Hey all. I know it's been a while. When I started this story I didn't know a thing about romance, personally. That changed and I worried that I had written the story all wrong. I got disheartened, Naruto ended, then I got busy, Boruto began, and then I got heartbroken and I just kinda figured people wouldn't be interested in this story anymore it had been so long since I updated last.
My writing style may have changed and I'll have to reread the whole story again (instead of skimming it and rereading chapter 23 alone) so it feels continuous. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.
7:03AM.
ITACHI OPENED HIS EYES, RESIGNED TO THE NOTION that he would not be sleeping in any longer. His body naturally awoke at 7am everyday no matter how late he went to bed. He could feel the yearning for sleep behind his eyes and in his bones but his mind was alert and he'd only toss and turn if he stayed in bed any longer. Might as well get up and do something productive. He'd be irritable either way so what did it matter?
In the bed opposite to his own Deidara slept soundly. Itachi had awoken periodically throughout the night to make sure his roommate's breathing was steady – anaphylaxis was no joking matter. Each time he was relieved to find Deidara's chest rising and falling from beneath his electric blue covers until he woke up a few hours later to check again.
Itachi pulled back his covers and swung his legs out and over the side of the bed. Deidara's long blonde hair splayed all over his pillow like it always did. His facial features were relaxed, a sight Itachi didn't often see. Watching Deidara sleep was not on his to do list any day of the week so he never paid much attention to it before.
"Good morning." He imagined Deidara mumbling with a pleasant smile, followed by a slow yawn. With a sleeping face like that, it wasn't implausible.
Or would he be annoyed? "Take a picture, yeah. It'll last longer." He'd mutter as he curled into his blanket and turned to face the wall. That was more like the Deidara he knew.
What if Itachi were someone else? What if he were Sasori? What would Deidara say then? "Fuck off, yeah!" Or something close. Maybe coupled with a coy smile and the middle finger. They had that sort of relationship from what Itachi could tell.
He rose to his feet, crossing the tiny room in a few short strides to his closet. Deidara was fine throughout the night when Itachi was asleep mere feet beside him. He'd be alright if Itachi walked down the hall to take a shower and get ready for the day.
When he returned he found Deidara curled up facing the wall. Sunlight streamed through the open blinds and onto the spot where Deidara's head had been before he left. Itachi must have forgotten to shut them before meeting with Kisame the night before and hadn't thought to close them when he returned late last night.
He closed the blinds and pulled a chair up to the side of Deidara's bed. He extended an arm and lightly shook his shoulder. "Hey."
An elongated groan emanated from beneath the covers. "Whatttttt?"
"How are you feeling this morning?" Itachi asked, his hand still resting on Deidara's shoulder.
"That's what you woke me up for, yeah?" Deidara spat and violently shook him off. "Leave me alone."
Itachi silently considered Deidara's words, playing them over in his head before answering "I know it's early but I don't want to leave you alone without making sure you're okay first."
Deidara growled and shifted his body so that he was sitting up to face him. "Why do you care?"
Had Itachi went to bed at a proper time he might have had the patience for this. "I care because you called me to pick you up from a party and made me think you were drugged!" He seethed.
"Then don't pick up the phone next time! See if I care!" Deidara retorted and pulled the blanket over his head to curled up against the wall again.
Just like a four year old who's been denied candy before dinner.
"I don't have time for this right now." Itachi muttered. He stood up, pushed the chair back under his desk and picked up his messenger bag by the straps. "Clearly your throat is fine if you have the energy to argue." He said and left the room without looking back.
When his class finished up at eleven thirty he trekked over to the school cafeteria to buy lunch. There wasn't much variety to be seen during the lunch hour. Ordinarily they served the same few items: pizza, French fries, chicken tenders, quesadillas, and rice bowls. Kisame called them "The Essentials." Itachi called them unhealthy. The hot foods station was the only area that changed their menu for each meal of the day save for breakfast. At breakfast time they were widely known as the pancake and waffle station. For lunch they were serving chicken noodle soup with a side of bread which lifted Itachi's spirits.
Hadn't he and Deidara made up the night before? Or was that the alcohol talking? Was Deidara being sincere or was it just the heat of the moment? Then again Itachi wasn't entirely pleasant this morning either. He wanted to be! He only woke Deidara up to assess how he was feeling. He would have offered to bring him something for breakfast if the blonde had asked him nicely.
