Disclaimer: I don't own nothin'. Seriously. Check my pockets, wallet and under my bed. You won't find anything but a few ticket stubs and a family of dust bunnies.
Full Summary: "Give in to us." Darkness. There was darkness and shadows all around. They were living in a dream world, but whose dream it was... well, that was simply a matter of opinion.
Pairing List: Naruto/Itachi and Naruto/Sasuke
Warning: There will be threesomes in this story and while there will be no real incest there will be man on man on man. If any of this offends you, please click the back button now.
Chapters: Epilogue
Updates: Each chapter should be posted every four days after the previous one unless outside interference prevents me from reaching the internet/computer to upload it.
Beta: My awesome friend Takibi-sama who puts too much of his free time into reading over my stuff. He's such a sweetie. You gotta love him. *hugs*
A/N: Alright, here we go, the final part that my beta, once again, was the insistence behind me writing. He thought that this would close it off nicely, and while I agree, I also hope that I left it open enough that it won't mess too strongly with your own theories on what's been happening.
Enjoy the final part :)
Epilogue
My eyes slip open and a choked gasp automatically escapes as my hands clench beneath me automatically. I feel material between my fingers and it startles me enough that I sit up and look down at the twisted mass of sheets covering me.
I look around my room and the whole place feels alien to me. Snippets of the world I've left behind flicker across my eyes and I start to shake.
Was it real? Was it a dream? Is this just one more part of it? No.
It's not. I know that for sure. The moon is shining through my window, and everything is less suffocating. There is no one in control, and these shadows aren't moving off the walls and towards me. I'm home; in the real world.
I start to shake harder as I bring my hands up to my head. Images of them - touching me, biting me, kissing me. They fill my head and I can't get them to stop. I don't want them to stop.
I throw off the sheets, fighting with them until I'm released. I rush to my bathroom, stumbling slightly before I get inside and turn on the light. I rush forward towards the sink. I press my hands into the basin and stare into the mirror.
Bags are under my eyes and my hair is obscuring my vision. I look worn out, but there's not a mark on me. There's nothing that makes my dreams a reality and it hurts. The three of us, we had been so close and I had felt so safe, so cared for and loved.
But what was that? Just a world in my head? But how could it be? Sasuke and Itachi had called it their world… but they'd also called it mine. Could this have been something planted in my mind by the Sharingan? Had it been triggered when… when Itachi died?
I felt my heart clench and ache from pain. Something I had wanted not long ago now hurt so much.
Itachi.
I squeezed my eyes shut, suddenly mourning the person from my dreams. He had been so gentle with me.
I slowly opened my eyes and looked back at my reflection. My eyes glistened and I looked down into the sink. Why do I care so much about someone when all I'm feeling for them isn't even real?
"Because it felt real," I whispered, thinking back.
Sasuke had been so normal and the whole thing had felt like a jutsu, not a dream. I felt like I'd spent weeks in my mind – and who's to say I hadn't? Maybe this was a jutsu, something like the Mangekyou technique. Maybe Sasuke and Itachi were in it, living and talking and reacting they way they would if they could.
Choose for today.
I stiffened as what they said entered my mind. Was this what they had meant? I was leaving and they wanted my… choice?
I suddenly felt cold and wrapped my arms around myself, walking away from the mirror until my back hit the wall. Choose? How could I choose between them, how could I know this was real and… and Itachi had told Sasuke it wasn't fair. My eyes widened. He was right. It wasn't fair, because I had no choice. Itachi wasn't here to make any kind of competition, only Sasuke was.
And you want them both. "But I only have one choice."
I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the floor. I wanted them both, but they couldn't co-exist together, so I had to have one and I only had one option because only Sasuke was alive.
Would I pick differently if Itachi wasn't dead?
I put my face on my knees, because I didn't know, and I couldn't be sure I ever would. So there was only one option, because I needed them, and if the feeling was this strong and this deep - then it wasn't a dream, and I was wrong.
This time I would remember; I just wouldn't return.
A/N: Is anybody else feeling a little sad for our characters? Specifically Itachi? Although, everyone did kind of get the shit stick in this fic… maybe next time I'll be nicer. Maaaybe. Anyway, please let me know what you thought of this. I'd be much obliged. *grins*
