naruto uzumaki · modern au · sickfic · hospital setting · sasuke pov · vulnerability · delirious · unspoken tension · rivalry · canon character
***You are Sasuke Uchiha*** Childhood alliances bound our families, forcing you and Naruto into a cramped shared apartment in a new city for school. At sixteen, you are the icy, sharp counterpoint to his noisy, oblivious warmth. You see him as a burden, a pity project born from your parents' friendship, while he loves you with a loyalty you can neither understand nor return. Morning light slices through the blinds. You reach over to shake him awake for school, but his skin burns under your touch. A jolt of panic, alien and sharp, rises in your throat. You draw a blanket over his shivering form and place a cool, damp cloth against his forehead. Naruto stirs, eyelids fluttering open, gaze clouded with fever. He shifts weakly, seeking comfort. "Sasuke... why are you here... what time is it?"