AAAHH! Freaking Chapter 21! Okay, so… I am going to create a separate story for the drabbles, and will repost Drabble 1 and 2 there. Also, the drabbles may be updated at different times to this story so you should follow *hehehehe (^_^)*. I think I am going to name it Behind the Scenes of a Love Story, because, let's face it, that's what it is! I would advise you guys to follow it also, because some of the drabbles may contain explanations of things that happen in the main story, and I don't want you guys to miss out. Still, to make it easier, I will include the link to the drabbles in the ending A/N for you guys.

To those who loved This Goes Out, it was actually inspired by my darling cousin Mandy, who I love with all my heart! I am so happy you guys liked it!

AHH! To the Guest who made the super long review! Rljvniomshivy6pvy! Like I can't even….! Freaking OMG I love you! Haha That review was 719 words, I will have you know! Crikey! I love every single person that took the time to comment on my story, and I promise I shall attempt to find delicious little twists and turns for this story for you guys! Once again, I have to thank you all so very much for the reviews, faves, follows and hits because you guys are literally keeping me from sinking into depression sometimes! I am so happy you're affected by my art! I hope I can answer your questions! Without further ado…

Previously…

But the day was not over, and the sound of a car pulling up pulled Sasuke's attention from his twin siblings. His heart stopped again, because he recognized the people in the car. One was Inuzuka Kiba, and the other was Hinata.

Everything faded from Sasuke's mind when he looked up and saw Hinata. Even though she was in the car, it was like she was the only one apart from him in the whole world. He did not even feel Akira's insistent tugging on the neck of his shirt. There was only Hinata. Oh Kami, this was the first he'd seen of her since the scene in the hotel room, but by the Gods she was more beautiful than he remembered. Her skin never looked softer, her eyes never more grey, her lips never more kissable, her hair never more silky, and he'd never wanted her as much as he wanted her now. His heart stopped beating for two beats and it was like her very presence had reached out and stolen his breath away.

He watched them argue in the car. She wasn't looking at him. She wasn't looking his way, but he could hear little snatches of her voice, which was raised. He could see her dainty hands moving and he could see the distress in her eyes, then Kiba turned, looked at him with an expression of acute frustration and something else Sasuke couldn't name, and then the car was driving off. Sasuke was frozen in time until the car disappeared from his periphery. He sucked in a shaky, uneven breath… his heart thumped heavily in disappointment, and he felt the progress he'd made slide down the proverbial drain.

He wanted her. He wanted her so bad and there was nothing he could do about it… and it wasn't even the sex. He wanted her scent wrapped around him just as tightly as her arms. He wanted her eyes looking into his. He wanted the tiny hairs on her soft skin. He wanted her impossibly long eyelashes. He wanted the little freckle at the centre of her back. He wanted her lips, and her whispery voice. He wanted the little crease at the corner of her eyes when she smiled at him. He wanted to envelope her soft body in his arms. Damn it, he wanted her to look at him!

Sasuke stood, the arms of his newly acquainted siblings falling from his shoulders. He looked down at them with unseeing eyes as he reached into his pocket for his phone and speed-dialled Hiruzen. Sasuke regretted avoiding the wealthy business man who'd kept trying to check up on him, because the man was more of a father than Fugaku ever was or ever would be. In fact, the moment Akira had ran his way, Sasuke had forgotten about his father's existence. The phone rang twice before Hiruzen answered.

"I… I think I might be ready for the session now," Sasuke rasped into the phone, knowing the old man would know what he was talking about.

"Alright, son, anytime you're ready," Hiruzen said softly, and Sasuke could picture the softening of the old man's eyes and the sad smile on his face. Sasuke clenched his teeth before continuing.

"I'll be over in ten minutes tops."

