Chapter 3. Sasukes' gift:/yaoi, itasasu, incest, no lemon in this chapter/

It passes a week after that incident in the hospital and Sasuke is being released home. To avoid unnecessary talk, Itachi is waiting for his brother outside the hospital walls. They haven't met since that night when Itachi was forced to run away from the judging glares. It was not in his style, to run away. Though, in that situation disappearing was the best option to avoid an open scandal. Besides, Sasuke has been warned earlier about how serious the situation could turn out for them if they get caught in public. That was one of the reasons why Itachi decided for himself to go along with this 'wedding-plan' to the very end. This would put an end to rumors. Once and for all.

Itachi's face got a pained expression when he thought of his future wife. And then there would be a kid, too. The kid whom he would never be able to accept fully. The situation seemed hopeless.

"Shit", murmurs Itachi to himself sighing. His thoughts get interrupted with a tap on the shoulder from behind and the familiar voice says:

"Hey, are you going to stand like that and make me carry all this crap myself?"

"Sasuke".

Itachi closes him in his arms, bringing his little brothers' body tight. The hugging looks something else rather than brotherly innocent. Heads of the walking by start turning in their direction. Itachi frowns at the glares and pushes his little brother away, smiling, lightly bumping his shoulder with the fist.

"Give me your trash, I'll carry it".

They start wandering down the street, hopelessly trying to build up a carefree conversation about unimportant things like weather, work and common acquaintances. But both brothers' eyes are glittering with certain intention and they have specific blush coloring the cheeks as they are walking home beside each other.

As soon as they approach the house, Sasuke halts. The smile wipes off his face like it's never been there. He stares at the doorsteps of the mansion with mixed expression of pain, confusion and rage. There is a pair of female shoes standing neatly outside the front door, next to Itachis'.

Itachi is following his brothers' gaze and comments in short form.

"It's Kushima Sami, my fiancé".

The front door opens and there she is standing in the door frame, dressed modestly by the tradition, bowing low to welcome Sasuke home.

Sasuke throws his shoes off, and without a word of acknowledgment rushes towards his room, trying with every step to thrash the tatami underground.

He hears hush apologies Itachi gives in his place, and his approaching steps behind the back. Itachi catches up to him just an instant before the closing door is about to slam in his face.

Itachi stops the door with his foot, pushing his little brother into the room with such strength that he lands on the bed by the opposite wall.

"What are you doing? Itachi!" Sasukes' voice sounds like a squeak of a trampled on cat.

Itachi closes the door behind and throws the sack with Sasukes' things on the floor. Sasuke concludes that his brother is pissed.

"Sasuke. Go and bring your apologies". Itachi speaks out in a low voice and there are dangerous notes to be heard in it. Sasuke ignores the warning answering his brother in an ear cutting scream.

"Why did you bring her here? How could you?!This is our home, Itachi! Ours and no one else's'!"

Itachi crosses the room with fast steps and grabs Sasuke hurtfully by the elbow as he speaks out slowly.

"Stop it, I said" he looks Sasuke directly in the eyes. They fill up with sudden tears. Why?

Sasuke glares at his brother in disbelief. How dare he bring her here to, his and Itachis, home? All of a sudden a jealous thought stings him in the heart and Sasuke shrieks at his brother as if in pain

"Where does she sleep? With you? Were you doing it here in our house?! Maybe in the kitchen?"

Itachis' face turn pale and Sasuke watches him gritting his teeth before answering back

"You should not have said that. Apologize." Sasuke sees that now Itachis' patience is approaching the edge. But Sasuke is not through, he has to let it out, all of it. Sasuke hangs on Itachis' elbow, like a hysterical little girl, dragging him from side to side.

"How could you?! How could you do it to me, Itachi?! ".

Now Itachi has had it. He pushes Sasuke away so that he hits the floor and steps over him with intention to leave. His face is a shade of grey, the masked expression hiding all emotions, but Sasuke notices tiny glitters of sweat appearing above his well shaven top lip. Itachi moves towards the door. He can't stand it any longer. The whole situation has got out of control.

Sasuke feels he overdid it this time, and there is no way Itachi would forgive him. Sasuke covers his face with his hands, wailing and swinging from side to side. What will he do now?

Itachi is just about to touch the doorknob when he turns abruptly towards his little brother and freezes for an instant observing him sadly. Sasuke is sobbing on the floor, rubbing his eyes with his fists and spreading tears over his face like a cruelly punished child. A child who doesn't know what he deserved his punishment for.

Itachi walks back to him, feeling guilty, and ashamed and somehow doomed.

"It can't be helped, otouto", breathes Itachi out eventually as he lowers himself on tatami next to his brother.

Sasuke reaches for Itachis' shoulder and lays his head on it, closing his eyes, Itachi embraces him with one hand. The tears seem to be pouring from his eyes endlessly, soaking Itachis' dark shirt from the collar to the chest. He leans closer to his brother and feels him breathing irregularly. Itachi has covered his eyes with a free hand. Now Sasuke knows he's not the only one who is crying.

There is a thick silence hanging in the air between the brothers. Non-synchronized sobbing along with heavy sighing are the only things to be heard for a while.

Then emptiness and sadness wash over them. Utter sadness.

Itachi moves away from his brother, gently pushing him away.

"You shouldn't have brought her here", says to him Sasuke quietly with reproach while observing the dust on the floor.

Itachi waits a moment before he whispers in return, as he places the hands on the knees that gives a somewhat desperate impression, his gaze is fixed on the opposite wall.

"Would you really like me to live somewhere else?" He asks. There is a long pause hanging in the air. "I can do it, if you want me to".

Sasuke lifts up his gaze, fear is glittering in his eyes mixed up with tears. "No!"

Itachi takes his brothers chin with two fingers, and looks into his big sad eyes and then adds

"I will do it if you tell me to. It will never be a life without you, otouto. But I will do it. For you."

Sasuke squeezes Itachis' hand to pain. Scratches from Sasukes fingernails start smiling red on his older brothers' fist.

"Please, don't."

"What do you want me to do then, Sasuke? What do you want me to do?!".

Sasuke is not answering. He raises to his feet and starts measuring the room pacing from one wall to the other. His face has lost expression.

There are noises coming from the kitchen. It's Itachis' future wife cooking and cleaning in there. Sasuke feels the blood rush to his face. He hates her already. It's their kitchen, their floor. Their house. She is an intruder in their life, in their happiness (or misery?)

She came to steal his aniki. And Sasuke hates her together with her unborn child. He will always hate them.

"Marry her", says Sasuke at last. "Marry her and you both can live here. I'll leave. Consider it my wedding gift to you."

Itachi jumps on his feet, grabs Sasukes' head and rests it onto his chest. They stand like this for some time, in the arms of each other. Brothers. Lovers.

"I hate you", says Sasuke through his tears, lifting up his head looking Itachi in the eyes.

"I love you too, otouto", answers him Itachi.