Slaves to Love

Author's Note: This is YAOI story. That means male x male romantic pairings. If that bothers you, you might want to turn back now. This story was in response to a rather specific request for a Roman Style fan fiction. I would credit the person, but they prefer to remain anonymous. Reviews are always appreciated and I hope you enjoy this story.

Chapter Notation: Sasuke may seem OOC at first, but do keep in mind he has been a slave for ten years and has been shaped by that expeirence. Don't worry, later on he'll regain his classical sarcastic attitude. Yes, Orochimaru is their uncle in this. That was part of the request. I'm also slowly going through this story and adding scene breaks. So if you see some chapters with them and some without, that's why. Happy reading.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no profit off of any of my stories.

Chapter 1

Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha were slaves with a deep, dark secret. Unlike most slaves who had been born into servitude or captured in far off lands, they had been born free. Not only had they been born free, but they were the sons of the late Emperor Fugaku and Empress Mikoto.

Sasuke had only been seven when his freedom and his birthright had been taken from him. Itachi had only been a boy of 12. The younger Uchiha brother could scarcely remember when he had been free, but he did manage to cling to a few remnants of his past.

"Come along, Sasuke. You mustn't keep the nice men waiting." His uncle, Orochimaru, told him.

"What nice men?" The child head cocked to the side curiously.

"The ones who are going to take you and Itachi on a grand adventure, won't that be fun?" Orochimaru inquired.

"THE EMPEROR AND THE EMPRESS ARE DEAD!" A guard shouted out nearby in horror.

"Father?! Mother?!" Sasuke heard his elder brother cry out and rushed to his side.

Laying in the throne room, in a pool of blood were his parents. Though they looked nothing at all like they usually did. These lifeless, pale bodies couldn't possibly belong to the proud Emperor and his beautiful wife.

"Mother! Father! Please wake up!" Sasuke screamed and threw himself over their bodies sobbing.

He felt Itachi's hand on his shoulder. His older brother was trying to comfort him, but Sasuke was inconsolable.

That was when he felt someone grab him. Another person had done the same to Itachi. Both brothers had struggled with all their might, but they were only boys. These were powerful, elite guards. Neither had stood a chance.

The next morning, Itachi and Sasuke woke up to find their entire lives had changed. No longer were they the beloved sons of the Emperor and Empress. They had woken up badly beaten and bruised. The once favored sons now realized that they were now merely servants, bath attendants. To add insult to injury, it wasn't even the Royal Baths, but the public ones.

"Itachi?" Sasuke asked later that day when they were finally allowed to rest.

"Our parents are dead, Sasuke. We were sold into slavery. If anyone asks your name, only give your first. If you must give a last name, make one up. We must never let anyone find out who we are or we will be killed. I don't know why Orochimaru didn't kill us. I suppose he wanted to make us suffer the humiliation of being servants. If anyone loyal to him finds out who we are, we will be dead though. This is the only way we can protect ourselves. So do what our Masters tell you to do. Maybe, if we are good…we won't be treated too poorly." His elder brother had counseled him.

Sasuke nodded. He knew that Itachi was smart. His elder brother had never steered him wrong before. The young child trusted the other boy completely. So in the following years, he did his best to follow Itachi's instructions that he had given on that fateful day.

It hadn't been easy and it had only gotten worse as he grew older. Itachi had been twelve and just beginning to take the first step towards manhood, when they were made slaves. So Sasuke got to observe what Itachi went through first.

"That is very kind of you to say." He whispered to some soldier that found Itachi appealing.

It was a male bath, but that made little difference. Homosexuality was a common practice in the Rome Empire. Not only was it accepted, to a certain extent it was perhaps celebrated. The male form was greatly appreciated across the empire, so it was only natural that the thought of two men locked in the heat of passion would be considered erotic.

Itachi had grown into a 'beautiful man' before Sasuke had. Even when Sasuke was a child, he knew that Itachi was stared at in a way that was at best admiring and at worst, lecherous. His elder brother had taken it in stride though.

