She should be happy, excited to be traveling with the love of her life, but she wasn't. Nightmares haunted her dreams every night, his behaviour never changed… the same cold man, the same harsh voice that held no warmth, no affection, the same monosyllabic replies…

That was different only on few occasions, which hurt her greatly. They were supposed to be a couple, yet they acted like they were friends at best. The kisses they shared were few and far in between and she couldn't even recall the last time he held her. They slept in the same room or the same tent, yes, but never in the same bed. She understood that, though, they weren't married, and had no plan of making their…relationship official in the foreseeable future either.

Sakura started questioning the nature of her relationship with Sasuke. She knew very well how hard it was for him to open up, how much he disliked physical contact, but she longed for it so much…

She wouldn't make any move, though, too afraid to be pushed away by the only man powerful enough of breaking her completely. That thought scared Sakura. The realisation that Sasuke held her heart in his hands and had the power to break it and do whatever he wanted with it was frightening.

Their relationship seemed to progress painfully slow, and Sakura felt guilty for not enjoying it, guilty for dreaming of the worst days of her life, of his hands around her throat, of his dead eyes staring back at her, of a masterfully placed chidori right through Naruto or Kakashi's chest, dreaming of a world where Sasuke was the ultimate ruler, where he gave in to his darkness and destroyed everything that was in his way, dreaming of the patients she lost trying to save during the war.

"You need help, come see me, Forehead." Ino would often say in the months prior to her departure with the last Uchiha alive. She would just shrug it off like it was nothing and say that she was fine. Ino would always retort by saying that she knew Sakura wasn't fine, as she claimed she was, pointing to the dark bags under Sakura's eyes and would always offer therapy sessions.

There was something almost shameful about admitting that she needed help, in Sakura's mind, and she knew that she was wrong in thinking that. She knew that no one would gossip about her seeing her best friend in a professional setting, and she knew that Ino would not disclose any of her darker secrets to anyone. She just couldn't go…she decided to give into her nightmares. Night after night…

They had been traveling together for a few months and they have come to learn that neither of them got much sleep at night. Sakura knew the reasons behind his nightmares, but Sasuke could only guess about Sakura's.

Sakura felt somewhat guilty, felt like she did not deserve to be so affected by what happened to her during the war. She felt like the reason for her nightmares couldn't even compare to Sasuke's, therefore she should suck it up like the big girl she was and try to put everything at the back of her mind. But she couldn't. Everything came back to haunt her as soon as she closed her eyes.

Sasuke saw his whole family, his whole clan, dead, right in front of his eyes when he was just six years old, which was traumatic in itself. But add to the equation the fact that the one who did such monstrosity was none other than his beloved older brother, someone who Sasuke idolized growing up, made it all the worst for Sasuke. The drop that filled the glass was finding out Itachi had no choice. He gave up his life, his entire career for the safety of his beloved village. Itachi was a hero and few people knew the truth.

Again, Sakura felt like she didn't have a reason to be haunted by less than pleasant memories, felt like Sasuke did, though. Which was a messed-up way of thinking, Sakura knew, but she couldn't help her mind. Maybe she needed help, like Ino told her a thousand times, but it was too late now. She was in a forest, all alone with Sasuke, trying to sleep.

Sleep came to her, eventually, but the nightmares didn't stop. She dreamt of Sasuke charging at her with a poisoned kunai, and in her dream, he was successful in his task of killing her. She was moaning, panting and crying, whispering his name frantically, as well as Naruto's and Kakashi's. She could hear Sasuke's maniacal laugh as he pushed the sharp blade through her chest. She could feel the pain, feel the life flowing out of her, she could feel her knees weaken and give in. It all felt real, too real.

Until a hand touched her, waking her up. She flinched, knowing who the hand belonged to. She was still turned away from him, but she could feel his hand touching her shoulder gently. She moved away, making Sasuke's lone hand drop from her body and she finally released a quiet sob.

"Don't touch me." She whispered, her voice cracking just slightly.

She could hear the exasperated sigh he let out and it made her chest feel tight, she could feel his eyes burning the back of her neck as he watched her intently.

"Sakura, you have to let me help you." He replied in an unusual, gentle tone. It only made her feel worse.

Sakura didn't reply, however, the painful memories still playing in her mind. It was as if it all happened just yesterday.

"This is about the time I tried to kill you, isn't it?" He pressed further, his voice just as gentle as before. He's worried, he knows he hurt me, he knows I'm hurting

She let out another sob and felt Sasuke's presence hovering over her. She couldn't look at him, she didn't – couldn't – talk about this, not tonight.

"I'm fine, Sasuke-kun. Go back to sleep." She finally said, her voice quiet, strained and tired.

Sakura heard her travel companion sigh again, but something about it broke her heart a little more than the previous one. It was as if he gave in to his fate, accepted that this is how things will be with her and it made her wonder briefly if he would want her around anymore.

Shuffling inside the tent could be heard, signalling that Sasuke finally got back to his side of the tent, and the pink haired medic just stood on her side quietly, eyes open, trying to shake off the bad dream.

