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Y/N was a little girl when she first met the Uchiha brothers, often in the clan's residing on business trips. She would always come with her father, and the first time she did, she helped out the younger Uchiha with training. It was not long before Y/N was introduced to the elder Uchiha, the young boy who was barely her senior.
It took moments for the two to hit it off, as the elder Uchiha was not nearly as closed off as he became over time. He would often watch as her eyes sparkled, the young girl being someone he realized was so easy to open up to. Y/N's y/e/c eyes were his favorite feature about her, not only because she was special for her own clan, but because they had become the most radiant sight.
The day of the massacre, he did not want her to be there. He loathed the fact that her father brought the young girl with him, and that he had to traumatize the young girl he had fallen in love with. Giving her loss, and tossing in hatred, the y/e/c young girl grew into the one that got away.
The ravenette would often watch as the girl would still hang around his brother, though he did so from the shadows. Though she was a few years his senior, Sasuke had clearly taken an interest in the girl that his brother loved, and the ravenette had to watch with pain in his chest. He had to watch as Sasuke Uchiha, the brother he loved dearly, grew to steal away the love that he had.
He would watch as the two would act as a couple, holding hands as the two grew with age. Itachi had the unfortunate luck of viewing the two's very first kiss, a sight he could never strike from his mind. Though Itachi's partner was not fond of how much time he would spend away, watching his brother and the girl of his dreams, Kisame paid no mind to interfere in the activity.
Itachi watched as the dynamic changed. He watched as Sasuke pushed the young woman away. Sasuke treated the angel as if she was the gum beneath his shoes after a while, and Itachi had to witness it all. Late nights that Y/N would stay up crying had the ravenette nearly in tears at the pure sight of his love's loss.
This particular night, the ravenette was aware that his brother fled the village hidden in the leaves. His brother was on a quest of revenge, and no matter the fact that Itachi had watched for hours, today was much different than others. Even if he could not be there for her physically, he could not leave the poor woman he fell in love with alone.
In the shadows of her room, he viewed her inconspicuously as she sat in tears. Curiosity as to why she fell so in love with the younger Unchiha had him pushing every limit he possibly could that night, though he could not move himself to comfort her. His charcoal eyes simply viewed, though it had never been what he expected.
The young y/h/c haired woman sat in a ball upon her bed, her sobs ringing throughout the room. Her voice was meek, choked with sobs as she spoke to herself the words that haunted her mind. "Why did you have to leave me?" She called out through her sobs, her body shaking as she gripped her legs tightly. Her y/e/c eyes were shut tight as she sobbed. "Why did I ever fall in love with you?"
Each word that ripped from her throat grew more violent, her hands moving to grip the sheets as her voice grew in volume. "I thought he would extinguish the flame," she practically growled. "That I could just get over you! That I could move on with my life!"
This was the first point that the elder Uchiha grew confused. Her words had not made sense as they slipped from her mouth, though she spoke with vigor. There was no way that she knew he was there, as his chakra was hidden to her. No audience was known for this show, and yet her words left the ravenette questioning.
"I thought I could just hate you," she choked out, another wave of tears ripping from her throat. "I wanted to just hate you. He hates you, why can't I?"
Itachi had to shift more into the shadows as she watched the young woman move to grab something from beneath her bed. Gripping a shoebox in her hands, trying to quell her sobs, she laid the box upon her bed. Sitting in front of it, she removed the top of the box to dig through the contents.
Gripping a picture in her hands, another wave of tears engulfed her, though her now open y/e/c did not stray from the picture in her grasp. "Come back to me, you idiot," she choked out as she moved a hand to gently stroke down the picture. "Please." Her voice grew hoarse as she spoke, desperation clear in her tone.
The ravenette cursed himself for not being in the right position. Even with his sharingan, it was hard for him to see the picture in the young woman's grasp. Allowing a frown to slip across his features, he found himself pressing the boundaries. His strides were silent, careful as he moved to just attempt to glance over her shoulder. With just one glance, if he would be able, maybe he would be able to see what the woman meant.
Maybe he had sold her the slightest bit short as his actions made him detectable. At this point, part of his lonesome mind wondered if he had wanted her to see him. Charcoal eyes locked with the puffy y/e/c orbs of the woman he had been trying so hard to be stealthy with.
Y/N thought that the man in the room was simply a mirage at first. Though her sobs quickly quelled, her bloodshot orbs stared at him, afraid if she blinked that the image would simply disappear. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she stared, mouth quickly drying at the sight.
Itachi wondered if he should simply flee, his charcoal orbs glancing to the window before coming back to the y/e/c gaze. His lips were tugged into a frown, staring at the woman he loved in such a disheveled state. He watched her every movement, or lack of movement, as she practically gaped at the sight.
After a few moments, the woman dropped the picture and ran to him. It had been the shortest run that she had ever accomplished, simply from the bed to the corner of the room. Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, she did not care that the male stiffened in her arms. Her sobs broke from her throat once more as she simply allowed herself to cry into the male's chest.
"Y/N…" he breathed out, his arms finally cautiously wrapping around her waist. Slender digits stroked her y/h/c locks gently as he held her. Noticing that the picture had fallen, his charcoal orbs darted to it, finally landing upon what he desperately needed to see. The moment that his eyes landed upon the depiction of the two, young and loving, he wasted no time holding her as close as he possibly could.
Her choked sobs were muffled by his chest, though she attempted to speak through it. "How long have you kept me waiting?" She asked, her voice broken and muffled. "How long have I been crying out to an audience?"
"I'm sorry," he murmured softly, kissing the top of her head as he simply held her. He knew those simple words would not fix everything that had happened, nor would it heal any wounds. "I'm so sorry."