日向導 - A Hyūga's Guide

Chapter Forty Eight: The Battle of Brothers [I]

The cold did nothing to thwart her from sitting out on the engawa. A lantern lay at her side as her eyes were narrowed as she focused on her small task. A ball of thick, black yarn sat on her lap as she worked on a scarf. Along with the lantern was a folded red scarf, as well as a green one — completed gifts meant for Naruto and Neji. Hinata barely glanced up when the door opened behind her, she offered her new companion a small smile as she picked at the needles in her hands.

"It's getting cold." He sat beside her and studied what she was doing. Her request of purchasing the yarn made sense now that he could see her using them. "And late."

"I know." She said just above a whisper, "I want to finish this before the morning."

"What's the rush?"

She shrugged and paused for a second to look at him. Although she wasn't one to point out many things, preferring to keep her observations to herself, she noticed that there were bags forming under his eyes which were filled with mute exhaustion. He hadn't been 'home' very often, spending hours with Gaara and Naruto, and no doubt he wasn't getting sleep either. "It would be nice to finish this before the winter passes, otherwise, their purpose is not fulfilled." She gave him a smile. "Have you been sleeping?"

Sasuke blinked, turning his head up to stare at the stars above. In Suna, without any trees to obscure his vision, the sky was vast and the stars were very easily seen. Despite disliking the sand that ran for miles, the open sky was very much liked by him. "As much as anxiety lets me sleep."

"Hm." She hummed and finished the final stitching before setting the unfinished scarf down. Placing everything beside her, allowing it to join the finished scarves and lantern, she gave him her undivided attention and reached for his face. "Are you going back to the Palace soon?"

"Not for tonight." He shook his head and leaned into her hand. It wasn't as if his rendezvous with Gaara was a secret, he had informed her of his goings and comings, but the reason behind them still remained unknown. "Gaara is allowing me to sleep here." It wasn't necessarily a lie. He already hated lying to her.

"Then we should get to bed." She pulled her hand away and began getting ready before his hand wrapped around her wrist. He didn't say anything, only shaking his head ever so slightly, but the message was conveyed. He wanted to stay there for a few minutes longer. "You know..."

Sasuke's hand dropped and he raised his eyebrow, silently beckoning her to continue.

"It's been a while since you've eaten any tomatoes."

His eyebrows settled and the wrinkles in between them were calm. Sasuke closed his eyes and scoffed in disbelief before he chuckled. "I thought you were going to say something very serious."

"It is serious." But she laughed too. "Uchiha Sasuke, lover of all things tomato, has not bothered me or anyone else with his love for it. I thought the absence of it would plunge you into some dark fantasy." She leaned back on her hands and stared up at the sky. "I can't say I'm not happy that I don't have to eat it so much." She giggled when he nudged her with his shoulder.

"I have other things that remind me of tomatoes." He rolled his eyes and watched her.

"Oh? What's that?" She caught his eyes for a moment but paid him no mind.

"I think you know." He pulled her closer and cupped her cheek, coaxing her into staring at him. "I miss you."

"I'm always here, I haven't left." Her eyes sparkled as she mapped his features with them. Her pale, lavender eyes settled on his dark ones. "I won't leave, you're kind of stuck with me for life." His hand trailed down to her neck, his breath tickling her nose but she didn't move away. "Now you're all sentimental on me for just pointing out that you haven't had time to talk about tomatoes." Yet she didn't bother putting space between them.