I'm in pain please don't hit me for this chapter (I was stomped on by a horse hurt like fuck nothing broken yay)


Chapter thirty-five: I never wanted this pain

'

Three days after discovering he had a son Sasuke found himself surrounded by what he supposed he had to call family, minus a few though. Yukio and Karin had helped him make dinner, and guests were Itachi, Sakura, Obito and Kakashi. So far he hadn't told any others about his sudden promotion into fatherhood, and he was a little miffed about Itachi not acting very surprised.

Then again, his brother always accounted for all possibilities ahead of time.

The other three guests had been a lot more surprised though, and it was interesting to watch them interact during dinner. Surprisingly Obito and Karin got along well; but the red-haired woman seemed very reluctant to talk to Sakura. Yukio was also still having a few doubts with Sakura, his mother's behavior around her not exactly helping. Kakashi and Itachi were discussing Nobel Prize authors for the most part, no one else really caring for the subject.

At first things had been a little stiff, and Sasuke thought they were all painfully reminded that Naruto was missing. Strangely though things soon turned into some kind of relaxed agreement to get along, and he found himself thankful for the distraction from everything else that was going on at the moment.

As they took a break before dessert they were all seated in the living room, except for Yukio and Sasuke, who were having a competition over who could keep the ball Sasuke had bought earlier that day longest in the air.

"It's not fair dad your legs are longer!" Yukio shouted when he'd dropped the ball for the umpteenth time, his record so far being three and Sasuke easily handing it over after twenty.

"You know, your dad was captain for his soccer team for years in a row" Itachi commented from the couch, an amused smile on his face at Sasuke's glare in his direction. "I bet he could still reach a hundred if he tried."

"Wow really?!" Yukio exclaimed, Sasuke's glare intensifying. "Show me!" the kid demanded and stretched the ball out to his dad, who took it with a frown.

It had been a while since he last did this, but now he felt the pressure of trying to impress his son. It was a strange feeling.

"Come on Sasuke, let's see you work it" Kakashi smirked evilly, and Sakura let out a snort of laughter at the look of indignation on his face.

Sending another glare at the amused grown-ups he let out a breath, feeling some of his old competitiveness surface. He used to be pretty good after all. Good thing his jeans were stretchy.

He started kicking it with a look of concentration on his face, Yukio following his every move closely. Somewhere around thirty Yukio shouted to him that he was about to walk backwards into the wall and he moved a little forwards again. He dropped it at forty-two, and it bounced against the coffee table and into Obito's lap much to Yukio's amusement and Karin's disapproval. Sasuke thought that would be the end of it, but now the child was excited and wouldn't settle for anything less than three tries.

The second time he almost reached sixty, and he had just started on the third round feeling as if he was getting the hang of this again when the doorbell rang. Itachi got up and offered to answer it, and as he kept kicking he ignored the voices coming from the door. He didn't notice the suddenly awkward tension that erupted as the others heard what was going on.

Yukio was only paying attention to Sasuke though, and when he dropped the ball way too early thanks to a slippery spot on the floor Yukio rushed over with a laugh and pushed the ball against his chest again, urging him to keep going.

"Yukio let me breathe a little in-between" Sasuke complained, tickling the boy when he resorted to puppy eyes.

"Noo it tickles, stop it da-haha-d" he squealed, wriggling around so much that they soon found themselves on the floor, Sasuke on his knees and Yukio rolling around trying to escape.

At the familiar sound of a throat clearing Sasuke froze, smile dying on his lips. Yukio kept chuckling and wriggling for a few more seconds, but stilled when he noticed Sasuke wasn't moving.

"Dad?" he asked questioningly, poking at his hand.

Sasuke twitched, then got up and brought Yukio up with him, carrying him as he walked past Itachi and his mother heading for Yukio's room.

"Who's that?" Yukio whispered as he noticed Mikoto, his hands clenching around Sasuke's shirt.

Sasuke didn't answer, closing the door behind them and sitting down on the bed.

"Dad, are you okay?" Yukio asked, leaning back in his lap and worriedly putting a hand on his forehead.

Sasuke pulled him forwards again, resting his cheek against Yukio's hair, the dark-brown tresses tickling his nose a little.

"Let's just wait here for a while" he mumbled and tried to force himself to relax.

It wasn't easy. He breathed in and out slowly, Yukio silent in his arms, and tried not to think of what just happened.

