No Revenge Is As Complete As Forgiveness

A/N: ...Those damn Uchihas just refuse to stop boinking like bunnies, I swear.



CHAPTER 7





Sasuke wrapped his arms tightly around the writhing figure on his lap, their breaths coming in short, sharp gasps a they strained against each other, the steaming water in the tub sloshing around them as Itachi rocked up and down onto his brother’s erection. His head rested on Sasuke’s shoulder, long legs wrapped around his hips, chests rubbing together, Sasuke’s hand tangling in his wet hair. It felt so good to be impaled like that on him, so right, so perfect that he couldn’t contain his needy little whimpers each time the hard cock brushed against his oversensitive prostate. His own organ throbbed, trapped between their hard bellies and the only reason why he hadn’t come yet was that they had spent the whole night doing similar things and he was almost sated by now. Almost, but not nearly enough.



“Sasuke…” he whined helplessly.



One of the strong hands went to his hip, clutching it lovingly, the other travelling down to his back to rub soothing circles over it.



“Shhh. It’s okay, Itachi. We’re not in a hurry.” Sasuke murmured in his ear, then turned his face to look at him and kissed him gently, even as their hips kept rocking desperately together.



The kiss was Itachi’s undoing – he whimpered against it and came, shuddering and gasping, and finally relaxed, sprawled bonelessly onto Sasuke’s lap.



Later, much later, they were back in the living room, wrapped in fluffy bathrobes, Itachi once again onto Sasuke’s lap, even if this time it was perfectly chaste. The elder Uchiha dozed sleepily on his shoulder while Sasuke carefully and meticulously worked out the knots in his hair with a comb.



“Itachi.” The younger man began.



“Mmm?”



“I have been thinking… thinking about mother and father.”



Itachi woke up immediately, stiffening in Sasuke’s arms. Tense, he listened apprehensively for whatever Sasuke was about to say:



“And everyone else, for that matter. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I learned the truth, about why you did what you did.”



Itachi’s hand curled up reflexively in Sasuke’s robe, a shudder running through the fragile form. Sasuke’s hand covered his.



“I told you before – I cannot forgive you about what you did.” Before Itachi could say anything, Sasuke continued “but I cannot keep being angry. Or hate you. I can’t. I understand why you did it though. At least now I understand. And because I do, I cannot find it in myself to forgive you. And myself too.”



“You? Sasuke, you haven’t done anything!”



“You killed them because of me!” he exclaimed, then took a deep breath and continued in a much more hushed tones “You did it to protect me. It was my fault, that I was weak, and a good target, that it happened. That was too weak to be able to run away with you.”



“You were but a child!”



“Not anymore. I cannot forgive either of us, Itachi, because the truth is, if I was faced with the same choice, to kill them…” his voice cracked and he took a shuddering breath “…in order to save you, I would do it. I wouldn’t hesitate. I don’t think that I would’ve hesitated even back then, had our roles been exchanged. You were my entire world. The one person who acknowledged me, not as an Uchiha, a Sharingan bearer, not as father’s second heir, not as a future prodigy… but just as Sasuke. Your Sasuke. Am I wrong?”



Itachi let a small, pained keen.



“No.”



“So you see, to forgive you, would be to forgive myself. I cannot do that. It would be wrong to do that.” His arms around Itachi tightened for a moment. “You were my world back then, and that never changed.”



Itachi pressed his face against the soft material of Sasuke’s bathrobe to his expression, but he couldn’t hide the tremors running through his body.



“I love you so much, Sasuke.” He whispered, doing so for the first time in more than eleven years. “I would do anything for you.”



“I know. Me too.” Sasuke reached, lifted his chin and kissed him again, feeling him melt in his embrace. A fierce emotion coursed through him at the realization that he still loved Itachi, despite all his anger, all his bitterness. It wasn’t just possessiveness that he felt towards him.



“What are we going to do now?” Itachi asked softly when they finally broke their liplock.



“I am tired of being couped up in here.” Sasuke stated. “Next time Kakashi shows up, I’ll tell him that we’ll begin leaving the compound during the day. And I’ll ask him if I Naruto could find some sort of a job for me, here in Konoha. For you as well, if you want.”



“They won’t welcome us with open arms, Sasuke.”



“I don’t give a damn, brother. They’ll have to get used to our presence.” He paused, closing his eyes “You know we can’t tell anyone about us.”



“Of course.” Itachi sounded bitter. They both knew it – their relationship, as natural as it felt to them, was an abomination to the ordinary person. And considering their precarious position, that was, being complete pariahs, people finding out about it would turn into a disaster.



Sasuke’s fingers began to tug on Itachi’s robe belt, finally undoing it and pulling the robe aside to reveal his damp body before laying him down on the wooden floor.



“Sasuke?”



“Mmm?” Sasuke mumbled as he dipped his tongue in Itachi’s navel, hands gently running up and down his flanks.



“You’re insatiable.”



A hand traveled further down to wrap around his awakening erection.



“Blood is thicker than water.”





