{| SASUxHINA: Owned by Masashi Kishimoto. :3 Sequel to If It Had Been Hinata. Actually, this sequel will be a collection of oneshots, all focused on Sasuke's promise. Yes, Sasuke's OOC. |}
And the sneaking around commenced after that night.
It was their little secret, their backstage relationship, for their eyes only. At night, when Hinata would have her nightmares again, Sasuke would be waiting at the village gate, where they first spoke to each other. Also, where Sasuke made his promise. It was where they knew they could find each other, in the protective blanket of the night.
You do know pain, and I will make sure you never feel it again, he said that night.
It was nearing midnight already, and the Uchiha boy heard slow-paced and quiet footsteps headed for the gate. From his perch at one of the trees above, the steps sounded almost ethereal, imagined. Like if you let your guard down, you would have missed them. But that was his assurance that it was a friend, not a foe, who was coming towards him.
When he saw a little black head below him, scanning the area around her, he immediately jumped off the tree. He noticed her jump back a bit. They'd been meeting for a lot of consecutive nights already, but she still couldn't get used to the sudden movements of the Uchiha.
"U-Uchiha-san," she stuttered, as usual. "Good evening."
"Obviously hasn't been a good evening for you since you're here," he replied, never failing at letting out a sarcastic remark. Hinata had gotten used to this though. She knew some things never change.
"Tell me about your bad dream tonight," he said, sitting down below the big tree behind him. He patted the ground beside him, motioning her to sit next to him. She did as she was silently told.
"Um… I was… running away again," she started, hesitating as she always did. "I didn't know e-exactly what I was running from, but I was running into the forest. And… and then it started to storm and there was lightning and thunder… and I was lost. There w-wasn't any shelter either. And then I started hearing noises and… and…"
"It was only a dream," Sasuke said, looking up at the blank sky.
"Yes, I… I know, Uchiha-san…," she said. "But…"
He suddenly turned his head to face her. There was never a 'but' before. Their conversations had been pretty much the same every night, starting with her briefly explaining her dream, then they would start to talk about their day. There was never a 'but' before.
"But what?" He asked, obviously intrigued by the sudden follow-up.
"But… I can't help b-but think that… well, some people say that dreams are r-reflections of our lives." she explained, then she hesitantly added, "either that or… reflections of our f-futures."
Sasuke raised his eyebrows. This wasn't like her at all, and he wasn't just thinking about the fact that she, for now maybe, had the courage to voice her thoughts on her nightmare.
"Hinata," he slowly said, carefully choosing his next words, "you don't actually believe that it's possible for your nightmares to come true in the future, right? I mean, they're only dreams."
"I… I don't know Sasuke," she said, playing with a weed with her fingers. "Maybe… I already am lost."
Now, he was truly shocked, but not at her, but at himself. He had the aching urge to hug her now. Just hold her and tell her that everything was going to be okay, even if he knew that in reality it all wasn't going to be okay. But that's only because he had no one to successfully reassure him in his times of pain. He wanted to be that someone for Hinata. Why? He didn't really know.
As he reached out to put his hands on her shoulder, only to bring it back, he thought about it. Maybe it was because he understood so much. He understood the type of pain that medical nins couldn't cure. He understood the longing for something better, something out of reach.
He swallowed some air in, and reached for her shoulder again, successfully placing his hand on her shoulder. She flinched and looked up to look into his dark eyes, surprised at the contact. He hadn't touched her since that night she caught him almost leaving Konoha.
Feeling a surge of courage, she inched closer to him until their hips touched, never breaking eye contact. The Uchiha didn't ditch his stoic expression, but inside, he was glad she felt comfortable with him. That would make it easier for him to make her happier. After all, he did promise.
She brought her head down on his shoulder and his hand trailed down to her hip, and eventually, both of his arms were around her. She was nodding off to sleep. It was nice watching her like this. Serene, peaceful, and happy. She had the hint of a smile on her face.
When he was sure she was sound asleep, he whispered something into her ear.
"Don't let bad dreams get the best of you," he whispered. "They're only dreams."
Little did he know that the Hyuuga was only half-asleep, and heard him. Inside her head, she thought, I won't, Uchiha-san. Thank you. That was when she truly fell into a deep sleep.
He picked her up in his arms and quietly started for the Hyuuga house, careful not to wake anybody up. When he was inside Hinata's bedroom, he carefully placed her on the bed, tucked her in, and hurried back to his place.
Hinata never had nightmares again, but that didn't stop her from occasionally stepping out of her room near midnight and meeting her secret friend.