Chapter Text
The club scene was in full swing. An up and coming DJ was spinning music and the dance floor was packed to near bursting. Conversation could barely be heard by those who came for the dancing, for the music and press of bodies took precedence over any dialogue being attempted. Sweat and sex and alcohol filled the air and guided those who lusted for the unusual. Only in certain clubs could Others mingle freely with humans and the Black Cat's Path club was one of the most popular on the east coast for doing such.
The rope preventing entrance due to fire code restrictions was parted instantly for the determined man now walking through the entryway and into the heart of the club. His long black hair, tied back against his neck, gleamed in the strobing lights and caught each twist of the light in its depths. He could have easily been mistaken for a vampire with his pale skin and elegant bearing, rather than the human he was.
"Hey, boss!"
Dark orbs shifted to Naruto Uzumaki, the head cooler of Black Cat's Path. Instead of the normal greeting he might offer, Itachi Uchiha mere stared at him before speaking. "Go to the bar and bring a bottle of Glen Livet to my office."
"Itachi?"
"Do it," he snapped and stalked away from Naruto and toward the back door emblazed with the words, 'Employees Only', his gait stiff and his jaw clenched. He did not stop his steps until he reached the office bearing his name and slipped inside the darkened room.
Not bothering to flip on the lights, he settled onto the leather couch arranged on one side of the room and stared blankly at the two-way mirror taking up the opposite wall beside his desk. He could see Naruto speaking with the bartender while glancing every few seconds to the mirror behind the bar where the two-way was located until the bartender handed off a bottle of the expensive scotch.
He only had to wait a few moments before Naruto was in the office with the scotch and a glass. "Hand it here."
The blond cooler glanced over Itachi before finally handing off the requested items. "Is something the matter?"
"What makes you think that, Naruto?" purred Itachi in a silky voice as he popped open the top and downed a gulp of the scotch straight from the bottle. "Everything is absolutely perfect."
"It doesn't look perfect from where I'm standing."
"Then perhaps you should consider moving."
Itachi turned his attention to the bottle and completely ignored his employee. If Sasuke's blond idiot wanted to stand and watch him get drunk, he was welcome to it. All he cared about was drinking himself into oblivion before he began to think on what was likely happening at that very moment. He wanted to slap himself for thinking it would be easy, that his feelings for Haku were all that mattered. They had only been officially together for less than a week after months spent tracking him down. It had been so easy to say everything would work out until the moment arrived when the inevitable could no longer be postponed. Haku seemed to grow a little more wane every day until finally he could wait no longer to feed.
He laughed bitterly and took a drink, offhandedly wondering how long it would take to drink himself into oblivion. At least at his club, he did not have worry about seeing Haku pull another man or woman to him with his pheromones, or see him fuck or be fucked.
"Boss...you shouldn't be drinking so much."
"Get out, Naruto."
"But..."
Itachi slammed the bottle onto the end table and glared at him. "Get...out..."
Naruto's jaw clenched and he turned on his heels, storming from the room and leaving Itachi alone in the dark with only his thoughts. Instead of easing his emotional turmoil, the alcohol seemed more apt at causing him to think on it, on how desirable Haku looked and smelled as he had nervously left him in order to prowl for a meal.
He took another deep swallow and winced at the burn, quickly followed by numbness. Hissing, he growled to himself, sounding more like an animal than human. Suddenly, he wondered if his emotions were enough to allow him to survive a life of this. Getting drunk every time Haku needed to feed would not work in the long term...but, it was working for now. Already his overly active mind was beginning to haze over.
God, he had not been drunk in forever and the liquor was affecting him more quickly than he anticipated. He slowed his drinking, taking slow slips and savoring the flavor of the scotch.
"What is this?"
The deep voice startled him from his thoughts and he turned his gaze to where a large frame was illuminated by the lights from the hallway. It took a moment, but he quickly identified the intruder. "Kisame...why are you here?"
