Hold On Tightly, Let Go Lightly

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MisatosPenPen: Right now!!!

 

Smint45: More cute awaits you in this chapter as well!

 

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Naruto flicked absentmindedly through the channels, but there wasn’t anything on. Daytime TV sucked. He settled it on some random show and closed his eyes, relaxing and listening to the sounds Sasuke made as he moved around the kitchen. It was nice, homey, and a welcome reprieve from the hospital sounds he was used to. “S’uke… could you bring in my sketch book and a pencil when you’ve got a minute?”



Placing the lid on the simmering pot of soup, Sasuke headed toward the bedroom where he had put Naruto’s backpack and grabbed the items the blonde requested, bringing them into the living room and handing them to the boy. “The soup’s almost ready... probably another fifteen minutes.”



“Thanks,” Naruto smiled, taking the pad in hand. He slowly sat himself up, and leaned back against the arm of the couch, laying the pad in his lap after opening it to a fresh page. Taking the pencil, he set the lead to the pristine paper and began drawing with well-practiced swipes. His brows narrowed in concentration as the shape of a face began to form, and soon, a soft smile lit his face.



While he’d never tried to do a portrait before, he knew he could do this. He knew every little detail of his boyfriend.



Fifteen minutes later, the sound of cupboards opening and closing could be heard from the kitchen, Sasuke ladling up the soup into two bowls. Bringing them out, he set both down on the coffee table and took a wooden tray out from behind the couch, and it was then that he saw the drawing.



“I like it...” he said softly, kneeling down to get a better look. “You’ve memorized me fast after only a month?”



He knew that it wasn’t hard to memorize details if two people were constantly together but there were so many minute details that the blonde included as well that Sasuke didn’t even know he had.



“Of course I have,” Naruto snickered, setting his sketch pad aside. “I stare at it enough. I should hope I know it that well…”



Staring down at the steaming bowl of soup that had been placed on the tray over his lap, the blond was suddenly ravenous. He dipped the spoon in and moved to blow on it, but that upset his ribs and he winced. “Maybe I should just wait til it cools and then drink out of the bowl…”



“Damn it... I’m sorry, I didn’t think about that.” Sasuke sat on the coffee table so he was facing the blonde. “Do you want some ice cubes in it or something?”



“No, it’s fine. I’m hurt, I’m not a little kid, S’uke,” Naruto snapped. “I can eat soup.”  As if to demonstrate his point, he lifted the spoon again, this time staying straight and bringing it to him. He blew on the broth until it was cool enough to eat. “Sorry,” he said after a moment. “It’s really good though…”



The raven was a bit put off by Naruto’s comment. He knew he was treating the blonde like a child but it did hurt to have his boyfriend get so angry with him. He chalked it up to Naruto’s emotions finally catching up to him, or maybe the teen was just tired. But he was absolutely right...



Getting up, Sasuke sat cross-legged at the end of the table so he was still next to Naruto and began to eat his own soup, the silence drawing out and becoming almost deafening. He really just had nothing to say.



“Sasuke… I said I’m sorry,” Naruto sighed, setting his spoon down and reaching over, despite the nag in his chest, to touch the raven’s shoulder. “I know you’re doing everything you can to help me and you’re working so hard… I shouldn’t have said anything like that. I don’t even know where it came from. Thank you for making the soup, though. Really. It’s making me feel much better.”



“I know... it’s not what you said. I’m just...” he took a deep breath, his mind completely onto another topic altogether. “It’s just all your emotions catching up with you, trust me, I understand.”



Naruto opened his mouth to retort, but simply closed it again. He couldn’t deny it, and at the same time, he didn’t want to admit that that was the truth. He liked to think he was in control…



Deciding to change the subject and turn things around, he started on a new topic after taking another slurp of soup. “So… how would you feel about helping me practice figure drawing?” he asked with a smirk. “I’ve never drawn someone naked before…”



Sasuke took the change of subject and didn’t question it. That discussion could come later, whenever Naruto wanted to.



He let out a small laugh. “I had a feeling that’s where that was going. You just want to see me naked, I know you. But I can’t deny you anything... just don’t show it to anyone.”



“S’uke, if it were up to me, you would never, ever wear clothes,” Naruto laughed, and then quieted, eyeing the raven with a hungry look.



Being injured sucked.



“At least I know the first thing I’m going to do once I’m better…”



Sasuke smiled and shook his head a bit. “I can only imagine...”



In reality, he was thinking the exact opposite. He wasn’t sure how well Naruto would handle sex after what had happened to him. Who knows how the teen will feel in a couple weeks? He may be scared to death of sex; or at least what could happen. Trauma that Naruto sustained didn’t just leave your memories overnight.



