#10: Before I Sleep

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: Sasuke/Sakura

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 763

Summary/Description: "You seem different tonight," he says.

Warning/Spoilers: No spoilers, I guess… All of this is supposition. And it was written before having read chpaters 345 onwards. Warning: don't eat lead, and look out for OOC.

A/N: This is not a sequel to And Miles To Go, as would be the logical supposition. Also: after this, if I write any more SasuSaku angst, shoot me.

Dedication: For Lena, my lovah, as a belated birthday present. Sweetheart, you are wonderful and amiable and special, and it is just so great to have you as a friend. (smooch) Hope you likes.

She smells like spring; like a symphony of flowers that tickles him lightly, cascades in accord with the quickening thump of his heart. She feels cold tonight, but it is no matter. He shall soon warm her up.

Her smile is that light that was always taken for granted; now every time he sees it, it is like finding a little bit of himself, getting to know her all over again. He gathers her into his arms and lowers her to the soft, dewy grass so that he can observe her from above. Pale skin, strong limbs, mature features kissed with beauty, rose-petal hair, and that smile… it is the Sakura that he has come to know, and slowly, painstakingly, love. And yet…

"You seem different tonight," he says as he brushes his lips to her bare neck. She shivers a little, mouth making a little awning to let her gasp escape. Her eyes flutter, and she does not answer.

"Is something wrong?" He is undoing the buttons of her shirt, but finds himself distracted by her eyes, magicked into something otherworldly by the moonlight. He permits himself a moment to cup her face, caress the hollow of her cheek. Leaning down to satisfy the urge to kiss her, he is struck by the way she suddenly looks at him, with an abrupt painfulness seeping onto her countenance. Why does she seem so sad?

She shakes her head slowly, as if in both a denial of his question, and the act of physically shaking something out of her head. She seems to wrest control of herself. The next time she casts her eyes at him, they are clearer. Firmer. She takes a deep breath before speaking.

"I'm not really here," she says quietly. She pauses, and gives him time to adjust to the fact. He doesn't seem to be adjusting, however; he just looks sceptical, and a little amused.

"What do you mean, you're not here?" A dark brow is arched. "I can see you with my own eyes." He brushes back her hair from her face. "I can touch you, smell you. You're very here, Sakura."

She shakes her head again, and looks sadder than ever. He becomes slightly alarmed, and is suddenly compelled to hurt someone, anyone, for inducing the emotion in her.

"You don't understand, Sasuke," she explains, tone strangely flat. "I'm dead."

He is about to snort a denial when she cuts him off, just a tone away from roughly.

"You must remember, Sasuke. Remember. Remember."

The sharp way in which she speaks to him puts him off guard for a moment, so he is thoroughly unprepared when an onslaught of memories attacks him.

Returning to Konoha… Absolution slowly, grudgingly given… A reunion with his team… Mending relationships… A plan to eradicate Orochimaru and his forces in one fell swoop… A dangerous risk… A sacrifice that had to be made…

It is like having ice shot into his veins; the shock of seeing Sakura, feeling her so near to him, touching him, breathing the same air as he does, and yet having to acknowledge the fact that she is no longer in this world. Because he does remember. He remembers the battle, its events and its culmination clearly and sharply. He remembers Naruto's devastation; remembers holding her still warm body and feeling like he had failed everything he had ever fought for.

Still, within his arms right now, she feels so real…

"…So, this is a dream?" He surprises himself by how calm he sounds; calmer than he actually is, at any rate. Sakura is dead; there is little to be calm about.

She vetoes it gently.

"No, not quite." She hesitates for a scant second. "…Think of it simply as a prelude, before you really fall asleep." She touches his face lightly, the melancholy deeply embedded in her eyes. "There are many miles to go."

He nods, and sighs to think of what life will be like when he awakens.

"I know."

She smiles wanly, and Sasuke had never really taken the time to feel before, so the painful way the smile cuts through him is breath-stealing.

"You should try and get some sleep," she says.

"…I know." And in direct contrast of his words, he pulls her even closer, pressing their foreheads together, knowing she shall not stay for much longer. In some ways, he wants her too; in others, he does not think he could bear it if she did.

He closes his eyes briefly. He needs to work on quelling his demons before he sleeps.

A/N: So, I like Robert Frost, okay:p And, yes, yes, I know this series is supposed to be based on Sylvia Plath's poem. Shush.

Sorry I couldn't write anything happier, Lena-boo.

Comments really appreciated. (: