i apologize, once more, for the long absence. life is hard. i hope you enjoy!


Chapter 3

Sakura wasn't quite sure what had happened, or how it had, but somehow in the two weeks since classes had started, Deidara had not only figured out where she lived, he'd taken to "dropping by". It wasn't all bad, considering he usually brought food or sweets with him, and once even alcohol, and he'd given Ino such invaluable hair maintenance advice, the blonde swore she was forever in his debt. Dramatic as ever. So, when their doorbell rang on a quiet Saturday afternoon, then, she was not at all surprised. Really, she was just relieved her and Ino were diligent about locking the door so the manic blonde didn't have a chance to just barge in whenever he liked. Which, if she knew her art tutor at all, was something he would definitely do. On a daily basis. She didn't quite understand just why he'd taken such a liking to her; she had minimal artistic talents and she wasn't a supremely interesting person to begin with. She could imagine someone with his energy growing attached to someone more like Ino, but not her. Sakura sighed as the doorbell rang again, followed by insistent banging on her door. She knew from experience that in thirty seconds he would start blowing up her phone. Resigned, she slipped her feet into her slippers before shuffling to the door. Ino poked her head out of her bedroom door, face covered in a blue mask and perfectly plucked eyebrows furrowed.

"What does he want now?" she asked incredulously. Ino had taken the continual assault of his presence on their apartment pretty well, all things considered. Better than Sakura, anyway, who now met him with a certain degree of annoyance whenever he rang their doorbell.

Sakura shrugged somewhat helplessly before unlocking their door and opening it slowly. Ino disappeared into the bathroom to clean her face of the mask. Sakura faced the opening door, sighing as she prepared herself for Deidara's characteristic exuberance. The sun had almost set so the light didn't blind her so much as the sight waiting for her surprised her.

"Uh," she said stupidly, not prepared to be faced with not only Deidara's brilliant smile but also Kisame's huge frame when she opened her door. Grocery bags dangled from Kisame's forearms and he smiled at her with pointed teeth. They were both dressed casually, jeans and t-shirts, Deidara holding a jacket slung over his arm. While Kisame looked about the same as usual, Deidara's silky blonde hair – that he kept perfectly maintained, as Sakura had learned during one of his many lectures – was perfectly styled as to appear not styled at all, thrown up into a ponytail with a few strands falling to frame his angular face. He was the only man Sakura had ever known who sported eyeliner daily and his eyes were rimmed with it now, making the blue of them even brighter. The cheery smile on his face did not waver at her less than enthusiastic greeting. She blinked at them slowly, unable to completely process the image after spending hours scrutinizing Tsunade's textbook. Kisame had never come with Deidara on one of his numerous visits; none of their other friends had come, actually.

"Hey Pinkie," Kisame greeted jovially, like this wasn't an awkward situation and Sakura wasn't dressed in boxers, a huge neon yellow t-shirt from high school, and her fluffy white cat slippers. Basically pajamas at almost five in the afternoon. She ignored the stupid nickname as she realized just what she looked like. A mess. Her hair was a disaster, tied hastily back into a loose bun that was now falling apart. She couldn't remember exactly if she had even brushed it today and she was keenly aware of the fact she hadn't yet showered and her legs were prickly with hair.

"Hello?" she asked more than said. She automatically opened the door wider, allowing them to traipse on in, Deidara immediately flinging himself onto the couch and Kisame setting the groceries down on the counter. Why did he keep buying them groceries? What was all of it for? Could she even fit it all in her kitchen?

"I'm making dinner, remember?" Kisame said, raising an eyebrow. Sakura stared at him blankly because no, she did not remember making any such plans considering she'd hardly talked to Kisame since the karaoke bar, only running into him a couple times on campus. She didn't even have his number. He frowned as the silence stretched on and she remained dumbfounded, suddenly whirling to face Deidara, who was smirking on the couch. Kisame pointed an accusing finger at the blonde.

"You didn't tell her?" he nearly roared, looking completely unsurprised.

"Oops, slipped my mind," Deidara responded breezily. "I also forgot to tell you Itachi, Baby Sasuke, and the blond moron are coming too. Oh, and Sasori said he could swing by as well."

Sakura blinked. "There are some that would argue you're the blond moron," she pointed out dully when she could form words. She derived perhaps too much pleasure from Deidara's indignant sputters, Kisame howling with laughter.

