"Ow! That hurts, Bastard!" Naruto yelped, immediately flinching away when Sasuke brought the iodine covered cloth to his torso. The kitchen chair creaked in protest at his sudden movement and he almost fell backwards due to the angle he was sat in.

"Idiot, sit still." Sasuke hissed. "I'd prefer not to let these get infected." Raising a finger to point at the wounds covering Naruto's tanned skin, his pale arm hovered in the air with the cloth in hand as he waited patiently for Naruto's movements to halt, so he could continue his task.

It had been a few days since the Uchiha brothers had brought him to their home and even though his ribs were healing nicely and had set in place, the bruises and cuts across his chest looked as brutal as ever; the doctors who had treated Naruto specifically told Sasuke to make sure his wounds were clean until they closed up. And every day since then they had gone through the same routine.

Blue eyes glared at the Raven in both pain and defiance, all he wanted to do was lie down and rest and Naruto absolutely loathed himself because of this. His ribs ached and every few seconds a burning pain would fire through them; he had overexerted himself with exploring the huge Uchiha residence that morning. Sasuke was not helping the matter. Although Naruto was eternally grateful for the raven's care and everything he had done for him, it irritated him to no end that he had to rely on another, he did not deserve to be doted upon and Sasuke did not deserve to be burdened with his agony; he just wished his body would heal faster. Unfortunately, the only way Naruto knew to release pent up irritation and anger and uncertainty and insecurity was by taking it out on the person closest to him, right at this moment that was Sasuke.

Shifting his glare to the side, a small pout began to form on Naruto's lips and he resisted the overwhelming urge to cross his arms across his chest lest he do more damage. Looking at the blonds expression Sasuke sighed in agitation and brought his hand back to his lap, his brows furrowed at Naruto's stubbornness; he would never admit to such an embarrassing notion but these past few days Sasuke had rather enjoyed taking care of the blond. Even though anger still ripped through his stomach and spread throughout his being upon thinking about who had done this to Naruto, his main concern at the moment was the blonds health, but Naruto's objections were becoming a nuisance.

"Naruto, the faster you let me clean them, the faster I'll be finished." Sasuke said evenly, his eyes locking with Naruto's when the blue orbs shifted to face him once again.

Clenching his jaw at having to be looked after in such a manner and the upcoming sting he was anticipating, Naruto gave a small nod in resignation. "Fine." He grumbled and allowed his tense muscles to somewhat relax before shifting to find a comfortable position on the chair opposite Sasuke.

Focusing his attention back to the blonds chest Sasuke brought the cloth up once more and gingerly allowed the iodine to soak into the wounds; upon hearing a faint hiss of pain he leaned in closer to ensure no distance would be lost if Naruto flinched back. Gently running the cloth from one injury to the other, Sasuke's face was consumed in pure concentration and his eyes were intense, he could not allow himself to think about Naruto's proximity or how defined his muscles were for someone of his age; and so he was transfixed with the task at hand.

Inhaling sharply as Sasuke moved closer, he felt his face begin to burn; he could almost feel Sasuke's breath on his chest, could almost stroke the black locks that where so close to touching his skin and he could faintly smell Sasuke's scent…spicy almost like cinnamon. Butterflies raced through the blond's stomach making him feel both giddy and dizzy as his pain was long forgotten. A purely primal need urged him to reach forward and run his fingers through Sasuke's hair before hauling him up to connect their lips; Naruto wondered how it would feel. Would there be sparks like in so many cliché movies? Or would it be more like a soft candle burning evenly throughout? His palms almost shook at how hard he was trying to hold back, he had never felt so strongly for someone in his entire life and living with Sasuke only made them spiral into something he couldn't, nor wanted to control.

Desperately trying to halt the direction his thoughts were going in, Sasuke paused in in his ministrations. Naruto was warm and through the cloth he could feel how soft the blonds skin was; even with bruises and wounds and cuts Naruto was undeniable beautiful, and so utterly perfect it almost stole Sasuke's breath, taking it away like some common pickpocket. He wondered how Naruto would feel against him, skin on skin, breath on breath, two entities becoming one. He wondered how it would feel for Naruto to accept his love and reciprocate that adoration. Would he finally feel complete? Was it possible for his loneliness to be chased away so easily? He hoped so. Sasuke was willing to cherish the blonde so wholly, so completely, willing to give his body, his heart his very soul if it would mean Naruto's safety and security and happiness. Oh, how deeply he'd fallen down the rabbit hole.

Feeling eyes on him, Sasuke gave in to the temptation he felt and raised his dark orbs; instantly they locked with vibrant blue and he almost raised a perfectly sculpted brow at the light flush adorning Naruto's cheeks.

