Hi! Take a look at the last chapter for a note, but again, thanks to Rayah19 for the review. :)
Warnings: Incest, brother's kissing, teasing, awkward family dinners, also...Naruto's definitely hit stalker level now.
A Family Affair
Chapter Eight
"Have you...like, seen Naruto the last couple days?" Sasuke asked when he stopped at Sakura's locker when school was over on Wednesday afternoon.
"Yeah?" she said, giving him a weird look as she shut her locker and spun the dial for good measure. He rolled his eyes at that, because someone was definitely interested in stealing all of her books. "He's been in history every day."
"He has…?" Sasuke trailed off. His shoulders slumped forward slightly, both out of relief and because he knew now that Naruto was avoiding him. Great, just what he needed.
"Yeah, why? Is something up?"
"Not unless you count him not being in his six other classes for the last three days "something,"" he answered dryly.
Sakura's eyes widened at that. "He...what?"
Sasuke just held his hands up as if to say, "Yeeep, that's definitely what's been going on here."
"I… What in the world is going on with that boy?" Sakura asked herself as she shook her head and hefted her backpack over her shoulder. She mumbled something else under her breath that Sasuke couldn't catch before she started toward the doors to leave. Sasuke followed.
"I'm what's wrong," Sasuke said with a sigh.
"That's not true, Sasuke."
"Sakura," he said sternly, shooting her a look. "He's only going to the one class I don't share with him. I think it's safe to say that I'm the problem."
"I don't…" she sighed and then nodded in concession, unable to come up with an argument to make him feel better. "Okay, fine, maybe that is the reason."
"Thanks for agreeing so easily, Sakura; really appreciate that."
She pushed at his shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him to blow a raspberry. "Shut up," she chided him with a laugh. "Fine, if that is the reason, then, I mean, maybe Saturday will actually be good for you guys."
"He agreed?"
Honestly, Sasuke was shocked to hear that.
"I didn't tell you?" Sakura asked, moreso to herself. "Yeah, he did. He was super reluctant-
"Can't imagine why…"
"-but I got him to agree to thirty minutes on Saturday and then go from there."
"Woah, woah," Sasuke stopped when they got to the gates where a couple other students were milling about and chatting. He looked at her as if she'd just dropped a batch of his mom's muffins on the ground. "You let him agree to thirty minutes? And I had to agree to hours? Somehow, that doesn't strike me as very fair."
"You're the one who broke up with him," Sakura said. As if he needed reminding. The scene was still painfully vivid in his mind whenever he let his thoughts drift too long. "I figured I'd cut him a little slack."
"Or go out of your way to torture me," Sasuke muttered and then laughed when Sakura shot him a nasty look. He held his hands up. "I'm kidding; I'm kidding!"
"You'd better be, for your own sake," she shook her head.
"Do I want to know what you've done to illicit that threat, Sasuke?"
Both Sasuke and Sakura looked back behind them when they heard the smooth voice and saw Itachi. He stopped a few feet away from them, a laptop bag slung across his body and a hand on his hip like he had something to disapprove of, but there was a polite smile on his face.
Sakura looked back at Sasuke and smiled wickedly, like he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Oh, if only she knew how far past a cookie jar he was.
"I better go, Sasuke, I'll see you tomorrow!" she said quickly, which surprised him because he would have assumed she'd want to stick around to see if Itachi was going to reprimand him or something. But since she apparently had better things to do, Sasuke was happy to let her go.
"What're you doing out here?" Sasuke asked once Sakura was gone, and it was a valid question because in the four years Sasuke had been attending high school, he had never once seen Itachi enter or exit from here.
"Well, it's lovely to see you, too, darling. Didn't you miss me?" Itachi teased him, his smile turning into a self-satisfied smirk when Sasuke felt a blush ignite immediately at the endearment and burn him alive. From his cheeks right down into his soul.
"Itachi! You-You can't say something like that!" he spluttered, quickly looking around to see who was around and might have heard Itachi.
"I think I just did," Itachi chuckled. "Relax, Sasuke; there's no one here anymore. It's just us."
He kept looking for another moment, not completely believing Itachi and expecting someone to pop out from nowhere and shout, "Gotcha!" He quickly realized Itachi was right though, they were alone. He could relax.
At least, he could if his heart dislodged itself from his throat and went back into his chest where it belonged, but it didn't seem too keen on doing that right now. And he didn't think it was entirely that one little word's fault.
"I did miss you," he finally said quietly, not trusting his voice or that he wouldn't be overheard.
Itachi smiled. "I missed you, too."
Sasuke couldn't help but smile himself at that. Itachi's tone had a fondness to it that made a fuzzy feeling bloom where his panic had been a few seconds ago. If they hadn't been in public, or directly outside his school, he would have moved closer to Itachi and kissed him just to hold onto that feeling as long as he could.
Since he wasn't so lucky, he settled on taking a deep breath instead.
"Not that I'm upset to see you at all," he finally said, "But what are you doing out here?"
"I thought it'd be nicer to walk over with you," Itachi answered like that was supposed to clear everything up. Sasuke's confused look didn't get past him though, so he helpfully asked, "Didn't you get my text?"
