Chapter Text
Kill Room.
There’s darkness hiding under Shisui’s skin.
He wonders sometimes if the people he works with in the tower can see it. He doubts it. Most people are blinded by him. By his bright personality and his hero status. They are content to ignore the dark legacy of the Uchiha clan. They look away from the way it clings to him, distracted by the way he shines outwardly. Shisui is their Golden Hero. Their future Hokage. He is too good to be anything else.
But the darkness is there all the same. A well of anger that lives in his heart. The hatred he carries leaks out sometimes. Like tonight, he’s following Obito as he hunts down and removes those who threaten Itachi's plan. It’s one of the few times Shisui can turn off the burning brightness and let his darker impulses go.
And tonight is important. Shisui leaps between the shadows, invisible against the dark sky. He’d promised Obito he wouldn’t be early, but anxiety is chasing him across Konoha. He keeps his footsteps quick and light. There is no way he can be late. Not tonight.
Tonight is the last hunt.
The last night of Obito’s year-long mission of removing the omega trafficking ring that exists in Konoha. Shisui is sure that there will be others. That there will always be an underworld. But they’ll take care of it if it happens. Shisui doesn’t revel in the violence. He doesn’t enjoy the screaming and the crying as predators become prey. But that doesn’t matter. The screaming and crying are just a matter of course. On nights like these, he always arrives after the killing is done, anyway.
There is something deeply addictive in these private moments with Obito. Shisui likes being the one Obito turns to for support. For comfort. His body is nearly thrumming with how desperately he misses the comfort of Obito’s warmth.
Itachi would understand. The younger man probably already knows about Shisui's ever worsening emotional attachment to Obito. Especially after the night that caused this weird rift between the three of them. The night Obito stopped sharing the bed with them…
A wave of want grips Shisui and he pauses, crouched on top of a power pole. It’s been over a week. A week since any of them have had a decent night’s sleep.
Shisui shakes his head and leaps forward. Onward.
Itachi is definitely waiting for him to bring it up. But Shisui doesn’t say anything. Not to Itachi. And not to Obito either. Not yet.
He isn’t ready. Or maybe he’s afraid. The thought is immediately irritating. Shisui isn’t afraid. He isn’t afraid of battlefields or blood or death. He lives in the same house as the most dangerous men alive. He isn’t afraid.
He just… isn't ready yet.
It's ridiculous. Every night for the past week, when he settles into bed with Itachi, all he can feel is Obito’s absence. Even though the bed is almost comically small, it feels too big without the alpha squeezed in between them.
Obito has been spending his nights on the couch, claiming he’s trying to give Itachi and Shisui some privacy. He hasn’t been sleeping. The dark bags that have appeared under his one visible eye are proof enough. Shisui’s heart aches as he pictures Obito’s handsome face. He’s been trying to pretend everything is fine, but Shisui can see through the act.
Maybe that’s why he’s hot on Obito’s heels tonight. Because tonight is the last night, and Shisui wants to be there just in case Obito needs him. So he can keep Obito steady if the darkness gets to be too much for him to carry alone.
His protective devotion to Itachi has somehow grown to include Obito. Shisui can admit to himself that it probably happened long before this weirdness developed between them. He has found himself watching Obito the same way he watches Itachi. Helplessly. His eyes are drawn to them and he finds it hard to look away. He doesn’t want to look away. They’re both impossibly handsome alphas. Their faces flash through his mind. Itachi’s dark eyes. Obito’s dark smile…
Shisui groans to himself in half-embarrassed frustration as he leaps from building to building. He flickers through a shadow, his steps silent.
Down below he can see an eyeball splattered against the sidewalk. The dark optic nerve is splayed out behind the white ball like a gruesome arrow pointing Shisui onward. He follows its path. There is something dark in the amusement he feels. In the fondness that threatens to distract him.
Obito has gone to the warehouse again. It's been a favorite spot lately. The clan has owned the building for years, but it's mostly abandoned now. Itachi has been talking to buyers in the last few weeks.
