Fragile Hearts: One
"Marriage."
The raven-haired man rolled his onyx eyes before taking a sip of his coffee. "Why is that so surprising?"
Her pale eyes locked with his dark ones just then causing her to sigh. "It's just that...the last time I checked you were practically allergic to the whole idea of getting married." Her hands fumbled with the cup before her on the table. Glancing down at it, she saw her reflection in the still, sweetened coffee. The words written on the wedding invitation were still fresh in her mind, the surreal feeling never leaving her.
Her counterpart's chuckle pulled her from the labyrinth of thoughts in her head. His foot shifted, hitting one of the table's legs which made it jerk slightly, in turn forming ripples in her still coffee. "Well, that was before I met her."
A small smile graced the midnight blue-haired girl's lips as she listened to her old friend. "Sakura was it?" She asked watching him nod in response. "How is she?"
The raven-haired man placed his teacup down, his eyes doing a quick sweep around the café before they locked with hers. "She's doing okay...excited about the wedding." A lopsided smile formed on his lips when he said the latter part of his sentence. Memories of when he'd proposed to her flooded his subconscious, it never failed to thrust him into a blissful state every time.
"So when exactly will I get to meet her?" Hinata asked catching his attention.
"Our engagement party is in a few days. You should come and..." He trailed off as he witnessed her eyebrows furrow and her lips turn downwards in a slight frown that she tried to hide. "Hinata," he said quietly.
"Yes?"
"You will come, won't you?" He asked, but instead of a solid response, he was given the ambiguous answer of silence. His eyes narrowed as he watched her stare at her cup of coffee the entire time, never making eye contact. "Don't tell me you-"
"Sasuke-san please," she said quickly cutting him off.
"What do you mean please? You're still hung up over what happened back then."
"So I guess that means he'll be there," Hinata shot back.
Sasuke's onyx eyes softened with guilt and concern. "I thought you'd gotten past that."
"C-can we talk about something else p-please?" She asked disappointed in herself for stuttering. It was always like that, whenever she remembered him, all her years of hard work would crumble around her and she'd be back at square one. Her slender fingers closed around the warm cup, they shook slightly as she brought it to her lips.
"So you'll come?" Sasuke pressed.
"I-I don't know," she answered truthfully.
"Hn," the Uchiha responded.
Hinata rolled her eyes before pushing a stray strand of her hair behind her right ear, "don't be that way."
There was a moment of silence before they both released a sigh. "Okay...I won't push. But at least try...for me," he said looking at her.
Hinata bit her bottom lip and nodded, "I'll try."
"If anything, you can bring that Kiba guy if you don't feel safe," Sasuke said rolling his eyes which made the Hyūga laugh. However, her laughter ceased once her phone started vibrating in her pocket. Fetching the device she slid her thumb over the face to unlock the device. She groaned in frustration and turned back to her friend. "Work?"
"Yeah," the lavender-eyed beauty sighed before finishing her cup of coffee. "Shino wants me back."
"But your lunch break isn't over," he commented glancing at his Rolex watch.
"I know," she said stuffing a cinnamon roll into her mouth as she bent to pick up her handbag. Sasuke smiled and shook his head as she got to her feet. "I'll see you soon," Hinata said about to walk away.
"Hinata," the Uchiha called grabbing her hand.
"Hmm?" She hummed having placed the half-eaten roll back into her mouth.
"For the record, I'd never let anyone hurt you while I'm there."
The Hyūga smiled and gave him a curt nod, "I know." They said their farewells and with the sound of the bell above the door, Hinata was gone.
...
"Thank you, please come again," the sound of her co-worker's voice became audible as soon as the door opened. Hinata shifted to the side to allow the mother and son to leave with their new pet. The golden Labrador retriever rubbed his head against her leg on his way out causing her to smile. Once they were out she waved goodbye to the fully grown dog, silently wishing him goodbye.
"I knew he'd get sold soon," she smiled taking off her jacket. Shino pushed his glasses further up his nose bridge, his transition lens was so dark they resembled sunglasses. "So what's the emergency?"
"Well," he started writing down a number. "We're running out of stock and we may need a new supplier."
Hinata furrowed her eyebrows, "what happened to our last one?"
"Do you see these princes?" He asked gesturing to the numbers on the paper. "They're charging a fortune."
"Hmm."
"And it doesn't help that Kiba dumps every stray animal he finds on us," he added. His voice was calm, but the anger behind his words was clear. Shino never shouts or loses his impregnable cool, but that's what scared people the most.
