Soft smacking sounds floated up from Kisame's living room couch Saturday evening. He had Itachi firmly under him, one hand molded to Itachi's jaw line, the other tight on his waist. Itachi's fingers were locked around Kisame's neck as they kissed.

When Itachi arrived at Kisame's house close to an hour before, Kisame was in a shit mood. He had worked almost two hours overtime on Friday and apparently made little progress on his current project, which caused him to be grumpy and seething when Itachi tried to talk to him. They got into an argument, Kisame was yelling and snappy, and then—all of the sudden Kisame just froze, and stared at Itachi. He grabbed him, buried is face into his hair, and held him so tightly Itachi could barely breathe. Itachi, in that moment, could feel the trembling anger soothe out of Kisame's muscles as he tension dissipated. After he cooled down, Itachi led him to the couch and pulled Kisame on top of him.

They were still kissing.

Itachi had very much lost track of time (and he very much didn't mind).

He made a noise in the back of his throat, sliding one hand down to press against the top of Kisame's broad chest, gently pushing him back. Kisame let out a little groan of protest, bumping their noses together.

"Are you going to tell me what's upset you?" Itachi asked breathily, licking his lips.

Kisame pushed their foreheads together. "There really isn't much to say." He tried to kiss him again.

Itachi hummed, letting his hands gently rub up and down Kisame's arms. "Why don't you tell me whatever there is to say."

Kisame sighed, sitting up. He dragged Itachi up with him, keeping one hand on him. "The current client we have is contracting a building for a restaurant over in Rivervalley. He is being…unforeseeably difficult about everything, changing things at the last minute." He ran a hand over his forehead. "My team and I have put in so many hours and he shits on it."

"That sounds frustrating," Itachi sympathized in a quiet voice.

Kisame looked up at him. He lifted his hand to push dark hair out of Itachi's face. "Yeah, but it isn't an excuse to be short with you. I'm sorry."

Itachi gave a lighthearted shrug, a small smile on his face. "It's nothing to worry about."

"I'm not going to take anger I have for other people out on you," Kisame insisted.

Unsurprisingly, Itachi ended up in Kisame's lap with is boyfriends tongue in his mouth again. He was quite enjoying the way Kisame held his face, and the way his nipped at his lips every now and again. He unwillingly felt himself melt into pliable putty as Kisame kissed him.

His pleasure was interrupted by a cellphone buzzing in Kisame's pants.

Kisame hummed, "Ignore it."

But after two more missed calls, Itachi insisted that he answer it.

"It could be an emergency."

Kisame didn't look happy about it, but he let Itachi crawl back off his lap, removing his phone from his pocket and answering it with an angry grunt. Itachi carefully watched his facial expressions as whoever it was began to clamor on immediately, a near frantic hum from the speaker Itachi could only barely detect.

"Dammit, Ross, I'm off the clock!" Kisame snapped, running a hand through his dark hair. A pause. "Yes, what I'm doing right now is definitely more important!"

Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Why would she…? No! Don't let her do that, she'll fuck everything up. Dammit—dammit!" he got off the couch, walking into the hallway. "No, listen, just go into my blueprinting drawer and…"

Itachi folded his legs up onto the couch, stretching out his arms. He felt bad for Kisame, wished he could cheer him up somehow. The kissing seemed to work pretty well.

He idly wondered just how much he would make Kisame's day if he took off all his clothes and let Kisame fuck him into the next Friday.

Probably most of it.

A growl from his stomach pushed him to hop off the couch and wander into Kisame's kitchen. He poked through the cupboards and pantry, noting some random boxes and the giant case of protein powder. For the most part, though, the shelves were bare. He opened the fridge next. The crisper was stocked with lots of leafy greens and some peppers, and the bin below that was full of oranges. There was a tub of salsa, a crate of blueberries, a bottle of iced coffee—all in all, not very much. Before he managed to snoop through the freezer he heard Kisame chuckle from the counter.

"Looking for something in particular?" He asked. Itachi could feel the grin before he even turned around to see it. Kisame walked over to him, hands grasping Itachi's face. He stared into Itachi's eyes for a moment.

"You have very little food," Itachi commented quietly.

"Yeah, I need to do a grocery run." He leaned down, attaching his lips to Itachi's neck.

Itachi sucked in an involuntary breath when Kisame pressed his teeth into his skin. "Ah—don't leave any mark."

"Why not?" Another suck at a slightly different spot, softer this time.

"I can't have any of my students catch me with a hickey. I have a reputation to uphold." A bite told Itachi exactly what Kisame thought of that. "It's too hot yet to wear turtle necks and scarves." He tried to keep his voice level, because it would be the end of him if Kisame found out how much he liked biting.

Kisame hoisted Itachi up and perched him on the counter so he could run his tongue over Itachi's neck without having to bend down.

"Kisame…." Itachi's voice was supposed to be scolding, Kisame knew, but it came out all wrong.

"You don't want a hickey because of your students?" Kisame asked gruffly, gripping tighter onto Itachi's waist.

"Yeah…." Itachi's ankles had locked around Kisame's legs without his permission, fingers curling around his arms.

Kisame let out a low chuckle and pulled the neckline of Itachi's shirt down. He immediately sank his teeth into the skin about Itachi's collar bone, letting his tongue smooth out any pain. Itachi stiffened in his arms, and Kisame heard him choke off a little noise in the back of his throat. He sucked on the spot for a moment, repositioning his teeth every now and then just to feel Itachi's fingers flex on his arms.

He pulled away and licked the saliva off Itachi's slowly reddening skin.

Itachi had a blush smeared across his cheeks and a glare brewing in his gaze.

Kisame grinned, readjusting Itachi's shirt. "As long as you wear crewnecks for a few days, no one will even notice."

Itachi let out a sigh, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. His fingers absently lifted to press against the blooming hickey. "Did you have to do that?"

Kisame gripped onto Itachi's hips, pulling him to the edge of the counter to press their bodies together. "Maybe." He let his tongue run across Itachi's lips, coaxing Itachi to open his mouth. "Baby," he murmured in between kisses, pulling at Itachi's hair. "Have you ever had sex on a counter top before?"

Itachi laughed a little, pulling back to raise an eyebrow at his boyfriend. "No. Have you?"

Kisame leaned in for a rejected kiss. "If I say no will you let me keep kissing you?"

Itachi snorted and kissed Kisame on the nose. "I'm getting hungry," he said, gently pushing Kisame back so he could hop off of the counter. "I think I'll take off now."

"No," Kisame said immediately, arms circling Itachi's waist. "No, no; stay."

"I want to eat."

"We can eat here."

Itachi pushed his arms around Kisame's neck, leaning back to look him in the eyes. "You don't even have food."

"I'll order Chinese."

Itachi kissed him again. "There's no Chinese takeout place in this town."

Kisame squeezed him tightly, finding it increasingly difficult to keep his lips off of Itachi's. "Then I'll go hunt the local fucking squirrel. Please just—don't leave. Stay with me a while longer."

Itachi hummed, leaning into Kisame's chest. He felt Kisame's large hand push into his hair. "Fine. You've convinced me. I'll just starve." Kisame tighten his grip.

