HOT KOOL-AID

Disclaimer: I don't own Sasuke, Itachi, Itachi's tastebuds (though I did them some damage) or the video Hot Kool-Aid by Julian Smith.

"Hello, nii-san," Sasuke said, grinning at his brother as he came down the stairs.

"Hello, Sasuke," Itachi said, wondering if Sasuke'd grin was broad enough to be considered dangerous. He decided to ignore it and sit at the kitchen table, where his mother had already placed a glass of juice and some eggs.

"I-I made a pot of Kool-Aid," Sasuke said. Itachi turned to look at him, eyebrow raised, wondering if he'd heard him right. A pot of...

"You...Sasuke, you can't make a pot of Kool-Aid," Itachi said, puzzled. Sasuke held up a coffee pot filled with the red liquid. Itachi stared at it blankly.

"Well, I did..." Sasuke said.

"Is it hot?" Itachi couldn't help asking. A pot of Kool-Aid? Why was Sasuke using the coffee maker anyways?

"Well...maybe," Sasuke said, a sheepish look crossing his face. "Maybe not..." Itachi stared at him a second longer, this was not the first of Sasuke's creations this month.

"It's hot, isn't it?" Itachi said. Sasuke grinned.

"Yeah!" He said, causing some of the Kool-Aid to splash out of the pot.

"...hot Kool-Aid?" Itachi tested it out, and decided he didn't like the sound of it.

"Well, I can put some ice in it, if you'd like!" Sasuke said, looking impassive as though the problem he'd created wasn't a problem at all.

"No, thank you," Itachi said, taking a sip of his juice. "I'm not thirsty."

"Nii-san!" Sasuke said, looking annoyed.

"Sasuke," Itachi said. "I'm not drinking hot Kool-Aid." Itachi had made many sacrifices for Sasuke, but he was not sacrificing his precious taste buds.

"I made this for you," Sasuke whispered, frowning with his eyebrows creased.

"No, Sasuke."

"Drink it!"

"No."

"I want you to drink it!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"I'm not drinking it!" Itachi was getting annoyed. Why was Sasuke so obsessed with the dumb hot Kool-Aid anyways?

"Drink this right now or I'll pour it on the floor and I'll blame it on you!" Sasuke shouted. Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Very mature, Sasuke," said Itachi. Okay, Sasuke was seven years old, but honestly...

Sasuke stared at him, looking furious before exploding, "I MADE THIS FOR YOU!"

"Sasuke," Itachi sighed. "Honestly-"

"I DID!" Sasuke screamed. "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Itachi is not a mean older brother. In fact, he appreciated that Sasuke loved him and he was glad Sasuke wasn't out for his blood, but this was not the way to show it.

"Well, I'm not going to drink it," Itachi said. If Sasuke looked furious before, Itachi didn't know what to call the expression on his face now.

"I HATE YOU!" Sasuke bellowed. Itachi sighed.

"Look Sasuke, that's all you ever do anymore. 'Nii-san, try this.' 'Nii-san, try that.' I know you're creative for your age but why don't you find a different hobby?" Sasuke looked ready to burst. "What was it you made last time?" Itachi tried to remember, so as to prove to Sasuke that this was a BAD IDEA. "Umm...cinnamon toast and...uh...what was it?"

"Mayonnaise," Sasuke put in helpfully.

"Mayonnaise," Itachi repeated.

"It was a good idea!" Sasuke protested.

"Sasuke," Itachi sighed again. "You didn't make a single dollar."

"Yeah, but I made a pound!" Sasuke said. "A pound of cinnamon toast with mayonnaise!" Itachi wondered why Sasuke knew that a pound was a kind of currency but didn't want to get off topic.

"What about that...rocky road and tabasco?" Itachi reminded him of yet another creation this week. "Sasuke, it landed three people in the hospital." Sasuke looked angry again. "Three women...in the hospital, I believe?"

"YOU!" Sasuke shouted again. "DRINK THIS! RIGHT! NOOOOOW!"

"Why don't you drink your own hot Kool-Aid?" Itachi suggested.

"There's so much left," Sasuke whined. "What am I going to do with all this hot Kool-Aid?"

"Drink it..." Itachi said, trying to keep the fact it was completely obvious out of his voice.

"No!"

"Get your friend Naruto to take it!"

"NOOOOOO!" In a flash, Sasuke was next to him, leaning on the table with the glass of hot Kool-Aid in his hand.

"Nii-san," Sasuke whispered desperately. "Please." Itachi glanced up at him. "Drink...my...hot...Kool-Aid."

Itachi looked at Sasuke's face, which looked pained and exasperated and just plain desperate before sighing. He gave up. "Okay," Itachi said, knowing he was going to regret this.

"Okay," Sasuke whispered. Itachi looked at the glass, unable to believe he was actually going to do this, before picking it up and holding it up to Sasuke, making sure he could see it, before finally bringing it to his lips. With one last wistful look at Sasuke, he let the hot Kool-Aid slip between them.

Sasuke studied Itachi's face. Finally, finally, finally he'd managed to convince his older brother to drink it. Itachi swallowed and Sasuke's eyes widened hopefully, anxious to see his brother's reaction. Itachi blinked a couple of times and looked as surprised as an Uchiha could possibly look. Sasuke stared at him, and Itachi took another sip, but not in a way that showed he liked it. More in a way that he had no idea what to think of it and needed to try again. Sasuke was getting impatient. He was about to poke Itachi when finally...

"...I like that..." Itachi said, his eyes wide as though he could barely believe it. Which he couldn't.

Later that day...

Sasuke stood at a stand that looked much like a lemonade stand only had HOT KOOL-AID written in huge messy seven-year-old handwriting. Passersby stared at him as they went by without buying anything. Sasuke sighed and started to wonder if he should just give up on this business. Clearly, no one appreciated his amazing talent. Without tasting any of it, he poured the hot Kool-Aid in the grass and hoped they liked it.