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“Forgive me, Sasuke. I’ll help you some other day, okay?” Itachi gave his brother an apologetic smile. His little brother rubbed the spot where he had poked his forehead.
“Fine..” Sasuke pouted and watched his big brother leave. Itachi sighed after he slid the door closed. Lately, it felt like everything rested on his shoulders. As if he never got a single moment of peace. He had been avoiding you, too. He didn’t want to feel as if he was burdening you with the pressure that he was under from both the Hokage and his father.
Unfortunately for him, you had been relentless in trying to ease whatever was troubling him. He wouldn’t tell you anything whenever you asked what was up with him and that only served to worry you even more. As much as you tried to help, you couldn’t do anything if he wouldn’t let you in.
Letting out another sigh, Itachi put on his Anbu mask and swiftly left the Uchiha Compound. He knew he’d have to deal with the tension between you two soon.. Just, not now.
“Good afternoon, ____..! How have you been?” A smile graced Mikoto’s features. You went over to Itachi’s house often, at least twice a week when you could. Mikoto and Fugaku welcomed you since you were helpful and warm to them — They often told Itachi that he was blessed to have you, but you didn’t know about that.
“Good afternoon, Miss Uchiha,” You gave her a smile in return. “Is Itachi here?”
She gave you an apologetic look. You always tried to look after him as much as you could, but there was only so much you could do. “No sweetheart, He’s on a mission right now, but you could come in and wait for him if you’d like?”
“Is that alright? I don’t want to intrude..” You shyly asked. Sometimes you wondered if you were a bother to them, but Itachi’s parents always received you with open arms so you guessed maybe they didn’t mind.
“Oh you could never intrude! Don’t be so modest,” Mikoto chuckled and gestured for you to come in.
You came in with a smile, eyeing Itachi’s little brother peering up at you from his mother’s left side. As you took off his shoes, you noticed Sasuke’s pout. He seemed disappointed.. Was he expecting Itachi? After taking your shoes off, you followed Sasuke to the engawa and sat next to him. You looked onto the beautiful garden, it was bathing in the orange tint of the sunset.
“Why are you so pouty today, hm?” You asked the little boy next to you.
“I thought Big Brother came back,” He crossed his arms, “But it was just you.”
“ Just me?” you put a hand over your heart, feigning hurt. “I’m wounded!” You said dramatically.
“Hmph..!” Sasuke stuck to his words before letting up and sighing. “Big Brother said he’d help me with the Shuriken Jutsu when he came back.. But I don’t think he’s coming back..” He spoke quietly as he looked down at his fidgety hands. You could tell that it meant a lot to him, so without much of a thought, you stood up.
“Well, I’m not as skilled at Itachi,” you began, “But I can try to help, if you want.”
Sasuke eyed you suspiciously, considering your offer before getting up. He put his hands on his hips and looked up at you with a determined expression. “I bet you can’t even hit the targets like I can!” He spoke confidently.
“Oh-ho-ho! Really? Is that what you think?” you smirked down at the boy and crossed your arms. “Whoever hits the most targets gets a piggyback ride from Itachi!” Sasuke looked at you with stars in his rounded black eyes, he was definitely motivated to beat you at it now.
Without any more talking, you found yourself with Sasuke in the woods to help him practice his Shuriken Jutsu. Admittedly, you weren’t trying too hard since you knew you’d probably win the bet, even if you weren’t as good as Itachi. You watched as Sasuke flung three shuriken to their targets, only barely missing one of them.
He let out a small grunt, frustrated that he kept missing the same target. “That’s the only one I keep missing, I swear I’ll beat you!” He said while he crossed his arms and looked up at you as you got into position to show him how it was done.
“Uh-huh, sure you will,” You smirked and took out the shuriken before swiftly jumping into the air and flinging them at their targets. Though your moves weren’t as graceful as when Itachi did it, you did end up hitting every single target, even the one behind you.
By now, the sun was starting to go down. Once you landed, you proudly smiled at Sasuke and walked up to him. “C’mon, I should take you back home,” You said as you crouched down.
“What are you doing?” Sasuke asked you.
“What? You don’t want a piggyback ride back home?” You asked him with an amused tone, “Is it ‘cause I’m not Itachi?”
Sasuke giggled and climbed up on your back, “I’m not turning down a piggyback ride home!” With a bright smile, you stood up and carried him home. Luckily the two of you didn’t go far so it didn’t take the two of you long to get to Sasuke’s house. As the two of you approached the road it was on, your eyes rested upon the familiar figure that was Itachi.
Itachi’s back was all you could see though. His father looked agitated and that was all you needed to know the state of affairs between the two of them. Itachi followed his father inside the home while you and Sasuke entered a few minutes after them. As soon as the two of you stepped inside the home, Sasuke got off of your back to run off to eavesdrop on what Fugaku was telling Itachi.
Meanwhile, you walked into the kitchen to ask Mikoto what had happened. She was washing dishes when you sat at the table, a semi-worried look on your face. “..Is Itachi okay?”
Mikoto sighed, turning off the water and turning to you. Her expression was downcast and you could tell her heart was heavy when it came to things like this. “..He’s alright, it's just that..” Mikoto contemplated her next words. She had to be careful with what she said because you weren’t an Uchiha, therefore, you didn’t know what the clan was currently going through. “He’s under a lot of pressure from his father and being in the Anbu.. — The boy is stressed, please understand.”
