(no subject)
Who: Itachi and Sasuke
When: After school on March 19th~
What: Itachi takes his brother to McDonald's for some gay-ass bonding time. (not like that though)
Where: In... McDonald's. xDDD
Warnings: Not really.
AIM or LJ? AIM, ho.
sarbito: Between his dream from hell, the impending threat of his death, and his usual emo faggotry, Itachi felt like reaching out to his brother in some shape or form. So, at the end of the school day, the elder Uchiha was wandering around the halls looking for him.
crimsoneyedheir: Poor Itachi and his emo faggotry. Sasuke was minding his own business, finishing up school and heading out of his last class. He actually almost bumped square into Itachi; he blinked in surprise, looking at him blankly before recovering his composure. "Did you want something?" His voice was cool, but then again it always was where Itachi was concerned.
sarbito: Bumping into Sasuke made him lose composure for a split second, but he quickly regained it. Itachi gave a small shrug to Sasuke's query. "I'm taking you to dinner. Come on." It wasn't a request or an offer, it was a command.
crimsoneyedheir: Very slowly, one eyebrow arched. Itachi was taking him to dinner? Sasuke made a brief check of his surroundings. Gravity still in effect. Earth still spinning. Apocalypse not impending. This was plainly extremely bizarre behavior. "Just a moment." He pulled out his phone to send a text message -- simple, just letting Naruto know he'd be out later than normal -- then pocketed it and looked over. "What brought this on?"
sarbito: Now knowing that he wasn't going to have to drag Sasuke out by force, Itachi started the walk out of his building and through the parking lot to his car. "Nothing." As usual, he lied like a rug. At least that much was normal, if nothing else about the situation was. "... What kind of food do you eat now?" He asked as an after-thought, like it only just occurred to him that what the other person wanted to eat was an important aspect of taking someone out to dinner.
crimsoneyedheir: Pfft. That wasn't even a good lie, Sasuke knew better. "Uh-huh." He shook his head, padding out of the school behind his brother. "Anything but ramen. Please, anything but ramen." He'd seen a little too much ramen in the past couple of weeks for his sanity.
sarbito: Itachi chuckled slightly. His brother's reluctance to have anything to do with ramen was kind of funny, but he wasn't sure why. "Okay. We can do that."
Upon reaching Itachi's junkbucket-turned-home-on-wheels, he unlocked the passenger side door for Sasuke. Even though it looked rusted and banged up on the outside, the condition of the inside wasn't that bad. Itachi'd cleaned it out recently, so really the only thing wrong was the two cardboard boxes in the back holding all his worldly possessions he deemed valuable enough to save from the hands of the crack whores.
crimsoneyedheir: If you had voluntarily stocked a whole cupboard of your house with instant ramen and watched it get slurped down in record time, you'd be a little sick of ramen too. It isn't like you could really blame Sasuke for that.
He eyed the junkbucket dubiously for a long moment. The interior wasn't too bad, but the worldly possessions in the back - as well as the fact that, you know, it was something that required actual vision to pilot effectively -- was giving him pause. "Itachi...why is all your stuff in the back of your car?" He sort of eyed the thing then got inside. He was feeling somewhat dubious about his chances of surviving this.
sarbito: Itachi got in the driver's seat and jiggled the key in the ignition until it started. "No reason," He replied flatly, facing straight ahead. Even though he had an unusually good poker face, he didn't want his eyebrow twitching or something stupid like that to give him away to Sasuke. Once the doors were closed, he started backing out of the parking lot. "How do you feel about American food?"
crimsoneyedheir: "Good try." The problem with that poker face was that if you were too flat it was a giveaway. Sasuke thought he sounded a little too flat. "American food is fine. And then maybe you can tell me just what's bugging you and why you seem to be living out of your car."
sarbito: Damn it. Well, if anyone could figure him out, it was little Sauce. Itachi furrowed his brow and kept his eyes on the road. Thanks to Deidara's donation towards his eyesight, his vision was currently not a problem. However, since driving in Tokyo was such a hassle, Itachi usually opted to walk or take the train. This was the first time he'd had any actual need to drive his car in awhile, so he was out of practice. "I'm not living in my car. Nothing is bugging me. I just... wanted to spend time with you." Damn. That sounded just as retarded out loud as it did in his head.
crimsoneyedheir: Sasuke could read his brother fairly well, all told -- as unusual as that sounded. He was a shade too poker-faced for everything to really be all right, that was all. Perceptive boy. He was rather hoping that Itachi wouldn't notice he was hanging onto the handle white-knuckled, though. Sue him, he was nervous. "This is the first time in a long long time that you've actually wanted to spend time with me." It sounded kind of weird, yes.
sarbito: Itachi was a little too busy trying not to get them killed in a tragic car accident to pay much attention to Sasuke's knuckles, honestly. He made a snorting noise. "Yeah, six years or something, I guess." After a minute's pause, he decided that he sounded like an asshole. And that was not what he was currently trying to accomplish. "... Yeah." He tagged on weakly.
crimsoneyedheir: If Itachi got them to their destination without involving them in a tragic car accident then Sasuke would be quite, quite content. More or less. He was still hanging on for dear life, though. "Yeah...six years." God, that really did sound assholish. Six long years of Itachi not wanting to have anything to do with him and now this...prick. He was trying to be charitable though.
sarbito: The problem with Itachi is that he usually wasn't actually TRYING to be an asshole... he just WAS. His grip on the steering wheel hardened, giving him white knuckles to match his brother's. What was he supposed to say? 'sorry I basically abandoned you for six years?' You can't fix shit that deep with sorry. He finally broke the awkward silence that had settled in with "Six years is a long time." Dumbass. If there was something convenient enough for Itachi to bang his head against, that's what he'd be doing.
crimsoneyedheir: It was ingrained in him. Actually, it was probably a hereditary Uchiha trait, since Sasuke could be a rather epic ass when the mood struck. The fact that Itachi was now just as white-knuckled as his brother was somewhat unnerving...okay, it was a lot unnerving. "Yeah. Yeah, it is." You couldn't fix wounds like that with 'sorry' and a hamburger. That was going to take years to overcome, if ever, but there was something to be said for at least making an effort.
