WARNING!: YAOI/SHOUNEN-AI ALERT! DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ !

Watching Over You In The Dark

It has been three weeks. Three weeks since the puppeteer had died by his elder's hand. Three weeks since the Akatsuki was missing one of his most powerful members, to never be able to get him back. Three weeks since his partner had been told of his death. Three weeks since he had locked himself in the red head's room, crying litres of salty tears over Sasori's clothes during hours in a row. Three weeks since he had last got out, since he had last eaten something, since he had last spoken to someone, anyone.

The S-rank criminals in black and red uniforms stood by the shut wooden door, helpless. Sobs and whimpers were coming from behind the stone wall, dimmed by the compact rock separating the room from the corridor. They could almost hear the drops roll down the bomber's face, and die in the Akasuna's cloak, retrieved on the battlefield witness of his disappearance.

The atmosphere outside the bedroom was thick, saddened. It was almost too hard to breath normally without tears swelling up their gaze. Even the toughest of them had shiny eyes, cast on the closed door. Kisame and Kakuzu were standing on both sides of it, Hidan sitting at his partner's feet. On the opposite side were Zetsu and Tobi, the masked male resting on the schizophrenic's lap while the two-coloured man patted his short dark hair mechanically. Konan was leaning on the wall by the plant-man and the newly accepted member, her arms crossed tightly around her torso. Being a family like theirs inevitably implied pain, they were now understanding it.

Footsteps were heard long before the newcomer was in sight. The leader turned the corner and quickly covered the few metres between his previous position and the rest of his organisation, minus the deceased and the Uchiha, Deidara still locked up alone in the room. "He's still in there?" he asked with a cold, harsh tone, staring each member one after the other, his piercing silvery gaze drawing holes in their heads.

They all nodded as one, weakly. Pein sighed, then rubbed his eyes with his fingertips. None of them had talked yet, and already a headache was shadowing over him. "Do something about it. I can't afford another week without that pyromaniac on missions. I have an assessment for the kid, and it's urgent".

"We tried everything, Pein" Konan declared, her lips quivering as hot drops threatened to be spilled. "I can't take it anymore!" she shouted to no one in particular. "It has been three weeks! He's going to starve to death if we don't do anything, but we can't even help him! What's gonna happen next time, when another one of us is gonna pass away? We'll all stay put in our rooms with the lights off and wait for death to come upon us?!". She laid a pale, delicate hand on her mouth, breaking into tears seconds later.

The heavily pierced man wrapped a reassuring arm around her waist, holding her close to his chest while slicking her ocean-blue hair backwards. He turned on his heels, the tails of his cloak flying around him, keeping the crying woman under his comforting arm. "I want him out and ready to fight by tomorrow" he threw over his shoulder, a last glance at his organisation as warning.

As the couple was about to enter the red-haired leader's office, a young raven man nearly bumped into them, sidestepping them to avoid the crash. "Gomennasai, Pein-sama. Konan-san" he apologized, head down.

He slightly parted his lips, ready to speak again, but Pein brushed it off. "You'll do that report on that sole assignment later, Uchiha. You have a new mission. I want you to go down the hall and get that blond brat on his feet. He grieved that puppet more than enough. Go now, and don't disappoint me: I do not appreciate failure." The onyx-eyed man nodded and left, striding toward Sasori's room with no other goal in thought than to get Deidara out of his semi-conscious state.

Five heads turned around, locking their colourful gaze on Itachi as he approached the small group. The youngest Akatsuki was in a pitiful shape, Kisame noticed. Dry blood was splattered all over the Sharingan user's body, staining his dark clothes and pale face with burgundy blots. His hair was messy, but had somehow kept that glimmering shine peculiar to the lithe rogue ninja. The bags under his ebony eyes were painted in a more tenebrous shade of purple, proof of several consecutives sleepless days. But even with his morbid looks, nothing seemed to prevent him of walking straight and fast, or to keep that emotionless expression plastered on his feminine face.

