Disclaimer: Don't own it.

"Dinner, a bath – are you going to offer yourself next?" Sasuke slinked in and backed her against the counter, hands planted on either side of her. "That's the natural progression between a housewife and her husband."

Her cheeks flamed up and her eyes widened.

"B-But we're not married!"

Something in his expression made her think he wished otherwise. His eyes darkened as he closed in on her, his heat surrounding her. Drops of water slid down his bare chest and the hard lines of his abdomen. Hinata parted her mouth. She predicted from his earlier behavior that he would either withdraw emotionally, or plunge them both into a deeper level of intimacy. She knew something between them was going to change.

His warm breath over her lips brought her back out of her head. His hips pushed against hers, teasing. His thumb smoothed the line between her brows.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" he murmured.

She felt the shift between them in the ragged, choked emotion in his voice in the bathroom, and the way he touched her like he drew comfort from her, like he couldn't keep his hands off of her. Before, the tension between them was like a quiet earthquake, little tremors that registered as small lines on the scale. Now, it was a stronger, more powerful earthquake. Wild, jagged lines tore up and down the scale. The feeling, tight in her chest and light in her stomach, knocked her off her feet.

He coveted the skin on her shoulder. Keeping her in his line of sight satisfied him before, but now he needed physical contact. He fixated on her lips. He wanted to kiss her. He leaned closer, his nose brushing against hers. A glimpse of uncertainty in her eyes stopped him. He pushed back his frustration and slid his hand up her arm. His fingers lingered before he pulled the shirt up from where it had slipped off her shoulder. He could almost feel the heat of her blush as she escaped to attend to the fried rice.

Pleased, Sasuke sat at the kitchen table to watch her. He had always been aware of Hinata's beauty. The swing of her shiny hair, her waist curving into full hips, and the classic beauty of her face.

The phone interrupted his Hinata-watching.

"What?" he snapped.

"Clean-up's finished," Naruto said. "You guys okay?"

Naruto informed him that Kiba, Shino, and Lee were in the hospital and Shikamaru was babysitting. Sasuke found a hint of exhaustion in his best friend's voice.

"Get some rest," he said.

Naruto chuckled. "You got it, man. Night."

Hinata's wide eyes were on him, two plates of fried rice in each hand.

"They're okay?" she said.

He nodded. The air went out of her in relief as she sagged in her seat, across from him.

"Everyone is okay," she said, half-question, half-reassurance.

She beamed at him and his mind blanked. His eyebrows pinched as he gave her a grave look. He patted the seat next to his.

"Do you want me to sit there?" she asked with a patient tone.

He nodded.

Bemused, but not surprised by his strangeness, she got up and sat next to him. Only then did he start to eat. She smiled when he went for seconds.

"I have a favor to ask," she said.

"Another one?"

"Do you have any information on Tsunade?" she said. "Everyone in Konoha knows about her, um, drinking problems."

"You need to be more specific," he said dryly. "I got Konoha Anonymous records, bar fights, and traffic accidents. What'll it be?"

She chewed. "Whichever is the most incriminating."

He smirked. "I like where this is going."

She gave him an innocent smile.

"So, what are you going to do about the base?" she asked.

His amused expression dropped. "I'm still plotting."

She hated to spoil the light mood. She set her chopsticks down and pursed her lips.

"I heard the Suna say that – that Orochimaru is involved."

A storm crossed his face. "I figured, since he was supplying the arms and Dosu's team was there."

"Why does he still want revenge against you? He got what he wanted, didn't he?"

"No," he said. "He got Itachi to butt out of his business, but he never got me."

A heavy silence fell over them. Burning rage whirled inside of her at the thought of Orochimaru preying on him. Sasuke watched the murderous expression flicker across her face and warmth swirled in his stomach at the thought that she cared enough to get so angry for him.

He cleared the dishes while Hinata brooded over a cup of green tea. He tugged her by the wrist to the couch.

"Another nap?" she said. She was still surprised by how much she liked his touch. "Maybe you should go to bed."

Not if she wasn't there to keep him company.

He shook the thought from his head. For now, holding her against him as they slept would satisfy him. The more he touched her, the more obsessed he became with her. It didn't lessen with contact. It just got stronger.

They flopped back onto the couch, Sasuke cushioning the brunt of the fall. Hinata didn't think about how naturally his arms wrapped around her, or how naturally she fell into his arms. Her eyelids drooped, cocooned in warmth. He might be cozier than her own bed.

He dove his nose into her hair, squeezing her soft waist to him. The fuzzy throw blanket covered them. Hinata's half-empty tea was on the coffee table, soft wisps of steam floating above it. She was almost asleep, sinking into the comfort of his touch, when he spoke.

"Hinata," he said.

"Hm?"

"Do you like me?"

She sprung out of his arms. She sat up and hid her face and sputtered. "W-W-Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?"

She was expecting something, but not so soon and not so abruptly!

He blinked slowly, his stare steady. "Because I want to know."

"But – " She flashed her eyes at him in frustration. "What about you?"

He scooted her closer to him and sat up. His dark eyes looked directly into hers as he said, "I like you, Hinata."

