Accidentally in Love
Pairings: Itachi/Naruto
Summary: Falling in love is never easy. It's even harder when you fall for you best friend's older brother. One Shot.
Warnings:
OOC, fluff, sap, children not acting their age
'italics'- thoughts
"blah"- talking
Rating:
K+ bordering on T
Genre:
Romance/Drama/General/Angst?
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto and co.
A special THANK YOU to Tomi of The Baka Rangers, for being such an awesome beta-reader, and for being so encouraging!
This story is told from Naruto's Point of View
I never meant for it to happen. I mean, who does? It's like one of the top three rules of friendship. Never fall in love with your friend, never fall in love with your friend's ex, and never, ever, ever fall for your friend's brother. Especially when said older brother happens to be the one your best friend adores, and looks up to.
How did this happen, when did this happen, how could I let this happen, I'm sure you're asking yourself. Don't worry, I wondered the same myself. I'm pretty sure it started when I first saw him, way back in first grade, at the tender age of six. It was the first day of spring, and so, our teacher and let us play outside as we waited for our parents to pick us up. Sasuke and I were playing tag with some of our classmates, and I was it. Just as I was about to tag Sasuke, I looked up and saw the most beautiful sight in my young life.
A beautiful older girl, with long black hair was leaning against one of the many cherry trees in the yard. Her eyes were closed, and her expression was peaceful. Just as I was about to walk over and say something, Sasuke looked over to where I was staring and cried out "Brother!"
Wait. Brother? I quickly grabbed Sasuke before he ran to the being near the tree. "Oi, that's not your brother, is it? She's too pretty to be a boy!" I said, looking at Sasuke and laughing at him.
His scowling face was the last thing I saw before his fist came flying at me, knocking me into oblivion.
After I came to, I saw my teacher, Mr. Umino, hovering over me anxiously, checking to see if I was all right.
"Naruto…Naruto, look at me. How many fingers am I holding up?"
I looked at him oddly. "Five?"
"What is your full name?" Mr. Umino asked, poking and prodding at my face.
"Naruto Uzumaki!" I said, as I batted away Mr. Umino's fingers. "What happened?" I asked, glancing around and seeing the black haired angel holding on to an annoyed-looking Sasuke's shoulders.
"Sasuke, why don't you explain?" Mr. Umino said, his voice deceptively soft.
Sasuke looked up at me and scowled. "I- I punched you."
"And why did you punch Naruto?"
"Because he called my brother a girl!" Sasuke said, sticking his tongue out at me.
"You mean she's not a girl?" I asked, looking over at the girl, no, boy holding on to his shoulders, and looking at me oddly.
"No," his voice was soft and calm, "I assure you, I am a boy."
"I'm sorry!" I said as I blushed and looked at my fingers.
"It's alright." He said as he smiled and looked down at his brother, "Sasuke, what were you going to say?"
"I'm sorry… idiot." Sasuke said, again sticking out his tongue at me.
"It's all right," I replied, smiling until the rest of what he said caught up to me. "I'm not an idiot!" I shouted as I jumped off the bed in the nurse's office and started running after him.
"Idiot, idiot, idiot…!" Sasuke chanted, as he ran, "how could you not tell my brother is a boy?"
"He looks like a girl!" I screamed and ran down the hall chasing him, "and I am not an idiot!"
The years went by, and Sasuke and I were the best of friends. My crush on his older brother, whose name I found out was Itachi, grew and grew, until it morphed into love.
I think it was in middle school, when I finally realized this childhood crush of mine was love. It all started when I found out that Itachi's parents were setting him up on a date with the daughter of a friend of theirs, for "business purposes"
Oh, didn't I explain yet? You'll have to forgive me; I tend to be forgetful sometimes. The Uchihas were rich, as in one of the top ten richest families in the country. As with most rich families with a big "top ten" corporation, they wanted their eldest son to make a good match with a daughter from another corporation. Hence the reasons for the string dates Itachi had, that was to become the nightmare of my teenage years.
I was invited over for dinner that day, and I saw Itachi waiting in the foyer all dressed up, as I was coming in.
