AN: This bit was written differently *cough*it was a LOT smaller*cough* so I improved it, to make it better. I mean, this fic was already big to begin with, let's at least write a decent plot with a lot of drama in the middle! I'm sure you all know what's happening at this point, right? So look forward to it!

Part I has all the info, disclaimers and so on.

This is the un-beta'd version.

Don't forget to review ;) Authors like to know what you think so you can help them improve.

Unmei no Koe

Part II

Five months after having Naruto as his assistant, the two co-workers had decided to take a break from work and go outside to enjoy the first warm rays of spring sun and take a stroll on the nearest public park.

Kisame had already taken Itachi's new novel to the publishing house, and now it was only a matter of days before things started to become unreal once more, and the editing proposals began. If the writer was lucky, he wouldn't have to change that many things about the book, although he had a feeling that things would be different this time. After all, for once he had presented a light plot that, even if filled with drama between the main characters throughout the story, had a nice, fluid happy ending. The publisher would be thrilled, confused and, surely, many questions would be asked.

Until then, though, Itachi felt that he and Naruto could afford to finally relax for a while.

It was a nice, windless sunny day, and the two were walking calmly side by side as they lazily licked the ice creams that the younger one had purposefully bought for them. Itachi had left his cane back at the office since Naruto had insisted that he didn't need it, which meant that he was currently being guided by the young man himself, arm loosely linked with his.

The peacefulness of the scene they were living seemed oddly out of place considering how stressful the last couple of months had been.

Sasuke, who worked mainly inside of Japan, had been forced by work to travel once more. He was visiting China this time; he had been away for two weeks already, and it seemed like he didn't know when he was coming back.

Itachi had asked Naruto to send the finished manuscript to him by e-mail, but Sasuke had yet to offer a reply with his opinion.

Even if Naruto said that he loved the book and that he was sure it was going to be a success, Itachi wanted to know his brother's thoughts on the finished piece. He had, of course, been reading a few drafts until then, but had, for some reason, refused to comment on them, and Itachi felt a bit nervous about it.

Sasuke had always respected his work, offering a few tips here and there, sometimes complaining about this and that, and he was generally very – sometimes cruelly so – straightforward, even if the older Uchiha did know that he truly loved his work.

Itachi didn't talk about Sasuke often, and still, for some reason, Naruto genuinely wanted to meet his brother and had actually e-mailed him about it once, but the younger Uchiha hadn't budged.

During the time he had been working with Naruto, Itachi had often wondered about himself and what was the real reason for this new drive concerning his writing. Yes, he was strongly influenced by Naruto's brightness along with his feelings for Sasuke, but it still confused him how strangely such divergent feelings inside himself had come together so nicely. This last book had been some sort of Ying Yang for him, in a way, and in spite of the lighter tone to it, after finishing it Itachi realized that he had not only rejoiced in the new light in his life, but had also mourned the place where his brother had once been.

It was weird, to say the least, to feel so thoroughly accomplished and simultaneously guilty.

It wasn't exactly a bad thing, missing Sasuke's constant presence and yet basking in Naruto's cheery consolation. Sasuke was there, of course, just…differently. Naruto hadn't been enough for Itachi to let go of his feelings, but he made it more bearable.

He felt himself becoming closer to Naruto from day to day. They had the kind of easygoing, comfortable relationship that Itachi never allowed himself to have with people outside of his family. This fact was something new to him, but something not at all unpleasant. Naruto was a sociable, lovable kind of person who always did his best no matter what. He knew how to deal with people, and in spite of his big mouth and sometimes extreme bluntness, his presence was a constant source of relief.

Itachi knew, somewhere deep inside of him, that he was heartbreakingly infatuated with Naruto's outgoing personality. He also knew, even if his assistant was low profiled about it, that Naruto harbored some form of crush for him.

Itachi often thought about himself and about what 'moving on' meant to him. Sometimes he wondered if Naruto might be his key to 'moving on' because, in the end, he had shown up in his life like fate had purposefully placed him there. Sasuke was never his physical lover, and sometimes Itachi did have the need to be intimate with someone. Sex wasn't exactly an issue for him, but when he seriously considered it, being in a relationship with someone was. It wasn't something he knew how to explain, not even to himself.

