Birthday Present

(A/N: Welcome to the third installment. This one does not have a lemon but what it lacks in smut will be made up for with humor. Story rated T for language and a slight lime. And if you don't know what a lime is, fruit or otherwise, you should shoot yourself in the foot with buckshot! Also, this chapter is dedicated to my friends Rajsa and TheRoseandtheDagger. Enjoy!)

~xxx~

Shisui noticed first. Itachi had been acting strangely as of late. Whether it be from the concussion Itachi received during their last mission or otherwise, the Uchiha heir was definitely not himself. At first glance, one wouldn't be able to see the faint smile on Itachi's lips nor the slight gleam in his dark eyes. Hell, Shisui couldn't believe it himself but as the days passed, he caught a glimpse here and there. He watched his younger cousin closely over the following weeks. Surprised was hardly the word to describe Shisui's reaction when he discovered why his young cousin was acting more secretive than usual.

The, seemingly asexual, Uchiha heir was actually interested in a girl! Not only that but Itachi was seen on more than one occasion with none other than the Hokage's apprentice. The more Shisui thought about it, the more it made his head hurt. Why in the Sam Hell would Itachi be interested in the violent pink-haired kunoichi?

"Shisui-kun… I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!!" speak of the devil…

"Sakura-chan-- ouch, what was that for?" he rubbed the goose egg forming on his head while eyeing the livid kunoichi. Here he was, minding his own business, sipping on his favorite tea when-- BAM, right in the temple.

"You know damn well what you did! Who else would leave a rubber snake in my shower?!" Busted. Shisui gave a sheepish grin.

"Ne, ne Sakura-chan… it was all in good fun." He defended in a hurt tone. Well, he was hurt… physically.

"All in good fun?!" she screeched. "I almost broke my neck, baka!"

"What's the matter, Sakura-chan?" Mikoto asked, stepping out onto the small patio, Fugaku right on her heels. Sakura whirled around with a frown.

"He put this," she said, holding up the rubber snake, "in my shower!" That wasn't the worse part. "It scared me half to death, I fell back and hit me head. When I didn't show up for my shift, Shishou sent an ANBU." Sakura turned to Shisui then, wrapping the offending prank particle around his neck. "HE SAW ME NAKED!!" she yelled and choked him with it until he was blue in the face.

"Sakura-san, you should let him go." Fugaku intoned lightly, though he felt the boy deserved it. Sakura did as she was told and smacked Shisui upside the head once more.

"I'm telling your mother." She hissed before bidding Mikoto and Fugaku farewell. Shisui scrambled after her, begging and pleading for her to stop.

~xxx~

There was a slight delay in leaving this morning. Itachi walked into the village as he pondered this mornings events.

~Flashback~

"Before you leave, Uchiha-san, I need you to find out what is taking my apprentice so long. She was due to arrive at the hospital over an hour ago." Tsunade said with her hands laced together.

"As you wish, Hokage-sama." His muffled voice spoke. He bowed politely and left her office. Bounding over rooftops, said Uchiha made is way to Sakura's apartment. Appearing at her balcony window, crimson eyes scanned the bedroom for signs of life. Nothing. But he could hear the shower running in the bathroom. So it seemed the esteemed apprentice overslept.

The mask-clad Uchiha slipped into her room and headed to the door. Taking an immediate left in the hall, the ANBU stopped at the bathroom door. Just as he was about to knock, a muffled groan rasped from the bathroom. Without further delay, the door was kicked in. Lying half in the shower was Sakura, naked as the day she was born, blood seeping from the back of her head. The ANBU rushed forward, shut off the shower and wrapped the girl in a towel then took the unconscious medic to the hospital.

~End flashback~

A rather interesting turn of events. Sakura woke up at the hospital and began to spout about how it was Shisui's fault. He left for his mission, albeit, an hour late. And now it was nine at night… he should have been back hours ago. Shisui really needed a leash. When Itachi turned the corner he saw Sakura and Sasuke sitting on the front porch, idly chatting and eating dango.

