This was written a little over a month ago. I debated over whether I should post this, but decided I might as well.

This was mostly inspired by Madam Hydra's Blood Red Threads.

Despite a night of rest, Sasuke was still dead tired when he awoke that morning. Itachi had visited in the middle of the night, the night of his birthday. His visits were almost weekly now and Sasuke bitterly admitted that he looked forward to them.

His first visit was a little more than a month ago. Sasuke had awoken to the touch of his brother's hands roaming all over his naked body and Itachi's hot breath as he nibbled on his ear.

Sasuke tried his hardest to fight off his older brother, but he knew it, he was trapped on the bed with Itachi thrusting into him and showering him with kisses.

"Delicious..." Itachi had purred after tracing his tongue down his brother's jaw line. Sasuke shuddered at the thought of his voice.

The young Uchiha yawned and rolled over to his side, barely suppressing a gasp when he felt something warm brush against his bare skin. He opened his eyes and stared at the smirking face of his brother. The prodigy had his arm casually draped over the boy's stomach, his head propped up on his other arm.

Itachi, slightly worried about the lack of response from his brother, soothingly trailed his hand up and down his brother's back. Sasuke snapped out of his trance and pulled away. Sasuke noticed they were both still naked and his jaw went slack. A million questions flowed through his mind, but the only one he asked was, "Why?"

Why did Itachi stay when he left so many times before?

"You know why."

Sasuke glared in frustration.

"What does that mean? I've never understood you."

Itachi softly chuckled, which only served to make Sasuke more confused, and raised the arm that was wrapped around him so protectively just moments ago.

Dangling in-between his fingers was the end of a red ribbon. It was the same shade of the Sharingan and made of a velvet-like material. Only then did the younger Uchiha realize the same ribbon was wrapped around his torso, ending neatly on his lap.

Sasuke faintly blushed, remembering how Itachi used it to tie his hands behind his back.

He picked up the other end of the fabric, caressing the material with his thumb.

"Mother made this. She gave it to me for my 13th birthday."

It was said so emotionlessly, yet it had such a powerful effect. Sasuke dropped the ribbon and stared at it with wide, horrified eyes. An emotion the boy didn't recognize, one he didn't i want /i to recognize, rushed through him. The young genius tugged at the ribbons, trying desperately to free himself from it. All he knew was that he wanted nothing more than to be as far away from the red fabric as possible.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, grabbed Sasuke's wrists and pushed him down to the bed, pinning his arms above his head.

Sasuke didn't struggle; he only laid there with a blank look on his face.

"Mother said that this is a red thread of destiny that connects two souls together for eternity."

Itachi leaned down and gently kissed his brother, while Sasuke stared at the ceiling, not completely understanding what his brother had said. Itachi's lips trailed past Sasuke's chin, and the young genius lifted his head to allow the prodigy more room to suck on his neck. Suddenly, Itachi stopped and stared, his piercing gaze boring into Sasuke's eyes and he whispered, "Mother asked me to hand half of it to you on your 13th birthday."

Upon hearing this, Sasuke's eyes widened and welled up with tears. He fought his hardest to hold them back, but eventually they fell. Itachi released his grip on his younger brother's wrists and held the boy, cradling him. Sasuke leaned into the embrace and sobbed, not caring that it was his hated brother who comforted him.

The older Uchiha's hair tickled Sasuke's face and he kissed his forehead.

"Happy birthday, little brother."

And he was gone, the only evidence of his presence being the tears staining the young boy's face and the red ribbon clutched tightly in his fist.