FOLLOW YOUR ARROW
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"I'm still mad at you for not fucking telling me." Tayuya said, taking a long drag of her third cigarette since they'd been sitting in the grass in front of the apartment. Depending on who you asked, it may or may not be bad, seeing as they'd only been sitting here for a little over two hours. The apartment was locked, and like a dumbass, Hidan had left his pathetic little keyring with all of two keys on it somewhere inside, most likley in the pocket of a pair of dirty jeans.
Itachi still wasn't answering his phone, but it was pretty nice out, and though they were both exhausted and slightly hungover (Or at least it was 'slightly' for Hidan, Tayuya looked like a zombie) they didn't mind. They had the guitar at least to keep themselves occupied, and Hidan sat beside Tayuya with it in his lap, having been receiving a lesson from the pinkette before her sudden outburst.
"Not telling you what?" He said, despite having a pretty good idea of what she was talking about.
"Don't be stupid. You know what I mean. You and your boss have a thing, don't you?" She said, twisting her index and second finger around themselves, light teasing in her voice despite the sullen sort of air she was giving off.
He resisted the embarrassment and nodded, pretending to focus on the notes he strummed to avoid looking at her.
"That's what you two were talking about in back huh? Your roomie wouldn't let me go back there. I thought it was kind of wierd for someone like him to come to a party. He doesn't strike me as the partying type." She let out a long stream of carcinogenic smoke, closing her eyes as she did so.
"He's not, really." He mumbled, purposeley avoiding the clarification that they had not been just talking. "He was drinking though. Fucking scotch, of course. He's such a stickler."
"Mm, a stickler that you looo~ooove." She laughed, shoving him lightly.
"Tch. Don't fucking ruin it with that word."
"Oh please. I'm a girl, Hida. I can instantly pick up on these things. You had a crush on him, and I caught him drooling over you before you woke up. Itachi mentioned something about you liking someone but he played it off like he didn't know for sure. That fucking weasel. Did he know this whole time?"
Hidan shrugged, setting the guitar aside to pluck her Camel lights from her lap and light his own cigarette. "Kind of. That asshole's the one who tricked me into realizing it..."
"Well what the fuck? You're embarrassed to tell him you're learning guitar but you can tell him you've got a crush on your oldass boss? And It's opposite with me huh, how come you didn't fucking tell me?"
"'Cause it's not anyones damn business!" He snapped. Why did everyone seem so fucking interested in this? "The only reason 'Tachi knew is because he basically fucking orchastrated the whole damn thing. He knew before I even fucking knew. Otherwise no one would have fucking known." And then nothing would have happened... A voice said in his mind. So thank God that manipulative bastard knew...
"You... are an enigma. Hidan San." Tayuya said somewhat mysteriously, blowing out a final cloud of smoke before flicking the smouldering filter out into the street.
"What the hell is that?"
"It means you don't make sense."
"Tch. I'm not supposed to, I'm crazy, remember?"
Tayuya scoffed, "You're no more crazy than anyone else. They're all just better at hiding it." She reached over to scoop up the Guitar, reaching into her shirt and into her bra, Hidan assumed, looking away quickly, and producing a pick. Then she started strumming out fast notes that he recognized as another of Mumford and Sons songs; I will wait. They both shared a mutual love for that band, it was mostly the banjo, they agree'd. But their lyrics were always perfect too.
He said nothing more, mostly wanting to avoid the subject. It was sort of like his not-so-secret secret. This needs to be kept quiet. Kakuzu had told him. And so it would be. Despite his outburst when he first heard that, he was kind of happy about it now. He didn't want to explain to people anyway, And then there was all the other bad things that could happen once society found out. But the biggest reason being that this development was theirs. Tayuya and Itachi could know, but he'd make sure they never really knew. And these two also were probably the only people in the entire would that wouldn't judge him horribley for it, or go blabbing to anyone with functioning ears. So he supposed it was okay to clue them in. After all, they were his best friends.
"See, 'cuz if I had known, then I could have had you sing a song that would be much more suited for your first performance, seeing as he had conveniently gotten there just as you went on." Tayuya apparently wasn't done talking about it, however. And he rolled his eyes.
"And what song would that have been, Pinkie Sensei?"
"Counting Stars, OneRepublic."
Hidan blinked. He knew the song, he knew it well. It was one of his favorites. "Damn... That would have been perfect..."
"Right?"
"How the fuck do you even... What the hell? All my friends are mind-reading wizards!"
Tayuya only stared back at him in amused question. He started to explain, instead he motioned excited to the guitar and flicking his cigarette butt out into the street. "Just play it. I'll sing. I wanna see how I'd do."
"You sure are fucking confident all the sudden. I think I may have created a monster."
"You're damn right you did. Play."
She clicked her tounge, stopping in her strumming of 'I will wait', adjusting her grip on the guitar, shifting it so that she could tap the edge of her shoe against the body for the beat, and began playing the tune.
"Latlely I been, I been losing sleep... Dreaming about the things that we could be." Hidan started right away. He wasn't going to give her an explanation as to exactly how on the mark that song was, but saying the lyrics out loud might give her some kind of hint. And even if all of that were moot, it was still a damn good song.
"And baby, I been, I been praying hard... Sitting, no more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars... Yeah we'll be counting stars."
Losing sleep, praying, the reference to money. Right off the bat it was like this song was made specifically for he and his boss. His nose wrinkled a little at this thought, because, just like Tayuya, he hated when people tried to signify that they somehow owned a song just because they could relate so deeply to it. But damn it all if that wasn't the case.
Tayuya paused in her notes to slap her hand on the guitar every so often to emphasize the base in the song, humming the musical notes in that prodigy-like way that made even this unprofessional performance seem all the better. Hidan hit his his own hands against his thighs and clapped in time, a smile working it's way across his face as their eyes met, Tayuya mirroring his grin.
"I see this life, like a swingin' viiine. Swing my heaaaart across the line. In my face is flashing signs, Seek it out and ye shall find- Oooh, But I'm not that old. Yoouung, but I'm not that bold. And I don't think the world is sold, on just doiiinnng what we're told..."
He hated it and loved it at the same time for it's perfection. Damn, why the hell hadn't he thought to sing this one instead? Fuck you life, fuck you alchohol. When the hell were they going to start coming out with time machines?
