Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Any Time the Fly	By : Shaylilin Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1409 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
A/N: I lied. The last chapter decided it needed to be two chapters, so this is the second to last chapter. I feel heavy after writing this. It broke my heart. Meany of a muse. NaruSasu in this chapter. Also death…sorry.

Review Responses:

Deandraquin: Love the name by the way. Anyway, if you cried last time, you might need some tissues this time. I’m glad that you enjoyed the chapter. My poor muse just can’t leave Itachi alone, which pisses me off because I like Itachi.

SpacePirateDoll: I’m so glad that you liked my story. I’m sorry about lack of sleep (I’ve done that for a story, too). I’m so happy that I could inspire you for fan art! I’ve never done that before. It brings a smile to my face when I think about it. Your compliments were so amazing that I just burst into smiles from ear to ear. I write for the sheer enjoyment of it, but when someone else tells me they enjoy it too, well I get sappy.

-- CHapTEr 16 --

Two days later, I was standing by Itachi’s unconscious body brushing the bangs from Itachi’s face. Naruto was with the band to give me time alone with my brother. I couldn’t help the tears that were falling. The doctors all said the same thing; if Itachi didn’t wake up by tonight, he probably wasn’t waking up again. I swallowed thickly and took Itachi’s hand. I whispered, “Baki will be back soon. The doctors made him leave to get some rest and a shower.” I smiled. “I don’t think he’ll rest. Despite everything rotten he did, I’m glad you found someone you could love.”

I put my head down on the mattress and started crying, squeezing Itachi’s hand harder. It felt like an eternity, but it was only five minutes later. I felt Itachi’s hand squeeze mine back. I looked up hopeful that my brother was actually awake. When I saw Itachi’s black eyes looking back at mine, I completely broke down. I started screaming for nurses and doctors.

They ushered me out of the room so they could fully examine Itachi, but I stood outside the clear doors watching my brother. I knew he was looking for me, so I wanted to be where he could see me. I smiled through all the tears. I walked to the nurse’s station across from Itachi’s room and picked up their phone. I dialed Naruto’s number, waiting until I heard his voice. “Get Obito and Baki up here. Itachi’s awake.”

Naruto laughed. “Thank God.” He hung up the phone. He knew he didn’t need any more words, I’m sure. I turned back to watch Itachi and the doctors. I could see Itachi nodding slowly. The doctors pulled the tube from Itachi’s throat, waiting almost tensely to see if Itachi would keep breathing. I let out a sigh of relief when he did.

I turned toward a doctor who came to me in the hall. “It’s going to be a while before he can go home. He lost a lot of blood and his body will still be feeling a lot of pain, but he’s going to make it. I don’t know what caused him to wake up. This morning his body wasn’t even breathing on its own, but I guess this is proof of miracles.”

I smiled at the man and nodded, running my hand through my black hair. Naruto had taken me to get stitches for my eyebrow, and they had started itching. I started to scratch them, but the doctor lightly pushed my hand away. “They aren’t going to heal if you keep picking at them.” He sighed. “I don’t know what happened to you, but it had to have been bad. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call someone from the nurse’s station, alright?” I nodded. “Go in. He wants you.”

I took a deep breath again and made sure I wasn’t going to start crying. I pushed the door open and sat down next to Itachi. “Did something stupid and got yourself shot, huh?” I smirked at him.

His eyes got a little bit of his evil glint to them. “Yeah, something stupid. I didn’t want to kill him, Sasuke. I didn’t want Baki to kill him. I just wanted him to go to jail and face the punishment for his crimes.”

I wasn’t sure I was hearing my brother right. “Itachi, what he and Madara did to you,” Itachi held up his hand and shook his head to cut off my train of thought. I nodded. “People are on their way over. Naruto was happy to hear you were all right. The two of you must have gotten along well enough.”

Itachi smiled. “I like him, Sasuke. He’s good for you.” Itachi took my hand and pulled me into a hug. “I was just floating around in nowhere and then I heard your voice. I heard you saying you were glad that I found someone I could love. I just had to get out of that cloud and back to your voice. I knew if I could do that, I’d be fine.”

