.
"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers."
A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951
.
Take Twelve.
Sasuke felt that was probably for the best that Naruto seemingly hadn't realised his agenda- he was feeling awkward enough as it was since The Talk. However, their new-found semi-closeness (Sasuke hated to acknowledge it as that) paved the way to at least a friendship, and one thing friends did was be there for one another.
And so, that was the reason he woke up and found Naruto asleep on his bed next to him. He had removed his shirt, leaving his bronzed chest exposed and in the way for Sasuke to crawl out of bed. Sasuke admired him for a few languid moments before realising that wasn't the smartest idea given their close proximity and his memories of their kissing session the day before.
A cold shower was in order for, he decided as he clambered off the end of the bed instead. A very cold shower.
Once he was under the cool spray and calmer, he turned his thoughts to Itachi. Frowning, he quickly hurried his shower with every intention of getting to the hospital. He didn't know how his brother was going to react to his impromptu stay- hopefully he would have handled it well, but there were no guarantees.
Naruto was awake when Sasuke exited the bathroom fully dressed and far too aware of the empty cupboards. Naruto had insisted on buying them takeout the night before, and Sasuke had been too hungry to decline it. Besides, he hadn't had takeout in close to a year- pizza had never tasted so good.
"I'll buy you breakfast at the hospital," Naruto told him, seeing Sasuke's eyes straying to the empty kitchenette. Sasuke thanked that he'd put his shirt back on. "I don't know if Kakashi wants us at work today. I'll call him and see."
"I'm not going anywhere until Itachi's discharged."
"I imagine he knows that. Come on, let's call a cab."
The taxi was another rarity for Sasuke- other than Kakashi's Cadillac he hadn't set foot in a foreign car in a long time. Itachi did own both a car and a driver's licence, but they walked everywhere they could to save money. The dark blue vehicle sat parked outside on the road, gathering metaphorical dust. The last time it had been used had been when Itachi had driven across America to reach their destination, and even then his elder sibling had used the last of his credit limit to fund it.
Once at the hospital, he paused for a moment by the sliding doors. He wasn't entirely sure what he was hesitating for, but he found himself propelled forward by a gentle hand on his back from Naruto.
"Let's go see him," Naruto urged, giving him a smile that said he was prepared to be the strength for both of them. Sasuke returned it- smaller and weaker, but present at all was a good start.
As they rounded a corner to the corridor Itachi's room lay in, they both stopped dead at the sound of raised voices. Itachi was stalking through the long white corridor, Kisame frantically attempting to grab his arm and calling for him to stop.
"Come on, just come back," he was pleading. "Itachi!"
Itachi, who was looking uncharacteristically angry, simply carried on walking determinedly. Sasuke stared at him in shock, realising that the closer his brother got, the more that he realised that anger was clearly masking distress.
"Sasuke," Itachi murmured as they finally locked eyes. "Don't follow."
Sasuke gave him an incredulous stare, but Kisame shook his head and paused by him for a moment.
"I'll deal with him," he promised. "Just wait in the lobby, alright?"
"You aren't dealing with him very well so far," Sasuke called to his already retreating back, finally turning back to Naruto when no other options presented themselves. "I'm not standing around while he discharges himself," he snapped, taking off with quick steps back the way they had just come.
Naruto didn't argue, a few paces behind as Sasuke walked with as much haste as possible without running. It was only when they reached the lobby itself did Naruto finally grab his arm, shaking his head.
"Didn't he say to wait?" He reminded.
"You think I'm going to do that?" Sasuke replied rhetorically, but Naruto simply held his arm tighter. "Don't push your luck, Naruto!"
"Why did he ask you not to follow?"
"Because he's an idiot."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "Now for the real answer," he declared flatly.
"Because he's panicking and he doesn't want me to see," Sasuke replied quietly, the anger in his voice lowered a notch.
"Exactly. Give him some space, Sasuke."
"He's getting two minutes," Sasuke argued, folding his arms and leaning back against the wall by the entrance. Satisfied, Naruto waited with him, smiling slightly when he realised Sasuke's eyes were trained to the clock on the wall over the receptionist's desk.
