Leading the way towards a religious temple to retrieve a jutsu for Leader, with his normal emotionless face, collar pulled up to cover his mouth, and ponytail tucked into collar, Itachi was deep in thought. Normally, you'd believe Itachi was thinking about the mission, calculating every possibility that could go wrong. But on the contrary, his thoughts were filled with a certain shark man. This Uchiha did indeed have emotions, and deep down realized he loved the older man, but kept these feelings to himself. He was sure Kisame thinks of him as nothing but a partner, or some kid he needs to babysit. And besides, Uchihas are supposed to have no emotions, to be the perfect shinobi... Right? Following Itachi, using his cloak to cover face and Samehada in its usual place on his back, Kisame tried to keep his thoughts focused on the mission, but they kept straying back to a certain black haired individual. After working with him for a while, Kisame began to realize his affection towards Itachi. He told himself over and over that he didn't love or even was fond of Itachi, but it didn't work. Itachi was constantly in his thoughts. Kisame hid these feelings, believing there was no way Itachi would ever feel the same. All Uchihas are supposed to be emotionless, is how Kisame reasoned with himself. Gazing straight ahead, Itachi scolded himself in his head for thinking about the tall man behind him instead of completing the mission, a shinobi needs to carry out all orders and be precise. Eventually now, while nearing the temple, his gaze would shift to the corner of his eyes at his crush. He knew how childish he sounded when saying that word, but Kisame probably thought of him as a child. He was eleven years younger than him, after all. Kisame was probably happy to watch the Uchiha fall to his younger brother eventually. He took one last glance at the shark-like man before looking up at the temple ahead of them, stopping in his tracks. Kisame was pulled abruptly out of his thoughts about his feelings for Itachi when he stopped walking. Surprised, he glanced at Itachi, wondering why they stopped. Itachi probably wanted to plan how to retrieve the jutsu. Kisame sighed. It was never straight forward, the way he liked things. He wanted it to be simple. Get in, obtain the jutsu, and get out. But it was never like that. It was always plan, plan, plan. Kisame liked two things: Fighting and, though he didn't want to admit it, Itachi.
Itachi continued staring at temple. "We'll stick with our regular plan..." he stated in his normal monotone. Itachi began walking up the endless amount of stairs, holding kunais in his hands and shurikens. Kisame smirked behind his collar. For once we actually get to fight, he thought. He followed Itachi, readying himself and his sword, Samehada, for battle.
"The jutsu is said to be in a chest in the main hallway..." Itachi said; his eyes flash on his Sharingan, as he takes the last step of the stairs and walks into the temple, already ready for battle. Kisame quickened his pace to walk about five meters parallel to Itachi.
"We'll find it," Kisame assured him. Itachi was silent for a moment before responding.
"We're already short on time; you go on ahead to the jutsu." Itachi watched a few ninjas jump down from the ceiling, his face not changing when they start charging at him, and the Uchiha swiftly dodged every kunai or shuriken aimed at him. Kisame nodded and darted to the shadows of the temple, making his way towards where the chest is supposed to be.
"It's just ahead..." He mumbled, wanting the mission to end quickly. Itachi threw a few shuriken and kunais, each precisely hitting the shinobi in the abdomen, not using his Sharingan on them unless he had too. Kisame found the chest and was about to pry it open, but was attacked by a shinobi. He grinned and easily defeated the ninja with Samehada; Kisame enjoyed combat. He then turned his attention back to the chest and pried it open. Itachi watched the remaining shinobis collapse onto their knees, and begins to walk over to Kisame's way, down the hallway. Kisame found the chest empty and slammed it shut.
"God damn it." Kisame hissed and began to look for other places the jutsu could be. Itachi noticed Kisame searching and did the same, scanning the area for the jutsu, still ready if any more shinobi appear. Kisame, finding nothing, growled angrily.
Kisame gave vent to a frustrated snarl as he continued searching. "Where the hell could it be? They must have known we were coming and took it somewhere else."