There’s no one nearby as Shisui approaches the building. A guttural cry breaks the surrounding silence, but it cuts off abruptly. He speeds up, even though he promised not to be early.
Shisui scales the fire escape and slips through the open window. He lands silently just outside the patch of moonlight on the floor. The motion is familiar. He's done it dozens of times. The room is dark and silent around him, just like always. He doesn’t relax. He can’t. Anxiety rushes through him as he takes a deep breath.
He can taste Obito’s distress from here. His petrichor pheromones have turned sharper than usual. It’s heavier than the stench of ammonia and alcohol that Shisui notices next.
There is a dead man hanging from a thick metal chain in the middle of the room. Shisui doesn't recognize him. Both his eyes are missing, his face is swollen and streaked with blood, but everything else seems to be intact. He’s dressed in dark clothes and his feet are bare. Even from several steps away the stench of alcohol wafting off of the corpse is strong.
Before Shisui turns away from the body, he notices a puddle on the floor. A drop of something clear – not blood – drips from a bare toe.
Obito is standing against the far wall, his forehead pressed against the cinder blocks. His one eye is closed. Shisui can see his anguish in the way his shoulders are slumped.
“You’re early,” the older alpha tells him. His voice is almost too soft. Proof of how affected he is by his own violent behavior.
Shisui watches as Obito attempts to swallow his emotions. His face is pinched, the scars on his face wrinkle painfully. Something protective flares hot deep in Shisui’s gut. His insecurities fade as he watches Obito. The other man doesn’t turn around. He’s refusing to open his eye.
Shisui steps away from the body and keeps his eyes on Obito. He silently paces closer, feeling like he’s approaching a frightened animal. His heartbeat is still elevated from sprinting across the village. His fingers itch to touch, to bridge the gap between them. But he holds himself back. Like he has for so long now. Too long.
“I promised I wouldn’t be early.” Shisui answers. It’s a terrible answer and he does his best to keep his tone light, but the worry bleeds through anyway. He reaches Obito’s side. “Perhaps you shouldn’t be playing with your food so much, Obito.”
The other alpha’s pheromones are sharp against his nose. Obito jerks slightly at his proximity, but doesn’t pull away. Emboldened Shisui brings one hand up to rest on Obito's shoulder. The dark fabric of his shirt is soft, the flesh underneath warm and alive.
Obito shifts under the touch. The older alpha's posture sags slightly under the weight of Shisui’s hand before he finally turns around. A tired sort of pain is written across Obito’s face. He finally opens his eye and he stares at Shisui. He looks like a man one step away from the edge of a cliff. He looks desperate for …something.
Despite his own insecurities, Shisui steps forward immediately. Instinctively. He wraps Obito into a tight hug, ignoring the way the older man stiffens at the touch before abruptly surrendering. Obito is bigger than Shisui. Not by a lot, but his shoulders are wider, his muscles are bulkier, and he stands a few centimeters taller. Holding him feels good. Shisui’s whole nervous system responds to the touch. He has missed being close enough to touch Obito. He has missed Obito. His teasing sharpness. His protective warmth…
The pain and insecurities of the last weeks fade away as Obito stays in Shisui’s arms. Shisui releases more of his pheromones into their shared space. His heart is thumping hard against his ribs as he pulls Obito in closer. He feels relief as he revels in their closeness.
It takes a moment, like Obito is making a decision, before he slowly brings his arms up and hugs Shisui back. A warm nose nudges against the soft skin of Shisui's scent gland. He revels in the intimacy of being scented like this.
“He pissed himself,” Obito’s lips drag against the skin of Shisui’s neck. He sounds like he’s trying to sound amused but his normally light tone is missing his usual obnoxious cheer. “Just like the last one.”
“Maybe it’s because you keep picking up drunk alphas.” Shisui suggests. He uses the same words that he’s used so many times to bring Obito back from the brink. They come out fonder than he intends, but he doesn’t really mind. His hands drift lower, to press against the curve of Obito’s spine. Thick muscles flex under his touch.
He can feel the moment the meaning registers. The moment that Obito calculates his response. Obito’s posture shifts. Loosens. He laughs, his breath a warm puff of air against Shisui’s neck. The hug between them tightens.
