Sasuke stared at the door. It was just a plain door, very nonthreatening, and slightly more expensive than his apartment door. It was just a door, but something bigger and more significant was on the other side of it.

That was it. He was done with it. To hell with his guilt and shame.

Sasuke finally raised his fist, knocked on the door, and waited for it to open. Sakura stood back behind him, conversing with Ino over the phone.

"What? I don't know, Ino. When are you getting here?"

Sakura wasn't paying Sasuke any mind until suddenly, she screamed out a shocked "what", ran up to him, kissed him goodbye, then bolted.

Just after his pink-haired girlfriend had disappeared at the end of the block, the door opened, revealing Hinata, with her hair pulled up in a top-bun, loose strands curled around her neck, a long sweater-dress, and socks. A light blush bloomed across her cheeks as she gave Sasuke an extended onceover, then glanced expectantly behind him.

"Hey, Hinata," Sasuke finally managed, waving to her.

She looked up at him shyly, then routinely bowed to him as a greeting. "Hi, Sasuke . . . Where is Sakura? A-And Ino?"

Sasuke silently cursed the two girls for abandoning the both of them. Of course Hinata doesn't want to be alone with him. He put Naruto in jail; he probably reminds her of the asshole . . .

"I'm sorry. They . . . bailed. I can leave, if you're uncomfortable," Sasuke muttered. Though he wasn't extremely sociable, he still considered himself to be a good friend to her, even though he hadn't been acting like one as of late. He hoped that Hinata would allow him to make it up to her.

Hinata blinked at him a few times, as if processing Sasuke Uchiha was difficult, and truthfully, it was. Hinata pulled a small smile and backed away from the door, allowing Sasuke inside. "Thank you for coming. Please, come in," she said sweetly. Though her brain came up empty when she thought of what she could do with Sasuke, she wasn't deterred by his sudden presence. It felt nice to have an old friend around . . . despite recent events. She'd rather hang out with friends than spend her time alone, letting her thoughts marinate about everything wrong that's happened in her life.

"How are you?" Sasuke asked as he took seat on one of the white couches.

Hinata shrugged. "I'm okay. A bit sluggish."

Sasuke nodded. He glanced around the living room, noting his appreciation of its cleanliness. His place was currently a mess, a physical embodiment of his recent anxiety-driven thought process. He noticed Hinata glancing down at her intertwined fingers. She was doing that thing she did often when they were younger, where she twiddled her fingers—a sign that she was thinking or was nervous about something.

"How are you doing, Sasuke?" Hinata asked, looking back up to him. She'd stuffed her hands under the sleeves of her slightly oversized sweater-dress—she probably caught on to Sasuke's staring.

Sasuke permitted himself to lean back into the couch. Normally, he would be more mindful of the fact that he was a guest in someone's home, so he wouldn't be so informal and relax like he owned the place. However, he could sense the tension wafting off of the small woman just a few feet away from him, so in order to alleviate some of her stress, he figured simmering down would ease her nerves.

He sighed, crossed his arms over his chest and pondered his thoughts for a moment.

"Honestly? . . ." Sasuke watched Hinata with careful eyes as she nodded.

"If you're okay with . . . with telling me," she mumbled, her voice as small as her form.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders in a simple gesture. "I feel shitty."

A small huff escaped Hinata's mouth. If that didn't describe Sasuke in a nutshell . . . but Hinata felt this was different from the usual amounts of crap the Uchiha could feel on any particular day.

"I don't want to bring him up," meaning Sasuke was undoubtedly going to. "I know how much you care about him, but I just can't stop thinking about him . . . and I hate him . . ." Sasuke ran a hand across his face. He felt like a weight was being lifted from his shoulders. He finally said it out loud; part of it, anyways. Sasuke dared himself to look back to Hinata, fighting his confusion for feeling guilty about something he shouldn't have to feel guilty about. "I feel awful for not being there for you, for not helping you with . . . you know." Sasuke shook his head, somewhat disgusted with himself for failing to keep his thoughts concise and coherent. The once composed Sasuke Uchiha was sort of losing his shit and it was all because of one asshole.

Hinata smiled. "Thank you, Sasuke." She glanced out the window, catching sight of a blue jay perched on a tree branch. The sun shone directly through the leaves, casting a beautiful shadow through the window, spreading its gray color across the white surroundings. "For the record, I still have a couple more months to go, so I'll need all the help I can get." She chuckled as she rubbed a hand over her belly. A small baby bump had formed since then, making her feel bubbly inside.

Sasuke chuckled. "Understood."

