Sommer (Summer)

Sasuke stared tiredly out of the small window of the stuffy carriage, trying to keep the wonderful thought of sleep out of his mind and instead think of what he and Naruto were going to do once they got to Austria. His brother's operas were usually held in Vienna (or so he had heard), and knowing his large ego and the fact that other people thought his work was good, they were probably performed in the biggest and most famous opera houses available. That's all the information he had, but it would make do.

'It'll be easy to track Hinata down, but…' Sasuke turned his head and stared at Naruto, who was playing with a small cup-and-ball toy that he probably stole from a child. 'How are I and this idiot sitting across from me going to take her back home?'

"Naruto," Sasuke muttered. "Would you please put that thing away?"

Naruto looked up from the toy. "Why? Is it annoying?"

"Very."

Naruto sighed and stuffed the toy into his pants pocket. "Sasuke, I know that you're stressed out right now, but you need to learn to have some fun."

Sasuke crossed his arms and looked at the other man gravely. "Fun? Ha! When can you have fun when you have to please every one of your supporters with breath-taking music, avoid the pink-haired mongrel with whom my assistant is in love, deal with a bastard for a brother, and go all the way to Austria to try and save the woman who might not even love you?" He reached across and poked Naruto in the chest. "Tell me, how do you expect me to have fun?"

Naruto stared at him blankly before fishing out the cup-and-ball. "Try this. I think it's entertaining."

Sasuke shook his head. "That was a rhetorical question." He noticed the blank look on Naruto's face and added, "That means it can't be answered."

Naruto looked sadly at the cheap toy in his hands. "Why is it that such a smart, talented person like hired an idiot like me for an assistant?"

Sasuke hesitated before he answered. Truthfully, the only reason why he did take in Naruto as his assistant was because no one but teenage girls had been interested in the job (of course, the girls were probably more concerned about spending lots of time with a good-looking composer). But now was the time to lie again; Naruto's self-esteem and confidence were about as low as you could get, and he definitely needed some cheering up…

Sasuke plastered a fake grin on his face. "Because you are extremely talented and you are a good companion."

Naruto scoffed and threw the cup-and-ball to the floor. "Sasuke, it's really easy to tell when you're lying." He lifted his foot and stamped down on the toy, causing it to shatter into numerous splinters of wood. "I'm a complete waste of 120 pounds and you know it."

The other man took a deep breath and prepared himself for a long "you're-worth-a-lot-to-me-and-I'd-be-nothing-without-you-speech" before Naruto spoke up again.

"I mean, I can't even find a woman who'll look at me and not cringe."

Sasuke stared sadly at Naruto. He had never thought how hard it was for him to be pushed to the side and ignored by almost every woman in the town. It probably hurt to be lonely and to have only a psychotic mentor and a cup-and-ball toy for company. He didn't deserve that. No one did.

"Naruto?"

"Yes?"

Sasuke let a genuine smile cross his face. "I want you to become the best composer in all of Europe. I even want you to be better than me."

Naruto snorted. "Ha! Me? A composer? Why would I do that?"

Sasuke was taken aback. "Wh-what? You mean you don't want to be a composer?"

Naruto shrugged his left shoulder. "I'm not talented enough. I don't even know how to read music."

Sasuke raised his brow, in total disbelief that he hired someone who couldn't even read music to be his assistant. "So…well…what do you want to do? You can't be my assistant for the rest of your life."

'I'd hang myself before I let that happen,' he said to himself silently.

Naruto's face turned slightly pink. "Don't laugh but…I always thought I could do acting where it's just improvisation."

"You mean commedia dell'arte?"

The other man nodded. "Yeah. I'm pretty good at making stuff up at the spur of the moment."

"Yes, I know," Sasuke mumbled.

Naruto continued. "And besides…if I do acting, Miss Haruno could become my supporter." He sighed wistfully.

Sasuke laced his fingers together and leaned forward. "Honestly, is she the only thing you think about? She's an obsession for you."

Naruto tapped his nose. "I could say that about you and Hinata."

Sasuke scowled. "That's different."

"No it isn't, Sasuke. We're both just love-sick fools."

