Archive of Our Own ^beta

with you.

Hey, brother, do you still believe in one another?

Hey, sister, do you still believe in love, I wonder?

The sounds of the street always seemed more musical during the fall. The air was cleaner, fresher, every year bringing an aroma of new nostalgia and wet earth.

With her hands clasped behind her back, her very long hair swishing gingerly, Hinata hummed along to the melody of the newly reconstructed Village Hidden in the Leaf. Peaceful times bring pastel tones to people's faces.

She walked and hummed and she felt as if her heart was leaking over the path, leaving behind the weights she had gathered with years and years of yearning, and walking like that, Hinata cried. 

The bright orange of the sun and the long bangs over her face prevented others from seeing the actual tears, but the brunette couldn't care less about showing passersby her tears and her smile. She never thought there would be so much satisfaction in being rejected.

He had been kind in saying that she was a special friend, a companion of the Leaf, comrade in arms during the war, and that he saw her as an equal.

He had been painfully sincere in saying that he owed his life to her... (The memory of his low, gentle, even a little scared voice made her sob more, then sniff her stuffy nose a few times and gaze at the sky, a few barely there clouds moving slowly above, and what felt like old tears spilling down the corner of her beautiful eyes.) ...and she understood that he couldn't pay for that life by giving her his heart.

The prickly pain of the tears would begin anew every time she remembered the words, the tone, the hurtful expression for he recognised the sincerity of her feelings and she understood the wholesomeness of his intentions, and the terribly final sound of steps going away.

Ah~

Hinata walked down the street, humming with the city, crying with her heart and each new tear was a little bit of her pain finally breaking free.

Sometimes, after a misstep, avoiding passersby, deflecting smiles, the thought of what would have happened if she had never dared to stand up to Pain and declared her feelings, but doing that would be like turning around, grabbing the bit of wet dirt where a tear had fallen and try to put it back inside. Hinata just shook her head and dropped another tear, heavy as a part of her.

'Welcome!'

Hinata's face was swollen from crying, but she lit it with a smile as she entered the small corner restaurant. She used one hand to push the short white curtain with the word 'Gyouza' written in blue paint while opening the sliding door with the order. The place was fairly empty, with only a few groups of people sitting at the tables in the back, so she chose one of the high stools at the counter, one down from another customer.

'Oh, it's Hinata-chan!'

'Hello, Kohaku-kun.' The girl kept her smile, hoping that it would discourage the ever so curious attendant from asking questions about her red eyes and puffy face. She rather liked Kohaku, he would always give her one or two more dumplings than the regular serving, but today she just wanted to eat quietly.

'Did you come from a mission?' Hinata shook her head. The attendant's smile died just a little while he debated with himself if, from what he knew of Hyuuga Hinata, it was better to ask the reason for that swollen face or let it go. Best not to be nosy. 'The usual, then?'

'Yes, thank you.'

Only then, after the boy disappeared through the kitchen door, where the delicious smell of flour, spices, and minced meat rose with the steam, did Hinata turn to the person sitting next to her, already eating in silence.

'Good night, Sasuke-kun.'

'Hyuuga.'

Uchiha Sasuke was not a person she interacted with, either before or after everything happened. But he was there and she was there. And she needed him now.

'Uhn, Sasuke-kun...'

He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, just to let her know that he was listening. She pointed weakly to the pile of chopsticks arranged on a stand beside him, at the end of the counter.

'Can you pass me a pair of chopsticks, please?''

No stutter, he noticed, unlike what seemed to happen to Hinata when talking to the rest of the world. But he supposed if the stutter was a consequence of whatever feelings she had for the other person, then apparently she had no feelings or opinions about him.

Ah~

Sometimes it is very difficult to believe in love.

'Here you go, Hinata-chan.'

The plate with seventeen dumplings - two more than the regular serving - of steamed gyouza, stuffed with meat and mushrooms, was placed in front of her as Sasuke passed her the chopsticks. The Uchiha kept on munching his own dumplings, Hinata murmured a 'thank you for the food', the dumpling steam rose to her face like a skin care treatment, moistening it slightly and adding a new glow.

Surprisingly, she was questioned from the person she least expected there, just after separating the chopsticks:

'Do you come here a lot, Hyuuga?'

It would have sounded every bit like a bad pick up line, if it hadn't been said by the least flirty and romance oriented person in the whole village.  Hinata paused with the dumpling midway to her open mouth, almost dropping the slippery item, but held it tightly and replied with a small fake smile and a real blush:

'Only when I feel sad.'

Nice work you did

You're gonna go far, kid

The fire jutsu that Sasuke used to warm his hands illuminated briefly the clearing where the team of four shinobi was stationed after a successful interception mission, it was enough to distinguish the female form walking towards him.

'Sasuke-kun.'

Sasuke wouldn't have heard the soft calling if he didn't already know that the Hyuuga heiress was there. 

Hinata put her hands on her knees to bend a little in order to talk to the Uchiha, since he made no mention of getting up from his place amongst the roots of the tree, as if she were preparing to talk to a child. Watching her long hair cascading over her shoulders, Sasuke refrained himself from commenting on how impractical that hairstyle was for a kounichi.

'It's my turn now, you can go to sleep.'

A second of hesitation before a non committal answer :

'Hn.'

She interpreted his grunt as agreeing with her statement, but the shinobi did not move so Hinata could take his place. The Hyuuga straightened up to watch the Uchiha from above, putting a more serious distance between them, but even with the evident wait he did not move.

As when dealing with an annoying child, Hinata ignored his stubbornness and sat down next to him. The place where they sat was deemed the perfect spot for keeping watch, since it was a blind spot to those approaching the clearing, but also completely encompassed the perimeter with the other two team members - that should have been three, if not for Sasuke refusing to move - lying in sleeping bags around where there once was a bonfire, now reduced to embers.

Autumn was only halfway through, but since that mission had led them so far north on the Fire Country, the weather felt colder.

'Sasuke-kun?' He didn't answer, but Hinata had learned to not expect any, already used to his superficially stoic self. In the darkness of the autumn night, with her Byakugan pulsing through the prominent veins of her face, Hyuuga looked carefully at the trees around them, assessing, hunting. Her arms brought little warmth to the legs they embraced, and when she spoke, words formed in the warm breath leaving her lips. 'Have you ever met someone with eyes so powerful that they can go through your clothes, your flesh and your bones?' Her voice was so low that it sounded like just another night sound, like the owls hooting and the insects chirping, as if it belonged in the darkness, like a secret. 'Eyes that seem to be able to read your thoughts?'

Sasuke contemplated the question not knowing what to answer, not knowing if he should answer, not knowing why she was talking to him at all.

Hinata didn't wait for him to say anything - if he was ever going to - just looked briefly at the Uchiha sitting next to her, directly into onyx eyes, all the answers pulsing in her Byakugan. In that moment, with the surge of power that seemed to radiate from her pearlescent eyes, Sasuke saw the heavy cloak of her Clan's name and reputation, the oldest clan in the Village Hidden in the Leaf, resting on her shoulders, reminding him that he owed her all the respect due to a daughter of the Hyuuga.

'Go to sleep now, we have a long way tomorrow.'

The Uchiha popped his Sharingan at her unintentionally, just because of the feeling of power that went through his skull when the veins around her white eyes pulsed. He began to understand the kind of eyes she was talking about before. 

Sasuke stood up calmly, almost making it seem like it was his own idea to finally go to lay down with the others. He grabbed the sword beside him, walked the few steps to where the others were, and stretched out in his previously unpacked sleeping bag.

Uchiha Sasuke knew he had issues trusting others, Naruto reminded him of that every single day, but he decided to lay down with his back to the Hyuuga. Occasionally, he would feel that ancient, terrifying power, in his skull, like a current. It left a tingling sensation in the back of his neck, it made his lineage burn to be activated, to defend, to attack, and he struggled to remember that all that power was on his side.

He tried to sleep, he really did, and he even succeeded. For maybe an hour or two. Sasuke slept for the entire duration of the last watch. The sky had bluish hues, misty in the early morning, when he reopened his eyes. The Hyuuga was getting up, putting her arms above her head in a stretch. The veins around her eyes only faded when all the shinobis were up and fully alert.

It is tradition to be the team's leader, the one to take the last shift, watching over the team before dawn, in the darkest hour.

I was ready to die for you, baby

It doesn't mean I'm ready to stay

Sakura had her hair in disarray and Sasuke wore sweatpants and slippers despite the chilly night wind biting at his toes. Life's most important moments never bother to call first to warn people of their visits, which can only cause badly dressed and disheveled memories.

He had a plastic bag with tomatoes, a few bottles of energy drinks, and rice. She had a reusable bag with carrots, salmon, bananas, dark chocolate, instant noodles, sanitary pads, and laundry detergent.

They bumped into each other at the grocery store and it was the first time they were in close proximity since the rehab sessions for his new implanted arm had ended. Since Sasuke had said 'thank you, Sakura', grateful for the arm and the years. Since Naruto had said, with his biggest and best smile, 'I promised I would bring him back, Sakura-chan'. (His biggest and best smile that he probably didn't even notice looked miserable, really. Sakura did.)

Said reimplanted left arm, clad in the worn gray coat and wrapped in bandages from his armpit to the fingertips, like Naruto's, with the hand tucked into his pants pocket. He was using the right arm, less sensitive to the cold weather, to hold the grocery store's plastic bag. 

Standing there, under a lamppost, waiting for absolutely nothing to happen, Sakura realized that the Sasuke next to her could be hers, that maybe the Sasuke next to her has made peace with himself enough to want her too.

It was cold for the early winter night. Sasuke appeared to be made of marble and Sakura appeared to be reading their novel in her head.

