A/N: Thank you everyone! Your words make me smile. But now I'm brain dead after typing for so long in one sitting.

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Sasuke woke up drowsy. He was awakened by Naruto getting ready for work. He sat up on the bed, naked from last night's activity. He had let Naruto wipe him down clean last night, so he wasn't sticky or covered in dried cum. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. He looked around the room, trying to find his briefs. When he did, he was stopped by Naruto.

"At least put clean ones on." Naruto took the dirty brief away from Sasuke and gave him a clean one.

"Thank you.." Sasuke yawned once again as he slipped them on.

Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed and just stared out to nothing in particular.

"Good morning Sasuke." Naruto grinned as he kissed Sasuke's forehead.

"Mm." Sasuke leaned forward onto Naruto and hugged him.

"Hey Sasuke?" Naruto started.

Sasuke's ears twitched, so Naruto continued.

"Yesterday was nice. I'm not talking about last night, well I mean..that felt good, but when we spoke to each other? It made me feel much better, I'm sure you too. So thank you again."

Sasuke nodded and continued to hug Naruto.

"But you do you want to know when I felt that we could actually work out together?"

Sasuke looked up, curious to know what he was going to say.

"Do you remember when I was teaching you how to read and write?"

Sasuke nodded again.

"Well..I saw what you wrote on the piece of paper that one day. You wrote our names with a little heart in the middle?"

Almost instantly, Sasuke stiffened. He let go of Naruto and just blushed.

"Y..you saw it..?" Sasuke's face got redder by the second.

"Hehe..yeah..I couldn't help myself. Sorry." Naruto sheepishly grinned.

Sasuke let out some type of groaned mewl and buried his face under the pillow.

"What's wrong Sasuke?" Naruto started to lift the pillow, but Sasuke kept a tight hold on it.

"It..it's embarrassing..!" Sasuke's voice was muffled.

"Aw, it's okay Sasuke. To be honest, I didn't know you were that affected by me during that time. We even kissed, didn't we? I'm glad I saw it though. Although I was unsure, I thought maybe it's possible?"

Sasuke didn't move from his position under the pillow. The past flooded back into him and he was wildly blushing. To his horror, Naruto simply flipped him over and he could see his red face. Sasuke made a yelping sound and covered himself with the blanket.

"Don't be embarrassed." Naruto leaned down and kissed Sasuke through the blanket. "But I guess if you see the marks I made on your body you'll have a reason to be embarrassed.

Sasuke's ears perked. He threw the blanket off of him and ran passed Naruto. He quickly went to the bathroom in just his underwear. He looked at himself in the mirror and flushed. Red marks were spread all over his body. He had them on his chest and neck. He looked down at his legs and saw more marks on his inner thighs.

Naruto came in and hugged Sasuke from behind. He started to nibble on his stunned lover's neck.

"My revenge..but don't worry." Naruto blew into Sasuke's ear, making it twitch. "No one will see it except me."

Naruto slipped Sasuke's collar loosely on his neck, effectively covering the marks he purposely made in that area.

"Come here." Naruto gently pulled Sasuke's hand and went into the closet. "Put your sweater on, and you can wear this."

Naruto pulled out a white sweater for Sasuke and one of his black, plaid boxers. Sasuke quickly took the sweater and put it on. In a rush to cover the hickeys on his thighs, he put on Naruto's boxers backwards on accident before Naruto could say anything. His tail stuck out on the top uncomfortably, but he didn't care. He ran back to the bed and laid flat on his stomach with his face buried on the bed.

Naruto came over to Sasuke and looked at his tail.

"I'm touching your tail so don't get surprised."

Naruto touched the base of Sasuke's tail, and even though he warned Sasuke, he could feel his lover stiffen. He continued and put Sasuke's tail through the fly of the boxers.

"Does that feel better?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke didn't move for a bit. But when he did, he looked up with a pout of his face. He nodded despite his attitude.

"Love you Sasuke." Naruto gave a chaste kiss on Sasuke's lips. "I have to go now though or else I'll be late."

