A/N: Are you ready?

Sumire was excited because she had come across a stupendous deal on beef and was excited to take it home and cook a meal for her boyfriend. The past few days had been exceptionally lonely, for his sudden meeting lasted longer than he expected. He called to tell her the evening after Shisui dropped her back off at the apartment, that he would be in a hotel in the city and would return home in not more than two days.

She set out the plates and had all of the sides covered in plastic. In the living room she sat and passed the time with some television. Eventually she became anxious. It was getting late and the food was getting cold.

It was just when she started to bounce her knees nervously that the door opened and a tall young man with an exhausted expression walked it.

"Itachi!"

He saw her sitting on the couch. Before she could spring up he circled the furniture nearly threw himself on top of her. Now laying across the cushions his weight settled and he rested his head on her chest.

"Are you okay?" she petted the top of his head, still stunned by the sudden burst of affection.

"Un. I'm just tired."

"Oh okay. I made dinner."

"I'll be up in a moment." his deep voice came out muffled as he had buried his face between her breasts.

"Okay."

Her hands patted down his back and back up, happy to be able to touch him again after a few days. She poked at his shoulder blades and tugged at the wrinkles in his dress shirt. It wasn't until a few moments later that she realized he had become far heavier. She froze, hearing his breathing even and low.

Uh oh.

She patted his head again and spoke his name.

Oh no.

She tried to move him by his shoulders, but it was no use. There was too much of him to move for her thin arms.

"Itachi, wake up!" she said a little more forcefully.

The man atop her had fallen into a deep sleep.

"He must have been really tired."

Her palm rested on his thin, straight black hair.

"Now what do I do?"

She let her fingers tease along the strands for just another moment, but she quickly got to work.

X

Itachi stirred. His brows knit and he lifted himself. He was surprised he had fallen asleep. He had been laying on an incredibly soft, comfortable young woman, but that was no excuse. He sleepy looked down at Sumire, still beneath him, but with a very pleased smile on her face.

"I'm sorry." he mumbled.

"It's okay!"

He sat back, wiping his eyes. She hopped into a kneeling position, planted a kiss on his slightly red cheek, and headed to the kitchen.

"I'll reheat dinner!"

Slowly he traveled to the bathroom to give his face a quick, reinvigorating wash. He opened the door and flinched, not expecting the reflection that he saw in the rectangular mirror in front of him. In his normally slick black hair were numerous tiny braids, each ending only halfway down the length of his hair. He stared at himself for just another second, taking in the image of himself with his hair this way, then proceeded to comb through the twists with his fingers. When they got caught he frowned slightly and went in search of the culprit.

X

A hum was coming from down the hall, both soft and sweet but also full of a sense of self-satisfaction. He stood in the opening to the kitchen watching her dance in front of the microwave.

"Sumire."

"Hmm?" she turned around with a tiny grin.

A hand went out, gently grabbed her arm, and pulled her close. He silenced her giggles for just a moment with a loving press of his lips. When he raised his head he said:

"Undo this please."

"No." she said shortly with a pout. "It's what you get for falling asleep on me."

"Please. I don't know how."

"After dinner."

He sighed, kissed her forehead, but submitted. He feared he would tangle his hair to disrepair if he continued on his own. The microwave dinged and he seated himself. Today she sat beside him, admiring her work. With an expression similar to that of a puppy who had been scolded he picked at the radish side dish.

"Have some beef. It was on sale!" she picked up a slice and prepared to place it on his rice bowl.

His slight reel made her pause.

"I'm alright, thank you."

Realization dawned over her. Her pleased smile dissolved into horror.

"I'm so sorry! I forgot you're pescatarian!"

She dropped the meat back onto the plate and put both hands over her face.

"Oh no. I'm so awful."

He looked at her, now a bit shocked by her reaction.

"I'm such a bad girlfriend."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am." she sobbed.

She hopped off the chair, smearing away the tears.

"Sumire."

From the refrigerator she pulled a fish wrapped up in plastic.

"You don't have to."

"Yes I do."

"Sumire, come sit down."

She sniffled while setting a pan on the lit burner and pouring a touch of frying oil. He stood and went over her to.

"It's fine, there's plenty for me to eat."

She murmured something about being a bad girlfriend and he put his arms around her.

"You're so adorable, I can't stand it."

The tears immediately stopped. Instead her face turned beet red. He squeezed her tighter and nuzzled into her neck. He planted a few kisses on her sensitive skin.

"It'll be done in a second." she managed.

He put a hand atop hers while shutting off the burner with the other.

