Naruto and Hinata walked casually towards the training grounds. They planned yesterday to spend as much time together today as they could. Naruto picked Hinata up from work and decided training together would be fun. So, here they were almost arriving at the grounds having a comfortable conversation between them. They walked closely brushing shoulders every once in awhile, which earned them both blushes. "Hey Hinata-chan?"
"Yes, Naruto-kun?"
"You think maybe I could hold your hand?" he questioned smiling.
She blushed furiously, "Um…s-sure…"
He reached down to her hand entwining their fingers together. Hinata's first thought was that his hands were a lot bigger than hers were, making it seem like his hand could easily swallow her own. They were rough and callused, but very warm. It was a pretty loose hold, which she assumed was because they were so nervous. As they walked, Naruto kept his gaze ahead of him while Hinata continued to glance down at the two enjoined hands. Sasuke told me we'd be doing this when we're a couple. She smiled as she began to reminisce on that moment not too long ago. When Sasuke held my hand, his hands were rough too, but also very gentle. He didn't hold my hand loosely or tightly. It was just right. And our hands…they just seemed to form so perfectly with each other. She smiled contently. And when I looked into his eyes…I've never seen his eyes look so…caring. He seemed really hesitant to be near me, like he was nervous or something. Than he leaned toward me and…and he almost kissed me… A dark blush graced her cheeks. He's kissed me before, but that time it seemed so different. It was different…no, wait! Why am I thinking about Sasuke? I'm with Naruto-kun…I love Naruto-kun. "Hey Hinata-chan, we're here…what the hell?" Naruto's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She stared up at his worried expression for a brief second before he darted off ahead. She turned to see where he was running when she saw a figure laying on the ground…a figure that looked a lot like Sasuke. Hinata panicked and ran towards the two men. Naruto knelt near Sasuke's body rolling him over on his back. "What the hell happened? Hey Sasuke, wake up!" Naruto yelled giving him a few quick slaps across the face.
"Wait, Naruto-kun, don't touch him." Hinata reprimanded sternly. She knelt down next to him also taking a good look at the unconscious Uchiha.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot you're a medic-nin, Hinata-chan." He spoke even though Hinata seemed to be tuning him out for the moment.
She saw how pale he was and noticed the dark circles under his eyes. His clothes were torn in many areas showing many deep cuts. "He must've been training…and probably collapsed afterward. But…it was also raining last night."
"You think he's been out here all night long?" Naruto questioned very concerned.
"It looks that way." She touched the back of her hand to his forehead and cheeks. "He's so cold…" Quickly, Hinata unzipped her jacket revealing her mesh top and placed it over Sasuke's body. "Naruto-kun, we need to get him out of here."
"Uh, yeah, sure. Where to though? The hospital?"
"I don't think the hospital's necessary. If it gets worse, than yes, we'll definitely take him there…but…right now, we just need to get him in bed."
"Oh okay. Let's just take him to his house then."
"But isn't your place closer?"
"Yeah, but as sick as he is…" Naruto glanced down smiling slightly at his best friend, "my place will be the last place he'll want to be."
Hinata nodded, "Than can you carry him? We need to hurry."
"Yeah…" he agreed and began to lift him off the ground onto his back with the help of Hinata. Once he was secure, Hinata took her jacket back and followed Naruto towards the Uchiha Compound. Sasuke…please be all right…
It was pounding; his entire head was pounding. His body felt extremely hot and yet freezing at the same time. He could feel himself waking and noticed how quick his breathing was. What happened? I feel like crap. A cold damp cloth patted down his face and neck causing him to groan. The cloth was taken away and some splashing was heard before the same cloth was placed on his forehead. He wanted to open his eyes, but just thinking about it brought a sharp pain to his head. "Sasuke…?" Is that…Hinata…? Am I still dreaming? "Sasuke…can you hear me? Are you awake now?" Yeah, that's Hinata. I'd know that voice anywhere. But…why is she here? For that matter, where is here? He tried to speak her name, but he only managed to barely open his mouth. His throat was dry to the bone and a low croak made it's way through being the only sound he could muster. "Please don't try to speak, Sasuke. Your body is completely exhausted, and your chakra level is below normal. It's best if you just lay still." She spoke softly while his body seemed to relax by the mere sound of her voice. "Sasuke, I need you to drink some water, okay?" she whispered in his ear while sitting down next to him. He shivered at feeling her breath against his ear, and wanted so badly to open his eyes to see her. He felt her arm move under him lifting him so he was now lying against her chest. While holding him up with one arm, she used the other to bring the glass of water to his lips. At feeling the cold glass touch his dry lips, he parted allowing her to tip it so the quenching liquid could glide through his mouth and down his throat. She continued tipping while he continued to thirstily gulp it down. When the glass emptied, she placed it on the nightstand and moved to lower his body back to it's original position. He missed feeling her warmth, but felt way too tired to object. She wiped at his chin drying away any water that missed. His pride was feeling damaged due to the babying he was getting, but once again, he was just too tired to care.
