Storm Drums
Who: Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui When: September 9th Where: Outside, in the space between the forest and buildings. What: Itachi and Shisui go out and run around in a storm. Then it gets followed by fluffiness. Warnings: Cuddling, maybe language Open or Closed: Closed Observable: From a distance! * I run to the river and dive straight in I pray that the water will drown out the din But as the water fills my mouth It couldn't wash the echoes out But as the water fills my mouth It couldn't wash the echoes out
I swallow the sound and it swallows me whole Till there's nothing left inside my soul As empty as that beating drum But the sound has just begun. - Drumming Song - Florence + The Machine
Sure, they got little storms here. The sort that brought nice smells, pattered softly on the leaves of the forest. But, while pleasing, those didn’t leave him with the satisfaction of a real storm. The sort that shook through his bones and left him with a shiver down his spine, the good kind.
The sort that blinded you when you looked.
The sort that Shisui wanted to try to flicker through, to beat the lightning.
“Hey, Itachi.” They’d been talking in the commons, Shisui mocking rumors about them, bringing up others, and so on. But he had retreated to look out the window, to peer at the flashing sky. This late at night, it would be worrisome if some people were fighting, but they weren’t.
Not at all.
None of the moons were visible, under thick clouds that left the world black, until lightning split the sky bright and purple.
Shisui grinned. Looked back at his cousin.
“I think it’s gonna storm.” A roll of thunder that made the ground shake under his feet. “Storm bad.”
Itachi glanced up at Shisui. He’d been feeling the growing energy outside now, and he couldn’t say he was surprised. Itachi had been jotting down notes about the Games tonight, but now he closed his notebook and looked at Shisui.
“I think so.” So what did it have to do with them?
Shisui looked at Itachi. It was obvious that it hadn’t clicked yet. He hooked one knee onto the ledge, the other, and pressed himself to the glass. A shock of lightning arched through the clouds, and then the whole sky lit up for the moment.
“Want to go outside?” His feet wiggled, bare and more than a little dirty.
Itachi looked at the lightning and then looked at Shisui. He knew how rough the winds would be out there--they both did. They’d get half drowned, breathe too much water, and probably almost get struck by lightning. Itachi would come down with the sniffles (he’d burn too much chakra trying to keep up with Shisui) and they’d be laid out tomorrow, sleeping off a ridiculous storm hangover.
Itachi sighed and pushed his bangs back from his face. “Let me go put this away.”
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want,” Shisui told him. Maybe this Itachi hated storms, because of what Shisui’d done, and he only wanted to because of obligation, or the feeling of it.
Thunder rolled. Shisui had the intense longing to go out.
Itachi paused for a moment, then stood up. “Why wouldn’t I want to go with you?” Itachi asked as he stretched out the kinks from slumping in the couch and heard thunder rumbling. It was September. The rain would be very, very cold.
“I dunno. You’re old. No more running around in a storm for you, Ita, you might break something.” Teasing. Shisui turned from the window to grin at Itachi, before pressing his hands to the glass. He could feel the vibrations of the first drops against his hands.
“Sixteen is the life expectancy of an Uchiha genius,” Itachi offered without much malice. Instead, he walked up behind Shisui and placed his head on the other man’s shoulder, watching the storm rage outside.
“Well...are you just going to look at it?”
“Hush,” A chastise, but not much of one. Shisui leaned his forehead against the glass for a moment. “No. Let’s go.” He slid off the sill, and grabbed for Itachi’s hand to drag him out of the dorms and into the storm.
“Let me put this away.” Itachi tugged his hand from Shisui’s and headed for his room. Sedately. Like an old man in no hurry.
Yes, he’d go out with Shisui, but he didn’t have to make things too easy for him, now did he?
Shisui sighed and stared after Itachi, stopping.
….
Oh, fuck him. Shisui gave it a running start, and made to jump over his shoulders and head, and get past him to get to the elevators. Or steal the pad. However it went.
Not that he couldn’t flicker, it was just fun to antagonize Itachi.
Itachi knew what to expect the second he heard running feet. He dropped down, dropping out from under Shisui’s hands and ducked back to avoid being fallen over. Itachi then created a clone with three quick hand signs and sent it off to return his notebook before sprinting down the hall.
Old, was he?
