Title: Sub Rosa [1/1]

Pairing(s): ItaSasu. Side implied FugaMiko.

Rating: T (For a single line of suggestive material and a small amount of vulgarity)

Warnings: None (Unless you need a warning for the pairing, which I'm assuming you don't if you are here)

Disclaimer: I do not own the series Naurto, or claim any rights to the characters. The plot of this, however, is my own.

One could say Sasuke had always been a well-behaved child. He had never been particularly whiny as a baby and throughout the toddler years the temper tantrums had been kept to a minimum. While there had been some rebellion during the time the youngest Uchiha was a teenager (the elaborate tattoo inked across the left side of his abdomen was an example of such), the boy had never done anything too foolish. The brunet had graduated high school with high marks and was currently enrolled in a respectable university about an hour away from his residence.

Itachi, on the other hand, had been almost the polar opposite.

From the point from which he entered the world his body had just radiated a sort of aura that demanded attention. While he too had been a quiet adolescent, the boy had been deemed a child prodigy. He could speak in full sentences before the average child could mutter a discombobulated 'mama' and was wandering around his home prior to his ninth month of being alive.

Fugaku had been ecstatic about such a revelation. After all, every Uchiha was meant to be prodigal (the man was rather hypocritical, as he himself had not been gifted with such brilliance). In his haste to harvest such talent, the patriarch hired a private tutor for his son. The young man, who went by the name Hatake Kakashi, was a friend of Fugaku's nephew Obito and had been taught by one of the best teachers in the nation. While he was still enrolled in college, the male had been searching for a teaching job to fulfill some strange requirement for his teaching diploma. It was no surprise he did not turn down the glamorous chance to teach the heir of the Uchiha household (although some argued that he may have taken the job just to stare at Obito's ass when he was in the room helping out).

Life progressed smoothly for several years, a time in which Itachi would learn to recite dozens of mathematical formulas and play Mozart as if his life depended on it. Scientific facts sprouted from his petal pink lips almost as easily as the phrase 'sorry Sasuke, another time.' Each time a potential business partner or wealthy family 'friend' would come over for dinner, Fugaku would boast about the boy, speaking of his great academic achievements (while subsequently ignoring his youngest child's) while Itachi sat to his left and clutched the rough fabric of his chair with unease. The stained oak dug into the soft flesh of his palms, imprinting little lines on the skin. He was not the vision of perfection after all, despite his father seeming to believe so.

One of Itachi's favorite- and only- pastimes was to spend time with his younger sibling. It was rather obvious the boy constantly felt belittled when in front of their parents, so the elder enjoyed bathing him in attention when possible.

"Sasuke, why don't you read to nii-san?" the heir would ask, squatting down beside his brother and giving the child a warm smile.

The boy would awkwardly shuffle his feet, avoiding eye contact with the prodigy before murmuring some sort of excuse like "aren't you busy with practice" or "mother just called me to help her in the kitchen" before trying to scurry away.

"But Sasuke," Itachi would reply, reaching out to grasp the boys wrist "aniki loves when you do."

The youngest Uchiha would proceed to blush prettily before bending to his brothers will. The seven year old would rush off to his bedroom to search for some kind of material to recite while the 12-year old would follow calmly a few moments later. Both would take up their 'usual' positions on the bed (with Itachi sitting Indian style against the headboard and Sasuke in his lap, back pressed against his brothers chest) and Sasuke would begin to read the tale, using his brother's pointer finger to keep track of where he was on the page.

"With br-brains like yours… an-and hands wi-th ten fin-gers and feet with… with ten toes…You can do anything… you want to the m-ost," the child spoke, dragging the larger digit of his brother along each well-worn line of text. Itachi's chocolate-brown eyes followed the finger, scrutinizing each word as if it was some complex code.

"So-metimes life isn't fun at all… you go to a place and just ha-ppen to st-stall… Nii-san, do you want to read for a while? My throat feels weird."

Itachi glanced a his brother for a mere two seconds before directing his gaze back to the book situated in the younger male's lap. "Ah, Sasuke-kun, I enjoy hearing you read. Perhaps your throat will feel better if you go ask mother for a cup of juice."

