Hey, y'all! So, uh, this is my new story – it's written just for fun, and keep in mind that it is a SIDE PROJECT, to work on when I'm uninspired for other stories :D I wrote the first two chapters a couple of weeks ago when I wasn't feeling the itch for Daiki's Basketball and thought, since I'm back, might as well post and see what you guys think :) Enjoy!
Chapter 1: That Godforsaken Book!
Sasuke hung onto his older brother's arm, pointing desperately at the shelf that was just a little too high for him to reach.
"Human behaviour book," he said with a little difficulty.
When Itachi gave him a bemused stare, he repeated his words, slower this time. "Human behaviour," he whined, the word 'behaviour' clearer than before, jabbing his little finger at the white spine which bore the words 'A Concise Study of Human Behaviours'.
"Sasuke, I'm not sure-"
"Human behaviour," Sasuke insisted, angry tears forming in his eyes.
"You're three and a half, I don't think you'll understand anything-" Itachi tried, but Sasuke wouldn't listen.
"BOOK!" he shrieked, stamping on the carpeted floor of the library. Itachi winced, expecting the librarian to come over and yell at them, but she just smiled.
"I said the same thing last time," she whispered to Itachi. "He insisted on that book. I think he likes it. It won't hurt to indulge him; he's just a child."
Itachi gulped. A study of humans wasn't exactly something a toddler should read… but then again, Sasuke wasn't a normal toddler, and Itachi himself had started out reading at the age of three with 'The Art of War', so he wasn't one to judge.
"All right, little brother," he murmured to Sasuke, kissing the top of the child's head and selecting the book from the shelf. He picked Sasuke up in his other arm, nestling him in the crook of his elbow, and found a comfortable seat. Then he placed his little brother in his lap and opened the book so it rested on Sasuke's knee, asking, "Where did you leave off last time?"
"Page forty-five," Sasuke answered, almost without that childish lisp that inevitably accompanied all Uchihas as babies. "I want to read by my-" he patted his own chest, searching for the word, and smiled like an angel when he remembered. "By myself," he clarified proudly. "Don't need Ita-nii reading to me."
Itachi felt both pain and pride at Sasuke's words. On one hand, his baby brother was so advanced already – more than even Itachi had been at his age. But on the other… Sasuke was growing up so quickly, it was almost as if he didn't need his nii-san. At all. Itachi had to admit, it hurt a little.
"Okay," he answered hesitantly. "Do you need help opening it?" For all Sasuke was mentally and intellectually mature, he was a little lacking in the physical department – natural since he was only a toddler – and holding a book as thick as this one could prove a little hard.
Sasuke nodded. "Mm."
Itachi turned to the page Sasuke had left off at and sat back, watching his little brother read avidly. A contented smile spread across his face as he ruffled Sasuke's hair and kissed his head, the younger not even noticing in his focus.
Four hours later and Sasuke had whizzed through a hundred more pages – incredible speed for a child of his age. Itachi, who'd fallen asleep shortly after ruffling Sasuke's hair, awoke to the sound of the nine-o'-clock bell and gasped, sitting straight up.
"Mom's going to kill us," he hissed, picking Sasuke up. His little brother reached for the book, and Itachi wearily swatted his hand away. "We can come back tomorrow, Sasuke. We have to go home now."
Sasuke yawned widely, setting the book down, and blinked, rubbing his eyes. "Okay, nii-chan," he mumbled, already half-asleep.
Itachi smiled fondly at his baby brother, cradled in his arms, and walked out of the library, heart and mind at peace despite knowing that he was going to receive the scolding of a lifetime when he got home. Sasuke was the baby – he could do no wrong in Mikoto or Fugaku's eyes – and Itachi inevitably ended up taking the fall, but he didn't mind all that much.
He got an earful for allowing Sasuke to stay up so late – "it's past both your bedtime, forget dinner!" – but it was worth it just to see the expression on the toddler's face when Itachi tucked him in and promised to take him to the library again tomorrow.
The brothers fell asleep snuggled up against each other, Itachi curled around Sasuke like an overprotective mother cat, the younger's head on his chest. Their sleep was peaceful and undisturbed, completely ignorant of the bombshells that were going to drop the next morning.
So how was it? I basically spewed a bunch of random ideas here, lmao. Again, this is NOT GOING TO BE UPDATED REGULARLY until a) I finish Daiki's Basketball or b) I decide I like this enough to make it a main project XD. There are going to be a LOT of changes to the canon, as Sasuke will be able to tell who is lying to him and who is not - case in point, a "certain man" he once vowed to kill. Sasuke will have a very strong sense of justice and be... quite different, ahaha
Please do review/fav/follow if you enjoyed! Preferably all three ;)
Love, Ceru
