First Kiss

Itachi sat glaring across the round, black table. The air was heavy and pungent, and he looked as though he was nauseated in such an environment. His dislike for crowds made him annoyed with everything from the humidity to the distasteful wall décor.

"Kisame." He cleared his throat discreetly. He didn't deem it necessary to cough just because of the horribly smoke-filled air that swarmed the bar. Kisame was currently conversing with another nameless occupant of the tavern, and didn't acknowledge Itachi.

He rubbed his temple, trying to ignore the oncoming headache. "Kisame," he repeated louder, in attempt to balance his voice with the background din of brash chatter and bothersome music.

This time, the shark man turned away from whoever was seated behind them, and regarded his partner with a grin. Itachi eyed him curiously, wondering just how drunk he was at the moment. His flushed cheeks were tinted lavender and his eyes were somewhat squinted.

"Itachi-san," he chided lightly, "You haven't even touched your first drink." Itachi's eyes dropped down to the small cup of sake Kisame had placed in front of him. The liquid rippled as some drunk gracelessly stumbled by.

"…I'm fine."

"That's no fun," Kisame admonished, grinning to himself. Itachi shifted his eyes to the door about twenty meters away, and sighed.

Kisame leaned in close, watching him expectantly. Itachi moved his eyes from Kisame down to the drink, then back up and to the door. After about a minute under the scrutiny, he pushed the beverage away and rose from his seat. "Come on. We're leaving."

As he turned away from the table, he wasn't expecting Kisame to rise, grab him by the shoulders, and sit him right back down. Eyes widening a little, with brows furrowed slightly, Itachi stared almost disbelievingly at the other Akatsuki member.

"Since when …" He trailed off, feeling Kisame's hands slide off his shoulders and down his arms. He scowled until they were back by Kisame's side.

"Drink up," Kisame ordered, laughing as he lifted his own cup to his lips and downed the sake. He set the cup back down loudly and grinned.

Itachi tucked his wispy bangs behind his ear a few times as Kisame shook the sake bottle lightly. He proceeded to place it back down and shout, "Hey, barkeep! Another bottle-"

"I said we're leaving," Itachi reminded wryly, silently asking himself if he should let Kisame get away with this. His lips curled down when Kisame ignored his request. "Kisame–"

"We're not leaving yet," Kisame replied simply, shrugging.

"…" Itachi decided there that alcohol was the vilest substance in the world. It made people sound and act foolish, and he was not about to take part in their merry humility.

Kisame was staring at the youth. Itachi looked away and frowned as a waiter arrived and placed a new bottle of sake on their table. He contemplated just leaving, but decided it wasn't smart for them to separate… particularly if Kisame decided to keep this up.

"You're going to have a drink before we leave."

Itachi shook his head. "I refuse to be so irresponsible."

"Lighten up," Kisame teased. The man's speech was becoming so skewed, Itachi noted, and he despised the mockery of his demanding tone. Again, he eyed the far-off door. Kisame's voice interrupted his thoughts of escape. "This is the last night before we head out to Konoha. Don't you wanna relax before our mission?"

"No," Itachi muttered curtly. Kisame sighed in slight annoyance, but not defeat.

"Come here," he ordered, smirking. Before Itachi could understand, there was a hand sliding around his jaw line.

Too shocked to move, or possibly just curious, Itachi didn't pushed the man away. Kisame's thumb on his chin pulled his lips apart, and his head was tilted back. "Swallow it," Kisame instructed, before pouring the contents of Itachi's small cup into his unsuspecting mouth.

Kisame smiled roguishly, his fingertips lingering down Itachi's pale neck before breaking the contact. Itachi did swallow the liquid as it entered his mouth, not that he had much of a choice. He coughed the sake down and a look of disgust crossed his face briefly.

"I knew you'd drink it before spitting it out. You're too proper."

Itachi scowled at the comment, wanting to stop the burning in his throat. The unpleasantness subsided after a quick moment, and upon regaining composure, he glowered at Kisame.

"Are you happy now?" He asked, the irritability in his eyes filtering into his voice. In response, Kisame refilled his cup and placed it in his hand.

Itachi gripped the small drink and watched Kisame pour himself one as well. Their eyes met, and after a second, Itachi decided that Kisame was waiting for him to drink.

When he thought about, he felt perfectly fine after the first one; his stomach felt warm, that was it. Theoretically, one more drink of the same size wouldn't cause any damage. "Alright," he spoke sternly, "If it means we can leave sooner."

In unison, they placed the cups to their lips and downed the liquid. Itachi suddenly felt a little less out of place in the foreign setting.

Before long, Itachi found himself pouring the last of their second bottle into Kisame's cup. Or was it the third one? Itachi wanted to inquire about that, feeling suddenly confused. He couldn't think and he wasn't sure why.

