On another note, I'm also excited to inform that I've finished writing 17 chapters today; so please expect a new chapter daily until I run out of them. Currently, the story appears to be around 20 chapters (so yes I'm nearing the climax) :D
Without any further delay, here is the next chapter. It's the longest yet.
I promised you peeps drama and romance. ;)
Enjoy! :)
CHAPTER 8 – Glasses and Crows
Sakura knocks on the door to 10A.
Sasuke opens it after a considerable amount of time, rubbing at his eyes blearily to stare at her blankly. Sakura is holding a small cake with one lit candle in the centre.
"What's this? It's the middle of the night," he complains.
"It's not for you," Sakura rolls her eyes. "And it's midnight."
Sasuke grumbles something under his breath but moves aside to let her in. Sakura points at Itachi's shut door. Sasuke sighs. They silently make their way across the living area, and Sasuke manages to open the door without making any sound.
Sakura has never been inside Itachi's bedroom before. The darkness doesn't allow her to see much of anything; the only source of light being the open window near his bed. The moonlight bathes the room in tones of silver. Itachi is sleeping on his bed belly-down and one knee pulled up to his chest level. His comforter is pooled on his hips and he isn't wearing a T-shirt. His long hair splays on the pillow and the bedsheet, some of the inky strands worming around his neck. Sakura has never seen him look so peaceful. Something clenches inside her chest.
Sasuke and Sakura stand on either side of Itachi's bed.
"Itachi," Sasuke prods his arm. "Itachi, wake up."
Itachi stirs and sighs. "Whatisit?"
"Itachi," Sakura calls loudly and Itachi jolts in surprise. He scrambles to sit up.
"Sakura? What the-?"
"Happy birthday!" she says cheerily and holds the cake with the single candle in his direction.
"Yeah, happy birthday," Sasuke adds in, still sleepy and slightly disoriented.
Itachi blinks blankly. "Oh. Thank you."
"We don't really do midnight stuff," Sasuke explains their less-than-enthusiastic behaviour.
"I don't care," Sakura says firmly. "I baked this cake for you and you are going to haul your ass up and blow this candle and eat the cake."
"I'm already sitting up," Itachi points out. Then he suddenly smiles. "Thank you."
"Come on, blow the candle," Sakura urges. "It's going to die out soon."
Itachi dutifully crawls a little in her direction. She starts to sing 'happy birthday' and Sasuke's tired voice joins in without complaint. Itachi blows on the candle and then there's darkness.
"We did not think this through," Sasuke mutters and the bedside lamp glows a second later. "There. Better."
"Here," Sakura pulls out the plastic knife that she'd stuck inside the front pocket of her pants. "Cut it."
Itachi takes it from her and carefully cuts a triangle. Sasuke joins him on the bed from the other side so that Itachi can feed the piece to him. Itachi feeds the next piece to Sakura.
"Not bad," Itachi comments when he eats it.
"It's my first attempt," Sakura says. "Don't judge it."
"I can see that," he replies. "But still – not bad."
Sakura has baked a chocolate cake. She came home by nine at night and spent the next two hours searching for a 'cake for beginners' recipe that wasn't too complicated but good enough for a baker's son and prepared it.
"Let's have a beer or something," Sasuke suggests.
They're all sitting on Itachi's bed, cross-legged, with the half-eaten cake in the centre. Sakura has taken the time to look around his bedroom by then. Since their apartments are mirror copies of each other, Itachi's bedroom is the same size with an attached bathroom and a closet. Unlike hers, though, it's neat and clean. Sakura realises that Itachi takes great care to make sure that there are no unnecessary pile-ups. It looks organized, much like Itachi's insistence on doing everything the right way.
"Oh, no," Sakura refuses. "Actually, I have to go to the hospital."
"Now?" Itachi frowns. "Didn't you come home to sleep?"
"Er, no," she pauses. "I mean, I'm pulling an extra shift." She makes sure not to look at Sasuke.
Sakura realised that to have her Saturday evening off, and most of Sunday to rest, she'll have to reschedule a few of her shifts beforehand. It means that she wouldn't get two night's sleep. In fact, she wouldn't have come home if it weren't for her plan to bake a cake.
Before she leaves, she gives a hug to Itachi, and wishes him happy birthday once again. When she's going down the elevator, Sakura takes a deep breath to steady her thoughts. She'd never seen Itachi without a shirt before and it's been making her feel all sorts of things ever since. Things that she shouldn't entertain.
To be fair, it's not as if she hasn't noticed him before tonight/midnight at all. There have been many moments during their interactions when she'd suddenly think that he has nice eyes, or that he looks better in a bun than a ponytail, or the sharp angle of his jaw, or how pretty he is when he's smiling goofily. There have been many times when she'd wonder how someone so smart can be so clueless about things such as his own handsomeness. Sakura knows for a fact that Itachi finds his mind more valuable than his appearance, but it doesn't change the fact that he is someone who can be considered a good looking man. Not in the conventional way, though. Not in an obvious way, like Naruto or Hinata, but more subtle. Sakura thinks that Itachi is the type of person who begins to look more attractive the better you know him personally. Or perhaps that's the case with everyone.
Even so, she shouldn't begin to harbour a crush on her neighbour. Itachi is undoubtedly her friend, a close friend because she believes that Itachi will not entertain her if she is nothing but honest with him, so she's done exactly that, and he's returned the favour. You just don't talk about lost patients, or childhood, your fears, your insecurities, your struggles without building a close bond with that person.
Also, it's not as if Sasuke isn't her close friend, either. The relation she shares with Sasuke is different from what she shares with Itachi, though. Sakura knows that Sasuke will not hesitate to sit with her and listen to her worries, but she also knows that Sasuke might not fully understand them. Sakura shares a certain kinship with Itachi that she hasn't shared with anyone else before. He's the first person that she's befriended who is as honest as she is, accepts her the way she is despite calling her out on many things, and is simply unapologetically himself in a way that she finds more alluring than annoying.
