Warnings: A.U; Yaoi; Incest; ItaSasu; Shota; Non-Con.
If you don't like it, don't read.
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
oOo
Sasuke almost facepalmed when found himself alone in the guest room during the night before, after Kakashi had questioned him about his sexuality. The man only touched the subject again when dropped Sasuke at school, trying to reassure him there was nothing wrong with being gay no matter what Fugaku said about it, and he even went as far as saying that if Sasuke needed anything he just had to call.
Kakashi was not being invasive, but the mere fact that they were talking about his sexual preferences was embarrassing enough for Sasuke. Seriously... what was he thinking when asked Kakashi's help? Not only that but what was he thinking when feared that Kakashi might know about Itachi and him? Kakashi obviously wouldn't think Itachi could do such things to his younger brother based on just a few awkward events. The possibility of an incestuous relationship between them was the last thing that would pass through a normal person's mind. They would never assume that under their polite interactions laid such a sick relationship. And given the fact that his brother could easily have anyone he wanted, the simple hypothesis was laughable.
He closed the manga on his hands slightly irritated with himself. Not a minute after he finished reading and his mind was already flooding with the same problems again. While reading, he managed to empty his mind and distract himself with the story, but unfortunately, because it was so entertaining he finished too fast. He sighed and let his head tumble backwards, staring at the cloudy sky. It was one of those days where you could predict it wouldn't rain. The clouds only acted as adornments, changing the colour of the day like a natural desaturation filter. He returned his attention to the manga. The green-haired boy and the overmuscled guy smiled widely on the cover. His gaze then trailed to his own hands and clothed wrists, and he pulled the sleeve just enough to reveal the skin and the fading bruises.
He poked them to see if they still hurt.
The question made by Kakashi was not odd, not from his point of view at least. To some extent Sasuke could understand the man's concerns, if his father went to such lengths only to intimidate Obito, who was part of the family but did not have a direct relationship with him, then what would he do if he knew his own son—a son of whom he was not so fond—was gay? Sasuke knew he was not eager to find out.
If a man decided to have a relationship with another man or a woman with another woman it should not be a cause of concern to anyone else. What did it matter what kind of person someone liked anyway? As long as both parts were willing there should be no problem.
Perhaps this had to do with his father's incessant struggle to keep the family's name untarnished. Sasuke knew the Uchiha name was important inside and outside Konoha, but the boy couldn't put up anymore with Fugaku's lectures on how anything was a potential threat to their honour. It had become the only occasions in which his father paid any attention to him.
Sasuke snorted.
Whether Fugaku liked or not, Sasuke was still an Uchiha, thus Fugaku had to be sure the boy behaved like one.
The tall buildings in the distance reminded him that a small part of his father's worries was justified. The Uchihas were one of the two families that practically founded Konoha. Their ancestor, Madara Uchiha, started a business alongside Hashirama Senju, but due to divergencies, they parted ways. They continued in the same segment though, and the following generations carried on what they had started. Nowadays, every important nonresidential construction project in that region was either done by the companies Uchiha or Senju. The family had its achievements, but that obsession his father had with prestige seemed a pointless waste of time. He couldn't picture himself worried over every small thing like Fugaku.
His hand raised to run through his hair trying to fix the mess the wind had done. Then, the hand slid to his left shoulder, lingering there for a second, fingers brushing on the fabric of the uniform. He let it drop to his lap again with a thoughtful expression on his face. Standing up from the park bench he had been sitting for the past hour, he put the manga inside his backpack and began to head home.
oOo
Apple slices were thrown into the round porcelain plate. Another apple was cut it into small pieces as well and put into the same recipient. The juice escaping from the fruit's cream coloured flesh slightly soaked Sasuke's fingers when he brought a piece to his mouth. He had just arrived home and hadn't seen Itachi yet. It was still early, so he didn't really expect to find him there.
The silence that engulfed the house was disturbed by the dragging of a stool as the boy sat by the kitchen counter—he preferred eating there than at the table.
Eating and scrolling through his unread messages on the phone, he noticed that Naruto couldn't stop commenting about the manga he had read that afternoon. Sasuke had to remember him not to give any spoiler because he was beginning to read it now while the blond was far ahead. At first, Sasuke didn't feel too excited to read it, since it had been indicated by Naruto, and Naruto read just about anything that had cool superpowers or ninjas, but Sasuke was quite enjoying it now.
As he typed a short reply, he heard from behind him: "So, you actually read your messages?"
