Rules Are Rules

"You're going the wrong way." Itachi froze.

"Right. Yes, this way. The front gate. Yes." Kisame was wary of his partner. Never had Itachi shown confusion or lack of focus or whatever this new behavior was and it was downright disconcerting. Kisame strode ahead as they walked from the hotel. No one stopped them. Everyone was at the burning building. They had left their due on the counter. "Oh!" Itachi tripped over some nonexistent obstacle, stumbled forward and would have landed face first in the mud if Kisame hadn't uprighted him. He distanced himself by a few brisk paces, then stopped when he didn't hear accompanying footsteps. Apparently the trip had jarred Itachi to reality because the voice was low and dangerous at it turned a question into an accusation. "You were worried back there, weren't you?" Kisame rolled his eyes and lumbered on. "I asked if you were worried about me, you-"

"So what if I was?"

"I don't give a damn, just answer my question, you-"

"'You' what?" Kisame turned to face down his partner. Itachi glared venomously, but said nothing, although his eyes were making his feelings very clear. Then out of the blue,

"What happens after all this, after Akatsuki?"

"What?" I will never understand him…

"Have you thought about that at all? What happens after we complete leader's grand scheme, what then?"

"Well… I've always thought… I-"

"You don't know, do you? I don't either, but…" Kisame didn't hear this, as he was lost in thought.

"You know maybe… maybe leader will kill us all off after we get all the tailed beasts." Itachi looked at his partner in exasperated awe.

He did not just ignore me… He still doesn't get it, does he? He did not… "Well yes, that's very possible, but presuming we survive, what are you going to do after all this?" Kisame cocked his head, puzzled. Itachi elaborated, stepping forward and being sure not to make eye contact. "I'm only asking because, because I… I would hope… that maybe you would still have interest in, in being my… partner." He slid an arm into his robes and looked at the ground by Kisame's feet. Kisame watched the hand slip up and out the front of his robes as he tried to make sense of his partner's babbling.

"What kind of partner, Itachi-san?" Itachi's eyes had never been larger in his life. Kisame took a step back, startled. Itachi might have murmured something but the pounding rain made it hard to tell. An awkward silence grew between them. Kisame attempted to save the situation, "Well, look, it doesn't matter, I guess, um, sorry to have… well anyways the point is my answer is yes, I mean as far as I know. I certainly don't have plans and… yeah." He felt he had done a good job. He turned to press on towards the gate and added, "As I said before, I like you." Behind him, Itachi involuntarily lurched. Then he glared. Somehow, some way, Kisame had to understand.

"You don't get it, you-"

"I do." Kisame turned to his outraged partner. He hesitated a moment, then lifted the startled Uchiha off the ground, holding him close. "I get it." Their noses touched, the large sharp one and the small, perfectly curved one. Itachi pulled back instinctively. He surveyed his partner and then propped his elbows on Kisame's broad shoulders to pull him in.

"You idiot," he said as he leaned his head to the side and slightly pressed his lips to his partner's. Kisame blinked, unsure of how to react, and then closed his eyes and slid one arm down to his partner's slim and (to hell with it) feminine waist, savoring the warmth of the kiss and the coolness of the rain streaming down their faces. They broke apart, breathing deeply. Kisame stared at this partner. Itachi studied his partner's slightly pulsing neck.

"Where did you learn to kiss like that?" Itachi glanced up, moving a hand down to slide its fingertips through the short hair at the nape of Kisame's neck.

"We may be known for our skills on the battlefield, but the Uchihas excel in… alternative ilks of 'melee' as well." He let his head rest on Kisame's soaking shoulder, long lashes catching drops. He shut his eyes in bliss. Kisame started at the touch of Itachi's lips on his neck. He tightened his hold. Itachi let a hand venture even lower to rub Kisame's back with his slender fingers. There was the soft smack of lips retreating from a kiss and a shuddering inhale by Kisame's ear. The taller man took a sharp intake of breath at a quick nip of pain. Itachi lolled his head back up to face Kisame's expression of disbelief.

"Did you just bite me?" Itachi had a terribly flirtatious and malicious glare.

"Did I?" There was the bloodlust he found do damn attractive. Kisame set his partner down. He held Itachi's wrist before letting the red lined hand slide out. This time, the deft fingers slid in between the calloused blue ones and they waked to the gate in silence.

"You don't think…"

"Think what?" Itachi flicked his bangs back.

"You don't think maybe leader might have taken this possibility into consideration when he put us in pairs, Kisame-san?" Kisame looked down and Itachi looked up from his position leaned back against Kisame's chest.

"I mean we're a group of guys who paint their nails and live with each other and spend every hour together and-"

"Are you saying leader was playing matchmaker?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn't put it past him."

"That bastard."

"Sounds like treason!" said a voice from above. They looked up to see Deidara mounted on a giant bird, smiling maniacally as usual. "And what's with all that passionate holding I see, un?" They released each other instantly and Itachi sprinted to the bird screaming,

"I'm going to kill you, you freaking jerk! The hell was with those birds! Look at my hands you bitch!"

"What?! I sure as hell am not a bitch, you bitch! And you'd better get your precious hands out of the way before I blow this one up on you!" And they were off. Kisame gently guided his explicit partner to the bird as he and Deidara bantered furiously. "Yeah, we'll see about that, un," finished Deidara as the bird took off. "You little love birds. I should totally tell, un."

"If you want to experience your hair being ripped out for twenty four hours you will," shot back Itachi as he relaxed into Kisame's sturdiness, nestled between his partner's wide spread legs. Kisame rested his chin on Itachi's shoulder, revealing his rows of pointed teeth in a smile. "Oh, and you're not allowed to bite back," said Itachi quietly. "It would leave a mark."

"That's hardly fair, little partner."

"Rules are rules, Kisame-san."