Chapter 12: Age 19 Part 3

Rating: T for language, sexual content

Sakura remembered the first time she and Itachi kissed. She was the one who came onto him. She was nineteen years old; he was twenty-two years old.

Another week had passed since the argument - seven days since Sakura finally called off her relationship with Sasuke. She knew too much damage had been done and there was nothing left to salvage. However, she still had to return his things and pick up her own belongings from his room.

"I will go in there and beat the shit outta him, Sakura," Naruto said through gritted teeth as he gripped the steering wheel. Sakura had asked Naruto to drive her to the Uchiha residence for emotional support.

She managed to weakly smile at her friend. She placed her hand on his shoulder, "Sasuke's not home, remember? I'll get my things and give the house key back to Itachi. It'll be quick."

Naruto gave up and sighed, "You have fifteen minutes. After that, I'm coming in."

"Thank you," Sakura said as she touched his hand. "I appreciate you more than you'll ever know."

Naruto shrugged and his face became a little flustered, "Don't mention it. Just… try to focus on how Hinata's going to have homemade ramen for us when we leave."

Sakura didn't find ramen nearly as appetizing as her blonde friend, but she was thankful for his girlfriend's efforts nonetheless.

Sighing, Sakura got out of Naruto's car and retrieved Sasuke's box of things from the backseat. Taking in one last good look at the Uchiha house, she bit her bottom lip. She was going to miss her time there; in a way, it felt like she grew up at their house. Trying not to dwell on it, she strode to the front door. And though she was accustomed to letting herself in, she now felt it was only appropriate to knock.

After a brief moment, Itachi answered the door. He greeted her and immediately grabbed Sasuke's belongings. After getting the box situated in his arms, he glanced over her shoulder to Naruto's car. His eyes narrowed and Sakura looked to find Naruto making rude gestures at him. Sakura motioned for him to stop and Naruto pouted while folding his arms.

Sakura placed her hair behind her ear and mumbled, "Sorry about that."

"No, it's ok. It shows he cares, I suppose." Itachi then moved to the side so she could enter. Sakura closed the door behind them before following him to Sasuke's room.

She sighed, "Apparently I have fifteen minutes or he's marching in here."

Itachi smirked, "Thanks for the warning."

As Itachi placed the full box in the corner of the room, Sakura noticed an empty container beside of it that was presumably for her things. Itachi studied her face for a moment. He stated, "I'll leave you alone so you can get everything. If you need any help though, let me know."

"Thanks, Itachi," she nodded.

Sakura was thankful for the time alone in Sasuke's room. She sat on the bed for a minute just looking around, trying to commit every detail to her memory. She smiled at his old basketball trophies on his dresser and the picture of his mom on his nightstand. Although she didn't regret breaking up with him, her heart hurt for the early stages of their relationship. She missed the old Sasuke.

Deciding her pity party was over, Sakura began to gather her items. She grabbed the small teddy bear from his bed and her clothes from the closet. She took her deodorant and hair brush from the nightstand on "her" old side of the bed. Sighing, she lifted up the box before heading out of the room.

Itachi was standing in the foyer, leaning against the table by the door. His hair was in a bun and he was chewing on his bottom lip. The white long sleeve shirt he wore highlighted the muscles in his arms. His posture was slumped. Sakura also wanted to remember every detail of Itachi. She realized they would no longer be seeing each other, either.

"I think I got everything," she whispered. Itachi's head snapped up at her voice and he walked toward her to carry the box for her. However, she remembered something. "Oh, hold on," she remarked, sitting the box by her feet. "Um," she started while digging in her front pocket, "here's your key back." He accepted the piece of metal from her outstretched hand.

There was silence between them. She forced herself to return his stare. His eyes were kind and she could have sworn she saw a glimmer of sadness in them. Although, his next sentence shocked her.

"I'm proud of you," Itachi softly told her.

Hearing his words, something snapped inside of Sakura and yet every thought also left her mind. Without her permission, her body closed the gap between them. She placed her hands on his face and brought him down to her. It was only when their lips gently touched that her brain registered what was happening.

As she went to pull away, she found she couldn't move. One of Itachi's hands held the back of her head while the other rested on her waist. He continued to move his mouth and she mimicked his movements. The hand in her hair slightly tightened and dipped her head back further. One of Sakura's hands moved to grip his shoulder.

With a soft groan, Itachi walked Sakura to the nearest wall. He pinned her against it, moving the hand from her hair to caress the side of her throat. She whimpered as his leg moved to settle between hers. He leaned his weight onto her just enough for her to feel his form. When she realized she was rubbing her tongue on his bottom lip, she gasped. As if it also just dawned on him what they were doing, Itachi pulled his head back. However, he kept her pinned against the wall while they breathed together.

Sakura looked up at him and felt embarrassment from her brashness. She shook her head, "I am so, so sorry. I really shouldn't have done that."

Itachi shook his own head once and cleared his throat, "No. Don't apologize."

Thump! Thump! Thump!

With the worst timing, Naruto started to bang on the door. Neither of them jumped at the sound, still mere inches from each other's face. Sakura closed her eyes realizing her fifteen minutes were up. Itachi paid no attention to the banging – he moved more to give her space but kept focused on the girl before him.

Deciding she would need to be the one to act, Sakura broke out of her trance and walked over to open the door. From the sudden opening, Naruto stumbled forward. The blonde man had wide eyes as he smoothed the front of his shirt. However, he quickly recovered and snarled at the other male. Ignoring him, Itachi gathered Sakura's box in his arms.

"I swear, if you've upset her –" Naruto began to growl but Sakura stopped him.

Placing a hand on her friend's chest, she looked him in the eyes, "He didn't." Sakura glanced at Itachi before turning back to Naruto. "Let's go."

Naruto eyed the two suspiciously. With rough movements and a nasty expression, he grabbed Sakura's things from Itachi. However, he listened to her and started to walk toward his car.

Maintaining eye contact with him, Sakura sincerely told Itachi, "Thank you… for everything. Goodbye, Itachi." Even though she didn't want to, Sakura knew she had to wipe Itachi from her life, too. Everything in her protested against it, but her head reminded her it would be for the better.

Itachi gave a hint of a grin before replying, "Of course, Sakura." She noticed he refused to actually say the word 'goodbye.'

Sakura didn't look back as she went to Naurto's car. However, as she sat in the passenger's seat and Naruto reversed out of the driveway, she and Itachi stared at each other. Their faces, long and bleak, mirrored each other. With a sad smile, Sakura realized something she could no longer deny – her heart would always have a special portion reserved for Itachi Uchiha.