Sunny Day
(they are not always happy)
The day is sunny, and Sasuke clings to his brother's back, sticking to him with sweat. The younger boy thinks he has broken an ankle, but later it turns out to be a bad sprain. (Neither of them know this yet, or perhaps Itachi does and is just being kind.)
They walk past the police station, and Itachi's strides get longer, faster.
"Nii-san," Sasuke asks, "What does that sign mean?"
His hands are laced around Itachi's neck, but he lets go with one and points at a building that has the Uchiha fan plastered on it several times, along with a string of words like "enforcement" and "department".
Itachi looks up slowly, almost painfully.
"That," He says softly, "Is the police station. Tou-san works there."
"Oh," Sasuke nods, pretending to understand. "…Why?"
Itachi sighs, shifting his arms beneath Sasuke as if willing himself not to drop his brother for asking such a foolish question.
"Because Tou-san is a police officer." He says tersely, less than patiently.
"Oh."
A few moments pass before Sasuke seems to fully comprehend what such a thing would mean.
"Hey, hey! That means Tou-san keeps us safe from the bad guys, right? Just like you, Nii-san, right?" Sasuke asks, his childlike excitement at its peak. He is, after all, just a boy.
Itachi sighs once more because he is weary, or possibly because he is thirsty, or maybe even just because he does not feel like answering.
There is a long stretch of silence, before Itachi confirms what Sasuke asked.
"Yes, Otouto, just like me."
...And in less than a year, when Sasuke lies awake in a hospital bed, he finds himself questioning the exact implications behind Itachi's words.
Fin