Dreaming of you

Disclaimer: I do not own Sasuke, Naruto or Konoha.

Bold letters: Sasuke

I thought I had stopped dreaming. My existence was solely focused on getting the rest my body demanded and get back to work as soon as possible. I didn't care for dreams. And those few I did have were nightmares, or rather, memories of that night. But last night proved to be different.

I was back in Konoha. Standing in front of that familiar stream that runs next to the forest. The sound from it was like the roar from the waterfall. I wanted to escape that sound although my feet didn't move. There was no panic because of this. No anger. I would just have to bear it, like everything else…

I was walking next to the forest. I always liked taking walks there. That's when I saw a guy standing in front of the stream. It didn't occur to me who it was or why he was standing there. My feet took me closer and then I recognized his… scent. I was standing right behind him and he hadn't even noticed me. Makes me wonder if his shinobi senses had dulled over the years, or if he simply didn't bother turning around.

Things suddenly changed. The roar from the creak disappeared and was replaced by a more natural sound. And my back got warm. Like the sun had come out and shined directly on it. It became peaceful. I also felt someone's chakra, so I turned around. It surprised me a bit to find that… Dobe there. But what surprised me even more was how close he had gotten to me. Had he gotten better, or had I unintentionally let him get closer?

Took him long enough to turn. I saw that he had that purple rope around his waist that he got from Orochimaru. It disturbed me. I looked up at his face. Emotionless. Like always.

"Have you been standing here the whole time?"

A stupid question from stupid Naruto. It looks like nothing's really changed.

"No. I was just leaving."

My lips tightened at those words.

"You seem to like doing that don't you?..."

I think I smirked at him. Funny how he was always able to trick me in to showing emotions. Even if it only was scorn.

"Why do you still care? Do you really enjoy chasing me that much?"

I only looked at him for a while. Like I was seeing him for the first time. Usually I would have already told him that I was going to keep him in the village. I felt like chaining him down but instead of doing that, I just kept talking to him.

"It's not like you give me much choice. Stop running away, and I'll stop chasing you."

I tilted my head. I contemplated laughing at him however, that would take too much effort. The moment had somehow drained me of wanting to do anything more than just stand there. It seems the plan of leaving had also disappeared, along with my strength. There was no threat. I could feel that he wouldn't try anything. "You are wasting your time."

The vague thought that maybe an ANBU or someone else might see us talking appeared in my head. We were in the village after all. Would they knock him out and take him with them? Do what I couldn't pull myself together to do? I flashed him a half-hearted cheeky grin.

"My choice and I'm sticking to it. Or have you already forgotten how stubborn I can be?"

I smirked back. "Hmpf… It's hard to forget."

This time my grin was a bit more sincere. And finally his face was starting to move.

"I'll take that as a complement. That you will never be able to forget me."

The smirk didn't disappear. It felt almost odd to be wearing it. I didn't like to give away anything about me. When I was a child I was more open, but that was then. I had changed, and so had he. We both knew it. The smirk faded.

"I am leaving. Next time I see you, I will kill you."

And there ended that peaceful moment. I didn't get upset by his words. I knew what was in the future, so I nodded my head. What upset me was the thought of having to see him leave.

"I will leave. You can stay here for a while."

Raising my brow, I looked at him. Stupid Naruto. Yet I didn't refuse him.

I saw him turn and walk away from me. His back strong and straight but there was a slump in his shoulders, barely visible. He kept walking. And as he walked further away, the creak started to roar again and the temperature dropped. I always hated the cold.

I always dream at night. Sometimes I wish I didn't. Mixed images of the past and the present. I dreamed about him last night. I see him there so often it's hard to believe that he is gone. They say that you dream about the things that worry you right? Only this time it was different. I was actually able to stop and talk to him. It felt so real. Instead of only seeing his back when he walks away from me. Again. And again.

The end

I tried to keep them in character. Hopefully I succeeded...?