A/N: Hello, everyone! Long time no see! I am so sorry that I haven't updated my other stories in so long but please understand that it's school. My Advance Placement classes are drowning me with homework! I actually started writing this story about a month ago and I'm still late! Gosh… Oh well. At least I got it up. This is my present in honor Naruto's birthday, however I am remaining true to my favorite pairings and added the ItaSasu moments. Sorry but I'm being true to myself. I like SasuNaru but I love ItaSasu more. I actually give thanks to my dear friend, Hitoko-sama because she helped me think of this idea a long time ago. This is not just for Naruto but also to my dear friend who shares the same loves, habits, and hates as me.

I do NOT OWN ANY of the Naruto characters or even the story itself. If I did, I would have kept Itachi alive somewhere and not in the clutches of some Orochimaru-wanna-be! Anyway, thank you for those who have been reading and reviewing for my other stories. I swear that I will work on them as soon as I am able to and I promise you that I will finish my one horror fic, 'Would You Love Me', out of respect for Halloween – my personal favorite holiday! ^_^

Since you've all been so patient with me, I am going to allow this to happen. I will let the first ten people to review this story to vote which idea I will write next after I finish either 'You Only Mate Once', 'Would You Love Me', and 'Naruto Cold Cases: Family Problems'. For those who don't know, please see 'Which ItaSasu Story Is Next' in my stories list in my account. But to vote, you need to review this story first so I know which vote is valid and which is not. For any votes that have been submitted without a review shall immediately be removed. Ten is my limit, guys.

Thank you and enjoy!

Never Regret

I've always known. In a way, I've always have. That all I'll ever be to him is a substitute for him to unleash his affectionate passions on. But I didn't care. I was still happy to be there for him, even if he was using me.

n-n-n

Two minutes and forty seconds. Twenty more seconds to go and the ramen should be ready. Naruto partially licks his lips greedily, virtually jumping in his seat for his noodles to be done.

"Mmmm, I can hardly wait!"

Today had been a good day. It's been at least a week since he returned to the village with the new Hokage of the village, Tsunade and it's been a week since not only his teacher, but his teammate as well have been healed and up and running thanks to Tsunade's amazing medical healing jutsu. Even today went on as usual, doing 'simple' missions that seem more like community service jobs, but the best part was being able to walk home with his teammate, Sasuke and a.k.a. lover. It's been a while since they've done that.

The two of them have been together for a while now, possibly right before the chunnin exams after that mission in the Land of Waves. It appears that the little kiss on the day they were assigned teams and the B-rank life risking mission lead to something. Of course, no one really notices, or would even believe it, since the two of them basically act like they hate each other in the public eyes of their comrades. But when they are alone with each other, they act like a couple. Two lonely souls merging as one perfectly. Sure they would have sex but their relationship isn't all heavy panting passion or sweet slow lovingly strokes. It can be pure love between them. Even today was just simple blissful talk while walking home and then a small kiss when they parted.

That was hours ago and Naruto spent that time studying and gathering up more chakra for practice. And now he is just about to enjoy his favorite flavored instant ramen to put the cherry on top of the delicious hot-fudge sundae. But right before it became three minutes since he poured the boiling hot water into the Styrofoam cup…

Ding, dong

His doorbell rings.

Naruto looks at the door curiously for a second before it rings again.

Ding, dong

"Who's here at this hour?" he wonders, standing himself up from his dining table. Then the rings rang out quicker as if who's ever ringing is desperate to come in.

Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding, dong, ding, dong…

"I'm comin', I'm comin'!" Naruto yells out, quickly getting around the trash in his apartment and then hopping to the door.

No matter how annoying that infinite doorbell ringing is, he needs to continue with the precaution of who it is he's opening the door for. But before he could even look through the hole, he hears, "Open the damn door already, dope!"

Only one person he knows calls him that.

"Sasuke?"

Quickly, the young teenage blonde unlocks his door and opens it – only for a pair of hands to reach out and grab him. By the time he even realized it, Sasuke has his arms wrapped around him, desperately holding him as if his life depended upon it.

"Sa..su…ke?" Naruto asks, his voice working a little slow with the shock of the raven hair's sudden, distressed hold. It almost feels as though the young Uchiha is scared of something or…

He's sorry for something.

"Naruto…" Sasuke's arms tighten around his blonde lover and now the boy is desperately confused and worried. The way that his voice sounded just now sounds so regretful. Like a sinner making a confession to a priest and wanting nothing more than forgiveness for his sin. Right now, the blonde teenager can see the body holding him begin to shake and quiver in whatever kind of feeling that's haunting him.

He decided that he needs to move.

It was only slightly and Naruto did it with caution to not frighten the raven hair teenager. Thankfully, he granted him the permission to move away. Naruto didn't move very far. Only far enough that he could see the beautiful, perfect ivory skin face he has come to care for so much. When his sky blue eyes gaze upon that face, he became stunned by the intense emotions emanating off of it…

And the dried evidence of what appears to have been tears.