"Hey!"
Deidara said he'd only had a small sip. But when had Itachi ever trusted him before?
"How's Blondie feeling?"
He needed to stop thinking about it. Deidara was grouchy and so was Itachi. He'd have to reach out later when they both cooled off a little bit.
"Itachi?"
If he wanted to be true to his words he needed to stop assuming the worst of others. He needed to stop blaming alcohol for people's actions and behaviors. After all, human beings were more complex than that.
"What can I get for you today?" The man behind the counter asked him, snapping him out of his daze.
"I'll take the chicken noodle soup please." Itachi answered him.
"Okay now I think you're really ignoring me." Kisame said beside him.
Itachi stiffened, alarmed to find Kisame's face less than an inch away from his own, then relaxed when he saw the pout he was wearing. "Sorry, I didn't see you there."
Kisame grinned. "Clearly."
"Do you want bread with that?" The man behind the counter asked.
Kisame turned. "Yes, he'll have bread."
"What?" Itachi asked. Before he realized it he was given a tray complete with a styrofoam bowl of soup and a bread roll.
"If you don't want it I'll gladly take it off your hands." Kisame said.
"Stop!" Itachi snapped. "If I don't want it I'll let you know! And if you knew I was ordering you should have waited to talk to me!" The air between them tensed. Though the cafeteria was buzzing with conversation about final exams and homework assignments a heavy silence hung in the air between them. Itachi didn't dare peer out from beneath his bangs to see Kisame's face. Instead, he straightened his posture, inhaled, and exhaled. "I didn't sleep." He apologized without actually apologizing. "I mean, I'm sorry. I didn't sleep." He said. "I didn't sleep well."
Kisame placed both hands on his shoulders and brought his face close to his again. "It's okay. I was there, remember?" He laughed and playfully clapped him on the back.
His soup stirred and spilled onto the floor slightly. "Kisame…" Itachi growled.
"Sorry." He grunted. "It's fine though. Anyways, how's Blondie—" He started to ask when a raucous uproar erupted at the cafeteria entrance.
"Hoshigaki!" Someone called out like a sports announcer.
"The Monster of the Mist!" Someone else growled.
"The Beast with No Tail!" Said another voice.
"The Loch Ness Monster!" Said another.
Kisame chuckled lightly. "Okay that's enough and since when did you guys start calling me the Loch Ness Monster?" He laughed and lowered his voice. "And does the media know? Do I gotta move to a new Ness?"
Itachi didn't need to look to know that the rest of the swim team had honed into Kisame's location. Any other day Itachi might have looked on and watched them interact for a bit longer but today he didn't have the patience nor the desire. He'd met a few of them before when he was over at Kisame's apartment and quickly decided he wasn't a fan.
He walked towards the registers and gave the cashier his student ID card to swipe. "Have a nice day." She said to him in her usual monotone.
"You too." He said in return. He didn't bother to wait for Kisame who he realized had more friends than Itachi did that wanted to spend time with him. Who was Itachi to take that away from him? If he were different – an athlete like them – he might have joined them for lunch. But he was a loner. Solitude suited him just fine.
He found a table situated in the corner far away from their usual spot by the condiments where Kisame frequented because he never got enough ketchup or mayonnaise. Here in the corner he could watch the people as they walked by or read a book uninterrupted. Yeah. He liked that idea. He carefully set his tray on the table, slid his bookbag off his shoulder and rummaged for the book he was reading that he always kept with him if he ever had a moment to himself.
"What was that?" Kisame asked in a huff, dropping his lunch tray onto the table with a clatter "Maybe I should call you the Loch Ness Monster since you keep disappearing!"
Itachi was thankful for the instinct to bring his book to his chest before more soup could spill onto it. A drop fell to his jeans, quickly darkening the denim fabric. He scowled at Kisame.
"Sorry." Kisame said, gingerly producing a full cup of soup and placing it in the space between their trays. "I got you some more. If that helps any."
Itachi smiled slightly at the unexpected act of kindness. "You didn't have to."
"I felt bad." He shrugged. "Or maybe give it to Deidara if you want." He removed his bookbag and settled down in the seat across from him. "By the way, how's he doing? I asked you like a million times earlier and you didn't answer."
Itachi blinked. "Aren't you going to eat with your friends?"
Kisame's smile vanished and his eyebrows knitted in confusion. "What?"
Did he not hear him? "Your friends. I thought you were going to sit with them?"