Itachi really liked being held like that.

"I have an idea," Kisame said suddenly, rubbing his thumb into Itachi's scalp. "We can go to the market for groceries and cook something together."

Itachi raised his eyebrows, feeling a smile form on his lips. "Yeah?" He took a step back, separating their bodies (even though Kisame protested). He pulled his hairband out and used his fingers to recomb the freshly haphazard black strands into the usual ponytail. "You want to cook with me?"

"Why not? Couples do that for dates, right?"

Itachi laughed. "No clue."

Kisame gave him a slightly goofy grin. "Let's go?" he asked, reaching forward to grab Itachi's hands.

"You keep touching me," Itachi murmured, letting Kisame pull him in for yet another kiss.

"I know." Kisame wrapped his arms around Itachi, trapping his arms to his sides. "Look what you're doing to me."

Itachi smiled and gave him a kiss on the nose. "Motorcycle or car?"

"Motorcycle; the store isn't even ten minutes away."

Itachi walked back over to the faded blue couch, picking his phone and keys up and putting them in his back pocket. He heard the jingle of Kisame's keys in the hallway and followed the noise out the front door. Kisame offered him a helmet and hopped on the bike, steadying it while Itachi climbed on the back and pushed his long hair up inside the helmet. He wrapped his arms around Kisame's chest, kissing his neck as Kisame kicked the bike to life.

The ride was short, partly because the store was so close, partly because Kisame was breaking the speed limit, and partly because Itachi had no trouble melting into Kisame's back.

Kisame pulled into an empty parking space with fanfare; Itachi playfully slapped his arm for trying to show off.

"You aren't earning any points with me by trying to act cool. You look like an idiot."

Kisame grinned, removing the helmet and shaking his hair out. Itachi redid his ponytail again as he walked through the parking lot, passing a grocer pushing a huge line of red shopping carts along the way.

Kisame threw a causal arm around Itachi as they walked into the grocery store. "So, what do you want to cook together, babe?" He picked up a basket, walking through the automatic sliding doors. Itachi's hair was ruffled by the blast of the air conditioner.

Itachi hummed, reaching up for Kisame's hand. "Let's make...pizzas."

"Plural?" Kisame's flip flops smacked against the dingy white paneled floor.

"Yeah. Personalized little pizzas."

Kisame chuckled, squeezing his boyfriend fingers tightly between his. "There's pizza templates in the frozen section, I think."

Itachi shook his head, eyes rolling over the rack of potato chips they passed. "No, let's make the dough ourselves."

Kisame laughed, looking down at him with a surprised expression. "Really? You wanna?"

"We can flip it up in the air and everything."

Kisame snorted. "You're lucky I've been cooking for myself for years; from what Sasuke has said you aren't the most prolific person in the kitchen."

Itachi frowned, digging his thumbnail into Kisame's skin. "Don't trash talk me with my brother."

"Never."

They found the dough, the kind that comes prepackaged but required kneading and shaping anyways. Itachi picked up a can of pineapples—to which Kisame nearly broke up him with him for—and Kisame picked up sausage and bacon, along with rich red sauce and some expensive shredded cheese.

"I can't believe that you eat fruit on your pizza," Kisame said, mock disappointment coloring his voice, tossing the ingredients into the basket.

Itachi sniffed. "You'll be grateful I ate pineapple later tonight."

"Don't tease me."

"Never."

"I'm going to go pick up some beer, anything you want?"

Itachi shrugged. "I'll probably just drink water," he answered honestly.

Kisame grunted. "Ice cream?"

Itachi hummed, pleased.

"What flavor?" Kisame asked with a chuckle.

"I don't care."

"I'll go grab a six pack, you get some ice cream."

On the way back from the freezer, two cartons of strawberries and cream and butter pecan under his arm, Itachi passed by the desert tables on the bread section. Strudels, scones, bear claws, cookies, cupcakes...

"Which one do you want?" An unexpected voice muttered into his hair.

"Oh, nothing." Itachi shook his head, backing up into a hard body. "I was just looking."

"Pick one out."

"I don't need anything."

"I'm getting you something. So choose." Lips pressed into Itachi's hair.

Itachi pursed his lips defiantly.

"If you don't choose something, I'll buy all of it." The threatening murmur was accompanied by a kiss to the temple.

"No, you won't," Itachi huffed with a roll of his eyes.

Kisame slid his hands down Itachi's arms, grasping onto his forearms and holding him in place. "One...two...three..."

"I don't want you wasting money on me."

"If I'm spending it on you, it's not a waste."

Itachi sighed, and after a short pause (and a prompting 'four' from Kisame) he snagged a clear plastic cartridge of inside out carrot cakes.

As they made their way to the checkout, Itachi took a crumpled wad of bills out of his pocket, which Kisame promptly snatched up. Itachi frowned up at him as they began to unload the basket on to the black conveyer belt, Kisame tossing a pack of gum in with the rest of their things. When Kisame fished his wallet out of his back pocket and produced a shiny credit card, Itachi began to protest.

"Kisame—"

"What?" He handed it over to the cashier. "You're going to get mad at me for paying for my groceries with my own money?"

Itachi rolled his eyes. "You know that's not a fair statement. I'm sharing them with you so I should share the cost."

"I'm not going to let you pay for things you won't even eat."

"Kisame, you know how I feel about this."

"Yep," Kisame gave the girl at the register a cheery look, seeing as she looked at a loss for what she should do. He stuffed the money back into Itachi's jeans, who snapped his head around with a glare.

Itachi crossed his arms and huffed.

Kisame had both plastic bags in one hand as they exited through the sliding doors. He reached out to grab onto to Itachi, but his boyfriend withheld his hand with a glare.

"Babe," Kisame whined, reaching out for his hand again.

Itachi pointedly ignored him.

Kisame popped the case at the back of the bike open when they reached the motorcycle, removing the helmets and replacing them with the grocery bag. He frowned at Itachi's expression when he offered him the helmet.

"Are you seriously mad at me?"

Itachi stared at the ground, arms still crossed. "You don't need to treat me any differently just because I'm poor."

Kisame raised his eyebrows. "You think I'm treating you badly?"

"Not badly just—!" Itachi ran a hand over his head. "You're always trying to pay for the whole bill, or buy me things I don't need just because I looked at them. You drive me wherever I want and—" He bit his lips, still avoiding eye contact. "It sounds like I'm trying to pick a fight because none of those things are inherently bad, it's just…I don't want it to matter that I'm poor. You don't need to treat me like I have no independence just because I don't have money."

Kisame's brow furrowed, tilting his head as he reached forward towards his boyfriend. "Itachi, I don't do any of that because I think less of you." He waited until Itachi looked up to meet his gaze before he gripped onto his arms. "You mean…a lot to me. If what I do makes you uncomfortable, I'll stop—but I only do those things because I…like taking care of you."

Itachi looked away again, but Kisame put his fingers around Itachi's chin and turned his head back. "Babe?"

From the look in Itachi's eyes Kisame could tell he was starting to feel like shit.

"Do you want me to stop? I won't buy you anything more, you can pay for half the groceries if you want, I don't care."

