AN: Another update, so soon? Well, it's all because of you guys, really. The more you review, the more inspired I am to write. So review, please! It makes this all worth it because it shows that you're reading the story. I really appreciate them.

I know this chapter is a little shorter than you're all used to, but I wrote it relatively quickly. Additionally, this is a transition chapter, so I had to stop where I did in order for everything to flow and make sense. The mission is underway. The next two chapters, after this, are going to be the mission. This, however, is important. It just isn't as action filled as I'd like it to be. In order to make up for it, I've added some Itachi/Sakura fluff at the end.

Enjoy and review!

Thank you soooooo much!

The First Time

Chapter 5: Our Time

"For even if the sun stops waking up over the fields
I will not leave, I will not leave 'til it's our time."

There are some smells that one just shouldn't expect find in a bachelor pad of three young, single men. Some of these smells include: broiled fish, steamed rice, tamagoyaki, and various forms of tsukemono. One would especially not expect to smell these delicious aromas in a bachelor pad of three young, single men at 5 o'clock on a Wednesday morning. Nevertheless, this is what Uchiha Itachi awoke to on the morning of his ANBU mission. Not concerning himself with the smells for the moment, Itachi pulled himself out of bed and quickly dressed for the mission in his standard-issue ANBU uniform. He had packed his bag the night before, so preparations for the missions were minimal.

Once he had exited his bedroom, he was confronted with the full force of the smell of the breakfast foods that were emanating from downstairs. Slowly, the Uchiha made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, wondering who could be cooking. Surely, it was neither Shisui or Sasuke. While both of his roommates were decent cooks, they were far from the caliber of cooking that was taking place in the kitchen. Perhaps his mother? No, she would not come over and cook randomly and unannounced. As he moved down the hall, he noted that Sasuke's door was open but the shower was going, so he was probably in the bathroom. Itachi walked down the stairs to where Shisui's room was located. Shisui's door was closed and the light was off – indicating he was still asleep. So who was cooking breakfast this early in the morning? Finally, Itachi rounded the corner and into the kitchen where he was confronted with a shock of pink standing in front of the stove.

She was wearing long, tight, black pants that were tucked into her ninja boots and a tightly fitted black shirt on top – similar to the sleeveless shirts that Kakashi wore. Her pink locks cascaded down her back, and Itachi mused as to when her hair had grown back out to its longer length. Undoubtedly, she would be cutting it again soon – it was a cycle the kunoichi seemed to have. Her jounin vest lay in the corner of the room along with her backpack and medical pouches.

Itachi took a few moments to drink in the sight – Haruno Sakura, in his kitchen at five in the morning, making breakfast and preparing for the day. The domesticity of the scene was enough to make his lips tug into a smirk for a moment before he plastered back his stoic façade. Suddenly, he pictured a large Uchiha fan emblazoned on the back of her shirt, but he quickly shook the thoughts away. He was about to go on a mission with the girl – he needed to quell the attraction for the next few days although he knew that would be nearly impossible – especially when she was wearing such tight-fitting clothes that he could make out every contour of her finely-tuned body.

He cleared his throat to announce his presence. "Sakura?" he questioned in a bemused voice, trying to hide his discomfort of his previous thoughts. Said girl turned towards him and beamed a hundred-watt smile that was much too bright for such an early hour. She turned back to the stove with a simple 'Morning Itachi'. His eyebrow ticked slightly in confusion. Finally, he began to ask, "What're you-?"

"Making breakfast," she interrupted matter-of-factly, as if it were the most obvious and natural thing in the entire world. When she turned back to him and saw that the answer didn't quite satisfy him, she elaborated, "I spent the night last night."

"Aa."

"It seemed easier for you, Shisui, and me to leave together," she continued as she began to dish steamed rice into four separate bowls. "We have to stop by the hospital for a few things that are critical to the mission."

