Shanan was sitting up in bed having just woken up from an intense and strange dream about Sasuke.
In the dream, she lived in a tall building and she could feel his presence getting closer and closer in the middle of the night.
She got up out of bed and made her way up several flights of stairs to the roof. All the while, feeling his presence more easily.
Once she'd made it to the roof, she opened the door and could see him having just landed on the edge of the building as she looked out from the darkness of the stairwell. He looked so cold and unfeeling. He was clearly angry at her for some reason.
As soon as she stepped out into the moonlight, his face softened. She looked at him and couldn't believe he was there. All she could do was run towards him as he walked quickly to meet her embrace.
But then she stopped short and buried her face in her hands and sobbed as she was overcome with emotion.
But he closed the distance and when they finally met, she wrapped her arms around his waist and sank completely into him just as he'd sunk completely into her and pulled her close.
She felt really secure and warm as he rested his face on her head and they both breathed each other in deeply.
After a few minutes, she leaned back to look at his face. He was several inches taller than her now.
He started to move his face towards hers and that's when she woke up.
So there she sat, confused by her dream. She didn't know Sasuke, she just knew his face from a few years ago in pictures and how he was in the Kaitei. She could feel that she missed him, but the dream was unexpected.
It was strange, though. Even though she was awake now, she could still feel his presence the same as in the dream. It still felt like he was close and she couldn't shake it. She even got up and walked around to see if she could wake up more, but she still felt as though Sasuke, specifically, was very nearby.
She went back to her room and quietly got dressed. She had to check. She had to know. She'd never felt this. It was as if part of her were missing and she suddenly knew exactly where to find it. As if she had a magnet inside of her, pulling her towards her old apartment. To Sasuke's apartment.
She left Kakashi and Naruto sleeping and slipped out as she made her way towards the old building. The closer she got, the closer he felt and the more the hair on her arm stood on end.
Once she reached the building, she could see a light on in the far left apartment and stood for a minute to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating.
She made her way to his door and it opened before she could even knock.
Shanan and Sasuke stood there looking at each other, a bit stunned and completely captivated by the sudden appearance of one another.
He looked just the same as he had in her dream. The same height. The same build. Everything. And suddenly, being in his presence was intoxicating. She almost felt tipsy. She didn't know what to say and then she remembered her dream.
She took a few steps and wrapped her arms around him and immediately felt her whole body glow. Her chakra felt like it had found a piece of itself that she didn't know it was missing as it cycled through the both of them. She didn't remember him. But he was important to her. She knew that much. She had known for a while.
After a few seconds, he wrapped his arms around her and it felt as though he had completely enveloped her as he pulled her close.
He had always tried to picture her older, but he had clearly never done her justice. She was so much more beautiful than he imagined she would be. Her hair still smelled the same, though. Just being this close to her again made all of his love for her rush through him. Part of him had thought that he may never feel this again, but now that he had, he was never leaving her again.
And for Shanan, this person that she had no memory of, that nobody ever talked about, she suddenly knew that she had missed him very dearly before the Kaitei.
"Sasuke, you're back," she whispered into his chest. She was suddenly feeling very emotional about it.
"Do you... remember me?" he asked her hopefully.
She looked up at him as she leaned back and shook her head. "My mind doesn't remember. But some part of me knows you and somehow I knew you were here."
His shoulders slumped as he looked at her thoughtfully. "I don't know how either, but I could feel that you were coming here... We have a lot of each other's chakra," he said as he smiled softly down at her.
"But... why?" she asked him.
He wanted to tell her. He wanted to say that it was because they loved each other very much. But after what Naruto had told him, he didn't want to just spring it on her. Not like this. He needed a plan and he hadn't had time to think of how he wanted to approach the subject with her yet. He knew it would change things for her to know him. To know them.
"I- I don't know," he told her.
She couldn't read him, so she didn't know if that was a lie or not. His Sharingan abilities must keep him from being susceptible to hers. She did absorb hers from him, after all. Or so she had been told.
She stood there looking up at him. She wanted to ask him if he would let her use her Omoidasu on him, but it was the middle of the night and she knew there'd be a lot, so she decided to wait. She put her head against his chest again. And he pulled her close.
"Can we sit for a while?" he asked shakily after a few more minutes.
Shanan nodded against him.
He held her for a few moments longer before letting go and grabbing her hand to pull her all the way into his apartment and making his way to his bed.
He sat down and Shanan sat next to him as they both scooted back to lean against the wall.
Shanan leaned against him and he put his arm around her. She didn't know what else to say to him, she was very tired considering it was the middle of the night. But she was really happy that he was back and she already felt really comfortable around him. So she closed her eyes and fell asleep within minutes.
When she woke up, they were laying down and he had covered the both of them up. Sasuke was facing her and holding her hand and was sound asleep. She wasn't sure, but something told her that he hadn't slept this peacefully in a long time, so she closed her eyes and fell back asleep until morning.
Hours passed before she woke up again. She knew she needed to get home soon. She hadn't left a note. She didn't truly believe that she would actually find Sasuke home.
"Sasuke," Shanan whispered as she squeezed his hand gently.
He opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times, remembering where he was before looking desperately into her eyes.
She smiled at him and whispered. "I know you spoke to Naruto. He didn't give me a lot of details other than the fact that he told you about my memory loss. I can recover my memories of you. I just need you to give me permission."
Sasuke continued to look at her and even looked like he was starting to tear up. "Can I see it? Your Sharingan?" he whispered back.
Shanan closed her eyes and activated her Omoidasu technique.
As soon as he looked into her eyes a few tears fell sideways down his face. But Shanan didn't access his memory. He just looked at her and smiled.
"It really is beautiful," he told her.
"But... I didn't unlock my memories," she said, a bit confused.
Sasuke shook his head slightly. "Trust me," he said with a slight quiver, "you don't wanna see them."
"What...?" she asked dejectedly.
"Not yet. You'll just hate me," he whispered as more tears fell.
"I couldn't hate you. I already know that I really care about you."
"But I left."
"So did Naruto. I don't hate him," she assured him. "I care about both of you so much."
"Naruto didn't betray anybody's trust," he said thoughtfully.
"So, you're not gonna show me?" she asked sadly.
"I can't..." he told her, rather pathetically.
They both laid there for a while looking at each other. Shanan, trying to read him in any way that she could and failing. And Sasuke willing himself to change his mind or kiss her or both.
He wanted to fight for her, to come back and claim what had been his. But she didn't remember him, even if she had been drawn to him in the middle of the night, and he couldn't hurt her again. Naruto was right.
Sasuke sat up. "I'm sorry to disappoint you," he said softly.
Shanan sat up, as well. "I shouldn't have just expected you to let me see your memories." She put her hand on his shoulder. "It's ok. If you change your mind, I'll be here. Until then, we can just make new memories." She smiled at him hopefully, even though she was really sad that he wouldn't let her see. "I'm really happy you're back. We were obviously really close and I hope we still can be."
Sasuke looked over at her a bit longingly as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "We will," he told her.
Before two days ago he had never imagined coming home and sitting next to her and not kissing her or touching her. It was all he wanted to do. She was supposed to be his and he was still very much hers, even if she didn't know it. They were supposed to get married one day.
He really thought she'd never forget him after their kiss, but at least some part of her still knew him.