one_long_mission

Though she had been the one to suggest it, she had thought it would be harder and more awkward to intentionally sleep beside him like this. Instead, after her cheek hit the pillow and Sasuke crawled in beside her, it was more comfortable than she could have imagined. The warmth of having someone so close...

She had never been prone to nightmares, but something like this eased the loneliness more than she cared to admit.

The moment he shifted and touched her hand, it jolted her awake from the unfamiliarity of it, but once she resolved the feeling into Sasuke, she was able to drift off again, curling closer to that warmth until only the span of her hand separated her nose from his chest. And when she woke, she allowed herself to stay there, listening to him breath, imagining she could hear the beat of his heart.

For one who looked bent upon destroying a platoon singlehandedly, he seemed inversely vulnerable in those times she had witnessed when he woke from being in prey to nightmares.
He was freed from them, at least for this night. After the initial shift to which she responded, he was still once more. He could feel -ever so lightly- her breath upon his chest. Eventually one arm moved to loosely drape over her, and just as he did the night before, bent his head, nose digging lightly unto the top of her head.

He remained as such until he lightly stirred awake, eyes opening. Noting his current position and how strangely warm and good it felt, it also shocked him that no nightmares had woken him before he was able to find sleep.
There were no nightmares at all. Instead... instead there had been dreams, and as he recalled the images, he shifted and did his best to cover up a sniffle.

In that dream, there was warmth as well... and bittersweetness as he laid hugging his mother and brother, while his father looked upon them with a benevolent smile.

When she felt him shift, the subtle change in his breathing as he awoke, she wished she could see his face, see just what it was he was thinking. He had slept soundly through the night, and she had to wonder just how long it had been since he had done so.

She could have said something, let him know that she was awake. But she heard that half-covered-up sniffle and decided to let him save his pride. Instead, she only shifted as if starting to awaken, moving in close enough to close the distance between them and let her forehead rest against his chest, breathing in the scent she'd come to associate with warmth and companionship -- and a bit of a crazy -- but mostly just Sasuke.

He was sucessfuly fooled, thinking she had just come to waken. He took a breath to greet her, but then... then he felt her settle against his chest... and he didn't want to speak.

He didn't want to move... didn't want time to keep going forward because this... this was extremely soothing.
Only then did he take conscience of the arm looped around her, because it tightened its grip.

She really could hear his heartbeat... Her lips curved into a small, contented smile at the realization, though it vanished as quickly as it arrived when she gasped in response to his arm tightening around her.

Well, no hiding that she was awake now, even if she didn't move.

"...You slept well, Sasuke...?" she murmured without raising her head.

"I just... remembered I had a nice dream."
And in his dream, he was sure the warmth he had felt was something like this... like what he felt right now. "...for the first time... in years." He thought he would forever see the fires and corpses in his nightmares every night. Was the solution... that simple?

She relaxed slightly under his arm, lips curving into another small smile. "I am glad for it," she murmured, and meant it. With everything that he'd been through, if something like this was enough to ease his mind, it was the least she could do.

He shifted, but only slightly. Since there was no one asking for him to rush to the battlefield, what hurry was there in getting out of bed?
He was indulging. He knew it... but he could -feel- that smile in her tone, even if most of her was hidden from him.

"Yesterday.... was the longest day of my life..." and he had achieved much. So much...
That black fire, he dimly thought, must still be burning.

She stayed quiet for a moment, nestled in against him, until she finally dared to shift her own arm and press her hand to his chest.

"Do you wish to speak about it...?"

"..." there was a light tremor that coincided with her touch. "..I still... continue to think I could've beaten that whole platoon.." there was no venom in his voice. He did not hate her for stopping him. He was merely stating what he truly seemed convinced to be a fact.

"..if I had then, my chakra might have been low enough to go by without alerting that chakra beast" although this was one less menace in the world. "At this stage though, there isn't much to be done. What's happened has happened.. and you... did save my life." there was a pause, and his hand moved over hers. That was enough what-ifs.

"Perhaps, but it is unlikely you would have escaped uninjured." She kept her forehead pressed to his chest, listening to the tone of his voice more than anything else.

"And if you had, that beast would still be roaming, and perhaps someone who was not so well equipped to handle it would have been killed by it." She shook her head slightly, bandages shifting against her forehead with the movement. "I did what any other villager would have done."

"No." he protested at the last part. "We both know that not 'any' villager would have gone so far as to get the necessary papers to scout with someone of their choosing..." and that last part she would relate to in a way. "...and I can count the number of people who would have gone against a chakra beast instead of running on the fingers of on hand."

The Hyuuga were, after all, more liked than the Uchiha. Sasuke had never made much of any friends, being so cold and distant, focused on the issues this country had.
"...but we're both safe and relatively uninjured." aside from eye strain, which he knew he had a part in. She had probably never used her byakugan so extensively without proper rest.

