A/N: Updated 01/04/2016. Enjoy!
- - - Chapter Three - - -
A frown briefly crossed Itachi's face as he realized he was a little behind schedule. He had meant to arrive at his parents' house nearly a half an hour ago, but with the Christmas traffic and his own inability to get out of the office on time, he found himself running late. He glanced at the digital clock on his dashboard, but his gaze was drawn back to the road as the light before him flashed green to give him the right of way.
Easily he maneuvered his car down the city road, noting the white lights that adorned the palm trees along the sideways and he briefly wondered if his mother had decorated the house this year. She was always a festive person and especially loved the Christmas season. Itachi himself was fairly fond of this time of year, but not so much because of the festivities and decorations and cheer. It was because he liked the weather.
Shisui had told him in the past that it was ironic he had chosen to live in one of the sunniest cities in the country considering how much he loved the rain and cooler temperatures and he would probably be far happier in Seattle. However with his family here, Itachi was content to stay. It just meant that he learned to enjoy the cooler nights, which was why even on Christmas he chose to drive with his window down. The swift air blew his bangs away from his face and chilled his hands as he steered towards his family home, but he didn't mind. The heat was on to keep him from completely freezing and he had worn his light but comfortable winter jacket.
It had been nearly a year ago since the last time he had driven home, but he had grown up in the large mansion and was able to navigate through the city streets from memory. It was all the holiday traffic that slowed his progression and when he finally turned onto his parents' ridiculously long driveway, he was nearly an hour late. A frown fell across his face but it faded in relief when he saw Sakura step out of a red Camry, obviously having just arrived as well. At least he would not be the only one.
With practiced ease, he parked his sleek car next to his brother's white BMW before he climbed out. He watched Sakura pull a gift bag out of her car before she turned to him and smiled politely. "Hello," she greeted as she locked her doors.
"Merry Christmas," Itachi replied lightly. He closed his own door and moved to the back of his car to pull his overnight bag out from his trunk before he locked his vehicle.
When he turned back to Sakura, he realized she had politely waited for him and he pocketed his keys as he fell into step beside her. They made their way up the small pathway and front steps to the door in silence for some moments before Sakura finally glanced at him. "How are you doing, Chief?"
"I'm fine, thank you," he said easily.
However there was something in the back of his mind that bothered him about the way she was currently addressing him. He knew that if she continued to call him Chief all night it would not only bother his mother, but it would distract him from allowing himself to take his small break from work. He didn't blame her for her formality though. He knew she only meant the title respectfully, but he needed to correct her so she would be aware he was comfortable with her addressing him by his given name if only for the night.
"However," he began, stopping her with a brief hand on her arm before they entered the house, "perhaps just for tonight you can refer to me as Itachi, seeing as we are not at work."
Sakura curious gaze widened slightly and Itachi knew it was because she had never addressed him as anything other than his title or surname in the past. Her emerald eyes were bright with the reflection of the porch light as she watched him, but then a soft smile graced her face and she nodded. "Alright. But that means you can't call me Sergeant or Haruno either."
A small smirk cross his face at the way she freely spoke to him and he immediately felt himself relax. Perhaps dinner would not be as awkward as he had first thought it would be. "Very well, Sakura," he said smoothly before he finally gestured for them to continue toward the house.
He opened the door once they reached it and held it open for her to enter first before he followed after her. Once they were inside, he slipped off his jacket and offered to take hers before he hung both of them up in the hall closet. He dropped his overnight bag inside as well to keep it out of the way before he turned back to her. Now that her jacket was absent, he could clearly make out her slim figure through her outfit.
She was dressed simply but elegantly in a dark red, long sleeve sweater that clung to her modest bust and trim stomach flawlessly. The material of her jeans hugged her round, feminine hips and toned thighs, making her appear small but fit and when she bent to take her boots off, her loosely curled, light pink hair slipped off her back and cascaded towards the floor in a waterfall of bright color. The unusual tones reflected the light from the overhead chandelier, brightening the coral strands and they seemed to change color right before his eyes when she straightened once more. However his eyes were drawn down as her sweater twisted slightly at her hip and Itachi realized with satisfaction that she was still armed.
Good he thought. His officers were trained well.
Itachi turned away from her as she readjusted her sweater to remove his own shoes, but they were left alone only for a minute more before Uzumaki Naruto hurried into the entry room and embraced her in a large hug that lifted her off the ground. A quick laugh escaped her before she chided him half-heartedly. "Careful, Naruto. I have glass in my bag."