Later that night, Sasuke and Naruto decided that they were both too tired to carry on and checked it to a cheap inn in a small, grungy town. After a meager dinner of unripe cheese and stale bread, they headed to their separate rooms and bid good night to each other.

Yet one of the two was still awake in the dead of night.

Sasuke rubbed his eyes and once again looked down intently at the crumbled piece of parchment on which the unfinished composition of the song inspired by the third season was written. It seemed hopeless: he was never going to finish it.

"Damn it," he muttered. "If Naruto could read and write music, I'd just have him finish it for me."

Sasuke glanced out the dirty window at the unfamiliar street underneath him. This was the same feeling he had after he had moved away from Switzerland: homesickness. He hated not knowing his surroundings. He hated not knowing the people around him. He hated not being able to sleep in his own bed.

Sasuke rubbed his temples and pushed himself away from the rickety wooden desk. "Hinata, if you saw the state I'm in, I'm sure that your tender heart would carry you back home with me."

Four days later, after traveling in many different carriages and spending the night in various inns, the two finally made it to Austria. On the day of their arrival, the sun was shining brightly, the leaves on the trees were dark green, and the sky was a perfect shade of light blue; spring was finally beginning to fold into summer.

A light, crisp wind blew through Naruto's sunshine hair as he sighed contentedly, resting his hands behind his head as he and his teacher made their way down a cobbled street of Vienna. "Thank goodness we made it. I didn't think I could handle another miserable carriage ride."

"I hope we're not too late," Sasuke said quietly.

"Oh trust me, we aren't," Naruto said cheerfully.

"And how do you know?"

Naruto pointed at the window of a small bakery to their left. "Don't tell me you didn't notice the posters everywhere."

Sasuke snapped his head in the direction in which Naruto was pointing. Sure enough, a large poster was slapped on the glass of the small store, hiding loaves of fresh bread from view. His heart skipped a beat; the painted picture of the dark-haired, white-eyed woman smack dab in the middle of the poster was Hinata. Curved letters spread out under the picture read:

The Marriage of Figaro:

An Opera by Mr. Uchiha Itachi.

Tonight Only

Sasuke scanned the entire street, spotting the same poster on almost every window and door of all the shops. "Well…I guess we did come to the right place at the right time."

Naruto scratched his head. "With all this publicity, we'll have to wait in the crowds for a long time to get into the show."

Sasuke gave him a sideways glance. "Naruto, do you remember the first thing I taught you?"

Naruto looked at him, dazed. "How should I know? My first lesson with you was five years ago!"

"First off, it was two, not five years ago." His master waved his finger at him. "The first lesson I gave you was that people think we're better than they are." When Naruto did nothing but give him a confused stare, he continued impatiently. "It means that we can just pass through the crowds like it's no ones' business. Come to think of it…" He chuckled. "I don't think we've ever waited in line for a show before."

Naruto eyed at Sasuke with admiration. "Sasuke…you're amazing."

The other man began walking away down the street. "Sorry, my good sir, but I don't find much interest in men."

Naruto quickly ran after him. "What's that supposed to mean? You don't honestly think that I am going to give up on Miss Haruno for you, right?"

"As sad as it is, you'd probably have a better chance with me," Sasuke murmured.

Hinata touched her pale cheek lightly, as did the Hinata in the mirror sitting in front of her. It was only a few hours until the show began, yet she was completely free of nerves. When she did get jittery, her voice shook and sounded ghastly. That was one thing she couldn't sacrifice: her voice.

Hinata touched the mirror lightly with her fingertips. "I wish…I could've said goodbye to Sasuke."

"No worries, my lovely lady. He wouldn't have appreciated your kind words anyway."

Hinata looked over her shoulder and her heart plummeted as Itachi entered her dressing room and slammed the door behind her. "Hello Itachi."

Itachi slid gracefully behind her and rested his colds hands on her bare shoulders. "Are you nervous? Perhaps I could be of some assistance."

Hinata whipped around in her chair and was shocked at how close her supporter's face was to hers'. His eyes were mesmerizing, his breath was warm, his skin was beautiful, and yet…

She whimpered and quickly turned away from Itachi. "I'm sorry, Itachi, but we can't be intimately involved with each other…again."