"Hn." He'd remembered her mentioning that she was developing a few things for the mission in her lab at the hospital. He had, on previous missions, both possessed and witnessed the power of several of Sakura's creations over the years for special op missions such as this. Her, her best friend (the blonde one, Itachi never bothered to remember her name), and the female kunoichi of Team Gai (also never bothered to remember her name) all worked in the Special Weaponry and Poisoning Department – the SWPD, they called it – in the basement of Konoha's hospital. Sakura and her friends had founded the department themselves.

Itachi then began to ponder, as he took a seat at the table where Sakura was still serving breakfast, as to when Sakura found time for all of the projects she undertook. She was a full-time medic-nin for Team Seven, she took solo missions as well as missions with other teams, she worked at the hospital part-time (though Itachi knew her role at the hospital was much closer to full-time), and she was now in charge of the SWPD, which also required a great deal of attention. On top of that, she seemed to be quite the social butterfly – always making time to train, eat, and party with her friends. Did she have some sort of magical power that allowed her to be several places at once?

"I'll go wake Shisui," Sakura announced, practically prancing to the door. "Sasuke will be done in the shower soon."

However, Itachi stood up and cleared his throat. "No," he announced. The girl turned to look at him, her face puzzled. "Shisui sometimes forgoes clothing when he sleeps at home," he announced, moving past Sakura to wake Shisui himself. Sakura's face turned an alarming shade of red, and the ends of Itachi's lips tugged upward in amusement, "I will wake him."

"O-o-oh. Oh-kay," she replied, stammering a bit and readily moving back into the kitchen.

After some subtle threats a few loud knocks on the door, Shisui emerged from his room in matching ANBU regalia, a large grin plastered on his face. "Morning Itachi!" he yelled happily. Itachi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. How could anybody be so damn excited this early in the morning?

"Will you shut up?" a gruff voice came from the stairs. Sasuke walked down mechanically. His black shirt and white shorts were still wrinkled, as he hadn't righted himself for the day yet, and he was towel-drying his spikey hair. "It's not even five thirty in the damned morning and you're yelling louder than the dobe."

"Tch don't compare me to that loud-mouthed brat," Shisui scoffed.

A feminine, yet playfully angry voice wafted from the kitchen to the living room, where they were currently standing, "I know you're not insulting my team, Uchiha…I mean oldest-Uchiha," Sakura yelled. "You remember the last time someone insulted my team?"

Shisui blanched at the memory of their three Uchiha cousins being internally boiled a few days prior. "Of course not, Cupcake," he called back and skipped merrily into the kitchen – towards the delectable scent of breakfast.

"Cupcake?" Sakura asked as the three men entered the room.

"My new nick-name for you," Shisui explained merrily as he clasped his arms around her waist from behind – so his front was to her back – and peppered her cheeks with an assault of butterfly kisses.

Sakura's tinkling giggle filled the room in response to his affectionate gesture. "Why cupcake?" she asked after Shisui pulled himself off of her and took his seat at the table, where Itachi and Sasuke were already sitting and had begun eating their breakfast. The eldest of the Uchiha didn't miss the deadly, possessive glares from both of his younger cousins, so he sent them a smirk that just earned him more intense gazes.

"Your hair reminds me of frosting," he replied happily.

Sakura scoffed playfully as she took her seat at the table. The four ate in a companionable silence – the only interjections being complements on her cooking. Sakura beamed. She felt like she could do this forever. There was something so absolutely right about being here with the three Uchiha that she couldn't explain. She'd like to think it was her deep friendship with Sasuke that made her feel so at home, but she knew that she was just kidding herself. As she thought, she stole a glance at the man who really made her want to be here. Itachi was eating in even, perfectly proportioned bites. His features were as impassive and stoic as ever, but Sakura could tell that he appreciated the meal and her cooking. The way his mouth tugged just a bit at the corner, and the way he closed his eyes after the first bite for just a moment told her that she'd accomplished pleasing the Uchiha. It made everything worth it.

