AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS IS THE REVISED CHAPTER I SPOKE OF IN CHAPTER 19. IF YOU HAVE KEPT UP WITH THE STORY AND HAVE BEEN SENT HERE EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER READING CHAPTER 19, YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

IF YOU JUST FINISHED READING CHAPTER 15 AND HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, KEEP READING AND HAVE A NICE DAY.

"Mom, dad…" Itachi softly spoke. "I don't know what to do." He admitted to the pair of granite headstones that read "FUGAKU UCHIHA; LOVING HUSBAND AND FATHER; BORN 1962 – DIED 2012; MAY YOU REST IN PEACE" and "MIKOTO UCHIHA; DEARLY BELOVED MOTHER AND WIFE; BORN 1967 – DIED 2008, MAY YOU REST IN PEACE."

He knew that the slabs of granite wouldn't respond to him, and if Sasuke were here with him, he'd scoff and say "you know he can't hear you, right?" like he always did when they visited their parents' graves.

But Itachi never cared. In this life, he had only one friend, and that one friend was currently mad at him for trying to make all of his decisions for him. It was Sasuke that kept him up at night. It was Sasuke that invaded his thoughts every hour of every day. It was Sasuke that Itachi wanted to see when he returned from a long day of work, even if he was simply texting on the couch. It was Sasuke who steadied Itachi when he was stressed out and told him to "calm the hell down."

But this time, it was Sasuke that was the cause of all of Itachi's stress, despite Sasuke's reassurance that he could take care of himself.

And it was close proximity of their parents that comforted him in the midst of his turmoil when there was nobody else he could turn to.

"Sasuke's upset with me." He continued. "I…I think I drove him away. He wanted to move out on his own after graduating…he even found an apartment for almost nine-hundred and fifty dollars a month with a two hundred dollar deposit fee." He said.

Their father's death wasn't recent. In fact, it had been six and a half years ago since he passed away, whereas their mother had been gone for almost a decade now. Despite that, Itachi found a lump building in his throat as he recounted his struggles as of late to his parents' headstones.

If he closed his eyes, he could picture them with perfect clarity; their father sitting at the kitchen island, holding a mug of warm tea in his right hand while he read the morning paper using his left hand, a pair of reading glasses perched at the bridge of his nose while their mother washed the dishes.

Itachi seldom came to his parents with personal problems when they were alive. He always felt as though his father looked down on him, viewing him as less of a man if he came to him with his problems. It was the same even when he was a child. Itachi, his father would say, you are an Uchiha boy who'll grow up to be an Uchiha man. How can you thrive on your own if you're always asking others for help?

It was because of this treatment that he stopped seeking out others when he needed help. This did not, however, stop his mother from talking to him when she noticed that something was wrong. What's with the long face? Did something happen? She'd ask him. And when he'd shake his head, she'd stop what she was doing to sit by his side and say you can talk to me whenever something's bothering you, Itachi. I'll always lend a listening ear. She'd say with a smile. Itachi usually wouldn't open up to his mother immediately thereafter, but if the problem persisted over the next few days he'd confess what was on his mind.

Now he sat before their graves, wishing that he had talked to them more when he was younger. Even though his father was distant towards Itachi for most of his life, the man was still his father, someone with years of experience that preceded Itachi's own experiences who could lend him advice in a situation like this one.

Someone who not only understood Itachi himself, but understood Sasuke as well.

"But anyways, I think I drove him away." Itachi found himself repeating, too absorbed in his own thoughts to remember where he had previously left off. "He never told me that he wanted to move out after college, and…I guess…I guess I should've figured he would've. I mean, I did the same thing, but I had a job lined up already – a salaried job. Sasuke's main source of income is coming from his part-time job working at the athletic store until he can find a law firm that will accept him." He said.

He glanced up at his parents' headstones, imagining instead their concerned expressions as they sat side by side at the dining room table listening to his testimony. We'll talk with him, he could hear his father saying while his mother nodded in agreement.

If only it was that easy. He thought.

"How is he ever going to make it on such little money? I've tried to explain to him how quickly his expenses will add up – his car insurance, maintenance, gas money, electric and plumbing, rent," he counted on his fingers, "he isn't even living with a roommate." He sighed, knowing that the next part was the hardest to admit. "I'm in the process of looking for a roommate."

You are? His parents would've said in unison.

"To be specific, I've already found one, but he works at a sandwich shop not far from the apartment where I'm living now. If I only needed a hundred extra dollars a week, I could've easily downsized my cable networking plan. Now that Sasuke moved out, I hardly ever watch anything on TV." He chuckled. "I could probably sell my TV since I can find almost any program on the internet now." He chuckled again and rerouted the course of the conversation back on track. "But yeah. The man lost his job when the auto-shop he worked at went out of business. He said that he lived above the shop, but since the shop is out of business, he's being forced to find another place to live. I've already met with him once and he begged and pleaded with me to give him a chance to prove that he could find as many jobs as need be to help pay his share of the rent so I gave him two weeks to help close the auto-shop and to find another job in addition to the one he already has." He explained.

By this time, if Sasuke were here, he would've been lying next to his father's plot absent mindedly pulling out blades of grass by the fistfuls out of boredom.

You didn't need a roommate before, why do you need one now? He could hear his father asking him.

Is it because you miss Sasuke, dear? His mother would ask.

Itachi screwed his eyes shut. Even though he knew that the voices in his head were figments of his imagination, they were questions he'd been asking himself ever since he conjured up this idea of looking for a roommate. Even Sasuke brought both points to his attention when they visited their mother a little over two weeks ago.

