I'll skip over the exact details of what happened then and go straight to the next morning.

I woke up nestled into Kisame's side, with one of his arms wrapped protectively around my frame. Likewise, I myself had fallen asleep with an arm outstretched over his chest, the other tucked up against my body.

I took a moment to assess the damage. Last night, I'd completely let my protective shell fall to pieces and shown true emotion towards my partner. We'd let our hormones take over and…well, you can fill in the blank. Afterwards, we'd both fallen asleep, which left us exposed to any attackers. And to top it off, my lower back was sore, and I now had at least half a dozen bruises and bite marks adorning my body.

Needless to say, I'd never been happier in all my life.

As I was working up the strength to open my eyes, a familiar hand reached up and brushed a few stray locks of my hair away from my face. "You planning on waking up anytime soon?" Kisame inquired.

"Hn." Honestly, that was about all I could muster up at the moment.

He chuckled, clearly enjoying the current situation more so than I. "Feeling sore?"

I opened my eyes then to frown up at his grinning face. "Hn."

Another chuckle. "At least you liked it, right?"

I paused for a moment, thinking about my answer, before giving a nod in response. "It was rather nice."

The smile faltered for a second on his face. "As opposed to what?"

I wondered for the briefest of moments what had made my partner go from relaxed and humorous to snappish and defensive in such a short span of time. And then, it hit me. He'd taken my comment that way. Well now. It appears that even the most ruthless of criminals need to have their ego stroked when it comes to bedroom activities.

My sadism returned then, and I decided to toy with his mind. Mustering up the most innocent and confused look I could give without overplaying it, I calmly asked him, "What makes you think I have anything to compare you to?"

Kisame tensed up as soon as the words left his lips. I'd joined the Akatsuki before my sixteenth birthday and had been by his side ever since. Prior to life as a rogue criminal, romance had never been high on my priority list, shocking as that may seem. The shark knew I viewed people in terms of value to our goals or as targets if we'd been given permission to kill them; never in a sexual way, especially one that involved me being dominated. He'd just stepped on a landmine, and we both knew it. "Erm…well, it's just…for Kami's sake, Itachi, why didn't you say something! Geez, if I'd known you were new to this I would've been more gentle-OW!"

I'd interrupted Kisame's rather pathetic excuse for an apology by biting him on the chin. I didn't let go until I'd drawn a few drops of blood and licked up the mess, thus ensuring that I had both his attention and silence. I then rose from my position and stared blankly into his eyes, drinking in the panic that could clearly be read on his face. Even if he'd been the seme the night before, I wasn't about to let him overstep the boundaries I'd set up years before now. "Kisame."

"Yes?"

Slowly, like a predator descending on its prey, I leaned down over my partner until my lips were pressed against his ear. "If youever threaten to take me gently again, you will pay for it," I cautioned before nipping at his ear.

It took a few seconds for my words to hit home, and when they finally registered in my partner's mind, all Kisame could do was laugh. Not a nervous little chuckle, or a roaring howl; it was an honest laugh, and rather pleasant to hear. "Forgive me, Itachi," he requested, his voice heavily laced with sarcasm.

I smiled and kissed his neck. "Just this once," I assured him.

A pause. And then I was on my back, Kisame was on top of me, and our lips were locked together. I wasn't complaining.

The next few months were without a doubt the best time of my life. I don't know exactly what we became then; not exactly lovers, but definitely more than partners. I still was the more authoritative of the two of us, but Kisame had full control in bed. A rather enjoyable compromise, if I do say so myself.

At any rate, the two of us became much closer than we'd ever been. Even it was only a kind gesture, a few whispered words, or a momentary glance, I knew that Kisame and I had finally formed a bond that was based on something more than being partners in a criminal organization.

And that brings us to the present. That is, me, lying on the ground, completely blind and dying slowly after my fight with Sasuke.

My current position came as no shock; years before this, I'd sworn to stay alive long enough to let Sasuke end my life. The desire to kill me and avenge our worthless clan would make him stronger; and by murdering me, he could redeem the Uchiha name in Konoha's eyes. Yes, I'd planned all of this long ago, and all for the sake of my beloved younger brother.

Even if things hadn't played out this way, I knew that I wouldn't have lived for much longer. Besides my disease, the original Akatsuki members were dying one after another. Sasori had been the first, followed shortly thereafter by Hidan and Kakuzu. Deidara left us next, and I suppose that since Orochimaru was in the original group, he could be included as well. Like dominoes, we fell one after the other. Now, it was my turn.

I can hear someone nearby, and briefly wonder who it is. My eyes can't see, and I'm too weak to try and place the exact chakra signature. "Itachi?"

Kisame. Why does it have to be Kisame?

Part of me wants him to be far away right now; I don't want him to see me like this. Broken, bleeding, and barely clinging to life, I'm a far cry from the Itachi he's used to seeing. His memories of me are being tainted by this final encounter; for the first time in a long while, I almost regret that things have turned out this way.

Yet there is another, more emotional part of me that's practically begging for Kisame to stay. I once heard that the worst fate a person can endure is to die alone, but until this moment, disagreed. Now that I am on my deathbed, though, the words take on a whole new meaning; I want nothing more than for Kisame to stay here with me.

He's either kneeling or sitting now, I can't tell which. I know this because his fingers are pressed against my neck, checking to see if I still have a pulse. Yes Kisame, I'm still here. I haven't left you yet.

The hand moves away from my neck to slide across my face and up onto the top of my head. When he starts to smooth the knots out of my hair, I can't help but smile. "I'm right here, Itachi," he whispers, as though I'm the one that needs comfort.

"I'm sorry," I whisper to him. I want to tell him the whole truth; that I pursued him for selfish reasons. That I tried to kill him on several occasions. That he's the most important person in my life. All those words, instances, memories, churn about in my mind, begging to be set free at long last. But I know it won't happen. We don't have that time anymore; already my body's growing cold, and I'm losing the feeling in my limbs.

He doesn't say anything back to me. What is there to say? What is there left for us to do? Reminisce about our missions? Talk about our fallen comrades? No, that's all in the past. It's unimportant, meaningless to both of us now.

Time's running out. I know that I won't last another five minutes; I'll be here for two, three more at best. Better make this quick.

I gather up what little strength I have left and look up to where I'm guessing Kisame's face is. "I love you."

I've been meaning to tell him that for the longest time. I could just never find the right moment to say those words to him.

His hand stops. Not abruptly, not slowly. The movement simply ceases altogether.

And then a pair of warm lips press themselves against my own. It's brief, tender; a farewell kiss if I ever felt one. "I love you too." The words make me smile.

I know you do Kisame. I'm so happy you said it aloud.

You're never supposed to tell someone goodbye, so I won't. Goodbye implies that you'll never meet again, and I can't be sure of that. If there's an afterlife, we'll probably go to the same place. If I can, Kisame, I'll wait for you. And if-