This chapter has been revised. I read it once it online and I saw the errors. My apologies for that.

Okay, please enjoy this revision and remember. Reviews are always welcomed. I like knowing what you all think about the story.


Chapter Three: Curveballs and Cuts

Three weeks after he had moved in with the Uchiha brothers brought a noticeable change in Naruto. He was much more relaxed and comfortable around them if his little pranks and horrid attempts at cooking were anything to go by.

Two days after Naruto invited himself into their home, Itachi received a visit from Naruto's lawyers. To Itachi's consternation, Naruto's guardian signed over temporary guardianship of one Naruto Minato Namikaze to Itachi. Both were flabbergasted but the sudden move by the man who only said in during his very brief telephone conversation with them that this was for the best. And to prove that he was serious, Jiraya had Naruto's estate closed and ordered his staff to return to the Namikaze's main residence back in Japan.

Naruto's butler arrived two days later to personally deliver his young master's clothing and personal effects to the Uchihas modest two-story Cape Cod home. The old man that had served the last three generations of Namikaze had been nearly heartbroken to leave Naruto in the foreign country with an American guardian he had never once met or even spoken to over the telephone. It impressed Itachi greatly to see how much the older gentleman cared for the parentless boy to best of capabilities due to his position. Itachi did not take offense when the Namikaze's butler asked for a tour of his home. The old man stayed late into the afternoon, watching the under butlers unpacked the guestroom that would serve as their master's bedroom. It was three bedroom house, Itachi had moved into his parents' bedroom only in the spring.

The butler had been the last of the Namikaze staff to leave, Itachi had left him alone as the man perform his final duty for Naruto in America by unpacking and preparing Naruto's room for when he returned from school. When he finally left, Itachi accepted that Naruto was officially in his care.

Naruto quickly learned that Itachi was no pushover.

The first few weeks were filled with a lot of teenage drama from the boy, who for so long had been allowed to run wild since his father's death. Itachi was patient but firm and Naruto realized rather quickly that if he wanted to stay in America and with the brothers that he was going to have work with the brothers. For Naruto, it was not an easy transition from his former home life of wealth and privilege to a middle class working home with an actual guardian, who seemed to care about Naruto's education as well as his well-being. Itachi told Naruto upfront the boy was not obligated to have a job, Jiraya had given Itachi fifty thousand dollars for housing and feeding Naruto, plus Naruto still had access to his own funds, but Itachi insisted that he help around the house and Naruto had to get his grades up.

From that moment, there were no disciplinary complaints from the school, but then Naruto was no longer associating with Kiba or trying to win over Sakura. Since the day of Sasuke and Naruto's encounter in the washroom, Naruto had in a sense gone into hiding is plain sight. Having discovered how the others students thought of him before they learned that he was rich forced Naruto to take a hard look at himself because he could honestly say that he did not like the person he had become.

With Itachi's encouragement Naruto started seeing a psychologist. About two months after he had moved in with them, Naruto had a horrible breakdown. Itachi did something for Naruto that not even Jiraya had ever done for him, he stayed and for someone as broken and alone as Naruto, that was best thing anyone could have done for him.

Itachi told Sasuke the next morning he did not leave Naruto the entire night because he feared the kid might actually hurt himself. There was so much hurt, anger, and self-loathing a person could repress before it finally exploded, and without going into details, Itachi felt sorry for the kid but he was determined to get Naruto through it.

Sasuke had left his brother home with broken boy after Itachi insisted that they would be okay and that Sasuke, for the moment, was not needed.

In school, although Naruto's grades and attendance were improving, his status as the outcast was only being confirmed.

At school, Sasuke would sometimes hear the cruel remarks of those who were jealous Naruto and they wanted what was once so freely given to them and as the months went by, the jealousy turned into something more mean and spiteful.

People were no longer content with watching the boy with covetous eyes, they began spreading rumors and telling lewd lies about Naruto and his relationship with the two brothers that were utterly ridiculous as well a sickening in their perversion. To Sasuke many sordid fantasies were so ludicrous that they were laughable, but there were a few that were so malicious and disturbing that it caused a shiver to race up Sasuke's spine as he met the jealous fiend's gaze as he drove up to school with Naruto every morning. Kiba Inuzuka was determined to get back what once his and he saw Sasuke as an obstacle in his plans so he set out to ruin his reputation and humiliate Naruto thinking that shamed, Naruto would return to Kiba's side and everything would go back to way it was before.

