A/N- if you haven't already please go peep the updated version of the first chapter. MM-Chan you already read the corrected chapter 1.
"You have zero new messages," it had been a little over two weeks since Sasuke had sent the message to MySisGreaterthanYours. He wasn't holding his breath for a reply since the profile made it evident a third party had been responsible for its creation. He couldn't blame the intended owner for not logging onto the site; had Naruto done the same thing he would have never logged on. The only reason he checked was that even though his blond friend had been patient so far he knew that wouldn't last for much longer. If he didn't get a response soon that brat would insist that he should go ahead and message someone else, stating something along the lines of, "It's obvious this loser isn't going to reply so you should find someone cool enough to give you an answer."
A sigh inaudibly escaped his pale lips. If only his best friend could understand that no one who willingly signed up for that site could be someone Sasuke would be able to talk to. After all, he only had enough room in his life for one cheery idiot and Naruto already had that position. Unless he wants me to replace him, that boy will be my dumbass optimist for the rest of our lives. The ebony-haired man snickered at how ironic it would be if he did indeed replace him with someone from the site. There was a zero percent chance of it actually happening, but it was fun to entertain the idea of how Naruto would be unwittingly his own maker.
Leaving his thoughts, Sasuke realized he was staring at the same screen from five minutes ago. He shut his laptop and stood up. It was Friday night and he didn't know what to do. He surprisingly didn't feel like reading and that basically was all he did in his spare time other than clean. His apartment was spotless as always so it's not like he could really do the latter. He walked into his room about to faceplant his bed when the out of place box caught his attention. Ah, the one chore he hadn't done yet. He stared at the box for a few minutes before deciding this was as good of a time to go through it as any.
He groaned when he realized that he needed Naruto to come over and help him go through the items though. After all, Naruto had a right to anything in the box he wanted. He was family and family deserved keepsakes. Hopefully, Naruto wasn't busy because if he was then Sasuke would just have to prolong going through the box even more. Knowing that the blond never answered texts in a timely fashion Sasuke decided to call. Pulling his phone out of his pocket he dialed the only number he knew by heart. It rang twice…
"Sup?"
"Are you busy tonight?"
"Not really Hina and I just finished eating. We were thinkin' about going to the movies but hadn't decided yet. Why?"
"Well if you decide not to go to the movies I want to go through his things. I figured you'd want to come and get your sentimental shit before I trash them. I know he was important to you, and I know that I am not going to be able to figure out what you want. I mean when my parents passed you kept a pair of my mother's earrings even though you have no use for them what so ever."
"Hey! You shouldn't speak so ill of the dead's belongings. And I have a use for them, I am going to give them to Hina if we ever get married."
"I wasn't speaking ill of her or her belongings I was speaking ill of your choice in those said belongings."
"Ya know you are a heartless asshole sometimes right?"
"Are you coming or not?"
"I'll be there in 30."
"You're late," Sasuke grumbled as he opened the door for his friend. He then walked towards the cubby that was his kitchen. Naruto lifted a single foot to follow him before being stopped with a deadly glare, "Take off your shoes before you step off that mat or else."
"Oh, shit, sorry dude. I haven't been over in so long I forgot about your family's traditions," the blond oaf hopped on one foot as he unceremoniously took off his shoes. The raven fought the urge to childishly push over the other man and instead went back to what he was trying to do in the kitchen.
"Would you like one or two cubes of sugar?"
"Two, you know I can't stand tea without at least two," the tan nose crinkled as it made its way into the kitchen. The pale man had busied his hands with pouring the water from the kettle into two teacups and began to use his strainer to turn the water into his favorite drink. After the cups were sufficiently strong enough he placed two cubes of sugar in one cup using a small spoon to fully dissolve the sweet substance. He handed that cup to the other man, keeping the other for himself. "Wait, why do you even have sugar cubes if you don't put sugar in your own tea?"
"It's inconsiderate for a host to not have ingredients to their guest's liking."
"Then why serve tea at all?"
"Because that's an even greater offense than not having preferred ingredients. The tea is a gift in return for the gift of the guest's presence. You should know these things by now, if not from my family, I know Hinata has the same heritage as me," Sasuke frowned slightly, he was beginning to be annoyed by the childish questions.
"Yeah she is but now that we live together she doesn't do any of these traditions unless her family is over. And how often have I been your guest in the past thirteen years? Like 5?" Naruto's question was ignored as Sasuke walked back to his common area. The blond followed suit, "Dude no wonder I'm never over here. You only have one sitting chair and then your desk chair. You can't even have guests if you wanted. Wait where's the tv?"
"I don't have one," balancing his cup in a pale hand, the slightly taller of the two men sat at the desk. He hoped his friend didn't spill his tea as he sat down in the other chair.
"What?!" the pure shock in azure eyes made their obsidian counterparts roll in response. The ebony haired man didn't understand how it was surprising, his friend knew he had never found television programs interesting. As the shock receded from the blue-eyed man's face an amused smirk replaced it, "So anyways where's his stuff?"
"Give me a second I'll go get it," with that Sasuke retreated to his room and picked up the medium sized box. It wasn't particularly heavy as he couldn't imagine a death row inmate having many personal possessions. It's not like one could just hop on over to the department store and buy themselves all the shit they could want. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped at the image of a group of inmates perusing through the stuffy department stores as the employees cowered behind the glass cases.
