Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its related characters or themes.

AN: Ugh, I have taken out all the little details like Itachi's congestion making all his words sound wonky, before I get jam-packed by 'I can't spell' reviews. Yes, of course, I don't

have the best spelling or grammer in the world xD Seriously.

This is just a fluffy take on the Uchiha brothers, set a few days/weeks before The Massacre...

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Big Brothers are always the Hero

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"Go to your room, Sasuke," Itachi said, his voice coming out thick and congested. He cringed internally, knowing exactly what Sasuke will do next.

His soji slid open further, revealing his sleepy-faced four-foot brother. "… Are you sick?". Trust Sasuke to get right to the point.

"I'm fine, Sasuke," Itachi said, clearing his throat as he turned his attention back to his last bit of homework. Hopefully his little brother would catch a hint and go back to sleep after his answer.

"I think you're sick," Sasuke said, not missing a beat.

"Yeah, and you think you can lick your elbow," Itachi said and averted his eyes to stop himself from grinning as Sasuke tried to prove him wrong. "Go back to sleep"

Sasuke paused in his contortionist-act and glared at his brother, "Mmm mm," he shook his head irreverently, "You need to drink honey and lemon tea."

Itachi smiled an annoyed yet placating look towards his brother, "I will… as soon as I finish my homework," he said and wiped as discreetly as he could at his runny nose again. He couldn't help but keep praying he wouldn't just sniff. Once that happens it's all over.

"Really?" Sasuke asked, not buying his brother's words for a second. He'd been treated to the forehead-poke one too many times to 'believe it'.

"Sure," and just as Itachi was to deliver the coup-de-grâce … he sniffed. Just like that.

"You are sick!" Sasuke latched unto the involuntary giveaway like it was the last cream puff at the candy store. And he was pretty tenacious went it came to cream puffs…. Or anything else, for that matter. "I'll go get momma"

Sometimes it came in handy to be a ninja… He already stood next to his brother even before his brother had a chance to turn around. "Sshh… no, that's okay… " Itachi said, standing right next to his brother, his hand over his brother's mouth.

He really didn't need his parents to know. Not when they're involved in his current ANBU mission. If he were to take time off just because of a little head-cold, the Uchiha clan may decide to strike sooner or later than they had already planned. He couldn't… wouldn't let that happen to Konoha. His mission was in four days, which meant he still had ample time to recover… he hoped.

"But you're sick!" Sasuke's muffled indignant retort came.

Itachi let go of his brother and forced a smile, "Then you can make me some tea," he said and hoped the little compromise would work.

"Me?" the young Uchiha repeated seriously, as if this decision would ultimately affect the universe's natural course. He looked up with a pair of determined looking-eyes. "I'll go make you some tea"

The older brother sauntered after his brother, not really in the mood for his games, but also mildly touched at the simple sincerity of the gesture of devotion from his little brother.

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"Don't burn yourself, Sasuke," Itachi said, sitting at the table. He cleared his throat again, wincing at the sting it sent through his system. "And don't use mom's special cups".

The tea cups reserved for the tea ceremonies and members of the family, were the same cups Sasuke had been eyeing with wide-eyed wonder the past few weeks. He had so wanted to use them and already had set out a cup, but he reluctantly put it back on his brother's order … a moment later and the long awaited pout finally came.

Itachi quirked an eyebrow at his brother's pouted face, but didn't say anything.

Sasuke set out a regular mug and readied the kettle, "Is your nose full?" he asked as he turned back to his brother.

Itachi blinked, his brain struggling to make a connection with his brother's question, "Uh… do you mean congestion?" Itachi asked, not completely sure that that was what his brother was referring to.

"Con-chest-in," Sasuke repeated and nodded as if he knew exactly what "con-chest-in" meant.

The older brother caught himself before he corrected Sasuke again, "Yeah… I think I'll need some tissues," he stated, more to himself than anyone else.

"I'll get some!" Sasuke jumped into action, jogging out of the kitchen with an ridiculous amount of resolve in his stride.

The older boy rubbed his head, wishing for nothing more than this little detour to end so he could finally get his work done… and then go to sleep. Glorious sleep.

"Here you are!" Sasuke said, smiling widely as he held up an entire box of Kleenex.

"Ummm…" the older brother stared at the large box for a moment, 'I don't need a whole box…'Itachi thought to himself but replied differently, "Thanks, Sasuke?"

The younger boy watched as his brother plucked some tissues from the box, holding them in front of his nose.

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It was only when Itachi's eyes lifted towards the kettle did Sasuke remember his 'promise'.

The young boy set to work and poured a bit of hot water in a cup, followed by a rather large amount of honey. He walked over to the fruit basket and got a lemon, walking back to the mug. He reached into the drawer and got out a knife.

