Naruto Fan Fiction / Naruto Shippuden Fan Fiction ❯ My Big Gay Path Wedding ❯ And In Health ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: The characters, items, places etc of Naruto are property of Masashi Kishimoto. These objects are used without permission for entertainment only, not for making money. No infringement is intended.

Chapter 7: And In Health

Fugaku was waiting at the lift for them, worry creasing his brow as he looked both of them up and down. "You're not injured," he observed. "If not that, then what?"

"Can we talk in private, Dad?" Sasuke requested.

"Of course, son. This way."

The moment the door was closed Itachi felt shame biting him. If he'd only gone along with Madara, if he'd only been more enthusiastic, if only if only- he didn't want to be the one to break the news to his father, but he refused to let Madara do it.

All of a sudden his throat had closed up and he found himself unable to speak, opening and closing his mouth a few times before finally giving up and sinking into the chair opposite his father's desk, burying his head in his face with a heavy sigh.

"What's going on?" Fugaku asked, a hint of concern lacing his tone as he sat on the edge of his desk next to Itachi. He laid a light hand on his son's shoulder, looking even more concerned than he had previously.

"Madara's a prick," Sasuke supplied helpfully, in an effort to get the conversation going. "Itachi? Tell him."

Itachi wanted to. However his mind was too caught up in how badly he was letting his father down and the earlier thoughts about Sasuke's untimely demise, and instead he was channelling his efforts into not crying all over his father about what a failure he was.

The tiny voice of perfection was speaking louder, making sure he knew all about how he was going to be ruining his father's business career, taking away the one thing he had strived for in the company.

"Itachi?" Fugaku hinted, squeezing his shoulder. "Talk to me, son."

Itachi steeled himself, bringing his head up from his hands and fixing his father with a neutral look. All he needed to do was apologise, explain what had happened with the contract, and then continue on and make it clear that he hadn't wanted to be tied to the contract in the first place.

Instead he got as far as 'I'm sorry' before promptly choking on his words.

"Are you kidding me?" Sasuke sighed from his shoulder. "Seriously Itachi, it's not the end of the fucking world. No-one's dead and no-one's dying. Man up!"

"There's a few things I didn't tell you about my meeting with Madara," Itachi hissed at him in response, shame burning his cheeks as his hands subconsciously rubbed at his still-sore wrists.

"Could one of you explain please?" Fugaku barked, anger overtaking his tone.

Itachi wasn't offended- when concerned, his father and Sasuke both always turned to aggravation to get answers. "What did Madara do?"

"He kidnapped me," Itachi finally told him. "He... Used force in an attempt to find out what loophole I put into the contract I signed, and wouldn't take no for an answer. I attempted to escape, he... Apprehended me-"

"I don't like those pauses," Fugaku cut in. "You can't hide things from me, son. What did he do?"

"He knocked me out," Itachi muttered. "It doesn't matter! That's not the important part-"

"That's the most important part!" Fugaku cut in sharply. "He might be my boss but you are my son! What else could possibly be more important than him assaulting you?"

"He tore up the contract," Itachi admitted, closing his eyes and feeling wetness trail his cheeks as he did so. "Dad- I'm so sorry, I-"

"You're safe," Fugaku cut in, putting both hands on Itachi's shoulders. Itachi opened his eyes in surprise at the action, looking up to meet his gaze. "I don't care about the contract."

"But it means he won't promote you!"

"Then so be it," Fugaku shrugged. "For all the trouble that has been caused by my want for that promotion, perhaps it's time to let it go."

"Madara is using it as a bargaining chip to get his own way because of the value placed on such a prestigious promotion, but you are worth more to me than that. He won't fire me- no-one else can do this job like I can, and the other partners wouldn't allow it."

"My job here is safe, and I am lucky to hold such a secure position in this recession. Don't worry about it, Itachi. You haven't failed me- I know that's what is upsetting you, and it is a non issue."

"Mr. Uchiha?" The intercom from the desk interjected their conversation- Itachi recognised it as the receptionist from earlier.

Fugaku held down the button with a sigh, barking an acknowledgement to her. "Uchiha Madara has returned, and he is requesting to see you in his office."

