Submerged Ch. 4 KisaIta

A/N: I'm not sure why, but this chapter really killed me...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of Kishimoto's creations. If I did I wouldn't be living in an apartment or driving a car with the worst air conditioning in Texas history.

Submerged - Chapter Four

No matter how hard he tried, Kisame couldn't manage to fall asleep. The shark tossed and turned, the already uncomfortable couch not making his situation seem any more hopeful. Every single time he found a mildly comfortable position a lump in the couch would mysteriously pop out of nowhere and he'd roll over again, struggling to find a place where his over-sized body wouldn't feel so cramped. Stretching out was practically impossible, seeing as when he did his legs would hang awkwardly over the couch. He was tempted to throw the 'high out of his mind' Uchiha on the couch and steal the bed for himself. Taking one look at the curled up form of the boy sleeping pleasantly underneath the covers quickly changed his mind.

When he realized he was probably as comfortable as he was going to get and closed his eyes, images of Itachi helpless with blood dripping from his chin kept filling his mind and making his stomach turn. Seeing him so defenseless...he'd never imagined the weasel could ever be in such a state, yet that night he had nearly had his intestines torn through by a surprise attack. If Kisame hadn't been there what would have happened to him? The thought was swiftly pushed from his mind. For some reason thinking of Itachi in pain made him feel horrible. What the hell had even happened? One moment he was brutally killing enemy-nin the next he was doubled over and paralyzed with pain, gripping his chest as if his heart was about to burst. What bothered him the most was when the pain subsided he acted as if nothing had happened. It wasn't normal to spontaneously almost cough up a lung, last time he checked.

Hell, why was it even bothering him this much? It wasn't like Itachi normally told him anything personal, let alone talk to him. Still, he was the raven's partner and had been for years. Shouldn't there be some sort of mutual trust between them beyond that of trusting one another to watch their back's in a battle? Though they seemed to argue often, even Sasori and Deidara had a mutual respect for one another and frequently held conversations about their art. Was he that uninteresting that the raven would rather ignore him than speak to him? Closer...that's all he would have liked them to be.

And after what happened last night...would that even be achievable? Was he even going to bring it up to him? How the hell did you go about telling your partner who had the conversational skills of a brick wall that they had inquired rather crassly about your genitals? Kisame had seen a number of frightening and strange things in his lifetime but they all seemed to pale in comparison to the look he had seen in Itachi's eyes...so unfocused and almost drunk. The raven haired boy had always been serious and alert. Last night...had been terrifying. With those Sharingan eyes boring into his own, he wasn't sure to run for the fear of being put under a genjutsu or suffer being burned to death with black flames or just drop dead on the spot. One thing for for certain and that was that he would never try to make the Uchiha angry if he was ever in that state again. He prayed that wouldn't happen.

The shark replayed the night in his mind, flushing when he remembered how clumsy and awkward he had acted upon being asked to help Itachi apply his bandages. The older man had never remembered even seeing the Uchiha without his shirt before that time and he'd sure as hell never remembered Itachi being so alluring before. Perfect porcelain skin, silky black hair, defined muscles...Come to think of it, he'd never noticed much about his partner's appearance before. His eyes had always seen the scrawny sickly looking kid that had joined the Akatsuki as a young teen. Now he couldn't deny how toned and appealing the young Uchiha really was underneath that cloak...damn it, why was he even thinking of those things again? Itachi was his issued partner, nothing more and a man at that. He brushed a hand through his hair again and sighed. He really needed to get out more.

Speaking of the stoic raven, he was surprisingly still dead asleep...and it was nearing noon. He hadn't bothered to prep himself for bed seeing as he passed out directly after their odd encounter. The Uchiha was sprawled out across the bed, covers kicked down around his knees, tangling awkwardly around his feet and still swimming in the overly large t-shirt the shark had given him the previous night. Kisame had been up since the early hours of the morning, even after hardly sleeping and had already eaten, showered, cleaned Samehada, paced the room, and about anything else he could think of to his his mind occupied and off of last night. He was actually pretty surprised he hadn't woken the sleeping boy seeing as he wasn't exactly the most graceful at times. Earlier, when he had leaned Samehada against the wall it had slipped and fallen to the floor with a loud bang. Cringing, he had glanced at the boy only to see he hadn't even shifted from his position in the covered. Not to mention, he hadn't exactly been quiet on purpose since he had hoped his lumbering around the room would wake up Itachi and he wouldn't be forced to wake him up himself. After his outburst the night before it didn't seem the best idea to shake him awake. And, he always looked so tired. Maybe he just needed the extra sleep this morning. He seemed to be sleeping pretty deeply...