Sasuke's face fell and he sulked. He got up and leaned against Naruto's side, hugging him.

"I love you too." Sasuke whispered.

"Do you forgive me for looking?"

Sasuke nodded and played with Naruto's fingers.

"Guess what though, today's my last day being trapped at work." Naruto smiled.

Sasuke looked up at with glimmering eyes.

"C..can you play with me then." Sasuke's eyes were big, full of hope.

Naruto messed Sasuke's hair.

"Of course, we'll do whatever you want."

Sasuke gave a big smile that made Naruto almost faint. He just loved seeing Sasuke smile so much. He kissed Sasuke's forehead.

"Go back to sleep, it's really early and I think your body needs it."

Sasuke nodded and went back under the blanket.

"I'll see you later okay?" Naruto rubbed Sasuke's ear.

Sasuke smiled again and nodded. He then felt how tired he actually was once he started to close his eyes. He saw Naruto wave goodbye to him, so he gave a small wave back. He heard Naruto go down the stairs and out the door.

Even though he was tired, he got back up and went to the bathroom. He lifted his sweater, examining the marks Naruto made on him and blushed at the sight of himself. He quickly pulled it down, embarrassed that he was looking at himself. He then examined the boxers and his tail. He moved his tail around to test the movement, and he was actually content that his tail didn't feel constricted by the top of the boxers since it was inserted through the fly. It wasn't a perfect fit, but since his tail is positioned downwards most of the time, it didn't bother him. He also liked how the material didn't cling onto his skin.

Out of curiosity, he went into Naruto's closet to find more. He didn't really know that they were underwear, so he thought it was meant for him. He didn't even know he was wearing the boxers backwards. He started looking through the closet and saw a bunch of Naruto's clothings. He saw some of his clothes as well. He frowned, but then he saw a dresser in the corner and opened it. He saw his briefs and Naruto's boxers. He started rummaging through Naruto's drawer and picked out a dark blue boxer. He took the current black and white one off and replaced it with the blue one, careful to slide his tail through the hole.

He was content of the colour, and was amazed that there was so many of them. He wished Naruto had shown them to him earlier because he liked them compared to pants. He left the closet, leaving a mess behind him.

Instead of going back to Naruto's bed, he went to Itachi's room. He quietly opened the door so he could sleep with him instead, but Itachi wasn't there.

"Aniki?" Sasuke called out.

He stepped inside and saw the empty bed. He looked around the room and under the bed. He went to the bathroom, but Itachi wasn't there.

"Aniki..?" Sasuke started to panic. He ran out of the room and started yelling for Itachi.

"Aniki..!" Sasuke checked all the rooms on the top floor. He's never actually went that far into the hallway, but he tried anyways.

He started the run downstairs and checked the rooms there.

"Aniki!" Sasuke nearly shrieked. Fear that they were somehow separated again scared him so much.

He checked the kitchen and even where the maids slept. He accidentally woke some of them in the process, but that wasn't important to him.

He started to looked outside. He swung the back door open and ran outside. He couldn't stop the tears that came into his eyes. He fell to his knees, and then to his stomach, laying flat on the grass while crying.

All the while, Itachi was just stirring awake. He had heard commotion so he slowly opened his eyes to wake himself. He found himself curled next to Kyuubi and immediately moved back, startled at the pair of eyes staring at him.

"About time you woke up. I think your brother's going crazy upstairs. I can hear him screaming your name."

"How come you didn't wake me up then!" Itachi started to get out of the bed.

"You just looked so peaceful sleeping next to me."

Itachi ignored him and ran up the stairs.

"Sasuke!" Itachi called out.

On the way, he saw Sakura in her pajamas.

"Have you seen Sasuke?" He asked her.

"I did, he literally barged into our rooms and left. He was calling your name. I got worried so I was going to get you. I don't know where he is now though."

Itachi sighed. He went upstairs and looked in his and Naruto's room, but no luck. He checked the middle floor, but Sasuke wasn't there. But then he saw the back door cracked open just the slightest bit. He went outside and saw Sasuke flat on the grass.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke's ears perked up at the voice of Itachi. He got up with grass marks on his face, along with actual grass sticking to his face from his tears.

