𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 | itachi/sasuke uchiha

chapter ten

"Seeing the one you love being happy should make you happy, right?"

Your words were stuck in Sasuke's head as he lay in bed that night, unable to sleep. He felt as if he were being consumed by anguish from the inside out, mostly from his brother threatening him to keep him away from you. He'd seen you go into Ichiraku ramen for lunch, and was eavesdropping on you and Naruto's conversation when he heard you say that. He turns over in bed, muttering to himself.

"Maybe she'd be happy with Itachi?" he mumbles as the moonlight illuminates his bedroom floor through the gap in his drawn curtains. He grimaces at the thought of giving in to his brother and letting you go so easily. As he closed his eyes, your face comes into mind, making him smile.

"(name), would you be happier if I just let you go to Itachi?" he says quietly, starting to fall asleep. "Would everything be better if I just back off and give my brother what he wants?"

Within minutes, Sasuke had fallen into a deep sleep, dreaming of a future with you by his side, happy and free.

The next day

"(name)?" You groan and roll over in bed, covering your head with your pillow.

"Go away!" you yell, voice muffled. The voice calls your name again, and you snap.

"Steal whatever you want, just let me sleep!!" You hear someone walk into the room, and instantly know that it's Sasuke. You sit up and throw the pillow at him, complaining.

"It's so dark in here," he remarks. Your curtains certainly did good job of keeping the light out, that's for sure.

"Eh Sasuke what do you want?" you whine, rubbing your eyes. He chuckles and sits next to you.

"Well, considering we haven't hung out in the last few days, I was kinda hoping we could today?" he says, looking at you. You stretch your arms, yawning.

"Oh yeah, of course! Especially since your mother's barred me from training in any way whatsoever. Tch." You get your pillow back and lie back down. You hear him slip off his shoes and join you.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. So, what have you gotten so far?" he asks, propping himself up on his elbow and looking down at you. You roll your eyes.

"Oh god, how's about people think I'm pregnant?! Like- Uruchi even went so far as to buying baby clothes and giving them to me, like, come on, is she serious?! And yesterday, when I went out to get ramen, I was like..."

You ramble on and on about your endeavours the last couple of days, and all the while Sasuke stays quiet, listening intently. Pretty soon, he's stopped hearing your words and is instead watching your face, memorising every little detail, creating a map of what's placed where, simply appreciating the fact that someone as perfect as you could exist. A misty look covers his eyes as he begins to daydream about taking you out on a date, laughing and being able to enjoy you in his arms with the full comfort of knowing Itachi would never be a problem to either of you ever again...

"...eh, Sasuke?" He snaps back into reality as you ask him a question. He shakes his head.

"Sorry, what?" You roll your eyes.

"That Sakura girl," you say, reminding him of the conversation you'd had with Naruto yesterday. "Maybe if we make you uglier than you already are she'd turn her attentions to Naruto instead?"

Sasuke grimaces and hits you with a pillow as you laugh.

"I am not ugly," he scowls indignantly. "If anything, you're the..." He trails off. He can't call you ugly, simply because he doesn't want to lie to your face.

"I'm the what, hmm?" you say teasingly, elbowing him. He shakes his head.

"I forgot what I was going to say," he lies. You roll over and lay your head on his chest, closing your eyes. He flushes.

"What are you doing?" he asks as you hold onto his arm.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going back to sleep!"

"But you just woke up!

"So?" In truth, your stomach was full of butterflies as you held onto him. The fact that he was so close, yet so far, from you made you both happy and sad at the same time. You bite your lip.

"Hey, Sasuke?" You open your eyes.

"Hmm?"

"Why has... why's Itachi been acting all weird these last couple of days?" you ask quietly. You feel him give a silent sigh.

"I think... he's just really excited for the big surprise," he says, his voice flat and dull.

"The birthday?"

"Oh, it's much bigger than that, (name)." He goes quiet again, before irrationally deciding to speak up. He sits up and looks down on you.

"Don't you remember?" You look at him, confused. Now, Sasuke was starting to get angry at you, and he didn't even know why.

"You made a promise to him! You promised him that, when you were ready, you would be his! So, basically, you already belong to Itachi! Do you know how unfair that is to me, huh, (name)? My best friend is going to be married off to my older brother, even though I'm sure I didn't have a say in any of this!"

"What?" you exclaim. "I never said anything like that!"

"Yes, you did! And then you and Itachi went around the whole clan talking about your wedding and how many kids you were going to have and-"

"That's insane!" you cut him off. "And even if that did happen, why would anyone take a bunch of kids seriously?!"

Sasuke gives you a dark look.

"Because it was a promise Itachi made. And when Itachi says he's going to do something, it's always going to happen."

You frown.

"But... what if I don't like him... the way he likes me?" you say quietly. Sasuke raises an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" he asks curiously. You scratch your head.

"Well... what if I like someone else?"

The words hit Sasuke like a slap across the face.

So she likes someone else, huh?

He felt as if his whole world had come caving in. If you couldn't love him, then... he would much rather you be happy with Itachi than some random stranger from the village. He grimaces as he looks at you.

"Well then... I strongly suggest you keep your promise to Itachi, or else someone's gonna end up hurt," he says in a dead, flat voice. He's suddenly gone cold and distant, making it seem as if he regretted coming here in the first place.

You feel like crying.

So he doesn't like me, after all.

Sasuke didn't love you the way you loved him.

And that hurt.