Outside.

Since she last saw Naruto, their interactions are curt and strictly in text messages. The distance isn't new; in fact, she's used to it. It has fermented in their lives for almost a year. It's a routine to be this distant from him.

When she brings Souta to see his dad, she's bright. She puts the mask on for her son. She runs with her hands linked with his, directing her son into his father's arms with the enthusiasm she is now an expert at faking. Naruto, as always, meets the facade with ease. He's a natural. But she knows his excitement to see their boy is genuine, and that's all that can matter to her.

It doesn't hurt as much now as it did the first few months, but exchanging their son in her apartment's garage is filled with a lot less stress now since they had dinner those weeks ago. There's comfort in knowing that her boundaries are being respected.

"Do I have to?" Souta asked her before they reached the elevator, not necessarily crying, but his lower lip was beginning to tremble. She bent down to his eye level and brushed his blond hair, pushing the curls gently to the side. It's gotten curlier the more she lets it grow out. Whenever she's hinted at a trim, he's refused.

She lets him keep it, because when it's spiky, she sees Naruto, and she really doesn't want the reminders around her.

"Your dad will be really sad if you aren't excited." She chides, squeezing his cheek. "I'll get you a new coloring book if you're good."

She hates bribing him, but it's all she can do to keep him happy. The last thing she wanted was for Naruto to be upset with her about their son's refusal for a sleepover, considering it's only once a week.

His eyes soften and she can feel him brighten up from the idea. "Okay!"

So like a good boy, he plays along, accepting the heaviness of his father's palm as he ruffles his blond locks. "Say bye to Momma!" Naruto says, turning to her with the same smile. She thinks it reaches his eyes this time, so she returns it.

"Have a good weekend!" She says, waving at them both.

Hinata indulges herself in things she normally hides away when Souta is with her. She keeps the windows cracked and turns the heat off, allowing the apartment to freeze. She uses all of the hot water for scorching showers, only cutting it off when her skin turns red. She even sneaks in a cigarette here and there, allowing herself the feeling of it filling her throat with the bitter taste. She doesn't have to think about her son's well-being for a day and just entertains the few vices she can have when he's gone and not able to witness it.

It was nice to be selfish every once and awhile.

After Naruto leaves the parking spot, she goes upstairs, changes into leggings and a pullover, wraps her hair in a tight ponytail, and jogs around town. She's calculated her pace, aiming to run 3 miles before noon.

The snow has melted from the sidewalks and she navigates through the crowds of people freely, using the aid of the wind to carry her forward. She's out of breath and turning the corner to her street when she feels her phone vibrate.

Leaning against the front entrance of her apartment building, she brought her phone to her ears, breathless.

"Hello?"

"I fucked up!"

Hinata arrived ten minutes later to their marital home, evading traffic with her lead foot. Hearing the wails of her son from the background of Naruto's call not even two hours after she last saw them left her frazzled, ignoring the pain in her thighs from her jog.

When she pulled into the driveway, it felt automatic. She ignored how she felt rushing through the open garage of her home to find Souta.

"I'm here!" She said, approaching the crying boy who had his left hand stuck in his hair, the culprit being a bottle of glue that was in his right hand. The fat teardrops refused to stop, the boy's face flushed from crying, snot coating his nostrils.

Souta couldn't even make out a "Momma!" without stuttering, trembling in place when she approached him. She bent to his level, cupping his cheeks.

Hinata sighed in relief that he wasn't injured. Naruto didn't tell her the extent of what was going on, just that Souta got into the wrong thing and he didn't know how to fix the problem.

"It's alright, I'm here." She cooed, wrapping her arms around him. She rubbed her hands up and down his arms, scanning the surrounding area. She saw all the drawings on the floor, glitter sticking to the kitchen floor tiles, stickers pressed unevenly on the counters, crayon shavings by his feet.

"Where were you?" She asked, turning to Naruto who only scratched the back of his neck, grimacing.