Wait a second... He hadn't even so much as twitched since Kisame was up...if he was careful maybe he could sneak a peek at whatever Zetsu had given him. It was worth a shot. Itachi would probably never tell him what that creepy plant-man had brought him on his own accord.

Kisame pressed his palm to his forehead when he realized he had missed the perfect opportunity. How could he not have noticed that Itachi's hip pouch had been sitting beside the bathroom sink the entire morning?

Rising from the couch he had been lounging on, he slowly crept to the bathroom and opened the door, being wary to not make any noise that could wake the sleeping Uchiha. The pouch was just where he had remembered it. He closed the door and popped open the flap of the little pouch. Inside was a small unmarked white bottle amongst a few other things. Carefully picking them up, he popped off the lid and spilled a few of the contents into his hand: white pills. So he had been right...Itachi wasn't acting normal because he had been under the influence of some sort of medication. But what was it? Pain pills? He wasn't a complete idiot. They had to be for whatever had happened last night. What was Itachi not telling him? Popping the pills back into the bottle he placed them back into the pouch and returned them to their sitting place alongside the sink and exited the bathroom.

Itachi was sitting straight up in bed staring straight at him when he emerged.

"I-Itachi?" the shark quietly asked, unsure if he was going to get a repeat of the night before and more strange and inappropriate questions. Hadn't the effects of whatever was in that little white bottle worn off by now? Swallowing his anxiety, he took a step towards his partner. "You okay there?"

"Huh?" snapping out of his confusion the raven untangled his feet from the covers and slid to sit on the edge of the bed. "Yes, I'm fine..."

"You sure?"

The Uchiha was silent for a few moments, staring down at his over-sized clothing, before answering him with his own question, "Why am I in your shirt, Kisame?"

"Well, I gave it to you since you didn't have one to wear after last night..." this caused the raven to raise an eyebrow and the shark to blush furiously. "No-no, I-I mean I couldn't just let you walk around naked... After you were injured! Your shirt...it was ripped up. Wait...don't you remember?"

"No...I suppose I don't." Itachi stared into his lap.

"You don't remember questioning that nin? Getting attacked? Or..." Kisame hesitated, unsure if he should bring up his bloody coughing fit...or strange outburst.

"I remember that. Do not worry, I haven't forgotten the information I gathered."

The shark nervously ran a hand through his navy blue hair, willing himself to just ask his younger partner about the container of pills in the bathroom and Zetsu's unexpected visit. He had never been one to pry into others' business and personal affairs. Since when was it his problem if someone was having a rough patch in their life or with their health? He'd only ever have a damn about himself, but his growing concern for Itachi was pushing those thoughts further into the back of his mind. He should care shouldn't he? If he should care about anyone at all, it should at least be the person he had become closest too...even if they weren't all that close.

"What about..." he began, before cutting himself short. Damn it, his nerves had already started to get him, his hands shaking slightly.

"Yes?"

"Ah, never mind..." It's nothing. We had better report to Leader-sama before he gets annoyed. He probably already isn't happy we are late reporting to him."

"You have never been much of a liar, Kisame." those crimson eyes were boring into his own again, and he couldn't bring himself to look away this time. He might not be an expert at reading Itachi, but he was almost positive the raven could read him like a book after all their years together. And hell, he was right. He never had been good at lying.

"Are you...sick?" the question came out before he could even think to stop himself and keep up his charade. If it was even possible, Itachi's eyes seem to grow a deeper red as they narrowed. The tension in the room grew thick as heavy fog and Kisame knew what was to follow couldn't be good.

"Did you look through my things?" Itachi questioned with his voice like ice, sending chills down the shark's spine.

