SakuIta Chspter 10 The Preparation

Hello everyone! I'm baaaack! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic start to the New Year! Sorry for the long wait, but you can't say I didn't give you a heads up.

On the bright side, the sojourn gave me more ideas to add to the story Aaaanyway, here's what you've all been waiting for!

*RECAP*

"Sure. It's a date then. A long date," she laughed good-heartedly and Itachi joined with his amused chuckle. "What were you going to say?" Sakura prompted him after they were done, although still smiling.

"Oh, nothing. It was pretty much the same thing, so it works out perfectly."

"Alright then. See you tonight, Itachi!" Sakura pecked him on the cheek then left, speed walking because she was already late for her appointment with her patient and she was wearing high heels.

Itachi left the hospital, his heart beating wildly. A night with his princess, at last.

*END RECAP*

Itachi was standing in front of a full-length mirror, fumbling with his tie almost nervously as he struggled to make it look perfect for his night out with Sakura. He stopped. His night out with Sakura. That had a lovely ring to it. That was almost something a married couple would say, and Itachi smiled crookedly at the thought, the corner of his mouth rising slightly.

"Itachi!" Sasuke called from the kitchen downstairs. "You're going to be late if you keep messing around."

"Quiet, Sasuke," Itachi called back. "This is a special night, and I need to look as good as I can."

"Oh, for…" There was a few quiet taps heard as Sasuke made his way up the stairs into his brother's room. Itachi turned around and dropped his hands at his sides, letting Sasuke inspect him. Truthfully, Itachi might be smoother with the ladies, but Sasuke had the professional eye of a designer, making his wardrobe more eye-catching and more appealing to the hordes of girls that made up his fan club. Even with the most laid-back of moments, such as now, Sasuke looked attractive, with his faded out dark blue jeans and a red t-shirt with a white phoenix surrounded by white fire on the front and a necklace made of wooden beads hanging limply on his neck.

"Are you going to a fancy restaurant that serves a five-course dinner?" Sasuke inquired as his eyes studied Itachi's black suit with a white camisole and a red tie, walking slowly over to where Itachi stood.

"No, we-" Itachi answered, but he didn't get to finish.

"The Opera House?"

"No-"

"Then you don't need this," Sasuke said, reaching out and tugging Itachi's impeccable red satin tie loose, then jerking out of the camisole's collar.

"Sasuke!" Itachi snapped, outraged. He had spent a good ten minutes fixing that tie, not to mention Sasuke nearly choked him.

"Oh, relax Itachi, would you?" Sasuke said, rolling his eyes at his brother. "I'm helping you, so don't complain. You're the one who wants to look perfect, not me."

"I'm also the one who doesn't want to tell his girlfriend why her best friend is dancing to ABBA somewhere in the Himalayas," grumbled Itachi, rubbing the back of his neck with a scowl aimed at his younger brother. Sasuke simply shrugged and raised his hands with the palms out in a "whatever you say" gesture. Itachi glared at him.

"Look, Itachi," Sasuke said, control and patience in his voice. "Be practical. You're going on a date with Sakura. You've gone on Kami-knows how many dates with her since you started dating, and you've never needed a suit and your best tie on any of them. It's true you're going to a slightly fancier place this time, but it's still casual. You're not going to go meet the Emperor, Itachi, you're going on a date."

Itachi stared at his brother. He was right, of course, but when did he suddenly start talking like an adult? He shook his head and sighed, sitting on the edge of his bed while he massaged his temples. He really was losing it if his immature younger brother started sounding like his father.

Sasuke smirked, and Itachi glared at him half-heartedly. "What?"

"You just need to change two more things before you're good to go."

Itachi grunted and stood up slowly, almost regretting relying on his brother to fix his outfit. Sasuke took a step back while encircling his chin with his fingers, making a quick assessment of his appearance. He pointed at the top of his collar. "Open the first button of your shirt," he said, and Itachi obliged after a moment's hesitation. "Not take off your jacket." Again, Itachi hesitated before shrugging out of his suit's jacket and handing it over to Sasuke. Sasuke took it carefully so as to not damage it and headed to Itachi's closet, where he dug out a dark, deep blue button-down vest.

"Here," he said, tossing the vest to Itachi. "Put that on, but only button up the middle button." Itachi did, and Sasuke walked around him, checking how Itachi looked from every angle. Satisfied, Sasuke nodded and Itachi sighed inwardly in relief. He was getting tired of feeling like a piece of furniture someone was deciding whether to buy or not.

"There you go," Sasuke said. "Now, you better use the transportation jutsu, because there's no way you can make it to Sakura's house on time."

"Thank you for your assistance, Sasuke," Itachi said. Then he did a few quick hand signals and he was gone in a poof of smoke.

Sasuke smiled at the place where Itachi had stood. It was time.