I do not own Naruto nor any of Kishimoto's characters.
-xXXXx-
"Shisui, we went to the last one," Itachi sighed, pouting up at his older lover.
"Don't tell me I'll have to dress you," Shisui teased with narrowed eyes. He looked through Itachi's closet contemplatively with his arms crossed. He was dressed in a simple dark navy yukata he liked because it made his eyes look brighter. "Because I will turn into a total queer on you."
Itachi laughed, sitting on his bed. "How so?"
Shisui smirked back at him, then grabbed the several yukata Itachi had and threw them on the bed.
"You're putting that up," Itachi grumbled.
"You are not wearing black to a festival," Shisui began, and tossed the said color aside. "Nor any shade of grey." And there went half of Itachi's selection. "You know you can't wear this shade of red, you're too pale for it. Why do you even have it?" He picked it up and tilted his head to the side, ignoring how Itachi was chuckling at him. "It might could work if it was a shade darker, or if you wear it with dark gold, but..." He glanced in the direction of Itachi's closet. "It appears, even after knowing of your vast vocabulary, "yellow" is just too much for your poor little brain to comprehend." And so he tossed the red one aside. "I'm wearing that color, and no, you cannot have it." So a dark blue was tossed to the rejected pile, leaving only a deep blue one. Shisui crossed his arms, humming at it.
"I have one other," Itachi offered, raising an amused brow at Shisui's antics.
"Where?" Shisui demanded.
"It was too big when I originally got it," Itachi said as he got up, going to dig into the deep recesses of his closet. "So I just shoved it in the back... I had completely forgotten about it, but I found it while I was going through my things before I moved over here." And he pulled out a dark shade of green, which immediately had Shisui pouncing on him.
"Yes!" he said immediately, and Itachi held it out. "It better fit. That's perfect."
-xXx-
"It feels weird," Itachi muttered, picking at the fabric.
"That's because you haven't worn it before," Shisui told him, smiling as he held both of Akane's hands to lift her down the step at the front of the house. He glanced back at Itachi slyly. "... Also maybe because you've tied the belt ridiculously tight."
"Do you think for one moment," Itachi replied, narrowing his eyes, "that I would be as foolish as to wear something that can be undone with a light pull of a rope around you again?"
Shisui grinned broadly, snickering. "That was one time."
"Twice."
"Second time was an accident."
"Was not."
"Was too!"
"Children," Tamotsu warned as he appeared in his own dark brown yukata, rolling his eyes.
Shisui grinned at him and Itachi looked away innocently.
"Come on, Akane," Tamotsu said, holding out a hand for his daughter.
"Daddy, can we catch a fish?" Akane asked excitedly as they walked out the door.
"Sure," Tamotsu agreed, smiling at her. "We might want to wait until we get ready to leave, though. We wouldn't want something to happen to it."
While they walked, Shisui started lagging behind, and Itachi walked a few more steps before noticing.
"Shisui?" he asked, and said person grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers.
"We can get away easily," Shisui whispered in his ear as they walked, keeping an eye on his father and sister ahead of them. "Dad wouldn't mind if we went off." He nudged his shoulder against Itachi's, smiling. "It can be just us."
Itachi smiled slowly as well. This could turn out to be more enjoyable than he thought.
-xXx-
"My, my, hasn't it been a while?" a familiar voice drawled, and Itachi found himself twitching in irritation while Shisui growled an obscenity that had Itachi looking at him in surprise and pinching him. They both looked over at an unimpressed Gio raising his one visible brow at them, and an obviously bored Kakashi with his nose stuck in a book.
"Nice to see you too," Gio deadpanned.
Kakashi glanced up at them and waved. "Yo."
"I didn't really think you were the kind of guy to hang out in festivals," Shisui said to Kakashi. He and Itachi had managed to get away from Shisui's father, and had just been starting to enjoy themselves.
"Without a reason," Itachi added. Shisui nodded.
Kakashi shrugged, sighing, and gestured to Gio. "I'm here because of him."
Itachi narrowed his eyes immediately at Gio. "I let you go on one mission outside my squad. What did you do?"