Naruto frowned at Sasuke’s response but didn’t say anything else about it. He was sure he would be okay. There was a big difference between his father and Sasuke – plus, he’d gone through it before but had still been able to be with his boyfriend. He assumed it would be okay. Hopefully.



The blond concentrated on his food, slowly eating up the noodles and broth. It was really good, and it filled his stomach perfectly. While he couldn’t eat all of it, he ate as much as he could possibly handle.



The rest of the day passed relatively slowly, Naruto napping on and off for most of it and Sasuke doing some research for the case while Naruto slept. He was dreading work the next day; it was going to be a very difficult thing to go through... having to watch through the tapes of Naruto’s abuse from age six. He was planning on telling his boyfriend that night... he just hoped the blonde would be alright...



Once Naruto had been settled in bed, with Sasuke’s help, he felt much better than he had in days. The bed was soft and the covers luxurious compared to the ones at the hospital. The pillows were heaven. And best of all, he could really be with his boyfriend. The tiny hospital bed had been hard for them both to squeeze into. “I’m so glad to be back here with you, S’uke. I really took it for granted, you know?”



Sasuke nodded, taking Naruto’s hand in his and kissing the blonde’s lips. “It feels good to have you next to me in our bed... even just that one night without you was like torture for me.”



There was a slight pause before Sasuke took a sharp breath in and let it out slowly. “I... I need to talk to you about some things...”



Dread spread throughout Naruto’s body and he turned his head to study Sasuke for a moment. As soon as he saw the raven’s face, he knew it was something bad. He tried his best to brace himself. “Okay… shoot.”



Mentally preparing himself, Sasuke began. “I have to go over evidence... that they found in your father’s house... tapes...” He stopped there, looking over to see if Naruto understood.



Naruto’s stomach dropped. His mouth went dry and his throat tightened. He didn’t know what the tapes were of, but he knew it was something really bad… “What kind of tapes?” he whispered shakily.



“They um... god I don’t even know how to explain it.” Sasuke’s fingers threaded through his dark locks in a nervous gesture. “Its evidence of what he’s done to you... throughout your life... he kept them all apparently.”



“Taped it…? You mean…?” Naruto’s face drained of colour and his mouth hung open in disgusted shock. “He taped it…? Why…?” His stomach lurched and he was honestly afraid he was going to throw up. “You can’t… You can’t watch that… I was… I was six when that started… Sasuke, please don’t…”



Turning onto his side, Sasuke’s fingers immediately soothed the blonde by stroking the soft locks. “Naruto listen... I have to. I can’t go into this trial and not have seen them, I’ll be written off because I didn’t review evidence. I promise you that nothing will ever change the way I feel about you. I don’t blame you for what he did. It’s his fault, not yours. I know it’s hard to deal with but I can’t just let this slide Naruto... please understand.”



“I- I do understand, but… but…” Naruto shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut as they welled up with tears. He refused to let them fall, to give in, and he blinked them away. “How are you going to be able to watch that? The first time… Sasuke, I was a mess…”



His eyes fogged over as memories washed over him. So much screaming and crying; the little him asking over and over again why his papa was hurting him, asking what he’d done to deserve it. He could still remember the mad cackling his father had given him in response.



“Believe me baby... if I could avoid it I would. I never want to see you in pain like that again... But it’s my job. Your uncle is counting on me to put your father behind bars. Also I’m doing this for us... so we can be together like we want.” Sasuke felt his own tears welling up at seeing Naruto so upset, he knew the blonde would react like that but it was still painful to see.



“Again?” Naruto frowned, his eyes searching over Sasuke’s face. He knew the raven was right. It had to be done, or he would have to move in with his uncle. As much as he loved Jiraiya, he didn’t want that. He wanted to be with his boyfriend…



“Does… Does that mean the tapes are going to be shown at the trial?” His voice was a mere whisper, sounding so small and scared. “Everyone there… They’ll have to see?”



“I’m going to try and see if there’s any way the judge will let me talk about them without having to show them but... it is a possibility.” He sighed not really having thought of that yet. “I’m going to try and avoid it though; it’s no one’s business...”



“I hope it works… Just thinking of all those people seeing me…” A shudder ran through his body and he wished more than anything that he could turn over and just hide himself away against Sasuke. It wasn’t fair. What had he ever done to deserve all of this? He couldn’t think of anything. “Thanks for telling me at least… It’s better that I found out from you…”



Sasuke nodded slightly, kissing those lips again before turning off the bedside lamp. “I love you Naruto... if you need anything tonight just wake me up, ok?”



“Okay… Love you, too, S’uke,” Naruto whispered, staring up into the darkness. It took a few hours for him to fall asleep, his mind still racing from what he’d been told. He did eventually, but his sleep was restless. He couldn’t toss and turn with his injured body, but he spent most of the night awake, reliving his nightmare of a past.



