Itachi was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the morning newspaper, sipping his coffee when his little brother came crashing down the stairs in a blur of black, white and red, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Nii-san! Nii-san! Aniiikiii!" He ran into the table, clutching it, trying to stabilize himself and catch his breath. Itachi was used to this kind of behaviour from his otouto, so wasn't panicked at the tone.

"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" He placed his coffee on the table and folded his newspaper, patiently waiting for Sasuke to explain himself. It's probably another spider... Itachi suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at this thought. He didn't want to make Sasuke angry.

"K-Kaa-san! Tou-san! They're..." Sasuke's eyes went wide when the realisation actually hit him. "Dead," he whispered.

"Nani?" Itachi didn't believe the boy for a second. It was probably a nightmare. "Sasuke-kun, Okaa-san and Otou-san are fine. They're still in bed. You probably just had a nightmare." Itachi calmly explained, reaching out to place a brotherly hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke placed a hand on Itachi's. He frowned. Sasuke's hand was wet. He finally took notice of the red that was on Sasuke's hands and forearms. "Sasuke-kun... why are you covered in... blood..." Itachi realised that Sasuke hadn't had a nightmare. He pushed past the sixteen-year-old and ran up the stairs to their parents' room.

"Okaa-san? Otou-san?" Itachi called out as soon as he entered the dark bedroom. He flicked the light on, revealing the horrific scene before him.

His parents, Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto lay crumpled on the floor and bed, respectively. Fugaku held a pistol in his right hand. The right side of his head was blown to pieces; shards of bone from his skull littered the floor while what was left of his brain trickled out the gaping hole. The left side was no better. Mikoto was slumped forward, face to the mattress at the foot of the bed, her knees tucked under her, her right arm limp under her chest, as though she were clutching her heart, her left by her side; it looked like a sick mockery of a subservient bow. Blood was everywhere. It pooled around Mikoto, on the mattress, staining the once-white cotton a deep crimson. If it wasn't obvious that she'd been shot in the heart, she looked as though she could have been drowned in blood. But it was obvious that Sasuke had placed her back the way he'd found her when he realised what had happened.

Itachi was no idiot. He knew what must have happened. But the question was: when? How did he (or Sasuke) not hear the gunshots? Or anything else that may have been happening in the room? I didn't think he'd go this far...

"Nii-san?" A timid whisper from the doorway broke the eerie silence. Itachi looked back to see Sasuke clutching the door frame, peeking around it, as though afraid of what he'd see. When did I walk in?

"Nii-san?" Sasuke asked again. He let go of the doorframe and stepped inside. Itachi finally noticed that the boy was only in a pair of boxers.

"Don't come in here, Sasuke-kun." Itachi walked over to his otouto, took his hand and lead him to the bathroom, sitting him on the edge of the bath tub, and crouched down in front of him, so they were eye-to-eye. "You wash yourself of the blood, ok, Sasuke-chan?" He rarely used 'chan' for Sasuke's name, only on especially delicate occasions. "I'm going to call the police. Don't go back into that room." He hesitated before kissing Sasuke's forehead and leaving the boy to clean himself up.

The police took statements from Itachi and Sasuke as the coroners studied the bodies and hauled them away on gurneys. Itachi held Sasuke to him as he spoke with the officers. Sasuke held Itachi's waist, leaning his head on the elder's shoulder. He was very quiet. He wasn't even crying.

"Do you have any relatives you could be placed in the care of?" The officer asked, at last putting her notepad away.

"No. I'm eighteen in two weeks. I can take care of Sasuke-kun." Itachi's voice was monotonous, his face blank, his eyes betraying nothing.

"Ok, that should be fine. You'll need to register as his guardian, though. Take care, Uchiha-san." The officer walked away after a quick bow, not wanting to linger near such disturbingly calm children.

The cremation was a week later; one week before Itachi's eighteenth birthday. Itachi was handed Fugaku's urn, and Sasuke Mikoto's. When they were out the door to the crematorium, Itachi threw their father's ashes into a dumpster. He'd always felt a certain detachment to Fugaku, but still respected him as his father and head of the household; the provider for Mikoto, Sasuke and himself. But now, he held nothing but a burning hate towards the man. He hated him for taking Sasuke's parents away from him at such a young, delicate age.

"Aniki?" Itachi was pulled from his thoughts by Sasuke's soft voice. He hummed his acknowledgement. "Why'd you do that?" Itachi was surprised his brother wasn't angry and cursing him for the disrespectful act of dumping their father's remains in a public dumpster.

"He deserves nothing better, Sasuke-kun," was all he said. To his surprise, he felt Sasuke's hand slide into his as they walked to the car down the street. He gave it a gentle squeeze, letting Sasuke know he was there for him.

"Happy birthday, Itachi-nii!" Sasuke jumped on Itachi's sleeping form at twelve in the morning. Itachi woke up to his little brother crushing him in a hug.

"Sasuke-kun, it's midnight. Shouldn't you be asleep?" Itachi groaned, though he still hugged back. He knew Sasuke was still grieving the loss of their parents, but wanted to be happy for his aniki on his birthday.

"Iie. It's your birthday." Sasuke hugged Itachi tighter. If that was possible.

"I know, Otouto, but it's still midnight. It will be my birthday all day." He pried himself away from his brother. "Let's go back to sleep for a few more hours. It's Saturday. We can do whatever you like when we wake up, later." He brushed Sasuke's hair out of his face and cupped his cheek. "Ok?" He lay back down, pulling Sasuke with him and covering them both with the blankets.

"Aniki, it's your birthday. We should do what you want to do! But, OK. It can wait for a few hours." Sasuke wrapped an arm around Itachi's waist and nuzzled his chest. "Happy birthday, 'niki... g'night..." he finally allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

The sunlight filtered in through the curtains to Itachi's room. Slowly, he awoke to the warmth of the new morning. His birthday. His eighteenth birthday. He sighed. Today was supposed to be a happy occasion. He smiled sadly. If Sasuke has anything to do with it, it will be... With that thought, he turned to look over at his otouto. He wasn't there. Huh?

"Happy birthday, Aniki!" Sasuke shouted as he came into the room with a tray laden with breakfast for them both. "I made us breakfast in bed!" He sat the tray down on the bedside table, next to Itachi, before crushing him in another birthday hug. "I love you, Itachi," he whispered as he clutched his only brother to him. Itachi smiled at the intimate way his brother addressed him. No 'aniki', no 'nii-san', no honorific of any kind. Simply Itachi. He kissed the top of his brother's head, hugging back.

"Thank you... I love you, too, Sasuke." He let go of the boy, bringing the tray to sit on his legs, so they may start their meal.

"What do you want to do today?" Sasuke asked as he stuffed his mouth full of toast. Itachi wrinkled his nose at his brother's eating style.

"Teach you how to eat properly," he stated dryly, before taking a small bite of his own toast, looking pointedly at his otouto.

"Nani?" Sasuke sprayed crumbs everywhere. Including on Itachi's face.

"Ugh! Otouto! That's disgusting! You shouldn't speak with your mouth full. It's impolite." He wiped the crumbs away, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"... gomen, Nii-san." Sasuke made sure his mouth was empty this time. Itachi lightened his gaze. I shouldn't be so hard on him. He did do this for my birthday... and he needs a break after what happened... he gave a small smile.

"It's OK." He sighed. "Let's get cleaned up and we can go somewhere." He placed the tray back on the bedside table and got up. He turned around to pull Sasuke out with him. Sasuke grinned at the unusual behaviour his brother was demonstrating. He said nothing about it, though.

"Itachi?" Sasuke poked his head around the bathroom door. His brother was currently relaxing in a bubble bath.

"Yes?" He didn't look around, or open his eyes at the intrusion.

"... Can I wash your hair?" Sasuke thought that his brother's birthday would be a good enough excuse to finally do what he'd wanted to for a long time. He'd always loved his brother's hair. It was so long and beautiful. So shiny, so silky...

"I guess..." Itachi opened an eye at this bizarre request. He mentally shrugged it off, thinking that Sasuke just wanted to do something for him for his birthday. Sasuke grinned and came in.