sarbito: "Yeah, well... we're doing something now, so whatever." He pulled into the McDonald's parking lot. As disgusting as it could be, Itachi liked McDonald's for two reasons: One, it was cheap enough to not put a dent in his limited finances whenever he ate there, and two, its golden arches were distinguishable enough for him to make out even when he was mostly blind. He'd never walk into a McDonald's thinking it was a eyewear store or bar or something. And you know, their wireless connection wasn't that bad, either. He pulled into a parking space. "We're here."
crimsoneyedheir: "Yeah." Sasuke made a fascinating face when he saw what Itachi meant by 'American food'. To him, American food was a steak or something of that nature. Oh well, if Itachi wanted cheap fries, then cheap fries it was. Odds were Deidara would laugh if he knew that Itachi was filching off McDonald's wireless for his laptop. "...all right." Weird. At least they'd made it there alive and in one piece. He got himself out of the car, checking to make sure that he was still intact...yep, all parts in order.
sarbito: Itachi got out of the car, slamming the door shut, because that was the only way to guarantee it would shut at all. Hmm... he parked mostly in the lines. Not bad, he said to himself. Taking note of Sasuke's unique brand of enthusiasm, he turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "What? Is there a problem?" Not that he would kick his precious ototo-chan's ass if there WERE a problem, he just liked to act like the possibility was there on occasion.
crimsoneyedheir: Sad if that was the only way that you could ensure the door would actually shut. Sasuke just watched him, hands in his pockets. He was oh so enthusiastic about everything, didn't you know? "No." And honestly, he could probably take Itachi down if it came to that. He had some skills at his disposal. He waited for Itachi to get the door, following him in. At least the place was clean. "So you going to talk?"
sarbito: It was. Itachi's car was sad, like most things in his life. He got the door, walked inside, and glanced at the overhead menu. "Talk about what?"
crimsoneyedheir: "Whatever it was you wanted to talk about. I'm assuming you didn't bring me here just to stare at me longingly while I eat." Sasuke eyed him, looking up at the menu and ordering a chicken meal. Chicken was good. Chicken was safe.
sarbito: Hey, you never know about that when it comes to Itachi. He frowned. "I just wanted to eat dinner with you. Um, catch up, I guess. Whatever." The part where spending time with Sasuke meant he'd have to interact with him and actually share parts of his life with him probably slipped Itachi's mind. He was a social genius like that. He ordered a Filet O' Shrimp and paid for both of them before Sasuke could protest or insist on paying for his own food. At least he could be in control of one thing.
crimsoneyedheir: "There's a lot of catching up to do." Sasuke was still dubious about this whole thing. Of course, it wasn't like you could blame him; six long years and he hadn't had this kind of contact with his brother. His big brother, who he'd just worshiped, who'd abandoned him without a second thought. Social genius indeed. He blinked as Itachi picked up the tab; that wasn't something he expected. Eh. He went to go fill his cup up with Coke. "Pick a booth."
sarbito: "You have to start somewhere." He grabbed the tray with their food on it, put it on a random table, one near a window, and went to fill up his own cup. He always said he never regretted running away, but in a way, he wasn't being completely honest with himself. Being a douche bag six years ago to the one person who wasn't constantly giving him shit had bothered him enough to make Deidara notice that he became a whiny defensive bitch whenever the subject was brought up, if nothing else.
crimsoneyedheir: "Yeah." Sasuke walked over and took a seat, staring out the window. So long...so much time, so much pent-up emotion and so many thoughts. He'd worshiped the ground his big brother walked on. Itachi was everything he'd ever wanted to be -- and he'd just walked away and left him standing there. He'd never really be able to get over it, he didn't think. Those wounds stuck around for decades. He took a drink of his Coke, starting to pick at his french fries.
sarbito: Itachi stared down at the table blankly. This was a bad idea. What the hell got into his head and made him want to do this, anyway? It was stupid. Why bother trying to fix something that was too broken to fix at all? It was a pointless waste of time. Sasuke didn't want to spend this time with him. He had a new life that wasn't fucked up, and he should just leave him alone with that. Right? Ugh, whatever. He sipped his coke. "Deidara blew up my door."
crimsoneyedheir: Well, if you wanted to even have a chance of fixing things then you had to start somewhere. Their lives were both pretty fucked-up, if you looked at it that way; nothing about Sasuke's life was precisely normal. He paused in mid-munch, eyeing Itachi for a moment before swallowing. "Deidara-san...blew up your door? How? Why?" That didn't make any sense. Blowing up a door? His brother kept very, very weird friends.
sarbito: He shrugged, stuffing some french fries in his mouth. "With a bomb. Because he's an asshole. Anyway, the thing is, I can't live in my apartment because if I left anything in there alone without a door I'd get robbed before I had a chance to blink. And that's why..." Itachi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That's why I'm living in my car. Now you know. Feel better?"
crimsoneyedheir: "Well that explains that." Sasuke started picking at his chicken sandwich -- he didn't quite understand this stuff, but hey, if it was food and he wasn't paying for it he wasn't about to be picky. "Do you need a hotel room or something?" He wasn't sure why the hell he was offering. Maybe somewhere down deep he still cared about his brother and wanted to make sure he was okay. Maybe he was just being altruistic. He didn't even know.
sarbito: Itachi averted his gaze to the window. He hated this. He hated being in a position where he constantly needed help, but even more than that he hated not being in a position to be able to decline it. Maybe Deidara was right and he was just too stuck-up and prideful. Itachi himself didn't think of it that way, it was more that he hated being indebted to other people and hated not being in control of his own life even more. "No. I'm fine." He bit into his sandwich. It was true enough, he told himself. He'd been in much worse situations in the years he'd spent on his own.
crimsoneyedheir: "Oh please." Sasuke rolled his eyes at that, taking a couple of bites of his chicken sandwich. "Itachi, you're living out of your car and your apartment is busted up. If nothing else take a hotel room for a couple of nights." Honestly he was insisting on it now just because his brother was being an asshole about it. Itachi needed the help. He was in a position to give it. He ate more fries, watching his brother intently.
sarbito: "... Fine. Alright. Whatever." He took a sip of his coke and seemed to be very intent on not looking directly at his brother.It was one thing to take money from that stupid bastard Deidara. Getting help from Sasuke was a different thing altogether. "I'll... pay you back later or something." He muttered, slouching with the weight of his defeat.
