Never Again:

Sasuke's father always abused their mother, until one day she took his life. Itachi sent her away, taking the blame and leaving Sasuke with no one – until he met Naruto.

This was inspired by a Nickleback song by the same title…I was going to make this a multi-chapter story, but I'm working on another story right now and when I asked, the reviewers that replied said that they'd rather I'd wait until I'm done with the story, but I'm not sure that I'll have the time to write it when the story is done…however, depending on the feedback, I still may consider making a multi-chapter story about this

This really is a condensed version of what I imagine the story would be – probably not exactly the story, but close…the actual story would have a lot more description as to what happened the night their father was killed and a little probably more to Sasuke's childhood and obviously it would tell a lot more about Naruto and Sasuke's relationship as well as show more talking between Itachi and Sasuke

The story would be rated higher than this one, probably M – I tend to do limes and have a potty mouth when I write

As always, I own nothing, enjoy and please review

Thirteen years old, Uchiha Sasuke stood quietly in the doorway trying to remain unnoticed. His eyes were wide and his breath was coming out in short pants. He was terrified in that moment. One would think with the frequency of the event in happening in front of his eyes, it would no longer faze him, but it did every time. He beat her all the time, yet somehow Sasuke was terrified every time. He wanted to help her, but he was too young and weak to do anything about it.

Uchiha Mikoto saw her son standing in the doorway. That moment wasn't something she wanted her son to see so she yelled, "Sasuke, go back to bed." Her dark eyes were terrified and matched his own, her body was already starting to bruise, and it was clear that she was fighting back tears.

"Listen to your mother, son," Fugaku said. He had turned toward Sasuke with the same expression he was giving Mikoto. He was filled with such rage and it seemed as if he would take it out on anyone that crossed his path.

"Please Sasuke," his mother cried. Tears started to run down her face as she tried to sit up, but found that she didn't have the strength.

"Go," his father ordered. "Before you end up just like her," he said. "Your brother learned that lesson long ago," he added, almost as if he were amused by what he'd done.

It made Sasuke sick to look at the man. He called him father out of fear, but it wasn't a name the man truly deserved unless it was laced with disgust and hatred. A father was supposed to protect and care for his family, and he never did either of those things. Biologically he may have been Sasuke's father, but emotionally it was another story. The young Uchiha listened, only because he knew what would happen if he didn't. He walked toward his room and heard the fighting start back up again. He knew how this would end, his mother would be in the hospital and for some reason she'd still cover for him and act as if they were a happy family.

As he arrived at his room, he heard it. It was a shotgun blast. He knew that they kept the gun locked in one of cabinets in the living room, but all he could wonder was, 'Which one pulled the trigger?'

He ran into the living room to find his mother standing there, the gun in her hand. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She had his father's blood on her, as did the living room. "I couldn't take it anymore," she told him, the tears still running down her face.

Itachi ran into the room to see what happened and he knew without words exactly what happened. He surveyed the scene, knowing they didn't have long until the cops would arrive. The young man, at the age of eighteen, grabbed the gun from his mother and said one simple word, "Go." She looked at him for some explanation and seemed as if she were going to protest, but he stopped her, "I'll take care of it. Just go before the cops come."

She nodded and quickly made her escape. 'Please don't do anything crazy,' she thought. She didn't know where she was going to go, but she knew that she couldn't be seen again. No one could know who she was or what she'd done. It had to be as if she didn't exist. It would be easy enough, she had the right connections that she could get a false identity, but all she could do was worry about her sons.

Sasuke looked at Itachi, the older Uchiha was ridged and obviously deep in thought. The dark haired teen looked at his older brother and asked, "What are you going to do?" When Itachi looked at him, he knew that he wouldn't like the answer. It was a look of sorrow and pain that was displayed across the eldest Uchiha's face.

"Don't worry, you'll go to live with Kakashi when all is said and done," he assured Sasuke. "Just go along with everything I say," he ordered. "It will all turn out for the best," he said, though by the looks of it, he didn't even believe it.

That was the night that Uchiha Mikoto killed her husband after years of beating. It was the night that Uchiha Itachi went to jail for a crime he didn't commit. And it was also the night that Uchiha Sasuke was left alone.