"Hum, okay," the child replied, pausing for a moment as if actually pondering the suggestion. A few seconds late he shifted off his brothers lap and raced out the door.

"Be careful not to trip over anything!" the heir called, lips twerking slightly at the corners as he listened to the little pitter-patter of feet on the hardwood floor.

Stretching his arms above his head until he heard a satisfying pop, Itachi proceeded to slip under his brothers navy comforter (it was late January and the house was always kept at a temperature much cooler than could be considered sane in the boy's opinion). Upon this movement, however, there was a loud thumping sound from under the mattress. Quickly moving to investigate the noise, the older Uchiha was faced with the book his brother had been reading.

Itachi took his time staring at the object, its glossy cardboard cover shining in the dim light given off from the lamps nearby. Almost hesitantly, the preteen grasped the novel's spine and lifted it from its current spot, pushing him off the side of the bed and back onto the mass of pillows and sheets. The boy took another few moments to stare at the brightly colored illustrations before quickly flipping through its thick pages.

Upon finding the point in which his brother had last left off, Itachi ceased his page turning. Following a few moments of hesitation, the boy tentatively placed his finger under a line of text.

"…Wh-when you g-et to a pl..place wi-th people li-ke that… you just ha-ve to wai-t…"

-0-

It was not until the seasons had gone through a few more cycles and spring was beginning to wane that shit truly did hit the fan. The date was June ninth, Itachi's 16th birthday, the day the heir was to officially 'become a man' as Fugaku had phrased it. The sun was setting, splashing magnificent blobs of color onto the marble floor of the main hall. Maids and butlers hurried around in preparation for the big event.

Sitting on one of the several benches in the back garden, Itachi had allowed his younger sibling to run a paddle brush through his thick and luxurious hair. While the young man would have preferred a quiet evening spent at home with his brother and a few close acquaintances, he did understand that his father believed the gathering was extremely significant. Therefore, in order to prevent any quarrel, he had had agreed with relatively few complaints. Even dealing with a hoard of females whose only desire was to get in his pants was better that bickering with the man.

"Ne, brother are you excited for tonight?" Sasuke had questioned, muttering a soft apology when the bristles of the brush became ensnarled in a knot.

"Not particularly," the elder replied, wincing only slightly "although a burden will be lifted off my shoulders once the night comes to a conclusion."

The younger hummed in acknowledgement before setting the brush down on his right side. "Is there a reason you do not plan to enjoy tonight nii-san?"

The elder slipped his hand into the pocket of his slacks, rummaging around until a vermillion ribbon was retrieved. "No, nothing I can pinpoint exactly. I just have a peculiar premonition something is going to go very wrong," he muttered lowly, passing the piece of cloth back to his sibling.

With a few small motions, Sasuke had managed to capture the majority of his brother's mane and tie it back with the material. "I wouldn't fret too much. I mean, nothing too horrific could possibly happen, right?"

Itachi sighed quietly before nodding his head in a small, but affirmative motion. "I suppose you are right Sasuke."

But was Sasuke ever wrong.

It didn't take much alcohol to get Fugaku inebriated, and even less for his competitor Hyūga Hiashi to enter such a state. Although they attempted to be mild mannered in public (especially since their spouses were childhood friends), behind the scenes they spoke with acid lacing their tongues. When intoxicated, it was hard to keep such a fragile façade in place.

"Uchiha-San, you think you are all that, better than everyone else!" the brunet man slurred, pounding his fist on the table after taking back another shot of sake. "With your multimillion-dollar corporations and huge donations!"

Fugaku snorted in a rather disgusting matter before he too swallowed more of the alcoholic beverage. "Well I'm not going to deny the truth. Only a fool would belittle themselves."

"It's not called belittling you imbecile, it's called being humble!"

"If that is the politically correct term for being daft now, be my guest. Go ahead and use it all you want," Fugaku muttered, motioning for a maid to bring another round of the drink. "At least my heir isn't a little pushover."

