Naruto One Shots

I'm Not Clingy #1 (Itachi Uchiha)

[Art work is not mine! Credit to Nikolaz Saavedra]

Requested by: the-fictional-wife (kind of)

Word Count: 3,466

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:
- First, still fully believe Uchahi's go through withdraws when away from their loved ones. Second, Itachi is an unemotional hardass 90% of his life, so I fully believe he's a clingy soft boy with his loved one.

———————————————————————
     "Crow?" The name rings out, half registering in my still-asleep brain.
     "I'm in the bathroom, Tach," I murmur, struggling to not fall back to sleep.
     "Little crow?" He calls again, his voice laced with worry.
     "Still in the bathroom, Itachi," I call again, my words getting muffled when I turn the sink on.
     "My little crow?" He tries again, full panic in swing. I sigh to myself, deciding to leave it be. He can survive the sixty seconds it'll take me to wash my hands.
The bathroom door slams open, banging against the wall. Maybe he can't survive it. "Crow," Itachi almost sobs, panic washing out his already pale face.
     "Hello," I mutter, wiping the water off myself on the hand towel. Hands wrap around me, clinging to my nightshirt. "Hi baby," I coo, sliding my hands across his bare back.
     Itachi's head buries into my neck, fingers still gripping my clothes. "You disappeared," he whines despite his effort to maintain his 'bad boy with no emotions' persona. His attempt at the normal monotoned voice he uses quickly cracks with the two words.
     "I went to the bathroom, Love," I explain, lightly running my nails over his shoulders.
     "I woke up and you weren't in bed. Why did you disappear?"
     "Tachi, I had to pee."
     "You should have woken me up." His hands loosen a bit, sliding down my shirt to cling to the hem of it.
     "I should have woken you up to tell you I need to pee?" I ask, shrugging my shoulder in an attempt to look at him. He has to be joking.
     Itachi lifts his head, the glow of his sharingans empathizing his panic. "Yes," he answers, his face fully serious as he looks at me.
     "Why would I do that?" I sigh, dropping my head to his chest. I can't even pretend I have the patience for him right now, I'm too tired.
     "So I can come with you."
    "To the bathroom?"
     "Yes."
     I let out a deep sigh, choosing not to push the subject anymore. "Alright, Tachi."
     His hands loosen again, going back to their normal lightness as he paws at my thighs. "Lay down with me."
     "That's the plan."
     His hands continue touching me as I slide past him, working my way back to our bed. The small walk is filled with soft gropes. Itachi's hands clinging to my arm, then my waist, then clinging to my shirt again.
     After prying him off of me, I crawl across our bed, sliding under the sheets and getting comfortable. Itachi paces next to the mattress the whole time, impatiently waiting for me to get settled. Once I stop moving, he quickly crawls in after me.
     I'm pawed at again, eager hands parting my thighs before he slides between them. Itachi's head rests on my stomach, arms wrapped around my leg. "What in the world are you doing?"
     "Making sure you can't get up without me again."
     "You're clingy, Love."
     "I'm not clingy."

