𝐵𝓁𝒶𝒸𝓀𝒸𝒶𝓉!𝒮𝒶𝓈𝓊𝓀𝑒 x 𝒢𝑜𝓁𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇!𝑅𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇
Summary; Instead of joining the others at the hot springs, Sasuke gravitates back to your quiet little farm, where he knows you’ll greet him with warmth he doesn’t know how to ask for.
A/N; reader is afab! fem!reader, gentle confession, hurt/comfort Words; ~ 900 matching headcanons
He hadn’t meant to end up at your farm.
Really.
Team 7 had just returned from a taxing mission, tracking a missing-nin through rough terrain, bad weather, and not nearly enough food. Kakashi, for once, suggested rest. Naruto begged for the hot springs. Sakura agreed. Sasuke, however, slipped away the moment no one was watching.
His body ached. His shirt was torn at the shoulder, a gash beneath it hastily bandaged back at camp. His hair clung to his temple with dried sweat, and he was sure he looked miserable.
But his feet had brought him here, to the outer edge of the peaceful village. To your farm.
And he hated to admit it, but he had hoped, just a little, you’d still be there.
You were.
Sasuke watched from beneath the shade of a nearby tree. The sun caught the strands of your hair as you leaned over a trough to fill it with fresh water. Your clothes were smudged with hay and dirt, your cheeks flushed from the warmth of the late afternoon, a little flower tucked behind your ear. You looked… happy. Unbothered. The animals wandered lazily around you, clearly at peace.
And when you finally spotted him, his silhouette leaning slightly against the wooden fence, you beamed so brightly that Sasuke felt it behind his ribs.
"Sasuke-kun?" you gasped, dropping the bucket you were holding. "You're back!"
Before he could blink, you were jogging toward him, arms open… not to hug, no, not yet, but as if your whole body welcomed him. Sasuke stood stiffly, unsure what to do with his hands as you stopped just short of touching him. "You're hurt," you whispered, gaze softening as you took in the bloodstained sleeve, the dirt along his jaw.
"It's nothing," he muttered.
You frowned disapprovingly. " 'Nothing' needs cleaning!" You gestured toward the farmhouse with a tilt of your head, already stepping aside to let him follow. "Come in, I'll help you!"
Sasuke hesitated. He should say no. He should be going back to the inn, or at least to rest somewhere alone.
Instead, he followed the sunshine.
Inside, your little home smelled of bread and herbs. It was warm in a way he wasn’t used to.
You guided him to sit on a bench near the open window, digging through a cupboard until you found a cloth and a small jar of ointment.
"Take your shirt off."
He blinked. "What?"
"So I can clean the wound," you said innocently, wringing the cloth out in a bowl of clean water.
He complied, tugging the ruined material over his head with a wince.
You frowned again. "You really shouldn't be pushing yourself so hard,"
"I'm fine."
"You’re stubborn."
"...hn"
Your fingers were gentle as they dabbed at the wound, careful not to press too hard. He watched your face as you worked, lips pressed together, eyes focused. The gold of the setting sun spilled across your features and made you look like you belonged in a painting. Something soft. Beautiful.
"I missed you," you said suddenly.
Sasuke’s breath caught.
You didn’t seem to notice the way his shoulders stiffened, or if you did, you didn’t let it stop you. You dipped the cloth into the water again and wrung it out slowly.
Sasuke looked away, lips pressed into a thin line. He wasn’t good with things like this, soft words, open feelings.
But you always said what you meant. Always wore your heart out in the open.
He couldn’t understand how someone like you existed.
You leaned back, satisfied with your work. The bandage was neat, and the ointment already smelled of healing.
When your eyes met his again, they held something softer. Something braver.
"I was really happy when I met you, y'know? You were all cold and moody, and still are… but I don’t know… I could tell you weren’t a bad person."
Sasuke stayed silent. Not because he disagreed. But because it was true.
You leaned your head a little, smiling softly this time. "Do you think I’m annoying?"
He looked at you.
Then looked away.
Then, back again.
"...No."
You blinked. "No?"
He paused like the word itself was heavy. Then, quieter, rougher, "Not the way you think,"
You didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just watched him like he was a book half open.
He didn’t meet your eyes. Didn’t keep talking.
But he didn’t have to.
You pieced it together in your head, slow and careful.
He’d been in your village two weeks. You’d found excuses to run into him almost every day. Sometimes it was coffee, sometimes it was peaches from the orchard, sometimes it was nothing at all but a wave and a "Hiii again!~"
He’d never pushed you away.
Not really.
"I guess…" You started, your voice smaller now, “I just thought maybe you didn’t mind me. Or maybe you were just polite.”
He looked at you then. Really looked.
"…I didn’t expect you," He said, finally. His voice was low, like it wasn’t used to saying things that mattered. "I came here for work. Not… this."
You swallowed. Heart suddenly too loud in your chest.
"But… I kept letting you."
He didn’t move, but the air shifted.
"I don't know why," He said. "Maybe I liked it."
Your breath caught a little. Not dramatic, not showy, just that quiet, stunned kind of feeling when something lands deep.
“I like you too,” You whispered, fingers brushing his arm like you weren’t sure if you could hold on yet.
And for the first time since he sat down, he leaned in.
Not a kiss.
Not even a touch.
Just his shoulder against yours. Close enough that you could feel the heat of him, feel the way his breath slowed down a little, like maybe this was what he’d needed all along.
Outside, the sky had dipped into orange and purple. The animals were still. The world had quieted.
You sat there like that, in the hush of a day ending, his hand eventually finding yours, rough knuckles against calloused palms.
And Sasuke, silent as ever, didn’t pull away. Not even once.