I didn't hesitate to call the cops. When they arrived, they took Sasuke's insane stalker away. Then they took me, Itachi and Sasuke all down to the precinct. Kisame came, too. My wrists were wrapped up and we all got questioned.

Attempted rape of a minor... that's what I heard them call it. Either way, he's going to be locked up... when he wakes up, that is. Or rather, if he wakes up. He's in a coma. I guess the damage was pretty heavy and potentially irreversible. Part of me hopes he dies in his sleep. Another part of me hopes he goes to prison and suffers. He deserves to suffer, but at the same time, he doesn't deserve to be alive.

It's been a few days since then and Sasuke has been incredibly quiet. We've been skipping school. Mikoto and Fugaku are frantic. So are my parents. Nonetheless, we aren't in trouble. All I did was throw some punches. Itachi was the one who delivered the stab wound. The cops are calling it defense. I was trying to save my boyfriend and Itachi was trying to save his brother. Itachi was put under house arrest, though... since his crime was a bit more violent than mine was. I feel a bit bad for him, to be honest. He was just getting back into the swing of things. He's been going out. He's been doing normal things... and now he's forced to stay inside. Nonetheless, Kisame is there to keep him company. They were both very composed when the cops were questioning us. I thought Itachi would've been angry and loud, but he was calm and collected.

"Hey," I murmur.

"Hm?" Sasuke asks, looking over at me.

We're seated in his living room. The TV is on, but we aren't watching it. It's tense and I think he can feel it, too. Our moms are in the other room. Mikoto has been crying a lot lately. Like Kisame, she's taking a leave of absence from work so she can be with her sons. My mom has been here to offer support. I think they're both worried, though I wish they'd allow themselves a moment of peace. That sick pervert is in the hospital. He's not even conscious and if he does wake, he's going to be locked up. Either way, he's gone. He can't hurt Sasuke anymore.

"So... what are you thinking about?" I ask. "You haven't been saying much, but I know your mind is always wandering."

He smiles albeit sadly. "I'm thinking... that you need someone who will make you happier than I would," he says, "but I'm selfish and I don't want to let you go."

"I don't care what I need," I tell him sincerely. "I want you and you want me back, so it works. Stop worrying, okay? I'm not going to leave, even if you let me. I'll always be where you can reach me. You're not going to scare me off. If you were capable of it, it would've happened a long time ago. Trust me. For fuck's sake, I love you."

He lets out a shuddery sigh.

"Okay?" I ask.

He nods slowly. "Okay."

  ||XxXx|| 

Later in the day as we're all sitting in the living room, Itachi makes his way down the stairs and we all try not to stare at him. "I'm not sorry," he says out of the blue. He sits down next to his mom and she gives him a reassuring smile, touching his cheek.

"Me neither," she says after a moment's pause.

He's violent, but this time I think it worked in everyone's favor.

  ||XxXx||  

As night approaches, Sasuke drags me out of the house and to the nearest bus stop. I ask him where we're going, but he dismisses me and checks his phone. I don't ask again until we're on the bus. We take seats near the back and I question him once more. "Sasuke... where are we going?"

"Visiting," he murmurs.

"Who?" I pry, not digging the secretiveness.

"Kakashi," he says, staring out the window and rubbing his tired eyes.

"You've been really tired lately. Have you been sleeping okay these past few days?" I ask, not bothering to ask why we're going to visit that guy. I'll question him about it later.

"Yeah," he says.

"Are you sure?"

He only nods. I can't help but notice how distant he's been. I don't know why. I think back to what he said earlier – he's still worried he'll scare me off. I don't think that's possible. He should know that. "What is it, then?" I continue to question him. "Something has been on your mind. It's obvious."

He lets out a sigh and his breath fogs up the window before disappearing. A second later, he turns to me. "You scared me, you know," he admits quietly.

"What?" I ask, taken mildly aback at the confession. I didn't expect him to say a thing like that.

