Itachi had come to two conclusions about Reina. One, people were drawn to her like moths to the flame; she had to ability to make people smile just by standing in the vicinity. Perhaps it was the gold of her eyes that attracted people to her, like ants to spilled honey. She made him smile. Something he thought he had forgotten how to do a long time ago.
Two, Reina was ridiculously competitive
“I swear to God, Ibiki, if you blow this I will make your life a living hell!” Reina hissed from the sidelines. Itachi blinked in surprise and stared at the usually cheary kunoichi. Kakashi was right. She was terrifying when she put her mind to it.
“I'm…trying.” Ibiki managed to utter, his face the epitome of concentration. The unusually large shinobi was contorted in a peculiar manner, another body woven in and out of his.
“Well try harder, you're the head of the torture and interrogation force. You should be able to handle a little bit of pain.” Reina replied. Itachi sipped his drink in response.
The shinobi were playing team twister. Two teams and plenty of profanities. Each person could tag their teammate in when the position became too much. As shinobi they were no strangers to pain and turmoil. But this was another level of Yomi all together.
“Cramp!” Iruka cried, yet he did not yield his position. “Itachi, give me your hand.” Iruka stuttered, his sweaty palm waving in the air urgently. Itachi swallowed his whisky, almost choking in the process. He tapped in, relieving Iruka of his tension. Reina watched intently, scanning the dark haired male for weaknesses.
She spotted her opening.
“Ibiki, tag me in.”
“But I can do this, I can take Uchiha.” Ibiki replied gruffly.
“Tag. Me. In.” Reina took a step forward. Ibiki sighed and slapped her hand. Itachi peered over Ibiki's shoulder as the older man shuffled his way off the twister mat. Reina took his place, gracefully sliding into position above Itachi.
“Are you having a good birthday?” Reina murmured as she maneuvered herself above Itachi. It was the opposite of their position from the other morning, she now partially straddling him.
“Yes, thank you.” Itachi replied, he kept his words short and sweet. He knew what she was doing, using her womanly charm against him. Under normal circumstances he would be impervious to her. But the longer he spent with Reina the more he noticed himself changing.
And he didn't care in the slightest.
“Don't let her distract you, Uchiha!” Anko lay on her stomach, a glass sloshing about her hand. She was like a referee in the wild wrestling Reina had seen the kids in the academy impersonate. “Ignore her, with her fluttery lashes and cute little freckles.”
“I'm not trying to distract anyone.” Reina chirped, casting a smile at Anko, who returned the smile with a scoff.
“Butter wouldn't melt…” Anko muttered in between swigs.
Itachi concentrated on not falling down; Anko would likely kill him for a second time if he failed. Yet as the smell of peppermint overcame him, he felt his body unwind and slacken against his will. She had such a peculiar effect on him. With Reina curved above him, her hair cascaded over him, the mahogany wisps accentuating the smell of peppermint.
“You know,” Reina began, leaning in so her lips brushed over his ear. “we need to stop meeting like this.” she whispered lowly, motioning to their precarious position. Itachi swallowed, feeling his cheeks flush as the memory of her bare flesh on his bombarded his senses.
“And, what if I enjoy your company?” Itachi replied, thanking the whisky for his bout of courage. He turned his head, he coming nose to nose with Reina. She smiled, biting her lower lip.
“Then we should continue to get up close and personal.” Reina quirked a brow and rubbed her nose against his, very much a cat tantalising its mate. They were so close. Their lips a breath's width apart. Reina could feel her pulse boom in her head and chest. She had forgotten just how handsome Itachi Uchiha was.
“Urgh, someone put these two in the closet.” Anko muttered, rolling over to clean out her glass.
For the rest of the night the party continued, people's laughter got louder and smiles somehow became wider. Including Itachi's. Whether it was a mixture of alcohol (which he was learning he was not very tolerant to) or the company, Itachi's cheeks ached from smiling and his stomach felt like he had undergone a training session.
Itachi couldn't believe the thought and detail Reina had put into the night. She had managed to cater all his favourite food, even a tray of dango from his favourite café. Reina had managed to cram a lifetime of parties into one evening; from card games that made people swear, to drinking games that almost made Iruka pass out.
She made sure that he got to experience everything that was taken away from him. Every childish rite of passage, every milestone, she made sure he got to experience them all. And he was so grateful. For the first time, he was grateful for his second chance, for the fact he got to wake up every day. He was grateful for her.
“I think,” Anko slurred. “that we should give our not so young Itachi-kun a proper birthday bash.”
“And how do you suppose that Anko-chan?” Iruka replied from his place on an armchair, his tanned cheeks flushed.
“7 minutes in heaven. Obviously.” Anko hiccuped, a serpentine grin creeping onto her lips. “It's a rite of passage.”
“What's…?” Itachi questioned, immediately dubious.
“Oh, you'll find out.” Anko replied. “Reina-chan! Pen and paper!” She called, waving her free hand like a demanding daimyo. Reina reluctantly opened a drawer and handed Anko the items. She immediately began scribbling names on torn fragments before tossing them in a bowl, random crisps mixed in with the names.
“What's going on?” Itachi asked, Reina sat with her legs across his lap, toying with the end of his ponytail.
“It's um,” She began, a chuckle dancing on her lips. “you know that closet she mentioned earlier?”
“Hai?”
“Well you'll be thrown in at random.”
“And then what? We have to fight our way out?” Reina burst out laughing, leaning her head on the chair.
“Something like that.”
“Alright then, let's get the real party started.” Anko jumped up, giving the bowl a jiggle before walking around the room and allowing people to pick a name. “Ok I'll go first, I got…” She balanced the bowl under her arm as she unfolded the paper. “Reina-chan! Haha shall we?”