"Uh, no," Sasuke said and fished his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it, noticing two things at once. One of which was that he'd never taken his phone off of silent after his exam during his last period, so he did that now while he looked over the second thing: Itachi's text.
"Family dinner tonight."
Okay, that wasn't all the message said, but that was the portion that Sasuke's brain focused on as it tried to detach from the situation they were suddenly presented with. Or would be presented with once they got to their parent's house.
He was fairly certain neither of them had expected to be confronted with it so soon though.
"...What?" he breathed.
He wasn't sure if that one word succinctly summarized the large swell of emotions that he suddenly felt at reading that, but Itachi seemed to understand enough since he nodded sympathetically.
"That was my thought exactly when I got the text from mom earlier."
"I just… What?" Sasuke asked again.
"We can talk about it on the way," Itachi laughed and took a couple steps forward so he could reach out and touch Sasuke gently on the arm. His fingers lingered, stroking just below the end of his sleeve for a second longer than would be considered platonic or familial before his hand dropped back to his side like nothing had ever happened. "Let's go."
Sasuke followed a step behind Itachi, still feeling a little dumbfounded. Eventually, he found his voice though and was able to articulate more than a single word at a time, "Didn't we just do this? Like, I think it was a week and a half ago? Or did I hallucinate that?"
"Unless it was a shared hallucination, no," Itachi said. He looked over to his side, frowning when he noticed Sasuke wasn't right next to him and then twisted around a little to look back at him.
It didn't escape Sasuke's notice that Itachi's arm moved just the slightest bit in his direction, his fingers twitching and then clenching just as quickly into a fist. He'd almost reached out to take his hand, he realized, and just that small second of Itachi's brotherly demeanor slipping made Sasuke smile to himself and quicken his pace enough to take his place at his brother's side.
And if he was maybe an inch closer than he strictly should have been, Itachi wasn't itching to say anything.
"Good to know," Sasuke replied. "So, what does mom think we have to talk about then?"
"Maybe our trip?"
"Mm, maybe, but...a whole dinner? Just for that?" Sasuke shook his head. "I don't buy it."
Itachi shrugged. "It is strange, I admit, but it's only going to be a few hours. So, as long as you keep the eye fucking to a minimum we should-"
"I do not-!"
Itachi rolled his eyes at Sasuke's indignation and talked right over him, "Please, you've got me half undressed the moment I walk in a room! Don't pretend that you don't know."
Sasuke stopped on the sidewalk and openly gaped at Itachi, feeling personally attacked right now. And maybe a little more than called out.
Itachi turned to face him and Sasuke wanted to yank him close and kiss the smirk right off his face, but that would be inappropriate...and just prove Itachi's point.
"To be fair, though," Itachi said, lowering his voice as he brought his hand up to caress Sasuke's chin just slightly so he could close his gaping mouth. His voice was barely more than a whisper when he dropped his hand and said, "I am quite a prize, so I can't blame you too much, now can I?"
Sasuke couldn't help the laugh that burst out of him at that. "You are-"
"Everything you've ever wanted in a boyfriend?"
Another burst of laughter and Sasuke clutched his side. "I was going to say, "full of yourself," but if that makes you feel better, then sure, we can go with that instead."
"It does," Itachi said, his smirk now a full blown grin. "And thank you, because I already knew both of those things."
"My pleasure."
They continued on after that, Sasuke giggling every now and then to himself as his mind just kept replaying those last few moments over and over. Nothing summed Itachi up better than that for him. Stupid jokes; ridiculous and sarcastic nonsense that was almost always said with the intent to make Sasuke laugh until he cried.
And it worked every time.
"I love you so much," Sasuke whispered, swinging his hand just slightly to the side so his fingers could brush against Itachi's in a way that could have almost been accidental. They both knew otherwise though, especially when Itachi's index finger wrapped around Sasuke's to hold it for just a moment, just a breath, just long enough to convey everything they needed to one another.
"I love you, too, Sasuke."
They spent the rest of their walk in a comfortable silence and it wasn't too much longer before they turned their last corner and saw their parent's driveway another forty or so feet in front of them.
Sasuke wasn't sure which one of them slowed down and which one just followed suit so they could stay together, but either way they did slow and every step after that moment found them moving further and further away from each other until there was at least a foot between them.
It didn't sound like much, sure, but in Sasuke's mind it felt more like a mile.
When they got to the end of the driveway, Sasuke stopped. Itachi had taken a step past him without flinching, but Sasuke wasn't able to cross the line yet, to actually step onto their parent's property with his brother by his side and leave his feelings for Itachi behind him. Well, not behind, per se, but definitely stuffed deep down into his soul. The same place that they'd been hiding for who knew how long.
"How am I supposed to go in there and pretend that I don't care about you as much as I do, Itachi?" he asked quietly when Itachi turned back to him with a questioning look.
"I..." Itachi narrowed his eyes and looked at Sasuke like he was still searching for that exact same answer after all these years. "I wish I knew."
Sasuke scoffed and scooted closer to Itachi, the toes of his shoes crossing the line from the street to the driveway just barely. "We're pathetic."
Itachi shrugged. "We're in love. I feel like it's okay to be pathetic when you love someone."
