A/n: I've had this posted for a while, never realized I didn't have it on this site. Hope you enjoy! Obviously, feedback is well appreciated.

Warning(s): there is smut and fluff (lots of fluff) in this fic.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Just the plot for this story.

Standard Lines

The night was quiet and still, warm with traces of late autumn in the air even though winter was closely approaching. Itachi stood in the balcony of the penthouse apartment he owned right at the heart of downtown Tokyo, drinking champagne from his fine glass, the golden bubbly liquid sweet and tangy on his tongue. Not his preferred drink, but at least the client he had managed to close his latest deal with today had good taste and had brought over the more expensive kind to celebrate. He stared into the dark expanse of the sky, bright half-moon emblazoning it and he was suddenly reminded of his lover and how much he liked it when the moon was like this. He almost smiled, knowing Shisui would have enjoyed sharing this moment with him, however fleeting it was.

Lately, Itachi had been berating himself, knowing deep within his heart that he never told Shisui enough times that he was missed. Their goodbyes when one of them had to stay in Japan while the other had to travel the world to get deals signed were always the same. They said their 'I love you's' and then Shisui would say 'I'll miss you. Call me if you miss me?' to which his face would pull into a deadpanned expression that conveyed he neither would or wouldn't. And Shisui always said the same, as if he were certain that he would not be missed, but he was. Itachi could not bring himself to say it, but he was. He was not one for sentimentalisms and getting attached but with Shisui, it had always been different.

They had known each other since childhood and had evolved into lovers in middle school, following a series of kisses for experimentation that later turned into acts of much deeper meaning. Itachi was two years younger than Shisui but no less mature and knowledgeable on the subject for his age. In the midst of all the awkwardness and confusion they had felt then, they were keenly aware of what them being together would mean to them as well as to those close to them. They had endured Uchiha Fugaku's wrath, his disowning Itachi a year short of his senior year when Itachi had decided to come clean about the nature of their relationship. Perhaps a better approach would have kept things from reeling out of control. Itachi was Uchiha Fugaku's pride and joy and even Shisui could not possibly fathom the man taking well to the news the way Itachi had delivered them, which was with typical Uchiha aloofness and a it's-my-life, I'm-not-asking-for-permission, I'm-just-letting-you-know stance. In a way, Shisui could go as far as saying that he understood the man even when he didn't entirely agree with him.

They had withstood the test of time and distance when Itachi had been admitted into Oxford University with a full academic scholarship at the age of 16 while Shisui had chosen to go to college in America and though they had had their highs and lows (they broke up twice), they had endured. When they returned to Japan, Itachi had been reinstated into his family though the family business had been passed on to his younger brother, not that it mattered much to him, but it was an all around better scenario to return to than the one they had both left behind. Together they had opened Akatsuki, their own sports equipment store and though business had been slow at the beginning, soon they were providing for whole teams across the nation, firmly establishing themselves as the country's official sports brand. Things had been going blessedly well. They had moved in together and had bought expensive white gold bands to symbolize the serious commitment they both felt towards their relationship.

It was foolish of him, Itachi contemplated, to believe that Shisui would be content with just that. Shisui had a permissive way of thinking but a part of him had always wanted the reservations that a conservative world offered, he was shrewdly complicated like that even when he was so completely passionate about them. Standard lines, every once in a while there were those words he spoke without words that Itachi could hear so clearly. Itachi did not believe in the institution that marriage constituted, there were better ways to ascertain loyalty in a relationship and it would be a cold day in hell before he ever allowed himself to be subjected to the ways of the world but he knew Shisui, knew he would forever live mollified if they didn't legally take vows because being with him was enough to him. Mollified but not fulfilled.

He sighed, drank from his glass and let it hang at his side as he stared into the night again. He could hear the racket going on inside, their newly endorsed business partners were having a good time and he was pleased they were. Itachi and Shisui had been looking into water surface sports for a while. Body-surfing and paddle-boarding and kayaking weren't huge in Japan, even when they had beaches that were perfect for them. Itachi had signed a good deal with the man for the equipment to be distributed in his stores. He was not expecting their water surface division to spring a lot of capital. This one was for Shisui. Ever since he had gone to California for his business b.A, he had developed a passion for water activities and was always insisting on getting into it. Itachi had indulged him. It was not a terribly bad idea and they had nothing to lose, really.

His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket with his free hand, answering without looking at the screen to see who it was because he recognized the ringtone. It was Shisui's idea to have something as cliché as designated ringtones for each other. He had not exactly agreed to the idea (what were they? 12 now?) but he had not resisted either and before he knew it he was listening to "Time of my Life" two, three and four times a day in places he was sure people ascertained his sexuality if they had not been sure before.

