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It was dark inside the mountain.
Deep within a system of tunnels carving their way through the countless tonnes of rock Shisui had his chamber, a wide room with a low ceiling supported with heavy wooden pillars. The ventilation whirred, its presence a constant reminder of how precious air had become. In a mountain’s belly neither wind nor sun travelled willingly.
He had several lanterns and a drawer full of candles to break the gloom when he needed to, but while he waited for sleep to crawl upon him his room laid in complete darkness.
At least, he was comfortable under his covers. Laid on his back, staring up towards the stone ceiling without seeing it. Sleep was slow to come over him tonight. He was tired enough - the usual regimen of work and training had taken enough of his energy to not have his body buzzing with restlessness. Instead, it was his mind keeping him up. Whether he kept his eyes open or closed his brain still replayed memories for him. Pictures of moments nestled into his consciousness, tied to a weave of emotions and thoughts he found hard to put on hold even as he craved the relief of sleep.
Instead, they were interrupted by footsteps.
Light, careful and barely perceptible – but noticeable to a shinobi like Shisui. Naked feet treaded through the narrow hallway, slowly approaching. Automatically, Shisui turned his eyes towards his door, still seeing nothing in the perfect darkness. He waited, and the steps stopped.
His door creaked open. The hinges protested, squealing slightly as the door was pushed.
Flickering, concentrated light poured in through the crack of the door - its source as small as one of his fingertips but its brightness strong enough to blind after the time he had spent with none at all. Shisui blinked and squinted towards it, trying to force his eyes to adjust quickly. After the moment of seeing nothing but near painful brightness, he could finally see the person carrying that light into his chamber.
Perhaps he should have been surprised, but he was not. Short stature, long hair, slim figure. In the light of the candle she was carrying Izumi’s features looked different than in the sunlight he was used to seeing her in, but to him she was easily recognizable all the same. Her great brown eyes reflected the fire in her hand, shining like bright amber towards him. She looked ready for bed; dressed in simple sleepwear and with her hair braided, resting on her shoulder. As his eyes adjusted, he saw the redness that stained the skin below her eyes and across her tanned cheeks.
He blinked at her and furrowed his brow at the sight. “Izumi?”
She sniffed at the sound of her name. The hand not holding her candle went to her face, wiping at one of her cheeks. “Have you been crying?” He heard himself ask, a small sting of worry poking at the inside of his chest. She shook her head, closing the door behind her. Silently, she placed the candle on his dresser and he lifted his covers for her.
“Sorry about this, Shisui-san.” She whispered meekly. He moved to make room for her in the bed, and she took it, settling in comfortably against his side. Izumi placed her arm over his chest, and he let her rest her head on his arm. “I’m sorry for waking you up.”
“You didn’t.” He said, putting the bridge of his nose to the top of her forehead. She curled up against him and drew a deep breath.
“It’s been a long day.” She muttered, moving the hand on his chest to his shoulder and squeezing it.
Shisui sighed, pressing his nose against her face. Her firm body was so familiar and comforting against his; it was hard not to be happy with her there to distract him from his dark room full of memories. Even if she was upset.
“Want to tell me what happened?” He murmured back, the warmth he felt inside showing through his voice.
Izumi shifted, lifting her head off his arm and looking at his face. A fresh line of tears trailed down her cheeks and her eyes were shining wet when they met Shisui’s.
“I told Itachi-kun I don’t want to marry him.”
It took him a second to adjust. The words seemed to hang in the air, but it was the way that her face scrunched up with sadness as a new wave of emotion came over her that caught him. He felt with her. Warm, affectionate desire to soothe her surged up through him, even as he tried to process what she had said.
“What did he say?” Shisui heard himself ask, thinking as much of his best friend as the woman in his arms. Whatever he would feel about the news once he had digested them, he did not want either of them to be unhappy.
She drew a shaky breath and held on to him with more strength than before. “He agreed. I know us getting matched would have been the practical choice – we’ve known each other for so long, and we want similar things for the clan. But…” she sighed, “at the end, it’s just not what I want. I want more than… practical.”
Despite himself, Shisui smiled. “You want more than Itachi?” He teased, tugging at her braid. “Greedy.”
Izumi’s face softened, her sadness fading somewhat. “It’s not that –“ she said, letting go of his shoulder to rub her eyes.
He watched her dry her tears in silence, before telling her: “I know. To be honest, I’m surprised you decided to say no.”
At that, Izumi hummed with displeasure. “You’re not the only one. It’s going to be a pain when the rest of the clan finds out.” She leaned over him and put both of her hands firmly on his chest. “Everyone still seems convinced we’re together.”
Shisui narrowed his eyes. Unafraid and frank, he looked her right in the eye. “Well, the way you act around him makes it hard to think it’s just friendship between you.” Irate, Izumi bit her lip and furrowed her brow angrily. He still continued to say, “I get it – but it’s not common for girls to be as comfortable around men as you are around him.”
“Itachi-kun and I have known each other since we were little. I don’t want to pretend like I’m not comfortable with him just because he’s a man and I’m a woman!” Izumi gave pause, looking away for a moment before her irritation could take over and speak for her. “If we were both girls, nobody would think we were flirting.”
“I’m a man.” Shisui pointed out. “Nobody seems to think we’re flirting.”
“Because you’re you. No one can tell when you’re flirting or just being charming. The other day I saw you wink at Fugaku-san!” She retorted.
“You find that charming?” Shisui quipped, and he did not need the candle to know that she would turn perfectly pink. The hands on his chest closed to fists, and Izumi placed her head to rest on top of them, hiding her face from him. He could not help himself – he chuckled.
Slowly, Izumi picked herself back up. The candle was flickering again, the flame of it climbing down its pillar of wax and approaching the mouth of the candleholder. Her eyes still caught the light it shed… amber.
“I love Itachi-kun, I do. He cares about me, too, but that’s not enough to make a marriage. Not a happy one, at least.”
Shisui adjusted himself, so he could reach her back with his hand. He supposed he could understand as much.
“Is Itachi upset about it?” Shisui asked, worried for him as much as for her. He curved and ran his fingers against the soft fabric on her back while Izumi curled her mouth into a smile, one that did not quite reach her eyes.
“No. He did ask about us, though.” She said, “he wanted to know if you were my reason for refusing.”
Pausing, Shisui stopped his hand once he reached the rim of her shirt. He glanced down towards that mouth. “What did you tell him?”
“The truth.” Izumi replied without hesitation. She seemed to respond as much to his touch as to his words, shifting where she laid, moving so his legs were under her thigh. “I would have refused regardless. But… I’m happy here.” Leisurely, she placed herself on top of him. “With you.”
Izumi straddled him. He pulled the cover over her, letting her come down onto her elbows to where she could put her nose against his. Her braid fell forward and her pretty eyes closed.
“Shisui…” Izumi whispered, her breath still smelling of toothpaste. “Thank you. For comforting me.”
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his chest. She rested there, warm and soft and comfortable in his embrace. “I’m happy to have you here, too.”
She withdrew enough to kiss him… but no more than that.