“Like you do?” Obito seizes the opportunity to tease him with razor sharp claws and Shisui can feel a blush brightening his cheeks.
Is Obito flirting with him?
Shisui’s heart skips eagerly at the thought. He doesn’t end the hug, instead he takes a deep lungfull of Obito’s oncoming storm. It’s comforting. Exciting. It makes him feel daring. With his heart racing, Shisui lets himself flirt back, before he loses his nerve. “Are you drunk, Obito?”
Obito laughs properly, his shoulders relaxing fully with the sound.
“For you, I could be.” His voice rumbles between them.
Shisui moves back a half step, his courage stuttering. Goosebumps race up his arms. Despite that, he doesn’t fully release the hug as he looks up into Obito’s face, trying to read the emotion behind his eye.
There’s something a little hopeful looking back at him. Like Obito is finally letting himself want something. It’s like a spark putting light into Obito. Shisui’s pheromones burst from him, unbidden, at the sight.
“You know… Itachi said you weren’t into threesomes,” Obito says, his nose twitching as he breathes in Shisui’s scorched earth scent. His expression is quickly transforming into something devious that sets Shisui’s heart scrambling to keep up. Obito’s teeth are sharper than his grin. “He’s such a naive little prince.”
“W-what?”
Itachi and Obito have talked about—?!
Shisui tries to step back but Obito follows him, his arms tightening. Blood rushes to his face as he vividly imagines exactly what Obito is talking about. He can picture it. He has pictured it many times.
Shisui and Itachi… and Obito. Pressed together in that aggressively small bed Itachi insists they all share. Nights spent together. Early mornings. Laughter at the breakfast table. Affection and warmth and–
He forces back his thoughts. Tries to refocus.
There is a body hanging from the rafters behind them.
A childish sort of glee is painted across Obito's scarred face. Like he’s pleased with the reactions he’s pulling out of the younger man. Shisui is swiftly overwhelmed by Obito’s pheromones and he breathes them in the same way he watches. Helplessly.
“When did–” Shisui is too embarrassed to finish his own question.
“The very first day. When he promised me a better life and adopted me.” Obito says, which sounds far gentler than the truth of it. Obito had been sliding into madness and squalor before Itachi’s intervention. His sharingan flashes briefly red as he recalls his memory of the moment. “And again, the next morning… to you. You chased him into the bathroom. Remember?”
Shisui chokes on his own surprised embarrassment, his face burning hotter as he abruptly remembers. He’d just returned from a mission and found them asleep in the bed. Itachi had clearly been teasing Obito with the threesome comment, but then he’d stolen Shisui’s breakfast. Shisui had followed him into the bathroom. Itachi hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort since. That had been over a year ago.
Is it possible that Itachi had seen this coming? Had he known then that Shisui would find himself attracted to— yearning for–?
Shisui’s rushing thoughts scatter. He’s brought back to his body as Obito leans in temptingly close, his arms an iron cage keeping Shisui in place. His lungs have somehow forgotten how to work as he drowns in Obito’s pheromones.
Is he… is he going to..?
Behind them the chain abruptly loosens. The hanging body hits the ground with a muffled thump, and the chain rattles down loudly on top of it. The noise of it is enough to startle them apart.
Shisui gracelessly escapes, his heart pounding. He tries his best to compose himself as he approaches the dead man on the floor.
“I could have sworn I tied that better,” Obito grumbles from behind him.
As the stench of cheap alcohol and urine assaults him, it does little to cover the rising storm behind him. Obito follows him and plasters himself against Shisui’s back. He's a wall of blistering heat and Shisui thinks he might combust from it. Obito watches from over his shoulder as Shisui pretends to inspect the body.
“Did he say anything useful?” Shisui asks. A shiver races down his spine as Obito considers his answer, his breath a warm caress against Shisui’s neck. Strong hands settle on Shisui’s hips, the touch hot and distracting.
Shisui forgets to breathe. He hardly hears the answer to his own question.
