"All I've given you in my life," Sasuke muttered, his voice deeper and more scratchy than usual. "is love. And in return, you try to kill me."

Naruto burst out laughing, hands slapping against the steering wheel. "You're so dramatic."

Sasuke turned his head slowly, pointing out the windshield to the building in front of them. Sasuke had just come out of urgent care for his ear. It had started throbbing uncontrollably an hour or so earlier. "You just had a cold," Sasuke shook his head, eyes wide and disapproving. He was still pointing, his face taking on a somewhat hysterical look. Naruto continued to laugh. "I got bronchitis and a severe ear infection."

"Oh my God," Naruto said as he tried to catch his breath, wiping a tear from his eye. "I told you I was sick. I told you not to kiss me."

"Oh, oh," Sasuke put his hands on his hips in a very dramatic fashion, smiling in a threatening way. "I'm sorry, you're right, I should have known better."

"'Don't bother loving me, Sasuke,'" The Uchiha continued, "'we aren't gunna get married or anything.'"

Naruto wiped his eyes on the long-sleeves of his orange pull over. "You know my sick is always worse than yours, I never get sick from your sick, but you always get REALLY sick from mine. You know-you've known that for years."

"What kind of funky immune system do you even have?" Sasuke said, raising his arms up in an exasperated fashion. They didn't go far, smashing into the roof of the car. He settled down a second later, folding his arms over his chest, coughing lightly.

"Take it easy there," Naruto cautioned in a light voice. "You've been coughing so hard, you're gagging. They gave you that wild-ass, huge, horse pill of an antibiotic in there, so let's not throw it up."

Sasuke pulled an envelope with a different script written on it. "They also gave me a couple nights worth of Vicodin." He waved it, wiggling his eyebrows.

"For your back?"

"No, for my fucking ear." Sasuke said, using the paper to point to his left ear. "Also, I can't hear anything dumb you're gunna say, okay?"

"So, you're just making up what I'm saying this entire conversation and giving pin-point answers?"

"I love you too." Sasuke replied, not even looking at the blond next to him. Naruto leaned forward, hugging the wheel.

"Fuck, man. You're gunna kill me one of these days." He turned on the car, putting it into reverse and pulling out. "Did you know where you wanna get your prescription filled?"

Sasuke leaned down farther in his seat, letting his navy scarf bundle up around his face. "Yes."

"And?"

"Go to the Safeway next to Itachi's house. That's where they sent the horse pill antibiotics." Sasuke said. He closed his eyes, pressing his hands to his temples and moving them down his face and around his jaw. "It hurts so bad."

"Is talking still helping?"

"A little? You don't have any gum, do you?"

"I know its not the best option but Itachi has Nicorette in the glove box."

"Oh yeah, let's add a little bit of nausea from the nicotine into the mix." Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. "How did you know Itachi had Nicorette in the glove box?"

"A little nosy and intrusive." Naruto muttered pointing to himself, shaking his head. "I had to come back out here to get that insurance card and it was in the glove box, remember?"

"Makes sense." Sasuke closed his eyes again, trying to make sure his head didn't move too much during the car ride. "We also need to get some yogurt and rice while we're out."

"And bananas and applesauce."

"I don't like sweets."

"And yogurt isn't?"

"You can get unsweetened yogurt."

"Ew Sasuke, no. Get at least vanilla flavored, be kind to yourself."

"I am being kind. I'm getting myself not gross yogurt." He said, pressing his thumb and middle finger to the bridge of his nose, massaging up and around his eyebrows. "Besides, you're not even gunna eat it."

"Yeah, true."

"Just go to bed, dude. Take some your night cap of narcotics and have a nice sleep," Naruto chastised as he unlocked Itachi's front door.

"But I still have work to do." Sasuke complained back. "I can't just dump my work on Itachi and Gaara."

"If your test has a key, I'll just correct them for you." Naruto tried, but Sasuke held up a hand, looking a little haughty with his smirk rounding out his lips.

"Do you really think," He paused to cough, "that Itachi would make a key for his test?"

"What an evil man."

"I expect any grad student of mine to understand everything I teach intrinsically." Both Sasuke and Naruto were taken aback by Itachi sudden voice coming from the living room, even more so when they passed through the walkway and saw the older Uchiha adjusting a paper face mask.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Sasuke shouted, immediately falling into a fit of coughing after he did so.

"You're very sick." Itachi supplied, as if it was the most logical thing he had ever said. "Don't want to catch it."

"Unless you're kissing up on my man, I doubt you'll get anything." Sasuke said, arms crossed.

"You don't realize how much space and stuff we share, Sasuke. I'm just taking my precautions." Itachi mused. "I am the most felled when struck with illness."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, looking at the stack of papers on the coffee table. "Did you grade everything for me?"

Itachi simply shrugged. "No point in working you to death."

Naruto briefly caught the look of relief that flashed across Sasuke's face and the warmth it took on as the younger Uchiha padded into the living room. He sat down next to him brother, both of them leaning into for what was the most awkward looking hug Naruto had seen in his entire life. Itachi wasn't joking about keeping his distance.

"Stop trying to breathe around my mask," the older complained as Sasuke laid his head on the older Uchiha's shoulder. He started to cough, and Itachi pulled away, revolted. "Sasuke,"

"Don't complain at me, I'm sick." Sasuke replied, his eyes reflecting how pathetic he felt. Itachi shook his head. "Naruto throw me my drugs, I wanna go to sleep."

"Yeah, let's go take a shower and then we can take as many drugs as you want." Sasuke stood up, shakily. Naruto held out his hand and Sasuke took it-he seemed more steady with Naruto's hand on his lower back as he ushered the Uchiha down the hallway. Itachi couldn't help but feel a little tinge of jealousy-there was only one person in his life who would have supported him like that…

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He should have called him, but instead Itachi sent a quick text to Kisame. He wanted to drink.