Naruto – As the Heavens Cried

A/N: Hello everyone. Sorry to the long delay since the last posting, school ended up being SUPER busy at the end of the semester and the time just wasn't available to write. I also had the joy of losing my normal laptop (stupid HP computers with weak ass power cords…) and so I couldn't actually get to anything. Never fear, everything has been fixed since then so we should be good to go from now on.

I plan to post a new chapter for This Unplanned Life by Friday as well, so keep your eye on that.

As the Heavens Cried

House of the Rising Sun

"Just where are we going, again?" Tilting her head in inquiry, Sakura shifted in her car seat so that she was angled to face Itachi who was driving the car. She had already asked the question, twice, since she had come home from work to find Itachi waiting for her in her living room. She had just given her boyfriend of nine months a quick kiss before he asked her to change out of her hospital scrubs so he could show her something.

Her first inquiry was met with nothing more than quirk of the eyebrow from Itachi as Sakura went to change into her normal outfit of black pants and sleeveless red qipao top. She knew no amount of questioning would get her answers when Itachi wanted to keep something secret, probably why he was one of the best detectives on the force in Konoha. Her silence had only lasted until she realized they were taking his car somewhere, meaning they weren't even staying inside the Konoha city limits. That time her question had brought out a small smirk from Itachi as he pinned her against the car, bending down until their lips almost touched.

"It's a surprise," was all he said before opening the car door and ushering in a somewhat flustered Sakura. She had stayed silent until they had passed the city limits and she recognized the edge of the Nara forest that bordered part of Konoha.

"We're almost there," Itachi said now in reply and Sakura huffed out an irritated breath as she directed her gaze back outside the car. Some of her frustration at his behavior eased when she felt his free hand reach out and take hers, his thumbs brushing over her knuckles in one of his normal signs of affection and causing her to smile in response.

Sooner than she expected they pulled into a private drive that led to a house where Itachi parked. Blinking up at the house in curiosity, Sakura had to admit she was impressed by its size before turning back to Itachi.

"Are we visiting someone?" she asked and Itachi shook his head as he got out of the car. Doing the same, Sakura joined him at the front of the car as she frowned in confusion. "What are we doing here then?"

"I got a call from the realtor," Itachi finally explained. "It was just put on the market a few days ago."

"You could have just said you wanted me to look at a house with you," Sakura grumbled, poking his arm with her finger in irritation. Itachi had been looking to buy a house for nearly a month and Sakura had looked at a couple of them with him when her schedule allowed it. "Is your realtor meeting us here?"

Shaking his head, Itachi pulled out another set of keys from his pants before explaining, "He had another appointment, so he provided the keys."

"Lucky everyone seems to trust you," Sakura teased with a smile before glancing around the house again. Trees protected it from all sides and she couldn't hear any traffic in the distance. "Is this next to the Nara land?"

"Yes. It originally belonged to someone in the family," Itachi explained as the two went to the front door where Itachi unlocked it. Kicking off her sandals to prevent tracking in dirt, Sakura glanced at the stairs that led upstairs before heading off to the right as Itachi followed behind her silently.

Her wandering revealed a formal sitting room and dining room on one side of the house, the other holding a spacious office with built in shelves and the kitchen. Stepping into the kitchen, Sakura couldn't help but take in the new appliances, cherry cabinets, and granite counter tops. The kitchen even boasted a small dining alcove that she figured would have nice morning light and merged into a more casual family room.

"Wow," she muttered in appreciation before turning back to Itachi. "This place is loaded."

"They did recent renovations to update most of the appliances, but the house it only five years old as it is," Itachi explained as he stepped in to lean against the counter before motioning past the family room. "There's a laundry room and a garage in the back as well."

"What about upstairs?" Sakura asked as she played with the various drawers and cabinets in the kitchen. She was envious of the space when she thought back to her little apartment kitchen where she barely had enough room for anything.

"A master suite and two more bedrooms."

Chewing on her lip as she turned to face him, Sakura crossed her arms in thought. The house was great and the slightly out of the way location worked for Itachi who liked his privacy. And it was only five minutes from Konoha, so it didn't make his commute very long.

