Remembrance
Remembering the dead was not a thing he engaged in. Doing so opened too many old wounds. On Konoha's first annual day of remembrance he planned to remain inside. He didn't want to see the black decorations that had been draped over the village in the course of an evening. He didn't want to see the crying masses in front of the graves of their fallen loved ones. Remembering the past only reopened old wounds that he didn't want to visit.
Sakura understood. She'd specifically picked up a double shift at the hospital to give him the space he needed. That morning she left a glass of water and two pain pills on his bedside dresser for an inevitable headache. She didn't push him to get up and for that he was grateful.
The quiet was oppressive but as he'd always known that being alone was better than being around others. Others wanted to talk. Others wanted answers. Others would look at him and blame him for the deaths of those that had passed. They wouldn't be wrong….
However, he wasn't able to stay alone for long. Hinata let herself into his apartment though he'd ignored the doorbell when it rang. He could hear her moving about the apartment, small footsteps echoing as she likely cleaned up. There was water running in the kitchen then again in the bathroom. She vacuumed the living room at least once then an hour later she did it again. Cabinets opened and closed but he didn't get up to see what she was doing.
Her own home was likely spotless.
Outside his window, the sun climbed higher in the sky. When it was at it's highest point, the door to his bedroom creaked open. He didn't turn over to face her.
She softly padded up to his bed, it dipping from her weight as she joined him. She laid down behind him and wrapped a slender arm around his waist. When her forehead pressed against his back it was then that she sniffed.
"Hinata-" he started but he felt her shake her head against him.
"I-I'm sorry." She whispered. "I just…I can't let him see…see me cry."
Sasuke tensed at the mention of Naruto. The lead speaker for the event. He was likely out among the citizens offering comfort and words that only someone like him could conjure. Words meant to be uplifting. Words that would make someone forget how sad they were and look forward to the future.
Words that right now neither one of them wanted to hear.
Sasuke placed his hand over where Hinata's was placed on his stomach and she burrowed deeper into his back. That afternoon she mourned enough for the both of them. Silently, sorrowfully. She cried until she didn't have any tears left and at that point all that was left was her shaking.
When the room grew dark and a crescent moon graced his window, Hinata had finally fallen asleep. He stared at her sleeping form, unwilling to wake her because then she would leave. She would leave and he'd be alone. Being alone was easy but now he didn't want to be.
Not anymore.