AN: I know that in canon that Madara is way older than Fugaku and shouldn't even be alive in this, but I changed a lot of ages for this fic. If anyone would like to know everyone's ages just message me.

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"I'm serious, Hidan. This is the last time."

Pulling up his pants, Hidan smiled smugly. "You said that last time, and here we are." They were in a public park no less. Neji must have been really hard up for sex. When the teen had called him, he could hear it in his tone of voice. He'd heard that same tone on the addicts he sold narcotics to. The teenager was addicted whether he knew it or not. "You know I'm always here to satisfy your needs."

Neji felt disgusted with himself when Hidan kissed him. Usually after consensual sex, guilt was the last emotion that he experienced. But, now, in that moment, he wanted the ground to open and swallow him.

He couldn't face Itachi. Not after this. Hidan was sitting there on the bench, still shirtless, as he casually smoked a cigarette. The smell of latex, sweat, and tobacco made Neji feel nauseous. What in the hell had he been thinking?

He hadn't been thinking. Lust had clouded his judgement like it always did. "Delete my number," he spat venomously. "I want nothing else to do with you. This is it. You got that? We are done!" He picked up his shirt and walked off.

"What in the fuck is your problem?" Hidan discarded the cigarette. Leaving his shirt on the bench, he walked up behind Neji and grabbed him by the arm. "What kind of fucking game are you playing, huh? You begged me to come out here, to fuck you real good, remember that? Now you're acting as if I forced you or something!"

The man's nails dug into his arm painfully. "Get your hands off of me," he warned. He had no idea who Hidan thought he was, but Neji wasn't some damsel. The biker would soon realize that. "We fucked. Now leave!" He shoved the man off of him.

Hidan was violent by nature. All it took was that small shove for his true colors to show. With the back of his hand, he slapped Neji hard enough to draw blood and yanked him by his shirt. "Listen here, you fucking slut, you can't just use me however you please and just throw me away!" His hand balled up into a fist. The sound the teenager made when he punched him in the gut made him smile.

Neji spat blood in the man's face.

The two blows left him dazed, but he wasn't labeled as a prodigy because he was easy on the eyes. With all of his strength, he kneed Hidan in the balls. He was far too annoyed to pull out some fancy move or get into a stance. Street fighting was also something he excelled in. While Hidan was bent over, cupping his sack and cursing belligerently, Neji landed a clean punch to the man's jaw. "The next time you put your hands on me, I will kill you." He would be damned if he allowed another man to abuse him.

He gave Hidan's crouched form one last glance before he hurriedly walked away. This was bad. How in the hell was he going to explain this to Itachi? There was blood on his lip; it felt busted. He just knew there was a bruise forming on his stomach.

He could always lie and say that he was mugged. Knowing Itachi, the man would want a description of the assailant so he could notify the authorities. Even thinking about Itachi made him feel sick to his stomach. Itachi didn't deserve this. Yes, they weren't exclusive. But it still felt like he'd cheated.

The bright side was that he could make up a believable lie to cover up what he'd done. After what had happened with Hidan, he was emotionally frazzled enough to be convincing when he told Itachi about how he was blindsided by an unknown man. If he cried hard enough, he could persuade the man not to call the police. As fucked up as it was to lie about something like that, Neji would do anything to keep this from Itachi.

Silently, he made a promise to himself. No more. No more sleeping around or partying until dawn. Neji wanted to become a person worthy of Itachi. He couldn't take back what he had done tonight. The only thing he could do was make sure it never happened again.

The walk back to Itachi's penthouse felt longer than it really was. Neji was dreading it. God, he really couldn't face the Uchiha right now. He still smelled of sex and failure. Itachi deserved better than this, better than him.

Taiko at the front desk gaped at him as he walked through the lobby. Neji thought the man would run to him and ask him what had happened, but he only continued to stare at him, fish-out-of-water style. Ignoring him, Neji made his way to the elevator. He hoped the security guard wouldn't pry. The more people that he told his bogus lie to would only make it that more difficult. Only Itachi needed to know.

During the entire ride up, it never crossed his mind that Itachi would turn the tables on him. He was convinced that a shower and a few lies were all he needed to sweep this incident under the rug. But he had underestimated the man.

The elevator chimed. Neji took a deep breath before stepping off of the elevator. As soon as he turned the corner to enter the kitchen, he saw Itachi sitting at the bar stool with an envelope in his hand. The man's head was down, long, dark hair kept him shrouded from view. The lights in the kitchen were dim, so it made it all the more harder for him to see anything.