"And I~I-I-I-I-I feeeel something so right, doin' the wroooong thiiing. And I~I-I-I-I-I feel somthing soooo wrong, doing the riiiight thiiing."
Tayuya gave him backup singing, harmonizing perfectly except when his voice broke because he couldn't sing quite as high as he needed to on certian notes. A thought briefly crossed his mind that they could totally be one of those people that did song covers on Youtube*. But then he slapped the thought away internally, as he'd always thought (despite secretly enjoying some of the renditions people came up with) that most of those were just attention-seeking idiots that didn't have the guts to just go out and become actual singers.
"I could lie, could deny, cou-ould li~ie... Eeeverything that kiiills meee makes me feel alive."
From there they bursted into a chourus, Tayuya singing along with him in a female accompanyment that honestly sounded better than the original song in his opinion. They both closed their eyes, focusing on the music and feeling it in a way that most everyone did when they connected with a song like that. And he found himself deleriously happy that he could actually do this with someone. Itachi liked music, but would never sit here and jam with him. Shark-dick apparently played the guitar, and though the jolly scarred giant would probably play with him, he wouldn't likley sing with him and wouldn't feel it in the same way that he did.
"I feel the love, and I feel it buuurn. Down this river, every turn. Hope is our four letter word, make that money, watch it ! But I'm not that old. Young, but I'm not that bold. And I don't think the world is sold, on just doing what we're told."
Only another crazy person that had been through such similar situations as him could share this so beautifully. And though he'd never regretted his decision to contact Tayuya, mainly because he'd never expected her to turn out to be such an awesome friend, and certianly never expected to be able to hang out with her again face-to-face, he was undeniabley happy that things had played out the way they did.
Despite that catastrophe last night had turned into, he was glad. He was content. And this settled within him, forcing to push away all the annoying little demons in his head that whispered to him that things were going far too well in his life right now for them to continue in such a way.
He could be happy. It wasn't such an outlandish thing anymore. Karma was finally giving back all the joy she'd kept from him throughout these twenty-three years of his life. It was a forceful thing, and yes, it would come to an end. But the thing he was finally figureing out, the ingredient to the recipe of life and this pursuit of happiness was what all the sappy sayings and all the motivational quips had always told him all throughout life. These three things; You have to enjoy the present, True friendship burrows deeper and lasts forever, and nothing is impossible.
"Take that money, waaatch it burrrn. Siiink in the river the lessons I've learned. Take that money, waaatch it burrrn. Siiink in the river the lessons I've learned. Take that money, waaatch it burrrn. Siiink in the river the lessons I've learned..."
Tayuya abruptly stopped playing, the entire world seeming to go quiet in anticipation as they grinned at each other. And with one more deep breath Hidan sang the last and most resonating line that applied directly to his own life, the very words he'd said himself on multiple occasions "Eeeveryyythiiinng that killlsss meeee... Makes me feel alive."
The actual song went on to repeat the chorus a few more times, but they ended it there for the fact that they suddenly heard someone clapping. After a confused glance to each other they both twisted around to see Hidan and Itachi's below-deck neighbor standing behind them, sucking on a cigarette of his own in his lips with one eye squinted to keep the smoke from his eyes.
They stared in slight embarrasment and confusion at the bearded man as he finished his clapping, then plucked the cancer stick from his mouth and laughed.
"Very nice Hidan. I didn't know you could sing. Then again you always play your music so loud that I wouldn't be able to hear you. It's nice to know you have talents, now I can actually argue with Kurenai when she starts her bitching. I can say 'You just wait until he's rich and famous and then you'll be eating your words.' Is this your girlfriend?" He said, not pausing before he walked over and extended his hand down to Tayuya.
Hidan's face screwed up. Did this guy normally talk a mile-a-fucking-minute? He didn't see him as the type.
"He fucking wishes I was." She said back, giving the albino a 'What the hell?' glance before reaching up to shake his hand. "Tayuya Oto." She said, letting a falsley friendly smile rip across her features.
"Asuma Sarutobi. Pleasure." He said, pausing only to take a drag of his cigarette and put his hand in his pocket. "I remember the days of jamming out with my friends. I couldn't resist coming to check you out when I stepped outside and heard what was unmistakabley a karaoke session. You're both very talented."
"Tch. Creeper." Hidan muttered, turning away and only earning a laugh from his neighbor.
"Young love. I forget that there's still life going on outside my own. You'll learn that when you have kids, Mister San."
"HAH! God forbid there are ever mini Hidan's running around. The would wouldn't fucking be able to handle it." Tayuya laughed, apparently ignoring the young love comment in favor of teasing the halfway sulking man beside her.
"She suits you." Asuma said, staring in amusement at the two.
"She's not my goddamn girlfriend. What the hell do you want?" He finally interjected, upset to have the moment ruined by this asshole's attempt to act like they were on good terms despite how he and his dumb wife or whatever the hell she was constantly trying to get he and Itachi kicked out.
True, he'd never really actually had any sort of prolonged contact or conversation with the man. He'd only heard his roommate speak of him and his whatever-she-was. But that just made this encounter all the more wierd. He'd never made any sort of attempt to be friendly with him before, why now?
"Hm. That's what they all say. Like I said, I was just investigating. I'll be on my way." Asuma turned around and began to walk off, then stopped and turned on heel again. "Say, Kurenai will probably have my ass for asking this, so for the sake of my ass, I'll ask Tayuya singularly; You any good with kids? Young kids? Babies, to be specific."
She and Hidan exchanged an 'Are you serious right now?' glance before she turned back to him. "Err, no. Not really. I'm from out of town anyway so..."
"Ah. Alright then. No harm in asking, I tell myself. One can only deal with a sleep-depreived woman and a newborn for so long without a break before tearing their hair out. And I'm rather fond of my hair. Male-pattern baldness doesn't run in my family, I'd like to keep it that way."
"Wow... Thanks for that fucking image..." Hidan muttered, for some reason thinking of Kakuzu, shuddering.
"Maybe pass the note along to Mister Uchiha that I'm looking for babysitters? He's dating that Hoshigaki fellow right? Surely he can help me find someone Kurenai doesn't detest... Which I've found is rather difficult."
