Chapter 12 – How Broken Do You Think I Am?

"No word from the Konoha Ninjas on the latest scandal involving drummer Gaara attacking a patient at Konoha hospital-"

"Fans distraught at the recent events in which the Konoha Ninjas drummer physically assaulted someone-"

"There have been public demands to hear from the redhead, sadly no news has been released from Gaara-"

"Just announced, the Konoha Ninjas manager has released a statement regarding the attack. Unfortunately, the statement says little of anything, simply acknowledging there was some altercation but no details about Gaara's reasoning-"

"Will Gaara be prosecuted?-"

"Who was the person that Gaara attacked?-"

"What does this mean for the two lovers?-"

This was Naruto's life over the past few days, constantly flicking from channel to channel trying to find some show that didn't mention his current boyfriend beating up his ex-husband; sadly it was to no avail. Just as he turned off the television Sai entered the room.

"Did someone call for a tape of two fuckboys?!" he said triumphantly waving the video in his hand.

Naruto's eyes brightened, "You got it!"

"Did you doubt me kitsune?" he smirked, waving the tape in front of Naruto's face.

The boy smiled and snatched the recording right out of the smug man's hands, "I can't wait to tell Tsunade-sama!"

Sai smiled his bizarre smile, "No need, she has already been informed that you have possession of the tape," he took his phone out of his pocket, giving it a slight shake, "oh and don't worry about any copies, I met with the little thief and let's just say there is no way possible for them to have any replicates, or anything really."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Sai, you're not telling me you…you know?"

Sai, still smiling his sick smile, "Oh Naruto I didn't kill anybody, I'm a private investigator, I wasn't hired to do that, no I simply destroyed all of their belongings and set fire to their home. I didn't think they would need it since they were leaving Konoha, and I don't like to leave any loose ends."

"How do you know that they won't speak out after the fact? You did burn down their home?" Naruto asked.

"Did you forget? You told Tsunade to pay them the ransom for that little fiasco," he pointed at the video in Naruto's hand, "Now they have enough money to live anywhere, without a care in the world, if they're smart they will make that money last the rest of their lives, if not then I know some wonderful people that they can talk to."

Naruto shuddered, "Well thank you Sai."

"You're very welcome my friend," he said. He walked up to Naruto and gave his shoulder a little squeeze, "You be careful alright. Don't go do anything stupid."

Naruto sighed, "And what would you class as stupid?"

"Frankly, meeting with the Uchiha is a start. I just don't get it Naruto. You've done it. You've made a life for yourself and you did it without him, as far as I can tell you were happy before you allowed that sorry son a bitch back into your life. Why let him be a part of it? Especially when he has does nothing but cause a rift between you, your band and your boyfriend."

"How do you know that?" Naruto asked.

Sai gave him a displeased look, "Naruto I'm a private investigator not stupid, even I have seen the headlines."

Naruto looked away in embarrassment. He didn't want to reply but Sai kept staring at him, "I know it will sound stupid but I do want him in my life, despite how it ended and the lies there was a part of him that treated me well and wanted me to be safe. And whether people like it or not I did once have feelings for him, I guess Gaara was right, those feelings don't quite go away, and I want him in my life as the friend I used to think of him as."

Sai had a frustrated look of disbelief, "And you really think that will work out?"

Naruto, a bit unsure asked, "What do you mean Sai?"

Sai shrugged his shoulders, "If you ask me, it is best for you to avoid the Uchiha completely. Like I said you were perfectly successful and happy before you reencountered him. And clearly, your continued interaction has an effect on people. I mean you haven't seen Sasuke in what months? And you finally reunite and he kisses you. Don't you see that as a bit of a step back for him?"

"He apologised for that!" Naruto defended.

"I'm not saying he didn't, what I am saying he is mentally ill Naruto, if you really think there can be a reality where you two can live in harmony as friends then you are truly blind," he turned to leave, "Like I said Naruto, I hope you know what you are doing, for despite the way we are associated, I do like to think of you as some sort of friend and I do care, believe it or not. Goodbye Naruto and good luck."

He left Naruto there a bit stunned; he never thought that the private investigator, who had previously hit on him, would actually try to give him advice. But he had to admit it did leave him thinking.

(Time skip)

Another week had passed before Naruto made the decision to follow through on his plan; he was going to the hospital himself to personally hand the tape over and hope to convince the Uchiha brothers not to press charges against Gaara and not to say anything to the media.

Sadly Naruto had to sneak into the building; every entrance was hounded by reporters. Luckily for him, Itachi was doing business with a certain little apothecary in Konoha so Rock Lee was happy to help Naruto with his truck. In the dead of night, they drove in. Once inside, Naruto kept his hood up, his sunglasses on and a surgical mask over his mouth, he wanted to make sure that no one could recognise him. He didn't stop until he reached Itachi's office; he knocked politely on the door.

"Come in," Itachi said.

Naruto opened the door revealing a tired looking Itachi with his head in his hands, "Hello Itachi."