"What happened Sasuke." Itachi bent down and started to wipe Sasuke's face.

"Wh..where were you.." Sasuke hiccuped. "I..I thought you were gone.."

"Oh Sasuke..I will never leave you." Itachi hugged his crying brother tightly to his chest. "I was sleeping in the basement with..Kurama."

"How come you slept there..?" Sasuke asked as he started to calm himself, hugging Itachi tightly.

Itachi actually didn't know how to respond. He didn't want to say he slept there because it was the farthest place away from Naruto's room and that he had heard their late night activities. He didn't want to embarrass Sasuke.

"I missed having someone to sleep next to." Itachi quickly said, making an excuse.

"Oh.." Sasuke's ears fell. "Sorry.." Sasuke mumbled.

"No no..Sasuke, don't be sorry." Itachi started to feel conflicted. He didn't want Sasuke to feel bad because he didn't sleep with him all the time.

"Do you like him..?" Sasuke then asked.

"...what..?" Itachi was so thrown off from the sudden question.

"Do you like him..?" Sasuke repeated quietly.

"N..no..I mean..I like him..but..not..the way you..like Naruto..?" Itachi's heart was beating fast and he didn't know why.

"Okay." Sasuke wiped his tears.

"Why..do you ask that though..?" Itachi wanted to know why Sasuke would think that.

Sasuke grimaced.

"Because!" Sasuke didn't want to tell Itachi he was feeling defensive. He had forgiven Kyuubi for what he did before, but he was still wary. He didn't tell Itachi what had happened before between them, but he just felt like he needed to protect Itachi.

"Because..?" Itachi was curious from Sasuke's change of behavior. "You do know I did sleep with him before."

"Hmph." Sasuke's ear fell. He forgot about that. His face turned to pout.

"Are you worried?"

Sasuke played with his fingers.

"I..if you like him..th..then it's okay! But..i..if he's mean to you then I'll be mad..!" Sasuke pouted.

"Sasuke, you talk as if we are dating, but that's not the case."

"Oh." Sasuke mumbled. He suddenly felt confused. "You don't like him?"

And now Itachi was back to the beginning. Before he could even say anything, Sasuke spoke.

"How come you slept with him though. Don't you only sleep with the people you..love?" Sasuke tilted his head in confusion.

Itachi suddenly poked Sasuke's forehead rather hard, but not enough to actually hurt Sasuke.

"You're saying way too many things at once." Itachi continued to press his finger on Sasuke's forehead.

Sasuke pouted as he let himself get poked.

Itachi removed his finger and sighed.

"I don't know if I like him like that." Itachi whispered. The more he thought about it, the more he started questioning himself.

Sasuke had mixed feelings. He wanted Itachi to be happy, but he also felt that he needed to protect him. Sasuke was protected by his aniki all his life, so he wanted to somehow return that favor. But he didn't exactly know if he was doing it right.

"How did we even get to this subject." Itachi sighed again. "And you can sleep with people you don't love Sasuke. There's no such rule to that."

"Then I can sleep with Kyuubi?"

Sasuke didn't want to sleep with him. He was simply asking if it was possible, but Itachi read it wrong.

"No you can't!" Itachi yelled. He saw Sasuke flinch and he calmed himself. Why was he getting so worked up?

"I..I didn't even want to..! I was just asking if that's what you meant..!" Tears started to form in his eyes. "Stupid aniki..!"

Sasuke got up and ran inside the house. Itachi's ear slightly fell as he watched his precious brother run inside. He gripped at his chest. He couldn't believe he yelled at Sasuke for something so petty. He even called him stupid. He got up and went back in to apologize. He thought Sasuke would hide from him, something Sasuke did whenever he was mad at Itachi, but he found him sitting at the kitchen table.

"Otouto?"

Sasuke was still crying but he was sitting at the table because Sakura said she would cook fish for him. Sakura calmed him down a little bit, but he was still upset. He turned away from Itachi and folded his arms, burying his face in them on the table.