"Are you a relative of Itachi Uchiha?"
Sasuke glanced at the nurse standing next to them- he hadn't taken any notice of her before, but she was clearly addressing him. She was tall with cropped dark hair, framing her face prettily as she waited expectantly for an answer. It wasn't difficult to come to the assumption she had- the more Sasuke had grown, the more he'd come to look so much like his elder brother.
"I'm his brother," he confirmed.
"I'm Nurse Shizune," the lady continued, giving him a professional smile. "We've been having some trouble with him. He was compliant yesterday right up until late, where he refused to sleep and also refused any form of sedative."
"Couldn't you have just given him one anyway?" Sasuke asked, putting one hand to his forehead with a heavy sigh.
"It wouldn't have been good to force a sedative onto an already nervous patient," Shizune disagreed. "Just now I asked for a blood sample and he panicked and left. Do you know if he's still on the premises?"
"He left," Sasuke indicated the door. "But he's with a friend who probably won't let him go far."
"If he comes back, please let us know."
"I will."
The moment she was gone Sasuke felt enough time had passed, slipping through the sliding doors without another word. Naruto didn't attempt to stop him, joining his side in equal silence.
Itachi, as predicted with Kisame by his side, hadn't gone far. He was sitting on the curb further up the road outside the hospital, his knees drawn halfway to his chest, elbow resting on one so he could rest his head against his palm. The hand held a cigarette between his fingertips, and even from his distance Sasuke could see it was shaking. His hair was loose around his shoulders, partially obscuring his face.
Kisame was looking awkward, one hand alternating between Itachi's shoulder and back, patting as though he had absolutely no idea how to comfort the elder Uchiha. Sasuke took off towards them, locking eyes with Kisame and mentally staring him down.
Kisame looked away first, leaving Sasuke the victor of the war of wills. He knelt down in front of his brother, not caring he was on the edge of the road to do so. Itachi glanced up at him, swallowing shakily and rapidly drying tears from his cheeks.
"I told you to stay away," he all but snapped.
"Why didn't you want the blood test?" Sasuke replied, ignoring the comment. "If you do it and it's clear, you can go home."
"And if it isn't, they'll keep me here."
"They only have your best interests at heart-"
"You know better than to try and reason with me about this, Sasuke. Go inside."
"I told you to leave it with me kid," Kisame urged as well.
"Forgive me for caring," Sasuke retorted sharply, rising to a stand and walking away before he got any more heated. Naruto once again followed, guiding Sasuke to sit in the lobby instead.
"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto got his co-star's attention, giving him a smile. "I want to help you, but I don't think you'll appreciate it if I kiss you to distract you this time."
Sasuke found a tiny smirk on his face regardless of how low he was feeling. "Idiot," he replied, but for once it was almost an endearment.
"You love me really."
"How do you do it?" Sasuke asked after a moment. "You're infectious. You make me want to be nice to you."
"That's because I'm just that cool."
"Whatever. Thanks."
The thanks meant many things- thank you for being here with me, thank you for staying last night, thank you for not abusing my trust, thank you for many, many things. Sasuke felt incredibly humbled to be in the other's company that day and couldn't help but say so.
"A thank you from Sasuke Uchiha?" Naruto couldn't help but comment. "I'll treasure this moment for ever."
"I told you not to push your luck."
"Put me down!"
Both of their eyes snapped to the doors of the hospital, sliding open to admit Kisame and Itachi. Kisame had the elder Uchiha slung easily over one shoulder, whistling to himself as he walked calmly through the lobby. Itachi was anything but calm, hammering his fists on his friend's back and looking thoroughly mortified to be in such a position.
"I am twenty five," he hissed. "Put me down, you're embarrassing me!"
"One partially insane Uchiha being forcefully readmitted for you," Kisame told Sasuke as he passed, giving him a peace sign.