The moment he realized that his hands had hit nothing, Shisui let himself relax enough to drop into a roll. When he came out of it, Itachi was already half way down the hall, damn him. Going fast, hard, Shisui ran after him before flickering, able to get just behind him, before flickering again and throwing himself in front of Itachi, trying to kick his legs out from under him.
Itachi went straight up the wall, narrowly missing kicking Shisui in the face. However, he landed badly, tumbled into a roll he didn’t mean to take, and almost bashed his head into a wall before he stumbled heavily to his feet. He was by the elevator, so he simply stuck out his hand and pressed the button.
Shisui bent backwards, held the position, and then fell over onto his back. He tilted his head to look at Itachi upside-down, grinned, and then flickered into a heap at his feet.
“You are such an idiot, you know that?” Itachi placed his foot on the back of Shisui’s shoulders and pushed gently as the door opened. “Come on. Down.”
Shisui grabbed for Itachi’s foot. “I can’t get up or down if you don’t stop stepping on me!” He wiggled, and then stretched his arms into the elevator, before trying to slide himself inside. There.
Itachi rolled his eyes and stepped into the elevator, ignoring Shisui’s flailings as he did so. “Could you at least try to act your age, Shisui? Once in a while, maybe?” Itachi asked, though he didn’t really mean it.
Shisui smiled up at him, pulled his legs up and shook his head. “Nope.” He shifted closer and wrapped his arms around Itachi’s legs. “Never.”
Itachi leaned against the wall and looked down at Shisui. He had to smile. Oh, this was all wrong, yes. It wasn’t his Shisui. Not old enough at all, but really?
Right now, Itachi didn’t care.
“Idiot,” Itachi muttered, still grinning.
Hah! He won. Shisui beamed up at Itachi and wiggled his feet a little. “I don’t mind being an idiot. You still like me,” He pointed out. Glanced behind him as the doors shut and the elevator started moving.
“For some unfathomable reason, yes, I do. Maybe it’s a genjutsu. That would really explain a lot of things I do for you...” Itachi mused.
“I hadn’t tested my technique on you, at least not since before I went to Mist,” Shisui told him, though it meant nothing. Making a face, he poked his nose into the back of Itachi’s knee. A sudden blast of thunder rolled through the elevator, and he jumped, before grinning.
Itachi wriggled his legs a little and reached down to tug on Shisui’s ear. “Get your nose out of my knee...” It tickled. The doors clicked and opened.
“And go run free!” Itachi pointed.
“No, I like your knee,” Shisui complained, and then glanced up. Grinned and did his best to vault off of Itachi, landing in a sideways tumble. He landed badly on his wrist, but came up running from the fall, flapping his hand as he made running for the outside. It hurt, but that didn’t matter.
As he stepped out the doors, lightning crashed, and Shisui laughed as he flickered across the clearing, just for the sake of it.
Itachi followed with more dignity, stepping out into the rain with only a small grimace and squint as the rain immediately lashed into his eyes and stung his face. Itachi paused for a moment, though he knew it wouldn’t get any better as the wind whipped his hair into his face and shoved his breath back in his own throat.
It made him gasp a little.
Itachi still couldn’t flicker. He settled for running across the grounds as fast as he could towards the treeline, using chakra for speed and to keep himself from falling in the damp grass.
For one moment, a half a moment, Shisui was dry. He felt the drops hit his skin before he stopped moving, but that was okay. He liked the rain, liked standing out here. He put his face up to the clouds and opened his mouth, swaying as he was buffeted by the wind.
And then he went dashing after Itachi, making to clip him in the shoulder with a palm before he veered parallel to the tree line. He sprung into a series of cartwheels and flips, laughing as he slid and landed badly in the storm.
Itachi didn’t stumble as Shisui’s palm struck him, but he twisted and lunged for his cousin. Itachi went running for Shisui as he tumbled down and pounced on his cousin, careful not to hit anything too important, but lacking the finesse of a real pin. Just grabbing and sliding in the muddy ground.
Shisui fell giggling, and then twisted to grab Itachi’s upper arms. He kicked up with his knees, not too hard, and then squirmed to get away, the delight in his features showing as lightning crashed overhead.
Itachi slid off, sliding on the ground to his side, then scrambling to his feet, trying to drag Shisui up with him.