"Kisame is making dinner?" Ino chimed in, finally making her appearance, face clean of any mud mask. She was at least a little more presentable than Sakura, dressed in black leggings and a loose t-shirt. Her smooth hair was pulled tightly into a ponytail and she frowned at the groceries inquisitively. "What's the dish, chef?" she asked, completely ignoring the fact no one had even asked either of their permission to plan a dinner party in their apartment.

"Nothin' too fancy, curry and rice," Kisame said. Ino smiled, pleased. She padded over to take a seat next to the other blond, tucking her feet underneath her knees. "Deidara insisted we bring dessert too, so we brought stuff to make cookies with."

Sakura arched an eyebrow at Deidara, who shrank a little under her gaze. "And we brought ice cream," he offered in a small voice. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"What kind?"

"Strawberry."

She stared at him for a few minutes more before relaxing, smiling a little bit to show she'd forgiven him. "What time is this supposed to start?" she finally thought to ask, suddenly reminded of her deplorable attire. Really, was she going to have to start looking presentable all the time now? Where exactly did Deidara live that he could drop by so much? It dawned on her that she had completely disregarded the fact that Itachi was coming over, as well as the complete yet frequently mentioned stranger Sasori. He was apparently a business major and also worked for a big security company as an intern. Sakura had yet to meet him but knew that he and Deidara had been friends from middle school before they met Kisame and Itachi in high school. She almost felt like she did know him from how much Deidara mentioned him but he'd never met her and thus, she felt like she should probably change. And maybe shower.

"I told them to come in about an hour, so we have about thirty minutes until Itachi shows up. He's annoyingly early, always," Deidara answered with a lazy roll of his eyes. Ino played on her phone next to him, but Sakura could see her ears metaphorically perking up at the mention of the older Uchiha brother. She wondered if Ino's unrequited crush on Sasuke from their early middle school years had anything to do with her fascination. Or if it was solely because of his interactions with Sakura. He'd kept his word and showed up at Art Club yet again that week and Ino had been positively gleeful, despite the fact nothing of importance had happened between them. Sakura nearly regretted telling her.

Kisame snickered. "You're just mad because you're late to literally everything," the blue-skinned man pointed out. Deidara stuck his tongue out at him, pulling his phone out as it chimed.

"I wasn't late to this," he retorted. His brightened at whatever he read on the screen and he began rapidly typing a response.

"You made me wait for you for fifteen minutes," Kisame deadpanned and Sakura laughed. Deidara stuck his tongue out again and went back to focusing on his phone.

Sakura stretched her arms over her head. "Well, in that case I'm going to shower and get dressed," she informed them. Ino's "good idea" was followed by Kisame's insistence she looked fine and Deidara's even more persistent response to the negative.

Sakura left them to debate her appearance, hopping in the shower where she let the hot water wash away her anxiety for the evening. She hadn't been prepared to host a sudden dinner party. She didn't know Sasori, barely knew Itachi, and Naruto ate enough for three people on a daily basis so she was worried they wouldn't have enough food. Also, why couldn't she make any girl friends? Her and Ino were surrounded by boys who were beginning to make themselves at home in their apartment and lives. Sakura just doubted a girl friend would be quite as tactless as the boys she interacted with daily. And she probably wouldn't eat all their food. Yes, Sakura was really beginning to like the idea of her imaginary female friend.

She stepped out of the shower fifteen minutes later, letting her hair down so she could brush it out. She wrapped a towel around her before she hurried to her room. Using Ino's clothes as a guide, she threw on her own pair of leggings and a large grey shirt with the black design of a cat on it that hung off one shoulder. Her sports bra could be seen but she didn't really care; it wasn't like Sasuke was going to ogle her throughout dinner, after all. Or his attractive older brother for that matter.

She tied her long hair back into a much more neat ponytail before rejoining her friends in her living room. Ino was directing Kisame to the pots and pans he needed and Deidara had already dug into the ice cream, spoon still in his mouth as he texted someone.

"You'll ruin your appetite," Sakura chided as she grabbed her own spoon and took a seat in front of him, scooping a giant chunk of it. "How long until dinner?" she asked around her mouthful.

