Summary: He would forever want her and so he would forever wait.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.
Pain. His hand is assaulted by a bruising, bone crushing grip.
Screams. High pitched wailing. So much noise. Too much to take.
The noise eventually subsides to coos and gentle murmurings. He finds himself forgetting his broken hand, mesmerized by the breathtaking sight right before him. A clearly tired Sakura smiles the most angelic smile, as she cradles the newborn infant in her arms. Her emerald eyes twinkle and her being projects a heavenly glow. He finds himself thinking she's never been as beautiful as she is at this second. He always thought her to be an unparalleled beauty. He had blushed when they first met, nearly fainted when she floated down the aisle wearing white, but now he simply smiled.
The past nine months had been an emotional roller coaster for the both of them. He lost count of how many times he rubbed her sore feet or made late night runs to appease her crazy cravings. He doesn't even want to remember how many times he held her hair as she was sick in the mornings or comforted her when her hormones got the best of her. But now it was all over and the payout was spectacular.
"Itachi," her eyes shifted to meet his, "would you like to hold her?"
Not able to correlate a proper verbal response, he merely nodded briskly and stretched his arms out eagerly. The warm, tiny bundle was placed neatly as he surrendered his limbs to Sakura as she adjusted him to make a perfect cradle.
He lowered his eyes to the new being. A puff of standard black Uchiha hair sprung from the infant's head. The baby's complexion the color of snow, was slightly flushed a delicate pink at her adorably chubby cheeks. The child was damn cute, he admitted.
Then he saw her eyes. They were not standard Uchiha black; they were heart capturing green. As the child stared at him with soft green doe eyes just like his beloved Sakura's, Itachi decided that this child was beyond cute; she was beautiful.
"It's a girl," Sakura said softly.
"She's beautiful, just like her mother. You did a great job Sakura," he whispered trying not to disrupt the peace.
Sakura's face flushed a light pink to compliment her hair as her face lit up with a sweet smile. Her eyes met his and the world ceased to exist. For just this moment, it was only them that existed.
The snap of a window closing ended the moment and made him aware of others inhabiting his world.
"I rushed over as soon as I could Sakura. Did I miss anything?" questioned a panicked male voice.
"Only the fun part," Itachi muttered under his breath.
Sakura let loose a soft giggle. "You missed everything Sasuke-kun! Come over and meet your daughter."
The clearly shocked and slightly battered Sasuke made his way over to the group. Itachi took one last glance at Sakura and the baby nuzzled in his grasp, cherishing the moment, because moments like these were all he had. He relinquished his seat to its rightful owner and the baby to her rightful father. He carefully passed his delicate niece over, helping his foolish, younger brother hold her just as Sakura had shown him.
Sasuke's eyes widened in awe and his lips curled into a gentle smile. Sakura giggled as he sent her a lopsided grin and kissed her silly.
Watching the scene before him, Itachi decided he was not needed here. He would never be able to be at Sakura's side as Sasuke was. No. He could only ever be the one who waited patiently and clung to every chance given to him.
He smirked bitterly at how pathetic he felt and turned toward the door, intending to slip out quietly.
"Itachi?" Sakura questioned softly as Sasuke also sent him a curious glance.
She no longer needed him, he knew, but he would always be near, waiting for when she did. He turned and sent her a small smile.
"I'm going to inform the others. Your teammate Naruto, no doubt, is harassing the doctors and I'm sure Mother is anxious to meet her granddaughter," he explained.
"Arigato," she paused, "Arigato for everything…Gomen…your hand…I-" he interrupted her with a chuckle and a wave of a hand, signaling that he was fine. A broken hand was nothing when compared to a broken heart.
He continued towards the door, before remembering. "Oh…and guys…congratulations on becoming parents."
Sasuke sent him a smirk and nodded, "and to you on becoming an uncle."
"Godfather too," Sakura gently butted in, taking the baby back into her arms.
"Aa," Itachi nodded in acceptance.
So he went and informed every one of the happy news and was deserted, as the small happy mob charged past him to bombard the new family. Now he was left alone in the waiting room with only the sick and dying as company. And so he sat and waited like he always did; like he would always do.
Patience was his virtue.
He quickly pulled out a bottle of saki just for such an occasion. Anyone else might have thought he was celebrating, but only he knew he was grieving. Patience might have been his virtue, but alcohol was his best friend. Besides, he argued, you didn't need to be sober to wait. So he drank himself into oblivion.
And he waited…
/Fin/
Author's Note: So yes, this is a non-mass, as evidenced by the mention of Mikoto. And yes, Itachi didn't get the girl. Shoot me now. I originally wrote this with the roles of Sasuke and Itachi reversed, but switched on the account that it would suit Itachi's martyr image better for him to be the one to sacrifice his happiness. Personally, I was rooting for him. This is my first attempt at something vaguely serious, so I apologize if it sucked. My other two stories, The Whole Monty Python and Testosterone, Tampons and Teammates, are geared towards laughs, so if you need something to cheer you up after this depressing fic, check them out. ~Shameless advertising~.
Anywho, I intended for this to be a one shot, but I'm not so sure now. I can see a plot and I want to give Itachi a happy ending, but it would be so much work and I kind of like this the way it left off. It's so bittersweet!Regardless of that, tell me what you think about this? Should I go on?
And on a final note, please fav, alert, or review! You don't need an account to review and a simple ';)' or 'update' will more than appease me. I really need the pick-me-up after writting this, so please lend me some love.
Sorry for the long author's note and thanks for reading! Stay golden~