Beyond The Camera: The Sequel

Chapter 12

-Hinata's POV-

When Prestige arrived home after filming, I thought Sasuke would jump right into wanting to talk. I wouldn't have been against it, either. Instead, he waited until it was time for bed. Both of us showered, and then I went to his room rather than mine. He'd requested we begin sleeping in the same bed as we had in the past, and I'm glad he did because I missed his presence like crazy.

The Uchiha man surprised me again because I thought there might be some lingering discomfort between us, but he wrapped his arms around my middle and pulled until my back met his front, "We don't have to talk about it. I don't care about anything other than the fact that you're not in danger anymore."

I closed my eyes with a furrowed brow, clutching at the arms around me with my hands, "Sasuke, I know you don't want to, but we should."

There was a long pause before the man buried his face in my hair and grumbled like a spoiled toddler being told no, "Go ahead, then."

Now that the time had come to spill my heart, I wasn't sure how to verbalize the emotions. I still had to try, though. "I-I know apologizing will never make up for what I put you through, but I am sorry."

"Why are you apologizing, Hinata?" His tone was flat and unamused.

I never expected this to be easy. That said, it was as though Sasuke was entirely refusing to let me express my guilt. The long silent moment that followed had to have made him realize I wasn't comfortable with his response because he spoke again, this time more softly, "You went through worse than me. I know you did, so I don't blame you, and I wish you wouldn't blame yourself, either."

Tears overflowed to drip slowly onto the pillow, making me inwardly curse my inability to keep my composure. All of my plans to sincerely apologize further and attempt to find a way to atone for the hurt he experienced faltered as the emotions became hard to withstand.

My voice cracked when I said, "S-Sasuke, I.... I don't want to lose you, but I feel like there's no way for things to go back to how they were."

"You're right."

My breath caught in my throat, eyes widening in shock, "What?"

The Uchiha man's voice had a tug that told me he was a little embarrassed to say this aloud, "Things can't go back to how they were, but I don't want them to, at least not completely."

The surprise kept me quiet. I wasn't sure what he was trying to say but didn't have to wait long for elaboration.

"I wish neither of us had to go through all that, of course, but now everyone knows we're together. Now, I can tell you I love you without worrying if it'll scare you away."

Sniffling, I tried to speak, but he cut me off, "I won't lie and say it didn't bother me; what happened between you two," Sasuke was referring to the fact that I slept with Toneri, "But I've had time to think about it and realized it'd be selfish to hold it against you. You almost died.... Hinata, I don't care about any of it anymore."

Suddenly, I couldn't bear not seeing his face, so I hesitantly turned in his arms, wiping at the tears on my cheeks. His dark eyes were beautiful, even in this lightless room. A stubborn furrow marred his brow with a silent warning that he'd have the last word one way or another.

"How can you get over everything so quickly? You should be angry; everyone would agree with me."

His eyes narrowed, making my mouth clamp shut, "I don't give a damn what everyone else thinks."

Sasuke took a moment before releasing the tension in his expression. He gently cupped my cheek to brush at a stray tear with his thumb. His tone was much calmer, "I don't have to pretend everything's okay because it is, so stop beating yourself up. Just say you love me, and we'll move on together, okay?"