"Itachi?"

"I saw you."

Three simple words was all it took for Neji to panic. He wanted to ask Itachi what he meant, but, deep down inside, he knew. But how? Had he followed him? Neji had to lean up against the nearest counter. Itachi had seen him. How much had he seen? If he'd seen it all…

Itachi dropped the thick letter on the counter. "I wrote you a letter of recommendation and forged the required service hours you needed. You can send it to any university of your choice. Make copies of it. Do whatever you will with it."

Tears welled up in his eyes. Not for his own sake, but because he could hear how miserable Itachi sounded. Each broken catch in his voice sent a stab of pain through Neji. This was his fault. He was the source of Itachi's current suffering. "Itachi, I am so sorry." He took a cautious step forward with his hands outstretched. He just needed to touch him. He just needed to wrap his arms around the man and ask him for forgiveness.

Itachi must have heard him approaching because his head shot up. "Was it so hard for you to wait for me?" His eyes were red and swollen from crying. He looked feral. Like, if Neji took another step closer, he would lash out. "I trusted you! I let you in..." He covered his face with his hands. "Leave...Just leave me alone."

"Itachi, please don't give up on me," Neji sobbed. "I..." 'Need you.' "Please. I'm sorry."

Shaking his head, Itachi refused to give in to the boy's pleas, as much as it killed him. "Do you love him?" He shouldn't have asked that. The truth would probably make the pain in his heart that much harder to bear.

"No!" Neji answered quickly. "It's not what you think. I don't care about him, Itachi. I care about you!" Great way to show him, Neji. "I regretted it as soon as I did it."

"Did you tell him to stop? Or did you allow him to finish?"

"I...We finished," he quietly confessed. "You need to understand—"

"Understand what? Explain to me why you had to leave my house to fuck someone in the public park!"

Neji didn't like to be yelled it. They weren't dating. Itachi sure as hell didn't own him. Admittedly, he'd fucked up, but, he wasn't going to just allow the man to yell at him. He was also embarrassed. Itachi had seen him in action. The man had seen who he really was behind his mask. It was the end for them. Neji just knew it. No man wanted to turn a slut into a boyfriend. He was damaged goods. He had been since the night of his father's funeral.

"We're not dating, Itachi. You couldn't give me what I needed, so I went to someone who would!"

Needed? Since when was sex a necessity? Itachi's analytical mind took that information and combined it with the other bits of information he'd been secretly compiling on Neji. The bruises on his neck and the bruises on his back that he had no idea that Itachi had spotted last week, were already causes for alarm.

The display in the bedroom earlier that evening had really been the icing on the cake. Itachi wouldn't label Neji as a sex addict because he wasn't a professional. However, he was comfortable enough to say that there was something rather odd about the teen's overall behavior.

Yet what could he do about it? Itachi had his own problems. He wasn't strong enough for this. In his fragile state, everything was a trigger. "I'll have someone drive you home." Itachi wasn't a monster. As hurt as he was, he wished for Neji to find happiness in life. He just did not think that he was the one who could give him that. "Thank you for everything."

Itachi got up from the stool with the intention of calling a cab once he was in the confines of his bedroom. He just needed to get away from Neji while he still had the strength. Midway through the dark hallway, he was stopped in his tracks by Neji pressed up against his back with his arms around his waist. Immediately, the tears that he'd tried to fight back escaped.

Neji's entire body trembled as he sobbed uncontrollably. "I can't lose you! You're the only good thing in my life..." He clung to Itachi's shirt desperately. He pushed Tokuma away. He kept Lee out. But he didn't want to lose Itachi. He couldn't. "Please, Itachi. I can be better."

God, he wanted to believe him. Itachi wanted to tell the teen that everything would be alright. He wanted to assure him that they could move past this. However, every time he closed his eyes, he saw Neji riding the stranger without a care in the world. His self-esteem had already been fragile. What he had witnessed had only served to break him back down to square one. Had he ever been good enough? Or had Neji only felt sorry for him? Itachi could no longer tell.

"We knew from the start that this had a time limit on it..." So why would they invest that much time on moving past this situation? In the end, it would mean nothing. "I need time away from you," until he could bear the sight of Neji without thinking about the expression on the teen's face while the biker was inside of him. "I just can't do this, Neji. I can't always wonder what you're doing...who you're doing, while you're not here with me." He was insecure as it was.

Neji's hands dropped to his sides. "I understand." He honestly did. "Goodbye, Itachi." He walked past the man to retrieve his overnight bag from the master bedroom.

