It had been a long day; Itachi was tired

It had been a long day; Itachi was tired. He'd just returned from his latest assassination mission and wanted nothing more than to have a hot shower and collapse into bed and fall into sweet oblivion.

Alas, it was not to be.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke attacked his older brother as soon as he entered the house. He clutched Itachi's waist in a tight hug, his face nuzzled into Itachi's chest.

Sighing, Itachi pried his little brother from his middle and picked him up, letting him wrap his legs around his hips, his arms around his chest and his face buried in his neck. He carried the boy up the stairs, determined to have at least a shower.

"Sasuke-kun," was the twelve-year-old's greeting.

"How was your mission, Itachi?" Sasuke hugged tighter.

"Tch. Have you forgotten your manners in the brief time I've been gone, Sasuke-kun?"

"Nani?" Sasuke had no idea what Itachi was talking about.

"How do we address our elders?" Itachi couldn't stand rudeness. Especially from his own little brother.

"Gomen, Itachi-san." Sasuke's cheeks turned pink, embarrassed that he'd upset his beloved brother.

"Good boy. Now, go and play while I have my shower." Itachi set the boy down when they were outside the bathroom. Sasuke sighed. Before he let go of Itachi's chest, he squeezed tighter for a second before kissing his cheek, saying, "I love you, aniki," and bowing before leaving. He's being so harsh with me, today… thought Sasuke as he left. He usually isn't so aloof when it's just us.

Itachi blinked at his brother's unexpected – unwanted – show of affection. What the… he shrugged it off for the moment. He'd deal with the boy when he was clean.

"Sasuke-kun," Itachi knocked on his brother's bedroom door. "May I speak to you?" He waited for Sasuke to let him in.

Sasuke opened the door with a grin, happy to spend any time with his big brother.

"May I come in?" Itachi asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Yes, of course." Sasuke moved aside for his nii-san. Itachi sat on the bed.

"Sasuke-kun, what was that about?"

"What was what about?" Sasuke sat next to him.

"Before I had my shower, when I dismissed you, you embraced me and kissed my cheek." He was straight to the point and saw no reason to hesitate in embarrassment. It was only Sasuke.

Sasuke wrinkled his nose in a 'don't be silly' smile. "Because I love you. I said it before." Itachi looked confused at this statement. Sasuke's brow furrowed at his brother's confusion.

"Nii-san… what's the matter?" Sasuke moved closer and waved a hand in front of Itachi's glazed-over eyes.

Itachi blinked, composed himself and reprimanded Sasuke's actions.

"Sasuke-kun, your conduct earlier was unbecoming of a young man; of a shinobi. Please refrain from behaving in this way again." He waited for Sasuke's apology and confirmation that he'd not do it again. I hate to be harsh, but…he's getting older and it won't do to have him behave like that.

"G-gomen, Itachi-san. I won't do it again." Sasuke bowed his head; half in a respectful apology, half to hide his watering eyes. Why is he scolding me? I only told him I love him. It isn't like our parents are around for him to impress… I always hug him anyway. Maybe he doesn't like being kissed?

"Good boy. Now, I need a rest. Please keep quiet." Itachi laid his hand on Sasuke's head in what he considered an appropriate show of affection for this particular situation. He'd normally hug the boy, but he'd just scolded him for doing that before. No… I'm scolding him for kissing me…

As Itachi lay in bed, waiting for sleep to come, he mulled over what Sasuke said.

"Because I love you…" But what does that mean? No one's ever said that to me before. And it was true. Not even his parents had said it to him. They thought of him as the 'Uchiha Prodigy' who didn't need affection and love. He was too good a ninja for that. No, they showered Sasuke with love. He was the weaker, younger sibling. And this was the first time even Sasuke had actually said "I love you", despite his constant hugging and attention-seeking. Do I love Sasuke too?

It was all he could think about until he fell asleep.

xXx

"I-Itachi-san… Itachi-san?" Sasuke was careful to use the honorific, remembering what Itachi had said earlier that day, lest the answer was no.

