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When Sasuke got the notification that he was going to get paired up, he went on full rage mode and practically destroyed his desk.
Him?
A partner?
Sasuke worked alone. He's always worked alone and he would always will. He just needed to annoy, scare or threat whoever they decided to put as his partner.
The first time was easy. They chose an Inuzuka to do the job and that was... yeah, that was not the wisest choice. Turns out? Inuzuka had worst rage issues than Sasuke and together they were just a time bomb waiting to explode.
The second one, that one took two weeks. The girl had been infatuated with him but that didn't last long. Soon enough she was complaining to their Captain, and then she just quit. Sasuke is not going to accept or deny anything.
The third one? That took longer. Mostly because he kind of liked the guy. Oh, don't get him wrong, Uzumaki was stupid and he hated-hated him at first, but he grew on him, like mold. He grew on him and he lasted 6 months, up until he got shot in the leg and got demoted to desk duty. Fuck.
The fourth partner was another girl. Sasuke was prepared for the intense stares, the gifts and the obsessive behavior, but it turned out that he didn't have to. The girl, Hyuuga, she had just been transferred from another precinct but she knew Uzumaki and Inuzuka, apparently did the training with them but she ended up going somewhere else. She was calm, collected, graceful and serious. She didn't make small chat, didn't ask unnecessary questions, she was always kind with the victims and ruthless with their suspects or culprits. Sasuke was surprised.
The only problem with her, though? Yeah... uh...
"You enjoy stakeouts way more than any normal person should. And yes, that does mean that the picnic basket full of food and card games is totally inappropriate."
"Come on, don't you get bored or hungry when we have to seat and do nothing?"
"We're not doing nothing, we're working."
"We're sitting in a car waiting for our suspect to get here. Honestly, stakeouts make me anxious, all that waiting and most of the time is for nothing."
"We know that he'll be here-."
"Yes, yes." Hinata interrupts him as she gets a tangerine out of her basket and starts peeling it. "So, that means you don't want an apple or something?"
Sasuke sighs and wonders a lot what did he do to deserve this - you punched a cop for not doing their job right. - Oh. Yeah, that was it. He grabs the apple and bites it viciously.
They eat in silence, and as Hinata is getting ready to take out the night's card game - Sasuke doesn't know where she gets that many games -, he grabs her arm and murmurs.
"Suspect just got out of the car. I'm sure he'll be meeting with the boss of-. Wait... is that his wife?"
"That certainly is his wife", Hinata says, as she holds her picture up. They stay silent for a little while and then she turns to look at him, determination set in her eyes. Oh, no. "Do you have the suit?"
"Here?", Sasuke asks her, confused.
"Yeah", Hinata says, turning to the backseat and grabbing her duffle bag. "I told you to bring a suit."
Sasuke looks at her like she's crazy. She did say that to him, early in the afternoon, when they received the case.
"Why the hell would I bring a suit to a stakeout!?" She's already taking three dresses out the duffle bag and he's getting more confused by the second.
"Because! God, you didn't read the full report, did you? It clearly said that he had dinner dates with his wife every third Thursday of the month. Today is-."
"The third Thursday of the month. Fuck."
Hinata snorts and she moves to the back of the car.
"Luckily for you, I also thought that you would not listen to me, and I brought a casual dress. Now, get out of the car, I'm gonna change."
"And what the hell am I supposed to do while you change?"
"I don't know! Come up with something.”
Sasuke doesn’t know what he expected from this, but getting to the host’s stand and then having an armful of Hinata in a flowy, flowery dress is definitely not it.
“Thank you, sweetie,” she says, and it takes everything in him to not shake her off. “Hi! We were wondering if you had a table?”
“Do you have reservations?”
“Oh, no, we don’t,” she says, and she blushes. She raises her hand, showing a ring “It’s just. We just got engaged and this is the place we had our first date, we thought it would be romantic to come celebrate here.” She giggles a little bit. “But it’s ok if there are no empty tables…”
“Let me check, okay? I’ll be back.”
The woman posing as their host goes off somewhere, and Sasuke turns to look at her. Hinata’s grip becomes tighter and it’s almost impossible for him to shake her off. Her eyes are hard, determinate, and her smile is tight around the corners.
“What are you doing?” he whispers to her, almost glaring.
“I’m getting us a table, play along or all of this would be for nothing.”
Sasuke stares and suddenly he understands why she asked him to bring a suit. He rolls his eyes and sighs. The host comes back with a waiter and a smile, Hinata smiles back brightly and greets them enthusiastically.
“Please follow James to your table”, the host says, and Sasuke can’t believe this is actually happening. “Congratulations!”
“Thank you!” Hinata says, and practically pulls him with her as they walk through the tables. “I see our suspect.” She mumbles and Sasuke scans their surroundings.
“This better be worth it.”