"Do you have someone precious to you, Naruto?" Itachi inquired, absently licking his lemon ice cream.

"All of my friends are precious to me." Naruto said in a heartbeat, making Itachi roll his eyes.

"That's not what I mean."

"Huh? You mean, like, a lover?" Naruto replied, sounding surprised at the question.

"Something like that."

"Nah."

Itachi huffed sarcastically.

"A social whore like yourself? I am appalled."

"I'm actually pretty picky about who I date," Naruto defended, his mouth full of his ice cream before swallowing. "I don't know, I guess I need to feel more than a light empathy, you know? We really have to...click, instantly, I guess. Why do you ask?"

Itachi all but shrugged.

"Just curious, I suppose."

Naruto made a sound with the back of his throat.

"But you do have someone like that in your life," he noted perceptively, the sentence not a question.

The blind man smiled ever so slightly, the action making him feel suddenly sour.

"What gave me away?"

"Your books," Naruto answered without hesitance. "In every single one of them, no matter the context, there is this frustrated, sad aura of a love that is doomed or something like that."

"How very insightful of you." Itachi mumbled. Of course Naruto would have noticed, only now he was bolder in pointing such things out. "Is there a trash can around? I'm done."

"But you haven't finished your ice cream yet!" Naruto exclaimed, sounding horrified, and Itachi knew, for a fact, that Naruto was highly against wasting food. Still, he couldn't bring himself to eat anymore, and he didn't like sweet things to begin with. "Shit. Just hold on to it for a second."

Naruto fell silent for a while as they continued walking. The noises of him hurriedly slurping the rest of his ice cream and stuffing the cookie cone inside his mouth made Itachi chuckle in amusement and shake his head from side to side. Then, Naruto snatched the ice cream from his hand and started to promptly eat it.

"You're a weird person," Itachi observed, fondly.

"Blegh…"

"Brat."

The sound of nature around them was soothing, as well as the warmth of the sun and the casual chatter of people going by around them.

"Nee, Itachi…" Naruto called softly. "I don't want to stick my nose where it doesn't belong but…you do know that I'm…well…interested in you, right?"

Itachi didn't reply immediately, unseeing eyes looking ahead to the path he couldn't see. The confession didn't take him by surprise, of course, even if it did make his heart beat a tiny bit faster without really overwhelming him, probably because he was comfortable enough around Naruto to know that, no matter what he said, things wouldn't change between them.

"You know I don't like mixing work with pleasure," he said simply, as if talking about the lovely weather. "Not that I'm not flattered or anything."

Naruto slurped noisily on the ice cream, his intense gaze almost piecing Itachi's temple.

"You're not dating anyone, are you?" he inquired carefully.

"No, I am not."

"And you don't want to."

The affirmation seemed a little forlorn to Itachi, but he found it prudent to not pull the rope on the young man's feelings.

"It's not that I don't want to," the writer explained, heaving a sigh. "It's more like I can't bring myself to be in a relationship, for now. To be honest, I don't think my heart is ready to accept someone else, yet."

It was the most honest answer he could give, even though Itachi still felt that something wasn't quite right about it. He wanted a relationship, eventually, and it wasn't like he didn't feel a bit excited about the prospect of Naruto having an interest in him, it was just…

He felt guilty and he didn't want to hurt Sasuke by immersing himself into something as serious as a relationship with someone else. It was an idiotic train of thought, he knew, because neither he nor Sasuke had anything to do each other's love life, and neither was anything happening between them for them to have to feel guilty about anything at all.

Still, just thinking about giving himself – his heart– to someone else made Itachi's stomach flip over in despair. He couldn't do that to Sasuke, not before his brother himself had found someone else to focus his interest on.

"Huh, it must've hit you hard," Naruto commented, his tone changing to a thoughtful one. "What are you ready for, then?"

"Sex."

Their walk was abruptly interrupted as Naruto came to a halt while promptly choking, probably on ice cream, or his own saliva. Itachi couldn't help but to laugh at Naruto's shocked reaction, letting go of Naruto's arm to pat his bended back firmly, yet condescendingly.

"There, there…" he teased. "I had no idea that you'd be this sensitive. I forgot you're only 24."

Naruto coughed a few times and sniffed before straightening up.

