CEPHISCO: Back! Oh my Gosh! How good does it feel to be writing fan-fiction again? Great! So, All the Small Things has received excellent response from the SasuHina community, so I feel awful for not updating sooner! As for Should've Said No, I guess it's on Hiatus. I want to contemplate for a while whether or not I want to continue.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Enjoy!

. . . . .

Sasuke stared.

Brick-red hair of the Kazekage's held his attention for a good minute. Then, sea-foam eyes, ringed with black. Then, a detached and yet slightly unnerved expression. Sasuke could easily guess what this guy was thinking.

"We're not married," Sasuke said suddenly, causing Hinata to very nearly drop Shonen at his side.

Gaara's tongue visibly moved inside his mouth, his eyes never leaving Sasuke. "Good to hear … Uchiha Sasuke."

"A-Ah … Sasuke, this is … well, the Kazekage, and Kazekage-sama, this is Sasuke," Hinata said, attempting a smile.

"Gaara," Gaara corrected instantly. "You call him Sasuke. You used to call me Gaara."

"You … never used to be the Kazekage," Hinata said vaguely, half-turning her face away.

"And what's my son's name?" Gaara asked, his voice completely devoid of emotion, save for the heavy implications thick behind the word 'my'.

Sasuke scowled at the possessiveness in Gaara's tone. "Shonen."

"I asked Hinata, not you."

"I-I wanted Sasuke to answer!" Hinata blurted quickly, before the matter could get out of hand. She flinched as Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Don't look at her like that," Sasuke snapped; Gaara did not miss how Sasuke's hand rested on her shoulder.

"Don't touch her like that," Gaara retorted harshly.

Hinata blushed deeply as she murmured, "Stop it, Ka – Gaara. It's not about how Sasuke can touch me!"

Sasuke's lip twitched, and for a moment, Hinata feared he might smirk. "Yeah, it's about how you can't."

Hinata blushed. Sasuke was always making romantic innuendos with the neighbours, their friends, and even polite strangers, but she never understood why. She often wondered if he was simply being helpful, hoping that if outsiders believed them to be married or dating – even if they weren't - the concept of Shonen's existence might not be too much of a judgmental problem.

Gaara bit the inside of his cheek. "Why are you living with this guy, Hinata?"

Hinata didn't like the way he stared at their intertwined hands. Gaara's teal eyes seemed to be everywhere, taking in the interior of the cosy condo, the scribbled refrigerator notes, the pile of toys, the rugs, the mismatched crockery and coffee cans littering the kitchen counters to the point it looked very much like a family home.

She could even see the wheels turning in his mind as he processed the photographs hung on the walls. There was a photograph of Sasuke begrudging forced into a fishing cap and made to stand at the edge of a lake with a two-year-old Shonen. Another picture followed with a triumphantly laughing Sasuke as he and Shonen caught a fish the size of a small shark. The memory always made Hinata smile; she'd panicked to grab the camera when she saw Sasuke laugh. He actually laughed. It was truly a Kodiak moment.

Laughing was the last thing Hinata wanted to do at the moment, however. Her cheeks began to inwardly sting. She felt like crying. "Sasuke, can y-you take Sho and l-leave me to talk to G-Gaara alone?"

Sasuke's hand lingered on hers before sliding up to grasp the sleeping boy. "Fine. I'll put him to bed, but I'm not leaving you with him."

Hinata lowered her face to hide her blush as she nodded distractedly and murmured, "W-Why don't you … come in, G-Gaara?"

The redheaded Kazekage swept gracefully into the condo and Hinata shut the door behind him. She gestured him to a seat at the kitchen table.

"Gaara, why are you here?" she asked through gritted teeth, once they were both alone and seated.

He didn't hesitate. "I needed to see you. And our son."

"Really? Because the last I heard, you didn't give a damn about me. Or 'our' son."

She was being unusually bold, Gaara noted. She was only bold when she was upset. She seemed even more distraught with Sasuke's absence, a thought which did nothing to make Gaara feel the least bit better in this situation.