She froze, the matter-of-fact tone of his voice looping in her head. She had never been confessed to before – was this a confession? No, she was sure she wasn't hallucinating Uchiha Sasuke, Konoha's resident bad boy, confessing to her, on his couch, his damp hair curling at the ends around his neck, and his eyes soft at the edges.

But his timing was so off! Somehow, it was fitting of him to be tactless enough to confess to her right before she went to sleep.

"I know what I want," he said, staring at her pointedly. "I want to know what you want."

She gaped and flapped her mouth and blushed until he gave a short laugh and said,

"You have time to make your decision."

She wished all it would take to sort out her feelings was a shower. She gave him a sour look as he flopped back down, knowing that he threw the ball in her court. The air was thick with tension. She glanced at him, unsure if she wanted to lay back down with him. He looked at her impatiently and patted his chest. She laid back down, hyperaware of his clean, fresh-out-of-the-shower scent. Her body relaxed, but her mind spun and her heart tilted on its axis as she tried to fall asleep.

llllll

Frantic pounding on the door and a ringing phone woke them up.

Muffled shouts of her name snapped Hinata awake. She touched Sasuke's arm and looked up at him. He huffed and reluctantly loosened his arms so that she could slip away. Hinata answered the phone as she approached the door.

"SIS! CODE RED! NEJI-NII IS GOING TO SA - "

Sasuke got up after her, cursing whoever interrupted them, and swung the door open.

A fist flew at him.

Neji was in full overprotective big brother mode.

Sasuke dodged the first punch. Neji lunged, springing past the door. Hinata grabbed his shoulders.

"Calm down-!"

He whirled around to face her, his long hair wild and his brows furrowed.

"So this is cooking club, Hinata?"

His furious eyes took in the bandages on her temple, the scratches and bruises on her skin, and the oversized male clothing she wore.

Neji aimed a fist and a kick at Sasuke, who dodged again. Sasuke glared.

"Why the fuck are you attacking me in my own house?"

"You have dishonored Hinata-sama-" The next kick knocked Sasuke back into the coffee table. "- and you have put her in harm's way. I cannot forgive that."

"I haven't deflowered your precious cousin." Yet. He blocked both of Neji's fists. "I'll admit that I didn't get to her fast enough to protect her."

"Please stop fighting!" Hinata cried.

She put herself between the boys, her back against Sasuke, arms out to protect him from Neji. Neji dropped his fists and gave Hinata a hard look.

"You should know better, Hinata-sama. How can you waste your time and effort on a gang – a gang lead by an Uchiha no less! You should know that we're in the middle of negotiating with Suna, and the Uchihas are getting in our way."

Sasuke scoffed, running his fingers through his hair. "The Suna are going to invest in us. Your family is getting in our way."

Hinata looked between them. "Um, what are you talking about?"

The boys broke their standoff, black eyes blazing against white, to face her.

Neji took her hand. "I'll tell you on our way home."

Sasuke bristled, shooting a sharp look at their hands. "She's not going with you. I'll take her home after breakfast."

Hinata sighed. "I think I'd better go home, Sasuke-kun."

Neji twitched. "Sasuke…kun?"

Sasuke smirked. His feathers were still ruffled at Neji taking her away from him, but he delighted in the red rising in Neji's pale face.

"I-I'll call you later?" she said.

Sasuke nodded. He watched the spill of her dark hair as Neji pulled her out the door. He glared over his shoulder at Sasuke, who slammed the door shut.

llllll

"Did you know that your father asked me to keep you under surveillance?"

Hinata squirmed in the passenger's seat.

"I chose not to, because I respect your privacy and I believed it was too invasive. He couldn't stop me from going to Hokkaido for my archery training, as my education and extracurriculars take precedence over my duties to you." They stopped at a red light. "But now I see that I should have taken my duties more seriously."

"H-How did you find out where I was?"

"Hanabi's a bad liar. I figured you weren't at Ino's. I've heard the rumors about a girl in the Rookies," His forehead pinched as he glared at her. "And then I heard that half of them were in the hospital. I was worried it was you until Naruto told me you were at the Uchiha's house."

Hinata sighed.

"It is unwise to interact with the Uchiha, given our current situation." He glanced at her puzzled expression. "I thought you knew. No one told you?"

She shook her head.

"The Suna came to Konoha to improve our relations. The tournament is a chance for the youth of our villages to interact. The Suna will also be meeting the council to discuss foreign policies. This is our chance to get them to invest in our business, but you know the Uchiha are our business rivals."

Hinata stared out the window.

"You understand now that we don't want to see you two…mingling. It's a delicate time right now."

He draped his coat over her shoulders before they left the car.

"You have his name on your back," he said.

She also had the Uchiha symbol on her sweatpant pocket that she imagined would match with her Uchiha shirt, but Neji didn't need to know that.

He fussed over her wounds and insisted she go to the medical ward to change her bandages. Hinata refused. She didn't want the family to talk and she especially didn't want to see her father.

Hanabi had stars in her eyes as she helped her sister into her school clothes. "You look cool, nee-san!"