The blond just grinned unapologetically as he set her back on her feet. "I haven't see you in a few days. I'm allowed one annoying bear hug."
"Fair enough," she smiled back before Naruto then turned to him.
"Hey, Chief," he said respectfully.
Sakura elbowed her friend lightly. "It's just first names tonight, Naruto. But if you call him by his given name any time after tomorrow, I'm fairly certain he won't hesitate to discipline you."
Itachi gave Sakura a level look, neither confirming nor denying what she said was true and Naruto glanced back at her as she smiled playfully at her best friend. Naruto looked at him again and nodded, obviously not comfortable enough to use his name to his face before turning back to Sakura quickly. Itachi hid his small smirk of amusement at the blond's reaction, noting that even after all these years of being best friends with his younger brother, Naruto was still visibly uncomfortable around him. It was interesting that Sakura seemed at ease in his presence, but he knew she had a level-head and he wondered if perhaps she was just better at hiding her emotions.
Still somewhat amused, Itachi followed Naruto and Sakura further into the house as she hook her arm through her best friend's. "Is Sasuke here? I saw his car out front," she asked.
Naruto snorted. "You think I'd come here alone?"
Even though he had lowered his voice, Itachi had heard him clearly. The blond glanced at him briefly, but Itachi pretended not to hear as he muted his phone for the night. He could understand Naruto's hesitation at coming. As much as Itachi hated to admit it, he himself had been a little reluctant to show as well. He loved his mother dearly, but his father could be overwhelming and the last thing he wanted to deal with tonight was his father asking question upon question about his job while he obviously paid little attention to Sasuke. He only wanted one night to relax.
As soon as they entered the kitchen, his mother immediately stopped her cooking and turned to embrace Sakura warmly. She took the bag she offered her and smiled as she pulled out the two bottles of wine Sakura had brought. "That was sweet of you. Thank you, dear." Then her eyes landed on him and her brilliant, dark eyes lit up. "Itachi," she greeted with a smile. It seemed to brighten the room itself. "I'm so glad you made it."
He accepted her hug without complaint and guilt settled in his chest momentarily when she completely ignored the fact that he was nearly an hour late. He briefly wondered if she had expected it as he looked around and realized that dinner was only now nearly finished. The table had yet to be set, his father was still absent, and Sasuke was casually lounging in one of the bar stools at the island counter as he alternated between playing on his phone and watching everyone in the room.
After their mother turned back to cooking, Itachi moved to the bar stool on Sasuke's left. Amusement briefly hit him as he realized they were sitting in the exact stools they always occupied when growing up. It had become a habit for them to sit there and do their homework as their mother used to cook, and it seemed that habit had yet to be broken.
"I heard Shisui is back in the States," Sasuke said with a side glance at him.
"Yes. He made it home safely," Itachi replied.
Their mother paused her stirring of a pot for a moment to stare at them in surprise. "Shisui is home? Why did you not invite him for dinner, Itachi?"
"I did," he answered. "He is having dinner with his own parents this evening."
"Oh, good," Mikoto smiled as she returned to her cooking.
Part of him had wished Shisui would have come over so they could catch up, but he understood his cousin's desire to be home for the holidays for the first time in two years so he turned to Sasuke to change the subject. "How is work going?"
Sasuke raised a brow and smirked slightly over his water glass. "Fine. I'm not getting into any shootings, if that's what you mean."
"Sasuke!" Sakura suddenly said sharply, making Itachi glance at her. She was glaring disapprovingly. "That's not funny to joke about. Kiba and Shino were lucky."
Itachi saw Sasuke just roll his eyes briefly before he drank his water. Naruto threw his arm over Sakura's shoulder and grinned at her. "Come on, Sakura. Teme didn't mean it like that."
"Language," Mikoto said lightly but her voice was full of authority as she continued making her way around the kitchen.
Naruto ducked his head slightly in embarrassment and threw Sasuke a glance that made his younger brother smirk before Sakura's phone suddenly went off. Naruto released his grip on her as she pulled the device out of her back pocket and Itachi watched a frown fall across her face. Quickly she excused herself from the room, but she was still close enough to the door when she picked up for Itachi to hear: "Sergeant Haruno." It was a work call.