Itachi rested his chin on her shoulder and nipped at her ear, causing waves of shivers to find their way down her spine. "Oh? But we didn't get very intimate at all."

Hinata gulped. "It was enough for people to spread rumors about us."

Itachi breathed on her skin lightly. "Is that the only excuse you have?"

"No, but…" Hinata hesitated.

"Yes?"

Hinata rubbed her arm roughly. "I…I don't think I love you anymore."

Itachi raised his brow but remained pressed up against Hinata. "Oh? And what makes you think so?"

She didn't respond. She couldn't possibly tell him that she was thinking of someone else, that another man could have stolen her heart. Hinata had always thought that Itachi was the one she was going to marry, which is why she kept somewhat of a distance from Sasuke. But that had changed…the tables had turned…

When she didn't answer, Itachi scoffed and turned on his heel. "Just remember, Hinata: your future is in my hands."

With one last cocky smile, he left the room quietly, leaving Hinata to ponder what her heart really wanted.

"Naruto, are you absolutely certain that you know the plan?"

"Yes, Sasuke."

"We only have one chance to get this right."

"Yes Sasuke."

"If we mess up, Hinata will never be mine."

"Yes, Sasuke."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and bonked Naruto on the head. "The number of times you said 'Yes, Sasuke' really bothers me. Are you sure you were listening?"

Naruto rubbed his head and glared at him. "YES! We've gone over the plan enough!"

Sasuke sighed. "Alright, alright."

The two were standing right around the corner of the Vienna opera house in a dark alley, already being able to see the large crowd moving slowly through the large doors of the building. For the past half hour, Sasuke had gone over his "ingenious" plan with Naruto, making sure that his assistant knew what to do and have only a few screw-ups (he was, after all, Naruto, so faults were to be expected).

Sasuke wiped the sweat away from his forehead and took a deep breath. "I have complete faith in you, Naruto. Please don't make too many mistakes."

Naruto grimaced. "With that tone of voice, it sure doesn't sound like you have much faith in me."

Sasuke looked towards the opera house, wringing his hands. "Sorry...I'm just very nervous."

Naruto rested his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Well, if we do fail, there's always plenty more women who will drop on their knees for you."

Sasuke brushed away Naruto's hand. "I know there are lots of women…but there's only one Hinata." He glanced once more at the enormous building and gestured to his assistant. "Alright, let's go."

Hinata peered over the velvet curtain at the audience made up of thousands of art appreciators and rich aristocrats, looking over the sea of heads for a familiar face. She knew who she was looking for…but it seemed that he didn't care all that much after all.

Hinata sighed and gripped the curtain tightly. "Looks like he won't see me pouring my heart out…"

She glanced down at the front of the audience at the orchestra and spotted the spiky-haired, drowsy-looking conductor. She waved and he raised his hand lazily in reply.

"Hello Shikamaru," Hinata whispered.

Shikamaru smiled back sleepily. "You'll do great tonight," he said quietly.

Hinata shrugged and shrank back behind the curtain as the lights dimmed and the crowed quieted. The show would be starting in just a few seconds, though it didn't really matter to her since she wouldn't be on the stage for quite sometime…

She turned around and tip-toed away from the curtain as her fellow actor, Kiba, began singing loudly in Italian.

"Cinque... dieci... venti... trenta... trentasei...quarantatre."

Hinata stopped in her tracks and smiled. Though Kiba didn't look it, he was a fine singer, though it got on her nerves whenever he brought his obnoxious dog along with him.

'People here…are so talented. Why doesn't Itachi care about the other performers as much as he cares about me?'

Hinata jumped slightly as a loud crashing sound resounded outside near the audience area and the lights went completely out. Kiba stopped singing, the orchestra has ceased playing, and the crowd began to scream. She turned on her heel, her heart racing. What was going on? This had never happened before…

Before Hinata could take another step, strong arms wrapped around her stomach and began pulling her away. Her heart hammered as she tried to scream, but her mouth was quickly covered and she was dragged farther behind the curtain into the dark. She took a deep breath, raised her knee, and kicked the culprit between the legs with the back of her heel. Her foot hit something that felt like a large, crushed rodent, and the man fell to the floor with a groan, his hands flying away from Hinata's mouth.

