#shmonth

“Sasuke! Dearest, when did you arrive? You always enter like a cat and I never hear it!”

I walk to her and give her a hug, a kiss on her cheek.

“I got you the fruits you wanted”

Bag held up as I show her the evidence. Mother beams at me and turns to Hinata.

“Hinata, won’t you be a darling and help Sasuke peel and cut those? I think we are missing a fruit salad”

A soft laugh escapes Hinata’s lips before she replies. “Of course Mikoto”

Yet another moment of immense meaning happens as she reaches out to squeeze my hand as we walk back to the kitchen. Once the door closes, she giggles.

“We spent 5 hours making 3 different types of cakes, but fruit salad is also a must!”

Despite her words, Hinata instantly prepares a large bowl and gives me a knife as well.

“It’s ok, the desserts always get eaten. It’s the other things that at least a portion of goes bad”

As we work shoulder by shoulder our mutual understanding of one another shines through. Hinata washes and peels, I cut, I mix the fruits around. Whenever a piece of fruit is a bit too mushy, I eat it, whenever I cut something a bit too small, I feed it to her.

Hinata’s work is done before mine is, but she remains by my side to chat about our day. As I put the knife down her arms wrap around me in a hug. It’s so bittersweet. I love feeling her, but I wish I could pull her in for a tighter hug, for more than that. However, that might muddy up the sense of friendship we have built over decades of being us.

Itachi steps into the kitchen and Hinata’s arms drop instantly.

“Mother said we should go change so we can take pictures”

Both of us nod. Our ways parting in the hallways, I go up the stairs to my room, while she steps outside to run cross the street to her own home.

10 minutes later everyone is gathered, my whole family and the Hyuugas too. Father is setting up the camera so we can take the same picture we do every year. It is our mothers’ birthdays. Yes, they share a birthday, they have been close friends since birth, even managed to convince their families to move across from the other. Each year they switch who is in charge of the celebration dinner. It’s a tradition that has been happening since even before either of us kids were born.

Due to their closeness, there has never been a moment in my life when I didn’t know Hinata. 24 years of history.

Whenever our dads start having a small argument we look at each other to roll our eyes, when Neji or Itachi mention something we did not know prior, we would pinch the other’s thigh as a sign that we’ll talk about it later. For 24 years I have stayed in the chair right next to her, we have built a language only we could speak, I know all there is to know about her and she me, yet…there’s space between us that I do not know how to close.

As a teen I was sure it would just take time, but as the years keep on going, I become less and less sure.

Once the dinner ends and everyone is so full they barely are awake, Hinata and I always sneak away into the backyard on the wooden swing, a cup of wine in our hands in the past few years.

Sometimes we laugh and talk, other times we sit in silence, her back leaning into my shoulder as we swing slowly. Today it is a moment of quiet. Comfortable quiet when the pressure to make small talk is not there.

I always wonder if this is the moment, when I could do something, change how we are. But I never do. I am worried it will make it odd if the feeling is not mutual and I would rather have her like this, than not have her at all.

So another chance passes by me, another dinner, another year.

Hinata POV

“Thank you Mikoto”

“Of course dear, you know you are like my daughter too”

I wasn’t sure what to do when mom wasn’t home to help me sew a tear in my dress. Under normal circumstances I could either change or sew it up myself, but it is a bridesmaids dress for my friend’s wedding and it matches with the other girls and well…it is in the front of the dress, and I am not skilled enough with the needle yet to seamlessly hide it.

So I ran over to the Uchiha’s. It’s good I checked the dress first, so now Mikoto has time to fix it while I get ready. I brought over all my make-ups so I can do that as Mikoto works on it.

“The sage green is a pretty color, it will look great in pictures” she says as her fingers caress the satin.

I agree with her with a smile.

“Have you thought about what color you would like for your own wedding?”

The question catches me by surprise, but it does fit in the conversation and it is hypothetical.

“I like blues and purples, so maybe one of those?”

A normal answer, not much thought given to it as I continue to apply glitter shadows to my eyes.

For a few minutes we continue our work in silence, which I assumed was because we were each focused. But it seems Mikoto was preparing for a bigger question.

“When are you planning to get married?”

Cheeks red fully, left speechless I look away from her. There have been older or distant family members that would ask me that but I always gave a diplomatic general answer and left, rolling my eyes internally. But Mikoto to ask me? Never happened before.

“Surely you won’t make us wait too long. Both I and Hikari want to still be in our early 50s when you kids get married. So, you have a few more years, but…I say the sooner the better. No?”

Blindsided by the turn of conversation I try to compose myself, but Mikoto decides not to spare me any moment and continues talking.

