Another day, another chance to make something of your meager existence. That was what Fugaku, Itachi's father used to say when he was younger. That had been his motto. Since then Itachi looked at every day as a way to expand his already extensive knowledge. Last night he read up on some romance novel that the women at the library couldn't get enough of. Itachi thought the book had some merit, but overall it was trash.

The raven spent most of his days locked in a similar routine. Feed the cat, shower, a cup of coffee, work, home, tea and dinner (for the cat too), dessert and a book. His cousin, and co worker, Shisui found his routine dreary. He told Itachi plenty of times that "A little spontaneity never killed anyone."

Susanoo, Itachi's cat, cooed as Itachi filled it's bowl up with milk and food. She was a lean cat with a midnight coat and ocean colored eyes. She was a doll when she wasn't scratching up the carpet. Itachi was sure he wasn't getting a dime of his security deposit back if he ever decided to move.

The cat hummed and ate her food happily. Itachi smiled at the sight. She woke him up at seven am everyday to feed her. She ate on a finite schedule, and didn't like her food a minute late.

Itachi turned and went away to complete his morning routine, which consisted of a shower, brushing his teeth, and then getting dressed. He decided on a pair of black jeans and polo. He'd rather blend in at work, than stand out. Lastly he poured himself a piping hot cup of caffeine, then wished his cat a quick goodbye, and of course it didn't respond.

When Itachi arrived at work, he was greeted by his cousin, who sat at his computer smiling like he'd heard the funniest joke ever.

"Sitting on a secret?" Itachi asked as he took the seat across from him.

"Yeah guess what I heard?"

"What did you hear?" Itachi sat his cup of coffee down and grabbed various books out of satchel.

"You're up for a promotion." Shisui smiled.

"A promotion?" Itachi was puzzled. He knew he was doing a great job, but he didn't think they liked enough to offer him a promotion. Honestly, Itachi didn't know if he wanted to take it. Being in a position of power was being pulled between the people at the bottom and the malice board up top. He'd rather not dance for then men up top.

"Yes, bro." Shisui kicked his feet up on the desk. "Of the archival department."

"What happened to Tsuande?"

"Her number has been called and now she's going to be library director." Shisui smiled. "Danzo got fired for stealing money out of the donation fund, and the board loves Tsunde. They were dying to get Danzo out of here anyways."

"I don't think I'm the person for the job." Itachi shrugged.

"It's between you and Deidara." As soon as Deidara's name left his cousin's mouth Itachi rolled his eyes. Deidara was a tall blonde skinny hipster that worked in that archival department as well. He spent most of his time trying to convince us to blow up old artifacts rather than keep them. It was because of him that they had a History of Fireworks Gala at the library last Fourth of July.

"No way." Itachi sighed.

"Yes." Shisui also sighed. "Man. This is really life or death. Do you think Deidara would be a good boss? Do you want Deidara to be our boss?" Deidara, their coworker, had the mind of a genius and the manners of a two year old in their no phase.

"I'm not too keen on it, but I don't think-"

"Itachi quit being so humble. You should've been the manager of this department six years ago, when you started." Shisui said. "You're smarter than all of us and you graduated top of your class from Harvard."

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts. You're destined for greatness." Shisui set up straight.

"Why would the board want Deidara to be in charge of archival?" Itachi asked. "He hates preserving things; it goes against his whole aesthetic."

"Deidara's been rubbing shoulders with them, and they like the idea of blowing up worthless artifacts." Shisui said. "Like selling tickets to see random things blown up behind the library."

"He wants to blow up artifacts?"

"Yes." Shisui hands came down on the desk in a panic motion. "You need to stop him."

"Why don't you go for the position?" Itahci asked. "You're smart." Shisui had a very happy disposition about him, but he was a very passionate person. When he loved something he fought very hard for. He also graduated in the top five percent of his class at Columbia.

"The board doesn't want me." Shisui said. "And besides, I'm trying to get in Tsunde's good graces so she'll give me one of the two assitant director positions. They're getting rid of all three of them along with Danzo. Corruption runs deep."

"Wow. It's gonna be a different office pretty soon."

"The world's ending, but it's okay."