“He told me he’d heard of me. That I had killed his boss. All his friends too.” Obito’s dark laugh is another warm puff against Shisui’s exposed skin. His fingers tighten in a quick squeeze that sends a rush of tingles through Shisui's entire body.
Shisui turns his chin closer, letting the cut of his jaw line up with Obito’s so that their pheromones might mingle.
“He begged me to let him go.” Obito carefully crowds him again, wrapping his arms smoothly around Shisui's waist. Obito scents him as though he expects to be swatted away. Instead, Shisui groans in approval and reaches up to grab a handful of Obito’s wild spiky hair. He drags the taller alpha in closer.
Shisui’s body lights up at the contact. At the attention. His nervous system sparks as though Obito’s touch carries lightning. Maybe it does. It’s a struggle to keep his thoughts clear.
“Did he say anything about Danzo?” What is he even saying? This guy clearly wasn’t a ROOT operative. The words come out a little breathlessly. Obito hums, sounding amused.
“Danzo didn’t matter to this guy,” he murmurs. His lips catch against the skin of Shisui’s scent gland, causing him to shudder in delight.
Obito definitely notices. They stay like that a moment, Shisui is about two seconds away from abandoning all his personal lies and just taking what he wants before Obito relents. The strong arms wrapped around his waist loosen, though Obito doesn’t fully let him go. “No one is going to come looking for him. Still… we’ll have to clean up real good this time. ‘Tachi said that he found a buyer for the warehouse.”
Shisui sighs at the reminder. They'd cleared most of its contents weeks ago. Police files and records were sent to the Hokage’s office; larger items like desks, tables, and chairs were donated to the community.
Shisui lets go of Obito’s hair and lets his hand drop to his side. He misses Obito’s warmth immediately.
Instead of complaining, Shisui steps closer to the body. From the corner of his eye he can see the pout that flashes across Obito’s expression. His lower lip juts out and a soft pink blush dusts across his unscarred cheek. The older alpha reaches around Shisui to pick up the chain. It clinks softly as he unwraps it from the broken neck and coils it up. The steel links are mostly clean, but Obito takes the time to wipe away several spots of blood.
Shisui nudges the body with his foot.
Obito shows a certain level of precision when it comes to killing these garbage alpha types. It's a predictable enough pattern, enough to cause rumors and unease to those who might otherwise be inclined to follow a similar path. Eyes removed and left behind to be found by the ANBU patrol. Sometimes an offending limb is removed, the only evidence is a suspicious blood pool found too late to follow.
“Why are they always drunk,” Shisui complains as they lift the body. Heavy and piss soaked. Rigor mortis hasn’t started yet, so Shisui braces the dead weight while Obito checks for lingering stains on the floor. With no remaining traces of their presence, the two alphas make their way towards the Naka river.
It’s too dark to really see anything, only the stars provide any light tonight.
“It’s a relief,” Obito tells him after they’ve tossed the body into the rushing water. Shisui can almost imagine the body dashing against the rocks, a rush of red being overwhelmed in the rapids. “This guy was the last of the trafficking ring.”
He sounds tired and unhappy as he flops back onto the wet ground and stares up at the stars. The last of the trafficking ring should feel like a celebration.
Shisui lays back with him. Their hands brush, and then grasp, holding tight. The quiet rests between them for several peaceful minutes. Obito plays with his fingers for a moment, his attention already moved away from tonight's violence. He looks thoughtful as he gently bends Shisui’s fingers this way and that.
Shisui tries not to let the fluttering in his chest become too obvious. The scent of their twined pheromones is delightful. Obito’s touch is warm and welcome. And then, Obito opens his mouth and ruins it.
“So… Do you think Itachi is into threesomes?”
Shisui sputters. He’s grateful for the darkness as heat fills his face. He hardly has time to consider his answer because between one heartbeat and the next Shisui is pinned to the ground with his hands above his head.
Obito has moved impossibly fast. Their noses are almost brushing with how close Obito is now. The older alpha’s hips sit heavy on top of Shisui's. Obito’s chest is pressed against him, his strong arms caging Shisui's ribs, the fingers of both their hands are tangled together. Shisui’s breath hitches as his heart starts racing again.
