Disclaimer: God bless Naruto and all of its affiliated goods, creators and producers - a group of which I am not a part of.

A/N: Uchihacest feelings? Though nothing explicit. Anything even bordering on that is expressed through metaphors, which go way over chibi!Sasuke's little head.

Long Hair

"I heard that Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair!" cried some chick that I was too lazy to identify. She seemed kind of troublesome anyway; I hope I never have to speak to her.

And just like clockwork, all of the girls began loudly, incessantly gossiping about their latest Sasuke-related-fact. I couldn't even hear my best friend's footsteps over the noise until he spoke up. "So the girls are going to be growing their hair out now..." he grumbled, leaning back so he could watch the clouds with me. "I kinda like the short hair on them. It looks cuter... What do you think, Shikamaru?"

I shrugged and closed my eyes. "Short hair's probably more practical to maintain, and they do want to be kunoichi... But I don't know or really care about girls' hair. All I know is that if Sasuke suddenly decides that he likes girls with no hair at all, then that's the way these girls will wear it. What you and I think doesn't matter at all."

Choji sighed, (the poor romantic sucker actually thought he had a chance with one of them) and then laughed a bit, probably at the mental image of a bunch of bald girls trying to run after Sasuke.

Then we had a nice conversation, Choji and I.

It's too bad his father called him home early today; Choji's laughter always made me happy. But with a wave and a fist bump, the boy was on his way home, leaving me alone to my thoughts.

Unsurprisingly, I fell asleep.

But surprisingly, I had a dream. Or what I think is a dream? Who knows? After living next to the Yamanaka compound after so many years, I don't even try to explain that's in my head. The number of times someone accidentally invaded his head... It's troublesome anyway...

It was a scorching hot afternoon, when the Academy called it a day and sent the students home, fearful of the parental complaints that were sure to arise if any of the kids had a heatstroke. A little later than the rest (as usual), Shikamaru ambled out of the classroom, with his hands down his trouser pockets, only to find Sasuke Uchiha waiting by the entrance with a slight blush on his cheeks.

Shikamaru wondered which fan girl had finally gotten to the pretty-boy until he finally noticed the man-, no boy-, standing beside the class-topper. He was quite tall, pale and had black hair and eyes. He was good-looking, Shikamaru noted, and his features were reminiscent of a more masculine version of Sasuke's. He was too young to be his dad, which means he was...

"Are you Itachi Uchiha?" he blurted out suddenly, covering his mouth immediately after. He surely did not say that, right? Random bursts of obviousness were supposed to be Naruto's domain. Shifting on his feet, he felt incredibly embarrassed.

"Guilty," confessed the older boy, turning slightly to smile rather wearily at him. Wearily? "And you must be Shikamaru-kun, Shikaku-sama's son?"

Shikamaru nodded calmly, trying to recover his composure after his outburst.

"How nice to meet you, Shikamaru-kun. You look just like him. Do you play shogi as well?"

"Y-Yes..."

Itachi smiled more fully, not yet noticing the frown growing on his brother's face. "That's good. Shikaku-sama is one of the toughest opponents I have ever fought. Maybe one day, we'll also get to have a match."

Shikamaru was shocked. Did that mean that-? "WAIT! Did you win against him? HOW?" Shikamaru covered his mouth again, this time spreading both his hands to cover his embarrassed, flushed cheeks too. What was up with him today? This guy made him...

Itachi gave a small laugh and his eyes seemed to deepen warmly, invitingly even. Before he could answer, however, Sasuke tugged hard at the sleeve of his shirt. "Nii-san..." he pouted quietly, eyebrows narrowing in frustration. 'How dare that lazy Nara get one of Nii-san's rare laughs? Those are only mine! He's my Nii-san! And this is our special day!' his cute expression seemed to scream

Itachi resisted pinching his brother's pouted cheeks and ruffled his hair instead. "I'll have to speak with you later, Shikamaru-kun," he said, not once breaking eye contact with Sasuke. "I promised Sasuke that we'd spend this whole day together."

Without further do, the two sped off, one not noticing, and the other rather amused with the little spiky-haired boy trailing after them in the shadows.

The two Uchihas made their way to an abandoned training ground located deep in the surrounding woods, smiling, laughing and oddly enough, holding hands.

Shikamaru had never seen brothers do that before.

