Author's Note: Hey! I know that the summary is very vague, so I'll try to elaborate it a bit here before you begin reading (at least as much as I can without giving too much away).
***SPOILERS UP AHEAD****
The canon stops at chapter 615, and then ventures into whatever crap I made up in this story, because it is a SasuHina, and let's face it, it will never happen in canon. T.T

Summary: This is set in the Naruto world, seven years after the war. Naruto is Hokage, has been married to Hinata for five years, and there is peace along the nations. When Naruto proceeds to reach his final goal of bringing Sauske back to the village, everyone learns that happiness and love is not something you can force. It just happens on its own. Also, Sasuke is a total bastard at first and there is slight NaruHina.

Notes: The Rookies are about 23-24 years old.
What might seem like character bashing, I would like to assure you that it is not, and I am just exploiting some of their negative traits to cause more dramaaaaaa~

WARNINGS: This is rated M for language, alcohol use and some sexual content. Oh la la.

Chapter 1: Because of Love

It is often said that the most beautiful part of falling in love is the journey there. It is the roller coaster of emotions that swings you up and down and all around, causing small misunderstanding to evolve into hurtful and sometimes hilarious circumstances, only to bring the two together in the end like it was intended from the beginning. But when you are a ninja, falling in love is easy. Staying in love is what becomes difficult.

It was hard to say when exactly they fell in love.

Perhaps they both fell at the same time.

Perhaps they were just lucky to hit the ground together.

She watched out the balcony, gazing at the full moon. Rubbing the ring on her finger, the girl—no, she was a woman now- wondered how long the next mission would take. It had been five years- almost five and half- since she had been married to the man of her dreams. She was not with child yet, but that was okay- there were other things to be taking care of first.

She wouldn't say she was jealous exactly, just concerned. It really bothered her that the man she loved was never truly happy- the Great War has been over and he had become Hokage, gaining respect not just form his fellow shinobi, but from all around the world. And yet, the yearning to save his best friend was still there, as he had not yet achieved that goal. She had told him multiple times that not everything needs to be done at once and that he should enjoy his moment now before it becomes too late, but his face only darkened. "You wouldn't understand," he'd say through lowered eyes. "You weren't there."

And now it had been half a decade and there was still no sign of his best friend. He had only grown more impatient. Every morning he would gaze upon the rising sun, and every night he would watch it set and he wouldn't say anything, but she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Sasuke…

The name would ring in her head and he would appear in her dreams at times, because lately she had been thinking about him as much as Naruto; he had let the traitor absorb her husband's thoughts and vicariously, her husband's thoughts absorb her.

Hinata had picked up smoking in the last few weeks. It had started as a midnight habit, where she would get up from her king size bed and stand on the balcony, letting the carbon monoxide fill her lungs; Shikamaru had given her a pack one night while she was at the bar- oh yeah, she had picked up drinking as well- and smoked one without a second thought.

"It'll clear your head," he had said.

He was right.

And it was a nasty and disgusting habit, and she would have been more careful if she was expecting; but she wasn't.
There were other things to be taken care of first.

She was now on her third in a row. Usually she would wait until Naruto was asleep and she would sneak out of bed, but tonight was a bit different. Tonight was the night before the big mission. As Hokage, Naruto had a lot of responsibilities. So many, that in fact he had hired his own wife Hinata as his assistant. And when a mission arose that was of aid from the Hokage, Hinata would stay behind and take on the obligations as the leader of Konoha for the time being.

Never mind the fact that she had clan obligations as well.

And she was worried, oh boy was she worried.

There was time when they were younger, he'd tell her, when he had confronted Sasuke back before the war had begun. And he had told her that if they were to fight one another, there was a possibility that that they would both die in the process.

He had told her he was willing to die to bring Sasuke back.

As much as Hinata admired the way Naruto would stand behind his word, he had still hurt her. He made it seem as if there was nothing worth living for unless the Uchiha was there. Like there wasn't a whole village he promised to take care of, like there wasn't his wife who loved him so much, like her cousin and thousands of others had died in vain in the last war.

Sasuke clouded Naruto's vision when it came down to what was truly important.

She didn't sleep that night and in the morning she had said good bye to her husband and the rest of Team Seven. Their farewells consisted of a hug, a kiss and a promise to be safe. Naruto seemed relaxed and happy as his usual self, but she knew deep inside he was anxious and she stayed the same person throughout the years, she might have stroked his cheek gently, and told him that she loves him and that everything will be okay.

Hinata was many things; she was reserved, noble, smart, polite, and stood highly for what she believed in. She was never a hot-headed, conflicted and confused individual.

"Love changes people."

The voice of her father rang though her head; He had been so wise and caring and Hinata wished she could have appreciated him when he was alive; she wished she wasn't so distracted growing up and really focused and grew. He had loved her and her sister as much as he could, and he only did what needed to be done. Because of love.

Those were his last words to her, and they struck Hinata in the chest and a warm and familiar feeling washed over. Her father had known her better than anyone else; he had raised her, after all. He knew she looked breakable and fragile, but deep inside she carried the heart of a lion. He had watched her blossom, watched her fail and get back up again. She was that way because of love. She changed and grew and fought because of love.
Five years later, she is bitter and depressed; she carries her lion heart still, but now it is calloused.

Because of love.

In the end of the farewell, she doesn't touch Naruto's cheek, nor does she give him a speech full of hope like she did that fateful night, five years ago, before her cousin's corpse.

She is too bitter and he is too distracted to listen anyways.

Countless thoughts of regret swarm in her head; she wasted too much time waiting for this boy to take notice of her. When she could have traveled across the lands, she chose to stay and watch over Naruto. When her teammates went swimming in the lake late at night and the fireflies Shino would call began to glow like tiny lanterns, she would leave before they even took their shoes off because she had to be up early. To train. Not for her.

But for Naruto.
Everything she had given up, she did for Naruto.

On her walk home, feelings of doubt began to engulf her and she is slowly realizing that this is not a proper way to feel about your husband. Hinata began to really know the man she had thought she loved all her life. He had flaws she looked past, which was fine. Yes, he was messy, and he was a bit loud and lazy too, but this obsession, this constant need for Sasuke, was dawning on her like a ton of bricks.

Naruto was in pain, she knew that.
She didn't understand him, she also knew that.

But what did she get herself into? She couldn't fix this, hell, she couldn't even help him! She was but a burden when it came to finding the bastard.

And he knew that too, he knew that this made her feel like an outcast in her own marriage. But once again he let his vision become cloudy. And again, her husband's cloudy vision clouded hers as well. Regret dawned on her again; why did she marry so young? Could she have done more?

And his name rang in her head again.

Sasuke Uchiha.

Hinata had never hated anyone. She didn't hate her father, because she understood his motives. She didn't hate her cousin, because he had protected her life. She didn't even hate the men who started the last war and took the lives of many, because in the end peace was finally achieved.
But she hated Sasuke Uchiha. She hated him because he took whatever hope there was left of ever being happy.

Because of love, she learned to hate.