the help of the slight heal of her boots. He stared when she started to rock on her feet, skirt of her dress brushing against her smooth legs and he remembered how feather soft her skin was when his hand had brushed against her knees when he’d taken her hand in the car earlier that night.

“Do you think she still has a crush on him? “ Sakura sidled up to him. She had been heavier handed with her makeup than Hinata had, winged eyeliner framing her eyes and sharpening her catlike gaze tenfold. He shrugged, still upset with her from before.  She sighed. “I wonder if he’s changed his mind about her. She’s not quite as mousy as she was last year.” He snorted.

“Do I detect a hint of jealousy?” He said so jokingly, but when she didn’t say anything after a while, he turned to study her. Really study her.

Sakura was watching Naruto, lips turned downward as he continued to laugh with Hinata. He thought back to their argument from earlier in the evening. She was gripping a red solo cup tightly, plastic crackling against the strain of her fingers. He recalled her aloof attitude towards Hinata.

“Shit, you are jealous.” She put her cup down on the railing and leaned back, weight balanced on her forearms but still keeping her eyes fixed on Naruto. She took a deep breath.

“Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel.” She kicked at the ground, toeing at a knock in the wood of the deck beneath them. She was wearing cut-off jeans. It was September and she was wearing cut offs. He watched goose pimples raise on her arms as a cool breeze whirled around them. “He kissed me yesterday…” She said quietly, wary of eavesdroppers, though the closest group of people aside from Naruto and Hinata were standing closer to the stairs.

“Did you not want that?” He kept his tone neutral, unsure how to react at hearing that Naruto had finally made a move. She swayed to the gentle beat of the song that came up from the house.

“I just said I don’t know… I thought-“She sighed. “I had been kind of hoping you’d make a move before he did to not make it awkward if I jumped right on it.”

“Sakura-“

“I know. We’ve talked about it.” Naruto caught her eye then and his expression softened before he returned his focus on Hinata.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. I walked away.”

She had broken her promise.

And Hanabi was going to be mad.

And she didn’t care.

The music had died down and the crowd had thinned out to a more manageable size as she went about the deck, swaying on her feet, losing her balance as she bent to pick up trash from the floor. Ino had enlisted she and Sakura to help in the clean-up which was the least she could do for all the fun she had just had.

Sasuke had warned her to take it easy on the punch, surreptitiously grabbing a red cup with ice and a bottle of water as he spoke close to her ear. She shivered now at the memory of how hot his breath felt against the shell of her ear and she giggled, further falling into her lean and on to the deck with a soft thump.

“Hinata!” Ino rushed over, trash bag bumping against her knee in a rustle of plastic. Hinata turned over and looked up at the sky only to close her eyes because was it normal for the earth to be rotating so fast? Cool fingers pressed against her feverish skin and she sighed at the contact. Soothing. So soothing.

“Sasuke, weren’t you supposed to be taking care of her?” Ino barked out and it was all Hinata could do not to groan and try to roll away from the noise.

“I told her to take it easy.”

“A warning and actually taking care of her are two really different things dude.” Naruto piped up from somewhere farther away.

“Move. All of you are useless.” Sakura. Another set of cool hands against her neck and then surprisingly strong arms heaving her into a sitting position. “I know, I know, come on let’s get you some water.” Sakura’s tone was surprisingly gentle as she continued to murmur encouragements and lead her towards the living room.

A bottle of water was pushed into her hands and the thought of having to swallow something made her feel the telltale acidic taste of bile at the back of her throat. She whimpered. “No I’m-“

Sakura sighed, pushed Hinata back against the couch and into another pair of slender arms. Presumably Ino’s. “I’ll go look for some Gatorade.” She grumbled.

Hinata tried to focus on her breathing. The punch she had been drinking, though reeked of alcohol, had been deceptively sweet so she’d definitely had more than she should have. Especially since she’d never had more than a few sips of wine before. She counted the rotations to the circular motion Ino was massaging into her shoulder.

