Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Worse Than Ramen

It was the second week of her illness when Sasuke ceased to acquiesce with his inner protests and barged into her hospital room.

The two were in the exact position he expected them to be in: sitting on the side of the bed, laughing and talking about something that had to be just as juvenile as it was trite. Her hand was gracefully placed on top of his while he was probably babbling on about something he ate at Ichiraku, and even though Sasuke could only see the back of his orange jumpsuit, he knew Naruto was blushing like crazy.

Sasuke glowered at the buoyant way Naruto looked at Sakura because he hated the way Naruto looked at Sakura and he hated the way Sakura was responding to him. He knew they weren't together, but sometimes…

(Sakura whispered something in Naruto's ear…)

…he needed to…

(Naruto put his hand on her shoulder, and although she looked a little annoyed and scooted some, she did not shrug off his hand)

…intervene.

So Sasuke made his presence known.

"Naruto," he called, swiftly glancing at Sakura who jumped subtly at the fresh voice in the room. "A word?"

Naruto was quick to react as he animatedly waved at his best friend. The vibrant blonde's excitement was completely feigned, but Sasuke did not care. He would do the same thing if Naruto busted in on he and Sakura. Worse, actually.

Naruto apologetically muttered something to Sakura—most likely the reason for his departure—and stood from the bed. His smile was still plastered on when still a few feet from the kunoichi, but he deeply frowned once he approached Sasuke. Once in front of his rival, he raised his finger, shaking it as if it would be more effective for his side of the conversation.

"What is it tem—?"

"So this is where you've been hiding from me," Sasuke interrupted. "Hn. I should have known."

"She told me to keep it from y—"

"And so?"

"Teme!" Naruto hissed, pounding his fist on a nearby counter. "Stop cutting me off! She didn't want you to worry or get angry at her, okay? She's been going at it for days—'Sasuke-kun would say this; Sasuke-kun would do that if I told him.' And I agree with her! You would!"

Like a little child, Sasuke turned up his nose and folded his arms. His onyx eyes bore into Sakura's back until he was sure she could feel his gaze on him. As if Sakura would say those things, even after not speaking to him for quite a while.

"I would not," he responded, offended.

"You just barged in here!" Naruto pointed out. He exasperatedly sat in a folding chair, trying to contain both his anger and awe. Sasuke could be really contradicting sometimes.

"I need to talk to her," he announced with a sense of authority to both Naruto and himself. "Because she won't…not to me."

Pursing his lips and huffing through his nose, Sasuke jammed his hands into his pockets. Two weeks were too long, he decided, to hide from another. It was exactly what she was doing, and to Sasuke's annoyance, she was only avoiding him. Over the past few days, he had managed to find out from villagers and the nurse he had locked in the utility closet Sakura's whereabouts. It turned out that she had a bad case of the flu and had to stay at the hospital for a while. This bothered him, because if a petty virus was able to place her in the hospital for a lengthy amount of time, it obviously meant she was weak. And he hated weak.

Mumbling the last of his sentence, Sasuke started towards Sakura. It was as if his feet made the choice to come towards her, not him. Usually, he would be too arrogant to admit that he wanted to see her and speak to her and hold her. But not today.

"Hey!" Naruto abruptly stood, knocking the flimsy chair he sat on to the ground. The disturbance and commotion Sasuke had caused him to pinch his face in frustration, and the Uchiha naturally smirked at the sight.

"Leave her alone!" the blond ninja continued, "Unlike you, she doesn't have some… some abnormal and super immune system!"

Sasuke readily turned from Naruto, suspiciously scanning the contents of the room. "Shut-up," he coolly commanded him.

Looking from the corner of his eye, Sasuke spotted Sakura still sitting on the edge of her bed. Now her arms were folded across her chest, as if she wouldn't budge if someone wanted her to. Even so, her stubbornness wouldn't stop Sasuke from getting to her.

Shoving Naruto aside, Sasuke stomped over to the bed and grabbed Sakura's small wrist. He frequently tried pulling her upward, but his efforts only resulted in a more obstinate and unwilling Sakura. It was only after a few rounds of tug-of-war when the pink haired kunoichi finally surrendered and warily let Sasuke pull her up. Face softening, Sakura gave Naruto a sorry expression while Sasuke scowled at the two of them and proceeded to drag her out of the room.

As they walked out of the hospital and past nurses who pretended not to see Sasuke kidnapping a patient, he began to loose his patience. She was stumbling along the way, he noticed, and he wondered if it was due to her unwillingness to be with him. If that was the case, he was not accustomed it to at all. Actions Sasuke were not familiar with were the ones he hated the most, and so, feeling slightly dejected, he stopped pulling on her wrist and mildly loosened his grip. It was when heard her breathing become deeper and when he saw her walking become stumbling; however, when Sasuke realized her halfhearted pace was because of her illness.

"Sasuke-kun," she finally heaved, balling her fists and piercing him with bloodshot eyes. "What's your problem?"

