Impossible to Love You

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to the brilliant Masashi Kishimoto-sama. I am not Masashi Kishimoto-sama, unfortunately.

Warnings: Incest.

Pairings: ItaSasu, Side ShikaTema

A/N: Lovely reviews once again, thank you! Kaline Reine, thanks for favouriting my story! Sorry that the ItaSasu moments are kind of little, but it's still not time for Sasuke to know, I think. Panzy Mistress, I have that pic of JJ too! Well, SasuGaa do not have the spark, yeah I agree. But I guess Sasuke's just a typical teenage boy? Heh. I loved the ItaSasu lap scene too! BlueSharingan101, I don't think I'd make Itachi sacrifice in the exact way for Sasuke like in the manga, too horrible for me. But I guess there might be some sacrifice. If not where's the angst? XP xXxUchihaL0v3rxXx, I'm so happy you love reviewing. XD And yeah, NaruSasu is the best fluff! SasuNaru is too fake! I agree on your take with that! And I kind of love EveryonexSasu too… we're so evil! But I love being evil! XP Oh btw, I read the manga, which was why I decided to write this story anw, for I felt so sorry for Itachi. The worst death is one which is misunderstood. Itachi had died being misunderstood by the whole of Konoha, and his own brother hating him. Sigh. I didn't finish watching DeathNote too! For the very same reason! So it's not a crazy reason, haha.

As Kisame manoeuvred the driving wheel along the narrow empty road, Deidara stared mutely at Itachi's heavily bandaged hand whilst Itachi shifted slightly in his lap, muttering with his lids tightly shut. He then leant forward to give Sasori a nudge.

"What do you think caused him to do this?" He asked in a hushed voice.

Kisame rolled his eyes upwards as he sped around the neighbourhood in the pelting rain.

"Of course it must have been Sasuke. Man, he's got it bad for that kid."

Sasori agreed, or at least, the little wooden puppet of him that never left his side nodded its wooden head in agreement.

"Man, Sasori, can you stop bringing the puppet around? It gives me the creeps." Deidara complained.

"You don't know true art." Sasori growled menacingly.

"What!? Hello, you're talking to an artist here! What's truly beautiful are things that go up in a bang! A grand explosion! Itachi and his kid brother cumming together is a good example!" Deidara grinned wickedly.

"That's not art, struggling artist. That's sex. Art is truly beautiful only when it lasts for an eternity. You could use Itachi's love for Sasuke as an example, though he knows it is wrong, he still loves him so deeply, and will protect him, come what may. That is truly beautiful." Sasori ended dramatically, finally a sparkle landing on his earth-brown eyes framed by a thick fringe of dark lashes.

Deidara sputtered for a few seconds over Sasori's insult, before regaining his composure.

"Ha! Didn't know Sasori-dono is such a sap! Though seriously, have you ever considered talking more than just how wonderful your kind of art is? You've said more in these few minutes than the hour spent in the bar!" Deidara quipped smugly.

Sasori opened his mouth to reply, but Kisame cut him short.

"Hey you two, stop your artists' spat right now. We've reached his home. Deidara, check if he has his keys with him.

Deidara grumbled, but quickly found Itachi's keys, complete with a silver and blue keychain that bore both his and Sasuke's name.

"Man that's sick." Deidara grimaced.

"That's just Sasuke's gift to him when he was young. Can't you see the two words 'brothers forever' engraved behind?" Kisame rolled his beady eyes.

"Right right whatever, Itachi's bestest bud." Deidara muttered.

Deidara and Kisame dragged Itachi to the huge mansion, with Sasori opting to wait in the car. They waved the old butler and few maids away, and pulled him up the marble staircase, trudging towards his room. They finally reached his room, and heaved him towards his large bed together. His seemingly lifeless body landed with a thud on the bed. Kisame turned towards Deidara and flashed a sharp-toothed grin.

"Never knew he was that heavy yeah?"

Deidara glared at him as he panted heavily, his hands clutching tightly on his knees as his long tail of sunny hair swung past his shoulder.

"Damn that Sasori."

Kisame's grin died as he stared out at the open doorway.

"What's wr…" Deidara's voice appeared to vanish as he noticed Sasuke, a lone dark silhouette against the dimly lit corridor.

Kisame flashed another grin, this time a slightly awkward one.

"Hey Sasuke, your brother got dead drunk so we brought him back. Guess we got to go now, see ya!" With that he grabbed a dazed Deidara towards the door, almost stumbling when lightning flashed and a flash of pale blue illuminated Sasuke's dark obsidian eyes that narrowed at them, in sharp contrast against the alabaster skin. He was the epitome of an apparition straight out of a Japanese horror flick, albeit a hauntingly beautiful one.