Sasuke smiled at that. He agreed whole-heartedly with the sentiment.
"I-"
"There you are, boys! You took long enough getting here! Come inside, dinner will be ready soon," their mother called from the doorway.
Itachi had turned to look at her and give her a wave in recognition, but then turned back to Sasuke. He reached out and touched his arm again, this time a little firmer and for just another heartbeat longer.
"I know, Sasuke. I love you, too. And it'll be okay."
XxX
Naruto watched from one of the windows in his biology lab/hideout as Sasuke and Itachi walked through the school gates together, just laughing and talking and looking like they were having a grand old time as they headed...wherever they were going together.
Together.
He tried not to be jealous. Really, he did, but it was seeming to be more of an impossible task every day now.
So much so that even though he told himself the last two mornings that he wasn't going to hide in this musty old room, he still ended up here. Only leaving to scurry to and from second period for a reason he hadn't exactly figured out yet.
After all, what good was going to one class when he missed the other six?
Maybe he just wanted a sense of normalcy? Maybe he didn't want to give up on the one class he'd been doing kind of decently in this year? Or maybe… Maybe he just wanted to breathe in a room where Sasuke didn't exist. Have fifty minutes of his day not devoted to the young raven haired man who was slowly driving him to madness.
Really, it was impossible to know the reasons behind it, so he wouldn't waste his time thinking about it anymore.
How could he, anyway, when his eyes were glued to the retreating forms of Sasuke and Itachi?
It's disgusting.
Naruto jerked himself back from the window with a start and pressed his hands over his ears, knowing it wouldn't help but still desperately hoping that it would drown the voice out.
"They are just brothers," he said it aloud, his voice more stern than he'd expected it to be.
You saw the way he touched Sasuke's arm.
"People can touch; brothers can touch. It doesn't mean anything. It doesn't have to mean anything!" he pleaded back to the voice, hoping it would take mercy on him today and just stop. Just fall quiet and let him have an evening - just this evening - to be silent.
But you know it does. You know Gaara wouldn't lie to you.
"How? How do I know that?" he asked, begged even. His nails dug into the sides of his head as he started to pace through the rows of lab tables.
The answer came easily, just like every answer he received from the voice in his head, but this time it rang with something else. Something he knew.
"Ask him."
His own voice.
Before he could stop himself, Naruto yanked his phone out of his pocket, blinking furiously as he cleared the picture off of his screen and pulled up his contact list, dialing Gaara's number without so much as a second thought.
"Naruto?" Gaara said when he picked up on the second ring. His voice was muffled for a second, like he was fumbling with his phone. "What's going on?"
"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?" he asked immediately.
"Lie?" Gaara asked, confused. "What would I lie about?"
"You wouldn't, would you? Not about anything? Not about…"
Gaara took a sharp intake of breath on the other line and Naruto knew that he understood what he meant. Not about what you said you saw?
"Sasuke…" Gaara muttered under his breath before he spoke louder. "I'm not an asshole, Naruto."
Somewhere in the background, Temari shouted, "Yes, you are!"
"Shut up, Temari!" Gaara shouted after he pulled the phone away from his mouth for a second so he sounded as far away as Temari had. The next moment, he was close again and said, "Ugh, sorry about that, but no. What would I get out of lying to you about that, Naruto?"
Truly, he didn't know. He hadn't been able to come up with a good enough reason in the last few days, and he told Gaara as much, but he had one more question.
"Did you really see Sasuke kissing that guy, Gaara? The one - Naruto bit his lip as he thought about it - in the picture you sent me?"
"I'm sorry, Naruto. I know it sucks, but if he's going to do something like that to you then he isn't worth being with in the first place."
"Yes or no, Gaara. Did you really see it?" Naruto questioned again, pressing his lips together tightly when he heard his voice crack.
"Yes," Gaara admitted quietly. "I would never lie to you, Naruto. Especially not over something like that."
All at one, the urgency left Naruto's body and he felt empty. Raw. Numb.
Of course, Gaara wouldn't lie to him. He knew this. He'd even gone over it in his mind day after day, hour after hour since he'd gotten that damnable picture.
Gaara was a good friend. Gaara had nothing to gain from his pain.
A long moment of silence stretched between them because, honestly, Naruto forgot he was even still on the phone, but Gaara's voice startled him back to reality when he asked, very cautiously, "Did you recognize the guy? Did you figure out who he was?"
"No," Naruto said automatically. "I haven't. I'm sorry for bothering you, Gaara."
"Naruto, you aren't-"
He ended the call before Gaara could say anything else.
I told you, the voice whispered and Naruto let out a shaky breath.
"I know."
So what will you do?
He knew that, too.
XxX
If ever Sasuke complained about a family dinner again, he'd have to ask Itachi to remind him in great detail about tonight.
It hadn't started out bad, but boy, had it gotten there quickly.
No, it had started out innocently enough. Their mother and father, like always at opposite heads of the table, and Itachi sitting directly across from Sasuke.
And yes, it had been its own special challenge to not stare openly at Itachi - or eye fuck him, as he'd so eloquently put it - but that had been overcome easily enough when he decided that he would be better off staring at his food.