"I'm not too hungry anyway. I ate before coming home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's fine. Thank you though. Save that for our breakfast for tomorrow."

"Okay."

He managed to coax her back to the island and they seated themselves and ate while chatting.

"It's been a busy few weeks. The company is dealing with some… outside issues. The media is being manipulated to treat us unfavorably. We have to work double time to counteract it."

"Is it the same person, who you mentioned before?"

"It is very likely. We don't have any concrete proof, but it is safe to assume so."

"Is there something that can be done to stop him."

"Eventually, yes, but the evidence must be collected first."

Sumire ate as much of the meat as she could while discussed. He never went into any detail, but being provided a vague idea of what was happening eased her ever-frazzled nerves.

"I don't want to worry you, but…"

She went into some detail about the black car she had noticed following her. As she finished she noticed how wide his eyes had become.

"Did you see what model it was?"

"No. I just. I just ran home. I didn't have a chance to check. The second time I was with friends and she had her boyfriend drive me home."

Itachi spoke very suddenly:

"I don't want you walking home alone anymore."

"O-oh. What do-"

"I will take you to and from school. When I am unavailable I will arrange for someone else to take you."

"Is it really… do you have-"

"I don't want to take any chances. I need to make sure you're safe."

A large hand rested on top of hers.

"Okay."

"I'm sorry. That I'm pushing all of this on you."

Sumire set her chopsticks down, shaking her head just a bit.

"It was pretty scary. I just don't want to stress you out more than you already are."

"I'm alright."

"I wish I could make it easier for you. If I had a car it might help, but I don't even have a license. I got a permit a long time ago thanks to Asami, but I never got around to getting a license."

His fingers wrapped around hers and a small smile formed on his handsome face.

"Would you like to learn?"

"You mean," her eyes lit up. "You'll teach me?"

"If you'd like."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Please."

"I have the next few days. Let me know you're schedule and we can decide when is best."

"Un!"

X

One by one the braids came undone through the fast work of her nimble little fingers. The entire time he gazed at her face, so close to his. Every few moments he had the urge to lean over and plant kisses on her little nose and once in a while he did place a gentle peck on a different part of her face.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that they spent long periods away from one another, but when they were together they spent quite a bit of time touching and kissing. It would sometimes evolve into love-making, but often they would simply giggle and stare at one another then poke and prod at different parts of each other.

This time was no different. He would stay home for only another eight hours most likely, then leave before the sun came up. She wanted to savor what little time she had with him today.

When she got the last of the braids out of his hair she watched as he combed through the now wavy strands.

"I have another business meeting tomorrow."

"Your hair is naturally straight. It should go back to that way by tomorrow. It may only take a few hours actually. Straight hair needs a lot of products to hold curls."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then we can use my flatiron."

"Okay, I've never done anything like this before."

"I didn't think so. If we have to I'll do it for you, just wake me up."

"Okay."

They did need to use the flatiron that morning. The waves had reduced significantly and if you didn't know him you'd think his hair had a natural wave, but he found even the slightest curve was unacceptable. She enjoyed that morning greatly. In front of the bathroom mirror she ran the flatiron down the length of his hair.

"Be careful about going anywhere like a sauna or it'll poof up really bad. Then we'll have to treat it."

"I will."

Thankfully, that didn't have to happen.

That Week

Sumire was studying her driver's handbook thoroughly. She was eager to obtain her licence because it had always appeared to her as a stepping stone in every person's life, but due to her previous situation she had never gotten around to it. Now that she was stable, she could take those steps that so many people would take for granted.

When Itachi arrived home they had a quick meal and headed out. He parked the car in an empty parking lot on the outskirts of Konoha University and they changed places. As she sat in the driver's seat she became very aware of how short she was. She struggled to reach the pedals.

"You should adjust the seat." he informed her.

"Oh yes."

She moved it forward and straightened the back.

"Better?"

"Much better!"

He guided her thoroughly through each step from adjusting her mirrors to tips on how to ease into the actual process of driving.

"Would you like to try?" he asked finally.

Her hands had been gripping the steering wheel so tightly that she finally lifted her hands away and sighed.

"Not yet. I'm shaking see." she showed him.

He squeezed her hands and kissed them.

"Take your time. We don't have to start that today."

She nodded. They simply sat for a few minutes in silence. Their fingers laced and unlaced, neither thinking of anything in particular but both pleased by one anothers company. It took quite a while for one of them to finally speak.

"Do you recall that time you told me…" His hand smoothed over her knee. "That I should let you know if I have any fantasies?"