"What is it, otouto?" He sounded annoyed.

"C-can I… can I sleep with you?" Sasuke felt stupid, but he didn't want to be alone right then. He heard a sigh before blankets being removed. Itachi came over to him.

"Why, after two years, do you feel the need to sleep in my bed?" There's something going on with this boy…

"P-please? I don't want to talk about it yet." Sasuke held back the urge to hug his brother again.

Another sigh. "Come on, then." Itachi lead Sasuke into his room. He tucked Sasuke in before climbing in himself.

"Good night, otouto."

"Good night, aniki. Thank you." Sasuke snuggled up to Itachi, who was on his back, arms behind his head. Sasuke nuzzled into his neck, an arm over his chest.

When Sasuke fell asleep, Itachi put a hand on Sasuke's and stroked it lazily until he too fell asleep again.

The sun rose all-too-soon the next morning. Itachi woke to a light-filled room and a snuggling little brother. He looked at Sasuke, still asleep, smiling. He's so cute… so peaceful. He scowled at himself for the thoughts he thought he'd suppressed permanently, years ago.

"Sasuke-kun, wake up." He placed a gentle hand on Sasuke's shoulder. No reaction. "Sasuke-kun," he stroked the boy's face, tucking his hair behind his ear, smoothing his eyebrow with a thumb. Finally, after a few moments, Sasuke woke up.

"Ngh… aniki? What time is it?"

"Dawn."

"Mmn… it's Saturday. We don't have to do anything."

"Why did you need to sleep with me, otouto?" Itachi had decided he needed to approach this delicately, with a gentle manner. Looking back on Sasuke's behaviour, the previous day, he realized something was bothering the boy. He always hugged Itachi, but he was never that clingy.

Sasuke sat up slowly, looking down at his hands in his lap.

"I don't want to –"

"Too bad. What's wrong?" Itachi pressed as gently as he could. If he left it up to Sasuke, he'd never hear about it again.

"Nii-san… please leave it?" Sasuke sounded on the verge of tears.

"No." He folded his arms. Sasuke sniffed.

"Mother and Father are on a mission…" Itachi knew that, he'd been told when he handed in his mission report before going home. "They won't be returning for months… maybe a year; if ever." Itachi sighed. He knew what kind of mission they were on. He'd been on a few.

"An S-rank, reconnaissance-assassination mission?" It didn't bother him if they didn't return, but he knew Sasuke loved their parents and it was affecting him badly. Sasuke sniffed again.

"I-I looked at their instruction scroll… it's a mass-assassination… of foreign dignitaries and their families. They have to make it look like an accident each time." Itachi closed his eyes, squeezing the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb.

"Sasuke-kun, don't worry. They're Uchihas. You know they're perfectly capable of this. I've done it too."

"I-I know. It's just… you were gone for two months on another assassination mission… and they left two days ago." Sasuke wiped away his tears on his pajama sleeve.

Itachi's heart missed a beat. He'd never seen his brother so distressed. He didn't like it. If he had to name the feeling he was having at that moment, it'd be love. His heart skipped a beat at his revelation.

"Sasuke-kun," he whispered, "I… I love you."

Sasuke looked up, not allowing himself to believe his ears. But when he saw the look on his brother's face, he beamed through his tears and tackle-hugged Itachi back onto the pillows.

"Oh, aniki, I love you too!" he kissed Itachi's cheeks and hugged him tighter.

Itachi could only gently lay his arms on his brother's back, as he tried to cope with these sudden, new feelings.

He loved his brother.

xXx

Three weeks passed since Itachi's revelation. He'd requested he'd be assigned lower-ranking missions until his parents returned, so he could take care of Sasuke.

"Itachi-nii! Itachi-nii!" Sasuke yelled for his brother as though he were being attacked, from the bathroom.

Itachi was there in a flash; Sharingan ablaze, his kunai out. "What is it, otouto?" He was annoyed at Sasuke's overreaction to whatever was troubling him.