"About half an hour," Kisame answered. Ino offered up water; it was really the only beverage they had since they had polished off the sake that week, and Deidara shook his head at it.

"Itachi will be bringing drinks," he informed them.

Sakura frowned. "If you guys had bothered to tell us about this dinner, we could've bought some things," she said huffily. She felt bad they were basically paying for an entire dinner for seven people. And also cooking it. Ino nodded along emphatically to her words, glaring remorsefully at the blond lounging on their couch. Deidara chuckled, patting Sakura's head.

"Don't worry about a thing," he reassured her. "You're first years and probably broke; if we didn't feed you, you'd almost starve to death. Just wait until final exams roll around, you'll think of us as godsends."

"Or at the very least, nice people," Kisame amended for him. Ino huffed with laughter at the torn expression of betrayal on Deidara's face at his friend's decidedly less dramatic version. "Really, we just wanted to cook something, and neither of our apartments are viable options considering none of us can clean for shit, so yours was the only option."

Sakura was surprised; she had imagined Itachi as a rather neat person. It was hard to reconcile that image with a messy room belonging to him.

Kisame continued, waving a wooden spoon in the air she didn't even know they owned as he did so. "Itachi is a neat enough person on his own, his room is spotless, but I'm a fucking mess and neither of us have time to clean our disaster of a kitchen. And both Sasori and Deidara are complete slobs so there's no hope there either."

"You're all paired off?" Ino asked, handing Kisame an apron, the only one they owned. A frilly pink one with white bunnies all over it that he put on without so much as a blush, tying it back nonchalantly and grinning his thanks to her. It looked absolutely comical on his huge, buff frame and Sakura had to keep from choking on her ice cream at the sight of it. She grabbed her phone to snap a picture, swallowing her mouthful and cackling. She doubted she could use it as blackmail seeing as he didn't seem to care but it was funny nonetheless.

Deidara beamed down at her, looking at the picture on her phone. "It's good to hear you laugh, yeah," he said softly, almost too softly for her to hear. She blushed, locking her phone once more. She hadn't meant to laugh like that, not so loudly and suddenly. It was awkward and sounded wrong coming from her.

"Yeah, we couldn't find any apartments big enough for the four of us that we could afford so we split into two's," Kisame hummed, completely unaware that his picture had just been taken.

They continued in silence except for Deidara's phone chiming and his indignant cry when Sakura closed the ice cream and put it away. Ten minutes later there was a knock at the door and considering she was currently advising Naruto on what to wear over text message – convincing him he needed to at least wear a clean shirt was much more difficult than it should be – Sakura could bet it was probably Itachi or the mysterious Sasori.

"I'll get it," Ino sang, prancing to the door and flinging it open. "Welcome!"

There stood, actually, both of the men, wearing identical expressions of surprise at being greeted by the perky blonde girl. Deidara stood and cheered, waving them in while Sakura hastily got to her feet to offer some water before remembering that the bags in their hands probably held much better drinks.

"Come in," Deidara called. They entered and Sakura was able to get a look at Sasori for the first time.

He was dressed as casually as Deidara, slim dark jeans and a white t-shirt with clean boots. His red hair fell down his forehead and brushed his eyelashes and Sakura watched as he pushed it back, irritated. He had a thin mouth currently pulled into the most deadpan, yet somehow exasperated look she'd ever seen on someone. She could hear him chiding Deidara about planning a dinner at someone else's house without actually telling them but she paid no attention, gazing at Itachi instead. He was greeting Ino, asking her some polite questions. He was dressed more formally than any of them in a dark blue button up and jeans, but somehow he pulled it off with a sort of nonchalance that was typical of the Uchiha brothers. His dark hair was perfect, of course, and he was overall just so irritatingly gorgeous and covered in a sort of enviable calm confidence that Sakura kind of wanted to punch him in the face.

She turned her attention back to Sasori, with some effort, and plastered a smile on her face.

"I'm Sakura," she introduced herself.

The man turned to observe her with cool, but not unkind eyes. "Sasori," he said with a slight incline of his head. "I'm sorry Deidara did this to you, I've tried to teach him better manners."

"Hey! They're grateful!"

"It's alright," Sakura said, her smile softening into a genuine one at the gentleness of his voice. She didn't even blink as he sucker punched Deidara in the stomach, leaving him wheezing for air and cursing breathlessly at his red-haired roommate. "I just hope Kisame is as good a cook as he says he is."

