title: words

pairing: sasuke/hinata

notes: idea totally ripped off from that one tumblr post. and bc i can't help sasuhina and all the angst that comes with them :)

his parents had sat him down one day when he was still a child and spoke to him about love and life. when you grow older, words will spontaneously appear on your skin.

confused as to why it happened, his mother elaborated; they will be the first words the love of your life will say to you. she said with a kind smile on her face as she turned to his father, his lips tugging at the sides at her, their eyes bearing all the love they spoke about.

eight year old sasuke, thought it weird but it excited him. what kind of words would they be? who would say them? how would it happen?

x

to her knowledge, the average age those words would appear on people was at about eighteen years old, give or take.

when her mother had told little hinata about it, she was positively elated. she had had fantasies about the day she would meet her soulmate. how she'd mutter the words that she would say to him first, and he would smile knowingly whilst still giving her his reply. they would maybe smile, giggle, chuckle, at each other. and he would bashfully ask her for her number, maybe go to a cafe, talk for hours. get to know each other. the possibilities were endless and the thought that the inevitable was coming made hinata more and more excited as she grew up.

x

the words first appeared written across the skin of his forearm when he was seventeen years old.

excuse me.

he had been changing to get into the shower after training at the dojo and the words had made themselves apparent. he was startled at first; he had stared at them for a while, running the pad of his thumb across the letters as some form of hope balled in his stomach. he didn't dwell on it too long though. he was only seventeen and not nearly ready enough for a lifelong commitment.

bitterly, he had come to realise that those words would mock him for the rest of his life.

excuse me.

x

when she found herself crushing on her classmate at university; secretly, she would go home and check her skin in front of her mirror. every part of her wanted to believe he was the one. his bright personality, beautiful deep blue eyes, uplifting spirit and never ending kindness had her completely taken.

she had been nineteen, and thought, maybe the words hadn't appeared yet because you had to prompt them to. if naruto had said something to her, maybe they'd appear then and it would be the confirmation she needed.

but when she finally mustered up the courage to say something to him, and he had replied enthusiastically, even saying her name which flustered her, later that night, she had all but stripped naked to check her skin but nothing was there. not even an out of place blemish.

nothing.

her spirits were downtrodden and her infatuation soon turned bitter, and she could no longer happily daydream of being swept off her feet by the handsome blond. some days she'd try to reason with herself, maybe the words weren't ready to appear yet? but that made no sense.

it wasn't until she was walking around campus and saw naruto and his friends playing baseball on one of the fields that she saw words etched onto his back as he was tackled to the ground, and his shirt hiked up trunk.

definitely not the words she had ever said to him.

she had felt tears prickle her eyes and at that point she had lost all hope that she would ever share anything with naruto.

x

by twenty, sasuke had already squashed away any sliver of hope that existed.

how many times had he heard those words uttered to him?

people bumping into him, muttering their quick apologies. people trying to get around him. colleagues and peers asking for something. security guards telling him off. cashiers getting his attention when his mind was elsewhere. children, elderly, boys, girls, married couples…

excuse me, excuse me, excuse me.

it never ended.

by twenty six he had thoroughly and completely given up and thought the idea of love and soulmates was nothing short of bothersome. he plunged himself into his training. convinced himself that those words were only a distraction. he had… other ambitions. things to focus on. make something of himself. become someone to be remembered no matter how lonely it got.

over time he had tattooed a snake coiling around his forearm, covering the mocking letters.

out of sight, out of mind.

x

at twenty five, and her skin still bare, hinata had long decided that it was futile. there came a period when she was angry at her fate. what force out there had decided her soulmate absolutely had to be the person who said whatever words appeared on her skin? wasn't love more powerful than this? wasn't love a force that could defy all laws, logic and reason? even the ones you thought were set in stone?

she had dated a person once. several months down the line he had come to her with guilt in his eyes and broke up with her. telling her that he had found his soulmate and that he was truly sorry.

she didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything. just watched him go. she knew she should have expected it. but it hurt either way.

all of the people she knew already had words strewn across their skin. others already had found their soulmates and were steadily falling in love.

what had fate left her with?

nothing.

x

sasuke was walking down the bustling street of the shopping district in shinjuku. headphones on, music blaring to drown out the sounds of the crowd. he waited absently at a cross section, the pedestrian lights red, waiting for it to change. when the signal changed, he paced forward, crossed the road, and turned the corner.

he fully collided with a girl who almost lost her balance, but regained it at the last second. straightening, hinata looked up apologetically, brushing her fringe out of her eyes.

"e-excuse me," she breathed.

the music was loudly playing in his ears, but sasuke could make out the words forming on her lips.

excuse me.

he felt a small pull that he used to feel the first few times those words had been uttered to him, but quickly smothered the feeling out of habit. he wanted to tell her to watch where she was going; he eyed her with something akin to disdain, but then decided to keep his silence.

nothing.

sasuke corrected the backpack hanging off his shoulder, and went around her to continue along his way.

hinata stared after him for longer than necessary. no thoughts in her mind until she blinked slowly, realising she was feeling a little less apologetic after the rude glare she had received. however, still feeling slightly amiss, she made sure everything was in order, the folders in her hands in their right place, and then continued on her way in the opposite direction. she took a few steps forward, and looked behind her once again, the man was walking away steadily.

she huffed and moved on, clearing him out of her mind.

he didn't know what possessed him to stop, but he did. and he looked back. barely caught her turning the corner and then she was out of sight. he scoffed then. shook his head, and walked a little faster.

hinata had to rush to the real estate office to finalise some paperwork on the apartment she had rented out in osaka. she was being relocated over there from her current museum in tokyo.

she was set to leave in a couple of days to start a new life, immersed in her art restoration work that kept her days filled and busy.

sasuke had training to catch up on, and a tournament to get ready for in two weeks' time.

he was going to be late.

end