Another cup was pressing into her hands along with some aspirin. “Drink.”

“What time is it?” This was from a male voice though she couldn’t place it and didn’t dare turn her head from her hand as she tried to guide the pills to her mouth.

“Just about four and I have to be home soon. My dad is going to kill me…” Sakura stood and moved away from Hinata. She heard her saying something to someone but couldn’t make out the words. Then, with the same aloof tone she had been addressing Hinata the last few weeks: “We’re taking off. See you guys on Monday.”

It was six.

He could already see the sky shifting in color, light peaking from the distance as the sky durned a gradient of orange, yellow, and blue. Hinata’s phone had started buzzing about a half hour earlier, her little sister’s name flashing across the screen with a string of rainbow and unicorn emojis.

Hinata herself was curled into his side, breath coming in even puffs against his neck as she slept off the alcohol in her system.

He had to give her some credit. She had refused to throw up even though Ino and Shikamaru tried to reason with her that if she expelled some of the poison from her system she may feel better a little faster. Apparently, Hinata could be incredibly stubborn when all her inhibitions had been removed. Instead she had curled into his side like a cat, demanding he share the warmth of his jacket before passing out against him, arms circled around his torso in a grip he didn’t think her capable of.

She smelled of flowers, soap, and alcohol, her hair long since mussed and falling out of its sleek pony tail. Her mascara had smudged through the night and the glitter was no longer just on her eyelids but smeared across her face, sparkling against the growing light of sunrise.

She looked beautiful, skin sparkling and lips slightly parted in sleep. It didn’t cost Sasuke as much as he thought it would to admit this to himself. He tightened his hold on her when she shifted and reached behind her for the phone propped up on the arm of the couch.

“Hinata? Oh thank god! Dad won’t be home until after lunch so you have time to get home-“

“Hanabi?”

“… Where’s my sister? Who are you? I’ll have you know that’s a state of the art phone in your hands right now and I can track her right now!”

“Please calm down,” he spoke gruffly, shifting the phone to the ear farthest from Hinata so her sister’s voice wouldn’t wake her. “Hinata is fine. She’s asleep.”

He could almost hear her eyes narrowing when she next spoke. “Who is this?”

“Sasuke.” An audible sigh of relief on the other end before she was back to business.

“Look, Sasuke,” she said his name like he was the slimiest thing that had ever dared speak to her. “Hinata was supposed to be home hours ago. We’re both going to be dead if she’s not back before our dad is home so if you would please so kindly escort Cinderella home? The carriage has been turned back into a pumpkin and the mice have chores to do.”

The call disconnected with three beeps and Sasuke sank further into the cushions. Hinata stirred in his arms and he found her peering up at him blearily. “Am I in trouble?” She whispered, the fear, even in her groggy state, evident in her voice.

He took the time to smooth the hair from her face and she leaned into his touch. He smiled down at her. “Not yet.”

“Good…” She murmured, hiding her face in his neck. They stayed like that a moment longer, mockingbirds beginning their morning songs. “Did I… Do anything dumb in front of Naruto again?” This she asked quietly, the hesitation in her question clear.

Did she do something embarrassing? Did she confess again like she had at the end of their freshman year? He felt his heart contract painfully in his chest.

“No.”

She sighed, her arms coming around him tighter, breath evening out again as she steadily fell back to sleep. “Good,” she breathed. “Because that’s not even the case anymore…” She trailed off, breathing even as sleep overcame her again.

Sasuke ran a hand up and down her back and she turned over her sleepily mumbled words over in his mind.