Uchiha Sasuke remained as beautiful and dark and mysterious as she remembered the first time she fell in love with him, and looking at him now, motionless under the lamppost on corner, both of them half waiting and half wanting to run in opposite directions, she realized that he would always be her first love.

She opened her mouth, but no voice came out. There was no next line for her character in the novel, as if the book ended in the middle of an important scene.

The play was interrupted, the actors left the stage.

There was nothing she wanted to say to him, nothing she knew could interest him. There was also nothing that interested her. So many years away and even more years of silence and Sakura only wanted to ask him exactly the same routine questions she used with her patients:

'How are you feeling today?'

'What brings you here? Oh, the usual, I see.'

'Where does it hurt?'

'If I do this, does the pain get better or worse?'

'No, you look great. It is just a temporary discomfort, you'll be fine in a few.'

'You don't need any medicine, just rest for a bit, do nothing emotionally extraneous.'

'No, no need to thank me.'

'Yes, I'll see you next time, take care.'

'Goodbye.'

Then the patient leaves and the clicking of the door shutting behind their backs is the resetting she abides to to prepare for the next one. She places their file on the pile to be filed and takes the next one, scanning through the medical history and current symptoms of the patient who will soon enter.

Her teeth snapped together when she finally closed her mouth around the unformed and unuttered word, because there wasn't any. Sasuke watched her with his expressionless expression. He also had nothing to say to her, nothing to ask her, not even a little bit of small talk.

That was Sasuke for you.

And Sakura finally realized that she wanted to turn her back on him, run back to Naruto and tell the blonde all about that encounter. She wanted to tell her best friend everything that had gone through her head while they were standing under the lamp post, cold, mute, laugh with him, hear him laughing, maybe cry a little in his presence, because Sakura trusted him more than anyone, that he would understand and not judge her, because she had lived like that for so many years already, and then listen to what the blonde had to say and share the chocolate she bought because Naruto learned from her to appreciate dark chocolate, and chat some more and ask him about…

Ah~

It was so late to realize it, but there it was.

'Sasuke-kun.' His eyes landed back on her, now also staring at him, a smile on her lips, a resolution shining in her expression. She rearranged the grip on her reusable bag. 'See you'.

'Hn.'

Sakura turned her back on him.

Unlike her in the past, Sasuke didn't try to stop her, didn't threaten to scream, and much less tried to go with her. He watched her go, satisfied that nothing he expected had happened, relieved that confessions remained unuttered and rejections were avoided.

She disappeared into the distance so fast that Sasuke was sure that she had started running at a certain point.

Good, he mused, she was already late.

If you like Piña Coladas, and getting caught in the rain

If you're not into yoga, if you have half-a-brain

If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape

I'm the love that you've looked for, write to me and escape

Orange and aloe vera essence.

For dark hair.

'No.' He put the eleventh bottle of shampoo back on the shelf with enough force to knock out the bottles right behind that, creating a domino effect all the way to the back and sides.

'Dude!' The clerk crouched nearby, restocking deodorants, started to complain when he heard the bottles tumbling down, but anything else he had to say died in his throat when Sasuke glanced back at him.

On second thought, maybe better not to question the sanity of the last Uchiha, quasi-ninja god, village traitor, war hero, master emo scowl, that had been opening and smelling bottle after bottle of shampoo in the feminine hygiene session for the last forty five minutes.

Uchiha Sasuke was being haunted by a smell.

It was citrusy and creamy at the same time, resembling some red fruit yogurt, and he needed to smell it again.

'Teme, I didn't mean it wasn't cool!' Naruto, almost yelling while arguing with Sasuke, pushed the doors to the Fire Tower's research library, making some of the ninjas stationed there look up from their work with scrolls, books and thousand of other artifacts the place harbored, not all of them necessarily inanimate. 'But, I mean, I would not change my leaf bandana for some random rags, 'ttebayo!'

'If you call it a rag one more time, dobe...'

'And where did you get that poncho?'

'Yo, Naruto, Sasuke!'

'Yo, Kiba!' The blonde immediately turned his attention from Sasuke to where two of the members of the former Team 8 were putting some scrolls back on the shelves. 'Hinata.'

'Hello, Naruto-kun.' The kunoichi did not pause her task of stacking books, did not raise her head and even managed to keep the blush on her cheeks only. She did not feel weirdly anxious around him anymore, not really. Not even in the slightest. It was just the eternal embarrassment of having passionately declared your love in the middle of a life and death situation in front of the entire village and then being so delicately turned down (almost an entire year ago) and... Yeah, maybe she had a right to be embarrassed. 'Sasuke-kun.'

'What's that smell?'

Everyone looked at Sasuke. The shinobi had stopped at the door, blocking the way for a chuunin who seemed in a hurry, but who had no intention - or courage - to ask the last Uchiha to please give him passage.

He had his eyes closed in concentration, his chest heaved slightly before he decided to take a few steps into the library - the chuunin ran to a shelf at the back, grabbed two scrolls and a sealed box and ran back out -, face moving in all directions to try to identify the smell.

'What smell, Sasuke?'

'Kiba, are you sensing anything strange?'

The boy with the tattoos on his face took several quick sniffs, but concluded that the only smells reaching his nose were those normal for an old library: paper, dust, bookworms, something rotten that he didn't even want to know, tea, spilled tea, coffee, spilled coffee, food - which was actually not allowed, but -, dog hair - yeah, that was him - , insects - and a little bit of Shino -, identifiable smell of some humans, normal body odors.

'No, this is not a normal smell.' The Uchiha declared, still trying to discern the aroma, pacing distractedly. 'It could be passion fruit… And blackberries… Milk… Almost like the kinds of things girls use…'

Sasuke interrupted himself at the end of the sentence when the three pairs of eyes landed on the Hyuuga heiress focused on her task. Feeling the attention focused on her, she turned quickly, surprised:

'Eh?' Hinata took a step back and got off the stool she was using to reach the highest shelves. Sasuke was suddenly right behind her and Hinata jumped when she hit her back on his chest. The man sniffed close to her hair and scratched his nose cutelly, looking uncomfortable. 'What…?'

'Sasuke said there was a strange smell and then just described the components of your new shampoo.' Kiba explained, a smile of protruding canines appeared on the boy's lips. 'I warned you.'

'Is-is it so unpleasant?' Hinata seemed genuinely ashamed that her hair was getting any sort of attention, especially from the Uchiha. She gathered as much hair as she could in both hands, with some strands still managing to escape, as if that could prevent the smell from spreading.

'It's not unpleasant, Hinata!' Naruto jumped in, aiming a disapproving look at Sasuke.

'I didn't say anything about it being bad.'

'Akamaru liked it so much that he's been sticking his nose in Hinata's hair at any given opportunity.' Kiba sighed. 'I had to leave him at home until I can retrain him to not do that. And because we can't have dogs in the library, anyway.'

'I-I'll...' The girl raised all the hair she was holding to her nose and sniffed it. It wasn't a strange or bad smell to her either, she thought it was fresh and light when buying it. 'Sorry, I'll change back to the old shampoo.'

'Don't be silly, Hinata.' Naruto slapped Sasuke on the shoulder when the Uchiha returned to the blonde's side, still scrunching his nose. 'Teme's nose will get used to your new shampoo, right, Sasuke?'

'Do what you want, Hyuuga.'

Sasuke didn't answer any more and tried to hold the urge of breathing in one more time before disappearing among the shelves to retrieve the scroll they needed. The thing was, he also didn't think that it was an unpleasant smell, it was just so intense that it seemed to spread throughout the library, killing off the unpleasant smells of dust and humans, clinging to his nose, filling his lungs.

He got a new lungfull of it, almost unintentionally, when he was leaving the cemetery the next day and the wind carried the smell up to his nostrils. He took a breath so deep he inhaled the pollen from the lilies he was carrying and sneezed. Sasuke looked around and spotted Hyuuga's long hair blowing in the wind while she kneeled in front of her cousin's tombstone, praying.

And then when he was summoned with her to Kakashi's office.

And when he passed by her leaving one of the training grounds.

Sasuke decided to test smelling Sakura's hair, but the intensity was lacking in Haruno's rose and quinoa shampoo.

Sasuke had almost run over several passersby leaving the Tower of Fire one of those days, enraptured as he was in having caught yet another sniff of the smell, certain that Hinata must be close by simply the smell of her hair. He walked, following his nose, until he found himself at the gates of the Hyuuga Clan, two of the guards looking at him with raised eyebrows, twin expressions of disbelief in their pearly eyes. He went home and slapped himself on both cheeks for the fool he had become.

Lavender and hazelnut essence.

For straight hair.

'There are more shampoos up front.' The attendant's voice stocking deodorants woke Sasuke up from his shampoo chemical's induced trance. 'It's a new brand and it's on sale.'

Without bothering to answer, the Uchiha put the bottle back, this time without knocking out its neighbors, and headed to the front of the store, where he had to go anyway to pay for the things he actually needed to buy, and not smell the shampoo on sale there.

The new brand's vials were stocked in neat rows on a squared platform, varying in color and essences, but one in particular caught Sasuke's attention right away. It was quite a dull bottle: cylindrical, white, unassuming. The lid was yellow, so was the text identifying the type of hair it was best suited to, the list of ingredients and the main components. Its most prominent detail was a decalc image of what Sasuke deduced was milk spilling over blackberries and passion fruit, but it was a very bad decalc.

Passion fruit and blackberry mousse essence.

For normal hair with frizz control.

Blackberry mousse ? How? Ignoring that, Sasuke picked up a bottle, but did not open it until he was in the security and privacy of his own apartment - the fourth door down on the right side of the sixth floor of an utilitarian looking building, with no elevator. Now he could smell it to his heart's content without looking like a lunatic in front of the entire Hyuuga Clan.

It was just that...

The shampoo had the promised smell of passion fruit, blackberries, milk, the usual chemical components, but… There was something missing. 