Managing to get to his feet, Shisui pushed at Itachi and flickered away through the rain. There was a jolt of lightning that shocked him in it’s short distance, but made him laugh and change direction again, just for the sake of it.
Gods., it felt good.
Listening to Shisui’s laughter flicker in and out of the storm...it was eerie. Itachi could see the flickering of chakra in the lightning, though it made his senses light up whenever he saw a strike with the Sharingan. Itachi licked his lips and waited.
Shisui slid badly and fell onto his back, but kept his eyes open. He gasped as water fell on him, and shuddered as thunder rolled, nearly arching up. Then he fled for Itachi, jumping up and running for him, so happy he looked manic.
Itachi saw Shisui coming and darted to the side. He dashed off into the darkened woods, gasping for air already and threatening to fall down with eahc step.
He was going to die, but that was okay.
Shisui grinned as Itachi started running, and went after him before flickering to cover the distance. He slipped, but that was okay. He had one arm around Itachi’s neck and the other around his waist as they fell. Then he scrambled, trying to get on top.
Itachi hit the ground at an awkward angle, jarring the air out off his lungs. He tried to roll over onto Shisui, but his hand slipped and he instead rolled under his cousin. Wonderful. Itachi’s only defense was he was out of practice when it came to playing in the rain like this.
Shisui straddled Itachi and looked down at him for a moment, before ducking his head and kissing him. More for the sake of it than romance, because Itachi had done this to him ages before.
And he needed to express the energy going through him somehow.
It was a cold, closed-mouth kiss, and when Shisui finished, he grinned and flipped off, running into a tree but being amused by it all.
Itachi had been expecting a bite or headbutt, not a cool smash of lips to lips. His lips were still warm enough that Shisui’s felt frigid from the wind chill. All in all, Itachi felt rather like he’d been molested by a fish.
And he was going to stick his cold hands down Shisui’s shirt in retaliation. As soon as he caught Shisui.
Itachi jumped to his feet and dashed for Shisui just as lightning struck over their head with a deafening crack and a blinding flash. Itachi screamed on reflex, though he couldn’t hear anything above the sickening crack that ripped through the air.
When the lightning struck, Shisui screamed and flickered all at once. He wanted to go faster than the light, he had to move and beat it.
He turned and sprinted, not even seeing Itachi for the want of catching the lightning. He ignored his ringing ears and spots in his eyes, and flickered as another streak of light went through the clouds. Shisui threw his head up to try to see the lightning, but it was since gone. Another one comes close, hits a tree, and Shisui tried to flicker close, but it is gone by the time he arrived.
Then he remembered Itachi, and with a twist, Shisui glanced around for him. “Ita!”
Itachi had gone momentarily blind, but now everything was clearing up. He’d stayed still, having common sense enough not to bash his face into a tree by running. Instead he leaned against the tree, shaking a little as he tried to see a little better.
He moved as Shisui called him, stepping away to find the voice in the darkness.
Shisui managed to catch sight of a form, and when he flickered closer, he found it to be Itachi. His eyes were still swimming and the rain didn’t help things, but it was okay. He could find Itachi. He grabbed for the other’s hand and held it for a moment, looking up at his cousin with wide, solemn eyes. Squeezing Itachi’s hand, he brought it up and pressed it to his neck. There. His pulse beating fast with exhilaration, all for Itachi to feel. For whatever reason, it mattered. Just because.
“You’re cold” Itachi yelled above the storm. He cupped Shisui’s neck, then grinned and landed a flat palm strike to Shisui’s shoulder before yanking back. His feet slid on the wet grass, almost throwing him down.
“HEY,” Shisui yelled in protest, and shoved at Itachi. He slipped, and then did his best to drag Itachi down. Down down down!
Itachi twisted, yanking his slick arm from Shisui’s arm. He caught another flash of lightning, heard the thunder, and ran. He could barely see, but that was okay.
Shisui fell and hit his head on a root, blinked disoriented for a moment, then flung himself at Itachi with the flicker. The lightning helped him see Itachi for a moment, as he appeared a few feet behind him, but then it blinded him. Tripping over his own feet, Shisui rolled hard and into Itachi’s legs.
At least, maybe he would fall.
Shisui took Itachi’s feet out from under him, Itachi fell backwards, landing hard on his back with no bounce or roll. He rolled onto his side, coughing and wheezing from having the air knocked out of his lungs. Itachi grabbed for Shisui, hoping for a sturdy handful of hair.
