Author's Note: To be honest, I just sort of came up with this on the spot. It sort of follows what I was doing in the "long" story that I gave up on writing, but with a few differences. This is a one-shot but there will most likely be prequels and sequels sooner or later. Read and Review please :)!
Something banged in the night that woke up a small and slight figure resting under the covers of her apartment bed. She opened her eyes abruptly while slowly reaching under her pillow for the kunai that rested underneath. Someone was in her apartment- she could hear the quiet footsteps with her enhanced hearing. It must have been a burglar, or even worse, an assassin coming for her.
She grimaced at that thought. If the person in her home at that moment was an assassin coming to make the attempt to kill her, that person had obviously not done any research on elves. But, all that meant was that her apprehension and possible self-defense killing of the intruder would be over and done with as quickly as possible.
Princess Bellethiel of the Elven Race, who preferred that she be called Brianna in the human world, sat up in her bed and barely made an audible sound. The person who broke in, though, had to be a ninja. That was the only exclamation she could offer as to why they were able to bypass her magical barriers. Though this meant that apprehending the offender could possibly be more difficult than she had first thought it would be.
Brianna made her way slowly out of her bed and out onto the floor of her bedroom; kneeling into a battle-ready crouch as she did so. She held her kunai up in front of her face as to better protect one of the likely areas that the assassin would go for without a shadow of a doubt.
She whispered a silencing spell on her door so that it wouldn't creek while she opened it and the elf princess silently skulked out into the shadows of her home. If her aunt knew that someone was able to break into her apartment, she'd end up right back in her old room at the Hokage Tower.
It had taken her a total of three years after she had turned eighteen to convince her aunt, mother, and father that she was capable enough to own and live in a home by herself without the need for guards. Tsunade, the Hokage, had been the first to cave since she had recent dealings with Brianna's prowess in the ninja world and her ability to protect herself. In fact, her aunt had defended once she was won (which took about three days of convincing on Brianna's part), her niece could be part of the ANBU group if it wasn't for the fact that the female was the Crown Princess to the elven throne and also the decided favorite among the elven peoples.
Her mother and father were not so easy to convince. Queen Ailya and King Sokedo (Tsunade's older brother) were two very overprotective parents when it came to their only child. This, of course, had more to do with the fact that the elven race was currently fighting in their own war against the forces of evil and the two were worried that Brianna was going to get herself killed by her own enemies. Even Brianna never refuted that bit of evidence against her when she debated fervently for the chance to gain some independence before assuming the throne in seven years. When Brianna had turned twenty, her father finally had a change of heart (mostly because the elven armies had turned the battles against their enemies) and was able to convince the queen shortly after. Thus Brianna had an apartment to herself and freedom from annoying guards who watched her every move while she was in Konohagakure.
But, if word got out about an assassin breaking in, Brianna would have died. So, she was adamant in taking care of her problem as quickly as possible.
She saw the distinct shape of a man, a tall man, standing over her couch facing away from her. She readied herself and was about to attack when she squinted at a symbol she could barely make out with her good eyesight. The symbol was hard to make out because there were scratches on the back of the intruder's shirt, but once she studied it properly she lowered her kunai and flipped on the light.
"What the hell are you doing in my apartment, Uchiha?" she asked in exasperation.
Uchiha Itachi, direct heir to the Uchiha clan, looked over his should at her while he spread out his blanket on her couch.
"Good evening, Bellethiel, I trust that your night had been good?" he asked.
Brianna wanted to kill him, "Okay, for one, I almost killed you; two, you're in my apartment, and three, don't call my Bellethiel! It's Brianna!"
He chuckled at her evident anger and plumped up one of her couch pillows. She whispered a spell and the other pillow made friends with the side of his head.
"I asked you a question, Uchiha, and I demand an answer! Why are you not asleep at your house?" she asked angrily.
Itachi sighed, "I was attacked."
She felt slightly concerned, "By who? Do we need to tell my aunt?"