Kisame shrugged and picked up a chicken tender that had catapulted from his tray when he set it down earlier. "Crap I forgot to get ketchup hold on a second!" He said and darted in the direction of the condiments. "Why did you sit so far away?" He asked when he returned.
Itachi dipped his spoon into his soup and blew on it to cool it down. "I thought you were going to sit with your friends."
The upperclassman's eyes widened with a look of realization and nodded. "The thing is, I see them all the time." He said. "If I want to hang out with you I either have to catch you at lunch or convince you to help me study so…here I am!"
He was beaming as though nothing could dampen his spirit as he happily chomped away at chicken tenders and French fries. Perhaps it was because Itachi was tired that he couldn't fathom how one could be so happy all the time. Nothing ever seemed to bother Kisame who regarded most inconveniences as slight set-backs.
And although Itachi was unhappy with Kisame's decision to spend time with him, he was kind of looking forward to having a quiet moment to himself today. What could he possibly offer Kisame that was more enticing than spending time with other athletes? "Okay."
Kisame laughed and covered his mouth to prevent any bits of chicken from flying out. "Okay? That's all you have to say? Okay? My feelings are hurt."
"I already told you. I'm tired and I'm sorry but I'm not really in the mood for jokes, Kisame."
He expected Kisame to look hurt or embarrassed. To casually collect his things and offer to give him the privacy he clearly wanted because who could blame him after their last few exchanges? Itachi didn't want to force Kisame away but the sour words coming from his mouth said otherwise.
Instead Kisame smiled and continued the conversation as if nothing had happened. "Well I tried asking you about your roommate but you wouldn't answer so I started making jokes instead and now you're getting pissed off at me. Which one is it? Help me out here!"
No malice. No spite. Just a lighthearted plea to understand his mood better which helped ground him. He closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, Kisame. Deidara's fine as far as I can tell. I woke him up to ask how he was feeling and he snapped at me so I'm going to take that as a positive sign."
"That kid." Kisame snickered. "Sounds alright to me too. What about you? How are you feeling?"
That was unexpected. "I told you. I'm tired." What was wrong with him? Kisame wasn't the enemy here so why did Itachi insist on treating him as if he were?
"Besides that." Kisame prompted. "How do you feel about the whole ordeal? You know, Deidara going out to wild parties and going to the hospital and all that? Did you guys talk when you got back last night?"
So that's what he meant. Itachi nodded and cupped his hands around the warm styrofoam of the soup bowl. "Well I'm not thrilled with Deidara's decisions but going forward I think he'll be more careful from now on which makes me feel a little better." He said. Discovering an allergy to food or drinks was never fun but at least Deidara knew what to avoid in the future. "And yeah. He and I talked a little bit last night and basically agreed to mind each other's business."
"Uh-huh." Kisame nodded with half lidded eyes and an expression of boredom Itachi knew all too well from their tutoring sessions. "Did you guys hold a board meeting or did you have a heart to heart? Come on! Don't give me the briefing I want the good stuff!" He complained.
"I told you. I'm tired." Itachi reiterated with a smile. "He apologized for what he said these past few months and I apologized for the things I said and the way I treated him. I'm not going to nag him about the people he hangs out with and he's not going to nag me about the people I choose to spend my time with."
"Such as?" Kisame asked with a single raised brow.
"Such as?"
"Who are you out spending time with besides me?" Kisame laughed loudly and wiped the tears that were forming at the corners of his eyes. "I'm sorry are you telling me you have a group of friends you've been hiding from me this whole entire time?"
Itachi didn't like the implication of his words. Itachi didn't have friends because he wasn't unlikeable or awkward. He didn't have friends because they were an obstacle to the more important things in life like achieving a 4.0 GPA and getting into a good graduate program and landing a well paying job. If he wanted to prioritize friends above his studies he would have but that was not the case here.
Across from him Kisame crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward to take a sip of his soda. He kept his eyes trained on Itachi the entire time, seemingly awaiting his response.
Itachi sighed. He already struck a nerve with Deidara this morning. There was no use fighting with Kisame as well. "Yes, I have an entire underground network of friends I've been hiding from you this entire time." He said in a single breath. "And the reason I didn't introduce you to them sooner is because we like to meet twice a week to read encyclopedias together and share our findings. There. Satisfied?"
