CCNote: You want longer chapters? Ask and you shall receive (sometimes lol)! In reality today was a test day so I didn't have shit else to do and had to look busy.
The reference from the last chapter was about Sasuke's first two kisses. I always found it funny that Naruto and Sasuke ended up in those kinds of accidental situations. If you need a reminder, the first kiss happened when they were being assigned to their genin team and the second was while they were on a mission and their hands got stuck together (super fillery episode lol). ANYWAY, Sasuke's sight is returning and the best way to describe it is as a glasses wearer that is borderline blind. You can see shapes and colors, but distinct details are impossible and you sure as hell can't read and shouldn't be driving lol.
ANYWAY! Thanks for all of the favorites/follows and of course the reviews! You guys are truly awesome and I'm always super happy to have people read my work. I especially enjoy the predictions of how this story will end. If you are familiar with my work, then you know the pace always picks up around this point in the story. I hope you enjoy this as well as you did the last and don't forget to REVIEW!
Becoming Enamoured
Hinata swallowed thickly as she sat rigidly with her legs tucked underneath her. On cushions before her sat her father and the elders of her clan, all stone face and tensed in light of what had occurred that afternoon.
"Ko." Her father said sharply to the older man situated just inside of the dojo room door, his head bowed in respect. "Please step forward and inform the elders of what happened with the Uchiha to the best of your ability."
"Yes, Hiashi-sama." Ko replied as he stepped forward to the center of the room.
When he reached her side, Hinata looked up at him, hoping that somehow she would be able to understand the thoughts that were surely racing inside of his mind. Unfortunately, even though her eyes could see through walls and flesh she was still unable to read a person's thoughts. If she had she would have stopped Ko from uttering a word…
…"Please raise your right arm…I-I-I mean yo-your left! Your left please! My mistake!"
Ko pressed his lips together into a tight line as the head seamstress made yet another error in trying to direct the Uchiha with his body placement. The woman was old but talented and well respected among their ranks. She'd handsewn every kimono worn within the main branch since she'd taken over the mantle of head seamstress when her father died. There was honor in making clothing as beautiful as she was able to craft.
It was an honor that should not be bestowed upon someone as ungrateful as the Uchiha. Each time the woman made a directional mistake, the man grew stiffer and more ominous. His dangerous and rather irritated aura appeared to roll off of him in waves and made everyone from the seamstresses' team to the guards impossibly tense. If this was how he behaved around them, how did he act when he was behind closed doors? If he set complete strangers on edge he could only imagine how he treated Hinata.
'Hinata-sama.' He thought, his nails biting into the fleshy part of his palm. 'She should not be anywhere near the likes of him.'
She may say that she is okay but he knew otherwise. This was a political marriage. Whether she was truly okay or not she would see it through to its completion. That had been the way she'd been raised. Seeing things to the very end was the way of their clan. He knew this better than anyone and yet it still didn't sit right with him that she had to do this.
If Hinata didn't marry the traitor then it would fall to Hanabi but in his opinion, neither sister should be exposed to such a fate. No one should be tied to a murderer such as him. He was a threat to the village's security. If it wasn't for that contract the council would have disposed of him already. Suddenly a sharp intake of breath broke through his thoughts and his eyes snapped up to see the elderly seamstress get her hand smacked away. All at once, the younger seamstresses froze in place and the guards in the room immediately circled the Uchiha. A thin stream of blood trickled out from just under the Uchiha's left sleeve. He watched as the man slowly used his free hand to touch the blood that had been drawn. Beside the Uchiha, the seamstress hesitantly approached him again.
"I-I'm sorry it was just a slip. Please let me have a-a look-" she started and reached out to grab the Uchiha's sleeve but he smacked her hand away again.
In the next instant, the guards in the room tightened the circle around the Uchiha who of course felt threatened by their encroachment, crouched slightly as if preparing for battle. His unwounded hand immediately went to his side where his infamous katana usually resided but fortunately was in the hands of the Hokage. Blind or not, if the Uchiha had a weapon they would have all been in danger. Unfortunately, even though he was currently unarmed he was still threat. As the guard stationed behind the Uchiha placed a hand on his shoulder, he rammed an elbow into his stomach and sent him to his knees.
"Dammit." Ko cursed under his breath as he rushed forward.
