- Warnings: Uchihacest, slash, yaoi. And that basic coarse vocabulary, as usual. / Rated M for future lemons.

- AU: Even though the characters have japanese names, the story does not take place in Japan, mainly because there is a lot of "occidentalization", as always. Also, Itachi will be VERY ooc in the later chapters, so, you were warned.

- Spelling and grammar check (as well as comments and critique) done by the beautiful gungnirburst. Man, you're a life savior.

- This is a gift for my dear friend Sophia.

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Color the Sky

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I think I'll miss you forever
Like the stars miss the sun in the morning skies
Later's better than never
Even if you're gone I'm gonna drive, drive

I've got that summertime, summertime sadness

– Lana del Rey, Summertime Sadness

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Shisui leaned forward, certain that he hadn't heard right.

'They're…'

'… going to take me,' Itachi completed. 'Two days from now. The papers... have already been signed.'

'No.' Shisui stepped back, shaking his head. 'No, no.'

This was being a moribund winter. After the brief blizzard the previous day, the ground of the patio where they were standing was dry, bare and brown. Shisui averted his eyes to the dazzling white sky above them. More snow for tonight, he thought angrily. As if that was not enough, there was the power outage yesterday when we had to eat canned soup and take ice water baths.

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

'Who is it?'

'Some woman.'

'What woman, Itachi?'

Shisui opened his eyes to look at him and saw that he was pulling lints off the old sweater, an ancient sign of anxiety. The article was ugly and had a horrible fit on his narrow chest - not that Shisui was in a better state. He had grown considerably in these recent months and was very tall for a 16 year old boy. His sweater, which would have been thick and warm twenty years ago, was frayed until it acquired the thickness of a thin sheet and became full of little balls of wool. The brown khaki pants were the only pair that fitted him and ended just above the ankle.

'They said it was a maiden with a great future,' Itachi said. 'Single, and cannot get pregnant.'

'You gotta be kidding.' Shisui raised his arms in exasperation. 'Don't women like that usually like to take girls?'

Itachi did not answer.

'It wasn't for you to be taken at this age', Shisui said stupidly. 'When someone comes here - and if someone comes here - it's to adopt the babies. Because of adaptation or some shit like that. Nobody takes children over 10 years old.'

With still no response, Itachi kept pulling loose lints from the sweater, as if he was exceptionally interested in them.

Shisui clenched his lips, his face red and his fists planted on his hips.

'God, why don't you say something? Do something?'

'And what could I do, Shisui?' Itachi looked up at him, and though he was paler than usual, his eyes were serious, worried, lucid. 'Beg to Nan Melda not to give me to the woman? Throw a tantrum, put my foot down and cry so she won't do it?'

Shisui saw what he meant. Nan Melda, the woman in charge of the orphanage, had no more sense of pity than an average land turtle, but he ignored that.

'You could at least try,' he said stubbornly.

'Shisui,' Itachi said in a low voice, which gave more emphasis to his name; a shiver ran up his back and down to his legs, 'there's no way.'

At that moment, even though he had never assaulted Itachi, Shisui would have smacked him with real pleasure. Not because he loved him (Shisui loved him, of course, love that was brotherly in the beginning and became thirsty later on, until it turned into the tumultuous desire he felt right now), but because he had said precisely what Shisui didn't want pronounced out loud. That this was it for them. Goodbye, it was good while it lasted, send news from time to time.

'Then enjoy the ride,' he said between his teeth. There was trembling anger in his voice, but he did not bother to hide it. Surely it could be seen on his face. 'I hope this bitch gives you everything you couldn't have here.'

A shadow passed over Itachi's face. Shisui could see the hurt in his eyes, feeling both sick and satisfied.

'Why do you speak so?' Itachi murmured.

'Because it's the truth. Deep inside, Itachi, you want to go with her. Deep inside, you want to live a life with a soft bed and a worthy future so you can get rid of this feeling that you were abandoned because you weren't wanted. I want that, too. But I would have stayed. I would have stayed for you, goddamnit. You can say that you want to do the same, but you're not even actually striving for it. Therefore, for me, that's enough.'

He started walking away.

'Where are you going?' Itachi asked, sounding disturbed and unhappy.

'Why do you care? You're leaving, anyway. Where I go or don't go is no longer of your business.'

'Shisui, that's not fair.'

'Sorry, Itachi' Shisui said over his shoulder, now at a considerable distance away from Itachi, 'but I don't think I'm very interested in what you think is fair or unfair anymore.'

That said, he entered the orphanage. Itachi stared at the door left open for a very long time.

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