He closes his eyes for a moment, squeezing them shut. When he opens them, they're glassy. "Never mind."

"Sasuke..." I say his name, but he just shakes his head.

Soon, he pulls the cord and the bus pulls to a stop. We get off and walk to a nearby apartment building. We enter the twin doors and Sasuke pushes a button. A moment later, we're buzzed in.

"Do you come here a lot?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says. "Kakashi is quiet and comfortable... and I like that."

We walk up a flight of stairs before turning down a hallway. I follow Sasuke as he rounds the corner and eventually we come to a stop. He doesn't bother knocking on the door. Instead, he walks right in.

"Hello?" Sasuke calls, slipping out of his shoes. I do the same and a moment later, Kakashi comes to greet us.

He smiles at Sasuke, who smiles in return, and then he says, "Naruto, right? It's nice to see you again."

"You as well," I say politely.

The three of us walk into a small, modest looking living room. There is a shelf in the corner of the room with a series of photographs. One is of a woman in a hospital bed holding a child. I'm assuming this was his wife. Part of me wants to ask how she died, but I won't. It's not my business. I stare at the other photographs – pictures of Kakashi with people I've never seen around here before... but then there's one of him and Sasuke. In it, they're both smiling. It isn't one of Sasuke's fake smiles, either. He looks happy. I feel a sudden rush of gratitude towards Kakashi for being able to make him feel so at ease. I want to be able to make him feel that way, too... I think I have, at times, but I think I fucked it up with the black out my anger caused. Like he said - I scared him.

A moment later, Kakashi stands next to me and says, "Most of these people are gone."

"Oh," I say quietly, glancing over at him. He's smiling still, but there's no longer anything happy about it. "I was wondering why none of them looked familiar." Konoha is a small town. Chances are, you're going to recognize the faces of the people you see... but I guess these are people who were gone a long time ago.

Sasuke sits down on the sofa and crosses one leg over the other. "Naruto..." he murmurs my name, probably trying to warn me against saying anything stupid.

"Anyway," Kakashi pats my shoulder. "Have a seat. Can I get anyone anything?"

"I'm fine," I say with a smile, sitting down next to Sasuke.

"I'm fine as well," Sasuke assures.

"Now, then," Kakashi starts, sitting on a chair opposite the sofa. "You wanted to talk?"

Sasuke nods, glancing at me before beginning to speak. "Something happened..." he says quietly, "and I wanted to tell you about it. I... I guess I wanted to kill two birds with one stone."

"Huh?" I frown, tilting my head to the side in confusion.

He smiles somewhat bitterly at me. "Remember when you came to therapy with me... and Shizune told me to close my eyes and talk like we were the only two people in the room?"

I nod. "Yeah, I remember."

"I want to do that again," he says. "Or, I want to try."

I nod again. "Okay."

Kakashi listens to the exchange of words silently, not once interrupting or asking questions. I should probably take a memo from him because interrupting and asking too many questions is something of a bad habit of mine.

Sasuke stares at Kakashi for a long time before opening his mouth. "Um," his voice breaks. He clears his throat before continuing. "Something happened last week."

"Take your time," Kakashi says. He's soft spoken and understanding.

Soon, Sasuke closes his eyes and I can't help but wonder if he's imagining he's alone with me or if he's imagining he's alone with Kakashi. A second later, his lips part and he starts to talk. "Naruto walked me home... When I got inside, I was knocked out. When I came to, I was tied up. Everything felt like it was happening so slowly. I couldn't help but think about the last time that kind of thing happened... but it was my brother, not my..." he trails off, unable to say the word. I don't fucking blame him. I really don't. "Again, I just wanted it to be over. I could suffer private humiliation, but then he took me into the kitchen and Naruto... you were tied up, too. Everything was worse. I knew what was going to happen before he even said it. I knew he was going to make you watch..." His voice is getting weaker and weaker as the story goes on. "But it didn't happen... and you saved me."