“Of course, we’d have to know if we were wanting such a thing…” Obito’s voice is a velvet tease. His lips hover a fraction away from Shisui’s. Close enough to kiss, but far enough that they don’t. The moment hovers between them, their breath mingling softly. It feels so good to be this close. To erase the barriers between them.
If ‘we’ want it? Does that mean Obito wants it? That he wants Shisui the same way that Shisui wants Obito?
A wave of raw desire slams into Shisui. Everything he's been trying so hard to hold back overwhelms him. The moment teeters between them until he breaks, unable to resist any longer.
Shisui stretches his neck upward and their lips connect. He’s careful, asking almost. Lacking the full confidence he had the last time he’d kissed someone for the first time. When he’d kissed Itachi.
Obito meets him. Welcomes him. His hands come down to frame Shisui’s face, to hold his chin in place. It’s soft and warm. Gentle almost as they taste each other for the first time. The kiss deepens slowly as they press themselves together. Shisui’s hands come up and tangle in Obito’s hair again. He uses his grip to tug him even closer.
Kissing Obito feels amazing. The way his heavy body traps Shisui in place. His big hands on Shisui’s neck and chin. His tongue pushes its way into Shisui's mouth like Obito already owns the space.
Shisui’s moan sounds suspiciously more like a whine when it escapes his throat. Obito’s responding growl is low and rough. It sends shivers of lust and excitement through him. Obito kisses Shisui and it tastes like he's being claimed. Like a revelation as their mouths come together again and again.
This powerful alpha is choosing Shisui.
Shisui's pulse stutters. His mating gland tingles eagerly at the thought. He can easily imagine Obito's teeth fitting against his neck. Biting down and leaving a permanent mark.
Shisui wraps Obito in a tight hug, pulling the other man down more firmly against him, ducking in so he can rub their jaws together. For now Shisui'll settle for mingling their pheromones properly, wanting the scent of petrichor and ozone to linger with him always. Wanting Obito to smell like him, too. Like crushed grass and scorched earth.
Obito kisses him again, laughing softly at being marked so thoroughly. It’s different from his usual laugh. Warmer, more honest, maybe. The sound of it lights up something between them and soon they’re both laughing helplessly. Shisui relaxes underneath Obito, feeling warm and safe under the larger alpha’s bulk.
After several moments, Obito rolls off of him. He doesn’t go far, staying pressed against Shisui’s side. They trade slow, affectionate kisses under the stars. The dampness of the dirt below them seeps into Shisui’s clothes but he doesn’t care. The warmth he’s finding in Obito’s arms is more than enough to drive off the chill of the surrounding darkness.
“You don’t need to get all clingy like you are with Itachi. I know that you love me without you being all showy about it.” Obito’s sly tone breaks the comfortable silence. He lets one hand drift down from Shisui’s neck. It comes to a stop on his hip, squeezing teasingly.
Shisui pulls away with an embarrassed groan. He sits up and takes note of the surrounding darkness. He stiffens.
He can hear approaching footsteps.
Shisui listens for a moment before he relaxes, pleased. Then he tenses all over again as he realizes. Those are Itachi’s footsteps.
Shisui barely has a moment to consider how to explain the last hour before Obito sits up and waves. A stupid looking grin spreads over Obito’s scarred face as Itachi breaks through the treeline. Shisui groans to himself, unable to believe he’s attracted to this man.
“I inspected the warehouse,” the alpha tells them once he’s close enough. He absolutely notices Obito’s messy hair and Shisui’s bruised lips but says nothing. Yet. He drops down to sit, completing the triangle between them. “There is still some furniture to clear out. Some clan members volunteered to do that today. Other than that, it's ready for the Sarutobi clan to inspect and take over tonight.”
Itachi pauses, letting the silence crowd into the space between them before continuing, his words taking on a more wicked tone. He shoots a heated look at Shisui, his dark eyes twinkling with amusement he rarely allows to show.
“You’ll have to find somewhere else for your… dates.”
