Naruto walked into Itachi's office with Sasuke at his side. Hinata was on her feet and wrapping her arms around him the moment she saw him. He winced at the strength of her grip and patted her back in a comforting gesture. Her gaze softened as she pulled back and stared at his face with relief.

"I'm so glad you're on the mend, Naruto. I was worried."

"You and me both," he said with a light-hearted laugh and a smile that did not quite reach his eyes.

His stomach was still in knots over the dark red scar on his chest. It had gotten progressively harder to look at it as the days passed. He didn't know what was wrong with him. It was just a scar and scars had never bothered him beforoe. Even Sasuke looking at it was a painful experience. He even went so far as to avoid showers with him; and no longer allowed him to touch the mark, or even look at it. If Sasuke noticed a change in his attitude, he never said anything and for now, he was happy to keep things that way.

"Itachi told me he was removing your staples today. I bet you're glad."

Naruto nodded and rubbed at his chest. "Yeah, I'm ready to get them out. The scar itches like a bitch."

Itachi had offered to come to the apartment. Apparently as daunting as the little pieces of metal looked, they were fairly simple to remove. A special grasping device was all that was needed and it could easily be brought to the house. But, Naruto wanted to talk with Itachi and doing so in the apartment was not the easiest thing to keep from Sasuke. The man had the ears of a bat.

"Make sure you don't pick at the scabs," she said with a gentle smile. "It could cause you to get an infection and that is something you definitely don't need."

He smiled in acknowledgement. She was almost motherly to him. It was nice on most days, but today he was living on a bit of a short fuse. Just getting up this morning had taken a chore. Hiding his depression from Sasuke was taking its toll on him. He needed to find something to fixate on other than the dark red mark running down his chest and the beating heart that was not completely his own.

"You can go on back to the exam room. Itachi made sure that you were his only appointment today."

"You can wait here if you want, Sasuke."

Sasuke paused and stared at Naruto, a slight tightening of his lips was the only sign he gave of being unsure how to answer him. "Do you want me to stay out here?"

Naruto shrugged and grinned. "I just wanted to give you options. I know you get bored easy."

"I think you're confusing me with you."

Naruto's smile widened. "Maybe. You get bored easily too."

Sasuke watched him intently for several moments before finally nodding. "I'll wait out here for now and let you have your alone time with my brother."

"Aren't you the least bit jealous of Itachi?" Naruto gave Sasuke's shoulder a bit of a poke. "I mean, he's got Uchiha genes so he's naturally good looking. Uchiha personalities leave a bit to be desired, but I can work with it."

"Is that the only reason you're with me? Because of my looks?"

Naruto's lips creased in an impish grin. "Maybe."

"Go on back there before I smack you."

"You wouldn't hit a sick man, would you?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned to a seat in the waiting area. "The only place you're sick is in the head."

Naruto relaxed at Sasuke nonchalant attitude. His partner could read him so well. He was glad Sasuke was not fighting him about staying in the waiting room. Speaking with Itachi would be easier if they were alone.

He sent a final smile to Hinata. It wasn't hard to miss the longing glances she sent toward Itachi's closed office door when she thought no one was looking. After nearly making a career of standing on the sidelines watching people, he had learned a thing or two about reading people. If those two ever got together, there would be some definite fireworks exploding. At least thinking about Itachi's love life gave him something to amuse himself and keep his thoughts from his less pleasant thoughts.

Walking into the exam room, he settled himself on the table and stared at the framed picture on the wall. It was an enlarged photograph of a love beach sunset. The reds and purples seemed to stretch out forever in the distance and merged almost seamlessly with the horizon so that it became difficult to determine when heaven ended and the earth began. That was a scene he would like to see with his own eyes instead of in a picture or on television. There was so much that he still wanted to do if he could come to terms with the feelings that came along with the new heart in his chest.

"Good afternoon, Naruto."

Naruto blinked and turned to where Itachi stood in the doorway, looking amused. "What?"

"Oh, just thinking how good you look compared to three weeks ago."

"Yeah, well if you're nosing about for a bit of groveling in thanks at your feet, you're going to be waiting a long time."

A chuckle rumbled from Itachi's chest as he approached. It had been over a week since he had last seen the man and he found himself missing their dialogue in the time. For a while, he had seen Itachi daily and even when he was at death's door, there was still enough fight left in him to maintain their witty exchanges.

"Well, at least I know I have the pleasure of having touched a part of you that Sasuke never will."

Naruto wrinkled his nose and punched him hard in the shoulder. "Geez, stop being a pervert."

"What? It's true that I've touched your heart, granted it was physically, but still, Sasuke will never have that particular pleasure."

"You're a weird bastard."

