Note from the "Author": I'm feeling self-pitying and unworthy lately, so sue me. And I'm well-aware that this is NaruSasu – I'm getting there. I have to get through this Uchihacest phase.
Ladies and Gentlemen: I present to you – The Big Chapter!
Kichou: No. He doesn't understand "logical" at all. But if you think about it, he never really did. And my Word dictionary thought that I was misspelling "Kikyou" when I typed your name. And that made me giggle. So thank you for making me giggle.
Einzazmunster: You were pretty close on Naruto's reaction, let me tell ya. And can't you just see Sasuke and Hinata skipping through the flowers singing the "FUN" song from Spongebob?
Well, mine's on a diet.
A sigh whispered from Sasuke's lips at the feel of Itachi's mouth on his skin. His eyes fluttered closed, his body lost in the cool touch of his brother's hands. He flinched only slightly at the sound of the buzzer that signal someone was downstairs at the door as company for them. "Itachi," his voice rasped out.
"Ignore it." Itachi murmured, fingers wrapped around the younger boy's hips. "They'll go away."
Sasuke moaned as teeth sank into his neck. "But my car's parked on the street."
"It's okay." A bit of Itachi's dark hair slipped from his ponytail as he leaned over his brother. "They'll figure out we're busy."
Naruto wouldn't. The thought flitted through his mind before disappearing inside Itachi's kiss.
0
Naruto threw a rock at Sasuke's car. The top was down, so it landed harmlessly in the front seat, a testament of his anger. He huffed, cursing the vulnerable convertible, that proved Sasuke was in fact home and ignoring him, to rain and thieves.
"Naruto, what are you doing?"
He spun around, his face lighting up at the sight of the shock of silver hair and the scarred left eye that could only be one person. "Kakashi-sensei!" He hugged the unsuspecting lit teacher around the middle. "I'm so happy to see you! You live here, right?"
The older man's eyebrow lifted and he placed a hand on the blonde head, forcing him back a few steps. "Yes. But you don't. Why are you here?"
Naruto scowled. "The penthouse is Sasuke's. That's his car, which means he's here, which means he's pretending not to know someone's at the door. Can you let me in so I can go break his door down, please?" He clasped his hands, peering up at his teacher with round hopeful eyes.
Kakashi sighed, shrugged, and unlocked the door. As the energetic sixteen-year-old dashed up the stairs, he called after him, "Leave my name out of it when it comes to insurance claims for whatever damage you cause."
Naruto ignored him, already starting up the staircase to the third floor. He wanted to know what was going on – and he wanted to know now. Kiba had put that doubt in his head that he might be wrong, and now he had to find out for sure.
He finally reached the Uchihas' door and stopped a moment to catch his breath before pounding on it. "Teme, I know you're in there! Let me in. I want to talk to you!"
He could hear voices murmuring – arguing – for a moment before they died away. He tried the knob – it was unlocked – and flung the door open, staring open-mouthed at the scene before him.
Itachi smirked at him in that way that was purely Uchiha, pinning Sasuke by the wrists to the back of the couch as he straddled him. "Come to watch me take your boyfriend?" he mocked, taking Sasuke's face in his hands, mashing their mouths together in a violating kiss.
Sasuke struggled weakly, writhing, whimpering, his fingers gripping the cloth of the couch. Slowly, his resistance died away and he went limp, his arms dropping with a thud to the cushions.
Itachi, sensing the submission, let him go, unfolded himself, standing. His brother rolled onto his side, curled into a ball, shoulder wracking with humiliated silent sobs as he hugged himself.
Naruto, who had watched the exchange, paralyzed in the doorway, lifted his eyes to Itachi's face as he came toward him. "See?" the older boy purred, leaning close. "He's mine. He always has been. You're better off just going home and jacking off."
He's mine.
The words echoed around Naruto's head; an anger was welling up in his chest, burning through his heart like a match to a love letter. Something went off like a firecracker in his head and he found his fist colliding with Itachi's face.
He bent over him, grabbed his hair, pulled his head up. Blood leaked from his nose, crimson – lovely – against the pale skin. "He'll never be yours." The edges of Naruto's vision blurred red. "He'll never be yours because you can't love him like I do!"
"Naruto-kun!"
He turned to see Hinata standing in the doorway, hand over her mouth, and Itachi used the distraction to his advantage to flip him over his head and onto his back, aiming a punch to his stomach. Before he made contact though, he'd been lifted by the back of his collar, thrown into the wall, the air flying from his lungs.
Naruto jumped to his feet, grinning and giving a bloody thumbs-up. "Thanks, Neji. Didn't know I could count on you."
Neji growled, jabbing a finger into a pressure point in Itachi's neck that sent him slumping to the floor, unconscious. "Let's just say I don't like rapist assholes."
Hinata ran to Sasuke's side, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him upright, just for him to collapse against her, weeping. She just held him, hushing him softly, brushing away the hair that clung to his face. "It's okay, it's okay." She whispered, well aware that she was lying. "Nothing else is going to happen to you."
"Should we take him to the hospital?" Neji asked, crouching beside them, inspecting the teeth indentations on his neck, as well as the bruises around his wrists. "I think we could probably press charges with these marks, especially with Naruto as a witness."