"Naruto called me. He said you were going to try and kill yourself with a bottle of Glen Livet."
"Idiot. He needs to focus on something other than me. How did he even have your number?"
"I gave it to him the last time I was in the club to give you an update. I told him we were old friends and to call me if something happened." Kisame folded his arms across his chest and arched a brow. "Tell me, Itachi, what brought this drinking binge on and why didn't you invite me?"
"Fuck off, Kisame."
"I don't think so. Tell me what put you in this state."
He didn't respond. Talking about it would only delay him in forgetting the reason that he was sitting drinking. He wanted to erase the thoughts of it from his mind...thoughts of Haku taking pleasure with another person.
"Ah...I see...so this is what you've been reduced to...sitting in the dark moping while getting drunk on expensive scotch. You are most definitely not the man I knew." Long, tapered fingers flipped the light switch on the wall by the door and artificial light flooded the space, causing Itachi to wince and growl under his breath.
"Leave, Kisame."
"I warned you what it would mean to be with an incubus. There is a reason that they are mostly solitary creatures. It's only natural to be possessive of significant others and you are a possessive man by nature. Much like myself." Kisame strolled across the length of the room and took the bottle from Itachi's fingers. "You've had enough."
"No...I can still think."
"I doubt all the scotch in the world would help stop your brain from thinking."
Itachi bared his teeth and reached for the stolen bottle. "You wouldn't understand."
"Oh? Let me guess, your incubus lover is feeding tonight."
"What do you know?" he growled.
Kisame grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. "More than you would think. I've been in this world all my life. The life of an incubus is hard. They have sex like fiends, but are never allowed to love because who would love someone whose survival depended on having sex as often as they could? That's why your incubus ran so hard for so long; he knows what it means to be what he is."
"I offered to feed him tonight...I offered...and he refused."
Kisame moved carefully toward him and settled beside him on the sofa. "You can't be the only one...you know this. There is no way to bottle up sexual energy. Long term feeding from an incubus will kill his partner."
"I know damn it, I just didn't think it would feel this way."
Kisame grasped his arm and forced him to face him. "Is this really what you want, a lifetime of drinking yourself into a stupor?"
"I just don't want to think of him enjoying sex with someone else. The thought sickens me."
"I doubt he's enjoying it in the way you think. You should think of it like this, the sex he has when he is hunting food is not the same as the sex he has when you're together. The only enjoyment he gets is from a full stomach, not the pleasure of connecting with a lover. To him, it's no more cheating than you stopping for a hamburger is cheating on him."
"But, he still wants other people."
Kisame slapped Itachi, hard across the face. "Wake up. I can't believe you're the same man who shared my bed. My Itachi was not a whiner. He was smart and cunning and did not mope when things did not go as he had hoped. If this is the way you're going to act, you should end this thing with that incubus and be done with it."
Itachi was on his feet in an instant, hand fisting in the material of Kisame's shirt. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
"Someone who does not like seeing you like this." Kisame leaned close and brushed his lips against his ear. "If you need to be fucked so badly, I'm always free for you."
Stopping the shiver the words created was nearly an impossible feat, particularly so considering who Kisame was. The man knew his body better than anyone. There was not an inch of skin on his body that did not thrill at the thought of bearing Kisame Hoshigaki's touch once more. Even with Haku in his life, it was so very hard not to feel excitement at the offering words. He and Kisame had gone so well together.
He was tempted to accept that unconcealed offer. Maybe Kisame was teasing, maybe he wasn't, but the offer was real and his body, despite the alcohol swimming through his system, responded as it always had with him. He felt the touch of Kisame's hand on his cheek and then run down the length of his body until he reached the line of his hip. Fingers clenched on the flesh, testing the muscle and bone hidden beneath skin and clothes.
As much as Itachi reveled in the touch, his hands lifted and pushed at the strong chest. "I want Haku."
