Author note: Posted on my AO3 too, KweenWriter

Uchiha Sasuke walked down the streets of Konoha on a sunny, windy day.

It has been over four months since the war has ended. Countless of lives has been lost and more have experienced traumatic events that would keep them up at night. Allies has been made, mistakes were remembered, and changes has happened.

Sasuke held grudges to the older generations, but for once in years, he had hope. He would never admit it out loud, but he knew Naruto would do what's necessary. He believes in his friend, even if he could be idiot most of the times.

The civilian around Sasuke whispered amongst them. Some didn't even try to hide the distrust in him. But it wasn't like Sasuke cared. He planned to leave the village as soon as he could. Sasuke may be a war hero, but the Kages didn't fully trust him - though, he couldn't blame them exactly. However, Kakashi-sensei and the Dobe has reassured him that everything would work out, he just had to be patience and trust them.

Sasuke had spotted the shop he was looking for. He remembers him and his mom is used to come here. There were plenty of other stores near their home, but his mother had claimed that this store had the best tomatoes in the village. Sasuke had later found that his mother knew the store owner's daughter. Apparently, they were close, but she had died on a mission. Ever since then, his mother had shopped on that store as a way to honor her friend and to help out her mom times to times.

After the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke remember the store owner used to give him free food. The old lady has taken care of Sasuke in the same way his mother took care of the older lady. Maybe that is why he choose to shop in this store or maybe because it had the best tomatoes in the village. Sasuke was kind of surprised to see the same old lady working there.

"Hello T-san. " Sasuke greeted the old lady. He never knew her name, but he remembers he used to call her that when he was younger. Sasuke hoped the old lady would remember her. The old lady's face lightens up and her eyes got misty.

"Oh, Sasu-chan! You've grown so much since I last saw you!" She cupped Sasuke's cheek with tears in her eyes. "I was so worried when I heard that you left the village. But then I heard you were fighting in the war with your old teammates."

Sasuke blinked. He could see the pain in her eyes he never knew he caused. It seems like the only thing he was good at was causing pain.

"I'm sorry, I shoul-"

"No, don't be sorry! I heard that you fought in the war and played a big part in defeating the enemy. You're a hero, Sasu-chan!" She exclaimed. "Your family would've been so proud."

Sasuke stiffened. He has made a lot of wrong decisions these past years, but he liked to believe his role in the war would've make up for it. At least for his mother and brother. Sasuke knew for sure that his father would nev-

"That includes your father too." T-san knew him to well even if they haven't seen each other in years. Sasuke used to come and rant over his father several times when he was young. T-san would give him ice-cream to cheer him up. Before Sasuke could respond, another customer had entered the store.

"Ah, Hinata-san!"

"How many times have I told you to call me for just Hinata, Tanaka-san."

"Then call me for Ayame, Hina-chan."

Ah, so that's her name.

Ayame softly patted Sasuke's arm before walking over to Hinata to have a small talk.

The months Sasuke spent on the hospital, he had seen the Hyuuga girl around but then her hair wasn't short, nor did she have a green seal on her forehead. It didn't take him long to realize it was the caged bird seal, the same one Neji had.

That meant she wasn't the heir for the Hyuuga clan anymore.

Sasuke would've thought the Hyuuga would've hide the seal – or at least had her natural bangs in the same place, yet it seemed like she wore it like a crown. He was never the one to be curios of others business as long as it didn't have to do with him in some way, but Sasuke did wonder what happened to the Hyuuga.

T-san were still talking to the Hyuuga, so Sasuke walked around the store to grab what he needed. Another customer had entered the store and T-san walked over to greet them, leaving Hinata beside the vegetable area. The Hyuuga was filling up her basket with what she needed as the Uchiha walked there.

"H-Hello Uchiha-san." Hinata softly greeted. He remembers how shy the girl used to be, she used to stammer and talk low. It seems like she still had the shy and reserved nature.

"Hyuuga-san." Sasuke acknowledge her. Sasuke noticed how full her basket was already. Was she going to cook for a whole family? Hinata giggles, she must have noticed his looks.

"Relax, I'm not going to eat alone."

"Hn." It wasn't like Sasuke cared. He grabbed the tomatoes that looked most ripen, those were the juiciest ones.

"It was nice to see you, Uchiha-san."