Hidan blinked. Damn, gossip sure got around fast in this fucking town, didn't it? Itachi and Shark-dick had been very careful not to have any public displays of affection until last night, which meant no one could have known until then. He was somewhat pleased that the man didn't seem to be disgusted in any way with his best friends relationship, however. And strictly because of that he nodded to him, hoping he would finally get the hell out of here. "Yeah, no problem."
He made a mental note to himself to be extremley careful about how he and Kakuzu acted around each other when prying eyes might lurk about. That kind of gossip would spread like fucking wildfire.
Fuck. He really hoped he didn't fuck this up. 'This' being the relationship he was pretty much just assuming actually existed between he and his boss, seeing as there hadn't really been any sort of out-loud, spoken agreement on either of their parts. Even though he knew it did, as the old man hadn't said a single word about that last little goodbye kiss.
He smiled to himself, resisting the urge to lick his lips at the recollection. The reaction the Doctor had given him was priceless, and made a shock of victory shoot through him to know that he alone possessed the power to render the man shocked and speechless in anything other than anger.
Tayuya tsk'd as she watched Asuma walk away, un-twisting her body and absently playing a few disembodied notes. "That poor man. His woman sounds like a raging bitch. Sucks to be in that situation." She looked up at Hidan, smiling lightly. "Thank fucking God I don't have to deal with that shit anymore. Nothing in the world is worth that bullshit."
"Tch. Then why the fuck did you marry that tool?" He asked, referring of course to Tayuya's ex-husband, his mood brightening again now that that idiot was gone and more than happy to be off the subject of he and Kakuzu.
"Shut up. I was a sixteen-year-old runaway. Nieve and stupid and love-struck."
"Tch, there's that word again. You couldn't have just married him and not known he was secretly a fucking lunatic."
"Oh, you know what they say. People change." She said this sort of quietly, returning her focus to the instrument in her lap, playing a tune he didn't recognize.
"'They' also say that's not really true." He replied, plucking at a few strands of grass, wondering idley where the hell that damn Uchiha was. It was almost 2, for fuck's sake. And he didn't really want to get too deep into this topic. It was a touchey subject, and being the woman she was, it made Tayuya sort of moody. Every time she'd been forced into talking about it at the mental hospital where they'd met she had either launched into a fit of unbridled rage or shut down completley, refusing to do anything other than glare angrily at the wall for hours on end. "People don't change. Besides, not being who you are is like one big fat fucking lie anyway. Like Kakuzu, I'd rather him be a fucking dick to me, cause that's just how he is. It was the wierdest fucking thing whenever he tried to be nice. Seriously." Ne mentally kicked himself for bringing up their relationship again. Damn, this might be harder to keep quiet than he thought.
Niether of those outcomes seemed particularly appealing, at any point in time. Mood swings were one of the damn reasons he'd lost interest in women. But the subject kind of made him embarrassed, seeing as he'd originally been doing that very thing (Pretending to be someone else, not being moody. Though he did that a lot) when he and the doctor had first met and he'd took his first step onto this crazy rollarcoaster his life had been recently. "People don't change. They just get bored." He repeated, not exactly sure where in any of the existing levels of hell that random declaration came from, but thinking it to be a brilliant conclusion, at least in regards to Tayuya's past situation.
She gave a breath of laughter that was almost more like a sigh, turning to look at him in a way that gave him the impression she was once again bothered by something, trying to cover it up with humor. "How the fuck do you explain your stupid ass then?"
He opened his mouth to ask what, exactly, she meant by that, but once again that roommate of his seemed to read his mind despite the fact that he was not around. The conversation ended there when his phone violently erupted with an annoying generic ringtone that he had picked only for the fact that all the other tunes the phone came with were even more annoying.
"Fucking wizards, I'm tellin' ya." He said with a grin, fishing the device from his pocket and flipping it open without checking to see who it was. Who the hell else would be calling him, after all?
Itachi's voice immediatly rang out before he could even say anything. "Hidan! What's wrong! I have fifteen missed calls from you and ten from Dr. Hoku! Are you okay!? What happened!?"
"Ahh, not much. I almost died, but what else is new?" Since when does Itachi have Kakuzu's number? Hidan doesn't even have his fucking number!
"WHAT!?"
Hidan laughed, glancing at the pinkette beside him only to see that she had returned to not paying attention. "Calm your tits, 'Tachi. I'm alive, obviously."
"What, happened, Hidan." Itachi said slowly in a forboding tone, though it really didn't seem like an apropriate time for Itachi to be angry. He decided to humor him, knowing he was going to freak out anyway.
"Ahh, I guess my liver decided it didn't like me all the sudden. Kakuzu made it his bitch, it's working fine now. I feel awesome, please don't freak out, kay? It's cool now."
"How on earth is it cool!? Oh my God I-... I'm so sorry Hida you seemed fine and- Dammit. Where are you?"
"In front of the apartment. Oh hey, if you're done getting screwed can you hurry the hell up and come home? I kind of locked myself out."
"My God I can't believe you're so casual. Kisame!... I'm leaving... I'll explain later, where's my coat? I'll be there in just a second Hidan. I'm on my way now." Ooh yeah, He forgot about Shark-dick, Kakuzu had probably called him, Itachi just made it seem like he was the one who received the call. That made him feel better, though he hadn't really felt bad, just mildly irritated.
"Hey, Mom? Seriously, calm the hell down. It's fine. You're gonna make me start throwing up again if you flip your shit."
"It is absoloutly NOT fine! I'll be there in a second." He repeated, and the line went dead.
Hidan lowered the phone and stared at it wearily. "Well...fuck..."
"He's 'flipping his shit' isn't he?" Tayuya said, smirking, apparently over whatever funk she'd briefly been in.
"Yeah, dammit. He's going to race over here and look me over and ask a million questions and probably fucking blame himself and apologize a million times. Goddammit, I hate when he gets all goddamn maternal on me. Which is all the fucking time anyway..."
"You're so rude, You albino fuck." Tayuya said. "He just fucking loves the shit out of you. You should be glad. Does he know I'm here?"
"Oh... whoops. I forgot to tell him. He won't care though."
"Well maybe he won't make a scene in front of me. It is kind of fuckin' scarey though, if I hadn't been there I would have flipped my shit too."