crimsoneyedheir: "Enh." It was the first gesture he'd made that could even be construed as reconciliation and this was what he got? Geez, his brother really was an incorrigible ass. He took another drink of his Coke, then looked over. "Tachi, if you don't want it just say so." He totally missed the old nickname, it slipped out just a little tiny bit too easily. Damn it.
sarbito: Something about hearing his brother call him that warmed Itachi's snow queen heart. He looked at Sasuke, and struggled with words. "I... damn it. I know you're just trying to help. I.. appreciate it. Thanks." Damn, why was it so hard to be sincere?
crimsoneyedheir: Damn. Sasuke did not mean to let that slip. Damn it. "Welcome." He ate more of his sandwich, trying not to look directly at his brother. "You can't be living in your car, that's ridiculous." You know, impressions and all that. He'd never admit that he was NOT leaving his poor blind brother out there in his car on his own.
sarbito: Itachi shrugged. "At least I have a car. It's worse when you don't." He replied vaguely, picking up a few french fries. Well, he reflected back, it was never really that bad. When he first ran away, he didn't have any place to go, but at least he could still leech off the family money. When the council finally caught up with him and he lost his share of the inheritance, that's when things got bad. It wasn't until he became a member of Akatsuki that he learned how to acquire money by less than admirable means and to be able to live longer than just day to day.
crimsoneyedheir: "I bet." Sasuke remembered that, remembered his guardian having angry phone conversations with other board members about Itachi leeching off the bank accounts even though he'd run off. He remembered wondering why his aniki hadn't just come home and made everything all better. He remembered that whole time very clearly, all the days spent sitting by the window wondering when aniki was coming home...and he never did. He never, ever did. "You just need to be somewhere with a shower." He covered it all up with a snort and a few french fries.
sarbito: "Mhm." There had been times when he'd thought about coming back, despite how many times he'd say he never regretted anything, but his stubborn pride prevented him from it, like it did to a great deal of things in his life. Itachi snorted back. "I already had a plan, thank you. I was going to go back to my place just to take showers. ... Provided my neighbors hadn't stolen the knobs and faucet and tried to pawn them for crack or anything." He rolled his eyes.
crimsoneyedheir: Pride goeth before a fall, or so they say. Pride was the cause of many a person's downfall, after all. Sasuke munched on some of his french fries, watching his brother now. "And you're seriously telling me that you'd want to go shower in a place that had other people's grubby fingers all over it?" That sounded pretty disgusting to him.
sarbito:
sarbito: Itachi tended to find himself in situations where his pride was all he had, so it had somehow mutated into a monstrous flamboyant flower at this point. "Well," he frowned, "It's not ideal, no, but it's better than not showering at all."
crimsoneyedheir: If it was that much of a monstrous flamboyant flower then why the heck did he insist on being so far in the closet...ahem. That was neither here nor there. "Just take the hotel room for a couple of days or something, at least the shower's clean and you won't get a kink in your neck from the car seats." He finished his sandwich, picking at the rest of his fries.
sarbito: Nobody knows... nobody knows. Possibly because it was watered by the river of his denial, which actually was as big as the river in Egypt. "I already said I would, stop trying to sell me on it." He grumbled, finishing his french fries.
crimsoneyedheir: That was one very very big river, if it was keeping Itachi's flamboyant flower hidden. Not like Sasuke didn't suspect. He had his ways. "Okay, okay." He took a drink of his Coke, then sighed. "Itachi...you need someone to take care of you." Silly statement, maybe.
sarbito: Okay, that statement pissed Itachi off. He was a grown man, not a six year old. He furrowed his brow at Sasuke. "No, I don't. Why the fuck would you say that?"
crimsoneyedheir: Hey, it wouldn't be a meeting of Uchihas if they didn't piss each other off. Sasuke looked over at him, and sort of half-smiled; the very, very smallest of half-smiles. "Because I want to make sure you're okay." Okay, it cost him a LOT to say that. If he'd had any idea what his brother might have really done he never would have. But as it stood, he really did want to make sure Itachi was okay.
sarbito: True enough. Itachi's glare softened. You know how many people out there would do something to 'make sure he's okay'? No one else he knew, that's for sure. Kisame, maybe. He didn't really know what to say about that, mostly because he profoundly failed at saying things he honestly meant. So instead of expressing gratitude, he only said "You.. uh.. you don't have to do that." And then stared down at his cup.
crimsoneyedheir: That was so much of Itachi's problem, he was so bad at doing things and saying things he really meant. "Yeah I know." Sasuke leaned back in his seat, watching Itachi through half-closed eyes. He'd never really understand his brother, he didn't think. He just...didn't make sense, on so many levels. He tried, though.
sarbito: Itachi closed his eyes and sighed. "... Thanks." He muttered under his breath. Then, trying to go back to normal and pretend that didn't just happen, he said "Are you done? We should go."
crimsoneyedheir: A thank you was pretty big. He'd take it for what it was worth. "Yeah, I'm done." Sasuke finished off his drink, putting it with the rest of his garbage. "There's a motel not far from your apartment building. Will that work?" For the time being. It wasn't anything fancy, he had a feeling Itachi would freak out if he put him in something like a five-star hotel.
sarbito: Itachi got up, and dumped what was left on the tray into the trash. "Yeah... that's fine." He replied nonchalantly. And yes, he probably would freak out if Sasuke tried to spend that much money on him. "I think I know where it is."
crimsoneyedheir: Sasuke understood that much about his brother, at least. "It isn't far. I'll take care of everything." It wouldn't take much, just a phone call or two and it was done. He stood up, brushing off his pants and looking over at Itachi. He wasn't sure just what had gotten accomplished, but it felt like something had.
sarbito: He made his way towards the exit, holding the door open for Sasuke. All things considered, this didn't go that badly. Maybe not exactly the way Itachi wanted, but whatever. He didn't even know what he actually wanted. This was alright. This was enough. "Okay, fine. Do you want me to drive you back to your place?"
