Chapter 7: Grownup

Itachi ate his food in silence. He lifted the chopsticks to his lips, closed his mouth over the rice that it held, and chewed slowly before swallowing. It was such a routine for him that he had almost done it mechanically.

Seated Indian-style on his comforter, he no longer paid much attention to the little noises around him. The knocks on the door, the screaming in the hallways, and the sound of the air conditioner being turned on ceased to bother him, especially when he was busy spacing out.

That's all he did on his free time, except for the hours he was able to walk around outside and touch the earthly flowers in the garden. He spent his time mesmerized by the roses that grew in nine different colors, feeling their texture and smelling their fragrance. And even in those moments of peace, he was constantly kept on a male nurse's radar.

Itachi placed the empty bowl down on the plate on the table next to him. It took him a while to eat it, but he did. Like always. The only thing he didn't touch was the small portion of beef next to the bowl. He had picked out the vegetables from within the beef and munched on that, but the beef was too fattening and getting fat was not on his agenda.

He picked up the toothpick that was on the tray and placed it inside the drawer. That was toothpick number 607.

Itachi sighed, ready to be guided to the recreation center. He wanted to exercise his muscles. They said it only takes seventy-two hours before muscle degeneration begins, and he was horrified about the consequences of looking scrawny. But instead of panicking, he rested the palm of his hands on his knees and began to meditate, waiting for a male nurse to accompany him.

-H.J.-

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto called out from the kitchen. "You know where I put the rice vinegar?" He had been searching for the bottle for over two minutes and it started to become increasingly aggravating when it was nowhere in sight.

"Saaaasuke, I'm talking to you; can you hear me?!" Naruto ducked behind one of the cabinets near the refrigerator that he had yet to search and began to rummage through it. When he finally emerged, victory was written all over his face. "Fouuund it-" Instead of having his moment to gloat, he instantly stopped speaking when he took one look at the Uchiha.

Sasuke was a dripping wet, naked Uchiha who only had a towel wrapped around his hips to cover himself. The only other garment was around Sasuke's neck, and he was briskly drying his hair with it.

"If it's not urgent, don't yell so loud for me when I'm in the shower." He scowled.

The blond snapped his mouth close, seeming to have been broken out of the trance by the Uchiha's voice, and laughed in response. "Sorry, but I found it" he grinned as he lifted the bottle up to show his friend. He earned a sigh in return as Sasuke turned his back and headed to the bathroom.

"Next time, unless it's an emergency and you're dying, don't startle me with your screams when I'm showering!" the young ravenette called before he closed the bathroom door.

Naruto grumbled. "Same 'ol Sauske," he muttered as he poured a portion of the vinegar into the rice. He couldn't deny, though, that young Sasuke had definitely grown more mature in the last year and a half or so. He was taller and stronger. His body had gone from slim and feminine to lean and lithe. The tone of his voice had also deepened at the first signs of puberty when he was thirteen. And now, almost at the peak of fifteen, he looked mellower than he ever did.

However, Naruto couldn't deny the same thing had happened to him. His hair had grown a hue of red. His voice had grown deep, almost into a sultry purr. His chuckles replaced his laughs. His features grew more roughed and the color of his skin had darkened from a large exposure to the sun.

Before any more reminiscing could be done, Naruto was almost knocked off balance by an impatient Uchiha who had brushed passed him a bit too hard.

"Why are you dazing off?" the Uchiha asked, and even though he wasn't pointing a finger at him with an arm bent against his hip, the blonde imagined him doing so.

"I'm not dazing off!" was the reply. Naruto noticed that he was no longer in a towel. In fact, he was dressed in a white singlet and dark black jeans.

"Well, then, why didn't you lay out the rice so it can cool down quicker?"

Naruto sputtered. "Teme! Not everything has to go your way when we're cooking!"

"Don't yell," muttered the Uchiha. "I can hear you just fine from here. And besides, who knows more about making sushi, you or me?"

