Kisame knocked on the door to Itachi's room.
"Come in." Itachi's voice sounded from the other side.
"Hey." Kisame said as he entered. "How are you feeling?"
Itachi was on the bed, sitting up with a medical textbook in his hand. No doubt the only available reading material Umi or Darui kept around.
"Pleasant." Itachi answered stoically. He shut the book, but kept a single finger between the pages as if to bookmark it. "Thank you."
"Look, my sister said... You need at least a month to heal. This place is in the middle of nowhere along the Appalachian mountains, technology doesn't even work properly in some parts of the range. I have gotten my sister and her husband to promise not to give you away. Will you stay?"
Itachi blinked and then looked at his hands. "You are being far too understanding about something you have no knowledge of."
"I don't need to know more than I already know." Kisame answered.
Itachi raised his head and nodded. "Alright. I will stay."
MN
Itachi did stay a full month, pushing the limits of his strength. He would do everything he could to help around the house. He was meticulous in his cleaning. It was as if he felt no pain.
Every night Kisame would watch as Itachi exercised outside. He would do hundreds of push-ups on a single arm, he would lift weights that were nearly as heavy as the ones Kisame could lift.
He managed to spar using a tiny knife against Umi's nubari and Kisame's Samehada blades, fighting both at once with ease, no easy task as Umi and Kisame were champions in the sword fighting arena.
Itachi himself was not just a book nerd or history geek as Kisame had believed originally. Itachi was a full on genius who could was fluent in more languages than Kisame knew, had photographic memory, and, if Itachi's words were anything to go by - and Kisame believed them - Itachi had several college degrees and was learned in many disciplines. There was almost no question they could ask that Itachi did not already know the answer to.
Which naturally ticked Umi and Darui off - because someone, a child no less, as impressive as Itachi should be world famous. So why hadn't anyone ever heard of him?
The next thing that got to them was that Itachi wasn't well, and it wasn't just his feet which had begun to heal rapidly. It was something more, and Umi and Darui could not isolate the cause. Itachi was unconcerned. The symptoms weren't bad, it was something rather unusual. Itachi would just freeze in place suddenly, as if in pain, then continue whatever it was he was doing before.
Once, Umi claimed Itachi coughed up blood, but no one had seen it since.
"It is nothing, I have had it since birth." He would say. "I have seen many doctors, it cannot be helped."
And they could get no more information from Itachi about the subject.
"Tell me about your brother, Itachi." Kisame asked one day.
Itachi paused. "My brother is strange. He does not like sweet things like I do. He is wild and passionate and wants to be great, but he doesn't see that he already is. He pushes his limits often. He can be possessive over his toys and he cares deeply for those around him."
"He sounds great." Kisame said, intrigued by the way Itachi had chosen to answer the question. "Is he a genius like you?"
Itachi looked up and Kisame saw a rare, true smile on Itachi's features. "He's greater in every way."
Kisame laughed. "I doubt that."
"It's true." Itachi answered, humming softly as he walked outside. The breeze flung his hair in all directions but he didn't seem to care.
Kisame just watched in wonder.
Itachi had become, in a very short period of time, one of them. Everyone loved Itachi, but Kisame was very much aware their time was nearly up, and he wondered whether Itachi would choose to stay with him.
It had been raining, and Itachi had gone outside in the middle of the night, standing on the deck that was above a large cliff at the edge of a mountain.
The full moon shone down on them as Kisame approached, little droplets of water reflecting its light.
"I should leave soon." Itachi said. "I have overstayed my welcome."
Kisame stood a distance apart, knowing how much Itachi valued his privacy. It was a comfortable distance, a friendly one, not a stranger kind.
"Where will you go?"
"I do not know yet."
"Come with me." Kisame said suddenly.
There was a long, pregnant pause during which Kisame feared rejection. He knew Itachi had no reason to stay.
"Where?" Itachi asked, surprising them both.
