"When you fall in love, you love with all that you’ve got. You must learn to bear anger, hatred, keep your ego and attitude aside and handle things with care, calmness, and love."
...people live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true... that is how they define reality. But what does it mean to be correct or true? Merely vague concepts... their reality may all be an illusion.
My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, but an ambition. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain man.
A/N: Woooo Itachi! And Iruka!! Spoilers (sorta) as well, but I’m sure you already know what’s coming.
“Goodnight, Y/n!” Your friend called with a drunken wave. You giggled and waved back, making your way to your place. A night out had been perfect: seeing a movie; ramen at Ramen Ichiraku; ending with drinks and karaoke at Shushu-Ya.
There was a man standing walking towards you. The only place you recognized them from was the back of the bar during karaoke. You gave a quizzical glance, and the person disappeared. You shook your head, drinking made your brain fuzzy. A fuzzy brain was not a good ninja brain. You continued the walk home. The breeze was gentle, and it caressed you as you stumbled. You heard a scoff and glanced over to find a Sasuke helping you regain your balance.
“You need to not drink so much.” He scolded, but this time it was your turn to scoff.
“I barely drank anything.” You retorted. “I’ll have you know I’m perfectly, fine, thank you.” Sasuke’s eye roll was almost audible. You put a hand on his head and gave his hair a ruffle. “Where would I be without my little brother?”
“I’m not your brother.”
“You might as well be.” You giggled, wrapping your arm around his shoulder and pulling him against you. “I definitely love you like you are.”
“Yeah, yeah.” You could tell he was a little bit uncomfortable. “Let’s get you home.”
“Not so fast, kiddo-“
“Don’t call me that.”
“Fine. Not so fast, bucko-“
“That’s not much better.”
“Well what the hell, Sasuke, cut me some slack. I have the fuzzy brain.”
“You’re drunk is what you are.” You guffawed at his accusation.
“I deny that allegation, thank you. I’m perfectly buzzed.”
It wasn’t much longer to your place, and you simply stopped walking. Sasuke nudged you along but you didn’t move. Instead, you simply looked at the moon in the sky. It seemed to give a knowing, apologetic smile. You turned to Sasuke, giving that same smile to him.
“I’m supposed to take care of you, and now you’re taking care of me.” A soft sigh escaped your lips, and you felt yourself sobering up at an incredible rate. “Some elder sibling I am, huh.” Sasuke didn’t say anything, but nudged you along. It was moments until you were at your door.
You said your goodbyes and went inside. It wasn’t long until you were in your pajamas and ready for bed, but you sat in your bed eating cookie dough instead of sleeping right away. You watched the curtains sway in the breeze next to your open window. You looked down at the container in your lap, sighing.
“I thought that was you.” You spoke softly, raising your gaze to find a man in a black robe-like jacket with red clouds on it. You took a moment to breathe in his appearance: long black hair tied back, piercing onyx eyes that shot through you, his headband bearing a slash through his village insignia… His was a face you weren’t sure you would see again. “I’ve missed you.” There was a pause. “I’ve done as promised, I’ve watched over Sasuke like he was my little brother.” Another pause. “I haven’t told him the truth.” Yet another pause. “Say something… Anything.” You pleaded quietly. “It’s been so long, Itachi.”
“Too long.” He admitted, walking closer to you but still keeping a distance. A light smile crossed your lips at the sound of his voice.
“I won’t bite.” You assured, gently patting the bed in front of you. He shook his head, and you could almost see the edges of his lips curl upwards.
“I might.” A chill ran up your spine. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.” You replied softly. “I’m with Umino Iruka now.” You blurted, regretting it immediately as you noticed Itachi stiffen.
“I saw at the bar. Isn’t he a little old for you?”