Hidan rolled his eyes, snatching up the pack of cigarettes and swiping another one. He'd get her a new pack before she left, he still had a hundred-plus bucks left from last night that had never gotten spent. He could spare it. "It's really fuckin' not though. You know how many times I've ended up in the hospital from shit like that? 12. One for each mental hospital slash rehab. This makes 13, which is supposedly unlucky, but here I am. I'm obviously fucking immortal."
"Or goddamn lucky. Again I present the question of your ethnicity."
"Oh my God. Shut the hell up."
"Well, come on. You have to admit. I mean, like, come on. Who the hell else tries to die thirteen times and never suceeds?"
"I was never trying to die, dumbshit. I just wasn't trying very hard to live. I didn't purposely fucking shoot up heroine thinking 'Yes, this will fucking kill me and that is why I'm doing it.' Don't be fucking stupid." Was that a lie? He didn't know, those had been dark times that the majority of had been spent in non-sobriety. It was hard to recall his exact thoughts, but he didn't think it was a lie.
"Well forgive me for mixing up your blurred fucking lines of rationality."
"And this last time was a complete and total accident. It doesn't fucking count."
"Meh. Whatever. Let's not talk about death huh? I'm too hungover to put forth the energy to be depressed."
Hidan started to bicker further with her, but he was suddenly kind of exhausted as well. Which was wierd, cause he'd just slept the sleep of the dead no more than a few hours ago. And he was kind of thrown off by her wierd damn mood, she was being awefully surrenduring wasn't she? Or maybe not, maybe it just seemed that way because she wasn't talking in her usual sharp, demanding sort of voice.
The depressed comment bugged him, even though he tried to ignore it. He may be a dense fucking idiot but there was no mistaking that she had something on her mind. Half of him was curious, the other half just wanted her to go the hell away before she silently guilt-tripped him enough to inquire. If it was about him almost dying, he was going to start getting pissed.
Really, it wasn't even that big of a deal.
It had happened more than enough times before, but what he'd left out of his explanation to Tayuya is that each and every one of those times, though he hadn't been lieing when he said he'd not intentionally been trying to kill himself, each of those times he had been confused as to why on earth God kept saving him. And, if each and every one of those 12 near-death experiences didn't kill him when he was all alone in the world, with no reason to live, and still he was far too zealous on life even though he hadn't even been trying to be... If he could live through it with no one, there was absoloutly no contest now. Death could not claim him, this much he was sure of.
So bring it on, you big hungry bitch.
-o-
Itachi woke extremley late that morning, which was reason one for his aweful mood. Reason two being that he hadn't slept for almost two days and only getting 6 hours of sleep was more of a kick in the balls than any sort of comfort. Reason three, though he knew what happened the night before at the very moment he became concious, before his eyes even opened, he still couldn't even seem to remember most of it. And this was in the sense that he could see the images and what had happened as if he had watched some sort of movie, (or in this case would it be a porno, starring himself?) but where had all the emotion and wonderful blissful feelings gone? Surely a lack of sleep couldn't ruin that amazing beauty... at least he remembered thinking it was beautiful. Again, he couldn't really recall.
The fourth reason, though it was technically the first as it was his first thought upon waking up, he was grumpy didn't hold fast but it scared the everloving shit out of him despite the fact that the fear was completley irrational. He had rolled over in a half-concious state, trying to find that radiating souce of heat that had kept him so unequivically comfortable all night, and only flat mattress had greeted him. So he rolled the other way, still accomplishing nothing except to tangle himself in the blankets. He'd reached out an arm, brows creasing though his eyes still had not opened as the portion of his mind that was vaugley aware of what was going on informed him that whatever he was trying to do was a futile effort until he woke the hell up, and that he was alone in this bed.
He didn't want to wake up, but dammit, he couldn't find that giant warm boulder that had been next to him all night long. And he needed it to continue his sleep, obviously, or else he would not be awake. That was logical, right?
After a few more minutes of blindly reaching out and feeling around he finally managed to conclude that the heat-rock had vanished, and that because of this he would no longer be able to sleep. So he slowly let his eyes peek open, confused only for a millisecond as to why he was not in his own bedroom. This moment of course was where he was frustrated to learn that his memory had failed him. But more importantly, his rock was gone.
Kisame. Where the hell was he?
He sat up suddenly in bed, intantaneously groaning and flopping back down to the mattress when extreme nausea and a headache that could single-handedly destroy mount olympus (Bloody hell he was so hung over he couldn't even form coherant simile's) raged through his skull.
"Kisaaaaa..." He groaned, very near to bursting into tears, mainly for the fact that he couldn't fucking remember! It wasn't fair, it really wasn't. He knew it had been other-worldly, but it was gone. He didn't feel any different. Weren't you supposed to suddenly become a completley different person or experience some great holy epiphany when you made the realization that you found your soul-mate?
"Kisameeeee..." He moaned again, not even careing that he sounded dangerously similar to a dyeing cow.
Oh God if that oaf left him here all alone he would see to it personally that his reproductive organs never funtioned again.
Muffled footsteps sounded into the quiet room, and the door squeaked open, making Itachi happily eat his words. He looked up at the man, regaining a little bit of that warm, fuzzy, adoration in his heart as his eyes lit on the scarred man's smiling face. The tease of that sort of brought back last nights sensations, but not in full-bloom, as he desperatley wanted.
It's alright. He's not going anywhere. There's time to do it again.
"Well good morning sunshine." He laughed. "I thought I heard you but I didn't know if you were awake. You always talk in your sleep?"
"Kisa... I believe I may pass away soon. Please write me a beautiful eulogy, and leave out the sex. I wish to be remembered as who I was, not who I slept with. Though I can't imagine anyone would blame me." He said, far too exhausted to even pay attention to the words that came out his mouth, and directly avoiding the sleep-talking comment. He didn't normally have a habit of it, but yes, he'd been informed by Hidan on several occasions that he liked to have arguments with invisible enemies.
Kisame just laughed heartily, and when the edge of the mattress sank down he re-opened his eyes that he did not realize had closed to look up at him, unable to resist a smile.
"You're definitley out of it." His lover observed, wrapping those wonderful arms around him and dragging him up to a sitting position to where his back rested against Kisame's chest. "Here ya go, Angel."