Itachi continued to stand there in the hallway long after Neji gathered all of his belongings and left. When he could no longer stand, he slumped to the cold floor and allowed darkness to consume him.

Fifteen minutes after leaving Itachi's, Neji stepped out of the cab with his bag in tow. The night was still young. There was a dime bag of Adderall in his pocket and he had a fake ID in his wallet. All it took was the right mixture of pills and strong vodka to make him forget all about Itachi. He could easily find someone to take him home for the night. They'd fuck him without caring about the busted lip or the bruise on his stomach.

They wouldn't ask as many questions as Itachi always did. They wouldn't make him feel as valuable and appreciated as Itachi always made him feel. Who was he kidding? The best thing that had happened to him was gone. He had no one to blame but himself.

Reaching his destination, he knocked on the door. Tonight, he wasn't going to be alone. He couldn't be alone. He needed to be in the arms of someone who loved him.

The door finally cracked opened. Lee poked his head out. When his eyes landed on Neji, his drowsiness seemed to dissipate. His eyes focused, becoming more alert, landing on the boy's busted lip. Then, they spotted the overnight bag on Neji's shoulders. Quietly, he opened the door wider, stepped to the side and allowed Neji entry.

Once inside, Neji tried to lift his arms to remove his bag, but they felt too heavy. Instead, he stood there as silent sobs wracked his body. He was tired. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. He was tired of living like this.

Neji opened his mouth to speak. "Sorry...Should have called ahead," his voice quivered.

Lee simply smiled at him, took the bag off of his shoulders and put it on his own. Symbolically, he was showing Neji that, when things got too heavy for him to bear, he would always be willing to help him take the load off.

Without a word, he grabbed Neji's hand and lead him to his bedroom. They remained silent as they climbed into bed together. Lee rested on his back so that Neji could lay his head on his chest and cry as much as he needed.

Another charity ball.

Fugaku was at the point where he wanted to hire someone to stand in for him. Oh, that's right. That was what he had two sons for. He snickered a little at that joke. The scotch was so strong, one sniff brought tears to his eyes. It was his first and only drink for the evening. The only reason why he had walked to the bar and demanded something strong was because of the way Senju Tobirama had been mean-mugging him all night.

After all of those years, the man still suspected him of ousting his affair with Madara. Of course, the man was right, but Fugaku wasn't going to ever admit it. He had his reasons for exposing them.

In actuality, he was just embarrassed at his younger self for behaving like he had. What he'd done had been childish. But love made people do foolish things. Hizashi had made people do foolish things. The man had been one of a kind. His charisma had been enough to make the mightiest of men crumble. Fugaku didn't know one person that hadn't been in love with Hizashi. Even the Nara clan head once had a crush on his older friend.

During those years, the only reason why Fugaku had ever been excited about attending one of these uppity events was because he knew Hizashi would be present. Now, he dreaded the very mention of a gala.

'Just fifteen more minutes. I'll shake a few more hands, make my rounds, and then go home.'

They only wanted his money anyway. He almost asked them if he could just send a check instead. Everyone asked him about Mikoto. He knew that they weren't concerned for his wife's well-being. They were just trying to pry to see if she'd truly lost her mind like the rumors insisted. if he ever found out who had started the rumor, he was going to wring their neck.

No one had dared to ask Fugaku if the rumor was true. He had been waiting for it. He needed someone to take his frustration out on. If Tobirama continued to stare at him like that, he would be the unfortunate recipient of Fugaku's rage.

Their eyes locked from across the room. Fugaku lifted his glass and tiled his head towards the older man. Tobirama did the closest thing to an eye roll and averted his gaze. Had he really loved Madara that much? No one really knew. Their relationship had been so under wraps that Fugaku and Hizashi had been the only people to know. But that was a long story. One he didn't feel like revisiting at the moment.

Lucky for him, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Turning around, he sat his glass on the bar and retrieved his phone. Heading for the exit, he answered the call.

"I just got off of the phone with Itachi...I'm worried."

That was all he needed to hear. Fugaku stayed on the phone while Shisui relayed everything that Itachi had told him during their phone call. Quickly, he made his way outside of the upscale hotel, ignored the valet requesting his ticket, and walked further down the street to flag down a taxi.

If Itachi's penthouse weren't so far away, he would have run there. After cutting in front of a young couple, he slammed the door in their faces and barked the address to the driver.

It was obvious that Shisui was crying because his words were incoherent. "Shisui," he interrupted calmly. "I need you to speak clearly, son. I'm on my way to Itachi's now. I need to know what he said." He needed to know what was wrong and how serious this was.

