There's a Reason He Doesn't Sleep

Reunited

When Sasuke heard about Naruto being in the hospital, the boy zoomed out of the house, leaving both Kisame and Sakura to stay behind to act and deliver the news to Kurama. He drove Naruto's car, speeding past anybody ahead in order to get there as fast as possible.

Worried and both happy Naruto was finally found and away from his brothe...Itachi, Sasuke was more than just nervous at what he would see once he got there. He expected Naruto to be a mess, but how much of a mess? Would he be too traumatized to even look at him? He and Itachi did kind of look alike. Driving and keeping the tears from falling, the Uchiha concentrated on getting to his destination.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" The nurse asked, attending the jittery Uchiha who barged in and walked up directly to her. "Ah, yes." She cleared her throat. "Are you family?"

"He's my boyfriend." Sasuke spoke, passing a nervous hand through his head. The woman nodded and got up, joining Sasuke and leading him towards the room. As they made a turn towards the hallway, they were greeted by an officer.

"Neji." Sasuke recognized his old classmate. "What are you doing here?"

"Listen, before you go in there. I have to ask you questions on Itachi." Seeing the Uchiha react towards his brother, Neji nodded and sighed. "Kisame informed me, we have the evidence everything's being looked over, we just need to know if you have any idea where Itachi could be."

"He's the least of my worries. I need to see Naruto." The Uchiha responded. "Look, I have no idea where he could be. If I had to guess, he's out there hiding like the fucking bastard he is, can I go in now?" Sasuke asked, getting irritated as Neji kept blocking his way.

Neji could see how desperate Sasuke was. "Fine, but you'll have to answer a few other questions later." The brunette stepped away, letting the Uchiha walk in.

Sasuke didn't know what he had expected. No doubt he had at least imagined his blond to be in pain, maybe a few scratched here and there, but this? This was just...

He looked away, slowly calming himself down before walking closer. "Naruto..." He whispered, afraid to lay even the slightest touch upon him. "What did he do to you?"

It was a scene, alright. The smooth, rosy flesh Sasuke had been familiar with was now adorned with red-purple bruising, a couple scratches here and there. Some slight yellow patches of skin adorned most of Naruto's stomach, where a trail of smaller bruises trailed down further...bruises? Or hickeys? Sasuke gritted his teeth, eyes wandering over to the boy's neck where not only more hickeys adorned the rosy flesh, but signs of strangulation were evident as a couple fingerprints had been left behind on the skin.

The Uchiha felt himself drowning as he observed even the slightest scars on the boy, most of them taking place on the boy's arms. What stood out the most, though, were the bandages wrapped around Naruto's wrists.

"The bastard..." He said through clenched teeth. "I'm going to kill him, I swear I-" Blue eyes opened, slowly widening at the horror of seeing the resemblance of the Uchiha standing before him. "Naruto."

"N-no, get away from m-me, no!"

"Naruto, calm down, it's me!" Sasuke grabbed the boy's hand, a mistake as it was injured and Naruto let out a cry of pain. He sat up quickly, making things worse. "Naruto, it's not Itachi, look closely, it's me!"

It took a few blinks before Naruto's eyes dispelled the image of Itachi. He was at a loss for words as he was now presented with the real person standing beside him. "Sa-Sasuke!" He cried out, fighting every pained joint to sit up once again to hug the Uchiha close.

At first worried to lay a single hand on him, Sasuke eased up and finally wrapped his hands around the blond. The moment would've been completely emotional had Sasuke not felt more scars upon the blond's back, Naruto setting the pain aside. Either that, or it would've been emotional without the guest.