Okay. My internet is busted. Soooo, I did the rest of the chapters, and am posting them all at once at a friend's house. This one's really short, but the next one is a lot longer than usual. Like I promised, it's ten chapters!! YES. I totally rushed this, so sorry. Thanks.

---

Waking up in an empty bed wasn't really a new thing. It wasn't expected, but it wasn't a surprise either. I had slept all alone for 17 years, and just now had I expected to wake up to a handsome sex machine snoring away, and that same assumption was dashed.

I attempted to sit up, inhaling sharply and pushing my palms flat against the sheets as leverage. But my shoulders were weak, so I had no upper body strength. My hips weren't going to get me anywhere either, and I knew it.

"Naruto," I whined loudly, eyebrows knitted together in frustration. I turned my head to the slightly ajar door, waiting for Blondie to show his vulpine face, but nothing came.

"Naruto!" I whined louder, almost a growl. Still, the door remained creaked open, and no cheery tanned face peering in, grinning at his distrustful joke. I wouldn't have found it funny anyway.

"I swear to God, Naruto..." I started. Saying it was a threat all by itself, so I didn't continue the statement.

But nothing happened.

"...What are you bitching on about?"

I jerked my head quickly to the bathroom, where Naruto was folding clean washcloths over the towel rack. I frowned up at him.

"Why didn't you answer me the first two times?"

He scoffed out a laugh, muffled by what I soon realized was a toothbrush.

"I thought you'd be angry about me not being in bed with you."

I scoffed myself, crossing my limp arms over my chest. I wasn't about to admit I was mad at him for it, I was better off thinking of an excuse.

"No, moron, I wasn't mad about that. I'm mad that I'm paralyzed from the waist down."

I watched amusedly as he swallowed his bright orange toothbrush only to choke it back up and splatter toothpaste foam all over the marble countertop. He coughed loudly, frustrated, as I just kept laughing.

"...It's too early for you guys."

I turned to Itachi and Kisame, peering in the cracked door with tired angry eyes. I slapped a hand over my mouth, cursing me and my blasted mouth.

I had yet to tell Itachi about my risqué bedroom tango with Naruto. But at this point, and seeing me naked under those thin blue sheets, Itachi must have caught on. His pale boney hands curled over the brass doorknob and opened the door with a creak.

"Sasuke, you need to keep your mouth shut. We could hear you down in the kitchen all last night and this morning."

I opened my mouth to apologize, but I was so speechless I was, well, speechless. He tossed his hair, the tips stroking Kisame's cheek unintentionally, and gave me a strange look.

"Now Kisame's never going to let it go: We're screamers." Itachi sighed angrily and Kisame heartily chuckled. "I could tell you had fun. You okay?"

I was still trying to find words to fit in my mouth, much less my head. I slowly raised my trembling knees so I could curl them to my chest.

"...It hurts a lot," I said quietly, uncomfortable under all their eyes and my sides' unrelenting throb. Itachi nodded curtly, turning on his heels.

"I've got some pills that work magic. Hold on, little brother."

And they were both gone, leaving Naruto standing in the bathroom and I sitting wearily on the edge of the bed. Naruto's hips swayed unintentionally as he stood more comfortably, eyeing me slyly.

"...It really hurts that much?" he asked under his breath. I nodded my head a little, my spine not cooperating.

"...When you do it every which way, everywhere you can, as fast as you can, I'm surprised my ass isn't bleeding out pints by now."

Naruto flushed and pouted, shifting his weight against the doorframe again. I straightened a little and smiled at him.

"I'm kidding, it's okay!" I reassured his weariness, "I liked it."

Naruto began to speak, but Itachi came back with three yellow pills and a cup of water, Kisame shuffling right behind him. I took it thankfully and swallowed them. It left a bitter aftertaste, but Itachi promised it would help.

"Try to get some rest, too. I can only guess how little sleep you've gotten."

I felt my cheeks get hot, and nodded slowly. "...Thank you, big brother."

He nodded too, taking Kisame by the hand and leading him out.

