Chapter 13

-Sakura's POV-

Gaara and I waited until we heard Sasuke and Hinata's bedroom doors close upstairs before looking at one another. What happened on the stage this morning was undoubtedly a significant milestone for the Hyuuga girl's healing journey.

"I've never heard her sing like that," my boyfriend said in his usual, soft tone.

I followed him into my bedroom, where we dropped our backpacks on the floor and fell lifelessly onto the bed, side by side, "Yeah, but she's never been hurt like this before, either."

Of us all, I'm the one having the least amount of trouble understanding her state of mind. What I went through with Sasori wasn't precisely the same, but the emotional toll was similar. Until a few days ago, it seemed she wasn't handling things well. After her display on stage, though, I'm confident everything will be okay with Prestige, our friendships, and her relationship with Sasuke.

No one said anything over the past weeks, but it was clear the Uchiha man had no idea how to act around Hinata. It could worsen things if he made the wrong approach, so he kept his distance and allowed the girl to work through her emotions. The look on his face anytime she wasn't around said it all. He was barely managing his nerves.

"Do you think she's upset with me for helping?"

I turned my neck to view the redhead's handsome profile. Teal eyes were clouded with deep thought, jawline sharp as he gritted his teeth.

Us and Sasuke had been standing off stage, watching the Hyuuga girl pour her heart out for the world to see and trying with all her might not to lose her composure. When Gaara noticed her fingers were trembling, he visibly got anxious. We could see clearly on his face that he wanted to help. Of us three, he was the only one capable, so I gave him a light shove toward the stage. At first, he tried to return to my side, but then Hinata turned our way. When we saw the look of appreciation, we knew it was alright.

"She doesn't care about winning. You know that."

Gaara and I have been on edge, too. Both of the others felt like ticking timebombs, and we didn't know what'd eventually set one of them off. Luckily, when we arrived home a few minutes ago, the aura between them seemed a million times calmer. If they're not up there talking things out right now, then it's bound to happen sometime soon.

He turned onto his side, a slight pink dusting his cheeks when he realized I'd been watching him the entire time, "I wish they'd told us they were dating."

A wistful sigh left my lips, but a smile tugged at them as Gaara fingered a strand of my hair absently, "I wish I hadn't been so blind. Looking back, it was obvious."

After Hinata's rescue, I finally had time to think things over and ended up recollecting memories of the couple over the past year. So many little things happened that pointed toward them falling for one another.

At the Masquerade ball, Sasuke was even more irrationally angry than usual when Itachi swept Hinata away for a dance. He couldn't take his eyes off the couple the entire time and had been so obviously irritated that Gaara and I didn't dare say anything.

Now that I look back, though, his demeanor was definitely out of the ordinary. Sure, the Uchiha man's been protective of our timid bandmate from the early days of Prestige's existence, but nothing bothered him enough that he lost his temper with her as he did that night.

Then, Kiba broke up with Hinata after the Halloween party. The girl even told me it was because of her feelings for Sasuke.

We both refused to talk about our thoughts on the boys then. Conversing about it would make it real, and no one was ready to make that leap then.

Sasuke stopped having women come over after that day. In fact, I'm pretty sure he stopped sleeping around altogether. Something must've happened during the party that shook them both up.

There are other moments, too.

Like when I woke up first the morning after we held our Christmas at the house. When I returned to the family room to wake the others, Hinata was sleeping and cuddling against the Uchiha man's back. When he noticed me standing there, he'd offered a threatening glare as though daring me to say something about it.

"I wonder what they're like together," Gaara mused warmly, pulling me from my reminiscing.

Grinning, I scooted closer to him on the bed and cuddled into his chest, "I bet they're not going to act much differently than usual."

Though Sasuke's not one to shy away from PDA, a fact we know well from his time as the resident playboy, Hinata's likely the opposite. I just can't picture her doing that sort of thing. I also can't imagine the Uchiha man changing how he acts since they're already so close as friends.

Gentle arms wrapped around my body, pulling me more firmly against Gaara's chest. Warmth filled my stomach and chest as he shyly buried his face in my hair and mumbled, "You were amazing today. I'm really proud of you."

"Thank you. You were great, too," I whispered into his shirt, closing my watery eyes so the tears would stop welling up.

When I first decided to go public with the story of my assault, I was concerned he'd be a little uncomfortable because many of our celebrity peers know we're together.

I should've known better.

This was Gaara, for God's sake. If he's anything, he's been my biggest supporter since Prestige first formed. There's no way he'd feel or act selfishly about it. In fact, he's told me a handful of times already that he admires the courage it's taking to face the public with the truth.

It's been like a dream since the day we confessed to one another. Compared to the bumpy road our friends have had, it almost seems unfair.

As I basked in the scent of Gaara's cologne, I couldn't bring myself to feel guilty. His tranquil aura is one of the things that initially piqued my interest. It's only natural our relationship would be mostly smooth sailing.

But what about the future?

What will we do when the time comes that one of us just can't stand keeping it quiet anymore? Which one of us will be the one to break first?

"Oh! Sorry; one second."

I blinked in surprise when the man suddenly disappeared from the bed and snatched up the small notebook atop the nightstand on his side of my bed. Understanding met my chest when he crouched in front of the piece of furniture to scrawl something down in the book with a pencil.

Small notepads and pieces of paper were scattered around the house, even in Sasuke's room, where they often hang out and play video games together. When he gets lyric ideas, he immediately has to write them down, or they'll be forgotten.