That may not have been the most opportune time for Kisame to take a drink of his soda which sprayed across the table into both bowls of soup and across Itachi's shirt. Kisame quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. The look in his eyes shifted from surprise, to elation, to horror in the matter of nano-seconds. "SHIT!" He said and stood up so quickly that his chair made a gut wrenching screech that made everyone in the cafeteria turn their heads. "Shit, shit, shit!" He cried, looking this way and that. He bolted in the direction of the condiments and starting pulling napkins out of the dispenser one hand after the other before racing back and flinging them in Itachi's direction. Most of them drifted to the floor with the grace of falling feathers; one landed in his soup and the other rested on top of his head only to drift onto the floor with the rest. "Itachi I'm really sorry but Jesus Christ I didn't know you had a single funny bone in your body until today! I think I might have pissed myself laughing!"
"Well I have two humorous bones which are connected to my scapula and radius bones, you know." He deadpanned.
By then Kisame, who was on the floor hastily picking up the napkins he dropped was doubled over in laugher and pounding the concrete with his fists. He laughed so hard that his face was turning red and he was practically wheezing. "Did you get funny bone surgery at the hospital last night?"
"Must have." Itachi shrugged. He calmly picked the napkins off the table and chair and piled them onto his tray to throw in the garbage. As an introvert, sarcasm was a bit of a coping mechanism he was physically and emotionally drained. And here Kisame seemed to find his newfound sense of humor unbearably entertaining. Not many people tolerated that aspect of his personality but here he'd found someone who perhaps liked him even more for it.
"Wait," Kisame said, handing him the crumpled up napkins that had fallen on the floor, "here."
Itachi's plan was to throw everything away, including the extra bowl of soup that got caught in the cross-fire. He intended to take Kisame's suggestion of giving Deidara the bowl of soup but thought better of it now. And then there was the issue of his soiled shirt which he wanted to change out of before his next class started in half an hour.
Kisame, however, had other plans. "You're going to throw that away?"
Itachi regarded him with a knowing look, hoping Kisame would realize why he was doing what he was doing.
Kisame's eyes softened in a despairingly kind of way. "Okay, fine, but at least let me buy you another one."
"It's okay I was going to give it to Deidara anyways." Itachi said, waving him off. "You don't need to buy me another."
"But you barely touched the soup you bought for yourself!"
He had a point. "I'll just get a salad." He said, unwilling to make a big deal out of the situation any longer.
"Well if you're going to get a salad you might as well let me buy you another soup instead." He argued.
Which is how Itachi found himself unbuttoning his dress shirt in the middle of the cafeteria, waiting for Kisame to return with another bowl of soup. He was wearing a dark blue undershirt underneath so if he had to arrive to class wearing that it wouldn't be as bad as coming in wearing a dress shirt with nose drippings on it. His hope was that he'd be able to change beforehand but for now this would have to do.
"Two soups?" Itachi inquired when Kisame arrived back to their table.
"One for you to finish and one for you to take back to Deidara!" Kisame explained with unbridled enthusiasm, clearly pleased with himself.
"I'm not sure I can eat all of this." Itachi admitted. Kisame handed him a new spoon which he accepted with a small "thank you."
Kisame's expression didn't change. "Eat what you can and I'll finish whatever's left! Or eat it later! Whichever way works!"
It wasn't what Itachi would have done but he didn't push the matter. Instead, something else had caught his attention that he wanted to address. "Why did you use cash back there? Are you running low on meal swipes?"
"Meal swipes? Ha! I ran out of those back in November!" Kisame laughed nervously. "I live in the apartments so it's assumed you'll spend more time cooking food on a stove instead of relying on the cafeteria food. I get more money to spend at off campus locations and less meal swipes to use in the cafeteria."
"If that's the case then why do I see you eating in the cafeteria everyday? Why not eat lunch in your apartment?" Despite the knowing smile Itachi received in return, he knew little more than he did moments earlier.
"I'm a terrible cook." He eventually said.
Itachi looked him up and down, waiting for a different answer. He didn't doubt Kisame's words but he felt as though there was more to it than Kisame let on. "Do you work?"
Kisame shook his head. "Not while I'm in school. I have a couple of seasonal jobs back home during the summer though that tide me over during the school year."
Itachi couldn't imagine seasonal working paying that highly. "Doing what if you don't mind me asking?"
"Ask away!" Kisame said with a flick of the wrist. "I'm an open book!"
