The brothers were in Sasuke's room where they usually spent the evenings. Itachi went there as he usually did and lay on the bed but Sasuke didn't join him right away like he always did after taking his clothes off. This time Sasuke remained seated in the chair at his desk where he had been doing homework that he had postponed due to Naruto's unexpected visit.

"You shouldn't have let him stay for the night, little brother." Although he was angry, Itachi tried to control his voice.

Why wouldn't Sasuke forget about that blonde who made him so sad? Itachi had been able to make Sasuke happy for years, they had been more than happy together and now there was a blonde who ruined it all.

"Why?"

"He's just hurting you, Sasuke. Why can't you see that?" His tone was laced with anger and exasperation because of all the frustration he bottled up lately. Itachi hadn't been himself since Sasuke confessed his feelings for Naruto. He felt that Sasuke was slipping between his fingers and that he would lose him soon. He was selfish, he knew that but he had this relationship with Sasuke for almost three years and although it crossed his mind that he might lose it one day he wasn't ready. As a matter of fact he never thought he would be.

No one has caught his attention until now although his parents had made serious efforts to introduce him to several girls. Itachi was bi so he didn't have a problem with finding some of the girls physically attractive but he wanted more from someone he would date.

There was one girl he met about a year ago, Konan, who had been different and he found her company pleasant. They had talked about art and architecture, music and movies and many other things and realized that she was smart compared to other girls but she had some strange tastes that didn't match his. It was really unfortunate that their conversations always ended up in arguments.

"I hurt him too. Anyway…Naruto and I are dating now so we can't go on like before." There were the words he feared and dreaded, the one thing he couldn't accept.

"Why? He doesn't need to know."

"I won't cheat on him." Sasuke said giving Itachi a 'I can't believe you're saying that' look. "Besides you should find someone soon. Father is growing impatient since you're eighteen and still never had a girlfriend. You know as well as I do that father is expecting you to start your own family soon and join the business that will be yours one day."

"The family business will be ours not just mine, Sasuke." Itachi said as if he stated the obvious.

"Well….I might be disowned if father finds out that I'm gay."

"Why are you ruining your life for him, Sasuke?"

"If you had ever been in love you would understand."

"I don't know what he did but he's obviously hurting you. I love you and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I'm fine but I'm more concerned about you, Itachi. What did you expect from this?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at him. "This?"

"Yes, this. This thing that's been going on between us for years." They had never talked about their relationship or about their feelings. Of course they often told each other 'I love you' but between them the meaning was vague. Sasuke knew what 'I love you' meant for him, it was the love for a brother although he agreed to have a sexual relationship with that brother but he never knew what it meant for Itachi. Only now did it cross his mind that Itachi might love him in romantic way and that his brother might have thought of him as a secret boyfriend.

They never kissed each other on the lips though, Itachi only kissing his cheek or forehead in a normal gesture of affection from an older brother so Sasuke didn't have a reason to think that Itachi felt differently from him.

Sasuke couldn't really tell how they ended up with this strange relationship.

Their parents were away most of the time but their father had made sure to give the boys what he thought to be the proper upbringing for future business men. They would have to be strong and without emotions or else their partners in life or business would take advantage of them and his pride couldn't let that happened. Fugaku himself had been raised as a cold, distant person who didn't show feelings not even towards his wife to the point that Sasuke wondered if his father loved his family at all.

Fugaku had never kissed them, praised them or even smile at them and when Sasuke was younger, a mere four year old he had been afraid of his father whenever he saw him. The stern look on his face that never changed was traumatizing for the small child who craved for smiles, cuddles and kisses.

Mikoto was instructed by Fugaku to not spoil the boys so she kept her distance form them too, giving them a rare smile from afar. Touching was a way to show affection but that would just make the boys soft so none of the parents did that more than necessary.

Itachi had been the only one who ever gave Sasuke what he needed. He would kiss his brother goodnight, play with him and make him laugh, cuddle him until he fell asleep and he would even make up stories for Sasuke's entertainment.

Itachi probably needed all that display of affection as much as Sasuke did because he never failed to give Sasuke attention whenever the smaller boy went to him and raised his small arms to be picked up or when he sneaked in Itachi's room after having a nightmare, no matter how tired Itachi was. Touching was normal between them whenever they were alone. When Itachi told him a story or just about his day Sasuke would crawl on his lap and sometimes he even fell asleep there. At night they would cuddle after Itachi kissed Sasuke's bare belly and made him giggle.

Sauske never questioned Itachi's intentions when they touched not even when Itachi touched his small penis at the age of ten. It was something new because Itachi had never touched him there before but it was just Itachi and he felt safe and loved.

When Sasuke was eleven Itachi took him in his mouth for the first time and a new way to display affection was introduced to the young boy. At that time Sasuke had no idea that other children didn't do the same thing with their brothers or sisters but he did know that if their parents found out it would be bad for both of them so they shouldn't tell anyone. They had sex for the first time when Sasuke was twelve. Itachi had told him that there was a way for them to be closer than ever, to become one. It was the first time Sasuke felt the thrill of doing something he wasn't allowed to do and after that he would try to find that thrill in other ways too so he started drinking and smoking. For him it was a way to defy his father although it was still done in secret.

He and Itachi knew that they weren't how their father wanted them to be and that was enough for Sasuke.

