Arabesque

To be honest, I wasn't even planning on finishing this (my bad), but after getting reviews I realized people actually liked this fic! So it got me off my ass to write the ending. Sorry if it seems rushed.

Thank you for reading! I also have ideas for side stories/sequels in this universe, but involving the other couples, namely SasoriDeidara, KisameSuigetsu, and JugoKimimaro. Let's see if I ever get around to them, lol.

Part II

Sasuke listens to Itachi as his older brother talks on the phone. Itachi's voice is quiet, but it is clear that some kind of argument is unfolding. But Sasuke can only hear one half of the conversation, and Itachi is deliberately keeping his answers terse and succinct. He looks uncomfortable, and Sasuke realizes he probably doesn't enjoy speaking to their parents. Finally Itachi hangs up the phone and turns to Sasuke.

"Mom says you can stay until you calm down, as long as your schoolwork doesn't suffer."

"She doesn't have any choice in the matter."

"You shouldn't make your parents worry."

"They're your parents too.."

Itachi's face is expressionless, but it usually is, especially when he wants it to be. Even thinking back to when they were children, the only change of expression Sasuke can recall is Itachi's small smile. A minute change that would always bring a reciprocating grin to Sasuke's face, his lips stretching ear to ear. Now, though, Itachi's face is blank, and Sasuke turns away as he wishes Itachi was easier to read. A silence stretches between them, and all of a sudden Sasuke realizes how awkward their situation is. He hasn't seen his brother in five years. He doesn't know what kind of man his brother has become. He doesn't know what to say to him.

"Are you hungry?" Itachi asks. "I can make you something."

It's only when Itachi brings up dinner that Sasuke realizes how late it is. But he's more tired than he is hungry. The day has been draining on him, and his emotions have yet to completely sort themselves out. "No. I should go to sleep though."

Itachi nods. He only has one futon, but he supposes it will have to do for now. There is a strange moment where they both reach for the futon for at the same time, then they both hesitate, then they reach again. Finally Itachi sits back and lets Sasuke unroll the futon. The room is small, and it takes up almost the entire space.

"I can get around myself," Sasuke says, "you can go back to work."

Itachi seems hesitant to leave, but he finally nods. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

After Itachi leaves Sasuke unpacks. At least, he unpacks as much as he can in the small space. He folds his clothing in neat piles on top of Itachi's dresser, and places his backpack and textbooks in the corner. He carries his toiletries to the bathroom, where he brushes his teeth before returning to the room. He lays down on the side of the futon, making sure to leave room for Itachi.

Sasuke quickly falls into a state of half sleep. He's tired enough that he loses consciousness as soon as his head hits the pillow, but nervous enough that he doesn't lose it completely. He lays in this state until he hears the door of the room opening, and feels Itachi's body moving to lay down next to him. Soon he hears Itachi's breathing deepen and slow, and he opens his eyes and tries to see through the darkness that envelopes the room.

Itachi sleeps on his back, just like he used to. His head is turned in Sasuke's direction, their noses not even a few feet from one another. Sasuke takes the time to study his brother's face. He looks older but the same. His hair, now down, might just be a little bit longer. His skin is paler, and there are barely visible bags underneath his eyes now. He looks tired, even though he's asleep.

Sasuke remembers when they used to share a futon like this, when his favorite thing was to crawl into his older brother's bed. He inches closer, like he used to. He presses his forehead against the soft cotton fabric covering Itachi's shoulder, and he wraps his arms around Itachi's arm. Itachi's body heat has the same comforting effect it used to. It's not long before Sasuke falls into a deep sleep, his dreams a comforting type of blank.

When Sasuke wakes up he's not sure where he is. The sunlight falls over him differently, and the futon is a little bit harder than usual. He blinks open his eyes to find a room that is too small to be his, and that's when he remembers yesterday. He rolls over to his side, but Itachi's not there. Sasuke places a hand on the ruffled sheets where Itachi had laid, but the futon is already cold. He gets up and gets ready for school.

As Sasuke gets ready he wonders how he'll lock up the building if Itachi has already left. But he should know that he doesn't have to worry. When he walks downstairs there is someone waiting for him, that tall man Sasuke has seen around Itachi before.

"Hey," the man says, grinning a mouth full of large, white teeth, "did you get a good night's sleep?"

Sasuke shrugs. "I slept fine."

