Kind reminders:

English is not my native language so forgive any spelling/grammar mistakes.

AND

Please don't forget to tell me what you think! Falem comigo!

Sasuke woke up in the middle of the night feeling thirsty, with his mouth and throat all dried up. A shiver went down his body from his scalp to his cold feet.

He was feeling a little feverish and his body seemed heavier but he managed to get up from his bed. Looking out of his bedroom door he searched for a maid without success. There was no one in sight in that dark and silent hallway.

Another shiver ran down his spine again and he hold his arms together under the large sleeves of his sleeping yukata. It was a cold night.

He walked slowly to the spacious kitchen located in the first floor right behind the dining room where they ate daily. Each step on the floor felt like a punch to his head.

Once he finally got close to the kitchen, he saw the door was slightly open with a dim light coming out of it. He peeked inside and instantly spotted Hinata standing by the counter, with her back facing him. There was a kettle boiling on the low fire beside her.

She had a beautiful candelabrum by her other side and the lit candles made her silky hair shine under their warm light. He could see she was wearing a thick robe in a light pink color.

He considered heading back to wait somewhere else until she has left but discarded the idea since he was starting to feel weak, desperately needing his bed and covers again.

The sound of him sliding the shoji door made her turn her face to the side to see who it was: "Oh... Um..." She turned back to put out the fire on her right that was boiling some water in the kettle and quickly turned around to fully face him: "G-Good evening...", she said nodding her head once with a slightly nervous smile, hoping he wouldn't notice it.

He didn't.

As he got closer, stopping in front of her, he wondered if he should apologize now for what happened before, but instead he just stood there staring at her.

She wasn't looking at him. Maybe she was disturbed by his presence after all. He blinked slowly.

Without any response, she blushed under his intent gaze and didn't notice his cheeks were also burning.

Trying to ease the turmoil of butterflies in her belly, she turned her back to him again, pressing her flat stomach against the counter, and focused her attention on the dry herbal leaves she carefully picked from a small jar: "...I-I'm making some tea... Do you want some?".

She couldn't sleep. Mostly because of him, of course, and facing the cause of her insomnia felt like a mean joke from the universe.

He wanted to apologize and was currently planning on doing so. It took him long enough to avert his line of thought to her question and realize he hadn't spoke a single word yet. He knew he should answer her but the awkward silence had already sinked in. Also, his brain was so slow that he wasn't sure if he would be able to form a proper sentence.

He started to feel dizzy and unsteady on his feet and managed to mumble: "Water". Suddenly, he couldn't see anything despite his eyes were still open. He stepped forward reaching for the counter that he knew was in front of him in a desperate attempt to support himself. As his shaky hands made contact with the cold surface, his mind instantly went black.

When Hinata saw his hands clasping on the counter by her both sides and felt him leaning on her back with his arms surrounding her, she got scared. It was like her soul had left her body and she froze immediately, thinking the worst.

In one second she was fearing for her own safety. In the next one she was feeling his cheek brushing softly against hers as he gradually fell backwards on the floor.

That pretty much ended any possibility of a calm night of sleep for her.

* * *

Seeing him now, lying in bed unconscious, made her feel bad for thinking badly of him, even though it was just for a second. All this anxiety was getting to her. How could she not notice his condition?

His cheeks were flushed and he was breathing with some difficulty. He looked so... vulnerable. Now he definitely seemed harmless and approachable. Nothing like that tough and impenetrable façade she had seen so far.

She left his bedroom and headed to her own. Feeling completely awake, she was fully aware she wouldn't be able to sleep anymore.

Now under her warm covers she replayed that night events. It was all so fast, feeling light headed in his presence, then so heavy with worry about herself and then about him.

She felt stupid, but that was it.

There was no reason for her to be afraid of talking to him. She thought: "Enough of this silly misunderstanding!"

She made-up her mind. Tomorrow she was going to talk to him so they could clear things up as soon as he got up! Okay, maybe after a good nurturing meal but right after that!

Feeling she had things under control granted her a few hours of sleep.

* * *

Next day, Sasuke felt completely sore and needed a moment to recall last night's events still without much detail. He overslept and was still feeling weak so he had lunch in bed shortly after waking up.

He heard his door sliding open and saw his brother walking in: "Now you managed to look worst than yesterday.".

The younger Uchiha merely rolled his eyes at the comment. He had bags under his eyes and his lips were pale. He was clearly sick and tired despite sleeping all morning.

He tried to lift his upper body to a sitting position just to be pushed back to bed by his older brother. Itachi was standing beside the low bed, towering over Sasuke: "I have some important matters to attend to. We'll bring some of our guard units here to exchange knowledge on battle techniques and train along the Hyuuga men." He waited for any questions before continuing: "I'll select our best ones to teach and learn. You'll be staying here for a few days while I head back-"

"No.", Sasuke cutted him instantly.

"I'm leaving tomorrow morning-"

"I'm going with you. You need my help."

Itachi sighed: "What I need is for you to heal properly. The journey home can aggravate your condition and there's no reason to take such risk."

"I'm not staying here without you for Kami knows how long-", he said this time managing to sit up on the bed with some difficulty just to be cutted off by Itachi poking his forehead: "Sasuke. I'll be back by the end of the week. That's settled." The leader of the Uchiha clan couldn't help but feel a little warmth in his heart by his younger brother's statement but he wouldn't budge.

Sasuke was trying his best to think of how he could convince Itachi otherwise when they both heard a soft knock on the door: "Excuse me, Sasuke-san".

Hinata's voice was low but they were able to recognize her. Quickly after her knock, Itachi slid the door open with a light smile.

She was taken aback by the sudden opening and the tall man that was facing her: "Oh! I apologize Itachi-san. I didn't mean to interrupt.", she bowed respectfully with the intention to leave and come back later.

"Not at all. I was just leaving.", Itachi glanced back at Sasuke's frowning face one last time before closing the bedroom door behind him.

The room went silent.

Hi, everyone! *cover myself from people throwing rocks*

OMG! I'm so embarrassed of that first scene in the kitchen! I know it came out really lame and unrealistic LOL, but I couldn't help it! The idea popped in my head so I used it \_(ツ)/

I'm also aware this end of chapter was pretty mean, I'm sorry ú_ù... but I love being mean hihi and you wouldn't abandon me without, at least, this closure, right? Right? I promise I'll post the next chapter really soon, it's almost done! :3

Thank you for reading and commenting in any way! It really helps me keep going!

See ya!