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A Swim Worth The Bruises

Finally, after months of following others and loving their content, I am ready to make my first contribution to this site with my own fanwork! (This is my excuse for anything weird about the formatting of my post.) This isn't my first time posting fanfiction however! I have an AO3 account under the same username as well, that has a shakily outlined story which this fic is part of.

This is my first post of hopefully many, prompted by Kisame week 2021's day 1 challenge, "Come into the water and I'll show you". @kisameweek-2021

I also want to say this was inspired by a post headcannoning that Kisame could draw sharks to him passively, kinda like the Zodiac members in Fruits Basket.

Summary:

“I just wonder what you do out there for so long.”

The look on her face was simply too cute to deny her curiosity. It was probably a bad idea, but knowing her, she would definitely enjoy the experience. He debated on the idea for a short moment, which piqued her interest further. Her pleading look ended the mental debate. “Come into the water and I’ll show you.”

The summer heat was quickly becoming unbearable. The early morning hadn’t been too bad, as the trio had been mostly shaded by the trees, but as the day progressed and the terrain turned to deadened grass and rock, the sun's beams were becoming a little more than an annoyance. Normally, Kisame would just trudge on, even at the risk of heat exhaustion, he prided himself on his ability to endure. With his companions though, that wasn’t an option. Itachi had been getting worse. He tried to hide it, and to his credit, he had hidden his worsening condition for years, but as their mutual trust strengthened and the sickness became harder to stifle, Kisame had taken notice of the muffled coughs and squinting glances. Their traveling had always been leisurely, but unless they were on a mission that was expected to be finished quickly, Kisame insisted on breaks. The younger man was both determined and stubborn, and this meant that without Kisame’s interference, he would have dropped dead from overexertion several times over. At the moment, said man was keeping pace with the taller man's strides, but his ever weary face was dampened by sweat, and his breath was coming out slightly harshened by exhaustion.

Looking down at his other side, he could see that their third companion was too, sweaty and tired and determined not to show it. Breathing laboured, she clutched the straps of her backpack as she shuffled along. Her steps were loud and crunched as she dragged her feet, no doubt wearing out the soles of her shoes. Healthy as she may be, she wasn’t accustomed to the heat and it wore on her as it did the two shinobi. Both needed a break, yet were firmly set on pushing themselves till they were forced to stop. He knew that he would have to be the one to make an excuse for them to rest, but he was having a hard time spotting a reasonable spot to recover. That was until the wind changed direction and he caught a whiff of a familiar scent.

The reason he hadn’t realized how close they were was because of the sloping, rocky cliffs that hid it from their view. As they drew nearer to the tall rocks Kisame could make out a seagull call and grinned. Itachi must have realized where they were as well, as he perked up slightly and gave the other man an approving look from the side of his eye. Both men changed their direction slightly and headed towards what they hoped would be a suitable rest stop. Turning to check on the woman following at his side, she appeared to not have noticed anything, focussed on her own thoughts. She only clued in when they were close enough to hear the waves lapping at the coast, that was when her eyes lit up with excitement. She looked first at Kisame, who gave her a sharp-toothed grin, then at Itachi, who simply gave a curt nod. Childlike glee had her tired feet bouncing along once again.

Climbing the rocky slopes was challenging, but when all three had clamored to the top, they were rewarded with the uninhibited breeze, and the sight of sparkling water reaching as far as the horizon. The sight was beautiful of course, but the promise of salty, cooling water had them quickly making their way down to the beach. The current position of the sun gave them a nice shaded area at the base of the cliffs to settle their things. Itachi unzipped his long Akatsuki cloak and used it to sit upon, leaning against the cold rock. Kisame’s cloak was laid on the sand next to Itachi’s, as well as his sword, Samehada, and the rest of his supplies. While he kicked off his shoes, his cloak was stolen by the third of their group as she lazily flopped to rest in the shade. Her wriggling attempts to find a comfortable position caused a muffled chuckle from Kisame as he tugged his shirt over his head. Finally finding a suitable arrangement lying on her stomach, arms crossed in front to cushion her head, legs splayed awkwardly, she turned to say something but seemed to lose track of what that thing may have been when she glanced at the expanse of muscle above her.

Her ogling was very clear, Kisame smirked, “You see something you like?” he asked.

Partially hidden by her arms was an impressed grin, and her eyes stayed right where they were as she simply replied, “Duh”. The complete lack of shame made him laugh as he decided to indulge her by giving a few flexing poses, to her absolute delight. Itachi, who was quite used to their casual flirting, ignored them and closed his eyes for a chance at a light nap.

Shuffling out of his pants and stooping to fold them with his shirt and lay them on a rock to keep them from getting sandy, he was watched unabashedly by the woman. He was used to this by now, she had never been the type to hide her attraction to him. Instead of her staring making him uncomfortable, it gave his ego a boost, made him feel as attractive as she told him he was. “Tell me how the water is when you get back,” she said, a little more quietly than her normal volume, trying to be more considerate of Itachi’s attempt at getting some shut-eye.

Raising a brow, Kisame looked at her, “You could come along and find out for yourself” he tempted, following her lead in lowering his voice slightly.

In a less objectifying way, she glanced down at his underwear and gave a light laugh, “I don’t know if I feel comfortable swimming in my underwear” she answered.

This made Kisame chuckle, “It’s not as though it’s something I haven’t seen before,” he argued. He glanced at Itachi and added, “and Itachi’s a gentleman, he wouldn’t dare to make a woman uncomfortable by gawking at her in a state of undress.” Itachi didn’t react other than continuing to ignore their chatter, but this was the clearest sign showing that he had no particular desire to ‘gawk’ as Kisame had mentioned. He glared humorously at her, “Unlike someone else I know.” She giggled but looked as though she was considering his offer, before settling her head down in her arms properly.

“Too tired to swim,” she mumbled into her arms, “Later.” She finished.

That was good enough for Kisame, the lapping of the waves against the shore finally drew him away from the shade and his tired companions. The scorching heat had been forgotten as he undressed in the shade, but the short distance to the water had reminded him why he had so badly wanted to reach the cool ocean before. Splashing water sprayed his ankles as he took a testing step into the clear water. The feeling was already refreshing, but as he waded further in, eventually reaching waist-deep before diving under completely, he felt the familiar calm of the ocean, of what he truly considered home. Opening his eyes he could see the sandy, seaweed-covered ground better than most with his specially developed eyes. Tiny fish swam away from his kicking legs and powerful arms, yet more kept swimming closer, curious as they were. His lung capacity was greater than most, but gills served as nothing more than decoration, and he was forced to come up for air after a few minutes of swimming along the seafloor. Breaking the surface, he let himself float on the gentle waves, basking in the sun for a short while, before taking a breath and submerging himself again. After all the time on land, he had begun to miss the weightlessness of the ocean. Sometimes he wished he was fully adapted for the salty sea waters, he felt as if he was a mistake on land, a fish out of water.

It seemed as though the body of water felt the same, as he spotted a black-tipped dorsal fin jutting out of the waves, heading directly for him. Kisame grinned a toothy grin, it had always been something of an uncontrollable talent for him to compel nearby sharks to gather around him. The reef shark wasn’t shy, it brushed against him, curiously drawn to his presence. Kisame carefully ran a hand along the length of its back as it moved past. It playfully flicked its tail, hitting him with a strength he would always admire. It circled him, enjoying the attention, bumping harshly into him. It appeared to be the bravest of its peers, as a few more gathered around him, their rowdiness didn’t make him nervous, instead, he enjoyed their rough company. The heat of the sun on his face and shoulders pushed him to once again dive into the deep blue. His new companions swam around him, curiously following as he dove deeper, giving him enough space to maneuver freely. Once he could seat himself on the sandy floor, he casually performed the signs for a basic water jutsu, creating a small whirlpool that caught the playful sharks and sent them spiraling quickly to the surface. Once the jutsu was released, they swam back, excitedly nudging him as they swarmed, the equivalent of a group of children surrounding an adult asking them “to do that again!”, and he indulged. When the pain in his chest was too much to ignore, he breached the surface of the waves to gulp greedy breaths of air.

By now his only company was not simply the blacktips, but they had been joined by a bulky and brutish bull shark that preferred to simply swim close, avoiding Kisame’s jetstreams and whirlpools. Lurking nearby in the slightly murky distance were a few hammerheads that were still hesitant to get too close. He wasn’t quite sure how long he had been out in the deep, so he gave the bull a firm palm to the nose as a farewell and began the short distance back to shore. As much as Kisame yearned to belong fully to the sea, he couldn’t swim forever, and his companions waiting ashore wouldn’t be leaving without him.

Closer to the beach he could spot her walking in the shallows, still fully clothed, just cooling her legs. The sun wasn’t as high as before, and he was sure it had cooled down some by now, but standing in direct heat was most likely to still be less preferable than the shade. He wondered if she was waiting for his return. The beaming smile on her face when she noticed his approach made it clear that was exactly what she was doing, and Kisame couldn’t help but grin back in earnest. She waded further in, stepping carefully, avoiding the mushy seaweed and pointed stones till she was deep enough for the water to just miss the bottom of her shorts. He bridged the gap between them, getting close enough to speak without shouting. “Was napping with Itachi too boring for ya? Or did you just miss me?” he teased.

She gave a soft laugh, “Itachi’s not boring” she insisted. “I was just a little worried about you”.

Had he really been gone that long? Covering up the fact that he was flustered by her care for him, he reached a dripping hand to ruffle her hair in a teasing gesture, which she annoyedly huffed at, batting his hand away before running her own hands through to organize the dampened strands. “Worried about lil’ ol me?” he joked, “Did you think I was gobbled up by a giant sea monster? I thought you knew I was big and strong.” His forced grin returned to a normal one when she rolled her eyes at him.

“Of course not!” she replied exasperatedly, and then a bit more curiously, “I just wonder what you do out there for so long.”

