A/N: Ahh! The cheesiness! DX I suck at love stories, I tend to fit in a lot of cheesy lines. I swear, I almost hurt myself after the chapter where Itachi kissed Meri…if there are any more cheesy lines, please, throw sharp pointy objects at me.

Disclaimer:

I do not own Naruto…can I own Gaara? …no? Oh well. I guess it's back to fantasizing.

--

Fugaku normally acted cold towards Itachi, but tonight, Itachi could've sworn that Fugaku was going to lash out and kill him.

It had taken Itachi at least two hours worth of convincing to assure his father that he had indeed not kissed Meri, that little brothers normally like to mess with their sibling's and father's minds, and that he would never do such a thing, for he was not attracted to Meri in any way at all.

Itachi never knew he was so good at lying.

Perhaps Fugaku didn't believe him, though, for he kept throwing cold and threatening glares in Itachi's general direction as the family worked around the house that night, tidying up from lunch.

Later in the night, around 11 pm or so, Mikoto had put Sasuke to bed and was currently busy wiping down the kitchen for the hundredth time. Fugaku and Itachi sat silently together in the living room just off the front foyer (I know I probably spelled that wrong. So sue me), each with a book in hand. Though every time Itachi looked down, he felt a piercing glare burning a whole in his forehead. He snapped up his head, looking at his father, but found him calmly turning a page of his book. Sighing, Itachi bowed his head again.

This cycle repeated itself countless times for about half an hour when there were two sharp raps of knuckles on wood coming from their front door. Both Fugaku and Itachi slowly put down their books and turned their heads. Who could be calling at this hour? Exchanging glances, the two men nodded to each other. Itachi stood up and made his way over towards the door.

As he was about to open it, he noticed a pair of blue sandals still sitting by the door.

Must be Meri's. he thought, reaching for the cool metal door handle. I'll return them later.

Itachi twisted the knob and pulled open the door, finding three ANBU members standing there, looking grave and mysterious.

"Itachi Uchiha." one said, in an extremely deep, but almost reassuring voice. (Think Kingsley Shacklebolt.)

"Yes?" he asked, staring at all three with narrowed eyes, his face blank. The three glanced at each other before another member turned to him and said in a higher voice,

"You are under arrest by order of Lord Umeko."

Umeko? Thought Itachi, his narrowed eyes widening as he stared at the three ANBU. Meri?!

Unknowingly to Itachi, his father was standing right behind him.

"Is there some type of problem?" Fugaku asked calmly, addressing the first ANBU who had spoke.

"We have an order from the feudal lord Kasumaru Umeko to have your son placed under arrest, Mr. Uchiha."

Kasumaru Umeko. Umeko. Meri Umeko. Fugaku made the connection as quickly as Itachi had. His face drained of all color and he glared at Itachi.

"Go." whispered Fugaku.

"Father?"

"GO!"

--

Itachi awoke the next morning with one thing in mind.

Prison was not fun.

He was kept in a very small cell, with a small lumpy bed in one corner, a sink and a toilet in the other. Two ANBU guards stood by the wall outside of his cell, each standing stone still. Their arms were crossed against their chest, and they stared straight ahead. It was impossible to detect any trace of movement, and no matter how hard Itachi looked, he could not see their chests rising and falling with each breath they took. He began to wonder if the guards were real or not. Of course, Itachi could easily figure that out with his sharingan, but it would probably be a bad idea to activate such a powerful kekkei genkai in a prison cell. Itachi sat on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, staring fixedly at the floor.

Why did Meri have him arrested? From Itachi's point of view, there was only one logical answer. The kiss. He had never regretted anything more than he did that, if he hadn't kissed her, none of this would have happened…but did she truly hate him enough to go home and tell her father to have him arrested, just for kissing her? No, Meri wasn't like that. Perhaps this wasn't Meri's fault at all.

Itachi looked up when he heard footsteps approaching his cell. The first thought he had was that it was somebody passing by – or it could have been Meri! Itachi stood up and made his way over towards the bars of the cell.

Suddenly, a figure appeared.

"Yo."

Itachi strained his eyes in the dim light to see who it was. Finally, they focused on a familiar face.

"Shisui!" Itachi yelped. "What…what are you doing here?"

Shisui chuckled.

"What, a guy can't visit his best friend in jail?"

