Chapter 70: Chapter 70
-Hinata's POV-
When I woke in the morning, a soft sigh left my lips because I'd expected to be hungover and uncomfortable. Instead, I was warm and content. Something soft was between my arms, while someone, almost definitely Sasuke, was lying behind me with an arm tossed over my waist. The limb tightened around me, and I realized I was correct when I recognized the Uchiha man's sleepy groan.
Feeling greedy, I pressed against him, smiling to myself when he kissed my head before nuzzling his face in my hair and snuggling closer. If I'm being honest, after drinking so much and staying up late last night, I expected this morning to suck, but this is lovely.
My eyes crept open, and the light-hearted aura came crashing down. The soft thing my arm was tossed over was Sakura as she slept all but on top of Gaara. The redhead's shirt was missing because his girlfriend was wearing nothing but that and a pair of underwear.
I was distracted from my panic when Sasuke ran his hand down my lower stomach to slip beneath my clothing. Squeezing my legs tightly together, I reached down with both hands to grab his arm and try to pull it away, only making him chuckle.
In a deep, raspy, and invigorating voice, the Uchiha man whispered in my ear, "They're asleep; it's fine."
As if on cue, Gaara stirred, his brow furrowing as he unconsciously wrapped his arms further around his girlfriend. The hand touching me so sensually, thankfully, moved away. Our redheaded bandmate's eyes opened. He blinked a few times before looking at us and going red in the face.
Almost frantically, he fixed his girlfriend's clothing so her underwear wasn't showing, murmuring surprisingly calmly, "Babe, wake up…."
Sakura groaned, sleepily mumbling, "No…." Half-awake, she turned her head to face Sasuke and me, and then her eyes opened the rest of the way in shock, "O-Oh!"
She sat up on Gaara's hips, frantically looking for something to cover herself with while simultaneously trying to make her shirt reach lower. After a moment, though, she froze, eyes landing on Sasuke's arm around my waist.
All four of us were quiet momentarily, but she eventually broke the silence, "Did you two hook up last night?"
Sasuke scoffed into my hair, but all I could do was stare at our friends with a red face, unsure of what to do or say.
"We don't need to ask you about your night because you two were going at it when we tried to go to bed."
Sasuke's rebuttal had both Gaara and Sakura's faces matching mine in color.
Apparently, the humiliation wasn't enough to distract them entirely because the girl asked, "You guys have never cuddled like that before; that's why I was asking." She gestured toward his arm, which still remained around my waist. Judging by how easy it was for me to feel his breath in my hair, he was also lying much closer than he ever has in anyone else's presence.
"So what? This kind of thing is normal between idols these days. Don't be such a prude."
Sakura's mouth clamped shut, and she turned her eyes onto me, "And you're okay with this?"
Going along with my boyfriend's casualness, I shrugged, "I-I don't mind. It's Sasuke." They know we're close friends, so my response wasn't that outlandish.
The pink-haired woman peered down at Gaara, whose hips she was still straddling, and they shared a surprised look, "Huh. Color me surprised."
For some reason, Sasuke chose to add, "Besides, you and I have kissed, and no one's said anything about that." My heartbeat sped up as I looked between Sakura and her boyfriend.
Luckily, the woman laughed it off, drumming her fingers absently on Gaara's bare chest as she gazed lovingly down at him, his blush darkening, "I guess I forgot about that."
"So the only thing left is for you and Hinata to kiss, and you'll have checked off the entire group."
Sakura turned her head at him in shock, obviously triggered by his statement, "The way you were dancing last night makes me think you two have probably kissed at some point, too. I'll kiss Hina, and you kiss Gaara, and then we can have matching slut cards."
Gaara and I both moved to sit up, vocalizing our unwillingness to be volunteered in their petty argument. I turned to look down at Sasuke, who was too busy glaring at Sakura.
Surely he won't- "Fine. Let's do it." Why, Sasuke? Why?
He and our pink-haired friend glared stubbornly at one another, her repeating his agreement, "Fine."
