Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, merchandise, TV rights, ect… (I think you get the point.)


Summery

ONE SHOT – From day to day people hide who they are, the real person hidden behind a mask that they show to the world. Only in the safety of the night are you free to truly be yourself. (Sasuke/Ino)

Like all of my work this is just something that happened to float through the empty void inside my head. Like it or hate it please R and R as honest opinions are always welcomed, as are random acts of worship.


Muse: Oh Kami she's writing again! Someone save us!

Lamb: Whatever. Anyway this was just an idea that came to me while thinking out our favourite Uchiha, cue not even Sasuke can be in control 24/7. Even if he wants us to think he is.

Dedi: Well this is dedicated to beautifulgeek11, to say thank you for writing so many amazing SasuIno fics and for adding Lamb to the staff of her C2. So beautifulgeek11, this is for you.

Lamb: As always sorry for any bad spelling and if you feel the need to throw things at me please wait until I've hidden behind the sofa kay!?

Muse: On with the fic!


Secrets spilled into that dark,
And everyone was a piece of my heart,
It's a lullaby, it's a beautiful life,
And it sings me to sleep most every night,
So I hold it close and I hide it away,
That's how I keep it from going astray,
Love doesn't need a rhyme or a reason to be,


Secrets of the Night

Usually people perceived Sasuke Uchiha as a cold uncaring bastard, a traitor, sexy as hell, one of the best damn shinobi in Konoha and so on. It was only one Ino Yamanaka who knew any better, really. She knew that besides being a cold uncaring bastard in the presence of others, a tad bit traitorous when it suited him, sexy as hell and one of the best damn shinobi in Konoha, Sasuke Uchiha was also her precious boyfriend.

Grinning, Ino leaned down to capture those soft lips. Sasuke was panting a little and his breathing was ever so slightly laboured. And the golden flower of the hidden leaf village loved seeing her boyfriend in this state.

Ino was the only person on earth who knew that the sole surviving Uchiha was a silent lover. He usually didn't make any real sounds in bed, if she didn't count breathing and the softest of sighs and moans that could barely be heard over her own breath. Their lovemaking was rarely anything but gentle and sweet. As ninja they had been forced to grown up in a world filled with so much pain and violence. Their lives were filled with so much that was cold, that when they finally came around to sharing intimacy with each other all they really wanted was an escape from everything they had to face in their day to day lives.

The onyx-eyed male tensed underneath the blonde, who followed suit with a groan. One of the things Ino loved the most about being in such a position was that she could look down and watch every emotion that flitted across his face. She lowered herself on to her lover and continued to plant butterfly kissed on Sasuke's open mouth. Their lips spoke of everything they felt; there was no need for words.

Finally, the girl with the intense cobalt eyes rolled off of Sasuke and snuggled her smaller body up against his. Their foreheads were resting against each other, their limbs entangled and their eyes locked. Inky jet and ice cerulean and those knowing fingers danced across the skin of Ino's stomach. She could see the soft gleam in those dark eyes, which meant the ex avenger, was utterly relaxed.

Ino loved those hours at night when Sasuke would let go, when both of them were able to just be. No expectations, no pressure, just being with each other. It was all she had ever wanted. He was enough. Sometimes the blonde thought that if it wasn't for food and other natural demands of the body, she could spend her entire life curled up in bed with Sasuke, wrapped in the security of his embrace and never want for a single thing.

She would be happy.

With him

The one person who could make her whole.

"My little flower."

Ino rolled her eyes, but knew that Sasuke could see the amusement in them. Had he ever dared to utter the nickname in public, she would have butchered him and left his remains to rot without a second thought, and they both knew it. But they were not in public, so it was all right. Here, in this room, things were different. She was different and so was Sasuke. Here in this room he was the real Sasuke, the dark avenging angel, the lover of a golden flower, the most beautiful thing on earth, precious and soft and so warm and…

Their lips melted together in a slow kiss.

It did not matter how other people saw Sasuke Uchiha. Because to Ino, he was just Sasuke and that was enough. For her that would always be enough. There was no need for perfection – who'd have thought that Sasuke Uchiha, perceived to be perfect, was not able to make good coffee? It was a good thing Ino's face never betrayed her whenever she sipped that deep brown stuff the coffee machine spit out when Sasuke got up before her. On the other hand, Sasuke also never said a word about the things Ino produced in her attempts to cook. Though he would tease her that he'd never met anyone else who could burn water, and Ino would quip back asking him when he'd last looked in the mirror.