"OK, get your hair wet for me," he said, combing strays back with his fingers, careful not to pull. Itachi lay back, under the water for a few seconds, wetting his hair enough for Sasuke to start. While he was under, he had to scoot forward, so most of his hips and upper legs were above the surface of the shallow water... as was another part of his anatomy. Sasuke couldn't help but look. He'd always been curious as to how his big brother looked 'down there'. He was not surprised to see that it was quite large. He knew it would be. It's Itachi. Of course it's huge. He unconsciously licked his lips at the sight of something so... beautiful? No; delicious... It was the same pale colour as the rest of Itachi's gorgeous body, the head a slightly darker colour. Sasuke noted the way it lay flaccidly against the tight, smooth testicles, nestled in a soft-looking nest of black pubic hair. He got a little jealous. He'd only just started puberty a couple of years ago, and so had only a light sprinkling of pubic hair compared to other boys his age. He also was nowhere near as big as his brother. He wondered if he would catch up one day... he wondered how it would feel to touch the almost edible-looking appendage... to taste it... to have it inside him...

He jolted himself back to reality as Itachi re-emerged, thanking the kami he wasn't caught out.

"Turn around, so you're facing the wall, Aniki, so I can get at it better." He enjoyed being able to tell his brother what to do, even if it was only something small like this. Itachi heard the slightly smug, authoritative tone in Sasuke's voice and smirked, but said nothing. He did as he was told, drawing his knees up to fit himself in the narrow tub.

Sasuke began to apply the shampoo as gently as he could. He wanted Itachi to enjoy being touched by him. If he likes me touching his head like this, maybe he'll let me touch him in other places too... he wandered off in his own thoughts while massaging Itachi's head, soaping up his ravenesque locks.

"Sasuke?" Itachi finally realised that Sasuke was taking longer than necessary to shampoo his hair. He himself had wandered off in his own thoughts with the pleasant massage his brother was giving him. Sasuke blinked, slowly coming back to reality with an oh-so-eloquent 'huh?' "Don't you think you've shampooed enough?" Itachi kept the amusement from his voice, but not his eyes, as he turned around to look at his baby brother.

"Right. Gomen." Sasuke's cheeks took on a pink tinge, as he let Itachi rinse his hair, laying back under the water again. He made sure not to look at his aniki's penis this time... afraid that Fate wouldn't be on his side the second time around. He was embarrassed that he'd let himself become so caught up in his thoughts... in front of Itachi.

When Itachi sat up again, Sasuke began applying conditioner to his hair, though not as sensually as he did the shampoo. He didn't want to embarrass himself again. He let Itachi rinse off again, taking only half the time with the conditioner as he did with the shampoo.

"Thank you, Otouto. That was very nice." Itachi gathered his hair and wrung the excess water from it. He looked at Sasuke as though he expected something.

"Nani?"

"Were you going to ask me something? You opened your mouth." Itachi raised an eyebrow, amused.

"Oh... ano... can I wash your back for you?" Sasuke wanted to see how far he could push it.

"I already washed myself, Otouto. I think I'll get out now. Hand me the towel, please." Sasuke turned to the rack and grabbed the fluffy black towel, missing the look of bewilderment on Itachi's face. "Thank you." Itachi held the towel aloft, looking at Sasuke like he was a bit slow.

"Nani?"

"Are you going to leave the room so I can get out?" Sasuke almost laughed. He instead rolled his eyes at his 'immature aniki', before leaving. "Thank you." Itachi started to wonder about that boy. In the past two weeks, since their parents' deaths, he'd become very clingy. He shrugged the thought off, intending to take care of it later, when he was dried and dressed.

"Sasuke-kun?" Itachi was finally dressed and ready to spend his birthday with his little brother. But he couldn't find the brat anywhere. He heard a strange noise coming from Sasuke's room. Why didn't I think to look there first? Itachi rolled his eyes at his stupidity.

As he approached the door to the room, he heard the noise again. But this time he could hear that it was more of a word being moaned out. He peeked through the crack in the door to see what was going on.

Sasuke was on his bed, his pants and boxers pushed down to his ankles, his right hand pumping away, his left fondling his testicles; his face was flushed with a look of pure ecstasy; his mouth open slightly. Again, he moaned. This time Itachi could make out what the word was.

"'Tachi... ohhh... Itachiii!" It was soft, but he could hear it. It was his name. The last was uttered as Sasuke finally reached his completion. The boy lay on his bed, panting, a gentle smile coming across his face. His eyes remained closed as he rode out his orgasm, still fondling himself, lazily thrusting into his hands.

To say Itachi was stunned would be quite the understatement. His eyes were wide, his mouth was gaping and his mind was reeling. He turned silently away without disturbing his brother. He decided to wait for him in the kitchen.

Sasuke couldn't remember a time when he'd had such a pleasurable orgasm. I guess it's because I finally got to see Itachi's penis. I wonder what it'd feel like... no! I have to get ready to go out! He scowled at himself for being so selfish on his big brother's birthday. Itachi needs me, today. I know Tou-san's death didn't make him sad, but Kaa-san's did. Even if I don't miss them, I know Itachi does and needs me to at least give him a nice birthday. Ah, Aniki... Sasuke let his thoughts of how he needed to be there for his brother occupy him while he cleaned himself off before changing.

"Aniki? Where are you? Are you ready to go?" Sasuke called out after finding Itachi's room to be empty. He couldn't be bothered looking for him, so just shouted so he'd hear him no matter where he was in the house.

"In the kitchen, Otouto." He heard Itachi's quiet call. Does he even know how to raise the volume of his voice? Sasuke smirked at the idea of Itachi being unable to shout at him.

Sasuke entered the kitchen, and hugged his brother in greeting. Itachi flinched at the touch. He remembered every detail of what his brother had been doing with his hands... that were now touching him. His brother. Itachi fought back a shudder (though from disgust or pleasure, he didn't know.)

"What? What's wrong, Aniki?" Sasuke had noticed the flinch. He pulled away to see what was going on.

"N-nothing..." Itachi stuttered. Sasuke noticed this too. He narrowed his eyes.

"Why'd you flinch? And why're you stuttering like Hyuuga-chan?" Sasuke pulled away at the look on Itachi's face. "Nani?"

"Nothing! It's nothing. C'mon, I want to go see a movie." Itachi pushed Sasuke by the small of his back, through the kitchen to the front door, grabbing his keys from the hook on the way out.

Oh, kami... what should I do? He's my brother! But it was so hot, seeing him like that... no! Brother! My brother! Brotherbrotherbrotherbrother! BROTHER! Itachi tried to control his thoughts. He couldn't believe something like this could make him so flustered. He hated not being able to keep his cool. He avoided talking to Sasuke the whole way to the cinema. He didn't trust himself not to blurt out what he'd seen... or heard. He needed to approach this delicately.

Itachi rolled his eyes as Sasuke clung to him during the 'scary part' of the movie. He rolled his eyes because Sasuke had chosen the damn thing in the first place. The kid was sixteen for crying out loud!

His mind had been taken from certain issues of the morning, and was now focusing on what a baby his otouto was.

"Sasuke-kun, my arm is going numb. Let go," he whispered, trying to pry the vice-like grip from his upper arm. But Sasuke wasn't listening. As scared as he was, he was enthralled with the movie. Itachi shook his head at the fickleness of his brother.

"That was great, Aniki!" Sasuke exclaimed when they were in the car, on the way home. "Now what do you wanna do?" Sasuke was full of energy from all the junk food he'd been allowed during the movie.

"I don't know. I was thinking of just reading a book once we got home." Itachi had remembered the morning's surprise (after walking behind Sasuke, out of the cinema) and was trying to let Sasuke down easily, to give himself time to think about how he should approach such a matter. He knew it would be embarrassing for the both of them, but didn't think he should ignore it. Sasuke was his responsibility now, and he didn't want the kid to think that... that was alright. He also knew he shouldn't have stuck around to witness the finale. He felt like a paedophilic pervert. As much as he wanted to deny it, seeing Sasuke masturbate was incredibly arousing to him. He was very disturbed to find out he hadn't been as successful at repressing his feelings as he'd thought. It had taken a lot of willpower to let 'it' deflate on its own after seeing Sasuke in such a situation.

"Aaw, Aniki! I wanted to spend the day with you! You said we could, this morning!" Sasuke crossed his arms, pouting.

"Don't whine, Otouto. You're not a child anymore. Act your age." Sasuke scowled and poked his tongue out just to be annoying. Itachi sighed.

"If you're quiet, you can read with me." Great. Now I have to have him in the room with me while I think about what I should say to him... Itachi inwardly groaned about his self-appointed task that lay ahead.

"Before we go to read... can we fix some snacks? That way we won't have to come back downstairs." Sasuke asked as they removed their shoes at the front door.

