A/N: Repost from my old account. Birthday fic for Sasuke.
Warnings: Kidfic, shameless fluff.
It was June ninth, Itachi's fifth birthday, and it had been a very good day so far. His mother made seaweed onigiri for breakfast, and he got to sit next to her and lean against her belly while he ate (his new baby sibling kicked three whole times; Mother said it must be getting to recognize his voice). Then his father took him into Hartford to see Peter Pan, which had been all kinds of wonderful, though he'd been a bit disappointed to learn that Peter had been lifted on a harness and could not, in fact, fly. He liked it enough anyway to decide that he was going to take the new baby to it as soon as it could understand what was going on.
Now they were back home and Father had a very odd smile on his face. His huge hand came to rest on the back of Itachi's hand, gently nudging him further into the house.
"Mother's in the kitchen with a surprise for you," Father said, booming voice filling the room. "I think it's something you'll enjoy. Hurry and see her."
Itachi could only think of one thing he wanted that he hadn't yet received—the new baby. Heart climbing up into his throat, he dashed into the kitchen, thoughts churning faster than his feet. Boy or girl? What's its name? How big is it? I hope I can hold it right away.
When he tore through the doorway, his mother was waiting at the table with a large bowl, her stomach still as round as when he'd left earlier that morning. He'd thought the baby was what was making that bump, but maybe it took a while for it to get smaller—but that brought up another question. Where was it?
"Mama, where'd the baby go?"he asked, slightly out of breath from his mad dash into the kitchen. Mother laughed gently and reached for him, soft hands catching his shoulders and pulling him in close to her side.
"Still inside me, silly,"she said, and placed his hand just above her hip. A soft kick confirmed the baby's presence, and Itachi tried his best not to show how disappointed he was as Mother dished out her special homemade red bean ice cream. She had worked very hard on it, after all.
–
Three in the morning on July twenty-third had Itachi waking, fuzzy and disoriented, to find himself staring at the floor from a good five feet higher than he was used to. Then he registered that the uncomfortable pressure against his collar was his father's shoulder, which explained the height, and that it was dark out, which disoriented him further. Why was Father carrying him in the middle of the night? He'd already been put to bed.
He squirmed a little, enough to see that his father's face was twisted up with worry. "Papa, what's going on?" he asked as Father opened the door, carrying him into the warm summer air.
Itachi squirmed again. Grandmother was standing on the front walk, Grandfather's car parked in the street close by. Father handed Itachi to his grandmother, and didn't say anything.
"The baby is trying to come too early," Grandmother explained, putting Itachi into the back seat of Grandfather's car as Father went back inside. "Your parents are going to go see the doctor. Everything will be all right."
I wanted it to come early for my birthday, Itachi remembered, too tired to be scared, but unsettled enough to clench his hands against his pants. Right before Grandmother shut the car door, Father came back outside with his arm around Mother's waist.
"Too soon," Mother gasped, clutching at her stomach. "Not yet."
Then the car door was shut and Grandfather was driving away, and Itachi tried very hard to cry as quietly as he could. Grandmother had said everything was going to be all right, and he believed her; there was no sense in making her think she needed to console him after all that. She'd gotten up in the middle of the night to take care of him, after all.
–
On July twenty-third at half past two in the afternoon, Itachi's baby brother was born.
His name was Sasuke, and he was born at thirty-two weeks gestation, a phrase Itachi didn't really understand beyond the fact that it was far too early. He barely weighed three pounds at first, so the doctors put him in a special box to help him get stronger and bigger.
"Mama and my brother are okay, right?" Itachi asked his father first thing after Grandmother and Grandfather drove away. Father gave him a strong, hard look, his face a little tense but not nearly as twisted as it had been the night Sasuke was born.
"Mother," Father corrected quietly. "You're an older brother now, Itachi. It will be up to you to set an example for Sasuke."
Itachi nodded. "I understand, Father." He wasn't a baby anymore—that was Sasuke's job now. Itachi had to grow up into someone Sasuke could love and admire, and talking like a baby wasn't very strong or admirable.
