Author's Note: This is kind of a "meanwhile" chapter. Set in the weeks of Naruto and Shikamaru's start of training at T and I.

It's also a wrap-up of the Sasuke-Itachi conflict and a chapter I've put alot of labor into. Idk, I felt I just had to make it better, more hard-hitting. But here's the final piece and I hope you enjoy it!

Itachi's room was plain and bare, located on the third floor of the Kage Tower. Besides a few frames of generic floral art, his temporary home wasn't much to look at. His routine was quite simple these days–get up, shower, change, do a light jog around the central stadium and then get back for breakfast. He couldn't do much more than that. He knew he was being watched and followed. It made him feel seen, scrutinized. Privacy was a luxury for a former traitor, it seemed.

But today, he didn't mind it. He didn't mind that there were concealed nin present in his room, checking his every movement. Because he was busy anticipating the arrival of his brother–Sasuke, his dear little brother he hadn't spoken properly to for so long it actually hurt to think about it. He'd get the chance today, to sit down and have some words with him which weren't insults or barbs.

Itachi longed for it and when a knock sounded on his door, his walk towards it was more eager, more desperate than it ever had been.

"Sasuke..." Itachi whispered in greeting, throat suddenly tight with emotion and side-stepped to let him in. In return, Sasuke gave Itachi a stiff nod and walked in to reveal the pinkhead who had accompanied him for this particular encounter with his brother.

Both chunin settled onto the sofa located by the open glass windows and Itachi felt awkward, relieved, and heavy altogether. His mother's sharp voice of always offer guests an appropriate welcoming drink rang in his head and he cleared his throat to pose a question.

"Would y'all like some... tea? Or... maybe water?"

Sasuke gave him a look at that (and unbeknownst to Itachi, Sasuke himself was reminiscing days when their mother sat them by the courtyard and gave them lessons on how to be hospitable). It was a funny look that didn't convey loathing or anger so Itachi counted it as a win.

"Tea," Sakura said when Sasuke refused to give an answer. "We'll have tea, thank you."

Itachi thought about reciprocating Sakura's lovely smile before realising that it wouldn't be sincere. He didn't want to fake anything towards Sasuke ever again so he simply nodded, and retreated into the kitchen to put some water to boil. While he worked on the tea, whispers from inside the living room made his way towards him. He didn't try to eavesdrop or decipher the mumbles he heard.

When he entered the hall again, a tray with three steaming cups of tea in hand, he marveled at how domestic this all was. How it was a stark contrast to the blood and battles he'd become so accustomed to. The passifist in him reveled in this peace, this life of homely actions and his brother's company.

"Thanks," Sasuke muttered, accepting the offered cup. He refused to meet Itachi's eyes, an irrational part of his mind was convinced he'd see hatred reflected in them.

"So," Itachi began once they'd all taken a few sips of their beverage. "I–I'm glad you came, Sasuke," then belatedly, "Sakura."

"I didn't want to," Sasuke was quick to say. "But I felt like I had to."

Itachi's brow furrowed, "Why?"

"I need to hear you out," Sasuke said, shrugging. "Now that my anger has settled a bit, I realise I've never really heard your side of things. I don't know what was going on when you did all that you did. We never really spoke, you know? Maybe I was too young to understand your struggles, but I think I would've preferred if you told me what was on your mind back then."

Sakura looked at Sasuke approvingly, and Itachi realised it was probably her persuasion that caused his brother to admit this to him.

"I understand," he replied, trying his best to show some vulnerability, to cause cracks in his self-made mask of stoicism. "From where do you want me to begin?"

"The very start," Sasuke said, clutching the side of the couch in preparation. "I want to know everything."

Itachi wanted to be truthful. He wanted to confess and admit and share what went down, how it went down. But it was difficult. There was too much to say and too less words in the dictionary to convey the myriad of his emotions. He had to try, though. He had make an effort to portray his feelings to Sasuke because there wasn't any other way to mend what was broken between them.

So he started and he told Sasuke the story of his life. This wasn't the time to erect barriers or withhold information. It was the time to be open and honest, something he'd never managed to be with Sasuke before.

"I...I had to prevent the coup."

Itachi spoke slowly, even as his throat tried to clamp shut with the knot of guilt ever-present inside him. It felt wrong to justify his actions, felt like cheating Sasuke in some way and kami knew he'd done that countless times already. Nevertheless, he persisted.

"I didn't want to see a repeat of the war in konoha. Ironic, right? I became a cold-blooded murderer to prevent other cold-blooded murders."

Itachi's chuckle was bitter and brittle and Sasuke learnt more about Itachi through his eyes than through his words.

"I put you under tsukuyomi because I wanted you to hate me, Sasuke. Completely and thoroughly. I...I didn't think I deserved your love or adoration after what I'd done."

Sasuke wanted to laugh at that. Hysterically. He could see his brother's sincerity but it angered him that Itachi had failed to understand that some types of love weren't conditional. That they didn't have to be deserved. That Sasuke had never stopped loving Itachi - only his hatred had been even stronger, ten times more potent but the love... it had never gone away.

"To kill me. That's what I wanted from you. That's why I had to be that wretched, cruel man towards you, Sasuke."