She patted his face and neck again with the wet cloth. "You have a really high fever, so I'm going to stay here by your side until it's gone. I promise." She whispered against his ear. Oh man, did he love it when she did that. "I'm making some soup for you. It should be ready in a bit." She continued to speak to him hoping to keep him conscious, at least until he was fed. He felt her fingers begin to comb through his hair, which managed to make his heartbeat quicken and him moan in response. At hearing his moan, Hinata giggled and continued to comb through his hair comfortingly. She stopped a few minutes later, and he could hear her stand up. "I'm going to check on the food, so please try to stay awake until I get back." He heard the door open and close leaving him alone for the time being. Okay…now where am I? Well, this is definitely a bed I'm on. It feels familiar, so it must be mine. In that case, I'm in my house. All right, first question answered. Next, what happened? Let's see, I was watching Hinata confess to Naruto. I got really mad and decided to go train. I trained for a long time, than it started to rain. Than what? What happened after that? Did I collapse or fall asleep? If so, than Hinata must've found me. So I have a fever huh? Well, that was smart of me to pass out in the middle of a rainstorm. Okay, so Hinata found me and brought me here. Now she's taking care of me. He paused and smirked inwardly. I'm almost glad I did something that stupid. It makes the pain a hell of a lot better when Hinata's here. The door opened and closed again meaning she was back. This time, however, a wonderful smelling aroma filled the air. He couldn't help but to inhale repeatedly. What is that? It smells so damn good. "Sasuke, I don't know if you're hungry or not, but I brought the soup. I-I think…it will be good for you…if you eat it." She muttered and sat near his head on the bed. Scooting herself closer, she lifted his head and rested it against her lap making sure the head was upright. She placed a pillow underneath his neck to prevent him from getting cramps, and gently combed through his hair again. Hinata took a spoonful of the soup and blew on it to cool it down. She placed it at the opening of his mouth letting it slide in when he opened. She watched him close his mouth and gulp it down before opening it once again. She smiled and started to feed him more.