There was not enough space in this small room for a fight and this was the last thing he'd wanted to deal with today. One of the other guards was able to reach the Uchiha before he did but as soon as he touched the man, the Uchiha spun around and punched him squarely in the jaw. A sharp sensation of chakra shot through the room, causing the seamstresses to drop what they were holding in order to flee.
Ko launched himself forward and tackled the Uchiha into the mirror behind him, pinning him against the shattered glass with his forearm. Once subdued, the last guard was able to reach the necessary chakra point in the Uchiha's neck to force him into a state of unconsciousness. It couldn't have come too soon either because his dark eyes had just shifted to a menacing, dichromatic red and purple….
"After that, we stood posted around the door to keep him from escaping. That was when Hinata-sama arrived." Ko finished.
Hinata frowned as her former protector finished his explanation. Sasuke should not have been so abrasive with the seamstress but the guards in the room should not have been so rough with him. The situation shouldn't have escalated to the point that it had.
"And what is your opinion of this situation Ko?" her father asked and the man beside her stiffened.
"I believe him to be a danger to himself and others. I believe that he will cause harm if left unchecked."
'No!' Hinata thought, biting her lower lip to keep her words from escaping. 'He is not like that!'
Hinata looked away from Ko and up to her father. His eyes were just as unreadable as when he'd come to Sasuke's fitting room right after the incident. He hadn't said a word then. He'd only visually assessed the situation before taking his leave of the room. What was he thinking now? What did he make of Ko's words?
"Thank you. You are dismissed." Her father said with a slight nod of his head.
Ko bowed respectfully to her father and the elders before taking his leave of the room.
"As you can see Hiashi-sama, this is not as easy the Hokage believed it would be." Houzu mused. As the eldest and most authoritative figure outside of her father his words held a lot of weight. "If we wish to proceed with should continue with how the plan was supposed to happen initially."
'Plan?' Hinata thought, pale eyes widening. 'What plan?'
"Hiashi-sama has already tried. The Hokage refused to agree to those terms." Another elder groused and Houzu leaned back pensively in his chair.
"Perhaps when he is informed of what has transpired he will change his mind. If he wants to keep the Uchiha alive he has to be kept under control."
"We could always find a suitable match for Hinata via someone from a prominent clan in another village. We would do well to go about this swiftly so that we may move on to finding someone for Hanabi. The Hokage and council cannot find fault with us negating the contract on the grounds that the Uchiha is unstable."
Hinata stiffened at the elders as they continued to debate back and forth. All of their arguments held the same thread no matter which way they tried to spin it. They wanted to control Sasuke and within her clan, there was only one true method to keep someone in line. Hinata closed her eyes at the revelation and took a deep breath. The branch seal. It was the only way to bring someone like Sasuke to heel.
"Hinata." Her father said, his fingers folded in front of him and his jaw tight. "What do you make of this situation."
"I-" she started but Houzu and the other elders immediately cut her off.
"The Uchiha needs boundaries Hiashi. The longer we debate this the greater chance there is that he could wake up and go on a rampage."
"Houzu is right. He could wake up at any moment and then what? We told you decades ago when this was drafted that it was a bad idea. The Uchiha are a violent clan."
"This is true! Mixing bloodlines may prove to be more of a liability than it's worth!"
"We can't risk him losing control again within the compound."
"He needs to be put on a tighter leash."
"He is not a dog!" Hinata shouted over the voices of the bickering elders.
She then stood up, her heart pounding violently against her chest with the disapproving eyes of her elders staring up at her. There were two things one never did when in the presence of the elders. Elevate themselves to stand taller than they did was one. Raising one's voice was another. In one fell swoop, she'd knocked over both of these symbols of respect and subservience to those who were older than wiser than she was. It scared her immensely to do so but she couldn't sit by and allow them to speak about Sasuke as if he was little more than an animal they were deciding to keep or not.
"What happened today…" she started, lowering her voice to a more even level than before. "What happened today was unfortunate. Sasuke was wrong to lash out but he was only trying to defend himself. He's not used to being around so many people like this."
"That is exactly why he needs to be kept under control or done away with altogether. What is the point of protecting him from the council if he'll harm us all in the end?" Houzu asked. "If we put the seal on him we will be able to step in."
"You can't do that."
She couldn't allow this to happen. That seal had clipped Neji's wings. She would not have the same happen to Sasuke.