He didn't want Yukio to meet his grandmother, didn't want to call her grandmother. He sighed, listening intently but only hearing a murmur, unable to distinguish any coherent words from it. If his mother tried to follow him in there he didn't know what he'd do. He hoped Itachi would get the hint that he didn't want to see her, and he wondered with a frown why he let her in in the first place.

Back in the living room there was a thick silence hanging in the air, all eyes on Mikoto and Itachi, except for Mikoto herself. She stared after Sasuke, a blank look on her face that gradually morphed into barely restrained disappointment.

"He really doesn't want to see me, does he?" she said quietly.

"Mother…" Itachi started, unsure of how to continue.

"I… just wanted to see my grandson" she whispered, then seemed to notice that they weren't alone and quickly caught herself. "No matter" she continued, eyes hard now, head held high. "He'd better not believe that child will be accepted into the Uchiha family."

Itachi sighed and put a hand on her arm.

"I think you should go home" he murmured, and steered her back towards the door. "I'm sorry Sakura, can you get home by yourself?" he added over his shoulder, Sakura nodding, and he sent her an apologetic smile before disappearing around the corner.

The remaining people sat quietly in their places until the door was opened and closed, the click of the lock sounding too loud.

"I'll tell Sasuke she left" Obito said, standing up awkwardly and making his way over to Yukio's room.

He opened the door slowly, finding Sasuke inside, Yukio curled up in his arms. The child looked up as he entered, but Sasuke didn't move.

"Yukio, why don't you run over to your mother?" Obito said gently, smiling reassuringly. "I'd like to talk to Sasuke for a bit."

Yukio nodded hesitantly, squirming out of Sasuke's hold and with a last concerned look at his dad left the room.

"He's a great kid" Obito commented after closing the door and sitting down on the bed.

Sasuke clasped his hands over his knees and nodded, raising his head to look at a poster on the wall. He looked more drained than before, during dinner. He looked as if he couldn't fight off the tiredness in his eyes anymore, the drooping shoulders. With a small sigh Obito put a hand over his arm.

"If you want to talk, I know what it's like."

Sasuke glanced at him, then turned his eyes back to the dragon climbing a castle tower, not really focusing on the picture. He'd forgotten that Obito had been thrown out and disowned for being gay. Sasuke had been too little to remember it in detail, but he could still see his father's disapproving face when he'd asked why Obito hadn't shown up at some family gathering, telling him that they were never to mention that name again.

"Did she leave?" he asked instead, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Itachi's going with her. You know, she seemed pretty sad that you wouldn't talk to her."

"What did she say?" he asked, voice subdued, ignoring the pang of guilt.

"Well…" Obito started, letting his hand fall off Sasuke's arm. "She said she just wanted to see Yukio, and then she seemed a little upset and said he would never be a part of the Uchiha family."

"Good" Sasuke grunted, narrowing his eyes, lips thinned to a line.

"Is it though" Obito said quietly.

"I won't let her hurt him."

Obito gave Sasuke a sad look, but understanding all the same.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, but speaking from experience, if you get the chance to reconcile with your mother you should consider taking it."

Sasuke was silent, staring into nothingness. He felt numb. There was too much going on right now, too many questions and too few answers.

"I'm not going to lie to you Sasuke. Losing your family hurts, no matter how much they hurt you in the first place you still miss them. You still want them back."

"Don't you think I know that already?"

Sasuke's voice was trembling, but toneless. Obito wanted to reach out to him, comfort him somehow, but he knew he wasn't the right person to do it. With Naruto on the other side of the planet though…

"I'll tell the others that the party's over, alright? Or do you want us to stay?"

"No, it's fine. You should go. Thanks. Itachi will come over later."

Obito nodded, and with a pat on Sasuke's shoulder he left.

Sasuke didn't know how long he'd been sitting there, trying not to think of anything, when Itachi opened the front door. He listened to the sounds he made, his footsteps as he walked through the apartment looking for him. Eventually they stopped outside Yukio's door, and he looked down at his knees as his brother silently opened it. For a few moments Itachi just stood there, in the doorway, observing him.

"I'll make some tea" he finally said.

"I don't want it" Sasuke replied, his voice sounding raspy.

He must have sat there for longer than he'd thought.

Itachi walked over to him, reaching out to touch his head, but he ducked and brushed the hand away.

"Don't touch me" he said.

