Authors note: it's finally here! i tried uploading this so many times but it never seemed right, then the day i went to post it the site was down! anyway here is the final chapter of bedridden. I'm not sure how pleased i am with this ending but y'all have been waiting long enough so here it is. i have another story i want to upload today but we will se what happens. Thanks for reading!
Anger, aggravation, disappointment. He felt all theses things acutely and for one reason. He had yet to see Sakura since his hospital departure. Three weeks... even thinking about it made him angry, more with himself than anyone else.
He'd been felling that a lot lately, coupled with a distinct burring sensation that swirled in his stomach and rose to his chest. The first time it happened he assumed it was some fashion of heartburn or upset stomach but then he realised what it actually was. He been out of the hospital for all of a few hours and he missed her. Thoughts of her brought a tightening in his chest and... What did they call it? Butterflies, or some such nonsense. The phrase may have been nonsense but the feeling was not. Any fleeting thoughts he may have had, any denials were gone now.
She swam through his dreams, his every waking moment. She had infiltrated his mind to the point that he could not shake her and more importantly than that, he didn't want to. He had been fairly positive about what was happening before he left the hospital but now he was one hundred percent sure.
Those silly women were worried he would not doing anything about his feelings but they could not have been more wrong. To give them due credit they had given him fair warning. He hadn't expected to become so encompassed, but he wouldn't trade it, not for anything. Hinata had picked him up from the hospital and had watched him look back at the hospital with a sense of regret.
"Don't worry Nii-san. You can come back to see her tomorrow." That all knowing tone rubbed him the wrong way but he knew she was right. It was then he decided that he would be back, sooner rather than later. He went home to his family and a lovely diner, but something was wrong. He knew what it was. So he went to bed with plans from the next day. His diner, despite the company felt lonely and worse still he ket expecting her to walk through the door and check on him. He wanted to hear her voice and see her face. After one night away he was ready to march back to the hospital and insist that she go to diner with him right that minute even if he had to sit around and wait for an interval where she might be free.
Except she wasn't there, which he found out when he walked through the doors. A wide eyed nurse nervously explained to him that Sakura had been called away by the hokage for a mission the night before. He now knew what the emergency was that had called her from discharging him. She had not been there to see him off. Udon had filled out his paperwork and wished him and cheerfully subdued, "See you soon Hyuuga-san." He had hoped to find her walking the halls on his way out but by that point she had probably been on her way to whatever distant land the Hokage sent her to.
And that was when the frustration began. More than anything he felt that. The frustration that burned through every moment recently and that just would not leave. And it was all Tsunade's fault. He would have cursed the ground the kage walked on if he was not already sure it would retaliate on him in the form of missions away and heaps of paperwork. Neither of those things aided in his goal of spending more time with Sakura, so he refrained despite being sorely tempted.
Thus the walk to the hospital became a daily event until she returned. Everyday the nurse behind the desk shook her head at him, already knowing the question and he would turn away disappointed until the thought of tomorrow sprang into mind. He had never been such a hopeful person before and he was beginning to wonder if the new outlook was changing him somehow. Then he would shake that off and head back home to meditate and think of her, wondering if she was drifting through the gates right that minute. He wondered if she would make a stop else where before checking into the hospital. He would have gone to her house to find out except he did not want to seem like a stalker (somehow staking out her work seemed less intrusive) and she was never there anyway.
While he waited for her return his uncle had imposed a strict training regiment that he was adhering to. Of course he was seeing the payoff. His skills were all in perfect working order and his leg felt like he had never been injured. Most importantly the regimented trials kept him occupied. For the first time in his life he felt the need to be distracted from his own thoughts. In the hours that he did rest he either paced anxiously watching the clock or slept.
Sakura was everywhere. Being unable to do anything about his feelings was slowly consuming him from within. She was driving him into madness and she didn't even know it. He wanted to know what it felt like to be with her. He wanted to hold her hand, kiss her lips, whisper in her ear, show her exactly what some of his less than gentlemanly dreams had depicted for him. And most of all he wanted to bring that light to her eyes every day, see that smile and bask in the warmth that was Sakura.