On the Uchiha survivor's face is an expression of regret, loneliness, helplessness, and pain – lots of it. If Sasuke could be compared to something, it would be an inexperienced soldier who had just murdered innocent people who have been accused as traitors. Or maybe a child who had just lost his parents in a dreadful accident that he himself have caused. Or maybe…a person who had just pushed away and broken someone's heart that he himself have loved very deeply.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" he asked.

But the teenager doesn't answer. He just lowers his head down to the ground and stares at the floor beneath his foot. Naruto stares at his teammate as Sasuke bites his lip, cringing from what any kind of pain he's in. This boy is usually a strong person; physically and mentally. Naruto has always acknowledged him for it. Whatever it is, it must be something extremely torturous to make him like this and the blonde is clueless to what it could be. But at the same time he feels that whatever it is, it came from a small dark secret the raven hair boy told him long ago.

But it's impossible for that reason to come up now of all times!

Right?

Naruto grasps his lover's hands and leads him inside. "Come in." For now, he can ask about the reason why Sasuke is here later but at this very moment, he needs him. He has come to him in his time of need and it's up to the blonde teenager to help him get through it and hopefully, keep him.

Though as soon as he closed the door, he started to act like his usual, stupid self by suddenly moving everything to the side and picking up any piece of trash he can find.

"Ah hehe," Naruto lets out, looking at his teammate with a goofy, forced smile on his face as he continues to pick up trash. "Sorry about the mess! I wasn't expecting visitors to come any time soon. But yet again, I should probably clean my apartment regularly anyway, right? It's not healthy to have an unclean home all the time. A clean home is a healthy one, they always say!"

And the blonde is babbling. Very comforting, but he's nervous and people babble when they're nervous. But he needs to be calm and he needs to be smart. One thing is for certain is that his lover is in distress and it's up to him to make him feel better. Trying to act like yourself is a good way to start but it's not always very affective. Sometimes it doesn't help or it just makes things a lot worst.

By the time that Naruto got the last bit of trash in the trash can and the apartment is sort of clean, just needs some sweeping, dusting, and mopping, he turns around and says, "You can come in now. It's clean!" But when he turns around, he sees Sasuke at his dining table eating his ramen. "Hey!" he bellows. "That's my dinner!"

As if he just noticed it, Sasuke twitched in realization and lowered his chopsticks. "Sorry," he apologizes meekly. Hearing his voice and then seeing his mood going deeper into depression, Naruto also snaps back into awareness and instantly feels bad for yelling at him.

"It's alright," he tells him. "You can have it. I'll make myself another one." But as he goes to the cupboard to get another instant ramen, Sasuke didn't pick up the chopsticks and continue.

Strange though. He's not one who would eat ramen of his own free will. He's the one always complaining that it's all Naruto eats and that he doesn't want to waste his money buying the blonde anymore ramen. If the blonde wants it, he has to pay for it himself. But now in his depressing state, he goes to eat instant ramen like it's comfort food. Maybe it is since it's Naruto's favorite dish.

For the next four minutes, things have been silent between them. Naruto got his ramen and he poured more boiling water into it from the remaining water in the kettle he left on the dining table and he sat directly across from Sasuke and waited. Waited for his ramen to be ready and waited for Sasuke to move in some way or show that he's still alive in that beautiful body of his. But all he does is sit there, his bangs hiding his eyes from the blonde, and his body unmoving as if he's the one waiting for Naruto to say or do something.

Now this is getting deafening. The silence between them is deafening. Sasuke's ramen is definitely over cooked and Naruto's is getting there.

Say something. Anything at all, love. Why are you so silent?

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto finally calls, stretching his hand on the table as if reaching for the other across from him. "Did something happen? Earlier today, you were a lot cheerier than this. An ass like always but cheerier."

The blonde sits there as he sees Sasuke's hand clench into a tight grip and he bites his bottom lip again in both frustration and guilt. "I'm sorry, Naruto… I'm so sorry."

For what?

Now he's confused. What on earth should Sasuke feel sorry about? He didn't do anything wrong, at least not anything that Naruto noticed. And even when they acted like they're bitter, hated rivals, he didn't do anything too terribly wrong. Showed off a little and made Naruto look like an idiot for the blonde's own mistakes, but nothing worth apologizing for. So…what?

"Why are you apologizing?" Naruto's hand is placed on top of Sasuke's and he gently strokes it in warm, friendly comfort. "Teme, what are you apologizing for?"

"He came, Naruto…"

And then he knew.

Sasuke pulls his hand back as if Naruto's touch became a disease and his hands become lost in his silky raven locks. The blonde sits there, utterly stunned from his lover's words. He knows what Sasuke is talking about and he can feel his heart pounding in his chest at the knowledge to what he might say next.

"He came…I don't know why but he did and he…I'm so sorry, Naruto."

The small, dark secret that Sasuke told Naruto long ago right at the beginning of their relationship to test if the other is willing to go through with it or not was… when Sasuke was a little child, he fell in love with his older brother, Itachi and at the time he thought his feelings were returned. Uchiha Itachi, his older brother was his first. His real first kiss, his first sex, and his first love.

