Itachi looked out the window, contemplating his existence. He rubbed his face with his hands, exhaustion lining his beautiful features. "Itachi, I bought you some food." Mikoto called out, opening the door after a few knocks. She had learnt the hard way that no matter how long she stood outside patiently knocking and waiting, Itachi would not say whether it was okay or not to enter.

"I'm not hungry, mother." Itachi muttered, turning his gaze away from his mother and back to the setting sun. Mikoto frowned with sad eyes, she sat the food down at his desk and perched on the edge of the bed. "You know he wouldn't like it if you are doing this to yourself. I know you miss him but you should eat something." Mikoto tried persuading her son. Itachi turned his head more, hiding his face from his mother. No name needed to be said but everyone knew who 'he' was. Mikoto felt tears well up in her eyes, it was hard for everyone but Itachi took it the worst. He had locked himself in the room, it was only recently that the man unlocked his doors before anyone of them could break it down.

Mikoto watched as he wiped at his face with his palms. She blinked at the jacket, she didn't remember Itachi owning that jacket... It looked like one that Naruto had worn before instead. The blond had a thing for wearing oversized jackets despite always muttering excuses saying that he would grow into them. "Uchiha Itachi! Pull yourself together. Did you forget what you promised him?" Mikoto asked, shaking him by the shoulders. Itachi looked up at her, tears welling up in his eyes but not falling. She felt her heart clench at seeing her son's tears of sadness and pain.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Kaa-san." Itachi said softly, sounding so lost that Mikoto could hear her own heart breaking. Mikoto pulled him close for a hug, she smoothed her hand over Itachi's hair and patted him just like how she used to do when he was a child. "I will leave the food here for you, bring it down when you're done." Mikoto said after it became apparent that Itachi would just sit there brooding.
Itachi barely acknowledged it when she spoke to him, only giving her a small nod before she left, closing the door with a soft click. Itachi stared at the garden outside, he could remember when Naruto first saw the garden. He remembered seeing the blond with Mikoto from his room; the blond was speeding around excitedly, cradling the flowers in his small hands and speaking to his mother with the brightest smile ever. Mikoto was initially shocked by his love for gardening before they fell into an animated conversation about it, sharing their knowledge with each other. He remembered sitting at the dining table with Sasuke and their dad, confused, as Mikoto and Naruto went on and on about gardening using special terms that he didn't even know existed.

Sometimes, Itachi brought Naruto home, not to hang out with him but for Mikoto to hang out with Naruto. Itachi could see where Naruto had bought Mikoto some sunflowers and they had planted it together. He remembered Naruto asking him to go to his room and sit at the window before the blond walked out to the garden and looked up at his room to determine which spot would allow Itachi the best view of the sunflowers. Itachi felt something wet running down his cheeks, he wiped it away furiously. Why would looking at such beautiful sunflowers make him cry?! Why...
Itachi looked down at his fingers when a soft glint caught his eye, pulling him deeper into his memories.

Naruto had woken up from the medically induced coma when Itachi had gone for the forced walk. He had looked like he was about to cry when there was no one in the room. Naruto thought that Itachi had left him but he was greeted by the sight of the gorgeous man when he heard the doors opening, he had wanted to jump out of bed and run to Itachi but he physically did not have much energy to move and neither was he fast enough. The man stood there, frozen as if in shock but Tsunade had shoved past him to get to Naruto. It was only after much fussing that Itachi was finally given some space to be with Naruto. The blond could barely breathe on his own without the equipment so going outside was harder than before. But they managed it - Itachi did not want Naruto to spend what could possibly be his last days staring at the plain white walls of the hospital ward. Itachi swore he almost went insane from doing exactly that whilst waiting for Naruto to wake up.

"I love you so much." Itachi muttered into Naruto's neck whilst they were sitting outside in the garden at the Uchiha mansion. Itachi held the blond close to him, cradling him in his arms. "I love you too." Naruto replied, not the least bothered that Itachi has been saying that over and over again for the past hour. Naruto's symptoms had improved a little since he had woken up but the chances of him surviving weren't improving one bit. Itachi smoothed his hands over Naruto's hair, knowing the blond enjoys the feeling. "You are so beautiful, Naruto. I'm so lucky to have the chance to be your boyfriend." Itachi said, kissing Naruto on the forehead. Naruto looked up at him with a big smile.
"I think I'm the lucky one actually." Naruto breathed out, reaching up to trace Itachi's sharp defined features. "You are ranked number one hottest man in Japan and I just. Damn. Me? A child with no parents gets to be with the hottest man in Japan and not to mention the next in line for one of the most successful companies in the world??" Naruto said in awe, despite not caring about the said rankings and Itachi being an Uchiha.
"I would throw all that away for you to be honest."
"Huh. I'm not asking you to choose you know." Naruto teased, flicking Itachi's nose.
"I know I know. I'm just saying. If I did have to choose, I would throw everything away for the chance to be with you." Naruto giggled, burying his face into Itachi's neck for warmth and comfort. "You are the purest person, a little bit on the mischievous side but that adds to your charm."