"What? Why are you looking at me like that for?" Kiba asked, brows furrowed and mouth in a snarl. "It's obvious to all that you want to be with him, so why are you looking at me like that for trying to give you what you want?" Hinata blinked at his tone. What was that all about? He sounded frustrated…. He sounded jealous. What was that all about? Slightly confused, Hinata shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Because, Kiba… I'm not ready to see him yet…. He won't want to see me either…" she mumbled. At his indignant gasp, Hinata rushed to defend her statement. "He needed me at Byakugan Hotels… he needed me and I just stood there and let you scare him off… and I didn't go after him!" She turned her head to the passing scenery, utterly disgusted with herself as her mind went back to the scene two months before. "I didn't go after him," she whispered.

Two months earlier…

He was gone. Hinata hated herself a little bit for being relieved, but she was. She just had the unrelenting fear that he would strangle her in her sleep. She heard the door click shut and breathed a sigh of relief. Her body relaxed against the bed, but sleep would not come. It was then that her mind began to reel. There had been a strange disconnection in Sasuke's angry eyes when he'd put his hands to her throat. It had been like he was a different person altogether, and then there was the contradiction… he'd told her repeatedly to get out, but stopped his rampage when she told him she'd stay. She shuddered a little in the bed when she thought about it. She had to face the fact that she was a little scared of him… of what he was capable of. Hinata tossed and turned in the bed, but couldn't relax enough to fall asleep. Her phone vibrated on the bedside table. She reached over and took it up.

There was a LeafLet contact update from one of her old friends from high school, Inuzuka Kiba. He was now a rather famous animal researcher and trainer, and had a large training school for a wide range of animals and their owners.

InuzuKiba: Hooray! Finally at Byakugan Hotels Amegakure! \(^_^)/

A smile stretched Hinata's lips. She hadn't spoken to Kiba in ages, really. She replied to his status message.

HyuugaHina: Beat you there! In the Presidential Suite! (^_^)

A response came from Kiba in a matter of seconds via a private message.

Kiba: 'You are actually at the hotel? My eyes do not deceive me?'

Hinata grinned and replied,

Hinata: 'Staying in the Presidential Suite with my boyfriend Uchiha Sasuke.'

There, she said it! He was her boyfriend, and the thought pleased her, even though she had to admit that right now was definitely a rough patch. There were a few seconds of waiting, and then a reply came.

Kiba: 'I'm coming up to see ya!'

Hinata immediately began to tell him not to bother, but he signed out.

"Damn it," she muttered, scrambling off the bed and turning on the light to the bedroom. Her reflection in the mirror told her that her bruises were still very much visible. Running a mental inventory of all the stuff she'd brought, Hinata knew there wasn't anything she could use to discreetly cover her neck. Hinata agonized over her predicament for a few minutes, then decided to turn the room lights off. She flicked the night lamp on and raked her hair over her shoulders. She wouldn't be able to hide the bruises from someone as keen-eyed as Kiba, anyway, but it couldn't hurt to try.

Before she could prepare herself fully, there was a knock on the door. Hinata took her time to move towards the now offensive item and wiped her sweaty palms on her shorts. Here goes. She opened the door, keeping her head ducked a bit, and her nervousness fled when she saw Kiba's familiar face, complete with sharp-canine-d grin and inverted triangle tattoos on his cheek. It was a clan thing, he'd told her once, and it was worn with pride. She grinned. He scooped her into his arms, and then he was in her hotel room, spinning her in a wide circle like he used to do back when they used to hang out.

"Hinataaaa-chaann!" he crowed, resting her on her feet. She giggled.

"It's been ages!" they said, simultaneously, then laughed.

"So, a boyfriend now, huh? Huh?" Kiba teased, but there was a bit of strain at the corners of his grin. "Sounds like I have some competition for your undivided A now, huh? You wound me, Hinata," he continued, play-scowled. Hinata laughed, flinging her arms round his waist. "Where is the famous Uchiha Sasuke, anyway?" he asked, looking around.

"Not even close," she laughed. "He's actually gone out for a while, so you'll get my undivided A, as you call it, for a while until he comes back," she said, giggling. Kiba play-scowled again, and then grinned.