A few bites later, he tried to open his eyes again. This time, it was successful. His eyelids slowly opened only allowing him to see blurs. He blinked rapidly trying to gain his focus, and was satisfied when he could finally see a clear Hinata looking down at him. She saw his eyes open and stare at her, and she smiled while bringing another spoonful down to his mouth. He kept his gaze on her as she continued to feed him. She blushed from being watched so intensely, but didn't bother to tell him to stop. She almost liked the attention. Damn, she's so beautiful…how did I never notice this before? We went to the same academy, were in the same class…I must've been stupid not to notice her. She's so…loving…Man, she'd make a great mother some day. He could almost picture her walking around out in some garden with little dark-haired children running around. Some would have black eyes while the others had white. The boys would be strong, and the girls as beautiful as their mother. He hadn't realized he had been giving a small smile until Hinata stared down at him in shock. "Sasuke…" she smiled widely, "I like it when you smile." He stared up at her blankly while the smile disappeared. She giggled and brought the spoon to his mouth again. This time he pulled away. "Are you full now?" she questioned putting the spoon back into the bowl. He continued to stare up at her unblinking. "Are you able to talk yet?" he furrowed his brows and opened his mouth to release some kind of sound. When nothing came out but that same croak, she just shook her head at him. "Forget I asked. That was stupid of me. I'm pushing you in your weakened state…" she paused gazing down into her lap while her hands combed through his hair again. He all of a sudden felt sleepy again because of her soothing movements. "Okay." She spoke bringing him back to being fully awake, "Instead of talking, blink once for 'yes' and twice for 'no'. Is that all right?" she titled her head slightly giving him a gentle smile. He blinked once. Yeah, like anyone can say no to her when she looks like that. God, I love her… He froze and his eyes widened slightly. Wait, no, I did not just think that! I don't love her; it's just infatuation. I must be sicker than I thought. Yeah, that's right, it's just the fever speaking. I'm just being delusional. Like I know what love is…yeah… "Do you need anything?" she asked concerned. He blinked twice. She smiled, "Okay, I'll just let you rest for now…" she trailed off moving out from under his head laying it gently back onto his pillow. She made sure to cover him up, and dab him a few more times with the wet cloth. Hinata dipped the cloth back into the cold water, rung it out, and placed it comfortably on his forehead. "Please try to get some rest…the more you sleep the better." She smiled softly at him before leaving the room with the half-empty bowl of soup in hand. After she disappeared from his sight, whether he wanted to or not, his body forced him back into sleep.
Slowly, Sasuke began to wake again. He took a deep breath and tried to open his eyes. They seemed to give him a lot less trouble this time allowing him to open them fully. He blinked a few times before glancing around his room. The first thing he noticed was Hinata's absence. The second thing…his room was very dim-lighted. Only a small lamp on his desk illuminated the room. His curtain over his window was drawn, and no light was peeking through. This only proved that it was definitely around nighttime. He gulped and felt how dry his throat was once again. He looked around for any type of liquid and noticed a glass of water on his nightstand. A few ice cubes were nearly melted, but it looked cold nonetheless. Knowing how badly he needed that drink, he began to test his body for movement. He first wiggled his fingers and toes followed up by his hands and feet. Once that was confirmed, he slowly tested his arms and legs. He moved around his neck while lifting himself up on his elbows. For some reason, his body felt a lot heavier than he was used to. With his hands and forearms, he scooted himself up so he was able to prop his back against the headboard. After adjusting a pillow behind him for comfort, he reached for the glass and clasped around it tightly. Even the damn glass is heavy. Hinata wasn't kidding when she said I exhausted myself. He brought the glass to his lips shakily and quickly drank down its contents. A few trails of water leaked out from the corners dribbling down his chin and throat. He could feel the ice-cold water glide down his dry throat, and for the moment, he couldn't remember ever feeling so relieved.
He put the glass back down on the nightstand, and wiped his chin and neck dry. "…H-Hina…ta…" his voice came out hoarse and raspy. He tried clearing his throat getting it used to being used again. "H-Hinata…" Damn, my throat is sore. All right, just a little louder… "Hinata." He spoke more audibly now even though his voice still held a small rasp to it. A few minutes later, he heard shuffling on the other side of the door. It creaked open slowly and the shy Hinata peeked through. She caught sight of the now sitting Sasuke and her eyes widened. She rushed in forgetting to shut the door, and ran up to his bedside hovering her hands over him. "Sasuke…you shouldn't have tried to move…your body is-"
"Is just fine…" he finished sternly.
She leaned back and smiled in relief. "How do you…feel?"
He glanced away from her and down at his body. "Like I've gained a hundred pounds."
She giggled, "Your body is still weak…but, you can move…so…that means you're getting better."
"What…what exactly happened? My memory is a little fuzzy…"
She took a seat on the chair next to his bed while keeping her gentle smile on her face. "Naruto-kun and I found you passed out at one of the training grounds…" she paused looking saddened, "I-we…we were really…really worried about you. So…we brought you home to rest…um, we were going to take you to the hospital, but Naruto-kun…he said no matter how sick you are…you'd hate to wake up in a hospital…"
He kept his gaze on her even though she continued to look down at her lap. "Heh…looks like he finally did something right."
