Three's a Pattern
AN: This is a commission requested by a friend! I hope you guys enjoy it. It's a three-part story so look out for the other two installments.
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"Hey," he said. "You okay?"
She looked over her shoulder at her boyfriend. She smiled lightly and nodded before replacing her head on the pillow. "Just a nightmare," she said.
He touched her shoulder before bending to kiss it. His thumb caressed the bare skin. He moved to hold her closer. "You're okay now."
She nodded in his arms.
"He can't hurt you now."
He never did hurt her – it was the other eighteen people that would never make it back home to their families. To their mothers, fathers…maybe even children and while she hadn't been the one to end that journey. She never noticed it. The changes in him, the warning signs that he wasn't a good person, and that he didn't love her? How could he have ever loved her with so much evil in his heart.
She squeezed his hand.
Two years ago, she found out that her husband wasn't at all who he said he was. Sitting alone in that interrogation room. Cold, alone and confused.
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Two Years Ago
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Hinata sat at a metal desk, a one-way mirror sitting to her left and a gray painted brick wall to her right. A single cup of black coffee was in front of her. Black coffee was her least favorite…but it was his favorite. She chewed at her lip, her feet shook in her slippers and her fingers gripped at her night robe. Two tall men entered the room. One had a folder in his hand and the other slid into the metal seat in front of her.
"Mrs. Uchiha," he said. "How much do you know about your husband?"
"I d-don't understand,' said Hinata. "Can someone please explain why I am here?" She feared the worst. That something horrible had happened to her husband. She leaned forward a bit, trying to understand what had just been said to her.
"My Sasuke?" She whispered. "That's…that's not right."
"It is. We found his hideout and he left these pictures. Show her-"
The blond male hesitated with the information, but the other detective snapped his finger at him. He snapped the folder from his hold and opened it. Hinata was disgusted by the pictures inside. They were accusing her husband of being a serial killer. Sasuke? He was… he wasn't the nicest fellow, but he was so sweet to her. He never even raised his voice when she upset him. He was a good man and he took care of them. He was gentle. He gave her soft kisses on the forehead before he left for work. He came home early sometimes just to spend more time with her. He kissed her wrist and vowed to always be in her life. She trusted him.
"I don't believe it."
"He confessed to it."
"He…what?" She covered her mouth. Tears couldn't even come to her eyes. She was in such shock. The man of her dreams was not capable of such evil. "This is a lie. This is a cruel trick."
"It is not," he said. "We need to know if you knew about this."
"I did not. This is not real. It's not. Sasuke would never do this. He wouldn't. You have the wrong man some-somehow!" She slammed her hands on the desk. "You must've tricked him into confessing. Sasuke would never-"
"We didn't need to do anything."
Her eyes drifted to the blond detective. Uzumaki was on his name tag. She looked back at the frowning man. "You…this isn't true."
"It is Mrs. Uchiha. Look…"
They spread the pictures out of the gruesome murders.
Hinata felt like she needed to throw up. She shook her head. "No, no, no."
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Present
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She stood in the kitchen. Naruto kissed her neck as she sipped her coffee. He had been her rock through all of this. He was the detective in the case but somehow, he had managed to gently rest himself into her life through the chaos that Sasuke had caused. She dealt with deep shame and depression. How was she such a poor judge of character as to not see that her husband was a mass murderer? How had his charm fooled her for so many years?
Naruto had to remind her that it was not her fault. His had mastered this art over years. He knew exactly what to say and how to say it. That made her feel worse because in that moment she wasn't even sure if he even loved her. How do you love someone and treat them that way?
"Morning," he muttered. He wrapped his arm around her waist.
She leaned back into his embrace and enjoyed the warmth of him. He was everything that Sasuke was not. He was bright and romantic and very outspoken. He did raise his voice but never in a mean way. He was an excited man. Loud and loving. He needed affection and attention. His grin was amazing, and he cared for her in such a careful way.
"I love you," he said.
She didn't reply. She rarely did, and he understood. The last man she said those words to was an insane murderer. He couldn't and didn't fault her for being cautious even after two years. The case was still ongoing and they both knew his sentencing was approaching. She hadn't even spoken to him since the night before. It was a night that she explained to both him and the other detective. They were having a peaceful dinner and she had finally told him that she was ready to start their family. He agreed. He always wanted a family but patiently waited for Hinata to be ready for that next step of their marriage. She was set in her ways and had goals she wanted to finish before starting a family.
That night they made love.
A type of love that Hinata could say she had never experienced before. They truly loved each other. At the end of the night, he gave her that same promise of always being there for her.
Later on, that night, a heavy knock on the door jolted her from her sleep. Hinata looked over at a sleeping Sasuke and figured that she could handle whatever was going on. She hurried down the stairs, confused to see silent blue lights flashing from outside.