A small expression of regret spread across Kisame's face before he grinned and released his hold. "I'm glad to hear it. I want you to understand something, Itachi. Others, regardless of our species, don't live by human rules. We exist within them, but do not live by them. You can trust me when I say, anyone who has sex with your incubus is nothing but food to him. That he has sex with you without feeding means more than hunger. You incubus wants you for more than what you can give him, and that is rare amongst incubi and succubae."
"His name is Haku, not incubus."
Kisame chuckled and nodded. "Of course. Listen, you're not in any shape to get home alone, I'll take you. But tomorrow, you really need to talk with your...Haku. I mean really understand what he does and how he feels when he feeds. That's the only way you can reconcile yourself to this relationship."
Kisame always seemed to know what he needed. When they were together, he never seemed to mind Itachi constantly being pulled away for business or when they had sex, he knew exactly when he needed it rough or when he wanted gentle, and at that point, he was still pretending to be human. It made him wonder what sort of a lover Kisame was now that he did not need to hide who he was.
"I didn't think it would be this hard," he murmured, partially to himself and partially for Kisame's benefit.
Kisame escorted him toward the door, leaving the scotch where it sat on the end table. "You're thinking like a human. You're binding yourself by those social laws. Others are not humans and have never truly lived as such. When you understand that, you'll understand Haku."
Itachi nodded and allowed himself to be guided out of the club and toward the nearby parking garage. He caught a glimpse of Naruto's relieved expression and chose to ignore it. He would speak to him later about calling Kisame behind his back. "Thank you for doing this, Kisame."
"I would do much more for you, Itachi."
Itachi nodded and closed his eyes as he slid into Kisame's car. The haze of the alcohol was making him drowsy. He leaned his head against the coolness of the window, not really caring when Kisame fastened him in with the seatbelt. His thoughts no longer demanded forgetfulness with the rushing of a wild river, everything having eased to the simple ebb and flow of the ocean. He and Kisame always had that effect on each other, as if they balanced each other out—Kisame with his wild nature and Itachi with the need of emotional support. Even now, he was not sure why their relationship had not weathered the storm of life. In the end, Itachi's need to focus on his business had become a wedge between them, one that neither could nor felt the desire to scale.
He had always underestimated Kisame. He was smart, but he was also loyal—far more so than he had ever given him credit and it now showed as he pulled him back from the brink of despair. The drive to his house gave him time to think even through the fog bought on by the scotch. His mind never truly stopped working, even with the aid of alcohol.
"We're here."
Kisame walked around the vehicle and looped an arm around Itachi's waist, supporting him completely. They were just reaching the house when the front door flew open and Haku's deceptively delicate frame stood within the light spilling forth from outside. Itachi stared at him, seeing the healthy glow of skin where earlier he had the beginnings of a pallor from delaying his feeding. It was proof enough that Haku had indeed fed.
"Itachi! Where were you?"
Kisame grinned ruefully and shook his head. "I'm Kisame Hoshigaki, an old friend of Itachi's. I talked him into drinking with me, since I recently broke up with a lover. I forgot how he can't hold his liquor. I didn't even have a buzz and he was already wasted."
"What in the world were you two drinking?" asked Haku as he led the way through the house toward the bedroom.
"Expensive scotch. It's one of the perks of drinking with Itachi. It might not do much for me when trying to get drunk, but it tastes a hell of a lot better than goblin made brew."
"Oh, I see." Haku pulled back the comforter on the bed and Itachi, who had remained quiet until then, glared at Kisame.
"You're an idiot, Kisame."
"So you've told me. I guess next time we decide to drink, I'll have to stick to Other liquor rather than the human stuff you favor. It's hard for a shark to drown in booze, after all I am part fish."
Itachi shook his head at Kisame's lies. He could lie with the best of them, more fitting for a devil than a shark. What he could not understand was why he was lying so readily for him. He did not have to do that. "Kisame..."