His heart almost jumped out of the ribcage. He turned to see his brother peeking at the phone screen. Had he been at home the whole time? But Sasuke didn't see his car in the garage. Also, Itachi was dressed as he had just arrived—the only piece of formal clothing missing was the suit jacket. So, why did he not hear him coming? Damn, he was getting annoyed.
His eyes kept glued on Itachi's every movement as the elder unbuttoned his cuffs, rolled up his sleeves, walked to the other side of the counter, and proceeded to wash his hands. When finished, he opened the refrigerator and poured a glass of water to himself.
His gaze strayed to somewhere else when Itachi turned to him.
Right across from Sasuke, he leaned and took an apple slice from the boy's plate. Sasuke glared. Itachi smirked chewing the fruit. His silence and the unknown glint in his eyes made Sasuke uncomfortable.
"You're home earlier," the younger said.
"So are you."
He reached out to the plate and took another piece of apple. Sasuke's brow twitched.
"Why don't you just cut one for yourself?"
"I'm not hungry."
"And why are you eating?"
"I'm just trying to bother you."
Sasuke glared again. "Don't need. You're naturally bothersome."
Itachi chuckled, then sipped the water as if he was drinking wine. Sasuke pretended to be busy looking at the phone screen, giving up on the staring contest, but from the corner of his eye kept his attention on Itachi.
"Where have you been?" Itachi put the glass down, waiting for Sasuke's answer, although he didn't seem to expect a satisfying one.
"Out."
"As far as I know, you've been at Naruto's and... where else?" Itachi circled the rim of the glass with his fingers.
Sasuke was silent. No way he would answer that.
"You weren't in the manga cafes either," he stated.
Sasuke began to grow self-conscious by the second. He knew Itachi was furious.
He gave the standard answer, "It's none of your business."
Eyes narrowed slightly, and fingers stopped tracing the rim of the glass.
Itachi circled the counter and stopped behind him. The boy tried not to show his apprehensiveness, putting up an aloof façade and kept eating as though he was not feeling intimidated at all by Itachi. He would not let himself be shaken by that kind of lame trick. Nonetheless, he had trouble to steady his nerves the moment Itachi rested his right hand on the edge of the counter, then did the same his left hand, trapping Sasuke there. He felt his brother's breath on his neck.
"I was worried, Sasuke," his voice was smooth.
Sasuke kept staring at the plate as if it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. He felt his brother closer to the side of his neck now. The silky strands were sliding over his shoulder.
"Not here, Itachi," he muttered.
"Not here?" He could hear the smile on his voice.
Itachi kissed his neck near his ear, and Sasuke shivered; his lips were still a little cold from the water.
"Now, tell me, where were you?" he demanded.
Sasuke kept silent. Itachi sat in the stool beside him, back to the counter.
"You still haven't read the messages I sent you."
The sudden change of subject and the odd playfulness made Sasuke have a bad feeling about that. He unlocked the screen and went after Itachi's messages.
After reading all of them, he discovered that among the messages Itachi sent him during the day, in one of them he mentioned at the end that he had called Sasuke's teacher.
"You talked to Iruka-sensei."
"Yes, and he told me you skipped school on Monday."
It was not the first time Itachi called his teacher to get details on his development at school. He was the one who attended the meetings because Fugaku never had the time to spend with that kind of trivialities. At least Sasuke could be within the group of best students even without much effort, so he could be spared the shame and anger of being reprimanded by Itachi. He felt even the suggestions Itachi gave to help him with homework were just disguised mockery, a subtle way of saying he was not good enough to do anything by himself. And most unnerving was the fact the teachers loved Itachi. They even commented on how he showed more concern for his younger brother than many other parents did to their children - Fugaku included, not that verbally they ever let that part slip though. It was sickening how he always fooled everyone.
"That's why you're insisting on knowing where I've been."
A faint smile curved Itachi's lips.
"Don't pretend you're a caring brother when I know that you're not." Sasuke was sure that was just another way of Itachi displaying his control over him.
"But I do care about you, little brother."
"Liar."
"Perhaps if you didn't try to act so rebellious you could see it. I even didn't let it reach father's ears. He wouldn't like to know what you've been up to."
Sasuke's hands curled into fists.
"You still haven't replied where you've been yesterday," he reminded, running a hand through his hair. "But I'm in a good mood, thus I'll give you another chance to answer."
After a long moment of silence, Itachi assumed his brother would not say anything again, but Sasuke replied, "I was at Naruto's."