"I apologize for breaking your bathroom door." Itachi spoke when he reached them. Sasuke looked between the two; she hadn't told him yet. "I will replace it." Sakura turned beet red and looked down at the ground.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, Shisui's mother is making him replace it."

"Mind telling me what happened?" Sasuke spat with a glare aimed at his dear aniki. Ah yes, Sasuke was fiercely protective of Sakura… even when it came to his brother. Both sides of the story were explained to the younger Uchiha who nodded in understanding.

"I bought you some dango… as a thank you." Sakura said with a shy smile. She always smiled like that around him, nothing out of the normal there. Itachi took a seat on the other side of Sakura and thanked her for the dango, taking the sweet treat from her hands.

"Sakura-chan, are you staying the night tonight?" Mikoto asked with a tray of tea.

"I think I'm safer here than in my own home." She muttered before turning to the matriarch and nodding. "Yes, Mikoto-san. You did want to show me those patterns you were talking about."

"I'll go prepare the guest room."

~xxx~

Breakfast was quiet… thank Kami. Yum, pancakes with bananas and strawberries, Sakura's favorite.

"What are you doing for your birthday, Sakura. You are twenty-one, after all." Mikoto asked with a smile. Sakura scowled over her coffee cup.

"The traditional thing… Ino's dragging me to a bar. I think a bunch of our friends are going to be there." She said then took a swig of her coffee.

"So much for a surprise party." Sasuke said with a smirk. Naruto had a really big mouth.

"I'm almost afraid to go home… Shisui may have planned retaliation for telling his mother what he did." Sakura sighed. She knew Ino planned her party; the blonde was known for her antics and love for partying, so that was not an issue for the pink-haired medic.

"I will escort you home." Itachi said as he looked up from his plate of bacon and eggs. Sakura gave him a small smile.

"Thank you, Itachi-san."

~xxx~

Yamanaka Ino turned the page of her magazine with a sigh. It was really slow today. The chime of the door jingled as the door opened. Closing the magazine, Ino put on her best smile and greeted her customer.

"Good afternoon, how may I help… you?!" the last part was hissed as her blue orbs took in the sight of Uchiha Shisui. "You have a lot of explaining to do." Sapphire met onyx for a moment… Shisui was serious; scary, ne?

"We need to talk." The oddball of the Uchiha clan stated as he walked towards Ino. She crossed her arms, one brow quirked in question.

"About what?" she asked from behind the counter.

"My cousin and your friend… I think there's something going on."

"I hope you don't mean Sasuke because that's just not going to happen." That's right, Sasuke and Ino had just made it official last month.

"No, no… I'm talking about Itachi." A sly grin formed on his lips. Ino was standing before him in a flash, a glare in her eyes.

"And what makes you think there's something between them?" the blonde asked as she reached for the 'open' sign and turned it to 'closed' before locking the door. Shisui moved to sit on the stool by the counter as Ino hopped up on said counter.

"Well, for one, I saw him smile and he never smiles." He answered with a finger tapping his chin, recounting his observations. "Then there's the fact that they've been having lunch together for the last few weeks. Let's not forget that Sakura's been spending the night at the compound more often."

"I can't say that I blame her for that one." Ino spat with a glare. Shisui waved her off and continued.

"Anyway, last night I saw them sitting on the porch, and do you know what they did?" he asked, they sly grin only got wider as Ino leaned closer.

"What did they do?"

"They shared a stick of dango." Shisui looked positively smug at the moment as Ino scowled at him.

"Is that all? Seems to me like he's just being nice."

"Oh no, Itachi doesn't share his dango with anyone… unless it's his mother. Not only that, but they bit into the same piece at the same time." Ino stilled. There was no way what he was saying was true. "And last night, Sakura stayed in the guest room… across the hall from Itachi's bedroom."