He leaned across the table, trying to see out a window; it was visibly late out. He couldn't recall how long they'd been there. He could remember a lot of talking, but no words. It probably would have frustrated him if he hadn't felt so oddly relaxed.

He rubbed his fingers across his stomach, which still felt so warm. He looked across at the next table, where a young couple was zealously kissing. It looked messy and drunken; Itachi turned away.

"Your turn." Kisame's amused voice plucked him from his trance. Itachi stared up at him confusedly for a moment.

"Right, right." He wove a hand in front of his face, a sluggish motion that didn't seem to fit, and sat more upright. He looked thoughtfully down at the tabletop for a moment, tracing open-ended patterns on it with his fingers. "When was your first kiss?" He asked absently.

Kisame blinked, and then burst out laughing. Itachi wondered if he should feel embarrassed.

"You sound like a teenage girl," Kisame explained, grinning strangely.

Itachi looked away, and instead of clarifying that he did not sound like that, a small laugh broke from his lips. The sound was so unfamiliar, so he coughed and resealed his mouth.

"Well, I guess it was back at the age of twelve. Maybe. I don't remember." Kisame laughed again, "I've never really seen you smile before, let alone laugh."

Itachi shook his head and scoffed, "I'm never doing this again, you know."

"We'll see about that," Kisame grinned. "Now, your first kiss?"

The quickness that Itachi's eyes darted up with surprised him. "No. We should go."

"Huh?" Kisame looked outside and realized that it was probably passed one in the morning. "I suppose," he answered, placing some money on the table and picking up his cup. "Just let me finish this one."

"I'm leaving now," Itachi informed him, hastily standing up, before abruptly stumbling forward. Kisame instinctively rose to catch him, and straightened his stance a little. Itachi jerked away, suddenly feeling very dizzy. Where did this come from? 'How much did I drink exactly?' He thought, frustrated.

Resolving that he now really wanted to leave, Itachi somehow managed to walk swiftly out of the bar, faltering only a few times. When the cool night air hit his flesh, he felt a calm wash over him.

"Why did I let him talk me into that?" He asked in aggravated amusement under his breath . He fell against the brick siding of the building and opened his eyes once his head stopped spinning.

Kisame was standing in front of him. Itachi frowned, deducing from that little smirk that the older man was getting a kick out of this.

"Where… are we going?" Itachi asked, trying to avoid to topic of his binge drinking.

"A hotel. We rented a room earlier, remember?"

Itachi nodded his head. Sleep sounded good. "How far?"

Kisame looked up momentarily, as if picturing the hotel's location in his head. "Not far. Here, take my hand."

Itachi slouched back a bit, and grabbed onto the offered arm. Normally, he wouldn't have accepted the help. But as much as he despised it, he could barely stand at the moment.

He tripped forward and fell against Kisame, leaning into his chest aversely. As he willed his vision to still, he murmured. "I think… I'm really drunk." He felt Kisame's chest vibrate with laughter. "…I blame you for this." Itachi draped an arm around Kisame's neck, realizing that he really couldn't stand straight. "Would you stop laughing at me?"

The vibration stilled. He didn't seem to register that their faces were very close until he felt Kisame's breath across his forehead.

He lifted his head up to meet the eyes he knew were on him. As they watched each other, Itachi hooked his second arm around Kisame's neck. He still wasn't quite sure he knew what was happening when Kisame pressed his lips onto his. Confused, he moved his lips back against the taller man, leaning in closer for support.

A hand slid up his back, and he realized then that he was in a mesh top. He chose not to care about the whereabouts of his cloak for the moment. He shivered slightly as Kisame's tongue met his. Craving more of the sensation, he moved a hand to cup Kisame's cheek and pulled him in for a deeper kiss.

After a minute, they parted and Itachi could hear his own breath loud in his ears. They stared at one another in disbelief for a while.

Itachi leaned in and finally broke the silence. "My cloak…"

"I have it," Kisame answered, "You took it off a while ago because you were hot."

"Oh, right." Itachi almost grinned, but didn't. "…I'm never getting drunk again." He momentarily wondered if Kisame himself was drunk enough to forget everything.

"Why not?" Kisame asked.

"…How about," Itachi started slowly, "We make that my new first kiss."

Kisame glanced down, but before he could ask questions, he found the Uchiha passed out in his arms.

Kisame studied the tenseness in Itachi's features for a moment. He deduced those knitted brows to be a signal, one that said trying to bring this up tomorrow was an invitation to Death. He sighed and carried Itachi back to hotel, suddenly feeling quite tired himself. Tomorrow, they would set out for Konoha.