"If you want." Itachi couldn't care less. He had other things on his mind.

"Can we have milk and cookies... and chocolate?" Sasuke was, again, seeing how far he could push the envelope.

"Whatever you like, Otouto. I'll see you upstairs. Try not to make too much of a mess, OK?"

Sasuke cleared his mess in the kitchen before bringing up another tray of food. This one consisted of a large plate of chocolate chip cookies, two blocks of chocolate and a jug of milk and two glasses. He knew how Itachi liked sweet things as much as he did. He smirked, remembering Itachi insisting that he didn't have a sweet tooth and could control himself even if he did. He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. Oh, Aniki... you're not as cool as you think you are.

As he neared Itachi's bedroom door, he could hear Itachi speaking to someone. The door was ajar, so he could hear what Itachi was saying. He paused to see if it was something he shouldn't walk in on.

"You don't understand, Diedara! I... saw him... you know... masturbating..." He whispered the last word as though it were taboo. Itachi let out a growl at what must have been something Diedara said. "It's not funny! He said my name! My name! What should I do? I stopped feeling that way about him a long time ago! He's my brother!"

Sasuke's eyes went wide. He dropped the tray and ran into his room.

Itachi heard a crash outside his door. He heard the quick footfalls of someone running.

"Damnit! I'll call you back, Diedara..." he snapped the phone closed threw it on his bed, and ran to his door. He opened it, looking down at the mess. He sighed, seeing his favourite snack on the floor amongst broken glass and milk. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. This isn't how I wanted to approach him... he sighed, stepped over the mess on the floor and walked up to Sasuke's room, down the hall.

The door was closed this time. He wasn't foolish enough to think that it wasn't locked. He went around to their parents' room (which he'd had cleaned) and walked in through the empty doorway they'd installed when Sasuke was a baby.

He stood there silently, watching his brother cry. Sasuke's back was to him, his knees drawn up, head down and arms around his legs, shoulders shaking. Itachi's heart felt like it had been ripped out and torn apart. He buried his face in his hands for a moment, before walking up to Sasuke, sitting on his bed and pulling him in for a silent hug.

Sasuke tried to push him away, but couldn't; he was crying too much.

"Sasuke-chan..." Itachi had no idea what to say.

"Go away." He's probably going to have a huge laugh about this with Diedara later... Sasuke feebly tried to push his brother away. Itachi would have none of it.

"No. We need to address this." He mentally kicked himself for his harsh tone. He tried another, more gentle, approach. "Don't cry, Sasu-chan. I love you. You know that. Look at me. Please?" He slipped his arms around Sasuke's waist, pulling up his torso with one, pushing his legs down with another. When he'd uncurled the boy enough, he cupped his face with both hands and gently forced him to look him in the eye.

"We need to talk."

"Please don't..." Sasuke couldn't move his head, so he looked down, not wanting to meet Itachi's eyes.

"Well, since you obviously heard what I said to Diedara, I have to. I was going to ignore any advice he gave me and just let it all go, but you dropped the tray and ran off... making me aware of your eavesdropping..." He brushed away Sasuke's tears with his thumbs and pulled a mock-scowling face to try and lighten the situation. Sasuke sighed. "Can I let go of you now, without you trying to escape?" Sasuke nodded as much as he could in the grip Itachi had on him. "Good. Now... where to begin?" Sasuke's cheeks reddened quite profusely. "How about you tell me the whole story, hmm? How long has this been going on, et cetera." He ran his fingers through Sasuke's hair in a soothing manner, before clutching the boy to him in another embrace, kissing the top of his head.

Itachi sat back against the head of Sasuke's bed and pulled the boy to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist and held him close, back to chest.

"Do I have to?" Sasuke leant his head back, onto Itachi's shoulder.

"I think you should."

"You won't tell anyone?"

"Of course not. Now, stop delaying and tell me when this started."

Sasuke groaned. Itachi just waited patiently.

"I was eleven... I think." He hesitated, picking up Itachi's hand and gently massaging it in random patterns, trying to organise what he wanted to say, as well as building his courage.

"And..?" Itachi was quite intrigued now. He was starting to reconsider his stance on the whole 'incest' thing.

"You let me sleep in your room when I had a nightmare, 'cause I was too embarrassed to go to Kaa-san and Tou-san's room... they'd stopped letting me in recently... and then, after that, I started having these dreams... where you'd..." he broke off, not wanting to tell Itachi what exactly the dreams entailed.

"What would I do in these dreams, Sasuke?" Itachi was very interested now. He had to admit, he'd had a dream or two about Sasuke, too.

"I don't want you to know, Aniki... it's embarrassing!" Sasuke brought his hands to his face, trying to hide in his embarrassment.

"But, I want to know, Sasu-chan," Itachi's voice was suddenly husky and deep... his imagination had run away with him. Sasuke was too preoccupied to notice the change in tone.

"Y-you'd... kiss me... and... stuff..."

"And stuff? What stuff?" Itachi was fighting down an erection that was threatening to make itself known.

"You'd... touch me... there... and tell me to... touch you... and... suck... you..." Sasuke couldn't believe he was having this conversation. He wished he would just die. He knew it was wrong to like your brother like this. He wasn't an idiot. He knew what incest was. He knew what homosexual intercourse meant. He wasn't as naive as a lot of sixteen-year-olds.

"And... did you touch me? Suck me?" Itachi could barely control his thoughts. He pictured Sasuke's innocent little mouth wrapped around his raging hard-on... his delicate little hands rolling and squeezing his balls... he groaned.

"I-Itachi?" Sasuke pulled away so he could look at Itachi's face. He gasped at the look he received.

Itachi's eyes were even darker than usual; he was looking at Sasuke under his eyelashes, his lips were red and parted slightly, his cheeks looked flushed... strands of his hair were framing his face. He sounded as though he was having trouble breathing.

"Itachi, are you OK? I'm sorry! I'm sorry you had to see that! Please! Don't be angry with me!" Sasuke mistook the look on Itachi's face for anger. He clutched his aniki's shirt and buried his face in it, nuzzling the firm chest beneath it.

"I'm not angry, Sasuke... just... really hot," he purred the last word out.

"Do you want me to open a window?" Sasuke asked softly, still afraid that Itachi might be angry at him for his incestuous thoughts and dreams. He still hadn't understood. He wasn't naive, but he wasn't experienced, either.

"No, Sasuke... just... keep going with your story. I'll be fine." Itachi had gained some control over himself, now. He cursed his perverted mind for being so selfish when Sasuke needed him to be understanding and just there for him.

"W-well... that's all, really. I just have the dreams... since then. Stupid, huh? The reason, I mean."

"No, not at all." Itachi wrapped his arms around Sasuke tighter, leant down and kissed his cheek. "Do you masturbate often?"

"No!"

"Sasuke..."

"Yes," he replied meekly. "A few times a week..."

"And do you always think about me, or are there other boys your age you think about, too?"

"Boys?"

"Well, you're gay, aren't you?"

"Well... I never really thought about it like that... I mean... I never looked at other boys or girls before. It's just you. I just thought about you... who you are, not what you are." Sasuke hoped he made sense.

"Ah," Itachi nodded, his chin resting on Sasuke's shoulder from when he'd kissed his cheek.

"Is that all, Aniki? Or are you going to embarrass me until I die?" Itachi chuckled. Sasuke wasn't too uncomfortable anymore.

"I want to know one more thing." He picked Sasuke up by his armpits, turning him around to sit in his lap, facing him.

"Nani?" Sasuke could finally meet Itachi's eyes now that he knew he wasn't going to be beaten up, yelled at or thrown out of the house.

"Do you want to kiss me?"

"Nani?" Sasuke daren't believe his ears.

"Do you want to kiss me?" Sasuke gaped, his chin almost touching the mattress in his astonishment.

"N-no... y-you don't have to. I'll be fine. It's probably just a silly crush... but... ano... thank you?" Sasuke really didn't know what to say.

"That's a shame..." Itachi leant down so his face was millimetres away from Sasuke's. "Because... I want to kiss you."

"Nani?" Sasuke whispered. Itachi could feel the warm breath on his lips as Sasuke spoke. He could almost feel Sasuke's lips on his own when the boy spoke.

Itachi leant forward, ever so slowly, and gently brushed his lips to Sasuke's. When there was no rejection, he pressed more firmly, slipping a hand to hold the back of Sasuke's head.

