"Come ON Sasuke, stop being so boring for once!"
A bouncing teenager with obnoxious yellow hair was standing just outside the towering black gates of the Uchiha compound, shouting at his dark-haired friend with over-powering enthusiasm. Said-friend, Sasuke Uchiha, was safely placed on the other side, arms crossed and leaning against the gate post, an apologetic expression on his face.
"Look Naruto I told you, I really do want to come out but I can't! Itachi said I have too much work to do." He sighed, looking dejectedly at his bare feet on the gravel while shoving a small pebble around with his toe. Naruto looked exasperated as he leaned both hands on the bars of the gate.
"But it's your birthday, the big one-four! You cannot be spending your entire birthday inside!"
"Obviously not the whole day..." Sasuke said pointedly. "Itachi is taking me to his favourite restaurant in Konoha tonight."
"Exactly!" the blonde exclaimed. "That doesn't count. Since when did your day become all about Itachi? He should be giving you at least one day off from all this stupid studying..."
Of course, Sasuke agreed. He'd never agreed more about anything in his life. He just knew that if Itachi got home from his mission that evening and he hadn't finished the essay his brother set on the History of the Land of Waves, there would be major trouble. Plus, he didn't want to risk upsetting Itachi in fear of jeopardising his birthday gift...
But the idea of going a bit wild on his birthday was so appealing... and no matter how annoying Naruto was he knew how to have a good time for sure.
He bit his lip in consideration, thinking tactically. If he left with Naruto right now (mid-morning) and was back by 4:00pm, he could have the essay just-about finished and the kitchen tidy before Itachi got back, and that was everybody was happy. It was just a matter of cautious time keeping and speed-writing that damned essay..
"Fine..." the raven eventually muttered, as his blonde companion whooped excitedly and attepted to climb the gates, forcing Sasuke to shove him off hurriedly before he set off some kind of alarm-jutsu Itachi had placed on them.
Racing back to the house with a "HURRY THE FUCK UP!" from Naruto, he grabbed his sandals and his bag, which he swiftly strapped around his slim hips, before leaping out of his bedroom window and back across the front courtyard.
As he cracked open the gates and slipped through, he stifled a smirk at the self-satisfied expression on Naruto's face. The idiot was clearly proud of his 'manipulative skills'.
"Before you wet yourself with excitement dobe, you gotta know we don't have much time. I have to be back by four or I won't finish before Itachi gets home."
"No problem!" Naruto exclaimed, after attempting to punch Sasuke for his urination comment. "That's plenty of time to celebrate; we'll have you back in time easily."
With that the two of them started the walk up to the centre of town, with the blonde chatting amiably and loudly, while Sasuke had one final nervous look over his shoulder. The rapidly disappearing black gates gave him an ominous feeling, which he quickly dispelled. 'No' he thought, 'It's my birthday and I deserve to have some fun, who gives a damn what Itachi thinks.' Crouching slightly, he felt his muscles stretch pleasantly and he sprung up on to the rooftop on his right, before sprinting over the nearby houses, ignoring the complaints of it's disgruntled residents. "Hey, wait for me!" Naruto cried, before racing off after him into the bustling, lively town in the April sunshine.
The two boys met up with Shikamaru, Neji, and to Sasuke's annoyance, Kiba Inuzuka, as the Uchiha claimed he couldn't deal with more than one hyperactive idiot at a time. This resulted in him having to quickly fend off attacks from the aforementioned idiots, which he easily avoided. They spent the rest of the morning in the baths, relaxing in the steamy heat of the pools, until the lot of them were kicked out after Kiba and Naruto got caught attempting to climb in to the female baths.
This was followed by lunch at Ichiraku's (Naruto insisted) and then the five boys headed to the woods just outside the town, where they slumped down in the soft grass and against trees, enjoying the warm air and light breeze of spring. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief, settling in the soft grass for a long-awaited rest. As he'd been telling Naruto in Ichiraku's, between his chores, studying, training with Kakashi and the team, taijutsu, ninjitsu, and sharingan training with Itachi, he'd not had a moment to relax since his last mission. He even grudgingly admitted that missions were something of a reprieve for him, because as soon as he returned Itachi would be working him to the bone again.