Sakura also feels affection towards both her neighbours. Keeping aside how Itachi has managed to attract her in more ways than one, Sakura has found herself wanting to be loyal towards them. To truly be their friend and spend time together, even if it's only an evening where they're glued to their respective phones rather than speaking with each other. There's comfort and familiarity in their routine and Sakura values it more than she can possibly say.
xXx
Sakura spends the Friday night at the hospital. When she gets a break, she sits in the resident's lounge and checks her phone, cradling a juice box in her other hand.
Sasuke has sent her a video. A bunch of people who look like Itachi's team enter through a glass door through which Itachi can be seen working at the desk. He looks up at the commotion. A woman is holding a cake in her hands and she keeps disappearing from view as Sasuke struggles to move around. As soon as Itachi gets to his feet, though, a man suddenly grabs the cake from the woman's hands and smashes it right in Itachi's surprised face.
There's raucous laughter as Itachi attempts to wipe the frosting off but all it does is spread even more. Sasuke moves the camera to his own grinning face and holds up a V sign, before the screen turns black.
When Ino enters the lounge, she finds Sakura laughing with a puddle of juice by her feet.
"What happened?"
Sakura shakes her head. "Nothing. What are you doing here? I thought you were going home."
Ino sighs and takes a seat beside her on the couch. "One of my kids threw a clot. Just got done with the surgery."
Ino is doing her residency in paediatric surgery. Sakura has seen her speaking with distressed parents many times, and is always amazed by how she handles the situation. Ino had told her that paediatric surgery is as much about the actual medicine as it is about interacting with parents. She said that when you're dealing with a kid, your primary patient is still the parent.
"Is the kid fine?"
"Hanging in."
"Sorry," Sakura offers.
Ino exhales through her mouth. "It's alright. He's a good kid. A fighter."
"Maybe you need to see this," Sakura suggests and opens up the video Sasuke sent her.
Ino is giggling uncontrollably by the time it gets over. "This is so precious."
"Right?"
"What are you doing here if it's your neighbour's birthday?"
So Sakura explains her plan of taking extra shifts to have her next evening and consequent morning off, so that she can attend Itachi's surprise party.
"Sasuke is such a sweetie," Ino coos. "I can't believe he's still single."
Sakura tries not to think about Uncle Obito's pointed looks whenever Sasuke would mention Naruto. Naruto has dated women in the past. Sasuke's romantic life is still a mystery. Sakura vows to weed out some details during the party. She can't believe she's never asked him that before. With Sasuke spending so much of his free time with Naruto though, Sakura would be surprised if he ever got a date squeezed in between work and his best friend.
"Neither can I," Sakura admits.
Sasuke is one of the nicest people she knows. He's kind, takes care of the people around him, always has an ear to lend, and doesn't bother with pretences. He's inherently a good person. Sakura can see that Sasuke has a lot of love to share, and he does so without holding back. He's Naruto's partner-in-crime, the one person that Naruto actually listens to, and it's easy to see that they share mutual respect for each other despite having differing personalities and priorities in life.
Sasuke will definitely make anyone lucky.
"Actually," Sakura suddenly says with newfound inspiration. "You could come tomorrow to the party. I'm sure Sasuke won't mind."
Ino seems dubious. "Are you sure? It's a birthday party, Sakura."
"Hang on, I'll let him know so you know that it's fine."
Hey, is it cool if I bring a friend tomorrow? she types and sends the text.
Sasuke replies instantly. Yeah! Of course.
Sakura shows the text to Ino. "See? Besides, you've wanted to meet with them for a long time. This seems like the perfect way."
"I am free tomorrow," Ino says thoughtfully.
"Great!" Sakura encourages. "You can finally speak with Sasuke."
Ino's eyes glint with mischief. "Are you trying to set me up with him?"
Sakura, in fact, is. The best way to know where Sasuke stands in his dating life would be to give him an opportunity to reveal it. Sakura can always just ask him but this is more fun. Recently, Ino has begun to try and actually date people rather than have flings. Ever since the shooting, Sakura has seen the blonde woman change in front of her eyes. Ino is more open towards possibilities of more, and she'd even confessed that she did have a plan in her life once upon a time of getting married and having kids one day.
Who else will be better suited for her than Sasuke, the motherly man who loves to make people happy?
"Maybe," Sakura concedes.
Ino smiles and frowns at the same time. "All this time, I kept insisting that you go out with him, and you're now setting me up with him?"
Sakura tries for a nonchalant shrug. "Like you said, he's a decent person. And since I'm not looking to date, and you are, it makes more sense for you to ask him out."
Ino lets it go for now. She does shoot her a suspicious look every now and then throughout their short break, though.
xXx
Sakura leaves the hospital on Saturday by seven thirty in the evening. She is severely late, she knows that, and she's already sent an apology text to Sasuke earlier. Apparently, a couple of Itachi's team members kept him occupied with impromptu work (since Saturdays are off and only Itachi works on those days alone at the office) so that Sasuke, Hinata, Naruto, Temari, and Shikamaru could set up the place for the surprise party. By this time, she's sure that Itachi must have arrived at his apartment.
The elevator doors open to the 10th floor, and Sakura finds a few people leaning by the open door of 10A. They're holding a glass of drink and look up when she steps out. Sakura has no idea who they are. She hears more chatter and music coming from inside the flat, and with a quick excuse me she pokes her head in.
The place is more filled than she'd expected. This is Itachi's team? She had been thinking more on terms of maybe twenty people, not more than that.
Clearly, she has absolutely no idea how businesses work.
Sakura spots Sasuke by the couch. She waves her arms to grab his attention but he's engrossed in the conversation that he's having with a woman with blue streaked hair. She's the same woman who was holding the cake in the video.
