"What?"

Itachi sighed, closing his eyes.

"What does Marcus have to do with anything?" Kisame's hands pressed tight onto the tops of Itachi's thighs.

"He's here," Itachi says, waving one hand about briefly. "Around."

"How do you know? Is he—has he contacted you?"

"No," Itachi answers immediately, and then hesitates and revises his statement. "A little."

"A li—" Kisame's jaw tightens. "How does someone contact you a little."

Itachi stared at him for a second.

"Well?"

"You're angry," he said quietly.

"I'm—" Kisame swallowed, flexing his fingers around both of Itachi's arms. "I need you to just—tell me what the fuck is going on."

Itachi let out a quick little breath. "He's making it clear to me that he's trying to contact me," Itachi started, fingers tapping into Kisame's thigh, "but it's not quite...overt." He shifted on the counter, body language clearly displaying that he wanted to pull Kisame closer. "Technically, I don't know that's it's him."

"Alright," Kisame responded slowly. "When did it start?"

Itachi looked up at the ceiling for a second. "When you left for Upolu."

Kisame looked appalled. "Back then? Baby, that was months ago."

"I didn't know," Itachi countered immediately. "But I didn't know it was him until right around the time Sasuke won his scholarship."

"...that's still been a while, Itachi, why the fuck has it taken you so long to say anything?"

Itachi stiffened, drawing back. "I was hoping he would quit. I don't—Kisame, it's been years since he contacted me. Why would he start now? Why after all this time?"

"Does it matter? Does it matter why your fucking abusive ex-boyfriend it stalking you? Christ," he huffed. After a pause, "have you told Sasuke about this?"

"No," Itachi responded softly, "because I didn't want him to become overly worried about something that he didn't need to be upset about."

Kisame let out a sharp breath. "But, baby, I've been asking you about this—"

"I wasn't even sure it was him!" Itachi interrupted. "I didn't know if I was just being paranoid, or if something was really happening. I still don't know, Kisame." He stayed silent for a few seconds. "See?" He eventually whispered with a tiny, humorless smile. "You're angry with me."

Kisame stayed silent for a second. "I'm not—" He cut himself off mid-sentence. "I am." He sighed. "Ah, fuck, Itachi." Eventually, he relented with a sigh, tugging on Itachi's wrists. "Okay, okay. C'mere."

Itachi reluctantly slid off the counter, stood hesitantly before Kisame's towering frame.

Kisame stared at him and before wrinkling his nose. "Don't look so unsure." He took Itachi by his hands and pulled him in. He kissed his forehead. "Have you eaten today?"

"What?"

Kisame rubbed the back of his hand. "When's the last time you ate."

Itachi blinked up at him once. "Yesterday at lunch?"

Kisame groaned, breaking off into a tisk. He tugged on Itachi's hand, leading him into the kitchen, and sat him down on a stool. He dug around in the fridge (internalizing another groan when he saw that it was close to empty). He snagged cheese and tomato out of the fridge and tossed them out of the counter. When he turned around, Itachi looked deflated.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Itachi's gaze was fixed beyond him as he piped up, "you're babysitting me again."

Kisame turned towards the breadbox. "You forced me to eat when Thalia passed," he countered. "You fretted over me incessantly when I got back from Upolu." He got two pieces of bread from the plastic bag and twisted it back up. The click of the stove and following whoosh of the fire sparking to life filled the apartment. "There's nothing wrong with taking care of each other. You're allowed to be weak, babe." He offered a smile. "I got you."

Itachi rested his chin on his palm.

"You're also allowed to get me to help before it gets this bad."

He sighed. "So you've mentioned."

Kisame grinned. He buttered the pan and set the bread to brown while he sliced the tomato and avocado. "What's been up with you? How have you been?"

Itachi leaned over on the counter. "I don't know. Bad."

"Yeah?"

"Just…paranoid. Missed you," he mumbled. "Naomi cut her hand really badly at work and I had to drive her to the hospital."

Kisame blinked up in surprise at that. "I didn't know you knew how to drive."

"I don't, really," Itachi replied lightly. "It was quite stressful." He wrinkled his nose. "There's so many different things to think about, and everything is moving so fast."

Kisame laughed. "Was that your first time driving?"

Itachi shook his head, watching Kisame press the grilled cheese to the pan with a spatula. "Suigetsu let me practice on his car a couple times, but I never went on the freeway those times."

Kisame grinned, shaking his head. "Remind me to give you lessons." He sucked some grease off his thumb. "Was Naomi okay?"

"Mmhmm. She almost passed out when she had to get the stitches, though. I hope you don't mind that I held her hand quite a bit."

Kisame snorted out loud. He pried the top of the sandwich open to slip in the avocado on top of the tomato. "I think I'll manage to get over it." When he slid it onto the plate and looked up, Itachi was smiling at him. "What are you thinking?" He asked, pulling a pair of scissors out of a drawer and cutting it in half.

Instead of saying anything, he held out his hand.

Kisame settled onto a stool next to him, laying a hand on his thigh and placing the sandwich on the counter.

"Tell me about your week," Itachi said, picking up one of the slices.

"Mm." Kisame squeezed his thigh. "I got drunk off my ass the other night. Other than that not a whole lot happened." He paused, frowning. "Oh, shit."

"What's wrong?"

Kisame dug around in his pocket. "I still got Suigetsu's phone."

Itachi's lips twitched. "How did you convince him to part with that, again?"

"You think I don't got years of blackmail over that idiot?" He pushed black hair behind Itachi's ear. "How's the food."

After a swallow, Itachi replied, "Very good. What would I do without you?"

"Starve, apparently," Kisame quipped back, fingers curling around the back of Itachi's neck.

He let Itachi finish the food, playing with his hair and gently rubbing the back of his neck. "You're all tense again. I gotta give you another massage."

"You just want an excuse to run your hands all over me."

Kisame flashed a grin.

Itachi licked his lips and kissed Kisame on the cheek. "Thank you for the food," he hummed, standing up to put his dishes in the sink. Kisame relocated to the couch. He settled into the cushions. He patted the spot next to him when he heard the water go off in the kitchen.

"What now," Itachi asked reluctantly as he sank down next to Kisame.

"Do you feel better? Now that you got food in you?"

"…yes."

"Good. Now it's story time." Kisame grinned. It was tight, not very joyful.

"Right," Itachi mumbled. "What do you…."

"Start from the beginning," he instructed. "What has he done so far?'

Itachi's gaze lingered against his for a moment. "I was ding-dong ditched a few times. He sent me blank texts and called me and said nothing," he replied shortly. "I didn't think anything of it." He sagged against the couch. "Later he sent me a giant bouquet of flowers."

"The ones you said Maria sent you?"

Itachi looked to the side. "Yes."

"Hm."

Itachi took another breath and continued. "Later, chocolates and giftcards."

Kisame leaned forward. "How do you know he sent them?"

"He signed them all as 'Your Secret Admirer.'"

Kisame raised an eyebrow.

"That's how we met," Itachi clarified, lifting one leg to tuck it under him. "At the bookstore, I started getting little gifts from a secret admirer. I've always been a little bit of a hopeless romantic, so it made me feel awfully special." He hummed. "My only experience with boyfriends was what I had read in books. Marcus frequented the shop, and eventually I figured out it was him." An almost fond smile lingered on his lips. "It was quite romantic."

"Quite," Kisame grumbled.

Itachi's smile bloomed more genuinely. He reached one hand up, poking Kisame's cheek.

Kisame jerked his chin up. "What are you acting all cheeky for."

Itachi scooted a little closer. "I do not like it when you're upset with me."

"I don't like it when you talk about him like you miss him," Kisame replied gruffly.

"I do not miss him," Itachi replied easily, "but I did love him, my dear."

Kisame's jaw flexed.

"I do not love him any longer," Itachi continued calmly. "My dear. Kisame."

Kisame sighed. "Alright, alright." He reached out for Itachi's hand, twining their fingers together. "Is that how you're guessing it's him?"

"Yes," Itachi said lightly. "And also…." He cleared his throat. "When we were at The Spaghetti Factory, do you remember how we got an extra dish we didn't order at the very end?"

"Yeah," Kisame muttered, brow furrowed, "what about it?"

"Spinach ravioli with cream sauce," Itachi said with a displeased frown, "was what Marcus had me order whenever we went out to eat."

Kisame propped one arm against the back of the couch. "Why would he do that?"

"Because I hated it." Itachi pursed his lips. "I told him I didn't like ravioli or spinach, and he had me order it the next time he took me to dinner," he crawled forward, pushing himself into Kisame's lap, "just to prove that he could make me do it." He stared at Kisame's face, settling into the cradle of his arms. "He liked being in control."

Kisame huffed, squeezing him tightly.

Itachi smiled.

"You seem to be in a better mood," he noted.

"I feel safe."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You tend to have that effect on me." He bit his smile between his lips and traced the shape of Kisame's lower lip.

Kisame stared at him for a long second. "Cheeky," he eventually snorted. "Stop trying to distract me."

"I'm not," Itachi defended.

"Then keep explaining."

Itachi scooted closer. "The other…night," he started, "I woke up to one hundred and twenty new text messages."

Kisame raised an eyebrow.

"They were pictures of your house, Kisame. He sent me a different picture of your house every other minute for four hours." He looked for words, came up empty. "I'm so sorry."

"My house?" Kisame mumbled, whole face pinched up. "I—shit." He kissed at Itachi's hair. "Shit, baby."

"Yeah," Itachi echoed quietly. "I left so early because I freaked out. I thought he would confront me." He paused, frowning. "I tried to get him to confront me."

"You fucking what?"

"Oh, don't be over dramatic." Itachi rolled his eyes. "You're acting like he beat me half to death on the regular," he grumbled. "I'm not going to drop dead by talking to him."

"Why would you want to talk to him in the first place?"

Itachi tugged at the ends of his hair. "I want to know why he's doing this. I want to know why he's dragging you into this." He sighed a little sharply, deflating. He stared at the wall. "I wanted to fix this myself for once. I just wanted to fucking fix this part of my life. This was the one thing I really thought I had under control, I thought I healed from it and moved on and—"

"Hey, Itachi—"

"—but he still controls me, Kisame. That was his whole thing when we were together, he just poked and pushed me to see what he could get me to do, to see what he could get to stick. And its been two and a half years and he still controls me. He got me to break up with you, he got me to run around in fear for two weeks. Everything he sent me made me change my behavior, everything he did—he knew how I would react and he—!"

"Hey." Kisame gripped the sides of his face. "Hey. Baby. Take a deep breath, it's okay."

"It's not okay," he protested. His eyes were intense when he looked up at Kisame. "This was the one demon I really thought I killed, Kisame, but he still owns me."

"No." Kisame's response was instantaneous, voice sharp. "He absolutely does not. None of that bullshit, Itachi. He doesn't own a single thing about you. You have a right to be frightened, that doesn't make you weak to him."

Itachi sighed. He let his head rest against Kisame's shoulder. "This is the one demon I thought I killed, Kisame, and I haven't."

"It's never too late, Itachi. This was an outlier situation, this doesn't mean that your fight against him is over."

Silence floated between them for a bit.

"Have you at least gone to the police about this?" Kisame asked, frowning.

"No."

"Why—why not, Itachi."

He remained very calm, untroubled. "I don't exactly love police stations."

"Ah—" Kisame closed his eyes "—ah shit, babe, I'm sorry. Forgot about that."

"It's quite alright." He leaned his head against Kisame's shoulder. "I really should get over it. Every time I enter a station, though, I feel like I'm going to set off a bunch of red alarms and get accused of murder again." He sighed. "When I got fingerprinted before I could tutor minors I nearly passed out and broke my skull on the machine."

Kisame kissed his forehead a few times. "How about I go with you."

"And do what?"

"File a restraining order, for one."