Itachi looked up, his eyes widened in shock, "Naruto," Naruto his off his disguise revealing his tanned whiskered face, Itachi stood up and quickly rushed to Naruto and calmly grabbed his shoulders, "You shouldn't be here, go now."

Naruto took the video out of his pocket, "I thought you would want this."

Itachi stopped and stared for a moment, "The surveillance tape?" he took it from Naruto, "How did you get this?"

"Let's just say I know some people, don't worry there aren't any copies," Naruto replied.

Itachi quickly turned back into his office and opened his safe and quietly deposited the video inside.

Naruto stood behind Itachi and timidly asked: "Is Sasuke okay?"

"He has a broken rib, honestly I thought it would have been a lot worse the way your boyfriend was hitting him. Sasuke he was, he was so bloody and bruised after Gaara left, I should have stepped in sooner," Itachi replied.

Naruto looked down, "It's not your fault Itachi I shouldn't have come round in the first place, and then none of this would have happened."

"Naruto, you were trying to heal and we all understood that it just, it just got too out of hand," Itachi said somewhat unsure if what he was saying was the truth.

"Can I see him?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto that's not a good idea, after everything that's happened-"

"Please," Naruto interrupted, "You can stay in the room, there's something I need to ask him, ask the both of you."

Against all better judgement, Itachi agreed and led the blonde to Sasuke's room. Itachi knocked on the door lightly before entering; he shook his brother awake and turned the light on.

"Itachi what's going on," his brother asked quite groggy.

Itachi didn't say anything, he could barely look at brother, he felt so guilty despite the fact that the bruises had healed. Naruto decided to take this moment to enter the room, the younger raven-haired boy stood up, suddenly alert, but Naruto put his hands up gesturing him to calm down and be quiet.

"Sit down Sasuke," Naruto whispered.

Sasuke did as he was told, sitting back on his bed "You came back," he breathed.

Naruto looked at Itachi; the doctor stared back before taking a seat himself. He took two seats from Sasuke's table and moved them, one to face opposite his brothers' bed and the other to sit in front of the door which was situated next to Sasuke's' bed and bedside table. Itachi sat opposite his brother whereas Naruto sat on the seat in front of the door so he was situated between the two brothers.

Naruto couldn't help but stare at Sasuke, his face covered in lines which he couldn't tell if they were signifying his age or his tiredness. He also had a slightly crooked nose, courtesy of Gaara, and he was holding his side.

"I needed to talk to you both," Naruto started, "Sasuke I'm so sorry for what's happened to you, I shouldn't have come, it was selfish of me to come here and risk your health-"

"Yet you've come back," Itachi stated sternly.

"Yes, because I am a selfish person and despite everything that we've done to each other, I still want to be in each other's lives. But if we do this, we need to set the record straight."

He turned to Sasuke, "Sasuke I'm sorry for what has happened to you, Gaara should have never come here and I should have made it clear when you kissed me about where we stand. I didn't then but I will now. Sasuke we will never be a couple, we were once and it was probably the most toxic relationship in existence, but before that when we were friends there was something there, something that I valued and cared for and when I saw you here again I saw the same, no, a better person, someone who I want to associate with. But I won't if that means it will be detrimental to you and your health. I would rather know that you are well than see you suffer."

"No, I don't want that-" Sasuke tried to say before he was interrupted by his brother.

"If you really believe that then why are you here, you could have sent someone else to give us the tape and you certainly could have told us all of this over the phone or in a letter? You're a real hypocrite Naruto," Itachi replied, now very angry.

"Itachi please-" Sasuke muttered

"No it's alright Sasuke," Naruto interrupted, "I am a hypocrite, I won't deny that. Call it selfishness or pride but I felt like I had to tell you these things in person, I don't know why but I felt that if I simply wrote or called you wouldn't feel the weight of what I'm trying to say to you, do you understand Sasuke?"

Unfortunately, Sasuke only heard part of the information, "Did you really return the tape?"

Naruto nodded, "I figured, after what you told me about your family, you would not want the video to come out as much as I, if not more."

Sasuke looked to his brother.

"He's not wrong," Itachi said,

Sasuke then turned back to Naruto, "I suppose you're here then to convince us not to speak to the presses or to our lawyers about the attack,"

Naruto shifted uncomfortably, "Yes, I came to do that as well."

Sasuke also shifted, he felt a little confused and angry, "So really you're just here to protect your boyfriend, you're not here for me."

"I am not here to defend him," Naruto said bluntly, "you both have every right to be angry, he hurt you and that it never okay. You can sue him for all I care, he clearly deserves it, and I'm not trying to convince you otherwise. All I ask is that you wait."

"Seriously Naruto?" Itachi shook his head in disbelief.

"You've said it yourself Sasuke, the Uchiha's care about their reputation-"

Itachi couldn't believe what he was hearing, "That's it Naruto you need to leave, you've said your fill and quite frankly it was unnecessary. Please go."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Itachi."

"Even if you hadn't come here we would have never released a statement to the press, Sasuke convinced me of that-"

(Flashback)

"Sasuke we have to report this!" Itachi said rushing over to his brother who was beaten black and blue. He desperately tried to treat his brother's wounds.

