Itachi was sitting on the ground, waiting quietly without any movement. It seemed like that was all he ever did anymore; just recline in the barren room of white without a chair to sit on, a book to read or even something remotely interesting that could be used for entertainment. But what could you expect? This was hell's waiting room.

Truthfully, Itachi didn't mind that much. Sometimes he grew bored, and sometimes he desperately wanted to look around the afterlife and see more than the brief taste he'd received upon arrival, but always he simply resigned himself to waiting. He had a promise to keep.

The Uchiha had long ago lost track of time here. Had he been dead for weeks, months, years? He no longer knew. And so he simply sat there in silence, forever hoping he wouldn't have to stay much longer.

The monotony of his task was broken then when the ground began writhing about and faded from bleached white to charcoal grey. Itachi felt his long-dead heart race at the sight; it meant a new arrival was coming. And considering that this part of hell was reserved for only the most dastardly and wicked of criminals, there was a good chance it was his former partner.

His eyes widened ever so slightly when he saw blue flesh rising up from the depths of the smoke. This could very well be it.

Itachi's suspicions were confirmed moments later when Kisame came into full view, lying on his back still sporting his old Akatsuki cloak. Finally, Kisame was here.

The Uchiha couldn't help but smile as the shark groaned and sat up, facing away from Itachi as he took in the sight of the waiting room. "Where am I?" he questioned while rubbing his head.

"Hell would be the simplest answer," Itachi replied calmly, his monotone voice never wavering regardless of the emotions stirring beneath the surface.

Kisame froze at the words, as if unable to process hearing Itachi's voice speaking to him after all this time. Slowly, he rotated his body to face the Uchiha, shocked yellow pupils locking with blank onyx. "Itachi?"

"Hn."

Silence and stillness followed the confirmation, and neither man knew what to do to break it. "Itachi," Kisame finally began.

"Yes?"

"…How've you been?"

A smirk graced Itachi's lips for an instant, than vanished just as fast. "Aside from being dead, fine." Kisame nodded, clearly unable to think of anything more to say to his partner.

Itachi eventually chose to break the awkward feeling in the air and beckoned for his partner, eyes wordlessly demanding Kisame to obey. The shark didn't hesitate to approach the Uchiha, and soon they were only separated by mere inches.

Itachi gently reached up and touched Kisame's cheek with his fingertips, the very movement contradicting his sadistic nature and confusing the shark in one fell swoop. "I missed you." A statement, calmly delivered in a quiet voice that spoke volumes on its own.

Arms grabbed at the younger male and yanked him towards Kisame's body; arms that Itachi no longer feared, but took shelter within. The Uchiha allowed his partner to have an ounce of control (just this once) and let himself be held. Affection, protection, emotion, devotion, all had been missing from the weasel for years. Now, in a single movement caused by his partner, he felt these feelings return full force, prompting him to reach up and cling to his partner's cloak with a loose fist. "Missed you too," Kisame murmured against the Uchiha's silky hair.

Itachi had often wondered what their reunion would be like, if they ever met again at all. He knew there would be no tears, no loud declarations of love, nothing of that sort. Sometimes he wondered if Kisame would have moved on and found a new lover to replace him; in the darkest times, he even imagined that the shark would simply look back on their time together and decide that it was nothing more than a mistake. For it to go like this was almost enough to make him smile. Almost.

Resting his head against Kisame and allowing his eyes to flutter shut, Itachi took a moment to absorb the situation and enjoy the embrace. Briefly he wondered how long they could stay like this. Forever sounded nice.

The Uchiha let out a pleasant sigh as calloused fingers made their way to his scalp. Kami, he'd missed those hands. "You've been waiting here this whole time." Not a question, a statement.

"Hn."

"You didn't have to do that, you know."

Itachi was tempted to glare up at his partner and give him a harsh reply, but chose instead to stay put. No point in starting a fight after such a brief reunion. "I wanted to."

Kisame hummed in acceptance and allowed them to fall back into silence, this one decidedly more comfortable than the last. Time passed, but neither one seemed to notice or care. "Itachi?"

Onyx eyes looked up, betraying a hint of curiosity for only a second. "Hn?"

Wordlessly Kisame bent down and kissed Itachi.

Thus ends the tale of the sometimes confused, sometimes fearful, sometimes scheming, and always loving shark and sadist.