New chapter, squee!!
Sorry it's late, I was busy replying to Mercury's Moonlight Serenity's review. Not that it took the whole day, but anyway.
Gosh, I really love this pairing, 'specially with Sasori as seme. -smile-
Okay, so I'll make it clear, I've given up on the "Oh please review, ne? Ne? Ne? NEEEE?!" (on this fanfiction, in any case,) upon seeing the (lack of) response after using that in my other fic, Twice Is Enough. I will now avoid that method like the plague, thank you very much.
Anyway, (this is gonna be a long author's note :P) I'd like to thank everyone for reading, the hit numbers make me happy, and a special thanks to RuneMoon for helping me with my little 'ano' problem. Heh.
Oh, and stay tuned as I put the most crackalicious Naruto pairing of all time (if you have a better one, I'm dying to know, and then fall off my chair) in my post-chapter author's notes. You might've already seen it, but it's so...weird.
Okay, really now, here's the next chapter.
Enjoy!
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"Itachi-sama!" came a jolly call from the breakfast table, as said ninja entered the room.
"Tch, drinking at this time in the morning..."
Itachi stared.
Kisame was shaking his head at Sasori, Itachi's early morning greeter, who sported a merry smile and an odd tinge of red in his cheeks. His eyes seemed oddly hazed over.
"He's...drunk?" Itachi asked, confused.
"Sadly," Kisame replied. He and Sasori were the only one seated for the moment, amidst half-finished plates and empty glasses. A bottle with the 'Sake' kanji sat before Sasori.
"So that's where Danna went..." contemplated a gentle voice from just above Itachi's head. Itachi's eyes narrowed as all of yesterday's anger flooded right back through him.
Deidara flipped his hair, pushing his way passed the darker boy.
"Ah, Deidara. Thank God," said Kisame in relief.
Deidara smirked.
"Oh, Danna, what are we going to do with you?" he cooed, seating himself beside Sasori.
Itachi could feel every nerve in his body wind tighter, as Deidara grew more and more kissy with a certain intoxicated favourite of his.
"Just keep an eye on him, whatever you do," shrugged Kisame, ever oblivious to the lusty looks Sasori was getting. He didn't realise that Deidara would probably keep more than an eye on him, anyway... "Itachi, we'd better be on our way."
The Uchiha's eyes widened. They were gonna leave Deidara alone to rape Sasori, just like that?
Wasn't it obvious, anyway?
Soon, Kisame was dragging him to the front door by the collar, ready to get started on today's mission. Itachi cast an anxious glance behind him. Deidara was slowly getting less subtle, now that they were leaving. He quickly spread his arms out, making it impossible for Kisame to push him any further through the doorway.
"Itachi, what the-"
"Leave him alone," he told Deidara in the coldest voice possible. Even Sasori looked up.
Crossing his arms defiantly, Deidara gave him a taunting grin.
"How awfully meanspirited of you, Itachi-san," he said in mock horror. "To force Sasori no Danna to fend for himself in his pitiful state!"
He almost put the back of his hand to his forehead.
"Cut the drama, Deidara," Kisame muttered. "We gotta go, Itachi. C'mon."
Itachi had no choice but to follow, biting his lip in uncertainty.
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Kisame was, to put it mildly, confused.
They were just coming home from the mission, tired and covered in sweat.
Except that Itachi was covered in blood, too.
Kisame looked over his shoulder at his partner, who to the untrained eye would seem as impenetrable as the small boulder he presently strode over. Alas, the number of years they had spent together paid off, for Itachi's mood was now as transparent as the water that trickled down his black bangs, in the aftermath of having stood close by as Kisame released his Suiryoudan no Jutsu. Yes, to Kisame, Itachi was clearly shaken up, also obvious by his lack of scolding.
"Sorry I splashed you," he said anyway.
Itachi's head shot up.
"I'm sorry! Really sorry! I didn't mean to!"
Any last trace of stoicism left Itachi's face.
"...?"
Itachi seemed at that moment to realise that he had missed something in the conversation. He lowered his head and plodded on.
Kisame thought nothing of it (he had given up on trying to interpret his moodswings, anyway,) and continued his way back to the hideout.
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Itachi stare at the hideout entrance, mind spinning.
"Aren't you going to go in?" prompted Kisame behind him, a little amused at his overall behaviour today.
Itachi shrugged and turned away. He only managed a few steps before Kisame prodded, "Where are you going?"