Itachi resisted complaint even though his body protested the movement, sending his vision swirling in nausea, and instead twisted himself to face his lover and wrap his arms around his middle. He glanced at the IbProufin Kisame extended to him and made a childish sound of rejection before burying his face in kisame's clothes, inhaling his scent as deeply as he could.
"I need to vomit before I take any medicine, or it will likely just come back up as soon as I try to stand."
"True. But no one said you have to get up yet." Kisame said softly, squeezing him and eliciting a groan from the younger, who was suddnly aware of his nudity, but pushed it from his mind in the same instance. He'd been self-concious enough last night, really there was no reason to be any more.
"It's late. I need to get up and go make sure Hidan made it safely home, and return the keys to the 4H building to the courthouse. And shower, most importantly. Please don't give me any hints as to how I look. I feel atrocious."
"You're always beautiful babe. Don't worry so much. It's only noon, you've got the rest of the day. You did more than enough taking care of the kid for one weekend."
"Hn, and you're so damned comfy." He said, squirming to press himself harder against the man, his body shaking in time when the larger chuckled.
"Well I made coffee. Anything edible sounded aweful, I figured you'd probably feel the same, so the coffee's it. Got plenty of water you can go chug, and the drugs are here whenever you're up to it."
Itachi managed to force out a half-groan of agreement, trying to think straight through the blistering headache wreaking havoc on his brain.
It was worth it, he told himself. There was no contest, what with Dr. Hoku and Hidan finally getting together, and Kisame finally overcoming all his insecurities. The night had been perfection surpassed by perfection, despite the foggyness of all the parts he wanted desperatly to recall with precise clarity. Kisa had made that beautifully romantic, public gesture of his love, and then lived past expectations during the latter portion of the night. He really could just lay here against the man like this forever, horrendus hangover or no.
But, he needed to check on Hidan. The oceanic man was absoloutly right that he'd done more than enough for his room-mate, but the circumstance would not end until Hidan woke up safley. He had drank more than Itachi last night, but the Uchiha liked to think he had kept a close second, possibley third, depending on how that Tayuya girl had done. He hadn't paid much attention to her though, so he would assume he won second prize. And if he was having this aweful of a morning, Hidan was probably worse-still.
Right, so, step one, go throw up. Step two, get rid of the hangover. Step three, shower. And the rest would happen as it happens.
"Where are my clothes?" He said into Kisame's stomache.
"On the floor where you left them."
"I believe you were the one who removed them. So the correct phrase would be where you left them."
"How right you are. You're not going to put them back on just yet are you?"
"Not until I'm clean. I may require assistance though."
"And maybe some air. Can you breathe like that?"
"I don't need air. I have you." He said, pushing himself off and taking a deep breath despite the statement, now that he realized it was rather hard to inhale with your face pressed into someone. "Kisame..." He said, looking up at the beautiful man, who was gently laughing again and running his hands through Itachi's hair, staring at him with those endless black pits that he had for eyes in such affection that it made his heart swell.
"Yes, my Angel?"
"... My ass... really hurts."
.
After a bout of uncontrollable laughter, which Itachi couldn't help but to join in on briefly until his nausea took hold of him, he was helped to the bathroom where he took care of steps one through three. Kisame left him to his own devices at the Uchiha's encouragment, as he really didn't want to have the man witness him being so disgusting. And nearly an hour later he emerged with dripping hair and a towel around his waist, his headache mostly gone and the urge to vomit relentlessly dissipated completley.
The older was still in the kitchen it seemed, the smell and bubbling sound of a fresh pot of coffee slammed into Itachi and prompted him to take a few steps down the hall toward it before he regained his senses and whirled back around to get dressed.
He considered just borrowing some of Kisame's clothes, as his felt entirely too disgusting though really there was no reason for it. It wasn't as if Hidan wouldn't be able to immediatly guess what he'd done after leaving the party, if he wasn't aware already, but unfortunatly he was 'small' as everyone so kindly informed him, and Kisame was 'big'. And he didn't really want to feel as if wearing a circus tent when he greeted the world outside. If he didn't have to return to his apartment it may be a different story, but appearance was important. And just like last night, he did not want to give any of the inhabitants of the town that might be looking any more reason to think him a slut.
Without actually looking at his phone, he slipped it into the pocket of his slacks and made his way into the livingroom to indulge himself with what Kisame had once called 'The nectar of the Gods' not all that long ago. He laughed a little to himself at how very true that was. For some reason that he didn't understand, but still embraced, Coffee was often the first thing one with a hangover reached for. This didn't actually make any sense seeing as a hangover is created from the dehydration that the alchohol causes in the body, and coffee did the very same thing. So really it just made things worse. But, as he said, he was victim to the strange myth as well. So he proceeded to make himself a cup.
Most of the half hour they spent sipping on their coffee was filled with lighthearted teasing, fond glances, inappropriate remarks, and laughter. And his bad mood had all but disappeared. He was just preparing to announce that it was time he returned home to the man-child that was most likley wallowing in misery until Itachi arrived to take care of him when Kisame pulled out his own phone, pushed on the power button and dropped his brows in concern and confusion.
"...Hey, didn't Kakuzu take the kid home last night?"
"He assured me he would, yes. Why?"
"I have like, ten missed calls from him..." He replied, turning his phone to show his list of missed calls that featured the name 'Kakuzu' over and over again until there was no more room left on the screen.
At this point Itachi's heart felt as if it might just explode right out his chest as terror iced through his veins. He frantically struggled to pull his own phone out, sliding a finger across the screen to unlock it and choking out a panic'd sort of noise when he read the words '15 missed calls.'
The first thing he did was find out why the hell they had been missed, infuriated for a second to find that somehow his cell had been turned to silent mode, as he didn't remember doing that. For a second the thought flashed through his head that maybe Kisame had, to keep from getting any interruptions, but he immediatly pushed that from his mind before he had the chance to jump to conclusions. Kisame would never do that to him, he'd probably just moved in some wierd way or sat on it wrong while he was drunk.
The second thing he did was clarify that all the missed calls were from who he suspected they were. 'Hida' showed against and again on the screen, looking exactly the same as his lovers phone with the exception of the name displayed.