After a while of sniffing it, but not feeling the desired satisfaction, Sasuke concluded that what really made that aroma so compelling to him was the fact that it mixed perfectly with Hinata's natural scent.

Cursing, Sasuke left the tube in his shower next to his generic shampoo for all hair types.

But don't you dare let our best memories give you sorrow

Yesterday I saw a lion kiss a deer

Turn the page

Maybe we'll find a brand new ending

Where we're dancing in our tears

'Welcome!'

The little gyouza shop was like a warm hug hidden in a corner of the village, its cozy atmosphere never letting the smells and sounds from the street follow one inside. Vapor rising from the boiling water, powdery flour particles floating aimlessly, and the mouth watering scent of cooked pork meat dominated the place. It was small, warm, delicious, and friendly.

Hyuuga Hinata strolled in, sat on one of the counter stools, asked Uchiha Sasuke to hand her a pair of chopsticks and waited for Kohaku-kun to come out of the kitchen to order her usual serving of meat and mushroom dumplings.

Kohaku-kun reappeared from behind the kitchen long curtains, a steaming plate in his hands, and stopped when he saw the Hyuuga heiress at the counter. He looked at the plate in his hands and at her and again at the plate and at the Uchiha's black eyes and at her and finally placed the plate in front of Sasuke, who opened his chopsticks with an annoyed snap.

'I'm sorry, Hinata-chan!' The boy clapped his hands together as he immediately bowed his head to her so low that she could see perfectly the protruding knob at the top of his spine. 'Uchiha-san ordered the last serving of meat and mushrooms.'

'Oh.' The kunoichi was more surprised by Kohaku's extremely apologetic attitude, as if he had offended her to the point of no return by not having her favorite dumplings always in stock, than at the fact that she would have to settle for her second favorite flavor. 'It's fine, Kohaku-kun.'

'I'll bring your second favorite in three seconds, Hinata-chan!' He stood up as abruptly as he bent down. 'And pickled yellow turnips! On the house!'

'Kohaku-kun...'

But he was already gone. Hinata didn't even bother to sigh, she smiled to herself at the boy's overcompensating attitude. And then she glanced sideways at Sasuke.

'No.' Immediate response. He took the first dumpling, smeared it with lemon and soy sauce, and made it disappear whole inside his mouth, not leaving behind a single drop of sauce to be licked. Hinata was surprised at the blunt rejection, since she hadn't even said a word.

'I didn't eve-'

'No.' Again, final. Grabbing the second dumpling, he looked at her out of the corner of his black eyes. Not threatening, Sasuke was never threatening to her, just serious. 'Don't even think about it, Hyuuga.'

'Sasuke-kun...'

'No.'

'But…'

'No.'

'You don't even let me-'

'No.'

And it happened.

Hyuuga Hinata was also a ninja and also had reflexes as such. Her chopsticks were already unwrapped and separated, as she was fiddling with them before, waiting for Kohaku, so she simply maneuvered them expertly and quickly, stealing one of Sasuke's gyouza.

Here's what Sasuke wanted to say with his no: no, you can't have my gyouza just because they are your favorite flavor and these are the last ones, there is no chivalry when it comes to food. In fact, I am not chivalrous whatsoever.

The shinobi even tried to intercept the offending chopsticks, but the dumpling had already been lost. Hinata munched innocently.

Sasuke gawked at her without knowing exactly how to feel about that... Invasion. He was quite dumbfounded, not really believing that the Hyuuga heiress had it in her to steal food from his plate.

'Hyuuga...' He started, but at that moment Kohaku appeared with another steaming plate and pickled turnips.

'Hinata-chan, sorry for the delay!'

'Thank you, Kohaku-kun.' She gave the boy a grateful smile, then turned back to Sasuke. There was an amused flush tinting her cheeks and a mischievous glint in her eye when she placed the plate between herself and the Uchiha. 'Sasuke-kun?'

Not daring to move or say anything, Sasuke stared at the dumplings like they were about to jump out and run for the hills.

“These are filled with eggs and tomatoes.'” She explained. 'Kohaku-kun makes them for me, but it's not on the menu because it's not a filling that people normally appreciate.'

The Uchiha had to physically restrain himself from snatching the plate as soon as he heard there were tomatoes in it. He tried to convince himself that immediately taking one of the dumplings and eating it as a starving man was simply an attitude in retaliation for what she had taken from him.

He didn't know that there was any gyouza flavor that could contain tomatoes, for their juicy and runny nature. Until then Hinata didn't really know that Sasuke's favorite food was tomatoes and, therefore, anything with tomatoes in it.

The girl smiled and grabbed one dumpling for herself.

Suddenly, as if he had hit the plate by accident, the Uchiha moved his serving of dumplings between the two of them, side by side with the tomato flavored ones.

Without exchanging another word, they ate their servings of gyouza together.

The soy sauce seasoned with lemon and other spices from that place was especially good.

They also shared the turnips, pickled, yellowish, perfectly balanced sourness.

When they stepped out into the night and the relatively calm side street, together, leaving behind the smells of steam, meat, flour and their outdated labels of "acquaintances, teammates, we have friends in common", Sasuke, discreetly, breathed in deeply the scent wafting from Hinata's hair in the cold autumn night.

And it's dark in the cold December

But I've got you to keep me warm

There was forty centimeters of snow outside and most adults were holed up in enclosed spaces, warmed by heaters and hearths. For the children, all that snow couldn't be more welcome. It hadn't really snowed - not the fluffy, school cancelling, everything is possible kind - in the Village Hidden in the Leaf for almost a decade.

Kakashi tried to get as much of it off his boots before entering the bookstore, leaving the umbrella with melting snowflakes on the stand by the door with the others.

The old man owner of the place had made a point of rebuilding it exactly as it was before the destruction of the village: dark, cramped, and poorly located. The entrance door to the shop was in an alley with only a nameplate on the door to indicate its existence. No space that doubled as a coffee shop, showcases full of pastries, no bestsellers section, absolutely no little nook for the stationary lovers, no colorful and friendly environments; just heavy, dark wood shelves upon shelves, crammed with books and parchments, several of them secondhand, and a few steps and stools for reaching the higher piles. Even more rare were the occasional armchairs, that the regulars knew best to avoid, and frayed rugs.

It was quite the kind of place Sasuke would like to go to.

The main counter was right next to the entrance door and the old man sitting there, a book covering half his face, a cup of tea on the counter in front of him, looked for just a second and nodded to acknowledge Kakashi's presence.

There were three people in the bookstore that the Hokage could immediately see, none of them were Uchiha Sasuke.

'...and it's new, but I think you might like it.' Kakashi heard as he stepped further into the store. It was a whisper so low, said in such a pleasant tone, that the hokage could only catch the end of the sentence, not recognizing the speaker.

'Hn.' That grunt he recognized clearly.

'You have to finish it!'

'I do not have the habit of leaving books unfinished'. Kakashi grinned. Of course he wasn't the type of person to leave things halfway.

The silver-haired shinobi roamed calmly between the shelves, carefully disguising his chakra. One after the other he passed the empty corridors, high racks almost to the ceiling, precarious piles of books and scrolls, magazines and loose papers, about to fall with the slightest tremor of his feet hitting the floorboards, an eternal glow of dust against the orange hue lamps. Now and then it was possible to find rough and poorly written plaques hanging miserably from some part of the ceiling or shelf indicating which section was that, only to find out, upon picking up a book there, that the genre didn't match the sign.

'You are too slow.'

'I barely started!' She said, defensive, but her voice sounded amused.

'Here...' Sounds of swishing fabric, sounds of skin against paper.

'Ah, this is the detective you mentioned. Is this one the first in the series?'

'Hn.'

'How many are there?'

'Nine.'

'He's sarcastic and kind of silly, almost like...'

'Kakashi, I know.' She laughed, he made her laugh.

The Hokage didn't have the heart to take offense by the comparison, he just felt relieved. 

He took two books off the nearest shelf and was able to spot through the hole the only two customers talking in the store. They were sitting on the floor, backs to the books, just below the mystery section. There were coats and scarves and gloves and hats scattered around them, as if they had been taken off one by one, slowly, unhurriedly, as if they hadn't planned on staying, but it was impossible to leave.

They sat side by side, shoulder to shoulder, each with their own book.

Kakashi waited. And he waited and waited. For a long time the only sound was of the pages being turned, of the hair being put behind an ear, of a leg stretching, of the door opening distantly in the quiet winter afternoon, of the old shop owner sipping the tea, of a sigh, of a deep breath, of a contained laugh, of comfortable silence.

'Sasuke-kun.' Her voice came out even lower and a little hoarse after the long silence.

'Hn?'

'Aren't you supposed to meet with Kakashi-san?'

'He was coming to meet me here, I always arrive early.' Sasuke didn't look up from his book, didn't move to check his watch. 'And he's always late for some stupid reason or another.'

'But…'

'He will arrive about half an hour after three.'

The silver-haired ninja tiptoed to the end of the rack, where he could look at the clock perked on the entrance counter. The old man was still there, reading and sipping tea, but he had another book now, so old it appeared to be disintegrating, and the steam rising from the cup was from a freshly brewed pot.

Kakashi smiled to himself and returned to his peeping spot.

'…quarter to five.'

The Hokage waited for the Uchiha's reaction. If he knew Sasuke well, he would be as annoyed as possible and would go out to look for him in the Tower of Fire, seething with rage, demanding to know what was oh so important that Kakashi had to say to him if he could not even be bothered to show up at the agreed place and time. It would only be a second for Sasuke to drop the book and storm out of the hidden bookstore. His companion would be left behind, no explanations whatsoever. He would do whatever he wanted, when he wanted, and that was Uchiha Sasuke for you.

'Hn.'

