I wanted to stay away from the obvious "first time having sex" idea because that felt boring to me.
The First Time
(for itasaku week)
There had been a lot of "firsts" in their relationship.
He had been there for those first faltering steps, watching with wide eyes as she staggered across the floor on her own. He had seen her conquer the bicycle, master the somersault. Her first lost tooth and even her first A on a test were all things he had witnessed.
She had seen her fair share of firsts too. His first blue ribbon for a swim meet, for one. His first visit to the emergency room (he had fallen during a ski trip and needed three stitches) she was present for. Their first time on an airplane was together. They sat next to each other, eyes wide with wonder as they stared out the tiny window and watched the city shrink.
His first girlfriend wasn't such a happy memory. His first ex had been a much happier occasion for her.
He saw her cry over a boy for the first time as they sat in his car. He drove them down to the beach even though it was late and they listened to rush of waves crashing over the sand.
His first lie to her was that he would visit when he left for college.
Her first lie to him was that she was in love with her then boyfriend.
The first time they fought, she was a senior in high school and he was a grad student working part-time as a bartender. She caught him smoking outside his house on her way home from late-night rehearsals with the drama club. He told her not to be a pain in the ass and she stalked off in tears.
The first time he saw her kiss anyone was that summer. Leaning out his window with a cigarette, he saw a car pull up next-door. She got out, shirt riding up as she leaned in through the passenger-side window. When she pulled away and gave a little wave, he saw the silhouette of a guy leaning over, beckoning her with a crooked finger. She leaned in again and he saw their shadows spill across the dashboard. Suddenly feeling sick, he flicked his cigarette out the window and watched it sizzle against the sidewalk.
She left for a liberal arts college a few hours away and he understood for the first time what it was to be left behind. She came back for Thanksgiving break two months later with a streak of blonde in her hair and eyes sparkling with wonder. When her family came over for the usual joint dinner, she puttered around the kitchen helping the moms cook while he sat on the sofa watching TV with the dads and his younger brother.
He got his master's degree a year later and it was the first time she wasn't at his graduation ceremony with a bouquet of brightly-colored flowers. An internship in Paris. How proud everyone was, how wonderful she was. They didn't keep in touch and he didn't know she had come home until they ran into each other getting the morning paper.
It was petty that he didn't go to her graduation two years later. He pretended it was because he had moved out of his parents' house. It was really because he didn't want to be there when her latest boyfriend gave her flowers and showered her with adoration. He was an architect, well-bred and intelligent. Her parents loved him and Sakura seemed to too.
The first time Sakura was proposed to, Itachi didn't hear about it until nearly two weeks later. He was staying at his parents' for Christmas and his younger brother brought the news up. It bothered him that he hadn't even been aware that the relationship had been so serious. The architect had asked her to marry him and she had rejected him outright.
The first time Sakura saw Itachi drunk was one frosty February night. He was a freelance writer, working part-time as a piano teacher. She was a young artist just starting to gain popularity. Lugging a heavy bag of equipment, she noticed someone faltering down the sidewalk. Huffing against the cold, she caught up to him.
"Hey, are you alright?" she asked before realizing who it was.
"Oh… it's you," he flatly said.
When had their exchanges become so sharp? So vicious. It stung her but she persisted with a smile.
"Are you heading home now?" inquired Sakura as she fell into step beside him. He grunted, burying the bottom half of his face into his scarf. His breath stank of whiskey and he was suddenly embarrassed to let her smell it. It took a while for him to notice the constant thumping noise that accompanied her steps. Eyeing the heavy bag over her shoulder, he sniffed and then grabbed it from her.
"Where do you live now? I'll walk you," he muttered. At this, her expression softened.
"Down this street, in the tall building with the fire escape," she responded.
"Ah… that's where I live too," he answered. Her eyes widened.
"Really? I just moved in yesterday but I'm still waiting for the rest of my stuff," Sakura said with a sigh.
When they climbed the stairs, she pointed to a door. He pointed to a door right next to it. She laughed and he let out a smile too. For the first time in years, they were next-door neighbors again.
"Thanks for your help. Paint can get seriously heavy," stated Sakura with an air of finality. She turned to take her bag from him and that was when he kissed her for the first time. Sloppy and bitter. Tears brimming in her eyes, she slapped him and ran into her apartment. He stood there, face numb except for the hot patch on his cheek. It occurred to him that it was the first time she had ever hit him.
The first time she visited his apartment, it was with a plate of muffins.
"Apology muffins. Sorry I slapped you," she said. He took a bite out of one. They were still hot and had bits of cranberries and orange. He swallowed it down and began peeling the wrapper off another.
"I'm not sorry I kissed you," he answered around a mouthful of muffin. The steam rose between them as she broke into hers. Her wide eyes watching him through that faint haze was a first too. Cheeks reddening, she didn't say anything and wolfed hers down too.
The first time he entered her apartment, it was with a stranger. He considered knocking but then stopped himself. Instead, he leaned against the door and slapped his open palm against it once.
