Hi there everyone! Sorry this is out a little late, but I had a bit of a fight with this chapter. I love how it turned out though, so I hope you all enjoy it as well!

Warnings: Incest, brothers kissing, Naruto losing it, implied sexual acts

A Family Affair

Chapter Six

Naruto stared at his phone, at the message from Gaara, the picture that he was still trying to make sense of. He'd been trying for hours now since Gaara sent it to him, but it still didn't sit right in his mind. It felt like there had to be something missing. Something that could be easily explained.

Because there was no way Gaara was right.

Sure, it was Sasuke and Itachi, but the picture was innocent. They were just at some booth, so there was no reason for Naruto to wonder if they were standing too close to one another, or if Sasuke's hand was on Itachi's arm with a little too much familiarity as he pointed out something to him.

Naruto shook his head at the thought. They were brothers! Of course they were close and of course they were familiar with each other! They had been before Itachi's mysterious near disappearance from Sasuke's life, and it was normal that things would change back so quickly when Itachi casually re-inserted himself.

"Right?" Naruto whispered to himself, putting his phone down and standing up from his bed for the third time. Or was it the fourth? He couldn't keep up anymore. He'd been trying to go to sleep for over an hour...or maybe it'd been longer, to be honest he wasn't even sure what time it was anymore, but every time that he shut his eyes he could just see that picture in his mind and then he couldn't stop the dozens of thoughts that came after.

Was Gaara right? Had Sasuke lied to him? What happened after Gaara took the picture? Had Sasuke been kissing Itachi, like Gaara claimed to have seen? Were they actually...actually…?

Naruto rubbed his hand over his face, hoping to wipe all the thoughts from his mind so he could have some peace and quiet for a minute, but it didn't help. He was stuck pacing around his small room, biting and picking unconsciously at his nails as he tried to breathe, tried to make sense - once again - of the little information he had.

He went down the list.

One. It wasn't even a decent picture. Gaara had admitted to that much after taking it, so maybe it looked like Sasuke's hand on Itachi's arm, but also...maybe it wasn't?

"Okay, okay, that argument's kinda weak," he admitted to himself as he worried what was left of his thumbnail between his teeth, noting vaguely that it was starting to hurt after biting so far down. He moved on to the next point.

Two. Sasuke wouldn't lie to him. He just wouldn't. Naruto knew that; they'd been friends for years and he trusted Sasuke. Trusted that Sasuke would always be open and honest with him, so if Sasuke said there wasn't anyone else when Naruto had asked him, point blank, then what real reason did he have to doubt his friend?

Never mind the fact that things hadn't worked out for them and yeah, maybe that made things a little more awkward than Naruto would have liked, but it definitely didn't mean that Sasuke would have broken up with him for Itachi.

His own brother.

But then there was point three, and three was a big one. A nerve-wracking one. The one that made Naruto bite his lip so hard that he tasted his own blood.

He trusted Gaara, too.

"Fuck…" Naruto whispered breathlessly into the quiet of his room as he came to the same conclusion he had the other three or four times he'd gone through this list.

Four. Gaara had nothing to gain by telling Naruto what he may - or may not, because that was still a possibility - have seen.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had everything to gain by lying.

Naruto ran a shaking hand through his hair, trying - hoping - he could come up with another argument that would clear Sasuke's name in his mind, but every time he tried…

"Fuck, fuck…"

"Fuck," Sasuke gasped as he felt Itachi's cock slide out of him when he moved off his brother's lap to lay against his side. Itachi immediately wrapped his arms around him and pulled Sasuke as close as he could until Sasuke's head was tucked into the crook of his neck.

"I love you," Itachi mumbled as he pressed a few kisses to Sasuke's head.

"I love you, too," Sasuke said with a smile, feeling sated and satisfied despite the undercurrent of desperation and sadness that he'd been fighting since he'd woken up this morning and noted that it was Sunday.

"Are you really, really sure that we need to go back home, Itachi?" he asked, not for the first time. "Because right now, I'm more than happy to vote no."

He could feel Itachi smile against his scalp in amusement and closed his eyes in content when he heard Itachi's deep voice reverberating against his ear, "Should I just tell everyone I decided to kidnap you?"

