Chapter Text
Baltimore had never been Naruto Uzumaki’s favourite city. At least, it hadn’t been—until now. He’d set foot in it exactly once before, four days ago, when he came to sign his new contract with Johns Hopkins University Hospital. Since then, he’d moved in with two suitcases, a broken coffee maker, and a box of instant ramen. He had no plans, and no real idea how he felt about this new chapter of his life.
All he knew was that he needed a change.
And like every drastic change Naruto ever made, this one also began in a bar.
The place was small but stylish, a hidden gem near the JH Hospital. Warm lights, music just loud enough to avoid awkward silences, but low enough not to interfere with conversation. He sat at the bar, ordered a whisky, and tried not to think too hard about his old life.
What Naruto didn’t expect—was him.
—•—
Sasuke Uchiha wasn’t someone who went to bars on weekdays. His routine was precise to the minute: wake at five, train, do rounds, see patients, study, sleep. Repeat. He didn’t allow himself the luxury of going out—not since he’d started specialising in Paediatric Neurology. But that night had been a mess: a complicated patient, a conflict with one of the residents, and a stupid argument with his older brother, Itachi.
So he sat at the bar with a furrowed brow, shirt slightly unbuttoned, and asked for the strongest drink they had. One glass, then home.
And then he saw him: a blond guy, open smile and tired eyes, playing with his glass as if he were waiting for something—anything—to shake him out of his stupor.
It wasn’t premeditated. Just a look. One of those that last longer than socially acceptable. Naruto smiled at him, and Sasuke—who usually ignored such things—didn’t look away.
“Rough day?” Naruto asked, voice husky, smile easy.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
“Do you always approach people like this?”
“What if I do?”
Sasuke glanced at his drink. Then at the blond.
“Then you’re in luck. I like brave idiots.”
It was that simple. Two more drinks. Light conversation, no names. No promises. A walk beneath dim streetlights. The tension in the air like bottled electricity. Then, a brush of fingers, a laugh, a playful shove and…
Sasuke’s apartment was a blur of bodies meeting for the first time, hungry and unfiltered. It wasn’t love. It was escape. It was need. Sweat, muffled moans, and a phrase murmured between gasps:
“God…” Naruto whispered against Sasuke’s collarbone. “I didn’t know this was exactly what I needed.”
Sasuke didn’t reply. He just kissed him to shut him up.
⸻
Dawn was far less poetic.
Naruto woke to sunlight slipping through the curtains, a decent hangover, and the nagging feeling that he’d forgotten something important.
Sasuke was already up, hair damp from a shower, hurriedly buttoning a dark shirt.
“Hey,” Naruto mumbled, still half-asleep. “You heading out already?”
“I’ve got work. You should leave too.”
“Don’t u want… I don’t know, breakfast?”
Sasuke shot him a quick glance. Cold. Distant.
“I don’t do that. It was just one night.”
Naruto blinked. For a second, something twisted in his chest, but he masked it with a lazy smile.
“Right. One night. Got it.”
And just as easily as they had met, they parted.
Johns Hopkins University Hospital was a blend of orderly chaos and surgical perfection. Naruto arrived wearing his new lab coat, ID badge still untouched, and holding a travel mug of coffee. He had to report himself to administration, meet his team, and establish himself as the new head of the neurology department. And most importantly, not think about the guy who’d kicked him out of bed that morning like some random dating app hook-up.
But of course, fate—or more precisely, Shikamaru—had other plans.
“Didn’t I tell you to be here at eight?” Shikamaru Nara grumbled, meeting him in the paediatric wing corridor. “You’ve already got a reputation for being late—don’t feed the myth.”
“I got lost. What about you? Weren’t you supposed to be in surgery?”
“I was. Successful one, by the way. But I need your help with a complicated case. Seven-year-old boy, refractory epilepsy, possible structural anomalies. I want your opinion before we take him to the OR.”
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
“And you trust me that much already?”
“No. But you’re my friend, and I reserve the right to exploit your talents. You are here thanks to me in a way, you owe me”
Naruto laughed out loud.
“All right, boss. Where’s the patient?”
“Room 327. I’ll tell Uchiha to find you. He’s working the case with me.”
“Uchiha?”
“Yeah. Sasuke Uchiha. Star resident. Don’t screw it up.”
Naruto shrugged and made his way to the lift.
On the third floor, the corridor smelled of disinfectant and something sweet he couldn’t quite place. He strolled towards the room. As the door opened and he heard a familiar voice behind him, his heart skipped a beat.
“Are you Dr Uzumaki?”
Naruto turned.
And there he was. Sasuke. In a lab coat, stethoscope around his neck, and a face that shifted from professional to horrified in a single second.
“You’ve got to be kidding…” Sasuke muttered.
Naruto raised his hands, amused.
“Surprise.”
“You’re the new head of neurology.”
“And you’re the guy who kicked me out of bed without coffee.”
The silence between them was thick as smoke.
Sasuke turned to the nurse, who was watching the scene with barely concealed curiosity.
“Give us a moment.”
Once alone, Sasuke shut the door with more force than necessary.
“What kind of joke is this?”
“A cosmic one?”
“You work here?”
“As of today, yes. And apparently, so do you.”
Sasuke rubbed his face in frustration.
“This can’t be happening.”
Naruto crossed his arms.
“Relax, Uchiha. It was just one night. I’m not going to write you poetry.”
“That’s not it,” Sasuke muttered. “This… complicates things.”
Naruto eyed him, curious.
“How so?”
“Because I don’t mix personal with professional. And you… weren’t supposed to be more than a stranger.”
Naruto smiled, though part of him ached.
“Then don’t pay me any mind. I’m just your boss.”