Sasuke didn't receive an answer. He smirked. "Hn, thought so."

Behind him, Naruto crossed his arms and pouted.

When Sasuke was done, he stepped back and looked at his work. Seventeen plates of perfection, he thought to himself, smirking at the blonde whose mouth was wide open.

"Teme, where'd you learn how to make all this?" he asked in amazement. Laid out neatly on the island before him were two plates of California rolls, one plate of Inari, three plates of caterpillar rolls, a plate of rainbow rolls, two plates of Nigiri, four plates of oshi sushi, and Sasuke even took the liberty of making Onigiri filled with pork and fried squid, which filled the four remaining plates.

Even if Sasuke was expecting such a question, it caught him off guard. The smirk slid from his face into a sad smile. Naruto took one glance at the young Uchiha's countenance and automatically knew he had touched a soft spot.

"Itachi taught me how," he said, swiping a hand through his hair. He stood there for a good minute, head bowed so the blonde couldn't see the emotions flittering across his face, and that alone worried Naruto.

He reached out a hand to grip onto Sasuke's wrist. He held it there for a moment before he registered that the young ravenette was shaking. When Naruto realized this, he gave the boy's wrist a gentle tug in his direction and smiled when arms wrapped around his torso.

Itachi Uchiha was a touchy topic for the both of them, more so for Sasuke than Naruto. About a year ago, Naruto had summoned all the courage he had to ask what had caused him to stop visiting his brother. His only response was "I don't want to talk about it." And that was that.

There were a couple of relapses in the past year, but nothing that had caused Sasuke to shed a tear on his shoulder.

"I miss him, Naruto," Sasuke's muffled voice said.

He sighed. "Yeah, I know, Sasuke. It's alright though, because you have me and we're best friends, so I'll always be here for you."

The nodding was faint against his shoulder, but he felt it nevertheless.

The blonde grinned and cupped the Uchiha's face in the palm of his hands. "Now let's eat before I eat it all."

The Uchiha shoved a hand against his chest in a playful manner and snorted. "Only you would think about the food right now," he said.

Naruto looked offended, as he nurtured the area Sasuke had jabbed with an open palm. "I'm hurt, Teme. You should be flattered, because I'm giving up a lunch full of delicious ramen to eat what you've made."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dobe," he said, as he picked up a pair of chopsticks and lifted the Inari with it. He put the entire thing in his mouth, courtesy of the instructions he received on how to eat sushi when he was young. When he finally swallowed it and licked his lips, he smirked at the blonde. "And since when were we best friends?"

The outburst he received in return was one that he had already deduced. It was a very loud, very obnoxious one.

-H.J.-

Toothpick number 730. This was officially the two year mark, Itachi thought. Time had passed at a snail's pace, but he had utilized that time efficiently. The muscles beneath his white t-shirt rippled as he bent backwards to stretch.

He had also grown taller. At the age of twenty, he was at six feet and two inches. The muscles that shaped his calves and thighs had hardened, visibly showing when he was in his briefs at night. His biceps were slightly larger than they had been years ago, but the distinction was slight. The light hairs that traveled down his navel and disappeared beneath his briefs were now the slightest bit darker and more defined. But despite everything, his hair stayed the same, except for the annual trimmings that he had done himself in the company of the blonde head nurse.

Within the two years, Itachi had noticed that the male nurses were quite fond of him, especially one named Pein. When they were walking to the garden, he took note of the way Pein brushed against him: casually, but too casually to be dismissed. Or the way his fingers lingered when he handed something to him. Particularly, what had allowed Itachi to piece it all together had been his lack of shame when it came to showering Itachi with his feelings.

"Thank you for bringing the snack," Itachi said politely, as he took the bowl of hot soup and turned around to place it on the table next to his bed. The silver spoon rattled slightly as the bowl was placed on a coaster, but that noise didn't bother him as much as the sudden movement behind him.

Itachi felt the slight pressure of hands around his waist before the sound of breathing near his ear caught his attention.