Hiashi growled lowly in the back of his throat, malice flashing through his light eyes. "Oh, so you wish to bring our offspring into such an argument? Well I could say your wonderful little prodigal son is not so great either!"

Fugaku scoffed, leaning back in his chair. "As if there is any such fault with my son! He has the looks as well as the brains! The boy may not be particularly charismatic, but that hardly matters in the long run!"

"Is that so?" the Hyūga asked in an almost mocking tone, "then why don't we just bring him over and see about that."

Hiashi beckoned a maid to his side, requesting Itachi's presence as well as a pen. Within several minuets, both demands had been fulfilled.

"Itachi, my handsome young boy, how have you been?" inquired the man, a plastic smile formed neatly with his thin lips.

"Quite well sir, and you?" the teen responded, his soft voice barely audible among the background noise.

"Very well too, thank you for asking," the man replied, scribbling down several words on a napkin. "Now your Uncle Hiashi here would like you to do him a bit of a favor if possible."

The Uchiha heir let his eyes wander from the bloodshot but curious eyes of his father to the seemingly nervous maid standing nearby. "Why of course sir. I will use the best of my abilities to-"

"Oh how brilliant!" the Hyūga boomed in an uncharacteristically vociferous voice. He folded the napkin in two before offering the slip to the young man. Gently removing the paper from the mans grip, Itachi continued to listen to the man's instructions.

"All I want you to do is read what is on that little piece of paper right there," Hiashi spoke with a barely concealed grin. "Then you may return to socializing with the rest of your guests."

The young raven quickly glanced over the phrase several time, dark eyes widening just barely a millimeter. He felt his palms grow clammy and skin pale as the realization of what was occurring washed over his panicked mind.

Several long moments passed in which none of the three males uttered a single word.

"What is wrong Itachi, cat got your tongue?" Hiashi inquired, eyes spiteful.

The Uchiha heir swallowed nervously, pulling on his stiff collar and neatly tied tie. "I-It's not that, I am just suddenly feeling rather queasy. I believe I should take my leave before I become ill and cause a scene o-or-"

"Dammit Itachi," Fugaku cursed, his short-temper getting the best of his judgment. "Just read the fucking sentence!"

Taking in a deep breath, Itachi nodded and slowly recited what he saw on the paper.

"I-I s-saw g-oing to pe-t a at b-but it was… a dat."

The tension in the air was so thick one could cut it with a knife. Immediately after finishing the sentence, Itachi had crushed the napkin up into a little ball and was rolling it in between his hands.

"What the fuck was that boy?" Fugaku snarled, standing up and slamming his hands down hard on the mahogany table. "This isn't some kind of fucking joke you know!

Silence quickly spread from the three men to each and every individual in the room. Butlers paused in their pouring of wine. Maids halted their hustling to clean up a spill. Even the chattiest women halted their conversations.

Itachi felt the hot sting of shame (he would vehemently deny that they were tears; after all, Uchiha's did not cry) behind his dark orbs, a sensation he had not experienced for quite some time. While he was not particularly upset that the night was seemingly 'ruined,' the fact his father had found out about his particular disability in such a manner was rather devastating. After all, it was not as if Kakashi had not mentioned his incapability prior to that particular night…

Without the utterance of a single syllable, Itachi strode out of the room and into one of the several hallways. Following closely behind was his younger sibling, lines of worry clearly etched onto his features.

"Well isn't this a peculiar turn of events," Hiashi chuckled, sipping at his previously abandoned drink. "Now Fugaku, would you like to insult my other daughter as well?"

-0-

Less than a week later, Fugaku, his wife Mikoto, and Kakashi all sat in front of a blond busty woman. She went by the same Tsunade and was considered one of the best psychologists in the nation.

"I regret to inform you, Uchiha-San," she stated calmly, amber eyes never straying from Fugaku's own "that your son Itachi seems to have Dyseidetic Dyslexia."