"I mean, it sounds pretty reasonable to me, don't you think?"

Itachi hummed thoughtfully and ran his fingers up and down over Sasuke's arm, making a warm, pleasant feeling tingle along his spine. Led on by the feeling, Sasuke let his mind wander through the possibility of Itachi doing just what he'd said. Of the two of them just leaving everything they'd known behind just to stay here. Stay together, like this, forever.

If they only had a bit more time, a bit more freedom. Just a little bit more...

"Do you think dad would pay a ransom for you?"

"I think it's at least worth a try," Sasuke said, laughing quietly to himself as he tapped his fingers against Itachi's chest for emphasis. The fantasy was gone just as quickly as it had come and the only thing Sasuke could do now was feel his brother's warmth against him, trying to commit every breath Itachi made to his memory before he conceded to reality, "But they'd probably find us pretty easily since we told them where we'd be."

"That might make it a little difficult to get away with it, I agree."

Sasuke couldn't help the disappointed sigh that heaved from his chest.

"Going home won't be all bad," Itachi said, but Sasuke could hear the same lack of optimism in his brother's voice even as Itachi tried to convince him.

"I know," Sasuke said, pushing himself up to rest on his elbow so he could look at Itachi and press a quick kiss against his jaw. "I'm just gonna miss this, you know."

"I do have a bed at home," Itachi said with a smirk. "And a couch, so I think we could still-."

"Shut up!" Sasuke swatted at Itachi's side even though he was grinning, fun and love and happiness overtaking him again because that was just what Itachi could do to him. "You know what I meant! I'm going to miss being with you, outside of a bedroom… Although, I do have to admit-"

"The sex is fantastic?" Itachi offered.

"Fucking amazing!" Sasuke groaned happily, resting his forehead against Itachi's shoulder for a brief moment before he looked up again and quickly added, "Don't let that go to your head though."

"It's definitely too late for that," Itachi said, pushing Sasuke onto his back before he kissed him. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Itachi's neck and pulled him close, sighing happily when Itachi moved to kiss his neck and collarbone softly.

"I'll miss this, too," Itachi whispered quietly in between kisses.

Sasuke sucked in a quick, harsh breath and felt his chest constrict as emotion overwhelmed him again. Itachi looked at him, a whole host of things unsaid between them, rushing through Sasuke's mind as hopes and dreams that he wished he could do something more about right now.

But since he couldn't, he put both his hands on Itachi's cheeks and just watched him for a second before he said, "I'm going to miss you."

Itachi's lips twitched up into a smile and it almost reached his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I know."

And he did. Of course, Itachi wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't going anywhere either, but it didn't make his feeling any less real.

It didn't make him any less sad that this was ending. This strange, wonderful, almost magical weekend that they'd had. This moment to actually be what and who they were, just two people who loved each other in a place where nothing else mattered, especially not the fact that they shared the same blood.

"You were right," Sasuke said with a pitiful laugh.

"About what?"

"It's not the same," he whispered, trailing his fingers slowly and gently down along Itachi's jaw and neck as he looked at Sasuke slightly confused. He elaborated, "You said the other day that it wasn't the same, going out together in the village versus something like...this, like what we've had this weekend. And you're right… It's more difficult than I'd imagined to think about not being close to you whenever I want."

"It-"

Sasuke shook his head to silence Itachi and smiled sadly just as another thought punched him in the gut and made him feel sick. "How am I supposed to sleep without you next to me tonight?"

Itachi surged forward and kissed him hard. Sasuke kissed back and one of Itachi's hands found the nape of his neck, so gentle in contrast to the desperation they both felt as they held onto the last moments they had to really be together in the ways they both wanted.

"How long is it until you graduate?" Itachi asked breathlessly when he pulled away, his eyes were still closed as he leaned his forehead against Sasuke's.

"Fifteen days," Sasuke answered automatically.

"Then in fifteen days, you're free to leave home," Itachi replied, his voice sure like he'd made up his mind about something as he opened his eyes to look at Sasuke

"Well yeah, but where would I…" Sasuke stopped himself and his eyes widened. His heart started up double time in his chest, both excited but extremely nervous.

Was Itachi…?