His tongue made its way out of his mouth and traced along Sasuke's bottom lip. The boy seemed to know what to do; he opened his mouth, allowing Itachi to taste him.

As his brother's tongue explored his mouth, caressed his own tongue and tickled the roof of his mouth, Sasuke melted. He melted into the kiss he'd been wanting since he was eleven. He leant forward, finally participating in the kiss, sucking Itachi's tongue, massaging it, devouring it. He cupped his hands to Itachi's face, one sliding into the hair he loved so much, fisting it in his passion. He pressed his body to Itachi's, feeling his genitals stirring at the contact. He felt Itachi's arousal growing, not quite brushing against his own.

After a few moments, Itachi pulled away, knowing Sasuke would lose his breath if he carried on any longer.

"Why?" was the shaky question he was asked after a while of sitting there, holding each other.

"I don't know." He honestly didn't. He thought he'd stopped feeling that way a long time ago. Apparently not. He smiled as Sasuke leant in to chastely kiss his lips before kissing his whole face, with gentle little pecks. He reached Itachi's ear.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too."

The next day, Sasuke and Itachi woke up snuggling in Sasuke's bed. Itachi chuckled. I think that was the best birthday I've ever had...

"Nani?" Sasuke had had to ask that a lot, lately. He was getting annoyed.

"Nothing. It's just... who would have thought we'd end up like this?" Itachi kissed Sasuke's temple and hugged him tighter.

"Well... me... duh!" Sasuke smirked, hugging back.

"Did you actually think we'd end up together, or were you just hopeful... or horny?" Sasuke snorted at the last suggestion.

"Both. I was hopeful that you'd do me." He grinned. "Are you gonna do me?" Itachi looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I don't know." He smirked. "You're a bit young..." he held Sasuke away from him, as though checking out a piece of meat, seeing if it was good enough to eat or not. "You're a bit scrawny, too." He tapped Sasuke's nose lightly before kissing his forehead. Sasuke looked a little hurt.

"I'm not scrawny." He pouted. "I'm athletic." He turned away from Itachi, moving to get off the bed. Itachi laughed, pulling him back.

"Oh, Otouto... I love you just the way you are... even with the ridiculous pout." He grinned, picking Sasuke up and slinging him over a shoulder. "But I think you need a bath... you smell a little stale..." Sasuke's eyes widened.

"No! I can bath myself! Put me down!" He started to struggle against Itachi's grip on his legs as much as he could without making them both fall over. "Itachi! Put me down! Please!" Itachi chuckled and sat his brother down on the edge of the bath and crouched in front of him.

"Otouto, you know I'd never do anything you didn't want me to... except maybe this!" Suddenly, Itachi started digging his fingers into Sasuke's ribs, tickling him mercilessly.

"Nooo! Stop! Haaa! Itachi! Stop it! I'm gonna --" Suddenly all laughter stopped. Sasuke looked down at the wet patch slowly spreading on the crotch of his pants. "Go away!" Sasuke pushed Itachi away, angry and embarrassed. He shoved the older boy out the door and locked it before silently crying and taking the soiled clothes off, getting ready to shower.

Outside the bathroom, Itachi was horrified at what he'd done. He'd just tickled his brother until he'd wet his pants. And the boy was sixteen – a very fragile age. Itachi hated himself. He knew how he'd react if it were him in that position. He'd kill the person responsible. He squeezed his eyes shut and slid down the wall next to the bathroom door. How am I going to make this up? He leant his head back against the wall, trying to come up with a way to make everything better with his precious baby brother. He winced at the only solution he could come up with that would get him completely off the hook.

Sasuke finished cleaning himself up, shortly. He couldn't believe his brother had done that to him. How could he? Did he just like to humiliate him in any and every way possible? Sasuke sighed. He was also angry at himself for his lack of control. He didn't last even a minute! But still... Itachi knew he had a bladder the size of a bird's! He growled. Was Itachi just playing with him? Had he decided to take advantage of him after what he'd seen? No... he wouldn't do that. He's my brother. He wouldn't take it that far. He loves me. He said so... and it was an accident. He was just playing. Agh... I can't stay angry. It was an accident. But I'll wait and see what he does to make it up to me. If he tries to at all... He'd better not tease me... that bastard; he probably will get a few good laughs out of it first... Sasuke picked his clothes up to get ready to take to the wash. He didn't want the bathroom to smell like urine.

Meanwhile, Itachi was downstairs, in the living room, trying to build up his courage to do what he had to, to get Sasuke's forgiveness. I can do it! I'm eighteen, for the kami's sake! Hah, like age matters... ohh... damn you Sasuke and your tiny bladder! OK, I'll do it. I'll do it for Sasuke...

He was pacing in front of the television, arms crossed. He didn't even notice Sasuke creep past, to the laundry, he was so preoccupied with his daunting plan.

Sasuke crept past the living room, not wanting to confront Itachi so soon. He noticed him pacing, thinking maybe this was a sign of contrition. He hoped so. He really wanted to get back to kissing his aniki. He couldn't believe they were already having a falling out so soon. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours! He sighed, turning on the washer. He looked worried. Maybe he's trying to come up with an apology? He sighed again and turned to head towards his room.

Itachi saw Sasuke climbing the stairs when he'd finally finished pacing. He decided it was now or never for his apology and proposal for his chosen punishment. He knew he shouldn't be nervous about it... it was only so Sasuke wouldn't be angry at him anymore... but he still couldn't help but feel nervous about the whole thing.

"Sasuke-kun?" Itachi reached Sasuke's room, finding the door to be open, and the boy laying on his bed, reading.

"What?" Sasuke sounded annoyed. He has every right to be... kami, I'm an idiot!

"May I come in?"

"Hn," Sasuke didn't trust himself to speak. He'd already forgiven his brother when he'd realised it was just an accident, but he didn't know if his voice would show anger or forgiveness. He didn't want Itachi to feel he didn't have to at least apologise.

Itachi walked in and sat on the bed, next to Sasuke. He sighed and pulled his otouto to him. He laid down so he was spooning Sasuke's side, his left arm over the boy's middle, his right propping up his head as he looked at his brother's beautiful face.

"Sasuke-kun... gomen nasai. I shouldn't have done that. I should have stopped when you told me to. Can you forgive me?" He tentatively placed a kiss on Sasuke's cheek as the boy seemed to be contemplating whether or not he was worth forgiving. "I... I want to make it up to you," he said before Sasuke could even answer.

"... How?" Sasuke was curious now. He only wanted to punish Itachi by drawing out his response, but he wondered what punishment Itachi had come up with for himself.

"I've invited Diedara and Sasori over for lunch, today... when they're here, you can..." he whispered his punishment to Sasuke, not wanting to say it any louder than he had to. He cringed at the look on Sasuke's face. It was completely blank.

There was a knock at the door, at exactly twelve-thirty. Trust Sasori to be on time. Itachi smirked at the thought of the redhead dragging Diedara out the door, half-dressed just to be on time. It had happened before.

"Come in! We're in the kitchen!" Itachi called as he prepared the lunch for himself, Sasuke, Diedara and Sasori. The two guests let themselves in, and walked straight to the kitchen.

"Hi, Itachi... Sasuke." Diedara had an odd tone to his voice when he addressed Sasuke. He seemed like he didn't know what to say to the boy... or how to say it. He looked at Itachi. "How's... everything?" Diedara was not the most subtle of people. Itachi rolled his eyes with Sasori and came to stand by Sasuke at the table.

"Everything's fine, Diedara." He bent down and licked behind Sasuke's ear, sucking the top of the shell into his mouth, plunging his tongue into the hole, looking pointedly at his blonde friend. Diedara looked more comfortable now that the air was cleared. He smiled.

"Good. What's for lunch?" Itachi and Sasori rolled their eyes again.

"Happy birthday for yesterday, too, Itachi." Sasori said, elbowing Diedara in the ribs as he sat down next to him.

"Wha—oh, yeah. Happy birthday. Here." The blonde handed over a CD. It wasn't even wrapped. And the price sticker was still on it. Itachi chuckled at his friend. He's such an air-head...

"Thank you, guys." He placed it on the bench before sitting at the table with everyone else. "What're you waiting for? Eat!" He was a bit nervous. He wasn't looking forward to his punishment. When he was nervous, Itachi tended to be overly cheerful and a bit pushy.

