Stay

SxHxSxH

She really tried to keep her teeth from chattering but it just would not cooperate. She would have ran to her apartment had she not sprained her ankle. She was just thankful that it was not a major sprain so she didn't bother to heal herself and instead decided to save up her energy for her walk home.

She had misdirected her chakra-laden, water-fused attack toward the waterfall, causing massive explosion of water, soaking her completely. She just had simple training clothes on, not intending to stay out too long. The night air was chilly and the forest was quiet. Normally, she would be enjoying herself, walking in the moonlight in the dark forest, basking in the stillness and peace….had she not gone and soaked herself through.

"Hinata," a voice called out from behind her. Startled out of her thought, she looked back at the owner of the voice who had a simple black uniform on, staring at her with steady gaze.

"S-Sasuke-san," Hinata said, trying to keep her voice from chattering. Wrapping her arms more tightly around herself, she looked down at the ground. It was uncomfortable to be scrutinized under his intense gaze but she stayed still, not knowing what to say.

Ever since he came back, they had gone on missions few times together and had spoken, mostly about the mission in hand. He had even come in few times at the hospital where she was interning after he had sustained injuries. So while it was exactly nerve wrecking, she wasn't completely comfortable especially when the silence stretched on longer. She shifted to turn to the side, intending to keep going. "Good n-night."

Hinata heard him sigh. "You're going to get sick." Hinata heard his footsteps drawing closer and in the corner of her eyes, she saw him pass her by. She thought that that would be the end of their conversation but he stopped back in his track and glanced back at her.

"Hurry up," Sasuke said, impatiently, as he waited for her.

"Oh, umm." Hinata was confused at his behavior and debated whether to follow. Her body acted on her own before she could think in through. She was tired and cold and his words were the clearest thought that she could follow in her fogged up mind.

Sasuke walked lithely, barely making any sound. She tried not to drag her foot but she was just not as graceful especially when her sprain was shooting pain through her leg each step she took.

If he noticed, she was grateful that he didn't say anything. She looked up to see that they had arrived at the Uchiha residence and she just numbly followed him in.

"You could wash up," Sasuke said as he reappeared in front of her with a set of clothes and pointed to the far door on the hallway. She looked up at him in surprise and accepted the clothes.

"Thank you," she said quietly. He was so nice to her. He didn't say anything snide and instead anticipated what she would need before she said anything.

When she had finished and she was getting in the clothes that she had received, she panicked because his pants did not fit her. Fortunately, his shirt was long and it reached her mid-thigh. She bit her lips and decided what to do. Should she call out?

"Umm, Sasuke?" Hinata called out, softly. She didn't hear anything and in the dim light, she saw a couch in the middle of the living room so she decided to wait there.

She cautiously opened the bathroom door and snuck out. She was careful not to make any noise. She didn't want him to wake up if he had already gone to sleep. She was almost to her destination when her foot caught on the tip of the carpet and she tripped over, causing a loud ruckus.

"Oww," Hinata mumbled as she looked at her knees, knowing that it was going to bruise.

"Are you alright?" Sasuke had emerged out of the darkness and he was looking at her with slight confusion. Then his eyes followed down to where she was holding her knees and her eyes followed his and immediately had a full blush on her face as she realized that the shirt's length had gotten shorter and it was just barely covering the tip of her thigh.

In the corner of her eyes, she saw that he immediately looked away as she tried to hastily get up, wondering if she had accidentally flashed him. But her legs had been close together and it was dark. She just prayed that it was enough to prevent any display of indecency.

Flustered, she looked down and almost shoved the pants to his hands. "I'm sorry, i-it didn't fit." She could feel his gaze on her mixed with amusement and intensity.

"Wait here," Sasuke said, as he took it back and disappeared into his room again.

So she leaned back on the couch with her legs to the front and let her eyes rest. She really was going to wait but her eye was threatening to close and she was simply too tired. She tucked her feet underneath her and put her head on the arm of the couch. Before she knew it, she was drifting off to a blissful slumber.

SxHxSxH

She awoke with a start and saw that it was still dark. She tried to move but felt herself trapped, something heavy wrapped around her. She panicked for a second, wondering if someone was kidnapping her and she looked down to find that it was actually an arm. Her heart jumped and she sifted through her mind quickly, trying to remember what happened last night. Her eyes followed the arm wrapped around her waist and she came across pale skin and black hair.

She froze, shocked at the situation that she found herself in. She looked down to see that she still did have clothes on and breathed a sigh of relief. She saw that one arm underneath had made its way to her shoulder and the other arm was wrapped completely around her waist. She raked her brain to figure out what could possibly have happened. The last thing that she could recall was falling asleep with her head on the arm of the couch.