"Hey Itachi my man." Itahci and Shisui quickly turn to see Deidara standing there, a couple of books in hand. They seemed to be books on clay sculpting, which was Deidara's favorite pastime. He didn't miss one chance to bring it up to Itachi. He also never missed the chance to tell everyone that he went to Yale and graduated top of his class as well.

"Hey Deidara." Itachi said.

"I just wanted to invite you to lunch today." Deidara said.

"May I ask why?"

"Just some friendly companionship, yeah." Deidara smiled. "It'll be great, Itachi my man. You can bring your cousin along if he's willing?"

"I um-"

"Nonsense. Will meet at that sandwich place, Saiken." Deidara said, a devious smile on his face. "It'll be great. See you at noon."

Before Itachi could object, the blonde had disappeared.

"Damn he's a piece of work." Shisui spat.

Saiken was a small sandwich shop down the street from the library. Along the walls, were bookshelves with many books that were donated by people of the city. The owner allowed people to take and bring back at their will. They believed when you finished a book it was only fair that you passed it onto the next person.

Itachi loved the shop because it was quiet, and a great place to write papers. When Itachi was working on an essay he had published in a magazine it was a great place to come to escape his cat's antics.

As soon as Itachi and his cousin walked in the door, they could see Deidara sitting in the corner with his hand up. Shisui waved at him to let them know they'd be over after ordering. They joined in the line behind five or six other patrons.

"I hate him." Shisui said.

"Even the devil has some redeemable qualities." Itachi chuckled.

"I don't think Deidara has any redeemable qualities." Shisui said. "I think he's gonna intimidate you out of the race"

"Well he has nothing to worry about because I don't want the position." Itachi said. "I'm fine where I'm at."

"If your mother heard what you were saying right now she would grab you by your ear." Shisui warned. "An Uchiha never turns down an opportunity." Itachi's parents always warned him to never settle for anything less than being number one. This used to drive Itachi and his brother Sasuke mad. The older Itachi got, the more he realized that he'd rather be happy rather than stressed.

"Hey, I almost forgot that there's this party I'm going to tonight." Shisui said. "My friend is opening a bar, and I think you should come."

"Uhhhh-"

"C'mon. Susanoo can take care of herself." Shisui said. "You can't marry your cat. It's an upscale kind of bar. They're serving champagne, how bad could that be?"

"You know I don't like parties."

"Just come out this once." Shisui said. "I don't ask if it's not important. You can't let your cousin go to a bar alone. Especially when I plan to drink plenty of champagne."

"You're annoying." Itachi rolled his eyes.

"You know drunk Shisui is bad Shisui." This was true. Drunk Shisui was another person entirely. Last time he got drunk he got banned from an entire neighborhood.

"I'll think about it."

"Hello." They were interrupted by a brunette with a chin length haircut. He was a tall slender man, with a chiseled face and hazel eyes. He wore a blue polo and black pants, the uniform for the restaurant. "What can I get you?"

"I don't know…" Itachi watched as his cousin analyzed the boy name tag. "Uta-koot-ta."

"Uta-kata-" The other boy corrected his pronunciation.

"What a nice name."

"I hear so many comments about my name; I'm thinking about wearing a name tag that says Max." Utakata rolled his eyes. "Now what can I get you?"

"I'm sorry if I offended you."

"No offense taken." The cashier rolled his eyes. "It's just the typical. I'm used to people like you."

"Hey what's that supposed to-"

"Will take two chicken avocado wraps, the kettle chips and two drinks." Itachi nudged his cousin. He wasn't about to watch him piss off the already agitated cashier. They paid for their food, and took their number.

"We'll bring it out to you." Utakata said.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Shisui asked as they walked over to meet Deidara.

"You need to learn that silence sometimes is best." Itachi said. "You can't be everyone's friend."

They took a seat at the table, and there was a long silence after they greeted each other with a hello. This was obviously going to be an awkward lunch between the three of them. Mostly because Itachi and Shisui had never been to lunch with Deidara. They spent most of their days talking trash about the blond and trashing his ideas and work ethic.

"I think that it's amazing that you're both being looked at for the same job." Shisui finally said, as their food arrived.

"Yeah." Deidara said. "That's why I invited you here, Itachi my man. I wanted to tell you that there won't be any hard feelings if I happen to get the job. Or you know if they decided to go with you, yeah."

"I don't even think I'm going to campaign for it." Itachi said. "It's all yours if you want it."