"I'm Kisame. Itachi asked me to drive you to school."

In Kisame's car, Sasuke grips onto the seat as Kisame accelerates much too quickly, peeling out of the small parking space and into traffic. He speeds nearly all the way to the school, and Sasuke spends much of the time trying to maintain balance in his seat and not get sick. Finally they are there, and Sasuke has never been happier to feel his feet connect to the ground.

"What time do you need to be picked up?" Kisame asks, looking eager to be of help.

Sasuke can feel his stomach heave in protest. Besides, he has a lesson with Orochimaru today. "Don't worry about it."

He shuts the door before Kisame can say anything back in reply.

* * *

"It's an herbal remedy," Kisame says. A clear plastic bag flands on Itachi's kitchen counter. The herbs look like clumps of brown grass and dirt. Itachi eyes it from the other side of the counter, where he stirs something in a pan.

"You make it into a tea," Kisame continues. It's just a herbal remedy, and both of them know that it will do no good. At this point, they know that nothing will work. Right now Kisame is more concerned with the fact that Itachi is cooking. Between both his jobs, Itachi really shouldn't have the time to prepare dinner. "If you have time to cook, you should rest instead."

Itachi only shrugs. Kisame frowns and wonders if Sasuke staying here is the best thing for Itachi.

"I'm sure he's fine eating ramen," Kisame says, and it is almost a whine.

"He's too young," Itachi replies, "to live on junk food."

But there's another reason why Kisame is worried about Itachi, aside from the fact that Itachi will no doubt expend more energy taking care of his little brother. Because he knows exactly what Sasuke means to Itachi.

"Do you two share a bed?" he asks, out of some kind of morbid curiosity.

Itachi doesn't look offended. He doesn't stop stirring for even a second. "I only have one futon."

"Is that okay?"

". . . When I left the house," Itachi says, as cool as ever, "in a way I was relieved. Part of it was because I thought Sasuke wouldn't have to grow up in my shadow. But, more than that, I thought it was good that he would never notice how I feel about him."

"I guess it would be hard if he hated you."

"That's not it," Itachi says, surprising Kisame. "I'm more afraid that he'll reciprocate."

Kisame opens his mouth, but then they hear soft footsteps coming up the stairwell, and the topic is effectively dropped.

"I'm home," Sasuke calls, bounding into the kitchen.

"Welcome home," Itachi and Kisame say at the same time, and Sasuke sends Kisame an incredulous glance.

"Since when do you live here?" Sasuke asks.

Itachi sets a bowl of barely edible omelet rice in front of Sasuke. The fact that it is burnt in some places and raw in others doesn't stop Sasuke from beaming up at his brother in gratitude. But Itachi doesn't eat dinner with them, instead going downstairs to start work. Sasuke eats dinner with Kisame instead. Afterwards they both head downstairs, and Sasuke sets his books up at the bar.

"I'm off," Kisame says. "Need a ride to school tomorrow?"

Sasuke makes a noise of protest as Kisame ruffles his hair, jerking way from the offending hand. "No, thank you."

Kisame only chuckles as he leaves. Itachi smiles down at Sasuke, amused. The small expression draws a smile onto Sasuke's face as well.

"Are you planning on doing your homework here?" Itachi asks.

Sasuke shrugs. "There's more space down here."

Itachi lets Sasuke stay. Sasuke watches as patrons come in throughout the night, as Itachi serves them in his cool, attentive way. But the bar is never busy, and there are several moments where Itachi leans over him, the space between them small, and corrects something on his homework assignment. When Sasuke leaves he does so grudgingly, but he's tired from a long piano practice and falls asleep instantly.

* * *

Sasuke wakes up in the middle of the night. His cheek is pressed against something firm and warm. Something that rises and falls underneath him in soft swells. Itachi's chest. His arm is wrapped around Itachi's waist, wrist pressed against skin where his shirt has ridden up. Sasuke is a little embarassed to be in this position. He always had been a cuddler, but he's too old to be wrapped around Itachi's side like this. Still, he doesn't move away.

Saske shifts so he can see Itachi's profile. Itachi looks even more tired today than he did yesterday. Sasuke frowns, his eyes tracing the countours of Itachi's face. He really hasn't changed, though, is still the nii-san that Sasuke remembers.