"...I hope Naruto doesn't wish for anymore. It's more than I need to hear," he said as he left. Naruto choked on his own tongue, his face as red as my own. It was enough that Itachi had heard, but with him telling us to be quiet, it was harder for me to keep my composure. I slowly lay back down, a smile on my broken lips. The bed dipped as I felt Naruto crawl over and lay on his side. I turned to him and was met with a heartwarming grin and a soft tan hand resting over mine, smoothing little circles into my pale skin. He leaned in for a kiss, and I eagerly accepted it.

And it was then that I lay back on my pillow, staring over at him as he was doing the same with me. His larger honey hands fully engulfed my boney cream palms, and I smiled wider.

"I love you," I admitted quietly, squeezing his thumb. His sapphires twinkled and his grin grew ten miles wide.

"Yeah...I love you too, baby."

There's never a happy ending.

We lay there silently, breaths coming in soft hums in the brisk air.

"...You've changed," I said. He arched a slim blonde eyebrow at me.

"...Really?"

I nodded. Quickly, I realized how strange he had become compared to when I first met him. I wondered where his shy nervousness had gone, or the innocence twinkling in those sky eyes. And then...

"...What happened to Kyuubi?"

He gave me a strange face. Confusion etched his whiskered face. I watched in horror as he said the words.

"...Who's Kyuubi?"

---

After I got that answer, I let the subject go. It scared me, wondering what happened to his alter-egos. But seeing as he told me nothing else, not remembering a single tidbit of info, we went on like I never even asked.

We held hands when we were in public. It was possibly the most exhilarating thing I had ever done. People would look at us funny, and we'd return the gaze. It was like everything was okay, and it would always be like that.

"...I guess this is romantic," he had said, lying under the midnight moon. The pond had shimmered so beautiful that night, and the grass we laid upon was damp with dew. And his tan scarred face was pale as I in the moonlight, making him look angelic and pure, like I'd always known he was.

"...I guess," I echoed. We had stared at the white dots scattering the navy sky, and we even mistook a few for helicopters. I could hear the ducks on the pond flapping about as they tried to sleep, and Naruto's steady breaths beside me.

"...Who's that guy you asked me about?" he had asked. I turned back to the inviting stars.

"...Someone I used to know," I had answered. And we left it at that. I had hoped it would be done, but I knew it would come around eventually; Just not now.

The moment was beautiful.

"...You look even paler than normal, baby," he had said, shifting those blues to me. I turned to him in return, looking over his own face.

"Well not like you aren't either."

He smiled bright in the white light and rolled his head over for a soft kiss, which I was only happy to give him.

As far as teenage hormones went, we did it right then, under that big morning moon, on the cold wet grass and ignoring the ducks making a fuss at us. It was so romantic, I felt gayer than ever, my face flushed red. I knew we'd probably never have a perfect moment like that again, so I savored every little bit.

We went back to school eventually. It's not like we really missed any of it. It turned out; most of the time we had skipped was fall break, so we had only been gone for 4 days on the school record. All the better, because I still had to keep my position at the top of all my classes. Naruto didn't really care, so it was all okay once again.

That was before we were torn apart. And we would never meet again, or so it seemed.

---

It all started when Kisame was a few minutes late with Itachi. Of course, Itachi bitched him out for it. But then it started getting later and later, and one night, Kisame didn't even come. I'd never seen Itachi so upset.

"...Do you think he's tired of me?" he had asked me. And I was taken aback. Itachi had never sounded so sad, and I always knew him to be stronger than me. But there he was with his arms shaking as he practically hugged himself, his poor black eyes quivering.

He loved Kisame. He was his high school sweetheart, and they've been together ever since I was just a little fourth grader. 7 years have passed, and only now does it come to a crashing halt?

"...He loves you so much, I'm surprised he lets you get out of bed in the morning," I told him. He gave me a weary little smile and an unsure nod. I guessed that was as much as I could get out of him, so I wrapped my arms around him securely, the way he would always for me. I realized just how tall I had gotten over the past year; so much I was bordering Itachi. But I gave his sides a squeeze and felt his thin little frame twitch under my hands. He had gotten skinnier, paler, and looked even more sickly than usual. That was what love did, I guess.

"...Don't you worry, big brother," I had almost laughed when I said "big", seeing as he was slightly smaller than me at his point. "He'll come back, and things will only get better. Everything will be okay."

It took him a split second to fling his arms over my shoulders and grasp me so tightly. His lithe frame had started to tremble.