"...The damage is probably already done, anyway."
"...?" Kisame actually stopped turning the doorknob to get a good look at his partner.
"Itachi...what are you talking about?"
"...probably tied him up or something, since he's sober by now..."
"Wait, what?"
Itachi looked up annoyedly at Kisame, as if he had been supposed to hear everything that went on in his head.
"...he must've raped him, by now," he said nonchalantly, watching the horizon with a wistful expression.
Kisame did a double take.
"He must've what?"
"I'll be a moment," was all that Itachi said, coldly walking away.
Kisame sighed, a little confused and very tempted to go to sleep right about now. Respecting Itachi's wish, he left him alone outside the hideout.
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Itachi looked up at the sky, a bright grey, tense with the promise of approaching rain. He let a small sigh escape his lips, as he turned his back on the hideout, that he saw now more than ever as a house of sins, and headed for where he knew the murky lake that now whispered beside him would thin to a trickle, a small creek amidst the calming green of the forest.
I can't stop thinking about you.
About what I said.
About what you did.
Did we mean half the things we said, last night?
I must've overreacted, it couldn't have been that bad, it can't be over, not after having barely begun...
He groaned. All day, his mind had been spinning around the same things. He realised he couldn't half-remember what had actually happened.
The lake, now a shrieking and spitting monstrous river, trailed beside Itachi, guiding him. Slowly, very slowly, it quieted to a trickling creek, leaving only Itachi's thoughts roaring in the silence.
"Gosh, what a day," he muttered wearily to himself sitting down in the lush grass, as he lost himself in the whistling of the water throught the small stones in its path.
"You too, huh?" asked a voice nearby with bitter humour in its voice.
Pausing, ninja senses on the full alert, Itachi looked behind him. There, with his knees hugged to his chest, a black eye, and an overall dejected appearance, sat...
"Sasori-san?"
His voice was quiet. Sasori looked up at him, a lopsided smile on his face.
"Seems you had your own share of pain today," he said weakly, glancing at his bleeding temple.
Itachi seemed to notice only now that his forehead protector was caked with blood, along with some of his bangs.
"What, this? Yeah, I guess it happened when-"
Sasori smiled when Itachi stopped himself, and guessed, correctly, what he had been about to say.
"When you thought about last night."
"...yeah..."
He scooted backward, seating himself beside Sasori. Sasori gave him a sideways look, and took a deep breath as he prepared himself to say what he had planned to ask Itachi once he got back from his mission.
"Um, I dunno about you, but I'd like to clear up a few things..."
"Me too," said Itachi sharply, sparing Sasori from finishing.
"...okay then. Should I start?"
Itachi's silence was answer enough. Sasori drew a deep breath.
"Well, first of all, I...love you," he started, a little uneasy at having to be so outspoken, with Itachi of all people. Itachi, however, seemed more intent on the bumpy pebbles up in front of them, splashing the tiny stream into curvy figures along the eroded earth, than his heartfelt speech. "And well, even that's hard to say, but I really wanted to..." Sasori smiled appreciatively to himself. He felt the word he had rehearsed drop away, letting his true thoughts come through. "I really wanted things to be perfect between us. I wish you'd trust me, I wish we wouldn't let the little things bother us. I wish...I wish a lot of things." Itachi seemed to sigh along with him. "But that's not how the world works, right? Wishing brings us nothing..." he whispered.
He broke off, not feeling up to continuing without an outburst of some sort. He rubbed his bruised eye warily.
"You're not finished," Itachi remarked, voice void of emotion, bangs blocking his eyes from view.
Sasori smiled again.
"Always going on tangents, aren't I? Sorry, Itachi, I'll get to the point. Basically, I'm sorry I never care about what you think in a situation, and, if you were wondering," he watched Itachi's reaction closely as he continued, "Me and Deidara..." Itachi's spine had definitely stiffened there. "We...we used to be...well, together, I guess...until..." he swallowed, trying to sound cheery. "Until we kinda...realised, that it was more of a subconscious compensation or something than love, so we split up. But then I guess Deidara never really let go, which led to a number of things, like last night." Itachi startled a little, as he went on. "So yeah, basically I realised that I really hated not having control over the relationship, and this lightbulb went ding over my head." He paused, waiting for maybe a chuckle from Itachi at his onomatopoeia, but not to avail. He swallowed nervously. Maybe Itachi didn't feel the way he did.