Kakashi walked silently through the dusty streets leading to Sasuke’s small house. Hands in his pockets, single eye fixed somewhere at the horizon, shoulders slouched, he was the very image of laid-back boredom. Inside, he was a twisted mass of frayed nerves. Nagato’s arrival managed to get him off balance, despite knowing that he would come. His fists curled angrily in his pockets as he berated himself for giving into his anxieties. But how could he not? This man had thrown him around like a rag doll, had practically killed him, and with such terrible ease. Despite all of his training and experience, Kakashi was still human, he was still capable of feeling fear. The fact that this fear was irrational now – since the man had lost most of his power – made things even worse. He felt like they had taken in a viper in their bosom, and he had no idea when and how that viper would strike.



As he approached the house the information that constantly flowed through the link with the Uchihas’ surveillance seals became more detailed and he paused as he analyzed it. The two of them were in the house, that was for certain, and standing, or sitting, very close to each other. Far too close. Were they fighting? Had Sasuke finally decided to wring Itachi’s neck? He felt no bursts of Chakra and no killing intent, but considering their history, he decided that it was better to be safe than sorry. Masking his Chakra signature he ran towards the house, taking care to be as silent as possible so not to allow Sasuke to feel his presence.



When he finally approached the house he hid underneath an open window, listening for any sounds coming out of the room. A soft, pained moan startled him.



“Sasuke…” Itachi’s voice was strained, breathless. Was Sasuke hurting him? Carefully, he risked looking over the edge of the window into the room.



Had Kakashi been a lesser man – less trained, less experienced, less open-minded, he would have keeled over on the spot and fallen face first into the flowerbed underneath the window. As it was, he just gawked in shock at the sight that greeted him inside the room. Itachi was on his hands and knees, naked as the day he was born, his long raven hair loose from his usual pony tail, even if most of was fisted in Sasuke’s hand. The younger man’s other hand was on Itachi’s hip, clutching him possessively as he slowly thrust into of his brother’s body. Kakashi could see Sasuke’s engorged erection – red and slick – slide in and out of the tight little orifice. They were both glistening with sweat, flushed with passion – Kakashi’s initial fear that Sasuke was forcing Itachi dissipated at the sight of the elder Uchiha lifting his hips eagerly to meet his thrusts.



“More, harder, Sasuke!” Itachi demanded and Kakashi goggled even more when Sasuke increased the pace of his thrusting.



Riveted to his spot, Kakashi watched helplessly at their passionate coupling, the palms of his hands sweating as he listened to them moan and encourage each other, traitorous heat pooling in his groin.



The moans inside reached a fever pitch as the lovers found their release and Kakashi slumped against the wall, sweaty, aroused and confused.



He wasn’t disgusted, to be so would be a hypocrisy on his part – after all, he had spent many nights jacking off to scenes in Jiraiya’s books with a pair of siblings doing naughty things to each other, not to mention asking Naruto to make a clone of himself and act like they were twins – the blond still teased him mercilessly about it. However, the participants in the current little scene were real-life siblings, not one of his perverted if harmless fantasies. The consequences of this could be terribly serious, if it ever got out.



As deep in thought as he was, he heard at the last moment the swish of the swinging katana and jumped to the side, the sword crashing against the wall and leaving a deep wedge in the wood. He turned rapidly and stared at Sasuke, still naked as the day he was born, still flushed from sex, holding the sword, ready for a fight.



“Kakashi.” The young man acknowledged him.



The Jounin swallowed thickly and wondered if he could pretend that he saw nothing. Considering the place he had hidden, it wasn’t very likely that Sasuke would believe such a claim.



“Hello, Sasuke.” He tried to sound normal. His voice came out in a squeak.



Sasuke’s scowl deepened.



“For how long have you been here?”



Kakashi resisted the urge to shuffle his feet.



“Long enough.”



The scowl turned to apprehension.



“You saw everything.”



Kakashi nodded.



“Your secret is safe with me, Sasuke.” He tried to sound as soothing as possible. Behind Sasuke, Itachi’f face had gone ashen with worry.



“And why would you do that?”



“Believe it or not, Sasuke, I am still your former Sensei and I do care about your well-being.”



Sasuke’s dark eyes travelled down to Kakashi’s groin and noticed his lingering arousal. The Uchiha smirked.



“Obviously.”



Kakashi flushed all the way to the roots of his hair and looked away, refusing to apologize for his physical reaction. He cleared his throat.



“I admit I didn’t expect to see such a scene when I came here. You two need to be a little more discrete. Might I suggest drawing the curtains shut next time?”



A familiar haughty smirk appeared on Sasuke’s full lips and Kakashi silently cursed his former student.



“I will heed your advice.” He said simply. “Well?”



“What?”



“Do you intend to stand out there all day? Come in.”



Kakashi sighed and walked up to the window, climbing into the room.



“You’ve never been fond of doors.” Sasuke muttered with annoyance. He turned and left the room for a moment, returning with a pair of yukata, one of which he handed to Itachi, the other wrapping unhurriedly around himself, completely unconcerned by his nudity. ‘And why should he be concerned?’ thought Kakashi ‘I just saw him fucking his own brother in the ass, a little nakedness is downright innocent compared to that.’ Kakashi was pleased to notice that when Sasuke retrieved the clothes, he’d put away his katana too.



