This is in honor of Sasuke's birthday, a simple, fluffy oneshot.
Inspired by: At the Beginning by Donna Lewis
I hope you enjoy it, and happy birthday Uchiha.
-x-
They had won.
Sasuke pushed himself up heavily, wincing as the gash on his side emitted pain in the face of pressure. His muscles were oddly knotted and he cracked his neck to the side, brushing bangs out of his face with a blood darkened hand.
Gently blinking his eyes open, the Uchiha heaved himself up, stumbling a little as his focus blurred. Flapping his arms lightly steady himself, he bleakly noticed his Sharingan had flickered off from depleted chakra. Parting his lips to taste the cool wind caressing his skin, he observed the remnants of the battle under the soft light of a dawn sun.
The very grass that he stood on was blackened to a rusty brown from blood. Trees burned up to the tender branch had fallen down, only proud stumps remaining. The usually lively forest was eerily quiet as the wood creatures took cover deeper into the forest, and birds seemed to have flown away with the souls of lost comrades.
They had sacrificed.
Their victory was not silent. Young men and women, shinobi and kunoichi alike, lay side by side, slumped against each other's backs, offering quiet but reassuring support.
Their knees were bent, their posture sloppy, and their arms shielding their eyes. Jounin vests were ripped to the last thread, and ANBU cloaks lay strewn across the field mingling with shattered porcelain of masks. Pants were muddy from hem up, and every inch of exposed skin smudged with bruises and lined with cuts, but it didn't matter as lips twitched up at the corners and heavy groans sounded out that they were alive as medic nin crunched their sandals across the field, tending to one after another.
Every single one of them, including himself, almost suffocated in the air of victory, and though weak and exhausted, they had still managed to drive their opponents back.
They had been out numbered.
Sasuke felt a small hands grip his shoulders, pushing him back down to sit. A familiar, feminine scent washed over him, and he tilted his head knowingly to look back and barely nuzzle at her dark locks.
Her full, teasing lips brushed his ear, and he hoped to dear Kami that she wouldn't feel the heat crawling up the lobe.
"Baka, you're in no condition to even try and stand right now."
"Oh, so you care about me?"
He cooed, slightly arching as her chakra laden hands glowed green and begun healing the large gash. He slightly moved at the touch of her lifting his skin to see the wound better, but she ignored his reaction.
"Don't be silly; if you're gone, who am I going to give those tomato slices in my bento to?"
She punched him lightly on the shoulder, and he groaned painfully as it hit a bruise. He weakly smirked as she let out a long line of apologies. Despite the fact that he rubbed off on her when they first became friends, she was still the same shy Hinata he first met.
They had memories.
It all started out three years ago, and counting, when he was dragged back to Konoha by none other than the current spiky knucklehead of a Hokage. Naruto's team had found him after he had dealt the last blow to Uchiha Itachi, responsible of the massacre of the Uchiha clan, and none other than his older brother. On his knees in rain, blood, and tears, it was easy to bring him back to the village. After all, an ambition had been achieved.
However, despite the fact that he had beaten his brother, he wasn't in the best condition. With no medic nin on the team, they had to hurry back to Konoha, and past the hospital doors. That was when they had to treat his curse seal.
The pain was vivid even now.
Activated, the curse seal fed off his own chakra, making him considerably weaker than before. Tsunade and her medic nin did everything to seal it off, but it didn't prevent his fists clenching deep enough to draw blood and his voice cracking through screams.
Blinding, searing pain that seemed to last an eternity had gradually ebbed away as he felt another presence of chakra poke at his seal, closing off the tenketsu. It was pure bliss as the pain came to a complete stop, and he had fallen asleep, last thoughts lingering on opalescent eyes.
The next day he had officially been introduced to Hyuga Hinata, who was assigned as his medic nin to observe the progress of the curse seal and of course, tend to his wounds. He hadn't thought much of her at first, just another ninja doing their job with a bad stuttering problem and too much color in her cheeks.
And then he had snapped at her stuttering.
