Random SasuHina I wrote. Sort of in the same universe as Hyaku no Kotoba. But not really. Like maybe future verse at some point...

I'm rambling.

Anyway, this is also posted on DeviantArt under the same username, but that's me again.

Enjoy.

Of Blind Dates and Booze

Blind dates, Hinata had decided, were one of the stupidest ideas that anyone had ever had, and she almost hated her cousin for setting her up on one. Luckily, she had a bottle of sake she could drown those thoughts in.

"Shit." The bluenette growled at her empty bottle. "Empty." She raised her startling white eyes to meet those of the frightened bartender. "Get me another drink. Something stronger." Something in the back of her head told her to be polite. "Please."

The young man scurried off to do the terrifying kunochi's bidding. The young woman then sighed, letting her head rest on the bar counter. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. In, out, in, out, in, out-

"H-here you are." The bartender shoved the bottle nervously toward her before quickly hurrying away.

Hinata snorted. This is why she avoided bars – her team had told her she was an "angry drunk" and said that she tended to scare people, but she hadn't believed them at the time. Looks like she should have believed them.

But whatever. She grabbed the bottle of sake and expertly uncapped it with her kunai. She brought the bottle to her lips and took a long swig, swishing it around in her mouth before swallowing.

"That's better." She muttered to herself. She couldn't taste that filthy noble any more.

She took another drink and quickly finished the bottle. The bartender didn't need to be told – he brought another bottle out almost immediately. The woman went for her kunai to open her bottle, but someone snatched it out of her reach. The enraged kunochi turned to the offender, another kunai in her hand and a snarl leaving her mouth as she met the darker-than-black eyes across from her.

"Uchiha." Hinata sneered. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"My, my, Hinata. Strong words. And I'm here because– " He sighed and grabbed her bottle out of her reach and handed it to the bartender, along with a stack of bills. "This should cover it, how many did she drink?"

The bartender pointed to the end of the counter. Empty bottles of sake filled its surface, probably close to twenty or so.

"How are you not dead?" Sasuke asked her in disbelief.

Hinata shrugged, laying her head back on the table. . "Potion thingy I had to take for a mission once went wrong. It was supposed to burn the alcohol out of my system quickly, but it never wore off. I can't get drunk, like shitfaced drunk so I don't remember anything. I lose my self-control to a point but I remember everything which sucks, doesn't it? Life really just sucks sometimes. Sometimes, I envy you, you know, since you don't have a clan or anything. I mean, yeah, that fucked up your life, but you're all better now, right? ANBU Captain and all that, your probation ended like ten months ago, right?"

Though it was true, Sasuke stiffened at her words. Hinata paid no attention and kept on ranting. "Sometimes I'd rather have been an orphan. I mean, if it's not the elders pressuring me to marry someone and have kids or my father pressuring me to set a date to accept position of clan leader or Neji asking if I've found away to remove the seal, it's my sister challenging me for being heiress, or it's another assassination from someone in my family, or it's my sister sneaking into my room because she wants to kill me but then she wants to sleep with me because she's scared, or some damn noble trying to kidnap me or marry me or rape me and basically everyone wants something from me, and I can't give it to them and my missions are awful enough – ANBU Black Ops is scary as hell sometimes, you know? - and I just need a break from it and I can't get it because I can't get fucking drunk."

Then she burst into tears, burying her head in her arms and sobbing uncontrollably, her bare shoulders shaking.

That was when Sasuke realized she wasn't wearing her regular clothes. Instead, she wore a navy tank top, the color contrasting nicely with her ivory skin. Her pants were gone, a reasonably short black skirt in its place. She had on a pair of navy heels, elongating her already long pale legs. Her long indigo hair was in an elegent bun, and a simple silver necklace with a leaf pendant hanging from it completed the look.

"You look nice." He murmured quietly, choosing to ignore her words from earlier.

Hinata lifted her head, letting out a choked sob. "I-I was supposed to go on a date…" She mumbled, wiping at her mascara with the back of her hands. "Neji t-thought I might l-like it if he introduced me t-to some nice guys, and he s-set up a blind date with this noble he met on a mission, Ken, and…he j-just…" She trailed off, trying to compose herself. "He k-kept touching me, and he was o-only a civilian, and it's not like i-it never happened before, b-but I slapped him and h-he said the e-elders were g-going to sell me to him…" She burst into tears again.

Sasuke didn't know what to say, so instead he stood up and swept Hinata off of the stool, much to her shock. He nodded at the bartender and took her out of the seedy bar, heading straight towards the old Uchiha clan grounds, which weren't far away.

"S-Sasuke, please put me down…"

"No. You've consumed a large amount of alcohol, and if you are not physically drunk, you are emotionally drunk, and it would be against my principles to leave you there."

Hinata giggled, and Sasuke raised an elegant eyebrow. "May I ask what is so amusing?"

"Y-you have principles? Y-you hate girls."

"Most."

"M-most?"

"The annoying ones. Ino. Sakura. Tsunade. Shizune. That ramen girl. Tenten. Almost every woman in this village I suppose…"

"W-who do you like, then?"

He didn't answer her. They were on the Uchiha clan grounds now (Sasuke ran fast for one, and it helped that the Uchiha compound had been left alone during Pein's destruction and then had ended up on the outskirts during reconstruction) , and Sasuke slid open the door to one of the buildings with his foot. He carefully laid Hinata down on a couch that sat in the main living room.