The look on her face was simply too cute to deny her curiosity. It was probably a bad idea, but knowing her, she would definitely enjoy the experience. He debated on the idea for a short moment, which piqued her interest further. Her pleading look ended the mental debate. “Come into the water and I’ll show you.”

“But I’m already in the water” she teased, gesturing at the gentle rolls of the tide around her legs.

He rolled his eyes, unamused. “You don’t trust me?” he baited, and of course she took it.

“Of course I do!” She said frustratedly, followed by a dramatic sigh, “Just give me a moment to save my clothes, jeez I was just kidding.” Her obvious sincerity was just so refreshing to him, he couldn’t help but pick on her sometimes. Even when she was upset with him, she always made sure he knew how much she cared. He followed her, not even trying to hide the gloating grin he wore when she pouted over her shoulder at him.

The sun had shifted enough that the spot they had chosen before was now in direct sunlight instead of the shade, and Itachi had either never fallen asleep, or had awoken to the uncomfortable heat and had retreated further into the shadows to read instead. Despite what Kisame had said to her before about Itachi not looking at her undressing, he couldn’t help but keep watch on his young partner. Sure, he knew Itachi quite well, but for her comfort, and, admittedly, his own, he felt a bit protective. Folding her clothes and placing them next to Kisame’s on the now Sun-bathed rock. Faking confidence, she walked beside him, heading towards the water. Her body language was stiff, but she seemed determined to ignore how she flushed slightly at her inappropriate swim attire.

Reaching the water and wading far enough to conceal her form made her noticeably more relaxed. “So, what was soooo incredible that forced me to strip for you?” she joked, reminding him just why they were there.

Grinning down at her, he fell backward into the water and swam away facing her still, deciding a verbal response was not quite needed just yet. She huffed, but her curiosity made her follow his lead, swimming towards him, not quite managing to bite back the smile playing on her lips. They swam mostly in silence for a short while before he decided they had gone far enough from shore. She was attempting to hide how tired she was, but he knew that even with her determination she wouldn’t be able to keep above water for much longer. Reaching for her he arranged her comfortably in one arm, laughing off her protests. “Don’t worry about it Guppy, I don’t mind swimming for the both of us”, he assured before adding in a more serious tone, “and the water’s about to get a bit rougher than you can manage anyway”. This made her pout fade away into a more curious expression. She didn’t seem scared, but he felt her grip on his arm tighten in preparation for what was coming.

It took a moment, but when a bulky head brushed against his legs he heard her gasp. He felt worried then, that this had been a mistake, that she would freak out, but when he looked at her face, her look of wonder erased his doubts. Another shark bumped into them as it passed, a bit rougher than the last, but this just made her chuckle breathily as she watched it fade away into the deep. These blacktips were still young, only a few feet long, smaller than the ones from before, but as they started to get rougher as they grew more excited, Kisame gave them a few firm pushes on their snouts as a deterrent, but this only worked for a short while, as they once again circled the pair, brushing past them. Kisame felt one of her hands leave him to reach into the water to brush gently against them, careful to keep her hands clear of any teeth. Just as she would with a cat or a dog, she cooed as she ran her hand along the length of their backs, and giggled when one got too excited and snapped at the tail of another. Cute as it was to her, it was a sign to Kisame that he should put some distance between them and her before they got too nippy.

“I’m gonna need my hand back, so you might wanna hang on” he warned before letting go of her to flash a few hand signs that caused a pulse of water to flush the swarming reef sharks away. With the space he gave them, she adjusted her hold, while he readied himself for another jutsu. Like before, he formed a small whirlpool and sent it towards the sharks, sending them whizzing around in a flurry of current. Beside him his companion was in complete awe, watching the sharks regain their bearings as the jutsu faded. Confidently grinning, he completed the signs for another jutsu, this time, it was a geyser that sent the sharks up a couple of feet above the water, giving his companion a good look at the creatures she adored before they dove safely back down. He expected the starstruck look on her face, but he hadn’t expected it to be directed at him. He could feel his face flush as he performed his next jutsu.

-

They left when a couple of bigger sharks joined them, she looked disappointed, but she didn’t protest, something Kisame was thankful for. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and they still had some traveling to do before they could set up camp. Maybe some other time he could let her meet a white shark. When they reached the sandy shore and walked towards their clothes, he knew he had made the correct decision. It was easy for her to forget how tired she was when she was watching fish fly, but he could tell their swim had tired her out again. Still, she was uncontrollably grinning like a child, and her earlier embarrassment over her state of dress was forgotten as she asked “How do you do that? Do you summon them or something? That was so cool!”

Taking a subtle glance at Itachi, who was still reading in his spot in the shade, he passed her her clothes. “No, I didn’t summon them, although I can summon sharks. I’m not really sure if this is true for all in the Hoshigaki clan, but all of my family members have been able to draw sharks to them passively without summoning” he answered. She seemed fascinated as she stared up at him.

While struggling to put her clothes over top of her wet underwear and damp skin she continued “Does it work with all sharks? Are they always that friendly?” She hesitated before adding, “Has one ever hurt you?” She asked the last part concernedly.

“No, not really,” he assured, “I've had a few nips from some smaller ones, and a few bruises from the bigger ones, but they've never been aggressive towards me”. The look of relief that came across her face made him unconsciously relax as well.

“I’m glad they're friendly, even though they're a little rough when they play. It would probably be a problem whenever you went to the beach otherwise” she laughed. “Though,” she paused to consider a thought, “I guess if you drew them too close to a public beach you could easily terrorize the public by accident.”

The idea of him even going to a public beach was laughable to him, but the idea of him drawing a group of sharks to the shallows of a crowded beach was a dream he was now tempted to make a reality. He chuckled “Never thought of that, but I think that's a pretty quick way to get myself a private beach.”

Giggling and fixing her hair as best as she could, she waited as Kisame finished redressing before they gathered their belongings and joined Itachi. Without sparing them a glance he bookmarked his page and slipped the novel back into his pack. Kisame noted how far along in the story the younger man was and decided to make a bookshop one of their next stops. Adjusting his cloak, Itachi stood and acknowledged their presence, “Did you enjoy your swim with the sharks?” He asked, queuing the excited retelling of her experience. As they made their way over the rocky cliffs back to the road, she gushed about how cute the sharks had been, drawing a rare, faint smile on Itachi’s lips, something that Kisame after years of being around the man still wasn’t used to seeing. All three of them were still tired from their travels, but their short beach stop had reinvigorated their mood, and their comfortable chatter kept them entertained till they set up their camp and turned in for the night.

Catch Of The Day

Day 2 of Kisame week! I wrote this late at night and finished within an hour, and yet I kinda vibe with the slightly crack vibes it took with my exaggeration, so hopefully y'all enjoy!

Summary:

“You weren’t trying to catch me, you just happened to be in the way of my fall.”

Kisame Week 2021 Day 2 Prompt: Accidental Hero @kisameweek-2021

“Damn” she muttered under her breath as she stared frustrated up at the cupboard. Morning coffee was something she refused to go without, and normally, that wasn’t hard to assure happened, but with her house full of tall men, her favourite mugs were placed out of reach often. There it was, placed on the highest shelf far above her reach, her favourite coffee mug. It was just the right size for her morning brew, and now, before she could cradle her cup of joe, she had to attempt the treacherous climb to retrieve the one and only worthy coffee mug in the house. Of course, she could always ask one of her friendlier guests for some assistance, they were to blame for this inconvenience after all, and Kisame was standing right behind her fixing up his own breakfast, but her mind was made up. She also blamed her lack of caffeine for her inability to ask for help. Her palms pressed onto the top of the counter as she jumped up onto the counter. The overhang from the cabinet made her perch narrow, but she managed to open the door and reached up for her mug. Grasping the handle, she moved to get down, but she lost her balance. A shot of fear made her stomach drop as she fell backward. Instead of falling to the floor, her back pressed against Kisame’s own muscular one. He stiffened at the unexpected contact and relaxed as she pushed away from him, before landing carefully on her feet, prize safely in hand.

Kisame turned to look at the crazy woman who refused to drink from subpar coffee cups, took a moment to register what happened, and began to laugh. Not yet awake enough to feel the embarrassment she would later, she ignored his laughter and turned to pour herself some of the earlier brewed coffee, no doubt started by Kakuzu earlier. “You could have asked for some help, Shrimp, I’m right here.”

He was right of course, but she really had no rational reason for why she hadn’t just asked for his extra reach, so she just shrugged. His amused grin faded into uncertainty at her response, but it was back not a moment later as he pressed again. “Are you not gonna say thank you for my quicksave there?”

She found a seat at the table and took a sip of her precious caffeine before she retorted, “You weren’t trying to catch me, you just happened to be in the way of my fall.” she huffed. He followed her and took the seat across from her with his own breakfast.

“True,” he conceded, “But doesn’t that still make me your hero?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows goofily. She was very quickly learning that out of all the Akatsuki members she had met, Kisame was the one that never failed to make her laugh, even when the caffeine hadn’t yet kicked in.

“Oh, my hero!” She sarcastically swooned, “So incredibly diligent he is to protect me even when his back is turned.” She grinned.

Both were laughing at each other when from the other room they heard Hidan loudly yell at them to “Shut the fuck up” as it was “Too fucking early!”

This of course only made them laugh even harder.

Typical Morning

It's late, but I've finally managed to finish! I admit, I struggled a lot with this one, I actually started writing 2 different fics, both went absolutely nowhere before this beauty came to me as I brushed my teeth this morning.

Hopefully worth the wait, here's my entry for Kisame Week Day 3 Prompt: Domesticity. @kisameweek-2021

Summary:

Living with the Akatsuki, even brushing your teeth is an ordeal.

