Sorrowful Hope
Sasuke lay in his bed, confiding in the darkness plagued over his room. He'd been staring at nothing in particular, half lidded eyes facing the wall.
He slowly closed his eyes, his chest heaving with a deep sigh, then his breathing turned even and heavy, as if sleep already claimed him.
Which was far from it.
In fact, sleep was the very last thing on his mind at the moment. His thoughts were way too chaotic to even fathom the idea of his mind reaching a heavenly peaceful moment, and then to finally yield to sleep.
The air was expectedly damp and sticky, drenching him in sweat. He experimentally touched his throat, wondering why a burning sensation ripped through this part of his body.
A bad move.
He felt a sob tearing at his chest, escaping the barrier that was his mouth, to be heard over the deafening silence of his room, with tears dropping softly down his cheeks.
Oh, he thought as his hand found way to his cheeks, wiping off the tears, That explains it.
Slowly, more sobs ripped his chest open, shoulders quivering from muscle strain. He thought of letting it all out, but he refrained from doing so, knowing that once he'd let himself be loud, there'd be no going back.
Instead, he swiftly sat up in his bed, feeling the tears changing direction, racing downwards, to meet the floor in a silent collusion. He couldn't stop them, really. He'd been holding them for too long, painfully filling his eyes, begging the mercy of being released.
He inhaled deeply, hiccuping once, twice, in attempts to stop crying.
He reached for his watch, squinting in the dimly lit room to make out the time. Three thirty.
He won't be getting any sleep tonight. That much was obvious. So, he gave up and went to the bathroom, then got under a cold shower.
The water felt wonderful on his sweaty body, relieving him at once from the stickiness over his joints.
He slowly passed a hand through his hair, massaging his head gently. His finger traced delicately the ever so present scar on his forehead. The stitches scraped under his fingers, stretching from the front of his head, fading further down into the depth of his dark locks.
It'd been a very long time since he'd gotten this ugly marking printed on his head. It no longer hurt him, neither affected him in any way. It became a part of him.
Though, the dreadful memories it held made him always wince, as though the pain was all over again.
As if he were reliving the unfortunate incident.
The terrible accident where he miraculously survived as a child. Seriously, nobody really expected of him to survive. The damage inflicted on his small body was too… deep and just plain deadly.
Even his big brother lost hope back at that time.
He couldn't really blame him though.
After all, his parents weren't as lucky as he were.
Sasuke sighed deeply, feeling his back going numb from the constant hitting of the cold water. He remained still for seconds, minutes, hours maybe. Time ticked by, until he could no longer endure the paralyzing cold of his limbs.
Although, he stopped crying, the harsh tug in his chest was still present, with dry sobs breaking out of his throat.
This was all too ridiculous, and he knew it. It was as if his body was no longer his, acting on its own personal whims.
He wore a tank top and sweatpants up his legs, then headed outside the apartment. Unsupprisingly, a sleek-black SUV was waiting outside.
Naruto rolled down his window, his eyes scanning warily the teenager approaching his car. He frowned as he observed closely Sasuke's face.
The car rattled a bit, as Sasuke got into the passenger seat. He pressed his cheek to the headrest and sighed, closing his eyes.
He tried not to stiffen as he felt a warm hand stroking gently his cheek.
"You're crying." whispered Naruto, looking worriedly at the teenager in front of him, his best friend's little brother, a person he came to care for more than he ever intended to.
Sasuke finally opened his eyes, dark orbs full of emotions battling in their depths. He gently removed Naruto's hand from his cheek, noticing for the first time the bloodied knuckles of his older brother's best friend.
He held Naruto's hand in a striking soft manner, as if afraid it will shatter in his grip.
He ran his thumbs over the hand on his lap, eyebrows knitted in worry.
"You're bleeding." he breathed out, then released Naruto's hand.
Four thirty, read the digital clock.
"Two more hours to go," he said after a while "I mean I just hope the surgery…"
Naruto cut him off "I'm sure he'll do well."
Naruto wore that determined look of his whenever the time called for it. Now was one of those times.
"Seriously Sasuke, everything's gonna be okay. Ita-"
"He'd been stabbed in the damn heart, Naruto. Having a knife inserted through your body is bad enough, don't tell me that shit isn't life threatening."
"I won't say such things to make you feel better. I know Itachi is in an excruciating situation. And I'm really aware that there is a chance of him losing his life. But trust me in this one. I believe in Itachi, and I very much believe he'll survive this."
For a while, they said nothing. There was only the soft growl of the engine and Naruto's unsteady breathing.
"I'm not ready to lose another dear person in my life. I'm not ready to lose him, nor will I ever be. He's the only family I've got." Sasuke whispered, his hand unconsciously touching the jagged scar on his forehead.
Tears threatened again to fall, but he bit his cheek hard, not willing to break down in front of Naruto.
He was startled when he felt strong arms thrown around his body, hugging him tightly and pressing him against a hard chest.
The gesture was uncomfortable and quite awkward considering they were still in Naruto's SUV. Though he couldn't help but relax in Naruto's hold, the latter patting his head, whispering "Don't be miserable Sasuke. it's gonna be fine. We're gonna be fine."
Sasuke closed his eyes, as Naruto brushed swiftly his slightly damp hair, to plant his lips over the scar on the top on his forehead.
He normally hated when someone, other than his brother, touched this very part of his body, or even pointed at it.
Though the way Naruto kissed his forehead softly over his scar made him feel warmer with tingling sensations running down his body.
It was almost too much, the attention directed at him, while the one who needed it the most at the moment was his brother.
But he will be fine.
They will be fine.
Because Naruto never lied.