A ghost of a smile passed over Itachi's face.

"Sorry, then."

"Nah, no problem." Shisui disregarded Itachi's apology with a noncommittal shrug. "So…rumor has it you got arrested for knocking up that one rich guy's daughter."

"WHAT?!"

"Just a rumor, just a rumor." Shisui assured him. "So…she's not pregnant?"

"NO!"

"Okay...did you rape her?"

"NO!"

"Any sex?"

Itachi glared at him, and Shisui shrugged.

"I'll take that as a no, then."

Shisui was not your normal Uchiha. He appeared calm, cool, and collected in the company of others, but when he was around trusted friends and family, he relaxed a bit, not ashamed or embarrassed to speak his mind. Itachi was one of the few people alive that knew Shisui Uchiha was actually a pervert.

"But if you're ever gonna get in jail again for girl-related trouble," Shisui began once more. "It had better be sex. Because trust me, it's worth prison."

Itachi stared at him.

"Well, it is!" Shisui insisted. Itachi closed his eyes and shook his head.

"So, if it wasn't sex – which it should have been – and it wasn't pregnancy, then why the hell are you in here?"

"I..kissed…her."

Shisui gaped at him.

"You kissed a girl and this is what you get? Damn, what's wrong with people these days? A world without kissing girls is like…like a world without air!"

It was then that Itachi truly began to ponder what he was smoking when he actually befriended Shisui, What in hell was he thinking, looking up to this pervert? And then, he decided to voice his thoughts.

"You know, Shisui." began Itachi in an annoyed tone. "Sometimes I wonder—"

But his sentence fell short as the two Uchihas heard the sound of approaching footsteps. They were rapid and grew ever closer by the millisecond. Itachi barely had a moment to register what he was hearing when all of a sudden his vision flashed light brown, and an arm shot through the bars and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him forward against the cool metal rods in an attempted hug. One glance down at the newcomer and Itachi knew it was Meri. He reached his arm through one of the gaps between the bars and wrapped it around her shoulders in response, but then remembered the ANBU members standing nearby, and patted her on the back. Meri still clung to him as though her life depended on it.

"This the girl?" mouthed Shisui. Itachi nodded, and the older Uchiha flashed Itachi the thumbs up, grinning suggestively as he turned to leave.

Finally Meri relinquished her hold on Itachi, stepping back and examining him with teary eyes.

"I am so sorry." she whispered. "Father forced it out of me, and I couldn't lie to him or else…Itachi…I didn't mean for this to happen! They can't do it, it's illegal! I've talked to the Hokae and it's ILLEGAL, ITACHI! I can't believe they're going to try to…I've talked to father and I didn't know what else to do so I..and…the…father…ILLEGAL, and—"

"Meri, not to be rude, but shut up." Itachi cut in. Meri did just that.

"Now, take a deep breath and explain to me what you're trying to say." he instructed. Meri closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose, exhaling even more deeply from her mouth before she opened her eyes and whimpered,

"They're going to kill you."

Somehow, Itachi was not surprised.

"Why?" was his calm answer.

"I…I told father that I loved you," she admitted, too worried to blush, "And he said he'd execute you. But I ran away and went to the Hokage, he's coming down here now, there's no way they can execute you!" she cried. "They can't!"

"Meri, calm down, I know." said Itachi soothingly. Meri whimpered again, like some sort of wounded dog, her eyes sparkling with tears. She moved over towards the bars and leaned on them. Itachi walked forward and brought his arms through the gaps and wrapped them around Meri's shoulders, holding her as close as the iron-rods would allow.

He didn't care that two ANBU guards were standing right there. He didn't care that the Hokage would be coming any minute now. He wouldn't even care if his father or Meri's father walked in on the two of them. She had admitted that she really truly did love him, and that was all that mattered. Itachi's brain no longer buzzed with the thoughts that Meri was just playing with him – she loved him, she said it, and he knew that she meant it. Life was bliss.

(A/N: -commits suicide- I HATE THE WORD BLISS!)

Itachi pulled apart slightly, looking down at Meri as he continued to hold her. Bringing up his right hand, he brushed a strand of hair out of her face, and cupped her cheek. He lowered his head and again their lips met. They kissed for what seemed to be years, Itachi brought his other hand up to the back of Meri's neck, and she reached up and draped her arms over his shoulders. It was the most intense and passionate kiss either of them had experienced. That one gesture of affection said every word not yet been spoken, words of longing and apology, all understood as their lips pressed together harder still.

