a/n: Ack, so sorry for forgetting to update last weekend. It completely slipped my mind until someone sent me a reminder on Tumblr, haha. Enjoy this chapter. (:


eleven.

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Perhaps by habit rather than actual discipline, Sakura was an early riser. She was the type of person who, no matter what time she slept, would wake up around seven every morning.

Right now, though, she just couldn't care less. She could just stay asleep forever; the bed was so comfortable, the sheets so silky and smooth, the pillow so soft…

Probably because they weren't hers.

Sakura blinked. Or she thought she did, because her eyes were closed, and could one actually blink when their eyes were closed? This bed wasn't hers. The sheets weren't hers. The pillow wasn't hers.

My god, what am I doing here?

A surge of panic washing over her, Sakura woke up with a start and screamed when her foot touched over something—something soft, something warm—prompting a hoarse "Fuck! What the hell?" from that something, and screamed some more when she saw what—or rather who—it was.

"S-Sasuke! Why are you here?"

"You!" Sasuke was brimming with murderous intent as he put a protective hand over his stomach. "How dare you kick me!"

"But why are you here?"

"This is my room, you tool." Sasuke glared.

"Your room. It's your room." Sakura's eyes widened as she looked around, and then pulled the sheets tighter around her in panic. "What the hell am I doing here?"

"You fell asleep last night when we were talking," he told her flatly, massaging his pained stomach, "I was nice enough to bring you inside."

She looked at him warily, eyes narrowed. "You didn't do anything, did you?"

"Me? To you?" he stared at her incredulously. "You have got to be joking."

"You might have," she insisted, peering at herself below the sheets. Okay. Clothes still all there. She even had her shoes on. Okay, it didn't look like he did anything at all.

"Just how low am I in your eyes, Sakura?"

"Not very low," she decided to say, and then grinned, "After all, you have a nice bed. You should tell me where you bought your furniture."

He rolled his eyes and sat down on the armchair in the corner of his room, studying her for a moment. He wondered why she wasn't completely freaking out because if it was up to him, she would be completely freaking out. He might not be the type to… take advantage of helpless women, but seriously! She was acting way too comfortable around him, perhaps sort of like the way she acted around Tenten, and for some reason, this rather displeased him.

The fact that it did displease him, though, displeased him even more greatly that Sasuke covered his face with a hand and berated himself inwardly.

"I got you some clothes," he said when he noticed her looking at him, gesturing to the bag on the bed.

"Yeah?" Sakura tilted her head and looked at the bag she immediately recognised. "Where from?"

"Tenten."

She raised her eyebrows. "So Tenten knows I spent the night here."

"Well, yes," Sasuke replied, unfolding the newspaper and then looked at her from over it. "Is there any problem with that?"

"Nah," she shrugged. "She already thinks I have a huge crush on you anyway, so she'll probably throw a congratulatory party or something when I get home tonight. It's not a big deal."

He raised his eyebrows but said nothing as she picked up the bag and brought it with her into the bathroom. Twenty minutes later she emerged out, refreshed and ready.

Brushing her hair, she turned to look at him. "Why are you awake so early, anyway?" It was ten, and it was hardly early, but considering that they… danced (or tried to dance) and talked until two AM, it was kind of early. Kind of.

"Ino called this morning," replied Sasuke, "She's flying in today."

Her face brightened. "Really?"

"We're picking her up from the airport later tonight."

A mischievous smirk curved her lips. "We?"

"Until then, I'm going to take you out," Sasuke said, his tone flat and his face deadpan.

She studied him carefully. "On a date?"

"On a date," he clarified, eyes watching her as if challenging her to object.

Sakura, of course, never dreamt to. "Fine," she said, smiling brightly, her eyes dancing in anticipation. "Let's see what Uchiha Sasuke's dates are like, then."

Sasuke was never so pleased to receive another challenge.

xx

Having a best friend, of course, had its perks. Like knowing that someone would always worry about you if something presumably strange happened. Well, that, or tease you.