[sophiescarlet]

my anime boston recap

i told a few people i’d write this, so here. warning, it’s long as fuck.

rebecca black - friday

while waiting for artists’ alley to open, i sat in a corner and watched people go by and saw a group cosplaying the main characters from the extremely underrecognized game the arcana, which was awesome and i totally would have asked for a picture but i’m way too shy. even though i’ve asked cosplayers for pictures before but i seem to have regressed in that sense...

i also saw (and this happened throughout the con) a bunch of hot, fit, really thin girls, which made me feel gay (as expected) but also really envious and sad and insecure about my body. cause i wish i looked more like them.

i also saw two girls cosplaying snow halation!honoka and kotori from love live, and the honoka had a giant honk nesoberi that i totally envy, and then right afterward a hate na heartbeat!eli and nozomi came around the corner and they were the coolest. i wish i’d had the guts to ask them for a picture too.

finally i went to artists’ alley and i got to buy a print from one of my favorite persona 5 fan artists but unfortunately she didn’t have the postcard set i wanted to buy. BUT right across was another fan artist whose stuff i really like so i bought a BUNCH of her prints - one of each of the p5 girls for me, and an extra makoto for my friend - and she came over to thank me and we chatted a little and it was nice. i am fucking determined to befriend some of these people and now at least one of them knows who i am.

i went to a panel on “fandom as coping” presented by a social worker which was really cool. she talked about how even though she’s a social worker, she still went through a severely suicidal period this past year and survived because of yuri on ice. i left partway through because then she turned it over to the audience to share our stories and i didn’t need to hear from a bunch of people talking about bad things that had happened to them.

the next thing i went to, after hanging around the vendors for a while, was tara platt’s (mitsuru and elizabeth from persona 3) q&a. she was really cool, and i actually managed to ask her a question, which was which one she preferred. (she said she can’t choose a favorite, but had more fun with elizabeth.)

i went to a presentation by sunrise, the studio that made love live among other things, but it was boring and i left early again because they were talking about gundam and other action stuff i don’t care about.

i’d planned on going to johnny yong bosch’s (makoto from free, kitamura from toradora, yu and adachi from p4) q&a, but it had a hella long line and it was obvious i wasn’t going to get in since the room wasn’t going to accommodate that many people. so i went over to a panel greg ayres (kaoru from ouran, nagisa from free, monokuma from the danganronpa anime) was doing on “it gets better.” come to find out he is openly bi! and is good friends with his ex who’s a trans woman and confronted her family about misgendering her! he is my new fav ngl and a far cry from hikaru’s va whom i met at tora-con a few years ago and was kind of an ego. it was a conversation sort of panel and we talked about a lot of stuff around queerness and bullying. i had to leave that one early too, but wished i could have stayed for the whole thing. also, there was a girl across the aisle from me who mentioned she was trans, and at one point i happened to catch her looking at me, and i think she was checking me out! sadly, i did not run into her again.

the reason i had to leave early was to get johnny’s autograph. he was really cool and i totes wish i could’ve gone to his q&a. since i don’t actually have any free! or toradora! or p4 merch, i had him sign my p3/p5 dancing game since it did at least come with p4 dancing as a free download. he took his daughter with him to the con which i find adorable though i have to wonder how bored she was sitting there for an hour and a half while he signed autographs.

katy perry - last friday night

at this point, i had a couple hours to kill, so i walked out to newbury comics in the hopes they’d have the bananarama vinyl reissues from the british record store day. they didn’t (though weirdly they did have the shakespears sister one), but they had kacey musgraves’ golden hour on sale, and i’ve been waffling on buying that for ages, so i finally snapped it up. then i went back to the mall where the con (sort of) was and got some godiva ice cream, which was even more overpriced than you’d expect but still very good.

so my last agenda item for the day was yuri lowenthal’s (makoto/minato from p3, yosuke from p4) q&a, which tara crashed because they’re married, which i love because it means that mitsuru is irl the canon waifu. once again i managed to ask a question, which was which p3 girl he’d like to have minato end up with, which made everyone laugh, and of course he said “i want to preserve my marriage, so either mitsuru or elizabeth.”

then i went home and felt like death.

i don’t know any songs that have “saturday morning” in the title

i took an uber to the con for saturday because the T was being replaced with a shuttle bus and i decided i’d rather pay $17 each way for a 15-minute trip than $2.50 each way for a 90-minute trip.

