Understanding

Disclaimer: I do not own Sasuke, Ino or anything in Naruto sadly. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

I really hope you all enjoy this! Note: Sasuke and Ino are about 20 in this, and Sasuke did not leave with Oroichimaru in this.

He woke up screaming again. By now, Ino had come to know this as a common occurrence. She was there in an instant, cold bottle of water in hand. Shushing him and just being there. Letting him know he was not in that horrible moment in the past, she cemented him in the present.

At first when she found out, he cast her off calling her annoying and she fussed over him asking him what was wrong. She had not been meant to find out anyway. It was only because she had been paired up with him on a mission that she had even witnessed it.

He met any attempts at prying with an icy glare that served as a stonewall to halt any further attempts.

It was on the second night of their mission that she kept glancing at him over the campfire as their dinner roasted he asked 'What?'

She looked hesitant for a moment wringing her hands in a way that he knew she only did when nervous and unsure of herself. So, in a way that rarely ever happened considering her self-confidence.

She looked away from him at first as she spoke in a soft voice "You don't need to tell me." she glanced up at him and added quickly "About what happened the other night."

Sensing she wasn't done he waited in silence. "But I'll be there for you."

He scoffed. He didn't need her there for him, not now not ever. And he was going to tell her just that. But he stopped.

She had a look in her eye, which was wholly unfamiliar to him. A soft one but not pitying. Instead, it was one he'd longed for, for so long. A look of understanding. A small smile played across her lips.

He snorted and looked away, taking his fish from the fire and violently biting into it. She also retracted hers and bit into it gingerly.

That night when she came to the stream, he was surveilling to release him of duty she knew something was off. The way he just stood there starring at the water with the soft moonlight playing off it. All slumped shoulders and relaxed arms, instead of his usual alert stance.

Without looking at her "The nightmares. You want to know about them." he stated. She inhaled sharply. Was he really offering to tell her? To share something like that? She wanted to say yes but thought better of it and answered a calm "Only if you want to tell me."

He scoffed again muttering 'liar' though there was nothing behind it, then the silence resumed. Just the steady flow of the river and the chirping of crickets in the balmy night air.

He sighed and sat down on one of the huge rocks located at the waters edge. He leaned forward resting his arms on his dangling legs. "The nightmares are of that night. But I'm sure you've already figured that out." he said.

She nodded even though he could not see it. "Yes, I did think that's what the dream was about." After all, if anything would haunt your dreams, it would be that.

"They don't come all that often. However, when they do hit, they hit hard. And usually for a couple of weeks. Then they just disappear as if they never even existed." His voice grew quieter "Like they never tore my heart right out from my chest."

Again, she could not think of anything to say. So she kept quiet. He seemed to talk more when the other is silent. Maybe that was why he was so quiet around Naruto. That blonde could steal the words right out of your mouth.

"No one knows about them. Not even Naruto or Sakura. Luckily it hasn't happened on a mission with them." 'Yet' seemed to linger after his words as if he actually said it.

And as he was saying all these things, she had a million thought's running through her mind. The fan girl one's were quieted, and put in their place was her interrogator instincts. Analyzing. Deducing. Coming to a conclusion. She wondered briefly if that was OK, wasn't it best to be more of a friend in these situations? Then she realized it. The answer and why he was telling her this. Sasuke did not need a friend.

"The others wouldn't get it. If I told them, they wouldn't get what I needed. What I need is-" "Understanding." she cut in. His body tensed then relaxed. "Yes." he whispered tiredly.

"But they still wouldn't understand. They would try to get me to open up about it. They would try to understand my situation. But what they wouldn't get was I don't need that kind of understanding." he whispered it like it was a precious secret, and in reality it was.

She did not know why but her legs moved towards him of their own accord. She seated herself next to him on the rock though he did not move or show any reaction.

"You need them to understand, that you just need someone to be there." she finished.

His body slumped forward, black ebony hair cascading around his face. A sandaled foot played with the surface of the water. "Yes."

They sat a little while longer. "Then I will be that person." He looked at her but she kept looking forward, posture straight and proper. The moonlight played across her face and made her hair shimmer.

"I can't understand the situation with your family. No one but you could ever truly get that. However, I do understand that need to be with someone. Someone who understands nothing but the basic need to not be alone." she looked at him smiling a little. "Right Sasuke?"

He stared at her for a little while before simply falling back and plopping on the rock. Just starring at the sky.

He did not answer her.

That night he was plagued by another nightmare. And as he awoke, shooting up and gasping for air, she stayed in her corner of the tent merely watching him in the darkness. After a few moments, his voice called out. "Ino." not demanding, pleading or scared, just a simple pronouncing of her name.

She was by his side in a second. "I'm here Sasuke." she said firmly.

He nodded and "Hmmed." He just stayed like that. Breathing heavily and reigning in his shakiness. Finally he laid back down, his back to her.

She didn't move however. For that was not a dismissal by the last Uchiha. Merely getting comfortable. And she stayed there all night. And when he began to whimper in his sleep, she leaned in without touching him and whispered soothingly "Shush Sasuke. It's OK I'm here." he seemed to calm him and he slept well the rest of the night.

The next morning the events of that night were not addressed or mentioned and they continued in their usual activities. And that night he once again called out to her and she was again there by his side. She shushed him to sleep again. And as he was on the precipice of sleep he whispered so lowly she wondered if he actually meant her to hear it. "Stay with me from now on."

She knew he didn't mean in the daytime. Where he had his precious bad boy cold exterior image to protect. Or as a lover or even a friend. But at night when he was defenseless and alone. He wanted her then, to stay by his side and let him know he was not alone.

