FOLLOW YOUR ARROW
.
"Just blurt it out! That's what us mere mortals do." Kisame replied, the joking intent in his words smothered by the lasting concern he held. He was genuinely afraid for his dear friend. In all their years, and that was a LOT of years, mind you, he'd never, not once acted this way.
Kakuzu was the living embodiment of self-restraint and control. The only emotion that ever broke through that rockey surface was anger, and even that was closely leashed on most occasions. Happiness, depression, worry, fear, they all came out exactly the same; indifference. But this, this was... well, it was terrifying!
Millions of horrible situations flashed through the ocean-loving mans head, each of them worst than the last as to what kind of trouble his old friend could have possibley gotten himself into, each of them seeming more and more unlikley to have happened, but still blurring by in a frenzy of panic.
Kakuzu would never become a drug dealer, he'd never get involved in some sort of mafia war- at least not here in this small town. Kisame certianly couldn't see the doctor murdering someone in cold blood after remembering some repressed child-hood memory that caused him to develop a severe case of schizophrenia. Certianly the elder man wasn't money-hungry enough to cheat the government out of millions of dollars and have to go on the run as a wanted fugitive.
But what the hell else could be so serious to as to keep the Doctor awake night after night, driving him so far past desperation that he would actually ask Kisame, who the tanned-skinned man repeatedly called an overly-emotional buffoon, for guidance!?
No, no... Bad Kisame. Calm yourself. He thought, taking in a deep, shakey breath. Kakuzu was the one having a crisis here, don't make it worse by embarrassing him.
Oh God, he really didn't want to get involved in some sort of legal scandal though. What if the man had killed someone? What if he was wanted by the secret service!? Kisame would be listed as an accomplice!
"It's not that easy..." Kakuzu replied, not meeting his eyes (Which Kisame thanked the Gods for, seeing as he'd probably scream and run from the room if he saw even so much of a glint of murderous intent in the christmas-colored optics.)
"Sure it is." He said uneasily, going to take another sip, but stopping himself to stare thoughtfully at the bottle. Hm, he'd had quite a few of these in not very much time... he should probably stop for a little bit. The damn alchohol was probably what was causing his silent over-reaction in the first place.
Right, Kakuzu Hoku might have secretly liked guys this whole time, but that didn't mean he was also secretly some sort of terrorist spy sent from Russia or God-fucking-knows-where to find out all the dirty secrets and weaknesses of the United States.
He shook his head, grimacing at the beverage before clearing his throat and setting it down gently on the coffee table before turning to face his old friend bodily.
"Alright, here, what'll make it easier. Tell me all the stuff that's resulted from this problem first. And then maybe I can piece it all together, then you won't even have to say anything!"
Kakuzu did look up at him now, and for a terror-stricken moment Kisame stared back, heart-beating wildly. He relaxed a milli-second later though, Kakuzu's eyes were the same as always, hiding no deadly secrets or second personalities. In fact, if anything, they looked softer somehow, not as uncaring and bland as usual.
Hm... Damn. He really wished the old man would just come out with it. The curiosity was killing him!
"You already said you haven't been able to sleep. I got that much, is there anything else? Are you getting sick more often? Or.. you know... feel the overwhelming urge to stab random strangers?"
Kakuzu's face twisted ever so slightly in amused confusion. "What the hell are you on about?"
"Well I don't fucking know!?" He said loudly, throwing his hands up. "See my side of things here. The day Kakuzu Hoku comes to me of all people asking for help... I mean, you're not a secret agent or something are you? You're not gonna make me help you kidnap the president or anything right?"
Kakuzu stared back emotionlessly for such a long time that Kisame almost launched into another panic. Just before he did, the elder man huffed out a small laugh, taking another drink of his beer slowly. "Kisame... You're an idiot." He said slowly, almost carefully. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I don't appreciate you demeening me like you're doing. Be serious for once in your wretched life. I have no problem dropping this whole matter and just returning home."
The slightly taller man remained silent now, though chuckleing sheepishly. Well, maybe he was being a little stupid... He needed to calm down, sober up, and think this through. Kakuzu needed him, which never happened, and probably never would again, especially if he blew it. The man had always been there for him before, and to fail him at this point would be pretty damn well similar to pure betrayal.