"You can move in with me," Itachi said easily. Said it just like it was the most obvious thing to do in the world. And maybe it was.

"I… Itachi, you-I mean, we-"

"Have known each other for a lifetime, Sasuke," Itachi said reasonably through Sasuke's floundering. "What we are now doesn't take that away, and I don't want to be away from you any more than I have to."

A shiver ran down Sasuke's spine and he suddenly felt more exposed than his nakedness made him, but it wasn't bad. He felt vulnerable underneath Itachi, felt raw at the possibility of what Itachi was offering him - them. He felt too many things that made his head spin, but when he looked into Itachi's eyes the thoughts quieted. The flood fell away.

He was safe. He was loved. And he loved Itachi back just as much. Those were the things that mattered.

"Okay," he breathed, nodding his head slightly, quickly.

Itachi smiled above him, it was bright and made Sasuke smile too, the pain that had started to overtake every beat of his heart lessening under his brother's incredible smile.

"Okay?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke nodded again and laughed, his smile widening even further. He felt positively giddy now and couldn't help when it bubbled out of him and he kissed Itachi over and over again.

"Yes, yes!"

"Yeah, that does sound fun, Kiba, but I just don't think-"

"No, Naruto, that's the beauty of it," Kiba interrupted when he finished slurping up the noodles from his chopsticks, turning to look over at Naruto excitedly. "You don't have to think! Just do! You're the master of pranks and this one is perfect to end our high school career."

Naruto nodded blankly as Kiba kept talking next to him, and he wondered - not for the first time - why he'd decided to come out when Kiba invited him. There were probably better things he could be doing right now.

Okay, maybe better wasn't the best word… More like obsessive.

But was it really obsessive? After all, he'd been able to get some sleep last night! Granted, it had actually been this morning around ten o'clock and had only been about forty-five minutes before Kiba had called him to beg him to come out this afternoon. It had been sleep though, and that's really what mattered here, right?

"You okay, Naruto?" Kiba asked, waving his hand in front of Naruto's face to get his attention. "You seem a little...distracted?"

"I'm fine, Kiba," Naruto immediately answered, and if he tried really hard, it was almost true. And that also had to count for something, surely.

"Uh-huh," Kiba intoned, nodding slowly as he eyed Naruto. "Because you actually haven't eaten and well-"

"I'm fine," he repeated, maybe a little harsher than he'd meant as he broke his chopsticks to make a point. He saw Kiba nod again from the corner of his eye as he forced himself to at least eat something, even if his ramen was nearly cold and for the first time in his life it didn't taste good.

"Hey, hey, there's Neji!" Kiba said, nudging Naruto slightly before he poked his head out and waved Neji over, mumbling something quietly to him before they stepped inside. Neji came over and sat down next to him as Kiba tossed some money down next to his mostly finished ramen.

"I told Neji about the prank, so you guys can go over the details. I, uh, gotta head out."

They both watched as Kiba high tailed it out of Ichiraku, leaving them alone and Naruto even more annoyed that he'd let Kiba drag him out. How was he supposed to figure out what was going on between Sasuke and Itachi if he couldn't even be left alone to think? To figure out what he could do to even talk to his boyfri-

Stop that! Naruto chided himself. He's not your boyfriend. Not anymore.

"He didn't tell me about any prank," Neji admitted after Kiba left, drawing Naruto's attention. "But he did ask me to talk to you."

"I have a feeling that he didn't want you to tell me that you're here to make me feel better," Naruto said dryly, but he appreciated Neji's honesty at the very least.

Neji shrugged and said, "To be completely fair, I don't actually care what Kiba wants, but when he texted me a while ago and asked me to come he seemed worried about you, and I do happen to care about you."

"I told Kiba I'm fine," Naruto said quietly. This time though, it was a little harder to believe it.

"Totally," Neji said with a nod before he turned on his stool and ordered some ramen when Ayame came over. When she left, Neji added, "But Kiba's gone, and he's not the best listener anyway, so I wouldn't blame you if you said that just so he'd stop asking."

Naruto nodded and looked down, frowning at how sad his ramen looked now that it'd gone completely cold, but he still didn't have an appetite, not even when Ayame set Neji's ramen down in front of him. All Naruto could do was ask her to take his bowl away and try not to look guilty when she balked at him.

