Last Time:

Itsuki: He's married, Sakura.

Sakura: I know. I catered at the wedding, remember?

Itsuki: What about his wife?

Sakura: He doesn't love her.

Itsuki: Then why did he marry her if he didn't love her.

Sakura: It's complicated.

Itsuki: I got time. Explain it to me, so it's not complicated.

Sakura: Not now, Itsuki.

Itsuki: Fine, explain it to me on Sunday then when we go to brunch.

Infidelity: Chapter 22 – Brunches and Sundays

Even though she didn't want to, Sakura agreed to brunch with Itsuki. He'd chosen a place in "Mini Downtown" that was a secret hole-in-the-wall restaurant. It was tucked away in the back of alleys, and it was one of those places you'd find while stumbling through the dark and drunk off your ass at two in the morning. And it was twenty-four hours which made it all the better.

"I think it was that night I went out with a couple of guys from our building," Itsuki said as he fixed his coffee. He and Sakura were sitting in the restaurant's nursery garden, and with the skies clear, the sun high, and the temperature right, it was peaceful. "I'm pretty sure Junpei threw up in that flower bed over there."

"Gross," Sakura laughed before taking a sip of her mimosa. "I hate that I missed it, though. I'm sure their late-night menu is perfect for sopping up alcohol."

"I was sober three bites into that bacon cheeseburger," Itsuki laughed. "If you ever decide to come out and party with us again, I'll try and make sure we end up back here."

"I'll hold you to that." Sakura wiped her mouth and pulled some of her hair behind her ear. She took a deep breath and looked across the table at Itsuki, "So, you have questions?"

"Not anymore," Itsuki said.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

Itsuki shook his head, "It's not any of my business. I've never questioned your judgment before, and I'm not going to start now. If you know what you're doing with Uchiha, then you know what you're doing, and it's none of my business."

Sakura smiled a bit, "Itsuki."

"Ah, but, my only question is: are you happy?" wondered Itsuki.

Sakura took a moment to think, but she nodded, "I'm happy."

"Do you love him?" Itsuki wore the expression of a concerned and curious friend, but he wasn't sure if he could take her answer. He hoped and prayed that she'd say no, that this was just two adults having fun, but he wouldn't be able to take it if it was love.

"I don't know," Sakura answered. "Not for sure, at least. Sure, everything just sort of happened naturally, and for a while, we both tried to deny it, but then it just got to the point where neither one of us could do that anymore. I just know that he makes me happy."

Itsuki shrugged, "That's enough for me."

"Honestly," Sakura whined. "I thought you were going to lecture me."

"I thought about it," Itsuki admitted.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "You're the worse."

"But you actually love me," Itsuki reminded her.

"Low," Sakura groaned.

Itsuki laughed, and they continued to do so throughout brunch. Itsuki sat and listened as Sakura talked about school and adjusting to her medical degree program. She was anxious about the shadowing program she'd registered for, where they work alongside medical professionals for six months.

"I'm not sure who I'm hoping to be paired with," Sakura admitted. "They're all so intimidating, and with the school having a partnership with the hospital, I could end up with anybody."

"You'll do fine," Itsuki assured her. "Let me know who you end up being partnered with, though. Then, we'll celebrate – or mourn – depending on who you get."

"Sure, sure." Sakura finished her third mimosa, "Now that I'm thinking about it, it has been a while since I've gone out and partied for a night."

"I know it has been," Itsuki agreed. "Say, I was thinking about this the other night, but I may have a proposition for you."

"Hm? What is it?"

"So, with you being a mistress and all, it's hard for you to go out in public with Uchiha without people being suspicious. How about I pose as your boyfriend, and whenever Uzumaki invites you out somewhere, Uchiha can come along with his wife, pose a front, and everybody's happy."

"That's interesting. However, I doubt Sasuke's going to want to go anywhere with Karin."

Itsuki shrugged, "Then he's a fifth wheel. I know it's probably just safer if no one gets any kind of hint that the two of you are bumping uglies behind closed doors."

"Please, don't say anything like that again," Sakura laughed.

Itsuki laughed, "Sorry, sorry."

"I'll talk to Sasuke about it, though," Sakura told him. "It's a good idea, and I'm sure he'd go for it, but I can't promise anything."

"It's just a suggestion. But, come on, it's still early," Itsuki took out his wallet. "Let's go have some fun somewhere."

"I am not entirely against that," Sakura agreed.

"Of course, you're not." Itsuki paid for their meal and left a hefty tip before heading out with Sakura.

While they were out, Itsuki couldn't help but notice how much lighter Sakura was. Before, she'd always been at least a little bit worried about what homework she had or her work schedule, but she didn't seem to think about either of those things and simply enjoy the moment.

She played arcade games excitedly and won prizes at the crane machine with an adolescent sparkle in her eyes. Though Itsuki knew what attributed to her happiness, he hated that he wasn't the one responsible for it. He wanted to be the reason.

"This is for you," Sakura exclaimed as she held up a medium-sized teddy bear up to Itsuki. "Isn't he cute? He kind of looks like you."

"Did you just call me cute indirectly?" Itsuki asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Here."

"You keep it," Itsuki suggested. "It'll be a reminder of me. But, ah, I just realized something. I've never seen your new apartment."