"Sakura always stays in the guest house. That's nothing new."

"Did you hear what I just said?" he asked incredulously. "She stayed in the guest room not the guest house."

Ino blinked once, twice, thrice. "No fucking way! And Fugaku just let her stay?"

"Mikoto-baachan set up the room for the night. So, whatever's going no, they obviously know about it. What I want to know is what exactly is going on." Shisui finished as he crossed his arms. The wheels in Ino's head were turning, the calculating look in her eyes was enough to tell him that much. She grinned suddenly.

"I have a plan."

~xxx~

Although Itachi was not the party type, he made the exception for Sakura. She had almost begged him to go with her and Sasuke. An hour's worth of pleading later, Itachi relented and told Sakura he would pick her up. Using a sheet for a bathroom door, the pink-haired kunoichi showered and dressed quickly… after a thorough check around her apartment, of course. She was in the middle of fixing her hair when a knock sounded at the door. Letting her pink locks fall from her fingers, Sakura walked to the door and opened it.

"Hi Itachi-san, come in." His tall frame was clothed in a black pair of pants and a black shirt. The man loved black! Sakura, on the other hand, wore a red halter-top that clasped around her neck, leaving the upper portion of her back exposed and a pair of black cargo pants (she had yet to put on a pair of shoes). "I'm almost ready. Go ahead and sit down, I just need to fix my hair." She moved aside to let him in and closed the door behind him. He glanced at the clock then back at Sakura.

"You should hurry, you don't want to be late to your party." He stated. Sakura smiled and shook her head.

"It's my birthday, I'm allowed to be a little late." With that, she walked back into her room. Sakura returned not five minutes later with a light jacket in one hand and a black pair of high-heeled boots. She sat on the couch and slipped them on before zipping them up. Itachi stared, a look that said 'how-can-you-walk-in-those?' "Their comfy." She said, answering his unspoken question. The pair walked out the apartment and made their way to the bar.

~xxx~

The bar was filled with shinobi, friends and teammates of the birthday girl.

"I still say it's ridiculous. They shouldn't just schedule that crap whenever they damn well please and expect you to be there." They heard the kunoichi say, she was still a ways off in the distance. Ino heard from Sasuke that her friend begged his brother to come along. And he heard from her about Shisui's suspicions. To say that he was in on the fun was an understatement. Even Tsunade was in on it. The door opened, the lights were off.

Click- "SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"

Sakura was unfazed. "Yeah, I knew." She stated. Everyone glared at Naruto. Behind Sakura stood Itachi in all his silent and impassive glory. "If you guys really want to surprise someone, you should put a rubber snake in their shower." Sakura stated with a healthy glare, focused solely on Shisui. "But thanks guys."

Chatter and the clink of glasses filled the bar as the party got underway. Ino stole Sakura away from the nurses that came and took her over to a table in the corner. Seated at the table was Tsunade, Sasuke, Itachi, Shisui, Kakashi and Genma. Ino forced her friend to sit next to Itachi while she took the last open space between Sasuke and Kakashi.

"… the funny thing is, she never even knew. I wish I had a camera." Genma sighed then took a swig of his drink.

"What are we talking about?" Sakura asked, getting comfortable.

"Blackmail." Kakashi deadpanned, smirking under his mask. "Though I think you have some of the best."

"I know I do." She smiled, eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Really now? Like what?" Tsunade asked with a grin.

"Well," she started as she picked up her drink and took a sip, "there was this mission to Cloud and someone here got really drunk." Sakura's eyebrows wiggled, her wandering gaze landed on her tormentor. "And he ended up wearing a fluffy pink tutu. Or was it purple… I'll have to look at the pictures. My memory is a little from my fall yesterday."

"You didn't?" the Uchiha in question stated, complexion paled considerably.

"I did. And if you know what's good for you, you won't pull another prank, jackass." She glared, he gulped.

"Oh, please do something stupid. I have to see these pictures." The Hokage laughed, pouring herself another shot of sake.