Being a Hoshigaki was something Kisame both struggled with and was proud of. His heritage gifted him plenty of things, vast chakra reserves, adaptability to aquatic environments, a heightened sense of sight and smell, but there were plenty of drawbacks. One of the many things he wasn’t thankful for was the sheer amount of teeth he had to take care of. Sure, like his ancestors, his teeth would fall out and replace themselves unlike other humans, but that didn’t mean he could neglect them. Flossing, brushing, and mouthwash was needed regularly to keep his razor-sharp teeth pearly white. His teeth were nestled in rough rows and were a nightmare to clean, but having suffered through cavities before, Kisame took great care to avoid the nonstop aches again. Recently his on-the-road routine had been changed, and now instead of taking care of the task when in between missions, it was now a morning staple. Living with six other people in a home with only one bathroom was definitely an ordeal sometimes, but for his mornings there was only one other person who typically woke around the same time as him.

Trudging into the bathroom lazily, hair a mess and wearing an oversized t-shirt, she bumped into him gently, budging her way towards the sink to begin her own morning rituals. His large frame hogged the space easily, but he obliged and shifted enough for her to pop out her retainer and grab for the dental floss. Thankfully he was already done with that particular task and was already carefully brushing his teeth with his new toothbrush, provided by the smaller woman in front of him. It was funny to him, the sight of her leaning over the sink to stare at the mirror while she flossed while he towered over her. Even if she was standing at her full height she would never come close to impeding his view. Even with the clear view of him in her sights, she was too focussed on her back molar to notice his movement before he gave her a playful jab in her side with his free hand. A startled squeak left her lips before she glared at the reflection of his evil smirk. Rolling her eyes she moved out of the way to let him spit into the sink, tossing the used floss into the trash as she went.

Finally reaching for the mouthwash to finish up, he felt her press against him to grab her toothbrush and toothpaste. Playfully he moved it farther away, making her whine. Again she pushed into him, stretching farther and leaning her whole weight against him, but as her fingers brushed the brush cup, he picked it up and held it above her reach. There were only a few ways for her to win this one, and he was betting that either she wouldn’t be bold enough to attempt them, or that she would try and fail. What he didn’t think of was that she would step onto the toilet cover and launch herself at him. Wrenching it from him with her own grip was impossible, but he let her have it anyway, his own reward for her creative tactic. Landing beside she grinned at him in victory and he dramatically stepped back from the sink, gesturing at it letting her know it was all hers. Proudly she took her place and brushed her teeth, only being interrupted by him leaning over her shoulder to spit his mouthwash. Something she protested with a toothpaste garbled “Hey!” Teeth clean and breath minty fresh, he left her to finish after quickly messing around her hair before she could bat his hand away. This earned him another glare, but he just laughed it off as he exited.

Wearing a snarky grin, he spotted Itachi and Kakuzu sat in the living room, reading. Kakuzu grumbled that they were too loud, but Kisame paid him no mind. He knew that as long as they hadn’t woken up Hidan or Deidara early, they weren’t going to actually earn the irritated wrath of the grouchy man.

“Is this going to be an everyday occurrence?” Itachi asked, not looking up from the page he was on. Kisame’s grin grew just a little wider, but before he could respond they heard the muffled reply from the bathroom.

“It better not be, he’s gonna make me late for work,” she said. Kisame laughed, earning a hard glare from Kakuzu. Even without Hidan and Deidara’s loud presence, it seemed the old man was doomed to be annoyed, but that didn’t mean he wanted them to be added to the early morning commotion. Once again, Kisame didn’t pay him any mind, instead, he grabbed the back of the shirt collar she was wearing as she rushed by. Caught off guard, she gasped, before huffing up at him, her frustration, much like Kakuzu's, wasn't taken seriously.

“Dude, seriously, I’m gonna be late for work!” She protested a bit too loudly, shifting Kakuzu’s glare from Kisame to her. Shrinking in on herself, she averted her eyes from the menacing man and looked over at Itachi, the only one she could rely on to control the teasing shark.

Itachi sighed and turned his attention towards the tall man, who was enjoying seeing the small woman struggle against his hold. “Let her go, that’s enough, Kisame”. With a quiet chuckle, he let go of her right as she pulled back and she fell to the ground clumsily with an “oof”. This made the shark man’s laughter even louder, as she whined.

Kakuzu growled at them to “Shut the hell up!”, to which they immediately heard the muffled complaints from downstairs, which made Itachi sigh again as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

No longer caring about the noise level, the woman scrambled from her spot on the floor and made it to the doorway leading to the basement stairs, letting out a yelp as she heard a loud crash behind her. Kakuzu’s attack had been blocked by Kisame, who had then tackled the old man from the reclining chair with a loud bang. Kisame heard her yell “Don’t destroy the house!” from the stairway, as he worked to pin the enraged man to the floor. The impromptu wrestling match lasted only a short while. Kakuzu was easy to piss off, but a drawn-out fight first thing in the morning wasn’t something he preferred, and a struggle with Kisame wasn’t something easily finished like it was with Hidan. The two large men drew apart and without a snarky word or taunt, Kisame flopped onto the couch next to Itachi and flicked on the TV. Soon enough they were joined by Hidan and Deidara, who, thankfully, were still waking up and weren’t too loud just yet.

The excitement from the early morning was quickly forgotten by the time a blur passed Kisame’s vision towards the front door. Dressed in her work clothes, hair brushed out and pulled into a bun, she appeared ready for work, and noting the time on the analog clock that sat on one of the side tables, she wasn’t late. “Sasori says the next time you guys make that much noise he’s gonna poison our food,” she said, unbothered, as she laced up her boots.

“I wasn’t even awake!” Hidan groaned, and Deidara hummed in agreement. She turned and looked apologetically towards them as she opened the door.

“I actually told him that it was Kakuzu’s fault” she called before closing the door behind her. Once again, Kisame was the one to keep Kakuzu from breaking anything as he flared with anger. This time, the fight didn’t end quickly, as both Hidan and Deidara were there to egg them on. Itachi narrowly avoided a loose swing as he bookmarked his page and fled to the kitchen, passing the stairway to the basement as Sasori’s large body entered the living room to swing his scorpion tail into the fray, immediately aiming for Hidan and Deidara, causing an all-out battle to erupt in the quaint living room. As Kisame managed to smash Kakuzu’s face into the floor, he wondered how brushing his teeth had led to this.

Do You Believe In Soulmates?

After the last prompt stumped me for a couple days, I was worried about this one as well, since I've already kinda written a beach story, and I had no idea for the soulmate prompt, I figured, I might just have to skip this one. Then out from of nowhere my brain tugged this idea into existence and my fingers just kept typing! So voila, here is my entry for Kisame Week 2021, Day 4 Prompt: Soulmates

Summary: Soulmates were something he hadn’t pondered before, the idea was never needed in his life, where love and friendship were unimportant and exceedingly rare. Of course, the idea wasn’t foreign either, he had been told that some believed that in life your soul was meant for another, that through fate you would be brought to someone who would understand you better than any other person could.

“Do you believe in soulmates?” The question was spoken quietly, but in the quiet of the night, it broke the silence easily, bringing Kisame’s drifting consciousness back to the woman lying beside him. Lying on his back with her curled into his side, comfortably settled into their bed, they should have been asleep by now. He almost had been, but her usual tired tone was replaced by one that sounded expectant, anxious. Gently soothing her shoulder, pressing circles with his thumb, he assured her that he hadn’t fallen asleep and was simply thinking over his answer. Glancing down at her didn’t let him see her expression, but he could clearly make out the glint of moonlight that shone through the window reflected in the ring she wore, resting upon his chest.

Soulmates were something he hadn’t pondered before, the idea was never needed in his life, where love and friendship was unimportant and exceedingly rare. Of course, the idea wasn’t foreign either, he had been told that some believed that in life your soul was meant for another, that through fate you would be brought to someone who would understand you better than any other person could. Maybe they wouldn’t be a lover, although a majority of people perceived it that way, but they would be your other half, the one for you and you for them. He wondered if she was staring at the wedding band as well.

It was something that they had all learned relatively quickly after meeting her, that the delicate gold crowning her ring finger was a promise to a dead man. Only a few years before they had arrived, her husband of only 4 years had found himself on the wrong end of a blade. A drunken fight with friends turned deadly, a crazy accident that left the beautiful woman he loved alone and widowed. Missing him was a constant for her, Kisame knew how much she mourned his absence, how she had wished for a future with him, but instead, she was sharing her bed with another man. Kisame, even with all his insecurities, knew that she was happy with himself and that she didn’t regret falling in love again. There were always moments though, quiet ones, where she let the guilt creep in. Frustrating as it was for him, he knew that sharing her thoughts with him was better than letting them eat her up and allowing them to build.

If soulmates were real if there were only one, which one of them had been the real one. That was the question she must have been asking herself. She had a colourful mind, one that flittered with thoughts and ideas that never would have crossed Kisame’s without her influence, and while he didn’t always get what she meant when she attempted to express them, he found himself enraptured with the bright perspective she tended to have. Colourful minds trudge into the darker shades every once in a while though, and with her vivid imagination, they tended to conjure up some of the most extreme scenarios. As sure as he was that she held him as close to her heart as her past love, he wondered if she had chosen an answer in this hypothetical. The one he imagined she would choose made him press her closer to him, desperate to bat away his thoughts while he tried to put her swarming mind to rest.

“I’m not sure how much I agree with a predestined fate,” he answered, breaking the silence that had settled upon them again. “But if soulmates were real, would they truly mean more than everyone else in your life?” He cursed himself internally for letting his need for reassurance slip into his words, he knew she was happy, he knew she loved him, she just simply loved another at the same time.

“You don’t then?” She replied simply, sounding just a little dejected. Her lack of answer to his own question added another layer of his worry, but he pushed it down, he didn’t need to be comforted, it was her who needed him right now.

“No, I don’t,” he answered, the next words to say were obvious, but he dreaded an answer. She didn’t need him to ask, she was going to answer the question herself anyway.