"Someone looks good," I teased, as I looked him over, "What's the special occasion?"
"My parents have set up a date for me," he replied stiffly, looking over at me and daring me to comment on it.
"A date!" I squeaked, turning red as he raised his eyebrow to me. "I mean, why did they set up a date for you?" I blabbered on quickly, hoping to hide my surprise and sudden jealously at the news.
"Apparently I am old enough to become the sacrificial lamb for the family," Itachi commented dryly, looking annoyed.
"What?" I returned, confused. 'He's a lamb? A sacrificial one? Eh?'
Sarcasm was never my strong point.
Itachi turned to fully look at me and smirked. "My parents believe me old enough to start looking for someone suitable as a wife, who will one day help me run the company."
"Oh." I replied, looking away, ignoring the feeling of my heart wringing itself and started to walk towards the stairs to go up to Sasuke's room, "I see. Good luck."
In return, I heard a quiet "Thanks".
My mood was ruined as well as the rest of my day. It took me a while to understand why I felt so down. It took me even longer to realize that I was jealous. I mean come on, here I was, a thirteen year old boy, feeling bad that my friend's older brother had a date, never mind that it was set up by his parents.
After that, I started avoiding the Uchiha residence. I needed to sort out my feelings and find out what was wrong with me.
Besides, Sasuke would always fill me in on how many girls Itachi went out wit, and how not one seemed to catch his interest. Every time he did that, I would get this odd twinge in my heart. It felt as if my heart was breaking, and I wasn't sure how to fix it.
Sasuke would ask me once in a while why I wouldn't come over to his house, and I would always end up giving him some sort of excuse. Every other time he'd ask, he'd also casually mention something along the lines of "Itachi asked about you, and why you're never over anymore," and that odd twinge would return once again, tenfold.
It was the summer before I entered high school that I decided to find out what was wrong with me. My last year in middle school was spent alternately being miserable and avoiding the Uchiha residence. I hated being so down and confused, and I took it out on everyone around me. I became grumpy, and even Sasuke got tired of my company. (You know something is wrong, when even Sasuke gets annoyed at how cranky you are.)
So to whom did I go to? My old first grade teacher, Mr. Iruka Umino, of course! We had kept in touch over the years, and he had become almost like a father figure to me. Being an only child, with busy parents can be very lonely sometimes.
To keep things short, I told him what I felt, from my crush on Itachi since I was six, to what had been happening recently. The answer he told me blew me away.
"You're in love, Naruto," Mr. Umino told me, smiling.
"No way!" I yelped, "I'm too young, and we're… we're both too different!"
"So?" he returned.
I sputtered some more, and paced around the old classroom and left in a huff. 'Me? In love? How stupid!' I thought, getting angrier by the minute.
Then I stopped and actually thought about what Mr. Umino told me. I then thought about all I've heard on the subject, and all I've read on love. The feelings I had for Itachi, the way the day would seem brighter if I got a glimpse of him, the way before The Incident happened, there were times I told Itachi things I couldn't, didn't want to tell Sasuke. The way he smiled, the annoyed twitch his eyebrows would get when he was mistaken for a girl, the way he would treat me, the feeling of happiness I would always get when I was near him… Was what I feeling really love?
I turned around and walked back to the classroom, only to see Mr. Umino waiting for me.
"Er," I stuttered, "Well, um, it's like, er…" I trailed off, my sudden discovery still evident.
"Go home Naruto," Mr. Umino told me, "Come back later when you feel you have everything together and then we'll talk."
So I did just that. The summer was one of the most memorable for me, the talks with Mr. Umino, my apology to Sasuke for being a prick and his answer, "Yeah, whatever. There was no one else to call idiot anyway", and my return to the Uchiha household.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, take it anyway you want, I rarely saw Itachi over the summer. He was going to begin college in the fall, and he was taking some summer courses. Oddly enough, he decided to commute to college instead of going somewhere far. Something about "being too attached to the shards of home", or something of that nature. Weird, huh?
We talked sometimes, but there was a strange feeling in the air, and it wasn't as comfortable talking to him as it was before. There was still the steady stream of dates, but even that got fewer, as college, and working at his parent's corporation took precedence.