"You get some rest and sleep off that scotch and we'll talk soon. Just remember what I told you tonight." With those words, Kisame excused himself and exited the way he had come.
With Kisame gone, Itachi and Haku were left alone. There was a lengthy silence as Haku knelt at his feet.
"I was worried when you weren't home. I thought you had left." Haku dropped his head with a dejected sigh. "I thought I had lost you, that you wouldn't want me afterwards."
Itachi swallowed the thick cotton in his throat and glanced to where Haku was tugging his shoes from his feet. He looked beautiful, from the long fall of silken hair to the creamy perfection of skin. Incubi needed to be perfect; it was a natural trait for their survival that had evolved before their pheromones. Haku was the perfect example of such a creature, androgynous with enough feminine and masculine traits to appeal to both sexes equally. His eyes were elegantly curved with a slight up tilt on the outer edges and his lips, neither too thin nor too full. Perfection described Haku and suddenly he was grateful to Kisame for his lie. He did not for a single instant relish the thought of hurting Haku.
"I could never give you up," he whispered and the words were the truth.
There were things the two of them needed to understand about each other, but the one universal truth between them stood firm. No matter how many people Haku needed to feed from, Itachi could never give him up. He had needed Kisame to tell him that, to force feed it to him. It still burned, but he felt his former lover and longtime friend had saved him from the repercussions of a grave mistake. Haku would have known the reason why he was drunk had Kisame not intervened and it would have hurt him. Words could not describe how grateful he was to Kisame in that moment.
"I'm glad."
"I'm not..." he trailed off, unable to utter words that could scar the still very new relationship he had with the incubus now undressing him.
Haku cocked his head and smiled. "Yes?"
Itachi shook his head and pulled Haku up into his lap. He buried his face in the warm side of his neck and inhaled deeply, searching for any trace of the person who had fed his lover. There was nothing but the scent he had come to associate with Haku—spicy, musky undertones with just the hint of evergreen. Not even a sex mark marred the pristine skin.
"Itachi?"
The drunken buzz of the alcohol had faded and he felt the sudden need to reclaim the body before him. It was an instinctual need to show Haku who he belonged to, even if it was a moot point to press across. He needed it, needed to show Haku that his feelings were unchanged even if he still found it difficult to come to terms with what needed to be done.
He shifted his body and pressed Haku into the mattress, his hands pushing up the loose shirt so that he could kiss and tongue the tight muscles pulled taut beneath a layer of skin. He bit hard just to the right of his navel, desperate to leave a mark—a sign of who Haku belonged to.
Pure animal instinct rolled through him and he nearly ripped their clothes in desperation, not satisfied until Haku was naked beneath him. He wanted him naked and pliant beneath his body—his scent soaking into him more with each passing moment. A hiss sounded in his ear as he bit down on the creamy skin of Haku's shoulder, breaking the skin and tasting the coppery flavor of blood.
There was little finesse in this coming together. Without sparing a moment, he flipped his lover onto his stomach and reached for the lubricant he kept in the drawer by the bed. He didn't necessarily need it, but he was not so far gone that he wanted to forgo either of them complete pleasure of the act and a dry fucking did not particularly appeal to him.
His arm darted beneath Haku's pelvis and lifted him so that he could gaze upon the hard muscles of his ass and the pink pucker within. Still running on the desperation to seek out any and all traces of who might have been with Haku, he breathed in deeply, still only smelling the clean scent of Haku.
"Itachi? What are you—?"
Realization that his lover had bathed away every trace of his meal filled him with satisfaction. There was not a single ounce of evidence that he had even fed other than the now healthy glow of his skin. Darting out this tongue, he swiped it over the warm flesh, tasting the salt and muskiness of his skin and nothing else. Haku's moan filled his ear and he growled in satisfaction at knowing the effect he had on his lover.