"Ok, who wants to play a game of spin the bottle truth or dare?" Ino asked with a wide smile.

"What are the rules?" surprisingly, it was Itachi who asked.

"Well, it works like normal truth or dare. Only, when the bottle lands between two people, they both have to do the same dare or answer the same question." Ino explained and Itachi nodded in understanding. "Who wants to go first?"

"Let Sakura go first." Sasuke answered as he sat back in his chair. This was going to be good. Sakura spun the bottle and it landed on Genma.

"Ok Genma, truth or dare?"

"Dare." He answered, senbon bobbing between his smirking lips.

Sakura grinned. "I was hoping you would say that." Shit. "I dare you to tell Shizune how you really feel about her." The senbon fell from his mouth.

"I refuse." He stated flatly.

"You can't. That's the rules." Ino chimed, waving a finger at the senbon master.

"Fuck." He whined as she stood from the table and walked over to the Hokage's older apprentice. A pretty blush spread across the brunette's face as he whispered into her ear. Grinning as he walked back, Genma was quite proud of himself.

"Well?" Kakashi asked as his perverted friend sat down.

"I have a date on Friday."

"Good for you." Sakura smiled. "Your turn." He spun the bottle and it landed on… Ino.

"Truth or dare, Blondie?"

"Truth." Ino answered with a grin.

"Is is true that you performed a ninjutsu that burned your eyebrows off and you had to pencil them in until they grew back?"

Her jaw dropped. "WHERE THE HELL DID YOU HEAR THAT?!"

"So, it's true?" Shisui asked, snickering at her pale face.

"Yeah…" she sighed and buried her face in her hands as they laughed at her. "Enough! It's my turn." She spun the bottled… and it landed between Itachi and Sakura. "Alright you two, truth or dare?" Ino asked with a smirk. The duo shared a glance.

"What do you suggest?" Itachi asked as he turned in his seat to look at Sakura.

"Well… I'm feeling a little adventurous today. Is dare ok with you?" she asked. He nodded in response. Damn it! Change of plans. With some quick thinking, Ino smiled sweetly at them.

"I dare the two of you to dance on the counter top to a song of my choosing." Everyone's head snapped in her direction. Itachi? Dance? No, no, no, no, no… this could only end in disaster.

"That is fair." Itachi said, sending Sakura a meaningful gaze. She nodded and stood with Itachi. Ino stood as well… on her chair.

"Can I have everyone's attention?" she hollered to the crowd in the bar. They turned to face her. "Itachi and Sakura have been dared to dance on the bar, give them a hand!" At once, the crowd erupted in cheers and whistles… ok, catcalls. Sakura turned beet red as she climbed on top of the bar and turned to see Itachi standing next to her.

"Pick the song so we can get this OVER WITH!!" Sakura yelled, fists balled at her sides.

"Yeah, yeah, I got your son right here." Ino said, shaking one fist in the air. She walked over to the juke box and filed through the list. "PERFECT!"

I want to hurt you

Wanna, wanna hurt you

Bright Red Violent Sex…

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. The song was a raunchy, rock song and there was no way she was dancing to it. She crossed her arms and turned her head away. Itachi just stood there… he felt the same way.

"Dance or your suspended from missions for a month!" Tsunade commanded from the back of the room.

"Fine!" Sakura cried and turned sharply to face Itachi, heels digging into the wood of the counter top. With one step, Sakura was nose to chest with Itachi as she began to dance. It was a sexy, hard beat mix with loud, screaming male voices and even louder guitar riffs. 'Aw, what the hell? Why not enjoy it while I can.' Sakura thought as she turned and pulled Itachi's arms to circle her waist.

Her hips swayed in time with the beat of the music, enticing her partner to grind her backside. Caught up in the moment and lost by the feel of the man behind her, Sakura began to sing along with the song.