It was annoying to hear a sentence falter every time it passed through her lips. Full, lightly colored lips. Why was he thinking about mouth?
Taking everything he gave her.
But she always absorbed his cruel words like a sponge, and gradually, he felt at ease talking to her, even initiating a conversation at times since she was too shy to speak her own mind. He became aware how fragile she was, and yet strong enough to heal other people at the risk of herself breaking. Why did he protect her?
Normally he wouldn't let people take care of him.
And as the weeks passed to months where he was under her care, he started expecting, almost depending, on this Hyuga Hinata. He waited for her to come by the Uchiha Manor everyday for routine check-up, and then come by again in the afternoon with a homemade bento with extra tomato slices, once she learned of his taste for them.
He needed to repay her.
Sasuke didn't want to admit that he did it out of concern, no; he was only doing this so he was no longer indebted to her. As a medic nin, Hinata was at greater risk than she already was with her own fragility: at the risk of getting hurt, and then having nobody to heal her. She needed to toughen up, and be prepared for the real battle. Her field would not always remain safe inside the hospital walls. So, he decided as repayment for helping him this long, he would take her aside to train her, both mentally and physically. It was tough, and there were many mistakes, but he was willing to wait until she pulled through. Why was he so patient with her?
Their time together led to the inevitable, a bond.
He didn't know how it happened, or even when it happened, but suddenly he started thinking of the petite woman as his friend. He had managed to coax her out of her shell, and the two normally withdrawn ninja told each other everything. He heard of her struggles with her father and clan, and he spilled his own conflicting feelings after killing his brother. Warmth began to bloom inside of him, and smirks started to soften, all because of her. Why did he form a friendship with the supposed weakling?
She eventually showed her true strength.
Sasuke felt a strange, fluttering pride as he watched her go on with her life with new confidence. She no longer stuttered, and her face was less flushed. Hinata had adopted his quirks of smirking and throwing in snide remarks, but it was all in good humor. It wasn't only him who had noticed, but the people, those people who seemed to disappear every time he was around her, took note of her new behavior as well. Most were shocked that the two had taken to each other, others assuming they were in an affair, but it was something more. Why was he so confused?
New feelings arose.
"Sasuke? Sasuke?"
"Hn?"
He shook his head lightly as he was brought back out of his thoughts. It seemed that Hinata had already bandaged his side, and she was cleaning up her medical supplies.
"Are you alright? You seem out of it..."
Sasuke blinked a few times before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and leaning her forward so he could mess up her hair.
"Aww... Hinata does care about me! And I bet she loves me and wants to-"
"Iie! Stop, stop!"
Her hands were covering her ears as she shook her head, trying to get out of his grip. Sasuke broke out a wide smirk before leaning down to whisper in her ear.
They were always teasing each other, but Sasuke took a lot more to deny that his 'playful banter' really meant anything. Really!
"You deny that you want me?" He lightly licked her cheek, feeling the blaze of heat under his mouth.
There was a sudden sharp and swift pinch at his elbow, and he let go quickly, nursing the tender spot she had pricked.
"Itai! What kind of medic are you, injuring your own patients?"
She stood up quickly, lugging her medical supplies bag over her shoulder. Her long hair covered her face, but Sasuke knew that Hinata was furiously blushing.
She started a fast pace to walk away, and he called after her, "You're not going to heal me?"
Something came whizzing from her and he barely caught the object at the tip of his fingers. It was a small bottle of ointment and scrawled in hurried yet familiar handwriting was,
Happy Birthday, you teme.
Birthday?
Looking up, he suddenly took to heart that it was a new morning, a new day, and a new age. This was a new beginning, and he looked forward for what the future held, not admitting that the real reason was a new future with a certain dark haired woman.
They had changed.
He held back a chuckle at the fact that she called him a bastard. The old Hinata would never have the backbone to even attempt to insult somebody. He pocketed the ointment and lay on his back, watching soft colors slowly turn to misty morning blue. The corners of his lips twitched and he let a genuine, albeit small, smile grace his face.
They had loved.