NS

Five years had passed since the night that changed everything for Sasuke. When he had decided to go to a college close to home, rather than one of the many better ones offering him scholarships, most people didn't understand. Of course his guardian knew and the few friends that the dark haired man had allowed himself to make, all knew the truth, but most didn't understand.

One of the people who didn't understand was his roommate: Uzumaki Naruto. The hyperactive blonde always tried to figure Sasuke out, but found himself always stumped. They'd just become roommates when they got paired up together in a dorm room and Naruto was still trying to get Sasuke to warm up to him. He was finding it to be a rather difficult task, as it seemed like the Uchiha didn't let very many people talk to him, let alone close to him.

Naruto was lying on his bed as he watched the dark haired teen get dressed. It seemed as if every Friday Sasuke had somewhere to go and it was always at the same time. He never said anything about where he was going, just that he'd be back soon. Naruto decided for once, he'd ask, "Where are you going?" He sat up and continued to talk, "I've been meaning to ask you, I mean you go every Friday, but you never say anything."

Sasuke was silent for a long period of time, as if contemplating whether or not he should tell him. "I'm going to see my brother," he finally said, not meeting the blonde's blue eyes. He knew how the other man would react; it was the main reason he didn't tell people. Most thought he should hate Itachi because of what he supposedly did to their father, but most didn't know the truth.

A wave of shock ran through Naruto's body. As he recovered, he slowly asked, "Didn't he kill your father?" There wasn't anyone that didn't know the story. The Uchiha's made big news no matter what they did and murder meant it would be talked about by everyone and for a long time.

Anger came over Sasuke as he looked at the blonde, "Shut up, you know nothing about what happened." It was the most emotion Naruto had ever seen from the dark haired man, until that point he had been unsure if Sasuke even had emotions.

"Then why don't you tell me?" the blonde asked, genuinely curious. He was cautious not to sound as if he were mocking the other teen; he didn't want to upset him more than he already had. "You were there right?" he asked with a frown.

Sasuke just nodded and quietly said, "He's not the man you think he is." His voice had been just above a whisper and his face a look of sadness that Naruto had never seen displayed from anyone.

"Do you mean he didn't do it?" Naruto asked, trying to analyze the other man's words. "But he confessed that makes no sense," he said, becoming confused by what Sasuke was saying.

"Just shut up you idiot," Sasuke huffed. He looked at his watch and grabbed his wallet off of his bed, "I have to go." Naruto watched him leave, wishing their first real conversation had gone better.

NS

Naruto watched Sasuke lying on his bed, reading his textbook. It had been a week since their last conversation. It was Saturday night and the blonde was waiting for his friend, Kiba, to be ready to go out. "Weren't you studying yesterday?" he asked, surprising the other man.

"So what?" the dark haired teen asked as he looked over at the blonde. "I have to keep my grades up," he looked away.

"You study way too much," Naruto replied. "I think you'll be just fine," he added with a laugh. "Come out with me and friends tonight," he said. "We're going to a party, it's going to be fun and to me it seems like you could use some fun," the blonde grinned.

"No, really that's fine," Sasuke frowned as he looked back down at his book. "But you have fun," he added, trying to make himself look busy again. He got a surprise, yet again, when he was pulled off of his bed.

"Okay, how about I put it this way," Naruto started. "I'm not taking no for an answer," he said. "So get up, get dressed, and lets go," he said happily.

Sasuke was hesitant at first, but he finally sighed and said, "Fine." He walked over to his closet and pulled out a pair of fitted dark pants and a rather tight red shirt. After he walked out, he could feel Naruto's eyes on him, which made him slightly uncomfortable.

The blonde couldn't help but stare. There was no denying that the other man was gorgeous and even more so in tight clothes. "Come on hot stuff, let's go make my friends hurry up," he said, knowing he may do something stupid if he kept staring at Sasuke. He knew that the other man wasn't the kind of guy to have a one night stand off of physical attraction alone and he knew how stupid it would be to even think about it, so he decided it was time to get out of the room.

Sasuke expected them to go to a large party with loud music, but it ended up being more of a small get together between friends. They were drinking, but not as much as Sasuke would have thought and in the end he was actually having fun. Naruto had gotten him to drink, which ended up causing him to loosen up a little.