"You too, Hyuuga-san."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he watched the young woman walk up to the counter. How could she be so happy and in peace when she had the caged bird seal? He truly didn't understand some people. Sasuke shook his head, it wasn't his business anyway.

xx

"Ah! The food was amazing, Hinata-chan! Thank you for inviting us." Sakura huffed; rubbing her stomach as she murmured about overeating.

Temari, Sakura, Ino, Tenten and Hinata were having a small gathering to celebrate the engagement of Sakura and Naruto. Hinata had invited the young women over to her place. Most of the food was gone, and the only thing left on the table was the alcohol.

"Yeah, you can really cook. Wouldn't mind marrying you instead of Shikamaru." Temari scoffed.

"Hey, you were the one who proposed to that lazy-head." Ino sipped her drink. And that was how another fight broke out. Hinata giggled for herself as she watched her friends. As time passed, the women got more and more drunk. Tenten had become best friend with the toilet while Ino was crying about a kid that called her beautiful to Hinata. Sakura and Temari were having a staring contest that didn't last long. In the state they were in, no one of them would be able to get back home. Good thing Hinata – who was the most sober one out of all of them now – offered them to stay over at her small apartment that was meant for two.

"Ha! I won!" Temari exclaimed and started to sing about how she was the best while Sakura groaned. Sakura let out another hiccup before turning to Hinata who was stroking Ino's hair.

"Nee, Hinata-chan… You know, you are really a great person." Sakura swayed side to side with a small on her face. "When I first told you that I liked Naruto; you didn't only support me, but you also became a close friend of mine. Before the war, we didn't know each other well enough and there isn't any reason to become best friend to a person who practical steal your crush, yet you did. I'm so happy that you're my friend."

Hinata smiled, like she always did. "Sakura-chan, you didn't steal Naruto-kun from me, I never had him. And there is no reason for me to end our friendship over a guy."

Both the girls thought the romantic relationship between Naruto and Sakura would affect the friendship between Sakura and Hinata negatively, but surprisingly it only brought them closer.

"Hinata-chan…" Sakura stared at Hinata with wide eyes, like a kid watching their parent do a magic trick.

"Anyway, after the war I'm just happy that the people I care about are alive regardless of relationships."

The war; it left a scar on everyone. Hinata was right, they should be happy that the people they cared about was still alive. Not everyone was lucky. But still, Sakura couldn't help but feel guilty. She knew – the whole village knew that the Hyuuga ex-heir had a crush on Konoha's jinchuriki. Though, Sakura knew it wasn't just a crush. She had first come to Hinata when Naruto – for real and serious this time – confessed to Sakura. It felt wrong accepting a confession when you knew your friend was in love with that guy. Yet, Hinata ignored her feelings and pushed Sakura to accept Naruto's love.

Could Sakura even ask for a better friend?

"Ugh, fuck the war…" Temari jumped in the conversation. "We had to fight a battle we didn't even start."

This war was different than the previous wars. Five villages came together to stop an evil force to take over the world. An evil force that wasn't actually evil but pushed into the darkness. The girls knew the truth behind the war.

"I mean, we are barely adults and we had to go into war. A fucking war!" Temari continued, she laid on the ground and stared on the celling. "That shit is traumatizing."

Silence filled the room for a few moments. Ino had stopped crying and the girls looked like they were deep in their thoughts.

"Ugh, fuck…" Sakura interrupted the silence, she grabbed the nearest bottle and filled up four glass. She urged the girls to take a glass each as she held the glass high up as if she was going to make an important announcement. "Fuck the… Fuck the boomers."

"Boomers?" Ino questioned.

"Boomers. The adults."

"Adults?"

"Yah! The adult boomed us kids. So, fuck the boomers!" Sakura explained with flushed cheeks, as if it made sense.

"Boomers… I like that!" Temari jumped up. "Fuck the boomers!"

"Fuck the boomers!" Ino joined in.

Hinata giggled and watched her friends drain their glass and shout the phrase again. She stared down at her glass. It was the adults that had labeled her weak. It was them who told her that she would never amount to anything. It was them who stripped her of her titles and branded her. Hinata loved her father and the adults, but;

"F-fuck th-the…" The three girls looked over to a mumbling Hinata.

"Come one, you can say it." Temari encouraged.

"Fu-Fuck…" Hinata stopped and drained her glass. "FUCK THE BOOMERS!"

Shock was written over the face of the three young women, before breaking out in laughter. Hinata flushed and a swaying Tenten walked in. She looked confused but loved the atmoshphere in the room.

"Yeah, fuck the boomers!"