"Oi!" Kisame shouted, obvious shock in his voice. "I'm a fucking fantastic cook."

"One with a potty mouth," Sakura called back, leading them into her living room. "Naruto and Sasuke will be here any minute." She nearly laughed at how joyful Deidara looked at the mention of Sasuke, who he apparently had enjoyed torturing for years now. She had to admit, it was pretty hilarious to watch. She could see why Itachi had never put an end to it. Someone ruffling Sasuke's feathers like that was a sight to behold.

Itachi placed the grocery bags on the table, pulling out some juices and sodas as well as bottles of sake, which Ino eyed hungrily.

"So, do we want to pretend to be civilized before we eat, or should we just go straight for the alcohol?" Deidara mused, a slim finger pressed to his chin as he seriously contemplated their choices. Itachi rolled his eyes silently, going to sit on the couch. Sakura pointedly avoided his eyes, hating the way they looked through her own. Deidara had apparently gotten over the bodily harm Sasori had inflicted as he looked to his roommate for an answer to their dilemma. Sasori himself sat down on the couch beside Itachi, leaning back and shrugging carelessly.

"Up to our hosts," he murmured, turning to where Ino contemplated the drinks from the small kitchen. Kisame nodded his agreement from behind her. They all turned to her and she frowned with the seriousness of the decision. Sakura nearly smiled.

"Ino?" she asked, deciding to take her lead considering Ino was much more versed in social situations than Sakura.

"Civilized first, at least until we get some food in our stomachs," Ino declared decisively. They all nodded their approval and Sakura reached for a juice, flinching back when her fingers brushed Itachi's.

"Sorry," she mumbled and he shook his head, withdrawing his hand. She hated the way her voice shook.

"It's yours," he said and she nodded her thanks, snatching it up and opening it hastily.

He looked almost concerned and she averted her eyes, hating the way heat was flushing up her neck and spreading to her cheeks. She hadn't meant to have such a visceral reaction to him. From her side, Deidara watched the proceedings with sharp interest, sharing a meaningful look with Sasori, who arched his eyebrow.

"Sakura, what's your major again?" Sasorie asked bluntly.

She blinked at him, lips wrapped around her juice as she drank it and savored the sweetness, not used to the directness of his words. "I'm pre-med," she answered, lowering her juice. Sasori hummed thoughtfully, a water bottle dangling from his fingers.

"Deidara tells me you're a business major," she continued, drinking more of the juice. Sasori nodded and Itachi opened his mouth to speak when suddenly their front door banged open, Sakura cursing as she realized she had forgotten to lock it behind Itachi and Sasori.

"We're here," Naruto bellowed.

"We can see that, idiot," Ino snapped.

Deidara threw Sakura a meaningful look. "Who's the blond idiot again?"

She sighed.


Kisame, it turned out, was an excellent cook. Sakura nearly moaned with pleasure as she ate the curry and rice. Ino was delighted, asking a million and one questions and promising to cook it for Sakura the next chance they got. Kisame was grinning boastfully, still in his pink apron absolutely nobody had blinked an eye at except Naruto and Sasuke. The younger Uchiha bore Deidara's teasing somewhat more tolerantly now that he had good food in front of him. Sasori began passing around the sake and Sakura threw back a shot of it, relieved. Interacting with so many new people at once meant she was constantly on edge and she was glad for something to dull it. The warmth of it sank into her stomach, spreading to her limbs and she closed her eyes to enjoy it more fully.

The conversation flowed easily, aided by the sake and Deidara's natural friendliness. Once the food was gone, Sakura offered to make the cookies; she would be a disgrace to her mother if she didn't know how to bake and didn't at least offer. Itachi also volunteered to help and with her nerves dulled by the alcohol, she readily agreed. He followed her into the small kitchen while everybody else settled in the living room, having an animated discussion about the newest drama Kisame was watching.

"I'm telling you, he's going to die!" Kisame bellowed, pointing a finger at Sasuke, who rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"It's too early to tell," he argued and Kisame scoffed.

"Maybe for a baby like you," he taunted. Deidara cackled and Sasuke flushed, dark eyes narrowing.