Itachi went on and on. He said things as he saw them–and Sasuke was surprised at the amount of blame Itachi took upon himself. He was guilty, that was clear as day in his eyes. Weighed down by years of remorse that had festered into something worse–self-loathing.

And Sasuke burned. His eyes watered with unshed tears, his palms twitched with the need to throw something at his stupid, stupid brother–because why the fuck could he have not told him this sooner? His mouth wanted to breathe fire and his tongue wanted to cut Itachi with vicious, hurtful words because he couldn't sit there and see the brother he'd come to see as an enemy become undone before him–so willingly, so achingly.

"I'm sorry," Itachi said atlast, looking outside the window with solemn, serious eyes. "I'm so so sorry Sasuke. I regret what I've done. I really do. But I want to do better in the future. I want to... be a better big brother to you. I want to atone. Will you let me, Sasuke?"

And it didn't happen often, and never at this scale, but Sasuke cried. He cried like he never had before. There weren't any sobs or howls but just steady streams of tears going down his face because he'd felt agonised, tormented, betrayed and now hearing the person who had caused it all acknowledge what he'd done–it felt overwhelming for Sasuke.

He couldn't distinguish if these were tears of frustration or relief. Because as he soon realised, this outburst of buried emotions was making him feel... lighter, weightless, like an immense load had vanished from his shoulders, leaving him breathless and eager and oddly soothed.

He didn't know what he was expecting from their talk today. Maybe some old bones getting dragged from graves, maybe some half-authentic tale of things. But listening to Itachi was too much. His side of things wasn't the other side of the same page. It was a scorched, burned and shrivelled up piece of parchment no one cared enough to salvage and some part of Sasuke regretted it. Regretted the wholly negative thoughts he'd had for his brother for so so long (and why did it not sting to call Itachi his brother anymore?).

When Sasuke could look through his tears again, Itachi was staring at him with the same guilty eyes, sporting tears of his own but their was a spark in them that spoke of hope and the younger Uchiha never wanted to snuff it out.

Sakura had turned away sometime ago, when things between the two brothers had become too personal, too real and she felt like she was intruding upon something she shouldn't. She sat in the kitchen now, upon the wooden countertop and smiled as she heard what she could only call the beginning of healing.

"You're an idiot," Sasuke said, sniffling like he was five again, crying after getting his knee scraped.

"I'm sorry," Itachi repeated and looked at Sasuke like he was the most precious thing in the world. Like Itachi had gone back to his older self, when he looked at Sasuke with soft, protective eyes and Sasuke launched himself off the sofa. He couldn't help it, he needed to know if his brother was real.

And after years of explosive hatred, of brutal fights, of lost love, the two Uchiha brothers hugged. It was the most comforting embrace Itachi had ever experienced and he wound his arms around his wonderful brother so tight Sasuke struggled to breathe. But he didn't mind it, he was doing the same for Itachi.

It was almost after three whole minutes that the two came down from their emotional high and pulled back with evident hesitance.

Sakura revealed her head through the partition right that moment and smiled teasingly at the two.

"Enough sap for today?"

Sasuke glared at her but something had softened in his eyes, something had caused the darkness that usually sat in them to recede and the pinkhead couldn't help but beam back.

And though Sasuke knew that everything between Itachi and him wasn't all better, that they'd have to have many more difficult conversations, he wasn't afraid of them anymore. Infact, he wanted to get through them so they both could finally go back to normal, well, as normal as they could get after everything they'd been through.

"My," he started, looking at Itachi's pale face that had blotches here and there. "My apartment has an empty bedroom."

For a moment, Itachi kept staring at him, uncomprehending and then disbelieving right after.

"Do you...?"

Itachi felt uncertain. Off-balance. He didn't know how to answer such kindness because that was what Sasuke had always had in him and it was what he was showing towards Itachi right now. He didn't think he'd get an offer to live with Sasuke already.

He didn't think he'd earned it.

But his brother was having none of that for even with a tear-stained face and heart, Sasuke rolled his eyes in the most insolent manner he could.

"Ofcourse, big brother," and Itachi heard more than he felt, the sounds of something broken getting stitched back together, getting mended by those teasing words of his little brother. "So, you in or?"

And when Itachi nodded, a reluctant small movement of his head–something poked his forehead and he only had enough time to realise who was the cause of it before Sasuke's half-smiling, half-laughing face was before him.

"Pack your stuff and be there in a few days," Sasuke ordered, keeping his hope firmly out of his voice. But he didn't have to, not when Itachi looked so hopeful, so grateful himself.

"Will do," Itachi muttered and stared as Sasuke waved him goodbye, talking in hushed tones with his friend, as the two exited his home.

That's when Itachi finally felt it.

Pride.

He was so goddamn proud of Sasuke and for the first time in his life, Itachi Uchiha grinned.

The process of piecing together the shattered bits had really, truly begun.

Author's Note:

Wooh. All the angst is done for this story please. I've put in too much. Promise that it's gonna be mostly light-hearted or atleast decidedly not angsty for the next few chapters. After that, lord knows.

Thanks for reading! As usual, all feedback's welcome.

Have a good day!