Welcome to the last chapter! Thank you thank you thank you for reading so far. It makes me feel really special.
I love you all!

I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in this story.

Sasuke and Gaara froze, staring at the corner of the hallway, eyes wide. They were like deer caught in the headlights, unknowing of what was coming at them, and unsure of what to do next. Sasuke promptly opened the closet door where shoes and jackets were kept, ushering Gaara into it before closing it softly so his older brother wouldn't hear the noise.

Gaara sat up, surprised, then kneeled over the pairs of shoes and... beer bottles, it felt like... in the bottom of the closet. Why wasn't he allowed to meet Sasuke's brother..? A small line of light came in from a crack in the door, and Gaara peered out through the hinged area, getting a clear view of Sasuke's older brother. Why

It was surprising at how much alike they were. Itachi was around half a head taller than Sasuke, but they were practically identical. Although, next to Itachi... Sasuke somehow looked more... innocent. Itachi's tired eyes had a sort of anger to them, a craving. Gaara sensed a power to them that made shivers go down his spine. And when he saw a streak of fear running through Sasuke's dark eyes, his heart started racing.

"Oh, Itachi... I thought you were out. You k-know... You had something going on today, right..?" Sasuke wasn't looking Itachi in the eye- Avoiding it, in fact. Instead, he moved into the other room, busying himself by tidying up the mess Itachi had left. Apparantly, it was a common occurrence, because Sasuke didn't bother commenting on the broken glass and tipped drawers. He didn't need to.

Itachi was still standing outside the closet door, unmoving. He didn't look over at his younger brother working, just stared down at the ground. Gaara peered out, looking at his clothes- black pants, boots, a black and red band shirt of some sort. He was wearing such ordinary clothes, but his very presence was extraordinary, filling the room with a sense of dread.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke quickly looked up from a drawer, staring over at his brother, who had spoken his name in almost a whisper. A silence took place of the rustling in the other room, and, though Gaara couldn't see Sasuke, he knew he probably looked as scared as Gaara was feeling. Sasuke had never said more than two sentences about his brother... And he seemed so scared... What really went on in this house.

"You took them."

There was a long pause in which Itachi slowly turned his head, staring over at his younger brother. When Gaara shifted, just a little, he could see Sasuke standing there in the living room, unmoving, hardly breathing. He managed to reply, though.

"I didn't take anything, Itachi. You ran out. I didn't take anything." The look on his face showed Gaara that this was the truth. Sasuke took a step towards the drawer again, trying to act casual, putting it back in it's place. "You know I wouldn't do that to you."

Itachi turned completely towards Sasuke, then took a step towards him. "Little brother..." He whispered. Sasuke didn't look up. He raised his voice, ever so slightly. "Little brother, are you implying that I'm mistaken? Are you saying that I'm lying and you are telling the truth?"

Sasuke stared at him from his kneeling position on the ground before slowly getting up. "N-no. I was just saying that you... You used them. I haven't been here at all today, you used..." To hear Sasuke stutter the way he was made Gaara's heart beat like a rabbit's. And the expression on his face that followed, raw, unfazed fear, made his heart beat that much faster. Itachi took another few steps so that he was standing next to Sasuke, looking down at him, his face emotionless.

"I used what, Sasuke?" Itachi's voice was smooth and low; empty. Hollow. It was as though he had no life besides the drugs Gaara had now found out he was taking. Sasuke stared forward, past his brother and at the wall above the closet. "The drugs."

The moment the word left the youngest Uchiha's mouth, the older one struck. His fist made an impact just under Sasuke's rib cage, causing the boy to cough, then fall to his knees when Itachi pulled back. Gaara had to flinch at the brisk movement, feeling his body shake as Sasuke fell to the ground. Was THIS what the Uchiha had been going through?

"Now. Sasuke."

There was a muffled groan from the form on the ground. Gaara wasn't sure if it was because he was in pain, or because he just didn't want to get up and face Itachi.

