A Marriage of Convenience

Chapter 4

The silence was awkward at best and uncomfortable at worst. Neither parties had anything to say and the silence prickled at Hinata's skin like a paralyzing needle would.

Maybe her companion didn't feel the need to fill the silence but the quiet was getting to her. Lately, that had been all that had been present; the quiet and silence.

Ever since her marriage, the Uchiha-Compounds had been too much. Too silent, too lonely and too deserted. No one dared to wander there, fearful of the last Uchiha and too sympathetic for his poor wife.

Who'd been chained to him, by none other than her own father.

Her friends had been the exception. They'd been very understanding and kind to her current circumstances. They visited a lot, invited her to come with them everywhere. But for how long?

The compounds were her home. How long could she delay the inevitable. On top of that, Sasuke seemed to accept any mission that would keep him away from home. It's like he was avoiding her like the plague.

And sometimes, she wondered, if he only married her so they could be miserable together. She'd had dreams and aspirations for her life once-

"We'll camp here tonight."

Sasuke's rich baritone made her halt at once. She realized it was going to be dark soon and they'd been running the whole day towards their destination. She nodded.

They took shelter in a clump of trees. "I can gather firewood." Hinata told him. His silence was agreement enough as she stalked off.

There was the distant sound of water. Maybe a lake? She gathered firewood before she returned to their campsite.

Her companion was probably not waiting-but she should head back quicker anyways.

______

Sasuke had no clue as to why the old hag insisted they come together for this mission. He didn't need Hyuga-Uchiha now, he corrected himself-for this.

"Why?" had been his question to Tsunade.

"Why not?" she'd asked instead.

"You don't need two dojutsu users for this."

"On the contrary. This is a stealth mission. You're both there to gather intelligence." Tsunade said, leaning back in her chair.

"Intelligence about an old man who's being targeted for his position probably by his own son?" Sasuke argued.

Tsunade scoffed. "You need to gather intelligence about the current situation with the other villages. There will be representatives from every village. No one tells more about a place than the dirty handed rich people."

"And you could send me alone." He argued. He was not in the mood to face off his damned wife right now. "I can easily represent the most vile original clans of this village. Send me alone."

"You appear too hostile alone. She's going to balance you out." Came the answer.

And now here he was, sitting here while she left to gather firewood. As she came into view, Sasuke watched her from the corner of his eye.

Her long indigo hair fell over her shoulders as she bent down to set the firewood. He'd never paid attention to her in their past years. She was always in the background as the wierd blue haired Hyuga who was too focused on Naruto instead of her training.

But she'd grown, he realized. The stuttering mess of a girl she'd been had changed into a young woman, confident in herself. And now, at 19 years, she was confident enough to survive with him.

Because living with him was just that...surviving.

His brows furrowed at the thought. "Uchiha-san?" she said, breaking him out of his thought. "Could you light the fire?"

"Sasuke."

"Huh?"

"It's Sasuke. Not Uchiha-san." He said, making the handsigns for a fire technique. Hinata nodded.

"Sasuke-kun." She said, as if practicing the feel of his name. He sighed when she said that. He supposed it could have been worse. She could have been slow, or too loud or have an annoyingly screechy voice.

Still.

He really didn't need her here.

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Yes, I live. I know I'm really slow on updates but hang in there guys cuz I'm going to finish these stories at some point. Anyways, let me know what you think and eh, since we're quarantined anyways (cough*Corona*cough), why not finish the stories?