"Look!" Sasuke turned around from the shower and took away his towel. He pointed to his groin. Itachi looked, reflexively. He quickly averted his eyes. "Itachi! What-what happened? Am I sick?"

Itachi squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to blush furiously in his embarrassment. They'd become closer in the past few weeks, but not that close. His brother, it seemed, was a late bloomer.

"N-no, otouto… you're not ill," hw turned around to allow himself to open his eyes.

"But it… it's… I think it has a fever! See?" Before Itachi knew what was happening, he felt his arm being pulled back, behind him, and his hand placed over something hot and hard and slightly wet. His eyes bulged at the sound of Sasuke's gasp at the contact of his big brother's cold hand on his hot erection. Itachi snatched his hand away and bolted down the hall to his bedroom.

He locked his door, leaning against it, trying to regain control of his breathing.

He looked down; his pants were tenting. He groaned. I knew I was gay… but I thought I got rid of those feelings towards Sasuke! I love him… he's my brother… I just got used to that idea. What's wrong with me? He closed his eyes, snaking one hand under his pants, and used the other to let them fall to the floor. He took hold of his hardening penis, stroking it to full arousal, with one hand, while cupping his sac with the other. He gasped at how cold his hands were. No wonder Sasuke made that noise. I'd forgotten how good this felt. At the thought of Sasuke gasping, his groin throbbed. He pumped himself leisurely, teasing himself with one hand, rolling his testicles with the other. A soft groan escaped his lips.

Gently but firmly, he squeezed his sac as he pumped harder and faster, slowing at times to rub the vein along the underside, or to tease the head in some way.

After a few minutes, he finally came into his hand. He heard himself whisper "Sasuke," causing himself to scowl. He rode out his orgasm, occasionally squeezing his sac or pulling particularly hard on his softening penis.

When he came down from his high, he cleaned off his hand with a tissue. He sighed, closing his eyes. I'm going to have to have 'the talk' with him, now… how convenient for Mother and Father to have a mission…

He pulled up his pants and headed towards Sasuke's room, at the other end of the hall.

He knocked gently before entering without waiting. He normally waited for permission, but all thoughts of politeness had been pushed aside for now.

"Sasuke…" he stopped, seeing his brother crying, sitting on his bed. "Sasuke-kun?" The boy sniffed and turned away from his brother. "What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?" Itachi sat next to his little brother. He sniffed again.

"A-am I going to die?" He sounded scared.

"What? No! Why—"

"It won't go away! Look!" He nodded to his now, thankfully, clothed erection. "What's wrong with me, Itachi?"

Itachi almost laughed at his brother's pathetic-sounding voice. He held it in, however, considering the boy's delicate state.

"You're not dying, Sasuke-kun."

"But when you touched it… you bolted like I'd infect you!"

In a way, you did, Sasuke, he thought. "No… no, that's not why I ran," he forced himself to look away from Sasuke's crotch, to his face, before he was "infected" again.

"Then what—"

"It… it's called an erection, otouto." I can't believe he's never had one before. "All males get them. When a boy starts puberty – most of the time before he starts – he… his penis becomes… hard – aroused – sometimes. It just means you're growing up."

"Puberty?" Itachi sighed. Our parents are useless.

"Yes… the process in which your body changes. You grow…you get hair under your arm, around your… down there… and maybe on your chest – though, doubt it; our family is smooth-chested – and on your face." I can't believe I have to do this.

"So… have you had an erection before?" Itachi forced his eyes not to bulge again and his cheeks to stay pale.

"Er… y-yes." I'm stuttering?

"How do you get rid of them?" Sasuke didn't sound in the least bit embarrassed. His tears were gone and he was facing Itachi fully.

"Uh… there are several ways."

"Well? What are they?" He's relentless!

"One way is cold water," he finally stopped stuttering. "Another way is… masturbation… or mutual masturbation… or, you could think of something that repulses you… or if you get hurt, it will go away. And, one day, when you're older, you can have sex."

"What's masturbation and mutual masturbation?" Kami, give me a break!

