Author's note: Itachi is fifteen in this story, and Shisui is seventeen. For all intents and purposes, this is non-massacre. I don't own Naruto.
Uchiha Itachi was well known as being quite antisocial, almost to the point where nobody but his family and teammates ever saw him. That's why when people saw him with Shisui, they were absolutely shocked.
It was well known that the two were close friends, but it was painfully confusing to see Itachi, a lone wolf, with Shisui, a colorful, social butterfly. Well, at least, Shisui thought himself a colorful, social butterfly. At the moment, the two were talking quietly at a dango shop. Well, Shisui was the only one talking, and Itachi was possibly enjoying a stick of dango. As there was no expression of joy on his countenance, it was hard for one to tell.
"And then I totally ripped this guy's head off, and his guts were splashing all over me. Then Hana went 'Ewww!' when she saw me at the restaurant, which I thought was totally rude, y'know? I mean, she's hot and all, but she smells like dogs all the time. I didn't have time to shower or change anyway."
Itachi made a noncommittal noise, nodding his slightly. Sipping a bit of tea, he sighed as Shisui blabbered away again, not really paying that much attention to what his friend was saying. He just watched his lips open and close rapidly, his tongue flitting out to lick his lips every few sentences, as they always did.
"Shisui, I must go home to take care of Sasuke," Itachi muttered, silently rising from his seat.
Shisui's brows furrowed, displeased at the prospect of not having Itachi's companionship for the rest of the day.
"For the love of god, he's ten years old, Itachi," Shisui moaned, his arms flying to his sides in frustration. "He can take care of himself for thirty minutes."
Itachi shot him a look that he couldn't argue with. Throwing his arms up in defeat, he sighed. "Fine, fine. I SURRENDER. I'll walk you home."
"I'm not a twelve year old girl, Shisui."
"I don't know about that." Itachi glowered at him.
Once he waved goodbye to Shisui, Itachi closed the door behind him. Sasuke came around the corner and frowned. "Back so soon, nii-san?"
"Sorry for surprising you, Sasuke," he muttered, removing his shoes. Sasuke shook his head.
"Nah, I don't mind. I just thought you'd be out the whole day. I'm going out to play in a little bit, anyway." Itachi's heart raced at that. He would have the house to himself.
"With whom?" Itachi asked politely, making sure his brother would be taken care of.
"Naruto. It's his birthday. We're going to go get some ramen." Itachi smiled and brought his fingers close to Sasuke's forehead, but the younger agilely dodged his attack. "I'm not a little kid anymore," Sasuke whined.
Itachi closed his eyes and chuckled. "Of course," he acquiesced, ruffling his brother's hair instead, complaints in the form of grunts coming from the boy. "Have fun but be safe," he warned, but Sasuke simply rolled his eyes as he slipped on his shoes.
"Whatever."
Itachi shook his head and started to ascend the stairs as he heard the door slide shut.
He was now alone in the house, free to do as he wished. His father was working, his mother was out with friends, and Sasuke had went to play with Naruto.
Going to his room, he pulled out a small pile of mission reports that he had yet to finish. Picking up a pen, he signed his name at the top of each and began to scribble what had happened on every mission in full detail. He hated the look on the third's face when he turned in the papers. It was exhausted. Itachi had tried to trim off the unimportant parts, but it was hard. When he read one over, he realized he had even described how Shisui had looked that day. A tint of red came to his cheeks. It was allowed for no one else was in the room with him.
Itachi had vaguely become aware of his inappropriate feelings two years ago, when his heart had beat erratically in his chest when Shisui spoke to him, touched him. Shisui and Itachi had worked extremely hard to convince Fugaku not to go through with the coup. They prevailed in the end, Fugaku stating that he only wanted what was best for Itachi. Relations were better than they had ever been, and Itachi and Shisui had accomplished that together. Itachi bit the side of his cheek when he remembered that he wasn't supposed to like the thought of them together.
He couldn't help but call to mind Shisui, how he looked, how he smelled, and good lord, the stupid boy would not stop faux-flirting with him. Itachi abhorred it when he did that. His chest would tighten, he would begin to sweat, and he would choke on his words, the sound never coming out of his throat. Slamming his head onto the desk, Itachi groaned in frustration.
He had completely lied to Shisui that day. He knew Sasuke was capable of taking care of himself. He was, after all, ten years old. However, Itachi just couldn't stand to be near him anymore. His reactions were inappropriate. His pulse would jump whenever Shisui touched him, neared him, whispered in his ear... They were cousins, and on top of that, they were both male. His family would be repulsed by him if they were ever to find out. Also, Shisui wouldn't ever think of him in that way. Even though Itachi wanted badly to tell Shisui how he felt, he valued their friendship too much to run the risk of losing it. Looking down, he realized that it wasn't only his heart that was excited.
Rising from his desk, he decided to go for a quick walk to clear his mind.
Walking near the training grounds, he accidentally stumbled across Inuzuka Hana, exercising with her dogs. Unfortunately, she noticed him and called him over. Trying to be polite to his cousin's soon-to-be girlfriend, he did as she asked.
"How are you doing, Itachi? It's been a while since I've seen you," she said happily, wiping sweat off the back of her neck.
"I've been well," he replied. "How have you been?"
"I've been great. I've had a hell ton of missions lately," she sighed. "Kiba's starting the academy next week. I'm so nervous. I mean, he's starting a little later than the other kids, but I told him he just had to go at his own pace. How's Sasuke been?"
"Sasuke has been well. He is out playing with a friend."