"I am never speaking to you again you jerk," Itachi warned sharply. Sasuke couldn't help but notice Naruto was staring- the once-calm Itachi being carried whilst throwing a mild tantrum about the action was something he apparently never thought he'd see.
If Sasuke was honest, he wasn't entirely convinced the scene was real either. He rubbed his eyes to discover that yes, it really was.
"You're the one that attempted to run away, Itachi. You only have yourself to blame," Kisame remarked as they vanished from the lobby to the corridor. "If I put you down, you promise me you'll walk back and let the nice nurse take your blood?"
"I swear, if you don't put me down right this second, I'm going to murder you."
"Well, it's good we're in a hospital then," Kisame laughed airily. "They'll be able to treat me on the spot."
"Kisame!"
"You owe me for all the cigarettes you keep stealing off me, you know. How about you repay me by walking nicely back to your room?"
"Stop treating me as if I'm a child!"
Their voices were getting fainter- Sasuke knew the response was bound to be 'stop acting like one then', stifling laughter behind one hand before he could stop himself. Naruto laughed as well, giving Sasuke a genuine smile that made the man's heart melt.
"Seems everything is under control, eh? I'm going to call Kakashi and find out what he wants to do with us today."
He left the building, leaving Sasuke to catch up with his brother and Kisame. They were back in the room, Itachi sitting angrily on the bed with folded arms and looking almost as though he could be sulking. Kisame looked far too pleased with himself, slipping past Sasuke in the doorway.
"I'm going to find that nurse," he declared. "He shouldn't be any problem now."
Sasuke couldn't help but smile slightly as he approached his brother, sitting on the edge of the bed. Itachi met his eye, all traces of distress either hidden or (hopefully) non-existent.
"Just let them do whatever they need," Sasuke reasoned.
"I'm not going to discuss what just happened any further," Itachi told him, his usual indifferent tone once again present in his voice. He shifted his position so he looked less sulky, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Sasuke with his hands clasped in his lap, feet crossed at the ankles and for once actually looking like a young man in his twenties.
"Are you working today?" Itachi queried, clearly trying to change the subject.
"Naruto's just finding out," Sasuke replied, allowing him to. "You'd better not be."
"That's up to Kakuzu," Itachi reasoned. "Kisame was only supposed to come for an hour yesterday, but he ended up here until quite late."
"The nurse told me. You should have just taken the sedative- didn't you fancy the idea of being knocked out so you didn't have to think about where you were?"
"It's a pride issue, Sasuke."
"Pride is a sin. Isn't that what you always tell me?"
"Then I am a sinner," Itachi replied diplomatically, shrugging in defeat.
"Kisame just completely wrecked any semblance of pride-" Sasuke attempted to say, a smirk on his lips once more.
"I'm aware," Itachi cut in quickly.
Kisame re-entered with Nurse Shizune at his side, who gave them both a smile as she strode purposefully to Itachi.
"We'll get this over with quickly," she promised. "Will you let me do the blood sample now?"
Itachi held out his arm willingly, letting Shizune collect a small vial of crimson liquid effortlessly and without complaint.
"Great, well done," she soothed, placing cotton wool over the area and strapping it in place. "I'll get this sent off now and pick up the results of the other tests we did last night. You'll be out of here in no time, don't worry."
Itachi thanked her with a nod- her words were just professional spiel designed to calm people, but he seemed grateful that she'd tried.
"Kakuzu was alright with my absence?" He asked softly once Shizune was gone, eyes turning to Kisame.
Kisame snorted, raising an eyebrow. "Kakuzu sends his regards and says don't bother bringing your ass back to work until you're healthy."
"I can't afford to do that."
"He also said he knew you'd say that, and that he'll pay you for up to a week if needed."
Itachi looked a little annoyed, but he kept quiet and simply nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm stuck here until the results come back, aren't I?" He questioned, smoothing a hand through his loose hair and attempting to straighten it out somewhat.
"It would be futile to send you home only to bring you back if there was a problem," Sasuke confirmed. "If you can manage a night here alone, you can manage a few hours with company. Are you taking medication now?"