"Hey, are you naked?" Itachi called. There was a muffled thump and then some rattling as the chain was pulled off. As the door swung open, the movement pulled Itachi inside. Hands on her hips, she tried not to smile at his strangely suave entrance. But then she noticed who was with him and her face changed so much that he couldn't quite describe the shift. But everything about her just kind of softened and he instinctively knew that this wasn't something he wanted to see ever.
"Hi," she breathed out.
"Alright, see you later," Itachi quickly said before anything else could happen. She didn't stop him and that left a strange pain in his side. He saw the guy leaving early in the morning as he hung out the window to smoke and it took a lot of effort not to drop his hot cigarette on top of his head as he passed on the sidewalk below.
The first time they drank together, she barged into his apartment with an enormous bottle of wine. Fuming and in her sweatpants, she slammed the wine down on his dining room table.
"He said that he thought I was going to be a 'fun girl'. What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she demanded without greeting him. He looked up from his laptop and peered at her through his glasses.
"That you were going to be easy. Is that a Pinot noir?" he drawled. Feet up on his desk and computer in his lap, he watched her rummage around in his kitchen drawers for a corkscrew.
"I bought this stupid thing because I was going to cook him a romantic dinner tomorrow. Screw it. We're drinking this all tonight," Sakura seethed. Ripping the cork out, she grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and filled them up. With a sigh, Itachi lowered his feet and closed his laptop. He walked over to her, noting that the back of her neck was red too. He accepted the cup and clinked it against hers.
"Nothing says classy like wine in a mug. I should've dropped my cig on his head when I had a chance," said Itachi, in an accommodating mood. They drank heavily, Sakura cried a little, and then they ended up watching a French movie with such an awful plot and even worse characters that they fell asleep still giggling and snorting before the ending credits could roll up. Her head in his lap, his feet up on the coffee table, they slept the way that had when they had been children. The huge, empty bottle went up on a shelf in his apartment as a testament to their amazing feat that night.
"Anyone else would drink that much wine in one night and get sent to the hospital," he pointed out over breakfast the next day. It was his first time cooking breakfast with her. She put hot sauce on her scrambled eggs, he noticed.
"Not me. I've got my Daddy's liver," she responded proudly as she patted her stomach. He put cinnamon in his coffee and she wondered why she hadn't ever thought to do that.
"Are you working today?" asked Sakura.
"I'm giving lessons today. You?" he answered while slathering his toast with jelly. Sakura's face lit up.
"I managed to get an exhibition set up for tonight. Can you make it? I've been meaning to ask you," she said. She rummaged in her purse until she found a light purple envelope with his name written on the front in slanting cursive. He smirked into his coffee.
"What? Giving me your ex's invitation? Isn't that tacky?" he jabbed. It was surprising when she didn't flare up with a burst of anger like she usually did.
"I'll have you know, jackass, that this is yours. I wasn't going to invite him anyway. He always said he didn't get my work," she bit back with an equally condescending smirk. Itachi frowned as he set his mug down.
"That's probably because he was an uncultured swine. I'll try to make it. Do I need to bring you flowers or some shit?" he inquired with a sigh. She laughed at that, which was infinitely better than her scowling.
"Don't be gross," was her smiling response to his teasing.
He showed up with a bouquet of fragrant white lilacs anyway. Even as she had smacked him on the arm, she had blushed.
"How did you remember I love lilacs?" she asked before burying her nose in the soft blooms. It was the first time he had seen her dressed up like this. In a black lace dress with sheer sleeves and her short hair curling and pinned up, she looked a lot different. But it wasn't a bad sort of different. When she moved her head, her glittering earrings tinkled against each other in a sort of fairytale sound.
He didn't get a chance to reply because she was up on her tiptoes kissing his cheek.
"Oh, what's this? Is this your boyfriend, Sakura?" one of the guests at the gallery asked. Before Sakura could laugh it off, Itachi let out his most arrogant smirk, the one she absolutely hated.
"Sure I am," he quickly said.
Sakura's eyebrows rose. That tone of his voice was what caught her. Light-hearted but not quite joking.
"Sure you are?" she repeated. His hand moved to rest on her waist.
"What? I got you flowers, we've kissed. We even had a date," he answered innocently. Sakura let out an incredulous laugh.
"I don't think drinking three liters of wine counts as a date," she countered.
"Sure it does! As long as there was flirting," the guest interrupted. Itachi nodded.
"There was light flirting and we cuddled on the sofa. I let her use me as a pillow," added Itachi.
"Ooh, guy's scoring major points already, Sakura," the guest commented, sipping on some champagne.
"Is this seriously how you're going to ask me out? We've known each other for 26 years. And this is how it goes down?" she demanded.
"Well, if you want to add drama, I could throw you up against the nearest wall and kiss you senseless but that might ruin your nice paintings," suggested Itachi in a level voice.
"This is actually the dumbest way any man has ever asked me out. What is wrong with you?" she said, even as she began smiling.
"You've pretty much got no choice. You know, mutual first love, that sort of thing? I'm kind of a big deal to you," he answered in a blasé tone. Sakura gaped at him.
"…You're unbelievable," she finally said before walking off, shaking her head.
But when he caught up to her, she couldn't hide the stupid grin on her face.