"I think..." Naruto started, but then stopped himself.

He wasn't sure what to say. What even could he say?

Was there just a casual way to bring up his concerns? Should he even mention that he had almost more than a sneaking suspicion of what Sasuke was up to? Could he actually tell someone else what he knew - or at least what had been suggested to him?

"Does this have anything to do with Sasuke?" Neji asked quietly. He wasn't looking at Naruto, didn't even glance at him, so Naruto wouldn't have known that Neji asked him anything if he hadn't actually heard him speak.

"I guess it does," Naruto admitted.

"Mm," Neji hummed as he swallowed. "Would you like to talk about it?"

No.

"I…"

Yes.

"I just found out something, but I don't even know if it's true. It's too ridiculous to be true, but I can't help but...but worry that it is."

"What did you find out?" Neji asked and Naruto couldn't help but wonder if he'd always had a knack for sounding disinterested or if he was just trying really hard so he could keep Naruto talking.

"I - can't, won't, shouldn't - don't think I should say," Naruto answered carefully.

Neji nodded again, but he finally turned to look at Naruto and said, very reasonably, "Not that I'm on Sasuke's side here, but don't you think you should ask him if whatever you found out is even true?"

"I thought of that," Naruto said quickly, desperately now that he'd said something about it outloud. "But then I wondered, what if he'd just lie to me?"

"Understandable. Is there anything you could do to call him out if he did lie?"

Yes, there was. There was at least one thing that he'd thought of, probably around the tenth time he'd gotten up to pace last night. Right around the same time he'd had to bandage a couple of his fingers so he'd quit biting at them.

But he couldn't do it. He couldn't.

If he did, it'd make his suspicions too real. He would be admitting that there was a real possibility that there was something going on, despite the fact that his brain wouldn't stop screaming at him that there was definitely something going on!

So he couldn't follow Sasuke, couldn't spy on him - even the thought of the word made him feel dirty.

"I don't know," Naruto finally answered, and then he decided to be honest, just for a moment. "I actually don't know if I want to know."

"Then why does it bother you so much?" Neji countered, finishing the rest of his ramen quickly. "If you didn't want to know, then you'd be able to move on."

"But I need-"

He stopped dead.

That was it right there. Naruto knew it without the look Neji gave him. He didn't want to know. Hell, he didn't want anything to do with the information at all, but he needed to know.

He needed to know if Sasuke lied, if Sasuke was doing something so...so… If Sasuke had kissed him after he kissed his own brother. And if he had, then what else had he done with Itachi during the incredibly short time they'd been together?

Most of all though, he needed to know how Itachi was better than him.

Their relation aside, if Itachi hadn't been a guy, then maybe Naruto would understand. Maybe Sasuke just didn't actually like guys. It wasn't like Sasuke had ever actually been open about being gay in all the years he'd known him.

But Itachi was a guy, so that immediately struck that idea down.

So what was it? What could it possibly be? His head hurt the more he tried to think of it.

He was nice. He was kind. Yeah, maybe he didn't need to give people such a hard time, but he thought he was a pretty decent person overall. And most notably, not related to Sasuke in any way, shape or form, which really made him the best candidate here.

But still…

"I need to understand it, Neji," Naruto whispered, looking at Neji like he'd be able to give him the answer he so desperately needed.

"Then I'm sure you will, and I'll do whatever I can to help you, if you'll let me?" Neji offered.

Naruto nodded, but he was fairly certain there was nothing Neji could do to help him with this, but he was grateful for a friend nonetheless.

"C'mon, let's go take a walk," Neji said, standing up and paying. "It might help clear your head."

Neji ducked out of Ichiraku to wait for Naruto to join him after he apologized to a still worried Ayame and waved goodbye to Teuchi.

Sasuke looked down at his phone when they drove into the village, smiling when he saw that it was only 9:20. They still had some time before he had to be home and they had to go back to the way things had been before.

"Do you think we could go somewhere for a little while before you take me home?" he asked Itachi.

Itachi glanced over at him and smiled before taking the next turn and driving them out to somewhere more familiar to Sasuke than he would have expected.