"Sasuke…"

"Don't. You're just going to lie to me as always anyway. Telling me everything's going to be fine, when we both know that it won't."

Itachi frowned at the resentment in his little brother's voice, slowly sitting down in the same spot Obito had occupied earlier.

"Whatever you have to say I don't want to hear it. I'm sick of it, sick of being treated like a kid that doesn't know anything. I don't want to see mother and you should have known better than to let her in!"

He looked up at Itachi at the end, anger in his eyes, that didn't let up even with the look his brother gave him.

"She seemed to genuinely want to see him, I don't think she was there to cause trouble."

"How did she even find out? No wait, don't say it. Of course you'd tell her" Sasuke muttered bitterly. "You just never care about how I feel, do you?"

At the last comment Itachi gripped his chin, forcing his head up and their eyes to meet. Pressing their foreheads together Itachi sighed heavily, closing his eyes briefly.

"Sasuke, I care about you more than anything, you know that. You can pretend to be fine all you want but I know you're hurting because of what happened in December. I just wanted to take the opportunity to make things better."

"Well they sure became better" Sasuke snapped, removing his head from Itachi's hold.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry."

"Stop trying to control my life Itachi! I just wish you could trust me."

Sasuke had turned his head to the side, fists clenched and biting the inside of his cheek, trying to hold everything in. He didn't want to fight with his brother. He just wished he would get it.

"Is that really what you think I'm doing?" Itachi asked quietly, sounding hurt.

Swallowing the lump in his throat Sasuke refused to give in, refused to just let Itachi handle everything as always. He was already in too deep anyway; he wouldn't take the easy way out. Slowly unclenching his hands he tried to relax, taking a deep breath and then letting it out again.

"It is what you're doing. I have a right to know what's going on. How am I supposed to-"

He stopped, cutting himself off. How am I supposed to help you if I blindly think everything's fine?

Itachi put an arm around him, pulling him close, ignoring his half-hearted protests. Lacing their hands together he pressed a kiss to Sasuke's temple, just like when Sasuke was little and had a nightmare.

"I've told you before little brother" Itachi mumbled in his ear, using that same soothing tone that would put the younger Sasuke to sleep. "If I could choose not to know, I would. Do you think I've never been in pain? There are things I'd rather spare you from."

Turning a little Sasuke buried his nose in Itachi's neck, letting his warmth surround him, just for a moment falling back into the past and the absolute comfort of Itachi. Then he sighed, steeling himself, letting go of his old, naïve self. Letting go of the old him that would choose to be blind, that would trust his older brother when he said there were no monsters under his bed, when he said there was nothing in this world he needed to worry about.

"I'm too old to be spared" he whispered, knitting his eyebrows in concentration. "I don't need your protection, and I don't want it." He raised his head, meeting Itachi's dark eyes, so similar to his own, determination making them harden.

"I want to stand right next to you. Not behind, or to the side. I want to be someone I can be proud of. Someone you can be proud of, someone you can trust with anything. Please Itachi, I can't stand it anymore. You have to let me do this."

They looked at each other for a long time, a silent battle passing between them. Eventually Itachi closed his eyes and sighed, lowering his head in defeat.

"It's so difficult not to think of you as my precious little brother that I need to protect. I've been doing it for so long." He opened his eyes with a wry smile. "But you're right. Of course you're right. Doesn't mean I like it though."

Itachi's eyes turned serious, and he ran his fingers through Sasuke's hair, holding the edges of the strands between them.

"But you have people to protect too now, after all. I'm always proud of you Sasuke. I might not approve of everything you do, but I'm always proud of you."

Sasuke swallowed the lump in his throat, nodding at the words. He felt as if his heart was swelling with the responsibility Itachi was putting on his shoulders, with the acknowledgment, the trust.

"Tomorrow" Itachi started, and there was a strain to his voice as if the words were difficult to get out, "Tomorrow I'm having a meeting with Gaara. We'll go through everything then, alright?"

Not really trusting his voice Sasuke nodded again, a nervous flutter in his stomach.

"Tomorrow."

~Line breaker~

Naruto stayed in bed long after waking up that morning. He didn't really have the energy for anything at all, much less the motivation. He hadn't been able to re-read the diaries either. Groaning he buried his head deeper into his pillow, hugging it to his body. He didn't know what to think, what to feel. So his parents had known Sasuke's. And then they'd died on their way to a meeting with them; something he actually already knew but had forgotten. It hadn't felt important at the time, when he was going through all those old news reports. They didn't mention anything suspicious about the Uchiha business, and it had generally been thought that it was completely unrelated to the accident.