Unlike Sasuke, Itachi wrapped himself in the yukata as fast as he could and the Jounin didn’t miss his little grimaces of pain, nor the fact that he hadn’t stood up to greet him.



“Sore?” he asked sympathetically and watched a full blush blooming on Itachi’s cheeks.



Sasuke gestured to Kakashi to sit on the wooden floor and sat down as well.



“For how long has this been going on?” Kakashi couldn’t help but ask.



“A few days.” Itachi admitted.



“You have been very busy, Sasuke, if your brother is so sore that he can’t even stand up.” The Jounin chided Sasuke and the younger man actually had the grace to look guilty.



“I’ll go and bring you a pillow, Itachi.” He said and hurriedly left the room again. Kakashi turned to the older Uchiha.



“He’s not forcing you.” It wasn’t really a question.



Itachi shook his head.



“No, Kakashi-san.”



Sasuke returned with the pillow and helped Itachi lift himself a little then tucked it under his sore bottom.



“Better now?”



Itachi nodded. Sasuke turned to Kakashi:



“Why aren’t you freaking out yet?”



“I am Konoha’s resident pervert, don’t you know that? I am glad to meet others of my kind.” Kakashi said lightly and Sasuke rolled his eyes before growing serious again.



“Are you going to tell Naruto?”



“Do you want me to?”



“No.”



“Then I won’t.”



“Why not, Kakashi-san?” Itachi asked quietly. “He’s your Hokage. Are you hiding things from your Hokage?”



“Only the things that are of personal nature and are none of his business.” Kakashi pointed out. “What you two do behind closed doors is none of my business too, as long as it’s consensual.”



Itachi bowed a little and Sasuke looked stunned before bowing as well.



“Thank you.” He said softly.



So his bravado earlier had been bluffing. It was good to know that the almighty Uchiha Sasuke was still capable of humility.



“Anyway.” Kakashi began. “This is not why I am here.” He took a deep breath. “We… Konoha has a guest.”



“A guest?” Itachi asked.



“Yes. You two know him… at least I can assume that Sasuke knows him as well as you, Itachi. It’s Pein.”



“Nagato.” Itachi automatically corrected him.



“I’m sorry?”



“He has been calling himself his given name for over a year now.” The elder Uchiha clarified.



“Why is he here?” Sasuke asked.



“To negotiate a peace treaty, followed by a trade treaties.”



“Ame does have a lot to offer.” Itachi agreed.



Kakashi said nothing, eye focused on the floorboards before him.



“Yet you seem to fear the gifts he bears.” Itachi noted.



“Your Leader destroyed this village, Itachi. He was unprovoked when he attacked us, he caused so much damage… How can I have any trust in him?”



Itachi smiled gently.



“Nagato was never Akatsuki’s leader, Kakashi-san. He was but a figurehead, you know that the one who was truly in control was our dear cousin.” His expression turned sour at the memory of Madara. “That bastard has always been so very good at manipulating people, appealing to their dearest, innermost dreams and corrupting them, twisting them beyond recognition. Pein, Sasuke and I can attest to that.” He reached and with surprising accuracy covered Sasuke’s hand with his own. “I do not mean to make excuses for our mistakes – Nagato’s, mine or Sasuke’s, but I can tell you with absolute surety that Nagato does care about his people. I have seen a side of him you have not, a side that is kind and good and generous. He had his medics take care of me for months without asking for anything in return after I became incapacitated, when all the other Kages would have thrown me out like a broken toy, or just killed me. Our own Hokages would’ve done that too, at least those before Naruto. You know this. A Nin no longer capable of doing his job is a burden and has to be disposed of.”



Sasuke was nodding.



“I did see how he was interacting with his own people, during the year I spent there. I admit, I don’t know the man as well as Itachi does – he was a very private person – but he was so completely different than all those Kages who view their underlings as little more than tools to be used and discarded. His own people adore him, look up to him, revere him, even after he revealed that he was a mortal man to them and began serving as an actual Kage, rather than a false deity. They accepted that and embraced him with such love that it was hard to believe, but it did happen.”



“And yet he’s very much capable of deception. He made his own people believe that he was a god.” Kakashi pointed out sourly. “He pretended to Akatsuki that he was the man at the top of the organization, when he was not.”



Itachi shrugged.



“He never lied to his people. He did believe in his own divinity, at the time. And as for the organization… do you think that people like Kakuzu would’ve agreed to cooperate if he had known that Akatsuki’s real goal was something as goody-goody as world peace?”



“He’s never been dishonest to me.” Sasuke added.



“So you two think that he’s worthy of trust?” Kakashi still sounded skeptical.



“I think he’s worthy enough to be given a chance to prove himself and earn your trust, instead of you denying him by default.” Itachi said.



Kakashi finally nodded.



“I’ll think about it.”



“Do you want to stay for tea?” Sasuke asked.



“I think I need something stronger today, Sasuke. Didn’t I bring a bottle of sake a week ago?”