Taiy-Chan: This is just a little RP story me and my friend (Mistress Lady Flame) wrote together. She was Itachi and I was Sasuke. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

Past Perils

"Nii-san! Nii-san! Come on!!" Four year old Sasuke tugged excitedly on his brother's arm, as if trying to drag the older boy to the park just meters away.

Sasuke was grinning widely in the innocent way only children could. He trotted a few steps in front of Itachi before running back to pull him along, like he was afraid that the other Uchiha would leave if given the chance.

"I wanna go on the swings. Will you push me, aniki? I wanna go on the slides too and-and the tire!!" he cried, nearly jumping on the spot.

Itachi let out an annoyed sigh, but smiled slightly down at his overly excited brother regardless.

"Yes, otouto, I will." Itachi calmly said as he flicked Sasuke in the forehead, though it was gentler than usual and no red mark was left behind afterwards. He offered a kind small lopsided smile, "Calm down; we have all the time in the world."

Sasuke rubbed his forward, a small pout on his lips. But it was gone a second later as he left his brother and ran towards the playground, jumping up to grasp the monkey bars.

"Watch me, Ita-nii-san!" he yelled.

The young Uchiha shot a glance behind his shoulder to make sure Itachi wasn't distracted before swinging forward to the next bar. His little face was set in a determined frown. He was going to get to the other side. His aniki would be so proud of him.

"Be careful otouto," Itachi stated calmly as he warily watched Sasuke cross the potentially dangerous set bars.

He felt somewhat uncomfortable seeing his younger brother's feet so high off the ground, yet the nagging feeling in the back of his mind wasn't bad enough to actually stop Sasuke.

Sasuke was getting closer to the other side, his mouth stretched into an excited grin. He swung his body forward and reached for the next bar, his hands already sore from the hard metal. Suddenly, a sharp sound caused him to start and lose focus and his hand missed. Sasuke let out a small cry as he lost his grip and fell. He squeezed his eyes shut and curled his fingers into little fists.

"Itachi!!"

Itachi's eyes widened, heart skipping a beat as he watched Sasuke slip. It was as if time suddenly stopped. Without a moments hesitation Itachi moved fluidly, only looking like a blur of black towards his falling brother. A moment later there was a light added weight in his arms pressed firmly against his body.

"Are you all right Sasuke?" Itachi asked standing up straight and holding Sasuke tightly in his arms.

Sasuke blinked opened his eyes as he landed in a soft, but strong embrace. His dark gaze landed on his brother's pale face and his own little cheeks dimpled in a happy smile.

"Nii-san!" He cried, throwing his arms around Itachi. He breathed in his brother's earthy scent with contentment, burying his nose in his brother's shoulder. "I knew you would catch me." he whispered.

Itachi allowed himself to smile over Sasuke's shoulder letting his tense shoulders relax and the rapid beating in his chest slow as relief washed over him.

"I'll always be there to catch you, brother." Itachi mumbled, "I'd never let you fall."

Sasuke was nearly delirious was happiness. It spread through his chest like fire and his eyes closed tightly as he hugged his brother closer.

"Always, right, aniki?" He said quietly, blushing red to the tips of his ears in joy and embarrassment. He had to be strong, had to impress his older brother, but he couldn't help but feel the need to rely on him too.

"I love you, Itachi."

Itachi let his stoic mask slip for a moment, lightly grinning at his younger sibling. He held Sasuke a little closer in response to the hug.

The elder Uchiha was about to reply when the rare moment they were sharing was cut short. Itachi heard a familiar voice call out to him. He could not...no, he would not let his best friend see him like this. He'd never hear the end of it.

Itachi quickly placed Sasuke back on the ground and gave him a gentle push towards the playground. His regular cool demeanour settled around him once more as he turned his back on his younger sibling to address the oncoming Shisui with a smirk.

Sasuke watched his brother walk away with a pout, disappointed that his beloved nii-san left him so quickly. His disappointment quickly turned to anger, though, as the young Uchiha realized what, or rather who, had caught his brother's attention.

Sasuke glared at Shisui angrily, barely managing to stop himself from running over to Itachi and dragging him away from his cousin. Jealousy washed over him in waves and Sasuke quickly turned away to distract himself on the playground.

