Unsettled by Kisame's actions and his abrupt departure, Itachi shifted his grasp on the clothing in his arms and, awkwardly, shoved the money into his pocket. Itachi had forgotten that money was capable of weighing so much.
The walk to his living room was a slow one due to the way he was weighed down with food and clothing. When he got there, there was only a single lamp on, which was normal for them. They tried to avoid using much electricity to save money.
Sasukewas sitting next to it in his customary, broody position, leaning forwards with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped in front of his face. Itachi didn't speak to him at first, and instead walked the short distance to their small kitchen to heat the cool Indian food back up.
"I don't like him," Sasuke announced, standing abruptly. He stood at Itachi's side, watching the microwave plate turn with a bowl of soft long grain rice and lamb curry in it. He was nearly as tall as Itachi now. A wave of nostalgia washed over Itachi, but he quashed it. Of course Sasuke would grow up. He was 19 now, and legally an adult in his own right.
"I said, I don't like him," Sasuke repeated, poking Itachi in the side. It appeared that, while Sasuke was growing up in body, his mind was not changing at all.
"Why do you not like him?" Itachi asked, deciding to indulge him. Sasuke looked at him as though he was an escaped mental patient but, nevertheless, answered.
"He's touching you," Sasuke spat angrily.
"He's paying me," Itachi said, taking the steaming food out of the microwave and passing it to Sasuke with a spoon.
"I don't care," Sasuke responded sullenly, stabbing into his food with alarming force and ferocity, considering the fact that the spoon he was eating with was blunt, "No amount of money is worth it,"
"Not even 10 payments of $2000?" Itachi asked seriously, sitting directly across from Sasuke at their tiny table. Sasuke stared at him as though he wasn't sure if Itachi was joking for once, his spoon freezing half way to his mouth.
"No," Sasuke said, giving up on attempting to figure out what Itachi had meant by that comment. Itachi reached into his pocket and pulled out the tightly bound banknotes. He threw them to Sasuke, who caught them with a dumb-struck look on his face.
"Hn," Sasuke said after a moment, throwing them back, "At least he knows you're worth a lot. How much is Deidara getting?"
Sasuke spat out the blond man's name as though it was a foul-tasting liquid.
"$500 on this occasion," Itachi replied, "And $500 on every occasion thereafter,"
"He shouldn't be getting any of it," Sasuke snorted, "The little-"
"Language, Sasuke," Itachi warned in advance.
"I haven't even said anything yet!" Sasuke protested hotly, shoving a spoon full of delicious curry into his mouth.
"Yet," Itachi pointed out, to Sasuke's apparent consternation, if that look on his face was anything to go by. Then, he lost his expression of annoyance as realisation dawned on his face.
"Wait...," Sasuke said slowly, ""Every occasion thereafter"? "10 payments of $2000"? What do you mean by that? Don't tell me you're seeing him again!"
Anger boiled behind his dark eyes as he leapt up from his chair, slamming his palms down in the wooden surface of the table.
"You promised me that this would be a one time thing, Aniki!" he shouted, his voice likely penetrating throughout the whole building.
"If you will sit down and be quiet for a moment, I will explain," Itachi said calmly. He had learned, from his father's approach towards Sasuke, that shouting at somebody who is already shouting does nothing but cause the argument to escalate. Sure enough, Sasuke sat back down, poking at his dinner moodily.
"It was my understanding that I promised you I would sleep with the client once and once only," Itachi said, watching Sasuke carefully for any signs of impending explosion, "I have not yet slept with him, and he has made it very clear that he hired me for company alone,"
At the mention of Itachi not having had sex with Kisame, Sasuke's visage immediately brightened.
"That doesn't explain-" Sasuke started to say.
"If you would allow me to finish, you would discover why I will be seeing him 9 more times between now and Christmas," Itachi said, over-riding what Sasuke was about to say. When Sasuke made no more moves to talk, Itachi continued.
"I was uncomfortable with the prospect of earning so much money for very little reason," Itachi said, hearing Sasuke sullenly mutter The bastard should be paying you more under his breath, "Kisame-san wanted to allay my concerns, so he came up with this arrangement, which I then accepted,"
"And he hasn't hurt you?" Sasuke asked, his eyes sweeping over Itachi's body as though he was checking for signs of injury.
