Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Warnings: AU, Shounen-ai, unbetaed -please forgive the mistakes.

A/N: Welcome to a new story! I missed all of you so much, I hope you've all been fine! Here we have a ficlet, only 3 chaps long but I still hope you'll enjoy it. I feel like if you like Monday, this story will be your cup of tea. But I like to think that this story will be unique in a way, we will see together as always.

If you are a new reader, welcome! Please read my profile page for warnings and my way of writing.

Enjoy guys!

It was all silent before the clicking of high heels echoed in the empty halls. Two women walked side by side. One of them wore white pants and a white shirt. Her short, dark hair was unkempt and her ID card showed who she was clearly; Head Doctor Shizune.

"We don't wear high heels here," Shizune said and smiled up to the pink haired woman apologetically.

"Oh," Sakura looked down to her clothing. She was wearing a pink, silk shirt which was tucked in a black pencil skirt with black high heels. She thought she looked professional.

"Some of our patients are really sensitive to noises," Shizune explained. "And they may be dangerous as well."

"I see," Sakura nodded. "It won't happen again."

Shizune nodded with a smile.

"Tsunade-san told me a lot about you," Shizune smiled. "She says you are the best student she's had in years."

Sakura smiled back. "I'm so happy that she thinks so."

Sakura was in her last year of her university and soon, she would become a psychiatrist. She was a very successful student and the assistant of their department head, Tsunade. For her graduation year, Sakura needed to write a thesis. At first she wasn't sure where to go for her research and Tsunade had suggested her old student, Shizune's hospital. She was the head doctor there for years and she could help Sakura for sure. Sakura had accepted the offer happily and here she was.

"Tsunade-sensei said not to go easy on you," Shizune said with a smile.

Sakura chuckled and nodded.

"That's why I'm going to give you the hardest case you may ever see," Shizune said and handed Sakura the pink folder she was carrying under her arm.

Sakura blinked as she took the case. "Why?"

Shizune smiled. "You will see."

Not really understanding, Sakura nodded.

Just as they were passing by the rooms, one of them, which had its door open drew Sakura's attention. She glanced at the wall beside the door. Room 37. She walked inside slowly as her eyes widened.

There was a big window at the wall across from the door and it was overlooking the green garden. The walls were plain white but almost all of the surface was covered with drawings. They were all black and white but so beautiful that they took Sakura's breath away.

The bed was odd. It stood right beside the window and it was too big to be a single one but still small for a double size. What was the strangest was the small, plain crib which stood against the headboard of the bed. When Sakura glanced at it, she could see a worn out, black haired doll inside.

"It's their room," Shizune commented. "Your case's."

"Their?" Sakura questioned as she turned around.

Shizune only smiled and turned around, leaving the room. "Come, everybody must be at the main saloon now."

Sakura nodded hesitantly and followed after the older woman.

They came to a halt as they reached the said saloon. It was lively. There were enormous windows over the walls, so the natural light filled the room nicely. One side of the room had a big TV unit and comfortable looking couches around. There were a few people there. Besides the TV unit, there was a big bookcase and it was filled with all kind of different books.

At the other side of the room there was a long table and two people were occupying it at the moment.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat and her eyes widened as she saw the young man sitting by the table. He had his head propped with a hand and he was watching the TV with distracted eyes. His skin looked flawless and milky and his dark hair was creating a perfect contrast with it. He was so handsome… More handsome than any men she had ever seen. And when he smirked, Sakura felt blood rushing to her cheeks.

The dark haired man looked down to the small, petite blonde as he demanded his attention and gave him a breathtaking smile. Sakura felt faint at the sheer beauty of it.

"They are the residents of Room 37," Shizune said. "And your subjects for the thesis."

Sakura blinked and nodded quickly, feeling butterflies dancing in her stomach.

"Let's meet them," Shizune flashed a smile at the young woman and walked up to the table, Sakura following behind closely.

"Hello," Shizune greeted with a warm smile.

"Hello!" The blonde answered immediately with a smile of his own. "Shizune, look!"