"Bold move," he said when Itachi stopped the car at the end of an overgrown path near the lake that their parent's house overlooked. Well, most of their family's houses actually.

"It's getting dark," Itachi said with a shrug as he opened his door and got out of the car. Sasuke followed him down to the water's edge and they sat down in the grass close to each other. "Plus," Itachi added once they sat down, "it's our family's property and I've never run into anyone out here whenever I've come out. So I think we're fairly safe."

Despite Itachi's words, Sasuke looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was around. He could see the hedges that lined the edge of their property near the road, but they were indeed alone and seemed far enough away that no one would really be able to see them, especially once the sun completely set.

"Do you come out here often?" he asked when he turned back around.

"I used to," Itachi admitted easily, looking up at the stars that were starting to twinkle brighter in the sky with every passing second as the oranges, reds and pinks gave way to a deep navy. "It wasn't exactly easy to stop seeing you, after all," he said, and then added, "Though it was a little easier to not see mom and dad as often."

Sasuke laughed at that and leaned back to watch the sky reflecting on the calm surface of the lake. His anxiety from earlier in the day had calmed significantly and sitting out under the stars with Itachi again made him feel like things would be okay. Itachi always made him feel okay.

"You know," Itachi said, drawing Sasuke's attention. "When I'd come out here, sometimes I'd hope that I'd find you here, too. That maybe I'd be able to see you, away from everything else in the world so it could just be the two of us, out here where it's quiet. Then maybe we'd talk."

"Is that why you came outside that night?" Sasuke asked. "To talk?"

"Originally?" Itachi asked, tilting his head to the side as he smiled. "Yes, that had been my intention, though I'm obviously not upset with how things turned out."

"Me either," Sasuke noted, scooting closer and wrapping his arm around Itachi's as he laid his head on his brother's shoulder. "Why'd you kiss me that night?"

"I thought we had well established my jealousy already," Itachi said lightly.

"No, that I know," Sasuke said with a quiet laugh. "But I wanna know what made you finally look at me and decide that it was just time to take that plunge? You had no idea how I'd react, but you did it anyway."

Itachi was silent for a long moment. Sasuke looked up at him to ask if he was okay, but stopped when he saw Itachi studying the lake intently. He'd seen that far away look enough to know that Itachi was thinking.

"I…" Itachi finally said, his voice was soft when he continued. "You looked beautiful."

Itachi looked at him and brought his other hand up to touch Sasuke's cheek gently, making a warmth seep deep into him. Right into his bones.

"You looked just like you do right now, and I couldn't help myself. I thought, if it was the one moment I had, the one moment to try and chase my own happiness then I would take it. Even though I knew it would probably be the last moment I ever got with you."

"Well, good thing it wasn't," Sasuke said, putting his head back on Itachi's shoulder as he hugged his arm tightly. He wouldn't think of how else that night could have gone. It didn't matter; he had Itachi. They had each other, and they were happy.

Itachi leaned his head against Sasuke's and said, "What made you kiss me back?"

Sasuke shrugged and hummed softly. "It felt good, honestly."

"Really now?"

"Really, really."

"Better than kissing, say...someone who isn't your brother?"

Sasuke sat up to look at Itachi and very pointedly rolled his eyes. "It's nice to see that you're over your jealousy."

"Completely over it," Itachi said with a grin.

"Yes, it's much better," Sasuke said as he bumped his shoulder playfully against Itachi's. "I dunno, when you kissed me, it was like something just…- Sasuke snapped his fingers - clicked and suddenly everything started to make sense. All the years I'd thought you were so pretty and how desperate I was to be around you all the time."

Itachi looked over at him with a raised brow and asked, "You thought I was pretty for years?"

"Gorgeous, really," Sasuke said with a wistful sigh before he added, "Which, I guess, if I'm thinking about it now…" Sasuke stopped as the thought that he'd been about to finish burned bright in his mind and made a loud laugh bubble up out of him. "I…" he gasped, looking over at Itachi and pointing at him. "You!"

"You okay there?" Itachi asked, looking at him strangely, but cracking a smile when Sasuke pushed against his arm and then started laughing even harder, falling back on the ground and holding his ribs as he tried to stop laughing and catch his breath.