Knowing better now, all he could think was, strangely, that he hoped Sasuke would never find out. Whether Sasuke's dad had had a hand in killing his parents or not was not important. The important thing was that, knowing Sasuke, he'd most likely freak out about it and feel so guilty that he distanced himself from Naruto, and that was something he didn't want.

If there was one realization he'd come to during his trip, it was that he thought of Sasuke as his home. Not his country, not his city, not his friends or relatives. Sasuke was home and he didn't want the past to come between them.

There was a knock on the door, but he ignored it, still deep in thought. When it didn't let up he made a frustrated sound, rolling out of bed to tell whoever was bothering him to leave him the hell alone. The words died on his lips though when the person was revealed to be Tsunade.

"What do you want?" he asked, feeling a little cautious of her presence.

"Do I have to want something specific? I'm not like the old drunkard, I just thought you wanted to talk after reading through all that."

"Not really" he answered, still blocking the way into his hotel room with his body. "How did you find me anyway?"

"Tch, that wasn't exactly hard. Now let me in brat."

Sighing Naruto stepped aside, following her with his gaze as she walked in to sit down in a chair. He kept forgetting how old she was getting, halfway to seventy at this point. She still held the same imposing presence though, and he shook his head remembering how she'd yell at him as a kid and how he stubbornly ignored her.

He must have been a troublesome child.

"Your boyfriend is the same Sasuke as the kid in those diaries right?" she asked, not bothering with any small talk.

"Yeah" he said, walking over to sit on his bed, facing her.

"Well, it's never nice to find out the truth. What are you going to do about it?"

"Am I supposed to do something?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, thinking he was getting better at copying Sasuke's look.

"Don't give me that attitude Naruto."

Tsunade must have worked on her temper, because Naruto couldn't ever remember her being this calm.

"Is Jiraiya going to write about it in his book? The whole thing with Uchiha Corps I mean."

If Tsunade noticed his use of Jiraiya's name instead of any of his usual nicknames she didn't comment. She just looked out the window, seemingly reluctant to talk.

"Personally, I don't think he should. There's no point opening old wounds, messing around with people who are dead anyway. Things like that never work out. But he never listens, does he?"

She sighed, turning back to look at him.

"I don't want him to" Naruto said. "They've been dead for over twenty-one years, not to mention Sasuke's dad is also dead. What's the point of bringing it up now?"

"Well, that guy from the police seemed as if he was opening up the case again."

"Ridiculous" Naruto muttered, dragging a hand through his unruly hair, finding a knot but leaving it be.

They were silent for a while after that, not knowing what to say. Naruto didn't feel like words would do any good anyway.

"I'm going home" he suddenly exclaimed, almost as surprised as Tsunade by it. "Yeah" he added after thinking it over for a couple of seconds. "I don't really think there's anything left for me to do here."

"Well good for you brat. I'll probably be stuck here for another month."

Naruto snorted at her complaint, wondering how they'd managed to not kill each other yet. He didn't really care though. All he could feel at the moment was an aching longing to see Sasuke's smile.

~Line breaker~

Sasuke didn't feel up to working the next day. It was a lot better than the tossing and turning he'd done all night though, three things weighing heavily on his mind.

His mother, of course, it was difficult to forget about her sudden visit and the feelings it had brought up to the surface.

The meeting with Gaara later in the afternoon, and the anticipation at the prospect of finally, finally getting some straight answers. It made him nauseous.

And then, the email he'd gotten from Naruto. Naruto was coming home, and he felt as if he couldn't have had worse timing. He was dying to see Naruto, and part of him wanted to fast forward to the following morning when he'd arrive, having managed to find a ticket to leave today. The other part wanted Naruto to stay in Australia, and not come back until he had things under control again. He didn't want to admit it, but now he could sort of understand why Itachi had kept things from him.

It would be much better if Naruto didn't know, but at the same time he longed to share everything that had been happening to him. Naruto would listen. Naruto would understand.

He'd spent most of the day trying to avoid people, and for once they'd seemed to take the hint. That or his secretary had gotten better at keeping them at bay. Because of that he was already expecting it to be his brother when he heard the knock on his door, and tensing up he told him to enter as he gathered up his things and turned off his computer.