Mother came home that week, and by the time the baby came home too, Itachi was practically quivering with curious excitement. He had heard stories—that Sasuke was tiny and fragile at first, that he had been born with a thick, rich head of hair just like his big brother (that made Itachi blush and secretly feel quite proud). Sasuke had gained another pound, Sasuke had grown another inch. Sasuke had doubled his weight in a week. Sasuke looked so much like his mother it was spooky.
He thought he couldn't possibly wait another second to meet his baby brother, but Father made him stay away while Sasuke got settled. He was a newborn baby, and too much excitement wasn't good for him just yet.
The first thing Itachi observed about Sasuke was that he screamed, a lot.
He had been hoping to ask Mother if he could hold Sasuke soon, but he knew his own limits—Itachi had perfect pitch, and that made him very sensitive to noise. He couldn't be in the same room with a wailing infant, let alone have one in his arms. Sasuke spent most of the day screaming, and so Itachi spent most of the day playing outside where it was quiet.
Finally, right before bedtime, the screaming stopped.
Itachi finished putting on his pajamas as quickly as he could and tiptoed down the hall to Mother's room, so as not to disturb Sasuke out of whatever calm he'd found. Shyly, he peeked around the doorway to find his mother in bed, cradling a small, dark bundle against her chest. Now that Itachi was close, he could hear soft suckling noises. Something inside him warmed and spread through his chest.
"Mama, can I hold Sasuke?" Itachi asked softly, forgetting that he wasn't supposed to use baby words anymore. Mother didn't seem to mind, though, and she smiled gently and adjusted Sasuke's position.
"He's nursing right now," she replied, voice equally soft. "But you can hold him once he's done. Why don't you come sit until then?"
Itachi padded further into his parents' bedroom, hopping up onto the futon next to his mother and brother. He hadn't seen Sasuke up close yet, just held tight in Mother or Father's arms. His hair was thick and dark, darker than Itachi's, and his skin was so white it almost blended right in with the bedsheets. His cheeks were pink and round and soft-looking, alternately hollowing and puffing out as he sucked. His fist was pinkish, too, curled tight against Mother's breast. It was tiny—less than half the size of Itachi's. The rest of him was tiny, too, his little body nestled perfectly against Mother's arm.
A moment later, Sasuke pulled away from Mother's chest, his face starting to scrunch up like he was going to shriek. Itachi tensed up, ready to make a quick getaway if the screaming started again. It was almost unfair—he'd been waiting so long to get to hold his little brother. But Mother picked Sasuke up and held him over her shoulder, and the fussing began to quiet.
"Phew," Itachi said under his breath. Mother chuckled and began rhythmically patting Sasuke's back.
"He's awfully loud for such a small baby, huh?" she said. Itachi nodded, settling himself closer against Mother's side. Sasuke made a little hiccupy noise, and Mother carefully lifted him off her shoulder.
"Ready, Itachi?" she asked. Itachi's stomach tensed in anticipation—this was what he'd been waiting for. Mother shifted closer to settle him with his back against her chest, and carefully, carefully settled the baby against Itachi's.
"Put one arm around his back," she instructed. "I've got his head. Put your other hand under his shoulder—that's it." As Sasuke's weight settled into Itachi's arms, he felt his mother drop a kiss onto the top of his head.
Sasuke squirmed a little, face twisting alarmingly for a moment, then relaxing as he settled his cheek against Itachi's chest. He yawned a little, mouth gummy and pink, and fisted a tiny hand into Itachi's shirt.
"Mama, I love him more than anything," Itachi said quietly. The warm feeling that had spread through his chest earlier was radiating through his whole body, protective and comfortable and right. Very gently, Itachi began to pet Sasuke's downy hair.
I'm sorry I wished you out too early, he thought as Sasuke's little body relaxed into sleep. I'm so happy you got strong and healthy. I'm going to protect you for the rest of your life, and be the best big brother in the whole world.
Itachi leaned forward and brushed his lips against the soft skin of his brother's forehead.