Medicine

The sound of coughing from the other room was muffled as though the person were trying to disguise it. Sasuke sighed as he lifted the tray from the worktop and made his way through to the guest bedroom where his 'patient' was resting. Suddenly the coughing cut off altogether and Sasuke snorted. She had probably heard his footsteps and was determined to make him believe that she was fine.

Using his hip to help balance the tray, Sasuke slid the door open and entered. Balled up tissues littered the bedside unit while the patient was propped up on pillows in the bed wearing an oversized dark T-shirt. Pink hair was loosely pulled back in a messy bun and green eyes were glazed. Sasuke couldn't help but note the irony. Sakura could bring a ninja back from the brink of death. She could knit bones back together, remove deadly poisons that destroyed the organs and form an antidote to treat them, and heal injuries that any other medical ninja would declare were fatal. Yet the common cold had bested her.

And it was true what they said. The best medics made the worst patients. It had taken Tsunade threatening two years of D-rank missions and a year of going over the basics of medical ninjutsu that she had learned at the age of twelve, and Sasuke still had to physically drag Sakura out of the hospital. He decided to take her to his house instead of hers. It was the only way that he could be sure that she would actually rest and not try to sneak back into the hospital.

Her glazed green eyes narrowed as he placed the tray on her lap before she turned her attention to the food and drink sat before her.

"Is that-?" she began, lifting the spoon absently and pointing it towards the bowl of steaming soup.

"Chicken soup," he finished, dragging a chair over to the side of the bed.

She seemed to be having some sort of internal battle, the spoon hovering over the soup. "Honestly Sasuke, I'm fine."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Sakura, just eat the soup."

His teammate pouted but her curiosity about Sasuke's culinary skills was pushing her to at least try it. Yet Sakura couldn't help but feel that if she ate the soup, she was losing some imaginary battle, conceding defeat, admitting that she was sick.

Seeing that she was teetering on the edge of a decision, Sasuke added, "It's my Mother's recipe. When Itachi and I didn't want to take medicine, she made that soup. That was our alternative."

Sakura gazed at him in surprise, then frowned. "So, if I don't eat the soup…" she started.

"I'll go get the medicine," he finished.

She scowled. "There isn't medicine for the cold." Then her eyes widened.

Sasuke smirked. "I thought you weren't sick."

Muttering under her breath, Sakura raised the spoon to her mouth. As she swallowed, she looked at Sasuke. The heat was welcome and she could just taste the chicken. "It's good," she told him with a smile.

He nodded and picked up the steaming mug from the tray. "Try this. Fennel seeds, mint, grated ginger and lemon."

Sakura took the cup from him and sipped. The fluid slid down her throat and Sakura sighed. She didn't even realise that she had closed her eyes until she felt something touch her forehead and she snapped them open. Sasuke's face was right in front of hers, two fingers touching her forehead.

"Eat as much as you can. I'll be back in a bit."

Sakura watched him walk away. There was no medicine for the cold but getting taken care of by Sasuke Uchiha certainly worked for her.