Tear Me Apart [18+] ENGLISH VERSION

Chapter 9: Stay mine

Uchiha Itachi, that damn good-looking, fascinating, perfect man, turned Kakashi's life upside down. For 33 years, he had always been aware of himself. He liked things, hated things, loved things – and nothing had ever changed until Itachi came rushing through his life like a freight train and simply messed everything up. Suddenly he liked new things that he had previously detested, loved other things that he had always hated, and he didn't even mind. Before this fateful class reunion, at which he had been unsure until the last minute whether he should go at all, he had very clear ideas about himself, his everyday life and his future. Thanks to Itachi, he was now even questioning whether his tie matched his suit.

Shit, this man had completely confused him. He smiled at a mere morning greeting in the form of a small message, showed Naruto and Sakura much less severity – which they took with the utmost skepticism – and most importantly: he no longer murdered. His bloodlust had become an addiction in the two years since his transformation. He had always associated sexual satisfaction with torn throats, had sought the next high more and more often, although his victims had never really been able to satisfy him. He had blamed it on the climate, the sun, which weakened his powers, but deep down he had always suspected that he simply needed more than that.

Kakashi found this more in the form of Itachi. His lover, no, his boyfriend gave him a feeling he had never felt before. His mere presence filled a void in his soul that he had never known existed. He was complete, happy, even as he traveled the world for the entire month of August – because he knew that there was someone waiting for him, someone he could return to. Every reunion, no matter how long their separation had lasted, whether it was a day, a week or even a month, made Kakashi's heart beat faster. When he wasn't with Itachi, he missed him, and when he was with him, he relished every single second.

But he wanted those seconds to last forever. After three months of a picture-perfect relationship in the land of cotton candy, fate brought a fact to the surface that was irrefutable: Kakashi was immortal, and Itachi was not.

Shocked, Kakashi sat in Itachi's apartment on the armchair, his friend crouched in front of him on the sofa with his shoulders and eyelids lowered. Kakashi had imagined something different under „we need to talk". He had almost assumed that he would cling too much, that Itachi needed a break or something else. But no. He had never expected AIDS.

„I..," Itachi blurted out and suddenly burst into tears. „I never wanted to hurt you, Kakashi. Now you're also.. It was careless of us not to use protection. I should have known better.."

„You couldn't," said Kakashi gently, rising from the chair and coming over to Itachi to calm him by kneeling in front of him and taking his hand. „And Itachi, please, listen to me. You'll be fine. Research in this field has come so far, there are medications and treatments. We're no longer in 1984, where this virus was a death sentence."

Itachi took a sniffing breath and raised his head. „Kakashi, you're much too positive for this world. I know about these medications, that was the first thing I thought of. Only they only work in the early stages and I..." He swallowed hard. „I've had it for a long time, probably caught it during my student days. Shit, I have to tell everyone."

„I'll support you with that."

„No," Itachi interjected. „This is... this is my business and I don't want you to think of me as a... as... a..."

„Itachi, I don't care how many men you've slept with. No number you could name will be higher than mine. I'm the whore in this relationship, not you."

„Thank you... Kakashi, I love you and I'm sorry that I've brought you to such misery. When I think that you too... and because of me..." Itachi chuckled in torment.