title: red hibiscus

disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

note: I saw this certain deviation on the home page of dA, and then immediately wrote this before my muse disappeared altogether. My writing is rusty, apparently, so don't expect too much. Also, I am aware that the following characters (except maybe Mikoto) are OOC, but they're kids and it's an AU and I do not give a shit. And on another note, Sasuke is a total momma's boy and I am rendering it to its full capacity in this fic.

"What is that?" Sasuke asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

Sakura frowned at the little Uchiha boy, and poked the flower gently. "That's a red hibiscus. I think." She scratched her elbow in thought. "No. Yeah, it's a red hibiscus. Ino-chan told me."

Sasuke scowled. "That annoying blonde girl who's always trying to talk to me?"

"Hey!" Sakura shoved him lightly with her elbow. "She's my best friend, don't talk about her like that. But yeah, she is kinda annoying sometimes."

The two children were playing in the Uchiha's backyard, happily chasing each other around and climbing trees when Sakura had spotted the tiny patch of red flowers Sasuke's mother had planted a few weeks ago, and had taken utter care of. She had beckoned him over, and both children were currently crouched over the prettiest one in the batch.

Sasuke pouted slightly, turning away. "I thought I was your best friend."

Sakura, oblivious, nodded. "Yeah. You and Ino-chan and Naruto-baka."

"Oh." Sasuke stared at the red flower. It was kinda pretty, though he'd never say it aloud. That would be really girly of him.

"Am I allowed to pick it?" Sakura asked curiously, petting the flower again, this time with a slight longing. It would look really pretty in her hair, she'd bet.

Sasuke darkened. "Mom would kill you if you did. She loves those flowers even more than 'Tachi-nii and me sometimes."

Sakura blinked. "Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay." Sakura stared at the flower again. "Not even just one?"

"She'd notice. She's got super monster powers. Once she could tell I'd gotten a cookie out of the jar when I wasn't supposed to. And there were a lot of cookies in there," Sasuke said, with a strange look in his eye. He stared off into space a moment, and then shivered. "Come on, Sakura. Let's go play tag again."

He got up, and reached down with a hand to the little girl still crouched on the ground in front of the flower. "Aw," Sakura pouted, but nevertheless accepted his hand, and he helped pull her up.

At this moment, Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, had arrived home from the grocery and her head popped out from the other side of the door. She smiled cheerily at them. "Sasuke-chan, Sakura-chan, come inside now!"

"But mom," Sasuke moaned. "We were just gonna play tag!"

Mikoto gave him a stern look. "You can play later. I brought jelly snacks and cookies."

Sasuke immediately cheered up. "'kay!" He turned to Sakura. "Come on, let's go inside. Mom brought home jelly!"

Sakura grinned. "Dibs on strawberry!"

They raced back towards the house, tripping and stumbling along the way, with Sakura coming in first.

"No fair!" Sasuke protested. "You cheated!"

"You can't cheat in a race," Sakura pointed out, taking a seat on the high counter. She stuck her tongue out at him. "You're just sore because I beat you."

"Am not! MOMMY!"

Mikoto sighed, putting away the last of her groceries into one of the cupboards. "You're not fighting with Sakura-chan again, are you, Sasuke? She's a girl, remember. Boys don't fight with girls."

Sasuke turned away unhappily, scowling when Sakura shot a triumphant look at him.

The Uchiha matriarch came back to face the two children, placing two bowls of jelly in front of each.

Sakura peered into her bowl. "Mine's strawberry, right?"

"Of course."

"Yay!"

Sasuke, a spoonful of grape jelly in his mouth, said, "Mom, where're the cookies?"

Mikoto frowned at him. "Close your mouth when you chew. And don't talk when your mouth is full."

Sasuke blushed, looking down at his bowl when Sakura laughed at his embarrassment.

"Hey, Mikoto-san," Sakura said, poking at her jelly with her spoon.

"Hm? What is it, Sakura-chan?" Mikoto turned to look at the little pink haired girl, who looked strangely meek. And whoever knew Sakura as well as Mikoto did would know that Sakura was anything but meek.

"Um, your flowers outside?" Sakura fidgeted with her jelly again, remembering what Sasuke had told her.

Mikoto laughed. "You mean my red hibiscus?" She smiled at her. "Did you see them? Aren't they beautiful?"

Sakura, relieved, opened her mouth to talk, but then had a second thought and spooned some jelly in her mouth first. She swallowed in a hurry and spoke eagerly. "Yeah! Those! Is it okay if I pick one? Please?" she pleaded, looking up at Sasuke's mother with large, doe-like green eyes.

Mikoto laughed again, patting her on the head fondly. "Of course you can! What has Sasuke been telling you?"

Sasuke hmphed, taking a cookie from the large platter his mother had set down in front of him.

"Really? It's okay?" Sakura's face split into a wide grin, and she bounced slightly in her seat.

"Yes, yes." Mikoto smiled good-naturedly.