Shisui was a little stunned himself, and didn’t resist as Itachi grabbed for him. Instead, he rolled closer and gasped as thunder shook the ground, and lightning split.
Itachi jumped, half sitting up. he stared into the darkness, then grabbed for Shisui’s hand. “Up, up!” The lightning flashed again. The thunder broke the air. The hair on the back of Itachi’s neck stood on end.
Shisui jolted up as Itachi spoke, but didn’t move to stand up. The pattern of lightning was dizzying on the sky, and he wanted to stay and watch it. He didn’t want to go, not yet, not now.
Then a streak of lightning hit the tree next to them, and Shisui nearly passed out. The smell of ozone, the brightness of the energy, his ears... He couldn’t hear anything. Couldn’t see. They needed to go, didn’t they? Despite the fact that he was deaf and blind at the moment, Shisui couldn’t drag up a sense of alarm. It was only for Itachi that he knew they should leave.
Itachi had been blinking when the lightning struck. He grabbed for Shisui, hands catching in his cousin’s shirt as he slid on the grass and bodily dragged Shisui over to the underbrush, throwing them both under it to avoid any more lightning. His body shook with adrenaline. His mouth tasted like iron.
Shisui clutched at Itachi once he was dragged in, and sunk into the ground. The ringing was fading, but not by much. At least the spots were almost gone. Shisui held up his hand and made the scout sign for flicker, and looked up to where he thought Itachi was. The adrenaline and alarm were strangely absent. He wouldn’t mind staying here.
Itachi held his cousin and huddled down beside him, unable to see the sign Shisui made. He caught Shisui’s hand, tracing What into his palm.
Shisui leaned into Itachi, and then carefully spelled out the katakana for flicker into Itachi’s leg. He didn’t really want to go, though. It was nice, here, with lightning crashing over his head and thunder shaking the ground.
Maybe Shisui had his priorities mixed up, oh well.
Itachi leaned down close to Shisui’s ear, pressing his body to his cousin’s. “You will crash into a tree and kill us both.” Itachi them pressed his cheek to Shisui’s ear, which was cold. Freezing. Itachi shifted and hugged Shisui, ignoring the rain and the flashing light.
Shisui couldn’t hear Itachi, not very well, so he just leaned close and closed his eyes, feeling the rumble of the ground. “What?”
Itachi shook his head and wrote on Shisui’s arm stay safe.
Pressing close, Shisui moved one of Itachi’s arms so it would pillow his head. He could feel Itachi’s heartbeat like that, more if he pressed close and got his nose on Itachi’s neck. Shisui shuddered and nearly gasped as the hairs on his neck rose, before slamming his hands up and over Itachi’s ears as lightning crashed, shockingly close.
Itachi blinked as Shisui’s hands came over his ears and his cousin’s cold nose pressed to his neck. They should probably get out of the rain. Move. Run. They were going to get cold and wet and maybe sick. Shisui was shaking. Inside. This time on the back of Shisui’s neck.
“Don’t want to.” Shisui lifted his head to murmur it into Itachi’s ear, taking his hands away. Then he spelled run into Itachi’s cheek. They could do that. They could run, and he would get a last time to touch the rain.
“Okay. Itachi gripped Shisui’s arm. “Okay, ready?” Itachi shifted. “GO!” And he would follow.
“What?” He still couldn’t hear. Shisui looked up at Itachi and pointed at his ears, deadpan expression on his face.
Itachi shoved his hand at Shisui’s forehead, shoved himself out from under the underbrush, and ran. Shisui would figure it out.
Shisui tried to bite Itachi, and decided that the better thing would be to just run after him. It took a fair amount of rolling to get out, but he managed, and then pounded after Itachi, snagging his shirt in his hand. Hah! “Slow!”
Itachi twisted his arm back and grabbed Shisui’s wrist. He tried to pull it from his shirt while running. He’s been waiting for Shisui to catch up. The last thing he wanted to do was leave his cousin behind in a storm like this.
Shisui made a face as Itachi caught his wrist, but didn’t fight the movement. Dashing ahead in a sudden spurt of speed to annoy Itachi, he nearly lost his footing, and was again being the one dragged. Was nothing right in this world? Shisui made a pained noise as the doors came into sight.
