The best portion of your life would be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.

-Anonymous

Hinata was panicking.

She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to leave.

But, it really didn't matter what she wanted, right? She needed to leave.

For the sake of both of them.

Slowly taking the blanket off herself, Hinata hissed slightly before straightening up completely. Her upper body was throbbing with pain, and her leg felt like it was on fire.

Carefully, she set her feet on the floor, using her hands to help her move her leg. She exhaled shakily as her feet made contact with the cold floor.

Now, to get up.

Shifting all her weight to her uninjured leg, Hinata slowly stood up, hands still clutching at the couch for support. She bit back a groan as her shoulders throbbed in protest.

She was still hunched over, not being able to stand perfectly straight due to the pain. Dragging her injured foot forward, she put some of her weight on it. She blew out a slow breath when she found the pain to be bearable.

However, as she tried to put her uninjured foot forward, having to shift all her weight on the injured one, black dots began appearing in her vision due to the pain.

She collapsed, as it hit her full force.

She bit back a scream as she fell, tears filling her eyes. She clutched her thigh, lips parted but no sound came out. As if delayed, she let out a small cry of pain.

She felt Itachi's Chakra fluctuate.

Her eyes widened, heart hammering in her chest.

No!

Without thinking twice, she shot towards the single couch in the room, where her things were. Ignoring the pain, she half crawled, half-dragged her body towards it, before swiftly grabbing them.

Stumbling back to her couch, she immediately covered herself with the blanket, effectively hiding the kunai she was holding.

She bit back another cry as her thigh burned, now simply radiating pain. She clenched her hand tighter on the projectile, just as she heard footsteps approach her.

A few seconds later, the heavenly form of Uchiha Itachi appeared.

Hinata blinked.

Wait... heavenly?

She felt her face burn.

Oh god, what's wrong with me?

Shaking her head internally, she gulped before meeting Itachi's eyes.

She felt her eyebrows furrow in concern, as she took him in. His skin was paler than usual, the dark bags beneath his eyes more prominent. Even the creases on his face looked deeper, his exhaustion apparent.

Hinata felt guilt claw at her, as she chewed the inside of her cheek.

Did I do this?

Clearing her throat, she looked back up at him, lips parting to apologize.

She met his eyes, as the silence stretched on.

One second he was standing metres away from her, and the next she was being encased in his arms.

Hinata gasped feeling him tighten his hold around her, face buried against her shoulder. His shaky breath hit her skin, as she shivered.

Instinctively, she clutched at him, fingers fisting in his shirt as she pulled him closer.

She had missed him beyond belief. She remembered all the thoughts she had had during her fight with those ANBU, and despite her initial resistance, she felt tears burn behind her eyes.

She wanted nothing more than to stay in his arms, and tell him everything that had happened. She wanted his comfort, his company more than anything else right now.

So lost was she in her thoughts, she didn't notice the kunai she had been holding slip from her fingers.

She only remembered it when it fell on her lap. She yelped, hands immediately going to her thigh.

Itachi, too, quickly pulled away, afraid he had somehow hurt her.

He cursed himself, for being so careless. But, he hadn't been able to help it. The moment he had seen her awake, his mind had gone blank.

All he could see was the condition she had been in when he found her, how close she had been to dying. All he had wanted was to hold her against him, feel her petite body, warm and alive.

The moment he did, he slumped in her arms, relief shaking him to the core.

Real. Real. Real. Real.

She was real.

However when he heard her yelp, he immediately drew back. He stepped back, blinking when he saw a kunai on her lap.

He furrowed his eyebrows.

He had removed all weapons from her after healing her.

"Where did you-" He trailed off, eyes widening a he whipped his head towards the couch.

Her things were gone.

A half-shocked, half-panicked look took over his face as he swiftly removed the blanket off of her.

Hinata didn't even register him, as she bent over, letting out another cry.

The bandage on her thigh was stained red.

