Shisui knew feeling the agitated pounding of his heart against his back was stressing Itachi out. He could tell because Itachi wouldn't stop squirming in his arms, with an unpleased scowl creasing that pretty face of his. But Shisui just couldn't help it. Hell, he couldn't even bring himself to feel annoyed because of how unusually childish his boyfriend was behaving. He was too worried for that. So, instead of trying to calm himself down, he opted for squeezing Itachi a little tighter. Which Itachi didn't appreciate, at all.

Itachi was short of breath, which was somehow good because it meant he didn't have the strength to peel Shisui away from him, but bad because each tiny unsteady puff of air that left his lips made Shisui feel like he would faint from lack of oxygen himself. Tsunade-sama seemed to take notice of this, because she turned her attention to Shisui for a few seconds to try and coax him into taking deep breaths while caressing his cheek, with a frown of her own.

"Look closely, Sakura," Tsunade-sama said, and the cute pink-haired girl she had brought with her blinked her large green eyes at Shisui. "This is very common. Sometimes it's not the patient who gets the most anxious, but the person who is accompanying them. Parents are your main concern, they can be a pain in the ass. Mother-hen-boyfriends, on the other hand, are a lot more docile."

As if to prove her point, Tsunade-sama gave Shisui a slight slap on the cheek a tiny bit too rough to be a love tap. Shisui succeeded into sucking a deep breath in then, only so he would be able to let a proper whine escape his lips while he pressed his cheek against Itachi's, trying to soothe the sting. It didn't help. Itachi's skin was too warm for that. And it earned him one more smack from Tsunade-sama, this time on his thigh.

"Do you want to get sick as well, Shisui?" Tsunade-sama narrowed her eyes at him. "Bacterial infections are highly contagious. No breath sharing."

"So, it's an infection?" Shisui started to hyperventilate again, and this time it was little bitty Sakura who put him back in his place with a hearty flick of her wrist. Well, wasn't she worthy of her mentor's affection. Tsunade-sama even patted her head approvingly, a soft smile gracing her lips. Sakura beamed.

"Yes, it is," Tsunade-sama said, while returning her full attention to Itachi. Disapproval slowly took over her delicate features once more. "But, luckily, it's barely beginning. His symptoms are not serious yet. You called me right on time, Fugaku. He'll be just fine, there's no need for him to spend the night in the hospital."

Shisui looked at Fugaku for the first time since Tsunade-sama had entered the room. Itachi's father was leaning against the door frame, eyes trained on his oldest son, and the look in his face made Shisui shudder. He wasn't even blinking. No matter how hard Itachi and Sasuke tried to match his glare, they just would never get right the spine-chilling feeling his dark eyes conveyed. He didn't even need to scowl, like Itachi was doing. His tightly set jaw said everything.

Itachi was in trouble.

"My deepest apology for bothering you with this, Tsunade-sama," Fugaku said, and his shoulders barely shifted as he took in a deep breath. Mortals would not be able to tell, but Shisui had spent more than enough time with Itachi's family as not to recognize relief hiding in his clan leader's posture. "I would have never expected something like this from Itachi. I wish I hadn't reacted as impulsively as I did when I called for you. If I had known, I would have waited until you were truly available."

Tsunade-sama shook her head slowly.

"Don't mention it, Fugaku. It was good you told me about this," Tsunade-sama said, looking seriously into his eyes. She truly was an elite shinobi. To meet the murderous eyes of a worried sick father… "Itachi is going to be okay precisely because you found out he was sick on time. Waiting one more day could have worsened his condition drastically. You took the right decision."

Itachi stiffened in Shisui's arms. Though he didn't make a sound, Shisui knew that the conversation was driving him crazy. He deeply respected Tsunade-sama and his father, so he hadn't said a single word so far, but Shisui knew he hated it when people acted like he wasn't there. Fugaku evidently knew that too, since he had purposely babied Itachi by explaining Tsunade-sama all of his symptoms like he was some five-year-old.