What only happened shortly after dropping Naruto home…

If there is one thing Sasuke wasn't expecting when he came home, he wasn't expecting a visitor. He didn't fully notice it at first. He thought it was from the bubbly feeling of bliss rushing through his veins after being with Naruto only a few moments ago. Their talk was sweet, simple, and just perfect. At the time, it felt like nothing could ruin his day. But as he entered further into his house and right when he was about to open the door to his room, he hears a voice.

"You appear a lot happier than I thought you would be."

But not just any voice. His voice.

Instantly, Sasuke quickly opens the door and he sees on his bed his intruder for the evening. Sitting on his bed, his satin black eyes first staring down at the floor before looking up at the boy is none other than Uchiha Itachi himself. Konoha's S-class criminal, the murderer of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke's older brother, and the man who broke the teenager's heart six years ago. He's just sitting there, his shoes off so maybe it's right outside the open window since it wasn't at the front door, letting the wind breeze in like a second intruder, his Akatsuki cloak still on for anyone to see that he's part of the organization, his headband with the scratch over the village's ninja symbol, and his Sharingan eyes inactivated. That is strange. From the last time Sasuke saw him, Itachi's Sharingan eyes were activated like they were always on twenty-four-seven. Why aren't they now? Well whatever it is, the younger Uchiha got over the shock and he didn't allow himself to relax for even half a second. His own Sharingan activates and he quickly goes to his ninja pack to swiftly take out a Kunai knife.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asks dangerously and as angry as he can to give the message 'you're not welcomed' to his brother. "If you come to capture Naruto again, I'll stop you right here!"

"So it's Naruto-kun who is the source of your happiness," Itachi concludes to himself, as if he didn't just hear his little brother's threat. He looks back down at the ground almost dejectedly and he says, "He's a good choice."

Hearing this man speak of his blonde like that causes Sasuke's blood to boil even more. What the hell makes him think that he can just come here and believe he can read his little brother like a book like how he used to? Just listening to his voice and even seeing him is making every bit of anger and hatred Sasuke has spent over the years building up burn like a giant bon fire at a festival. Using his voice as a distraction, he slyly goes to his pack again to reach for two shuriken.

"If you even come near him again, I'll kill you!"

He shoots the two shuriken at Uchiha's murderer but right before they even hit him, Itachi's Sharingan became activated and he disappeared – causing the shuriken to stab the wall. Then his presence is felt behind Sasuke. The boy quickly turns around, thrusting his fistt as well and like he thought, Itachi catches it effortlessly. He then aims his kunai knife at the man's throat but with his other free hand, the Uchiha murderer catches that too. Sasuke has another move in mind to try and hit this man again. So many other moves and endless possibilities pass through his mind but before he could even twitch a limb, he's pinned to a wall with his brother's hands on his wrist and his body pressed against him to prevent any type of movement that could be caused of kicking or anything else. Not even Sasuke's Sharingan caught him moving so quickly. The boy tries to struggle but his brother's hold is just too strong. He can't break free and Itachi is just standing there, pinning him down as if it were nothing. Like none of Sasuke's attempts can do anything to pray this man off.

"Get off me!" he finally roars, his voice deep and horse from his attempts to escape.

But then Itachi asks him, "Are you happy with him, Sasuke?"

That became unexpected and it causes the younger Uchiha to halt his struggles and look at the man before him, now without his Sharingan again, and he looks directly into the boy's own Sharingan activated, analyzing eyes. "What?"

"I know you heard me."

He heard him. He's just surprised that this man would even ask that. Why would he care after six years of no contact what so ever? He LEFT him after murdering their parents and clan and he showed it to Sasuke through the Tsukiyomi – playing their deaths before his young mind at the age of seven, traumatizing him. Then after leaving him alone to cry and swallow in his own loneliness and misery. Why in the world should Sasuke answer him after he came back, tried to kidnap his lover, and practically beat the crap out of him then ending it with another look at the death of his clan?

"Why should I tell you anything?" he challenges. "What the hell makes you think you deserve to know about my life, huh?"

For a moment, Itachi doesn't say anything and that just greatens Sasuke's suspicion. Curiosity batters at his mind like Lee's constant kicks and punches on a practicing tree trunk. Why does this man stall? "As I said before, he's a good choice. Someone who will never hurt you the way I have." And then the boy's expression slips, but just a little. His eyes slightly widen as those Satin eyes gaze right through him like a sword through flesh. But then the eyes look just a little sad, but only like a tiny spec in those cold, black abysses. "Someone who will stay by your side and will never abandon you for any reason. That's the kind of person he is."

This angered the raven hair boy greatly. "And how would you know? Huh?" Itachi has only met the blonde once and it was from an attempt to kidnap him. How could he possibly believe that Naruto is that kind of person?

"Because he is the exact opposite of me."

This catches Sasuke off guard. For a moment, he doesn't glare or scream at the man pinning him to the wall. He stares, his red Sharingan eyes scrutinizing for any signs of trickery. But there is none. Just truthful words being said from a murderer's lips. There is still anger and distrust in Sasuke's eyes but Itachi ignores it for the most part so he can lean his forehead against his baby brother's. This catches the boy off guard.