Sasuke put the bookmark in place - it was a handmade bookmark, with a pressed stem of white bell-shaped flowers, small lilies-of-the-valley (return of happiness) -, picked up his coat and dark blue scarf, stood up languidly and waited.

The kunoichi made no mention of following him, but looked up when the Uchiha remained standing there instead of leaving to go find the notoriously late Hokage.

'You hungry?'

'Eh?'

'If you're hungry, Hinata.' He emphasized the word as if it was new to her.

Kakashi's eyes widened involuntarily at that, him calling her by given name. Not Hyuuga… Hi-na-ta.

'But Kakashi-san...'

'If he hasn't come by now it means it wasn't really important.' Sasuke put on his coat and rolled up his scarf while the girl gathered her own things, coat and wool hat, holding the gloves in one hand and the book in the other.

'Gyouza?' She asked as if it was something they did all the time.

'Too cold.'

'Uhn... Then let's go have hotpot!' Hinata said it like she was certain Sasuke would agree, like it was the right answer he was waiting for. She smiled at him and he grinned back. It was a tiny turn of lips upward, but it was undeniably there for her.

The Uchiha paid for her book and she paid for his.

While Hinata got dressed in her coat, hat and gloves, Sasuke nodded for her to wait there for a moment. She had already opened the door, but closed it again, not without letting a freezing blow rush inside the bookstore. The owner by the counter didn't even flinch.

With long strides the Uchiha went back to the corridor where they had been seated, picked up one of the books from the fiction section next to the mystery section and went around the rack, to the corridor one shelf before theirs, stopping right in front of Hatake Kakashi.

'Yo.' Greeted the Hokage.

The Uchiha's onyx eyes revealed nothing, as did his inflexible expression. Sasuke placed the book he had just picked up from the fiction section horizontally over some other books in Kakashi's immediate line of sight.

'Was it something important?'

'Only a confidential mission, involves renegade ninjas who had connections with Akatsuki. Thought you would be interested.' The Hokage reached for a sealed scroll in one of his pockets. 'A team will leave tomorrow at dawn for the Water Country'

'Hn.'

Sasuke took the scroll and stuffed it away without another word, turned his back to his former sensei, and left with Hinata, not Hyuuga, the door to the hidden bookstore closing quietly behind them.

Kakashi wondered for a brief second if the Hyuuga heiress had detected his presence as well, having eyes specially trained for such tasks. 

He shrugged, turning his attention to the book Sasuke had left him. It made a bridge over the space he was using to peep at them. It was a book about pirates titled: "Dead Men Tell no Tales".

Who knew, Uchiha Sasuke made her laugh.

Tatta hitotsu no kokoro kanashimi ni kurenaide

(You only have one heart, don't let it be filled with sadness)

His hair felt cold and in need of a hair cut as he ran his fingers through it, trying to keep it away from his eyes and failing. Spring had just begun, but the wind that day hadn't got the memo, blowing cold and biting on his skin. Sasuke didn't pick up the pace to escape from it, he didn't mind the cold.

He climbed the six flights of stairs to his apartment unhurriedly, an utilitarian looking building lost in time between the traditional and the newer architectural trends.

There was someone inside his apartment. Sasuke did not hesitate or try to be especially stealth to surprise the invader. He knew that chakra, the familiar pulse, the strength, the heat.

He left his shoes beside another pair that were not his and that were not in the genkan when he left earlier before opening the sliding door to the kitchen. He was certain he did not forget to turn off the lights in that room.

'Oh, Sasuke.'

Hinata was in the middle of unpacking something out of her travel bag. Her jounin waistcoat was dirty, the thigh-high stocking and shorts had rips and tears obviously made by senbon, and her arms, as far as he could see, had a rainbow of wounds and bruises: old purples, yellow-greenish, and new purples, almost black, torn, bleeding flesh, scabbed cuts; a thick thread of dried blood painted her face from temple to chin. She looked every bit as tired as she must be feeling, but her eyes were fine, despite the bags framing it, bright and pearly as he remembered, windows to her entire being.

'Welcome home.'

'Welcome.'

They spoke at the same time, different meanings.

Hinata smiled weakly and continued to unpack, there was something she wanted to retrieve from the bottom of the backpack. She found it, finally, and deposited on the table a rectangular tin with a motif of yellow chrysanthemum flowers and an aquatic scene. It wasn't particularly pretty, but the Uchiha recognised what it was and the brand.

'My mission was in the Tea Country.' She pushed the metal box towards him when Sasuke approached the table.

The tin had a dent on one side and it made the lid get stuck when he tried to open it, telling a little of the troubled story of her mission. Once he was able to open it, the delicious scent of herbs reached his nostrils, exciting and soothing at the same time. Inside were six divisions with several tea bags giving off unique aromas.

She put all her other stuff back inside her travel bag as best she could, not bothering to make it neat for her short journey back to the Hyuuga compound.

He closed the tin.

There was a particular, but very necessary, scent missing.

He didn't ask her how she got in his apartment.

Black eyes met the pearls, Hinata had her backpack back on and a smile on her chapped lips.

She didn't offer him any information on how she got in his apartment.

The kunoichi was not expecting any thanks, she just wanted to stop being a nuisance - dirty, stinky, tired and bleeding nuisance - in the middle of his kitchen.

'Are you okay?'

'Ah, yes...' Her smile faltered. 'I'll be.'

'Hn.'

Sasuke took the tea tin to put it on the counter next to the tea tray, the teapot and the two teacups he always kept there.

'I'll go back to the Hyuuga Clan, then.'

'Go take a shower, you know where the towels are.' He commanded, opening the refrigerator to take vegetables out of the "Fresh Items" drawer.

'Sasuke, I-'

'You have thirty second to get out of here and disinfect those cuts, Hinata.'

She felt his eyes focused very intensely on her and followed his gaze to a quite deeper cut than the rest at the back of her left thigh, the trickle of blood from it halfway down her calf - she had lost the left stocking. She gasped, almost dropping her backpack as she contorted herself to try and take a better look at the cut, before giving up with a very tired sigh and deciding to take him up on his offer for a bath, and what appeared, a soon-to-be hot meal.

The Uchiha cooked in complete silence, as he was used to in his empty apartment. The sound of the shower echoed through the corridor and from that direction also came an almost imperceptible humming melody.

There were chopped tomatoes, pickled turnips, fresh white rice, octopus-shaped sausages and omelet rolls on the table. Sasuke admired the dishes and tsked, thinking he could have been more prepared.

Hinata entered the kitchen when the kettle whistled. Sasuke took two sachets from his new tea box and placed them in the two cups he always had on hand next to the teapot. One was mint and jasmine, the other ginger and chrysanthemum.

Hinata wore a red and white fan symbol on the back of the black T-shirt, the first thing she had found to put on in one of the drawers in the dresser of the apartment's only bedroom.

They ate together, the three of them: Sasuke, Hinata and the usual Silence.

'More tea?'

'Yes, please.'

'You never told me where you buy this brand.'

'Hn.' She murmured, pondered and smiled over the rim of her cup, through the steam, her eyes half lidded. 'We can go together next time.'

Sasuke prepared more tea for her, then put a new tea bag in his own cup, filling it with the hot water. He sat down again at the low table in the living room where they ate, and stretched his legs underneath it, the tips of Hinata's toes touched his thigh, so he grabbed her ankle; the well-placed bandages, that he helped her tie after all the cuts had been properly tended to, were visible after the hem of the borrowed shorts.

'Hn.' He agree, and then 'Sleep here'

'Okay.'

Like he still had to ask, as if she would refuse.

The bottle of shampoo in his bathroom, next to the generic shampoo for all types of hair, was half empty and the living room smelled of passion fruit, blackberries, milk and fresh skin.

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you

The first two days were the same.

On the third day, she was halfway to the sixth floor apartment when she remembered that he was away on a long mission.

At the end of the first week she went alone to the gyouza shop.

At the end of the second week she finished reading the last mystery book he had left her and there was no one she could talk to, because it was with him that she always talked about books.

At two weeks and four days, she was worried enough to consider asking the Sixth Hokage if he had any news, but changed her mind.

Two weeks and five days. She entered the sixth floor apartment, checked all the cabinets for items that needed to be restocked, cleaned the living room, the bedroom, the bathroom, the toilet and the kitchen, sat on the usual cushion at the little table in the living room and put her face to the the wood, she and the Silence.

Three weeks and it was the seventh time that she visited the gyouza shop.

One month and eight days. She had to stay in bed for two days because of food poisoning from mushrooms.

One month and two weeks. She bought a kilo of tomatoes because they were absolutely plump and red, just the way he likes it; she entered the sixth floor apartment and ate two. She didn't know what to do with the rest.

One month and seventeen days. She made a new bookmark, this one had a jasmine flower (I'm fond of you).

One month and nineteen days.

Tomorrow I'll miss you

One month and nineteen days.

The day he returned, he went to the gyouza shop first, but did not stay to eat. Then he went to the bookstore, where he didn't stay to read nor buy anything. He passed by the stationery shop window where she buys oshibana and other crafts supplies. He opened the door to the Fire Tower library where she is scheduled to work at least once a week, but turned back at once. He stood in the genkan of his sixth floor apartment, listening to the Silence, alone. He didn't stay home to freshen up and take care of himself after coming back. The guards at the Hyuuga Clan compound announced that she had gone on a mission. Still dirty, bloody and even more concerned, he asked the person responsible for assigning missions at the Fire Tower where she had gone, but she could only inform him that it was something outside the village and would take some time for her to be back. He returned to the sixth floor apartment, closed the door with a soft click, and placed his travel bag next to the lilac slippers in the genkan. The bath water was hot, even in the height of summer, and the shampoo smelled only of passion fruit, blackberries and milk.

On the second day he found the last mystery book he had recommended to her, carefully placed on the living room table, full of colorful post-it notes. An oshibana bookmark made from a delicate and still fragrant jasmine flower fell from the inside.

