Chapter 10

AN: Hey guys. Don't worry, I'm not dead. Sorry it's been sooo long since I've updated this story, I've been really busy lately so I apologize. Anyway, here's another chapter, I really liked writing this. Enjoy!

Itachi: age 13

Sasuke: age 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

It was the middle of the night and everyone in the Uchiha household was asleep, except for Itachi who was still awake looking up at the ceiling, thinking.

He had just returned from a mission that night and was given a few day off. It seemed like forever since he's had days off. Now he can finally spend time with Sasuke.

It wasn't until Itachi was drifting off when he sensed Sasuke heading to his room. This wasn't unusual. Sasuke often slept with Itachi who didn't mind, it was actually quite comforting having his baby brother beside him.

Itachi wondered what drew his otouto to his room this time. Nightmares, maybe? However, Itachi did feel a slight disturbance in his brother's chakra, making him a bit concerned.

Sasuke finally made it to the elder's bedroom and gently closed the door behind him.

"Nii-san?" Sasuke called out in a small weak voice.

Itachi turned on his side to look at his brother. He saw his little brother's adorable face in pain as he clutched his stomach, making Itachi frown. Itachi immediately sat up.

"Otouto? Are you ok?" Itachi asked, concerned.

Sasuke shook his head as he walked towards the bed.

"I don't feel good, nii-san. My stomach hurts." Sasuke replied wearily.

Itachi slid over on his bed and held his arms out.

"Come, otouto." Itachi instructed.

Sasuke obeyed and wearily got on to the bed. Itachi enveloped Sasuke in a hug and laid down, bringing his brother with him.

Sasuke's back was against Itachi's chest as the elder hugged him, rubbing slow circles on his stomach in attempt to help him.

"Comfortable?" Itachi asked

Sasuke nodded as he nuzzled closer to his brother, seeking comfort.

After a couple of minutes, Sasuke managed to fall back asleep with Itachi still rubbing circles on his stomach.

The younger Uchiha tossed and turned in his sleep, obviously in pain. Itachi tried his best to comfort his brother, but nothing worked, making him worry.

Itachi tried to stay awake so he could look after his little brother, but eventually he too fell asleep, hugging Sasuke protectively.

Morning had rolled around and Sasuke suddenly woke up feeling extremely nauseous. He frantically got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom.

Itachi woke up to the bed bouncing violently and immediately sat up, seeing sasuke run out of the room.

"Otouto?" said Itachi worriedly, quickly getting out of bed and going after his brother.

Itachi found Sasuke in the bathroom retching up all the contents of his older Uchiha went over to his little brother and started rubbing circles on his back, pulling his bangs out of his face and saying comforting things to him.

Sasuke's eyes were watery, and his throat burned. When he finally finished, he leaned back on Itachi's chest, looking miserable.

"Nii-san, I don't feel good." Sasuke said weakly.

"I know, otouto, I know." Itachi said, as his picked up his brother.

He brought Sasuke back to his room and set him down on his bed. Itachi felt Sasuke's cheeks and forehead, and surprised to feel the heat radiating off of him.

"I think you might have the stomach flu, otouto." Itachi said, as he gently moved Sasuke's bangs away from his face.

Sasuke looked back at him with watery eyes and a miserable expression on his face, making Itachi feel horrible.

"I'm going to get you some medicine, okay otouto?" Itachi said, about to leave the room.

Itachi was surprised to feel Sasuke grab on to his arm, having a vice grip on it.

Itachi looked at his brother and saw two big onyx eyes pleading for him not to leave.

"Please don't leave me, nii-san." Sasuke pleaded, his grip tightening.

Itachi looked at him with a sad smile on his face. He hated seeing Sasuke so miserable.

"Don't worry, otouto. I'll be right back, I promise." Itachi reassured.

Sasuke hesitantly let go of his brother's arm. Itachi then ruffled Sasuke's hair and went to get the medicine.

On his way to the kitchen, Itachi bumped into his mother who was just about to head out.

"Itachi, I'm glad I bumped into you. Your father and I are going on a mission, it should only take a day or so, so I want you to look after Sasuke, ok?" Mikoto said.

"Hai, kaa-san." Itachi replied.

"Is you brother awake? I want to say bye before I leave."

"He is, but he's not feeling well." Itachi said. "He threw up this morning."

Mikoto frowned.

"Then maybe I should stay home and look after him," Mikoto began.

"It's ok, kaa-san, I'll look after him." Itachi said.

Mikoto looked at her eldest son, then smiled.

"Alright. Make sure he drinks lots of fluids, ok?" Mikoto said. "Bye, Itachi."

"Bye, kaa-san."

Once Mikoto left, Itachi continued to go get Sasuke some medicine.

Itachi came back to the room with medicine, water, towels, and a trash can just in case.

Sasuke was laying down on Itachi's bed feeling terrible. His head pounded in his ears, he felt nauseous and his stomach hurt a lot.