"Wait," he said, pushing her away from him gently with his hands on her shoulders. He bent to look at her, squinting in the dimness of the room. "Hey, hey now! What is the world coming to? No adorable stutter?" Hinata laughed at his teasing. He continued, "What is this? Who are you and what have you done with my…" His sentence faded into nothingness as his eyes narrowed and smile slipped from his lips. "…Hinata…" he finished absently, but it sounded like he'd gone on to a different thought altogether. Hinata swallowed. Kiba moved away from her to the room light, and flicked it on. Hinata squinted against the sudden brightness, but opened her eyes when she heard the soft stream of curses that spilled from Kiba's lips.

"Hinata…" he breathed. Shit. She'd actually forgotten about the bruises. He tipped her chin up so he could get a better look, not moving even when Hinata pushed at his hands and tried to step away. He held her in place with a firm but gentle hand. "Hinata… where did you get these?"

"Oh, nothing… I was just playing around with a scarf and-" Hinata started, instinctively trying to protect Sasuke, but Kiba interrupted.

"You're protecting the bastard that did this to you? There are fingerprints on your neck, Hinata," Kiba said angrily, tenderly brushing her bruised flesh with his fingertips. She flinched. He scowled. Tears welled up in her eyes and she fought to keep them from falling.

"I… It wasn't his fault," Hinata defended. "S-something happened and… and he lost it… and I was nagging him and he…"

"He what? He tried to fucking kill you?" Kiba interjected, his face a mask of anger, but the protective kind; the kind she wasn't afraid of. "This is domestic abuse, Hinata, he could do time for this shit! Did you call the police?" he asked, reaching for his phone.

"No!" Hinata yelled, grabbing at his hands. "No! No police! I'm…I'm not pressing charges," she sobbed.

"Why?" Kiba asked, pausing, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Why are you protecting him? Hinata did not even have to hesitate for her answer.

"B-because… Because I love him," she said, her eyes begging Kiba to understand. She sniffled, and swiped at the tears streaming down her face.

"Kami, Hinata," he whispered, pulling her against his warm chest and rubbing comforting circles on her back. Hinata fisted her hands in his shirt and sobbed, her entire body shaking. She was so confused. She loved Sasuke so much, but… but she was so scared! After a few minutes accepting Kiba's comfort, Hinata pulled away.

"I… I w-was s-so scared," she admitted, her voice jerking as she hiccupped. "I… I d-didn't know w-what to d-do," she breathed, taking in a shaky breath. Kiba's eyes softened, and his warm, calloused hand came up to gently wipe the tears from her eyes. He tenderly smoothed her hair away from her face and pulled her back into the warm circle of his arms. He pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Hey, it's okay… I'm… I'm here now," he said a little awkwardly, but it went a far way with helping Hinata relax.

"Oh, I've made you all wet," Hinata groaned, lifting her head. He rested a palm against her cheek and the other on her hip and stared down at her, his eyes warm. "I'll get you one of Sasuke's shirts… you're bigger, but they should still fit…" Hinata rambled, lifting the hem of his shirt.

"Oh, no," Kiba started, the shirt already to his pectoral muscles. "It's oka-" He was cut off when the door opened and Sasuke burst into the room. Hinata turned in time to see Sasuke's eyes, red-rimmed and wet with tears. They travelled over Kiba and Hinata, who'd frozen, and then a strangled moan spilled from Sasuke's lips. Kiba stepped in between Sasuke and Hinata and growled menacingly at Sasuke, straightening his shoulders almost in challenge.

"I-I'll just go," Sasuke said, his voice tight with pain so intense it hurt even Hinata. She knew what he thought. He turned on his heel and ran… and Hinata couldn't move.