"Hn..." Itachi began to run his hands over the walls. "Check the walls...There may be a secret passage." He added pressure slightly on the walls, listening for a click and feeling for a crack in the wall. The shark-like man mirrored Itachi, grumbling under his breath about this being stupid and a waste of time. Itachi continued to run his hands along the walls until he heard a click and pushed the wall slightly open and peered in before walking in and glancing around. Kisame turned around in time to see Itachi disappear into a secret passage in the wall. He immediately followed, hoping the jutsu was in the secret room and it wasn't another dead end. The Uchiha started glancing towards the many piled chests and started looking through them, many just being fake chests, meant to distract someone from finding the true chest in the pile. Kisame started opening chests as well, tossing aside the empty ones. With each new fake chest, he cursed under his breath. Were they ever going to find this damned jutsu? Kisame thought. Itachi slowly opened the lid to a small golden chest with green embroidery and found an aged scroll with kanji written on it and picked up the jutsu; slipping it up cloak sleeve where he kept everything he needed for missions.
"I found it..." Itachi said to Kisame. "Let's get going to the hotel, it's too dark to travel back." He knew what would come next, get mistaken for a lady at the hotel, AGAIN, and would sleep on the floor. He'd rather be uncomfortable rather than the shark man... He'd probably complain, and he wanted the man to feel comfortable...It was cold on the floors of the inn, and worse since he was sensitive to the cold, but he survived it every mission. Kisame sighed. They could rest now, after two days of nonstop traveling to get here. But this meant staying at a hotel, where people would think Itachi was a woman, AGAIN. And he would sleep on the floor without protest, AGAIN. And though Kisame always wanted offer him the bed, he didn't quite know how to offer it without showing his true feelings for Itachi. So he kept silent and instead always gave Itachi the warmer blanket.
With the jutsu up his sleeve, he headed out of the secret passage and out the hallway, secretly eager to get a good night's rest on the floor. He gotten used to sleeping on the floor, but in his thoughts he wanted to lay on the bed next to his partner. But he knew with common sense that would be very awkward for his partner, who would be freaked out of his mind. Kisame followed Itachi swiftly out of the passage, anticipating getting back to the inn to sleep. He felt guilty about always getting the bed. He was perpetually debating the idea of suggesting sharing the bed to Itachi, but he always dismissed it. Although Kisame would have loved to sleep next to Itachi he told himself that Itachi would probably think he was even more of a freak and never talk to him again. So he just stayed quiet and hoped Itachi didn't hate him for always having to sleep on the floor. Itachi exited the temple, suppressing a yawn. He had this problem of being a little paranoid... When they had no inn to stay at during the first few days of the travel; they would hide under some trees or in a cave and take shifts for watch. He would always try to fall asleep when Kisame was on watch, and he trusted his partner, but he was so aware of his surroundings that if he got any sleep if he was lucky. He'd just remain watching the mouth of the cave. Of course, as an Uchiha, he would never admit these things. Kisame left the temple and started down the stairs behind Itachi quickly, watching him all the while. He liked walking in the back so he could watch Itachi and, if the need arose, protects him, although he would never admit this to himself, let alone anyone else. The tall man was anxious to get back to the inn and sleep. During his watches, Kisame was always alert, but it gave him time to think about his feelings for Itachi and debate the possibility of the Uchiha feeling the same way. But to Kisame, the answer always ended up being the same: Itachi is an Uchiha, and Uchihas are trained to never feel or express emotion.
Itachi left his Sharingan on, being aware for any remaining shinobi that they didn't catch earlier. He knew Kisame was more tired, and that's why he had Kisame take the bed. He wondered if Kisame was more worn out than him, having to drag Samehada around all the time. Kisame had a great amount of chakra, and his muscles probably helped him lug that thing around all day. The raven-haired man blinked and then went back to his normal expression, realizing he was thinking of Kisame's muscles. Once he thought about them he couldn't control his thoughts. Itachi let out a small sneeze as he watched snowy flakes starting to softly stick onto the ground, and he glared at them, knowing he probably caught something... He glanced up and saw the inn, increasing his speed slightly to get there sooner. Kisame glanced at Itachi worriedly. He hoped Itachi hadn't caught a cold or anything. His first thought was that he didn't want to catch whatever Itachi had. But his second thought was that maybe if Itachi got cold, he could offer to share or even give Itachi the bed so he was warm. And then maybe he could see Itachi smile. But Kisame dismissed the last part as mere fantasy. He was sure he'd never see the Uchiha smile. But this could be his chance to do something kind for Itachi. Might as well go for it, he decided. He walked into the inn with another small sneeze before confronting the front desk woman, who did the same thing as all the others, assuming the Uchiha was a woman. Kisame glanced again at the Uchiha, hoping he wasn't seriously sick. Hopefully, it was just dust in the air making him sneeze. But Kisame doubted it. Itachi glanced down at the room number and walked down the long hallway, spotting the number of the room he unlocked the room and stepped inside. He took off his cloak and hung it on a coat rack and decided he'll take his shower in the morning. The raven haired man took a blanket and sat on the floor with a small coughing fit, ready for the cold night. Kisame took off his cloak and hung it up, deciding to take a shower. He didn't like showering in the morning, when it was extremely cold the second the water stopped.
