Summary: It's summer vacation, and the Uchiha's volunteered Itachi to help Naruto catch up on some school work. Not having anything better to do, Itachi agrees, and finds himself in a troublesome situation that he can't get out of.

Disclaimer: The characters hereon belong to their respective owners. No profit is being made from this work.

Pairings: My favourite of all time, ItaNaru! Also some unimportant one-sidedness in the beginning, but you can ignore that ^^

AN: I love an AU where the characters are like regular high school students of our time, and for once I thought it would be interesting to write a story based mostly on Itachi's POV. This was originally written for the itanaruswap fanworkshop on Livejournal for anyone else interested in more ItaNaru loving! Hope you enjoy, please R&R!

Warning: YAOI, of the NC17 kind! Meaning sexual situations involving two men! You have been warned. Another warning, it's super wordy.

Summer Love

There was once a bright little boy who loved to go about his days playing in his spacious backyard littered with toys. Although the little boy did not have many playmates, he loved playing by himself in his imaginary world. He loved to fantasize so much, he grew up believing that he housed a little world within himself, and that world was a beautiful and lively place filled with all sorts of imaginary plants and creatures of all shapes and sizes which he can visit whenever he felt like it. What was special about this world was that it changes colours to reflect his emotions, and at the very center of this world, lying there by itself in a field that resembled his backyard was a beautiful glowing golden orb. The light of this golden orb preserved the beauty of this world, and no matter what happens in this world, whether it turns cloudy, stormy or unbelievably dark, as long as the light of the orb continues to shine, then the world can continue to strive.

As the boy ages, he learns that inside every person is the same material: heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and such. It was not what the boy had imagined as a child, and although he's accepted the fact that within his body and everyone else's were actually the same motionless organs, unbeknownst to his peers, he continues to imagine that somewhere within him, there is still a little world there, and that it was everything that made him the way he was. His experiences, the people he meets, the things he's seen, it was all of stored in this magical world within him.*

And so the boy grows up, and the world within him changes. It was no longer as bright and colourful, but appeared in shades of blue, red, and black. There were less imaginary creatures now, some were going about in his world the way he used to imagine them to, and others were slowly fading away into the background. The people living in the world resembled his friends, and they too appeared to be fading away slowly. The world was constantly experiencing all sorts of chaos and peace. There were days where it was dark and stormy, and the boy was alone in his world, and less often days where the world was bright blue, and the boy was able to love his little world and the inhabitants within it. Days like that weren't so common, but all the while, the orb continues to shine.

The little world appeared to be getting gradually darker as time went on; the life it contained, trees, flowers, imaginary creatures and the people, all appeared to be slowly disappearing. Even so, the orb continues to shine, albeit a bit dimmer. Even when the entire world was pitch black, the orb itself still shone. That is until one day, where the orb suddenly shatters into millions of pieces, its glow becoming dimmer and dimmer, until not a shine was left, and everything in the world was encased in darkness.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching Konoha, and will be landing in approximately 15 minutes."

A young man looks up from the newspaper he was reading, and looks out to the window on his left. Having been attending school abroad, Uchiha Itachi had not been home in several years, but it looked as though nothing had changed since he left. That was a different matter for Itachi himself though.

When he left, he had short hair, was physically shorter and lanky, and always wore bright coloured shorts and a dark t-shirt. Now, after several years living in the West, Itachi had developed a sense of style that did not just include shorts and t-shirts. He grew taller than what his family doctors thought, getting to a 6'2 frame. He also grew out his hair, at the suggestion of one of his fashionista friends. His face had become more angular, and because of his sudden interest in sports and the gym, he developed lean, hard muscles all over and yet for some reason he still maintained his pale complexion. It seemed impossible for the man to get a tan, no matter how much outdoor activities he engages in. As a young man of 23 years, Itachi was a very handsome individual and he knew it.

When he finished school a week ago, Itachi had decided that he would return home to look for a job and take the time to enjoy summer vacation before deciding where he wanted to head to next, whether it was to help with his father's business or go back to America and go into law. Coming home was his choice, what he did not expect was the company running short on hands and his father calling to ask if Itachi would help out for a while. Itachi was not sure whether this was supposed to be his father's way of keeping him in Konoha, or if he really did need extra hands. If that was the case, Itachi decided that he would somehow drag Sasuke along with him to work in their father's company, just because he didn't want to be the only one to endure any meaningless hardships his father might give him. Also, if all fails or Itachi decided he didn't want to spend the rest of his life working for the Uchiha company, Itachi can leave everything in Sasuke's capable hands.

After grabbing his bags, he headed for the gates, passing by women and some men who were outright starring and gawking at him. In America it happened occasionally, since being a gorgeous Asian was quite a site for Westerners, but apparently in Asia he may as well be a model with his height and looks, which were obviously drawing unwanted attention. Fortunately, Itachi did not have to endure the starring for long until he noticed his family's chauffer Hayate and his mother, and with a tiny smile he strides up to them, hands the chauffer his bags and gives his mother a small but warm hug.

On the way home, he sits and listens to his mother gush about how different he looked (sporting a casual dark v-neck cardigan and a pair of dark jeans, matching it with black leather shoes) and talked about all the things he's missed while he was away for school (gossips about other families and friends alike, and some information about the company). Then for the next little while, Itachi did his best to calmly talk his mother out of wanting throw him a welcome home party, one which would consist of his parents' friends, family members, and some of Itachi's old classmates (and maybe a handful of Sasuke's friends whom he did not care too much about), saying that it would be too much of a hassle and he would prefer to keep things quiet a little longer so he could settle back in comfortably to the home he has not been in for so long. His mother reluctantly agrees by the time they arrive to the Uchiha manor, but warns Itachi that they (his parents) will be throwing him a party, whether he wanted one or not (to this Itachi reluctantly agrees, for even if he didn't want one, his parents enjoyed hosting parties almost monthly, and Itachi knew this from the invitations he would receive while he was at school, so it was useless to fight about it).

After greeting his father, Itachi heads up the stairs to get settled into his room, along the way asking his mother for his younger brother's whereabouts and was a bit surprised to hear that the boy was out on a date. Apparently the boy had neglected to tell his older brother in their last email that he's actually settled for a girl and they've been dating for the last little while.

'The inconsiderate brat.'

