When they were younger, Shiori often listened to Miyako and their other friends talk about finding an extraordinary kind of love. They gushed about the red string of fate leading them to the respective men of their dreams. They squealed at the thought of seeing fireworks on their first kiss. The handful of them who were from shinobi clans, Miyako included, fantasized about handsome shinobi saving them from some life-threatening predicament.
"It adds flavor to the love story," one girl said. "Sharing a dangerous experience strengthens the bond shared by two people."
They spoke of lavish weddings and the beautiful woes that came after. They wished for a lot of things, all of them extraordinary.
These childhood memories came back to her while she stared at the lines and dips of Itachi's back. They had made love again that night, an act which was becoming more and more frequent. The aftermath had lulled the young man into a peaceful slumber. Shiori, on the other hand, was kept awake with the noise inside her head. Though they had been sort-of-dating for quite some time, they had only gotten this intimate for over a week. Some nights she still found it hard to believe.
She could brag about this to her peers back in Shimogakure. All the factors that they said made up a wonderful romantic story were gradually ticked off in a span of over three years. And on top of that she had achieved these so-called milestones with a shinobi royalty (An S-rank rogue ninja who wiped out his entire coup-d'etat-planning clan, sure. But still a shinobi royalty right?)
Shiori was glad that Itachi couldn't read her thoughts so readily. She would never admit it to him or to anyone else but he was not the man of her dreams.
Not by a longshot.
Her Mr. Right had dark hair but the similarities ended there. In her mind he was a farmer with the greenest thumb in the Land of Frost. She could almost see him in the field, wiping clammy sweat off his brow while smiling at her behind the fog of his warm breath. Oh, there's that. He smiled easily. Not a dubious smirk which could mean twelve different things but an honest smile that would light up his entire face. Her perfect romance meant being able to hold hands with her koibito in public. This guy didn't have enemies which hated him enough to want to kill him so there was nothing to worry about. Mr. Right rarely spoke in phrases with double meanings. He was smart but not all-knowing and she would eagerly teach him a few tricks of her own. In another life, she would have married him in a small ceremony attended only by their closest friends, her mother, and his large family (she just knew he came from a large family). And after that they would live in a small house which she helped him build.
At fourteen, Shiori knew that she wanted that kind of life for herself. She craved for normalcy, one that would span for decades until she and her beloved grew old in each other's arms. She had a good dream, albeit a humble one. And staring at the scarred porcelain that was Itachi's back brought back this dream because she realized it was all it would ever be.
There was no growing old with this guy. And by the time their whirlwind affair would be over, she'd be too unrecognizable from who she once was to fit in with normalcy. It's who he was. Though silent by nature, Itachi was nothing short of a hurricane. He often left an indelible mark on the people who got too close to him. And she had come to love him so much that she had willingly jumped right into the eye of the storm.
Pale skin rippled as he stirred awake. In one smooth roll they were face to face. Eyes, which were still bloodshot from sleep, looked at her questioningly. When he didn't get an answer, he drowned her in a tangle of arms and legs.
"Go to sleep," he croaked.
Shiori chuckled at this, amused at the irony of his command. Last time she checked, Itachi was the insomniac one. She had nearly forgotten about this fact from the number of times he had fallen asleep on her. Her thumb ran over the swirling tattoo on his left arm, another reminder at just how far Itachi missed the "normal mark".
"This is unfair you know," he said. The words made his chest rumble. Shiori found the sensation rather soothing.
"Unfair how?" Her fingers shifted and began toying with the ends of his ponytail.
"You get to see my entire life with a kiss but I have no way of knowing what you're thinking this very moment."
There was a long pause. She could feel his arms growing tighter around her.
"Say, Itachi?"
"Hmm?"
"Have you ever thought about what you'd be doing if you were a normal person?"
At this, he peered down to frown at her. She clarified, "I mean if you weren't a shinobi."
"Well, you probably know."
"No, I don't. You rarely think about it."
He sighed. "I'd want to be an builder."
"Seriously?"
"Hmm. I've always wanted to build my own house...and other people's if they let me. If not that then a job which allows me to read a lot."
"Like a scholar?"
"Perhaps."
"A teacher?"
"I don't mind."
Shiori yawned. "Or a librarian."
"Hmm." He yawned.
"A scholarly builder...sounds good."
"Right?"
"..."
"..."
Neither made another sound for a couple of minutes until Shiori began to snore softly.
Uchiha Itachi wasn't the man of her dreams. Far from it. But in the reality that they lived in he was the only man she could think of loving, despite the odds. She knew she'd continue loving him well after she would lose him.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hi guys. Sorry for the late update. I was away from a couple of days. By the time I came back I had another bout of WB, mostly because I've forgotten the events that occured in this timeline (cannon wise). So I've gone and re-watched some of the episodes from the Itachi Pursuit Arc.
I know I said I'll go easy on the fluff now but I realized after reviewing the last chapter that I couldn't withdraw it just like that. Itachi and Shiori are still in this lovey dovey honeymoon-stage and it would be tough to rip them off of each other. Thought it was best to taper it down in preparation for the heavy stuff in the next couple of chapters. For the nth time, I chose a scene where they are half-asleep/sleeping. There's something honest about half-asleep people, I dunno. Also, I think it shows a deeper level of trust for Itachi to completely put his guard down in front of Shiori. He never says it but he shows it. And the female OC becomes this spectator to his most private moments before the events in the manga and anime take place (events which we Itachi fans are too familiar about). Shout out to Ketsui Tasogare, xCutePoison, pmann1, ShawneeSavage and Lil'Conqueror for the reviews. You guys are my heroes ya know?
Hope to hear more from all of you.