Fugaku remained on the line until the cab stopped in front of the penthouse. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a wad of bills and handed it to the driver. It was more than what the man would make in a week of driving people around. Lucky, for him, Fugaku only had one thing on his mind. Disregarding the driver's words of gratitude, he climbed out of the car and ran.

Taiko's head shot up when he saw the Uchiha clan head darting through the double doors with an urgent expression on his face. "Fugaku-sama?" He wanted to ask the man if everything was alright, but the older man ran past his desk and straight for the elevator.

The elevator didn't move fast enough for him. Cursing loudly, he slammed on the button repeatedly as if that would really help speed things up. The stairs only led to the eleventh floor. Itachi's floor was isolated from everyone else and was only accessible through the elevator.

At the time, he had thought that it would be a smart way to keep the snooping reporters out. The lengths they would go through to get an interview with Itachi were sickening. Journalists weren't human at all in his opinion.

His head was spinning on the ride up to top floor. He wanted to blame it on the Scotch from earlier, however, one glass was the equivalent to having drunk nothing at all to him. The alcohol wasn't the cause. He was nervous that, this time, he was too late.

"Itachi!" The elevator had barely opened and he squeezed out of the doors, yelling at the top of his lungs. "Itachi!" He didn't have to go far.

Itachi was standing in the kitchen with a knife in his right hand. Frantically, Fugaku searched his son's bare chest and arms for any signs of blood. When he saw none, he almost sighed in relief. But there was the matter of the sharp object in Itachi's hands.

"I just want it gone," Itachi sobbed. "I just want it gone..."

Taking slow, steady steps, Fugaku raised his hands as if he were approaching an injured animal. In a way he was. "Son, put the knife down. I'm here. Whatever this is, we can get through it together."

Shaking his head stubbornly, Itachi raised the knife. "It was all a lie. How could I have been so stupid? Someone like him could never..." He shook his head again. His hand tightened around the knife. "Why are you here?"

Fugaku continued to move closer. "Shisui called me. He was worried about you."

Hearing his best friend's name seemed to help. Itachi lowered the knife fractionally, but his grip on it did not ease up. "There is nothing to worry about. I just want it gone so the pain will stop."

"Want what gone?"

Hesitantly, Itachi lifted his hand. Briefly it hovered over his heart and Fugaku panicked because he thought his son was going to aim the knife there. But instead, the younger male reached up and grabbed a handful of his hair. "I couldn't find the scissors," he mumbled.

"You just want to cut your hair?"

"Yes..."

Had Itachi taken his medication today? It didn't seem like it. Though, he would get to that later. For now, he needed to get that knife far away from his son. "Give me the knife. Then, we can look for the scissors together. I can cut it as short as you want me to, okay?"

Itachi seemed to give it some thought. Cutting his hair had been a spur of the moment kind of thing. After trashing his bedroom, he tried to get rid of every single thing that reminded him of Neji.

There wasn't much in his home that held any significance so he resorted to doing something drastic. Neji had loved his hair. Or had that been a lie as well? Either way, he thought that by cutting it, he could cut all ties with the younger male. It was stupid. And, now that his father was there, he felt embarrassed for behaving so dramatically.

The knife slipped out of his hands and slid over to Fugaku's feet. With a defeated sigh, Itachi pressed his back against the wall and slid to the floor. It was over now. After that display, he would be admitted to a treatment center. His chances of seeing his brother again had already been slim. Now, he didn't know how long it would be before he saw Sasuke. If he told his father that he had no intentions of harming himself, would the man believe him?

Fugaku picked up the knife and placed it on the counter. "What happened?" he asked while he crouched down to sit next to his son. "Shisui said that you kept saying that 'he's gone'. Who were you talking about?"

"It's nothing. Sorry I worried you."

"Did something happen between you and Neji?"

Slowly, Itachi turned his head to face his father. How did he figure that? If he had known that Itachi kept in touch with the Hyuuga despite his orders, he would have said something already. Unless Shisui told him. "You told me to cut ties with him. But you don't even know him..."

Sighing wearily, he tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. It was pointless to keep the truth from Itachi. He would probably find out sooner or later. "If things would have turned out differently, Neji would be under my custody," he confessed. "It was another dying wish of Hizashi's that has been ignored." All thanks to a certain clan head that Fugaku wanted to personally castrate.

"Hizashi?"

"Neji's father." He glanced at his son. "Has Neji never mentioned his father to you?"

