In his sleep, Itachi hears the garage whining to life over Sakura's murmured snores. It's enough to pull him from his dream but not enough to open his eyes immediately. He grumbles, still half dazed and not ready to make a move. Itachi just sort of lingers between wakefulness and the darkness behind his lids, listening for any sounds of his brother coming in the door. The most prominent noise is subtle breathing not too far from where he lays his head. Body heat comes into focus, and Itachi remembers what makes him so sleepy in the first place.

There's the plane ride home, true. But a pair of strong legs and mischievous green eyes were the most pressing thing on his mind. For that, the Uchiha slowly opens his eyes. The room comes into focus rather quickly since they'd left the light on. He uses his finger and thumb to brush out what sleep remains under his lids, catching strands of pink hair in the process.

Sometime between laying down and now, Sakura manages to get away from his grip and onto her stomach, face turned in the opposite direction. Her hair fans on both their pillows. For some reason, he finds this passive display of hers rather humorous. It's been a long time since he's had a woman in his bed. Never in all of his years did Itachi consider the woman that slept on his sofa to be the next person sharing his sheets. But here Sakura is hair a mess, quietly snoring without care. That part hasn't changed. She's taking over half the bed, just like she takes over half of his everything else, including his thoughts. She just does that kind of thing, obviously without even trying to. Sakura is Sakura, unabashed and probably drooling on his pillow. If he wants, he can run fingers across bare shoulder blades and down her back under the sheets.

Hmm. A tempting thought. He stares at her sleeping form for several seconds contemplating if he should wake her up that way. It would be nice.

The Uchiha sighs to himself, folding his arms on the pillow to support his chin. His hair falls over his shoulders and in a rather poetic display, blends with dusty pink on top of tan-colored pillows. Kisame often jokes that he's softer than he looks, more romantic than he likes to let on. Itachi considers those words while eyeing the way their hair touches. It's stupid and a simple gesture that means nothing but it's nice. He admits it's nice to himself, blinking twice and shaking his head. Itachi considers making them something to eat. Then reconsiders because getting out of bed when Sakura shifts even the slightest bit seems more effort than it's worth. Itachi doesn't blink this time, taking time to take her in. Sakura just sort of crept up on him, little by little until she was just there all the time. Distance didn't work. Boundaries hardly existed. Itachi did try. Although now, watching her sleep through the afternoon, he wonders why he held back in the first place.

Itachi's arm slips and he doesn't catch it this time when it extends to touch her exposed skin. Sakura's response is instant and favorable, mumbling to herself as she leans back on her hip. She never turns fully to him but Itachi gets a better reach down her side, all the way to those yellow panties.

He lifts the covers and sticks his head under to see. Yup. Still there. Bright yellow, clinging to the curve of her butt that is mere inches away. Itachi admits that he likes this too. Being romantic and soft and sweet, making lunch and all was nice. But so was having her body bend and shutter at his will.

Itachi wants both.

He laughs softly, quietly, and a little more than astonished at the outcome of their earlier conversation. He did just want to talk. But Sakura is so, just…

Sasuke's quick footsteps pull Itachi's gaze and thoughts towards the door. He's in a hurry.

He sobers up rather quickly at the sound of his brother's return. They have yet to talk. Itachi does feel he owes Sasuke that much. Even if he and Sakura never do anything more than this, Itachi would rather not keep secrets and cause problems. He's had problem relationships before and it was always more work than it was worth.

None of which possibly included his brother (as far as he knows), so this whole thing with Sakura requires immediate action. Itachi's not so far gone as to put Sasuke aside. He does want to stay under covers and see what other sounds he can coax out of the sleeping woman.

Sakura can wait.

Itachi pulls the covers up and over Sakura's shoulders, then rolls himself out of bed. He lets seconds pass, checking if Sakura will stir at all. When she doesn't he goes to the bathroom to freshen up as best he can. Honestly, Itachi needs a shower. Another shower. Based on Sasuke's quick steps, he doubts his brother will be here much longer. Instead of being fully presentable, Itachi goes for mostly presentable, or clean enough to not look like he's just woken up from a sex nap.

As he leaves Sakura behind, stepping into the hallway, Itachi gets a glimpse of Sasuke's half-cracked open bedroom door and sighs to himself.

Better now than later, right?

Three quick knocks on Sasuke's door are enough to elicit an answer.

"You can open it!" Sasuke calls.