Hinata spun around, gasping for breath, and stared angrily at the crumbled body on the floor. "What in the world are you doing?" She spat, aware that the audience was still disheveled and that everything was still dark. She raised her fist. "Whoever the hell you are-"

"Jesus, Hinata," the figure whimpered on the floor. "Did you really have to make my manhood suffer that much?"

Hinata lowered her fist and stared as Sasuke got up from the dusty wooden floor, his hands held tightly in front of his groin. "Oh dear Lord…" She said quietly.

She let her breath come out of her nostrils like a fuming bull and grabbed Sasuke by the upper arm before pushing him against the brick wall with all the force she had. Unbeknownst to most of her fans, Hinata didn't fit into the weak, prissy opera singer stereotype; in fact, she had more muscle than most of her fellow male performers.

Sasuke smiled sheepishly, his arm started to numb from Hinata's tight grip. "Heh, you don't seem too happy to see me, Miss Hyuuga."

Hinata didn't respond but continued to glare at him. The truth was, she was happy to see Sasuke. He had been the one she especially wanted to see during this performance. Still, she hadn't expected him to come, less so to cause chaos and ruin the performance.

"S-Sasuke," Hinata said quietly, trying to keep her breath steady. "What the hell are you doing?"

Sasuke pulled Hinata's hand away from his sore shoulder and lightly rubbed the spot where her nails had dug into his skin. "Taking you back home with Naruto and myself."

"Who's-"

"Naruto would be my assistant, dear."

Hinata stared at him for a moment before shaking her head and gritting her teeth. "My lovely Mr. Uchiha, in attempt to bring me back home, you've ruined the performance and have made me extremely angry." She poked him in the chest. "Tell me, how does that make you feel?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Quite good, because these are the results I expected."

Hinata sneered, her anger threatening to burst out of her at any minute. "Really? May I ask why you want my career to come tumbling down?"

Sasuke grabbed her by the shoulders and rested his finger under her chin. "To save you from a lot of pain."

Hinata trembled from his touch but the anger towards him resumed. "Save me from a lot of pain?" She slapped Sasuke's finger away. "My dear Mr. Uchiha, you're the one who's causing all of the pain!"

Before she could turn around and stomp away, Sasuke grabbed Hinata's arm. "Hinata, you don't understand-"

SMACK!

Sasuke let Hinata slide out of his reach while he touched his burning cheek where she had struck him. Hinata let a deep breath sneak out of her mouth as she turned away from him, ashamed that hot tears were rolling down her face and onto the dusty wooden floor.

"The only thing I don't understand is why you're being so selfish!" She said shrilly. "You have a perverse obsession with me and won't leave me alone!"

The comment had hurt Sasuke worse than Hinata's slap, and Hinata had a pretty damn painful backhand.

"Hi-Hinata…" He said quietly. "You-you don't know…my brother can take advantage of you."

"Now really, little brother," said an icy voice behind Sasuke. "There's

no need to cause so much drama just because you can't have Hinata."

Sasuke's hands formed into fists as he spun around and faced his older brother. "Now really, Itachi, there's no need to be such a cocky bastard all the time."

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Oh that's good, Sasuke, that's real good. Your idiotic comebacks bring as much honor to our family as your pathetic songs."

Hinata looked back over her shoulder at the too men, shocked. "You two…are brothers?"

Itachi bowed low to her. "I'm deeply sorry that you have to put up with this savage dog following you, Hinata. I'll be sure to get rid of him for you."

Sasuke couldn't take it anymore and he lunged forward onto his brother, fists flying and blood pouring. Hinata watched from the side, horrified at the sight of two grown men fighting like children.

"Stop it, both of you!" She said in her clearest, strongest voice, yet the brawl continued.

"Jesus, Sasuke, you fight like a woman!"

"You fight like a little girl!"

Hinata cleared her throat and yelled "I said stop!"

The two men looked up, Sasuke with a black eye and bruised forehead and Itachi with a bleeding nose. Hinata took a deep breath and rested her hands on her hips. She wasn't expecting to be a mother of two little baby boys so soon.

