Pairing: ItaNaruIta
Summary: After seeking help from a friend, Naruto is redirected to the Leafy Dragon Pet Centre, where he meets a most helpful shop assistant. Sometimes time can heal things, but they often need a push from a furred (or webbed) friend.

This is for Disgruntled Minion. Happy (belated) birthday!

Strange

Humans
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It was after dinner that Naruto mustered up the courage to say something.

"What happened earlier? Just before you left, you went all… odd." There was no other way to describe it. Naruto shifted on the sofa, looking at Itachi who sat next to him. The arm that had been resting on his own moved off as Itachi closed himself off, hands clutched together and elbows resting on his knees.

"Nothing happened," he said, smiling blandly at Naruto. Before, Naruto would have ignored it. He would have pushed it out of his mind and kissed Itachi instead, but what he did now was different.

"That wasn't 'nothing'." He tried to take Itachi's hands, but they were pulled back, out of reach. "I just want to know what's going on with you. You never open up, I don't know anything about your family or your life, other than you work in a pet shop." Naruto took a deep breath, "I really like you, but I can't just continue like this, not knowing anything but your name and your job."

Itachi was silent and Naruto closed his eyes slowly. He had two options; continue to struggle and take down the brick wall Itachi had put up, or give up and walk away. Naruto wasn't sure he was in a position where he'd be able to break through, not after having his hopes dashed by yet again someone else who wouldn't place trust in him.

"Fine. Okay then." Naruto stood up, "Thank you for everything you've done, but I can't carry on with us," Naruto threw his arms out to the side, causing dark eyes to follow his motions, unblinking and uncaring from Naruto's point of view. "You obviously can't trust me and…"

He broke off and walked away, gathering his coat from the coat hanger by the door. Itachi had walked up behind him and, for one brilliant moment, Naruto thought he was going to smash his own barrier down, grab him and kiss him silly.

It never came, instead the turning of the door key sounded before Itachi walked away, padding silently through the bungalow and away from Naruto.

Naruto left. He ignored the big regrets and instead focused on one smaller one; he hadn't said goodbye to Amaterasu the axolotl.

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Naruto threw his keys down on the floor, too tired to care that they'd missed the bowl on the side. A mew reminded him that he needed to feed his cat before collapsing on the sofa and he passed the fluffy food machine, tickling his head. Rasengan arched his back, stretching out long legs as he did so.

He was a far cry from the scruffy kitten he'd once been. At a little over a year and a half, Rasengan was fully grown and had sprouted a full body of dark, fluffy hair. A paw battered Naruto's arm as Rasengan reminded him of dinner and the blonde reached for his cat's bowl, filling it with food.

He set it down on the floor before moving off, like a zombie to the sofa. The answering machine was flashing, as it always did, and Naruto moved his hand over to press the button, turning on the recorded message.

It moved through one from Sakura, reporting her worries about him not eating properly since he'd faced his promotion to librarian at one of the oldest archive libraries in the city, and then about his personal life. Naruto deleted her mid-rant, rolling his eyes. So what if he wasn't as sociable as he'd once been? He had Rasengan as that was all he needed.

There was one from his aunt once again asking whether he'd met anyone recently and he deleted it promptly. What was it with everyone and wanting to know if he was okay or not, or seeing someone? Didn't anyone respect privacy anymore?

Rasengan jumped up onto Naruto's back and padded along his spine until he reached his arm. With a purr, the cat scooted under Naruto's arm and pressed his nose to Naruto's cheek. Naruto smiled softly and rolled onto his side, scooping Rasengan up as the next message played.

"There's no easy way to say this… I'm… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you walk out like that and I should have explained but there's so much that I can't say… I can't… fuck. I need to see you, but I can understand if you don't want to see me. If you ever do, though, you know where I'll be… I'll explain and… why is this so hard?"

The message cut off and Naruto closed his eyes tightly. He had made his choice a year ago. He'd ignored the message, saving it, vowing never to call Itachi back. If he wanted them to be together so much, why had he let Naruto walk away?

Rasengan looked up at Naruto, his odd coloured eyes blinking slowly. His human was sad, but there was nothing he could do about it. It was like this almost every night, his human would come home and listen to the same message, cuddling Rasengan to him.

Naruto missed Itachi. He could be honest to himself and admit that he missed him a lot. If anyone else asked, though, he'd state he was fine and that he didn't need anyone. He'd been on casual dates, had a couple of relationships even, but none had ever stuck the way that Itachi had. There had been something about their dinners that had been exclusively them. Naruto had never felt the connection he had with Itachi again and missed it.

All he had to do was go see him and he could, potentially, have all of that back. A countless number of times Naruto had so nearly done that, only to stop himself at the last minute. Why should he listen to what Itachi had to say? Naruto was better off not knowing the story behind it. If Itachi couldn't trust him to tell him there and then, why should Naruto trust him back and give him the benefit of the doubt?