"What?" Deidara looked at him puzzled.

"I think that Itachi is trying to say that he isn't really interested in being competitive." Shisui said. "He wants the job. He just doesn't-"

"No. I don't really want the job." Itachi said.

"Are you like punking me right now?" Deidara said. "It's a pretty big raise."

"I live alone, and I can afford my cats food." Itachi chuckled. "I'm fine."

"So do you think you're too cool for this position?" Deidara questioned. "Like, do you think you're better than all of us because we all actually have to work for something, while you can just do the bear minimum and be noticed?"

"I don't think it's that…"

"I mean forgive me, but that's what kind of grinds my gears about you, Itachi." Deidara bit into his sandwich savagely.

"We didn't come to lunch for war." Shisui said.

"There is no war, Shisui my man." Deidara said. "There's only happiness here. There's only friendship here."

"Deidara you got mayo on your nose." Shisui said.

Kisame was a man in space. He was always just a couple inches from finding the ground. The only thing that wasn't in constant disarray in his life was his greyhound Samehada. The big dog had a smokey grey coat with black onyx eyes. While his size was intimidating, he was a very playful dog. He wouldn't hurt a fly. He loved people and people loved him.

Kisame alarm sounded off for the third time that morning. He rolled over and found his dog laying next to him.

"I guess it's time to get up, huh?" He asked Samehada, who looked at him with large doe eyes.

Kisame's morning routine was never consistent. The only thing that he did every morning correctly was feed Samehada. The rest of the morning was spent running around getting washed up and dressed and out the door with fifteen minutes to get to work.

For Kisame to have to come down on his workers for being late, he was usually always late himself. He admitted multiple times that he had created a system of a toxic system of tardiness at his job.

Kisame owned a small seafood shop called Hoshigaki's. They sold fresh seafood, cooked or uncooked. Usually people came in and bought it and made it at home. The shop only fried fish, which they were very good at. They were named the best place in the city to get fried catfish.

Kisame pulled up at the shop, and scrambled out of the car. He looked at his watch. He made it with three minutes to spare.

He walked up to the door, and Hidan and Omoi were waiting for him. As soon as he saw the two, he slapped himself internally. Omoi and Hidan were not a good team. Omoi was very indecisive and Hidan was a jerk. They would surely kill each other before the shift was over. Hidan, who was Kisame's assistant manager, would surely cuss him out before the day was over.

Omoi was new and just started a few days ago. He hadn't worked with Hidan yet, only Kisame. The silver haired man was in for a treat.

"Hey asshole." Hidan said. "Late again."

"Yeah." Kisame said. "You could've let yourself in. Where's your key?"

"Left it at home or something." Hidan shrugged. "I swear to Jashin I'll find it. It's some fuckin' where. How come you ain't tell me about the new kid?"

"I see you've met Hidan." Kisame said to the young black kid. He was sucking on a sucker, which Kisame told him he can't do while working behind the counter. "I'm sorry for his rudeness, and I forgot to mention him because he just started two days ago."

"You know Friday mornings are our busiest days?" Hidan asked. "And you couldn't even give me Darui or Samui?"

"Deal with it." Kisame said. "I've trained Omoi myself. He's very capable." Kisame opened the door and they all poured inside, trying to quickly get ready to open the store in less than sixty seconds.

"No offense kid." Hidan siad. "But follow my lead. It'll be hell this morning."

"Okay." Omoi said. "I don't work so well under pressure. People tell me that sometimes."

"Well." Hidan said. "Today you become a man."

The lunch rush had died, and so did Omoi. Kisame felt terrible for pairing him with Hidan. The silver haired called the blond everything but a child of god. This was Kisame's fault, but he had no one else to work this morning.

Kisame and Hidan were both washing their hands in the sink when Kisame nudged him. "You need to apologize." Kisame said. "We might lose another worker cuz your mouth."

"You saw him?" Hidan growled. "You saw the way he just refused to do anything. He was overthinking everything. He was scared anytime the fish went over a pound on the scale or when it went under the-"

"He cares." Kisame said. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Where are you finding these people?"

"Apologize." Kisame commanded.

"Fine, but I'm not gonna like it." Hidan sighed walking over the younger boy, who had shoved a sucker in his mouth, nervously. "Listen, Omoi. I'm sorry about what I said to you. But I told you to follow my lead, and when you didn't it pissed me off."

