Lawl! Apologies for the wait. School is like...PUBLIC OR SOMETHING. So. Cute boys and homework: Gotta say, it takes a lot out of you. And I didn't realize how much action and plot devices I CRAMMED into this until I reread it. Wow. A lot goes down, so it's important to like, pay attention[Strong language and sexuality. Try not to get too horny. No, I'm kidding

Always by Blink-182


I've been here before a few times

And I'm quite aware we're dying

And I'm quite aware we're dying

And your hands they shake with goodbyes

And I'll take you back if you'd have me

So here I am
I'm trying
So here I am
Are you ready

Come on let me hold you
Touch you
Feel you
Always
Kiss you taste you all night
Always

If it wasn't the blaring alarm clock that woke me, it was the freezing wetness at the small of my back. I shivered and reached over to turn the radio off before turning my attention to the sticky moisture around my sides. Blindly, I stroked my hands over it and held it to my blurry eyes.

Red.

Red all over; everywhere. Thick sticky red coated my hands, my back, my hip...My shirt was sticking to me uncomfortably, and I blinked up at the still sleeping Naruto.

"...Hey," I growled with my scratchy throat, "Naruto."

He didn't answer.

"Naaaaaruto," I tried again. He remained asleep.

I sat up, his limp hands falling off me. I blinked away the dizziness and tried to focus.

"...Jesus fucking Christ."

I thought the bandages were his usual attire. I thought they were just scratches.

White bandage tape was now a dark fleshy crimson, dripping into a puddle on the sheets. I fell off the bed in panic, smeared in his fucking blood. I stood there staring at him for what seemed an eternity, shaky hands burning with his life essence. I could only think of one thing that could save me:

Big brother.

With numb legs, I pounced on my cell phone, shaky red fingers trying to dial the 1 for Itachi's speed dial. Holding it to my ear, I tried to get my throat to stop throbbing and tear my eyes away from Naruto's lifeless pale body. The dial tone clicked and his voice came to me.

"Good morning, little-"

"Save him," I whispered in my aching throat, "Save me!"

"What are you talking about, Sasuke? What's wrong?" his panicked voice rang out in the silent room, the dripping becoming louder and louder in my ears.

I couldn't say anything at that point. I opened and closed my mouth, trying to form words, but all that came was a shrill gasp.

"Don't cry, little brother. Hold on for me."

And he hung up, beeping informing me of his departure. I hadn't thought I was crying, no, until I felt the cold tears tickle the sides of my face and along my jaw. I dropped the phone with a clatter, it's beeping now a sweet voice telling me to hang up and dial again. Along with it, I dropped to my knees, knowing they would show deep blue bruises the next day. I rested my head on the edge of the mattress, watching silently as his wrists did not stop the flow. It dripped, dripped, dripped, and dripped until I thought it would drip no longer, and then it went and dripped again, proving me wrong. This went on until I finally felt strong familiar arms around my head, coaxing me against a firm chest. Pale slender fingers gripped my hair to keep me against him, his head resting over my own protectively.

"Don't cry, little brother, don't cry."

I watched with blurry eyes as Kisame took an estimate of the damage, flipping Naruto on his back and checking his pulse, breathing, and the works. But lifting him into his big grey arms, I looked up for an answer.

"...He's going to be okay," Kisame assured me quietly, hefting the young man out of the apartment and probably to his car. I wished to follow, but my body had relaxed at the news, not wanting to stand. Itachi loomed over me with shushed words and warm security.

"Calm down, little brother. Shhhhh," he hissed out from pale lips into my ear. He always called me 'little brother' whenever I was scared or sad, ever since my birth. And it's always worked. I turned around in his arms and latched myself to his chest, giving into the temptation to cry, sobbing loudly against him. He kissed me and held me close, telling me over and over again that he was here and loved me, the things I needed to hear. He carried me to Kisame's car, where we all got in and rode to the hospital. It was deadly silent, Naruto's head lolling about when we ran over bumps in the road. Kisame focused on the road and Itachi, who he would often glance at in the rear-view mirror. But Itachi had yet to let go of me, to stop calming me, kissing me. And I sat there, staring at the back of Naruto's blonde head as it moved with the rhythm of the car. I had stopped my sobs, but not the tears. I feared nothing could stop those.

Kisame carried Naruto to the emergency room, bursting through the door and hollering at the nurses, who came running on shuffled feet. I watched from my place in Itachi's warmth as they hauled the blonde boy away on a bleached bed. I remember reaching out with shaky hands, as if I could take him back, and I remembered Itachi hugging me even tighter, whispering his love as he swayed me back and forth, lulling me into a dreamless slumber.