"Oh God..." He breathed, unable to advert any more energy into the words due to the panic. Kisame instantly leaned across the table and grabbed the Uchiha's forearm.
"Now calm down, babe..."
"Don't tell me to calm down. Never tell someone about to have a panic attack to calm down."
"Just don't jump to conclusions, maybe he and Kakuzu had some sort of fight or something and, like, I don't know, maybe he wanted a ride..."
"He would not call me fifteen times just because he wanted a ride."
"Just keep your composure. He's a grown man, he can take care of himself for one fucking night, surely. Let me call Kakuzu first and see-"
Itachi did not hear the rest as he had already pushed the re-dial button and had the phone up to his ear. He glanced up briefly at the sheek digital clock on Kisame's kitchen wall. It was nearly two in the afternoon. The first call stated that it had occured mere minutes after he'd left the party, the last one having been missed only an hour and a half ago.
With every ring his chest twisted tighter and tighter. Oh God, what if he had some sort of accident, what if there was complications due to mixing his prescriptions and alchohol, what if he was in the hospital in a coma, and all because of Itachi. No, no no no, he'd watched him so closley all night. If that were going to happen surely it wouldn't have waited until the very second he deemed Hidan okay to be left alone.
Please no...
What had he been thinking. DAMN! He should have just waited until Monday, kept him off the pills for a few days. Oh God no, what if he was.. was...
His breathing started to accelerate despite the fact that he was only on the third ring. His fingers tapped in rediculously quick sucession against the table, Kisame only stared at him in concern. Tears were starting to well in his eyes by the fourth ring, if he reached the voicemail and Hidan didn't pick up and he couldn't hear his voice and know that he was alive and breathing, even if he wasn't alright, he would likley launch himself into a frenzy.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
His eyes flicked to Kisame, who didn't move or change his expression or do anything at all except stare back. The Uchiha knew that the big man's concern was most likley mainly just for him and the reaction he was having, but he pretended just for the moment that his lover was just as concerned for his dearest friend as he was.
His heart leaped into his throat when someone finally picked up on the other end of the line. He didn't wait for anyone to say anything as he felt like he was quite literally about to die of a heart-attack, and launched immediatly into a fenzy of panic-filled questions.
.
Hidan had been the one who answered, Thank God. He'd calmed down significantly as soon as his roommates voice filtered into his ears, but that didn't stop the gnawing guilt and lingering terror that continued to envelop him at Hidan's rather unspecific recollection of what had happened. He assured himself as he rushed around looking for his coat that once he had a full explanation, surely he would feel better, that surely this was not completley and entirely his fault as he felt it was, despite Kisame continuously trying to assure him otherwise even though Itachi really hadn't even explained what the hell was going on.
It wasn't that hard to connect the dots, really, seeing as he'd stated the possibility of this situation repeatedly to the man who had served as his bouncer for the whole of the night. Why the hell the seriousness of this outcome had not struck him sooner, he did not know.
Damned humanity, we never realize the enormity of the concequences of our actions until we're in the midst of dealing with them.
And especially with that lecture he'd given Hidan all those months ago when he'd pulled that little stunt with the Parrot Bay that had actually just been water, how could he have... God! How could he be so stupid?
"Where the hell is my damned jacket!" He half-shouted after scurrying around the room like a blind rat in his search, only to whirl around and find Kisame standing behind him, staring in guilty amusement with the article of clothing in his hand.
He stopped after seeing the man's expression, anger bubbling up in him for the fact that everyone seemed to be so nonchalant about the fact that his dearest friend in the universe had nearly just died thanks to Itachi's negligence. But the Uchiha, being the therapist that he was, was not one to normally act on such impulses, as words said in anger did more damage than most actions. This he knew personally.
So he closed his eyes, trying desperatley to collect himself with a few deep breaths, before calmly reaching out to grab the coat and slip it on.
"I'm sorry Kisa... I just..."
"I know babe." Kisame said, stepping forward to cup his chin. "But everyone there had a part to play. Don't go blaming it all on yourself huh? He sounded like he was doing just fine."
"I know... I know... I just... I just need to go make sure."
"Everyone makes mistakes, Angel. It turned out okay."
"You.. don't understand, Kisame. Everyone I've held dear previous to this left me because of careless mistakes that turned into tradgedies... I know I'm over-reacting. But I can't help it." Tears stung just behind his eyes, and he tilted his head up further too look at the ceiling as he fought to resist them. "It's petrifying. My family disowned me, my brother won't speak to me, I've lost countless friends, but they're still alive, at the very least. If I lost Hidan..."
Get a grip Uchiha, this is no time to wallow in self-pity.
"I understand more than you think. I'm an 'over-emotional idiot', as Kakuzu would say, remember?" Kisame said, laughing lightly and hunching over to bring their lips together. "For what it's worth, I think it's sexy, the way you try so hard to protect him. That's just who you are; a protector. But let's go, I'll take you to your car."
Itachi's muscles untensed somewhat at the kiss, he resisted the inappropriate urge to throw himself at the man and demand more, taking a step back and forcing himself to give his lover an appreciative smile. He'd forgotten completley in his frenzy that his car was still out at the fairgrounds in front of the 4H building. Thank God Kisame had said something or he probably would have rushed right out only to have to return back inside to the taller man who would undouptedly give him a teasing smirk.
"Yes, he locked himself out of the apartment, apparently. So we should hurry." He did allow a real smile at that comment. Oh Hidan... He could bounce back from anything.
.
.
Seeing Tayuya sitting the in grass next to the pale man when he finally pulled into his designated driveway had not been expected. But he was glad for it, mainly for the fact that he could only assume the girl had likley stood next to him during the entirety of what happened. Despite their strange sort of friendship, he knew they were close. She was just as easy to read as Hidan, mostly. Aside from being more clever and possibley more intuitive, she wore her thoughts and emotions out on her sleeve in the same way his crazy roommate did. And though he really knew absoloutly nothing about the girl, she didn't seem to be all that bad of a person. Abrasive and over-bearing, perhaps, but she had a good heart.
So he was comforted by the assumption that both she and Dr. Hoku had been there for Hidan in his absence. And of course he had calmed down considerabley after Kisame's gentle coaxing and the tandom drive first to his car and then to the apartment. Apparently the Doctor had managed to get back to his vehicle, as it was missing from the parking spot it had been in last night. He could only assume Hidan had come with him, as the guitar that the albino and Itachi alike had forgotten was missing from his backseat, where Kisame informed him he had left it.
