A/N: Pre-700; Sasuke/Hinata friendship with some SasuSaku and NaruHina. Just a little oneshot that I thought you guys might like. It references some material from the Hanabi filler episodes.

He's really a lot like me, the former Hyuuga heiress thinks as she watches the dark-eyed Uchiha from her hiding spot. He is reaching out to take the hand of the blonde jinchuuriki who stands before him, but Naruto has already turned around, not even seeing the other man's extended arm. It is an accident, but Sasuke's already downcast face seems to become even more forlorn.

Both hail from ancient Konoha clans, with patriarchs known for being immovable and stone-cold. Their fathers spent too much time with politics and not enough time with family—no, not family as in the extended clan whose power extends over an entire block of the city. Family as in shared meals, hearty laughter, and brothers and sisters and cousins who tease each other and look out for each other. Sadly, the only experience she has with this is watching it on television. She thinks she could have gotten to that point with Neji, but just as they were becoming close friends, he was forcibly taken from her, another casualty of a war that never should have happened in the first place.

Ever since his return to Konoha, Hinata has been watching Sasuke's interactions with a pang in her heart. Even though he has helped Konoha win against enemies whose very existence was the stuff of legends, no one but Naruto trusts him yet.

She hears him tell Sakura, "I regret hurting you," the words coming out so slowly and quietly that she's not entirely sure he said anything at all.

When Sakura replies, "It's okay, Sasuke-kun; the past is in the past," Hinata knows the pink-haired kunoichi is lying. Evidently, so does Sasuke, because his face is marred by a frown, and the two walk away from each other without another word.

Hinata's heart aches for him, pity and understanding mixed. She may be the only one left who knows why clan means so much, and why it hurts so badly.

He hears a knock on his apartment door, but he has no idea who it could possibly be. Naruto would simply barge in without the courtesy of a knock. Sakura has been avoiding him ever since the night he sort-of apologized and she was unable to forgive. He allows that it might be Kakashi, although the purpose of his visit is unknown. Maybe the old man is dropping by for another lecture.

When bone-white eyes meet his dark ones, he is shocked, although he tries not to let it show.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun," Hyuuga Hinata says, voice barely above a whisper. Sasuke makes no move to let her in, so she stands there patiently.

He can't think of a single time the two have talked. As far as he can remember, she's just some shy kunoichi who's afraid of her own shadow and shrinks back every time anyone pays her any attention. He has heard about the time she almost went through cardiac arrest fighting her own cousin in the Chuunin exams yet refused to give up, as well as the time she protected Naruto from Pain and gave him the strength to go on, but he witnessed neither of these events. He has half a mind to slam the door and tell her to get lost, because what can she possibly say to him?

Still, when he sees her trembling slightly, he relaxes his guard a little. Hinata is just as meek as he remembers. He cannot even imagine the courage it must have taken just for her to walk up these steps. If he turns her away now, he honestly thinks her fragile psyche might shatter into a million pieces. And because he doesn't want to hurt her, because she is childlike in her purity and innocence and gentleness, Sasuke opens the door and waves for her to come inside.

Hinata is not boisterous like Naruto or chatty like Sakura. Just the opposite, and in fact, for the first ten-or-so minutes that she's there, they just sit in silence. When she finally speaks, the first thing out of her mouth is not her own story, but Neji's, because she knows Sasuke didn't get a chance to hear it during the Chuunin exams, which feel like an entire lifetime ago.

When she is done, Sasuke says nothing, but his expression is thoughtful.

The next day, she is back at the same time. She tells him her story, and the horrors she witnessed and endured in the Hyuuga complex. Hinata spills everything about watching her cousin undergo physical and psychological torture for expressing his grief violently at the oh-so-precious main family heiress. She openly talks about the time she hesitated to hit a girl five years her junior and lost her entire inheritance because of it. She does not, however, tell him about every instance where Hyuuga Hiashi called her a disappointment and spat in her face, but only because that would take too long. They are closely guarded Hyuuga secrets she is giving up, but she wants to be rid of them. When she gets to the part where she holds a pale Neji in her arms, thinking about how birds should be free in life, not death, she begins to cry a little, and—wonder of wonders—Sasuke actually takes one of her hands until her shaky breaths are under control.