"Yes Sasuke." she answered with conviction. He sighed and drifted to sleep.

One thing Ino learned about Sasuke, was he could fold paper cranes. Upon discovering this, she had a wonderful idea. Whenever he needed her to come to him, he would leave a blue paper crane on her doorstep. A kind of 911 sign. Because him showing up in the middle of the night at her house-asking if she could be with him while he slept, would not go over well with her father.

Sasuke also learned something about Ino. She had stupid Idea's.

But no matter what he thought of her idea, it did not stop a blue paper crane from being placed on her doorstep approximately 6 weeks after they had returned to the village.

So with that she made up an excuse to her father that she was spending the night at a friends and rushed off. Which was still a lie. They weren't friends. They had an arrangement. He needed her with him while he had nightmares and she pledged she would be there. That was it.

When she arrived he was sitting in a corner of his room, right leg outstretched, the left up, with his left arm draped around it.

"What took you so long?" he asked in a bored tone.

"Had to make up an excuse for my dad. Sorry." she said shrugging off her overnight bag.

"Hmm."

She rolled her eyes. Without another word, he got up and laid down on the bed on top of the covers. His back facing her. She perched on the end of the bed.

Some time passed. His breathing was steady until he began to squirm and make protesting sounds in her throat. This time her voice did not pacify him and she put her hand on his back whispering "Sasuke." He bolted up breathing heavily.

His head snapped to her and she froze for a moment as she stared into red and black. He blinked blearily, un-activating his sharingan.

"Hi." she said putting the weight back on her left arm supporting her up.

"Hi." He said shakily back.

He motioned for her to come closer and as she bent towards him, he put his head in the crook of her neck. At first her body tenced up. Then she relaxed and even grew bold enough to wrap her arm around and place her hand on his back. Suddenly he put all his weight on her and they were flopping back on the bed. As they jumped back from the bed to fall, again she was confused. "Sasuke?" she questioned.

"You need to sleep to. So sleep. Like this I shouldn't have any nightmares and you can also get some rest." he answered nuzzling his head farther into her neck.

"Oh." she said at his efficient reply. Still she felt a bit awkward lying there with Sasuke on top of her in his bed.

But fore some reason her heart rate didn't pick up, her breathing didn't hitch, and no blush strayed to her cheeks.

This wasn't some romantic lovey dovey moment. It was him simply and efficiently killing two birds with one stone.

She moved her head as Sasuke's hair tickled her nose and chin. But doing so earned an annoyed groan from the person half on top of her. She rolled her eyes but stopped moving nonetheless.

She inhaled and Sasuke's scent assaulted her senses. It was a nice mixture of fresh earth and oddly enough cherry blossoms. A Little similar to her own of fresh earth and blooming flowers.

She inhaled it again the scent strangely soothing. Soon she drifted off to sleep.

It continued like that. Him calling, her coming obediently.

Of course, there were intervals, long intervals where he would not have the nightmares and so she was not needed.

But when he did there, she would be.

It got to be where she could just tell when he was going to have a nightmare. Smell it in the air if that made any sense.

So at sunset away from prying eyes she would appear on his doorstep saying he was going to have a nightmare, to which he would say he felt fine. But she would insist. She always insisted.

And then that night he would awaken with the usual screams and she would be there.

It continued like this, even after Sasuke started dating Sakura.

Once he had randomly blurted out he felt it was time to settle down. That he held the most affection for Sakura so she was the most sensible choice. But that he didn't think he would ever truly love her.

She just laid there and listened, him in his rightful place at the crook of her neck.

Strangely, she did not feel jealous. She thought she should with how their situation was, but she did not. Sasuke and Sakura had a relationship. So did he and her. It was just different. She had even begun feel a bit jealous of Shikamaru and Temari always having to be together because of missions.

She vented about it for a few minutes before finally Sasuke told her to shut up- a bit more nicely then normal she noted- and she did. She felt better after venting.

She would do it several more times over their 'meetings.' And he would listen, a couple more minutes then expected before politely telling her to shut her pie hole.

He wouldn't talk about Sakura much, just a fleeting phrase of "I don't know how to handle her. It's annoying." Or "I think she knows I don't love her. So why does she stay?" The last one had something else attached to it. Something he'd been wondering about for a while. 'Why do you stay?'

She shrugged at the unasked question.

A silence fell before she spoke up. "Truthfully I had wondered that for a while. I couldn't come up with an answer because I couldn't see what I got out of it, this." she said waving her hand and motioning to them. "But then I realized. You needed understanding of your desire to not be alone. And I needed understanding of being needed." He opened his mouth but she beat him to it. "And yes I know that wasn't brilliantly worded."

He shut his mouth and a thoughtful silence enveloped them. "So in essence you stay because you need to feel needed, important, necessary."

She nodded sadly at the words she could never say in the light. Only here in the dark with him could she say these things. "In a nut shell."

He "Hmmed." his curiosity seemingly pacified at her answer.

She rolled her eyes 'Ah the all powerful "Hmm" I should be so happy as to have it bestowed upon me.

As if reading her thoughts he flicker her in the temple. "Ow!" she grumbled rubbing the side of her face.

She felt him sigh and knew he was going to sleep after his short inquiry. She would sleep to.

A thought drifted across her consciousness as she drifted off to sleep. 'As long as we both exist we both will be satiated. He will not be alone and I will be needed. In a way, we complete each other.' Or in a more Morbid outlook they were each other's drug.

So she drifted to sleep. With her and him in each other's embrace, nestled in the darkness. With their mutual understanding of each other, that no one else could hope to attain.