Sighing, she leaves before she can accidentally spot Itachi instead.
Ino will be here soon, she thinks, as she closes the door to her own apartment behind her. Sakura needs a shower and a change of clothes. Since the party seems to be in full swing, she decides to dig out her 'nice' clothes from the depths of her wardrobe for the evening. She places the gift she bought for Itachi on the bed before entering her bathroom.
She hadn't planned on buying him a gift, actually. She happened to have seen Dr. Orochimaru's watch, and thought to herself that looks like a CEO's watch. She got the model number from her boss and had it delivered at the hospital reception.
She is scrutinising herself in the mirror when there are loud knocks on her apartment door. Sakura peeks through the peephole. Ino steps inside the door, the music and chatter drifts across the hall, and muffles when Sakura shuts the door again.
Ino is wearing a knee-length, figure-hugging black dress that highlights her blonde hair and blue eyes. She's put on light make-up, high heels, and a barrette in her hair. Sakura keeps forgetting that Ino is capable of pulling off a good appearance when she wants to. Sakura is so used to seeing her in hospital scrubs, sports shoes, and a bun that it feels strange whenever Ino dresses up for any occasion.
Over the years that Sakura has been friends with her, they've gone out only on important dates such as birthdays. Of course, they've gone out for drinks after work, especially if one of them has had a gruelling surgery that day, but it has been always casual and not a classy affair.
Which is why Sakura feels faintly self-conscious when she does dress up for Itachi's birthday. It's not that she doesn't look nice in the dress; it's just that she's seen herself in scrubs more than anything else in a long while now, so it feels a little strange to be wearing it.
Sakura has chosen a white short dress with rose gold trimming. It has lace cap sleeves and a fitted waistline. She paired it up with the light golden heels that she found in the back of the closet – she'd completely forgotten about buying those – and left her hair open. When she was using her hair-dryer, to straighten them out, Sakura realised that she hasn't cut it in a long time (since she always ties it up in a bun or a ponytail) and that it now reaches her waist. Like Ino, she has put on light make-up: a light pink on the lips and black eyeliner.
All in all, she likes it. It still doesn't change the fact that she feels strange all dolled up.
"That's a big party," Ino says and jabs her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of 10A. "You didn't tell me it'd be a big party."
Sakura sighs. "I didn't know. Sasuke only said it's Itachi's team from work."
"Well, that's one big team, Haruno."
She winces. "I know."
"You do realise that you haven't slept in … 30 hours now? And that's a big party."
Ino had left the hospital by two in the morning, slept for five hours, and returned to check-up on her patients, only to leave by five again. She seems more than ready to tackle the crowd.
"It'll be fine," Sakura says bracingly. She's not going to miss this. Sasuke has spent considerable effort in throwing this, and it's Itachi's birthday party, and she cannot miss it.
She reminds herself that this has been the whole point of pulling extra shifts in the first place.
With another mental pep talk and a quick look in the mirror, Sakura takes Ino to 10A. The earlier group of people is still chatting away at the door. Sakura squeezes between them into the apartment, and searches for anyone that she knows.
Sasuke is not on the couch anymore. The woman with blue streaked hair is now chatting with a redheaded man. Sakura sees a small pile of gifts on the kitchen counter and grabs Ino's hand to lead her in that direction. She adds her own gift to it.
"Sakura!"
Naruto is beaming at her and quickly excusing himself from two guys to greet her. He's nursing a bottle of beer in his hand. He's actually looking quite handsome in a white button down shirt under a long-sleeved blue sweater, paired up with dark denim pants and white shoes.
"Hi! You look so great, Sakura!"
"Thanks, so do you," Sakura smiles. "This is my friend, Ino." Ino waves at him.
Naruto throws her a big charming grin. Ino blinks. "Sasuke mentioned you'd be bringing a friend. We totally assumed that you're brining a date, though!"
"She could be my date," Sakura says just for the heck of it.
Naruto throws his head back and laughs. "As if! Sasuke said you're straight like an arrow. No offence, Ino, you are a pretty lady, just not Sakura's type of a partner."
"None taken," Ino grins.
"Speaking of," Sakura cuts in. "Where is Sasuke? And Itachi? I don't even see Hinata or Shika or Temari."
"Geez, relax," Naruto chuckles. He starts counting off his fingers. "Hinata and Temari stepped out because they wanted some particular brand of wine and Sasuke didn't have it. They'll be back soon. I assume Shika is hiding somewhere so that people don't approach him. Last I saw Sas, he was speaking with Yahiko from work. And Itachi is in his room. He has an important call that he couldn't miss. Can you believe this guy? He's working during his own birthday party."
Ino blinks again at Naruto's enthusiasm. Sakura thinks that giggling at her stumped face wouldn't be the best thing to do.
"Okay, I'm going to look for Sasuke," Sakura tells him. "I want to introduce him to Ino."
Naruto's easy smile starts to fade slightly, before he hitches it back in place. "Oh, that's great!"
Sakura's eyebrows raise. Is that all he has to say?
"I need to get back to … Hidan," he says, still sporting the fake smile. "Good luck, Ino! Sasuke is a great guy. I'm sure he'll like to be introduced to you!"
"Thanks," Ino smiles through her puzzled expression. "It's nice meeting you, too."
Naruto disappears in the crowd.
"Is it just me or was that a little odd?" Ino asks Sakura.
"No, that was definitely odd." Sakura is staring at the spot where Naruto disappeared through, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
Sakura finally spots Sasuke by his bedroom door with two people. She pulls Ino behind her.
"Hey!" Sakura gives him a quick hug. Even Sasuke is looking pretty, donned in a dark green button down shirt and black slacks. "Great party."
He grins. "Thanks. Where's your date?"
Sakura fights not to roll her eyes. "I said I'll bring a friend," she reminds him. "This is Ino."