"That's not it!" he protested, elbowing Itachi's side not too hard. "Are you serious? You won't date but you'll have casual sex?"

"Why not?" Itachi inquired, grabbing hold of Naruto's arm once more as they resumed their walk.

"So, if I were to ask you to have sex with me, you'd do it?"

"That depends," the older one replied, smiling mischievously as he squeezed Naruto's arm with affection. "As I said, no mixing business with pleasure, and you are my employee. But if you could be mature enough to separate the two, and promise me that you wouldn't be all emotional about it, yes. However, I would fire you on the spot if you said something like 'call me', or 'let's go on a date'."

Naruto laughed at that.

"That's harsh!" he accused.

"It's my only offer, Naruto."

Naruto's laughter subsided considerably at that. A not so uncomfortable quietude settled between them during which Naruto finished the ice cream without saying another word, and after a few minutes of companionable silence, they went to sit down side by side on one of the benches that, according to Naruto, was near a fountain, which Itachi appreciated since he liked to listen to the sound of water running. He could hear children playing nearby, too.

After a while, he felt something heavy on his shoulder, Naruto's solft hair tickling his jaw.

"I think we're in a lousy situation, then," Naruto whispered seriously. One of his hands moved to be placed upon Itachi's own hand over his leg. "I look like a social whore, but I guess I'm not that open minded. I know I wouldn't be able to be mature at all. I mean, if you and I were to be in a relationship, I would be able to separate it from work, but when it comes to sex, as much as it pains me to admit, I can't really just…do it without the promise of something more involved."

Itachi made an acquiescent sound, having already been expecting it. In a way, he was sure Naruto had already been expecting his answer in the first place.

Naruto raised his head to look at him, his face so close to Itachi's that the writer could feel Naruto's soft breath on his cheek. "But, if that person didn't exist..."

"I am a hopeless case, Naruto," Itachi interrupted, closing his eyes as he inhaled deeply, the flowery scents around him, along with Naruto's own familiar one offering a soothing effect. "I'm nothing but trouble as far as love goes. How knows? Maybe someday things can be different."

Naruto snorted.

"Yeah, maybe" he replied, heaving a long sigh, the action causing Itachi's bangs to billow gently "I'll wait for it."

Itachi smiled and turned the hand Naruto was holding upwards so he could grab it back. He gave it gentle but firm squeeze.

"You won't be able to wait that long," he teased.

Naruto's fingers wrapped around his.

"We'll see."

It was impossible for Itachi not to feel egoistical in wishing for Naruto to be serious about it.

oOo

The launching of Itachi's new book had taken place in one of the biggest bookstores in Tokyo. Itachi was more than used to the organized chaos of those particular days, so it wasn't like he wasn't prepared for it. The interview part, in his opinion, was the easiest one, because he hardly felt intimidated by the public or the journalists, and he always knew how to answer all their – sometimes rude – questions with grace and maturity. Then, it came the part where he had to supposedly read excerpts of his book, and even though the books were also released in brail, it was easy for him to recite a few passages from memory alone, something Naruto had been highly impressed with.

The worst part of it all, Itachi thought, was the autograph session, where he had to sign a never ending number of books while respecting the readers' wishes in the words they wanted for him to write along with his autograph, not to mention he had to listen to the hysterical love confessions of some of his most devoted fans. All of this Itachi did with a smile on his face, offering kind, polite words of gratitude, just like his nature demanded of him. Nevertheless, it was impossible not to feel mentally exhausted after a while, what with so many people around him and his fellows from the publishing house surrounding him, constantly making observations and introducing him to people he had no interest in meeting.

"Incredibly hot guy with scary face approaching." Naruto, who was standing by his right whispered in his ear, elbowing his arm in a somewhat excited way before directing Itachi's right hand to the bottle of water he was extending to him.

Itachi all but sighed surreptitiously, grabbing the bottle with a thankful nod, throwing a tired smile at his assistant. Naruto liked to make positive or negative comments about the fans once in a while, just to lighten the mood, something that definitely helped to keep Itachi in good spirits.

Not even five seconds went by when something fell heavily on the table in front of Itachi as he was taking a few gulps on the water.