He shook his head, "No, I was bombarded by a hoard of fangirls."
She felt confused, "But, shouldn't that have stopped when it was announced years ago?"
He shook his head, "You still have not given consent, therefore I am still a free agent. My fangirls are adamant about having me."
She rolled her eyes, "Yes, okay, but that doesn't answer my question about why you're here! You do realize that you have other friends, other male friends, you can bunk with?"
He nodded, "They're all on missions and the Uchiha Complex is on the other side of the village. They'll get to me before I reach my home."
Brianna crossed her arms and felt the waves of disbelief wash through her.
"In any case, as my intended, should I not spend more time with you?" he asked cheekily.
Brianna flushed, "Yes, but only during the day! Where I come from it is considered an offense if unmarried males and females sleep in the same house together when they are not siblings or various other family members!"
"Then I count it lucky that you are in Konoha. Do not worry, I won't do anything. I am as tired as you are, if not more," he said as he laid himself down on her couch.
She folded her arms in annoyance. Her intended or not, he shouldn't be in her house!
"Itachi, I am a princess! I can't just go around allowing you to stay in my house whenever you please!" she insisted.
But, her protests were futile once she realized that he had fallen asleep. Brianna wanted to make that sleep permanent, but she resisted the urge as best she could. It would not bode well on her end if she killed the person that her parents wanted her to marry.
Her teal eyes glanced over at him ever so slightly and she found herself studying his features. She had never seen him so relaxed and peaceful before. His tense cheek muscles, jaw, and eyes slacked with his obvious relaxation. His lips were slightly parted and he was breathing from his mouth. Brianna noticed that his long black hair pooled around his head like a dark halo or glossy silk and his skin was gaunt, shallow, and careworn. She pursed her lips at that observation. Itachi was a twenty-two year old man. How could such a young age have the look of a thousand year old elf? It made no sense to her. Yet, watching him sparked a warm feeling inside of her and she felt her cheeks turn rosy pink as she observed the sleeping man.
She shook herself from her stupor and made her way back into her room.
The next day, she found him still asleep on her couch.
Brianna hadn't counted that as odd. He had fallen asleep the moment his head had touched the uncomfortable pillow. She shook her head and made her way into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. After some thought, she decided that she would be courteous and cook the Uchiha heir some food as well. After all, the man apparently had a long an odious mission he had returned from when he was attacked by the mob that was his fan club.
She glared at the pan where she was frying up some scrambled eggs and bacon. Something had to be done about the fangirls in Konoha. The fact that the person she honestly wasn't even sure she liked as a person was in her apartment asleep because he couldn't get home lit her short fuse.
It dawned on her briefly that she could easily rectify this situation by merely saying "yes" to the marriage proposal that was arranged by her aunt and her parents, but she pushed that thought down as far to the back of her mind as she could possibly get it. Taking the seemingly easy way out was full of complications. She didn't want to marry a human even if the human had no love or attachment to the human life he lead. The life of a human king of the elves would take its toll on him eventually and she didn't wish that on anyone.
"You seem deep in thought about something," commented Itachi's low male voice behind her.
Brianna shrugged, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I was thinking about you and the life that you'll leave as my husband. You should turn back. It is not a life that you should lead and it will kill you in the end."
Itachi withdrew milk from her refrigerator and poured it into a glass while she told him this. She nodded to him when he bent down to place the carton of milk back.
"And thank you for not drinking out of the carton like Naruto does," she commended.
Itachi raised an eyebrow at her, "Uzamaki sleeps here?"
She shook her head, "No, I'll wake up one morning and find him at my door begging for food. This happens during the afternoon and evening as well."
"He still depends on you as he would an older sister," commented the Uchiha heir.
Brianna shrugged, "Someone has to take care of him one way or another. Naruto's still too much of a dingbat to go fully on his own. I'll be glad when he finally settles down with someone."
There was silence between them while Brianna stirred the eggs and turned over the bacon.
