It was the day after the anniversary of the massace that Sasuke came to look for her. On her compound.

Her father was away on one of the rare missions he would get from the Hokage. A diplomatic one, as it was expected of someone of his standing. Hinata couldn't help but feel relieved. As much as she loved her father and still wondered about the exact nature of his relationship with the Uchiha before their demise, she felt that things would go better without him. As of late, he had been… mean wasn't the right word, but it was the only one that came to mind in relation to his behavior towards her.

He was so demanding, so unsatisfied with everything that had to do with her. Why was it like that? What exactly was going on? Hinata couldn't understand it. He barely spoke with her as of late, too.

And for that reason she was glad he was gone when Sasuke came to see her.

"Would you like something to accompany the tea?" she asked after placing the cup in front of him. She had brewed the tea herself, uncomfortable with allowing the servants to do it as her father would have done had he been here.

Sasuke shook his head, grabbing the cup and blowing softly on it. "This is fine. I'm not really hungry anyway."

"I see" she sat down on the other side of the table, nursing a tea cup of her own. They were in a small sitting room that would barely be used for visitors, but which Hinata liked because of the tranquility that came with it being completely closed off from the rest of the compound.

She drank, waiting patiently for him to speak first, if he desired to. Hinata had come to notice there was a certain rhythm to their relationship, in which they could sit around each other and remain silent without it being awkward, noticing when the other needed to talk, and allowing them to do it on their own time.

That was what she was doing now. Allowing him time to gather his thoughts and speak to her when, and if, he wanted to. She knew he wanted to, otherwise he wouldn't have come all the way here. Or maybe he just needed company after yesterday, she wasn't sure. What she was sure of, was that he had seek her out because he didn't want to be alone. If company was all that she could offer him, then she would gladly do so.

Eventually though, he spoke, but not about something she had expected. "I see you are home this time."

Hinata furrowed her brows, blindsided by his words. "I… am. Why did you say it like that?"

He shrugged. "Just that last time I came by, you were not here."

She had to struggle to remember what he was talking about, but eventually she did. Last year, on Naruto's birthday, he had also come to the compound, except she had been gone and her father had been the one to receive him, leaving soon after she came back in a bad mood. She always wondered why he had come then, but had never asked, not finding the opportunity back then and then not doing it because too much time had passed.

Was that what he was talking about?

"Well… it was a special occasion, back then… I'm almost always here anyway, or in our training ground. There aren't a lot of places I go to, if I'm being honest…" she said, trailing off.

"You weren't on our training ground either. That's why I came he-" he cut himself off, glancing down with a frown. Hinata was a bit taken aback by what he said, and what it could mean.

He had been looking for her for a while, then, and only came here because he couldn't find her in any of her usual spots. Now she was really curious about what he had wanted to tell her back then. Not that she wasn't before, but with this new revelation…

"Sasuke-kun… why were you looking for me, that time?" she finally asked. The boy didn't answer, but she persisted. "I don't want to bother you, but… with what you said, I just can't help but wonder…"

"Yesterday" he interrupted, still not looking at her, frowning down at the still tea in his cup. Hinata clamped her mouth shut, knowing it was important for him that she heard him out. "Yesterday, I returned to my old house… I did the same thing I always do, just walk around, look at the buildings… remember…"

The silence that followed lasted a little more than the last one. Still, Hinata waited, hands circling the warm cup and allowing it to seep into her palms.

"It feels like yesterday" he finally said, raising his hands as well and circling them around his cup, just like Hinata was. "But when I'm there it becomes real… even then, sometimes I can't help but think about it… it becomes too much sometimes, and when that happens, I want to burn the world…" he gripped the cup tighter, but after a second he relaxed again, his shoulders slumping forward as well as his head. "Sometimes I want the whole world to leave me alone, to disappear… but other times I just need… I just need someone to be there…"

He sighed, leaving Hinata to ponder how to respond to his words, if there was any acceptable response at all. Finally, she decided to say; "I am here if you ever need me, Sasuke-kun… just like right now, you can count on me if you…"

"But you were not there that day" he hissed, raising his head and focusing on her with razor sharp eyes. Hinata tensed, and it was only thanks to the amount of time they had spent together that she didn't squeak like she would have once upon a time. "You were not there… only your father was there and… and he talked about my parents, he talked about my mother… he knew them, and I wanted him to tell me more but at the same time I couldn't stand it, because it hurts, it hurts so much all the time and…!"

He stopped talking, relaxing his hands that were clenching the ceramic cup too hard and letting go of it, allowing his arms to fall from the table and to his sides. Hinata stared at him, her heart clenching painfually inside her chest at the sight of him so defeated. Without thinking, she pulled her hands away from the cup and made to stand up, but he spoke, once again, just as she was in the middle of it.

"…I want to get over it, but I can't, and not only because of what that scum said and because I need to bring him to justice first. I want to get over it because it's too tiring… I'm tired of being angry and in pain, Hinata. I'm so tired all the time."

She stood up, without making a sound, and, just like she did once in the past, came to the other side of the table and grabbed his hand, lying useless on his lap. He didn't squeeze back, but he didn't push her away either.

Hinata didn't know what to do to take the pain away, she didn't believe there was anything she, as small and useless as she was, could do, but if her presence brought him comfort, and if he said he needed her… then, at the very least, she could be with him. As much as he needed her to.

"Sasuke-kun, please understand… just because I'm not there at the moment, it doesn't mean I will never be there for you. Sometimes I will have other things to do… but just because of that, it doesn't mean I've abandoned you…" she bit her lip, tilting her head forward, searching for his eyes. She caught them, teary but refusing to cry, as he kept them fixed on the table. Without intending to, her eyes became a little wet as well. "You are my friend. Please, always remember that. I won't abandon you, I promise."

She squeezed his hand, waiting for him to do the same, but he didn't. Even as she sat there, minutes later, he didn't.

He, however, kept his hand there, even grabbing his cup with his other hand and drinking silently from it, but never moving his hand from under hers.

When he spoke, it was after a very long while. "I know that. Drink your tea, it's probably cold now."

It was the best she could hope for. With a silent nod, she stood up, returned to her place, and drank her lukewarm tea, allowing the silence to grow around them and envelope them. A sign of their mutual understanding.