"It was the worst book you have ever written," a cool, nonchalant voice that was familiar drawled. "I feel sorry for both you and the miserable person who turned this into this sappy piece of shit. Now sign it, and make it good."

Itachi felt his heart race – it had been a while since he had listened to that voice in person, but even so, he was there, he had come to the launching. He felt his mouth twitching, desperately wanting to form the biggest smile his face could endure, but before he could do it, Naruto's own voice rose from the incessant chattering of the place.

"That is not very nice, asshole!" he bellowed, clearly offended on Itachi's behalf. "You just bought the damn book, how can you say such mean things about it?!"

Itachi was slightly taken aback at the outburst for a while before he remembered that Naruto had no idea who he was speaking to. Allowing his smile to grow gradually, he felt the air beside him and grabbed the hem of Naruto's shirt in a placating gesture.

"Calm down, Naruto, he means no harm," he said calmly, directing his eyes to the person in front of him. "I'm glad you managed to come, Sasuke."

Naruto's body shivered from head to toe at that.

"This…this person is your brother?" he barked, clearly awestruck. "Are you serious?"

"Right, you're so amazed because we don't resemble each other at all," Sasuke huffed in spiteful sarcasm. "I can't believe you hired a moron, Itachi."

"Hey!" Naruto bellowed, tensing defensively. "Sorry if I couldn't relate your bastardly personality to your brother's!"

Itachi sniggered and pulled Sasuke's book to him, opening it and immediately writing a few well-chosen words on the first page.

"Now you know each other," he said, good-humoredly, once he finished, closing the book. "I'm sorry to hear you didn't like it," he added, extending the book to his brother, who snatched it from him.

"Whatever."

"He's got to be a lousy judge, because the book is awesome," Naruto mumbled, still fuming. "What the hell is his problem?"

All of a sudden, Sasuke's energy changed from confident and arrogant to also defensive.

"Was I talking to you to begin with, dumbass?" he hissed, his temper rising quickly, and flaring up Naruto's own defenses. However, before his assistant could even open his mouth, Itachi interrupted them once more, feeling somewhat amused and endeared for some reason, because this was exactly how he had predicted their meeting to be.

"Calm down, brat, Sasuke was my right arm before I hired you," he explained simply. "He knows my work like no-one else, so if he doesn't like the book, then that means I must've failed somewhere."

He felt Naruto looking at him in surprise, his apparent anger subsiding considerably.

"But…you're an amazing writer…" he whispered, obviously a bit hurt at Itachi's humbleness when Naruto had been defending him.

"Sasuke, you're going to have to move," Kisame's voice meddled in. "You may be the writer's brother, but you're still stalling the line, and we do want to get this over with as soon as possible."

"Yeah, sorry," Sasuke said insincerely. "You, blond dumbass," he snapped, his hand moving somewhere in front of Itachi's face to Naruto's direction, probably pointing at him. "You. Me. Coffee. Now."

Itachi would've rolled his eyes in the most undignified way if he wasn't so used to his brother's attitude in the first place. Also, somehow it was highly interesting to see those two interacting.
Naruto, predictably, acted affronted.

"You don't boss me around, Itachi's brother or not!" he said loudly, causing even Itachi to cringe. "I'm working, and I don't want to have no damn coffee with a bastard like you!"

"It's my only offer," Sasuke said coolly. The sense of dejá vu seemed to have caused Naruto to still. "Itachi once told me you'd like to meet me, and I'm sick of your stupid e-mails with all those stupid smiley faces. I won't bother making an effort twice."

At that, Naruto was left gapping.

"Just go," Itachi encouraged. "It's fine, I have all the help I need here."

"But…"

"I know he can look terrifying, but he's all bark and no bite," Itachi cut through the protest easily. "Besides, I'm sure you can handle him."

Naruto gulped, both in tension and frustration, but nodded.

"I'll call you later," Sasuke said as Itachi heard him turn around.

"Alright."

Itachi felt Naruto throw him a disturbed look before walking around the table and hurrying to join Sasuke, who, by the sound of it, was already walking away.

The feeling of happiness that washed through Itachi was unfamiliar. He couldn't think of something that would make him happier than to have his two most precious people in the world – his two muses – getting along. He loved them both in his own way, and to him, even though Sasuke was his real family, he felt that Naruto was also like family to him, so it would be perfect if that family became consistent. Besides, Itachi was sure that Naruto's influence on Sasuke would be good – if his brother was receptive to him, that is.