He watched her tilt her head, most likely admiring the glinting band around her finger before she spoke again. “I think I do,” she said. Of course, she would, always the romantic. “I think he was,” she said as if she wasn’t making Kisame’s heart feel as though he was running it through a paper shredder. He continued to hold her firmly as if as long as he had a physical hold on her, it would keep her with him. “We clicked instantly, it was as if we knew how perfect we were together before our first date,” she continued dreamily, “I didn’t believe in fate until I met him.” She loved him, he knew that, but was she really happy? Why hadn’t she just left him to fall asleep? “Then he left me,” she whispered, yet in the silence, it was a heartbroken yell.

The hand wearing the vow of marriage, of a life together, clenched into the fabric of his shirt, and she turned her head to look up at him, and the teary eyes of grief clashed with the smile she wore upon her lips, an expression he could see clearly in the darkness. She sat up then, and he looked up at her as she leaned over him slightly, bringing that hand to cup his cheek, she pressed a soft flutter of a kiss to his brow. “Then fate brought me you.”

He reached up and gently brought her to rest on his chest, head pressed against the crook of his neck while they embraced. She was right, something they had no say in was what had brought them together, whether it was engraved in the stone called destiny was something neither of them could confirm, their chance of meeting was against all odds, and yet here they were. Her warmth against him now confirmed what he already knew, she loved him, she was happy, but he still wondered. “If he was your soulmate, what does that make me,” he allied himself to ask.

Lifting her head up to look him in the eye, “No one ever said there was only one possible soulmate,” she answered. He felt a flood of relief, the teasing glint in her eye gave it all away. Comparing himself and her, onlookers would quite understandably assume that between the two of them, he was the devilish one, yet she was the more insidious.

“Playing the dead husband card to tease me is way across the line,” he grumbled, earning him a sympathetic look.

“I can’t help it though,” she reasoned, “what’s the point of having lost someone I love and not getting to use it to make others uncomfortable?” She joked. He tossed his head back and groaned. Settling back against him, she spoke pressed against his neck. “Really though,” she started sincerely, “soulmates or not, I miss him, and I love you.”

Sleep made his eyelids heavy, and the range of emotions she had trailed him through left him more tired than before. Running a hand through her hair, down along her arm, and clasping her hand in his, he ran his thumb along the ring as he was allowed to drift off again. “You’re not mad at me are you?” She broke through the veil of sleep that had almost settled upon him again.

“Shush woman,” he mumbled into the top of her head, which shook with her quiet giggle. “I love you too,” he finished, earning a satisfied hum from her, a soft buzz fluttering against his throat, but that was the last thing he heard that night, as they both succumbed to sleep.

Safe Return

Y'all, I am back with another late submission for @kisameweek-2021

I went hiking and camping earlier this week, and then work got in the way, and to top it off my brain decided that it was gonna be difficult and refused to write what I had first imagined, so now we have this. Hopefully, it still fits the prompt loosely enough! Also! Warning: It gets a little suggestive, nothing explicit tho!

Day5 Coming Home

Summary:

“Dude, gross! Shower first!” She groaned, pushing away from him. Of course, he ignored her and craned his neck down to nuzzle his face against hers, making her complain even louder as she could feel his rough stubble grating against her skin. He only released her once Itachi joined them and shamed them for their disruptive behaviour with his perfected judgemental stare.

In comparison to the energetic townspeople bustling around them, Kisame and Itachi felt dead on their feet. They had traveled far, tracking down intel and following dead lead after dead lead for months in between missions, and this last tip was as worthless as the others. The hidden villages kept their secrets locked up tight, and tracking down Jinchuriki was proving to be a challenging task. Both physically exhausted and frustrated with their lack of luck, they forced themselves towards the inn that they would be staying in for the night. On top of all the false leads, bandits, and enemy ninja, Kisame had another persistent worry.

Ignoring the desk clerks' greeting, leaving Itachi to deal with them, he lumbered up the stairs, feeling his cloak pockets for the room key. Locating the correct room took only a second, but his large fingers fumbled with the tiny key as he pressed it into the keyhole, making him mutter under his breath. Whether she was alerted by the noise of the key missing its mark one too many times, or if it was his voice, he didn’t know, but the door unlocked and swung open, ending his agitated struggle and allowing him to finally know that she was safe. His strong arms wrapped around her, lifting her up easily into a tight hug right there in the hallway. Her protests were immediate.

“Dude, gross! Shower first!” She groaned, pushing away from him. Of course, he ignored her and craned his neck down to nuzzle his face against hers, making her complain even louder as she could feel his rough stubble grating against her skin. He only released her once Itachi joined them and shamed them for their disruptive behaviour with his perfected judgemental stare. Once they had shut the door behind them, he was tugging her close again, laughing as she put on an act of pinching her nose as she struggled against his affection. Itachi sighed as he forced his way past them, making his way to the bed that was still neatly made from when he and Kisame had left over a week ago.

Watching his young partner quietly place his equipment down next to his bed, Kisame knew to give him some quiet. It was difficult for Itachi to sleep even in the perfect conditions, having the two loudly playing wasn’t going to make it any easier for him to catch up on some greatly needed sleep.

“Why don’t you join me in the shower if I stink so much?” He teased lowly in her ear, causing her to stiffen as the tickle of his breath sent shivers up her spine, and she appeared to consider his offer for a moment, no doubt taking Itachi’s tired presence into account. It didn’t take her long to answer, refusing to give up her disgusted act.

“Only if it’ll get your sweaty ass clean faster,” She muttered, but even her insulting words held no real bite as she pulled him towards the small bathroom. Sparing Itachi a last glance, he could see him settling into his bed, trying to ignore the loud flirting, yet to only a man as close to Itachi as Kisame could tell, the usual poker face was the slightest quirk to his lips. The one and only sign the Uchiha ever let slip that he truly wasn’t bothered by their shenanigans. Of course, he could never let his snooty, superior attitude slip entirely. He had a reputation to uphold.

The door shut behind them, giving them some privacy, and a buffer for the noise they made. Unzipping his cloak and shrugging hit off, he looked down at her, questionable when she made no move to undress with him. “Need some help there, Guppy?” He said, reaching to do just that, but she dodged him and pressed back against the vanity in the cramped space. Giggling at the confused expression her avoidance caused.

“As much as I’ve missed you,” she spoke sweetly, “I know that if I let you have your way, poor Itachi won’t be getting any rest.” She was right, the two of them, no matter the scenario, always managed to be loud and disruptive, and if they allowed themselves to indulge as they usually would, the thin walls and flimsy door would act as a poor barrier for the third occupant of their shared room. Kisame still moved closer, caging her against the counter ledge, leaning down for just a taste of what he had missed on his investigation. Again she pushed away, leaning further from him while she used one hand to press firmly against his chest. The cringe on her face and scrunched nose made him chuckle lightly as he backed away, returning to shedding his clothes. He really must stink.

Even with her disgust with his less than clean state, her eyes roamed his exposed flesh, admiring the toned muscles that made up the entirety of his form. His looks had always bothered him, but even he knew his life of brutal fighting had sculpted him into something muscle-heads across dimensions would be jealous of. Shark-like features be damned, he had a body that made the woman he wanted oggle him like a piece of meat, and it was hard to care about the face he saw in the mirror when in her eyes he saw reflected back at him only admiration and lust.

Stepping into the tiny shower, he pulled the curtain closed and turned on the water, gritting his teeth through the ice-cold temperature before it ran warm. He was taller than the showerhead, and the cheap place had supplied one that was non-adjustable much to his frustration. Looking over the rod holding the plastic curtain, he could see the woman barely holding in her laughter at his predicament. He took it back, he hated being himself. Grumbling to himself he began washing himself as best as he could, cursing his height and the rest of the world for catering to those of average size. “Glad I didn’t join you after all?” She said as she sat herself on the floor facing the shower.

Admittedly, yes, he thought. Pushing down his built-up need from the length of the fruitless mission, he was very glad that she hadn’t. The occupancy limit was pushed with even just him, never mind the two of them. Of course, she had probably known that, having spent the time the two ninjas were away sheltered in the cheap unit. Still, he argued, lacking any real persuasion, “We could make it work, I am pretty used to being in tight places,” he said with a wink. Caught by surprise, she rushed to cover her mouth after she gasped loudly, looking over her shoulder at the door guiltily.

Ducking under the showerhead to rinse the crappy, complimentary shampoo from his hair, he nearly missed the stern glare she shot him. Water fell into his mouth as he laughed and he sputtered and coughed under the stream, somehow managing to get the suds in his eyes, making his pain worse. He swore he heard a mumbled “Karma” come from behind the curtain, but when his head cleared the shower rod, his bleary eyes couldn’t quite make out the look on her face. Damn this cheap inn and their painful shampoos.

A final rinse later and he emerged from the tiny torture chamber, rolling his eyes playfully when he noticed her watching him practically entranced, following the residual droplets that ran down his body. Snapping back into focus when he secured a towel around his waist, she flushed in embarrassment. Something he hadn’t seen her do in a long time. Chuckling quietly, he bent down to pick up his cloak, locating the scroll he used to pack away his things, and expertly summoned his travel bag. From where she still sat on the hard tile, she watched as he pulled out his razor, and had to shuffle out of his way for him to get to work. Unusually quiet, she observed as he made short work of the unruly stubble that had managed to grow in between his last shave. “What are you thinking about?” He asked, used to her constant chatter, and then going so long without it, he felt unsettled when she stayed silent. Silence with her meant she was scheming.

“I kinda wonder what you would look like with a proper beard,” she answered musingly.

Looking down at her, he raised a brow, “Thought you hated the feeling of a beard,” he tested. Kisame had never really tried growing out his facial hair, always deciding that keeping a clean face was easier. Secretly he had hoped being well-groomed would keep others' opinions of him higher as well. Sometime around their first few makeout sessions, she had told him how much she appreciated the lack of stubble he allowed. That had settled his decision firmly then, so why was she thinking of that now?