"He's the last one." Came a voice from behind the Hyūga.
"He'd better be," Shino replied getting back to writing down the new prices for the variety of food for the animals.
The pale girl turned to face the brown-haired man that had entered unannounced. "Kiba-kun."
"You're too soft on him Hinata."
"Yeah yeah, no one asked you, bug man," Kiba responded.
"Please don't fight," Hinata said trying to maintain peace.
Shino stopped what he was going just then, "what are you even doing here?"
The brown-haired man shrugged and shoved his hands into to jeans pockets, "this is my lunch break. Thought I'd spend it with you guys."
"You really need a life," the spiky, black-haired man replied gathering his stuff.
"Right back at you," he chuckled looking at Hinata who was growing weary of their childish bickering.
Shino sighed and rounded the counter so he could join them. "Well the least you can do is help her while I'm gone."
"How long will you be gone for?" She asked moving to her workstation. Her co-worker shrugged while putting on his jacket.
"Not long hopefully. You'll be okay?"
Kiba smiled and leaned against the counter. "Of course she will, I'm here remember."
"That's not very comforting..."
The Hyūga laughed and waved her colleague away. "Just go Shino-kun." He gave her a curt nod and was out the door.
"So how's he doing?" Kiba asked turning his attention to the midnight blue-haired girl.
She sighed and cocked her elbow against the desk, resting her cheek on her open palm knowing full well that he was talking about the dog he'd brought in. "He's eating okay, but he just stays in a corner by himself. Oh, Kiba-kun you should see him, he's always curled up in a ball, looking sad and depressed."
The Inuzuka nodded, "yeah he's been like that ever since his owner left him. He doesn't even interact with the other dogs...reminds me of someone I know." He added staring at her.
Hinata rolled her eyes preparing for another lecture. "Kiba-"
"You should go out more. Meet new people, and have a little fun. You're not getting any younger."
"Are you calling me old? Because twenty-four is hardly an age to be ashamed up." She replied stubbornly.
Kiba chuckled at how adorable she looked when she was serious. "Do you even have any female friends?"
"There's Tenten," she was quick to say.
"Who lives in Kyoto."
"What's your point?" Hinata asked having run out of female friends.
"You can't let your past dictate your future Hinata. At some point, you're going to have to move on."
Throwing a handful of her long hair over her left shoulder she narrowed her eyes at him. "And how do you suppose I do that?" Her friend blushed slightly and looked away. His palms became sweaty which caused him to rub them against his trousers.
"Well...if you want...you could go out with-"
The sound of the bell was followed by a loud, "excuse me!" Cut the brown-haired boy short.
"U-uh," Hinata mumbled quickly to her feet. Standing behind Kiba on the other side of the counter was a blonde-haired man with cerulean blue eyes, dressed in an orange and black jogging suit.
"I need help," he said coming to the front. The pale girl stood frozen in her tracks as her lavender eyes were glued on the man who had barged in. She failed to notice the crestfallen look on her friend's face as he turned away in anger. "Uh...hi, anyone home?" the blonde asked snapping his fingers before her face.
"Oh, s-sorry," she said to the whiskered face man. "H-how may-"
"Something's wrong with my friend's cat." He said gesturing to the feline on the counter that she failed to notice. Hinata's eyes widened as she glanced at the fully white cat lying on the counter.
"W-we don't tend to animals h-here," she informed him watching as the blonde-haired man squinted as he listened to her.
"But-"
"I'll help him."
"Kiba-kun," the Hyūga said looking at him.
"It's okay," he said looking at the cat who was now growling at him as a warning for him to get away. "Her left hind leg seems to be fractured. We'll have to get a cast on it. Luckily for you, my office is close by."
Hinata watched as her friend lifted the rebelling cat into his arms. The blonde-haired man simply watched silently. "She'll be okay, right?"
"Yeah," Kiba said listening to the blonde sigh in relief. "Follow me." Before they left, however, he turned to Hinata, "you'll be okay on your own?"
"I'm a big girl," she said which caused the blue-eyed man to smile in amusement. A light blush tinted her cheeks as she looked away. "Just go."
Kiba chuckled, "I'll call you later," and with that said, they both left.
Hinata sat on the stool behind her, her eyes glued on the closed door. The image of the blonde that was there only minutes ago still fresh in her mind. "Right," she whispered in response to Kiba's remark, but her words fell on the ghosts of both men who remained behind.
Fragile Hearts | A NaruHina Story
©Infinite_Writer01™2016
Thank you for reading!