"It is simply the truth. Would your Master be upset if you spent the night with me?" The soldier asked.

"He would. My Master does not like to share his servants. I apologize." Itachi lowered his eyes as if asking for forgiveness.

"Very well. It is a pity. I would have enjoyed you." He replied.

Most of the time, if a man asked Itachi to share his bed, the elder brother would be able to get away with one simple excuse, his Master wouldn't allow it. For those that were more persistent, Itachi was a skilled liar. He would simply pretend to have a disease. Most of the men that sought his attention were not well versed in medical knowledge. They certainly didn't bother to check to see if he was lying. This was how Itachi survived with his virtue intact.

A few short years later, Sasuke also became a man. He had the same problem as Itachi. His pride wouldn't allow him to say he was diseased. So he had to be more creative for the insistent bathers.

Sasuke's trick? He pretended to be blind, deaf, or mute. Whatever it looked like would kill the arousal of his pursuer's faster. (Sasuke had gotten very good at guessing what would cool which method would best patron's arousal over the years.)

It was in this way that the Uchiha brothers survived. Sasuke couldn't say that either of them were happy. But they were lucky in a way, so far their Master hadn't abused them. He knew many slaves that were not so fortunate. Yes, life had fallen into a routine. That was until met Naruto and his life was once again changed forever.

"You're talented, but your eyes give you away." Sasuke hears a masculine voice say.

He pretends not to hear him. Today, he was feigning deafness. It seemed to be working out quite well. He pours another jar of hot water into the bath.

"I know you can hear me." He whispers so only Sasuke could hear him.

Naruto watches in amusement as the beautiful man proceeded to pretend he hadn't heard him. The blonde was positive he had. Those gorgeous eyes, darker than the night sky itself were too alert not to have heard him.

The blue eyed Roman had never seen such a beautiful creature in all his life. The servant had to be part Nymph or something. Humans couldn't be that beautiful. It was as if the Goddess Venus had woken up one morning and decided to create perfection.

"Don't ignore me." Naruto pulls the other man away from the water's edge and into his arms.

Naruto frowns as the servant's eyes widen in fear. Maybe grabbing him hadn't been a good idea. The blonde could only imagine what usually happened to servants after they were grabbed in such a manner. But honestly, his intention wasn't to hurt him.

How could it be? Naruto just wanted to get a better look and maybe convince the servant to spend the night in his bed. He didn't know the other man's name, but it didn't matter. The Roman Noble was smitten.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." He caresses Sasuke's cheek.

Sasuke immediately went stiff as a board. He knew that resisting usually meant a beating. But if he seemed to enjoy the attention, it would likely be the end of his innocence. (Which he had fought so hard to keep that!)

His pitch black eyes were framed by elegant long lashes that could put any woman to shame, Naruto noticed. His eyes continued to drink in the sight that was the man before him. His skin was as luminous as the Moon itself. His hair was spiky and two long bangs framed his aristocratic features so elegantly. He wore a simple white toga. But the simplicity of his clothing did not hide his broad shoulders, nor the lean muscle of the servant. Naruto decided he could probably spend all day looking at him and not regret a single moment of it.

"I know you aren't deaf. You can stop pretending. I'm not going to tell anyone. I promise. Just tell me your name." Naruto leads Sasuke off into one of the private rooms.

Sasuke eyes him warily. He knew what happened when servants were taken into one of these rooms. To put it bluntly, Sasuke wanted no part of any of that.

He noted that the man who grabbed him was very handsome. His eyes were bluer than the sea and hair like gold. His skin looked as if the Sun had decided to kiss it. He was powerfully built. His shoulders broad and his frame built for power, but not overly bulky. Sasuke swallows hard at his observations.

"Sasuke." He says simply. "It suits you. It rolls off the tongue like a honeyed wine." Naruto observes.

"Thank you. You won't tell anyone that I was faking?" He asks warily as if he was a cornered animal.

