A/N: Rar.
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Original Nagato
The rest of that day passed in a fog. The clones did not talk to him about their suicidal plan again; that was good, because he could not have said anything in response. He didn't know what he thought about Yahiko, about self-sacrifice, about anything related to that. His higher mental functions were unavailable to him. He didn't mind this. He couldn't worry about future consequences because he was far too busy thinking Did he really kiss me?!
This one thought repeated over, and over, and over again, each time as astonishing as the first. No amount of training could override the primal human response to love. He kissed me. Did he really? He kissed me. In the outside world, most of a day passed. In Nagato's lived experience, he stayed in that blissful moment and got to feel the joy of it over and over again. A whole day boiled down to a single moment, and that moment was perfect.
He was able to stay in that moment because, just after it happened, Yahiko fled. Nagato did not see his love again until late at night. At the first sight of Yahiko, the moment shattered. Nagato blinked, surprised to find himself in the real world. "Yahiko. Where have you been?" I never realized you were gone.
"Just thinking," Yahiko mumbled. He'd brushed his hands through his hair many times, but scraps of bark still clung. He's been out in the forest. Yahiko glanced at the bathroom door. Their twin room had an adjoining bathroom with a door of its own. There was a shower inside, and it only made logical sense to want to bathe after a day spent traveling who knew where through the forest. But even though the spell had broken, Nagato still was not in his usual logical frame of mind. Fear propelled him to a bizarre conclusion. What does he want to wash off? Me?
"Of course. You must have much on your mind."
"Yeah." Yahiko smiled, just a little. "I'd like to talk about it, after I shower."
Yahiko took a luxuriously long shower: about 15 minutes. Nagato spent that time sitting on the edge of his bed and trying to get his mind in order. Have I been floating on a cloud all day? I can hardly remember events after…after the meeting. Konan spoke to me, but I cannot remember what we talked about. How many people saw me in this condition? Did Hidan see me this way? I remember glimpsing him several times. Could he have been following me? In that state of mind, a four year old child with a limp could have tracked me and I wouldn't have noticed. Oh gods. So embarrassing!
He held his breath after the water shut off. He heard the rustle of the towel, the soft clatter of the towel rack. He's naked right now. No! Don't think that! Too late; every hair on Nagato's body stood on end and his heart raced, leaving him flushed and gasping for breath. He could not have the calm discussion that Yahiko seemed to want. He wasn't sure if he could have any discussion, if he was capable of speaking rather than grabbing Yahiko and kissing him. His skin prickled with desire. He adjusted the lower half of his cloak and crossed his legs, ordering himself to stay seated no matter what.
Yahiko emerged from the bathroom fully dressed except for his cloak, which he left folded on top of the dresser next to the bathroom door. He sat on his bed and rubbed the back of his head. "So, um…"
The kiss. Nagato kept his hands folded on top of his leg for an additional layer of visual distraction. "You wished to speak."
"Yeah…" Yahiko looked deeply uncertain now, though. No visual distraction was needed because he never looked at Nagato, his eyes darting anywhere and everywhere else. "I, um…" He was on the verge of losing his nerve. Nagato felt it just as well as if it was his own courage that was about to fail. A pang of disappointment struck. He's going to put on a smile and fake a laugh and say maybe tomorrow. Pretend that nothing is very serious, that everything is a game, that nothing can be wrong. He's going to go back on it all.
"I…I really care about you."
Nagato blinked. Where was the fake smile? Where was the nervous laugh? His vision of the future wasn't coming true. He had no response prepared. "...You do?" Idiot!
"Yeah." Yahiko took a deep breath and fixed his eyes on one location, though that location was the floor. "I care about you, and I like that you care about me."
The kiss? "And?" Idiot! Don't pressure him! This isn't supposed to be an interrogation. Say something romantic! "I mean… Thank you." *facepalm*
"I…don't think it's normal to care quite this much about your friends?" Yahiko looked confused. "I guess it's not. Anyway… Hidan would say what I feel is more important than any word, and, um… I liked kissing you." He jumped like he'd been electrocuted. "Not liked-liked! Uh, I - I - I mean -" He trembled where he sat, blushing bright red. "Not that way, but it was nice, and… And it was nice, and… It was nice."
