Price of Cheating

Well my darlings, here is the second installment, complete with Sasuke's reaction as so so many of you have requested (cough)demanded(cough) This will eventually be an ItaNaru but Itachi is not going to take advantage of Naruto's broken heart nor is he willing to be a rebound relationship. For the time being Naruto and Itachi will be friends, though it will on occasion be colored by some UST. Here's hoping you enjoy Sasuke's reaction to his car (I know I enjoyed writing it with a sadistic glee) and that you like the rest of the chapter.

No warnings this time unless you consider a bit of angst warning worthy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor any characters or locations thereof. No money is made from this fic at all.

Chapter 2 There Goes My Baby

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Iruka walked upstairs with some cookies and hot chocolate for Naruto and Itachi. When his foster son had brought the elder Uchiha brother in, Iruka had gone into what his lover enjoyed calling his 'mother hen' mode. The gentle teacher had grilled Itachi about how long he'd known about Sasuke's 'fiance', why he'd given Naruto a ride home, and whether he'd obeyed the traffic laws while Naruto had been riding with him. Itachi had handled the interrogation well, answering the questions calmly and Iruka could have swore that the raven haired man had a gleam of amusement in his eyes when he'd answered the second and third question. Naruto had intervened when it had looked as if Iruka was planning to escort Itachi out of the house. The blond had told the brunette that Itachi had agreed to help him out with a communications assignment he was having trouble with then whisked the Uchiha upstairs.

Iruka shook his head, Naruto was so certain he'd fooled him. He'd known exactly what Naruto had planned to do when he'd dropped the blond off and he also knew that Tenzou had given Naruto a spy camera so he wouldn't miss seeing the cheating bastard's reaction to his car. What surprised Iruka was that Itachi was standing on Naruto's side of this line and even seemed to relish the idea of his little brother's reaction to the car's destruction.

The teacher knocked on Naruto's room door before entering and smiled at Naruto and Itachi 'studying' a communications textbook. He set the tray down, "Don't work too hard you two."

Naruto nodded, "We won't Iruka-sensei."

Itachi nodded and the teacher walked out, closing the door behind him. The Uchiha looked over at Naruto, "I've been wondering something Naruto. Why do you still call Umino-san sensei? He's been your father for ten years."

Naruto shrugged, "Well he was my teacher for a year before he adopted me and I was just used to calling him sensei. It's stuck over the years is all."

Itachi nodded and shook his head as Naruto brought out the small handheld video receiver again. The Uchiha was certain that Iruka knew what was going on and was just indulging Naruto by letting the blond think he was hiding it. The Uzumaki glanced over at Itachi, "How much longer do you think it'll be?"

"Knowing my parents and Sasuke's low tolerance for dealing with them when I'm not around to buffer their coldness, not long."

Naruto nodded, "Good, cheating bastard."

"How'd you find out what he was doing?"

The blond frowned, "The bastard's been acting screwy lately. Leaving early and coming back late desperate to have sex. He stopped letting me play games on his cell and spazzed when I asked to borrow it because I lost mine. I asked Neji to follow him around and find out why he was acting so weird and he saw them eating lunch and kissing."

Before Itachi could comment the receiver crackled and he heard Sasuke's voice telling his parents goodbye, "How far away can that antenna ornament pick sound up from?"

Naruto held the video screen up so Itachi could see it, "I don't know the exact specs but pretty damn far, now hush. I wanna savor this.

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Sasuke looked over at the woman on his arm and tried to convince himself he was doing the right thing by marrying her. It wasn't exactly fair to marry her when he knew she adored him and he couldn't return her feelings. He knew it wasn't fair to Naruto either. His heart belonged to his usuratonkachi and he didn't like having to go behind his back and cheat on him for heirs but what other choice did he have? No he had to do this, Naruto wouldn't find out and he'd make up any of his absences to his lover.

A gasp from Ino had his head snapping up and his eyes bugged out before he let out a scream that sounded like someone had grabbed his scrotum and twisted, "Oh my god, my baby!"

He ran over to the car and trailed his fingers over the ruined paint, "Oh no Kurai who beat you up baby," he whined when he inspected the headlights and tail lights. His hands pet the scratched surface of the car the way one would comfort thier lover after a nightmare. Then, he caught sight of the inside of the car and actually paled, an incredible occurrence for his pasty ass. The orange staining his seats and carpet had him whimpering but his heart stuttered to a halt when he read the name carved into his seats, "Oh fuck."