He watched her move down the hall until she was out of sight, but his attention returned to his mother as she smiled at them. "Perhaps while Sakura is finishing up her phone call, you three can set the table."
Itachi and Sasuke had both grown up with that tone and they knew it wasn't a request. Together, they slid off the counter stools and made their way over to the cupboards to pull glasses and plates out. Sasuke handed an arm full of plates to Naruto before he made his way to the silverware drawer to retrieve the utensils.
Itachi set the glasses easily and mostly watched in entertainment as Naruto and Sasuke bickered about which order the knives and forks were supposed to be in. They were still arguing when Mikoto began dishing up the food into bowls and plates to be set and so Itachi set the rest of the table on his own. When he finished, Mikoto glanced around as she pulled her apron off. "Will someone go find Sakura and tell her dinner is almost ready?"
Itachi glanced over to his brother and Naruto to see the two were bickering and hadn't heard his mother's request so he looked back to her. "I will inform her."
She smiled gratefully at him before he headed out of the kitchen and dining area and into the next room where he had last seen Sakura. Only she wasn't in the living room or the entertainment room. Itachi checked a few other rooms until he came to the sitting room and found her standing in front of the window looking out into the dark backyard.
"My mother says dinner will be ready soon."
He had said the words lightly, but his sudden appearance obviously startled her for she jumped slightly before she turned to look at him. A brief smile crossed her face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared and she nodded at him. "Okay. Thank you."
Itachi knew a dismissal when he heard one, but his keen eyes picked up the way her arms were crossed in front of her chest defensively and how her fingers were gripping her phone so tightly her knuckles were white. Something was obviously very wrong and even though she was attempting to hide her distress, he was reluctant to leave. If it had to do with her case, he wanted to know. "What happened?" He knew in this situation he was supposed to ask if she was alright, but it was clear that she wasn't so he wouldn't waste either of their time with such a superfluous question.
However instead of answering him, Sakura turned back to the window and used the reflection to busy herself with fixing her already perfectly arranged hair. "Nothing."
"You are obviously distraught," he said, not unkindly. "Would you like me to retrieve Naruto and Sasuke?"
He assumed she would be more comfortable speaking to her best friends than himself on whatever was upsetting her, but she surprised him when she turned on her heels and gave him a hard look. "No," she said fiercely, surprising him further. "I don't want them to know."
They lapsed into a moment of silence as Sakura half turned back to the window and took to chewing her bottom lip. Silently he moved to step out of the room to give her time to collect herself when she suddenly spoke: "Genma called."
Itachi stopped his retreat immediately and turned back to her. She was still staring vacantly out the window with her arms crossed and a troubled furrow to her brow. It made him wonder what could have shaken her and he waited patiently for her to continue. It didn't take long.
"The victim of my case, Karin, had a photo shoot the day of her murder at Icha Icha Studios. She was being photographed by a man named Jiraiya," she explained. "And as far as we know, he was the last person to see her alive. Earlier today, Neji went back through our crime scene photos again and saw that there was a photo of a green car out front. They ran the plate and it came back to being registered in Jiraiya's name, making him our primary suspect."
Itachi listened silently, taking in her information. It sounded as if they had found a major lead in the case and should be able to close it fairly soon. He didn't understand why this information would upset her; it should be having the opposite effect.
A long sigh escaped her and she gave him an ironic smile. "Jiraiya is my adopted father, in a sense."
Itachi's brow rose at the information, but it was the only outward sign he gave of his surprise and he suddenly understood the reason behind her distress. He couldn't begin to fathom what it felt like to have a family member to be accused of a serious crime such as murder and he suddenly realized how much strength she held for her to be handling herself so well. Her voice hadn't even shook as she spoke.
His mind suddenly changed direction as he thought over how the dynamics of the case had changed for her unit and he realized that if her father was being accused of murder, there could be serious legal complications with her involvement on the case. There was only one course of action that could be taken given department procedure. "Genma has taken you off the case," Itachi said in a gentle tone. It wasn't a question.
"Yeah," Sakura said softly. Her voice was flat in the quiet room.
A soft sigh escaped him as he watched her gaze out the window once more. He wasn't entirely sure why she felt more comfortable talking to him than her best friends, but he didn't ask. Everyone knew him to be a distant person, but that didn't mean he was uncaring. He wanted to help comfort Sakura, but he obviously didn't know her as well as Sasuke and Shisui did and so he found himself stuck. He briefly cast a glance down the hall in the direction of the kitchen before he turned back to her. "Would you like to go home? I can tell my mother you are not feeling well."