"I have a right to care," Gaara remarked tonelessly.

"A right you've absolutely ignored, abused and lost," Hinata pointed out.

"I had a duty to my village," Gaara replied, raising his voice as his hands curled into fists. "You know I did. I couldn't abandon my father or Suna in their time of need." Ironically enough, Gaara had never been very attached to his father. In the dying days of the Fourth Kazekage, as Gaara sat by his father's deathbed in the lonesome of himself and the old man, he'd wondered aloud why his father had chosen him. It was evident that, despite his father's constant rambling about responsibility and faith in his son, the true purpose was in Temari's and Kankuro's absence.

Neither of the elder siblings had been acquainted any better with their father than Gaara had, but they had definitely been more … well-liked. Gaara's father had never liked his youngest son. Gaara had managed to overlook it when he decided he craved the feeling of his existence being valued more than the naked, painful truth.

"Oh, but apparently you could abandon your pregnant girlfriend. And for the past three years, your son!" Hinata said angrily.

And now, Gaara was beginning to doubt himself, knowing his father was probably rolling angrily in his pitiful grave as thoughts began to shroud the Fifth Kazekage's resolve. No longer was he certain he'd made the proper decision. After all, his existence had already been worthy even before he accepted the inheritance – worthy to Hinata. She'd needed him.

Gaara slammed his fist on the tabletop. "Damn it, Hinata, it wasn't an easy choice!"

"It was a choice you made in thirty seconds over the freaking telephone!" Hinata screamed.

An arm suddenly wrapped around Hinata's shoulders and slightly restrained her; she glanced up, surprised, as Sasuke slid smoothly into the seat to her left. Gaara tensed, even more so if possible.

"Quiet down," Sasuke muttered. "Shonen's sleeping."

Hinata frowned and cast her gaze downwards as Gaara and Sasuke exchanged glares in the silence.

"This is a private discussion. Leave us alone," Gaara growled.

The venom in his voice did little to nothing in shattering Sasuke's equally menacing demeanour. "There's nothing to discuss," Sasuke said simply. "If anyone should leave, it's you. You're upsetting Hinata."

Sasuke's plaintiveness irked Gaara's worries further. "What is she to you?" Gaara asked, irritably curious.

"What is she to me?" Sasuke repeated, bored. "Everything she could have been to you, I suppose."

Gaara's eyes flashed dangerously. "You're not Shonen's father," Gaara spat.

"I'm more of a father than you've been."

"Sasuke," Hinata said warningly. "P-Please, I – don't want you to get involved, don't g-get involved; this isn't your problem to have to deal with."

"On the contrary," Sasuke said. "I feel I've earned the privilege to have my say around here. More so than this guy, at least."

Hinata glanced sideways at a scowling Gaara. "E-Eh…"

"Look, Hinata, I'm going to ignore him. I don't know why he's here, but I hope he's not some sort of sorry replacement for me."

"Sasuke is my best friend," Hinata said, her voice high-pitched as she smiled shakily at Sasuke, whose eyes flickered up to meet hers. Gaara's features hardened as he watched Sasuke's soften.

"To answer your question as to why I came … I just had to see you again." Gaara sighed and collapsed forward onto the table, running shaky hands through his hair. "And … I wanted to see our son. I did."

"One day, one impulsive day," Hinata said resentfully, "that you think of us, out of about one thousand other days. That's not an impressive fraction, Gaara."

"I do think about you. I'll be honest, I try not to." Gaara ignored the look of utter horror and disgust on Hinata's face before continuing, "But it was too hard. I had to come."

"Nothing you say now," Hinata assured him bitterly, "will change what you said then."

"I expected you, of all people, to understand," Gaara said. "You were the one who mentioned it; we shouldn't have been together! I, the heir of an entire village!"

"That was it, wasn't it?" Hinata said loudly. "Politics! Your darn village, always your first priority, always!"

"I never expected you to be so selfish," Gaara said, eyes challenging her own. "I expected you to understand. Inheritance isn't a birthday present. I have to work for it, I have to make sacrifices! Why couldn't you see that?"

