Sasuke had prepared himself to be alone for the next four days, when his only visitor would be on a mission. He would have been perfectly okay with that. He was used to being alone, and he didn't need anyone's company. Having Hinata's company was a luxury he didn't quite deserve yet.
But, instead of being alone for the days Hinata was absent, her place was 'filled' in by the very idiot that dragged the Uchiha back to Konoha. And for the first three days of the visits from the unwanted visitor, Sasuke was lectured on how much he was hated in Konoha for what he had done, and how Naruto could not condone his actions, but still had to bring him back.
Sasuke was simply surprised that Naruto had the word 'condone' in his vocabulary.
Right now, Sasuke and Naruto were waiting for the Anbu squad that would be the ones to escort Sasuke to the Uchiha compound. Naruto referred to it as Sasuke's 'home'. Sasuke laughed at that.
Every time Naruto came in to visit him, Sasuke's obsessiveness kicked in. He would expertly hide the chair a certain Hyuuga would normally occupy. And even though he was dense, Naruto had noticed this and he had asked.
Over and over and over again.
He asked so many times in the span of four days that Sasuke felt compelled to answer him.
Of course, Sasuke lied to him and Naruto believed his lie. That was the only good thing about Naruto, Sasuke had to admit. He was pretty damn gullible. And he was almost never serious.
Almost.
Even though Naruto can talk up a storm, he would never bring Hinata up. And whenever Sasuke said her name (it was only once or twice that he had), Naruto would scratch the back of his neck and talk about something else. It was if he was avoiding the girl in a way. He probably was, actually.
It was quite odd.
"Sasuke, how are you?" Naruto asked, pacing around Sasuke's hospital room. He donned his regular attire — the one that included an unhealthy dose of orange. His question brought the brooding Uchiha back to reality.
Sasuke squinted at the boy. Even looking at Naruto hurt his eyes. He was way too bright — literally.
"How do you think I am?" Sasuke retorted, narrowing his eyes at Naruto. In turn, Sasuke gained another smile from the kid. In a few seconds, Naruto had stopped pacing and sat dramatically into one of the other chairs that faced Sasuke. The way they were situated made it seem like Sasuke was getting interrogated — with Naruto being directly in front of him.
Leaning forward with his arm on his knee, Naruto studied Sasuke closely. Sasuke simply continued glaring.
After a minute or two of silence, he let out a long sigh and leaned back into the chair.
"I guess I can cross happy of the list," Naruto said, crossing his arms across his chest. Sasuke resisted the urge to punch the blonde's grin off his face. He wasn't this stupid — Sasuke (although he wishes he didn't) knew Naruto very well. Naruto was simply trying to create conversation. By the growing smile on the kid's face, Sasuke guessed Naruto felt accomplished.
If there was one thing Naruto hated, it was silence.
And soon after coming back to Konoha, Sasuke realized he hated it too.
He hated it a lot.
In the silence, all Sasuke heard were the remarks people make about him. He heard the screams of people who struggled to get away from him. In the silence, he couldn't run away from the one thing that truly frightened him — everything that he was.
But sometimes, silence was what he needed.
Around certain people, the silence was almost comforting.
Around Hinata, the silence seemed to put him at ease. Why? Sasuke didn't know. He doesn't want to know, either. Usually, knowing the truth behind something destroys the pretense and beauty of it.
He wasn't trying to be poetic about it. Sasuke just wants to be okay for once, even if it's a counterfeit content feeling that he gets.
From time to time, Sasuke would sit unmoving, thinking about absolutely nothing. A nothing that seemed to nullify everything besides Sasuke, a nothing that Sasuke found himself wanted to fall into. Half the time Sasuke would do it, he'd forget Naruto was even in the room. And then, he'd snap back into reality and be met with curious blue eyes.
"Hey what was that?" Naruto asked Sasuke, referring to his little 'daydream'. Sasuke ignored him, yet again. He was trying to sink back into the easing silence, but this time, his thoughts couldn't keep quiet. Right now, they were nosily humming away in his mind. Questions like, 'What are they doing' swirled in the space of his mind. Question after question kept popping up in his mind. Except, as the clock ticked, the word 'they' quickly changed into 'her'.
And the fuzzy outline that took over his mind grew hair and gained a striking resemblance to someone Sasuke hasn't been seeing lately.
Softly pressing his fingers against his cheek, Sasuke tried denying that he was actually thinking about the smell of cinnamon buns. But then, the Uchiha began to remember how her cool fingers had applied ointment on his bruises. The way her hair would move with her, in a graceful, sweeping motion.
The way Hinata's voice would push Sasuke to a calming state that would tempt him to fall asleep.
He remembered how little her footsteps were, but how loud they were to him.
And suddenly, Sasuke, with his fingers beginning to slowly dig into the skin of his cheek, realized something quite shocking. He suddenly missed having the smell of cinnamon buns.
The scent was disgustingly mind-numbing to him.
