Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of its associated characters!
Summary: A second series of ficlet requests - details are on my tumblr. All SNS, both modern AU and canonverse. I'll give a summary and any warnings in the first note above each ficlet!
A/N: And last but certainly not least - this is the last ficlet request I have on my list. I will still keep these open for April, so if you'd like to place a ficlet request, please read through the details linked on ao3. These have all been so interesting to try to do, I feel like I've reached past a lot of what I would do on my own! And I'm so happy to have been able to do this. This ficlet is another one that went longer than intended - it needed a bit of establishment to get it where I wanted it to be. I really hope you like it!
This ficlet was requested by silvertonguedmaiden, who wanted some canonverse in which Itachi survives, and eventually helps Sasuke and Naruto realize that what they feel for each other is more than friendship. I really loved this idea!
Ficlet summary: Canonverse, Itachi's POV, post-war but Itachi's alive. In which Sasuke and Naruto need a bit of a push, and Itachi is there to give it to them.
Ficlet Series 2
9 - In Which Itachi Helps (Canonverse)
The winds were soft today.
They caressed him with a gentle...tenderness. A lightness, a peace...he was more acquainted with harsh, whipping winds—with rain that cut like ice, keeping him on his toes, keeping him running, keeping him alert, ready, on edge—
None of that here.
No, Itachi thought, scanning the skies. It was a day like any of the others. Slow, calm, quiet, with plenty of time to think. Plenty of time to revisit his past, his mistakes—like an old friend, he conversed with them, laughed with them, cried with them—
But then, he'd done that all with Sasuke, too. More than once. And Naruto, of course, had been there, as he always was. Sasuke never seemed to remark on the way he had the sun as his shadow, but Itachi had.
He'd tried to, anyway. He hadn't gotten much of a response in reply.
Itachi felt the smile on his lips.
It was another thing worth...growing used to. Examining and—accommodating. Accepting. Like the feel of an apple in his hand, the winds in the air, the silence of his brother. Sasuke was quiet, now. Sasuke was quiet and troubled and Itachi sighed as the wind combed through his hair again, because it was just…
It had just been so difficult. So impossible. It was a constant song singing in his head: the wish that he'd come to realize the truths around him sooner…and yet he knew he never could have, because admitting his turn down that path had been the wrong step to take would have meant the entire road was paved with mistake after mistake and that—that—
God, he hadn't wanted it to be true.
Death had made for an easy escape. He'd thought it would, anyway. Another piece of a plan that had abandoned him, and so…
Here he was.
Alive. Keeping company with the wind. Forced to reconcile with his mistakes. Forgive them and accept them, if only to then make up for them. It was a chance he thought he was far past deserving, too, but then…
But then it wasn't his choice to make, was it?
Naruto had told him as much, impassioned and loud as he had been. Sasuke's small distance of a room away surely hadn't been enough to muffle their words, but he hadn't intervened. And while Itachi didn't know what to do with this kindness, he'd bow his head to their judgement, now.
He was well past trusting his own.
Itachi looked out, into the horizon, feeling the familiar presences approach behind him.
They were early.
"Naruto," he greeted, just as—
"Ah! Damn it! How did you know?!"
"I told you," said Sasuke's voice, and Itachi turned around. Naruto rubbed a laughing hand on the back of his neck, and Sasuke eyed him with a smile. His eyes caught Itachi's after a moment and it softened—but didn't disappear.
Itachi caught his breath, only to immediately lose it again—letting out huff as Naruto collapsed the three of them into a teetering hug. He laughed as they stumbled, catching his feet only enough to reciprocate with a delicate, careful hesitance. The years they'd had for healing had yet to pass those that had hurt, and finding their feet had been difficult on such shaky ground—
They were both lucky, then, that they had Naruto to guide them.
"Is that your garden?!" Naruto exclaimed, gone as quickly as he'd come. He peered over the fence, leaning so heavily over it Itachi thought it would surely topple— "What the hell, mine looks nothing like this! What've you been doing out here?!"
"...Planting," Itachi called back, and Naruto darted around the back. It was much more than what it once had been—if his abandoned small cabin had felt like comfort, the home he had now was a life of the most decadent luxury. It surely couldn't help that it was early in the spring, and the last time they had managed to visit, the garden had been barren of blooms…
"Sasuke! He's got tomatoes!"
Itachi let out a small laugh, glancing to his side. Sasuke's smile was warm and fond, a heart-wrenching affection that only came with comfort, familiarity...something else. And Itachi's judgement was flawed, he knew, but then…
"He's full of energy," he said, light and careful.
Sasuke's smile widened.
"He always is. He…"
Sasuke's head bowed—an attempt, Itachi thought, to hide the way his smile continued to give him away. Betray him. It looked like such a struggle to keep that happiness hidden away.
