Hinata could not recall when it had happened. The clearing she was sitting on, cross-legged and alone, overlooking the magnificent sunset over the cliff – it had been their spot. Once every month, they'd send the kids off to spend the night with her father and sister, and she'd come to this very spot with Naruto. It was where they would do nothing really – except simply sit together, and talk, and smile, and laugh. Most times they would stay in well into the night, surprising each other a little at how much they had to talk and how much they relished it; sometimes they would even make love. There were no agendas when they came here, other than to simply be. Hinata loved her children of course, but this one exclusive night with her husband every month was something she looked forward to beyond most other things in her life – a tangible, constant reminder of their unfading adoration through the years.
It had been a few years since Naruto had joined her, ever since he had become Hokage. He had tried, initially, sputtering some excuse or the other to Shikamaru so that he could sneak in with her. Almost every single time however, something would come up that would require him to cut their night short and scurry back to work. She never made a fuss about it, because she understood the position he was in. Over time, Naruto seemed to realize the futility of even trying to make their rendezvouses, and stopped showing up entirely. Hinata continued to send the kids over to the Hyuuga mansion every month, because she knew her family looked forward to having them around as much as the kids themselves enjoyed being with their grandfather and aunt. As much as it may have seemed to anyone else that she was acting solely for the happiness of others – her husband's, her kids', her family's – she actually did not mind the time alone. Earlier she had refused to visit their spot without him, because it made her irrevocably sad, and the last thing Hinata wanted to do with her time alone was to be sad. Refute it as much as she might, Hinata was sad most days. One night – just one night every month – she refused to be that way. She thought she deserved that much.
Recently however, she had found that visiting their spot alone offered her the opportunity to reflect and meditate. The sadness had been replaced with a dull, blunt feeling in the depths of her heart – something between acceptance and resigned grief. It was heavy and unyielding, but it was something she could bear, something she could safely ignore.
That particular evening had been difficult, however. The previous night, Naruto had once again been unable to make it for Boruto's birthday. Two years in a row he had missed it – and Hinata had to use up every last ounce of her self control to pacify her son and calmly try and make him understand, all the while questioning herself in her head whether she believed a word of what she was saying. Naruto had come home much later that night – a sleepless, broken husk of a figure – expressions awash with regret and fatigue. They spent the night huddled in tears, Hinata whispering hushed words of comfort to the man she had loved her entire life.
The images of her children's tears and her husband's grief were fresh in her mind, and the dull ache refused to stay down, rising up her throat like bile and erupting over all her forced tranquility, reducing her to a withered pile of loud sobs and tears.
She laid there that way in the grass for a few hours, her tears having already run dry, eyes half-lidded, staring numbly at the honey painted sky that slowly darkened to ash. She figured she must have looked like a complete mess to anyone who saw her at that moment – long dark hair splayed across the grass, looking as helpless as a rag doll. She didn't care – this was their spot, her spot now – and nobody would dare intrude.
A small thud on the grass behind her sent Hinata's heart leaping in surprise and barely contained hope – "Naruto - ?"
She propped herself up in a flash, looking over her shoulder not to see the blonde hair and blue eyes that she had been hoping for, but onyx black pupils boring right into her own.
It was Sasuke – sitting a foot or so behind her – in the same cross-legged fashion that she had been in a while back. Hinata opened her mouth to speak – but stopped when she realized that whatever words she said at that moment would be the first words she would have ever spoken to Sasuke in her entire life. They had never interacted throughout their childhood, and he had left the village after the war long before Naruto and Hinata had gotten engaged. He never returned – at least not that she knew of – until today.
She shut her mouth at the realization – as profound and blatant and strangely humorous as it was – continuing to shamefully gawk at him like he had risen from the dead right before her eyes. For his part, Sasuke met her gaze as resolutely as ever, but after a moment that seemed like an eternity, deigned to speak first – "Hinata."
Hinata blanched a little bit at the completely casual way he had addressed her, as if they had known each other for years and years – which they had, in his defense – but as if this was not the first time he had ever addressed her directly. "Uchiha-san." She conceded, doubt and confusion and 'What the hell are you doing here?' lacing her voice.
When Sasuke did not say anything for another second, Hinata sat up straight, brushing her wayward hair away from her face and dusting the grass and grime off her clothes. In another second, she had seated herself as the proper Hyuuga that she was – and wife of the Hokage – replacing the confusion and misery on her face with a well-trained smile. "Uchiha-san, I apologize that you had to find me this way. I was under the impression that this spot was not easy to find."
"It would have been if I had been looking for it, but I just happened to pass by."
Hinata wondered how long he had been around, and how much he had seen. Her breath hitched in her throat at the thought that he could have witnessed her breakdown. She lowered her eyes to her lap, thinking that even if he would have, it would be okay. Sasuke did not seem like the kind to pry, or tell.
Sighing, she looked up at him again to see that his eyes remained affixed on her. If she didn't know him so well through Naruto, she would have been awfully unnerved. "Are you finally returning to Konoha for good then, Uchiha-san?"
At this, Sasuke looked away finally, focusing his eyes on the setting crescent of the sun peeking above the horizon. "No," he said, pausing a second before continuing, "I have something I need to report to Naruto, and after that, I'll be off."
Hinata smiled in earnest at the thought that she voiced – "Naruto will be so happy to see you, after so long."
"I visit him occasionally." Hinata's eyes widened slightly at this. Naruto had never mentioned this to her, and she knew for a fact that Sarada had never met her father since she was born. Sensing her confusion, Sasuke said – "It's something that needs to be done in the strictest of confidences – only Naruto and Shikamaru ever know of it."
For a moment, Hinata's thoughts paused to consider Sasuke's family – Sakura, and especially Sarada, who had never met her father. Here he was telling her that he would occasionally visit Konoha, and never once had he deemed it necessary to visit them.
Hinata disliked judging people. She was a gentle soul by nature, and it would go against her deepest traits to judge someone she barely knew at all – but in that moment, she found herself judging the man sitting across her. It probably had to do with the fact that a while ago she had been so broken by the state of her family, that to see another family probably suffering a lot more than her, having to do so because of this man – no matter what his reasons could have been, no matter how much her husband adored him – that made her push herself up to stand, smile vanishing from her face, but voice still soft and low as she said – "I see. I should leave you to it then, Uchiha-san. I must get home to the children myself."
Sasuke stood as well, eyes narrowed at her own. "Your children are away at the Hyuuga mansion, are they not?"
Hinata paled, having been caught in her lie.
"I admit, I did not just happen by this place. Naruto had told me once about it – how you would send the children away and come here. In the times that I visit Konoha to report to him, I would find myself coming by here as well."
Hinata simply stared at him, unsure of what to say. So he had lied as well, but it did not compare to the fact that she had lied to obviously be rid of him. Her innate need to apologize for the blatant offense quickly overcame her earlier anger at him, but she remained quiet still.
"Hinata – "
Hinata panicked, hurrying to form some sort of believable excuse in her head to offer as explanation for her slight. But before she could say anything, he spoke – "If you have the rest of the night to yourself, would you like to get some dinner?"