The clock past Itachi's nose flashes 4:00. Sasuke wonders what time Itachi wakes up. It can't be much later than now, and he buries his face in Itachi's neck as he enjoys this time together. He can smell Itachi's shampoo, an artificially clove-like scent. With a flush he realizes they are laying more like lovers than brothers. Still he doesn't move away, only inches minutely closer, and falls back asleep with his nose buried in the nape of Itachi's neck.

* * *

After school Sasuke is horrified to see Kisame waiting for him by the school gates. He speeds up his pace and turns his head to the side, hoping Kisame won't notice him. But he should have known better, and soon he feels some one grab the collar of his uniform and tug him backwards.

"Hey, hey," comes Kisame's voice. "I'm not that bad of a driver, am I?"

Today Kisame treats him to a grocery expedition at the grocery store around the block, and stays to help him cook. Unlike Itachi and Madara, Sasuke actually knows how to cook. When Kisame expresses surprise at his skills, Sasuke raises an eyebrow and wonders why Kisame would think otherwise.

"I used to help my mom all the time," Sasuke says.

The thought of his mother sends a tinge of something he can't place shooting through him, but Sasuke ignores it. They cook together, Sasuke telling Kisame what to do, and by the time Itachi comes home they have dinner on the table. Itachi stares in what is possibly disbelief, but it's not the food on the table that he's staring at. His little brother is wearing a frilly white apron.

He turns to Kisame. Kisame grins.

"It looks cute on him, yeah?"

* * *

Itachi takes a day off on Sunday. Sasuke all but races home from his morning lesson with Orochimaru, and they pile into the backseat of Kisame's car, Kisame's surfboard in the passenger's seat and poking out the sunroof. It doesn't take long before they're in Chiba prefecture, and then they're at the beach.

There breeze is cold coming off of the ocean, the sand uncomfortable in between Sasuke's toes. The beach is almost empty, but there are surfers in the water, the temperature doing little to keep them away from the waves. They move to a certain spot on the beach, where two young men have already laid out a blanket.

"Eh?" Says one of them, an effeminate looking man with long blond hair. He's staring at Itachi. "No one told me he was going to be here."

"Come on, princess," Kisame says, "let's all try to get along for today."

The blond visibly bristles at the insult, and opens his mouth to scream something at Kisame when the man beside him speaks.

"This must be Itachi's brother," he says, his voice a perfect monotone. Cold blue eyes look at Sasuke from behind an expressionless face, and Sasuke shifts a little where he is sitting on the blanket. "You're much calmer than when we saw you last."

"Sasuke," Itachi says, "this is Sasori. Deidara is his boyfriend."

"Hello," Sasuke says, drawing his knees to his chest. Sasori hasn't stopped looking at him, in that cool, analytical way, and he's starting to feel unnerved. He had thought Itachi was expressionless, but Sasori is even more so.

"I see your antagonistic feelings for your brother have gone away." Though Sasori's voice doesn't vary in pitch at all, Sasuke can discern some type of accent, although he can't place it.

"Dude," Kisame says, "check out the waves that are coming in now."

Sasori turns his head to look, and Sasuke lets out a breath of relief as soon as that intense gaze is off of him.

Kisame zips up his wetsuit. "I'm going in."

"I will join you," Sasori says, getting up. Sasuke watches as Sasori walks down to the ocean, his movements stiff and mechanical.

"I didn't know cyborgs could surf," he says.

Sasuke is surprised when Itachi actually chuckles at his joke. It is barely audible, and Itachi stifles it in the middle so it almost sounds like a snort, but it is there. Sasuke beams at his brother, who has come to sit beside him.

"Hmph," Deidara says. "You're just as rude as your brother, hmm? I'm gonna go find a vending machine."

Sasuke doesn't speak again until Deidara is out of earshot. "Deidara doesn't like you very much, does he, nii-san?"

Itachi shrugs. "Deidara's the type of person who holds large grudges over small things."

He leaves it at that, and Sasuke doesn't care enough to inquire further. Instead, he focuses on enjoying his time at the beach. The sand doesn't feel so bad underneath his feet, and even the breeze has seemed to warm up a little bit. The wind keeps blowing his hair into his face, but he hardly minds. He could care less, because Itachi is sitting beside him, and he can feel his brother's body heat on his skin. Their hands are just a few inches apart, and if Sasuke was braver. . .

"Are you hungry?" Itachi asks.

Sasuke is startled from where he was looking between them, but he quickly shakes his head no. "I'm fine."