As they finished, Sakura began gathering dishes but Sasuke stopped her. "Leave them," he commanded, "I'll get them later. You should go get Shiranui. Itachi and Shisui will meet you at the hospital. I have something I need to discuss with them before they leave."

"Uchiha business?" Sakura asked as she slipped on her vest and pulled her backpack onto her shoulders. "It's just as well. I saw Genma go to a bar last night, which means he'll be hard pressed to get out of bed without someone to wake him. Let's face it – Kakashi isn't going to do it," Sakura snorted.

"Hn."

The answer seemed to be enough for the kunoichi as she made her way easily out of the house, waving goodbye to the trio, and towards Kakashi and Genma's apartment.

"Do tell, little brother," Itachi said calmly, knowingly, "What Uchiha business would you have to talk about that we already don't know?"

"Tch, shut up. It's not Uchiha business I have to talk about, it's Sakura," Sasuke explained as he continued to gather the dishes. Sasuke's shoulders were tense and he wasn't meeting Itachi's eye – telling him that he was incredibly uncomfortable.

"Explain, Sasuke, we don't have all day," Itachi commanded.

"Usually she's fine on missions, but not this time of year. Naruto, Kakashi and I tried to convince Tsunade not to send Sakura on a mission without us, but she wouldn't hear of it," Sasuke began cryptically. After the dishes had been unceremoniously dumped into the sink, Sasuke sat back down at the table with Shisui and Itachi, both looking at him with confused expressions on their faces. "Sakura has nightmares."

"Nightmares?" Shisui echoed.

"Yes, nightmares. They come and go in waves. Usually they don't affect her on missions – she is more than capable of dispelling them when she has work to do. But this time of year they get particularly bad. This Saturday will be the four-year anniversary of her parent's death," Sasuke continued.

A memory suddenly flooded into Itachi's mind – a fourteen-year-old Sasuke, clad in black, escorting a trembling, sobbing mess of pink into the Uchiha compound. Naruto had been with them, helping keep Sakura upright, and they were all dressed in clothes of mourning. He hadn't thought much of it then. Back then, it wasn't uncommon to see the kunoichi get emotional, so he had originally written it off as female hormones – something he knew he would never understand. His mother had then made mention of the 'poor dear's' parents dying and saying that Sakura may be staying with them until she found an apartment, but Itachi had been so busy at the time. He'd just been given full control of ANBU, so he hadn't given it a second thought. "Why are you telling us this?" Itachi asked.

"I'm getting to that," Sasuke snapped, "The nightmares only get bad around certain times of the year. Her parent's birthdays, their anniversary, and the day of their death – that day also happens to coincide with her birthday."

"Oh, poor Sakura-chan," Shisui murmured, his usual chipper personality quelled with the sobering conversation. "Her parents died on her birthday?"

"Yes. She doesn't like to talk about it. In fact, she made me promise that I wouldn't tell you because she doesn't want you all to see her as weak. But you should know because her nightmares can be violent. I've gotten decked a few times in the middle of the night myself," Sasuke explained quietly. He was speaking into his hands where his fingers were threaded in front of his mouth. His eyes were closed, a thoughtful expression on his face, "Throughout the years, we've found that holding her while she sleeps is the only way to help with the nightmares."

"Aa," Itachi said knowingly. "That's why she spends the night at Hatake's apartment."

"How do you know that?" Sasuke bit out.

"Hn."

"You asshole. Anyway, Genma knows. Whenever Kakashi, Naruto, Sai, and I would go on missions without Sakura, Genma would be the one to take care of her if she had nightmares. So, I'm just asking that you let him take care of her if she has a nightmare," Sasuke finished through clenched teeth. This was obviously difficult for him. Showing any form of weakness or compassion for others was uncharacteristic for any Uchiha, let alone Sasuke. "I know this is an ANBU mission and whatever…but it's Sakura."