"Tenten, honestly, nothing happened," Sakura whispered into the phone, covering her face with a hand. She had been trying to convince Tenten that nothing, absolutely nothing, happened between her and Sasuke last night for the last three minutes, but it wasn't working. Maybe because Tenten was giggling so loudly that it clouded whatever judgment Sakura was trying to shoot into her head. "I just fell asleep, okay? That's it!"

"Of course you did." Tenten was laughing from the other end, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "You always fall asleep at a man's room, don't you?"

"Tenten!" Sakura groaned desperately. "I'm going to cut you off, now."

Tenten laughed again, and then abruptly turned serious. "Okay, okay, I understand. Where are you now?"

"In a toilet at a theme park."

"Really?" Tenten sounded amazed. "He took you out on a date to a theme park? Uchiha Sasuke? Really?"

"I had the same reaction," Sakura agreed. She was indeed surprised when Sasuke drove into a theme park. He was, after all, er, Sasuke, and from the looks of it, theme parks didn't seem like his area of expertise. "I wouldn't know, though."

"Well, but you love theme parks!"

"I most certainly do."

"Then isn't that good?" Tenten's voice was teasing.

Sakura glared at her reflection in the mirror because there was no one else to glare at. "Only because I love theme parks, and not because I have a crush on him."

Tenten didn't say anything for a moment, and then asked, "You sure?"

"Yes. No. Maybe."

"You do realise what you just said to me, yes?" When Sakura didn't reply, Tenten simply chuckled. "Well, I gotta go now. I'll see you later, babe. Call me if anything… fun comes up."

"Tenten!" Sakura started to protest, but the connection was off. Taking a deep breath, she looked at herself in the mirror. Okay, whatever this was, she simply didn't expect to find herself in a theme park with Sasuke. It almost felt like a real date. Putting her phone back into her handbag, she stepped out and met Sasuke outside.

"You're late," he frowned when he saw her.

She raised her eyebrows. "For what?"

"The ferry," Sasuke replied, gesturing to the ferry in the distance, "the one that was due to take us to the island."

"We're not spending the day here?"

"In a theme park? Are you serious?" He gave her a look. "I don't do high school dates anymore, Sakura."

"Ah," she smiled, "but we missed the ferry."

"Because of you."

"So we're spending the day here, yes?"

He looked at her grudgingly. "Only until the next ferry comes. In two hours."

"Great!" she clapped her hand triumphantly. "Then let's go on a ride!"

Speechless, Sasuke couldn't say anything as she laughed and pulled him away to queue for the roller coaster.

"You are like a little kid," he accused her as they waited.

"That's nicer than being like a grumpy little kid," she beamed at him. As soon as he realized the implications of her words, he glared at her but she only laughed. "So I gather than you don't usually take your dates out to the theme park."

"I only come here for the ferry," he returned scathingly. "None of them took as long as you did in the toilet."

"Tenten called," Sakura told him, feeling defensive, "And she was… insufferable. So I had to convince her that nothing happened. That took longer than expected when she found out we're in a theme park, because, well, I love theme parks."

"You like thrilling rides."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because, they're, well," she rolled her eyes, "thrilling. Obviously."

He sighed. "I've never met anyone like you."

She laughed. "I've never met anyone like you, either."

Frowning, Sasuke turned to watch the line of people queuing for the roller coaster. He had a feeling that this would take well over fifteen minutes, and he never did like waiting.

"So what's on the island?" Sakura asked in an attempt to distract him from being grumpy.

"An Italian restaurant," Sasuke replied, "Sort of like a rest area. It's supposed to have a really nice view."

"You've never been there before?"

"No," he replied, "but Naruto has."

"And you're following his footsteps."

"No. I pride on originality," he rolled his eyes, "The guy only cares about food, if you haven't noticed."

"He's such a sweet guy, though," Sakura commented lightly. "Does he have any girlfriend?"

"No," Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "Interested?"