"How are you feeling, otouto?" Itachi asked, feeling his brother's forehead and frowning at the heat that remained.

"Bad." Sasuke answered, bluntly.

Itachi smiled sadly. Him and Sasuke are very similar. They both rarely got sick, but when they do, it feels even worse than it's supposed to be.

"Here, this should make you feel better." Itachi said, pouring some medicine into a spoon.

Sasuke looked at the nasty mixture and scowled. He hated taking medicine.

"Nii-san, I don't want to take it. It tastes so gross." Sasuke complained.

"But, otouto, if you don't take it, how are you going to get better?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke groaned in response and turned on his side defiantly, having his back face his brother.

Itachi sighed.

He needed Sasuke to take his medicine, but how? Suddenly, an idea hit him.

Itachi set down the medicine and sat on the bed.

"Ok, otouto. If you don't want to take your medicine, what do you want to do?" Itachi asked.

"Sleep." Sasuke said, hugging his brother.

"Alright." Itachi said, returning the hug. "But let me take your temperature first."

Sasuke was too feverish to realize what was happening. He opened his mouth expecting a thermometer, but was instead met with a spoon of grossness.

Sasuke grimaced as the liquid went down his throat, forcing him to swallow. Scowling at the bitter taste in his mouth, Sasuke looked at Itachi with a pout on his face.

"You tricked me!"

Itachi chuckled.

"Sorry, otouto. It was the only way for you to take your medicine. Here, drink some water." Itachi said, putting a cup to Sasuke's lips.

Once Sasuke finished drinking, he obtained a rebellious glint in his eye, making Itachi know he was up to something. Sasuke suddenly began playfully tickling Itachi, in attempt to take revenge for tricking him.

However, Itachi saw this coming and tickled him back, resulting in the two having a cute tickle war.

They tossed and turned on Itachi's bed trying to tickle one another.

Sasuke managed to sit on top of his brother, and grinned triumphantly.

"I win." Sasuke declared.

Itachi smiled at Sasuke.

"Don't be so sure, otouto." Itachi said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Itachi was about to grab Sasuke and start cuddling him to death, but he suddenly saw all the colour drain out of his brother's face, making him concerned.

"Otouto?" Itachi asked, worried. "Are you ok?"

Sasuke suddenly got off of his brother and rushed to the bathroom, Itachi following closely behind him.

Once again, Itachi found Sasuke throwing up and helped him.

Once Sasuke finished, Itachi picked up his baby brother and returned to his room.

"It probably wasn't a good idea to play around while you have the stomach flu, huh?" Itachi said gently, as he set Sasuke down on his bed.

Sasuke hugged his brother's torso and shook his head in response.

Itachi smiled sadly at his brother and patted his head, sitting next to him.

Two days had passed since Sasuke had gotten the stomach flu and he felt much better.

He had finally stopped throwing up and his fever broke. Itachi was with Sasuke the whole time taking care of him and keeping him company.

Sasuke was finally well enough to go to the academy.

However, he would sometimes feel a bit queasy and feverish at times, but it went away after a couple of minutes, so Sasuke didn't pay any attention to it.

Sasuke returned home from the academy and Itachi was there to greet him.

"Welcome home, otouto." Itachi greeted. "How was your day?"

"Same as always," Sasuke replied, plainly. "The stuff they teach there is always so easy."

Itachi chuckled.

"I guess you're too smart for them, otouto." Itachi said, ruffling his brother's hair.

"Wanna go outside and play, nii-san? I don't have any homework today." Sasuke asked his big brother, hopefully.

"Sorry, Sasuke." Itachi said, poking his brother's forehead. "We have the annual clan meeting today, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Sasuke said, touching the spot that had been poked. "Everyone in the clan goes to this meeting, even those who aren't ninja yet, right, nii-san?"

Itachi nodded.

"We're leavening right after dinner, do you should get ready now." Itachi said.

Sasuke nodded and headed towards his room.

After dinner, the Uchiha family headed to Nakano shrine for their annual meeting.

Sasuke walked alongside Itachi with a slight grimace on his face.

At dinner, Sasuke barely ate anything because his stomach refused to take food in, resulting in him getting a stomach ache.

This was normal considering the fact that he puked his guts out for two days straight. So, not being able to eat a lot is not out of the ordinary.

Sasuke dismissed the pain, knowing that it would go away soon as it usually did. However, the pain didn't go away. In fact, the pain got worse than it had been back at their house.

Itachi noticed the lack of cheerfulness from his brother and the slight grimace on his face, and immediately got concerned.

"Are you ok, otouto?" Itachi asked worried.

"Yeah," Sasuke answered. "My stomach just hurts a bit, that's all."

Itachi frowned. Sasuke had just recovered from the stomach flu, it better not be coming back.

"Are you feeling feverish, otouto?" Itachi asked, feeling his brother's forehead.

Sasuke shook his head.

"If your not feeling well, otouto, we can go back home."

"I'm fine nii-san. Kaa-san and tou-san should be waiting for us there anyway. Let's go." Sasuke said, running on ahead.