crimsoneyedheir: Well what did he want? Seriously, without knowing what he wanted it was kind of hard for Sasuke to give him anything resembling that. At least they'd started talking...for the first time in years. Maybe it was a plus. At least they hadn't ripped each other's throats out. "Yeah, that'd work...you know where it is, right?" Hard not to, the board would have put Itachi in the same place given half a chance with cameras to watch his every move.
sarbito: Probably, what Itachi wanted most was to not be a douche to Sasuke anymore. But seeing how douche made up every fiber of his being, it was kind of like a pig wanting to be a motorcycle. But at least he was trying now. "Umm.. not really, actually."
crimsoneyedheir: 'Douche' and 'Uchiha Itachi' were pretty much synonymous. Look up one in the dictionary and you'd get a cross-reference to the other. Maybe he'd learn, but given his track record to date it was dubious at best. "I'll show you. It's not too hard to find from here." Sasuke actually looked forward to going home now that he had a reason to be around the apartment. Strange how that had worked out.
sarbito: Indeed. Itachi rummaged through his pockets for his keys, unlocked the door, and hopped inside. "Okay. It'd be good to know that sort of thing." He murmured. He looked forward to not having to sleep in his car again tonight, despite how he protested. Maybe he wouldn't have horrible dreams from hell again this way.
crimsoneyedheir: Well, you never knew with things like dreams. Hopefully he could at least avoid the talking walls and things like that, but everything else...well, he'd have to discuss that with his subconscious. Subconsciouses were very, very odd things sometimes. "Your friend can't get in to blow up my door though," Sasuke commented as he slid into the passenger seat. The motel wouldn't be spectacular but at least it'd be better than the car.
sarbito: Itachi rolled his eyes. "Like I'd tell him where you live." Seriously, imagine the havoc he could wreak with that sort of information. He could send Sasuke copies of Itachi's faggy emo poetry or other incriminating things, not even to think about the ways he could try to get rid of Naruto. Well, Itachi wouldn't mind that part so much. But that was neither here nor there. Most things, Itachi imagined, would be better than the car. He started said car up and pulled out of the parking lot.
crimsoneyedheir: "True." Honestly, Sasuke might actually crack up laughing if he ever got his hands on any of Itachi's faggy emo poetry. Of course, he also might be traumatized if any of it involved him but you never knew. If he tried to get rid of Naruto, though, there'd be hell to pay and you really did not want Sasuke mad at you for any reason at all. "Turn left at this next light."
sarbito: And while Sasuke was cracking up, Itachi would be busy crying Itachitears. "Alright." He followed Sasuke's instructions. After a pause, he asked Sasuke something that had been bothering him. "... How did you know where I lived, anyway?"
crimsoneyedheir: Itachi crying was something other than normal and would probably make Sasuke do a serious WTF face. What the hell, seriously. He glanced over, then sort of half-smiled. "I guessed. I was pretty sure you were over somewhere in the general vicinity of where Naruto's old apartment was, I think he said something to that effect. I don't know what apartment building you live in or anything, just the general area."
sarbito: Well, Itachi crying had about as much rarity as a lunar eclipse, anyway. He frowned, still trying to piece together things in his head. "What--- then... how did you...?" Honestly? He didn't know anyone else who would actually even remotely CONSIDER giving him a White Day present, at least not one that wasn't a maccha-covered dildo in the tradition of Hidan. Or anyone that would be dumb enough to leave it on his door.
crimsoneyedheir: "How did I what?" Sasuke just glanced over at him, with a very faint smile on his lips in that way that said 'you know it was me and I don't want to give away my secrets'. Let him keep up the illusion or something. He'd found the address through a bit of exhaustive searching and some creative hunting around; he'd actually found Itachi's car parked at the complex first and gone from there. And no, it wasn't going to be a maccha-covered dildo. That was just...well, kinda wrong.
sarbito: Itachi sighed and shook his head. If Sasuke wasn't going to say anything about it, neither was he. It wasn't worth the trouble. Whatever. "Nothing. Nevermind. ... Where do I go now?"
crimsoneyedheir: Just wait until he got another present. Or something. "Right at the next light." His neighborhood was something like the polar opposite of Itachi's...but only five or six blocks away. Not far at all. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." He'd say at least something small, because he had a feeling his brother had indeed enjoyed the present.
sarbito: Presents weren't something Itachi minded, it was the anonymity that bothered him. Which was kind of hypocritical, because if he were in Sasuke's position he probably would've done the same thing. He turned right at the next light, and as they drove through the neighborhood, the difference became very apparent to him. It bothered him slightly, in the sense that he knew that this was something he could've had if he hadn't made the choices in life that he did. "... I did, yeah." He said quietly. Sasuke's present was actually in one of the boxes in the backseat, hiding under a few notebooks.
crimsoneyedheir: At least it was a fairly mild form of hypocrisy in comparison to many other things he could be hypocritical about. The neighborhood was very nice and had a very exclusive tone to it. Of course, if Itachi had made other choices, he might find himself locked behind elegant bars and kept in a gilded cage as well. "Good." It made Sasuke a bit more content to know his brother had liked the present. "It's the fourth building on the right, the one with the gates."
sarbito: Yes, and as much as Itachi disliked slumming it, he still preferred it to having a bunch of stuffy suits breathing down his neck. "Got it." He pulled up to the building and stopped. "Nice... gates. What, are they afraid some money might roll out or something?" He asked wryly.
crimsoneyedheir: There were pluses to living in tiny apartments in run-down areas of the city. Sasuke sighed, just looking up at the building. "No, they're afraid I will." Which was just as bad. At least he had someone behind those gates with him now, and that made it tolerable.
sarbito: Itachi gave a small shrug. "That's not much better. Worse, even." He wanted to say something else to his brother, maybe try to reassure him somehow. But... he was still Itachi. And that kind of thing was beyond him. "Should I... let you out here?"
crimsoneyedheir: "Yeah." Sasuke didn't like being caged up much. It was unavoidable though, and he'd deal with it until he was eighteen and then he was outta there. Poor Itachi, not being able to express himself. "Yeah...yeah, there's nowhere else to let me out. You take care of yourself...okay?" Man. He was still a little shellshocked over having actually sat down and spoken with his brother.
sarbito: Itachi nodded and gave a small wave. "You too. I'll... see you around, I guess." He then drove off into the distance, still trying to figure out exactly how successful this was. Well... maybe he could drag him out to McDonald's again or something.