So, all in all, he was starting off strong, and he was committed to making it through this meal with minimal sighing and absolutely no footsies under the table. That last part was mostly just on the chance that he touched a foot that wasn't Itachi's and not because it was a bad idea.
Although, it probably was a bad idea as well, but that was beside the point.
The point was that he was strong. He had a will of steel and he could definitely, absolutely get through this meal without a problem.
Oh, but then… But then, but then…
Their mother asked Itachi a question, "How's work been, dear?"
And everything went downhill from the next moment.
"I'm actually looking for a new job," Itachi answered. Which, even after having spent the last week and a half in near constant contact with his brother, was news to Sasuke.
His head shot up at the same time their father hummed in semi-interested and their mother made a little gasp and looked over to him. To him! Like he was his brother's keeper… Well, he guessed he was now, sort of.
"Sasuke, you never mentioned that," she said.
Sasuke floundered for a moment, waving his chopsticks in some vague semblance of a shape before he just gestured to Itachi and managed to say, "I had no idea!"
"I've been thinking about it for awhile," Itachi explained, raising his eyebrows just slightly at Sasuke. Maybe it was to silently tell him to bring it down a couple notches. Or maybe it was to apologize for springing this on him in one of the worst possible ways!
Sasuke decided to take it as the latter, but he was going to have words with Itachi about this later. That much was sure.
"Are you still planning to teach?" Fugaku asked one of the normal three obligatory questions he asked during their dinners together. Everything else was taken care of by their mother.
"Yes, I'm just looking at places outside of the village."
It didn't need to be said, but this, too, was news to Sasuke.
"Speaking of," Mikoto started. "How was your trip to Suna?"
Oh no, oh no, oh no...
The mantra started in Sasuke's head immediately as he knew directly where this conversation was headed. Because where else could it go?
"It was good," Itachi said, throwing a glance at him briefly with a smile that he did not like the looks of. "Sasuke and I even managed to get out a couple of times, didn't we?"
Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek to try and help fight the blush that he could feel creeping through him at that sweet, secret implication. He managed to nod in reply, but narrowed his eyes at Itachi, wanting to take back the "no footsies" rule he'd imposed on himself so that he could kick his brother.
"That's good," Mikoto said, happily. "So, you were able to get to the university then?"
Ah, there it was.
No extra small talk about what they had done in Suna, or idle comments about how pretty the town was and what they liked best. Nope, it was just straight to the bone with their mother.
"Ugh, mom," Sasuke surprised himself when he groaned in exasperation. "We've talked about this! I told you that I don't want-"
"Well, that's why I invited your brother over tonight, sweetheart," she said. "I thought he could talk with you about why you should want to go."
Sasuke's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected that.
And from the hush that fell over Itachi's side of the table, neither had he.
"Y-You want me...to what?" Itachi asked, half laughing. Sasuke assumed because he didn't really believe what he was hearing.
Sasuke wished he could say the same.
Mikoto nodded and repeated herself, "I thought you could talk with your brother about your time in college. Give him some advice and encouragement."
To Itachi's credit, when he was put in any state of being that he didn't expressly want to be in, he couldn't be kept there long. So as soon as Mikoto finished explaining her master plan to him, Itachi was quick to reply, any shock he might have still felt at this sudden and poorly planned intervention was gone. Or at least well hidden.
"I already did give him advice while we were in Suna."
"Oh?" their mother said, sounding so impressed that Itachi had thought ahead. "What did you tell him?"
"Honestly, mom," Itachi shrugged. "I told him not to go."
"Well, why would you do that?"
Suddenly, Sasuke wished he had a knife so he could cut through the tension that settled over the table at that. Well, it moreso settled over Itachi, so maybe he wished for less of a knife and more of a kiss to his brother's cheek and maybe a sweet whisper in his ear that it would be okay. Surely, that would help
"Because he doesn't have to do it just because you want him to?" Itachi said after a minute, putting it out there like he was hoping that she would understand that it wasn't her decision.
"College would be good for him. You, of all people, know that."
"Yeah, because it was so good for me when you made me go," Itachi shot back, sarcasm dripping like venom from his words.
Sasuke's chopsticks fell from his hand and he looked at his brother in shock. He'd never heard Itachi talk to their mother like that before, and he didn't like the implication of what it meant for where this conversation was going now.
"You were excited to go! I didn't force you."
Itachi rolled his eyes. "I was sixteen! What choice did I have?"
"You-" she started to say, but when nothing else followed, Itachi opened his mouth.
"Uh," Sasuke said, clearing his throat loud enough to draw everyone's attention at the table to him. He hated the sudden scrutiny, but could have sighed in relief when Itachi shut his mouth before he said anything he might have regretted later.
"Yes, Sasuke?" Mikoto said, her gaze pinning him to his seat and it made him a little nervous.
"I just, uh…" he pointed awkwardly to himself and continued, "I thought this was about me and-"
"Sasuke's right," she interrupted, turning back to Itachi. "This isn't about you."
"Apparently it is when you're asking me to force him into something he clearly doesn't want."
Sasuke rolled his eyes and put his head in his hands. It was more than clear that there was nothing he could do to stop whatever was happening here.