"Oh! Yeah! I did… didn't I."

Her face already felt hot. She could tell where this was going.

"Would you be comfortable indulging one of them now?"

"You want to… here?"

"If you'd like to as well."

Feeling his fingers traveling up along her inner thigh was more than enough to convince her. She would be lying if she said she had never thought of it before. Though she was very shy Sumire was quite adventurous.

"What do we do if we get caught?" she asked.

"The windows are tinted and the campus is pretty empty this time of night. We should be alright. If we see someone nearby we can stop."

"So we can't completely take our clothes off."

"That is true."

"Okay…" she waited another moment. "Okay."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to force yourself if you don't want to."

She leaned over and kissed him. Naturally her pushed her back but after only a few moments they recognized how uncomfortable they were in the front seats.

"Should we move to the back?"

He agreed. Both of them glanced around in search of people, but were relieved that there was no one there. In the few moments it took to climb out of the car, shut the front door, and open the backseat door she had become incredibly excited.

"Itachi just sit. I'll be on top."

He paused. He must have imagined something else, because he seemed surprised by her statement. But he complied.

She was upon him quickly meshing their lips together and grinding against him. It didn't take long for them to expose their most necessary parts. It did require that she climb off him for a few moments, but once she was atop him again they were at it. The potential for being discovered did provide a thrill for the two straight-laced dark-haired individuals. It encouraged their movements and had them both panting and incredibly hot. As they progressed the tension in the compact space increased.

What was once a one-sided bouncing became a rhythmic bucking of two bodies together. The louder her voice became the more eager he was to hear more. It didn't matter how many times they would engage in this activity, with each passing moment he found himself more and more delighted by it. The feel of those soft walls dropping down around his most sensitive part urged a grunt out of him.

But it all stopped at once when he heard a thump and she yelped. Her weight collapsed on him and he put both hands on her hips.

"Sumire."

"Owe." she moaned.

Both of her hands were clutching the back of her head.

"Are you okay?"

"I hit my head."

She slowly met his concerned gaze. With those eyes full of painful tears he knew they wouldn't be able to continue.

"Just get up a little." he said softly.

"Un."

His softened manhood slipped from within her and she dropped her bare bottom on the seat. Her hands were still rubbing the back of her scalp. There was quite an ache developing that she could tell would form into a headache.

"I'm sorry."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

He had quickly clothed himself and turned his attention to the small woman.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Can we go home?"

"Of course."

Her cheeks were hot with embarrassment and he had noticed this. He didn't push her any further. He hopped out the car, shutting the door quickly behind him, and rushed to the driver's seat. He waited until she had finished dressing and buckled herself in then he pulled out of the parking lot. He glanced back at her using the rearview mirror. A frustrated look, mixed with pain of course, twisted her soft features into a grimace.

"Sumire."

Her eyes traveled up slowly.

"Thank you."

"..."

"I'm really grateful that you were willing to do this for me."

"Un."

"But I don't think I'll need to do it again."

"Me neither."

She managed a giggle. Despite the motion she made, indicating that she was still in some pain, he was relieved to see her smile return.

Only Two Days Later

Itachi had left sometime early that morning, stating that he would return in the late afternoon to take her out to dinner. She was excited for that, as well as discussing when they could organize their next driving practice.

The doorbell rang and she jumped. That was unexpected. She was on her feet and peeking through the peephole as she had done many times. Hoping for a familiar face she knit her brows when she saw someone she didn't immediately recognize. She had seen her somewhere before, but where? She tried to look around. There was no one else, only this lone, gorgeous young woman.

Itachi had told her not to open the door for anyone she did not know, but she still found herself undoing the locks and turning the handle.

"May I help you?" Sumire kept a hand on the door as she she greeted the strangely familiar stranger.

"Are you Koizumi Sumire-san?"

"Yes."

"My name is Uchiha Izumi. It's nice to meet you." she bowed her head slightly.

"It's nice to meet you."

There was a long pause where both short women were staring at one another. Sumire, her fingers tightening around the wooden door, finally asked:

"Are you Itachi's relative?"

Izumi's eyes widened a bit. She's not using honorifics…

"No…"

It would have been easier to have been punched in the face than to hear her next words. A numbness enveloped her. Of course the color drained from her face. Goosebumps rushed over every inch of her skin. Her knuckles turned white from how tightly she gripped the door. If she hadn't been though she would have collapsed.

"I'm Itachi-kun's fiancee."

A/N: Were you ready?