"You're the reason," Sasuke started before he giggled to himself. He closed his eyes and pressed a hand hard against his lips to stop the tremors of laughter so he could start again. "You're the reason I realized I was gay!"

"I-what?" Itachi asked in amazement, unable to stop his own laugh.

Sasuke nodded vigorously. "Yeah, mhm, yep. It's just falling into place now, but holy shit… I think I've liked you for a while. Like a while while."

"Wow," Itachi said to himself, pulling his bun down to run his fingers through his hair and massage his scalp like his mind had just been blown. "I honestly didn't see that coming."

"Me-"

Craaack!

"What was that?" Sasuke asked at the sudden noise, sitting up like a start and jerking his head to the side to look around even though he couldn't see anything except a very faint light from a street light up on the road.

"Probably an animal, or someone on the road," Itachi answered as he put his hair back up. He didn't seem as agitated by the sound as Sasuke was, but he was looking around just in case too.

When no other sound came, Sasuke took a deep breath and slowly let himself relax. They weren't doing anything wrong anyway, so there wasn't anything to be nervous about. As far as anyone in the village was concerned, they were just two brothers spending time together.

"It's alright, Sasuke," Itachi reassured him. Like he was trying to prove the point, Itachi laid back against the grass and tugged gently on Sasuke's arm so he would lay next to him. Sasuke did and squeezed Itachi's hand when he laced their fingers together.

They laid there for a while, watching the stars twinkle and listening to the bugs chirping as the moon rose higher over the horizon.

"Hey," Itachi said, breaking the silence. "I had an amazing time with you this weekend."

"Me too. Thank you for...for everything."

Itachi pushed himself onto his side and in one easy move, he stole a quick kiss. "I love you," he said when he pulled away.

"I love you, too," Sasuke whispered back, closing the distance between-

Riiing Riiing

Sasuke groaned softly and rolled his eyes, pecking Itachi on the lips as he fished his phone out of his pocket and answered it without needing to look at who it was.

"We'll be there in just a couple minutes, mom," he lied easily, pulling his phone back to look at the time as she said something about being late. It was 10:02. "Yeah, I'm sorry; there was a lot of traffic, but we're almost there. I'll see you in a few minutes."

He didn't wait for her to respond and once he hung up he pushed himself to his feet along with Itachi, heading back to the car. Under the cover of the thick trees that surrounded the path they'd parked off of, Sasuke hugged Itachi when they got back to the car, resting his chin on Itachi's shoulder as he held him.

"Thank you for being the most incredible thing in my life," he whispered.

"All in a day's work, I suppose," Itachi said, pressing a kiss to Sasuke's shoulder as he smiled.

"Can I still call you later tonight? When I'm ready to go to sleep?" Sasuke asked as he got into the car and buckled up.

"You better," Itachi said as he started the car, giving Sasuke one last look. "I don't want to go to sleep alone."

"Me either," Sasuke said with a smile, leaning his head back against the headrest as Itachi backed down the path and got back on the road to head to their parent's house. It wasn't home anymore. Home was with Itachi, and even though he had to wait a little while, Sasuke knew he'd be home soon.

It was 9:45.

Naruto looked at the time emblazoned on his phone and sighed. He'd left Neji hours ago at the Hyuga compound, but he hadn't been able to go home. Instead, he'd wandered aimlessly around the village as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do.

He had school tomorrow. School meant Sasuke. Sasuke meant trouble. And trouble made his fingers itch for his phone, for the picture that he couldn't tear himself away from even though he told himself over and over again to stop torturing himself.

It wasn't worth the time. The effort. The heartache. The headache.

But his fingers ached more than he thought anything else could, throbbing with their own individual heartbeats the longer that he held his phone. They were waiting, desperate, hungry for him to just do it. Just tap the screen, the icon, the inconspicuous folder that held all his heartache inside it.

He wouldn't.

He shouldn't.

He did it.

Naruto took in a sharp breath as the picture filled the screen, looking the exact same way that he remembered. Looking the exact same way, even though he hoped every time that he saw it that it would be different, be changed, be him with Sasuke instead of Itachi.

But it wasn't him, and that thought made his heart clench painfully in his chest. It stopped him in his tracks under a street light on a deserted road.

