characters (c) masashi kishimoto

Their relationship was far from conventional, but that was why Kisame liked it. There was a lack of outward romantic gestures that were so common among other couples their age, but that didn't necessary mean there was a lack of romance. There were no outpourings of affection and devotion, but that just made what they said all the more meaningful.

To suggest that they were a normal couple was an outright lie; then again, Kisame and his boyfriend were far from normal. Kisame suffered from a rare genetic disorder that turned his skin an interesting shade of aqua, and no amount of concealer could possibly provide this defect with a façade of normalcy. On top of this, he had the physique of a professional athlete and took advantage of this as often as possible, be it on one of the high school's sports teams or simply working out in the basement of his house. Truth be told, he had difficulty calling it quits after a certain point in his workout; he wanted to stay buff, but not get to the point where his muscles looked like they belonged on the body of a Mr. Universe contestant. The very notion was enough to make Kisame wince; hard to believe, but there was such a thing as too much muscle.

As for the boyfriend in question…well, he was about as close to a polar opposite as Kisame could get.

His name was Itachi Uchiha, and by all accounts he was probably the hottest thing to ever grace the halls of their high school. Itachi was smarter than the entire student body and half the teachers, and if anyone ever bothered to ask him for help in class, he could explain it perfectly. He had a small amount of muscle tone from taking martial arts classes, and natural good looks that could make any girl go green with envy. Itachi did have a single tragic flaw, however. Put simply, about 95% of the time Itachi had the social skills of a rotten fish. He had a naturally quiet demeanor, and typically didn't know what to say in conversation if it involved anything outside of school subjects, but the final nail in the coffin was his eyes; twin coal black orbs that could probably kill you with a single glance if you made the mistake of getting on Itachi's bad side. On top of that, the Uchiha was a year younger than Kisame, and took nothing but college prep courses with zero electives that could have been shared with the shark.

So, how had Kisame and Itachi come together?

It happened one day while Kisame was walking down the hall. He'd left class halfway through the period to get a book from the library, and had been enjoying the peace and quiet of a deserted hallway, as opposed to the noisy and cramped conditions he was so used to experiencing. It was so quiet, in fact, that the shark was easily able to hear the sounds of footsteps approaching from a perpendicular hall. He slowed down to avoid running into the oncoming student, listening as they came closer and closer…

And suddenly, there was Itachi, casting him a sideways glance that froze Kisame in his tracks. Those coal-black eyes were haunting and threatening all at once, and yet, there was something about them that entranced Kisame like nothing else before. But this alone wouldn't have been enough to draw in the older male alone, oh no. The final blow to any chance Kisame may have had of escape came when Itachi stopped walking. It was only for a second, but it was enough time for Kisame to recognize that Itachi saw him and acknowledged his existence, eyes never changing to show any shock or horror at Kisame's appearance. It was a passing glance, a calm acceptance, and in the fantasy of Kisame's mind, a challenge, a call to "come and play", if you will.

And then the eyes were gone, Itachi was walking, and Kisame was hooked. From then on, it had become a game of pursuing the weasel, wooing him (if you could call Kisame's botched attempts at flirting to be "wooing"), and eventually getting Itachi to go out with him. That was when things became interesting.

Kisame couldn't help but grin at the memories of their early days as a couple. He'd be awkward and considered Itachi to be difficult, and nearly gave up on their relationship…until he'd caught on to how to play Itachi's game.

It had been during lunch period; the two of them had snuck outside to enjoy the fresh air and quiet, and had been talking to pass the time. Kisame was grappling for any topic the two of them could talk about, and Itachi was being difficult and barely acknowledged what Kisame was saying. The shark had been growing more and more frustrated, until…

"Why do people insist on making fun of skinny jeans?" Itachi wondered aloud, having completely missed whatever it was Kisame had said previously.

Kisame, to his credit, avoided becoming too angry upon discovering that Itachi had once again stopped listening when he was trying to speak. However, some of the agitation managed to seep out, and before he was able to bite back the remark, snapped out, "Well Itachi, not everyone looks as hot in them as you do."