Shizune stood between the two and looked at the paper the blonde was working on. A gasp left her lips. "Naruto, this is perfect!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at the paper. He was drawing a rose with his charcoal, no big deal. "Really?"

"Yes," Shizune muttered in awe as she took in all the details.

"I'm glad!" Naruto chirped. "Because I drew this one for you!"

Shizune gasped. "Thank you so much, Naruto."

Naruto nodded with a happy smile and returned to his drawing.

The dark haired man had an adorning smile on his face as he reached out and caressed the shiny locks of Naruto.

"Doctor," He spoke for the first time. "I want him to have more tools. Maybe even something simple, like color pencils?"

Sakura was sure that her face was as pink as her hair at that moment.

"Sasuke," Shizune sighed.

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek as she learned his name. A matching name for his perfect face and deep voice.

"You know that it's forbidden," Shizune explained calmly. "I know it's nothing much to ask for but you know that pencils could hurt badly if used in a wrong way."

"Doctor," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "We are talking about Naruto here. You know as well as me that he could never hurt anyone."

Shizune looked conflicted but then, a small smile found its way to her face. "I will see what I can do."

Sasuke's stoic face broke into a smile. "Thank you."

"Sasuke, do I get colors?" Naruto asked immediately.

Sasuke smiled warmly. "Maybe."

"Yay!" Naruto cheered and threw himself in Sasuke's arms.

Sasuke cradled Naruto in his arms so tenderly like he was the most fragile and perfect thing in the whole world that Sakura felt like crying.

Sasuke kissed Naruto's plump cheek tentatively and ran a hand through his back. "Come on," He planted a kiss in the shiny hair. "Finish your drawing before Doctor leaves."

Naruto nodded wildly and turned to his seat, grabbing his charcoal once again.

Shizune smiled and returned her attention back to Sasuke again. "How are you today?"

"The same as yesterday," Sasuke replied as he watched Naruto's finishing touches.

Shizune chuckled and then looked at Naruto. "Oh, Naruto, your door was open so I looked inside. You left Menma back in his crib?"

"It's his nap time," Naruto said and then stood up quickly. "Was he awake? Was he crying?"

"No, no," Shizune shook her hands with a smile. "He was sleeping deeply."

Naruto let out a short sigh and nodded as he sat down.

"Anyway," Shizune clasped her hands. "There is someone I want you guys to meet," She said and gestured Sakura. "This is Sakura Haruno. She's a student and working to become a doctor like me one day. She has a research to make and you two will be her subjects."

Sakura's heart was beating at her ears. Naruto looked confused whereas Sasuke gazed at her sharply.

"We are not lab rats," Sasuke hissed. "I refuse."

Shizune sighed in defeat. "Come on Sasuke, it's not like that! She needs your help to achieve her dreams."

"Do I look like I care about her dreams?" Sasuke scoffed.

Shizune sighed again and then turned to Naruto. "What do you think, Naruto?"

"Are you leaving us?" Naruto squeaked fearfully.

"No!" Shizune shook her head and wrapped her arms around Naruto as the blonde held onto her tightly. "I'm still here with you. Sakura just wants to talk to you guys for a while. It's for a short period of time."

"Uhmm," Naruto considered what she said for a while and then nodded. "Okay, we will help her!"

"Thank you," Shizune smiled.

Naruto turned to the pink haired woman and gave her a blinding smile. "My name is Naruto and this is my husband Sasuke!" He pointed at the dark haired man quickly. "We have a baby boy. His name is Menma!"

Sakura nodded with a tight smile. "My name is Sakura, nice to meet you."

Naruto nodded happily and then gave Sasuke a pointed looked. Sighing, Sasuke looked up to the pink haired woman.

"I'm Sasuke, nice to meet you as well," He said with his monotone voice. "Good luck with your thesis."

Sakura beamed. "Thank you so much!"

Sasuke gave a curt nod and looked at Naruto. "Are you done yet?"

"Yes!" Naruto nodded and handed his drawing to Shizune.

"I'll put this up in my room," Shizune said with a smile.

"Thank you," Naruto smiled back.

He was about to brush his bangs out of his face when Sasuke grabbed his hand.