"Besides, this is the time I usually spend on training Sakura, so it wasn't entirely lost," Tsunade-sama said. "I'm sure she's learned a lot in this visit. It's the first time I let her see one of my patients with me. Speaking of which—"

Tsunade-sama took Itachi's chin in one of her hands and Itachi obediently opened his mouth, though he made sure to show how unhappy he was by drawing his eyebrows together. Tsunade-sama didn't seem to mind, she only tilted his head back, so the light of the room would allow her to have a better look at his throat.

"Have a look, Sakura," Tsunade-sama instructed. "Though it's not that bad, you can clearly appreciate the irritation."

Sakura, whose eyes had been lit with fierce determination since the very moment she'd walked into the room, looked a little shy all of sudden. Tsunade-sama's raised eyebrow was all it took to bully her into getting closer, though. She still looked unsure as she stood in front of Itachi, and Shisui just had to smile at her encouragingly because she was adorable.

He didn't miss that Itachi's glare softened a little, and that he relaxed his muscles. It made Shisui hide a smile against his shoulder, and Sakura perk up with hopeful look. Then, as Itachi moved a little so it would be easier for her to see, her entire face lit up, and Shisui decided he wanted to adopt her.

She was Itachi's baby brother's teammate, after all. It made sense that even when grumpy Itachi would have a soft spot for her. It was just the same with Sasuke, always.

"His tonsils are just slightly swollen," Tsunade-sama continued, as Sakura carefully took a peek inside Itachi's mouth. "This is perfectly treatable with oral antibiotics for normal patients. For disobedient and uncooperative brats like Itachi who can't afford the risk of a worsening illness aggravating their delicate condition, on the other hand, we use injections. Painful injections, with a thick solution, and a long needle."

Sakura grimaced, but had the sensibility of looking away and biting his lip sympathetically. Shisui felt Itachi tensing up against him again.

"That way you ensure each dose is delivered. Or, well, at least it should be like that," Tsunade-sama said, narrowing her eyes. "When you have the misfortune of having a stubborn genius as a patient, though, it can be still impressively hard to achieve it. So, you need to get the family and into the picture."

Tsunade-sama took a moment to rub her temples.

"Not that that seemed to help in this case," She sighed. "It was incredibly stupid what you did, Itachi. You're very lucky your father was keeping an eye on you, because I specifically asked him to. Who knows for how long you were planning on hiding that fever."

Shisui tried to nuzzle Itachi, feeling a knot forming in his throat. He was upset with him too, yes, but he just didn't like hearing someone scolding him. Itachi, like Tsunade-sama had said, was a genius. He was perfect. Obedient. It felt so wrong to hear someone as important as a sannin reprimanding him like that. It wasn't fair.

"Um—," Sakura ventured, with her head slightly cocked. "Itachi-san was supposed to get an injection two weeks ago precisely to prevent this from happening, right, shishō? But he— he somehow managed not to get it this month."

"Exactly," Tsunade-sama nodded. "It's ideal to avoid even the mildest illnesses like this one. I'm relieved it's just this, though, and not a much aggressive form of it. This can be treated with the same antibiotic he was supposed to have fifteen days ago, because it's very strong. It'll get rid of the infection in a blink. I'll be giving that to you now, Itachi, where do you have it?"

"There's no need, Tsunade-sama," Fugaku intervened. "I don't want to bother you taking away more of your time. I'll do it. I still remember the first aid training we received when we became jōnin."

"Are you sure?" Tsunade-sama asked, looking just slightly uncertain.

"I was the one who injected him last month. And I did promise him I would do it again if he dared to skip a dose again," Fugaku insisted. "I definitely don't have your ability, Tsunade-sama, but I really don't wish to importunate you any longer. You should be spending your time teaching this young lady, not dealing with Itachi. And he already had his chance to have you injecting him, which would have hurt a lot less, but he let it slip away."

"It's not a problem—" Sakura started, but Tsunade-sama interrupted her.

