"I hate the rain." Kisame looked down at his normally silent partner. He and Itachi had been walking for several hours through pouring rain, and they had both lost their straw hats. Kisame had no problem with the rain, but the Uchiha liked to avoid getting wet when he wasn't bathing. Currently, he resembled a very grumpy drowning weasel.

Kisame resisted the urge to laugh at the sight, but just barely. "Do you want to see about finding shelter?" The town they were heading towards was still a good distance away, but maybe they could find a cave or shack to stay in until the weather cleared up.

Itachi nodded, and the two Akatsuki quickly left the road in search of a place to dry off. As luck would have it, they only had to search for a few minutes before they came across a dilapidated old hut.

The thing looked ready to cave in on itself, but at least it was dryer than the outside. Kisame gently pushed open the rotting wood door, looking around carefully in the unlikely event this place had been booby-trapped years ago. Finding no threats, he extended his hand and motioned for Itachi to come in.

The weasel immediately ducked inside and sat down on the dirt floor. The roof was leaking in several spots, but he and Kisame were both able to find dry patches of floor to sit on. "So, what do we do now?" Kisame asked.

Itachi gave him a bored look. "We sit and patiently wait out the rain." He looked up at the ceiling. "Let's just hope the roof holds out. This place is in fairly bad shape, and I'm not sure if-" at that moment, a chunk of the roof directly over Itachi fell in, drenching the Uchiha with rain and bits of roof.

Kisame didn't make a sound for fear of losing his life.

Itachi continued to stare upwards at the new hole for several moments before shutting his eyes and sighing. He rose to his feet and walked towards the door of the hut. "We're going."

"But Itachi, the town's at least-"

"I said, we're going." Itachi's voice was quiet and low, and the shark knew better than to argue now. The two quickly left the hut, silence overtaking them as they walked along the road.

"Here are your keys, miss," the clerk chirped happily, handing a room key to Itachi.

Kisame barely had time to restrain the Uchiha before Itachi attempted to murder the clerk. "Thank you," Kisame said quickly before half-carrying, half-dragging his partner down the hall.

Kisame wasn't surprised in the least to discover that their room had only one bed. He prayed the Uchiha would keep his temper in check; today hadn't exactly been his day, after all.

Itachi didn't say anything; he merely dropped his things and walked straight into the bathroom. Kisame grabbed his partner's bag and moved it onto the bed. He heard the water in the bathroom turn on and sat down on his side of the bed, waiting for Itachi to finish up.

Much to his surprise, the weasel reappeared in only five minutes. Kisame raised a brow at the Uchiha. He was used to Itachi taking twenty or twenty-five minutes to bathe. "There's. No. Hot. Water," Itachi muttered through clenched teeth. Kisame knew better than to try and talk with Itachi when the Uchiha was in a mood like this. The last person who had done that ended up getting flung out of a fifth story window. After the Uchiha had severed his arms and legs.

Itachi climbed under the bed covers and shut off the light.

Hours passed, and Kisame could tell from the way Itachi was breathing that the Uchiha had yet to fall asleep. He cautiously extended a hand, resting it lightly on Itachi's back. The weasel stiffened at the touch. Kisame began rubbing his hand up and down Itachi's back, but the Uchiha refused to relax. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get you to go to sleep. You're way too tense, you know that?" Itachi turned and glared at his partner, eyes blood red. "Cut it out."

Kisame's hand moved up to Itachi's hair, ignoring the order. "Kisame, if you don't stop, you'll regret it."

"Bite me."

CHOMP

Kisame smirked. "Gotcha." He pulled his bitten hand towards himself, knowing Itachi wouldn't release his bite just yet. Once the weasel was close enough, Kisame wrapped his other arm around Itachi's waist, effectively trapping the Uchiha against him.

Itachi could only glare up at his partner. He'd been outsmarted by a shark. Oh, the humiliation. Kisame looked down at him and chuckled. "Someone's a grumpy weasel, aren't they?" Itachi glared harder and released Kisame's hand. "Don't ever call me that again," he growled.

The shark wrapped his now-free hand around the back of Itachi's head, smiling at his partner. Anger only made Itachi look cuter, in his opinion. "Ok, I'll stop." He began stroking Itachi's hair, attempting to soothe the growling Uchiha.

Itachi's eyes gradually returned to their normal onyx color, and Kisame knew he was out of the immediate danger zone. Slowly, Itachi's eyelids began to droop, and his breathing slowed down. "Kisame?" he whispered, voice slightly slurred by drowsiness.

"Yes?"

"I'm going to kill that clerk tomorrow morning."

"If it'll keep you from being a grump we-"

"Don't finish that sentence."

Kisame sealed his lips and continued stroking his partner's silky locks. He grinned as he felt two soft lips press against his neck. "You're lucky I love you," Itachi muttered, eyelids closing completely.

Kisame waited until he was sure his partner was completely asleep, before gently kissing the top of the weasel's head. "Goodnight, Ita-chan."