When he goes to sleep, nightmares seem to be a constant. He doesn't even wake up terrified anymore; heart racing, thumping inside his chest. Just a silent foggy daze that he seems to arise out of, like there was never a distinction between reality and his dreams in the first place.
His eye lids lifted into slits, and Sasuke peered into the darkness. It was clearly still evening, but how early or late was not something he could determine at the moment. The moon shone through the window and illuminated the blankets covering him, casting long shadows onto the wall to his right. Even though there was a beam of soft moon light placing itself upon Sasuke's body, the night was still extremely dark - the room was black enough that Sasuke couldn't see more than a few inches in front of his face.
Sasuke sighed deeply. The nightmares seemed to be getting better, in a sense, but it was never anything he liked experiencing. They were less intense yes, but still disturbing images that passed through his consciousness.
Being an extremely private person, it was always something he chose to deal with by himself - and when he was disoriented from a dream-state on top of the terrors residing within it sometimes Sasuke couldn't tell his own hand from his foot upon waking. It was hard to ground himself and be brought back peacefully to reality.
"Tch," he grumbled, annoyed at his current state of affairs. A low rumble inadvertently escaped his throat as he realized that his head was still spinning from the hallucinations that had just been attacking him.
He gingerly clasped a hand to his forehead, slightly reeling from the lasting effects that the dreams seemed to have on him. It was nothing unusual – quickened heart rate, dry mouth, clammy hands – all the usual symptoms that accompanied his sometimes nightly delusions. His breathing appeared to be slightly irregular, but upon further examination it did not appear that the nightmare had left him in any serious condition that falling back asleep couldn't solve.
Sighing heavily in frustration and from exhaustion he rolled to his left side to fall back asleep when a bright red gleam caught his eye.
Suddenly he became aware that he was not alone. His breath hitched and instinctively, Sasuke's body became rigid; unmoving so as not to disturb the sleeping being in front of him. In his post-nightmare stupor he had forgotten that he had not been sleeping alone lately, and was hit with a shock wave of relief when he finally recognized that it was his wife resting soundly next to him.
Sakura Haruno – actually, officially Sakura Uchiha now, as she was now donning the infamous fan of the Uchiha clan boastfully on her backside – was snoring softly only a few inches away from him. Although this was only her night robe, the Uchiha insignia could be found on many items in her wardrobe now, Sasuke remembered. He felt a surge of dignity upon seeing his family's symbol being worn by her, even at bed time.
The red gleam of the fan sparkled against her posterior in the pale light and Sasuke couldn't help but extend his arm to graze his fingers softly against her, and the emblem.
He couldn't believe his mark was on her. He felt a bit prideful almost; not that he considered himself a man who liked to "mark" his "territory", let alone a woman, especially one as strong as Sakura, but… there was just something about the Uchiha clan insignia on his wife's back that made his lip curl up in to a smile. He used to know so little of happiness, but Sakura carried it within her and always overwhelmed any negativity brooding within him. And seeing that fan on her was a constant reminder that she was his salvation.
He curled his fingers and brushed up against the fan lightly once more; smiling fondly to himself as he felt instantaneous comfort only by being in her presence – the fan being a reminder of how far they had come and how deep their love for each other truly was. He felt humbled and grateful, knowing that Sakura would carry this once-damning symbol on her after all he had done, all he had put her through… and carry it gracefully. Without her, there would have been no restoration to himself, his name, or his clan. He sometimes felt ashamed of his past, but Sakura hand-delivered him from it no matter how hard he fought against it. She had always believed in him, right from the beginning and never faltered.
Distracted by his thoughts he almost hadn't noticed that the bed had shifted and the veil of peace was broken as Sakura awakened from her slumber.
"Hngghh…what time is it…" She murmured sleepily into the void.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Sasuke said softly.
He instantly opened up his chest toward her and felt his wife slip in to his embrace.
"Why are you up?" She muttered.
No response. The Uchiha ninja stayed silent, unsure of what to say.
"Another nightmare…?" Sakura pressed.
"…Yes." Sasuke conceded after a pause.
He felt her frown press against his chest as she placed an open palm against his body to comfort him.
"I'm sorry."
Sasuke breathed deeply. He caught a whiff of Sakura's hair; it was like lavenders… very sweet, calming. His heart beat immediately began to rest.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
A pause, and Sasuke shook his head.
Sakura nodded back, and raised her hand to stroke his face.
"I love you Sasuke Uchiha."
"I love you too, Sakura Haruno."
"That's Mrs. Uchiha to you now, mister."
Sasuke couldn't stop the grin on his lips from growing.
"Yeah." He whispered. "I guess it is."
He raised a hand in return to hers and stroked his thumb on her cheek affectionately. Sakura seemed to purr, and nuzzled her face sleepily into her husband's neck. Her breathe created an intense tingling sensation, and his breath hitched at the light breeze fanning along his collarbone. He shivered from the awareness of it, which only seemed to spur further purring from Sakura.
His hand trailed further down her soft face, stopping slightly upon Sakura's rosy lips. Even in her sleep, she instinctively placed light kisses upon his knuckles. Despite the pitch black blanketing the room, Sasuke was certain the poppy-red blush that rushed to his cheeks would gleam as bright as the Uchiha clan's fan did under the moonlight.
His heart beat at a resting pace once more, his fingers no longer stiff but warming upon his wife's face, and breath synced with the pink-haired angel in his arms, Sasuke felt the sudden urge to fall asleep immediately after a nightmare for once. The visions of past regrets were not yet fleeting from his mind, but if there was one thing that ever made him certain of the difference between reality and his mind's illusions, it was that even in his wildest dreams he never imagined he would ever be married to Sakura.