She looked up quickly and stared at him blankly, "But Naruto-kun-"
"How long have I been asleep?" he interrupted narrowing his tired eyes at her.
She didn't say anything for a minute or so as if thinking about something. "Um…n-not too long…j-just two days…and than you woke up that one time…do you…do you remember?"
Two days? Damn… "Uh, yeah, I remember."
"And…you slept for another day…and…now you're awake again." She explained waiting for him to say something, but he remained silent looking down at his hands. "Um…are you…are you hungry?"
He glanced over at her blankly. "I…I need to…" he paused furrowing his brows, "I need to get up." He spoke pushing away the covers while Hinata quickly stood up.
"No, Sasuke, you shouldn't be getting up yet!"
He halted and glared at her, "I need to use the bathroom, if that's all right with you."
She blushed and walked back, "S-Sorry…um, do you-"
"No, I don't need help." He spat back at her angrily. He settled his feet on the ground and stood up trying to gain balance. Once that was covered, he started his trudge towards the bathroom. Hinata trailed close behind him watching him worriedly. He stumbled and swerved looking more drunk than sick. Halfway there, he seemed to trip over his own feet, and before he hit the ground Hinata caught his arm wrapping it around her neck. He glanced over at her scowling, "Just get me to the damn door." She nodded and smiled helping him walk to his destination. After letting go of him so he could enter and close the door behind him, Hinata left into the kitchen to heat up some soup and tea.
Sasuke opened the door to his bathroom and entered back into his bedroom. He saw that Hinata wasn't there anymore, so he decided to go look for her. His reasoning for doing so was simply that he wanted to get his legs used to walking again…right? He leaned his body against the walls using them as support as he made his way out of his room entering into the living room. He looked around the area seeing his front entryway, a few couches, and a pretty large coffee table in the middle. It looked pretty normal, except for the folded up blanket and pillow on one of the longer couches. He narrowed his eyes at it trying to remember if he'd put that there. No, I don't think I did. Did…Hinata put those there? What for though? A small duffel bag just behind the couch caught his eye, along with the sleeve of one of Hinata's jackets sticking out of it. Is she…or was she staying the night here? That would explain the bag and the blanket. But why? He thought back to what she told him the first time he awoke, "You have a really high fever, so I'm going to stay here by your side until it's gone. I promise." He chuckled a little to himself. So she wasn't kidding. She really did mean it when she said she was going to stay by my side.
He now reached the wall nearest to the couches, where he decided to pause for a moment. He inhaled and exhaled deeply cursing himself for getting tired so quickly. A delicious and familiar smell lit up his nostrils, and made his eyes wander to the archway that led into the kitchen. It was brightly lit in there, unlike the rest of the rooms he'd been in. He heard some metal clinking together along with the whistling of steam. Knowing Hinata must be in the kitchen, he regained his strength to move. With one hand on the wall, he stumbled to the opening and let himself lean up against the doorframe so he was able to easily watch the Hyuga girl now. She seemed to be occupied at the stovetop looking over something she was stirring and a teapot to the side. He saw her tense for a second and turn around hesitantly. When she saw him, she seemed to relax and put on one those heartwarming smiles. "Are you hungry?"
"Hn." He simply replied lowering himself on one of the two chairs at the dining room table. Once seated, he began to watch her again noticing her back was facing him. This time, she was pouring the contents of the teapot into two cups on the counter. "Where is he?" he questioned as she made her way to the table.
"Naruto-kun?" she placed his cup in front of him while she took a seat on the chair opposite him.
"Yeah."
"He left…on a short-term mission…a few days ago. I…I don't think he'll be back…for another three days."
"Hn." He grunted taking a drink from his tea, "You've been staying here. Sleeping on my couch to be exact."
She flushed and her hands began to shake slightly. "Y-Yes…I-I am sorry…I just-"
"I never said it was a problem." He interrupted sounding slightly angry.
She didn't say anything for a few moments, and got up to stir the soup again. She pulled out a bowl from one of the cupboards and poured a good amount of soup into it. After grabbing a spoon, she brought the bowl over and placed it in front of him. "I didn't know if you were hungry…or not…so…" she trailed off staring down at the floor between her feet.