Heaving a satisfied sigh, Itachi smiled to himself as the next person approached to have his book autographed.

By the time Naruto returned – an hour later – the session was over and he sounded both surprised and thoughtful, but also a bit more motivated than before.

"He sure is a feisty person," he had said, when Itachi had asked him how things with Sasuke went. "But he's really…smart. And we're going out for dinner later tonight."

Well, the writer thought, pleasantly surprised. That had gone a lot better than he could've ever hoped for.

oOo

Itachi was lured back to consciousness by someone calling his name. His hair was being stroked with gentle, yet impatient gestures. Something heavy beside him made his mattress sink. Itachi blinked several times, his brain a bit dazed from having been sleeping so heavily, and he twisted his body so he was lying on his back. Bringing a hand to his face, he rubbed it slowly.

"I just came from my dinner with your assistant," the person beside him said in a whisper –Sasuke. Itachi's head turned to the side and his nose collided with his brother's, making him jolt and become instantly alert. Sasuke was lying beside him on the king sized bed, his body facing him. The younger Uchiha didn't move away in spite of Itachi's obvious discomfort, instead remaining very still as his hand moved to rest on Itachi's chest.

Itachi's brain turned to mush briefly – he couldn't think about anything else apart from the fact that he knew that all he had to do was to turn his face away and he would be safe from the clutches of temptation. However, for some reason, he didn't want to cower, and honestly, being this close to Sasuke was highly fascinating to him. Sasuke smelled of expensive cologne and there was the scent of alcohol lingering in his breath – white wine, Itachi bet, because Sasuke loved it. Had Sasuke been his lover, it would also be very easy to just lean in and press their lips together.

Itachi entertained the thought for a few seconds, like he had done so many times since that fateful day, but his most rational part was making him freeze on the spot and not move at all. He could still remember how it had felt, how much he had enjoyed it, and even today, it amazed him at how much he still wanted to live that one, single moment, just once more.

But he couldn't let twelve years of strict conviction go to waste.

So he swallowed hard, breathed in and out a few times, and placed his hand over Sasuke's on his chest, knowing his brother could feel his quick heartbeat, but not really caring about it. After all, Sasuke knew what he was to him, knew that, no matter what, it wouldn't change.

"What's wrong?" Itachi asked, feeling Sasuke's restlessness. "You seem upset."

"He's really loud, and talks his mouth off like the world is going to end," Sasuke said, between gritted teeth. "Naruto, I mean. When he laughs I feel embarrassed, and he's not afraid of saying what is on his mind, so we argued so many times, and about so many things I can't even remember what it was we were arguing about in the first place." Sasuke made an unnecessarily loud noise while licking his lips, the perception of his warm tongue actually coming way too close to Itachi's lips for comfort, and still, Itachi didn't move away. "But he's…an absurdly human person. He said he liked me and that he was happy that we had met; why, I have no idea. I don't like him, he gets on my nerves."

Itachi blinked a few times, frowning slightly at Sasuke's angry and disturbed voice.

"But…" Sasuke proceeded, in a tired, low tone. "He is the person from your book. He's important to you, I can tell, and it annoys the hell out of me. However…" Sasuke inhaled deeply, the sound resembling a sniff. "I am…kind of glad that you have someone like him by your side. A bit…resentful, because he's way too good at replacing me, but glad."

Itachi bit his lip let out a thankful breath.

"I do care about Naruto," he admitted quietly, moving his hand slowly so his fingers could brush lightly over the back of Sasuke's own hand. "But you are wrong in thinking that he is a replacement to you. I love you more than anything in the whole world, and that feeling cannot be replaced. You and he are different, Sasuke. "

"But you like him." Sasuke pressed on, mercilessly.

"I do."

"Yet, you are running away from your feelings for him, just like you run away from me," the accusation came out straightforward and crude. "Why? Why would you do that? This is your chance to move on. You need him to let go of me, so why don't you take the chance?"

Itachi swallowed hard as a heaviness settled on his heart. He grabbed Sasuke's hand and brought it to his lips before twisting his body so he was on his side, facing Sasuke. Their foreheads came into contact, their hands still linked.