Itachi looked up through his eyelashes. "I don't want it to ever seem like…I take advantage of your money."

"It's never seemed that way for a second."

Itachi pressed his lips together.

"Itachi..." Kisame started, letting his hands slip down to Itachi's hands. "Of course—of course I'm not going to expect you to spend money you worked your ass off for all day that equivocates what I make in an hour." He watched to make sure Itachi wasn't off put by what he was saying. "I don't mean to put you down, I just want to be considerate. And I don't want money to play any factor in what I do with you." He rubbed his thumb across the back of Itachi's hand and felt his thin fingers tighten. "Besides, I like spending money on people who are important to me."

Itachi moved his hand within Kisame's grip to twine their fingers together. "'Kay," he said softly.

Kisame nudged him. "You good?"

Itachi nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes it just feels guilty, when you give me so many things and I have nothing to offer you."

Kisame cracked a half smile. "Do you not understand how much you give me?"

Itachi snapped his head up, a half confused, half subtly overwhelmed look in his eyes. And then his lips were on Kisame's, the tips of his fingers peeking out between Kisame's to brush Kisame's cheek. After a solid thirty seconds of kissing Itachi remembered that they were in a public parking lot.

He pulled away and licked his lips quickly, glancing at a car that seemed to slow down as it passed. "Let's head back to your place?"

Kisame nodded. "You sure you're good?"

"Yeah," Itachi murmured with a nod, picking the helmet up off of the seat and fastening it around his head. "I'm sorry for picking a fight. I didn't mean to." He reached up to place Kisame's helmet on his head.

"You have nothing to apologize for."

Kisame drove slower on the way home, a different mood lingering between then as Itachi hugged Kisame's back. It wasn't a bad one—just a little more mellow, a little more serious. Kisame's endless grin and easy going, often playful nature often covered up how damn serious he was about Itachi. It wasn't frightening to Itachi, nothing of that nature, but sometimes the reminder of just how loyal and devoted Kisame could be was…a lot. There was no other way to describe it, it was just a lot. More than anything, Itachi just didn't know what to do with it, or where the line was between accepting it and taking advantage of Kisame.

They were quiet as they dismounted Kisame's bike upon arrival to his house. Itachi felt bad, because he knew the atmosphere was awkward because of him. So, the moment he stepped foot back into Kisame's house, he acted like the whole thing had never happened. Kisame seemed surprised as Itachi took the bags from his hands, moving quickly into the kitchen. He pulled all the ingredients out, laying them all out in a line even when Kisame asked why he was doing it.

"Just so we can see it all, you know. It will help with the creative process."

"Creative process? We're making pizza."

"Cooking," Itachi said pointedly, holding up a can of sauce, "is an art."

Kisame chuckled lowly. "Is that so? Then why are you so bad at it?" He picked up the dough off of the counter, tearing of the thin plastic lining.

"Hey," Itachi flicked the back of his hand.

"What was that for?"

"Wash your hands before even touching the ingredients. Do you know how dirty supermarkets are? Fifty percent of shopping carts are found to have both human and animal fecal matter on them."

Kisame's expression slowly bent inwards as he turned the sink on. "Itachi, that much knowledge must surely be a burden."

Itachi sniffed. "Says the one who got saved from eating poop. Now sing your ABC's to time yourself."

Kisame laughed, lathering up his hands.

When they were both thoroughly cleaned, Kisame's first move was to crack open a beer.

"You sure you don't want any?" Kisame asked, swallowing a cold swig.

"I've told you," Itachi replied, taking the liberty to snoop through Kisame's cupboards and cabinets for plates, "I don't really care for beer."

"That's right." Kisame pointed a finger at him, and after a moment of thinking, said, "You're a wine guy."

Itachi hummed, smirking a little over at him. "Good memory."

"As luck would have it," Kisame announced, setting the glass bottle down on the counter with a gentle tap. He disappeared into the walk in pantry, reemerging a second later with a dark red bottle between his fingers. "I've got wine."

He presented the bottle to Itachi, grinning that winning grin. "Caymus, forty first anniversary. Knocked this shit off the shelves when it was twenty buck a pop, now you've got auctions for one hundred and fifty online, shit's so good."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Well, then, please, don't have me drink it. I'm sure it will be lost on my unrefined pallet."

"Nonsense. I want you to have some. We don't drink cheap wine in this house, anyways. Not unless someone's getting drunk." Itachi received a wink at that. He moved to the other side of the kitchen, rummaging through a drawer. He pulled out a strange contraption that had a long needle at the end, which he poked into the cork of the wine bottle.

"What are you doing?" Itachi asked, using the can opener Kisame set out to peel the lid off the pizza sauce. He threw it away, careful not to nick his fingers on the sharp edges.

"Tapping the bottle. I assume you aren't planning on drinking the whole thing?" He grinned devilishly at him. "Although I won't stop you. I'm sure you would be a very fun drunk."

Itachi rolled his eyes. He was opening a can of pineapples when he felt Kisame's hard body press against his back. Kisame kissed his neck, one hand touching his thigh, the other hand placing a stemless glass of red wine to the counter. He pressed another kiss to his ear.

"Thank you," Itachi murmured, leaning back into him.

"For the wine, or for the kisses?"

"It depends on which tastes better," Itachi teased with knowing eyes.

It would take a lot less than that to convince Kisame that he should kiss him. He turned Itachi around, sliding his thick arms around his waist, and cornered him gently against the counter.

Itachi let his mouth open easily, eyes sliding shut instantly.

After a few moments, Kisame pulled back, pressing soft, slow kisses to Itachi's face and hair. He held him like that, Itachi's face pressed into his neck, just for the sake of holding him.

"Well, I suppose it would be hard to beat that," Itachi joked quietly, letting his fingers trace the tattoos on Kisame's bicep.

"I don't know, it's pretty hard to compete with that wine."

Itachi snorted out a laugh, facing the counter again and finishing his task with the pineapples. He picked the delicate glass up absently, taking a sip as he tossed the lid in the garbage.

"Wow," he said, pulling his head away to stare at the wine.

"Right?" Kisame agreed.

Itachi took another sip. "I'm definitely no connoisseur, but this is the best wine I've ever had."

Kisame grinned over at him with happy eyes, opening the pizza dough for both of them. "Look at you, cooking and drinking wine. You're already a house wife."

Itachi laughed at that, surprisingly loudly. "Sasuke always tells me I would be the worst wife, since I'm so accident prone in the kitchen."

"Well, I would assume it would be very hard for you to be a wife in general. Although, you would make a very pretty trophy husband, I'd say."

"Ha, ha," Itachi replied sarcastically. "Now quit dawdling and turn the oven on, I really am hungry."

Thankfully for the both of them, preparing the pizza wasn't too difficult, so there was essentially no way that Itachi could screw it up. Itachi had fun with the dough, spreading it out and kneading it with his—very clean, of course—knuckles and fingers. They bunched up the edges of the circle of dough to make the crust, pressing out the lumps.

"Do you want barbeque sauce mixed in with the red sauce?" Kisame asked, frowning at how lopsided Itachi's pizza looked. "Itachi, what the hell are you making?"