"You… you… uh… 'pleasure' yourself… or someone does it for you." I can't believe I'm saying so much… and I'm stuttering like a fool! Damn you, Sasuke!

"How?" Itachi sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day, wanting it all to be over.

"You… pull it… until you orgasm. Or get someone else to do it."

"Have you ever done it?"

"What?"

"Have you ever masturbated?" Oh. My. God.

"Y-yes." Why me?!

"Will you do it for me?" Sasuke sounded so innocent. He truly didn't know anything about this. He had no idea what he was asking of his older brother.

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Brothers – or any other blood-relatives – do not engage in sexual activities together."

"Why not?"

"Because it's wrong. It's called incest, Sasuke."

"But… we love each other. And I heard you have sex wit the one you love." Itachi's jaw almost dropped to the floor.

"That's a different kind of love, Sasuke-kun." Why, why, why?

"But… I don't think I could do that myself. What if I hurt myself? I need you to help me, Itachi. Please, will you help me? I promise I won't tell anyone… just please make it go away. It's starting to hurt!" Sasuke's eyes were brimming again.

Itachi knew he was going to regret this later, but, "You promise you will never say a word about this to anyone?"

"Yes, I promise! Please just make it go away!"

Itachi squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before taking a deep breath. "OK. Take off your pants." Sasuke did as he was told. "Lay down. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right."

Sasuke laid down on the bed, next to Itachi, awaiting his brother's hopefully painless touch.

"Wait here, a moment." Itachi got up and left the room.

He went to his parents' room on the third floor, and retrieved a small tube of lubricant.

"What's that?" Sasuke asked, as Itachi came in.

"Lubricant. Be quiet." He didn't mean to sound harsh, but he didn't want to deter himself from pleasuring Sasuke because he was scared of tainting the boy's innocence.

This new feeling of love was quite new to him. Sure, he'd lusted after a few people, but never had he loved them. He didn't think he was capable of that feeling until a few weeks ago. He thought he'd come close to it a few years ago, but that person died, jading him until recently.

Itachi placed the lubricant on the bed next to Sasuke's head, for when he'd need it later.

"Close your eyes," he ordered, before positioning himself over his brother, carefully.

Ever-so-slowly, Itachi lowered his face over Sasuke's. He hesitated for a moment before placing a kiss on his cheek; then one on the other, before he built up enough courage to kiss the soft lips.

Itachi had never kissed anyone before. He didn't know what to do, but he decided that it was now or never to find out.

He gently caressed Sasuke's lips with his own, applying a mild pressure. He felt Sasuke push back, liking the new sensation. He let his tongue slide over Sasuke's bottom lip, wanting to taste him, before gently pushing it into Sasuke's mouth.

He felt Sasuke gasp at the sensation of having another person's tongue in his mouth, exploring wherever it could reach, massaging his own with a new-found passion.

Itachi broke away to let them both breathe again. He used this time to trail kisses from Sasuke's jaw to his throat, along his neck to his collarbone, where he bit the tender flesh, before continuing onto his pectorals.

He found a dark nipple, just ripe for the taking. He licked it before taking it in his mouth and sucking until it was hard. He nipped it before moving on to the next one, eliciting a moan from Sasuke.

Once finished with Sasuke's nipples, Itachi kissed and licked his way down his abdomen, until he reached his navel. He grazed his teeth over the soft flesh before plunging his tongue into the little hole. Sasuke moaned again, his hands finding their way into Itachi's hair, balling into fists.

Itachi smirked, placing a kiss just below Sasuke's belly button. He moved down to the boy's hips, where they met the thighs. He ran his tongue over both joints, teasingly, not wanting to rush into taking Sasuke into his mouth, just yet; this was Itachi's first time, too.

He kissed and licked Sasuke's inner thighs, gently massaging with his mouth, before finally getting to the very aroused penis between them.

Even though he was only twelve, Sasuke was almost as big as Itachi. Almost.

Itachi licked his lips; his brother's erection looked so edible. He wanted it now, more than he'd wanted anything else, ever.

