𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐇𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐲
Pairing: Sasuke Uchiha x Kunoichi!Reader
Tags: Established relationship, intimate, fluff, possessiveness, emotionally charged, quiet tension, canon
Blood dotted the dirt, soaking into the ground in slow, heavy drops. The fight was over, but the tension hadn’t left your body yet. It clung to you like smoke.
Sasuke stood a few paces ahead, shoulders stiff, katana lowered. He wasn’t breathing heavily, but you could see the way his chest rose—slow, deliberate. Controlled. Always in control.
Except his right hand was a mess. Swollen. Bruised deep beneath the skin, fingers just barely curled like he was trying not to let you see how badly it hurt.
“Sasuke,” you called out, moving toward him. “Your hand—”
You stopped in front of him, close enough to see the blood drying at his temple, the sweat sticking his hair to his jaw. His eyes weren’t on you. They were scanning—always checking for a threat. But when they landed on you, they didn’t leave.
“You blocked a blade with it. That’s not ‘nothing.’”
Another lie. You could see it in how he was holding himself—tight, just a little off.
You stepped closer, reached out gently. “Let me see it.”
He didn’t pull away, but his whole arm tensed the moment your fingers brushed his. A sharp breath escaped him when you pressed a little too close to the bruised area.
You looked up at him, quiet.
“You keep doing this,” you said softly. “Throwing yourself in front of me.”
He didn’t answer at first. You thought maybe he wasn’t going to. Then his voice dropped—low and rough, like it scraped its way out of his throat.
“Because no one touches you and walks away.”
It hit you like a punch to the chest.
Your fingers stilled on his wrist. You weren’t sure what hurt more—the way he said it, or how much you knew he meant it.
“I’m not a thing, Sasuke,” you said, voice barely above a whisper. “You don’t have to protect me like I’m some possession.”
He finally looked at you—really looked at you. His expression hadn’t changed much, but there was something cracked behind his eyes. Something raw.
“I just… I can’t help it,” he said. “It’s not about owning you. It’s just…” He trailed off, jaw tight. “It’s just what I feel.”
You swallowed. His hand was burning under your touch now, the skin angry and purple, but he still hadn’t flinched again. He was too focused on you.
“Sit down,” you said gently, already reaching for your pouch. “I’m wrapping it, whether you want me to or not.”
He crouched down in front of you without a word. Not because he didn’t care—but because you knew he didn’t have the words for moments like this. Sasuke never did.
You started wrapping his hand, working quietly. Every now and then, he watched your face more than what you were doing, like he was trying to memorize the way you looked when you weren’t angry with him.
“You don’t have to keep proving anything,” you said as you wrapped the bandage around his palm. “I already know how you feel. Even if you don’t say it out loud.”
Then, after a long pause, he spoke—barely above a whisper.
“I don’t know how to say it without feeling like I’m breaking something.”
You froze for a second, fingers hovering over the knot. Then you looked up at him.
His face was close. Tired, but open in that rare way he only ever gave to you. A little vulnerable. A little lost. But there.
So you leaned in and rested your forehead against his. No kiss. Just the quiet press of skin to skin.
“You’re not breaking anything,” you murmured. “You’re letting me in.”
He didn’t say anything back. But his left hand found your waist, fingers curling just slightly in the fabric of your flak jacket—holding you there. Not tight. Just enough to say he didn’t want you to move.
