Disguised Curses

.... This chapter wound up not quite going the way I thought it would. However, it did cover everything I wanted to. So, it counts, right? And so soon after the Double update from last time! That's right. If you're just tuning in for the first in a month or more, you have at least 3 chapters now to read!! Good luck and hang on for the ride.

 

Warnings for this chapter: Musing Sasuke. He does need a warning, right?

 

 

Chapter 42

 

 

 

Sasuke stood in the hall, watching through the doorway as Neji and Hinata safeguarded Hanabi's hospital bed. The younger girl was pale, but healthy, and from what he'd heard of Tsunade- sama's diagnosis, she had been kept unconscious with a heavy sleeping jutsu. It was likely she'd never even seen her captors. For her sake, he hoped the personal fallout of this whole fiasco would be minimal for the girl.

Naruto was practically glued to Sasuke's body, where he had come when Hinata had rushed to her sister's side. He'd been trembling, enough to feel even between layers of material, and tense in ways Sasuke hadn't seen since the last meltdown. But now with the threat as neutralized as possible for the moment, their solitary captive down in the bowels of Ibiki's interrogation rooms, and Hanabi safe among family and medics, there was nothing for either of them to do. Sasuke was ready to head back to his home and relax until the adrenalin wore off enough that he could sleep.

Of course, he wasn't sure if Tsunade was done with him and the rest of the retrieval team yet. He was only past the lobby because he'd refused to give up Hanabi until he could give her directly to Tsunade herself. It was barely noon, but he was exhausted from the fight this morning and just getting back from the last mission. It had been boring, thankfully, but it had been physically tiring, compounded by the emotional flickers entertained from The Conversation.

Sasuke glanced at Hinata and wiped his mind clean before his thoughts projected themselves to his face. He had agreed with Naruto to let Hinata come to her own terms about things regarding the relationship between the three of them, and he wasn't going to influence her any more than he already had. At least not on purpose. It didn't matter that he was looking at her back and she wouldn't have seen his thoughts anyway, he'd given his word. He'd made a lot of promises since he'd come back to Konoha.

Tsunade stepped out of the room, drawing both teens' attention. Naruto stilled against Sasuke's back and worry flickered through the last Uchiha at the sudden quiet. Naruto really wasn't handling this well. "Are either of you injured?" Both of them shook their heads. Sore muscles and scrambled thoughts didn't count. "You two are dismissed for the night. I will want mission reports from both of you tomorrow, and Sasuke, I want one for your involvement in this morning's rescue."

"Hai, Tsunade- sama. We'll get those to you in the morning. Thank you." He tipped his head in respect and turned to usher Naruto out of the hospital, fully expecting to have to coerce or bribe Naruto to get him to leave. A gentle hand on his shoulder made Sasuke pause.

"Those three will be right here, safe and secure. You have enough on your shoulders without worrying about them." Tsunade was touching him, but she was looking past him to Naruto, and her voice was firm and reassuring. "Go home and rest."

 

Naruto walked like he was in a bad haze all the way out of the hospital, and Sasuke kept a hand on Naruto's jacket to make sure he didn't turn around and head back to Hanabi's room. Sasuke was grateful Naruto didn't order him away, didn't demand to go back. Once they were outside, Naruto seemed to wake a little, and Sasuke sighed with momentary relief as he tugged the blonde back toward their home.

Their home. Some days it still surprised Sasuke that the blonde idiot he'd looked down on when they were little was him live- in... boyfriend? No. Not boyfriend, more than that. But they weren't really lovers, more than friends- with- benefits. They were friends, team-mates, even family, as much as they could be with their life like this. He was Naruto's when it came to this more between them, and tried not to question whether he could consider Naruto being his. He still wasn't sure how this whole thing worked, except for the fact he'd made his promises, based on his intentions and Naruto's needs, and he was an Uchiha. He'd been raised to have some honor, take pride in his word, and uphold his promises as much as he could. In a ninja's life of deceit and fighting and death and everything else that could turn a person into a soulless tool, there had to be something to keep them human. Sometimes it was family, or personal pride, a village to protect- something that brought a ninja home after every mission and sent them back out over and over.