But then again, Shikamaru had never seen Sasuke ever touch anyone, let alone laugh so much in his entire life as he did during their walk. The boy was usually so reserved and polite but with his precious, 'Nii-san,' he was out-going, natural and daresay happy?

Shikamaru couldn't believe it.

"Do the technique, Ita-nii!" cried Sasuke, abruptly running about ten meters ahead, flipping around in time to see Itachi complete the last seals in what appeared to be an Earth technique. Wordlessly, the older boy jumped into the air and dove down, one of his fists burning with chakra. He slammed his hand into the ground with such force that Shikamaru had to close his eyes from the impact and the debris that flew everywhere. When he finally rubbed and opened them, he saw that there was a huge circular crater in the ground, with Itachi standing in the middle.

"Wow! Nii-san, that was perfect! How come you're so perfect at everything?" called Sasuke, jumping in to stand beside his brother and hold his hand again.

"Only in your eyes Otouto..." Itachi whispered back, affectionately pushing the younger one's blue-back bangs away from his petite forehead. Sasuke found himself blushing and staring at his toes, wiggling them slightly in nervousness."You'll always be perfect in my eyes, Aniki..." he said, averting his eyes from Itachi's alluring, dark ones.

Itachi didn't verbally reply. Instead, he scooped the younger boy into his arms and somersaulted back into the air. Throwing Sasuke even higher in the air, he effortlessly performed some more seals, the resulting jutsu inducing giant streams of water to erupt from the tips of his fingers and land in the crater he made, filling it up and creating a picturesque pool. Then, without missing a single beat, the talented boy caught Sasuke in his arms and landed on the water's surface elegantly, creating not even a single ripple.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at what he presumed was the older boy showing off, but he was secretly jealous.

Smart enough to play Shogi with Dad...

Strong enough to perform two high level ninjutsu techniques in a row...

Shikamaru thought hard. His father taught him that everyone had a weakness but this guy did not seem to have any!

Carefully setting Sasuke on the pond's edge, Itachi began to take his shirt and pants off, folding them neatly and tucking them away so they wouldn't get wet just as Shikamaru glanced up to examine the Uchiha for any physical imperfections.

Uhm... What had he been thinking about again? Shikamaru lost his train of thought

"Nii-san! Stop tickling me! I c-ca- ah!- can't b-breathe and swim a-at the s-same t-time! I'm gonna drown!"

Shikamaru was lying on his back, staring at the clouds through the overhead foliage. He spoke not a word as he listened in on the Uchihas' conversation.

"But it's your fault that I tickle you, Sasuke, I can't help it."

"W-What?! What d-did I-I do, ahhh!"

"You infected me."

"Ita-nii! Ahaha! I c-can't have! Y-You never get s-s- ah! –sick! H-How would I in-infect you?!"

"You infected me with your infectious laughter."

"..."

"..."

"?"

"Not funny?"

"That was L-A-M-E, Aniki! I don't understand you at all! You're so cool all the time and then you go and say something dorky like that!"

"What can I say, chibi Sasuke? Your cuteness makes me act like a dork. But when you giggle and squirm so adorably like that on my lap, how can anyone resist you? I'm only human, Otouto."

"N-Nii-san, you're embarrassing m-me! Don't whisper in m-my ear so closely l-like that..."

"But what if I like it when you're embarrassed, hm? You blush so sweetly, Sasuke. Your cheeks stain red and you look even tastier than those tomatoes you crave so dearly... Won't you let Aniki have a bite? I promise I won't hurt you"

Sasuke thought hard. "N-Nii-san, do you r-really want to? Like a k-kiss? Would it hurt? Because I think I'd like- NO WAIT! D-Don't try to fool me! I'm going to tell Shisui-nii to tell all your ANBU friends that you're a dork!"

"Not if I tickle you to death first!"

"!"

"That was an exaggeration, Otouto."

"Oh..."

"I'm still going to tickle you very intensely, though."

"Huh?... AHHH! AH! AH! AH! Okay, okay, I won't! Nii-saa- ah!- aaan!"

'What a troublesome duo. Sasuke's way more innocent than I thought... Well, he is only seven. Wait, I'M only seven.... And what am I still doing here? I'm tired now too. Great. But I'm too lazy to walk back home. I'll guess I'll just take a nap here then...' Shikamaru thought and closed his eyes, drifting off to the sound of Sasuke's raucous laughter and the splashing of water.