"Itachi-san?" the shark look-alike asked, taking a step forward to meet his partner, only to have a hand push against his chest to shove him out of the weasel's way. He stumbled backwards until his back was pressed against the wall, stunned by the coldness Itachi was showing. The others looked at him with question marks embed into their eye sockets as the Uchiha murderer opened the door, not bothering to knock to announce his entry. He walked into the obscure room, the ajar door allowing light to creep inside, and to let the older members have a good look to what was happening.

Deidara was sitting on his danna's bed, on the immediate left of the bedroom, his knees raised on his chest, forehead against them and frail arms wrapped around the joints. Trapped in the stringent embrace was a large piece of black clothing, crimson clouds breaded on the fabric as bloody patterns. The bomber didn't react at the raven's presence, didn't lift his head up, nor stopped his ceaseless crying.

The artist hd lost weight, a lot of weight. His ribs were visible underneath his tanned skin, almost breaking through the flesh and shirt. His wheat-coloured hair was dull and loose, locks surrounding his sides. His body was shaken by sobs every so often, shivering. No matter how lamentable Itachi looked like at this instant, he surely didn't seem as miserable as the one-eyed sculptor.

The uchiha walked directly to the occupied bed, kneeling beside the broken artist. The other Akatsukis watched his stay immobile by the bed, as still as a statue crafted in the whiter stone there is. He stared the blond man for a few minutes, blinking only when it was an absolute necessity. "What do you think he's going to fucking do to blondie?" Hidan asked, his lavender gaze shifting from Itachi and the blue-eyed male to the rest of his friends. They all shrugged the question away: no one knew how to answer it. The Uchiha was unpredictable, as the Iwa-nin's spontaneous reactions. Only a psychic would have known the following events.

Itachi grabbed the bomber's shoulder softly, slightly pressing it with his slender fingers. Deidara's face slowly poked out of the den he had made with his arms, now realizing he had been observed. The cerulean of his right eye was even more accentuated by the red surrounding it, due to the large amount of salty water he had cried during the last weeks. His lips were crackled, some spots bleeding onto his chin, cleaned up soon after by the constant flood of clear tears. Wrecked was the first word that came to the long, onyx-haired man.

He cupped Deidara's wet cheek in his pal, stroking his face with fluid, gentle movements, passing over his scope like if it hadn't been there. The men outside the room watched in awe the blonde lean into the touch, wrapping his shaking fingers around the younger male's, staring deep into the weasel mesmerizing eyes. He whispered something that only he and Itachi could hear, a smile growing on his dry lips as the Konoha nukenin replied back, on the same low tone his fellow Akatsuki had used, preventing the others of hearing him.

Deidara swang his legs over the edge of the bed, facing the raven. They resumed their quiet conversation, the group at the door step trying to read their lips albeit the obvious darkness. The one-eyed raised his bony, lean hands to Itachi's face, gliding over his features, grazing, as if not to break them. Tears ran down his already humid cheek, contrasting with the beautiful, beaming smile spreading on his lips.

"Zetsu, we need to know what's happening" Kisame whispered, eyes still glued to the young men. The cannibal nodded and sank into the wall behind him, leaving a slightly upset Tobi on the other side. He reappeared seconds later inside the gloomy bedroom, his shining golden eyes reflecting the poor light coming from the crack-opened door. If the two males had noticed him, they didn't mind his intrusion into the world that seemed to be theirs.

During the next minutes, the terrorist's face was a blank canvas where feelings took place as paint. Almost all the emotions a human heart could bear split it among themselves, one at a time: disbelief, anger, sadness, relief, happiness, love. And the former ANBU remained unemotional as the bomber displayed a pallette of immaterial colours. He only reacted when Deidara grabbed him by the back of his neck, bringing him into a heated, passionate kiss. Which he responded to, to the swordsman's dismay.

Kisame's jaw practically hit the floor when he saw his boyfriend kiss the blond artist back. A million and one questions assaulted his mind. What was that suppose to mean? Was it over between them, now that the Sharingan wielder had found someone more interesting... less of a freak then him?

