Thank you to my wonderful Beta, x-psychicfire-x!
Chapter 1: Frequent Flyer
"Hmm? I see Sasuke is back. What is it this time?" The blond Emergency Department doctor asked himself after the name pop-up on his patient board. Naruto looked at the clock, 5:25 am, that's about right.
Naruto watched the nurse go into the room to take the young man's vitals and find out the reason for his visit. He smirked, knowing that she won't get anywhere with the reserved man. He waited patiently for her to return, frustration clear on her face, just as they all get when they meet the stoic Uchiha.
Over the last few months, he has had several run-ins with the man, for one reason or another. At first he came with complaints of hand numbness or shoulder pain, few times he was littered with fingerprint bruises. Naruto suspected domestic abuse and had referred him to social services; this only earned him a smirk from the man before he completely ignored his attempts to get him help. It wasn't until after Sasuke came in with a rosy ring around his neck and several thin lacerations on his back, did he realize what he was dealing with. Sasuke was involved in BDSM, and obviously with either an amateur Dominant or just a cruel one. Naruto would know.
I wish I could have a few words with them, if you can't take care of your sub properly, you shouldn't have one. Naruto thought angrily, remembering a particular morning when he had to put a couple of stitches in one of the deeper lacerations that didn't want to stop bleeding.
The worst part is, it's escalating, quickly. They have not had enough time get good at the basics, they shouldn't be moving on to the hard stuff anytime soon. God, I just hope today isn't any worse… Naruto dreaded the possibility of Sasuke sustaining permanent damage in one of his scenes. As soon as he saw the nurse come out of the room with a huff, he grabbed his stethoscope, hanging it around his neck. His mandatory navy blue physician scrubs slightly wrinkled from the night's work.
This was a small rural hospital, practically in the middle of nowhere, and he was one of the few doctors that worked here. He took care of the 8 hours of night shift, while his colleague Dr. Haruno and Dr. Nara split the day shifts. The three switched off weekends, allowing them some free time. Nights usually weren't particularly busy – tonight being no exception – so he was actually able to get a few hours of sleep in. Sasuke was his first patient in nearly 3 hours and probably the last, since he was off at 6 am. Grabbing the raven's chart, he rolled his eyes at the lack of information that the nurse was able to obtain. Just his vitals were present, and the rest had been left blank. Knocking on the door and walking in, Naruto looked at the young man before him: Sasuke was sitting on the examination table, his head covered by the black zip up hoodie, his black eyes unreadable.
"Hello Sasuke. What brings you in this time?" Naruto smiled and set down on the chair in front of him. Sasuke had since stopped making up excuses and just chose to completely ignore his questions on how he sustained his injuries. Sasuke hesitated for a few seconds, fidgeting with the zipper of his hoodie before taking it off and tossing it on the chair. The quiet man pulled off his dark grey t-shirt, leaving him in just jeans. Naruto looked at the older yellowing bruises and a few new purple marks on his chest, but nothing seemed out of place, for Sasuke that is. Naruto stood up and walked over to the raven who looked him straight in the eyes without a shred of shame or humiliation in his gaze.
At least he is proud of what he is, good for him. As long as it doesn't get him killed. Naruto stepped to the side and looked at his back.
"Holy shit! What happened?" Naruto stared at Sasuke's shoulder blade that was marred by a red, angry and painful looking bite mark. Knowing he was not likely to get a straight answer from the man, he sighed and turned to get some gauze and saline water to clear the area. He noticed some fading bruises that began just above his waistband that caused him to grind his teeth in frustration, but he remained calm.
"You know, the human mouth is a very dirty place." Naruto said conversationally. It wasn't his place to judge, but he couldn't help but be worried about the youth. Sasuke was eight years younger than him, a baby when it came to rough play and obviously only getting into it recently. Taking a closer look at the teeth imprint wound, he concluded that the owner of said teeth had a nasty set of canines.
"When did this happen?" Naruto took off his stethoscope and listened to Sasuke's heart and lungs. The young man looked defensive.
"Three days ago." Sasuke replied flatly.
Naruto frowned. "Why didn't you come in earlier?" Sasuke paused momentarily.
"You weren't working." The surprised look on the blond's face forced him to continue. "And I didn't feel like explaining what happened to the other doctors." Naruto shook his head.
What am I going to do with you…
"Luckily, I gave you a tetanus shot last time. But it does look like it could be infected." Naruto sat back on the chair in front of Sasuke. "I would like to get some blood work done just to make sure you don't have an infection in your blood."
"Is that really necessary?" Sasuke asked, clearly not wanting to make a bigger deal than he had to out of this.
"It is necessary, unless you'd rather die from sepsis." Naruto didn't have the patience to beat around the bush with him, plus he knew Sasuke did not appreciate the overly nice sentiment.
"Hn. Fine."
"Sasuke? While we're doing that, when was the last time you got checked for STDs?" Naruto used his most professional doctor tone. Sasuke didn't answer for a whole minute, contemplating if he was going to have this conversation.
"About 6 months ago."
"And have you been with the same partner since?" He had to tread the subject carefully; otherwise he would scare off the man. Another pause.
"Yes." He was getting uncomfortable with the questions.
"Is it the same for him?"
No reason to beat around this bush either. That bite mark was way too big to belong to a woman… Sasuke raised his eyebrow in surprise.
"As far as I know."