Surprisingly Sakura shook her head. "No, I won't do that to Naruto and Sasuke. I just need a minute to breathe."
Itachi watched as she faced the window again and ran a hand through her hair before she turned back to him, looking perfectly fine once more. All the earlier distress on her face had vanished and her emerald eyes were back to their normal brightness as she smiled at him easily. "Let's go."
For a long moment, Itachi just watched her as she walked away from the window and pocketed her phone casually. He was amazed by her sudden show of strength and a new respect for her came over him, but he kept his expression carefully blank as he gestured for her to lead the way back to the kitchen.
When they entered, they found everyone, including his father seated at the table, obviously waiting for them. But instead of just quietly keeping her head down and taking her seat, Sakura smiled as she sat next to Naruto. "Sorry for making you wait. Work never seems to end."
It wasn't the first time Sakura had had to suck up her emotions and put on a brave face. She had done so plenty of times before with her adopted mother, another time with Naruto and Sasuke, and even once for Shisui - though she doubted the three men had realized she'd done it at the time. She had been far more subtle in the past than she was an hour ago in front of Itachi and she almost regretted telling him anything as she felt his eyes fall on her every few minutes throughout dinner. It made her nervous that she had been so exposed in front of him and she only hoped that he didn't look down on her for it. She had always portrayed herself as a confident woman; she didn't want that image to waver.
So instead of meeting his gaze, she chose to distract herself with the conversation and the wine. Lots of it. The conversation over dinner flowed easily as Mikoto talked about everything under the sun, but with two officers, one detective, the Chief of Police and one retired Captain under the roof, it wasn't that surprising when the topic of work started.
"I heard there was an officer-involved shooting a few days ago," Mikoto said with a casual glance at Itachi.
Sakura chanced a quick look at him as he nodded. "Yes. There was a rumor that a gang had put a bounty on the heads of the LAPD, but one of our undercover detectives determined that this was false. The gang members involved in the shooting had a grudge against the department and the officers were just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Itachi replied easily. "Fortunately they were both uninjured in the incident."
The information about the bounty made Sakura's brow arch and she glanced at Sasuke but he only shook his head, silently informing her that this was the first he had heard of any of this. It briefly made her wonder why Itachi had chosen to keep the information from the department, but as she chewed her dinner thoughtfully she realized if he had released word that a gang was paying members to kill law enforcement officials there would be serious concern within the patrol units; it may make officers trigger happy out of nervousness. She wasn't sure who the undercover officer was that ruled it was merely a rumor, but she was thankful he had. She would have been worried about Naruto and Sasuke nightly.
"And what about you, Sakura, dear?" she heard Mikoto ask. "Major Crimes working on a new case?"
Sakura forced herself to swallow slowly before she turned to the older woman. She could feel Itachi's eyes on her, but she chose to ignore the goosebumps that broke out across her skin from the weight of his gaze. "Yes, we are. Some celebrity figure was murdered quite gruesomely and unfortunately it's not very good table conversation," she said lightly with a smile.
Mikoto nodded in understanding and Sakura met Itachi's gaze unwaveringly before they both turned as Fugaku began speaking: "The officer-involved shooting had two gang members involved, didn't it?"
"It did," Itachi replied smoothly.
Sakura saw Itachi and Sasuke's father purse his lips together in thought. "And you haven't caught the second suspect yet?"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Itachi give his father a level stare. "We are working with the Sheriff's Office to find the other person involved," he said. His voice was so cool she felt her skin break out into goosebumps.
Fugaku didn't seemed to notice Itachi's sudden change in tone for he simply huffed. "I would have thought by now you would have caught the son of a bitch." His words were slightly slurred from the amount of wine he'd had to drink, but there was no denying the undertone of criticism in his voice.
Choosing not to involve herself, she sat back in her chair and took a long drink from her wine glass as she watched Naruto divert his eyes and Sasuke roll his. This was not the first time she had witnessed the head of the Uchiha household get buzzed and blatantly point out a fault, but it was the first time she had ever seen him directly call Itachi out on an ongoing issue at the department and she felt the air suddenly thicken with tension.
