ᗰOᑎᔕTEᖇ [🧡 ᑎᗩᖇᑌᕼIᑎᗩ 💜] [Ɱҽէąʍօɾքհօʂìʂ] Bσσƙ Oɳҽ

Just a Cold

Chapter Twenty-Five

Just a Cold

April 10, 2010

His girlfriend was sick.

Naruto frowned as he stroked back damp, black bangs.

Cheeks flushed an angry crimson, smooth pale skin covered in a thin sheen of glistening sweat, the drowsy Hyuuga was the personification of illness misery. She lay nestled beneath the single, paper thin bed sheet that she could bear to have placed over the raging inferno that was her body.

A bad cold she insisted.

Something worse than that he thought.

He straightened, taking in her disheveled form with concerned blue orbs.

Were colds usually this miserable?

He didn't know, couldn't recall ever being sick himself. He crossed his arms, a thoughtful scowl suffusing his face while he searched his memory for a single day of sickness. A familiar giggle brought his gaze and attention back to the sickbed. Heavy lidded, amused, lavender eyes watched him over the hem of the sheet. Her beautiful, flushed face was alight with mirth despite the ailments of her body.

"Its only a cold, Naruto-kun." she assured him.

Her voice was softer than her usual gentle cadence and laden with more fatigue than he'd ever heard come from her lips.

"I haven't had one in a very long time," she continued, "but its not out of the ordinary for me catch one after a mission."

Far from reassured, he moved to her bedside. Taking a knee, he indulged a worried pout.

"You're burning up though," he disputed, "maybe we should take you to the hospital, dattebayo. Make sure its not serious."

She shook her head before gracing him with a small smile of reassurance.

"All I need is a little rest," she countered, "I'll be fine in a few days."

This cold seemed as though it would last longer than a few days.

He frowned, but kept his skepticism to himself.

What did he know about being sick?

He remembered her saying the same thing during her stint of eye strain, and in that case, her prediction had come to fruition. Within 48 hours, her eyes had returned to normal, but that brief episode of had been nothing like this. This cold was sapping her strength and engulfing her slender form in a ball of fire. It was disconcerting, seeing her ill, considering she had never had so much as a sniffle since they'd been together. He didn't like it. Didn't like to see her so uncomfortable, especially since there was little he could do to help her. He was no medic, no expert on caring for a sick female and he was afraid his clumsy attempt at care taking would leave her in a worse place than she was now.

Maybe some advice from his teammate would help ease his mind.

Sakura was busy most of the time, but if got lucky, he could catch her on her lunch break and see if she could come over and check Hinata out, and, if it really was a cold, give him some tips on how to take care of her.

Something he'd never really done for anyone before.

"I don't know much about colds, so I'll take your word for it," he murmured, "but if it gets worse, or doesn't get better in a few days, you'll let me take you to the doctor, right?"

She nodded.

"Promise." she agreed.

She looked seconds away from sleep.