Itachi wrinkled his nose. "Don't insult my culinary masterpiece." "

Kisame shook his head, chuckling. "Go get the barbeque sauce from the fridge and I'll fix—this."

"You're such a bully," Itachi said with a chuckle, making his way to the sleek stainless steel fridge. "It's not my fault the pizza curls back in on itself."

"Don't blame the innocent pizza, Itachi, you monster. Get a bowl from that cupboard over there," Kisame directed, shaping Itachi's pizza the right way, "to mix the sauces."

Itachi dumped the can of pizza sauce into the white bowl, adding a couple globs of thick barbeque sauce and mixing it in. They smeared it across the dough, Kisame adding more where it thinned out. It took a little bullying, but Kisame did convince Itachi eventually to sprinkle some crumbled bacon amidst the tragedy that was pineapple.

"Only way to make it edible," he muttered, putting on oven mitts and sliding the pizzas onto the rack.

Itachi merely drank his wine and rolled his eyes.

By the time they had finished cooking and putting away the ingredients, Itachi's wine glass was empty, dark purple stain on the side and the bottom of the delicate glass. Kisame refilled it without him asking, because Kisame knew that Itachi wouldn't ask. He was quite sure that Itachi could be dying of thirst and still wouldn't ask for a glass of water. And if you offered it to him, he would ask if you were sure at least three times before accepting it.

Fucker.

He tossed his beer bottle in the recycling, popping open another one. Itachi was leaning against the counter, wine glass pressed to his lips.

"You look fine as hell drinking wine," Kisame commented, closing the pantry door behind him.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I mean it. Something about the dark contrast with your complexion." He pressed one hand to the counter, gently pushing Itachi's wine glass out of the way so he could kiss him. "You taste good with wine on your lips, too," Kisame murmured, sliding a hand against Itachi's cheek.

"And you taste like beer. Don't kiss me," he teased. "And when did you refill this?"

"I took the liberty to while you were wiping down the counter. I know you wanted more."

Itachi rolled his eyes, smiling despite himself. "Well, thank you."

"Of course."

They bantered a little more until the oven dinged. Kisame carefully removed the pizzas and placed them on a cooling rack, digging scissors out of a drawer so he could cut them into slices.

The ended up settled on the couch, plates of hot pizza on their laps. They talked a lot, about the most random things. Kisame told him a lot about his coworkers; Itachi never seemed to run out of questions about the parties they held, or the projects they were working on. Kisame wasn't used to talking so much about himself, especially not the trivial things. He was good at filling a conversation, but Itachi's incessant curiosity was new. He wasn't going to complain, though; there was something wonderful about Itachi acting so interested in him.

Itachi especially loved hearing about his childhood. At one point in the night, it made Kisame a little sad. Itachi acted so enthralled, which was nice, but with all of Itachi's reactions there was a predominant…surprise? That wasn't the word. Kisame just felt that Itachi was hearing things for the first time. And that seemed strange to him. The more he thought about it, the more it made a little bit of sense.

Itachi asked the most obvious questions, too, about how his parents acted when he was a kid, or how certain things were. Like sixteenth birthday parties, or high school graduation ceremonies. He asked about having a locker at school—what? What kind of question was that? He wanted to know what Kisame ate for thanksgiving when he grew up. He even asked if it was true when people said they would eat until they couldn't anymore.

That kind of…worried Kisame, because—did Itachi not have food when he was a kid? He remembered that Itachi's parents died when he was just barely a teenager, but still. There was just something off about it all, something he couldn't put his finger on.

He supposed that Itachi would never ask such incriminating questions if not for the glass and a half of cabernet running through his system.

It was harder to get things out of Itachi, but he was expecting that. He was beginning to realize that Itachi didn't always necessarily withhold information about himself out of pure privacy. No, more often than not Itachi's secrecy felt like a cover up because there really wasn't anything to say in the first place. Itachi's life was simple; he got up, he worked, worked some more, went to a different job to work, worked, came home, probably worked more. He filled the cracks in his schedule tight with chores and whatever Sasuke needed.

He never spoke about spending time with friends. The only stories he had were with Sasuke's little group, and even then, he spoke so…removed from the event. He wasn't really there, wasn't really apart of them, he just hung around them when they ended up in the same place. There was a very parental undercurrent to his words; he was like a chaperone, a supervisor, not a friend. It seemed odd, because he was pretty sure Juugo was only a couple years younger than him.

Kisame really did want to ask about friends, or coworkers, or anyone. But Kisame had only wet his finger tips on the well that was Itachi's loneliness; they were having a good time, and Itachi seemed happy so—he wasn't going to go there now.

They finished their pizza—Itachi claimed he was full after two slices, but Kisame called bullshit and convinced him to eat the rest—and got up to clean of their dishes. Itachi started to wash the plates by hand before Kisame could stop him.

"I have a dishwasher, you know," Kisame reminded, fetching him a towel to dry.

"I'm sure. But I'm used to doing it this way, it will take me no time at all."

"Don't have a dishwasher?"

"You're looking at it," Itachi joked, handing him a pale blue porcelain plate. "I don't invest in frivolities."

"Fair enough."

Itachi was kind of giggly, playful, in the kitchen. He cupped up a handful of dish soap bubbled and blew them into Kisame's chest.

"What are you doing?" Kisame laughed, brushing them off of his shirt.

Itachi only shrugged, something of a coy gesture, rinsing off his hands and drying them.

Kisame could only think that wine was a wonderful, wonderful thing.

In all seriousness, though, Kisame really was glad that Itachi seemed to have at least some human counterpart in there. When Itachi loosened up enough, he acted—really differently. And though Kisame was quite attached to sober Itachi, buzzed Itachi let himself have more fun, and Kisame liked that a lot, too.

"Go back to the couch, babe, I'm gonna take a leak real quick."

Itachi nodded, spreading the damp rag out over the brim of the sink counter.

Upon returning to his date, Kisame found Itachi fidgeting on the couch. His legs were folded under him, toes flexing.

"Something wrong?" Kisame asked, resettling into the cushions, reaching a hand out to touch Itachi's thigh.

"How big is your dick?"

Kisame nearly choked. "Excuse me?"

Itachi shrugged. "I'm just curious."

Kisame chuckled a little, a surprised blush marring his cheeks. "How much exactly have you had to drink?" He had thought that he had only had two, but checking the glass he saw a little more.

Itachi merely waved a hand. "Not much. Why are you avoiding the question?" Itachi took another sip of wine. "That bad?"

Kisame pressed his lips together, shaking his head. "I assure you, Itachi, if we get to that point…you'll be satisfied."

Itachi hummed.

Kisame grinned. "Don't believe me? I'm always up for a challenge."

Itachi snorted, taking another swig. "You don't need to worry, it's not like I have much reference to go off of."

Kisame paused. "Wait, what does that mean?" He blinked. "You're not a virgin, are you?" He hadn't always gone easy with the sex jokes.

"No, but I've only had sex with one person. And he never…" Itachi waved a hand vaguely, leaning into the couch cushions.

"Never what?" Kisame raised an eyebrow.

Itachi gave him a look.

"He never made you come?" Kisame looked…flabbergasted.