———————————

     "Where are you going?" Itachi whines into my hair, hands tightening around my waist as I try walking down the street.
"Tachi, you're making it difficult to shop."
"No I'm not," he huffs, but does let go of me, not completely though. He keeps a hold of the end of my cloak, his eyes burning into his clan symbol stamped into the back of it.
I roll my eyes at the clingy Uchahi, turning my attention back to my mental checklist.
Oil for Deidara's clay - check.
Pork for dinner - check.
Lined paper for Kakuzu's finances - check.
Matches for Hidan's dumb rituals - check.
Bread for breakfast tomorrow - check.
Fresh fish instead of pork for Kisme - check.
Hair pins for Konan - check.
Cloth for Sasori's puppets - not check.
I stop in my tracks, an eager Itachi using it as a chance to wrap me in his arms again. I glance up the way, scanning the market for another craft table.
How could I forget Sasori's fabric when I grabbed Deidara's oil? Why must I do the shopping? They're a group of murderers, can't they just steal what they need? Of course not because they're all dumb and don't ever remember what they need unless I ask. Oh gosh, I forgot sea salt for Pain's piercings too.
"Pay attention to me," Itachi huffs, head buried in my neck as his fingers knead at my stomach.
I let out a soft sigh, shifting in Itachi's hold. "Hello, Love," I coo, cupping his face in my hands. His eyes light up, one of his rare smiles crossing his face. "I appreciate you coming with me today," I praise, planting a handful of kisses on his nose.
"Really, Little Crow?" He whispers, eyes sinking closed and face relaxing from my soft kisses.
"Really," I answer, pecking his lips before turning away again. A disappointed huff spills from him, hand clinging to the pocket of my cloak as he trails behind me.
Itachi bumps into me as we walk, glancing at me every time he does so. He might look like a black cat but he acts like a golden retriever. Definitely a 'don't judge a book by its cover' situation.
My eyes land on a booth covered in yards of fabric. Maybe the universe doesn't hate me that much.
I work my way through the crowd of people, Itachi huffy and puffy when someone cuts off his sight of me. "Stop running away," he groans, arms around my hips and tugging me against him.
"I'm not running away. Sasori needs fabric," I explain, squirming out of his hold. He stays huffy but releases me. Even though I'm not being touched, Itachi is still very much present. He paces around me, watching as I toy with the fabrics, checking their patterns and the feel of the material. "Excuse me?" I call, looking for the booth owner.
"Yes, Dear?" A small older woman calls, pulling back one of the fabric strands.
"I need two yards of fabric. Do you sell them in half or full yards?"
"Quarter, half, full, you name it, Dear."
Itachi distracts himself as I talk to the saleswoman, his focus being on the fabric. "Crow?" He calls, lifting one of the yards so I can look it over. It's pretty, a rich blue coated in gold stars and swirls, reminding me of the night sky.
"Can I have a yard of that pattern too?" I ask the lady, motioning towards my clingy black cat. Why Itachi wants it is beyond me but it's safe to assume he wants me to sew something new for him. What a needy little Uchahi.
"Of course, Dear. Give me a couple of minutes to cut and wrap it all for you."
"Thank you!" I chirp, quickly counting out the needed amount from the stash of cash Sasori handed me. I dip into my wallet, adding the amount for Itachi's fabric before handing it to the lady. "I'm going to pop over to a different booth if you don't mind."
"That's fine dear. I'll see you soon."
I thank the lady again before walking towards the next booth in search of sea salt. Why can't Pain just clean his piercings with normal water? Another apology from the universe, just one booth over is a mineral table, covered in different-sized and colored natural resources.
"Hello," I call, walking up to the booth. I glance around it in search of Pain's dumb salt. "I'm looking for some sea salt."
"Any specific reason?" The guy manning the booth asks.
"Um... I think my friend - " that's not the right description "- dissolves it in water. He uses it to clean his piercings."
"How often does he use it?"
"Once a day I think. I have the tube from his last one," I explain, digging in my messenger bag for the container. When I find it I hand it to the man, letting him read it over. "Preferably, I would like enough to last at least - "
"Crow?" Itachi's panicked voice calls out. I turn back towards the fabric booth, a smile crossing my face as he waddles around it, shifting strands of fabric in search of me.
"That your friend?" The man asks, laughing a bit as we both watch Itachi search for me.
"That's my partner. He's a little... attached."
"Little Crow?" He says, head bobbing around as he looks through the waves of people for me.
"Anyway, I only come to town once a week or so. A week's worth would be the minimum but a month's worth would be best."
The guy nods his head, messing around with some of the minerals on his table. "Well I have a six oz tube that'll last about five months or you can get the twelve oz bottle. That should last ten months."
"What's the price difference?"
"Crow?" Itachi calls again, panic quickly soaking into his words.
"I'm over here, Love," I coo, shifting around to try and fall into his attention.
When I'm latched into his sight, the glow of his sharingans dull from the sun and concealment of his hat, Itachi quickly scurries over to me. Fingers cling to the back of my neck, forehead pressed to my shoulder when he comes into context with me. "You ran away," he whispers into my skin.
"I didn't run away. I was only - what? - ten paces away from you?" The booth manager chuckles again, smiling ear to ear at my separation anxiety-riddled black cat. "You're just clingy, Love."
"I'm not clingy."