Naruto nodded. "Mind if I check your blood for anything transmittable while I'm running the sepsis screen?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Whatever."
"I'm going to grab some supplies to dress that nasty bite and a dose of antibiotic to give you now."
Naruto walked out, closing the door behind him. The nurse was hovering by his workstation, eagerly waiting on the scoop.
"You know I can't tell you anything Karin, Sasuke has specifically asked me not to discuss his care with anyone." The redheaded girl deflated instantly, her curiosity about the hot silent youth going unquenched.
"Sorry, HIPAA is the law." Naruto chuckled as the girl walked off. Few minutes later, Naruto was back with gauze, a large Band-Aid and some triple antibiotic ointment. He pulled out a syringe out of his breast pocket and laid it on the counter. Then got some blood draw tubes and a needle out that he needed for the tests.
"I don't usually draw blood, you sure you don't want the lab to come collect it? They are much gentler at this than I am." Naruto smiled, as he got his things ready.
"No, you'll do." Sasuke replied quickly, not liking to have more people involved than was absolutely necessary.
"Suit yourself, but I have to warn you that this may take more than one poke."
"I can handle pain." Sasuke replied in a flat tone.
"Of that, I have no doubt." Naruto looked over the other man.
But do you like pain? That is the question. Naruto tied the tourniquet on Sasuke's upper arm, swabbed the inside of his elbow with some rubbing alcohol before palpitating the area for a good vein. A few moments later, he had several vials of blood.
"You're not as bad as you say." Sasuke smirked after the process was done, feeling almost no pain during the process.
"I don't particularly like causing pain to those who don't enjoy it." Naruto glanced up at Sasuke, his tone taking on the double meaning. Sasuke looked at the blue eyes and caught the obvious statement behind them.
"What makes you think I don't enjoy pain?" He asked, his eyes amused. Naruto sighed, and shook his head.
"Call it a hunch I suppose."
I guess he is not ready to admit to this yet. Naruto stood up after having Sasuke hold pressure over the puncture wound. He picked up the syringe. "Rocephin, antibiotic." He explained before cleaning off a spot with an alcohol wipe on the upper arm, and injecting it. Sasuke didn't flinch as the needle penetrated his skin and muscle, his eyes growing cold and distant at the feeling. Naruto saw the detached gaze, not liking it one bit.
If this is his response to pain, I can't imagine it going any better when it comes to his extracurricular activities. Fucking amateur Doms. He is going to break him before he even had the chance to live a little. Naruto's concern was etched on his face as he went about rinsing the bite mark again and applying some ointment before covering it with a large dressing.
"All done here, you can put your shirt back on." Naruto tossed his gloves in the red biohazard bin and sat down in front of the other man. The muscles under his ivory skin stretched and flexed as Sasuke put on his shirt, wincing as his elbow caught the edge of the fabric, pulling on the band-aid.
"Sasuke-" Naruto started, unable to mask his worried tone this time.
Sasuke glared down at him. "Save it, doc." He was not about to sit through another lecture about something the blond had no idea about. Naruto sighed in frustration, running a hand though his hair.
"Fine." He finally said, then took out a business card and wrote on it. "Here, this is my cell number." Sasuke took the card with a questioning look.
"Do you hand all of your patients your personal number?"
"No." Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter. "So if ends up in the wrong hands, I'll know who did it." He said warningly, but smiled nonetheless.
"What do you want me to do with this?" Sasuke eyed the card in his hands.
"I want you to call me if something happens and you need help. I don't want you waiting three days until you die on me." He said in a serious tone. Naruto was honestly worried about the raven. With how things were progressing, it was only a matter of time until it caused irreversible damage. He could relate to Sasuke; an inexperienced youth discovering what the dark side holds. But with an amateur to boot? This was a recipe for disaster.
"Hn." Was the only reply he got, but Sasuke pocketed the card anyway.
"Some of the blood work should take a couple of hours, but blood cultures will be a few days." Naruto signed the papers on the counter. "I'm sending you home on an antibiotic, Bactrim. Do you want to wait for your blood work to be done, or shall I just call you if I see anything abnormal?" Normally he didn't let his patients go so soon before he knew the results, but Sasuke was a 25-year-old with a good immune system, stable vital signs and without any signs of sepsis, his blood work was just a precaution.
"Call me if you find something." Sasuke hopped off the table, glad to not have to go back to the waiting room. Naruto nodded.
"Sure. Here's some antibacterial ointment for you. Make sure you take the dressing off and let it breathe throughout the day, just keep it covered if you have a shirt on." Naruto put the supplies in a brown paper bag and handed it to the raven along with his checkout papers. Sasuke reached for the bag but before Naruto let go, he got his last warning.
"Sasuke, be careful. Please." The raven reached the door, but paused when he turned the handle.
"Thanks, doc." His quiet tone, barely audible, sounded painfully sad and lonely to the blond. Naruto gave him a careful nod, before Sasuke walked out of the room closing the door behind him.
No person should ever be that miserable when they have a Dom. His mind was acutely aware of the other's pain. That toxic relationship does not represent the bond between a Dominant and his submissive. Whatever it is between them, it is nothing but a shell, a mockery of what it's really like to have someone who lives and breaths only for you.
"Be safe Sasuke, and I hope that asshole gets what's coming to him."
SOOOO…. what do you think? If you like it, let me know. If I get enough feedback, I have the next chapter mostly written and Ill post it quicker; otherwise, I'll have to consider revising it some.