Nobody saw him for an entire week.

After a week and six days he went alone to the bookstore, sat down in the usual corridor, was unable to read half a page and left five minutes later.

Two weeks and a day. He bought another bottle of passion fruit and blackberry mousse essence shampoo. For normal hair with frizz control.

Two weeks and two days. He bought two tomatoes and some pickled turnips. He did not eat either.

Two weeks and three days. He ate a cinnamon roll. He felt queasy for the rest of the day because it was too sweet.

Two weeks and four days. He reread the first book they discussed, made notes and post-its and thought about leaving it in her room at the Hyuuga estate, on the white painted wooden table under the window. He'd gone as far as entering her room, but gave up on leaving the book when he stepped carefully on the soft carpet and the remnants of her scent on the pillows, the sheets, curtains, on him, made it difficult to breathe; he tore off the notes and returned the book to his own shelf.

His cuts, bruises and injuries from the previous mission had completely healed.

Three weeks. He trained for hours. Each day he would increase the length and intensity of his routine. He broke almost all the trunks and made so many crates on the floors that he had to pay a fine for the damage to the training grounds. Naruto was busy most of the time and there was simply no one else that could go against his power, even less when he was in that unbalanced state. He trained against his own clones, trained with his snakes and eagles. He was nowhere near tired when he returned to the empty sixth floor apartment.

And the Silence lurking in the usual corner.

Three weeks and four days. He was about to snap and beg the Hokage for another mission just to escape the wait. 

Three weeks and five days.

Seventy-five days.

Remember I'll always be true

Bars, as a rule, didn't interest Sasuke, and that one, despite being the evening and the blasting ACs, was extremely loud and hot.

Sakura was laughing at something Naruto had said, something they remembered from the time when he returned to the village after training with Jiraya, when Sasuke was still far away.

Naruto made himself laugh at something, Sakura took a few drunk seconds to catch on, and then laughed with him.

There were a few beer glasses among the empty plates on the table in front of them, which could justify the excessive laughter. New glasses of beer and snacks kept on coming.

Sasuke's glass was dry.

Sasuke had been, and still was, not in the mood for whatever social, friendly act they were putting on, but Naruto had hammered on his front door for thirty minutes until the lock gave away, then another thirty minutes on his bedroom door until Sasuke gave in, put his jasmine bookmark inside the book just when the detective would share who the probable killer was and how he committed the crime - Sasuke was itching to find out if his deduction matched the character's and Hinata's, previously marked on a green post-it on that page.

Naruto dragged him to the usual bar with the usual occupants at the usual table.

Their usual, however, did not always include Sasuke.

The Uchiha practiced his usual somewhere else, with someone else.

The noise from all the drunk people and the stuffy atmosphere smelling of booze, sweat and fried chicken were making Sasuke's head pound, and yet he really wanted to open his book there, even though he could barely concentrate on listening to his own thoughts, even if ignoring his friends for literature was not considered polite.

Damn it. He had left the book at home.

Sasuke's glass was dry, but maybe it would be better to wet it a little if his near future included staying there for another hour with the two hyenas he called friends in front of him, basking in a past he didn't share.

'Ki-kiba-kun, I-I don't-'

The familiarity of that chakra hit him like a punch to the nose.

'Hi~na~ta~cha~n~' Chanted Kiba. 'Four weeks away from the Leaf and the mission was a success!' Inuzuka had one arm draped over Hinata's shoulders. Sai, the third team member for that mission, came in behind them. Rock Lee, the fourth, came last. 'Let's eat and drink together, it's on Sai!'

'It most definitely is not.' The boy replied simply, looking around to find an empty table.

'I just need to go to-' Her voice could barely be heard over the noise, but he found himself listening to her anyway, already used to that timbre.

'SAI! KIBA!' Naruto shouted the moment black eyes fixed on her. She still had Kiba's arm around her, looking at her teammate between irritated and frustrated, almost like she intended to get away by force if it came down to it. 'LEE! HINATA!'

The group turned in their direction with Naruto's calling.

Black eyes met pearly ones, both shining, scanning, conversing.

Hinata stopped trying to escape from Kiba, stopped trying to rationalize with him about needing to be somewhere else, exchanged the irritated and frustrated look for something more secure, tender and familiar.

Naruto eagerly waved for them to come and sit, there were still enough cushions around the secluded table. Kiba waved back, also shouting his acknowledgement. Sai was the first to move towards them. Hinata came soon after, her eyes fixed on one place. The Inuzuka finally let her go from under his arm, but the girl didn't even notice. Everyone exchanged greetings while settling down and calling for the waitress to bring more food and drinks all around.

Silently and calmly, she slid behind Lee and Sasuke and sat in the corner, between the Uchiha and the wall. No one paid the sitting arrangements any mind.

The night got even louder from there.

He carefully scanned her bare arms, free from bruises, as well as the legs covered by intact thigh-high stocking. Her vest was a little dirty, her hair a little out of place, but otherwise everything was almost as it should be.

He had his hands on his knees, his legs crossed. She sat on her bent knees. There was barely an inch between them, there was barely room for a breeze to pass, and there were light years.

He didn't ask if she was okay, because now she was there.

She didn't ask how he was doing, because now he was close.

The waitress brought more beer, sake, tea and all kinds of snacks. Rock Lee served himself some tea, then passed the teapot to Sasuke, the chrysanthemum flowers floating inside. 

Kiba and Naruto were discussing something that seemed extremely important to them, to Sakura it seemed absolutely stupid, to Lee it seemed intense and rejuvenating and Sai had stopped listening altogether, because Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji had just stepped into the bar and were coming towards them.

More shouts, more cushions were brought in, people shifted and changed places. Hinata got pushed closer to the wall, Sasuke still had the teapot in his hands and now his right knee touched her left thigh.The Uchiha tried to help himself to tea while all that was happening, Lee almost made him cause an accident by knocking Sasuke with his elbow while trying to make space so Shikamaru could seat on that side. Hinata reacted quickly, snatching the teapot and serving tea for the two of them. 

Sasuke had no space to move, was feeling hot and wanted to go home, but he was no longer bored, annoyed or moody.

His right side was touching her left one from shoulder to hips and a fair amount of legs.

Her hand was warm from the cup and transferred the heat to his hand. His fingers closed over her fingers, clumsy at first, the need for touch more important than the aesthetics, gaining confidence by the consent, the trust, the want.

And they didn't let go.

We are dead to right, morning rays

We are thinking thin to our last days

So hold me close and I'll surrender to your heart

Hinata touched his fingers as he passed the cup of tea.

Sasuke touched her arm to guide her down another street.

Hinata touched his shoulder to draw his attention to a place ahead.

Sasuke touched the small of her back to make her see the point he wanted on the map.

Hinata touched his hair to confirm that it was as soft as she believed it was.

Sasuke touched her forehead to confirm that the redness on her face had nothing to do with a fever.

Hinata touched his shoulder blades because she liked how his muscles moved under his skin.

Sasuke touched her waist with both hands, one on each side, kneading the flesh.

Hinata touched his neck with her lips.

Sasuke touched her ankle as she tried to escape and held her in place until she fell, laughing.

Hinata touched his temples with glowing fingers, healing his tenketsu to treat his nightmare induced headaches.

Sasuke touched her thighs and ran his hands over them until that sweet tingling sensation arose.

Hinata touched him slowly like a torture, from the navel down following the hair path to were it became coarser until Sasuke could only pant.

Sasuke touched and explored her and discovered what was good and what was not and watched her carefully to know when to stop and when to continue and listened carefully to the sounds coming out of her lips.

Hinata touched him because she wanted to and because it made them happy.

Sasuke touched her whole body with his, hugged her waist, touched his face to crease between her neck and shoulder, smelling her hair, her skin.

They touched each other from the outside in and inside out.

E quando eu estiver triste, simplesmente me abrace

E quando eu estiver louco, subitamente se afaste

E quando eu estiver bobo, sutilmente disfarce...

Mas quando eu estiver morto, suplico que não me mate, não

Dentro de ti

It was so hot.

The autumn wind pounded on the window, the temperature outside already much lower than pleasant.

Every point of contact of their bodies felt like boiling, slippery and glistening with sweat: she could feel a knee at the back of her thigh,  an entire arm around her waist, the moisture between her breasts tickling as it sled down to wet the shirt she slept in, the breath at the back of her neck warming its entirety and the side of her face.

Hinata's heart was beating so hard that she couldn't sleep.

She carefully removed Sasuke's arm from around her, but he woke up briefly anyway. She sat on the bed and knotted her long hair at the top of her head, as far away from her warm skin as possible, and left the furnace of the room.

She flung open the living room window and the cold autumn wind immediately soothed her.

She took a deep breath, ignored the view of nothing but the neighboring building, and sat on her usual cushion at the living room table.

A light went on in the kitchen behind her, she didn't look. Water running, metal clattering, the electrical buzz of the stove turning on, clinking of the porcelain teacups being moved, opening and closing of the metal tea box, the rush of the wind loud in the night, five minutes until the whistle sounded, pouring water, the light went out.

The light sound of the cups being placed over the table kept Silence in its dark corner.

Sasuke sat down on the other pillow and laid his head on the table without as much as a sigh, his face to the dark corner, his spiky, messy hair became a toy for Hinata's freezing fingers.

The tips of her fingers reached his still sleep-warm skin, the little finger on his neck, ring finger under the earlobe, middle and pointer on the upper curve. His skin was as hot as she felt.

She started to feel uneasy and embarrassed all on her own just by being silently intimate with him. It was easier to speak, to open her chest and rip her heart out knowing the Silence, by principle, would never reveal their secrets and that Sasuke would not be judgemental towards her, that he had become able to interpret her feelings better from her tone than from her expressions.