Itachi plans to congratulate his younger brother in the most loving and painful way possible…

Before leaving their sights, Itachi was stopped by his mother's ever so loving sing song voice, and told to freshen up, since they were expecting dinner guests. At the quirk of an eyebrow, his mother enlightened him to know that it was only one family coming, a close family friends in fact. Before Itachi could say anything, Mikoto explained that that they were scheduled to come that night anyways before they knew about Itachi's return.

"Now now darling, don't be so glum! You'll definitely love our dinner guests tonight, so hurry up and get ready!"

Mikoto is known to exaggerate, and Itachi is known to not 'love' people so easily, so her choice of words caused Itachi's left eye to twitch a bit in annoyance, but he chose to ignore it and instead left to get ready, slightly irritated for he just imagined his homecoming to be more quiet and peaceful, without the need to entertain anyone other than his parents, who were troublesome enough for Itachi to deal with.

At around 6:45 Itachi hears the door bell ringing. Rising from his seat in the living room, he heads towards the front door to greet the guests. Mikoto opens the door wide for Itachi to see that it was the Namikazes, who quickly noticed Itachi behind Mikoto and their faces lit up with surprise and delight seeing Itachi again after four years. Sporting on a nice pair of grey slacks, a blue dress shirt to match his eyes and a black dinner jacket, Minato Namikaze quickly steps through the door to give Itachi a warm bear hug which, as uncomfortable as it was, Itachi endured, saying a breathless hello to the older man. Minato Namikaze was friends with his father since their college days as well as academic rivals. Now that both were older, Minato was now the Mayor of Konoha while Fugaku became the CEO of Uchiha Corp after his father's passing. Minato was a bit shorter than him now, maintaining the same spiky hairstyle that he's had since Itachi had last seen him, only now there appeared some wrinkles in the corner of his eyes that became visible when Minato smiled.

Once releasing him, Itachi was once again enveloped into another hug, one gentler and given by a much shorter person, Kushina Namikaze. Dressed in a dark purple halter dress with her hair tied, Kushina was still as beautiful as Itachi remembered his other mother figure. Kushina was a gorgeous red head who knew Fugaku since high school and was the one who introduced him to Mikoto. Now, Kushina was a kindergarten teacher in Konoha Leaf Elementary School. The two couples were friends for quite a long time, and made certain that their kids would be too.

Itachi was all polite and smiles to the respectable and societal powerhouse couple who were also like a second set of parents to him and Sasuke. Leading them in, he politely asks the whereabouts of Naruto, the boy whom he decided was like another (annoying) little brother.

"Well, he's recently learned to drive, so he's outside parking the car into the driveway. Don't worry, he'll be in after another five minutes."

"*Snort* What's wrong Minato, can't teach your own offspring how to properly park a car?"

"Shut up Uchiha! Naruto's a smart boy, just very independent! He likes to figure things out himself with limited help, and that's better than holding his hand along the way all the time like you've done with Sasuke!"

"Umm are you sure Naruto-kun doesn't need to be supervised in parking your car…?"

"Don't worry Mikoto, he's done this more than once… but just in case he's managed to somehow screw up, I'll be right back"

Shaking his head, Itachi watches as Kushina leaves for the door once again, opening it to get out and almost running into what appeared to Itachi as Minato's doppelganger. Itachi was surprised, and had to glance at Minato once again to make sure that the man was actually standing next to him and not in front of Kushina at the doors. From his angle, he sees a tall figure with spiky blonde hair and tanned skin. Even without looking Itachi knew this individual had the same ocean blue eyes as his father, but even so, he was still caught off guard when their eyes met.

Somewhere in the obsidian darkness, a pile of shards stirs, several of them brightens only for a split second, and all was dark once again…

"Oh! Itachi-nii! Welcome home!"

Itachi blinks as he was, for the third time that night, engulfed in another full frontal bear hug. As an Uchiha, such display of affections were rarely shown in public, or even with family, let alone family friends, but such customs had been established and allowed only by the Namikaze's (their touchy-feely antics have no bounds, so one has to get used to it, no matter how annoying it can be).

Itachi was pleasantly surprised to see how much Naruto had changed over the last four years. Naruto was now about half a head shorter than he, which was impressive considering the fact that when they last met, Itachi was still two heads taller than him. Other changes about the boy would be the piercing he was sporting in one ear, and the fact that upon closer inspections he actually looked more like Kushina than Minato, but he had all of Minato's colours. His hair, although spiky, was longer than Minato's and he had bangs that were swept to one side of his face that almost covers one eye. Upon closer inspection, Itachi could see that his eyes were wider, the blue colour was a shade darker, looking like an ocean blue compared to his father's sky blue eyes, and he was also leaner where Minato had more muscles. That night he too wore a blue dress shirt and a pair of black slacks, and looked as handsome as his father. It's of no surprise that both Namikaze's and Uchiha's had good genes (at least that is what the men of both families always boast about).

Throughout dinner, both families would laugh and chat, mostly talking about Itachi and how his life had been and what experiences he must have gained living in the West for so long, whether or not he would go back, his likes and dislikes of the experience, etcetera. Itachi answered all the questions formally, smiling and chuckling when necessary. In reality, he was unbelievably bored, jet lagging, and wanting this dinner to be over as soon as possible, especially since he was becoming more and more annoyed with Naruto's talking and loud laughter. Although the boy had changed quite a bit physically, he still acted and behaved like the 13 year old Itachi remembers, and even then he could only handle so much that was Naruto before wanting to call it quits.

It was impossible to act the way he truly wanted to, since it would be too out of character and thus create worry and concern to his parents. It was sad how no one could see through his façade, and to see that the man sitting across from him was no different than anyone else, well that hurt a lot too. On the other hand, he can see the man's true intentions quite clearly. Although he was all smiles and polite, his eyes held boredom and disinterest throughout the conversations. It was nice to know that the man can be just as fake as himself, but too bad the man could not hide it as well.

At the end of dinner, both families sat in the living room for coffee, tea and desserts. Naruto quickly wolfed down the tasty red velvet cake and chucked down the cup of coffee, letting out a sigh of satisfaction while everyone else bid their time with their own cake and drinks (all the while Itachi held back his irritation with Naruto's lack of proper etiquette and table manners). Conversation was pleasant, where the parents and Itachi discussed work and future careers and next plan of action, until Naruto gets a call and excuses himself. That was when the serious conversation began.