Itachi shrugged, watching his wine swirl around the edges of the glass as he twirled it.

"Itachi—what? Sex isn't sex if both people don't get off."

Itachi shrugged again. "It was whatever." He set his wine glass down, scooting over closer to Kisame. "But now at least you know you won't have to try very hard."

"Itachi, of course I—Itachi—" he shook his head. He knew it was probably pointless to talk sense into Itachi, especially not a maybe-maybe not tipsy Itachi. Instead he hummed. "One person though…hm."

"What?"

Kisame grinned a little. "Nothing. It's just that your minimum experience will keep your reactions pretty raw." He slipped his hands across Itachi's waist.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that, but alright. What about you?"

"Me?"

"How much sex have you had?"

"Oh." Kisame shifted. "A decent amount."

Itachi snorted out a laugh. "You're a whore, aren't you!" He accused jokingly.

Kisame glared. "Shut up, Itachi. I don't have that much sex. I haven't had sex in over eight months."

"I haven't had sex in two years. I win!"

Kisame laughed. "Okay, you're a much more fun drunk than I imagined."

"I'm not drunk," Itachi assured.

"Perhaps, but you have so many layers of inhibitions that the moments you get a break you go crazy."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "This is not 'going crazy,'" he insisted.

"For you it is," Kisame replied easily, one hand rubbing his back.

Itachi rolled his eyes, leaning forward to set his wine glass down. "You say the weirdest things, do you know that?"

"I say the weirdest things?" Kisame laughed, opening his arms as Itachi crawled towards him. "I should record you sometime."

Itachi pushed himself into his lap, locking his fingers around Kisame's neck. He stared into his eyes for a couple of seconds.

"Hi," Kisame said, lopsided smile forming along his lips.

"Hi," Itachi replied.

Kisame chuckled. "There something you want from me?"

Itachi tilted his head. "You could kiss me."

That wasn't really something Kisame had to think about. Letting his hands run down Itachi's back, he pressed their lips together, squeezing Itachi's hips. They kissed for a little bit, softly and slowly—there didn't feel to be any rush, they were simply enjoying each other's company and presence. Eventually Itachi pulled back, thumbs brushing along the sinew of Kisame's neck. He stared at him for a moment. Kisame couldn't quite decipher the look in his eyes, though the corners of his lips were still upturned.

Itachi pressed another kiss to Kisame's lips. "I like your face angles."

Kisame laughed. "My face what now?"

"The angles of your face," Itachi repeated. "Your jaw line, and your cheekbones…."

Kisame grinned. "You think I'm pretty hot, huh?"

Itachi rolled his eyes. "You already knew that."

He shrugged a little. "Maybe. Still nice to hear, regardless."

Itachi kissed the tip of his nose. "Kisame, I find your physical appearance very appealing."

"Geez—you're such a nerd. I'd almost prefer no compliments."

Itachi paused, then snorted. "Fine. You're hot."

"Much better."

Itachi adjusted his legs, letting Kisame pull him closer. It was hard to resist with those hands on his hips. "Kisame," he murmured, letting his head fall to the side, long hair slipping down his shoulder.

"Yes," Kisame replied, skirting one finger underneath Itachi's shirt to rub against his skin stretched taught around his bone.

"What are you doing tomorrow morning?"

"Tomorrow?" Kisame grinned. "What, already wanting to come over in the morning?"

"No," Itachi hummed. He raised a finger to curl a lock of Kisame's hair. "I was actually going to ask if I could spend the night."

Kisame's face snapped into a stunned expression, eyebrows climbing his forehead slowly. Eventually a grin spread across his face, like someone slow to get the joke. "…yeah? For real?"

"Not for sex," Itachi clarified, tilting his head to the other side, tugging at the neckline of Kisame's shirt. "Just to sleep."

"Yeah, yeah," Kisame shook his head, grin still firmly in place, "of course, I didn't think you meant that. Just—" he squeezed Itachi's waist, "that's…good. Yeah, that's good."

Itachi allowed himself a small smile. "I'm glad you think so," he said, somewhat sarcastically. "I don't have any clothes, though, and I'll need a toothbrush."

"I have plenty of hoodies," Kisame teased with a grin, "but I won't be opposed if you want to sleep naked."

Itachi rolled his eyes, letting his forehead rest against Kisame's. "Of course not."

Kisame studied Itachi's face for a moment. "Kiss me?" he asked, tugging on Itachi's shirt.

Itachi met his lips easily, cupping his face with both hands. "Mm, wait," he said suddenly, pulling back.

"No, don't wait, keep kissing me," Kisame complained.

"I have to call Sasuke," he said, patting his pockets for his phone. He frowned.

"It's in the Kitchen," Kisame reminded.

Itachi hopped up off the couch. "Right!" He quickly retrieved his phone from the kitchen, already dialing up his brother's number as he hopped back onto the couch, snuggled up against Kisame's side.

He smiled at the kiss to the hair he got.

"Sasuke," Itachi said warmly as he answered the phone. "Hey, it's me." There was a pause, and then he laughed. "Okay, okay. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to stay that night at Kisame's tonight." There was a long beat of silence. "Sasuke?" Itachi asked quietly. "No, no, I'm the one that suggested it. Sasuke. Look, listen to me—" Something on his face changed, and he bit his lip. "No. No." Another pause. "I guess not." His eyes were cast down, fingers absently tugging at the sleeve of Kisame's shirt. "Of course we've been kissing, he's my boyfriend, Sasuke." He glanced at the wine glass on the table. "Kind of. No, I've had two glasses of wine. I'm not drunk." He huffed. "Yes, a little."

Sasuke started yelling loud enough for Kisame to hear over the speaker. "He's getting you drunk and convincing you to sleep over?! Itachi, get the fuck out of his house. I'll come get you right now."

Kisame frowned.

"No, Sasuke, I was the one who said I wanted to spend the night. He didn't even ask. No, Sasuke—I'm not going to have sex with him! Could you listen to me?"

"He's manipulating you, Itachi, he's going to take advantage of you, he's going to hurt you—"

"Sasuke!" Itachi's voice cracked. "Hey, breathe, calm down. It's okay, Kisame isn't going to hurt me, I promise." He held the phone with both hands. "I know you don't trust him, but could you trust me? Please?" His face fell a little. "I know. I promise you, I know." He exchanged a few more words with his brother, switching over to Japanese at one point. "Okay, I promise. I love you, Sasuke, you can call me if you need anything."

Kisame eyed him warily. "Itachi, if you need to—"

"No, no, it's fine." He gave him a reassuring smile, setting his phone down on the table.

"Sasuke…sounded upset. What did he say?"

Itachi's eyes unfocused for a second. "Just that he wouldn't forgive me if it happened to me again."

The words 'if what happened' were on the tips of Kisame's lips but—Itachi would tell him when he wanted. So, instead, he said, "And you're going to risk that? For me?"

"Yes," Itachi replied quietly. "I trust you."

The weight of just how much Itachi was trusting him sunk in. Something had happened, that was obvious from the first few encounters. There were still seams of self-doubt and self-loathing stitched across Itachi's very being from when he had to be patched up. He was starved for affection, since he reacted, even subtly, to ever time Kisame so much as brushed against him. Kisame knew this, he had for a while, but seeing it in action was a little different. But it was a big deal.

