Naruto took a deep breath, he closed his eyes and closed his hands tightly in a fist before stepping inside the hospital room.
"Hey you old pervert" - he faked his happy greeting. The old white haired male in the bed laughed out loud.
"Hey kid, you alone today?"
"Yup, Sasuke's with his dad,you know, training to be the next Uchiha successor and all that crap" - Naruto pulled a chair next to the bed and laid his head down, the old man placed a hand on top of the blonde hair and stroked gently.
"Doctors say i am doing better"
"Old Jiraiya can't be stuck in the hospital forever, poor nurses have to suffer with your advances" - both of them laughed.
"I'm sorry i haven't been able to visit lately" - the old man apologized
"I know you're busy. Besides, Sasuke keeps me company all the time, i don't feel alone anymore"
"Oh, i have been replaced by that gorgeous young boy" -
"Since six years ago"
"That hurts, but i guess I can't give you what he does" - Jiraiya said with a wink, Naruto sat down straight with a grimace.
"Gross" - he said, gagging at the mere thought making Jiraiya burst out in laughter.
"Is Fugaku treating you alright?"
"He does, at least he is trying to be civil. We don't talk much, but him welcoming Sasuke back to the family was enough for me"
"You have someone at your side that loves you unconditionally, a small but cozy apartment, you are happy. I think my job is done" - Naruto laid back down, and he lifted Jiraiya's had to place it on top of his head, like he did when he was small, with a low laugh the old man resumed his soft caress.
"Don't say that… I'll still feel lonely, you know? You are my dad, you, who took me in when your friends died, you who had no obligation or even knew how to take care of a young kid"
"I'll be able to leave next week, maybe we can catch up and eat some ramen with Sasuke"
"That sounds great" - both remained silent for the next hour, just enjoying each other's company.
XxXx
Sasuke laid down next to his boyfriend with an exhausted sigh, his meeting had run so long he thought he was going to sleep in his father's office. Naruto cuddled up to him and buried his face in the sable hair.
"I missed you"
"I missed you too" - Sasuke turned around to peck the boy's lips a few times, nibbling the lower lip on his last kiss.
"Are you sure you can come and have dinner with us tomorrow? Old perv will be out of the hospital at 2:00pm his assistant will pick him up and we'll meet at Ichiraku's at six"
"I join you, don't fret. I already told my father I had a date with my delicious blonde boyfriend" - Sasuke lifted himself to straddle the boy beneath him, moving his hips ever so slowly.
"Speaking of a perv. Seems we have another one right here" - Naruto joked
"Shut it" - Sasuke growled as he proceeded to undress the boy beneath him.
XxXx
Naruto looked at his watch impatiently, Jiraiya hadn't called yet, it was already three and he hadn't been notified of his discharge, on top of that Sasuke had told him he would probably be late so he was stressing about everything. His phone rang somewhere in his room and the blonde ran to pick it up.
"You freaking perv, about time you called" - he chastised as he saw the hospital number flash on his screen.
"Uzumaki Naruto?" - a voice told him from the other line, the boy froze. "This is doctor Shizue, I'm calling from Konoha's central hospital"
"I know"
"Sir, i am truly sorry to be giving you this news over the phone, your father, Jiraiya passed away a few hours ago, we need you to come to the hospital as soon as possible. I am terribly sorry for your lose" - Naruto heard her but he couldn't respond, he didn't know how, what was he supposed to say, where was he supposed to go. The phone fell out of his hand and he felt himself falling down to the ground.
Sasuke was furious, he had completed his tasks as fast as he could and he was still 10 minutes late. On top of that he wanted to go to their apartment to change from his suit, he had messaged Naruto an apology but the idiot had not answered yet so he assumed he was angry. He opened the door of his apartment and ran to his room to change, Naruto was there on the floor, just staring at the wall blindly, his phone near his hand flashing angrily with all the unread messages.
"Naruto? What happened?" - Sasuke knelt down in front of the blonde and the blue eyes suddenly focused on him, the tears fell down as if on queue, and he screamed, he screamed so loud he thought he had gone insane. Sasuke's instinct kicked in, he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and pulled him into a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry love, i'm so sorry" - he whispered, he didn't need to hear it, he knew what had happened.
