Holy crap it's been a long time since I posted here! Oh well! Figured I might as well! Of course there's the rather obvious disclaimer that, oh, I don't own this series (because I am most certainly not a Japanese man). Well, hope you all enjoy this! The people on lj seemed to! Also note: The angst and suggestive material cough comes in the next chapter.
It was a sweltering, sticky, late summer day that Uchiha Sasuke received his first kiss.
He was sprawled (in a way that children and those without a care in the world are apt to do) on the porch overlooking his mother's garden and the small pond in the middle of it, letting his mind melt into a fuzzy sort of blankness to the tune of the cicadas buzzing in the trees. The longer he lay there, the more lethargic he became, eyelids drifting shut as the heat washed over him even from his spot in the awning's shade, pulling him into a lazy daze as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
A boy of nearly seven, he thought with both a stubborn determination and a childish innocence, the wish to train himself stronger than the want to play like any other child would. Still, the temperatures had him confined to the porch, even though he knew that if his father saw him he would be in for a scolding.
His brother would be home soon, he realized then, eyes fluttering open as he sat up, an unyielding excitement buzzing through his small form. He squinted through the bright afternoon sun towards the side gate into the garden, knowing that Itachi would come through it in order to catch a moment's rest before facing their parents (he wasn't a stupid child, he noticed things). He found himself almost dozing off sitting up, though, before a shadow blocking out the light over his eyes suddenly snapped him back to attention.
"Brother!" he nearly cried, jumping to his feet. A brilliant smile nearly tore his face in two as he looked up at the tired and dirty form of the person he admired most of all, noting the way the older boy's features softened just slightly (just for him, nobody else).
"Sasuke..." came the low reply, exhausted but affectionate (even if only he could pick it out of that voice) as Itachi knelt before him, dark eyes meeting dark eyes. "Does father know you're out here lazing about?"
He looked away at that, a slight blush capturing his childish features. "I was gonna train, but it got really hot..." he murmured sheepishly, feet shuffling against the wood of the porch. "But I was just resting for a little while!" he insisted, looking back to his brother's eyes again stubbornly and noticing quite suddenly how close Itachi had gotten while he wasn't looking.
There was only a moment for him to ponder it and the butterflies flitting around in his stomach before the older boy did what he found at first to be the most peculiar thing. Lips pressed firmly against his in a kiss that was certainly nothing like what his mother used to give him, something warm and wet (that he soon realized was a tongue) prodding gently to get them apart. He opened his mouth to question or protest or say something, but all that earned him was Itachi's tongue invading his mouth, and by that point all he could do was grip tightly onto the front of his brother's shirt and tremble at the feeling that he wasn't quite sure was unwelcome.
When the older boy finally pulled back, Sasuke was flushed and gasping for air, little lungs starved for oxygen and feeling rather lightheaded. Before he was able to ask Itachi just what that was and what it was for, however, his brother stood and moved past him into the house without a word. When he moved to follow, he found his legs were a bit wobbly, and when he stepped into the kitchen, his mother turned and gasped.
"Sasuke! Oh, look at you, you're all flushed! You've been out in the heat too long, you'll make yourself sick! Let me get you some water, dear, have a seat."
The youngest Uchiha nodded slowly, finding that sitting was actually a great idea as he listened to Mikoto pour him a glass of water and the ice clinking together and crackling. He sipped it as she instructed him to, slowly and carefully, and it did help a little, even though he knew that it wasn't really the sun that had made him feel the way he did.
The rest of the day went by quickly, and despite his constant glances toward his brother over dinner (unnoticed by their parents, too absorbed in their own troubles), Itachi never offered him so much as a look, as if nothing had changed. He wondered over his beef and rice whether it was something that all siblings did, but as the older boy stood and left the table (bowing and excusing himself), he realized that something like that couldn't possibly be true.
Unable to sleep that night, Sasuke found himself standing just outside Itachi's door, hesitant on entering but feeling the nagging questions that kept him awake nonetheless. After several long moments of debating over whether to just open the door and slip inside, the decision was made for him by his brother's voice.
"Sasuke, are you planning on standing out there all night?" the voice asked, and he jumped, sliding the door open and stepping inside only to shut it again as he stared at his feet, embarrassed. He stood that way for another long several moments before a sigh from the bed caused him to raise his head in time to see Itachi beckoning him forward.
Self consciously, he followed the silent command, sitting on the edge of his brother's bed when it was patted and fidgeting nervously. He'd meant to ask about what Itachi had done earlier that day, but now he found that he couldn't quite form the words.
"Brother... Um..." he started, shaking his head once and crawling into the older boy's lap so he could just make out his face in the dim lighting. "What does it mean when you do this?" he asked finally, clumsily replicating the kiss they had shared earlier. He felt Itachi stiffen suddenly and moved to pull away, but a strong arm moving around his waist and a hand at the back of his head kept him in place and he gasped, confused but not disliking the way his brother took hold of the kiss and deepened it as before.
Sasuke was breathless and panting by the time they broke apart this time, and Itachi lingered this time as well, tongue tracing the boy's kiss bruised lips slowly as hot breaths puffed out against them. He was feeling dizzy again, though he wasn't sure if it was what his brother had done to him or the lack of oxygen that was making him that way.
"Sasuke..." came something then that was and wasn't his brother. It came from Itachi's lips, yes, but the sound of it was something completely different than anything he'd ever heard the older boy say. It sounded lower than usual, with a slightly rough edge to it and he wasn't sure if the shiver that ran down his spine was out of fear and confusion or something else entirely as he tried to identify the unknown look in Itachi's eyes.
"B-brother... What about my question?" he whispered, timidly, and suddenly, the look was gone and his brother sat back, releasing him from his hold. He felt a chill against his face and realized how much Itachi's breath must have warmed it.
The older boy seemed almost to ponder his response, watching Sasuke fidget with a cool gaze. "Mother and Father do it," came the response, finally, and it seemed only to attract more questions.
"But what does it mean?" he asked again, not moving from his spot in his brother's lap.
"Mother and Father do it because they love each other," came the next response, and the smaller boy seemed to ponder it.
"So it's something that moms and dads do? But you're my brother..." he reasoned, shifting a bit (missing the way Itachi bit the inside of his lip and his eyelids fluttered just slightly) and pouting.
"Do you love me, Sasuke?" came the elder's question then, and Sasuke barely had to think before giving his answer.
"Of course I do!" he declared, though the pout was still present.
"Do you dislike it?" came the second question, and the younger had to think about it this time.
"No..." he answered finally, frowning. He wasn't sure where Itachi was going with this, and he wasn't sure if they were even supposed to do it.
"It'll be our little secret then, alright? You can't tell Mother or Father or anyone else. Think of it like a game that just you and I can play together." Itachi looked at him sternly, but then gave him a smile once he nodded understanding. "You should go back to bed now, Sasuke," he prodded, and with enough insisting, the boy finally left for his own room.
Over the next two years, there were many, many more kisses, sometimes marks that high collared Uchiha shirts were perfect for hiding, and likely due to Itachi's excercise of impeccable control, nothing more than that. At the end of it all, though, Sasuke lay face to face with the corpses of his parents and stared terrified into the eyes of somebody who was no longer his brother at all.
At eight years old, Sasuke learned to feel hatred and disgust for each and every one of those kisses.
Alright then! Comments are appreciated, let me know what you think! Chapter 2 should be up within a week or so, hopefully within a few days, since I've been working on it off and on.