Hinata POV
The automatic doors of Uchiha Medical Center whooshed open with an accusing hiss, as if the building itself knew she didn't belong there. Cameras were already waiting outside, glittering like the eyes of a hundred tiny predators. Hanabi's morning pep-talk—"Smile! Think cute thoughts! Pretend you like him!"—was still ringing in her ears.
She took a breath. In. Out.
Her heart did not listen.
A nurse at the front desk blinked, then whispered to a coworker. Hinata caught the words "that's her" and nearly tripped over her own shoes.
"Ms. Hyuuga?" a voice said. It was smooth, professional—and, thankfully, not Sasuke's. "Dr. Uchiha asked me to escort you upstairs. This way, please."
The elevator ride to the twelfth floor felt like an ascent to execution. Every mirrored wall reflected her anxious face back at her. She tried smiling once. It looked like she was in pain.
When the doors opened, she heard him before she saw him.
"No, Naruto, I'm not posing for another photo. If the PR team wants shots, they can use the ones from the charity gala—no, not the one where she's blinking—just pick something that doesn't make me look like I'm kidnapping her."
Hinata froze halfway down the hall. Kidnapping? Oh, wonderful.
He turned. For a heartbeat, he seemed genuinely startled that she'd actually come. Then his face arranged itself into its usual expression of cool detachment.
"Ms. Hyuuga," he said, inclining his head. "You're early."
"I… thought punctuality was better than—uh—scandal."
"Depends on the scandal," murmured Naruto from behind him, grinning like a hyena. "Morning, Hinata! Welcome to the circus!"
Hinata gave a tiny bow. "G-good morning."
Naruto elbowed Sasuke. "You didn't tell her about the photoshoot, did you?"
Sasuke's sigh was long enough to power a turbine. "I was hoping she'd refuse and spare us all."
Naruto clapped his hands. "Too late! PR says the couple that collaborates together, rehabilitates together."
Hinata blinked. "C-couple?"
"Publicly," Naruto said brightly. "Privately, you're both still in denial."
Sasuke groaned. Hinata blushed so hard she nearly short-circuited.
Sasuke POV
The photographer was already setting up in the hospital garden—a sterile square of greenery meant to look "organic" for donors. Sasuke hated it. He hated the fake laughter, the flashbulbs, the way the entire staff suddenly became extras in a soap opera.
He adjusted his lab coat. "We'll take three pictures. Nothing more."
The photographer, an over-enthusiastic man with too-white teeth, chirped, "Yes, yes! Natural smiles, Doctor! Pretend you're in love!"
Sasuke gave him a look that could have frozen lava.
Hinata stood beside him, clutching her clipboard like a shield. "I-I can hold something? Maybe—samples?"
"It's a photo, Hinata," he said before thinking. "Not a crime scene."
Her eyes widened.
Great, he thought. Strike one already.
To his surprise, she didn't retreat. Instead, she squared her shoulders, the tiniest bit of fire lighting her pale eyes. "Then maybe you should try not to look like you're at one."
Naruto choked on a laugh from behind the camera crew. Sasuke glanced at her—really glanced—and for the first time noticed that when she wasn't shrinking, she was… rather striking. Delicate, but with a spine made of tempered glass.
"Fine," he muttered. "Let's get this over with."
The photographer counted down. "Three—two—one—smile!"
They didn't.
"Try looking at each other," the man pleaded.
Hinata turned hesitantly; Sasuke met her gaze out of obligation. The lens clicked at the exact moment his usual sarcasm melted into something unreadable. Her eyes, soft but unflinching, caught him off guard.
Another flash. The photographer gasped like he'd captured a masterpiece.
"Perfect! That one—that one—will melt the internet!"
Sasuke stepped back, blinking. "Fantastic. Let's all melt together."
Hinata stifled a laugh behind her hand. The sound—quiet, genuine—made something in his chest feel strangely light.
Hinata POV
An hour later, she was still trying to process what had happened. The photoshoot, the reporters, the sudden swarm of staff who kept calling her Miss Uchiha-san's future daughter-in-law by mistake.
Now she sat in Sasuke's office, a gleaming space lined with medical awards and intimidating silence. He was typing something furiously at his computer.
"You don't have to stay," he said without looking up. "The PR people got their photos. You're free."
"Oh. I thought… our fathers said we should discuss the hospital-research collaboration."
He froze mid-keystroke. "You actually want to work on it?"
She frowned slightly. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Most people run when they realize I have opinions."
"I'm… not most people," she said before she could stop herself.
He looked up then, one eyebrow lifting in amused surprise. For once, she didn't look away.
A knock on the door rescued her from imploding.
Naruto poked his head in. "Hey, lovebirds, lunch break. Media wants one candid shot in the cafeteria. Pretend you're normal humans."
Hinata groaned softly. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose.
"This is going to be a long six months," he muttered.
Sasuke POV
The cafeteria was chaos. Staff whispered, phones hovered, and someone had hung a handmade sign near the coffee machine that read #HeartthrobMD ❤ HyuugaHarmony. Naruto swore he didn't know who did it, which automatically meant he did.
Hinata stood beside him in line, painfully stiff. "Do they always stare like this?"
"Yes," Sasuke said dryly. "Usually because they think I'll insult them next."
"Oh." She hesitated, then smiled faintly. "I can see why."
He turned his head, half-offended, half-impressed. "Excuse me?"
She met his glare with unexpected calm. "You don't mean to sound cruel, Dr. Uchiha. You just… forget other people have feelings."
He blinked. No one had ever said that to his face—at least, not that gently.
Naruto, trailing behind them, whispered loudly, "Ooooh, she got you good."
Sasuke ignored him, grabbed two coffees, and handed one to Hinata. "Truce," he said simply.
She took it, startled. "T-thank you."
Their fingers brushed; the world's longest half-second stretched between them. Cameras clicked.
Naruto muttered, "And that's tomorrow's headline."
Hinata POV
When she finally escaped to the parking lot that evening, her head was spinning. She'd survived a day of staged smiles and snarky surgeons, but somewhere between the flashbulbs and coffee cups, she'd caught herself laughing.
Maybe it wasn't all bad.
Maybe—just maybe—beneath the arrogance, there was a man who meant well but had never learned how to show it.
Her phone buzzed.
A text from an unfamiliar foreign number lit up the screen.
It's been a while, Hinata.
I saw your photo on the news. You look… happy.
— G. Sabaku
Her heart stuttered.
"Oh no," she whispered. "Not now."
Sasuke POV
Back in his car, Sasuke scrolled through the new headlines:
"Doctor Uchiha's Coffee Date Goes Viral."
"Rival Families, Rising Hearts."
He threw the phone onto the passenger seat and rubbed his temple.
This entire plan was absurd.
And yet… the image of Hinata's soft laugh refused to leave his mind.
He started the engine, muttering to himself.
"Maybe six months won't kill me."
From the dashboard, his phone buzzed again—a notification from social media:
#HeartthrobMD is trending worldwide.
Naruto's comment under the top photo read:
"He's smiling, folks. Call the Guinness people."
Sasuke groaned and drove faster.
--