"I was in the office. I didn't know he'd be playing with glue-"

"He shouldn't have been unsupervised with it." She sighed, not wanting to raise her voice. As long as he didn't consume it, she could deal with the mess on his hair.

"I know-"

"Momma, what about my hair?"

She turned back, giving him a sad smile. "I'll fix it. But it's time for a haircut, Sou."

Unfortunately for the estranged parents, his cries only resumed.

Hinata is left-handed, and not a pro with scissors. The only scissors in the house are the child-safe kind, and they're too small for her fingers to comfortably grip. After washing Souta's hair for twenty minutes in cold water and with the only 3-in-1 shampoo wash Naruto had, she struggled with chopping the never-ending clumps. Sighing, she asked Naruto for his razor, confronting her son about his first full-shave.

"It will grow back extra cool." Naruto said, holding his son's hand with a smile. Souta, at this point, was too tired to cry anymore, but his eyes were shut, unwilling to watch his mother shave the rest of his golden, curly locks off.

"And extra long." Hinata whispers sweetly, as the razor lit up to life. She brought the razor to the nape of his neck and slowly trugged forward, taking her time on his tiny head.

"Did you know I had short hair at your age? Everyone thought it was cool!"

"It's true, he was really popular." Hinata laughed, playing along as the hair slowly fell to the ground. Both parents tried their best to keep the feeling light, waiting for their son's smile to slowly form. Eventually it did, but it only really became bright after she finished, their son's head now more of a dark brown from his roots.

Naruto lifted him on the counter, waiting for Souta's reaction. Thankfully, the boy seemed pleased, the sadness seemingly washing away.

"See? You look even more like me." Naruto beamed, hugging the boy.

It was a sight that reminded her why she fell in love with Naruto in the first place. For a moment, she wished nothing had changed and that they could be like this forever.

"I'm sorry you had to come by, but thank you." Naruto sighed, walking Hinata back to the front door. She tried her best to ignore all the changes to their home on her way out - the extra pair of slippers that weren't hers, hair ties scattered in the drawers in the bathroom when she located the razor, even sticky notes written in neat handwriting on the fridge.

It shouldn't bother her, but these little things do anyway.

"It's okay," She says, averting her eyes from her husband. In spite of everything that was gnawing at her heart, at least in her mind she could still call him that. Even if she was the one who was giving that title up. "Just…don't leave him alone with those things. He's messy."

"Yeah, I won't." Naruto folds his arms against his chest, following her to her car. "Do you wanna stay for dinner? I was going to order-"

"No, it's okay. I have plans." She lies, not wanting to meet his gaze. She figures he can see through her, but she doesn't care. She doesn't want to be in front of their house and think about who else has been there after she moved out. Who still comes over. Who sleeps in the bed with him.

She has no right to be upset over this, she knows it. But a part of her still is. And she hates herself for it.

"Alright." He says, not wanting to press on. "I'll bring him tomorrow around 6. That cool?"

She nods, not wanting to linger around him anymore. "I'll see him then." When she's finally out of her old neighborhood, only then does she roll the window down and bring a cigarette to her lips.

In spite of his acceptance of his new buzzcut, Souta still cries and mourns his long hair. It mattered little that he looked like his dad, as that was exactly why he hated it. Not that she would relay this to her ex, but it troubled her that she couldn't change his mind.

Coloring books, library visits, even an impromptu ice cream sandwich wasn't enough to sway her two year old.

Hinata was frustrated, not really familiar with how to navigate her son's first emotional turmoil. Six days had gone by and he was still sensitive, constantly searching for his curls with his fingers and frowning when nothing was there.

Even his playdate with Kazumi was lackluster, the boy barely interested in what the young Uchiha had to say.

"He's still really sad." Kazumi sighed, sitting next to her father as he sipped the tea Hinata brought him.

