Okay, I do have a host of reasons for this awfully late update. But no excuses. I hope you guys are still here. *.*

Enjoy! :)

Lee's words stay with her for the next two months.

In the meanwhile, Itachi continues to be a part of her life. They meet regularly, go for coffees, for dinners, have movie nights with Sasuke or sometimes with Hinata and Sai. Sakura enjoys all the moments, even as she keeps thinking about the school days in the back of her mind.

When Sakura's marketing plan for Lee's business works – not as well as they had hoped but still well enough – she celebrates with the rest of them and gets utterly sloshed. Despite the happiness of helping Lee out in a stitch, she realises it is not something she would enjoy on a daily basis. Definitely not something to do for the rest of her life.

One evening when she's lying in bed, Sakura begins to giggle in the dark when a thought suddenly occurs to her. Aunt Guren had been so sure that Itachi would be the one with no direction in life, that Sakura was meant for greater things – that Itachi thought the same – the irony is too bitter on her tongue.

She wonders if this is how her life is meant to be. Having someone to love, for them to love her back, and not having a set career direction whatsoever. She wonders if it's worse to have a partner but no career, or to have a career but no partner to love. How do people manage to get both?

In the back of her mind, she knows that no one is going to think any less of her just because she's unemployed at the moment. Just because she's feeling a little lost. She knows that and still, it's becoming a little harder to wake up every day, to look in the mirror, to wonder what "greater things" she's apparently lost the ability to achieve.

One Tuesday evening, Naruto and Sakura finally sit down to speak about the school.

They have food and beer spread out between themselves on the floor of Sakura's living room. Halfway through it, Naruto looks at her quite expectantly, and Sakura knows it's time.

"So," he begins. "Onoki is still at the school."

Sakura nods slowly. "Yeah? What happened?"

Naruto shrugs. "After you left, me and the other teachers tried to do whatever we could. But Onoki kept firing people for the silliest of things, and we had to stop. We realised we were doing more damage than good."

"Oh. What do plan on doing now?"

Naruto plays with his bottle of beer. "I'm not sure. I still don't like how things are playing out, but I don't understand anymore what can be done. I don't really know the ladder above Onoki, to be honest. Is it him being so terribly old-fashioned or his boss?"

Sakura frowns, confused. "But – Naruto. You can just ask someone in the Admin office. Or speak with Sasuke. He might have some ideas on what can be done in these situations."

Naruto's face clears instantly. "Holy shit. Yes! How did I miss that?"

Sakura secretly wonders why people keep forgetting Sasuke when he's the answer to all problems, including herself. Well, not all problems, but he does seem the go-to guy for their problems at the moment.

"Speaking of …" Sakura trails off meaningfully.

Naruto flushes. "Right – about that. So I broke up with Kiba." He hastily continues when Sakura opens her mouth to express her surprise, "But I'm not getting into anything with Sasuke, either. I'll just experiment a little here and there with people who are not friends with each other."

A startled laugh breaks the tension, and Sakura shakes her head. "If that's what you want."

Naruto shrugs again, rubbing his the back of his neck. "Anyway, what about you? Are you happy after leaving?"

Sakura bites her lip, gathering her thoughts. "I'm not happy. But I don't regret it. And the only reason I'm not happy is because I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do."

Naruto accepts it easily. "Makes sense. Is there anything you thought you wanted to be, like even before college?"

Sakura thinks back to her school days, and tries to keep school-Itachi out of mind as much as possible. Her life had been so entwined around his that it's nearly impossible to separate what she wanted for herself and what she thought he'd like.

A thought comes to her mind and her spoon drops to the floor in surprise.

Naruto watches her with confusion. "Sakura?"

Maybe that was the problem, she thinks. She was so wrapped up in her emotions for Itachi that she forgot herself – what she liked, what she wanted. When she became friends with him, he sucked her into his world of pranks and liberal friends. Sure, she didn't conform, but she spent an awful amount of time deciding what she didn't want to do.

Her first job was purely for quick money, and she believed she loved her teaching job – until she realised it was another answer to what do I not like? She didn't like overbearing mentors and parental figures, she didn't like suffocating in school, and she didn't like being told what to do. It worked out for a bit, and it worked really well. But it always had an expiration date. And the expiration date was the day she would stop giving a fuck about her Aunt Guren.

"Sakura?"

Sakura forces herself to focus on the present. "Sorry – just remembered something. What were you saying?"

Naruto doesn't seem convinced, but he lets it go. "I was just wondering if there was anything in particular you wanted to do before college?"

"Right," Sakura says. "Not really."

Naruto gives an encouraging smile. "That's alright. You'll find out soon enough."