I nodded, and stood as I heard the door open. I looked over my shoulder to see Sasori standing there. I tensed, not knowing what to do. He smiled at me like he’d never seen me before. He brought in a pitcher of water and a glass. “Water for you.” He turned and left.

I glanced at Itachi. “What the fuck was that?”

Itachi shrugged. “How Obito and I deal with our problems. His memories of anything to do with organized crime have been completely eliminated. He doesn’t know who we are; he only knows his job is to bring patients in this hospital water.”

I laughed before I started to cry again. “Shit, ‘Tachi so much as been going on these last couple of months. I just don’t know what to do anymore. I took a life. How could I do that?”

Itachi smiled softly. “I wish that Deidara would have kept you from killing him, but though you feel the guilt now, I think we all knew that if you didn’t do it, you’d have obsessed over it. Just keep doing what you were doing before any of this. You’ve got friends who care and a man who loves you enough to have spent a month of his life working with Obito and me trying to get you back.”

I sniffled as I thought about what that must have been like. I saw Naruto and Baki coming down the hall. I sighed. “Baki’s here. I’m sorry for everything with your relationship.”

Itachi shrugged the best he could while hooked up to the monitors. “I really should have just stayed single, but he didn’t have to tell me about the plans. He didn’t have to come clean about the ambush and being the double agent. I’ll give him a chance to apologize again, and Obito has some pretty tough shit planned for him. If he makes it through that, he’s definitely trustworthy.”

I smiled and squeezed his hand before slipping out of the chair so Baki could sit. Naruto opened the door and Baki went immediately to my recently vacated chair. He smiled at Itachi and shook his head. “Why did you jump in front of that fucking bullet? I was ready to die for you.”

I tugged Naruto’s hand and led him out of Itachi’s room. I knew he and Baki needed privacy. I wrapped my arms around Naruto’s waist and pressed my head into his chest. I felt his arms wrapping around my shoulders, pulling me close. After a few minutes, we went back down to the car and went to Kiba’s. After the operation had been ended, the hotel rooms were abandoned in favor of homes. There were only three of us that needed space, and the families of the band were more than accommodating. I smiled sadly at Naruto as we pulled up the driveway, “I’ve got to go back.”

Naruto nodded. “I know. I talked to one of the doctors on my way in. They said they are going to send Itachi to a hospital back in North Dakota so you guys can go home. It’s only two more days before the move. I just want to spend my time with you, if that’s all right.”

I nodded. “I love you.” Naruto smiled, nodded, and pulled me in for a big kiss. “Let’s go inside, moron.” I turned away and started walking to the door.

He smirked and grabbed the wrist that wasn’t in a cast, “Whatever, bastard.”

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Itachi stayed with me for the first week he was out of the hospital, a month after we got back. Baki was still working on his punishment with Obito, and wouldn’t be allowed back to North Dakota until that was finished. Our mother had disappeared and no one knew what happened to her. The general public assumed she had met the same fate as my father. Itachi later found out that our father had eliminated her as a threat. Itachi, Obito, and I really were the last of the family now.

I sighed as I settled back into my routine. I was sitting at a table in the mall, ignoring the girls who were still trying to get me to marry them, having lunch. The only thing that really changed was that Sakura was suddenly more like family than one of the girls she used to be a part of.

“Sasuke,” I turned toward Sakura’s laughing voice. I must have been distracted again. “I said, isn’t Naruto coming to visit this weekend?”

The corners of my mouth turned up just a little. “Yeah. I’m nervous though. I don’t know how I’m going to ask him.”

She shook her head. “You just open your mouth and words come out, duh.” She smiled at my nerves and rubbed my shoulder affectionately. “You know he loves you. Just let that guide you.”