Mr. Umino encouraged me to tell Itachi of my feelings, but I was firmly against that. What if he didn't return my feelings? What if he told Sasuke? I couldn't stand to lose both my love and my friend, so instead I decided to keep quiet and just take what I could and be happy with that.
The years went by and then the twinge kept returning.
The damn twinge.
It was that feeling that led me to where I was standing. Looking at Sasuke, about to confess my feelings for his brother.
"Sasuke," I began, my voice shaking, "what I am about to tell you is strictly confidential. You cannot tell anyone."
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked, raising his eyebrow, putting down his book and stretching out on the sofa.
"And… and don't hate me for it. Or stop being my friend. Or try to kill me. Or punch me. Or-"
"Idiot. Shut up and just tell me what you're talking about." He snapped at me, the irritation clear in his voice.
"I'minlovewithyourbrother!"
Both of his eyebrows were raised. "What?" Sasuke asked.
I take a deep breath. "I'm in love," I began slowly, "with your brother."
I closed my eyes tightly and waited for the verbal and possibly physical assault. As the minutes went by and nothing happened, I cautiously opened my eyes. "Sasuke?" I asked, in a tentative voice.
"Hm?"
"Don't you have anything to say to that?" the annoyance creeping into my voice.
"What? That you're in love with Itachi?"
"Yes!" I could barely keep my hands from going to his throat and shaking the answer from him.
"Oh. I already knew that. You've been in love since the first grade. You're not exactly good at hiding things, you know." Sasuke finally looked up me, with that infuriating smirk gracing his features.
"Oh that's nic-" I cut myself off, 'He knew!' "How long have you known, bastard? Why didn't you tell me? Are you mad?" I fired one question after another.
"Oi. Calm down… idiot. Of course I knew. Like I said, you're not exactly all that subtle. I had suspicions about it since elementary school, but I knew I was right during our eighth grade year. Why do you think I kept telling you about all the things Itachi was doing? I didn't tell you that I knew because I was waiting for you to tell me… and it looks like my waiting paid off." He paused for a minute to let it sink, and then he smirked at me once again. "Of course I'm not mad. I'll admit, it was a little weird at first knowing your best friend was in love with your brother, but I was never mad."
A sigh escaped me. It felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I sank ungracefully into the chair opposite Sasuke's and grinned tiredly at him. "So all this time, I could have talked to you about this…" 'I'm sorry I didn't.'
He smiled back at me. "… and saved yourself all that trouble? Yeah, dunce." 'Don't worry about it, it's okay.'
The next couple of weeks flew quickly by until it was almost time for my senior prom. During all my years at school, I had not dated, nor done anything with anyone. No one could compare to Itachi and I hadn't even bothered. Sasuke, the ass, took great pleasure in tormenting me about that.
Sadistic bastard.
"So, Naruto," Sasuke began one day, as he bit into the rice ball he was having for dinner, "what's this I hear about Hinata Hyuuga having a crush on you?"
"Shut up, bastard" I snapped, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Hinata Hyuuga. One of the nicest and quietest girls at our school. She also had a crush on me. I could never figure out why. I was annoying, loud, and had never really talked to her, but hey, love's weird like that, right?
"I also heard she asked you to prom…" Sasuke continued, ignoring my command. "What did you say?"
"Be- be quiet!" I could feel my face flushing, and getting darker by the minute. "It's none of your business!"
"Hah. I knew it. So, what did you say? Yes or no. Come on idiot, it can't be that hard answer…" his voice trailed off.
"I- I-" I stuttered, not wanting to tell him that when she asked, I ran away.
"Enough."
Sasuke and I both looked up at Itachi.
"If Naruto doesn't want to tell you, he won't. Stop bothering him about it, Sasuke." Itachi continued.
"Tch." was Sasuke's insightful answer as he finished his dinner and stalked off to his room.
"Thanks" I muttered to Itachi, still blushing, "I just don't think I could have handled it if Sasuke started laughing at me when I told him I ran away from her."
