AN: Been and being are my worst enemies. I will attempt to get them right though. A fairly short chapter. Might not be able to update for a few days now, I have long shifts at work and have to finish up moving house. Your reviews give me a reason to keep writing, thank you =)
It was never his intention to end up here. The human body and mind had a strange way to override the owner's wishes and do what would most likely ensure survival. Suigetsu was wounded, tired and emotionally unstable. He found that he wasn't capable of forming a coherent thought and his body was betraying him. The shaking had become more incessant over the last hour. Whether it was from exhaustion or lack of drugs, Suigetsu didn't know. The heaviness of his eye lids was impossible to control. They continually drooped closed before flying open in an attempt to stay awake.
Suigetsu heaved a laboured sigh and flinched as his ribs gave a painful reminder of their injuries. He attempted to slow his breathing to lessen the pain then his violet eyes gazed around. Once again he wondered why he was here and whether it would really do any good. The inner city apartment seemed to mock him as he sat outside it. There were many times over the last hour that Suigetsu was going to get up and leave. Yet his body or perhaps his mind would not allow him to get up and walk away into more uncertainty.
"Are you stalking me now?" Sasuke asked coolly as he walked across the road to the apartment he shared with his older brother.
"I wouldn't waste my time on that. You're not even that pretty." Suigetsu smiled weakly up at Sasuke.
"I'm prettier than you. You're a mess Suigetsu."
Suigetsu chuckled which turned into a painful cough. "Yeah, fighting Sasori wasn't my greatest idea ever."
"You fared better than Utakata, Sasori bashed his head into the ground and knocked him out." Sasuke pulled out a key card and swiped it. The door opened with a soft click and he pushed it open before stepping inside. Sasuke didn't turn around but called out to Suigetsu. "Are you coming or are you just going to sit there like an idiot all night?"
Suigetsu stood up slowly to try and ease his body into moving again. He felt bitter towards his body. Now it let him stand up. Sasuke would think he was a pathetic bitch. Suigetsu wasn't an idiot however, there was no way he was going to turn down a place to stay the night. Not in this state. Like a lost puppy, Suigetsu followed Sasuke to the top floor and into the apartment.
"Sit down and wait there." Sasuke commanded before padding softly up the hallway.
"I'm not a…" Suigetsu trailed off as Sasuke disappeared. He sat on the leather couch in defeat.
Sasuke returned no more than a few minutes with Itachi in tow. Suigetsu nearly bolted out of the seat. He wasn't scared of Itachi but showing weakness in front of one person was bad enough let alone a somehow twisted affiliate of Akatsuki.
"You're lucky Sasori didn't kill you." Itachi said impassively. "Stand up and take your shirt off."
"Like hell I'm stripping for you." Suigetsu snapped defensively.
"Don't be difficult Hōzuki. I have no interest in your appearance." Itachi stared him down coldly.
After a few moments Suigetsu backed down and did as he was told. Pulling his shirt off was nearly impossible and much to his disgrace, Itachi had to step forward and help take it off. This was the first time he'd seen his chest tonight, he refused to look at it earlier. Almost as if looking at it would make the injuries so much more real. On the right side of his chest was an angry bruise. It spread down his body and further into the middle of his chest. It was a multitude of colours and still held a large amount of redness to it. There was a fair amount of swelling in the darkest part of the bruise.
Itachi stared at the bruise and then walked around Suigetsu before placing his hand over Suigetsu's chest. The black haired man ignored the wince of pain from Suigetsu and with no real gentle touch, examined the area. "You're safe from a punctured lung but I can't tell you anymore. You would need an X-ray. And yes, I know you're not going to go to a hospital. If Sasori pulled back on his punches then it's unlikely you have internal bleeding from the strike to your kidney."
"Gee, guess I'll have to thank him for that." Suigetsu muttered sarcastically.
"I'm going to wrap your ribs up. Try and limit your movements to help the healing. Don't get into fights or you probably will get a punctured lung." Itachi beckoned Suigetsu into the bathroom and tightly wound a bandage around his chest and up over his shoulder. Suigetsu attempted not to grimace in pain to save his pride.
"You have the touch of a bull elephant." Suigetsu stated after Itachi tied off the bandage.
"Be grateful I even bothered to help." Itachi replied bitterly before turning to Sasuke who was leaning against the bathroom door frame. "I am going back to bed. Don't wake me up again even if this idiot is dying." Itachi walked off, leaving them alone.
"Ass." Both Suigetsu and Sasuke mumbled at Itachi's retreating back. They looked at each other and smirked.
"Come on, you should probably rest." Sasuke walked out of the bathroom and back into the conjoined living room and kitchen. "Do you want a drink?"
Suigetsu barely heard the question. Instead of following Sasuke, he stumbled upon Sasuke's room and grinned in triumph. Suigetsu kicked off his shoes and crawled under the covers. He felt his body relax into the mattress. Suigetsu couldn't remember the last time he had been so comfortable, despite the aches emitting from his body.
"Get out." Sasuke said coldly, walking into the room.
"Get in." Suigetsu replied back coyly.
"I won't hesitate to pull you out." Sasuke threatened.
"I'd scream, and wake your bastard of a brother up." Suigetsu pushed himself deeper into the bed. After a pause, the bed dipped as Sasuke gave in. "See, that wasn't so hard was it?"
"Stay on that side of the bed. If you even touch me, I will punch you in the ribs." Sasuke said, his back to Suigetsu.
"Yeah yeah. Goodnight Sasuke." Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "Thank you." He whispered, instantly regretting it. He had never been in such a vulnerable state.
"Hn, go to sleep Suigetsu." Sasuke replied. Sasuke's voice wasn't bitter or cold though. It was almost reassuring.