"I expected our bond to be deeper and not so easily broken by someone like Naruto."

"Our bond is deep and will always be but our bond is not only about sex. I'll always love you, Itachi and I'll always keep our bond but I don't want to have sex with you anymore."

"Sex is just making our bond stronger. It's keeping us brothers together. You give yourself to me and I give myself to you. Think about it Sasuke, father will only let us marry someone he approves of, he'll use our marriage to benefit the family and business. You can't escape that fate unless you admit that you're gay. Wouldn't you want to have someone you love when you are engaged to someone you don't love? What do you think Naruto will do then? Do you think he will quietly play second string and be the secret boyfriend from the shadows or leave you for someone who is not ashamed to call him their boyfriend in public?"

"I'm not ashamed to call him my boyfriend." Sasuke retorted.

"Really? Have you told father or mother or even our cousin Shisui? You haven't even told them that he's from a poor family as if he has to be ashamed of his social status."

"That's ridiculous. I don't care how rich he is."

"You don't but that's not the message you send to him when you dress him in your clothes and have him play the exchange student. Face it Sauske, you two are bound to hurt each other." Itachi left the room leaving Sasuke with something to sleep on. Being in love had made the younger boy blind to reality and it was time to wake up. The only person who would accept to be Sasuke's secret lover was someone in the same situation as him and when Sasuke realized that, Itachi will be there for him.

Itachi's words haunted Sasuke for days and he desperately needed to talk to someone about it, someone aside from Itachi and Naruto but he had no one else he could confide in.

This change did not go unnoticed by the blonde and one day he approached Sasuke. It became obvious to Naruto that Sasuke was avoiding him when the raven stopped going home with him to hang out and it was driving him crazy not knowing why. His insecurities came back and he couldn't help but think it was his fault.

"Sasuke, wait." He called the raven as he was about to leave the class room. Sasuke stopped but did not turn to look at him. "What is it? Did I do something wrong?"

"You didn't have the chance to do anything wrong but I did."

"What are you talking about?"

Sasuke clenched his fists. "I didn't think what I was asking from you."

"And what's that?"

"To be my secret boyfriend." Naruto knew what Sasuke was talking about but he had agreed, no… he wanted this relationship secret or not. "How long will you be fine with a secret relationship with me?" Sasuke turned around to look him in the eyes and Naruto could see clearly how tormented the raven was.

"I won't leave you if that's what you are afraid of."

"You're willing to offer me everything and not demand anything in return?"

"You promised that you won't have sex with anyone else and that's enough."

"Is it? I love you and I want to prove it to you but I can't do it properly because I'm scared."

"Sasuke, I don't want this to be over when it barely began."

"And I don't want it to end after I end up getting used to it. With the way things are now we are bound to hurt each other."

"What do you want from me, Sasuke?" Naruto asked exasperated, tears falling from his eyes. "What do you want me to tell you? I won't leave you, we have the future in front of us, we'll find a way to make this work eventually."

"I didn't think this would be more complicated than my other relationship." Sasuke's words hurt Naruto a lot because he knew he was the one making the relationship complicated. The fact that he was a boy, his need to know who Sasuke's lover was and his insecurities that Sasuke was forced to deal with were making things difficult for Sasuke.

"I understand." Naruto said quietly. "Then…..you are free to go back to him." The blonde walked out of the classroom leaving a shocked raven behind. As soon as Naruto was out of sight tears flooded the raven's eyes. Naruto had misunderstood him but he couldn't explain what he meant without revealing the identity that he had been keeping secret from the blonde for some time. His boyfriend was letting him go before their relationship even started and he was the only one to blame because he was weak.

They avoided each other after that and Sasuke became quiet and spent more time drinking and smoking with his friends. Naruto was always on his mind when he was sober and he desperately needed to numb his mind.

A few more months have passed in a blur and another girl was introduced to Itachi during a fancy dinner that their mother hosted.

Karin was the daughter of a business partner who was studying abroad and had come home for a few days and Mikoto used this opportunity to introduce her to Itachi. Fugaku and his business partner had been planning to engage their children to make the relationship between the two families stronger but Itachi had not been informed until the girl had some time to come home so she could meet Itachi.

Karin fell in love with Itachi at first sight and that made the eighteen year old even more displeased than having his engagement planned behind his back. He had been expecting that but he had at least hoped that it would be with someone less shallow, someone who could see beyond his appearance, probably someone more like Konan.

He didn't even try to hide his disappointment the entire evening, making some rude remarks, but his parents ignored him completely. His fate was sealed that night and frustration built up inside him the more he had to listen to that girl talk. She was bragging with what she called her achievements, trying to impress the Uchihas and she seemed to have made a good impression on the parents but Itachi was not at all impressed.

His mother bragged with him too because he wouldn't say much about himself even when asked. His answers would be given in one sentence and sometimes even vague.

"This is our fate, Sasuke." Itachi told his brother that night. "We are bound with shackles made of gold and diamonds. We are not free but Naruto is. He will soar into the endless sky and fly away leaving you behind. That's why I told you that we only have each other."

"He already left me behind and I can't escape the prison he placed me in, the prison of my own mind."

"You still think of him." It wasn't hard to guess considering that Sasuke had not agreed to have sex with him again and the only person Sasuke would keep himself for was Naruto.

"All the time."