A careful knock at the door alerts Itachi to Sasuke's presence outside his door. Though, truth be told, Itachi has long been aware that his brother has been pacing outside for the past fifteen minutes.

"Come in, Sasuke."

Cautiously, Sasuke enters the room, a faint crease between his eyebrows at the worry that he might be interrupting Itachi. He stops and stares for Itachi's hair is for once unbound, flowing of his shoulders like silk. Sasuke has the strangest urge to touch it.

"What is it?" Itachi's question reminds Sasuke to focus on why he's here.

"Um, I was wondering if you'd, um, throw kunais with me." The words tumble forth but he knows Itachi knows what he's asking. He asks the same thing every day. The corners of Itachi's mouth curve downwards and Sasuke hastily bows, backing away. "B-but, if you're busy, 'Tachi, that's okay." He turns to leave, disheartened.

"Sorry, Sasuke." Sasuke stares in surprise at his brother. He's never heard Itachi apologize to anyone. He didn't think it possible. Not because Itachi is arrogant, but because he's never done anything wrong in his life. Sasuke, on the other hand, is forever apologizing for everything.

"Oh, it's okay!" Sasuke smiles, sparkles, and Itachi tilts his head to the side.

"Not today. Maybe this weekend?"

And Sasuke nods because that's what he's supposed to do. "Sure!"

Itachi turns back to his work and Sasuke once again turns to leave.

"There's a storm tonight," Itachi says suddenly. "Shall I expect company?"

Itachi's almost smiling, and it's enough to prompt a genuine one from Sasuke. "Hai!"

He leaves, wondering if Itachi knows the truth. He's not actually afraid of the dark, but he's terrified of Itachi leaving. He just doesn't know why.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He can't explain it but on the day of the massacre, he clings to Itachi's back for a second longer than normal before scampering down. He has the oddest sensation that when Itachi says, "Goodbye, otouto. See you this afternoon." He's lying. He shakes his head; Itachi would never lie to him. Never. Itachi might lie to a lot of other people, for good reasons, Sasuke is sure, but not to Sasuke. Never Sasuke. He bets his life on it.

All that day, he thinks of that summer, before Itachi became ANBU captain, before he became distant with Sasuke, when Itachi was just Itachi, his nii-san. And suddenly, he can't remember a time when Itachi didn't have red eyes. Can't picture it. And it scares him. Was it just a dream? He doesn't know. That scares him, too.

Abruptly, the dream switches and he sees his parents on the floor, splattered with their own blood. He screams. He sees a shadow and wants it desperately to be just a dream. He wants to wake up. But he doesn't. Sasuke wants nothing more than to wake up and run to Itachi's room, where it's safe.

And then, suddenly, the lightning flashes, illuminating Sasuke's small room. Sasuke wakes up, blinking back tears. Furiously, he wipes away those that manage to escape. The lighting flashes once more and he hightails it to Itachi's room, not bothering to knock, and buries himself into Itachi's side, comforting in a way only Itachi can be. His entire presence radiates strength, strength Sasuke longs for but Itachi owns in spades.

Half asleep, Itachi murmurs, "It's just a dream, Sasuke."

Just a dream, Sasuke mouths the words to himself. He pulls Itachi's arm over him like a cover and falls into dream where there are at the Uchiha training grounds and Itachi is helping, no watching, as Sasuke throws each kunai with perfect accuracy and hits every mark. In his sleep, Sasuke smiles. The smile vanishes when he wakes up. Because despite repeating the words, it's just a dream, he knows, as surely as he loves Itachi, that it might have been more.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So when his dream becomes a reality, he is half expecting. He still screams nonetheless. But this time, because he knows he won't wake up, knows he can't run to Itachi's room. Itachi he knew and loved is gone. And so he screams, louder and louder until all he can't hear the mock Itachi, the one with red eyes, speak. He's still screaming as the world turns dark, then a brilliant red.

Like blood, Sasuke thinks before succumbing to immeasurable pain and fear for the one person he never imagined he'd feel it for. This was more than the slight hurt he'd feel when Itachi denied his requests, no, this was a thousand times worse. He'd never thought he would feel so much betrayal, not for his own brother, his own flesh and blood. Maybe it's a test, Sasuke thinks desperately. And in a way, he's right. Whose love was being tested, though, Sasuke didn't know.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

To this day, he still doesn't. And it kills him a little bit more each day as the question, the not knowing, gnaws at him constantly. When Orochimaru offers him a link to Itachi, he takes it without thinking.

Sasuke had once bet his life on Itachi's truthfulness, but now he wants to take Itachi's with him. It's not Sasuke's path, his Shinobi way. It's not even Itachi's. It's the way of the Uchiha: you keep going until there's nothing left, until your pride runs out. And if you're a true Uchiha- it doesn't.

~Fin