Itachi slid to a stop under the overhang by the doors, letting Shisui’s hand slide through his fingers. He almost ran into the door, but he whirled on his cousin as thunder rolled again, this time farther from them.
“Done?” Itachi asked with a small gasp. His nerves were raw and rattled from all of the noise and careening around in the dark where your night vision was stripped away with each lightning flash.
Shisui was shaking slightly, but he thought it was the good sort of shakes. The sort that came after adrenaline was produced and spent, but the last vestiges of it were still left in the body. With a smile, he nodded and leaned on the door to push it open, and pressed himself back so Itachi could get in easily.
Itachi slid past Shisui, instantly freezing when he stepped out of the muggy storm air, and into the much cooler dorm air. Itachi wrapped his arms around himself and looked back at Shisui. “Tea and bed?” Curl up by a window and watching the storm petter out while getting warmed back up? Itachi couldn’t remember how many night and afternoons had been spent that way, though then he’d been small enough to tuck into Shisui’s lap. Now they’d have to settle for side by side.
Closing the door and giving a soft hum of agreement, Shisui drew close to Itachi and wrapped his arm around the other’s waist. “Sounds nice. Towels and tea and bed.” Because the were dripping everywhere. But it would be all right. With a hum, he pulled Itachi along.
“And a change of clothes...” Itachi pushed the button for the elevator. “I’ll go an get the tea. You go and find some towels.”
Shisui looked at Itachi, grinned, and stepped back with a wave before disappearing noiselessly. He would practice his vertical flickering up, which was a lot more annoying than down.
Towels. Not hard to find, he was certain there were a few in his room with Sophie. Along with the three towels, Shisui retrieved a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Done.
...Where did Itachi want to meet?
Itachi found a Drone and asked for tea, and, within minutes he had two mugs of steaming tea, one doctored to be sweet for Shisui, and even some warm dango for him. Itachi thanked the Drone and went to his room. Dave was out somewhere. Itachi edged his way in and wondered where Shisui had expected to meet. Of course, he’d left before he’d asked where to meet. Itachi thought about going to find Shisui, but decided that he’d better stay still and wait for Shisui to find him.
Shisui came after ten minutes, looking very chilled. He had one towel draped over his shoulders and was holding the others away from his body, not wanting to get them too wet. He opened the door, glanced for Itachi, and then slid in, putting one towel on his head and the other around his shoulders. “Hi,” He said breathlessly.
“Running around?” Itachi reached over and pulled Shisui’s towel over his head, ruffling his hair vigorously. Itachi was still dripping, hs hair especially. “I have tea and dango, though the dango might be cold.” Itachi took the towels from Shisui and motoioned towards the window sill where the food and drink waited.
“No, cold--ah--” Shisui was too muffled to shout well, but he got some good wails before Itachi let go. “Mean! But okay.” He wasn't interested in the food just now, though. Grabbing the towel on Itachi’s head, he wrapped it around his hair and started drying it, more slowly than Itachi had done with his hair. See, he was a nice cousin. Really.
“I am the epitome of me,” Itachi smiled a little and tugged on Shisui’s towel. “I’m going to change. You go sit, okay?” Itachi pressed a chilled hand to Shisui’s colder forehead and turned to grab a bundle of clothes gingerly to keep from wetting them as much as possible. If he hadn’t been dripping, Itachi would have stayed in the room with Shisui, but he stepped off into the bathroom to put his wet clothes in the sink and towel himself off a little. Itachi didn’t turn on a light. It seemed better this way.
Giving Itachi’s hair a last rubdown, Shisui gave a last smile and waited for Itachi to step off into the bathroom, before taking off his wet shirt and drying off. Once he’d gotten on a night shirt, he repeated the process with his legs.
He felt rather tired as he lifted himself onto the sill, back against one side and feet against the other, the dango and tea in front of him on the wood. With a hum, he took a sip of the almost sickly sweet tea, and grinned at a white streak in the sky.
Mostly dried, Itachi pulled on the over sized sleeping clothes. They were faded and torn--ripped and worn but patched meticulously. They had been Shisui’s, once upon a time, and their largeness reminded Itachi that he still had a lot of growing to do, even though Shisui seemed so small to him now. The clothes were patterned in waves and fish, not something Itachi would have ever worn.