Alright, now what has he said so far, aside from not sleeping well.
His shiney, demonic-looking eyes drifted around the room in through, landing beside him on the guitar before anything popped into his mind.
Itachi, right, he said Itachi was directly related to it! so... What would Itachi have to do with anything that involved Kakuzu. Did the man have some sort of mental condition he'd been keeping hidden from Kisame all these years? Was he saying he needed therapy or something? Did he want sleeping pills? Cause Itachi couldn't just hand that kind of shit out, he may technically be a Doctor as well, but psychologists weren't pharmasists. He didn't possess that kind of power, if Dr. Hoku wanted pills then he'd have to go to an actual medical evaluation at the behavioral health center...
He blinked... nooo. What the hell? Kakuzu was a doctor, he had his own access to sleeping pills!
Okay so scratch that idea... What else relates to Itachi? He said also that it somewhat involved what happened the last time they'd gone to the bar and had been stranded at his boyfriends apartment for most of the night. But how would that affect his sleeping, it wasn't as if anything traumatic had happened. In fact if anyone were to be traumatized it should be the Uchiha himself, having to climb out his window and face his neighbor the way he did...
His eyes were still lingering on the guitar, thogh they had gone distant long ago. They came back to focus now as he concluded that he had no fucking idea what it wa, and needed another hint, before it finally occurred to him what the correlation was between all of the hints he'd been given so far.
Now he really did feel like an idiot.
Hah, he'd been reminded of it earlier, when Kakuzu had mentioned that night, and he'd recalled the conversation he and Itachi had had, and the agreement they'd settled on, only for it to become null and void a few hours later after the brat apparently realized he liked Kaku..zu...
Oh dear God, how fucking stupid was he?
He couldn't stop the snort that forced it way up his throat as his eyes flicked over to the doctor. When he received a suspicious death-glare for it, he tried desperatley to fight the grin that stretched awkwardly across his features. Eventually he lost the fight though.
He was embarrassed, which was half of the cause for the near-maniacle laughter that burst from him. Embarrassed that he'd worried himself so terribley, embarrassed that he'd freaked out the way he did. He was embarrassed for Kakuzu too.
It made so much sense, it all fell together so perfectly, that had to be the reason!
"What in the hell are you laughing about, Hoshigaki!?" The man snarled, looking as if he wanted to slap his dear friend again.
Itachi was absolutley right. He'd sort of agree'd with him before, he'd been willing to haphazardly embrace the idea, and he could have sort of seen it for himself that night. It had still been pretty well hidden though, and he wasn't a mind-reader like his young boyfriend, in the days after that event he had mulled it over constantly every time the Uchiha brought it up. He'd argued with him, telling him over and over again that he wasn't so sure he was right on this one. That there was no possible way Kakuzu Hoku, king of all dicks, the most heartless of all the heartless, would ever develop any kind of attraction for his newest employee.
Maybe it was just Hidan's wierd infatuation that made the Uchiha so hopeful. It was his undying, brotherly sort of love for his friend that caused it, his desire to help him reach happiness that more or less tricked himself into seeing some sort of fondness that wasn't actually there.
But by God, here it was right in front of him.
It was so obvious, the Doctor would never, ever be so terribley distraught over anything other than losing control of his emotions. He really did like the little albino kid. Kisame almost couldn't even wrap his head around it. Damn that Uchiha, there was no way he was only human.
"I'm sorry, Kakuzu, old friend. I'm so sorry, I really don't mean to laugh at you. Please don't leave..." He said, holding a hand out to him to emphasize the apology, but still being unable to stop his laughter, though it had died down significantly. "I just.. ehehehe... Sorry. I just, I think I've figured it out..."
"How could you have possibley done that? I've not told you anything more." The elder growled, face tightening in anger.
"Hey, Gimme a break. I told you I was buzzing earlier. My mind just had to catch up with what you were saying." He finally did seem to regain control of himself, taking even, deep breaths to assure that he wouldn't break out into laughter anymore, which would probably risk a couple hard punched from his dear friend. And he didn't want that, Kakuzu's punches fucking hurt, and he wasn't afraid to leave bruises on the Ocean-loving man.