From behind him Ino spoke up, "Sasuke-kun I'm going to go inside and call the police."

He whirled around, "No!"

She jolted, "Huh? But why not?"

"I know the culprit Ino. I'll deal with this when I get home."

She frowned, "If you're sure."

"I am," he turned back to his car and groaned feelingly, "How can one little blond do so much damage?"

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Naruto snickered, "Serves you right asshole."

Itachi shook his head, "He obviously thinks you're going to be at the apartment to have it out with him."

The blond shrugged, "He'll be disappointed then."

The Uchiha nodded and stood to leave, "Will you be alright?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah I'll be okay, it'll just take time for me to get over your brother's betrayal."

Itachi reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair, "Alright foxy, if you need any help from me you know my number."

The blond blinked at the nickname Itachi had coined but hadn't used in years, "Why? I mean Sasuke's your brother, why are you on my side in this?"

The ravenette bent so that his eyes were level with Naruto's, "Because Sasuke's wrong in this. I do love my brother and I don't like that he'll be hurt but he brought it on himself by thinking he could hide the truth from you and from the poor woman he's marrying. He needs to learn that he can't always have everything he wants," Itachi tweaked Naruto's nose, "He also hurt you Naruto and I'm just as fond of you as I am of Sasuke."

Naruto raised a hand to his nose and gave Itachi a light glare as the man walked out of his room.

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~at the apartment Naruto and Sasuke shared~

Sasuke opened the apartment door, his face thunderous. He'd spent the cab ride from his parent's mansion working up his temper and shifting blame to Naruto's shoulders and now he was prepared to rip into the blond. He slammed the door and yelled, "Get your ass out here Usuratonkachi!"

Silence answered him and an unpleasant chill went up the Uchiha's spine as he flicked on the light. At first nothing registered as out of place but then he noticed that the old ratty, hideously orange, throw Naruto insisted stay on the couch at all times so he could cuddle up in it when he got cold was missing. Sasuke's eyes swept the room, noticing the few knicknacks that Naruto had brought with him when they'd moved in together were gone too. His eyes wide, Sasuke dashed to the kitchen and threw open Naruto's ramen cupboard then just stared at the almost empty shelves. One one thing was inside, an envelope with the words 'You Cheating Bastard' scrawled in Naruto's handwriting on it. The Uchiha swallowed harshly and reached in to pick the envelope up. He pulled up the flap and slid the letter that was inside out, unfolding it and letting his eyes read what his dobe had written.

'Sasuke I could rant and rave at you in this letter, I could ask why you did it, I could do any one of a hundred cliches that are expected from someone who's been cheated on but in here I'll stick to the important stuff and keep it simple since you've already seen what my temper did and I don't really care why you did it. You hurt me. You know about my parents and how they died and yet you cheated on me. I shouldn't have to tell you how much that hurts me so I won't. You betrayed my trust and my honest, faithful love for you and that is the one thing I will never, ever forgive. One day I might be able to be your friend again but something's been broken by you and it won't ever be the same. I've already gotten all my stuff and taken my name off the lease, I won't be back. I hope the woman you've chosen is everything you wanted because she's the one you're stuck with. Goodbye Sasuke.'

The Uchiha felt his knees give way and hit the floor as it finally hit him. Naruto was gone. His dobe had left him and he had no one to blame but himself. He knew that the blond wouldn't return. He'd been right in his letter; he didn't have to spell out how much Sasuke's betrayal had hurt him, the Uchiha knew. How many times had he held Naruto while the blond had cried about his parent's senseless deaths? Dozens? A hundred? Enough times to know that cheating was the one thing Naruto simply couldn't forgive and he'd stupidly thought he could hide it from the Uzumaki.

Cold suffused Sasuke's cheeks as the air in the apartment chilled the tears he didn't even know were falling down the pale skin. All he knew was that he'd lost the most precious thing to him in the world and it was all his fault. A single sobbed word broke the silence in the apartment.

"Naruto."

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Itachi walked into the lobby of the high-rise his penthouse was in and froze when he saw Sasuke's fiance sitting there. She was still wearing the dress she'd been in for dinner but had taken her hair down from it's elaborate coiffure and pulled it into a simple ponytail. She glanced up and spotted him before he could do much more than blink. Ino stood and walked over to the elder Uchiha, "Itachi-san, I apologize for showing up here unannounced but I needed to know something and I don't think Sasuke-kun will be honest with me."