Naruto cried, he cried until there were no more tears left to shed, until his voice no longer came out of his throat, until his eyes closed involuntarily and he passed out.
Sasuke held him tightly and rocked him until the boy went lax in his arms. He picked him up and laid him on the bed and took the phone in his hands. He was going to get everything sorted out so his lover would not suffer any more than he had to.
XxXx
Naruto had stood silent all the funeral, his eyes were blank, sad and devoid of any life. Sasuke was by his side, holding his hand but the boy did not return the gesture.
"We'll go to my dad's house, he wants us to stay, so they can look after you" - Sasuke expected some resistance, some complaining but the blonde seemed absent, like his soul wasn't even there.
They arrived at the Uchiha mansion and Itachi had personally helped with their belongings, the blonde was taken to Sasuke's room, his boyfriend had tucked him in bed and in the safety and in the solitude of the room the blonde cried himself to sleep.
For a week, Sasuke had skipped his job, he had cared for his boyfriend who remained unmoving and silent, he didn't want to eat, he refused to shower, he never smiled and it was taking all of Sasuke's willpower not to break. Jiraiya was the last person that linked him to his parents, the only father figure he had in his life, it was normal he felt alone, he knew the boy was hurting but he was so scared of losing him if this keeped up, he had no words to offer, the ones he had shared had fallen to deaf ears. If only Jiraiya was there, he thought, so ironic.
"Sasuke dear, can you give us a minute?" - Mikoto called from the door, her son nodded with a sad smile and left the comfort of his bed where he had been spooning his boyfriend. The elegant and beautiful woman stepped inside and sat down beside her son's boyfriend. "This came for you today, it's from Jiraiya" - she extended a white envelope. Naruto sat down weakly and took the envelope in his shaking fingers.
"Do you want me to leave?" - she asked
"No ma'am" - Naruto croaked. The blonde boy opened the letter.
"My son,
I am sorry but I think I won't be able to have dinner with you. I lied, I am not getting discharged, but I think that at this point you already know the truth. I could not find it in my heart to cause you sorrow. I leave without any regrets, you have grown to become such a wonderful man, you have found a companion that will accompany you in this life for as long as the gods allow it, you are an excellent chef with a bright future and you are a gentle soul. Your parents would be very proud, I sure am. I didn't say it enough while you were growing up but I love you, you are my son, not bound by blood but something bigger, more fantastic and unique. I am glad your father chose me as your godfather.
Don't grieve more than necessary, I'll let you off a week or two but life goes on kiddo, and yours is destined to be grand, you've suffered enough already.
Remember to stay away from the three taboos of life, as I always say they will most certainly ruin you as it happened to me. Alcohol, money and women will bring you to your doom. Well, let's discard women, yeah? I don't think you'll ever have trouble in that department.
My lawyer will contact you in a few weeks, hopefully (or you can fire him), i bought a house for you two, so you can start your small family with Sasuke, i know you never wanted to depend on my money even when you needed it, you were always so hard headed (Sasuke if you ever read this, i think this is the part when you agree). I think your stuck up future father in law will appreciate the taste and size of your new home. All my possessions and all the proceeds from my books will be given to you, no way of refusing and I'm not there to listen to your whining.
Be strong kid, and give Sasuke a tight hug, tell him that if he ever hurts you, I'll come back to haunt him. Be happy my son."
Naruto clutched the paper to his chest and sobbed, Mikoto hugged him and stroked his back. "It's ok, everything will be ok" - she hushed the crying blonde.
That was the last day Naruto had cried, he had woken up earlier than Sasuke the next morning and he had stolen the Uchiha's kitchen to cook the entire family a delicious breakfast as a thank you for taking care of him when he was down. Sasuke had made his way to the kitchen when he could not find Naruto nearby, he hugged Naruto from behind and with a small kiss on the boy's shoulder he greeted him and welcomed him back to his usual self.