"Now, honestly!" She screamed, pointing at them. "You two are despicable! This is an opera house, not a muddy ditch!"

Itachi stood up and wiped his bleeding nose on the back of his hand. "You're quite right, Hinata. It sounds like the audience is calming down and that we can get on with the show." He picked up his younger brother by the collar. "And you, Sasuke, will be coming with me. I can't possibly allow you to stay back here."

Sasuke let Itachi drag him away, staring at Hinata sadly. So it looked as though his 'master plan' had fallen to pieces, He had come all this way for nothing…

Hinata shook her head as the two disappeared through the door that led to the audience area. "I swear…"

She plopped down on an upturned bucket a few feet away, relieved to hear Kiba singing once more. As they say, 'the show must go on', even if there are devious little bastards pestering one of the singers.

'Maybe you shouldn't have been so hard on him,' said the sweet, inner Hinata. 'He did come a long way to see you.'

"He didn't have to cause so much trouble," Hinata mumbled.

'It was all for you though. His thoughtless, dim-witted actions showed how deeply the man cares about you.'

Hinata rested her chin in her hands. "There are less destructive ways of showing that he cares."

'You are impossible, woman. I can't believe you're the same Hinata from nearly fifteen years ago.'

Hinata frowned, remembering her early childhood. She was pushed around, abused, harassed, and easy to take advantage of. She had had very few friends, considering the fact that her cousin practically shielded her from any form of contact by another seven year-old.

Hinata lifted her head and looked out onto the brightly lit stage. As soon as she reached the age of womanhood, men started to notice her and she had been asked for her hand in marriage several times. Almost all of the men who were wooed by her were uneducated idiots who encouraged Hinata to quit singing, with the exception of two guys…

"Itachi and Sasuke," she whispered. "Two brothers."

The opera continued while Hinata sat on the bucket, contemplating the situation. They were both fine-looking men who appreciated her talent, but they were also a bit lecherous, having a strong taste for sex and attractive women. Itachi was her supporter, who gave her the push she needed to get her career going. Sasuke…well…

"He really likes me," she said softly. "And he really did show true devotion tonight, even when I thought for a while that he was a male whore."

Hinata looked beyond the stage at the sea of faces, but could not find Sasuke or Itachi. She prayed silently that they were still in the building as her focus returned to the stage, where TenTen had just joined Kiba.

"I'm going to choose tonight," she said to herself. "Which brother do I really want to be with?"

Sasuke sat in the back row with glazed eyes, not paying attention to the opera at all. "Jesus, this is the worst night of my life. Hinata slapped me verbally and physically, and now I'm stuck here watching this garbage."

Naruto leaned over and grinned goofily. "Heh, you can't blame me! I broke the chandeliers perfectly! Did you hear all the people screaming?" He leaned back in his seat. "I must say, I'm pretty proficient in making trouble."

"I must say, I agree," Sasuke said under his breath.

"So when do you think Hinata will come in?"

Sasuke sighed. "Why do I care?" He said lazily. "It's obvious that she hates me."

Naruto groaned. "So I did all that hard work for nothing?"

"Hard work?" Sasuke looked at him disbelievingly. "Is it really that difficult to unscrew the chandeliers and let them come crashing to the floor?"

Naruto chuckled. "Sasuke, I'm not a…what do you call those 14th century Chinese assassins?"

"Ninja."

"Yes, that's it. I'm not a ninja." Naruto looked up at the stage and squinted. "Look who's on right now."

Sasuke felt a pang in his chest as he saw Hinata slowly walk onto the stage. He shouldn't have been watching…he wasn't worthy enough to look at such a beautiful creature.

"Naruto," Sasuke croaked. "Please, cover my eyes."

"No way," Naruto said lightly.

Sasuke forced himself to keep his eyes open as Hinata took center stage, the lights shining brightly on her beautiful, pale face. The same swooping motions in his stomach that occurred when he first saw the woman were rising up violently. Even if she hated him, she still gave him that incredible feeling.

"Hey, why isn't she singing?" Naruto said loudly.

Sasuke shook himself out of the stupor. "Wh-what?"

Naruto pointed. "Look."