"Oh, it's a terribly long story which can wait till the meeting tomorrow," Gio said quickly, grabbing Itachi by his shoulders and steering him towards the stand he and Shisui had been walking towards. He didn't notice the thunderous expression on Shisui's face.
"I'll pay," Gio offered, dropping a few coins onto the counter.
Shisui's hand slapped over them before the vendor could pick them up.
"We got it," Shisui said shortly, sliding Gio's money away and laying his own down. Itachi grinned briefly. The vendor looked confused for a moment, before giving a small, heavy ball to both Shisui and Itachi. He instructed them to hit the red targets, and Shisui eyed the side of Gio's head.
"Red target, huh?" he muttered, and Itachi huffed an amused breath.
"Don't start a fight in the middle of a family event," he requested just as quietly.
Gio suddenly smirked, and, with a fox-like look on his face, leaned over Itachi's shoulder. His arms snaked around his torso, his palm pressing into his stomach, dangerously low.
"I'd go for the second to left one," he murmured into the Uchiha's ear, much to Itachi's embarrassment and Shisui's fury. Kakashi, surprisingly, watched the two with thinly-veiled irritation.
Itachi elbowed him away roughly, throwing a glower over his shoulder. "Stop that. I know how to throw something."
"Sorry, sorry," Gio said with a grin, holding his hands up placatingly.
"Excuse him," Kakashi said, walking over to the teen and clapping a hand on his shoulder. "I decided keeping him away from the festival was too harsh. Apparently, I should have thought more."
Itachi narrowed his eyes at Gio while Shisui turned the other way because he couldn't hide his smirk. Gio shrugged helplessly and Itachi looked at Kakashi. "I'm assuming you're in charge of him right now?"
"It was my mission he screwed up on," Kakashi said flatly. "I was asked to make sure he reports to his... trial this evening."
"Trial?" Gio choked out, paling.
"I wouldn't call it that," Itachi said flippantly. "Just more of a... Come-to-Kami meeting with the Hokage. You, however," Itachi glared at Gio. "Will be going through some rather intense training for a few weeks, as I'm assuming your temper got you into this."
Gio blew a lock of hair our of his face. "Well, you see-"
"I don't want to hear it now," Itachi grimaced. "You can save it for the meeting tomorrow."
"I think he's done with you," Kakashi drawled, looking quite pleased with that fact for some reason, and Gio stuck his tongue out at Itachi's turned back.
"I'll cut it off," Itachi warned, throwing his ball and not even looking at Gio. Shisui snickered and threw his. Both got perfect, and the vendor proceeded to complain because apparently he always lost all his merchendise in ninja villages.
Gio pouted at Itachi and skulked off, a lazy Kakashi following him.
"You have no idea how hot you are when you're assertive," Shisui muttered, smirking, and Itachi grinned and elbowed him. Itachi glanced back at Kakashi and Gio, frowning thoughtfully for a few seconds before Shisui noticed.
"What is it?" he asked, grabbing their candy.
"I'm not exactly an expert in these things," Itachi mused, tilting his head as he watched Gio somehow weasel enough money out of Kakashi to buy a snack. "... But I think Kakashi might have a thing for Gio."
"What?" Shisui balked, looking after the two as well and tossing the candy in their bag. "No way, they're totally different."
Itachi rose an eyebrow and shrugged. "We're totally different. They're actually kind of similar... in very few aspects, sure, but there are some."
"Hitting on you better not be one," Shisui muttered dangerously. Itachi rolled his eyes and gently elbowed him.
"You know he thinks of us as little brothers," he said. "He wouldn't dare."
But Shisui suddenly frowned at Itachi, and the younger Uchiha tilted his head in confusion.
"Shisui-?" he asked.
"You're contaminated," Shisui said unhappily. He grabbed Itachi's wrist and proceded to drag Itachi through the crowd.
Itachi smiled and rolled his eyes, letting himself be pulled. "Where are you taking me?"
Shisui suddenly stopped in a busy intersection, causing Itachi to almost run in to him, and looked around thoughtfully. "That is a damn good question." Itachi laughed quietly.