"It doesn't feel cool," she said, smiling.

llllll

"These flowers are so beautiful." Chouji stroked the blossoms with Choux in his lap.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Stop creeping on Hinata's cacti."

Naruto sleepily doodled flowers on Chouji's cast.

"Karui visited him this morning," Shikamaru said. He scrunched his face in disgust. "Reminds me of another lovesick fool gushing over those ugly flowers."

"Which room are the others in?" Sasuke said quickly.

Shikamaru clicked his tongue. "Don't change the subject."

"Lee, Shino, and Kiba are all down the hall," Naruto mumbled.

"Go to bed, loser." Sasuke nudged Naruto with his knee.

"Yessir."

Naruto dragged himself into the bed next to Chouji's. Sasuke helped him halfway into the bed and tucked him in.

Shikamaru shook his head as Naruto started to snore the moment his head hit the pillow. "Clean-up was rough on him."

Sasuke briefed the boys on the Orochimaru's involvement.

"He's been too quiet lately," Shikamaru said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Figures he'd start trouble again." He looked at Sasuke, who was focused on his phone. "Are you texting Hinata?"

Sasuke shot him a dirty look. "Yes. She asked me to send her dirt on Tsunade."

The boys looked at each other in confusion.

Sasuke smirked.

lllllll

Hinata's body ached from head to toe. She groaned, the soreness hitting her now that the adrenaline of the previous night and Hurricane Neji wore off. The walk through the hallway filled her ears with buzzing from the other girls, who gawked at her bandages and her slow walk. Paranoia struck her at the thought of the girls in her school – and the next school over, and the schools in the other villages, and the Sasuke fanclubs across the nations – finding out about Sasuke confessing to her. She wouldn't still be standing if the girls did know, she rationalized. She would be missing most of her hair and her pulse if they knew.

If Sasuke wanted her to be his girlfriend, then did she want him as her boyfriend? Was she insane for not immediately saying yes to him? Heat rushed to her face. Cold reality yanked her back when she remembered the sticky situation their families were in. Aside from that, she didn't know what to make of the confusing mess of her feelings for him. Sasuke was so weird, yet he still gave her butterflies. She shook her head and quickened her pace. She needed to take time to untangle her feelings and make a decision. Maybe a hot bubble bath after dinner was enough time? She would worry about it all day if she didn't set a specific worry-time.

Hinata found reprieve when the girls kendo team strutted by. A bright chorus of "Good mornings" followed, and Ino swung an arm around her shoulders.

"How are you all feeling?" Hinata asked, looking the girls over.

"We're fine!" Sakura said, a new shine of fondness in her eyes. "It's been a while since we got in a good fight."

"Sakura, that makes us sound like a bunch of delinquents," A girl wearing the Akimichi clan symbol chimed. She had a braided ponytail and was taller than the rest of the girls.

"I prefer the term vigilante justice," Sakura said, puffing her chest.

"Ino's already a blonde delinquent," Another girl, a Sarutobi, flicked Ino's ponytail.

"This blonde is natural!"

Ino and Hinata's homeroom teacher stepped out and pinned them with a glare and a finger to the lip. The girls parted and went to their classrooms.

Halfway into classic literature, a staff member walked in and whispered to the homeroom teacher.

"Hyuuga Hinata and Yamanaka Ino."

The girls exchanged surprised looks that turned uneasy. The staff led them out of the classroom.

"Where are we going?" Ino asked.

"Principal Senju wants to speak to you two."

The girls gulped and trudged along. The double doors to the principal's office swept open and inside, Sakura and the other three kendo girls stood in front of the massive desk. Tsunade stood before them, her arms crossed and her brows knitted.

"Come in," she said, her demanding tone making Hinata square her shoulders.

The door closed with a solemn groan of finality.

"Haruno Sakura," Tsunade looked particularly disapproving at her. "Nekojita Tamaki. Akimichi Yua. Sarutobi Nao. Yamanaka Ino," Finally, her piercing amber eyes landed on her. "Hyuuga Hinata."

Her heart leapt into her throat and she swallowed thickly. Tsunade gave each girl a look up-and-down and narrowed her eyes.

"Would you ladies tell me what happened yesterday night?"

A/N: I have a legitimate excuse this time! I HAVE been writing, but for an original fic for Amazon kindle! So I've been prioritizing that writing project over this one.

**The Konoha Kendo Girls Team Members Note**: Tamaki is that cat girl who Kiba ends up with (?) at the messy, messy end of Naruto. I gave her a surname bc OFC Kishimoto didn't give her one because he hates women lol Nekojita means "cat's tongue" aka having a sensitive sense of taste. Just thought it sounded cute and it was related to her character. Yua and Nao are OCs, not canon Akimichi's or Sarutobi's bc it is SO HARD finding Konoha girls around Hinata's age aside from the main gals! Kishi HATES WOMEN LMAO

*note that it's not common for high schoolers in Japan to drive to school like teens in the US/Western world, but I took liberties about them being a gang and not following Rulez, Sauce is rich, the Hyuugas are rich, let me live, etc.

Smooches to all my readers! Thank you!