"Looks like you got here in good time," Fugaku remarked as he grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. "Stay here, boys."

"Don't bring up what he did to me," Itachi near-pleaded.

"Don't worry," Fugaku told him as he headed for the door. "We will be talking business only."

With that he was gone, leaving the Uchiha siblings alone in the room. Sasuke, who had been sitting on the windowsill looking out at the city, immediately opened a window and lit a cigarette with a heavy sigh.

"I swear, the tension you create sometimes," he scolded. "You stress me out just being around you."

"Dad isn't going to be impressed that you're smoking in his office," Itachi scolded right back, collecting himself before joining Sasuke on the windowsill. "Though I must admit, I could do with some stress relief of my own right now."

Sasuke held out the cigarette, a smirk on his face.

"No," Itachi chided. "I am quite content living without the risk of lung cancer, thank you."

"I told you you're dramatic."

"And you're ruining your health."

"Itachi, tell me something," Sasuke asked when they had been sitting in silence for a few moments, simply sharing the view of the city skyline together. "Did Madara give you any insight into why he wants you to succeed Dad so badly?"

"He thinks I will help the company go in the right direction. He- apparently he set the company up because of his brother."

"Madara has a brother?"

"He does. A younger brother. Unfortunately, he's dead." Itachi paused momentarily. "He made some comparisons between him and you that I didn't like."

"I'm not planning on going anywhere any time soon," Sasuke promised as he put his cigarette out, immediately knowing what Itachi meant. "See? I just added another three minutes to my life by putting that out for you."

"Thank you, Sasuke. Perhaps you could extend your life by a further forty-four minutes by throwing the other nineteen away?"

"Point taken," Sasuke muttered as he emptied the packet out of the open window. "It's a terrible habit, I should quit, blah blah blah. I know." He paused for a moment, sighing and lowering his voice. "Naruto hates it, too."

"You know the answer to that."

"Keep doing it to piss him off?"

Itachi sighed, fixing his sibling with an impressed glance. "No, Sasuke. That isn't how relationships work."

"Are you going to call Deidara? What time did his exhibition finish anyway?"

Itachi checked his watch, frowning as he did so. "Ten minutes ago. I'd better call him. Can I borrow your phone? Madara still has-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, both of them whipping round at the sound of the door being wrenched open harshly. Madara stood in the doorway, eyes narrowed sharply straight at Itachi.

"I knew you were here," he hissed as Fugaku pushed past him, attempting to bar him with his hands. Madara shoved him aside roughly, stalking across the room to Itachi. "Your father didn't care very much about the loss of the promotion. He didn't seem very surprised, and since I still have your phone there was only one way he could have known."

He procured said phone from his pocket, throwing it out of the open window. Itachi stayed calm, feeling Sasuke's hackles rising next to him.

"Madara, my family is more important," Fugaku reasoned from behind him, his voice professional and calm. "Nagato will be pleased to take the promotion, and if it worries you so much that I will not be in the position, then pass it to me as planned-"

"It's not you I want!" Madara shouted in response, cutting him off. "It's him!"

He pointed straight at Itachi, who stared defiantly back at him.

"You can't have me," he replied, his voice steady. "I am not interested. Let it go."

"Madara, leave now and we'll forget this happened," Fugaku insisted. "I'll even put aside the kidnap and assault on my son, if we can just put this incident behind us and carry on as before."

The words pained him to say. Itachi could sense it, knowing for any father to put aside such a grievance must be hard. He watched Madara as he clenched and unclenched his fists, anger slowly beginning to drain away until eventually only defeat was left. He turned back to Fugaku, sighing as he did so.

"You know why I do this," he reasoned quietly. "For Izuna- for him, I do this. I only want what's best for the- no, for his company."

"I know. You're going about it the wrong way, though. Kidnapping my son? Forcing him to agree to things against his will?"

"You were there when he signed that contract. You could have stopped him."

"He is a grown man," Fugaku disagreed. "I can only advise him. I cannot stop him doing anything he wishes."

"Fine," Madara replied curtly. "Discuss it with Nagato. Come back to me when you have a decision between you."

