Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, as it is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This fanfic, however, belongs to me.
Chapter One: Extending the Olive Branch
.o.
Their parents had died in a violent car crash years ago, leaving both brothers with a gaping void in their lives that they struggled to cope with. Sasuke, precious little Sasuke, was only seven at the time and at first seemed not to understand what had happened. He'd woken up in the middle of the night for months after they had received word of the accident, crying out for the comforting embrace of his mother and the silent strength and reassurance of his father. Then, with the realization upon waking that they would never again smooth his hair back from his face after a nightmare, the despair that he would become all too familiar with set in.
Woken by his cries, Itachi would always open the door to his bedroom to find proud little Sasuke hunched in on himself, quilt clenched tightly in tiny hands and quiet sobs racking his frame. Biting back the lump in his throat that always formed at such a sight, Itachi blinked the tears forming in his own eyes away and hurried to his brother's side, pulling him close in a tight embrace that didn't falter until the sun climbed over the horizon.
He wished for the return of his brother's once-spontaneous smiles, filled with the radiance and zest for life that only childish innocence possessed. He needed desperately to see that happiness again if only to reassure himself, but he knew that their parents had taken Sasuke's smile with them. The loss of his little brother's ready joy on top of the loss of their parents seemed to him almost to be too cruel a blow, a void vividly made all the more apparent by its very absence.
With the burden of that knowledge weighing down on him, only after Sasuke had been quietly put to bed did he allow himself to lower his defenses and weep for their loss. In these moments he was merely a thirteen year old and not the responsible figure he was now forced to be.
Itachi, once finding great comfort in heading to his senior-year classes, soon came to loath them for the awkward silences and uncomfortable glances that the other students sent his way. He dismissed their condolences whenever somebody approached him, finding them worthless when they didn't know what they were talking about. No, things wouldn't be ok; their parents were dead. How would they be ok now? Why bother offering comfort when they never even approached him beforehand, uncomfortable with how young he was compared to them? All of their offered words were empty and superficial in his eyes.
Useless. Without worth and, thus, undeserving of his consideration.
Finishing up his classes for the day was something that he both loved and loathed. On the one hand, he was now free to return to his brother's side and comforting presence, while on the other he had to endure the chatter of parents as they came to pick up their children, cruelly reminding him that he no longer had his own. They were too young to be going through such things, the gossips murmured to one another (carelessly within earshot of the young teen), sending pitying glances his way when they thought he wasn't looking. But, they quietly consoled, at least they still had their uncle to provide for them, blind to how Itachi's eyes darkened at their words. Their uncle did agree to provide for them when asked by the officials who showed up hours after the incident, not being heartless enough to turn the two away after suffering through such a loss. After all, family was family, no matter the degree of separation. And provide for them he did… But from a distance.
Madara provided them with a monthly allowance and comfy flat within walking distance from their school and all amenities, as he felt that remaining in the home they had shared with their parents would surround them with too many painful memories. Otherwise, their uncle opted to keep his company to himself. The task of parenting and providing emotional support thus fell on Itachi's small shoulders, a burden that no thirteen year old should ever have to carry.
It was his duty to be the strong one, he understood, and was one that he embraced with a determination completely out of proportion with his still-slight frame. The months sluggishly crawled past one after the other as the seasons wore on, taking with them a small portion of the hollowness that remained in Sasuke's gaze every night.
Despite the hours of sleep lost to comforting his younger brother, he never once regretted missing them. The companionship and comfort freely given to his sibling was reciprocated, something that Itachi took great comfort in. Slowly the hurt began to mend and, though they would never completely be able to get over their loss, they were comforted by the thought that they still had one another.
All it took to dissipate the stress building up within the elder sibling was the sight of the first tiny, vulnerable smile from his younger brother in over a year. With the sight of that smile came the thought and rising hope that even if it took years, maybe, just maybe, things would be ok again.
.o.
Time passed.
.o.
It was during the sixth grade that Sasuke found himself making his first true friend.