It wasn't until Itachi's eyes widened ever so slightly and glanced his way that Kisame realized what he had said. Uh-oh. He'd never been so bold as to call Itachi hot, sexy, or anything along those lines. The shark had occasionally made comments on the Uchiha's outfit or hair, but hadn't taken it further than that for fear of upsetting Itachi or seeming shallow. "This can't end well," he thought.

And then, Itachi reacted.

He locked gazes with Kisame's, a small, sultry smile spreading across his lips as his eyes slowly moved down the older male's body, from his lips to his toes and back again. The speed and intensity sent shivers down Kisame's spine; he'd never seen Itachi look at him like that. Just when he thought he'd had it-

"Fair enough," Itachi murmured as those wicked eyes returned to hold Kisame's gaze. "After all, straight leg seems to compliment you best."

Aaaaaand there went Kisame's brain. The remark, the look, and the tone Itachi chose to use in that moment were both too sinful and addictive. Thus their game began. Words and body language were the game pieces, and the object was to manipulate the other into submitting to advances, physical or otherwise. It was both the most frustrating and exhilarating thing Kisame had ever experienced in his life. As twisted and wrong as it might seem to the outsider, Kisame had never been more comfortable and satisfied in a relationship than he was with Itachi once their game started.

Fast-forward several months to a hall after school, and the shark was ready to start the next round. All he had to do was find Itachi…

The Uchiha in question was standing by his locker, back turned to the shark as he arranged his books and notebooks into whatever order his OCD dictated at the moment. Or at least that's what the passing outsider was led to believe; in reality, Itachi kept his locker as tidy and immaculate as the rest of his life. The point of staying behind like this was to make sure Kisame had to come after him, thereby forcing the shark to make the first move. If Kisame didn't enjoy being the pursuer so much, he might have been annoyed. For now, he was more than happy to sneak up on his boyfriend and plant a surprise kiss on the Uchiha's neck, before hastily stepping away. It hadn't happened yet, but Kisame was always fearful that one day, he'd surprise kiss Itachi and get punched for it. "Hey Itachi."

Calmly, as though he'd been waiting for Kisame's arrival (and he no doubt had), Itachi looked up from his locker and turned to face his boyfriend. There was a slight flush to his cheeks, probably from being caught off-guard by his boyfriend once again. It would fade quickly enough though, unfortunate as that may be. "Kisame."

The game had begun.

The object of tonight's encounter was simple; get Itachi to come home with him, without begging. Itachi had spent the night as his place before, but tonight, his parents were both out of town, celebrating their Kami knows how many years anniversary. The shark had plans for a simple dinner, a nice movie, and then possibly some physical activities (provided he could get Itachi to cooperate, because so far he couldn't even get the Uchiha to take off his shirt). "Did you want something, Kisame?" Itachi inquired again, straightening the books in his locker while giving the shark a sideways glance.

Kisame fumbled for the right words; directly asking was too risky, as Itachi could easily dismiss the offer with some vague explanation of other plans, real or imaginary. He'd have to carefully work his way up to the request, and to do that, he'd need to buy time. "Here's that book you lent me," Kisame began, handing the weathered paperback to its owner.

Itachi frowned ever so slightly at the book, slowly turning the pages one at a time. Kisame had borrowed books before and had a tendency to leave tiny scraps of paper between pages as bookmarks, which Itachi had to clean out later when he discovered them. Best to get it over with now. "You came all the way out here to return a book?"

Kisame shrugged. "I didn't know if I was going to see you at all this weekend." A moment of apparent weakness laced with a dash of hope; Itachi usually took that bait.

Itachi glanced up at the shark, noticing the elder's slight grin despite his seemingly nervous countenance. Hm, so that's what Kisame was playing at. This should be entertaining. "I'm not too busy this weekend," he answered dismissively, about halfway through the book now. "Unless something worthwhile came up and took some of my time…" here he gave the shark a pointed look, expecting an answer to the implied question.

"How much time can you give?" Crap, too direct.

Itachi smirked at the shark before replacing the book in his locker and shutting the metal door. "Depends on how much you need."

