Winter's Fate

Chapter 8

The storm raged for what seemed like forever, but in reality four days later it was all over. The ugly aftermath left behind by the wind and snow created a plethora of problems. Ice embankments on either side of all roads because of the snow plows made even the smallest accidents dangerous. The ice, hard as cement, would smash anything that hit it. Businesses struggled to reopen as people dug the sidewalks out of the snow and attempted to reach their organizations front doors. Normal routines were difficult to get back to due to half the roads being closed, and more citizens were dug out of their snow-covered homes every day. Some houses had crumbled under the weight of the snowfall, others weren't sturdy enough to stand up to such strong winds, and the evidence of the storm wouldn't be truly gone until the snow had all melted and the town had been fully repaired. Until then, people would have to maneuver about as best they could, trying to return to their lives despite the massive piles of white precipitation slowing down momentum.

In contrast to the icy tundra outside, Itachi's room was filled with flowers, gifts, chocolates, fruits, and "get well" cards. They covered every inch of table space and some even took up residence on the floor. The smells were conflicting with almost every type of flower known to man fighting for fragrant dominance in the enclosed space, it was hard not to get a headache. Itachi looked at the colorful gifts and couldn't help but sigh, only the deeply loved and the insanely rich or powerful received so many gifts when in the hospital, and he definitely wasn't in the first category. These were just superficial sentiments from secretaries of business partners, wannabe business partners, and women who claimed to love him but in truth were only in love with the idea of him and his money. The gold diggers jumped at any chance to be with someone rich and handsome who could pave their way onto the gossip magazines and an easy life full of unnecessary, not to mention expensive, luxuriance. With those thoughts in mind, the room full of beautiful and extravagant gifts became a disgusting show of the petty graspings of many disturbed women. He gave away anything the nurses or doctors happen to glance at or compliment. They obviously liked them more than he did, and it wasn't like he wanted any of it, so he gave it to those who could appreciate it. By the time four days had passed much of the hospital, and especially the ICU Ward, had been filled with gorgeous florets, and every doctor, nurse, and even a few patients had been given various presents, most of which included expensive colognes, spa retreat passes, or other luxury items.

The only exception he made when giving away everything he'd been given came when he learned a certain blonde nurse was partial to chocolates and fruit. Itachi couldn't help but smile on the inside at the sparkle in Naruto's eyes each time he offered them to him. The blonde readily accepted the gifts, revealing his passion for food, especially sweets. With each chocolate covered strawberry, caramel covered in sea salt, or box of pocky came stories he would share about how when he was growing up his Papa would try to hide sweets in the house from him and Kakashi because they would devour them within a single day, or whenever his papa would bake a cake it would be gone within a nights sitting because his dad and him just couldn't help themselves. Itachi found the stories cute and couldn't help wanting to learn about more joyous childhood moments in his nurse's life.

On that fourth day, Kakashi had gone to pick up Itachi's parents at the airport and the raven felt dread and apprehension welling up in him at the thought of their arrival, but it wasn't like there was much that could be done about it. Staring at the blue sky out of the hospital's bedside window, he sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past hour. Due to impossible circumstances, his insistent father's impending visit was unavoidable. Itachi had known it was a losing argument from the start, but he still spent every chance he got trying to do everything in his power to keep his stubborn and suffocating father away.

Shifting slowly in the bed to find a more comfortable position, he cringed, his eyes squeezing shut as he tried to abide the painful ache shooting up his leg and pooling in his hip. Today was a bad day for various reasons and the pain wasn't helping anything. The doctor had informed him that it hurt so bad, not only because it'd been fractured, but also due to immobility. So he couldn't move because he was in intense pain, and the pain was so intense because he couldn't move. Turning to drugs was something the raven tried to avoid, even as the button for the morphine was right in front of him, as though taunting him with the fact that while it took the pain away, it also made him nauseous. The doctor had added an anticoagulant to his IV along with a compression sleeve on his right leg to prevent blood clots from forming, all in all, the meds weren't settling well with his stomach.