Itachi does as instructed, pausing to watch Sasuke fix his hair in the mirror. Itachi checks the clock on his brother's nightstand. It's already 4:30 pm.

"Another date?" he inquires in no certain tones, just curious.

Sasuke fluffs at his fringe, moving and flatting to achieve his signature messy, no-effort but requires a lot of effort look. "Dinner. Then me, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sai are going to this new club in Shinjuku."

"A date then the club?"

His brother hardly seems fazed by the possible contradictions. "Still time if you wanna get out of the house."

That's not what he means at all. The fact that Sasuke completely misunderstands what his question insinuates has Itachi making a face. "My flight was exhausting enough without adding club music and drunk women to the list of tiresome things I am dealing with today."

Sasuke grins at him, pulling away from the mirror to ensure his outfit is straight. "I dunno, you might find something you like. It's been a while."

If 'awhile' meant a couple of hours ago, then Sasuke would be right. Itachi only rolls his eyes because he knows his brother is very wrong. While it would have been nice to return the jab with a truthful retort, Itachi reframes from bragging. Because telling Sasuke that his female friend is half-naked in his bed with cum in her panties seems a bit much.

"I doubt that," Itachi says instead, leaning on the doorpost for extra support.

"That it's been a while? Or that you'll find something you like?"

"Neither is true."

Now Sasuke is laughing at him, shaking his head, and carrying his shoes with him to the door. "Yeah I forgot, you like the ones with exotic hair and a particular taste. Not that hard to find if you know where to look."

Itachi clenches his jaw with things he could say and probably should say. "I suppose you know where I should be looking?"

His brother pauses to ease into his shoes and said, "Probably. If you're trying to..?"

Sasuke raises a brow and Itachi blinks suspiciously. Because Sasuke's got this hopeful look on his face. The kind of look he used to use on their parents when he was asking for something he probably shouldn't. It's not necessarily begging but it's wide-eyed, wider than normal Itachi should say, brows up and pressed together. The oldest Itachi stands a bit straighter, narrowing his gaze to figure out the hell his brother might be up to.

"I'm not opposed." Itachi's caution doesn't seem to change Sasuke's mind. He looks even more hopeful. "However, currently, my interest is rather preoccupied."

Sasuke blinks twice, snorts out a laugh then asks."Are we talking about the same thing?"

Very few things make Itachi nervous. But the way Sasuke's eyes narrow a bit has him wondering if he's made a tactical error and was too hasty. His brother does go on dates, which could mean there's nothing. But could also mean Sasuke may have wanted it to be something at some point. Itachi silently considers if telling his brother may somehow ruin things for him or, at the very least, devastate him. Itachi has no intentions of hurting him but would prefer to be honest.

"There is this…person," Itachi finally says but is immediately cut off by Sasuke's snickering. Narrowing his eyes at how often his brother seems to be in a laughing mood, the older Uchiha changes course, "What?"

Sasuke shakes his head then reaches up and pats him on the shower. "About time."

"Huh?"

"I said," Sasuke speaks up, "It's about time. I was worried for a second that you'd gone blind."

Confused, Itachi simply repeats himself. "Huh?"

Sasuke rolls his eyes this time and dusts lint from his shirt. Then looks him square in the eyes. "Sakura is here, right? She's not on the sofa or in the guestroom or the bathroom. I checked after I walked into the kitchen and both of you left the barstools all over the place."

The fucking barstools. He cleaned the cups and put away the tea but Itachi had forgotten to put the barstools back in place before chasing Sakura upstairs.

Itachi can't hide his modification of the evidence of his haste.

Sasuke just pats him on the shoulder. "It's been a while, so I won't yell at you for using the kitchen counters this time. Point is, you noticed and now she can stop trying to find excuses to come over here."

Itachi did not notice the increased frequency of Sakura's visits or her stunts. "I wasn't aware."

"I've known her long enough to know the signs."

Sasuke's words remind him of Sakura's confession about kissing him once. It could mean nothing. Judging by the way his brother seems almost relieved, Itachi has hope that his next words won't stir contention.

"She told me she kissed you once," Itachi paraphrases.

Sasuke stops in his tracks. "That's what she said?"

Itachi nods sagely, "In so many words, yes. If you have objections to Sakura and me sleeping together, Sasuke, I am not opposed to hearing them."

It takes his brother several seconds to close his slightly slacked jaw. Then several seconds more to form words.

