Shet woke up to a muffled scream, then a loud breathing and the sounds of hurried steps.

Et first Sakura thought she was dreaming, but the cold breeze against her skin confirmed the opposite.

She slowly opened her eyes to find the other futon empty with the covers thrown away, and the sliding shouting door wide open which explained the cool air.

She sat down as she brushed the sleep away from her eyes and adjusted the hems of her night robe.

"Sasuke-kun?" She called as she walked outside, barefoot. It was really cold around here and she couldnt help but to shiver at the beginning, her body was trying to get accustomed to the heat change.

she received no answer and she started getting worried thinking that the Uchiha maybe got tired of her company and just decided to disappear and leave her alone behind, but then she saw him, leaning on a tree with his sole hand for support and vomiting into a bush.

She was startled at first, watching in disbelief the almighty Uchiha empty his stomach contents miserably. Her medical instinct didn't kick until few seconds later as she rushed to his side "Sasuke-kun?! Are you all right?"

His shoulders tensed upon hearing her voice as he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his borrowed yukata.

With wide eyes he turned to her "Sa... saku..ra?" He mumbled almost in disbelief.

The trained eyes of the medic scanned him, he was breathless, his chest was litterally heaving up and down and she couldn't say she doesn't appreciate the sight, his yukata was so loose it was showing his entire chest that was covered with sweat and glistening at the dawn light. His face was also sweaty and his messy bangs were sticking to his forehead, but more importantly his eyes were so shocked she could believe he saw a ghost.

She saw his eyes soften and he took some deep breaths to slow his lungs, was he having a panic attack?

If so it must be a nightmare? But what was that about?

Oh...

Sakura walked closer to the man she loved "you had a nightmare?" She said as soft as possible as she grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her shoulder while hers went to his waist to support his bigger body while they walked back to their rented room.

She could feel the heat radiating from his body through the thin yukatas fabric.

He didn't answer her, but he leaned into her touch and allowed her to take him back inside, he even clenched his fist into her robes sleeve.

she assumed that yes, he had a dream and she knew exactly what it was about.

Even after all of this time, the horrible memory of that night kept haunting the young man, she pitied him for that but she knew he didn't want pity so she just kept silent and helped him get into the room then to the connected bathroom.

Sakura finally let go of his arm and waist but his grip on her didn't loosen until she told him he must wash, he complied silently and brushed his face and mouth with cold water.

When he was finished he stood with all of his length and took one last deep breath, he didn't bother to adjust his robe that was now really really dangerously loose around his waist that Sakura blushed.

"Hm... Sasuke-kun? Are you feeling better now?" She asked to stop her mind from wandering to something dirty.

He stepped closer to her and silently pulled her against him into a tight hug, inhaling into her hair and neck "Aa..." he said after while.

Sakura was blushing like a school girl, they hugged before, countless times, they shared kisses, hell they even had a make out session that could have changed into something else if Sasuke didn't take grip of his control and stopped before it went too far.

But the contact of his body against hers right now was all different, he felt warm, warmer than usual and she could explain it with the fact that the only things they were wearing were the thin yukata's they borrowed last night after bath.

There was need and longing into his touch, a longing she didn't even feel when he first hugged her after he came back to konoha.

After a while he pulled back, she was relieved she wasn't the only one blushing when she saw the slight pink into'his cheeks

"Sakura I..." he mumbled averting his gaze away "I had a nightmare..." the hand he kept on her shoulder clenched.

"Yeah I know..." sakura answered back taking his hand from her shoulder and giving it a little reassuring squeeze,even his bigger hand felt warmer "you don't need to talk about it if you don't want too... I already know what is it..."

"It's wasn't the massacre..." he cut her off, then shivered and looked away, it seemed like he couldn't look at her eyes.

"Sasuke-kun?" She said softly as her other hand cupped his cheek, automatically he leaned into her touch and kissed the palm of her hand. During the last months they spent together on the road she learned that Sasuke liked those motherly like affectionate touches and welcomed them.