Itachi was valiantly combating a small blush as Shisui spoke to him about something he had done on a mission earlier. Usually small talk like this bored him but when it came to Shisui Itachi always gave his fellow Uchiha his undivided attention. Though at the moment he found it slightly hard to concentrate; Shisui was wearing that light musky-smelling cologne again, it was almost intoxicating. The slightly taller man's lips were moving but he could hear no sound slip from them.

Shisui cocked his head in question and raised a brow at him. This gesture snapped Itachi back out of his thoughts. Shisui gave him that lopsided smile, not looking annoyed in the slightest, before repeating his question. Itachi fought to keep his calm answering coolly,

"Che, mother made me come to the park with him." Itachi said with a faked (though one couldn't tell) tone of disgust, "I should be out training."

Itachi knew his statement wasn't true, he had actually wanted to spend time with his younger brother for sometime now, but as long as no one else but him knew that little fact the prodigy's dignity would be spared. Itachi absolutely refused to make a fool of himself in front of Shisui.

Sasuke was definitely not sneaking looks at his older brother. No, that was for sure. Even though his eyes kept straying over in his direction, it didn't mean he was necessarily looking at Itachi.

Not at all.

Sasuke's small lips pressed together in a childish pout as he climbed up the bars to reach the top of the slide. The metal was cool against his little chubby hands, a great contrast to the hot weather bearing down on him. Sasuke swung himself onto the top of the slide and slid down fast, his mouth breaking into a small grin as he landed at the bottom and got to his feet.

A sharp noise suddenly pierced his ears and the young Uchiha spun around, his eyes wide with shock and fear. A scrawny little chiwawa bounded up to the poor boy, snarling and barking shrilly. The dog was little bigger than a rabbit, but to Sasuke it was big enough. He stumbled back a few steps but that just made the chiwawa angrier. The mutt launched himself at Sasuke, its hideous maw hanging open, ready to bite with its ferocious little teeth.

Sasuke opened his mouth to scream, but his voice died in his throat. He thought of calling for his brother, but would Itachi even bother to come save him (for the second time that day too)? Sasuke felt tears well in his big, round dark eyes and he threw up his arms to protect his head.

Nii-san was too busy with Shisui, he wouldn't waste his time saving him... would he?

Sasuke let out a little sob, tripping over a loose stone and losing his balance, falling backwards. The Uchiha squeezed his eyes shut in fear and the dog pounced.

Itachi twitched at the high pitched barking and reluctantly looked away from Shisui to locate the source of the noise. Upon turning around his eyes caught a small waste of fur that actually dared to attack his Otouto. Itachi quickly scanned the park for any trace of an owner of the little mutt.

Sure enough there was a pump woman, whom in Itachi's eyes closely resembled a pig, not too far off laughing at his Otouto like it was the funniest thing in the world. The prodigy's eyes flashed red as the Sharingan spun to life and his temper flared.

Without another word Itachi jogged over and gave the scrawny thing a swift kick. Needless to say the owner stopped her bout of laughing and walked…no, waddled her way over. Itachi's only greeting was a cruel, crimson-eyed glare.

Sasuke landed on the ground hard and instantly curled up into a little ball, waiting for the dog's teeth to sink into his pale flesh. But when the attack didn't come, the young Uchiha slowly opened his eyes.

"I...Itachi-nii?" he said in a terrified whisper, as if not believing that his aniki actually saved him.

Sasuke sat up straighter and hesitantly gave his brother's pants a little tug, looking up at the older boy with watery black eyes. But when he saw the cold look in Itachi's gaze the little Uchiha immediately looked back at the ground.

"I'm... I'm sorry, aniki..." he whispered, slowly letting go of Itachi's leg.

Itachi looked back at Sasuke and gave him a bit a small hint of a smile.

"You don't need to be sorry otouto, as long as you're alright."

Itachi expression harden into an angry glare upon turning back to face the woman.

"Watch your dog." Itachi spat out as if his words were laced with poison.

"Watch your kid." she replied snootily.

Sasuke looked up at his brother and allowed a small grin to tug his lips upward.

"Love you, Itachi." he said, grinning from ear to ear now, the dog totally forgotten.

He hefted himself to his feet and opened his arms out wide, reaching out for his aniki and silently asking to be picked up.

Itachi gently picked up his younger brothers wants while still maintaining his glare at the woman whom was insisting for an apology for what Itachi had done to her mutt. The Uchiha simply rolled his eyes and walked away, his nose high in the air. He didn't look back once.

End