i went to a panel on “idols in anime” that was kind of interesting but i didn’t take much away from it, other than that i should maybe watch revue starlight. but then i went to a panel on “diversity in the magical girl genre” that was really cool. it was hosted by a queer latina woman and she talked about racial, gender, sexual, and ability diversity. it was interesting because she has a very negative view of yuuki yuuna, which i can certainly understand but don’t really share. but it was a great panel and i feel like i learned a lot. one neat idea she had was that what comes across as queerbaiting (or whatever-baiting) to western audiences can be really progressive representation in japan, and vice versa.

after that i went to another panel on “magical girl fashion” and literally got up and left because i couldn’t stand how wrong the presenter was.

i’d missed out both days on the free autograph passes for yuri and tara, so i went to their paid session, which to make a long story short was an absolute fucking disaster, and i ended up making a complaint, during which i cried in front of the con’s assistant director. so there’s something i can check off my bucket list. i also met the director, who came over to reassure me they were fixing things and said, “i keep saying i need a machete to take off people’s heads this year.” so obviously i immediately liked her! in the end, i did get their autographs (on the same p3d/p5d game) for fifty fucking dollars... i’d been expecting more like thirty. and they didn’t even personalize them. sad trombone noise. they were nice though.

then i rushed over to the free autographs and saw kara edwards (chihiro in the danganronpa anime) and had her autograph a wall scroll i’d bought from a vendor. i wish i could’ve gone to her q&a because she seemed sweet.

and right after THAT, i got in line for tara sands (a bunch of pokemon) and had her sign a manga volume i bought for my friend. she was also awesome and i really wish i could have gone to her q&a because we had this exchange:

me: this is for my friend who’s a huge bulbasaur fan

sands: oh, you’re such a good friend!

me: i know. and i won’t let them forget it.

sands: [laughs] that’s good! keep it up, i like your style!

i then went to greg’s q&a, which was fun. he mentioned that while recording the audio commentary for ouran, caitlin glass (haruhi) and todd haberkorn (hikaru) got really uncomfortable during one of the twincest scenes and started talking about anything else they could so they wouldn’t have to talk about the twincest, and in the commentary you can just hear greg laugh a little because he’d made himself laugh by thinking of saying “i just think it’s hot” but kept himself from saying it out loud. the hero we deserve tbh.

whigfield - saturday night (i actually don’t like that song btw)

at this point, it was time for the 18+ panels to start, so i went to one where yuri, tara platt, lisa ortiz (idk her), and billy kametz (same) did in-character readings of various scripts. they did a couple of star wars ones which obviously did nothing for me, except that tara did bb-8 in a christopher walken voice, which was fucking hysterical. the other one i remember was lisa doing a southern belle voice narrating the notebook, with yuri as sasuke (i think) as noah, and billy as lelouch (?) as ally. but the best one, of course, was the last one, which was the iocane powder scene from the princess bride, performed by yuri as spider-cop (iirc) as the sicilian and tara as elizabeth as westley. it was AMAZING.

then i went to greg’s 18+ panel where he recounted risqué stories like when his mom wanted to watch an anime where his character has anal sex. i remember it being hilarious but unfortunately don’t remember any specifics other than him affectionately calling his lawyer the C-word and a story about beating up an asshat in the o’hare airport after asshat broke a jigglypuff ornament his friend made him.

blondie - sunday girl

so having stayed out past 11:30 for greg’s panel the night before, and forgetting to take melatonin before bed... i actually couldn’t wake up sunday morning so didn’t end up going back to the con at all. which was really sad and disappointing as it meant i missed getting greg’s autograph, a panel on autism in anime fandom, and the voice actor roundtable panel, all of which i really wanted. so after finally getting up at 2:30pm i spent the rest of the day super depressed and mad at myself and just sad and disappointed.

the end.

[narutopartoneheadcanons]

Squad 7: Hangout Headcanons

What is a group of ninja supposed to do while they’re off duty and done training with on missions in sight??

