Chapter Text
Chapter 1 – Breakfast Can Be Intense
Itachi kept his eyes down at the table as he sat for breakfast, Shisui surreptitiously opposite him. Sasuke immediately shifted closer to his brother. Itachi could feel Fugaku glaring at him.
“I think,” Fugaku said slowly, his tone deadly. “If Shisui is going to be spending yet another night here, it might be prudent to give him his own room.”
Shisui cocked one innocent eyebrow.
“Don’t worry, Father,” Itachi still refused to look up. “Shisui won’t be staying again tonight.”
There was a short silence wherein Fugaku levelled his death glare at Shisui, who met it stoically, and, when it failed to reproduce the results it was named for, turned it to the top of Itachi’s head, which also declined to decease on the spot.
With a grunt, Fugaku stood up. “I must leave for work.”
“Good bye, Father,” Sasuke said enthusiastically, oblivious to the tension.
Shisui grinned sunnily. “Good bye, Fugaku-san.”
Itachi finally raised his dark eyes to his father’s face, looking at him for a brief moment before flicking his gaze down to the table again.
Once Fugaku left, Mikoto cleared her throat softly, keeping her eyes on the cooking. Both boys looked at her. “You needn’t look so nervous. He doesn’t know.”
Itachi paled slightly.
There was a brief second for Shisui to think of something to say, before he stammered out, “Doesn’t know what? There’s nothing to not know.”
“Sasuke,” Mikoto said gently, garnering the attention of her youngest son. “We have run out of eggs. Won’t you go and find some?”
“Okay,” Sasuke hopped to his feet happily and sprinted from the kitchen.
Mikoto set a plate in front of each boy and sat down at an open side of the table. “You two are not as subtle as you think.”
Shisui’s jaw almost dropped open. “What? I don’t – What? Wait-“
“Shisui,” Itachi said, stopping his cousin’s rambling before it got too out of hand.
“I won’t pretend I approve,” Mikoto continued. “Because I don’t. I had hoped you two might remain children for a bit longer, but,” Itachi’s face fell slightly, “You were forced to grow up too fast. In every way, it would seem.”
Itachi’s expression was mortified, but Shisui began eating his breakfast without complaint.
“But if you want to not get found out by your father any time soon,” Mikoto continued, and Shisui paused in his eating to send her a curious glance. “Whatever you were doing on Tuesday and Thursday, don’t.”
After a brief second of recollection, the reactions from both boys were polar opposites. Shisui’s face morphed into a thoroughly smug grin, with a razor-sharp look that he threw at Itachi, who had turned instantaneously bright red and buried his face in his hands.
Mikoto nodded briefly. “You have been warned.” She stood up again, just as Sasuke came bounding through the door with an egg in each hand.
Shisui continued with his breakfast unaffected, the rakish grin still in place.
When Itachi was brave enough to come out from behind his hands, he stood up and left the kitchen without a word, his cheeks still flared red.
Shisui found him a few minutes later, sitting on the dock with his toes almost touching the water, his weight on his hands, face cast down.
Shisui flopped down beside him, not minding when he garnered no reaction from the younger boy.
“So,” he studied Itachi’s face carefully, noting that it was back to its usual pale colour. “What do you want to do today?”
“Never show my face at the breakfast table again.”
Shisui couldn’t help the rumbling laugh that burst from his chest. He nudged his shoulder into Itachi’s affectionately. “Probably not an option. I meant tonight, after work.”
Itachi’s cheeks burned again. “Nothing.”
“I don’t know why you’re so upset. Clearly, Tuesday and Thursday were a great success. I think I’m going to call that technique the Tuesday-Thursday.”
“If you do, I will never speak to you again.” Itachi was making a careful study of the lake’s surface.
“We could probably use more practice at it, though.” Shisui continued conversationally, ignoring the tangible rage emanating from the ninja sitting beside him. “You certainly could. All your screaming is going to give us away.”
“I don’t scream,” Itachi hissed, eyes narrowing.
“The Tuesday-Thursday thinks otherwise.”
“Nii-san, what’s a Tuesday-Thursday?”
Neither boy had noticed the approach of Sasuke, and when they looked back he was standing wide eyed behind them, infallible smile in place, head tilted questioningly to one side.
