So says Stiles, and there is as of yet no evidence to contradict that. His brother's belongings in the house. His absence, crucial to the errands he is performing and indicative of a purposeful existence here. A romantic relationship with one of Sasuke's friends, which he's still struggling to convince himself isn't a betrayal.
It sickens him to think that such change could happen when he had no opportunities to witness it, and self-doubt supplies him with the damaging thought that his presence might have held his brother back. Had Itachi's held him back? It could have, in grief, but that was due to repeated loss.
But a critical understanding of his brother, hard-won over years of blood and suffering, rears its head to remind him of what he already knows. ]
My feelings are that you are doing what you think is best for you and perhaps what you think is best for him, but that you are accomplishing neither.
Do you believe he has been fully honest with you about everything, about his wishes and about his experience? [ Here he turns again, eyes back on Stiles. ] I don't ask that to belittle your connection. I say it because it is in his nature to shoulder burdens silently and hide hard truths until it is no longer viable to do so.
[ Bitterness blooms in his heart like a bead of poison penetrating the surface tension of water. He can feel it shaping his countenance, twisting brows and mouth into a defensive scowl as he stares across the island at Sasuke. Real anger has begun to broil within him – as impossible to navigate now as it was back in Aefenglom, when fears about Donovan had blistered inside Stiles. Now, his cold rage is fed by a new fear: the fear that Sasuke could destroy everything that Stiles and Itachi have spent the last year painstakingly building up. ]
One. [ A single finger is held up. ] I think it’s pretty rich that you’re gonna stand here and tell me that we’re not accomplishing the best for ourselves when you don’t know jack about our relationship or the situation. Instead of asking those questions, you’re just jumping to conclusions based on what you used to know.
Two. [ A second finger. Stiles shoots Sasuke an incredulous look here, arms spread helplessly. ] Do I think he’s been honest? I know he hasn’t. Neither have I! We’re in a relationship. It’s a constant work in progress. But we’ve already cleared some major hurdles – again, that you wouldn’t have any idea about, because you haven’t asked – and, more importantly, I trust him.
Three. [ The knife is abandoned to the cutting board once again. ] No one belongs here, Sasuke! Not him, not me, not you! But we’re goddamn stuck here anyway. Is he supposed to just drop dead because that was the natural state of things in your world? No? Then what the hell is your point?
[ "I know he hasn't." That admission alone sets his mind racing.
Stiles says his brother is seeking treatment for his illness. Would he do so if he were here alone, even having grown as is claimed? How much of this progress is for the sake of assuaging Stiles's concerns? For the purpose of placation? It's not something he wants the young man across from him to endure. ]
You are correct. I don't understand your relationship. What I know is what I have gleaned from years with him and years apart from him, and from what you've told me now.
Would you care to review it? That your relationship "just happened". That you know it's selfish but you don't care. That you genuinely believe it harms no one but the two of you. That when I've confronted you out of concern for you both you have found it fitting to characterize me as the kind of man that even I have never been. That you know he lies to you.
I too have trusted my brother. Pragmatism and duty matter to him more than that, and I would challenge any narrative that says that that has changed about him. [ Eyes again cut back to the entryway, but this time it's where his focus remains, jaw locked and expression grim. Nothing about this brings him pleasure. Even the way Stiles is free to yell at him is something he envies, wishing for a similar way to vent his frustrations but he's left grasping at straws. His anger, for better or for worse, can't stay fixed on a singular target, not with this. ]
I have missed things. Because of that, I should see his changes for myself.
[ The sharp snarl of a sound, low and embittered with frustration, claws to freedom from his too tight throat. Stiles wants little more than to vehemently argue against every point leveled against him, a contrary nature that would sooner see him blue in the face from yelling than bow out of the confrontation. The misunderstanding around Sasuke’s “characterization” especially grates, unfair as it feels. “That death was atonement for him, and the fact that it was interrupted isn’t something I ever wished for.” God, how else was he meant to take this? The fact of the matter is, Stiles is personally incapable of reconciling that sentiment. He’s too distanced from the clan massacre, too opportunistic to regret the second chance Itachi has been granted.
Furthermore, it genuinely doesn’t seem to him that Sasuke is approaching their relationship out of concern, not based on how the shinobi is going about it. Repeated insistence that the relationship is a mistake, that it’s selfish, that it’s the opposite of the peace Itachi found – these criticisms have only reinforced the idea that Sasuke has no interest in understanding either the life they’ve built together or them as the people they’ve become. The younger Uchiha brother is stuck in the past, refusing to relinquish his own misgivings. There’s no point in discussing the subject with him further. And yet Stiles knows that if he can’t somehow convince Sasuke, his relationship with Itachi will be in jeopardy; if there’s one truth he’s certain of, it’s that Itachi will accept whatever sentencing Sasuke delivers upon him. ]
I’m in love with him.