"No, he has not," Itachi said to silence from Sasuke. Watching him closely, Sasuke began to eat again.
"He still touched you though," he muttered through a mouthful of lamb and rice.
"So he did," Itachi said, "And he will continue to do so,"
"I don't want him to touch you," Sasuke said moodily, putting the last spoonful of rice into his mouth.
"So you have said," Itachi said teasingly, collecting Sasuke's bowl and poking him in the forehead. As was tradition, Sasuke rubbed the spot Itachi's fingers had assaulted and pretended to look annoyed.
"I think it would be best if you went to bed now," Itachi called from the kitchen as he washed the dishes, "We will be up early tomorrow,"
"Why?" Sasuke asked suspiciously, padding into the kitchen.
"We need to go into town for Christmas shopping," Itachi said, putting Sasuke's bowl into the dish rack. Sasuke offered no protest, disappearing around the corner and into their shared bedroom. Itachi stayed up a little longer, tidying up a little and getting their clothes out of the fresh laundry Sasuke had picked up on the way home from college so that they wouldn't have to waste time searching for something to wear tomorrow.
It was a quarter to midnight when he entered their bedroom. They shared a king sized bed Itachi had gotten cheap from a furniture store which was closing down when they had first moved into the apartment. Both Itachi and Sasuke had been uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a bed with their respective sibling initially, but they had soon gotten used to it.
Itachi quickly changed into his pyjamas and quietly went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He heard Sasuke make a funny noise in his sleep, and stifled a small smirk.
When he returned, Sasuke as spread out in the middle of the bed, and Itachi was forced to wake him so that he, too, could clamber into the bed. By the time Sasuke's sleep-muddled mind had comprehended why his brother was waking him up at such an ungodly hour, Itachi's toes and fingers were numb with cold. Apologetically, Sasuke scooted over until he was on the side nearest the window, raising the covers for Itachi to slip underneath.
"Shit, you're freezing!" Sasuke yelped, suddenly wide awake as Itachi's hand accidentally brushed his wrist when Itachi took the quilt off him so he could cover them up.
"I suppose I am a little cold," Itachi admitted, settling underneath the covers. There was one thing that could be said for their old bed- it was warm. He was drawn out of bliss when Sasuke grabbed his hands and began to rub them furiously in an effort to warm him up.
"A little?" Sasuke asked incredulously, "It feels like an iceberg just climbed into bed with me! You need to eat more!"
Itachi was, frankly, simultaneously amused and surprised by the fact that Sasuke was mothering him like this. The resemblance between Sasuke and their mother seemed more obvious than usual.
"I fail to see why my weight has any bearing on my body temperature," Itachi said, allowing Sasuke's actions.
"Your skinny ass has no fat to keep you warm," Sasuke grumbled, "Learn to fucking eat, Itachi, or I swear, I'll tie you down and force you to,"
Ah. The similarities between Sasuke and their mother were looking fewer, all of a sudden.
"I highly doubt you could accomplish that," Itachi said, nevertheless liking the fact that his brother cared about him so much. He decided to ignore the fact that Sasuke's remarks about his weight did not effect him in the way Kisame's had.
"I'll have accomplices," Sasuke said darkly, sliding back under the covers and watching Itachi like a hawk in the darkness.
"I think my...ass is the only place on my body that is not skinny," Itachi said musingly, to a snicker from Sasuke, who couldn't bring himself to be upset that Itachi had kept him awake a few seconds longer.
"Good night," Sasuke drowsily slurred in Japanese.
"Good night, little brother," Itachi replied in the same tongue.
The next day dawned bright and cold. More snow had fallen in the night, which Itachi discovered when Sasuke sadistically opened the curtains as he lay in bed.
"Whoops," Sasuke said cheerfully. Itachi glared at him balefully.
"I'll just make some tea and toast," Sasuke said, leaving the room.