"I'm...very glad that you do," Kisame replied lamely, at a loss for words, "don't get me wrong, I'm just a little surprised, is all."

Itachi shrugged, leaning against the couch and pulling his legs up. "My last boyfriend wasn't good for me. He was the first serious relationship I'd had, and I didn't know how to handle it. I haven't had anyone since. I don't have any friends, I've honestly never had friends. The closest thing was that cousin I was telling you about, Shisui, but like I said, he was murdered." He ran a hand over his hair. "Sasuke and I don't even have a good relationship."

Kisame frowned. "You two love each other more than anyone else I've ever met."

"And love is well and good, but it isn't the only thing you need in a functioning relationship. I'm self-aware enough to know that Sasuke and I are a mess together."

Kisame stayed silent, opting to listen until Itachi was done.

"I want…I want whatever we have to be good. For as long as this lasts, for whatever this is, I want it to be healthy. And me running around watching my back every time we are together isn't going to help." He sighed. "I don't know. I just can't keep living like this, I have to figure out how to change. You're…my opportunity for that." He cracked a little smile.

"So is that all I am to you," Kisame joked, "a social experiment?"

Itachi's head snapped up at first, a panicked look in his eyes, but when he saw Kisame's grin he relaxed, eyes crinkling in a smile. "Yeah, sorry about that. I really do hope you don't mind."

"You know I don't. Seriously though," Kisame paused for emphasis. "Let me know if there's anything I can do, yeah? For you, or for Sasuke. To make things easier."

Itachi smiled a little. "Actually, there is one thing. I'm kind of really tired."

"Of course, of course." It was getting late, Kisame noted, almost eleven, and wine was notorious for making people sleepy. He led Itachi upstairs and into his room, flicking the light on. Itachi went to inspect the bed, rubbing the curtains draped around the canopy frame in between his fingers while Kisame hunted up something that would fit him. He dug a gray t-shirt out of the back of his closet. It was made out of soft cotton, and would be oversized on Itachi. He also located the sweatpants Itachi had borrowed when he stayed over during the rainstorm.

"This should fit you pretty well," he said, walking over to Itachi by the bed. "And again, if they don't, feel free to sleep naked."

Itachi snorted, taking the clothes from Kisame. "Yes, that's what I'll do—sleep in the nude and tell Sasuke first thing in the morning."

Kisame chuckled, reaching behind him to grab the back of his shirt and pull it over his head. "Change in the bathroom, there are spare toothbrushes in the cardboard box under the sink."

He stripped naked while Itachi was in the bathroom, replacing his boxers with a pair of clean ones. He usually slept in only underwear, but for the sake of keeping Itachi comfortable, dug a pair of thin, navy blue sweats out of his drawer. He opened the window, as per usual, and closed the white shudders.

The bathroom door clicked open; Itachi already had a foamy toothbrush in his mouth.

"Do you need in here?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah, lemme brush my teeth, too, and wash my face."

They finished getting ready, Kisame staying in the bathroom to remove his earrings. When he reproached the bed, Itachi was sitting cross legged on one side. He blinked at him.

"Um—" He looked like he didn't know how to finish his thought.

"Yeah?" Kisame asked, walking around to crawl into the other side of the bed.

"…nipple rings?" Itachi asked, raising a brow at the glistening silver on Kisame's chest.

"Oh, right." Kisame grinned hugely. "I didn't tell you about that. Pretty sick, right?" He sat across from Itachi.

Itachi cleared his throat. "You don't take them out along with your other piercings?"

"Nah. My ears have been done for a while, but these are more recent, I got em not long after after I broke it off with Sandy. You aren't supposed to remove em for more than a few minutes until like a year and a half goes by. And your body heals more readily when you're asleep, so, in they stay."

Itachi reached out, hooking the end of his pointer finger on the bottom. He tugged a little. "Does that hurt?"

"It only hurts if you yank on it too hard. Anything less usually causes a…different reaction."

"…right." Itachi retracted his hand.

"I kinda want to switch them to barbells, but my piercer told me to wait longer. I don't want to have to repuncture anything, it hurt like a bitch enough the first time."

"I can only imagine," Itachi muttered, pulling the tie out of his hair.

Kisame laughed. "Ready for bed, then?"

Itachi nodded, pulling the sheets back on his side.

Kisame's entire body was kind of buzzing as he reached over to flick the light off on his nightstand. Itachi was in his bed, Itachi was in his bed. And while one part of his body thought of exactly what they could be doing, the majority of his brain was very intent on not ruining this. So, he settled into his side of the bed, a very clear and distinct line between them. He laid on his side, facing Itachi, slowly being able to make out the features of his face in the dark room as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light.

"Wow."

"Hm?" Kisame asked.

"This isn't really how I imagined you acting when we got in bed together."

Kisame didn't really know if he should smile or not, if Itachi was upset or making a joke. "I, uh—just didn't want to push anything. I'm I doing something wrong?"

"Yes."

…oh.

"Uh—" Kisame started to sit up.

With a dramatic sigh, Itachi pushed himself across the middle of the bed, forcing Kisame's arm up and laying it across his waist. He took the liberty to share a pillow, one hand slipping underneath the cool fabric, the other reaching forward to press against Kisame's bare chest.

"If I wanted to sleep with zero physical contact, I would have gone home to my own bed," Itachi muttered.

Kisame unfroze, sinking back down into the soft mattress. He shifted forward, a little tentatively, until he could press his lips against Itachi's hair. "Sorry," he murmured, "I just didn't want to push anything."

Itachi sighed contentedly. "Don't apologize." After a moment, "Thank you for being so considerate. Not just now, but in everything. I know this isn't really saying all that much, but you're the best boyfriend I've ever had."

Kisame grinned in the darkness. "Damn straight. Just wait till we fuck."

Itachi snorted. "Okay, I take it back, you aren't polite at all," he teased.

The hand on Itachi's waist gave a playful squeeze. "I'm only kidding. You know that."

"Half kidding," Itachi corrected knowingly. Kisame could see his slight smile in the darkness.

"Well—yeah. Not to brag but I am pretty good."

Itachi shook his head, shifting a little so Kisame was more on his back, Itachi pressed against his side. His forehead rested next to Kisame's shoulder. His breathing was evening out when he grabbed Kisame's hand, directing it down until it laid on his ass.

Kisame's eyebrows shot up his forehead, fingers twitching of their own accord. "What's this?"

He felt Itachi shrug. "I don't know. Whatever."

"Whatever," Kisame repeated, letting his hand squeeze a little. After a beat, "Nice."

Itachi snorted, wiggling a bit. "Shut up, you're making it weird."

"Fine, fine." He moved his hand back up to Itachi's back. "There."

Itachi was quiet. His fingers, which had previously been tapping against Kisame's collarbone, stilled.

Kisame stared at him for a few more seconds before he let his eyes close, pulling him a hair closer.

"Night, Itachi."

"Goodnight," came Itachi's sleep slurred voice.