Itachi paused. "Okay," he said slowly. His shoulders slumped forward a little. "I didn't want this to…be anything. I didn't want this to be a big deal."

"It's not your fault." He soothed a hand down Itachi's arms. "I need to know—"

"Kisame," he interrupted, brow furrowed into a puppy-pout. "I'm not trying to keep anything from you," he began, "I just really don't want to talk about this anymore. Can we do something else? Just for tonight."

Kisame appraised him for a long few seconds. "You do look exhausted."

"Because I am." Itachi scooted forward, one hand slipping over Kisame's thigh. "So let's just…talk?"

"Talk."

"And kiss?"

"Ah." Kisame's lips twitched. "Is that where you're trying to go with this."

"What? You promised me more kisses," Itachi murmured, slinking closer.

"Did I?" Kisame pressed his thumb to Itachi's eyebrow.

"You did." Itachi kissed his cheek. "Won't you love on me a little?" He kissed him again. "Even though I don't deserve it?"

Kisame tutted, relenting, strong fingers gripping Itachi by the hips. "None of that, babe." He pulled him close up against his body, nosing against his neck. "None of that." He gave in to Itachi's tugging fingers and settled on top of him. His lips pressed patterns into Itachi's skin, mouthing softly around the swell of his collar bone.

Itachi let out a happy sigh. "I'm so selfish," he murmured. His fingers pushed into Kisame's hair and tugged gently. "And stupid," his lips slipped open when he felt teeth nip at his skin, "for trying to give this up. I'd have you do this all day, if I could."

"I could take you up on that offer," Kisame grunted, letting his tongue lick at a spot under his jaw. "I could do this a lot longer than a day."

Itachi brought his leg up to the side so Kisame's hips could slot comfortably against his. "Remember what you said about being very good to me earlier?"

Kisame's bit at his bottom lip. "You're trying to seduce me." He kissed him more fully. "Rude. I'm still trying to be mad at you."

"I'm doing no such thing," Itachi murmured between kisses. His hands pulled out of Kisame's hair to cup his cheeks, brushing against the coolness of Kisame's ear piercings along the way. "I love you."

Kisame responded with his lips, and Itachi was completely fine with that.

They heard Naruto's laughter before the door opened, thankfully.

Itachi jerked under Kisame, murmuring regretfully has he pushed his face off and closed his legs.

They were more or less appropriately positioned by the time Sasuke entered the apartment, Naruto piggy-backing on him.

"Kisame?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, nudging off Naruto (who was hanging onto him like an octopus) and tossing his keychain on the kitchen counter. "Long time no see."

Kisame chuckled once. "Yeah?" He nudged Itachi's hip. "See what you did? Your brother was missing me."

"I would not use such strong language," Sasuke quipped back, smirking. After a moment, his expression clouded. "Wait," he started, "'what he did?'"

Kisame grinned, patting the top of Itachi's legs. "Actually—Itachi has a fun story for you."

Itachi glowered a little sulkily.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He shooed Naruto off and into the hallway, keeping a suspicious gaze on his brother. "A whole story, this time?"

"A trilogy," Kisame replied smugly.

Itachi folded his arms stiffly. "Since when did this become so amusing to you?"

"Just trying to stay calm, babe," Kisame replied, smile drawing tight. "If I don't constantly distract myself I'll get furious again."

Itachi slumped into the cushions of the couch.

"Now I'm worried," Sasuke muttered, sitting across from them on the coffee table. He tried to get Itachi to meet his gaze. "Itachi?"

He let out a breath. "So," he cleared his throat, "do you remember Marcus?"

Sasuke's face dropped, expression darkening. "Oh, hell no, Itachi, don't you fucking dare—" He broke off, switching his gaze to Kisame. "Is this a joke?"

Kisame shrugged, turning the question back to Itachi.

Once everything was all out in the open, vomited ugly against the carpeted floor, Sasuke had broken the hardware of the TV remote.

"Okay," Kisame murmured out the corner of his mouth, "maybe I see why you didn't exactly want to tell him."

All in all, it took about ten minutes for Sasuke to calm down.

"I'm gonna rip his balls off."

Well, relatively calm.

"Sasuke," Itachi sighed, "it's going to be alright."

"It'll be alright after I skin him alive," he snapped back.

"I got dibs on his face," Kisame snickered, raising a hand.

Itachi frowned. "Neither of you are engaging him any sort of way. You're both overreacting."

Sasuke's eyes bugged. "This is—"

"Manageable," Kisame interrupted, leaning forward, setting aside the jokes to be serious. "Marcus can't do anything. Weird texts and anonymous gifts only go so far."

Sasuke blinked, as if waiting for more. "I'm still gonna fucking kill him?"

Itachi sagged exhausted against the couch. "Please, enough."

"Enough?!"

"Neither of you are getting physically violent with him," he said in a tired voice. He looked at Kisame. "I mean it."

"I know," he replied, voice gruff. "I know."

"Promise me," he insisted, sitting up, gaze flicking between the two of them. "Promise me that neither of you will physically hurt him." Through the awkward silence, his face screwed up. "Seriously?" he whispered.

Kisame grunted, shifting, kicking one leg up on the coffee table. "I promise, babe, if that's what you want."

"It is."

Sasuke glowered at the floor. "Promise." He angrily kicked the ball of his foot against the carpet. "What's the plan, then? What are we supposed to do if we can't kick his ass?"

"Yes, Sasuke, because violence is truly the only solution," Itachi quipped sharply.

"We get it," Sasuke snapped, "you're a pacifistic prick."

"Woah, woah, hey," Kisame interceded, holding a hand out towards Sasuke. "Let's not fight. Sasuke, we're going to file a report with the police department, and we can get a restraining order if we need to. Now that we know, we can be more vigilant. This guy is clearly a coward—if he knows that we're looking out for him he's going to back down."

Sasuke huffed.

"His whole intention was to really throw Itachi off of his game and manipulate him, that's why he's been so passive." He glanced towards Itachi.

Itachi nodded a little reluctantly. "He's not going to do anything bolder, not if he knows he's being watched for."

"See?" Kisame stared at Sasuke. "We can calm down a little."

"Fine," Sasuke muttered. "But—to be fair, you didn't see what happened to Itachi during the Marcus era."

"And for the last time," Itachi protested, gently, "that was not even primarily Marcus' fault."

"Whatever," Sasuke muttered. "Sorry for getting mad."

"It's okay, little brother, I understand."

Kisame relaxed a little, feeling the tension quell.

Itachi sat back against the couch cushions with a huff. Kisame pulled him against his chest, kissing the top of his hair. He gave him a squeeze.

"I'm going to head back to my house real quick," he murmured against his temple.

Itachi jerked back. "You're leaving?" Looked worried. Kisame's heart fluttered.

"Just for a few minutes," he assured, getting up from the couch. "I'm gonna grab some stuff and come back."

Itachi tilted his head the side, brow pinching together. "Why?" He lightly scratched Kisame's arm with his blunt nails. "Just stay."

"I plan to. I'm gonna crash here for a few nights."

"Yeah?" Itachi perked up.

Sasuke stared at him passively from his slumped perch on the table.

"Until this all blow over." Kisame patted his pockets for his phone and keys. "I'm not leaving you alone if some crazy fuck is skittering around your apartment." He glances at Sasuke. "Either of you, for that matter."

"And what are you gonna do," Sasuke taunted, "if he shows up?"

"Deck his—" his gaze slanted to Itachi. "If he tries to touch Itachi, I'll deck his ass."

Itachi sighed.

"Deal? I'll be civil, but if he tries to lay a finger on you he's done."

"Alright," Itachi relented. "Fair is fair. Although I severely doubt he will do anything so forward."

"Okay," Sasuke continued, "and if he doesn't?"

Kisame grinned. "C'mon, now, Sasuke. Would you pick a fight with me?" He tensed up his shoulders, arms flexing and swelling.

Sasuke glowered.

"That's what I thought." He turned back to Itachi, whose eyes were still appreciatively lingering on his muscles. "Besides, I don't think I could sleep apart from you now that I know."

"I thought that you couldn't sleep apart from me anyway," Itachi murmured, a little coyly, stretching one hand towards his arm.

Kisame caught his hand and squeezed, grinning. "You know me so well."

Itachi got up to meet him by the door, hands fluttering around his waist. "You'll come straight back?"

"Mm." He kissed him once. "I will."

"How long are you going to stay?" Itachi asked, snuggling in close.

"How long do you want me?"

Itachi smiled, letting Kisame's big arms pull him up and against his chest. "You can't ask me that."

Kisame peppered kisses across Itachi's cheek. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He paused, giving a second to make eye contact. "Love you," he said as he opened the door, tacking on the almost automatic phrase, getting used to saying it out loud and casually.

"Love you," Itachi murmured back immediately, letting Kisame walk out the door. "Drive safely."

Itachi was locking the door when Sasuke grunted from behind him.

"What happened between you two?" He asked. "You guys are acting…weird."

Itachi hummed, tapping his fingers against the door. "I've been avoiding him the past couple weeks."

"Because of Marcus?"

"Clearly."

Sasuke frowned. "So all that you told me about him being busy or you going to lunch with him was bullshit?"

"I didn't want you to be suspicious," Itachi defended half-heartedly, moving to the kitchen. He turned on the tap in the sink and pushed it to hot. He filled the pan Kisame used for the grilled cheese and set it to soak as he soaped up the dish.

"Fucker," Sasuke muttered. After a moment, "There's something else. You guys seem…weird."

"You've said that once already," Itachi quipped, looking up with a smile. "He took me to bed, if that's what you're getting at."

Sasuke's nose scrunched up of its own volition. "Amazing."

Itachi smirked a little. "It was."

"And…." Sasuke continued awkwardly.

"And?"

"You know," he waved a hand, "how did it go."

Itachi started laughing, snorting down into his soapy hand. He sobered up and said, "Very, very well." He shrugged. "For a first time, at least. I especially need more practice, but I don't think he'll have a problem indulging me in that."

"Right," Sasuke muttered, shuffling.

"Oh, don't act so sheepish. You brought it up."

"Just trying to be there for you," he said around a clear of his throat. "And he was…good to you?"

Itachi smiled. "He was a perfect gentleman. I knew he would be." He shook the plate off in the sink, letting the water drops fly down against the porcelain of the sink. "We will not act inappropriately here if that is what you're worried about."

"No, that's not—" Sasuke let his head roll back, staring at the ceiling. "Actually, I wanted to tell you that I'm giving you my mattress."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What? Why."

"Because," he explained, crossing his arms, "you have a twin, and I have a full. You have a boyfriend…."

Itachi blinked. "You do, too."

"Itachi," Sasuke drawled, "you're going to take my bed."

Itachi frowned. He finished drying the plate and stowed it back in the cupboard. "You need a big bed to sleep well in. You brain needs the best rest."

"Itachi."

A blink. "What?"

"Don't argue with me on this one, okay? I can sleep damn fine in a twin bed." He frowned. "Consider it penance for lying to me for so long."

"That's not fair."

"Life's not fair."

Itachi stared, stumped. "Are you facilitating Kisame's sexual relations with me?"

"Are you facilitating the dictionary of the 17th century?"

"That was weak," Itachi tisked.

"You got me off my game," Sasuke retorted. "Talking about your sex life is…weird."

"You've become so suddenly fond of that word," Itachi lilted lightly, finishing wiping down the counter.

"Fuck off," Sasuke muttered, sulking away. "Come help me switch the beds."

Itachi's version of helping was watching and quietly directing a squawking Naruto and scathing Sasuke as the struggled to hoist Itachi's metal box spring through the door and into the living room. They struggled even more with Sasuke's, since it was bigger and heavier. He let them take care of the manual labor while he started the bedding off in the washing machine.

"Onii-chan," Naruto whined. "Can't you help?"

"I am helping," he answered easily. "I'm your eyes. You're going to hit the door jam, by the way."

