When it came down to it, Itachi had always been pleased Sasuke wasn't a genius. He didn't have to grow up fast, and no one would push him through the ranks too quickly. He could be a child and grow slowly, carefully. Sasuke's normality (and he wasn't really at all average) had held Itachi in awe at a young age, and made him seem precious.

Now, of course, Itachi was aware how the differences in their...growth had strained their relationship and cause other people to compare them. Itachi was intimately aware of the pressures and pitfalls of being a genius Uchiha, and he would probably never tell Sasuke how glad he was the boy had grown up and a more normal pace.

"And that is one thing I'm not sure how to fix." Itachi shook his head. "Obito could probably talk to him about that with more authority and an idea of what that was like than I could." He'd had a low key rivalry with Shisui, but that was more to prove Shisui hadn't wasted his time teaching him, and to hit a level of skill where he could help his cousin instead of hindering.

Shisui had been a better brother to Itachi than Itachi had been to Sasuke, looking at how things stood now. Shisui had definitely been around more for Itachi than Itachi had been around for Shisui.