Itachi faltered in pulling the tangles out his ebony hair. "Mr. Hatake paid for a month's supply."
"Good. Don't fuck it up this time, alright?"
"I didn't intentionally do so in the first place."
"You need to reinstate your insurance, too. I don't care how we get the money- we can do without electric or live on rice or something. It's important."
"We'll do no such thing. I'll find some way of paying for it. I'll take some more overtime at work-"
"Kakuzu won't let you," Kisame informed him. "I'll lend you money if I have to. You should have said you were having so much trouble."
Itachi exhaled irritably, gathering his hair into his hand in anticipation of its usual ponytail. "I dislike all this fussing."
"Then don't pass out and worry everybody, genius," Sasuke suggested sarcastically. "You don't have a hair tie, do you?"
"No," Itachi sighed, letting his hair fall down around his shoulders again. "I'm sorry for all the interruption to your work, Sasuke. I should have just stayed home yesterday."
"You'd have gone into a diabetic coma if you'd done that," Sasuke pointed out. "I'm glad you didn't. What you should have done was ask someone for something to eat on set. A blow to your pride is better than DKA."
"It would only have delayed it," Itachi explained quietly. "I've been feeling under the weather for a couple of weeks."
"I knew it was more serious than you let on," Kisame remarked, tugging a hair tie from his wrist. "Here. The nurses took it out when you fell asleep yesterday."
"Thanks," Itachi murmured, taking it and tying his hair back gladly. Sasuke took note of his subdued demeanour, feeling sorry for his brother. He looked like a sheepish teenager, unable to meet either of their gazes for fear of seeing disappointment.
Kisame seemed to sense it too, his face contorting with concern as he put a hand out to Itachi's shoulder. "Hey," he said kindly, his voice taking on a tone Sasuke hadn't heard before. "Don't beat yourself up over this. You've got medication now and I'm sure you'll take better care now you've lived the consequences."
Itachi gave him a weak smile. "Thanks, Kisame."
"I need to head off anyway," Kisame remarked, stifling a yawn. "I didn't get much sleep last night and I'm working later, so I need to take a nap. Don't you dare apologise, Itachi, I see that look on your face."
Itachi closed his mouth, smiling slightly instead. "Take care. I hope Kakuzu doesn't give you too much trouble about yesterday."
"I'm sure he'll understand. Call me later."
He departed with a wave, leaving Itachi to lie back on the bed with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry for all this," he whispered, melancholy radiating from him as he stared blankly at the ceiling. "It's difficult- I don't know how to deal with this kind of thing."
"It's not your fault you have issues with hospitals," Sasuke attempted to reason. Itachi's eyes flickered with a perfectly readable emotion for once- guilt. "Itachi," Sasuke said warningly. "It's not your fault, got it? Don't walk that road again."
"I'm not," Itachi sighed. "I just want to go home, Sasuke."
"You will soon. Just stop apologising and get better. I hate seeing you like this, it frightens me."
"What does?"
"Seeing you..." Sasuke shrugged, unwilling to suggest the word 'broken' even if it was what he was thinking.
"No-one's perfect Sasuke," Itachi told him quietly, as though he was reading his thoughts. "Least of all me."
A gentle knock at the door caught their attention, Itachi calling permission to admit Naruto to the room. He was clutching packaged sandwiches, holding one out for Itachi.
"I remembered that you're vegetarian- there wasn't much of a selection, so I just got cheese," he said nervously as Itachi tentatively took it, a small smile on his face.
"That was thoughtful of you. Thank you, Naruto."
Naruto handed one to Sasuke before seating himself in the empty chair with his own, clearly feeling a little nervous. Sasuke wanted to say something to alleviate it for him, but he didn't know what. Instead he said nothing, eating the admittedly delicious sandwich and wondering how much it had cost.
"I told Naruto about back then," he murmured quietly. Itachi turned a curious eye to him to continue. "I don't know what came over me. It just felt like a good thing to do."
"That's positive," Itachi finally replied with a nod. "I'm glad you could trust him, Sasuke."