Everyone dug into the food, sharing general conversation and news and gossip. Itachi gave Sasuke the 'signal' to start his punishment by lightly teasing him about his friend, Naruto, asking him if the blonde had asked him out yet. Sasuke laughed and started baiting him about Kisame.

"Shut up. Naruto's a dobe. What about you and Kisame? Does he know about your little... secret!" Sasuke started tickling Itachi's ribs mercilessly. Itachi snorted, his food spraying on his plate. He hadn't expected Sasuke to be quite so merciless, so soon – while he had his mouth full, too. He felt his eyes watering from laughing so much. Sasuke was laughing too. Soon, Itachi felt the sensation that he was going to 'lose control'. Just as he felt he couldn't take anymore, Sasuke stopped. And hugged him.

"I could never do that to you. I know it was an accident," he whispered, so only Itachi could hear him. Itachi felt his heart miss a beat. He couldn't believe his little brother was so understanding.

"Aw, what a cute couple!" Diedara gushed, his hands clasped, under his chin. He practically had hearts in his eyes. He looked pointedly at Sasori. "How come we're never like that anymore?" He narrowed his eyes when Sasori shrugged, looking as stoic as ever.

"You annoy me," was the only reply the poor blonde received. He looked love-starved for a moment. Sasori took pity and quickly kissed his lover's cheek and whispered, "But I still love you." Diedara grinned like an idiot and pulled Sasori to his feet.

"Thanks for lunch, Itachi-kun. We should be going now, though! Happy birthday, again!" Diedara pulled Sasori out the door and to their car as fast as he could, not giving the redhead enough time to do anything more than wave goodbye.

"Thank you," Itachi whispered to Sasuke as the climbed into his bed that night.

"What for?" Sasuke pulled the covers over them, as they snuggled down.

"You didn't do it. You could have, but you didn't. You stopped... Why?" Itachi pulled Sasuke on top of him, chest to chest. Sasuke kissed his cheek softly before looking into his eyes as best he could in the dark.

"I told you. I know it was an accident. You'd never do that on purpose. I was just embarrassed this morning. I forgave you while I thought about it in the shower. I just wanted to see if you'd apologise. But then you said you wanted to make it up to me... so I decided that I would punish you, but not in the way you thought I would. I made you wait and dread what you thought was coming. I'm not an idiot. I know what you were feeling while you waited. I couldn't do that to you. Not on purpose. You're my aniki! I love you." Sasuke leant down and kissed Itachi's neck, before nibbling his ear.

"I love you, too." Itachi couldn't believe he was so lucky to have such a wonderful brother.

The next day, Itachi decided that it was time to take Sasuke down to the Family Court to register as his legal guardian.

"You're eighteen or older?" The woman asked.

"Yes. Eighteen two days ago."

"Happy birthday, Uchiha-san." The woman smiled falsely, handing him a form for both him and Sasuke to sign. "If you'll just sign here, and Sasuke-kun is to sign here..." she indicated the lines for them to sign. "Thank you very much. I guess you're Sasuke's new guardian."

Itachi thanked her, unable to believe how easy that was. He was expecting to be put under surveillance and all sorts of trouble. He guessed it was because of his name. No one messed with the Uchiha family. Even if they were only an eighteen-year-old boy and his brother.

The boys left the centre, happy to finally have it all finished. Itachi couldn't wait to just spend the rest of his life with Sasuke. He didn't need anyone else to make him happy now.

"Itachi?" The elder hummed to acknowledge Sasuke. "Do you think Kaa-san and Tou-san left us anything?" Itachi was a little taken aback at the question. He didn't think that Sasuke would bring up that kind of thing so soon after their deaths.

"I don't know, Sasuke... maybe. I'm sure we'll be informed about it if they did."

"They better have... I mean... Tou-san killed Kaa-san... and left you alone to take care of me... the least he could have done was give you some money! And the house..."

"Sasuke... don't you think you sound a bit... calloused?"

"No. I never really liked our parents." His eyes went wide as he realised what he'd just admitted to. He instantly felt awful. He knew Itachi loved at least their mother. "I'm sorry! I... I didn't mean to be so..."

"It's OK, Sasuke. I didn't particularly like them either. But they were still our parents. We should respect that." He sighed. He did wonder if he'd been left anything to help raise Sasuke. He could easily afford food for them both and school for Sasuke, but he didn't know if he could afford to even rent a decent home without some sort of inheritance.

"Don't worry, Itachi. I'll get a job, too." Sasuke smiled, slipping his hand into Itachi's and squeezed it to comfort him.

"You shouldn't have to... Don't worry, I'll work something out. We have the will hearing tomorrow, anyway. So, we'll find out then. Until then, I think we should relax and have fun. I think we deserve at least that much." He smiled at Sasuke, who smiled back.

"What do you have in mind?" Sasuke grinned at the look on his brother's face.

They enjoyed a comfortable silence in the car on the way home. They held hands when Itachi didn't have to change gears and enjoyed basking in the presence of the other. Sasuke knew Itachi had something planned. Something good. He just didn't know what. He couldn't stop smiling the whole way home. He couldn't wait to see what that look on Itachi's face was about.

"Sasuke... why don't you go and relax for a while. I have a few things I have to do." Itachi's eyes still had the unusual light to them, even though his voice sounded normal. Sasuke cast a questioning look at him, but he complied, heading to the lounge room to watch TV.

Itachi smirked as soon as Sasuke was out of sight. Tonight would be fun. He was going to enjoy it immensely. He headed upstairs, quietly as possible, not wanting Sasuke to follow and ruin his own surprise.

Itachi reached the bathroom and allowed himself a rare grin. He was going to show Sasuke just how much he loved him.

It took half an hour for Itachi to set up the bathroom perfectly. There were candles along the sides of the tub and on the bench of the washbasin. He'd lit incense and scattered rose petals near the candles and in the warm water of the tub. He'd added bath salts to the water, making it appear a pale pink with an orange glow from the candles. He was ready for the first part of his surprise for Sasuke. He smiled, making his way downstairs to his unsuspecting brother.

"Sasuke..." he rounded the corner of the living room. Sasuke was laying along the couch, lazily flicking through the many channels, a bored look on his face. "Sasuke-chan... I have a surprise for you..." Itachi handed his little brother a black silk eye-mask. "Put this on." Sasuke raised an eyebrow but complied silently.

Itachi pulled Sasuke up, holding his hands and lead him to the bottom of the stairs. He leant in close, his hands on Sasuke's hips, his mouth close to the boy's ear and whispered, "Hold on," and picked him up gently, allowing him to wrap his legs around his waist before climbing the stairs again.

"Itachi... what are you doing?" Sasuke couldn't keep the amusement from his voice as he held onto his big brother as they climbed the stairs.

"You'll see, Otouto." He kissed Sasuke's cheek as they came upon the landing. He set Sasuke down again and lead him to the bathroom.

"What's that smell? It's nice..." Itachi didn't answer. He just chuckled as he lead Sasuke into the bathroom. He bade him stand still for a moment while he made sure the bath water was still warm for him.

When he was sure the water was at an appropriate temperature, Itachi turned back to Sasuke, cupping his left cheek with his right hand, holding his right hip with his left hand.

"I wanted to let you know how much I love you, Sasuke. This is only the first part of your surprise." He started to undress his little brother, careful not to take the eye-mask off just yet.

"Why? What's the occasion?" Sasuke asked as he let Itachi undress him like a doll.

Itachi shrugged and kissed his nose. He slid the remaining clothes off his precious little brother before standing behind him, wrapping his strong, protective arms around the small chest, his chin resting on the bony shoulder. He took the mask off slowly, nuzzling his face into Sasuke's temple, taking in his scent.

Sasuke blinked a few times, getting his eyes accustomed to the light again. His mouth dropped in silent awe of the scene before him. He'd never thought a bathroom could look so beautiful. He now knew the 'nice' smell to be the incense, rose petals, and when he peered into the water, bath salts. He looked back at Itachi, still wrapped around him, with a look of nervousness on his beautiful face.

"Do you like it?" Sasuke smiled and nodded before kissing Itachi's cheek in assurance, placing a hand on the side of his head.

"Why?" He whispered, giving his brother an absent-minded, gentle one-handed massage on his temple, pressing their cheeks together. Itachi hesitated in his answer. He looked a little uncomfortable.

"I wanted to show you that, no matter what we find out tomorrow, whether or not we've been left anything, I will love you and take care of you. Forever." Sasuke pulled away and chuckled lightly when he saw the slight flush on his brother's cheeks. He knew Itachi wasn't comfortable expressing his feelings with words.