"What are you doing?" Naruto whispered aloud as he stared at the picture with an unwavering gaze.

The question was for Sasuke, because he wanted - needed - to know what was true. The question was for himself, because he felt so faw and hurt that it was starting to seem impossible to stop himself from hurting more. The question was for the world, because this was the cruelest of tricks that had ever been played on him in his life.

"I… You!"

Naruto's head shot up at the laugh and disjointed words that rang out suddenly through the quiet of the night, pulling his attention mercifully away from his phone long enough for him to recognize where he was. On a street across from a lake.

Not just any lake though.

Naruto's eyes widened as he then realized just who he'd heard.

"Sasuke…" he whispered as he stared at the lake by the Uchiha compound. The water was much calmer than his own heartbeat as he wondered how he'd even gotten here.

Yes, he hadn't been paying much attention to where he'd been going, but he wouldn't have come here. He didn't want to be here.

He heard another laugh, this one different, shorter and deeper and Naruto bit down hard on his cheek when the thought hit him that there was only one person that could be. But why were they out here?

The question urged Naruto to take a step forward, toward the tall-ish hedges that lined the other side of the street as a barrier to keep people out. Keep prying eyes away.

He could hear Itachi's voice though, saying something quietly enough that Naruto couldn't make it out.

At least not from where he was standing right now.

Another step.

He gripped his phone tightly in his hands, his lungs burning as he tried not to breathe. Tried not to do anything that would give him away as he slowly inched closer.

Craaack!

"What was that?"

Naruto leapt the rest of the way across, crouching down onto his knees as he hid on the other side of the thick bush. He glanced behind him, back to where he'd been on the street and saw a decent sized tree branch that he'd snapped in half on his last step.

"Probably an animal, or someone on the road," he heard Itachi say, his voice still muffled but it sounded like he was looking in the direction of the road.

Naruto stayed crouched for at least a minute, waiting to hear one of them say something else or come up to the hedges to see who was there, but nothing happened and eventually there was just a quiet, distant mumbling sound as the two of them started talking to one another again.

Not paying any mind to the world. To anything other than each other. And especially not to Naruto, who was gripping his phone so tightly he would have probably broken it had it not been as thick and sturdy as it was.

They don't suspect anything, a quiet voice whispered in Naruto's mind as he was frozen. Despite the tsunami of thoughts that had been rushing around in his mind since yesterday, he could hear this one so clearly. It cut straight through him and he let out a shuddering breath.

They didn't suspect anything. Not that he was here, or that he knew. Knew their dirty, disgusting secret.

But I don't know, Naruto thought rationally. I don't really know what's going on.

That much was true, but the clear voice in his mind drowned out his own thoughts as it urged him on.

But you could.

Yes, he could.

Slowly, Naruto raised his phone and unlocked it. The picture flashed up before his eyes, but this time he didn't pay it any mind. Instead, he closed it so he could open the camera app on his phone and then raised himself up as slowly and quietly as he could so he could peek over the hedge.

His eyes were searching, flicking from the dark scenery before him to his phone that corrected the brightness some so he could see a little better. All he could see was a large, empty expanse in the darkness and then the water that reflected the sky as the moon was coming up over the horizon. But…

Where were they?

He could still hear them mumbling to one another, but where were they?

Riiing Riiing

Naruto gasped and slapped his hand across his mouth as he quickly ducked down, his heart pounding so hard that he thought it might stop altogether. Somewhere, in the back of his mind behind his panic, he could hear Sasuke talking to someone else, probably the person who'd called.

"I'll see you in a few minutes."

That was all Naruto needed to hear to know he needed to leave, and now. He ran, half crouched down, back across the street, not daring to stand back up until he was back where he'd started. Even then, he didn't stop moving.

He ran as far as he could at a full sprint, until his lungs and throat burned so badly that he wanted to tear into his body to get rid of the pain. Only then did he stop. Only then did he think about what he had almost done.

Panting, Naruto looked down at his phone and saw that his camera was still open. Waiting. Damning proof of what he'd nearly done. What he would have done if he hadn't gotten scared.

The thought made him sick and he doubled over and dry heaved until he saw black spots swimming across his vision.

What was wrong with him?