---

Oh, the smell of antiseptic.

It's familiar and nauseating.

I blinked open my right eye, observing my surroundings. Last thing I remember was snuggling up to Sasuke, and now I'm in a hospital.

Fuck. Not again.

I flicked my wrists and realized I was hooked up to an IV. I didn't want to sit up, because if someone was in the room, they'd inform whoever brought me here of it. Guessing it was Sasuke, I wasn't ready to face him.

I opened my eye again to find said boy at the side of my bed, black hair feathered out across the sheets as he slept. His mouth was slightly open for breath, and all around his eyes were puffy and red. He'd been crying.

I watched him for a moment longer before closing my eyes and trying to sleep again, with Sasuke once again beside me.

---

Just about to take a drink, and it was ripped away from me.

"...No more. This is your eleventh cup today," he said, sipping it himself. I frowned angrily; not now, Kisame.

"You've got to be joking," I growl, glaring at him in all seriousness. His eyebrows arched as he took another sip, watching me with amusement. I didn't find it so.

"I am so going to fucking kill you," I hissed. He took his lips from my coffee to hum.

"That's a strong threat. Sure about it?"

I didn't answer, knowing he was just teasing me. I turned away, looking over at Naruto's room where Sasuke slept soundly. I wish I could go that easily.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was kidding," he said, holding the coffee in front of my face for me to take. I turned my head away defiantly. He shook it a little.

"...It's not like you to turn down coffee, Itachi," he said. I sighed, still not looking at the cup offered.

"...Well I'm unlike myself today," I retorted, curling tighter into the waiting room chair. Kisame was silenced at that, and I felt his strange beady eyes on me. I kept my gaze on my little broken brother in the room in front of me.

When we were just kids, mom and dad were killed in a bank robbery, ironically, the bank that dad owned. Sasuke had been there, visiting our busy father with mom, when the robbers came in. They killed everyone they saw and tore up the place looking for the cash, but they couldn't get into the safe. The police got to them before they could figure it out and they were arrested. It took the police 4 hours to thoroughly clean up all the bodies, and only then did they realize the little boy hiding under his mother's corpse. All the police could get out of the traumatized kid was his name, and when they called me, I practically ran the whole 6 miles to the bank. Getting to him, he cried for so long, I thought his eyeballs would fall out. Thinking such humorous things at the time was no place of mine; they were my parents too. After that, we were put under the care of our only living relatives, our aunt and uncle, until I turned 18, in which I could legally be Sasuke's guardian, own dad's bank, and get paid our parents life insurance, which was a staggeringly large amount, not to mention the bank was nationwide and prosperous. I bought a mansion for me and Sasuke to live in, and I work at home to take care of Sasuke. At first, Sasuke wouldn't talk to me for the longest time, wouldn't speak to anyone. After a lot of consoling and nearly a year of trying to decipher his silence, he talked with his little raspy voice.

"Everything was red," he had said, big black eyes full of tears. He's been afraid of the color ever since and has panic attacks when he sees blood. He had the toughest time when he was in elementary school, when he would fall down in the school yard and scrape his knee, and scream for me to save him. The school nurse would have to call me every time to get him to stop screaming, and working at home, it wasn't a problem. I never thought of it as a problem.

And here I was, watching it happen all over again.

Kisame knelt between my legs looking up at my solemn face, rubbing his calloused grey hands across my cheek.

"...Itachi," I heard him call out. I turned my eyes to him, barely letting myself breathe.

"It won't ever get easier for him, will it?" I asked, glancing back at Sasuke, like if I took my eyes from him, he'd start to cry again. Kisame pursed his lip, biting it.

"...I wouldn't say that. Blondie's a cutter."

I hitched my breath and stared at my boyfriend. He arched his fine eyebrows.

"...Blondie must have had his reasons, and seeing as he was bandaged beforehand, it could have been an accident or not meant to be taken this far. Seeing as Sasuke likes the kid, he's either got to get used to it, or dump him on his ass...The latter kind of seems impossible at this point."

I didn't reply, biting my own lip, no longer wanting to see the two in the other room. I became aware of Kisame's big strong hands again, sliding over my arm and down to my palm, squeezing it lovingly.

He leaned in for a kiss, and I gave it to him eagerly. He slid over me, and I felt the shivering of the cold waiting room disappear and replaced with a safe warm body against mine. I grabbed a hold of his tightly fitting shirt and tugged him impossibly closer.