When: After school on March 19th~
What: Itachi takes his brother to McDonald's for some gay-ass bonding time. (not like that though)
Where: In... McDonald's. xDDD
Warnings: Not really.
AIM or LJ? AIM, ho.
sarbito: Between his dream from hell, the impending threat of his death, and his usual emo faggotry, Itachi felt like reaching out to his brother in some shape or form. So, at the end of the school day, the elder Uchiha was wandering around the halls looking for him.
crimsoneyedheir: Poor Itachi and his emo faggotry. Sasuke was minding his own business, finishing up school and heading out of his last class. He actually almost bumped square into Itachi; he blinked in surprise, looking at him blankly before recovering his composure. "Did you want something?" His voice was cool, but then again it always was where Itachi was concerned.
sarbito: Bumping into Sasuke made him lose composure for a split second, but he quickly regained it. Itachi gave a small shrug to Sasuke's query. "I'm taking you to dinner. Come on." It wasn't a request or an offer, it was a command.
crimsoneyedheir: Very slowly, one eyebrow arched. Itachi was taking him to dinner? Sasuke made a brief check of his surroundings. Gravity still in effect. Earth still spinning. Apocalypse not impending. This was plainly extremely bizarre behavior. "Just a moment." He pulled out his phone to send a text message -- simple, just letting Naruto know he'd be out later than normal -- then pocketed it and looked over. "What brought this on?"
sarbito: Now knowing that he wasn't going to have to drag Sasuke out by force, Itachi started the walk out of his building and through the parking lot to his car. "Nothing." As usual, he lied like a rug. At least that much was normal, if nothing else about the situation was. "... What kind of food do you eat now?" He asked as an after-thought, like it only just occurred to him that what the other person wanted to eat was an important aspect of taking someone out to dinner.
crimsoneyedheir: Pfft. That wasn't even a good lie, Sasuke knew better. "Uh-huh." He shook his head, padding out of the school behind his brother. "Anything but ramen. Please, anything but ramen." He'd seen a little too much ramen in the past couple of weeks for his sanity.
sarbito: Itachi chuckled slightly. His brother's reluctance to have anything to do with ramen was kind of funny, but he wasn't sure why. "Okay. We can do that."
Upon reaching Itachi's junkbucket-turned-home-on-wheels, he unlocked the passenger side door for Sasuke. Even though it looked rusted and banged up on the outside, the condition of the inside wasn't that bad. Itachi'd cleaned it out recently, so really the only thing wrong was the two cardboard boxes in the back holding all his worldly possessions he deemed valuable enough to save from the hands of the crack whores.
crimsoneyedheir: If you had voluntarily stocked a whole cupboard of your house with instant ramen and watched it get slurped down in record time, you'd be a little sick of ramen too. It isn't like you could really blame Sasuke for that.
He eyed the junkbucket dubiously for a long moment. The interior wasn't too bad, but the worldly possessions in the back - as well as the fact that, you know, it was something that required actual vision to pilot effectively -- was giving him pause. "Itachi...why is all your stuff in the back of your car?" He sort of eyed the thing then got inside. He was feeling somewhat dubious about his chances of surviving this.
sarbito: Itachi got in the driver's seat and jiggled the key in the ignition until it started. "No reason," He replied flatly, facing straight ahead. Even though he had an unusually good poker face, he didn't want his eyebrow twitching or something stupid like that to give him away to Sasuke. Once the doors were closed, he started backing out of the parking lot. "How do you feel about American food?"
crimsoneyedheir: "Good try." The problem with that poker face was that if you were too flat it was a giveaway. Sasuke thought he sounded a little too flat. "American food is fine. And then maybe you can tell me just what's bugging you and why you seem to be living out of your car."
sarbito: Damn it. Well, if anyone could figure him out, it was little Sauce. Itachi furrowed his brow and kept his eyes on the road. Thanks to Deidara's donation towards his eyesight, his vision was currently not a problem. However, since driving in Tokyo was such a hassle, Itachi usually opted to walk or take the train. This was the first time he'd had any actual need to drive his car in awhile, so he was out of practice. "I'm not living in my car. Nothing is bugging me. I just... wanted to spend time with you." Damn. That sounded just as retarded out loud as it did in his head.
crimsoneyedheir: Sasuke could read his brother fairly well, all told -- as unusual as that sounded. He was a shade too poker-faced for everything to really be all right, that was all. Perceptive boy. He was rather hoping that Itachi wouldn't notice he was hanging onto the handle white-knuckled, though. Sue him, he was nervous. "This is the first time in a long long time that you've actually wanted to spend time with me." It sounded kind of weird, yes.
sarbito: Itachi was a little too busy trying not to get them killed in a tragic car accident to pay much attention to Sasuke's knuckles, honestly. He made a snorting noise. "Yeah, six years or something, I guess." After a minute's pause, he decided that he sounded like an asshole. And that was not what he was currently trying to accomplish. "... Yeah." He tagged on weakly.
crimsoneyedheir: If Itachi got them to their destination without involving them in a tragic car accident then Sasuke would be quite, quite content. More or less. He was still hanging on for dear life, though. "Yeah...six years." God, that really did sound assholish. Six long years of Itachi not wanting to have anything to do with him and now this...prick. He was trying to be charitable though.
sarbito: The problem with Itachi is that he usually wasn't actually TRYING to be an asshole... he just WAS. His grip on the steering wheel hardened, giving him white knuckles to match his brother's. What was he supposed to say? 'sorry I basically abandoned you for six years?' You can't fix shit that deep with sorry. He finally broke the awkward silence that had settled in with "Six years is a long time." Dumbass. If there was something convenient enough for Itachi to bang his head against, that's what he'd be doing.
crimsoneyedheir: It was ingrained in him. Actually, it was probably a hereditary Uchiha trait, since Sasuke could be a rather epic ass when the mood struck. The fact that Itachi was now just as white-knuckled as his brother was somewhat unnerving...okay, it was a lot unnerving. "Yeah. Yeah, it is." You couldn't fix wounds like that with 'sorry' and a hamburger. That was going to take years to overcome, if ever, but there was something to be said for at least making an effort.