He had decided to leave for school earlier than usual that day, something he knew his annoying older brother would tease him about when he got back. The young Uchiha had just walked into the classroom when he spotted a flash of golden-blonde hair, partially hidden behind several other students as they crowded around one particular desk in the corner of the room. They were all laughing, he easily understood with a second shy glance over, probably at a joke that the blonde boy said. Sasuke forced down the feeling of loneliness that witnessing their easy familiarity with one another brought about. He didn't need that; he had his brother, and that was all that he ever needed.
But…
Resolutely turning his gaze back to his own empty desk on the opposite side of the classroom the brunette slouched down into his cold seat, completely oblivious to the sea-blue eyes that followed him there, full of open curiosity. He shrugged his backpack down beside him, unzipping it and pulling out one of his favorite novels, flipping it open with a confident twist of his wrist to the marked page before quickly immersing himself in the words that lay before his eager eyes. Sasuke didn't notice the quieting laughter as the crowding students, wondering about what had caught their friend's interest, followed his none-too-subtle gaze to rest on him.
One of the group members, a shaggy-haired brunette, decided to pipe up. "Heeey, what's up with the sudden interest in his quiet ass, Blondie? He's not even that cool."
A shy black-haired girl with opalescent eyes hesitantly turned to him, reaching out to tug softly on the sleeve of his brown hoodie. "K-Kiba, don't be mean…" She flushed heavily when he grinned apologetically back at her, leaning back and stretching his arms behind him with a satisfied sigh.
"But it's true, Hinata." He turned his gaze back to the still-staring blonde. "So why the interest?"
The blue-eyed boy shrugged half-heartedly, not even bothering to turn his gaze. "Just because."
"He's boring! All he does is sit and read and do the problems that Mrs. Yuuhi gives us during class!"
"Kiba," Hinata pled, hands anxiously wringing together.
"Have you ever wondered," the blonde piped up suddenly, swinging his gaze around to fall on his emphatic friend, resting an arm on the back of his chair, "if he gets lonely? I mean, he's always by himself whenever I look over at him…"
"I would think that it would be his choice to do so, Naruto." A calm, logical voice interjected, matching the bespectacled face that it came from.
His answer drew a sigh from the blonde as he rested his head upon his forearm, dejected gaze finding itself back on the still, focused form by the window. Morning sunlight draped itself over the boy, softly caressing the pages of his book as he tilted it towards the light. He turned his head to the side somewhat, uncharacteristically contemplative as he ignored the continuing discussion around him. The light, he thought, made the young Uchiha seem so warm and inviting. And yet, with his self-imposed distance, he was still so untouchable.
"I… I know, Shino, but—"
Mrs. Yuuhi's arrival in the classroom cut off any further comments that he could have made as her strong voice rang out, drawing the collective attention of the students to the front of the class as she instructed them to open their textbooks to the required page. Naruto sluggishly did so, but found that he couldn't get the rest of what he was going to say out of his head.
…It still hurts not having anyone there…
And so, with one lingering, decisive glance at Sasuke, the golden-blonde boy found himself unwilling to simply let it go. Sea blue eyes sharpening in determination, he rose up out of his seat (grabbing his bag and books along the way) to move to the ever-empty desk beside the silent boy.
His actions drew the attention of the entire class, the majority of them sending dumbfounded stares in his direction. Even Mrs. Yuuhi paused momentarily in outlining the day's lesson plan, but, to his absolute surprise and complete relief, the demand for him to return to his previous seat never came. The blonde profusely thanked her in his mind, resolutely avoiding the stares burning into him with every step he made. He set his backpack down beside his new seat, flopping down into place and settling into a comfortable slouch as the dark-haired woman turned to the board and continued her explanations.
Opening his textbook with a kind grin slowly growing on his face, he turned to his dumbfounded new seatmate and, their wide eyes meeting, greeted him warmly. He couldn't control the nervous galloping of his heart as the one word that would change everything found its way past chapped lips in a breathless rush:
"Hi."
.o.
Music inspiration for this chapter: Coldplay – Sparks
Thus concludes the first chapter of Routine. As always, reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated! Effective feedback will encourage me to continue this story.