"I won't. I promise. You don't have to look so scared. Do they beat you?" He asks and reaches out to touch Sasuke's cheek.

"My Master doesn't. Most of the patrons don't. Sometimes though." He admits and then mentally kicks himself, why did he admit that?

"And does your Master do anything to them, when that happens?" The blonde asks, voice carrying a dangerous edge to it.

Sasuke noted that his anger didn't seem to be directed at him. That was good. Naruto looked like he could provide quite the thorough beating, if he wanted.

"He doesn't know. I don't tell him when it happens." Sasuke says.

"Is he blind? Does he not notice when that beautiful face of yours is covered in bruises?" Naruto demands.

"I cover myself with heavy powder when it happens. My Master doesn't spend much time here. He prefers the Royal Baths. He is here but once a lunar cycle at most." The dark haired man replies.

"If you were mine, I wouldn't let anyone strike you." Naruto says and Sasuke blinks at the sincerity in his tone.

"I told you my name. Would you do me the honor of telling me yours?" Sasuke asks.

"Naruto Uzumaki." He answers without hesitation and Sasuke's eyes widen.

Naruto Uzumaki?! It couldn't be. Naruto was a General in the Emperor's Army and a Senator. What would he be doing in a public bath?

"I can tell that you recognize my name. It doesn't matter though. I meant it when I said I wasn't going to hurt you." He tells him.

Sasuke was now terrified. A Senator! What if he recognized him. It had been ten years since he was sold into slavery. The odds of him recognizing him were low, but still. He had to get out of there.

"May I be dismissed?" He pleads.

"Not yet. Come sit beside me. Don't be scared." Naruto pats the bed beside him.

Sasuke slowly makes his way over to the bed. Naruto felt like he had been kicked in the gut. This beautiful nymph was so frightened. Gods and Goddesses only knows what that "sometimes" had entailed.

"What are you so afraid of?" Naruto asks and brushes his thumb against Sasuke's lips.

"Everything." He answers honestly.

"You remind me of a horse. I wasn't always a General. Once I was just a regular soldier. My commanding officer was quite cruel, even to animals." Naruto tells him.

Sasuke tilts his head to the side. He wasn't sure why Naruto was telling him this, but he nods his head to show he was listening.

"He had a magnificent stallion. The stallion was wild though. Refused to be tamed. So he beat the poor beast to within an inch of his life." Naruto continues.

"Then what happened?" Sasuke dares himself to ask, not at all sure where Naruto was going with this and not certain that it was anywhere good for him.

"I found the stallion. Nursed it back to health. He became the most loyal beast that I've ever seen. One could not ask for a better war horse. He's still with me to this day. I call him Kurama." He answers.

"So…you're saying that I'm like a horse?" Sasuke says skeptically.

"In a way, yes. You've been mistreated. Maybe not as badly as some other servants, but still. I bet you would thrive under the right Master." He says.

"If you are saying that you wish to buy me, I beg of you not to. " Sasuke pleads.

"Why not? Have I harmed you in any way?" Naruto asks.

"No. You haven't. I have a brother. He is a servant here to. I couldn't bare to be separated from him. He is all that I have left in this life." Sasuke answers.

"And if I were to say that I wouldn't mind buying both of you?" He asks.

"Then I would serve you just as loyally as Kurama does." Sasuke says.

"What's the name of your Master?" Naruto asks.

"Kabuto." He answers.

"The Emperor's chief advisor? Well I suppose that does explain why you recognized my name so easily. Most common slaves wouldn't have." He muses.

"Yes, that's him. Please don't tell him that I agreed to your offer." Sasuke says.

"You're afraid he'll be petty and beat you, if I do." Naruto says.

"More afraid of what he might do to my brother than to me." He answers.

"I see. We'll I'll talk to him. I'll be back soon." He promises him and leaves the room.

Once Naruto was out of sight, Itachi rushes over to his brother. They hadn't been in the room very long. Ten minutes at most, but ten minutes could be an awfully long time for a slave alone in one of those rooms.

