the aftermath

She let him stay in their apartment and it was a goddamn curse.

A few times he would walk up to the apartment door after coming back from work, anticipating Hinata humming some nameless song and tinkering in the kitchen.

Instead, he was greeted with mind numbing silence and pangs in his chest.

Not bothering to turn on any lights, he would trudge to his room to change and lie down.

She didn't take their photos or any of the little trinkets bought absentmindedly from the farmers markets she liked to frequent. She only took her clothes and bare necessities, and only when he was away at work.

In a burst of sentimentality, he tried to keep a shirt of hers by hiding it under his pillow, hoping she wouldn't notice. The attempt was unsuccessful and the article of clothing was gone when he returned that evening.

Even her scent lingered. In the living room, in the hallway, and especially in the sheets. Trying to sleep was hell with her memory imprinted in his subconscious. Sometimes it was too much and he had to spend the night on the couch.

It was cruel, though not her intention, to leave everything almost virtually the same.

Sasuke wanted to shove all of her keepsakes into a box and hide it in the back of the closet so he would never have to look at the damned things again. But he didn't have the energy nor will.

So the apartment became a museum of their history and he, the lonely curator.

Six days after one of the most devastating moments of his life, there was knocking at the front door.

At the idea that it could have been Hinata wanting to make up, his heart raced and he practically jumped out of bed. Smoothing his hair down, he eagerly threw open the door and put on a signature smirk.

His expression fell and he was already preparing to close the door when he saw the mop of blonde hair. Before he could shut it all the way, Naruto wedged his body into the gap and slipped in.

"Woah Sasuke! You could at least pretend to be a little excited to see your best friend," he joked.

The other man said nothing and began to shuffle back into his room to lie down.

"Hey man, I, uh, heard what happened from Sakura."

Without turning around, Sasuke momentarily paused in his trek and stated, "Get out of my apartment."

Naruto grabbed his friend's shoulder and turned him around, cerulean blue boring into disinterested black. "Look - I know it's gotta be really hard on you… but you need to at least take a shower."

The blonde eyed the Uchiha's matted hair and rumpled clothing with concern and dropped him off in the bathroom, before coming back with a fresh sweater and jeans. He even turned the shower water on so it could warm up.

Naruto left and closed the bathroom door with a soft click before checking out Sasuke's fridge. It was practically barren. A few rotten tomatoes, some spoiled milk, empty take out boxes… This wouldn't do.

When he was done disposing the contents of Sasuke's depressing fridge and washing the dishes that looked like they've sitting in the sink for days, the man himself emerged from the bathroom, looking considerably cleaner.

"How about we go out and get some ramen?"

Sasuke gave a slight nod.

Naruto grinned in reply.

It wasn't until three weeks later that Sasuke realized she wasn't coming home.

It struck him at 2 AM, while he was laying in the bed that was much too cold.

He was overcome with the same kind of emptiness one feels when they finish a novel. Aware that they will never truly experience that same kind of excitement when there are no pages left to turn, even when they read it again.

Except he couldn't re-read the book and his relationship with Hinata was more than a fucking story.

He turned on his side, uncomfortable with the revelation. Facing the window, he stared out, not really seeing anything in particular.

The moon was full and radiant and he was reminded of Hinata. Her eyes were so vibrant, expressive-

Fuck.

He turned on his side again, to face the wall. The wall was nondescript and dark and didn't remind him of anyone. It was safe.

Closing his eyes, he tried to trick his body into thinking it was asleep. All harrowing thoughts would be saved for tomorrow.

A/N: hey hey so idk where this story is going lol, i'm just going to leave it as complete for now. when i wrote this, i was in the mood to write a break up fic and i love pain and suffering so this was the result. thanks for reading!