Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Characters(c)Masashi Kishimoto (Not mine!)

Two days later…

Sasuke sat up, breathing hard. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and scratched his head. The warmth of Itachi's body that had been next to him when he had fallen asleep was not there anymore. He looked up at Itachi's clock, flashing out 6:15 AM. "Dang.", he whispered to the empty room. Now fully awake, he jumped off the bed and sped out of Itachi's room. He ran through the corridor, sped through the hall, burst out of the big front doors of the house, and ran down the path that led to the main road. It was dark and misty, and the yellow streetlights made the mist look contaminated. A sense of desperation welled through Sasuke. He had wanted to wake up in time to say goodbye to Itachi.

Sasuke's birthday had been two days ago. Itachi had put off his missions so that he could spend some time with Sasuke. They had had fun with all the things that Sasuke had been given, Itachi had smiled more than Sasuke had seen him do in a long time, and Sasuke had been happier than he ever had been before. Last night, they had stayed up so late that Sasuke ened up falling asleep next to Itachi, like he often had as a baby. Sasuke had thought that he would wake up when Itachi left the bed to prepare for his mission, but Itachi had left so quietly that Sasuke had stayed sleeping. Yet Sasuke still clung to a small, thin hope. Itachi had said he was going to wake up at six o'clock in the morning, and he had probably taken a few minutes to dress, so perhaps he hadn't gotten too far yet...

The cold from the morning air pierced Sasuke's skin. Drops of water condensed from the mist and ran down his bare chest. The further he ran, the more his small hope died. Just as he thought he would give up, a tall form seemed to materialize out of the mist. Itachi was standing next to a lamppost, a small smile etched on his serious face. Sasuke threw his arms around his brother with a sob of relief. "I thought you had left..." he said, his voice muffled by his brother's jacket.

Itachi smiled and patted him on the back. "I was trying not to wake you up. I'm sorry, Sasuke," he replied.

Sasuke beamed up at Itachi. "No, really, it's alright. I wanted to say goodbye and wish you good luck on your mission.", he said happily.

Itachi's little smile widened. He poked Sasuke's forehead and turned around. He lifted a hand in farewell and vanished with a puff of smoke.

Sasuke looked sadly at the empty space Itachi had occupied a few minutes before, and walked up to the lamppost and held on to it tightly. He stood there, and watched the mist rise all pink, yellow, and red, and smiled so hard his ears hurt. When the mist finished rising, he started walking back towards his house.

As he walked, his thoughts shifted towards his birthday party. He suddenly stood stock-still. "I never made a wish on the cake after blowing out all the candles." He looked over his shoulder and grinned. "I wish that Itachi and I will always be happy together as brothers." He knew his wish was perfect. Absolutely perfect. He ran back to the house and slipped into the empty hall once more. He wanted to go practice with his shuriken.

THE END

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