"I'm sorry." Omoi said. "I don't want you to be mad at me."

"No. Don't apologize to me, asshole." Hidan said. "This is my fault. I was the jerk, not you. You're new, but you gotta know that nobody cares if it's over a pound it'll be fine. As long as it's not too far over-"

"But what is too much?" Omoi asked. "What if they yell at me about going over? What if they wanted me to go under rather than over? What if-"

"Alright!" Kisame interrupted. "Who wants some grilled salmon and potatoes for lunch. I'll make it."

Both men nodded and Hidan made a face at Kisame that said "I am going to kill him."

Okane, Kakuzu's bar wasn't crowded. Only very distinguished people who made six figures or more seemed to be welcomed in. Kisame knew that the neighborhood drunk would never be allowed ten feet from the door.

Everyone was dressed up, and there wasn't a pair of jeans in sight, save for Kisame. The taller man looked out of place in a pair of black jeans and a blue polo. He felt like he was way too underdressed for such an event.

Kakuzu did say this bar was for the wealthy. He said he wanted to make an upscale bar so he can overcharge people on drinks and blame it on the atmosphere. Truly the man was a piece of work, but wasn't any great businessman.

"Brother Hosgigaki." Kakuzu walked up to him and gave him their fraternity Isobu's secret (not really so secret) handshake. "Long time no see. Where's your drink?"

"A cranberry soda's twenty-five dollars man."

"It's fine cranberry juice shipped from the appalachian mountains."

"People believe that shit?"

"Yeah." They both erupted in laughter. "I don't even know if they grow apples up there."

"I see some things never change." Ever since college Kakuzu was obsessed with money. He was the fraternities' treasure, and he kept a tight lock on that box. He was the reason they were able to take a trip to Paris. They had to stay in hostels of course.

"Hidan told me you hired some annoying blond kid at your restaurant?"

"It's a fish shop." Kisame corrected him. "And Hidan was about to slaughter the poor boy."

"You know how he is." Kakuzu shrugged. "He's been like that since I've known him."

"And you still married him?" Kisame asked.

"You hired him."

"This is true." Kakuzu has met Hidan at Kisame shop, and become very interested in the pink eyed man. Maybe it was because no one had ever spoken to Kakuzu like that or Hidan's fuck the man atttude, but him and Kakuzu hit it off fine.

"Did you bring a special friend?" Kakuzu asked.

"No." Kisame chuckled. "You said no dogs allowed."

"You still got that mutt." Kakuzu sighed. "You know how I feel about dogs. They shit everywhere."

"He's a good boy." Kisame said. "He's been potty trained."

"Yeah. Good boy my ass. He bit me the last time I was there."

"I told you not to take the bone out of his mouth." Kisame said.

"Asshole, come here." Kakuzu's husband Hidan shouted at him from across the room. "Konan and Pein are here."

"Oh my biggest investors are here." Kakuzu straightened his clothes out.

"Investors?"

"Yeah. I'm trying to turn this bar into a monopoly." Kakuzu said. "Soon they'll be a fuckin' Okane in every city across this country."

"This one just opened today." Kisame said. "Don't you think you're moving a little fast?"

"Not fast enough Kisame." Kakuzu said. "Rich men don't sleep till they're rich." And with that he was off to go speak with his investors.

The next hour or so Kisame wandered through the bar, which was pretty nice. It wasn't like one of those cheap dive bars, everything was far enough apart to walk through. There was a small dance floor, but it was clear this wasn't a club to dance. This was a place to hold meetings or to meet your mistress.

Kisame ran into a couple of his former fraternity brothers, who had been up to great things as well. Most of them had gotten married and had one or two kids. They seemed happy. Kisame was happy for them, but there was always this look of confusion on their face when they asked was he married? Did he at least have a fiance? No. He did not. He had a dog who loved him and a successful seafood shop where he made decent money, but the look they gave him said that wasn't enough.

"I'm sure you'll meet someone." They said.

Kisame would offer them a smile and an awkward, "Yeah. But I'm content with my life right now."

Kisame didn't know if he was unhappy because he hadn't had the chance to think about love. He spent most of his days working so much that he never had given love a second thought. Of course he had sexual urges which he filled by browsing porn websites and the occasional hook up, but that was enough for him right now.

