Disclaimer: The plot is mine, but not the characters. Characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Author's Note: You do NOT have my permission to copy, translate, use, and/or replicate this work on any platforms, including but not limited to online sites and print/copy texts.

Profile: Uchiha Sasuke

Age: 19 years old

Height: 5 feet 10 inches

Weight: ~155lbs

Personality: typical lowkey tsundere, easily influenced by others, mature with an innocent quality, forgiving, prefers napping and sleeping in over going out, tends to snack often

Identifiable features: jet black spiky hair, obsidian eyes, pale skin, lean build

Likes: sleeping, eating/snacking, sweets

Dislikes: drama, being touched by strangers, crowds

Profile: Uchiha Itachi

Age: 24 years old

Height: 6 feet 3 inches

Weight: ~190lbs

Personality: Crude in speech and volatile, impatient, overprotective, prone to jealousy and possessiveness, stalker-like habits, dismissive of anyone other than Sasuke, easily riled

Identifiable features: muscular build; long, jet black hair; forearm, chest and back tattoos

Likes: Sasuke, working out, sex

Dislikes: people (especially those close to Sasuke)

Profile: Uzumaki Naruto

Age: 19 years old

Height: 6 feet

Weight: ~170lbs

Personality: talkative and easy-going aka your typical extrovert; works hard when it comes to things he likes, but is otherwise lazy; lowkey observant and intelligent; very friendly and quick to make friends

Identifiable features: blonde hair, signature grin, loud demeanor

Likes: food, working out, games, sleeping

Dislikes: vegetables, studying

My Dear Aniki

By: Hell Jashin

Part 1: Stalker

Vrzzz.

Vrzzz.

Vrzzz. Vrrzzz. Vrrrrzzz.

"Psst. Aren't you going to check your phone? Looks like you got a bunch of texts. From someone named—"

Naruto paused in twisting his neck around to try to catch a glimpse of the text boxes that briefly lit the screen, but the words got caught in his mouth when Sasuke's hand came down onto the table, effectively covering the screen as he quickly snatched up his cell phone and shoved it away in his pocket. A single blonde brow arched in question as he gazed curiously at the ravenette next to him who appeared ticked off.

Idly, he scratched the back of his neck as he focused his attention back on the lecture on hand. Hmm, that was odd. Was it a group chat? He thought he saw an unlisted number on the screen instead of a name.

The blonde decided to shrug it off, attributing the weirdness to Sasuke's typical demeanor. Ever since he met Sasuke two months ago at freshman orientation, he always thought he was an interesting, brooding fellow. Quite the opposite to his openness and low key obnoxious ways. However, after signing up for a few similar courses, they began hanging out and studying together.

You could say that they were friends, but if you asked Sasuke, he would shrug and ignore you. The blonde laughed quietly to himself. Che, what a total cutie.

When Sasuke's phone vibrated once, he didn't think much of it. When it vibrated twice, his fingers had paused over his laptop keyboard and he held his breath. When it vibrated a third, fourth and fifth time consecutively, his palms grew clammy and his heart thudded against his ribcage almost painfully.

His hand had slammed over his phone recklessly to hide it away. He vaguely noted Naruto's curious expression, but he could not bear to glance in the blonde's direction lest he become barraged with a bunch of questions. Sasuke held his breath, and when the blond decided to turn a blind eye, his shoulders sagged slightly in relief.

Unequivocally, he knew who it was without needing to look at the messages. It would have been an unlisted number anyway.

He could change his number, but no matter how many times he did so, that man always came around to acquiring it.

Fuck.

His bottom lip grew bruised from being clasped between his teeth and he released it with an exhale.

Fucking shit.

Why couldn't that man just leave him alone?

But it was his fault, too. Sasuke was a goddamn masochist for being such a curious person. He always ended up reading the messages sooner or later anyways as if he was compelled to find out what they said.

Aww, hell, and here came the itching desire to read those texts. Fuck his life.

Subtly, he pulled his phone out of his hoodie pocket and unlocked the screen. A red number five hovered over his message icon, and when he clicked on it, he immediately regretted doing so… just like all the other times he opened messages like those. Like he said, he was probably a masochist.

xxx-xxx-xxxx: Why are you running away from me?

xxx-xxx-xxxx: How can you be okay with being separated from me?

xxx-xxx-xxxx: Don't ignore me, Sasuke.

xxx-xxx-xxxx: You belong to me. Come back to me.

xxx-xxx-xxxx: If you don't respond, I'm going to post that video all over the Internet.

