Future Edit: Okay guys there's something wrong with this chapter, Wattpad glitched and stole like a thousand words so the end is confusing and won't make sense.
Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi had seen something they didn't think possible.
Naruto gaped, speechless and unsure.
Sakura was confused, but wished to comfort Sasuke and was on the verge of tearing up at the mere sight of her distraught crush.
Kakashi seemed intrigued.
Because Sasuke Uchiha...well, Sasuke was crying.
The team was all discharged from the hospital with minimal injuries except for Sasuke, who had to be in there longer due to the fiasco with Haku.
They had all been in his hospital room, Naruto having been forced by Kakashi while Sakura had refused to leave his side. A nurse quietly walked in and whispered something in his ear. The three watched as Sasuke's scowl dropped and morphed into a look of horror, and he threw his covers off of him and ran out of the room.
Team Seven shared a bewildered look and scrambled to follow after him. They ran down halls and turns, up stairs to the more extensive care units and watched as Sasuke burst into a room. After a long fifteen minutes of anxiously watching and waiting, Sasuke exited the room crying, furiously wiping at his face in an effort to get rid of the tears.
"What happened?" Naruto whispered.
Then, the door opened again and out walked Hinata. She was frankly, almost unrecognizable. Her hair was different from what they remembered, and she lacked her usual timid demeanor. But her wide, lavender eyes stayed the same.
Hinata walked up to Sasuke and put a comforting hand on his shoulder as tears streamed down his face. Then suddenly, she threw his arms around him and tears welled up in her eyes.
Sakura shrieked indignantly, appalled that someone would dare touch Sasuke like that and invade his personal space! But she calmed, for Sasuke would throw Hinata off and probably snap at her.
...But he didn't. He held on, just as tight, as his body shook with a sob. When he finally sniffled and released from the hug, he held Hinata's hands in a comforting gesture.
His voice carried down the hall, loud enough for them to hear. "How long?"
Hinata didn't bother wiping away her tears. "The doctors...th-they don't know. He was in there for five days, Sasuke-san. Th-the scars—" She broke into another round of sobs.
Team Seven shared an uneasy glance.
::
"Are you ready to go?" Sasuke whispered.
Kiba's eyes were still glazed over, staring idly into nothing. He bobbed his head in a minuscule nod.
Sasuke's heart clenched, but he helped Kiba onto some crutches and led him out of the hospital. They didn't speak as Kiba maneuvered around with the crutches in a familiar manner.
Until Kiba was feeling ready enough to walk all the way back to the Inuzuka compound, he'd stay over at Sasuke's apartment as it was nearer. Akamaru was still under the Inuzuka Clinic's care.
Sasuke pocketed his keys and stepped aside to let Kiba in. The door clicked behind them as Sasuke scanned his relatively empty apartment. He rarely slept here in favor of sleeping in the Inuzuka household, and he wasn't really one for decorating anyways.
"Sasuke?"
Said boy perked up considerably, as Kiba hadn't said a word since he woke up this morning. He strode over to the open doorway of his room where Kiba was standing.
"Wha—oh." Sasuke flushed. Though his apartment lacked any decoration or personality, his room was covered wall to wall in photos.
"I didn't know you kept the camera." Kiba said softly, his eyes trailing over the many photos. "Figured you tossed it."
"I didn't." Sasuke sat on the edge of his bed and watched Kiba look at them. How long had it been since he received it from Kiba? Far too much had happened in between, and Sasuke couldn't recall.
There were so many.
Mostly of Kiba, Akamaru, and Tsume. A few photos of Konoha's nature or the colorful evening sky were sprinkled in between, but Kiba stared at the ones that had him in it.
Kiba grinning, soaked and in a lake he was presumably shoved in. Kiba chasing after a bird that held his shoe in its beak. Kiba sitting on top of the Hokage heads with Naruto, smiling proudly. Kiba helping Tsume cook dinner, with flour and sauce in his hair and on his face.
Sasuke smiled fondly, until his best friend turned around with tears in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry." Kiba breathed.