Ino steps forward and shakes his hand. "Hi, thank you so much for having me. This is a great party."
Sasuke dips his head in acknowledgement. "Thank you. You're her friend from the hospital, right? Sakura said you're the kids' doctor."
"Paediatric surgery," Ino corrects him, shooting a quick glare in Sakura's direction.
"Right. Sorry. Here, this is Deidara and Tobi from work. Guys, this is Sakura and her friend Ino."
"The neighbour slash surgeon," Deidara comments and sticks his hand out.
Sakura shakes it. "That's me. Nice meeting you."
"Sasuke and Naruto have a bet going on," Deidara continues. "They want to see whom you will first perform a surgery on."
Sakura purses her lips. "Hopefully, neither."
Deidara laughs. "I won't bet on that."
"I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon," she frowns.
When Deidara raises his eyebrows, Sasuke explains, "She's a chest and throat surgeon."
"Well, then I bet on Naruto needing you first. Any day, now, Sakura, Sasuke is going to punch him in the throat."
That makes her laugh.
"Would you like something to drink?" Sasuke asks the girls. "I bought a lot of stuff."
"Naruto said Hinata and Temari went out because you don't have stuff."
Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Ino," he turns to her, "would you like a drink? Sakura can help herself."
Ino chuckles. "Sure."
Sasuke leads her the way they'd just come from, to the kitchen area, and Sakura smirks.
"You little vixen," Deidara says with a slow grin. "You're trying to set them up, aren't you?"
Sakura shrugs innocently.
"It's not going to work, though," Tobi announces.
"Why not?"
He gives her an incredulous look. "Have you not seen Sasuke with Naruto, ever?"
Again with that. "They're best friends, I know that."
Tobi rolls his eyes condescendingly. "Girl, they're best friends in denial. Neither of them wants to acknowledge it because they think the other doesn't feel it."
"Feel it?"
"Yes. You know, feel whatever."
"Are you understanding this?" Sakura asks Deidara.
The blonde man smiles sympathetically. "Everyone knows," he admits. "It's kind of painful to watch them tip-toeing around each other even during work."
"Sasuke and Naruto never tip-toe around each other," Sakura says, finding the idea ludicrous.
Tobi sighs impatiently. "I swear, with a thick-headed neighbour such as you, and Boss being … well, Boss, no wonder everyone seems to be surprised."
"Sakura, here's the thing," Deidara moves a little into her space to hold a more private conversation. "Naruto has never dated guys before. And the bare minimum girls that Sasuke has dated have been so casual that I'm surprised Sasuke even bothered with it. It felt like he only did it because he thought he should be doing it."
"You're telling me that they both have feelings for each other but they've never dated any guy before, and hence do not understand what to do with the situation?"
"Precisely," Deidara nods. "Sasuke dislikes every time Naruto brings up his sex life, or date life, or exes. Naruto, on the other hand, never has to deal with jealousy because Sasuke is Sasuke and has never had a decent dating life in the first place."
Sakura thinks back to Naruto's reaction. "That explains why Naruto suddenly looked … off when I told him that I'm introducing Ino to Sasuke."
To her surprise, they both laugh. "This should be fun," Tobi cackles.
"No!" Sakura says, horrified. If what they are saying is true, then she's just stupidly hurt Naruto, while Sasuke remains oblivious. Not to mention, Ino is genuinely looking forward to the set-up. "No, no, no. This is not good."
Deidara is shaking his head, still chuckling. "This is best thing that could have happened! Think about it, if Naruto finally gets jealous, their story won't be so static anymore."
"There are better ways to do this," Sakura grumbles.
"It's already done," Deidara tells her. "Now we just have to wait and watch what happens. You better accept it."
"Shit. I'll see you guys later, okay?"
Without thinking, Sakura hurries towards Itachi's bedroom door, opens it, and enters. Itachi looks up, surprised at the intrusion. He's sitting on his bed, with his phone to his ear.
He raises his eyebrows at her even as he speaks. "…assure you that the deal will be mutually beneficial. I hold your organization on high regards. I came across the recent article in Business Times, wherein you speak about your latest…"
Sakura tunes him out. She takes a seat beside him on the bed, and takes out her phone from the small purse that she's carrying to pass the time.
The music isn't loud inside the bedroom. She finds comfort in the familiarity of Itachi's smooth voice, and the fact that he hasn't told her to leave yet. He's wearing a midnight blue shirt tucked in marble grey trousers, and there's the matching suit jacket on the bed. His hair is tied in a bun, today in the back and not on top, of his head. Sakura side-glances at him, and notices a tiny crow earring dangling from his ear. He's also wearing black-rimmed glasses.
Sakura never realised that he's been wearing clear lenses this whole time.
It makes him look like a hot geek, she decides. And the earring is definitely another plus point. If this is how Itachi brushes up for occasions, she's already looking forward to their date, friendly as it is.
She feels slightly guilty for leaving Ino outside, but she's confident that Sasuke will stick with her, or at least introduce her to more of his friends to make her feel more welcome. Thinking about this makes her feel guiltier, because Sasuke is so nice, and she completely missed the fact that the man likes his best friend.
Sakura sends a text to Uncle Obito. You were right about Sasuke and Naruto. I just heard from their co-workers that they're both in denial. Kind of.
His reply comes two minutes later, when Sakura is playing Candy Crush. Let them figure it out.
All in good time, huh?
You know it.
Kakashi sends her a text not a minute later. Stick them in a closed room for two days.
Sakura muffles her giggles behind her hand, and immediately feels Itachi's questioning eyes on her. She waves her phone at him and mouths Later.
I'm not going to do that, Dad!
Trust me, that's the best solution.
I introduced Sasuke to Ino just now. I didn't know any better at that time.
That's even better. Jealousy is the key to rise sexual tension.
