Disclaimer: That I –cough- forgot to write in chapter one. No, I do not own anyone in this fic...

The apartment was dark, almost gloomy. Shizune allowed Kabuto to enter before her, then carefully locked the door behind them with the double bolts. Usually, only one was put into place for security's sake, but the Hokage's assistant found a sudden comfort in knowing she was bolted in with one lock and two latches.

Kabuto entered the kitchen from the tiny lobby and sat down on a chair in total darkness besides from the window. Shizune, though, crossed the room quickly and closed the blinds before carefully turning on the lamp. She cringed when the light flooded across them, now turning Kabuto's shady figure into a concrete vision.

She. Was. So. Dead.

For the thousandth time that night, Shizune told herself that this was a mistake. Once again, though, she shook her head to clear it and repeated in her mind that she could do whatever she wanted. It was true that keeping a missing nin in her home during the night could hardly qualify as being an intelligent thing to do, though...

Her thoughts were cut short by Kabuto's deep voice as he asked, "Hey, Shizune, do you have anything to drink around here?"

Sighing, she nodded meekly before answering, "I only have water. I don't keep anything else since I eat out most of the time."

Kabuto only rolled his eyes and repeated his question slowly, hoping she'd catch the significance of his demand.

This time Shizune stood up fully and crossed the room. 'I can't believe this…' Opening a specific cupboard, she pulled out a bottle of expensive sake and walked back to the table. Meanwhile, her guest had produced two medium-sized glasses from her cupboard and had placed them upon the table.

After pouring the small bottle evenly into both glasses, Kabuto smirked lightly and raised his glass in a mocked toast. "Cheers," he spoke quietly, taking in a long drink.

'Everyone has their secrets…'

Another sigh escaped her lips before the Hokage's assistant brought the glass to her own lips. The burning liquid scorched her throat, which made her cough after she hastily swallowed.

"Good stuff," Kabuto complimented, seeing her gasp slightly to fill her lungs with air.

"It's not mine," she answered, her breathing returning to normal. "It's actually Tsunade's, though she left it at my house one night. I never returned it to her."

Kabuto didn't answer and she didn't offer any more explanation. They stayed in comfortable silence for a while, both of their eyes roaming across the room.

Suddenly, shouted dialogues from outside made Shizune literally jump out of her chair.

"Oh my goodness!"

A laugh was emitted just outside her window. "You found us!"

"Don't ever try to play hide and seek in the dark! Now let's go home!"

The sound of children giggling was heard as their mother ushered them away drifted inside as Shizune sunk back down on her chair. Her heart was hammering frantically in her chest and her breathing had gotten shallow, signs of intense fear.

She then realized that Kabuto was laughing. The light caught on his glasses as he spoke, "Someone's nervous tonight."

"Oh, shut up!" she retorted, brushing her hair away from her face anxiously. It wasn't unusual for children to play around her apartment. She didn't really mind as long as they didn't break anything, but right now it wasn't all that convenient to have tiny spies going around her domicile. "You'd be nervous too if this would be happening in your house!"

The teasing smile remained on his face as he squarely looked at her without wavering. She found his perceptive stare to be rather intimidating, but at the same time she wondered why he looked so intent on studying her. Taking in another long drink of sake, she raised her eyes and locked them into his.

Finally, to break the silence that was building up, Shizune leaned back in her chair and broke the eye contact as she said, "Where will you go tonight?"

"After you kick me out?" he asked with a small snicker.

'Don't you dare try to change the conversation, Kabuto…'

"Yes, after I'll kick you out. Where will you go?" she retorted.

He allowed himself to sigh as he changed his carefree façade into an emotionless one. Emotionless until she saw a hint of resentment crossing his eyes, though she couldn't follow it because he angled his head to make his glasses glint.

Kami, it pissed her off when he did that. It was almost as if his glasses were used to piss people off rather than to see well.

As if to break her line of thoughts, he said quietly, "I guess I'll go sleep outside for a while. Then I'll return to Orochimaru."

Lowering her eyes, Shizune nodded absentmindedly. For some reason, she had slightly hoped that he would say that he'd stay in Konoha. Then again, those were rather stupid illusions. It was like if someone was to hope she'd abandon Tsunade, which would never happen.

