Disclaimer: Characters of this story are not mine.

A/N: I meant to make it an Uchihacest fic but was too lazy...hehe

He would stare at the people around him and think, 'Ignorant fools…I want to kill them.'

Then he would be shaken out of his reverie by a weak tug on his pants. He looked down and saw baby Sasuke sitting on the tatami next to his feet. Sasuke looked up at the standing Itachi as if he were a mountain, eyes filled with awe and admiration. Then, for no reason at all, he kicked Itachi's leg.

Itachi's eyes flared red with the sharingan he was developing. And then Sasuke chortled as if amused by Itachi's blatant anger. He grabbed his toes and began rocking himself making weird undecipherable baby noises until Itachi decided to ignore him again in favour of staring at the pond outside their living quarters.

"Ee-tah!" exclaimed Sasuke and he began slapping the tatami beside him excitedly. "Ee-tah! Ee-tah!"

Itachi looked at his brother and raised an eyebrow. Was he like this too when he was a baby? Full of laughter and seemingly without a care in the world other than shouting baby babble? It was hard to imagine. Itachi turned to look at the pond again but Sasuke was grabbing his pants once more.

"Ee-tah! Eeeee-taH!"

What was he trying to tell him? Itachi glared at Sasuke, glaring always worked on everyone else. But Sasuke laughed again and tugged his pants even harder. Does he want me to sit? Itachi wondered. He sat down beside Sasuke and the baby stopped pulling his pants.

But he returned to saying in a really loud voice, "Ee-tah! Ee-tah!"

After four more ee-tahs, Sasuke started to look desperate. His cheeks became rosy with frustration and he was slapping the tatami angrily. "EE-TAH!"

I hate babies, thought Itachi.

At that moment, Uchiha Shisui appeared at the sliding door with a ball tucked under his arms. "Hey, Itachi," he said excitedly and Sasuke brightened visibly. "We're going to play ball out in the field. Wanna join us?"

"I don't think so."

"Come on, Itachi. Join us once in a while."

"I have to take care of Sasuke."

"Oh. Okay, then. Maybe next time."

No way, thought Itachi silently as Shishui left. It was then did Itachi notice that Sasuke was laughing. At least one of us appreciates Shishui visiting. Sasuke laughed then said again, "Ee-tah…ee-tah…"

"Can't you say anything else?" asked Itachi sardonically. Actually, Sasuke couldn't speak yet. Fugaku and Mikoto were still waiting anxiously for him to blurt out 'mama' or 'papa'. Sasuke hasn't made them happy with his speaking yet though. "Maybe you're retarded," Itachi wondered.

"Ee-tah…ee-tah…" Sasuke looked as though he was really struggling.

"Tadaima," announced Uchiha Mikoto as she stepped into the room with an armful of groceries. "Did you have fun watching your baby brother, Sasuke?"

"Not really," answered Itachi truthfully. "All he ever says is ee-tah."

"He said something?" exclaimed Mikoto. "All I ever got out of him was 'buh'!"

"Eee-tah…eee-tah!" strained Sasuke. "Eeeee-taaaah…"

"His first word," said Mikoto excitedly, putting down the groceries and kneeling in front of Sasuke. "What are you trying to say, honey? Eee-tah?"

And then with a final burst, "Ee-tah-CHI!" Sasuke screamed with joyous laughter, ecstatic that he finally got it. "Ee-tah-CHI! Eee-taah-CHI!"

Mikoto looked at Itachi with silent surprise. Itachi looked as shocked as well. Sasuke's first word…his baby brother's first word…was his name? What happened to the common mama and papa?

Mikoto sighed and smiled amusedly. "Your father will be heartbroken. Your first word was mama so your father was hoping Sasuke's would be papa." Then Mikoto gathered Sasuke into her arms and bounced him on her lap. "But isn't Sasuke the most adorable thing?"

"Ee-tah-chi! Ee-tah-chi!" said Sasuke excitedly, gurgling with laughter. He looked straight at Itachi and laughed, "Ee-tah-chi! Ee-tah-chi!"

Finally, Mikoto put Sasuke down and left to put the groceries in the cooking room. Itachi, left alone with Sasuke, gestured with the little Uchiha to come closer. Sasuke obeyed and crawled into Itachi's lap. "Ee-tah-chi?"

Itachi hugged Sasuke around his midsection and pressed Sasuke's small back against his chest. He buried his face into Sasuke's short hair so that no one around could see his little smile.