Record scratch.
She was tapped on her shoulder suddenly, making her take off her headphones to see who the culprit was. A shy smile and brown eyes greeted her, an apology on their lips but Hinata couldn't hear. She didn't want to hear. They asked her a question, or did they tell her something? From the look in their eyes, it was the former.
"Sorry?" She mumbled, pressing pause on her music, she realized how annoyingly loud she had it but she didn't quite care.
"I think it's your turn." They motioned to the paper in her hands and the number flashing on the screen in bright red.
Now serving client 13 in office 2.
"Ah, thank you." Hinata gave them a tight smile, grabbing her bag and leaving immediately. That smile left her face as soon as her back was turned.
The office was nice and clean — like it usually was. The odd placement of the bookshelf and a standing lamp hidden behind the door for some reason made her feel just as welcomed as a cat in a house of dogs. Placing her bag on the seat beside her, she pushed her hands into her sweater pockets and put her headphones back on.
Ditto had been on loop for ten minutes straight, and no one has ever thought to point it out because she looked miserable. She wouldn't care if they did, but she hated when someone pointed out her lack of care.
Stay in the middle—
"I see you finally decided to come to your appointment." A blond woman sat across from her, fixing her shirt around her rather huge bosoms before smiling.
Flicking her headphones off once again, feeling very annoyed that she's done it more times than she would have liked, Hinata sighed. "I've been busy."
"With?" She clipped on her discarded name tag. Tsunade Senju — an extremely qualified doctor who took no one's bullshit, especially Hinata's.
"Stuff." She mumbled, digging her nails into her skin out of pure boredom. "It's none of your concern."
"It is my concern seeing as you want to go ahead and become a surrogate. You passed your psychological evaluation, which isn't surprising since you've been to therapy—"
"Do you have good news or bad news?" Hinata sat up straight, wanting to leave but she couldn't. Not yet.
"Are you in a rush to get out of my office?" Tsunade raised her eyebrow, pulling out a file from her desk. "I just wanted to check on you before I tell you how things are going. We found a couple who would like to meet you. If things go well—"
"We've been through this countless times, Tsunade." She frowned.
"I know that you're well aware of the protocols, but, you've always been...not the best to handle for some of these people."
"They don't like how—"
"Yes, I know. Your eyes, they always think you're blind."
"A little ableist, don't you think? They don't want me because my eyes are too pale, or I look sick and weak, or some other made up reason." She scoffed.
"You're angry."
"Why shouldn't I be?" Hinata closed her eyes, clenching her hands and then spoke in a calmer manner. "Do these ones know at least? So I don't have to go through the whole explanation thing again."
"They've seen a picture of you, yes. They don't mind at all." She reassured, "and I know one of the clients personally."
"Is this a favour you're doing?" She was skeptical, she stopped receiving appointments once they realized she wouldn't show up to them to be ridiculed by their clients. For Tsunade to reach out personally, and demand that she show up to her office so early in the morning, she figured as much.
The older woman shrugged, "they asked for you before I could recommend you. I think they're a perfect match too, and you'd like it." She handed her a sheet of paper.
"How can you be so sure?" Hinata took it, staring at the information provided to her.
"They already have a child." She smiled, "I know how much you adore them."
The Hyuga woman was silent, she stared at the picture of a small family with indifference. "Why do they need me if they already have one?"
"Isn't the answer obvious?" Tsunade was genuinely curious to know if Hinata knew anyone in that picture. Everyone knew who they were.
Shaking her head, she folded the paper and slipped it into the pocket of her tote bag. "Is it supposed to be?"
"Well, you'll have to find out on your own. They'll give you a call later today to schedule a meeting for this week so you can introduce yourself." She clasped her hands together.
"Okay." Hinata stood up, adjusted her headphones and flung her bag across her shoulders. Making her way to the door, she was stopped momentarily.
"Oh and Hinata...please give them a chance as well."
The door closed.
Chapter One: Nice To Meet You
The city ambiance was silenced by her headphones. All she could hear was the EDM chorus of Black Hole playing as she looked out for cars before running across the street.
She was late, she knew as much once her phone buzzed in her pocket. So much for first impressions, she was meeting the people she would have a baby for and she was showcasing her bad habits. Cursing under her breath, she looked up at the name of the café to make sure she got the place right.
Inside was cool, everyone moved around with vigor and the cashier greeted her with a wide smile.
Taking out the picture of the people she was supposed to meet, she looked around the slightly packed area trying to spot bright pink hair. It wasn't very hard to, actually, the woman stood out almost painfully amongst other bland hair colours. Fixing her shirt and hair, Hinata cleared her throat and made her way to the table.
"Hi, sorry I'm so late—" She tried smiling but it fell quickly when the woman held her hand up to shush her.