Not that way? But he said he liked it. He also said - Ah, forget it, I can't make any sense of what he's saying. "Do you need more time to think?"
"No." Yahiko shook his head vigorously. "I like you and I'd like to try, um, dating. If that's alright."
What the hell? Nagato had zero responses prepared. Never had he ever imagined this happening. His greatest desire placed itself into his palm, and he had no idea how to accept it. He struggled to speak, frightening himself with his own wordlessness. No. No! Say something! Before he changes his mind!
Yahiko still stared at the floor, so he was unaware of Nagato's struggle. He cringed as the silence went on. "I thought… I thought we could… I mean… I see us, like, sharing our life together. I can't imagine ever being without you. I thought we would always be together. I want…to always be together."
The vulnerability in his voice penetrated straight to Nagato's heart. It doesn't matter what I think or feel. He is baring his heart to me, and that is frightening and scary. He is being incredibly brave. Admiration replaced fear, and suddenly it was possible to speak. "I want that too."
Yahiko met Nagato's gaze for the first time. "Is that good enough?"
The surprises just kept coming. Every time Nagato thought he knew where this conversation was going, he turned out to be wrong. "What do you mean?"
"I don't like you that way," Yahiko mumbled, dropping his gaze to the floor again. "Is it okay to want to be together even if I don't? I…think the way I feel is romantic? I, I, I don't really know, so I want to give it a try, but - Is it okay to just try? To just… To only…" Tears spilled down his cheeks. "I don't want to do anything wrong…"
Don't get distracted! He's afraid and sad. Comfort him. Yahiko's frightened voice and tear-filled eyes had extinguished Nagato's desire, making it possible to safely stand up. Nagato crossed the distance between them, sitting beside Yahiko and holding his hand. "Don't be afraid. I'm here. I want to be here, and so do you, and that's all that matters. Nothing is wrong."
Yahiko sniffled. Then he laughed. "I guess I passed the test this time."
I give up. I will not even try to figure out what he means. Nagato squeezed his hand and, after gathering courage, leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. "Yahiko…" He knew exactly what he wanted to say. He knew the exact words. But they refused to leave his tongue. No matter how hard he tried, he could not speak them.
"Yeah?"
"I love you and I always have." What? Did I really say that just now? But I have never been able to say those words. It seemed that his inability to speak up was not due to a lack of courage, after all. He didn't need courage. All he had ever needed was an invitation.
Yahiko looked at him. "I need to go to bed. I'm brave now; I can handle it. Just…tomorrow." Yahiko hung his head, looking suddenly exhausted.
"Of course." Nagato released his hand and stood up. Yahiko crawled under the covers. Impulsively, Nagato bent down to adjust them, though they didn't need adjusting. "Good night."
"Mhm." Yahiko fell asleep almost instantly.
Nagato expected to have a lot more difficulty getting to sleep. His heart beat hard and his spine prickled. But as he turned out all the lights and crawled under his own covers, he heard again, I want to always be together. He closed his eyes and went to sleep instantly.
Kisame
Kisame poked his head into Hidan's room as part of his pre-work preparations. Hidan lay on the floor, stretching. "Hey. What do I tell Tammy?" Hidan sat up, grinning broadly and giving him a thumbs-up. Kisame grinned back. "Nice."
The entire base knew what had happened. Original Hidan had in fact begun a new habit of tracking Original Nagato. He had been eavesdropping outside the sunroom when Nagato ran out. He saw and heard everything. Itachi had noticed him doing this and spied on him in turn. Itachi did not hear or see everything, but he saw Original Hidan freeze in place with his fur bristling and Original Yahiko leave at a fast walk while blushing. Everyone saw Original Nagato's strange behavior the rest of the day. It wasn't hard to put two and two together.
"Nobody but Tammy, though," Hidan said, waving a finger.
"Yeah, like we agreed. I remember." Through a chain of half-verbalized interactions, the entire group of clones had agreed to conspiratorially hide this information.