"You say that now but who will take responsibility for the Uchiha's action if he lashes out again? Who make sure that he doesn't behave in such a manner that would threaten our very existence?"
Hinata bit her bottom lip and clenched her fists at her sides. Sasuke had a past. She could not deny the fact that he had a lot of blood on his hands. She couldn't deny that he had demons that still plagued every step he took. However, Uchiha Sasuke was more than his past transgressions. He was more than the tough exterior that he'd shown to the world.
She'd seen that herself the day she found him sitting angrily in his destroyed hospital room as she dragged his stiff body across the floor.
She'd seen it the day she'd had to coax him out of the woods in a downpour.
He was hurt.
He was hurt and crying out for help but each time he did he found himself trapped and angry. Fixing that was not possible through a seal or confinement. Little by little he'd been making progress with getting accustomed to a life that didn't require him to kill or be killed. He was becoming more and more like the man he would be if people like elders and the council hadn't stepped in and tried to control things. All of that progress would be wiped away if they branded him with the seal. She couldn't let that happen, she just couldn't! Taking a deep breath, Hinata stared pointedly into the eyes of each and every elder.
"I will take responsibility for him. I swear that Sasuke will not harm our clan or the village." She said firmly and Houzu narrowed his eyes.
"On what do you swear with? Your honor? Your life? It's not like you taking the branch seal in his stead would be any sort of deterrent for a man like him-" Houzu sneered amidst the others mummers but her father silenced them all with a wave of his hand.
"Would you be willing to take the seal Hinata? Would you be willing to put your life on the line to accept whatever punishment may befall you from Sasuke's future transgressions?"
Hinata felt her eyes soften as she looked at her father, the use of Sasuke's name striking a cord in her heart. He did not see him as an animal the way the rest of the elders did. That in itself was a good sign. Placing her hand over her heart, she slowly nodded her acceptance to her father.
"If that is what it will take for you to trust me when I say that he will not harm anyone that is not a direct threat."
"Not a direct threat?" Houzu managed to sneer before her father fixed him with a stern glare. Unfazed by his disdain, Hinata squared her shoulders.
"It is impossible to expect anyone not to defend themselves should the need arise Houzu-sama."
The other elders mumbled to themselves, some angry others intrigued. Her father rising to his feet silenced them all as he made his way towards her. His face was still as unreadable as always but she stood firm before him. She meant what she'd said. She would take the seal if that was what it took for them to trust her. If that would satisfy them enough to spare Sasuke.
"I will come to a decision on what to do about the Uchiha and your marriage. When I do, I will send someone to summon you both."
Hinata lowered her eyes to her feet and nodded, praying all the while that her father would not take long to decide.
..…
"Hana-chan?" Hinata called out before stepping into the dark room but was not given a response.
Slightly worried, she entered but found her mild fears to be assuaged as soon as she spotted her sister fast asleep in a corner of the room still facing the door. She had a kunai loosely clutched in her hand but of course it wasn't of much use to her since she was unconscious. Hinata smiled to herself and went over to shake the poor girl awake to relieve her of 'guard' duty. Despite her little sister's disapproval of her fiancé, she could trust no one else in the clan with watching over Sasuke while he was incapacitated. Hanabi loved her more than she hated Sasuke. Gently, she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and gave her a little shake.
"Hana, time for bed." She whispered and the girl mumbled incoherently but stood up anyway.
With eyes only partially open, Hanabi slowly shuffled through the room and out the door. Once she'd disappeared, Hinata activated her byakugan to watch her walk through the compound back to where she belonged. It was against the rules to use one's byakugan within the confines of the compound, privacy was already scarce as it was, but she wanted to make sure that Hanabi safely got into her bed.
When she was satisfied that her sister had made it back okay, she moved to sit beside the unconscious Uchiha whose chest continued to rise and fall steadily. Carefully, she placed a hand on his forehead and another on her own to compare the temperature. She sighed when she discovered that he wasn't running a fever from the reintroduction of his pathways and the mixing of her own chakra to bridge the gaps. Despite the stress that the guards had caused him, he was going to be okay.
'Would you take the seal for him?'
Yes. Yes, she would. There were many things that she'd yet to discover about this man, so many things that he'd yet to even understand about himself. She couldn't allow the tiny bits of levity that he'd allowed himself to have over the last few months be squashed.
'He will never grow to care for you!'
