[ ... sasuke being... nice(?) to him, like this... it's not something Itachi even dared to dreamed about, after what he'd done. It's not something he'd deserved, either.
But of course his brother would manage to surprise him anyway. ]
... You needn't concern yourself with me, Sasuke. [ say it less fondly, god. ]
You aren't like that. [Sasuke knows the real Itachi, his brother, the one he had known when he was a child. Now that he knows the truth, he knows Itachi had never changed.
He was a fool to believe otherwise all those years.] You never were.
... That wasn't my intention. [ i mean, kinda, but. ] No one person, one thing, is ever without its flaws, Sasuke. There's nothing wrong with realizing that.
I don't understand why you would call yourself flawed when it was the village who made you choose between two evils. [He won't!! accept this!! talk!!] Telling me wouldn't have changed the fact they are the ones who gave you that mission.
[ itachi, slightly more hysterically: now we don't got TIME to UNPACK all of this right now--
which is to say, whew boy, okay, that wasn't even the whole of what he was referring to, sasuke, p l e a s e, he has done so many things wrong in his life ]
...
[ he just sighs, in the end, and then gestures for Sasuke to come closer in a move Sasuke should Probably Guess What's Coming ]
[The pit of Sasuke's stomach drops. He knows what's coming. But it's his brother, and he's grown terribly soft after learning the truth even if there's a lot of hate to go around for Konoha.
So he moves in toward Itachi at the beckon. Except when the hand goes out, gets close, Sasuke is going to grab the wrist.]
[ that's a new reflex, but Itachi jist let's Sasuke grab his wrist, not even pretending to bother attempting to get out of the hold. And also continues with what he was gonna say, like an asshole ]
... You'll understand later, Sasuke. Because we're brothers.
[Another Time, Sasuke is inevitable, so his hold loosens, and the fingers thunk against his forehead anyway before he indignantly pulls the hand down and away.]
[ he can't say that while also accepting the forehead poke AND calling him niisan, come on, that's too much ]
No, you're not. [ even if he still believes in childish things and acts like a brat, Sasuke hasn't been a child since Itachi took that from him. And he has grown, so much, because of and in spite of that. But. ] Yet you'll always be my little brother.
[It actually hasn't been an extremely long time between, No matter what choice you make, I'll always love you and waiting bitterly on top of Madara's statue for Naruto to show up.
The casualness of letting go of being wrong, being angry and speaking like brothers twists the worst kind of hurt in him.]
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Nothing. [Sentimental things he should probably forget. For now at least.] If you... need something, you can ask me.
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But of course his brother would manage to surprise him anyway. ]
... You needn't concern yourself with me, Sasuke. [ say it less fondly, god. ]
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I know. [ he'd offer similar, honestly, but-- ha. ] We are alike in those ways, I suppose.
[ wanting to go it alone for the most part ]
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He was a fool to believe otherwise all those years.] You never were.
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... I'm a flawed man, Sasuke. I always was.
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...I am. And as your brother, I was flawed, then and now, as well. [ he's. so. why is sasuke this way. why did he raise him this way*.
*killing a child's entire family and then telling them to kill you is not raising them in any way, shape or form. ]
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Don't. Why is it so hard for you to understand you won't change my mind?
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... That wasn't my intention. [ i mean, kinda, but. ] No one person, one thing, is ever without its flaws, Sasuke. There's nothing wrong with realizing that.
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which is to say, whew boy, okay, that wasn't even the whole of what he was referring to, sasuke, p l e a s e, he has done so many things wrong in his life ]
...
[ he just sighs, in the end, and then gestures for Sasuke to come closer in a move Sasuke should Probably Guess What's Coming ]
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So he moves in toward Itachi at the beckon. Except when the hand goes out, gets close, Sasuke is going to grab the wrist.]
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... You'll understand later, Sasuke. Because we're brothers.
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I'm not a little kid anymore, Niisan.
[he's a MAN]
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No, you're not. [ even if he still believes in childish things and acts like a brat, Sasuke hasn't been a child since Itachi took that from him. And he has grown, so much, because of and in spite of that. But. ] Yet you'll always be my little brother.
[ emphasis on little you piece of shit ]
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The casualness of letting go of being wrong, being angry and speaking like brothers twists the worst kind of hurt in him.]
...Always.
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[ in lieu of vanishing in bits of dusts or like, turning into crows, itachi is just going to have to walk out like a normal human being
This is awkward. ]