Itachi smiles at him, eyes soft for the moment, and Sasuke smiles back. Sitting here like this, side by side, it's almost like they're on a date. Sasuke's heart races up a little bit at the thought, but then he is aware of someone cooing at them. He turns his head to see two old women standing near by, staring at them.

"What a pair of handsome boys," says one, a hand on her cheek.

"You must be brothers," says the other, "you look so much alike."

"Yes, ma'am," Itachi says, smiling at them. He carries on with them for a few minutes, but Sasuke tunes the conversation out. He feels as though some one has just dumped a bucket of cold water on top of his head. His eyes focus on the water, where Kisame and Sasori are small figurines in the waves.

After awhile he feels a hand on his shoulder, and he realizes the two old women are gone. Itachi is looking at him with an amused expression.

"You didn't even protest," Itachi says, "when they said they wanted to introduce us to their granddaughters."

Sasuke looks away, places his chin on his knees. "It's obvious, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"The fact that we're brothers."

There's silence, and without even looking Sasuke can see a perplexed expression on Itachi's face.

"It can't be helped," Itachi finally says. "We look too much alike."

"I wish we didn't," Sasuke replies, wondering if he should say this but pushing forward anyway. "I wish we didn't look alike. I wish we weren't brothers."

"Sasuke. . . what are you saying?"

Sasuke doesn't say anything back. He feels that Itachi knows what he's talking about.

The tension that hangs between them the rest of the day is thick and heavy. Neither knows what to say to the other or how to say it, but Itachi thinks that things are only a small push away from going too far. When they get back to the apartment Itachi packs a bag and tells Sasuke that he will be sleeping over at a friend's house. Sasuke can't bring himself to protest.

The hour after Itachi leaves passes over an eternity. Sasuke spends it sitting at the empty bar, staring off into space. At the end of the hour he moves to the kitchen, and reheats leftovers from the day before. The beeps of the microwave are too loud in the silence of the apartment. He has no schoolwork due. He has no piano to practice on. And he has no one to talk to. He stares at the phone, but realizes that he has no one he would be able to call.

After Sasuke eats he washes his bowl and utensil and takes a shower. It is only eight, but he rolls out the futon and lays down. In the time that follows he can barely close his eyes, lets along sleep. The once small room now seems barren, and a type of loneliness Sasuke has never felt lingers in his every pore. Without Itachi, without his parents, he has never felt alone.

Sasuke gets up. Besides his own home, there is only one other address he knows to go to, written on a torn piece of paper in case of emergencies. He heads there now, and knocks on an apartment door in a rundown complex. Kisame opens it and stares down at him. Without speaking, Kisame lets Sasuke in.

"How is it?" Kisame asks.

Sasuke doesn't know what he's talking about, and only stares up at him in confusion.

"A life without friends."

It will be better for Sasuke's own sake, Kisame thinks, if Sasuke has a more normal life. If he has some one to talk to, some one to stand by him. Especially since Itachi. . . Kisame shakes his head free of those thoughts, not wanting to think about it. Instead, he turns on the television, and they watch mindless entertainment until Sasuke falls asleep on the couch.

The next day Sasuke is leaving school when he hears a voice. It is Naruto, calling out to him, but he doesn't even get a chance to ask his typical question before he is stopped by Kiba.

"Why do you even try?" Kiba asks, pulling on Naruto's arm. "You know he'll just say no again."

Naruto opens his mouth to protest, but then he shuts it again. His eyes look down, a frown tugging at his lips. Resignation, as clear as any other emotion on his face. Naruto turns away, and Sasuke looks back at his closed locker door. But then Sasuke turns too.

"Wait," he says, "I'll go."

There is shock on every one's face. Naruto is the first to snap out of it, lips breaking into a wide grin.

"Come on then," Naruto says, "hurry it up already."

When Sasuke gets home that day, there is a woman sitting at the bar talking to Itachi. She turns around and he realizes that it is their mother.

"Sasuke," Itachi says, "I think that it's time for you to go home."

* * *

It is raining outside. It's understandable, being monsoon season, but it doesn't help the mood. Kisame and Itachi sit in Kisame's car, Itachi waiting for Kisame to turn on the engine and drive. As they wait theiywatch the rain pour in a curtain over the front windshield. It is a heavy fall where they can't distinguish the sound of one raindrop from the other.

