Shiita fall week day 7: touch starved
With credit to @uchihashisui-kun as this was inspired by one of our previous RP threads.
Itachi wakes up to the sharp sound of knuckles rapping on his window. His body moves instinctively before his mind can quite catch up and he's on his feet, a kunai pulled from under his pillow and held defensively in one hand while he pushed the window open with the other.
"Shisui?" Itachi blinked a few times, taking in the older Uchiha's appearance. He was still dressed in his Anbu gear. His chest was rising and falling in shallow, rapid breaths. Blood splattered his face and dripped from his clothes.
There was a strained look kn Shisui's face. Like he was almost surprised that Itachi had actually answered the knock at his window. The look turned to guilt when he saw Itachi reach up to wipe the sleep from his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I shouldnt have woken you up." Shisui knew all too well how little sleep Itachi usually got. He always worried over the dark circles beneath Itachi's eyes and how they never seemed to go away even when Itachi was home and not on missions.
Itachi shook his head, tucking the kunai into the waistband of his sleep pants.
"Dont be sorry, Shisui. Are you ok? Are you hurt? Come on, come inside."
Shisui pulled himself through the open window. He landed just in front of Itachi, shaking his head, eyes cast down unable to meet Itachi's gaze.
"Not my blood." He managed to choke out past the lump in his throat. That was enough. Itachi understood. Itachi took Shisui by the hand and pulled him over to the bed.
"Sit down." Itachi's tone was gentle, steady, cool soothing water on Shisui's burning psyche.
Shisui hesitated, "I'll get blood on your sheets."
"Dont worry about them. Sit down."
Shisui obeyed. He sat on the bed staring down into his hands. Hands that were responsible for so much pain and misery. They were shaking. He remembered they hadnt stopped shaking since he put his blade to his target's throat. His target...hed never questioned orders before. Never came so close to failing a mission. She wasnt even a shinobi. He'd taken out her guards without even a moment of hesitation. But when he'd finally reached her, she was barely more than a child. How could this girl pose a threat to the leaf.
Itachi kneeled down in front of him. He briefly took Shisui's blood stained hands in his own, giving them a gentle, reassuring squeeze before turning his attention to undoing the laces of Shisui's arm guards. Shisui sat there, motionless. His vision blurred. Tears slipped silently down from the corner of his eyes, creating tracks through the dried blood caked on his face.
Itachi's deft fingers made quick work of the knotts holding Shisui's arm guards in place. Shisui felt the weight lift off, and he could feel a few of the muscles that hed been clenching start to relax a little bit.
Itachi bent down and started untying Shisui's shin guards. Shisui could see that Itachi's hair, tied back in its usual neat pony tail was still wet from a shower earlier in the night. He could smell the soft scent of the lavender shampoo Itachi used with ever shift of the younger man's head. He wanted to bury his face in Itachi's neck and wrap himself in that scent to chase away the sickly sweet scent of blood that surrounded him.
Itachi moved on to Shisui's shoes, slipping them from his feet and taking a second to massage each foot, the soft touch sending shivers up Shisui's spine.
Itachi hesitated, "is this ok?"
Shisui nodded. Itachi's hands returned, gently massaging up each leg to the knee, trying to ease the tension from Shisui's muscles. Shisui closed his eyes. He tried to empty his mind, to let his world narrow down to Itachi's careful, soothing touch.
The touch withdrew all too soon and Shisui opened his eyes again.
"Let me get you some clean clothes." Itachi stood up, moving to his closet and pulling out a pair of neatly folded pants.
"I'm not sure any of my shirts will fit you. These might be a bit short but they should work for the night."
Shisui tried to refuse, "I can change when I go home-"
Itachi frowned. He walked back to Shisui. He reached out with his hand and Shisui found himself having to fight not to flinch away as Itachi cupped his cheek.
"No." His voice was still gentle and quiet, but there was a sternness now. A tone that made it clear that Itachi wasn't about to let Shisui argue with him.
"You're not going home tonight. I'm not going to let you spend the night alone." Itachi leaned in, pressing his forehead against Shisui's.
Shisui shook his head again, but he didnt have the strength to pull away, to take away the blissful sensation of Itachi's soft skin against his.
"-no. Shisui I know that look. It was a bad one, wasnt it."
Shisui nods weakly. She was barely more than a child...
"Go ahead and change, ok? I'm gonna get something to clean you up a bit. Put your clothes by the door and I'll wash them in the morning."
Shisui obeyed. He pulled off the clothes that were soaked through with blood, chilling him to the bone. Getting them off did seem to help. Shisui put on Itachi's sweatpants, putting his bloody clothes and armor by the door like Itachi had instructed. Then he went back to sit on the bed. A heavy weariness was starting to fall over him. A weariness that had nothing to do with the physical exertion of his mission and everything to do with the weight of his target's please for mercy still echoing in his mind.
Itachi came back with a bowl of warm water and a cloth. Without a word, Itachi came back to Shisui's side. He set the bowl on his nightstand and began to wash the blood and sweat and dirt from Shisui's face. Shisui leaned into the touch. As Itachi washed his face, his other hand massaged the crook of Shisui's neck, fingers working into the muscle and working to ease the knots there.
Shisui's eyes fluttered. His breathing eavened out, drawing in deeper breaths as Itachi's presence washed over him, cool and calm.
Itachi's hands moved to Shisui's chest. He paused briefly to clean the cloth in the bowl of water before returning to his gentle ministrations. Shisui couldn't remember the last time someone had treated him so gently. It reminded him of how he watched Mikoto sooth little Sasuke when the boy came home with a cut or a scrape. Shisui's heart ached. He'd never had a mother to sooth his wounds.
Itachi ran the cloth over Shisui's shoulders and down his back, washing away Shisui's pain and guilt with the blood and sweat. Shisui felt himself start to relax, leaning further into Itachi as he drifted off to the loving touch of his most precious person.