So he tossed and turned and paced and trained until it was time to go to the hospital in hopes that she would be there an he could finally tell her what he wanted to. therefore, today like everyday in the past weeks he finished his training and prepared for his trek across the city. He had taken his shower, put on fresh clothes and was ready to go when the rap of knuckles on the wooden frame of the door caught his attention.
"Nephew you have another mission assignment." Oh yes, those. The last two that had arrived were optional, intend to see if he was ready for active duty once more. "It is optional," his uncle added as a side note.
"Where?" Neji asked. If located in Konoha it could be used as a means of occupying his mind, even if all he was doing was finding a runaway cat.
"In rain." That was out of the question. Based on his uncle's reaction he was sure it showed in his face.
"Please inform the ANBU that I will turn this down Uncle." Hiashi's small nod spoke volumes. He had already known the answer. Soft footfalls signalled his departure.
Neji tied his hair back and stood up. He was ready and was not the type to waste time. With a billow of smoke he found himself in the blinding daylight, out of the compound to the safety of the streets. Using jutsus would have normally seemed like a waste, but better that then be cornered by another concerned aunt. They meant well, but inevitably doted too much and set him back a great deal.
The day had been a bright one making the start of evening a splash of varying spectacular colours that blazed through a patchwork of clouds. His purposeful stride did not give him much time to dwell on the weather. The children in the park were so carefree as he passed. They were waiting on parents to pick them up from the play grounds as he and his friends had down at that age, or rather as his friends had done. He tended to be where the genins were now, on the practice fields working on their jutsus and techniques.
The night was rolling in, so even they were getting ready to go home for a nights rest. The streets were fairly empty it was late enough that the nins were still out but the civilians were already in for the night. Even the nins were in the food stalls and bars that had only just begun to open. Had he been on the other side of the city he was sure he would have passed Naruto dining in his favourite stall.
The little restaurant across from the hospital was filled to the rafters and he wondered if they would have space should Sakura prove to be back. Or perhaps he could take her somewhere she had never gone... it was something he would decided later. The lights of the hospital glowed in the fading light. He jogged up the steps that lead to the door, avoiding the ramps incase someone need them. The nurse at the front desk was busy, occupied by more than one ailing nin. Nothing serious it seemed. One man had a burnt hand and the other a dislocated shoulder. Most likely a training exercise gone too far, a story they had all been a part of one time or other. She spotted him from behind one of the men and beamed nodding vigorously.
He didn't need to be told twice. "She's just in. Try the office!" she shouted after him doing her best to usher the pair out of the main lobby and into examining rooms. He raced through the hospital carefully. It would not do to knock over some poor ailing patient. Sakura would wring him up if he did, even if it was by accident.
The halls were free of most. The occasional nurse stepped out which made sense as most patients were receiving their food aright about now. Udon waved at him as he sailed by, giving the boy a small greeting in return. Up the flights of stairs he raced until the familiar floor hover into view. And that wasn't all. A familiar voice echoed from the door near by.
"Sakura, I know you're in there!" Kiba shouted sounding more than a little put out. Neji recognised that tone and for a split second he felt sorry for their childhood friend. Those were a pair of shoes he did not want to be in. "Can't we talk about this?"
"Whats to talk about? I just want to be friends and you are seeing someone. I'm happy for you, truly," she said through the door which he was fairly positive was locked, otherwise Kiba would not have been standing in front of it like that.
"That's the point. I want to take you out again." He was quieter this time and sounding rather indecisive. It was all Sakura needed to pounce. Her tether must have been running short. Kiba had most likely been there for some time as the door, which had not been locked, swung open fiercely and an irate Sakura stepped forth.
"So thats what this is all about. You're unsure. You like this girl but are afraid to commit, is that it? Well let me clarify things for you. We are friends, nothing more." Her hands sat firmly on her hips and her eyes narrowed on her prey who she put back in his place. She looked beautiful, though he hoped that piercing glare would not be aimed at him next and suddenly he was rethinking his timing.
Kiba sighed and looked as if she had just pealed away his security blanket. She shook her head at his self-conscious stance. And that is when she noticed Neji. Suddenly her eyes softened and she took a step forward to place a hand on Kiba's shoulder. "Why don't you go find her and take her out. I'm sure deep down you really want to."
