Title: Dreaming of You
Word Count: 1000
Rating: K+
Characters: Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha
Setting: Alternate Universe, Modern-Day
Summary: As a child, Sasuke's parents were murdered in cold blood. After the money that had been left for him was squandered by guardian after guardian, Sasuke was left with only one thing to his name. There was just one problem. That particular thing was off traveling the world without him. He could never understand why his aniki had left him. And after the years of hoping for a return had passed, he turned into nothing more than a jaded man and disassociated himself with his brother entirely. Things change in the future though, and this is the fruit of that long-awaited reunion.
"Kaa-san!" Sasuke hollered reflexively as he jolted out of his nightmare.
Then, he remembered how Itachi always told him not to bother their parents at night that way because it was the only time they ever got alone together, and they would get sad if Sasuke interrupted it too much. It was the best explanation the boy could give to a child, but it did the job and got Sasuke to stop hollering for their mother at night. The only drawback was that he'd holler for Itachi instead, but Itachi never minded. He came every time and cooed his brother back to sleep, leaving their parents undisturbed.
"Nii-san!" Sasuke corrected—another automatic response.
He began to uncover himself, ready to dash to his brother's room because the elder wasn't responding quickly enough. His knees knocked into a bedside table, though, and caused him to whimper. What was that doing there? That wasn't supposed… to…
Oh. That's right.
This was a new room. And that was the new guardian opening his door so gruffly that Sasuke jumped in his bed and knocked his head on the headboard, causing new tears to spring up in his eyes.
"Hush!" the man hissed at Sasuke. He paused a moment to leer at Sasuke and instill the fear of making too much noise in his brain.
When Sasuke's door was closed again, he sank back into his bed and wrapped the blankets tightly around himself. He couldn't bring himself to be upset with his guardian because he understood that it was just the same as Itachi had always said. Except maybe this guy wasn't the same as Sasuke's parents, because he got angry instead of sad when Sasuke disturbed him at night.
Sasuke's thoughts fell to his brother, then, and he couldn't hold back a small sob. He knew he had to be quiet though, so he buried his face in his pillow and cried there instead. He was cold. He was scared.
Nii-san.
He was alone. Because his new guardians, the latest of Sasuke's four household changes since his parents had died two years ago, would never cuddle him at night. And his new guardians didn't have enough room for Itachi either, so Itachi had to leave. They told him that Itachi had left on his own, but Sasuke didn't believe them. Nii-san would never do that. Never. They made him go. They had to. They did. He recited these thoughts as the tears poured heavily from his eyes, desperately hoping them to be true.
Nii-san wouldn't leave me. Nii-san wouldn't never leave. Never. Nii-san wouldn't go without me. He'll be back. He'll be back for me.
Sasuke jolted awake suddenly, a familiar cry on his lips. He silenced himself before it could be released though. It seemed old habits truly never did die. 32 years old and the man was still on the verge of calling out for his mother when he awoke from a nightmare. This one was out of the ordinary though. It was a memory from his childhood. Surely, there were darker things out there for him to dream about—this he knew from experience—and so maybe he should be grateful that the dream was so mild. But, truthfully, it'd held within it the darkest parts of his past, the parts most difficult for him to recall.
Those were the days when Itachi's absence was still fresh. Sasuke was still in denial. He still believed wholeheartedly that Itachi and him would meet up at the next house he was shipped to, or the next, or the next. One of them was bound to have room for both brothers. This was a memory from a time when Sasuke was innocent, from when all he wanted at night was the warmth of his aniki. And those bred the worst nightmares of all, the memories of a childish love that had never been returned. But Sasuke had been too naive to understand that he'd been abandoned at that time, not until years had passed without Itachi's return.
He no longer held onto that resentment though. His life had turned itself around into something worth living. It had taken time and effort and a lot of changing on Sasuke's behalf, but things had gotten better.
He sighed quietly as he realized that he would not be able to get to sleep again, not without finding some comfort. He could find it easily if he'd had someone to share the bed with. But, alas, Sasuke was alone. He'd had to expend so much of his focus on mending a particular bond in his life that there was no room left for anyone else. That had, ultimately, been what drove Naruto away from him. He didn't mind so much at the moment though, because there was one source of comfort that he knew no lover could ever replace for him.
He picked up the cell phone resting by his bed and dialed a very familiar and often utilized number as he settled back underneath his blankets. The phone rang once, twice, thrice, and then a click. Sasuke smiled softly, already relieved just knowing that his call had been received.
"Sasuke. Bad dreams?" came the sleepy voice.
"Yeah," Sasuke answered quietly. They had done this so many times that Sasuke had long forgotten to feel embarrassed about this childish need. "Sorry."
There was the sound of muffled rustling as Itachi, apparently, shifted in his own bed. He never disappointed. Whether it was the middle of the day or the middle of the night, the man answered Sasuke's calls without fail.
"S'fine. How about I tell you about the first time I ever went to India?" he suggested.
"Okay," Sasuke said quietly and closed his eyes.
And he felt like a kid again. Except this time, Itachi came to his room and lulled him to sleep instead of the many faces of the many guardians who simply had no time for a sniveling child. This time, Sasuke was not alone.