Was continued due to popular demand in DOS Forum.
The thing with staging a kiss was that it had to be romantic and at the same time, spontaneous, or else people would get suspicious. (There was enough money riding on that thing that nobody would appreciate them cashing it in.)
It wasn't that Shikako hadn't kissed yet, and Itachi wasn't exactly a pure white angel. In their previous lives though, being S-rank missing nin (A-rank for her) made dating prospects thin. Like, if Itachi wanted not to be gawked at (subsequently followed by screams), he had to ditch the cloak with red clouds and if Shikako wanted to practice her kissing, she had to henge herself and wear make-up.
That made things slightly depressing, if one thought about it long enough.
In this current life though, they simply appreciated each other's presence and while the idea of dating had crossed their minds once or twice, they entertained the idea that they would take it slow. There was time, unlike their past lives that was harried by a deadline and fellow missing-nin.
Two days before the anticipated event, Shikako developed nerves. It wasn't appreciated in the slightest.
Here she was, one of the more infamous people due to having killed a Kage and she was nervous at the thought of kissing her good friend. It was just a kiss, right? Right?
Strangely enough, even if she tucked it in, Itachi was in her dorm rooms in the middle of the night where there weren't interruptions. Hewas the one trying to talk about it instead. For a perfectly reticent man, he could get awfully chatty once anxious. (As far as she could tell, it was something unique to his new body. It was, apparently, genetic.)
"Do you want to practice?" he'd asked in the end.
Shikako was tempted to blink at him incredulously. Incredulous laughter was bubbling up her throat.
Why the heck were they being weird?
"Come here," she demanded, grabbing him by his collar and pulling him down.
Itachi's eyes were wide and his lips tasted sweet, like he'd been binge-eating pocky before he came to her. Then he tilted his head and Shikako's brain cleared of thought.
When she finally had to breathe, she had to open her eyes – when had she closed them? – and blink dazedly at him. It was enough to make him recover though and the ass was smirking.
Shikako had to huff with laughter.
"Alright?" she murmured.
When he blinked innocently at her, she kicked him out of the window.
The bet was cashed in in the most unexpected manner. For the rest of those unaware anyway.
As always, there was a party. (Not that it was something to note in Fairy Tail. There was always a party.)
Itachi steadily drank mug through mug and Shikako danced with Loki.
Even those with no real perception gave him a wide-berth as he glared at the famous womanizer's hands around Shikako's waist.
After Loki leaned in to whisper in her ear, Itachi stood up and walked around the people. There wasn't any silence – the guild would have to be in dire straits to ever be silent – but those who noticed went quiet and watched avidly.
When he did end up manhandling his partner to a wall and kissing the daylights out of her, half the population swore.
"Damn it," Jet cursed. "Damn it, Loki."
Natsu cackled wildly and those keeping track of the betting pool cursed some more when they realized why.
"You lucky bastard," Macao mumbled under his breath, inches away from cursing a blue streak.
And then the kiss extended to the point of making people uncomfortable.
"Oi, oi," Elf-man said loudly. "Get a room, you two."
Neither of them listened and those with sense groaned.
"By the First," Mirajane sighed. "Once they've started, I suppose they won't stop."
The one who'd started it in the first place, Wakaba, paled.
"We're going to be treated with PDA, won't we?" he whispered to Cana. "And we're gonna have to get used to it."
And none of them realized that.
Tucked away under the stairs, the aforementioned couple gave in to quiet laughter.
"Vacation to a spa resort?" she whispered in his ear.
She took the little kisses going down her face as agreement.