"You smell so good."

Itachi could hear the smirk in Pein's voice before he felt a warm, slick tongue trace the shell of his ear. He stood still, but a scowl worked its way up to his lips. "Can I help you?" Itachi asked, hands gripping onto the table.

"Good enough to eat," he purred. "Why don't you just satisfy your hunger with a little taste of me?"

"No, thank you," Itachi firmly said. He quickly removed the hands that were harassing his body and side-stepped the man. Frowning, he opened the door and gestured for the man to leave his room.

Pein followed Itachi, smirking as he made his way past the Uchiha. "You always play so hard to get, Itachi," he growled as he curled a strand of Itachi's silky hair in his finger. "But I shall see you soon," he murmured, mirth and lust swimming within his grey eyes.

Itachi frowned at the remembrance. It had not been too long ago that he had requested another nurse, but he faced new consequences for doing so. The man had replaced him with Kurenai, a new intern that he had recently hired. And judging by the way that her eyes lit up at being assigned to him, Itachi wouldn't be happy about it for too long.

He dismissed that thought, however. He was simply missing another week before he could do what he wanted to, feel all that he desired to. The excitement bubbled up within his chest and he felt the beginning of butterflies fluttering in his stomach at the thought of more important things waiting for him outside of the walls that confined him.

He would not deny that the end of Sasuke's visits did not upset him greatly, but deep down he knew that his Otouto would be waiting for him. He would have the most logical explanation possible about why he had abandoned Itachi and they would be reunited. Itachi wanted to feel the boy's affections again and he knew that the instant connection that they shared would coexist with their reunion.

Seven more toothpicks and he was done with here for sure.

-H.J.-

"Sasuke, you're home."

Slightly startled by sudden voice, the young Uchiha looked in the direction the voice came from as he closed the front door behind him. He nodded quite enthusiastically as he took off his shoes. "You're home early, Sasori."

When Sasuke glanced at the red head, he noticed the weariness lingering in his eyes. He sighed and reached his hand out for the elder to take. With a raised brow, Sasori obliged and was led to the couch in the living room.

"Wait here," was the childish command that made him smile. He heard some rummaging in the kitchen and the sound of ice cubes clinking against a glass cup before Sasuke reappeared with a cup of his finest whisky. On ice.

"Here," Sasuke said, holding out the glass with two hands. He had filled it a third of the way before adding enough ice to dilute its lukewarm temperature. "For you to unwind." The boy grinned at Sasori as he took the glass gratefully.

"Aren't you a ball of sunshine today, Kiddo."

"Hn, not really. I'm just like this every day. You're just not home to see it," was Sasuke's cheeky reply as he made himself comfortable on the couch, swinging his legs over Sasori's thighs.

Sasori shrugged it off as he took a sip. "I didn't plan on finishing work early today," he began as he reached out to twirl the young Uchiha's hair in his finger. "But a thought floated in my mind when I looked at the picture frame on my desk. That was when I thought, I haven't really spent much time with Sasuke and it'd be nice to hang out before the day was over. So I came home early, but you weren't here so I settled for paperwork until I heard the front door open."

When he finished, he glanced at Sasuke's face and only saw a tinge of amusement within those black orbs before the young boy looped his arms around his neck and lifted himself up so he could kiss Sasori's left cheek.

"Thanks for your worrisome self, Sasori. But I'm not all that lonely since I've got Naruto. Yeah, sure, sometimes I wonder why you're never here and if you know that you have a home you should return to, but when it comes down to if you care or not, I know that you care for me. And I think that's enough."

Sasori blinked and stared at Sasuke. For a child who had a protected childhood, his logic was spoken without a hint of immaturity. A smile started to fight its way onto his lips and despite whatever emotion was placed in that smile –pain, sorrow, joy, or even guilt- Sasori knew that Sasuke was no longer the child he used to be.

He was different in every aspect of the word.

Itachi, you're Otouto is no longer the same boy he used to be. I hope you're prepared for that.