It was cold. Itachi hated the cold. Kisame didn't, inasmuch that it wasn't hot enough to make it uncomfortable in their hot, black cloaks.
Kisame didn't really care about the temperature, actually. He just hated being uncomfortable.
But right now, it was cold. And even their hot, black cloaks didn't provide enough warmth in the snowy landscape with a temperature below freezing.
"Hey, look," Kisame said suddenly, interrupting Itachi's musings. "There's a house."
Itachi looked, and saw- a house. Actually, more of a shack. Still, it was shelter. He changed course. Kisame followed without complaint. He was uncomfortable. It would probably be more comfortable in the shack.
As they got closer, they could see that there was a light on, which in itself was strange. It was past midnight.
Through the tiny window, they could see the shadows of two people just sitting there. Kisame glanced at Itachi.
"Whadda we do?"
Itachi's eye twitched as he considered this problem. They could continue on and seek other shelter, they could go and ask to stay the night, or they could go and kill whoever was in there.
He didn't really want to seek other shelter. It was just too cold. They could ask to stay the night, but that would require him to be nice to someone he did not know. And he would rather avoid killing someone- it was too damn cold for even thinking.
Damn it, he thought. I have to be nice to people I don't know. He scowled.
"Ask," he grunted. Kisame nodded. Looks like his partner didn't want to do anything but get out of the cold as well.
He walked up and knocked on the door. A voice vaguely said something like "Hang on, I'll get it…" and the door opened. A very familiar blue-eyed blonde stood in the doorway. "Hello?..."
"Who's there, Naru- shit."
Shit. Shit. Why the hell did it have to be these two, of all people?
"…May we stay here tonight?" Itachi asked, eyebrow twitching imperceptibly, polite and grammatically correct as always.
Silence.
"Who the hell are you, and what did you do to my brother?"
Itachi's eyebrow twitched with a lot more ferocity now. "I am cold," he snapped, "and tired. Let us come in before I snap your neck."
Sasuke glared at him. Itachi glared back. Kisame and Naruto flinched- when two Uchihas are having a glaring contest, it is terrifying.
Sasuke kept glaring at his older sibling. It was obvious that he was trying to decide whether to attack or to not attack. It was not helping that the shack was getting very cold now that the door was open.
Naruto finally broke the silence. "Just let them in, Sasuke. I'm getting cold, and from the looks of it, you are too. And, knowing you, your brother probably hates the cold as much as you do, if not more. So he probably won't attack."
Kisame's face had a blank look to it. "When did you get so smart?" he asked, confused.
Sasuke twitched, though he continued to glare at his brother. "I think after he finally hit puberty."
"Hey!"
"Which was when?..."
"He was sixteen. I think."
Itachi's glare developed unprecedented murderousness. "May we come in now?"
Sasuke scowled, and broke off the glare, turning away. "Yeah, sure. Whatever." He stalked off into a corner and sat there, glowering.
Naruto yawned as he stepped out of the doorway so that the two Akatsuki could get through. "Make yourselves comfortable," he said disinterestedly. He walked over and sat down next to Sasuke and promptly went to sleep sitting against the wall.
Itachi came in first, and Kisame closed the door behind them. The half-shark nukenin instantly made his way over to the opposite wall, and he dropped to the floor with a rustle. Itachi followed, sitting next to him. It was warmer when you were next to someone, after all.
The two sat and dozed, not exactly sleeping, but not fully awake, either. Across the room, Naruto appeared to have rolled over and hugged Sasuke in his sleep. Sasuke didn't appear to be sleeping either, but it was hard to tell.
At about six in the morning, they got up quietly and left. The sun was coming up. They headed east.
"Hey, Itachi?"
"…"
"Why didn't you attack your brother? Or, why didn't he attack you?"
"…it was too cold."
A/n- This is incredibly random. I was just staring at the page, and then I typed, "It was cold." And the story was born!