XX



Sasuke was up at 5am with his alarm, turning it off quickly so it wouldn’t wake his boyfriend who had fallen asleep a couple hours before. Naruto must have been exhausted at that point. Sasuke felt every time Naruto woke, the raven never being a very heavy sleeper. A few times during the night they had talked a bit, mostly about nothing in particular, just something to keep the thoughts at bay for the blonde.



He slowly got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom quietly to start his morning routine. He was planning on making Naruto some breakfast before he left and so he needed to hurry with his shower to allot for the extra time he needed.



Naruto awoke again not long after he heard the shower start. He yawned widely and scratched at his eyes. He was exhausted. Even the sleep he’d managed to get had been riddled with horrible dreams and hadn’t been relaxing at all.



“Sasuke?” he called when he heard his boyfriend leave the bathroom. “When’s ‘Tachi supposed to get here? While you’re at work?”



Coming into the bedroom, the raven went for his dresser and pulled out a pair of socks before heading toward his closet. “He should be here before I leave for work. I didn’t want to leave you here by yourself for too long...” He stopped once he saw the look cross Naruto’s face. “You know what I mean... you can barely walk as it is.”



“Fine…” Naruto relented, his lips quirking into a small smile. “I guess I can forgive you because it’s ‘Tachi… If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t be very happy.”



Sasuke dressed quickly in a nice charcoal grey suit with a blue tie and began to play with his hair a bit, it felt lopsided and he hated that. “I’ll try to get back as fast as I can. I don’t think I’ll be staying too long today... you know...” His movements slowed a bit as he thought about what he was going to be doing at work, it made his stomach churn just remembering what he had seen the day Naruto had been taken.



“Yeah…. Yeah, I know…” Naruto honestly felt horrible for Sasuke. It wouldn’t be easy, watching those videos. He couldn’t imagine what the raven would be like once he got home… “Just remember that nothing like that will ever happen to me again. I’m safe now…”



Sitting on the edge of the bed, Sasuke leaned down and brushed a gentle kiss over Naruto’s forehead, then lips. “I know... and I’ll never let anyone hurt you like that ever again... I promise.”



“I know.” Naruto couldn’t help but smile at the genuine promise in Sasuke’s eyes. He knew, no matter what, that he was safe now. There was no way the Uchiha was going to let his father get free to torture him again. It was over.



“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?” he teased, reaching up to brush the back of his index finger down Sasuke’s cheek.



“I’m basically ready... I thought I’d make you some breakfast before I leave... that is if you’re hungry.” Sasuke took the hand that was on his cheek in his own, lacing their fingers together. It was moments like those that really showed Sasuke how much he really could care and love. He had Naruto to thank for all of that.



“You don’t have to, you know… I can live without you pampering me. Though I really enjoy it.” He smirked and squeezed Sasuke’s hand. “I could go for some French toast, maybe… I haven’t had that in forever.”



Sasuke snorted in contempt and kissed Naruto’s forehead before standing. “You know I do it because I love you... even if you weren’t injured I’d make you French toast.”



Before Naruto could utter another word, Sasuke spoke once more. “You want to go into the living room? Itachi should be here in a few minutes.”



“Yeah… I probably should. I’m not changing out of my pj’s for him, though,” Naruto snickered. “Poor ‘Tachi. I’m no fun to be around anymore. He’ll just be sitting around while I nap and stuff…”



Looping his arm around Sasuke, he slowly sat up. He hissed through his teeth, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes as pain flared through his body. “Holy shit, that hurts,” he whined, leaning heavily against his boyfriend. “If the doctor hadn’t said I need to start walking a bit…” Shaking his head, he braced himself and grabbed onto Sasuke and gradually stood.



Making sure his hold was steady, Sasuke allowed Naruto to try and put some weight on his own two feet. “Let me know when you want me to take all your weight, I’ll help you walk to the door and if you can manage that, we’ll go a bit further.”



“I’m okay… I can do it…” Naruto muttered. He kept his grip on Sasuke, though, as he took a step forward. It hurt, but it wasn’t unbearable. He made it to the doorway before he had to stop for a moment.



“I’m okay… I’m okay…” he repeated, determined to make it all the way to the couch. It took a while and it was slow going, but he eventually did. His smile was brilliant. “See! I did it!”



Sasuke’s smile matched Naruto’s as he helped the blonde onto the couch. “You did great baby... I can help you practice like that more if you want... we can do it once a day or twice if you want. It might help strengthen your muscles a bit... maybe even lessen the pain.”



