AU: After an eternity of waiting, here it is, the new chapter. Please enjoy and review! ( helps a lot ).

Chapter 3: Just another morning

Waking up in a soft and comfortable bed did feel different, and although Sasuke was normally not a morning person, right then he just felt like not leaving his bed. Living in luxury was something on a really different level.

He lazily looked over to the clock on the side of his bed and jumped up at the sight that greeted him. It was already past 11 and he was well aware that he had missed his chance to go to work. Then again, he was probably ridiculously rich already and he could afford to take a few days off. Carrying boxes and doing the dirty job was not something to look forward to when you were wrapped into warm, cozy sheets in a big king sized bed.

The sound of his stomach made him realize just how hungry he was and he reluctantly headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. When he was done, he quickly headed to the kitchen and, just as he was wondering if his brother had already left for work, he was greeted with the sight of Itachi, sipping his coffee in the living room, reading something Sasuke couldn't really see.

"Good morning" he said and the older sibling slowly turned to him.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes." Was all that came out of Sasuke's mouth. He wasn't sure what made him want to shut up but he was sure there was something he was forgetting.

Itachi simply chuckled and mumbled something about him not being as talkative as he remembered then led Sasuke to the kitchen. The younger sibling immediately started to search for food while Itachi simply leaned on the wall and watched him.

"There's a lot of food here, especially tomatoes. You can eat whatever you want."

Sasuke stopped his quest of searching through the fridge to look at Itachi.

"How did you…?"

"I guess old fires are hard to put out, right little brother? Especially the guilty ones…" he said smiling, but his tone implied something more and at that point Sasuke wasn't sure that his brother was still talking about tomatoes. He wasn't even sure they were still talking about him for that matter.

The older sibling then approached him, walking slowly, closing the gap between them. When they were finally facing each other, Itachi leaned in. In an instant, Sasuke remembered the events of the previous night and felt a slight blush coloring his cheeks. His heart skipped a beat as he stood there motionless, waiting for something that failed to come; Itachi simply stretched past him to draw something from the back of the refrigerator.

"Here you go." He said handing Sasuke a tomato. "They are in the back. You'll have to search for them a bit"

His smile left Sasuke speechless and he turned around as fast as he could. His heart was racing and he realized he might have over reacted. I mean, he was certainly not wishing for a second kiss or anything like that… it was just that it had surprised him last night, that was all. Yes, that had to be all, he convinced himself.

When his pulse had finally calmed down and he felt the weird feelings dissipate, he asked in a low voice.

"Don't you have work or anything like that?"

He heard Itachi chuckle behind him and felt awkward yet again. Why was it that everything that came out of his mouth seemed to amuse his older brother in a way or another? And then his sudden blush when he imagined he would kiss him again…

"What's so funny?" he finally said, wishing with all his might to be able to read his brother's mind.

"Nothing." his voice was like silk, seductive and soft, and he was getting closer and closer to Sasuke. He did not turn around, not even when he could feel Itachi centimeters away from him. "I just love how concerned you seem to be with me" he whispered into his ear, and Sasuke couldn't contain a slight shudder. What was wrong with him? What was wrong with Itachi?

He slowly turned around just to realize he was better off not facing his sibling. He had nowhere to run; trapped between the cupboard and his brother's slender figure. Itachi was looking at him with amused eyes, obviously enjoying his awkwardness. He casually moved a hand through his own hair and put it behind his ear and Sasuke watched fascinated, wishing to touch be able to touch it as well.

For a second, Sasuke completely forgot what his position was, or that he wanted to escape that position at all. His brother was truly something to marvel at. For a second Sasuke imagined that if Itachi would have lived in the times of the ancient gods, he'd have been attributed some sort of unique quality. Or maybe unique was not the right word. His quality would have been not out of the ordinary in the least, but it would have been just as spectacular. Itachi could have easily passed off as the embodiment of seduction, perfection and maybe wickedness. He was a mixture of fascinating qualities and Sasuke was sure that even his flaws were just as charming.

The amused spark in his sibling's eyes grew and slowly, Sasuke came back to his senses. The sudden realization that he had just been bewitched by some sort of technique that was probably to be used on a girl you wanted to get your hands on made him equally angered and embarrassed. He pushed his was out of his place and walked to the other side of the table in an attempt at putting some sort of secure distance between him and his sibling. There was not a way in hell he'd ever let himself look at Itachi that way again. It was mostly wrong and pretty pathetic.

"Is something the matter, Sasuke?" a soft smile was still lingering in Itachi's eyes, but he was doing his best to look concerned and innocent. He took a few steps in his little brother's direction and chuckled when he completely tensed up behind the table. "Did I do anything to upset you?" he continued with the sweetest voice.

If anyone had seen them right then, Sasuke was sure he would have looked like a crazy teenager, trying his best to put up a show, while Itachi looked completely astonished by his peculiar behavior, like he was not the one to cause it in the first place. The thought that his elder brother was an amazing actor briefly crossed his mind and made him even angrier. He felt the adrenaline rush through his veins and he knew that from that point on, he and Itachi could be nothing else other than rivals, therefore he'd also have to act.

He struggled to take another step forward, and another, until he was so close to Itachi that the two of them could touch. He looked up with a smirk, only to catch a short glimpse of surprise on his brother's face. For a second, it made him feel so good that his smile widened.

"Nothing, I just remembered I had something to do. Pretty shocking, how I could have forgotten about that? Don't worry, you couldn't shake me up like that." He said and as he walked past his brother to the door he made sure to push him away a bit. " … even if you wanted to." He then added in a low voice, not even knowing for sure if his sibling could hear him.

Alone, in the kitchen, Itachi could still not get rid of the smile that plagued his face. The little Sasuke was just asking for it, and never in his life had Itachi felt so eager to jump right into someone's game.

They say you've lived before. Countless times, countless experiences. You've lived it all, you've probably seen it all. You've been a fish , a tree and lived among humans. You've felt sorrow and happiness, you were successful and broke, you've lived enough to understand everything. Yet, if you can't remember any of it, what purpose does it serve?

Does it even matter, that you've had everything and nothing? How could living without remembering it count as anything?

The truth is, if you can't recall something, that something might have just not happened for you. It might have happened for other people, but not you. We are creatures that live in the past, bound to what our memory can take with us in the present.

You love someone, you hate someone, all because of the past; but if that past is gone, everything you ever stood for goes together with it.

So what does it matter to you, that I can still remember? How could I ever say we've lived those times, the most precious times to me, if you can not remember them? Those moments do not exist for you, and the current you has never lived them, so tell me, what should I cling to? What should my present be based on?

Itachi looked at the glass of wine in front of him. Drinking always made him act funny. He was feeling a mixture of bitter defeat and intoxicating hope. His existence was based on an unstable pillar, one that could crumble anytime, yet he felt like he could make that pillar stand with just his bare hands. He felt like his life had finally started to move, after years of stagnation.

He watched the burgundy liquid reflecting the light from outside his window once more, then drank it all. With a deep grin on his face, he headed for his bed.

That's it for now! Hope you enjoyed it, please feel free to tell me what you'd like to see from now on and I will try to improve! Also for the people following my other stories, those should be getting updates pretty soon, so you can look forward to those as well!

Thanks for reading!