They had started talking and it turned out that while they were very different, they also had a lot in common. Both he and Naruto had grown up part of their lives without their parents. Naruto was also surprised to learn that Sasuke liked sports, like him. They also liked the same kind of music and music. Naruto was happy that he invited Sasuke out and he knew it wouldn't be the last time they hung out, at least not if he had anything to say about it.

NS

Itachi had noticed a change in his brother's demeanor since he'd started college. It had been a little over a month and the younger Uchiha had seemed more relaxed, almost happy. He observed his brother and wondered, 'What aren't you telling me?' Itachi broke away from the needless greetings with the question, "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Sasuke's eyes widened in a way that the older Uchiha found almost comical and he knew at that moment he'd gotten his answer. "Well," Sasuke started, wondering how he could phrase it. "I think I'm questioning my sexuality," he said hesitantly.

"That wasn't the answer I was really expecting," Itachi said. He couldn't say he was completely shocked, everything from Sasuke's hairstyle to the way he dressed practically screamed that he liked men. However, according to what he's heard, apparently "metro-sexual" style is in. He always thought that men should be men, but who was he to say what was stylish and what wasn't; after all he'd been locked up for five years and he knew that he'd be locked up for many more.

"Is that all you're going to say?" Sasuke asked. He had a look of confusion on his face; he didn't know whether to be worried or relieved by his brother's reaction. Sasuke just hoped it was the latter.

"What do you want me to disapprove?" he questioned. "I'm not going to," he added. "It's not my place to tell you who to be with," he continued. He then smirked as he said, "I'm just wondering whom it is that is making you question yourself."

Sasuke blushed; he was hoping his brother wouldn't ask that question. In fact, at that point he was just wishing he'd made up something, rather than telling him the truth about what was wrong. "Who says there is someone?" he asked, knowing that he wasn't going to get away with answering with a question. His brother gave him a look that told him he wasn't going to move on from the subject until he found out the person's name. "Fine," he sighed. "It's my roommate," he told him. "At first he was really annoying, but lately, I just don't know how to explain it," he said, the confusion clear in his voice. Sasuke wasn't even sure how it happened; it just slowly started when Naruto started befriending him after their first conversation weeks before.

"Well, if you get serious with him, I expect to meet him," Itachi said. "I wouldn't want my baby brother dating some creep."

"Isn't it ironic that you're saying that from jail?" the younger Uchiha pointed out with a frown. They both went silent for a moment before Sasuke assured him by saying, "If I really start to like him, you'll be the first to know and, if he's willing, I'll bring him to meet you." Itachi didn't respond, rather he just gave his brother a small smile.

NS

"So," Naruto said as he once again was lying on his bed. He had his Biology 100 book in front of him; open to the same page it had been for the past fifteen minutes. "How was visiting your brother?" he asked. He always asked the same question, though Sasuke never gave him a real answer. Some how the man could tell him the truth about what happened with his brother, but he still wouldn't tell him how his brother was or even what they'd talk about, unless it was a vague answer.

The dark haired teen looked over at his roommate. It had been about three weeks since he'd told Itachi about his sexuality and his brother did nothing but encourage him. He knew it probably got annoying how much he talked about the blonde, but telling him helped Sasuke put things into perspective. "Good, he helped me think through a lot of things," he answered.

"Like what?" Naruto asked as he looked at the other teen. Sasuke seemed to be debating what to do; he had a slightly confused look on his face, which Naruto didn't see often. "You know you can tell me anything," he said. He hoped that the other man trusted him enough to tell him, mainly because he was starting to like the other man and he hoped that Sasuke felt the same. Lusting after him was the easy part, after all the man was gorgeous. Actually liking him took awhile, as getting to know Sasuke took awhile.

"I'm just unsure of what to do," Sasuke said, looked at the blonde, trying to decide what to do. "He's just trying to help me with a tough decision," he lamely said. The two looked at each other for a moment, both silent.

By the look on Sasuke's face Naruto could tell that it had something to do with him. He didn't know what, but he knew whatever Sasuke was thinking about, he was involved somehow. Part of him just hoped that it was because he felt the same for him as he did for the dark haired teen. "So, what did you decide?" he asked, their eyes still locked together.