Sheepishly he nodded and smiled. "Thanks Sakura." He took off without another word or glance at anyone. Neji was sure the man was fairly embarrassed but he would get over it soon enough. it seemed he had needed a knock on the head to get past his issues with commitment and Neji was glad for it. He could only hope that Sakura had not been too put out by the experience and see him in a dim light because if it.
"Neji, what a pleasant surprise," she said closing the door behind her. She was just back or so he guessed. Just as the first day he arrived she was wearing her combat boots and gloves and her mission uniform lacking the white coat she wore at the hospital. She pushed a small strand of hair behind her ear and looked up at him.
"Sakura." She smiled and locked the door. He watched her take a deep cleansing breath her arms lightly mimicking the motion, waving gently before her. With a temper such as the one she inherited rom her master it only made sense that she had found a way to release negative energey should she need to in a rush. Punching things helped, he was sure, but that resolution was not always appropriate. When she was fully calm once more he could tell with out her saying. The tension in her shoulders was gone and the spark in her eyes and changed. He held an arm out for her to take which she graciously accepted. "Are you free?"
He kept an eye on her as they travelled down the empty halls. She gave a heavy sigh and rubbed the back of her neck as if to get rid of a pain that had been bothering her for a time. "Tired and hungry but yes, I am free. Did you need me to look at your knee?" she asked, surreptitiously glancing down at his most troublesome injury, or rather previous injury.
He shook his head lightly and finally after a moment of silence let go of the tension that had been building inside him. "Can I take you to dinner?" Part of him didn't want to look at her but the other part, the portion of him that was filled with hope even after her confrontation with Kiba, couldn't keep his eyes from her. He wanted to be the exception, the one person that might calm her when she was riled, make her smile when angry, and more than anything someone she would make time for no matter the occasion.
He felt a squeeze on his arm and was pleased to see her chest tighten and the side of her mouth lift in a shy smile. "That would be great." She gave little away to the average observer but he was not that. He could see it; the excitement and more importantly the faintest hint of a blush that refused to bloom completely for the sake of doubt. Well, that would have to be stamped out but not here.
Instead he moved them around an errant trolley that had been left out. Normally he knew she would have had something to say about it. He found out quickly why she didn't. The nurse in charge of the trolley rushed out to retrieve it apologising to her passing superior. "When did you get back?" he asked knowing that she most likely had only just returned.
She shrugged admitting exactly what he suspected. "About an hour ago," she said as they walked down the stairwell and entered the main hall.
"And you didn't want to go home?" They both knew the answer but for some reason he couldn't think of anything else to ask her. He was just happy to hear her voice and did not mind what the conversation was centred on, though admittedly he had wondered why she didn't spend more time at home. He knew the answer to that. she felt that the hospital was her duty. He pictured her home as a sanctuary she locked her self in when there was no one who had need of her. Unfortunately that only happened once in a blue moon. Konoha always had need of her. The people in the hospital were under her care and to her they came before her need for rest.
"Well, you know me. Work work work," she said jesting with the fact that everyone teased her about. She patted his forearm "How are you?"
"Feeling much better because of you," he answered genuinely pleased with the fact and once again thanking her in his own round about way.
"Im glad. You haven't been sent on a mission yet?" she asked, clearly somewhat surprised and curious.
He had nothing to hide so he told her the truth. "I've bene declining them." For the briefest of seconds he wondered if that had been the right thing to say. He tended to be direct but not usually so on the nose about things.
His words, instead of breeding shock, seemed to bring confusion. Her elegant pink brows scrunched together when she tilted her head up to see his face. "What ever for? You should be healed by now."
"I am. I didn't want to miss you."
She tucked her head down a little bit trying to hide her smile as they walked past the front desk. "Well, you certainly didn't." She giggled at little bit refusing to look in the direct of any of he colleagues that were all doing their best to eves drop on the couple. "I wondered why Tatsu insisted I stay to 8."
Neji found himself chuckling along with her as thy approached the door. "Im guessing she told you." He supposed it was all out in the open now and in a sense that was a good thing. He wanted her to be aware of his intention but he by no means wanted to overwhelm her. the good thing was Sakura tented to be as direct as he was, albeit in a different way and there was no need to beat around the bush with her. In fact, she preferred that people did not.
"Told me what?" she asked but after seeing his face she stopped feigning ignorance. "oh, about how you kept stopping by the hospital." A mischievous smile crept onto her lips giving way to an admission. "She might have." She was flattered, but was she pleased? It was hard for him to say.
