The Running Free

Title: The Running Free
Author: Xin

Note: Sorry for the lack of updates; but all my major schoolwork is done; so ON WITH THE STORY!!!

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Neji smiled as the little blond hugged him. He hadn’t seen Naruto ever since he first started dating Sasuke. “You’re looking well, Naruto.”

Naruto beamed as he released his friend. “I didn’t know you were out of residency already. When did that happen?”

Neji went over to the small sink to wash his hands quickly. “About a week ago actually. They said that my progress was so quick that they’d put me with a patient right away. I had no idea they’d give me Sasuke.” In all honesty; Neji had wanted to get Sasuke as a patient. He had studied FEVR and always wanted to have a patient with such a condition. He knew that Itachi had it too but had already had surgery to try and correct it. But Sasuke was still in the semi-early stages; maybe he could learn a bit more about it. He made his way over to Sasuke and gently tilted his head back against the head rest. “How’s your vision lately Sasuke?”

Sasuke jerked a bit as the first stinging dilating drop hit his eye. “It’s been alright. It just gets a bit strained when I read for a long time.”

Neji nodded and administered the second drop. “Hopefully that can be corrected with the surgery.” He stood up straight again and picked up Sasuke’s folder. “So while your eyes dilate; why don’t we talk about the surgery. I have you scheduled for a week from today.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it then; I don’t know if you’ve heard; but I’ve been diagnosed with cancer recently.” He hated telling people that he had cancer; especially people that he knew would give him a damn pity party. Not that Neji would; but some people didn’t know when keep their sympathetic words to themselves.

Neji had heard about Sasuke’s contraction of cancer but didn’t want to mention it in case he made the boy feel uncomfortable. “I have heard and I hope everything will work out for you. I did speak with your oncologist and he told me that your eye surgery wouldn’t affect anything he has planned for you.”

Sasuke nodded; not having known any of this but figured he’d find out more when he went to see Madara later on in the day. “Alright then; next week is fine.”

Neji nodded and handed Naruto a piece of paper. “This is the time and date of Sasuke’s surgery.” He turned back to Sasuke. “Make sure you get plenty of sleep the night before alright? We’ll go over in more detail what the surgeon will do on the day of your surgery.”

Sasuke just nodded and leaned his head back; he was starting to feel a bit hazy from his blurry vision.

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“Alright, Sasuke; it was good seeing you again. Make sure not to strain your eyes too much before the surgery.” Neji said as he shook Sasuke’s hand. The brunette then turned to Naruto.”Take care of him and don’t let him overstress his eyes.”

Naruto nodded. “Don’t worry; I’ve got him wrapped.” With a sly smile he grabbed Sasuke’s arm and waved to Neji as they walked out of the office; Sasuke pouting at the blonde’s comment.

Neji made a gesture of goodbye then added; “You should rest up too, Naruto; I’m sure the baby would appreciate it.” With that he entered his office once more.

Naruto stopped and looked back. “Damn, I swear that guy knows everything…” He looked over to Sasuke. “Are you ready to go?”

Sasuke nodded and donned his sunglasses before stepping outside. He did not want to have to suffer the blinding light of the sun that came with dilated eyes. He followed the blond to the car; keeping a hold on Naruto’s hand, since he couldn’t really see where he was going and got into the passenger’s seat. “How are you doing? Do you want to go home for a bit and sleep?” He figured Naruto would be tired after everything that’s happened so far.

“Yeah; that sounds like a good idea.” Naruto usually didn’t like to admit that he needed rest or that he should; but now that he had another little life to look out for; he was going to make sure he did everything to protect it.

The blond parked in their designated spot and stepped out of the car; making sure Sasuke was behind him as he entered their building. The two made their way to the elevator and after a few minutes, stepped into their apartment.

Sasuke made his way to the couch, sat down and closed his eyes. He was so tired. All he wanted to do was snuggle up with Naruto and sleep for a few hours before heading to yet another appointment. He opened his eyes once more as he felt a weight settle and lean against him. He wrapped his arms around the blond and let the other rest his head on his chest. “Are you hungry at all?”

Naruto shook his head. “I’m a bit more tired than hungry. I’ll probably eat after I wake up.” He snuggled deeper into Sasuke as he closed his eyes; feeling the events of just half a day catch up to him. If this is how exhausted he would be just from half a day; he couldn’t imagine what it would be like further into his pregnancy. A thought struck him as he was about to drift off to sleep. “Sasuke?”

Sasuke was just about asleep when he heard his name from his lover’s lips. “What is it, baby?”

“We need to start figuring out where the baby’s going to sleep and what we need to buy.” It had been on the blonde’s mind for a few days; and with month four approaching quickly; he wanted to make sure they had everything ready.

Sasuke looked down at the blond in his arms. “Are you sure we need to do that this early? We have time don’t we?”

Naruto just shrugged. “Yeah; but I’d rather do it now than later. Plus; I want to help too; and I know that later on I won’t be able to do a lot.”

Sasuke could understand that. Tsunade had told them that Naruto probably would have to be on bed rest once he hit the seventh month. “When would you like to do that, baby?”

Naruto looked up at Sasuke. “Maybe this weekend? Plus, I want Itachi to go too.” He wanted the older raven haired man to be involved in everything as well. He didn’t want Itachi to feel left out.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s hand and occupied himself by playing with the man’s fingers. The raven’s sleeve had bunched up a bit at the wrist and he could see what looked like small bruises all over Sasuke’s skin. He lifted up the sleeve a bit more and saw that they went all the way up his arm. “Sasuke; how long have you had these for?” It kind of scared the blond. He knew that they were a side effect of the chemo; but he had never really seen anything like it before.