Suigetsu allowed his eyes to drift shut. His body welcomed the darkness and almost instantly sleep over took his exhausted body and mind.
Sasuke woke up with a startling warmth pressed to his side. His dark eyes fluttered open softly and his mind started to kick into gear. The warmth, as it turned out was a body. Sasuke was instantly awake. Suigetsu, at some point over the night had rolled over to Sasuke's side of the bed and pushed himself into Sasuke. The biggest urge Sasuke had right now was to punch Suigetsu in the ribs as he had threatened last night or possibly shove the younger male out of bed. Both options however would result in Suigetsu waking up which was the worse outcome Sasuke could think of.
Instead, he slowly pulled himself up until he was leaning against the headboard to his bed. Sasuke looked down at Suigetsu and watched entranced as Suigetsu breathed in and out slowly. It surprised Sasuke how peaceful Suigetsu actually looked. He had never seen Suigetsu look relaxed and at ease. Normally Suigetsu had some sort of sneer, smirk or murderous expression. It was almost so opposite to Suigetsu's usual façade that Sasuke was amazed that they were the same person.
With a movement that Sasuke allowed no thought to, he gently brushed a strand of white blue hair off Suigetsu's face. He didn't retract his hand straight away and let it trail down Suigetsu's face. The sleeping teen crinkled his face but didn't awaken. Sasuke paused but didn't remove his hand. Then, out of complete curiosity, Sasuke touched the extended tooth that slipped over Suigetsu's lip. It was surprisingly sharp and Sasuke, not for the first time wondered how Suigetsu ate.
"Don't feed the fish." Suigetsu mumbled sleepily, his eyes were squeezed tightly shut.
"Excuse me?" Sasuke asked with amusement.
"Shhh, you'll disturb them."
"Disturb who?" Sasuke watched as Suigetsu opened his eyes. It was like watching a butterfly open its wings for the first time. Sasuke didn't want to look away but he knew Suigetsu would gain coherency soon.
"Who? What?" Suigetsu questioned with confusion.
"Why shouldn't I feed the fish?" Sasuke replied with a smirk.
"Because they'll bite your toes." Suigetsu gave him a genuine smile
"How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough to wonder why you're playing with my hair, poking my tooth and why you haven't gone through with your threat." Suigetsu answered with a conniving smile.
Sasuke hesitated. Suigetsu had cornered him. It would seem hypocritical to punch Suigetsu for rolling into him when Sasuke himself was voluntarily touching Suigetsu. Bastard, Sasuke moodily glared down at Suigetsu. It was only then that Sasuke realised that Suigetsu was still curled into his side. Only now, the white haired male was using his chest as a pillow. "Get off me."
"Any chance of some pain killers?" Suigetsu asked instead. The teen ran a finger down Sasuke's chest flirtatiously.
"If it means you'll leave me alone." Sasuke replied coolly and flung himself out of bed. Sasuke ignored the moan of pain from Suigetsu and headed to the bathroom.
As soon as he reached the tap he blasted the cold water and doused his face with it. No matter how much he soaked himself, the freezing water would not rid the burning feeling down his chest. Suigetsu's touch lingered almost painfully. After a few minutes, he shut off the water and lent on the sink. He looked up into the mirror and found his obsidian eyes look back emptily. He shook his head to rid the water droplets and just to make the reflection was truly his. The reflection copied his actions and Sasuke sighed before pushing himself back up.
It didn't take much longer before Sasuke remembered he was meant to be finding Suigetsu pain killers. He wondered whether it was a bad idea to be giving a drug addict more drugs but the thought of Suigetsu whining was unbearable. By the time Sasuke located pain killers, removed only three from the pack and poured a glass of water, Suigetsu was asleep again. Sasuke rolled his eyes and placed the water and drugs on the bedside table for Suigetsu to find later.
Rather than stay in his room and be close to Suigetsu, Sasuke ventured out the living room. Itachi was at the dining table reading the newspaper with reading glasses. It never ceased to amuse Sasuke to see his perfect brother having the wear glasses. Whether out of spite or just light amusement Sasuke smirked at Itachi. "Morning, four eyes."
"Never gets old, Sasuke." Itachi looked up at Sasuke with a slight smile.
"Hn. Unlike you." Sasuke sat down at the table and stole Itachi's cup of coffee.
"Ah, you've grown a sense of humour overnight. Perhaps Suigetsu is rubbing off on you." Itachi got up to get another coffee.
"For such an overbearing bastard, I'm surprised you let him in the house." Sasuke stated but it held a silent question.
"Suigetsu has done a lot of bad things. But he doesn't know any better. Maybe you two spending time together will do well for both of you." Itachi reasoned with a slight shrug.
Before Sasuke had a chance to reply, the door burst open and Deidara all but bounced into the room. "Good morning yeah!"
"Ugh." Sasuke grunted.
"Deidara, is it necessary to be so loud?" Itachi asked with subtle annoyance.
"You're so grumpy in the mornings yeah." Deidara huffed and chastely kissed Itachi.
Sasuke watched their interaction discretely. For the first time, he could see the lies in both of their eyes. Itachi was constantly showing signs of annoyance towards Deidara. The blonde was no better, he almost looked bitter at been around Itachi. Sasuke had no idea how he missed the restraint and loathing in their eyes when they kissed or intimately touched. Yet, he'd never paid attention to Itachi's relationship with Deidara. He never doubted it, was never disturbed by it. Was this another lie? Is that why it seemed Deidara and Sasori were together? Because they actually were. And Itachi and Deidara's relationship was another set up. But why? That meant Itachi wasn't the goal, as Sasuke had thought for one of his theories the night before. Itachi was definitely a part of it, but what it was, Sasuke didn't know.