He apparently found his place, a rather old cafe that only had more customers because there was a festival. Still dragging Itachi, he ducked into the shop, satisfied that most of the people were too busy oggling a fire juggler (whose techniques Akane could have done, come on) to notice them make their way to a small, unlit, secluded alcove in the back which seemed to have not been used in a while.
"There are people around," Itachi protested with wide eyes when Shisui tugged him behind the wall and out of sight.
"Aw, come on, Itachi," Shisui grinned. "You know me better than that."
Itachi slowly smiled. "Genjutsu?"
"But of course!" Shisui smirked. "Unfortunately, I did not have the time to weave a better one, so this is the type that will unravel as soon as you know its existence."
Itachi frowned. "So not too loud?" he guessed, sighing.
"Good luck to you," Shisui gloated.
Itachi rose an eye brow. "And not to you?"
"My mouth will be busy," he explained mischievously, and moved forward to renew the red mark on the side of Itachi's neck.
"I had almost gotten rid of that," Itachi complained, his pulse already starting to quicken, but he tilted his head nonetheless.
"Oops," Shisui mumbled noncommittally, finishing a strong suck with gentle movements of his lips and tongue that Itachi would never admit felt so much more enjoyable than he let on.
Shisui continued a line of kisses up his jaw. Itachi hungrily sought his lips out, but Shisui danced around his mouth.
"Shisui," Itachi mumbled in protest, closing his eyes as his lips skimmed over his forehead. They moved down his temple, across his cheekbone and down the tear-troughs on his face, but yet again completely skipped his lips.
"Shisui," Itachi huffed impatiently, grabbing the fabric on Shisui's arms.
Shisui chuckled, that deep chuckle that drove Itachi crazy, and used one hand to tilt Itachi's chin back and to the left so he could lightly bite down on his earlobe.
"Kiss me," Itachi demanded, breathing heavily.
"I am," Shisui smiled.
Itachi growled, "Shisui."
Shisui grinned briefly before finally doing as told, kissing Itachi sweepingly and fully on the mouth. The passion felt through the kiss made Itachi weak-kneed, and he helplessly tried to reciprocate but found that Shisui's hands smoothing over his chest and sides were too much of a distraction.
-Missing-
"Pervert."
"I am not a pervert!" Itachi objected hotly.
"Oh, there is no way you can deny that," Shisui said. He leaned in, smirking impishly. "I have discovered that one, you are a exhibitionist; and two, you enjoy someone talking dirty to you," he murmured, his voice low with what could only have been lust.
"And I have discovered that you are a superb sex deviant when you're horny," Itachi muttered back, flushing.
Shisui grinned briefly, nuzzling his cheek with his nose. "You're a tease. I can't help it."
"I haven't done anything," Itachi protested, shifting in his spot. "If anything, you're the tease."
Shisui noticed him shifting and the light goosebumps that had risen on his skin, and glanced down in surprise to see that Itachi's problem hadn't been resolved in the slightest.
"Damn, babe," he said, wincing in empathy. "I guess I got you too wound up, huh?"
Itachi's heart thrilled a little at his apparent new pet name, but on the outside he frowned bitterly. "How am I supposed to go around like this?" he complained.
Shisui flashed an amused grin at his pout. "We don't have much time before they start looking for us," he said rather remorsefully, looking at the door. "Just... Tuck it in the waist line of your pants until it goes down? The yukata will hide it enough..."
Itachi frowned in distaste before he fixed his clothing, sighing in relief when, after his yukata was correctly in place, he did look perfectly normal and unaroused. He glanced down at Shisui, pursing his lips when he saw that Shisui was having a problem similar to his.
"What about you...?" he asked.
Shisui waved his concern off. "I'll deal."
Itachi muttered, frowning, "That's not fair to you..."
Shisui smiled and kissed him, laughing when Itachi grimaced in reaction to the taste of himself. "Germ freak. What we have is not about being fair," he said, kissing Itachi anyways. "I wanted to do that to you. Actually letting me do it, especially here of all places, was payment enough." He paused. "Oh God, I shouldn't say it that way. I sound like a whore."
"If you say so..." Itachi said hesitantly, the corner of his mouth twitching up.