Itachi sat next to him but felt dejected when Sasuke shifted away from him.

"I'm sorry Sasuke. I didn't mean to yell."

Sasuke lifted his head. His eyes were filled with tears, but he looked at Itachi.

"S..sorry I called you..stu..pid." Sasuke wiped his eyes.

"No, it's fine Sasuke. I overreacted." He wiped Sasuke's tears with his sleeves. "What're doing here though?"

"Sakura..said she's going to cook me fish.." Sasuke sniffed as he was able to finally stop crying.

"I'm going to cook yours too Itachi." Sakura called out, overhearing their conversation.

"Thank you Sakura."

Itachi turned his attention back to Sasuke.

"I'm sorry for making you cry so much this morning." Itachi fixed Sasuke's messy hair. "Your hair's getting long again."

Sasuke looked at Itachi and then touched his own hair.

"Is..is it bad..?"

"Of course not Sasuke. You just need a little trim. Your bangs are almost covering your eyes."

"I don't like getting a haircut.." Sasuke mumbled. "They're mean.."

"I know Sasuke." Itachi sighed.

"C..can you cut it for me?"

"Sasuke, you do know I'm not good at cutting."

"But..you cut it last time." Sasuke whispered.

"And you like it? It's rather uneven otouto."

"I don't care..!"

"Go ask master when he comes back home. I'm sure he'll take you to someone better right? He loves you, so I'm sure he won't send you to the vet."

"Vet?!" Sakura was listening to their conversation still.

Itachi turned around to face Sakura.

"We were always taken to vets since we were born. We go there for check ups, grooming, and if our masters needed to, we were put into daycare there."

Sakura was never so keen on what happened to hybrids. She just chose to not involve herself with them. Naruto was her only acception. They were childhood friends but with different statuses. She of course didn't mind it at all. She was happy working for Naruto. She was the only one that knew about Kyuubi. And now that Itachi and Sasuke had become present in her life, she came to like them.

"Do..they mix you with animals?" Sakura hoped they weren't.

"We go to the same building if that's what you're asking. There's just different sections for us hybrids and animals."

"I hate them..!" Sasuke blurted out.

"I know otouto."

"What did they do..?" Sakura asked.

"Th..they're mean." Sasuke mumbled.

"They don't really care for us. We're treated even worse than the animals. They even get a bigger cage than us." Itachi felt disgusted thinking about it. He had never felt so grateful for having a master like Naruto.

"I don't want to get my haircut.." Sasuke put his head on the table and sulked.

"I'm sure Naruto won't send you to a vet." Sakura reassured.

"Hn." Sasuke didn't move from his position.

"Your fish is ready." Sakura said, knowing it would make Sasuke happy.

Sasuke's ears twitch and he slowly got up. He turned to Sakura and smiled. Sakura then wondered if it was normal to be that happy over fish.

"Fish." Sasuke sat properly and waited for Sakura to give him his fish.

Sakura gave both Itachi and Sasuke their food. Itachi thanked her, while Sasuke had a big smile on his face despite his previous demeanor.

"Can I have some too Sakura." Kyuubi came into the kitchen with a yawn.

Sakura was surprised that Kyuubi came up. Usually she brought him food at a later time.

"I'll need to cook it, so it may take a while."

"That's fine." Kyuubi sat on the chair closest to him, next to Sasuke.

Sasuke saw Kyuubi eyeing his food.

"Mine.." Sasuke turned away from Kyuubi with his fish.

Kyuubi laughed at Sasuke's actions. He saw Sasuke give a small glare at him.

"You're so energetic for someone who was up all night."

Sasuke froze and a blush creeped up his face.

"Why did you say that!" Itachi hissed lowly at Kyuubi.

"Y..you knew too..?" Sasuke looked at Itachi, his face red.

"He came to my room last night because he could hear your little moans and couldn't sleep." Kyuubi smirked.

"Stop it..!" Itachi harshly whispered.

Sasuke put his chopsticks down. He felt so overwhelmed this morning. Tears started to form in his eyes again and he stood up.