His hands were nearly shaking as he coated himself in the cool gel. After that, the room was only filled with both of their heavy breathing as he pushed inside and growled at the tightness surrounding him. There was very little lull in action as he immediately began pounding hard and fast, marking Haku as his in the only way he could. His mind blacked out and only the pleasure of their coming together mattered.
The bed creaked and shook with every almost punishing thrust. Instead of crying out in pain, Haku whimpered and groaned for more. His voice rose in pitch with every thrust until both of them were nothing but a single beast seeking physical relief. Both their bodies worked toward the anticipated ending with a desperate sort of fervor.
One of Haku's hands darted beneath him to pump at his erection, all the while releasing groans and grunts of pleasure. The sounds alone were enough to send Itachi through the last visages of control and into his orgasm. For a split second, no more than a ghosting of a thought, he felt a sudden longing for a lover he had not thought of in what seemed like forever. He did not wish to replace Haku in his bed, but rather longed for another with them—touching him, pounding into him as he pounded into Haku. The thought was the knife that cut the last string holding back his orgasm.
He cried out into Haku's shoulder only moments before his lover released a breathless moan and collapsed beneath him. The sweat coating their bodies dried, leaving them cool in the room, though neither had the strength to move from where they lay as their breath returned to normal.
"Itachi, are you sure you're alright with the way things are?"
He nuzzled his nose to Haku's shoulder and signed. "No, but I'm getting there. I was afraid you would smell like...the person you were with."
Haku turned, eyes wide. "I would never come to you like that. I stopped by the apartment Zabuza has taken and showered. I'll never let you see me like that unless you are the one feeding me."
"Thank you," he whispered and kissed the spot on Haku's shoulder where he had bitten him.
"Your friend, Kisame, seems like a good person."
A barking laugh escaped him before he could halt its progress. "Kisame is not anywhere near a good person, but he is a good friend."
"How long have you known each other?"
"It feels like a lifetime. I didn't know he was an Other when we met. Apparently he was using a witch to glamor him."
Haku nodded in understanding. "Some Others don't look anywhere near human, so if they wanted to exist in the human world, they needed to look the part. Zabuza is a shark like Kisame, but his teeth are the only parts of him that don't appear human. There are some still hiding because of the stigma of being an Other, but most have grown tired of hiding in the shadows and are willing to forsake their security in order to live as what they are. People like you, who welcome them in their businesses and restaurants, will always have the support of the Other community. You will never have to worry about lack of business."
A smirk quirked the corner of one mouth. "That's good to know."
"It's the truth. As long as your businesses remain open, you will never have to worry because you showed us a great kindness in welcoming us."
"It was just good business."
"Still, welcoming members of our society so easily leaves a mark on us and we would be likely to purchase from you as opposed to other businesses."
"How do you know so much about what is going on. I didn't think incubi were very involved in Other society."
Haku deflated a little. "It's not that we can't be involved, it's just that we don't generally have the option of staying in one place for very long. Outsiders not from the area generally take a while to be welcomed. A lot of times I needed to move before I could get to know anyone. As is, I'm a little nervous about what I'm going to do if someone I feed from tracks me down before the pheromones work through their system. I would generally be gone within two or three weeks before I met you."
"I'll talk to Kisame. He generally works as a private investigator, but will know how we can better protect you from unwelcome lusts."
"You don't have to..."
"I want to. We'll get through this, even if I have to kill anyone who tries to hurt you."
Haku smiled brilliantly at him and nuzzled his face to Itachi's chest. "You won't have to kill anyone. I'll take care of anything that needs doing."
Silence, only broken by the gentle sound of breathing, filled the bedroom. Haku slept deeply, curled against Itachi with his head resting on his chest. Sleep did not come so easily for Itachi. His thoughts returned time and again to Kisame and how he had snuck unbidden into his mind as he fucked Haku. Perhaps all the time he had recently spent with Kisame over the last few months had awakened residual desires long forgotten.