Well, Kakashi still wants to build up their camaderie, so he proposed a 2-2-2-1 schedule.

After training, the four of them will go out and do something. Naruto picks the activity for 2 days, Sakura gets 2, Sasuke gets 2, and Kakashi takes Sunday.

So Mondays and Thursdays belong to Naruto: His group activities are...

Going to get ramen

Seeing movies

Playing (mostly) harmless pranks, although the other 3 object from time to time.

Coming up with cool names for team attacks

Tickle fights. He loves them. If it means he gets to see Sakura smile or Sasuke not brood, then he’s happy. Kakashi referees usually.

Tuesdays and Fridays are Sakura’s days!

Going out for tea! Ginseng for her and Kakashi, green tea for Sasuke. Mint for Naruto (with lots of sugar. it’s the only way he tolerates it)

Laying down in the grass and just relaxing. They run into Shikamaru doing the same thing sometimes. He’ll ask to join them and sometimes even bring Ino along. When they aren’t fighting, the two get along well.

Doing origami

Practicing flower fortunes

Going to fairs. She and Kakashi are usually the biggest winners. Naruto has a lot of (dumb) luck, and Sasuke has a lot of skill, but Sakura has a little of both luck and skill so winning comes easy to her! Kakashi makes it look easy.

Wednesdays and Saturdays are Sasuke!

Extra training. He can never get enough.

Darts. Sasuke and Kakashi vie for victory. Oddly enough, neither of them are averse to using the Sharingan for a bit of help. Naruto usually comefs in last, but Sakura will win from time to time because she goes for a combination of high points even if she can’t hit the bullseye reliably.

Meditating. Surprisingly, Naruto is very on board with this (Iruka and Sarutobi used to have him meditate to practice his chakra control after failing out of the Naruto and Sasuke enjoy it, but Sakura gets bored a little too easily, although she’ll put a brave front up to try to impress Sasuke. Kakashi falls asleep every time, but luckily he doesn’t snore, so no one notices.

Going on long walks through the forest as a group

Tree climbing. He takes his training very seriously. Wednesday he climbs without his hands, using just chakra in his feet. Saturdays he tries to climb with just his hands, and without his feet. It...doesn’t work well...even with his chakra control.

Finally, Sundays belong to Kakashi-senseit!

Group reading! Naruto reads comics, Sakura reads history books, and Sasuke actually doesn’t like to read. It’s too passive for him. He prefers learning from experience. But he’ll read ninja scrolls and practice handsigns.

Logic puzzles and riddles! He borrowed the book from Asuma. It’s the one he uses to train Shikamaru’s brain. Sakura and Sasuke do most of the solving, although Naruto sometimes figures out the correct answer through clever deduction and thinking at angles the other two don’t. The three really compliment each other on logical fronts. Sasuke uses common sense and the direct path to solve riddles. Sakura analyzes and figures out what information she’s missing before coming to a conclusion. Naruto finds alternate angles, thinking of a solution and then working backwards to see if it fits with the puzzles.

Nindo work with Gai! They all sit around and discuss their Nindos. We’e all heard Naruto’s meaning Nindos, but Sakura says hers is to become a ninja the world can’t ignore. Sasuke’s is oddly heartfelt, saying his is to protect the ones he loves. Kakashi won’t disclose his.

Karaoke! Naruto is oddly enough the best singer! Sakura can’t hold a tune, but she plays instruments pretty well! Kakashi wanted to surprise Sasuke so he gave him a song he picked himself. Little did he know it was rap, and Sasuke scrambled to keep up with the lyrics, even trying to use his Sharingan to predict the next ones. Naruto and Sakura were rolling.

Compliments! Everyone has to say something nice about everyone else in the group. Something sincere. No “I guess you’re not the worst person in the world, Naruto” for you, Sakura and Sasuke. It has to be sincere and heartfelt and wholehearted! It...takes a while.