"Yes?" he said in a low baritone.

"Hey babe," Shisui's exhausted tone came from the other end. "I'm at the airport. Shouldn't take long to find a cab. I'll be home in..." Itachi could just imagine him looking at his wristwatch. "Ten or fifteen minutes?"

"What are you doing back?" he asked, drinking from his champagne glass hoping it would kill the warmth that spread through him at the news. He hated feeling giddy with emotion, it was unbecoming of him and something he couldn't quite explain. "I thought your flight was set for tomorrow."

"It was. I changed my plane ticket." He sighed and for some reason Itachi knew he was running a hand through his unruly curls like he always did when he was nervous. "I just missed you," he said in sweet and petulant voice. "It's got nothing to do with the whole marriage thing. I'm not trying to get you to do it. Really, it was just a thought. We don't have to, you know? I love you and I know you love me too. We don't have to do it if you don't want to. I've been thinking about it and..."

Rambling. Shisui was rambling and Itachi grazed the small box in the pocket of his dark trousers where newly engraved wedding bands were secured for the occasion with the back of the hand holding his champagne glass. It was so like his boyfriend to take back what he had fought so hard to earn after he had won it. Historically speaking, Shisui had always had the worse possible timing just like Itachi had always had strictly literal understandings of even the nonsensical.

"...anyway, I'm rambling. I'll just see you when I get home, okay? I love you." Shisui ended the call and Itachi wondered, phone still pressed to his ear, if he had done that. Had the times he said he loved him back been so far and few that Shisui no longer expected him to say it?

-()-

When Shisui arrived, dressed in a dark business suit with a black briefcase in hand, their guests were already gone and Itachi was cleaning up the small mess they had left gathered in the living room. As he rinsed champagne residuals from the glasses in the sink, Shisui leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen, arms crossed on his chest, eyes full of devotion and fondness following his every movement.

"Hey," he called and Itachi turned off the tap and dried his hands slowly before he stood straight and faced him. "Sleep with me," Shisui said with a smirk, making his lover blink once before his features relaxed and his lips stretched into a small smile as well.

"Absolutely."

It mattered too little to him, Itachi surmised as they laid in bed and he settled in between Shisui's spread legs, his long locks of hair cascading over his shoulders and grazing the soft skin of his lover's face beneath him. They had grown used to it, Shisui said everything he felt and Itachi meant everything he didn't say and it was better left that way. It was how they understood each other, how their relationship had operated like a well-oiled machine for years, he figured there was no real purpose in changing that. Unless there was something left to say. But there was.

Itachi let out a heavy breath as Shisui brought him down to kiss along his neck, fingers burying in the hair at the lower back of his head. His other hand made it past the rim of his dark work pants and underwear, his dry hole was brushed and teased with the tips of balmy fingers and his brows scrunched up in pleasure as it twitched with anticipation. He kissed the shell of his lover's ear, sucked on the lobe and Shisui panted against his neck with what he knew was a rapidly growing state of arousal.

They stopped to undress, Shisui taking a seat at the edge of the bed once done to bask in the sight of the man his heart knew even better than it knew himself by now. Itachi walked up to him, towering over him in between his legs and Shisui brought him closer to kiss his stomach, hands coming up to massage the back of his thighs. One of his hands came around his waist and closed over his half-hard member, working him to hardness with the patience of a saint. Itachi's fingers got lost in his hair and they locked eyes before Shisui's lips followed his hand to close around the head of his cock. He sucked long and good, the tip of his tongue teasing the slit with careful nips before he took the entire length in his mouth. He watched as Itachi let his head roll back, a moan escaping his lips as the dew cap touched the back of his throat. He swallowed around it and felt his hair being pulled harshly before hands came down to his shoulders and he was gently but insistently pushed back into the mattress.

Itachi cupped his face in his hands and kissed him, silky tresses brushing Shisui's cheeks and pooling around his neck and chest. When he pulled back, it was to hazy dark eyes that held the same pride and affection they always had for him.

"After all these years...I'm still crazy about you," Shisui muttered, caressing the sides of his body with the back of his fingers, so obviously content and Itachi just needed him to know, for some reason he couldn't even begin to explain.

"I missed you," he said.

"I—"

Itachi silences him with a kiss then presses the tip of his thumb against the swollen pink folds to keep them pressed closed as he keeps their foreheads slightly brushing. "I always miss you."

Shisui grins up at him, almond shaped eyes crinkling at the corners, he heaves out a short breath along with a puff of laughter. "God babe. You really have no idea what you do to me."