Sasuke frowned, not enjoying seeing the boy's disillusioned face. Even Hinata seemed upset, clearly unable to make her son feel better in spite of her many attempts to cheer him up. He could only imagine Naruto being just as unsuccessful.

Slowly, Sasuke took the piece of gum out of his mouth and stuck it plainly in his hair.

"Daddy! What did you do!"

Getting up, Sasuke walked to the kitchen, stunning the wide-eyed Hinata when she turned to the sound of his footsteps. "Can you shave me, too?"

Ridiculous.

That's what the situation was, now that Sasuke fucked up his hair, too. She didn't have a razor, so she left the man alone in her apartment with the children when she had to run to the nearest pharmacy three blocks away for a razor set.

Anxious.

Having to wrap one of her towels around his neck, flattening it on his back. She's touching him, and she hates that she doesn't want to stop. She asked him to dip his head over her tub, and she used the shower head to gently wash his scalp, fingers tensing as she tried to pull the gum from his hair.

She can't see him smirking, but she knows he is. Was he doing this to mess with her? She had no idea.

This wasn't how she thought she'd get to touch his hair. She'd be lying if she said the thought never occurred to her. She thought it would feel soft, but even drenched in soap and water, his hair is thick and heavy. The gum is tangled too close to his roots, and no amount of massaging is helping pull any part of it now. There was no way to save the length of his mane.

When she turns the water off, she grabs his hair and squeezes the excess of the water out, grabbing a new towel to press in and dry what she can. It's one thing washing her son this way, but a man that she shouldn't be attracted to under her touch feels illegal.

The buzzing of the razor is becoming equivalent to her alarm clock, a tune she is growing to detest. She tried not to focus on how good he smelled, and how long she could feel her fingers linger around his hair. As pieces of black fell on the floor, she started to notice other things about him, too.

Sasuke has small freckles on the back of his left earlobe, three birthmarks at the nape of his neck, and a faint scar just below the space between his right shoulder. As she pushes hair to the side to each all sections neatly, she fights the urge to brush along her findings. In all her life of knowing the man, he has always had hair. She feels like the first to discover these details.

His eyes were closed, thankfully. But every so often, he'd take a peak from the corner of his eye at the Hyuuga, watching one of her hands on his shoulder as she gently ran the razor across his hair.

Feeling her touch made the endeavor worth it, he thinks.

Souta and Kazumi are sitting in the hallway, watching from the open door in awe. When Souta asked why he was getting a haircut, the man grunted. "I wanted to look like you." He says, as if the answer was obvious.

He catches her smile at him as she continues to cut his hair, lightly chewing on her lip. It was worth seeing that alone.

"Your mom did a great job, right?" Sasuke asks Souta, running a palm over his new buzzcut. Hinata is trying not to laugh, sweeping up what must have been over two inches of the Uchiha's mane.

Souta is swallowing a lump, cheeks aching from his big smile. "You look so cool!"

"I only look cool because I wanted to look like you ." Sasuke reiterated, bending to pluck the blond's forehead gently with his index finger.

"I changed my mind, Momma. I love short hair!"

When she joins him back at her dining table, Hinata catches him looking in his phone camera, admiring the new clean cut. "You didn't have to do that." She says, her words dancing and matching her smile. She's blushing, and he's savoring the sight.

She doesn't mean to compare the two, but Sasuke's quick action to make her son feel more confident makes her want to be around him. She never expected him to do something this brash, but he did, and clearly without a regret.

He puts his phone down, admiring her. The kids are in Souta's room, laughing and playing to recover the lost time from Souta's prior mood. He doesn't want to hide his own small smile at her and lets it free, allowing it to naturally take form on his could he not?

She tucks her hair behind her ears and he just wants to get closer to her. "I was clumsy." He shrugs, bringing the now cold mug of tea to his lips.

She rolls her eyes, lower lip stuck between her teeth. His teasing is juvenile, but it gets her heart to beat faster, and it allows her to pretend they aren't two people that share too much together.