No. The teen had never discussed his family. Sometimes, it felt as though he had no family. In fact, Neji rarely talked about anything regarding his personal life. Everything Itachi knew about him was known to practically every citizen of Konoha. Had he ever really known Neji at all? There was so much going on. Itachi was tired of being in the dark.

He wanted to know why Neji hated being in the compound, and why he always had bruises on his body. He had refrained from asking in the past because he had thought that, with time, Neji would tell him everything he needed to know.

Itachi wanted to respect the teen's privacy. Despite how much it ate him up inside. But, now, he wanted answers, and, since he couldn't get them from the source, he would have to start somewhere.

"I want to know everything. Why would Neji's father mention you in his will?" Why would he trust Fugaku enough to give the man full custody of his only son?

Fugaku nodded his head. "I will tell you, but, first, I want to know what happened tonight. You had been doing so good these past two weeks."

Itachi didn't want to tell a soul what he'd seen in the park. Because, no matter how disappointed he was in Neji, he wasn't going to bad-mouth him or tell anyone about what he'd witnessed. What happened was between them, and the platinum-haired stranger who Itachi had the impulse to find and strangle.

"I am still doing good. I was never going to harm myself." He wasn't. There may have been a fleeting thought, but, in the end he decided to deal with his hurt and frustration without cutting.

Fugaku didn't know if that was the truth. When he had arrived on the scene, it really looked as if Itachi was going to stab himself with that knife. However, he also understood that he was looking through the eyes of a parent who had almost lost his son to suicide.

He had panicked. And his inability to trust in his son had clouded his judgement. In the past, he had made all of the decisions for Itachi. It was to the point where he was certain that the boy wouldn't know how to function without him. But it was because of his domineering parenting that they were in that situation now.

Placing a hand on his son's shoulder, he gave it a gentle squeeze. "I believe you, Itachi. Don't worry."

Did his father realize what those words meant to Itachi? And it wasn't just the words. Fugaku spoke with sincerity and his touch was comforting. Itachi visibly relaxed. For the first time in years, he felt completely comfortable in his father's presence. He didn't feel on edge, as if he had to constantly watch what he said and did in order to not upset the man. This was one of the things that he'd always wanted from his father.

"Thank you."

"Now, I think it is time that you learned the truth. I honestly don't know where to begin."

There was a melancholic expression on Fugaku's face that Itachi had never seen before. Scooting over closer, he grabbed his father's right hand and encased it with his own two hands. "You can start at the beginning," he suggested.

Squeezing his son's hand, Fugaku smiled. "Neji's father and I were lovers." He noticed the way Itachi's mouth fell opened, but he continued. "We met when I was sixteen. Since then, he has been the only man that I have ever loved," the only man that he'd ever been intimate with. "When he killed himself—"

"Neji's father committed suicide?"

"Yes. I'm honestly shocked that Neji has never mentioned his father to you."

Itachi pulled his hands away and sat them in his lap. Neji's father had killed himself? He could only imagine the effect that that had on the boy. Were there ever moments when Neji despised Itachi for his own attempted suicide? Still, Neji had never condemned him for that. They never spoke about why Itachi had felt the need to slit his wrists. The more his father told him, it became painfully clear that he had never really known Neji at all.

"So I guess I don't love him..." Itachi tucked his knees under his chin, wrapping his arms around his legs. "I don't even know him. Maybe this isn't love after all." He started to cry again. "But...it hurts so much..."

"Is the pain unbearable?" Fugaku asked.

"...Yes?"

"If Neji ever hurt you, would you forgive him? No matter how humiliating it would be to take him back. Would you do it?"

"If he came back now, I would welcome him with open arms..." If his father wasn't there, Itachi would try to find Neji and bring him back. "We ended on...horrible terms. I have every right to not want to ever see him again. But," he shook his head and cried harder. "I want him back. I hate myself for kicking him out. Does that mean that I am weak?"

Fugaku hugged his son. When Itachi trembled in his arms, he squeezed. "No. No, that does not mean that you are weak, Itachi. It means that you're in love. You don't have to know everything about a person to be head over heels for them." He could feel the intensity of the boy's pain through that hug and it killed him. "I want to encourage you to fight for him. If you think that he may share your feelings...I would want you two to make it work, because that is what I wanted to do with Hizashi. However, you know that I can't allow it. The clan needs you, Itachi. I need you."

Itachi wanted to nod his head like the obedient son that he'd always been. He wanted to assure his father that he would get past this and move on. His family and his clan needed him. He didn't doubt that. But, somehow, he felt as if Neji needed him more. "How long did you and Hizashi date?"