Hinata ran a hand through her hair before bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them. Perhaps he would never come to care for her the way others would recognize as such. When his family was slaughtered a part of his heart had been removed. In order to avenge their deaths, more pieces had been shattered. When he killed his brother, the last few remaining pieces had all but disappeared. Fragments still remained though. Tiny slivers of compassion that she had to collect to give back to him, not because she wanted them for herself but because he needed them.
She enjoyed the satisfied look on his face after a long day of training and cherished the peace he had when he slept. It was amusing watching his face scrunch up in consternation when he didn't understand something or the befuddled look he had when on the rare occasion she surprised him. Hinata pressed her fingers to her lips as she recalled the split second he'd allowed himself to be honest the moment after she'd kissed him for the first time.
He'd been so taken aback by the action that she was afraid that he felt disgusted by her. However, when he kissed her again she discovered for the first time what it felt like to be desired by someone else. To be desired. To be needed. To feel important. Sasuke didn't realize it but he fulfilled those things every day and it…it made her happy. When she first signed the contract she'd never expected to be happy with her situation.
Resigned to her fate and duty? Yes.
Happy? Most definitely not.
No matter what, as selfish as it sounded, she had to protect this small world that she'd carved out for herself. Sighing, Hinata laid down next to Sasuke how she did every night- sans pillow barrier- and allowed herself to cuddle into his side and listen to the steadiness of his heartbeat. Tomorrow she would need to send a message to the hospital to have Sakura come to check on him to make sure he was okay to move back to the Uchiha district. It would be jarring for him to regain sight in an unfamiliar location such as the Hyuuga compound. At least when they were home he would be surrounded in an environment he already knew.
'Home.' Hinata thought as her eyelids grew heavy. 'Tomorrow we will go home.'
...…
"Alright you're good to go. NEXT!" Sakura shouted, handing the middle-aged jounin before her his medical file.
When he accepted it, she waved him out of the examination room and got ready for the next person. As she waited patiently for her next arrival, she rolled her shoulders and tried to ignore the petulant grumbling of her stomach. She had half a banana for breakfast which wasn't exactly a balanced meal but it was all she could scarf down before she was needed to pick up the slack in the nonemergency wing.
She couldn't complain about how busy she was though. She preferred being busy to being alone with her thoughts and anything was better than scrapping bedpans. Plus she liked seeing the smug look of feigned indifference on Tsunade's face when she was able to finish the mountain's worth of paperwork the woman liked to assign her. Sure it took all night to complete most nights but the look on her sensei's face was worth it. Sakura sighed as she lazily spun around in her chair, balancing her clipboard in her lap. It was only a matter of time before Tsunade had to admit she could have her old job back. That day honestly couldn't come soon enough but for now... she was content.
"Goddammit Sai it's not your turn!" a muffled voice cursed just outside of the hospital room door.
"Do you have somewhere you need to be?"
"W-w-well I-"
"I guess not. I will go first Fatty."
Sakura felt her eye twitch at the sound of her socially awkward teammate pushing past the protests of who was really supposed to be next and letting himself in.
"Ah. Ugly. It's you." Sai said as he poked his head into the door. Sakura waved hesitantly at him and he walked in like he owned the place. The confidence he exuded was even more creepy than normal.
'Ino is not a good influence.' She thought and accepted the folder Sai had in his possession.
Just as she took it Chouji, the person who was really supposed to be next, barged into the room. He was followed silently by Shino who had his folder tucked under his arm. The sight of him reminded her of Hinata but she pushed the feeling down to continue with her work. The hospital was more important than her personal life.
"I have had to deal with your shit this entire time! Fatty this, Fatso that! Well, we're back and I'm not letting you get away with walking all over me -"
"You are fat are you not?"
"Why you!"
"Sakura-san." Shino said flatly as he pointedly ignored his comrades arguing to hand her his folder.
"Shino-kun" Sakura greeted, glancing warily at the two shinobi behind him. "You were the squad leader yes?"
Shino nodded and adjusted his glasses. At that confirmation, Sakura flipped open his folder and checked over the information filled out by a lower ranked nurse to make sure that everything was as it should be. Blood pressure was normal. Weight was fine.
"You seem angry."
"Of course I'm angry! What else would you expect me to be?!"
"Fat."
Blood had been draw and results would likely be in by the end of the week. Everything looked to be in order.
