Sakura never expected to have to share a tent with Naruto and Sasuke. It just wasn't something that tended to happen. But after a little 'accident' involving a fight between her two comrades, and a fast running river, her luck had run dry. Naturally, whenever a mission would last over a day, as the only female in team seven, she was entitled to her own tent. And yet, here she was, sandwiched between her two teammates, lying wide awake, listening to the crickets in the forest and the rhythmic breathing of the two boys, alongside the rustles of Naruto as he tossed and turned in unrest. Of course she would've allowed herself to sleep hours ago in ordinary circumstances, however she was terrified that Sasuke would wake first and see a trail of saliva trickling from her mouth, or even be able to smell her morning breath.

She shuddered at the thought, knowing that she wouldn't be able to face Sasuke ever again, should he see her in such a terrible state. No. She thought. She wanted to last the night. She would last the night.

Turning onto her back in her sleeping bag, she folded her arms over her chest and stared at the ceiling of the tent. Despite her strong will to stay awake, her eyelids refused to cooperate, and slowly began to slide closed.

No!

Sakura jolted awake, shaking her head frantically to dispel all traces of sleep. Refusing to give in was much more trying on her patience than she originally apprehended. It was as if, all of a sudden, everything around her was teasing her; the padded mattress of her sleeping bag seemed unusually soft, the ceiling of the tent was plain and monotonous in its dull green colour, the breathing of her fellow teammates was like a gentle lullaby.

A lullaby with unusually harsh undertones

Well that was strange. Raising her head she noticed that the breathing from her right – Sasuke's side – had gradually become erratic and pained in nature, like shallow gasps. How long had he been breathing like this? She must've been falling asleep, if she hadn't even noticed the choking noises. She dismissed the thought as irrelevant. Right at that moment, her priority was Sasuke.

Curious, she turned to her right side with a rustle, staring at the back of Sasuke's head peeking from his sleeping bag. Her jade eyes narrowed in on the tufts of ebony hair at the nape of his neck, stringy with perspiration that shone slick on his reddened skin. It was clear as day to her that he was currently suffering in the midst of a nightmare, and even though she liked Sasuke romantically, she loved him dearly as a friend. Sakura grit her teeth indecisively. She wanted to help. No, she had to help. Sasuke surely wouldn't want her help, and would shrug her off as though she were a clinging baby monkey. But she was a caring, nurturing person by nature, even if inner Sakura would beg to differ, and to sit around all night watching as her precious friend, teammate and love was tormented in his dreams, was not an option.

As silent as possible, she carefully unzipped her sleeping bag, before slowly shuffling across the floor of the tent and toward Sasuke's form. Approaching ever closer to him, she steadied herself with an arm on either side of him and peered over to survey his face. Brow crumpled in a constant frown and face glistening with nervous sweat, Sasuke trembled and writhed on his side, haunted by the ghosts of his clan. Under his breath, almost inaudible to her ears, she just about made out some of his desperate ramblings.

"Kaa-san." he choked out, his voice barely escaping his lips "Please not Kaa-san."

Suddenly, Sakura's breath caught in her throat, as she couldn't believe the sight before her. This was something, a fragment of him that had been lodged so deeply inside, that was resurfacing right in front of her eyes.

A small bead of wetness oozed from the innermost corner of Sasuke's eye, collecting within the hollow of his skin, only to trickle across the arc of his nose and drip from the bridge. His lips contorted into a grimace of raw despair, as his eyes darted to and fro under his eyelids.

She was stunned into paralysis. Her mind had always painted a perfect portrait of Sasuke, his physical and emotional strength immeasurable. She had always seen him through a filter of light, only choosing to see his pride and nobility. However, now that the filter had been removed, she could see clearly now. Yes, she saw him for who he really was. He was just a boy. Still a vulnerable child who secretly cried for his mother's embrace.

His tears triggered something strong to wrench in her chest, twisting her heart painfully, until she thought it could break no further. The sight in front of her was tragic.

It was utterly, and heartbreakingly tragic.

Without making too much noise, she unzipped his sleeping bag, hoping that the loss of heat would cool his warm skin. And with care not to wake him, she placed her small hands around him, gently lifting his head onto her lap. As he stirred, she bit her lip, rolling him onto his back, but luckily he didn't wake. He must've been in deep sleep, she noted, for him not to wake at the slightest noise or contact. Normally, his shinobi instincts would activate the moment something brushed his sleeve, and he would immediately spring to life.

His skin was much too hot against her cool fingers, as she began smoothing damp locks of hair away from his forehead. Of course, she knew that it would be cripplingly embarrassing should he wake now, to find his head in her lap, and her hands prodding at his face. However, she just couldn't sit and watch him plead for his mother. It wouldn't be right. Even if she couldn't provide she same love that he shared with his family, she could at least, soothe away the temporary trauma.