"It would save you the work of living with another person because I know you, Itachi. You'd sooner sell your car than live with a total stranger if it meant saving money. This is just a shallow attempt to get me to change my mind so that I can come crawling back to you so you won't be lonely, even if you're not saying it." Sasuke had said.

Itachi let out a heavy sigh, hoping that it would clear the muddled thoughts in his head as well as the lump in his throat, and alleviate the pressure he was beginning to feel in his chest. It did none of that. If anything, it made him feel even emptier on the inside. "I don't know. I told Sasuke that I needed a roommate so that I could start paying off my student loans or save up for retirement." He explained. "I guess, at the time, I told myself it was in case Sasuke changed his mind, so that he'd still have a place to return to if things didn't work out in his favor. I don't know what I would've done about my roommate, but I would've figured out a way to make it work. Sasuke thinks that it's a plan to get him to consider looking for a roommate to help out with his rent, but that was never the reason."

At least, not that he admitted to himself, it wasn't.

"He also thinks that I want a roommate to replace him, to fill the void or something. I don't know. I mean, I miss him. I miss him every day. I'm constantly worried that he's getting himself into trouble or that he's struggling without me." He said. "I guess…I guess I've just grown so used to having him around that it's hard not seeing him as often anymore. But what was I supposed to do?"

At this, he hoped that if Mikoto were here, she'd place a comforting arm around his neck and say It's alright, honey; Sasuke's growing up and moving on. You're still his big brother, and if anything ever happens, he'll come to you first.

At this point, Itachi doubted that he was the first person Sasuke would turn to for help.

I know that it's hard, his mother would continue while rubbing circles on his back, but it's all part of growing up. Your father and I felt the same way when you went to college so far away from home. And even before you graduated you were looking for places to live in the area where you went to school which meant that we'd be seeing less and less of you, but that was okay because you were growing up and becoming more independent. And we were proud of you for doing so.

That was exactly what his mother would say had she still been alive. And although it made Itachi feel slightly better about his situation, it didn't solve anything. "But I'm worried that something will happen to him. The night he told me that he was moving out, he went to a bar and got drunk. What happens if he's struggling financially and turns to alcohol to solve all his problems?

Then let him learn the hard way. Fugaku would say.

This was why Itachi never went to his father for advice in the first place. "What if he gets himself killed in a car accident because he was out drinking and exceeded the limit?"

The risk of that happening would be the same even if he was still living with you, honey. Mikoto would say.

Itachi shook his head and felt tears coming to his eyes as he relived the vivid dream he had almost two weeks earlier that still haunted him to this day. "No…it wouldn't…because I would know that he was planning to go to the bar, even if he didn't tell me, I'd have an idea as to where I could find him. If he was mad, I could calm him down and talk some sense into him. I…" he started and realized that he really didn't know what he would do if such a thing happened. The risk of Sasuke getting killed in a car accident due to drunk driving was still a factor, whether he lived with Itachi or not. What would I do then? He asked himself.

See?

His mother was right. Even if Sasuke still lived with him, the risk remained the same and there was nothing Itachi could do to prevent it from happening. "What do I do?" He asked again, reiterating his earlier question.

Continue on with your life. Fugaku would've told him. Sasuke is an adult now. Soon or later, you know he would've moved out. Almost everyone does once they graduate college so it's only natural that he would want to do so too. There's nothing you can do about it but wait and see how it turns out. Maybe he'll do something stupid. Maybe he'll get in trouble. Maybe he'll go a week living off instant ramen like that blonde kid he used to be friends with because he spent all his money on something pointless. Maybe it won't work out and he'll come back. Or maybe it will work out and he'll come pay you a visit.

And true to her character, Mikoto would nod in agreement with her husband's words and add You're father's right, Itachi. The only thing you can do now is wait and see how things turn out. If Sasuke needs something, he'll ask for it.

But not immediately. Your younger brother's always been a stubborn one. Fugaku would say.

And Mikoto would laugh. Sasuke always has been very stubborn, yes. But you have to trust him for now. I know it's hard, but try to keep your mind off of it for a little while.

Devote your energy into something constructive like your work. Fugaku would suggest.

But don't work yourself so hard that you get sick. Mikoto would say.

Itachi nodded. So far, that's what he had been doing in Sasuke's absence, devoting all of his time and energy into his work. And although he might have taken it to the extremes, it was better than sitting around worrying himself to death and calling Sasuke every other day. He feared that if he did that, Sasuke would probably stop talking to him altogether out of aggravation.

He's probably already aggravated with me, though. Itachi thought forlornly and rose to his feet. "Thank you, mom, dad." He said, nodding to each headstone. He stretched a little, balancing first on the balls of his feet and then the tips of his toes as he extended his arms towards the blistering sun. Dusting off the bottoms of his black jeans, he turned to leave, but before he left, there was one last thing he needed to say to Fugaku in particular.

"Happy father's day, dad."

Okay, so I know that it's a little early for Father's Day and had I waited a couple of weeks, this chapter would've been appropriate. However, the story is progressing quickly and because of that, I'd like to ease this chapter in before I get too far ahead and you all get confused.

You may be asking why I wrote this chapter. As I was working out the dates for future chapters, Father's Day crossed my mind and I immediately thought "Shit. That would've been a perfect way to break up all those Kisame chapters!" which led me to wonder (and cross my fingers) if the story had started before or after Mother's Day. Of course, with my dumb luck, it started before, which led me to question what the Uchiha brothers were doing the day of. Simply put, Sasuke was suffering from a hangover (see chapter 4). That being said, I wrote this chapter deciding that it would be a nice installment to the story.

Tell me what you think!

~Sasori33-001

PS For those of you who were not sent here before/after reading chapter 19, the next chapter is a Kisame chapter.