Sasuke came home late one night and he was genuinely surprised to see Hinata's light still on when he walked past her room. She usually liked to get to sleep earlier than this. He thought about knocking but refrained because he didn't want to invade her privacy. He sighed softly and turned away. Then he heard giggling, but not anything like Hinata's. It was too…deep.

Then it clicked. It was Sakura.

"So then, Sasuke's actually lovey-dovey in private? Naruto mentioned something about soap," she laughed.

He held back a groan.

Hinata giggled. "He's extremely lovey-dovey. He surprisingly enjoys cuddling," she replied, clearly referring to the nights he leaves his office early and they watch a movie. "More than that, he still wants to marry me despite seeing me finish a full meat platter from Akimichi's!" He wanted to laugh at the memory of Hinata looking up at him with a greasy mouth and cheeks full like a chipmunk. He was incredibly impressed and felt his heart skip a beat at the memory.

Sakura laughed. "A full platter?! That's so awesome! Honestly, I could see you and Naruto having a ramen-eating contest!" Sasuke winced at the mention of his best friend, especially with all the trouble said man had caused everyone.

"I beat him in one back in high school!" Hinata exclaimed. "I see he's still embarrassed because I absolutely wiped the floor with him."

"Oh my God, I've got to tease him about it later! I'm so rubbing it in his face any chance I get." Then it got quiet and Sasuke figured that was the perfect opportunity to leave before his behavior got too creepy. But he was once again stopped by Sakura's words. "Thank you…for talking to him, by the way."

He could hear the warmth in Hinata's voice as she replied, "It was just some unresolved things. He absolutely adores you! Honestly, he's incredibly lucky to have the love of someone so beautiful."

The pink-haired girl giggled. "Are you kidding me? You're gorgeous! Sasuke's gonna have a hard time keeping guys away from you!"

"Ah, I think I'll be the one fighting women away from him. I'm honestly even surprised he wasn't at all tempted to be with you, but I suppose he's just too work-focused for anything," she sighed. Then, Sakura giggled and there was a brief silence before Hinata barked out a laugh. "Well, I'm saving this special lingerie set for our wedding night, but we haven't really done anything. He just accidentally walked in on me in the shower and I offered him a touch," the Hyuuga explained. Sasuke felt his face go hot.

What the hell, Hinata?!

"Well, then you've gotta let me know how he compares to Naruto!"

Hinata squeaked. "That was back in high school! I'm sure Naruto is much different now," Hinata stammered.

Sakura laughed. "I'm kidding! But, oh my god, was his stamina crazy even back then?"

"W—well, yes, actually!" Despite sounding embarrassed, Hinata laughed, clearly enjoying her friendship with the pink-haired girl.

Sasuke was officially checked out of this conversation and quickly left for his room. How could women have conversations like that?!

He changed into comfortable clothes and went back out to get a snack. It was then that Hinata and Sakura came out with their hair pushed back by soft headbands and face masks on. He flinched because the masks had animals on them.

"It just looks like you cut off a couple of faces and just put them on," he pointed out as he kept walking.

"Excellent," Hinata replied. "How was work?" She asked as they all went into the kitchen.

"Busy as ever, but productive," he replied, looking through the fridge.

"I saved you some dinner. It's at the top there in the container. Can you give me the wine that's at the bottom?" Sasuke pulled it out and saw stuffed tomatoes. He smiled and put it in the microwave to heat up before grabbing the wine for Hinata. "Thanks."

"What did you do today?" He asked, leaning against the counter.

"We spent the whole day together going through wedding stuff!" Hinata hugged Sakura's arm.

"I swear you're so lucky, Sasuke," Sakura praised. "Hinata's such a great person. Honestly, I think she's a little too good for you. I say that with love."

Sasuke rolled his eyes but grinned. "Yeah, I feel the love."

Hinata looked through the pantry for salty snacks and the package of cookies she bought during her last grocery run. "Honey, we're gonna have to run to the store again soon," she said, returning with a bunch of different snacks.

"I wonder why," he chuckled, ignoring how warm the term of endearment made him feel. The microwave beeped and he grabbed his food. "I'm gonna eat this and head to bed. Try not to stay up too late or you'll be grumpy tomorrow." He'd seen a grumpy Hinata…and he didn't want to ever again.

He took the container and moved to walk past them but he decided now was as good a time as any. He stopped in front of his fiancée, put a hand on her jaw, and pressed their lips together. Despite their first kiss happening right in front of another person, who was watching them closely judging by how hard she was squealing, they recovered quickly. Hinata wrapped a free arm around his back and clutched onto his shirt as she pressed their bodies closer together.