He nuzzled into the soft, smooth sac, savoring the smell of arousal that belonged only to his baby brother. He kissed the soft flesh before suckling gently, not wanting to hurt his beloved otouto.

Sasuke's hands clenched and unclenched, massaging Itachi's scalp. He moaned and groaned, parting his legs, bending at the knees, slightly pushing himself towards Itachi's mouth, applying pressure to Itachi's head, urging him forward.

By now, Itachi was fully aroused again. He needed no more encouragement to take Sasuke into his mouth.

He first tentatively licked the precome-soaked tip, savoring the taste, before enveloping the head, sucking hard a few times, before finally sheathing it completely.

"Ah! Itachi! Oh my god!" Sasuke uncontrollably bucked into Itachi's mouth, his legs closing around his brother's head, thighs pressing against his ears, hands gripping his hair like a vice.

Itachi almost gagged, but managed to pull of a little. He ran his tongue along the vein underneath the surprisingly large length, before grazing his teeth along it, and nipping the tip and taking it all back in.

Sucking and grazing, nipping and licking, for a few minutes, Itachi decided it was time for the lubricant. He groped around for it, not taking his mouth from Sasuke.

Blindly, he lubed up two fingers.

He'd never done this sort of thing before, but he knew to go in one finger at a time.

"Ah! Itachi… ngh… what're you doing?" Sasuke wriggled a bit, adjusting to the intruding finger.

With his free hand, Itachi placed his finger over Sasuke's lips, telling him to be quiet. After a few seconds, he thrust his finger in and out a few times, before adding the second one.

"Ah! No! Itachi, it hurts! Stop! Please, I don't like it!"

Itachi hadn't realized Sasuke would be so tight. He is only twelve… He pulled off his brother's softening penis, and held a hand with his free one.

"Shh, Sasuke-kun. I'm sorry. It'll get better, I promise. I didn't know you'd be so tight. I forgot you're only twelve. I'm so sorry!" He couldn't imagine how painful it would have to be for Sasuke to cry out like that. He felt so guilty.

"I-it's OK, Itachi… it's not so bad now…kiss me?" Itachi felt relief wash over him as he sat up and passionately kissed his baby brother, taking his mind from the pain.

He squeezed Sasuke's hand before letting go, to place it over the softening member, to re-arouse it, pulling firmly and thumbing the slit.

After a couple of minutes, he removed his hand, holding Sasuke's again, and moved down to take him back in his mouth while starting to thrust in and out with his fingers, letting Sasuke adjust to the feeling.

He slowly licked and sucked the re-hardened penis before taking the sac into his mouth again.

With every thrust, he tried a new angle, trying to find his otouto's prostate. He'd heard about this wonderful little nerve-bundle from 'sex-ed' while he was back in the academy. He wondered why Sasuke hadn't had that class yet…

After four or five thrusts, he found it.

"Oh my GOD! Itachi! Do that again!" Sasuke's hips bucked and his fists clenched in bliss, almost crushing Itachi's hand and gagging him, in the process. He'd never known a feeling like this. His back arched, his toes curled, as he tried to let Itachi's fingers in deeper, trying to push himself deeper into Itachi's mouth at the same time.

Itachi only had to hit it a few times before Sasuke came in a violent flood, right into his mouth, screaming his name at the top of his lungs. As Itachi swallowed the semen, he almost came himself, at hearing his name screamed in such a manner, by his baby brother.

Itachi milked Sasuke of all the come he could. He swallowed every mouthful and licked the softening member clean, pulling his fingers from inside his brother, earning a disappointed moan. He let the boy ride out his first orgasm the way Itachi liked to, with a hand fondling his scrotum, and the other sporadically pulling and rubbing harshly, hips bucking lazily, until it was all over.

He sat up and kissed his little brother, wrapping his arms around his waist, holding him close as he tried to get his breathing under control.

"Itachi-san?" Sasuke panted.

"Mm?"

"Can I do that to you?"