A/N: i'm officially on summer break! and i'll spend it writing cause you're all sweet potatoes (it's a compliment). your reviews really make my day and encourage me to keep going :')
to my one guest, i do have a few things lined up! they'll be most likely be multi-chaps, and those plot bunnies are on my tumblr (recluse-art) if you're interested.
to those saddened about the end, i will try my best to stretch this out for as long as i can (probably not over 10 chapters) and i'm still taking suggestions, wink wink
"Why do you have two toothbrushes?" Itachi picked up both items and turned to his younger brother with a raised brow.
Sasuke glanced in his direction with a deer-in-the-headlights expression. Not knowing how to answer, he continued placing his novels in a cardboard box.
Seconds passed as Itachi stared expectantly at the man avoiding his gaze.
"The blue one is mine, you can throw the purple one away," came his belated reply.
"Hmm." The older sibling was unsatisfied, but did not prod further.
They finished the rest of the packing in silence, with Sasuke hoping he would not be pressed on the issue. People didn't call Itachi a genius for nothing - he eventually figured things out, one way or another.
To say Itachi was curious was an understatement.
Once a week, they would Skype to stay in touch and like clockwork, he asked Sasuke how college was going. Were classes okay? Did he need anything?
Without fail, Sasuke gave the same generic answers: college is fine, classes are easy, no I don't need anything. He occasionally threw in extra details like "I went to a new cafe downtown" or "I visited this museum," but he did not generally enjoy discussing the personal details of his life. Then again, he was not a very talkative individual in the first place. Neither was Itachi, nor their late father - the Uchiha males were men of few words.
However brief their conversations may have been, Itachi did pick up on something. He was the lead investigator for the Konoha police force, so keen perception was a necessary part of the trade.
Sasuke seemed to have… perked up a little more this semester. Sometimes he would be half distracted on their Skype calls, text tones going off on his side. His focus would shift between his phone and his laptop to reply to his messages and maintain his discussion with Itachi.
Once, the older Uchiha watched with mild surprise as a grin split Sasuke's face upon opening a particular message. Momentarily forgetting he was on the other side of a webcam, he didn't mask his delight.
When asked who he was texting, Sasuke adjusted his features back to neutral and vaguely answered, "A friend."
Knowing he would find out eventually, he let it drop. Now the desire to understand came back full force with the discovery of the mysterious purple toothbrush.
They were loading the last few boxes into the car when Sasuke looked at his phone and typed back a quick reply. Wiping the dust from his hands on his pants, he faced his brother and declared, "I'm going to go meet with a friend since we finished early. I'll see you in an hour."
No wonder it seemed like he had rushed packing, haphazardly shoving his belongings into boxes and bags. Itachi nodded in assent. "Have fun, I'll meet you here at 3."
Sasuke all but sprinted away from the car and Itachi couldn't help but smirk. He was acting like a teenager with his first crush. Perhaps he was, he contemplated. His little brother closed himself off from others after their parents' deaths and while the siblings were in tune with each other, Sasuke still had trouble expressing himself.
The owner of the purple toothbrush must have been rather special, he mused as he watched Sasuke run off.
Itachi pondered upon what to do for the next hour and discovered a traditional Japanese cafe with great reviews online.
So he set off, rather eager to try their green tea and raved-about dango.
Upon entry, he surveyed the quaint shop. It was small, but homey, and there weren't too many customers. He decided he liked it.
Oh? What's this? What a pleasant surprise, it would appear that his brother was also at the cafe. Luckily, he was facing away from the door and didn't notice Itachi's entrance.
An expert at undercover missions and staying discreet, the detective chose the best vantage point to both spy on Sasuke and his "friend" and remain hidden from the man's view.
The nagging thought that this was an invasion of his younger brother's privacy lost against the strong urge to find out what was going on in Sasuke's life. With his mind made up, Itachi acknowledged that he might have had a minor brother complex.
Situated with his tea and dessert, he took a bite out of his dango while casting furtive glances at the pair.
Pale irises? That girl looked familiar… ah, yes. She was a Hyuuga. His eidetic memory did not let him down; she was the eldest daughter to Hyuuga Hiashi and thus the heiress to the family enterprise, though it was rumored that she declined the position.
Hyuuga Hinata. Now what was his little brother doing with the Hyuuga princess?
Currently, the two were talking. If he could tell by the tired but relieved expression on her face, she was talking about how her final exams went.