Still, he kept the message just to listen to Itachi's voice. One day he'd meet someone else and delete Itachi from his life fully, but for now… for now he wasn't quite ready to let go.

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Sakura stood at the door as Naruto answered it, dressed in casual jeans and top. She smiled at him, stepping past and inviting herself in.

"Cat still alive?" she asked. Her answer arrived in the form of Rasengan rubbing his back against her leg and purring. She bent down to tickle him before looking to the cat's owner.

"Why are you still in your pyjamas?" she demanded.

Naruto looked down. He was wearing comfortable sweatpants and an old shirt. Only Sakura would know that he slept in these and he shrugged.

"It's the weekend, I'm resting. What else?" he asked, moving into the kitchen and opening the fridge.

"Um, maybe you to be dressed as you promised to come with me to the hospital today?" Naruto slammed the door fridge as he turned around, mouth open slightly and a look of disbelief on his face.

"That was this week?" Naruto groaned, pushing past Sakura as she nodded and running to find something to change into.

He'd promised Sakura a week or so ago that he'd go with her to visit a relative in one of the hospital care homes. Sakura had been going to visit her aunt since she was younger, but this was the first time her mother hadn't been able to go at the same time. Instead of missing out, Sakura had pleaded with Naruto and he'd agreed to go.

Naruto returned in smarter clothes. He had a toothbrush in his mouth and gestured for Sakura to make him a piece of toast to eat on the go. She set off on her requested mission and Naruto vanished for a few moments.

"Thanks," he said upon returning, shovelling down the buttered toast and making his way to the door. Sakura followed after one last stroke to Rasengan and they climbed into her car, heading for one of the homes.

"She's not like…" Naruto worded awkwardly. Sakura's aunt had developed a brain disorder when Sakura was younger and she'd been placed in a hospital care home, specialised to deal with mental health patients. Almost every day her aunt spent with a relative, but Sakura's visits had always been less frequent as she had been younger or too busy to spend much time with her aunt.

"She's not crazy if that's what you mean. She just doesn't do much. Most of the time we'll just have to sit there talking to her or each other. Occasionally she'll get a bit angry or confused, but someone is either with us or near us all the time." Sakura said calmly and Naruto commended her bravery. He'd never experienced anything like this and was a tad apprehensive. He'd seen generalised, stereotypical 'mental homes' on the television and, needless to say, they didn't have the best reputation.

Sakura pulled up to a large house, shielded away with large gardens and gravelled roads. It was a beautiful looking building, with ivy trellises creeping up the walls and white painted window frames.

"Here we are then," Sakura said, getting out of the car and leading Naruto to the main reception.

The house didn't scream anything about it being a hospital-funded place. It looked like a care home, you couldn't escape that, but it looked homely, comfortable and far from hospitalised. Sakura took care of business at the reception before taking Naruto along a corridor and to a set of stairs.

"She's in one of the recreational rooms, up on the first floor. If we sit with her a while and maybe later walk around the gardens for a bit, I think that she'd enjoy it." Sakura paused, reaching for the door handle to the recreational room. "And if she thinks that you're my boyfriend, don't be alarmed. She's not all there… just indulge her."

Naruto nodded, butterflies creeping in his stomach. Sakura opened the door and looked around, heading towards a woman sitting by the window.

They spent the next few hours with her, drinking juice and talking about simple things. Sakura's aunt didn't say much and Naruto felt a little awkward. Sakura, who had obviously been in his position a few times, continued mulling conversations over, making sure that nothing was too awkward.

"Shall we go for a walk?" Sakura asked suddenly, rising from her seat and taking her aunt by the hand. Naruto followed behind, unsure how exactly he could help.

Sakura asked him to take her aunt's other arm as they moved out to the gardens and Naruto obliged.

"You're a very nice man," Sakura's aunt mumbled. Naruto smiled and thanked her, noticing the bright grin on Sakura's face as well.

They moved to sit by an apple tree, under which was a bench. While partially covered in shade, sunlight dotted through the leafy covering and Naruto sat with speckled sunlight covering his body. He tilted his head back and looked to the side, ignoring what Sakura was saying to her aunt.

Across the gardens, a carer was wheeling a man around in a wheelchair. The man was very pale and looked ill compared to all the other patients here. The carer was gentle with the man, bending down to take his hand when he said something.

The carer rose and Naruto's eyes widened. Instantly he shifted downwards in his seat, even though it was unlikely that he could be seen. Of all the places he had to meet him, Naruto had just stumbled across Itachi.

Sakura hadn't noticed Itachi's presence yet and Naruto watched him out of the corner of his eye. He had no idea Itachi was a carer and narrowed his eyes. IF this was what Itachi had been hiding from him, what was the big deal? So what if he had two jobs, or this was his main job and the pet shop one was to keep up with bills or something? There was nothing wrong with that.

The man in the wheelchair threw his arms out suddenly, lashing out. He struck Itachi across the shoulder, into his neck, and Naruto knew there was a flash of pain there. Maybe Itachi thought Naruto would have seen him as weaker for helping people? Some people thought in odd ways.