"What are you-"

"Just a little longer," he pleads, interrupting and confusing the younger Uchiha. Itachi doesn't even look at the boy. He actually closes his eyes and breathes this luscious, innocent scent that can belong to no one else but his little brother. His beloved, adorable little brother… "A little longer and I will leave. Then the next time we meet, you can try to kill me again."

Usually, Sasuke would have said something like, 'I will kill you, you bastard,' or even something similar to that. But from his older brother's plead, the contact of his skin, and the feel of his breath on his lips, he just feels so powerless against him, like always. So he just stays there, perfectly still and silent as Itachi takes all the time he needs being this close to his little brother before forcing himself to pull away and releasing his wrists. Staying that close to him is enough to satisfy him for the night.

But not enough to leave for who knows how many years again.

"Bye, Sasuke."

Then he turns around and heads for the window he came in. So that's it? He's just going to leave as if this was normal? That it's common to just trespass into your old home through a window, pin your little brother to a wall, and leave like nothing happened? Oh hell no. There is no way that Sasuke is going to let him leave like that. Not while he's still standing and conscious.

"Hold on!"

By the time Itachi stopped and turned his head to look over his shoulder, Sasuke is already right in front of him and it becomes his turn to pin him down; only on the floor lying on his back and his little brother sitting on top of him with the kunai knife still in his hands and his Sharingan still active while filled with rage and hatred for the man under him. The younger Uchiha presses the edge of his blade against the Akatsuki member's neck and he growls when not even an emotion of caution for being threatened appears on the man's face. "I want you to tell me exactly why you came here! I know you didn't just come here, risking the chance of an ANBU finding you just to act like you give a shit and give me approval of who I'm with. Tell me right now, you murderous fuck!"

"You wouldn't care if I gave you my approval or not," Itachi answers. "Who you are with is entirely your business and none of mine. I simply wanted to know what is the cause of the happiness I saw on your face earlier today." That really is something Sasuke doesn't want to hear.

He was spying on them and no one noticed? His powers grow each day that it nearly shook Sasuke down to his core knowing this. How much stronger is his brother becoming? How big will the gap between them continue to grow before he finally catches up?

Overcoming his one moment shock, Sasuke glares down at his older brother and a growl rumbles from his throat. "What the hell are you? Some kind of sick psychopath? You have no right to know about my life and to know if I'm happy or not! What makes you think you do?" He presses the blade closer, really hoping that he can cause some kind of a reaction like realization that this ninja is not fooling around or even fear that he really will die here. The fear would actually please Sasuke greatly, knowing that his brother actually recognizes him as a ninja stronger and more deadly than him.

"Absolutely nothing."

But instead he gets a blunt answer like that and it deeply shocks the boy to hear it. He wasn't expecting an answer like that at all. He couldn't even believe that he heard that but from the impassive expression on Itachi's face, what is there for him to believe that he didn't say it?

Nothing…

"That's right," Sasuke agrees once he got over his shock. He repeats, "Absolutely nothing, because you are nothing to me but the murderer of my life."

He should just kill right here, right now. Just end it all. In a way, Sasuke has the advantage. His knife is up against a man's throat and he can easily slice a life vein to kill in a matter of minutes; even if he was pushed away he could still do just that. But he doesn't move.

"Why do you hesitate?" the older Uchiha brother asks. "Just kill me already, Sasuke. I won't stop you."

And this surprises the younger Uchiha yet again. It practically causes him to yell out, "Why? Are you suicidal now? Just moments ago, you were trying not to get killed and now you want to die? What the fuck is going on in that sick, twisted brain of yours?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Now this confuses the Uchiha teenager and in his moment of puzzlement, his older brother makes his move. Sasuke didn't expect this to happen and it happened too fast. It was one moment he had Itachi at the neck and then his kunai knife was knocked to the side, his brother was sitting up, and his lips found Sasuke's – his movements once again too fast for the teenager's Sharingan eyes to catch. For a moment, the younger Uchiha was just frozen. His eyes widen when he realized that he feels these lips that had been long since forgotten pressed against his own. His mind just blew up into a total blank and Itachi was able to raise his hand to the boy's face to cup his cheek and pull him a little closer to intensify the kiss. It was just a simple kiss. No tongue, no passionate intensions, or deceitful lies; just a simple kiss and the sweet desperation to feel them once more. The shock of it all made Sasuke's Sharingan disappear and confused and stunned onyx eyes took its place. Then all of a sudden from the floor of his room, Sasuke gets pushed back to then lie on his bed and his family's murderer over him, their lips not once parted from each other.

That was when he started to struggle. But his older brother's easily takes care of it as the passion of the kiss begins to take over. Sasuke first moaned in rejection and his arms were going to push Itachi off him but the Uchiha prodigy grasped the boy's wrists and pins it over his head with one hand while the other still strokes the soft, porcelain cheek. When the older Uchiha's tongue begins to become involved by forcing itself inside and exploring the younger one's mouth, it was then Sasuke tried to use his legs. But with Itachi pressing himself between his legs, the boy can't get enough room to get between the two bodies and push the Akatsuki member off. Then his strength begins to slip away and his will begins to disintegrate as this long lost feeling continues.

A feeling Sasuke has been trying to feel towards Naruto.