He called bullshit. No way would that man post said video on the web. He had always tried to covet Sasuke like a rare artifact, so there was absolutely no way he would do such a thing.

Yet, he found himself typing out a response.

Leave me alone.

This was why he ran away a few months ago. The man was a freaking lunatic. Fucking batshit crazy with a side of loony juice. And a control freak to top it off. And he hadn't realized how bad it was until that incident occurred that he couldn't take back or forget no matter how hard he tried.

So here he was on the other side of the world attending a university he had secretly applied to in his senior year of high school without telling a soul.

"Yo." A hand on Sasuke's shoulder shook him out of his thoughts. He looked over to see Naruto standing with his backpack slung over his back. "Are we grabbing dinner or what?" the blonde inquired, staring at Sasuke oddly.

The ravenette looked around. Everyone was out of their seats and half of the students were already filtered out the double doors. Sasuke quickly shoved his laptop into his bag, inclining his head towards Naruto as he stood. He tucked his phone back into his hoodie pocket and slung his bag across one shoulder.

"Where should we get some grub?" he asked as if he hadn't been reading an overbearing man's unrelenting texts seconds ago. Sasuke had to suppress a shudder from simply thinking about it.

The blonde tilted his head slightly, reaching a hand toward Sasuke's face. "You feeling okay? You don't have a fever, do you?"

Out of pure reflex and instinct, Sasuke slapped that hand away. Frantic almost. "Sorry," he mumbled afterward when he caught sight of Naruto's surprised expression.

He must have been on edge after reading those messages, and he felt the need to do a quick sweep of the room for those peeping eyes. However, he restrained himself, because there was no way that man was here. Sasuke's grip tightened around the strap of his backpack. Absolutely no way. He had made sure not to leave a trace.

"How about the burger joint across the street from the cafe we always go to?"

Once again, Naruto had proven to be an individual who could read the room and let things go. Sasuke appreciated that from the bottom of his mediocre existence. He cleared his throat and nodded. They had great milkshakes there. "Sounds good."

H.J.

Kitten: Leave me alone.

Leave him alone? He wanted to be left alone? The man's grip on his phone reflexively tightened, the massive centralized force causing the phone casing to split and pop open. Next thing he knew, the electronic device had escaped his grasp and smashed into the wall across the room, lying limp on the floor, dead like his heart.

Why did that text make him feel like a jilted ex-lover? It ruffled his feathers so much that he wanted to punch a hole into the wall.

He scoffed and laid back down in bed instead, covering his eyes with the back of an arm. Ridiculous.

There was no reason to say that to him. He only wanted what was best for Sasuke, but the boy insisted that he was crossing boundaries. Boundaries, his ass. They had no boundaries. Their relationship exceeded that of boundaries.

Ugh. He missed Sasuke so much that, each time he remembered just how much, the pit of his stomach would flutter with unease as if his organs were disintegrating inside. That was what tended to happen when a sick person didn't take their medicine: their sickness would relapse, and they would get worse.

Not that he was attributing his love for Sasuke to a sickness. In fact, it was an absolute blessing, heaven sent and God given to a degenerate like himself.

His days with Sasuke by his side, despite the challenges, were blissful.

And then, they got intimate. For him, it was the night they took a step in the right direction. It was the night he conveyed his emotions through his body and touch. He had filled so much of his love into that experience, and he knew the boy felt it.

However, for Sasuke (the man's palms turned into fists as he gritted his teeth), it was a reason to disappear and abandon him. It happened all overnight when the boy had managed to slip out of his arms and run away.

When he had awoken before the crack of dawn, he tore down the house in search of Sasuke. But he only found empty hangers and missing electronics. The shoes by the door were also gone, but his house key was still hanging from the hook.

He tried dialing and redialing Sasuke's number on repeat as he fished his keys out of the bowl while tugging on his clothes, screaming and crying for the boy to pick up. Instead, his call went to voicemail each time and he was left with the dial tone.