He opened the door for her and guided her down the stairs as he had been taught to do in his youth. "Then you know why I am here," he said, pushing the conversation past the trivial and into the crux of purpose. He was getting impatient and having her this close with that coy smile was driving him mad. More to the point every second that ticked by he was beginning to doubt himself less. all he needed to do was make sure she knew what he wanted. there were a few ways to go about that but one seemed the most tempting. Big bottle green eyes looked up at him unguarded and he could finally see what he'd had so much trouble identifying before. hope, desire, affection... all things she tried to hide in the last days of her care that only dared show themselves when she was most vulnerable. Now here they were out in the open for him to see.
"I think so, but I'm not sure." As soon as the words left her moth she found herself pressed up against the hospital wall. He wasn't worried about asking permission. If she didn't want him this close he'd know all too soon.
She made no attempt to push him away and he gave her plenty of time to do so as he brought his hands up to her face. how long had those pouty pink lips called to him? he'd been wanting to do this for sometime even if he hadn't admitted it at first. He was pleased to find her receptive to his advance and swiftly captured her lips with his. His lips glided across hers, chaste only for a moment before both let go. She gave into him, matching his fervour with her own, her touch delicate to his restrained passion. A hum of approval escaped her as she clung onto his biceps and the smell of her apple scented shampoo filled the air. His fingers laced through her hair and when a soft pink young darted out to meet his lips he nearly groaned. Kami, she taste like heaven. This woman would be his undoing. One of her arms slid up around his neck as he pressed his body into hers and the passion of the kiss changed slightly. There was less aggression and far more of what he really wanted her to see and what he wanted in response. He didn't want to take things too far and Kami forbid she get the wrong impression. This was not just a late night romp he was after. He wanted more. She seemed to agree as she followed his lead. He left a trail of gentle kisses on her lips before he pulled away both breathing heavy after the exchange.
The spark in her eye was back to it's full capacity and the quirk of her lips made him want to do so many things, but namely kiss her until she couldn't think straight. "Now I am," she said, tilting her chin up to meet the forehead that came to rest on hers.
The hand that remained on her cheek caressed her face with the pad of his thumb. green eyes blazed up at him in the night and he connected his gaze with hers. "I would very much like to see you whenever you're free."
She smiled and titled her head to the side curiously. "From now on, or when I am next free?"
She was keeping him on his toes and he couldn't help but smirk. He was not phased by her challenge. She was smiling and still comfortable in his embrace and he came to realise she was jovially testing him. She was open to him and completely at ease with his intention. More than that she relished in his touch and that brought a floating feeling in his chest, a sensation that he had never experienced but he had the feeling would be there a great deal more in the future. "Preferably the first."
"I see. You'll have to impress me." She was teasing him, he could tell. Still there was no harm in admitting the truth. He stepped back and took her hand in his. He took the first step away from the hospital and revealed in the way she leaned close with a big smile lighting up the night sky. With her next to him he walked confidently towards town.
"I plan on it," he said lacing her smaller fingers in with his and Kami did he mean that. She blushed fully this time under the affection in his gaze and the fervour of his statement but it was not something she pulled away from. Instead that little hum of approval sounded again and he could not have been more pleased to find that she was just as assured as he was. He was doubly glad that his second plan of action, finding himself purposefully bedridden in the hospital once more, would not be needed in order to see his angel again. She was right next to him discussing where she wanted to go for a well deserved meal. Anywhere she wanted to go he would gladly take her just to see her face light up.
The white walls of the hospital were a place he was going to become much more aquatinted with. He hoped she did not mind but he had every intention of visiting her as often as she allowed it. The once loathed institution had a new meaning for him and he could not sing it's praises enough, or perhaps that should have been her praises. either way, being laid up and injured was turning out to be the best thing that had ever happened to him.
End comments: So I hope you enjoyed this. I really enjoyed the idea of it. I am hoping to move straight from this to another one-shot but we will see. The break between this post and the last is all due to another project that I have been working on non-stop. I can't say too much about it but I will admit that it has been time consuming. I hope you enjoyed this fic and I hope to have another one out soon. To all my fans, thanks for reading my stories. It means a lot. Until next time!