“Room for me?” Itachi asked softly as he mopped at his hair. He felt soft and fuzzy. Cold and content in an odd way with the last vestiges of adrenaline fading from him and leaking out of his corners.
Shisui rolled his head to look at Itachi, took in the clothes, and nodded. “You might have to sit on my lap... Or the other way around.” And it would be a tight fit, but survivable. With a yawn, Shisui shifted so he was pressed tight against the window, and lifted his plate with one hand so Itachi could sit.
“...Are those mine?” He had had some like those in Konoha, though smaller. Shisui wiggled his toes against the wall.
“Why don’t you move my feet and I sit at this end?” Itachi as, waving a hand at the other side of the window. It would still be tight fit with feet in everyone’s lap, but it would be okay. Maybe. Of he could sit on the floor. Itachi considered this and then walked over to Shisui and slide down to sit on the floor and lean his head against Shisui’s hip.
“No, they’re not.” Itachi reached for his tea and took a small sip. Still warm.
“...Since when do you wear fish?” Shisui let Itachi do what he want, and just set his plate down to draw his hands through the other’s hair. Then he looked at the clothes a little more critically. “Fine, some aspect of me in the future?” In a way, he wanted to see them more closely, even smell them. Would they smell different than what he smelled like now? Shisui took a bite of his dango.
Itachi nodded. “I’m trying to think of you two as different people to avoid overly complex mental aerobics and wanting to punch you in the face.” Itachi took a longer sip of his tea and turned his head into the touch. He let his eyes close. “You’re only fifteen. I can’t blame you for what happened.”
Shisui snorted a little, but nodded. “Makes sense. I like not being punched, ‘Tachi.” He smiled. Tugged Itachi’s hair gently, and paused. “Hey, I am fifteen!” He hadn’t even thought about it. Shisui gave a very pleased grin, then leaned down, having to twist a little to kiss Itachi on the head.
Itachi wrinkled his nose and looked up at Shisui. “Did you forget it was your birthday already, flighty little bird?”
“I didn’t even remember,” Shisui replied, shrugging. He absently tugged Itachi’s bangs, then lifted the stick of dango to bite into it. Itachi would probably be grossed out at the amount he was trying to swallow at once, but oh well. At least he wasn’t talking.
“You’ll choke,” Itachi observed blandly. “You’ve been dead three years and I still remember your birthday better than you do. How is this?” Itachi reached up and tugged on Shisui’s arm, trying to get him to lower the dango.
Shisui lowered the dango, but took a few long moments to finish chewing his food before he responded. “How am I supposed to know? Your birthday is the fun one, except not. It was the one that people celebrated, even if it was a bunch of dull ceremonies.” He shrugged. Wiggled his feet, and sipped the now-cool tea.
Itachi rose up and took a bite of Shisui’s dango. “Because it’s the day I get to celebrate having you without feeling weird about it.” Itachi replied, smiling softly up at Shisui.
A long pause, and then Shisui flicked one of his balls of dango onto Itachi’s plate, which left him with one. Brat. “Shouldn’t feel weird about it in the first place, aren’t I a being worth worshipping?” Teasing, but Shisui out his plate to the side, folded his legs up on the sill and under him, and then leaned down to brace his hands on Itachi’s shoulders, craning his head up to grin at him.
“And I have been burning things at your altar for ages.” Itachi tipped his head back and quirked his lips into a smile as the thunder rolled. “But all you’ve ever given me in return for my service is grief and madness.” Itachi reached up and touched Shisui’s curls.
Ducking down slightly, Shisui rested his cheek against Itachi’s head. “Is that the trouble you have with loving me?” He asked, softly. Though his tone wasn’t heavy and dark as the clouds, it wasn’t exactly light, nor neutral. It just existed as a series of vibrations through the air that Itachi could take how he wanted.
Those almost teasing words of his cousin were having too much of an impact on his soul for him to remember to put emotion into his words. Instead, Shisui drew his cheek down Itachi’s head as his hands were occupied.
“You idiot.” Itachi cupped Shisui’s head. “The problem with loving you is that I don’t have a choice.” Itachi kissed Shisui’s cheek and ran his hands through the damp curls.
“That is to serve, isn’t it? To be bound hand and foot to a power and desire you don’t understand, and can have fulfilled nowhere else but at the altar of your god?” Itachi asked softly, playing with the words as Shisui had always done for him.