"So you tell me quite regularly." Itachi grabbed a blood pressure cuff from the table and proceeded to take his bp and pulse with practiced ease. Why he didn't let Hinata handle the more mundane tasks as so many other doctors did was beyond Naruto. He suspected that he was special because of who he was and his relationship with Sasuke. Itachi had grown to be quite protective of him in recent years, treating him much like a second brother rather than simply as a patient.

Throwing down a file with Naruto's name printed neatly on the tab, he began jotting in the vitals. "Your vitals are good and I imagine after you've had a chance to fully heal and become active again, they will only improve."

"Glad to see it doesn't take much to make you happy."

Itachi glared at him over the rim of his reading glasses. "You're certainly chipper today."

"No more than usual."

"Care to enlighten me?"

Naruto shook his head. "I just feel weird being alive."

"How so?"

"I can't help but think that I should have died waiting for a heart and now here I am."

"That's common considering you very nearly did. There are standards that dictate when a patient is too sick to risk losing the organ they would receive by transplanting it and they are passed over for someone deemed capable of surviving. That is a point when my colleagues would believe that putting in a heart would not save you regardless of if you would reject it or not, but I refused to believe you could ever reach that point. You had a reason to fight."

Naruto stared at Itachi, seeing the emotion in his eyes. It was something he very rarely showed and he swallowed thickly. "Had I reached that point?"

Itachi blinked, his face going as blank and unreadable as a piece of paper. "Sometimes a man has to take a risk for the ones he loves."

A sudden chill went through Naruto and his eyes widened. Itachi wouldn't have faked vitals just to keep him on the list. It was simply something he would never do. The man was as straight a shooter as they came when it dealt with his profession and patients. It was why no one blinked an eye when he took over his case despite the relationship between him and Sasuke.

"Itachi..."

Itachi shook his head. "I won't speak of this again. What I may have done doesn't matter because you survived and are thriving with your new heart. No harm was done. You received the heart that was meant for you."

Naruto stared blankly at him, all thought seeming to drift from his mind except for the blaring words. Itachi had lied on medical documentation in order to keep Naruto from being passed over for the next available heart. It might not seem so bad when considering that he had not died on the operating table and so far had not rejected his heart; but for Itachi to do such a thing without qualm, he had to have been very desperate at the time.

"Did you do the right thing? Someone could have been saved because of this heart."

Itachi rolled his eyes and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Someone was."

The words were not a relief considering the remorse he was feeling. If anything, they only made it compound on itself. Someone else, someone more worthy could have lived with this heart and still he got it because his doctor lied about his vitals to keep him in UNOS's database.

"Naruto, I don't regret what I did because I knew you could survive."

"But what if I hadn't? You would have wasted a heart."

"I don't deal in what ifs. I deal in what I know and I knew the moment that your vitals started dropping that you needed a heart and I refused to lose either of you." Itachi's hand tightened on his shoulder. "You're not angry with me, are you? I consider you as much my brother as Sasuke. I would do anything for you."

"Is that something a doctor should say?"

"Absolutely," answered Itachi firmly.

"I can't deny that I am happy that I have a healthy heart, but weren't you worried that I would die?"

"Like any doctor, I took a gamble and it paid off. Now, take off your shirt."

"Still trying to get me naked?"

Itachi snorted. "Just do it unless you want to keep those staples in permanently."

Naruto snapped his lips closed and tugged the loose t-shirt over his head. The pale of the bandage was bright against the natural tan of his skin. He probably could have stopped wearing the thing days ago, but took any barrier he could get. The bandage did more than protect the surgical site; it also hid the scar from his view as well as Sasuke. He could no longer stand to have Sasuke even look at the mark and had done everything in his power to hide it from him.

Itachi moved away to wash his hands and pull on latex gloves while Naruto carefully removed the white bandage. If he were capable of seeing the wound as it was instead of what it represented, he might have seen the healthy pink of healing skin and the natural scabs that had formed to protect the site from dirt and bacteria while it healed. It was healing perfectly, just as the heart in his chest was beating in perfect rhythm.

Itachi pressed his fingers lightly along the scar, testing the healing and nodding to himself. "Does it hurt?"

"Just a little if I put pressure on the bone."

Itachi nodded and took a small handheld tool that looked like a torture device from the table. "Relax. It might sting a little."

Naruto gave a small wince as Itachi pulled the first staple from his chest. As each was removed, a small dot-like scar was left on each side of the incision where the staple had been inserted. The stinging was barely more than an annoyance and was over quickly. The only thought he had was at least he looked less like Frankenstein's monster without the staples.

Staring at the mark, he clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. The rise of bile in his throat was nearly enough to have him running for the nearest restroom. His stomach was in tight knots and his throat so contracted that simply swallowing was becoming a chore.