She glanced at Itachi as he sat silently and gave his father a cold stare. Across the table, Naruto and Sasuke were exchanging looks while the corners of Mikoto's mouth turned down in a barely noticeable frown. With a quiet sigh and roll of her eyes, she realized this was one of the reasons she had been reluctant to come to dinner. There was so much less drama alone in her apartment with her dumb medical shows. She had already hit her rough point in the evening and she did not feel like sitting through this situation.
"So Shisui's back in town," she said blatantly changing the conversation as she refilled her wine glass far fuller than necessary.
Every eye turned to her and she had to hide her smile of private amusement behind her glass as she took a very, very long sip. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw relief pass across Mikoto's face, but it was gone as quickly as it came as the older woman smiled and fixed her attention on Itachi. "Yes, how is he doing? Is he uninjured?"
Sakura could feel Itachi's gaze briefly land on her, but she completely ignored it as she glanced at Sasuke. He gave her a barely noticeable smirk as Naruto lightly pinched her leg under the table. She knew he was silently laughing with them as her bold display, but she turned her attention back to Itachi as he answered his mother: "Yes, he returned home in one piece fortunately."
As dinner began to wind down, the effect of the alcohol began to settle her and she found it easier to genuinely smile as she join the conversation. Itachi had informed them all that Shisui had already submitted his application to the department as a lateral officer and should hopefully be starting the hiring process soon. He and Mikoto broke off into their own conversation after that while Sakura turned her attention to her best friends.
It never mattered her mood; Naruto always had a way of lifting her spirit without even trying and she found herself smiling brightly as he recounted a case he and Sasuke had been on earlier than week: "So Sasuke and I finally get the the guy to pull over after having followed him for like three blocks and we're in the middle of talking to him and suddenly we hear this weird sound from the trunk," Naruto said animatedly. She glanced at Sasuke to see him roll his eyes at Naruto, but there was a small curve in the corner of his mouth that told her he was still amused by what had happened that day on their shift. "Sasuke gets the guy out of the car and is watching him as I pop the trunk and as soon as I open it these three foxes jump out and two of them run down th streets of L.A."
"Two of them?" Mikoto asked in amusement. They all turned to her to see that she and Itachi had ceased their conversation to listen to the story. "What happened to the third?"
"He jumped into our patrol car," Sasuke supplied.
"What?" Sakura laughed in disbelief. She couldn't believe some of the stories her best friends had.
Naruto was still grinned. "Yeah, the third one jumped into our patrol car and was sitting in the passenger seat like he was ready to go. So we asked the guy where he got them from and he said he just stumbled across them."
Sakura snorted. They always said that.
"Yeah, that's what I did too," Naruto told her. "Anyway, so we get the guy's information, get him arrested on animal cruelty charges and a whole bunch of other stuff, and get him in the backseat."
"What about the fox?" Mikoto asked, obviously entertained.
Sasuke put his wine glass down. "We had to wait three hours for animal control to come get it."
"Three hours?" his mom asked incredulously.
"I know!" Naruto exclaimed in agreement. "I told Sasuke we should just keep the thing in our apartment. No one would ever know! It would be awesome!"
Sasuke cocked a brow. "Except it's illegal to keep as a pet, Naruto."
The blond scoffed. "Oh you're such a buzz kill. Who cares?"
Sasuke cocked a brow at him as Mikoto and Fugaku stood from the table and began clearing dishes to make room for dessert. Her attention briefly turned away from the bickering pair as she watched their father help with the clean up. She was a bit surprised he had done so, but she assumed with the current tension between him and Itachi, he had grown bored with the conversation and the act of cleaning up the dinner dishes gave him something to do for the time being.
"Sasuke is correct," Itachi suddenly said, drawing her attention back to the conversation. "It is illegal. And I am still the Chief so I would not have condoned such actions."
"I see where Sasuke learned his sense of adventure from," Naruto muttered to Sakura loud enough for everyone to hear. She laughed louder than she meant to and quickly hid behind her glass of wine as her blond friend looked at Itachi with a slightly intoxicated frown. "Besides, I thought you weren't playing Chief tonight."
"I am not," he agreed. "But do not be surprised if there is a search warrant with your name on it in the morning."
Both Naruto and Sakura froze at his words, but then the corner of Itachi's mouth turned up and she realized he was joking. She wasn't sure she had ever heard Itachi tease someone before, especially Naruto and she couldn't help the small smile that fell on her lips. It took him a moment longer to catch on and a look of surprise flashed crossed his face. "Oh shit, you actually made a joke."
