Something Else
Doctor
Summary: Friendzoned Uchihas realize they've got to move on.
Notes: Modern AU MadaObi [Madara x Obito], mentions of HashiMito, KakaRin, onesided HashiMada and onesided ObiRin. Not underage, but there's quite an age gap, if that's not your thing…
Madara's not evil. Obito is not evil. No one is evil. It's multi chapter but there won't be too many chapters.
Writing is kinda hurried, forgive me.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kishimoto.
"You're conscious? He's conscious! Doctor!"
Obito sat up in what he believed was a bed. A hospital bed. The small nurse that had been by his side darted out of the ward. Damn! Why was his head throbbing?
"About time…" the nurse reentered with a man, probably in his thirties, most of him was covered in surgical plastic, but from what little Obito could see- the man didn't look like too friendly. At least not the sort that would appreciate an ICU pun.
The doctor approached his patient and swivelled the bedside monitor.
"Is that my ECG?" Obito blurted.
The doctor frowned. "EEG. Why would I look at your ECG now?"
"He's a neurosurgeon. You almost sustained trauma to your spinal cord-" the nurse elaborated.
"You were knocked over, kid" then he turned to the nurse, "I don't think he understood what you said."
"Actually, I did, I am a medical student… Fourth year!"
"Hn. Maybe you should know it's stupid to go around crossing highways when drunk? You don't even need to be a college student to know that."
"I wasn't drunk! Wait, I got hit by a car?"
"If you weren't drunk, then you're horribly stupid. By a van- that's what your friend said, anyway."
"By a van? Wow, is my injury serious?"
"Well, you could have died. Fortunately, your friends brought you here immediately. Also, my brother has they same blood type as you- so that was convenient."
Obito made a mental note to offer his undying gratefulness to Kakashi, Rin and the doctor's brother- whoever that was.
"Also, Dr. Uchiha did an amazing job, we were so sure-"
"Yeah, yeah… Go get a syringe." Dr. Uchiha ordered the nurse out before she could finish her sentence.
"You're an Uchiha? I am an Uchiha too!"
"I don't like Uchihas."
That was awkward. "Oh… Do you like anyone?" Great, that made things even more awkward. Stupid, stupid question!
"Not careless college kids."
Early the next day, Obito was shifted out of the ICU to a general ward. He didn't see the grumpy Uchiha again, but the nurse told him that they had called his friends and they were on their way right now. He had been unconscious in the ICU for more than a week.
"Obito, you're alright! Oh God, we were so scared!" Rin almost hugged him but realised she probably shouldn't, midway. She was still smiling that hundred watt smile which never failed to make his heart flutter. Thankfully, his ECG wasn't on display anywhere.
"Yea, we didn't think you'd make it-"
"Kakashi! Of course you'd make it. It was just… Anyway, you're alright and that's all that matters. Minato-san is outside, talking to someone. He'll handle everything, so don't you worry one bit!"
Minato-san was their landlord; though since Kakashi and Obito lost their parents, he was kind of like their guardian. He taught physics at the local University, however he and his wife had been on leave this month. They were expecting a child soon and were at Kushina's place in Uzushio. Thus, Obito felt terribly guilty knowing Minato had come all the way back to Konoha for him.
"I am not worried…" Obito dropped the sentence when he saw the look on his classmate's face. What the hell had happened? Should he have been worried? Well, if Minato had to come all the way back, leaving his pregnant wife, it couldn't be too trivial.
"Uh, so, I made soup! I would have made something fancier, but you generally aren't allowed heavy food."
"I love soup!" Frankly, even if Rin had brought him cardboard, he would have eaten it with relish.
The trio were about to finish their soup when Minato entered the ward with a rather handsome doctor. The man had long dark hair tied in a neat bun, brown, radiant skin and very sunny disposition. Despite the fact that Obito found potential audience for his jokes, seeing the visibly stressed blonde silenced him.
"Hello, Obito-kun. Glad to see you're alright. This is Dr. Hashirama Senju." Minato introduced the other with a small smile.
"Good morning, Obito-kun!" Hashirama waved.
"There's a slight issue I thought I'd discuss with you. As you probably know, I'll have to return to Uzushio soon. Kushina is still there and… Um, also, Kakashi and Rin will have their internships starting next week, so I guess they'll be out most of the time. Which implies that you'll be at home, alone. Now, while you will be discharged soon, the doctors advised me to not let you stay alone for the next month. Just in case, you know… "
"So do I have to go somewhere else?"
