A/N: Just a thought that passed through my skull. Dunno why...just thought I'd jot it down. Just a little something to show a different side to Sasuke. Because, you can't watch your family get massacred without having nightmares about it afterward. At least, I wouldn't... Hope you enjoy!!!


One-Shot #24
Nightmares

What's in a dream?

Can dreams tell you something that you need to realize? Something, perhaps, you've been keeping from yourself? Are they ways for your subconscious to reveal things you've been hiding? Or, perhaps, are they just there to drive you insane?

What's in a nightmare?

They drag things up, things you'd sooner forget ever happened. They twist your memories into skewed and distorted fairy tales. Making even your most treasured possessions turn dark and scary. And then there are the ones which take your fears and alter them into more devious versions of their selves.

Sasuke wished for dreams. He wished for his subconscious to throw him a curve ball, making him realize something he'd never known before. Hell, he would settle for one of those strange dreams where you marry inanimate objects or become a superhero.

Instead, Sasuke got nightmares; horrendous nightmares of the massacre of his family. Nightmares which left the thirteen year old shaking and crying in the middle of the night. It was on these nights the usually stoic young boy cried out; pleading for someone to hold him, soothe him.

He was grateful for the fretful sleep missions allowed. Where your mind wouldn't rest and relax enough to dream. On those missions, nightmares rarely visited him. And he had never been so grateful for a small miracle.

And, although missions allowed him such peace-less sleep, D-rank missions were the complete opposite. No one was after them. No one wanted what they were transporting, searching for, they were pointless missions. And, unfortunately for Sasuke, they allowed for a deep sleep…containing dreams which he hated.

This D-rank mission gave Sasuke's subconscious a playground. It conjured up a nightmare like he never had before. It was a replay of the hell Itachi showed him. And it left him shaking and gasping in the midnight hour, his body craving something it hadn't had since he was a child. Human contact.

The heavy, yet erratic, breathing woke Naruto from his deep sleep. He turned over to see a shaking and sweating boy sitting up in his bedroll beside him. Naruto's sleep-heavy eyes took a while to focus on him, but once it did Sasuke's appearance left Naruto wondering what happened and if they were currently under attack. Not hearing any unusual sounds, except for Sasuke's breathing patterns; he sat up a little and eyed the Uchiha nervously. Sasuke had never been one for conversations or physical contact, but at that moment, Naruto couldn't think of anything else to do. So, instead, he just crawled onto his knees and faced the young boy carefully.

"Sasuke, you okay?" Naruto's whisper was even loud and it echoed through the tent. Sasuke jumped a little bit, but didn't look in Naruto's direction, just focused on a small part of the tent in front of him. "Sasuke?" Naruto tried again, reaching a tentative hand out to touch the boys shoulder.

Sasuke jumped at the touch, his eyes growing wider.

"Sasuke, are you okay? Did something happen?"

Sasuke could only shake his head slowly. His mind was too fragile to form words.

"No. No what? Sasuke…please say something." Naruto scooted a little closer to the boy, the chilly night air wrapping around his feet and face. He ignored it, focusing solely on Sasuke's scared-looking face.

"…ni…nightmare…" Sasuke's voice was barely audible when he spoke.

"You had a nightmare? Must have been some nightmare to have you all worked up like this, huh?" Sasuke's head twitched slightly, moving only slightly in the direction of Naruto's voice. "Do you want to talk about it?"

At this, the stoic boy shook his head rapidly, making his messy raven hair fan out around him. Naruto gripped his shoulder, trying to calm him.

"Okay, no talking. That's fine." Naruto watched Sasuke's face, the scared and wide-eyed look making Naruto a little nervous. There had been many times, living alone, Naruto had nightmares that shook him to his core. He knew that he'd craved for physical human contact; a hug or a cuddle, something to shake the horrible thoughts from his mind. He wondered if Sasuke could use the same thing.

Moving slowly, tentatively, Naruto removed his hand from Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke nearly whimpered from the loss of contact, but restrained barely. Naruto felt the uneasiness return and wrapped that same arm around Sasuke's shoulders. He was pleasantly surprised when Sasuke leaned into his embrace, nearly snuggling into the blonde. Naruto put his other arm around Sasuke, hugging him tightly.

"Its okay, Sasuke. Whatever the dream was about, it's over now and you're fine. Really, I wouldn't let anything hurt you." Naruto didn't know if it was the soothing words – which he really hoped were soothing – or just the tone of his voice, but he could have sworn he felt the Uchiha begin to cry. Choosing to not call the raven haired boy out on it, he chose to instead hug him tighter.

They sat there for what felt like an eternity before Sasuke pulled himself away. Naruto half expected to be punched in the face, or something to that degree, for the physical contact they'd just shared. Instead, he saw a faint blush crawl upon the stoic boys cheeks.

"Thanks, Naruto." Sasuke felt better, he had to admit. Even if he'd just shared a moment of weakness and vulnerability toward his rival, the calm and content feeling he now had was worth it. At least the dream wasn't bothering him half as much. He risked a glance toward the blonde, only to see said blonde eyeing him curiously. "Don't you dare tell anybody, dobe."

Naruto smirked slightly. "Nah, it can be our little secret." Then with a lower tone, he nudged Sasuke lightly on the shoulder and added, "Everyone has nightmares. And, everyone just wants to be comforted afterward. It's human."

Sasuke nodded slightly, smiling inwardly. He'd decided that maybe getting closer to the blonde wasn't such a bad idea. His foresight was telling him it might be the best decision he'd ever made.

Everyone has nightmares. Even if it's just to teach them that craving physical human emotion is…well…normal.



Um... I know there's a reason for the italics at the end...to tell you the truth, I just put them in because it ended kind of better that way. And why their italic...I still don't know. Just got with it, I guess. lol.