"Don't," Itachi said, climbing out of his warm bed with a regretful shiver, "You'll likely burn the apartment down,"
"My cooking is fine," Sasuke responded as Itachi walked into the kitchen, where Sasuke was pushing bread into the toaster and turning the kettle on.
Sasuke didn't burn the toast. As soon as they had finished eating, they bundled themselves up in their scarves and coats and left the apartment. Their first destination was the bank, where Itachi put all but $20 of their money into his account. He didn't think it was wise to wander around the city with a pocket full of money. From there, they took the tube into the heart of the city, where they would get their shopping done in one go. Very few people were on the tube. An older man with a scrubby blond moustache ran his eyes over both of them with an unholy grin on his face.
"We're not interested, ugly," Sasuke sneered before Itachi could stop him.
Luckily, the man was just drunk, rather than psychotic, and looked embarrassed and angry as he shuffled to the other side of the train.
They got off onto a platform that was already becoming busy. It was only about 8am, but shopping started early this close to Christmas. Their first stop was a store which sold electronics. Itachi quickly spotted the iPods and sent Sasuke to find a CD he liked while he stealthily purchased a black one and an iTunes voucher on his card. When Sasuke returned, Itachi acted as though he had been browsing the DVDs, the iPod hidden safely inside his pocket. Sasuke had found a JRock CD he liked hidden behind a number of Culture Club CDs.
"Sasuke," Itachi said slowly as Sasuke presented it to him and told him where he had gotten it from, "Why were you looking at Culture Club CDs?"
Sasuke's cheeks reddened as he spluttered out something that sounded like Just curious.
When Itachi came to pay for the CD, there was an unpleasant-looking girl serving. She was the type who caked on liquid foundation until her skin was the colour of an overripe orange, and still thought she was attractive. She sent Sasuke a flirtatious look, which was ignored in favour of the band mug display next to her.
Itachi handed the CD to her without speaking.
"This is some, like, Japanese band, right?" she asked sneeringly, scanning it quickly and putting it in a bag, "Can you, like, even understand what they're saying?"
"Of course I can, I'm Japanese," Itachi responded coldly in his mother tongue. She blinked in bemusement.
"What did you say?" she asked.
"I said that you look like an orange in a wig," Itachi said coldly, to a snigger from Sasuke. She looked scandalised as he paid, and didn't once try to bat her eyelashes at Sasuke as they left the shop.
"Where to next?" Sasuke asked, glancing at the bag Itachi held, which contained the CD he had chosen.
"Hot Rush," Itachi said, referring to the clothes shop Sasuke favoured. Sasuke argued at first, not wanting to spend more money, but Itachi wore him down. He looked almost excited as they reached the shop. It was nearly empty. This was understandable, as it was a shop favoured by teenagers, the majority of whom were still in bed at 9am on a Saturday morning.
Sasukewas very careful when he picked out clothing, always going for the cheaper option when deciding. In the end, he chose an edgy yet stylish wardrobe for himself. The cost was just over $190. The sales assistant, a tall green-haired male with a lip ring, kept gracing Itachi with lecherous glances, all of which were ignored. Sasuke helped by sending the man a look of purest loathing. Nothing could match an Uchiha glare in ferocity, and the sales assistant quickly skulked away.
"I think he wet himself out of fear," Itachi said, hiking the bags further up his arms as they made their way to the nearest store which sold Christmas decorations. Sasuke wanted a black tree, but, a single look from Itachi later, he was happy with the six foot green tree Itachi had taken a liking to. Itachi refused to have something so gothic and depressing in their apartment this Christmas.
When it came to deciding on decorations, they were again at odds. Sasuke wanted to have red and silver decorations, while Itachi favoured the silver and blue style of Kisame's Christmas decorations. Sasuke only became more argumentative when Itachi told him that it had looked good in Kisame's home. He wanted Itachi to have as little to do with Kisame as possible.
Finally, Itachi allowed Sasuke to get his own way, reasoning that, as he had chosen the tree, it was only fair that Sasuke should choose the decorations. Both Itachi and Sasuke were in agreement that tinsel was incredibly gaudy, and chose a series of simple bead chains to go with the ornaments Sasuke had picked. They also made sure to buy the things they needed to wrap presents.