"No," Sasuke said simply.

"Sasuke I know you want to protect Naruto, but his boyfriend beat you up, what if he does the same to Naruto-"

"HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT! I LET HIM ITACHI! I LET HIM BEAT ME UP!" Sasuke shouted back. His brother's eyes widened, "Did you really think I am that weak that I could not defend myself, Itachi I may have been here for a long time but trust me, I know how to fight back."

"Why didn't you then? You have a broken nose, a black eye, split lip, a broken rib and you are covered in bruises," Itachi looked at his brother concerned.

"Because Itachi, despite what you may believe, I agree with Gaara, I agree that I haven't suffered nearly enough to compare to Naruto. By letting him beat me up I thought maybe I could get a sense of the pain he had been through. I just want to understand." Sasuke replied with tears in his eyes, his brother could not be sure if it was his emotion or from the pain of his wounds. "We won't do anything, do you understand me Itachi?"

"-If you don't believe me check the tapes, apparently they're free reign now. Heck, maybe they will convince that hostile boyfriend of yours of how much Sasuke cares about you and how much is willing to endure to be something that you are proud of," Itachi concluded, "But after this-"

"We still won't say anything," Sasuke stated.

Itachi turned to his brother, "Sasuke you can't be serious."

Sasuke eyes darted to Itachi, he stood up, "We will not say anything," He turned to Naruto, "You want us to hide? Fine. You want us to lie? We will. You want us not to say anything until your album is released? Then we won't. I said that before and I will say it again."

"Sasuke," Naruto breathed.

"I have one condition though."

Itachi perked up, staring at his brother intrigued.

"I wanna hear the album. I need to understand what you've been through, I thought being abstinent from alcohol would work but it didn't, I thought being here would help, but it hasn't. Painting! For goodness sake, I thought painting would help me visualise what you've been through, but all of these things did make me feel better in myself as a person. I should be happy, I'm healthy but I'm not because I feel so guilty about what I did to you. Hell, I even thought getting beat up by your boyfriend would give me some idea! I mean, yeah I'm in pain but how am I supposed to know how you felt? I can't unless you tell me. It's probably one of the many things that were wrong with our relationship, we didn't communicate in the way we should have, but I'm ready now. Naruto please, I need to hear it. I need to understand," Sasuke concluded.

Itachi looked at Naruto for a reaction and he wasn't disappointed, the blonde had tears in his eyes and the most thoughtful look on his face. It was quiet for a moment before he replied with a look of purpose and seriousness, "Okay Sasuke, okay. You can hear it; I'll get it for you."

Author's Note

Hey guys, so I haven't written an author's note in a while and I don't expect people to read this but hey who knows right?

So thank you for the followers and reviews that I have been getting for this fanfic, as I mentioned in a previous author's note I understand that I am not entitled to have many readers or reviews and for that, I am completely grateful.

Some of you guys may not know but I love to respond privately to your reviews, unfortunately, I cannot with anonymous reviews as there is no Fanfiction account that I can contact. If you don't mind, please login to so I can reply privately to your reviews and personally thank you guys individually (Also I go into far more detail in private replies as long as it doesn't include spoilers, hint hint) but I understand if you don't want to and that's okay too.

Love you guys and if you have any questions whether it is about the fanfic or why I chose to do certain things in whatever chapter, please do not be afraid to ask.

I will now take this moment to reply to some anons xx

To the anon who reviewed chapter 8 (they didn't leave a name, sorry) – This is going to sound bad and I'm sorry if I ruin it for you, but honestly, I wrote that chapter months before it was uploaded so I cannot really remember what Naruto noticed about Sasuke, sorry. I think, when I was reading it back, it was something about his mannerisms that was different from their reunion at the charity concert in the first fanfic.

To the anon who reviewed chapter 10 (again no name) – Yes it was an overreaction on Gaara's part, on the other hand, I think Naruto's reaction was right for the event in question. After all, he knows what it feels like to be cheated on and my impression of it was that just a kiss is cheating as well and he doesn't want to cause the same pain that Sasuke caused him. I probably did not make that clear enough, sorry.

To Genji who reviewed chapter 10 – Mate you have perfect timing; I was just looking over chapter 11 when I saw your review and I was like, does this person know where I am heading with this, it made me very happy.

To Naru kun who reviewed chapter 10 and 11 – Again, Gaara did overreact, and I'm sorry you did not like my portrayal of Naruto in chapter 10, to me, it really was a moment of weakness for Naruto so I felt it was necessary for him to have that breakdown and I hope you understand my reasons. I'm glad you liked Naruto in the most recent chapter, the way I saw it, enough time had passed for Naruto to accept that the kiss happened and start to move on from it. You also have some very interesting ideas for what could happen in future chapters, however, I am not going to reveal what I have planned mwhahahaha. Thank you for your continued interest in my fanfic.

To the anon who reviewed chapter 11 – I'm sorry you feel that way but at the end of the day this is my fanfic and I chose the title and storyline. If you don't like it then don't read it, it's as simple as that.

Love you guys, see you in the next chapter x