[ The world continues on despite the quiet admission. Birds in the backyard garden trill beautiful songs to each other, unafraid of miscommunication. Sophia twitches in her sleep, paws scrabbling on the floor as she chases after long-fading dreams. And there’s Stiles, baring his heart to Sasuke for judgement. His expression is smooth, devoid of the fragmented anger that had cracked his countenance before. ]
And I think he’s in love with me.
Our relationship might not be perfect, but it works for us. We make each other happy.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
So says Stiles, and there is as of yet no evidence to contradict that. His brother's belongings in the house. His absence, crucial to the errands he is performing and indicative of a purposeful existence here. A romantic relationship with one of Sasuke's friends, which he's still struggling to convince himself isn't a betrayal.
It sickens him to think that such change could happen when he had no opportunities to witness it, and self-doubt supplies him with the damaging thought that his presence might have held his brother back. Had Itachi's held him back? It could have, in grief, but that was due to repeated loss.
But a critical understanding of his brother, hard-won over years of blood and suffering, rears its head to remind him of what he already knows. ]
My feelings are that you are doing what you think is best for you and perhaps what you think is best for him, but that you are accomplishing neither.
Do you believe he has been fully honest with you about everything, about his wishes and about his experience? [ Here he turns again, eyes back on Stiles. ] I don't ask that to belittle your connection. I say it because it is in his nature to shoulder burdens silently and hide hard truths until it is no longer viable to do so.
He does not belong here.
no subject
One. [ A single finger is held up. ] I think it’s pretty rich that you’re gonna stand here and tell me that we’re not accomplishing the best for ourselves when you don’t know jack about our relationship or the situation. Instead of asking those questions, you’re just jumping to conclusions based on what you used to know.
Two. [ A second finger. Stiles shoots Sasuke an incredulous look here, arms spread helplessly. ] Do I think he’s been honest? I know he hasn’t. Neither have I! We’re in a relationship. It’s a constant work in progress. But we’ve already cleared some major hurdles – again, that you wouldn’t have any idea about, because you haven’t asked – and, more importantly, I trust him.
Three. [ The knife is abandoned to the cutting board once again. ] No one belongs here, Sasuke! Not him, not me, not you! But we’re goddamn stuck here anyway. Is he supposed to just drop dead because that was the natural state of things in your world? No? Then what the hell is your point?
no subject
Stiles says his brother is seeking treatment for his illness. Would he do so if he were here alone, even having grown as is claimed? How much of this progress is for the sake of assuaging Stiles's concerns? For the purpose of placation? It's not something he wants the young man across from him to endure. ]
You are correct. I don't understand your relationship. What I know is what I have gleaned from years with him and years apart from him, and from what you've told me now.
Would you care to review it? That your relationship "just happened". That you know it's selfish but you don't care. That you genuinely believe it harms no one but the two of you. That when I've confronted you out of concern for you both you have found it fitting to characterize me as the kind of man that even I have never been. That you know he lies to you.
I too have trusted my brother. Pragmatism and duty matter to him more than that, and I would challenge any narrative that says that that has changed about him. [ Eyes again cut back to the entryway, but this time it's where his focus remains, jaw locked and expression grim. Nothing about this brings him pleasure. Even the way Stiles is free to yell at him is something he envies, wishing for a similar way to vent his frustrations but he's left grasping at straws. His anger, for better or for worse, can't stay fixed on a singular target, not with this. ]
I have missed things. Because of that, I should see his changes for myself.
no subject
Furthermore, it genuinely doesn’t seem to him that Sasuke is approaching their relationship out of concern, not based on how the shinobi is going about it. Repeated insistence that the relationship is a mistake, that it’s selfish, that it’s the opposite of the peace Itachi found – these criticisms have only reinforced the idea that Sasuke has no interest in understanding either the life they’ve built together or them as the people they’ve become. The younger Uchiha brother is stuck in the past, refusing to relinquish his own misgivings. There’s no point in discussing the subject with him further. And yet Stiles knows that if he can’t somehow convince Sasuke, his relationship with Itachi will be in jeopardy; if there’s one truth he’s certain of, it’s that Itachi will accept whatever sentencing Sasuke delivers upon him. ]
I’m in love with him.
[ The world continues on despite the quiet admission. Birds in the backyard garden trill beautiful songs to each other, unafraid of miscommunication. Sophia twitches in her sleep, paws scrabbling on the floor as she chases after long-fading dreams. And there’s Stiles, baring his heart to Sasuke for judgement. His expression is smooth, devoid of the fragmented anger that had cracked his countenance before. ]
And I think he’s in love with me.
Our relationship might not be perfect, but it works for us. We make each other happy.