After this, Itachi had been ready to go for an early lunch before they made their way back to the tube station, but Sasuke insisted on making Itachi wait outside of an electronics store while he went inside and bought Itachi a Christmas present with the money he'd saved up from his busboy job. Itachi sighed, but gave in to his brother's wishes.
"Sasuke, why are you so slow?" he muttered to himself after ten minutes of waiting, wrapping his arms around himself to stave off the chill. He looked about himself to see if there was anything worth watching to stave off boredom, and discovered that a man and a woman seemed to find him very interesting indeed. He looked directly at them, hoping that they would get the hint and stop staring at him as though he was an interesting window display. They held a quick whispered conversation, and then they walked towards him. Itachi was confident he could defend himself if they became aggressive for some reason or another, as he had been a prodigious martial arts champion as a child and he still practiced to make sure he didn't become rusty. Nevertheless, the ceaseless staring was unnerving, as was their approach.
"Are you...Itachi Uchiha?" the woman asked, holding a newspaper in her hands. She stumbled a little over his name.
"Yes," Itachi said warily, "Why do you ask?"
She regarded him with wide eyes and an open mouth for a moment, as did her male companion. He recovered before she did.
"Are you dating Kisame Hoshigaki?" he asked urgently, as though it was a matter of great importance that he should know. Itachi made sure to show no outward signs of surprise.
"Where did you hear that?" he asked blankly. The woman quickly turned the newspaper towards him to show the front page of a national tabloid. On the front was a full-colour picture of Kisame brushing Itachi's hair out of the way as he whispered into his ear. The headline seemed to scream at him.
DEMON SHARK NOT SO STRAIGHT AFTERALL
Kisame "Demon Shark" Hoshigaki of the NFL champions The Sharks has taken the plunge into the unchartered waters of romance of a different kind.
The football legend, known for his ferocity on the field and his dramatic shark persona, seems to have publicly come out about his sexuality after nearly a decade of consecutive girlfriends. Hoshigaki, 30, split from his latest girlfriend, model Anita Blackville, 6 months ago, and has since been seen with a variety of women. But this latest piece of arm-candy has left everybody scratching their heads.
Japanese-born Itachi Uchiha, 24, is undeniably male. And a close friend, politician Orochimaru Ashi, claims that this is not a spontaneous occurrence.
"Kisame has always been bisexual," he stated, "And people are only just starting to notice. Afterall, he doesn't exactly fit the stereotype of a man with a taste for his own gender, does he?"
Hoshigaki and his male lover were spotted together at Ashi's election gala last night. They wore matching suits, and shared many lingering glances and touches before leaving half way through. They were later photographed leaving a local Indian restaurant together, before Hoshigaki drove Uchiha back to his downtown apartment, where they parted after a kiss and a grope.
"Kisame and Itachi are perfect for each other," Ashi said, "Not only do they have a common link through their nationalities, but they have shared interests. For example, I know that Kisame finds intelligence to be highly attractive, and Itachi's IQ could make the smartest of men feel envious. I haven't the slightest idea why he hasn't been inducted into Mensa yet,"
Very little is known about Hoshigaki's latest love interest. He is believed to be the eldest son of the late business tycoon, Fugaku Uchiha, who moved to the USA from Japan in the 90s, bringing his children and wife with him. Tragically, following the murder of his mother at the hands of his father, who committed suicide before setting their $2 million mansion on fire, both Uchiha and his younger brother, Sasuke, disappeared.
"Itachi didn't want to be dependant on guardians to survive," claimed an anonymous source, "And why should he be? He'd be smarter than those guys put together! Plus, he was worried that he and his brother would be separated, which was not something he wanted to happen,"
It can now be revealed that, in the wake of the selling of the family business Uchiha Corporation, 15-year-old Itachi, who had been enrolled at a prestigious university due to his genius-level intellect, dropped out of college to support his younger brother and bought a downtown apartment with his savings.
"If there's one thing Itachi cares about, it's [his younger brother] Sasuke," a close friend of Uchiha's has said.
How he came to Hoshigaki's attention is still a mystery. But Ashi believes that he has the answer.
