SN

For the rest of the day, Sasuke tries to do the things he normally does -- homework, tidying up, chores, et cetera. But it’s difficult to focus when Neji’s words are playing through his head, his uncle’s sad look when he said ‘your family,’ the way Neji smiled at him when Sasuke agreed to come over, Neji in a pink nightgown, Gaara’s secretive smile, the slight upturn of Neji’s nose, Kankuro’s purple eyeshadow, the red mark on Neji’s face, Naruto’s eyes dancing with laughter, the impossible endlessness of the night sky reflected in Neji’s eyes, in his words, in the sky above their heads.

Sasuke needs to take a break. He needs some advice.

Curling up under his blanket, even though it’s the middle of the day, Sasuke shuts his eyes. “Itachi,” he whispers, and his brother, who has been in the forefront of his mind during these turbulent two weeks, is suddenly so close he can almost hear him.

“Sasuke.” His low voice, traces of a smile lingering in his tone. “Did I ever tell you about my first boyfriend?”

Sasuke huffs, wants to say that he doesn’t care about this kind of lovey-dovey stuff, but he’s never passed up a story from his older brother. “Of course you have. Tell it again.”

“If you insist.” Sasuke grinds his teeth but is quiet as Itachi begins. “He was younger than me. I was around your age, you know. Maybe a little younger. Certainly more mature.”

With a growl, Sasuke thumps his pillow. “Be quiet.”

Itachi laughs. “Right, right. So anyway. I was taking this art elective at school, because I thought it’d be an easy A.”

Liar, thought Sasuke. Itachi could get an easy A in any subject. He was probably taking it to be more well-rounded or something, for college.

“So the first day, I walked in and sat down next to this one kid who was sitting alone. I felt kind of sorry for them -- pretty much every other kid was sitting with their friends. Shisui was taking music classes so I was alone too,” Shisui was Itachi’s best friend. Sasuke couldn’t count the number of times he’d woken up in the middle of the night because the two of them were laughing too loud. “so I figured I might as well strike up a conversation with this person and make a new friend. I sat down and said, just as politely as you please, ‘Hello there.’” Itachi pauses, and Sasuke knows what comes next. “Do you know what he said to me?”

In the darkness, Sasuke grins. “Tell me.”

Itachi laughs, a short, lilting sound. “He said, without even looking up from the ball of clay he was fiddling with, ‘Fuck off, Uchiha.’”

Sasuke shifted under the blankets, letting in a little more fresh air. “He knew who you were?”

“That’s what I said. ‘You know who I am?’ And he looked up at me from under the ridiculously long mop of hair flopping in his eyes -- to be honest, I hadn’t been sure if he was a boy or not up until that point -- and says, slowly and clearly, ‘You’re the kid who thinks he knows everything.’” Itachi is giggling, and Sasuke is too, a little. “So I said, ‘That’s me.’ And he ignored me for the rest of the day. But then, the next day, I sat down next to him again. If looks could kill, Sasuke, I would have been obliterated.”

Sasuke bites his lip. “So then how did you end up together?”

Itachi sighs. “Slowly. Very slowly. Small things -- ‘That’s nice shading, for a know-it-all.’ ‘Well, that’s a pretty good sculpture for someone who likes to blow things up.’” He chuckled. “He would forget to put air pockets in his sculptures, and they would explode in the kiln. I think he did it on purpose, honestly. And then one day, as I was leaving the classroom, he called me over. ‘Look at this,’ he said, and it was a flower pot he’d made out of clay. And it was growing one single flower, a tiny red one that must’ve bloomed that day. ‘For you,’ he said, really gruff, not looking at me, and I touched him --”

“Touched him!” Sasuke can’t resist teasing.

“On his shoulder, you little pervert! I touched his shoulder and said, ‘Thank you.’ Or I would’ve, but then he was looking at me with those blue eyes and he had this cute timidity, like he was afraid I wouldn’t like it, and,” Itachi drew in a shaky breath. “I kissed him instead.”

Sasuke wrinkles his nose, but is secretly happy with the sweetness of the story. “Gross.”

“And he kissed me back.” Itachi taps Sasuke’s forehead lightly. “Now it’s time for bed.”

It was. Sasuke hadn’t noticed how much time had passed. One night closer to tomorrow, he thinks, and despite his blushing, he’s sure he can almost hear Itachi laughing as he prepares for bed.