But something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. This moment, this kiss was what Itachi had been waiting for. His heart was supposed to flutter and his stomach was supposed to flip over in glee. And yet, neither happened. Every impulse, every nerve in Itachi's brain told him to pull away, break the kiss as soon as possible. Something in this picture was wrong. What it was, Itachi had no idea. But he had to pull away…he just had to…

Before Itachi could do anything more, the Hokage cleared his throat to announce his presence to the two. Meri let out a soft scream and jumped back away from Itachi about three feet, whereas Itachi let his arms fall to his sides as he stared politely at the Hokage's weary expression.

"Itachi." he said, nodding a greeting to the prisoner. "Miss Umeko." he nodded to Meri as well. He eyed the two for a moment, before clearing his throat and beginning to speak.

"Itachi, I deeply apologize for all of the trouble Lord Kasumaru has put you through. Believe me, I would never in a million years allow somebody to be imprisoned and assassinated for such minor offenses."

The Hokage nodded to one of the ANBU guards, who moved forward and performed a handsign. The door of the cell swung open on creaky hinges. Itachi stepped out.

"I will be talking to Lord Kasumaru about these previous events." the Hokage continued. "On no circumstances is he allowed to arrest without permission of the Hokage or one of the council first. As for you, all of this criminal history will be cleared from your record, and you are free to leave whenever you wish. No harm done."

Itachi exhaled silently and bowed gratefully to the Hokage.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage nodded once more. Then, he beckoned Itachi over and held a cupped hand up to his mouth, as if about to whisper something. Itachi moved over, and the Hokage hissed in his ear,

"Though, do try to be a bit more careful. Lord Kasumaru can be a bit over protective. He wishes that his daughter will marry into a rich family. If you're going to become involved with his daughter, try to keep it private, for both of your safety."

"Thank you, sir."

--

Itachi was blinded immediately as he and Meri stepped outside, the sun flashed violently in his eyes, a dramatic change in lighting in contrast to the dim cell. He squinted and held a hand over his eyes, and to his left, Meri did the same. Neither wanted to return home quite yet, so the two made their way to the base of a tall elm tree, sitting down in its shadows.

"I suppose we'll need to go home soon." remarked Itachi after a long period of silence in which the pair stared up at the fluffy white clouds rolling through the baby blue sky. It was another perfect day, but both of them were too shaken to appreciate it.

"I'd rather not." Meri admitted shakily. "Father didn't know I was here…I mean, he could just assume that the Hokage found out…"

Itachi could tell how terrified Meri was of her father just by that last sentence. Her voice had grown softer and colder, her face went pale and her hands twitched once or twice. Itachi could only begin to imagine how terrifying Kasumaru really was.

"Also…" Meri whispered, but she trailed off. Itachi turned his head to look at her.

"Also?"

Meri gulped and sighed, before turning to Itachi.

"Father wants me married as quickly as possible."

Clearley, these words did not have the impact on Itachi that Meri thought they would. He continued to stare.

Meri was clearly angry. She stood up, arms crossed, and faced Itachi.

"Either you don't care about me anymore, or you're not the genius everyone says you are. Don't you know what I just said?"

At this last statement, Itachi was shocked.

"Care about you?" he asked. "I never once said I cared about you."

The last sentence was true, of course, but it didn't mean Itachi didn't have feelings. He may have been a great ninja, talented, smart, cunning, swift. But when it came to women, he was as clueless as any other male.

Meri gaped at him, looking horrified and hurt all at once.

"You kissed me!" she exclaimed. "Twice! Doesn't that mean anything? Don't you love me?"

Itachi was now on his feet as well, though again, Meri's words shocked him and he felt his knees shake.

Do I love her?

The question hung in the air around the supposed couple. Yes, they had kissed twice. Yes, Itachi had feelings for Meri. Yes, he would do anything to protect her. But love? He did, he most certainly did!

…didn't he?

"I…I don't…I don't know." he stammered.

Meri's gaping expression faded, her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed together.

"Oh."

A pause.

"Alright then." Meri exhaled, before turning and walking silently away.