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Sasuke wore her hair long. She had always tied it back into a ponytail or put it in a bun. Out of her eyes is how she preferred it, but she knew that she would always be beat by the others when it came to her hair.
Sakura used to wear her own hair long, when they were younger, but she preferred to wear it short now that they were adults. Tenten always had the best buns, with the cutest accessories. One time Sasuke tried to imitate her (alone in her locked bedroom), but she ended up with lopsided buns that caused her more pain than joy. Ino had fine, long hair and it was as beautiful as it was shiny. Sasuke would listen whenever she gave hair advice to the girls, but she wasn't sure if her own hair would need as much care since her hair wasn't as light or fine.
And then there was Hinata, who had the most gorgeous hair that Sasuke saw. She would always know it was Hinata, because her deep blue would stand out. Hinata always had perfect bangs and somehow it was always so straight, even after a sparring session with one another. Sasuke felt that if she didn't put her hair back, it would just frizz and stand up on its own.
"Hinata," she asked one day, when they were on a mission together. These sorts of moments were rare, because she would never get much of a chance to be alone with Hinata when the other girls weren't there. But now that Hinata was in ANBU along with Sasuke, she found that the moments together would become more frequent.
"Yes, Sasuke?" Hinata asked, turning to look at her. Sasuke was able to see a hint of her pale eyes beyond the doe mask that she wore. Her hair was tied back in a long ponytail.
Sasuke cleared her throat, "How do you get your hair to be so straight and shiny?"
Sasuke was grateful for the masks, because she could have sworn that Hinata had an amused expression on her face.
"It helps that I grew up with some of the finest hairdressers, but I try to make sure that my hair is completely dry before I use a special oil blend that I massage into the roots before I go to bed. Once I know the oil is spread out, I'll go ahead and braid it."
"Oh," Sasuke said, keeping an eye on the window that contained their target. "I see. What sort of oil blend?"
"I can share some with you, if you'd like. I have some extra that I can give you." Hinata shared with a smile in her voice.
Sasuke was silent after that, trying to understand why she was flushing.
In a blink, Hinata began to hang out with Sasuke often. She showed her how to braid her hair and maintain it. Sasuke found herself basking in Hinata's attention. She was happy to be so close to her, where they spent almost all of their free time together.
Even Kakashi would send them on missions together and more frequently. He was impressed with how they worked with one another and used them primarily for missions where they needed a watchful eye and quick fighting skills.
There was a time when Hinata would come over to her place, to get away from life at the Hyuuga compound. Many mornings Sasuke would wake up to Hinata, sleeping soundly in the futon next to her. There were other times when they would have sleepovers with all the girls, but Sasuke and Hinata would always find their way next to each other. Sasuke was comforted by Hinata's presence and knew that she wouldn't want to go without it.
"I need someone in the Village of Mist for about six months," Kakashi began, while Sasuke stood in front of him. It was two in the morning and Sasuke had just returned from a solo mission.
"Why?" she asked, not hiding the aggravation in her voice. The stupid Hokage was always pushing her buttons. She usually did these long, far away ones but she hesitated to take this one.
Why?
That was a great question. Why would it matter if she was away from Konoha…and Hinata.
Kakashi just raised a brow at him, "You never question it. I'm glad, that means that you're settling here again. Been getting along with your friends, hm?"
Sasuke could knock him out, but she bit her tongue and glared at him in return, "I was just asking."
"Land of Mist needs some help with a gambling ring. The gamblers are starting to shake up the village and crime seems to be on the rise. They just asked for helping to take down the leaders of the group and it would help if it was a foreigner they don't recognize. I heard the leader is quite impartial to females."
Sasuke did like to give masochists a run for their money.
"When do you need an answer by?"
"Hmmm, I'll give you a week, how about that?"
Sasuke nodded and thought that was fine.
It was hard for her to sleep the rest of the night and in the morning, she felt groggy from staying up most of the night thinking about whether to take the mission or not.
When she went to grab groceries later on that day, she was debating whether she should buy fresh vegetables if she wasn’t sure she was leaving, when Hinata walked up to her.
"Hi Sasuke," Hinata greeted, going to grab some tomatoes. "Welcome back."
Sasuke had blushed and acknowledged Hinata, "How's it been since I was gone?" She was gone for about three weeks this last mission and already she felt the pangs of how much she missed Hinata's smile.
"I moved out into my own apartment."
