Naruto's phone rang in the middle of the night. He picked it up and answered, too tired to look at the time or at the name of the person calling.

"Hello?" He sounded tired too but didn't bother to try and sound more awake since he was still half asleep. It was the caller's fault anyway. Why couldn't they wait until morning?

"Naruto…" The sound of Sasuke's sad and scared voice woke him up entirely. There was a pause and he could hear noises of people talking in the background and Sasuke sniffing as if he was crying.

"Sasuke? What's wrong?" His voice became urgent and he could feel his heart beat in his chest.

"Itachi….He's in the hospital…."

"What happened?"

"I don't know everything yet but he tried to kill himself."

"Oh, God…I'm so sorry. What can I do?"

"Can you come over in the morning when we get back from the hospital? I don't want to be alone right now."

"Of course." There was a louder voice the background and Sasuke sighed in the phone.

"I…I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow?" It was said as a question as if Sasuke doubted that Naruto would come at all and Naruto couldn't help thinking once again how vulnerable Sasuke was sometimes although he had only showed Naruto this side of him very few times.

Naruto got a few more hours of sleep before leaving for the Uchiha residence. He grabbed some toast to munch on the way and left the apartment in a hurry. Kurama had already left to work so he couldn't tell his brother that he was going to skip school that day.

When he reached the Uchiha's driveway he texted Sasuke to open the front door for him and as soon as the door was opened Sasuke leaned on his chest. Naruto wrapped his arms around the raven who sobbed quietly. Sasuke looked tired since he probably didn't get much sleep that night and his eyes were red from crying.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked softly. He felt a bit better now that Sasuke was safely tucked in his arms but he didn't like seeing Sasuke like this. Sasuke's slender, pale fingers grabbed his jacket and Naruto tightened his hold on the raven in an assuring manner.

"I didn't think you'd come." The raven confessed.

"Why?"

"Because this is all because of Itachi."

"He's your brother, Sasuke. I understand."

"Yeah….my brother." Naruto knew what Sasuke meant but although he still felt a bit of jealousy towards the older boy he didn't hate him.

"Come on, let's go inside. It's cold out here." Naruto pushed Sasuke gently off of him and into the house then closed the door behind them. As they walked in, Naruto could hear voices arguing deeper into the house.

"What was he even thinking?" Fugaku roared. "I didn't raise your boys to be so weak and foolish. This weakness is from your side of the family, Mikoto. I was afraid it would rub on them and for a good reason too."

"They are your boys an much as they are mine, Fugaku and don't you dare blame this all on me and my family. They were raised the way you wanted." Mikoto yelled back but there was fear in her voice as if she was waiting to be punished any minute for talking back.

"They were raised to be strong men, leaders worthy of the family business. I don't want them to be wrapped around the finger of a business partner or even worse of a woman."

"So you don't think this is your fault?" Sasuke yelled, taking everyone by surprise. He had never yelled or talked back at his parents no matter how angry he was. His blood was boiling in his veins now and he had no more strengths to hold back and keep his thoughts for himself.

"How dare you, ungrateful brat." Fugaku hissed making one step closer to Sasuke and Naruto was afraid that Fugaku would hit Sasuke. "I gave you a home and education on a silver platter. I gave you an empire for the future."

"But you didn't give us love. Itachi needed love from you more than anything." Tears fell down the pale cheeks but Sasuke was just as determined as before.

"Then what does all this count for, huh?" the man's hand collided with Sasuke's cheek but he didn't flinch. "Did you want me to spoil you, to make you worthless pussies who share feelings with everyone?"

"That would have been nice." Sasuke's voice was firm and calm but that angered his father more than the yelling from before did.

"Go to your room!" Fugaku ordered with a firm voice but Sasuke's eyes were still piercing him and he showed no sign of willing to leave. "Now!" Fugaku roared and only then did Sasuke turn to go upstairs with Naruto in tow.

"You need to get some sleep, you look tired."

"Lay down with me." Sasuke pleaded and Naruto couldn't say no to that. Naruto closed his eyes, enjoying Sasuke's warmth since the raven was cuddled next to him and after a long moment of silence he thought that Sasuke had fallen asleep.