"I did understand," Hinata retorted through her teeth. "But I, I had to work harder than you. You never understood that! I had to work for your attention every day; I had to sacrifice my feelings for your indiscretion!"

"What indiscretion?" Gaara snapped.

"You never took our relationship seriously. You were always an heir; that would never change. I let myself believe it would, it could, because I thought it should. I put my feelings on the line just to make myself stay with you!"

"I sent you letters. I called you, I spoke with you. Pictures. You said you enjoyed our courtship," Gaara said, his face settling into the expressionless mask that Hinata absolutely hated.

"That's true. They say y-you can't miss what you never had … so I missed what we did have. The exchanges." Her face softened in the slightest. "But then … Sasuke, he looks after me. He's really good to me, better than I'd have thought he could be; he's been a miracle. And now … I see that our relationship wasn't normal. Not even c-close … it should have been better. It should've been … well, this."

Hinata smiled a small smile as she glanced up at Sasuke, who smirked downwards at nothing at particular.

"So you … have a relationship with him," Gaara clarified uncertainly, eyes darting between the two fair-skinned, dark-haired individuals.

"It'd be hard to live someone for three years in your condo without one," Sasuke remarked dryly.

"Sasuke!" Hinata whispered indignantly, knocking his elbow. His smirk only returned.

"What do you tell the neighbours?" Gaara snarled, leaning forward across the table. "Do you stage a married relationship? Pretend you're a family? Make them believe you're my son's father, Uchiha?"

"We don't tell them anything," Sasuke said, leaning back casually in his chair. "They can assume those things for themselves."

"This is ridiculous." Gaara shook his head unhappily. "Sasuke's not right for you, Hinata."

"We're not married!" Hinata protested quickly.

"Well … aren't you, um, dating?" Gaara scowled.

Sasuke scoffed. Hinata scoffed. Gaara's shoulders relaxed considerably. But Gaara did not miss the direct glare that Sasuke sent him, even if Hinata failed to notice. Just as he suspected – Sasuke harboured hidden feelings for Hinata. How could someone not, after even merely spending a day with the contagiously enchanting girl?

Well, to hell with him if he was going to allow Sasuke to steal his ex-girlfriend right out from under his nose. Gaara decisively clapped his hands together, conjoining his fingers firmly as he avoided both gazes.

"Tonight," Gaara began, his voice low, "has given me a lot to wrap my head around. My ex-girlfriend's roommate is her new best friend-" His voice took on a cold, hard edge, "-and my son was named by Temari's lazy moron."

Hinata couldn't resist a sheepish smile.

"I'm going to stay here. For as long as I can," Gaara announced.

Two dark heads snapped up. Lavender eyes shot open wide, and onyx orbs narrowed dangerously. Hinata shook her head frantically, hair whipping around her face as she bit back her burning confusion. Sasuke mimicked her motion slowly, his stare locked on Gaara as he, too, silently voiced his disapproval.

"You – you can't be serious!" Hinata frowned.

"No way in hell," Sasuke snarled in agreement.

Gaara nodded his head. "I'm the Kazekage, Uchiha. I can do what I like. I'll make the arrangements with Suna. Besides," he cocked his head at Hinata inquisitively, "don't you think I need some time with my son before he grows up enough to not know me?"

"Look, we're fine without you." Sasuke assured him angrily.

"That's not the matter at hand," Gaara said dismissively. "The issue is that I, the biological father of Hyuuga Shonen, have the dispensation to be given time with my son. And I'd prefer if that time began sooner than later."

"I … suppose you can stay," Hinata murmured, her hand cradling her neck uncertainly.

"What?" Sasuke snapped.

"What can we do?" Hinata cried helplessly. "He's the Kazekage, Sasuke!"

"That's right. I'm the Kazekage." It was Gaara's turn to smirk.

. . . . .

The following morning, Hinata was up and about at five a.m.

