Itachi has never before stopped to wonder what people think about him, and he can't help but wonder about this now.

He has never contemplated what his friends and family see him as, considering that they never know what goes on in his head. They never know the conversations he has with himself, the exchanging of words that would make a world of difference if overheard. They don't understand who he is because all they see is what he shows them.

How naive, he thinks.

It is just like everyone else to not look beyond what their eyes betray to them. Itachi's eyes lower on his soul as he concludes that they must not care about him. They don't care enough to investigate his mind, no one has ever tried to delve into the water of his heart, his mind, his anything.

He shifts his position on the bed, and finally with great effort throws his legs over. With the resulting momentum he can pull himself into an upright position. He winces and blinks at the ache that accompanies his sudden movement, then pushes himself off the bed and moves towards the room next to his and the person he cares about most.

The door next to Itachi's own is never closed. There is always a slight crack in the door in case someone needs to come in quietly, and Itachi almost smiles at the door as he pushes it lightly open.

He finally does smile, however, when his eyes drift over the sleeping figure of his brother. He sets his lithe form at the foot of Sasuke's bed, and stretches out on it.

He isn't surprised when he hears Sasuke's fully awake voice call out to him. "Couldn't sleep, Itachi?" Sasuke asks. Itachi sighs, then answers with a curt nod. Sasuke stares into his brother's eyes for a minute, then purses his lips. "Something wrong?"

Itachi sits up and moves his head in a diagonal that makes Sasuke laugh. "Please, elaborate," Sasuke says. Itachi flashes his smile, the one he only gets around Sasuke, and obeys.

"I'd like to enlighten myself," he says, "on what others make of me."

Sasuke sits up, and in the same swift movement that carried Itachi up, pulls himself off the bed. He grabs Itachi's hand and puts it on his cheek. "It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks," he mutters. "I think you're perfect." His hands travel down to by Itachi's side, then he leans forward just enough to place a sleepy, disoriented kiss on the elder's lips.

He pulls himself up far enough to reach Itachi's ear. "Sounds like you need to forget something," he whispers. Itachi nods in the wake of the statement, hearing the implications behind it.

Itachi gives his brother's hand a squeeze before standing up to close the door that he now realizes is symbolic.

Just like Sasuke's door is never closed to Itachi, Itachi's soul is never closed to Sasuke.