"No." Sasuke lifted his head, voice sharp, face red where hot tears had touched it. "It's not his fault." His gaze averted, watching Hinata's thumb run across his hand. "I always let him do it." His dark eyes went to Naruto and a panic flashed through his face. "Don't look at me!" he hid his head with his arms, drawing his knees up. "Don't look at me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Go away!"
Neji spun Naruto toward the hallway, pulled the door closed behind them both, muffling Sasuke's shrieks. "I don't think he should see you for a while." He said quietly, fingering the doorknob.
Naruto nodded, brow furrowed, as he listened to the love of his life go from screaming to whimpering. "I'm such an idiot." He whispered, shaking his head. "There were so many signs and I just didn't see it."
"It's not your fault this happened, Naruto." Neji leaned against the door, shoving his hands in his pockets, tilting his head back. "Shit happens. We can't stop it. You can't be there for him all the time, just like I can't always protect Hinata-sama. We have to learn to trust them to make good decisions and make sure they know to come to us when they need us."
He stood upright quickly as the door opened and both boys turned. "He's alright now." Hinata said softly. "I put him to bed. Neji-nii-san, do you mind if I stay with him tonight?"
The elder Hyuuga's eyebrows furrowed. "With him here?"
She shook her head. "I heard him on the phone. He was talking to someone named Diedara – something about staying the night there."
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Will you call me later, to tell me how he's doing?"
She turned her white eyes to him, smiling apologetically. "Of course, Naruto-kun. If he gets better or worse, you'll be the first to know."
"Did you drive here?" Neji asked.
"I walked."
"Alright – I'll treat you to dinner and take you home, huh?"
Naruto sighed, nodding. "Sure. I'm not that hungry though." His stomach felt like it was turning over.
Hinata embraced Neji, kissing him tenderly. "I'll call you later too." She smiled warmly at him, held him close for a moment, and stepped back into the apartment, waving as they started down the hallway.
Naruto chuckled, pressing the button for the elevator, which he had ignored before, having not wanted to wait for it. "I can't believe I ever thought she could cheat on you – I must have never seen the way she looks at you."
Neji smiled. "Funny – Sasuke said the same thing."
0
Hinata gently set a bowl of ramen on the nightstand, sitting down on the edge of Sasuke's bed to shake him awake. When his eyes fluttered open, she said, "Hey. You should eat something."
He stared at the bowl, nose wrinkling in distaste at the smell. "Ramen is more Naruto's thing."
"Eat it anyway." She stood up. "It'll make you feel a little better – it's the closest thing you have to soup. I'll have to go pick some up later."
His bloodshot eyes went to hers. "Are you going to leave me alone here?"
She shook her head. "If I have to leave, I'll call Neji-nii-san so he can come sit with you. We're not going to leave you by yourself here until we think you can handle it – or until we can find another place for you to live."
He nodded, a sigh slipping from him. "Do you think Naruto hates me?" he whispered, almost afraid of the answer.
She shook her head again, brushing his hair from his face. "If he hated you, I don't think he'd be nearly as worried as he is. He made me promise to call him later to tell him how you were." She hesitated, then added, "We told him not to come around for a while. I hope you're okay with that."
Sasuke rolled onto his back, watched a spider making a slow descent on a sticky thread toward his bedpost. "I don't deserve to see him anyway." He almost applauded the arachnid's fine landing. "I've fucked up big time with this one."
Hinata leaned back on her hand, picking up the bowl. "I don't think Naruto-kun blames you." She grinned suddenly, such an out-of-character gesture that he jumped. "You missed him beat the crap out of your brother."
He snickered. "I heard it, but I kind of wish I'd gotten to see it too. I've always been too afraid of him to stand up to him – I'm glad Naruto's never really been afraid of anything."
"He's very scared right now." She stood, holding the ramen out to him. "He loves you, you know."
Sasuke reluctantly took the bowl, sniffing at it. "I wish he'd say it to me. He said it all the time before, but I want to here it now, after all this shit has happened – so that I know he didn't change his mind." He slurped some of the noodles into his mouth.
"He told your brother."
He choked, almost spitting them back out. "He told my brother he loved him?"
She laughed. "No. He told your brother he loved you."
His eyes softened, and he stared down into the dark broth. "Really?"
"Yes. If he didn't love you, I don't think he would have stuck up for you like he did."
A shadow of a smile touched his face. "That's nice to know."
0
"Stop sulking, Naruto!" Iruka swatted the back of his head with a newspaper. "It's been almost a full day. You're not helping Sasuke by moping around waiting for the phone to ring."
Naruto growled. "I can't help it that I'm in love and worried!"
The older man sighed, shaking his head. "Go out and do something."
"I can't! Not while I know Sasuke's at home completely miserable."
The ringing of the phone disrupted Iruka's reply and he jumped for it to answer it before Naruto could. "Hello?" Pause. "Who is this?" Pause. "Hinata? I don't know that name."
"Give me the damn phone!"
He laughed. "I'm just kidding, Hinata. Hold on."
Naruto snatched the phone from his hand, trying his best to imitate a Sasuke Death Glare, and said into the receiver, "Hinata? How is he?"
"He's fine for now, Naruto-kun." Her voice was heavy with fatigue. "I wanted to call you before I go home. Neji-nii-san's staying with him today. If anything happens, you'll be the first to know. And Naruto-kun?"
"Yeah?"
"He told me to tell you he loves you, and that he's sorry."
Naruto smiled. "Thanks, Hinata."