Gaara gently guided his girlfriend off his lap, raising a hand with a frown, "Don't we get a say in this? I don't want to kiss a guy, especially Sasuke!"
The Uchiha man appeared offended for some reason, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Sakura interrupted before anyone could say something else, "Let's get this over with, Hina. Come here."
I pushed her shoulders when she grabbed mine and tried to pull me closer, stammering panickedly, "W-W-Wait! I don't-" The woman was stronger than I'd judged her to be and easily bypassed my struggle to press her lips to mine. I froze, squeezing my eyes closed in an attempt not to freak out and have an anxiety attack.
After a moment, she pulled away, "There. Now it's your turn, jackass."
My entire body felt so hot that I was nearly sweating, but I opened my eyes because if Gaara and Sasuke were going to kiss, I couldn't not watch. To everyone's surprise, except mine, the redhead shot off the bed, quickly found his pants, and began putting them on, "Hell no."
Sasuke snickered, "It's just one kiss, dude. Deidara and Yahiko even kissed in one of their music videos."
Gaara fled the room without saying anything else, and his face was akin to a cherry. He must've been very against it because he didn't even have a shirt on, and who knows how many people might still be in Tenten's mansion.
Sasuke burst into laughter, falling back against the pillows and pulling me down at his side, "Looks like you're the only one with three holes punched into her slut-card, Sakura."
The woman in question scoffed, climbing off the bed to locate her clothing, "I'm gonna get you back for this, Uchiha, just you wait."
When we returned to our house, I immediately brushed my teeth before climbing into the shower. My fingers danced over my lips as I recalled how weird it felt to kiss Sakura, how different it was from Sasuke.
"Don't tell me you're into Sakura now?" I jumped in fright, turning to see Sasuke closing the shower curtain behind him with a smirk.
Playfully smacking his arm, I blushed, "W-Why did you do that?"
He shrugged, "I thought it'd be hot, and it was." Then he mumbled, "You're welcome, Gaara."
I shook my head in disbelief, frowning as I massaged shampoo into my hair, "Were you really going to kiss him?"
The Uchiha man shrugged, "Yeah, sure."
He turned his dark eyes on me, his smirk threatening to morph into a teasing grin, "Why? Are you afraid I'll leave you for him? Sakura did say he's good at-" "O-Oh, shut up, Sasuke!"
To my surprise, he chuckled before coming closer, under the water, and pressing his lips to mine in an unexpectedly passionate way considering the situation and conversation we'd been having. My heart fluttered as his fingers gently slid into my hair, angling my face up to perfect the action. I couldn't help but delicately touch his stomach, feeling his warm skin beneath my fingers.
After a moment, Sasuke parted from our kiss but remained close enough that the tips of our noses touched, whispering warmly, "There. You're all mine again."
I love him.
The thought was the only thing I could comprehend as he kissed me again, this one softer and brief, before returning to bathing as though he hadn't just made me swoon.
I stood there, dumbfounded, and stared at his unassuming face.
Does he know how much it affects me when he does and says things like that? It's been a challenge preventing myself from blurting out those three little words, and it doesn't help that he's begun opening up to me so rapidly. We've been dating just under eight months, but I couldn't fathom him saying what he just said even two months ago.
Something changed in him, in us, over the past few weeks. It's as exhilarating as it is scary.
Sasuke turned his head as he rinsed his hair with his eyes closed, and his profile literally took my breath away.
I can't say it out of nowhere because I'm unsure how he'll react. Sure, he's changed a lot since the start of our relationship, but he's still Sasuke Uchiha at his core. The words we've shared about our childhoods and traumas have been little, but I can put the puzzle pieces together enough to know that the phrase "I love you" has likely only left his lips for his mother and not once since her passing. I also know nothing of his dating history other than what I've witnessed with my own eyes.
What if he's had past experiences with women that got to the point of falling in love, only to end badly? He may push me away if I tell him how I feel without considering these types of things.
One thing I know for sure is that Sasuke has trust issues for whatever reason. So, I have to keep my mouth shut until I'm sure it won't do more harm than good.