"I have been known to do so every now and then," Itachi said, a more noticeable smirk warming his unusually relaxed expression.
Naruto just gave him a scrutinizing look that made Sakura grin. It seemed the wine was affecting him quite a bit. "Since when?"
"That will just have to remain a mystery to you, Officer Uzumaki." Itachi said the blond's name like a parent would tease their child and she glanced at Sasuke to see he was smirking at his boyfriend in amusement.
Naruto was still watching Itachi as if he couldn't believe he had any other personality than the professional one he displayed at work and the almost childish look of suspicion on his face made her giggle lightly. Her gaze shifted to Itachi to see he was watching his brother in amusement as he offhandedly insulted Naruto and she smiled when she saw how relaxed he was. The tense set to his shoulders when speaking to his father was gone and the hard look in his eyes had softened, making his already handsome face appear younger. She sometimes forgot that he was only five years her senior. He seemed like such an old soul at times that she made him to be older than what he truly was.
A smile settled itself comfortably on Sakura's lips as she listened to the conversation around her. She gave her input when the conversation called for it, but otherwise she was content just listening to her best friends badger one another playfully. To an outsider, it sounded as if the two were both sarcastic assholes that loved to get a rise out of the other, but she had come to know them far better than anyone else over the years and she knew they were both purposely getting the other one hot and bothered.
She glanced at Itachi, wondering what he was thinking of their antics, but his attention had drawn away from the pair as he slid his finger casually across the screen of his phone. Turning back to the pair, she was about to hush their bickering when her phone suddenly went off again. Curiously she pulled the device out of her pocket, but she froze when she saw the name across the screen: Tsunade.
For a moment, her heart leapt into her throat as she wondered if it was possible she could have learned about Jiraiya's arrest in her murder case, but after taking a calming breath, she dismissed that idea. Genma had specifically told her not to tell Tsunade and she doubted Jiraiya would call her. They had broken up over ten years ago.
Still, her fingers hesitated to answer. She wasn't sure how this conversation would go and that made her nervous. Half of the time, their phone calls turned into arguments and at the moment, she had no desire to get into it with her adopted mother.
"Answer it," Naruto said, suddenly breaking into her thoughts. She glanced at him and realized he was looking at her expectantly. "Just say Merry Christmas and get off the phone."
For a long moment she pursed her lips as the temptation to say no and reject the call came over her, but she knew she would have to talk to her mother again eventually. With a sigh, Sakura stood and gave the blond a look as she swiped the whole bottle of wine from the table before she made her way out of the room as she finally hit the button to answer. "Merry Christmas, Tsunade."
"Oh, good. I managed to catch you," came the familiar voice. Her adopted mother was never one for greetings and usually just jumped into the conversation right away without the normal formalities.
"Catch me?" Sakura asked lightly as she made her way back into the room she had been in before during Genma's call. "I'm three hours ahead of you, remember?"
"Oh yeah," came the voice over the line. "I sometimes lose track of time being in here. I didn't realize it was still so early for you."
"In here?" Sakura repeated, more to herself than her adopted mother. She sat on the small couch in the room as she tried to understand what Tsunade was talking about. Then it hit her. "Are you in the middle of surgery?"
In the background, Sakura vaguely heard the woman she had used to call 'mom' ask for another tool. "Yeah, I am. Sorry," she said absently. "I'm going to be in here awhile and I wanted to say Merry Christmas before you went to bed."
"I could have waited," Sakura said. She wasn't sure how she felt about the fact that Tsunade was calling her while she had someone open on the table in front of her. She should be focused on her patient. "Anyway, who the hell scheduled themselves a surgery on Christmas?"
Tsunade snorted. "I don't think this person scheduled themselves to be in a four-car accident." Sakura vaguely heard a few people laugh in the background - other ER members she assumed - before Tsunade continued, "Enough about this guy. How's Naruto and Sasuke? Is work going alright? I haven't spoken to you in awhile."
At her question about work, Sakura cringed and she felt the easy mood she had slipped into vanish. She hated lying to her adopted mother even if they still had a somewhat tense relationship after Sakura quit medical school her third year. She did feel bad about it, but it had been over six years ago and the fact that they were still uneasy around each other showed her that they still weren't really past it yet. It still saddened her. She used to be comfortable telling the smart, blonde woman everything, but now it seemed as if just talking about her every day life was difficult. It was a good thing Genma had ordered her against telling Tsunade of what was going on because she really couldn't find it within herself to tell Tsunade anyway.