"Hey, Itachi. Would you like the bed...? You shouldn't be cold all night and get even sicker." Kisame asked.
"I'm not sick... Or cold." He lied down on the floor, curling up into the ball with a sneeze. His 'manly' Uchiha pride would not be destroyed by a minor cold. He had a reputation to uphold.
Kisame looked at Itachi but averted his gaze quickly. He had tried. The older man was too tired to argue any further so instead he left and took a shower, trying not to think about Itachi. It didn't work. The black haired man seemed to always consume his thoughts, no matter how hard he tried to focus on other things. Maybe he could put Itachi in the bed when he was asleep. Kisame was certainly strong enough. He dried off, put his clothes on, and went back to the room. Asleep in a curled up ball was Itachi, whom fell asleep while Kisame was in the shower. He was clutching onto the blankets, slightly shivering in his sleep. The Uchiha's cheeks were slightly rosy from the cold and he had his head tucked under the blankets. Kisame knew this was probably his only chance to do something nice for Itachi that might show his feelings without telling him directly. He took a deep breath and picked up Itachi extremely carefully, so as not to wake him. Kisame carried the black haired man to the bed and put the remaining blankets over him. He then wrapped his cloak around himself and lay in the Uchiha's place on floor, happy to have finally done something kind for Itachi. Despite all the layers of blankets he had over himself, he continued to shiver, murmuring something under his breath, as he clutched onto the pillows with his hair covering his face. Kisame realized if he wanted Itachi to be warm, he would probably have to sleep next to him in the bed. A blush started to creep over his cheeks as he thought about it. But it was probably the only way, so Kisame got up, extremely nervous, and walked over to the bed. He bit his lip, wanting to go back to the floor, trying to convince himself that while it would keep Itachi warm, the Uchiha would hate it and think Kisame was even more of a freak than he already did. But Kisame wanted nothing more than to sleep next to his partner. After struggling mentally for a minute more, Kisame finally very slowly and carefully lay down next to Itachi and wrapped his large arms around the shivering Uchiha. He was deathly afraid of how Itachi would react when he woke up, but convinced himself it was the best choice. Itachi's shivering began to disappear; now hat he was getting more warmth. He never slept in the same bed as anyone before, so he was never aware he did intimate things in his sleep. He curled up to Kisame, entwining his legs with the taller mans, burying face in and nuzzling Kisame's chest, and softly spoke the man's name.
"Kisame..." Itachi whispered. Kisame blushed deeply. He was sure Itachi was asleep, but he just said his name. Kisame decided to talk to Itachi, and if he was asleep see if he felt the same way as he did.
"Y-yes...?" Kisame mumbled in response. The Uchiha just remained silent, but cuddling closer to the shark, a relaxed expression on face. He reached up and gently caressed the man's cheek, running his thumb softly over Kisame's gills. The older man was completely unsure of what to do. He had never been in a romantic relationship before, so he just lay there with his arms around Itachi, blushing furiously and internally panicking. The Uchiha's onyx eyes opened slowly. Itachi blinked his dark eyelashes, feeling strong arms around him and a well-built chest in his face. He began to blush, something he never done anything like this before in his life, and began thinking he might have a fever. Instinctively he slipped out from the arms and scooted away, staring at the shark-like man.
"...Kisame?" The shark-like man started to panic even more. Itachi was awake. He didn't know what to say so he pulled his arms away from the Uchiha and turned away, while trying to keep his blush hidden. All he could manage to choke out were two quiet words.
"I… I'm sorry," Kisame stuttered.
"I...It's alright...But why was I-" Itachi swallowed, not used to saying such words, "-cuddling with you...?" Still facing away from Itachi, Kisame forced the words out to explain what he had been doing.