"Stay here. I'll be right back."

While Sasuke was gone, Hinata took a chance to look around. She expected it to be gloomy, maybe a little dark…but it was clean, simple, though a little lonely and maybe a bit too sterile. The first room they had entered – the one she was in – was a living room. There was a navy blue couch with a matching loveseat to the side. A glass coffee table with a stack of books, including "Yoga for Shinobi", "Meditation Techniques", "Inner Peace for Dummies", and "Anger Management for Idiots" was in the middle, and across from it was a television mounted on a dark brown shelf. There were empty spaces on the cream colored walls where pictures had once hung. There was an entrance to a hallway on the left side, and a kitchen and dining room on the right. Hinata could see Sasuke fussing around in the kitchen.

Why had he brought her here, anyway? They were friends, Hinata supposed; they had been on a few missions together, after all, and there had been some… bonding there. But this was the first time she had been to his home. Actually, Hinata dimly recalled Naruto saying something…

"That damn teme won't even let me inside. Maybe he needs a girlfriend something. He's a fucking hermit, and he hasn't been on probation for like a year. Stupid teme, making me worry…"

Then what had changed?

"Here." Sasuke's voice startled her out of her thoughts, and she accepted the cup of what appeared to be coffee.

"Thank you." Hinata kept her head bowed, and she took a small sip of her coffee. It was warm going down her throat, and it had an almost minty aftertaste.

The two sat in silence for a moment, drinking their coffee. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence; in fact, Hinata rather liked that she didn't have to talk now. Where he had once been unnerving and even terrifying, Sasuke seemed…tame, now, and she liked the safe feeling he gave her.

"I have some old clothes that might fit you." Sasuke finally broke the quiet peace, setting his cup down on the glass table. "If you'd like." He added, almost hastily.

Hinata fought a small giggle. He looked kind of flustered, and it was cute.

Then she nodded and set down her own empty cup. "T-that'd be nice." Her clothes smelled like the noble's heavy cologne, even with the stench of sake that now stuck to her.

"Follow me."

He led her down the hallway she had seen earlier, and then into a room to the right.

Sasuke knelt down at a chest that was shoved off to the corner and began rifling though one of the drawers while Hinata looked around. This room was filled with dust; it obviously hadn't been used recently. A twin bed was tucked into a corner. Posters of superheroes and movies from at least a decade ago covered the walls, as well as a kunai target with several kunai still in it. Boxes were piled up on shelves, the floor, and the bed.

"I-is this…"

"My old room. When I moved back here, I took my parent's room."

He stood up and handed over a bundle of cloth to Hinata. She took it from him and turned around, away from the door. "Ano, should I just change here?"

"…Sure. I'm going to make something to eat. Is onigiri ok?"

"Yes, thank you."

Then he was gone, and Hinata was left in a room full of memories and mothballs.

Sighing, she removed her heels and rubbed one of her sore feet, leaning on the door for support. Then she took off her tank top and skirt, and shook out the outfit Sasuke had handed her.

The t-shirt was white with the Uchiha fan on the front, and he had given her a pair of black drawstring pants that were just a tad bit too big. She slipped the shirt on and let her hair down, taking off the necklace first so that her hair wouldn't get caught. She carefully folded up her own clothes and swore to burn them once she got home.

Then she opened the door and headed into the kitchen.

"Hinata, I-" Sasuke's eyes widened at the sight of her bearing his crest, and Hinata bit the inside of her cheek and averted her eyes.

"I know I reek of sake now, maybe I should go home and shower."

"You look beautiful no matter what." Sasuke cut her off, and Hinata looked up, shocked at his compliment.

He was staring at her, but not at the shirt. Their eyes connected, and the intensity in his eyes nearly made Hinata swoon.

"S-Sasuke?"

He was by her side before she realized he had moved. He was taller than her by about a head, and he was close enough that if she tilted her head up at the right angle, their lips might brush together.

"You asked me earlier who I liked out of the village."

"Yes?" She said almost breathlessly. No. Not this. She liked Naruto, she liked Naruto! Even if Sasuke smelled like mint coffee and trees and incense and even if she felt like she could fall into his eyes forever and even if he had brought her here and taken care of her and even if he had protected her the time they had been captured by Kumo ninjas and even if he was strong and made her feel safe and even if she had cried on his shoulder and even if she had held him through nightmares and seen him vulnerable…

Who was she trying to kid?

She might have liked Naruto at one point, but she loved Sasuke.

"You, Hinata."

His lips were soft on hers, and he tasted like mint coffee. It made her weak in the knees, but he held her up. She closed her eyes and wound her arms around his neck, closing the distance between them. He slipped his own arms around her slender waist, bringing her that much closer. It was a position that brought back memories of dark nights trapped in Kumo prisons, but now there was only the two of them and the sound of their breathing.

Sasuke released Hinata's lips to kiss down her neck, and she let out a small moan. He let go of her, and for a moment, they just stared at each other, and then Hinata took his face in her hands.

"I love you. It's probably the only time I'll ever say it, and I know you probably still like Naruto, but – "

Hinata closed the distance between them once again, pressing her sweet lips to his. Then she let go, a small smile on her face. Then she whispered into his ear:

"I love you, Sasuke."

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction.

And then, miracle of all miracles, the Last Uchiha, the Ice Prince of Konoha, the Man Who Kicks Puppies –

Sasuke Uchiha smiled.

fin.

You know the drill.

- dreameratheart