"Hey guys" Kiba's mischievous exclamation made them all look up towards him, Shikamaru even groggily sitting up from the nap he'd been taking. "Look what I stole from my sister's room..."
From his backpack, the brunette excitedly removed a brown paper bag, with what appeared to be a bottle inside. With the attention of all his classmates, he pulled from it a large bottle of sake, a brand which Sasuke recognised to be amongst the most potent you could get in Konoha, the kind of stuff Lady Tsunade would drink.
The other four boys stared for a short moment, before Naruto suddenly burst out "Awesome! That's sick Kiba, I can't believe you got us drinks for Sasuke's birthday!"
Neji looked unamused but interested, reaching forward to take the bottle from Kiba's hands, inspecting the label. "This particular sake is very high in alcohol content Inuzuka, I assume you're aware of that."
"Of course I am dumbass" Kiba replied reproachfully, before lifting his nose in the air. "I drink this kinda stuff all the time.."
Naruto looked somewhat in awe at this statement, while Sasuke scoffed inwardly. Sure, like Kiba's mother wouldn't rip him apart if she caught him with alcohol. There was no way Inuzuka was an experienced drinker when Sasuke himself had only ever had a sip of wine when Itachi wasn't looking.
"Well, are you going to drink it or not?" Shikamaru asked, yawning widely. Kiba looked a little unsure of himself, but took a large swig from the bottle, grimacing and coughing but emerging rather pleased with himself. "Ah that's the stuff.." he wheezed out, before an over excited Naruto grabbed the bottle from him, eagerly taking an equally large drink from the glass container. He appeared to have less of a reaction, even licking his lips afterwards. He shuffled over to Sasuke still holding it.
"C'mon Sasuke, your turn. It is your birthday after all, we can't let you miss out"
Sasuke glared at his blonde friend, silently informing him of his stupidity with murderous eyes. They were several years underage, even having turned a year older that very day, and Sasuke just knew Itachi would murder him if he found out. But then again, alcohol was supposed to relax you... and one sip couldn't hurt. Wasn't it called 'dutch courage' or something? He was certainly going to need a hell of a lot of that to face Itachi tonight, especially if his work wasn't up to Itachi's ridiculously high standards.
Slowly, he extended his hands towards the glinting bottle, and cautiously he brought the neck to his lips. Tipping back his head he had a mouthful of the burning liquid down his throat before he started spluttering at the intense heat in his chest, as Kiba and Naruto laughed delightedly at him. Scowling, he shoved the bottle back in their direction and lay down again, to watch the two idiots get slowly drunker and drunker with every gulp of the alcohol.
When Sasuke next opened his eyes, it was dark. Shutting them again and stretching out, he felt his joints creak satisfyingly, and he felt more relaxed than he had done in months. When was the last time he'd managed to sleep so well? Sleep...Dark... Sasuke swiftly put two and two together.
"SHIT!" he exclaimed loudly, and leapt up from his grassy mattress, eyes darting around. Kiba was slumped against a nearby tree, asleep, while Shikamaru had not moved from his spot hours earlier. Neji seemed to have taken his leave. Looking down, he noticed Naruto was also on the ground just next to where he'd been sitting, but he didn't appear to be peacefully sleeping. His body was curled up around a pool of his own vomit, and he seemed to be moaning in his unconscious state. With shock, he noticed some blood in said-vomit, and the blonde looked clammy and deathly pale in the faint light.
Judging by the amount of light and the position of the moon, Sasuke guessed it was about 7:30pm, and Itachi was arriving home between 7 and 8. He'd just have to pray to the gods that something had held him back somehow.
Despite his urge to flee back to the Uchiha compound so as not to face the potential wrath of Itachi, Sasuke knew he couldn't just leave Naruto in that state with a drunken loser and a lazy-ass. Reaching down, he quickly grabbed Naruto under the armpits and hoisted him to his feet as gently as he could, before swinging the lithe blonde over his shoulder carefully. He then set off at a swift pace towards the village – and the hospital. This was turning out to be one of Sasuke's less enjoyable birthdays...