Sakura doesn't entirely believe it but smiles back regardless.

Winter of 2011

They're taking a road trip to the nearby city to shop for their winter dance. The school has decided to make some initiatives after too many parents complained about the lack of engagement activities. Sakura wonders if that will staunch Itachi from breaking school rules all the time, or will it give him more opportunities to do just that.

Shikamaru's driving has not changed even a bit, and Temari and Ino keep up a constant stream of complaints.

"Shut it," Shikamaru snaps one hour into their drive. "I'm not going to go above speed limit. Besides, we're almost there. If you want to engage in reckless driving, drive your own goddamn cars."

Temari and Ino promptly fall into a dramatic sketch about why they don't have their own cars. Itachi is openly laughing by this point and Sakura tries to stifle hers as much as possible.

When they finally reach Ino's suggested shopping mall, it's almost lunchtime. Shikamaru hitches a table for them while the others break apart to get their own food trays.

"Buy me something, too!" Shikamaru calls behind their back.

Sakura goes with Ino to the pizza joint, stomach growling in anticipation. As they place their order, Itachi pops up behind them.

"Hey Cherry, do you want a mocktail with that?"

"I would love it," Ino replies sarcastically.

Itachi ignores her, raising his eyebrows at Sakura. "We can share one."

Sakura agrees and Ino starts to giggle as soon as Itachi leaves to buy the mocktail.

"Oh my god," she chokes out.

"What?"

"Are you guys on a secret date here?" she laughs fondly.

Sakura blushes up a storm. "What? No! Of course not! Why would we be on a date?"

"You're so precious," Ino says instead. She turns around to wink at one of the boys passing by them, making him stumble into his friend.

Ino is still laughing when they join the others at the table. Itachi snags a seat beside her, placing a tall cold glass of minty green beverage between their trays of food.

"Apple green," he informs her silent question. "Looked good."

For some reason, Ino laughs harder across the table. Temari leans in to ask what the deal is, and Shikamaru is rolling his eyes at Itachi.

Sakura has a distinct feeling that she's missing something, but doesn't have the courage to ask what it is. She thanks Itachi, instead, and offers her pizza to him politely. Which ends up with the two of them sharing the whole meal.

Sakura, Temari, and Ino part from Itachi and Shikamaru to visit different shops. Sakura sort of wishes she could join Itachi, too, just to see him trying new outfits. He looks good in black, but better in grey. And red. Maybe dark blue, too. Her favourite T-shirt of his is a plain rich brown; it complements his light tan, as well as fits him really well on the shoulders and the chest, even though he prefers more blacks than other colours.

Temari finds one dress quickly. It's a dark red full-length dress with a fancy neck cut. Ino finds a black one in the next shop, a sequined backless dress that falls to mid-thigh. They are having a hard time finding a good one for Sakura that will be suitable with her unusual pink hair.

Ino keeps insisting to go with black, which is universal on every human being on the planet, while Temari says white will be more "winter-y".

"Snowflakes," she says wisely.

Sakura is starting to get a little frustrated with her own hair. They've tried five shops just for her alone and nothing seems to be good enough for all three of them. Sakura doesn't want to go for black, white, or grey because that's most of her existing wardrobe. She barely has any colours and she was hoping to get a nice variety to pick from at the mall.

Itachi and Shikamaru get done with their shopping and they join the girls with their shopping bags.

"Still not done?" Shikamaru asks exasperatedly.

Temari shrugs casually, informing him that only Sakura's dress is left. Itachi sidles up to her, asking her if she wants to try a different mall.

Sakura shakes her head half in defeat, half in frustration. "I'll just pick something black."

"Are you sure?" Itachi says with slight concern. "I can help you, if you want. I'm not too bad with these things."

"With shopping?"

"With colours."

Sakura considers. What else can she do, really? They've gone through more shops than she would like, they still have some time left before they absolutely need to leave to reach home on time, and maybe Itachi will actually be able to help her out.

The only worry she has is about changing clothes for him to peruse. Something about it makes her feel utterly embarrassed and epically shy. Still – she really wants a nice dress.

Temari, Ino, and Shikamaru decide to go to the cafeteria again for some coffee, claiming that they are excessively tired to continue. Itachi gives them a funny look, but holds his tongue, gesturing Sakura to lead the way.

"Do you have any preferences in style?" Itachi asks her when they're browsing through the racks.

Sakura shrugs, examining a woollen yellow shrug. "Not really. But maybe not too – fancy? I mean, I'm not sure if I can pull it off."

Itachi has been holding up different colours of clothing, and currently he's examining how a dark blue top with a deep cut looks against her. "As long as you're comfortable, it should be fine."