Kisame found himself at the bar with a tequila sunrise. Kisame and clear liquor never quite got along, but when it was chased with orange juice miraculously they were the best of friends.

"Is this seat taken?" Kisame looked up from his drink to find a man who was around his age. He was a slender man, with long black hair that was tied back into a ponytail. He had on a black and white striped button up shirt, that was neatly tucked into his pants. His pants stopped at his ankles, and he had on a pair of loafers.

"No. I don't believe it is?"

"Thanks." He took a seat next to him, and called the bartender over. "May I have a cranberry vodka on the rocks?" The bartender responded with a nod, and was off to make hsi drink.

"That's a simple drink."

"A simple drink for a simple man." He said, not bothering to give Kisame a glance. "It's my go to drink."

"You know you can tell alot about someone from the drink they order." Kisame smiled.

"Oh can you?" The raven asked.

"Yeah." Kisame said.

"Alright." He turned to look at him, his onyx eyes staring right into Kisame's brown ones. "What does mine say about me?"

"Well your outfit says you keep a very low profile, but you know you're attractive." Kisame said. "But your drink...Your drink says you're smart, witty, confident, and know how to hold a conversation. You don't follow trends. You know what works for you, and you aren't afraid to say so. A straightforward man. I like that."

The raven smiled, and the bartender returned with his drink. "What do you think about the old guy over there?" The raven gestured to the man across the bar, who was slurping away on a pink fruity concoction.

"Oh well he's obviously gay." Kisame chuckled. "I hope his wife knows." They both let out a hardy laugh.

"You're drinking a tequila sunrise." The other man looked at him, his black eyes popping with excitement. "What does that say about you?"

"Nothing." Kisame said. "This isn't my go to. I thought I'd step out of my comfort zone."

"What's your go to?"

"A whiskey, with a little tea." Kisame. "Really calms the soul. And what you should know about me from that drink is that I'm pretty much an old soul because I like tea. Also that I'm a stand up guy. Have one dog and love long walks on the beach."

"Long walks on the beach?" The raven rolled his beautiful sparkly eyes.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. I'm here to cultivate a fantasy."

"Cultivate fantasy?"

"Isn't that what you want?"

"No. I want something real."

"Awe there's that cranberry vodka talking." Kisame chuckled, and so did the raven. When he smiled Kisame almost fell out of his seat. Never in his years of living did he get upset when someone stopped smiling.

"Here alone?"

"Yeah." Kisame said. "My fraternity brother opened up this place and we're pretty close. Gotta come support. You?"

"No. I got dragged by my cousin Shisui."

"You know the Shisui Uchiha?"

"I take it you know my cousin."

"Yeah. No one can party like Shisui Uchiha. No one can dance like Shisui Uchiha." Kisame laughed. "Man the guy was truly the life of any party. He was an honorary Isobu."

"Yeah. I heard he had some great times at Columbia?"

"Well you get to go to Columbia one time." Kisame chuckled. "You might as well tear up the entire world. If you're Shisui's cousin where did you go to school?"

"Harvard." The raven shrugged off the name like it was nothing. "I don't like to name drop it. I usually just tell people I went to USC so they'll leave me alone about it."

"I mean you went to Harvard?"

"You went to Columbia."

"And I tell people anytime I can." Kisame chuckled. "I throw it into any conversation. As a Columbia graduate….It's a great conversation starter."

The Raven's smile returned. "I bet."

"You have a beautiful smile."

"Thanks." The raven turned an odd shade of red that made him more adorable, as if that were possible.

"I'm actually enjoying your company." Kisame said.

"You're alright yourself."

"Ha." Kisame chuckled.

With that The Raven's phone rang and he quickly picked it up. After a quick succession of "yeah's" and "okays" he turned to look at the taller man, the sparkle fading from his eyes. After he hung up the phone, "I gotta go. It's a family thing-"

"No need to explain." Kisame said.

"It was nice talking to you." The onyx eyes man gathered his things up quickly and headed off before Kisame could get another word in.

It was after he was gone for a moment and the beauty of their conversation began to fade that Kisame remembered that he hadn't asked the man his name.

Thanks for reading and as always comments and reviews are always welcomed and appreciated.