Hinata gripped her hands together. Her brows furrowed. Suddenly, she seemed perturbed. "Sasuke . . . I understand, after all that's happened, that both you and Naruto-kun would hate each other . . . but I honestly don't see you two feeling that way." If it was even possible, her voice got tinier as she continued to speak. Sasuke could only prop himself to sit forward to hear her. "I know he hurt me. He hurt all of us, in . . . unspeakable ways . . . but I do love him. And I know you do, too, because you want to help him."

Sasuke's eyes widened at that. Is Hinata . . . serious? She figured him out after just, what, looking at him?

Sasuke couldn't help but snicker at himself. "I can't even begin to explain anything . . . yet, you got me. How?"

Hinata shrugged. "I guess we're both fools . . . chasing after someone that shouldn't be chased." Sasuke nodded.

"I'm glad we're on the same page." Sasuke ran a hand through his hair again, gripping it at the ends gently. "Good thing Sakura and Ino aren't here."

The laugh that came out of Hinata made Sasuke smile softly. He had to admit . . . that was something someone could fall for. Even an Usuratonkachi like Naruto.

"Does your family know?" Sasuke asked suddenly. Hinata raised her brows at him.

"Know what?"

Sasuke motioned towards her. When she gave him a perplexed look, he rubbed his own belly.

"Oh, oh . . ." Hinata shook her head, her eyes lowering to her lap, demeanor instantly depleting. "I can't tell them . . ."

Sasuke nibbled the inside of his cheek lightly as he winced in thought. "You can't hide it . . ."

"They can't find out, Sasuke," Hinata cried, her voice whispered even though they were the only ones that seemed to be in the house, considering how silent the place was. Even the air seemed still.

"Hinata," Sasuke started, but cut himself off. He could get a grasp of the severity of her situation.

"I'll be kicked out," Hinata said through a sniffle. "Th-They could force me to a-abort . . . I can't let that happen." She wiped away a stray tear that fell from her eye. "Our baby . . ."

Sasuke stood up and bent down in front of her. He took ahold of her shaking hands and clenched them together. "Hinata, breathe. Please," he said calmly. Hinata copied Sasuke's breathing pattern until her trembling slowed to a steadiness. Her breathing became less panicked as she stared back at Sasuke through tear-brimmed eyes.

"It's okay," Sasuke spoke softly and quietly. Hinata nodded slowly. "I'm here for you. Sakura and Ino are here for you. Even him, Naruto. I'll try my best to . . . update. Something. But as long as you're safe and healthy, we're all going to be fine. Okay?" Sasuke held in a deep breath. He wasn't like this, ever, but he hoped he didn't fuck up while his friend was clearly in such a vulnerable state.

Hinata nodded once more. "Th-Thank you, Sasuke . . . I'm s-sorry . . ."

Sasuke shook his head. "You've got nothing to apologize for. Nothing."

Hinata nodded again. "Thanks, again."

Sasuke looked out the window, seeing the sun and feeling it warm against his skin. "You want to get out, get some air? Maybe eat some food?" Sasuke backed up from the couch and stood up to his full height. Hinata stood after him, adjusting her dress back to thigh-height.

"That sounds good," she mumbled.

Sasuke clasped his hands together. "Great. Let's go."

Sasuke and Hinata headed to a local café that was less busy, less crowded, quiet and smelled of coffee and old books. The place instantly became nostalgic to the two friends as it reminded them of their times in high school, where they sometimes frequented the café spot to hangout during lunch or after school.

Hinata ordered tea, Sasuke ordered extra black coffee, which was simply just straight out of the pot it brewed from. Once they were seated by a large window, they took in their surroundings, each of them thinking about their personal lives and what events lead them to be who they were currently.

"Hey . . ." Sasuke started. His black eyes looked far off and drifty as he stared out the window while his hands cupped the large, steamy mug that sat in front of him. "Remember when Naruto would call the us at four in the morning to meet at the park? Before school began?" Hinata immediately blushed at the memory.

"Oh my . . . I forgot all about that," she said through a smile. "He would want to wait to watch the sunrise with us . . . and for us to give him our homework to copy."

Sasuke chuckled. He sipped his coffee, glancing back to Hinata. "One time, I just stayed up all night and like clockwork, he called me. Surprisingly, I was the only one he called that night."

Hinata's brows raised, curious. "Really?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. Said he couldn't sleep. Nightmares and shit."

"He had those often . . ." Hinata lifted her tea cup close to her face as she leaned on her wrist. She found comfort in smelling the aroma of her drink as she thought. "So did you guys go out or . . .?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Was a Friday night, so no school. I snuck out the house and went to his apartment to keep him company."

Hinata bit her lip to keep herself from grinning too wide. "That's sweet of you."

