In the days since Sasuke moved out, Itachi had inadvertently thrown himself into his work, hoping that the rows of numbers on his computer screen would distract him from the lack of Sasuke's presence.

Sasuke didn't usually spend much time in their once shared apartment. When he wasn't in school, he was either working or out with friends. When he wasn't doing either, he spend much of his time lying on the couch with the TV on (racking up Itachi's electric bill), while he texted his friends and or browsed through various social networking apps to see what his friends were up to.

He couldn't say that Sasuke was very good company when he was at home, but there was something comforting about his presence that made Itachi feel whole. They were like two halves of the same circle. They came from the same place. They grew up together. They knew everything there was to know about each other. When Sasuke was home, Itachi didn't need to seek out the company of another person. There was no need to stay late at work to avoid the hectic home life like some of the co-workers he overheard confiding in one another during their lunch hour because Itachi didn't share in their troubles. There wasn't a situation too problematic or too stressful for him and Sasuke to handle because they've run the gauntlet many times before.

Or so Itachi used to think.

He found himself almost wishing that he'd joined those conversations at work. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew the day would come when Sasuke would want to move out and live on his own. At least then, Itachi would know how to best cope with his absence, or at least have someone he could confide in too.

He was scanning over the budget he'd been working on when he left work that afternoon when his phone rang. He jumped at the noise that had broken both the silence in the room, and his concentration.

At the sight of the caller I.D., his spirits lifted. "Hello?"

"Hey. What do you want to do for mom's birthday this weekend?" Sasuke asked him. "I don't work until the afternoon, and if you're not busy, I was thinking that we could visit her."

The corners of Itachi's lips tugged upwards ever so slightly. "Yeah. Sounds good."

The other end of the line was silent, and Itachi wondered for a moment if the connection was lost or if Sasuke had hung up on him. "You don't sound too happy. What are you doing?"

Sasuke wouldn't believe that he was simply watching TV. He knew that Itachi didn't care for many of the shows featured on the television lately save for the evening news every now and then. He glanced at the clock on the bottom of his computer screen. It was too early to tell him that he had been sleeping. Quickly running out of ideas, he decided to settle on the truth. "Working."

"Working?" Sasuke asked incredulously and sighed. "You know, I live less than an hour away and we're meeting up for mom's birthday on Saturday. It's no different from when I was in school, Itachi."

But when you were in school, I knew that you were coming back. Itachi wanted to say but didn't. "I'm not lonely," he lied, "I just got behind on my work today and brought it home with me. I guess I'm just a little stressed out."

"If you're so lonely," Sasuke continued, disregarding Itachi's last statement, "get a roommate or set up an online dating profile or something, whatever! Don't spend all your time working, Itachi."

"Sasuke, you know that I hold online dating services and those who believe in them with contempt." Itachi sighed, wondering how, with his logic, Sasuke would possibly win over any jury in a court case.

"Then hit somebody up from work or something! Some divorcée with kids or something, I don't know!" He suggested. "What about a roommate then?"

"Sasuke," Itachi sighed, "I'm not looking for romance at the moment and I don't need a roommate." He explained, but what he really meant to say was "there's nobody that can replace you."

Sasuke huffed in surrender. "You can visit me if you want, but not every day. I'm going to be very busy here soon, you know, looking for another job to stay ahead of the bills or at least one that pays better than the one I have now."

"You can always come home whenever you need to." Itachi found himself saying before he could stop himself.

Sasuke laughed. "Yeah, sure. I know what you're trying to do Itachi, but I'm doing good so far; I can handle this by myself, okay?"

Itachi nodded. "I know. Just remember, Sasuke, I'll always be here if you need me."

"For the fiftieth time, Itachi, I know." Sasuke said. "Listen, I gotta go. See you on Saturday, alright?"

"See you on Saturday." Itachi said, ending the call. Faced with the work he had been doing when Sasuke called, he set his phone to the side and dove back into his work with a renewed vigor.

Even as he soared through his work with the determination he lacked earlier in the day, Sasuke's word's kept tugging at the back of his mind. "If you're so lonely, get a roommate or set up an online dating profile or something, whatever! Don't spend all your time working, Itachi."

"Sasuke, you know that I hold online dating services and those who believe in them with contempt." Which was true. Itachi didn't believe in online dating services and frowned upon the pathetic people who did. In fact, romance wasn't in his line of sight when Sasuke was still living with him; he saw no reason for that to change.

"What about a roommate then?"

Why take such drastic measures for the sake of social interaction when Sasuke was a phone call away and less than an hour drive away? Did Sasuke know him at all? He'd sooner strike up a conversation with the group of co-workers who complained of poor pay but yet clearly had nothing better to do with their time than sit around and chat, rather than hire somebody to keep him company and live with him.

He hopped off one of the barstools at his breakfast bar to fix himself something to drink. The only good a roommate could contribute would be paying half the monthly $2,000+ rent.

As he prepared hot water for a cup of tea, he entertained the thought of saving a thousand dollars a month. After all, he had the extra bedroom, a bedroom which he promised Sasuke would be waiting for him if things on his end didn't work out as planned. But that wouldn't matter as he could easily loan the thousand he saved to Sasuke if need be.

At the cost of his privacy.

The same thing could be just as easily accomplished if he downsized to a smaller, one bedroom apartment with a lower monthly rent. In that manner, he'd still save up to a thousand per month that he could loan to Sasuke if he couldn't pay his rent on time or found himself in a financial bind. On the other hand, if things didn't go according to plan and Sasuke decided to move back in with him, one of them would need to sleep on the couch.

He was confident that Sasuke could manage sleeping on a couch for days at a time; he practically spent ninety percent of his time living with Itachi on one of the couches.

But if everything worked out in Sasuke's favor, where would that leave Itachi?

He watched the steaming hot water pour from his Keurig® into his black ceramic mug, unwilling to dwell on the subject any longer. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he already knew the answer to his question.

Spending all of his free time working to avoid imposing on Sasuke every minute of every day, just like he was today. That's where it would leave him.

In other words, alone.

And so Itachi gets to thinking...

Until next time!

~Sasori33-001

PS The next chapter is a Kisame chapter~