"We were on and off a lot. It wasn't until you were born that we ended our intimate relationship for good," he lied. There had been one more time before Hizashi died.

"You cheated on mother?" Itachi didn't know how that information made him feel. His father had said that Mikoto was aware of Hizashi. But how aware was she?

Fugaku pulled away from the embrace so he could get a better look of his son. Itachi wasn't a child anymore. He didn't need to treat him as one. "When I found out that I would be marrying Mikoto, I told Hizashi. Understandably, he was upset and instantly harbored a hatred towards her. I took it upon myself to introduce them and..." He shook his head, chuckling a little. "Mikoto understood why I was so madly in love with Hizashi. She knew there were parts of me that would always yearn for that man."

"So, she allowed you to...cheat on her?"

'Is it considered cheating if your mother joined in?' Fugaku would keep the question to himself. His son did not need to know that much. "Yes, Mikoto was aware of every time Hizashi and I met up together."

Did it make it better that his mother was aware of it? Itachi wanted to be upset with his father, but, then again, he simply didn't care as much as he should have. If his mother knew about it, and had allowed it, what more could he do or say? "You said that Neji would have been in your custody?" That was what he really wanted to know about.

"Hizashi always joked that, if something happened to him, he would want Mikoto and I to adopt Neji. Of course, we were more than willing to agree. A month before he hung himself, he had his will revised to appoint Mikoto and I as Neji's guardians upon his death. At the funeral, we came ready to take Neji with us," his face twisted into a scowl, "but, because of those useless Senju Laws, we had no claim on him."

"So you just gave up on him?"

Fugaku frowned. "Never. Once Neji turns eighteen, he'll never have to want for anything. I'll help put him through college and—"

"What if it's too late? Or what if something would have happened to him while you waited around for him to grow up? Did you ever try to oppose the laws? Or visit with Neji so he would at least know that someone outside of his clan cared for him?" Itachi's voice rose with every question. "During that tournament, when he basically cried out for someone to save him...you did nothing!"

It was all true. After Hiashi not-so-kindly reminded them about the Senju Laws, Fugaku had given up. Mikoto had been the only one that tried to find ways to override the laws. She had been vehement with her dislike towards Hiashi.

The woman had seen something in the man that frightened her, but Fugaku had ignored his wife. He had closed himself off, because he had been still mourning over the loss of Hizashi.

"I failed Neji..." The truth was a hard pill to swallow. He had thought that by securing Neji's financial stability for when he turned eighteen, that he was helping. But that was nothing. "I failed Hizashi."

"I don't want to make the same mistake, father." Itachi wiped the tears from his eyes. He had found his resolve. "I don't know what it is, but there is something going on inside of that compound. Something sinister. Neji needs me. He needs me more than the clan does. And I will do everything in my power to make sure that he is safe."

"Itachi—"

"I love him," he said with such conviction that he even startled himself. "If I have to, I will leave the clan like Obito did. You can't stop me."

That was exactly why Fugaku had wanted Itachi to cut all ties with Neji. He saw too much of Hizashi in that boy. What was it about these Hyuuga men that made people behave irrationally? Even Mikoto had fallen victim to Hizashi's charm. Now, his son was willing to throw away everything just to be with Neji. As much as he wanted to applaud his eldest son for fighting for what he believed in, Fugaku also couldn't lose his heir. Therefore, he needed to compromise.

Fugaku placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder when the younger male tried to stand. "Let's make a deal. From here on out, I will do everything in my power to figure out what exactly is going on at the Hyuuga compound. I have been down this road before with Hizashi. I too felt like there was something sinister going on with his family." And it turned out to be Hizashi's father that had been abusing the boy. Thankfully, Taiyou was no longer living. "Meanwhile, you take care of things on your end."

"Are you giving me permission to be with Neji?"

"Not indefinitely. Just until you take over as clan head."

He would only have a year with Neji. If that. Anything could happen during the short span of a year. Once Fugaku died, Itachi would have no choice but to take over. That could be tomorrow, or next month. It was difficult to determine. However, he was ready to spend every moment of it with Neji.

"I want to know more about Neji's father. Maybe it will give me more insight on Neji."

"Sure, but can we move this to the couch?"

Itachi stood up and offered his father a hand.

They stayed up long past midnight. Sometime during Fugaku's story, Itachi made himself comfortable and rested his head on his father's lap. Idly, Fugaku ran his fingers through his son's hair while he talked about his first love until the younger male eventually fell asleep. The story was pretty much over by then anyway.