"It seems," he tried, "you two grow closer each time I see you."
Sasuke's back tensed.
"I hardly thought it was possible," Itachi continued, delicate. Testing. Was it a secret not yet shared with him? No. No, he didn't think so. Sasuke's nerves were too prominent for that. And Naruto too honest, Itachi thought. Terrible at hiding his excitement.
"We—" Sasuke began.
"Sasuke!"
And there was the smile again.
"...I'll be back," he muttered, already moving forwards.
Itachi laughed, but stayed back. He felt the need to give them space. To not interrupt. Itachi felt it quite constantly when the two of them came to visit—
As if he was an intruder, interrupting the private moment between two lovers.
He had little else to go on, beyond Sasuke's smiles and Naruto's affections. Maybe a longing gaze or two, but they could just as easily be attributed to thoughtfulness, happiness, peace. If their lives had been tumbled into bliss as abruptly as Itachi's had, they would surely need the time to adapt, revisit, breathe, think—
And yet, with all the reasons Itachi had to do so, he could not convince himself he was wrong. With all the evidence on his hands of his own ill judgement. The tomatoes were yet to grow, but Naruto was gushing something about leaves and blooms and how Itachi had gotten his to stand and grow along the line he'd planted them to, and Sasuke stood too close to him. Bent near to him. Naruto took his hand and said "look, can't you tell?" and Sasuke eyed the motion, eyed Naruto, and looked away from both as he muttered a small—
"Yes."
Naruto's hand lingered as it let go. Sasuke's gaze busied itself with other things, as if the flush to his cheeks was only from the rapidly heating sun. Naruto's teeth ran over his lip and his fingers flexed, as if attempting to rid his hand from a sensation too potent to move past.
These habits were not new. They were familiar and intimate and growing—Itachi noticed another each time they were all together. And yet they were stuttered, they were hesitant, and they filled Itachi with an urge to shake them both until they saw all that he could—
Was it not clear enough? They loved each other.
But Sasuke stood and fiddled with his cloak, and Naruto stayed crouched down, running his thumb over his fingers, staring at something in Itachi's garden he knew wasn't there.
"I can take it," he offered, as Sasuke swung the cloak from his shoulders. And Sasuke blinked, but handed it to him—and Itachi was grateful for it. There was a certain nostalgia in this sort of...politeness. Manners. Like muscles Itachi hadn't used in years—they had been sore and awkward, but now…
Now, he found he rather enjoyed it all.
"I dried some berries," he said, "if you'd like to—"
"Ooh!" Naruto yelled, leaping into the air. "Yeah—where are th—"
"First shelf," he said, and the blonde was gone. He turned back to Sasuke with a smile, and found the unsurprising same on his lips—
"He's going to eat them all, you know," Sasuke warned, staring after his footsteps. Itachi let out a soft chuckle.
"I'd planned on it," he said, folding Sasuke's cloak over his arms. "Are you two fully settled now?"
Sasuke looked over at him.
"In the new home," Itachi clarified.
"Oh," he said, "yes. We're...both there, now."
Mhm.
Sasuke's words trailed off in a vague, quiet dream, and Itachi sternly told himself to not intervene. Still…
"It must be nice," he said, turning back towards the house, "to finally be together."
Sasuke's head jerked up.
"You make a good pair," he continued, innocent. Ignorant. Let Itachi be a fool, and let Sasuke correct him, then. Let it be denied. Let it all be a simple misunderstanding.
Itachi looked back at his brother, and waited.
"I—" Sasuke stuttered, "I'll—I'm going to go inside."
He sped off in a rush, and Itachi felt the smile on his face.
Alright, then.
He walked into a house of chaos. Sasuke wrestled the jar of dried berries from Naruto's laughing hands—now empty, or close to—muttering things about useless idiots who couldn't be given a moment alone. But the smile was on his face again, and his hands tangled with Naruto's in a motion that was far too intimate to be fighting. Their efforts were sparse—all surface with no depth, no effort, no intent to harm or hurt or even to win—
Just well-practiced excuses.
"Teme," Naruto said, "there's another whole jar!"
"I did make another one," Itachi offered, but he didn't pull it from the shelf. Sasuke didn't tend to like these berries. He found them too sweet. Strange, then, that he would attempt to get them so fiercely…
"It's—you—we've been here five minutes!" Sasuke protested, unmoving—
"I'm hungry," Naruto argued. "You know how hungry I get after we spar! And we didn't even stop after!"
Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"You sparred on the way here?"
Sasuke pulled back.
"And he still has too much energy," he muttered, and Itachi pressed his lips together. "Here's your second jar."
He snatched it off the shelf and tossed it to Naruto.
"Yes!" Naruto yelled as he caught it, cackling as the lid sprung open. "You've gotta teach me how to do this."
