Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!

Summary: Already heartbroken while still sewing herself back together, she would have to push her feelings aside for that exact person who unintentionally ruptured her. For once, Hinata would pick up the pieces. NaruHina

This is set after the war.

"Talking"
'Thoughts'

Mistake
S h ock & D i sbelief
Chapter One: Icy

It had been three years or so since it happened. Hinata was on the verge of tears when she first heard it in passing whispers – it spread like gasoline through the village, through the stationed shinobi, in the middle of the war.

The hero got the girl! The shining light in dark times! Those words scratched away at her very core.

However, she did not cry. Well, not straight away at least. Instead, she choked it down and suffocated. But, that pain was nothing compared to seeing Naruto sitting in the rain. This man was a ghost. It was much, much harder seeing Naruto like this than seeing him and Sakura together for all these years.

A few days before.

Naruto walked with a skip in his step to his date's reservation. A very special date to him—for his future. He kept fiddling with the velvety object in his pocket; he was beaming due to its purpose. His heart was beating in such a way that it took his breath away.

He laughed at how he was acting; it was amazing that such a small thing could mean or do to someone. Messy, blond hair shaded his cobalt eyes when he stopped laughing like a giddy idiot and kept moving with his pace gradually speeding up.

He ran a hand through his hair, attempting to fix it, and took another calming breath before entering the restaurant.

"Naruto," Sakura said with her green eyes taking on a glassy glow from the candlelight. She gave him a hypnotising smile.

He boyishly grinned back while sitting down after kissing her on the cheek.

He quickly tucked some pink hair that came loose behind her ear, and then rested his hand on top of hers; which led them to chat idly as they waited for their ordered food.

Sakura was confused when Naruto first asked her out on a date that wasn't celebrating anything particular – well nothing that she could think of anyway; they celebrated her birthday about a month ago. However, as she watched him order some appetisers, she shrugged it off, thinking he just wanted to treat her since he was away on an extended mission.

The night was light and airy with warmth around the two eating dinner. They occasionally laughed and swapped stories about what happened while Naruto was away.

"...and then he tried getting me with this huge attack that almost stunned me for a few seconds!" Naruto loudly said as he demonstrated the 'huge' blast with his arms flying out to the side of him, almost knocking over the bottle of bubbles that sat in a bucket of ice—Naruto hated the stuff. Still, it's what people drank when celebrating and he knew Sakura liked it.

Sakura rolled her eyes with a smile as she shook her head. Some things just didn't change. Since she thought about it, a lot of things hadn't changed. Naruto still acted like he was sixteen, maybe even thirteen instead of being twenty, Sasuke... Sasuke was again gone, and everyone else did what they usually did – train or go on missions. But what could she say herself; she was just like them. She got missions whenever she wasn't helping at the hospital and did other things that usually came with her everyday life. But Sakura did change, and so did everyone else. They matured. A bit. Except, judging by his antics, for the person sitting across from her.

As the night progressed, Naruto seemed to get more and more restless in his chair. Sakura eyed him with a frown on her face as he kept fiddling with something in his pocket. Her breath hitched every time he went for the thing.

He vaguely chuckled as he picked up the bottle of wine and offered it to her. Sakura nodded with a small smile while she pushed her glass slightly over to be filled.

Naruto's hands were shaking as the liquid poured. His nerves were going haywire since the dinner was almost at a close. He needed to snap out of it soon before he screwed up majorly.

They toasted with a clear chime of the glasses clicking together and took a body warming sip. Naruto looked at Sakura from the corner of his eye as he took another sip and watched as she relaxed more into the mood that he was trying to portray – something casual but nice.

He finally sighed to himself, deciding that he would never get anywhere if he kept things going at this rate. He coughed a little to clear his throat while also drawing Sakura's attention. He dared look into her eyes only for a second here and there.

"Sakura..." Naruto started after a hum of hesitation. "I know we've been dating for about three years now... and I love spending time with you when we're free; you're a beautiful person."

He gave a goofy smile at her confused expression; for some reason at the back of his mind, what he was saying almost sounded like he was breaking up with her using flattery.

"And," he continued as he placed a hand on hers, "well, you know how the life of a ninja is short-lived and should be done to the fullest! I'd love to spend the rest of my life with you."

It wasn't the most romantic thing Naruto could have said nor done. He hoped it wasn't too clumsy but instead cute. He didn't think Sakura would need violins playing in the background or rose petals scattered across the floor. He squeezed her hand as a hopeful look came to his face.

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed together. "Naruto... what are you trying to say?" She said, frowning more.

He laughed out of awkwardness. "What I'm trying to say is—" he got off his seat and kneeled on one knee while pulling the object out from his pocket "—Sakura, will you marry me?" He opened the velvety case with a snap.

Her blood froze in her veins. She stared wide-eyed at Naruto. Her head started to lightly shake as she thought, 'No. No! This was not supposed to happen!'