Naruto, predictably, bonked his forehead anyways.

When Kisame returned to the apartment, Naruto had his head in Itachi lap, playing a game on his phone. Sasuke was scrolling through food delivery listings, Naruto's legs thrown across his lap. Naruto whined when Itachi tried to get up to answer the door, so Sasuke greeted Kisame.

He raised his eyebrow and stepped out of the way, eyeing Kisame's bag. "You never did say how long you were planning to stay."

"Am I unwelcomed?"

"No," Itachi cut in immediately, "you absolutely are."

Kisame smiled over at him, setting his bag on the floor by the couch and leaning down to kiss his cheek.

"I was just wondering," Sasuke grumbled. "You didn't bring much."

Kisame kissed on Itachi a few more times. "I'll run back to my house as needed."

"Ne, Kisame," Naruto said, smiling up from Itachi's lap. "There's a present for you in Itachi's room."

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "Is there? Seeing as Itachi is sitting here completely clothed, I can't imagine what it could be."

Itachi sent Kisame a dirty look, flicking Naruto's forehead when he laughed too loudly.

"Anyways," Sasuke said, glaring from his seat on the floor, "I'm ordering food for everyone here but Kisame."

"Aw, come on," he said good-naturedly, throwing an arm over Itachi's shoulders. He looked over. "Are you gonna let him treat me like that?"

"I might," Itachi sniffed.

"Jeez, all for a harmless joke." He felt Itachi relax a little against his side, getting comfy. "What are you ordering, Sasuke?"

"Thai. Not that it's any of your business."

Kisame grinned. "Sheesh." He looked down at Naruto, who still had his head pillowed on Itachi's thighs, tongue poking out of his lips. "Why are you acting like a five year old, again?"

"When is he not," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto smiled. "Onii-chan is very nurturing."

"Who now?"

"It's an affectionate term for older brother," Itachi murmured, running his thumb across Naruto's forehead.

"Whoa-oh," Kisame shot a surprised glance at Sauske. "You're just gonna let someone call Itachi their older brother, too? Woulda thought you were a little too jealous for that."

Sasuke didn't find it too humorous.

"Itachi's like the neighborhood big brother," Naruto said, getting up and folding his legs under him.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Naruto smiled. "It's hard not to love you, ya know?"

Itachi laughed a little. "I'm not quite sure I do, but thank you anyway."

"Hey, Itachi."

Itachi blinked over, not used to Naruto addressing him by anything other than pet names.

"I know that, like. Stuff is really shitty right now? But you've got," his smile brightened a little, "you've got all of us. Me, and Karin, and Suigetsu. Juugo, too." He hummed, eyes glittery blue. "I lost my family, too, ya know? And Karin's parents aren't good to her, and—" he chuckled a little nervously. "What I'm trying to say is that—we made our own little family. So you're not alone. We're—we're Nakama."

The word managed to snap him out of his stunned state. "Nakama?" he rasped. "Just how much Japanese has Sasuke taught you?"

"Only the things he pesters me for," Sasuke drawled. "Not everything he's learned is actually what he thinks it means, though."

Naruto threw a pillow at him. "Bastard! You said you wouldn't lie to me!"

Sasuke snorted. "You said you wouldn't use any of the words out loud."

"It's a special circumstance, Sasuke. Special circumstance! Do you not want me to be nice to your brother?"

"Did Itachi ask for your melodramatic spewing?"

Sputtering. "Melodramatic?"

Kisame pressed his lips against Itachi's ear. "They always like this?"

"Spectacularly, yes." Itachi shifted against him.

Kisame kissed his temple. "Hey. All that stuff Naruto said. That's not news to you, is it?" Itachi didn't reply, and he frowned. "You really don't get how loved you are?"

Itachi met his eyes, rubbing his palm on the top of Kisame's thigh. "I don't know how to respond. That's all." His voice was soft.

Kisame kissed him a few more times. "Just make sure you don't forget."

Naruto and Sasuke stopped bickering long enough for Itachi to remind them they were in the middle of ordering food. They ordered from Naruto's favorite Thai place—pad see ew, panang, drunken noodles, mango curry, fried rice, tom kha, Thai tea all around. Itachi did not think he had ever ordered so much food for one meal alone, but Naruto's stomach really did have vacuum cleaner like capacities sometimes.

They fucked around until the food arrived, Naruto proving once again that he was the life of the party. Itachi was very content to watch him and Sasuke fake bicker, or watch Kisame wrestle Naruto into a pretzel on the floor.

The food was good, all warm and spicy and creamy.

The company was even better, nothing but laughs and jokes and fake food fights. Itachi scooted his chair close enough to Kisame's that he could press their sides together.

Kisame licked hot orange curry off of his spoon. "Someone's acting clingy," he grunted, reaching across the table to dish out more crispy tofu for Itachi.

"Sorry," Itachi murmured immediately, shrinking away from him.

Kisame grinned, shaking his head, and then tugged Itachi back against him again. "I didn't say I minded."

Itachi poked a flat noodle on his plate. "I really did miss this."

Kisame stared at him for a long second. "You know we're always here for you. As long as you don't push us away."

"I know," Itachi replied softly. "It's hard."

Kisame grinned and squeezed his hand. "I'm harder."

Itachi snorted. "Over me or the Thai food?"

"Isn't it obvious? The food is unbelievable."

"Shut up," Itachi said, eyes happy, losing the fight against his smile. "You love me."

"I love you, but the food is the one turning me on." Kisame's grin was infectious.

Itachi pursed his lips. "I can change that," he promised, sliding a hand down Kisame's chest and to the top of his thigh.

"Hands where I can see them!" Sasuke suddenly snapped, glaring away from the noodles Naruto was trying to feed him.

Itachi rested his chin on Kisame's shoulder and moved his hand back to the swell of his sternum. "I was being perfectly appropriate."

"Itachi here is just jealous of a crate of curry, that's all." Kisame sent Sasuke a wink.

Sasuke kicked him under the table. "Don't touch my brother," he muttered under his breath.

"He was touching me."

Itachi perched his chin on the top of Kisame's shoulder and smiled cheekily.

They all did the dishes together, creating a line that put away leftovers, cleaned, dried, and stored dishes. Kisame cleaned, handing them off to Naruto to dry; Itachi just about danced around the kitchen putting things away, feeling lighter than air with his family around him. He kept brushing up against Kisame at the counter—touching his ass, dragging his fingers subtly along his arm. Just little shit that drove Kisame fucking wild (like Itachi knew it would), and it was literally only Sasuke's presence that kept him from pinning Itachi to the counter and grinding against him until Itachi melted.

It didn't stop when Kisame and Itachi retreated back into the bedroom (and Naruto and Sasuke stayed lounging in the sitting room, eating ice cream and watching Ru Paul's Drag Race). Itachi rubbed up against him, teased him with little kisses.

"What has gotten you so feisty?" Kisame growled, grabbing Itachi by the jaw and tilting his face up.

Itachi's mouth was open, eyes hazy, and Kisame cursed his dick for how excited it got.

"You want me," Itachi hummed.

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "Shit, that's all? You know I've wanted you this whole time, right?"

Itachi smiled, leaning back so that Kisame's hand against his back supported him. "Yes, but now you've had me."

"And you thought that was going to change anything?

"The chase is half the fun, isn't that what they say?" Itachi asked more or less innocently.

"No, its not," Kisame argued. "The chase is painful. The chase is waking up from wet dreams with hard-ons and making cold showers part of a daily routine. All it does is help create a really creative imagination!"

Itachi snickered. "Are you saying you've been getting yourself off just thinking about me?"

"I mean—yeah." He held up his hands. "I tried not to, at first, okay? But then—I'm just jerkin it and there you are, in my head, with your fucking long hair and legs and pretty lips and—" Kisame broke off with a groan.

Itachi laughed. "You are too much." He lovingly tweaked Kisame's nose. "I don't mind, by the way. I have, too, after al."

Kisame stared, eyes flicking around the room. "What…are you talking about."

Itachi tilted his head cutely. His eyes, though, his eyes were not cute. His eyes were lusty and tempting, just about daring Kisame to bend him over and eat him out until he lost his mind.

At least, that's how Kisame interpreted it.

"Are you telling me that you've touched yourself thinking about me?"

"Only once or twice," he dismissed, nonchalant, unaware of how he was setting Kisame's blood to boil. "Why do you think I kept asking for your clothes?"

"I'm going to die," Kisame decided, leaning back against the wall. "I'm literally going to die."

Itachi rolled his eyes. "You have gotten so dramatic since when I first met you."

"I am genuinely not joking." He tapped his hand against his thigh. "You still masturbate into my sweatshirts?"

A wrinkle of his nose. "I have not even once done that," he clarified. "And no, I don't need to anymore, right? We had sex, Kisame."

Kisame groaned. "I remember. So does my dick."

Itachi bit the smile out of his bottom lip. "It feels good."

"My dick?"

"Yes. But I meant…making you flustered."

Kisame's ears practically drooped. "So you're going to make teasing me a regular thing?"

Itachi shrugged one shoulder coyly, pulling away. "We'll see how much fun it proves."

"Amazing. I look forward to the torture."

Itachi looked cheeky.

"So," Kisame started with a gust of air, "what do you want to do, since your brother and Naruto have claimed the TV?"

"What do I want to do?"

"Yeah." Kisame leaned against the wall. "We can borrow your brother's laptop to watch Netflix, or I can braid your hair, or we can fuck…."

Itachi snorted. "Just snuck that one in there, huh?" He walked back over to Kisame, lilt in his step, until he was right in front of him, only an inch apart.

"Hi," Kisame said.

"Hi." Itachi looked up at him from under his thick eyelashes. "I've decided."

"Yeah?"

"I want to take a bath with you," he hummed, splaying his fingers across Kisame's pecs.

"Yeah?" Kisame grinned languidly, proud of how Itachi seemed to be so fascinated with his muscles.

"Yeah. I want to crawl into a bunch of warm water and curl against your chest, and have you hold me until my skin is all pruney."

Kisame let his head tilt forward. "That's, that sounds—yeah. Let's do that."

Itachi looked up from under his eyelashes. "Too bad this apartment doesn't have a bathtub."

Kisame groaned. "You know Itachi, sometimes..."

"Hmm. It's probably for the better. Do you think if you had me naked and slippery against you you could control your dick at all?

"If you even refer to yourself as slippery one more time I won't have control of my dick at all."

"Maybe that's what I want," Itachi said coyly, slipping his hands under Kisame's shirt. He scraped his nails across Kisame's sides. "Maybe that's what I want."

"What exactly?" Kisame asked, voice raspy. "You know I'll give you anything."

"Just you," Itachi murmured, "and maybe a little less control."

Kisame squeezed his waist. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"Maybe," he hummed, "maybe, with such a big bed, we could love on each other a little."

Kisame shuddered.

"But first I want to shower."

"Right." Kisame nodded a few times, ran his hand over the back of his head, and tried to cool himself off. "I'll hop in when you're done."

Itachi looked at him expectantly. "Or…."

"Or?"

"Or you could join me," he murmured. He shoved one thumb into the waistband of Kisame's jeans.

Kisame couldn't help himself from saying out loud, "Oh god."

Itachi tilted his head. His grin was becoming harder to hide away. "Was that a yes?"

"Yes, baby, yes, anything you want," Kisame breathed, burrowing his nose into Itachi's hair. "Oh, for fucks sake, Itachi, you're going to be the death of me."

"You've already said that." Itachi took one of his hand and led him backwards towards the door. "Come on, then."

They almost made it into the bathroom undetected. Sasuke sent them a small glare, but disappeared back into his room without saying anything. Kisame let the door click quietly behind them, eyes trained intently on Itachi, nearly vibrating from the intensity between them.

Itachi turned the water on and twisted it to warm up before he turned back towards him, looking a little too pleased with himself. He grabbed onto Kisame's hands, tugged him forward into a kiss. The steam from the shower began to warm the room.