Unfortunately for Kiba, Sasuke was gay and he never made a secret of it nor did he care what other though about it. His personal life was his and he would be damned if he going to let the mindless gossips of the school get to him. But if this was only about him in this mess, Sasuke wouldn't have given two shits about what was being said, but Naruto was a different story. The kid was still in a fragile state that it was possible any jabs at his sexuality could possibly send the brat over the edge.

It was not that Sasuke hadn't thought about being with Naruto since he had come to know and live in the same house with the boy. Sasuke would have to be blind and heterosexual to not want to bend that little blond Japanese boy over and thoroughly raid his ass. Naruto was small-boned and just at medium height. He had boyishly handsome face with a large, full-lipped animated mouth that was quick to smile when he was pleased or happy.

God, Naruto was such a pretty little thing, who was desperately vulnerable that it would have been so easy to take him and bend him into whatever Sasuke depraved mind could conjure, and Sasuke had a pretty twisted mind when it came to sex. But unfortunately, seducing Naruto was not a simple as the little idiots in their school though it was. For starters, Naruto had an almost pathetic need to belong.

Itachi explained that for Naruto, being viewed as something outside of societal norms would only terrify the boy and thus cause him revert back into the role Naruto established for himself before he came to live with them.

It was a conversation that Itachi though they needed to have when saw Sasuke staring at the other boy a little too long. Sasuke assured his brother that he had no immediate, sexual interest in Naruto, but when he though Itachi wasn't looking Sasuke was having a hard time keeping his eyes from Naruto.

Sasuke was no debauched rake. He had no intentions of forcing his attentions on Naruto before the boy was ready. He knew Itachi was right about Naruto, it was why he told him about the rumors going around school about them. If pressured, Naruto would fall into the trap that was being laid for him by those capacious little bitches at the school who wanted their golden goose back.

Sasuke did not know which would be worst or better yet, why cared aside from wanting to one day sleep with the other boy. On the upside Naruto if fell back into the clutches of money grubbing riff-raff at school, he would go back home and be out of Sasuke and Itachi's lives. But the small bit of humanity that Itachi had tried to instill inside of Sasuke wanted to save the kid from those assholes by reaching out to the prick.

It was hard to forget to big blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears staring up at him as Naruto's world fell around his ears.

Three months after Naruto had moved into his home, and the first time Sasuke and the kid are alone, Sasuke decided to get the rumor situation out in the open because quite frankly, he was sick of it Naruto trying to pretend that it did not affect him.

Itachi left that morning for a conference in Boston and he would be gone for four days, six if he decided to spend the upcoming weekend with his girlfriend in Canaan.

Sasuke's boss had given him two weeks off with pay so Sasuke could focus on his midterms, which left him at home alone with Naruto in the evenings for the entire week. Tonight was their first night together, and it was now that Sasuke decided to talk to Naruto about the rumors that were going around the school.

Sasuke had made a simple supper of spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread. A salad sat on the table along the remains of the cake Itachi's girlfriend had brought over the night before.

Naruto was too busy pushing his food around on his plate to notice the pensive gaze that had been focused on him since they had sat down. It was easy for Sasuke to decipher what was eating at the kid, the school's gossips must have chomping at their bits and nearly burning everyone's ear off who would listen with news that Naruto had been seen in Sasuke's arms in the library that afternoon. It was true, of course, but the rest was just utter bullshit.

Did Sasuke fail to mention Naruto had two left feet on a regular basis, but when he excited, the kid was completely uncoordinated and a hazard to anyone within a two mile radius? As it happened, Naruto had been excited, grinning from ear to ear as he proudly showed Sasuke his marks on a several tests. Two A's and one B, the idiot had proudly proclaimed, his first in a long time and it was thanks to Sasuke and Itachi he babbled.

Naruto was happy, his eyes shone with a brilliance that could shame sapphires, and his smile was the definition of happiness. Sasuke did not protest when the pretty little Japanese boy threw his arms around him, gushing and bubbling in his native tongue, having forgotten that Sasuke didn't speak Japanese in his joy.

Now hours later, in the solitude of Uchihas' house and alone with Sasuke, Naruto was confused and frightened.

Naruto wasn't homosexual, but the rumors about him and Sasuke said different. In gym, he had heard the other guys talking about them, whispering as they stared openly at him. Naruto knew they would not touch him or hurt him, his money insured that no matter how rabid of a homophobe a person might be they could not touch him physically. But his money could not protect him from the nasty rumors and innuendos that were running wild through the school gossip mill.

The sound of a chair moving back caused Naruto took look up.