"Very well," Itachi replied coolly, tapping his brother on the forehead with his index finger, resulting in a glare from Sasuke. He and Shisui stood as they made their final preparations for the mission. Internally, he was processing all of the information. It subdued any feelings of doubt that existed of the relationship between Hatake and Sakura although they were unfounded in the first place. This revelation also gave an explanation to her ranking system of 'cuddling' partners she seemed to have with her teammates.

"Of course," Shisui said with a mischievous gleam in his eye. "And if Genma can't do it, I'll cuddle Sakura-chan to sleep."

"You keep you filthy hands of Sakura," Sasuke warned. The two left the house, but not before Itachi could hear Sasuke whisper, "Thank you, aniki," to him through gritted teeth. Itachi gave a curt nod and he was gone.

It was a short walk to the hospital, but Itachi wasn't surprised to find that a cheery-looking Sakura and an equally disheveled looking Genma were standing outside the doors. Sakura waved to them from a distance, and although Itachi couldn't see perfectly, he could only imagine the large smile splayed across her face. He ignored the shudder of anticipation that coursed through his body at the mental image of a beaming Sakura. This was a mission now, and he was ANBU captain Uchiha Itachi. Just like Sakura, he had a bit of an alternate personality on missions – his change just happened to be a little less extreme.

"What took ya' so long?" Genma asked as they approached. "Doesn't matter – let's go get our cool stuff that Sakura-chan made for us and get this mission going!"

Sakura led them into the hospital – greeting every nurse, doctor, patient, and family member by name – and huddled them into the elevator. She swiped her ID card that allowed them to access the basement of the hospital where all of the laboratories were located. The white hallways were lit with bright, fluorescent lights, giving an eerie feeling to the underground portion of the hospital.

"Usually you three wouldn't be allowed down here. We would make the weapons needed and then deliver them to you," Sakura said proudly, leading the way through catacombs of laboratories, "But it's okay since you're with me!"

"Che, Cupcake has the power," Shisui called from behind her. Sakura gave them a sidelong glance coupled with a sly smile. After what seemed like thirty turns down empty hallways, they were outside a plain white door with a black plaque on the outside.

SPECIAL WEAPONRY AND POISON DEPARTMENT

Director Haruno Sakura – Poison Specialist

Assistant Director Yamanaka Ino – Concept Design Specialist

Special Operative Captain Tenten – Weaponry Specialist

Sakura entered with the swipe of her ID card.

"Oi, Forehead, you get to sleep in or what?" Ino called from her corner of the room. It was large – very, very large. There were three desks in one corner and several lab tables adjacent. Floor to ceiling bookshelves and filing cabinets crowded each wall – all marked and color coded. There were also several tables of display cases that held makeup, accessories, and many other assorted objects that could possibly be infused with weapons and poisons.

"Shut up, Pig. You have the stuff I was working on?" Sakura rebuffed, walking into the lab and flopping herself down onto what Itachi assumed was her desk.

"Yeah, and since I've been here for two hours, like you should have been, it's all done," Ino scoffed.

"I'm here every morning at 4 a.m. while you usually roll out of bed and in here at 8, so don't complain that the tables are turned just once," Sakura replied hastily. "Lazy Pig."

"Don't worry, they're always like this," a cheerful voice said from behind a door on the far end of the room, seeming to address the three disgruntled looking men in the room. A brown-haired girl who Itachi recognized – the newest ANBU kunoichi on Hyuuga's team, Tenten – walked out of what looked to be a very large closet. She held four outfits in her hands, all wrapped in plastic, and walked up to the group of men, "Especially early in the morning."

"Ah, yes, here are our outfits," Sakura announced cheerfully. Tenten handed them to her, and Sakura distributed them to their respective owner.

Itachi took in his tuxedo carefully. It was all black, including the tie, with a deep maroon dress shirt underneath. Genma and Shisui's outfits were similar, except their tuxes featured a white and blue undershirt respectively.