I shrugged and contemplated my fries. I was going to ask Naruto to move in with me this weekend. Sure, that kind of thing was pretty frowned upon in my hometown, but I didn’t care. As much as I loved traveling the world, after my ordeal in LA I found that I liked having my small town where nothing happens to come home to. I just didn’t know how he was going to react to that question. I knew he’d be bored, but I always figured we had the money between us to travel anywhere we wanted whenever we wanted.

I’d been lucky enough that Neji had convinced both Tsunade and Kakashi to keep my jobs for me. He told them a little of what had been going on. Sakura laughed at the look on my face. “Stop being so serious for a minute,” I glared at her, but not the same way I used to. She laughed again, “You know, there was a time that I was one of these girls,” she indicated the girls trying to flirt with me, “but when I knew you were gay, I figured I would hate losing you as a friend, even if you don’t like to admit that you like me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I know. Well, I didn’t like you when you were like those girls. I like you now though.” I looked at my watch. “Break’s almost over. We should go.” Sakura stood up.

She looked over my shoulder and smiled. She gave me a hug and whispered in my ears, “I’ll cover for you for a few minutes.” She waved at whoever it was and skipped off toward the studio.

I turned around and smirked. Itachi and Baki were headed my way. I walked over and gave Itachi the ice glare. Our relationship may have changed in private, but Itachi still had a façade to maintain. I looked at Baki. It seemed they were also maintaining the look of emotional distance in public. “Finally finished, huh? Does that mean you’re taking him off my hands?” Itachi had moved back to his place almost three weeks ago, but he still came over for supper every night.

Baki smiled, but his face dropped almost as fast. “Sasuke, I-I’m so sorry, for everything.”

I sighed. Itachi and I went over everything Baki had told him before they started the rescue operation once we were back home. I knew that Baki had let me be taken. I also knew that he had decided to be loyal to the good Uchihas. I shook my head. “I know it all. I forgave you a while ago. Just keep from breaking his heart.” I spoke quietly enough that though we were standing next to each other, they had to lean in to hear me.

I shrugged. “I have to get back to work.” I tossed Itachi a dollar, pretending I owed him something. In actuality, it was an invitation to dinner on Friday night when Naruto would be there. I wasn’t going to ask Naruto in front of everyone, but I thought he’d like to see people again. I was inviting Neji, Temari, Shikamaru, and Shino as well.

When I got back to the studio, I looked at Sakura and nodded. “Thanks,” I said, coldly because Sai was standing there. I’d had to deal with his stupid advances as well as my fan girls and coming to grips with taking a life. I ignored him and punched back in for the rest of my shift. Tsunade was gone today, so I wouldn’t be yelled at for being late until tomorrow.

Sai smirked at me. “So, Sasuke, you want to come over tonight?”

I hadn’t told Sai about Naruto. I figured he’d want to move in on my territory or something else. “Sai, I told you before, I’m taken.” I’d gotten my cast off a few weeks ago, and I was happy for it. Now I had the use of my hand as I grabbed his shirt and yanked him toward the front of the store. “I don’t want you near me or my friends and that includes Sakura.”

Sai stood just in front of the store. “Sasuke, I like you though. Why don’t you like me? Am I doing something wrong? All the dating books I’ve read have told me that you have to pretend like you don’t care, but then send strong signals that you are interested. What did I do wrong?”

I sighed. “Here’s the thing, I’m really involved with someone. That and you kissed me the first time you saw me, and didn’t stop without Neji having to pull you off of me. That’s coming on a little too strong. Just, stop trying to get me. And when you see my blondie, don’t try to get him either.” I gave Sai a little shove away from the store, and he finally walked away. I kind of felt bad for him, because he seemed completely socially inept, but at the same time it was me he was harassing.

I walked back inside and turned to Sakura again. “Anyway, thanks for covering for a few minutes. I had something that I needed to talk about with Itachi’s friend.” I hadn’t told Sakura anything that had happened. She didn’t need to know. The story we told the general public was that I had been taken to get money out of my father. He was killed in an attempt to get me back, along with several of our family members.