She hummed quietly in thought, “I do, but the look of a beard isn’t always bad.” Her expression wasn’t the normal barely restrained smirk she normally wore when she was teasing him, instead, she appeared thoughtful.

“If you wanted me to grow a beard you could have mentioned it before I shaved,” he pointed out, rinsing the blade and packing it away with the rest of his things.

She giggled and leaned against his bare leg, playfully nuzzling him, “Awe, you were willing to grow a beard for me?”

How that made him flustered, he had no idea, but he felt his face flush as he carefully shook her off. In an attempt to hide his blush, he dug around in his bag for clean clothes. “I’ve never really tried before, sharks have rough enough skin as is,” he joked.

She snorted at that, he wasn’t looking at her but the smirk on her face was audible in her tone. “With you, rough isn’t something I mind,” she replied, no doubt watching him as he dropped his towel and started to dress. Easily distracted by his nakedness, she changed topics. “Such a shame you need to wear clothes,” she pouted as he slipped on a pair of pants. The way she so casually said such things never failed to catch him off guard. Turning to face her he was met with hungry eyes that took in every flexing muscle still visible before they settled on the darkened expression he wore.

“Someone really needs to give that dirty mind of yours a good cleansing,” he warned, feeling the effects of her forwardness already. Something he should have known was that anything other than obvious refusal or a joke meant to brush her off would only encourage her more.

“You can go ahead and try,” she challenged, gazing up at him through her lashes. Her attempt to lure him in was almost working, yet the fact that Itachi was most likely privy to their noise kept him from giving in.

Shaking his head, he reached for his shirt, “Weren’t we just talking about me growing a beard?” He recalled, feeling a bit bad at the quick look of dejection he caused before she latched onto the topic again.

“A bearded shark would be an interesting sight,” she said, building up her case.

An easy grin spread across his face as the light-hearted conversation started once again.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Itachi turned to lie on his side, thankful that he wouldn’t have to listen to them become intimate. As much as he appreciated their attempt at giving him some quiet, he was sure that even if they had been situated on separate ends of the building they would have made enough noise to keep him awake. Whether that be with their constant laughing banter or ‘other noises’ it didn’t seem to matter. Listening to Kisame’s low chuckles and her excited list of reasons for his partner to grow a beard was comforting though. Even if his tired eyes weren't enough to chain him to sleep. A week of throwing their investigation off course was a tiring task when Kisame was so efficient at his job, but even when his head pounded from a sleep-deprived headache, he could handle it knowing that he had again succeeded in delaying his bosses plans.

Listening to his friend's muffled chatter he decided the danger of overhearing something he’d regret was over and allowed himself to settle once again. For now, he was content to rest his eyes. It may not be everything he wanted, there was much more he would have to do before his end, but for now, he felt as though he was safely at home.

Protector

Had a couple bad dreams, and wrote this before work.

Summary: His sleep is interrupted.

Through the heavy fog of sleep, a whimpering sound broke through. It was so faint, just barely there that having to open his eyes for the noise was beginning to seem unreasonable, but as he sunk back into the blackened world of sleep he heard it again. It wasn’t any louder, but the owner of the distressed tone registered and he was awake. Eyes shot open, vision blurred by sleep he struggled to find the source, but the movement on the bed was what signalled her position. Turned away, clutching onto the stuffed shark he both found cute and loathed, she was moving restlessly in her sleep. Reaching out to clear the hair from her face, he heard her whine, “No, don’t…” He could hear her frantic breath as she struggled against something unseen, and though she was still holding onto the plush, one hand had left its death-grip and was reaching out for something. Hoping to calm her, he moved his hand from where he had been attempting to soothe her to her free one. Gently enveloping her hand in his own, he ran the pad of his thumb over her knuckles, as he shifted himself closer to her, using the other arm to reach under her, pulling her away from the edge of the bed. She had been dangerously close to falling off.

So many times she had said to him, usually in his moments of doubt, that he made her feel safe, that his strength, his comfort in dangerous situations, his care for her, made her think of him as her protector. And he had kept her safe, through battle, travel, even just by catching her when she stumbled, but feeling her relax against his chest, her hand in his, hearing her breathing steady and slow, he felt more like her hero than ever before.

An Unlikely Arrangement

Something new for y'all, I had a pretty long day and started watching Grey's Anatomy again (Picking back up from season 9), and the idea of these two watching medical dramas popped into my head!

I feel a bit bad about my lack of posts, and I am writing stuff, but none of my ideas are short and my writing time is limited, so hopefully, soon I can post one of the works I have once they're completed!

Summary: They've agreed that their guilty pleasure stays between them.

Finding a quiet, secluded place in such a small space was near impossible. Interaction was inevitable, even for those that tried their hardest to avoid each other purposely. It had been months of this, on and off, of being forced to live together, sharing meals, a bathroom, even beds due to the lack of more comfortable arrangements. It was chaotic, and it was unlikely to ever be a functioning household considering the occupants and their conflicting interests and fluctuating moods, but even those that were least likely to get along sometimes managed to find common ground.

If someone had told her that the two most terrifying men she had ever met would willingly sit down and binge-watch medical dramas with her, she would have never believed them. Yet, here they were, Sasori, with the organized parts of a puppet spread across the hardwood floor where he could observe the TV screen, and Kakuzu, who was sat reclined in the large armchair, pretending to read a book instead of paying attention to the doctor actors shouts as a patients heart rate flatlined. Curled up in a tense ball, clutching tightly to a pillow, she starred up with rapt attention as the intense scene played out. If she could tear her fixated gaze away from the bloody, frantic clip, she may have noticed how the turn of book pages had halted, or that the clicking of wooden joints had slowed.

The return of a steady beeping noise and the expressions on the screen signaled the patient's crisis had been taken care of, and the tension from the three onlookers passed.

Neither of them spoke about it, rather, they pretended that this wasn’t a common occurrence for them. She was supposed to be scared of them, and they were supposed to be uninterested in the unproductive, common pastime of a regular civilian such as dramatized television, but every once in a while, when the others were occupied with other things, it wouldn’t take long for one of the three to start their show back up again where they had last left off.

The one and only time it was ever discussed was the time she had dared to watch a couple of episodes without them. After that, it was a unanimously understood rule that watching without the others was likely to have unpleasant results for the one who had the audacity to watch ahead.

More Than Enough

Ah! Finally, I have managed to finish something! I hope this one doesn't disappoint. I really do feel proud of this one.

Summary: Standing here, watching the storm envelope this small space of theirs, a home that was just for them, being held and loved by the man who had forced himself into her heart was a dream come true. She could sip her tea as he littered her exposed skin in hickeys, bruises, and the faintest of bitemarks.

"Kisame!" Startled by his sudden presence behind her, the feeling of his large hands on her waist caused her to jump back into him, only to be met with the firm muscle of his chest, and his amused chuckles. "You could have said something! I could have dropped my damn mug!" She chastised him, still clutching the ceramic of freshly brewed tea so tightly her knuckles turned white.

She had been standing in their living room, watching as the grey clouds moved swiftly with the wind, threatening to unload the rain they carried down upon the land. He must have snuck up on her, mischievous as always, or maybe her thoughts had her so occupied she hadn't been able to notice his approach. Did it matter which it was? Not really, not when his chin rested on her head, and his large form engulfed her from behind, wrapping her somewhat chilled body in his comforting presence. Sipping her tea sweetened with honey, the warmth of the liquid was just enough to hurt going down, but the taste of faint spices was worth it. And if she didn't drink it now, it would surely be too cold later.

Outside, the clouds made well on their threat, and the first teasing droplets of rain fell. It started so gradually, but she seemed to blink and then the sheets of water were replacing the cute drops that had run down their window. The steam from her tea tickled her chin, as the man behind her moved to press sweet kisses starting from her scalp and down the back of her neck, sweeping the hair that blocked his access out of the way.

Smiling pleased to herself, she indulged in another long sip from her mug, as the rain pounded against their shelter, and Kisame's hand returned to her waist, his thumb teasing at the bottom of her shirt, tracing circles onto her skin. The heat from the tea wasn't the only thing that had her feeling warm, as his gentle trail of kisses turned more sensual against the side of her throat, and his heated breath accentuated the lingering buzz for each new mark he gave.

"I'm glad you're home with me, and not out there," she said, leaning her head to the side to give him better access, relaxing as his lips drew closer with each press to what they both knew was her sweet spot.

Another low chuckle rumbled from his chest, the movement shaking her along with him. "Hm, me too," he agreed, his voice low and gravelly below her ear. Despite how warm she felt now, his voice sent a shiver up her spine. Just when his mouth circled around a spot that had been bruised by hickeys so many times prior, a flash outside startled her, making her flinch, and causing his sharp teeth to scrape at the sensitive skin. Hissing at the unexpected pain, she stood tense, allowing him to pull away to survey the damage. A loud rumble of thunder nearly drowned out the low apology he whispered into her ear. “Wasn’t expectin’ you to move there, Squirt,” he uttered gently, before he lapped at the small scrape along her collar bone, easing a sigh from her lips in response. Now that she was expecting it, the next flash before her eyes didn’t catch her so off guard, and by the time the next clash of thunder bellowed out, his apologetic kisses and the rough calluses of his hand finally reaching up to her bare chest had drawn more than a few whimpering sighs. Apology more than accepted.

He was taking his time, making sure to find everywhere he could get a reaction, whether it was a hitch of her breath, or her simply adjusting to better allow his mouth to work. It had only been a short while since he had returned to his village and reclaimed his house, only a couple of months since the war, since the Akatsuki were officially disbanded. It didn’t feel real yet, that she didn’t have to worry about him being an outlaw anymore, that he didn’t have to slink around in the shadows completing illegal missions just to support a group whose goals had never truly made sense to her. Though he was often run ragged by the tasks given to him by the Mizukage, and his mood was often soured by the lack of freedom he had now, this was stable, and they could adjust. Standing here, watching the storm envelope this small space of theirs, a home that was just for them, being held and loved by the man who had forced himself into her heart was a dream come true. She could sip her tea as he littered her exposed skin in hickeys, bruises, and the faintest of bitemarks.

