Author's Note: I am sooooo sorry this update took so long. I kind of had some stuff going on, craziness and pain and chaos and all of the unpleasant stuff of the like. I did, however, do this chapter differently than the others have been.

Instead of pre-writing a rough draft in my notebook like I have been (which makes for shorter chapters, although more frequent updates) I instead wrote it straight on my computer. So the chapter is better. I might go back and revise the past chapters to help their quality, maybe actually merging some. Anyways, hope I didn't traumatize anyone with the long update...

Muddy Waters

Chapter 6

by Taka Momos

"Itachi, what are you doing here?"

"Checking in on my little brother. Is a big brother not allowed to worry every once in a while?"

"What. Are. You. Doing?"

"No, Sasuke, I believe the question is, 'What are you doing?'"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" The whisper was harsh enough to stir the sleeping bundle of blond that was in his arms, making Sasuke's anger instantly dissolve into soft, gentle urges for Naruto to go back to sleep. The two Uchiha brothers once again began their conversation once he was sure Naruto was asleep.

"Sasuke, who's that?" Sasuke finally gave in with a sigh, figuring it would be better to just answer his brother than fight back. Now wasn't the time, not with Naruto trying to sleep.

"His name is Naruto, I found him and decided to move him in with me. My turn. Why are you here?" Itachi gave a long, tired sigh as he made his way over to a chair in the large room, plopping down with little more than dead weight.

"Sasuke, when you moved into this apartment I was faced with the problem of still being a responsible older brother in your life without actually violating your privacy. The maids became my solution to the problem..." Sasuke's eyebrow quickly arched at this news.

"You've been having the maids spy on me?"

"No, no, no. After you move in I found out that the maids began a betting pool as to the strangest thing they'd find in your laundry. I told them I didn't mind them betting on your personal life as long as they told me when one of them actually won the bet. At which point I figured it would probably mean a visit from your loving older brother was long overdue..."

"And you're here because one of them won the bet?"

"No, I'm here to find out which one won the bet. With the sudden explosion of cheap, obnoxiously orange clothes it came down to "having a psychotic shopping spree in an outlet store" and "developing an alternate personality that has decidedly bad taste". From the blond in your arms I'd say neither won, although Rosalita certainly won't be happy. Had you killed the boy and thrown his corpse down the laundry chute she would have won..."

"And what were some of the other bets?" His brother's rare smile made him smile as well at whatever the answer would be.

"Well, most were about finding bloody clothing, there were some bets about the heads of small animals being found in the pockets, I think one of them had a bet about small body parts such as fingers or toes, I really tried not to think about what all they thought they'd find. Or why they thought they'd find it for that matter..." An awkward silence settled between the two.

"Where'd you find him?"

"The parking garage."

"Why are you taking care of him?" Sasuke let a frown settle on his face as he stared off, his embrace tightening just barely as he began to think about why the other teen meant so much to him.

"... because he's everything I've never had in life."

Sasuke decided to move Naruto into the bedroom so that he and Itachi could talk without waking him. Sasuke also knew that deep down he wasn't ready for Naruto to know this much about Itachi, unsure of how Itachi would react to his new house guest. Silence floated between the two before Itachi finally spoke.

"So how long has this been going on?"

"You mean you don't know?" Itachi gave a visible sigh.

"Sasuke, despite what you might believe, I do not have cameras in this apartment and I do not actively involve myself in your private life."

"Then why are you here?"

"Just because I don't maintain an active interest in your life doesn't mean that I probably shouldn't. And I do care about you and your wellbeing. Because of that, I'm here to find out more about this person you've taken in off the streets and taken personal responsibility for. So, how long, Sasuke?"

"... a few days." Itachi's eyebrow shot up, his face settling into a grimace accompanied by much more silence that Sasuke expected.

"And exactly how far has it gone in those few days?" Sasuke's usually expressionless face faltered at the question, his gaze dropping and his cheeks slightly hinting a blush.

"Not very far, we're just moving fast..."

"And how far do you want it to go?" Sasuke's head actually snapped up at this question, the blush fully spreading over his face. A knot in his stomach tightened and his breathing became hard as he thought about the answer.

"... far."

"Really now?" Sasuke knew the answer, or situation really, wouldn't surprise Itachi. Itachi had long known Sasuke was gay, and Sasuke knew that Itachi would involve himself with just about anything that would let him, doing anything the person (or thing he sometimes suspected) wanted to do. The only other person he knew whose perversion exceeded Itachi's was Kakashi, although he never could put his finger on the difference between the two. He always knew that their relationship as brothers, however, came before Itachi's sadistic perversion and raging libido, and knew he was one of the few things safe from his brother's "interest".

"Yeah... really. He just... he's special. And making him happy makes me feel... happy?"

"That fuzzy feeling Uchiha's don't feel?" Both brothers smiled, Sasuke letting out what might possibly translate as a chuckle to a normal person. It was one of the many inside jokes they had from their childhood.

"Yeah, that's the one." Another silence descended on the room, one not quite as awkward as before but a noticeable silence nonetheless. Finally, Sasuke let out a long, tired sigh.

"Itachi, what am I doing?"

"Being happy."

"Not that! I mean... what do I do in a day? I work all day, and only get enough sleep to work some more. That's my life, but suddenly it feels like it's not a life anymore... what am I doing?" Itachi had a face that clearly expressed deep contemplation, reminding Sasuke of all the times his brother helped him solve his problems. It reminded him that Itachi cared, and it gave him the warm fuzzy feeling he had laughed about. It brought another joke to mind- all the times he made fun of Itachi and his "thinking face".

"Sasuke, I'll be honest. I've been worried about you. You have been working too much, and I think that this will be good for you. I think that you certainly shouldn't go this fast, it might hurt..."

"Naruto." Sasuke smirked as the glare Itachi let slip clearly meant a "whatever" should be inserted in the conversation, but he wasn't going to say it. "I did make a mistake, and now I know to go slower."

"Well, you know you can always come to me for advice. Fun things to do, things to do fun things with, positions to d-"

"Thank you, Itachi! I know!" Sasuke was quick to cut his brother off, even though he knew he said it as a joke. He knew his brother was serious, but he knew it was still a joke. Itachi just shrugged.

"No problem, and if Naruto has any questions Deidara will be more than happy to give him advice." Itachi was already standing up on his way to leave, both now jabbing at each other happily like they usually did.

"I'm not entirely sure I'll tell him that, but thank you. It's the thought that counts, I guess." Itachi gave another shrug.

"Oh, and I have books you can borrow too. Fun places to try things-"

"Body or location?" The evil smirk told Sasuke his brother meant both, to which he rolled his eyes. Sasuke got up and began playfully pushing his brother towards the door.

"Fun things to do with rope, oh, and then there's one of things to do with vegetables. And I'll guess you'll need to borrow some of my equipment..."

"Itachi!"

"Sasuke?" The two brothers stopped their play-fighting to turn and stare at the sleepy-eyed blond who was rubbing at his eyes with a closed fist. He seemed to not notice the new man in the room immediately, and froze with widened eyes when it finally dawned him. Itachi smiled a smile that Sasuke knew was predatory, he had seen it once on TV when a lion had just pounced on a gazelle and was about to sink its teeth into the prey's throat.

"Hello, Naruto. My name is Itachi, Sasuke's older brother."

"Hhh... h-hi?"

Author's Note: Well? Did I make up for the time it took to update? I decided to address the issue of their quickly moving relationship, which was rather unintentional, and I have another story that's still in the works. So...

Review and all that fun stuff?