"I am not afraid of the trials that I will encounter with a union to you," he declared softly.
Brianna shook her head, "You don't understand fully what you're trying to get yourself into. Besides, the way the marriage ceremony that my parents want us to use works requires both parties to truly be in love with each other to the point where the human party will give up his mortality for the elfin party. Elves cannot give up our immortality and it pains us beyond our wildest dreams to watch the people we love grow old and die. But it's easier than what you have to go through. You will outlive the ages. You will be bound to me and I to you. It's a marriage where we both sacrifice our freedoms just to be together. In order to do that, we must love each other so deeply that the love will transcend time. There is no divorce and if either one of us becomes… unfaithful, the consequences will be severe. I don't want to subject you to that, especially since neither of us are in love with each other."
Itachi took a sip of his milk and then studied the glass while he mulled over what she said in his head. It wasn't like he hadn't thought about everything that she said.
"I am well aware of those things, Brianna. Your parents and your aunt have been preparing me for the day since before you arrived at Konoha. I believe that it will work out better for me than you think," he said.
She looked over her shoulder at him, "I don't think you quite got everything. We still have to be in love with each other."
"Then one part of that requirement has been accomplished."
Her eyes widened and her mouth opened a bit in shock. Suddenly, everything he had done for her in the past three years made perfect sense.
"Oh," was all she could manage and she turned back to cooking.
Now she was in a pickle. How was she supposed to answer that? It had been easier to dismiss such declarations in Konoha and in the elven lands because the people who normally made such declarations were beings who did not even know who she was internally. They only paid attention to her external beauty and never took the time to see farther in. Itachi, on the other hand, knew who she was. He had taken the time. Sure it had probably been required of him to at least make an effort, but… Had he expected for his time with her to actually produce something?
There was also how she felt about him that she had to consider. In fact, it was something that she was certain he thought about every day. But, the problem was, she wasn't sure about how she felt about him, period. On one hand, she enjoyed his company because he was one of the few level headed men in Konoha who could match her wit. In fact, he went slightly beyond due to his genius factor. On the other hand, he was infuriating. Most of their conversations left her stalking away because of how difficult he was being. In fact, she was certain that he felt the same way after a few of those conversations. Now, though, the way he had been acting in some of those arguments suddenly made sense. He had been acting out of love for her, concern for her, fury for her, fear for her, and so on.
"Is that why you were so hostile with Neji after the two of us dated for a while?" she asked.
"For the most part. I also felt that he wasn't a suitable match," he said.
"But you feel that you are?" she asked incredulously.
Itachi's black eyes flashed a bit in annoyance, "No, I do not. In fact, there are many reasons why I could easily not be your match."
She smirked, "Name one."
He thought for a moment while she scooped their breakfast out onto two plates and made her way to the table. He followed her and sat down across from where she planted herself and nodded to her as she slid the food in his direction.
"Thank you," he said.
She nodded and waited. Itachi came up with a few instances that would answer her question.
"We are polar opposites. I represent a lot of what you do not like in people in general. As you have observed, I can easily be a boastful, conceited man with a God complex. While I am the more careful of us both, I will, and have, take measure that will restrict your movements for your own safety because I fear for your life. There we have a trust issue on my part," he listed.
She intervened there, "Yes, but I've noticed that you have gotten more lax about that small trust issue. If I recall correctly, you were the one to convince my father that I was ready to live on my own. Thank you for that, by the way."
He nodded and continued, "I also purposefully keep things from you that I know you need to know about. I might be following orders most of the time, but the fact remains that if I were right for you, I wouldn't have remained silent."
"And you have saved my life many times with your silence," she reminded him.
"And I have put you in harm's way because of it," he pushed.
"And I'm a saint in that department, how?" she shot back.
He watched her calm, reasonable face for a moment before he asked, "Why are you so adamant about refuting my claims? Do you want me to be a compatible match for you?"