She accidentally snorts out loud. Itachi frowns at her disapprovingly. She mouths Sorry and smiles sweetly just to piss him off. He rolls his eyes. His voice doesn't break once.
Yeah yeah. Their co-workers said the same thing.
Uncle Obito sends her a text then: I agree with him on this one.
You guys need a life. Sakura sends it to both of them.
She pockets her phone as soon as Itachi's phone call is done.
"Surprise!" she gives him a toothed grin with hands raised in the air.
Itachi smirks. "You're late."
"Shut up. Listen, we need to talk."
Itachi's smirk fades away. He shifts on the bed slightly to face her and Sakura does the same. "Is something wrong?"
She sighs. "I did something stupid," she says. "I brought my friend –"
"Right," Itachi interrupts with a scowl. "Your date."
"No," Sakura stresses. "Not a date. An actual friend. You remember I told you about Ino?"
"The paediatric surgeron, yes," he says with a clearer expression.
"I got her here to try and maybe set her up with Sasuke," she admits. "But then, Deidara and Tobi told me that Sasuke and Naruto actually like each other. Now I feel terrible because I messed it up. Naruto isn't going to like this, Sasuke doesn't know what he got himself into when he offered Ino a drink out of politeness and because he's, you know, Sasuke. And Ino thinks she's getting along with Sasuke from a romantic standpoint."
Itachi stares at her. His glasses are still a surprise to her, because she's used to having direct access to his eyes. And then she questions whether that's a strange thought to have.
"I have many questions," he finally breaks the silence.
"Shoot."
"When did all this happen?"
Sakura rolls her eyes. "When I came here, genius. I've already met Naruto, Sasuke, Deidara, and Tobi."
"Shouldn't you have come to me first?" he frowns.
"I tried to look for you," she grumbles. "You weren't there. Naruto told me you were attending an important phone call, so I didn't bother."
"Yet here you are."
"Because I messed up!" Sakura snaps.
For some reason, Itachi smiles. "You came to me because you messed up?"
"Yes," Sakura sighs heavily. "What do I do? No, what are we going to do?"
"We?"
"Sasuke is your brother," she says coolly. "You're not going to stand by as you watch him struggle with this situation, are you?"
Itachi laughs. "This is your mess, Sakura. But nice try."
"Come on," Sakura groans. "We have to fix this!"
"No," he corrects her. "You have to fix this. Let's move on to my next question. Why did you think setting up your friend with my brother was a good idea?"
"Ino commented about how it's a surprise that he's still single, and I agreed with her. And then I thought, hey this girl already likes Sasuke as a person and Sasuke probably doesn't get time to go on a date because he's always so busy with either Naruto or work so wouldn't it be a blast if I help out?"
"Although, now you've come to learn that my brother likes his best friend? And you said Deidara and Tobi told you this?"
"Yeah," Sakura traces the comforter under her lightly as she fills him on her earlier conversation with the two men. She even tells him Naruto's odd reaction. Then she remembers Kakashi and Uncle Obito and shows him their texts.
"Okay," he slowly processes it all and hands her phone back. "Okay." Then he chuckles. "This explains a lot."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Itachi smiles cryptically. "I have to say, though, that I agree with Kakashi."
Sakura stares back, gobsmacked. "You want to shut them in a room for two days?"
He laughs. "God, no. What he said about jealousy. Let this play out. You might have inadvertently helped."
"You really think so? What about Ino, then? Wouldn't she be wronged?"
"Well, yeah," Itachi admits. "But it's not like Sasuke is actually going to go out with her, right? Whatever happens, it'll happen tonight. Let Ino have the company that she came for. No one gets hurt. Except maybe Naruto. But if this is all true, then he might be needed to get a little hurt."
"Necessary evil."
"Exactly. Although, I wouldn't call this evil. This is just drama. I feel like I'm back in high school."
Sakura gasps and slaps his arm. "This is your brother."
He rolls his eyes. "My brother is an adult. He can take care of himself."
"Please," Sakura calls his bullshit. "Naruto told me how much you enjoy spoiling him."
"Obviously, I enjoy that. He's my baby brother."
Sakura laughs and Itachi frowns back, not understanding what just happened.
"Let's go," she says and stands up. "Did you guys cut the cake yet?"
Itachi suddenly shudders and Sakura remembers the cake facemask he'd gotten the day before during work. She bites her lip to contain her laugh.
"I hope there's no cake," he wishes, shrugging on his suit jacket.
There's a moment where they're facing each other, studying the each other's appearance.
"You look nice," Itachi says softly.
She smiles. "So do you."
A strange kind of silence falls between them that Sakura isn't sure that she wants to break, doesn't know how to break. Wearing heels, she feels taller, but Itachi still slightly towers above her.
"How was your day?" he asks, doesn't move. Stands right there, facing her, even though they were about to re-join his birthday party.
"Good. Saved a life." He offers a pretty smile. "How was your day?"
"Got kidnapped by my team. But we did come up with new great strategies despite their fake enthusiasm on a Saturday, so that was a plus."
She chuckles.
"I like the hair," he says gently, holding her eyes steadily, like he always does.
"Thanks. I like your glasses. I didn't know you had them. You look cute, though. And the earring."
His smile widens. "I used to wear them during school and college. Then Sasuke convinced me to buy lenses."
"Pity," she comments. "Speaking of," she shrugs, "he's thrown a party that you should be at."
He snorts. Sakura turns to the door and feels him following behind her. As soon as she pulls the door open, the music and the chatter envelope her and she pauses for a second to regain her senses. Itachi nudges her from the back to get her to move again.
The moment Itachi becomes visible to everyone, they all cheer, "Boss!" with their drinks held in a toast. He gets pulled in the crowd, and Sakura – thankfully – spots Hinata and Temari near Sasuke's working desk that has been moved to one side to create more space for people to mingle.