Sasuke had moved his chair back, his heavy left arm was thrown over the back as he leaned back, studying him. Naruto could see dark stubble on Sasuke's cheeks and chin; it gave the older boy a more mature and masculine look. Unconsciously, Naruto shifted under that heavy gaze but it was rather difficult, Sasuke was intense and demanding, nothing about the other was gentle, he could devour Naruto—

"I suppose you heard the latest round of garbage making its way around the gossips mills today," Sasuke finally spoke, his gravelly voice breaking the sudden tension that had enveloped them.

Absently, Naruto nodded, his gaze shifted down his hands that had fallen into his lap. "Yeah," he murmured, "It's pretty crazy, right?"

A dark brow quirked, "It is only an exaggeration of what happened," Sasuke replied evenly.

Naruto laughed quietly, "They really want to humiliate me," he looked up at Sasuke, his gaze defiant and yet yearning, "I'm not gay, Sasuke. Please, you have to believe me, I wasn't trying to pull anything or cause trouble for you. I was just excited and wanted to share it with someone close to me."

"I know," Sasuke reassured him.

But Naruto didn't believe him, not yet. "I'm sorry that Kiba and the others are dragging you into this, but I didn't mean drag you into my problems. If you want, I can move back to my place and this will all blow over."

"Are you finished?" Sasuke asked his tone was bored and uncaring as he watched Naruto flinch. Slowly the blond nodded, his gaze fixed firmly on his lap. He waited a moment before he began speaking. "This should not have been a surprise to you, Naruto. That Inuzuka kid's been using you for a long time and then you suddenly cut off, of course he is angry, he has every right to be so, but then you should have expected this. Inuzuka isn't going to be happy until he has you back under his thumb and his hands in your wallet, the same thing for Haruno and her crowd. Haruno has no interest in you but she is very interested in what you can give her. All those kids in school are thinking the same thing and the terrible thing is that they know that they will succeed because you are creature of habit."

Naruto bristled at this, "I am not going to stand by and be used by these people."

"Really?" One of Sasuke's brows quirked as he regarded the other boy.

"I am not a fool." Naruto declared.

"No," Sasuke agreed, "But you are desperate for approval and acceptance." Naruto opened his mouth to protest but Sasuke cut him off. "I know what you going to say, that you don't care what others think about you, that you don't need them, yet, were that true you would not sitting here fretting over the rumors regarding your sexuality. You would not care if Inuzuka decided put out full page spread in the local paper that claimed you were having a sexual relationship with me. None of what Inuzuka or his cronies are saying should affect you, but it does. You are hiding from it and them. They have all the power."

"And what do you suggest that I do?" Naruto demanded, "Everyone at school already hate me. No one wants to be my friend but they all want my money. Even the girl of my dreams doesn't want me, she wants you. They all want you." Naruto was screaming now, but he was beyond reason at that point. Sasuke's impassive attitude, his steady gaze, and nonchalance about this situation only infuriated Naruto more. Before he could stop himself, Naruto had stormed around the table and grabbed Sasuke by the shoulders, only to find him on the floor. His arms were pinioned behind his back with one of Sasuke's knees pressed against neck. He tried to push up, only to have Sasuke apply more pressure to his back until Naruto finally stopped struggling and settled down. "I hate you," Naruto ground out. "I fucking hate you. I can have anything I want in the world. I'm rich, I have more money than you or anybody in this fucking town will ever see in your entire pathetic lives but these people still love you. They trip over themselves to be recognized by you—You, a nobody, someone who always be less than me, no matter what you do in your life—but here you are better than me!" he screamed. "I hate you; I fucking hate you so much that I wish to God that you would die!"

"Are you finished?" Sasuke asked in his infuriating calm voice.

Naruto screamed again, "Fuck you, Uchiha."

"I guess not," Sasuke grunted. He hauled the other boy up by his arms and carried him upstairs. He kicked open the bathroom door and he shoved Naruto into bath tub and turned on the shower. He held Naruto there for a few moments as the other boy screamed and trashed about before he final stopped fighting. The tears had ceased and every few seconds a shudder would pass through his body as he rested against Sasuke but it was over.

Naruto did not fight when Sasuke lifted him from the tub and carried Naruto across the hall to the small bedroom that Naruto had claimed as his own.

Naruto was nearly unresponsive as Sasuke stripped him from his wet clothes before rough fully drying him off. He said nothing as Sasuke laid him down and pulled the covers over his body. Naruto just rolled on to his side away, facing away from the door, before he closed his tired eyes and promptly went to sleep.

Sasuke watched the other boy had for a few minutes before he walked away.

The next morning he was met by a morose Naruto. Sasuke had laid out their breakfast and was now working on their dinner. He was putting the fixings for beef stew in the crockpot. Sasuke looked up as soon as Naruto entered the kitchen. For a long moment neither said a word. Naruto looked down at his sock covered feet and Sasuke looked at the top of Naruto's head.

