(AN) This ones a little short but if I had to divide this story into seasons, this would feel like a season finale I guess. So it kinda just turned out this way :). Hope you guys like it!
Mystic Moon Flower: She's trying her best to at least! Also, I don't watch Boruto so it's shocking to hear that Kakashi-sensei gave bad advice! Hope this email is a pleasent surprise too.
Sasuke didn't know if it was a twin thing, or just because he spent so much time with Haru, but he's managed to pick up on what some of her habits meant. She would play with the hem of her clothes when she was overwhelmed, for example.
Another example is that when she's studying she'd twirl a pencil in her hand while concentrating. So, seeing her hold her pencil stiffly meant she wasn't actually paying any attention to the materials in front of her. Well, he couldn't really blame her… Actually, no, he does blame her. If she was going to act like this anyways, why the hell did she invite Itachi in the first place?
"Looks like you have most of the formulas covered already, just remember that when it's like this it's just trying to trick you. I remember my teacher liked to throw them in just to make sure we were paying attention." Itachi was currently pointing at the sheet in front of Haru as he continued to explain. He had to lean in a bit into her personal space to do so.
"Uh huh." And Haru was just looking down at the paper with a blank expression and a pink face.
'You have no idea what he's saying do you?' Sasuke quietly stared at-judged-the scene in front of him, his face resting in the palm of his hand.
Dinner was pretty normal, for the most part. Then, as soon as dinner was over she immediately jumped up to go and get her stuff ready. If he knew his sister, and he hopes he does, she was probably just trying to move fast before she lost her nerve. Not that he really understood why she wanted to do this in the first place.
It was clear she wasn't actually focused, and that being this close to their brother was just making her tense.
When Itachi finished explaining, he looked up at Haru-to which Sasuke saw her go even more stiff. Whether or not Itachi noticed, he just smiled calmly. "We've been at this for a while, I'll go get some drinks for us."
He started to get up to his feet and Sasuke saw the way Haru's eyes went back into focus-like if she was snapped out of some kind of daze. Her already present blush darked as she looked up at Itachi. "I-I don't need anything."
Itachi looked a little taken off guard by her insistence, but just smiled again-it almost looked like he was holding in a laugh. "I'll just bring one anyways in case you want it later." There was a fond look in their brother's eyes, that anyone with half a mind would be able to notice, as he looked down at Haru.
In response, Haru just looked off to the side-her ears turning red-as she silently gave him a small nod.
'What the hell am I looking at?' Sasuke found he was asking himself this a lot today. After Itachi left the room was swept up in a silence, a silence that Sasuke absolutely had to break. "Did any of that sink in?"
Haru flinched at the question, and gave Sasuke a halfass scowl. "...Keep an eye out for trick questions."
He was honestly surprised she got something. "Seriously, what the hell is going on with you all of a sudden?" Not letting this slide, he immediately went to probing.
She began to fidget with her hair as she looked away from Sasuke. "I… I thought a change of pace would be good…?"
. . . "Why did that turn into a question?"
It was clear that she wasn't one hundred percent sure what she was doing either, she looked like she was trying really hard to figure out an answer for herself.
As her thinking looked like it was going to take a while, Sasuke just sighed and rested his head on the table.
It had been a while since they were in Itachi's room, but it felt normal since he had a chabudai like Haru. Haru on the other hand looked unsettled the second they stepped in, as if she felt out of place here. She hasn't relaxed in the past half hour, and it was making Sasuke feel tense just watching her. 'Nii-san sure is good at pretending to not notice how weird she is.'
It was quiet again as Haru continued to think over the situation-or at least that's what Sasuke figured she was doing-and he just absently stared out the window with his cheek pressed onto the wood. If he was being honest, he was just happy that she was trying to let him in on what was going on in that head of hers. It helped him feel like it was a little more like it was before things got messier. Haru was having some emotional problems, and Sasuke was going to be her emotional dumpster.
Finally, he heard her let out a sigh, and what came out next was so soft he almost couldn't hear her. "...Do you know what Neji wanted to talk about?"
Sasuke's eyes widened a little from the sudden change in subject. He pulled himself off the table to look at Haru with a mildly confused look.
She didn't meet his gaze and kept her eyes on the pencil in her hand with an expression that was hard to describe. "He said… He basically said that wants things to be normal I guess? I think he figured Hinata-chan would want to go to the temple with us so he probably wanted to try making it easier for that to happen. He always did like to baby her." There was a hint of a laugh in her voice, but there was still something heavy weighing in her eyes. "So, he wants us to be able to be in the same room again. Maybe not normal-normal, but he wants things to be… not tense? So… I guess I thought that… maybe he wants the same…?"
