NaruHina: Postscripts

Eighty-eight

Heyyy your newest drabble was as amazing as always :) (about Sasuke and with Hinata and Naruto being jealous) butttt I can't help feeling kinda empty now cuz my boy Naruto still feels kinda insecure ?

Could you pleaseeeee do a pt2 where Hinata gets why he's so annoyed at Sasuke and comforts his insecurity and assures him he's the only one for her. Like she gets it without him having to say anything and he's immensely grateful cuz she can make sense of his feelings even when he can't 

Sasuke heard her before he saw her. She was humming, a joyful expression, a tune he didn't recognize, but it was still pleasant to hear.

When he saw her, she was brushing the dirt away from the ancient stone slab in the garden. Her fingers silently traced over the symbol for Uchiha etched on the rock. Then her hands were busy arranging the flowers laid over the gravestone.

That explained it. The mystery was finally solved. He'd often wondered about it every time he came to visit. She was the person who'd left the other set of flowers over his family's gravestone. Sakura always left carnations. Hinata's offering were sunflowers.

"Ah!" she suddenly exclaimed when she finally saw him. Then she smiled. "Sasuke! You're back in the village!"

He nodded at her. "Hinata."

She stood up and approached him, her smile apologetic. "I hope you don't mind that we've been coming here to help clean out the garden." She swept her arm over the courtyard. "It's not as good as I'd hoped, but we're doing the best that we can with the little time we have. Sakura's been so busy lately that she hasn't been able to come as much as she wanted to."

He shook his head, touched that she would do something like this. But it made sense. "We" meant her and Naruto.

Sakura had told him about it, of course. He'd assumed that Naruto had wanted to help because he was a friend. But that Hinata Hyuuga was part of the group was something he'd never considered.

She came up to him and placed a hand on his arm, concern on her face as she peered at his face. Then a bright, lovely smile stole across her face again as she saw the expression of peace on his. "Let me be the first to say, 'Welcome home,' Sasuke. I hope you're back for a long time this time. Sakura will be very happy."

. . . . .

Naruto was whistling as he rounded the corner, buckets and brushes in his hands. He'd asked Hinata to go ahead of him because he'd forgotten the weeding tools at his apartment. "Sorry, Hinata! I'll meet you at the Uchiha's in a little bit."

As he walked into the yard, he saw them.

Hinata was not normally a toucher, so seeing her hand on Sasuke's arm startled him.

Actually, it more than startled him. Because not only was she touching him, she was also smiling at Sasuke.

And it struck him that he'd always taken it for granted that she would be so luminous whenever she looked that way at people. Because quite simply, Hinata cared about everyone.

Still, it was hard to see her smile shared with other people, especially other men, and maybe especially with Sasuke.

Though Sasuke was a good friend, a part of him still considered him a rival.

But he'd never thought it would include being a rival to Hinata's affection.

He must have made a sound because the two of them turned around and looked at him.

"Naruto!" she cried out, and the joy in her face soothed him somewhat, her arm fell away from Sasuke, and she started walking toward him with that open, eager look, her hand automatically stretched towards his.

"Sasuke's back! Isn't that wonderful?" she was saying as she skipped towards him

Sasuke remained quiet but watched the two of them.

"Sasuke," Naruto said, trying to smile at his friend, but finding it extremely difficult. He was feeling a mixture of happiness seeing him back home, but also feeling inexplicably lonely to feel that for one second, Hinata had allowed Sasuke into her heart.

But she was by his side now, and with the one arm not holding the buckets, he squeezed her.

"Naruto, thank you for doing this," Sasuke said as he swept his arm over the courtyard of his former home. He glanced at Hinata to include her in his appreciation.

The sincerity in Sasuke's voice reminded Naruto why they were doing this for him, why they were clearing the weeds in the garden, why they were making sure that the remnants of the Uchiha's former home remained intact for posterity. It made him forget that twinge of jealousy he'd felt just a moment before.

Naruto grinned, instead, fighting his emotions because no matter what, seeing Sasuke safe and healthy, and back home was always something to be celebrated. "We were hoping to surprise you, but I guess we couldn't hide it from you. This was your family home after all."

Sasuke shook his head. "Still, I appreciate it. You didn't have to, you know."

"I know, but I just couldn't let it go. The weeds were getting to me. They were growing so high, it felt like a jungle."

Sasuke finally laughed at the lame attempt at a joke. He glanced at Hinata, sensed that she wanted him to leave because they'd both felt the surge of melancholy that had gripped Naruto a few minutes before.

So he said, "I'll leave it to you experts, then. I'm not much of a gardener, so thank you both."

She nodded at him. "Sakura's not working today," she said helpfully, a twinkle in her eyes.

That had him smiling. "I better go see her then."

Then he looked at Naruto. "I'll see you around, Naruto." He turned around and left without waiting for a reply.

Hinata and Naruto watched him go.

"He looks healthy, not as pale as before," she said into the silence.

Naruto replied noncommittally, still subdued.

Hinata glanced up, smiled, then reached for the buckets and brushes they were going to use to wash the stone slab marking the graves of the Uchiha family. She placed them on the ground while he watched her, still not saying a word.

Then Hinata stepped close and wrapped her arms around his waist, which startled Naruto into a smile as she buried her face into his chest and breathed in his scent.

"You know, if there's anything bothering you, you can always tell me, right?" she mumbled against his t-shirt.

"Yeah."

"Like right now. I know you saw me touching Sasuke, but that's something I couldn't control and I'm sorry. I think it was just seeing him finally after all these months that made me reach out and make sure I wasn't dreaming. I just wanted to make sure that he was really standing right in front of me."

He laughed. "Hinata! You're so silly!"

She raised her eyes to him and reached out to touch his lips. "So are you, Naruto, for thinking what you did a few minutes ago. I love you, so there's never a need to feel jealous when I'm around any other guy. You're the only, only, one for me."

He laughed again, buoyed by her words and the gentle caress of her fingers on his mouth. Somehow, he felt lighter hearing those words.

She laughed softly. "Plus, I think being around you and Sakura all this time transferred your worries about him onto me. Since I was the first one to see him, I just wanted Sasuke to feel that you guys would be happy to know that he's home."

"You're so kind, Hinata," he said as he grabbed both hands and pressed them against his cheeks. He sighed and closed his eyes. "I love you."

"I know," she said with a smile into his eyes, which had opened when he'd heard her cheeky response. "Because, Naruto, I feel everything that you feel."

He was still smiling when he finally pulled her face up for a kiss.