When Sasuke reached the hospital he was in luck – Lady Tsunade was just on her way in surrounded by murmuring medical nin. She appeared annoyed, a scowl gradually growing from a crease between her eyes, but despite this Sasuke shoved past the other ninja amidst shouts of annoyance and complaints.
"Hokage..." he began breathlessly "Naruto, he's ill he-" the raven broke off panting, and looked up into the old Lady's face pleadingly. She wore an expression of suspicion and concern as she observed the unconscious blonde now in Sasuke's arms, but before he had much time to consider bolting in the other direction, a tall ninja had snatched Naruto from his aching forearms, and Lady Tsunade had seized the back of his shirt. Sasuke let out a slight gasp of surprise, as he was pulled into the building by the Hokage, following the bustling medics holding his blonde companion. As they hurried up staircases and along corridors, Sasuke's ears were ringing and his eyes focused on Naruto's rapidly disappearing figure, trying desperately not to think of Itachi. He was aware of Lady Tsunade talking to people around him, but he heard nothing of it.
He didn't say a word until they had reached a ward, where Naruto had been laid on a bed and was being attached to an intravenous drip and various other contraptions. This scared Sasuke somewhat into asking quietly "Lady Tsunade, is Naruto going to be ok?"
By this time the old lady had released his t-shirt and was leaning over Naruto's face, holding a glowing green hand a few inches from his forehead. She didn't turn to look at him as she replied "Yes Sasuke, he will. But this could have been much worse." Her eyes darted towards him as he fiddled nervously with the hem of his shorts. "I want you to tell me right now how, and why the hell, you were drinking alcohol."
Sasuke gulped. At the twitch of her eyebrow however, he mumbled vaguely about his birthday, sake, and 'some friends', tactically avoiding giving names. The Hokage appeared unimpressed still, and advanced towards him menacingly.
"Sasuke Uchiha, understand that for a short while your friend was in a very dangerous state. The nine-tails inside of him reacted badly to the potent drink he ingested, and went on something of a rampage inside his body, tearing at his organs. His healing ability saved him from fatal damage but he is badly injured." She took another step closer and leant down towards him. "If you want the person who nearly killed Naruto to risk doing it again, then fine, keep your mouth shut, but understand I will find out at some point in the future."
Her unwavering gaze finally released him, and the young Uchiha nearly trembled at the relief. She turned away from him momentarily, and checked on a clipboard at the base of Naruto's bed. Sasuke could see the shallow breathing of his friend from the sharp rise and fall of his think chest, and thought he looked smaller and more vulnerable than he'd ever seen him before. 'But at least he's safe..' he thought, 'unlike me at the moment...' The Uchiha sent another glance up at Lady Tsunade, and to his brief surprise saw she was gazing down at him also.
"Right, now to get you organised Sasuke." She began, tucking a pen into her pocket as she fiddled about with some equipment. "Naruto will be out for a while and you'll be a nuisance if you stay, even if you are quiet. I think its best you go home."
Despite the urge to protest about his status as a 'nuisance', Sasuke nodded briefly, and inclined his head to the blonde ninja in a short bow. "Thank you for your help Lady Tsunade, I'm really sorry. I'll head back home now."
"I'll send for someone to accompany you back, you must still be rather shaken...?" Lady Tsunade suggested with a raised eyebrow.
"There will be no need for that."
Sasuke froze and the smooth, cool voice behind him. It was the unmistakable tone of Itachi Uchiha.
"Oh Itachi, I see you've arrived back from your mission. I trust it was successful?" the Hokage inquired politely, still somewhat occupied with Naruto's unconscious body.
"Yes my Lady, very. The report is on your desk."
The younger Uchiha slowly turned around to face his brother as he said this. Itachi's face was the picture of polite interest when speaking to the Hokage, but under the steely exterior Sasuke knew he was very pissed off.
"Hokage, may I ask what has happened here? I arrived home to find the house empty, and until I received your message a short while ago I was yet to find out the situation."