She grinned. "Well, I already have my eyes on someone, so it would be unfair to him."

Meeting her eyes, he returned her grin with a smirk of his own. "How very interesting."

Smiling, she replied, "Indeed."

xx

Sakura was utterly confused.

Well, happily confused, though she would rather die than admit it.

She had spent the day taking on all kinds of different rides in the theme park, successfully dragging him with her, much to his chagrin. The roller coaster had taken longer than she thought it would, effectively making them late for the second ferry. Another round of rides and it was suddenly dark and Sasuke insisted that they take the third ferry to the island. As she was, she knew Sasuke deserved some part of the date to make it go the way he wanted it, so she agreed. Clichéd as it might be, they had planned to watch the sunset together—only it didn't happen because it rained, hard, and they were forced to sit inside the nice restaurant on the island to wait until the rain subsided. Now, that was three hours ago, and she was sitting in a really nice Italian restaurant—Sasuke was right, the view was amazing, especially at night—and eating the best meals she had had in a while. They didn't even have to pick up Ino since she arrived earlier than thought and Naruto picked her up.

And now she found herself sitting there, cornered in Sasuke's car in front of her apartment. Her door was opened, but he was standing there, blocking her way out.

Sakura was very, very confused why she found it exciting.

"Admit it."

"Admit what?"

"Admit that I exceeded your expectations of a good date," Sasuke returned cockily. "Admit that you had fun with me."

Her emerald eyes shining, she challenged him, "Oh, did I?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows and stared her down.

"Okay, okay, I'll admit it," she smiled easily, holding up a hand, "I did have fun. That was one of the best dates I've ever been to. You, however, still have Sai to top."

He raised his eyebrows. "Sai. Your ex-boyfriend, Sai. You don't honestly think he's better than me, surely."

"Well, what can I say?" she shrugged, and then chuckled. "Don't be so cocky, Sasuke. After all, you missed one of the most common things they do in dates."

"I didn't miss anything," he grumbled.

"Maybe. Maybe not," she smiled, "Either way, I had more fun than I thought I would, so thank you."

Sasuke studied her face carefully, his eyes burning into hers, and then in one sudden movement, pulled her up to kiss her fully on the lips, so quickly that they shared a breath. When he released her, her eyes were wide and her expression was one of the funniest he had seen yet.

"So," he began, a smirk tugging the corners of his lips, as he caught her right hand.

"So," she repeated, her cheeks slightly pink.

"Did I exceed your expectations?"

Her eyes widened and she hit him with her free hand, blushing to the red of her hair, "Did you do that just to surprise me? My god, Sasuke, the things you do just to—"

Smirking and knowing that she was about to launch into one of her infamous long, mindless rambles, he put a finger on her lips to silent her, "Sakura."

Sakura fell silent immediately as she glared at him.

"Goodnight," Sasuke murmured huskily, stepping backwards to give her way.

"Goodnight," she managed to say, glaring at him for the last time before starting up the steps.

Watching her make her way up to the front door, he had a sudden urge to call her name. "Sakura!"

She turned around so abruptly that she almost slipped. Blushing as she steadied herself, she asked, "What?"

Holding back his laughter, he shook his head. "Nothing."

"If it's nothing then don't call my name!"

"Why, are you so infatuated with me your knees bend every time I call your name?"

"You conceited little—"

Sasuke chuckled, rudely cutting her, and then, in a really, really surprising moment, laughed. Sakura watched in awe as he laughed, fully laughed, and tried to remember the last time he laughed so hard in his presence. She couldn't remember any—probably because he had never laughed so freely in front of her before—so she just stared, half annoyed, half amused, as he laughed.

"Tomorrow, seven PM," he said, "I'll pick you up."

"What—"

"Wear something warm."

She looked at him, about to protest, but a little something tugged her heart and rendered her speechless, so she finally agreed, "Okay."

He smirked at her, all kinds of triumphant, and then turned around and got into his car. Sakura watched as he drove out of the driveway and finally disappeared down the road.