"Yeah, okay, she's here. You need to hurry up too. I love you too, bye." She hung up and turned to the Hyuga woman, "sorry about that. I was just talking to my husband, he went to pick up our daughter from daycare since our nanny took the day off. You can sit down." She motioned to the seat across from her.
"Ah, I see." Hinata laughed nervously and sat down. She tapped the straps of her bag nervously, desperately wanting to put on her headphones and let Younha finish her song but that would be rude.
"I'm Sakura, by the way, you must be Hinata."
"I am, yes. Nice to meet you." Her lips twitched for a second, but a smile never graced her face.
"Would you like anything to drink while we wait?" Sakura stirred her iced coffee, taking a sip.
"I'm good, thank you."
"I would interview you if it was only us two meeting, but my husband wouldn't want me jumping into this alone. I'm sure you two can get along." She reassured the nervous woman, a pitying look in her eyes as she watched Hinata stare out the window instead of at her.
"Is that him?" She said after a while, pointing at a man helping a child out of a sleek black car that was far too expensive.
Sakura followed her finger, her eyes lighting up instantly. "That is him. How'd you know?"
"Tsunade gave me a picture of you guys, so I could find you here." She explained briefly.
"How thoughtful of her. I'm so glad that she put in a word for me when I asked for you. I didn't know she was in charge of your case." Sakura got up before Hinata could question her any more. She made her way to the door and immediately picked up her daughter once she walked in.
They spoke in hushed voices, and Hinata was slightly curious as to what they were discussing since they kept giving her awkward glances. She checked the time on her phone, only ten minutes had passed, they were supposed to meet for an hour minimum.
"Hinata, meet Sasuke and Sarada — my husband and daughter." Sakura introduced the three. She sat down in her usual spot, Sasuke sitting beside her while Sarada captured the available seat beside Hinata.
Hinata couldn't help staring at Sarada for a moment longer. Her heart sank once the little girl matched her gaze with an eye smile. "Hello."
"Hi!" Sarada waved, "do you like to colour?" She pulled out a book from her little backpack with some crayons.
"I do, yes." Hinata moved her bag off of the table and hung it on her seat.
"Good, you can help me." She opened the book and moved it in between them. "Use whichever colour you want."
"I will, thank you." Hinata picked out a soft blue and began colouring faintly.
Sakura pouted and looked at Sasuke, as if trying to tell him that she was right about her decision. "How long have you been a surrogate?" She asked, she was planning on using their hour very well, even if that meant talking to the Hyuga woman while she entertained her daughter.
"You're my first clients." Hinata tucked her hair behind her ear, glancing up at them momentarily while she switched her crayon for a purple.
"But it says you've been—"
"No one chooses me once they meet me. I'm either too young, or," she pointed at her eyes, "they think I'm blind." She answered.
"What made you want to be a surrogate then? Even after years of being on that list, at some point, you must have wanted to give up." Sakura frowned.
"I want to give people something I can't have." She said, "I prefer not to go into that. You want another child, I'll give you one."
Sasuke watched from the side, he didn't have any questions to ask. Actually, he could care less about the whole meeting thing. Yes, having another child would be great, but he had long since accepted that Sakura couldn't have any more. She, however, hasn't.
"Do you know why we want you to do this?" Sakura's voice was suddenly lowered, as if she didn't want anyone to hear their conversation. No one would anyway, the place was very rowdy.
She shrugged, "Tsunade didn't tell me."
"Sarada was our miracle baby, and our last. Sasuke is the last of his family, and he's always wanted to 'rebuild' it but he can't because of me." She held his hand, tears filling her eyes. "That's why we asked for you, because you'd understand."
The stroke of her crayon stopped. She wanted to drop it, and leave, to tell Tsunade that she couldn't do it, but she looked up at the Uchiha couple in front of her instead. "What do you mean?"
"You had a family of your own—"
Sasuke stopped Sakura before she could continue. "Do you like her?" He motioned to Hinata.
Sarada paused and looked at her father, the picture they were colouring, and the woman responsible for colouring the flowers so prettily. "Mhm." She nodded, and continued her personal art project.
"I think that's enough." Sasuke pulled out his phone, signalling to the waitress. "If Sarada likes her, and you're happy, I don't see why not." He spoke quickly, glancing at the stunned woman who stared at him with those pale eyes he recognized.
"Oh! I still have some questions..."
"If she's going to be carrying our child, you'll have all the time in the world to ask her questions."
Sakura's eyes practically sparkled, "you're okay with it?"
"Hn."
She clapped and kissed his cheek.
Hinata watched the whole ordeal as though she wasn't physically there but just an onlooker. She didn't know whether or not she should be happy that she was finally able to do something she's been waiting for for years. She looked down at Sarada and how her shoulders seemed to have sunk.
"Are you okay?" She whispered.
"I'm fine." The young girl answered back, "are you done with the pink?"
She handed it to her.
"Thank you."