Sasuke stifled a gasp at this statement. The Hokage had sent a message to Itachi saying where he was? Did she not realise how much trouble she'd put Sasuke in? At least he'd feel less guilty if he'd been allowed an attempt to get home in time, rather than having to get picked up like a little kid.
"Well..." the busty blonde replied "I think I'll let Sasuke fill you in on the details he would not even share with myself, but to keep things short I think these boys have been experimenting with alcohol perhaps a little too much, and Naruto is now in a stable condition after the kyuubi ripped through his body as a result." She smirked slightly at Itachi. "Doesn't sound much like you at his age, odd how siblings can differ huh?"
"Hn, I suppose so." Itachi said through somewhat gritted teeth, still yet to even glance down at the internally terrified Sasuke. "Thank you for your audience, if you don't mind I'd like to take Sasuke home now for a little talk."
Those words sent a shiver down the young raven's spine, and his older brother's piercing eyes finally met his own, nearly burning them with the ferocity in his gaze. Suddenly Sasuke wasn't so keen to leave the hospital.
Itachi gave a short bow to the lady before ordering calmly "Home, Sasuke."
"Oh come on Itachi, really? Do you have to-" he stopped abruptly as his brother raised an eyebrow sharply at his wining complaint."I mean uh- but.. I don't want to leave Naruto" the boy weakly protested, taking a step closer to his friend's bed."You go back without me, I-I'll come later." He knew the sooner he was forced to go back to the house, the sooner his ass would be in the firing line. He was safer here at the hospital, where the private Uchiha was unlikely to share his brother's punishment with the world.
However, the other two in the room witnessed a flash of red in the man's eyes, and in one long stride he had grabbed Sasuke's bicep roughly, and pulled him close.
"How DARE you disobey me in front of the Hokage, and after everything you've done today too." Itachi breathed furiously into his younger brother's ear, his fist still firmly grasping the smaller arm. "Now get your ass out of here NOW." With this he released Sasuke's arm and sent him scuttling out of the room with a powerful and forceful smack to his backside, leaving the boy biting his lip to keep from crying out.
He then swiftly glided from the room after his sibling, shutting the door to the ward behind him. Lady Tsunade looked out to them for a moment before looking back down at Naruto's sleeping face. "You know sometimes Naruto, you should feel lucky not to have a brother. You'd be on the receiving end of THAT a lot if you did."
As he shot away from Itachi with his smack, Sasuke found himself in the surrounding waiting room, containing about 10 or so waiting villagers with various minor injuries, and about a dozen medical ninja, all hurrying about importantly. Before he had time to absorb any more of this however, he felt a fist grasp the material of his t-shirt and begin to haul him forcefully across the room. He submitted to the man-handling by Itachi until he realised with horror they were headed straight for a set of empty, armless chairs in the waiting room.
"No, no no no.." he muttered under his breath, desperately pleading inside his head that the event he was anticipating would not occur. They reached the chairs and to Sasuke's upmost dismay, Itachi grabbed one and pulled it away from the others, almost in the centre of the room. He then promptly seated himself on it and yanked his younger brother towards him, his furious gaze glancing over the nervous expression on the boy's face.
"Itachi, please.." the young teen choked out, onyx eyes pleading desperately while he tugged at the bottom of his t-shirt. Itachi knew how much he hated any form of embarrassment or humiliation in public, and he was about to experience his worst nightmare.
Itachi tool two seconds to glance over his quivering brother before the questionable stains on the front of his shirt reminded him of his anger. Without a further word, he bent Sasuke over his lap forcefully and raised his hand high above his head.
As the first slap came down on his backside, Sasuke choked back tears not from the pain – which was considerable – but from the utter humiliation of being chastised like this in public, in front of villagers who knew him from when he was a little boy. The stinging slaps rained down all over his rear and he almost bit his tongue in the effort not to cry out and embarrass himself further.
The Uchihas were a prestigious family, and practically everybody in the land of fire knew about the death of his parents and Itachi's efforts to raise his younger brother, and of course, everyone admired him for taking on a young child.