"Why are you telling me all this?" he asks.

Hinata does not speak for a while, and he can tell she is trying to choose her words carefully.

"Because … I want you to know that we're all battling our own sins, and our ancestors' sins, and that you … are not alone. Konoha has committed many crimes that cannot be absolved, but the new generation is always looking to surpass the old, and we … your comrades and your teammates … we are always with you."

If Sasuke agrees with her, he does not show it. But after a long moment of silence, he says, "Thank you, Hinata."

"I'd like to be your friend, if that's okay, Sasuke-kun," she replies hesitantly.

Sasuke says nothing. But he doesn't disagree, and Hinata swears she can see the beginning of a long-forgotten smile playing on his lips.

This is when Sasuke realizes just how much Hinata has changed; she may still be quiet and shy, but within her resides an unusual fortitude that allows her to go against her very nature, knock on a near-stranger's door, and help him heal.

The third time she comes to his house is a few weeks later, and after he lets her in, he starts to prepare tea for two. Hinata tells him all about her struggles with Naruto, about how she essentially confessed twice, and the blonde has done absolutely nothing in response. She is blushing the whole time, but Sasuke is Naruto's best friend, and certainly he'll know what to do.

"It would be nice to hear a true response, even if it's a no, right?"

To his credit, Sasuke does not call Naruto "loser" or "moron" or "idiot" a single time during her entire story. I'm the last person who should be giving her advice about this, he thinks wryly.

Still, he says, "Naruto is just a little bit … slow. A few kunai short of a weapons pack, you know?" At this, Hinata laughs. "Give him time, and he'll come around."

Hinata thanks him and prepares to leave, but as she is about to open the door, he calls out, "Wait."

She turns around, curious.

"You know Sakura?" he asks.

She stifles a laugh. So this, the fated love, is going to come together. She has known so since their genin days. Probably everyone has known, even Ino, who stopped pretending she had a shot after the Uchiha and the medic-nin were placed on the same team many years ago.

"Yes, I do," she replies seriously.

"She hates me still, but…" he says, and he opens his mouth to continue, but nothing comes out.

"Hate and love look quite similar," Hinata tells him, "because they are both born of passion. Of caring very, very much. Sakura-san does not hate you. She might not exactly trust you, but she certainly does not hate you."

"Then how can I convince her to trust me?"

"How do you think?" Hinata prompts him. He just shakes his head. "Why doesn't she trust you?"

"She's scared I'll try to stab her through the heart again?"

"No, Sasuke-kun. She's scared you'll leave. So prove her wrong."

Sasuke looks at the quiet Hyuuga girl in surprise, grateful for concrete, helpful advice and regretting that he is too inexperienced—no, too blockheaded—in this area to do the same for her.

"You're a good friend, Hinata," he says quietly, and it is her turn to be surprised. But a smile softens her features, and she places one hand on his shoulder affectionately before going back home.

Sometime in the near future, Sakura and Sasuke walk through the market together, his arm around her waist protectively, and whenever he turns to look at her, she tilts her head up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. He isn't fond of showing affection in public, but Sakura is so scared of losing him again that she'll cherish every sweet moment she gets. It doesn't matter anyway, because he's not going anywhere, and someday she'll realize that. After all, today she is wearing an oversized button-down that she stole from him, with the signature red-and-white uchiwa emblazoned on the back—Sasuke cannot help but think it suits her well.

They pass Naruto and Hinata going by the other direction, hand-in-hand, and Naruto is so preoccupied gazing into her alabaster eyes that he genuinely doesn't notice his teammates walk by. Hinata, however, catches Sasuke's eye and smiles, and the corners of his lips quirk up at her, a secret look that only these two survivors of Konoha's bloody clan history can understand. Today, they build a new tomorrow.