"What are you laughing about?" Naruto questioned. He was leaning on the doorframe that led into the room.
"It's nothing."
"Okay well, do you need any help with the other boxes?"
"There aren't any other boxes," Sasuke replied as he tried to leave his room, the blond moved out of his way just to stick his head back in to double check that what the pale man had said was indeed true.
"You can't be serious."
"I am," he sat the box in the middle of the common area, making sure there was plenty of room for them to go through every item in the box.
"Wow," the blond whispered staring at the box on the floor.
"What?"
"Somehow he surpassed you on being an extreme minimalist."
"I mean he couldn't buy his own things for years and most of this stuff are gifts from his fans," Sasuke didn't hide any of the disgust he felt when he stated the last word. He found it utterly repulsive that there are people who look up to a man who was convicted of seventeen counts of first-degree murder.
"You're right, it's just weird ya know? His whole life for the past ten years is in this single box and it's not even a good sized box," the only response the raven could muster was a shrug as he opened the cardboard top. He was never good with sentimental ideas so he really didn't understand the point of the other man's statement. The blond kneeled next to him to peak into the box, his curiosity getting the better of his patience. A tan hand picked up the first item, some paperback copy of a certain horror novella featuring a tentacled entity to be worshipped. "Hey what piles are we makin' here?"
"Well, I figured we can have four piles; stuff you want to keep, stuff you want me to keep, stuff to donate, and stuff to throw away. For the book you are holding do you want to keep it, donate it or pitch it?" Sasuke explained, purposely leaving the option of keeping it himself. He wasn't a fan of this particular book.
"Isn't this a horror novel?" a nod confirmed, "Well I don't want it then. They give me the creeps."
"I thought all books gave you the creeps," that remark earned Sasuke a light punch in the arm. "So should we throw it out or donate it?"
"We should check and see if there is an inscription. If there is one we should light the book on fire."
"I think that's the smartest thing that's ever come out of your mouth," pale lips smirked as he was punched once again in the arm. This time he returned it, drawing out a yelp from the recipient. The blond huffed and pouted, opening the book and skimming for any handwriting. After going through it three times he sat it down a little over a foot away from him. "Donate?"
"Surprisingly it is clean of any insane things other than what was printed there. I'm going to dump the box and we'll use it to hold the trash pile."
"Okay," it was surprising how resourceful Naruto could be at times. Sasuke was so used to him being absentminded and clueless that when he did make a good suggestion the pale man couldn't muster much of a response. It was even more surprising to watch the normally reckless man slowly turn the box over and gently place the contents on the floor. A blinding smile was flashed at the dumbfounded raven as the box was placed on the other side of the items on the floor.
Slowly and carefully they went through each item determining its fate until they had everything sorted. Naruto had a little pile of weird sentimental items including Itachi's favorite pen, and a stuffed fox that Naruto had sent him a few months prior to his passing. There were only two things that Naruto insisted on Sasuke keeping; Itachi's journal, and a housecoat. The housecoat was a kimono made of silk; the fabric was mainly black with red clouds sprinkled on it. Not that Naruto knew, but Itachi had been wearing it the last time Sasuke had seen him. He must have worn it often for when Sasuke picked it up he caught a whiff of antiseptic and his brother's natural scent.
"What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Wear it?"
"I'm pretty sure he died in this thing."
"Okay, then don't wear it! Maybe we can hang it up?"
"That sounds like a better idea."
"Do you have anything to hang it up with?"
"No," Naruto couldn't have been very surprised since Sasuke didn't have anything hung on the walls.
"Of course not. How about I come over again tomorrow and hang it up?"
"I guess that'll be fine," his response earned him another brilliant smile from the other man. He stood up and collected his stuff, walking towards the door. Once the blond man's shoes were on, his smile faltered though and a drop of sadness reverberated across cerulean pools.
"Ya know I miss him too right?" Those damned stormy oceans reflected such a feeling of helplessness that all Sasuke could do was give him a small reassuring smile. He knew it wasn't enough, but it was the only thing he could do.
"I know you do, I'm sure he missed you too. You always got along well. I'll see you tomorrow Naruto," with that he pushed the blond out of his apartment and shut the door quickly behind him. With his back against the door, the pale man sunk until he was sitting on the floor. He didn't want to hurt his friend's feelings but he needed to be alone and he needed to be alone right this second. As he looked down at his hands he realized he was still holding the kimono. He drew his knees up to his chest and rested his forehead on said knees. The smell of his brother wafted into his nose causing a burning sensation that continued its path from his nostrils, to his sinuses, and into his eyes. He didn't realize the burning turned into tears until he felt their trails run down his thighs. He tried to stop them, but they just kept coming getting heavier and heavier. So heavy he began to suffocate, gasping for air. He couldn't do anything to stop this. He was stuck there as the blubbering mess he thought he'd never be.
"I'm sorry, brother."
A/N- this is a short chapter for me. I thought about extending it but really it needed to end with Sasuke finally breaking down. Please tell me what you think of it and if you want to criticize, PLEASE DO. I live for helpful criticism! Also, this probably is going to take forever to write because putting myself in this mindset is emotionally draining. I promise the next chapter will be a bit less heavy. I only promise a bit.