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Sasuke knew Naruto best.
He doesn’t brag about it. It’s a fact. A fact that everyone knows. They understand that Naruto is so much more than just a cheery, optimistic and stubborn blonde they all know and have come to love. Sasuke is probably one of the handfuls of people who truly understood Naruto.
Sasuke takes silent pride in this. He’s memorized every detail about Naruto, even the insignificant ones. Like how he had always wanted to grow out his hair as an adult. Or how he was surprisingly not a morning person. And how he was a natural in front of the stove.
He also knew deeper things. Like how a seemingly small detail to someone else can make Naruto obsess over it for days. Or when the crowds’ stares don’t feel as rewarding as they always do. Or the signs of incoming mental breakdown like breathing through his mouth to tamp down the pain clawing at his throat.
Sasuke knew all of these things. He didn’t even need to be awake or near Naruto to feel it. Their massive and corresponding chakra did them for him. But this night, he didn’t need the help of their chakra to tell him what was wrong.
Sasuke woke up feeling too warm. That was his first sign. Naruto was never too warm or too cold. The second was Naruto was clinging on to him harder than usual. The last was that he was shivering. Badly. And his breath and his skin were too hot.
Sasuke signed and pried himself slightly out of Naruto’s grasp. A whine emitted from under the blankets. If Sasuke’s lip had quirked at the sound of it, no one needed to know.
Slowly, he got up, being very cautious to not move too abruptly. At last, he was free from Naruto’s limbs. A small laugh escaped him as he stared down at Naruto, whose entire body was under their shared duvet. The only part of him that was visible was the tips of his blonde locks and his fingers.
“Sasuke…?” Naruto said, evidently still half asleep.
“It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.” Sasuke said curtly, his voice raspy with slumber.
With another whine, Naruto burrowed into their bed.
Satisfied, Sasuke walked off to their kitchen. He pulled the fridge door open and scanned the contents of the medicine. He must have been very sleepy himself because he accidentally activated his sharingan in his concentration. Pressing the heel of his only palm into his right eye, he picked out a small white bottle with a label on it.
After that, he walked over to the wooden drawers. He pulled one of them out and rummaged through it. He was beginning to grow frustrated when he finally pulled out a small yellow packet, no bigger than his palm.
A small meow came from his feet, interrupting his inspection of the packet to see if it was the right one. He looked down on his gremlin of a cat. The ragdoll stared up at him, its whiskers twitching curiously.
“Hush now. You’ll wake up your dad.” Sasuke said to Yami before reaching up to a cabinet.
He pulled out a ridiculous frog mug, Naruto’s favourite. He set down the ceramic mug and tore the top of the packet with his teeth. He poured out the grounded herbs and set the cup under the water dispenser. As the steaming water streamed into the cup, he reached down to pick up Yami. Despite their differences, they can be cuddly sometimes. This time was one of them. Yami let himself be picked up and cuddled into Sasuke's chest.
Sasuke scoffed. “You’re never like this with me when we’re not alone. Brat.”
Yami meowed accusingly. You’re one to talk, he seemed to have said.
Then, the other cat joined them. It hopped onto the counter as Sasuke stopped the hot water. It meowed at him, much friendlier than Yami.
“Were none of you asleep?” Sasuke said, dropping Yami and reaching for the cup. “I expected more from you Kumo.”
Kumo wasn’t bothered in the least. The Persian bumped her head against his hand and rubbed it lovingly.
Sasuke’s softened. He wished he had his other arm to run his fingers down her white fur. But he remembered Naruto’s sickness. He did a quick work of his stirring the tea and hurried to their bedroom. Their cats scurried after him, hot on his heels.
Sasuke put the medicine bottle and the herbal tea on his bedside table and sat down on his part of the bed. Slowly, he nudged Naruto’s shoulder.
“Naruto.”
Silence.
“Naruto.”
“What?” Naruto said, dragging the word out.
“Get up, love.”
“No,” he said, once again stretching out the vowel.
“You’re sick.”
“I am?” he asked groggily. Sasuke heard a small sniff and then Naruto said, “I am. I’m sick”
“Yes,” Sasuke said, patiently. “You are. I got some stuff for you.”
“I want my children.”
“Yami and Kumo are right here.”
A moment of silence. Then another sniff. “Okay.”
The duvet shuffled away as Naruto sashayed upwards. His hair was drooping downwards and his eyes lacked their brightness from sleep. His nose and cheeks were bright pink and his lips were dry and cracked.
“Hi.” he greeted, sounding miserable.