Sakura does try on a few dresses that he suggests. The first time she's in the changing room, she nervously eyes the low cut – which isn't really much, but she isn't used to it – and has half a mind of dumping the whole idea down the drain. But as she observes it in the large mirror, the grey-blue fabric shimmers a little, turning silver, and then she can't wait to try it on.

She steps out of the curtains. Itachi is waiting nearby, holding even more options bundled up in his arms. As soon as he sees her, he straightens up.

"That looks really good on you," he grins happily. "What do you think?"

Sakura tugs at the hem slightly. "I like the colour, but I'm not sure about the style."

"Alright."

It's easier after that. Itachi does pick out unusual shades, but he makes sure to pick styles that she feels more comfortable giving a shot. It takes them a little over an hour, but they manage to find a dress that Sakura is finally content with.

The dress is pale gold, almost to her knees, with a keyhole neck. When they're walking to the cafeteria, Sakura asks what him what he bought.

"Brown," he says. "Chocolate brown, with velvet collar. And a pair of black trousers – my earlier ones are too old now. I was thinking of buying a jacket, too, but I don't want to look too formal."

"Oh," Sakura says dumbly.

That's a pleasant coincidence.

Winter of 2020 – Present Day

On Christmas Eve, Sakura is at the riverside fair with a rather large group. In fact, it's probably the largest group she's gone out with in her life.

It begins with Itachi asking her what her Christmas plans are. It's just the two of them at Itachi's regular Starbucks on a Sunday evening.

Sakura shrugs casually. "I and my friends typically just find some fun activity to do, and then dinner at someone's place. What about you?"

"Same." Then, after a pause, "So – do you want to spend it together?"

Sakura's mouth drops in surprise, the straw between her lips going down sideways. She quickly catches it, collecting her bearings at the same time, and turns back to Itachi.

"Er – you mean – together? Like – together?"

Itachi's eyes widen. "No, no. I mean – like your friends and my friends and Sasuke's friends."

Sakura's heart deflates. She hitches a smile on her face. "Yeah. Sounds great."

So she finds herself squeezed between Hinata and Itachi as they try silly games one after the other. Itachi and Hinata turn out to be quite competitive and Sakura keeps a rally for them. They make a whole deal out of it, betting that the one to lose most games out of ten will be given a dare to accomplish – whatever it may be.

After a while, she begins to get a little bored keeping rally for them, and thinks about joining another part of their very, very large group. But then she sees Sasuke and Naruto doing the same two stalls down from them, with Suigetsu and Temari taking sides. She cranes her neck a little to try and spot Lee, Sai, and the rest of Itachi's friends – but it's nearly impossible in the crowd.

Sakura's attention snaps back when Hinata suddenly does a victory cry.

"You lose!" she yells excitedly in Itachi's face.

He narrows his eyes at her. "We still have two more to go."

Hinata shrugs back, throwing a grin at Sakura. "I've won five out of eight. Even if you win both of them, we'd be at a tie. And I don't think you will."

He narrows his eyes almost to slits. "We'll see."

Hinata wins the next one.

"What should I make you do?" Hinata nearly vibrates, a mischievous smile plastered on her face, rubbing her hands together excitedly.

Itachi sighs in frustration at his loss. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Sakura is trying not to laugh. He looks sad enough already.

Hinata says she'll tell him his dare by the end of the night. Then she announces that she'll go find Lee and Sai, promptly leaving with her handful of winnings.

Sakura sighs in exasperation, turning to Itachi again. He shoves a weird ornamental tree in her hands.

She blinks down at it. It's … a strange tree. "What is this?"

"I don't know," he admits sheepishly. "You can keep it, though. I have this tiny fish and this weird mug that I won. Do you want any of these?"

Sakura eyes both the items. "I'd rather have the fish."

Itachi hands it to her and takes the tree back, muttering he'll give it to Sasuke. He then suggests going on a few rides if she's up for it.

"Maybe we should ask the others, too?"

Itachi peers around. "I don't mind. But I can't see any of them."

Sakura spins to point out Naruto, Sasuke, and – and stops. The four of them have disappeared, too.

"Come on," Itachi insists. "They'll be doing something or the other, anyway. And I'm done with the games."

They head over to the nearest ride. It's the biggest one of the fair – the Ferris wheel. The waiting line is a little long, but they are in no rush. Itachi buys a hot chocolate for each of them and Sakura gratefully warms her hands on her cup.

"Hey," Itachi asks suddenly. "Do you remember that winter dance we had in school?"

Sakura laughs. "Yeah."