The weasel was trying to get the answer out of him as quickly as possible, Kisame knew. But he still didn't want to ask just yet; such a request needed a little more easing into than, 'Hey, my folks are out of town, wanna do unseemly things in their house all weekend?' "And I'm guessing you need quite a bit," Itachi continued in a thoughtful voice.

"Maybe, maybe not," Kisame vaguely replied.

Here the Uchiha rolled his eyes. "You could have called or texted me," Itachi explained, "But you didn't. You came to me. This is important to you. Although not important enough to clean up…" here he paused and moved closer to his boyfriend, fingers delicately brushing over Kisame's shoulders and pecs. "Your shirt is covered in lint."

Kisame wanted to scoop Itachi up and kiss him wildly for touching him like that. There was something about the way his boyfriend touched him, even the most innocuous and gentle contact, that drove him up the wall. The worst part was, the Uchiha knew this and constantly manipulated Kisame via physical contact. It made the game all the more difficult and riveting. "I didn't think you'd notice it," Kisame sheepishly admitted. He probably could have tidied up a bit more, to be certain, but as usual he'd underestimated how perceptive Itachi's eyes could be.

A flicker of some emotion crossed Itachi's face, before returning to normal. "I always notice things about you," was the soft reply. Truth for the truth; a fair trade for both. Though to avoid seeming too sweet or vulnerable, Itachi immediately followed this statement with, "You still haven't answered my question." It was a warning; if Kisame didn't get to the point soon, Itachi would leave. "Did you want something?"

"Can't I just want you?" he murmured, eyes shamelessly looking Itachi up and down.

Once upon a time that would have made Itachi blush and fumble for words. Now, despite still sporting slightly red-tinged cheeks, the weasel could easily brush off such comments. Resting his hands on Kisame's shoulders, Itachi shook his head. "You always want me. It's something else."

"Well, um…" There was no point in beating around the bush much longer; besides, Kisame was pretty sure if he delayed for too much time, Itachi was going to do something to completely and irreparably melt his brain. "I was wondering if you could come over tonight."

"That's all?" Itachi inquired, pulling back from his boyfriend. The weasel was more than a bit surprised and disappointed by such a large build-up for a simple, commonplace request.

"My parents are gone," Kisame quickly explained, looping one arm around Itachi's waist to keep his boyfriend close, but not so tightly that the weasel couldn't break free. That would've ruined their game in a hurry. "I'm house-sitting, and none of the neighbors would care or notice if I had a friend over, so…uh…you could…"

Kisame's well thought out plan quickly vanished into thin air when Itachi, having noticed a long explanation was coming his way, trailed his hands gently up the front of Kisame's shirt to loop around his neck, and was now gently massaging circles there while giving the shark a small smile. "While the parents are away, the kids will play?"

"Erm…"

Inwardly chuckling, Itachi pulled Kisame down so that he could whisper into the other's ear. "Do you have it all planned out, Kisame? Everything in place to make it a nice evening for the two of us? Will you make it worth my while?"

"Yes," Kisame choked out, nearly losing it as he felt Itachi's lips brush so close to him. Kami, he wanted to slam Itachi into a nearby locker and do things that would probably get them both expelled. He turned his head ever so slightly, hoping to catch Itachi in a kiss-

Suddenly the lips were gone, the hands were no longer around his neck, and Itachi was walking away. "I'll have to check my plans," he vaguely answered. "But I'll let you know soon."

Wha-no! Evil! Cursing himself for getting distracted and letting Itachi win this round, Kisame turned the other way and walked off. He still needed to visit his own locker anyway.

However, not but five minutes after he'd exited the school, Kisame received a text from Itachi. "You like the dark jeans with the fishnet shirt, don't you?"

For the third time in a very short while, Kisame felt his brain turn to mush. Itachi happened to look sexy as all hell in that outfit, a fact that they were both keenly aware of but, to preserve the effect, a fact that Itachi rarely took advantage of.

Kisame responded with a quick, "Yeah," and rushed homewards with a grin on his face. So, Itachi wanted him squirming in anticipation? Well, the shark happened to know his boyfriend loved seeing him in muscle shirts, and fully intended to catch Itachi off-guard when he came over. Then the next round of their game could begin.