Shisui took a moment to enjoy the sensation of Itachi touching him, before speaking softly. “But in the end, don’t gods change to the needs of the people? They slowly change the customs and rituals and the gods themselves, until one is almost unrecognizable from earlier days.” Maybe he would see where he was going with this. Shisui was religious, but he knew that things changed as time progressed, so why wouldn’t a god?
“If you can change your god by wishing, what kind of god is he? Gods are gods and are a comfort because they are constant and unchangeable.” Itachi pinched Shisui’s ears and smiled a little.
“Not wishing, just with need. Gods change for those who worship them, over time. Same with everything about them,” Shisui told him, and leaned his head closer. He was starting to get dizzy being upside down for so long. “But I’m not supposed to be your god, I’m just your bodyguard that you got too attached to.” It was teasing, and he softened the words smile and a small nuzzle.
“You were everything to me. How does that make you anything but my god?” Itachi asked softly. “Maybe gods don’t change. Maybe they show you different aspects of themselves as you’re able to comprehend them.”
Shisui sighed in reply to the first question, and righted himself before speaking. “Yes, but what happens when they meld into one, see,” He stated as he slid down to the floor, taking the dango with him. “I was reading some legends from other places. There was a god of game hunting, but when they started to raise their own food, the god melded into the god of the forest. If someone hunted, they still prayed to the god of the forest for good luck, but it wasn’t specific.” Slumping against Itachi, he twirled his dango stick in a circle. “See, all mixed up.”
“All you’re saying is people change gods to suit their changes. They make god over in their own image--but how do you know the god changes? How do they know if the god changes? How do they know that they haven’t moved on to a new god?” How did you even know if your god was real?
Itachi set down his empty tea mug and stretched, arching his back and dropping down into a boneless slump before shifting forward to crawl nearer to Shisui. “You can call your god what you want, but, in the end, you serve him and not the other way around.” Itachi gave Shisui a heavy look, remembering something old, but not angry or depressed. Just remembering.
Shisui looked at Itachi for a long moment. “Because I said so.” Giving his cousin a wry smile, he settled against the wall. “Who are we to question the gods in the end?”
Shifting around, he put his hand on the back of Itachi’s neck and gave him a curious look. “Hm?” Shisui wondered if the talks of gods had drawn out this reaction, or something else.
Itachi shook his head and lowered himself down, finding a comfortable spot on Shisui’s thigh to rest his head.
“Still cold?”Except for his head, which was wet, Itachi had had turned almost luke-warm.
Shisui let Itachi rest there, and drew his fingers through the other’s hair. “No....” He looked down for a long moment. “Itachi? What did you think of me when we were young?”
Itachi wrinkled his nose as Shisui ran a hand through his hair. “When I was how young, Shisui? I’m still young now,” Itachi complained softly.
“No you aren’t, you’re ancient... During the first few months or so that I was with you, if you remember?” Shisui poked Itachi’s nose lightly. “Just before the war got really nasty, I guess.”
“Thanks for that,” Itachi grumbled, pressing his face into Shisui’s thigh. He sighed and reached back. “You were warm and you brought me food. And you didn’t pinch me.” For a small child, things could be that simple.
“It’s true.” Shisui cleared Itachi’s hair to the back, so it wouldn’t bother him. “...I guess you didn’t understand me, mm?” Itachi had been a simple child. Not in a derogatory way, but things had always been straightforward for him. At least until he started speaking, and bloomed into the genius everyone knew him as.
Itachi shook his head. “Not at first. Except my name. I knew when you were saying that.” Maybe he had known because he’d recognized the vowel noises, or something more instinctive. “Run” had been something else he’d picked up quickly. And “quiet.”
“Hmm, m’Itachi,” Shisui spoke, bringing up the old accent. It placed odd emphasis on certain vowels, and shortened other consonants so it sounded constant. Like waves hitting the shore. “Thin’it was’en m’accent sof’ened? O’jus’you gettin’used t’it?” It almost tied his tongue up, speaking like that again. He’d had to for his mission, months ago, but he hadn’t used it much since. He could fall into it without thinking, but doing so deliberately? Another story.
“Maybe both,” Itachi rolled over to face Shisui. “Why?” Why go so far back anyway? Itachi rested his arm on his forehead and watched Shisui’s jaw. That was the most he could see from this angle anyway.