"I liked your hair." She begins with a pout. He arches a brow, letting her finish her thought. "But what you did…it was really sweet."

She knows she's dancing around it. She's unsure of next steps, because it would mean admitting to wanting more than the friendship she allows herself to have. She's hesitant because she doesn't know how to bring any of her shuffled feelings to Sakura, let alone Naruto.

She feels guilty for feeling so much with the man in front of her, especially when she shouldn't.

But then she thinks about those slippers, the notes, the hair ties. She thinks about another woman, or women, who have made their way across her home, and she no longer wants to protect the feelings of the man who hurt hers.

She wants to feel selfish. She wants a taste. She thinks it can't be wrong if Naruto enjoys touches from others.

They're just staring at each other now.

He nods, ignoring the feeling of his ears burning at the tips. He leans in, waiting.

"Can I kiss you?"

She realizes moments later that those words escaped her mouth, not his. Without bangs, she can see both of his eyes slightly widen. His straight nose, the crinkles between his eyelids. He's so handsome, and he's in front of her, bare for her to see all of him.

Her breath hitches realizing that she's also cutting the distance. She can't help her need to be close.

It's not to get back at Naruto. It never was.

But she's here, and she can't pull away, so she doesn't. She can feel the warmth of his breath cares her face. She digs her nails into her knees, as it to remind herself that the children are here, and he's who he is, and she's herself, and they have ties to two different people that are important to them, and this, it can't, it shouldn't-

"Yes." It comes out quick, but she's lost in her thoughts so she isn't sure how long it took him to respond.

He's always there for her. He encourages her. He answers her calls at random, odd times. He comes over and enjoys her company. He shaves his head just to make her son smile.

She wants to deny how hard her heart is beating. It's aching. The cafeteria, the phone calls. The gum in his hair.

He does things that make her feel weak. She doesn't think about anyone as much as she thinks about him.

She wants to taste him. She can't deny it anymore.

When their lips touch, she's biting back a sigh of relief. They feel familiar and warm, and she can't place why. His palm is cradling her face, keeping her in the position as their lips move.

He tastes like summer nights, as if there was a fire in his lungs and the heat reaches her throat. His fingers stroke her cheek, his thumb pressing in lightly to keep her close.

She wants to tell him that she doesn't want to leave. This is where she wants to be. With him.

It's slow and calculated, each movement of their lips binding the other. If she pulled the memory, she's sure she's felt them before.

Kissing Sasuke felt like only something she could daydream about, because he's heavenly. But he's very much here, and he's holding her with the same fervor she feels. The intensity is matched, so much so she senses his excitement when she tugs at his lower lip with her teeth. She had thought about doing that for some time, fantasizing about his reaction. She cursed the table being in the way of getting even closer to him.

His tongue is enveloping hers, but she's running out of air and they part, pulling away. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand shyly, trying to quell the heat on her face, meeting his half lidded eyes.

"Momma, you ok?" Souta comes out at the perfect time, relieving her of the awkward come down from their kiss.

Kazumi follows suit, reaching for her father's forehead with her smaller hand. "You don't look so good either, Papa."

Sasuke clears his throat, uncomfortable with the children's probing. "I'm fine." He says. The kids believe him, but she stifles a laugh. He was as frazzled as she was.

She wants to kiss him again. And if they were alone, she would have. She hopes the next time she's around him, the kissing doesn't end.

A/N: I spent a considerable amount of time trying to tie this idea of a buzzcut to Sasuke. Not because I think he looks better with one (IRL I am not a fan), but just wanted it to be painfully romantic and sweet. I said it jokingly in the SH discord and couldn't let it go! So, here's the result of that. I want to say future chapters will stick close to SHM prompts, but like always I can't guarantee it will. This is my first time participating but I didn't want to risk giving this story less than it deserves. Anyway, hope you enjoy, let me know what you think. :-)