Itachi dropped the last staple in a tray on the table and counted each one before sitting back with a satisfied look. "That's all of them. Now, all we need to do is wait for your breastbone to heal, which will probably be another couple of weeks. Avoid heavy lifting and anything that could strain the area."

"Have you had any trouble with your heart, chest palpitations, shortness of breath, pain that was not coming from the surgical site?" asked Itachi, his face growing intense.

"Not really, none that would say I have a problem." Naruto laughed bitterly. "I've never felt so good in my entire life, short of being weak as hell."

"Well, that will get better with time."

"Can I eat a hamburger now?"

Itachi arched a brow. "Brand new heart in your chest and you're looking to ruin it already?"

"Shut up, you dick. I've been waiting to eat something good forever. Sasuke's a hard man and won't feed me hardly anything off that damned list you gave him. I'm dying here."

Naruto did his best to look pitiful for Itachi, not that he had any hope in it working. If Sasuke could resist the looks of pleading so easily, doing so would be a walk in the park for Itachi. The bastard had a heart of ice when he wanted to. What better way to take his mind off less pleasant things than with good food. Low sodium food, as good as Sasuke could cook, still tasted bland regardless of the spices.

"Please."

Itachi rolled his eyes, looking crazy similar to Sasuke when he did the same. "Fine, in moderation and I'm going to tell that to Sasuke. Your heart is still healing and you need to make sure you don't overwork it while it finishes doing so. I don't need to tell you that it still means no hot and heavy sex."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto was almost glad upon hearing that. Sure, he missed sex and his dick didn't mind letting him know that it missed sex too, but sex meant naked and having Sasuke see him naked turned his stomach. Or more precisely, Sasuke seeing his chest naked made him sick. He kept hoping that these feelings would pass, but they remained constant inside him. Even mentioning the things he was feeling to Itachi seemed too difficult to handle. He would continue on the hope that it was natural and they would fade with time.

"Can I go now?"

Itachi nodded and stood with Naruto, pulling him instantly into a hug. It was so uncharacteristic of Itachi that Naruto stood stiff and unmoving throughout the entire duration of the embrace. He was so shocked that he fell back on his old standard. "Should I be worried about you proposing a threesome?"

Itachi pulled back with arched brow and promptly slapped him on the back of his head. "Sasuke was right, you are an idiot."

"Yeah, well, you were the one who was hugging me like I was your long lost lover."

"I was not, and don't go telling Sasuke."

Naruto could not hold back the devious grin that spread across his face. "If you didn't mean it like that, then why are you afraid of me telling Sasuke?"

Itachi shook his head and gave Naruto a shove to the door. "Get out of here and pick up your prescription from Hinata on your way out."

"No more diuretics?"

Giving him a long look, Itachi nodded with a smile. "For now, but if you start retaining fluid, you'll be back on those before you can blink."

"Then, I will do my best not to and to piss at every opportunity."

Itachi followed him out of the exam room and watched as Sasuke rose expectantly from where he sat in one of the plush waiting room chairs. "Before you ask, he's doing perfect, right on the line as far as I can tell."

"Itachi even said I can eat hamburgers now."

"Within moderation," said Itachi and he and Sasuke shared a knowing look that had Naruto visibly scowling.

He knew what that meant. It meant one hamburger sparingly—maybe once a month if he was lucky. What was the point of having a new heart if he was unable to enjoy it?

"Both of you are asses, I hope you know."

Sasuke chuckled and his face softened as he slide an arm around Naruto's waist. "Come one. I'll take you to lunch and let you order anything off the menu."

"Anything?" Naruto tried not to be swayed by the gentleness in his tone. "Even if it is so full of sodium that it might as well just be a giant bowl of salt."

"Are you planning on ordering that?"

Naruto thought for a second before shaking his head. "No, but I thought I would get my limitations out in the open beforehand."

Itachi smiled almost indulgently at the two, though something whispered on the edge of his expression and an intense look drifted across his gaze before being hidden again. Naruto caught it, but refused to think too much into it. If Itachi had truly thought something was wrong, he would have said something, of that he was certain.

"Just make sure he eats bad only in moderation, Sasuke."

Narut stuck out his tongue, but it was Sasuke who answered. "I will."

"Damn it. Two against one," grumbled Naruto under his breath as Sasuke led him toward the exit while fighting back a smile.

"So, how did it go?"

"Not bad. Everything looked good. He took the staples out, but said not to do anything major and no sex."

Sasuke blew out a breath. "I swear, my brother is the worst cockblocker in this universe. I think he's doing it on purpose."

Naruto rolled his eyes. He was about to come back with a witty retort when Sasuke's phone gave a chime to alert about an incoming text. "Not your publisher again? That shit you write cannot be going off the shelves."

Sasuke shot Naruto a vulgar gesture before pulling out his phone and reading the text. "It's from Itachi."