She'd been unable to sleep very well last night, especially after the chain of events that had erupted from Gaara's sudden arrival at their doorstep. The inexplicably rapid declaration to move into the condo had been anticipated even less.

As the kettle whistled with the boiling of the water intended for her morning coffee, Hinata sighed and fiddled idly with the furry belt-strap of her cotton dressing-gown. She shuffled her feet on the cold kitchen tile stones, which led to her lack of notice as another pair of feet shuffled across them.

"Ohayo," Gaara muttered, as he pulled the refrigerator door open and surveyed its contents with a scrutinizing eye.

Hinata, startled, mumbled a reciprocated greeting as the kettle popped to a stop. She began to make her coffee in silence as Gaara noisily rummaged through the cluttered and unorganized refrigerator.

"How was your night?" Gaara asked absently, as he yanked a carton of half-a-dozen eggs onto the counter.

Hinata paused hesitantly and lied, "It was fine. Did you find your room alright?"

Gaara nodded mutely in reply, his full attention on the frying pan of egg in his hand. "You're all out of milk."

"I'll get some m-more this afternoon," Hinata promised, hurriedly scribbling a note on the refrigerator whiteboard. "Or Sasuke will. He mentioned he might be going down to see Naruto today, after all."

"Naruto, eh?" Gaara repeated, pointedly ignoring the mention of Sasuke. "It'd be nice to see him again, too."

"You could go, too," Hinata suggested quietly. "It's not like you came to Konoha just for me and Shonen. Time with your son and the mother of your son doesn't have to mean it's restricted to spending it with us, Gaara. Y-You're free to do as you like."

"Actually," Gaara said slowly, "I did come to Konoha just for you and Shonen. I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of paying petty, meaningless visits to those insignificant to my current situation."

Hinata assumed his 'current situation' was the one with her and Shonen, and sighed as she nodded. "Alright then. But I just wanted to make a few things c-clear. I need to lay some rules down if you're going to stay h-here."

"And those would be?" Gaara asked, mildly interested.

"Well, for one, be nice to Sasuke!" Hinata insisted reproachfully.

Gaara scoffed. "As if."

"I'm serious, Gaara," Hinata said warningly. "I spoke with him last night. Sasuke's gracious enough to let you live here. It's his condo, after all. Show him some respect, please, or you can leave."

Gaara mentally rolled his eyes. Sasuke and gracious did not belong in the same sentence. "Fine. What else is there?"

"I can't make Shonen like you, and I can't just make him know who you are," Hinata whispered. "I-I really can't."

"Just tell the kid his father is here," Gaara said, shrugging nonchalantly as he reached over to turn off the stove. The pause in the conversation as he dished his eggs from the frying pan onto a pristine plate unnerved him. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Hinata, waiting for her to speak again.

"I'll try, then," Hinata conceded. "But no promises."

"That's all I ask," Gaara nodded gratefully, as he dropped the frying pan into the sink, heedlessly ignoring the clash of noise.

"And that is unacceptable," Hinata added, frowning. "The others are sleeping, Gaara! Or were … you have to be more considerate."

Gaara sighed and nodded, mumbling an apology as he carried his breakfast to the table. Shortly into the silence that ensued, the pair was joined by Sasuke.

"Did Gaara's racket wake you up?" Hinata teased, as she poured him a cup of coffee and handed it to him across the counter. He inclined his head in thanks and nodded in response to her remark as he took a sip with a wary hold on the hot cup.

Gaara mumbled another apology, much to Hinata's happiness.

"Are you still going to see Naruto this a-afternoon?" Hinata asked Sasuke. "Apparently, we're all out of milk."

Sasuke nodded. "I might. I think Naruto and Sakura wanted to see Shonen again."

"That's fine," Hinata smiled. "You can take him with you, then. Just another afternoon free of babysitting for me!"

The bright grin she sent Sasuke only sent Gaara's heart plummeting to his gut in the knowledge that she would likely never send him another of the significantly beautiful smiles again. An agitated resolve began to build inside of him, guaranteeing his victory of Hinata's heart before his stay was over.

