This is the first of a new collection of drabbles and oneshots I'm writing. These stories will all be about the dreams and nightmares of various characters from Naruto; mostly my favorite characters. Some will have pairings and some will not. The stories vary. They're called "The Sandman Stories" and don't let the title fool you they are not Gaara's doing (although he will be featured in some of the stories). I don't know where I got this idea from. And if anyone can guess the songs I used for this one I'll write the next story on the character of their choosing and the scenario (the first person to guess right on both the songs that inspired this story, that makes it fair). Anyway, enjoy this first chapter of "The Sandman Stories".

Dream 1: The Meadow

by: blondekunoichi

pairing: SasuSaku

Sasuke was lying in a field of flowers. He didn't like flowers but he had to admit, these were quite nice; their stems long with only a single flower on each one, varying in all different shades of red, yellow and pink. He sat up, eyes assessing his surroundings like only a ninja in unfamiliar territory would. The sun was just beginning to set, the sky turning an orangey, purplish hue with the beginnings of dusk. The flowers went on for miles in every direction he looked, covering the hills like a blanket of colorful petals. The Uchiha stood, the flowers brushing against his thigh just above his knee. He pivoted in a slow circle, searching for any other sign of life. But there was none; no trees, no bushes, no animals or any people. Just flowers.

"Sasuke."

His name whispered next to his ear.

He jerked around, moving into a defensive stance at the sudden voice. His eyes scanned the hills but he could see no one. Of course, you couldn't always see an enemy.

"Who else is here?" he called, a faint breeze starting up to lift a few stray petals into the air to dance on the wind. He had no weapons, no means of defense besides himself. And that voice…it had been so familiar.

"Sasuke…"

There it was again, as if there was someone standing right behind him. He darted away, scattering flowers and petals as he did. His eyes narrowed, straining to find the source of that voice. He grimaced in frustration. "Show yourself!" he called out into the vast meadow, eyes moving this way and that. He was becoming slightly anxious, an emotion he was not used to. But he couldn't sense anything besides the damned flowers!

"Sasuke?" It was a soft voice, female and so achingly familiar he froze. He turned slowly, his charcoal eyes meeting a pair of soft green ones set in a sweet, heart shaped face framed by unmistakable locks of short, pink hair. She wasn't in her usual ninja gear, just a cream colored tank top with a pair of light blue shorts. A casual outfit. But why was she here?

"Sakura, what are you doing out here?" But where exactly was here anyway? He didn't know, and as she slowly approached him he found that he was beginning not to care. He didn't move, just remained perfectly still as she grew closer to him, the flowers brushing against her creamy thighs like little caresses. He didn't want to look away.

She stopped a good few feet away from him, her perfect rose-colored lips lifting into a sweet, inviting smile that he had never seen her wear before. Yes, of course he remembered her many attempts to grasp his attention as a child with her compliments and flirty (or what she thought was considered flirty) actions, but this…this was no longer the little girl he'd left on the stone bench those many years ago. The way she looked at him now was the way a woman looked at a man she was considering of taking to her home, and perhaps later, her bed. Sasuke found himself to be rather intrigued by that smile.

"It's good to see you, Sasuke." She spoke his name like it was something special, something she could hold and touch. He liked the way she said his name.

"Where did you come from?" he finally managed to ask, still a little wary of this unknown place although that feeling was dissipating quite rapidly now, due to the petite female standing before him. But Sakura merely gave him a knowing smile, a smile he wasn't sure was a good thing or bad thing. Taking a step toward his former teammate, he reached out toward her only to have her take a playful step back, her knowing smile turning a little coy. Sasuke frowned. He didn't like being teased.

"Sakura." His tone held a warning and a bit of confusion. She didn't appear to be afraid of him. He took another step forward, slower this time. She didn't move away. Taking it as a sign of encouragement, Sasuke reached out toward her again, only to have her dance away from him, her smile wide and playful. His frown deepened. She giggled.