“It’s a new jutsu,” Shisui said smoothly.
“Can you teach me?” Sasuke asked eagerly.
Itachi’s glare burning into Shisui put every genjutsu he had ever learnt to shame.
“Sorry, Sasuke,” Shisui shook his head. “You’re much too young.”
“But it sounds really powerful,” Sasuke argued, blissfully unaware that he was arguing against his own case. “You said it made Nii-san scream, and he never does.”
Lesser men than Shisui would have turned to ash under Itachi’s gaze. “We’ll teach you something else,” Shisui promised, knowing this would placate the child, and hopefully get him to change the subject before Itachi’s all-encompassing eyes of doom enveloped the poor kid as well.
“When?” Sasuke asked eagerly, and Shisui mentally patted himself on the back.
“On the weekend,” Shisui said. “Deal?” He held out one hand, and Sasuke grasped it enthusiastically.
“Deal,” he said, smiling broadly. He trotted happily away, no doubt to spread the word that he was going to learn something new to everyone who would listen.
Shisui turned his full attention back to Itachi, the smug grin back in place. “Problem solved.”
“I’m going to kill you.”
“Nonsense,” Shisui brushed this threat aside. “You love me.”
Itachi threw him a look that said that last statement was, at this moment, doubtful at the very least. He turned his attention back to the still water of the lake. He seemed unsettled.
“Hey,” Shisui said, softly now, all the humour from his voice replaced with gentle encouragement. “Still worried? About your father finding out?”
Itachi nodded shortly. In truth, it terrified him. The mere thought of Fugaku finding out about the two of them made him immeasurably anxious. They had been ‘together’ for three months, if ‘together’ was the right word. Even before they had moved their relationship to a more physical manifestation, they had very rarely been apart. Everyone was accustomed to seeing them together, so, as Shisui had said, it wouldn’t arouse suspicions that they were spending so much time together.
And he had been spending nights with Itachi since they were much younger. It was only during the last three months that ‘spending nights together’ had become a lot less innocent.
“He won’t find out,” Shisui assured his cousin. “We’ll just have to be a bit more careful.”
Itachi hummed a vague agreement before moving to stand up. “I should go.”
“M’kay,” Shisui said, staying where he was.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, if we don’t get an overnight mission.” It didn’t sound like a question, but Shisui knew it was. Itachi liked to check everything, make sure everything was correctly scheduled.
“Yup,” Shisui said. “Make sure to get plenty of sleep tonight.”
“… Why?” Itachi was immediately suspicious, pausing in the act of turning away from his cousin to flit away.
“Because,” Shisui tilted his head back to grin at Itachi, “When we’re together next, we’re practicing the Tuesday-Thursday until you can learn to keep your mouth shut, and I’ve got a few ideas to help make that happen.”
Kakashi looked up from his book when Itachi stalked into the room. He studied the young ninja for a moment, before commenting lazily. “You don’t usually come to work looking like you want to murder someone.”
“I’m fine,” Itachi muttered.
Kakashi took note of the faint pink tinge to Itachi’s cheeks. There was only one person in the world who could rattle the young Anbu. He asked casually, “What’s Shisui done this time?”
Itachi stiffened at the mention of Shisui’s name. “Nothing.”
“Hm,” Kakashi turned his attention back to his book, casually turning a page. “Clearly. You don’t have a mission today.”
Itachi looked slightly surprised. “Why not?”
“Physical exams. There’s been some rumours that other villages are thinking of trying to infiltrate, so Hokage ordered everyone to have a physical and make sure we’re prepared for anything.” Kakashi looked up. “You’re in pretty good shape, I wouldn’t worry.”
“I’m not worried.” Itachi shrugged. He trained hard, and took care of himself. The only complaint anyone could make about his health was his inclination to develop a cough in the winter, and even that had never affected his work.
“You can head over to the hospital then,” Kakashi said. “Anbu take priority, so you shouldn’t have to wait long.”
“Thank you.” Itachi said. Kakashi dismissed him with a vague wave of the hand, and Itachi headed off in the direction of the Konoha hospital.
“You seem a bit stressed,” the medic nin said, with a frown, upon concluding his exam of Itachi. “But, I suppose, in your line of work that is to be expected.”
