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Sasuke stared his father down, twelve and aware of the world. “I want to move into the attic.”
Fugaku blinked down at his son. “You have a perfectly good bedroom next to your brother.”
Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, not as innocent as Itachi wanted him to be. School /taught/ things. “Yes, Itachi, my brother who is four years older than me and getting up to things people of a certain age do.”
Fugaku sighed and gave a nod, lips tight. “Go ahead.”
Kisame was happy just being allowed to live in Itachi's world. To be his partner. To exist near him and be given a purpose for living.
The lips against his own were completely welcomed but Kisame had never presumed the action would happen one day. But he had raised the Uchiha. He had known him longer than the brother Itachi existed for.
"Thank you." Itachi's voice was feather light.
“I understand my status of a virgin considering when I left my village but how did you stay one this long?”
“Can we talk about you for a moment?” Kisame questioned as his fingers played with the strands of Itachi’s hair that had freed themselves of his hair tie.
“Go ahead.”
“If you had stayed would you have gotten around to it?”
“If I had not killed my clan, you mean.”
“Itachi.” Kisame sighed and propped himself up on an elbow to stare at his partner’s face.
“There was a female around my age people assumed was my girlfriend frequently.” Itachi started. “If I had stayed we would have eventually.”
“You liked her?”
“No. Not in the terms of how I like you, at least. She was merely one of the few people tenacious enough to be my friend.” Itachi shrugged. “I did not have space for such thoughts back then.”
“What changed?”
“A lack of expectation.” Itachi laughed. “Spill.”
“I never got around to it. I know I had admirers: I was next in line to be a Seven Swordsmen. But there was never anyone I,” he paused and trailed his hand from Itachi’s hair to his cheek to his lips, thumb passing over them, “Trusted enough to let my guard down like this.”
“If you had stayed would you have found someone?” Itachi questioned behind Kisame’s thumb.
“Eventually,” Kisame shrugged, “But I severely doubt anyone but you could be so captivating.”
“Flatterer.” Itachi smiled. “Do try to move on when I die.”
“That is my line.”
“We will see.”
“Go on, Itachi.” Kisame smiled as his hand curled around Itachi’s and pressed the kunai harder against his heart. “They’ll kill me and take you back.”
“We can fight.” Itachi hissed, eyes red for more reasons than the sharingan that glowed in the run down building they had taken refuge in.
Kisame laughed a little. “We both know Uchihas don’t go down until they’re dead. I can’t do that to you.”
“I don’t care.” Itachi shook his head. “I don’t care!”
Kisame rose his other hand to cup Itachi’s cheek. “You need to care about your people, Itachi. It was stupid of me to believe I could take you away.”
Itachi pressed his lips against Kisame’s palm. “We can talk.”
“From their eyes I /kidnapped/ you.” Kisame reminded. “I doubt they’ll be up for talking.”
“I’m not stabbing you in the heart.” Itachi growled.
Kisame released Itachi’s hand and cupped his other cheek. “Then use your eyes.”
Itachi flinched. “What?”
“I know they’re capable of it.” Kisame whispered.
Itachi breathed deeply and stared into Kisame’s eyes “What if I say no?”
“Your /father/ won’t.” Kisame stated.
Itachi glared and breathed deeply. “/Fine/.”
Putting Kisame under his genjutsu was more than easy. The hard part was wrapping it into something pleasant while his heart and brain were screaming. But creating a time and place where they could be happy and together so Kisame’s last moments were spent in happy bliss was the least he could do. Reining his hand in to not shake as he slashed the back of Kisame’s neck was a different story.
His heart was dead with that. His clan could do whatever they wanted with him now.
He cradled Kisame in his arms, face pressed into his hair and his family found him like that.
They also found him with the mangekyo on and susano’s protective form around him.
"Back then, I lied when I told you I didn’t love you. You needed to move on from me– I needed to protect you from me.”
~~~
Itachi held many lies inside of him, filling up the holes in his brain that were not full of ninja knowledge. As a child he had decided he had no room in him for anything else but being a Ninja, and as he grew and learned about how the world he lived in truly functioned it felt more true. He only had the space in him to be the best and fix the world.
Except people grew in many ways and the space inside of Itachi did as well. And even if Itachi was the weasel Kisame was the one to weasel into his heart and head. Not that Itachi could admit to that. He was a monster. A Uchiha. And even if his partner was a shark he would still never be as much of a monster as he was. He had softened his partner with ease. And now the man obeyed his whims and wishes and stayed at his side.
They had grown into that. Kisame had first nursed him into a person that remembered to breath and eat and sleep and he had nursed Kisame into a person that did not always kill. And now he was nearing the end of his life and could not undo all of his lies towards Kisame but there was one he could fix.
Nudity was not something uncommon between them but there was still heat in his cheeks when he moved closer to Kisame in their camp for that night. “Kisame?” He kept his voice low as he stared down at the man, a hand working his cloak undone.
Kisame stared up at him, head knocking back against the tree behind him. “Yes?” He blinked at his partner.
Itachi kept eye contact with his partner while he slipped his cloak away. “Do you recall my nineteenth birthday?”
“The part where you almost stabbed me for trying to give you breakfast in bed or the part with the onsen?” Kisame grinned.
“The onsen.” Itachi responded and knelt down before Kisame. “Back then, I lied when I told you I didn’t love you.”
Kisame blinked at him, grin melting into a solid line. “It’s been over two years.”
“I am aware of that.” Itachi breathed and leaned towards Kisame. “You needed to move on from me,” he bit his lip and sighed lightly “I needed to protect you from me.”
“You failed at both.” Any other time Kisame would have laughed those words but instead they were bitterly solid.
“I recognize that.” Itachi stated and curled his fingers around the edge of his shirt. “I had hoped you would move on. View me as only your companion. But also a part of me hoped you would not. That you would stay only mine.”