Sasuke begins to panic, besides also feeling the secret joy of feeling that wondrous tongue doing amazing in his mouth that he missed for so long. He tries to struggle harder, resisting the urge to let the man do as he pleased when in his mind, he knows he can't let that happen. He has a boyfriend now and it's not the one who's deepening the kiss once the hand that was on his cheeked moves to the back of his head to pull him closer.

But this mouth…This taste…It has been so long and he missed it terribly. He remembered years ago, which feels like centuries actually, when he had his first kiss with him, and his first sex with him. It was when he asked Itachi about the kiss he saw his mother and father shared one night. His older brother explained that when two people love each other they would express it with their lips and their body movement without saying a single word about it. Kissing on the lips was one of them. So in his naïve curiosity, Sasuke asked him if he would kiss him. At first, the young teenager was uncertain about this but his baby brother insisted on it and so Itachi made him promise that if they do it, they are not to utter a word about it to anyone. A secret between them. With Sasuke's promise, Itachi gave him a kiss and then that kiss led to so much more. It was first simple and Itachi at first intended it to be fast but the kiss ended up lasting longer when they both felt something in the pit of their stomachs. They liked it and so the chaste kiss became a passionate kiss and then hot and heavy make out. They both were going at it by instinct and it took every control the older Uchiha boy had to stop before going too far. It really wasn't long after that when their parents wouldn't be home till late one night did they continue into a sinful but blissful act of love between them. Sasuke may not have known that what they were doing was something no normal person could ever understand but he did knew that he had grown to love his brother with all of his heart and his very soul.

Then that same man killed his parents, his clan, and destroyed his heart.

When Itachi finally broke the kiss to get some air for his and his little brother's lungs, Sasuke first gasped for air, a spring of saliva connecting his mouth with his brother's and a trail of drool at the corner of his mouth. But the older Uchiha only allows a second of panting before latching his mouth again to his baby brother. Sasuke makes the mistake of returning it for only a second before remembering that he needs to stop this before it'll lead to something he knows he will gravely regret.

"Itachi…" he was able to gasp out when the man parted a little to suck on the boy's lower lip. Hearing that he wants to talk and partly not wanting to hear it at this point, Itachi moves his lips from Sasuke's mouth to his chin and slowly down to his neck – giving the boy's skin butterfly kisses and causing his cheeks to bloom into bloody red roses. Sasuke spoke as if he were panting. "…Stop it...! Why…why are you doing…this…?"

Itachi sucks on his brother's skin and the boy keeps the moan that so desperately wishes to be heard in his chest. Then when the man bites his skin, trying to leave his mark on the squirming body, Sasuke releases a hiss from both the small pain and the pleasure of feeling his brother's well missed touch on his body.

"Because you wanted to know what was going in my mind, otouto," Itachi answered after releasing his otouto's skin. Sasuke tensed up a little after he heard that and Itachi lifts himself up a little to look the boy in the eye; satin eyes against onyx eyes, no Sharingan involved what-so-ever. His one free hand allows his fingers to brush against Sasuke's cheek before saying, "This is what's been going on in my mind," and before making his hand smoothes its way down the boy's torso, his side, and finally his waist. The younger Uchiha practically shook under his brother's touch when that hand goes under his navy blue shirt and lightly tickles his navel. He can feel his shorts suddenly growing too tight for him and when Itachi lifted a leg to rub against his crotch, he practically bit back a moan to keep it only to himself. But he couldn't keep all of it and some of it escaped to sound like a whimper. "Now you know…" Sasuke looks back at his brother and Itachi leans closer to him so that their lips are only centimeters away and he finishes, "…and it's up to you on what to do about it," then he kisses him simply again, waiting. He even loosens his hold on Sasuke's wrists to prove what he just said.

Just move! React! Push the bastard off and tell him to screw with someone else! He can even do it to his shark-wanna-be of a partner for cripes sake! But that is what Sasuke's mind is telling him though the thick fog of yearning and lust that has long been clouding the boy's mind since the first kiss between them broke for air. What his body and his heart tells him is to give in. Give in and feel the irresistible love he has been denied for so many years. He graves for it now like a starving kitten pleading for milk.

And so, Sasuke closes his eyes blissfully and kisses Itachi back with his wrists still over his head and one hand searching for his brother's so he can entwine their fingers once again.

Hours later…

Itachi was getting ready to leave. He put his clothes back on and he just finished buttoning up his cloak before taking one glance back at his sleeping little brother; who lies there with nothing but a sheet to cover him from his waist down. The rest of it must have left his upper body bare after the older Uchiha successfully slipped away from his little brother's clinging arms and the warm bed of their love making. Before the younger one of them catches a cold, Itachi walks over to him and pulls the sheets up to Sasuke's shoulders to keep him warm.

He used to do that when Sasuke was little. When the boy would have a cold and their mother would ask Itachi to watch over him as she prepares something for her sickly child to eat, or when Sasuke would have a nightmare and go to his older brother's room for comfort. If Itachi wasn't asleep, he would tuck Sasuke into his bed before joining him decades of minutes after the boy had fallen asleep. Now he does it again to make sure that his little brother stays warm as his last bit of brotherly affection before he goes off again.