Sasuke's eyes widened and she grabbed Hinata in a hug, "That's great!"
"I know," Hinata said, joy consuming her face. "I've been loving it so far!"
"How did your dad take it?" she asked as they walked down the vegetable aisle.
"I just told him one morning that I was moving and he just acknowledged it and moved on to his rice. I moved out afterwards and I haven't been back to the compound since."
"I'm proud of you," Sasuke said and she was. Her chest was warm from pride and how happy she was knowing that Hinata was going to be on her own after dealing with her father.
"You should come over this weekend," Hinata offered, pulling a strand of hair behind her ears. Her cheeks were warm from the early cold and Sasuke had the briefest thought of how beautiful she was. "I have it mostly decorated."
"You should let me buy you something," Sasuke offered, "Let's look at those windchimes, I bet that would be nice to see when you return to the house."
Hinata laughed as she was dragged along by Sasuke, "Fine, fine, you can buy me one of those as long as you agree to visit."
"Of course I will," Sasuke told her, her own smirk came up to her face. "I would be more than happy to do so."
After having lunch together, Sasuke knew that she would have to tell Hinata the truth about her feelings if she was to take the mission. It wouldn't be fair to her own feelings if she kept it inside without Hinata knowing her truth. She knew that it would be a long time away, so that would give her the appropriate time to heal and for Hinata not to be so awkward with those feelings. And then when Sasuke comes back, even after Hinata starts to date someone, she would feel okay.
The following Saturday, Sasuke stood outside Hinata's walkway feeling nervous. She had never had the chance to visit Hinata before. Hinata would come over to Sasuke's place so often. She wasn't sure how it would go. She knew that Ino and Sakura visited her in the compound, but Sasuke never trailed along. Mostly because it reminded her of her own youth, but also because she felt the urge to punch Hiasha any time she saw his face and she wasn't sure if she would be able to resist herself in such close capacity.
It really did feel like Hinata lived here and Sasuke could see the signs of how she worked hard to make it her own. There were flowers and shrubs outside that lined the entryway to her apartment. Sasuke noticed the windchime that she had picked out with Hinata the other day and that made her smile. With renewed determination, Sasuke knocked on Hinata’s door.
Hinata immediately opened it up and welcomed her with a smile.
"Would you like some tea?" she asked, as Sasuke took in her place.
"Sure," Sasuke replied, handing Hinata the little box she picked up on her way there. "I brought you some sweets."
"You know me so well," Hinata smiled, making Sasuke flush even more.
"Your place is really nice," Sasuke said, taking her seat at the kotatsu in the middle of the room. She looked around the place, taking it all in. "It feels very…warm in here."
Hinata laughed from the kitchen, "As opposed to your place?"
"I like to make sure I can get sleep whenever I can, which is easier when it’s dark. You know how many missions I do."
"I do," Hinata said, placing a wooden tray down on the kotatsu. On it was a violet teapot along with two small teacups. The desserts that Sasuke had brought were now on a cute violet dish that matched the teapot.
"You would make a great wife one day, this is excellent hosting skills."
"I passed etiquette with flying colors," Hinata bummed, "If only that was all I needed to appease my father."
Sasuke watched as she poured tea into her cup before placing it in front of her. "That's why you moved, isn't it?"
"Sort of," Hinata shrugged, pouring tea for herself. "I think we both needed space from one another. I'm now making my own money as ANBU and he doesn't need to worry about having to deal with me."
Sasuke hummed in response, not quite sure what to say. Instead, she took a sip of the tea. It was Jasmine, something she wasn't used to drinking. Usually she had coffee, but this was a nice break. It was refreshing, just like Hinata.
"What flavors of cake did you buy?" Hinata asked, looking at them.
"Ah," Sasuke said, looking down at them as well. "I asked the person to help me. I think this one is strawberry and this one might be a matcha flavor or pistachio, I'm not sure. Both of them were there, but she was going kind of fast." Sasuke frowned; she should have paid more attention. She was a little disappointed that they didn't have any more cinnamon buns, but they said those were usually available in the morning. Maybe Sasuke will try to bring one for Hinata later—
"Oh," Hinata said, and Sasuke realized she just tried the green cake. "It’s pistachio. That's quite delicious. Would you like to try?"