It was true: Hinata was standing stark still on the stage, her mouth hanging slightly open and apparently oblivious to the fact that the crowd was shouting at her and that the orchestra had stopped playing. Even from where Sasuke was sitting, he could see her fellow actors mouthing and gesturing to her.

"What do you think is wrong?" Naruto said quietly, looking at Sasuke with a puzzled expression. "What exactly happened backstage?"

"N-nothing," Sasuke said, now giving his full attention to the stage.

Hinata was silent for another full fifteen seconds and the crowd was beginning to grow restless. A few of the audience members even got up from their seats and left, mumbling about how they had wasted an entire evening on a shoddy opera. Yet Sasuke and Naruto sat completely still, waiting to see what was going to happen.

Hinata cleared her throat loudly and the crowd became completely silent. She looked out at the huge audience with an almost frightened look on her face before speaking, not singing.

"I-I…"

She scanned the crowd with her milky white eyes and Sasuke had the feeling that she was looking for him. His heart did somersaults when she stopped turning her head and rested her eyes on him.

"I…"

Silent tears rolled down her face and she took a deep breath. Naruto looked at Sasuke curiously, but his mentor simply shrugged in return and motioned for him to settle down.

Hinata gripped her flowing white gown tightly and yelled "I love you!" before running off the stage, dissolving in tears.

The crowd and the performers were dead silent. This surely wasn't part of the show, was it? Who was she talking to? Why did she make such a proclamation during a performance?

Naruto slowly turned his head and gazed at Sasuke with round eyes. "Wh-what?"

Sasuke remained totally silent, wanting to cherish the moment.

After the whole incident with Hinata running on her stage and declaring her love for a person unknown to the audience, the rest of the opera proceeded smoothly. As the end, Sasuke was rather surprised to hear that most of the people in the audience said that that was one of the most exciting and mysterious nights of their lives. Who was the one that broke almost every single chandelier in the building? Who was the singer saying 'I love you' too? Were the two incidents connected? Only four people knew.

As soon as most of the crowd had left the building, Sasuke and Naruto got up from their seats and made their way back to the entrance. They were greeted outside by a gorgeous corn-yellow moon floating in a diamond sky.

Naruto sighed contentedly. "Shall we be off back to our inn now?"

Sasuke continued to stare at the moon. "You go. I'll stay here for a while."

Naruto winked and chuckled. "I see. Well, have fun."

He walked off with his hands in his pockets, whistling quietly. Sasuke waited till the remaining audience members left before plopping down on a nearby bench, feeling his blood rushing and his heart beating. Had he done it? Was he the one Hinata was talking to? Or was this entire trip in vain?

Sasuke grimaced. 'Well, I did have to sit through that awful opera. My god, that man has no talent.'

"Hello, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked up from the cobbled pavement and grinned widely as Hinata appeared from behind the corner of the Vienna opera house. Her flushed cheeks were visible under the pale moonlight and she seemed a bit pensive when she sat down next to him.

"H-How did you like the show?" She asked quietly, avoiding eye contact with him.

"I hated it," Sasuke said simply. "My brother writes the worst pieces of trash I've ever had the displeasure of reading." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Though I did enjoy the part when Rosine came on to the stage and made the…ah, unscripted speech."

Hinata laughed quietly. "Ha, yes…about that…"

Sasuke looked back at her. "Do you really love me?"

"Well…" Hinata returned his stare, her eyes shining in the moonlight. "Yes, I do."

Sasuke let out the breath he was holding. "That's good. I mean, I did blow a lot of my savings on this trip and I'm sure Naruto is almost wiped clean of money." He lightly placed his hand on top of hers'. "But that doesn't matter. It was worth it."

Hinata yawned and gently leaned against him, and Sasuke couldn't have been happier. "So what do we do now?"

Sasuke squeezed her hand. "Well, we are lovers now…I think."

Hinata let out a wavering sighed and faced him. "Would it be okay if I did this?"

She slowly closed her eyes and laid her soft lips on top of Sasuke's, but pulled away after only a second. It wasn't deep or heavy, but to Sasuke it was the best kiss he had ever had, including the one he had with an elderly woman's cat.

Hinata's cheeks reddened and she smiled sheepishly. "I-I'm sorry. I don't really know what I'm doing."