"Did you or anyone else sustain any serious injury during the mission?" She asked and Shino shook his head.
'Good.' Sakura thought. 'The faster she could get these three out the better.'
"Alright! Listen up!" Sakura shouted, clapping her hands together twice to get the arguing shinobi's attention. "Sai. Apologize to Chouji."
Sai blinked and cocked his head to the side.
"Why?"
"Because it's rude to call people fat."
"But he is."
Sakura frowned, crossing her arms over her chest as she stood up from her chair.
"I have too much stuff to do today Sai. Either apologize to him or I'll tell Ino." She said and Sai cocked his head to the side.
"Tell Ino what?"
Sakura merely shrugged in response. Unwilling to face the potential wrath of his girlfriend, Sai mumbled a half-hearted apology to her former teammate. Chouji didn't exactly accept but it was better than nothing. Once that was completed, she took their folders and proceeded to work through them quickly so that they would get out of the room. The three of them together was a causing a headache to form. As soon as she returned Chouji's chart to him, the three men left together and she was allowed a small moment of peace. She took a deep breath and looked at her watch. It was almost time for lunch…
"Sakura-chan!" a boisterous voice called from the hospital room doorway, causing the medic to nearly jump out of her skin. She pressed a hand over her erratic heart as soon as its owner popped his head into the doorway.
"Naruto you idiot!" she shouted. "You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack!"
"I just wanted to pay you a visit!"
"This is a hospital, not a playground!"
"Yea. Yea. Yea." Naruto chuckled as he shoved his hands into his pockets and waltzed into the room.
Sakura shook her head at his nonchalance. He really needed to act more serious if he wanted to be the Hokage one day.
"What brings you here today? Don't tell me you got hurt doing something stupid either. I won't heal you if you did."
"Now when have you known me to do anything stupid?"
Naruto grinned at her innocently, wiggling his eyebrows as if that would help to further convey his argument. It took everything in her to keep a straight face but somehow she managed. When he was unable to make her laugh, Naruto pouted and leaned against the paper lined hospital bed.
"You're no fun today Sakura-chan." He sighed and Sakura rolled her eyes.
"I can't afford to be 'fun'. I've got a lot of work to do today."
"Ah but that's where you're wrong." He grinned, childishly kicking his legs back and forth. "I convinced Baa-chan to let you have a break today-"
"Naruto-"
"She said, 'I don't care just get the hell out of my office!' so I guess that means you can take the afternoon off."
"I can't just take the afternoon off Naruto." She sighed, ignoring the angry growl of her stomach.
As much as she'd like to, doing something like that just didn't sit right. What about all of the work that was still left to do? Frowning, Naruto hopped off the bed, strode over to remove both of her hands from her lap, and pulled her up to her feet.
"We haven't hung out in like forever." He pouted as he intertwined their fingers together. "There's no one to fight with or have fun with and I'm pretty sure Kakashi is going to line up another mission for me soon."
When he pulled out his best pleading face, Sakura couldn't help but laugh. He almost looked constipated when he did that but it was cute in a weird way. She didn't want to admit it but she had missed spending time with him. Staying with her parents was nice but she couldn't talk to them the way she could talk to this idiot.
"Please Sakura-chan."
One afternoon couldn't hurt, right?
"Oh, al-" she started but was interrupted by one of the other nurse's frantically opening the hospital room door.
"Sakura-san! The Hyuuga have sent a messenger-"
Sakura's brow furrowed and she broke away from Naruto who'd also grown tense. She chanced a glance at him from the corner of her eye and was unsurprised to find that his previous playful attitude had vanished and in its place was a man ready to take on anything.
"The Hyuuga?" She asked, tearing her gaze away from Naruto. The nurse nodded. "What happened?"
"They didn't give any details but the messenger says that Hinata has sent for you personally. I-I think it's serious!"
...…
"Don't do that! You'll wake him up!"
He just needed a few more minutes of sleep.
"Well doesn't he need to be awake for you to do your glowie thingie?"
Why was the universe hell-bent on denying him that?
"For the last time, it's not called a 'glowie' thingie!"
Sasuke groaned, giving up on the futility of sleep and opened his eyes much to his body's protest. For a moment his eyes burned, not as bad as when he'd first opened them but it still hurt. He squinted against the bright, disorienting light. After becoming used to months of darkness it was odd to see anything but. Squinting his eyes, he blinked up at a fuzzy pale ceiling and wondered when the pain would subside.
