𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝑰𝒏 𝑺𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔 //𝑰𝒕𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒊//

𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎

Pain was just as professional as ever.

He gave the "I'm busy what the fuck do you want" type of vibes, but I wasn't going to let that squash my conviction. This wasn't the time to let people walk over me.

"I'm sure you've seen it on the news." I said, testing the waters for a response.

He looked up briefly from his paperwork."I did. Was there any trouble?"

I winced. Getting caught by the cops wasn't my proudest moment.

Itachi answered the question for me. "We had a small run in with the law. It wasn't a problem. The officers were... understanding.

How did he make it sound so unimportant? I almost went to jail! I shuddered. The thought of having to wear a tacky orange jumpsuit was worse than the thought of rotting behind bars.

As much as I would have liked to sing my own praises, that wasn't the only reason I was there. As far as Naruto knew, I was dead in a ditch somewhere. I needed to get to him as soon as possible.

"Look Pain, I really don't mind working for you despite your interesting recruitment tactics. I just think it's high time I went back to my own house for a bit." I requested, sounding far less demanding and badass than I did in my head.

"That won't be happening." He replied monotonously.

It felt like someone poured cold water down my shirt. The fuck did he just say?

"Who the hell do you take me for? A snitch?"

Like always, Pain held a calm demeanour.

"To put it simply, you're not disposable enough for me to let you live in the middle of Clubs territory." He explained.

He may have had a point, but logical thinking never was my forte. That house belonged to my parents and I wasn't big on parting with it. Even if it's location was a threat to my health.

"Where the hell am I supposed to live then?" I snapped.

He looked just about done with me. "Your new position pays handsomely. I'm sure you'll be able to get on your feet shortly. Until then, we have plenty of rooms here."

"You mean jail cells!" I retorted stubbornly.

"Mind your tone."

Ugh. He clearly wasn't very open to constructive criticism. I wonder if anyone else here would be willing to start a union.

"Would it be feasible for Deidara to live with me for the time being?" Itachi interjected.

Hold the god damn phone. Did mister tall dark and handsome just offer to shack up with me? My efforts to woo him have finally started to pay off! ... Or he pities me for being hella fucking homeless at the moment.

"Just don't let whatever you two have going on get in the way with your work." Pain sighed.

Hell ya! Even he knew we had good chemistry! This was an absolute win in my book. I gave Itachi a suggestive look, to which he raised an inquisitive eyebrow in response. I'm sure he was just shy.

"Before you go, you probably want these." Pain said, passing me my confiscated wallet and phone along with a stack of bills a little over an inch in height. "Of course, the rest of your payments will be done via E-transfer once we have your account information."

The gesture was appreciated far more once I registered that it was made from hundred dollar bills. I was at a loss for words. There have to been at least $20K in cash sitting in my hand. All I could do was nod to convey that I had heard him.

"If there's nothing else you two have to tell me, I'd like to continue my work." He grouched.

I rose from my chair abruptly. "Sir, there isn't much I wouldn't do to make this much for one gig. If you're asking me to fuck off, I'm going to fuck right off."

And with that, I was out the door. Once we were in the parking lot and I was sure Itachi was done with his brick wall act, I turned to him.

"Damn Itachi, offering to take me home in front of our boss? I mean, I like the confidence, but now everyone will know about us," I teased, grabbing one of his arms and pulling it towards me.

He looked away. "If it's that scandalous you could just use your own money to get an apartment."

"Nooo!" I whined.

"Then book a hotel room."

"Only if you're staying with me. Besides, you promised!"

"Fine. Just get in the car." He sighed.

"Can I drive?"

"No."

Whatever. I didn't know how to drive a stick shift anyway.

I drummed my fingers excitedly on the dashboard as we drove out on to the street. The commercial district was packed with small businesses that I was looking foreword to visiting sooner or later. Things seemed a lot less scary in broad daylight.

The bustling sidewalks slowly gave way to quieter residential areas until we pulled up to an apartment building that I had to crane my head all the way up in order to see its top. For a moment I pondered the shear amount of explosives it would take to bring down a building of that size. Approximately a fuck ton if I had to eyeball it.

Itachi nudged me. "Are we going in, or what?"

Oh yeah, I was going to live here. Best to keep it upright for the time being.

We rode the elevator a good 40 floors before stepping out into the hall and finding the door to Itachi's apartment.

"Huzzah! We've reached the mighty Uchiha Chad pad at last!" I cheered louder than necessary, as I marched inside.

"I have neighbours, you know," Itachi muttered, closing the door behind us.

I placed a palm on the door behind Itachi, trapping him. He was pretty lanky, so I had to stare up at him to meet his eyes from the angle I created.

"How about we give them a real reason for a noise complaint?"

And suddenly, I was the one being pinned to a door.

"Are you offering?" He hummed.

My body froze. Holy fuck. Laugh at me all you want for being able to dish it but not take it, but he just caught me off guard. And he was handsome hell. That helped a bit.

His lips curled into a smug smile that caused my heart to rocket into the fucking stratosphere.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No! Dear god, no!" I sputtered "I just didn't think that you liked me like that!"

"What?"

"Look, I know I can be... A lot."

What the hell was I even saying? Of course that fuckface would make me nervous.

"That's just one of the perks." He smirked, before walking away like he hadn't just said that. What in the actual fuck.

"The bathroom is down the hall to the left and you can stay in the guest bedroom down the hall. I have to make a call, so I'll be busy for a while." He said casually.

Prick.

I swallowed. "Got it."