Sasuke rested his hand on her warm cheek and smiled. "No, your kiss really made my night." He reluctantly pushed himself away from Hinata. "I better get back to the inn. I'm worried that Naruto will find some way to cause destruction to my room." Before Sasuke could even take one step, he felt a small tug on his sleeve and looked over his shoulder at Hinata. "Erm…yes?"

"Sasuke…" Hinata hesitated but continued. "Can I…" She blushed even more in the darkness. "Please, let me spend the night with you."

Sasuke could've melted right there on the ground. With blood starting to gush into his lower regions, he turned back to Hinata with his mouth open.

"Are…you're kidding, right?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, I'm not." She looked at him intently. "I-I'm probably not very…good at it, but-but I can at least try."

Sasuke felt tears of joy well up in his eyes, and he could've done the deed with her right there and then. "I…I don't know what to say."

Hinata looked at the ground. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have even-"

Before she could finish her sentence, she was quickly whisked off the bench by Sasuke and was soon quickly dragged to the inn where he was staying at.

"Sasuke…I apologize. This is really awkward for me."

"It's okay, Hinata. Just relax."

The two were sitting together on the stiff bed in Sasuke's room at the inn, each with a simple sheet around both of their bodies. Hinata was trembling horribly, but Sasuke was as calm as ever, though he was a bit eager for the whole process to start.

"I don't know what to do," Hinata admitted. "I'm just so new at this."

Sasuke grabbed her shoulders. "Lie down."

Hinata let Sasuke push her down on the bed and lean over her. She couldn't help but gasp as the sheet slid off his body and onto the floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled.

"I didn't know composers could be so…muscular."

Sasuke gripped the sheet around Hinata's body and pulled it open. "I didn't know opera singers could look like goddesses."

He leaned so close to Hinata that he could feel her body heat and pressed his lips against hers'. This time, their passion had grown stronger and the kiss was deeper with the involvement of tongues and their hands sliding all over one another's body until…

Hinata pulled away and let out a small scream. "S-Sasuke, stop!"

Sasuke groaned. "What's wrong, Hinata? Are you nervous again?"

She pointed out the window to their right. "Look!"

Sasuke followed her gaze and his upper lip twitched violently. A blue-eyed, blonde-haired somebody was watching through the window with a huge, drool-dripping, self-satisfied grin.

"OH MY GOD, NARUTO!" Sasuke yelled, running to the window. "YOU ARE A DEAD MAN AS SOON AS I GET A HOLD OF YOU!"

Naruto tried to yell back, but lost his balance and fell from the window. Hinata shook her head as she heard a loud clunk sound of a poor assistant falling to the ground.

"Oh well. Maybe it'll work out some other night."

The warm month of July was finally upon the earth. Though it was extremely hot and muggy, the people around the small, aristocratic town full of talented musicians and artists enjoyed passing by the beautiful garden in front of the mansion owned by the composer Uchiha Sasuke and his wife Hinata, who had been married for only a few weeks. They were a very generous couple, who let passersby sit in their garden and even pick a few of the rare flowers.

One afternoon, Sasuke was sitting in the garden, a single piece of parchment lying on the iron wrought table in front of him. He had just finished composing the fourth season, 'Sommer'('Frühling'had been finished the day before his wedding) and was ready to take a much-needed break from writing music (for only a little while, of course.)

Hinata walked to the table carrying a tray with a cup of tea and a bowl of sugar on it. "Ah, so are you done?"

Sasuke leaned back. "Yes. Those awful seasons are finished."

Hinata giggled and sat down on his knee affectionately. "Now really, were they that bad? I think your music is rather good."

Sasuke wound his arm around her waist. "You know what they say about me. I'm-"

"Insane?"

"Exactly."

Hinata looked up at the blue sky overhead and laughed. "I think the one who's more out of their mind is the one who falls in love with an insane composer and retires from their opera career at an early age to help make insane little children."

"Once again, my dear: touché."

END

A/N: Oh…my…goodness…it's done! It's finally done! And…it was only four chapters long…ha..ha…I'm so slow.

Hope you enjoyed 'Four Seasons' by Cleone!

Sommer: "Summer" in German