When Love Fades

Chapter 13 - Divergence III

Sasuke's stomach growled as he was slicing the tomatoes. Dinner was going to be so fucking late. He glanced over to Itachi who was setting the rice cooker going, grateful that his older brother had made no further comment about the tardiness of the meal. Naruto was usually the one who reminded Sasuke when Itachi was coming up for his monthly visit, but Naruto still wasn't back from his trip. Sasuke had gotten an annoyed text from his brother that he had arrived at their apartment but no one was there. Luckily, Itachi at least had his own key, but given that he had driven three hours from the city he had worked to see Sasuke, he wasn't pleased to arrive to an empty apartment.

Since it was a Friday, Sasuke had been able to leave work immediately and quickly came back to find his brother already setting out ingredients that he had scavenged in the fridge for them to cook. It was a ritual that they cooked these meals together, and the fact that Sasuke had missed lunch wasn't going to get in the way of it. The two brothers fell into an easy, familiar rhythm of cooking. Both their parents had worked growing up, so the brothers had had to learn how to cook early on.

Despite the familiarity of cooking with his brother, Sasuke found it oddly quiet. He realized that it was usually Naruto who would be asking Itachi about his work, then sharing things from Sasuke and his jobs or friends... anything newsworthy that had come up since the last time they'd spoken. Naruto was also the only one who would ask about their parents, given Sasuke's strained relationship with them. Fugaku and Mikoto kept in regular touch with Itachi, but rarely called their younger son.

Sasuke leaned back against the counter as he added the last. ingredient to the wok, the aroma of ginger and teriyaki filling the small kitchen.

"You said Naruto was out of town until tomorrow?" Itachi asked, pouring himself a glass of wine as they waited for the food to cook.

"Hn. He had a new commission to photograph some buildings. He headed up to Osaka Tuesday afternoon." Sasuke stirred the chicken and vegetables in the pan, checking to see if they were cooked through.

Itachi arched a brow. "That doesn't sound like his usual type of freelance work."

Sasuke was slightly surprised that Itachi paid that much attention Naruto's line of work. Of course, Naruto usually talked about it when Itachi would come over but Sasuke hadn't expected his brother to remember much about it. "Hn. Naruto mentioned that this was a different sort of commission. He seemed really excited about it." Sasuke's face softened slightly at the memory of Naruto's face when he'd told him, though he was unaware of it as he transferred the stir fry to a large bowl.

Itachi noticed, and did his best not to smile in return as he set the rice on the table. Naruto was the only one who had ever gotten his brother to open up. It was something Itachi would be eternally grateful to Naruto for. "Is the work for an architecture firm, or a media company?"

Sasuke paused as he sat down at the table across from Itachi. Had Naruto mentioned who the commission had been for? Sasuke had been... distracted when they had discussed it. "I'm not sure. I don't think he mentioned it."

Itachi frowned as he served himself some rice, then ladled the stir fry on top. "Didn't you ask?"

"We discussed it. Kiba had taken him out to celebrate, and he wasn't in much shape to be very articulate about it by the time I talked to him," Sasuke replied, dishing himself.

Itachi levelled a look at Sasuke that reminded him of when he had been caught telling a girl off in a particularly brutal fashion when she had had the nerve to follow him home from middle school. Itachi had pulled Sasuke aside and informed him that whether or not he returned the affections of someone there was no call to call to verbally eviscerate someone that way. Sasuke may or may not have taken the lesson to heart, but he certainly remembered the look in Itachi's face as he'd watched the girl run sobbing down their driveway presumably back to her own home.