Konoha was loud in the way it always was - vendors calling out, sandals scuffing along the stone road, children darting between adults. Sasuke moved through it like a shadow that refused to be caught. He kept to the edges of the street, eyes forward, hands in his pockets. People glanced at him and looked away.
He turned down the quieter path without thinking, the one that curved toward the training fields with the little park tucked between two rows of trees. The air changed there. It felt cooler, softer. The noise of the village dulled, like someone had closed a door.
Hinata sat alone on a bench beneath a branch that drooped with fresh autumn leaves, her hands folded neatly in her lap. She wasn't doing anything. No scrolls, no errands, no mission reports tucked under her arm. She was just... watching.
A few small birds hopped in the dirt near the bench, tilting their heads like they were listening to secrets. Hinata's gaze followed them with a kind of quiet focus that Sasuke didn't see often in anyone. Not empty, not distracted. Just present.
He could've kept walking.
He should've kept walking.
But something in him slowed anyway, feet pausing before his mind decided to.
Hinata didn't notice him at first. Or maybe she did and didn't react... She was like that sometimes. The birds fluttered closer, emboldened by her stillness.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly, not at her, but at the way the birds behaved around her like she belonged to the space. Then, one of them hopped on to the edge of the bench, close enough that he could see its tiny claws grip the wood.
Hinata's lips parted in the faintest expression of surprise. Silent, gentle. Her shoulders didn't jerk. She didn't reach out. She just let it happen.
Sasuke stopped a few steps away.
The Hyuuga heir finally glanced up, as if she'd felt the shift in the air. Her eyes widened a fraction when she saw him. Not fear - more like she hadn't expected anyone to be there.
"S-Sasuke-san," she said softly.
He gave a small nod of acknowledgement.
The bird on the bench peered at Sasuke, then hopped once, as if to challenge him. Sasuke stared back.
Another bird fluttered down, then another, forming a tiny, bold semicircle near Hinata's feet. It looked ridiculous, like they were gathering for a meeting.
Hinata's gaze flicked between them, her mouth curving just barely, the kind of smile that tried not to take up space.
Sasuke frowned, almost offended by the scene. One bird puffed up its chest. Sasuke's eyes narrowed further.
"They're staring at me," he said.
Hinata hesitated, then her soft smile deepened... only a little. "Maybe... they think you're a crow."
Sasuke's mouth twitched before he could stop it. It was barely anything - almost a flinch. Did she just make a joke? At his expense?
But Hinata saw it (of course she did, she has all-seeing eyes).
Her eyes widened again, and then, very quietly as if she couldn't help it, she let out a small sound that was almost a laugh. Not loud. Not teasing. Just surprised joy, like she'd witnessed a rare natural phenomenon. And maybe it was, considering the lone Uchiha never really smiled. Not really.
Sasuke's expression froze.
Heat rose up his neck so fast it irritated him. He didn't move, but it still happened. He felt his cheeks warming, ears burning.
Hinata's hands flew up, hovering near her mouth like she was trying to catch the laugh before it escaped. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered, eyes round. "I didn't mean- it was just-"
Sasuke turned his head away sharply, staring at the trees like they had suddenly become so, so fascinating. He covered half his face with his hand, trying to hide the warmth forming.
"It's... fine," he muttered.
Hinata lowered her hands slowly, still watching him with careful concern.
"I didn't mean to laugh at you," she said quickly, voice barely above the birds' chirping, "It's just... I didn't expect you to... smile." (She didn't expect her joke to be that good).
Sasuke's throat tightened. He hated that she'd called it that. He stared harder at the trees.
Behind him, he heard a tiny flutter of wings. One of the birds hopped closer to his foot and look up at him. As if mocking him.
Sasuke didn't move. (Why isn't he walking away?)
Hinata's voice came again, hesitant, careful. "If you want, you can sit here. The birds don't mind."
He glanced down at the... mocking bird (har har), then at the bench, then away again like it all offended him.
He sat at the far end of the bench, leaving a polite, measured space between them that still kinda counted as 'sitting together.'
Hinata's shoulders relaxed, just a fraction. She turned her gaze back to the birds like she didn't want to make a big deal of it. Maybe it wasn't after all. He did sit next to her.
Sasuke kept his eyes forward, face still warm, pretending it was the sun filtering through the leaves but... who was he kidding. (Himself?)
The birds resumed their hopping, pleased with themselves.
Hinata watched them in silence. Sasuke stayed.
He told himself it was because the path was quiet.
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