Hidan's clear apprehension also served as a mental relaxer as he got out of his car and their eyes met.
At least for the first five steps, it did.
Then he threw it to the wind and pretty well leaped the remaining two feet and tackled his favorite idiot to the ground, wrapping his arms around his pale neck and fighting as hard as he could against the relieved sobs that threatened to burst from him. They would go unappreciated, but damn it all, he couldn't help himself. Hidan of course started letting out strings of swears while Tayuya snorted and snickered and then 'aawwee'd' in the background. He ignored both of these things though.
"I'm so sorry Hida." He said, surprised at how his voice remained calm though he had fully expected it to come out in a sobbing, pathetic whine.
"Goddamit Uchiha you're making a scene, you fucking woman!" Hidan shouted directly into his ear as he tried to pry the smaller body off of him.
He did pull back, now sitting on his knees. Reached out to firmly grip his friends shoulder when he also returned to a sitting position and brought his face close. "Absoloutly no more drinking. Ever. I shouldn't have let you do it in the first place. I'm sorry." He said again.
Hidan only scoffed and slapped his hands away. "Motherfucker I can make my own goddamned decisions. And it wasn't the fucking alchool anyway, it was the pills you goddamn sadistic Shrinks force me to take! Kakuzu said so himself!"
"Don't be rediculous, it was a combination of both. And it wasn't as if your liver was in the best of shape beforehand anyway. Dr. Nara said your enzymes were rediculously high last time they did an evaluation." He said, leaning backward to situate himself so that he was sitting cross-legged. He rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his entwined fingers. "I want the full story. Details."
"Well you'll have to ask Pinkie cause I was fucking unconcious for most of it. All I know is one minute I'm good and the next minute I'm hooked up to fucking machines and shit and then I woke up in the clinic to this bitch's annoying-ass voice."
"Oh you love the melodious sound of my voice, fuckface." Tayuya retorted.
Itachi nodded at his summarization, not believeing for even a second that it had been all that sudden, but he wasn't anyone to disagree, as Hidan had been acting perfectly fine the last time he saw him anyway, and then twisted himself to face Tayuya. "Please use your melodious voice to explain what happened."
Hidan made a noise that signaled that he was attempting to stifle a laugh, and the girl was obviously taken a little off guard by his words, blushing the smallest bit before giving the albino on his other side an ugly glare.
Itachi had not been so drunk as to not remember that she had some sort of infatuation with he and Kisame. It was awkward, a little bit, but he was still gripped in warring emotions of worry and relief and anger at himself to concern himself with the fact. And he was still grateful for her presence, though he was slightly curious as to why she was present. However he wasn't going to get into that until he had heard the full story.
"Well, It's pretty much what that idiot said. We were waiting on a cab outside with his boss and he was acting kind of wierd and so I asked him if he was okay and he said he was fine like the dumbshit he is, and then his boss said something about his liver and then he kind of just collapsed. So I'm guessing it probably wasn't all the sudden like he said but you know, it was sudden for me 'cause I didn't know what the hell was going on." She spoke matter of factly, shrugging at the last bit as if it were no big deal. Itachi took a second to send his roommate a disapproving glance, to which he only received an eyeroll, then gestured for her to continue.
"Then the cab got there and we hauled his stupid ass inside and his boss starts checking his pulse and shit and we went to his little clinic and Kakuzu- That's his name right?- Yeah, Kakuzu got him all set up on the little podium thing and started putting an IV in him but Hidan started freaking the fuck out and made him miss his mark or some shit and so we had to kind of fucking strap him down and that just made him flip out even more. He woke up every so often and kept freaking out so I calmly tried to explain to him what was going on-"
"Calmly! Bitch you were fucking yelling at me and making it even worse!" Hidan interrupted loudly.
"Well I had to fucking yell so you could hear me over your goddamned screaming!"
"Bullshit I didn't even start freaking out until you wouldn't let me get up!"
"Because you had a goddamned needle in your arm you would have ripped it out and bled to death you fucking dipshit!"
"Excuse me." Itachi said quietly just as Hidan opened his mouth to shout back. "Save the argueing for after I've been fully informed of the situation please. Continue, Tayuya."
"'Tachi she's making it out so much fucking worse than it was. Seriously."
"Are you calling me a goddamned liar!?"
"Children!" Itachi snapped. "For the love of God, it's not as if either of you are in trouble. I just want to know what happened. Hidan, please, hold your interruptions until she's finished."
"Tch, whatever." Hidan mumbled, looking much like a pouting little boy as he crossed his arms and directed his gaze to the street. The Uchiha could sort of understand, his friend was obviously very concerned about the whole deal being blown out of proportion, though really it was being treated like just the opposite. He had already told himself that he wouldn't humiliate the poor guy any further by 'flipping his shit', especially after Tayuya had mentioned Hidan's little panic attack during the midst of the situation. It was probably why he was so reluctant to talk about it, he was just embarrassed at showing his vulnerability, as he always was. It was the same reason the oaf couldn't ever just come right out and talk about his feelings on most occasions, despite knowing full-well that Itachi wouldn't think any less of him for doing so.
He was concerned now, of course. And admittedly Tayuya's explanation wasn't nearly as detailed as he would have liked it to be. For instance he'd like to know exactly what Hidan had been saying and why he had 'freaked out'. But that was more or less just curiosity, it didn't matter in the grand sceme of things. It wasn't as if he was oblivious, he could sort of figure out that Hidan had likley been under the impression that he'd had another overdose or something to the matter. The man had been through plenty of those in his life previous to when he showed up on the Uchiha's doorstep, and so the raven-haired man had no way of knowing exactly what had been going on. Despite the fact that he was curious, a part of him also didn't want to know. Hidan had made nothing but improvement since he'd moved in, aside from the occasional emotional setback, nothing like this had ever happened under Itachi's watch. And knowing the kind of trauma it likley put the poor man though, despite being played off as 'no big deal', well... it made him feel more guilty than ever.
