*rises from the dead* Yo. I have no excuses. Have a chapter. Love you guys!

Rated T

knock knock

Itachi Uchiha sighed to himself and gently closed the book he was reading. He looked towards the front door, and already knew who was on the other side. He'd sensed her chakra signature before she'd even knocked, and the raven had secretly been hoping the girl would simply go away.

Even now, Itachi briefly considered staying quiet and not answering the door. He tossed that thought out of his mind as soon as it appeared. This girl was weaker than him, absolutely. But, she was in no way inept. She knew he was home, and he wouldn't be getting out of this. Resigned to his fate, Itachi stood up, setting his book down on the end table as he did so.

"One moment, Izumi."

Putting on a mask of indifference, he crossed the distance to the door and opened it to reveal a troubled looking Izumi Uchiha. Without a word, she crossed the threshold and the raven closed the door behind her. An awkward silence overtook them, both of them seemingly not knowing what to say. Izumi broke the silence.

"I'm surprised you didn't pretend you weren't home or something, considering the way you've been avoiding me lately," she grumbled, sauntering over to the living room with her arms crossed.

"I knew that would be pointless. You could clearly sense my chakra signature."

"Indeed I could. Where are your parents?"

"They're away for the weekend, and Sasuke is asleep. Would you like some tea?" Itachi asked, hoping to put off their sure to be awkward conversation for as long as possible.

Izumi didn't take the bait. "I appreciate it, but no thank you. You know why I'm here, Itachi-kun. You've been so distant these past few months, and I'm worried about you."

Itachi kept his usual indifferent mask in place, but he was inwardly reeling. It was true that he'd been avoiding her lately, but he couldn't let her know why. Communications between the Uchiha and the village were breaking down at an alarming rate, and it was unclear what the outcome would be. Whatever it was, the raven was sure disaster was about to strike. He wasn't sure he could handle it if he got too comfortable with the girl in front of him, only to have her ripped away. No, he had to keep his distance. For his sake, and for hers.

"I'm not avoiding you, Izumi. Surely you know how demanding shinobi life is. That is especially true for members of ANBU, such as myself. It's a wonder I received the time off to watch Sasuke while our parents are away."

Izumi clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Please don't insult my intelligence like that, Itachi-kun. I'm well aware of the demands of shinobi life. That's just it, though. Even during your downtime, you never contact me. We used to be so close as kids. I miss that. I thought we were… friends."

Itachi felt his heart constrict at her words. He didn't miss the way she hesitated while describing their relationship. They certainly were friends as children, but as the years passed, the raven found he didn't quite know how to define their relationship. He suppressed a smile as he remembered his late friend Shisui describing it as a 'flirtationship.' Even if it had been accurate, Itachi wouldn't be caught dead using that particular adjective.

He couldn't let himself be swayed. It was imperative that he keep his distance, in order to spare them both future heartache. But with her words and the way she was looking at him with those sad eyes, all he wanted to do was reassure her and gather her up into his arms. He had to get her out of there.

"We were friends, Izumi. Though, we were children back then. People change and grow apart. Our worlds are completely separate now," he said coldly, walking back towards the front door.

"Oh, no. You are not throwing me out. I know you're lying to me. It's been like this since shortly before Shisui-kun passed away. After his death, you pulled away even more. I know how close you were. I see the pain in your eyes. I've wanted to help you through it, and you won't let me!" Izumi exclaimed, putting herself between Itachi and the door before he could open it.

"Keep your voice down. Sasuke is sleeping," said the raven, deceptively emotionless.

"Really? That's all you have to say? You know how I feel about you. I'd rather be your friend than nothing at all. Do my feelings truly mean nothing to you?"

'They mean everything to me,' Itachi thought.

"You need to leave, Izumi," he said, reaching behind her for the door handle.

The brunette sniffled, utterly defeated. "Fine, I'll leave. But, you need to know how selfish you are," she bit out softly, fighting back tears.

Something snapped in Itachi then, and his hand paused on the door handle. Slowly, he pulled his hand back and instead placed it on the doorframe, beside her head.

They stared at each other for a couple of moments, guilt and some other strange emotion overtaking him. His other hand went to cup Izumi's cheek, his thumb wiping away a tear that had managed to fall.

"You're right, I am selfish…" he murmured.

And then, he kissed her.

Izumi's eyes momentarily widened in surprise before fluttering closed. Her arms wove their way around his neck, her fingers playing with the raven's ponytail.

This earned a content sigh from the raven, his hands moving to grip her waist and pull her tighter against him. He knew this was unfair to her, and possibly confusing her, but he hoped that his actions could tell her what he couldn't with words. Itachi decided to indeed be selfish for once, and he turned all of his unspoken emotion into passion.

Itachi gasped softly as Izumi's tongue shyly ran along his bottom lip, but was all too eager to oblige her. God, he'd wanted to do just this for longer than he would have liked to admit.

The two were so lost in each other that they didn't notice Sasuke walking down the stairs, or his embarrassed smile as he quickly retreated back to his room.

After a few more minutes of thoroughly kissing each other senseless, the two pulled apart and Itachi gently touched his forehead to Izumi's as they caught their breath. It was Itachi who spoke first.

"Izumi… I know I haven't been fair to you. Your feelings do matter to me. Life… has been very trying lately. I just need a little more time to figure things out."

'Hopefully, we can find a peaceful resolution to this feud between our clan and Konoha.' he thought.

Izumi gave him a shy smile and nodded.

"That's fine, just as long as you promise to stop being such a stranger. Like I said, I've missed you. Is your offer of tea still on the table?"

Itachi took a step back and returned her smile with one of his own. "I promise. And, yes. Black or green?"

The two bantered on their way to the kitchen to make the tea, and Itachi couldn't help thinking that maybe being selfish sometimes wasn't so bad.

If you guys have any requests for this story, please don't hesitate to let me know. I'd be glad to fulfill requests if they inspire me. Have a good one!