"Your hands are dirty," Sasuke explained and true to his word, Naruto's hands were all black because of charcoal.

"Um," Naruto nodded.

With a smile, Sasuke brushed Naruto's hair back tenderly and stood up. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Naruto nodded quickly. Flashing a smile at Shizune, he let Sasuke drag him out of the saloon.

Sakura sat down by the table in a daze. It was easy to see that there was something wrong with Naruto, but Sasuke?

A chuckle drew her attention.

Shizune was smiling and shaking her head. "I know what you're thinking, but don't."

"Huh?" Sakura blinked.

"Don't think that Sasuke has no reason to be here," Shizune said. "Sasuke has bipolar disorder, type two."

Sakura nodded with wide eyes. "Does he have any triggers?"

"He does have only one trigger," Shizune said. "Naruto."

Sakura blinked. "How?"

"It's like Sasuke has a sixth sense developed for Naruto," Shizune explained. "If he feels Naruto's in danger or anything, he gets really violent."

Sakura gulped. "What's the extent?"

Shizune sighed deeply. "When he was fourteen, he killed Naruto's parents and wounded his own brother for trying to stop him."

Sakura's eyes were wide by the time Shizune ended her words.

"B-But," She took a deep breath. "Then the best course of action is to part them!"

Shizune shook her head with a smile. "Those two have been here for ten years now and believe me I've tried every technique, but parting them harms them more than you can imagine."

"But-" Sakura wanted to protest but Shizune stopped her.

"Read their cases," She said as she stood up. "Go home for today. Tomorrow we can talk more."

"Yes, sensei," Sakura nodded and left after Shizune.

As she passed by the same corridors, she halted before room thirty-seven momentarily. The door was closed but Sakura could hear laughter and soft spoken words.

Sighing, she hurried out of the hospital and went back to her apartment.

She took her favorite coffee mug and settled on her comfortable bed. She put the cases before her and opened Sasuke's first. What greeted her was his photo and his name and all of the citizenship information on the first page. She read through them quickly and changed to the second page.

Sasuke's disorder had been found out very early in his teens but it seemed that he hadn't been taken care of properly. Sakura wasn't surprised. Most of the time, families thought that their child was only playing around.

It seemed that Sasuke's house was next to Naruto's in the neighborhood and their families were close friends so they had grown up together.

The case was prepared after Sasuke was admitted to the hospital so there was a lengthy report about his murders. Sakura closed a hand over her mouth as she read through it all. How Sasuke first stabbed Naruto's father, thirty-two times, and then killed his mother with a single cut to her throat.

Sasuke had a brother, Itachi Uchiha, who was five years older than him and he had been the one to find his brother. He had tried to restrain him and he had managed as well, but in the process, he had received a stab to his leg.

The murder weapon had never been found, but it was clear that it was Sasuke who had done everything.

The next pages were all about Sasuke's trials but he had never been imprisoned for not being mentally stable. The last pages were reversed for his treatments and his progresses. There was hardly a progress over the years.

With a sigh, Sakura gulped down her lukewarm coffee in one go and reached for Naruto's case.

First page was the same as Sasuke's, Sakura went through that quickly. Naruto's case was thinner than Sasuke's, considering he had no criminal records.

What Sakura was interested in was, why? Why would Sasuke want to kill his best friend's parents? She found her answer on the fifth page and what she read made her blood turn cold. Tears filled her eyes as she followed every line closely.

From the moment he was born, Naruto was abused. Naruto was sexually abused by his own father while his mother turned a blind eye to it. Because of the harassment, Naruto could never develop his personality as it required. There were many problems he suffered from but the most obvious one and which had no cure as of now was the dependency he developed for Sasuke.

It was to the point where Naruto had psychical pain of his absence like a desperate addict. The closest Shizune could name his disorder was reactive attachment disorder but even that illness wasn't researched enough to know the extent or the borders.

Sighing deeply, Sakura closed the case and put it on the nightstand before switching off the lights and curling up on the bed.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

"Good morning," Shizune greeted her with a warm smile as she entered her office the next morning.

"Morning," Sakura smiled as she looked around.