"Gaara will spend the day with m-me, then, I guess," Hinata said, to no one in particular. However, the pair of males' heads both turned rapidly at her statement.

"What?" They said simultaneously.

"Unless he has business," Hinata corrected quickly, to which Gaara shook his head. "Well, then, I think it'll be alright if I keep Gaara around the house."

"Actually, I'd like to take you out," Gaara said suddenly, rising to his feet with an empty plate. "On a date. We can relive old times, Hinata."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "No." What game was Gaara playing?

Hinata, oblivious to Gaara's brutally obvious intentions, juggled with the idea in her head. "Well … alright. I suppose there's no harm in that."

"Can I speak with you privately, Hinata?" Sasuke asked angrily, grabbing her elbow and leading her into his bedroom. Gaara's green eyes never left her as she obediently closed the door of Sasuke's room behind her.

Once inside, Sasuke sat on the edge of his bed, his elbows tensely on his knees. "What are you thinking?" he demanded. "You're going on a date with him?"

"There's nothing behind it," Hinata said. "He even s-said so himself. Reliving old times."

"Are you kidding me?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. "You believe that?"

"Of course I do! W-Why … why shouldn't I?" Hinata asked, suddenly doubtful as possibilities circled her mind. What on earth was Sasuke implying? That she was irresponsible? That Gaara was a liar?

"He wants you! He wants you back," Sasuke told her darkly. "It's so obvious, Hinata. The guy's still in love with you."

"But isn't that a good thing?" Hinata asked uncertainly. "If he wants to be there for Shonen … he not hating me is a blessing! I was so afraid he'd – he'd be bitter about the whole thing…"

"It's not a blessing! It's not a good thing," Sasuke argued.

"Why?" Hinata demanded, frowning. Heat rose to her face in frustration and confusion.

Sasuke suddenly stood and took a step forward. The distance between them was barely a foot. Sasuke's hand curled into hers, and his other brushed hair back from her face.

"It's not good for me," Sasuke muttered, his breath hot on her nose. A blush immediately flared onto her cheeks as she scanned his angelically solemn face, his own onyx eyes searching her face in turn.

Hinata smiled in spite of herself, slightly confused. Did this mean that Sasuke … 'wanted' her, too? In the past, he'd always been insinuating to others that they were romantically connected, but she'd been convinced that had been to help the situation of judgments for hers and Shonen's sake.

Now … she wasn't so sure.

He was standing too close to be pretending. He was breathing on her, he was looking into her, and he was holding her hand like he never had before. He was serious. He was too shaky, too vulnerable, to be anything other than dead serious.

She slowly uncurled their fingers and smiled weakly up at him. "Ano, I'll be fine. D-Don't worry about me. I-I'll just – I'll make sure nothing happens. I promise you."

She noticed his shoulders eased. She'd be lying to herself if she didn't feel anything for him. Although the line between friends and anything more was definitely already blurred – especially now, after his little move there – she sometimes had trouble discerning his actions. He was a confusing one, for sure.

However, at times like these, she was positive that he returned her feelings. But then again, there were those guarded times, when he would leave to train by his lonesome. She watched him – spied, more like – and realized that he spoke to no one when he trained. Anyone who approached, he would brush them off as quickly and as ruthlessly as he could before returning to his training regime.

She sighed, unconscious that he was still inches away from her. Hands gripped her shoulders and he stepped back doubtfully – the hesitation in his eyes startled her. She had never seen him like this.

"What?" he asked in reference to her small sigh from earlier.

Hinata flushed. She would completely faint from embarrassment if he discovered she'd sighed because of him, because she was thinking of him. She could see it now – "Sorry, Hinata, but I don't feel the same way about you. I never have and I never will." How humiliating would it have to be to suffer hearing that directed towards you? Hinata paled just thinking about it.

"Now you're flustered. Now you're white as a ghost," Sasuke observed tonelessly, slipping a hand beneath her chin to lift her eyes to his. "Hinata. What's wrong?"