Shisui turns red immediately but Obito only laughs, unashamed. “Sorry ‘Tachi. He’s just so cute… I couldn't help myself. I’ll kiss you too, if you want.”
“I do want.” Itachi says immediately. His amusement doesn’t fade. He looks like a man who wears patience like it’s his duty. A man about to be rewarded. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”
Obito blinks, then grins.
Shisui groans and lets himself fall back onto the damp earth again. Of course Itachi’s been waiting. His heart beats wildly in his chest as he watches Obito tug Itachi forward into a firm kiss above him.
Something softens in Itachi's body as Obito kisses him. Shisui watches them for a moment, his heart warming with fondness in his chest. Itachi makes a soft sound and Obito hums at him, his voice a deep rumble. A string of saliva stretches between them when they separate. It’s so hot Shisui feels dizzy with it. He laughs in pure delight and Itachi bends down to kiss him too.
Shisui relishes the kiss immediately. The warmth, the comfort, the familiarity. The soft slide of familiar lips against his own. The taste of Obito lingering on Itachi’s tongue.
Itachi lifts one hand to twist into his hair, tugging him closer. Shisui loves the way his body lights up in recognition. He loves kissing Itachi. Shisui could devote a lifetime to kissing Itachi and still want more. Itachi pulls away far too soon and the loss leaves Shisui feeling bereft.
Eventually he’s pulled to his feet and the three of them head away from the cliff's edge and back towards Konoha. Their fingers keep tangling together and pulling away as they move. The three of them joking and laughing in the darkness of the forest. The energy between them is warmer than it had been earlier in the evening. The hurt that had lingered in the silence has vanished.
The sky is only barely starting to lighten with the new day when they arrive in the district. The nighttime lanterns are still lit.
A young beta approaches them as they turn past the library. Shisui recognizes him from a recent clan meeting. A thin, young man who has recently started working at the Hokage tower. A chunin working with the record keepers.
“Itachi?” He says, his voice quivering slightly with nerves. He’s younger, dressed in dark shinobi gear. A few other Uchiha approach, listening intently. “You were right. There are records missing from the recent deliveries to the tower.”
Itachi’s voice is smooth and his expression is calm as he steps forward. The beta relaxes immediately. “Were you able to determine the files that were missing, cousin?”
Itachi spends the next few minutes discussing the missing files. Shisui feels his attention drifting. He’s slept so poorly the last few weeks that a conversation on paperwork was sure to knock him out.
While he’s distracted, Obito presses himself against Shisui's, using Shisui’s slightly shorter frame to prop his own up. He wraps one arm around Shisui’s ribs. His hand is warm where it presses against Shisui’s chest, right above his heart. Heat travels up Shisui’s spine and into his face as he feels warm breaths puff against his neck.
When he realizes that the paperwork discussion has stopped, he looks up. The beta looks like he’s trying to hide an expression of surprise. His eyebrows, however, have nearly escaped his forehead. He keeps glancing between Shisui and Itachi, as though waiting for something.
Obito uses his hips to push Shisui a step forward, closer to the beta. Shisui sighs but does nothing to stop the crowding. He can feel Itachi’s smirk without turning to look.
Obito releases his pheromones next, assaulting Shisui’s nose with his wonderful scent. The beta’s eyebrows have mostly disappeared into his hairline. The conversation about missing paperwork had already been forgotten.
Fighting his own rising arousal, Shisui rocks his weight backward. He lifts his foot and lets his heel make direct contact with Obito's foot, crunching down firmly on Obito's toes. The older alpha yelps in pain and retreats quickly after that. Dropping into the dirt, Obito cradles his injured foot and whines obnoxiously.
And he called me clingy, Shisui thinks furiously, shifting his weight towards Itachi. Their shoulders brush and Shisui breathes in the traces of woodsmoke that can’t be suppressed. Something in him settles. Luckily the beta laughs at Obito’s dramatics.
The man raises his hand in farewell and takes his leave. Shisui watches him go, studying the confident gait of his retreating figure.
