Because I like my toys when they're broken.
Title: Broken Promises
Author: desolate butterfly
Genre: ficlet, one-shot, angst
Pairings: Itachi, Sasuke
Rating: PG 13
Summary: Sasuke's revenge isn't what he hopes it would be.
--
When Sasuke finally found Itachi he had already gone blind.
The elegant cloak of the Akatsuki was gone, exchanged for a more simple outfit, no buttons to make things difficult. Itachi's long hair had been chopped, raggedly, just above the ears. It looked like it had been done with the swipe of a sword, and a white scar lining the back of the neck led credence to this theory.
Most startling was the strips of white bandages wrapped around Itachi's eyes. Sasuke watched from his booth in the corner as his brother reached a graceful hand out for his teacup, gently feeling his way around the tabletop until a knuckle connected with the delicate china. Itachi drank his tea slowly, as if he had all the time in the world.
When the drink was gone, Sasuke called the girl over and paid for it himself. Then he walked over to where his brother sat and slid a hand around his throat.
Itachi's lips quirked upwards.
"Foolish little brother," he breathed.
Sasuke's grip tightened and he felt Itachi lean into it. It made him feel vaugely sick. It wasn't fair. He'd waited all this time...
Sasuke let his hand fall back from Itachi's throat. He felt the other man's confusion and smiled.
"Come on," he said gently, hooking an arm through Itachi's and helping him rise from his seat. "We're going home."
The waitress sighed as she watched the two men make their way to the exit, arm in arm. They must be family, she thought. Or lovers. It was really too bad about the one's blindness.
Sasuke led his brother down the street, frowning as Itachi stumbled over stones and rubble in their path. When they got back to Konoha he would have Sakura fix Itachi's eyes. And then he would kill him in the same room in which Itachi killed their mother and father.
"Don't worry," he whispered, grasping Itachi's hand a little tighter. "Everything will be as it should be."
The brothers made their way home; one set of eyes hidden behind white cloth, the other a naked red, gazing wildly at nothing in the distance.
--
I'll
wait my turn,
To
tear inside you,
Watch
you burn,
I'll
wait my turn...
-
Placebo
--
Fin.
Any commentary is appreciated.