"And what is it you think you've figured out then, imbecile." Kakuzu growled, looking as if he were readying to do exactly what Kisame was fearing.
"Well," he said, swiping up his beer again, confident now that he could handle it since that litle panic-attack was over and he had everything lined up. He took a long, slow drink, finishing off the bottle before he continued. "You're worried about Itachi finding out, because he's directly related to it. " He recited, studying the man in concentration, looking for signs that he was on the right track, even though he was 99% positive that he was.
"So, what direct correlation does Itachi have with anything in your life? I mean, aside from me really, he has nothing to do with anything you do, except for one thing, or... one person, I should say..."
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed, though not in anger, he didn't think. It almost looked like he were in physical pain, in fact. And this only confirmed the younger man's suspicions.
"I mean really, that alone should have tipped me off right away... I guess you're right about me being an idiot for taking so long to figure it out..."
"To figure what out?" Kakuzu stated then, making Kisame's relaxation dissapear for a moment.
He stared quizzically at the old man, was there something more? Was he not making it obvious enough? There really wasn't anything more he could do aside from just say it out loud, which would undouptedly humiliate the old man beyond repair. Unless that's what he wanted him to do, but Kisame didn't think that was it.
Was he missing something here?
"Well, It's... the kid right? That's been bugging you?"
"Yes, you idiot. But it's more than that. I already told you he'd been doing a fine job at work. It's not even him that's the problem... even though it is..." He trailed off, looking down at his beer bottle in thought, swirling the contents of it.
Kisame stared at him, confused. Well yeah, he knew it wasn't the kids fault, it was Kakuzu's fault, he couldn't sleep because he was so mad at himself for feeling the way he did, it wasn't as if Kisame didn't know that already...
Oh wait.
Duh.
Kakuzu didn't know that Itachi had caught onto them long before. He didn't know that the Uchiha had enlisted his boyfriend in the struggle to bring them together.
Kakuzu didn't know that Kisame knew. So he thought he was only connecting half the pieces.
Well damn, now he felt really stupid for his fit of laughter earlier. Kakuzu had probably assumed he'd been laughing about something completley different in relation to the situation.
Well shit, now he was stuck at a crossroads. He could tell Kakuzu the whole truth, that Itachi already knew, that he had told Kisame, and that the youngest of the bunch had informed him personally that Hidan was also suffering from this unwanted affection.
He could tell him half the truth, that Itachi had suspected it and mentioned it to him, and that was how he put the pieces together.
Or he could keep playing dumb, and put Kakuzu through the embarrassment of having to spell it out for him even though he was perfectly aware. That option would probably lead to another bout of uncontrollable laughter, however, which would end up in Kakuzu storming from the house. And he didn't want that. He wanted to help his friend.
Hmm... What would Itachi do in this situation. Something exceedingly clever and probably somewhat shadey. Something that would somehow gently guide the old miser into some realization without getting himself into too much trouble.
Well... Shit... he wasn't very good at this kind of thing...
He inhaled deeply, then let it out, making a gut decision and running with it. That's what he did, after all. That's how he lived his life.
"I know, man. I get it." He said gently, not breaking eye contact when Kakuzu looked questionabley back up at him. "I do. I'm not that dumb."
The elder man's brows furrowed slightly, and Kisame rolled his eyes. "Are you gonna make me say it out loud? I though I'm supposed to be the immature, squeamish one here! You like him, don't you?"
The Doctor remained silent, though he was grinding his teeth, and gripping the glass bottle so tightly in his hands that Kisame was slightly fearful that it might shatter.
"Yes." The tanned man said through clenched teeth.
"Hey man, it's okay. Don't be so pissed at yourself. It happens, it's part of being human, you know? You can't always control the shit that goes through your mind. Stop freaking out."
"Quit speaking to me like some child that needs consolment. I'm not a fool, I'm fine with not being in complete control. That's not what the problem is here."
"Well then what is it?"
Kakuzu's head snapped up to look at him, his glare so full of rage that the younger might burst into flames if such a thing were possible. He didn't answer right away, sitting there grinding his teeth, and stiffly finishing off his beer and getting another one.