Seeing that Naruto was out of hearing range, the red head mother sighs, puts down her cup of tea and straight out talks about her growing concerns over Naruto and his recent test result for almost all his class. Since school started, although not much had changed in Naruto's life, for some reason his marks were falling, and Naruto did not appear to be concerned, which worried his parents further. Because of their own careers and workload, the Namikaze's were not aware about their son's problem in school until Naruto's homeroom teacher, Mr. Umino, called to inform the parents of his own concerns with Naruto when he finished grading the most recent test. Kushina wanted to get Naruto a tutor, and wanted to know if the Uchiha's could give them any suggestions since most of the people Kushina tried to look for were too busy or had yet to respond to her. To this, it was Mikoto to the rescue.

"Kushina dear, do not fret, Itachi here would gladly be of service to you!"

Itachi shoots his mother an incredulous look, one that Mikoto ignores, and seeing Fugaku nodding his head to what his wife said Itachi knew that he was screwed.

"Yes, he just came back from abroad and would not be starting work with me until the end of summer so he has quite a bit of time on his hand at the moment. Itachi here has teaching experience too, so Naruto-kun should have no problem with such a capable tutor, isn't that right Itachi?"

Looking directly at Itachi, Itachi returns the look and nods to his father's direction, before looking back at the guests and smiles politely at the Namikazes who were looking at him with so much hope and gratitude in their eyes. He so desperately wanted to say no, and that he had better things to do than tutor the dead last in Sasuke's school, but unfortunately this wasn't just any other family friend, and it would appear to Itachi that his parents regarded the Namikaze's as family, and the Uchiha's were know to do anything in their power for family. How annoying…

"Oh Itachi-kun! You have no idea how happy this makes us both! Do not worry, we will pay you handsomely for helping Naruto out! Oh Mikoto, you have such a wonderful child!"

Seeing that he wasn't supposed to have a say in this, Itachi fake smiled through the rest of the conversation, as it now came back to a happier tune now that it appeared that the biggest problem of the night was resolved with forfeiting Itachi's time and summer vacation to the Namikaze's only child. Oh the joy…

Naruto returns to the living room, all smiles and innocence, and asks what he's missed. Looking at his son with a triumphant smirk, Minato relates back to the decision that the parents just made without asking for the opinion of either young men. Naruto stared at his father incredulously, irritation, anger and a hint of amusement in his eyes directed at his father, and although Itachi was expecting a tantrum from Naruto that might possibly get them both out of the situation, the boy surprises him instead by breathing out a large sigh, shaking his head, and collapses next to his mother, in a state of surrender it would seem. Ignoring the young men, both parents went on to discuss their own issues, and Itachi half listens, and every now and then glances at the quiet young man who had straitened back up in his seat and was also voicing his own opinion to certain topics every now and then. Perhaps the boy had matured somewhat since he was gone…

After the Namikaze's left and Itachi was about to retire for the night, he stops and wondered something out loud to his mother.

"How is the relationship between Naruto-kun and Sasuke now?"

Walking ahead of her son, Mikoto doesn't stop and shrugs as she walked on.

"I would believe that it's same, that they're still as close as when they were babies. Of course, Naruto-kun doesn't come over as often as before, but Sasuke says he still goes over to the Namikaze's just as much as before."

Itachi nods and follows his mother up the stairs, bidding her a good night when he got to his room. For some reason he was curious, and he was not entirely sure why. Perhaps it was because of the blonde's ever childish personality that was still present even in a grown up's body that made Itachi curious, or maybe it was the fact that the blonde did not appear to be interested in talking about Sasuke all night, which was different from years ago and the boy would always ask, even if he already knew, in order to try to get Sasuke in trouble when they were younger.

When Sasuke returned home from his date, he directly went into his brother's room without knocking and greeted the older man with the typical Uchiha smirk. After a bit of chatting, and Itachi found out that Sasuke had been using the excuse of hanging out at the Namikaze's to sneak off on dates with his girlfriend, both brothers decided to retire for the night, but once again Itachi was curious and asked his brother directly whether his close relationship with Naruto had changed, since seeing the blonde that night made him somewhat unsettled (he could not get over how even though he acted like the immature kid Itachi knew, there were some obvious differences too that Itachi couldn't put a finger on).

Sasuke pondered the question for a little bit before shrugging and leaning against the wall with hands in his pockets, his body language telling Itachi that Sasuke didn't really care or hadn't thought about it before.

"Well, we still talk, but lately he's been hanging around with another group of kids from school, some of them much older. I don't really see much of a difference in our relationship and he still acts the same so I don't think there's anything wrong. By the way, I'm planning to leave with some friends to Europe over the summer. I already told mom and dad, but thought you should know too."

With that the younger brother leaves. Itachi was indifferent to what Sasuke told him, a little surprised how unaffected he seemed with his current relationship with Naruto, but then again the boy was dating now, so of course he would see Naruto less, and since Naruto was such a social individual it was no surprise that he would make new friends. Of course, it would be problematic if these new friends of his were the source of the Namikazes problems… But that would not matter to Itachi. He was only there to help Naruto with his schoolwork for one summer and perhaps not deal with him again in another long while. At least he was going to be paid.

The arrangement was simple: Itachi and Naruto would meet four times a week, alternating between the Uchiha's manor and the Namikaze's house, from afternoon until late evening (or until the Namikaze's finish work) after the first two weeks of summer vacation. This would allow Itachi time to get readjusted to life at home, and allow both young men some personal time with their friends and families before the start of something akin to summer school.

During those two weeks of break and relaxation, Itachi helped Sasuke pack for his trip with close friends from high school. He had invited Naruto too, but because of the arrangement set up by their parents, all Sasuke could do was promise the boy that he would bring something tasty back (this earned Sasuke nothing but silence from the blonde on the phone, and Sasuke just shrugged and continued packing, all the while trying to engage Naruto back into conversation while Itachi helped with the packing too).

How sad… but nothing, not even promise of delicious goods from another country will be able to satisfy the young man's cravings for another person, and the need to feel complete once again.

The two weeks came to an end, and Itachi prepared himself for a long summer of little fun and long hours of 'work' with a certain blonde. During the first week, Itachi spent a lot of time helping Naruto with his math problems. He seemed fine with his language homework and sciences, to which Itachi gave minimal helpful tips about, and most of the time went about his own business while Naruto worked. The first week, which took place half the time at the Uchiha's and the other half at the Namikaze's, ended without much nuisance.