But while Sasuke was proud of his outoto, it was times like this when he wished he was brought up by someone else altogether. Itachi knew him like the back of his hand, and knew exactly how to punish him in a way that would affect him deepest and repel him from any further mischief effectively. Therefore with Sasuke's stoic exterior and general reservation around strangers, Itachi had found a little harmless humiliation was the best way about things. Hence his annoyance at Sasuke's backchat leading to the boy writhing over his lap in the hospital waiting room while the life was wacked out of his thinly-covered backside and small number of gaping villagers watched on.
The pain in the young Uchiha's ass was steadily growing unbearable, the thin fabric of his shorts doing little to soften the onslaught of blows from Itachi's wide and well-practiced hand. He slammed down with ultimate precision, attacking Sasuke, as always, in the places that would make it most difficult to sit afterwards.
The teen's eyes were squeezed tightly shut in an attempt to block out the images of villagers staring shamelessly at his displayed backside, thrust into the air by Itachi's raised knee, but his ears still rung with the methodical slapping from behind him and his torso shook with the force of the blows.
It was only after a couple of minutes however that Itachi suddenly stopped, and pulled Sasuke off his lap abruptly, placing him between his knees so he could look him straight in the eye.
"I do not want backchat like that from you again Sasuke, especially in front of the woman who employs us both. Am I understood?"
Unable to reply verbally lest he burst into tears, Sasuke nodded silently, resisting the urge to reach back and clutch his rear to alleviate the throbbing pain.
"Good." Itachi confirmed coolly, before furthering Sasuke's embarrassment – if it were possible- by grasping his thin wrist tightly and pulling the younger boy to his side. "Now seeing as you have been so determined to act like a child as disobey me today despite the increase in your age, you can walk by me the entire way back."
With that he stood up to his full height and left the room with Sasuke hurrying along beside him without a backwards glance at the spectators of his punishment. As the exited the hospital into the pitch black, crisp air, Itachi heard an almost indiscernible sob from his side. Without moving his head, he observed from the corner of his vision his younger brother was using his one free hand to muffle the building sobs in his chest, and simultaneously wipe a few stray tears that were glistening on his cheeks.
The older boy's heart ached dully as he witnessed his brothers pain and dishevelled state, but at the same time was able to rest easy knowing the punishment had been most effective and he was not about to show such public disrespect again, as was clear from the lack of complaint at being towed alongside him by his wrist like a naughty five-year-old rather than a fresh 14-year-old.
The walk back to the Uchiha compound was in total silence, and seemed to drag on for hours to Sasuke, despite their quick pace. For some reason his quiet weeping would not cease, and be became more frustrated and embarrassed because of this. How could he show his face in the leaf village again after that? He could at least thank the gods that Naruto had been asleep as it happened, or there was even more of a chance of his classmates from the academy finding out.
Each step resulted in a painful twinge in his butt cheeks, and the fabric of his shorts seemed to have turned to sandpaper with all the pain it was giving him. He longed to soothe it with the cool night air and his own hand, but not only would he look ridiculous, Itachi would never allow it.
Itachi. That very name now send shivers down his spine, accompanied by a number of emotions. At this time, fear was prominent. Anger also, and self-pity. But mostly, Sasuke was regretting his actions with every step that they got closer to the house, knowing it was one yard closer to his punishment. The teen was not stupid enough to think that Itachi had finished punishing him for his recent endeavour, what he got in the hospital was probably just a warm-up for the guy.
If only he had ignored Naruto's pointless pleads and stayed within the compound, he'd never be in this dumb situation all over again. It was weeks now since Itachi had spanked him, and even that was only a minor offence that resulted in a few days of painful sitting. The young Uchiha had hoped to keep it that was, but he'd disappointed and failed Itachi yet again. He was beginning to think it wasn't even worth trying to win Itachi's approval; he always ended up a disappointment.
It wasn't until he felt Itachi release his wrist that Sasuke realised they had reached the Uchiha compound and were standing in Itachi's large study space adjoining the dining room. He'd been so absorbed in his thoughts he didn't even notice he'd been tugged through the door.
As he came to his senses he felt a stinging slap to his ass, and shooting round he saw Itachi's fierce gaze directed at him, and his outstretched arm pointed to the nearest wall.