It was an understatement to say that the man threw a fit after the reality sank in. It was so bad that the neighbors called the cops, who showed up at his doorstep right when the sun started to rise. He knew that, when the men in uniform glanced over his shoulder and into the house that he had shared with Sasuke, it had not been a pretty sight. The mess he had made out of anger and the feeling of rejection were reflections of his mental stability and his wavering morals.

He needed the boy in front of him so that he could persuade him to stay. He knew that if Sasuke was standing before him, he would listen and be a good boy. But at that point in time, he hadn't even known where Sasuke was or what was going through his mind, and the fact that he refused to answer his calls turned the situation into a very frustrating one. And then, the next day when he made more calls, he received a message instead that said the number was no longer in use. If he had never melted down prior to Sasuke's disappearance, that inactive message was his last straw.

Just thinking about how he felt that morning after was enough to make his chest ache. He had never felt that his feelings were more dismissed and he was tossed away than in that moment as he contemplated ending it all.

Eventually, though, he had found his saving grace in the form of a piece of information. The man's unoccupied hand reflexively moved to grip at his chest, rumpling his shirt with white knuckles. His muscles rippled with every movement, and when he finally decided to remove his arm and open his eyes, he dug out the small piece of neatly folded paper from his pants pocket and held it above to stare at the words scribbled inside.

University of XXX, XX

117 Evergreen Lane

Apartment 153

H.J.

Two days later...

When Sasuke woke up on Saturday morning, he felt off. It was as if his gut was trying to tell him something important, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly. He tried his best to brush it off, because, really, how often did a sixth sense happen to drastically alter his day?

He had woken up early that morning as part of his early bird routine to go grocery shopping. Of course, going first thing in the morning meant he could avoid the crowd and get first pick on fresh produce, so it was always on his Saturday to-do list.

He grabbed his lanyard that held his student ID and keys and locked the front door prior to stepping into his car that he had bought from an old couple a month prior. As he sat in the driver's seat, he absent-mindlessly scrolled through his notifications, noting that that man had not messaged him back since Sasuke's last text.

This was good, he thought. Maybe it finally got across to him, and he would be left alone. He slid his phone into the pocket of his jeans and focused his attention on backing out of the apartment lot.

When Sasuke returned, he had two bags full of groceries and snacks. He juggled them in one hand while his foot kicked the car door shut and his fingers fumbled with his keys. Heaving inside when he had set everything down, he began to put each item away: fruits and veggies in the lower fridge shelves, protein above that, and snacks and drinks in the cupboard.

He was halfway through when someone rang his doorbell. Sasuke's brows furrowed, and he stopped rearranging the pantry items while standing on a mini stool for a moment. He glanced over to the kitchen clock. It was almost ten o'clock. Naruto was a whole hour early, which was unprecedented. They were supposed to go see a movie, but theaters didn't even open until eleven.

"It's open!" he hollered, loud enough for the blonde to hear as he busied himself with neatly piling up the canned chicken broth and corn.

Sasuke didn't realize that Naruto failed to hear him until a minute later when he had finished and climbed off the stool. "Hey, Naruto!" he grumbled as he stomped toward the door and yanked it open. "Didn't you hear me? I said it was ope-"

Instead of staring across into baby blue eyes, Sasuke had to look up, the height of the individual standing before him being much taller than he was anticipating.

Fucking shit on a stick.

His eyes blew wide open, and he gasped, immediately slamming the door shut. It connected with a bang and Sasuke fumbled frantically to lock at least one of the locks over the sound of his booming heartbeat, but he was too slow.

The doorknob twisted before his eyes, and the door was pushed open from the other side.

Sasuke stumbled backwards in horror, and before he realized it, he booked it. He hightailed out of there, shoving passed the man blocking the entrance with his large, wide form, and ran.

He didn't get very far.

He counted no more than five of his own steps pounding against the pavement before arms wrapped around his waist and lifted him up into the air like he weighed as much as a goddamn pillow.

The ravenette screeched as his legs instinctively kicked out in front of him in a poor attempt to make the perpetrator let go. Instead, those arms cinched around his waist even tighter than before, and much to his absolute embarrassment, Sasuke found himself being carried back inside his apartment.

How pathetic.

By the time the door was shut behind them and the boy was placed on his two feet, he was a heaving mess. "Let go," he said exasperatingly, attempting to pry the hands away from him.