Three pairs of eyes, and a half, stared at him, but he could care less about them. He couldn't take his dark gaze off the youngest Akatsuki members, no matter how painful it was to watch them. A disgusting mix of hate, fear, and despair took place in his abdomen, making him feel sick to his stomach, but even more to his heart. Itachi had healed his scars and wounds by accepting the shark's feelings like a gift, and was now ripping the threads sewing his injuries close violently, creating the bloodiest and the most aching gashes he had ever suffered of.

Mere seconds later, the two androgynous pulled apart, Deidara falling off the bed to land on the weasel, unconscious, the same wide smile etched onto his reddened lips. The Uchiha caught him before his limp body could hit the stone floor, and set him back on the mattress, carefully. He laid the light-haired head on the pillow, and put the covers on the one-eyed man, brushing a few stray locks off his relaxed face.

Itachi got up, using the bed as support, and took one step toward the door, unaware of the shocked looks the others gave him, the heartbreaking expression printed on the aqua-coloured features of his partner. Before he could lay his foot down, he fell to the ground, his knees hitting the hard floor with a loud thud.

Kisame rushed by his side, confused, but mostly scared. He caught the young man just in time, the raven's head resting on his large chest, as he too, kneeled on the floor. Itachi leaned against him, fully trusting his lover to take care of him when he was in such a weak state, powerless, even if he knew he had hurt him. How was he suppose to explain that? He could think about it later... now, the only thing that sounded appealing was deep, slumber sleep, one he hadn't reached for far too long. He gazed up to Kisame one last time, before letting out a sigh, snuggling closer to him as he closed his heavy eyelids.

Kisame picked him up, wondering how he was to act now. He gave a quick glance at Zetsu, who in response shrugged his mismatched shoulders, the white side offering him a compassionate look, the black one almost snickering at the blue-skinned swordsman. Kakuzu opened the door for the Kiri-nin, the others stepping out of his way while he slip into the corridor. They didn't know what to say, or do, if they had to comfort Kisame of leave him alone. They opted for the second option, allowing him to carry his load to their shared room.

The shark look-alike closed the door to his and Itachi's room with his foot, obscurity surrounding the both of them. Remembering the location of the furniture, he walked to the double-size bed, laying the weasel down on the covers. He sat next to him, his eyes slowly getting accustomed to the ambient darkness.

How could his relationship with the young raven had gone wrong? It all started so perfectly, and went on so well... Was it meant to end like that? A single tear ran down his face as memories tormented his mind, all related to Itachi directly or not. It dripped off his chin, landing quietly on the Uchiha's cheek, unintentionally waking him up.

"Kisame...?" the prodigy asked groggily, blinking to recover his sight lost in the gloom of the room. He activated his Sharingan, getting a good look of his partner's, maybe now former lover's, features. Everything was blurry and dark, but at least he could see the most important components of Kisame's aspect.

His beady eyes would have shone if there had been any luminosity in the room, stinging water scattered uniformly on his unique gaze. Itachi could read the pain glossing his eyes as well as he could read a book. "Kisame, what's wrong?" he asked, siting up, hints of exhaustion and worry in his usually emotionless voice. He felt himself growing more and more tired by the second, using his Sharingan eyes when he was about to loose consciousness out of overwork draining all his strengths quickly.

The ebony-haired male raised a hand to Kisame's face, but the Hidden Mist nin grabbed it before the slender fingers could reach it's target. "Itachi, tell me what is going on". He was hurt, badly inside, the called one could tell just by listening to the stronger man's voice.

"What is... going... on...?" Itachi repeated, trying to get his thoughts to focus on the words that seemed to mean so much to the Samehada wielder, failing miserably as the thick clouds of sleep begun to invade his mind. "What... go... on..?" He fell back on the bed, unable to form coherent words, a few tears streaming down his face.