"Hurt me, hurt me, hurt me, hurt me. Make me feel good. She said, hurt me, hurt me, hurt me, hurt me. Make me feel good." She sang with a smile. The male behind her leaned forward and smirked.

"Do not tempt me… Sakura." Itachi whispered into her ear as the crowd roared and whistled.

Sakura smiled over her shoulder and dipped down then rose back up, pushing her ass against his body as she bent over.

"GO SAKURA!!" Ino hollered over the crowd. "PUT THOSE BELLY DANCING SKILLS TO GOOD USE!" At that, Sakura straightened and swished her hips against Itachi's front. His hand rose off to the side and came down with a thunderous smack on her ass. Sakura jumped and turned to face him again, glaring. He smirked at her and took a step forward. He moved fast, picking up the kunoichi and flipping her over his shoulder. Sakura landed on her feet and rolled her hips in a sensual manner as Itachi came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. His hips followed the movements of hers, pressing his body as close to hers as humanly possible.

Sasuke stared. There was no way that the man on the bar was his brother. He watched as his dear aniki ground his pelvis against Sakura's ass, mimicking her movements in perfect time to the beat of the music. Sasuke was beginning to think that this was a bad idea. The cheers of the crowd grew louder and Sasuke turned his head. He really didn't need to be seeing his brother or his friend like this.

Their movements grew bolder as the music played on. Itachi's hands roamed over her body, drawing the wiggling woman closer as his lips met her neck. Sakura lost it. Her head flew back, mouth hanging open as she swayed against Itachi. But, just as Sakura was really getting into it, the song ended. Coming to her senses, Sakura smiled over her should with a blush and stopped. Itachi's gaze was so intense, lust filled and clouded as the alcohol and hormones raced through his system. Her own panting breath told her she was not unaffected by their dancing.

"Itachi…" she whispered as she turned to face him. He smirked down at her, coming to his senses as her small body took a small step towards his.

"Later, Sakura." He whispered back and proceeded to hop off the counter top. He turned and helped her down and the crowd surrounded them.

~xxx~

Several hours and a few drinks later, Itachi was walking Sakura home, both of their hands full of gifts.

"You know, that was a lot of fun… especially the dancing part." Sakura commented with a smile.

"Yes, I believe it was." Itachi said back, adjusting the bag in his arms.

"I can only imagine what your parents are going to say when they hear about this." She laughed, walking up the steps of her building.

"Just imagine the nightmares Sasuke will have after that little display."

Sakura frowned. "I think they found us out, Tachi-kun." He only nodded in response as Sakura opened her apartment door. She set her bags on the kitchen table and went to the refrigerator. "Are you hungry?"

"Aa." He answered while setting the other bags down and pulled a small box out of his pocket. When she turned around, Itachi was staring at her intently.

"What? Is there something on my face?" he shook his head and stepped towards her, trapping her against the large appliance.

"Happy birthday, Sakura." He whispered against her lips and placed the box in her free hand as he kissed her. When they pulled apart, Sakura looked down at the box then back up at Itachi. She tossed the stir-fry on the counter and opened the box. Inside was a ring… the Uchiha engagement ring. Until now, Sakura had only seen pictures of the ring she now held in her hands.

"It took them two years to figure out that there was something between us." Itachi spoke as Sakura stared down at the precious family heirloom. "Now is as good of time as any to move forward, Sakura."

"Itachi… I…" she pushed herself off the fridge and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes… yes, of course." This was, by far, Sakura's best birthday present ever. "Your parents do know about this, right?"

"Of course. How do you think I got the ring?" he answered with a smirk as Sakura pulled back to look him in the eyes.

"How long have you been planning this?"

"Since January." Sakura smiled a little more.

"Thank you for waiting to give it to me." She kissed him then while slipping the ring onto her finger. Itachi pulled away from her with a devious smirk as he scooped her up and began walking to the bedroom.

"You need to be punished for not telling me about the belly dancing."

"ITACHI!!"