It was quiet for a while before Sasuke realized that she was done talking. Resting his cheek on his hand again he let her words sink in a little. He felt like there was more to whatever Neji told her, he wasn't the type of guy to just waltz up to his ex and just ask if they could be normal and leave it at that. But he didn't want to pry. Of all the things in Haru's life he knew she was the most secure about her love life-she didn't even really like talking about when her and Shikamaru "dated." And Neji was the most serious she ever got with someone, so anything else that was said can stay between them if that's what she wants.
So, letting go of that, he more or less got what she was saying. He noticed she was trying to put in effort herself to make things more "normal." He wasn't one hundred percent sure why, and apparently neither was she, but he could make a wild guess. These past few months have been a lot, especially on Haru. With all the ups and downs going on, even she'd want to just shut down, shutting down meaning give the whole cold shoulder treatment a rest. At least that's the best she could come up with without having to ask her to clarify further.
And as for what "he" wants… "I'm pretty sure Nii-san isn't asking you to act all weird and tense all of a sudden." Sasuke saw the way she flinched at his blunt words, and she sent another half ass glare his way. But, he continued before she could argue. "He's also not asking for 'normal' if that's what you're going for. Knowing him… I think he just wants to make sure you're alright. You know that's all he ever bugs about, so giving him that should be enough… No need to push it." He felt like he tacked on that last bit a little awkwardly, and he felt like the weird one for saying all that-even though he was pretty sure of what he said.
He felt his face heat up a little at feeling Haru's eyes on him, and he felt like taking back what he said. Then he heard her let out a small breath of air, the softest form of a laugh. "I guess he is weird like that huh?"
Sasuke looked back to her and her eyes were on the paper in front of her again, and there was a small smile on her face. She still looked stiff and a little out of place, but she looked like she'd let herself relax a little bit now… "Course," Haru looked at him curiously when he started talking again, "it would also make him feel better if he knew you didn't actually hate him."
He knew it was a little mean to jab at her like that, he especially knew it when he saw the flich and guilty look she gave at it. But, much as he cares about his sister he also cares about his brother. So, he wanted to lay that out on the table that her actions these past few years probably gave Itachi the wrong idea.
Besides, if she wants to try making things "better" or "normal," then clearing up that there's no real malice in her might help.
As Haru mumbled something about realizing that already, Sasuke tried to push down the gnawing feeling that he wasn't completely sure whether or not this was the right move. Haru had spent so long bottling up everything to do with Itachi for so long that unscrewing the lid will be difficult. Even if she only wants to let out a little bit now, who's to say the whole thing won't just explode. And, if this backfires… he doesn't know what'll happen to her… Maybe it would be for the best for her to face the pain head on instead of hiding from it, but he wasn't certain…
The door opened and they both jumped at the tension being broken. Sasuke looked over and saw their brother walk back in with a tray. Either he didn't notice or he ignored the feelings hanging in the air-probably the latter-and just smiled as he took his seat between them again. "I hope you're both fine with matcha tea."
Sasuke raised a brow as he accepted the cup. "You know we have canned drinks in the fridge, you didn't have to make the drinks." 'Ah, maybe it's 'cause this is the first time we've been in his room in a while. Especially Haru.'
"It just ended up happening that way." Itachi said calmly, as if that made any sense.
'How do you just happen to make tea?' He drank it anyway, matcha tea was still fine after all.
"...I think a warm drink is better for right now." Both boys looked over at their sister. Haru has her eyes locked onto the cup between her hands, and she had the most relaxed look that she's had since walking into this room. "So… thank you for going through the trouble." There was a hint of a smile on her face, but she still looked too shy to actually look at the person that got her the drink in the first place.
Itachi looked stunned by what she said, and stared at her for a second before giving a smile like the one before. "It was no trouble at all."
. . . 'Seriously, what is this?' Sasuke thought as he blankly stared off somewhere else-feeling weirded out watching the scene in front of him. All the shyness from Haru was weird to look at, and seeing their brother get all smiley from it was also kind of weird. As he just quietly drank his tea he also found himself thinking of how Itachi had just reached out his hand just a little bit before putting it back down on the table... Sasuke didn't know if it was a brother thing, or if he just knew Itachi well enough to figure out that the older brother stopped himself from reaching out to Haru.
...Sasuke couldn't help a part of him that questioned whether or not this was a good idea, for Haru's sake. But, 'I guess they look happy enough…?'