Instead, he felt the man bury his face in his neck from behind and heard the blatant sound of deep inhales and poorly disguised sniffing reverberate in the quiet room. What. The. Fuck.

Sasuke struggled harder. "Itachi! Let go!" he yelled, and he was pretty sure the whole block heard him.

This man, Itachi, opened his mouth to speak, and each word that left his mouth caused his lips to lightly brush against Sasuke's neck. "I'll let go if you promise not to run."

The words were delivered so quietly that Sasuke had to strain his ears to catch them. "Don't run from me, Otouto."

"It's not like I'll be able to," Sasuke nearly shrieked, but his words came out defeated. As soon as Itachi's arms left his body, Sasuke immediately put distance between their bodies. He moved to the other side of the room without hesitation, then turned a watchful eye on the man before him.

Everything about the Itachi before him reminded Sasuke that not much had changed in the last few months. His long, jet black hair was in its typical ponytail and he wore mostly dark colors. If anything was slightly different, then it was the extra muscle that the man packed on, giving his body a more muscular appearance. And… as always, there was that sterling silver necklace hanging from his neck attached to an engraved dog tag that Sasuke had gotten the man for his birthday before everything went to absolute shit between them.

"I've missed you" came the words that did their job to make Sasuke uncomfortable. His fingers began to wring together as a nervous habit, and he had to turn his hands into fists to prevent them from doing so. Subconsciously, he took a step back, welcoming the coolness of the edge of the kitchen granite counter that dug into his lower back.

Itachi had to force himself from advancing toward the boy. He didn't know if Sasuke knew, but he currently looked like he was about to cry, and Itachi hated it when Sasuke cried. He wondered why the boy appeared so afraid of him and had to rummage through his brain to find a cause, and then it struck him.

Of course. That. It had to be that. There was no other explanation.

"Is your body okay?" he asked, his voice low and gentle to counter the skittish behavior he was seeing. "Is it because I hurt you? Were the hickeys uncomfortable, Otouto?" he went on. "Did I bruise you? I don't think you were bleeding. I checked after and-"

"Shut up!" Sasuke screeched, stopping Itachi's verbiage in its tracks.

Itachi's features changed from concerned to serious. "I knew it," he whispered vehemently as he began to take steps forward and closer to the boy, the urge to comfort Sasuke growing more urgent by the second. "I really tried to be gentle, Otouto. I knew it was your first time, so I tried to be really careful and patient, but you were crying for more and sucking me in. I knew it was a lot to take in and I really was trying to go slow, but you were so cute and you were clinging to me and wouldn't let go."

When he realized that he had gone on a rant, Itachi stopped himself. But Sasuke was now crouched in a squat with knees drawn to his chest, face dug into his knees, and palms clasped tightly against his ears.

"Just stop talking!" the boy uttered. "Please just leave me alone."

Itachi's brows scrunched together as his lips tilted into a frown. He could tell Sasuke was distraught.

Itachi dropped down to his knees, splaying them apart as he pulled the huddled boy into his chest. "Come here, my sweet Otouto," he murmured, cradling his body between his knees. He could feel an intense heat emitting from Sasuke's body, which meant the boy was probably crying.

"Don't cry. I'll slow it down next time, okay?" he cooed. "We can take a bath together after, so it'll soothe your body. And I'll clean you out so your tummy doesn't hurt, okay?"

Itachi cuddled the boy's body close, cinching his arms tighter around his body when he felt Sasuke begin to tremble. He whispered sweet, soothing words into Sasuke's ear as he stroked a palm up and down his back.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke's hoarse voice asked from within his balled up position. "I told you to leave me alone, but you're not even listening to me."

"I can't leave you by yourself, Otouto. That'd hurt too much. I want to make sure you're okay. You left me right after we had sex, and I was afraid I had hurt you."

Sasuke's hands balled into fists and his head shot up from his knees. "Stop talking about that," he hissed, glaring at Itachi.

"Why?" Itachi responded, his voice and gaze running ice cold. "Are you ashamed of me?"

The creak of the front door drowned out Sasuke's momentary panic. His eyes flickered to the front door, which was once closed, and his panic was amplified tenfold as a result.