Hinata turned her head away, shaking it slightly. "N-Nothing. I … was thinking about how Gaara asked me to t-tell Shonen who he is." Only part-lie, Hinata reassured herself. While she hadn't been thinking about exactly that, it was still a problem that she now dreaded.

Sasuke scowled. "He asked you to do that?"

"I – yeah. I don't know how I'm going t-to do this … please don't take this the wrong way, Sasuke," she felt compelled to add this forewarning in the firm self-belief that he only liked her as a condo-companion, "but I-I know Shonen thinks of you as a dad. Gaara …"

"… Doesn't belong in his life," Sasuke said, smiling a small smile in understanding. "I'm perfectly fine with it. I already know what Shonen thinks of me."

"Y-You do?" This was news to Hinata.

Sasuke's smile became more apparent. "Last night, when I put him to bed, he said goodnight, otou-san."

Hinata gasped. "I-I'm sorry, I should've -!"

"Don't worry about it," Sasuke said immediately, his grip on her shoulder tightening. "I said I'm fine with it."

She forced her heart not to get ahead of itself as it raced, fighting wonders and doubts about whether or not he was insinuating something so far as liking the idea of being Shonen's father. It took all of her willpower not to blush again.

"Thanks," she murmured quietly. "Um, Sasuke … what do you think I should do?"

"Telling Shonen about Gaara?"

Hinata nodded.

"Wing it," Sasuke suggested.

Hinata wrapped her hands around his wrists and gently latched his hold from her shoulders. She laughed disbelievingly. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I mean it. Wing it. If you screw it all up," Sasuke smirked, "I'll talk to him after. Promise."

"Thank you," Hinata repeated sincerely, and turned the doorknob. "I'll do it now."

Sasuke nodded and closed the door behind her. He collapsed back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. He was so close, to just betraying his inner emotions. When they stood inches away from each other, he'd been tempted to kiss her.

When he placed hands on her shoulders, he'd found himself wishing he could wrap them around her and pull her to his chest, and bury his head in her hair and tell her everything would be alright. He'd even wished he could make her believe that Gaara was only here to win her back.

She was going on a date with him tomorrow. Tomorrow, he was sure Gaara would try something. He would either force Hinata to a decision, or kiss her, or tempt her, or beg her forgiveness. Sasuke tensed.

With a scowl, he lifted himself into a sitting position. No way was he going to let Hinata be drawn into an impulsive decision to go running back to Gaara. Not without a fight.

. . . . .

Hinata stroked Shonen's black hair fondly as she pushed aside the empty cereal bowl. "Shonen…"

He glanced up, as silent as Gaara had always been.

"Did you see the man with the red hair in the kitchen?" Hinata asked, struggling to keep the stutter out of her voice. Even the image of Gaara in her mental eye could set her off. Emotions of all sorts erupted in her heart – anger, betrayal, confusion, brokenness …

Shonen nodded. "Why?" he asked, his voice as curiously high-pitched and innocently enthused as any other child's.

Hinata swallowed. "He – that man – he's your … f-f-father…"

Shonen furrowed a brow and leaned closer, indicating he hadn't caught her words.

"He's your otou-san," Hinata tried again, her voice clearer but still trembling.

Shonen shook his head vehemently. "Otou-san is there," he demanded, pointing imperatively at the west wall of his nursery – the wall behind which Sasuke's bedroom was.

Hinata sighed. She'd had a feeling he might use Sasuke as an excuse to refuse to believe Gaara was his father. "I'm not joking, Shonen. Sasuke is not your father."

"You're wrong!" Shonen insisted, jumping actively to his feet. Hinata reached forward, wrapping cold fingers around his wrist and attempting to calm him down, but he resisted and wrenched his arm from her grasp. "No!"

"Shonen!" she exclaimed worriedly, frowning widely. "Shonen! Please! Just listen!"

"You're wrong! You're wrong! NO!" Shonen shouted, stomping around in circles on his coloured alphabet mat.