Sasuke scrunched his face in mock disgust. He waved off her comment with a smirk. "Yeah, well. He did the same shit for me."

Hinata believed him. it was forbidden for her to have boys over growing up. Sneaking out wasn't an option she dared to think of because she knew how vigilant her father was. Even as a grown woman, she still got extremely wary around her family.

"I . . . I never really had that kind of comfort in a friend. But, Naruto-kun had always been there for me, even if I couldn't sneak out to meet him or sneak him over. Before we started dating, we would go on walks and relax and just . . . talk. All of my problems seemed to disappear whenever I was around him." Hinata furrowed her brows together. Things had changed drastically over the years. Naruto had changed, and that effected everything. How Hinata and him worked together, bonded with each other, how they felt about each other. Hinata missed how it was, before. She hoped the future held good things in store for her, Naruto, and their baby.

Sasuke couldn't help but be interested, but he found himself to be happy that he was allowing himself to be invested in this sudden conversation about their past, and the good parts of it, at least. "So . . . when you guys started dating . . . how did things change?"

Hinata leaned her chin on her hand as she looked back at Sasuke. She thought about that. How did things change between Naruto and her?

"Holding him, him holding me, kissing him and loving him . . . those were things I never knew I needed," she admitted. "My family . . . we're pretty rigid, if I'm being honest." Sasuke nodded at that. The Hyuuga's weren't so far off the stoic-chain with the Uchiha's. "I was so touch-deprived and emotionally unstable. I love my family, I do . . . but I never felt love the way Naruto loved me, if that makes sense . . ."

"He was what you were missing, basically," Sasuke muttered. Hinata nodded. Sasuke sighed. He leaned back in his chair, rubbing the back of his neck. "You know you're the same thing for him?" Hinata nodded solemnly.

"It wasn't bad in the beginning . . . We were a bit young when we first starting going out, but we loved each other like we knew we were destined to be together. I know that to be true, as crazy as it sounds."

Sasuke chuckled. "I'm not going to deny you. You have a right to feel the way you do. Though, the basis of your feelings honestly concerns me."

Hinata stared down at her napkin sitting on the table. "You and everyone else thinks I should hate him."

Sasuke gave her a half-shrug. "Your feelings give off a minor case of Stockholm Syndrome, yes . . . but what explains my case? The ex-best friend of a criminal. I don't even know if he is an 'ex' to me. But I do . . . care . . . about him." Sasuke took a long sip of his coffee then, glad to stifle his words with his bitter caffeinated drink.

"There is a reason why I forgave him," Hinata said. "I love him more than anyone else. I care too much about him to throw him away like he's unfixable."

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't know whether to admire that or feel like we're both insane."

They both chuckled and drank their drinks in silence. Hinata sat her tea down. A sudden question came to her mind. "This is really nice, Sasuke, truly. But, what exactly happened with Sakura and Ino?"

Sasuke shrugged, rolling his eyes. "Probably something ridiculous. Like Ino receiving a large credit card bill for shopping too much."

Hinata laughed. "I can envision that so easily."

Her room was an absolute storm of a mess. Sakura couldn't believe it. Used tissues, dirty laundry, closed blinds, dreadful depressing music playing on medium volume—

"Ino, what the hell is wrong?" Sakura refused to sit anywhere there was a space. She stepped over clothes and garbage to reach the shades of Ino's bedroom windows and pulled them up, revealing an outstanding amount of sunlight into the room. Ino hunched over herself on her bed. Her arms wrapped around her knees, her platinum blonde hair sprawled across her face like a blanket. Ino huffed into her hiding space between her legs.

"I'm such a bitch!" she cried.

Sakura's green eyes widened. "W-What's gotten into you . . .?" It physically hurt her to see her best friend in such a state, declaring such things about herself. Sakura looked towards the ground. She bent forward, lifting up Ino's drooping comforter and found the garbage bin she thought was missing. "I'll help you clean up, so just . . . come by the window and get some fresh air." At that, Sakura lifted up the window high. Immediately the echoes of children playing out in the street flooded the room. She took that as her chance to finally cut off the awful atmospheric music Ino had been playing on an endless loop.

Ino lifted her head slightly, her light blue gaze not meeting Sakura's. Sakura took note of her friend's pupils dilating immensely from the sudden exposure to natural light.

Sakura left Ino to slowly open herself up as she began to clean. She pulled out her phone and started up a playlist she had created for the sole purpose of keeping her upbeat and happy, especially when she was on-shift at the hospital when darkness was bound to be at any and every corner. She lightly hummed along with the light-hearted tunes, every-so-often taking note of Ino uncurling her body and removing the hair from her baggy, sunken eyes.