"You were cold. I-I gave you the blankets and put you on the bed but you were still shivering. So I... I tried to warm you up by... C-Cuddling with you." Kisame's cheeks darkened sharply in colour. Itachi didn't know why these words came out of his mouth but they did.
"...Did you ...Enjoy cuddling with me...?" He asked quietly. Kisame was so stunned and embarrassed that he couldn't say anything for a few seconds. Then his voice returned.
"Y-yes..." Kisame replied, blushing furiously, not believing what he was saying. Itachi's blush returned, deepening into crimson. He opened his mouth to try and say something, but he remained silent for a few more seconds.
"I... I did as well." Itachi stared at the wall in front of him, mentally slapping himself. *Kisame tried to process what he just heard. There was no way Itachi would ever say anything like that. He couldn't believe what he heard, so Kisame tried to convince himself he was imagining things. But he had to know if Itachi had actually said what he thought he heard. He turned back towards Itachi.
"Wh-what?" Kisame stuttered. Itachi continued to look at the wall.
"I...enjoyed it..." His blush somehow deepened to a maroon. Kisame just lay there for a moment, completely caught off guard. This can't be happening, he reasoned with himself. But part of him assured Kisame his mind wasn't playing a trick on him. Hesitantly, Kisame wrapped his arms around Itachi's torso and pulled him up against his chest. All while his blush darkened. Itachi blinked, surprised and sneezed softly before twisting his body to turn to Kisame and bury face in his chest, not knowing how to even do anything anymore. It was like his body was moving by itself, for his dreams were actually coming true. He couldn't believe someone as perfect as Kisame would like someone as evil, or rude as himself.
Kisame had no experience in what to do, but instinct guided him and he intertwined his legs with Itachi's and leaned his head on top of the Uchiha's. How could anyone like a freak like me...? Kisame wondered.
Itachi enjoyed the warmth from Kisame... It didn't only warm him in body heat, but inside his heart... His heart was always alone like the Uchiha was, but now, it was like something or someone managed to squeeze into his heart...
"...I love you." He blushed, not intending to say those words at this moment, but he still said them. He didn't mean to even though it was true, but his lips just moved on his own. Kisame's blush flared again. And without realizing it, he responded to Itachi's confession.
"I-I love you too." Kisame said slowly.
Itachi's eyes widened and he took his face out of Kisame's chest to look up at him. He couldn't believe this. The shark who he loved so much, whose smile made him want to squeal like one of those fangirls stalking the base was confessing his love for him, an emotionless Uchiha. He knew his smile wouldn't be as nice as Kisame's, it would probably be a bunch of odd twisted smirks, but a smile formed on his lips.
Kisame's heart almost stopped as he saw Itachi smile. It made him want to kiss Itachi, but he knew he didn't have the courage to. He bit his lip, how could someone as handsome as Itachi love a shark? He thought.
Itachi's smile faded, just now realizing he smiled. Something he hasn't done for 8 years. He didn't know what went wrong with his body, why he was so happy... Now that Kisame had seen Itachi smile, he wanted nothing more than to see it again. He smiled at Itachi, hoping to see the Uchiha's face light up again. He had no idea why his lips kept moving but they formed into a smile yet again, seeing his now lover smiling at him. Kisame's small smile widened as he saw Itachi smile again. He so desperately wanted to kiss Itachi, but he couldn't bring himself to. He knew it was cowardly, but he couldn't help it. He just didn't know what to do.