-0-

One could say Sasuke had always been a good boy, but one could hardly say such a statement with a straight face now. After all, what kind of good boy has an incestuous relationship with their elder sibling, while subsequently hiding that same brother from his own parents? Especially when they only had the 'best option for everyone involved' in mind when they suggested Itachi be sent away to a special place that catered to people like him.

The youngest Uchiha could hardly see a need for his sibling to be admitted to such an establishment. Itachi, although unable to read or write with fluency, was much more intelligent than he himself. His motor skills were superior to Sasuke's own as well, not to mention he was incredibly talented with creating things with his own two hands (a skill the younger had never possessed).

Another assumption that could be made about Sasuke would be that he was jealous of his older sibling. This was once again not the case, however, as the young Uchiha realized how he did seem to be blessed in a plethora of ways in which Itachi was not. While he could attend a university of his choosing, his brother was never offered such a broad range of options. Itachi would always have issues with reading labels on food and other products, would never be able to sit down and leisurely read a book and would surely never be able to look up any videos that gave him the ability to reach pleasurable heights beyond imaginable.

(Not that he needed porn; Sasuke was plenty good at doing any teasing Itachi ever required).

Today was a gloomy day, with no rain drizzling down from the clouds yet no sunshine peaking through their thick barrier either. Upon waking up alone in bed, with Itachi no where to be found in residence- not that the younger brunet was terribly worried, his brother was a grown man after all- the young Uchiha had decided to run to the store to stock up on groceries for the coming week. It was a Sunday after all, and the main chain of stores in Konoha usually had good deals on that particular day.

After taking a quick shower (wash and condition hair, scrub body with Itachi's delectable body wash, rinse), brushing his teeth, and pulling on set of clothes, the brunet made his way out of the bathroom and into his kitchen. Dodging several articles of clothing that littered the floor (with no maid around his apartment, there was nobody to pick up the brother's scattered garments when they became rather desperate for each other's caresses) Sasuke grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and an apple from the small metal basket on the counter. His laptop, which was conveniently enough always situated on the dining room table, booted up as the young adult consumed his breakfast.

A quick scan through the inbox of his email confirmed nothing too noteworthy was occurring or about to occur in his life- no matter how many times his mother slapped the word 'urgent' on the front of the email the boy would never open it until that evening- so Sasuke switched to one of his several favorite news sites. He never had seen the point in wasting the time he spent eating, so he always tried to be doing something at least partially beneficial while consuming his daily hoard of calories.

Not more than an hour later, Sasuke slipped his feet into a pair of Vans as dark as his ebony locks and made his way out of the door. Pausing only to lock the door he had exited from, the Uchiha spun on his heels and took a few quick steps across the porch. The wind was blustering rather hard, and the boy had to suppress a shiver as he attempted to pull the sleeves of his sweater down. It was late autumn, closer to winter than summer, but the boy refused to bring out his winter apparel as of yet. He believed wearing a down jacket during early October was ridiculous. Wasting gas driving to a store that was only a good few blocks away was idiotic as well, so the boy instead just suffered through the chilly weather.

So distracted was Sasuke by the weather that he did not spy his brother sitting on the steps until he had already snagged his foot on the others thigh. The boy flinched and let a small squeaking noise escape his lips as he tipped over the steps, shutting his eyes in preparation for the pain he knew was about to come.

"You really should be more careful of where you are stepping, foolish little brother."

Gradually opening one eye, Sasuke glanced down at his brother. The man had both his arms wrapped around his sibling's calves, halting his tumble down the stairs. A short sleeve t-shirt hung loosely off his thin frame, as well as a pair of flannel sweatpants. His feet were bare, with toes drumming against the stained oak of the deck.

"Aha, thank you nii-san," the younger brunet muttered, cheeks flushing a light pink as he rubbed the back of his neck (a nervous habit he had picked up at age nine). "I appreciate the help."

Itachi just hummed in acknowledgement turning back to the object that was sitting on his lap. Upon straightening his clothing out and allowing the blush to clear off his face, Sasuke once again began to speak.

"What are you doing out here anyways? I missed you in bed this morning! Plus, it's really chilly, how are you not cold wearing those thin pajamas?"