The second week was when Itachi noticed that there was something about Naruto that he didn't know whether to ignore or be disturbed about. Whether the blonde knew it or not, whenever he needed Itachi's help with a homework problem he would sit or stand really close to Itachi to show him the problem, brushing up against him more than several times a day, or even compliment Itachi for doing the most stupidest things, like how great of a teacher he was or how great he looked that day. To Itachi, it would appear as though Naruto was trying to hit on him, since he has a way of always looking for excuses to touch him or compliment him.

Sometime during the third week, while Itachi was sitting on a couch and doing some readings, all the while drinking his iced tea, Naruto pauses, stretches, and heads towards the kitchen. Nothing unusual. Before leaving the living room altogether, he asks Itachi whether or not he wanted more iced tea, since that was what Naruto was getting for himself. Looking at the almost empty glass, Itachi nods, giving his glass to Naruto, and thanks the boy when he returned with a full glass of his drink.

Whether or not it was because of the warm weather, or because the reading material he had in his hands was so dull, Itachi started to feel tired, and felt himself slowly nodding off. Noticing that Naruto didn't seem to be having any problems with his school work at the moment, Itachi leaned his head back against the comfortable couch, and closes his eyes, telling himself that he would only take a short nap.

When he wakes up, Naruto was looking down at him, smiling at telling him that his parents were here to pick him up, and that he would see Itachi next week. Nodding, Itachi listens as Naruto leaves for the front and shutting it on his way out. Then, he realized upon looking at his watch, that he had been napping for almost three hours. And to make things weirder, Itachi noticed that he was lying on the couch, as opposed to the sitting position he was in earlier. That was kind of odd. Then again, he must have been really tired not to have noticed himself changing positions. But even weirder was how he was able to nap three hours straight when usually forty-five minutes or one hour was enough for him. How come Naruto didn't wake him up?

By the time Itachi saw Naruto again, he had already forgotten the incident. The day started off as normal, with Naruto asking him questions when he was confused, and appeared to be coming onto him, all of which Itachi ignored. It wasn't until the last hour of their tutoring session together that Naruto suddenly, and with a relaxed and smiling face, goes to sit next to Itachi and tells him directly was attracted to the man. All Itachi could do was stare.

"…Come again?"

"I find you very attractive, and I'm sure I like you as something more than a friend. Would you be interested in being my boyfriend?"

"Naruto, this isn't funny."

"Yeah, it wasn't my intention to amuse you. So how about it?"

"*Sigh* Listen, I don't know what's gotten into you, but I am far from being interested in being your boyfriend."

The dark blue world took on a darker shade, until it looked almost black. The shards of the orb remained motionless.*

Itachi stares at him, and wonders how the young man would react for being rejected so bluntly. He watches Naruto as the young man looks away from him and sighs, and was once again surprised and felt a bit of a chill when he was suddenly looking into emotionless blue eyes and a smirking Naruto.

"Itachi-nii, I'm afraid you don't have a choice."

Taking out an envelope from his back pocket, Naruto hands it to Itachi, who took it in a cautious manner, eyes never leaving Naruto's for he did not know how to deal with such a different Naruto.

Ripping the side of the envelope, a bunch of photos fell out and landed on the coffee table that Naruto always worked on. Looking at the photos, Itachi felt the blood drain from his face. There were ten pictures in total on the table, and each one had Itachi and Naruto in a sexual or sexually suggestive position (although both still their tops on, and Itachi could see that his boxers were on as well in the pictures). There was a picture of a tearful looking Naruto slowly stripping for the camera, another one that looked as though Naruto was giving a pleasantly content Itachi a blow job (he was sleeping at the time, but it's hard to tell the difference in the picture), as well as one unbelievably scandalous one where Itachi was on top and between Naruto's legs with his head tucked into a tan neck, and Naruto who looked scared and was crying as he positioned his head to look away from Itachi.

All in all, the photos looked as though Itachi was sexually assaulting Naruto or had coerced Naruto to do the unspeakable acts, making him do things against his will. Itachi did not move as Naruto gathered the pictures and placed them back inside the envelope, looking at Itachi with emotionless eyes and humourless smile.

"You can keep these by the way. I made copies. I'm surprised they actually turned out so well. It was hard to manoeuvre you around while you were completely passed out. At some point it was so exhausting, I think the tears were real in several of those pictures because I was so tired and couldn't move you anymore!"

Itachi snaps out of it and glares daggers into Naruto, looking murderous as he stared at evil conniving young man. Gripping the couch to prevent himself from doing anything drastic (like punching the boy's lights out), Itachi, still surprised and unbelievably confused and angry calms his head before speaking again, without the urge to rip the blonde's head off.

"Why would you do all that."

"I told you. I want you to be my boyfriend."

"This is insane… it's blackmail. Why would you to go this far? Is this some sort of revenge on me for something I did?"

"Sure, it's blackmail. The reason why I did this is really nothing you should be concerned about since it's not about you at all. This is all for me. So how about I make you a deal. I'm not looking for a long term boyfriend, just someone to hang onto for the rest of the summer. By the end of the summer I'll destroy the copies of the pictures or give them all to you. All you have to do is act like a caring boyfriend to me, and those pictures would never be seen by anyone other than you and me. Just so you know, sex is off the table. How about it?"

Annoyed even more, Itachi thought about it for a minute before consenting, thinking the terms were simple enough even though the conditions were peculiar as hell. Pretend to be his boyfriend? Why would he demand something like that? He was a pretty boy, surely he had his pick of other boys and girls at his school, so why Itachi? Also, how was he going to get out of this situation? Thinking about it now, summer vacation is supposed to be about three months long. They've just finished a month and already into the second. Itachi thought about it, and believed that the demand was not so difficult to comply with, especially since it was just the two of them most of the time anyways, and Itachi didn't have a clue as to how to get out of the situation without resorting to violence. In any case, if Naruto's demands get any weirder or crazier, then he'll just have to find a way to put a stop to it, even if it means faking an accident…

Without looking at the blonde, Itachi gives a stiff nod and turns to look at the time, cannot wait until the little demon was out of his sight. Content by Itachi's agreement, Naruto also looks at the time before heading to pack up his bags, and by the time he was done, he was back to the thirteen year old, happy go lucky smiling idiot. But Itachi can't fall for that anymore, not after seeing what the boy was really like. Before he left, Naruto was stopped by Itachi's quiet voice on the couch.

