AN: Naruto does not belong to me, i have always loved crack pairings and this is my first Sasuhina fic, this is my second fanfic (the first one is a mariya/suna fic under my old acc named Saccharomyces) sorry for the mistakes and OOCness but i hope you all enjoy :)
Love is such a weird thing, Hinata thought as she looked over at Naruto in the get together as they were celebrating Sasuke's return
She loved Naruto, there was even a time that she would willingly give up her life for him, but after years of pining and the war, she felt like it would be hopeless to keep waiting for him to notice her.After Neji died, she decided not to wait anymore, to live her life without the thought of Naruto in her future
It was hard though, every single glance hurt, every smile he made causes a distant throbbing, it was pathetic, it has already been 2 years since the war and yet here she was, barely keeping her promise to herself to move on
"Hey Hinata, why dont you come over there to get drinks with us, Sasuke finally came back! Lets go and greet him!" She turned to look over at the speaker, Sakura still has that glint in her eyes, the same one that she had when she sees Naruto although more intense than ever before now, she really waited for him, for that man that did nothing but hurt her, but as Hinata thought earlier, love really is a weird thing.
She nodded and walked over where the others are gathering along with Sakura "Hey, Sasuke, this is Hinata, she was our classmate back at the academy!" Sakura excitedly said and Hinata looked over at him, a frown marring her features as she briefly locked eyes with the moody man who only gave a grunt as awknowledgement
Hinata gave a slight smile at Sakura's apologetic gaze and she shrugged a little, she already expected that kind of greeting from the man and she didn't really care for him enough to be affected by his coldness
Looking around the gathering and at Naruto's goofy antics, she suddenly felt suffocated, she needed to get out of there, and she did, she excused herself and went to the back of the restaurant they were celebrating in, a solitary place with a single plant to give it a little life
She sat at the pavement and stayed there, just thinking, she didnt know how long she stayed there but she was startled to hear the backdoor opening, where Sasuke Uchiha emerged
They locked eyes and she looked away first, he must have felt suffocated too, she thought as she remembered Sakura telling her about Sasuke not being a social man. From the corner of her eyes, she watched as Sasuke walked over to sit on the pavement, a few steps away from her, and the silence they shared, she thought, surprised, was not at all unpleasant
~break~
The next time they met was at the market, they were both shopping for groceries and happened to cross each other's path
Hinata, being the quiet person that she is, stared at the dark haired man, torn between greeting him or just walking away, they were not friends, but they are from the same circle, and social obligations demanded she give awknowledgement
"Hello there Uchiha-san" she said politely,her stutter gone with her childhood, she gave him a small smile and was about to walk away when he moved to her path
"Hyuuga" he said stoically, and Hinata raised an eyebrow in surprise, not expecting the Uchiha to even talk
"May i help you?" she silently asked and he nodded, he took a scroll from his poncho and handed it to her, giving her a pointed look
"The hokage has asked for your assistance in a mission, he gave this to me after i reported my recent mission and has tasked me to inform you if i see you, i was going to hand this to you later but the oppotunity has presented itself" he said and walked away, leaving her confused and a bit offended by his cold behavior
~break~
Having abilities that complemented each other, it was no surprise that they are often tasked to do missions in the same team, and having spent so much time together, a sort of camaraderie was born
Sasuke would be the captain of the mission and she would be his right hand, she didn't mind because she was never much of a leader anyway, she knew and accepted that even before her sister Hanabi took her claim as the Heir to the Hyuuga, Hinata didn't hold any ill feelings about it but the thought of her recieving the seal after Hanabi came of age still haunts her
It was in one of those missions that they developed a friendship, that may be a bit of a stretch but the strain in their interactions are greatly lessened, they were wounded and was forced to seek refugee in the forest as they tried to heal enough to travel again
Surviving there together for weeks made them develop a kind of system and interacting became more and more natural as time went by, she didn't know if it was Sakura's influence or she was just losing her mind, but that time, she saw the Uchiha as a beacon of light, so unlike the darkness she always thought he would be
~break~
Training was Sasuke's escape, the stinging pain and exhaustion made him forget, even a little, his doubts about his decision to stay there
He was a traitor, he was branded, he can never have the life Itachi wanted for him in a place where almost everyone feared and loathed him
"Would you mind company?" a quiet voice suddenly asked him, snapping him out of his dark thoughts. He looked at the source of the voice, his eyes landing on the Hyuuga a few paces away from him and he slowly relaxed his stance, walking towards her and accepting the water she held out to him
This was not unusual, after all of the missions they did together, she became one of the few people he tolerated around him, her presence becoming more and more welcome as time went by
Training was his escape, and, maybe he was just tired, or maybe he just admired her dedication, but everytime she trained with him, everytime she went on a mission with him, in his eyes, she became more and more beautiful
~break~
She realized she loved him on the brink of death
False information on a mission gone wrong almost cost them their lives, and seeing him in danger made her act faster than she could think, carelessly taking the fatal blow for him