sarbito: "Yeah, well... we're doing something now, so whatever." He pulled into the McDonald's parking lot. As disgusting as it could be, Itachi liked McDonald's for two reasons: One, it was cheap enough to not put a dent in his limited finances whenever he ate there, and two, its golden arches were distinguishable enough for him to make out even when he was mostly blind. He'd never walk into a McDonald's thinking it was a eyewear store or bar or something. And you know, their wireless connection wasn't that bad, either. He pulled into a parking space. "We're here."
crimsoneyedheir: "Yeah." Sasuke made a fascinating face when he saw what Itachi meant by 'American food'. To him, American food was a steak or something of that nature. Oh well, if Itachi wanted cheap fries, then cheap fries it was. Odds were Deidara would laugh if he knew that Itachi was filching off McDonald's wireless for his laptop. "...all right." Weird. At least they'd made it there alive and in one piece. He got himself out of the car, checking to make sure that he was still intact...yep, all parts in order.
sarbito: Itachi got out of the car, slamming the door shut, because that was the only way to guarantee it would shut at all. Hmm... he parked mostly in the lines. Not bad, he said to himself. Taking note of Sasuke's unique brand of enthusiasm, he turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "What? Is there a problem?" Not that he would kick his precious ototo-chan's ass if there WERE a problem, he just liked to act like the possibility was there on occasion.
crimsoneyedheir: Sad if that was the only way that you could ensure the door would actually shut. Sasuke just watched him, hands in his pockets. He was oh so enthusiastic about everything, didn't you know? "No." And honestly, he could probably take Itachi down if it came to that. He had some skills at his disposal. He waited for Itachi to get the door, following him in. At least the place was clean. "So you going to talk?"
sarbito: It was. Itachi's car was sad, like most things in his life. He got the door, walked inside, and glanced at the overhead menu. "Talk about what?"
crimsoneyedheir: "Whatever it was you wanted to talk about. I'm assuming you didn't bring me here just to stare at me longingly while I eat." Sasuke eyed him, looking up at the menu and ordering a chicken meal. Chicken was good. Chicken was safe.
sarbito: Hey, you never know about that when it comes to Itachi. He frowned. "I just wanted to eat dinner with you. Um, catch up, I guess. Whatever." The part where spending time with Sasuke meant he'd have to interact with him and actually share parts of his life with him probably slipped Itachi's mind. He was a social genius like that. He ordered a Filet O' Shrimp and paid for both of them before Sasuke could protest or insist on paying for his own food. At least he could be in control of one thing.
crimsoneyedheir: "There's a lot of catching up to do." Sasuke was still dubious about this whole thing. Of course, it wasn't like you could blame him; six long years and he hadn't had this kind of contact with his brother. His big brother, who he'd just worshiped, who'd abandoned him without a second thought. Social genius indeed. He blinked as Itachi picked up the tab; that wasn't something he expected. Eh. He went to go fill his cup up with Coke. "Pick a booth."
sarbito: "You have to start somewhere." He grabbed the tray with their food on it, put it on a random table, one near a window, and went to fill up his own cup. He always said he never regretted running away, but in a way, he wasn't being completely honest with himself. Being a douche bag six years ago to the one person who wasn't constantly giving him shit had bothered him enough to make Deidara notice that he became a whiny defensive bitch whenever the subject was brought up, if nothing else.
crimsoneyedheir: "Yeah." Sasuke walked over and took a seat, staring out the window. So long...so much time, so much pent-up emotion and so many thoughts. He'd worshiped the ground his big brother walked on. Itachi was everything he'd ever wanted to be -- and he'd just walked away and left him standing there. He'd never really be able to get over it, he didn't think. Those wounds stuck around for decades. He took a drink of his Coke, starting to pick at his french fries.
sarbito: Itachi stared down at the table blankly. This was a bad idea. What the hell got into his head and made him want to do this, anyway? It was stupid. Why bother trying to fix something that was too broken to fix at all? It was a pointless waste of time. Sasuke didn't want to spend this time with him. He had a new life that wasn't fucked up, and he should just leave him alone with that. Right? Ugh, whatever. He sipped his coke. "Deidara blew up my door."
crimsoneyedheir: Well, if you wanted to even have a chance of fixing things then you had to start somewhere. Their lives were both pretty fucked-up, if you looked at it that way; nothing about Sasuke's life was precisely normal. He paused in mid-munch, eyeing Itachi for a moment before swallowing. "Deidara-san...blew up your door? How? Why?" That didn't make any sense. Blowing up a door? His brother kept very, very weird friends.
sarbito: He shrugged, stuffing some french fries in his mouth. "With a bomb. Because he's an asshole. Anyway, the thing is, I can't live in my apartment because if I left anything in there alone without a door I'd get robbed before I had a chance to blink. And that's why..." Itachi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That's why I'm living in my car. Now you know. Feel better?"
crimsoneyedheir: "Well that explains that." Sasuke started picking at his chicken sandwich -- he didn't quite understand this stuff, but hey, if it was food and he wasn't paying for it he wasn't about to be picky. "Do you need a hotel room or something?" He wasn't sure why the hell he was offering. Maybe somewhere down deep he still cared about his brother and wanted to make sure he was okay. Maybe he was just being altruistic. He didn't even know.
sarbito: Itachi averted his gaze to the window. He hated this. He hated being in a position where he constantly needed help, but even more than that he hated not being in a position to be able to decline it. Maybe Deidara was right and he was just too stuck-up and prideful. Itachi himself didn't think of it that way, it was more that he hated being indebted to other people and hated not being in control of his own life even more. "No. I'm fine." He bit into his sandwich. It was true enough, he told himself. He'd been in much worse situations in the years he'd spent on his own.
crimsoneyedheir: "Oh please." Sasuke rolled his eyes at that, taking a couple of bites of his chicken sandwich. "Itachi, you're living out of your car and your apartment is busted up. If nothing else take a hotel room for a couple of nights." Honestly he was insisting on it now just because his brother was being an asshole about it. Itachi needed the help. He was in a position to give it. He ate more fries, watching his brother intently.
sarbito: "... Fine. Alright. Whatever." He took a sip of his coke and seemed to be very intent on not looking directly at his brother.It was one thing to take money from that stupid bastard Deidara. Getting help from Sasuke was a different thing altogether. "I'll... pay you back later or something." He muttered, slouching with the weight of his defeat.