Hana smirked. "So you're just being a loner right now?"
"I suppose you could look at it in that way."
Hana laughed boisterously and shot a grin at Itachi. "Well, I'll catch you around, Itachi. Have a nice walk."
She then continued to run with her dogs. Itachi, deciding that had been enough social interaction for one day, returned home.
Naruto and Sasuke watched the movie intently, their eyes glued to the screen as the man and woman kissed each other deeply, professing their love for each other. The two of them stole glances at each other, red dusting their cheeks. They fidgeted in their seats next to each other, feeling uncomfortable.
Once the film ended, the two boys dashed out of the theatre, eager to get away. They agreed that they would go the playground for a while, sitting on the empty swings.
"That was a weird movie, huh?" Naruto boisterously shouted, swinging back and forth.
"Yeah..." Sasuke replied. To be honest, he was still thinking about it. "It was weird what they were doing with their lips and with their tongues."
"Gosh, I hope I never grow up," Naruto chuckled. "I'd never do that with a girl."
Sasuke was confused by Naruto's diction. "Does that mean you'd do it with a boy?"
Naruto turned red and blurted, "Of- of course not!"
Sasuke shrugged, and the two swung in silence for a while. Suddenly, Naruto spoke. "I'd do it with you," he whispered, his swing still. Sasuke stopped moving as well, casting a glance at his friend.
Naruto was red, staring at his feet that did not quite touch the ground. Sasuke got up off his swing and strolled toward his friend.
Ducking his head, he quickly pressed his lips to Naruto's, causing the blonde to jerk in response. Soon though, Naruto pressed back, and they shared a pleasant sensation.
Snorting, Sasuke said, "Happy Birthday, stupid."
Naruto gaped at him but eventually smirked. "Dummy, I'm gonna get you." He jumped off the swing and tackled Sasuke to the ground, the two boys giggling madly.
The boys played Ninja for the rest of the day.
Shisui had been avoiding him.
At first, Itachi was extremely afraid that Shisui had finally found out about his feelings, but it didn't seem that way after a while. He wouldn't even wave to Itachi in the streets. Itachi tried to conceal his hurt, but he couldn't stand it anymore. He decided to confront Shisui.
He knocked on his aunt's door. She opened it, surprised to see him. "Why, hello. Itachi-chan, is there something you need?"
"Is Shisui home?"
Sadly, she shook her head. "Ah, that boy is out with his lady friend at the Nakano River bridge. Hana, I believe her name was? He's been going out with her a lot lately. Would you like me to give him a message?"
Itachi's heart twisted in his chest, but he smiled at the woman. "Thank you, Auntie, but that won't be necessary. I shall see you soon."
The woman beamed at him. "Bye, Itachi-chan."
Itachi sprinted to the Nakano bridge, though he wasn't sure why he had. It wasn't as if Shisui would be leaving any time soon; he was on a date, after all. However, Shisui used to tell him that the Nakano bridge was their place. Itachi couldn't help but feel a little sad.
He spotted Shisui rapidly talking with Hana, saying something that caused her to laugh. Itachi gulped as he took a few steps forward. Shisui immediately noticed him, and his lips curled downward. Swinging an arm over Hana's shoulders, he muttered, "Hey, Hana. Let's go."
"Wait!" Itachi cried out, his voice desperate. Hana stopped in her tracks, making Shisui growl in frustration.
"Why don't you just hear him out?" Hana offered, and Shisui really couldn't argue with her. She wouldn't let him run away. "Stay here," she ordered, and Shisui begrudgingly obeyed her, watching her as she waved goodbye to them.
He stiffened when he felt Itachi's presence directly behind him. "Shisui-" Itachi started.
"I don't want to hear it!" Shisui bit out tersely, his shoulders tensing up. Itachi jerked backward at his friend's livid response.
"Tell me, cousin," Itachi pleaded, nearing him once more. "What have I done to anger you? What can I do to make it right?"
Shisui laughed bitterly, turning to face Itachi. "Oh, you really care? Could have fooled me."
Itachi frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about the day you lied to me when you said you had to take care of Sasuke," Shisui seethed angrily, his fists clenching at his sides. Itachi's blood ran cold.
"How did you know?"
"Hana told me. She said Sasuke was out with a friend and that you were walking all by yourself." Shisui's eyes were raw with hurt, and Itachi finally realized the depth of his betrayal, something he had thought was no large matter. "Do I just annoy you? Do you just tolerate me for the sake of appeasing me?" Shisui cried through gritted teeth. "Do you even like me?"
Itachi's eyes widened. " I didn't mean to make you feel that way."
Shisui just held a hand up and smiled bitterly. Turning away, he said, "Forget it, Itachi. Just go ahead and-"
Itachi interrupted him, grabbing his hand and slamming it firmly against his chest. "Hey, what are you doing?" Shisui questioned irately, halfheartedly tugging his hand away.
Then he felt it.
Itachi's pulse had fluttered at his touch, quickening its pace tenfold. His cheeks were ever so slightly red, his lips parted, and his dark, dark pupils were dilated.
Itachi swallowed, his throat suddenly very, very dry. "Shisui, I-"
Shisui understood. He ripped his hand away from Itachi as if he had been burned, and a heavy feeling settled itself in Itachi's stomach as he saw the look of horror plastered on Shisui's face.
Shisui stumbled backward, catching his breath for a moment before running away, not looking back.
Itachi stood on the Nakano bridge, hating himself for what he had done.
Hoo, boy. That was a lot of angst.