"Sasuke?" Naruto's unsure voice echoed into the apartment as he seemingly attempted to digest the scene in front of him.

"NARUTO, LEAVE," Sasuke demanded as loudly as he could, but his voice held deep undertones of fright and anxiety. At the same moment he opened his mouth, Itachi stood up, his large form blocking Sasuke's body from view.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Sasuke winced at the tone. This was not good.

"Hey, man, I'm a friend." Naruto had his hands before him as he attempted to communicate the universal symbol of 'I'm harmless.' The blonde's eyes flickered nervously behind the taller man even though he couldn't directly see Sasuke.

"Are you a fuck buddy?" Itachi asked, voice devoid of human emotion. The way his emotions shut down completely like a factory shutting down its lights for the evening was enough to make the blonde shiver. It was truly a terrifying sight.

"No. Just a friend from school," Naruto muttered.

"If you so much as touch my Otouto, I will slice your fucking di-"

"Aniki, that's enough!" Sasuke screeched from behind, hand firmly grasping onto Itachi's wrist to prevent him from closing in on the blonde, whose eyes bugged out from his head. "Jesus fucking Christ," the boy bemoaned as his other hand covered his face. This was partly the reason he left; he was clearly trying to avoid confrontations like this. "Naruto, can you head home for today?"

Sasuke noticed the way the blond eyed him, as if silently questioning if it was really okay to leave him alone with Itachi. He sighed and jutted his chin toward the door. "Let's talk about it another time. Please lock the door on your way out."

"Okay… give me a call when you have some time." The blonde's eyes flickered between Itachi and Sasuke once more for a split second before he twisted the lock in place and shut the door behind him.

"Don't fucking hold your breath, you sack of shit."

Itachi's muttered words reached Sasuke's ears, and the teen sighed and dropped Itachi's wrist. Sasuke's body sagged to the ground, shins pressed into the carpeted floor and head bowed in exhaustion.

Good Lord, he hadn't even made it to 10AM yet, and he was ready to bid everyone goodnight and tuck himself into bed.

"What's wrong, Otouto?" Itachi queried as he knelt down next to the teen.

Sasuke couldn't help it. As soon as he heard the question, he bursted into comical laughter. How could he possibly begin to explain to Itachi the ridiculousness of his behavior without it going into one ear and out the other?

He glanced up at the man whose large form basically swallowed up his own and wondered what he did to make Itachi so infatuated with him.

"Why are you ignoring me?" Itachi asked.

The downwards turn of his lips created a pouting image that was not suitable for the man's face. Honestly, if Sasuke told anyone that this crass, muscled giant before him who lacked regard for anyone in his life looked like a kicked puppy, they'd stare at Sasuke like he'd gone off the deep end.

Sasuke sighed. It would have been cute if he wasn't fed up with it all.

"Are you still mad at me for that night? If that's really the case, then I'm the one who should be mad," Itachi stated.

Sasuke kept his mouth shut. His brother definitely was not a talker. In fact, in public he spoke no more than short sentences when absolutely necessary, and he hated socializing. But when it came to Sasuke, he wouldn't shut up for the life of him. No matter how embarrassed his words made Sasuke feel. It must have been nice for Itachi to not be capable of feeling embarrassed.

"You promised. You promised me on that night that you wouldn't run away after."

"Hey, hold on a minute! I don't remember promising such a thing," Sasuke interjected.

"You did. I knew this was going to happen, so I didn't allow myself to fuck you until you promised, and then you said fine and kissed me. You sealed it with a kiss, Otouto. But when I woke up the next morning, you were gone and you took everything with you. You fucking abandoned me."

Fuck. To be honest, that sounded vaguely familiar. He had been sucked in that night and the pleasure had been so blinding that some things were a slight blur.

"You lied to me. Then, you cut off all contact with me. You threw me away after you had your way with my body. You're so cruel. Otouto."

Sasuke flinched at those words. He definitely sounded like the bad guy in the picture. But when he agreed to it, he didn't expect what followed to consume his entire being.

What they did that night permanently damaged him in a way that he still could not grasp months later. It drowned him, pinned him down, and suffocated his entire being.

On that night, his Aniki has been an entirely different person, and memories of that version of Itachi paralyzed him.

To add gasoline to the flames, Sasuke loved every second of that night. And that absolutely terrified him.