Sasuke then trailed them to the house door, and as Kisame turned to close the door, he spotted him standing right behind them, with the wizened and bent butler next to him, appearing like a goblin. Kisame nearly jumped in shock.

"I'm just going to lock the door after you." Sasuke said irritably, his knitted eyebrows finally breaking the stoic expression on his face.

"Oh, right. Goodnight then." Kisame and Deidara waved weakly, before speeding back to their car in the storm. Heavy, cold fat drops seeped through their clothes into their bare skin, stinging like sharp needles as they ran.

"What took you both so long, you know I hate waiting." Sasori grumbled when they finally reached the car. Both men ignored him, conversing amongst themselves.

"Fuck that kid is creepier than Itachi. He just crept up behind us like that, without a single sound!" Deidara shuddered.

"Yeah, I don't understand why he grew up to be like this. He was such a cute kid, from the pictures that Itachi showed us." Kisame sighed.

Sasuke returned to his brother's room and stole a peek through the open door. His brother lay like a dead log, sprawled in an awkward position on the bed. His shoes dripped water down to carpeted floor in a ticking motion, pooling into a dark ominous puddle that resembled blood.

Thunder crashed again, deafening in Sasuke's ears, and he winced slightly before noticing that the windows were open, blowing cold rain towards his brother's bed. He hurriedly closed the flapping windows and went to remove his brother's wet shoes and socks, clicking his tongue as he did so.

He then moved up to pull his brother into a more comfortable sleeping position, during which he noted that Itachi's clothes were wet as well. He unbuttoned Itachi's shirt and peeled it off him, panting slightly from the effort exerted at supporting Itachi's dead weight. He then proceeded to tuck Itachi's head over the pillows whilst pulling off his hair tie.

As he pulled the covers over Itachi, he heard a soft low muttering followed by a groan, sounding strangely familiar to his ears. He just couldn't seem to place it. He had never heard Itachi groan before, and yet it sounded so familiar… He leant closer to listen to the mutterings.

"I will always protect you… no matter… what… but I must protect… I can't…" Garbled strings of words fell from his brother's lips.

Sasuke shrunk back upon hearing these words. They felt like a secret he had trespassed upon, a secret he had no right to know. And yet he had never seen Itachi so open before. He traced his index finger along Itachi's cold, damp face, wondering what deep secrets his brother held. He longed to see the hidden side of Itachi.

He slid closer to his now silent brother, absently stroking Itachi's shadowed jaw. He wanted to know who was the person with the power to touch Itachi's heart, the person whom Itachi wanted to protect. He had yearned for so long to engage Itachi's attention, and yet Itachi had already been enraptured by a woman, his future sister-in-law. He wondered what kind of person she was to be able to capture Itachi's heart. She must be a truly capable person…

A heavy chain seemed to lock itself around his heart, sinking it down to the pits of his stomach. Just then, a hand shot out to grab his wrist, sending his heart back to its rightful place as he almost started in fright. It didn't feel right, it had not the feel of human skin; in fact it seemed to be entirely wrapped in cloth.

His eyes travelled down to the hand of the owner. It was heavily bandaged. He almost gasped. Who could have done it? Wait… Itachi had met up with Madara just now… could Madara have caused it? Not likely. Though Madara had not contacted their family in a long time, he wouldn't go so far. It could be due to the mystery person Itachi wanted so much to protect, since he kept on mumbling about her. But why did Itachi hurt himself because of a person he wanted to protect? Sasuke frowned down at his brother's vexed face.

Another hand shot out to grab at Sasuke's already captive wrist. Sasuke tugged slightly but the hold tightened.

"Don't leave me…please… don't hate me… I just want to protect you…" Itachi muttered with his eyes closed, a frown of distress creasing his sleeping brow.

"Nii-san… it's Sasuke…" Sasuke flushed in spite of himself as he whispered to his brother. He never knew his aloof brother to be capable of deep emotions other than anger.

"I love you…" Itachi uttered, seemingly not hearing Sasuke's words.

Sasuke's face heated up even further, for some unknown reason. He could hear his own heart pounding so forcefully that the sound seemed to reverberate in the whole room. His brother had thought he was the woman. He needed to get out of this room fast. The whole atmosphere was getting too awkward. He slapped his brother's hands away and darted out of the room.

The next morning Sasuke walked down the stairs to find only his parents and the maids in the dining room. He slid down on a chair and grabbed a single bun. Fugaku put down the newspapers, regarding Sasuke with a deep frown.

"Is your brother still sleeping? Fancy him, at this hour."

"It's Saturday anyway, otou-san, let Itachi rest a while more. He must be tired from running the school. Look, even our Sasuke is yawning." Mikoto replied, smiling at Sasuke kindly.