"He promised he'd be here every day. Every day!" he cried loudly against me. It wrenched my heart, watching him tear himself up like that. I could see the doubt and the failure in his pure ebony eyes as he reminded himself of his loneliness. He was slowly killing himself.

I had to act like the older brother for the first time in my short life. I had to hold him as he cried, and comfort him with little nothings. He was undeniably grateful, and kept telling me how much he loved me.

It was that night that I would never forget.

But it was short lived, because a week later, Kisame came back.

Kisame had shown up in the middle of the night, and I had woken to them yelling. I had hidden out on the staircase and watched without their knowledge. Kisame had been dressed in a suit, and not any suit; Armani.

"What have you been doing to yourself, Itachi?" he asked angrily, holding him by the wrist and inspecting the rest of his boney body. Itachi wasn't strong enough to throw him aside anymore. So he stood there and reluctantly took it, his sad lifeless eyes darting across everywhere nervously.

"You broke your promise!" he cried out hoarsely. And out of a strange burst of uncharacteristic anger, he grabbed Itachi by the shoulders and shook him. Itachi limply jerked back and forth.

"I broke it so you would leave me!" he said. I was intrigued. Why would Kisame want Itachi to break up with him? Apparently, Itachi had the same question, but he showed it through a confused expression. Kisame sighed gruffly and closed his eyes.

"I'm moving," he said quietly. Itachi was breathless, so he continued. "I've been promoted to a really high position, but I can only work in Los Angeles. I either move, or I lose my job."

Itachi bit back quickly, or as quickly as such a sick man could. "What? I have all the money you could ever need! If it's money you need, I can give it to you!"

His pure desperation was hitting at Kisame's heart, and I saw him quiver before he controlled himself.

"...I'm tired of relying on you to live life. I'm tired of just cruising through life without a real meaning. I love you Itachi, God I've never loved someone as much as I do you, but I have to do this, or I can't live with myself."

Itachi was still trying not to panic, his breath uneven and failing. His eyes darted faster.

"...You can't be serious. I need you!" Itachi grabbed at Kisame's suit with his weak little hands. Kisame just grasped those hands and squeezed.

"I'm sorry, Itachi...This is why I wanted you to break us off like you said you would. If I didn't show up every day, you'd break up with me. And I thought you would stick to it, but I see you now, and you've only been killing yourself. Please don't do that to me, Itachi."

Itachi had choked back a sob in anger. "Don't do that to you? And what the hell are you doing to me? Do I mean that little to you?"

"You obviously don't get it, Itachi. I need to have something other than you to live for. I'm not going to spend the rest of my life lounging around your house living off your money. I have to do this."

I watched as Kisame brought Itachi's trembling hands to his lips and kissed them in a heartfelt farewell before slowly walking to the door. I remember the clacking his new leather shoes made against the polished marble floor, and the final click of the door. That was the last time I saw him.

Or so I thought, again.

Itachi had dropped to the floor in sheer stress and bodily exhaustion. I rushed to help him to his bed, and failed to spot the little white business card on the table that I now realize was Kisame's job in L.A.

---

It only got worse from then on. Itachi wouldn't get out of bed for at least a week. I got a little satisfaction in making him eat, but he only ate a tablespoon a day and I had to sit and watch as my brother starved himself.

Then, I thought I had gotten through. Itachi had started to eat in meal portions. It wasn't 3 a day, but at least it was working. Eventually, he was regularly eating and getting up to walk around the house. He refused to speak to me, to anyone. He stopped receiving calls from the bank, and I told him he was on vacation.

But one day, I was sitting at the kitchen table reading through a newspaper when Itachi showed up. I asked him what he wanted, but of course, he didn't answer me. He briskly walked over to the phone and picked it up, dialing numbers. I stood up in fascination as my muted brother put the phone to his ear and waited. I couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, but I wanted so badly to hear my brother's voice.

Finally, the other side answered, because Itachi spoke.

"Yes, this is Itachi," he said, his first words in over a month and a half. "...Yes...Yes...But I have a request."

I watched with big eyes as he pulled out a little white card from his pocket and examined it. I knew where this was heading, and I listened in horror.

"...I'm moving to Los Angeles, California. United States of America."