"Corner, Sasuke." He ordered.
Sasuke was a little bewildered; he expected to have the second spanking over and done with straight away.
"Sasuke Uchiha, I said GET IN THAT CORNER." Itachi demanded through gritted teeth, and raised his hand threateningly. "Or do need to smack you over there?"
The boy needed no further encouragement, and walked swiftly to the corner, placing his hands behind his head and his nose right at the junction of the pure white walls. It was a place of shame and remorse, the almost painfully white canvas in front of you forcing you to think of nothing but your mischief, hence why Itachi and his parents before him had always used such a corner as a place for punishment.
And now Sasuke was forcing back tears once again, and as he had since he was very little, arms beginning to ache already, and his bottom still stinging.
He thought he heard Itachi leave the room, but didn't dare turn around in case that earned him another smack to his behind. It wasn't until he'd been standing motionless for at least 40 minutes that he heard the definite noise of his brother behind him, and the ominous scraping of a chair across from the table. His butt cheeks clenched at the sound.
"You can drop your arms Sasuke."
With a sigh of relief, the raven let his arms fall to his sides, and spun around to face his brother, still backed into the corner feeling his ass was safer facing away from the merciless palms.
Itachi was sitting with his arms crossed against his chest on a large, straight backed chair in the centre of the room. With a sinking feeling in his gut, Sasuke noticed his brother's black leather belt was draped across the back of the chair, silver buckle glinting tauntingly at him.
Itachi followed his gaze and realised his distraction. "Eyes on me Sasuke. If you give me the right answers I won't have to use it."
With a gulp, the younger boy forced his dark eyes back to meet his brother's identical ones, and his fingers grappled with the edge of his t-shirt as they always did when he was nervous. However the painful anticipation did not last long, and after less than a minute Itachi shifted slightly and the questioning began.
"Sasuke Uchiha I want to hear a promise from you right now, that you will tell me the full truth in answer to all of my questions." Itachi started, inclining his head. He did not seem as livid as he had earlier Sasuke thought, so he did not have to work up much courage to answer 'yes, I will' in a quiet but controlled voice. Although if Itachi asked all the questions Sasuke was imagining, the calm demeanour would disappear soon enough.
"Good." Itachi confirmed sharply. "Did you mishear or misunderstand my instructions before I left that you should put this time to good use and study?"
Right in with the tough ones.
"No Itachi, I-" He was cut off as his brother coolly recited the next question.
"So when you and your friends went out for an underage drinking session, you expect me to believe it is beneficial to you as a ninja?"
"No brother, I just-"
"You were drinking. You were drinking and you are just 14 years old" The older man seemed to be finding it more and more difficult to keep his composure as his calm voice appeared more forced, and his posture more rigid with each of Sasuke's unsatisfying answers.
Sasuke nearly choked on his next answer, unshed tears blurring his vision. "Yes Itachi I'm s-so so-sorry..." He sniffed loudly and ducked his head, begging silently that Itachi just hit him and be done with it so he could stop feeling so awful.
"Please tell me at least, that you completed the work I set for you over the past few days. It was not extortionate."
"I haven't yet, but I was going to before.." Sasuke cowered as his brother uncrossed his arms and stretched out an arm towards him.
"Come here Sasuke." He commanded, and his little brother was quick to obey. Forcing back the building sobs in his throat, he made his way quickly to his brother and obediently bent over his lap, his hands grasping the chair legs, and his gaze fastened to a single knot in the dark wooden floorboards.
He felt a cool hand make quick work of his shorts and underwear, dragging both in one go swiftly down his legs to his knees. He shivered as the cold air met his still reddened skin from the earlier ordeal with Itachi's palm.
The, the sound he'd hoped he wouldn't hear. The gentle slither and clink as his brother took the belt from the back of the chair, and folded it over in his hand, holding the buckle safely in his fist.
"I hope you understand how much you have disappointed me Sasuke."Then with the word "disappoint" ringing loudly in the young boy's ears, he swung the leather down across both of Sasuke's cheeks.