"I just want you to talk to him!" she insisted.
"Lie to him, you mean."
"I am right here, you know?" Sasuke mumbled to himself, unsurprised when neither of them paid him any mind. He peeked over to look at what their father was doing, but he was just sitting with his arms crossed over his chest, watching the evening dissolve further into chaos like everything was okay.
"I don't want you to lie, just be honest! I don't understand why you're so against this."
"I'm against it because he is, and he's told you who knows how many times that he doesn't want to go."
"Goodness gracious, it's not like going to college would kill him, Itachi."
Uh oh.
"It very well could, Mother."
Oh no.
An alarm started blaring in his mind when Itachi said that. Firstly, because he never called their mom "Mother" and secondly… Well, that one was obvious enough.
He lifted his head back up and ran a hand through his hair as he eyed Itachi cautiously, completely abandoning the "no footsies" rule and scooting his foot across the floor under the table to touch Itachi's. He was willing to do anything to draw Itachi's attention away and whisper for him to stop right now.
Unfortunately, it didn't work. Itachi was a little too intent on waiting to hear what their mother had to say next.
Mikoto narrowed her eyes just slightly, like she was replaying what Itachi said a few times in her mind. She tilted her head to the side.
There was a heartbeat.
And then she laughed.
Itachi's eyes widened.
Sasuke gasped.
Oh no.
The next couple of moments were a cacophony of each of them talking over one another.
"Dear, that's ridiculous-" Mikoto started.
"Itachi, don't-" Sasuke tried to warn.
"College almost killed me," Itachi said loudly.
Silence fell over the table again, but this time it was charged with something different. The stirrings of confusion; a palpable fear.
"What?" Mikoto asked, sounding unsure if she'd just heard what she thought she had.
Itachi was silent for a long moment, looking down at the table and worrying his lip between his teeth.
When he spoke again, his voice was much quieter. All the tension in his body was gone and he just shook his head.
"I almost..." Itachi stopped himself, unable to finish the sentence, but the truth was out there all the same. "If he doesn't want to go, please don't make him feel like he has to. I don't want Sasuke to go through what I did..."
Two things happened after that.
Well, more accurately, two people spoke.
"Itachi…" the first was their mother, who looked like she didn't know how to process Itachi's confession.
And the second...
"Son…"
Everyone at the table turned to look at Fugaku when he spoke after Mikoto. One, because he, you know, spoke, but also because he reached out and put his hand on Itachi's that was balled into a fist on the table. Their father was nothing if not completely against any large shows of affection - or any shows of affection at all - so this was big for him. Like, BIG.
Itachi looked down at Fugaku's hand on his and then looked up into their father's eyes, wondering where this was going. Which, honestly, Sasuke was doing the same.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Itachi laughed, but it wasn't nice. It wasn't the sweet melodious sound that Sasuke liked to hear. No, this was broken.
"...How was I supposed to? I thought you'd be disappointed in me."
From the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw their mother's shoulders slump as she looked between him and Itachi and then back.
"I'd only be disappointed not to have you in our lives, Itachi," Fugaku said. It was the most emotion he'd ever heard from their father in his entire life.
"Your father is right," Mikoto agreed with a nod. "I never… I didn't know… And I-you were right, Itachi. I did push you; I've pushed both of you."
Sasuke could clearly see that Itachi was dealing with a slew of emotions at the moment, but he managed to keep his expression as neutral as he could. Which was more than he could say for their mother, who had a steady stream of tears pouring from her eyes. She reached over to each of them and opened her hand up on the table, a silent request that neither of them could ignore. So they each put a hand in hers.
"I apologize," she said and Sasuke was shocked. He had never imagined he would hear those words come from her throughout the rest of his life. "All I want for you boys is happiness. Whether that means continuing school, or changing jobs, or what have you. I just want you to be happy."
Sasuke bit gently at his lip and turned his eyes to Itachi. He was happy when Itachi looked back at him. There was a new type of peace in his gaze, and Sasuke thought he could feel it as well. And even though he knew their mother would never mean her words the way he was taking them right now, Sasuke felt complete as he sat across from Itachi.
He was happy. As long as he had Itachi, he would always be happy.
They pulled their hands away from one another and each of them looked down at their food. Sasuke figured that they, like him, had also not expected this turn of events tonight and were just trying to take it in stride and soak everything in.
Well, if that was the case…
"Not to make it seem like I'm totally changing the subject or anything," Sasuke said as lightly as possible. "But, uh, I have something to say."
Both of their parents turned their gaze to him, but Itachi kept his eyes down.
With a deep breath, Sasuke just blurted it out. Because, really, why let an awkward family dinner go to waste? Might as well make it as absolutely awkward as possible, right?
"I'm gay."
"We know," Fugaku and Mikoto chimed in unison.
Sasuke's jaw dropped and Itachi tilted his head back and laughed.
It was beautiful.
XxX
A few hours later, Sasuke sat on the opposite side of the couch from Itachi. Their parents had gone to bed about forty-five minutes ago, both bidding Itachi goodbye and telling Sasuke not to stay up too late since he still had school tomorrow. They had sat in silence since then. Not because there weren't things to say to each other, but because neither of them knew where to start.
