Chapter 116

Silence lingered a moment longer before she spoke again. "I'm going to clean out one of the extra rooms in the hall and set up there. Hopefully this'll meet my father's approval."

"Hn." He gave a short one-syllable response—she would know he was displeased.

Taking the hint, she made an attempt of condolence, seeming to deem it necessary. "You're nightmares seemed to be getting better," she offered quietly.

He gave a quiet scoffing 'tch' before setting down his bowl and chopsticks sharply. She didn't have any idea.

"You don't know what I dream about," he coldly answered.

"I may not know," she said sadly, "but I can imagine."

He did not reply, but instead got up from the table. After muttering a polite 'thank you for the food' he walked out of the kitchen, brooding. She could maybe imagine what plagued his dreams, but she could not begin to grasp what he felt when she came to his side and dispelled them. She could not imagine his relief.

There was the dull thudding of Sakura's heartbeat in Sasuke's ears—a sound that had become familiar to him over the past couple months. It was always the first thing he would wake up to, the rhythmic sound reminding him that he was not alone in the darkness of the world around him. A comforting sound—a sound that he might not be able to hear again after that day.

It was Wednesday morning, and today he had woken first out of the two of them. Normally it was customary to wake the other once one had woken up, but right now, he didn't want to wake Sakura, he wanted to make that moment last as long as he possibly could, even if it meant only a few seconds longer.

He held onto her securely, like he always did, his arms wrapped tightly around her tiny waist, pulling himself closer to her warmth. He could feel her rib cage expand and fall back, her breathing soft and quiet. He found himself wondering if he was holding on too tightly to her, if she was breathing so softly because of his grip. Subtly, so as not to wake her, he loosened his grasp, before falling motionless again. Her arms were wrapped protectively around him, in a shielding manner, her one hand clasped over his shoulder sturdily, but not firmly. He found it somewhat ironic that as children he always found himself, in some way or another, protecting her, and yet here it was she who was watching over him.

When had he become so dependant on her? When had the benevolent act, which he had so harshly forbade her to do, become something that was now expected? Of course he didn't always wake up to find her holding onto him—those were the days that the nightmares decided not to visit him at night, but those nights were scarce. And over time, he found that if he woke without her there, he felt a split second of panic, that up until that point—when faced with the fact that she might not ever be there to protect him again—he had refused to acknowledge.

She stirred slightly, and the chakra that had been somewhat dormant inside her began to awaken along with her conscious mind. He didn't entirely understand why—just like he didn't understand why having her there was so important to him—but he continued to lie still. She shifted slightly but he did not move, pretending to still be asleep; she should not be able to tell if he was awake or asleep, his chakra guard was up, and she had not been practicing to detect his chakra. Just a little longer, he told himself, just a few more moments; until she 'woke' him, he would continue to pretend to sleep.

"Sasuke?" she murmured quietly, "Are you awake?"

The way she spoke was so quiet that it was like she was afraid that she might actually wake him. She too remained still, and if not for her chakra, which was no longer dormant, he could have believed that she had fallen asleep again. But no, she was awake, and like him, unmoving. She let out the quietest of sighs, and after a moment, the grip she had on his shoulder slackened, the hand moving to rest on his head. There it rested for a moment, and then tentatively she brushed his bangs delicately away from his face. He could not tell what she was feeling at that moment, but there was something melancholy about the way she was gently stroking his hair, something that said she too never wanted to get up.

Both remained that way for some time—her stroking his head gently, him lying perfectly still. The stroking of his hair he could have done without, he told himself, but admittedly it was in a way…soothing. Sleep began to creep back to the edge of his mind again, and he wondered that if he actually fell asleep again he could wake again and find Wednesday long gone. It was just as he was beginning to doze off again that she spoke.

"Oh, Sasuke…" she sighed wearily—sadly, "…What a horrible place the world of dreams must be for you."

She stopped stroking his hair then, and gave him a quick embrace. Another small sigh followed that before she began to shake him awake. Normally the other woke with this wordless gesture, but he would not 'wake' to that alone, he would be stubborn. It would delay the inevitable by only a few seconds.

"Sasuke," she murmured, more insistently this time, "Please, wake up."

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