"You guys got your alcohol?" she greets as she joins them.
They both hold their glasses up. To Sakura, it looks like any other wine. Hinata is wearing a pale blue dress that makes her look even more ethereal than usual, while Temari is wearing a long black dress with thigh-high slits on both sides.
"Where's your fiancé?" she asks Temari.
She snorts. "Hiding in Sasuke's room."
"Why were you in Itachi's bedroom?" Hinata asks with interest.
"Oh, I just wanted to speak with him about something," Sakura dismisses. "Have you met my friend yet?"
"The one who is not a date?" Temari smirks.
"Okay, seriously," Sakura says with irritation. "Why the hell would Sasuke assume that in the first place and then share with everyone? I had Naruto and Itachi saying the same thing earlier!"
"Can you blame him?" Temari says with one blonde eyebrow raised.
"Yes," Sakura frowns, hands coming up to cross over her chest. "I can absolutely blame him."
Temari rolls her eyes. Hinata takes over. "Sakura, all your text said was can I bring a friend. That's what a person usually says when they bring a date with them."
"What do you say when you really do have a friend with you?"
"You don't," Temari answers. "You don't ask, you just bring them with you."
"But Ino wasn't confident when I told her. So I texted Sasuke to reassure her."
"Then you mention a name, you idiot," Temari snorts.
Sakura sighs in frustration. "This is just stupid. Fine. I didn't mention a name. Even so, there was no need to assume so easily that I'd bring a date when I have given no such inclination before about even having a date."
"That's why everyone was surprised," Hinata informs her. "When Itachi arrived and saw the party, he asked Sasuke where you were. So Sasuke said that you're running late and bringing a date with you. That's how we know, by the way. Itachi first said the same thing, that he'd never heard you mention a date before this. So Sasuke suggested that you might be reserved about these things. I have to say, Itachi was not happy with that answer."
"Right," Sakura says awkwardly. "Well, I brought Ino."
"Yeah, Sasuke introduced us. What's up with that?" Temari frowns. "I thought Sasuke and Naruto had their little dance going on."
Sakura winces. "Yeah, I didn't know that when I brought her here to set her up with Sasuke."
There's a brief pause, and then Temari lets out a huge laugh and Hinata starts giggling.
"You have got to be kidding me. You're really something, Sakura," Temari chuckles.
"Oh, I see them!" Hinata suddenly points.
Sakura watches as Ino stands with Sasuke and Naruto, looking puzzled but smiling politely. Naruto's body is stiff as a board, and Sasuke is looking utterly displeased with a strained smile on his lips.
Sakura's attention is caught by Itachi, standing near the three, wearing an amused expression. He's studying his brother from the distance, surrounded by a group of people. He notices Sakura's gaze on him and gives her a smirk.
Suddenly, Naruto turns to walk straight towards the girls. His shoulders are tense and he's never looked so serious to Sakura before.
"What's wrong?" Temari asks with mock innocence as soon as he reaches them. "You don't look so good."
"It's nothing," he says curtly. "Give me that." He takes the glass from between her fingers and downs the content in one gulp. "More."
Hinata brings out the bottle that she'd kept behind her on the desk, and dutifully pours a generous amount in the glass. Naruto gulps that down in three seconds flat.
"Okay, that's better," he smiles dopily. "Great party, right? Sasuke sure knows his stuff, huh?"
The girls share a meaningful glance between themselves.
Then Temari takes the plunge. "Yeah, he really does. And Ino suits him, don't you think? They look like a cute couple."
Naruto's eyes harden. He cranes his neck to watch Sasuke on the other side of the room, still speaking with Ino, now with animated gestures.
"Yeah," he nearly snarls. "They sure do. I guess that's what Sasuke wants, huh? A nice girl that he can date and marry and have kids with. Someone as pretty as Ino. Blonde, tall, and blue-eyed." There's a short pause and then Naruto snorts reproachfully. "If he wanted blonde, tall, and blue-eyed, he should have just said so."
"Yeah," Temari nods. "I mean, you're his best friend. Who else will he tell that to other than you?"
"Exactly," Naruto snaps his fingers. "It should have been me, you know?"
Sakura's heart clenches painfully. Naruto sounds defeated and heartbroken.
"It can still be you," Temari says coolly, holding Naruto's drunken gaze steady. "If you really want it."
"Of course, I want Sasuke!" Naruto snaps at her. "Who else will I want?"
It takes a second for Naruto to realise what he's just said. His entire demeanour changes in an instant. He looks more terrified than anything else, shocked and confused and angry at himself.
"Don't tell him I said that," he croaks. "Please."
Naruto sounds lost. Without thinking, Sakura gives him a hug. She doesn't have any words to say to him and Kakashi told her that when that happens, Sakura should give a hug. It's worked in her favour until now.
Naruto's hands wrap around her and he holds her tightly. Temari doesn't push him further and Hinata offers him a consoling smile.
xXx
Sakura is about to open Sasuke's bedroom door to try and lure Shikamaru out of his cave when she hears someone calling out her name excitedly.
"Sakura? Sakura!"
She comes face to face with a boyish face, a cute smile, and cropped red hair.
"Sasori?" she says blankly.
His smile widens. He eats up the distance between them in two large steps and envelopes her in a hug. "It is you!"
He pulls back. "What are you doing here?"
She snickers. "What are you doing here?"
Sasori is her friend from Suna, when she'd been attending her bachelor's and pre-med at the Suna University. He was a Business major, and he'd found her one day on the grounds chasing butterflies. Sakura had felt embarrassed for being caught for about two minutes before he assured her that he does the same.
"I'm attending my Boss' birthday party," he raises his eyebrows in a 'duh' manner.
"You work with Itachi? I didn't even know you were in the city!"
"But you don't work with Itachi," he says. "So yes, going back to my earlier inquiry: what are you doing here?"