crimsoneyedheir: "Enh." It was the first gesture he'd made that could even be construed as reconciliation and this was what he got? Geez, his brother really was an incorrigible ass. He took another drink of his Coke, then looked over. "Tachi, if you don't want it just say so." He totally missed the old nickname, it slipped out just a little tiny bit too easily. Damn it.
sarbito: Something about hearing his brother call him that warmed Itachi's snow queen heart. He looked at Sasuke, and struggled with words. "I... damn it. I know you're just trying to help. I.. appreciate it. Thanks." Damn, why was it so hard to be sincere?
crimsoneyedheir: Damn. Sasuke did not mean to let that slip. Damn it. "Welcome." He ate more of his sandwich, trying not to look directly at his brother. "You can't be living in your car, that's ridiculous." You know, impressions and all that. He'd never admit that he was NOT leaving his poor blind brother out there in his car on his own.
sarbito: Itachi shrugged. "At least I have a car. It's worse when you don't." He replied vaguely, picking up a few french fries. Well, he reflected back, it was never really that bad. When he first ran away, he didn't have any place to go, but at least he could still leech off the family money. When the council finally caught up with him and he lost his share of the inheritance, that's when things got bad. It wasn't until he became a member of Akatsuki that he learned how to acquire money by less than admirable means and to be able to live longer than just day to day.
crimsoneyedheir: "I bet." Sasuke remembered that, remembered his guardian having angry phone conversations with other board members about Itachi leeching off the bank accounts even though he'd run off. He remembered wondering why his aniki hadn't just come home and made everything all better. He remembered that whole time very clearly, all the days spent sitting by the window wondering when aniki was coming home...and he never did. He never, ever did. "You just need to be somewhere with a shower." He covered it all up with a snort and a few french fries.
sarbito: "Mhm." There had been times when he'd thought about coming back, despite how many times he'd say he never regretted anything, but his stubborn pride prevented him from it, like it did to a great deal of things in his life. Itachi snorted back. "I already had a plan, thank you. I was going to go back to my place just to take showers. ... Provided my neighbors hadn't stolen the knobs and faucet and tried to pawn them for crack or anything." He rolled his eyes.
crimsoneyedheir: Pride goeth before a fall, or so they say. Pride was the cause of many a person's downfall, after all. Sasuke munched on some of his french fries, watching his brother now. "And you're seriously telling me that you'd want to go shower in a place that had other people's grubby fingers all over it?" That sounded pretty disgusting to him.
sarbito:
sarbito: Itachi tended to find himself in situations where his pride was all he had, so it had somehow mutated into a monstrous flamboyant flower at this point. "Well," he frowned, "It's not ideal, no, but it's better than not showering at all."
crimsoneyedheir: If it was that much of a monstrous flamboyant flower then why the heck did he insist on being so far in the closet...ahem. That was neither here nor there. "Just take the hotel room for a couple of days or something, at least the shower's clean and you won't get a kink in your neck from the car seats." He finished his sandwich, picking at the rest of his fries.
sarbito: Nobody knows... nobody knows. Possibly because it was watered by the river of his denial, which actually was as big as the river in Egypt. "I already said I would, stop trying to sell me on it." He grumbled, finishing his french fries.
crimsoneyedheir: That was one very very big river, if it was keeping Itachi's flamboyant flower hidden. Not like Sasuke didn't suspect. He had his ways. "Okay, okay." He took a drink of his Coke, then sighed. "Itachi...you need someone to take care of you." Silly statement, maybe.
sarbito: Okay, that statement pissed Itachi off. He was a grown man, not a six year old. He furrowed his brow at Sasuke. "No, I don't. Why the fuck would you say that?"
crimsoneyedheir: Hey, it wouldn't be a meeting of Uchihas if they didn't piss each other off. Sasuke looked over at him, and sort of half-smiled; the very, very smallest of half-smiles. "Because I want to make sure you're okay." Okay, it cost him a LOT to say that. If he'd had any idea what his brother might have really done he never would have. But as it stood, he really did want to make sure Itachi was okay.
sarbito: True enough. Itachi's glare softened. You know how many people out there would do something to 'make sure he's okay'? No one else he knew, that's for sure. Kisame, maybe. He didn't really know what to say about that, mostly because he profoundly failed at saying things he honestly meant. So instead of expressing gratitude, he only said "You.. uh.. you don't have to do that." And then stared down at his cup.
crimsoneyedheir: That was so much of Itachi's problem, he was so bad at doing things and saying things he really meant. "Yeah I know." Sasuke leaned back in his seat, watching Itachi through half-closed eyes. He'd never really understand his brother, he didn't think. He just...didn't make sense, on so many levels. He tried, though.
sarbito: Itachi closed his eyes and sighed. "... Thanks." He muttered under his breath. Then, trying to go back to normal and pretend that didn't just happen, he said "Are you done? We should go."
crimsoneyedheir: A thank you was pretty big. He'd take it for what it was worth. "Yeah, I'm done." Sasuke finished off his drink, putting it with the rest of his garbage. "There's a motel not far from your apartment building. Will that work?" For the time being. It wasn't anything fancy, he had a feeling Itachi would freak out if he put him in something like a five-star hotel.
sarbito: Itachi got up, and dumped what was left on the tray into the trash. "Yeah... that's fine." He replied nonchalantly. And yes, he probably would freak out if Sasuke tried to spend that much money on him. "I think I know where it is."
crimsoneyedheir: Sasuke understood that much about his brother, at least. "It isn't far. I'll take care of everything." It wouldn't take much, just a phone call or two and it was done. He stood up, brushing off his pants and looking over at Itachi. He wasn't sure just what had gotten accomplished, but it felt like something had.
sarbito: He made his way towards the exit, holding the door open for Sasuke. All things considered, this didn't go that badly. Maybe not exactly the way Itachi wanted, but whatever. He didn't even know what he actually wanted. This was alright. This was enough. "Okay, fine. Do you want me to drive you back to your place?"
crimsoneyedheir: Well what did he want? Seriously, without knowing what he wanted it was kind of hard for Sasuke to give him anything resembling that. At least they'd started talking...for the first time in years. Maybe it was a plus. At least they hadn't ripped each other's throats out. "Yeah, that'd work...you know where it is, right?" Hard not to, the board would have put Itachi in the same place given half a chance with cameras to watch his every move.