"You haven't?" Sakura hugged her teddy bear, and Itsuki's heart swelled. "I guess I've been caught up with other things that I haven't had a chance to invite you over yet."

"Can I get invited over now?" Itsuki asked.

Sakura thought about it for a second, but then she nodded, "Sure."

Itsuki silently celebrated. They finished up at the arcade and got into his car. Sakura directed him to her apartment, and Itsuki complimented her new neighborhood. When they pulled into her garage, Sakura gave him her gate code, and he drove up to the seventh floor.

"You're in Central Konoha," Itsuki whistled. "Is he paying the rent for this place? I can only imagine how much it cost."

Sakura nodded as she shifted through her purse, "Yeah. I told him I didn't want a place that was so expensive, but he insisted. After that incident with my dad, he wanted to make sure I was in a safe neighborhood, and it doesn't get any safer than North and Central Konoha."

Itsuki shrugged, "I can't argue with that."

Sakura rolled her eyes and typed in her code on the keypad at the parking garage door, and pulled open the door, "I need to stop dropping my keys into my purse."

"Your gate code and access code are different?" Itsuki asked.

Sakura nodded, "Yeah. This place is kind of ridiculous with their passcodes. In my lease, the passcodes are supposed to change every time you renew your lease; in some cases, the passcode can be changed more often. So Sasuke had me set it where I change my passcode every four months. It's a little annoying, but as I said, he's concerned for my safety."

"That's a bit excessive," Itsuki admitted.

Sakura shrugged, "I think so, too, sometimes, but I get it."

Itsuki took out his phone and pretended to send out a text but typed both passcodes into his phone. When they reached her apartment door, he was relieved to see that the last passcode was the same as the one for her door.

"You don't have a key fob?" Itsuki asked.

"I do, but it's buried in my purse," Sakura confessed. "The passcode is easier. Come in."

Itsuki walked into Sakura's apartment and whistled. He took in the interior and was thoroughly impressed with Sakura's upgrade. Even Sakura's bedroom was bigger than her entire studio apartment back in Lower East Konoha.

"It suits you," Itsuki complimented. "It's kind of big for one person, though. You don't get lonely?"

"Sometimes," Sakura confessed as she put her things down on her bed. "I was so used to the constant noise that was our old neighborhood, but it's so quiet up here. And the walls are thick enough that I don't hear my neighbors on either side of me or even upstairs. It's nice. It's slowly growing on me."

"Is it?" Itsuki asked.

Sakura shrugged, "I was considering a dog."

"Like a little itty-bitty dog that's smaller than the rats in our building?" Itsuki asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "No. Like an actual dog. A big and hefty one."

Itsuki laughed, "I'm sure that dog would weigh more than you if that were the case."

"And that's perfect. The bigger the dog, the cuddlier it'll be," Sakura gushed. Then her phone chimed.

Sasuke: I miss you.

Sakura: I miss you, too. How was lunch?

Sasuke: Terrible. Are you free for dinner tonight? I could use a very anti-climactic evening.

Sakura laughed.

Sakura: Is that even possible for us?

Sasuke: Bad phrasing on my part. I just want a simple evening.

Sakura: I am the Queen of Simple. Leave everything to me.

Sasuke: Not too simple, though. My stomach is sensitive to cheap food.

Sakura: I was wondering where that pretentiousness went. I didn't miss it.

Sasuke: Of course, you did.

Sakura: I'll see you tonight.

Sasuke: I'm looking forward to it.

"That look on your face is telling me I should get going," Itsuki noted.

"Huh?" Sakura looked at him, then scratched her cheek, "Sorry, I zoned out for a second."

Itsuki chuckled, "It's fine. Finish up the tour, and then I'll be out."

"Sure," Sakura agreed, and like Itsuki asked, she finished the tour.

Itsuki didn't really pay attention, though. The only thing he really thought about was how he'd manage to come up with enough money to live in the same building. He had a considerable amount saved up, and living in his current building definitely made it easier to pocket most of his checks. Also, though Sakura didn't know it, Itsuki's family was well off with their private security company. As for Itsuki, he invested a portion of the money given to him by his father into a string of convenience stores that Sakura just happened to work at.

His parents insisted that he move into a safer neighborhood, but once he saw Sakura, he couldn't. He wouldn't. Once the tour was done, Itsuki left the way he came. He took out his phone and sent a text to his father, and before he was even out of the garage, his father agreed to be his cosigner for an apartment in Sakura's building.

"That was easy enough," Itsuki grumbled as he tossed his phone onto his seat. "Mm, I wonder if we provide the security for this building? I'll need to check."

While Itsuki headed home, Sakura went to work on creating a perfectly simple evening. She shifted through her movies and pulled out Sasuke's most comfortable pair of lounge pants and an old hoodie from Konoha City University. She turned the AC down enough to where baggy clothes would be comfortable, and she lit the fireplace as well.

Then she waited.

The hours dragged by, and Sakura didn't get a single text or phone call. She thought to reach out to Naruto, but she knew he was probably buried in final wedding preparations and work. She sent a few texts to Sasuke but didn't get anything in response.

When it finally reached two in the morning, Sakura put the food she ordered away and went to bed.

She didn't hear from him for three days.

To Be Continued…