The pale male blinked his bloodline trait away, gathering the last strands of lucidity to understand his partner. "Itachi, please stay awake. I need answers" Kisame half-pleaded, half-ordered. "What have you done to Deidara? Why did you..." he trailed off, gulping. "...kiss him back?" Uncertain of wether he wanted to know the answer or not, he waited impatiently for Itachi to reply.

"I... didn't mean to hurt you... really." Itachi admitted, his voice sleepy, but clear. "I just wanted to... ease the pain for him... He was dying inside... I know how it feels like... to loose somebody dear to you... I didn't want him to suffer... the same inner agony as I did... as I still do..."

Kisame knew it was still painful to the Uchiha heir to talk about his family. After their first attempt to capture the Kyuubi sealed inside the Uzumaki boy, the shark look-alike had started wondering why Itachi hadn't been that much cruel to his baby brother, why he had survived the Uchiha massacre when the entire clan was meant to be wipe out and escaped the older raven's torture without fatal damages, for the second time in his life. The weasel had told him anything there was to know right after their return to the hideout. After all, they were partners and friends, confidents, and also lovers: they needed to tell each other everything, even if it was hard to.

Kisame took his partner's hand in his, waiting for him to continue. "He was in so much pain... I had no other choice... Deidara couldn't live without knowing... without being sure that he was fine... where he is now... But I can't bring back the dead... So I trapped him into my genjutsu... and made him believe I was Sasori..."

"How could that be possible? Do you really have such powers, 'Tachi?" Henging into somebody wasn't hard, but doing it when the user was out of chakra and sleep deprived, weakened by days of walking and to be on continual alert, changing his appearance for only one being above that, was near impossibility's border line. The kid must have used those powerful eyes of his to accomplish such achievement, even if it meant the possibility of fainting immediately after his intervention, or during the process. But resorting to his kekkei genkai should have done more harm than what seemed to be affecting Itachi, since he probably used it on his assignment...

It was then the older Akatsuki realized that the tears spilling from the midnight-sky eyes were no crystalline-clear water, but deep-scarlet blood.

"I shouldn't have let him go alone on this mission. That's what happens when I'm not there to avoid him to over use his eyes..." He tried to wipe the crimson trails off, to help in his own way, but the pale male stopped him in his movement, blindly finding his large wrist in the dark. "Don't touch them..." he whispered with a raspy, tired voice. "It'll stop soon... I still need to explain you a few things..."

Kisame nodded his agreement, although the young man couldn't see it. As if reading his boyfriend's mind through the obscurity, Itachi resumed his monologue, intertwining his white fingers with the azure ones. "I'm sorry it happened this way... but I had to make him believe I really was Sasori... If he had grown suspicious, my genjutsu would have worn off... and it would have been over... I had to act like Sasori... meaning I had to kiss Deidara back... I'm sorry, Kisame..."

The Uchiha closed his eyes, his head dropping to the side. The rest came out in a low murmur, almost inaudible. "Don't tell Deidara... Let him think... it was all a dream... For his sake... for me..." Itachi passed out, his hand still in Kisame's, heading for a long needed, earned rest, the cutest smile on his lips.

The blue-haired criminal let go of the delicate fingers, using his owns to brush the black bangs off Itachi's serene face, just like the raven had done moments ago with Deidara. He lied down next to his partner, embracing the corpse-like body close to him. He planted a soft kiss on the flawless forehead, whispering against the ivory skin "You care to much for your family for your own good, 'Tachi. You hold it so dear into your heart... I'm afraid it'll be the death of you, love."

Some would call his words humour; some would call them coincidence; others would call them farseeing. They, in their new family's knowledge, preferred understanding...

~Owari~

WARNING!: YAOI/SHOUNEN-AI ALERT! DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ!

DISCLAIMER: You already know that these characters aren't mine, I dunno why I keep saying it...

Hope you'll all like it, even if the ending sucks in my opinion. Oh yeah, btw, Itachi is not dying at the end. He just passes out of exhaustion XD

Don't forget to review ^^