Again, Itachi's body was uncontrollable. Itachi pushed his lips against Kisame's gently, kissing the man softly. Kisame froze. He didn't know what to do. But instinct took control of his body and he found himself kissing Itachi slowly. Itachi's hands wrapped around the shark's neck, and he scooted up closer to the man. Kisame's lips weren't rough like the rest of his skin. They were more chapped, but not to the point where his lips were peeling. He began matching his lip movements with Kisame's, kissing him sweetly. Kisame's hands seemed to move of their own accord. It took him a moment to realize he was gently running his hands up and down Itachi's back. Itachi tensed up, but then relaxed into the hands rubbing his back. Itachi gently tangled his fingers into Kisame's spiky hair; it felt damp and smooth against the Uchiha's fingers. Itachi closed his eyes in bliss as Kisame let his instincts take full control of him. He very hesitantly and gently bit Itachi's bottom lip, unsure of how he would respond. He felt the bite on his lip and gasped softly, not expecting that, leaving his mouth open slightly as his pale fingers ran down Kisame's neck. Kisame slipped his tongue into Itachi's mouth, gently massaging the black haired man's tongue with his own. The Uchiha moaned softly, as his tongue started to awake and slowly licked the sharks; he shuddered from the feel of Kisame's tongue. Kisame explored the Uchiha's entire mouth, growing more confident as the kiss went on. The raven haired man was beyond embarrassed; he didn't know what he was doing. Eventually as the kiss went longer he broke away for much needed air. Listening to his instincts, Kisame kissed down Itachi's neck gently as he caught his breath. Shuddering at every kiss Kisame planted on his skin, Itachi let out a very small moan, trying to steady his breathing. Kisame kissed all around Itachi's neck, trying to find his weak spot. When Kisame placed a kiss on the crook of his neck, he gasped softly, his heart starting to beat rapidly. Kisame returned to the crook of Itachi's neck and began sucking sweetly on his weak spot. Itachi tilted his head back. He shuddered with blush on face, closing eyes in bliss. The Uchiha's grip tightened slightly on Kisame, but not hard enough to hurt him, while holding in a loud moan. Kisame pressed closer into Itachi, sucking harder on his skin. The black haired man's bangs fell off his face, his hair tie slowly coming undone as he arched his back slightly releasing the moan he was holding in, fingers holding onto Kisame's hair tightly. Kisame bit the Uchiha's weak spot gently, wanting to hear him moan again. He squirmed slightly, moaning loudly, mentally fumbling with words, only to be able to say one name: Kisame's.
"Kisame...That feels nice yet weird..." he said bluntly, while blushing darkly. Kisame removed his lips from Itachi's neck and buried his face in the Uchiha's silky black hair. He hoped Itachi couldn't see how deeply he was blushing; he still couldn't believe he kissed Itachi. Itachi raised his pale hand and placed it on the back of Kisame's head, running his fingers through the older man's spiky hair. Kisame tightened his grip on Itachi, pulling him as close as possible, so there was no empty space between them. Now that he finally had Itachi in his arms, didn't want to ever let go. Itachi snuggled up against the shark man, this usually only happening in his dreams. Itachi buried his face in Kisame's chest, finding it very comfortable. Still guided by his instincts, Kisame removed one hand from Itachi's back to tangle it in his soft hair. He smiled slightly, wanting to stay like this forever. Itachi closed his eyes, holding onto Kisame, feeling the emptiness in his heart shine and butterflies fluttering wildly in his stomach. Kisame slowly intertwined his legs with Itachi's, hoping it was the right thing to do. Kisame remembered how Itachi had been sick and wondered if he was feeling better.
"Are you feeling better?" He questioned Itachi quietly. The Uchiha nodded, his face hidden in Kisame's chest.
"Now that you're here..." Kisame's blush reappeared.
"Th-that's good," was all he could say. Itachi nodded weakly due to being tired.
"I'm going to sleep... Goodnight..." Itachi whispered tiredly.
"Mhm." Kisame acknowledged him quietly and adjusted slightly so Itachi could have a comfortable sleeping position. The Uchiha then fell asleep, sleeping peacefully with Kisame, face relaxed unlike his normal frown or glare, listening to Kisame's heartbeat. Kisame tried to fall asleep as well, but too many thoughts were tumbling around in his head and crowding his mind. He sighed, knowing he probably wouldn't get any sleep. But it didn't matter to him that much. He had Itachi. His dreams started off with Kisame.
He mumbled into Kisame's chest, "Kisame... Mine..." Kisame began blushing again as Itachi mumbled his name into his chest. Did he always say things like this while asleep? Kisame wondered. His dream began to wander off back into Itachi's worries. He mumbled something softly into Kisame's chest.
"Hm?" Kisame had always been curious what Itachi dreamed about. His past? His fears? And now that he knew Itachi felt the same way as him, Kisame himself? He never asked out of politeness, and worry that Itachi would think Kisame was rude.
"Otouto..." Itachi mumbled, louder this time, with a slightly troubled facial expression. Kisame's eyes widened slightly as he realized Itachi was dreaming about Sasuke. He probably was worried his brother would find and kill him. It was a rational fear. After all, Itachi had killed the entire Uchiha clan except Sasuke.