I glance at Kakashi, who has his eyes closed as well, but other than that he's straight-faced. There's no pity. There's just that same vague understanding.

Sasuke lets out a shuddery breath. "When you were hitting him... it was like you weren't even yourself. You were somebody else... something else. I don't know. You were just... in this craze. You weren't there. I know you weren't there. You blacked out and you just... lost it."

"Oh," I whisper.

"I know you have anger problems," Sasuke murmurs, sniffling, "and I know you used to have fits... and I know we used to beat each other up... but I don't remember it being like that. It was hard to watch."

I force a nervous chuckle. "You said you're worried you'll scare me away... It sounds to me like I'm the one scaring you away."

"You're not," he promises. "You just surprised me, that's all..."

"I just got so fucking angry," I admit shakily, staring down at my bandaged wrists. "I've never felt that before. Not once. I thought he was going to hurt you. For fuck's sake, he said he was going to fuck you in front of me... I didn't want you to go have to go through that. Then he started touching you and... you're right, I just lost it. He said so much sick shit... Just thinking about it pisses me off."

"I know," Sasuke mumbles.

I let out a breath. "I'm sorry," I apologize.

"It's okay," he says meekly.

"But it's not..." I try to reason, "because I scared you and that's not okay."

"You saved me," he says again. "I never thanked you for it... so, thank you."

"You don't need to thank me," I whisper. "I'd do it again... and that might not be what you want to hear, but it's just like Itachi said... He's not sorry. I'm not sorry, either. I'm not sorry for hitting him. I'm only sorry for scaring you."

"I know," Sasuke murmurs, wringing his hands. A moment later, he opens his eyes and stares at me.

"He'll never touch you again," I promise. "They'll lock him away for a long fucking time."

"If he wakes up," Sasuke points out. "And even then... maybe they won't. You know how the justice system works, Naruto. He won't be gone for long."

"Do you want him to die instead?" I wonder.

"I don't know what I want," he admits.

I inch towards him and run my knuckles down his cheek. "Doesn't matter," I assure him.

"Hm."

But I think I get it. I scared him and he wasn't able to tell me without someone else in the room – someone he felt completely safe with. I guess I really did fuck up. Funny, in a sad way. I used to be the one beating Sasuke up (and vice versa). Now he can hardly stand the sight of me beating somebody else up.

Sasuke continues to talk to Kakashi. I remain silent and when it begins to darken outside, Sasuke stands up. "We should head back," he says to me.

I follow him to my feet and nod. "Sounds good."

Kakashi walks us to the door. "Want me to drive you back?" he offers.

"No, it's okay," Sasuke insists.

We slip our shoes back on and I add, "Thanks for having us over."

Kakashi gives me that same smile – the one he showed me earlier – and he holds up a hand. "Anytime."

Sasuke wraps his arms around Kakashi, who does the same. He puts a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and the other on his head. "Thank you," Sasuke murmurs into Kakashi's shirt.

"I'm proud of you," Kakashi says out of the blue and Sasuke tightens his grip visibly.

"Thank you," he says again. A moment later, they part and exchange glad smiles. I take Sasuke's hand and after saying our goodbyes, we head out. We exit the apartment building and enter the dim outdoors.

"Do you feel threatened when he's around?" Sasuke asks as we walk to the bus stop.

"I did at first," I admit, "but I don't now."

"I met him at the start of the year," Sasuke murmurs. "A few months ago I got drunk once and came to his house. I kissed him and he told me to stop. I was kind of surprised because I've never been shut down like that. He let me sleep in his bed and he took the sofa for the night. That's when I realized he was different. He wasn't going to fuck me even if I begged him to. He wasn't going to take advantage of me when I drank too much. He's the first man I've met who didn't disappoint me... He's the first man I didn't feel threatened by."

I nod my head slowly. I don't really understand it. It's too sad, but I guess if I experienced the same things Sasuke has experienced, I'd be wary of older dudes as well.