"Sasuke," Itachi replied plainly, "why don't you read to nii-san?"

Seeming to ignore his brothers' request, the younger Uchiha continued to babble, "You should go put some warmer clothes on, I am wearing two layers and even I'm cold! By the way, do you want to go to the grocery store with me? I know usually I do all the shopping, but with two people it coul-"

"Sasuke," Itachi stated again, this time yanking on his brother's ankle hard enough to make him fall "my beautiful, precious little cherub, you should read to your nii-san. I think he would enjoy it."

The young man stared at his sibling for a few moments, confusion and contemplation clear on his face. "Okay Itachi, if it would really make you that happy…"

Said male nodded his head in satisfaction and pulled Sasuke up against his side, setting the faded book (the object that had previously been in only his own lap) on top of both their thighs.

"I promise it will not take long, I only want you to read me a particular part, the ending you could say," the man spoke, flipping through the dozens of colorful pages. It was obviously a child's book with the amount of illustrations that were fanned across each page. The pages suddenly halted, and a perfectly manicured hand pointed to a particular line, one of the last one in the book. "Here."

Sasuke quickly scanned the desired phrase, his eyes widening in upon reading the familiar quote.

"This is…" he muttered, smoothing out a crease in the page with his thumb.

"Yes, your favorite book to read to me as a child," Itachi admitted, giving his sibling a small smile. "It was-well is, my favorite now as well."

"I-Itachi…" the younger whispered, tilting his head in such a way that he was able to gaze into his brother's chocolate brown eyes.

"Yes, perhaps it is a bit tacky, but it is not as if I have a wide variety of choices," the elder joked bitterly, turning his head away to shadow the emotion that had flashed through his irises.

"Nii-san, that is not what I meant, I mean-"

A slim finger was suddenly pressed to the boy's lips. "Hush Sasuke, I understand. You need not inform me of the way you think, I do have a vague idea of how you function after living with you for the entirety of my life."

Itachi smiled once again at the flustered boy. "Now please, read."

"Y-yeah, of course," Sasuke replied, scooting closer to his sibling and resting his head on the man's shoulder.

"As you've heard before, you are bound to get stuck. There are places and things that will seem too tough. You just have to make sure that you take great care when you step, to always look both ways when you cross over dangerous gaps."

Sasuke felt a sudden pressure on his temple, and out of his peripheral vision could see his brother's face. The Uchiha heir trailed his lips down the younger's head until he had reached his ear.

"Please continue, Sasuke," Itachi murmured, eyes closed.

"O-of course Nil-san."

"Will you win this game we call life?" the younger raven began, suddenly feeling his brothers breath against his ear lobe, as if he too were reciting the words, but from memory rather than from the book. "Of course! There is a great chance you will come out on top! You will change what you want and reach every goal you have made!"

There was a sudden pause, a silent one, before Itachi made his move.

Their lips met.

The old lady down the street really did begin to believe Sasuke was not as good of a kid as everyone claimed.

A/N: School has kept me extremely busy for the past few months. It seems it will stay that way for the remainder of the year as well. I hope to update/upload something other than one shots in the future, but when that time will come I can not be certain of.

This was written as a gift to my usual beta for Christmas, although she received it by December 25 rather than now. If the children's book Sasuke was reading seemed funky and strangely written, it was because in the version I sent to my beta it contained lines from a Dr . Seuss book (Oh the Places You'll Go!). The meaning of the lines from the book were somewhat important, so I attempted (and really failed) at concocting a different phrase with a similar meaning. I'm sorry if some of the elements in this story do not coincide directly with true dyslexia. I did some research as well as what I could take in from psych class, but I have never had a close relationship with someone dyslexic myself. Why is Itachi able to recite information then? Pure vocal repetition I suppose.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read. Reviews are always appreciated and make the authoress incredibly happy. If you have a moment to write something I would really like it.

Flames are acceptable too, but please don't just use the stereotypical "Ew! Incest is messed up you are going to hell!' kind of flame. I don't condone incest in real life. These characters do not exist in real life. This story is purely fictional.

~SGL