There was a silence, in which neither knew what to say or do. Tension flared between them.
"I have to admit, jealousy's a bit of a new thing for me," said Itachi sheepishly after a while. Sasori's head flew up in surprise. "You know, 'cause I was always the best at everything anyway. And the loss of control thing too," he said after a moment.
The tension reappeared out of thin air again.
"Well, we're both learning a lot aren't we?" said Sasori in what he hoped was a light tone.
Itachi turned to smile at him, eyecrease and all, and for a second, Sasori couldn't breathe under the awe. The gentle sun on his skin (his natural beauty,) the bloody mess on his face (his rugged, courageous exterior,) completed with still-damp bangs (his way of looking defenseless and fearless at the same time,) it all reminded him of why he loved Itachi in the first place.
Then Itachi poked him in the nose.
"Yes, we are learning a lot. For instance, sake for breakfast can be a real pain in the eye, can't it?"
Sasori grunted, staring annoyedly off into the small creek. It surprised him to hear the chinking of Itachi's laugh beside him, a beautiful, melodious sound that he truly wished Itachi would make more often. Alas, it all came back to wishes.
"Yeah," he said dreamily, still under the spell of his chime-like laugh, "I guess Deidara got sick of my love poem rehearsing for you."
Itachi choked.
"Your what?"
Sasori chuckled nervously. "Well what do you expect? I'm artistic." He scratched the back of his head in a desperate attempt to occupy himself in the awkward silence.
Itachi, staring at him in absolute shock ('artistic,' yes, but 'poetic'?) felt himself blush horribly at the prospect of Sasori writing love poems for him. He turned away.
Sasori looked pensively at Itachi, who was avoiding his gaze under the embarassment. Finding the moment well chosen, he placed a hand on top of Itachi's, which gripped the grass anxiously.
"Itachi, what do you think of me?"
He felt the hand under his own tense considerably. He gave it a slight squeeze.
"Well..."
"Well? Do you like me or not?" he prompted, a little tense himself. Itachi sighed.
"I...I guess..."
Sasori gave a surprised laugh. He reached for Itachi's face with his other hand, trying to glimpse his expression. Itachi ignored him, which annoyed him to the point of grabbing him by the collar and forcing him to face him. Under the force of his motion, however, Itachi was pulled a little farther than expected, landing him barely a few inches from Sasori's own face. He gulped.
He could see Sasori's lower lip shine in the sun filtered through the summer leaves, curved upwards in a taunting smile. Was he...getting...closer?
He gulped again.
"What do you mean 'I guess'?" rang the voice through his ears, and before he knew it, he was lying on his back, Sasori a somber shadow looming over him.
"Wha-"
He was interrupted by the most intolerable feeling on his skin.
"What do you mean 'I guess'' huh?"
Itachi couldn't breathe under the surprise, let alone speak.
Sasori pressed on, continuing to tickle him. Itachi giggled in spite of himself.
"S...S...Sa..." he tried to reprimand him, but Sasori kept on, actually laughing at Itachi's squirming and giggling. Soon Itachi was tearing up at the unbearable sensation, trying to push him away half-heartedly, laughing in spite of himself at Sasori's merciless torture.
"S...S...Sto..."
"Hmm? Trying to tell me something?" Sasori teased. He tickled harder.
Soon it wasn't clear whether Itachi was laughing or crying, which Sasori decided was a sign to stop. He let Itachi get up on his own, but stayed on his knees as he studied him. Itachi had even broken a sweat.
"Okay, okay, I like you," he said, smiling as he wiped a tear away. "Just don't do that again, 'kay?"
"Say it again, and maybe I'll stop," Sasori said, threatening smile and demeanor underlining the 'maybe.'
Itachi, sitting up, looked to the side and swallowed.
"I like you, if it means we'll be nicer to each other, and that we start over, I hope," he said feebly.
Sasori, still kneeling at his side, studied him for a bit.
"You...you want to start over?" he asked quietly, putting his hand back over Itachi's. Itachi looked back at him, and nodded faintly.
"I...I'd like to make a better first impression on you," he whispered.
Sasori's eyes widened, as he noticed Itachi sit up a little straighter, lean in a little closer, breathe a little faster...and...
"Time-out!"
Itachi's closed eyes popped open. He felt a finger poke him in the middle of his forehead that pushed him backwards in surprise.
"Wh-what?"