Sasuke had a home, even if the memories were bittersweet and the nightmares terrifying; he had a team he trusted and enough pride to keep himself from being used as someone's personal puppet again. He knew he was a pawn- all ninja were pawns, in hard reality, no matter how one looked at it. But he didn't need to be a puppet on a stick that only moved as commanded, when and where and how. No. He was stronger than that. And he had his tiny, growing family, Naruto and Hinata, there to back him up and keep him coming back, keep him sane while slowly driving him insane with this whole thing their relationship could become. Naruto, who could rip out his throat if he really wanted to, who he'd pledged his loyalty to above and beyond anyone and anything else. Hinata, who was strong and pretty and totally belied her delicate body with her ability to decimate opponents, the girl he knew he'd risk life and limb for because she was Naruto's; and as Naruto would charge headlong in to destroy anything that protected the woman that held his heart, Sasuke would be his seeking blade to defend and protect them both.

He moved from the street to the high road of the rooftops, more than aware of Naruto shadowing his every move. He had been able to let go of Naruto's jacket without the other bolting back toward the clinic.

Given his mindset this morning and what Sasuke was willing to do- for Hinata's little sister, even- just because he knew what Naruto's reaction would be, and that he'd been more than willing to use any talent he needed to- this was more than just his promises. This wasn't duty. He needed to do this, wanted to do these things, for the sake of his friend, his family, his alpha. It was unsettling to his pride, on more than just a few days, because he chose to bare his throat and offer Naruto his submission; rattled him because he knew he was skilled, a man growing into his own power and respect and how dare could he let anyone command his personal life like the Hokage commanded his jobs? But it was far more than that. Naruto didn't dictate every detail of his life; he demanded respect and loyalty, but not subservience. In return, Sasuke got a reliant shadow protecting his back, someone that could keep him from creeping to the edge of the abyss and staring down into the hole of madness. He'd faced that pit before. Itachi's death, the look on his face when their battle was over, like he was finally at peace- this was what had snapped Sasuke out of the last of his own madness.

Sasuke broke off the thoughts with a suppressed shudder, unspoken gratitude filling him at not facing that madness since he'd come back to Konoha. But it was the stench of burnt wood and wet cinders that pulled him from the cloud his mind had lingered in during most of the last week, drawing to a sharp focus on his surroundings.

There was lingering smoke in the air along the wall surrounding the Uchiha compound's east side, and from the rooftop he could see two partially burned buildings, the crumpled remains of another, and a piece of wall that looked like it had been exploded outward.

The growl rumbled nearly against his back as Sasuke glared stupidly at the mess and notable lack of ninja in the area. He blinked, glared at the area, but it wasn't a trick on his eyes. The scent and obvious chaos... he sighed, the sound heavy in his throat and chest. Fuck this. Someone could have had the decency to warn him, at least.

 

 

Three hours and half a dozen clones later, most of the rubble had been shifted out, the ashes scattered over old, weedy garden plots, and the wall rebuilt enough to still be a deterrent. Sasuke knew more about destroying rock walls than putting them up, and resigned himself to asking for help on another day. But now he was mentally and physically wiped, eager to curl up and rest a while with his brain shut off. The appearance of a spare clone showing up with a handful of boxes of heavenly scented food was their cue, and the clones dispersed in favor of a mid- afternoon lunch.

Three hours of hard work, even with clones, hadn't been enough to shake off Naruto's demeanor, but he at least seemed less twitchy, momentarily content to stay here instead of racing back to the hospital. It was likely he'd sent over a clone for his own peace of mind. Sasuke kept an eye on him as they shuffled around the kitchen, a mutual quietude sufficient after the circumstances of the day. Their house was unscathed, a minor blessing made all the more significant.

When Naruto shoved aside his half- eaten second plate of food in favor of rubbing his hands over his forehead, Sasuke figured it was definitely past time to make Naruto go relax. He piled the leftovers into an empty corner of the fridge, away from anything that might be growing surprises, and returned to guide Naruto back to the bedrooms. When Naruto balked and kept his butt firmly on the chair, Sasuke sighed.