They make haste with preparations, Shisui stretches him with expert dexterity, lubed fingers slowly entering and pulling out of Itachi only to enter him again. Itachi moves against the fingers, rubbing his cock against Shisui's hardened one, his hands on Shisui's pectorals for better leverage and Shisui undulates against him shamelessly, the slickness of their cocks making them glide pleasantly, creating a friction so hot and smooth he can feel himself slowly igniting from the inside.

Then Itachi is kissing him and the fingers pull out of the now stretched hole. Shisui holds himself at the base and watches as the man he loves more than life for all it is worth sits back, hair falling around his square jaw and legs spread wide to slowly take him in, his angry red cock jutting out before his lower stomach. He's a sight to behold like that. Itachi moves his hands behind him, he holds on to top of his-Shisui's thighs and Shisui is sure he's about to lose it when the word "fuck" escapes thin breathless lips as his entire length is sheathed in his warm and tight passage. He lets his head roll back against the pillow, holding on to thin protruding hips before Itachi is moving against him, squeezing his ass cheeks before slowly relaxing them on him and he can feel all of him. This was always where the two of them ended and where the two of them once again began.

"Uhn..." Shisui lays still as Itachi rides him, he starts out slow then tightens his hold on his thighs to move harder and faster, eyes never leaving his, the corner of his lower lip caught in his teeth. He snaps his hips in quick and rhythmic movements that Shisui is helpless to move against, consumed by the all-encompassing, otherworldly, insane pleasure it evokes, his entire skin covered in goosebumps from it and Shisui is mindful of pleasing him as well, he jerks him in time with his thrusts, squeezing the head in between his thumb and index fingers on the way up before he goes back to fist his entire length.

His hands massage the hard globes of his ass, they move to caress his thighs in encouragement before they slide up his torso, fingers rolling his pert nipples and slightly pulling on them. Itachi moans, back pulled taut and Shisui can't take it anymore, he sits up to take one of the hardened nubs into his mouth, sucks it hard and bites around it before he moves to the other one to do the same. Itachi moves faster on him and he groans from how fucking good it feels when he's on top, his balls slapping against the cleft of his ass, he's on the verge of losing his mind.

"Ah...Itachi..." he lays back down, holding on to the bones of his hip, his own hips coming up to meet him thrust by thrust. "Uhn...shit...ah baby...feels good."

Itachi splays his hands on his pectorals again and picks up the pace, his erect cock steadily drizzling Shisui's stomach with precum. He bounces hard on Shisui and Shisui can't help the guttural grunts that keep escaping him as Itachi completely owns him. He thrusts hard into him and Itachi comes down on him just as hard, helpless moans deliberately pouring out of his lips, suddenly it's too much. He can feel his body coiling on the inside, ready to succumb into this empowering rapture and Itachi makes his thrusts longer, takes him out all the way to the tip only to bury him deeper inside of him. He can feel his release happen slowly, thick spurts of his seed ooze out of him and fill Itachi's hole to the brim as his whole body pulls taut into a spasm, his head against the pillow as his back arches off the bed. Itachi keeps undulating on top of him, he jerks himself off until he too reaches his peak and sprays all over his stomach, head thrown back into it.

They come back from their high to lay next to each other in the bed that had become foreign to them. It always did whenever the two of them weren't in it together.

"I will marry you," Itachi said on his side with his elbow propped and his chin resting on his closed fist, hair a mess and looking completely debauched in their post-coital bliss. Shisui smirked, certain that he wasn't fairing any better, he turned on his side as well and assumed the same posture.

"Is that what you want?" he asked and Itachi locked eyes with him, blank expression on his face.

"No."

Shisui sighed before he gave him one of his rare and more honest smiles, meant to be shared within the confines of these four walls. "Being legally bound to you won't make me happier than what I already am. You restored my faith when I thought all was lost. I've turned into a sap for you," he chuckled sheepishly, leaning in to leave a small peck on his lips. "I'm hopelessly in love with you," he whispered against his lips. "Nothing can change that," he kissed him again before he laid down with his face snuggled against his chest.

Itachi stared down at him,ran his fingers through thick curls of dark hair before he spoke. "I've already issued a marriage license, it was approved by a judge."

Shisui's eyes snapped open. He stared up at him with disbelief before his expression softened, warmth spreading through him. "I knew you would."

Later, when Itachi presented him with their newly acquired wedding bands, Shisui read out loud the words engraved on the inside part of them.

"Faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these is love."

How could he ever not love this man?

The End. I don't know how this happened but I sure hope it was worth your time. I'm a sucker for happy endings, in case you couldn't tell, so yeah. Thank you for taking the time!