Immediately, Sasuke flinched at the sound of her voice. He liked the sound, but it was so…foreign. At one point he was on the verge of going mad, not because he couldn't see her, but because he couldn't hear her voice. It was raspy and quiet now, but it was still hers.

Two weeks were too long, he decided, without her.

Sasuke took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down before he spoke to her. He didn't want to sound too angry or nervous or longing. He just wanted to sound like himself, Uchiha Sasuke, so everything would be normal again and so she wouldn't get any silly ideas.

"Why didn't you tell me," he began in a neutral tone, "that you were ill…?"

"It was just a virus," she responded, a false smile on her face. "I knew that's what you would say."

"You know damn well what I would say," Sasuke chastised her. "You were in the hospital. For two weeks."

"I'm fine now!" Sakura protested, trying to stand up straight. Sasuke looked at her, appalled as her posture was still not perfect. She was such a terrible liar. It annoyed him.

"You could barely walk," he sneered. "I had to drag you out of the hospital." With a quick grimace, Sasuke closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his free hand. "Because you had gotten so weak."

"I'm sorry for being sick," Sakura sarcastically mumbled. " It's not like I could walk to your home and tell you."

At this, Sasuke opened his eyes and quickly drew her closer to him, aided by the hold he already had on her wrist. She widened her eyes but regained her composure by attempting to rival his nasty look.

"Everyone in the village," he snarled, "was able to see you. But me. Everyone knew you were ill. But not me. And despite what Naruto said, I think you were fine with this," he surmised. "You were sitting around with him, laughing and joking like two loused children."

Sakura's gaze transfixed on him even more as his face softened. His eyes, usually dark and menacing, were now innocent and glazed over with regret. It was rare to see such an expression from the great Uchiha Sasuke, and she didn't want to miss one moment of it.

"And I," he continued, studying her expression. "I just wanted…"

He sighed and shook his head, his face hardening. "Give me the real reason, Sakura."

"Sasuke-kun, I already told you."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Not good enough."

"And I thought you would be busy on some days…"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he clenched his hand into a fist. Of course he would be busy. He was on "Konoha arrest" and suspended from doing missions after all. It was a lot of work alright.

After a moment of hesitation, Sakura gently touched his shoulder to make sure his attention was fully on her. She couldn't hide her awkward, but honest reason from him forever.

"Because," she moaned, finally capitulating, "I didn't think you would care. I doubt you were wondering where I was."

Almost immediately, the Uchiha gave a loud and obnoxious snort at his female friend's response. His calloused hands unconsciously tightened on her wrists as he cruelly studied her assured expression. While Sasuke fumed, Sakura took advantage of his intense focus on her and wriggled her wrists free.

"Ridiculous," he muttered, not taking his eyes from hers. "You were always foolish—even more oblivious."

Sakura knit her brows. As if a bad memory resurfaced, she suddenly concentrated on the landscape around them. "You have no idea what I'm talking about."

"Hn," Sasuke replied, amused. "I guess I don't."

A short, poignant silence betided and Sakura slowly shook her head. Sasuke's defiant smirk gradually dissipated upon seeing her gesture, and he patiently waited for her clarification.

Mustering a wistful smile for him, she gave a bleak laugh as the dreary tone rang mockingly through his ears.

"When was the last time we talked?" she softly asked, placing her hands above his. "The last time we had a full conversation, I mean."

Sasuke was silent for a moment, until he found a way through the loophole. "Just now."

Before any intense emotion could show, Sakura swallowed and closed her eyes. She shook her head. "I…no."

"Sorry," Sasuke mumbled.

"No," Sakura repeated. "I'm not just talking about not speaking in the past two weeks. I'm talking about since you came back. It's just…difficult sometimes. Knowing if you care or not. I know you do," she quickly added once seeing the apprehension on his face, "but I always have my doubts."

Sasuke leaned in, being more attentive.

"It's not the same today though," she added with a small smile, recounting the day's events, "You just barged into my hospital room because you wanted to talk to me."

They stood in awkward silence—Sasuke especially—as he envisioned himself intruding into her hospital room. It was pretty embarrassing, he reluctantly thought. He was supposed to be cool and calm as a nurse allowed him into the room. Instead, he seemed desperate, as he harassed many people just to see her again.

He had no regrets, though.

"Take a walk with me," he said in a low voice.

"What?"

"You heard."

"You know I can't really do tha—"

Suddenly, Sakura felt herself being lifted up by a few inches and standing on the Uchiha's feet. She glanced up to gauge his expression, but all she received was pure concentration as he handled her with care and made sure she did not fall off.

Slowly, but assuredly, Sasuke began to walk with the female kunoichi still standing on his feet. Surprised at his new movement, Sakura gasped and stumbled backwards. She propelled her arms to steady herself, but not a moment passed before Sasuke firmly grabbed her hands and helped her back into her initial position.

"Don't be stupid about this," he muttered into the crook of her neck. "You want to stand properly again, don't you?"