"Sasuke. Stand up and look me in the eye."

Gaara watched as Sasuke slowly got to his feet, shaking as he did so, and raised his dark eyes to meet those of his older brothers. His face was burning red with shame, and his hands were held in fists at his sides.

"I did not use them all."

Sasuke slowly nodded at the simple statement that escaped his brother's mouth.

"You took them."

At that, the younger Uchiha paused, a flare of new anger flashing in his black eyes. Itachi seemed displeased at this.

"Sasuke. Did you hear me? You took them. I didn't use them. YOU took them."

The boy looked down at the ground. "Go to hell."

With that, he earned another blow. Itachi grabbed the hem of his shirt, physically lifting him a few inches from the ground and slamming him into the wall. Sasuke didn't move, just clenched his teeth, eyes shut tight. And when he still didn't reply to Itachi's statement, the older Uchiha slammed him, harder, into the wall, fists clenched around the younger boy's shirt. He was controlling himself.

Sasuke opened his dark eyes, staring down, lifelessly to the side. He didn't want to say anything. He wouldn't say anything. And when he didn't, a crazed grin came across Itachi's face. His eyes remained lifeless.

"You know, Sasuke, mother and father... They always babied you. You remember, don't you, little brother?"

Sasuke said nothing. His dark eyes closed once again, and he remained silent.

"They always seemed to be covering up the truth... You know, they never really... wanted you. I would hear them talking long after you left to bed... They hated you. You were an embarrassment to them."

Sasuke's eyes snapped open, and he glared into Itachi's eyes, hate filling the dark voids. This reaction seemed to please his older brother, for he grinned even wider.

"It seemed like such a shame to tell you. The way you looked at them with such a fond-ness. They HATED you, Sasuke, and they wanted you dead..."

Gaara, from the closet, was staring out at the scene, utterly horrified. He was quite literally stuck, and his mind was blank. He could do nothing but shake in fear of the icy voice emitting from Sasuke's older brother and clench one hand around one of the empty beer bottles in the bottom of the closet.

"Shut the fuck UP!" Sasuke had made and attempt to push Itachi off, and when he tried to kick the older man, Itachi ended up twisting his arm behind his back and pushing his chest to the ground, holding him there.

"Now, now, my dear brother, let's not get carried away." There was a break in words, and the only sound for a while was Sasuke's struggled coughs. Itachi slowly dug his nails into his brother's arms, tearing the pale skin, splattering it with a vibrant shade of crimson. Itachi then let go, and Sasuke lay there panting, out of breath. Eventually, Itachi stood up, staring down at the mass huddled on the ground.

Sasuke panted, then, when he was about to get up, Itachi kicked him, hard, in the gut, and blood dripped from his mouth and onto the platinum carpet in small droplets, seeping into it like red wine.

With his foot, Itachi kicked Sasuke so that the youngest Uchiha member was flipped onto his back. Sasuke lay there, clutching at his stomach, eyes closed and teeth gritted. Itachi's smile faded. "How pathetic. A member of the Uchiha family being taken down this easily... How pathetic. No wonder our family hated you, Sasuke. You are completely.." He gave a swift kick to Sasuke's stomach. "...And utterly..." Another kick. "Useless." For the final blow, Itachi kicked his head, and Sasuke stopped moving altogether.

Cold fear struck Gaara's body, and he felt himself gasp as he watched blood trickle from the edge of Sasuke's head. Itachi knelt down next to his brother's ear. Gaara stood, beer bottle clutched in his shaking hand, and touched the door, ready to open it. He paused and listened to Itachi whispering into his little brother's ear.

"Run and hide, Sasuke... It's the only thing you can do."

With that, Gaara pushed the closet door open, and moved like a cat to the other side of the room. Before Itachi could react, Gaara swung the glass beer bottle over the back of his head, and within seconds, he had collapsed to the ground, half-way on top of Sasuke. The room was filled with complete silence.