“Swap monkey!” Reina called, suddenly alert and looking around the room. Ibiki scowled whilst Itachi mouthed the phrase back to himself.
“Kami damn it, Reina.” Ibiki muttered. The building-sized shinobi stood after chugging his beer. “I knew this would come back to bite me in the ass one day.” Reina leaned back and chuckled at her victory. Anko smirked and held open the door as Ibiki disappeared into the gloom of the cupboard.
“What's a swap monkey?” Itachi asked curiously.
“Ibiki lost a game of Go. My prize was I had one opportunity to make him do whatever I wanted. Hence, the swap monkey was born.” Only Reina could force Ibiki to do what she wanted with a simple phrase.
Itachi watched as the sandtimer continued to disintegrate into the lower container. Everyone was completely inebriated, their skin flushed with alcohol. It was a birthday he wouldn't (hopefully) forget anytime soon.
“Can I ask you a question?” Reina adjusted herself on the chair, her head resting beside Itachi's. He glanced sideways and nodded.
“Did you celebrate your birthday whilst you were in the Akatsuki?” Alcohol had lowered her inhibitions, some people got angry when drunk, others got naked. Reina became even more curious.
“Once.” Itachi smiled almost sadly, a glimmer of his past life glimmering in his eyes. “I'd just joined, it was my first one away from home and Kisame bought me a stick of dango. It was the first and last birthday I celebrated.”
“Well, I can promise you that this won't be the last one you celebrate.” Reina leaned her head against his; a click of a door had them both wide-eyed with curiosity. Anko sauntered out first, her coat was inside out and her hair was wild. Ibiki stumbled out second, his scarred face now marred by lipstick.
Itachi suddenly understood the game.
“Itachi-kun, you're up.” Anko smirked, taking a pew on Ibiki's lap. Itachi looked to Reina for aid, the mahogany haired kunoichi simply smiled apologetically and shimmed off the arm of the chair. Itachi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He thanked the Kami the Akatsuki didn't have this game. He shuddered at the thought of meeting the Leader in a dark closet.
“Iruka?” Itachi sounded out the syllables, slowly lifting his head to look at Iruka, he utterly baffled.
“Swap monkey!” Iruka chirped, a gleeful smile plastered on his face. Reina sighed and stood up. Itachi quirked a brow as if to say: You lost to him?
“Oh shut your face.” Reina muttered.
“In you go~” Anko sang as she nursed another tumbler in salute to the pair.
Reina went in first, her chest suddenly rapid. The cupboard was pitch black. The single slither of light from the living room thinned to a horizontal beam as Itachi closed the door behind him. Reina stood still as the smell of rain got closer, like an approaching storm.
“You smell like rain.” Reina murmured, smiling as the scent grew stronger. A sudden warmth in front of her indicated where he stood.
“You smell like peppermint.” Itachi replied, reaching out to wrap a tendril of hair around his fingers.
“Oh, my shampoo.” Reina chuckled. “No, I mean your chakra. It smells like the air after it's rained.”
Itachi smiled, even though she couldn't see him. It was unlike the previous smiles of the night. It was gentile, natural. Something that came easy to him when he was around her. He twirled her hair around his fingers, his smile widened at hearing her giggle.
“What do I smell like?” Reina asked, they standing chest to chest. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.
“May I hold you closer? So I can feel your chakra?” He asked politely, never taking another step forward without her consent. Reina blushed, thankful for the darkness.
“Hai.” She knew he didn't need to hold her to sense her chakra, but she didn't object. He slid one arm around her waist, his fingers light and nimble. His other hand abandoned the single strand to thread through the hair at the nape of her neck.
“You,” Itachi said, his nose brushing against her cheek. “you smell like sunshine.” When Itachi closed his eyes he could still see her, her body outlined in golden light. Reina unintentionally held her breath. She rested her palms against his chest, feeling his heart beating quicker than usual.
“Sunshine?” Reina whispered.
“Hai. But not the kind that blinds you. No,” Itachi moved his nose down her cheek and along her jaw, pausing near her ear. “it's the kind that warms your skin from the inside out. The kind you want to bathe in.”
Reina felt her knees weaken and her stomach tighten at the feel of his lips against her ear. She leaned against him, her thumb running over his collarbone instinctively, tracing his outline in the shadows.
“It's the type of sunshine you lounge in.” Itachi continued, he following the column of her throat, the flesh vibrating when she hummed in acknowledgment. “The type you never want to end.”
Reina swallowed, shuddering as his mouth ghosted over the indent of her collar bone and hollow of her neck. She snaked her arms around his neck for fear her legs would give out from under her. Itachi held her against him, his palm curved around the camber of her waist beneath her shirt.
“Does that satisfy your curiosity?” Itachi whispered, his face now directly in front of hers. She could feel his breath on her lips. She nodded licking her lips to speak, her mouth suddenly parched. Her skin felt flushed and her head was foggy.
“I love getting caught in the rain.” Reina breathed on to his mouth, their lips catching as she spoke.
“I love feeling the sun shine on my skin.” He replied, tightening his grip around her waist. Their pulses were erratic, ricocheting off their rib cages like stray shuriken. Itachi swallowed, his own throat sandlike.
A sudden burst of light had them shielding their eyes, their cheeks a dark shade of crimson. “Come on now birthday boy, give someone else a turn.” Anko leaned against the door, a wicked smile on her face.
Itachi led the way out of the cupboard; wolf whistles and cheers erupted around them. His eyes never left Reina's form, he mirroring her steps as she walked around the room, her eyes locked with his.
He had never felt so alive.