"Oh sure-" Before Sasuke could finish her reply, Hinata was holding up a forkful of cake towards Sasuke. Sasuke found herself opening her mouth and Hinata pressed the fork into her mouth. It was a rich and nutty taste, but one that Sasuke wasn't disappointed with. She wasn't a fan of sweet things, but she was very glad that she tried this one.
"That is really good," she said, feeling a blush on her face from Hinata’s familiarity with her. Sasuke has always had a hard time getting close to others, but Hinata made it seem easy. She knew that it was harder for her with the guys and Sasuke knew exactly how she acted around Naruto, but this wasn't about them.
"I'm glad you like it," Sasuke croaked out, feeling her throat tightening up and she wasn't really sure why.
"Are you okay? I know you're not the biggest fan of sweets, but-"
"I'm completely fine," Sasuke reassured her, "I'm just awkward. You know that."
"You've become less awkward, especially during our ANBU missions."
Sasuke shrugged, taking another sip from her tea, not really sure what she should say. Hinata took well to the silence and then took another bite of cake, this time it was the strawberry one. She let out a satisfactory moan and Sasuke found herself blushing once again.
"Are you thinking about thinking that long mission?"
Sasuke's eyes widened. "How did you know about that?"
"Kakashi-sama offered it to me if you weren't going to take it." Hinata shrugged, taking another forkful of cake. Her eyes pierced into Sasuke though and she couldn't find herself looking away from that gaze.
"I am still thinking about it, he says I have until the start of the week to consider."
Hinata nodded, but she didn't seem appeased.
"Why? Are you going to take it if I don't?" Sasuke asked, trying to keep her tone neutral. It was hard, when she wanted to very much not to be away from Hinata, but she couldn't tell her that…weren't they just friends?
"I'm thinking about it," Hinata replied, a little cooly, "There's not much reason for me to say no, I guess."
Sasuke swallowed. She felt her hands get clammy and she knew that this would be the perfect time.
"Are you okay—"
"I'm in love with you." Sasuke clapped a hand over her mouth and felt shock coarse through her veins. She removed her hands, not being able to look at Hinata’s gaze. "I've been in love with you for years now. I know that you don't like girls, but I didn't realize that I could even love anyone the way I found myself loving you. You are so kind, and you always make every dark and depressing thing seem okay. You garden your own personality in barren places, and I can't imagine ever being away from that. I know you don't feel the same way, but I hope this doesn't change anything between us."
Sasuke was able to get her words without choking and it was full of silence. She could feel a tear roll down her cheek and she didn't realize that she was already crying. She felt so stupid to be giving such a half assed confession that she felt the urge to run away.
Instead, she looked up and Hinata was also crying and Sasuke felt absolutely terrible.
"I'm sorry, Hinata, I'm going to go—"
"No!" Hinata said, wiping her tears and pulling Sasuke's hands across the table. "Please look at me."
Sasuke didn't realize how warm Hinata was, until her hands grasped her own. It’s almost as if Hinata was desperate to make her stay.
"I'm sorry," Sasuke choked out. "I couldn't hide it anymore."
"I love you, too," Hinata whispered, her smile watery with the tears. "I just wasn't sure—"
"Wait, what?" Sasuke shook her head, "That's not possible."
Hinata laughed, "Are you calling me a liar?"
"No, I just—"
"Sasuke," Hinata urged, cupping the cheek of her face and pushing herself closer until her knees touched her own. "I love you. I love how you remember the smallest things about me when no one else does. You constantly do things for me without making a fuss. I'm always trying to make you laugh, because it is one of the most delicious things I've heard. You moved with so much determination that I find myself always wanting to follow you. I love it when you share yourself with me and no one else. I don't want you to take that mission and I don't want to take it either, because it would mean being apart for so long."
Hinata's lips were on Sasuke, and she didn't know what to do, but instinct drove her to close her eyes and match the kiss. She was in a dream state as she pulled away and looked at Hinata in return, who looked at her with reddened cheeks.
“Should we tell Kakashi?”
Before Sasuke knew it, she was holding hands with Hinata in Kakashi’s office. Kakashi rested his head in his folded hands that were placed on the table. He looked quite amused, with the way he eyes crinkled up. Sasuke knew that she was making a big deal out of nothing, but she knew that she was happy it was Hinata she was doing it with.
“I had a feeling you both would turn it down, so I offered it to Ino. She’s halfway over there as we speak.”
Hinata began to giggle and Sasuke smiled at her, knowing that everything was going to be okay.