The Uchiha furrowed his brow, a confused frown playing at his lips. "What? Kiba—"
Kiba wiped his eyes and turned away, trying to hide it from Sasuke. "I-I'm not a g-good friend right now, Sasuke." He whispered shakily. "I-I'm not the s-same as, as I u-used to—"
"Shut up." Sasuke snapped sharply, silencing the teary-eyed boy. "You're perfect. Who cares if you're not the same? I'm not the same Sasuke Uchiha I was two years ago, or when I first met you. So what?" He sat down beside Kiba and grabbed his hand firmly. "We change as our lives go on, but we stick together because at the end of the day, you—" Sasuke sighed. "You're you, Kiba. Nothing can change that."
After many beats of silence, Kiba's murmured ina hopeful, broken voice, "Really?"
Sasuke nodded determinedly. "Besides, one day things will get better and everything won't feel as terrible as it does right now. And soon enough you'll have to deal with my problems, since it'll be my turn soon enough and I can tell you all about how I'm beginning to feel inferior in my team." The ravenette joked.
"...What?"
Sasuke stood, walking over to his closet. "I want to show you a—"
"Sasuke?" Kiba shifted in his spot on the bed. "What were you saying about your team?"
The Uchiha expertly ignored him, returning to the bed with a box in his arms. "I have more photos. These are all of my favorite ones."
"One would think you'd keep your favorites up on the wall so you can see it easily." Kiba teased, his voice hoarse but his heart light.
Sasuke snorted. "No. These are more personal, and I like keeping it private."
"Okay." Kiba shrugged, helping Sasuke pull out the photos. "Are these..."
A majority of the photos were of Kiba, or...Hana.
Hana Inuzuka at her clinic, instructing Kiba on something. Kiba puzzled over math homework, looking adorably lost. Hana surrounded by the Haimaru Brothers, laughing. Hana asleep at her desk.
Some even included Sasuke, presumably taken by Tsume. Sasuke smiling sheepishly while Hana ruffling his hair, grinning. Kiba, Sasuke, and Hana watching a movie and yelling at the screen. Kiba and Sasuke curled up asleep on the couch, with Hana smiling fondly at them from behind the couch.
"I..." Kiba trailed off, at a loss of words. He held each photo gently, as if it would shatter or turn to dust at the slightest wrong move.
Sasuke's eyes shined with nostalgia as he watched Kiba slowly look through every one of them, his lips quirking up in a sad smile and his eyes lighting up with happiness.
::
One Year Ago
"I know."
Sasuke didn't even look up from the omelet he was cooking. "Know what?" He mused, sprinkling in some pepper.
The Inuzuka's voice was amused from their spot on the couch. "I know how you feel about Kiba." Hana smirked teasingly.
Sasuke's eyes widened, his grip on the pepper shaker loosening. He averted his gaze as the pepper fell to the floor in a loud clatter. "I.." He tried to form words, but nothing came out.
"Wanna talk about it?" Hana whispered, patting the empty spot beside her on the couch. Her voice grew softer when Sasuke meekly nodded and turned off the stove.
The Uchiha clambered onto the old couch beside Hana, his face tainted pink. "I'm so..." He trailed off, sounding lost.
Hana stared at Sasuke, prompting him to continue with an encouraging gaze.
"C-Confused?" Sasuke offered, wincing at the stammer. "I..I've never liked anyone before..I-I didn't even know I liked boys—"
Hana shushed him when Sasuke began to get worked up, smiling empathetically. "Hey, pup, it's okay. I get it."
Sasuke returned the smile, albeit weakly. "It's just that—that everything is unfamiliar and different, a-and I've never felt this way in my life."
After a beat of silence, he admitted something he was scared to say out loud. Not because of Hana's judgement, but because he didn't want to face that fact. "My father would have never approved. He...he hated people like..me? Kiba?" Sasuke winced at the vague memory of his father's unfiltered rants at the dinner table.
Hana snuck an arm around his waist and pulled Sasuke closer, ruffling up his hair with a grin. "Well you're in luck because you've got the best future-sister-in-law and wingwoman ever. You don't have to go through anything alone, Sasu. You better remember that."
"Ow! Geez, I get it!" Sasuke laughed, feeling in higher spirits and less embarrassed. "B-But stop it with the noogie! It hurts!"
Hana merely barked out a laugh and continued, shouting about being 'appreciative' of 'the best goddamn sister figure.'
::
Sasuke blinked at the memory, sharp tears pricking his vision.
