A/N: This is for the lovely fangirlandiknowit, who wanted either Itachi/Shisui or Itachi/Sasuke in a canon without the Uchiha massacre, sneaking out to be together. I went for the Itachi/Shisui because I love those two and we don't see enough of them.

Not betaed.

Drabble Two

World for Two

A calloused hand reached out to touch the thick trunk of a tree, palm pressed against the rough wood. He couldn't help but sigh – if trees could talk, that one surely would have much to tell. The sky was painted in purple and gentle hues of orange, a few stars still visible in the pre-morning sky.

He felt it before he heard it – the sound of a blade cutting through the air and effectively brushing his cheekbone before accurately burying itself in the tree trunk, right in between his middle and index fingers.

Uchiha Shisui all but smirked at the kunai in front of him.

"Flawless, as usual," he said casually. "You will surpass me in no time."

"You know very well that something like that will never happen."

"I disagree," Shisui said smoothly, grabbing the surprisingly warm hilt of the kunai and easily removing it from the tree trunk. "I think you will definitely become way better than me some day. Your eyes are far better than mine."

When no reply came, he turned around to face the young man standing not ever a step away from him. He couldn't help his smile from softening at seeing the far too serious features of Itachi – he was still so young, yet he had the soul of someone far too old for his age. But this also made him wiser than many. While Shisui might be the better Shinobi in battle, Itachi had skills that were coming increasingly closer to his and the outstanding brains to match it. No-one really understood the depth of Itachi's perception of people, or of the world – not even Shisui himself –and yet, for sure, his vision was nothing less than beautiful.

In spite of everything, Itachi had a pure heart, and while he was aware of how strong he truly was, Shisui knew he didn't like to think about it. After all, it was his strength and his faith in Konoha and the Uchiha that had stopped something disastrous from happening to the village and their clan.

"I didn't think you'd come this early," Shisui said gently, passing the kunai to Itachi, who took it, his actions slow and almost evaluating.

"I could say the same about you," Itachi retorted, putting the weapon away inside a small pouch he had around his waist. "It's barely dawn."

"I know."

They stood in front of each other in silence, both eyeing the other rather wearily as if this scene hadn't occurred a million times before, in that same place.

In fact, it was under that same tree, eleven years previously, that they had actually shared their first kiss.

While Shisui thought of it as endearing, Itachi didn't like to think of it as something 'romantic'. To him, it was the 'expected outcome' of the bond they shared, and Shisui accepted it as it was, because, honestly, 'love' was probably too strong of a word to label something that wasn't even official or publicly known.

Also… 'love' was probably a little too shallow when it came to them and what they had already shared as people and as Shinobi.

Itachi's eyes landed on the cut that was on Shisui's cheekbone. Without moving, Shisui watched in silence as he cautiously closed the distance between them until their chests came into contact and their faces were close. Their eyes met again before Itachi lifted a hand to touch Shisui's chin, carefully turning his face to the side so he could see it properly.

"You're bleeding," he said, and strangely, the placid, yet firm way he said it made him sound more pleased than sorry.

"And I wonder whose fault that is," Shisui mocked easily. He knew perfectly well that the cut had been inflicted on him on purpose since Itachi's aim was nothing less than perfectly accurate.

As expected, Itachi didn't answer. Instead, he merely leaned forward and slowly ran his tongue over the small cut once, and it stung a bit, but the sensation wasn't unpleasant at all. After this, he leaned back again, hands falling from Shisui's chin to his chest, palm placed firmly over his heart, something he always did. Then, he waited.

It was always like that, Shisui mused, eyeing attractive features and clever eyes that he knew far too well. Itachi always waited for him to make the first move, if by some sort of ridiculous notion of respect for Shisui being the eldest of the two or because he wanted to give him a choice, he didn't know. This game was far too old to both of them, and yet, the uncertainty was still hanging in the air.

Still, Shisui couldn't help but join his lips to the ones in front of him, pressing them together once, chastely, then twice. When he was going to deliver the third kiss, he found those lips parted, receptive for more, and his heart skipped a beat before speeding up considerably. Feeling it, Itachi's fingers closed around the fabric of his t-shirt.

This is where Shisui tried not to think too much about unnecessary things – about how much he wanted the other man, or how much he wished he could tell Itachi about this apartment he had seen in Konoha that he thought would be perfect for them to move in to. He tried not to think about how many more times they would have to go back to that same place before they could simply wake up in each other's arms, in a bed that belonged to the both of them.

But he knew Itachi wasn't ready – or maybe Itachi was right and the world itself wasn't ready for them. Still, he wished things were different. Still, now he had other dreams, so he dreamed that the day would come when their little world would be a world they could converge with the world they had helped create.

But he couldn't talk to Itachi about this, not yet. He always put too many things upon his shoulders, always thought that everybody else's happiness was more important than his. So Shisui merely indulged himself, and Itachi, and instead of talking, he would deepen those kisses until they set both of them on fire and consumed them to the point where there was nothing left in their minds but each other.

Because, for now, that was all they had, and all they afford to have.

One day, Shisui thought. One day, Itachi would see how much more beautiful his own world could get.

The End

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