She looked through the peephole before opening the door. "Ma'am, is your husband home?"
"I'm sorry?"
They pushed pass her and searched the house. She was scared. "What? What is going on? What is happening? You need a warrant!"
One woman handed her the documents. "We have one."
"He is gone," said a cop from the top of the step.
"Gone?" Both Hinata and the officer said.
They heard shouting from outside. Hinata went out with the others to see her husband being tackled to the ground. "Sasuke!" She screamed as they held her back. They arrested him on that Wednesday night. The grass was still wet, his pajamas were muddy. Neighbor's phones flashed through their fence.
"Ma'am, we are going to need for you to come with us."
Hinata shook herself out of her head and turned to her boyfriend. "I don't think I can see him."
"You don't have to," said Naruto. "It's all an option."
She chewed her bottom lip. She just wanted this nightmare to end. She wanted him to rot behind bars for what he did to those people and what he cost their families. She wanted to look him in the face and confirm what he was thinking: that she hated him. She did hate him – well, only a part of herself hated him. The other part was that hurt, confused, in love girl that wanted to believe that this was all a big misunderstanding.
"Whatever you decide to do," said Naruto. "I support you."
"Thank you," she smiled at him.
He hugged her, pressing her head into his chest. She didn't cry. He hadn't seen her cry since the night they told her that her husband was the serial killer they had been searching for. Ever since then, she was zoned out. He could only assume to somewhere away from reality where she couldn't feel the pain. It was like second-hand smoke. She wasn't the one smoking, but she felt responsible for hurting those people. Had she seen any sign, she thought, she could have stopped him.
He had to remind her that – she couldn't have.
She was lucky enough to not be killed by him. She had the chance to live her life and she should do everything in her power to live the best one that she could create.
Hinata nodded.
"This…this would be our final meeting."
"And you're okay?"
"No," she said. "But I will be."
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Saturday came, and she had finally convinced herself to go to the jail to see him. It was a long drive, but it was one she decided to do alone. Naruto would only complicate the situation. He was just a boyfriend – one can't erase the fact that she had made this man her husband. She had vowed to make him her last true lover.
Her eyes glanced over to the papers in the folder in the passenger seat desk.
She just needed it finalized. She didn't want to be legally married to a monster. She wanted her name back and she wanted peace. Being known as Hinata Uchiha would not grant her that. He would be upset but she had prepared herself for that wave of emotion.
She eventually pulled up to the prison. She had to give away all of her personal items and walk through the metal detectors. It felt fake like it was a movie. It was all real and she was really visiting her husband in prison. They led her down many hallways. The other prisoners called out to her. She walked closer to the prison guard until they got to the holding room. Other prisoners were talking to their families or friends or even children.
Hinata sat down, crossed her legs at the ankles and waited for them to bring him out. The bell of the door dinged, and the entire atmosphere of the room changed. Everyone looked up at him as he moved closer to the table. He was in an orange jumpsuit; his hands and feet were cuffed. He sat down and tilted his head at the woman.
'Hinata," he said.
"S-Sasuke."
Her heart was beating out of her chest. He still looked the same aside from the growing beard. He leaned forward. "You haven't changed." He said.
"Sasuke…why?"
"Why did I kill those people?"
"Yes."
He sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Because I could."
"It wasn't your right. You…you are a monster."
He didn't seem upset or phased. His eyes drifted to the papers in her hand. He looked back up at her. "You want a divorce?"
"We obviously can't stay together."
"We can."
"You gave up that right."
He closed his eyes. "Hinata…think about this."
"I have. I had two years to think about it."
"I am your husband."
"I was your wife and it didn't stop you from killing people."
Those onyx eyes still managed to take her in and even with all the crime and heartache…a part of her still wanted him to just hold her and kiss her forehead. She wanted him to tell her that it was all a bad dream and that they were still going to live the life that he had promised her. She took a deep breath and came back to reality.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too," she replied. It was a hard habit. She wasn't even sure if she meant it anymore, but it didn't stop the words from rolling off of her tongue. Finally, after realizing what she had said she pushed the papers in front of him. "If you love me…you must let me go."
He leaned forward. "I love you and that's why I will never let you go." He lifted his hand for the prison guard to come and get him. "I must say…I am disappointed how quickly you moved on."
"W-what?"
"With that detective…Uzumaki. I do not approve of another man being in my house."
Hinata stood, a burst of anger bubbled in her chest. "You will rot here."
He stood with the guard. "If that's what you believe…but you know differently. We both do."
She watched him walk away. A chill ran down her spine. She shouldn't have come. This was a horrible idea. Even with his sinister words, he still said it with care. That's one thing that frightened her.
But the thing that frightened her the most is…how did he know?