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Her Heart and His Hands
6 Years Old
The floor was cold on Hinata’s bare feet as she emerged from her cozy blankets for the day. Pearlescent eyes sparkled as she took in the sight from her window- the first snow of the season! The sound of little feet patting across the house sounded as Hinata went to wake Hanabi. Her mother assured her that she was okay to go outside and play, but Hanabi was too small to go with her into the cold. Neji refused, giving her a disgusted look.
Hm. I guess I’ll just go play by myself then.
She grabbed her puffy jacket and red scarf, fingers fumbling with the fabric in her mittens. Playing in the first snow of the year was the best and she wasn’t going to pass this up as she snuck out the front door, away from her caretaker who had insisted she eat something first.
She wandered away from the house and into the forest, coming upon a pristine clearing, completely untouched. The snow glistened in the sunlight of the morning, and she smiled as she made her way towards the center of the circle of trees. That was when she noticed the snow was not completely untouched. There was a boy laying in the middle of the clearing, almost completely submerged in the snow, so much so that she hadn’t immediately noticed him. He had dark hair and wore a puffy black coat, a stark contrast to the sparkly white surrounding him. He looked like an angel, eyes closed as he lay in the snow, letting the sun warm his face as the wet snow beneath him seeped into his hair. Hinata nearly scared him half to death as he opened his eyes, not having registered her quiet footsteps until she was leaning over his face. Her head blocked out the light, leaving a halo from behind shining against her dark hair. She squeaked as he jumped, scrambling to his feet.
“What are you doing?!” he exclaimed indignantly.
“Why are you just laying in the snow?” she responded, voice shaky. He realized he must have startled her as he took a breath, stance becoming a little less defensive. He pouted and investigated the tree line to his right.
“It’s the first snow.” Was all he said. She took that as a valid response and smiled at him.
“Do you want to make a snowman with me?” Sasuke swore it was a trick of the light, but he wasn’t sure if he had ever seen a smile so bright before. And so, they got to work. Sasuke taught Hinata how to pack the snowball tight and Hinata rolled the ball across the snow, creating a big one for the base. Somewhere between the middle ball and the head, they had become friends. Sasuke tripped and fell headfirst into the snow, making Hinata giggle so hard her cheeks turned about as red as his were. He brushed the snow off her head gently when it fell from a nearby branch and nearly sent her into a fit of fright. They collected materials of sticks and rocks together and marveled at their creation when it was done.
“It’s missing something.” Hinata tilted her head to the side and examined their creation with a critical eye. “Oh! I know!” She pulled her scarf from around her neck and wrapped it around the snowman’s.
“Now he won’t get cold.” She smiled at Sasuke proudly, who rolled his eyes.
“Snowmen are supposed to be cold.”
“But it’ll only get even colder tonight! I don’t want him to be cold and lonely when we leave.” Pearly eyes drifted back to the face of the snowman, worry etched into the crease between her eyebrows. Sasuke decided that however dumb it seemed to him, she had a big heart. He sighed and pulled his gloves off, sticking them at the ends of the sticks they used as snowman arms.
“There. Between my hands and your heart, he’ll be okay! You don’t have to worry about him.”
12 Years Old
She had been training when the first snowflake hit her nose, her eyes growing cross-eyed to see it melt. Hinata smiled, catching her breath, and taking up a fighting stance again. She still had several hours of training left before she would allow herself to go home.
Sasuke didn’t think that, at this hour, anybody would be at the training grounds. Especially when it had been snowing on and off for the past few hours. He wandered towards the training logs, hands in his pockets to shield from the cold despite his gloves he had on. He wasn’t going to let some cold weather get in the way of his training. He wasn’t going to get stronger just by sitting inside where it was warm... and empty. The house, no matter how high he turned the heat, felt cold with the emptiness where his family used to be.