"...is it feeling better today?" he inquired, light concern marring his voice. "I mean, your eyes."

"Had I not retrieved the papers, you would have gone regardless. I would not see you receive the stigma that would occur as a result."

She went still at the mention of her eyes and finally shifted to sit up, bring both hands to her head. There was a bandage around her forehead, as always, but the one she removed was the one around her eyes. A few cautious blinks as she looked to Sasuke, then shook her head. "It is still far too blurry." Perhaps the tone of frustration in her voice could be excused as she sat up further and let the bandage drop to her lap, both hands coming up to massage the sore areas. Even without being able to see it, she almost fancied she could feel the irritation of those larger Chakra channels built to funnel Chakra to her eyes.

"It is rather painful still."

He shifted o sit up then, and gently pushed her hands away, wordlessly starting to massage from her temples to the sides of her face, where he would see the visible veins when the byakugan was active. It may not help much, but he was certain it could not do any wrong.

"Relax..." he murmured, voice close to her left ear. "..they did say it would be a while." he reminded her.

"M-mm," she agreed quietly, not daring to nod as she went stiff with the touch near her eyes. She'd almost flinched away but... it was Sasuke, and she knew that right now she trusted him more than anyone.

Her eyes fluttered closed as she leaned slightly forward, shivering lightly from his voice near her ear as she felt some of the soreness start to melt away beneath the warmth of his touch. "...Thank you."

"..shh.." he continued massaging gently. "It's all right. Take your time and heal properly." the least he could do was shield her from that family he had never fully trusted to be good individuals.

The Hyuuga and Uchiha, he knew, had been in positions of power in town, but the fire ravaging the part of town where the Uchiha housings were had eradicated the Uchiha, and now the Hyuuga were the main force in Michi, the one everyone relied up.

When he had finished, he got out to fetch clean bandages and carefully worked them around her eyes. "I'll put the cloth back on in case even indirect light might not be good."

She only leaned further into his hands at the gentle touch. Something like this almost felt more intimate than sleeping together, what with the closeness to her eyes and the vulnerability of allowing someone else to touch those veins, so crucial to her bloodline.

Neji remained still as the bandage went back around them, making sure her hair didn't get caught in it. "Thank you," she repeated again, listening for the sound of him breathing and reaching out to just lightly touch his cheek with her fingertips.

"Miso soup and rice balls sounds fine?" he inquired, slowly getting out of bed. He searched for another robe to wear, this one simply ornated with large red and white threads an its sleeves and lower trim, sporting the Uchiha crest upon its back, as with all its wardrobe. He would need his previous garment fixed although it was no hurry. He felt it had been the best option to ruin it and provide her eyes cover from the sun in the trip back home, even if she spent most of it asleep... or unconscious.

"I don't have any pickled vegetables though. Sorry."

"That is fine, yes, thank you. I can provide compensation for the meals you have given me so far." She her hands up to make sure the bandage was securely in place, letting her own fingertips brush over her skin as she fancied she could still feel his warmth near her eyes, before she rolled out of bed and adjusted her borrowed robe more securely.

"Though I'm afraid I should not impose too long, I... my things are at my home, and wearing the same clothing several days in a row is never something I enjoy."

"I can wash it." he recalled her saying she would rather not go there, after all. "Unless you think that's imposing." he donned his two belts, still wearing his blade unsealed, the tome he had taken from the temple still stored inside the belt's seal.
"As for compensation, it's only meals, really." and he needed no compensation at all, he seemed to say.

"It would be an imposition on you," she pointed out, one hand holding her robe closed as she followed the sound of his voice to approach, one hand extended to map the lay of his room.

"I... am fine to return. I am certain you have your own duties to return to, Sasuke."

"...right. It isn't that much trouble to have something washed, but... since you insist." after all, he knew when arguing was pointless. He would have at least saved her a full day of being shamed by her extended family, right?

"My duties are similar to yours. I protect this village." Strangely enough, before he went on his quest, he had held a different speech, had he not...?

She tilted her head toward where she thought his face to be, wishing yet again that she could read his expression. That was certainly different from before...

"Would you be so kind as to escort me to the compound itself?" she asked quietly, moving forward with one hand still outstretched to find the doorknob. One hand against the wall, she started toward the bathroom to retrieve her clothes from before.

"I will.. after breakfast." he pointed out, headed towards the kitchen to prepare the soup and riceballs. The miso soup was a simple affair, with tofu and seaweed in it.

He could already imagine the looks on their faces. An Uchiha guiding a Hyuuga. "You have no one you trust to come fetch you? I could contact them if it'd make it easier."

She nodded in agreement, breaking away to dress herself before making her way back to the kitchen. It was odd how she was starting to familiarize herself with the layout, even though she couldn't see it at all...

When she reentered the kitchen, she answered, "There is no one I wish to contact, no."

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