Soon, the sun fell over the horizon and the trees casted ominous shadows on the three unmoving, bodies; two enjoying the warm water and one surrounded by sweet smelling grass. Sasuke was dozing soundly on his brother's chest as the older hummed a low tune. His voice carried through the forest, lulling the two academy children to sleep.

Itachi's dark hair was sopping wet after all of the play fighting and swimming. Carefully, as to not disturb his brother, Itachi pulled out the elastic from his hair, running his fingers through the dark strands so they wouldn't tangle too badly. It was a real bother to deal with his hair sometimes. Absentmindedly, he started stroking Sasuke's short blue-black hair and smiled. The usually-spiky strands were now weighed down with water and hung cutely around his relaxed face. If he had not been such a fantastic brother, Itachi would have 'eaten' his Otouto a long time ago. Sucked dark red marks into his sensitive neck, nip at the delicate veins of his pale wrists; he was too cute for his own good.

He grinned at the thought of his little brother, skin glistening with water droplets, all nicely wrapped up in nothing but a bright red ribbon, laid innocently on a-

"A-a-achOOO!" cried the boy, suddenly waking up. He placed his hands on Itachi's chest, yawning slightly as he tried to sit up.

Itachi cleared his head instantaneously and frowned. "Sasuke? Are you alright? Are you sick? I made the water hot so you shouldn't be..." The prodigy felt the other's forehead with the back of his hand.

"N-no, I'm not! Your hair just tickled my nose, nii-san," mumbled Sasuke, glancing down to hide his blush. Then he blushed even more once he realized where exactly he was staring at. Sasuke's nervous eyes flitted around a bit, trying hard not to stare at his half-naked brother. Then, he finally settled for glaring at some tree in the distance, only to remember that his hands were splayed out on his Aniki's chest. At this point Sasuke was blushing as hard as humanly possible as he chewed his lower lip and folded his hands together in his lap.

Itachi tsked softly at his brother's antics and effortlessly tilted his frail chin up, coaxing the swollen lower lip out from between his teeth with his thumb. Biting his lips had been somewhat of a nervous habit of Sasuke's, one that their father berated him about to no end, (Uchiha's were never nervous) but Itachi had always been mesmerized by the resulting red color and the way they looked enticing; plumped, wet and... ravaged. It was only because of his training in ANBU that Itachi managed to resist pouncing the boy, and devouring those pretty, tempting lips and hot, little mouth... Itachi reigned in his thoughts and pulled Sasuke's hands out of his lap, moving them higher so he could wrap them around his neck instead.

Then, he encircled an arm around Sasuke's waist, shifting his position so that his legs were spread over either side of his. Pulling Sasuke forward, Itachi spoke lowly into his ear as he ran his free hand up and down his back."Really? Well, my hair is such a bother sometimes. Maybe I should just cut it short."

"NO!"

Shikamaru suddenly woke up, incoherently mumbling something about 'troublesome brothers.'

"...What's the matter, Otouto?" asked Itachi, straightening up to his full height. Towering over the petite boy in his lap, the grip on his brother's body never loosened. Sasuke had to crane his neck upwards to maintain eye contact. The loose strands of Itachi's long hair framed their faces like a curtain and Sasuke started running his fingers through the ends, preferring to look at the hair in his fingers rather than his Nii-san's intense gaze.

Sasuke felt like his face was going to explode from the heat under his skin. Why was Itachi-nii looking at him like that? And that hand touching his back... Why was it making his skin feel like it was on fire? Clamping his eyes shut, he stuttered, "I-I like your hair long. Don't cut it."

"But it really is such a bother, Otouto..."

"Please? I really like it long..." pouted Sasuke, twirling a particularly long strand around his finger.

"How come?" whispered the older boy, sliding both of his hands forward to rest on Sasuke's hips.

Sasuke let out a little whimper and bit his lip once more, unaware of what that did to the elder. He gazed shyly at Itachi from under his eyelashes and their eyes met. Sasuke felt the heat return to his face again but he continued staring into his brother's dark, powerful eyes that were usually so stern but enticing all the same. He then examined the curve of his lips pulled up in their trademark smile and the sharp line of his jaw. Although incredibly handsome as they were, the prodigy's features were only complimented by his soft, jagged hair and long, free-flowing bangs. His brother would always be perfect, but his hair made him...

"I think it makes you look unique and special, Nii-san," he said honestly.