"I can't do that to you," he whispered, barely containing the emotion in his words. "I need you to move on, first. I need you to be safe and happy with someone else before I can do it. You're always so resilient, always so sure of your convictions towards me. I can't break your heart, Sasuke, and I won't."

"You already do," Sasuke mumbled coldly. "Every fucking day. You know what it takes for me to be happy, you're just too much of a coward to go ahead and give it me. You're not even good to yourself. It's not as hard as you think, and our lives don't have to be this fucking dramatic forever."

Itachi bit his lip.

They had already spent hours, days, years talking about their relationship, but somehow, Itachi always felt the painful and overwhelming burst of emotions that assaulted him each time. Whenever they talked about it, they turned something that resembled a distant but vivid dream into something real, and it was intimate, intense, awkward, but theirs.

Itachi wished he could tell Sasuke how he really felt, what he really wanted, what he longed for when thinking about them. He could tell Sasuke that he wished they weren't brothers, but at the same time, that would be a lie, because he loved the fact that something as strong as blood tied them together. But he couldn't say these things, couldn't give Sasuke that joy and then shatter it all completely.

It was wrong; all of it was wrong.

Yes, it would be easy, of course it would. If he did lean in and pressed his mouth to Sasuke's, he knew the other would open his lips and drink him whole because Sasuke was no longer a child and would take as much as he could get. Itachi himself would make sure he gave him everything he had and more. Giving in would be like opening the gates of both heaven and hell.

But it was wrong. How would they ever make it work? How could they be a normal couple, and do things normal couples did? They wouldn't even pass by a normal gay couple without people noticing their resemblance. What would their parents say after years gone by without either of them having a partner? And really, did Sasuke really want to spend the rest of his life with a blind man? He was far too young, far too naïve, and had too many dreams yet to be fulfilled to be tied down to such a strong conviction.

Itachi only wanted what was best for Sasuke. Because he wasn't even openly gay, he could even have the chance of getting married and having kids at some point of his life, if he wished.

"I'm alright, Sasuke," Itachi whispered, planting the ghost of a kiss on Sasuke's forehead. "All I'm saying is that you should not look back if something good comes your way. I know it sounds easier than it is, but just...try. For me. It's been far too long, and we should end this as soon as possible."

Sasuke let out a frustrated groan but ended up nodding once, defeated - at least for now.

"You fucking selfish bastard," he accused, like a pouting child. "It always has to be the way you want it. Move over, I'm sleeping here."

Itachi nodded and moved more to the side of the bed – he had been sleeping right in the middle of it, as per usual – just as Sasuke adjusted himself and got under the covers. The younger one moved closer to Itachi, his forehead resting against his chest. Itachi tucked him in, making sure he was covered enough not catch a cold during the night and let his head fall back on the pillow. He surrounded Sasuke's waist with his arm in a protective way, his hand rubbing Sasuke's back with gentle, up and down movements.

It reminded him of Sasuke as a child. If only things could have always stayed as simple as they were when both he and his little brother were too innocent to think about annoying things like love, life and lust.

"That book…" Sasuke muttered, his voice muffled from him having his face against the fabric of Itachi's pajama top. "It's a good book. I'm just pissed off at it."

Itachi smiled, pressing his lips to the top of Sasuke's head, feeling the softness of hair that was said to be as black as night itself – just like Itachi's was.

"Thank you."

oOo

"Do you think Sasuke would accept it if I asked him to go to a concert with me?"

Itachi, who had been scribbling notes on his worn out notebook, stopped his hand from the task it was doing and lifted his head up to gaze in the direction of the man sitting across from him, as per usual. The sound of Naruto typing tirelessly on the laptop filled his ears.

"What kind of concert is it?" Itachi inquired carefully.

"It's a visual-kei band," Naruto explained in a matter-of-fact-way. "I'm asking because I've only talked to him that one time. I mean, he's a pianist, he plays mostly classical music, so I honestly have no clue as to what kind of music he listens to."

Itachi cleared his throat.

"I'm not sure, either, but he likes music from the 80's and 90's," he said, trying to identify what kind of aura the young man was transmitting but, for once, not being able to tell. "Japanese, North-American, European…but he is open-minded, maybe he wouldn't mind going with you."