She tried to inconspicuously back away slightly but she found that his grip on her was firm. She cautiously peeked at his face, raising her head upward, praying that she did not wake him. She squeaked to find her eyes settle on his dark ones. She tried to scramble away clumsily, only managing to put her two hands out and scoot back to create some space.

"You're going to fall if you do that," Sasuke said as he looked at her amusedly.

She stopped struggling when she heard his voice. "S-Sasuke-" She could feel her cheek radiating and her heart beating erratically. She wanted some kind of explanation or anything else that would make this situation less embarrassing.

"You were cold," he said, blandly. "I didn't feel like waking you up."

Well, that didn't make any sense but they were both true. Frankly, he could care less about giving any kind of explanation and she was too busy being embarrassed to register anything in her mind.

His voice had broken her out of her reverie and she started struggling against his grip again, putting her hands on his shoulder to push herself away but his arms didn't move. "W-What? I-I don't, t-that is," she managed to stutter out. She hated that she was babbling on. "I'm s-sor-"

Her apology was cut in mid-sentence. "Stop apologizing," Sasuke sighed. It made her eyes water because she could only take so much embarrassment in one day. She tried to keep the tears at bay, willing them to back away until she felt his hand lift her chin up.

"What I meant was," Sasuke began hesitantly, his eyes softened. "You have nothing to apologize for," Sasuke finished his sentence, soothingly.

Hinata's eyes widened at his words. Was this his way of comfort? Why was he being so nice to her? Hinata's thoughts came to a halt when she realized that his hand was softly moving, grazing her cheek to settle on the back of her head. He combed through her blue hair gently, fingering the long blue tresses. It made her relax greatly and she felt her eyes droop. His eyes held hers in a gaze but she could not decipher what he was thinking.

She saw something flicker in his eyes akin to determination. "I apologize," Sasuke said, breaking the silence. It took a second for the words to sink in completely. It was another second before she felt his lips on hers. She was stunned as her head was firmly held in place by his hand and he pulled her up with his other hand to properly deepen the kiss. Without thinking, she placed her hands on his chest and drew him closer.

When their lips parted, she just closed her eyes and breathed, her forehead barely touching his. Strength had gone out of her and she felt lightheaded so she stayed still, trying to gather up her energy to form at least a coherent thought in the bombardment of emotions she was feeling.

The sudden thought that he might be playing with her causes her to shake slightly. She doesn't think she can face it. It would be too cruel for him to play with her feelings like that. But his heart was beating fast underneath her hand and that itself told her that he was affected also.

"Hinata," Sasuke called her name. She opened her eyes to see his expression of concern tinted with uneasiness. Her doubt and fear was immediately replaced as she came face-to-face with one of the most vulnerable expressions that she saw in Sasuke.

"Yes?" Hinata said, as she stared at him. Vaguely, she wondered where she found the voice to speak. She saw him hesitating and that made her smile. Without really thinking of her action, her hand reached out to him and caressed his cheek. As soon as her hand touched, she saw that he leaned into her touch willingly, which made her stomach flutter.

"I was waiting to do that," Sasuke stated, quietly. His words made her blush and she was going to retract her hand but he grabbed it and put it on top of his cheek like she had it before but he put his hand on top of hers to keep it in place. The intensity of his gaze seems to cut through to the very core of her being.

How long had he been waiting? She wondered as saw him take her hand to his lips and give a feathery kiss to the palm of her hand, which made her heart hammer in her chest. Her heart squeezed at the thought of him waiting until she would properly give him a glance; just waiting and looking only to find that she wouldn't look at his way. She knew how it felt like. Warmth and joy settled in as she looked at the man before her.

"Thank you," Hinata said as she gave him a genuine smile. With as much expression of appreciation she could muster, she drew closer. "For waiting."

Sasuke's eyes looked slightly away in what she presumed to be in embarrassment until his eyes came back to meet hers. She marveled at what a patient man he was and his thoughtfulness. "I didn't want to pressure you. I don't ever plan to… so you just have to tell me."

She felt his hand tighten around her waist but he stayed still, waiting for her. "Stay," he whispered.

"Okay," she smiled as she closed her eyes, buried her head to his chest, and listened to his heart beating. As she felt herself relax completely against him, she felt protected in his arms. Before she fell asleep, she felt him kiss the top of her head and whisper the three loving words to her.

SxHxSxH

SasuHina. What more can I say?

-NightKDuet