The burning on Naruto's face only increased as Sasuke regarded him, his face a calm façade that hid behind it so many raging emotions it was difficult for the raven to stay grounded. Licking his lips unconsciously Naruto studied the raven and logged every single feature he had never noticed before to memory; he felt unworthy to be in the presence of such perfection. Sasuke most likely had everything he wanted, everything he needed, it was an uncanny thought for Naruto to even believe that Sasuke might hold a slither of the affection the blond held for him; how could he? Naruto was nothing. A mere orphan who had been violently abused by his stepfather. Worth less than the discarded pennies found on street corners, how could he ever hold a place in Sasuke's life? Let alone in his heart.

However, his eyes widened in complete shock as Sasuke began to move slowly, so that their lips where on the same level and dangerously close to connecting; the words he wished to speak died in his mouth and both boys eyes became almost glazed at the prospect of leaning forward just a few more inches. Both feared rejection. Both feared the loss of their friendship should one not return the others feelings. Yet at this particular moment in time, neither boys were bothered by such trivial matters, the only thought reverberating through the walls of their minds were kiss him. Lean forward and kiss him!

Closer.

Closer.

Clo-

"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything." A smooth voice spoke from the doorway and in response both bodies jolted back and faced the area where the noise had come from; only Naruto gave a slight hiss and wince in pain at having moved his injured ribs. The blush returned full force upon tanned cheeks and on close inspection pale cheeks where adorned by a slightly red tint; the only difference being that Sasuke's expression had irritation mixed in.

Leaning his left shoulder on the entrance to the kitchen was Itachi; the suit he wore for work was unbuttoned at the top and his tie loosened, a soft smirk adorned his flawless features and his eyes softened upon realising just what he had been about to walk in on. He was truly happy that Sasuke had found someone who complemented his personality from almost every angle however; he could not help but tease his little brother, it was so rare that Sasuke was as relaxed as he had been this past month or so after meeting Naruto.

Before Sasuke could reply Naruto raised his hand to the back of his neck, careful not to cause himself pain, and gave Itachi a sheepish grin. "Hey, Itachi! How was work?"

"Good, thank you Naruto-kun." His smirk transforming into a small smile. "However I do have some important news on Mizuki's situation that I think you should hear." Itachi said seriously, his tone low and almost grave as he spoke about Naruto's previous foster father; whether the news was positive or negative would completely depend on the blond's reaction.

Naruto's face instantly paled and whilst he did not forget about his and Sasuke's actions only moments prior to this, fear pushed the memory to the back of his mind for him to deal with when he was not burdened with questions about what would happen to the man who had brutally assaulted him so.

Sasuke's features returned to their stoic expression and his eyes became hard, almost anticipating the worst. He followed his brothers graceful movements as Itachi slid out a chair and situated himself so he was facing both boys, his elbows were placed on the table in front of him and his fingers interlocked in front of his face.

"At the moment we have him in our custody." Itachi said bluntly, getting straight to the point so that neither would be waiting for very long. "Unfortunately we can only keep him detained for 24 hours without evidence before he has to be released." His tone grim and steady, an undertone of sharpness laced every word spoken.

"Naruto-kun, I need you to give me a formal statement to use against him. Once we have that we can charge him and take him to court; but it's your decision, if you don't feel comfortable talking about what happened to you then do not force yourself." Itachi ended in a firm voice, completely serious about the blonds comfort zone. He had seen it before, people who absolutely crumbled when relaying their experiences to him, only afterwards unwilling to charge their abusers when the damage had already been done.

Processing the information, Naruto turned his slightly worried face to Sasuke, willing himself not to look down at the floor when the raven met his gaze evenly; he still felt high on the emotions Sasuke had sent coursing through him when he had begun to lean forward. But now was not the time to be dwelling on such events. He needed to put his own safety first and worry about whether Sasuke liked him like that afterwards.

As Sasuke gave Naruto a small nod in reassurance, the blond took a deep breath and moved his gaze back to Itachi, even though hesitation was still present in his voice, he was determined to not let Sasuke down and fight for the justice he needed.

"Okay, I'll tell you exactly what he did to me."

I'm so sorry it's been a while since I updated this, life got in the way and admittedly I'm a tad stuck on what more to write for this, I wanted to develop Sasuke and Naruto's relationship a bit more, but tell me if I'm going to fast or if you have any suggestions.

Also Iodine was what I used to have to put on my wounds and not hydrogen peroxide so that is what Naruto gets to; it honestly stings really bad : (

Hope you enjoyed it, I'm really sorry if not! Love you all!