Chapter 9
One thing Sasuke had gotten used to was holding Shanan's hand as they slept. He'd asked tentatively once after a bad dream when he was still seven and he didn't think that a nine year old would say yes, but she did. He knew her better now, though. And he didn't think his age mattered to her. He often lay awake at night watching her sleep and wondering if she liked him too. Either way, he got to hold her hand at night whenever he wanted.
Sometimes he would go days without asking, just to give her hand a break, but he always went back, because it was their thing together. That was maybe one thing he wished he was as bold as Naruto about. He slept all over her and wasn't ever shy or weird about being close to Shanan.
Actually, no, Naruto was a child. And he didn't like Shanan like that. So it didn't count. Sasuke was happy to hold hands and he thought she enjoyed it too.
Shanan thought it was really sweet how Sasuke had often asked to hold hands with her at night. She didn't mind. She thought he'd eventually grow out of it, but that hadn't happened yet. It was ok, though, because she enjoyed it as well. It actually made her feel better too.
She had noticed that on nights when they held hands, she often had dreams related to Sasuke. Sometimes they were complicated and romantic. But other nights she dreamed from Sasuke's point of view. Sometimes she even dreamed about staring down Itachi Uchiha, fear drenching her body. She could never quite make out his face, but from far away he looked so similar to Sasuke. So familiar. She just knew that he was going to hurt everyone, but he almost seemed afraid of her. And... sad for some reason. She could usually sense people's true feelings. She had been meaning to try and speak to Itachi in the dream, but she suspected that Sasuke's fear gripped her and she could never get anything out before she woke up.
Naruto, however, was a child. He had never had a bad night's sleep in his life. If he was cold he snuggled up to Shanan, if he was hot he kicked all of the blankets off and spread his arms and legs out. He got the occasional smack if he touched Sasuke in his sleep, but it never bothered him enough to wake him up.
Their beds had gotten too small to hold all three of them though. They were ten and twelve already and soon the boys would sleep in bed rolls on the floor and let Shanan have the bed. The boys had already discussed it. Shanan tried to protest and convince them all to take turns, but they refused. Either way, Sasuke still had every intention of holding her hand as they slept. Even if it wasn't as comfortable for him. As long as she was ok with it.