"Well you could go stay with your grandmother, but I don't think that's good enough. Additionally, we don't want to stress her out, right? Dr. Senju has a suggestion you might find agreeable."
The man smiled reassuringly and moved closer, "So, I have this flat, a few blocks away from the hospital. The building is filled with doctors, plus me and my flatmate have different shifts, so someone is usually at home. If not, you could just give a shout and our neighbours will be right there."
"If you want to stay at home, I could speak with the college and have them adjust my internship-"
"No, Rin… That's alright." Obito interrupted before she could finish. Minato looked relieved the moment he declined her offer.
The Uchiha turned to look out of the window, Dr. Senju seemed nice enough, his flatmate also would probably be nice. Living with strangers for more than a week was kind of uncomfortable. Then again, it wasn't as uncomfortable as inconveniencing Kakashi, Rin or Minato.
"Alright, Dr. Senju, I'll stay with you! Uh, if you're fine with that- I mean."
"Yes, that's perfect! Finally, I'll have someone to tell my lame jokes to without fearing being hit with a pan, oh-", he noticed the horrified expressions of everyone else in the room (only half of Kakashi's expression, to be precise), "-no, no! My flatmate only throws pans at me. Not anyone else... Ok, I'll go now."
The now beet-red doctor turned and exited the room, Minato chasing after him.
"If the other guy throws pans at you, call me immediately! Ok?" Rin grabbed Obito's hand, looking genuinely concerned.
"Ok, Sure!" To be honest, Obito was kind of looking forward to meeting this pan-throwing-future-flatmate.
An hour past since his friends left the hospital, Rin had left him with a photocopy of her class notes. Had it been anyone else who gave him these notes, he wouldn't have tried so hard to study from it.
"Come in!" he shouted when he heard a muffled knock at his door.
"Hi, Obito… It's me, Dr. Senju."
"Oh, nice to see you again!"
Hashirama entered the room, along with him came another man. This guy had equally long -bluish black hair- tied back in a bun that wasn't nearly as neat as his companion's. His skin was paler too, not too pale though- wheat complexion, to be exact.
"This is the boy that will be staying with us for a month or so-"
"Who-? Him!" the man's face crumpled into a frown when he saw the person Hashirama was referring to. Right then, Obito realised who the pan-throwing-future-flatmate was; the grumpy neurosurgeon.
"You know each other?"
"Yes! He's the kid that I operated on that day!"
"Ohhh, yeah! That kid, of course…" Hashirama's eyes narrowed as he inspected the 'kid' like some sort of specimen.
"Twenty two is well past the 'kid' threshold, doctor!" Obito protested, but the elder Uchiha didn't seem to hear him.
"And where will we fit him? I don't think we can put someone with all those casts on the couch!"
"I'll take the couch-"
"I think you're forgetting something, Hashirama. Don't you have plans?"
"Oh, don't worry, Madara! I'll work it all out. Worst case, you just join us in bed- alright?" Hashirama winked and pulled Madara by the waist.
'Us' wait, what's going on here? Obito looked away, unsure of what would happen next. Luckily, Madara elbowed his friend and rushed out of the room muttering something.
"Don't mind Mada, everything will be lovely! You'll be discharged tomorrow, right?"
"Uh-huh." the cast enveloped Uchiha gulped noisily.
"Can't wait!"
The next day, Obito was discharged. He collected a pack of medicines from the hospital pharmacy and waited at the lobby. Not a minute later, Hashirama appeared with his coat and briefcase.
"You've got your medicines? Ah, good… I'll take you home and see that you're settled. Kakashi sent a few of your things, so you don't have to worry. You'll love our flat, it's a penthouse, really!"
Obito seated himself in the Senju's car with a little initial struggle. "The casts will be off soon, right?"
"In about two weeks. The fractures in your limbs aren't that severe."
"Then what was so severe?"
Hashirama remained silent for a second, observing the passing cars. "This accident was pretty bad. The van didn't pass over you fully but still, it was quite heavy. Your nervous system could have been damaged if Dr. Uchiha didn't release the pressure on it. It was quite a delicate operation. You could have suffered from sensory loss and much more."
"I could have died." Obito observed.
"Yeah, could've, but you're as fit as a fiddle now- well except for the casts... Radio?"
The flat was -as Hashirama mentioned- quite lovely. It was very elegant and spacious, with tons of bonsais on every horizontal surface. There were two bedrooms, a huge bathroom, a smaller bathroom, a dining room, a living room and a kitchen. They sat down on the sofa. It wasn't exactly the biggest sofa around, so Obito understood why sleeping here with his casts wouldn't be a good idea.
