Chapter 4 – A Certain Spell

Sasuke was in the best mood he had been in in years and that was certainly obvious when he returned to his room in his families' hospital.

"Can you believe it Itachi?!" Sasuke excitedly asked as he flopped onto his bed.

Itachi followed Sasuke into his room dragging Sasuke's suitcase, "I know Sasuke, you've done so well and if you keep working hard the restraining order will be revoked in no time."

"No I don't mean that," Sasuke replied sitting up on his bed

"Oh?" Itachi opened Sasuke's suitcase beginning to unpack it, "What do you mean then?"

"Naruto! He said he wanted me in his life!" Sasuke replied

Itachi sighed, "Yes as a friend Sasuke."

"Yes but all good relationships started off as friendship, you said yourself that we were friends long before we dated," Sasuke spoke happily.

"Sasuke stop," Itachi warned

"What?" he asked

"I feel like you're heading down a dark road Sasuke, we don't want a relapse, you're doing so well," Itachi said

"And I will continue to do well," Sasuke stood up, "I will not jeopardise the possibility of seeing Naruto again, not that I have been given the opportunity."

"Sasuke I-"

"No I want to get well, I want to improve, I want to see the look on that sandbox freak when I return to Naruto's life," Itachi's face darkened, "But most importantly I want to prove Naruto right, I want to fulfil the expectations that he has for me. I want to be there when he succeeds in life."

Itachi shook his head, "Sasuke I think you're doing this for the wrong reasons."

"You said yourself that if I tried I could have a relationship with him!" Sasuke shouted back

"Yes but I meant as friends, not as lovers. Despite what we saw in the Hidden Rock Village, Naruto is happy in his current relationship, and you trying to take that away will not make Naruto love you but hate you, maybe even more so than when he found out you cheated on him. Because it will be another betrayal. Sasuke please, don't do this." Itachi pleaded

"I can't give up the chance for happiness Itachi surely you want me to be happy as well right?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke, don't do that, you know I want you to be happy, but I also want you to be healthy, I cannot stand by and let you enter this toxic relationship again, I won't," he stated.

Sasuke knelt down beside Itachi, "Don't you see brother? It won't be. It won't be toxic anymore, we have both grown. Hell, I'm still growing, I need to be on the same level as Naruto, I need to be worthy of him and of his respect, otherwise it will never work."

Sasuke stood up, "Sasuke I don't want you to be led on."

"Naruto would never do that," Sasuke declared.

"Who says I'm taking about him," Itachi responded. Sasuke stopped in his tracks, Itachi stood up, "You were always the one to manipulate and distort the truth Sasuke, and I'm worried that you will do the same to conceptualise a relationship that is not there."

"I won't this time," Sasuke retorted.

Itachi grabbed his brother by the shoulders, "Then prove it, strive for a relationship based off mutual trust and friendship, not of lies, possession and manipulation."

Sasuke nodded, "Okay," he replied, "Okay."

Itachi took a deep breath, "Good, good." Itachi finished unpacking the rest of Sasuke's things whilst Sasuke stood staring into the abyss. Once Itachi had finished he picked up the suitcase and started to walk out the room. He stopped and turned around and strode back to Sasuke and poked his forehead, "Sasuke get some sleep, we were on a plane for hours you probably have jet lag."

He turned to leave the room once again and switched off the main light leaving the lamps on so Sasuke could still see in the depressingly plain room.

'He held my hands though.' He thought to himself rubbing them together, remembering Naruto's touch. He brushed his hands through his hair and sighed.

Sasuke looked around, taking in his familiar surroundings, oh how much he did not want to be here, oh how much he wanted to be with him, but he couldn't. Sasuke stood up from his bed and pushed his books out of the way and flipped the table in frustration; he brushed his hand through his hair again, this time tugging on it in anger. He then looked down at the array of books on the floor for peeking out of one of the books was a photo; he bent down and picked up the book. He gently took the photo out and saw it was of him and Naruto from their first date, Sasuke booked out a theme park for the entire day but when the day actually came about he was sick. The date was instead spent at the Uchiha home with Naruto by his side with a bucket. Not the most romantic date in the world but it was still a moment that Sasuke cherished. He couldn't remember this photo though; it was of him in bed with a cold compress to his forehead, his eyes looking foggy and Naruto with one arm around his shoulder and the other outstretched. It was clearly a selfie photo.

He smiled a small smile at the memory then turned the book over 'Tale of the Tailed Beast.' This was Narutos' book; he must have left it when he 'moved out.'

'How did I never notice this before?' Sasuke asked himself. Itachi must have brought it in when he asked him to get all his books out of storage, he never even realised it.

He looked back at the photo and smiled again; he placed the photo back into the book and placed it on his table in front of his bed. He then looked at the mess he made, shook his head and tidied it up, once he finished he walked over to his easel and stopped. He hesitated for a moment but then tore the unfinished canvas board away from the stand and replaced it with a new one. He secured it and started arranging his paint and brushes.

'For Naruto' he thought.

The patient then started painting.