Naruto arched a brow and trotted over to where Sasuke stood reading through the message. He made a grab for Sasuke's hand and looked down at the screen.

Start planning that trip. I think the both of you could use it.

"Trip? What trip?"

"Well, I did promise you a trip to the Caribbean, didn't I?"

"I just got out of the hospital and you're planning a trip? Can I finish healing up first?"

Sasuke slapped at Naruto's head. "I didn't say we were leaving tomorrow. It will take a few weeks to iron out the details and I want to make sure you are in complete health for our trip."

"Yeah, in other words, I should start packing, right?"

"Idiot."

Naruto stuck out his tongue and began walking toward the waiting car. He glanced back to see Sasuke texting, likely a response to Itachi. The frown on his lips did not bode well. What was that bastard and his brother plotting?

He glanced down at his chest covered by only a tee-shirt. He could see the scar with his mind even if his eyes couldn't. Now, he hears that Sasuke wants to take him to the beach? He wanted to go so bad. It was the wonderful place that Sasuke described to him while he lay in bed too sick to do much but listen to the sound of his voice and imagine what it would be like to feel the sand beneath his feet and the salty wind on his face.

Things had not turned out how he had thought they would and it was a fight every day to keep Sasuke from seeing that hint of darkness that grew inside him. Putting on a cheerful smile was so hard.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke glanced up from his phone. "What?"

"Coming or are you going to continue to sext with Itachi?"

A look of pure horror spread across Sasuke's face and lifted Naruto's spirits with it. If there was ever a way to pull Sasuke's attention away from anything, it was to mention Itachi and sex in the same sentence, or more precisely, Sasuke and Itachi and sex in the same sentence. It used to be one of his favorite past times.

"Don't start that shit with me," growled Sasuke as he shoved his phone into his pocket.

"What shit?"

"You know."

"I don't. You'll have to be more specific."

Sasuke growled and wrenched open the door to Scarlett with more force than was necessary. The poor girl probably felt it and Naruto gave a comforting pat to her hood. "Sorry about that bastard, sweetie."

"God, are you trying to piss me off today? Stop that shit and get in the car."

Naruto bit his lip and slid in beside Sasuke. He was immediately shocked as he was tugged almost roughly over the divide between the seat. Sasuke wasted no time devouring his lips in a rough kiss that bordered on violent. Sasuke had been nothing but gentle with him for nearly the entirety of their relationship. Granted, there were times when the sex got a bit rough, but Sasuke was always careful considering the bum heart between them. This was different though. This was violent and primal. It forced his heart to beat fast and loud in his ears. He was almost prepared for his pacemaker to start kicking in if he still had the thing.

"Sasuke," he gasped as he pulled back.

Sasuke stared at him with wild eyes and swollen lips. His eyes were hooded and a red flush stained his cheeks. He looked so unbelievably sexy, that it took all Naruto's strength not to say fuck it to Itachi's order to leave the sex out of their relationship for a little while longer.

"Damn, Sasuke."

"I'm sorry." Sasuke sat back and leaned his head back against the headrest, his eyes closed and his throat swallowing convulsively.

"Is something wrong?"

Sasuke's eyes fluttered open and he glanced at Naruto. "You know how I feel about you, right?"

"You know I do. I love you. I'd like to think you feel the same."

"I do. You would tell me if something was wrong, I mean, really wrong, right?"

Naruto swallowed. "If something was really wrong, something I couldn't fix by myself; then yeah, I'd tell you."

It felt like a lie even though he did not mean it as such. The words were true, only he thought he could fix whatever was wrong with him without dragging Sasuke into it. His lover, the keeper of his heart, had been through too much already. He did not need anything more pushed on him.

"Sasuke." Naruto reached over and grasped his hand. "If I can't handle something, I will tell you. Whatever Itachi said to you, don't believe it."

"He didn't tell me anything, just that we could both use a break from life."

"Then, what's the matter?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I just don't believe that everything can work out perfectly."

With a shaking hand, Naruto drew Sasuke's head close and pressed their brows together. "We'll figure things out. You should do what Itachi told you and plan that trip, but seriously, give me a little while to finish healing and then get some stamina back. I don't want to go to the beach and then be too tired to do anything but lay in bed all day. Even if you were in bed with me, if I go to the Caribbean, I want to be physically able to enjoy it."

"Me too."

"So, we'll go to the beach in a few weeks?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah."

Naruto relaxed and pressed his face into Sasuke's neck, breathing in the scent of his cologne. At least now Sasuke would have something to focus on, giving Naruto a chance to work through his emotions. He didn't like the thought of pushing Sasuke away, and this would be the perfect chance for him to have the space to figure out what his problem was. Or, so he hoped.

AN: I totally forgot to update this. You guys got to keep on me, because I totally forget so easily. Anyway, enjoy. :)