Title: Approval.
Fandom: Naruto.
Spoilers: Manga- around chapter 225. Anime- episode 129.
Author: Naatz.
Written for: Myth720.
Proofreaders: Baka-ken, Calorn and Ranma007.
Approval
Itachi sat in front of Sasuke, eating his lunch with so much grace that Sasuke was jealous. Aside from them, the dining room was empty, which was a relief.
Itachi's mouth unconsciously formed an uneasy frown, and his eyes looked troubled. It made Sasuke worry to the point of feeling sick. The recent tension in the house seemed to be catching up with him.
He didn't notice he was staring until Itachi asked, "Is there anything wrong?"
"No," Sasuke shook his head. "I'm sorry." Sorry for staring at you; for being worried.
Itachi missed the unspoken message. "You should eat," he said instead. His lips slowly shaped a small smile. Sasuke smiled back at him, and tried to eat.
After playing with the food for a few more minutes, he gave up and pushed the plate away. "I'm not hungry," he told Itachi.
Sighing, Itachi rose and took their plates over to the sink. He walked back to Sasuke, grasping the boy's outstretched hand and pulling him quickly to his feet.
Sasuke stretched and turned his smile to Itachi, perhaps thinking that if he smiled long enough, the happiness would rub off on his brother. "I got my report card from the academy yesterday," he said, wishing terribly that Itachi would ask to see it.
And he did.
"I'll just get it," Sasuke said. "It'll only take me a moment!"
With utmost seriousness, Itachi promised: "I'll wait here."
Sasuke ran out of the kitchen, set on bringing it to Itachi as fast as possible, not giving his brother a chance to escape his promise.
He didn't notice how the smile dropped from Itachi's face, nor how his body stiffened. He definitely didn't notice the way Itachi's eyes shifted their colour momentarily to crimson red. It was only expected that he didn't notice the calculating look Itachi sent to his back.
Instead of finding Itachi waiting in the kitchen as he'd promised, he was sitting on the balcony, thoughtfully watching at the setting sun.
His cheeks were flushed when he handed his report card to Itachi. Sasuke's entire stance radiated shyness and insecurity, and for a moment he looked like a fragile girl who wanted nothing more than to please her parents.
Itachi's eyes focused on the paper for a long time. It seemed far longer than a minute for Sasuke, who could hear his heart beating in his ears so loudly that there was no way Itachi didn't hear it as well.
"These are very good grades," he said evenly and gave the report card back to Sasuke. At last. Sasuke released the breath he thought he'd never be able to release, and smiled back, now blushing at the compliment. Not just any compliment, but Itachi's compliment. It made his grades so much better in his mind than seeing the numbers merely written down.
Sasuke sat down next to him and put the paper on the floor between them. He swung his legs, listening to the silence yet concentrating on Itachi. It was awkward.
"Dad said that I should aim to be like you," Sasuke said, filling the silence with words.
Itachi didn't answer for a few short moments, keeping his eyes on the colourful sunset. "Did he?"
"Yeah," Sasuke replied and then continued; "Dad only thinks about you."
End.
A/N: The ending of this opens the the scene where Itachi and Sasuke talk on the balcony, before the Uchiha from the police show up to tell him about Shisui.