Her green eyes rigidly investigated his. 'I, I don't truely love you... I never have and didn't think you did.'

"Get up," she quietly snapped at him, ignoring his expression as she looked at their audience.

Naruto's chest felt like it was caving in. He tried loosening the collar of his shirt when he couldn't breathe even though he knew it wasn't the cause. A mortified expression came to his face as Sakura distanced herself from him – especially when her face lost its warmth.

Present time.

Hinata's white eyes blinked when water dripped on one. She was close to being completely saturated; her darkened hair clumped and swayed in the pouring rain. She shakily watched as Naruto stared blankly over the village.

Uncertainty crept up her back when she started to move towards him. Sure, she and Naruto did become better friends, not so much as acquaintances anymore even with the crush she had, but was she close enough with him to offer help – to provide a shoulder to lean on?

No, Hinata didn't think so. Nevertheless, people did say that she was abnormally kind and shy for a Hyuga, so she didn't mind. Her head tilted down a little when pain started to swell. Maybe that was why no one from her family really cared.

Hinata bit her lip.

Hinata peeked through her lashes as she watched Naruto for just a bit more as she tried to gain her courage back. She could see his back quiver from how hard it was to breathe. She felt so sickened by how Sakura took his love for granted.

She ran a hand softly through his dulled hair when her legs finally dragged her over. If she had done this when she was any younger, it was guaranteed for her to pass out.

His shoulders tensed before seeing her usual pants from the corner of his eye.

"Naruto..." Hinata softly said as she sat next to him in the rain. She dropped the suffix quite some time ago, especially since Sakura used it here and there when addressing him. She mused about reusing the old habit since it was always on the tip of her tongue but thought ill about it since it would probably bring more ache to what he was already feeling.

He softly hummed in automatic response without knowing.

So many questions were flowing through her mind that she dismissed since it was still too early to ask. Instead, Hinata went with something that was bluntly obvious to her that she could change. "How long have you been out here for?"

Naruto's hunched figure barely moved apart from the shivers creeping across his skin. He slowly lifted two fingers in a delayed response. Two days. A frown tugged at her lips. She would have been here sooner if she heard.

She placed the inner side of her wrist on his forehead to check his temperature and frowned more when his skin was icy. When she noticed what she did, she flinched away. Oh, the irony of the situation. Naruto always used to do this to her when she was close to fainting.

Those times were such distant memories that were so close to her heart.

Hinata could feel Naruto's stormy eyes finally on her, watching like a hawk. She inaudibly gulped and clumsily moved as she attempted to stand up in wet, clinging clothes.

She finally looked at him again. Those eyes... they were always so emotional, so passionate. Now they were flat—the storm had ended, leaving debris. She crouched down, slung his lifeless arm around her shoulders and supported his weight as she slowly dragged him home.

Hinata started to worry when Naruto hadn't emerged from the bathroom in a while. She almost offered if he needed help when she heard fumbling amongst curses but fidgeted when her face warmed up from the idea of seeing him partly naked. She shook her head. 'That would be plain embarrassing.'

She lifted the pot's lid and felt the steam escape onto her face before she quickly stirred the ramen. Faintly, she heard footsteps coming towards the door and placed the lid back on before grabbing the blanket she obtained from Naruto's small closet.

It all moved quite swiftly for the two. One-minute Naruto was standing vacantly in the doorway, and in the next moment a blanket was wrapped around him, and Hinata was rubbing his arms through the thick material as she led him to sit on the worn-in couch.

The still sopping wet kunoichi quickly left for the adjacent kitchen and shortly returned with a steaming bowl of chicken ramen. Hinata gently and carefully placed it in Naruto's hands.

Naruto watched her eyes scan around the apartment as she shivered. His eyebrows started to knit together as she dismissed her own needs for his. He wanted to tell her she could use the bathroom to clean up and borrow some of his clothes if needed, but his throat wouldn't work – it felt like it took too much effort to breathe.

He took a shattering breath to at least attempt, but she finally turned back to him. Her long, dark hair clung to her neck and face – it was such a striking contrast to her pale skin. She shyly smiled out of awkwardness.

"There's more ramen in the fridge if you're hungry later, Lady Tsunade requested me while I was making you dinner," Hinata said, apologising.

And that was all he saw of her after he heavily blinked.

Hinata's heart pounded as she ran around a corner, away from Naruto's apartment, and leaned against a wall. Holding a hand to her heart, she slid down until her bottom hit the pavement. Long hair clung to her arms as the downpour pounded around her.

She pulled her knees to her chest, finally letting the tears escape.

AN: 3rd person isn't really my forte, but that's why I'm here to practice. :)
So, what do you think? Continue or put it in the scrapheap?

Also, one of my horizontal lines would not insert/work. Why?