Dancing
To Itachi it had five meanings.
The first was a simple movement of the feet, hands and hips to a certain musical rhythm. He was graceful enough to pull it off but Kisame could not so he didn't see the point in even trying. Kakuzu on the other hand was a surprisingly graceful dancer. More than once, like a father with a daughter, whenever konan was having a bad day, Itachi saw the elder man take the paper angel into the center of the main room of the cave and twirl her about like a princess. How he knew how to do it was beyond the weasel. The other dancer was sasori but he didn't really count, for him it wasn't about rhythem it was a memory game, he practically programmed himself to certain steps, following kakuzus strides perfectly for deidara, making the blonde swoon happily in his wooden arms. Idiots.
The second type was CALLED dancing, but Itachi didn't like it. Breakdancing. Flinging the body about in random directions to gain a certain affect to music that encluded screaming, overdone beats or had no lyrics whatsoever. Something else sasori was very good at. Hidan tried once but failed miserably, blaming the floor and the wall for being too soft and too close. Whatever.
The third was more of a seduction, something deidara, itachi and konan had more than mastered by now. A slower movement, almost drugged, that required mastery of the entire bodys placement and direction. Lowered eyelashes, slightly parted lips, light brushing fingers and a slow fluid stance and movement was Itachis. Deidaras was more of a bright eyed, flushed approach and konan, being the only female and having taught both of them, had a very varied way of going about it. Always hitting pein with something different, usually resulting in the leader and paper vanishing for several hours at a time.
The fourth, no one in the base seemed to have mastered but him and Kisame. Their fighting. It was perfect, well orchestrated like a murderous tango. Every step they made together, planned so they never hit one another, left no holes in their defense, never left an enemy alive. Kisame was the base, the rhythm, using his greater strength and charka to protect itachi from powerful blows, even if the weasel didn't need it, and plow through groups of enemies to clear his path. Itachi was the woodwind melody, the gentle harp and flute, the leader of this dance. Every move he made was gentle, careful, carefully planned as he not only took down his share of enemies but led Kisame's dance as well. They fought as one, using body language to communicate and taking every breath and word into careful consideration for their next move. It was beautiful.
And the fifth, something else they had mastered, was by far itachi's favorite. It was necessary to learn this dance, every couple has their own, their own rhythm to follow, however in this dance kisame occasionally took the lead to begin and always finished the masterpiece. The movement of probing tongues and sharp teeth, pale silky skin against the rough blue, soft needy breathes that turned into loud gasps and moans as the tempo rose. They always spun together, moving with careful steps on the fine line that led to the edge of perfection, eyes closed to feel their way across the darkened dance floor, never breaking contact for even a moment because that would ruin their timing. Where exactly this dance took place didn't matter, the rhythm remained the same. It could be sped up or become more powerful, but the way them moved with one another would never ever change. It was their dance and only theirs, the one that kept a silver ring with purple stone on his ring finger when they weren't on a mission, the one that laid itachi's trust permanently in the larger akatsuki members' hands. That erased the scuffs left by a pedophilic snake's attack. The fifth dance was their love.
Dancing…it can be a wonderful thing…