Finally, mercifully, Itachi turned to face him and spoke, "I'm sorry for not mentioning I was looking for another job."
"To be completely honest, after everything else, I sort of forgot about that…" he admitted.
"Yeah, that was a lot," Itachi agreed, his eyes moving from Sasuke and toward the dining room like he was trying to replay that entire meal in his head.
"Hey," Sasuke said quietly, scooting just close enough to reach out and touch Itachi's cheek gently, drawing his attention back. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I will be," Itachi sighed and closed his eyes as he brought his hand up to cover Sasuke's, leaning into his touch. "I've got you after all, right?"
Sasuke smiled. "Always, Itachi."
Itachi smiled back at him before he let go of Sasuke's hand and tucked one of his legs underneath him, tapping his fingers idly against his knee. They lapsed into silence again and Sasuke wondered if the space between them seemed wider than it had a few seconds ago. If the silence seemed quieter. If Itachi's breathing was louder.
His body felt like it was buzzing - yearning - to reach out and touch Itachi again. He'd barely been able to touch him all day, after all, and now that he was right across from him it would be so, so easy to just-
No.
Sasuke reminded himself of where they were and fought back the urge, deciding instead to tug at the hem of his shirt and just keep talking.
If he couldn't touch Itachi, then he at least wanted to listen to his brother talk.
"So, not that it matters or anything…" he said. "But why did you decide to start looking for another job now?"
"Aside from the obvious reason?" Itachi said, raising an eyebrow to give the answer they both knew: Kakashi. Then he hummed and tilted his head just slightly to the side. "I guess I also don't like the idea of dating a student."
"But you like the idea of dating your brother?" Sasuke said quietly, a small smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.
"No, I like the reality of dating you, Sasuke."
Itachi's voice was soft and serious when he said it and Sasuke knew what he meant. He obviously felt it, too. Felt that every time they kissed or touched or just sat here and talked like this, that Itachi became a little less his brother in his mind and just a little more like a regular person. Just a man who he happened to care a great deal about.
Their relationship before had just been a building block for what they had become. Like friends becoming lovers.
Itachi would always be his brother, but it felt less like a defining factor to him now and more like just something that he happened to be. The same thing went for him being a teacher as well.
"Well, I won't be a student much longer, so that'll be a moot point soon enough," Sasuke reminded him.
"Fair enough," Itachi nodded. "It's also all the more reason to find a job somewhere else."
"I sure hope you're not trying to run away from me," Sasuke said with a little pout. "Because if you are, I don't think it's a smart idea to tell me about it beforehand. Or don't you remember our conversation in Suna?"
"Don't think you're going to get rid of me that easily," Itachi said, chuckling softly. "I'd just thought that maybe…" he paused for a moment and shrugged, rubbing at his arm. "Maybe you had a point when we were out of town. Maybe it'd be better for us to not...be here."
"Are you saying we should just…?" Sasuke trailed off, not exactly knowing how to articulate the thought of "leave the village" because it seemed more like something to dream about than to reach for, but he bit his lip when Itachi nodded.
"I want to enjoy having a life with you, Sasuke," Itachi said easily. "A life where people know that we belong to one another. That we love each other. We'll never be able to do that here, but we don't have to stay. We can go."
"Itachi…" he said quietly, reluctantly. Not because he didn't like the idea - because he did! - but because he didn't know if it was possible.
All he'd ever known was life in the village after all and his mind couldn't quite wrap around the idea of being somewhere else. Forever. Sure, he'd brought it up when they were in Suna, but he'd known even then that they had to go home, that they would be back in the village later that same night.
Now he was facing the idea, the real idea, of maybe leaving one day - driving away from almost everything he'd ever known - and just not coming back.
And the thought scared him.
Itachi must have noticed because he moved forward, closing the distance between them on the couch so he could take Sasuke's face in his hands and kiss him. They both let out a sigh and Sasuke could immediately feel himself relax into Itachi's kiss. The buzzing in his body quieted when he grabbed fistfuls of Itachi's shirt to pull him closer until Itachi was pushing him backward and straddling his lap.
"It's nothing to worry about right now, darling," Itachi said quietly against his lips.
"Itachi…" he mumbled, maybe because he had been about to reprimand him again for the endearment or maybe not. He wasn't quite sure, but whatever he'd been about to say stopped short when he hummed approvingly when Itachi's lips worked down his neck to his clavicle and collarbone.
He showered the sensitive skin there with small nips and licks and kisses that made Sasuke gasp as quietly as he could and clutch Itachi's back and shoulders and sides, whatever he could possibly grab to try and pull him closer.
One of Itachi's hands found the hem of his shirt and started to push it up, but through his haze, Sasuke had enough sense to stop him with a shake of his head. Itachi looked up at him questioningly.
"Not here," Sasuke whispered, feeling close to breathlessness.
Itachi pulled back, an apologetic look gracing his features as he seemed to remember where he was and just what he wasn't supposed to be doing with Sasuke on their parent's couch.
"I'm sorry… Maybe I should-"
Sasuke pushed himself up and cut Itachi off with a kiss. Since Itachi had been the one to start it, Sasuke wasn't about to tell him to stop. "No, not here," he said, patting his hand against the couch to convey his meaning. Then he gave his suggestion for an alternative, "My room."