Before the blood could escape the bandage, he slipped his arms beneath her and hauled her up. She clutched at him, biting her lips at the pain, as she groaned.

Entering the bathroom, he set her at the very edge of the bath tub, before taking out the first aid kit.

Swiftly he cut through the dirty bandage, and took a strip of a clean cloth.

"This is going to hurt." He informed her, even through he was already wrapping the cloth above her thigh.

She frantically shook her head.

"J-Just-Just do it. Q-Quick."

Without wasting another moment, he tied the cloth in a knot, to stop the blood flow. Hinata cried out again, hunching over as she fought to keep her leg still.

Cleaning the excess blood, Itachi hissed slightly, taking in the threads sticking out her skin.

Her stitches had opened.

Quickly walking to the sink, she watched him wash his hands. Immediately returning to her side, he carefully took in the wound.

Taking a few tissues, he patted the excess blood away, to gain a clear view of the stitches.

He took out a pair of tweezers, intending to pull the torn threads out. Hinata eyes popped out of her sockets when she saw what he was about to do.

"Oh god.." She moaned out, clenching her eyes shut so she wouldn't have to see.

However, unfortunately, she could do nothing about her sense of touch. So, though she might not have seen the threads being pulled out, she certainly felt it happen.

She swallowed a scream when she felt the cool steel against her inflamed skin. Despite her pain, she fought to keep still, knowing it would only get worse if she moved.

She clenched her eyes tighter, feeling her skin being pulled as the suture threads slid out.

After what seemed like forever, she heard a exhale of relief. Opening one eye, she let her eyes adjust to the light. She didn't look at her thigh, instead focusing on the man in front of her.

She took him in taking in every small detail, trying to distract herself from the pain.

He was wearing civilian clothes; a black button up, and black jeans. His hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail as always, his bangs framing the smooth skin of his jaw.

For a second, she wondered how he would react if she moved those raven strands away from his face, and softly caressed his jaw.

She felt the urge to do exactly that.

She was snapped out of her ogling with a cough. She blinked, coming back to her senses.

Itachi was looking at her with a raised eyebrow, amusement clear in his eyes. His lips twitched slightly.

She felt her face burn, realizing that he had caught her staring. She huffed slightly, before looking away.

No need to act smug, Uchiha. You stare too.

As if having read her thoughts, he chuckled.

She felt her heart flutter, chest warming at the sound. She had not ever heard him properly laugh before.

It was when she felt warm breath by her ear, did she realize that he had moved closer. She didn't dare turn to look at him, feeling her body warm at his proximity.

"Can't blame me for staring." His hot breath ghosted over her skin as he murmured.

She shivered, almost able to imagine the smirk on his face.

"The view is quite enticing, if I say so myself."

She was sure her face resembled a tomato, and that he could hear the pounding of her heart.

She stubbornly kept her eyes away from him, knowing if she looked at him, she would not be able to look away.

She had almost lost her mind when she saw him injured. And here he was, flirting with her shamelessly.

Another heartbeat passed, and he pulled away. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him, smirk still in place.

She felt her gut coil, as she realized, once again, that Uchiha Itachi was, indeed very, very-

Hot. Her subconscious completed for her.

She felt her face burn again, as she pressed hands to her cheeks.

Stop that!

She felt her subconscious snort.

Like you're so innocent. We both know the kind of thoughts you have.

Hinata groaned internally, before shaking her head. Her train of thoughts was interrupted when a voice cut through.

"You should probably hold onto something."

Hinata blinked, taking in Itachi. He was holding a suture needle, a bottle of anesthesia in the second hand. Hinata felt dread coil up her throat as she watched him dip the needle in anesthesia.

"And try not to flinch. If I mess this up, I will have to do it all over again."

Hinata scrunched her face up, exhaling a hysterical laugh.

"That's what you are worried about? Not the thought of me dying in pain?"