Her eyesight was getting blurry and the blood in her lungs made it hard to breathe, but all she could think about was him, she wanted to know if he was safe, and as she was thinking about her last moment, her heart ached for him, it hurt thinking about not being able to train with him anymore, not being on missions with him anymore, and the tears she shed as she closed her eyes were of regret, for not realizing that sooner
The darkness that engulfed her was terrible, she had time to think about everything she did in life, every mistake she made and every regrets she had, and if this was death, she thought, then this must have been her hell for taking multiple lives in her profession as a ninja
She didn't know how long she was there, there was no concept of time in the darkness, but seemingly out of nowhere, everything hurt
The pain was horrible, it was like every part of her body was on fire, her bones begged for rest and she could feel every beat of her heart as it painfully pumped in her chest, and the darkness started to recede as her eyes began to open
The first thing she saw was white, and a faint beeping could be heard somewhere 'im alive' was the first thought that came to mind as the pain became more bearable
She looked around and her eyes fell on the figure of a man standing by the bed, his dark hair falling over blood shot eyes, and she felt relief, tears gathering at the corner of her eyes for being able to see him again
~break~
Sasuke knew regret all too well, he has been followed by that feeling for most of his life, it has welled up in him so intensely after the death of his brother, but never has he felt it as much as when he thought he lost her
He watched her unmoving figure on the hospital bed, her seemingly frail body supported by the equipment, and he hated it, hated the rogue nin for doing this to her, hated himself for not being strong enough to save her and sometimes, when he knew no one sees, he holds her hands, mentally begging her to wake up, desperately wishing for her to open her eyes, and he knew, at those moments, that he might have cared for her more than he should have, he didn't know what loving someone romantically felt like but he knew, that what he felt was close
It was ironic, how he would mock people for feeling it yet here he was, losing her before he even got the chance to dwell on it, it must have been his karma for all the sins he has done
As he stood near her bed, he heard a slight gasp, and as he saw her slowly opening her tired eyes, he knew that what he felt, was greater than anything he has ever had the capacity of feeling
~break~
Sakura, she thought about the woman that loved and waited for the man she yearns for years, tirelessly chasing after the silhouette of a man who slinks so easily into the dark
Yes, Sakura, Hinata cant bear to hurt her, the kind and beautiful friend that was so loyal to the man she loved, the friend that supported her throughout her heartbreaks
It was stupid of her, to fall inlove with the man that her friend yearns, to fall for the man she shouldn't be falling for, yet she finds herself, helplessly staring into his eyes as his lips met hers
She was horrible for feeling this, so horrible for stealing a future meant for someone else, she felt rotten for being happy, yet she cant let him go, she fell far too deeply for that to be possible
As their clothes fell onto the floor one by one, a single thought runs through her mind 'i'm sorry'
As she moaned to his touch, she thought about how rotten she was, for letting this happen, for letting herself fall for the man she shouldn't be falling for, for betraying her friend by claiming Sasuke's love
As they became one, her mind went blank
~break~
"W-we should stop" she said, trembling with fear, she was scared, after their shared night, she was scared that it might be a mistake, that maybe Sasuke will realize his feelings for Sakura someday, she was the woman that loved him for so long afterall, she was also scared about Sakura hating her for what she has done
Sasuke cupped her face and kissed her forehead, wiping the tears gathering at the corner of her eyes "Do you regret it?" he solemnly asked
She shook her head and looked up at him sadly, lips quivering as she leaned into his touch "Sasuke, do you think it was a mistake, what happened-" "No" he cut her off looking pointedly at her eyes "What happened between us, i never thought of it as a mistake, i would never regret doing that because it's with you"
She blushed at his words and closed her eyes, leaning against him "I love you Sasuke"
Her eyes snapped open as the words left her mouth and she was about to run away when Sasuke held her tight "As do i" he whispered and buried his face on the crook of her neck "don't leave" he quietly added
Hinata never felt so safe, here, in his arms, she felt content, like everything is where it should be, yet at the back of her mind, guilt was knawing at her
~break~
She held his hand as they told her, ofcourse she would want to tell Sakura first, she was her friend and she loved her, it would be terrible if she found out from someone else
Tears fell and a heart broke, mourning for the loss of the love it longed for so long "I wont say it's ok, because it's not, but i also wont stop you, its selfish but im not happy with you being together but i will be someday, i'll support you Hinata, you deserve to be happy" Sakura said, looking broken as she looked at them
"Sakura... i'm sorry, for doing this, im terrible for hurting you but i can't stop it, i'm so sorry" Hinata said, tears streaming down her face as she went to hug Sakura
Sakura avoided her and coiled in on herself, looking at her sadly "i'm sorry too, but please give me time, i-i need to be alone" the woman said, not looking at them
Hinata dejectedly nodded as her grip tightened around Sasuke's hand "i-i understand" she said and turned around to leave with him
~break~
Coming back to Konoha was something that Sasuke didn't expect that he would do, after hating it for most of his life, but knowing the truth and his brother's will took him back there
Did he like it? No, but after aimlessly travelling after the war, he thought about it multiple times, why his brother would want to protect that place so he can stay there peacefully, he wanted to find out what made this all worth the sacrifice
It has been 3 years already since he came back here, and he thought, maybe he found the reason, his reason to stay, and he felt the slight upturn of his lips as he heard her hum from inside of their shared home