Internally shaking his head in an effort to be rid of the thought, he returned his gaze to Kiba who smiled softly back at Sasuke, sending the Uchiha's heart leaping.
A smile made its way onto Sasuke's face when his seal glowed blue. "What?" He grinned, scooting closer to Kiba's side on the bed. "Do you need saving, O' damsel in distress?"
Kiba returned the grin with a dramatic gasp, falling into Sasuke's arms. "Save me!" He cried.
"Fear not, fair princess." Sasuke murmured.
They laid like that for a while; Sasuke sitting up against the wall, his feet dangling off the side of the bed, with Kiba's head in his lap, photos strewn around them.
As Sasuke began nodding off, under the assumption that Kiba was asleep as well, the Inuzuka's voice awoke him.
"Alex refuses to talk to me." Kiba whispered, his voice small.
Sasuke opened his eyes and looked down at the boy in his arms. His eyes were wide and close to tears.
"Kiba..." Sasuke trailed off, furrowing his brow. "Why?"
Kiba avoided Sasuke's concerned stare, instead opting to inspect a chip in the wall. "They...they said I was too reckless. Th-that I shouldn't have become a shinobi. Alex told m-me that they couldn't keep waiting for me to wake up in a hospital or e-expect me to come home in a c-coffin." Kiba choked over his words, stammering as he recalled the harsh, frightened words Alex had yelled.
Sasuke accidentally let loose a growl, his fist unconsciously tightening at the thought of Alex saying such things to an already broken, tired Kiba. He knew, deep down, that Alex was only worried for Kiba and tired of seeing him hurt so often. But that didn't matter, because Sasuke planned on ripping them to shreds.
"Sasuke?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry." Kiba whispered.
Sasuke furrowed his brow, looking down at the boy. "Kiba, I told you not to—"
"I'll get better. I'll be okay, eventually. Right? J-Just, I need you. I need you to stay here beside me through it all. Please?" Kiba's voice broke as he looked up at Sasuke, eyes alight with fear.
Sasuke's stare softened. "Of course, Kiba." He murmured. "I'm not going anywhere."
Relieved, Kiba's eyes fluttered closed.
It took only fifteen minutes for Kiba to slip into sleep, and soon enough Sasuke's eyelids grew heavy and he dozed off as well.
::
"You're a nine out of ten. And I'm the one you need." Kiba winked. Sasuke stared blankly at him, confused.
"Kiba, what the hell are you—"
"Do you have a sunburn, or are you always that hot?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Are you reading that from a list? Kiba, what are you doing?"
"Bored." He replied, brown eyes raking over the book in his hands. A grin was wide on his face, his eyes alight with happiness. It was temporary, but Sasuke would go through it all of that meant he'd smile for a bit.
"If you were a flower, you'd be a damn-delion." Kiba grinned.
Sasuke ignored the creeping blush and rolled his eyes, slipping on his shoes. "Dandelions are weeds, Kiba." He sighed.
"Then I guess I'm an addict." Kiba replied smoothly, following Sasuke out of the apartment.
The ravenette blushed, though kept his head forward as to not alert Kiba. He internally cursed himself. What was wrong with him?
"Sasuke?" The Uchiha didn't acknowledge him, lost in his internal swearing. "Sasuke, are you upset?" Kiba caught up to the striding boy, smiling. "Aw, don't be offended, I'm complimenting you! Y'know, one day you'll make a girl, boy, or someone very happy."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That wasn't a pun, Kiba." But he couldn't help but smile fondly. "Do you have any water?" The bright sun shined down on them, and Sasuke's throat was awfully dry.
"If you like water, then you already like 72% of me." Kiba smirked, chuckling when Sasuke choked on air.
"Let's just go grab lunch. Or a snack." Sasuke sighed, grabbing Kiba's wrist and pulling him down the street, weaving through the crowds of people and walking civilians.
Kiba's eyes lit up. "Did it hurt when you fell from the vending machine? 'Cause you a snack."
"Kami help us all." Sasuke muttered, pulling Kiba towards the market place. A chicken ran past, followed by a very distraught farmer that chased after it. A feather got close, causing Sasuke to sneeze.
Ignoring the way it sounded adorable, Kiba grinned. "I'd say bless you, but you've already been blessed with good looks."
Sasuke scowled, a rising blush on his cheeks.