"That maybe it might not be so bad to take a chance every once in a while," Sasuke answered as he bit his lower lip, hoping he'd get a good response from the blonde. He was hoping that Naruto would understand what he was sort of implying and by the grin on the blonde's face, he was guessing that he did.

Naruto stepped closer to him, making it so that they were with in arms reach of each other. "It's always good to take chances. You never know what you might miss out on if you don't," he said in somewhat of a low voice. In that moment they both knew what they were talking about, it was clear that both of them wanted it.

Sasuke had given up on feeling any kind of love after the night his brother was sent to jail; he always just thought he was going to feel loneliness. Then Naruto walked into his life and suddenly warmth started to creep into his heart, taking over him and making him truly feel something. He couldn't call what he and Naruto had love, but it was the closest thing he'd had in a really long time. Sasuke closed most of the space between them as he said, "I suppose you're right." He took a deep breath before leaning in and capturing the other man's lips, relieved when the blonde responded almost instantly. He tangled his hair in Naruto's blonde hair, pulling him closer. The blonde responded by wrapping his arm around the other teen.

When they parted, Naruto couldn't help but smile. "Well, I'm happy I asked you what was wrong," he grinned, his arm still wrapped around Sasuke's thin waist. "I would have done it sooner if I knew that'd be the answer," he chuckled.

Sasuke tried to fight the light blush that was forcing it's way onto his face. "Well, you would have known sooner if you hadn't waited for me to make the first move," he replied.

The blonde just laughed at Sasuke's reply, the man was so arrogant. "Well how about if I make my first move by asking you out on a date?" Naruto smiled, having a good feeling that he knew what the answer would be.

"I'd like that," Sasuke said, a small smile spreading over his face. 'Well, I guess I know what I'll talk to Itachi about next time I go see him,' he thought as he looked into Naruto's eyes. "But since you asked, you're paying," he then smirked.

Naruto just laughed and placed another small kiss on Sasuke's lips, "I think I can do that."

NS

Itachi looked at the two men in front of him. His brother looked truly happy. He wore a smile that Itachi hadn't seen in a long time. "So, I'd take it you're Naruto," Itachi said. He looked at the blonde, trying to analyze if Sasuke had made a good choice or not. He knew it'd be impossible to know just by one meeting, but he was going to try. "You're the boyfriend," he added, looking directly at the blonde.

"That'd be correct," the blonde grinned. Itachi was surprised by Naruto's cheeriness. Sasuke had told him that they were opposites in some aspects, but he never would have guessed in that aspect. Sasuke just smirked at the slight look of surprise on his brother's face.

They talked for a while. Sasuke and Itachi did most of the talking, since Naruto didn't know the man very well. He tried to give his input as often as he could, but for the most part it was just a conversation between the two brothers. As they were almost getting ready to go, Itachi turned to Naruto and said, "You should know that just because I'm in jail doesn't mean that I don't have the resources to hurt you if you hurt my by brother."

The blonde grinned as he put his arm around Sasuke as he assured Itachi, "I'm not that kind of guy." He continued to smile as he said, "Trust me, you won't have to worry about Sasuke with me around, I'll be here to protect him and he'd have to do a lot to get rid of me."

Sasuke smiled at his brother, knowing that Itachi couldn't find anything wrong with the blonde. Itachi looked at Naruto once again, before giving Sasuke a nod of approval. "Well, we really should be going," said the younger Uchiha. "I'll see you next week," he promised his brother. "Come on moron," he said as he got up.

As they were walking out of the door of the jail, Naruto turned to Sasuke and asked, "Do you think your brother liked me?"

Sasuke just grabbed his hand and said, "He has no reason not to." He gave him a quick kiss and said, "But trust me, you don't want to give him a reason not to."

"I don't plan to," Naruto smiled, squeezing his hand a little tighter as they walked toward Sasuke's car.

The End.

I'm not all that satisfied with this, mostly because I'd rather it be a multi-chapter story. A multi-chapter version of this would have had more emotional scenes with Naruto and Sasuke rather than pretty much just fluff, though I didn't want to make this really long. This is the basic idea of what the story would be – but it's not exact – so let me know if you think I should expand it into a multi-chapter story.