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Forty-Two: That’s the Plan ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura ] [ SasuHina, NaruSaku ] [ Verse: A Light Amongst Shadows ] [ AO3 Link ]

“So, think you can pull this off for me?”

A hand rubs over a chin with a thoughtful hum. “Okay, so...uh…” Pause. “...go over it one more time for me?”

Deadpanning, Sasuke heaves a small sigh. “...I managed to get Hinata and I some vacation time from the force, and -”

“What do you mean managed...you run the thing! Can’t you just...get up and leave whenever you want?”

“Naruto...given that you’re next in line to be Hokage, the notion you believe that sort of thing possible is worrying. No, I can’t just get up and leave. I had to make arrangements. Plan ahead. So nothing would be left uncovered, and the rest of the force could prepare. Got it?”

“...yeah, got it.”

A pause as he waits for another interruption. When one is not forthcoming, Sasuke goes on. “...so, since we have some time - a week - I want to take her up north to Cha no Kuni.”

“Ooh, good choice!”

“...but I want to have everything all packed up the day before, so I can surprise her. I need you and Sakura to just...get Hinata out of the house for a while. Think you can handle that?”

“Oh sure, sure! That’ll be a piece of cake! How long ya need?”

“Probably a few hours, just to be safe. She already knows we have this Saturday off. That’s the day we’ll start getting ready, and you guys will keep her busy. Then we’ll leave Sunday morning. Or, that’s the plan, anyway.”

“All right, I gotcha! We can do that no problem! One distracted Hinata, coming right up!”

“And it should go without saying -” (but this is Naruto they’re talking about) “- but don’t mention anything about this to her. Nothing about the vacation, or where we’re going, or the time off. All she needs to know is that you guys want to see her for a while, and I’ve got to stay home to...work on a report.” He doesn’t actually have an alibi yet, but...he’ll come up with something.

“Sure thing! I’ll talk to Sakura about it tonight, and we’ll plan something out in advance. And if things go a little wonky, we’ll make it up as we go! I’m great at that!”

Oh, sure you are… “All right then. If not sooner, I’ll see you Saturday.”

The blond gives a mock salute. “Aye aye!”

Unfortunately, the few days pass in a sluggish drone. While it’s more than easy for Sasuke to keep up routine and let nothing slip, his eagerness borders on annoying. They haven’t really had a proper vacation since they started working in the revitalized police force, let alone since they become a couple. As far as he’s concerned, this entire getaway is long overdue. And waiting is practically torture.

Come Friday, he makes his first move, hinting at the large report he has to work on. “I’ll probably need to come in and do a little overtime.”

Putting on her coat at the door, Hinata pauses. “...really? I was hoping we could do something this weekend, since we actually have it off for once…”

Facade perfect, Sasuke gives a small shrug. “Well, we’ll see how Sunday goes. But tomorrow, at least, I better come in for a few hours. Maybe we can get dinner after. How’s that sound?”

“...that would be nice.”

Shuffling things around, he then pauses. “...it’s been a while since you’ve been out yourself, you know. Maybe you should pop in on Sakura tomorrow while I chip at this.”

“I don’t want to be out having fun while you’re stuck working!”

“Hinata, I don’t mind. It’s your weekend, too. I want you to enjoy it.”

Lips purse in a pout, and Sasuke can’t help but flicker eyes to them for a moment wantingly. “...it doesn’t seem fair…”

“A lot of things in life aren’t fair. But this is hardly one I’m going to cry over, Hinata. Call her tonight and see if she’s free. Then we’ll get something to eat once I’m done, okay?”

“Oh...okay.”

The walk home is uneventful, and Sasuke busies himself while Hinata dials her friend’s number, already knowing what will be said. He listens in nonetheless, appearing focused on dinner and smirking a bit to himself as he hears plans being made. Phase one, complete.

The pair wake a bit late the next morning, nevertheless sleeping in a bit on a day off. Hinata rises first to make breakfast, and Sasuke gathers up his fake report. “What’s all that for, anyway?” she asks.