Kisame let a smile slip onto his lips as he sank into sleep.

Kisame was roused into consciousness slowly. He first became aware of the warm weight pressed against him. He could hear quiet breathing, and feel a gentle rise and fall in the warm body next to him. He shifted, pulling Itachi closer. As he fully awoke, he realized that he had black hair wound around his face as if he was spooning fucking Ju-on.

He removed an arm from beneath the blankets to push it to the side.

"Babe?" His voice was thick and groggy with sleep. Itachi didn't respond in his arms. Kisame nuzzled his head forward into the back of Itachi's neck, letting himself absorb the soft movements of Itachi breathing. After a few moments he squeezed his sleeping partner. "Itachi, wake up." When still he did not react, he rolled him over onto his back, moving on top of him. "Itachi," he murmured into his skin, in the spot just above his jaw, behind his ear.

Itachi shifted slightly, the muscles of his thighs tensing a bit before he went completely limp again.

Kisame kissed his cheek. "Time to wake up."

"Five more minutes," Itachi slurred, pushing his face into the pillow next to him.

Kisame conceded easily, essentially sprawled out on top of him. Itachi breathed evenly and softly underneath him, his skin warm and so very inviting. It took a lot of will power, but after about ten minutes Kisame shook his shoulder. "Itachi, it's been over five minutes. Wake up."

Itachi wiggled. "No."

Kisame squeezed him.

"Five more minutes," Itachi mumbled nearly incoherently.

Kisame stared down at his face for a moment. "Five more minutes," he agreed softly.

This went on for about twenty more minutes. Though Kisame had no qualms holding Itachi and watching him rest, he knew that he had to go home soon to tutor, and he didn't want the rest of the morning to whittle away in bed.

"Itachi."

"Five more—"

"It's already almost eight," Kisame complained, mostly teasing. "Are you gonna stay in bed until you have to leave, or are you gonna get up and talk to me?"

"Stay in bed."

"Babe," Kisame groaned, letting his head tilt down. He kissed Itachi's inky black hair.

"Shhhh," Itachi murmured, adjusting himself into a comfier position. "Go back to sleep."

Kisame wrinkled his nose, drawing his head back just enough to glare at Itachi's sleeping face. His fucking cute sleeping face. "You don't wanna wake up? You just wanna ignore me until you go to work? So that's how it is."

Itachi slowly opened his eyes. "I never thought you would ever try to get me out of your bed."

Kisame grinned. "I know. This is truly an out of body experience."

Itachi squinted his eyes as they adjusted, his nose wrinkling. He sniffed.

"You're cute when you wake up." Kisame had a goofy grin on his face. He let his eyes absorb every detail of Itachi's face as he could, reaching up a thumb to trace the curved tear trough hugging Itachi's cheek. He felt feeling sleepy all over again when he looked into Itachi's eyes.

"Good morning," Itachi murmured after several seconds of silence, eyes full of encrypted emotion.

"Morning." Kisame let his head slump down, pressing his nose into Itachi's cheek. "How did you sleep, beautiful?"

His lips twitched in a brief smile. "I always sleep better with someone."

Kisame grinned. "Yeah? Well, then, for you own benefit, you should probably stay the night from now on."

"You'd like that, huh?"

"More than you could probably guess."

Itachi smiled. He brought a hand up to Kisame's hair, running his fingers through it. "Hm. Maybe I will."

"Don't tease."

"Kisame, I've literally never teased you."

Kisame groaned, dragging his head back to look him in the eyes. "You just enjoy torturing me, huh?"

Itachi bit his lip for a quick second. "Maybe." He looked like he was going to say something more, but then a funny little scrunch formed between his eyebrows.

"Something the matter?"

Itachi blinked at him. "Kisame."

"Yes?"

"You have an erection."

Kisame paused. "Huh," he said. "Looks like you're right."

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"What," Kisame defended, "you've never heard of morning wood?"

Itachi closed his eyes. "Are you planning on removing it from my thigh?"

"Do you want me to remove it from your thigh?"

"Why else would I ask?"

"Maybe you were worried that I would, and wanted to stop me before you had to beg for me to put it back. Or put it in various other places."

One corner of Itachi's lips twitched. "You're so obnoxious."

"You seemed quite fascinated by my dick last night."

Itachi cracked one eye open. "And if you ever want me to get officially acquainted with it, I would recommend that you shut your mouth."

"Are you threatening to withhold sex before we have even started having sex?"

Itachi smirked a little. "It's working, isn't it?"

Kisame snorted. He looked down at Itachi, at his sleepy eyes and absurdly long lashes, and the creases that separated his cheeks from his nose he was becoming so fond of. He had a little color in his cheeks, though, a little glow in the back of his eyes that he didn't have when Kisame first met him.

And, well, fuck if Kisame wasn't proud of being the one to put it there.

"You sure you don't want to take care of it? Last chance."

Itachi's hooded eyes did nothing but slowly blink at him.

"Fine." Kisame kissed forehead. "You win."

Kisame rolled off of him to the side, using his hand to try and shove his dick in between his legs. It didn't work, so he flipped himself onto his stomach.

Itachi slowly pushed himself up, the sheets sliding off of his shoulders and pooling in his lap. His face scrunched up as he stretched, back arching out, his arms reaching above his head. He dropped his hands back down into his lap, shoulders immediately slumping forwards again. His hair was a mess; some of it stuck to the side of his cheek, some of it tangled against his neck.

"You didn't braid your hair," Kisame commented absently.

"Hm?" Itachi turned slightly to look down at him.

"You usually braid your hair when you go to bed. You didn't last night."

Itachi tilted his head, a slightly confused expression tugging at his lips and creasing his forehead. "You remember that?"

Kisame was muddled. "Of course I would remember that. Why would I forget that?"

Itachi blinked. He smiled, then, a sweet smile, and shrugged his shoulders with one quick bounce; it was reminiscently childish, Kisame thought.

"Do you want to shower?"

Itachi nodded slowly. "Mm, yeah, sure. What about you?"

Kisame shrugged. "I can shower after you leave. Bathroom's over there, if you forgot." He raised one arm to point lazily at the open door before letting it flop back down onto the bed.

Itachi rolled his eyes, pushing his legs out of the sheets and pressing them to the cold wood paneled floor. He stretched again as he stood up, feeling the muscles in his hips pull as he twisted his back.

"Mm," Kisame crooned, words muffled somewhat by the pillow his face was buried in, "that's a lovely view."

Itachi turned around, raising an eyebrow. "What are you still doing in bed?"

"I just wanted to look at your ass as you stood up."

Itachi crossed his arms, facing Kisame as he walked backwards to the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" Kisame laughed.

"Hiding my butt from you," he replied easily.

"So I can touch it, but I can't look at it? That doesn't make sense," Kisame teased.

"You're completely right. You can't touch it anymore, either."

Kisame snorted as Itachi closed the bathroom door. He laid in bed for a few more minutes, letting the warm, bubbly feeling in his chest filter its way through his system. He heard the shower turn on, the familiar sound of water spraying against the stone tiled walls sliding under the door. He buried his face into the pillow, willing his hard on to calm down so he could get up and pee. He eventually got out of bed, heading downstairs to use the bathroom and wash his face. He could hear the rush of water in the pipes above him as Itachi showered.