"I told him about you too."
Itachi turned his gaze to Naruto. "Is that why you're looking at me in such a piteous manner?"
Naruto shook his head rapidly. "No, not pity," he corrected. "Empathy."
"Just let him care," Sasuke sighed irritably as Shizune re-appeared in the doorway.
"Ah, I'm glad you're eating," she observed. "I was going to offer you something. Your blood is on its way to be tested and I have some good news for you- if we're happy with the results, you can go. Your other tests showed us the underlying cause."
She stepped across the room and handed Itachi a small bottle of pills, seeing him frown slightly in confusion and set aside his sandwich to glance at the label on it.
"Antibiotics?" He asked after a moment.
"It's a simple UTI- common in diabetics and also a frequent cause of DKA," Shizune explained. "I presume it was asymptomatic- that it, you had no symptoms?"
"No, I didn't," Itachi shook his head, still looking down at the bottle in mild disbelief.
"Infections, even mild ones, can set the body completely off kilter," Shizune continued to explain, sympathy in her voice. "The infection combined with skipping meals and generally not taking proper care of your body resulted in the DKA. You'll take better care of yourself when you leave, won't you?"
Itachi nodded, looking a little humbled. "Of course," he murmured.
Sasuke, who had been watching the exchange quietly, turned his attention to Naruto. Itachi was still conversing with Shizune, being warned to take it easy for a few days and giving him general instructions that Sasuke knew his brother would follow now. One stay in the hospital was quite enough for him, he imagined.
"Are we working later?" He asked Naruto quietly.
"No. Kakashi said we'll pick back up tomorrow. He knows you won't be any good today. You know he's really happy he found you?"
Sasuke smiled slightly at the praise. "I'm actually glad he found me, too. I'm happy he believes in me- apart from Itachi, no-one really has. Even my acting teacher thought I had too much of an attitude to succeed."
"Attitude? You?" Naruto joked. "You're actually a nice guy past that pretend snappy demeanour."
"It isn't pretend," Sasuke replied sharply, but there was no spite in his voice.
"I believe in you too."
"Thank you," Sasuke murmured, giving him a genuine, albeit tiny, smile.
He turned his attention back to Itachi as Shizune gave them a smile and made her way out of the room, leaving the three of them to sit in silence. Sasuke looked between Itachi and Naruto, wondering why life had suddenly become so complicated. Fate had a lot to answer for, unless its plan was to land him in a relationship with Naruto. The idea of such a thing had become quite a desirable one over the last day, much to his increasing annoyance.
"Kakashi said to call when you're discharged and he'll give you guys a lift home," Naruto told Itachi.
"It's unnecessary," Itachi attempted to argue.
"Just take the lift and shut up," Sasuke sighed, rolling his eyes. "You should be resting- our apartment is all the way across town. I refuse to let you walk that far. Even I got a cab to get here."
"With what money?" Itachi challenged.
"I paid," Naruto cut in. "I offered. I didn't want to walk either, and Sasuke seemed to want to get here quickly."
"How did we end up in such a situation, Sasuke?" Itachi mused after a moment's thought. "We don't seem to be being given the option to fend for ourselves these days."
"Perhaps that's a good thing," Sasuke argued lightly. "Maybe we've been too reliant on each other and not enough on others."
"Coming from you that is quite the admittance," Itachi noted. "Naruto? What did you do to my brother to make him see things this way?"
"Kissed him within an inch of his life," Naruto grinned.
To his credit, Itachi simply raised an eyebrow slightly and showed no other hint of surprise. "Is that so?" His eyes fell on Sasuke, who was hiding his face with his hands. "If that's the case, then please continue to do so. I quite like this new attitude of his."
-.-.-
Author's Note: And thus ends the need to explain medical jargon! Hopefully it hasn't been too confusing.
Thank you all so much for the reviews! I'm trying to reply to them all but sometimes I might miss one here or there, please know that even if I don't manage to reply I'm reading every single one and appreciate your comments! :)