'Well… not completely anyways…' Shizune thought guiltily, looking towards the curtained window in desolation.

Then her whole line of thinking changed as she heard Kabuto shift forward, his chair now directly beside hers. Reaching over, he whispered softly while brushing her hair behind her ear, "Calm down. We won't get caught."

Shizune looked at him, realizing how… close he was. Very close. Too close. She knew that only a mere inch separated their hands from touching. She knew that he was looking at her up and down with a small, yet adorable smirk gracing his features. She knew that he wanted it, just like she wanted it also.

Kabuto made the first move. He leaned over and softly pressed his lips upon hers for a fraction of a second, then pulled back slightly to let her consider his actions. But for Shizune, it was the last thing on her mind: she had stopped thinking.

Emboldened slightly by the alcohol, she leaned over and locked him into a second, deeper kiss. For one single moment, Shizune forgot everything. All the guilt, the suffering, the pain, the exertion… she forgot about it. She forgot about Tsunade, about her duties, about the village. All she could focus on was Kabuto.

'Everyone has their secrets…'

Secrets…

Pulling away, Shizune felt herself start to tremble. Her mind kept repeating it was wrong to have secrets, that she was betraying her village. Yet her heart tugged towards freedom, towards him.

"What now?" she asked in a soft breath, unsure of what this meant to him. "You'll leave later tonight, won't you?"

"Later tonight," he repeated, accentuating the word 'later', "and I will be back as soon as I can. You are a very comforting presence, Shizune."

The Hokage's assistant smiled softly at both his comment and at the irony of her current situation. Here she was, sitting with her supposedly mortal enemy, drinking sake and kissing him. Despite her fears, she couldn't deny the fact that he was definitely a handsome man. 'Loyalty and Lady Tsunade, or secrecy and Kabuto…?'

She suddenly felt his hand running behind her neck, sending shivers down her spine. Leaning over, he whispered huskily in her ear, "How about we stop talking? Then we'd have even less chances to get caught…"

Shizune agreed without a second thought before leaning over to kiss him again. Not a single time that night did she ask herself to chose betweem Kabuto and Tsunade.

----------

The next morning came by way too quickly. Cracking her eyes open, Shizune yawned and turned around in her small bed before being violently attacked by a headache. Growling slightly at the taste of sandpaper in her mouth, she sat up while struggling with the messy covers to look around the room. 'What the heck did I do last night?'

Her blood froze. Kabuto.

Ignoring the fuzzy feeling in her head, she jumped away from her mattress and stumbled into the kitchen. The sake bottle was still on the table, along with a single glass. The matching one had been washed and placed away. His shoes were gone and the dirt had been swept from the floor. Her curtains were raised and the windows had been opened a crack. He was gone.

'No traces of him…' she smiled to herself despite the pain in her head. He had promised her, just before she had fallen asleep in his arms, that they'd never get discovered unless they wanted to. He was right.

Raising her eyes, she dreamingly allowed them to trace the room until they rested on a much less pleasant thing: her clock.

"Kami! I'm late!" Shizune suddenly groaned before rushing in her bedroom. Taking off her rumpled clothing, she threw on fresh ones before brushing her hair quickly and making sure she looked presentable.

Less than ten minutes later, she was at the Hokage Tower. Being two hours after her usual arrival time would surely arise suspicion. Creeping around the tower, she sighed with relief as she entered Tsunade's office to find the lady missing.

"Good morning," she said softly, her eyes sweeping over her assistant's look. "Rough night?"

Squirming slightly, Shizune shrugged and ran a hand through her hair self-consciously. Thankfully, the Hokage didn't pursue the matter and went to pick up some papers before heading out of the door again. A slight, curious look had flittered through her eyes, but she had chosen not to intrude.

A second sigh of relief left Shizune's throat as she slumped down on a chair and closed her eyes. She allowed a few seconds to pass by before her lips curled into a smile. A hidden relationship would be hard, but manageable if they were careful. After all…

Everyone has their secrets. From that day on, hers would bear the name of Yakushi Kabuto.

The end