"See something you like, Hyuuga?"
I snapped out of my daze to realize I'd continued staring at him all along, and he'd finally taken notice. His amused expression fell into one of slight confusion when my face paled rather than turn red.
Eager to change the subject, I rinsed my hair and averted my gaze, "L-Last night was fun."
Sasuke took the bait, thank god. "We can't have you drunk in public again, or you'll blow our cover."
There's the blush he was waiting for. I sighed, washing my body. He shocked me for the second time since entering the shower by speaking in an almost bashful voice, barely audible, "You surprised me…."
After showering, we spent the day lazing around and relaxing to help the hangovers. That night, after paying me back for the favor I'd given him in the bathroom at Tenten's house, Sasuke kissed my stomach, slowly returning from between my legs. His hands circled my waist.
While catching my breath, I weakly brought a hand up to the back of his head, feeling his soft hair, "That was-" "Good, right? I could tell."
The man finally came up to hover over me, holding himself up with one hand as he grinned confidently. I rolled my eyes but didn't argue because he was right.
Like earlier, I suddenly got lost while staring at his handsome face, unconsciously reaching to cup his cheek. Sasuke's smile sank as he likely wondered what the hell was wrong with me. Other than the fact that I've fallen head over heels for him, another thing has been weighing heavily on my mind.
"Sasuke, can we talk?"
The man's expression turned to one of subdued bewilderment, "What did I do?" He asked the question as though I was about to punish him for something.
A smile tugged at my lips, and I shook my head, "Nothing; it's nothing bad."
My boyfriend lay beside me, absently holding a few strands of my hair as I faced him and tried to find the right words. Bashfully, I looked at his hand rather than his face, "I-I want to…. The tour's coming up, and I…. I-I guess what I'm trying to say is…ugh."
"Do you want to have sex before the tour?"
My lips pressed together stressfully, but I nodded. After all this time, I'm still too cowardly to say it out loud.
"Alright."
My eyes darted up to meet his in surprise, "You're okay with it?"
He scoffed, "You're smarter than this, Hyuuga."
My brow furrowed as I realized what he was insinuating. Sasuke's been sexually active, very much so, for years now, and he hasn't had it since we began dating. In fact, he's probably overcome with relief right now because he might've been worried I'd never be ready.
"This is kind of short notice, though. We leave in a week."
It's true. There's an unspoken understanding that we don't want to do it, at least for the first time, while the others are home. The chances of that situation happening are low if they exist at all.
We thought about it in silence for a minute or two before I shook my head, actively shoving the topic from my mind, "It'll be okay, right?"
Sasuke nodded, pulling me closer as he rolled onto his back so I could cuddle into his side, "Why wouldn't it be?" I ran my hand up his torso, physically admiring his body since I couldn't see it, "Good night." He made some sort of affirming sound meant to confirm the statement.
-Sasuke's POV-
Hinata fell asleep rather quickly, and I slowly rolled onto my side so I could watch her face. There's no way I'll be able to fall asleep now. Who the hell could after being asked to have sex with a creature like this one?
For some reason, I felt slightly nervous as I ran my fingers over her hip and up her waist. All day today, I caught her staring with that goddamned look that makes me as uncomfortable as it does happy.
I don't want to fuck things up.
I can't fuck things up.
On that topic, I can't even ask her what she and Itachi talked about without it being obvious that I'm jealous. After acting a fool because of Toneri, she may get truly upset if I do that again. The anger would be justified, too. Hinata's shown me time and time again that she's loyal.
If I'm being honest, it's my brother that I don't trust. There's not a doubt in my mind that my girlfriend is innocent. Just the thought of all the things someone with power like Itachi or my father could do puts the fear of God in me, something that's only ever happened once; when Fugaku threatened my mother all those years ago.
Careful not to wake her, I brushed Hinata's hair away from her face, a strange feeling brewing in my chest that made me feel short of breath.
Itachi's wrong.
I won't let anyone hurt her.
I won't let the past repeat itself.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone