Part 10

For the next two days, no one at the mansion was able to rest easily. Sasuke had fallen ill due to his poor disposition and time spent kneeling in the rain. Coupled with his injury, which was only about halfway recovered, his system was in overload as it tried to repair itself and grew susceptible to other illnesses.

It was like a domino effect: Sasuke affected Itachi's mood and Itachi passed that down to his subordinates. Hence, no one dared to even breathe in Itachi's presence and treated the boy's name as taboo.

So as Sasori stood there staring down from the other end of his stethoscope, he sighed as if he was dealing with children who were left to run amok for far too long. "You dragged me away from my workshop to treat the child for a cold?"

He didn't bother masking the incredulousness behind his words and only rubbed his temple with a grunt when Itachi's steady, yet vicious stare drilled into him. Either the man did not care for his tone or dismissed it, Sasori did not care. "I can think of fifty other ways he can meet his end right now, and the common cold isn't one of them."

"What is the treatment?"

Sasori straightened up and looked over Itachi's shoulder at a silent Neji oddly as if ascertaining whether his ears were playing tricks on him. Neji didn't even twitch. Redirecting his gaze back at the man, he responded, "Have you gone mad? Since when have you fretted over anything, much less over someone with a cold?"

"Treatment," Itachi repeated, a hint of something predatory rearing its head in his tone.

The red-head sighed. "There's no need to treat a common virus. Let it run its course and he'll naturally recover. However, if you insist on treatment, boil ginger root and use the liquid to brew him green tea, and keep him hydrated and warm. Also, make sure his wound is being monitored. We don't need it getting infected or ripped open again before it heals."

Itachi nodded.

Sasori began packing up his things and only paused briefly to languidly look over his shoulder at Itachi. "Also, here's another piece of advice, free of charge: civilians are best left to be civilians."

With that, he left without even watching his own back.

'Ballsy,' Neji thought, eyeing Itachi as though he was waiting for the second he needed to throw himself behind a table or protective surface.

When all Itachi did was tuck Sasuke in again and walk toward the door, the brunette tilted his head. "Boss?" he questioned.

"Don't leave his side."

"Roger that. How long will you be gone?"

"How long does it take to go to the market in town?"

With that, Itachi stepped out and the door shut behind him with a very quiet click.

Wow.

Neji whistled underneath his breath. When was the last time the boss went to a grocery store to buy something as mundane as ginger?

The man was totally whipped and he didn't even know it.

He approached the bedside and lightly tapped on Sasuke's cheek with three fingers, releasing a soft, amused 'ha' when the boy's cheek jiggled slightly underneath his touch.

"When are you going to stop being so bedridden, Sleeping Beauty?" he asked. "We're all praying to Yama at this point in time."

He pulled back and turned, but his hand was grasped onto, and when Neji looked back, he was staring into a pair of midnight black orbs.

"Your nicknames are gross," Sasuke muttered hoarsely as he attempted to sit up.

Neji released a chortle and helped him prop up against the headboard. "I see the Heavens haven't claimed you yet."

Sasuke snorted as he accepted the glass of water being offered, taking a long drink. "Please. I haven't wrecked havoc enough on the living yet."

"So you do know you're wrecking havoc?"

The boy arched a brow and set the glass on the nightstand. "Huh? I feel like I'm missing something."

"Boss has been a complete anal, living nightmare over the last two days."

"What? How come?"

Neji stared pointedly at him.

Then, it clicked, and Sasuke bristled. "No way. Really? But it's just a cold," Sasuke said.

"That's what Naruto said before he was placed on garden duty for the next month and two weeks of his pay was docked."

Sasuke's pale face lightened a shade. "No way," he muttered, shaking his head. "He's such a mother hen. I don't understand why he's so touchy."

Neji's eyes rolled to the ceiling in thought. He'd been ruminating about the same question for weeks now. Itachi never even blinked when Neji stood bloody before him after a fight that nearly sliced off his torso nor when Naruto had accidentally burned a fourth of his own hair in a battle with the stove. Physical pain was a common denominator in their profession, so it was viewed as completely normal.

Perhaps, it was Sasuke's heroic deed of shielding the man from a bullet that earned him Itachi's sentiments, but then again, countless men have done the same thing, but didn't garner such attentiveness. Even Neji had taken a few hits throughout the years, so what put Sasuke on a pedestal? What was different about him?

"It's the eighth wonder of the world," he commented offhandedly, shrugging his shoulders. "Anyway, you've been in bed for two days and haven't eaten much. Would you like the kitchen staff to whip you up something light?"

"That'd be great. Thank you," Sasuke said. "By the way, is the kitchen always stocked?" At Neji's nod, he smiled, lifted the covers off of his body, swung his legs off the bed, tucked his feet in his slippers, and stood.

"Uh, I don't know who it is that you think we are, but we're definitely not magicians. The chef can't prepare even something as simple as porridge in the time it takes for you to walk to the kitchen."

Sasuke made a face and then bursted into laughter, but he was forced to stop short when he began coughing. He waved the brunette off when he tried to help steady him. "It's fine. I kind of want to see my fish first," he said, walking toward the door.

"Ehh?" Neji exclaimed, tagging closely behind. "Itachi-sama would be wrung dry of tears if he heard you say that!"

Sasuke sniggered. That was accompanied by Neji's guffaws.

"Okay, okay, so that's an exaggeration, but aren't you curious about his whereabouts? He's basically been stuck to your bedside like glue for the last two days and two nights. He even abandoned his duties to take care of you, Sleeping Beauty."

Sasuke's nose wrinkled at the new nickname, but the lines disappeared as soon as he stepped into the garden, his face instantly soothed by a light breeze. He inhaled deeply and began walking toward the paladin, which sat atop a koi pond.

When Sasuke originally said he wanted to see his fish, he hadn't been referring to the one Itachi won for him at the carnival. Unfortunately, that one had met its end quite quickly, the victim of overfeeding. To be fair, Sasuke had never owned a pet goldfish before and he thought that giving it more food was giving it more love until he had woken up one morning to a floating carcass.

He'd been devastated and, upon telling Itachi about it, he was gifted a koi fish by the man. He vowed to take care of it, including giving it all the things it needed. That's why, when Sasuke stepped foot atop the bridge that connected the garden to the paladin, he immediately caught sight of his little koi fish swimming merrily around a lily pad, surrounded by a few others of its kin.

Marked by a little, black birthmark that was shaped like a heart, it was easily recognizable. Sasuke smiled, propping his elbows on the sill of the bridge, and rested his cheeks in his hands.

"Hi, Achi," he called out merrily as he watched it swim in a squiggly pattern. "I missed you."

It was no secret that he named the fish after Itachi. When the man first heard it, he blinked, but otherwise did not comment on it. In fact, if there was a nonchalant expression that was indicative of being pleased, Sasuke would like to think that that was what the man wore on his countenance during that moment.

"I still can't get over the fact that you named that little chubby thing after our Boss," Neji chuckled. "Hey, wouldn't that make you our ane-san?"

"Huh? What are you going on about? What's an ane-san?"

Sasuke didn't get a response. He thought it was because the brunette did not wish to answer, but that wasn't the reason.

All of a sudden, he felt a wisp of wind and a large, heavy wool coat was placed over his shoulders, the mere size of it causing it to overlap over itself in front. Instinctively, Sasuke reached out to pinch the inside of it and hold it to his body. It was then he realized that the coat wouldn't budge even if he hadn't done so because a pair of hands had cupped his shoulders.

"'Tachi?" he asked, and even though it appeared to be a question, there was no doubt in his mind who those warm, large hands belonged to.

Sasuke craned his neck behind him and, sure enough, Itachi's large form stood rigid and tall behind him, his stance making it known that he had a bone to pick with him. "What's wrong?" he asked softly, but the man, too, was looking over his shoulder at Neji.

Itachi's distinct, low voice sent shivers down his spine in a way no one else's did. When he opened his mouth, his words were directed at Neji and they did not sound very pleasant. "You let him outside, and without protective measures at that?"

"Moushiwake arimasen," Neji said, bowing low immediately.

Of course, with eyes averted to the ground, neither Sasuke nor Itachi could guess what Neji was thinking, and that was, 'I'm not as thoughtful as you boss. Only a smitten man is that considerate.'

Sasuke heard the formal exchange, and his nose wrinkled. "What am I: a dog?"

"…."

Neji released a "Pfft" before he could reel it in and promptly dug his own nails into his flank to disrupt making the same mistake. However, nothing could possibly suppress his playful nature and, as soon as Itachi ignored his presence, he turned to Sasuke with a wink and pressed his flat palms together in a prayer of thanks. He was then smart enough to slowly back away and promptly left the scene of his crime.

"'Tachi, where did you go?"

The man tilted his head to look down at Sasuke, reminding him once again of their difference in height. "What makes you think I went somewhere?"

"Well, Neji said you didn't leave my side for two days, so if I woke up and he was there instead of you, then you must have gone somewhere," he surmised.

"Hold onto me."

"Huh? What–!"

Before he could say more, Itachi had knelt down and curved a strong arm along the back of his upper thighs and hefted him up, balancing him in a hold like he weighed almost nothing. Sasuke shrieked and curved his arm around the back of the man's neck and used his other hand to grasp onto the front of his shirt.

"What are you doing?" he questioned when the initial shock wore off.

"Carrying you."

"I know that. But why?"

"The sick should not walk around like nine lives are a given."

"Pfft. Alright, Mister Caretaker. Whatever you say."

The man crossed the bridge and walked along the stone path to the main house. "The market."

"Hmm?"

"That's where I went."

"Oh. I see. Did you get anything good?"

"Yes."

Sasuke laughed. "That's so you, 'Tachi. A man of few words."

"Is that an issue?"

"Of course not. I can hear the crickets chirping is all."

"…."

Sasuke snickered when the silence proved his point. "Anyway, it's been two days. How have you been? You've probably missed me, huh?" he said cheekily with a grin.

"You didn't wake up," came Itachi's low voice. The man was looking forward in the direction he was heading, but Sasuke was able to crane his neck to look at his face. "And during the times you did, you were hardly coherent. It was not pleasant."

Sasuke's smile fell from his face. "I burdened you, didn't I? I'm sorry. My colds are always like that. I'll have a fever for a few days, but after it passes, I tend to recover pretty fast."

"You misunderstand. You were already in an unpleasant situation due to being sick. It was unpleasant for me."

Carefully, Sasuke took that in before saying, "What about it was unpleasant?"

"The look on your face."

"Hmm."

"And my chest."

"Your chest?" Sasuke repeated as if questioning his own hearing.

Itachi simply nodded.

"Are you okay?"

Another nod.

"Were you perhaps worried?"

Itachi's footsteps faltered slightly, coming to a half-second pause, before they resumed. "Perhaps. I have yet to consider that option."

Sasuke's shoulders shook lightly. "Uh huh. That's kind of cute," he snickered.

"…."

His shoulders only shook harder at Itachi's suspiciously blank expression.

"What else do I not know about you?" Itachi murmured.

"Uhh, a lot? Did you forget we've only known each other for a few weeks?" Sasuke said. "Why do you ask?"

"It would be remiss if I did not ask you, and you were to fall ill again."

"So you are worried."

"I… don't know."

"Alright, alright," Sasuke waved his hand with a smile. "Deny it all you'd like, 'Tachi. As long as I know in my heart you're all soft and gooey inside."

Itachi's eyes narrowed at him as if telling him he resented that. Sasuke merely grinned in response and patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Answer," Itachi said in a bossy tone as he entered his bedroom. He set Sasuke back down into bed and pulled the blanket over his lap, proceeding to occupy the chair next to the bed and turn his full attention to him.

"Well, I guess if we were to narrow down the things you don't know about me to just medical and health-related things, I guess that would make your question easier to answer." Sasuke glanced at the man and, upon Itachi's unwavering stare, he smiled to himself.

"Let's see. Aside from the fevers, I don't really get sick very often. So I guess when I do get sick, it's pretty bad, but I've always recovered well. I'm, uh, not good with needles. Oh, I'm also allergic to coconut. I used to be okay with it, but some time within my early teenage years, I'd get sick from consuming it, so I stopped. There's also a medication I'm allergic to, but it's a prescription, and I don't come in contact with it anyway, so yeah."

"Give me the name."

Sasuke's gaze trailed over to something behind Itachi and he mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"Ah, nothing. It's not important. Anyway, that's about it in terms of my health. I'm actually pretty darn healthy if you think about it."

Itachi narrowed his eyes once more, but he said nothing, and Sasuke was grateful for that.

A few minutes later, Sasuke had scarfed down a large bowl of ginger chicken congee and, unable to resist his body's sluggishness, he dozed off. He remembered blurrily opening his eyes over the course of the rest of the day and catching a glimpse of Itachi sitting bedside, and each time he did, he fell back to sleep cradling a small smile on his lips.

The next morning, he was back to running down the halls of the large mansion with enough energy to be the epitome of caffeine. After admonishing him once again about wearing warmer clothes and appropriate shoes, Itachi left for his office, leaving Naruto by his side like glue.

Despite his pout and complaints about being babysat by a kid younger than him, Sasuke did not dodge the large, warm hand that rested briefly atop his head before he was staring at the back of the man's silhouette. Rather than dwell, he skipped around the garden and took in the fresh air, chit-chatting carefreely with Naruto, who was even more childish than he was.

"Do you think 'Tachi liked the flowers I gave him last time? Should I pick some more?"

Naruto froze, throwing an incredulous stare at him. "You gave Boss flowers?" he asked, jaw agape.

"Yeah," Sasuke responded casually as he crouched low to examine a row of blooming roses. "Don't you remember?"

"And he didn't throw them away?"

From his low position, he stared behind his shoulder at Naruto oddly. "Why would he?"

Naruto sweatdropped, but said no more.

"So should I?"

"... I don't see why not. They'd all go to waste here anyway. Might as well place some in Boss's study to make it look more… vibrant."

Sasuke grinned. "Right? I'll exchange the old ones for these."

With mission in mind, he stopped by the kitchen to grab a pair of shears and picked a dozen or so red roses from the flowerbed, trimming the leaves off of each one with the precision of a florist. Naruto had wandered off to look for another vase at Sasuke's request, but when he did not return after Sasuke was ready, he carefully held onto the roses, brushed himself off and readied himself to return inside.

Except, as soon as he turned around, he bumped into a solid figure.

"Oof," he murmured as the roses jostled in his hold, forcing him to tighten his grip lest he drop them all. After his save, he looked up with brows wrinkled into the jade green eyes of a man with red hair.

"... Gaara?" Sasuke asked, head tilting in question.

The bright green eyes stared at him with recognition, and a gruff voice responded in turn, "Sasuke?"

"What are you doing here?" they both said simultaneously.

Suddenly, Neji's voice piped up from behind Gaara, "Is everything okay, Gaara-sama? You walked in this direction all of a sudden–"

As soon as he caught a glimpse of Sasuke, the brunette paused. Then, Neji's gaze flickered to Sasuke's hands. At first, Sasuke thought he was staring at the batch of flowers in his arms, but when he glanced down, he noticed that a droplet of blood had bloomed along one of his index fingers. One of the thorns must have pierced him when he wasn't careful, Sasuke had thought.

Just as he was raising his finger up to his lips to collect the blood, his finger was grasped in another hand, Gaara's hand, and brought to the man's lips. Sasuke flinched at the stinging pain when Gaara's tongue flicked over his finger at the same time Neji gawked at the open display of familiarity. Both were stunned for different reasons, and no one broke out of their daze to say anything until Sasuke pulled his finger back with a shy smile.

"You didn't have to do that," Sasuke said.

Gaara opened his mouth, but any words he was going to say were overshadowed.

"No. You did not," came a fourth voice.

The air grew ten degrees colder in a split second.

Itachi suddenly appeared next to Sasuke, easily transferring the long-stemmed roses from his arms to Neji's. Afterwards, he pulled out a handkerchief from one of his inner pockets and began wrapping it around Sasuke's injured finger. "Is it not common courtesy for guests to keep their lips to themselves?"

Sasuke winced, unsure if it was due to Itachi's harsh words or the knot the man made when he was finished. However, given the situation, he found it best to keep his mouth shut, leaving his eyes to dart back and forth between the two.

"I acted without thinking. It was my mistake."

"Certainly."

A 'pfft' rose in Sasuke's mind at Itachi's deliberate and curt answer, but when his gaze finally landed on Itachi and he encountered a stone-faced expression, he decided now was not the time to tease the man.

Neji began leading Gaara back inside, but not before the redhead cast a final glance at Sasuke.

Instead of acknowledging his gaze, Sasuke felt an increasing need to reassure his mother-hen-of-a-friend that he was unharmed. When he pinched the side of the man's coat and Itachi immediately cocked his head in his direction and gave him his full attention, Sasuke couldn't help but smile.

"I'm okay, 'Tachi," he reassured. "Nothing bad happened."

"We need to disinfect it," Itachi stated, void of emotion. He tugged Sasuke's wrist in the direction of the bedroom, and despite his rigid posture and cold words, he was gentle with manhandling him.

The boy smiled.

"Okay, okay. Let's go disinfect it," he acquiesced.

"This is not a matter that brings joy," Itachi chastised as he retrieved a first aid kit from one of the cabinets.

"I'm not smiling because of that. I just thought it was cute how you worry about me. I don't remember the last time anyone worried about me and took care of me like you do. It makes me feel loved, like my existence matters."

Without meaning to, Sasuke's smile grew nostalgic, but that didn't last long on his face.

His body was hoisted up and set on top of the bathroom counter, easily disrupting his thoughts. Sasuke winced once more when the piece of cloth was removed from his finger and it was tilted into the stream of cold water running from the sink.

Itachi's larger fingers ran over his index a few times with care before he turned off the faucet and patted his finger dry with a paper towel. He proceeded to disinfect his wound and add a smidgen of antibacterial ointment to it before he sealed it with a bandaid and put away the kit.

Sasuke hopped off the counter without thinking, earning himself a look filled with judgment and admonishment. He laughed softly this time and murmured, "Thank you, 'Tachi. You're very kind."