Suddenly, the look in Itachi's eyes softened, from predatory to pleasant as he contemplated the pile of adorable that was his brother."Thank you, Sasuke," he said, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "I guess I'll keep it long then."

"Huh?... I mean, Y-Yeah!" Sasuke's head was spinning from the gentle press of his brother's lips. Automatically, he touched his fingers to his lips.

Itachi merely smirked. "Personally, I think the only reason you like it long is because you can play with it," he mused with a poke to Sasuke's forehead.

"Itachi nii-san!"

"Sorry Otouto. Shall we go home?"

"Okay..."

Itachi hoisted Sasuke out of the water before flinging himself over the edge. With a couple of seals, he performed a low level fire jutsu to dry them off. They dressed quietly; Itachi grinning as he pretended not to notice Sasuke ogling his naked form. When all of a sudden, as Itachi leaned down to fasten his shoes, Sasuke threw his arms around his neck and kissed him with trembling lips.

"Let's go!" he mumbled, pulling away and hiding his blush by staring at the floor. As inconspicuously as he could, Sasuke licked his lips and relished the slightly sweet, cinnamon-y taste of the elder's lips.

Itachi sighed deeply. His brother was too much sometimes. Only he could make Itachi want to both devour him all night long in three different ways, and cuddle with him after he scared himself from watching horror movies. "Okay Sasuke. But just warning you, if you keep kissing me like that, I'm going to have to eat you. I'll kiss you first and swallow you whole."

"Nii-san..." Sasuke whined, feeling like he was never going to stop blushing. His cheeks stung from how hot they were and he felt caught between throwing himself at the older boy so he would actually do as promised, and diving right back into the water so he wouldn't notice his girly blushing.

He settled on holding Itachi's hand but only looking at the ground below him.

"Oh, You should also be heading back too, Shikamaru-kun," called Itachi, as he totally thwarted Sasuke's plans by easily picking him up bridal style and nuzzling his neck. "Eavesdropping late at night is a bad habit; your mother is probably waiting for you."

Sasuke's jaw dropped. "WHAT?"

"...yeahi'lldothatnow!" cried Shikamaru, moving quickly out of range.

However he still heard one last comment from Sasuke before he was too far gone.

"YOU KNEW HE WAS HERE THE WHOLE TIME?"

"Shikamaru! Oi, pineapple head!" called a girl's voice. That girl was also poking me in the forehead. "Your mom told me to call you home. It's getting late and she seems kinda pissed. I'd run if I were you!"

"...Meh," I grumbled, rubbing the sore spot on my head. "And why'd you have to poke so hard? This is going to bruise for days!"

"You sleep like a log, that's why! And why are you so high strung? It's not like you have anyone to look pretty for!" she said, accenting her statement with a hair flip. She seemed dissatisfied with the short little bounce that her hair performed. I bet she had wanted a majestic wave of Sasuke-enticing female sexuality.

Funny.

"Oh yeah, you're trying to get Sasuke's attention right?"

"Yup! I'm going to grow the prettiest, longest hair he's ever seen! Then he's going to fall in love with me and we'll be together forever!"

"I doubt it," I mumbled as we made our way to our respective houses. We lived in the same neighborhood, after all. This girl was often the perpetrator of an ill-aimed mind transfer jutsu straight into my head.

"Huh? You think someone will grow nicer hair than me?" She asked.

"Someone already has."

"What!?"

"Yeah. And I think Sasuke's in love with this individual."

"WHAT?! NO WAY!"

I abruptly stopped walking and placed a hand on Ino's shoulder. I looked her right straight in the eyes. "He does. And he's happy. So if you care about him, even half as much as you say you do, you'll leave them alone. I'm sure they're already going through enough crap on their own because of who they are anyway..."

Ino's eyes widened in question but then she quickly nodded. "As long as it's not forehead, I guess I can support them... I never really liked him anyway, I just think it's stupid that cut off our friendship because of him..."

I sighed, and put my arm around her shoulder in a half-hug. "Yeah, I know."

She sniffed a little, but collected herself. "Tell me though, is she pretty?"

I found myself blushing as I answered with a totally inconspicuous cough. "Not 'pretty' so much as... 'drop-dead-gorgeous-incredibly-sexy-and-dangerously-hot.'"

"What?"

"Nothing!"

A/N: What did you think of it?:)