Disappearing from Sasuke's life once more.

After the boy is nicely tucked in, Itachi makes a move towards the boy's head, to pet that soft hair of his again. But before he could, he stops himself. If he is to leave, he's best to be going now before Sasuke wakes up. It was chancy enough that the Uchiha genius puts the covers back on his little brother, but it was riskier to come here in the first place. So many people can become witnesses – some of the Konoha ninja, the village's pedestrians, the ANBU Black Ops, or maybe the Akatsuki themselves. Kisame must be wondering where his partner ran off to by now, if not only an hour after Itachi arrived back at his home village.

So he pulls his hand back and stares a little longer at the boy resting before him; his expression blank of any emotion whatsoever, like always. He turns around and get's ready to leave.

"Itachi, wait."

A hand reaches out and grasps his cloak. Itachi stops walking and he slightly turns his head to look over his shoulder and see Sasuke awake and his hand gripping onto his cloak. He's looking at him with dark pools filled with wanting and plea. "Don't go, please," he softly begs.

Seeing him like this didn't cause any external reaction but internally, Itachi feels a pull in his chest. His baby brother appears so helpless lying there, as if he were seven years old. The older Uchiha turns completely towards the younger one and Sasuke's hand slides off his robe as he faces him. Then the Akatsuki member kneels besides him, like how he used to years ago and the boy would cry for him after a bad dream, and he says to him, "I must. You still need to kill me."

But the boy asks, "Do I?"

Hearing that causes the older Uchiha to twitch his finger. Then his eyes narrow at the boy and Sasuke becomes confused with this reaction. It may not be visible to those who don't know him but for those that do, like his younger brother, the small bit of guilt and the shame can be visible before their eyes on the man's face. At first, it would have confused Sasuke greatly to know why his brother would look like this, but that was before Itachi spoke again.

"It was a mistake to come here. I shouldn't have bothered…" If he had left it at that, Sasuke's eyes would have widened and then his heart would once again fall down to the floor and break into a thousand pieces. But he didn't leave it just like that. His hand reached for his little brother's soft raven locks and he gently pets that hair. Sasuke first looks at the hand in confusion before looking back into those satin eyes. "…but I had to. I took everything from you. You have to kill me." And his hand pulls back. Then he will leave and things will be exactly as how it was before.

Itachi was going to leave Sasuke again in that dark, dark place full of misery, loneliness, despair and tears. Who would ever want to return to that?

Quickly, like he was a child again, Sasuke quickly grasps Itachi's wrist and uses it to pull himself up and hopefully pull Itachi a little closer so that he may wrap his arms around his big brother's waist. Itachi remains indifferent to this action but this does prevent him for moving for a bit and it brings memories of when Sasuke would be scared or relieved, when either it was of the older Uchiha brother would going off for ANBU missions or coming home from them. This hold is similar to the one of Itachi going off for ANBU missions. Sasuke hold is tight and his body is slightly shaking. "But you have given me so much more. Please…" His arms tighten around the man's waist and he buries his face deeper into his abdomen. "At least stay a little longer."

'Please, nii-san…Don't go…Just stay here with me…please?'

His pleading voice is so similar to the pleading cry of his seven year old self. One of the many differences between then and now is Sasuke is older so his voice is deeper than it used to be. But the clarity and the emotions in the voice are all the same.

At this point, anyone would just hug the raven head and comforted him back to sleep. But Itachi is different. He closes his eyes for a moment, suppressing any desirable need to hold this boy close to his body again and obey his little cries. When he opened his eyes again, they became expressionless pools once again and this time more colder than how they were a moment before.

"I violated you for Naruto-kun."

And Sasuke gasps. Naruto! From this small little reunion between him and his elder brother, the boy actually forgot about the blonde. The one who is always faithful to him and him alone, and here he is who just had sex with someone else. Being reminded of that gave Itachi the opportunity to pry the once death grip arms off of him. The shock and realization he left on Sasuke is very visible on the boy's face. Any man who loved this boy deeply would feel guilty for making him realize what exactly he has done when he should have stopped in the very beginning. But Itachi suppressed these kinds of emotions before he revealed reality.

However, removing Sasuke's arms wasn't the only thing he did. His hands go to a stunned Uchiha's head and he cups the boy's cheeks. He looked directly into Sasuke's eyes after kneeling to his level but the younger Uchiha's eyes are staring down at the floor in shock and horror of what he has done. "He is your future now. Not I." Then Itachi's lips are pressed again his little brother's forehead. Another small act of brotherly affection that he used to bestow upon the boy in their childhood. His lips linger on the soft skin it touches, however, and for the first time that night, so much guilt and pain appears on Itachi's face as it crunches up in how strong these emotions he's feeling are.

He doesn't want to leave. He doesn't want the last words he says to the one he loves to be words of realization of how dire the crime they have committed really is.

But he has to. For both of their sakes.

"Farewell."

