Sleep hadn't come easily in a while.
The nightmares of her last mission plagued her. No matter how many times she tried to insist to herself that it was in the past, the pain and fear of having your eyes extracted mid-battle was not something she could just "brush off".
Sakura awoke in tears, choking back sobs while she reached to touch her teary eyes to make sure they were still there. She rolled onto her side and let out a long-drawn-out sigh.
A soft noise at the window made her stiffen, her hand instinctively clutching the kunai under her pillow.
The noise continued as the window slid fully open. She flung the kunai in the direction of the window, before flipping over to lock eyes with the intruder.
Shisui caught the kunai inches from his face, "Can't sleep, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura relaxed as Shisui closed the window behind him and walked over to her, offering the kunai back to her. She gratefully took it and set it down as Shisui flopped onto the bed next to her.
She curled up on her side facing him while he settled himself in a mirroring pose.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.
Sakura laughed softly, shaking her head.
"Do you want to talk about why you were crawling in my window?" She shot back.
Shisui grinned and laid his head on his arm, looking into her damp eyes.
"I couldn't sleep," he said with a shrug, "it seems I'm not the only one."
Sakura let out a sigh and snuggled up to her arm, "I have been having nightmares. About what happened…"
Shisui's smile faltered.
"I can't say I ever imagined I would know what surprise eye surgery mid-fight feels like, ya know," Sakura admitted softly, looking down at the sheets.
It was a common occurrence for Shisui to show up in the middle of the night when one of them couldn't sleep. He just seemed to know when she was struggling because without any warning, he would show up at her door or in her window asking the same question, "Can't sleep, Sakura-chan?" Sometimes they went for walks around the village or just laid in bed talking, but occasionally they would lay on her roof under the stars like the very first time.
Sakura loved her friends and the boys of Team 7, but Shisui was the only one who truly made her feel understood. He never treated her like she was too fragile for the truth, nor did he brush off her long-winded medical stories. He treated her with the respect she had earned through her hard work and dedication.
Sakura drew circles on the sheets next to her, the darkness from her nightmares still clawing at her thoughts.
Shisui reached out and placed his hand on top of hers, tracing smaller circles on the back of her knuckles. Sakura bit down on her lip to stop it from quivering, blinking fast in an attempt to will the tears away. Shisui felt her begin to tremble and pulled her into his arms, tucking her head under his chin. He made soft shushing noises and stroked his hands over her back.
After a while, the shaking stopped and Sakura's breath evened out as if she had fallen back asleep. Shisui laid still with her curled to his chest, breathing deeply in tandem with her. He let his eyes roam over her long pink hair that tickled his nose, the small freckles on her shoulders, and the way her little fists were balled up in his shirt.
"I'm glad you're here," Sakura mumbled, "I missed this. I needed this."
Shisui's heart felt like it was caught in his throat as he struggled to find his witty reply.
Sakura tightened her fists in his shirt, wrapping her leg around his to pull him closer.
Shisui let out a shudder, trying to hold on to the last bit of his self-control.
"I needed you."
Itachi allowed his back to hit the wall next to her door softly before he slid down to sit against it. He set the cup of tea he had made for her next to him.
He knew that she had been having nightmares and something inside of him cracked after the first couple of nights he heard her cry. He had decided to make some tea and bring it to her as an olive branch to show he wanted to try to make things between them better.
What he hadn't expected though, was to hear Shisui's voice coming from her room when he approached. He knew that Shisui had feelings for this girl and, after following him a few times, that they occasionally spent all night together.
Something in Itachi's chest tightened as he put his head into his hands, sighing deeply.
What the fuck was this girl doing to him?
Shisui let out a long sigh as he felt Itachi's chakra signature leave.
He stared down at Sakura's sleeping face, brushing a piece of her hair from her forehead with a soft smile.
What the fuck was this girl doing to them?
When Sakura awoke, she could feel the presence in her room and before she could let out a groan, she was pinned against her bed.
Abyssal dark eyes met their match, as a knee was pressed between her thighs and her wrists were pinned above her head.
A deep voice growled next to her ear, "If I was an enemy, you'd be dead."
She bit her lip to hold back a different type of groan at the feel of his hot breath tickling her ear before it moved to her collar bone, leaving a trail of heat. "Or worse."
When he picked his head up they locked eyes again and her previously dark eyes were glowing red behind her glazed stare. He felt the heat coil in his core, but reluctantly pulled himself from her and flashed to stand at the foot of her bed.
Sakura's shirt had wiggled up in her sleep, allowing Itachi to take in the dip of her hips and the black silky material of her panties.
The way she was staring at him with a mix of sleep, lust, and confusion was too much. He had already done too much.
"The Hokage has summoned us," Itachi said in a low voice, "Make yourself... presentable and meet us there."
As soon as the last words left his lips, he was gone, leaving Sakura to stare at the spot he previously stood watching her.
What the fuck was that?
She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to calm herself.
She could already tell it was going to be a long day.
Her feet touched down on the floor of her Shishou's office and she announced her presence, "Shishou…"
Tsunade tossed her a scroll, which she moved to grab, but a hand shot out to snatch it from her.
Sakura turned her head to snap at whoever had the audacity and met the glittering eyes of Shisui. He gave her a 1000 watt smile before she let a feral grin grow on her face. Before he could move away, she smacked the back of his head causing him to drop the scroll into her hand.
"Baka."
Shisui pouted, rubbing his head. "You can't just do that to your teammate, Saku-chan," he whined.
Sakura's brows knit together, a question lingering on her lips.
"Children, control yourselves… Please," Itachi scoffed, pulling their gaze to him.
If both of them were here, that must mean…
"Sakura, you'll be joining Itachi and Shisui on a mission to the Land of Waves."
Sakura looked down at the scroll in her hand and took in the ANBU insignia.
When she looked up from the scroll, Itachi and Shisui were standing in front of her. Shisui grinned and held out a bundle of armor with a cat mask on the top. Itachi towered over her, gaze piercing through her as he watched her reaction.
"We leave in 3 days, we meet tomorrow for training."
Sakura moved to take the bundle from Shisui's arms and Itachi moved to walk past her to the door, but stopped beside her.
"You should prepare yourself, Sa-ku-ra-chan," he purred out her name almost mockingly in her ear, "It's a seduction and infiltration mission."
Sakura felt a shiver run down her spine at the feeling of his warm breath brushing against her ear before he was gone.
She looked up at Shisui with slightly glazed-over eyes as his grin stretched even wider. He bit his bottom lip at the sight of her being so flustered. The knowledge that Itachi had caused this reaction made him smirk. So, Itachi wanted to play it that way?
Shisui moved to walk past her to follow Itachi out, stopping next to her, leaning close to her other ear. "Don't worry, love," Shisui purred into her ear, "Itachi and I will make sure you are… taken care of." He licked from the bottom of her ear to the top, then shunshin'd away to demand Itachi race him home.
Sakura's body felt on fire as she let out the breath she had been holding in a ragged gasp. Realization of why Itachi had woken her the way he did clicking into place. She began to huff out an irritated scoff. That bastard.
Tsunade barked out a laugh.
"I see those Uchiha boys are growing on you, Sa-ku-ra-chan."