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“...this is a joke, right?”
“No.”
“...but, uh…?”
“What’s so funny about it?”
“Well, nothing! I guess, uh...I just…” Hands gesture vaguely as he tries to think of the right words. “It just seems kinda...y’know... out there .”
Expression neutral save for a hint of a deadpan stare, Sasuke doesn’t blink as he locks eyes with his childhood rival. “...or maybe you just haven’t been paying any attention. Because to everyone else, apparently, it’s made perfect sense.”
The accusatory tone makes Naruto go pink, jolting back a bit, eyes wide. “...I-I just, y’know…”
“What? You seem so shocked, but you refuse to say why . Something bothering you, Naruto?”
“...no…?” The slight upward lilt to the blond’s voice, however, says otherwise. After a long, awkward silence, he heaves a sigh, shoulders slumping. “...I guess it just seems weird to hear that after...everything…”
Visible dark eye narrowing a hair, Sasuke asks, “...everything?”
“Well, there was...the incident when Pein attacked. And then, in the war…”
“You mean Hinata’s confession you never responded to? Risking her life for you? And the snap she gave you when you lost track of your goal and your drive in the middle of a warzone?”
Again Naruto flinches. “...w-well, when ya put it like that…”
“Hinata’s changed a lot, Naruto. Even from when we were kids. Admittedly...I didn’t know her well, then. But neither did you, did you? You never saw her. You were too fixated on me, and because of me...Sakura. Someone was there in your corner, quietly cheering you on, and you didn’t have the presence of mind to even notice.”
At that, Naruto actually hardens just a hair, still somber. “...you can accuse me of a lot of things, teme...but that’s taking it a little far.”
“No, it isn’t.” Sasuke doesn’t back down, tone unwavering. “I’m not the rest of our class, Naruto. I won’t sugarcoat the things I say to you. Admit it: you barely even knew Hinata existed. Not until we were genin, at any rate, and she stuck by you in the exams. Offered you help in the written test, and later tried to prove she had your bravery in her match against Neji. She almost died .” Sighing, Sasuke glances aside. “...but it was never your bravery. She took inspiration from you...but all she’s done has been her doing.”
Giving a mix of a scowl and a pout, Naruto asks, “...how do you know all this stuff?”
“Because I talk to her. Hence deciding to date her. With you and Sakura too busy with each other, we were left in the wayside. It helps she’s one of the Uchiha clan’s closest allies...and then joined the new police force with me. There’s a lot you don’t know about her, dobe.” Another hint of a glare. “...did you really balk at the idea of us being together because you assumed she’s still hung up over you …?”
“...w-well -”
Sasuke cuts in with a scoff. “...you really think everyone wants to kiss your ass all the time, don’t you? Is it really so hard to believe she’s moved on?”
Bristling, Naruto counters, “I didn’t mean it like that! And I don’t expect everyone to worship the ground I walk on -”
“Really? That’s news to me -”
Grabbing the Uchiha’s shirtfront, Naruto hauls him up, ceruleans sparking as Sasuke gives a one-eyed squint, Rinnegan covered by his hitai-ate. “You’re a right bastard, y’know that?”
“Never denied it. I’ve made peace with my faults and have been trying to better them, unlike someone I know.”
“I’m gonna hit you so hard it’ll make Madara dizzy -!”
“Hey!”
Turning, both men freeze, wide-eyed at the pair of women staring at them. Hinata’s own eyes are round, expression shocked. Sakura, on the other hand, is glaring with the heat of a sun in her gaze, arms folded.
But they probably won’t stay that way for long.
“What the hell is going on here?!” the rosette demands.
“Uh, S-Sakura-chan, we were just, uh…”
Completely ignoring Naruto’s stuttered attempts at an explanation, Sakura marches forward, her boyfriend dropping Sasuke like a hot coal in order to stumble back from her. A finger pokes his chest accusingly, making him flinch. “What have I told you about starting fights with Sasuke-kun?”
“I didn’t start it -!”
“Well, in a way, you did,” Sasuke rebukes.
The other couple both round on him then, coming up short as Hinata steps up in front of Sasuke. Facing him, she gives him her best stare down.
...Sasuke will admit, his girlfriend can be extremely terrifying. He’s seen her get serious before. But this isn’t quite that level.
This is just cute.
But he doesn’t betray that thought, staring at her with a perfectly blank expression in turn.