Sakura smirked. “Right, friend, but I’ll let it slide.” She winked at me and then ran at me, covering my eyes. I was shocked to say the least. This is the kind of behavior I used to expect from her when she was a fan girl. She started dragging me toward the front of the store again, somehow having a freakishly strong hold on me. She giggled and chirped, “He’s all yours!” to someone I couldn’t see.

I felt Naruto’s arms wrap around me before Sakura actually let go of my hand. I smirked as she uncovered my eyes and left me with Naruto. She smacked my ass playfully and said, “I’ll cover another couple minutes, if you want to go talk in the backroom.”

I nodded as I drug Naruto behind me. My brain hadn’t processed everything yet. I knew it was Naruto, but I was so shocked he was here three days early, that I hadn’t really comprehended that it was him. I shut the door behind us and pressed my body against his, ravishing his mouth like I was a starving man. Finally breaking for air I panted, “What are you doing here?”

Naruto smiled at me and my heart fluttered. “I just missed you a lot. I thought I’d surprise you.” He laughed at the look of confusion that must have still been flashing across my face. “Well, you’ve got classes, and work, but I didn’t think you’d mind too much if I tagged along.”

I smirked. “I don’t mind at all.” I pulled him close and pressed my forehead to his. “I missed you just as much, maybe more.” I kissed him again and handed him my keys. “You should go to the house and get cleaned up.” I laughed softly when he yawned. “Try to catch a nap, too.”

He took my keys and started sucking on my neck softly, not wanting to leave a mark while I was at work. “Sounds good, but how are you getting home?”

I shrugged. “Sakura can drive me. I know she won’t mind.” Naruto nodded and headed out to my car. It hadn’t even occurred to me ask him how he got to the mall, but I assume he must have come with Itachi and Baki.

()()()()()()()()()()

Friday came faster than ever. Naruto came to classes with me for the second day in a row. My professors may have minded, but they didn’t say anything. I laughed at Naruto as we crossed the campus. “What?” He growled. “It’s fucking cold out here.”

I laughed again. He looked so funny all curled in on himself while wearing the new parka he’d purchased. He was lucky there were still coats available. Usually by February, you should be buying your new swimsuit, and we were almost at March. A cold snap had just broken, and now it was a beautiful 15 degree early morning with no wind. I didn’t even put my scarf on this morning, but Naruto was wearing it, my mittens, and his parka-along with half of the clothing he brought. “It’s not that bad out. If you’d have come a day earlier than you did, you would have been privy to -20 degree air temp with 50 mile an hour winds. Trust me, this is gorgeous.”

He snorted. “You’re a fucking masochist. Who in their right mind lives in this environment willingly?”

I stopped as we entered the heated building that housed my first class. I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to know now. “You?” He blinked at me and uttered a confused sound resembling huh. “I want you to move in with me. Will you?”

He smiled. “Here, I suppose and not back in LA?”

I nodded. I wanted him to say yes. I just needed this familiar, comfortable place to be home. “After what happened in LA, I just feel the need to have my ‘safe’ environment to come home to. I’ll travel with you anywhere you want to, but I can’t stand having you so far away all the time. I know you’ll need to be in LA with the band and everything, a lot of the time, but I want my house to be our house.”

Naruto blushed. “It seems so fast. We’ve only known each other for like 4 months.” He bit his lower lip and looked down. Somehow I managed to keep the disappointment from my face. His voice was uncertain as he started, “I would like to be closer to you though.” He beamed as I looked back up at him. “I do like the idea of our house.”

I smiled and whispered, “Is that a yes?” He nodded, and I pulled him close, ignoring the people around us slack-jawed and wide-eyed, kissing his mouth passionately. I heard a cough and turned to see Shikamaru and Neji walking toward us, hands intertwined. People had long ago accepted them as a couple, but I knew that girls would be furious when they found out I played for the same team. To them I was prime breeding stock.