"Kakashi found him in the Jacuzzi tub. He needed to use the bathroom but saw light in the Jacuzzi bathroom and knocked on the door. When there was no answer he opened the door and found Itachi unconscious in the tub filled with water mixed with his own blood. His wrists were cut." Naruto stroke the black locks slowly. It pained him that there was nothing he could do to make Sasuke feel better except to be there for him. "The candles were lit and there were burning incense…." Sasuke's voice drifted as he became lost in his thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked wanting to bring Sasuke back from wherever his mind drifted away.

"He must have felt abandoned. I hurt him although I knew that he wasn't taking the engagement very well. It's all my fault."

Naruto shook him slightly. "It wasn't your fault. You did nothing wrong. Maybe he couldn't accept you decision and misunderstood it for abandon. All you need to do is talk to him."

"That room was our room, Naruto. We had sex there more times than in either of our rooms. We both love that place and the atmosphere with burning incense and candle light is out of this world. He tried to kill himself thinking of me, Naruto."

"How is he now?"

"The doctors say he'll be fine, at least physically. He was found fast enough, fortunately."

"That's good."

The next day Sasuke was sent to school by Fugaku who claimed that he had missed enough school for his brother's stupidity and Sasuke had to oblige although he was still tired from not sleeping well.

He couldn't help but feel guilty for what happened and he needed to see Itachi so he asked Naruto to go to the hospital with him. His parents would not be there again, in fact Sasuke would be surprised if his father made another step in that hospital before Itachi was released.

A nurse let Sasuke in but hesitated to let Naruto since he wasn't part of the family so Sasuke had to ask her to make an exception this time.

Itachi was laid in the hospital bed covered in white sheets and stared out the window. The blue sky was the only thing that wasn't white in the room and Sasuke thought the atmosphere in there was depressing. He would have liked to see any spot of color, even orange at that point.

"Nice room." He said sarcastically just to draw Itachi's attention towards him.

"Does father know you're here?" Itachi asked still looking away.

"No and he doesn't need to." Itachi's gaze fell on the two boys who were still a few steps away from the door. "Why, Itachi?" Sasuke's voice became sad and soft, he was almost pleading for Itachi to answer his question.

"Father planned my engagement ceremony for next week when Karin will be able to come home for a few days."

"Your engagement was already established though. You knew that day would come sooner or later."

"Yes but I always thought I'd have you by my side."

"I am by your side, Itachi. I always will be."

"And yet you are out of my reach."

"Itachi….my feelings for you never changed and I'd still go to the end of the world for you. You raised me, not father and not mother, you. They provided food and clothes for me but they didn't make me who I am. You did. You showed me love and compassion, you taught me that there are good things in life and that I'm not alone, you taught me to laugh and that it was alright to cry although father said it wasn't. You mean a lot to me and you are one of the two most precious people in my life."

"When I graduate this year father wants me to move in with Karin and we'll both attend Konoha University." The older boy sounded tired and defeated having lost a war against his father. "I was planning on moving out after graduation but with you not with Karin."

Sasuke went to sit on the edge of the bed and laced his fingers with Itachi's. "I'll move with both of you. I won't give father a choice."

"I'll become an architect. Father will not be pleased…"

"Because he wants you to be a lawyer. I know but fuck father, do what you want." Sasuke said full of confidence.

"I want to build the thing I've been working on for some time."

"You didn't tell me you were working on a project." Sasuke said surprised.

"It's just a project now and it's not even ready but you'll see it when it's built."

"Good because then you'll have to see it finished and you won't do stupid things like this again." Sasuke's fingers traced over the bandages around Itachi's wrists. "Naruto and I may be dating but I won't stop loving you."

A sad smile adorned Itachi's face as he tightened his grip on Sasuke's hand. "How have you been, though?" Turning to Naruto he looked at the blonde with an expressionless face. He still didn't like the relationship his brother had with the blonde. "Is he still hurting you?"

"Itachi, please." Sasuke pleaded with a soft voice. "I love him and he loves me too. We're dating, get used to it."

This rivalry between Itachi and Naruto was tiring. There was nothing he wanted more than to see the two people he loved most get along instead of compete but maybe he was at fault too. Maybe he had given Itachi wrong signals all this time and now his brother thought that he was being stolen from him.

"Don't hurt him, Naruto. He's the most precious person to me." Naruto's gaze fell to the ground. Hurting Sasuke was the last thing he intended to do and yet it already happened more than once. Can he really promise Itachi that he won't ever hurt Sasuke again? Can he really keep such a promise?

The two younger boys left the hospital and went back to school to catch the classes that were after lunch at least.