Winter of 2011

The winter dance finally arrives on the Friday before their winter break. Sakura convinces her mother to let her get ready at Ino's house. Temari picks her up, being driven by her father, and Ino drags them both to her bedroom immediately upon arrival, slamming the door shut behind them.

"My dad is acting crazy," she tells them, flopping on the bed lazily. "He wants to take a million photos. I told him that we'll be getting dressed and all, and he might probably go to jail for clicking your photos. That made him leave for the time being."

Temari sniggers. Sakura doesn't know how to respond to it. She places her bag on the foot of the bed, feeling awkward and uncomfortable. She's never really done this before and wonders if she's not feminine enough to really enjoy it.

But Temari and Ino merely start discussing different styles of hair, pulling Sakura in the conversation easily.

"I hadn't really thought of it," she admits with alarm.

"Show me your dress again," Ino says. Sakura hands it over. "Do you want to put up your hair? It might look nice."

"Down," Temari counters. "We can do a side-braid."

Ino clicks her fingers. "Perfect. It'll look cute. What do you think, Sakura?"

Sakura nods. "I'll need some help, though."

Ino waves her hand. "Don't worry about it. There are tons of videos online. We can check them out. Also, I was thinking of threading a nice white flower through it."

"Where are you going to get flowers?" Temari asks dryly.

Ino rolls her eyes. "My shop, you idiot. Not just for her – I think we all can do it."

Temari exchanges a look with Sakura and they both shrug back.

Ino's father does click millions of photos. By the time he drives them all to the school, Sakura's cheeks are hurting. She can't complain, though. So far, she has honestly enjoyed not being micro-managed for every little action.

"The boys have already reached," Temari announces when they're two minutes away.

Sakura's heart thuds in her chest. The five of them had never really considered getting dates. Every time they had discussed the dance, it had always been a group date. Sakura remembers feeling a staggering sense of relief at that, because she didn't know what was worse – being asked by a boy she doesn't know, Itachi being asked by someone else, Itachi asking someone else, or Sakura being left alone with the four paired up with each other.

She did think about Itachi asking her, or her asking him, and the fantasy always felt too farfetched either way.

Sure enough, Itachi and Shikamaru are waiting for them in the parking lot. Shikamaru has chosen a pale blue shirt, dark trousers, and a black vest. He looks dashing, in an old-fashioned sort of way. But Sakura can't help feeling the flush on her cheeks when she sees Itachi, in her favourite colour on him, grinning at them.

Before they can do more than greet each other, Ino's father is out of the car with his camera, insisting on group photos. Then he takes Ino's singles with Itachi and Shikamaru each, and then Itachi requests if he can take singles of Itachi with Temari and Sakura, as well. Mr. Yamanaka is only too happy to oblige.

Shikamaru lends each of his arm to Temari and Ino, and Itachi offers his to Sakura. She hooks their elbows happily.

Since it's a new initiative for their school, they haven't still figured out how to pull off dances. Which is alright, Sakura thinks, eyeing the meagre amount of large fake snowflakes hanging limply over their heads, few mistletoes, long tables set on the sides holding an array of red and blue beverages, a dedicated student photographer flashing now and then, and slow music drifting off the speakers.

Despite the futile decorations, the place is packed. Every student of the school seems to have decided to attend the event, dressed up in a variety of clothing from casual denim pants to shimmering golden dresses to hot pink tops to pastel hoodies.

The five of them climb onto the bleachers to get a better look around the gym. Sakura eyes the dancing crowd, and she knows she probably won't be doing any tonight, but it still gives her an immense sense of belonging. She's only heard about these high school experiences before, never thought she'll be part of one.

"Where's Sasuke?" Sakura asks curiously, having to talk loudly over the music.

Itachi leans down to hear her better. "Suigetsu and him are on a date. He has given me strict instructions not to bother him tonight."

Sakura rolls her eyes. Itachi doesn't seem offended in the slightest. On the contrary, he looks as though he wants to find Sasuke and take compromising pictures of them for future blackmailing.

Soon, Ino suggests it's time they join the dance. Sakura's retort is ready on her tongue, and Itachi seems to know it somehow, because he grabs her hand before she can refuse, tugging her down the bleachers.

"I'm not going to dance!" Sakura squeals in alarm.

Itachi stops, noticing the genuine anxiety rolling off her in waves. When Temari grabs his elbow in passing, Itachi shrugs her away, telling them he's going to stay with Sakura.

A feeling of shame and embarrassment crawls up her toes to the tip of her hair. "Hey, you don't have to do that. I'll just sit up there. You should join them."

Itachi shrugs coolly. "I don't mind. What do you feel like doing?"