"Sasuke! Are you hurt?" Itachi asks.

"No. He didn't hurt me. He wants to buy me. Well he wants to buy us. Mostly me, but he's willing to buy you as well." Sasuke says.

"Sasuke, you know that Kabuto would never sell us." Itachi chides him.

"I know, but he seemed so sincere. I couldn't tell him why Kabuto would never sell us. So I let him believe there was a chance. It's a nice fantasy." He states.

"Fantasy? You mean you want us to go with him?" Itachi asks.

Sasuke bites his lower lip. How could he ever articulate what had just happened? Naruto had been so kind, so sincere. Maybe he really meant it. Maybe he wouldn't let anyone strike them. Being compared to a war horse was better than how most slaves were treated. It might not be bad. It might actually be better than here.

"He seemed…kind." Sasuke replies and mentally scolds himself for sounding so stupid even to his own ears.

"Many people seem kind, who are not. Remember our uncle." Itachi warns him.

"I know Itachi. It's just a fantasy, nothing more." Sasuke says and heads off to the servants' quarters with his elder brother.

Naruto leaves the public baths. Thoughts of his actual bath having been erased from his mind completely. They had been replaced by a pair of beautiful dark, frightened eyes.

He quickly heads to the palace and asks one of the guards where Kabuto was. The guard informs him that Kabuto was in the Royal Library. So Naruto heads there.

"Kabuto!" He calls out.

"Ah Senator Uzumaki, what can I do for you?" The silver haired man says.

"I wanted to buy two of your slaves. I'll pay you a more than fair price." He says.

"Hmm it's not like you to buy slaves. They must have really caught your eye, but I'll consider your offer. Which two?" Kabuto asks.

"Well the first is named Sasuke. I don't know the other's name, but the second one is his older brother." The blonde answers.

"Naruto, I am sorry but those two slaves will never be for sale. I can understand why you would want Sasuke. Neither is for sale though, nor will they ever be. If you want to take him to your bed, do so as many times as you like. But I can not give him away." The man replies and turns his attention to one of the many scrolls in the library.

"Why not? I'll pay you double what you paid." Naruto offers.

"They were a gift from Emperor Orochimaru. If I were to sell them, he would see it as quite the insult. You understand it would be suicidal to displease the Emperor, do you not?" He inquires.

"Oh. Of course, I do. Would you sell them to me, if the emperor gave his permission though?" He asks.

"He would never give his permission for me to sell them. Of course, you're still free to waste your time by asking him, if it pleases you. It'd be a futile effort tough. We both already know what his answer will be.." Kabuto shrugs.

"Alright. I'll ask him." Naruto says and heads off.

Kabuto shakes his head. The General truly had no idea. He chuckles to himself. Orochimaru would never sell them.

If he did, there was always the chance that Itachi and Sasuke would tell their new Master who they were or even worse escape. Perhaps they'd find a way to get the public to believe them and attempt to claim their birthright. No, that could never be allowed to happen.

Meanwhile, Itachi sighs in his room. He couldn't blame Sasuke for fantasizing. Still, by slave standards they had a fairly comfortable existence. Jumping into the unknown would be foolish.

He supposed it didn't matter though. Sasuke could indulge in whatever daydreams he desired. Kabuto would never sell them. They would likely be slaves for the rest of their lives.

"Damn Orochimaru." He mutters to himself.

That snake had taken everything from them. Their parents, their childhood, their freedom, and even their very identity. It wasn't right. That murderer sat on the throne, while they were reduced to being mere servants.

Itachi pulls out a seashell that he kept underneath his pillow. It was really the only thing he had left of his parents. He remembered the day that he got it well.

"Mother, what's this?" A nine year old Itachi had asked.

"It's a seashell my dear. If you hold it next to your ear, you can hear the ocean. It is one of Neptune's many gifts that he has left for us." Mikoto smiled.