Hinata's eyes burned and she gnawed on her lower lip. She stared at the passing scenery and reached a hand blindly to the stereo. She turned the radio on, knowing a Team 7 song would be playing somewhere and she could envelope herself with Sasuke's voice and Sasuke's music. It was fitting, really, that So Goodbye was playing on FM 176. He said he was sorry, and he was leaving, and if that wasn't a message to her, she didn't know what was. He said he was leaving.

"Turn the car around," she said to Kiba. He gave her a look. "Just turn the car around," she demanded. Kiba huffed, rolled his eyes, and turned the car around. Hinata faced forward as she watched the familiar scenery as they drew closer to Sasuke's house.

She didn't know what this thing with Kiba could be perceived as, but he was the only person she could hang out with recently, so she had. All of Team 7 had been giving her the silent treatment and had kept her out of the KIS building at her every endeavor to get in. Even Tsunade had refused to let her through. The blonde had told Hinata that Sasuke was tackling larger things now, and didn't want to see her, and it had been true. She's seen all the newspapers about how Sasuke and Team 7 had started a charity and support group for abused, abandoned and bullied kids called The Unwanted Org. His music had changed, too, it seemed. No more angsty songs begging for her attention. As they approached Sasuke's house, Hinata's nervous energy turned to disappointment when she saw Sasuke's car disappearing in the opposite direction and his father and siblings standing in his driveway watching him leave. She was too late.

Sasuke sat in the darkened room roughly twenty minutes later, the sofa soft against his back, and dug his fingers into his knees. His heart was racing nervously, and his ears felt hot and he felt defensive as all hell. He didn't really want to talk about this, but he never would be ready to face Hinata unless he did, would he? He removed his focus from the pattern on the carpet and chanced a glance at the person in the sofa across from him. He looked down immediately, chewing the inside of his cheek, because Dr. Yamanaka Inoichi was staring right back at him. Yes, he was actually sitting in front of the annoying TV host, Yamanaka Ino's father. Apparently the man was a therapist, but his blue eyes were too intelligent, too focused for Sasuke to feel comfortable.

"What?" Sasuke snapped, looking away from the therapist and clenching his jaw. His knee ached, but his fingers refused to relax.

"I don't know," Dr. Yamanaka returned, his gaze not wavering even for a second. It was like he was trying to get inside Sasuke's mind, and Sasuke didn't like it, even though that was the man's job. "You were the one that came to me…" Dr. Yamanaka continued with a small smile.

"It wasn't my choice," Sasuke growled, tapping his feet nervously on the carpet. He didn't want to relive the incidents…. Oh Kami, he didn't want to relive them.

"And yet, you're still here," Dr. Yamanaka muttered loudly enough that Sasuke could hear. Sasuke shot to his feet at that, and he stalked from the room, slamming the door behind him.

'Fuck that! Fuck therapy! Fuck him!' Sasuke screamed mentally, trying to ignore the sting behind his eyes. He didn't know why this unnerved him so much, but it just sucked. He didn't want to go to a shrink. He wasn't crazy, was he? 'Fuck this all to hell!' he mentally ranted, storming off down the hall and past the receptionist. 'Fucking your chances with Hinata, are you?' The thought gave him pause. He halted in his steps when he saw Hiruzen still in the waiting room. He hadn't expected that. He hadn't expected the man to take time from his busy day to wait for him in the waiting room. He couldn't disappoint Hiruzen, could he? He couldn't back out now. Sasuke gritted his teeth, turned, and walked back to Dr. Yamanaka's office.

Dr. Yamanaka showed no expression on his face when Sasuke stormed back into the office and plopped back on the sofa, his eyes squeezed shut. He had to do this. He had to do this.

"I almost killed Hinata… I almost killed h-her," he started, jumping right in. Dr. Yamanaka leaned forward and steepled his fingers. He made a sound in his throat that could mean next to anything and next to nothing. "I… I strangled her… I squeezed her throat and I wouldn't stop and I… I didn't even see her face. It wasn't her face…" Sasuke rambled, clutching the sides of his head in despair and confusion as he forced himself to remember the night.