Her features changed from calm, to shocked, and then to flustered as she tried to deny his suspicions. Her flustered denial did little to calm his suspicions and he began to eat a little bit of his breakfast. While Brianna made an attempt to calm down and get her blushing face back into order.
"I don't know how I feel about you, Uchiha," she muttered after munching quietly on a piece of bacon.
Itachi looked up at her from his own food with interest flashing in his eyes.
"It has been four years, Bellethiel, have you disliked me for that long?" he asked.
Brianna rolled her eyes, "I didn't dislike you, I just wished that there had been less of you around. I'm saying that it has been four years and I honestly cannot say how I feel about you."
"Forgive me, that would partially be my fault. I have not been very clear concerning various things and have hurt you unintentionally several times," he said.
Brianna rolled her eyes, "Yeah but you never meant to hurt me."
"Defending me again?" he asked in a teasing tone.
She gave him a look and turned away from him in a huff, "That's one of the reasons why I don't know how I feel about you! You're so infuriating!"
"You do make it incredibly easy, Bellethiel," said an amused Itachi.
She remained silent as she thought to herself about the way she felt about Itachi. She really wasn't sure about how she felt at that moment, but what she was certain about is how she felt when he tried to dismiss himself as a possible candidate for a perfect husband for her. She hadn't liked the denial and found that she wanted him to have said that he thought he was eligible. What exactly did that say about her? Did that mean she harbored feelings for him?
She recalled the way she felt when she had been watching him sleep for a few minutes the night before and a rosy red blush crept across her cheekbones. Itachi did not fail to notice it and his interest immediately piqued.
"Something embarrasses you?" he asked.
She shook her head, "No."
"Ah."
There was silence while Brianna continued to sort out the sudden feeling of warmth inside of her stomach and her thoughts of admiration about the Uchiha man's certain qualities. She felt worried about that. Were these feelings new, sparked by the talk of love and marriage or… Brianna remembered certain instances in the past where he had set her heart beating rapidly. Pieces of the puzzle all began to mold together in her brain and she realized that she wasn't as averse to marrying Itachi as she had first thought. Living with him, in fact, might not be such a living hell. She smiled. Okay, she wasn't in love with him, but she did like him. That was a start.
"I like you," she announced with final certainty.
Itachi raised an eyebrow, "You like me?"
She nodded, "Yes, I do. You're a person of admirable qualities once people get past the rock surface and dig deeper. In fact, you… you're caring in your own way and you can keep your cool in a crisis. You're smart and tactful. You can think into the future and form opinions about which way you want to go and you… you're… okay the fact that you are incredibly good looking does not hurt."
Itachi smiled, "Surely you have seen far better than I?"
She laughed, "Nope. In my opinion, you outshine all of the elves who have made the attempt to court me. I would prefer to date you over all of them."
She blushed when she said that and Itachi chuckled.
"Dating is an acceptable start," he said.
She smiled for a second then went back to looking concerned, "But Itachi, love? Do you love me or-"
He nodded and she ceased to talk when he did.
"But, Itachi, are you sure?" she asked.
His eyes pierced through hers and she knew the answer before he even said it, "I would not have said anything if I was not certain of my feelings for you. I meant what I said."
She looked as if she was about to say something, then she stopped herself and looked away.
"Bellethiel, would it be acceptable to you if we started out as boyfriend and girlfriend?" he asked.
It was the way he was looking at her, she decided. His eyes were so soft and full of the very emotion that she didn't even know if she had that Brianna slowly began to realize why so many fangirls wanted him. Those cold eyes never broke for anyone except her. The look was for her and no one else, she could tell, and something in her mind said, 'Do you want to lose a good thing without even testing it to see if that good thing is truly meant for you? Those eyes, that look, it's for you and no one else. He loves you. Do you feel the same way? This would be a good way to find out.'
"Yes," she answered finally after some thought.
Brianna knew later on that, the moment she said that, she had sealed her own fate. But, when she reflected back on it, she knew that she never regretted the decision and would have made it again, though maybe a bit sooner than later.