Sakura smiled to herself, pulling out bowls and measuring cups while Itachi washed some of the dishes that had accumulated from dinner. She began measuring out the dry ingredients, humming to herself and letting her mind wander as her hands automatically made a recipe she had memorized a long time ago. She watched as Itachi, now bearing the pink frilly apron much to the amusement of his friends, cleaned the dishes, his eyes narrowed with focus. He looked hilarious, even if Sakura hadn't been a little drunk. Dressed in a bright pink apron and using pastel blue gloves to wash dishes, the scene was ridiculously domestic. He looked up suddenly, eyes meeting hers, and she blinked. Caught.

"I'll buy a new apron," she blurted. His brow furrowed in confusion. She pointed at the one he was wearing. "For next time," she clarified, mentally berating herself for her awkwardness.

"I'll buy one for you guys."

The sudden smile that spread across Itachi's face was startling though still soft. His voice was a low, smooth sound as he chuckled and she smiled back, relaxing a fraction.

"Next time?" he questioned. She paled. Had she been assuming there would even be a next time? Had that been a mistake? Was he going to think she was presumptuous and weird, wanting this eclectic bunch of boys back in her apartment?

"Then you should buy one this week; I think Deidara mentioned making Saturday dinners a regular thing."

Sakura nearly laughed until she registered what he had said.

"You're joking," she whispered in horror. He chuckled again, turning back to the dishes to dry them. He pulled off the gloves and spared her another glance, smiling at the look on her face as she paused her movements over the bowl.

"Not joking," he answered. "You know how he is."

She sighed, pressing the heel of her flour-covered palm to her forehead.

"I should've known," she moaned, moving to grab an egg. She cracked it open carefully, just as her mother had taught her, mixing in the yolk gently before adding the second egg. She wondered briefly if she would make enough for all of them, considering Naruto could and would stuff his face with anything and everything. And Kisame could match him, mouthful for mouthful. Humming, she figured she could eat her ice cream instead of cookies to leave more for everyone else. Nodding decisively, she started to stir the batter, making sure to break apart any huge lumps of flour and baking soda as she did so. Absorbed in her work, she didn't notice that Itachi had drawn closer until her elbow bumped him and she jumped about a foot in the air. He smiled a gentle apology, nodding his head toward the batter.

"Anything you need me to do?" he asked.

Sakura was tempted to say no just to get him out of her kitchen but she nodded instead. She blamed the alcohol for her sudden boldness. She jerked her head to the bag of chocolate chips next to her bowl.

"Could you start pouring some of those in while I mix?"

Itachi nodded, grabbing the bag and cutting it open, hesitating right before he moved to pour it in. His brow furrowed again, as it did whenever he was concentrating on something she was beginning to notice. "How much should I pour?" he asked suddenly in a hushed voice, obviously very concerned about the exact amount of chocolate chips he should be pouring in. Sakura nearly burst out laughing at the solemnity of his expression. Did he take everything so seriously, even baking cookies? For some reason, she could easily imagine him performing every action he took with the same amount of exactness. It was amusing to no end.

"I'll tell you when to stop," she assured him. He nodded and began slowly pouring them in, watching in fascination as she stirred them in slowly, lips pursed. The batter seemed a little runny and she wondered if she should add baking soda or more flour…

"You're not using a recipe," Itachi observed, interrupting her musings. Nodding for him to stop, she hummed.

"My mom is a baker," she answered, sprinkling in just a little more flour and smiling with satisfaction as the batter became nearly perfect. She'd never make cookies like her mom; she didn't have that gift. But what she baked was still pretty damn good. "I helped her out a lot and cookies are pretty popular, of course. I memorized this recipe a while ago." She grabbed a spoon to start putting the batter on the cooking sheet and handed one to Itachi.

"One spoonful," she instructed him and he nodded, seriousness back on his face. She watched him concentrate intently on spooning the same amount as her and watched as he placed it with such precision it was almost laughable. His lips thinned as he focused, nose wrinkled ever so slightly. Sakura felt her lips twitch into a small smile and she went on to put two cooking sheets in the oven with cookies.

She glanced at the clock, despairing at the lost studying time. She was going to have to read basically all day on Sunday to catch up with Tsunade's reading, and then there was all of her other work to do. She sighed, willing the numbers on the microwave to go back.