"Hey look he's up!"
"Sasuke-kun!"
Two bright, and obnoxiously loud, people entered his line of vision. Their faces and features remained fuzzy but he knew there was no mistaking who that candy-colored hair and bright blonde belonged to. He squeezed his eyes closed. Even if they weren't yelling in his ears, the sight of them was giving him a massive headache.
"Don't go back to sleep yet-" Naruto shouted but a short squeal of pain let him know that Sakura had silenced him.
"Stop yelling!"
Inwardly Sasuke rolled his eyes. Didn't she know that her yelling was making things worse?
"Ooooo! Sakura-chan that really hurt!"
"Good it was meant to!"
"What are you two doing here?" Sasuke asked through gritted teeth and closed eyes.
"Oh! The Hyuuga sent us to check on you!" Naruto said and Sasuke felt his brows knit together.
The Hyuuga sent them…what. Why? Suddenly the events from the night before flooded back to him. The pain of the needle pricking his skin. The momentary panic of the room's occupants closing in on him that led to an involuntary instinct to defend himself. His head felt like it was going to explode before he fell unconscious. Finally, he recalled waking up in the presence of Hinata's surly little sister who'd informed him that Hinata had given him back his sight.
Hinata…
Where was Hinata?
A mild surge of panic coursed through his brain as he realized that Hinata had not returned for him at all. Where was she? Those elders Hanabi had mentioned was she still talking to them? Why had she not come back? The Uchiha's eyes sprang open despite the pain and he sat up, ready to track her down by smell alone if he needed to-
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Naruto protested as he placed his hands on Sasuke's shoulders and pushed him back down.
"Where is Hinata?" Sasuke asked, glaring at the fuzzy figures of his former teammates.
"She's just gone to the kitchen to get something to eat-" Sakura started.
"To the kitchen?"
"Yea. We brought you back here to your house. Hinata thought it would help you transition better if you were in a more familiar environment. By the way, you're fucking heavy ya know that? Stop eating so much."
"You're one to talk! You eat everything you get your hands on!"
Sasuke blinked, tuning out their bickering. He was back…home. For the first time since he'd ran away all those years ago he would be able to see his family's land. He knew that everything was gone. The buildings he knew that had fallen in on themselves were gone. Every piece of blood-soaked stone had been dug up and removed, this he knew from Hinata's guidance through the property when the demolition crew was finished. When she'd first told him of the completion he felt nothing.
Now…it was regret.
He couldn't form the words what he felt but there was a sense of loss. There was truly nothing left of the once proud Uchiha clan. He only had himself to blame for that. Sasuke sighed and ran a tired hand over his face, Sakura and Naruto still bickering incessantly overhead. What was he going to do now? He could see…kinda. He could leave. There was nothing left here for him and yet, the reality of leaving did not feel as freeing as his fantasies had been. Where would he go? What would he do? All he life he'd had some sort of a purpose. Whether it was to be as great as his older brother or to seek vengeance against him, he'd always had a path. Now he had nothing.
"Naruto…Sakura." A soft voice called from the other side of the room. "Lunch is ready."
'Hinata.' Sasuke thought as his body inexplicably froze in place.
"Aw, Hina-chan you didn't have to do that!" Naruto shouted much to the Uchiha's annoyance and shifted off the bed.
"It's the least I can do for your help."
The other side of his bed creaked as Sakura got off as well, following the excited Uzumaki out of the room and silently closing the door behind her. Soft footsteps hesitantly approached the bed they normally shared until she reached the edge and sat down. He wanted to open his eyes to see the woman who'd been a constant in his life for the past few months. This strange woman that reminded him of his mother and yet was so distinct in her own way that she frustrated him to no end.
Of course, since she was a Hyuuga he knew that she would possess her clan's signature eyes. As a small child, he'd found it scary that an entire clan looked as though they were blind but he was sure Hyuuga children felt the same about the Uchiha. It tended to be unsettling for outsiders to see eyes turn from black to blood in an instant. Outside of knowing what color her eyes were the rest of her features were an enigma.
"Sasuke." Hinata said, breaking him from his thoughts. "How…how are you feeling?"
Nervous. He felt inexplicably nervous.
"Are…are you hu-hungry? I-I can bring you something to eat."