"Well, anyway. That's pretty much it." Tayuya continued, just as vauge as the rest of the explanation had been. "I woke him up around eleven I think, and he was better. So His boss got us all in a cab and took us back to that building and then we hopped in his car and he dropped us off. Tried to get inside but this shit-for-brains remembered that he left his keys in his other pants, and so here were are."
"See, no big deal. Everything's fine." Hidan added.
Itachi sighed and turned back to him, forcing himself to give the man a smile. "Yes, it's fine now. I'm sorry, Hidan. For not being there with you. I watched you like a hawk all night, I thought the danger had passed."
"Would you stop with your fuckin' apologies? Damn. S'not like it hasn't happened before."
"Not because of me, it hasn't."
Hidan hesitated, seeming to finally consider his roommates feelings on the matter. He shrugged and reached to rub the back of his neck. "It's okay, 'Tachi. Really."
"Yes. It is now. I am glad Dr. Hoku was there. I likely would have been a blubbering, useless mess had I been in his position."
"Tch. Probably. That's why it's okay though. Besides, " He said, grinning. "No party in my name is complete without a little bit of fuckin' chaos."
Itachi laughed despite himself. "How very true. At least you enjoyed yourself before that aweful mess."
"FUCKING HELL DID I!" Hidan said, flailing a little bit now that the awkward moment had passed and his excitement poured back into him. "Am I a badass or what!? I thought I was going to get fucking raped there for awhile. Those bitches were all over my shit!"
"It was indescribabley amusing, yes."
"Pisses me off though. Everyone treats me like shit and then suddenly I'm the coolest motherfucker on earth. As if I wasn't all a-fucking-long."
"I'm sure your popularity sky-rocketed now that you've made your debut. Soon we'll have fan-mail and fangirls trying to break down our door."
"Cocky bastard." Tayuya interrupted. "Too bad you're taken huh? Mister fucking goddamn Uchiha, were you aware that he and his boss have a 'thing'?" She said, twisting her fingers around each other. "Don't fucking answer that because I already know you did. You goddamned little liar. You tricked me!"
Itachi smirked at her but kept his lips sealed, turning then to Hidan who was also smiling. Aside from he and Kisame's little adventure, that occurance had been the highlight of his night. Not so much the whole 'walking in on them' part, but just that it had finally happened, and how very alive and happy Hidan had been afterward. Even now the man was almost glowing at the very mention of it.
"Yeah, yeah. It's a fucking secret though okay? So shut the hell up about it." Hidan stood up then, brushing the grass off himself and grabbing his guitar. "People in this town don't know how to mind their own goddamned business. I don't fucking like people sticking their noses in mine. Speaking of which, Uchiha, it's apparently all around fucking town that you and Shark-dick are screwing."
"What!?" He yelped, standing up in time with Tayuya. How the hell could anyone possibley know that!?
Hidan only gave him a mischevious grin. "Aaahh, so you did get laid last night. Explains where the fuck you were this whole time. Gross. Can we go inside?"
He stated toward the door, with Itachi jumping into step behind him, panicing a little bit yet again. "How do you know that everyone knows?"
"The fucking neighbor asked me to tell you to tell your fuck-buddy that he's looking for babysitters a little while ago. He's like fucking Kakuzu's age, if he knows, everyone knows. These old codgers aren't so good with the internet and all that shit, seriously."
Itachi relaxed a little bit now as the trio ascended the steps up to the front door. Oh, the town didn't literally know that they'd finally taken that step. He was just referring to the fact that his relationship with Kisame had been made public. And he didn't doupt that everyone knew, he'd lived in this town his entire life, excluding the few years he'd been banished to college, he knew very well how fast word traveled. People had nothing better to do with their time anymore than give their unwanted opinion on the lives of everyone around them. Small towns were nothing more than a giant, glorified high school.
It didn't bother him so much now. As he'd learned repeatedly in high school that the spotlight would be removed from he and Kisame in time, as soon as the next gossip-worthy scandal occured. It was his boyfriends idea to make their status common knowledge, and though part of him was still apprehensive about it, there really wasn't anything to be done about it now but accept it and ignore whatever grief they would surely receive for it.
At least Tayuya was keeping blessedly silent. He was moderatley embarrassed now, that Hidan had done that in front of her knowing full-well of her little fangirl-like crush on them was insensitive, but he couldn't possibley even think to bring himself to be sore with the idiot, considering what had happened.
It was still a good day, despite the terrible night that had given way to it. As they say, it's always darkest before the dawn.
-o-
A/N-
Lol, so before I say anything else, let me say first that I realize Kurenai is not a raging bitch in the anime. I don't have anything against her, really, It just makes for a more intersting story. I probably should have stated that a lot earlier, but oh well.
Secondly, I want to make it very clear that I'm one of those people that complelty submerges themselves in the character (or how they imagine them to be, whatever) while they're writing. I don't actually share every single random opinion that the characters have, though I do sort of impose myself on them a little. I mean, it happens. Creative freedom. For example, I'm a woman, so obviously I don't think women are useless things. That would be stupid. But on other instances like the type of music they like, yeah, that's me.
Speaking of which, I'm kind of pissed that I didn't think to have him sing Counting Stars. I fucking love that song, but it didn't occur to me how goddamn wierdly it connected with the story. Lol. So I just worked it in here. Go listen if you haven't heard it.
And before everyone starts freaking out, this is still KakuHida. Don't jump to conclusions just cause Tayuya and Hidan are spending time together and Kakuzu is making assumptions. It kind of spoils my scant few plans for future chapters to explain that to you, but I don't want any more misunderstandings.
With that out of the way, let me just say FUCK. Why do I always write these wierd filler-ey chapters where nothing fucking happens even though shit totally does happen? I don't know. I'm not all that sure how satisfied I am with this one. My brains been kind of fighting me every time I sit down to write, probably because I've been jacked up on a constant influx of coffee for like the last three days straight.
OH SHIT! Also, I sould have said this like four chapters ago, but miss KitchenSinkOfDoom Made me a little bit of fanart, but like the wonderful person she is, denied her reward of having a request. So modest, that one is. :) It's on her deviantart if you'd like to go check it out. ; kitchensinkofdoom. deviantart art/ Follow- 441906084.
Youtube*- I don't own that shit.
Alright, so forgive typos, don't forget to review, love you guys, and I hope you're still enjoying!
See you next chapter.