"Hum…" Naruto replied, unsurely.

"What's with the hesitant attitude?"

Naruto shifted, clearly uncomfortable.

"Sasuke is like…really attractive," he admitted slowly, as the typing ceased. "Kind of like you but…different. He's such a bastard, but really...I don't know, I kind of like him, even though I also feel like I want to smash his face into the nearest solid surface every time he opens his mouth. I've been texting him, trying to be friends and whatever, but he's an asshole. A funny…no, that's not the word... a witty asshole, I suppose."

Itachi felt his eyebrows rising.

"He texts you back?" he asked, perplexed.

"Yeah, mostly to insult my intelligence; but yeah." Naruto replied.

Itachi focused on Naruto's presence in front of him, trying to understand what was going through Naruto's mind. It was very uncommon that Naruto was closing in on himself considering how much of an expressive, open person he was.

Alright, his assistant wanted to get along with his brother, and that was fine – Itachi himself had encouraged it – but for some reason, not being able to tell what Naruto was going on about was unsettling; Itachi couldn't read him at all.

Sasuke himself had said good things about Naruto – in a dissimulated kind of way – so Itachi himself was aware that his attitude was just his stubbornness working against his taking a liking to the loud man. All in all, he was sure Naruto knew he and Sasuke were, somewhat, getting along.

"Why do I have the feeling that you're asking for my permission to see my brother?" Itachi inquired neutrally, the question finally changing Naruto's energy to one of tension and…hope?

"Maybe because I am?"

Did Naruto think Itachi was going to be jealous if him for having fun with Sasuke? The thought itself was both hilarious and a little worrisome; why, Itachi couldn't tell.

All he knew was that he was having a bad feeling about it.

"Naruto," Itachi started seriously. "You can do whatever you like, and I'm not Sasuke's boss to tell him with whom he should hang out with. I'm fine with it as long as you don't force your presence on him. Sasuke does have a bad temper."

"I know," Naruto confirmed, and Itachi could almost swear sensed his grimace. "Alright, I'll ask him, then."

"You do that."

They got back to work, Naruto typing and Itachi forcing himself to go back to that same train of thought he had been in before his assistant had interrupted him but finding himself unable to. He couldn't even remember what had been the last thing he had written.

His hand was still, fingers gripping the pencil they were holding too firmly.

Why did he feel so restless all of a sudden?

oOo

A week later it was six in the morning and Itachi was already awake. For some reason it had been hard for him to sleep recently, and he always found himself fully alert even before the sun had risen.

Naruto had a big mouth, so - the Kami only knew why - he had gotten in his head that Itachi had to know everything he did in his life, tales that, for the past five days, always involved his younger brother.

Apparently, on the same day Itachi and him had talked about it, Naruto had nagged him enough about them hanging out to the point where Sasuke accepted it just to shut him up, which had led the two of them to meet almost every night since then. Itachi knew where they went, but had no idea what they talked about, only that Naruto seemed a lot more positive about his relationship with Sasuke.

Eventually, Sasuke had accepted to go with Naruto to said concert – also to shut him up, as he had claimed. They had gotten together at nightfall, and Itachi hadn't heard from either of them since, which was, in itself, a rare occurrence since, usually, when they did socialize, it was either Naruto calling him for tips on how to deal with Sasuke, or Sasuke calling to complain about Naruto.

But neither had said anything, or answered his phone calls, and it was six in the damned morning.

Itachi was sitting on his sofa, smoking a cigarette. There was an ashtray resting on his lap and the television was on – he only owned one because it provided worldwide information a lot better than the radio did.

His stomach was complaining loudly in need for food, but the writer didn't feel like eating at all. He was too worried, and too restless to eat. Something unpleasant was tugging at his gut, like a bad omen, or some sort of unwelcomed premonition. He just hoped the two of them were alright. If they didn't say anything for the next half hour he'd call Kisame – the large man had all sorts of useful contacts that would be able to find those two in a heartbeat.