Itachi reluctantly followed his brother, still worried about him.

When the two brothers got there, Itachi was forced to sit with the adults while Sasuke had to sit with the other clan kids.

Itachi really didn't want to leave Sasuke's side, but he had no other choice.

Fugaku was standing at the front of the room with his two subordinates standing at either side of him. He was talking about some changes and upcoming events that will occur in the clan.

Sasuke tried his best to listen to his father, but he was focused too much on the pain in his stomach.

The pain had gotten worse than before and he was suddenly feeling extremely hot.

As the meeting went on, Sasuke began feeling drowsy and dizzy. The room felt like it was closing in on him.

He had to get out of the room, but no one ever left during the middle of a meeting. It was considered rude and disrespectful.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea washed over Sasuke and he soon felt bile rising up in his throat.

He quickly got up and tried to leave as fast and unnoticeable as possible.

He could feel everyone's gaze on him, especially his father's irritated glare and his mother and brother's worried stare.

But he didn't have time to think about that. He had to get out of there, fast.

Sasuke made it outside in time, and emptied the contents of his stomach on the grass behind the building.

His eyes began to water as he was on his hand and knees heaving up what little dinner he had that night.

Sasuke suddenly felt a gentle hand rubbing comforting circles on his back. He instantly knew that it was his brother.

"You'll be ok, otouto," Itachi comforted, still rubbing circles on his baby brother's back.

Once Sasuke was done, he leaned up against his brother's chest, wearily.

"How are you feeling, otouto?" Itachi asked, pushing Sasuke's bangs out of his eyes.

Sasuke was about to answer, but fatigue washed over him and he suddenly felt too tired to answer his brother's question. Before he knew it, Sasuke was fast asleep.

Sasuke woke up in his room with a towel across his forehead.

He figured that his mother must have brought him home after he threw up and took care of him while he was asleep.

Sasuke weakly turned over on his right side and to his surprise, Itachi was sitting beside his bed.

"Nii-san?"

"Otouto, how are you feeling?" Itachi asked, concerned.

Sasuke was confused. Why was Itachi here? He should be at the meeting right now. Their father would be extremely angry if he was missing this important meeting.

"Nii-san, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked. "Why aren't you at the meeting?"

"I brought you home after you threw up and decided to stay to take care of you." Itachi replied, stroking Sasuke's hair.

Sasuke frowned.

"But, nii-san, tou-san will get angry at you for not being at the meeting." Sasuke said.

There's been a stormy atmosphere around his brother and father lately and Sasuke didn't want it to get worse.

"Don't worry about that, otouto. I'll talk with tou-san when he gets home." Itachi replied.

"But nii-" Sasuke began to sit up, causing a wave of nausea to wash over him, interrupting his sentence.

"Don't push yourself, Sasuke." Itachi said, rubbing circles on his brother's back.

Sasuke waited for the wave of nausea to pass before he looked at his brother.

"You should go back to the meeting, nii-san. Tou-san will be angry with you not there. I should be fine by myself." Sasuke lied.

Sasuke really didn't want his nii-san to leave him, but he didn't want Itachi to be in trouble because of him either.

Itachi, however, saw right through his little brother. He knew Sasuke didn't actually want him leave. He also knew that Sasuke would feel bad if he got in trouble for bringing him home and taking care of him.

Itachi smiled at his brother and sat beside him, enveloping him in a hug. Sasuke returned the hug, burying his face in Itachi's chest.

"Otouto, don't worry about me," Itachi began "You're more important than some clan meeting. No matter what, I'm staying with you until you get better."

Itachi kissed the top of Sasuke's head and pulled him closer towards himself.

Sasuke looked up at his brother with big adorable onyx eyes.

"So you're not leaving?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi nodded.

Sasuke breathed out a sigh of relief that made Itachi burst out laughing.

Sasuke pouted.

"What?"

"I knew you didn't want me to leave." Itachi teased, smiling.

"Whatever." Sasuke replied, nuzzling closer to his brother.

The two brother's sat in silence, both providing comfort for each other, until Sasuke broke the silence.

"You know, nii-san. If you stay near me, you might catch the stomach flu." Sasuke said, looking up at his brother.

"That's ok. As long as you get better, I don't mind getting sick." Itachi replied, resting his head on Sasuke's.

"But there is a way to prevent that…" Itachi said.

Itachi then leaned over to the nightstand beside Sasuke's bed and pulled out a medicine bottle with a spoon.

Sasuke looked at the bottle with horrified eyes.

"Time to take your medicine, Sasuke." Itachi said, teasingly.

"Nii-saaaaan!"

The night was then spent with Itachi taking care of his stubborn, yet adorable otouto.

AN: I love this chapter! Once again, I am so so so sooo sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time. Please bear with me. I got a case of writer's block and when I finally got an idea, school got in the way. Once again, I will do my best to update as much as possible. I hoped you guys enjoyed!

Please Review!