"I still don't understand. Why would you do this…?"

Naruto doesn't answer him right away, just stares at him with those empty blue eyes (when had they become like that? What happened to that silly, happy go lucky boy?) before smiling that fake, emotionless smile.

"No reason. I've got nothing better to do this summer."

The next week was… actually fine in Itachi's opinion. He was expecting this deviously irritating blonde to act something like a needy and whiney girlfriend, demanding him to do this and that, but nothing Naruto did ever meet his expectations. The entire week went on like how it did when the study session first started, only Naruto was less annoying and more unfathomable. Naruto would always engage Itachi into light conversation in between his breaks from homework assignments, asking Itachi about Western culture and the people Itachi met. Naruto was very interested in the government system in America, as well as the politicians since he follows the news pretty often, this of course surprised Itachi.

From an inky black to a light grey, dark shapes of objects in the world became barely visible. The light grey had hints of red and blue. The young man's emotions were constantly fluctuating, leaving the young man in a state of confusion. Unknown to even the young man, there were several shards of what was once an orb began to piece back together.

When they weren't discussing anything related to politics, they would move on to other topics like music (which again, surprised Itachi to hear that Naruto was a big fan of indie European music) and new variety shows (Itachi didn't watch TV often, but some of the shows Naruto mentioned he kept in mind to check out himself when he had more free time). The most physical they'd get was Naruto giving him small and light kisses every now and then, and sleeping on his shoulder or lap after he's done his work while Itachi reads, and sometimes Naruto demanding Itachi to stroke his hair while he naps. At first, Itachi was not used to having another body so close to him for a long period of time, but he eventually go used to it, to the point where he would automatically start stroking Naruto's head when he falls on his lap. When it came to the kisses, Itachi would accept them, but would not reciprocate.

It was nice to shower affection on another person, especially one who resembled an old crush. Even though the actions were never reciprocated, it was not a problem. To be able to touch the beautiful man, to be in his presence, talk to him and be able to steal sweet kisses from, it was more than enough at the moment for the young man.

By the end of the second week, Itachi found himself enjoying Naruto's company. They had interesting conversations, and Itachi learned a bit more about Naruto, such as these new friends he met in high school that Sasuke mentioned were good academic students but troublemakers outside of school. Naruto and his friends (Gaara, Sai, Shikamru, Hanabi and Ten Ten) would go out drinking and partying with older college and university students who always invited them out because of their connections, some being relatives or old family friends ("Oh yea! It was my cousin, Deidara, who gave me those drugs that knocked you out cold the day I took those pictures. I was supposed to use those for myself when I can't sleep, but as you know, I found a better use for them…).

It was fascinating for Itachi to see this other side of Naruto that no one, except his closest friends, knew about. On one hand, Naruto was that innocent looking happy idiot that his long time friends and family knew him to be, but on the other hand, Naruto was more mischievous, audacious, and smarter than he looked (perhaps it was this mask that the boy wore that made Itachi first feel odd about the boy when they saw one another again after four years, it was something that Itachi's subconscious recognized when he himself could not figure out why he felt so weird about the boy).

This double life that he leads makes Itachi wonder if he would ever be found out, either by his long time friends and parents, but Itachi wasn't curious enough to find out. Instead, Itachi was more curious as to why Naruto would tell him all this, especially since Itachi could use this information against him. When he brought it out to the open, Naruto just smirked and gave him a knowing look, one that says 'Yeah, you could, but I know you won't.' Itachi saw and understood the look. He debated with himself about whether to reveal Naruto or not, but in the end he mentally curses himself when he acknowledged that the blonde was right. He wouldn't.

The world was in a constant shade of blue now, with hints of red. More and more of the shards have joined until it nearly resembled the shape of the orb it once was. The glow was present, but it was still awfully dim. The young man now understood the feelings he was experiencing, but at the same time, he was too nervous to accept them. Instead, he would prefer to continue to be oblivious about it, and forget all about it. He would not want to risk being hurt all over again…

By the end of the second month, Itachi came to a sudden realization that Naruto was not only good company, but he was actually rather good looking. Somehow, Itachi never thought him that way in the past but nowadays, it was like looking at someone else who resembled the old Naruto he knew. The colours never changed, but the physical details were different. Those eyes which are so round and blue can darken and pierce your soul if you stared long enough. The nose was actually a lot sharper than he originally thought, his cheek bones more defined and his chin more pointed. And his lips, which although has kissed him more than enough times, Itachi had never paid them any attention, never saw how plump they looked, or how pink they were.

He would acknowledge that Naruto was attractive, but never in his life would he think that he would be attracted to one of his younger brother's friends, until now. Itachi found that with every passing day and every conversation they had, and the more they both opened up about one another (adding the minimal intimacy shared between them), these feelings were bound to emerge. In fact, if it were not for knowing about the deal that they had, Itachi would have forgotten that they were not in a real relationship. With the comfortable conversations and affectionate touches and kisses shared, Itachi could barely tell the difference between it being fake and real now.

Sometimes, it was hard to differentiate with what is real and what isn't. One minute he can be cold and emotionless to me when I touch or kiss him. The next moment he could be smiling at me, holding me, or kissing me until I come up breathless. Sometimes I would stare openly at him and he would stare back and what I see in his eyes confuse me. When I look at him, I can see lust and longing, and although I understand why he would feel lust, the second feeling I do not understand. I cannot tell what he is thinking anymore and I am almost grateful that summer is ending soon, before anything gets serious.

Naruto came over to study again the next afternoon, giving a quick hello and then heading to his spot to start his calculus homework. For once, Itachi sat next to him, leaning over slightly to see how he was doing and mentioned helpful points every now and then. It wasn't until minutes later that Naruto was finding the other man's presence to be slightly annoying, and playfully pushed him away with one hand before returning to his work. Itachi ignores the push and continues to look over Naruto's shoulder. Itachi leaned so close that he could breathe in the scent that was Naruto, becoming slightly mesmerized by the smell until he felt somewhat light headed. At some point in time, when Naruto turned to look at the other man to give him a few good words for being so weird, Itachi leans in and kisses Naruto.