"They are all outfitted with poisons and hidden weapons," Sakura explained, "I wrote down the special features on a card for each of you, and you'll have time to further examine your outfits later, but for now, seal them in a scroll."

The team complied while Sakura sealed her own dress – that Itachi hadn't been able to catch a glimpse of – into a scroll. Then she, Ino, and Tenten fussed over different accessories, shoes, and makeup to go with the dress. As Sakura spoke of each one that she picked up, Itachi grew wary of the kunoichi. She picked up a silver hair comb that was embedded with several rubies. Each ruby, she explained, held a different poison for a different purpose. She then went to the makeup cabinet. After selecting a shade of maroon lipstick and sealing it with the dress, she added that the lipstick had a certain chemical that affected testosterone – rendering any male whose skin came in contact with the lipstick completely malleable to manipulation. The final straw was the shoes. Two and a half inch, strappy, silver heals contained six senbon needles a piece, all laced with a deadly poison. The three kunoichi were single-handedly making three of the most respected ANBU operatives very uncomfortable – especially the chipper and upbeat way they laughed at the poison in the shoes. It would apparently cause all blood to stop flowing to a certain male extremity and would therefore have to be surgically removed, rendering said extremity completely useless.

Shisui looked like he wanted to cry after that particular explanation, Genma looked a deathly shade of white, and Itachi's eye twitched. Sakura began to laugh. "You boys intimidated, or what?" she joked.

"Uh, yeah. You're trying to get men's dicks chopped off," Genma replied crudely.

"Tch, well as long as you're not an asshole, you don't have to worry about it," Sakura replied, her tone equally as crude.

"Are you ready, or is there anything else?" Itachi asked, trying to stop this conversation. Genma had looked all-too-ready to defend men's pride everywhere when the captain had interrupted.

"I'm ready," Sakura announced with a smile, finally sealing her scroll that contained her outfit and accessory-death-weapons, placing them into her backpack.

"Very good then; let's move out," Itachi ordered. With that, the quartet left the hospital (after winding their way back through the maze). Itachi handed Sakura an ANBU mask, explaining she would have to wear it on any ANBU mission she went on. She took it gratefully, with a beaming smile, and placed the feline mask over her face. Like a graceful lightning, the four shinobi sprang out of the Konoha gates, away from the sun, and into the trees.

X

By the time the group stopped for their first break after six hours of nonstop running, Sakura had counted seventy five ways that working under Uchiha Itachi on ANBU Squad One was different than working with Team Seven. First, who the hell runs for six hours without so much as stopping for water? That is just…insane. It surely wasn't healthy, either. Additionally, the entire attitude of the mission was different. Sakura had been on her share of A-class missions and had even taken an S-class mission or two – such as defeating Sasori and rescuing Gaara from the clutches of the Akatsuki. Those missions were always filled with an unspoken, palpable tension. However, with Naruto around, it was fairly easy to find some light in the mission.

This, though, was completely different. From the moment that the group had left Konoha, Shisui and Genma both went silent, transforming into serious shinobi. It was like nothing Sakura had ever seen or experienced before. Shisui took the lead – if it were possible, he was faster than Sasuke and Itachi – Genma followed him, Sakura after that, and Itachi took the rear. No one spoke – not one word – another occurrence that would have been an anomaly on any Team Seven mission. Occasionally, Itachi would give an order, but it wasn't often. Sakura found herself marveling at how different it was to be under Itachi's command. His voice held an air of authority, like it always did, but there was no questioning it now. There would be no mistaking it – if he gave an order, he expected it to be followed. And Sakura would follow it.