The door to the kitchen opened suddenly, and Sasuke's older brother, Itachi walked in, tossing his bag onto the counter.

"Tough day?" Mikoto asked, handing her eldest son a cookie. Itachi accepted it tiredly, smiling at her and leaning over to give her a kiss.

"Nah, it was fine." He shrugged.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke jumped off of his chair and rushed to greet his big brother. "Can you play with me and Saks today?"

Itachi ruffled his little brother's hair, grinning. "Hn? Sakura's here too?" He waved at the pink-haired girl who beamed at him from her high seat. "And I guess so, maybe. I don't have a lot of homework today, after all."

Sasuke's jaw dropped open. "Woah, seriously? Awesome!"

Immediately, he began pushing his brother out the door and into the backyard, calling over his shoulder at Sakura to come join them.

"Wait! What about your jelly and cookies?" Mikoto called, but sighed in fondness at her two boys and their pink-haired friend. "Kids."

"See? Ain't it great, Itachi-kun?" Sakura smiled happily, showing him the red hibiscus flower she had freshly picked.

"It is, Sakura-chan." Itachi smiled at the girl, patting her head softly. "You want me to put it in your hair?"

"Yes please!"

"'Tachi-nii!" Sasuke groaned, running over to the two. "We're s'pposed to be playing baseball!"

"Later, Sasuke," Itachi said, shooting him a look. "Why don't we play with Sakura-chan for a while? I'm sure she doesn't want to play such a rough game."

"Nah, Sakura doesn't mind," Sasuke said. "She likes baseball, right Sakura?"

Itachi shook his head at his brother. "Little girls like Sakura don't like playing games like that, Sasuke, they like dolls and— "

"No, I like baseball," Sakura commented easily, grinning knowingly at Sasuke, who grinned back. "Let's play, Itachi-kun!"

Itachi blinked. Sakura was such a strange girl. "...Okay."

Sakura nudged him, however. "Put it in my hair first, please?" Itachi smiled.

"Of course." He picked up the flower and tucked it behind her right ear. "You know what this flower means, Sakura-chan?"

"Hm?" Sakura looked at him curiously.

"Hibiscus means 'delicate beauty.'"

Sasuke, who stood next to the pair, snorted. "Yeah right, like Sakura's a delicate beauty."

Said girl punched him in the gut. "Oi!"

Sasuke clutched at his stomach, making a strange choking sound. "That— was— uncalled— for."

"You deserved it, loser."

"My fangirls will get you for this."

Itachi sighed, resorting to playing the mediator between them. "Calm down, children. We're supposed to be playing baseball now, right?"

Sasuke recovered from Sakura's (painful) punch and bounced up, cheering. "All right, I'll get the gloves and bats! I wanna be pitcheeeerrrrr." With that, he ran towards the shed a few feet away from where they were playing, where the baseball equipment was being kept.

Itachi chuckled as he watched his brother take off, and turned to look at Sakura. "By the way, Sakura-chan, do you know what it means when you put a red hibiscus flower behind your right ear?"

She looked at him, puzzled. "No."

"It's means 'I have a lover.' And when you put it behind your left ear, it means you are seeking a lover."

While Sakura blushed a light red, Sasuke popped out of nowhere and announced his presence with a resound "Ewww."

Itachi raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I guess you two are a bit too young for love anyway."

"Do you have a girlfriend, Itachi-kun?" Sakura asked, still blushing.

"No," he chuckled. "But I'm sure when you grow up, Sakura-chan, boys will be lining up at your door."

This only caused the little girl to turn into a deeper shade of red.

Sasuke looked strangely upset at this, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Impossible. Sakura's too... Sakura to get a boyfriend, anyways," he grumbled.

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you won't get a boyfriend! Ever!"

"Then you won't get a girlfriend either! You meanie!"

"I bet I'll get a girlfriend before you!"

"Na-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Na-uh!"

Itachi sighed, rubbing his temples wearily. "You guys, don't fight. Both of you are too young to be dating anyway. Maybe when you're older and have experienced the horror that is puberty."

Sakura pouted angrily, turning away from Sasuke. She grumbled a little before looking at Itachi again when she realized something. "Then, Itachi-nii, why'd you place the flower behind my right ear? I don't have a lover yet."

"And you never will," Sasuke muttered.

Itachi, although he heard what his brother said, ignored him. "Oh, you're taken already, Sakura-chan," he said cheerily.

"Eh?" both children looked at him, startled. Sasuke looked righteously indignant, while Sakura just looked confused.

Itachi said nothing, but winked at Sasuke slyly, grinning marvelously when the boy turned the shade of those tomatoes he loved so much.

And my work here is done, Itachi thought, giving himself a mental pat on the back. He stood up to head back into the house, lifting one hand in a gesture of goodbye.

The two left in the backyard turned to each other, Sasuke still flushed, while Sakura remained oblivious. "What was that about?" she asked.

"Nothing!" he said immediately, and then realized something. "ITACHI-NII! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO PLAY BASEBALL!"