Work wasn’t the problem. Itachi could handle that. Shisui, on the other hand, was a whole different kettle of exotic, stubborn, bull-headed fish who seemed to delight in frustrating Fugaku, which, in turn, wound Itachi up into a tightly coiled spring.
“All in all, no complaints from me.” The medic marked a few things off on his clipboard.
Itachi slipped his shirt on again. “Thank you.”
“We’ve been told to expect an increase in missions, especially for you Anbu level ninja. So, don’t overdo training. We can’t afford to have anyone injured right now.”
“I’ll be careful.” Itachi was always careful with his training, but sometimes training with Shisui got a little bit wild, and nerve wracking. Not that Itachi minded, any time they spent together was enjoyable. And lately, in the last month or so, training had ended with much more enjoyable activities, which, Shisui always maintained, was just as good exercise.
Itachi wasn’t sure about the statistics regarding it, but he couldn’t argue that it was more entertaining.
He had just set foot outside the hospital when his Anbu team appeared, with the message that the Hokage wanted to see the team for a mission briefing. It was annoying, but not unexpected. Itachi was a little irritated that it was so sudden; he wouldn’t be able to see Shisui before leaving and let him know – he liked to let the older boy know where he was, and vice versa – but there wasn’t much he could do about that.
Shisui would hear about it from someone else soon enough.
Said boy was, at that moment, waiting to be allowed into Fugaku’s office at the Konoha Police Station. He had been summoned shortly after arriving, and he had a sneaking suspicion it was to be yelled at. Not that he minded, Fugaku had no idea he and Itachi had a physical relationship, and Shisui wasn’t about to let the secret out. But Fugaku had looked less than amused with him at breakfast that morning, and Shisui had the feeling the man was growing annoyed with Shisui being ‘around’ all the time, and taking Itachi’s focus from training and work into more pleasant territories.
“Fugaku-san,” Shisui bowed shallowly. “You asked to see me?”
Fugaku glared at Shisui, making his irritation at the young nin no secret. He got succinctly to the point. “I don’t know what you are doing with Itachi, but I would like it to stop.”
“I’m not doing anything with him.” It wasn’t a lie, Shisui told himself, since at that very moment he was nowhere near Itachi.
Fugaku’s glare deepened. “I don’t like you spending so much time with him. He has more important things to think about than whatever you are trying to occupy him with.”
Shisui certainly wasn’t going to volunteer details about that. As far as he was concerned, it was private information. It was his self-appointed mission to help Itachi relax once in a while, and, like many missions, the details were . . . classified . . . “What exactly are you saying?”
“Stay away from him,” Fugaku warned. “If it’s not an official mission, you two have no business being together. Certainly no reason to be spending nights at my house.”
“What if Itachi feels differently?” Shisui asked coolly. “We’re friends after all. He’s allowed to do whatever he wants with his time off.”
There wasn’t an argument Fugaku could make against that, but his expression showed his displeasure. “I will be watching you two.”
“Go ahead.” You probably won’t like what you see. Shisui made a mental note to be a bit more careful. In the privacy of Itachi’s room was one thing, but he might need to be a bit more vigilant about the stolen kisses and unasked for touches that he was wont to doling out in public places. It might be time to pay closer attention to Itachi’s insistence that he keep his hands to himself.
Not that he would ever be obvious about it, he was too careful and too well trained for that. But now that he knew Fugaku was suspicious, and rightfully so, he would need to keep a closer eye out. Maybe not grope Itachi by surprise too much because, while the younger boy was an exceptional and unflappable ninja, he was prone to over reacting around Shisui and Shisui’s obnoxious ‘grabby hands’. Shisui assumed this reaction was due to lack of practice and had been helpfully remedying it.
He grinned internally. The challenge would be fun.
“You’re dismissed then,” Fugaku said gruffly.
Shisui bowed politely. “Thank you. Have a nice day.”
Shisui left the room, biting back a grin. He loved pushing Fugaku’s buttons. He knew it was wrong, and he was playing with fire, but he was an Uchiha. He had been playing with fire from a very young age, and had yet to be burned.
His next stop was the hospital for his tedious physical exam – hell, he seemed quite physically fine last night, and he even had Itachi to vouch for him. Shisui hoped they might overlap at the hospital, but unfortunately the nurse informed him Itachi had already left – summoned by the Hokage for a mission briefing.