"Are you sure?" Itachi pressed a few kisses to Sasuke's jaw and it was clear he'd asked because it was the right thing to do, not because he wanted to stop.
His brother's morals were endearing to him even now.
"We don't have to do anything…" Sasuke said in lieu of a strict yes or no answer, giving Itachi an out if he wanted to take it. He wouldn't blame him; he just hoped he wouldn't take it. "Not if you don't want to. We can just-"
Itachi put a finger to his lips to stop him and then got up, pulling Sasuke up with him so Sasuke could lead them to his bedroom, his hand gripping Itachi's tightly as they padded through the house as quietly as they could.
A thrill shot through him with every step and Sasuke had the vague thought when they stopped in front of his door that this was probably another one of those bad ideas, the ones he couldn't seem to stop having around Itachi every time his hormones started shouting louder than his mind.
A part of him (a very, very small part) wondered if he should stop. If he should just kiss Itachi goodnight here and tell him that he'd see him tomorrow.
It would be the smart choice. The sane choice. The right choice...
But then Itachi wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist, pulling him close until Sasuke's back was flush against his chest. He brought his lips to Sasuke's ear and whispered what he knew was his undoing.
"You have no idea how often I used to imagine sneaking into your room like this…"
Itachi's hand slipped under Sasuke's shirt and snaked slowly up his chest. His fingers were gentle and sure as they stroked across his stomach and up his sternum before finally coming to rest over his heart.
Sasuke was acutely aware of how it was pounding under Itachi's fingertips, but he could feel Itachi's heart thundering just as hard against his back and that made him smile and slowly open his door. His caution, again, thrown to the wind because...well, Itachi.
All at once, Itachi's hands slipped away and Sasuke spun around in his arms to grab him at the waist and lead him inside.
They had the sense to at least wait until Itachi carefully closed the door with a soft click and then turned the lock on the knob before they met in a kiss.
It was soft and wanting, but not urgent, not rushing to find release. They'd missed each other and they wanted to enjoy this. Enjoy each other.
Sasuke let out a soft moan as they parted and met again, his head tilting just slightly so they could explore one another better. His brother tasted like the coffee he'd had after dinner, slightly bitter and acidic but also sweet. It was a taste that suited him and, strangely enough, it made Sasuke's knees weak.
Or maybe that could have been because of Itachi's hand on the small of his back, pressing him close enough that his hips just barely connected with Itachi's, sending a moan through both of them at the slight, teasing friction.
Whatever the reason, Sasuke pulled away from Itachi to take off his clothes (he'd missed him after all!) and take the last few steps over to his bed, waiting for Itachi to come and take him.
"You'll have to be quiet," Itachi said, looking Sasuke over as he unbuttoned his own shirt and tossed it in the direction of Sasuke's closet.
"I can do that," he whispered agreeably, feeling a tingle travel along his body when Itachi finished taking off his clothes. He stepped closer to Sasuke and grabbed his hips, quickly becoming the only thing that was holding him back from falling onto the bed.
"Can you?"
Before Sasuke could answer, Itachi guided him down and onto his back. His legs parted immediately to give Itachi space between them, which he settled into before leaning down to put his question to the test by taking one of Sasuke's nipples into his mouth without any type of warning, suckling it gently.
Sasuke gasped at the unexpected rush of pleasure as Itachi's tongue licked the bud to hardness before he nipped at it and then moved to the other to repeat the attention, but he didn't cry out or utter a single word. He just covered his mouth with his hand to stifle the moans that Itachi was trying to pull from him with his wicked tongue.
"Such a good boy," Itachi said quietly against his skin when he seemed satisfied. His whisper was almost completely drowned out by Sasuke's panting, but the soft groan that followed his words was all that he needed to know that he'd been heard.
"Itachi…" Sasuke whispered, his eyes half lidded and his mind a little hazy.
He had wanted to say something else. Maybe beg Itachi to just take him now, or maybe just the opposite and drag this out as long as he could. Make him pant and whimper and stop himself from crying out for Itachi as he brought him close to the edge again and again without quite giving him enough until he was delirious with want.
Whatever it had been, it was gone the second Itachi reached down and took his cock in hand, stroking him slowly as he sank his teeth into Sasuke's neck near his pulse point.
"Fuh-" Sasuke bit down harshly on his lip and the taste of his own blood blossomed in his mouth as he stopped himself from stringing together a slew of loud curses that were interspersed with his brother's name.
He wasn't passing this test as easily, but he couldn't bring himself to care as much.
Not when the pain quickly turned to pleasure and coiled tightly, deep inside of him until he was rolling his hips up into his brother's hand, not caring what Itachi did anymore as long he just kept doing it.
But he didn't.
Why would he?
Itachi was nothing if not a master at torturing him so he pulled away just when Sasuke's eyes were ready to roll into the back of his head.
"No, don't stop…" he half mumbled, half whined, opening his eyes to see Itachi smirking down at him, looking far too satisfied with what he'd done to him.