Shisui grinned. "Besides, you only have to wait a few more hours till everyone's home and asleep. I have a place I want to take you." He stood, bringing Itachi up with him and dangling his arms loosely around the younger's waist. "I'll take care of you, babe."
Itachi flushed, closing the eye Shisui had gone to kiss and pressing his own lips to Shisui's neck. "Will we...?"
Shisui picked up on the question and shook his head. "I still don't think..."
"Stop making our age difference so apparent," Itachi complained quietly, burying his face partway into Shisui's shoulder so that his voice was slightly muffled but he could see ahead. "It's only two years. It won't matter when we're older."
Shisui sighed, leaning his head against Itachi's. "Yeah, when we're older. Age doesn't really matter, then. But when you're young... every year, every minute is important."
"And what if I know I want to spend every minute I can with you?" Itachi asked. He pulled back so he could press his forehead to Shisui's.
Shisui watched his eyes, knowing that Itachi wasn't going to let this matter drop.
"Do you really want to?" Shisui asked softly. Itachi kissed him gently.
"You never know if you'll live long when you're in the profession we're in," he stated despondently. "Especially Anbu. You never know when one of us will get called out to a mission and won't come back. I've learned to enjoy what I have as much as I can for as long as I can." He closed his eyes when Shisui's hand slid up his neck to tilt his head so he could more easily kiss him, humming his grattitude at the silent reassurance. "I'm not saying we have to tonight, or even within a week or month or two... But doesn't a few years seem as long to you as they seem to me...?" He stared imploringly at his lover, and Shisui stared intently back at him.
"You have a point," he sighed eventually, relenting. He tilted his head, navy eyes inquisitive. "Let me think about it?" Itachi smiled.
"That's all I ask," he assured.
Shisui smiled then. "Alright!" he said, giving Itachi a final kiss. "What say you we go show off our devilishly handsome Uchiha looks and rub it in everyone's faces that we're off limits?"
Itachi chuckled, rolling his eyes. "I say let's find your father before we're accosted by any more coworkers."
"You and your big words," Shisui said fondly, dragging him out into the cafe by his hand, then switching the placement to his wrist once they were in the public eye.
They found Tamotsu and Akane over by one of the goldfish catching stalls, at which Tamotsu could not, for the life of him, catch one of the goldfish for his daughter.
"This is rigged," he pouted, and the vendor gloated proudly that he wasn't losing all of his products to ninja.
"Got it!" Akane shouted happily, jumping up from her spot at the next tank and carefully keeping a fish on the paper net. Tamotsu gaped at his youngest child and Itachi smiled.
"Shown up by an eight year old," Shisui sighed, patting his father on the shoulder while Akane's prize was bagged.
"It's because she's my kid," Tamotsu sniffed. Akane ran back to them, proudly brandishing her new pet.
"I did it!" she said excitedly, grinning up at her older brother and cousin.
"Good job," Shisui grinned. "We better pick up some stuff for it on the way home."
Akane suddenly drooped. "Oh, yeah, I'm going to Kimi's tonight."
"Oh, you are?" Shisui blinked.
"Oh, yeah," Tamotsu spoke up. "Shisui, I was going to ask you if you could take her to Kimiko-chan's house? I have that meeting tonight."
Itachi, unnoticed by the other two Uchiha, sighed, and Shisui shot him an apologizing smile.
"Yeah, I got it," he said to his father.
"I'll take care of the fish supplies," Itachi offered. Well, he'd be waiting for a while, anyways. Shisui nudged him with his knee.
"I won't be long," he promised when Tamotsu and Akane weren't looking.
"You better not be," Itachi muttered, smiling.
-xXx-
"And?" one Uchiha Madara asked, sitting regally in the chair at the head of the table. His Sharingan gleamed menacingly at the Rinnegan staring back at it.
"Turns out he and that Shisui guy are romantically involved," the hooded man said. "They're pretty damn into each other too, if you ask me. Both are very protective."
"Hm," Madara hummed, leaning forward. "That will be fun to tear apart..."
The hooded man rose a fiery-haired eyebrow. "What do you want me to do?"