This was nice, but she wanted to put her mug down so she could return some of his affections. Looking towards the shelf just beside the window, she was calculating if she could reach it without having to move, when she noticed a problem. “Hun,” she gasped out, just as he pinched at her sensitive nipple, her urgency misunderstood as lust.

“You like that?” He teased, before nipping at another hickey, causing her to jolt at the stimulation.

“No! No, yes I mean, just-ah!”

“No? How about this?” His rumbling laugh blending with the almost constant thunder, while he teased at the delicate flesh, his rough fingers always so good against her skin.

“You feel good, but the roof is leaking!” She managed to get out, even as she could feel every bit of friction against her bud sending pulses of pleasure down to her clit. Abruptly, he stopped and released his hold of her to inspect where she motioned.

“Damn it,” He muttered under his breath before leaving the room to search for a fix. Sighing, she followed suit, placing her mug on the shelf and heading towards the bathroom for a towel to soak up the growing puddle. On her way, she passed a bucket that had been placed the day before as a short-term fix for another weak spot in the roof. For now, that was handling its job well enough. Returning, she found Kisame knelt down, placing a large pot under the steady drops of water that had managed to sneak its way in. “Looks like next I’m gonna have to do some roofing repair,” he grumbled, fed up with the neverending list of home maintenance they had to take care of.

Stooping down to join him, she lifted the pot and replaced it after laying the towel down, watching as the puddle of water seeped into the cloth. ”Ah, the joys of homeownership,” she sighed, standing up and placing a soothing hand on his broad shoulder. “We can tackle that task together tomorrow, no need to stress about it until then,” she said reassuringly, “I’m very much fine having to deal with a leaky roof if that means we officially have a place of our own,” she said sweetly.

Sighing, his large hand engulfed hers and took a hold of it, he stood, winding around to face her. The lack of frustration she had with the situation seemed to help him shake off the bad mood he had been put in, as he smiled lovingly down at her, bowing his head enough to kiss the back of her hand, before grabbing her by the waist with his other hand to pull her to his chest. Turning her head, she looked at their clasped hands, smiling contentedly. “I Don’t have a clue what I’ve done to deserve ya, but I sure am glad you’re here with me, Sweetheart,” Kisame said, the smile she couldn’t see audible in his words. Giggling, she gave his hand a squeeze as her free hand traveled to his ass.

“Since I make you so happy, you should probably get back to what you were doing before,” she suggested playfully. Laughing at that, he let go of her hand, and grasped her ass in return, picking her up without warning, forcing her to frantically clasp her hands behind his neck and lock her legs around him with a surprised squeak.

“If that’s what my woman wants, that’s what she’ll get,” he said with a devilish smirk, Normally, she would be upset at being picked up like that, but his hungry lips were upon hers before she could think up anything to say, and the feel of his tongue gliding upon her bottom lip was enough to melt any anger she had felt. Clinging onto his lips and his body, her eyes were closed, but she felt each step he made blindly towards their bedroom, and it wasn’t until her back hit the mattress that her eyes shot open.

Shoving him away frantically, Kisame was confused, but only for a second, as a cold droplet of water landed on his neck and trailed down his neck under his collar. The wet spot on the bed was small, but that didn’t matter, they had a leak directly above their bed!

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!” He growled in frustration, the mood thoroughly spoiled now. His hand went to the back of his neck, and she rolled off of the damp spot, both for her comfort, and to give her enraged partner his space. The pelting rain was as loud as the thunder, but the sound of a single splat on his skin once again was deafening. He was up off the bed in a flash of lightning, and by the time the thunder roared again, he was coming back into the room with another pot. Without warning, he shoved the bed with her still on it, scraping wood against wood paired with a surprised shriek. Harshly, he placed the pot down and turned again to leave the room. Scurrying off the bed, she removed the dampened bedding while he thundered around the house, just finishing collecting the material in a bundle when he returned and threw the fresh replacements on top of the mattress. They landed with a less than satisfying ‘fwump’. Leaving the room with the soiled laundry, she took her time putting it into the washing machine, and when she was finished she returned to the living room, remembering her abandoned tea. The mug was cold now, and the liquid inside was surely the same, so she took it to the kitchen. After dumping the contents of the mug and placing it by the sink for later, the lights above shuddered and suddenly, they went out. She groaned as a loud yell of frustration sounded from the direction of their room.

Standing in the pitch black, she waited a moment, hoping the lights would come back on the same way someone would say ‘sike!’ but the longer she stood there, the clearer it was that the power was out. Sighing in resignation, she stumbled around, using the wall, and Kisame’s mutterings as guides back to the bedroom. As much as she hated his bad mood, it certainly was helpful in giving her direction in a place she hadn’t yet memorized. Feeling her way into their shared room, she lingered at the doorway, just able to make out the outline of a shadowed man rummaging around, most likely searching for a light source. Kisame had the better eyesight between the two, especially in the dark, but her memory wasn’t clouded with frustration and rage, and she could remember exactly where they had put away the lighter last time it was used and managed to walk over to where it had been placed without tripping or stubbing a toe. Flicking it on, she caught the attention of the helplessly searching giant, and let the flame go out with the slightest smell of burning oil, as she tossed it to him, knowing that he could catch it with ease.

With a grumbled “thanks,” he lit the wick of a sweetly fragrant candle that was settled upon the nightstand that hadn’t been moved in his little temper tantrum before, bringing a soft flickering glow to the room, and making the location of another candle of the same scent easier to locate. Still standing where she had retrieved the lighter, arms crossed, hip jutted out, she watched as the man tiredly flopped down upon the half-made bed with a defeated sigh. The storm outside wasn’t letting up, but the flared energy he once had was quickly doused as there was nothing left to do anymore. He lay there, staring at the ceiling, as she waited from across the room. “Minnow,” he called the pet name quietly, her signal that his temperament had truly settled and that he no longer required space. Without hesitation, she joined him, sitting beside his head and bringing a soothing hand to stroke his hair.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed, quieter than normal, “this is all such a mess and I owe you so much better than a leaky roof and a damp bed and a disappointing lead-up.” A large hand reached for the one stroking his head and brought her palm to his lips. He didn’t speak aloud, but the movement felt like he was making vows to himself and to her, she could easily guess what they were. Since the beginning of their relationship he had been making promises, ones that she knew he would always keep to the best of his power, and yet he never seemed to feel what he did was enough for her. He was so wrong.

Gently tugging her hand away, she felt for just the lightest moment his grip tighten anxiously, before releasing her. In moments like this, it was always so evident just how fragile his belief could be. Their trust in one another was strong, but he never seemed to be able to let go of the doubts that her love for him was only dependent on what he could provide. Part of her couldn’t stand it, how a man like him could cling to someone like her, that even after all of the fighting, the Akatsuki, the war, he didn’t believe he was enough as he was. That part of her was the one that brought her fingers to flick his forehead. She was gentle and soft, and of course, that was a surprise to him, so when he looked up at her confused and hurt only to find her stern gaze, he didn’t seem to know how to react.

The other part, the one that knew just how he felt, that knew that the hurt she felt watching him like that wasn’t something she could lash out with, returned her hand to his head. “You’re enough for me, and I’ll remind you of that for as long as we’re together,” she promised, allowing her gaze to soften only when the look of defiance on his face gave out. Kisame lay there for a moment, before shifting awkwardly, and crawling his way into her lap, burying his face in the softness of her stomach and wrapping his arms around her. Reaching for a pillow, she propped it behind her, settling into a more supported position, before tangling her fingers into his hair and rubbing his shoulders, giggling at the hum of content she felt buzz into her tummy.

“Remind me,” she heard his muffled plea come, and she couldn’t help the fond smile that spread across her lips.

“You’re more than enough for me, Kisame,” she said with a slight giggle, but the words were not a joke. “You always give me everything you can, and even right now I”m spoiled.” He gripped the fabric of her shirt, and she knew he wanted to protest, so she kept going. “You’ve been so busy dealing with the aftermath of everything, that you haven’t had the time for anything else, but still you make sure I have my favourite tea, and you treat me with a candlelit bedroom, and even though you’re tired and stressed you always make time for me,” she said, dragging her nails against his neck gently, earning a pleased shiver from him. “Yes, the house is leaking, and yes, I was very much looking forward to a bit more than a few kisses, but both of those can be fixed. We can figure out roof repair, and maybe not tonight, but hopefully for the rest of our lives we can have plenty more ‘fun’,” she reasoned, shaking along with the laugh he made at that last bit. When his short laugh ended, she continued. “You’re not a failure of a partner simply because we didn’t get our way tonight and you threw a bit of a fit, and you never will be because all you do is care for me and make sure I know just how loved I am. You’re so good to me, Love, you’re enough.”

It was then that she noticed how much quieter it was. No longer was there thunder, and whistling wind and the pounding rain had turned into a gentle pattering. The smell of pears and honey wafted from the melting wax, and the cold of the house seemed unable to penetrate the space around them for the meantime. Kisame’s breathing was steady and gentle, and despite the way the night had turned out to be, she felt quite content. This was their home. And it was more than enough.

Meet The Parents: Chapter 1

My home-life has been getting a lot more turbulent lately, all stemming from my parents. It sucks, but that's what finally inspired me to write something postable, so I guess some good has come of it.

Summary: Introducing her parents to her sharky boyfriend hadn't exactly been in her plans, but it seemed as though that day was inevitable and fast approaching.

