First Kisses- a KisaIta

by ~sasodeioctembuary

The first time Kisame had kissed Itachi, it had been a mere impulse.

They’d just returned from a difficult assassination in the Rain Village. When he thought back on it, Kisame would reflect with amusement that he couldn’t even remember who they’d been sent to kill, nor what he looked like, or even how long the mission had taken to complete. What he COULD remember however was that the polish on Itachi’s pointer fingers was starting to chip that day, and Itachi’s feet had scuffed up little clouds of dust when he walked, and that his hair had smelled like Lavender, thanks to the hotel shampoo. (Incidentally, he couldn’t remember the hotel’s name either.) But he’d never told his partner any of those things, partly because it was creepy, and partly because the observation about his hair made him sound like a girl. Another thing he’d never told his partner about that day was it had been bothering him for a while, the thought of how the Uchiha’s lips would feel against his own. As a shark, Kisame had a natural sense of curiosity, and also like his sea-dwelling relation, he did not give up easily on his prey.

Plus, he’d been fantasizing about his partner all day.

So when he’d been exhausted from their long and bloody mission and Kisame had just walked into their bedroom with the innocent intention on sleeping and a certain sexy partner of his had walked out of the bathroom with a towel lazily draped around his hips, steam encircling him and his hair down, Kisame’s brain stopped working.

Now, had his mind been functioning regularly, and not without proper sleep, and had his judgment not been marred by the fact that his gorgeous partner was practically naked, Kisame would have realized this was Not A Good Idea. But, as it was, his brain was NOT functioning properly, and his judgment had disappeared to the point where if the Uchiha had told him to go cut himself up with Hidan’s scythe, he’d have probably done it.

Itachi on the other hand, had been rooting through his drawer silently, contemplating on the complications they’d faced and dreading the mission report he’d have to write. Exhausted as he was, and NOT having been exposed to his partner after a hot shower his intentions were still innocent ones of getting to sleep as quickly as possible so he could get rest for another mission, and maybe then kill some more people. (Okay, so his intentions WEREN’T so innocent, but you get the idea) These thoughts had ceased to exist however the moment he’d turned around and his lips had been met with his partner’s in a none-too-gentle kiss. Itachi froze for a moment in disbelief that his partner DARED to violate him that way, and begun planning his imminent doom when Kisame broke the kiss, with an odd look of genuine disbelief and shame mixed with lust.

“You didn’t kill me for that.” He whispered.

Itachi had considered informing him that the only reason he was so lucky to still be alive was the fact that the Uchiha was exhausted and he’d been caught by surprise. But he still had his pride, and as there was no way he’d admit to being outsmarted by a fish, he’d merely nodded coldly and turned back to rooting for a decent pair of pajamas.

“Why?” Itachi would have usually been annoyed by such questions and refused to answer, but he had to admit, it was warranted. He didn’t usually even come within three feet of people when it was possible to avoid them, so the idea of allowing contact, much less intimate contact was entirely foreign to him. The only thing he could make sense of in his current state of confusion was that it had felt nice, and Kisame was safe. So he’d turned around and instead of answering, kissed his partner without hesitation, letting his lips linger dangerously close to the swordsman’s sharp teeth afterwards.

“I don’t know.” He’d whispered because the situation seemed to call for talking quietly. “But it was nice.”  Kisame had nodded, dumbfounded. And Itachi had turned around and decided his blue pajamas would be the most appropriate for that night, and both of them had gone to bed without another word.

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The second time Kisame kissed Itachi, it had been because he was concerned.

Now, the reason for his concern was in fact, well founded. Itachi had been gone on a week-long solo mission, one that was probably suited for two people to be honest. But Kisame had still been healing from when Sasori poisoned him a week ago when he’d accidentally walked in on the two artists…undressing. So with both a weak body and a scarred mind, he’d been useless when the mission was assigned, and there was no time to wait for his recovery. Therefore, Itachi had gone ahead. Alone. And despite Kisame’s faith in his partner’s ability, he couldn’t honestly say he hadn’t been just a little bit worried. But ONLY a little bit. And just because he waited by the door for five hours the day his younger partner was supposed to return did NOT mean anything. Nothing at all. Really.

But unfortunately Itachi had not returned that day, which was odd to say the least. Considering the fact that the Uchiha was the most oriented person on the planet (Kisame secretly thought he had an extreme case of OCD, but he’d never tell him that because he had no desire to be tortured in creative ways.)  Anyway, this was causing Kisame’s already prominent sense of worry to develop into a fully fledged state of panic, fueled all the more by the fact that when the Uchiha HAD finally returned two days later than he was supposed to his eyes  and back were bleeding heavily and he’d keeled over in the doorway. Immediately, his partner had rushed to his side to take him to their room and treat him, doing his best to ignore Kakuzu bitching about the expenses of cleaning the blood out of this carpet.

After gently setting his unconscious partner gently onto his bed (doing his best not to think about what Kakuzu would say if he saw the ruined sheets), Kisame had gently removed what was left of Itachi’s shredded cloak and tossed it aside before hesitantly peeling off the shirt stuck to his skin by dried blood. When he had finally managed to pull his top carefully over his head without rousing his partner, though Itachi had flinched a couple times, Kisame turned to look at the damage.