"Then he just left," Sasuke whispers, confessing the last detail of what had just happened before abusing Naruto's doorbell. "He just…left. As if he were never really there in the first place." His hand grips the hair on his head tighter than the grip he already has on it and he grits his teeth together just as much. All during his story, Naruto has just sat there across from his seme on the dining table; taking in every word that left his mouth. "I am…so sorry, Naruto. I don't expect forgiveness, nor do I want you to. I just…wanted you to know how sorry I am to have allowed that to happen. I'm so sorry."

Never before has the blonde heard his lover apologize so greatly all during their time together. Sasuke was never one to apologize no matter what, and now here he is apologizing exactly like a sinner in a church. In fact, his story just sounded like one great confession of sin.

But sin of what?

All he did really was follow his emotions and allowed his heart to feel just a bit of happiness while it had the chance. So why is he regretting it?

Is it because he's already in a relationship with Naruto, and so he must remain faithful to him always, no matter what? It's not considered adultery since the two of them are not married, but they are supposed to be in love with one another. And yet, the blonde doesn't blame him.

Before the young Uchiha knew it, he feels arms wrap around his head and he's pulled towards a chest for him to lean against. A warm and comforting chest with a pleasant but excited heartbeat. He truly did not expect to feel this. Nor did he expect to hear the words Naruto spoke after he had his lover securely in his arms.

"Even if you don't want it, I'm giving it to you anyway!" he proclaims. Sasuke's eyes widen when he heard that and Naruto's arms tighten around him; just as his own arms had tighten around Itachi. "I've known all this time that I can never replace Itachi and you shouldn't try to either! He was your first everything, just as you are mine. He has a place in your heart as you told me that I too have a place. I may not know what it's like but I do know that it must be hard trying to get over him, no matter how much time passes because deep down you want things to return to how they used to be with you in his arms instead of in mine."

"Naruto…"

Oh how the young Uchiha wants to tell him that it not's true. That he doesn't want things to return to how they used to be because it's already past the point of no return. Things can never go back and Naruto is his time now. But before he could, the young blonde quickly shakes his head back and forth to keep him from saying anymore than his name.

"Let me speak, Sasuke," he says. "I know that I have just been his replacement. Since the day you told me about him, I've known; and yet, I really didn't care." Sasuke's onyx eyes widen even more when he heard that, like Naruto discovered the dark hidden truth that Sasuke has spent months or even years trying to tell himself differently. He has discovered the truth behind truths. At this point, he couldn't even think straight. All he can do is remain frozen in his lover's arms as Naruto gains a soft and loving smile while his arms gently tighten around him. "Just so long as I get to be by your side, I was happy. Even now, I am. I'm overjoyed."

"But… why?" Naruto shouldn't be telling Sasuke this. He should be hurt, angry, screaming and yelling at him to never show his face to him again. But instead he's taking this act of unfaithfulness with forgiving gestures and kind words. This isn't what's supposed to happen. "I…"

But Naruto stops him short again. "Instead of sulking in your room for the rest of the night and then not looking at me in the eye the next day so I can wonder if there was something that I've done wrong, you decided to come here and tell me the truth without any plea for forgiveness. You just wanted to confess. It makes me happy because it means that you care about me enough to tell me the truth. Although…" This time when his arms tighten around Sasuke, they feel desperate like it wasn't the boy in his arms he wasn't trying to pull back together – it was himself. "…you shouldn't regret what happened."

Forgiveness was one thing that Sasuke didn't expect but to hear Naruto telling him not to regret what he did, how much he knows he hurt Naruto when he told him, how much misery and confusion he caused for the both of them? He doesn't want him to regret doing that?

"What do you mean?" he asks, not believing what the blonde just told him.

"Regret it, you really shouldn't," he answers. "You were able to be with him, even for just a moment. It's a memory that should be precious to you, not a waking nightmare you can't forget. Treasure it, teme. Just as I will treasure this moment instead of feeling hurt, sad and betrayed."

"Naruto…"

How is it that when Sasuke first arrived, he wanted nothing more than be punished for what he's done? Repent for even allowing himself to be taken by the man who not only took everything away from him and broke him beyond repair, and yet all Naruto has to do is say a few simple words and he feels less guilty and depressed about it than he did before. He still wants to be punished for what he did but for now, he wouldn't mind staying in this blessed warmth and feeling the gentle love this dope has to offer him. He relaxes in Naruto's arms for just a little while longer.

"And he's was right, you know." Sasuke looks up at him this time. No widen eyes or gasping shock; just a curious and slightly confused look in his eyes. If it weren't already possible that Naruto might crush his lover, the blonde tightens his arms just a little more and he snuggles closer to him. "I will never leave your side, no matter what. I love you, Sasuke. I want to remain by your side, to support you, to make you smile and laugh like how you used to, and to protect you from any harm. Whenever you need me, I'll be there for you. I promise with all of my heart."

As the blonde was so lovingly and so desperately holding his lover in his arms, he didn't notice Sasuke's eyes narrowing in guilt and his face crunching in the same say. He gritted his teeth together and leans a little closer to just feel this love a little longer. "Naruto, thank you."

It wasn't long after that night that Sasuke left Konoha to train under the dark teachings of one of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru, choosing revenge over a happy life in Konoha.

Choosing Itachi over Naruto.