She rolls her eyes. "I'm his neighbour."
Sasori's brown eyes twinkle with amusement. "When Sasuke told me about someone called Sakura The Surgeon, I honestly did not think it was you."
"When did you come to the city?" she asks, ignoring his comment.
Sasori shrugs. "A couple of years, I guess? I was working in this dead-end job in Suna after graduation, and saw the ad posting for a start-up located in this city. And I thought well, what the hell, right?"
"Right."
"You look good," he compliments. "Still the Pinkette, though, huh? You really became a surgeon?"
She stares. "Yes. I told you that I was studying to become one."
He shrugs nonchalantly. "You were a kid, what did you know? I had to give you the benefit of the doubt."
"I was not that young," she reminds him.
"You'd just turned eighteen," he reminds her in return. "And you were in your third year of college. So yeah, what the hell did you know?"
"Whatever. I did become a surgeon, though."
He grins. "I heard. Come on, let me introduce you to some of the others."
Sasori drags her around the room as if they're on a quest. Sakura is not all that surprised. This is exactly how he'd been with her in college, pretending to be on one or the other quest. Sakura has been his "quest-mate" when he told her they'd be in search of desert snakes, the Sand Monster, water lilies, and whatever he was in the mood for at that time.
Sakura ends up meeting Konan – the woman with blue streaked hair, Kakuzu, Hidan, and Nagato. She bumps into Deidara and Tobi once again. Itachi keeps flitting around the room so she doesn't get a chance to speak with him.
xXx
Ino catches her when Sakura is pouring a drink for herself. It's the fourth drink of her evening.
"I need to speak with you," she says seriously.
"What's up?"
"I think Sasuke is sad," Ino frowns. "I think Naruto and he had a fight or something because I just spent half an hour listening to him vent about all things wrong with Naruto."
Sakura pauses and studies her friend. "He did?"
"Yeah. What's going on? I don't want to accidentally make things worse, you know?"
"No, no," Sakura assures her quickly. "Don't worry about it. It's their usual dynamics. They bicker a lot and at times someone goes a little far. They'll cool down."
"Alright," Ino lets out a relieved sigh. "They were just really tense around each other. Anyway, I suppose I'll let it go."
Sakura forces a smile on her face.
"On the other hand," Ino continues. "I don't think things will go anywhere with Sasuke and me. I appreciate you trying to set us up, though. He's a great guy. I'm glad I got to meet him."
"Oh. Why do you think it won't go anywhere, in that case?" she asks as casually as possible.
Ino shrugs. "I didn't really feel any connection, you know?"
Sakura nods. "Alright."
Itachi materialises beside her and borrows her beer to take a sip from, before handing it back. "I heard you know Sasori."
"Yeah. Friend from college time."
Itachi nods. "He said some really nice things about you."
Sakura smirks. "I can imagine. I was the only friend he had who didn't mind he liked pretend-games despite being twenty-two at that time."
Itachi chuckles. "Yeah. He's been trying to get me to accept his Fun Friday proposal. After-work games night."
"Hey, this is my friend Ino," Sakura introduces. "This is Itachi."
Ino offers her hand to shake. "Hi! Happy birthday. Thanks for having me tonight."
Itachi smiles. "Of course. Any friend of Sakura's is welcome here. Speaking of, I gather it didn't work out between you and my brother?"
Sakura almost rolls her eyes. Sasuke must have had a similar conversation with Itachi that Ino had just now with Sakura. Sakura has no doubt that Sasuke must have been surprised with Itachi's line of questioning, after what she's learned tonight.
Ino shakes her head, smiling awkwardly. "Not really, no."
"I'm sorry to hear that." He doesn't sound sorry at all. He sounds amused.
"Shouldn't you be dancing or something?" Sakura cuts in.
Itachi raises his eyebrows. "Are you hinting, Sakura?"
"Yeah, you wish."
"Maybe I should add dancing to our date list," he comments thoughtfully.
Ino chokes on her beer. Sakura immediately thumps on her back. "Sorry," Ino gasps, eyes watering. "Went down the wrong pipe."
"Hey, Boss," a man with orange hair intervenes.
"Hey, meet Sakura here, and her friend Ino. This is Yahiko."
"Hi," Sakura shakes his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you. Itachi told me you really hold down the line for him."
Yahiko grins and a dimple pops out on his right cheek. "Learned from him, actually. We were both working in Kizoshan together when he told me his plan to start a company one day. And things kinda snowballed. A few other friends of ours left Kizoshan when he did."
Sakura didn't know that. In fact, Sakura has begun to realise that she doesn't know Itachi all that well. During this entire party, she's seen people call him Boss and it's easy to decipher that it's not because Itachi is their CEO, but because they genuinely enjoy following this man. And from what Yahiko just revealed, it's clear than ever before the faith these people have in Itachi. To leave a company such as Kizoshan, that provides a steady income and certain level of status, and follow a young man wanting to build a new company from scratch, is not something that can be or should be taken lightly.
"You guys were miserable there," Itachi reminds Yahiko. "You would have left the place sooner or later."
Yahiko just shakes his head. Sakura gets it. Itachi might be cocky, but he believes himself to be a long way from where he wants to be when it comes to his professional life.
"Why so modest, Uchiha?" Sakura smirks.
Itachi scoffs. "I'm merely stating a fact." The way he says fact is enough of a testament to his arrogance. Sakura feels better after hearing that.
"If I may," Yahiko says and faces Sakura. "I came over to speak with you."
"Oh," Sakura blinks. She glances at Itachi who looks just as confused as she does. "Sure."
"This is slightly embarrassing to be doing in front of Boss," Yahiko chuckles uncomfortably.
"Spit it out, Yahiko," Itachi frowns.
"Right." He clears his throat. "Would you be interested in getting a bite to eat some day?"
"Oh."