This time they were closer in proximity and Sakura wondered if Sasuke had intentionally positioned them this way. After all, he appeared to be very calm about the matter, a huge contrast to the way she currently felt.

And so they began to walk. He began to walk actually, with her on his feet.

It was amazing how ridiculous they looked: The Uchiha Sasuke walking with Haruno Sakura in a hospital gown standing on his feet. Despite the fact that Sakura pointed out how many people were staring at them, Sasuke did not care about their image. He was absorbed in gaining information he needed to know. What he saw earlier was really bothering him.

"What were you two talking about?" he inquired her. He really had a way of changing the subject to something he was really curious about, to Sakura's dismay.

Sakura turned her head from him, her pink hair whipping in front of her face. "Things."

Sasuke grunted.

"You would think it was stupid."

"I don't care," Sasuke told her, although he knew her statement was true. "Now tell me."

"It's not that important!"

"Sakura."

"…you."

She felt his heart beat quicken, and she silently prayed that it wasn't because of anger. He did not stop his slow, constant pace, but didn't speak. After a while, Sakura wondered if he didn't hear her.

"We were talking about you."

Sasuke cleared his throat and Sakura quickly backed away as her ear was close to the sound. In response to her action and to his own embarrassment, he turned his head away.

"I don't think that's stupid."

Sakura smiled, her heart fluttering a little. It was just a simple statement, but it was just as unusual and darling coming from Sasuke. He nudged her head, warning her that he had not forgotten his question.

"We were talking about your reactions to things," Sakura told him, suddenly amused. "You know. The way you overeact to everything."

"Tch."

"Naruto brought up the way you would react if we were dating," Sakura laughed. "He was being a complete idiot, but it was funny. And then you came in."

"That's not funny."

She frowned. "We're not really dating."

"I know. That still doesn't make it funny."

Sakura sighed. For an Uchiha, he was acting really childish.

Suddenly, Sakura felt Sasuke's bangs come into close proximity to her eyes. He was looking beneath them, studying the way she positioned her legs. "You've shrunk," he informed her. "You need to straighten up your legs and it'll be easier to walk. You can't do that if you keep slouching."

"I can't—"

"Stop saying that," he growled. "You'll never feel strong enough to walk properly again if you don't try."

Sakura nodded, biting her lip. Drawing in a breath and ignoring her fatigue, she stood up straight. She felt herself become lighter as her bare toes left Sasuke's feet and she grinned at him. She felt Sasuke give an approving nod and Sakura giggled as she continued their previous conversation.

"We also talked about the way you've been since you came home. It's hard getting used to everything again, you know? With you there," she said, as he turned to face her, "it suddenly felt awkward. Because you…you still never really open up or speak to anyway. You lock yourself up in your home to the point of not being familiar with sunlight. And—wait, don't give me that look! I saw you squinting when we came outside!"

Suddenly, Sasuke gave a low laugh. Those had to be some of the dumbest conversations he had heard in a while, even worse than the ones Naruto had about ramen.

"You're our friend, Sasuke-kun. We spent the past three years thinking about you…how could we not talk about you? How can I not think about you?"

They had circled around the hospital by now, and back at the front entrance. Sasuke halted and observed the state of his friend. After wondering whether or not it would be right to pick her up, he placed his hands behind her legs, ready to carry her.

"Wait!"

In response to Sakura's cry, he removed his hands and she carefully let herself off of his feet. Putting her hands on his chest for support, Sakura stood up straight. She walked a few paces to the left and a few to the right, creating a show for Sasuke, who proudly observed.

"Now." She grinned as she carefully walked closer to him. "You can carry me."

Rather than going through the front entrance, he picked her up and brought her to the window of her room. Naruto was not there, but a frantic nurse (the one he locked up, ironically) was cleaning up the room. Once they entered the woman gasped at the sight of Sasuke and briskly left.

Shortly after he laid Sakura back down in her bed, Naruto reentered the room with a bowl of ramen. He glared at Sasuke, with a mixture of amusement and vexation.

"Are you happy now?" he asked, wiping his mouth. "You two were gone for an hour!"

Sasuke smirked. "No."

He turned to Sakura and tentatively sat on the edge of her bed. After glancing back at Naruto to make sure he was too absorbed in his meal to be looking at his teammates, Sasuke leaned down and put his lips to Sakura's ear.

Forcefully, he swallowed his pride and spoke. "I think about you a lot too," he admitted, as her eyes began to shut. "More than you can imagine."

And with that, Sasuke was satisfied.

Author's Note: I'm on a SasuSaku high right now with the reunion animated and the fact that I am on spring break (the season of love!) right now.

About that title. I know most people are thinking, "What does that title have to do with the story?" Well, I couldn't really think of one until I remembered that one line when Sasuke thought that Naruto and Sakura thinking/talking about him a lot was pretty sad and worse than thinking/talking about ramen. So that's what Sasuke initially thought about them being fixated on him so much, until he ended up paying Sakura a lot of attention. Yes, I know it's very weird. Thanks for reading and sorry for all typos.