"I want- I always planned to go to sea. I was thinking of a cruise boat or private vessel, just us, maybe a small crew, or perhaps a fishing boat. I haven't decided yet."
"A cruise boat then." Itachi decided for them. "We would be bored with a private vessel and no mission, and I do not want to fish out all the fish in the sea. We should respect the sea life. Besides, I don't eat fish."
Kisame laughed. "A cruise boat then. And maybe we could - you know if it goes well, buy some land and build a home on it."
"Let's do it." Itachi said. "I cannot offer any sort of investment upfront but... I do know quite a lot about business, advertisement and ships. I could help."
"We'll be partners then." Kisame beamed, turning and holding out a hand for Itachi. And Itachi took it, happily.
They were partners.
MN
It turned out Itachi did indeed know about ships. He already knew the best sort of cruise ship to buy given the money Kisame had from his inheritance. He had began advertising their business and handling all the related paperwork, which Kisame found was quite a lot more than he had ever anticipated.
It was great, within a few short months they had gotten along well, and began to make a profit. Itachi would wear blue contacts and the same blonde wig from before. He donned unnecessary glasses with false lens and he always carried a magnet with him, for reasons Kisame could not understand. Always, Itachi would wear clothing that completely covered his skin, no shorts and no short sleeved shirts. Oftentimes, he would cover his neck as well with turtlenecks. Only his face and hands were visible.
Itachi would often scroll through the cruise's Internet, often using complex methods that were unknown to Kisame.
On a night in which the salty sea reflected the light of the full moon, Kisame thought to take a walk on his ship. Most cruise members were fast asleep and Kisame was expecting the same thing again.
It was odd then, that he saw a figure near the top of the deck, leaning against the rails. In the moonlight, Kisame could clearly make out the light of a phone screen.
He got closer and his keen sense of smell was enough to tell him it was Itachi standing there, and as he got closer he realized Itachi was crying, the tears reflected off of the moon and onto his face. His eyes were shut and Kisame dared to break Itachi's privacy. He looked at the screen and saw the Prince of France staring back at him, a news article and nothing more.
There weren't many places that still had royalty in the modern era, but France was one of them. It had two well known princes, brothers rather. It was well known that one of the princes had features none other in their family had, but paternity tests had proved the child as belonging to Minato and Kushina, the king and queen.
Some had guessed it was Kushina's unusual upbringing, for she was not one of status and possibly had mixed blood, but no one was sure at all.
Naruto was the older one, and the crown prince. Sasuke, the younger one, was on the screen, a face Kisame would recognize anywhere.
And now that Kisame had seen it, he could not unsee it. He had Itachi's eyes. Itachi's true eyes. He had the same hair, though Itachi's has dulled with age and disease and grayed from hard work. He looked plush and well taken care of, while Itachi had deep bags around his eyes and calloused hands from long nights spent up, working.
The phone clicked shut. "Kisame, I did not see you." Itachi said with an even voice, no sign that he had been crying currently existed on Itachi's face. "Are you unable to sleep?"
Kisame stepped closer. "What is your brother's name, Itachi?"
Itachi was silent. He did not answer immediately, then finally said "Izuna."
Liar. Kisame knew it the moment it left Itachi's lips, but Kisame said nothing at all.
"Was that...-?"
"Kisame." Itachi reached forward, and in a rare display, lightly touched Kisame's shoulder. "There is nothing more to say."
And so they said no more, instead they watched the full moon together and thought of things that they could never say aloud.
MN
Kisame wasn't completely blind, he saw the signs.
Itachi stopped using phones, saying he was too addicted and had decided to stay away from screens. His glasses became thicker and Kisame realized, when rummaging through papers looking for tax information, that Itachi had an actual prescription on his eyes now.
He saw, accidentally when he asked to use Itachi's bathroom once, the medicine in the medicine cabinet.
He saw Itachi use both hands when doing push-ups.
The breaking point was a public debacle when Itachi coughed during a tour of the ship, and left blood in his hands. Kisame only saw because he stood right next to Itachi.
