Impasse
(previously "Synchronize, Ripples")
In the tea room, Shisui smiles and speaks while Itachi doesn't.
Gleaming atop the low table, is Mikoto's best china, the set with royal blue flowers hand-painted on every dish. It is delicate, but not to a fault, and happens to be Shisui's favorite.
Outside, the sky is overcast and rain is falling.
Slowly, Itachi wraps his fingers around his teacup and watches the ripples in his tea, courtesy of Shisui's kind voice. Even through the dismal weather, Shisui smiles a thin (fake) line.
Silently, Itachi stares out the window, his hands still curled around the teacup. In his head, Sasuke dances along the river's edge, slipping in the wet soil and laughing in a way that Itachi remembers from years before.
The room goes quieter as Shisui stills, fingers gripping his own teacup.
"It will be windy tonight," Itachi observes.
"Yes," the other agrees, "The perfect storm."
The sound of thunder shakes the room, and the trees follow in sequence, shivering, but Shisui and Itachi do not move.
Each take a sip of their tea, take a turn speaking, and the process repeats.
Fin
Author's Notes: Writing this a second time, I imagine Shisui and Itachi having it out before Itachi leaves the village. Picture that, if it helps.