"That's no excuse. And Sasuke went out till late yesterday night, according to our butler. Sasuke, get your brother down this instant." Fugaku growled.

Sasuke nodded mutely whilst his mother stared at his father in mild exasperation. He barely stirred when Fugaku stopped him again.

"Don't bother. Your brother's already awake."

Sasuke spun his head to look at Itachi strolling down the stairs, looking every bit as expressionless as usual, though the creases around his eyes appeared deeper and darker than usual. Sasuke marvelled silently at his brother's ability in smothering his emotions. He was a completely different person yesterday night. This made Sasuke wonder which was the real Itachi.

Sasuke watched Itachi glide down the stairs effortlessly, his eyes scrutinizing Itachi's every action. Itachi raised a single eyebrow at Sasuke's intense gaze, and Sasuke immediately whipped his head back to his plate of sunny-side up eggs, twisting his neck almost violently as he did so.

Itachi moved swiftly towards the table and apologised politely to their parents, bowing slightly as he did, before settling down on the intricately carved chair next to Sasuke. The breakfast carried on in an uneasy silence that was thickening with each evanescent tick of the gilt hands on the mother-of-pearl face of the black marble grandfather clock that stood tall and proud in the dining room.

Finally Fugaku finished his breakfast and folded his newspaper. He stood up from the head of the table and proceeded to leave, with Mikoto hastily scrambling after him in a flutter.

He paused and rounded on his heel, only looking at Itachi as he uttered, "Take care of the house this weekend. Your mother and I are going on a short business trip."

Sasuke bristled slightly at the sight of his very own father neglecting him again in favour of his older and so-called more capable brother, before returning to stab his cold eggs. Itachi nodded briefly in acknowledgement of their father's words and watched his parents leave silently, the maids bowing low as they exited from the dining room. Itachi waved the maids away shortly after, leaving the two of them alone in the enormous dining room. Sasuke finally cut into the burning silence, unable to retain his curiosity.

"Nii-san… you're in love right?" He blurted, still staring at his burst egg yolk oozing from the centre of the egg.

"…What are you talking about?" Itachi replied after a momentary silence.

"Yesterday night you were drunk, and kept talking about protecting someone, so I figured…"

"Sasuke. Look at me."

Sasuke glanced up from his plate only to see Itachi leaning down towards his tilted face, and a finger that stretched even closer, jabbing his forehead abruptly. He yelped in surprise as he was nearly thrown off balance, and immediately scowled at his brother's smile.

"What the hell are you doing, Itachi?"

"I just felt like doing it. Haven't done that in years anyway."

"When you did that in the past, it's always 'sorry otouto, I can't do this and that.' So this just means that 'sorry otouto, I can't tell you' doesn't it?" Sasuke harrumphed, folding his arms.

"You've grown smarter."

"Hmmph! Whatever. I'm going out later."

"With Gaara? To drink?"

"No! With Naruto and the others. To eat." Sasuke spat his answers.

"Stick close to your current friends. Gaara is not a trustworthy person."

"Is that up for you to decide?" Sasuke retorted, and stood up from his seat, feeling oddly superior looking down at his brother.

"Just trust me."

"How can I trust someone who doesn't even tell me his secrets?" Sasuke answered bitterly, and walked out of the room. Itachi remained seated, gazing at the retreating back of his little brother.

Naruto slurped his boiling bowl of ramen noisily, unleashing a magnificent burp after his satisfying third bowl. The group of girls admiring Sasuke and Neji cringed at his antics, before returning their lovesick puppy-eyed gazes to the two handsome boys. Naruto turned to Sasuke, finally speaking after ordering a fourth bowl.

"Why can't the rest make it man? We were supposed to go bungee jumping today! Without a huge crowd, it's such a bore!" He whined incessantly.

"Well, Shikamaru and Kiba are out on a date, and Shino is apparently catching bugs with a fellow bug-lover girl, whilst Lee is busy working out with Gai-sensei again." Neji noted mechanically.

"Those shitasses are all on a date? Except for that Thick Brows, who ditched us for his 'idol' again! Damn why are we left on the shelves? We're the hottest of them all!" Naruto huffed indignantly.

"Shikamaru's out with Temari anyway, I don't think you like her type. And Kiba is out with that shy girl from the club."

"Oh Hyuuga Hinata? She shares your surname, buddy! You're practically cousins! Isn't that cool? Temari from the girl school opposite ours? She's so scary. Just what does Shikamaru see in her? She's older than us too! Hinata is a tad weird too… And Shino's fellow bug-lover? I'm starting to think it's good that we're single." Naruto shuddered.

"Please, sharing the same surname doesn't necessarily mean that we're related. It's just fate that brought our ancestors to the same area to settle down in, that's all." Neji sniffed haughtily.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, his huge ocean orbs round in bafflement.