The only one who could possibly make me feel warm again.

---

"...And I miss your laugh, your smile...

...I'll admit I'm wrong if you tell me...

...I'm so sick of fights, I hate them...

...Let's start this again, for real."

I opened a stinging eye to his sad face, his hands playing with the IV. He apparently thought I was still sleeping.

"...So here I am, I'm trying...

...So here I am, are you ready?

...So here, I am, I'm trying...

...So here, I am...Are you ready?"

I heard him stop singing and realized he was staring at me. I blinked, rubbing at my eyes to get the fuzziness out. He shifted his legs from under me.

"...Always," he whispered to me, skipping a verse. I didn't say anything to that, but I heft myself off my stool to crawl over his prone body, slowly seating myself in his lap. I saw his Adams apple twitch as he gulped audibly. His hesitant voice pierced the silent hospital air.

"...Sorry you had to go through with this," he held up his bandaged hands and wiggled them easily, as if they weren't entirely mangled and bloody. I bit my lip as some of it soaked through the white. I wouldn't give in this time, not now. There wasn't anything to be afraid of. I inhaled sharply and narrowed my eyes.

I slapped him; hard. He tilted his head to the side, his mouth parted slightly. I breathed heavily through angry puffs from my nose.

"If you want to be my fucking boyfriend, don't go around cutting yourself, you stupid asshole!" I cried, clutching at his hospital gown. He hadn't turned his head back, or even looked at me. It pissed me off even more, so I shook him harshly.

"Fucking look at me!" I commanded. He didn't move to do so.

"...Violent one, aren't you?" he hissed eerily, sharp pearly teeth smiling slightly. He gave a deep hum and turned to face me, eyes flashing that fucking color. In that moment of hysteria, I loosened my grip. He immediately took advantage of it, grabbing me by the throat and tossing me underneath him. I clawed at it as I couldn't cry for help, couldn't breathe. His red, red eyes stared down at me with a gleam of triumph.

"...Uuuuuchihaaaaa," he purred in a booming timbre that made my eyes water in fright. The personality I had encountered in the hall was now going to finish what he started.

"...Let..." was all I could whisper as he tightened his relentless grip. I wheezed for oxygen, but he only tilted his head in acute fascination with the way my face turned purple.

"...I could do really naughty things right now," he warned, "But for the sake of not getting caught by your big bad brother, I'll keep it to a bare minimum."

Bandaged hands tugged at my khaki shorts, ripping them down my hips to bury his hand down my boxers. I gave a troubled breath, kicking out as I could definitely not breathe now. He let up, barely, and kept his hand there to hold me down.

"You'll like this, I'm sure. I can only assume you want Naruto doing this to you, but he's rather distraught now. Thank you for the opportunity," he chuckled, wrapped a course hand around my dick. I gave a harsh yelp, and he was forced to stop squeezing my throat in the fear of me passing out. I kicked out again, but his body was too big against mine.

"Oh come on, Uchiha. You want this; I can smell it."

He stroked up and down slowly, drawing another pitiful yelp from me. Of course I wanted it, but not from this one.

I folded my leg to the point where it slid up the personality's lap and my foot pressed against his abdomen, ignoring the warm feeling curled in the pit of my stomach and the pleasure making me dizzy. With a swift kick, I threw him off the bed, the IV still in his hand jerking loudly and falling over with a crash. He made a horrible growling sound and looked about to tear my legs off, but as he lunged for me, Kisame had come up behind him for a headlock. Naruto's body thrashed and clawed out at me, screams of rage echoing in the empty white room. I lay sprawled out on the bed, watching his angry crimson eyes call out for death.

"I'll fuck you up SO bad, Uchiha! Tear up your bloody ass any fucking chance I get! Every chance! Just you wait! I'll rip you up so good, stitches won't even stop the blood! It'll be fucking EVERYWHERE. And it tastes like fucking candy!" he screeched, grinning. I curled into myself as I shook, his promises doing wonders to my phobias. I slapped my hands up to my ears, pushing against them to keep his voice out. It didn't work. Kisame saw me and tried to shut Naruto's mouth, but he was holding him back from what the demon wanted, my blood. Itachi had run off to get the nurses, so I was tortured further.

"Oh MAN! It's so fucking good! It's a beautiful red, and flows so sweetly! Jesus fucking Christ! I'm getting hard just thinking about it! Oh fuck, little Uchiha, I want to pound you until you split in half, until its red all over everything! Yeaaaaah!"

