Quarantine...in love?

Chapter 2

Itachi had just finished sending the last email for that day and was about to finally go take a well-deserved shower before preparing dinner. He got up from his desk and walked towards his personal bathroom, taking off his dress shirt and letting it fall on the floor. He grabbed his cell phone just in case, he was waiting for an important phone call from his father, who was currently abroad with his mother, following the progress of a new branch of Uchiha corps.

Because of the health emergency caused from the novel Coronavirus, not only his parents were stuck out of the country for who knows how long, but it also meant that he was going to be in charge for a longer period of time than expected, and in one of the most critical times ever. Such good luck. It didn't matter that he was a genius in his field, and had absolutely no trouble handling the business, he couldn't help but feel stressed and nervous. He was hoping that maybe a nice warm shower would help him relax before his brother came home. He untied his long black hair from their usual ponytail letting them fall on his broad shoulders. He turned on the water, and just as he was about to take the rest of his clothes off, his phone rang. He rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh when he read the name that kept flashing on the screen.

"What do you want?"

"Rude as always ne Itachi? You shouldn't treat your favorite cousin in such a disrespectful manner" Shisui's happy tone was more irritating than spending a whole day with their uncle Madara. And he was the most irritating person on the whole planet, well maybe except for Obito, he was way worse.

"And do I really need a reason to call? I just wanted to know how you were doing?"

Itachi huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose with impatience. He wasn't in the mood for his cousin's idiocy.

"We saw each other yesterday" he said in a neutral tone, trying to not sound too annoyed. He really cared for Shisui, but he could be really annoying at times.

"And?"

"And we spoke an hour ago"

"Uh-huh, I still don't understand what you're trying to say"

"Bye Shisui, talk to you later"

"No! Please Itachi don't hang up! I'm so bored! I don't know what to do with myself anymore"

Itachi sighed, leaning his back on the sink. If they kept that up, they were going to be on the phone for the whole evening, and he had more urgent matters to attend than to hear Shisui's whining.

"Lockdown hasn't even officially started. How can you be bored already?"

"I'm just very lonely…"

"Where's Hana?" He asked with his voice laced with annoyance. He secretly felt bad for the girl, she was stuck in the house with the idiot.

"She took Susanoo and Fang out for a walk."

"Why didn't you go?"
"Well, Hana said she needed to be away from me for a while."

"Understandable" Itachi simply answered. He would have probably done the same thing if he was her.

"Hey whose side are you on?" Shisui asked with a fake sad tone. Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Hana's of course" he didn't even need to think about it.

"Ugh, you're no fun. So tell me, when are your guests coming over?" Of course Shisui knew about Sakura and Naruko coming over to spend the quarantine at his house. He hadn't stopped teasing him since he learned earlier that he had suggested the idea. He wasn't even sure why he had when Sasuke had mentioned that Sakura was worried about their apartment being too small and that in case that it came to a lockdown she wasn't even sure how they would be able to afford it since Sakura and Naruko were broke college students.

"Sasuke sent me a message, he said they should be here in a little bit over an hour. Apparently Naruko is taking a long time to pack up" his lips turned upwards into a small smile as he thought about the blonde girl.

"Ahh... I wish I was a fly on the wall, just to see you acting all awkward and embarrassed with Naruko" Shisui started to laugh out loud over the phone, and Itachi snorted at his cousin's ridiculous suggestion. He never acted like that with the girl. They were friends, and that was it. It didn't matter that he found her ridiculously attractive. She probably just saw him as Sasuke's older brother.

Shisui was still laughing like an idiot, and Itachi decided to simply hang up on him and turned off his phone, finally getting in the shower. It didn't matter that he was waiting for an important phone call, he just couldn't handle anymore of Shisui's dumb jokes.

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Sasuke felt a sense of relief when he stopped the car in front of his house, as he didn't think he could handle another minute of being in the car with the two girls who were still arguing about some stupid t-shirt that apparently Sakura believed to have in lost, but in reality, Naruko had hidden to avoid getting beat up by her roommate as she had ruined it while doing laundry. Sakura had obviously found out about as the dumb blonde hadn't thought of throwing it out but had simply hidden it underneath her bed. This had turned into a full-blown out fight, and the Uchiha had every intention of staying away from it.

"Thank God we're here! I don't think I could handle the stench of that damn cat anymore" Complained Sakura as she got out of the car, pretending to cover her nose.

