A date with Itachi was rather tame. Kisame hadn't been in the dating game for years, and he knew it would be slow with Itachi, but he didn't realize just how slow.
Even holding hands with Itachi was scandalous, so they went to a movie and walked side by side against the lake while discussing it. With Itachi, movies took a completely different perspective. Instead of just enjoying the story as it is, Itachi would break the movie and analyze it in ways Kisame would never have thought about.
Their second date involved strawberry picking at a nearby farmer's yard. They were allowed to pick as many as they wanted and they'd be able to keep them all, so they filled several baskets and took them home.
In the lake by the pier, they washed the strawberries and ate them while Kisame told Itachi about his days sword fighting. For a short period of time, Kisame had dedicated his life to the art, and through it had learned about himself.
It was Itachi who leaned forward while Kisame spoke and, with gentle fingers, wiped off the strawberry juice that was sliding down Kisame's chin, essentially shutting him up.
As if to tease him further, Itachi sucked the juice off of his fingers, all while watching Kisame innocently.
"Then what happened?" Itachi asked casually, and Kisame wondered if he has any idea what his words were doing to him.
On their third date, Kisame dared to take Itachi's hand, and Itachi began humming.
Time was not on their side. Itachi's health got worse by the day, and Umi came to stay in their home to better see to Itachi's health. They couldn't figure out what was wrong.
Kisame took to sleeping in Itachi's room, on the floor at first, to make sure Itachi would be alright, silently dying inside every time he heard Itachi cough. Occasionally, he would take Itachi's hands in his own and softly kiss Itachi's knuckles.
By the second day though, Itachi insisted that Kisame join him in bed, and they lay side by side as Itachi struggled to breathe. Once, Kisame heard him murmur "Sasuke."
On a night where the moon shone through the lone glass window in what was now their shared bedroom, Kisame carefully cradled Itachi's face within his own hands and said the words he feared Itachi would never hear of this continued.
"I love you." Kisame whispered softly.
Itachi did not look surprised. Instead his eyebrows bunched closer and although he smiled, his eyes sparkled in sadness. "I do not deserve you." Itachi said, leaning closer and gently pressing his lips to Kisame's.
It was their first kiss, it was chaste. There were no fireworks, butterflies or fits of passion. There was only lingering sorrow.
Their second kiss, in the morning, was everything their first was not. Itachi woke up feeling energized and climbed on top of Kisame, waking him up. The strength of both of their morning erections well noticed by both.
Kisame was left speechless as Itachi stole his lips and devoured his mouth in a completely shocking and utterly wrecking way. It was like no kiss Kisame had ever experienced before, it was passion, it was desire, it was strangely tender with Itachi softly intertwining their fingers.
Their bodies were on fire, eager for more contact while their mouths fought a desperate, pleading battle that shot euphoria through their bodies.
And when they separated Kisame, Itachi's eyes were darkened, hooded, seated with desire.
"That was incredible." Kisame breathed.
"Hn." Itachi grunted, slowly getting off of Kisame. "We should get ready, we need to install the carpets today."
Kisame huffed and grabbed Itachi from behind, daring to nip gently at Itachi's ear. "I love you." He repeated.
Itachi leaned back to Kisame's voice and sighed contentedly. "Let's go for a swim tonight."
It was a strange request, but Kisame did not question it, and they got ready for the day.
MN
When Itachi had said that they would go for a swim, Kisame hadn't realized that Itachi meant naked. He was surprised then, when he saw Itachi completely naked by the moonlight. It wasn't a full moon, but it was enough to reflect against the surface of the water and make out Itachi's lithe, athletic figure.
Kisame wanted to ask if Itachi was sure - until he realized that being naked might not be an invitation for sex, not with innocent Itachi on the other end. So he took off his own clothes, and immediately sunk into the cool water to hide his raging erection - something the cool water should have withered away but did not.
Itachi walked in afterwards and, in what could have been for no other reason than to torture Kisame, sat in his lap.
"Itachi..." Kisame breathed, his voice hoarse with barely contained lust. "This..."
"Prince Sasuke is my brother." Itachi began. Kisame's erection immediately withered, replaced with instant alertness, his whole body completely aware of every word Itachi spoke. "You may have suspected already."
"I guessed." Kisame said, wrapping his arms around Itachi.
"I am an experiment, a part of a government project gone wrong, the Uchiha project. When the project began to fail due to lack of control, the government began to exterminate us. My brother and I are the last of our kind. The only reason Sasuke is alive is because he is a well known political figure. My mother, Mikoto, was close friends with Kushina, and asked her to adopt Sasuke when she realized what was going on. Sasuke and Naruto became such good friends it worked. I always wanted to be a part of Sasuke's life, of Naruto's... I think of them all the time, not a day goes by that I don't. Sasuke is always on my mind, the one I love unconditionally even though I've never met him."
"Why was the experiment a failure?"
"Because we went mad. I was the first who didn't lose my mind, my mother, my father... They all lost their minds. I was created differently, but... In exchange for this I lost the ability to live properly. My health is not good. Sasuke was the only successful experiment, but he is closely watched. He will be killed if they ever suspect his mind is not right."
Kisame had a million questions, but didn't dare ask any of them. "What does this mean for us?"
"Do you still want me, knowing what I am? A failed experiment?" Itachi asked.
"I will always want you." Kisame insisted.
"Tell me about your past." Itachi said. It was not a question, but not a command either.
"When I was younger, because of my appearance... My parents tried to get rid of me. I was always called a monster and when I was old enough, I ran away. I was barely older than you. My older sister was the greatest thing to happen to me, she supported me and always knew where I was. I got into some pretty bad groups for a while, gangs and things..." Kisame shrugged. "Not nearly as dramatic as you. I went to a place in the mountains to practice sword fighting with my sister years ago. We stayed for a few years and eventually, I came back here and got a boat. The rest is history."
Itachi nodded, and that was enough. They put the past behind them and kissed softly, their bodies merging against the rippling water. The act that followed could only be described as making love, for it was nothing but a desire to be closer, to be one, with another. It was not white hot passion, but a soft tenderness with careful caresses and touches.
Later they lay together in the soft mud by the river bank, cuddling as dreams overtook them.
MN
Things didn't change much between them after that, except Itachi did not mind telling Kisame about his brother. He would laugh and tell stories about Sasuke, things he had seen from afar.
"Why do your eyes glow red sometimes?" Kisame asked. He had actually only seen it once.
"Sasuke's do too." Itachi said, completely relaxed. "It's called the sharingan and it lets us see the world differently. That way of seeing things allows us to do things we couldn't otherwise."
"I see." Kisame said, though he didn't really.
And they left it at that, both of them content.
"When I die." Itachi said suddenly. "Take care of Sasuke for me, alright?"
"I promise." Kisame said instantly. It wasn't what he wanted to say. He wanted to hold Itachi close and tell him it would be alright, that there would be hope - but that would be a lie.
That didn't stop the hollow feeling in Kisame's chest though.
MN