"Sasuke.." Itachi grabbed Sasuke's hand, but Sasuke roughly pulled away.

Sasuke was so upset. He ran upstairs without finishing his fish. He went into Naruto's room and went straight to the bed, but when he remembered what they did last night, he didn't want to be on there. There was just too many emotions for just the morning. He grabbed his stuffed cat off the nightstand and crawled under the bed. He hugged his cat while her curled up and cried.

Back downstairs, Itachi was angry with Kyuubi. He pulled him to a separate room so he could speak to him alone.

"Why did you say that to him! He's already been through so much this morning!"

Kyuubi sighed.

"He's twenty years old Itachi. He needs to grow up. He's having sex for god's sake! He's not your innocent little brother you think he is. You treat him like he's a little kid."

"He's my brother! I've know him for years!"

"I know you have. But what you don't know, is the him from the years you weren't together."

Itachi couldn't respond to that.

"Sasuke is very mature in his own way. I don't think you notice that. I'm sure the him you knew before is different than now."

Itachi sighed, because Kyuubi was right. He didn't feel like admitting it though.

"I told him that I missed sleeping next to someone. That's why I slept in your room instead of mine. I didn't tell him because I could hear him."

Kyuubi started to laugh.

"It's not funny..!" Itachi's never been so riled up to someone.

"It's pretty funny." Kyuubi laughed. "I bet he thinks you like me now."

Itachi sighed and looked away.

"For real? He thought that?" Kyuubi started to snicker. "But do you? I'm a pretty good guy you know. And we have slept together many times before."

Itachi didn't even answer him. He left Kyuubi, but he was met with Sasuke coming down the stairs holding his cat.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke's eyes were red and puffy from crying, but he had a determined look on his face.

"I'm done crying." Sasuke said stubbornly.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and went back to the kitchen table to finish his fish.

"See? He's growing up in his own way. Don't baby him so much." Kyuubi went passed Itachi and into the kitchen.

Itachi sighed in defeat. He never thought he babied Sasuke. But it was true, Sasuke is able to handle the truth. Sasuke is able to handle himself. Itachi had spent his whole life protecting Sasuke and his claimed innocence. But maybe it was time to step back. Sasuke had Naruto, and now he could finally have a life of his own. It was weird for him to think about it like that.

He then thought about Sasuke's defensiveness when Kurama was mentioned. Was Sasuke trying to protect him from Kyuubi? Has their roles reversed? Was Itachi the one that needed love now?

He suddenly thought of Kurama and he quickly shook the thought of him off. Him and the nine tailed fox? Itachi's mind felt so confused. Ever since he found out he had a little brother, he had already devoted his life to him. He already knew the reality they were in, but their reality has changed. Their life has changed and now he had choices. He didn't need to protect Sasuke anymore.

He went back to the kitchen table and sat down. He saw Sasuke smiling already. He was going to ask if he was okay, but he stopped himself. He took a deep breath and finished his fish. He saw Kyuubi talking to Sasuke and Sasuke getting all fluster. Itachi felt that Kyuubi was teasing Sasuke again about last night, but he just left him be. He watched Sasuke raise his voice to Kyuubi probably defending himself. He had a pout on his face that was just adorable. He finally saw the change in Sasuke. Even though Sasuke still cried a lot, he didn't always need to be consoled by someone.

After Itachi had finished eating his fish, he got up to put his plate away.

"Sasuke, can you give me your plate?"

Sasuke stuck his tongue out at Kyuubi and then grabbed his plate to give to Itachi.

"Oh Itachi! You don't have to do the dishes, I'll do them later." Sakura said while giving Kyuubi his food.

"It's okay Sakura, I can do them."

"No." Sakura said sternly as she slapped his hand away from the sink. "Go spend time with Sasuke."

Itachi could see Sasuke's face light up from the corner of his eyes after Sakura said. He nodded and whispered a thank you.

"I wanna play outside!" Sasuke excitedly pulled Itachi towards the back door.

"Yes, I'm coming." Itachi let himself get pulled with a smile on his face.