Just wanted to say how beautiful this fic is. Your portrayal of Naruto and Itachi dealing with grief was breathtaking in it's nuanced approach. While their relationship seemed to bit a tad unhealthy initially (what with Naruto still not getting over Sasuke and Itachi's resemblance to him and the fact that they're both using each other to remember Sasuke...it's vaguely disturbing as well) the characterization still flowed and it was sweetly realistic when you managed to bring them to closure over Sasuke's death. Your style shines wonderfully in this piece.

Would like to point out that you're missing "the" in the following sentence: How do you celebrate _ birthday of a dead person?

Also, "searching for the color Sasuke had chosen once upon (he) should be "a" time for his room."

Ah, and I think this should be "comforter", not "conformer"? :)

Again, some missing words in "those one(-night)-stands sparkled (ah, this should be sparked) by some vast need Itachi refuses to name."

"Not that Itachi would ever tell him something like 'I think I might be pinning after Naruto'." The word should be pining, extra "n" changes the meaning.

Neighbor's cat seems to be mewing for something every waking hour he spends an additional "the" in front of the sentence would improve the flow.

"It is forbidden to use, because it create smog" (Needs an "s" after create. Creates smog.

"The night is cold, but there's is no more snow." (This translates to "there is is no more snow" if I remove the apostrophe. )

"Sometimes, they even share an understanding glace glance that people who know each other well often do."

"It's so easy to forget the (should be that?)alcohol is a part of the drink..."

"He is finally stopping to look like an anorexic patient" Phrasing seems odd to me, could be improved by changing it to " He has finally stopped looking"

"If Sasuke meet their patents" (Man, if their conversation wasn't so sad, I would have laughed. Two things, it should be "met" and "parents" NOT "patents".)

"Itachi follows his gaze involuntary (involuntarily) and sees that it's collapsing."

"Could (have, this is unnecessary) that metaphor been any less cliché? (clichéd)"

" One look at Itachi's pleased and he..." You're missing a word after pleased. "face", I suppose?

"Itachi waits his him out."

And that's all I could spot. Good writing though!

I can't believe more people haven't reviewed this. As sad as it is, this is a really beautiful story. I like how it start not long after Sasuke's death, right on his birthday, and the sudden realised need to start moving on. Good title, too!

I'm also curious about Sasuke's illness, but at the same time it's a good technique that you kept it open, meaning it could be anything. Anyone could relate.

Also, your imagery as well as your characterization of Itachi is amazing. Such a pleasure to read. And the end gave such a nice, peaceful feeling of happiness and hope.

Just overall wonderful! 0 Thank you for sharing!

love it!

This felt so sad.

aww shiet that was pretty sad cus the whole time i felt like there was a big gaping whole in my chest where sasuke was.

but it was sweet.

the ending was especially sexy

awww sasuke.

Well, that was delicate, probably the most delicate and discreet story I've read from you so far. Very observant, both Itachi and Naruto perfectly IC (well, nothing exceptional about that when talking about a story written by you - what on earth prompted you to assume they'd be OOC?), every detail flawlessly under control.

However, there's absolutely nothing erotic about their connection here, nothing that would indicate that these two would be ready to have a romantic relationship of any sort. It seems more like a... troubled friendship/kinship to me, and I couldn't - I just couldn't - imagine these two falling in love or having sex at any point in the "future". I missed the rawness you so perfectly depicted in "Tempest in a Teacup" and "To Rise by Sin". I guess it has something to do with my own preferences; I prefer situations where Naruto's acting strong, proud and boisterous and Itachi's being a bit hard and mysterious and maybe even a tad passive-aggressive if required. So what I'm trying to say is that as beautiful and ethereal as the result might be, there's no need for you to be gentle with these two - but at the same time, we're talking about YOUR story and YOUR vision here, so who am I to make any demands, eh? )

Kakuzu... Heh. I've been thinking about him and Hidan a lot lately, and if there's someone who's slightly OC here, it's probably him, but that's alright (Kisame might've been a better choice for the role, but honestly, it's nothing significant, really).

And once again - I think you should be writing scripts for atmospheric, elegant and multi-layered short films - no, I'm not kidding, I'm dead serious about this. P