The hands pushing under Kisame's clothes helped.

"You just can't keep your hands off of me today," Kisame muttered, one hand popping the button to Itachi's pants.

"Have you seen yourself?" He breathed back, sucking on Kisame's bottom lip. "How am I supposed to keep my hands off of you?"

"You don't," Kisame replied around a smile. His eyes were locked on Itachi's spit-slicked lips.

Itachi took a step back to pull his shirt up and over his head. His pants were already unbuttoned courtesy of Kisame, so he slid them down his legs easily.

Kisame stumbled out of his clothes without looking down. He was too busy looking at Itachi. Obviously.

Itachi didn't hesitate until they were both stripped down to their underwear. His fingers fluttered over the waistband of his boxer briefs, eyes suddenly fixed on the floor.

Kisame swallowed. "Babe, if you don't want to, it's fine. We don't gotta; I can wait in the room."

Itachi flicked his eyes up. "No, no, it's fine. I'm just nervous." He smirked a little. "Something I'm betting I should get over, since you're probably going to be seeing me naked quite often, no?"

Kisame grinned, sidling forward so he could pull Itachi's body against him. "That's the plan." He ran his hands up Itachi's back a few times, tracing a thumb up his spine, massaging his fingertips into the swells of his muscles. Itachi tilts his head back when Kisame starts mouthing at the top of his shoulder. Kisame's removed his own underwear and slipped his fingers into Itachi's, helping coax them off.

Itachi shivered once before pulling away. Kisame pawed after him.

"We're wasting water," Itachi chided softly, tugging the hair band out of his hair. His eyes were dark, smoky and murky, when he turned away again to get in the shower.

Kisame didn't follow him, because he got distracted staring at his ass.

"Are you still planning to join me?" He asked, drawing Kisame out of his trance. Water cascaded down his shoulder and across his stomach in rivulets, and he ran one hand through his hair as he stepped under the water.

Only a second later, he felt Kisame press up against his back, lips kissing on the skin behind his ear.

"I did come here to actually shower," he said with a little laugh, catching Kisame's hand as it dipped in between his thighs.

"I just wanna touch you," he grunted, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Itachi laughed again as he leaned back into his hold. He tilted his head back, puffing water off of his lips as the shower head poured over his face. One of Kisame's hands left him, and he heard the squelchy click of a soap bottle opening. Itachi decided to let Kisame do what he pleased. He aimed his head towards the faucet, grabbing the washcloth off the rack and spreading face wash on it.

Kisame's hands spent a few more seconds roaming lazily over his slick skin; sometimes his fingers twitched, like he was holding back from something. Eventually Itachi felt suds spill over his shoulders. Kisame used the soapy loofah to scrub at Itachi's skin, starting with his stomach and chest. His fingers pressed gentle patterns against him, soap slipping between them. He moved on to Itachi's back, then his arms. He crouched down to finish cleaning his legs. The whole time, he washed him with a reverence, almost.

"Enjoying yourself?" Itachi asked, wringing the washcloth and rehanging it.

"Yes," Kisame murmured, rising up. "Are you?"

Itachi smiled. He leaned forward and gave him a sweet kiss. "I have something for you."

"Yeah?"

Itachi grabbed the jar of coconut oil off the shower rack and held it up proudly. "I listened to your advice," he murmured, screwing off the lid.

In between the kisses he was laying to the tops of Itachi's shoulders, Kisame chuckled.

They finished showering, Kisame taking great time running the oil through Itachi's hair while Itachi traced patters about his skin.

Itachi was scrubbing the shampoo out of Kisame's hair when Kisame grunted and took hold of his hand.

"Baby," he started, squeezing his fingers. "I'm getting kind of…."

Itachi snickered. "I know. I can feel you pressing into my thigh."

"Oops."

Itachi smiled, rubbing Kisame's hair once more and kissing him on the nose. He turned around and shut the water off before slicking water off of his skin with his hands. He hopped out of the shower and fetched two fluffy white towels, tossing one at Kisame.

Kisame started pawing at him when he wrapped his hair up in the towel.

"Kisame," Itachi chided, smiling with his eyes.

"You said we could love on each other," Kisame murmured, tilting his head up to kiss him.

"I believe I specified something about a bed."

"Then let's get out of here."

Kisame could barely hold himself back from tugging the towel off of Itachi's waist as they scurried back into his room. It didn't say on a second longer once the bedroom door was closed.

"What's gotten into you?" Itachi breathed, bracing himself onto Kisame's thick arms as a pattern of bites was littered around his throat.

"Now it's me who can't keep their hands off you," he murmured.

Itachi tumbled back on the bed, letting his legs fall open to welcome Kisame's hips against his. He gasped when Kisame shoved a hand under his jaw, jerking his head back to stretch out the longest expanse of pale skin possible.

"So rough," he muttered, digging his nails into Kisame's skin just a little.

Kisame grunted. "Sorry." He immediately softened his motions, slowed his grinding.

"I did not say that I minded," Itachi corrected.

Kisame grinned at him, then, wild and lusty, and Itachi shuddered against the mattress. Kisame kept the extension of his neck, licking long stripes and following them with bites. He continued sucking on his skin while he grinded, getting Itachi hard. Itachi surprised him with a semi-shy hand that slipped between their hips. His fingers curled around Kisame's dick, slicking his hand up and down in slow motion as Kisame rocked.

"That's how you do it," Kisame chuckled, biting Itachi's ear lobe.

"And are you going to do anything besides chew on my neck?" Itachi asked breathily, getting into it enough to roll his hips up.

Kisame hummed. "Don't pretend you don't like it." He relocated his lips over Itachi's mouth, though, slipping his eyes closed as he worked a hand between them.

It was—heaven, Kisame would say, having Itachi naked and soft and warm under him. It didn't even have to be true fucking; touching and rubbing like this felt so damn good. Feeling the kisses turn sloppy as Itachi's breath slipped out of wack, feeling Itachi's hips strain up off the bed every few seconds or watching him lick at his lips. Fuck, just having Itachi's fingers rubbing over his cock shot him well passed cloud nine.

Maybe that was Itachi's plan all along. Make Kisame so thirsty that literally anything drove him wild.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when a little noise slipped through Itachi's lips. Itachi's eyes widened for a second, as if shocked that he made such a noise to begin with, and Kisame grinned.

"What was that, baby? I didn't quite catch it."

"Shut up," he breathed, pushing his hips up. "I'm close."

"Yeah?" Kisame immediately slowed down, dragging up his skin in slow strokes.

Itachi wrinkled his nose. "Kisame." So cute.

"Need something?" He drawled, slowing down even further in his languid, lazy strokes. He pushed Itachi's hand out of the way when he tried to take control.

"Kisame."

"If you need something, just ask." He was grinning so wide his eyes were crinkling up in the corner. He let go of Itachi's dick to keep jerking himself off.

Itachi glared.

"You just got to ask, baby."

"Touch me," Itachi murmured, wiggling his hips up. "Kisame."

"I am touching you."

"Kisame."

Kisame's grin was firmly in place. "I don't know what to tell you, baby, you aren't being clear enough for me."

Itachi sighed sharply. He twisted one hand into Kisame's hair and tugged a little. Gentle, not enough to hurt, just how Itachi was in everything he did. "Kisame, touch my dick."

Kisame hummed, leaning down to kiss him again. He obeyed, easily at that, but every time Itachi's breath caught or his eyebrows pinned together he slowed his hand. Stopped, sometimes.

"Kisame." It came out as a partial groan, that time, and Itachi's eyelashes were fluttering too much to form a proper glare.

"Yes, love?" His voice was smug again.

"C'mon."

"Just tell me what you want," he murmured, kissing lines up his face.

Itachi's breaths fluttered a few times. "Make me come."

Kisame shuddered, but very, very happily complied. Itachi squirmed softly in his arms, one hand digging into his bicep. He pressed his face into Kisame's chest and came on his own stomach, falling somewhat limp after that, and his hand fell away from Kisame's dick.

Kisame straightened up, kneeling on either side of Itachi's thighs. He would have much preferred Itachi to do the favor of jacking him off, but looking down and seeing Itachi naked and lightly flushed and covered in his own cum was more than enough to get Kisame sputtering out, "fuck, Itachi," and coming onto his stomach.

They spent a few minutes of breathing, Kisame bracing on hand on Itachi's chest to stay upright. He stared down at him.

"Something on your mind?" Itachi asked, only slightly bashful at his naked state, spread open for Kisame's eyes to roam.

"Thinkin' I quite like the sight of you covered in cum."

Itachi narrowed his eyes to distract from the blush smeared about his cheeks.

"Also thinking that this didn't make a whole lot of sense to do after the shower."

Itachi hummed, sitting up a little. "We did not make that big of a mess," he said lightly, pushing Kisame back gently by the chest so he could close his legs. "Since I'm the…soiled one, could you get a rag from the bathroom? In the bottom drawer to the left of the sink."

Kisame departed after a quick kiss to the forehead.

Itachi fell back against the bed as he waited. His body was still pleasantly humming. He liked…sex more than he was expecting. It's not that he had any real experience, so perhaps he shouldn't have been so predetermined what his opinion would be, but he was still pleasantly surprised.

Of course, physically, Kisame was very conscious of how he was feeling, and touched him in all the right ways. Physically, of course sex was pleasurable.

Even more than that, though, Itachi loved the implications. He loved feeling irresistible. He loved feeling like he was something so amazing that Kisame couldn't keep his hands off him. That there was something about him that Kisame wanted more of.

"You look like you're having a good time," Kisame grunted, and the bed dipped down as he settled over him again on his knees.

Itachi smiled a little and opened his eyes, stomach twitching when Kisame wiped the rag over him. "Just thinking happy thoughts.

"Yeah?" Kisame leaned down to kiss him, folding the rag up and tossing it on the night stand. He settled down more fully, pressing Itachi into the mattress. "What types of thoughts."

Itachi hummed, tracing Kisame's facial features with his fingers. "Just that I like having sex with you."

Kisame dropped his head down into the crook of Itachi's neck and shoulder. "Those are some good fucking thoughts."

"Would you mind leaving at least an inch of my neck unmauled?" Itachi asked.

"I might," Kisame grunted back. "Tell me, baby, tell me what you like so much about sex with me."

Itachi drawled, "And for what reason should I indulge you so?"

"You love me. And I make you feel good. Right, baby? I make you feel good."

"You make me feel good," Itachi affirmed, sliding his hands languidly up Kisame's arms.

He chuckled. "Yeah? Tell me what feels good."

"Oh my god," Itachi groaned, shoving Kisame's face away as he tried to leech onto his neck again, "enough, Kisame. You're so—enough with my neck, Kisame—!" He broke off into a fit of giggles as Kisame rolled them over so Itachi was on top, kissing him all over his face and neck. "Kisame!"

"Itachi." Kisame's grin was melting around the edges into the makings of a soft smile, and his eyes were brighter than Itachi had ever seen them. He tugged a sheet over Itachi's ass, since Itachi still wasn't used to being totally bare to a room yet.

Itachi traced his pointer finger across the tattoos on Kisame's cheekbone to his nose, poking the tip. "You look happy."

"I'm so fuckin' happy, Itachi."

Itachi's smile twitched. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"How come?"

Kisame's eyebrows shot up. "Why? I got the sexiest guy in the world laying on top of me, and I can feel his dick against my hip."

"Kisame," Itachi groaned, dropping his head down to Kisame's shoulder.

"Alright, alright," Kisame trailed off with a chuckle. "I'm serious." He nudged Itachi's face up and kissed his chin. "You make me so happy, baby. Happier than I have ever been my entire life." He kissed his cheek. "I mean that."

Itachi leaned forward so he could slide his forearms under Kisame's neck, stealing another slow kiss. "How convenient," he murmured, tilting his head. "I was going to say something similar."