A black brow winged up, "What is it Yamanaka-san?"

"After dinner when we were leaving...Sasuke-kun's car was completely trashed but he didn't seem interested in calling the police. He said he knew who'd done it and he'd deal with it when he returned to his home. Itachi-san I may be blond but I am far from stupid, the car had some rather...personal insults carved into the paint job and Sasuke-kun never seems very interested in touching me. He'll kiss me when I press the issue but he never initiates contact. He's seeing someone else isn't he?"

Itachi could almost feel sorry for his little brother but he wasn't about to lie to this woman. Everything else aside it wouldn't be fair to someone who appeared to be a rather nice person. He nodded, "Sasuke has been in an intimate relationship with his closest friend for several years, since they were sixteen."

She blinked, "His closest friend? A male friend?"

"Yes."

Her face flamed with a mix of embarrassment and anger and her fists clenched, "Why that...why the hell bother approaching me if he's gay damn it?!"

"You just met our parents, pleasing them is the most important thing to Sasuke and they want him to have children. Obviously he can't do that if he's in a relationship with another man."

She snorted, "Bullshit, two of my childhood friends are gay and they have kids. It's not too hard to find a surrogate mother who's willing to carry the baby then give it to the father."

Itachi tilted his head, "Oh really?"

She nodded, "Yeah, Shika and Choji have two kids and both were carried by the same surrogate. She loves being pregnant but has no interest in raising a kid, go figure."

The Uchiha made a considering noise then asked, "What do you plan to do Yamanaka-san?"

"I'm going to break it off with Sasuke. The last thing I want to do is be married to a man who would hurt someone he supposedly loves the way I'm sure his lover was hurt by all this. Thank you Itachi-san, for answering my questions and if you happen to see Sasuke's boyfriend tell him that...well I didn't know about him and I'm sorry he was hurt."

Itachi nodded, "I will."

He watched the blond woman walk out and hail a cab, impressed with her poise and compassion. He hoped she didn't hit Sasuke too hard with her breaking it off, something told Itachi that his little brother was already bleeding with Naruto's absence.

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Naruto put the video receiver on his desk and tucked his college homework into it's folder. Once he was done straightening things up, he went to take a shower. Stripping to the skin he turned the water on and stepped under the pounding spray where he finally let his wounded emotions go. Tears mixed with the hot water from the shower as he braced his hands on the wall and sobbed as the hurt of Sasuke's betrayal hit him all at once. He stood under the spray and cried his heart out until he felt empty.

He turned the water off and stepped out of the shower to dry off, his body moving automatically. He slid on a pair of boxers and climbed into bed, wrapping his blanket around him tightly and grabbing a hold of a pillow. He'd gotten far too used to having Sasuke wrapped around him or wrapping himself around the Uchiha to be able to sleep well without it.

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Out in the hallway Iruka's brows were knit with worry and sadness for his son and he rested a hand against the door, wishing there was something he could do to help Naruto. A pair of strong arms wrapped around him from behind and the soothing voice of his lover murmured in his ear, "You've done what you can Iruka now he just needs time and the occasional shoulder to cry on."

The teacher leaned back against the broad chest, toned from years of undercover assignments and a stint in the military, "I know Tenzou, I just hate that he's hurting. I'd like to find Sasuke and peel the skin from his d-mmph."

Tenzou had spun Iruka around swiftly and captured his lips in a brief kiss. He pulled away, "As much as it turns me on when you get violent, I don't think Naruto would appreciate you peeling the skin off any part of Sasuke's anatomy, especially that part."

Iruka sighed, "Fine I won't skin the little bastard. I'll take a page out of your book, be sneaky and make him suffer without injury."

Tenzou grinned, "There's the devious mind I love so much. Want help? Really the Uchiha brat needs more than the swift kick in the car."

The other man smiled a bit, grateful that his lover was as fond of Naruto as he himself was, "No I won't need help but you could make my day a little better and take my mind off how little I'm able to do for Naruto by showing me that video of Sasuke finding his car."

The other brunette kissed the tip of Iruka's nose, "Anything for you love."

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Feed the review slut please? Tell me if you liked it, tell me if you hated it, tell me how to improve that last scene between Iruka and Tenzou cause it's bugging the shit outta me. Just review and pull my ego up a level or two (looks down at pathetically small ego)

Ego: (high squeaky voice) Please pick me up. I need love.

Er what it said. So please review my darling readers. Until next post Ja Ne!