Kisame gulped, knowing he couldn't have been any more obvious even if he had held up a sign exclaiming, 'Hey you were sleeping so I rummaged through your stuff because I'm a nosy bastard and too chicken to just ask you what's wrong in the first place.' 'Just lie. Just lie.' he told himself. 'Play dumb. You're an idiot for even thinking you could get away with looking through his things without him knowing. He might believe it...damned idiot...'

"What are you talking about?" the shark feigned innocence.

"Did you look in it?"

"W-what...I just took a shower and..." he trailed off again knowing whatever reason he was going to conjure up probably wasn't a good idea.

Kisame had no words to describe the look of rage on the Uchiha's face. He supposed this was what he deserved for so desperately trying to elicit a reaction from him. Itachi had rose from his seat on the bed and stomped towards his larger partner. Startled, the shark took a step backwards. The enraged raven snatched the front of his cloak as he was about to take another step backwards and forcefully pulled him to eye level, their faces only inches apart. Kisame was almost sure he could see flames burning behind those crimson orbs. Still, even though his younger partner seemed poised to maim or perhaps even kill him, he couldn't help but notice how delicate his features were...and how his cheeks were slightly flushed in anger with his lips parted ever so slightly. And how heavily his own heart pounded in his chest...and how close Itachi's face was to his...

"Those are my personal belongings." the Uchiha fumed, tightening his grip on Kisam's cloak and still not breaking eye contact. "What did you see?"

"Just...look, I was worried about you alright?" Kisame reached up to touch the hand grasping his cloak.

Itachi slapped away the intruding hand and pushed his larger partner away, turning his back to the shark, and went to stand in front of the window. They stood there in the silence for some time before either one of them spoke. "Don't push yourself into situations that do not concern you."

The words he should say seemed to escape him as Kisame stood there dumbstruck. Why had he reached up to touch his hand? He felt that it wasn't in attempts to push away Itachi. In fact, if anything he had felt that he wanted to pull him closer. And why did it surprise him that the raven's hand had been pleasantly warm? Itachi wasn't so emotionless that he was the walking dead. He stared down at his hand, the lingering warmth still fresh in his mind.

"I'm sorry." was all he could think to say.

Itachi's back remained turned towards him and he showed no sign of acknowledging his prescense. Kisame forced a grin and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "I know I'm the one who needs more beauty sleep and all and you usually are dragging me out of bed...but you looked kinda, I don't know...peaceful? I would have felt bad waking you."

"Just don't."

Itachi moved farther away from the shark and crossed his arms, still staring blankly out the window. Kisame could feel his blood begin to boil. Why was he even letting some kid order him around or treat him like dirt in the first place? Clenching his fists tightly he took a few steps toward his the Uchiha.

"You're my partner, I have the right to ask you." Kisame could feel his temper rising higher. "What if that happens again and I'm not fast enough and you die? Or worse, what if you get me killed because you can't back me up? Don't you even trust me? What exactly did Zetsu give you last night?"

"It's none of your concern."

"It's not my concern?" Kisame was tired of screaming at a wall. "It's not my concern if you cause us to fail a mission because it happens again. It's not my concern if you get me killed!"

"Just drop it."

"I'm not going to drop it until you tell me. You started acting really fucking weird last night! You wouldn't stop staring at me and you starting asking me really weird questions..." Itachi turned to face him at these words, almost looking surprised. The anger Kisame had initially felt began to subside now that the raven was at least acknowledging his presence once again. "Don't you even remember any of last night? And what the hell happened to you? You started coughing up blood for fuck's sake! Are you just going to act like that didn't happen? And then after Zetsu brought you those pills you acted high out of your damn mind! What is wrong with you?"

"I'm just sick. Don't concern yourself with it."

The shark's heart sunk in his chest as if dragged down the world's heaviest anchor. So he had been sick. But the more important question was how long had be been sick? How long had he been hiding it from him? And why hadn't he noticed sooner? "How sick are you?"

"I'll be fine, Kisame." and these words the shark willed himself to believe.

"I-I'm sorry." he stammered, staring at his feet. "...I'm just worried about you."

"I know."

A/N: Getting a little more angsty are we? As always, please review and tell me what you think. Feed my brain! Suggestions on story direction, conflict, or anything in general is always welcome! Until next time...

-OTM