“So far I kept quiet because Hikari said we have to wait for you two to be ready. And I did. But now your friends are starting to get married, so the timing feels perfect now.

You kids wouldn’t even have to do any work. Me and your mom can handle it. We just need you to say what you like-”

The door opens and I am so thankful to be saved from this whirlwind of a situation but my eyes are met with Sasuke. He takes me in, on their livingroom floor, red as a beet, pjs on, make-up on and dress in Mikoto’s hands.

“Sasuke dearest, you look so handsome in that suit.

Ask Shikamaru who the tailor is, we should go to him for your wedding too”

Oh my God. Internal screaming. Sasuke looks at me just as confused and bewildered, trying to find the answer in my expression but I have no answers to provide. Since he is facing us both Mikoto can see his expression and understands his confusion.

“Me and Hinata were talking about when you two will get married.”

Mouth hanging wide open. Us two, get married. Head looking down, keeping my eyes hidden from Sasuke by my bangs, scared of what he might see in them. Scared he might see that behind confusion and embarrassment, I am happy that Mikoto thinks about us this way. That in the dark of the night, while I sleep I sometimes dream of us in this way, together, married.

“Mom-”

Sasuke’s voice is unsure, very different from his confident usual self.

“Oh please, you kids don’t have to keep it hidden any longer. I never really understood why you were trying to hide anyway. We all know you’ve been dating for so many years now.

Anyway, I was thinking a wedding next year would be nice.”

Mikoto says definitively and even hands me the dress, having just finished the stitching.

She leans down and gives me a kiss on the top of my head and just leaves the room, like nothing, like she didn’t just wrecked everything.

Sasuke clears his throat, and I finally look up at him, thinking I controlled my expression well.

Eyes wide because he is blushing and looking away. Yet his expression betrays him and everything I feared he’d see in me…I see in him. Heart pounding, I sit up to my knees, look at him getting flustered more by the moment. In a moment of insanity, bravado and fake confidence that I can turn this into a joke if it goes wrong, I open my mouth.

“Should we? Get married next year?”

The few seconds of silence that follow are the longest moments of my life ever, I have to keep myself from saying ‘joking’ about 3 times.

“Next year sounds good”

His voice cracks slightly in the middle and he tries to smirk, to seem casual about it. But nothing about how he acts is casual about it. Nothing about how I act is casual either. It makes me wonder how we could have been so blind, how we saw everything about the other, everything…but the romantic nature of our affection.

“I am not joking”

More certain now, the damage has been done already. The fear I felt moments ago persists, and I probably am red as a beet, but I will not let this chance pass me by, not another year.

Sasuke frowns and stares at me, trying to understand what is happening, why I am saying all of this. I take in a deep breath and smile at him, the type of smile that I have been fighting back all these years. I try to stand up, but I trip on the dress in my hands, Sasuke reaches out and helps me steady myself.

Leaning deeper into him, bringing our faces closer.

“Say something?” I beg, because his silence is going to kill me.

He doesn’t say anything, instead, a warm hand cups my cheek and pulls me in for a kiss. It should have been clumsy and awkward, but it’s perfect and tender. Like this is just one kiss out of the million we have already shared. The way I fit in his arms is just right, the way my head tilts up perfectly to meet him, the way even our breathing is in sync, the familiar feel of his hair tickling my palm, the smell of his cologne.

When Sasuke pulls away, I am grounded to the moment. Right, we were here, having a conversation. An odd conversation.  

“Maybe we can even think about this year? There’s still a few months left in the year”

His seriousness makes me giggle, which in turn makes him kiss me again. And I can’t help but pity our past selves, for the time it took us to get here.

24 years of hidden love once uncovered burned with the power of a thousand suns.

Mikoto must have been eavesdropping, the moment Sasuke proposes this year, the door opens and she is all smiles.

“I have always loved the idea of a winter wedding! I will call Hikari and we will start looking at venues tomorrow. You said blue and purple? That would look beautiful in the snow-“

Mikoto goes on about planning, but she is talking to herself as she takes her tablet, looking up and noting everything as me and Sasuke stare into each other’s eyes.

“We are so stupid”

I agree with him, but it’s fine now. Arms around his neck I give him another kiss.

Finally!! Some cute fluff written by me!! I really had fun writing this story, I hope you all enjoyed!

Hinata waited patiently for him to understand what she said.

“You know?” Sasuke gapped. “How…?”

“You wouldn’t stop telling me last night,” Hinata turning her eyes away as her cheeks turned red.

🌸 SasuHina Month 2025 - Day 21 🌸