"Work is good," she finally said. "Sasuke and Naruto are good. Everything is fine over here."
She cringed again at her pathetic lie, but Tsunade didn't seem to notice as alarms suddenly began going off in the background. "His blood pressure is dropping," someone said.
"He's coding. Get me the paddles," Tsunade ordered. Her voice was confident but pitched a little higher with adrenaline. "Tell Sasuke and Naruto Merry Christmas and I'll talk to you again soon."
Then the line went dead and Sakura was left sitting in the room with her phone to her face and no one on the other end. Tsunade's abrupt departure struck a nerve within her and slowly Sakura lowered her phone from her ear, not even bothering to say a sarcastic good-bye into the dead line. She raised the bottle of wine to her lips and took a long drink as her eyes gazed unfocused ahead of her.
Most of their conversations ended in the same way, but usually there was a lot more yelling and cursing at each other before the call ended. Sakura knew she should feel grateful that they hadn't hung up on bad terms, but the reminder of the loss of the relationship they had once had always left a sour taste in her mouth. Growing up, Tsunade had always been there for her, providing for her and guiding her in every way possible, but ever since their falling out, her adopted mother could barely speak to her without losing her temper.
With a soft sigh, Sakura realized it was probably better this way. Their short conversation left little time to argue and they were able to get through the small talk so it would be unnecessary for them to speak again until Sakura's birthday in a few months. She drank from the wine bottle and sighed as she lowered it again when she realized that even though they hadn't argued, their lack of connection still left her feeling just as hollow and empty as if they had. How had her night ended like this?
Sakura took another swig from the wine bottle and frowned when she found it was nearly empty. It hadn't even been half-full when she had grabbed it from the table but she hated to think that she had chosen alcohol to handle her stressful night. She had every right to worry about her mother and her murder case, but it wasn't the time to do so. She could do that tomorrow when she was alone in her apartment and free to show her emotions to the empty rooms. For now, she was with her best friend and his family and she had to suck it up for the time being.
Itachi should have known that when he decided to go through 'a few' work emails that he would get distracted and continue to answer until well into the night. It happened nearly every time he decided to check on a few things and tonight was no exception.
When he had first logged in, he saw that Kisame had sent him an email not too long ago and so he had immediately replied before moving onto other messages that required his attention. Surprisingly his second-in-command had still been on and while Itachi worked, he traded emails with him, their conversation starting out professional before turning to less important and borderline pointless small talk. Shisui would always be Itachi's best friend, but in his absence Kisame had become a source of entertainment that made their long days and stressful situations bearable.
By three in the morning, Itachi had finally decided he had answered enough emails and he closed his computer, ready for bed. He ran a tired hand down his face and stood as he stifled a yawn before he made his way into the joined bathroom to brush his teeth. Once he had finished, he grabbed his water glass from the nightstand to refill and quietly made his way further into the house. Even in the darkness, he could still remember the path to the kitchen from the many times he had made the trip during his childhood, but as he entered the downstairs hallway and turned towards his his destined room he noticed a light from the kitchen was cutting a sharp line in the carpet.
Curiously Itachi stepped into the room to find Sakura was sitting on one of the bar stools with her chin in her palm. She was dressed in a hoodie that looked like something that may have once belonged to Naruto and a pair of dark sweatpants. There was a glass of water next to her, but her gaze was focused on her phone as she dragged her finger lazily across the screen, obviously just playing on the device to pass the time.
"You are up early," Itachi said softly so as not to startle her again.
She looked up at the sound of his voice and smiled a bit smartly at him. "I never went to bed," she said before she drank from her glass.
"Trouble sleeping?" he asked as he filled his own glass up.
Sakura pursed her lips together momentarily before she gave him a small, ironic smile. "Yeah, you could say that." Her eyes drifted back to her phone. "You can't sleep either?"
Itachi recognized her diversion immediately, but he didn't want to press her if she didn't want to discuss it so he merely sipped from her glass before answering. "I have been getting caught up on emails."
"Working on Christmas?" she asked with a brief glance in his direction.
"I waited until after midnight," he countered lightly.