“Oh, apparently someone from out of town was involved in a scuffle the other day. The paperwork is a bit more a headache because they’re not local, but it shouldn’t take much to finish up. A few hours, maybe.”

“Hm...I must have missed that one.”

“It wasn’t anything notable besides it being someone from another village.”

Just as he starts doing up dishes, Hinata changing into informal clothes, a knock sounds at the door. Sasuke opens it, spying Sakura just outside. She beams, affording a momentary wink. “Hey Sasuke-kun! Hinata-chan ready yet?”

“I think she’s just finishing up. Thanks for giving her something to do while I wrap up that assignment.”

“Of course! It’s not like I’m ever opposed to seeing her, right?” Once the Hyūga emerges, Sakura begins gushing about some sale going on in the heart of the village. “And Naruto should have a little time off early this afternoon, so we can all have lunch!”

Hinata wilts a bit. “Oh...but, without Sasuke…?”

“Oh, I’m sure he doesn’t mind!”

“Not in the least,” Sasuke agrees from the kitchen sink.

That earns a soft huff of laughter. “Oh...all right.”

“I’ll send a hawk once I’m done, and you can meet me somewhere, Hinata.”

“Okay...try not to die of boredom?”

“I’ll give it my best effort.”

Only once they’ve been gone long enough does he peek out the window, senses stretching and finding the compound empty of signatures save for that of his niece, nephew, and brother’s wife in the house next door. Nodding curtly to himself, Sasuke gets to work packing.

A few blocks away by that point, Hinata watches her surroundings idly as Sakura rambles about some recent shinobi gossip. She’ll admit, she’s a bit out of the loop now that most of her time is spent either on duty with the police, or with the new branch of her family.

“And I don’t know why Shikamaru tries to hide it, it’s plain as day! Temari’s running out of excuses about why she’s showing up in Konoha so often.”

“Mm.”

The rosette glances over curiously. “Hey...you listening?”

“Oh, yes! Sorry - I’m just a little tired. Work is busy.”

“So I’ve heard! Y’know, I’m so glad you and Sasuke-kun get to work together like that. And you both seem really happy in your jobs!”

“We are! It’s not as...glamorous or exciting as shinobi work, but it’s important, you know? N-not that shinobi work isn’t! But it just feels a bit more...connected to the people of the village. We work with them, rather than...for them.”

“Ahh, I gotcha! I think that suits you really well, Hinata-chan - you’re so personable!”

“I...I am?”

“Of course you are! I mean, look at you: you tamed the most anti-social, temperamental man in the village,” Sakura teases, smirking slyly. “If that doesn’t mean you’ve got the patience and virtues of a goddess, I dunno what does.”

“S-Sakura-chan!”

They skim the many shops collaborating mark downs of their goods, talking all the while and continuing to catch up. By early afternoon, they each have a few bags (much to Hinata’s guilt - she tries to be frugal…), and meet up with Naruto at Ichiraku.

Sakura gives her fiance a smile that clearly says, “Mess this up, and you’re sleeping on the couch for a week!”

“How ya been, Hinata-chan?!”

“I’m g-good, Naruto-kun! How goes your training with Kakashi-sensei?”

“Ugh, it’s such a drag - he hounds me like one of his ninken!”

“You’re starting to sound like Shikamaru-kun!”

They all take seats in the ramen bar, food steaming in the chilly air. “Man, I can’t wait for Spring to get here...I want there to be grass and blue skies again!”

“I think we’re all feeling that way,” Sakura sighs in agreement with the blond. “What I’d give to see a flower blooming, or a bee buzzing! I try to go to the onsen to feel a little heat, but...you always have to get back out again.”

“I haven’t been to one in far too long…” Hinata admits sheepishly.

“Well, you’ll have to do that next week!”

Sakura jolts at Naruto’s words, Hinata glancing curiously. “Next week…?”

