Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

LINEBREAKLINEBREAKLINEBREAK

The pale, grayish-purple tinted eyes stared up reddish-orange sky that could be seen between the top of the brick buildings. It was getting late but she was in no hurry, walking leisurely through the narrow path to get to her apartment, basking in the warmth provided by the sunset. These moments were her favorite when she could just take a break from her work and enjoy the beauty that the nature and her surroundings presented her with. Unable to resist, her hand reached for the camera that was tied around her neck. Her slender finger was about to press on button but was interrupted by a masculine voice:

"Hinata," the person called from behind her. She recognized the voice immediately and froze in her mid-action. Thousands of thoughts fired away like bullets in her mind, leaving her unable to form a coherent thought.

The first instinct was to run as her "fight-or-flight" response kicked in. But that was ridiculous as she knew she couldn't outrun him. Should she pretend not to know him? She almost laughed at the thought. She was pretty sure he was certain that it was her.

She paused in her thought as she heard him approach and slowly turned, reluctantly facing raven-haired man in a gray business suit. Her breath stopped for a second to see how handsome he had gotten over the years and had to remind herself to say something.

"Oh," she greeted lamely. She berated herself for making a fool of herself after years of not seeing each other but she was sure that even a normal greeting would have been awkward after what happened between them. "I mean…how-what-" There were many questions she wanted to ask but it was obvious that she was having trouble forming the actual questions.

"It took awhile to find you," his coal-black eyes narrowed as he said it. "Two years, Hinata, two years…Did you not think that I could do it?"

She composed herself quickly. "I thought…I thought I made it clear in the letter that I wrote to you, Sasuke." She silently told herself "good job" for not breaking down in front of him. Seeing him again flooded her with feelings she had long bottled up inside.

He grabbed her wrist, tightly. "Was it really necessary to leave like that?" he growled out, his voice laced with barely contained anger. "Without informing anyone where you were going?"

She swallowed, fear creeping up in her heart. "I…needed some space-time to think-and I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Maybe it was selfish of me but..."

The indifferent face expression that he was trying to maintain was gone only to be replaced with full-blown fury and irritation. "I'm glad you realized it just now," he deadpanned, sarcasm oozing from his voice. "You know what? We'll talk about this inside your house. Lead the way," he said as he pinned her with heated gaze.

She tried to wriggle her wrist out from his powerful grip. "I have n-nothing to talk about with you," she replied, firmly. Despite her pounding heart that was about to burst out and fear-addled mind, she knew what she had to do. She had decided long ago and she could not change her mind now because she did not come all the way just to go back to the beginning.

"No? Well, too bad. Then you listen to me and you'll listen to every word I say. We can either take this to the nearest coffee shop or your house. Your choice," he shot back, frustration clearly edging into his voice.

Hinata never thought she would come back to her home with such dreadful feeling. Nervousness was already overflowing inside her, making her light-headed and slightly shaky. He immediately sat in her sofa, commanding her silently to do the same. She sat opposite of him, leaving the coffee table in-between them. He seemed to have calmed down but she could sense unmistakable angry vibe resonating from him.

"I'm not going back," Hinata broke the silence, her voice cutting through the thick tension that was settling in the living room. "If that's what you came to do…I can't…won't go back."

"Everything is beyond fixing," Sasuke admitted, curtly, loosening his tie with few jerky motions and throwing his jacket beside him. "What I want to know is why you suddenly disappeared." His glare seemed to reopen her old wound in her heart. She suddenly found herself unable to breathe and there was unbearable pain in her heart, reminding her of her loneliness, hurt, and despair.

She looked away, opting to look down to her fingers laced tightly together in her lap. "Like I said," she paused, letting out the breath she had been unconsciously holding. "I needed time…e-even though I knew that Hanabi would take over, I couldn't help but feel like failure…My father, as you are aware, would not approve her daughter being a photographer. So I had to show him that I was serious and that I could make a living by myself." She felt her eyes sting and knew that she was at her limit before the tears would fall like water flooding out from a broken dam.

She heard him sigh, whether it was from annoyance or relief, she could not discern or dared herself to look up to check. "You decided to run instead of facing the challenge," he deadpanned. His words cut deep into her heart and she clenched her fingers tighter. "You abandoned everyone just so that you could live a comfortable life."

"No!" Her head shot up, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I didn't-it wasn't easy for me to leave either. I thought that was my only choice-I thought that was the only way I could forget the hurt and move on." She angrily wiped her tears away and stood up, intending to flee into her bedroom, shut the door, and stay there until he left or until she calmed down.

Hinata never got to her bedroom door. Before her hand could reach the knob, she felt herself being pulled back and her back slammed to the wall next to her room. When she tried to slip away, his arms blocked her path. She stared at him with tear-filled eyes.

He let the anger wash away, leaving him looking tired and worn. She saw a brief look of hurt pass but it was masked away. "You had to leave me behind, too?"

She was left stunned and speechless. It never occurred to her that he thought of her in high regard. "I'm…I'm sorry. I didn't think that you c-cared for me that deeply. I thought you already had someone important to care for. I didn't want you to worry-"

"Someone important?" he interrupted, incredulously.

"Haruno Sakura from Haruno Corp," Hinata answered, trying to shrink away from the look of disgust he was giving out.