“Hello,” Sasuke said, pushing Naruto’s long bangs away from his face and pressing them against his forehead. “High fever.”
“As usual.” The blonde grumbled.
It's true. Naruto rarely gets sick. But when he does, he gets really sick.
Sasuke sighed and reached for the medicine bottle. He popped it open and dropped two of the pills into his palm as Naruto watched blearily.
“Here, eat this. Don’t swallow them dry,” Sasuke ordered.
Naruto huffed indignantly and picked up the water bottle on his bedside table. He dropped the pills into his mouth and swallowed them with water. Their cats hopped onto their bed after pacing around their bed the whole time. Yami immediately slipped onto Naruto’s lap where Kumo watched from the foot of the bed, standing still as a marble statue.
Sasuke handed him the tea next. Predictably, his nose scrunched up as he stared down angrily at the cup.
“I hate this stuff,” Naruto complained. Yami meowed as if cajoling Sasuke for giving Naruto something that smelled like death. “See? Yacchan agrees.”
“Yami knows more than me?” Sasuke said, raising a brow.
Naruto turned his nose upwards and said with absolute confidence, “Yes,”
Yami meowed in agreement and bumped his head against Naruto’s stomach. As Naruto’s fingers weaved through his fur, the bastard cat looked at Sasuke smugly.
Sasuke grew embarrassingly envious. “Naruto.”
“Hm?”
“Drink the tea.”
Naruto threw his head back and groaned. “Fine.”
He drank the tea obediently. He stared at his empty cup and squinted at the soggy leaves and herbs at the bottom.
Sasuke had gone quiet as well, taking in the sleepy environment. When had it started raining? He listened to the pattering of the rain against their roof. His eyes roamed over Naruto slowly as if to memorize every detail of him, as if he hadn’t already. The smell of herbal tea made him light-headed.
Suddenly, Naruto leaned against him, the side of his body pressing against Sasuke’s chest. “Hey Sasuke, the leaves look like Kucchan.”
It took a moment for him to gather his wits and fully take in what Naruto said. “What?”
“I said the leaves look like our cat.”
“It does not.”
“Yes, it does.”
“How?”
“Look,”
Naruto held up the cup so that from their angle they could see the leaves and Kumo side by side. Naruto looked at the cup and then at his husband expectantly. Even Kumo cocked his head to the side, tail swishing behind her.
“See?”
“No.” Sasuke deadpanned.
“Use you’re sharingan.”
“It is, what?” he turned to the digital alarm clock on Naruto’s side of the table. “Three…twenty-six. AM.”
“Imagine having two doujutsus and still not being able to read tea leaves.” Naruto teased.
“I’m a shinobi, not a fortune teller,” Sasuke stated.
“And I don’t need any doujutsus to see the cat in tea leaves.” Naruto countered.
“Will you sleep if I see the cat?”
“Yes,” Naruto announced.
Sasuke summoned the Sharingan and looked at the cup. His eyes raised when he realized what Naruto meant.
“Just because a blob has two triangles sticking out the top makes it a cat?” he asked.
“Yes,” Naruto said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Wouldn’t it make more sense if you said it looked like Yami? Since the leaves look black like his fur right now.”
“Wouldn’t that be like? Racist?” Naruto asked hesitantly
A dumbfounded laugh escaped Sasuke. “What?”
“Not everything has to follow colour, Sasuke.” Naruto scolded.
Yami meowed in agreement.
Oh, he was gonna rub this in Naruto’s face for the next thirty years. “You should go to bed.”
“No,” Naruto whined. “I like talking to you.”
“You can talk to me in the morning.” Sasuke reminded him.
“Wouldn’t be the same.” He complained.
“Clearly. We wouldn’t talk about the cat in tea leaves.”
“Yes! See?” he pouted. He wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck and pulled him down. Their limbs fell into place until their bodies were flush against each other. “I prefer the cat in tea leaves than documents and paperwork.”
“Ah, but you see you’re not going to work tomorrow,” Sasuke said, stroking his blonde hair
“I’m not?”
“No, you’ll be staying at home and resting.”
“But-“
Sasuke detached one of his hands to tilt Naruto's head upwards with his finger. “With me,”
Naruto stared at him with wide blue doe eyes, his face a little flushed. “That makes it a little bearable.”
“Good. Now, go to sleep.”
Naruto slept soundly, the medicine doing its work finely. The cats took up the corner of their bed, standing guard for one of their blonde owners. Sasuke watched in amusement, enjoying the warmth of his husband until he fell into slumber himself.