"Don't cut your fingers off," Itachi reminded his brother with a grin, forcing the younger boy to cut as carefully as possible. …

And, of course, sometimes, even that doesn't help. A clang of metal being dropped, followed by the very audible sound of Sasuke's whine.

"Did you cut yourself?" Itachi said, knowing full well what the answer was. "Don't stick your finger in your mouth," he chided half-heartedly.

Too late for that little reprimand, but Sasuke quickly clutched his cut hand to his tee to remove the 'evidence'. That made Itachi smile in amusement.

He got up, picked up the offending utensil and set it down in the basin. He then walked towards his little brother and examined the cut, "How are we going to reattach that now?" he joked, tugging his brother towards the sink. "What's mom going to say about your fingers lying everywhere?"

Considering the cut was only about as bad as a paper-cut from a post-it, the reaction of his brother was a bit too overboard. The younger brother apparently had a much more vivid imagination than the rest of the Uchiha family and had taken his brother's remark to heart. "I-I don't k-know!" Sasuke whined, sniffing and his eyes already watering.

"I was kidding… kidding…." Itachi said, picking up his brother and hoisting him up to the side of his hip. He took hold of his brother's wrist and held his hand up, "See? Everything's still there"

He leaned over the sink and let the cool water run from the faucet. Itachi took hold of Sasuke's wrist again and tugged him towards the stream, but the younger boy wasn't too keen on that idea.

"What's wrong?" Itachi said, tugging again. "It's going to make it feel better…"

"No, it's not," Sasuke adamantly retorted.

"Yes, it is…" Itachi said, frowning as Sasuke fully tugged his hand back and held it protectively to his chest.

"Would it be alright if I held my hand out with yours then?" Itachi suggested reluctantly, offering his hand.

The offer worked and together they held their hands in the water, allowing the cool stream to wash off their hands. Sasuke gripped at his brother's shirt just as the water hit the small cut, but smiled when the coolness finally did its job.

Itachi put his brother down on the side of the sink and told him to keep his hand in the stream, to which Sasuke had no complaints. He dried his hands off on his pants as he walked to the medicine cabinet. He sniffed and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand with a grumble as he opened the cupboard with his other. He pulled out a couple of band-aids from the stockpile and headed back to his brother.

"Transformers or Barney?" Itachi said and held up the two colored band-aids.

Sasuke gave his brother the signature Uchiha-stare that was trademark several generations ago , causing a smile to tug at Itachi's lips. "Yeah… I thought so too…. " Itachi said and dropped the offending Barney-plaster in the dustbin as he passed it. "I don't even know why mom buys those."

"Maybe they're for you," Sasuke said, his arrogant-side still fully intact.

Itachi poked Sasuke's stomach, earning a giggle from the latter, "Hey, look who's talking… brother whose fingers were almost completely cut off just now," he countered nasally and opened the containing wrapper. He sniffed and rubbed his nose absently against his sleeve. He knew his mother wouldn't be too impressed with his 'manners' at that moment, but he didn't care about that.

What he cared about, was sitting on the side of the sink, and watching him with watery eyes and a smile that could outshine the sun. What he cared about, was looking at him as if he were some hero of a comic book, and coming to save the day. He knew he wasn't a hero… but sometimes… you don't need to be the hero to save someone.

Sasuke gingerly dried off his hand with his tee, wincing again, but keeping a brave-face on this time. He obligingly held out his finger.

"Tell me if it's too tight, alright?" Itachi said and wrapped the plaster securely around Sasuke's first finger. His mom is surely going to have a whole story to tell him tomorrow on just how completely and utterly reckless it was for him to allow his brother to work with knives. But, as far as Itachi was concerned, if Sasuke was prepared work, he was prepared to teach him.

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"How about I finish up?" Itachi said and ducked his arm into the crook of his elbow, letting out a burst of a sneeze.

"Bless you," Sasuke said, stood by as his brother picked another lemon, expertly cutting it and adding the juice to the mug.

"Thank you," Itachi said and stirred the honey-and-lemon tea. More honey than lemon. He didn't have to taste it to know how sickly sweet it'll be. And he wasn't a particular lover of sweets. But, when his brother's puppy-dog eyes stared at him, he took a small –very small- sip and smiled happily as he licked his lips and forced him to smile comfortingly. 'Don't cringe. Don't cringe… it wasn't that bad!... ugghhhh'

"How are you feeling?" Sasuke asked, hoping his 'cure-all' remedy had somehow magically cured everything already.

"All better!" Itachi said through a taut smile, making a mental note of grabbing a pair of decongestant tablets and some painkillers before heading off to bed. That way, by the time he wakes up tomorrow morning, the pills would've kicked in, and Sasuke's 'miracle cure' of Lemon and Honey-Tea can become public knowledge.

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Thanks for reading! Please drop me a review or message if you liked it :DD

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