Naruto watched on, curious and worried at the same time. He tried remaining quiet, which was very hard for him, but it seemed like Sasuke was deep in thought. Naruto was afraid that if he disturbed Sasuke right now, Sasuke would make sure Naruto didn't leave the hospital today. And so, the blonde let his friend swim in his thoughts for a bit — until his friend began to unconsciously scratch his face with one hand.
At first, Naruto watched in amusement as Sasuke had started to scratch himself rather vigorously. It was a real sight to see — especially since Sasuke's apathetic expression didn't match the way his fingers were currently implanting themselves into his face. Now, Naruto found everything funny, to be honest. But this time, it really did take Naruto all his strength to not burst out laughing.
Instead, after a few seconds of watching Sasuke attack himself, Naruto brought the Uchiha back to his senses.
"Hey Sasuke, you okay?"
Said person blinked once, and straightened himself up, while removing his hand away from his face. He glared at Naruto who sheepishly smiled. The question still hung in the air, and Sasuke decided to leave it at that. Naruto didn't push any further. He was simply content with Sasuke being alive and being in…Konoha.
Right now, they sat in the uncomfortable silence and waited for the Anbu to come. The two began to become immersed in their thoughts again.
Every now and then, Sasuke would catch Naruto looking out of the corner of his eye, letting them stop roaming as soon as they had landed upon a certain chair. The discomfort on his face whenever he did look at the chair had certainly intrigued Sasuke.
Slowly averting his eyes, Naruto looked at the palm of his hands, unfocused.
Come to think of it, Sasuke has been relatively calm.
Blonde brows furrowed as Naruto thought. He recalled the chair belonging to a certain someone. The name had escaped him but it was on the tip of his tongue. Trying to recall, Naruto unclenched and clenched his fist. Clench, unclench.
And then that's when it hit him.
His blue eyes shifted from his palms to Sasuke, who sat across from him. His face was lacking emotion, although his eyes were studying the unoccupied chair in the corner of the room. Despite Sasuke looking rather unfazed, Naruto knew better.
His eyes traveled down to Sasuke's hand. His fingers were digging into the bed slightly, as he gathered a fistful of the sheet in his hand.
Naruto looked back up at Sasuke, and narrowed his eyes.
He noticed the way his frown grew a little deeper for a seconds notice.
Naruto dropped his gaze and instead looked at the floor of the hospital room. He knew why Sasuke was like this. And who made him like this. Naruto's eyes zeroed in on a tile whose paint began to chip in the corner.
Sasuke was worried about Hinata.
Naruto clenched his fist again, and this time, it remained clenched. It remained clenched for the whole time Sasuke and Naruto were stuck in that room. Sasuke's own confusion tormenting him, and Naruto simply frustrated for reasons unknown.
Neither would say it, but both of them were relieved once the Anbu squad had arrived with Tsunade.
After a lengthy speech delivered by Tsunade to Sasuke, Tsunade gave the Anbu her okay to take Sasuke away.
Naruto took the liberty to walk beside Sasuke as he was escorted to the Uchiha compound. Two Anbu members were positioned in front of Sasuke and Naruto, and two behind. The usually boisterous and loud roads of Konoha hushed in the presence of the lone Uchiha. People talked in quiet murmurs, eyes glued to Sasuke. He knew they were staring, but he didn't really care right now.
His mind was occupied with other things.
Naruto kept watching Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, wanting to say something. Wanting to break this disgusting silence. But, just like everything else the two did together, Sasuke beat him to it.
Sasuke looked ahead at the backs of the two Anbu squad members in front of him, and had asked them a question.
"Would any of you know If Team 8 was back from their mission?" Naruto resisted the urge to shoot Sasuke a confused expression.
What was going on between him and Hinata? Before Naruto could think any further, he forced the thoughts about the subject to stop. Reality is reality, of course. Sasuke is Sasuke. Hinata is Hinata. There would be no way Sasuke would actually require her company.
He was simply lonely. Or, that is what Naruto made himself believe for the time being.
After a minute of silence (and of Sasuke's continued stare directed at the backs of the Anbu in front of him) Sasuke was delivered an answer. As they kept walking through the silent roads of Konoha, one of the masked nin shifted slightly so now the profile of their (masked) face was shown to those behind them.
"They arrived this morning." Judging by the voice of the member who spoke, Sasuke assumed he was a male. He didn't realize the noise he kept hearing was the repetitive beat of his heart until he had heard what was said next.
"One of them was badly injured."
Sasuke would have asked more, but suddenly, it seemed like his throat had dried up. He kept his mouth shut, and continued to walk. The Anbu turned back to walking straight, clearly ending the 'discussion'.
Naruto remained silent for the rest of the journey to the compound, knowing what Sasuke must have been thinking about. Now that he had the time to think about the whole situation, Naruto deemed it reasonable that Sasuke would feel somewhat 'attached' to Hinata. She was the first to open her arms to him after he had come back, besides Naruto of course.
