A/N: Happy New Year everybody! I know it's been a while, as usual. I still don't know when I"m going to be able to reach a steady update schedule and I'm sorry for that. I really appreciate everyone's continued patience with me as I continue to work on this project. I really appreciate everyone's well wishes and I hope everyone is staying safe! (I know this chapter is shorter, sorry. I'm trying to be better about not having so many page breaks and POV shifts. I think it might make the chapters easier to read, let me know if that works)

Oh! And for somebody who asked: In my mind, I have Itachi as 27 and Sakura at 22. I find it easier to write adults than teenagers. Hope that helps!

Chapter 8

*ANBU Headquarters*

The paperwork stacked in front of Itachi was no different than any other day he caught up on reports, but today it was irksome. His concentration was suffering, the cramped writing of the report wavering before his eyes. Still, he had to force himself not to cut his day short, not to neglect the paperwork and seek her out. He wasn't able to watch her as closely as he wanted last night, following her with the help of a crow summons as his little brother walked Sakura to her door. What was his brother thinking? He'd never shown an interest in Sakura before. In fact, the only times Sasuke ever mentioned her were never by name, only "the pink haired-" followed by whatever insult of choice the younger Uchiha favored that week. This sudden concern for Sakura's welfare was out of character.

Itachi resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose where a headache was starting to form. In the end, gaining his mother's support for his choice of bride was worth it. She would help Sakura settle into her new circumstances and be a crucial ally against the Elders. Not that he was worried, but any situation he could resolve without bloodshed was preferable.

He glanced at the window, despite knowing that he couldn't see her apartment from here. Was she awake? How did she sleep? Was she warm enough? The chill in the air last night was worrying. What if she grew ill? Her system was compromised enough. She wouldn't be able to take it.

Unable to follow her home, he'd entered her dreams again.

Chased her through the forest of the Uchiha training ground. Her sharp tone of voice covering the thread of unease as she realized she had no chakra. She fit perfectly in his arms as he carried her, the top of her head, tucked just under his chin. Lifting one hand, he rubbed at the spot on his chest where she'd sunk her teeth. He wanted to feel her teeth in his flesh, her nails scoring his back. He wanted to wear her marks and leave kiss marks on her smooth, creamy throat.

She ate everything he pushed at her last night, to no small satisfaction on his part, so he still didn't know what she liked other than tempura and umeboshi. He signed a report with more force than was strictly necessary. Despite her nerves from Sasuke's warning, her stance when walking with his little brother was much more relaxed than when she accompanied Itachi. Her expressions were more animated as she teased him, rather than the stiff politeness or barely concealed temper she showed the clan heir.

Did she still prefer Sasuke?

Itachi loved his brother, but he had to admit that he played a role in spoiling Sasuke. As a child, Sasuke wanted whatever his brother had: toys, snacks, weapons, and later missions and recognition. He'd followed Itachi around like a surly duckling until he started taking missions of his own, then he felt he was "too cool" for outright stalking, though he always came to his brother for advice. Truthfully, it never bothered Itachi. Or rather, he preferred seeing his brother happy and it never seemed worth the argument to deny Sasuke anything he wanted.

This was different.

Sakura needed Itachi. She needed someone to take care of her, encourage her strengths and absorb her weaknesses.

'Are you sure you aren't the one that needs her?'

Itachi ignored the inner voice, which sounded more and more like Shisui with each passing day. Of course Itachi needed Sakura. He needed to take care of his blossom as much as she needed him to care for her. He needed to ensure she rested. He needed to see her face fill back out, watch her lose that hollowness in her cheeks. He wanted to watch the dark circles under her eyes disappear. He wanted her glowing with health and happiness. He needed to see her smile when he returned from a long mission. To hold her at night while she nestled into him. To know that while he did terrible things for the village he loved, there was at least one thing he was able to nurture.

He needed her.