"It involves starting with more berries than you know what to do with," Itachi warned, but Naruto already had his mouth full—and the smile was already back on Sasuke's face.
"We'll be there as soon as he takes the cuttings I know you have for him," he muttered, and Itachi huffed out a laugh as Naruto's head jerked up—
"I have many for you."
Naruto whooped in victory, and Sasuke laughed.
"I'll put our things away," Sasuke said. "Naruto—"
"Thanks, bastard!" Naruto singsonged, letting the bags dangle from his foot as Sasuke rolled his eyes and took it. Itachi bit down on his smile as Sasuke passed, stilling the words in his throat with the warning—
That bedroom had the mattresses pushed together. He'd meant to move them apart before Sasuke and Naruto had come, but then…
He turned back to Naruto, who was in a small frenzy, patting himself down in order to find the fruit that had tumbled into his clothes somewhere—
"Sasuke tells me you've finished the move," he said, and Naruto's head jerked up.
"Wha—oh! Yeah, we have."
Itachi settled on the corner of the couch.
"Hm," he said, "are you being driven mad yet?"
Naruto laughed.
"Oh yeah," he said. "Absolutely nuts. Sasuke always makes me nuts though."
Itachi felt the smile on his lips.
"So I've noticed," he replied.
Naruto laughed, flushing a gentle red as he ducked his head. It was a nervous motion, and it had Itachi—
Well. Ready to be a fool again, apparently.
"Always in a good way," he said, "I hope?"
Naruto flopped back with a sigh.
"Yeah, 'course. I—um."
He ran a hand through his hair and pressed his lips into a thin line. Itachi moved to the back of the couch, closer to Naruto, leaning forwards to rest his arms just beside him.
"You know that I appreciate your honesty," Itachi said, and Naruto's hand moved to rub at the rest of his face. This wasn't the first quiet heart to heart they'd had, and it was sure not to be the last.
"Yeah," he said, and it was filled with nerves, "I—what d'you want me to say? I—I'm obvious. Everybody tells me I am. But he—I—"
"Obvious," Itachi repeated, "and yet I am worried I'm misinterpreting."
Naruto looked up.
"Well, that gives me some hope at least," he laughed, and Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What? What d'you want me to say?"
"The truth," Itachi replied. "Do you love him?"
Naruto breathed in.
"...Yeah," he answered quietly. "Yeah, I do."
There was a pause. Itachi breathed out, letting the words sink into the air...eyeing the thin, frail wall separating this room and the others.
"But don't—don't tell him," Naruto said suddenly, spinning around, "okay? You can't tell him. Please."
"Why ever not?"
"Because he doesn't—there's no way that he—just please. Okay? Promise."
Itachi let out a small laugh.
"Alright," he said, "I promise. I won't say a word."
Naruto deflated with his exhale, but the relief stayed absent. And Itachi thought he might be a fool, but then—perhaps there was nothing more surprising than love. Itachi's knowledge of it had been fragmented and doubtful—and filled with all sorts of holes. It wasn't any wonder it proved him wrong. It wasn't any wonder it still was—with every letter Sasuke sent, every chance they continued to give him—
The love was still there, and it shocked him to his core. Every time.
Itachi's lips twitched.
Perhaps it was time for some payback.
"I'm going to check on my brother," he said, straightening up— "unrelated, Naruto, relax. He's been gone longer than expected."
Naruto settled back down again and conceded the point. Itachi threw him a knowing smile before he moved down the hall, walking slowly and obviously—loudly, making his presence known at the still-open door—
Sasuke stood, in the middle of the room, frozen.
"I apologize," he started gently. "I pushed the beds together when I was wanting more space. Would you like me to move them apart?"
Sasuke swallowed—once, and then again—
"No, I—" he said, and it sounded like a sob. "I—no. It's—it's alright."
Itachi leaned against the door, and Sasuke breathed in, swallowing and breathing in again, as if trying to get a hold of himself, trying to compose himself, trying to—
"I feel the sudden need to take a bath," he told Sasuke softly. "I will not be out for...hm. Perhaps an hour."
Sasuke looked up with red-rimmed eyes.
Itachi gently inclined his head to the side, where Naruto still waited.
And Sasuke nodded—once and then again, wiping something from his face and pressing his lips together as he moved forwards. Itachi pressed a gentle hand to his shoulder on the way by, and Sasuke breathed in, pausing with a small, whispered—
"Thank you."
Itachi smiled and watched him go.
Perhaps some of his judgement was worth trusting, after all.
A/N: And that's it! I'm all caught up! If this is the last one of this ficlet series, thank you all so much. I'm really, really happy to have been able to do this, and I wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn't for you all. If you'd like to place a ficlet request, I will still be taking them for April, so please read through the post I have linked on the AO3 version of this ficlet series and let me know if you're up for it. If not, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed all of them.
Until next time,
- Kinomi