Time waits for no one
So do you want to waste some time, tonight?
Don't be afraid of tomorrow
Just take my hand I'll make it feel
So much better tonight
Swing with these sorrows
And try delusion for a while
It's such a beautiful lie
You've got to lose inhibition
Romance your ego for a while
Come on give it a try
[Hurts – Illuminated]
When everything becomes too much to bear, Itachi tries to remember the days he spent by the riverside, Shisui's scent in his nose – sun and pine trees and smiles – and his strong, long fingers stroking his hair, soothing, chasing his fears away. The ghost of soft, warm lips against his temple, whispering words of better worlds and fairytales, of love and shadows and solace.
There is a flash of red and Itachi stands by the Nakano again, watching the last sunrays of the day breaking through the woods and glistening on the dark water. Shisui is already waiting for him – his hair isn't dripping with water, there are no bruises on his pale skin and his eyes radiate the same warmth they always used to emit when everything was easier, and when Itachi closes his eyes he can pretend this is real.
Shisui holds out his hand and beckons him over, and Itachi complies and lies down next to him, curls around Shisui and melts into him, once again inhaling the familiar scent and savouring the warmth of his body, the even rhythm of his breathing and the soft thud, thud, thud of his heartbeat. Lying there, it is so easy to believe everything is fine. This is his world, a world in which Shisui is alive, in which he doesn't hate him, in which he doesn't hate himself.
Sometimes Itachi just wants to stay within the illusion forever. Then he thinks that he is clearly too good at this technique, that he is making it all too realistic. It gets harder and harder to say goodbye after the seventy-two hours have passed, the pain burning in his eyes and piercing his heart. But for now he doesn't want to think about it. He still has seventy-one hours and thirty-five minutes, and although it is never enough, with Shisui by his side it almost feels like an eternity.
A/N.: This was written for imago on the LJ community "bitter_nakano" 's Secret Valentine Exchange.
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