The last thing she needed was the highest ranking ANBU official to find her anything less than perfect on this mission. Impressing him was incredibly important because she knew that she would require his blessing if she wanted to take the ANBU exams. Tsunade recommending her was a huge honor, especially since she had beat out Naruto and Sasuke with this nomination, but Itachi held the final word as to whether or not she would be permitted into the ANBU examinations. There were others whose opinions mattered, but the final say went to the commander of the ANBU faction of shinobi (and perhaps Neji, if he went over the applications as well, but Sakura wasn't sure) as to whether Sakura would take the ANBU exams. Really, Sakura mused, the exams were somewhat like a secret club that was invitation only. You could apply to take the exams, but you would only be permitted if your application was accepted. If you never apply for the exams, but some higher-up decided you were talented or skilled enough, they could extend an invitation – accepting or declining was decided by the shinobi in question, but rarely did someone turn down the honor. That's what Tsunade had done to Sakura. Originally, Sakura had planned on executing more missions with Team Seven for another year or so before applying together as a team, but it seemed that the Hokage had other plans in store for her.

After their first break, the team continued on for another eight hours until they reached the border town in question. Sakura stumbled into the first decent looking hotel they could find and booked a room. Plopping down on the creaky, overused bed, Sakura sighed deeply in relief. Genma chuckled, "Happy to be off your feet?" he asked. A muffled groan was all he received in reply, and he chuckled once again. "We'll spend tomorrow scouting, and then the party is on Friday."

"We need some information tonight," Itachi announced. Genma raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "You and Shisui will find the most popular bar you can and try to gather as much information about the men who seem to run this village." Genma snorted and almost cried out for joy while Shisui silently pumped his fists to the air as a celebration. They were being given a mission where they got to go out and drink.

Sakura pulled herself up, her jade eyes bleary and red with fatigue. "I can go, too," she announced, albeit unconvincingly. "I'll be more effective since I'm a girl."

"You are dead on your feet," Itachi replied sternly. "However, you are correct about your influence over men. You and I will be doing the same thing tomorrow night."

"Oh," Sakura replied, fairly disappointed in herself for allowing her exhaustion to show. "Alright."

"There will be more men in the village tomorrow night, making it all the more important that you are prepared," Itachi continued. "You will need your rest."

Sakura smiled, exhaustedly. Secretly, she was glad that she got to crash for the night. "Right," she replied, walking to the bathroom to change and give Genma and Shisui privacy while they prepared for their night out. By the time she entered the bedroom, the lights were off. Genma and Shisui had apparently left already, and Itachi was in one of the two beds of the room. She took the other. The room featured two foldable futons that Genma and Shisui would be using later.

Sighing, she sunk into the bed with a muffled groan. Her muscles ached with exhaustion. However, as the room went still and quiet, Sakura began to feel uneasy. What if she had a nightmare? What if it got violent and she accidently tried to kill Itachi? Genma was supposed to be her anchor on this mission, but he would be out until sunrise if he had his way. What was she supposed to do now? The thought of showing such weakness to just Itachi frightened her. It would completely ruin her chances to take the ANBU exams, for sure. Slowly, through nervous and frightened thoughts, she allowed her eyelids to droop closed into a worrisome sleep.

Itachi awoke in the middle of the night to the sounds of muffled sobs coming from the bed next to his. Clearly, she was trying to hide the fact that she had nightmare, he deduced almost instantly. Her breathing was ragged and uneven, and after ever few breaths she would whimper a bit. That was what had caused Itachi to wake in the first place. Silently, he turned to face her. Her back was to him, but he could tell she was awake and crying to herself by the way her shoulders moved.

What was he to do now? Well, there was really only one solution. She could not spend the rest of the night crying for it would negatively impact the mission – or so he told himself. It wasn't that he was secretly worried about her. No, this was for the good of the mission. With fluid, silent movements, Itachi pulled himself out of bed and crept towards Sakura's. He walked to the other side of the bed and dropped into it slowly.

"I-I-Itachi?" Sakura murmured, her voice confused and his name had been choked out under a sob. He had approached her so that she would be facing him. Her face was hidden beneath her large, black shirt (one of Sasuke's old shirts, judging by the Uchiha fan on the back), and was wiping away her tears.