Itachi stared him as if he was expecting he would add anything else, then sighed. "And you dare to call me a liar."
He had been at Naruto's during the morning, so technically he was telling the truth. An omission maybe, but not a lie.
"And on Monday, where were you?"
Sasuke stiffened.
Itachi shook his head with a look of false disapproval on his face, "What was not my surprise when I heard you'd been wandering alone in Tokyo during school hours."
"Who told you that?"
"Don't try to stray from the topic."
Sasuke bit his lip. "It's not far from here, I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of it."
"That's not the point." He sighed. "In any case, stop skipping school. Father would be disappointed."
"He's always disappointed. Stop rubbing that in my face."
Sasuke's brow was furrowed. He looked at the white knuckles on his balled fist. Sadness and a bit of humiliation made company to his anger. During that Monday he had felt so free. He could recall the looks he received from the adults whom he happened to come across in the streets, probably thinking he was some kind of delinquent. Nothing new. But if his father got knowing...
He heard a phone ringing and felt relieved Itachi's attention was not on him anymore.
"Hello," the elder answered as he turned slightly to take the glass of water he had forgotten on the countertop while talking to Sasuke, and for a moment he just kept listening.
Sasuke stood up, went to the other side of the counter to put the empty plate in the sink, and although he was curious to know with whom Itachi talking, he tried to use that chance to leave without being noticed.
The boy passed by him and didn't see Itachi standing up. He barely put his feet outside the kitchen when the elder reached him with a few strides, grabbing his upper arm.
"Understood," Itachi said. When he hung up, he pulled the boy against his chest, "We still haven't finished."
Sasuke pushed against him, creating some space between them, but the elder was still holding his arm. He had assumed Itachi would spend more time on the phone.
"I don't want to talk about that anymore."
Itachi played with a strand of Sasuke's bangs, "Are you that eager for what's going to happen tonight?"
The boy blushed and slapped his hand away. As if the situation was not embarrassing enough, his brother still had the nerve to say such things.
The long-haired man smirked at that reaction. He delighted himself in knowing exactly how to push Sasuke's buttons. That blush was adorable. He would love to do more things that would make him embarrassed, then make him swallow his shame and become a needy mess, bare of the wall of false apathy he had raised to maintain his pride. Such a pity tonight he couldn't.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke, unfortunately, I still have important paperwork to finish tonight and won't be able to give you my full attention." He released Sasuke, and this time he was the one who began to walk away. "However," he looked over his shoulder to the dumbfounded boy, eyes narrowed, "you're still sleeping with me."
Sasuke hesitantly followed his brother. It seemed Itachi didn't have plans to take him, and those were good news. But the tension building up within him at every step he took was reaching his features to the point he couldn't hide. At least Itachi had his back turned to him.
When they got to the upper floor Itachi stopped abruptly in the middle of the corridor, and Sasuke almost bumped into him so absorbed he was into trying to conceal his nervousness.
"When do you intend to use it?" he asked with his back still turned to the boy.
"W—what?"
Itachi turned to face him. "The knife you're hiding."
Sasuke's eyes grew wide.
"I'm not hiding anything," his nervous tone betrayed him.
"When I put the glass into the sink, the knife you used on the apples was not there anymore." Itachi gave a step forward and Sasuke took a step back to maintain the distance. "You shouldn't be playing with sharp objects," his condescending voice was infuriating, but was his next line that ignited Sasuke's fury, "let your nii-san take care of that."
He knew that had been a foolish move. He should have been smarter than that. Why the hell did he bring that fucking knife? But as if dragged by a tsunami of rage he pulled out the knife from under his shirt. The whole situation felt like he was an outsider watching his own body moving without the power to coordinate his actions. He lashed at Itachi, and his brother dodged. Sasuke staggered due to the intensity of his attack but turned ready to cause whatever damage he could.
It made a bubbling euphoria spread within him when he saw Itachi distance himself. For once Sasuke felt he was in control.
Sasuke held tighter on the knife, and motivated more than before, went for him again. This time Itachi did not move out of the way. Sasuke closed his eyes imagining the blood. But a hand closed around his wrist. The next thing he knew was that the air left him, and a searing pain made him fall to his knees. The knife fell from his hand, and Itachi slid it away from them with his foot.
He had only time to catch his breath from the punch in his gut and get on his feet again, this time trying to fight barehanded. Itachi delivered a kick in his ribs that sent him flying near the staircase. Sasuke's back hit the wall and he slid to the floor.