Sasuke glared at him.
“Brilliant.”
And there, in that too-small hospital room, everything began.
The tension between Naruto and Sasuke hung thick in the air—electric, unspoken. But Shikamaru, as always, had no time for personal nonsense.
“Are you two going to stand there staring like this is some melodrama?” he scoffed from the doorway, glancing over the patient’s chart. “The kid’s waiting. And he doesn’t have time for full grownups’ drama, assuming that’s what this is.”
Sasuke straightened immediately, stiff, all business.
“Of course. Sorry.”
Naruto, meanwhile, was amused. He loved how hard Sasuke tried to maintain emotional distance when his body language constantly betrayed him.
They approached the bed where the seven year old boy, Shoyo, watched them with wide, curious eyes. He had bright orange hair and was hooked up to a portable EEG monitor.
“Hey, champ,” Naruto said gently, crouching to the child’s eye level. “I’m Dr Uzumaki. How are you feeling today?”
“Are you the one who’s going to look inside my brain?” the boy asked, a mix of fear and excitement in his voice.
Naruto smiled, giving him a wink.
“That’s right. And I’ll make it feel like magic. Don’t worry—it doesn’t hurt at all.”
As Sasuke watched, a strange pang hit him. The blond was good with kids. Too good. And that made his plan to ignore him all the harder.
Shikamaru leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his gaze calculating.
“Shoyo’s been having daily episodes. Not tonic seizures, but severe absence spells. We’ve ruled out cortical dysplasia, but I want Naruto to review the latest images and monitor.”
“I will,” Naruto replied, slipping on gloves. “Did you ask if he’s experienced any odd sensations before the episodes? Light, heat, sounds?”
Sasuke answered quickly.
“Yes. He reported a buzzing in his ears right before each episode. Once, he said ‘everything looked blue’.”
Naruto looked over his shoulder. Their eyes met. Just a second. But Sasuke looked away instantly.
“Interesting,” Naruto murmured. “That suggests a focal occipital discharge… Could be a case of undiagnosed photosensitive epilepsy.”
“We considered that,” Sasuke said curtly.
“Yes, but you didn’t rule it out,” Naruto replied, calm but firm.
Shikamaru sighed.
“Well, at least you agree he needs deeper evaluation. Uzumaki, you’ll handle the protocol. Sasuke, assist him.”
Sasuke nodded, stiff.
Naruto smiled, childishly pleased.
“Delighted.”
The morning passed in a whirlwind of scans, clinical discussions, and lab visits. Naruto’s relaxed, provocative style clashed wildly with Sasuke’s precise efficiency. And yet, somehow, they worked too well together.
As they reviewed an fMRI sequence in the analysis room, Naruto leaned in—closer than necessary.
“Are you always this intense?” he whispered.
Sasuke didn’t flinch.
“Are you always this annoying?”
“Only when someone’s trying too hard to hide they’re having a worse time than me.”
Sasuke turned sharply.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I slept with you, remember? I sure know some things.”
Sasuke clenched his jaw and stepped away.
From a corner of the room, Karin—with her bright red hair and unrelenting interest in gossip—watched them discreetly. She stood beside Suigetsu, her fellow resident, who wore a crooked grin.
“Are you getting this vibe too?” she whispered.
“Feeling it? I’m about to grab popcorn. Did you see that look?”
“The new chief and Sasuke…” Karin narrowed her eyes. “Weird. He never acts like that with anyone.”
Jūgo, reading an intake report without looking up, muttered:
“Maybe they just hate each other.”
“Or like each other way too much,” Karin replied.
“Ugh. That’s worse.”
By day’s end, after a full round of testing and analysis, Shoyo’s case moved towards a viable solution. Diagnosis: focal epilepsy with atypical features. Structural lesion: ruled out. Shikamaru delivered the final word.
“Good work, both of you. Tomorrow we meet with the parents and surgical team.”
“You two still at it?” Karin said as she passed them. “You’re like medical soulmates. Weird, isn’t it?”
Sasuke scoffed and walked off without a word.
Naruto just smiled, watching him go.
Karin looked at him curiously.
“What did you do to him?”
“Nothing he didn’t want.”
“You’re a mystery, McBlondie.”
“That’s the idea.”
—•—
Hours later, Naruto was leaving the hospital when he spotted Sasuke by the car park entrance, jacket slung over one arm, checking his phone.
“Mind if we talk for a sec?”
Sasuke looked at him, exhausted. He hesitated, then nodded, and they walked to a quiet corner near the vending machines.
“Look,” Sasuke began, blunt and dry. “I don’t know how you feel, but I need to make this clear.”
“This?”
“Yes. Last night. Today. Nothing’s going to happen between us. It can’t.”
Naruto looked surprised but kept his tone light.
“Why? Because I’m your boss?”
“Yes. And because I’m in my final year of residency. I’ve got too much on the line. I don’t need distractions. And especially not rumours about sleeping with a superior.”
Naruto watched him for a moment. Then nodded.
“All right. I get it.”
Sasuke frowned.
“That easy?”
“What did you expect? Tears? It was one night. A good one. But I won’t force anything you don’t want.”
Sasuke pressed his lips together. There was something about that calm that threw him off.
“Just… stop flirting with me, especially in front of others, okay?”
“No promises,” Naruto said with a sad smile. “But I’ll try.”
Sasuke turned without a word and walked to his car.
Naruto watched him go, a strange weight in his chest. It wasn’t rejection. It was something deeper. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Maybe, he thought, the change he’d been chasing wasn’t as controllable as he believed.
And maybe… that guy who’d slammed the door in his face that morning was the start of something he wouldn’t be able to avoid.