My Ex Want To Marry Again

Part - VII

4rd Nov, 2023
21:41

Sasuke laid his head on the hospital bed where his brother rested, unmoving. It had been two years since the car accident that had put Itachi into a coma. And every week, Naruto had come with him to visit him in the hospital. He had never realized how much that support had meant to him, feeling Naruto's silent strength and love for him while he grieved for the brother he idolized and missed. Sasuke had no one now. The only two people who had meant anything to him in this world had left him alone. And he was drowning. He felt wetness on the blanket, and realized it was from his own tears.

"Itachi," Sasuke whispered brokenly.

"Please wake up." His throat closed up. He hadn't cried since his parent's death more than a decade ago. Hadn't needed his big brother so desperately since then.

"I need you, Nii-san." He clutched his brother's limp hand. He didn't notice when he fell asleep, or when a nurse came in an hour later and draped a blanket over his shoulders. The rest of the world might view the Uchihas as cold, ruthless, and arrogant, but the doctors and nurses who worked in the wing where Itachi was cared for had seen the love and devotion that the younger brother had for the older one. And while they were puzzled by what they saw in the papers, they knew that it was not the whole truth in the matter.

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Naruto smiled wanly at Gaara, seeing the man's worry and anger, but not having the strength to hide his emotions better to prevent it. He had just left the house he had shared with his husband, and knew he would never go back inside again. He was emotionally exhausted. He needed to get out of sight of everyone so he could fall apart in private. He had turned over the divorce papers and all his financial and business statements to Gaara, knowing the man would know what to do. He gave him the address and phone number of his godfather's place, and asked him to give him a call when he got the paperwork figured out. Gaara had not been happy when Naruto had told him he just wanted to get out of the finances what he had either put in or earned. There had been no prenuptial agreement, so Naruto knew he could take Sasuke for a hell of a lot more than that, but he had no interest in it. Gaara clearly thought Naruto should rake Sasuke over the coals, but Naruto had just shook his head sadly and said that he didn't want to. Gaara had growled something about 'idealistic blond children', but there had been no heat in it.

Naruto had hugged him (he was probably the only person on the planet other than Gaara's wife who would dare do such a thing), then boarded the plane to Athens. He just needed to get out of here, away from Sasuke. He swore he would never let that person see how much he had hurt him. He would never, ever leave himself open to this kind of pain again. Jiraya moved around a lot, so Sasuke would have no way of knowing he was currently in Greece, if he even thought to look for him. There would be no one there to connect them. Naruto could rebuild himself. Once he was ready.

When he landed in Athens, it was a surreally sunny day, setting the buildings and greenery around him ablaze in color. Naruto got into a cab, feeling strangely detached and disconnected to this vibrant world around him. His head felt heavy, and his body ached. He tried to remember if he ate on the plane, but couldn't. He didn't feel hungry, so he supposed that was ok. The trip to his godfather's villa was more than an hour, but he wasn't aware of the time passing. He simply stared out the window in silence, thinking of nothing. Jiraya walked out of the front door to greet Naruto as the cab pulled up. He stopped in shock as he took in the appearance of his godson. The usually bright blue eyes were dull and hooded. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his shoulders were hunched. Naruto tried to greet his godfather with his usual enthusiasm, but knew it failed miserably. He avoided the man's concerned gaze, and just said he was feeling jet-lagged from his trip and needed to rest. Jiraya took him to his room and promised lunch would be ready in an hour. Naruto nodded absently, and mechanically unpacked his clothes into the small dresser in the room, showered, and climbed into bed.

Naruto vaguely was aware of time passing, but he didn't really know how much time. Jiraya would sometimes come in to try to talk to him. Sometimes a random, scantily clad girl would materialize in his bedroom (courtesy of his pervy godfather). Naruto would just look at them, and tell them he was tired and just needed to rest a bit more. Was he eating? He wasn't sure. Was he bathing? Not so much. But his body just seemed so tired. He knew that it had been too much time to still be jet-lag. But every time he tried to face what it really was, his consciousness would crawl back into the cave of sleep and hide. There. He'd said it. At least to himself. He was hiding. But he wasn't ready to deal with what he was hiding from yet. He needed more time.

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How much time had passed? Someone was in the room with him. Gaara? When had he come? The light hurt his eyes.

Gaara's eyes widened in shock when he saw his friend. It looked like he had lost at least twenty pounds. His usually golden skin was pale and drawn, and there were deep shadows under his eyes, as though he were not sleeping.

"Naruto." Gaara waited for the dull blue eyes to focus on him.

"Gaara. What are you doing here?"

"You haven't been returning any of my calls. It's been three weeks. I decided to come and see if you were still alive. It was meant to be a bit of a joke, but Gaara realized it actually wasn't. He felt fear and anger form a cold knot in his stomach. Fear for the well being of his friend, and anger for the bastard who had put him in this condition.

"Three weeks? I thought... I thought it had been only a couple of days. Sorry..." Naruto tried to smile. "I guess that without having to be at work, I kind of lost track of the days."

They both knew that was a lie.

"Naruto, you need to sign some of these papers. They can hold us in contempt of court if we refuse to sign."

Naruto nodded numbly, and took the stack of papers that Gaara handed him. He flipped through, skimming them, and signing where he needed to, then handed them back to Gaara. The smaller man looked through, then paused at the final pages.

"You didn't sign the final divorce consent. You signed all the financial papers. But you have to sign the final divorce document."

Naruto just turned his head to the side. "I'm tired. Get the financial settlement done. That's the most important anyway."

Gaara sighed. He knew he couldn't force Naruto to do this, not because Naruto would dig his heels in, but because he might break.

Gaara pulled out his phone, and called his office. "Set up a meeting with Nara Shikamaru regarding the final negotiation of the divorce financial settlement when I get back.

Naruto had closed his eyes. Gaara wasn't sure if his friend was actually sleeping or just shutting out the reality of the papers he had just signed. Gaara still had his phone in his hand, and quickly took a photo of Naruto. While Sasuke would probably be gleeful at seeing the damage he had wrought, Gaara had a feeling that Shikamaru would be swayed by it. And if it could help keep his friend from being slapped with a contempt charge, then it was worth trying.

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TBC..

Well, don't forget to check out my other stories as well 😉
I'll be back soon with the new chapter..
Take care and stay healthy and hydrated. love you all 🥰❤️

Cr: NaruLove11
Dt - 04/11/2023 - 21:41
1425 words