Without answering, Itachi slid under the covers and inched towards Sakura a bit. Suddenly, he wasn't so sure of himself. There had been several occasions where he had imagined climbing into bed with the pink-haired girl, but he never imagined it being to subdue her nightmares. Not that Itachi would ever admit it aloud, but he had found himself dreaming rather inappropriate things about this particular female on several occasions. Additionally, he wasn't even sure if she wanted him there. However, she hadn't pulled away even though he was fully in her bed and moving closer. Now, he had placed a firm arm around her waist and pulled her close, tucking her under his arm and pulling her into his chest.

Her reaction was immediate. She grabbed his shirt and shoved her face into his chest; burying it there as if she was afraid that the world was out to get her and it wouldn't see her as long as she concealed her face and hid her eyes.

"Do you wish to talk about it?" Itachi asked, trying not to make his voice sound strained. He was hardly the emotional, heart-to-heart kind of man, and this situation was discomfiting him completely.

"No," Sakura murmured. "I'm going to kill Sasuke."

Itachi chuckled, his entire chest vibrating, "That is unnecessary. He merely wishes to protect you."

"Hmph," she scoffed, still not removing her face from his chest. Something welled within him that was inexplicable. It was nothing he'd ever felt before – he was sure of that. There was this amazing feeling of warmth that had washed within him when Sakura had responded to him like that. She needed someone, and he was there to help her. The unwavering feeling of affection for the girl that had washed through him was coupled with an arousing attraction as well. The girl looked nothing less than sexy in her Uchiha clothes. Even though they were not Itachi's clothes, her garnishing his clan symbol made him swell with male-satisfaction. Now that the girl was tucked under his arm and pressed firmly into his body, he could feel every curve that he had observed earlier that morning. He tried to suppress the urge to pin her hands above her head and ravish her completely. Alright, thinking about that was not helping.

Sakura, pushed under Itachi's firm, unyielding arm, felt more like Hinata than she did herself. In fact, it would not surprise her if she feinted with the pure joy of being held by Uchiha Itachi, and she suddenly held an appreciation for the Hyuuga for every time she managed to stay conscious when Naruto hugged her. If Hinata felt anything like Sakura did now, than Sakura could surely relate to the urge of passing out before confronting the most pleasurable of sensations that was being held by the man you liked.

This experience was so different from any other she'd had. Kakashi always held her like a father would hold a daughter. He never, not once, got under the blankets with Sakura since it would be deemed inappropriate; Sakura could care less. Naruto held her like a brother would hold his sister. Large, protective arms would engulf her in the most demonstrative, protective hug while he quieted her cries and put her to sleep. Sasuke, if he would even agree to it in the first place, would leave several inches between them, and place an arm around her waist. Throughout the night – Sakura wasn't sure if it was her or Sasuke that did it – they would move closer together and tangle themselves. With Itachi, though, it felt more like being held by a significant other than one of her surrogate family members. Heat pooled in Sakura's stomach as she thought of Itachi and her in the same bed, and she suddenly had to placate the urge to, as Ino would so graciously put it, jump his bones.

As sleep began to overcome her once again, Sakura felt herself subconsciously snuggle further into Itachi's radiating heat. It earned her another throaty, way-too-sexy, chuckle from the Uchiha. "Go to sleep," he whispered into her hair.

"Goodnight, Itachi," Sakura murmured into his chest, "Thank you."

"Hm. Perhaps you could let me know where I rank on your, as you name it, 'cuddling' scale in the morning," Itachi muttered.

"You're already way better than Sasuke," Sakura joked.

She could practically taste his smirk. Stupid male ego. "Tell me something I don't know."

Sakura sighed in defeat and didn't respond to the haughty comment. Instead, she snuggled closer to Itachi and drifted into a wonderful sleep.

AN: There! A little shorter, yes, but there's fluff. This is mostly a transition chapter. I hate them with a burning passion, but they are necessary. I have the next few chapters planned out. Yay!

Keep reviewing. Clearly, it makes the updates come faster.