Unfortunately, he was not close enough to hear their conversation and he could not analyze Sasuke's reactions to her, with only a view of the back of his head.
At least he could observe the girl - wait did she just…? He fought to avoid dropping his stick of partially eaten dango.
He watched in shock as she fed Sasuke a piece of taiyaki, which he ate eagerly by the way he took it from her fingers. With his mouth.
The prodigy's mind was spinning. Was this real life? Did he fall into an alternate dimension or did Uchiha Sasuke really let someone feed him in this manner? And sweets nonetheless? He hated sweets!
It was a good thing Itachi was already sitting because he may not have been able to support himself when he saw his brother push his mug towards her, gesturing for her to try the drink.
She took a tentative sip but pulled away quickly, her nose scrunching in distaste, probably from the bitterness. Sasuke liked his coffee black.
His shoulders shook from laughter upon her reaction and she made a face at him in retaliation to the teasing.
Their relationship struck him as very intimate and he didn't need to be a professional investigator to deduce that. It was not often that Itachi was touched, but watching his normally aloof brother interact with this girl kindled warmth in his chest.
The voyeur continued to study the couple with a perverse sort of interest. This was an entirely new side of Sasuke that was emerging - a happy, carefree, love-struck boy.
The clock reported the time to be 3:17 but Sasuke was still engaged in conversation with his friend. It was likely they were parting ways for the summer and would not meet again until fall. Itachi did not have the heart to separate the two and only got up when they made the move to leave.
Not wanting his cover to be blown, he escaped swiftly. His police academy training came in handy, seeing as his quick stride took him to the car long before Sasuke.
Interestingly, the Hyuuga princess walked with Sasuke to the car. They stopped twenty feet behind the vehicle and Itachi was able to spy on them via the rearview mirror.
Her shoulders sagged as she looked up to her friend with sad doe eyes and a frown tugging at her mouth. She was obviously melancholy over their departure.
Sasuke placed his hands on her shoulders in a comforting gesture, then brought his face close to hers. Lips moving; he was telling her something. When he finished speaking, he kissed her forehead and tugged her to him for a tight hug. She returned the embrace with just as much enthusiasm, wrapping her arms around his wide torso.
Light pink flooded both of their cheeks when they separated.
They awkwardly bade goodbye and parted ways. When he began to walk to the car, Itachi whipped out his phone and pretended he was on it the whole time.
The passenger door opened and a dazed Sasuke climbed in. Robotically, he clicked his seat belt and turned to gaze at the retreating figure.
Itachi put the car in drive and waited until they left campus to inquire, "Was she the owner of the purple toothbrush?"
"Yeah," he answered, still in some kind of stupor.
"Well?" Itachi's tone was expectant. "What happened?"
Embarrassed at the fact that his older brother witnessed the exchange, Sasuke faced the window to hide his flush from the events that just transpired.
"Nothing," he took a deep breath to calm his nerves, "We're just friends."
Itachi nodded in understanding, "I see. That's quite different from how you treat your other friends."
"She's different."
Buildings and trees turned into blurs as they crossed stretches of land to return home. He thought he would be excited for the summer to come, since he wouldn't have class or have to deal with the havoc that came with living in one building occupied by a hundred other males. But as they got further away from the university, emptiness engulfed him like a chasm.
Sasuke rest his still warm cheek against the soothing glass of the window and almost drifted off from the ambience of the radio's murmur and the muted sounds of driving.
"Do you want me to pick up some taiyaki from the store?" Itachi's voice cut through his sleep addled mind.
"Huh?"
"Because it seems you like taiyaki now," Itachi couldn't keep the smirk off his face. Teasing Sasuke was one of his favorite past times because he regressed into a kid again; petulant, but lovable.
He nearly hit his head on the window when he shot up. "You watched us in the cafe?!"
The older Uchiha chuckled, "I just happened to stumble into the same cafe where my little brother was having a date with his pretty girlfriend."
Sasuke was mortified. He knew his brother was a detective but he didn't think Itachi would turn his sleuthing skills on him.
Flustered, Sasuke huffed and crossed his arms. "Can't believe you spied on me," he grumbled.
With his coal eyes still fixed on the road and one hand steady on the wheel, he managed to reach over and flick the pouting boy in the forehead.
"How could I possibly pass up an opportunity to spy on my dear little brother?" he needled. "Besides, you two make a cute couple."
They passed a few streets before Sasuke replied bashfully.
"… Thanks."