Sakura turned her head toward the living room, lit up by the lamp on the little side table, where Itachi had seated himself on the floor beside his brother, an absent hand going to ruffle Sasuke's hair. Sasuke glared at him, ducking his head and Itachi grinned, a smile unlike any she had ever seen before on his handsome face. It was impish, nearly childlike, and comical beside Sasuke's frown. Deidara was teasing him, and Sasuke's head whipped around to snarl at him. Ino laughed and joined in, fingers still wrapped around the sake bottle she had been not-so-sneakily taking swigs off. Naruto was arm wrestling Kisame and Sasori looked on, eyes narrowed, calling encouragements to Naruto as he struggled, face turning red. Sakura watched them, wondering if there was any way for her heart to rest in this moment. For her memory to seize and hold it forever.

Naruto's hand was slammed on the table and he whined, rubbing at the back of his hand while Kisame roared with laughter, high-fiving Sasori. Naruto turned to Sakura and she almost laughed at the look of utter defeat on his face. How had she found such dramatic friends?

"Cheer up, there's cookies with your name on it," Sakura called and he brightened instantly, calling for a rematch. Kisame grinned as he accepted the challenge and they went back to it, Naruto's brow furrowed in concentration.

The oven beeped and Sakura checked the cookies, nodding in approval before pulling them out. She carefully placed each on the cooling rack her mother had given her, trying not to fidget as she waited for them to cool enough to eat. Not that it mattered since Naruto, fresh from another defeat, reached around her and popped one in his mouth, grinning at her like his mouth wasn't about to receive first degree burns.

"Perfect as always, Sakura-chan," Naruto hummed around his mouthful, taking four more into his hands. His fingers didn't even turn red and Sakura didn't say anything as he went back to the couch with his treasure. She had long ago learned that questioning Naruto wasn't worth it. She heard exclamations as her friends saw Naruto's handful. She practically dove out of the way as Kisame and Deidara elbowed and kicked their way into the room, both hands outstretched toward the cookie plate. Ino wasn't too far behind, leg outstretched to trip both of them at once. Sakura managed to snag four and hurried away before any of them could tumble into her, handing two each to Sasori and Itachi.

"I have strawberry ice cream if you want any," she told Sasuke as she sat down next to him; he shook his head, taking a drink of the sake before offering her some. She took a grateful swig. She could hear the other three squabbling over how many cookies each got and she shook her head, exchanging an exasperated glance with Sasori.

"Are they always like this?" she asked him. Sasori sighed, sucking a long breath through his nose and exhaling noisily.

"Every day," he muttered, eyes closed.

"These are good," Itachi said suddenly. Sakura glanced over at him, amused by how wide his eyes were. It made him look young, childish.

"I told you," she answered, digging another mouthful of ice cream out of the tub and contemplating it lazily on her spoon. "My mother owns a bakery." She stuck the cold spoonful into her mouth, allowing it to melt a little before swallowing. She hadn't had strawberry ice cream in years. She was surprised Deidara had even remembered her off-hand comment days ago that it was her favorite kind.

She glanced over at him, where he was still trying to take Kisame's last cookie from his outstretched hand. She smiled.


Sakura was sweating. She could feel it rolling down her back and glittering on her forehead. Her jaw was locked, teeth clenched as she tried to control her breathing. She pursed her lips, brow furrowed as she glared at the cards in her hand.

A few moments later, her expression cleared and with a victorious smile, she slammed her cards down.

"I win!" she crowed, to the utter dismay of every other person in the room. Deidara collapsed to the floor, Kisame swore, Naruto threw his cards down in frustration. Ino was laughing from where she watched on the couch and Sasuke continued frowning at his phone. Sasori merely sighed and Itachi ran a tired hand through his hair, finally beginning to look a little unruffled after drinking and losing to Sakura three times that same night.

Sakura clapped her hands together, falling flat on her back and staring up at the ceiling that seemed to be spinning for whatever reason. That reason being alcohol, probably. She giggled.

Itachi's face appeared in her line of sigh, corners of his mouth quirking, only slightly noticeable.

"You weren't kidding," he remarked. She pushed herself back up, groaning a little. Itachi drew back, closer to her than he was before. She noted the difference vaguely, knowing she'd forget it by morning. Ino snorted, pulling her own phone out as she glanced at her best friend with an oddly proud smirk.