A bit surprised with the sudden kiss, Naruto none the less returns the kiss. But instead of the light short kiss that he was expecting, Itachi actually licked his lips, and hesitantly, Naruto parts his lips and allows the not-so-foreign tongue enter his mouth. Itachi relished in Naruto's small whimper and gently pushes him to the floor with one hand on his chest. Neither knew how long the kiss lasted, both too absorbed by the other's taste and light touches. It wasn't until Itachi tried to slip a hand inside Naruto's shirt that Naruto suddenly pushes Itachi away and sits up, breathing a bit heavily.

The world was now a fiery red, where everything looked like it was ablaze. The young man was in danger, he knew what he was feeling and he knew that these feelings were trying to consume him until he could not think rationally, but he must. He must calm the burning he feels for the other, and think rationally, especially what consequences his next decisions could lead him to. All the while, the partially formed orb was glowing and pulsing continuously.

"What do you think you're doing."

*Smirk* "Making out with my boyfriend."

"Sure, but you remember what I said, that sex was off the table, right? I'm not interested in being fucked. If you want that, go look elsewhere."

Without looking at the other man, Naruto fixes his shirt, blushing lightly and returns to his work. Itachi was feeling both confused and irritated. It looked like he wanted it, so what was holding him back?

When Naruto was done his homework, instead of sitting around and hanging with Itachi, he said that he had stuff to do and was going home early, declining when Itachi asked him if he wanted a ride.

The next few days went like that, where Naruto would not initiate any conversation or physical contact with Itachi, only talking to him when it was regarding homework, otherwise he worked quietly and finished his work in record time, heading home right away with excuses of meeting other friends or other chores at home he had to get to before his parents returned.

Itachi was beginning to feel frustrated with the blonde's sudden attitude change and with no explanation either. After a week and barely any change, and with the knowledge that summer was nearing to an end, Itachi surprised the both of them by jumping Naruto out of the blue with the question eating him the last few days. Literally. While Naruto was sitting on the floor doing his work as usual, Itachi sat next to him. Naruto shuffles away so there was some room between them, but that didn't deter Itachi. Instead, he shuffled closer, and when Naruto was about to shift again, he pounced, pinning Naruto with his back to the floor and arms on either side of his head.

"Why are you avoiding me."

"I… I have to. It's for your own good and mine."

"Don't give me that bullshit. I don't like you avoiding me. Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry if you felt as though I was pressuring you for sex, it was not my intention."

"That's not it… look, summer is ending soon, that means our deal is coming to an end. Can't we just endure these last weeks in peace? I don't want to ruin whatever relationship we have by doing something that we would both end up regretting."

Itachi had not thought about that. No, what he had been concerned about was that Naruto did not care about him anymore and will leave him altogether. He had not even thought too much about the deal they made, other than it was coming to an end soon. He should be happy, but he realized he wasn't. Hell, he had completely forgotten that he was being blackmailed. All he knew was that it was Naruto who made him happy, the evil, gorgeous, blackmailing blonde genius. He was not whole without him. He needed Naruto. Itachi finalized his decision, one that he had contemplated for a long while. He now knew he wanted Naruto for himself, and an Uchiha always gets what he wanted.

"I don't care about the deal. I just want you."

The words that should never have been uttered were said clearly. Scared, confused, and happy all at once, the young man knew he had to remedy the situation at once, he cannot allow this to continue. The world was chaotic, fluctuating to grey, red, and bits of black. All the while, the now fully formed orb pulses strongly, shining brightly for longer periods before dimming slightly and shining once again.

"And what? After having me are you going to throw me away? The both of us live different lives. If it weren't for these tutoring sessions our parents put us through, we wouldn't have even talked outside of dinner parties. I'm actually glad we got to know one another, but now I don't want to screw it up."

"I forget how you can be dense sometimes… I want you because I. Really. Like. You. I want to have you in my life, and parade you around as my boyfriend. God, I suck at this, but over the last few weeks, my feelings for you have become so strong, just thinking of you leaving my life pains me like nothing else I've ever felt. No matter how cheesy that sounds, it's the truth. I can't let you go now, not that I'm going to start trying."

The world was in chaos, where everything was blazing red and storming. All the while, the complete orb shines brightly, with a few minor cracks still visible. What the young man planned to do next may just break the orb once again, but it must be done so there may be a possibility the orb would not be destroyed a second time.

*Sigh* "You stupid bastard… but even if you are one, I'd still like you… but if anything goes further between us, I have to lay all my cards on the table first. This is your last chance to back out. I can't start anything with you until you understand that I haven't been completely honest with you. If you're able to looks past and forgive my lies, then I think you and I can actually work something out… otherwise, I hope there's a possibility that we can still be friends…"

Itachi gets off of him, feeling a bit of anxiety at the pit of his stomach, but wanting so much for them to work out that he was willing to be patient and listen to what Naruto has to say, not sure what to expect though.

"I told you the reason I wanted you to act like my boyfriend was because I had nothing better to do. That was partly right, but the main reason why I asked you to pretend to be my boyfriend was because I wanted to forget about someone in my life, someone who really caused a lot of irreparable damages to me in the psychological sense. These last few months were amazing, almost therapeutic actually. My goal this summer was to forget and move on, and I had no intention of having you fall for me, nor did I intend to fall for you. I thought you'd be the most obvious choice because you're always so emotionless, and you're not the type to get attached so easily. I on the other hand, started crushing on you once we started these sessions. I mean it when I said I didn't want to screw up what we already had, so I never acted out my feelings. That's what I wanted you to know."

All was quiet. It was a sudden standstill, as if the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for a response… the dark red world was suddenly filled with ominous grey clouds, ready for the downpour of rain…

"You lied and used me… but you've moved on from the last person you liked and now you're in love with me?"

"What? Well, yeah. I guess you could say I'm in love with you … Are you pissed at me?"

"No, I'm not. I should be, but I'm not. Call me simple for not caring about the details but I really don't, and I don't intend to let you leave me anytime soon even when summer ends."

Before Naruto could say another word, Itachi pushes him back down to the floor and kisses him. Naruto didn't even struggle, just wrapped one arm around Itachi's neck to pull him closer, and the other one to grab as much of the long silky hair as he could. Itachi began to divest the both of them of their clothes, all the while keeping their lips locked. He had an idea who this person Naruto spoke of was, and like he said, he didn't care too much about him, because Naruto was his.