"You… ran?" I looked up at Itachi, to see a flash of relief cross his eyes. 'Relief? Nah, must be my imagination.' I thought, as I grinned at him.
"Yeah."
"I… ah, see" his lips twitched. "What did she say to you after?"
"I don't know," I replied, still grinning, "I avoided her the rest of the day."
We stopped and stared at each other for a moment and burst out laughing. Just as suddenly he stopped and just stared at me. "Hey, Naruto," Itachi began.
"Hm?" I replied, still calming down with the occasional chuckle.
"Don't ever change." he told me, an odd emotion passing though his eyes, smiling at me slightly.
My heart sped up, and I quirked my lips, trying to calm down the blush threatening to cover my face. "I'll try not to."
It was the night of Sasuke's graduation party that my life changed forever. Before I get to that, I should probably back up and tell you what happened the last few weeks of my senior year, huh?
Senior year had gone by quickly, and Sasuke and I had both decided to attend a college together. We both decided to attend a college somewhat far away, for different reasons. Sasuke had wanted to get away from his parents, and the coddled life, and I, to get away from Itachi. I had finally figured out that I would never get him the way I wanted, so I thought maybe getting away for college would help my heart heal faster. When Itachi was told the news, he didn't say anything, but just walked out of the room, mouth in a grim line.
When I looked at Sasuke, worried about his reaction, he just shrugged and said that his brother probably had a business meeting to attend or whatnot. The peculiar expressions on both the Uchiha brothers' faces bothered me, but I just ignored it. It was probably just my overactive imagination again.
So, back to the night my life changed. I was moping around at the party, depressed that I still hadn't seen Itachi yet. After all, this could be the last time I would see him for a long while. The college years would be busy, and after that, who knew if I would see him outside of little functions where we wouldn't be able to do anything except exchange handshakes, and a word or two, here and there.
"Dunce," Sasuke came up behind me and poked me, "stop acting like such an idiot and help me get some more food for the table."
I swatted his finger away. "Sure. Whatever." I replied, not paying attention to what I was saying.
"Let's go then," Sasuke said, as he pulled on my arm. "It's in Itachi's room."
"What? The food's in his room?" I said, suddenly paying attention, "he's not in his room right?" I asked, feeling nervous for some odd reason.
"How the hell am I supposed to know," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes, "What do I look like? His damn watchdog?"
"Damn, do you always have to be such a jerk?" I mumbled at him, emotions getting to me.
Sasuke suddenly stopped before opening Itachi's door. "You'll thank me for this one day." he said as he pushed me into Itachi's room and slammed the door shut, the sound of a lock being turned echoing down the hallway.
I turned around and started pounding on the door. "Asshole! Let me out! You good for nothing, motherfu-"
"Don't bother," a voice interrupted my shouting, "He's gone."
"Itachi?" I said in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"Where else would I be?" he replied, looking at me from his bed, "It is my room."
"I know that," I responded as I blushed. The image of Itachi stretched out on the bed filled my mind with images not meant for children to know about. Hey, I was a hormonal teenager, okay? Cut me some slack.
We both sank into silence for a while, before my nervousness forced me to break it. "Isn't there a way out of this?" I asked, hesitantly.
"Don't you think I would have let the both of us out, if there was?" Itachi said, voice harsh.
"Sorry." I responded quietly, sinking back down and leaning on the door again.
I heard Itachi sigh deeply. "Don't be," said he, before continuing, "I did not mean to be so rude to you. I apologize."
"It's okay." We both fell into silence again.
"Naruto?" This time, it was Itachi who broke the silence.
"Yeah?"
"Why didn't you go out with anyone when you were in high school?"
I froze. 'Shit, shit, shit!' I thought, 'I can't tell him the real reason!'
"Why the sudden curiosity?" I asked, tried to laugh it off. "I just didn't want to…"
Itachi unexpectedly sat up and crooked his finger towards me, "Come here, Naruto."
I went to him.
He patted the space on the bed next to him. "Sit."
I sat.
"Closer," Itachi said, smirking "I don't bite… promise."
I moved over, until we were almost touching.