What he saw nearly made him want to go back outside and find the bastards who did it and rip their throats out. As it was, it was all he could do to not panic at the state his partner was in. There were deep gashes that were to be expected in the Uchiha’s back, considering that had clearly been the main source of his blood. But all over his body were tiny nicks where kunai had come into contact with skin in an obviously skilled attempt to murder the man. Kisame nearly cringed at a particularly long one over Itachi’s throat. But to add to the carnage, there was also a giant burn on Itachi’s abdomen, the singed flesh giving off a rather pungent smell that made the swordsman think it was probably infected. After accounting for all the damage his partner had sustained, Kisame concluded that Kakuzu was much better suited to heal him.

“Kakuzu! Get your ass over here, ASAP!” He didn’t even bother turning around when he heard the door slam shut and curious footsteps approach the bed. Kisame stepped back and observed as Kakuzu stared at the Uchiha with wonder and bewilderment. The swordsman could hardly blame him, he’d never so much as seen Itachi SCRATCHED before, never mind anything critical. Regardless, after ten full seconds of gaping, Kisame gave a frustrated growl.

“Can you stop staring at him and just HEAL him now?” And Kakuzu had nodded indifferently, letting the green healing chakra flow to his hands as his stitches came to seal up the wounds. The process had taken all of ten minutes, at the end of which he had turned to Kisame who’d inclined his head slightly in thanks. Kakuzu had nodded again and left the room, stealing just one more glance at Itachi and his partner who had taken his place beside the bed once more. Had he been the sentimental type, Kakuzu would have smiled at the care the swordsman was showing. But he was not the sentimental type, so he’d merely shook his head before shutting the door with a light click.

When Kisame heard the door shut, he’d lifted his eyes to the doorway before turning back to his sleeping partner. It was odd, he decided, to see Itachi looking so helpless and it was something he hoped he didn’t have to face for long.

“Get well soon, Itachi. Please.” And with that he’d leaned down hesitantly and brushed his lips against the Uchiha’s, pulling back abruptly when he felt Itachi kiss back. A light smile adorned Itachi’s lips, though he couldn’t see through the bandages covering his eyes.

“Kisame…” He whispered breathily, the way one whispers about a dream. It made the swordsman feel very important, and he smiled as he watched Itachi roll over and go back to sleep, satisfied at this point that he would make a full recovery.

And also doing his best to ignore how much this was like a crappy romance novel.

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The third time Kisame kissed Itachi it was out of love.

They had been heading out to explore the territory for some obscure assignment (they’d been getting really easy jobs recently since Itachi was still recovering) when they’d sensed a group coming their way of obviously powerful ninjas. Judging by their chakra signatures, Kisame could guess there were maybe four of them, all at least on a Jounin level. Itachi on the other hand could sense something else, from the most powerful chakra in the group. It was one he was familiar with, that brought back memories both good and bad.

Sasuke.

“Kisame, you go and stall the rest of those ninjas. I’ll see Sasuke face to face.” Kisame had given a huge start at these words and stared at Itachi as though he’d grown an extra head.

“SASUKE?!?! Sasuke’s with them!! Itachi, we have to go back and get reinforcements, you’re in no condition to-”

“Kisame, just stall them, alright? Don’t pester me.” Itachi’s eyes narrowed slightly in irritation as Kisame growled out what was clearly a no. “Kisame! It’s my decision, don’t question it.” Kisame had sighed slightly before doing what both of them honestly least expected, something neither of them had experienced in over a decade.

He enveloped him in a hug.

Itachi had stiffened noticeably before relaxing with a small sigh, lightly resting his head against Kisame’s chest, but still keeping his senses on the alert.

“Kisame. Are you concerned for me?” Kisame smirked slightly to disguise his nerves. To be honest, he wasn’t really sure at all what his feelings for his partner were at that point. But he supposed the answer to the question was yes, he was concerned for his partner. Hell, concerned was an understatement. He was deeply caring when it came to his partner, he honestly didn’t think he’d ever  cared about anyone that way. If it really came down to it, Kisame might even love-

Kisame’s eyes widened with realization. ‘Oh shit no….’

“Kisame.” Itachi’s eyes were narrowed once more and he appeared to be ready to break free from the death grip his partner now had on him. Kisame hastily loosened his arms, but kept them around the Uchiha, well aware he was pushing his luck.

“Yes. Yes Itachi, I think I do. I do care.” Itachi raised his eyebrows slightly at the expression of seriousness on his partner’s face.

“Well you shouldn’t. There’s no reason for you to.” Kisame nearly nodded in agreement, but he decided that it’d be safer not to. Yes, he knew feeling the way he did was foolish to say the least, but there wasn’t exactly anything he could do about it. So instead, he leaned forwards and captured Itachi’s lips in a gentle kiss before pulling away and turning around toward the direction the ninjas were approaching from.

“I’ll stall them.” He called over his shoulder, keeping his back turned so Itachi wouldn’t see the colorful blush that had somehow made it’s way onto his cheeks.
He could have sworn he’d heard a small chuckle before he left.

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Now here he was, sitting in the room he and his partner used to share, Itachi’s bed lying untouched, having just been informed by that bouncy idiot Tobi that, regretfully, Itachi had been killed. To be honest, Kisame didn’t really think Tobi was all that regretful, but then again, he was probably the only person who’d ever truly cared for Itachi. Just that thought made his heart ache. He hoped somehow his partner had understood his feelings, even if he wasn’t sure Itachi had returned them. After all, it would probably be incredibly lonely for both of them from now on. Sighing, Kisame ran his fingers through his hair distractedly, doing his best to quell the tears that murderers should not cry.

Kisame had only kissed Itachi three times in his life.

He wished he had done it more.