Swallowing the accent, he shrugged one shoulder. “I’m not sure,” Shisui said. “Just curious. Bothering old memories... You can ask one?” As if it were not allowed otherwise.
“I, unlike you, remember things.” Itachi yawned. “And now I’ve always been your most adored and beloved.” Itachi closed his eyes.
“I do so remember things,” Shisui huffed, and pressed a palm to Itachi’s arm. “I guess I can forgive you, if only ‘cause of that.”
“What are you forgiving me for?” Itachi asked, cracking an eye open. “Existing?”
“Insulting my selective memory.” Shisui wanted to poke him in the eye, just to be horrible. Instead, he twirled a strand of Itachi’s hair in his fingers.
“I wasn’t. I was just pointing out that mine is better, which is an irrefutable fact no one else would waste the energy to even speculate about.” Itachi twitched his fingers at Shisui. “But I’m a bigger brat than you, so we’re even.”
“...You know what, Itachi? Shut up.” Shisui put his hand over Itachi’s mouth. “You are a complete brat who doesn’t understand how to not think about things...” Which was probably healthier.
Itachi stared at Shisui solemnly, then licked his palm since he couldn’t bite him.
“I will kiss you again and make things gross,” Shisui threatened, but took his hand away and wiped it on Itachi’s shirt.
“Last time I kissed you, you concussed yourself,” Itachi pointed out lazily. He really didn’t care. Shisui was warm. Itachi was getting sleepier as the storm outside petered out into simple, heavy rain.
“Your own fault.” That had been weird. Shisui wrinkled his nose, then sighed. Leaned down and kissed Itachi’s wrist, just for the sake of it.
“At least I didn’t have fish lips,” Itachi eyed Shisui and felt the skin between his shoulders draw tight as the contact caused goosebumps up and down his arm..
“I do not. I was just wet.” Shisui looked at Itachi, then wrinkled his nose. Hesitated, then kissed Itachi’s palm before straightening. That was an odd position to be in, leaning down like that.
“No, Shisui of the fish lips. That’s why all the girls hated you,” Itachi smiled a little and curled his hand closed over the kiss, feeling corny.
“I dunno, maybe I don’t like them back.” Shisui wiggled to slump down the wall, nudging Itachi back.
Itachi gave Shisui a flat look. “You liked them well enough.”
Shisui wrinkled his nose. “No? The me in the future is weird. Or likes girls. He went so crazy and became so not himself that he started liking them. Seriously, the one thing went... bad.” Itachi probably wouldn’t want that information. He made another face.
Itachi eyed Shisui. “There’s nothing wrong with liking girls, Shisui.” It didn’t equate to being crazy, that was certain.
“No, but when I tried to, uh, go out with my teammate’s friend a few months before I got here, things got stupid. I’m just surprised that I like girls in the future... Maybe I spent too much time in someone’s head, and it rubbed off?” He shrugged. Snickered, and twirled Itachi’s hair.
“Or maybe you matured to the appropriate level to understand girls. Or not be so freaked out by them...” Itachi moved his arm and slowly sat up. He did not like the idea of someone else influencing his cousin in such a way. He didn’t want to think it could happen that way. He didn’t want it to happen that way.
“I’m going to get ready for bed. Are you going back to your room?”
“It’s more sheer awkwardness and not being attracted, but sure,” Shisui told him, and wondered what exactly inspired the change in Itachi’s expression, to make it a little darker. With a sigh, he gave Itachi a mournful look.
“Do I have to?”
“No, and that’s why I asked instead of telling you to get out of my room, idiot.” Itachi tapped his palm against Shisui’s forehead and smiled a little.
With a pleased grin,Shisui reached to eat the last dango, and sat up. Bed sounded good, yes.
“Go make yourself comfortable.” Itachi kissed Shisui’s forehead and stood up slowly.
Humming, Shisui brushed Itachi’s leg as he made for the bed, slinking on all fours rather than getting up. He disappeared under the blankets and then stretched and rolled so Itachi had room.
Itachi disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes, then came out. he crawled across the bed and slid under the covers next to Shisui, pillowing his head on Shisui’s leg, content to be upside down.
With a snort, Shisui poked his nose into Itachi’s knee, but didn’t bother him otherwise. He didn’t mind in the least.
Right now, it meant so much that Itachi was willing to touch him.