Re: [private]
Yeah, it must be. There'll be a lot here I need to get used to, I think.... Are we the only ones in Marina, then?
[We. It sneaks back into his speech so naturally, even though he knows it shouldn't--Itachi is dead, after all. His Itachi is one he'll never see again. But even so--this Itachi had still met him, even if it was only briefly. This Itachi is one he had still made a commitment to, shaken hands with, been partnered with. He wants, needs to honor that commitment.]
[If his Itachi is dead, then this one will become his, too. He'll make it so. He'll reforge this partnership from shards and blood, dust and ashes, and if it looks different from the one it was created from, then so be it--they're both different people now. They're occupying different circumstances altogether. Perhaps that it will be different is necessary and inevitable--maybe it'll even be a good thing. But the bond between them is one too important and valuable to be allowed to slip away or die so easily.]
[Itachi is his. He's Itachi's. That's the way it's always been, and he intends that that's the way it always will be. He'll take care of him, always. Itachi deserves no less, and he respects him too much to give him anything but his best.]