"It's okay," Naruto could hear Itachi say, the wind blowing in their direction. "All you need to do is calm down Sasuke, okay?"

Naruto continued to watch as Itachi took the man inside, carefully reassuring him and disappearing inside. Sakura was still talking, but Naruto didn't have the heart to chip in. He remained quiet until they were in the car on their way back to his house and Sakura assumed it was just because of the new experience.

Naruto, once again, didn't know what to do regarding Itachi. He figured he'd go home and consult his cat.

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Rasengan twitched his tail as Naruto posed the question.

"Should I go see him?"

He licked a paw before running it over his whiskers and Naruto gave up, moving to sit on the sofa with his head in his hands. Seeing Itachi again today had reawaked everything he'd tried to bury deep inside and forget. How caring and attentive Itachi had been, how well they had got on and how much Naruto… wanted Itachi, how much he needed him and – daresay – loved him.

"What should I do?" Naruto asked to the empty room.

A beep sounded as the answering machine turned on. Naruto's head snapped to the table as Itachi's voice floated out from it to see Rasengan standing on the little table, looking straight at Naruto. He could brush it off as a coincidence, but Naruto knew Rasengan. He was lazy, hardly getting up unless food or tickles were involved… his cat was telling him, offering him an answer.

Naruto stood, grabbing a coat, his wallet, keys and a phone. He was going to take Itachi up on his offer and let him explain, then he could decide.

Rasengan received a kiss on the head as Naruto passed him and he purred, eyes following his human lazily. People were strange.

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Naruto stood outside of Itachi's door, hand hovering before knocking. Now that he was here, what was he supposed to do? What if Itachi had moved on? What if he didn't want to explain anymore?

Naruto wasn't sure how long he just stood there, until someone came up behind him.

"Excuse me," Itachi said, unlocking the door casually as if Naruto was standing there every day. The blond was taken aback, wondering if he should just leave when Itachi turned to look at him. "Would you like a drink? I'll explain everything once we're inside."

Naruto sat down awkwardly at the kitchen table and asked for some water. Itachi ended up opposite him with his own glass of water and everything was silent for a few moments.

"I saw you earlier. I was visiting someone with a friend at the care home on Smith street and I saw you." Itachi's face was blank as he watched Naruto. "You were wearing the carer's uniform and were looking after someone."

Itachi nodded slowly, "I work at the care home four days a week. I'm generally limited to one patient though and most of my wages goes to keeping him in that home."

Naruto frowned. Wasn't it illegal to pay for a patient?

"Sasuke… he's my brother. An older relative first put him in the home, but he died. Since then I've been providing for him with my paycheck from my job there. I work the other three days of the week at the pet shop to make up my pay."

Naruto wondered where this was headed and why Itachi hadn't told him about Sasuke, his brother before.

"I'm the reason Sasuke's in there. When I was younger I refused to go on holiday with them. They decided to go anyway, leaving me with my great uncle… if they had been a few minutes earlier they would have been clear of the lorry overturning on the motorway."

Itachi's voice broke and he gripped the glass tightly. "I killed my parents and hurt my brother. He suffered… severe injuries to the brain and…" Itachi sniffed, rubbing his nose with his hand. "I have to look after him. He hates me, doesn't call me his brother, doesn't know it probably, but he hates me. If I'd gone… if I'd gone then they'd be okay."

Naruto didn't know what to do. Itachi had been living with the belief he'd killed his parents for so long it was deeply ingrained in him. Who knows how much Itachi had cut himself off from the world?

"It's not your fault," Naruto said softly, shifting his chair over until he was in front of Itachi. He was supposed to be angry with Itachi, supposed to shout at him before reaching a decision whether to try again or not.

But Naruto knew now. He was strong. He wanted to be strong for Itachi. He wanted to help him.

"If you had been in that car, you all would have died. Sasuke wouldn't have anyone to care for him and who knows how much worse he'd be. You can't say it was your fault. You can't blame yourself."

Itachi met his eyes, tortured expression revealed to Naruto.

"But I didn't go. It doesn't matter what you say, I didn't go." His voice was defeated.

Naruto took Itachi's hands in his own. "Why don't I come with you to see Sasuke the next time you go? I'll sit with him a while, tell him about Rasengan. Maybe one day he can see Rasengan, they say pets help with therapy and all." Naruto smiled, running a hand over Itachi's hand. He wanted him to know that he didn't have to be alone any longer.

"But I kill-"

"No you didn't," Naruto cut Itachi off firmly. "But it's okay if you still think that." He pressed his forehead to Itachi's tenderly, the Uchiha not flinching back this time. "I'll help you, I promise."

Over in his tank, Amaterasu the axolotl watched as his human clutched at Naruto and he wiggled his fingers happily, turning his head up look at the ceiling through the water.

Sometimes, humans were so complicated.

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Notes:

Thank you to everyone who has read this! I hoped you've all enjoyed it, reviews are, as always, appreciated!