He glanced at her wondering why she was getting so nervous. He was beginning to think she was getting used to him, but now it's almost as if they just met all over again. "You're not going to eat." He stated rather than questioned.
"I ate a little bit ago…"
He grunted again and started to eat the soup he was given. After all, if this were the same soup she fed to him the other day, he would eat it hungry or not.
Hinata continued to watch him from near the stove. She noted that he wasn't as pale as before, and he was regaining his strength quickly. His body was still weakened, but Sasuke was way too stubborn to allow any of that to show. She guessed that was just how he was. Watching him had never given Hinata so much relief before. These past four or five days had put such an emotional strain on the poor Hyuga girl. At first, it seemed that he had maybe just caught a small cold, but the hours progressed and his health had gotten worse. His fever spiked quickly, and he began to sweat profusely. Even though it seemed his body was heating up, she saw him shiver so many times in his sleep that she was seconds from taking him to the hospital. If it wasn't for Naruto telling her that Sasuke would much prefer being at his own house, she would've taken him to the hospital the first time his fever rose tremendously. She was a medic-nin, so she was obviously trained for these situations, but she didn't have the right tools to work with. All she'd been doing so far was trying to keep his fever down, which ended up working successfully. It definitely took longer than it would if he was in the hospital, but nonetheless he was all right. She smiled at that thought, Yeah…he's all right now. A flashback of all the times she had watched him suffer through the fever caused her a wave a depression. She had never felt so hopeless and worried before. If anything had happened to Sasuke…if that illness had gotten worse…I…I just don't know what I would've done… Her eyes blurred as she felt tears stream down her face.
Sasuke was enjoying the taste of the soup he'd been eating. Oh, how his stomach was yearning for this moment. To make it better, Hinata was the one that made it. He frowned suddenly as a flash of Naruto crossed his mind. I'm not going to bring up that idiot or even let her bring him up. It's bad enough I can't seem to figure out why the hell he asked her out…whatever that reason is…but I don't want to ruin the few moments I'll have with her. He was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard a quiet sniffle a few feet from him. He turned quickly and saw a tear-faced Hinata with her gaze stuck on the ground. "What are you crying for?" he demanded. At hearing his voice, her head shot up and stared at him with fear filled eyes.
"I-I-I'm sorry…" she began to wipe away her tears even though more just came pouring down. "I was just…thinking…"
"About?"
"Um…y-you…" she whispered and didn't notice the shocked look on his face. "When-when you were sick…it got really…really bad at times. I-I was so…so worried…" she choked back a sob while avoiding eye contact with the emotionless Uchiha. "I wanted…to take you to the hospital, but…Naruto-kun, he…he said…he said that you wouldn't…want that, so…I…" she sniffed and finally met his gaze with a small smile gracing her sad features. "I'm sorry…I know you think crying is weak, but I…" she laughed, "I just can't seem to s-stop…"
He stopped looking at her and instead focused on the soup in front of him. His expression was blank, but his mind was on overload. He didn't know what to feel or what to express. He was shocked…utterly and completely shocked. "Don't." he spoke catching her attention instantly. She stared at him even though his gaze remained forward. "Don't cry. I'm not worth your tears…don't do something as unnecessary as that…"
To say Hinata was shocked to hear this would be an understatement. "Sasuke…" she whispered. A small soft smile appeared on her lips, "But you are." She paused, "You are worth my tears…you're worth everyone's tears…" His gaze met her own as he continued to listen. "You…you are our comrade…and a…a friend. It's okay to cry for the people…you care about…the people…who are important to you…" her smile grew wide and she no longer shed any tears. "You, Sasuke…you are important to me…"
He turned his gaze away from her again and grunted under his breath. His lips twitched upward, and he stirred around his soup bringing a spoonful to his mouth. After pulling away, he leaned back in his chair with a more calming expression. "This soup…it's good." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and saw her smile beautifully at him.
"I'm glad."
No…Naruto won't ruin this…This…is our moment…Hinata and I…just ours…and that's enough for now…Naruto can wait until tomorrow…