Shizune's room wasn't overly spacious but it was warm and nice. Sakura smiled softly as she saw the drawing Naruto had given her yesterday on the wall as promised.

"How are you?" Shizune asked as she poured Sakura a mug of tea.

"Fine," Sakura said and then smiled. "And excited."

Shizune nodded as she smiled back. "I can understand. I was just like you when I was working on my first patient."

Sakura accepted the tea with a smile.

"So," Shizune settled in her seat. "Have you read their cases?"

"Yes, I have," Sakura nodded after sipping her black tea.

"What do you think?" Shizune asked.

"So sad," Sakura shook her head. "But I still think that the best coarse of action is to part them."

Shizune sighed. "I know that you are young and you think that if you do everything your books say you'll be successful. But the important thing here is to help them."

Sakura nodded.

"You have to promise me that under no circumstances will you try to distance them from each other," Shizune said seriously.

"But why?" Sakura demanded.

"Do you think that I haven't tried it?" Shizune raised her eyebrows. "You wouldn't want to imagine the consequences."

Gulping, Sakura nodded.

"Anyway," Shizune smiled. "I'm gonna give you a tip!"

"A tip?" Sakura blinked. "About?"

"It's not easy to approach Sasuke and Naruto," Shizune smiled. "Sasuke won't let you, so you have to convince him that you mean no harm to Naruto."

Sakura nodded quickly.

"But," Shizune smiled. "Sasuke does everything Naruto wants, so if you can gain Naruto's trust, he will probably be easier to deal with."

"Alright," Sakura nodded.

"Let me take you to them," Shizune said. "It's breakfast time now."

Nodding, Sakura followed Shizune into what looked to be a dining hall. All of the occupants of the small hospital was inside and they were eating in groups. Sasuke and Naruto were sitting across from each other at a small table.

Shizune led them to the table and Sakura could see a stuffed doll, the same one she had seen yesterday in the crib, in Naruto's arms. The doll had three lines drawn on each cheek, probably to make it look more like Naruto.

"Good morning," Shizune greeted naturally after reaching the table.

"Morning," Naruto replied with a small smile.

Sasuke didn't acknowledge them, his eyes trained on Naruto's face.

"How is it going?" Shizune asked.

"Good," Naruto replied as he swayed the toy on his arms. "Sasuke's unhappy today."

"Oh," Shizune nodded.

"He's thinking bad things again," Naruto said softly.

"Sasuke, would you like to talk about it?" Shizune asked gently.

Sasuke sent a glare in the direction of the woman. His answer was clear.

Shizune sighed, deciding to change the subject. "Sakura's here starting from today. Please take care of her."

Naruto nodded and smiled at the pink haired woman. "You can have breakfast with us!"

Sakura nodded and sat down beside Naruto, reminding herself that she needed to gain Naruto's favor first.

Flashing them a smile, Shizune left quickly.

Sakura took her notepad and pen from her bag and faced Naruto with a smile. "Is this your baby?"

"Yes!" Naruto chirped and kissed the doll's head. "His name is Menma."

"That's a nice name," Sakura commented. "Since when Menma is with you?"

Naruto's smile dropped at that and he caressed the doll's messy hair tenderly. "For a long, long time... He knows everything, he's seen everything."

"Naruto," Sasuke gave the blonde a warning look.

Naruto looked down and nodded quickly as he held Menma tighter against his chest.

Sakura scribbled down in her notepad quickly. Sasuke's influence on Naruto was easily seen.

"And how about you two?" Sakura changed the subject. "When did you two meet?"

A slow, dreamy smile covered Naruto's face. "I've always known Sasuke. He was always there, always."

Sakura nodded. "How did you two become friends like this?"

Naruto scoffed. "We are not friends!"

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "No?"

"We are everything," Naruto said, gazing at Sasuke tenderly who was watching him with a soft expression. "We are a family. Sasuke, Naruto and Menma are a family, right Sasuke?"

"That's so true, love," Sasuke said and held Naruto's hand over the table, entwining their fingers.

Sakura's hand shook as she noted down that they shared mutual feelings for each other. She was rather startled when Sasuke stood up suddenly and leaned over the table. He first kissed Naruto's forehead lingeringly and then pressed his lips against Naruto's, stealing his breath away.