"Thank you," he wrapped his arms around Itachi's neck in a brief hug before pulling away again to get into the warm water. His brother knelt at the side of the tub. When he was seated, he gently pulled Itachi in by the hair, for a kiss. "Will you be joining me?" He whispered, not wanting to let go just yet. Itachi pulled back, smiling.

"No, Otouto. I still have to prepare the second part to your surprise." He kissed the boy's forehead and stood up. "Enjoy your bath. Relax. I'll come and get you when I'm finished." He turned to the bathroom cabinet and pulled out a small tube-shaped pillow. "Here, put this under your neck." He helped his brother get comfortable, before leaving.

When in his bedroom, Itachi quietly closed the door, not wanting Sasuke to have the smallest chance at hearing what was going on in there. He took out a package from his closet that he'd hidden there the previous night. He'd bought it while Sasuke was asleep. He thanked the kami for twenty-four-hour stores. He'd bought the candles and incense and bath salts while he was out acquiring his bedroom items. The rose petals only occurred to him while he was on the way home, when he saw they were in bloom at the local park... his poor hands.

He opened the box and pulled out a set of red silk sheets and pillow cases, a black faux-mink blanket, a large tube of strawberry-scented, edible lubricant and pleasantly musky massage oils.

Next, he pulled out their mother's old massage table from when Fugaku had received nightly massages to 'relax' after a day's hard work. He then retrieved super-strength disinfectant, a pack of sponges and thick rubber gloves. He didn't know what kind of massages his mother gave Fugaku, but he couldn't be too prepared...

He took the table and cleaning supplies to the guest room, so as to keep his own room free of the smell of disinfectant.

After a solid ten minutes of a hard scrubbing-down and disinfecting of the massage table, Itachi threw out the empty bottle, the gloves and sponges and washed his hands with perfumed soap.

He then returned the table to the end of his bed, which he proceeded to make presentable with the new sheets and blanket. He'd had to search for a good half hour to find enough matching, separate pillow case sets to be able to cover his many pillows. He'd had to settle for having half in black silk, half in red silk. The attendant looked at him oddly for those.

When he'd made the bed, he retrieved some white cotton sheets from the linen cupboard and arranged them neatly on the massage table. He arranged a bowl and a full kettle on a stand next to his bed, with washcloths folded and at the ready for when they were finished. The lubricant was placed upon the bedside table on the opposite side to the kettle and washcloths. He arranged another stand next to the massage table for the massage oils he'd be using on Sasuke.

Quickly, he ran outside to their mother's garden and picked the most beautiful white rose. He returned to his bedroom and placed it in the centre of the bed; its pure white petals contrasting perfectly with the lush black of the mink blanket. He dimmed the lights and tidied away the mess from his preparations before re-dressing into the clothes he knew Sasuke liked most on him. A simple black formal shirt with the first two top buttons left undone, revealing a tempting glimpse of his firm chest, and black business pants with shined black shoes. He brushed his hair and tied it into a rough ponytail in the middle of his head, leaving a few strays to frame his face. He nervously checked himself over before walking to the bathroom.

"Sasuke... I'm ready for you now. Could you put the eye-mask on again, please?" He didn't want Sasuke to see him just yet, so he stood outside the door he'd left ajar for this purpose. "Have you got it on?" He peered around the door, showing only his face, just in case Sasuke wasn't ready.

"Yes, Aniki, I've got it on." Sasuke sat back, relaxing against the end of the tub, the mask covering his eyes. He looked very comfortable. Most of the candles had burned themselves out already, leaving the room looking even more romantic. A shiver of arousal went down Itachi's spine.

Itachi walked in, grabbed the fluffy black towel from the rack and bade Sasuke to stand. He wrapped the boy in the towel before lifting him out.

"Stand still, Otouto. I'm going to dry you a bit." He gently wiped and dabbed away the water clinging to his brother's skin. It was hard for him to keep from groping the boy, especially when he crouched down, finally reaching a certain area. He looked up and saw a blush settling in on Sasuke's cheeks. He smirked, standing up again and kissed the blush away.

Itachi then discarded the towel and wrapped a fluffy white bathrobe around Sasuke's shoulders. He didn't want the boy to catch a cold.

Itachi lead Sasuke to his room, walking beside him, holding his hands, one arm wrapped around him, keeping him close.

When they finally reached his room, he allowed Sasuke to take off the eye-mask. The first thing Sasuke did before opening the door to the room was look at Itachi, meaning to ask him what was going on. He forgot his question, however, when he saw how damn sexy his brother looked in his favourite outfit. His jaw dropped in silent awe, again. Itachi was full of surprises that night. He'd not worn that outfit for a couple of years, since their parents' twentieth anniversary. It fit him as well now, as it had back then – perhaps even better now that he'd filled out with more muscle. Sasuke couldn't help but have a jealous twinge in his stomach at the sight. He wanted a body like that. He looked down at the floor, suddenly aware of how small he was next to his brother. He pulled the large robe around him, tighter, trying to hide himself within its soft, fluffy folds.

"Sasuke?" Itachi frowned, seeing his brother's change in mood and self-conscious fidgeting. He tilted Sasuke's head up so he was looking into his eyes. "What's wrong, Sasu-chan? Don't you like it?" He tried to sound light and confident, but could hear the nerves in his voice. He furrowed his brows, worried Sasuke was reconsidering everything. He looked like a kicked puppy with a broken leg just before being neutered.

"It's nothing, I'm just a bit cold..." Sasuke smiled and took Itachi's hand, squeezed it and brought it up so he could kiss the knuckles briefly. Itachi didn't believe him for a second. But he dismissed it as something to address for another time.

"Well, if you open the door, I can warm you up." He smiled, turning Sasuke around and pushed him towards the door.

The first thing Sasuke thought when he saw the room was: Wow. Itachi's room had never looked so beautiful, or inviting. Then Sasuke realised what this was about.

"You want me to give you a massage?" He looked back, over his shoulder at his brother with a raised brow. "You know, I would have done it if you'd just asked... you didn't need to butter me up, first..." He trailed off when he saw Itachi was suppressing laughter. I don't think I've ever really heard Itachi laugh properly...

"No, Sasuke." He let out a brief chuckle. "I'm going to give you a massage!" He came up and hugged Sasuke from behind again. "This is all for you." He kissed the nape of Sasuke's neck before taking the robe away and lifting him to sit on the massage table. He forced his eyes to stay locked with Sasuke's rather than allow them to travel over the delightful little body.

He pulled back the top sheet and told Sasuke to get comfortable on his stomach.

"I'm going to give you a full body massage. I bought three different kinds of massage oil. You choose which one you want me to use." He opened the bottles and let Sasuke smell each in turn. He chose the coconut extract. Itachi's favourite. He smirked as he pushed his brother face-down, getting ready to begin.

Itachi warmed the oil, rubbing his hands together. He took the opportunity to let his eyes wander over Sasuke's sexy little body. He took in the lithe physique with an erotic pleasure, noticing how nicely Sasuke was maturing. He took in the pale alabaster skin covering the small frame. From strong, yet slender shoulders to a narrow, almost feminine waist. He could just imagine what the two firm mounds under the sheet looked like. His mouth started to water as he imagined the feel of massaging them, kneading them... tasting them. He shook his head, pushing aside those thoughts for now. He had a massage to give, after all. It wouldn't do to circle the table for an hour with a massive hard-on.

He smoothly applied his oily hands on Sasuke's shoulder blades, applying a firm, sensual pressure, rubbing in circles, easing the tension away.

"Sasuke, you're so tense... It isn't healthy to have so much stress in your life at such a young age." He felt sorry for his little brother. The boy had gone through so much in the past couple of weeks. He really needed this night.

Sasuke just moaned, loving the feel of Itachi's large hands caressing his body. Itachi gave a small smile, glad he could do something like this for his baby brother.

It took him about half an hour before he deemed it had been a long enough time before he 'legitimately' reached Sasuke's firm little bottom. He'd been wanting to massage it since he'd had this brilliant idea. He paused before pulling back the sheet, hiding his treasure from him.

"Are you OK with me removing the sheet?" He didn't want Sasuke feeling uncomfortable at all, that night. Even if it meant no arse-massaging and no sex. However, all he received in answer was a grunt of content assent to do whatever he liked. That was good enough for him!