"So who's the bonsai guy?"
"Hey, that rhymes! Oh, I'm the bonsai guy. Madara has pet birds but they're at his brother's place. His hospital hours are really weird so he thought it was better they stay at Izuna's."
"Izuna is his brother?"
"Yep! I've a brother too, Tobirama. We're all one big family."
"Are they doctors too?"
Hashirama laughed, "No, no… Tobirama is actually in the same department as Minato! I remember they published this paper on wormholes together, it was mostly my brother's idea but Minato kinda developed on it. Izuna is an engineer, he gets to design aircraft engines. Anyway, you can ask them all about it later, how about I show you your room?"
"Cool!" Obito accepted the Senju's hand and let himself be lead to one of the bedrooms.
"This is originally Madara's bedroom, so some of his stuff's in the cupboards- but he doesn't have much, so that's no problem. Everything Kakashi gave we put it in the lower levels so you wouldn't have trouble accessing it."
"Wait a sec- Madara's sleeping on the couch? Wow!"
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't mind sleeping on the couch but Madara insisted. He's shorter too, you see…" Hashirama smirked, using his hand to indicate the height difference.
"That doesn't sound like him." Obito mumbled.
"Oh, you don't know him. He's a jerk sometimes- fine, most of the time- but he's adorable... Ok, so you make yourself comfortable. Madara will be home early, so I'll start with dinner later, is there anything you'd like?"
"The less nutritious the better!"
Hashirama winked and closed the door behind him.
At 9 PM, the sound of the front door unlocking signalled Madara's 'early' arrival. Apparently, he always came back after midnight but tonight a colleague had to return a favour by covering his shift for a while.
"Yaay! You came back!" Hashirama shouted from the kitchen.
"Unlike every other day, right?" Madara kicked his shoes off and then grudgingly put them back on the shoe stand.
"He doesn't get laid very often… Or ever." the Senju bent over and whispered into Obito's ear. "I've made dinner for everyone."
"Oh no. What's it this time?"
"This!" Hashirama dramatically placed the food on the table and stood back to appreciate it.
"Uh- these are vegetables? Pretty raw vegetables…"
"Even healthier! Specially for you, Obito-kun."
"You're evil." the student groaned, gingerly picking up a brussel sprout.
"I realised you were the sort of college kid that didn't eat as many vegetables as they should-"
"You mean a normal college kid, you were weird." Madara cut in before nibbling another piece of broccoli.
"Hey! Fine, let's not forget how I baked a cake for you on your birthday in college."
"You burnt it. The fire alarm went off and everyone had to evacuate the hostel in their pyjamas."
"It's the sentiment that counts."
Obito chuckled, "You guys act like a married couple you know."
"Yeah, we do, right?" Hashirama reached out to encircle his flatmate but the Uchiha ducked and abruptly left the table with his plate.
"I'm watching the news." he sat on the sofa and turned the TV on.
The brunette didn't say much after that. When Obito finished, he collected his plate with a smile and followed Madara into the kitchen. Their hushed voices could be heard from the dining room if one listened carefully.
"Hey, sorry man."
"Eh?"
"About dinner, was it the food? I just thought-"
"The food was fine."
"Then? I am sorry about the couch, I totally forgot-"
"It's okay, Hashirama. Give me those dishes and go sleep. You have to get up early."
"Thanks. See you at the hospital then?"
"Hn."
Hashirama emerged from the kitchen smiling brightly. "Obito-kun, I'm off to bed. Sadly, I have an early morning shift tomorrow."
"Good night Hashirama-san. I think I'll sleep too."
"Wait. I need to get something from my room first." he stood up on toes and reached the highest shelf, pulling out a thick book on neurodegenerative diseases.
"They use surgery to cure neurodegenerative diseases?"
"Ongoing research. What do you know of it, anyway?"
"I am actually interested in geriatrics."
"Hn. Well then this book would be more useful to you. You can read it when I'm done."
"Such a fat book!"
"I really wonder how you reached fourth year… Anyway, you need rest, good night."
"Oh! Madara-san?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks, for- uh- saving me."
"Hn." then the doctor gave him the slightest of smiles and left.
Notes: So, what do you think? :D I've never written MadaObi before. Plus Obito's character is quite confusing, so he's kinda neutral here. Suggestions?