“Mom, no. I’m fine, you don’t need to check in on me, I’m a grown-ass adult,” came an exasperated voice from outside. Kisame couldn’t help but be drawn towards the commotion, finding his very stressed girlfriend pacing on the porch, one hand clutching a phone to her ear, the other pinching the bridge of her nose as she argued with, presumably, her mother. Closing the door softly, he joined her out in the cooling fall air. Taking a seat on the porch swing, he waited quietly, well, as quietly as the old creaky thing would allow. She had of course noticed him, but her battle of mother VS daughter held her attention for the moment. It finally came to an end when instead of shouting louder into the phone, she let out a sigh that fogged in the cold and offered a compromise. “I’ll come visit you, how about that?” she offered, her pacing pausing as she waited for an answer. He couldn’t hear that end of the conversation, but with another conceding sigh and an “I love you too,” she ended the phone call. Staring at the screen of her contacts for a moment before turning it off, she turned and plopped down in the seat against Kisame’s side, pushing the creaky swing back and forth again.

“I take it you haven’t spoken with her in a while, huh?” Kisame spoke, slinging an arm along the back of the seat, his hand coming around to brush at her hair comfortingly, grazing at her cold skin. Her response didn’t come fast, instead, she pushed off of the old wooden planks of the porch, intensifying the lazy swinging, before curling her legs up onto the seat and gazing up at the changing leaves. Leaning closer to him when a cold wind rattled the branches above and nipped at the exposed skin of her face.

“I know I should try harder to keep in contact, but they just take so much effort to be around,” she said, guilt and confliction plain on her face.

“What makes them so hard to deal with?” He wondered, “you handle the crowd in there no problem,” he grinned when she gave a small chuckle.

“Dealing with a chaotic household is second nature to me because of my parents,” she explained, “It’s also plenty more manageable when I have you around, Handsome.” Chuckling at her appreciative smile, he leaned down to press a chaste kiss to her forehead, feeling his heart melt when she leaned up for him, eyes closed and trusting. The brief moment didn’t last, the stress she felt returned to her face, “If you had to deal with them firsthand you would understand my reluctance.” Kisame considered that, thinking back to what little he remembered of his own family. Before the death of his mother, he had been cared for quite well. His upbringing was tough of course, as part of a clan that wasn’t held in high regard in his village, but he didn’t remember ever wanting to leave his family behind. The village maybe, but to purposefully avoid his blood relations? Kisame couldn’t relate to the contempt she held towards her parents, but she had a point. Outside of making snap judgments to assess the threat level of a person, he tried not to make a habit of letting others skew his view of people without giving them a fair chance.

“I’ll just have to come with then,” he said matter of factly, startling her out of the silence that had taken hold as he thought.

Squirming against his side she looked up at him, frazzled, “I didn’t mean that!” She sputtered out, “there’s no way I would subject you to any of their craziness!”

Carefree, he dipped the toe of his slipper to the porch, pressing off and setting their squeaky perch in motion again, the unexpected motion making her compensate for her lack of balance by pushing back into him, only to find the arm lazily slung behind her holding her steadfast. “Is that your way of saying you’re embarrassed of them meeting me?” He teased, earning a scoff and an eye roll.

“You know damn well I am not embarrassed of you,” her voice was stern, even as a joke, she never allowed him a single doubt. Tense muscles relaxing in his hold once more, she deflated as she continued, “If anyone is embarrassing, it’d be them, sure, with new company they attempt to behave themselves, but they can only manage that for a while.”

“Though I don’t think cutting them out of your life is right, you could just blow them off, couldn’t you?” He asked, hating to see how the topic twisted her expression with distress. With a bittersweet smile, she shook her head.

“If I don’t pay them a visit, they’ll show up on my doorstep and I won’t be able to get them to leave without calling the cops,” Kisame looked at her incredulously. “I wouldn’t,” she said defensively, “I just don’t like the idea of them ambushing me and I also don’t really know if they would be alright after dealing with my other ‘guests’.” As if on cue, from inside there was a large crashing noise accompanied by the muffled raised voices.

With a groan, she moved to check on the wellbeing of her home but was stopped by the immovable arm that held her tight. “Kisame I-” he cut her off with a shush, pulling her flush to his side.

“They can handle whatever that was,” he assured, knowing that if they didn’t he would. “And that settles it then, we will go and deal with your parents together, and after that, I’ll start reminding you to call more so that fewer visits are needed,” he grinned down at her doubtful expression.

There was no changing his mind she knew, but still, “I could go by myself ya know, I’ve dealt with them my whole life, you don’t have to force yourself for me,” she tried weakly to persuade him, but he shook his head with a laugh.

“If I stay here, I have to deal with them without you, no way I can manage that.” Defeated though she was, she couldn’t let him win without finding something to tease him over.

“You really couldn’t manage a few days, Mr.Big-Tough-Ninja-Man?” He chuckled lowly, his expression turning dark.

“Not without it ending badly for the others,” he said, sounding just a bit too serious for her taste.

“You’re going to meet my parents,” she said softly, her gaze shifting back up to the shifting leaves, still sounding worried.

Affectionately he squeezed her arm, bringing her focus back to his face, he smiled gently at her. “Hey, I’m Mr.Big-Tough-Ninja-Man, remember? I can handle your parents.” His confidence was infectious and she couldn’t help but adore the man beside her. Brushing her lips against his shoulder, careful of his gills, she nuzzled into him, her cold nose warmed by his body heat.

“Of course you can.”

Meet The Parents: Chapter 2

My first chapter of this didn't really garner much attention, but it's alright, because I liked it enough to continue anyway. Also this is where I'm putting my angry energy towards my crumby parents for now lol.

Chapter summary: Their arrival went smoothly.

Her grip on the wheel was tight as the vehicle rolled up the driveway. To her, it was familiar, as was the majority of the route to her childhood home, but to Kisame, it was all new territory. Earlier he had attempted to distract her from her worries of seeing her parents again by asking about some of the more interesting buildings they passed, and it had worked well enough. “That building actually used to be a coffee shop, and before that, it was a tax filing office,” she had said when asked about a building. “Had a huge dinner there with some friends, and somehow we ended up getting cake on the ceiling,” she’d laughed when he’d pointed out another. Parking the car, she finally released her death grip on the wheel as she looked at the house in front of them. He still didn’t know why this was such a difficult thing for her to deal with. If he still had family to visit, he’d want to, but he knew that clearly her relationship with her parents was strained. What he felt right now didn’t matter anyway. He was being supportive. But they hadn’t sat inside the car for nearly 5 hours just to stare.

“Want me to get our bags out of the trunk?” He offered, startling her from her thoughts.

She smiled tiredly, shaking her head. “Sorry, yeah, please?” He unclipped his seatbelt and reached over to give her leg a squeeze, his smile at ease, before exiting the car and leaving her alone. Popping the trunk and grabbing their bags took only a moment, and another moment later she had joined him. Her moment alone seemed to have done her some good as she asked for her bag to carry. Grinning, he held it high, just out of her reach.

Still, she attempted to jump for it, and he teased by lowering it enough for her fingertips to brush against the bottom, only to lift it away once again when she sprung up higher than before.” Give it back you jerk!” giggling, she jumped a few more times, still nowhere near close enough to take the bag. Even if she had managed to grab a hold, there wasn’t a chance his grip would falter and it would most likely tear from her added weight pulling it down.

“Why can’t I carry my Woman’s bag?” She stopped jumping to pout at him, pointing to his other hand holding onto his own luggage.

“You can’t carry both bags and hold my hand at the same time,” she argued.

With a chuckle, he lowered her bag, but when she went to take it from him, he instead shifted it into his other hand, which was easily large enough to carry both. “Looks like I can, and whaddya know,” he took one of her still outreaching hands and engulfed it in his now free one, “that leaves my other hand sad and empty without you.”

Snorting at his cheesiness, she rolled her eyes but wriggled her hand around in his clutch till she was holding his back. The bliss of the moment couldn’t last forever though. “Let’s go,” she said with a sigh, leading the way to the front entrance. Kisame had tried to keep his own worries at bay, but now that they were feet away from the door, he felt all of his insecurities bubbling up. What questions would they ask? Surely they would want to know what he did for a living. Were they going to ask about politics? He really didn’t care to pay attention to that stuff, this world's governments didn’t concern him too much. What if they were super uptight? Maybe that was the source of all of his partner's dread. The first thing they were going to notice about him was his appearance. He was blue for God’s sake!

Kisame squeezed her hand as she knocked on the door, now searching for his own comfort. Firmly, she squeezed back, eyes locked on the door as the handle clicked.

A Rare Warm Meal

Look who's posting several times a week? This was supposed to be a couple hundred words at most, but I kinda got in a groove. I'm happy with it though lol

Summary: A warm meal is a rarity for rogue shinobi on the road.

Returning to the shabby inn they were staying in, Kisame carried a plastic bag warmed by the still steaming contents. Opening the door that required a bit more force than originally thought, he was greeted by a familiar voice, happy at the prospect of a warm meal after much traveling through the woods and living off of rations. That was something he had expected upon his return, another was that both of his companions were nose deep reading their respective books, ones that they had bought earlier in this small town's bookshop. What he really didn’t know how he could have expected was their current positions.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed that was clearly going to be theirs tonight, clutching a folded pillow under her chin and leaning forward as far as she possibly could, she rested the book on the bed in front of her. That didn’t look in any way comfortable to Kisame, but at least for her, an odd way of sitting when she was reading wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Itachi however, the one who at nearly every waking moment, and even in his sleep, held himself with dignity and decorum, was sitting on his own bed like a loafing cat. His legs tucked under him, chest to his thighs, he was even mimicking her by taking a pillow for the lower half of his face to lay buried as he looked down his nose at the words printed upon the pages.

“I do hope you chose something better than a pile of poorly cooked meats like last time,” Itachi spoke, side-eyeing the bag still held in the perplexed man’s hand. Kisame gritted his teeth, did he really have the nerve to say something rude when he was sitting like that? Movement from the other side of the room caught his eye and suddenly the food from his hand was being tugged away by the salivating woman. He had no clue how she had managed to get up from a position that definitely cut off the circulation to her legs, but then she sat down and cringed hard, ah, the pins and needles had struck.