Kisame tilted his head in attention and sank sharp teeth into his bottom lip. “I have.”
Itachi pulled his shirt slowly over his head, watching Kisame’s face with red eyes. “Then will you accept me?”
“Is this about your upcoming match?”
“My dwindling health, Kisame.” Itachi stated flatly. Kisame need not know his plans to die to Sasuke. The shark needed to spend his life thinking Itachi was the mad Uchiha who killed his whole clan out of spite and not justice and a need to protect his village more than his own home life.
Kisame’s grin slowly slipped back. “You do have your sharingan on more frequently these days.” He reached a hand up for Itachi’s face as he spoke, thumb brushing below his eye. “Your cough has not been too bad today.”
“There are some better days.” Itachi relaxed into Kisame’s touch. “And thus I would like to use this better day productively.”
“By confessing your love and bedding me?” Kisame chuckled.
“It sounds- foolish when you put it like that.”
“Love often is, Itachi.” Kisame smiled and slipped his hand down Itachi’s face brushing over the younger man’s lips before removing his hand. The thought to kiss him was there but he needed time to think. He had held back so long that he doubted his restraint and fucking Itachi would fuck them up more figuratively than literally in that moment.
“Is that a yes then?” Itachi questioned, tone mildly hopeful as he rested his hands on Kisame’s knees.
“It is a later. If you still feel up to it tomorrow we might.” Kisame explained and patted Itachi’s hands. “I need time to think.”
“I fail to see what there is to think about; you want me.”
“Desperately so,” Kisame admitted and lowered his head “But I am not prepared for that development in our relationship.”
“Even if you have always wanted it?” Itachi tilted his head, hands moving up Kisame’s legs.
“That is the exactly why I need time,” Kisame sighed. “Why you need time.”
“You are over thinking this.”
“You are, for once, under thinking something, Itachi.”
Itachi frowned at him and slipped his hands away. “It’s weird for you to refuse me.”
“I accept your confession and it is not healthy to jump from one to the other. We both need to think on this.” Kisame insisted.
Itachi bit his lip before leaning closer to Kisame. “Can I at least get a kiss?”
“One kiss would not hurt.” Kisame nodded and stared back at Itachi. “One.”
Itachi smiled small and moved closer. “Two.”
“One.” Kisame repeated.
“I am not having me missing your face count as one.” Itachi argued. “I demand a practice kiss.”
Kisame sighed and bent his face to bring himself closer to Itachi. “We can practice together then.”
“Together?” Itachi smiled. “Do not tell me you saved yourself for this long.” Itachi teased.
“It was not intentional.” Kisame whispered and rose his hand to cup Itachi’s cheek as he leaned in to press their lips lightly together.
Itachi sank into the contact, fingers digging into Kisame’s pants as he pressed firmly back. Contact was not something Uchihas were intrinsically good at but Itachi was more than ready to spend the last days he had living learning it with Kisame.
Kisame kept the kiss short and rested his forehead against Itachi’s. He would happily quit being a ninja if it meant he could spend his days happily with Itachi, keeping him warm and safe and loved, but he knew that was not a destiny either of them could have. “After I realized my strong desire for you everyone else did seem pale in comparison.”
“I would say you are trying to butter me up but you have established that is what I need to do.” Itachi whispered and pecked Kisame’s lips. “Can I stay here tonight?”
“Next to me.” Kisame nodded.
“Reasonable.” Itachi stated and leaned away from his partner, standing back up to settle down at Kisame’s side and rest his head against Kisame’s shoulder.
“You should put your shirt back on.” Kisame kept his voice as calm as possible with Itachi so close and bare but the Uchiha was no longer the warmer of the pair.
“You keep me warmer.” Itachi whispered but did pick his shirt up from the ground.
Kisame sighed and curled an arm around him, pulling him closer until ink hair rested against his chest instead of shoulder. “Is this a good day?”
“It is a better day.” Itachi responded. “I do not think I have many good days left.”
“Turn your sharingan off, Itachi.” Kisame sighed. “Rest.”
“What is a good day to you?” Itachi asked as he closed his eyes and let his chakra melt away from them.
“Any day I can be near you is a good day, Itachi. I decided that long ago.”
“You really do love me...”
“Completely.”
Kisame sat on the edge of the bath, not a big fan of submerging himself in hot water. Itachi looked divine in it, the man had accept his tentative touch and encouraging words to put his hair up and his long locks were captured into a bun at the back of his head with his bangs still free.
“Thank you for this.” Itachi whispered as he wadded over to him after doing a few casual laps that Kisame could never convince him to do in cold water.
“The pleasure is truly mine.” Kisame grinned and did his best to stay calm when Itachi settled a hand on his knee and rested his cheek against it.
“Still.” Itachi hummed and shut his eyes, soaking in Kisame’s coolness in the wash of warm. The man had only his lower legs in the water but he did not blame the shark.
“Are you happy?” Kisame put his weight further onto his hands behind him, doing his best not to focus on the bare curve of Itachi’s spine.
“As happy as a person in our situation can be.” Itachi sighed.
“That’s all I need.”
"Thank you for not killing anyone today," Itachi's voice was as feather light as the press of lips to Kisame's cheek.
Kisame was aware of various things in his life. The main one was the fact he was being classically conditioned by a Uchiha. A Uchiha who was slowly working him into being softer. Into knowing mercy. Into understanding there were other ways. "You're welcome." Kisame grinned as his cheek felt warm from even the slightest of attentions.
One of these days I’ll actually write a werewolf AU based on this:
“Naruto is a werewolf.”
“...But he’s a fox.”
Sasuke looked his brother over and his rather lazy outfit of khakis. “And you’re a weasel.”
“...Fair point.”