Neji smirked. “Must have said yes, eh?” I nodded and Naruto blushed. It was one thing to be the center of attention on stage and quite another to be the center of attention in the middle of a school building in a not-so gay-friendly town. He scolded me for it later, but didn’t say anything at the time. Neji shook his still mittened hand. He cocked an eyebrow at me, “He’s cold?”

Shikamaru laughed. “You want him to move here, and he thinks this is cold?”

Naruto huffed. “It was 65 degrees when I left LA, so yes! I think 15 degrees is fucking freezing. Get off my back.”

Neji smiled and put his arm around Naruto’s shoulders. “Now I’m on your back.” He patted the shoulder softly. “Glad to see you, though.”

Naruto hugged Neji tightly, smirking behind his back as he slid his mitten off and put a semi cold hand on the warm back. Neji didn’t shriek; he jumped and shoved Naruto away though. He turned to me. “Sasuke, get your boytoy under control.”

I laughed. “Come here, baby.” Naruto took my hand and snuggled against my body. I shrugged. “I suppose we should all head to class. See you guys tonight for supper, around 8.” Somehow I made it through the day without ripping Naruto’s clothes off and shoving him into a maintenance closet.

The drive home was hilarious. My car had been sitting outside all day, and even though I remote started it about 15 minutes before we left, the temperature inside wasn’t much warmer than the temperature outside. Naruto kept trying to get more of his body inside his clothes. Eventually he had both arms pulled out of the sleeves and wrapped around his own waist. He pulled his knees up and pulled the coat over those as well, and he was still shivering. I couldn’t help but laugh at him, earning myself a glare my brother would have been proud of.

I parked my car in the garage, smiling as Naruto relaxed a little. “Come on,” I sighed. “I’ll start the fire, you big baby.”

Naruto huffed. “I’m not a baby. I’m just not used to this kind of weather.” He shrugged and ran up next to me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders as I grabbed a few logs for the fireplace. He smirked as he grabbed the logs from me. “I’ll make myself useful.” He kissed my cheek. “I should get familiar with my house, right?”

I walked into the kitchen and started chopping vegetables while Naruto brought the logs to the fireplace. I couldn’t stop the huge grin that was spreading across my face. He’d called it his house. I laughed as I watched him try to figure out how to light the fire. I shook my head. “Naru, why don’t you start chopping the lettuce for the salad, and I’ll start the fire before you burn the house down?”

He had a sheepish grin on his face as he turned back toward me. “Maybe that’s best. You are going to have to show me how to do this someday.” I started the fire with the speed of experience and turned back to see Naruto had started on some of the other veggies. I watched as his muscles flexed with the simple action of bringing the knife in contact with the vegetable only to remove the blade and repeat the action. I walked over to Naruto and traced my fingers down the muscles I had been eyeing. I ran my hand down Naruto’s and slid the blade from his fingers to the counter top before turning him to face me. “This isn’t going to get supper made, Sasuke.”

I smirked and kissed his lips passionately, sucking on the bottom lip, tasting the lingering flavor of the hot chocolate Naruto had just before we left the campus. “Mmm,” I licked my lips. “You taste so good.” I ran my hand down his chest and over the prominent bulge straining against his pants. “We have a few minutes.”

He laughed and pulled me close. “We can do that tonight after everyone goes home.” He straightened his shoulders, turning around in my grasp, and taking the knife again starting back in on the vegetables. “This is the first time we are entertaining guests in our house. I want it to be nice.”

I pressed my face between his shoulder blades and smiled. “All right. I’ll start the meat then.” Together the two of us cooked a beef tenderloin and made the salad. For desert we had everything to make strawberry shortcakes. The meat was in the oven on a warm setting, just keeping warm until everyone arrived in a few minutes.

