A/N: Yes I'm back. I'll go into more detail of this means at the end of the story but I thought to come back in with two one-shots with the other being posted tomorrow. For now, I hope you enjoy. Keep in mind I'm rusty so this might not be my best work.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"May I have this dance?" Sasuke asked in the most gentleman like way he could think of, his hand stuck out as he put what he thought to be a confident smile.

Hinata's head jerked up, her cheeks red on instant as her gaze fell on him. Sasuke had always found the blush to be adorable and with the light blue, one strap dress that hugged her curves; it was a gorgeous contrast.

The music in the room was a relaxing melody that was perfect for a slow dance. All of their friends had taken to grabbing their partners to take advantage with Naruto and Sakura at the center, holding each other close just like a recently married couple was. Sasuke had mostly stayed to himself, sitting at the long table that held the bridesmaid and groomsmen and nursing a drink as he watched Hinata sit at one of the guest tables by herself and looking at her lap through several songs. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that being here had hurt her.

Being at the wedding of your ex-husband wasn't an easy thing to do after all. Actually, everyone was surprised that Hinata was invited to the wedding, considering that Sakura wasn't exactly fond of her. Sasuke had to guess the idea came from Naruto who might not have been in love with Hinata anymore but had still cared for her deeply and their daughter Hitomi who had confessed to Sasuke at one point that she loved Sakura as a surrogate aunt but couldn't stand her as a stepmother.

When Naruto told him of the guest list, Sasuke had hoped Hinata wouldn't come if for her own sanity, but he knew that wasn't the case since Hinata was too nice for her good sometimes. His next best hope was, as much as he didn't want to admit it, her bringing a date to show she had somewhat moved on even if it wasn't with him. Considering that Hinata had been married to a man she admitted to loving since elementary school for almost ten years and had been divorced for two, that was an unlikely thing to hope for. So now, his third hope and the one he wanted was to maybe help ease what pain she had.

"Umm...I," Hinata began and her eyes looked down before darting to another table, "I-I have to keep an eye on Hitomi."

Sasuke followed her line of sight to the table where Hitomi was sitting with Mirai, the daughter of one of Hinata's old teachers, and laughing about something. Hitomi was a carbon copy of her mother from the dark blue hair to the lavender eyes to the flush of her cheeks. It wasn't hard to imagine she'd get a lot of attention when she was older and he could imagine Naruto fuming at the prospect. In fact, he fumed already when he heard that Haruto Nara thought she was cute and the kid was two years younger than Hitomi.

"She's fine," Sasuke said and looked back to Hinata, "And if it will make you feel better, we can dance in a spot that let's you keep her on your sight."

He wasn't surprised when Hinata still hesitated, her eyes going down this time. Sasuke remembered when they first met in elementary school. They both chose to sit in the back and out of coincidence next to each other. At the time, Sasuke was a bit more happy with his parents alive and his brother although serious was still willing to joke with him, so he had managed to say "hi". It was the first time he saw her cheeks turn red as she stammered out a "hello" and looked down then as well. He thought it was when the crush started.

"Just one dance," he tried again in a softer tone and the smile also became soft.

"A-Alright," Hinata said in a near whisper and reached for his hand.

Ignoring how soft and warm it was, Sasuke helped Hinata up and guided her to the floor. The song had to be near the halfway point by then, and it seemed as though everyone was caught in their own little world as they danced. Sasuke was careful to curl his arm around Hinata's waist and made sure some space was between them as they began swaying to the melody.

Hinata more or less kept her eyes to his chest with the occasional glances to Hitomi and to the center where he knew the newlyweds were. Sasuke had to wonder if she was remembering her own wedding. He remembered it perfectly considering he was the best man then too. While Sakura had gone for more a showy dress, Hinata's had been more subtle and slim, and Sasuke had thought Naruto was one lucky son of a bitch to marry her.

Now Sasuke thought his friend had to be the biggest idiot on earth.

"No one will blame you for leaving early," Sasuke whispered as they spun around, "You don't have to put yourself through this."

Hinata's snapped up again and Sasuke didn't understand why she was surprised at his words. Everyone knew Hinata had been miserable since the divorce and even more so when Naruto announced he was getting remarried. The same night Hitomi admitted to not liking Sakura as a stepmother was the same night she hinted at her mother crying every night.

"I...well…I just wanted to show I can support it," she said in a near whisper and it sounded like Hinata was trying to convince herself that.

"No one expects you to be just okay with it. Hell, it's okay to be angry as long as you're civil

Hinata didn't respond right away. The song was picking up just a bit and Sasuke could guess it would end soon. The thought made him bring Hinata in just a bit closet which caused her to gasp.

"Worry about yourself for once." Sasuke added, "even in school you put how others feel before your own."

Shortly after his parents died, Sasuke became more withdrawn and had developed less tolerance for things he called annoyances. One of them had been dealing with girls. Before his parents' death, he was already considered popular due to his "cute looks" and good grades but it went up tenfold when he became more broody after the funeral. Girls wanted to always to be near him and talk to him and while he never outright told them to leave him alone, he always made it clear - well as clear one could - what he thought about them through not talking to them.

He and Hinata hadn't spoken much since that first meeting and by then Sasuke didn't see it happening, but she wasn't one of the girls who wanted to talk to him and so he preferred she sit next to him. One morning, his patience was really thin but a girl had been pestering Hinata to give up her seat, pointing to the one that was empty next to Naruto. Sasuke could see she wanted to move, her eyes longing, but she still said no and stood her ground when the girl kept pushing. Eventually the girl huffed and stormed off and Hinata gave him a slight smile. Sasuke knew right there that she knew he didn't want to be bothered.

It wasn't as serious as what she was doing to herself now, but the words he spoke reminded him of that very moment.

The song ended and Sasuke reluctantly began stepping away, "Think about what I said." He said and started back towards his table with the intent of having a few more drinks before his brain began telling him to take his own advice.

A/N: Yeah I know, no romance but this was what my muse gave me. A sequel that'll be a full blown story might be in the future if my brain can cooperate.

Anyway full explanation. The reason why I went cold was a combination of writer's block (yep that old bastard again), real life issues concerning family including a death of one of my family members and the declining health of my grandma who was a big part of my life (she's still alive but it's to the point where she needs 24 hr care), and my laptop going stupid which held updates for several of my stories that I now can't access. With growing need to vent I decided to push myself back into writing again and so I'll be up and posting again but it might take a bit considering that a) I'll have to retype up what I already had since my laptop is still being a butt and I can't access what I have and b) I'll have to be using my phone to type up my updates. I'll also be posting my work one at a time instead of doing my usual update everything at once so I don't get overwhelmed and it might cut time between updates.

I know this doesn't make up for my long hiatus and I do apologize for those who had to wait for so long but I also greatly appreciate those who stuck it out. Again hope you enjoy this little gift.