The result was a resounding SLAP and a cry of pain, the unshed tears from earlier beginning to spill down his cheeks as the pain throbbed in his behind. The second smack was quick to follow, and soon there was a slow rhythm building as Sasuke's once pale white skin became a striped and darkened shade of red.
With each slap of the belt on his rear, Sasuke gasped or moaned, his feet writhing desperately as he tried to keep his body still. He was determined to show Itachi strength and remorse as he was the most composed he had ever been during a spanking, at least until the pace began to build.
Itachi lifted the well-worn belt higher now before he brought it down with more force, knowing the next few minutes were crucial to make sure he reached the right point in which he stopped. Sasuke was already reaching the stage where his deep red ass wriggled more vigorously on his lap, and the gasps were morphing into quiet sobs and pleas to stop.
"Ah! I'm sorry, pleas-" SLAP
"Itachi stop now please I'm sorry!" SLAP
It was just before Sasuke felt he'd never sit again in his life that he heard the belt hit the floor. He sobbed openly over Itachi's lap, his deep red and welted ass pulsating in the cold air, radiating heat like hot coals in a furnace.
His hands had moved at some point from the chair legs to Itachi's trouser legs, his slim fingers grasping the fabric in his fists as if it would somehow hold him together. He stayed like this for a few minutes as all of his pent-up emotion left him, and began to realise with shock as he calmed that his brother's palm, once punishing and painful, now lay soothingly on the small of his bare back.
He focused on this point of contact, and when it seemed it would not move, he let his body go limp, waiting for a word, anything, from Itachi.
"I hope I will not have to do this again Sasuke, neither of us enjoy it."
Sasuke resisted the urge to snort, finding it hard to believe his brother didn't find some satisfaction from it or he wouldn't beat his ass so much.
"But I really am disappointed in your actions, I thought I had raised you to show better judgement and respect for the law and for myself." Itachi sighed, and raised the hand not on Sasuke's back to rub his temple wearily. This boy would be the death of him, he was sure.
"I really am sorry Itachi..." Sasuke mumbled from his position near the floor. If he was honest, he had held a small hope that he'd get some excusing from his sins as it was his birthday after all... now it seemed Itachi had forgotten it was his special day altogether, and it was definitely the worst he'd ever had. "I should never have left with Naruto, I should never have drunk, I should have done the work you set...I- I'm sorry I bring you so much shame" The dark head dropped down and another tear leaked out.
"Yes." Itachi replied slowly. "You have shown poor judgement of late and I hope this will be a reminder to think over the consequences of poor decisions. Although I must say I am proud of how soon you delivered your friend to the hospital, from the sound of things he was in a bad way and you greatly helped him."
Sasuke's head shot up and the word 'proud', a word he craved so desperately from his older brother. Now, of all times he heard it? Draped over his lap with his bare ass exposed like a little kid? Sure, it figured that he could work like a maniac and have not a second to rest normally, but as soon as he was in major trouble that coveted word slipped out.
"Thanks Itachi.." he whispered.
Slowly, then, he pushed himself up and gingerly stood to the side of his brother, inching his clothes back up his legs and flinching, over his well-beaten ass. He then stood with his hands at his sides before Itachi. His older brother stood up too, and without a word, headed for the door. Struggling not sigh, Sasuke turned to make his way to his own bedroom, all hope of a simple congratulations now gone.
"Happy Birthday Sasuke."
The young Uchiha froze mid-step. Had he heard correctly?
A slight whistling sound caught his attention, and he spun around just in time to catch a precision-wrapped blue box in his hands, while staring in amazement at his brother in the doorway, who was wearing an amused smirk on his face. "Unfortunately we won't make those dinner reservations, but perhaps tomorrow if you get that work done."
And he was gone.
A rare grin split Sasuke's face as he hurried back to his room, wincing with each rub of underwear against his agonised cheeks, but his happiness unfaltering. He remembered, and that was all that mattered. And if he remembered, he cared.
'Yeah, Itachi's not so bad after all' he thought, as he ripped open his gift on his bed, and on the other side of the house the elder Uchiha was shaking his head and chuckling. What was he going to do with that boy...