"Come on Sasuke. Come and get me." She teased him, playfully twirling away and stirring up flower petals like a pixie out of a fairy tale. The petals danced on the breeze, circling Sasuke once before they drifted away. He frowned.

"Sakura, I don't want to play-" but he jumped back, startled when she was suddenly in front of him, her smile gentle and playful at the same time. He hadn't known she was that fast. "How…?" but she leaned forward placing a hand on his chest as she whispered in his ear.

"Come and play with me Sasuke." Her voice soaked into his skin, into his very blood, making it thrum with a feeling he'd never experienced before. Sasuke had purposely avoided women; they only served to distract from goals and he could not afford to be distracted from his path, not by anyone. But Sakura, he remembered Sakura. The Sakura who had followed him around like a devoted puppy, the one who had held him when Orochimaru had placed the curse mark on him, the Sakura who in that one moment in the Forest of Death he would have killed for, the girl who had said that she would come with him, do whatever he said just as long as she could stay by his side. He remembered that Sakura. But this Sakura standing so close to him now was different from the unsure, cry-baby little girl he'd had for a teammate. This Sakura…

He wanted this Sakura.

His hands came up in a quick move that made Sakura gasp. He held her by her upper arms, pulling her against him so that their bodies were flush against one another, her breathing making her breasts brush against his shirt in such a way he barely suppressed the shiver it evoked from his body. He watched as her mouth curved upward on one side, a feminine smirk that had his eyes darken with visions of tangled sheets and sweaty limbs. And then, just like air, she slipped out of his grasp, turning and running away from him farther out into the meadow. His legs moved forward, and he was chasing after her.

Her laughter carried on the wind, filling the meadow with the melodious sound that actually made him smile softly as he chased her through the hills upon hills of flowers. He was drawing closer, so close that if he reached out he was sure to touch her. So he did. His hand touched her shoulder, turning her half way around just so he could see her profile. She looked surprised that he had caught her, yet pleased. And then they were falling. They rolled down a hill, scattering and crushing flowers as the tumbled down to land in a tangled heap at the bottom.

Sasuke actually laughed, holding himself above the young woman beneath him so he didn't crush her with his body. Her legs were tangled with his, a few petals and leaves caught in her pink locks from where her head lay on the ground. She giggled, smiling up at him and reached out a small, slender hand to brush his black bangs out of his face, letting her hand linger on his cheek before it settled back down above her head. Sasuke's smile slowly disappeared as he studied her.

Her pretty heart shaped face had rosy cheeks from all the laughter and the chase, her eyes glittering with mirth and delight as her full, rosy lips smiled gently at him. Sasuke realized that she was beautiful like this, so carefree and happy. But in the back of his mind, he knew that Sakura had always been beautiful.

"Sasuke." She breathed his name softly and he found that he was watching her lips move as she said it. He spoke before he could stop himself. "Say it again." He murmured, his eyes fixed on her lips. Sakura smiled, obliging to his request.

"Sasuke." He was drawing nearer to those lips, unable to focus on anything else other than her. He wanted to stay here with her forever, to just forget everything and everyone; forget Naruto, Itachi, Madara, his parents, his clan, Konoha, everything. But he couldn't. He stopped, his lips just a breath away from her own. His black eyes stared into her own large green ones.

"Sakura." He said her name softly, the way you would talk to a small child. "I need to leave." He watched the surprise and hurt fill her eyes. But Sasuke was surprised to find that they sobered, though still glassy with unshed tears.

"Go Sasuke. Go back." She whispered. He pulled away, sitting up as she continued to lay there. She reached out, plucking a red wild flower and crushing the petals in her hand. He watched as she spread her fingers, the petals now crushed into a powder that danced in the wind. He could feel the sun setting behind him as the meadow grew darker and darker. Sakura turned her head to gaze up at him as night fell.

"Wake up Sasuke."

And he did.

End