'Sasuke...' Her voice was less than a whisper, a lip move. The Silence perked up to listen. '…people say you are cold.'

He didn't move.

Fire user skin.

'But... Touching you is so hot.' The last word came out on a sigh. Hinata's hand slid through his hair again, then came down and covered his eyes. His lashes fluttered on her small palm when he blinked. 'Like a volcano...' Her voice was careful now, as if not to scare a small animal. 'And I want to throw myself in the lava.'

Sasuke didn't respond for a long, long time. Hinata also put her face on the wood of the little table and kept her hands roaming in his hair, making it stick up in all directions. The Silence fell asleep from boredom in its dark corner.

The wind kept on blowing inside, inflating the curtains like sails. The Uchiha could barely feel his toes when he stood up to close the veranda doors, reddened nose and cheeks, goosebumps rising all over his bare skin. Dawn was breaking, pushing away the shadows to where the light couldn't reach, the Silence begrudgingly following.

The blue-grey light caught on the countless circle marks on the table, hundreds of tea cups of their domestic history. A year ago there was none.

He carefully picked her up, but she woke up briefly anyway.

'All this to tell me you were hot, Hinata?'

Hinata clung to his skin as he placed her on the softness of the comforter. She licked her dry lips and kissed his collarbone while he climbed the bed with her. She only relented her grip on him when the blanket was over them both, the bedroom window ajar, the curtain swinging candidly letting in some rays of sunlight.

He turned belly down first, as he used to. Rubbing his face in the pillow a few times, he then turned to the left, to where the smell of passion fruit, blackberries, milk came from. The heiress was facing up as he put his hand under his T-shirt on her, his fingers sneaking over her stomach to stop just under the curve of a breast, the soft spot he now knew was the vulnerability of her absolute shield technique. She sighed deeply, contently, and blushed anyway.

'Hinata…' There was no Silence as their third wheel there. Her eyes were still open and she looked at him, her face red as he caressed the underside of her boob, her open heart surgery still ongoing, her heart on the table. Sasuke was her anesthetic, her forceps, her surgeon. 'I'm here…'

His words, the stitching:

…with you.

Take me into your lovin 'arms

Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars

Place your head on my beating heart

I'm thinking out loud

Maybe we found love right where we are

Hinata was close, so close, that her entire lower abdomen hurt from the pleasure building there. But in that position, with Sasuke holding one of her arms while the other braced her against the mattress, one of his hands holding her hip to guide the movements, she was unable to touch herself to potencialize her climax.

'Sa-sasuke ... Uhn-ahn... W-wait...'

He stopped immediately, his voice full of concern.

'Did I hurt you?'

'N-no, 'course not.' She wanted to laugh, but she had learned that it was not very good to laugh in that situation, no matter how funny his concern was, his tenderness leaking. 'It's just...' She blushed. Oh, how could she still blush? 'T-this position, I c-can't...'

He understood at once, had sensed she was close by the way she was clamping down and moaning. Sasuke let go of her arm, but stayed inside her as they moved carefully to change positions. As much as they could orgasm in whatever position they tried, her favorite had also become his, so he knew that from then on it wouldn't last long.

Her expression of pleasure intensified as she sat on Sasuke, that way he could reach so much deeper. Her legs spread on both sides of him, the nerves on the inside of her thighs straining and trembling. Hinata threw her head back in sheer reflex of pleasure, her body curving like a taut bow, feeling full. Sasuke winced when she squeezed around him, moaning, taking sharp intakes of breath, hands sliding over her body, reaching waist hip breasts back buttocks waist breast nipple neck hip back lips clitoris thighs in varying rhythms.

And then she started to move. 

Slowly and in circles first, hands on his chest, eyes closed, mouth open. Sasuke took all that, adding the visual pleasure to his pool almost about to overflow at the base of his spine. Sasuke dropped a hand to stimulate her before she could and the pearly eyes opened to face the onyx, desire in both, mutual need, smiles that barely fit between them when Sasuke rose from his lying position to kiss her, hips meeting her pace and getting faster and faster. She held one breast while Sasuke brought the other's nipple between his teeth, his calloused fingers working tirelessly over her clitoris.

She came suddenly, her whole body trembling, but Sasuke didn't relent the movement over her hypersensitive clit - the up and down movement, yes, because she had lost all the strength on her legs - , incessant because he knew that if he continued... She could... uh!... The walls closed around him again, goading him to spill by the sheer felling of her pleasure and the residual spasms of her body. Sasuke groaned, his mouth between her breasts, skin wet with sweat salting the kisses. Her hands grabbed his hair, because hearing him moan was an orgasm in itself. And he groaned again when she squeezed again, this time purposefully, restarting the movements, calling him too.

He took his fingers from her clit, letting it rest a bit as the movements grew in pace. He looked up at her, panting, and Hinata smiled down to him, eyes sparkling. Sasuke grabbed, squeezed and grunted at her breasts as he looked at her and came, a thousand specks of light exploding behind his eyelids that he had to close by reflex.

Sasuke collapsed on his back on the bed trying to control his breathing in the process, sweat glistening on his body, still too out of it to notice any discomfort. Hinata carefully removed herself from him and him from inside her, wrinkled her delicate nose at the sound of their bodily fluids - she would be leaking soon -, and sat cross-legged beside him to tie her damp hair in an awkward bun.

Her hips hurt a little, as well as her breasts where Sasuke had his hands - she had red marks all over and one particularly bigger one over her right nipple that would soon turn purple, and those were just the ones she could see at the moment. She raised her legs and hugged them, the thought making her smile against her forearm. 

Hinata started to trace his abdomen, lean but defined muscles tightened under her touch, the skin prickling, reigniting; there were new marks on his chest, shoulders and neck, too. Was that a bite mark near his hip? Had she bit him when she went down...? Blushing again, Hinata locked her gaze on the especially large mark on the left side of his neck, the reason that had led to the rest of that night.

She had never thought before that she had it in her to be selfish and possessive: all those marks, both on visible and invisible places, as if she was spelling her name, staking her claim. Just by looking at the marks, at the onyx eyes half lidded and shining from pleasure, at the hair she had messed up, at his hand on her feet - the need to be together everlasting -, she could already feel the need start to warm up again.

Sasuke sat up then, stirred by her gaze alone, the hand on her foot running up ler leg as he approached. Hinata let her legs fall to one side of her while he moved closer to her.

Someone held a face and someone held their breath for a second, just long enough for their lips to overlap, gentle, frantic, unknown and intimate. There was no duel and there was no surrendering.

It was just a kiss.

'Again?'

Someone asked.

Oh, ain't it nice tonight we've got each other

And I am right beside you

More than just a partner or a lover

I'm your friend

The building was completely dark, as well as much of the northern part of the village. Lightning invaded the Tower of Fire library through the large windows and illuminated the shelves and the endless piles of documents, scrolls, books, artifacts out of place. Sasuke even pondered the matter a little, but left the question of how someone actually managed to work in that environment aside.

There was a light, orange toned and terrible for the vision, provided by a lamp on one of the tables in the back. On one side of the table, the side of the lamp, there were neatly stacked books that looked very new and efficient; on the other were books in deplorable states of conservation with loose pages sticking out, some of which had signs of burns and missing pieces on the edges.

Sasuke walked over there and opened the first book in the old books pile. Completely blank. He activated his bloodline. Still blank. He closed it with a thud that raised a thin puff of dust.

Another lightning hit the horizon, this time the thunder didn't take long to follow and Sasuke guessed that it must have hit the mountain behind the Faces.

He looked around, because he had been there for more than five minutes without being approached by the librarian on duty.

There was no librarian on duty.

It was nowhere near around business hours, it was after midnight.

And with half the village in the dark because of the storm, Sasuke felt he had the right to intervene.

'Hinata?'

No answer, yet another lightning bolt.

She was still there, Hinata would never leave a lamp on in the library and leave.

'Hinata!' He tried to call her again, but thunder covered his voice. The rain finally decided to fall and the raindrops hit the large windows loudly. Just a handful at first, but then on and on, turning the soft drumming into a continuous rhythm.

The library shelves continued on into the darkness that the lamplight was not strong enough to reveal and even with his lineage activated Sasuke could not see much further, that wasn't the purpose of his eyes anyway.

His body tensed with the urge to run searching for her, but his instinct was better trained than that. He suppressed any desperation and closed his eyes, loosened his fists and controlled his breathing to focus on his heartbeat and listen, listen carefully, and see with deeper  eyes.

It was so weak at first that it almost went unnoticed, but Sasuke knew it as a familiar sensation by now. It was a controlled, serene and slow chakra flow, almost as if…

He opened his eyes and followed the mind map he had drawn up to the point where he tracked the chakra. One shelf, two, and the lamplight was no longer doing its job. He walked further down the corridor and turned once to the left and then to the right. He activated his lineage to find Hinata there, sitting on a short-legged stool, a pile of books in her lap, her hands over the pile and her head resting on her hands.

Sleeping.

The Uchiha stepped closer and crouched beside her without a sound. As a ninja, she should have woken up immediately, even if he was pouring all his ability to keep the stealth. But she knew his chakra better than he knew hers - she could see it - and she was tired, always so tired these days. Sasuke gave himself time to watch the dark circles under her eyes, chapped lips by dehydration and irregular food intake, and matted hair - no scent of milk, blackberries and passion fruit. If he was unavailable for whatever reason, someone always stepped in to bring her food at mealtimes, but even so it was not difficult for him to notice the involuntary weight loss attacking her cheekbones, her hips, her beautiful thighs, even her hands.

They were not at war, but her physical condition indicated a task as hard as a life and death scenario.