Clearing his throat to gain the other's attention, Sasuke said, "It is your turn to make up our lunches today."

Naruto grimaced, "You know I am no good at cooking."

"You are just making sandwiches, rich boy, even you should be possess the capabilities to do as mundane as put meat and cheese between two slices of bread" Sasuke teased lightly. He glanced at Naruto from the corner of his eye, Naruto was pouting and grumbling but he was smiling.

At school, Sasuke was rushing around trying to find Naruto.

It was Sasuke's free period and ever since that first afternoon when he brought Sasuke coffee, Naruto made it a point to join Sasuke in the library for lunch and to study. When Naruto did not show up, Sasuke got worried and went to look for the little idiot. Inuzuka was a bully and coward, Sasuke was sure wherever that ass was, Naruto was going to be there.

That last hit jarred him, but Naruto still refused to go down.

Kiba was angry, and feeling embarrassed each time Naruto got back up. It not to say that the other boy was just taking Kiba's beating either. Naruto was a hellion and one hell of a dirty fighter, but not even he could hold his own against four people. But Naruto had made sure he left an impression on Kiba.

Turning his head to the side, Kiba spat out another mouthful of blood before turning back to the defiant boy standing across from him with his fists raised. There was no way Kiba was going to lose, Naruto had ruined his reputation and damaged Kiba's pride.

They wouldn't have been in this situation had Naruto just played along the night of the party. Kiba still could not understand what had set Naruto off that last time—Kiba knew that Naruto had been pissed about Sakura rejecting him again, but then the next day she was all over him, so it was beyond Kiba why Naruto was still mad, but he was going to beat the anger out of Naruto and get everything back to the way it was.

Just as Kiba stepped toward Naruto, the principal came storming around the hedgerow with three of the coaches, and Sasuke Uchiha was trailing behind them.

"What is going on here!" the principal shouted. He looked first at Naruto before directing his fridge gaze on Kiba and his band of friends. "Uchiha, take Uzumaki to the nurse's office. The rest of you, in my office. Now."

Sasuke was at Naruto's side immediately. He did not miss the hostile glare Inuzuka sent his was as he dragged off by the football coach but Sasuke did not pay him any mind. If Inuzuka though Sasuke was going to be caught fighting on school grounds during senior year, then he was dumber than he looked.

Like Kiba, Naruto knew what Sasuke had done, and it left him feeling conflicted about Sasuke's meddling. He could have defended himself; he did not need anyone standing up for him.

"Thank you," Naruto looked as aghast that the words had come from him. He looked up at Sasuke, but the other boy was busy making a salad to go with their supper.

Sasuke had brought Naruto home after their visit at the nurse's office; they cleaned up and spent the rest of the afternoon separately until Sasuke called Naruto down to set the table.

Naruto looked down at the bread he had just placed on the table; he suddenly wished that he had glass of whiskey to help wash away the sick feeling creeping up his throat. While Naruto was berating himself, Sasuke had come out of the kitchen bearing the salad and a pitcher of iced tea. He gently nudged Naruto out of the way.

Dinner was as quiet as it ever was for them since Itachi wasn't home. Both boys tucked into their meal, Naruto complimented Sasuke on the stew before lapsing back into silence.

Hours later, alone in his room, Naruto was staring a photograph of his okasan. It was the only one left after his otosan destroyed the rest of them in drunken rage shortly before they left Japan.

Not too many knew that Kushina Namikaze had killed herself. The reason had been utterly frivolous, but the day's event had dredged up the terrible memories Naruto had witnessed before Naruto found his okasan's life body staring up ceiling of his parents bedroom. The child psychologist Naruto used to see said Kushina's suicide and her rebelling against change in social status was responsible for Naruto's need to reject anything that had to do with the Namikaze name.

She had encouraged his otosan to send Naruto to an exclusive boarding school with children from his own social station thinking that it would help him move past his mother's death but it had the opposite effect. After his otosan died, Naruto left the school and turned his back on the Namikaze's legacy. He refused to return to Japan as he tried to erase every aspect of Namikaze from his life, because he blamed everything associated with the name Namikaze for Kushina's death.

"My mother killed herself when I was six years old," Sasuke turned to the other face the boy standing inside his bedroom door.

"Excuse me?" Sasuke gasped.