Ino probably hadn't eaten for who knew how long.

"Maybe I'll order some take out," Sakura mumbled not-so-subtly to herself. She did exactly that then went back to cleaning. She escaped to the bathroom and picked out a brush from Ino's basket of hair supplies and once the bed was as clean as it could be with Ino still in it, Sakura sat behind her and began coming back her hair. The sudden gentleness of Sakura combing Ino's messy locks caused tears to perk up in her eyes.

"I don't deserve this . . ." Ino uttered in a faint whisper. She rubbed at her eyes as Sakura shushed her.

"Everyone deserves a little spa treatment," Sakura mumbled. She kissed the top of Ino's head once her hair had been straightened out and put into a loose ponytail. "So beautiful," she commented softly. Ino shook her head.

"I'm horrible . . ."

Sakura's gut wrenched in pain, yet she kept a calm composure. She wasn't going to make this worse. She had no idea what came over Ino, but Sakura's dealt with her fair share of patients that dealt with depression, though she never expected something like this to wash over her usually bright friend.

"I'm here for you," Sakura told her. She lifted the girl's chin so that Ino could face her properly. "I will listen to you."

Ino let out a shaky breath. "Why're you doing all of this for me?"

Sakura shrugged, smiling softly. "Because I love you and you're my best friend." Ino couldn't help but crack a small smile at the dopey look Sakura had given her. Her face contorted back to one that showed pain and sadness. "What happened?" Sakura took hold of Ino's pale hands. She played with her painted nails, absently counting Ino's fingers over and over again in her mind as she waited for a response of some kind.

"I'm a horrible friend. Terrible."

Sakura's face scrunched up in confusion. "What makes you think that?"

Ino snapped her eyes up to Sakura's, her pained expression sending chills to Sakura's core.

Something she had yet to say, reveal, was lodged in the back of her throat. Guilt. She couldn't figure out if what she did was right or wrong, whether it made sense or not. Frankly, nothing could have made sense by now. Yes, she blatantly ignored her friend's pain, was blinded by her own selfishness. Yes, she involved herself with her friend's boyfriend on more than one occasion—didn't matter if their affairs took place in the past—but the fault couldn't be entirely hers. After all, it took two to tango and it was mutual between her and Naruto. Consensual. Sadly, she thought as bile tingled in her throat, it may not have always been that way with Hinata and Naruto.

"I hurt Hinata . . . just as badly as Naruto did."

Sakura kept her mouth shut as she let Ino speak. She refused to speak prematurely.

"I ignored her pain, acted like nothing was wrong. Even if I didn't know he was in town, there was still news about him . . . she was always in pain. We would go out and I wouldn't even properly invite her. She needed help and I turned my back on her. Sakura . . . I nearly slept with him. I got a taste of what he was like with Hinata and I found a way out and I felt glad, because I wasn't her. Hinata had to go through that every fucking time and I got out unscathed . . . And now . . . How can I face her? I could've helped in his arrest, I could've helped her, I don't know . . . I feel so disgusted with myself . . ." Ino ripped her hands from Sakura's hold and covered her face in shame. "She's such a sweetheart and he and I ruined that . . ."

Sakura's lips trembled as she bit back her own tears. Without warning, she pulled Ino close to her and held her in a tight embrace.

"Are you out of your mind?" Sakura grit. "Hinata does not think that way about you at all!"

"She doesn't know the truth . . ."

"Then you tell her face-to-face and realize that she will indubitably forgive you. She won't push you away because whether or not either of you want to admit it, you need each other!" Sakura pulled herself away only to grab ahold of Ino's face and force her to maintain eye contact. Sakura was dead serious on getting her words through to her friend. Slight tears welled in the corners of her eyes as she spoke. "Naruto fucked up. You got caught up in his mess. You must take responsibility for what you have nor haven't done and own up to your mistakes. You can repay Hinata by being there for her now."

Ino's wide eyes looked from both of Sakura's in awe.

"W-What if she hates me?"

"Then give her time. Give her space. Properly apologize to her. That's all you can do to start making things right with yourself and her. Okay?" Sakura waited upon Ino's silence as she wiped stray tears from her cheeks. Ino finally nodded and closed her eyes. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Okay . . ."

Yay, yearly update! How's everyone? I have an exam that I haven't studied for tomorrow so . . . Gonna cry myself to sleep. Hope you liked this chapter! I get it seems to be repetitive (kinda is) but soon enough things will start switching gears and changing directions for the better. Hopefully. Any suggestions for plotlines or whatever is appreciated.

As always,

Please Favorite, Follow, and Review!

-SullyR