CCNote: Alrighty then so here's my first ever FAQ for this story. I hope this gives some insight.
First and foremost, please remember that this was a challenge where I limited myself to 300 words a chapter. Mind you I pushed that envelope on a few occasions, but I tried to stay within my own barriers as much as possible. Because of that, to make things flow as well as possible not everything was spelled out. I liked letting you imagine your own scenarios. This story was close to becoming Boruto on several occasions where Sasuke and Hinata would just sit in their regular canon lives. But then I remembered I hate Boruto and how everything turned so this ending is my ideal path of how I wished things had turned out. So here is my chance to address questions/comments about this story.
1) Why didn't Hinata just say something to Naruto? All of this could have been solved if she would have just spoken up. (Or some variation of this)
Hinata has never struck me as the 'speak up' type. She is more of the sees her husband rushing for work and silently hands him the stuff he needs as he's frantically searching for shit. In the end he runs out the house, remembers he's forgotten his lunch, and she's already standing there with it because she's mentally two steps ahead of him. Hinata would be the wife with the lunch. Sakura would have said "Calm the fuck down".
Hinata never really spoke up about her problems to Naruto because she knows how much he has on his plate at any given time. She's not the type to pile more on. She gets more of a backbone as the series progresses but she never tells people the things that are bothering her. Hell when Naruto was being dick ridden by fangirls she never stepped in. Not even when they interrupted conversations between them. It took some nudging from Sakura for the NaruHina to progress the way it did because Naruto was too thick to notice Hinata's crush. She's trying to give him a present and he's too distracted by others to notice that she's hurt. She comes up with a bullshit excuse to leave and Sakura tells Naruto to walk Hinata home and when he questions why, Sakura calls him an idiot. EVEN THEN he's more miffed that Sakura called him an idiot than what was going on with Hinata. Complaining is not a Hinata trait and in real life that kind of passive behavior is toxic. This isn't real life though this is fanfiction.
One of my biggest issues with Boruto is that Hinata doesn't say anything about Naruto's priorities. He's got two whole ass kids and is hardly in their lives. I get that he's the Hokage but Tsunade had time to drink herself under the table and Kakashi had time to goof off and read porn books. They were busy sure but they made time for the things they liked. Naruto doesn't really make enough time for his family. Mofo has to take a freaking overnight bag to the office because he's hardly ever home! Go look at the NaruHina Boruto moments and theres one of Hinata walking in on him PACKING A BAG BECAUSE HE RAN OUT OF CLEAN CLOTHES. That right there tells me that this kind of neglectful behavior has been going on for years. No one is that freaking busy they can't come home to their family and sleep in their own fucking bed. That means that for however old Boruto is Hinata has not said a word about his behavior and if she's not going to talk about it after they had kids, she certainly didn't bring it up before.
Naruto tries to be a dad, don't get me wrong he really does makes some efforts. He's better than Sasuke the deadbeat. However he's still not that good. Freakin Sai has more of an emotional connection to his kid.
2) Why didn't Hinata confront Naruto about kissing Sakura/ Why is she still on good terms with them?
The kiss between Sakura and Naruto was really a spur of the moment/ emotional thing. Naruto has always known exactly what Sakura needs because of their history and the fact that they are on a similar emotional wavelength. They are two people that express things physically vs verbally. Actions for them speak louder than words so when Sakura asks "What's wrong with me." Naruto is showing her that there is nothing wrong with her. He has literally loved her since the academy. Faults and all. Wrong or right. Whether she's being a bitch or being helpful. If Sakura said for him to jump Naruto would ask how fucking high. Lol that's extreme I guess but true.
Hinata ( in this fanfiction) acknowledges their strange relationship and it makes her feel insecure. She can't make him laugh as freely. She doesn't get all the inside jokes. She doesn't understand him as much as she wishes too. She wants to be supportive but Naruto is a force all on his own. In the end she just realizes that she can't be a second fiddle. Naruto DOES love Hinata in this fic but the love he has for her just isn't enough. She needs more just like Sakura needs more from Sasuke. She doesn't hold the fact that their relationship failed over his head or as a grudge. As the acting Hyuuga Head it's kind of implied that she should be more diplomatic and being on good terms with the soon to be Hokage is 'diplomatic'. Now Naruto and Sakura's kid referring to her as 'aunt' is just to show that she is friendly with the family. In my mind the Uzumaki kids would have a village full of 'aunts' and 'uncles' so I didn't really think much about it lol.
ANYWAY I honestly did write a 'Hinata and Naruto talk about their failed engagement' scene in the epilogue but it was boring so I scrapped it. I'd rather the reader fill in the blanks and imagine their own resolution.
3) Why didn't Hinata go after Sasuke/ I thought she would go after him/ 5 year separation?
Hinata and Sasuke are two right pieces of work. They honestly needed to sort through those things on their own first before they could be together. They are on similar levels when it comes to each other's emotional and mental needs. However, Hinata needed to regain her dignity/confidence and stand on her own two feet for once instead of remaining in Naruto's shadow. She needed self-fulfillment and jumping immediately into another relationship or chasing after Sasuke (who quite frankly does not want to be chased after) was not going to accomplish that. Remember before the epilogue she has no idea what she's going to do with her life. However she is a kunoichi and she'll figure out the rest from there.
Sasuke, on the other hand, has addictive tendencies and he really needed to sort that shit out on his own. Sasuke's departure was a journey of closure and self-reliance. Chain smoking to deal with stress is not healthy and was an allegory for his need for dependence. He really needed to go off and settle things his own way, not the way everyone was wishing that he would. He couldn't give Sakura what she needed/deserved. He didn't want to hurt Naruto who is the closest thing to family he's had since the massacre. Most of all he genuinely did have feelings for Hinata before he left but he was not in a good place for a relationship. If they had had a full on affair I really don't think it would have done either character justice.
4) Sasuke's little problem….
To spell it out more clearly, he had a bit of erectile dysfunction. It wasn't because Sakura wasn't attractive. It was more of a combination of his own frustration/ depression and forcing himself to do something he wasn't ready for. Intimacy is not easy and Sakura's (rightful) expectations for there to be some form of it did not help things. When you're thinking too much about your own issues it can be difficult to perform. He should have said something, Sakura wanted them to have a conversation about it, but Sasuke was not in the right space to talk. Now he liked Hinata in a very different way than he did Sakura. He was very much attracted to her but he never acted on that attraction at the time. Could he have gotten it up for her while she was still engaged? Maybe, however, sexual performance or lack thereof is not the fault/responsibility of the other party. It's all internal. So Sasuke's problem really and truly was all his own. He needed to sort out his own inner problems first before he could engage in a healthy intimate relationship.
5) WHAT IS NTR?
I honestly had to look this up but its like cheating/cuckold? IDK if this story fits into that category exactly. Hinata and Sasuke did have somewhat of an emotional affair but idk if that fits the qualifications of NTR.
ALRIGHTY THEN! There you have it! Some insight into why this story ended the way it did. I hope this cleared some things up. If it didn't I do apologize. Until next time!