“...what were you arguing about?”
“Naruto’s ego,” Sasuke offers simply. True enough.
“And you being a prick!” Naruto shouts back over Sakura’s shoulder, earning a whipped-around warning glare that flinches him back.
Studying him closely, Hinata seems to have a silent conversation with Sasuke before turning around. She knows well enough how easily sparked confrontations are between these two...especially since tensions are still a little high between Sasuke and the rest of his old team. He hasn’t fully forgiven them for their treatment of him...nor have they fully forgotten his actions while away from Konoha.
“...I think maybe we should just...break it up here,” she then advises softly. “You’re both clearly too riled up to apologize.”
“I’m not apolo-!”
“That’s her point ,” Sakura cuts in as Naruto rebukes, giving him a look.
“I’m hardly riled up,” Sasuke counters.
“Yes you are.”
He squints at Hinata as her arms fold, giving him a look that dares him to refute her again.
Sighing curtly with a hand at her brow, Sakura offers, “You know what? Let’s just go. I am not in the mood to deal with you two brawling. Nor am I in the mood for a therapy session.”
Grunting disgruntledly, Naruto just glowers (and pouts) as Sakura rather forcibly steers him away.
Sasuke just stares back, expression cool.
“...let’s go home,” Hinata announces. By ‘home’ she technically means Sasuke’s place. She doesn’t live there...yet. But it’s where they spend most of their time, given Hinata still lives at home, and...doesn’t have much privacy. Sasuke’s new house might be neighboring his brother’s (with Shisui’s on Itachi’s other side), but Uchiha, she finds, aren’t nearly as nosy as their distant Hyūga cousins.
Stuffing hands in his pockets, Sasuke follows as she starts walking. “...I really didn’t start that argument.”
No reply.
“...he was being a pretentious ass. About you.”
That earns a glance.
“I told him we’re dating, and he, apparently, found that hard to believe.”
“...that hardly seems like a good reason to get angry.”
“He found it hard to believe because he figured you were still hung up on him. Even though he and Sakura have been dating for ages now.”
“...and?”
He heaves a curt breath. “It... bothered me. That he thinks you’re so weak and wishy-washy, you’d still be clinging to him after all this time, rather than moving on and and getting stronger on your own like you have. It felt...insulting to you, and how far you’ve come.”
This time, Hinata turns to him fully, expression alight with surprise. “...you really…?”
“What?”
“...you told him that?”
“Well...maybe I didn’t phrase it exactly like that, but...yeah. I told him it’s a bit pretentious of himself to assume everyone wants to love him all the damn time. Especially you, after how he just...left you hanging. I mean, you risked your life , and -”
At that, Hinata holds up a hand, gently cutting him off. “...that’s in the past.”
“But -!”
“I don’t think about it anymore, Sasuke-kun. And you shouldn’t either. What happened between Naruto-kun and I - or...rather, what didn’t - isn’t important anymore. He’s happy with Sakura-chan. And I’m happy with you.” She offers a soft smile. “...so why dwell on that, when we can be f-focusing on what’s here, and now, making us happy?”
After a pause, Sasuke gives a hint of a pout. “...hn.”
“...still...I do appreciate you standing up for me like that. You’re right...I have changed a lot since then. I think...it was good for me to stop striving to impress other people, or follow them. I grew so much more when I started focusing on myself, for myself, and growing for my own sake...and for those I care about. To protect them.” Softly, Hinata giggles into the cuff of a sleeve. “Still...I don’t think Naruto-kun meant to come off as, um... self-centered . I liked him for a long time. It must be odd to think that all that time is just...severed now. That’s probably more what he meant than expecting me to cling to him forever j-just because he’s ‘so admired’. Ne?”
“...I guess.”
“...I know how easily you two still fight. I know, um...some nerves are still raw. And I don’t blame you. But...from now on, just know that this at least doesn’t have to be a point of contention anymore, okay? You’ve got more important things to worry about than defending my honor,” she giggles.
“...I’ll try to bear that in mind.” After a stubborn pause, he withdraws a hand from his pocket and instead finds her fingers, weaving them with his own. It’s true...there’s a lot more going on for him to think on than old love triangles and teenage drama. Most importantly regarding his family’s safety.
...but he tries not to dwell on that for now. Instead, he gently squeezes her hand.
Time to go home.