You gave her an empathetic smile, “Don’t worry, I understand. I wish he would talk to me though..”
Mikoto’s heart strings were pulled after hearing your words. You wanted to understand her son and wished to ease his burden even if it was only a little — Much like she did with Fugaku. The only difference was that you weren’t an Uchiha, so the things Itachi could tell you were limited.
“I feel like he expects to shoulder all of this by himself, and I know that it can’t be good for him..” You sighed and laid your head down on the table, wondering how long Itachi would take.
After what felt like an hour, Itachi emerged from the room and passed by the kitchen, his eyes resting on you for a moment before he continued on his way to the veranda. You excused yourself from the table and followed after him. Sasuke must’ve fallen asleep waiting because he wasn’t sitting next to his brother like he usually did. You quietly sat next to him, trying to gauge his mood at the moment. Usually, you could read his body language, but tonight, you couldn’t read him. After a moment of comfortable silence, you spoke up.
“Are you alright?” you asked quietly, not wanting to accidentally irritate him.
Your boyfriend sighed, “..I’m fine.” His hand slowly intertwined with yours. “Everything is fine.”
Your brows furrowed at his words, you knew they were lies. You held his hand and gave it a small squeeze, “Itachi..”
He could tell you were about to start questioning him. The fact that you knew him like the back of your hand was a blessing but at times like these,it was also a curse. “Please, just.. Can’t we just stay like this? For now at least?” He was pleading that you’d understand him at least a little.
But he couldn’t blame you for worrying about him. “But, Itachi..” You began, “I want to help, I really do- But if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I can’t do anything for you..!” You spoke in a worried tone, your expression matched it. “I don’t want you to carry these burdens by yourself, I-”
Itachi sighed and let go of your hand. “It isn’t that I don’t want to tell you, it’s that I can’t . If you can’t understand that – Can you just go ? I do not need you questioning me on top of all the other responsibilities I hold.” Itachi’s voice, for once, was tinged with the subtle tone of frustration.
A bewildered look flashed across your face. You never once had heard such words come from Itachi’s mouth. He said it so calmly too and you knew he was frustrated but.. Was he serious? You balled up your hands and stood, wordlessly walking to the door and sliding it open to leave.
Itachi didn’t go after you or tell you to stay. He simply let you be on your way. This, for some reason, hurt you more. A worried Mikoto looked at you as you passed by the kitchen but you only told her that you were leaving for tonight.
That night, you didn’t sleep much. It took you about a week to get over the stabbing pain you felt. But you weren’t guiltless either. You knew he was stressed and poking the bear wasn’t a wise thing to do.. But he could’ve handled it differently, too.
When the second week rolled around, you found yourself avoiding Itachi at all costs. If he turned up at your home and your father notified you? Suddenly you weren’t home. If you were running errands and saw him for even a split second? Suddenly you weren’t there anymore. Wherever Itachi went, you fled. And of course, he noticed.
He felt bad for saying what he had said to you and he wanted to apologize, but it was now two weeks since that argument and you still wouldn’t give him the light of day. When he woke up that morning, he was determined to make today the last day that you avoided him.
You were calmly reading a magazine at the kitchen table while you munched on some of the onigiri your father made you before he left for a mission today when you heard a knock at your front door. You didn’t think much of it, but on the other side of the door was none other than Itachi at your doorstep. In his hands, you saw an assortment of all types of flowers. Your favorites were among them, but just seeing him — With no way to get away from him — after the encounter made your stomach sink.
You quickly opted to shut the door but Itachi jammed his foot in between the door and the frame. You sighed and opened the door fully, an unamused expression on your features. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” you said sarcastically. You didn’t want to be bitter, but you wanted him to apologize first.
“____. I..” Itachi had rehearsed what he was going to say to you but now that he had actually succeeded, it was like the words had left him high and dry. You stood there expectantly and the longer the two of you spent in silence, the longer you felt the urge to absolve him of everything and just take him in your arms.
But you knew you had to give yourself at least a bit of respect.
“I want to apologize for what I said,” He began, His black eyes downcast and guilty. “I was dealing with a lot at the moment, but I know that it was no excuse to talk to you the way I did..” He offered you the flowers. “Take them, I got them for you .”
The boy finally met your eyes and you swear you could feel your heart swell. You sighed and pulled him into a hug — You’d accept the flowers after. “..I was hurt by what you said.” you uttered softly as he returned your embrace.
“I know.., I’m sorry.” He held you tight, as if he was afraid you’d disappear if he didn’t
You took in a small breath and got what you had been meaning to say to him off of your chest, “But.. I also should’ve understood that you didn’t need my relentless worrying at the moment- And for that, I’m sorry, too.”
Itachi smiled softly, but you couldn't see. “You have nothing to apologize for.. You were worried.”
You parted from him and cupped his cheeks while you donned a determined expression, “Still. I want to be your support, I don’t want you to think you can’t come to me..”
Itachi softly shook his head, “I know I can come to you, I just..”
“-can’t tell me certain things..?” You finished for him. Your lover nodded, an apologetic look on his face. “It’s okay,” you told him as you took the flowers he offered to you, “Just.. remember that you’re human too, okay? You don’t have to go through it alone.”
He smiled and nodded.
One of the things he adored most about you was the way you always tried to understand him and grow the relationship. Though it was rare, arguments like these allowed the two of you to know more about each other.
Maybe one day he would tell you all of his burdens..
But that day was not today.