"Put simply, chance," he said confidently, "They likely got lucky and bumped into one another somewhere completely normal, like the supermarket,"
The Sharks have not yet commented, and Kisame's management cannot be reached for questioning.
"This is a private matter," The Sharks coach Ted Briggs said in an unofficial comment to reporters outside his suburban home, "And I don't want none of you reporters sticking your stupid noses where they don't belong,"
The Sharks are due to play The Bears this Saturday. Hoshigaki will be team captain and hopes to lead his team to the top for the third year in a row.
When Itachi finished reading, he slowly looked up at the two strangers who were staring at him.
"Sorry for the wait Ita-," Sasuke said, coming out of the shop with a plastic bag dangling from his hand. He froze mid-sentence when he saw the strangers, and his eyes narrowed as he regarded Itachi's unsettled expression.
"What do you want?" he asked aggressively.
"N-Nothing!" the man said quickly, looking scared.
"Don't lie to me," Sasuke said, "You must want something, or you wouldn't be pissing my brother off. What...do...you...want?"
With each word, he stepped forwards until he was almost nose-to-nose with the man.
"Sasuke, stop it," Itachi sighed in Japanese. Immediately, Sasuke stepped out of the man's personal space, although he continued to throw burning looks.
"We were just wondering if he's really Itachi Uchiha!" the woman said, standing in front of the man protectively.
"Why do you want to know?" Sasuke asked, assuming a similarly protective position.
She didn't answer right away, glancing nervously at her male companion.
"We were just curious," she explained, "We saw the newspaper article and-,"
"What newspaper article?" Sasuke asked, cutting across her. Itachi wordlessly passed him the newspaper. Sasuke's eyes became wider and wider with each word that he read.
"Itachi, what the fuck?" he exclaimed in Japanese, "You didn't tell me any of this!"
"I'm sorry, Sasuke," Itachi said in the same language, "I'll explain when we get home,"
Sasuke seemed to accept his answer and rounded on the two strangers again.
"It's not about whether it's true or not," Sasuke said, sounding furious, "Keep out of other people's business!"
The two strangers looked shame-faced. Itachi noticed that they looked barely the same age as Sasuke, and the young woman appeared to be close to tears. Itachi took pity on them.
"Sasuke, stop terrorising them," he ordered with a frown. Sasuke heard him, but his glare didn't lessen.
"We're really sorry," the woman said, "Like we said, we were just curious, and I can't resist gossip,"
"You're one of those women, huh?" Sasuke asked coldly. She flinched.
"Sasuke, that's enough," Itachi said, his voice more forceful. Sasuke shut his mouth obediently, knowing that Itachi meant it this time.
"We really are sorry," the woman said, this time directing her apology towards Sasuke, "Can I get you some lunch to say sorry?"
"No thank you," Itachi said politely, "We need to finish our shopping,"
The woman appeared dismayed, but she allowed them to go with a weak smile.
By the time they returned home, it was 2 o'clock, and the shopping was heavy. Itachi still needed to go to the supermarket to buy groceries, aswell as a turkey and a Christmas pudding.
"This shit is killing my arms," Sasuke moaned, carrying the tree and decorations up the stairs.
"You're certainly not carrying the presents," Itachi said, noticing Sasuke's disappointed glare.
"Hn," Sasuke said, "Well, don't think you're seeing your presents, either. If I can't see mine, th- Holy shit!"
Itachi followed Sasuke's line of sight, and glaring at the reporters who were clustered around their door.
"Move," Itachi commanded. He was ignored as they began to clammer around, shouting questions and accusations.
"Itachi Uchiha, how does it feel to be the gay lover of NFL's most prominent star?" asked a rather portly man, almost thrusting his tape recorder into Itachi's mouth.
"How do you think it would feel to be beaten to within an inch of your life, dumbass?" Sasuke responded furiously, shoving the tape recorder out of the way, "Because you'll find out in a minute if you don't back the fuck up!"
For once, Itachi didn't comment on Sasuke's language, as it succeeded in getting the reporters out of the way long enough for Itachi to get his key into the lock and get himself, Sasuke and their shopping inside before they surrounded him again.