Kisame didn't stop him, now that he understood what was going on. Hell, he'd pretty much done the same thing when he first found out he liked Itachi. It was different, though. Because previous to that, he'd been straight. Kakuzu had apparently been bi-sexual for a very long time. So obviously it wasn't the shock of realizing he liked someone of the same gender. And apparently it wasn't the fact that he was feeling emotions he couldn't control. But what the hell else was there for him to be so upset about?
Kakuzu sighed, bringing the younger out of his thoughts. The man's posture had relaxed significantly, and he stared absently at the flickering television, still muted. "It won't go away. It gets worse and worse every day. Every time I hear him speak, every time I have to look at his accursed, idiotic face!" He looked up to Kisame, surprising the man with the desperation in them. It was slight, but it was there. And Kakuzu was never a man to allow weakness to outwardly show.
"I know infatuation, Kisame. You and everyone else may think me a heartless bastard, but I've held a few childish little crushes in my younger days. They were easy to ignore, I had more important things to attend to anyway than raging horomones. They went away easily enough, and they never manifested themselves in physical ways." He explained. The oceanic man was pleased that he'd finally started talking, as hard as it still seemed. The man was coming to life more and more with each word he said, like some small burdon he was unloading off himself. He grabbed himself another beer, still listening attentively.
"There are always attractive people I see throughout the day. I've never given them a second glance." he puased to take a drink of his beverage. "Never, not once, have I ever had a problem like this. Not in all my years... I can't get it to stop. It's the most infuriating of all. Not the notion itself, the fact that it's happening now, after all this time. And with him of all people. It couldn't be with a respectable woman closer to my age..."
He looked wearily at Kisame, who suspected that the quickly consumed alchohol might finally be making an appearance, as all the man's walls seem to be weakening.
"I'm not a believer in love, Hoshigaki. But that doesn't mean I'm opposed to it. The idea has always been beyond my ability to grasp, and so I never paid any mind. I love a lot of things; money, respect, my work, having a successful business... I'm not incapable of enjoying things, and I've even enjoyed the compony of others from time to time. But people have never been my fortee. I've never been faced with this, I don't know how to handle it."
He finally stopped, warring internally with something that Kisame couldn't even begin to imagine. He was taken off-guard completley now, hearing the closed-off Kakuzu Hoku speak out loud about topics like this. He didn't really know how to handle it either, but he knew he had to do something.
Kisame was no expert with relationships either. He struggled just as much with them, though in a completley different way. Unlike his old friend, Kisame had always been friendly, he'd always had an easy time communicating with others, he'd never been a detached sort of person. But he could empathize completley with how the Doctor must feel.
He'd watched him for so long, not really thinking anything of it, never wondering if Kakuzu had ever actually wanted some kind of deep, romatic relationship. He was always so sure of himself, never expressed anything of the sort. And so the scarred man had dismissed it without a second thought. He'd thought to himself on that night at Itachi's apartment, that this was exactly what the man needed, his own itachi Uchiha, he'd reasoned. But he hadn't considered how it would affect him to actually have the event come to fruition.
"Heh, I thought you said you didn't have any more surprises." He muttered, absently taking a drink of his own beer.
"Imagine that, the boy's made a liar out of me too.." Came the melancholy reply.
Kisame chuckled a bit, bracing himself. Alright, he had to help now. He had to say something to comfort the man, to be honest and straightforward. No offense to his boyfriend, but Itachi's devious methods didn't seem like the sort of thing that would help at the moment.
"Okay. Well, my friend, This is what I understand from what you've said; You don't mind having a thing for the kid, the part that bugs you is that you're ashamed of yourself for wanting it the way you do. Am I right?"
Kakuzu took a moment to consider this before giving a solemn nod.
"Well, like you said, it's not going away. It's keeping you up at night, driving you crazy, so you can't just let it continue on like this. Do you want my opinion?"
"Only if it is not the usual idiotic blabbering you usually go on about."
Kisame smiled, the man was already coming back to his senses. Good. "Alright. Then here it is; make a move." He stated simply, reclining back to a comfortable position on the couch, taking a sip of beer and regarding his friend cheerfully.