"How I wish my life could be normal..." Naruto had said to him one day, making him look up from the book he was reading to Naruto. "I had hoped to get married someday. A honeymoon in Europe sounds nice." Naruto continued, pushing at the plushie that Itachi bought for him a few months after they had started dating. That plushie was his most treasured possession. Naruto let out a soft sigh at the thought that he would never have the chance to get married and raise kids... grow old, hopefully completing all that with Itachi. "Maybe I shouldn't have been so hopeful about things, I had thought that baa-chan and the other doctors could find a cure for this... this disease. All I ever did in my life was hope and but I did nothing." Naruto said, burying his face into his palm. Itachi moved to sit on the bed, reaching out to pull Naruto closer.

"I understand that you're upset but you being hopeful is the best thing anyone can do. I always believed the idea that you attract what you believe and think about. I mean, I had constantly hoped to become your boyfriend and thought about you day and night, look where that got me." Itachi said, kissing Naruto's forehead. The blond sighed contently, relaxing in Itachi's arms. "You did so many things, you are the most wonderful person. People praised you for saving lives because you cared, you cared so much about other people that you would do anything to help." Itachi continued, remembering the time when the nurses at the hospital were telling them about what happened with Obito where Naruto picked up on the mistake that no one noticed, saving people from a collapsed building, the incident with the druggie that threatened other people's lives, stopping someone from committing suicide... the list goes on. Even after that talk, Naruto still had this sadness lingering in his eyes, Itachi noticed that it had been there for days but he doesn't know how to make it go away. The blond angel should not have to be sad as he deserves the very best in this universe.

Itachi looked at him for a moment before setting the book down and getting up from his spot on the bed. "Where-" Naruto cut himself off when Itachi pulled on a drawer and picked up a small box. One look at that and everyone would know what that kind of box would contain.

"I was gonna wait till tonight to do this. I planned a date to- yeah." Itachi muttered as he knelt next to the bed where Naruto was sitting, leaning against the pillows. Naruto pushed himself to swing his legs over the edge of the bed so that he was sitting properly. "Naruto, I know that you're not feeling your very best but I want you to know that I will always be there for you no matter what happens. I wish for us to be together even when death does us part, I hope we can meet again in our next lives. Naruto, will you marry me please?"

Itachi felt nervous when Naruto only stared at the ring, no response or emotion given. Itachi started to worry that it was because Naruto didn't like the ring, it was just a simple diamond ring on a silver band. Itachi shook his head mentally, Naruto is not the materialistic type of person.

"But Itachi, I'm dying." The man tried not to flinch from the bluntness of it. Itachi shifted and Naruto pulled at him weakly to get him to sit on the bed with him. "And I will never fall in love with another person ever again. You have stolen my heart then moment we met and I have chosen to give it to you to keep. I have never allowed anyone close to my heart and I let you in only after a few encounters. You are the most amazing person I have ever met and you are the most beautiful. I feel that I will no longer be capable of loving another person. So please Naruto, please give me this opportunity to show the world that I, Uchiha Itachi, will only love one person and one person only." Naruto looked up at him with teary eyes and the nod came.

Itachi sighed as he realised that he had stopped crying a while ago whilst he was thinking back about the times with Naruto. He twisted the gold band on his ring finger. Naruto had insisted they get a simple but elegant one, both identical in the way they look except for the fact that the engraving inside was of each other's name. The wedding had been simple, Naruto couldn't stand by himself or be outside for too long so they held it at the mansion. They invited little people, just the closest friends. A few months after that, Naruto had fallen asleep in Itachi's arms and never woke up. Itachi had never cried so much or so loud in his life. The whole family was in the lounge when they heard him, shocked initially by the weird sound until it clicked. Mikoto was the first one to jump to her feet, followed immediately by the other two as they sprinted up towards Itachi's room. The sight of Itachi holding a limp Naruto close to his chest and crying broke everyone's hearts more than it should have. Sasuke trembled, his best friend was gone. He backpedalled out of the room and slid to the ground, tucking himself into a tight ball and cried softly. Mikoto turned to Fugaku, sobbing softly into his chest. Fugaku felt tears well up in his eyes and roll down his cheeks. He buried his face into his wife's head, pulling her close as they sought comfort in each other's embrace.

Itachi touched the rings that he wore around his neck close to his heart, their promise rings that Naruto got about a few months into the relationship. They promised each other to care for one another... and to take care of themselves for each other's sake.

He looked over at the food, seeing the pictures he treasured with all his heart. 'How I wish for one last chance, just one, to hold you in my arms again Naruto...' Itachi patted the soft toy that was sitting on his bed, Naruto bought it for him when they went on their road trip, muttering something about brightening up Itachi's room.

"I love you Naruto." Itachi said softly to the picture of the two of them together before digging into the food that was getting cold. His mother was right, he should pick himself up and live. Life goes on whether he liked it or not. He should live, not only for himself but to create memories for Naruto too.

THE END. T~T (I am sorry but I cried writing this so I feel you) T~T

Doubled the usual word count just for y'all <3 thank you for sticking with me and thank you for reading my story guys :3