"Hey! Apologize to Kurama! It's not his fault he's gassy" the loud Uzumaki shouted at her friend, getting out from the back seat.

Sasuke sighed, just when he thought the fight couldn't get dumber, it reached a new peak.

He would have loved to say something, he really wanted to, but he was an Uchiha, and Uchiha's never...oh forget it, he couldn't take it any longer.

"Would you two stop it! This has gone on long enough!"

The two girls immediately stopped talking, sharing a quick worried glance. It suddenly got so quiet, that crickets singing somewhere in the distance could be heard. But Sasuke wasn't done.

"Naruko, the damn cat stinks, you better take him to a vet when all this is over, and Sakura, that dumb shirt is gone now, just forget it!"

Sakura's face got red and both Naruko and Sasuke took a few steps away from the enraged girl, whose face was starting to look even redder than it was humanly possible as she looked more beast than woman.

"Did you see what you did teme! You unleashed it" The blonde girl whispered in the Uchiha's ear, who was quietly regretting getting involved in the madness at all.

The sound of the door opening behind them made the two turn around hoping it would offer them an escape route.

It would have worked, if it wasn't that the person in front of them was none other than Itachi, and not only that, it was a shirtless Itachi. Sasuke ignored the sight of his brother and slipped behind him, hoping it would save him from his girlfriend's wrath. Naruko on the other hand, wasn't able to move. Her face was completely flushed and she felt her knees quiver at the sight of Itachi's pale smooth chest, and did he always have a tatoo on his arm? Because she found it incredibly sexy.

"Hey there Naruko, you need some help? are you okay?" He gave her a concerned look, but nothing came out of the girl's mouth.

Sakura came behind here, she had completely forgotten about the incident, and was ready to pull out her card and play matchmaker. It was so obvious the two idiots were into each other, the only ones that didn't realize was them.

"I think she is just a little tired, you know from the moving. Why don't you take her inside and give her some water, me and Sasuke will think about unloading the car, right Sasuke?"

The younger Uchiha came out from his hiding spot although he still didn't deem it safe, he would put himself in more trouble if he didn't follow his girlfriend's evil plan.

"I guess…"

Itachi gave the two a confused look, but didn't say anything, turning to the blonde again, taking Kurama's cage from her arms. That shook her out of her trance.

"Uh?" she looked up confusedly, blushing again as she found Itachi's grey gaze on her.

"I prepared a spot for Kurama inside, do you want to see it?"

Naruko blinked at that. She wasn't expecting that, but it gave her a chance to gain a little composure.

"You did?" she asked enthusiastically grasping his arm from excitement, and the older Uchiha laughed at her cute reaction. It was nice to see her happy, she looked so beautiful. Wait a minute, where did that thought come from?

"I did, I figured you'd bring him...and...you know…" Itachi scratched his head in embarrassment, and Sasuke stared at his brother with eyes wide as saucers. What was exactly going on?

Naruko smiled brightly and kneeled to look at the cat that was looking annoyed trapped in his small cage.

"Did you hear that Kurama? Itachi prepared a spot for you! Isn't that awesome? I told you that Itachi was the nicest person ever!" she blushed realizing that Itachi could actually hear her, but he didn't say anything and just smiled back at her.

The two walked back inside, and Sasuke looked at the two in astonishment and turned to the only person that would have answers.

"What the hell was that?" he pointed in the direction where the two had gone and Sakura laughed wickedly at her boyfriend, who was actually starting to feel a little frightened by the situation. He had never seen his brother act that way. He had genuinely looked embarrassed, and Itachi was never embarrassed. Ever. He hadn't been that obvious with previous girlfriends, heck he never showed so much emotion with anyone, so why was he reacting like that to the dobe, of all people?

"It's simple. He likes her"

"Did I say that out loud?"

"No, but it was obvious you were thinking that."

Well, he wasn't going to argue with that.

"Now, I only have to tell Shisui"

"wait a minute...Shisui is involved?" why wasn't he surprised? His dumb cousin was involved in something.

"Of course, whose idea do you think it was?"

She pulled out her phone and started to write a quick text while Sasuke slowly decided it was better to just unload the car and forget all of this ever happened. It was the only way he would be able to keep his sanity in this whole surreal situation.

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Author's note

Hi everybody! Let me know what you think!

Thank you for all the reviews, I really appreciate them, and I'm happy of the feedback this story is getting. I enjoy writing it hoping it will bring some smiles during this dififcult period.

Please stay safe during these crazy times!

Darkshadows92