Itachi had simply apologized and closed his fist, shoving his hand casually in his pocket and continuing the tour as if nothing were wrong.
Only when they were alone did Kisame break. He grabbed Itachi and uncharacteristically shoved him against the wall, looming over the smaller figure in a mix of anger and agony.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Kisame asked.
Itachi was unfazed. "I do not wish to bother you."
"You don't bother me! Itachi I worry for you! I have been worrying more and more every day!"
"I apologize. I will try to keep it more-."
"No!" Kisame said, louder than he meant to. And it did bring out a reaction in Itachi who flinched at Kisame's rage. It wasn't a fearful flinch, but a guilty one. Kisame relaxed and spoke in a softer voice. "I'm not saying to keep these feelings to yourself. It is not your fault. I lo- I care for you Itachi, you are my partner. Do you understand? My partner! If this work is getting in the way we will find another."
Itachi looked panicked now. "No, no, it's not- this is perfect. Everything's fine."
Kisame changed his tactic. "We have been in one place too long. They will find you now, even in disguise." He didn't have to say who they were. "I am unhappy with this. I told you once, I wanted a home, a place of my own to build. Let's leave this place, and build that home."
Itachi seemed dubious, but he allowed it. "Have we saved enough?"
We? Kisame had never considered that Itachi would pay any of it. Since Itachi could not have his own bank account, he used Kisame's name with a different bank. Kisame had respected Itachi's privacy and never looked into it. No one knew Kisame had a partner, not on papers anyway.
"I have about $55,000." Itachi said. "How much will the land cost?"
"We have enough." Kisame said. "I actually... I have some land my family gave me. Land our family has had for decades but never used. Farming land that we rent out to farmers. I was thinking of clearing it out, one by the river. We would only have to buy supplies."
Itachi nodded. "Let's finish this cruise and then build our home."
MN
The land was in good health and very fertile. Kisame watched in amusement as Itachi took off his shoes to enjoy the dirt with bare feet.
They had the old farm house removed prior to arriving so all that remained was building the house.
There were plenty of trees nearby, so they began their work.
Kisame chopped the wood, and Itachi sawed it into long wooden plants.
They carried them together to the site where they would build the home, using Itachi's plans for a ranch-style home for two. It was small, but it would be enough for them.
They had an old pickup truck they bought from the farmer that once rented the place, and used it to go to town and rest in the hotel available there, always in separate rooms. They would inevitably go to the hardware store for supplies they needed.
It took them only three weeks to finish, and when they were done, they brought in sleeping bags and slept there.
They hired plumbers and electricians to wire the place while they built a deck and a pier.
Later, they began to build wooden furniture, and Kisame ordered mattresses, pillows and other cushions for things like their chairs and sofas.
It wasn't until they began painting the house that Kisame could take their silence no more.
"You've gotten older, Itachi." Kisame commented.
Itachi hummed. "Time tends to do that."
"I was wondering... Have you ever... That is... Considered a relationship? Has no one taken your interest?"
Itachi continued painting and humming, and Kisame was used to Itachi's long pauses by now.
"I have read on the topic but I find... I have no interest in anyone." Itachi said finally. "Neither in men, nor in women. It isn't that I'm opposed to sex..." Kisame almost jumped at Itachi's bluntness. "It's just it hasn't really occurred to me, you know?"
Itachi's speech was strange, perhaps because he was talking about a strange subject. "I... No I don't." Kisame admitted. "I have always had an interest... In men and in women. A strong one, both sexually and romantically."
"There's a difference?" Itachi thought aloud. "I suppose there is. Yes, I understand now, I do recall reading of it."
Kisame let the subject drop, having decided that if Itachi was asexual, which is sounded like, he had no intention of breaking it. They painted for a while longer, before it was Itachi who broke the silence, proving that it was no ordinary moment.
"Kisame?"
"Yes?"
"Would you go out with me?"
"Where?" Kisame asked automatically.
"I mean... On a date."
MN