In his thoughts, he didn’t even realize he wasn’t alone until he was about 10 feet from the girl. She had short, blue hair and her breath was coming out in small white puffs- like a dragon. Her expression was anything but, however, as she wobbled on her feet and collapsed into the snow beside her. Instinctively, Sasuke ran over to her, leaning over her to see if she was still breathing. She weakly picked her head up out of the snow drift to look him in the eye, his dark ones shifting to anything but her, uncomfortable.
“Tch. You pushed yourself too far.” he said, trying to sound detached. He hadn’t spoken to Hinata in a while. Not since....well, not since he had lost everything. Realizing it was him, she shakily pushed herself into a sitting position. She had missed her friend she had made all those years ago. He was so different now- not that she could blame him. With all the unwanted attention from the girls in the academy and his home life, she understood if he didn’t want to talk to her anymore. What would she even say to him? What do you say to someone who has gone through such a tragedy, especially at the hands of a loved one? She opened her mouth, once again her voice betraying her as nothing came out.
But he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t need anyone’s pity or their judgement. He didn’t need anybody. Period. He moved to stand up, to walk away from her before she could get the words out. Instead, her hand shot out and lightly grabbed his wrist, loose enough that he could pull away should he want to, which he appreciated. He looked down at the hand angrily and his expression changed to a more neutral one, before his surprise could take over.
Her hands were raw. They were red, cracked, and even bleeding in some places. The harsh cold had turned the tips of her fingers a dangerous, deep red and he sighed. He sat back down, back against the training post as he took off his gloves. She scooted closer and watched in awe as he silently put his gloves on her hands. Her hands started to warm up immediately, and she realized that there was no need for words as she leaned her head onto his shoulder as snow gently started falling around them again.
18 Years Old
She was making Naruto a scarf. It was a simple red scarf; one he had seen her hand knitting. It was made with love, and Naruto was Sasuke’s best friend. After everything they had been through, Naruto deserved someone nice like Hinata. So why did Sasuke want to strangle Naruto with it so badly?
Sasuke sat in a coffee shop in the village, watching the snow drift to the ground outside as people bustled around shopping. Hinata was sweet and thoughtful, putting every fiber of her being into the yarn that made up that scarf. She was kind and strong, not a combination one found very often. She was stubborn and beautiful and....Naruto deserved that after everything he had gone through. Sasuke sighed and paid for his coffee, readjusting his jacket before heading back outside into the weather. That is, until a girl bumped directly into his chest on his way out.
She had been looking down, trying to decide whether to give it to him or not. She had finished it, yes, but would he like it? Would he accept it? Accept her feelings? She squeaked as she walked headfirst into someone on her way into the shop, falling backwards into the snow and sending her carefully wrapped package flying.
“Watch where you’re...” Sasuke started to snap before realizing who the girl on the ground was. “Hinata?”
Pearlescent eyes sparkled up at him as she gazed up at him, shock written all over her face. Her face was red, probably from the cold, Sasuke assumed.
“Sasuke!” She squeaked, taking his offered hand and scrambling to her feet, moving to gather her present from the slushy sidewalk. He beat her to it, grabbing the carefully wrapped gift from the ground and brushed it off carefully. He didn’t want Naruto’s gift to be ruined, if this was that gift at least. He held it out to her and her hands shot out to take it. Sasuke hadn’t noticed at first but instead of handing her the box back, he sighed and tucked the present under his arm as he reached for her hands. Her bare, ungloved hands.
Honestly. Does she never learn? He thought. But there was no bite in it, coming out much fonder than he had meant it to. Without thinking, he gathered her hands in his and leaned over, gift still tucked into the crook of his arm, and slowly blew against her fingers.
Her face went immediately red, mouth open slightly as her eyes drank in the sight in front of her. She watched as white puffs of warm breath ghosted over her fingers, thawing them in no time as her blood now felt like it was boiling. He inspected his handywork before she snapped back to reality and pulled her hands away with a strange look in her eye that Sasuke couldn’t quite place. Embarrassment maybe? He supposed he should have been embarrassed by his actions, but he wasn’t. He even smirked at her brightly colored cheeks; now sure it was because of him. Without saying a word, he handed her back the present, only to have her shake her head at him.