Itachi coldly stared at the figure of his younger brother trying to catch his breath and approached him with slow steps. The game still hadn't ended. He put a hand around the boy's thin neck and yanked him back to a standing position. He used his own body to pin him against the wall and leaned in so that his lips were near Sasuke's ear.
"Do you honestly believe you're able to overpower me?" he whispered.
Sasuke could only cough in response, Itachi's grip on his throat allowing him to inhale a minimum amount of air.
"Perhaps when you're older we might have an entertaining fight. But now, Sasuke," he pressed harder against him, "you're weak."
The feeling of worthlessness subdued his anger. He gulped trying to swallow the knot that installed itself in his throat.
"I've been too lenient with you lately. I thought that if I gave you space you would begin to behave, but instead, it has given you ideas."
He attempted to push Itachi away, however, he felt he didn't even have the strength to do so. Itachi leaned and kissed him, tongue sliding over lips that wouldn't open. He couldn't deny that having Sasuke trapped like that stirred his libido. He leaned back and looked at his face. Sasuke's dark eyes were glistening with tears that he wouldn't allow himself to shed. Itachi leaned down, and spoke, his voice now sounding much softer than before, "See what you force me to do?"
The younger remained quiet. Itachi gave him a chaste kiss and let go of his neck. Sasuke stumbled and almost fell to the floor again, but used the wall for support, finally able to breathe without his brother's hand restraining him.
Itachi went to the end of the corridor where the knife laid forgotten. He took it in his hands, noticing traces of blood in the blade. As he passed by Sasuke he spared him one last glance before carrying the object to the kitchen.
When Itachi returned, Sasuke was not fallen to the floor anymore. He expected to find him waiting in the bedroom, but when opened the door he found out Sasuke was not there.
He left and checked Sasuke's bedroom thinking he would find the boy ready for another struggle, but he was nowhere to be seen. Itachi took a second to realize what was happening and headed downstairs.
oOo
Sasuke barely had time to put on his shoes before sprinting out of the house. He had problems trying to open the front gate as desperate as he was but managed to flee from there leaving a seething Itachi behind.
Now he was at a loss of where he should go to. Again. The night made easier to hide, just in case Itachi came searching for him. Now that he thought about it, his brother looked kind of weary despite all his smugness. He did mention the manga cafes. Had he been searching for him there? But Konoha was not big and had few of those places. Sasuke shook his head. He found that unlikely. It had to be work-related.
It was not the first time he ran away. But it was the first time he left without making any preparation beforehand. The only thing he was carrying with himself was his phone, which was running out of battery. And without a chance to change clothes, he was still using the fucking uniform. Well, he was not running away indeed, he intended to go back in the next day. But right now he was pissed and wanted to stay away from anything that reminded him of his brother.
He was nine in the first and only time he tried to run away. He had planned to leave Konoha, although was not sure where he wanted to go, nor how he should do it. He had a vague idea that his grandparents lived in Kyoto, so he decided it would be a good choice to travel there. But he could barely recall what they looked like, much less where their house was located. But he went. He wished to try anyway. And not even three hours after he escaped, he was found by Itachi in a train station and dragged back. He thought Itachi would hit him, but it was Fugaku who did it. Sasuke had committed the mistake of shouting he preferred those times when things were better because his mother was around. That day he had been hit to the point he couldn't muster strength enough to move a limb. And Itachi took care of him; he tended to the wounds indirectly caused by himself.
Presently, as Sasuke ran to the Namikaze residence - because he began heading toward there without even realizing - a car that looked like Itachi's passed by him, going in the opposite direction. Although he was sure that was not Itachi's car, his heart began to race due to the similarity. And he wondered what if Itachi showed up at Naruto's trying to take him back? At this point, his feet slowed down. Sasuke was even taking a different route so that it would be harder for Itachi to stumble upon him on the way, but Itachi might be already waiting there.
That fucking paranoia again. He breathed deeply and resumed his fast strides.
However, when he glanced back, Sasuke felt droplets of cold sweat forming on his forehead. The car had turned around and was following him. He was far from the next corner and there was no place he could hide. If he ran the person might go after him. Now his hands began to sweat too. He never thought he could be such a scared kitten.
He stopped and glared toward the car. At least he could try to look intimidating.
The tinted window of the rear door rolled down. He would have scowled if his mind was properly working and he wasn't so desperate to escape. He recognized very well those scrutinizing eyes and that unsettling smirk.
"Hello, Sasuke-kun. It's a pleasure to see you again so soon."