"Now then, the real answer, if you please."
"What are you talking about," I asked, my voice low, "That was the real answer."
"Really…" he drawled, "Sasuke was told me some very interesting things these last few weeks."
I paled, vowing to kill Sasuke the next time I saw him. "Itachi, I don't-"
Suddenly I found myself under a very annoyed Itachi. "Why, Naruto?"
"Because," I breathed, as his face came closer to mine.
"Because…?"
"… Because I was…"
"You were what?"
"Because I was in love with someone else!" I hissed out, my emotions getting the better of me, and the closeness of Itachi not helping either.
"In love with who?" he asked, his lips grazing my neck, and starting to work its way upwards.
"You."
Itachi paused momentarily from his ministrations and raised his head and looked down at me. "Say it," he whispered.
I kept my eyes on him. "I love you."
Itachi mumbled something like "finally", before swooping down and kissing me.
When we finally separated, I was gasping for breath and my heart was beating erratically. "Itachi?" I panted.
He looked down and smiled at me. A real smile, and his eyes were… glowing, for lack of a better word. "You… really are dense."
"I am not!" My confusion was quickly turning into displeasure.
Itachi saw the expression on my face, and laughed. "I'm in love with you, Naruto, and I have been for a very long time."
"Itachi…?" I was becoming confused again. "How? Why? How long?"
"Must you ask so many questions?"
"Yes," I replied trying to sit up, "I've been waiting to hear you say those words for twelve years. I think I deserve some explanation."
"I could say the same," Itachi started, reversing our positions so I was lying on top of him, "How and why?"
I pouted down at him. "I asked first." The rest of his sentence came back to me. "What? The same to me? You mean-?"
He rolled his eyes and let out a sigh of exasperation. "Yes, twelve years, Naruto."
"But… but…"
"I thought there were many times you would have figured it out. You didn't, and I was running out of time. I didn't know how to tell you, and didn't know if you felt the same for me. The day you told me that you were moving for college… I was upset. Very upset. Sasuke confronted me, and I confessed everything to him. My little brother told me he knew the whole time, and told me you felt the same." Here Itachi paused, and ran his hands down my back, making me shiver. He grinned wickedly and continued, "These last few weeks, I have been trying to do everything in my power to make you realize that I love you. Unfortunately, you didn't pick up on any of the hints, and I became… desperate.
"It wasn't the best of plans to lock you up in a room with me, but it was all I could think of, and Sasuke agreed to help."
I just stared at Itachi, mouth agape, the past weeks running through my head. The way he was always around, and always near me, the spurts of jealously when Sasuke teasingly mentioned another girl's name linked with mine, the way Itachi would always find a way to stay close to me and touch me, smile at me, and whisper little innuendos at me.
"Itachi, don't you have anything better to do than stay home?"
"Now then, little brother, why would I want to leave the company of Naruto and you?"
"So Naruto…I saw Hinata stalking you again."
"Shut up, bastard!"
"It's okay, don't worry, I know she's the lov-"
"Quiet, Sasuke."
"I could say the same to you Itachi."
"Naruto, you don't mind if I sit so close to you, do you?"
Blush "N-no! It's all right."
"Oi, Itachi, what are you doing to Naruto?"
"… Just trying to get comfortable."
"That shirt looks really nice on you, Naruto."
"Th-thanks, Itachi…"
"It would look even better, if it was off you."
"What!"
"I mean, it's such a warm day today, I just thought you might be more comfortable taking it off."
"… Oh.
I closed my mouth and grinned sheepishly at Itachi.
"Umm…oops?"
"I-di-ot."
"Listen you- Mmmph!"
In the end, I decided not to go to the college far from home, and instead go to the same one Itachi had attended. Sasuke followed, saying something along the lines of, "Someone needs to keep an eye on you."
And Itachi?
Well, let's just say I am living my happily-ever-after out, and I wouldn't change a thing.
...So what do you think? Comments or Criticisms? Is there anything I can do to improve my writing? Thank you once again for reading my fic!
Edit: Made some minor changes, so hopefully it is now eaiser to read!