"Sasuke, come back from the water." Fugaku said to his youngest son.

Sasuke had only been a boy of four years old, but he had always been so fearless. The waves seemed to call to the small child.

"Yes, Father!" He replied and rushed back to his family's loving arms.

A beautiful rainbow had been out that day. Itachi smiled and hugged the seashell closely to his chest. He wished it could always be this way.

Unfortunately, their father was nearly always busy. Itachi understood. He was the Emperor. He had important things to do. Despite that, Itachi wished that their father could find more time for them.

"Bravery is one thing. Foolishness is another." He told his son.

"Sorry, Father." Sasuke muttered and looked at his feet in an ashamed fashion.

"Come Sasuke, look what I found. You can hear the ocean." Itachi said and Sasuke brightened almost immediately, racing over to his elder brother.

"I can hear it!" Sasuke said gleefully and Itachi nodded.

Itachi loved his little brother, more than anything. He hated to see him sad. How could he possibly know that one day Sasuke would have far better reasons to be said than his father's gentle chiding?

"How I wish all problems were as easily solved." He whispers to himself and holds the seashell tightly to his chest.

It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. You could find a seashell like this upon any beach. But to Itachi it was his most prized possession.

The seashell was a reminder of a time long ago. A time that he had nearly forgotten. A time when he had been happy and so had Sasuke. When their parents still breathed and they were known as the Princes of Rome. Now they were nothing more than servants. How far they had fallen.

"Itachi." He hears someone call out his name gently.

"Who is it?" The elder Uchiha brother asks cautiously.

"It's me, Kisame." He hears the reply.

"Come in." The dark haired man says to the one behind his door.

Kisame walks in. He was a most unusual slave to say the least. As a child, he had almost drowned. He'd been saved, but his skin had forever turned blue.

This had turned Kisame's mere existence into a matter of controversy. Some believed that Kisame must surely be favored by Neptune to have survived nearly drowning as such a small child. Others thought he was cursed. Neptune had turned his skin blue as punishment for some imagined crime.

Either way, Kisame was rather happy about the development. No one would dare touch him. It was a fifty-fifty chance that he was either blessed or cursed. And no one wanted to take those odds. It almost made Itachi wish for blue skin some days.

"Someone's been watching you really closely." Kisame warns him.

"Who?" The elder Uchiha frowns, not entirely certain this was a good thing.

Honestly, his life would have been much easier if he had blue skin or had been born plain looking. He grew wary of coming up with excuses to avoid some lustful patron's bed.

"Senator Sabaku." He answers.

Itachi blinks. He didn't know how to react to that. Two Senators were using the public baths? What were the odds?

"He doesn't have a reputation for cruelty." Itachi offers.

"Not to servants anyway. He's a holy terror on the battlefield." He replies.

"That he is." Itachi agrees.

"Just thought I should warn you." He says.

"Thank you. You are a good friend." The dark haired man says with a smile.

"As are you. You have had my back for a long time. Only fair I return the favor." Kisame reassures Itachi.

"It seems my brother has always caught the eyes of a Senator. Senator Uzumaki." Itachi continues.

"Venus works in very strange ways, sometimes." His friend muses.

"Yes, she does. Who are we to question the will of the Gods and Goddesses though?" Itachi asks.

"No one. We are servants and that's all we'll ever be. Though it doesn't hurt to have a powerful lover in your corner." He offers.

"That it doesn't. Still it is too risky. If our identities are discovered, it will mean our deaths." The elder Uchiha says.

"Yes, it would. Best to try to avoid being noticed. I know with a face like yours, that's almost impossible. Still, you should try to make yourself as scarce as you can. I'd rather not have to attend your funeral." Kisame says.

"I imagine that would be most inconvenient for you." Itachi says dryly.

"Yes, I'm a busy guy. I don't have time to go and attend funerals." Kisame says.

"Indeed. Well I suppose in the spirit of good manners, I'll try not to get myself killed." Itachi offers with a chuckle.