"Make a move? That's your advice?"
"Yep, take it or leave it. I don't see any other options at this point." he said, shrugging one shoulder, ignoring the death glare he was receiving. "You work with the guy, you can't fire him, he ain't gonna quit. Emotions like that aren't going to just go away when you have to be around him that often. You obviously can't ignore it, so the only thing to do is to do something about it."
"That's the most rediculous-"
"No it's not." Kisame said. "You remember all the stuff you said to me when I was having that meltdown about Itachi? Well, think about that. This situation is completley different, yeah, but it's still kind of the same. So make a move."
"And what move and I supposed to make, exactly?" Kakuzu mocked.
"I don't know dude. That's up to you. But think of it this way! The kid only has two options, just like I did when Itachi kissed me. He can either go with it, or reject it. If he goes with it, you're both happy, if he rejects it, he'll probably finally quit, and then you can get on with you life and get over him. Either way, it looks like a win-win to me." He took a drink of beer to shut himself up now. He was very close to informing Kakuzu of what he knew about Itachi's roommate; that he secretly liked Kakuzu back.
It was actually really simple, despite the commotion. He only had to get the stubborn old man to do what he was suggesting. He knew without a doupt the kid would probably embrace it. And his heart was heavy with hope that it would happen. If Kakuzu was feeling this strongly for the kid without them even being involved together, it had to be something special. Maybe it would get the guy to start enjoying life a little more.
But that was the only problem, getting the reserved man to come out of that dammn forcefield he had set up around his emotions. Getting him to expose himself long enough for something to get done about it.
"It's not that simple, you dult." Kakuzu finally countered. "You're not taking into account that the boy is twenty-two."
"He'll be twenty-three in a couple days." Kisame said simply, smirking.
"That makes no difference. He's still over twenty years younger than me. And he's a man. I may not have a problem with it, you may not have a problem with it. But What do you think the inhabitants of this town will think when they hear rumors that I'm with a child, a male child. What do you think that's going to do to my reputation, my business? That damned neighbor of theirs was willing to find another doctor just over the fact that I was working with him. I'll lose half my clientel if they find out I'm in some twisted relationship with the idiot!"
Kisame was silent now.
Shit, he hadn't thought of that...
"This is not just a matter of lust and love, Kisame. It's not one of those rediculous movies you and that Uchiha boy watch. There is no clean way to do what you're telling me to do. There are going to be repercussions to deal with."
Kisame's mouth bobbed open and closed as he tried to come up with something to calm the man. He was right though, He and Itachi had more or less had to keep their relationship mostly a secret. And he didn't have his own business, he didn't have a reputation anywhere near that of Kakuzu's to live up to. He was just some guy that worked at the courthouse. Itachi himself received enough flack for being so open about his sexuality, God knows he'd gone through hell throughout his life because of it. And even now he was still looked down on for it.
His dear old friend might very well be run out of town for it, if he lost enough business...
His heart sank deeply now. Damn, and he'd thought he'd been doing such a good job...
He opened his outh finally to reply, when his cell-phone suddenly went off. Kakuzu glared down at his pocket where the sound was emitted from, and Kisame sheepishly fidgeted to pull it out.
The caller I.D identified it as Itachi who was calling, and he looked hesitantly at Kakuzu.
"It's Itachi."
"Well? Go ahead and answer it. But this conversation stays between us."
"Yeah, of course. Don't worry about him finding out, Kakuzu, I wouldn't do that to you." He assured, sliding the green circle across the screen to answer the call. Kakuzu leaned back on the couch after getting himself another beer, meanwhile.
"Hey Angel, what's up?" he said into the receiver, ignoring the eye-roll from his friend.
"Are you busy?" Itachi's gentle voice asked quickly.
His eyes flicked nervously over to Kakuzu, regarding him in stoic silence. he held up a finger to the man, and pushed himself from the couch, making his way out of the living room, down the hall, and into the bathroom, being sure to lock the door behind him.
His lover seemed excited about something, and knowing him, it was most likeley about Hidan. He didn't want to risk the older man accidentally overhearing whatever it was that might be said about him.