"They're home, safe. There's nothing else you can do today, Naruto."

"....." Little shaky breaths filled the silence, eyes red from the demon and bloodshot with stress and tears. Sasuke squeezed a shaking shoulder in one hand, but the muscle vibrations were spreading.

"Naruto." He made the word be as close to a command as he dared, not quite willing to challenge Naruto in this state, not daring to let him stay like this, either. He wasn't ready for the words he got in return.

"I held her in my arms and the only thing I could think of was that it could have been her." Even his voice quivered and cracked, rough with the same outpouring of emotion that rocked Naruto's body. "All I could think was I could have lost her, and then I'd sent you out to help track those bastards and I could lose you, too. I can't let that happen." A hand closed around Sasuke's wrist, an iron band keeping him there, providing a secure point of contact. "Will I worry like this every mission we're separated?"

So this was where Naruto's mind had been all day, while Sasuke had been entertaining his own thoughts about how they all seemed to fit together as his new family. "We're all going to worry, each time there's a mission, or there's a war, whether we're together or not." Sasuke knelt down so he could look up into Naruto's tear- shiny eyes, not letting the hanging head and blonde fringe hide away from the truth in his words. Things he knew from growing up with a family. "But when you think about whether we're going to come back in one piece, you need to remember this: we're ninja. An Uchiha, a Hyuga, and a very stubborn jinchuuriki. We'll stare death in the face and tell it to fuck off before we ever give up on coming back to where we all belong- right here." He drove the point by tapping his free hand on the floor between their feet. "And if you can't accept that, then we're doing the wrong job."

He doubted either of them could ever willingly walk away from being a ninja. It was nearly they only thing they knew how to do and do well in their life. Hinata might be able to shift to something else- at least if it meant being safe and at home. He had a flicker of an idea, imagining her safe at the house and a toddler chasing her. He shoved the distracting, heart- tearing image from his mind before the fanciful child could develop distinct features. No. He needed to keep his mind here, not in his imaginings of an uncertain future.

Naruto didn't have an answer for him, though. His brow was furrowed above the crimson eyes and Sasuke couldn't tell if it was the thoughts plaguing him or the headache he suspected was making an appearance. At least since Naruto had rubbed at his head a couple minutes ago. He tugged upward, using the hand holding Naruto's shoulder and squeezed about the wrist to pull Naruto out of his chair and slowly walk down the hall. This time Naruto followed, feet shuffling as he let Sasuke lead him to the blonde's room. A hot shower would have done them both some good, washing away the dirt of the mission and today's hard work and stress. But as Sasuke made Naruto sit on the edge of the bed, he noted the rising signs of emotional fatigue catching up with them. Naruto wasn't going to last through a shower before getting some sleep. They could always do the bedding in the morning.

He helped when Naruto started stripping clumsily, kept the blonde from falling on his face more than once before pushing at a tanned shoulder and watching as Naruto fell limply back onto the bed. "Will you be okay?" Naruto looked so... not weak, really, but like he was missing something critical. His mate. And Sasuke knew he couldn't fill in that spot for Naruto.

"Stay." Naruto slid back on the bed, curling slightly and leaving plenty of space for Sasuke to settle next to him. "Please." The word slid out in a whisper, just loud enough in the quiet room, and Sasuke stripped off his shirt and pants without further hesitation. If Naruto couldn't have Hinata today, when she needed to be with her own family, then Sasuke would help. Bound by choice and promise and blood, every choice he'd made that had brought them together as this makeshift family, doing this was easy. He crawled in, pulling the blanket up to the bottom edge of his ribs as he turned to face Naruto.

The blonde wrapped a large tan hand around a pale copy, a smile tight on his lips. The meager contact seemed to soothe him, and Sasuke laid still watching the weak tremors still betrayed in Naruto's arms as they calmed. It wasn't until he could see the stress seep from Naruto's face and his breathing settle into sleep that he let himself fall under the same blissful promise.

 

***

 

Blocks away, a single clone kept a silent vigil in a corner of a hospital room, arms empty as he watched his mate check the bedside again. A single clone armed to the teeth and ready to kill in anything so much as seemed threatening to the three other people in the room.