“Yeah….” Naruto panted, leaning back against the cushions. “We probably should… The sooner I can walk and move around on my own, the better.”



It took a few moments for him to catch his breath. He lifted his legs onto the couch and heaved out a sigh as he leaned back against the arm. “’Kay, I’m good.”



“Alright, I’ll start on breakfast then. Need anything to drink?” Sasuke picked up the remote from the coffee table and handed it to the blonde.



“Mmm… maybe some coffee with breakfast?” Naruto asked hopefully as he flicked the TV on. He needed the bathroom, but there was no way he was moving again so soon.  He found some cartoon to watch to keep himself busy.



“Can’t... you’re still on morphine remember? Sasuke headed toward the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to see what they had. “We have; milk, orange juice, cranberry juice, apple juice... um... I can make you hot chocolate...”



“Ugh, stupid morphine,” Naruto pouted, his bottom lip jutting out. He’d really wanted it, too… “I’ll just have orange juice, then.”



It was only a few minutes later when the doorbell rang, signaling Itachi’s arrival. Sasuke headed out of the kitchen to answer the door and he didn’t fail to notice how much Naruto had perked up at the sound of the bell.



Opening the door, the two brothers exchanged a quick greeting before the older of the two made a bee-line for the injured blonde.



“You look like hell.” he said as he smiled at the teen on the couch, bending down to press a kiss to the tan cheek.



“Gee, thanks,” Naruto muttered, though his eyes were gleaming and his smile was bright. “And you look perfect as always, ‘Tachi.”



Throwing his arm up, he forced the older Uchiha to bend down enough so he could hug him tightly. “So, you’re stuck babysitting me, huh?”



Sasuke headed back into the kitchen to finish up the food, letting the two have a few moments.



Itachi sat on the coffee table across from Naruto, his smile still there. “I wouldn’t say that... I’m sure we can find some kind of trouble to get into while your boyfriend is at work.”



“Mmm, maybe,” Naruto murmured, flashing a grin at the older man. He reached for a pillow and stuffed it behind his back to make himself more comfortable. “So how long are you staying for, ‘Tachi?”



“About three days. I know it’s not long but I do have some good news.” The long haired man paused for dramatic effect before continuing. “I’ll be moving out here next month so you’ll get to see me as much as you want.”



Sasuke paused in what he was doing, just hearing what Itachi had said. Since when was his brother moving to Konoha? When was he going to find out? When the older man was settled into his new apartment?



“Really?!” Naruto breathed, his eyes widening as they lifted to meet Itachi’s dark ones. His grin was huge and brilliant. “Oh! You have to get an apartment nearby so I can come bug you whenever I want!” He laughed as he nudged the long haired raven in the knee with his finger. “I bet you’ll get sick of me real fast.”



The raven chuckled and shook his head. “I could never get sick of you... and I was thinking of getting a place just a few blocks from here. Of course I have to one-up my brother by getting a better place than him.”



Stepping into the living room a full plate of French toast and syrup balanced on a tray in his hands, Sasuke ‘tsk’d’ and playfully glared at his sibling. “How nice of you to even tell me you were moving here...”



He gently set the tray on the blonde’s lap before giving the teen a kiss to the lips.



Itachi just shrugged. “I was going to tell you... you’re too uptight.”



The blond stared down at the tray, eyeing the French toast hungrily. It looked so good… Grabbing the syrup, he poured it over the bread and then cut himself a piece, popping it in his mouth and chewing slowly. “Mmmm, that’s so good, S’uke,” he practically moaned, taking another bite. “And you guys are ridiculous. It’s gonna be fun having you around more, ‘Tachi.”



“Well get used to it, I’m sure Sasuke will be starting more than one fight with me once I’m actually here for good.” He smirked and nudged his younger brother who just glared and headed to the bedroom to grab his laptop.



Heading back into the living room, Sasuke paused for a moment. He really didn’t want to go to work. He really dreaded watching those tapes and he knew he’d be a mess by the time he got home. But he made a promise to Jiraiya and he knew this was really important to all of them.



“I better go...” he said finally with a sigh. He ran his fingers through Naruto’s hair before kissing the top of his head. “Don’t destroy the house you two...” he said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood but he already could sense Naruto’s demeanor change.



Naruto smiled for his boyfriend, but it came off as weak and forced. He caught Sasuke’s hand with his own and gave it a squeeze. “I love you,” he said, not caring whether Itachi heard or not. His raven was in for a horrible day, and he wanted him to remember it. “We’ll be good, and I’ll be waiting for you once you’re done…”



Sasuke nodded, grateful for the blonde’s words. “I love you too... I should be home around lunchtime.” He gave his brother a pat on the shoulder before making his way out of the condo and most likely to the worst workday of his life.

TBC