"Objections?' Sasuke almost seems put out at him for even suggesting such a thing, "I'm the one who told her to do it. I literally held her through pining after you all last week. Don't tell her I told you that because she's going to be pissed that you know. Sakura hit fucking hard for no goddamn reason."

Itachi's more confused than he thinks he's ever been in life. He wants to ask Sasuke to explain but his brother's phone goes off and Sasuke grumbles to himself while reading a text. He turns away, shoving his keys and wallet into his back pocket.

"Alright, shit," Sasuke glares at the next set of messages that ding his order. "I'm coming! Crazy bitch. I gotta go, Itachi."

Without a second thought or criticism, Sasuke steps around him, pushing against the door. Only for it to come flying back with a high-pitched gasp, or shirk rather. Sakura stumbles graceless from behind the door, looking just as unkempt and messy and beautiful as she did in his bed.

If there were any doubts as to what may have happened here today, Sakura's wild hair and subtle but not-so-subtle glances his way give away everything.

Itachi eyes her attire, the same shorts and shirt pair from earlier. The same panties. Oh my.

"Um," she guilty grabs the bottom of her shirt, "I can explain."

"Where are you hiding back there the whole time?' Sasuke accuses.

Sakura's red cheeks puff out at being caught. "I was going to let you guys know I was here but I didn't want to interrupt."

"So you hid behind the door to eavesdrop?"

"I was trying to be polite." Sakura quips.

"By listening in on a private conversation between brothers?"

Sakura opens her mouth, then closes it. Her green eyes pan to him, questioning and hopeful.

Itachi prepares to defend but finds it unnecessary. Sasuke's laugh holds no offense. When Sakura glares, he watches as two old friends tease each other.

"A private conversation about me with embellished facts."

"I didn't embellish shit. You were the one who was all…"

"Finish that sentence and I'll make sure Karin has to piece you back together."

Sasuke's eyes bulk, but not at what Itachi expects. "She told you?"

Sakura rolls green eyes, looking smug. "She told everybody. Everyday. All the time."

His brother grumbles, and yanks his phone from his pocket. "Itachi, you can deal with that. I gotta go."

It's all the permission Itachi will ever need. He has the good graces to wait until Sasuke closes the back door, starts his car, and peels out of the garage.

They are alone again.

"So," Itachi starts and the tiniest little gasp slips through Sakura's lips when he looks at her. "You were listening?"

Sakura, still holding the bottom of her shirt, licks those pink lips of hers before answering. "Not to snope! Don't tell me you're accusing me too?"

Itachi steps further into the hallway. Sakura takes a step back, closer to the wall when he gets in front of her. But he has no intention of doing anything. Not yet. Sasuke may be okay. Sakura may be too but he wants to be sure.

"I'm not accusing. However, I want your thoughts on this. On us."

"What do you mean?"

Itachi schools his features to something more neutral. "Where do you want to go from this point? I'm flexible."

He can see the wheels turning in her mind by the way her brows draw increasingly closer. She lets go of her shirt to fold her arms. Itachi reminds his eyes to stay on her face. But even that has him feeling something as Sakura's serious face is as sexy as when she's shocked.

When Sakura finally does speak, Itachi notes the undercurrents of frustration It seeps into her voice and body language. "Flexible as in you could go for just sex or something more serious? It doesn't matter to you?"

Itachi clarifies so there is no misunderstanding. "Flexible as in I am willing to take things fast or slow. However, whichever you choose, I would hope it leads to something more exclusive. I am not a fan of friends with benefits. We are either friends or more than that."
"What's the difference between fast and slow?"

Now she's asking the right questions. "Slow is slow. We take our time getting to know each other more. There are fewer obligations and I would not fault you for keeping your options open. We can walk away if what we find is unappealing. Fast is exclusive, a committed relationship, and its subsequent perks. I should mention I prefer a certain dynamic in relationships."

To this, the pink-haired woman snorts. "I noticed. You like having your way."

Itachi smirks this time at her gross misunderstanding. "My way is the only way."

"I might be bad at it," Sakura confesses but does not reject.

"My job is to teach you," Itachi says.

Sakura's gaze drifts to the side before she steps off the wall and into his personal space.

"I might be purposefully bad at it." she clarifies.

Itachi takes her by the chin so she has nothing else to watch but him. "I intend to thoroughly educate you."

A/N: Almost there...