She bites her lip, still feeling terrible about keeping Itachi away from his friends. She reconsiders her decision for a moment, maybe it won't be that bad, you just need to move to the music, copy them a little, it should be fine, you might enjoy it –

It does nothing to dissuade her anxiety. Itachi is still waiting expectantly for an answer.

"Let's go outside. Through the back door."

He frowns in confusion but grabs her hand once again anyway. They make their way to the other side of the gym. As they pass by, Sakura notices a few couples, kissing languidly in the corners, some more confident than the others, and quickly looks away.

Itachi pulls open the back door. There are two boys against the outside wall, and they jump apart at the noise.

"It's just us," Itachi says.

The boys relax, resuming their kissing. Itachi pulls her down the way, around a corner, and there's no one in their vicinity. The music comes through the walls, bleak and weak, but present. Sakura can hear enough to figure out which song it is based on the tune.

"Who were the boys?" she asks him finally.

"They're in Sasuke's year," he tells her.

"What did you mean by it's just us?"

"Oh – nothing. I think they were worried about their friends catching them. I mean, they looked so frightened, you know? And it was just strange coming out here to kiss –"

He stops suddenly, realising what he's said. Sakura's eyes widen and she mentally curses at herself. Does he think she's asked him here to – to – kiss? Now that they're here, alone, alienated from the rest of the world, it does make her feel – charged. The tension in the air between them continues to thicken with each passing second, until Sakura finally finds the courage to speak.

"I was – I'm – it's just that," she twists her fingers nervously, hoping her palms don't sweat too much. "I was very worried about – dancing. I can't really do it. I mean, maybe I can. I just never tried it, and I was worried I'd be horrible at it."

Itachi opens his mouth; Sakura shakes her head.

"And I knew you wanted to join them. You just stayed back to give me company. So I thought – I mean. We can dance here?"

There's a brief pause of surprise. Then Itachi's face splits in a grin, the tension breaking as suddenly as it had built.

Itachi immediately offers his hand, and she takes it. He raises one eyebrow, his other arm hesitating around her waist. She nods.

Sakura gulps discreetly. She has placed her other hand on the shoulder, like she has seen countless of times before. What she hadn't expected was it to feel so – pleasant. Warm. She feels the same way she had felt, looking out at the crowd in the gym, the same sense of belonging coursing through her veins in Itachi's arms.

It's a little overwhelming, all these emotions. Or perhaps just one emotion. She thinks she might know what it's called.

They shuffle to the music at a languid pace. Even as the music changes to a more upbeat song, Itachi doesn't let go and neither does she. It's silent between them but not awkward. There's calmness now when there was tension before, a safe bubble wherein Sakura can step on his toes from time to time and it'd be okay. They'll just giggle at each other and continue dancing.

Itachi's black eyes flick over her pink hair, before catching her gaze with a warmth that curls her toes.

"What are you looking for?" Sakura asks softly, her palm tightening on his shoulder.

"You."

She smiles. "But I'm right here."

Winter of 2020 – Present Day

"We completely forgot about the chaperones," Itachi laughs in nostalgia.

Sakura grins sheepishly. "I know. It was so awkward when that parent found us."

"I have never seen you so red," Itachi agrees happily. "You looked like you wanted to crawl in a hole and die."

Sakura sputters indignantly. "Well – of course, I did! He just assumed we were doing something sexual! I mean, he could see we were just dancing, but no – do you remember what he said?"

Itachi nods, still sniggering. "Kids these days have no control at all."

"Thank god it wasn't any of our parents," Sakura adds. She can't imagine what would have happened if her micro-manager mother or Itachi's orthodox parents had shown up instead.

"That's true."

They shuffle forward in the waiting line. There's companionable silence between them, as they sip at their warm drinks, enjoying the sounds of the fair. The distant chorus of noises mingling together, kids screaming joyfully at the Santa Claus, some bickering mixed in of old couples, and the whooshing of the rides.

And then Itachi breaks it, chortling even more loudly than before.

Sakura stares. "What?"

He takes his sweet little time to regain his composure. "I really thought – shit, this is too embarrassing – Sakura, I really did think you wanted to kiss."

"What?" Sakura squawks unattractively. "I really didn't!"

"No – I realised it," he says. "I mean, when you explained why you didn't want to dance out there – I realised you only just wanted to dance. But you can't blame me! It seemed an obvious possibility."

Sakura juts her chin up in defence. "Well – why did you come, then?"

Itachi shuts up effectively. He clears his throat a few times, looking anywhere but at her. Sakura narrows her eyes.

"Isn't it obvious?" he finally sighs. "I wanted it."

Please review!

Next update will be up soon - mostly within the week. :)