Kisame smiled at him for a few seconds. "Hey."

"Hey."

"I have a question."

Itachi kissed him a few more times. "Hurry and ask it before I get distracted."

Kisame hummed, rubbing his hand across the small of Itachi's back. "Why did you ride me?"

"Pardon?"

"Our first time," he clarified. "You rode me."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "I remember; I was there."

Kisame grinned. "You were."

"What exactly is your question?"

"Why did you ride me? I thought you were gonna be more nervous, or shy or something."

"'Nervous or shy or something,'" Itachi repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Kisame cracked a lopsided grin. "I mean, yeah. You haven't always—taken initiative to go farther." He kissed his chin. "I wasn't expecting you to climb up on my dick."

Itachi snorted.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

Itachi sighed, adjusting himself on top of Kisame. "I…chose that position because I had nerves." He suddenly looked a little bashful. "I did not want to…underperform."

Kisame's grin lit up. "Oh, baby, you were far from it."

Itachi shoved his face away when he tried to kiss him. "Flatterer."

"I have one more question."

"Fire," Itachi said, digging his thumb into Kisame's mouth.

"You were clean."

"That was not a question."

"No shit, Sherlock." He paused. "Literally."

"Ew," Itachi said, wrinkling his nose. "Disgusting."

"Seriously, though."

Itachi shrugged a little bashfully. "I don't really know what there is to explain. Are you asking me how I did it? Because as someone more sexually proficient than me, I assume you already know."

Kisame waved a hand. "Of course I already know. But like…does that mean that you planned that ahead of time?"

Itachi shook his head. "No, it was spontaneous. I had been practicing preparing myself for some time before."

Kisame stared, sputtering, "You were preparing to have sex with me for a while?"

"Not a while. I was just getting used to it…and I wanted to be ready." His eyelashes fluttered. "I was waiting for you to tell me that you love me."

"I knew that for a while!" Kisame exclaimed, mouth falling open.

Itachi smirked. "Then you should have said something a while ago."

"I hate myself," Kisame groaned.

Itachi fidgeted, just a little, resting his chin on the top of his hands. "That's not…all you want from me anymore, is it?"

Kisame's eyebrows shot up his forehead. "What? No, Itachi, baby, no." He cupped his face with both hands. "I'm just joking." He squished Itachi's cheeks. "Sweetheart, if you told me you never wanted to have sex with me again it wouldn't change how I feel about you."

"So you don't like my sex that much?" Itachi asked.

"What—no, Itachi, that's not what I'm saying—" Kisame's voice was careening off into near panic, so Itachi laughed and went easier on him.

"Kisame, I'm teasing you."

"Oh." Kisame let his head sink back into the pillow. "Oh, right. But—seriously, baby, I mean it. If I take the sex talk too far, just stop me, okay?" He ran a hand over Itachi's hair. "I won't forgive myself if I hurt you."

"You're giving me cavities, I think," Itachi said softly. "I don't mind. It's mostly flattering."

"In my defense, sex with you feels really, really good."

Itachi rolled his eyes, shoving Kisame's face away when he tried to kiss him. "Glad to hear it."

"Aw, let me kiss you," Kisame crooned, chasing after him with his lips. He locked his arms tight around Itachi until he got his kiss. "Sweet as sugar."

"You are so—" Itachi looked for words "—giddy."

Kisame grinned up at him like a kid on Christmas morning. "You are the best thing to ever happen to me."

Itachi stared at him while he tried to find anything he could respond to that with. Eventually, he settled on Kisame's nature and tried for a joke. "You're only saying that because I touched your dick."

"I mean, I'm sure it helps." He caught Itachi's hand.

Itachi traced the slanted black ink across Kisame's cheekbones. "I suppose that means you're planning to keep me around for a while?"

Kisame's grin softened into a smile. "You know I'm set on you."

"Set on me," Itachi repeated, pursing his lips. "What do you mean by that?"

"Means I'm giving you my all." He snagged Itachi's hand, slid their fingers together and kissed his knuckles. "I thought I lost you, baby, I really thought I lost you." He paused. "One of the scariest fuckin' feelings I've ever felt. Didn't ever really consider that it would happen, always saw myself in your life." He thumped his head back against the pillow. "When I thought—man, not single part of me was alright with that. Everything just—nah, nah, everything freaked out."

"I'm so sorry," Itachi said quietly. "I am so, so sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, Itachi," Kisame replied, smile easy. "You are entirely and fully forgiven."

Itachi leaned into the palm Kisame pressed to his cheek. "You are so forgiving of my many mistakes."

"'Course I am." Kisame kissed his chin.

"How can I ever repay you?" Itachi murmured.

"Well the whole dick touching thing is doing a pretty good job so far."

"Right, right, of course."

Kisame's chuckle was cut off when Itachi swiped his tongue over the swell of Kisame's bottom lip. "That's a good start."

Itachi scooted up Kisame's body, winding his arms around his neck so he could pull him close and kiss him deep. Kisame firmly cupped his jaw with one hand and ran a calloused hand from Itachi's ass up the curve to his spine.

The door popped open with a—"Nii-san, there's someone at the door—"

Itachi yanked back, eyes wide and blinking at the intrusion.

Kisame grinned.

Sasuke glowered. "You couldn't have waiting until the household even went to bed?"

"Uh," Kisame started, "have you seen your brother? No, we could not. 'Sides, I waited nine months already."

Itachi pinched his arm. He dragged the sheet farther up his back to make them appear a little more decent, sitting up and wrapping it around his waist. "Did you need something, Sasuke?"

He rolled his eyes, sending Kisame one last dry glance. "There's someone at the door requesting to see you."

"Who," Kisame demanded immediately, eyebrows furrowed, propping himself up on one elbow.

"Not Marcus, asshat, calm down. I think it's the neighbor."

Itachi pressed a palm to Kisame's chest, gently shoving him back down. "Let me get dressed, and I'll be right out."

"Right," Sasuke said dryly before he left the room.

Itachi slipped off of the bed—ignoring Kisame's whistle—and quickly pulled on a clean pair of boxers. After stepping into thin gray sweats and throwing one of Kisame's sweatshirts over his chest, he turned to find Kisame dressing himself as well. "You don't need to bother," Itachi said, "I'll be quick."

Kisame flashed him a grin. "You planning on doing more stuff that requires me naked in bed?"

"Who knows," Itachi quipped.

"Well, I assure you I can get undressed at a moment's notice. Just give me the word." His grin was unbelievably big.

Itachi snorted, slipping out of the room and into the hallway. "I can answer the door on my own, you know."

"Not taking any chances," Kisame grunted, a serious gleam behind the joking light in his eye.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "You think Marcus is sending other people to harass me, now?"

"I think I'm not taking any chances."

Itachi muttered 'protective' under his breath and swung the door open.

He was not expecting to find the friendly neighbor holding a large, covered plate.

"Hello!" She said cheerily, only slightly hesitant. "I don't know if we've officially met; my name is Rin, I live two doors down."

"Hello," Itachi said slowly, starting a smile. "Good to meet you."

Her gaze swerved around Itachi, smile flashing when she saw Kisame. She waved. "Hi there! I saw you the other day."

"I remember," Kisame replied warmly.

Itachi looked surprised, twisting around to question Kisame with his eyes.

"When I dropped off food for you," he clarified as he snaked an arm to wrap around Itachi's waist.

"Ah." Itachi turned back towards the guest.

"Ah, well, anyways—!" Rin held out the plate toward them. "I was making brownies, and I thought I would bake you guys a pan."

Itachi leaned back against Kisame's chest. "You made us brownies?"

"Yeah!" Her smile really was sweet. "I was already baking a bunch, so it wasn't any trouble at all."

Itachi hesitantly accepted the plate. "And it's just your habit to bake brownies for neighbors you have never met?"

Kisame snorted. "Don't be rude, Itachi."

"I'm not—I didn't mean to be rude," Itachi muttered, almost sulky.

"It's fine." Rin folded her hands in front of her. "I know it's not necessarily—customary, it just…sounded like maybe you guys could use a little sweetness." She played nervously with her ring finger.

"…Sounded?" Itachi said weakly. "You heard us fighting?"

"Well—I don't want you to think that I was eaves dropping or anything. Things just seemed tense, and I—brownies make everything better!" She smiled hopefully.

"You heared us fighting," Itachi repeated, staring at the plate.

"It's okay, I didn't hear anything specific!"

Kisame started laughing.

Itachi swirled around, eyes bugging. "Do not laugh! She heard us fighting!"

"We weren't fighting," Kisame scoffed.

"We absolutely were fighting!"

"Well now we are."

Itachi tightened his fingers around the edges of the plate, eyes squeezed shut. "I'm…terribly sorry you were caught up in our personal problems," he began, turning back towards Rin. "You are very sweet and considerate for making us dessert."

"Any time!" She replied brightly. "I hope you enjoy them."

"I'll return the plate to you shortly," Itachi promised as Rin retreated down the hallway to her room.

Kisame closed the door behind Itachi. "What a nice woman. Shame you haven't made her acquaintance before."

Itachi whirled around. "Kisame!"

"What?" Kisame leaned against the counter.

Itachi floundered, like he expected Kisame to know what he was thinking.

"What?" Kisame repeated, a laugh on the edges of his voice. "Are you upset she heard us today?"

"I'm mortified!"

Kisame snorted, taking the brownie plate from Itachi and walking into the kitchen. "What's the big deal?"

"You don't care that she heard all of that?"

"I mean…" Kisame started, peeling the saran wrap, "it's not the end of the world."

"It was private," Itachi insisted.

Kisame took a giant bite out of a brownie.

"You are not listening to me."

Kisame tried to say something, but a chunk of chocolate fell out of his mouth, and he ended up laughing himself silly and holding onto the counter.

It wasn't till he saw Itachi stalk towards the hallway that he sobered.

"Baby," he called after him, swallowing the gooey chocolate in his mouth. "Baby, c'mon, don't be mad." He grabbed at his hand.

Itachi glared, avoiding his eyes.

"Why are you so upset?"

Itachi let out a sharp breath and tugged his hand free. "That was our business, Kisame. I don't want people knowing our intimacies."

"She doesn't!"

Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Okay, well—is it my fault?" Kisame asked, grabbing his wrist again and pulling him so he turned around. "I didn't invite her out."

Itachi's steely gaze focused on the floor.

"Well?"

"I just," Itachi muttered, "I don't like it when people know private things about me. Our relationship is not for the neighbors to pick apart."

Kisame stared at him for a few seconds. "You're a private person, I get that."

Itachi huffed quietly.

"If it will make you feel better, these brownies are really fucking good. I'd say it's worth it." He held his half eaten one out towards Itachi. "C'mon, try some." Itachi did not respond, so Kisame nudged his foot with his own. "Would you like it better if I let you eat it out of my mouth?"

Itachi's eyes flicked up to send him a soft glare.

Kisame cracked a grin. "C'mon, baby. It's kind of funny."

"In no way is it funny."

"It's a little funny."

Itachi took the brownie from his hand and took a bite.

"Good, right?" Kisame asked.

"…pretty good."

"Oh, come on, Itachi. Smile. The neighbor hearing us argue is not the end of the world. She doesn't even know what it was about."

Itachi chewed slowly, taking his time to warm up. "…I guess it's a little funny." He pursed his lips. "If you squint."

"That's the spirit." Kisame held the rest of the brownie out for him. While Itachi chewed, he set the plate out on top of the breadbox, and then pushed Itachi gently by the shoulders back into the bedroom. "Ready for bed?"

Itachi hummed, digging through his drawer for his hairbrush.

"You need a new one of those," Kisame grunted, eyeing the multiple holes where the bristles were missing.

Itachi rolled his eyes up. "It works just fine," he insisted, catching his hair with his fingers and pulling it over his shoulder. He ran through the ends, noting Kisame wince at the ripping sounds. He paused and held the hairbrush out. "Would you like to do it?"