Samehada was enthusiastic about going into work. Kisame chatted with her about the dolls, about how proud he was that they had successfully completed their quest. Everyone also knew about the letter from Madara and what Yahiko planned to do about it. That had been shared in the group chat. "Wonder what Madara thinks of the dolls," Kisame muttered. "Speaking of which…" He shoved his lunch into a box, then called Yahiko and put the call on speakerphone so Samehada could hear.
Just then, Konan and Original Nagato entered the kitchen. "Oh. Hi," Kisame fumbled.
"Hey Kisame, what's up?" Yahiko chirped.
I should be fine as long as I don't mention anything confidential. "Did you figure out what Solis was trying to say?"
"Oh! I think so. I'm not totally confident about it, but I think Solis tried to create a portable version of the return to base seal like the ones we carry. He didn't realize that they need to be drawn with special ink, so it didn't work."
"Thank fucking Christ," Kisame replied. "What if it had? That would have been disastrous."
"Yeah, I told him we humans are the ones in charge of this building so we alone get to decide who has access to the return to base seal."
"Look at you, putting your foot down. A stranger would think you'd been doing it your whole life."
"Aww, thank you." Yahiko's adorable blushing was audible over the phone.
"I'm proud of ya, kid. Anyway, Same and I were just getting ready for work, so I'll see you 'round."
"Have a great time!" *beep*
Kisame put his phone away and faced Konan. "Thank fucking Christ it didn't work."
"It was technically within the parameters of their mission, though," Konan murmured. "We stated that we needed a quick way to communicate. The return to base jutsu works instantly. It technically fulfilled our stated desires."
"Yeah, but the last thing we need is Madara popping into our home any time he feels like it." Kisame shook his head. He picked up his boxed lunch. "Anyway."
"Ahem." Original Nagato stepped forward. "Keep a much more vigilant watch for the focus."
Kisame froze in place. He was so busy off in La-La-Land that he didn't hear that part? Wow. "Uh, there was extensive discussion last night. We're very sure that nobody was being negligent. The focus really wasn't around for almost the entire day."
"Every likely possibility must be investigated." Translation: I think it's way more likely that you all dropped the ball. What a dick! "Have an excellent day at work." Original Nagato bowed his head and left. Konan lifted her hand sympathetically, then followed. Kisame shook his head. He could ignore it for Konan's sake, but he was not going to pretend that Original Nagato had anything they would consider to be good manners. Samehada warbled consolingly and licked his cheek.
He met Sasori on his way out. The engineer was already dressed in riding gear, holding his helmet under one arm. "It's gonna get hot in the summer, won't it?" Kisame asked.
"Yeah, unfortunately. But I am not going to ride a defenceless vehicle at high speeds in T-shirt and shorts, I'm sorry. Not gonna happen."
"Ugh. I shiver every time I see someone doing that." Kisame shuddered. "Quick lesson, Same: Human beings are terrible at understanding what is or is not dangerous to them. A stranger two countries away saying something factually incorrect on the Internet feels like a matter of life and death, but a strange taste in the household water supply? Eh, something to get used to. Some people are so danger-deaf that they don't even notice the danger in moving at high speeds on rocky pavement that could flay them alive if they fall over. If you see someone acting like this, pity them and stay the hell out of their way."
Samehada made upset sounds. "He's right, sadly," Sasori said. "That's all you can do most of the time. So. See you 'round."
"Say hi to Laurie for me."
"Will do." With that, they parted ways.
Kisame let Samehada into the car, got in himself and buckled his seatbelt. He reached for the keys, then paused. "When I said human beings, I meant all human beings. Including me. Have you, uh, noticed anything strange and worrisome that we've all just gotten used to?" Samehada stretched out far enough to bump the side of his head. "The world of mind?" She nodded. "Duly noted."
Kisame put all of his focus into the present moment, noticing everything he passed. He did not think about their new group-wide conspiracy. He did not wonder about other people's love lives. He did not wonder if the strange behavior of the focus meant their world was going to fall apart. He arrived at his place of work with an easy, relaxed heartbeat and untensed muscles. It was better.
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A/N: Same here. It is better to just not think so much, not worry so much. I feel stronger and more in control this way.
Anyway. Same time next week.