Naruto and I were sitting on the floor near the fireplace, talking about nothing when he stretched and I saw his LWYB tattoo. I smiled and pressed him to the ground, kissing him wildly. I couldn’t keep my hands off him. I began to suck furiously at his neck, needing to mark him as mine. I crawled over him, straddling his lap. The soft yellow light from the fire made his hair seem to glow, and his eyes seemed even more alive with the light dancing in them. I pulled his shirt off and dove back into his mouth, my tongue caressing his feverishly. I ground my hips down against his, sensations rocking my body as my clothed erection rubbed against his. I couldn’t stop the moan that left my mouth. I smiled as I heard Naruto do the same.

Naruto rolled me over and yanked my shirt off all at the same time. He began to trace a path down my chest with his tongue. The cooling saliva trail made me shiver almost as much as the fact that Naruto was sliding the tips of fingers into the waistband of my pants. I gasped as the fingers started traveling lower and just brushed the tip of my cock. I leaned up and grabbed Naruto’s hair, taking his bottom lip into my mouth and sucking on it. When I let go of his lip, he attacked my lips with renewed fervor. “Shit, Sasuke. I need you so much, right now.” He was panting and ground down against me to illustrate his point.

I unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down along with his boxers. “Take me then.” Naruto didn’t need to be told twice. He pulled my pants and boxers down before folding my knees up against my chest. I swallowed and pulled his mouth against mine. I traced his lips before whispering, “Take me now. I want it hard and fast.”

Naruto nodded. He spit on his hand and lathered up his dick. He looked nervous, but I was too impatient for this to wait for him to prepare me. I knew it was going to sting, and I didn’t care. He lined himself up with my hole and hesitated again. I lifted my hips and slammed back onto his cock. A cry of pain managed to rip itself from my throat, but was quickly replaced by low moans as I worked Naruto in and out of my body. Naruto’s hand had snaked around my cock and was pumping me back to life.

Naruto increased his pace quickly. We’d both gone too long with only our fists. This was the first time we’d been together since he showed up. We’d gone down on each other, but we always had something else that needed to be done. This wasn’t going to last long. I was writhing in pleasure as Naruto hit my prostate. I called out his name, tears of pleasure streaming down my face. Two more hard thrusts to the same place and I arched up, pressing myself farther down Naruto’s shaft. “Fuck, Naru, fuck. I’m gonna cum soon. Cum with me baby.”

Naruto grunted and thrust in one last time. His hand swiped across the top of my cock, sending a shock straight through my body. I tensed up and cried out as I shot my seed across his hand. Naruto threw his head back, eyes closed, and a look of pure ecstasy on his face as he came hard inside my body. I opened my eyes, unaware I’d closed them, to smile at him and blushed bright red. Just over Naruto’s shoulder, Neji and Shikamaru had opened the door.

Shikamaru smirked at me. Naruto was still oblivious to the company. I pulled him down to me and whispered in his ear. He looked over his shoulder and laughed, scratching the back of his head nervously. “Umm, just breaking in the floor?”

Shikamaru laughed. He kissed Neji’s cheek and turned them around. “You should get dressed. Just about everyone else is on their way up the walk.” Naruto and I scrambled into our clothes, ignoring for now the stickiness on my body. We had just gotten up when Ten-Ten popped through the door. Somehow she knew; I saw it in her eyes.

I smirked as Itachi walked through the door. He was alone. “What did you do to Baki?”

Itachi shrugged. “He was coming over with Temari’s siblings. Apparently she couldn’t ditch them.” He moved to the side as Temari came into the room with Shino on her heals. She mouthed sorry as Itachi continued. “They were going to grab a little liquor.”

I noticed they were all shaking snow from their heads and brushing it off their coats. “When did it start snowing?”

Itachi laughed. “Just what were the two of you doing that you don’t know that answer?” I blushed. “I thought so. It’s been going for just about an hour now. It’s not really that nice out there. The roads are getting kind of crappy. You might have houseguests tonight whether you want them or not.”

I smirked. “Well, that remains to be seen.” I motioned toward the kitchen. “Get yourselves something to drink. Naruto and I will be back in a minute.” I grabbed Naruto’s hand, noticing that he was still incredibly red as I drug him back towards my bedroom. I smiled as I corrected myself internally, our bedroom. I wet a washcloth and cleaned his hand and stomach before handing him the cloth and grabbing my own and cleaning my body. I went to the closet and pulled out a clean black Ramones t-shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. Naruto had taken out a black sweater and blue jeans.