Just as Itachi was smashing the fifth cigarette he had smoked in the last hour on the ashtray, his mobile phone – resting on the seat next to him – rang, the familiar song alerting him that it was Sasuke. He quickly pressed the answering button and brought the phone to his ear, not without breathing in and out a few times to prevent himself from yelling questions uncalled for, because, truth be told, he shouldn't be controlling his brother's life, it was none of his business.

However, Sasuke anticipated himself.

"Itachi," his voice was serious, just the tiniest bit slurred, and it sent chills running through Itachi's body. "We kissed."

For a moment, relief washed over him at listening to Sasuke's healthy voice, so Itachi didn't really associate Sasuke's words to anything in particular. However, realization soon washed over him as he realized Sasuke was talking about Naruto.

Shock froze him.

"What?" was all he managed to ask, his mind a violent turmoil of thoughts that made no sense whatsoever.

"We kissed," Sasuke repeated, sounding confused at himself, but not upset. "I don't know how it happened, I'm a bit drunk."

"I can tell." Itachi said, forcing himself to keep the cold from his voice.

"We just…it happened. He drove me home, and we started talking about stuff until not so long ago, and then… we started sort of arguing, and there was this whole tension and just…the next thing I knew we were making out like crazy. Fuck, Itachi, I'm…"

"Don't say you're sorry," Itachi cut sternly, feeling his hand shake as he rubbed his eyes with it. "It's not your fault. I was the one who dumped him, I have nothing to do with him as far as his love life goes."

Sasuke stayed silent for a while, huffing on the other side. Itachi swallowed hard – his throat hurt.

"Did you like it?" he asked.

"I…yeah," Sasuke replied, as if pissed off at himself for it. "It was really…I don't know. I can't believe this has happened. How can it be, that I'm attracted to that stupid, rude dumbass?"

Sinking his teeth in his lower lip, Itachi chose not to answer. His heart was being so fast his whole body was trembling with many emotions at the same time.

He felt angry, sad, jealous, upset, remorseful, horrified, but most of all, he felt incredibly lonely, like he had just lost everything he held dear in the world. It wasn't the case, he knew he wasn't losing either Naruto or Sasuke, but still, he felt at loss.

The sudden emptiness was the most overwhelming feeling he had ever experienced.

"I asked him if he wanted to come over and he refused, because he wants something serious," Sasuke proceeded sounding miserable now. "I was all ready to just fuck his brains out and let it out of my system, but I…he says he likes me and I…I don't know what it's like. I've never been in a serious relationship, I've never felt attracted to anyone but you. It was just sex all the way and then I'd never look back at the person again. I don't know what to do…I don't know what I want to do."

Itachi seemed to have licked his lips a thousand times in the last minute. His lungs hurt, his head felt like it was about to burst. He wanted to throw his mobile phone against the nearest wall and just…curl up and sulk, or cry, or just…wait until everything made sense once more.

Willing himself to disappear seemed like such a good idea, too.

Instead, he cleared his throat, ignoring the stinging ache in his chest.

"It's alright," he said, summoning his most neutral, parental-like tone even though he felt his voice shake ever so slightly. "You just need some rest, Sasuke. Everything happens for a reason, and if Naruto likes you, and you feel something for him, too, I'm sure you'll understand exactly what you want."

"I guess," Sasuke said, with a sigh. "Still, couldn't we have had sex all the same, and then think about feelings and all that serious shit? I'm so fucking sick of feelings…"

"Just go to sleep," Itachi mumbled, dropping his hand and keeping his eyes closed. "Call me when you wake up, and make sure you're sober. I'll help you figure things out."

"Alright," Sasuke agreed, in a surprisingly obedient way. "You're a good person, you know that?"

I wish I wasn't.

"So are you."

"Bye."

Sasuke hung up unceremoniously, while Itachi didn't even dare to move, scared that the world might just crumble down for good around him.

Of course, he shouldn't have expected for Naruto to wait for him for as long as he pleased. For all he knew, Itachi might never be ready. Still, thinking that Naruto would stand his ground had made him feel safe, wanted, and hopeful.

Itachi's eyes flew open as he stared unblinkingly into the blurry depths of nothingness – all he could, and would ever see. Hollowness was all he could feel at this point.

He had wanted Sasuke to move on so that he could move on, but what would he do, now that there was nowhere for him to move on to?

He had made a huge, terrible mistake.

TBC...