Staring at the stack of reports before him, all he could see were her deep green eyes. Did they widen, narrow, or close when she came? Would her tiny, blunt fingers dig into his hair or his back as he drove her beyond sanity? When she wasn't riled with temper, her voice was soft and pleasing. He wanted to make her hoarse, rip scream after scream from her throat. Shrieks of pleasure, her begging for release and pleading for more.

He wanted his name to be the only word she knew.

She didn't even look real, like a nymph from a fairy tale with her delicate coloring and smooth porcelain skin. He wanted to touch it, touch her. Trail fingers over her slender curves, test the weight of her breasts and taste her bud like nipples.

He struggled to focus on the papers before him. He could see her spread out on his desk, her hips bucking wantonly against his every thrust, her soft hands sliding over his chest, trying to wrap around his neck, pulling his hair and whimpering against his throat.

Better yet, he wanted her straddling his lap, her hands bound behind her, allowing him unfettered access to her breasts and the sweet slickness between her legs. His fingers digging into her pale round globes of her ass as he jerked her back and forth on his cock. He wanted to feel her throat between his teeth as she begged and whimpered and panted.

Shoving his paperwork away from him in disgust, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. It was almost too easy to slip into a fantasy.

Her knocks were light, but not hesitant. She peeked first, her pastel pink hair swishing as she checked to see if he was alone. He didn't bother stopping the smile that jumped to his lips, in response to her bright grin. He pushed back from his chair as she crossed the room, before he pulled her into his lap. His arms wrapped around her waist, keeping her in place, while she stroked his ponytail. "What brings you here so early?"

She pulled the tail of his hair over his shoulder to continue running her fingers through it. "I had a few reports to drop off with Shishou, so I was in the neighborhood."

She cast a sympathetic look at the stacks of reports on his desk. "Hope I didn't interrupt."

He pulled her closer until she was flush against his side. "Never."

As if summoned by his desire, Itachi sat up as a familiar chakra signature closed in on his office. The door knob jiggled for a split second, as if she were going to jerk the door open and then changed her mind, followed by a staccato knock.

"Come in."

Itachi had stared down S-class missing nin, literally, without a single nerve. He was a level headed strategist and a cool, distant operative. None of this mattered, as his heart rate increased to a thud in his chest as a familiar pinkette stepped into his office. She was wearing civilian clothes. Her long legs emphasized in dark green pants while her oversized shirt showed off her delicate collarbones.

"Haruno."

"Uchiha-san." She paused and took a breath, licking her lips. Itachi had to consciously prevent his Sharingan from activating to memorize the motion. "I need to talk to you."

Her eyes flickered to the neat yet sizeable stacks of reports on his desk and swallowed before continuing in a slightly more modulated tone. "If I'm not interrupting you."

Dedicated as he was, Itachi would light his entire office on fire to ensure that he remained the recipient of Sakura's sole attention for as long as possible. "You aren't."

He gestured to the chair across from his desk. Fantasies aside, she wouldn't cuddle on his lap. Yet. "Sit."

"Why have you been spending time with me?" Ignoring his offer of a chair, she barreled straight into her first question with all the subtlety of her fighting style. She'd apparently believed his brother's tales of stalking and mysterious intentions and had come to investigate. He eyed the stubborn set of her jaw, flashing green eyes, and braced stance. So tiny, and yet so determined to meet him out right. Adorable.

"You're finding me outside the hospital, lecturing me on chakra exhaustion, walking me home, then inviting me to dinner and then having a summons follow me home!" She laid out his transgressions rapidly, listing them off on her slender fingers.

She looked somewhat better today, her complexion smoother, lips weren't quite as chapped. He still didn't like the dark circles under her eyes though and her cheeks lacked color. She crossed her arms over her modest chest, he could see the outline of her white bra against the thin white shirt and wanted to drape his cargo vest over her to prevent anyone else from seeing it. Better than his cargo vest would be his own clan shirt with his family crest prominent on the back.

"I want an explanation."

Her blossom-tinted brows were furrowed in suspicion. He could see her eyes were slightly red rimmed, her mouth set in an uncompromising line.

What had happened?