“Not terribly. We passed the Chunin exam the same year. He’s only a few years older than us. He’s kind to Naruto, and he’s good to me.” You explained quietly. Deafening silence followed. “I waited as long as I could.” Silence. “I didn’t know when, or even if, you were coming back. I did as you asked and watched over Sasuke, keeping the truth from him and fueling his hatred of you.” Tears began to fall as there was more silence. “Itachi, please say something.” Even more silence. “Ita-“
His lips met yours before you had even known he moved. His hand held your face close to his, his other hand grabbing a fistful of your hair. You closed your eyes, losing yourself as you returned the kiss, your hand finding his face and caressing his cheek while the other grabbed onto his jacket. You felt your face warm as more tears fell. He broke the kiss, looking into your eyes for a moment before wiping your tears.
“I’ve always loved you.” Itachi muttered, his thumb brushing your cheek. You felt your body tremble at his touch.
“I will always love you.” You whispered, leaning your forehead against his forehead protector. He put a finger under your chin and lifted your face, kissing you again. This time it was soft, slow. It wasn’t forceful like the previous. You put your hand against his chest and gently pushed him away. He was unrelenting, though he broke the kiss.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, watching you closely.
“Itachi…” You paused. “Itachi, I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Don’t ask that.”
“I just did.” You winced at his words.
“Stubborn as always.” You muttered, moving your hand to grab his ponytail, gently pulling it over his shoulder, running your fingers through it. “Either, I guess. I don’t want to cheat on Iruka.”
“Don’t fight this, Y/n.” His murmurs against your neck sending a shiver up your spine and gave you goosebumps. You didn’t want to, even if you wanted to you couldn’t say no to him. His hand enveloped yours, stopping it from running through his ponytail. He kissed you again, and you didn’t fight him.
That night was long, and you barely slept, but when you did the sun was gently streaming through the window across your bed. Moments after you woke there was a knock at your door.
“Y/n? Good morning.” Iruka called, more than likely leaning against the door, and you looked at the spot next to you on your bed where Itachi had slept. “I came to surprise you with breakfast.” A piece of your heart seemed to die as you touched the pillow where the man you love once rested his head. “Y/n?” There was more knocking. You realized you were still naked from the previous activities through the night and quickly got out of bed.
“I-I’m awake!” You called, scrambling to get your pajamas on. “J-just a second!” You stumbled over to the door, unlocking and opening it. “Good morning, Iruka.” You were greeted with a chuckled and a smiling young man.
“Are you alright?” He smiled at you so sweetly. “You seem rushed.”
“I’m fine. Slept naked last night.” You told him. “I figured I should put something on.”
“You didn’t have to.” Iruka replied with a wink. You blushed and stepped aside to let him in. He entered, setting the bags of groceries on your kitchen table. He gave a sniff. “Something smells… Off.”
“I can’t imagine what. I did sleep with the window open, so maybe that has something to do with it.” You lied, your hand wringing together in nervousness at being caught.
“Hn. Maybe.” He looked at you, smiling more. “Must be it.” He came over and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you to him. “You’re beautiful.”
“I’m exhausted and a mess.”
“And you’re beautiful.” You felt his lips press against the side of your head. “Go sit on the couch. I’ll make you breakfast.” You did as you were told after giving him a squeeze. “Hey.” You looked at him as you sat down on the couch. His facial expression was almost sad and you felt your heart shatter with his next words. “I love you. You know that, right?”
“Iruka… I-”
“Don’t. I think I know what you’re going to say, and I need you to not say it.” You looked at your hands in your lap and sighed. He knew about your night with Itachi after all. What had given it away? “If you say it then it’s real, and I need this to not be real.” You didn’t say anything. “He’s an S-class criminal, Y/n. What were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t…” You admitted, rubbing your arms.
“I’m going to make breakfast.” You bit your cheek, unable to look at Iruka. You genuinely cared for him, but Itachi… What you felt for that man was more than love. It was the kind of feeling that you imagined soulmates had, and it had lasted so long already.
“Come get your breakfast, darling.” You snapped out of your thoughts at the sound of Iruka’s voice. You looked at him in awe for a moment, taking in the fact this man had, in a way, already forgiven you.
Regardless of how you felt for Itachi, you chose Iruka.