"Uh—yes."

Once they got Itachi's hair brushed soft and smooth and braised into two plaits, Kisame pulled the stray hair out of the bristles and threw them away in the black trashcan under Itachi's cluttered desk. When he turned around, Itachi was bending over for something on the floor, and Kisame whistled obnoxiously loudly.

"Enough," Itachi chided coyly, looking over his shoulder.

"You look hot as hell with two braids."

"Thank you," he replied politely, tugging on one of them. "They are you're handywork."

Kisame grinned. "Will you be uncomfortable if I sleep in just boxers?" He asked, rubbing a hand across his abs.

Itachi looked over his shoulder, gaze lingering on Kisame's sculpted stomach. "Something might get uncomfortable eventually."

Kisame grinned wickedly, pulling his shirt off and sliding his hand down his chest. "Yeah? You think I'm hot or something?"

Itachi rolled his eyes, lips quirked up. "No, not at all. I definitely don't think anything of your chest, or stomach or arms…." His eyes flamed a little as he traced Kisame's muscles as he talked about them. He got to Kisame's hip bones, bit the inside of his bottom lip, eyed the V that sunk into Kisame's sweatpants. "Or your dick."

Itachi found himself pressed up tight against the wall, Kisame's thigh nudging his legs apart just a little.

"Is that so? If if didn't know better, I'd say you had a crush on me, Itachi."

"A crush?" Itachi's eyes gleamed. "Good thing you know better. You aren't really my type."

"Hey."

"Just jokes, Kisame," Itachi assured, "just jokes."

Kisame kissed his forehead. "Tease."

"I've never."

Kisame groaned. "You do nothing but torture me. I can't believe I'm still going to spoil you."

"And here I thought you've already spoiled me once tonight."

Kisame paused, eye flicking back and forth. "If you're asking for a round two, I'm more than happy to indulge you."

Itachi snorted. "Because it would take you so much convincing."

Teeth brushed, faces washed, and Kisame's jewelry placed carefully on Itachi's night stand, the two settled quietly into a nighttime routine. It wasn't as awkward as Itachi had though it would be, trying to dance around each other in a cramped room and bathroom. Kisame was large, but he never complained, and always took the opportunity to shove up against Itachi if it presented itself to him.

Kisame flicked the lights off and coaxed Itachi to lie down on his stomach.

"What are you doing?" Itachi asked, tucking a pillow under his chin.

"I told you I was going to work on your back again," he said, bending Itachi's arms and pushing them up.

"Is this what you meant by spoiling me?"

"Indeed," Kisame said. "You liked it the last time."

Itachi hummed. "I did."

He started with the tops of Itachi's shoulders, drumming his fingers down into the tense muscle, feeling it chorded under his skin. Itachi sucked in a sharp breath, immediately tensing up, so Kisame softened his hold. He kneaded his shoulders until they were warm under his touch before moving down Itachi's spine. He pressed his thumbs against each bump of Itachi's vertebrae, pressing gently, and then worked the muscles roping across his back on either side of his spine.

Itachi let out a soft noise.

Kisame ran his hands up and down Itachi's back, shifting, licking his lips. He pressed both thumbs into the dimples above Itachi's ass, and—slipped just his fingertips into Itachi's sleep pants, and slowly tugged them down of the soft swell of his skin. He left the boxers on, since he didn't want to push it. Itachi would take his clothes off if he wanted.

"Kisame," Itachi murmured, turning his head to the side. "What are you doing?"

"Booty rubs," Kisame replied, splaying his fingers.

Itachi wiggled just a little. "Excuses."

"Shh," Kisame shushed. "Tell me to stop if you get uncomfortable," he murmured, pushing his hands against his flesh, squeezing two big handfuls. He dug his thumbs into the muscles starting at the bottom, rolling circles with his fingers and pushing up.

No, he wasn't dragging it out to have fun.

(Yes, he was).

He kneaded the muscles towards the top of his ass, encouraged when Itachi let out a satisfied breath.

"Feel good, baby?"

Itachi nodded into the pillow.

"Bet you didn't even know the muscles in your ass would feel good to be massaged." Kisame spread his fingers out again, squeezing as much as he could, rubbing the flat of his palm in soothing circles. Itachi sighed again, nuzzling the pillow. "Are you getting sleepy?" He asked, digging his thumbs in, licking his lips.

"Little. Feels good."

Kisame (reluctantly) pulled Itachi's pants back up and shifted his hands back up to Itachi's back, pressing on both sides of his spine, slowly working back up to his shoulders.

"You are very good at this," Itachi murmured.

"Maybe I was a therapist in another life," he said softly.

"Mm." Itachi shifted his arms up farther. "Do you love me in this other life of yours?"

"I love you in every life there could be," Kisame answered easily. "In this one…hm. In this one, I'm a PT, and you're…." he paused, hands stilling as he thought. "You're a kindergarten teacher."

"A kindergarten teacher?" Itachi questioned quietly, smile curling onto his face. "Why's that?"

"You've told me about how much you like kids. I can see you just—covered in them, like a tree that bears five year olds."

Itachi snorted.

"You would be a good kiddie teacher," Kisame insisted, gentle, kneading his thumbs carefully against a bad knot nestled against the ridge of Itachi's right shoulder blade.

"How did we meet?"

"I picked up Thalia from school all the time."

"Thalia," Itachi repeated sweetly. "Does Thalia like me?"

"So much," Kisame said with a chuckle. "She talked about you so much. I would take her for ice cream on the car rides home and she would go on and on. Eventually, I just had to meet you."

Itachi adjusted his head on the pillow, uncontrollable smile bunching his cheeks up. "What was the first thing you liked about me?"

"Your smile. You smile all the time in this life, baby; you're so happy."

Itachi paused, pushing himself up on his elbows a bit and looking over his shoulder. "I'm happy in this life, too, you know."

Kisame's hands stilled on his shoulders. "Right, yeah. Of course."

Itachi gave a very soft sound of appreciation, turning around onto his back and tugging Kisame to kiss him. "Thank you for the attention, my dear."

"Anytime. I always wanna touch on you."

"I know." Another kiss. "I wouldn't trade this life for a different one, Kisame. I'm very happy with the way things have turned out."

"Even with all the bullshit mixed in?"

"Even with the hang-ups," Itachi rephrased, stroking Kisame's cheek. "I'm happy. And I'm happy with my life, and I'm happy with my…lover." He couldn't get the word out without smiling. "I'm not going to let things keep slipping out of my grasp. I mean it."

Kisame rolled to the side and tucked Itachi against his chest, nosing against his hair. "Good plan. I'll do my part, too; I'll jack you off whenever you want."

Itachi snorted, surprised, and pinched the side of his arm. "Everytime, Kisame, you pull that same trick."

He snickered. "It's just too fun." He kissed his hair. "You know you can tell me to stop if I go overboard."

Itachi sighed, adjusting himself, sinking into an even deeper comfort. "I know. Somehow, I just find it endearing after all this time."

"Lucky me."

"Lucky you," Itachi mouthed against Itachi's skin.

After a few seconds, Kisame repeated 'lucky me' a few times, pressing Itachi just a touch closer each time.

They settled in silence, which was fine. Silence was comfortable, silence was calming.

And there really wasn't anything to be scared of.

Is there anything better than waking up warm and rested?

Kisame didn't think there was, nuzzling into the side of Itachi's neck. There was nothing more conflicting than wanting to watch Itachi's sleeping face and talk to him at the same time, either. Eventually Kisame decided to kiss on Itachi's face and neck as much as he wanted, and if it did wake Itachi up, so be it.

It took surprisingly long for Itachi to actually start to rouse, and when he did, it was a cute pinch of his nose and a little squeak in the back of his throat. He jerkily stretched one hand out to the side, jabbing Kisame in the ribs.

"'Same?" He asked sleepily.

"Who else," Kisame replied gruffly, fingers skimming Itachi's stomach.

Itachi hummed, smiling a little, and curled his arms up so his hand could touch Kisame's face, fingers drumming against his cheekbone. "How did you sleep?"

"Good."

"Well," Itachi corrected.

"That too."

"Mm," Itachi moaned out loud, throwing himself over Kisame's torso and burying Kisame's face into his neck. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders and hooked his leg over Kisame's hip. "I love you."

Kisame chuckled, breathing in deep and nuzzling Itachi's neck. "Love you so—" a kiss, "—so—" another kiss, "—damn much."

Itachi let out a contented sigh, pressing his cheek to the top of Kisame's head. "Mm, I'm sorry," Itachi murmured sleepily into Kisame's hair.

"What are you apologizing for?" Kisame grunted.

"I was supposed to get up early and make you breakfast." He wiggled a little. "But you're far too warm and comfy, so I couldn't get out of bed."

"Ah, so my devious plan worked," Kisame chuckled. "I guess you're stuck here forever."

"This is my house," Itachi sleep-slurred, "you're the one who's stuck here forever, in that case."

Kisame rubbed a relaxed hand up and down Itachi's back. "That doesn't sound too bad."

They couldn't convince themselves to get out of bed, and Itachi melted over Kisame's body, fitting against him like kinetic sand. Eventually, Itachi groaned again, pushing himself up on one arm. He kissed Kisame's forehead once.

"What do you want for breakfast."

"You."

He blinked slowly. "I'll make eggs, then."

Kisame slid one hand onto Itachi's ass, squeezing once. "Wearing nothing but an apron?"

"Sasuke would not appreciate that," Itachi said, rolling off of him and stretching. He sat up, rubbing the side of his face. "When do you need to leave for work?"

Kisame groaned, turning over to check his phone. "Hour."

"Mm. I'll get started, then."

Sasuke was already awake with a cup of coffee when Itachi emerged from the room. He was leaning against the kitchen table, rolling an apple across the surface.

"Rise and shine," he murmured into his mug. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Yes, dear brother. We aren't animals."

"Bet he fucks like one."

Itachi threw a spatula at him.

Kisame hopped in the shower to rinse off real quick before work. Naruto had apparently left already, since he had an absurdly early class at seven. Itachi whisked a few eggs in a measuring cup, sprinkling in garlic salt and pepper. Sasuke made himself useful and chopped up peppers, onions, tomatoes and spinach before turning on the rice maker. The rice was mixed with the vegetables and frying away nicely in the pan when Kisame got out of the shower.

"Smells good, baby," he said, toweling his hair dry.

"Thank you," Itachi responded, pouring a glob of ketchup into the rice and stirring it around.

Kisame kissed the top of his head. "How can I help?"

Itachi pointed at the cabinet. "Can you get me some shoyu?"

Kisame hesitated. "Pardon?"

"Soy sauce." He looked over with a smile. "Sorry."

"It's all good," Kisame replied good-naturedly. "I should starting picking up on some Japanese."

"By no means do I expect that." He sprinkled a little soy sauce on the rice. "Could you get me small bowl from the cupboard over there?"

"Absolutely."

"And then could you wash your hands and help me mold the rice?"

Kisame tilted his head. "What is it that we're making?"

"Omurice."

"Omurice," Kisame repeated with a chuckle, soaping up his hands. "And what's that?"

"Japanese rice-stuffed omelet," Itachi replied. "I would have made something fancier, but I was not expecting company." He paused. "I have no kale for you."

Kisame laughed. "I don't need kale to function, babe."

"But you like it." Itachi scooped up rice with a spoon and began to pack it into the oval-shaped bowl. "I'll buy some things for you after work tomorrow."

"You're too much," Kisame chuckled.

Itachi finished making the omelets quickly, calling Sasuke back out from his room to eat with them.

Itachi was acting unbelievably bright when Sasuke took a seat with them.

"You're awfully happy," he commented, poking at his omelet with chopsticks.

Itachi smiled. "I like eating meals together. It feels like a family."