Later…

Coming home to an empty house, Sasuke throws his bag down and heads to the kitchen. He was home early from his vacation with friends. Over the summer break, Sakura had suddenly dumped him when she was swept off her feel by some muscular Italian guy who spoke minimal English, like Sakura. She and the others were still enjoying they vacation in Europe, but Sasuke couldn't stand the site of any of them. In a way, he could see why Naruto suddenly stopped seeing them as often. He must have been sick to see all his long time friends hooking up one by one, until he was the odd man out. Sasuke understood now, and wanted to make it up to him when he saw him again.

Walking past the living room, he did not notice the random clothes strewn about near the sofa and coffee table. If he were to actually walk into the living room, he would undoubtedly have also noticed several wet patches around…

A Few Hours Ago…

When both got their tops off and began working on their pants, both men heard Naruto's phone ringing. Itachi paused to look at Naruto, wondering if the blonde was going to answer but Naruto just pushes Itachi off and straddles his waist as he began to kiss and bite Itachi's unblemished pale neck. He did not like sudden pauses, especially when it was just getting good.

The ringing eventually stops, and both men had their pants partially removed when suddenly it was Itachi's phone that was ringing. Both of them groaned, since it was one thing for Naruto to ignore his phone, but with Itachi it almost cannot be done, since Itachi usually received more important calls than Naruto, and the possibility of ignoring a call from another Uchiha was like causing unwanted drama (since it can cause worry and alarm and possibly alerting the Konoha Police Department).

Rolling off the older man, Itachi makes his way to the couch where his cell was, sits down and answers it. It was Mrs. Namikaze, who wanted to know why her son wasn't answering his phone.

"Sorry Namikaze-san, he's in the washroom right now. Yes, we're getting along fine, no he doesn't seem to be having any problems with his school work. Please, it's no problem at all."

While Itachi was talking to Naruto's mother, the boy slides on the couch next to Itachi and kisses his ear, moving to his cheek, jaw, and staying put on his collar bone as his hands travel down to Itachi's chest, flicking a nipple (at that moment Itachi bit his lips hold back a gasp) and continues south, palm smoothing over hard abs, and almost reaching his goal to the treasure hidden in Itachi's pants –

And Itachi pushed his hand away, glaring at the surprised blonde and mouthing how it was his mother on the phone. Shocked and unbelievably horny, Naruto thought he should let Itachi know just how impatient he can be. Getting off the sofa, he stood in front of the man and slowly shimmied himself out of his jeans. Making sure he had Itachi's attention, he smiled at the raven haired man and slowly danced to a tune in his head, one hand trailing from his neck to his chest, the other wrapped around his own waist before running it over his boxer clad erection, letting out a small whimper as he did so, biting his lip for added effects.

Itachi watched transfixed by the little show his soon to be lover was giving, feeling himself get harder with every tiny sound escaping the blonde's mouth. He barely heard what Naruto's mother was saying to him on the phone anymore, just something about not being home until later and if Itachi could either let him stay over or drop him home early. Smirking, Itachi told her how he didn't mind Naruto staying over, and it wouldn't be a bother since he parents were visiting relatives this week anyways. With a quick farewell and words of thanks (from both sides it would seem), Itachi hung up and pulled the blonde towards him until he was on his lap.

"You are a very naughty boy, Naruto. How should I punish you?"

"You could pound my ass all night until I'm so sore I wouldn't be able to sit for a week?"

"… You asked for it."

Pulling the blonde back for another kiss, Itachi quickly took off their remaining pieces of clothing, and the moment their erections brushed, both men groaned and started a slow grind, until both erections were wet with precum. At that point, Naruto broke out of the kiss to breathe more air into his lungs, groaning as Itachi attached his mouth to Naruto's neck, sucking and biting the skin. With another hand not holding Naruto, Itachi grasped their slick erections, and started stroking them both to completion. Naruto's head falls back as he started crying out Itachi's name. It spurred Itachi to stroke them both faster, not stopping until the both of them came almost simultaneously.

Panting from their first orgasm, Itachi sits back until his back hits the sofa, pulling Naruto along. It was nice and peaceful for the next several minutes, as both caught their breaths. Itachi, in the middle of thinking about taking them both to bed, felt fingers ghosting over his chest, and fingers pinching his nipples making him hiss out loud. Looking at the blonde in this arms, he noticed the lust filled blue eyes looking back at him, smirking.

"Tachi… I'm up for round two…"

Always up for a challenge, Itachi smirked at Naruto, rolling the blonde off him until he was lying on the couch, Itachi looked at the half hard erection he was sporting, and decided he wanted a taste of the devious blonde. Kissing his lips once more, and trailing a tongue down cum covered chest, making Naruto squirm, Itachi was looking at the still wet cock and gave it an experimental lick, causing the blonde to arch his back and let out a breathless cry. Even though the cock in front of his was covered in both their cum, after several more licks and gentle suction Itachi was certain that Naruto tasted both sweet and bitter, a combination he soon grew to like very much as he continued to lick the Naruto clean and began to suck on it harder when he saw precum dripping from the head.

All Naruto could do was throw his head back and groan as the hot mouth devoured him. Itachi took this chance to use his hand that was still covered in cum to prepare Naruto. Still sucking on Naruto, Itachi lifted a leg up and places it on his shoulder, and with Naruto's entrance in clear view, he uses one cum coated finger to trace the outer rim before slowly pushing it in. Itachi was a bit surprised with how easy the finger slipped in, and Naruto's moans as he pushes himself down on the finger, which makes Itachi slowly pull it out, and pushing back in two fingers (it would appear that his little blonde wasn't new to fingering… just how experienced was he?). Naruto was now a boneless heap, with the double stimulation of mouth and fingers, he didn't think he could hold on much longer. As though reading his thoughts, Itachi suddenly removed both mouth and fingers.

Once again, shocked and annoyed, Naruto was about to give him an earful until he saw Itachi stand up. Thinking that the raven haired man was about to leave him, he started whimpering where he was on the sofa.

"Get up Naruto. That couch isn't big enough for you and I, and I want you on the floor, on all fours, now. "

Listening obediently, Naruto got up and got into position, excited to see what Itachi would do next and deciding to forgive him for the time being for stopping with the blow job.