Which was why the pair so often ate out. And as Sasuke frequently said there were far better things to do on the kitchen table than eat.

Slowly starting to feel sleepy, Ino let one hand draw small circles on Sasuke's lower back, while the other glided through the silky blue black strands of his hair. It had grown so much longer since his return to the village he once abandoned. Ino enjoyed teasing him about it, mostly by telling him he looked like a girl, the response almost always being Ino knocked down by various objects. Though they were usually soft ones, like pillows, because both of them knew just how much Ino loved those silky tresses and Sasuke would still allow the girl to braid and tie it back it in the morning.

For, perfect as Sasuke was, he did a lousy job tying his hair himself and would always get annoyed with the length of it unless his little flower was there to tame it, she after all knew all about dealing with long hair. Ino felt exceptionally proud knowing that the Uchiha would never would have let his hair grow this long if a few years ago she hadn't ever so casually mentioned that she, like him, found something very appealing about long hair.

Once.

A few years ago.

Ino always thought that while Sasuke might not be all that perfect, to her was just right. And for some reason, that felt a lot better.

She buried her face in his soft hair and breathed in deeply a few times, drawing the warm spicy scent of him deep into her lungs. The two pale bodies moved around a bit, managed to free the blanket from their entwined limbs and finally came to rest together. Sasuke lay on his side, back to the wall but facing the door, for he hated not being able to see the entrance of a room, while Ino despised being trapped between a wall and a body. His head rested beneath Ino's chin just the way the girl liked, so that she would be able to feel Sasuke's breath ghosting over her skin. Both had their arms loosely wrapped around each other's waist. One of Ino's legs was casually thrown over Sasuke's hip. Some people might have found the position suggestive, but when they settled down for sleep it did not stir anything inside the pair of them. This was just another way to be as close as possible, Sasuke's way to reassure himself that the slender mind walker would not be able to leave the bed easily without waking him.

Ino pressed herself closer to Sasuke for a moment as she remembered the scene now almost a year old.

Sasuke had rushed out of the bedroom, clutching the sheets to his naked body. He had searched the small house up and down, and had finally found Ino on the front step bringing in that day's paper and proceeded to glare at her, his eyes promising death for making him fear something might have happened. It was irrational, they both knew it, and yet they also knew it was something they could not change. As ninja they knew that life was fleeting and fragile, knew that the warm vital person you held in your arms might well be stone cold and lifeless by this time tomorrow.

Also Ino knew, that after the way he had vanished from Konoha under the cloak of darkness Sasuke was afraid that she might choose to leave him in a similar way. So Ino made sure to wake Sasuke and tell him where she was going if she left the bed from then on. She understood too well the possessive fear that drove him.

A small sigh escaped the dark haired male's lips and she kissed his forehead gently.

"Sleep now little one."

It was a nightly ritual. Ino would try to force herself to stay awake, to watch her lover as he drifted off to sleep. And each night Sasuke told her to go to sleep. Ino's urge to watch out for her loved ones, her team-mates, her friends, bordered on self-destruction even after all these years. The difference was that after all these years she had learned to accept that Sasuke would be there to tell her when she had pushed herself hard enough, when it was fine to let her guard down a bit. And with Sasuke, Ino was able to do just that. Just as he was able to relax and be himself with her.

And so Ino made a small sound, which would have sounded annoyed and dismissive had it been directed at anyone but Sasuke, and slipped away. Her face still buried in the soft strands of his hair.

The ex avenger waited until he knew his little flower was fast asleep, before allowing himself to follow.

They would dream, and in the morning they would wake up and look into each other's eyes, finding there either comfort from nightmares or the source for pleasant dreams. They were still as much in love as the first day, maybe even more so, and they were precious to each other in a way no one else would ever quite understand.


Lamb: Good? Bad? I'm not really sure what I think of this, so I'd really appreciate feed back.

Muse: Well I think-

Lamb: I didn't mean from you!!

Dedi: Isn't my life fun. Well beautifulgeek11, we hope you liked it.

Please R and R I'd love to know what you thought.

Big luv see ya

Lamanth