Sasori was inching away from him, keeping a warning palm between them. When Itachi looked at him questioningly, he simply lowered his hand and smiled, saying, "Itachiiiii! We can't restart until you clear up your side of the story!" he said in a nasal voice, successful in his quest to annoy the other boy.
Itachi sighed. "Fine, what do you want to know?"
Sasori sat cross-legged in front of him, eyes big and curious.
"What's going on between you and Kisame, first of all?" he asked eagerly, as he held on to his ankles and rocked himself side to side as he waited for a response.
Itachi grunted.
"Nothing, really..."
Sasori continued to prod him with questions for what must've been half an hour, either embarassing ones like why his boxers had been wet the night before the last, or annoying like if he was sure there was nothing between him and Kisame. Itachi was so ticked off by the end of it that he gave up on giving Sasori intelligible answers, only nodding or shaking his head as he fingered the grass beside him.
"Honestly, I'm 'clearing up' a lot more things that you," he grumbled, and unrooted a handful of grass in his frustration.
Sasori eyecreased, finally holding out his hand.
"I'm Sasori. Nice to meet you!"
Itachi smirked at how ridiculous he looked, but played along anyway, reaching for his hand.
"I'm Itachi. Nice to-"
His breath was promptly knocked out of him in the process of getting thrown onto his back and immediately jumped on by Sasori.
"You wouldn't dare interrupt my self-introduction by kissing me, would you?" Itachi threatened jokingly, wagging a finger at Sasori's puckered lips.
Sasori frowned, caught short at being stopped. Paying the fingers no mind, he leaned in and tried again. He smiled as the fingers quickly dissapeared from view...
He trusts me...
...and quickly aided Itachi in his quest to hoist himself back into a sitting position, bumping Sasori's nose with his forehead in the process.
"Damn!" Sasori swore, clutching his nose as he sat back on his heels. He didn't notice Itachi inch closer, or his legs slide out to either side of him.
"Sorry..." he said quietly. He couldn't help but laugh after a moment: a full-fledged rogue ninja, aching over a bumped nose.
"What?" Sasori asked annoyedly, as he peered accusingly over his hands at Itachi. He suddenly realised how close they both were. Itachi had an arm around his shoulders.
"Nothing, you're cute, that's all."
Sasori's fingers dropped from his face, reached for Itachi's sides, and held onto them. He knelt there, between Itachi's legs, holding him around the waist, as he felt his face move closer. Itachi did likewise, gripping his shoulders tight.
Their noses touched, and Itachi felt a twang of guilt as he saw the blood dripping, but soon he was engulfed in a balmy smell, kind of like the oil used to keep wood supple. It smelled like heaven to him.
Sasori stared right into his eyes, barely a half-inch away, and for a moment Itachi could see uncertainty swim accross them. Sasori was afraid of messing up again, he realised.
"So, like I was saying," he continued brightly as if nothing had happened, "My name is Itachi, and I wish you would hurry up and kiss me."
Sasori muttered that that was exactly what he'd been about to do, but Itachi quickly put a hand on the back of his head and pushed him to his lips, and Sasori could only hold him closer, and push back against him. He felt Itachi slowly pull them both backwards, their bodies interwining on the ground.
Sasori felt a floating feeling in his stomach, as he held onto Itachi and kissed him as much as he could. Itachi's arms still lay there, slung around his neck as he leaned his head back and kissed him fervently, crying out wordlessly for a sweet-tasting love.
Missions, nightfall, the passing hours, none of it matter just then.
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The end?
Of course not!
Tch, I wouldn't miss playing with your minds for the world!!
I liked writing this one, though.
Oh, and for those of you who just tagged along in the hope to get a laugh at this startling crack pairing I spoke of, here ya go:
Orochimaru x Akamaru
...got it wrapped around you mind yet?
Ain't it something?
Gosh, I almost gagged under the surprise.
For those who're saying "That sounds awesome! Where can I find it!?" your answer is "deviantart."
For those who're saying "Meh, I've seen worse," please, do enlighten us. But I doubt it.
Oh, and Dei-kun fans: I think he's awesome, too, but for the sake of SasoIta, well...well...I'll make it up to him in another fanfic...
(edit: I've more than made it up to him!! I wrote a freaking DeiSaso!!)
Well then, I might not see you guys next weekend, but I'm still working on it, and I hope you'll bear with me.
Love you!
Shun