As she continued to brush his hair back from his forehead, she noticed the way that the lines in his expression gradually faded. A spike of pleasure shot through her heart, at his visible reaction to her help. She was helping him, and it was the most wonderful feeling in the world.

Although most of the lines in his face had disappeared, her eyes flickered to his brow which remained crumpled in distress. In defiance to finally be of help, she reached out two fingers to flatten the cooling skin.

Suddenly, as her eyes shifted back to the rest of his face, her heart juddered to a stop. The small smile that had made its way to her face quickly receded in her panic. She blanched completely.

A pair of tired black eyes stared evenly back into hers, confused and irritated by the mere sight of her.

"Sakura." He spoke in a quiet mumble, calmly and patiently , as though he were talking to a small child, "What are you doing with my face?"

Sakura couldn't breathe. Oh, how she wished that she could, because at that point she could only gasp and choke like a fish out of water. Her face flushed wildly with pink, as she barely retained the urge to scream and throw his head across the tent.

He sighed, yet made no attempt to remove himself from her lap. "Sakura, are you harassing me in my sleep?"

Shocked and humiliated, she shook her head adamantly, raising both arms in surrender "No! No, no, no, I was just…" She trailed off.

"You were just?" When she didn't respond, he frowned, puzzled and exhausted, before continuing as if giving her a lecture, "Sakura, I don't appreciate people stroking me when I'm sleeping."

Her blush deepened to crimson, as she protested, "No, you're wrong!"

Sakura's hands slapped to her mouth, when behind them, there sounded a rustle of a sleeping bag as Naruto stirred restlessly. Sasuke winced, at the unexpected noise, his eye twitching in apprehension. They were both fortunate that he was such a deep sleeper, as it would be miserable for both of them, Sasuke in particular, if their teammate were to witness such an awkward moment.

Turning his eyes back to Sakura, he gave her a questioning look.

Of course, he was aware of the fact that he should probably move off of her, however, as strange as the feeling was, he felt at ease resting on her. For the moment that he had been conscious before he opened his eyes, he had quite enjoyed the soothing feeling of her fingers stroking his hair. And within that moment, he had been shocked to find memories of his mother resurfacing. As a child, whenever he ran, wailing from nightmares, into his parent's room, she had done something similar. So at that moment, with his head on Sakura's lap, he battled with his reluctance to end the brief feeling of nostalgia. Even if he was utterly out of his comfort zone, a small buried shred of his heart enjoyed the close proximity of another human.

Sakura gulped, "You-you were having a nightmare…"

"Hn." He replied, with a curt nod.

"I was awake, and…erm…" She hesitated, unsure whether to tell him what she had heard and seen.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her, a clear indication for her to cut to the chase.

She fidgeted anxiously, playing with her fingertips, "Y-you were crying…"

His eyes widened a little, and he hissed under his breath at the sudden blow to his pride. He shouldn't cry. Crying was weakness, and his father told him never to cry. Uchihas never cry. Uchihas never show weakness. Weakness is failure.

Sakura, noticing his steadily growing irritation, was hesitant to continue, however the words slipped out of her mouth before she could control them. "You were c-calling out for your mother."

Against her thighs, she felt Sasuke stiffen considerably, before he lifted himself off of her, and sat on the floor of the tent, facing away from her. With wide green eyes, she watched curiously as he seemed to consider something for a moment. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned it. She should've kept quiet. But it was too late now. The words were already out.

Slowly, Sasuke shifted from his spot and climbed back into his sleeping bag, without even the slightest glance at her. Lying with his back toward her, he mumbled, "Go to sleep, Sakura."

She paused for a minute, uncertain of whether to ask if he were okay, but she realised that within five minutes, she had not only hurt his pride, but sliced open his scar tissue. Her head hung glumly and her eyes dimmed as she crawled beneath the cover of her sleeping bag, zipping herself back in.

She had only wanted to help him, relieve some of the pain even if it were only for a few seconds. But all she had done was resurface the pain that he had worked hard to push away for so long. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realised how stupid she had been, to believe that she could ease the pain of losing one's family. That she could soothe a traumatised boy who just wanted his mother. Of course she couldn't. She was just a teammate. Not even a friend.

Sakura found that crying helped to bring about sleep. Her previous attempts to stay awake all night seemed pointless if she was just a teammate to him. As her tears soaked the fabric beneath her, cold and wet against her cheek, her eyes grew heavy as she slipped away from consciousness.

But, as she was just drifting off, on the fringes between sleep and wakefulness, she heard something soft and quiet. Dismissing it as her imagination tormenting her, mocking her, she ignored the words that had briefly made her heart clench in her chest, and finally slipped into slumber. And yet, in her dreams, she still heard those words playing over and over in her head.

"Sakura, thank you."

I had to write this quickly so I apologise for any mistakes in grammar or spelling. I know it's not very imaginative, but if you like, leave a review and let me know what you think :) Thank you for reading.