The kiss lasted just a few seconds but Sasuke pulled away feeling breathless. "Night," he said cooly and then walked away.

"Night!"

Just before Sasuke went into his room, he heard Sakura exclaim. "Oh my god?! Hinata! You're definitely getting pregnant on your honeymoon!" His face went so bright red that he felt light-headed.

"S—Sakura!" Hinata squeaked.

"There was so much passion in that little kiss!"

He quickly went into his room and shut the door. He might die of a heart attack tonight. He touched his lips, smiling to himself as he thought about the kiss.

"I've never seen that look in Sasuke's eyes before," Sakura sighed happily as she and Hinata were sitting on her bed, snacking on everything they brought to her room.

"What look?" She asked curiously, shoving a few honey butter chips into her mouth, crunching loudly.

"It was soft, I guess?" Sakura answered, sipping her wine. "Like you were a precious childhood comfort, in a way. Not to objectify you or anything!" She giggled. "Maybe I'm a bit drunk."

Hinata smiled amusedly. "I know what you're trying to say," she assured her friend. Then, she began thinking about it. Sasuke did seem more receptive to spending time with her lately and was taking his duties as a fiancé seriously. It made her happy to see their friendship blossoming.

"I'm happy he's getting married to someone like you. You're the exact kind of person he needs. Actually, I think it's just you specifically."

Hinata tilted her head. "You think so?" Sakura nodded as she tipped a bag of chips over to eat the remaining crumbs. "Knowing that makes me happy."

"I'm also happy that it's you, you know," Sakura said quietly. Hinata turned to look at her curiously. "As you've probably guessed, I can be hard to get along with…especially when it comes to Naruto. I get jealous easily and I'm quick to anger, but you never looked at me any differently. I'm really thankful we can be like this despite everything that idiot did."

She smiled at the loving way she insulted Naruto. It was obvious to her that those two loved each other so deeply, which is why they were prone to anger easily with one another. Too much would be unhealthy but the situation they'd just gone through was different. Emotions were heightened and she had unknowingly caused a rift between them, but knowing that Naruto must've run back to Sakura with a large smile on his face with his emotions finally clear made that pit in her center shrink.

She froze and had to physically stop herself from having a reaction. Instead, she smiled at her new friend and grabbed her hand. "You love each other so fiercely. How could I ever think of you negatively after witnessing it myself? Knowing now that Naruto was struggling as much as I was after caused me pain, but knowing he had you there to help fill that void brought me relief."

"He…told me about what happened. I hope you're not upset. He told me about your scar," she said cautiously.

Hinata shrugged. "I think I would've been more surprised if he hadn't told you. I don't blame him, not really. It was unfair of me to even allude to that. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for. Honestly, I think he also struggled with the same kind of thing," she admitted. "He was in a dark place for a while. He wanted to sleep all the time, hardly ate, and only really focused on his studies. It was…scary."

Hinata sat up straighter at this information. "That sounds…scary. I'm glad he was stronger than me and didn't try to take his life," she muttered, ashamed.

"Hinata, you don't really believe that, do you?" Sakura asked. "You're so strong. Look at what you've accomplished all on your own!" She gestured to her home and to Hinata. "You got yourself here. Remember that."

She couldn't stop her eyes from watering and nodded in thanks. She had been so lonely and scared. She was suddenly left to take care of herself without knowing the first thing about it. Once she found her own place, she realized she was truly alone. Ino, Kiba, and Shino had been her lifelines but she constantly bothered them for any kind of interaction, for love and care. She was depending on them too much when they had their own responsibilities.

"You don't have to be in survival mode anymore," Sakura softly added. She felt a shiver run through her body at the realization that her new friend was right.

She looked at Sakura as her tears fell and her shoulder relaxed. "Thank you," she cried softly, rubbing her eyes with a bright smile.

Sakura pulled her in for a tight hug and laid back with her. "I got you."

She turned her face into Sakura's chest and cried.

I think this is one of my favorite chapters. It's pretty short, but there's a lot in here. Next chapter is the wedding and technically the last chapter, but there will be an extra chapter as an epilogue. I've adored writing this little story and I hope y'all have enjoyed it, too! Any predictions for the ending? (there's no plot twist, I just love hearing from y'all:))

-hina
NEXT UPDATE:11/29/24

P.S. R3DX's bday is coming up on the 29th!