“T-This present....is for you.” She managed to say, voice just above a whisper. Luckily the wind wasn’t blowing, or Sasuke might have missed it.
“For me?” He asked, surprised as he looked at the box in his hands. Why would she...?
“Open it.” She encouraged. And so, he did. He carefully unwrapped the big bow holding it together and took the top off slowly, as if there were something in there that might bite him. His shoulders stiffened as he let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, the cloudy whisp of white giving him away. There sat Naruto’s scarf. The one she had been lovely knitting together every time he had seen her around town for the last month and a half. The one she had poured so much hard work into. This scarf....was for him?
“But isn’t this for...Naruto?” Sasuke asked, confusion lacing every word.
“Naruto? Why would it be for Naruto?” She replied, just as confused.
“Because...” he thought back to when Sakura had said she was making it for someone very special to her. She had never actually said it was for Naruto but maybe Sasuke had just assumed.... He pulled the lovely red scarf out of the box it was carefully folded into and marveled at the stitching. She had made this by hand. For him.
The smile she received made her knees feel a little weak. It felt like the world slowed down for her as his eyes crinkled a little at the sides with the effort of the smile that was only meant for her. He wrapped it around his neck and looked down at it again as she blushed.
“Do you-”
“I love it. Thank you.” he responded before she could even finish. “Maybe next year I should get you some gloves. Your hands are always freezing.” He smirked as she hid her hands in her pockets and fixed him with a playful glare. She couldn’t help melting into a smile though as he chuckled at her attempt at ferocity. Much to her surprise, he took her hand from her pocket and interlaced their fingers, leading her back to the coffee shop they were still in front of.
“Let’s warm you up. There’s some cinnamon buns in here that are sickeningly sweet that I’m sure you’ll love.” he told her, leading the way as she looked at her smaller hand in his. She hoped that next year he would not get her gloves if it meant he could warm her hands in his.
30 Years Old
“Hikari! Hideko! Wait up!” The young boy shouted as he rushed to put on his coat clumsily. It was the first snow of the season and, as per tradition, it was customary to build a snowman with his siblings. In his haste, he almost didn’t hear his parents’ calling his name from the doorway.
“Kousuke?” Hinata’s voice carried into the foyer, stopping him in his tracks with one hand on the doorknob.
“Yeah mom?” He looked back, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. His puffy black jacket wasn’t even zipped and he still had his pajama pants on, making Hinata both want to chuckle and roll her eyes at the same time.
“Come here.” She smiled as he groaned but did as he was told. He allowed her to zip up his jacket and put a scarf around his neck, shielding him from the cold. He groaned again and fiddled with the edge of the scarf near his neck, muttering under his breath about not needing it.
“Don’t grumble at your mother.” Sasuke came around the corner to the foyer, handing some red gloves to the boy with a smirk. He huffed but didn’t argue, putting on the gloves before speading his arms and spinning to show off his gear.
“Can I go out now?” He asked, eyeing his parents like they were purposefully keeping him from the winter wonder land outside because they wanted to torture him. Hinata nodded and he ran out the door with a smile, joining his sisters in their pursuit of creating the best snowman yet.
Hinata eyed the clouds forming, a worry line etching itself between her brows. Sasuke put an arm around her and she leaned her head onto his shoulder, watching the kids play from the window.
“Don’t worry.” Sasuke assured her, fingers tracing up and down her arm slowly. “They’ll stay warm enough. I’ll make some hot chocolate for when they come back in.”
Hinata smiled, appreciating the snowflakes falling slowly outside. The snow always held such good memories for them and Hinata knew Sasuke was right. Between her heart and his hands, they would always have a warm place to come home to.