I sighed, noticing that Baki and Temari’s siblings were still not there. I pulled the drapes from the window and saw the weather was really getting bad. I turned toward Temari. “Have you heard from your siblings at all? This weather is definitely not something people should be driving in.”

Temari nodded. “They were stopped at the light on Main. They should be here soon.” She looked around the small group assembled in the living room, watching TV. “So, do we have to wait to eat, or can we dig in before they get here.”

I smiled. “Might as well eat.” I didn’t usually use my dining room for meals, and my table was an impossible mess. I pulled the meat from the stove and dished out plates for everyone but the three who were missing before putting the meat back to keep it warm. We had all just settled down around the living room when Temari’s phone rang.

I watched in amusement and then concern as her face went from smiling to near tears. She nodded at the phone, but couldn’t make a sound come out. She gulped a few times and answered with a shaky, “I understand,” before hanging the phone back up. She looked at Itachi and hung her head. “The boys were in an accident.” She stood up and started methodically picking up her things to go out. She was only this calm when something so bad that it shocked her into a trance-like state happened. The last time had been when her father died.

Shino grabbed Temari by the wrist and pushed his perpetual sunglasses off his eyes, searching hers for some kind of information. She sighed and turned to Itachi. “We’re going to the hospital and you have to come, too.” She didn’t say anything else as she grabbed Shino’s hand and gave it a soft squeeze. “I’ll be all right.” She walked over to me and whispered in my ear. “Itachi won’t be. The car hit Baki’s door.”

My eyes flicked up to Itachi and saw the fear written on his face. He hadn’t heard, but he knew that something was wrong. “I’m ready,” he said as he grabbed his jacket and opened my door.

I sighed. “Let’s all go. Between Shino’s Blazer and my Explorer, we’ll have room for everyone.” We drove to the hospital in relative silence. When we reached the entry way, Temari walked to the reception desk and asked about her brothers. The nurse led her away, with Shino following.

The rest of us were with Itachi. I went to the receptionist this time. “The woman who just went back, her brothers were with someone.” I grabbed Itachi’s hand. “It’s my brother’s boyfriend,” I saw the grimace of disgust on her face. “His name is Baki; could you just find out where he is?” I snapped at the woman.

She punched some information in on the computer and even she had a small look of sympathy for us. She glanced at Itachi, but I can only assume decided I was the safer choice. “I, um, let me get a doctor down here.”

As she picked up the phone and started talking to a doctor, Itachi dropped to his knees beside me. Naruto and Neji were by my side in an instant, helping to support Itachi and get him into a chair. I kissed Naruto’s temple quick before I turned to Itachi. “Hey, ‘Tachi,” I said soothingly. “’Tachi, I won’t tell you not to worry or not to be upset. Just, let us take care of you, okay.” I was soothing my brother’s hair when a doctor came out to the receptionist who pointed to us.

It was Kurenai. I was thankful at least that it was someone we knew. I also knew it would be someone who wasn’t prejudice. She sighed as she approached us, fingering something in her lab coat. She tried speaking to Itachi, but he was unresponsive. She turned her attention to me. “Sasuke, I’m afraid it was a bad accident. Gaara did nothing wrong and did everything he could to prevent it. The other guy was dead on the scene. He was doing 45 in these conditions, hit a patch of ice and went through the stop sign. It was at the bottom of the hill here by the hospital. Unfortunately, I saw most of it happen. The car slammed straight into his door. Baki isn’t going to make it. He’s awake right now because we are keeping him that way. He managed to get out that he had someone he needed to say goodbye to. I’m sorry; it’s just not possible to save him.”