His heart slammed time and again against the wall of his chest while his thoughts continued to spin through his mind. He wanted Kisame, he wanted his domination—the complete control he exuded in the bedroom. No man had ever controlled his pleasure as expertly as Kisame.
Tightening his arms around Haku, he pressed his lips to soft hair at his temple and closed his eyes. He had never in his life felt like this, drawn powerfully between two men for very different reasons. Haku was everything he wanted, but Kisame also provided something he desperately wanted as well. Simplicity was a forgone notion in his life and had been ever since the veil of secrecy was lifted. Nothing ever seemed to be simply when Others were involved.
Sleep was a long time and coming as he continued to wonder just what to do. He was still uncertain how he would deal with Haku's feeding and how much more difficult it had been to allow his lover to walk out the door in search of someone to feed upon. Kisame had leveled him, pulled him from the darkness he allowed to envelope him. And now a whole other worry had been roused as a result.
There was no point in focusing one what he had imagined or the thoughts still spiraling through him. It was best not to dwell on things he could not deal with at the moment. Sleep finally took him as he released the thoughts for another day.
oOo
Kisame slammed into his home office. He was growling under his breath, unable to stop. He had not wanted to leave when he had taken Itachi home. He had seen the insecurity in the incubus's face and been unable to utter the truth, which would have hurt both of them. Instead, he had lied to ease the transition between Itachi and his incubus. He had played the good friend when it was the last thing he had wanted. The greatest regret of his life was when he had simply allowed Itachi to drift from his life. He had not fought to keep him and his current existence was a result of that. When Itachi had entered his life six months prior, he had thought it was fate, only to realize his purpose was to track down an incubus his former lover desired.
It had burned, though he never let that show on his face.
Of course, he helped. He had never been capable of denying Itachi anything. If he had wanted his heart on a platter, he would have cut it out himself and presented it with flourish. Sharks did not bond as some of the other species of Others, but he often wondered if what he had felt, when he finally realized Itachi was no longer his, was similar to what mated pairs did upon losing their significant other.
Growling under his breath, he stalked into the kitchen and reached into a cabinet where he secreted away a bottle of goblin whiskey. Goblins might be better known by humans for hording gold, but amongst Others, they were also known for their powerful spirits. A few shots of goblin whiskey would send a human into alcohol poisoning, but for an Other, it was the only option for getting drunk. Human spirits, even the homemade moonshine, were simply too weak, like drinking a watered down wine.
Popping the cork, he tilted his head back and down several swallows of the brew. The bitter taste was unpleasant, but the feel of a burning haze spreading through his body more than made up for the taste. Already his mind was losing its grip on the thoughts spinning through his mind. It was his own fault for allowing Itachi to put him in this situation. He should have turned him down the minute his voice was carried along the phone.
"Fuck it all," he snarled and took another swallow of the bitter spirit.
He could not completely blame Itachi. He allowed himself to be drawn to him time and again. He was as much to blame for his current situation.
The whiskey was strong and his body could barely remain upright under the assault of the liquor. He barely made it to his sofa before he collapsed. The half-empty bottle clattered loudly on the end table while he lay back against the soft sofa and allowed his conscious thoughts to be washed away.
God, he loved Itachi, had never stopped. He barked out a low laugh as he thought of the human proverb about allowing something loved to go and if it returns it is meant to be. What a crock of shit.
He should have kept Itachi with him because now he had lost him completely and both hearts in his chest ached with the knowledge. No amount of alcohol could hope to erase that feeling. He would have to live with the choices he had made, and he had let Itachi go.
Emptiness filled him and he closed his eyes. He wouldn't cry, but fuck if he didn't want. Tonight, he would drink himself into oblivion and hopefully be able to face tomorrow with a stronger grip on his control.
He reached for the bottle and took another swallow, long having burnt off his taste buds. Oblivion sounded quite wonderful now.