"Sakura is undefeated at card games once you get a little alcohol in her. I'm convinced she was an alcoholic gambler in a past life."

"You don't sound too bitter about it," Kisame grumbled, seeming to slowly forgive Sakura for her final win. Ino shrugged carelessly.

"Got used to it," she hummed. The sounds from the game on Sasuke's phone drew Sakura's eyes to him. Naruto hovered over his shoulder, frowning and crying out every time Sasuke died. Deidara was sprawled on the floor just next to them, long legs flung over Sasori's lap, who was attempting to peruse on of Sakura's textbooks.

"This is all gibberish to me," he admitted slowly, glancing up at her through his red bangs. Sakura tilted her head back, the tips of her hair brushing the floor. It had gotten too long over the summer. Ino would have to cut it soon.

"It's gibberish to me too," she admitted. Kisame chuckled, glancing at the book as well and pulling a face.

"And you're the future of medicine?" he joked. Sakura leveled a glare at him, though she was sure it wasn't all too convincing. A stubborn smile pulled at her lips.

"And you're going to save the whales?" she threw back. Kisame merely shrugged, shit-eating grin still on his face.

"We're going to save the world, kid," he answered, voice oddly gentle. Sakura frowned, not quite understanding where the turn in conversation had come from. Itachi made a noise in his throat and she glanced at him – up at him, since he was still so close their fingers nearly brushed. His closeness was disorienting. She could feel the warmth radiating from his body and in her drunken state she wondered what he would do if she rested her head on his shoulder, just for a moment.

"That's optimistic," the elder Uchiha commented mildly.

"Chances are we won't make any difference," Sasori agreed in his usual monotone voice. Deidara's response was a snore. Kisame opened his mouth to reply but Sakura beat him to it. The room was spinning but there was Itachi's hand, so close to her own. She stared at his nails as she answered, using them to center herself. The words came slowly, haltingly.

"We make a difference every day, don't we? Differences we don't see all the time, but they're there."

Sirens rang in her ears and she let her eyes fall shut, the floor coming up to meet her back seconds after she let her head tilt backwards once more.

"Not all differences are good," she mumbled before she swam away, the world a blur.


The cure to hangovers, Sakura had learned, was a cup of hot black coffee and a hot shower. She squeezed her damp hair with a towel as she sipped at her coffee, enjoying the way it seemed to seep into her bones. Her headache was fading away as the medicine she took kicked in. Ino had yet to rise and face the day and it would be afternoon soon, so Sakura could only assume she was worse off.

She opened the door to their balcony as quietly as possible, allowing the cool air to rush over her face. The mornings were growing steadily cooler and she nearly shivered in her robe and slippers. She watered her plants carefully, humming as she did so. Sakura looked out at the street behind her apartment building, watching the world slowly wake up on a Sunday morning. Leaning her forearms against the railing, she threaded her fingers through her wet hair, untangling it herself. The smell of her shampoo was fresh and fruity. She took another sip of her coffee as her phone buzzed in her robe's pocket. Sighing, she pulled it out and swiped at the screen to view the text from Ino.

Instead of the plea for water or coffee, as she'd been expecting, there was a picture. Sakura, sprawled on the floor of their living room, mouth open as she slept. And Itachi, looking down at her, hair partially obscuring his face. But it couldn't hide the smile he wore, gentler than any expression she'd seen on him yet.

Blushing furiously, she locked her phone hastily and gulped her coffee down. The sound of cars driving by soothed her and after a few moments she opened her phone again, glaring down at the picture. He probably thought she looked ridiculous, she tried to convince herself. She squeezed her phone, locking it once more. Walked back inside and shut the door.

Huffing, she pulled out her textbooks, ready to make up for the studying time she'd lost the night before. After a few minutes of staring at words that made no sense to her, she unlocked her phone impatiently, staring at the picture.

Ino was never going to let it go.

Her thumb pressed down, the picture saved before she had even fully comprehended what she was doing. The memory of his warmth came back and she sighed, eyes closing as she tried to get a grip.

Her phone buzzed again. This time, Ino had written something.

i'll put it in the wedding slideshow, don't worry!

Sakura growled, tossing her phone on the couch. Damn blonde witch.