"So," Sasuke continues, "in the morning I was going to make a quick escape, but he caught me and sat me down to talk about my life choices." Sasuke shakes his head, laughing at the memory. "I got pretty defensive. I didn't want to talk, so he started talking instead. He told me he used to have a drinking problem. He said that when he drank, he always drank too much... but it only became a daily event after his wife and baby died. That was ten years ago, though. He said he doesn't drink anymore. He said after he stopped, everything got better. Instead of numbing him, the alcohol made things worse. It made him dwell. Sobriety helped him move on."

"H-how did they die?" I ask, stuttering out the question since we're on topic.

Sasuke frowns. "Rin, his wife, didn't work after getting pregnant. She stayed at home with the baby. Kakashi is a university professor. He was away on a conference and someone broke into his house – killed Rin and the baby. Later they found out it was a jealous, psychotic ex-boyfriend of Rin's. He's in prison now..."

"Shit," I whisper.

"Mhm," Sasuke muses. "The point being... really bad shit happens. So, sometimes I feel bad complaining because other people have it worse."

"Don't compare your problems," I tell him. "There is no way to compare what happened to you and what happened to Kakashi. Both were awful. Neither was worse than the other. Okay?"

"Okay," he murmurs.

When the bus pulls up, we sit in the front this time since it's getting late. There are lots of weirdoes on the bus at night and they all tend to congregate in the back.

It's around 8PM when we get back to Sasuke's house. By then, Fugaku and my dad are there as well. Sasuke puts on a smile for everyone as greeting are exchanged.

"What did you boys do?" Mikoto asks.

"We went to visit some friends," I tell her vaguely.

"Oh, how nice," she says.

"You missed dinner," my mom points out. "Are you boys hungry?"

"Not particularly," Sasuke says.

"I'm fine," I add.

After the Q and A, me and Sasuke retreat upstairs. He turns the lights off so we're alone in the dark. He sits on his mattress and leans against the pillow. I sit next to him and do the same so we're side by side.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"I'm fine," he insists. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know... because I scared the hell out of you?" I mention.

"You saved me," he responds offhandedly. "That makes it three times now. When Itachi attacked me, when I tried to off myself and then the last time."

"You keep saying that," I mutter, "you're saying it like you're trying to write over the fact that I scared you... but you shouldn't have to do that. I saved you, yeah, but I scared you, too."

"I'm being so fucking dramatic," he groans, rubbing his hands down his face. "It shouldn't bother me."

"We used to beat each other up," I point out. "Maybe that's why it bothers you. Now that we're together, you don't want to see me like that."

"Hm," he muses thoughtfully. "I'm here trying to convince myself that I deserve to feel safe. It's something I've never really expected from anyone before... You make me feel safe at times... but at other times you're unpredictable."

"I know," I whisper. "I want to make you feel safe all the time, not just sometimes..."

"It's okay," Sasuke promises. "We're both a little fucked up. It's okay."

"Is it?" I wonder.

"Yeah," he insists. After a brief silence, we hear rhythmic creaking coming from the room next to Sasuke's. I glance at him and he grimaces. "Itachi and Kisame," is all he says.

"Doing the do?" I ask.

"Yeah," Sasuke mutters. "His mattress... is kind of old and it doesn't make for inconspicuous fucking." I make an 'o' shape with my mouth before chuckling. Sasuke smiles slightly, lying down and shrugging out of his jeans so he's left in his shorts and shirt. Then he gets under the covers and sighs. "I'm so tired lately," he admits.

"Understandable," I say. "It's been a pretty awful week."

"Are you going back to school tomorrow?" Sasuke asks.

"I don't know," I say.

"Don't," he murmurs.

"All right." I lie down and he curls into me.

"Stay here tonight, okay?" he asks.

"I will," I promise.

"I love you." He says the words so quietly, I wonder if I heard them right.

Nonetheless, I say, "I love you, too."