She was nervous too.
Inwardly Sasuke chuckled. What in the world did she have to be nervous about? She wasn't the one who'd been blind for the last four months. He grunted as he sat up, ignoring the way his brain screamed at him to stop.
"I'm sorry…You probably want to rest. I'll just go-"
Whatever she was going to say was cut off as soon as he reached out to touch her shoulder. Eyes still closed, he ran his hand up her neck and tangled his fingers into her hair. Finding her mouth was easy, she was in too much shock to move away from him otherwise. As strange as it was, he enjoyed the reaction he was able to elicit from a simple kiss. He then pulled away from her and slowly opened his eyes. Her form was rigid in front of him.
She possessed skin that was as pale as his own and hair that was just as dark and impossibly long. It was far longer than he'd thought it had been. That explained why he always felt like he was being tickled whenever she was over him. Removing his hand from the back of her head, he combed his fingers down through hair that felt reminiscent of silk. It was almost fascinating to see the ink-like strands slip through his fingers. When he reached the end, he couldn't help himself from repeating the action again. A sense of relief filled him as he ran his fingers through her hair. He'd almost been afraid that she would have been blonde like Naruto. He shivered at the thought and continued to enjoy playing with her hair.
"Sasuke?" Hinata asked.
"You have dark hair." He said flatly as if that was enough to explain his actions.
"Is…is that bad?"
She sounded crestfallen by his statement and the fact that she was made him frustrated. Sure he wasn't good at giving compliments but how could she immediately jump to the worst conclusion? He had no way to express how he felt without making things worse so he did the only thing he could do.
He kissed her.
….
Only twenty-four hours had passed since he'd gained some semblance of sight. He could now walk around on his own in clear areas with only a small degree of tripping. He didn't need Hinata to direct his chopsticks to what food was where. Even though everything looked like multicolored blobs, all he needed to know was what exactly he was eating and he could manage from there. Training had been fruitless since even a light walk left him breathless but for now, he was satisfied.
Now, he found it to be much for relaxing to sit and watch Hinata move about the house. Currently, she was hanging up their sheets to dry in the morning sun. Sasuke looked up, shading his sensitive eyes from the sun's bright rays to take in the expansive blue sky above. He liked the blue despite the fact that he could only take it in for a few moments before he developed a headache. Most of the things that he did nowadays gave him a headache. Most things were too loud or too bright or required more effort than his body was able to put out.
'However,' Sasuke thought as his eyes were drawn to black and lavender speck hanging sheets. 'Watching her is not so bad.'
As to be expected of someone raised in a strict clan, Hinata's movements were graceful. It was a subtle kind of grace that was gentle and smooth with every action. When she trained with her byakugan was his favorite time to watch her since to his blurred vision, it almost looked like she was dancing. He wasn't even irritated by the noises she usually made during training either. Watching her, being around her was…nice.
"Whatcha lookin' at?" a loud voice interjected. Of it belonged to an orange blob that made him want to rip his hair out.
"Don't you know how to knock?" he grumbled and Naruto laughed.
"If I knocked you wouldn't let me in."
"Hn."
Naruto was right. He most certainly wouldn't let him in. He wouldn't tell Hinata that someone was at the door either because if he did her attention would be divided. She would immediately shift into host mode and the person that benefitted the most would be Naruto. He knew that Hinata would treat anyone that crossed their threshold with the utmost care. It was just the fact that it was more often than not Naruto that did that irked him. Didn't he have something better to do with his time than to come bother him?
"What are you doing here Naruto?" he asked moodily. Why couldn't he have his peace?
"You sound like I'm interrupting something."
"That's because you are."
"You just want to keep staring at Hina-chan." Naruto teased as he plopped down on the deck next to him. He jostled into Sasuke's side, playfully jabbing his ribs with his elbow. "Admit it! Yoooooouuuuu like heeeeerrrrr."
"Shut up."
"She's pretty isn't she? I was right wasn't I!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes but didn't confirm or deny Naruto's claims. It wasn't that he was wrong and he certainly wasn't right. He just didn't know. It felt as if there was an annoying film over everything he looked at, making it impossible to make out more than the relative size, color, and shape of objects. It was annoying but day by day his vision was getting better.
"Have you told her that you like her yet?" Naruto asked and Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you have to tell a girl that you like her. That's how it works!"