Itachi stood with a slight sigh and stepped around his desk, noticing how she tensed. It bothered him; he wanted to brush his lips over her forehead, then the tip of her nose, and tuck her head under his chin until she completely relaxed. There was nowhere safer for her than in his arms. She needed to understand that. "Haruno. Do you know the most important part of negotiation?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not negotiating."

"It's give and take," he continued as though she hadn't spoken. "If you would like answers to your questions, I require the same courtesy to mine."

"Quid pro quo?"

He nodded and suppressed the twitched of his lips at her clenched fists, as if she were imagining wrapping them around his throat.

"Alright, fine. Go on then. What do you want to know?"

He noticed that she was staring between his eyes, at his forehead, not into his own eyes. Either Kakashi or Sasuke taught her that, it was a technique against genjutsu. Was she afraid of him? Or was it instinct? "Have you eaten?"

"What is your obsession with feeding me? You were even pushing plates at me last night!"

Itachi shrugged. "I wasn't sure what you liked."

"That's not an answer!"

Her skin was flushed translucent crimson under the skin stretched over her cheekbones. She was furious.

Itachi pondered for a moment on how to approach the situation. He glanced at the clock on the wall, then back at the papers on his desk. He could work later tonight. "Join me for lunch and I will answer your questions."

She instantly opened her mouth to object, probably followed by some unprofessional explicative. She caught herself however, teeth clamping on her delicate lips in an attempt to contain her temper. She understood his game. She would get nowhere if she didn't play along.

She stomped to the door before yanking it open to the point it nearly broke off the jam. "Well, come on then!"

Itachi watched the slight bounce of her short hair as she strode off without him, headed towards the town shops. There was more energy to her stride than the last time he watched her stalk off outside the hospital, but her reserves were still low. Her shoulder bones were birdlike under her thin shirt. She needed to eat something. Itachi had a sickening suspicion that the meals he'd seen her eat personally were the only nutrition she was consuming.

As they passed the shinobi supply store, there was a slight hesitation in her footsteps. Soldier pills were sold behind the counter. Nowhere near S-Booster strength, but dangerous to her already compromised system. Itachi stepped forward until they were side by side with him blocking her line of sight into the store. "Here."

She stiffened slightly as he pressed his palm to the small of her back, and he wanted to believe it was out of awareness rather than discomfort, but steered her towards the street corner. Yuzu was small, but slightly upscale, nestled where the civilian and ninja shops intersected and popular with both.

She took her seat without letting Itachi pull out her chair and picked up the menu, deliberately ignoring him. He ordered a pot of tea and met her glare over the rim of his menu.

"Okay, I'm here. Now talk." Her elbows perched on the table, bracing herself for an argument.

Itachi ignored her rude tone, and watched her with the placid expression of a shinobi well versed in interrogation techniques. "Do you like oyakodon? Their stock is well seasoned."

Sakura blinked and her stomach growled in response. It actually sounded delicious. Chicken and egg, sliced scallion simmered together with an assortment of other ingredients in broth and served over rice. Hot and filling, but not hard on her stomach, but she wasn't telling him that. Her arms slumped off the table awkwardly.

The waiter sat their teapot and cups in front of them, and Itachi ordered oyakodon for both of them. Sakura sat there in glowering silence but she couldn't really complain, it was bad manners when it was someone else's treat. This better damn we be his treat; she didn't have her wallet.

Itachi took a sip of his tea. "What did my brother tell you?"

Sakura's eyes flickered away from his face to settle on a loose thread in the tablecloth. "He said that you never did anything without a reason." She took a sip of her own tea before narrowing defiant green eyes."Look, I don't know what you're up to, or what game you're playing, but it stops here."

"What game are we playing?" There were games he wanted to play with her, but never with her feelings.

She put down her cup in a manner reminiscent of the Hokage trying not to shatter her sake dish in a fit of temper. A muscle jumped in her jaw. "Why did you invite me for dinner?"

"My mother asked after you."

"No, I mean why did you ask me? Why didn't Sasuke?"