"And where did you hear this from?" he asked, venomously.

"Rumors were going around," Hinata replied, flinching as he took a deep breath.

"You are aware that most of the rumors are false and yet, why did you decide to believe that pathetic rumor going around is beyond me."

"I was foolish," Hinata admitted, softly.

"And selfish," he added, abruptly. She nodded, looking at his chest, unable to lift her head to look at him in the eyes. "Hell, I'm going to be selfish, too."

She saw his arm lift from the corner of her eyes and shut her eyes, imagining the worst case scenarios. She expected a slap or at least a good lecture, but what she did not expect were soft lips covering her own.

His kiss was fiercely demanding and rough, which caused an alarm to go off in her head. She panicked and tried to put some distance between them but his body was solid as a rock and the wall behind her was preventing her from further backing up. His kiss was igniting fire inside her and her self-control was wearing down fast. Her hands trembled as she gripped his shoulders to keep balance but that was unnecessary as he hardly left room in-between them, keeping her petite body upright against the wall. She felt his hand wound around her waist and his other hand settle on the back of her head. His tongue was wet, tasting and licking the sensitive parts of her mouth.

He pulled back slightly to look at her, face just few centimeters away from her face. Her lips were swollen and her face looked flushed. "You'll come with me." He stared at her with a burning intensity that made her dizzy and light-headed.

She snapped out of her daze. "Y-You can't," she managed to breathe out, hastily.

"Can't what?" His eyebrow rose imperceptibly.

"You can't t-take me," Hinata answered, turning her head to the side to avoid looking at him.

The hand that was on her hair redirected her head back to his direction. "Can't you see, you little fool. I was already in love with you from the beginning…which is why I turned down the engagement with Haruno and came to find you." His eyes conveyed tenderness and warmth that she wouldn't mind drowning herself in.

She felt her heart swell with happiness but that joy was short-lived as she went back down to reality. She felt her breath stop as she thought of the potential consequences of her action should she decide to go with him. But she knew that was plain selfishness and she's already had her fill with her selfishness. She exhaled her words out, "You can't afford to associate with Hyuuga disgrace…You know the rules as well as I do with people like us. It will tarnish your reputation. I can't weigh you down when I know that you have a great potential ahead of you-"

"Can you stop thinking of other people for once?" He thundered out, his voice booming, jolting her whole body. "I don't care what other people will think. Is it that easy to turn away from me even after I showed you what I've been hiding for years?"

Hinata gripped his shoulders tightly. "I'm afraid that I'll bring you unwanted misfortunes and you'll someday…regret your decision," she whispered out as she brought her hands to cup his face.

"So," Sasuke smirked, his eyes alight. "I just have to show you the successful me and you'll accept my proposal of marriage?"

"M-Marriage?" Hinata squeaked out, surprise clearly evident in her face, blush spreading like a wild fire. He needed to stop shocking her today because her heart could only take so many surprises. She quickly tried to withdraw her hands but he caught her left hand and guided it back to his cheek.

"To see if I would regret my decision or not," Sasuke claimed, devilish smirk gracing his lips. "And you just implied what you felt about me."

"I n-never-I didn't mean-that was not what I-" she stopped herself before she could ramble on.

His face turned suddenly serious. "I mean it. These last two years just proved to me that I need you in my life. I can't stand the thought of you hiding again, away from me. I made a mistake of letting you go two years ago. I learned from my mistake and I'm sure as hell won't make the same damn mistake again."

Hinata started to say something but shut her mouth again. Her body moved on its own accord, which liberated her from the clutch of loneliness, which would have stuck with her like a parasite for eternity. She softly kissed his mouth, giving him a small peck, and marbled at how perfectly he fit with her. He wanted to deepen the kiss but knew that he had to take it slow. He just tightened his arm around her, unwilling to let his desire run wild. Finally having her in his arm felt like heaven and scaring her was the last thing he wanted to do.

When she pulled back, the corner of his mouth lifted in a small, genuine smile. "This seals the deal, yes?"

She was already in way too deep to deny it now. She became aware that she had developed some kind of deep love and affection for him over the years they had been together and apart to which she was oblivious to. She was surprised by the deep attachment he felt for her and she felt for him.

In a last act of defense, she slightly shook her head. "I'm not your ideal choice."

His smile widened a fraction further. "I think I'm old enough to choose for myself," he declared, pulling her head closer toward him. "And I must also say that it will be you only."

The last wall of resistance crumbled inside of her and she sighed. "I can't win against you."

"Of course," he said, smugly. "Because you're in love with me."

"How can you be so sure?" Hinata asked, putting her forehead against him.

"Because," he began, wrapping his hands around her waist and raising her to his eye level. He supported her, pulling her flush against him. "I can see it in your eyes."

"S-Sasuke! Put me down," Hinata pleaded; her face was tomato red.

"Naw, I rather like this," he smirked, one arm wrapping around his waist and the other wounding to her back. "So that it's easier to do this," he claimed as he took her into a passionate kiss again, his mouth moving feverishly beneath hers, filling both their hearts.

LINEBREAKLINEBREAKLINEBREAK

Reviews are greatly appreciated! I wrote this overnight so there might be some mistakes.