Identification of documents that only a Hyuuga's eyes can read. As if there was not an entire damn clan of Hyuuga in the Village Hidden in the Leaf; but she was the one who found them first and they were 'extremely delicate and confidential documents, they conceal historical information that are not common law to read', she said, and set out on a mission to read and transcribe them, one by one, using the chakra technique and the eyes that only a Hyuuga has.

Sasuke made himself more comfortable, crouched close to her, put elbow to knee and rested his chin on his palm, and watched. He was a bit torn between waking her and having her insist on going back to work or leaving her sleeping in that awful position.

But her leg slipped while he debated with himself the options and the pile of books fell to the floor between her legs - good thing it missed her toes. Hinata jumped awake, startled, looking confused about where she was until spotting the pile of books lying in front of her without really seeing anything.

'Hinata.' He called carefully when she ignored the fallen books and rubbed her hands over her face.

'Sasuke?' She looked at him, pearly eyes overcome with redness and exhaustion, a tired smile barely reached her lips. 'Hello.'

He didn't answer, she didn't expect him to. The man got up only to crouch again, this time in front of her. He started to collect the books she had dropped in a pile beside the stool. He asked without looking up:

'Still a lot of work to do?'

Hinata nodded, then realized that he couldn't see it and whispered a small agreement. He answered with a typical 'hn'. If she had work to do and really wanted to do it, Sasuke wouldn't stop her. (It would hardly be in his nature to interfere with her freedom of choice.) 

She was thin, exhausted, eating poorly, not drinking enough water, probably not leaving the job even to shower, it pained him to see her like that and he was worried to the point of almost manhandling her into taking some time to rest, but he would not prevent her from exercising her will.

Sasuke was quiet in front of her, eyes questioning.

Hyuuga attempted another smile and it was only then that she heard the storm roaring outside, when Silence sat comfortably on another stool nearby, nodded at the scene and relaxed. A lightning fell, but its light did not reach them.

She held his face when the books were all piled up next to the stool, could barely see anything in the darkness, but she could feel the rigid shapes of his almost feminine chin, his soft hair with the clean scent of that generic shampoo he insisted on buying and she bent down to kiss him, hitting him on the curve of the nose. She smiled when he took her hands.

'Can you take me home, please?'

Hinata wanted to lie on (their) bed, the covers up to her chin, the smell of hot tea forgotten on the nightstand, looking at the masculine back, pale, strong, placing her hands over hard muscles, and be lured to sleep by the vision of his chakra circulating, powerful and steady. 

'Bath, tea, and leave of absence'. He got up calmly, her hands slid smoothly from his face. He helped her up when she replied:

'Thank you.'

I will stand by you, even when we fall

I will be the rock that hold you up

And lifts you high, so you stand tall

'YOU ARE BOTH IDIOTS!'

Hinata knew immediately where to go when she stepped into the emergency room at the Hidden Leaf's General Hospital, following the direction of Sakura's booming infuriated voice was all she needed.

They were in a space with two emergency beds, the curtains drawn around them. Patients and family passing by were asking the nurses what was going on and trying to take a peek inside the room to no avail. The nurses just shrugged, resigned to the volume in which the hospital's chief physician spoke to some patients.

Hinata carefully stepped around them, pulled the curtain and went inside the two bed space. Naruto was on the nearest bed, Sakura beside him with green chakra glowing from her hands. The blonde looked like he was about to cry, and even so, Haruno frowned not looking at this face. Hinata imagined smoke coming out of her nose like a fire-spitting dragon trying to conceal its anger. Concentrated as she was, and with her back to the curtain, muttering angry things to herself, Sakura did not notice Hinata right away, nor did Naruto in his self-pity.

Sasuke looked up and locked eyes with her.

His black long sleeved shirt was in tatters with parts of cloth still half stuck inside his pants and belt, his breast-plate vest nowhere to be seen, the bandages on his left arm had disappeared and the flesh of his cloned and replaced arm after the amputation was an alarmingly unhealthy pale color, the joint on his bicep red and irritated. Looking to the side, Uzumaki's arm was in even worse condition, with blood escaping through the junction point.

Other than that, they both looked fine. Until Hinata's eyes went up the Uchiha's torso. She stopped just a fraction of a second to blush at the too large purple mark she had left on the shinobi's collarbone one of these days. Sasuke's face worried her. He was paler than normal, even his lips were white, and there was cold sweat on his forehead.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and scanned the Uchiha. The blood vessels that feed his arm were obviously ruptured or obstructed, as were the chakra pathways. Sasuke's arm was slowly dying, still attached to his body. With another quick glance at Naruto she could see the complete closure of the joint from inside out and the fox's chakra within the blonde healing the blocked veins, having already worked through healing the chakra paths. Sasuke didn't have a tailed beast to help him.

'Sakura-san.' She called with some urgency.

'Hinata? When did you…'

'Sasuke's arm is dying, the veins are all compromised.'

'What? That is impossible, Sasuke-kun would be in a lot of pain if…'

Sakura did not finish the sentence. Her hands stopped pouring green chakra, readying her stance to assist the Uchiha, but Hinata was closer and moved faster. The man fell forward, unconscious; the heiress grabbed him before he fell off the emergency bed.

'Teme!'

'Hinata, help me lay him down!'

'Sakura-chan, look at his fingers!'

'Quiet, Naruto, I've seen it!'

'Will he be okay, Sakura-chan?'

'Oh, frankly, Naruto!'

Sakura stopped bickering with Naruto when her green healing chakra reappeared to shine over the Uchiha's left arm.

Hinata was on the other side of the stretcher not even hearing anything anymore. Her Byakugan still activated, she made her own finger glow blue with her Light Fist technique. She pressed several of Sasuke's top tenketsu, and some peripherals for good measure. Sakura never took her eyes off the junction of his arm, focusing her chakra to heal the veins and pathways.

Green eyes glared into pearly ones suddenly.

'Anesthetic! With that much pain and no…' She cut herself mid sentence, taking priority in yelling again. 'NURSE, BRING THE…'

'He's not in pain anymore.' Hinata replied before the pink medic could continue to hurt her eardrums. She ran a hand over his forehead to wipe the sweat. Her fingers lit up again to press the temporal tenketsu that often were the cause of his headaches. Sakura stared at her. 'I numbed his sensitivity, he can no longer feel his upper body. Temporarily.'

Sakura hesitated. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before going back to the task on Sasuke's left arm. Naruto had shut up completely, just watching the two girls interact over his best friend.

It took longer than the treatment on Naruto, none of them daring to move for a long time. Hinata kept her bloodline activated all of the time, unrelenting, her hand on his forehead.

When Sakura made sure all the veins, chakra pathways and nerves were reconnected and flowing properly, she was about to pass out. Naruto was beside her in an instant, grabbing Sakura by the shoulders and making her sit on the hospital bed he was occupying before. The rosy's ever-so-steady hands were shaking and the equivalent of a week of dark circles appeared under her eyes.

Hinata, carefully, very carefully, applied pressure with her blue chakra to reopen Sasuke's tenketsu, but only some minor ones so he wouldn't be completely immobilized. He was still unconscious, but some of his color was coming back already. The brunette Hyuuga started to massage his left arm to help the blood flow. She stopped only hours later, when the color returned to normal all the way to the tips of the fingers.

Hinata did not notice when Sakura called a nurse to write down the procedures of what had happened on Sasuke's chart, nor when she and the blonde left the room.

She came to herself for a brief moment when a team of nurses came in to take Sasuke's bed to a private room right next to where they were.

At one point she blinked and saw that the room was dark except for the light that crept in from the streetlamps. The noise in the emergency room had been reduced to a murmur, the corridor darkened because they had moved Sasuke to a private room in the section for patients in recovery, Sakura's doing no doubt, and that seemed to be a slow night in the hospital. 

Hinata rubbed her eyes carefully, the sides of her face, where Byakugan's veins bulged and pulsed for the time she had her bloodline activated, throbbing like she had never felt before. She had kept the Byakugan on for hours, barely blinking. If she looked in a mirror, she would probably see dried red eyes looking back, years and years of eye care lessons tossed out the window. She took a step and felt her legs and feet complain, her right knee popped loudly.

Sasuke's chest rose and fell calmly, Hinata placed her hand over his heart to feel the steady heartbeat, taking a deep breath she let her heart lungs match his rhythm. The junction in his left arm, even in the dim light, had a healthy color.

She peeked out the window. It was still a couple hours out, but the shadows of the room would soon be chased away by the light of dawn. She sat as best she could on the narrow space left at the edge of the bed, her hand still on his heartbeat.

That's how Sasuke found her when he opened his eyes, about two hours later. The sun had come out completely from behind the mountains and the fresh smell of the morning was giving way to the warmth of the day. He felt as if he had been beaten, then stung several times on the left arm by angry wasps and then slept for a week in the wrong position. Everything hurt.

Her pearly eyes were impossibly red, as if she had been crying nonstop. The small hand was touching his chest, hot, rising and falling with his breath. He touched her hand with his, then her wrist, and pulled lightly, bringing her body to him. He made room on the bed for her to lie down next to him, inhaling the already evanescent smell of passion fruit, milk and blackberries from her hair, his hand sneaking - almost unconsciously - below her blouse to relax under the curve of a breast, over the vulnerable spot. Sasuke had come to terms with the fact that he wanted to protect her even in sleep, even if there were no threats lurking right now, even if they both knew that she let him think that was necessary just to ease his anxiety.

Nobody said a word. The cheeky Silence had stayed at home, so that was just comfort.

A nurse opened the door, saw them on the bed and choked, stunned. She quickly closed the door again as if she had seen a pornographic scene and blushed all the way to the neck, because the moment they shared was much more intimate than any eroticism.

'You're an idiot.'

'Hn...' He wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, but he wouldn't allow anything to hinder her from resting. 'You too.'

The big, warm left hand caressed her ribs when she laughed.