There were some parts that he needed to leave out. Somethings were strictly between him and Hizashi. Even Mikoto didn't know everything that had gone on between them.

When Fugaku had mentioned, that, at first, he had been convinced that Hizashi was a sex addict, Itachi had given him a strange look. But Itachi kept his questions and comments at a minimum. He had been genuinely interested in what his father had to say. Fugaku couldn't help but wonder if history was repeating itself. He had never really interacted with Neji.

Still, the few times he had seen the teen in person, he always saw Hizashi.

However, he wouldn't jump to conclusions. Just because Hizashi had been, for lack of a better word, promiscuous, that didn't mean that Neji was. Just thinking about the amount of times he'd questioned his sanity while he dated Hizashi made him chuckle a little. A fool in love, was what he had been.

Hizashi's sexual nature had been the cause of the majority of their arguments. The teen had wanted sex all of the time, while Fugaku had simply wanted to hold him or just talk. It had been to the point where Fugaku thought the boy was having an affair. Then, he had found out that his suspicions had been correct. There had been an instance where Hizashi came to him while drunk and, in the boy's drunken stupor, he'd forgotten to clean himself. The look on Fugaku's face when he saw someone else's semen roll down his boyfriend's thigh had been priceless.

The Hyuuga twin had been a very complicated individual. To this day, Fugaku still didn't know everything about the man. Every time they had fallen out, they always found their way back to each other. Hell, even their sons were drawn to each other. What were the odds?

Fugaku couldn't recall a time when he'd ever been that affectionate towards Itachi. So many years, he had wasted on trying to mold Itachi into the perfect son. The first time he had realized that his eldest boy was a genius, he exploited it. He had known so many people who had the same kind of potential that Itachi possessed, but they had wasted it. He hadn't wanted the same for his son. Instead of allowing Itachi to make his own mistakes and learn from them, he had pulled the boy's strings like a marionette. Now was his second chance to do better by Itachi.

And he planned on doing just that. Most people didn't get second chances with their loved ones. After losing Hizashi, he couldn't bear to lose another precious person. Not like that.

Without realizing it, Fugaku dozed off as well. He had been in a dreamless slumber when the elevator chimed. Opening his eyes, he looked out of the skyscraper windows and noticed the sun faintly peeking from under the horizon. Dawn was approaching.

Fast, heavy footsteps could be heard on the marble floors of the halls leading to the den. Fugaku tried to think of who it could be at that hour. The first person he thought of had been Neji. Perhaps the teen had returned to mend things with Itachi. If that were the case, he would step back and give them their privacy. He intended to keep up his end of their deal. However, the person wasn't Neji.

Shisui looked as if he'd just left the office and caught the next flight out of Suna. And he had. His dress tie was loose, hanging around his neck, and if it weren't so dark, Fugaku would be able to see the male's red, swollen eyes. He'd cried the majority of the flight. The fear that he was once again too late wouldn't allow him a moment of peace during the three hour flight.

"Shisui?"

"I called you like fifty times. How is he?" He stared down at his best friend while he slumbered. "He didn't try to..."

"No," Fugaku motioned for the man to sit. "I should have known you would fly out here."

"What happened? Was it something with..." Shisui closed his mouth in fear that he would rat Itachi out if he mentioned Neji's name.

Fugaku sighed. "I know about Neji. They had a falling out. I don't know what it was about." And he didn't need to know. Whatever it was, Itachi already seemed ready to forgive the Hyuuga for it.

Shisui also sighed. More so out of relief. He hadn't even packed a bag before coming. As soon as the call had ended with Itachi, he'd made his way to the airport. During the drive there, he had called Fugaku. Lucky for him, the next flight had been scheduled half an hour after their call ended. The entire trip, he had been on edge. But, now, he could rest easy.

"Shisui, help me carry him to his bed."

. . .

When they tried to place Itachi in his bed, the man pulled Shisui in with him and spooned him. Even in his sleep, Itachi could tell when his best friend was around. He mumbled the man's name in his sleep, bringing a small smile to Shisui's face. There had been a time when Fugaku thought the two were far too close. But, now, he saw it for what it was. He couldn't have been more appreciative for the man's loyalty to his son.

"You can take your vacation early," Fugaku said before leaving. He needed to get home to check on Mikoto and Sasuke. "Itachi will need a friend like you during this time."

Shisui muttered his gratitude as he drifted off to sleep.