That was how five young friends spent their night. Enjoying the live after a war that had scarred them.

xx

Weeks passed and Sasuke came to the store to help T-san. She had countless time told him that he didn't have to, but he did anyway. He didn't know why he did it, but it wasn't like he had anything better to do in his time on Konoha.

The Hyuuga girl had become a part of Sasuke's daily routine.

Hinata would visit the store at least twice a week. Most of the time she would shop food that was meant for one person, but sometimes she shopped for a whole family – it wasn't like Sasuke analyzed the girl, but it wasn't hard to see the food she bought sometimes too much for one person. The Hyuuga girl even made small talks with him – with small talks, Sasuke means that Hinata commented how beautiful the weather was (even when it wasn't sunny) and him just agreeing.

Today T-san had told him to go home earlier than usual.

Sasuke didn't really have a working schedule, most of the time he just came and left when he wanted, but he made sure to work at least five hours and do all the heavy work. Today wasn't a lot to do.

T-san had urged him to do 'teenager things' even if Sasuke didn't feel like seeing his teammates today. Anyway, Sakura was busy at the hospital while Naruto was out on another mission. There was no way he would get time with Kakashi-sensei, that man was drowning in paperwork. It was a cloudy day and the leaves started to get a warmer color.

The last Uchiha made his way to the cemetery. Kabuto had defiled the land when he was collection powerful shinobis. While the war was ongoing, the civilians of Konoha had made it their mission to fix the ruined lands. They had also prepared new graves for the bodies to come.

The Uchiha Clan had been given a graveyard furthest from the cemetery entrance. Sasuke noticed raindrops falling but ignored it. Though, he didn't ignore the familiar figure he spotted that was walking in his direction. It was the Hyuuga girl. For once, her bangs were hiding the caged bird seal – her hair was hiding most of her face actually. She was drenched and slightly shaking from the cold. On her hand, she was holding a single white flower.

"Hyuuga-san."

"Ah… Uchiha-san." Hinata lifted her face and shook her hair away from her face, though she didn't dry her tears. She gave him a smile that for once didn't feel warm nor real. "The weather is beautiful today, isn't it?"

"Perfect for the occasion."

"Indeed." Hinata said lifeless. She bowed slightly. "Have a good day."

"You too."

None of them turned around to give the other person a last glance. They both walked to their planned locations. While the Uchiha let his tears roll in front of his parents' grave, the Hyuuga cried inside her bathtub; both of them feeling ashamed and sorrow.

xx

Naruto and Sakura's engagement party were coming up.

Original, the couple had planned to invite closest friend and family to celebrate. But it turned into a political party when Kakashi thought it would good if Naruto invited the allies to help keeping the peace and since Naruto were planning to become Hokage. Sakura of course didn't like it, but she could live with it. Sasuke was expected to be there – even if he didn't want to.

"Uhm, are you planning to come to the party?"

"Of course, the Dobe and Sakura would never let me live if I don't come." Sasuke scoffed as he filled up with milk counter. Hinata giggled. Sasuke stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was then Hinata noticed his Rinnegan that was usually hidden behind his eyes. Sasuke quickly let his hair fall again, hiding away his other eye.

"You s-should be proud of your dōjutsu." Hinata commented.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. "What makes you think I'm ashamed, Hyuuga?" He dropped the honorific. He was more amused than offended; who would've thought the shy girl had some courage?

Hinata flushed and shifted the weight. "Eh? I-I'm sorry…"

"Hn." Sasuke smirked.

The relationship between them was new, but Sasuke enjoyed it. The Hyuuga didn't annoy him and nor did she ever overstep a line. All their conversations were short, and they have even shared small humorist moments between them in the shop. It was enjoyable to be able to have small interactions with other people.

"I expect you to be there too."

"Of course. I can't ditch my friends' engagement p-party." Hinata smiled, yet it didn't reach her eyes. It was then Sasuke remembered Hinata's big crush on Naruto. He was never the one for gossip, but some rumors were hard to not miss. Sasuke is pretty sure Hinata was the one girl in class that didn't have a crush on him.

"I guess I'll see you there."

Hinata nodded. "Hopefully, the weather will be beautiful."

"Hn."

Another fic when I haven't finished my previous ones lol. I know the characters are OC, but oh well. It's so weird to write Naruto fics when you were the one who read Naruto fics six years ago. never thought I would write a SasuHina fic, but I've been in my yearly SasuHina feelings and thought I should.

Tell me what you think!

Updated: Friday 01.05.2020