"You don't like it?" Itachi asked and Sakura blinked in surprise before realizing she had been frowning as she stared out one of the windows in thought.

"No, it's great," she assured him before shrugging. "It's just a little large, isn't it? For just one person?"

"I don't plan on being the only person here."

Not sure how to take that, Sakura decided to remain silent. It was true this house was perfect for raising a family in, but it hadn't been something she and Itachi had ever talked about and the thought of some other woman in that role made her sad and angry so she pushed the thoughts aside. She was pulled from her thoughts when she felt Itachi step in front of her, one hand tilting her head up so that she could meet his gaze.

"Itachi?" she asked before he bent down to kiss her. As always when Itachi kissed her, all thoughts that didn't involve him and the way he made her feel flew from her head as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. When he finally pulled back they were both short of breath and Sakura was wishing they were back at her place.

"You haven't seen upstairs yet," Itachi suddenly reminded her and Sakura could gape as he untangled her arms and pulled her to the stairs. By the time they reached the top she was no less confused, especially when Itachi passed by several doors before finally stopping in front of the last one.

"I…but those…" Sakura stuttered and was turning to glance down the hallway when Itachi stopped her.

"This is the master bedroom. I figure you want to see it first," Itachi reasoned and Sakura stared at him before narrowing her eyes in thought. Something was up; she just couldn't figure it out yet. Before she could think about it more, Itachi opened the door and Sakura was ushered inside the room.

"I…oh…oh," she breathed once she saw the room, too stunned to move further from the doorway. The fragrant smells of flowers permeated the air due to the several vases set up around the rooms filled with roses and lavender. The overhead light was dimmed, giving the tone of mood lighting and setting up the bed that took up the back wall perfectly.

Spotting something sitting on the pale covers, Sakura wandered over to the bed before staring down at the small black box resting there. Her hand twitched, wanting to pick up the box, but a mix of fear and surprise kept her still as her heart started to pound in her chest. She could only watch as Itachi leaned past her to grab the box when it became apparent she wasn't going to.

"Sakura."

"Eh…?" she breathed softly, not taking her gaze from the box. When he flipped the lid open to reveal the ring inside her breath caught, staring at the triple diamond engagement ring with wide eyes.

"This place is big enough for a family, a family I want with you," Itachi murmured as he slid the ring onto her finger, brushing his thumb over her knuckles before moving so they were facing each other. Snapping her gaze from the ring to meet his eyes, she saw the confidence he had in that she would say yes and, more importantly, his feelings for her clearly visible in the slate color. "Marry me, Sakura."

"I…yes…. Of course, yes!" she smiled happily, throwing her arms around Itachi and sending them toppling back onto the bed. As they settled on the bed, Sakura giggled as Itachi rolled so her rested on the bed, staring up at him even as she felt tears prick the corner of her eyes in happiness. "I love you, Itachi. I want to marry you."

Getting a smile from Itachi in return, Sakura wove her fingers through his hair to pull his head down so they could kiss. She didn't expect him to return her feelings in words, knowing him well enough to understand how Itachi felt through his actions. For him to take the effort to go through such a setup like this just to propose…

"Wait!" she gasped, breaking their kiss to sit up guiltily and glance around the room as she remembered just where they were. "This is someone else's bed, someone else's house!"

"No, it isn't," Itachi informed her and Sakura looked back over to him. "I bought the house a few days ago and had the bed brought in."

"You what?" she gaped before scowling. "Then, why did you bring me here if you bought it?"

"Because it's going to be our house, remember?" Itachi reminded her, lifting her hand to show her the engagement ring again. Opening her mouth to argue, Sakura snapped it shut when she realized there was no point. Itachi would have known she would love the house and that she would accept the proposal and had executed everything perfectly, like usual. "Also…"

"Also?" Sakura inquired, only to gasp when Itachi pulled her back onto the bed, pinning her in place.

"I figured this would be the best way to christen the bed," he murmured huskily as he went to work on proving how well he had planned everything.

Ending A/N: Hope it was worth the wait. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: No. Nein. Iie…