"Well, I was actually planning on introducing her to the taijutsu lessons—"

Now Sakura was the one who interrupted her, with an excited whoop. Then she blushed, a little, and looked deeply ashamed of herself for not being able to force herself to go on with her polite insistence. Tsunade-sama smiled, almost devilishly.

"Then we're done here," Fugaku decided, crossing his arms over his chest. "I want to thank you again for coming over, Tsunade-sama. Don't worry about Itachi. Actually, I think it would be better if I was the one administering his medicine every month from now on. He's been misconducting just too much."

"That could work," Tsunade-sama nodded, standing up from where she had been sitting next to Itachi's bed. "You and Mikoto know your son better than anyone, Fugaku. Outsmarting me and the hospital personal might be easy for him, but I'm sure he'll have a lot of trouble trying to do the same with you two. It's definitely a good idea."

Tsunade-sama and Fugaku left the room, Sakura trailing before them, and Shisui heard Fugaku vehemently insist for Tsunade-sama to accept something. A generous amount of money, if Tsunade-sama's hesitant stuttering while she tried to refuse was anything to go by. Her attempt at pretending she didn't want the money was so poor she ended up giving in after thirty seconds. Shisui counted them.

When he heard the footsteps start to fade as Fugaku led Tsunade-sama and Sakura to the main door, Shisui finally allowed himself to start cooing at his boyfriend like he'd so desperately wanted to since he'd first seen him that day. Itachi stubbornly refused to do as little as turn his head to look at him, but that didn't discourage Shisui.

"My poor sweet pea," Shisui mumbled against Itachi's shoulder. "Falling victim of his own idiotic decisions. Is that why you're this sulky, my love? Because you didn't get away with it, like you always do with everything else? One would think you'd learned the lesson last month."

So maybe Shisui did want to kiss Itachi's grumpiness away, but that didn't mean he was happy about what he'd done, and he wasn't about to reward him when he clearly didn't deserve it. No matter how much that hurt Shisui's own desires.

"But it's okay. This only means that your parents will be fussing over you as twice as before from now on, so there's no way you'll able to pull this again the next months," Shisui said, now caressing Itachi's jaw with his nose, despite his unresponsiveness. "That's excellent news for me."

Then he unwrapped his arms from around Itachi, wincing at how cramped they were —he'd been holding him really tight— and gave Itachi's ponytail a gentle tug.

"Now, lay down, sweetheart," Shisui said, hardening his voice just a little. "Your father will be back soon, and it'll be time for you to pay for your crimes."

Itachi elbowed him in the stomach, hard enough to take his breath away, just as Fugaku re-entered the room. Shisui coughed but made his best to recover silently, pretending that nothing had happened. Didn't feel like explaining how he'd let his guard down only because Itachi looked inoffensive with his fever tinted cheeks, much less to his unforgiving clan leader.

"One," Fugaku said, taking seat in the chair Tsunade-sama had been using, furious eyes piercing through Shisui's soul even though they weren't directed at him. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't haul you over my lap in this second like you were some unruly brat your younger brother's age, Itachi."

Shisui's face started burning in seconds, and he was already clumsily trying to detangle his limbs from the blankets, so he could climb down the bed and get the hell out of there, when Itachi took him firmly by his wrist. Shisui almost choked on his own air, but Itachi still didn't spare him a single glance. No matter how insistently Shisui tugged, Itachi wouldn't let him escape that awkward situation.

"A failed mission," Itachi said, voice not wavering the slightest bit. Which was impressive, Shisui had to admit. He wasn't sure he would've managed to sound so calm after his clan leader had threatened him like that. "There were dozens of severely injured, father. All the personal of the hospital was trying to help. They barely found some time in between to fit some patients in. Patients who were truly sick."

"Tsunade-sama planned on giving you that injection herself," Fugaku said, narrowing his eyes. "You weren't in a hurry. All you had to do was wait until your turn came."

"Tsunade-sama is the world's greatest medical-nin. She was needed," Itachi replied right away, and sounded like he was making a very big effort not to grit his teeth. "I couldn't just ask her to leave her duty only, so she could attend me. It was unnecessary."