Gaara fell shakily to the ground, taking hold of Sasuke's limp arm and giving a tug so that Itachi's weight was shifted off of him. In that moment of dread, he touched his loved one's wrist. There was a pulse. Sasuke was alive.

A clock struck in the background. 9:00 AM. Gaara's eyes dodged from Sasuke to Itachi. And, like a miracle, Sasuke stirred at the noise.

He opened his dark eyes, staring up at Gaara, pale hand moving to his own head, where he had been kicked. There was a dull thumping pain throughout his body. Reaching up, he wiped a tear from Gaara's cheek, smiling a little as if to show how stupid they both were. Gaara, who hadn't even noticed he was crying, sheepishly wiped his tears away with his arm, blushing slightly. "S-sasuke..." He said.

The raven-haired teen stared at him, showing that he was, indeed, listening. "I'm... I'm sorry." Gaara whispered. Sasuke let out a little laugh, then pushed himself up, wincing at the pain that was suddenly coursing through his body. Itachi still lay motionless beside them.

Sasuke stared at his older brother. He reached out, touching his jet black hair, watching the older teen in disappointment. "He... He was never..." He paused a moment, then continued. "He was never like that before the drugs."

Gaara nodded, sorry he couldn't understand Sasuke's situation as much as he wanted. Itachi grunted, and it sounded like he would stir soon enough. Gaara quickly stood, pulling Sasuke up along with him, standing next to him for balance. "S-sasuke... We need to call the police."

Of course, Sasuke immediately resented the idea. "No. I'm not fucking going to prison for buying drugs. I don't want to go to the hosp–" He stumbled a little, dizzy from such blood loss. There was a trail forming, and a pool collected under them. Gaara was shaking again, and he felt tears coming down his cheeks. "Please... Sasuke, please..."

Sasuke dizzily stepped towards the door, hand touching the knob, then turning it. He wouldn't listen to reason, nor would he string anymore words together. He wanted nothing more than to escape this prison.

And that was one thing that Gaara, in his own way, could understand. He quickly followed after his loved one without another glance at Itachi, shutting the door behind them. Then, he took Sasuke over to the elevator, and they started going out the lobby. Sasuke stood, leaning against Gaara's smaller frame, panting, blood dripping from his wounds that didn't seem to want to heal. And when they came to the lobby, the workers behind the counter immediately gasped.

One shouted something, while the other dialed 911. And then, Sasuke collapse, falling to the ground like a statue.

-Four Months Later-

Gaara opened his eyes, vision blurred. The sun was glowing through his bedroom window. He moved towards the spot of heat to his right. Sasuke lay there, still asleep, shirt off, black hair astray. Gaara flopped down again, sighing, then tugging a little at Sasuke's dark black hair.

It seemed like forever since that day that he had found out about Sasuke's brother. Since then, it had all blurred together... Counseling, Itachi going back to prison, Kankuro finding a new job, the hospital, Sasuke staying with them... Could so many things happen in such a short amount of time?

"Hey."

Gaara was surprised to see Sasuke open his eyes, then turn to him, leaning in and kissing him, gently, on the lips. Whenever Sasuke pulled something like this, Gaara never had a right way to react. After all this time, he still didn't know what to do in such a situation.

Sasuke let out a little laugh. "Don't look so surprised, Gaara... I do that every morning." Gaara grinned a little, then shrugged. "Y-yeah... I guess... I'm not used to it, is all."

They lay there in silence, both of them staring up at the ceiling. "Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Fear my cliche, over-used ending... I'm sorry for it, really, I am. Thank you for reading, all of you!
I know. I didn't put a lemon in. I SUCK. Shoot me if you want. Pike my head if you want. Request a lemon in a one-shot if you want.
I might actually do that last one on my own as a small add-on to this story, if you guys really want... Just tell me, and I'll do it.

Byebye guys, love you all. Keep an eye out for more of my stories in the future.