Sakura was shocked with the display of affection and her face reddened as she thought of a different scenario in which Sakura replaced Naruto and-

"You don't have bad thoughts anymore?" Naruto asked softly.

Sasuke shook his head. "I have you."

"You do," Naruto confirmed.

Sakura watched silently as the whole event happened right before her eyes. This was something different.

"What kind of bad thoughts do you have?" Sakura asked to the dark haired man after he settled down once again. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke only glared at the woman, not opening his mouth.

"Sometimes he feels like he will lose me," Naruto said softly. "Feels like he won't be able to protect our family, but he always does... I love him, I belong to him, I'm always with him."

Sakura nodded slowly. Her research needed to focus more on Naruto. It seemed like he was the key to both of their problems.

They stopped their talk momentarily as a nurse stood by the table with a small tray in her hands. Smiling at Sakura, she first gave Naruto's medicine and then Sasuke's and left as quickly as she had come. They both swallowed their medicines without a complaint.

"They give us medicine two times in a day," Naruto said as he felt Sakura's stare.

Sakura nodded, taking a note about it quickly.

"How do you spend your time here?" Sakura asked.

"Uhmm," Naruto scratched his cheek. "We sleep and eat. We look after Menma. We take walks in the garden. We talk with Shizune. We stay together," Naruto thought for a while and then shrugged. "Like this."

"I see," Sakura nodded. She was about to ask something else when a patient approached their table with a mocking smile.

He was quick to snatch Naruto's doll away. "This thing is so ugly!"

"G-Give Menma back," Naruto said.

Sakura could see that he was trying to look tough but tears were filling his eyes quickly. She was about to interfere when she heard the screech of a chair being dragged. She looked back to see Sasuke standing up calmly and walking to the patient who was making fun of Naruto.

"Hey," Sasuke called out and the moment the shorter patient looked up to him, Sasuke's first collided with the older man's cheek harshly.

Sakura gasped loudly as Sasuke took the doll easily and handed it back to the uncontrollably sobbing Naruto's arms. Kissing Naruto's wet cheeks, Sasuke turned back to the other male and started beating him up furiously.

"Sasuke stop!" Sakura shouted but Sasuke didn't hear him. He only kept kicking the patient who had fallen on the tiled floor.

Sakura took a sigh of relief as nurses rushed inside. Four of them hardly restrained Sasuke while the fifth one injected a sedative in his arm quickly.

"Okay, fuck," Sasuke hissed and shook his shoulders. "Let go of me already."

The nurses held him back for a couple of more minutes and then let go of him.

Sasuke rubbed his shoulders and then walked to Naruto. He wrapped his arms around his thin waist and scooped him up easily as the crying blonde wrapped an arm around his neck while he held Menma tightly with his free arm. He buried his face in Sasuke's chest and kept sniffling as Sasuke walked out of the hall.

Without knowing what to do, Sakura followed after them. She gritted her teeth as she saw Sasuke staggering but never once letting go of Naruto. A shoulder pressed up against the wall, Sasuke carried them both to their room as his vision started darkening slowly.

"Come on," He whispered to Naruto as they entered their room and Naruto was quick to open the comforter.

Sasuke lied on the bed first and Naruto entered right after him, burying his face in his chest again as Sasuke held him tightly.

Sasuke glared at the pink haired woman as much as he could as he tried to hold onto his consciousness. "Leave."

Sakura wanted to argue but a male nurse called out to her.

"Sakura-san, come," He said. "They won't wake up for a long while."

Sakura nodded hesitantly after gazing at the couple on the bed. She left the room slowly and watched as the nurse locked the heavy door behind them.

"It's okay," The nurse said before leaving. "Happens all the time."

Sakura sighed as she stood in the deserted hallway, her eyes trained on the closed door of the Room 37 and the secrets it carried beyond her sight.

This was the first chapter... I should say that I don't have deep knowledge of mental illnesses and I hope you'll overlook the mistakes I've made. I still hope it's readable and enjoyable. So, thank you for reading and I'll see you next week!