Her arms around herself, she sat down on the steps and let out a heavy, weary sigh, and then hung her head between her hands. She never thought this would happen because… God, Sasuke was such a jerk sometimes and he loved to make fun of her and often went out his way to do things just to see her embarrassed and he was rude and he was mean to many people and he was such a cocky bastard that he dared to think that she was in love with him—oh, the nerve of him!

But then… but then he made her feel like this, and suddenly she wondered if he was right. That she was maybe—just maybe—kind of sort of a little bit in love with him.

A loud beep from her BlackBerry made Sakura jump. Retrieving it from her handbag, she glanced at the screen—and unknown number—and, for some unexplainable reason, pressed on the green phone button.

"Hello?"

She froze as a singsong voice answered her.

"It's me, Sakura."

xx

Sasuke was, for the lack of a more suitable word, contented.

Quite amazingly, by some kind of magic perhaps, everything went well today. Naruto secured another deal with the Hyuugas, and if their partnership this time was highly successful like the last time, they might even join forces and agree on a full-fledged partnership, which would benefit both him and the Hyuugas largely. Ino came home, and from the sound of it, she might be staying for long this time around. And his date with Sakura…

Sasuke didn't really know what to make of that woman. She called in the middle of the night to tell him to sleep when he was busy working on something else. She visited him every day, sometimes with food and coffee, earning him weird looks from his subordinates. During the start of their relationship, she often made him feel so annoyed that he just honestly wanted to break something. Now, none of her actions bothered him anymore, and this bothered him so much, he also wanted to break something now.

It wasn't that Sasuke hated her. It was far, far, far from that, really. Sakura was nice and she was kind and she understood him like no one else before. It had only been five, almost six, months since they… made that deal, and surely it was too soon to tell what he might feel—or might not feel—for her, right?

The doorbell rang and he got up to open the door. What he didn't expect, however, was Itachi standing in front.

"Little brother."

For a second Sasuke froze, and his eyes darted to the document Itachi was holding—the document detailing the terms of agreement between the Hyuugas and the Uchiha company today, the one Naruto took care of.

"You—" Sasuke looked at him, seething. "Naruto was supposed to take care of that deal."

"He did. I met him on the way up here," Itachi replied smoothly, and then handed the file to Sasuke.

His eyes narrowed although he accepted the file anyway. "Why are you here?"

"I have something to tell you."

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest. "Make it quick. I have no time for someone like you."

"It's about time that I come back, Sasuke," Itachi told him calmly, his face impassive, wasting no minute, "so I will. I'm coming back to take care of the company. I've talked about it with the Uchiha elders, and they have all agreed. I'm starting next week."

"You're kidding me."

"No."

Sasuke wanted to kill the bastard. "What about—what as?"

"I'm just following around for the moment." Itachi's voice was smooth and his eyes betrayed nothing. "If I handle things well, I might get your position."

"You want to be the CEO," Sasuke said, realizing the implications behind his words. "You want the company. You want the company from me."

Itachi looked at him plainly. "It's only natural."

"I will not allow it," Sasuke growled, his fists clenching. "You left when it was in shambles. You left when you were due to do something to keep it from collapsing. You left, you don't care about it at all, and you don't deserve it, you traitor."

Itachi's eyes glinted strangely. "And yet there's nothing you can do about it."

"You don't know what I'm capable of now."

"What are you afraid of, Sasuke?" Itachi asked. "That I'm going to take everything away from you?"

Snapping, Sasuke pulled back his fist and then sent it flying to his brother's face.

"You don't take away everything," he spat, watching as blood trickled down Itachi's mouth, dark red under the moonlight, "You only take away what matters, don't you? It's the only way you can be happy."

"Smart boy." Itachi stood up, the heartbreakingly cruel smirk curving his lips reminded Sasuke so much of himself that it hurt. "It's about time you understand."

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tbc.


a/n: Thanks for reading. :)