Chapter Eight
The ceiling was being tapped on above us. I look up, my head still resting against the wall, and listen to the now constant sound of tapping. Going on and on, it never seemed to stop. I was curious to know what it is, but not curious enough to ask Deidara. A loud bang sounds and the wall behind me, along with the others shakes. What is that? I listen to it for a while and then think about it, I know that sound. It's raining. I stop leaning on the wall and lay down flat on my back, listening to the rain beat down on the roof. Deidara is in his seat, one hand holding up his chin as he stairs at the wall behind me like he's hoping it will come to life.
The tapping of the rain is over sounded by a knock on the door. I sit up and watch as Deidara gets up and walks to the door. What could Sasori want now? Deidara open the door just by a little to see who it is.
"Your shift is over Deidara," a familiar voice says, my face flushed and I lean over so that I can see past Deidara- it's Itachi. There he is, standing soaked from head to toe like a wet cat- where had he been? Deidara, half yawning, nods to Itachi and leaves out the door past Itachi happily. My face begins to turn red as Itachi comes in the rest of the way in and closes the door behind him. Itachi.
Leaving the doorway, Itachi begins to come over to me. Flash backs and memories from the dream hit and I try to preoccupy my mind to keep them from coming. Putting his hand under my chin, he lowers himself to my height and brings his face close to mine. I try not to blush, is he going to kiss me?
"What happened to your lip?" he asks, was there a bit of worry in his voice? My heart beat quickly; he's so close to me. If I don't respond will he continue to hold my face and be this close to it? Not wanting to risk him letting go from lack of response either, I quickly speak.
"I bit my lip," I explain, forcing my eyes off of his. We were so close to a point that I was scared that if I blushed, there would be no way to cover it. Still holding my chin, he turned my face towards his to a point where my eyes were once again on his. I tried, but this time, I wasn't able to keep my cheeks from turning a light red.
"Why do you do that?" he asked, leaning in still closer as if to see if I were sick. My face becomes a deeper shade of red and I can feel it getting warm. Almost all of my will power was being used to keep me from leaning in closer and finishing what started in the dream. What am I supposed to say? How do I respond?
"What do you mean?" I ask, biding time so that when I need to answer, I can have a reasonable excuse for Itachi. He can't know what I feel, not yet.
Itachi backed up only a little bit and I find the excess space unbearable, but don't lean in to close it. "Your face keeps on changing color, then the moment it does, you look to some spot on the floor or a wall- why?" He asks; his hand still firm on my chin. Unsure of anything anymore, I bite my lip- what am I going to say? Itachi reaches his other hand up to my face and slides my touches my bottom lip, making me stop biting it.
"You made it start bleeding again," he explained, moving his hand from my mouth and showing me the blood on his fingers. I flinch from the pain, it's my blood. Is this the same Itachi that brought me here? It feels like he actually cares, he wasn't passionate then- so why now? Is this just another dream of mine?
Letting go of my chin, Itachi stands up. Disappointed that he was not near me anymore, I change my sight to the empty chair. Itachi walks into the bathroom and I hear the sink water start up. The rains rhythm seemed to have slowed down put it is still pouring loud and hard. I close my eyes and try to imagine the feeling of his hands on my face. Even though his fingers were rough against my skin, they're all I can think about.
The water turns off, as does the bathroom light and I slide my eyes open slowly as he closes the door. Expecting him to go back to the chair, I was surprised when he, instead, came to me and lifted my face. Kneeling down, he pressed a small damp cloth to my lips to stop the bleeding. Holding the cloth against my lips, for a moment a bit of what looked like worry crosses his face and is soon gone. Was that real? He is so gentle with my face in his hands- is this really Itachi? Is he just trying to trick me? Is he going to try to do something like Deidara did?
I turn my face away at this thought and Itachi removes the cloth, apparently finished. He backs up some and makes sure that it is cleaned properly. "Why did you do that?" I ask Itachi, I'm not complaining, I just want to know. I lean back a little from him and he stands up and balls up the cloth.
"Because you were bleeding," he explains simply, turning around towards the bathroom door.
"Why didn't you just make me clean it myself?" I ask, thinking back to how Deidara had made me. Itachi stops before he gets to the door and stands there like he's thinking or unsure about something. Please just say something Itachi! I think to myself, not wanting to embarrass myself by saying it out loud.
"Because," he started off, I look up hopefully, "my job is to keep you from dieing." My breath stops and I try not to cry. So it's just his job, nothing more. Is this the way of the Uchiha clan then? I look to the ground my face turning red from anger at myself for making look stupid in front of Itachi. Itachi tosses the towel in the trash in the bathroom, the comes out and sits in his chair in the corner. He looks at my face, "Why did you ask that?" he says, with his eyes on me. I felt like he already knew the answer.
"I was just wandering," I reply, not voicing anything else because I was scared my voice would tremble. So that's it? I look to Itachi as he closes the top notches of his cloak, covering everything but his eyes from my sight. The rain slowly ceases and only a few drops here or there sound on the roof.