"A little bit. I have Kakuzu over, But we're just chatting. What's up?" He asked again.
"Dr. Hoku is there?"
"Yeah."
"Why? I thought he never came to your house anymore."
"He's having some problems, needing to get out of his house for a little bit."
"I see. Can he hear me?"
"No, I'm in the bathroom now."
"Perfect. Absoloutly perfect." Itachi laughed a little bit on the other end of the line. Kisame raised a brow the his reflection in the mirror.
"I need your help." The Uchiha continued. "Hidan has requested to go out on the town this weekend. I want to throw him a party, and I want you to invite Dr. Hoku."
"What? Why? When?"
"Well, I want to do it tomorrow. His birthday is actually on Monday but I'm not going to assume Dr. Hoku will let him have the day off, and I don't want to do it on a Sunday night since they both have to work the next morning."
"Well, That makes sense and all babe, but what are you planning?"
"Hidan has finally stopped pretending I exist, and has shared some interesting information with me. He's gradually accepted his feelings for the Doctor, I think it's to the point where he's desperate for something to happen."
"Oh really?" Kisame said, wanting desperatley to tell Itachi what he'd learned, but not daring to betray his dear friend like that.
"Yes, so I'm going to throw him a party at the Pool Hall. He's going to skip his medications, most likley get himself so drunk that he won't know what he's doing, and I want the Doctor to be there. Knowing Hidan, he'll be too inebriated to stop himself from making his affections clear to the man."
"Okaaay. Well that makes sense in theory, babe. But how exactly do you expect me to convince Kakuzu to go to the kid's birthday party? You know, he's not exactly... Well. I don't know, I don't think he'll go for it." And he didn't, though a few ideas were popping up in his head now. Itachi really was an evil genious, and his timing couldn't be more perfect.
"Just do whatever you have to do! This is the perfect oppurtunity, Kisa! We can't just let it slip by!"
"But i thought you said we weren't going to meddle anymore..."
"I know what I said. I lied. Hidan needs help, he's too damn stubborn to do anything on his own, and it's starting to affect him badley."
"Yeah, I bet so..." Kisame said without thinking, then mentally kicking himself.
It was a good idea, really, but he was feeling guilty now, what with the observation Kakuzu had made still fresh on his mind. IF they kept up their meddling, and did acheive their goal, what would it mean to his dear old friend? Especially out in public, at a party. What if Hidan humiliated the old man? It was a perfect oppurtunity alright, an oppurtinit for things to either go wonderfully right, or terribley wrong.
"So you'll do it then?"
He reached up to scratch the back of his head, grimacing at his reflection. "I'll give it a shot, you know I can't say no to you, babe. But I'm not going to garuntee anything. I'm not so good at this manipulation stuff, and Kakuzu isn't as easy a target as the kid..."
"That's all I ask of you. If it doesn't happen, then it doesn't happen. But I simply can't sit by and do nothing any longer. We left it alone for this long and look what's happened? Nothing."
"Yeah... you don't think maybe it's a bad idea though?" He asked nervously. "Don't you think we should leave the decision to them?"
"I'm not going to force them, Kisame. Just give them a gentle nudge in the right direction. If they reject each other, then that's that. I won't intervene anymore. But this stalemate they're locked in isn't healthy on either of their parts. I just want everything to be out in the open between them, they're both so stubborn, you know. Nothing will come of it if we don't use a little pursuasion."
Kisame sighed, surrenduring. "Yeah. Alright. I just don't want anything bad to happen..."
"What are you worried might happen?"
"Kakuzu is just..." He stopped himself, clenching his eyes and fists. "He's going through some stuff..."
"What kind of stuff."
"Stuff he doesn't know how to deal with."
There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment, before Itachi's gentle voice came ringing back, blowing Kisame away once again with his keen powers of observation. "He's talking to you about Hidan isn't he?"
"I uh... can't say."
"Ah, I see. you're forbidden to tell me. That's good of you Kisame, you're a wonderful friend, you know? But that just makes it all the more important that we get them together."
"Well yeah, but... You know how people are, Baby. How they treat you and me, you don't think those two are going to have an even worse time of it?"