After brushing his teeth, he made his way into the kitchen. He had hash browns in the freezer, and half a carton of eggs. There were enough fruits and greens to make a smoothie, too. He got some of the ingredients out and spread them out on the counter.

He was tossing kale and spinach into the Vitamix when he heard Itachi's footsteps—just barely, he walked so quietly—on the kitchen tile.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

Kisame turned with a grin and—the breath was knocked out of his lungs.

He didn't really know why. Itachi was wearing the same clothes from the day before, his hair was damp and hanging around pulled back like it always was.

Maybe it was just the fact that he was there, that he spent the night, and now he was there. And it felt so good, something about it resonated in him and he didn't want it to go away.

"Did…" Itachi glanced down at his legs. "Did I forget to put pants on or something? What's going on? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Kisame didn't respond.

"Uh, Kisa—"

"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"What?" There was a laugh in Itachi's throat, and his eyebrows rose up. "Kisame, what are you talking about?"

"Come here?" He asked, eyebrows set inwards.

Itachi walked lightly forward and into his arms, fingers immediately curling around his neck.

Kisame leaned in for a kiss, his arms against the small of Itachi's back. There was some sort of…calm that billowed in his chest as Itachi's slight body melted against him. There was something about Itachi's lips, moving softly and gently against his, that tasted so wonderful, so good he was beginning to think that he would never get enough.

He tugged on the wet tips of Itachi's hair, feeling moisture gather against the pads of his fingers. Itachi tilted his head, attempting to push closer, letting the kiss deepen.

"Itachi?" He asked in murmur, licking his bottom lip and then kissing his cheek.

"Yes?"

"Can I touch your butt again?"

Itachi snorted out loud, leaning his head back to laugh.

"What? It was an honest question."

Itachi glared playfully at him for a few moments, a smile fighting along his lips. "Yes. You can touch my butt."

"Kiss me again," Kisame said, leaning in again as his hands slid down Itachi's back, grasping at the swell of his muscles and the dip at his spin.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes. Kisame couldn't keep his hands off him; he was fairly certain he was losing his mind, and it was all Itachi's fault.

"What time do you need to go home?" He asked against Itachi's forehead.

"Soon. Forty five minutes or so."

Kisame groaned. "That sucks." He took a step back, wrinkling his nose. "I'll get breakfast going, so you can eat before you have to leave."

"You don't need to cook me breakfast. I'm not going to eat, anyways."

"Why aren't you going to eat?"

"I've told you—eating in the morning makes my stomach unwell."

Kisame raised an eyebrow.

Itachi looked patient. "I mean it, Kisame. I appreciate the sentiment, really, but please don't cook me anything."

Kisame pursed his lips. "Compromise."

"Compromise?"

"I won't cook you anything, but you gotta drink at least part of a smoothie. It's good for you."

"Smoothie?" Itachi inquired reluctantly.

"I promise you won't get sick off of it."

Itachi hummed as he pondered it. "Alright. That sounds fine. What do you put in it?"

Kisame grinned. "Lots of green stuff. Fruit. Flax seed milk. Organic greek yogurt."

"Um…." Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up." Kisame grinned, snagging the carton of eggs and plastic bag of hashbrowns off the table and returning them to their proper spots in the fridge. "I take care of my body. How did you think I got to looking this good? I do recall you fawning over my, how did you put it, 'face angles' las night."

Itachi leaned against the counter. "I assure you, that's all genetics."

"Then I'll be expecting you to write a thank you letter to my parents."

Itachi laughed a little, eyes crinkling in a smile.

He came up behind Kisame, wrapping his arms around Kisame's thick waist. He stretched up on the balls of his feet to set his chin on top of his shoulder. Kisame hummed, throwing something leafy into the blender.

"What's that?" Itachi asked.

"Chard."

"That sounds disgusting," Itachi murmured.

"Oh, it's truly awful," Kisame replied, chuckling. "Don't worry, I put enough other stuff in here that you can't even taste it.

"I'll be the judge of that."

Kisame twisted his head around to kiss Itachi's cheek.

Kisame finished preparing the smoothing, adding a number of ingredients Itachi had never even heard of, and blending it up into one thick goop. He poured two glasses full, sliding one in front of Itachi.

"Kisame," Itachi began.

"Yeah?"

"Did you mean for this to be gray."

Kisame laughed. "Don't write it off for the color. Just try it."

Itachi did try it. The texture was weird, but overall it really wasn't bad. It was cool in his mouth and throat, and he could tell it would be easy on his stomach. "Not awful," he conceded.

Kisame grinned.

The two of them sat down at Kisame's kitchen table. The morning light filled the room with a happy kind of glow, the light wash of the cabinets and floor assisting in the cheery mood. The silence was easy and welcomed, so they didn't say much.

The silence wasn't broken until Itachi was finishing off his smoothie. "I had a lot of fun last night."

Kisame grinned, his eyes warm. "Me too."

Itachi kept his eyes on the table. "I meant what I said. About trusting you, about wanting this relationship to be a good one."

"I know. Me too."

Itachi tapped the table. "You know that this is going pretty fast for me, right?"

"Yeah," Kisame replied gruffly, spinning his empty glass on the table. "I do. And I know I make a lot of jokes, but I'm not trying to push anything. You know that, right?"

Itachi nodded, smiling a little, and took the last gulp of his smoothie.

His phone buzzed on the table.

"Oh," he said, sounding surprised.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just—Sasuke decided to pick me up. He's borrowing Suigetsu's car, he said he'll be here in five minutes.

Kisame frowned at the table. He didn't want Itachi to be gone in five minutes.

"Sorry," Itachi said, reading the look on Kisame's face.

"Nah, nah," Kisame waved a hand, getting up to put the glasses in the sink. "It's fine. I got you all night, I'm sure he's jealous." He sent Itachi a wink.

"You're actually—probably not wrong."

Kisame laughed, leaning back against the counter.

When Sasuke did arrive, he texted Itachi to come outside.

"Should I go say hi?" Kisame asked, standing in the foyer in front of the door.

"Probably not the best idea," Itachi advised, putting his shoes on. "Sasuke is going to ask me a million and a half questions on the ride home, so—maybe when he isn't already angry."

"Is you're brother ever going to be not angry at the prospect of you being alone with me?"

Itachi wrinkled his nose. "Maybe. Maybe not. Sasuke's…moody, sometimes. I'm sure he'll warm up to you, eventually."

"Maybe if I offer him a dowry of one hundred of my finest livestock, maybe then he'll accept me as a fit suitor."

Itachi snorted. "Only one hundred? Don't go offending him, now, I'm sure he'll barter for at least one hundred and fifty."

Kisame grinned, grabbing Itachi's hands and pulling him close. "Come back soon, yeah?"

Itachi nodded, tilting his head up for a quick kiss.

"Now hurry, before Sasuke honks and all my neighbors get pissed for waking them up."

After Kisame closed the door behind Itachi, he leaned back, knocking his head against the wood.

When you missed someone the moment they were out of sight, were you fucked in a good or bad way?