Hinata could feel tears streaming from her eyes. Why was this so difficult? She had no idea the attachment between Sasuke and Shonen was so strong. "Shonen, please calm down! Sasuke is not your otou-san!"

"He's not otou-san," Shonen said, suddenly grave as he saw his mother's tears. He pointed towards the back of Gaara's head, barely visible in the open doorway of his nursery.

"I know it's hard to believe, b-but please just trust me!" Hinata pleaded.

Shonen smacked his hands to his ears and shut his eyes, a low rumble emitting from his throat in childlike frustration as he rushed over to his enormous fort in the corner of his nursery and hid inside.

Hinata sighed, knowing it was no use to tear down his fort and upset him further. She ran out of the room and into the hall, but she was surprised to find both Sasuke and Gaara hovering by the nursery entrance.

"What's going on?" Gaara asked uncertainly.

Hinata wiped furiously at her tears and glanced up. "Sasuke…"

"I'll handle it," Sasuke said grimly. "I promised."

Gaara's eyes hardened as he witnessed the pair of them.

. . . . .

Hinata, distraught, frowned as Sasuke shut the door of the nursery. "How is he?"

"Better. What did you say to him?"

Hinata's breathing grew shaky and violent. "I was only trying to-! I didn't know – and I-I'm horrible!" she sobbed, burying her face in her hands.

"Stop it," Sasuke insisted, removing her hands from her face and smearing her tears away. "Stop crying. You tried. You're not horrible."

"I am! Did you see how upset he was? I-I did that!"

Sasuke scowled at her distress. "Hinata. Listen to me. It doesn't matter. It doesn't make him love you any less."

But the question is, Sasuke … does it make you love me any less? … Do you love me at all? Hinata was dying to voice her questions aloud, but the little insecure girl in her head reminded her that Sasuke was very unlikely to return those feelings. I should just forget about anything that might or might not happen between us … for my own good.

Sasuke, sensing her indecision, wrongly traced it to his previous statement. "It's fine. He's thinking about it right now. He knows Gaara's his father now, but-"

"But he can't accept it," Hinata said, nodding sadly. "I know. Thank you for your h-help, Sasuke…" That's why I love you. You have a side you show no one … the side that changes everything.

Sasuke shrugged. "I'll shower him at two and take him to Naruto's."

"I – should I just cancel the date? He's clearly not in a good mood … S-Shonen, I mean…" Hinata murmured.

Yeah. Cancel it, Sasuke wanted to say. Cancel it and never make up for it. Gaara doesn't deserve you, Hinata. "I can take care of Shonen." Itachi … Itachi had taught him to make sacrifices for love.

"Can I tell you s-something?"

Sasuke nodded. "What is it?"

"I'm … scared to go on this date. W-What if he does everything you said?"

That's why I love you, Sasuke thought. You have a side only I can reach … the side where everything I say impacts your resolve … do you know you do ten times the damage to me, too?

"Just go," Sasuke sighed. "It'll be alright. If he tries anything, I'll deal with him."

Hinata smiled just as Shonen stumbled out of his nursery. She extended a hand, and was overjoyed when Shonen actually slipped his hand into hers. Sasuke reached out instinctively and stroked her hair, and she shot him the most grateful smile she'd ever had to conjure. She was truly in debt to Sasuke … for everything he'd ever done for her. Truly, he was amazing.

She led Shonen into the kitchen, with Sasuke following close behind. As the Uchiha settled himself leading across the counter, Hinata hovered by the door. "I'm going to get some milk, then. Shonen?"

He looked up at the mention of his name, but so did the other two males.

Hinata said, "Why don't you … why don't you show your daddy your nursery and play with him until you go to Naruto's later?"

To Hinata's dismay, Gaara's frustration and Sasuke's secret triumph, Shonen nodded and shuffled across the kitchen to Sasuke.

. . . . .

CEPHISCO: Oh my God! I'm finally back! Can you believe it? How did you like my latest instalment of All the Small Things? It'll probably only be, like, five chapters long or so. Short-fic.

REVIEW!