She raised a brow at him clearing not catching his teasing undertone before her gaze returned to her screen. Itachi smirked slightly to himself, realizing just how unfamiliar they were with one another. He knew Shisui would have laughed at his answer, but it was obvious Sakura didn't recognize his humor and he let it pass without comment.
Itachi knew it would be appropriate for him to excuse himself, but as he silently watched her, he realized her strangely relaxed features reminded him of a few days ago when he had found her speaking with Shisui and playfully bantering with him. He hadn't been aware that they knew one another well; never mind well enough to tease each other. If she was involved with Shisui then he was happy for his cousin, but it bothered him slightly that he hadn't known beforehand. They were best friends and Itachi had been under the impression he knew everything about his cousin.
However it was entirely possible Sakura wasn't seeing Shisui since she had chosen to spend Christmas with her best friends rather than him. It just struck him as odd that he hadn't known in the past that they were as well acquainted as they were.
"May I ask you something?" Itachi suddenly inquired, making her glance at him.
With a look of curiosity, Sakura nodded slightly, giving her consent for him to continue.
He turned to her fully then and rested his hands on the counter that separated them. "Are you in a relationship with Shisui?"
She snorted before she immediately slapped an embarrassed hand over her mouth as she flushed. Itachi stared at her somewhat bewildered by her response, seeing as he had meant it as a serious question. He didn't think that she would have thought he asked as a joke.
However before he could continue, she held up a hand, a smile still on her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh." He watched as the blush on her cheeks slowly faded. "No, Shisui and I are good friends, but we're not romantically involved in any way."
For some reason, Itachi felt himself become surprised at her answer, but before he could question her further she looked at him curiously. "Why do you ask?"
He was quiet for a long moment. They had just seemed so familiar with each other upon Shisui's return and the sight of her hugging him had been a bit of a surprise to him, but he didn't want to come off as to her. "He seems very fond of you. I want him to be happy now that he has returned home."
"Because he's your best friend?" Sakura asked. There was a small but pretty smile on her face.
At her question, Itachi looked at her openly, allowing her to see the honesty behind his answer. "Yes."
His response made her smile widen and she finally stood from her seat at the island counter before looking at him again. "You don't have to worry, Itachi," she said, calling him by his given name for the first time tonight. The use of it surprised him and it slightly intrigued him that it came out smoother than all the times she called him "Chief" and "Sir". "We've never dated and I very seriously doubt we ever will."
She looked like she was ready to head upstairs to go to bed, but he spoke again before she could leave. "May I ask how you know one another? I remember you said you had met him while in the academy."
Sakura nodded as a reminiscent smile formed on her face. He assumed she was thinking back to all those years ago, before Shisui had left on his deployment. "I met Sasuke and Naruto my first day at the academy. We became friends instantly, but they were always competing against each other," she said with a small smirk.
Itachi felt his own cross his face as he realized even now that though they were partners, they were still competing during in-service training days. Even on their days off, Itachi had witnessed them challenge each other in workouts and even ridiculous things like who had the nicest car and who was the most popular among their friends. They may have been in their mid-twenties, but in Itachi's eyes, they were children. Although it was a relief that when things got serious on-duty, they could still be reliable as well.
"One day I was hanging out with Sasuke when I met Shisui," she continued. "I jokingly told him Sasuke and Naruto were better ground fighters because they were always wrestling with each other and he told me he was a trainer at the department and offered to help me whenever I wanted. I, of course, accepted and learned how to ground fight from him."
Itachi nodded thoughtfully. It sounded exactly like something Shisui would do.
"Shisui's a really, really good guy," Sakura said honestly. "I think he's an incredible friend, but that's all we'll ever be. Whoever grabs his attention will be lucky to have it."
Itachi met her gaze and realized she really meant what she said. He smiled lightly and nodded his agreement before Sakura murmured a good night and left the kitchen. For a long moment, Itachi continued to stand with his hands on the counter as he thought over what she had said. He agreed with her that Shisui would make an excellent partner to anyone - he was after all the most selfless person Itachi had ever met, even if he loved to tease everyone - and it warmed him slightly that he wasn't the only one who had well wishes for Shisui. The man earned it after all he had given.
With a small smile on his face, Itachi turned off the kitchen lights and made his way back to his room.
A/N: I give you...an ItaSaku moment! I mean, not much, but if you squint it's there.
Anyway, reviews are loved. And yesterday was my birthday so it would be an awesome birthday present :D Until next week!