"Ready to go?" Itachi asked, and he nodded.

He was as ready as he'd ever be. Even so he hadn't been able to eat all day, and he glared at his brother when he handed him an energy bar.

"I'm not carrying you if you faint from lack of blood sugar" the older Uchiha said in a voice that wouldn't take no for an answer.

Working against his upset stomach Sasuke forced it down, glaring out the side window of the car the whole drive to Gaara's office. Thankfully Itachi didn't say anything after that, simply turning up the radio a little instead.

The building wasn't as impressive as Sasuke had expected; it looked like any other boring building in a nondescript brown color. Inside Itachi was instantly recognized by the receptionist and they were sent up three stories, exiting the elevator into what looked like a normal office. There were desks pushed against each other, some occupied by busy people and some only by paper and computers. Itachi nodded to a few of the people present, steering towards the other end of a corridor.

Knocking sharply on a door he didn't wait for an answer before entering, earning a look from Gaara that instantly turned to mild surprise at seeing Sasuke as well.

"What an honor, having two Uchihas in my office at the same time."

Itachi hardly spared him a look as he sat down in one of the free chairs opposite the messy desk, motioning for Sasuke to do the same. Seeing as this was the first time he'd actually seen Gaara and his brother interact, he was surprised at the nonchalant familiarity between them even though he should have maybe expected it.

He never really thought of Itachi having friends or how he treated them, but he supposed Gaara was as close to a friend you could get while still having the barrier of official business between you.

"I'm here for the truth" he said, focusing on the red-haired male, not missing the hesitant glance he sent in Itachi's direction.

"Well, it's certainly nicer to tell you with your brother's permission." After another look at Itachi Gaara shrugged, standing up from his office chair. "I guess you want me to skip the pleasantries? Alright then, please turn around."

They turned their chairs to face the opposite direction, now with the perfect view of a wide whiteboard covering most of the wall. Gaara picked up a marker and drew a horizontal line from one end to the center, tapping it against his lips as he walked back to the left side of the board.

"So" he started, turning to look at Sasuke. "For your benefit Sasuke, I suppose I'll go through all of it, as much as I know so far."

He drew a short line across the longer one, right at the edge. Then he wrote the number 30 above it.

"Thirty years ago, your father took over the company. Your grandfather died a little early, so he wasn't as prepared as he could have been. Not to mention the financial situation. Months from bankruptcy," he drew a second crossing line close to the first one, the number 28 above it, "28 years ago Akatsuki was founded. You could say he got an offer he couldn't refuse."

Sasuke glanced at Itachi, who was observing the lines with narrowed eyes, not showing any surprise.

"During the following years we don't know much more than that suddenly, business seemed to go perfectly well for Uchiha Corps. Money started to flow in, and the official side of it expanded to become the international success it is today. What Akatsuki did I don't know for sure."

Here Gaara glanced at Itachi again, and making a disapproving face he agreed to whatever silent instructions he got.

"Anyway, it's not that important. Then, we reach the incident twenty-one years ago, with the first investigation being initiated. The results were less than satisfactory, and all charges as well as suspicions were put on hold. Interestingly enough, it seems as if Uchiha Corps and Akatsuki divided at this time, how or why is also not known, but my guess is that your father was not happy with how close to exposure he'd become. There's also the question of the accident, but we'll get back to that."

Sasuke stared at the number 21, unable not to think of Naruto. He wanted to ask what accident, but he had a feeling Gaara didn't appreciate being interrupted.

"At this point in time there was a lot of research going on at your company, and especially the Rasengan facility stood out as very successful. During the investigation though there were many things suspected not to be as claimed officially. I managed to find the list of employees and projects thanks to you Sasuke, and on that list was project Mangekyo as I suspected. In charge was a man named Orochimaru, who's been suspected to work for Akatsuki as well. He's dead now though, so not much help there."

Furrowing his eyebrows Gaara examined the board, as if it could give him the clues he still didn't have.

"All research was disbanded between twenty-one and eighteen years ago, and obviously nothing could be found to press charges against. I told you before Sasuke, it was all very cleverly done. As for project Mangekyo, it started out as completely normal medical research, but ended up in…"

Gaara trailed off, and there seemed to be another exchange of silent words between him and Itachi.

"What? Ended up in what?" Sasuke asked, annoyed to hell that he was being kept in the dark again.

"These are all just suspicions" Itachi answered, not reacting when Gaara clicked his tongue in objection.