“Cousin?” He asks Itachi once they're alone again. Obito stops whining and turns to pay attention as Itachi nods.
A cousin could be depended on. A cousin was working for Itachi’s future, even if they didn’t realize it. They provided information. They had connections. Shisui looks after the man again. He’d have to learn his name and remember it. A cousin has earned mutual respect.
“Yes. Yakumi.”
Obito repeats the name several times as they continue walking through the district on their usual patrol. The clan members they encounter mostly ignore them now. The morning activity moves around them. Shinobi heading towards their assignments. Clan members opening their shops and stalls. Children walking in small clusters to school or the academy.
They're watched. Several friendly faces look up as they pass, worried expressions fading as they hear Obito and Shisui bickering playfully. Itachi walks between them, nodding at anyone who catches his eye.
Too soon, exhaustion pulls at Shisui and he leads the way back towards the house. Towards their bed. Their nest. Surely Obito isn’t thinking he’s going to be allowed to sleep on the couch again. They arrive back at the house as the sun begins to rise but instead of the bedroom, Itachi herds both of them into the bathroom.
Obito flushes that soft pink color again but doesn't complain as he efficiently strips himself out of clothes, revealing the scarred half of his body. The half Obito usually hides. The discolored skin feels different from his undamaged body and Shisui can't help the way his fingers map over the differences.
Obito shivers under his touch, the pupil of his eye blown wide.
The water is turned on and while the large tub fills, Itachi and Shisui strip down too. Obito keeps looking uncertainly between the tub and Itachi and Shisui as he scrubs away the grim of the night. It isn’t a chore to reassure him, Shisui decides, leaning forward. He presses another kiss against Obito’s plush lips.
Once the bath is full they all crowd into it, soaking in the heat together. Shisui climbs in first, the heat soaking into his tired body. Water splashes over the edge as Obito joins him. They arrange themselves comfortably while Itachi steps into the bath too.
Shisui is familiar with Itachi's body already, his scars, his soft spots. Where to touch and how to stroke for the most delightful reactions. But Obito is something new. His body is beautiful in a different way. Strong muscles and smooth skin on his left side; his right side is covered in painful looking discoloration and scars.
Itachi settles himself in Obito's lap. He tucks himself against the ruin of Obito’s naked chest and spends long minutes tracing his fingers over Obito’s chest and kissing him hungrily.
Obito’s hands are tangled in Itachi’s wet hair as Itachi takes his time exploring with hands and lips. He keeps looking between Itachi in his lap and Shisui pressed against his side. His gaze is full of delighted wonder. Shisui keeps leaning in to kiss them both, letting his hands trail across scars and muscles.
“You kept us waiting,” Itachi murmurs, shifting slightly. “You're so stubborn, Obito.”
Shisui laughs, feeling a flash of affection. It warms him even more than the bath water.
Obito moans, his voice deep and raw as Itachi shifts in his lap. The sound of it echoes off of the water and the tiled walls of the bathroom. His eye is half lidded, as he glances between Itachi and Shisui.
“You have me now,” he promises.
It takes Shisui considerable effort to not simply push Itachi away and settle himself in Obito's lap. Instead Shisui plasters himself more fully against Obito's side, his arms wrapped around the older man's shoulders.
None of them say anything else, their mouths too busy for talking now.
Even though they're all naked, they don't progress beyond making out. Shisui is too tired to want more than this. He’s so comfortable and relaxed that it takes effort to keep his chin from dropping into the water.
Their fingertips prune and the water turns cool around them. Itachi stands up first, the movement creating a small wave that jerks Shisui back awake. They spend long minutes drying themselves off, their sleepy laughter bouncing off the tiled walls. The sun is fully risen by the time they collapse into bed, exhausted but together.
Despite the heaviness settling in his limbs, Shisui finds himself unable to fall asleep right away. He's pressed tightly between the others, warm and safe. After too many nights feeling like something is missing, he wants nothing more than to stay like this for as long as possible. Song birds sing in the garden outside. He lingers, half asleep, his fingers tracing patterns over the clean skin under his hand. Eventually he drops into a deep sleep.