"Mhm."
"Alright! This meeting was extremely short but I won't tell Tsunade that. It really was a pleasure to meet you, Hinata. I'm sure you know that next week, we'll be meeting at the clinic for the insemination."
"I do, yes."
"In the meantime, it would be great to spend even more time with each other. You know, getting to know the nitty gritty details, only if you're comfortable. I'll text you our address." Sakura spoke quickly, already packing her things and trying to get Sarada to do the same.
"I'm not done." She pouted, "tell her." She looked at Hinata with watery eyes that were partially hidden by her red glasses.
"Are you in a hurry to get somewhere?" Hinata stuttered, she really couldn't resist the way Sarada silently begged. She was a cute kid, that's for sure.
"I have a meeting, but Sasuke is free today. Do you have somewhere to be?"
He shook his head, resting his coffee cup on the table as he checked his watch. "We can go to the park." He gave Sarada a smile.
Hinata watched the exchange. The man was practically quiet, he let his wife do the talking, and he barely addressed her even though she was about to carry his child. However, the way his gaze softened at the sight of his daughter made her understand why he was that way.
Her father was the same, sans the softened gaze.
That made her frown. She hasn't thought about her father for years, and she wasn't planning to. Clearing her throat, she got ready to leave as well.
"Wait! Can we draw together next time?" Sarada rested her warm hand on her arm.
If it had been anyone else, she would have pulled her hand back harshly and glared at them, but she couldn't do that to a child. Nodding, Hinata ruffled her hair. "Sure."
"Okay! We can go to the park now." She closed her colouring book and put her things away.
Hinata walked behind the family as they exited the café. She stood on the sidewalk, awkwardly waving as they left in their expensive car. Taking her headphones out of her bag, she put them on the highest volume before pressing play on the song she had so rudely stopped.
The Uchiha family was okay.
Sakura was talkative, Sasuke wasn't, and Sarada was the perfect balance of them both. She could get used to it, though, she hoped that whatever child she gave birth to didn't inherit her bad luck.
━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━
"What do you think about her?" Sakura dried her hair while looking at him through the mirror. She could see the way he paused as he was scrolling on his iPad, as if formulating his answer.
"Nothing." He answered once she finally joined him in bed. Turning the device off, he kissed her head and laid down.
"Why'd you stop me from finishing my sentence earlier?" She prompted herself up on one arm.
"She looked uncomfortable."
"Since when did you care about whether or not someone was comfortable with what either of us had to say?"
"You want her to have our child, it's better to do that when she isn't angry at something you said."
"I was only curious..." Her voice trailed off. "I think she's very sweet, and attentive. Sarada likes her as well, which means she would love her sibling."
Sasuke looked at her, "do you really want another?"
"Don't you?"
"I'm not sure."
"You've always wanted to create a bigger family to make up for the one you lost. I thought I could give you that." She pouted.
"Hn."
"I love you, you know that, right?"
"I love you too."
"Good, now get some sleep. Ume isn't able to take Sarada to school in the morning, and I'm leaving for work before she wakes up." She kissed him on his cheek, "which means that her father has to drop her off at school before going to work at the big building downtown."
Sasuke said nothing, instead, he remained awake even as she fell asleep. He glanced at her and then the clock on the nightstand. Sighing, he removed her arm from his torso and got out of bed.
Flicking on the lights in the kitchen, he opened the fridge and took out a can of beer. Once he closed the fridge, he resisted the urge to yell in shock when he saw Sarada standing there with her teddy bear clutched in her arms.
"Couldn't sleep?" He put the beer on the counter, escorting her back to her room.
"No, Ume isn't here." She held his hand.
"I don't think Ume is coming back." He picked her up and placed her in her bed, covering her carefully. Sasuke sat at the edge of her bed and patted her stomach.
"Why? Is she sick?"
He shrugged, "maybe. She's been very busy, I don't think she can take care of you anymore."
"Will mommy do it?"
"Mommy is very busy with work. We'll get someone else."
"How about that lady?" Sarada shifted, rubbing her eyes in exhaustion.
"What lady?"
"The one who coloured with me."
"Hinata?"
She nodded.
"I don't know."
"I like her." She yawned.
"You said that earlier." He kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep."
"Will Hinata be our friend?"
"If she wants to be."
"I want her to be our friend."
Sasuke waited until Sarada was asleep, he made sure that her night light was on, and the door was slightly opened before he went back into the kitchen. Already losing the cravings for a beer, he settled on a glass of cold water and a fresh tomato.
Sitting at the kitchen island, staring off into the electric fireplace separating the kitchen and living room, Sasuke's mind trailed back to the Hyuga woman they met earlier. Again, he didn't see the need to get a surrogate, but he wasn't going to deny Sakura another chance at having something because of her lost ability to obtain it.
If a surrogate was the only solution to her longing, then so be it.