And so Itachi listened to Kisame talk about his job at a surf shop on the boardwalk of a popular tourist destination and the side job as a life guard for a resort. Despite this, Itachi did not feel much better about Kisame spending his money on him when Itachi himself did not have to rely on a part time job for a source of income. Even if the soda incident was Kisame's fault in the first place. "You don't need to spend your money on me." He told him. "And while it's not my place to say this I think you should focus your efforts on learning how to cook. It's an important life skill to have and would save you money. Eating out or even eating here adds up quickly."
Kisame looked down at his tray. "Yeah…I know…" And just like that, his face brightened with an idea. "Maybe you can teach me!"
Itachi chuckled slightly and gathered his soiled shirt and messenger bag from where they sat beside his chair. If he didn't want to balance a bowl of soup on his desk during his English class he needed to run back to his room now.
"I'll pay you!" Kisame added.
Itachi took a deep breath to quell his temper. "I don't want your money, Kisame. I already told you that."
"Then I won't pay you!"
Itachi picked up the extra bowl of soup and placed it on his tray. "Listen, I have to run if Deidara's going to have lukewarm soup for lunch. I'll talk to you later." He said.
A small smile spread across Kisame's face but his eyes held a shroud of disappointment in them. It was faint and had he been anybody else he might not have noticed. But growing up in a family that didn't communicate their feelings with words but instead with looks and glances he considered himself adept at discerning such small changes. Kisame could smile all day but Itachi was beginning to distinguish the complicated emotions lingering behind those vibrant grins and hearty laughs. He didn't yet understand what the upperclassmen was feeling, but with time he was confident that he could.
When Itachi returned to his dorm room Deidara was sitting at his desk, tearing magazine pages to shreds and gluing them to a large piece of sketchbook paper taped to the wall. Itachi ignored the fact that the tape would take up the paint covering the wall and the glue would leave magazine pieces stuck to the desk that Deidara would probably ignore for the rest of the semester along with the microscopic pieces that would litter the floor…Itachi didn't want to think about that. After months of living together it wouldn't surprise him if the carpet on Deidara's side was caked with dirt by this point.
"I brought you some chicken noodle soup from the cafeteria if you want any." Itachi said, placing the bowl on his desk since there was no space to put it on Deidara's side. "I'll set it here for now since you look busy but please don't make it a habit to—"
"Thank God yeah!" Deidara said, nearly pouncing on the bowl the moment Itachi lifted his hand from the lid. "I missed breakfast and have been living off granola bars I found under the bed, yeah!"
Any traces of malice towards Itachi had vanished since this morning leaving him to believe that the blonde was just grouchy from being stirred awake and possibly hangry…Itachi didn't know. "I have to get to class. I'll see you later." He said.
"Wait, do you have a minute?"
Itachi's phone vibrated in his pocket as he yanked a fresh dress shirt from off the hanger in his closet. "Not really. I'll be lucky if I make it to class on time as it is, can it wait til later?"
"What happened to your shirt, yeah?"
"Spilled soup on it." He answered, quickly fastening the buttons. "My soup, not yours."
Three more buttons to go.
"Hey listen, yeah, about this morning, I was mad at myself and took it out on you. I really—"
"Deidara I gotta," Itachi said, pointing at his watch. He wanted to hear what Deidara had to say but he prided himself as someone who was ten minutes early at the very least. Arriving at the last minute didn't suit him and made his heart race in a way that made him feel physically ill. He only hoped that his eyes conveyed a sense of sincere remorse.
Deidara faltered and looked as though he were mentally debating whether or not to tell him anyways. "Sure. Yeah, it can wait." He applied some glue to the magazine shard he was holding.
"Thanks. Talk to you later, I promise." He said and sped through the open door and into the hall.
As he hurried to class he pulled out his phone to check the time only to be confronted with a text message from Kisame. "I'm serious."
He had two minutes to make it to class. The building was fast approaching and he'd have to take the stairs two at a time at this rate. Serious about what? What was he talking about? Itachi wondered and texted him just that. He was so focused on getting back to their room in time that he'd forgotten what they were even talking about last.
"Can you teach me how to cook?"
If any of you comment one thing you liked about the chapter or something that stuck with you it'll keep me motivated to update this monster of a fic. In the meantime, I'm preparing to move across the world so I'll update whenever I can (hopefully once a month we'll see). - thanks again for the lovely review.