He applied more oil to his hands, but didn't bother to warm it up. He wanted Sasuke's full attention for this part. He smirked at the surprised twitch at the touch of the cold oil on the beautiful mounds of Sasuke's derriere. He kneaded the fleshy mounds, running his thumbs along the inner cheeks, brushing lightly over the tight little pucker that was Sasuke's anus, his other fingers caressing the tender muscles of Itachi's much-anticipated treat.

Before he could let himself harden, Itachi moved on to the rest of Sasuke's legs and his feet. He had to remind himself that he had about another half an hour to go and the one part of Sasuke's anatomy he wanted to save 'til last.

"OK, Otouto, turn over. I'm finished with your back." Itachi gently squeezed Sasuke's shoulders to get his attention. He didn't want the boy to fall asleep for any of this. He wanted his full... attention.

Sasuke slowly turned over, his face looking as though he'd just woken up from a very long, pleasurable sleep. He smiled groggily at his brother, laying back down.

"That was so good, Aniki... thank you." He pulled Itachi down for a kiss, not letting him go for a good few minutes, until they decided they had to breath.

"Mmm..." Itachi hummed happily at the long kiss. "Well, I'm not finished yet." He pulled away and stood behind Sasuke's head, starting a sinus massage. Sasuke closed his eyes in bliss, feeling the benefits of his brother's talented fingers.

Before long, Itachi had reached Sasuke's chest. This is where he'd decided the third part of his surprise would begin.

He held Sasuke's chest, thumbs rubbing firm circles around his pecs. He teasingly made the circles smaller and smaller until he was simply teasing the succulent-looking nipples into hardened peaks of arousal. He loved the sounds Sasuke made when he flicked his thumbs lightly over them then pinched them harshly. He loved how Sasuke's breath caught in his throat when he leant down and nibbled and suckled them briefly, before making his way with his hands and lips down to the delectable little stomach. He ran his hands up and down Sasuke's sides, still massaging, as he teased the boy's belly button with his lips and tongue. He smirked against the skin when he felt the muscles beneath the creamy skin twitch under his lips.

He loved Sasuke's hands in his hair, clenching and unclenching, giving him his own little massage, gently pulling his hair from its tie. He loved how he got to watch Sasuke harden because he 'forgot' to replace the modesty sheet.

Itachi withdrew his tongue from Sasuke's navel and paused in his actions to watch the most arousing thing he'd ever seen. Sasuke raised himself on his elbows to see what had pulled Itachi away from his wickedly delicious massage. His face went crimson when he saw that Itachi was staring at his hardening member. He couldn't see the look on his brother's face, but he thought he knew what it would portray. Pitying amusement. He sat up, taking his hands away from Itachi's scalp and placing them over his penis, trying to hide it from view.

Itachi looked up, confused as to why the hell he wasn't being allowed to take in the beauty of his darling baby brother.

"Sasuke?" He took note of how red Sasuke's face was. He must have no blood in his abdomen... it's all in either his head or... his face!

"Ano... thank you, Itachi... that was nice."

"I'm not finished yet, Otouto. What's the matter? Why are you covering yourself?" Itachi tried to gently pry away Sasuke's hands.

The boy mumbled something incoherent.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that..." he furrowed his brow.

"I'm... not as..." he mumbled the rest.

"Nani?"

"I said I'm not as big as you, OK?" He rushed it out, so Itachi only just understood what he'd said. If possible, his face went to an even darker shade of red; it was almost purple. He noted that he'd also softened somewhat, in his embarrassment.

"Oh, Sasuke-chan..." Itachi cupped the poor boy's face and kissed his nose. "Of course you aren't!" At Sasuke's look of embarrassed anger, he explained, "You're only sixteen! I'm eighteen. You're still growing! And from what I saw, you weren't far behind!" He sat the boy up and hugged him close, stroking his hair, nuzzling his neck. "When did you see me, anyway?" He sounded slightly amused... and embarrassed.

It took a bit for Sasuke to build up the courage to tell him when he'd seen his penis.

"When I asked you to wet your hair for me... you raised your hips a little, to fit into the tub..." Sasuke winced as he finished, waiting for Itachi to whack him one.

Instead, he was shocked to hear Itachi laughing. He buried his face in his brother's neck in embarrassment. Itachi pulled away, smiling, his eyes alight with humour.

"Oh, Sasuke... you're almost as perverted as me... so, I can't believe you're embarrassed about yourself... after peeking at me, and then asking me if I was going to "do you" when we first kissed!" Itachi rested his head on Sasuke's shoulder, his cheek on the boy's chest, hugging his waist tightly. Sasuke forgot his embarrassment and went to indignation.

"Perverted? I'm not perverted! I was curious! I'm sixteen!" He scowled and turned away as best he could in Itachi's grip, crossing his arms and pouting. Of all the people to call perverted...

Itachi straightened and picked Sasuke up. How does he keep lifting me so easily? Sasuke wondered.

"Otouto, do you want the rest of your massage or not?" Itachi had his forearms resting against Sasuke's back, holding him up. Sasuke thought about it. For about five seconds.

"Yes." He smiled and kissed Itachi's forehead. "Thank you, Aniki. I'm sorry..." Itachi smirked back, laying his brother down.

"It's OK, Sasuke... but I'm not starting again." His smirk broadened as Sasuke poked his tongue out playfully.

Itachi made sure he got Sasuke nice and hard again. He wasn't going to let such a small thing as size get in his way. He chuckled at the semi-pun in his head, as he restarted his tongue-massage on Sasuke's navel.

The sounds of pleasure returned, as did the gentle fisting hands in Itachi's hair. This time, he was allowed to make it to Sasuke's erection without any protests.

He enveloped the head of the juicy morsel in his mouth, sucking hard. The new sensation caused Sasuke's hips to suddenly buck, causing Itachi to have a mouth full of Sasuke, while trying not to gag. He managed not to pull away coughing, but ended up firmly holding Sasuke down by the hips. He didn't want to experience that again.

Itachi had never given head before... he'd heard what Diedara and Sasori did to each other, but at the time, he tried to block it out, thinking it was more than he needed to know. He decided that the best way to go was to do what he thought he would like to have done to him.

He experimented with what he imagined might feel good. He grazed his teeth along the shaft until he came to the head again and bit down rather harshly. He heard a yelp from Sasuke that sounded as though the boy didn't know if he liked it or not. So, he did it again, a little gentler this time. He earned himself an all-out moan from deep in Sasuke's throat. He shuddered at the arousing sound. He pressed his tongue firmly to the underside and ran it up and down and around the heated flesh. He couldn't keep from moaning as Sasuke wrapped his legs around his shoulders and pulled him as close as possible, letting out another sound from deep in his throat. Itachi felt as though he could reach his own climax just from listening to Sasuke approaching his. He clenched his throat around the organ and firmly gripped it with his teeth as he bobbed his head up and down a few times.

Soon, he had to release it from his mouth. He wasn't getting enough air through his nose. However, that didn't stop him from trailing butterfly kisses up and down the shaft, until he wondered what Sasuke's testicles tasted like.

He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of arousal before kissing the firm sac and taking it into his mouth, sucking it in whole. He knew this was the most delicate part of the male anatomy... he'd had the misfortune to be on the wrong side of one of Sasuke's childhood tantrums... so, he was careful when he released them and nibbled around the edge, until he came back to the base of Sasuke's erection. He noticed a large vain pulsing along it. He decided he'd tease it with a few nibbles until he was back at the tip again.

Soon, Sasuke was emitting copious amounts of pre-ejaculate. Itachi found this to be delicious. He'd never understood Diedara when the blonde had rambled on about how Sasori tasted delicious, like a rare delicacy. But now he understood perfectly. Sasuke tasted even better than Diedara tried to make Sasori sound. Itachi's tastebuds were tingling as he drank up the salty fluids.

Sasuke was beside himself with pleasure. He was moaning and hissing and twisting his head from side to side, pulling harshly at Itachi's hair, delirious with ecstasy. He didn't think he'd ever masturbate again. Nothing could compare to his aniki's mouth.

Itachi, however didn't want Sasuke to reach completion, just yet. As much as he wanted to taste Sasuke, he didn't want their first orgasm together to be like this. He wanted to be inside Sasuke. He wanted to look into Sasuke's eyes as he drove into that tight, hot embrace. He wanted to come at the same time as his little brother.

He pulled his mouth away again, earning himself a disapproving grunt and hands pushing him back down.