“It’s not icky meat again!” She cheered, even as she squeaked when she moved her leg by accident. Kisame rolled his eyes at that, were they really ganging up on him right now?

“No, it’s not, and it’s not my fault what we got last time wasn’t good, it was the only place that was still open that late at night,” he growled, directing the majority of his grouchiness at the still balled up man that appeared to be ignoring the rest of the noise in the room. He knew he wasn’t.

“We know, we’re just teasing ya!” Stamping a foot on the ground, she delighted when no more jolts of pain seized her movements. “Thank you for getting food tonight,” she said, smiling up at him while she rummaged through the contents of the bag. Kisame huffed and snatched the bag away from her. Ignoring her whine, he laid the contents on one of the beaten-up end tables, pulling out containers of grilled fish and well-seasoned soup. Crawling behind him on the bed, she practically drooled while she patiently watched. His mood swayed by her unbothered and eager mood, he didn’t smack at her hand when she reached for a set of chopsticks.

Itachi unfurled from his position, burying a pained twinge under a practiced mask of indifference when he stretched his legs. Glancing over the food, he sat on the edge of his bed and gave the aromas a sniff. Kisame watched as he finally took his own pair of chopsticks and reached for a portion of food.

Standing there above the rising steam of the dishes now unpackaged, Kisame felt the hunger low in his stomach and went to drag the lonesome chair in the room over to what was to be their dining table for the night. Grabbing the bag from the table, he moved it to the floor and out of sight before reaching for his own food. It was only after Itachi’s first bite that he properly thanked Kisame, but the warmth of fresh and filling food was more than enough to fend off the remainder of his ill mood.

After their meal was finished, Itachi started to clear their trash, but when he reached for the bag Kisame had brought it in, it was snatched away. He looked at the taller man blankly, while Kisame looked over at the woman who was now lying on her stomach, a much more normal-looking reading position.

“Y’know, since you guys were so rude earlier, I don’t really think either of you deserve what I got for dessert,” he said, sounding similar to a parent baiting their children into chores, and like an all too ignorant child, she looked up from the pages of her book, disappointment clearly pronounced in the pout she threw at him.

“What part of saying you got good food and thanking you is rude?” She whined.

Kisame smiled mirthlessly. “The part where you insinuated that my taste in food was gross,” turning to look at Itachi, he found an unamused look upon the younger man’s face, but that was really just what his default expression was, no real surprise there. But what was it that flickered in his partner's eye? Was it amusement?

That was all the warning he got till he felt the weight of a person latching onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and covering his eyes with her hands, all the while giggling mischievously. Taking advantage of his distraction, Itachi took the bag from Kisame’s relaxed hold and backed away, leaving the now betrayed man to handle the menace clinging to him. Thankfully, seeing that Itachi had secured their target, she released her hold and gracelessly flopped back onto the bed, laughing the whole time. Kisame, now unblinded, glared at Itachi, to find that for once his expressionless face had changed into a gentle smile. A rare enough expression to halt Kisame’s hurt from their plot against him. Turning to look down at the pleased grin that came from the woman now sitting up on the bed, he couldn’t help but give in.

“The both of you are like bratty kids,” he chuckled, watching as Itachi found the box of sweets that had been buried beneath their dinners.

Too Early

Summary: It's too early for this

Kisame was roused from his sleep by soft lips against his neck and the gentle tracing of fingers along his bare chest. Grumbling as he attempted to ignore the waking world, he felt the weight on his chest shake with giggles. Despite his tiredness the affections persisted, keeping him from returning to blissful unconsciousness. "Sleep," was all he managed to get out, his voice raspy with unuse. 

Her breath came out in an amused huff. "Can't, I'm too awake and I'm bored," her tone was that of a child fed up with their toys.

With a groan and all of his current strength he opened an eye enough to attempt a glare. Even with his eye a bit blurry and the light in the room dim with early morning light, he could see the book she had most likely been reading since she awoke cast aside. His prolonged silence earned him another kiss, this time along his collarbone. The lazy trail of her fingers never stopping. 

"Find something else to do," he grumbled, shutting his eye again and feeling the pain in his eye dim. This was met with protest in the form of whining. When this garnered no further response from him as he once again began to doze off, he felt her shifting, attempting to rise. His arm held her there, lazy but firm. "Wait," he sighed in submission. "Don't go loving on somebody else."

With a contented sigh, she leaned up and kissed him, finally being met with his own lazy kiss, relaxed and unhurried, sweet and casual. "Now why would I ever do that when I have such a handsome man already?" She asked him, leaning up further to press a quick feathery kiss to the tip of his nose. 

His eyes still closed, he couldn't see her expression, but he knew she was pleased by his lack of fight by the onslaught of kisses she littered over his face, throat and chest. 

It's really too early for this.

A Thief In The Night

Happy Halloween! (Or maybe not if you're in a different timezone) Sadly I wasn't able to finish a fic I liked for Day 1 of KisameWeen! But the prompt 'Bump in the Night" inspired me so much this was written no problem!

Summary: A bump in the night wakes the couple, but what could be the cause?

KisameWeen! Day 2 Prompt: Bump in the Night!

Kisame, for as long as he could remember, had been a light sleeper. So when he felt the light shaking of his shoulder, he awoke easily. Eyes still bleary with sleep he squinted into the dark of their bedroom, focusing on the agitated woman sitting up in bed beside him, trying to get his attention. “Whaddya need, Sweetheart?” He rasped out, voice heavier than normal from use so shortly after waking.Instead of giving him an answer, she shushed him, watching their bedroom door, breath held in anticipation. Not quite knowing what she was so bothered by, Kisame obeyed, listening for anything out of place. It didn’t take long till he heard it. A faint scratching outside the door. Shifting out from under the covers, he went to investigate.Despite all of the fixing up the two of them had managed to do on his old house, it was still quite drafty, and the slightly water warped floors were cold on his bare feet. With careful precision, he avoided the squeaking planks that were sure to protest and alert whoever, or whatever was intruding upon his home. Making his way to the door, he soundlessly wrapped his hand around the doorknob. He waited, just a moment, listening for any more sounds that would hint as to where the source of the noise currently was. A faint rustling was his only clue. Not enough to suss out any more information. Stealing his resolve, he turned the handle and swung open the door. The hinges were as unforgiving as the floorboards, and rang out in shrill protest, scaring the little thief that had been plopped a foot away from their room, torn open bag of crackers forgotten, as the animal scurried down the hallway.Kisame sighed, at least he didn’t have to worry about an ambush from some enemy shinobi in the dead of night. “What the heck was that?” Came the cautiously quiet voice of his lover, who still sat in bed, wringing the bed sheets tightly in her anxiousness. Turning to look over his shoulder calmly, he watched as she visibly relaxed, mimicking him.“We have a raccoon,” he said, his voice sounding more awake. Kisame was thankful for his exceptional night-vision when he could see the small details of her expression even with the dim lighting that filtered in through the gap in their curtained windows. Her excitement was almost infectious, but he couldn’t help but dread the task of tracking a raccoon from hiding and wrangling it back outdoors where it belonged when it was still clearly late at night. Leaving the room, he followed after the thing. He had been caught off guard by the lack of an actual threat and lost sight of it, but he could still hear the not-so-subtle scuttling of its nails against the floor. Cornering the poor thing in the living room took little time, and with little hesitation, he had the bugger by the scruff. Protesting the whole way to the front door, it wriggled and writhed with determination, but was tossed outside without managing to break the skin on Kisame’s hand.Watching from a safe distance away, she voiced her worries for the small animal. “Be gentle! It’s so small!” She scolded, scandalized by his rough treatment.“It’s fine, Babe, lil’ guy’s tough enough to break into the house, I’m sure it can handle getting kicked out,” he reasoned, watching as the raccoon hissed at them and scurried back into the bush, “see? It’s fine.” Arms crossed and face doubtful, she looked away from the last spot it had been and turned her expression on him. Too tired to try and convince her further, he spun her by the shoulders and guided her back to their bed. One thing was still bugging him. “How did it get in?” Kisame grumbled to himself, and if he wasn’t paying attention, he would have toppled the both of them over when she suddenly jolted to a stop. Still recovering, his gentle hold on her was shaken off when she bolted away from him. Kisame watched with growing realization as she ran to the kitchen and closed a window that he hadn’t realized was open. At least she had the sense to look guilty when she turned around to face him. “Seriously?” He deadpanned, glaring down at her. Shrinking under his

gaze, she fidgeted, stuttering out her excuse. Kisame sighed, it was too late for this.Approaching her, she seemed just the slightest bit wary, and he could see her flinch when he reached for her, but when his touch was nothing but a reprise of its earlier role, leading her back to their room, she forced away her worries and allowed him to bring her to bed. Kisame eyed the mess of crumbs and ripped plastic as they passed and silently decided that her punishment would be cleaning the mess in the morning. Crossing the floor again the realization of why it had been so cold struck him. Shaking his head, he climbed back into bed, sinking under the covers and soaking up the residual body heat still left. On the opposite of the bed, she did the same, but she kept her distance. With a huff, he wrapped a strong arm around her, pulling her to his chest, curling around her, and leeching off of her warmth.“You forgot to close a window, it's not that big a deal, I’m not gonna bite yer head off,” he grumbled into the quiet of the room. He felt the relieved puff of air she let out against his chest, as she deflated into his hold.“You’re really not mad about all of this? I let in a raccoon…” She mumbled into his skin, her hands clenching at the fabric of her pajama top. Kisame chuckled quietly. “I hope it doesn't happen again, and you’re gonna be the one to clean up the mess tomorrow, but it’s dealt with. The only casualties were the crackers and our sleep schedules,” he said, feeling the weight of his eyelids grow heavier as he warmed up and the energy he had faded with the need for sleep.She groaned at that but promised she would, shifting to press a kiss to his throat and mutter one last apology before they both fell back asleep.