"I don't know if Itachi told you this or not, but I want you to know why…" he trailed off looking away from Sasuke for moment before he continued. "My mother—okasan—she killed herself when I was six years old," Naruto said again. He was toying with a set of rings on a simple chain. Sasuke was sure that simple chain cost more than everything in his room, and the rings were probably worth more than the Uchiha's home. "I found her." He slipped one of the rings on his fingers, "She on their bed, wearing that old blue dress that she had otosan had fought about earlier that evening. You see, otosan had been invited to gala with Emperor and the Imperial family—Otosan, just wanted okasan to wear the gown he bought her. We had both picked it out because we thought she would be so beautiful in it." Naruto twisted the ring around a few time before he pulled it off.

"Okasan never cared about wealth. She never cared for my father's name and what he could give her. She just wanted him and a happy ending. Sadly okasan's idea of a fairytale life did not match the expectations of wife of Minato Namikaze so she rebelled and the world fought back. She tried to fire the staff in our main house, the staff went to the newspapers and the press painted a picture of an arrogant American who was trying to ruin their lives and their families. People turned on her, my otosan stood by her, but he had to make many amends for okasan and apologize for her—he always had to apologize for her. She had such a terrible contempt for the world that she had married into. Well, the long and short of this is that I have always blamed him for okasan's death. She wanted a regular life. She wanted me to go to public schools, she wanted me to be around regular people, and to not associate with my social station. Okasan hated my father's money and the power associated with it. As I grew older, and learned more about the company, I found that she had deliberately set out destroy Nam-Co. She wanted otosan to live like a commoner, like an American father and husband on the programs she used to watch. She wanted her fantasy no matter how unrealistic it was and when she could not have it—"

"She killed herself." Sasuke finished.

Still not looking up from his rings, Naruto nodded. "Kakashi said that she was sick, Jiraya said that she was a dangerous loon and that my father never should have married her. Maybe otosan should not have married her, and maybe she would still be alive today, but understanding her illness, that is a big 'What-If'. Okasan she suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder, but I didn't know that when I came here instead of returning to Japan or staying in my school after otosan died. I guess I wanted to know what was great about you people that that it would drive my mother to reject everything about us and make her kill herself. I couldn't stand it. I hated everything because the more I tried to be like you, the more I was rejected. And with each rejection it felt like my mother was rejecting me for not being the perfect American. I think that is why was so desperate for Sakura to be my girlfriend and for everyone to like me. I guess is also the main reason I resented you—you represent everything that I wanted to be…"

"You don't have to continue." Sasuke told him and that was when Naruto finally looked up. Sasuke wasn't surprised to see tears in the boy's eyes nor the determined set of his chin, but he wasn't in the mood to hear any of this shit because at that moment, he did not honestly care.

If Naruto wanted to have a heart to heart with someone, he could wait until Itachi was home or he call his therapist, it did not matter to him what the selfish little fucker did, Sasuke just wanted him out of his room or he was going to toss the little idiot on his bed and fuck his brains out.

Naruto was come into his room wearing nothing more than a pair of white briefs that left nothing to imagination. Sasuke just wanted to lick his ways in between those bronze thighs and fuck him with his tongue and fingers until Naruto crawled into his lap and impaled himself on his dick.

He watched Naruto's mouth move that animated mouth that beckoned Sasuke to claim it. Sasuke bit back a growl of frustration as he tore his gaze away from his temptation and remind himself that Naruto wasn't ready.

Soon, Sasuke promised himself, soon he was going to have Naruto.

But not today. This morning, Sasuke pushed aside his desire and assured Naruto that he did not need to explain anything and he watched the little idiot's eyes light up with relief and that mouth spread into warm smile before Naruto surged forward wrapping his arms around Sasuke's body.

For a moment, Sasuke contemplated returning the embrace, but reason ruled the day. Sasuke gently pushed Naruto away. He was surprised to see tears in Naruto's eyes but that smile, it was breath taking. Naruto's smile was bright and carefree, the light in his blue eyes was brilliant as the sun, and the boy just radiated happiness. And selfishly, Sasuke wanted that look all for himself.

"I know, I am terrible cook," Naruto said as backed out of Sasuke's room, still smiling and glowing. "But I would like to treat you dinner tonight. Anywhere you want, I don't care about cost or the destination—we could go to China for dim sum if you want."

"Why?" Sasuke asked suspiciously, he did not want Naruto to think that he could buy him. So he was surprised to when Naruto just shrugged his shoulders and winked at Sasuke before walking away.

"I just feel like it." He told him, "So chose some place exciting, yeah. I want to enjoy myself."

He walked away leaving Sasuke to think about all the places and the things they could go on their first unofficial date.

Naruto did not know it yet, but Sasuke was determined to claim Naruto for himself.