Sasuke looked down at his arm and sighed in exasperation. He wore long sleeves for a reason; so that Naruto didn’t have to see the bruises that marred his arms. The blond knew about them; but he didn’t want to make Naruto uncomfortable around him. “I don’t know; I can’t feel then at all so I can’t say when they appeared.”

Naruto gently touched one of the discolored bruises. “They really don’t hurt?” He couldn’t imagine bruises not even being a little sore.

Sasuke shook his head. “I don’t feel them at all. Stop worrying about me and try and get some sleep.” He ran his fingers through the blond locks that belonged to his lover and closed his eyes once more.

Naruto nodded and let himself relax once more; Sasuke’s arm still in his grasp. “I love you, Sasuke…” he said softly before drifting off to sleep.

Sasuke just smiled and kissed the top of the blonde’s head. At least one of them would be able to sleep. His body felt too achy for him to get comfortable. He didn’t want to tell Naruto; thus worrying him. He sighed as another wave of achy pain wracked his body. Hopefully Madara had some good news for him; he wasn’t sure how much longer he could take this.

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Itachi entered the apartment and looked around for his brother and Naruto. He knew they were home; judging from their car being there. He spotted them on the couch and had to smile to himself. They were just too cute together. Upon further inspection; he could see Sasuke was awake while the blond was asleep in his lap. He carefully sat down next to Sasuke; gently placing Naruto’s feet in his lap. He leaned in and pressed his lips gently to Sasuke’s. “So what did Neji say about the surgery?”

Sasuke leaned against Itachi; glad that he was home. “He said next week. Naruto has a paper with the exact date and time on it.”

Itachi nodded. “So why aren’t you sleeping; are you alright?” He knew that Sasuke liked to take naps with Naruto; so he figured that if Sasuke was awake while Naruto was asleep then something was amiss.

Sasuke sighed a bit. “I tried; but my body aches too much. I think I might take some pain killers before I leave.”

The older raven reached a hand out to run his fingers through Sasuke’s hair. “Do you need anything right now? I can get you some water; that might help.”

Sasuke just shook his head. “No, it’s alright. I’ll be fine.”

Itachi nodded and then looked down at the little blond. “Is everything alright with the baby?” he asked; knowing that Sasuke would be glad for the change in topic. He ran a hand gently along Naruto’s stomach; still amazed at the concept of a living being growing in there. He noticed Naruto’s stomach was starting to lose the muscular tone and knew that the blond would probably start complaining about it soon.

“The baby’s fine so far. Tsunade did the first ultra-sound; but I couldn’t see anything.” Sasuke wasn’t really worried about not being able to see the baby for the first time. He figured that once it started growing more; he’d have no problems. “Oh by the way; Naruto wants to start getting things for the baby this weekend and he wants you to go with us.”

Itachi nodded. “I’ll go; I don’t have any major papers or tests to study for. Have you thought of any names yet?”

“Not yet. We want to know what gender it is first. We should know that in another couple months.” Sasuke was really anxious to know the gender of the baby. Somehow it made it feel even more real; like giving it an identity. He felt Naruto stir in his lap and looked down to see the blond just waking up. He leaned down and captured Naruto’s lips in a small kiss.

Naruto kissed Sasuke back and noticed that his feet were on something. Upon inspection; he saw that that something was Itachi. He smiled and grabbed the older man’s hand. “Hey, baby; when did you get home?”

Itachi leaned over and kissed Naruto before standing up from the couch. “Just a few minutes ago. Are you hungry?”

Naruto nodded and cuddled into Sasuke’s lap; still a bit tired. “Could you make me waffles?”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “Waffles; are you sure that’s what you want?” Of all the things to want to eat in the middle of the day…

Naruto nodded. “I've wanted them all day. Oh, and can you put chocolate chips in them too?”

Itachi stopped in his tracks on the way to the kitchen. “Naruto; they’re frozen waffles; I can’t put chocolate chips in them.”

Naruto sat up from Sasuke’s lap and looked over the back of the couch. “No; I don’t want the frozen ones.”

The older man looked a bit confused. “But that’s all we have baby.”

The blond pouted a bit. “But I want them from scratch; we have a waffle iron don’t we?” He wanted his waffles, damn it.

Sasuke pulled the blond back down into his lap. “Baby, we don’t have the ingredients to make waffles.” He knew just by the look on Naruto’s face what was coming.

Naruto’s face fell and his eyes started to water. “But; you can go to the store…” What the hell was wrong with him? In his mind he screamed at himself to stop acting like a five year old spoiled brat. But he just wanted them so badly.

Sasuke sighed in defeat and wrapped his arms around Naruto. “Don’t cry, baby; I’ll go the store.” He was about to get up when the blond tightened his grip.

“I’m sorry; you don’t have to go…” He felt horrible for being so demanding; but it just kind of slipped out. He couldn’t control what he wanted.

Sasuke smiled lovingly at the blond and kissed him softly. “It’s ok; I’ll go. I’ll be back in about fifteen minutes.” He stood up and grabbed the car keys; knowing that Itachi would be there to comfort the blond. He waved and walked out the door; wondering how much their grocery bill would go up within the next few months.

TBC

WHOOO DONE!!!! Please Review!!!!!!!
Xin