"Trick them," Tobi said shortly, a cruel lilt in his voice. "I want to see if Shisui will be as protective when he knows everything about the boy he oh so loves."
-xXx-
Itachi was sitting on the back patio, merely enjoying the cool night air. He tilted his head back, watching the night stars, and released a calm sigh. Shisui was taking Akane to her friend's house. Tamotsu was still at the clan meeting.
Itachi smiled. Being with Shisui that day had been nice. It was unfortunate that they had to pretend they were only friends, in case word get back to the rest of the clan, but seeing how Shisui had reacted to Gio flirting with him made him feel almost giddy inside and definitely made up for it.
Shisui would be taking him out again later after he returned. For a ridiculously cliche and cheesy picnic, of all things. A real date, Shisui had cheerfully described it as when they had a few seconds to exchange private words. Itachi bit back a grin. He would be getting the stuff he needed after he dropped off Akane.
A sudden, somewhat familiar presence made Itachi tense, and the smile was wiped clean off his face. He tiled his head enough to see the dark, shadowed corner of the patio and the masked, cloaked man barely visible from around the corner.
"Hebi," he acknowledged without any movement.
"Uchiha Itachi," the man dipped his head. This Anbu, one Itachi suspected may also be in the Root division, was the only other person aside from Itachi himself and the village council who knew of Itachi's true role in the village. He had been bound to absolute secrecy, and quite literally. There was a seal placed on him, so that if he should even mutter the words "coup de tat" or any form of the word he would be paralyzed until the Hokage himself removed the seal.
"Am I required?" Itachi asked.
"No, sir," Hebi said. He moved from behind the corner so that he would be more visible. "I was sent to ask for a report."
Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Couldn't this wait?"
Hebi shook his head. "I have limited time and Hokage-sama will be away for a while as of tomorrow. Is this place secure?"
Itachi looked at him sharply. "Why haven't I heard of the Hokage leaving until now?" he demanded.
"He is secretly meeting leaders of other nations for reasons which you do not have the clearance to know," Hebi replied with just as much hardness in his voice. Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Is this place secure?" Hebi repeated.
"I'm expecting someone to be back soon."
"Then make it short."
Itachi grimaced. "There is a meeting right now-"
"And you're not there?" Hebi asked.
"Don't interrupt me," Itachi warned darkly, glaring. Hebi was acting almost as bad as Gio when they first met, which was strange. "You're trying my nerves right now. Do not forget I am your superior."
Hebi's posture showed that he felt sufficiently cowed, and he said, "My apologies, Uchiha-san."
"As I was saying," Itachi began with a hard tone. "There is a meeting right now, which has only to do with the small trivial matters of the clan and which will decide when the next meeting discussing the coup will be. As of now, there are no changes, and we still do not have a set date for the coup."
Hebi raised his head, and Itachi saw a flash of purple in his eyes. His Sharingan slowly activated. Something wasn't right. Someone...
"The Hokage knows of your... closer affiliations with some members of the clan." Itachi felt his pulse still before picking up at a much faster rate. "He wishes to know if you would still be willing to eliminate the clan should the need arise. Even the previously mentioned members."
"Be careful of what you say at such a high volume," Itachi warned, his eyes scanning the trees. He felt a sick lurch in his stomach at the man's words.
That was something he hadn't thought about yet.
"I am running out of time, Uchiha-san," Hebi pressed.
Itachi glanced at him and, very conscious of the self-loathing bubbling inside him, said very quietly, "I am willing to do whatever he asks of me."
The back door to the house suddenly slammed open, and Itachi immediately leaped to his feet in alarm. Hebi disappeared, and Itachi was left trembling at the unadulterated fury on Uchiha Shisui's face.
-xXXXx-
Ohshit!
I have the rest of the first part of this story finished. I'll post the next chapter in a week or so, and the next two chapters a few days later simultaneously. (The chapters are rather short, so I'm posting them quicker.)
We just had a power outage. The power came back on a few minutes ago. :) Yayay
You people are amazing. If I could hug every one of you, I would.
And now, I will go laugh at Facebook drama. Toodles!