He left the room as dramatically as he had arrived, slamming the wooden oak door behind him sharply for good measure. When the pictures on the walls had stopped shaking, Fugaku broke the silence by reaching into his pocket for his wallet. Pulling some cash out, he pushed it in Itachi's direction.

"Go and buy yourself a new phone," he sighed. "I need to get on with my work, boys."

Itachi tentatively took the cash, not wishing to argue at the moment. "Thank you," he murmured, earning a nod from his father who was already sitting back at his desk with paperwork in his hands.

Quietly he and Sasuke fled from the room, staying silent until they were back outside and in Sasuke's car. Only then did they relax, Itachi looking skyward as he allowed the tension he was holding to drain away.

"Should we look for your phone?" Sasuke asked.

"I doubt it would be much good now."

"Perhaps you can finally move forward with the rest of the world and buy an iPhone," Sasuke smirked as he started the car, pulling said iPhone from his pocket. "Here, call Blondie. I think he needs an explanation, especially since he can't get in contact with you now."

Itachi took the phone, staring at it for a moment before attempting to navigate the menus in an attempt to find Deidara's number. Eventually he found it, filed under 'Blondie' instead of sensibly being under his real name.

"Deidara?" He said when his partner picked up. "Are you home?"

"Not yet, yeah. Why are you calling me from Sasuke's phone?"

"Long story," Itachi sighed. "I'll be home soon, and I can tell you all about my day today. Fix me a stiff drink, would you?"

Upon getting home he found Deidara waiting concernedly on the doorstep, and no stiff drink in sight. Sasuke grimaced at the look on the artist's face before bidding Itachi good luck, heading home and leaving Itachi to head up the path to ease his partner's mind.

"What happened?" Deidara asked immediately. "You sounded so weary. You never ask me to fix you a drink. You-"

"Did you fix the drink?"

"Well no, I thought it was a metaphor."

"Fix the drink and we'll talk."

A few minutes later Itachi was relaxing on the sofa, closing his eyes and leaning his head back as he swished the whiskey in his glass around. He could sense Deidara hovering impatiently nearby for an answer, so he glanced up at him and indicated that he sit down next to him.

"The short story is my uncle Madara kidnapped and assaulted me," Itachi finally said, deciding to just give the story straight rather than sugar coat it.

"He tore up the contract, I went to see my Dad who told me not to worry about it, which Madara wasn't too pleased about. He gave my phone an impromptu flying lesson out of the window and eventually told Dad to talk to Nagato and make a decision about the promotion. I think he's hoping they'll rip each other's throats out for it."

Deidara simply stared, stunned. Itachi took the moment to knock the drink back, ignoring the burn in his throat for doing so.

"No wonder you wanted a drink," he finally mused. "Here was me thinking my day was exciting. What the hell is wrong with your uncle?"

"He had a younger brother," Itachi replied quietly. "I feel kind of sorry for him actually, but not enough to become his puppet and work for him."

"You know, I'm kind of worried about our wedding day," Deidara sighed. "Drama seems to follow you around, even if you don't want it to. I want a nice straightforward day!"

"And you'll get that," Itachi promised. "Just... You won't ride in on a giant unicorn, throwing glitter all over everyone will you?"

Deidara raised an eyebrow at him, clearly questioning his boyfriend's sanity. "No...?"

"Good. Thank you for that. It has been a worry."

"You give yourself problems, you know that? If you want you can walk down with your Dad instead, yeah."

"I might just do that," Itachi mused. "I'll talk to Dad about it."

"Hey, Itachi?"

"Yes?"

"We're getting married in a week's time."

"You say that as if it could have slipped my mind."

Deidara beamed at that. "I'm just excited. I can't believe it's almost here, yeah. I can't believe we're actually getting married."

"I'm glad we've come this far," Itachi responded with a tiny, grateful smile. It spoke volumes to Deidara, who interpreted it immediately and took the empty glass from Itachi's hand.

"We've come this far because we make a good couple," he replied as he embraced Itachi tightly. "You don't have to look at me like that, yeah."

"I'm thankful for what I have."

"I am too, but I think we're past the stage of having to express that all the time."

They stayed that way, locked in a loving embrace until Itachi found himself slowly beginning to drift off to sleep. Considering how terribly the day had gone, he could think of no better way to end it.

Chapter End