"All of this is just suspicions until proven true Itachi, doesn't make them automatically false though."

"Hn" was all Itachi said, and Gaara sighed, turning back to the whiteboard.

"It ended up in a hallucinatory substance, a drug" Gaara explained. "Then things were quiet for a while," Gaara seemed to disagree with his own words, and Sasuke sent a suspicious look in Itachi's direction, "until about sixteen years ago when Akatsuki was back as an integrated part of the company. This time, however, Uchiha Corps was funding them. Up until then Akatsuki had kept pumping in money though, through a certain, well, deal."

Sasuke did the count in his head. He'd been around seven.

"Isn't that when mother started acting weird?" he asked, seeing Itachi tense.

"I think that's when she found out" Gaara said, quietly, watching Itachi intensely.

"Uchiha Corps hasn't been doing anything illegal since then besides the funding" Itachi cut him off, changing the subject. "It's not as bad as it sounds. And then I managed to stop it so we're not really involved anymore."

Gaara stared hard at Itachi for a long moment, and Sasuke wondered just what he meant that first time they met and he'd mentioned knowing all of Itachi's 'dirty secrets'.

"So far," Gaara started, changing the subject as well, "all investigations against Akatsuki have ended badly. Either nothing is found, or people die."

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Doesn't that mean we're in danger as well?"

Gaara was still looking at Itachi, and now his brother met his gaze.

"Gaara doesn't mind the danger, apparently" Itachi said, the sub context lost on Sasuke. "But don't worry Sasuke, we'll be fine. I'm not lying about that."

Swallowing the worried lump in his throat Sasuke flicked his eyes between the other two men, brain whirring like an old computer to try and interpret everything going on in the room.

"Your brother is right. Try not to follow any strange men home though."

There was a defiant look on Gaara's face, as if he dared Itachi to forbid him to say anything else than he already had.

"As for the accident, twenty-one years ago, I'm sure you can guess what I'm referring to."

Sasuke felt a sinking feeling in his gut, and Naruto's face seemed to hover in front of his eyes.

"Naruto's parents" he croaked out, having to clear his throat.

"As you may know, Naruto's father was the secretary of state, and his mother worked at the Rasengan research facility."

Again, Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. No, he had not known this. Sure, Naruto had said politician and scientist, but that was it. Thinking back on it though, the name Namikaze Minato should have clued him in on that fact, but he was never much interested in politics in school. But Kushina working for them? That was just…

"I don't know many details, it's all been pretty hushed up, and people were scared to talk about it at the time when my predecessors tried to figure it out. What we do know is that they were involved both personally with your family as well as in the investigation, and that they were on their way to a meeting with your father when they died."

When they were murdered Sasuke thought, and he felt as if a cold hand was gripping at his heart.

"Just what are you trying to say?" he whispered, unable to muster enough strength to speak up.

"I'm saying Akatsuki may have killed them. I tried talking to Naruto's godfather, Jiraiya, but he claimed to know nothing and then conveniently left the country."

He could feel his brother's eyes on him, ready to step in if he needed to. Clenching his fists angrily Sasuke stood up, fighting against the nausea threatening to take over.

"I need to use the bathroom" he gritted out, and walked out the door.

"Did you really have to tell him that?" Itachi said, giving Gaara a searing glare.

"He came for the truth" Gaara simply said, unfazed by the look as he turned to coolly regard him. "You're keeping enough from him as it is."

"Well what the hell am I supposed to tell him?!" Itachi exclaimed, hands gripping the sides of his chair hard enough to whiten his knuckles. "That our father was responsible for his boyfriend's parents' death? That when he was seven mother was so depressed finding everything out that she tried to kill him, thinking he was happier dead and uncorrupted? That basically all our money comes from drug deals? Our whole fucking family is living on money drenched in blood! I think I have a right to keep that from him."

Gaara didn't answer, instead he just walked over to the upset older Uchiha, an unreadable look in his eyes. He raised a hand and put it on the back of Itachi's head, pulling it forwards so that his forehead leaned against his stomach. Itachi tensed at first, but slowly relaxed, letting Gaara brush his fingers through the hair at his neck as he stared unseeingly at his desk.

On the other side of the door, Sasuke stood with his back pressed against the surface, wondering if he'd ever be able to breathe again.


Let's all huddle in a ring and cry what have I done

There will be smex in next chapter so no despair pls