Smiling, I kicked off my shoes and climbed under the covers, watching Gaara with adoration brimming in my chest. A moment later, he removed his boots, too, before joining me.

"What was it this time? Anything good?"

The tiny blush from earlier threatened to meet the bridge of his nose again. I thought he'd refuse, as he often does, claiming not to want others to see or hear anything but the finished product if it could be helped. He didn't, though. Instead, his voice became quieter and almost bashful, "I was thinking about what a privilege it is to say I belong to someone so strong."

Heat met my cheeks at his suddenly honest statement. It's not terribly out of character for Gaara to fluster me with words, but I usually expect it when it happens.

The redhead pulled my hands into his beneath the covers, voice lowering further so it was barely audible, "I wish I'd found you sooner."

My voice wavered emotionally, but I tried to laugh it off, "What's with the serious mood all of a sudden?"

He kissed me.

"I can't help but imagine how I'd feel if I were in Sasuke's place right now. It makes me want to…." He trailed off, his cheeks becoming a darker red as his bashful nature finally took over.

Giggling, I kissed the tip of his nose, a small bout of satisfaction washing over me when his teal eyes reopened to meet mine.

"I love you, too."

-Hinata's POV-

I'd forgotten what it's like to sleep beside someone trustworthy.

All night long, I kept waking in fear because some part of Sasuke would touch me, and my subconscious screamed that it was Toneri, and I was back at the condo where he'd sneak into my bed against my wishes.

It was around six a.m. when I couldn't fall asleep again. My eyes crept open, and the breath in my lungs staggered, not because something was wrong or frightening but because the Uchiha man was sleeping so peacefully. He didn't need to tell me that he's also been struggling to rest these past weeks because the proof was all over his face. Dark bags had formed beneath his eyes, and his resting expression became one of exhaustion.

Now, though, he's lost to the world. Is it conceited to think that my presence is the cause? One of his hands were against the bed, nearly touching my neck, and the other was loosely grasping a handful of my shirt.

As I studied his defenseless, handsome face, I couldn't help but recall the night he came and found me in that hotel to apologize for losing his temper.

Before I could stop myself, I gently grabbed his free hand to my lips and held it there with both of mine, closing my eyes. I realized I was crying when a warm, wet feeling ran down my face to drip onto the pillow. It's not that I was too shy to touch him while he was awake last night because that's not the case, but it was easier to selfishly feel the callouses on his fingers when I didn't have to worry about what he was thinking.

I've missed this more than anything else, feeling his warmth. Now that I know how awful it is without it, I never want to let go of Sasuke. Is it too much to ask him to stay by my side forever?

For the first time since waking in that awful hospital room after being rescued from Toneri, the ice-cold grip that tightened my chest relaxed so a warmth could pour in like water, making me gasp.

I opened my eyes to see that Sasuke's beautiful dark eyes were open, but neither of us immediately reacted. It became evident that he was waiting for me to make the first move. I appreciated his patience and did so as a result.

Releasing his hand, I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled closer to press my lips to his in an almost desperate kiss. My fingers trembled as I reached up to hesitantly touch his jaw. Sasuke responded in kind, obviously trying not to scare me away by being too forward.

I thought it'd be harder to do this sort of thing after what'd happened with Toneri, but kissing the Uchiha man made me feel safer than I have in weeks. It's because everything around me, against me, is so obviously him. This scent, this comforting warmth, the familiar touch of these lips, couldn't come from anyone else.

I was terrified I'd been damaged beyond repair. The relief that that wasn't the case was too great, and I pulled back slightly to try and catch my breath, closing my eyes and dipping my head lower.

Sasuke pressed his lips into my hair, gently wrapping his arms around my body so I'd come closer. Tears dripping slowly into his black t-shirt, I whispered, "You have no idea how much I've missed you," my voice wavered as I continued, "I-I feel so much better."

A low rumble shook his chest, his voice raspier than usual, "Me too."

We lay there and cuddled in silence for a long time, basking in the comfort we'd been deprived of for so long. Eventually, though, Sasuke pulled back to look at my face. I knew immediately that he wanted to kiss me, but he didn't. He hesitated.

"D-Do it, please."

The man gently pressed his lips to mine, speaking quietly moments later without pulling away much, "Are you okay with this?"

Frowning, I pulled back to meet his gaze, "Sasuke, I want you to treat me how you did before everything happened. I'm not afraid, and if I get uncomfortable, I'll tell-!" My words were cut off by him kissing me more firmly, long fingers tangling into my hair on either side of my head.

Like ice steadily being melted by the sun, the cold clutch in my chest sank away until Sasuke was all that remained. The kiss turned into the passionate one that I remember experiencing on occasion in the past, filling me with relief because he seemed happy, and I wasn't the least bit scared.

Memories of our first few nights together flooded my brain, only making me more confident that I genuinely could handle this.

I can do it.

I can move on.

I can be happy.

Sasuke pulled back after a while, both of us breathing slightly harder from the kiss. As I studied his gorgeous dark eyes, and he stared at me with a mix of obviously overwhelming emotions, I couldn't help but smile. He seemed slightly confused, but I cuddled into his chest, wrapping my arms around his middle.

"Hinata?"

My grin widened as I buried my face in his shirt, "Thank you, Sasuke."

There was a pause before the arms around me tightened, and I felt him press his lips into my hair, his tone akin to the borderline-irritated one I'm so used to hearing when he's forced to say something cheesy or emotional, "Of course."