Sasuke was simply lonely.
Naruto watched as the male behind him began to develop a more off-putting frown on his face.
He was just lonely, right?
As they had neared the compound, something was amiss.
Naruto, surprisingly, was the first one to notice it.
"Why are there drops of blood?" He asked, a bit wary.
He stepped onto a drop, and heard a little 'squish'. 'Fresh blood?' Naruto thought, trying to make sure to avoid stepping on anything else.
The Anbu in the front turned to each other, and talked for a bit. They mentioned how it was spotless when Tsunade had ordered her men to clean it. And there were also a squad making sure no one came near the compound during the night.
When they were only a couple of feet away was when Sasuke suddenly stopped walking for a second. Naruto slowed down, looking at him, worried. His eyes were alert, and he seemed to be looking for something.
Before he had run off in front of Naruto and the Anbu squad, Naruto heard a hushed whisper escape the Uchiha's lips.
"Hinata."
Sasuke didn't follow the little circles of red on the ground of his former home, but followed the smell of cinnamon buns. He heard the Anbu squad and Naruto getting closer, but it didn't matter. In a matter of seconds, in a secluded area of the outside area of the compound, was someone Sasuke had feared the worst from.
He slowed down from a sprint to a frantic (well, as frantic as Sasuke could get) walk, towards her.
She was crouched down over the Earth, her back to Sasuke, as she placed seeds into a hole she had dug. Sasuke stopped right before her, examining how she patted the ground over the hole. He saw the tint of red underneath the dirt that covered her pale fingers. She had only gotten up and looked behind her once she had heard the Anbu squad yelling Sasuke's name.
Hyuuga eyes met Uchiha eyes once more.
'It's been only four days' Hinata thought sheepishly, as the corners of her lips threatened to turn upwards, 'I shouldn't feel quite this giddy.'
Silence befell them. They simply looked at each other, unmoving.
Sasuke stared at the girl before him. He was suddenly very aware of how small she really was. How small and fragile. He was suddenly very aware of his own heartbeat as well.
It seemed to quicken as the seconds dragged on. But time seemed to slow down as he stepped toward her, his eyes taking her in.
She was hurt.
He saw the cut on her leg. The way it ripped through her clothes.
She was hurt, and yet she was still smiling.
The scent of cinnamon buns he had grown accustomed to was accompanied by the stench of sweat and blood this time.
How long has it been since he had caused someone else pain?
Not that long.
But why did seeing Hinata in this tattered state do this to him?
Why was he fighting the urge to hold her?
The Uchiha was conflicted on what to do. Here she was, standing before him. She was in pain. But she was here for him. How long has it been since someone had showed him such kindness?
It has been a very long time.
The Anbu were already there now, witnessing the whole thing. Naruto held them at bay, aware that neither the Hyuuga nor Uchiha realized that they were there. He was curious as to how this would all play out.
In a somewhat steady voice, Hinata whispered, "I promised I'd be here."
And that's when Sasuke stopped trying to resist the smell of cinnamon buns, even if it was combined with blood and sweat. He simply reached his arm out, and done something shockingly uncharacteristic.
He pulled her in to a one armed embrace, which Hinata didn't return due to shock — shock that Sasuke was touching her willingly.
Strands of her hair found themselves stuck to the Uchiha's back. His own hair brushed past the side Hinata's face as he lowered his lips to her ears.
And for the first time, Hinata had heard the Sasuke Uchiha pleading for something.
His grip on her tightened just a little bit.
He whispered, "Please don't ever stop smelling like cinnamon buns."
Lowering her face into Sasuke's sleeve, Hinata smiled against him, and returned the hug.
If someone asked Sasuke why he was hugging Hinata right now, he really wouldn't know what to say,
He missed the smell of cinnamon buns. He missed just the smell and nothing else. Of course, that's what he would tell himself. Just like how Naruto was telling himself that Sasuke was simply someone very lonely as he watched the embrace silently.
Sasuke was just a very, very lonely boy.
That's why they were hugging.
He hoped.
a/n im so sorry for the late update wow ;; life has been hectic for me and ugh im really sorry! Thank you for all your kind words and suggestions. It means sooo much to me that you guys actually take your time to read this! Ah I love you guys so much wowowow! When you guys review, fav, or follow the story it just makes me so gosh darn happy and I honestly don't know how to convey how much it means to me. Thank you so much, sweethearts! Ill try to update weekly now? Yeah goals for mir woo!
Thank you to: MercenaryFem, umnia, Sana B, Inspirational, Delicatelyplaced, RiverDarkness, Ro0w'z, 921350, The Endless Sea of Blue, damnheart.o3, BubbleWarrior32, VitalInfo3, MiNKy307, HeartBrokenHinata, kawaii-sama25 and all the guests for reviewing! Wow you guys are honestly super super sweet and I just want to love you guys forever!
Suggestions are welcome!