The morning after, Shisui and Itachi have tea.

Chapter Text

Itachi had been having a wonderful morning.

He was tired still but perfectly content, looking at Sakura's sleeping face as the sun rose behind her, brightening the sky.

Obito, a relative that had married an Inuzuka woman, had warned him to be careful if he found himself loving a woman who was not an Uchiha.

"They do not feel the same rapture and obsession, it's not hard to scare them off with ours.", he explained during his story of a very long and frequently

tumultuous courtship of his favored kunoichi,"If I had known that earlier, she would have been mine far sooner."

Itachi had nodded at the time and said nothing. Now, he had questions.

The bliss running through his veins at just being near her was becoming an exercise in tolerance.

Joy should be fleeting and occasional, not a constant. How long could he feel this way without going mad, as he had seen in so many others?

He decided to tear himself away from the bed and find a way to be useful.

They were both very nude, and Sakura would need more than the underwear she arrived in to make their way home. Luckily, he had spare clothes here.

He laid out a set of his own clothes for her that were most likely to be usable, got himself dressed, and went into the kitchen to make tea.

His largest crow came to tap on the window.

They had a guest, it seemed.

He was glad to see Shisui until he realized lying to his cousin and best friend about what really happened with Sakura was the first test of his promise to her to tell no one.

When Itachi told him there was no marriage, his older cousin rolled his eyes.

"Try again, Itachi. Why are you lying to me? You were both too loud last night for me to believe that. "

Itachi frowned at his lewd comment, offering no explanation for his lie.

Shisui looked Itachi over, managing a guess,"She doesn't feel the same?"

"She's … not ready yet."

Shisui raised an eyebrow at him, as if to say, "She sounded plenty ready last night."

Itachi explained, "We were drugged, by Sasuke."

Shisui shook his head,"We better go inside. I have news, brought her some things.", he lifted the pack, motioning for Itachi to take it.

Once inside, Shisui went to finish making the tea while Itachi ventured into the bedroom to give Sakura something of her own to wear.

He took a moment to look at her again as she slept peacefully.

The lips on her cherubic face were slightly parted, hair swept out behind her like a fan of pink silk, arm tight around his pillow in his absence.

He laid out another outfit for her from her apartment, briefly considering waking her so she could hear whatever Shisui had to say. Ultimately, he decided to let her sleep.

He took one last glance back at her before closing the door and walking back to the kitchen.


The close of the door was quiet, but woke her.

Sakura blinked her eyes and looked around the room for her lover.

He wasn't there with her now, but he had gotten her things somehow, laid them out for her.

She heard some shuffling about in the kitchen. Itachi was likely making tea.

An ache between her legs made her wince, bringing visions of last night to her mind.

It couldn't have been more perfect. He was so gentle.

She blushed as she thought of the time after, when he was not so gentle, but plenty gracious.

She had woken up when it was still dark outside.

The drug had worn off, but she wanted more of his touch.

She turned towards him, looking him over, eventually brushing her fingers over his body, marveling at how gorgeous he was and how someone like him could

want her so much. When she began to feel his hand on her back caressing her, she looked into his face.

He was wide awake, watching her.

He knew she wanted him, sensed the tension remaining in her body.

"Do not be ashamed to need me.", he'd said," I'm here for you."

She'd never even dreamed of feeling the way he made her feel then.

The thought that she might never feel that way again was too much to consider so early in the morning.

She rose and went to the adjoining bathroom, cleaned up the best she could with the small sink, dressed in her own clothes and went to the door.

She stopped short and listened. Someone else was here.


Itachi regarded Shisui expectantly once they were seated at the simple wooden table to enjoy their tea, waiting for the news he'd mentioned.

"Sasuke asked to marry after he told Uncle about the two of you."

Surprised, Itachi asked,"To whom?"

"He didn't say, but Fugaku wasn't happy about it, told him to wait until your marriage was proven."

The Uchiha heir knew why he'd kept his own interest in Sakura hidden, but wondered why his brother had done the same with whoever he was seeing now.

Itachi was silent, but thoughtful.

Shisui continued,"When I came to Sakura's apartment, Hokage-sama was there. He asked to see her before Uncle did."

Kakashi was somehow doting and protective of Sakura while appearing nonchalant, and watching the interplay between his strange former captain and

present Hokage and his pink haired love interest never failed to amuse Itachi.

Sakura was not often nieve anymore, but she was adorably so when it came to her former sensei's teasing and games.

He would probably be told to leave, but if there was any way to be in attendance for that, he would keep his smirk to himself to observe their antics.

"So, I take it Sasuke is the only worry then?", Shisui asked, having observed the expressions of his cousin as he took in the information.

"Hn."

"What do you want me to say to Uncle, Itachi? He sent me as a witness."

"Tell them we were poisoned, that Sakura healed us."

"Sasuke and the Uzumaki boy told him they heard you two. Uncle told Sasuke to give her a room. Her loud blonde friend was at Sakura's place with her boyfriend packing her things.

Hokage-sama was expecting us."

Itachi leaned on his propped elbow, rubbing his temple. This was a damn mess.

If Sakura wanted to marry him he would be overjoyed instead, but he knew pushing her would come back to bite him. They just had to deal with this as best as they could.

"Are you really so surprised? Or maybe you didn't thing through the consequences?", Shisui asked.

No, he supposed he wasn't surprised at the support, save for her friend Naruto.

The jinchuuriki host might be temporarily accepting now, but would need to be won over for the long haul, which meant ensuring the man had plenty of access to

remain in Sakura's life.

"To be honest, Shisui, I was fairly distracted last night."

Shisui gave a lascivious grin,"I bet."

Itachi sounded defeated,"I promised her to defend her honor."

His cousin replied,"That may be impossible now. You'll have to admit to something."

Itachi blushed hotly, embarrassed to talk about it, but realizing it was the only out.

"At the club, we did keep our hands to ourselves, though we were in the same room."

Shisui sighed,"I'm not looking forward to telling that to your father, Itachi."

The younger cousin nodded.

Then the bedroom door opened.