'If you die for some stupid reason...' Her voice barely exceeded the limits of inaudible. '...I'm going to write down what it was on your headstone and dishonor your family.'

This time it was he who - not outright laughed, God forbid -, but snorted good-humoredly. 

'Next time I can rip your arm off myself.'

'No next time.'

'I hope so.'

'Quiet now.' Sasuke's lips brushed the brunette's ear when he grunted the command not entirely deprived of affection. She shivered. 'Go to sleep.'

She did not want to obey him, but she could no longer hold her eyes open either, surrendering in a unilateral discussion of an argument they were not really having about the Concern she would always have and he would always reciprocate. Concern was friends with Silence, sitting by the corner of some of the rooms they frequented, aware that that dangerous and uncertain life was the one they chose to live, the one they liked to live.

That was their ninja ways.

'Our...'

'Uhn?' She mustered enough energy to hear him before passing out.

'...family.'

You used to be my solid ground

Now I'm drowning in the sea

And I just wanna believe in you and me

Yeah, I just wanna believe in you and me

Multicolored tents extended as far as the eye could see, where vendors wearing white cloth bandanas and haoris cheerfully announced the various flavorful snacks, the most varied drinks, offering different types of games and activities to entertain everyone. 

The path dividing the tents was adorned with numerous leafy bamboo branches. Those closest to the entrance to the temple, placed strategically beside the great pillars of the red-painted wooden portal, already had a few pieces of colored paper stuck to them. As the night progressed, and before the fireworks and the bonfire, the bamboo branches from the temple to the entrance would be heavy from the weight of so many wishes.

Colorful flags were also hung above the path, crossing over and between the tents, interspersed with tiny lights like fireflies against the darkness of the sky. The lights streaked all the way through the branches of the trees at the back of the tents, where hurried helpers made the festival happen behind the scenes, frying meat, pouring drinks, getting more prizes, refilling happiness.

It was the midsummer night. The only night that Orihime and Hikoboshi, separated by the Celestial River, had the opportunity to cross the magpie bridge and be together, finally. At midnight, all the lights of the village would be turned off and the milky way would be visible so that everyone could enjoy the meeting of the star-crossed - or star-crossing - lovers and, later, the fireworks show. 

Fortunately that year there wasn't a single cloud in the sky and no rain would get in the way of the lovers' reunion. Not being able to see the sky on that night would mean incredible bad luck for the festival goers.

Hinata reached the top of the stairs and took a deep breath. The place was packed, she wouldn't be surprised if Sasuke decided not to show up. She pushed the bangs to one side and gently wiped her forehead with an embroidered handkerchief. She was in good condition, but anyone would break a sweat from climbing those stairs in yukata on the hottest night of summer.

The crickets and other summer sounds were dissipated by the people enjoying their night; the discomfort from the heat was pushed to the back of the mind, only to be remembered on the way home, with tired feet and full hearts.

An orange and pink blur passed by Hinata's left.

Naruto wore an orange yukata with green spirals on the hem and the sleeves, the obi was a darker shade of green. He had a fox mask attached to the side of his head, a banana with chocolate on the stick in one hand while the other rested lightly on Sakura's back, guiding her, excitedly but carefully, to the fishing stall. Haruno had one of the most beautiful yukata that Hinata had ever seen: it was light blue permeated with pink flowers of various shades, with pink fading to blue on the sleeves and hem like a springy afternoon. The obi had an intricate pattern of pink and lilac tied with a double layered bow. Sakura had cherry blossoms even in her hair, white against the pretty color of her hair.

The next blur was a yellow and black one and it ran past her almost running over countless other passersby.

Sai's simple gray yukata was an absolute contrast to Ino's yellow one, adorned with the bamboo branches and tanzaku, one of the symbols of the festival. She pulled the boy excitedly to the line of people in front of the temple offering their prayers to the unfortunate lovers; when they were done, the monks and other assistants gave out the colored papers where the wishes were written and then tied to the bamboo branches along the central path. At midnight they would all be burned so that the smoke would reach the stars, and Orihime and Hikoboshi, together at long last, even if for one night only, would receive and grant all the wishes. 

She turned to the right looking for a tent where she could buy a fireworks-themed fan, and spotted Kiba - and his latest facial hair adventure - in the distance, with his mother and sister; all three Inuzuka had brought their dogs with colorful ribbons tied to their fur, making them look extremely less ferocious.

Some of the academy students greeted her when they saw her, as well as some other ninjas whom she had commanded in previous missions. Chouji waved, but was soon distracted by Karui's bringing snacks. Shikamaru, near the shooting range, had not bothered to put on a full yukata, but had a green haori with the Nara symbol on his back. He was looking around as if assessing the best place to lie down and sleep. Temari, in her typical black kimono with a red obi, was aiming and hitting effortlessly every single moving target of the game. They really ought to step up the difficulty level for ninjas.

She greeted a chuunin boy who was always at the library while she worked on transcribing the last of the Hyuuga historical documents. (No, they were not over yet.) Tenten, dressed in a red qibao, met Temari at the shooting range and things were bound to escalate now. Shikamaru had finally found a place to sit. She almost didn't notice Shino when he passed being dragged by his academy students to the yakisoba tent. (He was a surprisingly popular teacher).

There was still an entire hour before midnight.

The summer air blew soft and warm, even at night everything seemed to have more vivid colors there.

There were so many colorful tanzaku over their heads that one could barely see where the star-crossed lovers were separated by the Milky Way. 

Hyuuga Hinata had brought her own piece of colored paper: it was another one of her oshibana, this time pressed with a dry red tulip (believe in me) and a red ribbon to tie it to the bamboo.

But she no longer had any wishes that heavenly lovers could fulfill.

And by the looks of all that colored paper tied to the branches, they would have their hands full already, to waste their one night together fulfilling her empty wish.

She was alone at a festival that symbolizes both love and unity, and feeling utterly out of place.

She was not sad. She just felt a little lost. (As if she realized that she was standing in the kitchen when her real goal was to go in the living room.)

The crowd flowed into the temple to the last rite and soon the city lights would all be turned off so that the sky and its stars were completely visible. Hinata moved against the flow, toward the entrance, the long staircase down and back home.

Some latecomers that had just finished climbing the stairs turned to see when a portion of the village went out. The second, third and fourth soon followed. When the fifth was finally out after almost two full minutes after the first, Hinata no longer had to fight to get out of the crowd as it had thinned to her alone. The city was totally dark when she reached the stairs, the temple and the festival being the only beacon still shining. With most of the people now inside the temple, she could hear the crickets and nocturnal birds again. 

It was a long way down.

She was a third of the way down when she noticed the darkened figure hurrying up, two steps at a time.

The only light they had was that coming from the festival lanterns behind above that would go out any minute. But even in the dark, or if she was unconscious or even blind, there was no way she would fail to recognize that chakra signature.

He started to climb up the steps three at a time.

'You don't like crowds.'

'You like the Stars Festival.'

Again, speaking at the same time.

Sasuke breathed hard a couple times until his impeccable physical condition reigned in, recomposed. He had stopped on the step beside her. He had his black T-shirt back to front and inside out, the white tag against his Adam's apple; his hair stood on end, still a bit heavy with water from what must have been a quick shower.

'I thought you didn't want to come.'

'I thought you wouldn't mind if I didn't come.'

'I wouldn't mind.'

'But I came.'

(Ah, yes, now she remembered what she went into the kitchen to do!)

Her internal compass had stopped spinning and was pointed in one direction.

'Did you make a wish?'

The festival lights died and two powerful bloodlines met in the darkness. Hinata removed her tanzaku from inside her simple obi. (She had sewed her yukata herself with a childish green fading to blue cloth dotted with yellow stars.)

'Hn.' Sasuke took the piece of laminated paper - it had to be laminated to keep the flower pressed - from her. A red tulip. With his left hand he reached her hair and stroked the long braid that fell over her shoulder, a yellow ribbon tying the end of it, smelling fresh of cream, blackberries and passion fruit, his absolutely favorite scent in the entire world, but only when he could smell it on her. People started chanting the countdown to the lighting of the bonfires and the fireworks display. 'Why would you use my brand new bookmarker to make a wish?'

Hinata laughed.

He made her laugh.

When they kissed the fireworks had not yet started.

And they had already stopped when they finally let go of one another.

Only Orihime and Hikoboshi saw the kiss, but soon the star-crossed lovers were also busy enough with each other.

As Sasuke and Hinata walked down the stairs, still in the dark, he took the shirt out and put it on again on the right side. They walked side by side, sometimes with the Silence, sometimes without it. Sasuke's hands didn't go to her back, nor did Hinata intertwine her fingers with his. In a candid moment on the street, she hugged him, burying her face in his chest, in his scent, in the sensation of being Sasuke on the other side of that hug; in another candid moment, he took her hand to his lips, sliding them over Hinata's soft skin, more of a caress than a kiss.

Their candid moments were lived inside the privacy of their true feelings.

Perhaps that was the unmade wish.

"He's my brother. And not by something as accidental as blood… by something much stronger. By choice."

Sasuke woke up slowly, but with an intense feeling of non-belonging. He remembered it little by little. There was light coming from a door being ajar, illuminating the tiny flakes of dust in the room, heating the tatami and his skin as far as it could reach.

She was humming on the porch, like when she showered.

Waves of relief broke on his beach when he realized it hadn't been all a dream.

Sasuke opened the door carefully, which made noise anyway, and crawled sleepily over to where she had dried flowers and all kinds of paper and autumnal leaves and paint brushes all around.

He positioned himself behind her without a word. She interrupted neither her activity nor her soft humming. Hinata was warm from the spring sun and Sasuke wrapped his arms around her - just below her full breasts, just above her prominent belly - and stuck his back to her chest or the other way around, so close it was impossible to differentiate.

And to think that she had once been someone else's option.

They were each other's choices.