Neither of them would be able to get back to sleep, but Sakura simply didn't want to face him now. Why could she forgive but not forget? He was a changed man. Yes, he was still cold toward her, with little exceptions, but she knew that he was trying his hardest. She could see it. She ended up cursing herself mentally for the way she was acting toward him and tried to hold back her sobs for the remainder of the night.

The next morning was awkward to say the least. His eyes didn't meet hers, he seemed upset. Did she upset him that much? She bit her bottom lip hard as she watched him take down the tent before she turned around to put the plates and pots they have used away. They were getting ready for yet another day of traveling.

"You have to tell me what's wrong, Sakura."

She didn't realise when he came so close to her and jumped, startled.

"I'm fine, Sasuke-kun, really." She replied, turning to him with an obvious fake smile on her lips.

Sakura wasn't stupid enough to believe that Sasuke wouldn't see through such a pathetic attempt, but she felt like she couldn't talk about what haunted her, not yet.

"You have to tell me, Sakura…" He pleaded, his voice as gentle as it had been the previous night.

She could feel tears burning her eyes, so she shut them in an attempt to keep her tears at bay. She felt his lone arm reaching for hers and she hugged herself, not wanting to be touched by him.

"Not now, please." Her voice cracked, and she involuntarily let some tears wet her cheeks.

"If not now, when, Sakura? I'm trying, I really am, I know that I've hurt you in the past and I'm trying to make it right now, because…" He trailed off, unable to continue, but knowing that Sakura would understand.

Because I never wanted to hurt you. Because I care about you.

"Because I love you, damnit." Sasuke muttered through clenched teeth, looking at Sakura intently. One could see the lightest colour raising to his cheeks, but he masked it quickly.

Her emerald eyes widened and looked at him, not being able to believe that he said such thing. But that wasn't what she needed. It made her feel even worse that he was trying to comfort her. She needed to be alone, to gather her thoughts, to calm herself down, so, he let her be for a little while.

He never ventured far, though, the thought of rogue nins walking around, waiting for an opportune moment to attack was always at the front of his mind. Sakura just continued to pack the rest of their things, grateful for the quiet.

A few days later they arrived in a small village that they deemed quite dangerous. Under normal circumstances that was okay, but neither of them wanted to attract any more attention to themselves, to Sasuke, in special. They quickly made their way to the first inn that came in view and rented a room for the night. They never spent more than one night in a place if they deemed it unsafe. And judging by the way men, most probably shinobi, shot hungry glances in Sakura's direction, that town wasn't safe.

That night wasn't different from any other. They slept on different futons and her nightmares came back to haunt her once more. This time Sakura dreamt of the war. She felt Sasuke as he punched her chest and put her under the spell of powerful genjutsu. The image got dark and she was out. Next thing she knew, Kakashi was helping her up and once she fully regained consciousness, they took off to the Valley of the End. The place was a mess. Sasuke and Naruto managed to bring everything to the ground, except the waterfall. Madara and Hashirama's statues were just rubble and upon a first look she couldn't find either of the young men. She panicked and began calling for Naruto in a frantic manner. Until…until she saw a tuft of bright, sunny, yellow hair. She ran as fast as she could, only to fall to her knees and scream in incredible pain, tears flowing from her eyes just like the water from the waterfall behind her. The hero was dead. His body – dismembered, all over the ground. Fury soon took over and she began searching once more, wiping her tears away. She made up her mind, she would be the death of Sasuke Uchiha.

Sakura searched and searched until she felt it. The diabolical aura, the dark chakra, so dark that it would put Madara to shame, the bloodlust. She ran toward it, prepared for murder. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" She yelled, making Sasuke laugh like a maniac. His lower body was caught under an enormous boulder and he wasn't able to move. "SASUKE-KUN, WHAT DID YOU DO?" She demanded, punching a chakra infused fist in a rock next to his head.

Sakura felt a strong hand on her shoulder shaking her. She heard a faint voice she knew from somewhere. She opened her eyes wide in pure anger, tears still falling on her cheeks. She never stopped crying, in fact. He looked distraught too, as if her screams woke him up and scared him. And they probably did.

She glanced at his face for a moment, then looked away, too embarrassed to look him in the eyes. Sasuke grabbed her tightly and pulled her to his chest, never loosening his hold on her. For once, she didn't push him away. He was trying so hard to comfort her, it warmed even the darkest depths of her heart.

"I would never do whatever you were dreaming that I was doing." He murmured gently, shushing her, trying to calm her down.

"Maybe not now, but you definitely tried to…" She sobbed loudly, shamelessly burying her face in Sasuke's chest.

"That's in the past, Sakura, though I never wanted to hurt you the way I did…" He tried to explain and pulled her even closer to him.

She didn't reply, just looked up at him with big emeralds full of moisture. He kissed the top of her head softly, his lone hand going up and down her back soothingly. She looked up at him again in a silent plea to spend the rest of the night like that, to which Sasuke complied. It was the first night since the war ended where she was finally able to rest. It would take time, but the wounds would eventually heal, if they would communicate with each other and try to help the other however possible.


So, that was it! My very first story published on here!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read it and I really hope you enjoyed it and please let me know if you did!

Constructive criticism is very appreciated, just as reviews are. Did you like it? Did you not? What can I do to make my writing better? Please let me know!

Don't be mean, though, I am a sensitive little potato.

Until the next time, take care and be kind!