"Except you didn't have to ask her anything," Fugaku said. "She called you in three times, Itachi. You were the one who kept telling her not to worry and go on attending the other patients. That'swhy she finally decided for assigning a nurse to do it. And then you decided to go and try to fool her, a sannin, by telling her that you'd already received the injection from another nurse. Do you have no respect?"

Fugaku's voice had increased significantly by the time he ended that sentence, so he had to inhale deeply to regain his unsettling undisturbed expression. There was true anger in his eyes, though. Shisui was starting to sweat, even though he wasn't the one in trouble.

Itachi, undoubtedly his father's son, managed to look just as impassive, even under that frightful glare.

"It was a very bad lie," Itachi admitted, after a few seconds. "—but she still fell for it."

Fugaku was standing in front of Itachi in less than a blink.

Shisui had one protective arm curled around Itachi's middle before he could stop himself, out of pure instinct. Though Fugaku looked very ready to fulfill his threat, Shisui didn't miss that there was something new glinting in his eyes. Incredulity.

And then Itachi went on.

"—which only proves how distracted she was, and how she had much more important matters in her head. Just as the rest of the personal," Itachi said. "I didn't want to inconvenience anyone. They were all so busy. It was so much important than a simple preventive treatment. Even the people who were sick deserved the attention before me."

Some of the anger melted slowly from Fugaku's eyes. It was replaced with deep, painful frustration, and Shisui couldn't blame him. The man didn't make an effort into maintaining his menacing posture, he only rubbed his face with both hands and stood in silence for a few minutes, as if wondering how in the name of hell he should proceed after hearing that.

"You're my son, Itachi," Fugaku said, finally, and it evidently took Itachi by surprise, judging the way he held his breath. "Do you have the slightest idea of how mad I felt when I realized you had a fever? How much it—" He cut himself off. Shisui suspected he had been about to say he had been terrified. "How utterly frightening it was to think that you'd gotten sick even though you'd received your treatment?"

Itachi looked down for the first time since Shisui had arrived, and he had gotten there hours before Tsunade-sama. He evidently hadn't had that in mind. It didn't surprise Shisui at all. Itachi could be the most insolent brat when something was about defending other people's wellbeing and rights. When something was about him, though, he never seemed to know how to react.

"You think what you did was right because you were putting everyone before you, like you always do," Fugaku continued. "But things don't work like that. You're young, Itachi. You're a kid. You can't go around thinking that everyone deserves to have preferences over you only because you're an elite shinobi. You can't protect anyone if you're not protecting yourself first."

He sounded almost defeated. Shisui understood why. It wasn't the first time he'd had that conversation with Itachi.

"But though you truly are such a gentle child, I know that wasn't the only reason behind your disobedience, Itachi," Fugaku said, and Shisui felt Itachi's muscles tense so much it had to be painful. "Fifteen days, Itachi. You could've gone back any other day to get it. Or, if the idea of admitting you'd lied was just too unbearable for you, you could have asked me to inject you again."

"You were busy training with Sasuke. The chunin exams are—"

"We have been having dinner together for the past two weeks, Itachi," Fugaku cut him short. "Every single night. It doesn't matter how busy were we all these days. You had more than one chance."

This time, Itachi remained quiet. And Shisui's breath became shaky with anxiety.

"Shisui," Fugaku said, after a few minutes of silence, voice gentler than Shisui would've expected. Only then did he dare to look straight at him. "Will you allow me to have a few words with Itachi, alone? It would be really helpful if you could prepare his medicine meanwhile. He stores it in the first aid kit. You know where that is, right?"

Itachi's grip on his wrist relaxed then, but he still didn't say a word. Shisui looked at him, feeling a little unsure, but Itachi only nudged him weakly to stand up. Though Shisui tried really hard to see his eyes while he complied, Itachi didn't let him. Not yet.

"Yes, uncle," Shisui replied, reluctantly. And then he left.