"Has it worked for you?" Sasuke asked.
"Well, not exactly-HEY! We aren't talking about me! This is about you!" He didn't hate Hinata the way he once did.
His ambitions of killing her had faded away before he'd been able to grasp a tighter hold on them. Plus it was hard to hate someone as gentle as she was. She was kind to a fault though. Sometimes he wished that she would kick Naruto out on his ass but that day would never come. Besides that, he knew that he enjoyed being around her whether it was just eating or reading. Or…as of late…kissing.
Sasuke felt the corner of his mouth twitch as his eyes were drawn back to Hinata putting up the laundry. He definitely enjoyed kissing her even though it had only occurred a handful of times. He wanted there to be more but Hinata was proving to be increasingly bashful now that he could 'see'. He didn't mind it too much, he enjoyed seeing her flustered. That didn't mean that he liked her though. That just meant that she was tolerable. Tolerable was good.
"Yoooooooo!" Naruto whined as he waved a hand in front of Sasuke's face. "Earth to Sasuke! Is anybody home?"
"What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke snapped, smacking the obnoxious appendage out of the way.
"You've been staring at Hinata for the longest. You're gonna creep her out if you keep doing that."
Sasuke snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. What the hell did this idiot know about women anyway? Hinata had been in love with him for a long time and he never made any moves to change their relationship to be more than just friends. If he had they wouldn't be in this arranged marriage to begin with…perhaps. If the massacre hadn't happened then they would have gotten married-
"If you like a girl you have to tell her. Just looking at her all weird and shit is not going to be enough."
"I do not like her."
"Sure you don't. You've been following her around the house like a whipped puppy since before you got your sight back."
A whipped…puppy?
"You don't even let me call her Hina-chan which is super not fair since I've been her friend for longer than you two have been 'engaged' or whatever."
Whipped?
"Annnnd whenever she speaks you actually look like you're listening. You never listen to me. Like now! You're still not listening dammit!"
He was not whipped.
Sasuke watched as Hinata finished clipping the last of sheets up and stooped down to collect the basket filled with their detergent and clothespins. Slowly she approached the back deck and he couldn't help but stand and descend the deck stairs as she got closer. When she was close enough, he held his hand out to take the basket from her possession but she hesitated to give it to him.
"Sasuke," she started. "You don't have to."
The man in question rolled his eyes and kept his hand out anyway. He didn't have the strength to help wash today. Usually, he was the one on scrubbing duty so it irritated him to be regulated to the sidelines while Hinata had woken up just a little past dawn to begin. The least he could do was carry the damn basket back inside. Reluctantly she gave up the whicker object and his ego was soothed for time being.
"Sasuke." Hinata said just as he'd turned to head back up the deck stairs.
He looked at her blurry figure curiously as she didn't continue to speak but instead took a step closer to him and placed a small hand on his forearm. She then elevated herself onto the tips of her toes and stretched her body as far as she could to place a short kiss to the edge of his jaw.
"Thank you." She said softly as she lowered herself back to her usual height with a red face that almost seemed to glow.
Sasuke grunted but didn't comment on the fact that her entire face had changed colors. How could he when it felt like his own at caught on fire? Leaning against the deck railing at the top of the stairs, Naruto coughed conspicuously to remind him of his annoying presence.
"Oh, Na-Naruto!" Hinata stammered nervously. "I-I didn't know you were here!"
"Hina-chan you wound me!" Naruto whined dramatically and Sasuke rolled his eyes. "First Sasuke ignores me and now you too?"
"Um…I'm…sorry?"
"You can make it up to me though! What's for lunch?"
"You are not eating here." Sasuke growled as he glared at the obnoxious man at the top of the stairs.
"But Sasuke-"
"Go bother someone else."
"I'm not a bother dammit!"
"Hn."
Beside him, Hinata giggled and shook her head.
"I think it would be nice for Naruto to join us for lunch." She said softly and Sasuke felt his irritation at Naruto's presence increase.
However, if Hinata thought it would be 'nice' the dumbass could stay until he wore out his welcome with her. Or at least until his brain couldn't tolerate him a minute longer, whichever came first.
"Fine." He conceded and turned to walk up the stairs. Just as he passed Naruto, the blonde chuckled under his breath and grinned with his hands behind his head.
"Whiiiiippppped."
To be continued…Becoming Accepted