Both Kisame's and Sasuke's faces softened at that.

Kisame was pleasantly shocked by how good the food was. "You've gotten a lot better at cooking, baby, I mean it."

And that's all it took to keep Itachi beaming through the rest of breakfast. Kisame only made one sexual comment about the use of the bed, and Sasuke only kicked Kisame under the table twice.

The morning didn't sour until Itachi checked his phone at the end of breakfast.

"Babe, back me up on this," Kisame chuckled, running water over the plate. "Sasuke thinks that—" when he looked over, he saw Itachi absolutely shut down, fiddling with his phone. "Babe?"

Itachi stared at the table. "Yeah?"

Kisame set the plate down. "What's the matter?"

Itachi glanced back at his phone. "It's…." He sighed. "I don't know. I got a bunch of emails from a junk address."

Kisame grunted, leaving the sink to sit next to him. "Yeah? Fucker," he muttered. "What did he send."

Itachi tapped on one email, waiting for it to load.

It opened, and his eyes widened and he slammed the phone on the table.

Kisame hissed. He picked the phone back up, grimacing as he flicked through Itachi's emails. Itachi tucked himself somberly against the chair, staring at the table top.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, leaning across the table towards Kisame. "Is it Marcus?"

"Yeah," Kisame grunted. "Just a bunch of—just a bunch of gore."

"Of what?!"

Kisame sighed, sharp, and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm guessing—yeah, it's Marcus."

"That stupid fucker!" Sasuke snarled. "I'm going to kill him."

"It's okay," Itachi said softly. "It's just a picture."

"Pictures," Sasuke corrected, acid dripping from him.

Kisame leaned back in his chair. "Why would he suddenly send something vicious, though?" He looked to Itachi. "You said he's been sending you gifts."

Itachi nodded. "Besides the overall—situation being uncomfortable, to say the least, he hasn't done anything openly malicious."

"So what happened that he would switch to something so drastic?" Kisame asked.

"I don't know Agent Gideon," Sasuke snarked. "Is there any chance he heard the two of you yesterday?"

"The neighbor did," Itachi said with just a hint of a joke to his voice. "I guess anything is possible."

Kisame rolled his eyes. "While I doubt he heard anything, do you think he could have been watching?"

Itachi looked into his eyes. "And when he saw you come over, he knew he lost."

Kisame twisted his lips to the side, looking at the table in solemn thought.

Sasuke looked between them. "Care to inform me on what the fuck is going on?"

Itachi let out a breath. "Marcus is smart, and he knows me. He's been pulling his stunts these past couple weeks to mess with my mind in hopes that I would separate myself from Kisame permanently."

"And you didn't," Sasuke surmised, "so now he's angry."

"That's what I'm guessing, at least," Itachi said with a one-shouldered shrug. The room became tense, everything sinking in amongst the three at the table. Itachi's face suddenly crumpled, and he started shaking his head. "I can't do this," he said.

"Babe?" Kisame asked softly, worriedly leaning forward.

"I can't just let things go on like this. He can't do this to me anymore. Is he really going to harass me for as long as I'm with you?" Itachi's eyes were edging into puppy-dog territory when he reached forward for Kisame's hand. "Am I supposed to deal with this for the rest of my life?"

Kisame cracked a grin. "Aw, baby, you tryna have me for the rest of your life?"

Sasuke smacked him upside the back of his head. "Can you be serious?"

"I'm damn serious! I wanna talk about this."

Itachi sighed, leaning forward into the table and rubbing his face with both hands.

Kisame paused, face screwing up as he hesitated, one hand resting on Itachi's back. "Hey, Itachi, I'm sorry. I'll stop joking, okay, baby?"

"No," Itachi murmured, shaking his head. He pulled himself up a little straighter to meet Kisame's gaze. "It's not you, you're not doing anything wrong." He leaned forward to kiss Kisame's broad nose. "You know I like it when you lighten the mood."

Kisame rubbed a soothing hand on his arm. "What can I do?"

Itachi sighed. "What can we do…." He let silence settle amongst them for a few minutes, thinking through his dread. "Well…we have to stop him."

"Stop him?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"He clearly isn't planning on doing it anytime soon, so…."

Sasuke looked a little dumbfounded. "Isn't that, just, a little too obvious?"

"It's the only thing to do," Kisame said. He rubbed a hand over his forehead. He listened to the clock tick for a few seconds, then said, "The only two options are that he cuts it out himself, or we make him cut it out."

"Oh, yes, what a simple solution," Sasuke drawled.

"Could you cut the sarcasm in half or so?" Kisame grimaced. "You know I'm on your side, right? I'm here to protect Itachi."

Sasuke opened his mouth to let out another snarky comment; he snapped his mouth shut. "Right, I know, I just—" He glared at the wall behind Kisame's head. "What can we do."

"Well," Kisame started, "we can file the restraining order at the police station this afternoon or tomorrow."

"That wont be good enough," Sasuke argued, fingers tightening on the edge of the desk.

"He's not going to back down if the police get involved?" Kisame crossed his arms over his chest. "You think he would really risk losing his job or going to jail just to send Itachi gross emails?"

Sasuke waved an arm in the air. "Hello? Did Itachi not tell you what went on when they dated?"

Kisame leaned forward, trying to be diplomatic. "Sasuke, I'm not saying—"

"I know what to do," Itachi interrupted, calm, hands resting against each other in his lap.

Kisame turned his head to look at him. Itachi didn't look frazzled at all, not a single long black hair out of place. His eyes were clear and calm—a bit the opposite of both Kisame and Sasuke. Kisame was reluctant when he asked, "And what would that be?"

"Shikamaru," Itachi said without explanation.

"Shikamaru," Sasuke repeated dubiously.

Itachi looked up at him. "He's still...a hacker, right?"

"A what?" Kisame asked, arching an eyebrow.

"He works for virus protection software companies and computer security companies," Sasuke explained, eyes trained on his brother. "He's pretty talented with a keyboard. What does he have to do with anything, Itachi?"

"Can you have him trace where these emails came from?"

"Woah," Kisame started, a mix of shock and worry. "What are you suggesting."

"Sasuke. Can he?"

Sasuke looked subdued. "I—yeah, of course he can, he's the best of the best. But, Itachi…."

Itachi yanked nervously on his hair. "I know that you guys aren't keen about the idea of me interacting with him, okay, but—I can't let this go on forever and hope that he just stops, because he isn't going to. I need to talk to him."

"And you think that's going to fix anything?"

"Yes."

"But—"

"Do you think that Marcus isn't an absolute coward?" Itachi asked, voice raising a little. "He's stalking me and trying to scare me. He doesn't want confrontation." He huffed. "I didn't stand up to him once our entire relationship, and that's why he got away with what he did. If I show him now that I'm not scared of him, he'll have no reason to mess with me anymore."

Kisame splayed on hand on the table. "In theory, that makes sense, but—what if it doesn't work?"

Itachi shrugged. "Then we try plan B. It's worth a shot, though, and I'm really going to insist that I try this."

"I don't like it," Sasuke said, blatant, frowning.

"I don't really, either," Kisame added.

Itachi folded his hands sincerely. "Please trust me on this." He looked to Kisame. "You can come along."

Kisame lifted both his eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"Yes, that's fine. And that way, if anything does happen, you're there to take care of me." He glanced at Sasuke. "Okay?"

Sasuke grumbled a few times. "I still don't like it," he restated, "but I guess. Whatever."

"I'm not going to let a damn thing happen to Itachi," Kisame promised.

Sasuke pursed his lips, mulling things over. His foot tapped idly on the floor. "What's the actual plan, then?"

Itachi cleared his throat. "Have Shikamaru see if he can track where the emails were sent from. Once I know where he is…I'll stop by."

Sasuke groaned and flopped back in his chair. "That idea sounds horrible."

"I really need you to trust me."

"I trust you, I just don't want him anywhere near you."

"Kisame will be with me the whole time. He's not going to let anything happen."

Sasuke rolled his head back to stare at the ceiling. "What are you going a talk to him about?"

"I don't know that yet, Little Brother."

He looked at Kisame. "You're really not going to try to talk him out of this with me?"

Kisame held his hands up in surrender. "I've gotta take Itachi's side on this one." He glanced nervously at the clock. "I've also gotta start for work pretty soon."

"Mm," Itachi murmured, getting up from the table and grabbing the plates. "We can finish this conversation later."

"Convenient," Sasuke muttered.

Itachi whirled around. "School!"

"Suigetsu isn't even here yet!"

"Then go brush your teeth and get ready for him," Itachi quipped, brushing food scraps off into the compost.

Itachi finished taking care of the kitchen, eyeing the clock to make sure he would have enough time to get ready for his first student. He eventually heard a horn blaring outside, which made him roll his eyes and call Sasuke to quickly go outside.

Kisame came out a few minutes later. He wrapped his arms tight around Itachi's waste, giving him a squeeze. "I'll see you tonight," he murmured after a kiss to Itachi's cheek.

"You really don't need to stay here," Itachi said, turning around in Kisame's arms. "I'll be fine."

Kisame paused. "I know that. I just really wanted another reason to sleep with you."

"Sleep with me, or sleep with me?"

"I want to fuck you," Kisame replied, annunciating each syllable.

Itachi shoved his face away, smiling. "I can't stand you."

"That's okay, I'll take you on your knees."

Itachi's jaw nearly dropped. "Excuse me?"

Kisame snickered, stealing a kiss. "I love you, baby."

Itachi swatted at his face. "Don't kiss me with your dirty mouth." He didn't resist, though, when Kisame yanked him in tight against his body. "I can't believe you can say things like that so blasé."

Kisame grinned. "I said I love you. Don't leave me hanging."

Itachi swayed a little and tugged on Kisame's belt straps. "I love you, too," he sighed. "Drive safely."

"Thank you." Kisame kissed him again. "I'll have dinner on the table when you get home."

"Oh?" Itachi smirked a little. "What are you making?"

"I was just gonna sit on the kitchen table naked."

Itachi raised a dubious eyebrow. "And what will my brother be eating?"

Faltering, Kisame started to laugh. "Oh, shit, I didn't think about that."

"You didn't think about my brother? I'm horribly hurt."

"Fine. I'll get creative then." He groaned a little, hugging Itachi fully and giving him a kiss on the forehead. "As much as I would love to stay here and do this all day…."

"You have to go make art," Itachi filled in, face happy. "Have a good day."

"You too." Kisame paused as he pulled away. "You sure you good about the whole…Marcus thing?"

Itachi nodded, moving away from the sink to store the dishes in the cabinet. "I'm quite sure. I feel calmer than I have felt in a long time."

Kisame nodded. "Okay. That's what matters most."

Itachi smiled. "I'm entirely sure everything is going to be alright, Kisame."

Kisame tossed a grin over his shoulder as he walked out the door. "I'm gonna make it better than alright. That's a promise."

The second time Kisame had Itachi, it went much more 'according to plan' for him. He had thought, for the amount of times he had thought about sex with Itachi, that he would have been much more prepared. He had never been so in love though, and the emotional impact of the intimacy hit him like a ton of bricks their first time. It knocked him off his game.

Their second time, though, their second time Kisame drew it out, did things right. They were at Kisame's place, and after several minutes of making out on the couch, and then several more minutes of shoving hands under clothes and grasping at skin like heated teenagers, Itachi stumbled through an admittance that he'd cleaned himself, if Kisame wanted to do more than just touch.

And, well, of course he did.

He took Itachi up into his room, running his hands across his back and kissing on his neck the whole way. He got Itachi onto his bed, laid him down gently, and slowly began tugging off his clothes. Kissed lines up his legs and stomach until Itachi got fidgety. He stripped himself off his own clothes until they were both down to their underwear and crawled on top of Itachi, kissing his way up from Itachi's navel to his lips.