"If that's the case," Kisame says, and he's surprised to hear his voice crack a little, "shouldn't you tell Sasuke?"

Itachi turns his face to look out the window, even though they both know he can't see past the rain. "It's better this way."

"You shouldn't leave with any regrets."

"I-"

"You shouldn't leave your brother with any, either."

Silence. Kisame starts the car and drives.

* * *

The next few weeks Sasuke goes back to what had once been routine. School. Piano lessons with Orochimaru. The difference is now he has friends to talk to. To complain to when he has problems. The difference is now Itachi calls him every day to see how he is doing. Sasuke wants to go visit his brother, but he is busy practicing, because auditions are coming up. He has always loved the piano, and even now his passion drives him to do well. He wants Itachi to see him on that concert stage. He wants Itachi to see him.

Itachi's phone calls are the highlight of his day. When Itachi speaks through the telephone, it is as if he was right there, whispering into Sasuke's ear. It's a happiness that's almost painful, and afterwards he is left feeling empty. But, he thinks, after the audition he can go visit with Itachi more.

One day he decides to make a request of his brother.

"Will you come to my audition?" he asks.

There is silence on the other end, and Sasuke feels his heart drop. But then his brother's voice comes through like a caress.

"Yes. I'll be there."

The day of the audition Sasuke's heart races inside his chest, and something does flips inside his stomach. When it's his turn he looks out into the empty seats as he walks to the piano. Itachi isn't there. Disappointment mixes with nervousness as he sits down, no other option but to play.

He wants to leave right after the audition. He wants to go home and shut himself up in his room. But Kisame is standing in the lobby when he is on his way out.

"Maybe it's not my place," Kisame says, "but there's something I have to tell you."

* * *

Itachi can't bring himself to open the bar today. Instead, he sits on the floor of his room, staring at the far wall. His limbs feel heavy, and head is muddled. He hopes that Sasuke's audition is doing well. He hopes that Sasuke will get the position. He hopes that Sasuke will be okay. Thoughts filled with Sasuke, he's not surprised when Sasuke himself appears in his vision. It's probably a daydream.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sasuke says. His eyes are huge and unblinking. A trick to keep from crying, something he always did when he was little. "I hate you so much."

And then he kisses him, and Itachi realizes that this isn't a dream. These are real lips, pressed against his. Soft and quivering. Tears are streaming down Sasuke's face, and his voice is a whisper as he buries his face in Itachi's shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Itachi's hands come up to wrap around his little brother. Sasuke's warm in his arms, a solid presence to hang onto. He brushes the hair out of Sasuke's face with one hand and holds him closer with the other.

"I thought. . . I thought it was better this way."

"You're an idiot." Sasuke leans in for another kiss, his lips now hot and insistent.

"If you're just going to leave me again," he pleads, voice cracking, "at least give me tonight."

Itachi can't say no. He loves Sasuke. He always had. In his world, there was only ever Sasuke.

Clothes are peeled off, and then there is only the brushing of skin on skin. As they meld together each thinks that nothing else could feel more right. In a perfect world, there would be explosions. There would be fireworks. But instead, there are only two boys, finally coming together in time and space. And, for them, it is more than enough.

When Sasuke wakes up, he is aware that Itachi is all too still. Tears start falling before he even opens his eyes. He thinks that it's unfair. . . their story had just started, and now it was over.

The next week passes in a haze. When Sasuke tells his parents, his mother starts sobbing. His father doesn't say anything, but he suddenly looks so weak. So pale. Sasuke finds him later, staring into Itachi's room, as if Itachi would reappear there.

The house is filed with their regrets, and Sasuke is glad that he has none.

The funeral is almost unbearable, but it helps that he has friends there. Kisame sits on one side of him, and Naruto and the other boys from school sit a few rows back. It comforts him, somewhat, to know that they are there to support him. He is the last to say goodbye to Itachi. The last to throw a flower into his grave. He hopes that, in a future life, they can meet again.

There is one solitary star in the clouds that form his life. Sasuke is offered the role of pianist at the concert festival. That day every one comes to see him. His parents, Madara, Kisame, even Sasori and Deidara. . . Sasuke breathes deeply before his solo, and steps out onto the stage. He sits down at the piano bench, and positions his fingers.

The first arrpeggio fills the concert hall, and Sasuke can almost feel Itachi's fingers moving over his.

It's Arabesque No. 1.


.end.