Realizing his mistake, he goes stock still, blinking. “Uh...y-y’know...it’s supposed to be extra cold! So...it’d be a good time for it, huh?”

“Funny, I hadn’t heard that…”

Behind Hinata and out of sight, Sakura death glares.

“But uh...guess you’re pretty busy with work, huh?”

“Yeah. Poor Sasuke still has something to do today, I feel so bad…”

“Nah, the teme’s used to it. But maybe one of these days he’ll learn how to take a break, huh?”

“I hope so.”

They stand around and chat once the meal is over, and Hinata jumps a bit as a hawk lands on a nearby awning with a screech.

“Looks like someone’s done a little early!” Sakura chirps with a smile.

Letting the avian land upon her arm, Hinata retrieves a message that confirms as much. “I hate to just eat and run…”

“Nah, don’t sweat it!” Naruto wiggles his eyebrows. “We don’t wanna keep you two apart, huh?”

Sakura sighs and gives his shoulder a shove. “Oh, leave her alone. But he’s right, Hinata-chan. You head home and spend the rest of your day with him! We’ll see you around, ne?”

“Thank you both for a l-lovely afternoon!”

“Same to you!”

The pair wave her off as she jogs back down the road, before Sakura braces a hand on her hip, cocking a leg and giving Naruto a look. “Do you know how close you were to blowing it?”

“I’m sorry! It just...slipped my mind for a sec!”

“Well, at least you covered it up...I don’t think she really noticed. You’re just such a knucklehead! C’mon, let’s go home - to make up for it, you can carry my bags.”

“All right, all right…”

Making her way back through the compound gate, Hinata waves to their neighbors before hopping up the steps to the front door. “Tadaima!”

“Okaeri - in the kitchen.”

Making her way into the house, Hinata slows a bit at...suitcases by the door? There’s a blink, brow furrowing. “...um...Sasuke…?”

Emerging, said Uchiha dries his hands on a towel. “I think I got everything.”

“...everything? Everything for...for what?”

He nods to the bags. “Our vacation.”

Large eyes blink once. Twice. And then go round as her jaw drops. “Y-you mean, we’re -?”

“I hope the dobe didn’t spoil it...gods know why I trusted him to help keep you busy. But surely Sakura kept things under control.”

“I...b-but...where are we going?”

“Cha no Kuni. For a week. Just you, and me. I figured it’s about time we take a break and get away from things for a while.” A smirk curls his lips.

“So...that report, and Sakura-chan...that was all…?”

“A brilliant plan by yours truly to make this all a surprise.”

Finally, it seems to sink in. Squealing, Hinata closes the distance, jumping up to wrap arms around his neck with a laugh. “You really h-had me going, there! I thought you were serious!”

“An Uchiha must be able to lie about anything. Even the mundane.”

Giving him a look, Hinata presses a kiss to his lips. “Well...I don’t like you lying to me. But for this, I’ll make an exception.”

“Fair enough. So...still want that dinner date? Or should we call it a night early tonight, so we can get going in the morning?”

“You know I won’t be able to sleep! I’m too excited!”

“Well...we could pull an all nighter…”

Between Sasuke’s hinting tone and smoldering look, Hinata goes beet red. “...w...we could do that…”

“Well then...we’ll order some take out, and make it a night in…”

     What's this? A post before midnight? What black magic is this?!      All kidding aside, I'm gonna TRY to be better about posting earlier! I wanted to have this done even earlier today, but...baby steps, lol      This prompt took a little thinking to come up with a plan (heh), but in the end I really liked this one! It also turned out a good share longer than normal, so...woo! While I DO like to portray Sasuke's relationship with his teammates a bit more tensely post-war (aka a bit more realistic imo, given all they did to each other), sometimes it's nice to have them get along for a change. At the very least, Naruto and Sakura make good distractions! And Hinata was totally clueless - she better enjoy all of Sasuke's hard work!      And maybe even a bit before they leave, huehue ;3      Anywho, that's a wrap for tonight! Thanks so much for reading!