"You..." he murmured after a while "I saw you Sakura..."

"Did I do something to you? Were i hurting you in that nightmare?" She cautiously asked as she pulled her hands away from him, if that was the case then it wasn't preferable to touch him.

The Uchiha seemed to misunderstand her gesture and the horrified look she was giving him "no..." he whispered as he stepped closer hovering over her "no Sakura please don't look at me like that... don't get scared of me please..." His voice was weak and tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, he hesitantly reached for her cheek with his calloused trembling fingers "I..I won't hurt you Sakura I swear... please... don't look at me like that..."

Tears slided down his cheeks and his lower lips was trembling.

"Sasuke-kun I'm not scared of you... what happened?" She asked as he let out a soft sob, she couldn't believe she had Sasuke Uchiha crying like a little child in front of her. That's what she saw right then, the eight years old child she fell in love with.

"I...I... in that nightmare... I was torturing you... and... then... I killed you... and... looked... at me... like... that... and..." he said between sobs and his whole body was trembling "I wanted to stop... you were begging me to stop... you were screaming... but I couldn't control my body!" He almost yelled the last part.

Sakura's shock was beyond real, she never expected in a million of years that killing her would affect him that much, he seemed so cool with it in the past.

She wondered what triggered him exactly, nightmares like that don't come from nowhere.

It hit her right then like a train, yesterday they were attacked by a group of rogues that wanted their heads for bounty, in the middle of their fight Sasuke was aiming at the last one of them with his sword but the bandit was smart and fast enough to take a grip of the girl who attacked him from the other side and placed her in front of her friend's sword.

Sasuke hit her but stopped before the sword could go too deep into her guts, it was painful but nothing she couldn't heal too fast.

He felt very weird during the evening, he was constantly staring at her stomach and asking her if she was feeling okay.

"Sakura..." she heard his pleading voice call her and pull her out of her thoughts "I... I'm.. s.. sorry" he managed to mumble between tears.

"Shh... Sasuke-kun... it's just a dream you know..." she reassured with a warm smile "and... if I have to trust someone with my life then it would be you Sasuke-kun... you were just affected by the earlier ambush and stabbing me accidentally... you're worried mind was playing tricks to you..." she explained as she placed her small hand on top of his and brushed it with her thumb "and... it is heart warming to know that you actually care that much for me..."

The Uchiha swallowed a sob then pulled his hand and wiped his face with his sleeve as he sniffeled, that was definitely the little Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sakura... i" he mumbled again "I love you..."

The Pinkett felt her jaw drop at the ground she didn't have time to react before he took firm hold of her waist and crashed his lips on hers.

The surprise washed away and she melted into his arm as she cupped his face and tilted her head to give him better access to her mouth.

It was a sweet, slow and tender kiss, none of their previous ones felt as overwhelming as this.

Well Sakura wasn't that surprised at his confession, she knew it was coming sooner or later, she knew her feelings reached him and that he was falling for her the day he asked her to accompany him on his journey. But God she never expected he would tell her like that.

They didn't stop until she felt her back against the thin wall, Sasuke pulled from her lips but still held her "I love you..." he whispered again and rested his forehead on hers.

"I love you too Uchiha Sasuke..." she whispered back with a smile and pecked his lips lightly taking hold of his hand and pulling away "come on... we should go back to sleep, yesterday was very exhausting..."

he followed her back into the room with a nod and stood there watching her as she slipped into her futon, Sakura raised her head and met his eyes and with a playful smile, slided to the right side of her bed and patted the left one for him "come here..." she said tenderly, musing that Sasuke didn't need her only as a lover or a sister but also as a mother.

The raven haired Uchiha complied silently and slided into the futon beside her, as soon as he was laying there, the Pinkett pressed her body on him and wrapped her arms around his torso, he felt awkward and hesitant for a while before reaching with his arm and wrapping it back around her.