He settled himself comfortably on top of him, fitting their hips together so he could slowly grind down, only firm enough to get Itachi to push his hips up slightly, eyes slipping shut.

"Feel good?" Kisame grunted quietly, moving rhythmically, eyes trained on Itachi's face, drinking in every detail and little reaction.

"Yes," Itachi breathed, hands sliding up and down the thick of Kisame's arms.

Kisame let his head fall forward, kissing Itachi's cheek.

He got Itachi relaxed in every area but one before fishing the lube out of the drawer. He pushed Itachi up the bed, settling him on a soft blanket and propping him up with pillows. He started the kissing back up as he fingered him, stretching him slowly and brushing against his prostate just enough to keep him feeling good.

"'Same," Itachi moaned softly, fingers inching down his stomach to his cock.

"Baby," he groaned in between wet kisses. "Mm, baby, you know how gorgeous you are? I still can't believe you're mine."

"Ridiculous," Itachi muttered, fingers flexing on Kisame's chest. "Kisame," he breathed. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Kisame's neck. "I love you," he murmured.

Kisame smacked one last kiss on his lips before groping his hands across the blanket next to him for the tube of lube again.

He only spent a small amount of time pushing Itachi's legs back to see how far they would go back, whistling lowly that Itachi, oh you're so flexible, oh god, Itachi.

He slotted into him slow, one arm braced next to Itachi's, fingers twisted together. Itachi's neck arched back into a smooth, pale stretch as Kisame slid in the last inch he could fit from the angle.

"Fuck, baby, Itachi. You good?"

Itachi nodded, breath fluttering, fingers squeezing around Kisame's. "Give me—just a moment."

"Sure, baby, sure, of course." He licked his lips, squeezing his eyes shut.

Itachi traced rhythmic patterns against Kisame's chest with his finger tips for several few seconds before his hips nudged a little, and, breathily, he said, "Go on, 'Same. You can move."

He started slow, of course, just gentle rocking and stuttering breathing, still overwhelmed by the feeling of actually being inside him. He let Itachi get used to it for a few minutes; Itachi's eyes were drooped almost all the way closed, and his lips were parted enough that Kisame could hear every breath he took. He watched him carefully, every facial expression he made and every noise he held back. Once Itachi got into it, he squared his hips and bent over so that their chests brushed—and he could feel Itachi's cock against his stomach—and continued to thrust, still gentle. Itachi wound both of his arms around Kisame's neck and pulled him close. He bent his legs up, resting his heels on Kisame's ass. He could feel it flex as he rolled his hips.

Kisame sucked on Itachi's bottom lip for a few seconds. Itachi whined—throaty, lusty, coming from a place of pleasure and a need for more—and Kisame kissed him proper, a little wet and a little desperate.

Kisame found himself groaning, either into Itachi's mouth or against his lips, or into the skin of his neck. Itachi was—hot around him, so fucking hot, and he was tight, and his skin was soft and warm, and it was him and Kisame loved him and—

"Itachi," he groaned, hips hitting forward a little harder, a little faster. "Fuck, Itachi, baby, baby, baby," he muttered off, kissing sloppily at Itachi's jaw.

Itachi, who had not removed his arms from their vice around Kisame's neck, tried to tug him closer. He found the clarity to kiss and nuzzle at Kisame's face. "K'sme," he slurred, sliding one hand up into his hair and tugging. "Touch me."

"Ah, yeah, yeah," Kisame grunted. He paused, readjusted one of Itachi's legs a little higher so he could try to lift himself up. He tried to shove a hand in between them, but the vice Itachi had around his shoulders didn't allow for any extra room between them. He chuckled. "Baby, you gotta give me a little room."

Itachi pouted cutely, tightening his hold and stealing another kiss. "No. Stay close."

"I'm pretty damn close, baby." He licked at his lips. "I'm almost six inches up your ass."

"Six inches," Itachi muttered, head tilting back, fingers tightening in his hair and tugging. "Is that the magic number."

Kisame grinned, eyes lighting up. "Nah, baby, I'm a just a little over six. I just can't get it all in from this angle." He bit Itachi's lip until he opened his mouth, stroked his tongue against Itachi's. "If you want to take the whole dick you gotta let me fuck you from behind."

Itachi groaned. "Just touch me, baby."

"Baby?" Kisame grinned wider. "You've never called me that before."

Itachi weakly slapped at his arm.

Kisame leaned back down to kiss him and snaked a hand between them to grab onto Itachi's dick. He stroked in time with his thrusts—something that was a lot fuckin' harder than it seemed in theory. "Like that?"

Itachi arched his hips, head falling to the side.

Kisame's thrusting sped up, feeling too much to process, trying to stroke Itachi off in time with the rocking of his hips. He was spurred on when Itachi started moaning softly, broken and unintended, fingers still grasping greedily at his skin. Kisame smacked kisses across his face. Sucked on his bottom lip when Itachi tilted his head back.

"Fuck, fuck, baby, Itachi, I'm—" Kisame grinded his head into the pillow. "Love you, baby, love you love you—" He gripped Itachi harder, tugging rough enough—maybe a little too rough (maybe just rough enough)—that Itachi gasped a little and arched up under him. Kisame felt something splatter against his hand; Itachi subsequently went almost entirely limp under him.

Kisame didn't last too much longer, burning hotter and hotter until he found himself a proper mess, groaning Itachi's name and jerking his hips sloppily into him.

He collapsed on top of him, smothering him into the mattress, shuddering and gripping onto him to ground himself. Itachi ran a hand slowly up Kisame's back to his hair. He ran his fingers through it, gentle, loving.

"Sorry," Kisame muttered, still breathless.

"…for what, exactly?"

"I'm probably crushing you, huh?"

Itachi nuzzled into his hair. "Don't worry; I said I wanted you close."

Kisame let his breathing even out, placing kisses to literally any stretch of Itachi's skin he could reach, fingers squeezing both his arms. He rolled to the side—just a smidgen, so that Itachi was still halfway trapped under him, and slid a hand up to grasp at his neck. He brushed his thumb against the soft skin stretches over a chord of his muscle. "You good?" He asked. He nudged his nose forward to bump against Itachi's.

Itachi hummed. "I'd say I'm a little better than good." His legs lolled to the side, spreading himself more open than he was normally comfortable. The large, dark hand caressing his stomach made him feel safe, though, and the after-orgasm hum relaxed his body.

"I'm serious," Kisame grunted, "let me know if I get carried away."

"You're almost too considerate," Itachi quipped, looking over.

"I just kind of lose my mind," Kisame muttered into Itachi's skin, "when I actually get my dick on your skin."

"That so." Itachi arched an eyebrow.

"So," Kisame confirmed. "My brain just—fucks off."

"'Cuz your dick steals all the blood."

Kisame grinned. "You're getting better at your banter, baby."

"I guess I learned from the best."

"The best?" Kisame crawled over him a few inches more. "I'm the best, huh? The best at what?"

Itachi rolled his eyes. "The best at getting a big head every time I compliment you."

Kisame squeezed Itachi right above his hip, another smart comment on the edge of his tongue, but was interrupted when Itachi yipped.

"That tickles," he said, catching Kisame's wrist. "Careful."

Kisame's eyes gleamed mischievous. "It what now?" He squeezed again, and Itachi's leg jerked.

"Kisame—!" Itachi tried to warn, but it was too late, and Kisame's fingers were poking into the soft flesh of his sides. "Kisame—!" He busted up into a fit of giggles, squirming and jerking underneath Kisame's larger frame.

Kisame grinned, pinning him down and tickling the life out of him. He snorted out a harsh laugh when Itachi kneed into his hip, tossing his head to the side and gasping.

"I can't breathe, I can't—" He managed to get out of Kisame's grasp, slipping to the side and squirming out from underneath him. He grabbed a pillow in retaliation and slammed it into Kisame's face, scrambling on top of Kisame and straddling his hips. He pressed the pillow down until Kisame couldn't breathe. "Rude!" He gasped, still recovering from his giggles.

Kisame tried to push the pillow up and off of his face, laughing uncontrollably.

Itachi pressed it down harder, only lifting it back up to slam it down again several times.

"Baby," Kisame laughed as he tried to catch Itachi's hands. "Baby!" Eventually, he was forced to buck his hips up, tossing Itachi off of him. He immediately chased after him, and Itachi tried to fight him off with a fit of laughs, tangling himself in the blankets. Kisame got him still with his arms and legs, got him quiet by pressing his lips firmly against his and swallowing his giggles.

Itachi could barely kiss back because his lips just wouldn't relax from their stubborn smile.

"I'm trying to kiss on you," Kisame murmured, pressing his thumb against a laugh tear in the corner of Itachi's eye. "Stop smiling."

"Stop smiling? You're the one that wouldn't let me stop laughing!"

Kisame grinned a goofy grin. "I love hearing you laugh. It's the…best sound in the world."

"Ridiculous," Itachi chided softly. He pulled Kisame down for more kisses, squashing his urge to smile again, slipping his lips open for Kisame to tease at his tongue. They made out for…several minutes, grasping everywhere from face to ass to neck to hair. They kept it languid, though, Itachi not nearly at the point where he could go again.

It took a surprising (oh, who were they kidding) amount of time to pull their lips off of each other. Itachi hummed. "Now not only are we both filthy, but your sheets are, too."

"I'll drag them into the shower with us," he muttered, scooting off of Itachi so he could have more breathing room.

Itachi pushed over a little, rolling onto his back, and stretched out. "I'm going to be sore tomorrow," he said, twisting his fingers into the coolness of the white sheets above his head.

"Yeah," Kisame murmured, stroking his hand over Itachi's stomach. "Good or bad sore?"

Itachi let out a contented breath. "Good sore," he said decidedly, moving on hand to link with Kisame's on his stomach.

Kisame pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "We look damn pretty together," he said, poking one finger into Itachi's belly button.

"Oh?"

"Oh. You're so—pale, and sophisticated looking, and proper. I'm dark and rough around the edges and improper." He wiggled his finger. "We're like yin and yang."

Itachi snorted, leaning his head back, trying to tease Kisame into playing with his neck. "Yin and Yang? How poetic."

"Yeah." Kisame's grin tilted lopsided. "It must look so good when we fuck."

"…you ruin every romantic thing you say, you know that?"

Kisame took the bait and pushed his lips forward onto the skin of Itachi's neck. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Itachi said, sliding his fingers into Kisame's hair. "I wouldn't change a thing about you."

Kisame kissed his neck for several more minutes, silence settling gently between them. Itachi let his eyes slip closed. He massaged a gentle pattern into Kisame's scalp and brought his other arm up to curl around Kisame's shoulders. They were still in need of a shower, and Itachi's sore bottom was aching just a little unpleasantly, but it was so…peaceful. And that's…what Itachi always strived for.

"Are you nervous?" Kisame murmured quietly, nose bumping the underside of Itachi's jaw.

"Hmm?"

"About Marcus," he expanded, pulling back to look Itachi in the face. "About confronting him."

Itachi let his gaze linger against Kisame's, eyes calm. He lifted a finger to trace the broad swell of Kisame's nose. "No, I am not."

"At all?"

Itachi shook his head slowly. "He can't do anything to me as long as I don't let him. And I really…love my life now. I refuse to let anything ruin that."

A smile (not a grin) slowly started to overtake Kisame's face. "Yeah…? You love your life?"

Itachi nodded softly. "I do."

"That's…that's real fucking good, Itachi, that's—that's really good."

Itachi's smile was fond, fingers soft as he caressed Kisame's cheek tattoos when he said, "But, to be honest, I would love it a lot more if we could shower now."

"Right, right," Kisame said, drawing back. He pulled Itachi up and off his back by his wrists, kissing the backs of his hands as he sat up.

Before he let Itachi climb off the bed he took his face in both hands, looking into his (overwhelming, bottomless, beautiful) dark eyes. "I love you, Itachi."

Itachi just smiled. "I love you too, my dear."