What happened? He wanted to ask, Who hurt you?
But that wasn't how this worked. Instead, Kisame sat heavily against the wall, and raised his right arm in a silent offering.
Itachi uncurled from the corner just enough to shift closer, burrowing under the arm that lowered around his shoulders.
They sat together for a long time. There was no need to speak, no reason to complicate the situation with words. Kisame didn't have any idea what was wrong, but he was willing to offer comfort, and Itachi needed it enough to accept. He didn't need to know anything more than that unless Itachi chose to tell him.
Just before the sun rose, he was nudged back to consciousness by a movement just to his right.
Itachi was still pressed against his side, face twisted into a grimace of pain, one hand curling into a loose fist.
He doesn't sleep enough as it is, I probably shouldn't wake him up… But dreams like this aren't worth a few more minutes of rest. He'll probably wake himself up in a second anyway. Maybe it's best to break him out of it now, before it gets bad.
Kisame only had to tighten his arm around Itachi’s shoulders, and he relaxed, breathing slow and almost-even in a near perfect replication of sleep.
It was pretty impressive, actually. He might have bought it if he hadn’t just woken Itachi on purpose. Kisame let him have his act, feigning sleep as well. It's not lying, really- I'm just laying here so I don't make him uncomfortable.
"You really shouldn’t care about me," Itachi muttered, so quiet that if Kisame really were asleep he might not have reacted to the noise at all. As it was, he almost startled and gave himself away.
“You’re making this… So much harder. I tried to hate you, but… You cared for me, and now…"
Itachi's voice cracked and broke, and his body shuddered.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
…What..?
"I don't- I don't know if I can kill my family again."