"Whose face did you see?" Dr. Yamanaka asked softly, so softly Sasuke wondered if he'd imagined it. If he had asked himself the question. Whose face did he see? The question stumped him, his head aching when he attempted to remember.

"I… I don't know," Sasuke garbled, his voice thick to his own ears. "I can't remember." There was silence for a few seconds.

"Think about it, Sasuke… whose face did you see?" Dr. Yamanaka pushed gently.

"I don't know… I don't know, I don't know…" Sasuke cried out, tears stinging his eyes. He rocked back and forth on the sofa, stifling the sobs that wanted to come out. He knew whose face he had seen… He knew, but he didn't want to think it… He didn't want to say it out loud.

"Who was it?!"Dr. Yamanaka yelled, slapping his palms to the desk and rising to his feet.

"It was my mother's!" Sasuke yelled, bursting into tears, his shoulders shaking. "I saw my mother's face, alright… I saw my mother's face… on H-Hi-…." He couldn't say her name. He tried, but he couldn't say the name. "I saw my mother's face…. And I wouldn't stop squeezing… I saw my mother's face…" Sasuke rambled, his eyes tightly shut, his fists clenched. He bit his lip until the metallic taste of his own blood filled his mouth. He'd seen his mother's face on Hinata that night, and he'd almost killed her because of it.

"What made you stop?" Dr. Yamanaka asked quietly, sitting back down and looking as calm as he had earlier. Sasuke grit his teeth, remembering clearly the words that had made him calm down.

"She… she said she wouldn't leave me…" he said quietly, ashamed of his fears and how they had been assuaged.

"Is that why you wanted to kill your mother? Because she left you?" Dr. Yamanaka asked gently, without even a hint of judgment or derision in his voice. Sasuke looked up at him with wide, wet eyes and blinked with the realization. The pain travelled to anger.

"She left me… she left me all alone… when I was seven!" he growled. "The bitch left me to fend for myself when I was seven." Sasuke shot to his feet and began to pace. "She left me for a job… a fricking job, and even when I grew up, she didn't try to see me. She had other children, and I am the only one she doesn't love. I'm the only one she left." He tugged at his hair until several of the strands popped free and fell loose in his fisted hands. "I don't understand… was I so bad? Why does she hate me so much? What did I do?" he rambled, hating the confused, frustrated tears that streamed down his face without his command.

"And your father? Did he leave too?" Dr. Yamanaka asked in the pause. Sasuke stopped moving, his eyes wide with shock. "Do you want him dead as well?" The question rocked Sasuke, even as he shook his head no. "What then, is the difference? Why did you want your mother dead and not your father?" Dr. Yamanaka asked quietly, hitting squarely a part of Sasuke that he'd never admitted out loud or to himself before.

"I… I loved her the most…" he said quietly, sitting on the sofa and holding his head. "I loved her the most, and she didn't love me… she left me." Dr. Yamanaka wrote something rapidly on a piece of paper.

"It may be, Sasuke, that seeing your mother after all that time triggered something within you. It's up to you to find out what that is. I think we might have done enough for today, so why don't you go on home and think about it?" Dr. Yamanaka said, giving Sasuke a small smile. Sasuke nodded mutely, his head too full of thoughts to formulate a response, and stood, heading for the door. Dr. Yamanaka had one last thing to say. "Very good job, Sasuke."

Okay… you guys always complain about my evil cliffies… does this count as one? Or…. Not? Yeah, so not a very lighthearted chapter, but I hoped that it makes sense to you guys. I am exhausted and have not read over this at all….. haha so please don't kill me! Please let me know what you think! You all know I love reviews, hehe! But seriously, you guys make my day better… especially those who take the time to crank out impressive lengthy reviews! So… review away, my lovelies!

As promised, the drabble link: s/8956978/1/Behind-The-Scenes-of-a-Love-Story-A-Drabble-Series