Shisui shrugged it off, disappointed, but that was the life they signed up for. Itachi would be back in two days. It wasn’t the longest they had been apart, but Shisui knew, no matter how brief the time, it affected Itachi just the same either way.
And Shisui knew, when he returned, that Itachi would want them to spend time together, even if all Shisui did was lie next to him while Itachi collapsed in an exhausted sleep. Although, this time, Shisui would probably not just mosey into their house with Itachi and casually announce he was staying over again. Fugaku seemed to be seeing through that little ploy.
So, it seemed like it was time for Shisui to start climbing oh so subtly through windows.
Anything for you, Itachi, Shisui thought fondly. I’ll be waiting.
Itachi returned from his mission dead tired; after two days with barely any sleep, almost constantly moving. He wanted nothing more than to fall down into bed and stay there. He wiped some sweat off the bridge of his nose, trudging dully through the Uchiha compound. He had to stop at the Police Station before he went home. Shisui was leaving for several days, and he wanted to see him before he left.
Itachi waited patiently outside the large building, around the corner and out of sight. Shisui always left this way, on the off chance that Itachi would be there. He leant against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, and focused hard on not falling asleep. A weary, unvigilant ninja was a dead one.
“Hey.”
Itachi raised tired eyes when he heard Shisui speak, mentally kicking himself because he had not heard the older boy approach.
“You look exhausted,” Shisui said, cupping Itachi’s cheek with one hand. Itachi leant slightly into the pressure. “You should go and rest.”
“I wanted to say good bye first.” Itachi’s eyes were drooping slightly. The sunset light was warm and he wanted to stay in that moment forever.
Shisui’s gentle smile made Itachi’s insides flutter a little. “Glad you did.”
Itachi let his eyes close, whole body relaxing. He heard Shisui move closer, couldn’t be bothered to open his eyes, just let himself be pressed back against the wall, Shisui’s body hard against his and mouth seeking contact. Itachi’s arms moved to grip Shisui’s hips, pulling the older boy closer.
“That’s not fair,” Shisui murmured against Itachi’s mouth, “I have to leave in, like, a minute.”
“Then make it count.”
“Nasty little pervert,” Shisui grinned, biting down on Itachi’s lower lip and thrusting his hips forward. He loved the sound Itachi made when he did that, so satisfying to hear, even muffled by his own lips. He moved to Itachi’s neck, biting gently, one hand reaching for the back of Itachi’s neck, to squeeze there. He felt Itachi sigh, and he grinned.
He bit on his neck again, squeezing with one hand and pushing his hips forward, and Itachi actually whined; it was the most intoxicating sound Shisui thought he’d ever heard. He captured Itachi’s lips once more, the younger boy unresisting. “Love you so much when you do that.”
Itachi just hummed vaguely in response, hands gripping tightly around Shisui’s waist.
“I have to go, though,” Shisui said with a lazy swipe of his tongue across Itachi’s bottom lip. He drew back slightly. “I’ll be back in a few days.”
“Fine,” Itachi sighed.
“Try to rest.” Shisui gave him one more soft kiss on the lips before leaping away. Itachi kept his eyes on Shisui’s vanishing form, before dropping his gaze to the ground and beginning to walk home.
Shisui glanced back with a bright smile, and as he was about to turn away something else caught his eye. He paused on a rooftop, looking uncertainly back. Was that . . . was that Fugaku?
Surely not.
Shisui hesitated, until his team called to him to hurry up. He turned away, shaking his head. Itachi would have noticed if his father was nearby. But there was a sense of unease in Shisui’s stomach. He swallowed hard.
Please let me not have seen what I saw.
The feeling of unease was so strong that he paused again, Sharingan activated for extra benefit. And yes, it was unmistakable now. Fugaku’s deadly glare was levelled directly into Shisui’s red and black eyes. Shisui swallowed hard.
Oh shit.
“Shisui!” One of his team mates called insistently. “We need to go now!”
Shisui tore his gaze away from Fugaku’s, setting his mouth in a grim line and speeding off after his team. Well, there went that secret.
His only real regret was that Itachi would have to take the brunt of his father’s displeasure alone.