With a low growl, Hiashi yanked his brother's covers back. Another night of him finding Hizashi's bed empty. This time, the boy had the audacity to place pillows under the covers in order to deceive him. Why would he go to such lengths? All he had to do was tell him that he would be out. Wasn't Hiashi a merciful brother? Wasn't he understanding? If their relationship was ruined it was because Hizashi was such a lying slut.

He saw the withering flowers on his brother's nightstand. They were starting to smell and he didn't like it. Picking up the vase, he threw it against the wall. Seeing the flowers scattered on the floor brought a smile to his face.

There was a knock at the door. Hikari poked her head in to see that the ruckus was all about. When her eyes landed on her naked son, her eyes widened. "Forgive me, Hiashi-sama." She tried to close the door and leave.

"Come here!" Hiashi demanded.

Hikari did as she was bid. Her eyes remained downcast, more so out of shame, rather than respect. She knew better than to intervene. It was best to just allow Hiashi to have his way. That was how she operated with all of the men in her life. The less struggle, the better.

"Where is my brother?"

"I don't know."

"Are you lying to me?"

"I would never."

Hiashi stared at the woman from head to toe for any signs of deceit. His mother had always liked Hizashi more than him. Why should he believe a word that came out of her lying mouth. "Do you know what I can do if I found out you were lying to me, sweet mother?" He walked closer and cupped her face so that she would have to make eye contact with him. "Answer me."

"Yes, Hiashi-sama." Hikari cried out.

"Good. Get out of my sight." He released her and watched her scramble out of the door. Watching her squirm under him, submitting herself before him was enough to leave him semi-erect. Although, he wasn't interested in her in the slightest. She was worthless compared to Hizashi.

After looking though his brother's closet, he spotted traces of sand on the floor. He could only assume that that was where his brother took his nightly strolls. Hurriedly, he put his clothes back on. Their father was out once again. More than likely with his mistress. The man wouldn't be home until tomorrow afternoon. Hikari knew what was going on, but of course she said nothing.

It had been a week and four days without Hizashi and he was going insane. His brother knew that he couldn't function without him. They were twins. One couldn't live without the other. They were two halves to one soul. That was what their father had always told them. Hiashi believed that they were made for each other. No. No, he knew without a doubt that they were made for each other. Sometimes he liked to lay up for hours and compare their bodies.

Hizashi always called him sick or a pervert. Hiashi did not see himself as any of those things. He just loved his brother more than anything in the whole world. And one day, Hizashi would return those feelings, he just knew it.

The sand in his shoes immediately annoyed him and he whined a little once he felt it in between his toes. Hiashi thought about taking his shoes off, but that meant that he would have to carry them and he did not want to do that. Maybe if he found Hizashi he could make him carry them for him. That was what he was there for anyway. To love and obey.

Hearing his brother's voice, Hiashi perked up. Ignoring the sand in his shoes, he took off running in the direction of his brother's perfect voice. Then he heard another, unfamiliar voice and he stopped in his tracks. Anger had already started to consume him long before he spotted his brother and the Uchiha heir apparent having sex on a picnic blanket. Hiding behind a boulder, he silently fumed as he watched the two go at it.

Hizashi was straddling the other boy. He had never straddled Hiashi. His younger brother was even smiling. He had never smiled with Hiashi. At least not anymore. The moonlight illuminated Hizashi's skin flawlessly, leaving Hiashi infuriated that a worthless piece of shit like Uchiha Fugaku had the privilege of seeing his brother like that.

Hizashi belonged to him!

However, the desire to run over there and yell that to the top of his lungs, was overpowered by a stronger desire. While he continued to watch his twin brother ride Fugaku, he pulled down his pants, starting to touch himself. He tried to imagine Hizashi straddling him with that expression of happiness on his face.

As tears streamed down Hiashi's face, he stroked himself faster to match Hizashi's rhythm. Why couldn't Hizashi love him like that? What was so wrong with him that his own brother couldn't love him? He had always treated Hizashi like royalty. The boy had the privilege of lying with the future heir of Konoha's mightiest clans.

'That ungrateful bitch! If I can't have him no one can!'

No. That was insane. Hiashi was the only one whom deserved Hizashi. And he would make sure that he would be the only one to ever have a claim on his brother.

Hiashi couldn't last as long as the other two did. He ejaculated all over his hand. Smearing it on the boulder, he pulled his pants up. Tonight, he would allow Hizashi to finish things up with Fugaku. But, it would be the last time that the two ever had a chance to disrespect him again. He would make sure of it.

TBC

AN: Shit is about to get real!