Disclaimer: I own nothing, I make no money.
Author's Note: I apologize for the delay. My computer has crashed and I've lost a lot of recent writing, including already written drabbles for this series. Falling back down the ladder hurts like hell.
Midnight, in C Minor
Chapter Five: Novaturient
(adj.) desiring or seeking powerful change in one's life, behavior, or situation
They are less than a mile out from the Konoha gate when she says the first non-mission oriented thing in months.
"You don't sleep well, do you?"
He is so abruptly confused by the question that he stops instantly, turning back to her (she is always five feet behind and he doesn't know why, nor cares to find out). "Excuse me?"
She stops as well, her hands grasping themselves before her, eyes shifting to the floor. "Whenever I'm on watch, you…you have nightmares."
And then he's snarling, moving toward her (she doesn't take a step back and somewhere in the back of his mind he is thrown once more).
He doesn't need to speak though, because when he stops just before her, eyes livid, his whole bearing a threat, she hears him well enough.
And even still, something tells her to press this. "I can help."
His eyes narrow so quickly she almost misses it. If this was anyone else, she could delve into the details. She could explain how chakra manipulation can regulate sleeping cycles, how she can essentially force a resting state. She could reassure him of his safety, she could even walk him through the process using her own pathways. She could do a lot of things, if he wasn't Uchiha Sasuke.
But he is Uchiha Sasuke. And that means she stops short at "I can help", because anything past that is inconsequential. Either she has him with this, or not at all.
(She still doesn't know why it matters so, but she likes to think her clan – no, Neji – taught her better.)
"Why?" he asks her lowly.
She furrows her brows at the question.
"Why would you want to?" he clarifies, frown deepening.
Her eyes blink wildly, her mouth parted, and this is when Sasuke understands.
"Why wouldn't I?" she offers as an answer.
This is when Sasuke understands –
not all things tender were lost in the war.
She stops at "I can help", because he doesn't need anything else, he finds.