He glanced up at her, meeting her eyes.

"You can take it." His eyes were soft, "You're a strong person, Hinata."

Hinata's eyes widened, and she felt her heart burst. Once again, she felt herself getting herself emotional, this time over the compliment.

How long had she envisioned someone would say that to her? And for that someone to be Itachi?

It was a dream come true.

She swallowed, tucking a few strands away from her face.

"Thank you." She whispered, her tone soft. "I mean it. That makes me very happy."

She saw his eyes light up, as he nodded, now smiling.

The atmosphere, no longer as serious as before, made her relax as she relished in the warmth of having someone care for her.

She breathed out shakily when she saw the needle approach, watching as it pricked her skin.

Hinata gasped, instinctively moving away. However, Itachi held her leg in place, as he muttered out an apology.

Black dots popped up in her vision, as she hissed sharply, nails digging into the edge of the bath tub.

Oh god..

Had she been someone more vulgar, she would have cursed.

However, her being her, Hinata simply closed her eyes again, and waited for the torture to end.

After what felt like hours, it finally, finally, did.

"I'm done." Itachi whispered gently.

Hinata tiredly opened her eyes, sweat trailing down her forehead, mixing with her tears.

She watched as his fingers ghosted over her burning thigh, having almost an anaesthetic effect. She closed her eyes again.

Carefully, he secured the stitches with a bandage, sighing when he was done.

Itachi watched as Hinata breathed slowly, her skin pasty, a permanent grimace of pain on her face.

He tucked a few strands away from her face, before carefully lifting her up again. She slumped against him, a lifeless doll in his arms.

He laid her on the couch again. She had been asleep for a good while before. He was sure she was going to wake up soon.

True to his predictions, a few minutes later, she shifted. Her hand lifted slightly.

"W-Water." She croaked out.

He was by her side in a second, a glass in his hand. He helped her up, before handing her the glass.

Hinata took a huge gulp. As she felt her energy and spirit being revived, she straightened. She sighed softly, pulled away from the glass.

Her eyes widened slightly, eyebrows furrowing when she saw the rim of the glass.

It was stained red.

A second later, she felt the metallic tang of blood against her tongue. She had bit her lip too hard while she was getting stitches.

Just as she was about to ask for a tissue, she felt warmth engulf her face. She gasped softly, as Itachi's hand cupped her cheek, turning her face towards him.

Her heart pounded as his thumb moved up, lightly rubbing at the very edge of her mouth. His eyes were focused on her lips, a concentrated look in his eyes.

Hinata exhaled shakily through parted lips, as he swiped a tissue across her lower lip, dabbing away at the blood that coated it.

He didn't let go when he was done.

Instead, he looked at her, meeting her eyes, an unreadable look on his face. She shivered as his thumb caressed her cheek.

She placed a hand over his own, leaning into his touch. She buried her face into his rough palm, before pressing a kiss to his wrist.

These were the hands that had saved her on more than one occasion.

Her other hand immediately went to move away his bangs from his face. Softly, she caressed his jaw, thumb rubbing circles against the creases on his face.

She felt him inhale sharply, hand tightening against hers.

She cupped his face with both her hands, and leaned forward, wanting to get closer to him. Their foreheads touched, his rugged breathing mingling with her own.

She tilted her head slightly, eyes half-lidded, as her lips sought out his.

His hands covered her own, his eyes clenched shut. Then, he lifted her hands from his face and pulled away.

Hinata's eyes snapped open.

Hinata watched as he moved out of her personal space, creating some distance between them.

"You should rest." He muttered, before he turned his back to her and left, leaving her wondering what the hell just happened.

THERE YOU SUCKERS GO WITH TODAY'S UPDATE!!

A longer chapter for you lovelies!!

So, what do you think?? What actually happened?? And what do you think will happen next??

Be sure to tell me what you think!!

Until next Monday, ENJOY!!

-Your inspiring author.