Time is the Culprit

9.

   Hinata walked into the kitchen and started making the noodles. She walked to the cabinets and got the seasoning. Today, she was planning to go to the Hokage tower to give her husband some homemade ramen for his lunch break.

   She was going to invite Sakura and Sasuke there too so they all could spend some time together a bit and talk about the old days. Hinata missed talking to Sakura, the two haven't gone out together in a while since Sakura was always busy with hospital work. Though Hinata was busy too, she always had an amazing amount of free time on her hands.

   DING!

   The timer went off. She walked over to the stove and turned it off. She grabbed the handle of the pot and poured the steaming hot noodles into the bento box she had set on the table. There was a flower-decorated silk rag beside the box. She picked it up, put it under the box, and tied it into a beautiful bow at the top. 

   Carefully, she grabbed the box and placed it under her hands. She calmly walked over to the door and opened it with her free hand.

   Himawari was out training today so as much as she wanted to, Hinata couldn't bring her with her. She calmly walked around the village, waving to people as she made her way to the Hokage tower.

                                                                                        * * *

   KNOCK, KNOCK   

   Hinata knocked on the door to the Hokage office and waited. "Come in!" She heard her husband yell. She opened the door and walked in, "Hello, Naruto-Kun-" She stopped. Her eyes looked over to the couch and saw Sasuke sitting there calmly looking over scrolls. She took a glance around the room to see if any more people were there. Shikamaru, of course, was sorting through mission reports and letters, while her husband was signing papers.

   "Um, Naruto-Kun? I brought you some ramen. It is almost your lunch break, right?" Hinata asked trying to ignore the somewhat tense atmosphere. Naruto put his pen down, looked up, and slightly smiled.

   He gestured with his hand for her to come closer. She walked past the couch where Sasuke was sitting, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw him slightly glare at her. But after all, she chose to ignore it.

   She placed the bento box down on Naruto's desk and looked over at Sasuke. "Sasuke-Kun, it's funny that you are here, I was just talking to Sakura saying how we should all get together for Naruto-Kun's lunch break today. She'll be over here in a minute, well, if it's okay with you all." Hinata said politely. Naruto glanced over at Sasuke and Sasuke glanced back.

   Hinata looked at the two curiously. 'Why are they glancing at each other?' Hinata wondered why they looked at each other. Lately, they've been closer than usual. Though Hinata paid no mind to it.

  KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

   They all looked towards the door and waited until someone came in. "Yoo-hoo! Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke-kun! I'm here for lunch!" Sakura said. In her hand, she carried a salad, fruit, and some Onigiri. Everything she brought was for herself since she assumed that they all brought their food. She took a look around the room confused. "Eh? Hinata, did you forget to tell Sasuke-Kun to bring food?" Sakura asked with her hands on her hips as she dropped the things she was holding on the floor.

   Hinata smiled kindly. Though, some people could see that she was slightly annoyed. "Not at all, Sakura. When I came in, Sasuke was already here." She said calmly. Sakura sighed. She dropped her hands and picked up the things off the floor. She looked and everyone and said, "Well, maybe we should all go out to eat instead! I'll just drop these things off at my house along the way." Sakura happily said. 

   Naruto smiled. He was very hungry and he could just save the ramen for later. "Sure, Sakura. That would be fine." Naruto said. He looked at Sasuke sighed. Sasuke looked back at him and sightly smiled. Though, no one else could see it because of his bangs.

                                                                                        * * *

   When they all got to the restaurant, Naruto waved and smiled at people who waved at him as he walked to his table. Everyone sat down and looked at their menu. Sakura sat beside Sasuke, He sat beside Naruto, and Naruto sat beside Hinata.

   A waitress came up to their table and pulled out a notepad from her pocket. "Hello, may I- Ah! Hokage-Sama! What a surprise! Is there anything you would like to order?" The young lady said politely. She was very happy to be serving the Hokage. "Um, may I have the Miso soup with a side of rice, please?" Naruto said. He was a little embarrassed from being called out like that.

   "Ok! And you?" She said as she pointed her pen at Sasuke. He looked down at the menu for a couple of seconds and sighed. "The 'Tomato Myoga Salad' will be fine." And with that, he closed his menu and put it back on the table. "Ok, and would you like a drink with that?" She asked. Sasuke looked back up, "Water, please." She took her pen and wrote down all the orders. "Alright then! I'll have everyone's food out as quickly as I can!" She walked over to the kitchen door and went in. 

                                                                                      * * *

   "And then-" Sasuke blocked out Sakura's voice and leaned back into his seat. He was very tired, and truthfully, he didn't want to come to dinner. All he wanted to do was go back home and sleep. Though he was somewhat happy he was going to eat something with tomatoes in it today.  

   While Hinata and Sakura were chatting, Sasuke saw Naruto looking at him from the corner of his eye. He leaned back up and looked at him. "What are you staring at me for?" Sasuke asked. Naruto leaned into Sasuke's ear and whispered, "What was the glare at Hinata for earlier?" He asked. 'So he saw, huh?' Sasuke thought. He expected Naruto to know anyways. "Let's go outside," Sasuke said. "We can talk about it out there." He stood up and walked around the table and headed for the door. Naruto followed.

   "Huh? Sasuke-Kun, Naruto, where are you guys going?" Sakura asked. The two have been close recently. Some nights, Sakura would wake up and Sasuke wouldn't be there. She's been very suspicious of the two for the past couple of months. But, has refused to say anything.

   "Don't worry Sakura! We're going outside, we'll be back in a bit." Naruto did a slight wave and walked out the door following Sasuke.

                                                                                   * * *

   Once they were outside, they took a seat on a nearby bench. Sasuke looked down at the ground before looking back up again. "I was jealous," Sasuke said. He was telling the truth. Well, the partial truth. He felt all types of emotions when he saw Hinata walk over to Naruto with that terrible smile on her face. "I was jealous when I saw Hinata walk over to you with that stupid smile on her face." Sasuke was mad. Extremely mad.

   Naruto leaned his head on Sasuke's shoulder and sighed. "It's ok, Sasuke. I get jealous when Sakura does some things, so no need to get so angry." Naruto calmly said. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Sasuke. 

   Sasuke smiled and stroked Naruto's head. They stayed like that for a while before they went back inside.

But what they didn't know, was that people were watching them from a distance.