"You don't know that our first names originated from the type of places we lived in? Trust you not knowing your own history!" Neji scoffed, his nose held high in an expression of extreme snootiness.

"History's boring anyway. Sasuke-teme, what's wrong? You've been awfully quiet, even more so than usual."

"…Nothing."

"What nothing!? I haven't gotten back at you for hanging up on me you know? You're such—Hey! Isn't that Shikamaru? And Temari!?"

Naruto bounced up from his seat, and dashed towards the couple a few tables away. He pounced onto Shikamaru, slamming his palms down on Shikamaru's shoulders and started shaking him.

"Hey! What a surprise! How's your date?"

"Naruto!" Shikamaru exclaimed, his usually lazy eyes wide in shock. He hastily lowered the volume of his voice at the sharp gaze of his female companion. Sasuke mulled over his ramen whilst they conversed in inaudible tones, completely uninterested in their small talk. Neji glanced at them for a second, before looking over at Sasuke.

"Are you still pondering over the stranger at the club? What did he do to you?" He asked softly.

"No… it's not that. I'm fine, really." Sasuke replied dully. Neji narrowed his pale eyes at him before switching his attention to the trio walking over to them.

"I convinced them to join us! Come, come have a seat!" Naruto invited proudly, unaware of the many eyes trained on him in the restaurant. Neji shook his head at Naruto though he shifted over to Sasuke's side to give the couple a space of their own.

Temari smiled coyly at Sasuke and spoke.

"When Naruto told me you were here too I was so happy. My brother has told me a lot about you. He likes you. But you rejected him recently eh? My brother's never been rejected before. He was so devastated. Why did you turn him down?"

"…Who's your brother?"

"Why, Gaara of course! He didn't tell you about me? Man, he's still as self-centred as ever." Temari wagged her finger at Sasuke, who stared at her with his mouth slack.

"You don't look alike…" He said weakly.

"Oh I bleached my hair blonde… and he shaved his brows. Oops, don't tell him I told you that! So, tell me, what's so bad about my brother? He's quite a nice person you know. You just have to know him better." Temari winked.

"Wait! Sasuke! Who's the fellow after you? And I tell you, Temari, Sasuke's not gay!"

"He's the redhead at the club…" "Oh you've never heard of the things my dear brother told me about." Sasuke and Temari answered in the same chorus.

Sasuke and Naruto both paled at Temari's comment as they stared at her with their mouths agape. Even Neji dropped his chopsticks at that humming moment. Only Shikamaru fidgeted nervously in the tense atmosphere.

"Is it true, Sasuke?" Naruto finally questioned weakly.

"…Yes. But I just found out recently…" Sasuke answered quietly.

"Anyhow, Sasuke, do give Gaara a chance. He really likes you. Though it may have been lust initially, and he had an ulterior motive in getting into the school, he—"

"What do you mean by ulterior motive?" Sasuke interrupted her in suspicion.

"I, er, well… I promised not to say anything. Well, gotta go now. Shikamaru, let's go!" Temari dragged Shikamaru away in a flash, waving goodbye to them hurriedly. Sasuke's hand wrapped into a tight fist. Gaara would have lots to explain on Monday.

"You're… gay." Naruto repeated, dumbfounded.

"Yes. So what?" Sasuke asked irritably.

"I must have turned you gay from my accusations. I'm so sorry! Please turn back!" Naruto pleaded, clasping his grubby fingers together.

Sasuke cast his eyes at the ceiling at Naruto's gibberish. Neji contemplated them both in silence, before he spoke.

"I'm gay too."

"That's not a big surprise. Just look at your hair." Naruto pointed out after being startled. Neji pursed his lips at him as his fingers involuntarily reached out to pat his long hair tenderly.

"Oh well, I've got something to admit too… I'm bi." Naruto whispered the last word loudly.

He hurriedly explained himself when the two turned to stare at him incredulously. "I still love boobs, they're gorgeous. But surely you guys would have thought it was odd that I used to love cross-dressing when we were young? Actually I discovered it recently as well… in the club… I realised that Neji's hair was very mesmerising. It was so long and silky… No! Don't get me wrong! I don't like you that way!" Naruto waved his arms at a pale Neji in a fluster; his own face flushed a dark scarlet.

Sasuke looked on at them in amusement and a slight twinge of relief, for he had been living in trepidation over how Naruto and the others would view him upon discovering his sexual orientation. Now that he had discovered that they were of his kind as well the teetering sense of disquietude finally dissipated. At least Naruto wouldn't blow up and kick a huge fuss. Sasuke smirked at the pair as he returned to his cold ramen; his appetite returned.