I nodded. I knew Kurenai would have done her best. Tonight she would go home and cry to Asuma about how she couldn’t save someone. Asuma often talked about how hard she took her job. He was one of Shikamaru’s mentors; almost like a second father. Shikamaru walked over to Kurenai and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “We know you did your best. Please, can we see him?”

She nodded and led us all to his room. He was a mess. Blankets had been pulled over his body, but it was still possible to see the mangled wreck he was. Itachi walked over to the bed and sat lightly on the edge near Baki’s waist. He fought back tears and leaned over, softly kissing the bloody, bruised, and broken face of his lover. “Wake up, sleeping beauty.”

Baki’s eyes fluttered as he fought for consciousness. He saw the tears in Itachi’s eyes and smiled sadly. “Please don’t cry. The fact that I had you in my life for any length of time makes me happy.” He looked at all of us and nodded. “He’ll need you now. I’m pumped full of pain meds and without these machines, I can’t survive. I won’t be on life support for the rest of my life. I asked them to take me off. I’ve only got a few minutes.”

He turned his attention back to Itachi. “I want to touch you again. I want to stroke your cheeks. I want you to know that it’s all right. This might be the end of us in this life, but it doesn’t mean that I’ll never see you again.” Itachi leaned down and captured Baki’s lips softly, one last time. Baki’s breaths began to grow ragged. “I’m sorry I’m not going to be here for you, Itachi.” A tear slid down Baki’s cheek, and Itachi reached down to wipe it away gently, with his thumb. Baki smiled softly. “I love you, ‘Tach.”

Itachi started sobbing as the monitors surrounding Baki began to sound alarms. He held Baki close, just sobbing against his body, reaching up to shakily close the eyes that were staring lifeless at him. He stood up and took a deep breath. “Let’s go find your friends. I want to make sure they are all right. Baki would have wanted that.”

I was surprised just how calm Itachi was, but I nodded. Naruto was crying softly in the background and I grabbed his wrist and pulled him close to my body. I noticed Neji and Shikamaru were holding each other just a little closer, too. I couldn’t help but think, ‘What if that had been Naruto?’ We pushed the door to Gaara and Kankuro’s room open. Temari glanced up at us and just knew what had happened. Shino dropped his head for a second; I understood it as a way to pay his respects to Baki.

Gaara looked at Itachi with something I’d never seen in his eyes before. He looked like he regretted what happened, even if everyone said it would have been impossible for him to avoid the accident. “Itachi, I’m sorry,” Gaara whispered.

Itachi nodded ever so slightly. “I know. Are you all right?”

Gaara nodded. “Kankuro’s got a broken leg, and they are worried we might have concussions. We’ll only be in overnight.”

Itachi smiled sadly. “He’ll be glad for that.” He stood up. “Sasuke, can I take the Explorer back to your place? I need to talk to Obito.” I nodded and Itachi left the room with a soft goodbye reaching my ears.

I held tight to Naruto; I needed to know he was here with me. Tears came unbidden and were shed for Baki by just about everyone in the room. Even the impassive and slightly evil Gaara had tears shimmering in his eyes, even if they didn’t fall. The festive atmosphere from an hour ago was completely gone, and all we wanted to do was sit with Temari and make sure she was all right. We wanted Gaara to know that it wasn’t his fault and no one was mad. Mostly we just wanted to be around each other and know for certain we were safe.

A/N: I swear to God, this is the weather that I deal with each and every winter. It could be sunny and 20 degrees (I know how it sounds, but by the time it gets that warm out, we’re ready for shorts) and then within an hour be a whiteout blizzard. Icy hills with stop signs at the bottom are a total bitch in the winter. This accident was based on one I was almost in one of my last winters in my hometown. I just happened to get around the corner somehow before the car that ran the stop sign got there. As for temperatures, once you add wind into the equation, temps can be deadly fast in the winter. We actually had school cancelled once when I was in 7^th grade because the wind chill was -99 degrees. And if that isn’t fun enough, in the summer temps can easily it 100. You really do have to be a masochist to live up here on purpose.
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Any Time the Fly