Sakura blanks out. She's acutely aware of Ino and Itachi watching her closely. Yahiko isn't bad to look at, to be fair. He seems charming enough, and his modesty and honesty are attractive qualities, she supposes. Although …
"I … I'm not really looking to date currently," she says, hoping she sounds steady and apologetic. "I have a lot going on already. At work. It's just not the right time."
Yahiko offers a smile and raises his hands in defence. "That's alright. I just had to ask. I've heard a lot about you, and you're really pretty."
"Thank you," Sakura smiles, feeling warmth bloom in her chest.
Yahiko excuses himself. Ino is giving her odd looks and Itachi is frowning.
"I didn't expect that," Itachi muses. "I always thought he had his eyes on Konan."
"Besides," Ino says slowly, staring between the two of them, "I'm assuming that both of you are going on a date? Itachi said so earlier."
"That's just because I lost a bet," Sakura corrects her.
"The loser has to take the winner on a date of their choice," Itachi adds in.
"Right."
Sasuke comes looking for Itachi then. "Hey, when do you wanna wrap this up?"
"Isn't it up to you?"
"Well, I guess," Sasuke concedes. "But they're here for you."
"What time is it?"
Sasuke checks his watch. "Almost 11."
"Soon," Itachi orders. "I don't want them passing out here."
"That's rude," Sakura comments.
"Are you going to clean up their puke?" Itachi challenges.
Sakura's lip curls in disgust at the thought. "Yeah, Sasuke, soon," she insists instead.
"Someone just arrived," Ino points out. She's watching the door.
The other three turn in that direction and Sakura sees Itachi and Sasuke tense in her peripheral vision. It's a woman with cropped platinum blonde hair, wearing a short dress with a scooping neck. She's tall, busty, and haughty.
Sakura surmises that it must be Itachi's ex, Samui, the one Sasuke was worried would gate-crash the party. To be honest, Sakura has been wondering this whole time if she'd go through with her plan.
"Sasuke?" Itachi asks tensely.
"I didn't call her, obviously," Sasuke snaps back. "Let me go handle this."
"No," Itachi's voice stops Sasuke instantly. "You're not getting involved. You stay out of this, you hear me? I don't want her anywhere near you."
Sasuke swallows and nods meekly.
"Stay with Naruto," Itachi continues in the same powerful manner. "You guys can keep each other in check." Sasuke purses his lips but dutifully leaves to go look for the blonde. "And Sakura?"
"Yeah?"
Itachi holds her gaze steady. "Stay."
She grins. "Wouldn't miss this for the world," she assures him.
Satisfied, Itachi stalks straight up to his ex, just as Shikamaru, Hinata, and Temari join her and Ino. After a few moments, Naruto and Sasuke come as well.
The group watches as Samui throws her arms around Itachi's neck with a delighted face. They're too far from them to hear the actual conversation, though. Besides, the music isn't helping with the acoustics.
Ino leans in to whisper in Sakura's ear. "I've seen more drama tonight than on an episode of Grey's Anatomy."
Sakura snorts. "I swear it's not so exciting usually," she whispers back. "We mostly just sit and eat."
"Then it's my special day."
Itachi doesn't lose his composure, although he does seem to be getting a little impatient. Samui keeps trying to touch him, moving into his personal space, and smiling coyly. At one point, Itachi takes a step back to put safe distance between them, and all it does is spur her further.
"Wow, she really doesn't give up," Sakura snickers.
"Nope," Temari says.
"We should go there," Naruto says impatiently, bouncing on his feet a little.
"No," Sasuke frowns. "He doesn't want us to get involved."
"But teme-!"
"No, Naruto," Sasuke says firmly. "How did she get to know about the party, anyway?"
Sakura has wondered about it herself actually.
"Some of Itachi's co-workers used to work in Kizoshan, right?" Temari says. "Maybe someone let something slip?"
"Maybe," Sasuke concedes. "They do still have friends in Kizoshan."
Samui has begun to look a little pissed. She's sneering at Itachi, and Itachi merely stands with his hands across his chest.
"This is killing me," Naruto groans. "I wanna know what the hell is happening."
"Me, too," Sasuke admits.
When Samui forcefully pushes back Itachi, they all snap into action. Some of the people standing closest to Itachi move towards them even as the group hurries to the scene.
"I think it's time for you to leave," Itachi is calmly telling her.
"I'm not going to forget this, Itachi," she snarls.
"I'm sure that you won't," he agrees in the same serene manner. "Although, you don't seem to be understanding the reality of the situation. You trespass in my house, display aggressive behaviour towards me in front of witnesses, and we have history."
She takes a step forward, blatantly ignoring the others who move even closer to Itachi.
"Is this a threat?"
"Consider it merely an observation."
She chuckles without humour. "You seem to underestimate me. I came here to rekindle our relationship. I don't like it when people don't listen to me. You know that."
"Do whatever you want," Itachi says bluntly.
She cackles and it's not a very pleasant sound. "You'll never change. Your arrogance is astounding. Just because you built a small company does not mean you're the king of the world. I can stomp on you with the heel of my shoe."
"Like I said," Itachi says calmly, "do whatever you want, Samui. If I see you anywhere near me again, or my brother, or Naruto, I'm going to get a restraining order. And that is a threat."
Samui's face flushes an ugly red. With a hateful glare thrown his way, she finally leaves the apartment. They all exhale simultaneously.
"That went well," Sakura comments offhandedly.
"Very," Itachi agrees.
"I hate you and your psycho exes," Sasuke glares at no one in particular.
"You hate everyone's exes," Naruto reminds him and nudges his arm lightly.
"I hope she doesn't bother you after this," Hinata says worriedly.
"Times like these, I miss Izumi," Shikamaru sighs.
"She is Itachi's only ex who doesn't hate him currently," Temari explains.
"I'm so glad I came today of all days," Ino giggles.
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