sarbito: Probably, what Itachi wanted most was to not be a douche to Sasuke anymore. But seeing how douche made up every fiber of his being, it was kind of like a pig wanting to be a motorcycle. But at least he was trying now. "Umm.. not really, actually."
crimsoneyedheir: 'Douche' and 'Uchiha Itachi' were pretty much synonymous. Look up one in the dictionary and you'd get a cross-reference to the other. Maybe he'd learn, but given his track record to date it was dubious at best. "I'll show you. It's not too hard to find from here." Sasuke actually looked forward to going home now that he had a reason to be around the apartment. Strange how that had worked out.
sarbito: Indeed. Itachi rummaged through his pockets for his keys, unlocked the door, and hopped inside. "Okay. It'd be good to know that sort of thing." He murmured. He looked forward to not having to sleep in his car again tonight, despite how he protested. Maybe he wouldn't have horrible dreams from hell again this way.
crimsoneyedheir: Well, you never knew with things like dreams. Hopefully he could at least avoid the talking walls and things like that, but everything else...well, he'd have to discuss that with his subconscious. Subconsciouses were very, very odd things sometimes. "Your friend can't get in to blow up my door though," Sasuke commented as he slid into the passenger seat. The motel wouldn't be spectacular but at least it'd be better than the car.
sarbito: Itachi rolled his eyes. "Like I'd tell him where you live." Seriously, imagine the havoc he could wreak with that sort of information. He could send Sasuke copies of Itachi's faggy emo poetry or other incriminating things, not even to think about the ways he could try to get rid of Naruto. Well, Itachi wouldn't mind that part so much. But that was neither here nor there. Most things, Itachi imagined, would be better than the car. He started said car up and pulled out of the parking lot.
crimsoneyedheir: "True." Honestly, Sasuke might actually crack up laughing if he ever got his hands on any of Itachi's faggy emo poetry. Of course, he also might be traumatized if any of it involved him but you never knew. If he tried to get rid of Naruto, though, there'd be hell to pay and you really did not want Sasuke mad at you for any reason at all. "Turn left at this next light."
sarbito: And while Sasuke was cracking up, Itachi would be busy crying Itachitears. "Alright." He followed Sasuke's instructions. After a pause, he asked Sasuke something that had been bothering him. "... How did you know where I lived, anyway?"
crimsoneyedheir: Itachi crying was something other than normal and would probably make Sasuke do a serious WTF face. What the hell, seriously. He glanced over, then sort of half-smiled. "I guessed. I was pretty sure you were over somewhere in the general vicinity of where Naruto's old apartment was, I think he said something to that effect. I don't know what apartment building you live in or anything, just the general area."
sarbito: Well, Itachi crying had about as much rarity as a lunar eclipse, anyway. He frowned, still trying to piece together things in his head. "What--- then... how did you...?" Honestly? He didn't know anyone else who would actually even remotely CONSIDER giving him a White Day present, at least not one that wasn't a maccha-covered dildo in the tradition of Hidan. Or anyone that would be dumb enough to leave it on his door.
crimsoneyedheir: "How did I what?" Sasuke just glanced over at him, with a very faint smile on his lips in that way that said 'you know it was me and I don't want to give away my secrets'. Let him keep up the illusion or something. He'd found the address through a bit of exhaustive searching and some creative hunting around; he'd actually found Itachi's car parked at the complex first and gone from there. And no, it wasn't going to be a maccha-covered dildo. That was just...well, kinda wrong.
sarbito: Itachi sighed and shook his head. If Sasuke wasn't going to say anything about it, neither was he. It wasn't worth the trouble. Whatever. "Nothing. Nevermind. ... Where do I go now?"
crimsoneyedheir: Just wait until he got another present. Or something. "Right at the next light." His neighborhood was something like the polar opposite of Itachi's...but only five or six blocks away. Not far at all. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." He'd say at least something small, because he had a feeling his brother had indeed enjoyed the present.
sarbito: Presents weren't something Itachi minded, it was the anonymity that bothered him. Which was kind of hypocritical, because if he were in Sasuke's position he probably would've done the same thing. He turned right at the next light, and as they drove through the neighborhood, the difference became very apparent to him. It bothered him slightly, in the sense that he knew that this was something he could've had if he hadn't made the choices in life that he did. "... I did, yeah." He said quietly. Sasuke's present was actually in one of the boxes in the backseat, hiding under a few notebooks.
crimsoneyedheir: At least it was a fairly mild form of hypocrisy in comparison to many other things he could be hypocritical about. The neighborhood was very nice and had a very exclusive tone to it. Of course, if Itachi had made other choices, he might find himself locked behind elegant bars and kept in a gilded cage as well. "Good." It made Sasuke a bit more content to know his brother had liked the present. "It's the fourth building on the right, the one with the gates."
sarbito: Yes, and as much as Itachi disliked slumming it, he still preferred it to having a bunch of stuffy suits breathing down his neck. "Got it." He pulled up to the building and stopped. "Nice... gates. What, are they afraid some money might roll out or something?" He asked wryly.
crimsoneyedheir: There were pluses to living in tiny apartments in run-down areas of the city. Sasuke sighed, just looking up at the building. "No, they're afraid I will." Which was just as bad. At least he had someone behind those gates with him now, and that made it tolerable.
sarbito: Itachi gave a small shrug. "That's not much better. Worse, even." He wanted to say something else to his brother, maybe try to reassure him somehow. But... he was still Itachi. And that kind of thing was beyond him. "Should I... let you out here?"
crimsoneyedheir: "Yeah." Sasuke didn't like being caged up much. It was unavoidable though, and he'd deal with it until he was eighteen and then he was outta there. Poor Itachi, not being able to express himself. "Yeah...yeah, there's nowhere else to let me out. You take care of yourself...okay?" Man. He was still a little shellshocked over having actually sat down and spoken with his brother.
sarbito: Itachi nodded and gave a small wave. "You too. I'll... see you around, I guess." He then drove off into the distance, still trying to figure out exactly how successful this was. Well... maybe he could drag him out to McDonald's again or something.