Itachi sighed, staring at the smooth tanned back, eyes trailing back to that perfectly tight ass, giving it a nice hard slap that caused Naruto to let out a surprised squeal. The blonde looked back to try to glare at his partner, but only received a smirk in return as the raven placed both hands on his hips. Pulling the ass cheeks apart, Itachi watches as he slowly started to push in, stopping after every inch was swallowed, until all eight inches were out of sight. For Itachi, the heat and tightness was unbearable, for Naruto, the mix of pain with pleasure left him panting, still trying to adjust to the big cock shoved up his ass. Feeling like he was used to the intrusion, he gave a few experimental squeezes, and immediately felt hands gripping his hips tighten.

In a strained voice, Itachi asked if he was ready yet. Feeling unbelievably mean and playful, Naruto whimpered out a little 'no' and 'not yet', and continued to shift around, squeezing, and 'trying to adjust'. It was heaven and hell for Itachi, who began to pant as he tried his best not to start pounding the boy silly. But his good intentions went to hell when he heard Naruto let out a half chuckle and half moan, with his head turning to face Itachi, and Itachi saw the evil mischievousness in those blue lust-filled eyes, and knew he should begin punishing Naruto.

Without warning, Itachi suddenly pulls out and shoves himself back into Naruto. It was so sudden, Naruto choked on his gasp as Itachi repeated the process, and began a furious pace, with the sound of hips slapping against ass, and Naruto crying out loud for Itachi to go harder. Itachi complied, nearly pulling out completely before thrusting back in as hard as he could. One hard thrust in particular led Naruto to scream his lungs out, since Itachi had just found his prostate. Soon Naruto was crying from all the pleasure he was experiencing, and collapsed onto his elbows since he could barely hold onto his own weight and withstand Itachi's powerful thrusts.

The new angle brought a whole new round of pleasure for both of them, where Itachi felt himself going deeper than he though possible, and Naruto felt even more of Itachi inside of him, and continued crying as Itachi's pace increased. Numb with pleasure and feeling like he was high on one of his cousin's drugs, Naruto was just a boneless crying mass on the floor as Itachi continued pounding the boy until he felt his end approaching. It wasn't until Itachi reached around for Naruto's swollen and angry red cock that brought Naruto to full completion along with several quick thrusts. Itachi joined him not to long afterwards, slowing his thrusts until all his cum was milked out by Naruto's hot and quivering ass.

Trying to catch their breaths, Itachi slowly pulled of Naruto before collapsing to his side, pulling Naruto against him. It wasn't until almost ten minutes later, when Itachi was about to fall asleep, that he felt hands and lips all over his chests, and he looks down to see mischievous blue eyes looking back at him, licking pink lips to indicate, they were no where near done… Itachi wondered, once again, if he was in heaven or hell…

Presently

Sasuke wandered upstairs, not knowing whether or not his brother was home but wanting to see him either way, Sasuke barges into Itachi room and sees… nothing. The room was empty of human bodies. Shrugging, Sasuke was about to head to his room when he heard a groan within the room. Looking around, he realized that someone, most likely Itachi, was actually taking a shower. Smirking, he decided to surprise his brother and goes to open the well-oiled door abruptly… to see the biggest surprise of his life. In the shower was his brother, with another person. It was a bit blurry because of the steam and natural watery look of the glass, but Sasuke could make out the silhouettes. Seeing the long black hair, it seems like his brother's back was facing him, and long tan legs were wrapped around Itachi's ivory waist, tan arms wrapped around a pale neck, and the figure moving up and down in front of Itachi… Oh dear Kami Itachi was sexing someone up in the shower!

Sasuke wasn't too sure, but he thinks that the person inside the shower saw him, he couldn't tell but he swore he saw something akin to a smirk or a smile, as the person suddenly moans louder and cries for Itachi to go faster. Closing the door as fast (and quietly) as he could, he couldn't miss the sounds of wet skin slapping wet skin in a furious pace, and hearing his brother's groan a name as the other person cries out even louder. He almost froze while he closed the door, and it wasn't until he closed the door completely and heads out his brother's room that he actually tried to wrap his head around the fact that his brother called out Naruto's name. That in the shower was Itachi fucking Naruto. Naruto had seen Sasuke, and instead of demanding Itachi to stop, told him to go faster. Naruto and Itachi. Having sex. What the fuck happened while he was gone?

Back in the room, the couple left the shower and dried themselves off in big fluffy towel. Both were red from being under the hot shower sprays for so long, Itachi looking at Naruto with a satisfied smirk and Naruto returning the look with an adorable giggle. They landed on the comfy bed and Naruto quickly attached himself to Itachi's side, as the older man wrapped a protective arm around his blonde. Both were finally completely happy and sated. Naruto was completely head over heels for Itachi, and Itachi vowed to never let go of the beautiful blonde in his arms. Both were deep in their own thoughts as they drifted off to sleep.

In a world in shades of calming blue, a young man stands with his back to a perfectly round glowing orb. His focus was at a distance, where another man is seen standing there, staring back at the young man. The other man was tall, had long dark hair, and tiny smile. He spreads his arms towards the young man, also tall with longish blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The blonde runs towards the raven haired man, all the while never having noticed the beautiful perfectly shaped golden orb constantly glowing in the colourful and bright field.

End.

So, did you enjoy that? I warned you it was going to be wordy! But I had a lot of fun writing this. I hope you readers enjoyed it too, and would leave a review (comments, critiques, the likes), that would be awesome and make my day! :D

Some quick notes:

1. If you ever read Hannibal or some books talking about having a library stored in your mind, this would be similar for Naruto. The world works like the library metaphor, where memories of his friends and all his experiences are stored in the little world.

2. So the idea about the orb and the colour changing world: the orb represents Naruto's liveliness, and once it cracked he feels nothing but emptiness, which is why he acts like his old self since it was better than acting like a lifeless doll. The colours represents his emotions, so blue is being calm, and red is something more fiery like anger or lust, depending on the situation.

3. If you haven't guessed it by now, Naruto used to have feelings for Sasuke and was completely heartbroken when he found out Sasuke started dating Sakura! So even though Sasuke saw Itachi and Naruto going at it in the showers, Naruto doesn't care anymore because Sasuke is no longer important to him. Also, since he's 'whole' once again, he wouldn't need to pretend to be a dumbass anymore either ^^.