Itachi felt an unpleasant tightening in his chest. "Did you want Sasuke to ask you?"

"No, I-" she sat back and blew out a breath, taking a quick look around the cafe before leaning forward across the table, her voice quieting into a hushed hiss. "Look. What is this?"

She gestured at the table between them. Itachi raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond.

"There is no reason for you to suddenly spend time with me, and Sasuke is convinced you are up to something...weird. Nefarious. So, what are you doing?"

"Surely, you don't expect me to reveal my 'nefarious purpose' so easily?" He could see Sakura's blood vessel twitch on her temple in pure frustration before the waiter returned, setting down two bowls. "Eat."

His lips twitched as she mumbled something about him not telling her what to do and picked up her own spoon. She made a soft sound in the back of her throat, an appreciative hum as she took a heaping spoonful. Itachi didn't think she was aware of making the sound, but also wanted to coax her into making it again with his tongue on her flesh.

She ate quietly, not the small, carefully delicate bites from last night, but the mechanical desperation was gone from her movements. She seemed more in control, consuming half her bowl before taking a break to sip at her tea. She was watching him over the rim of her tea cup. Itachi pretended not to notice, instead focusing on her slender fingers, the birdlike bone of her wrist. She was still too thin.

Carefully picking an umeboshi garnish from his own bowl, Itachi held eye contact with Sakura as he placed it in hers. "Here."

She set her cup back down and looked at the pickled plum as though it were his accomplice in aggravating her. "Why did you do that?"

"They are your favorite, are they not?"

She set her spoon down with a clatter. "This is what I'm talking about! Why do you know that?"

Itachi took a sip from his own teacup. "I find you interesting."

"Because I'm the Hokage's apprentice?"

"Is that what Sasuke told you?"

"It makes sense." Her shoulders were taut, defensive. She was staring at his forehead again. He wanted to rub the knuckles of her fisted hand on the table.

"It does, but you're both incorrect."

A breath huffed between her teeth, almost a growl. "Then what-"

His eyes darted down to her half finished meal. "Finish your lunch first-"

"-Don't treat me like a child!"

"I consider you many things, Sakura, but never a child." The pout on her face was adorable. He was reminded of her dream, carrying her as a sulking bundle in his arms.

She huffed and gripped the edge of the table like she either wanted to flip it or shove back and leave, but he watched as her jaw tightened while her fingers slowly loosened and she picked back up her spoon. Her eyes were still bright with aggravation as they glanced around the room for eavesdroppers. "Dammit. Fine."

"I would like to ask my question now." Itachi pushed his own bowl away, preferring to hold his teacup and watch her.

"You are out of your mind if you think I'm telling you a thing before I get answers." She bit out each word, staring into her nearly empty bowl.

He remained impassive. "I assure you, mine is much simpler than yours. Indulge me?"

She glowered at him for a long minute before her shoulders dropped ever so slightly. "What?"

"Do you like sweets?"

Clearly, not what she expected him to ask. "What?"

Itachi bit back a grin. "Sweets. I know you like umeboshi, but do you like sweet things?"

She blinked at him, her gaze dropping to his mouth for a moment as his lips twitched in amusement. There was a flash of curiosity in her face that she quickly covered up with another scowl. "Yeah, I do. Why?"

"There is a shop near here that makes excellent dango. Would you like dessert?"

She actually gaped at him for a moment, opening and closing her mouth. Her pink brows rose, then furrowed as though she couldn't decide what expression to make. "You-I'm not-"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "No. I don't want to eat dango with you. I want you to tell me what you want and leave me alone."

"No."

If he left her alone, she would die, collapse under her self imposed stress and serve as a cautionary tale against soldier pills instead of her accomplishments as a civilian born kunoichi. She needed to heal and progress with a strong clan backing. His clan. Him. She had attracted his attention and he would keep her. Keep her safe, keep her healthy, keep her happy. Just keep her. Anything else was not an option. His clan. Anything else was not an option.

It was time she understood that.