"Naruto, are you alright?"

The sixteen year old blonde woke up hearing that question. Still affected by sleep, his mind was still in a haze as he blinked his eyes open to a room not his own and also on a bed that's not his own. He was lying on his side and when he heard his name being called again, he looks over his upper shoulder to see the person he slept with last night. A male similar to him in not only age but loneliness, childhood, and tailed beasts sealed inside. Or they used to have that in common before just recently.

Gaara is sitting up on the bed shirtless with worry and concern in his turquoise eyes. Only yesterday, Naruto and his team saved him from the Akatsuki but not before his tailed beast or Shukaku was stolen from him. Naruto was terrified and deeply sadden when he thought the red-head had died, but thanks to a retired sand ninja Gaara is able to see the light of another day. The Konoha ninjas who came to save the Sand's Kazekage intended to head out the day they returned Gaara back to his village but they were able to persuade them to stay at least one night to rest. Especially for Kakashi who unfortunately overused his Mangekyo Sharingan. It gave the former Jinchuriki and the Leaf's Jinchuriki time to give into their desires and spend their night in passionate bliss.

"Oh, Gaara! How do you feel?" Naruto asks, lifting himself up and rubbing an eye to wipe the sleep right off. Even though Gaara is the one who appears concern, Naruto is asking the red-head his well being after only what happened yesterday. The blonde the blonde was the uke last night

"I'm fine. But…" Gaara's hand rises to Naruto's face and he strokes his tanned cheek on the opposite side he was rubbing his eyes. "…you're crying."

Hearing that, Naruto's sky blue eyes widen. He replaces Gaara's hand and touch his cheek. It's wet and looking at the tears on his fingers, he's convinced that he was crying. Quickly to assure the kazekage, he wipes the rest of it away and looks to the side in his embarrassment.

"Oh this? This is nothing!" he says. "I just had a bad dream that's all." Then he puts on his famous 'no problem' grin in hopes that Gaara will let the subject go but unfortunately, the red-head is not convinced.

"It was about Uchiha Sasuke wasn't it?"

This time, Naruto gasps when he heard that. He looks back at his nightly seme and Gaara adds, "You were calling his name in your sleep."

The blonde has been caught red-handedly. His blue eyes became pools of guilt and shame and he makes the same face Sasuke once made that night he just had a dream about. Right now, he can't even look at Gaara. He must think that he's been used by the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, and he was. Naruto used him only to get laid. Not that he doesn't care for him. He does. It's just that after seeing Itachi, the one who stole his first love away from him, it made him think of Sasuke and Gaara just happened to be there. Offering him a chance to release his passionate affections for the blonde's beloved raven hair Uchiha.

"I'm sorry, Gaara," he apologizes in his guilt. Now he feels like crying again and curl up into a ball. He wants to just shrink and disappear right there and then. From the pit of his stomach, he feels like the absolute worst creature to have ever been born into this world.

Is this how Sasuke felt that night?

"I've always known that I'm only his replacement."

Once again, the blonde became shocked with the words that have left the Kazekage's mouth. He quickly, again, look back at the red-head male and nothing but truth and sincerity departs from his lips. "I believe he is your first everything, correct? You're first kiss, you're first sex, and you're first love. It's not easy getting over that. I may not know since you are my first but I do know that if you decide to go to someone else, I won't be able to get over you so easily. You love Uchiha Sasuke as much as I have come to love you. Since you saved me from the darkness, I've grown to love you and when you saved me yesterday, it made me very happy. Just as being here with me makes me happy, even if my love won't be returned. Once you get Uchiha Sasuke back and you decide to be with him, I just want you to know I want nothing but happiness for you. But if not, I will never leave your side." His hand returns to the bewildered blonde and he strokes that soft, tear stained cheek. "I'll stay with you, be there for you when you fall, be a shoulder for you to cry on, make you smile and laugh as you have done that for me, and I want to make you the happiest person alive. Remember that, please."

For the longest moment, Naruto didn't say anything. He only stares at the kazekage with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open in his shock. With his prolonged silence, anyone would have been uneasy and feel as though maybe he had said something wrong. But Gaara does not think like that. He is a patient man and he can see on the blonde's face that he said anything bad. The truth can be both good and bad and the look on the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki's face is a good reaction. Nothing bad. And it shouldn't be since those words he just spoke are the same words Naruto told Sasuke three years ago.

However, comparing the two times, Naruto acts differently.

He smiles at the red hair man and he leans into his touch.

"I will. Thank you, Gaara."

Then he looks at the former Shukaku Jinchuriki and from a small conversation with their eyes, both teenagers lean towards each other until their lips became lock in a simple kiss filled with nothing but simple, true love.

However before being completely overcome with this perfect kiss, Naruto takes the time to think of one more thing as if sending a message to a well missed, beloved Uchiha.

'Sasuke, I don't regret being with Gaara in replace of you. I will always love you, no matter what and I will bring you back home. However if you still want to chase after Itachi, please make the decision that will make you the happiest and whatever it may be, never regret it. No matter what.'

So how was it? Good? Bad? Let me know and remember. My first TEN reviewers get to vote. See ya and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NARUTO!