Carry

3

Shisui still didn't say anything, but next morning, he couldn't get out of bed. Itachi didn't have a choice but to go to work himself, calling in to Shisui's job to say he was ill. He planted a kiss on Shisui's forehead before he left.

"Get up and eat, okay? There are muffins from the weekend in the freezer, and we have toast with cream cheese."

"Mmm", Shisui murmured.

The day after was, luckily, a Saturday, so he didn't have to call in sick again for Shisui. But even if Itachi was glad Shisui got some rest, he couldn't help but start getting irritated. Itachi knew almost every corner of Shisui soul and knew something was up that Shisui wasn't telling him. He was incredibly hurt that Shisui did not invite him to this particular room in his soul. He felt, ridiculous as he thought it was, incredibly left-out.

"Why won't you talk to me?" he asked softly on the Saturday evening.

"I'm too tired, Itachi", he said.

Itachi then decided he'd had enough of Shisui's bullshit. His life was beginning to become covered up by a dark gloom, and Itachi wouldn't have it. He phoned Lauren, his best friend, Shisui's ex. She'd given birth to her and Chris's first child two months ago, and Itachi knew she was tired but also desperate to go out.

"Care to do me the honour of having your first night out as a mom with your gay best friend?" he asked her. Lauren was the only person with whom Itachi took on this teasing personality. He was honestly not very comfortable with it, but who had ever had any personal development by staying in their comfort zone?

"Itachi, my ride-or-die, my better half, the man who fucks my ex, the Godfather of my child, hell yes", she said.

Itachi put on an oversized grey T-shirt over a black-and-white striped long-sleeved T-shirt and baggy, pitch-black trousers and velvety plateaus. He put his hair up in a much higher ponytail than he usually did, took his autumn coat and left.

Shisui didn't even notice.

Itachi met his best friend up outside their favourite nightclub, which was a gay club welcoming everyone but straight, cis men. Itachi thought she looked amazing after having become a mother, her dark hair thick and lush, exaggerating her curves with a red dress over which she wore a leather jacket. She had a bright red lipstick to go with her red dress. Itachi wasn't at all attracted to women, but he could appreciate them in the same way he would appreciate... The Parthenon, for example.

"You look fucking stunning", she said.

"You swear so much since you've become a mother. Aren't you worried your child will take after you?"

She grimaced. "You sound like Chris."

Lauren bought a drink, Itachi bought a shot. Itachi had only begun dipping his toes into drinking a couple of years ago, on his own accord, being curious. He found he liked to get a little tipsy some nights, and tonight would definitely be one of those nights. Mostly, it was because he wanted to dance, and he didn't dare to dance unless he'd done a couple of shots. But after an hour or so, Lauren pulled him with her to the dance floor. Itachi had never been in this club without Shisui, and at first he was nervous about how he would be treated on the dance floor without Shisui's huge body protecting him, but every man who loved men in the club seemed to be such gentlemen. They did approach him, though, dancing closer, politely asking if he wanted to dance, standing at a respectful distance. It was Itachi who would grab their jeans shirts, pull them closer to dance with him. And he noticed a whole new need in him; attention. Itachi needed attention, and he'd been declined it for so long now, he was starving for it.