Itachi brought his hand up to stroke Sasuke's cheek and he leaned into the touch, pressing kisses to his brother's wrist and the palm of his hand, hoping that maybe that would convince Itachi to touch him again.
He didn't, instead his lips came to rest against Sasuke's ear.
He only said one word, but it was enough.
"Beg."
Sasuke's head fell back and he was unable to stop himself as he opened his mouth and let out a soft, wanton moan.
His mind raced with a litany of words, of things that he thought Itachi might want to hear, of options and curses and ways upon ways upon ways that he could do what his brother asked of him - demanded even.
Nothing sounded better than the truth though.
"I want you, Itachi," he said, meeting his brother's eyes as he whispered the words into the small space between their lips. "I want you to take me; make me yours."
A low moan rumbled through Itachi's chest and Sasuke gently grabbed the hand that was still brushing against his neck, bringing his brother's fingers to his mouth to press small kisses to the tip of each of them.
"I'll be quiet."
He kissed a random pattern along Itachi's palm, mumbling against his skin.
"I'll be good."
He licked Itachi's index finger from base to tip, stopping to suck gently at the tip and enjoy the way his brother's breath caught as he watched every move he made intently.
"Whatever you want from me."
Finally, he took three of Itachi's fingers into his mouth, running his tongue along and around each one, licking at them greedily. Sucking his fingers off with as much willingness and excitement as he had whenever he was putting his mouth to work for Itachi's pleasure.
Above him, Itachi's eyes fluttered closed and he let out a small moan, clearly enjoying what Sasuke was doing if the nearly silent, "Fuck," was anything to go by.
"Please," Sasuke said after he pulled the fingers out of his mouth, enjoying the wet, obscene sounding pop before he guided Itachi's hand between his legs toward his entrance. "I need you."
And Itachi gave himself happily.
XxX
Naruto eyed Sasuke's house from where he was hidden in a bush across the street. He'd been here for the last few hours and he was cold.
Why? Well, that was a silly question.
He was cold because he hadn't brought a jacket.
Of course, when he'd gotten here and taken his place in the bush under the late afternoon sun, he hadn't been expecting to stay this long. So, why would he have thought to bring his jacket?
Oh wait… That wasn't the right question, was it?
No, the better question was: why was he sitting here, watching Sasuke's house in the first place?
That, too, was obvious...
He had to.
It was the only thing he could think to do, the only thing that had made sense after talking with Gaara earlier. He hadn't known where Sasuke and Itachi had gone so he'd just gone to the first place the voice had told him to go: Itachi's house.
No one had been there though and Naruto had waited for almost an hour, peering in through a small gap in the curtains that looked into the living room, hoping to see…well, he hadn't been too sure about that actually.
After a while though, the voice had encouraged him to go somewhere else, the only other logical place that the two Uchihas would go.
And that was how he'd ended up here, in this prickly bush, digging his fingers into the dirt in front of his crossed legs while he stared intently at Sasuke's house. Waiting.
His eyes burned. His mouth was dry. His legs had gone numb a while ago.
Still, he stayed.
Again, he had to.
It wasn't just the voice that told him that he did, either. No, Naruto told himself as well because Itachi was here. He'd seen him drawing the curtains in the living room not too long ago (or maybe it was hours ago?), so he knew he was here.
He just hadn't left yet.
And that was what bothered Naruto. That was what kept him here in this bush, pulling and biting and picking at his lips and fingers.
Because Itachi didn't live here anymore.
So why hadn't he left?
The voice in his head had an idea, but Naruto tried his best to ignore that. It was a disgusting idea, after all. But…
The light in Sasuke's room still hasn't turned off… the voice noted, and not for the first time.
"Shut up," Naruto whispered back.
Sure, the light was on. So what? Maybe Sasuke had just fallen asleep with the light on? Or maybe he was up reading a book or something.
Yes, neither of those things really explained why Itachi hadn't left yet, but Naruto was trying to keep a positive attitude. Because a light on in a room didn't mean that Itachi was in Sasuke's room or anything.
Alone.
When it was...however late it was.
Naruto shook his head. No. Nope. That definitely wasn't-
His face fell suddenly as the light in Sasuke's room turned off, leaving only the streetlight outside Sasuke's house to burn in Naruto's eyes as he waited, still unblinking as he watched the front door.
It felt like an eternity before the door opened, but as soon as it did, Naruto wished that it hadn't. Because stepping out of the house, just like he'd expected, was Itachi. What was unexpected though was the fact that his hair seemed slightly disheveled, with strands falling freely outside of his bun, and that his shirt was wrinkled and unbuttoned at the top.
Naruto tried not to think about the implications of these things. Even as he watched Itachi take down his hair and then put it back up again. Or when he watched him fix his shirt, clenching his teeth harder with every button that Itachi had to do up.
He tried very, very hard.
It wasn't his fault that it was impossible not to think about though.
It wasn't his fault that he had to pull out his phone.
It wasn't his fault that he took a picture.
Sure, it was grainy (he obviously couldn't use his flash to get some slightly better lighting after all) and yes, there was no actual proof of anything that may or may not have gone on prior to this moment. But this picture wasn't about proof.
This picture was about seeing it for his own eyes.
The next ones he would get would be about proof, no matter what he had to do to get it.