"I've taken that into account, Kisame, you've nothing to fear. I'll do everything in my power to keep them from suffering any humiliation. You and I will both keep a close watch on them during the party, I'll already have hidan on a very tight leash. Just because he hasn't taken his medication doesn't mean it's not still in his system. Consuming alchohol might have no effect at all, or it might have a drastically profound one. So I have no plans of leaving him un-monitered. And if, by some miracle, they decide to pursue each other, we will help them."
Kisame chuckled. So Devious, his Angel was. "I never can argue with you.."
"So you're okay then?"
"Yeah. I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you Kisame, you're so good to me."
"Awe, what can I say? I'm a hopless romantic."
"And that's what I love about you. I'll let you get to it. Hidan's retired to his room again, So I'm going to make a few calls and set everything up."
"Alright, text me with the details."
"I will. Good night."
"Sweet dreams, Angel." I love you... He wanted to say, but didn't. they'd only been dating a few months, he'd wait a little while longer before making such proclimations. He wanted to be sure of his own feelings, after all.
The line clicked, signaling the end of the call, and Kisame put the phone back in his pocket, sighing heavily and staring at his reflection in concern.
.
After useing the bathroom, since he was already in there, he returned to the livingroom, giving Kakuzu a reassuring smile as he seated himself back down. he didn't wait for the man to ask, as he probably wouldn't, because that's just how he was.
"Itachi's planning a party for the kid." He said nonchalantly, grabbing himself another beer and opening it up. "Tommorrow, he thinks, at the pool hall."
"Why would I care about that?" The Doctor grumbled back, and kisame noticed two more empty bottles on the table in front of him that hadn't been there when he'd left.
"He wanted me to invite you, cause the kid doesn't have that many friends, you know."
Kakuzu scoffed and took another drink. "As if I'd be caught dead."
"I told him you'd probably say that. But it got me to thinking, you know, this could be your chance."
He receiving a quizzical stare.
"Well, you know, he's going to let Hidan drink. That's why he wants me there, to help rein him in if he gets out of control. If the kid gets drunk, you could maybe make that move we were talking about without worrying if he'll remember it in the morning. People are more honest when they're drunk, then you can at least find out-"
"Are you proposing that I take advantage of him?"
"What!? No! Nothing like that! What I meant was like, you could just mention something to him, you know. I'm not telling you to take him in the back and have your way with him, you old pervert."
Kakuzu rolled his eyes, taking a drink. "You really think I'd do something so foolish, Kisame? You don't know me that well after all."
"Well, I just figured you could at least get something from it. A little peace of mind at least, maybe you could start sleeping again, get yourself put back together. Isn't that what you want?"
The older man didn't reply, seeming to think it over. Kisame smiled, at least he put the idea in his head, and thank god for the alchohol, he was sure it was making things easier.
"At least show up, man. 'Tachi's gonna give him his present. I guess the kids been secretly learning to play, maybe he'll play a song or something. At the very least, you can watch him make an ass of himself."
Still no answer, but he let it rest. The stubborn old man wasn't saying no, which was a good sign.
"Just something to think about, I'm not gonna drag you there. But anyway, let's talk about something else awhile, huh? We sound like a couple of girls..."
"I couldn't agree more..." Kakuzu ground out.
"Cheers." Kisame said happily, holding out his drink. His elder friend stared at hi blandly for a minute before extending his own bottle, clinking it against Kisame's.
Well, that was about the best he could do, as promised. The rest, he supposed, would have to be left to the hands of fate. That didn't stop him from hoping though.
-o-
A/N-
WHHAATT? Another chapter!? Already!?
You bet your sweet ass there's another chapter already. This one was also kind of done in a rush, so forgive the millions and millions of typos there probably are. i wanted to get it done though, seeing as I've kept you all waiting for so long. x3
I'm soooo super excited for the next chapterrr, I bet you all are tooooo. The slow progression was so worth it though, right? I personally think Kuzu is a-fucking-dorable, but that's just me.
So, I love you guys!
Reviews will help convince Kuzu to go to the party, so don't be stingy. e_e
See you next time!