"Stop it!" I screamed, "Shut your mouth!"

I watched as he gyrated his hospital gown clad hips and his sharp fingernails flexed at me, reaching for me. He laughed as I turned away quickly.

"You are such a bad little bitch, Uchiha! I'll have you, and when I do, ohhhh...You'll be getting it soooo fucking good!"

I heard him stop talking, and as I turned to him warily, I saw the nurses shooting him full of morphine. His head fell limp in Kisame's arms as he was knocked out and put on a stretcher to be taken to a more secure room. As they all left, and Kisame and Itachi watched me, I let out a loud and frightened scream, digging my fingers into my scalp until I felt it grow painful and moist. Itachi tackled me down and held me there, his saddened black eyes full of pity and remorse. I tried to gulp down the eminent lump in my throat, but it was too big and hurt too much, so all I could do was cry out for my big brother on top of me.

"Please don't let him do those things to me, big brother!" I cried out, clawing at his biceps. He bit his lip hard and crushed me against him. I wanted to be safe!

"...Don't worry," he whispered in a choked voice, "I won't let him."

---

Days passed, and I couldn't bring myself to visit Naruto. Even when I knew it was visiting hours, and I had nothing to do at all, and Itachi was willing to drive me anywhere I wanted to, I didn't. And even though I knew it was Naruto's other half, not my boyfriend, who had threatened me, I wasn't going to take the risk of showing up to find the deranged red-eyed demon. In other words...

I never wanted to see Naruto again.

Harsh words, yes, but it was true. My body was on reflex to run away, and so was my mind. I couldn't face him in fear of, well, him.

I shifted a shaky hand through my messy hair and let out a frustrated sigh.

Shameful.

Itachi let out a soft wielded yawn and bee-lined for the coffee pot Kisame had filled only minutes ago, knowing Itachi's sleeping habits.

"...Good morning, little one," he said after a long, long sip of coffee, smiling tiredly at me. I glanced up at him from my homework on the kitchen table for only a second before returning.

"It's four in the afternoon," I stated, finishing the calculus homework with what looked like to be ease; it was anything but. He jumped up on the marble counter and folded his legs, watching me with lazy eyes from behind his coffee mug.

"...So it is," he confirmed with little emotion, to which he might have been embarrassed or in denial, but he wasn't. It was silent except for the scribbling of my stupid English paper due the next day, and the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner of the hall.

"You haven't been to see Blondie," he commented coolly. I stopped to actually turn to him in my chair. He shrugged.

"From the documents K uncovered, the super mastermind he is, Blondie's got a split personality disorder. You shouldn't use it against him."

"You weren't there," I spat as I stood defiantly, "You didn't hear what he said."

"K told me," he answered loudly, stopping my tirade before it got out of hand. I had forgotten about Kisame being there. I cursed under my breath.

"Well you of all people should be worried for my wellbeing!"

"Just don't upset him and nothing bad will happen to you." he sipped his coffee soothingly. I felt like throwing something at him.

"Oh yeah! Not like it matters if I'm scared or anything! Not like it matters if I don't want to be raped! God...I'm just a pussy, aren't I?" I yelled, scowling at him with everything I had, "I would have committed suicide if I wasn't so-"

Hands around my neck stopped my voice.

"Don't you DARE fucking say that," he hissed. It wasn't like he was choking me, but his shaking hands informed me he wanted to. He frowned in a way I'd seen hundreds of times:

Disappointment.

He let go and ruffled his hair, his teeth clenched angrily.

"...You and your fucking teenage hormones," he growled, eyes hating and painful. I watched and waited for something else, but nothing else came. Kisame found it appropriate to enter at that one moment, sliding up to Itachi for a kiss only to be denied miserably.

"Hey, babe, what's wr-"

"Don't talk to me," he snapped, turning fully away from me to show the extent of my words, of his absolute hurt and anger. He stalked out of the kitchen with a hesitant Kisame at his heels, trying to calm my brother by any means necessary. I clenched my fists and bit my lip, my throat tight and rough.

"Fine!" I screamed out to him, "But it won't be my fault if I die!"

I stormed in the opposite direction, dashing to my room and jerking a loose jacket and some tennis shoes on. I no longer cared about what happened to me, now, with that pained look on my brother's face fresh in my mind. I wanted to get Naruto out of my head so I could apologize to Itachi properly. And as I yanked on the doorknob and flew out the door, I promised I wouldn't come back until I had faced my fear and gotten Itachi a new feeling when he looks at me:

Pride.