"Sasuke, I don't want it to happen like this..." He stood up and pulled Sasuke into his arms, lifting him from the table.

"Huh? What d'you mean?" Sasuke slurred his words, reluctantly, forcibly coming down from his high. Itachi didn't answer him. He simply carried the boy over to the luxuriant-looking bed, handed him the rose upon which he placed a kiss, peeled back the covers and settled the boy on top.

"It's beautiful, Itachi, thank you." Sasuke smiled, taking in the scent of the rose, as he watched his brother, curiously. Itachi's smile broadened. He started undoing his shirt buttons, toeing off his shoes. Sasuke's eyes widened in comprehension. He stood up, placing the rose next to the large tube of lubricant, on the bedside table.

"No. I want to undress you." He held Itachi's wrists, stopping him from going any further with his undressing. He placed Itachi's arms by his sides and picked up where he left off, unbuttoning the shirt with surprising dexterity. He peeled it off and flung it away. He was a little annoyed to see Itachi wearing an undershirt... however, he liked undressing him, so he wasn't too bothered.

Sasuke unbuckled Itachi's belt, unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, allowing him to pull the undershirt off without a fuss. He then lowered the dress-pants he loved to see Itachi wear, to the floor until they were stepped out of. He flung these away, too. He was getting annoyed at the layers upon layers of clothing, though. Itachi was wearing boy-legs.

Sasuke didn't care how impressive Itachi's cock looked in the deliciously tight underwear, he just wanted access to it – now.

He yanked them down so hard it made the impressive length beneath them bounce several times upon its release. Sasuke felt his own groin twitch at the sight. He wanted to touch it. To taste it. He wanted it inside him. He just wanted it. He grabbed Itachi's shoulders and threw him onto the bed. He managed to throw him because Itachi wasn't expecting him to be so forward.

He pushed his surprised sibling back onto the bed, before kneeling and removing his socks. Sasuke didn't want any clothing on his brother for their first time together. He wanted nothing between him and his love.

Itachi pulled Sasuke to him as soon as the boy stood. He pulled him into a savage kiss, fuelled by raw need. He thrust his hips upward, trying to create some much needed friction. He was pleasantly rewarded with Sasuke grinding his pelvis to his, rubbing their erections together, pre-ejaculate juices mixing, creating almost enough lubricant for what they both had in mind. But not quite enough.

Itachi grabbed Sasuke's upper arms and flipped him onto his back, pinning his wrists together, over his head with one hand. He bit the boy's earlobe before grabbing the lubricant.

"I want you to hold a pillow and keep your arms above your head, OK?" He let go of the thin wrists and sat up, opening the cap of the tube. Sasuke just nodded, no longer able to form proper words.

Itachi squirted out a generous amount onto his left hand, before replacing the tube on the bedside table. He un-straddled Sasuke's waist and opened his legs as wide as possible. He wished he had that delicious organ in his mouth again, but refrained from acting on his wishes. Instead, he slicked up Sasuke's opening, making sure to get most of what was on his hand between the cheeks. He licked his lips and leant down so his face was level with the lubricated hole.

He tentatively stuck his tongue out and tasted the edible gel. It wasn't too bad. Although it had the generic artificial 'strawberry' flavour. He wasted no time in licking it all up, tasting Sasuke underneath the gel.

Itachi realised that Sasuke tasted quite nice without the lubricant. He stuck his tongue inside his brother's anus, tasting the clenching walls. It wasn't as nice as the secretions from Sasuke's penis, but it wasn't disgusting as he thought it might be. He nibbled the inside of the cheeks before raising his head to see how Sasuke was faring; he hadn't heard anything from him since he finished licking up the strawberry gel.

Sasuke was clutching the pillow to his face, as though trying to stifle his screams. Itachi could see the heaving of Sasuke's chest as he took in deep breaths.

"Sasuke? Are you OK?" Itachi was a bit worried. However, when Sasuke removed the pillow from his face, his anxiety went away, only to replaced by wave after wave of pure arousal. Sasuke's face was flushed with little beads of sweat appearing on his temples, his eyes were alive with a fiery passion.

"Don't. Stop." His voice was deep, throaty and raw. Sasuke pulled him in for a crushing kiss, holding his hair in an vice-like grip, then pushed him back so he could continue along his path of debauchery. He gladly obliged, feeling a rush of adrenaline throughout his system at seeing his brother so undeniably aroused, all because of him. He grinned as he made love to Sasuke's anus with his tongue for a further few minutes. When he resurfaced, he was shocked to see how incredibly wet Sasuke was. He was leaking like a tap.

Itachi reached for the lubricant again, coating his fingers liberally. He didn't want to hurt Sasuke at all, but he knew he would. But that didn't mean he couldn't try not to.

Without warning, he inserted his first finger. That didn't seem to bother Sasuke too much, so he moved it in and out, and around, stretching the opening enough for a second finger.

He thrust the second finger in after a few moments. He knew Sasuke would be able to handle the discomfort of two fingers. He was worried about the third one. And about when it was finally time to go all the way.

"OK, Sasuke, I'm going to add another finger, now... relax, but try to brace yourself." He added more lubricant, not wanting to risk any harm to his precious little brother.

"Just. Do. It." Sasuke gritted out his order, fending off his orgasm. When the third finger was in, he couldn't help but let out a throaty grunt of pain. He managed to hold back the high-pitched scream, though.

"I'm sorry, love... tell me when it's OK to move." Itachi felt his heart in his throat when he heard that cry of pain. He leant in and kissed Sasuke's thigh to try and apologise and comfort him.

"Move." Itachi needed no further instruction. He scissored his fingers in as far as he could, knowing it wouldn't be nearly enough to prevent all of the pain that was to find Sasuke. But he did the best he could. Suddenly, when he hit a seemingly random spot, Sasuke convulsed, wrapping his legs over Itachi's shoulders, pulling him closer.

"Ohhh.... Do that again... please!" Sasuke's prostate had been found. Itachi attacked the little bundle of nerves mercilessly. He was so close to his own orgasm that he stopped his attack. He didn't want either of them to come if he wasn't inside his brother.

Itachi finally removed his fingers. He grabbed for the lubricant one more time. He used about half the bottle, trying to make it easier on Sasuke. He smoothed the cool liquid onto himself, hissing at the effect it had on his thus-far neglected erection.

He lined himself up with the swollen entrance, his body mere millimetres above Sasuke's.

As he was about to thrust in, Sasuke stopped him with hands to his hips, forgetting about trying to keep them above his head.

"Forever?" Sasuke asked, moving his hands up to hold Itachi's face, searching his eyes.

"Forever," Itachi whispered as he plunged into his brother, unable to hold in a moan of pleasure as he was enveloped in a hot, tight passage of clenching flesh at the same time as Sasuke let out a heartbreaking cry of pain. He let Sasuke become accustomed to his presence inside him, kissing away the tears that managed to escape his brother's eyes. He distracted Sasuke with a slow, sensual kiss; suckling his tongue, nibbling his lip, tasting his mouth. He finally felt a gentle push against his pelvis as Sasuke wrapped his legs tighter around his waist, urging him on. He held himself up with his left arm, elbow locked, holding Sasuke to him with his right arm wrapped around the small torso, his hand splayed between the boy's shoulder blades. Gently, Itachi began to thrust in and out of his brother, kissing when and where he could, revelling in the sensation of making love for the first time, to the one he was to spend the rest of his life with.

Itachi gradually increased his pace, urged on by Sasuke's moans and complementing thrusts. He could feel himself moving ever closer to nirvana as he pounded into the petite, yet strong body beneath him. He marvelled at how good it felt to thrust into his own little brother.

"I-Itaciii! I'm... argh! Itachi!" Sasuke came screaming his name, gripping his shoulder blades, his nails digging in creating little red crescent-moon marks.

Itachi was not far behind. He felt a tightening in his lower abdomen and his groin just before his orgasm tore through him in a brutal onslaught of absolute ecstasy.

Panting heavily, Itachi kissed Sasuke with as much love and passion as he possessed. He kissed everywhere he could on the beautiful little face beneath him. He cupped Sasuke's cheek with his left hand while his right held Sasuke's left.

He went to pull out of Sasuke, but was stopped with a hand to the small of his back.

"Stay in me?" Sasuke whispered. Itachi smiled, wrapped his arm around his brother's middle and flipped them on their sides, legs entwined, nose-to-nose. They kissed one last time before they fell asleep.