Sakura still refused talking to him. After the fight against Kabuto, they had traded a few words while cleaning up Kabuto's lair, destroying his laboratory and sealing the evidence into scrolls for the Hokage to examine.

No extra words were given.

The two Konoha nins had then left the old ruins a little after dawn, making their way towards Fire Country. They had agreed on heading back South, to Konoha, without delay. Leaving Sound was their priority; they would have time to rest after crossing the border.

Since leaving the lair, Sakura and Itachi had been traveling all morning, and even if the pink haired medic had made them stop near a stream for her to wash off the blood still coating her skin and hair, she hadn't uttered a single word. Itachi, who was standing guard while she bathed, had tried starting up a conversation, but she had stubbornly ignored the Uchiha. Her Inner had whispered into her thoughts that, maybe, she was being a bit harsh on the poor guy. At that, Sakura had viciously stomped her Inner back into unconsciousness, refusing to acknowledge the ANBU Captain's presence until he apologized for the stunt he had pulled over four months ago.

At least, that had been her plan until they decided to stop for the night. They had crossed over into Fire Country a few hours ago and had agreed on setting camp in the middle of an isolated clearing.

Sitting next to a fire she had just finished setting up, Itachi's patience had finally ran out as he called out to her :

"Sakura, we need to talk."

She honestly couldn't tell if he did it on purpose to use the worst possible phrasings when she was pissed at him, or if he genuinely didn't understand that some words were better to be left out of conversations when they touched the topic she was angry with.

Looking up to the man standing in front of her, she noted that he had dropped his stoic mask and jaded look, looking at her intently, refusing to be ignored once again.

Itachi had, apparently, been more flustered by her silence than what she had originally thought.

"So now you want to talk?"

Her tone was still harsh, but her anger had long been replaced by resentment, and seeing how he held his ground, she wasn't going to be able to get rid of him tonight if she didn't comply with his request.

Waving a hand over for him to sit down, she let out a sight : "Fine, I'm listening."

His piercing onyx eyes never left her face as he slowly walked to her before squatting down and crossing his legs under himself, taking a seat to her left with his body facing her side. He held himself straight as he stared at her, half his face covered in shadows giving him an ominous air.

"I love you."

Always blunt, serious, and straight to the point, but his honest words always made her stupid heart stuttered without her accord as she desperately tried to kill the smile tugging at her lips.

The first and last time he had told her those words had been four months ago.

On the eve of leaving Konoha for another ANBU mission, four months ago, Sakura had managed to arrange a dinner with him and her parents. The evening had been nice and cheerful as Sakura presented Itachi to her parents as her official boyfriend. They had been dating for the past two years, but she had only realized how much he meant to her only six month prior to that fateful evening.

It was actually an embarrassing memory when she thought about it. They had been out on a date, and between two shifts at the hospital Itachi had taken her out for a picnic on top of Hokage Rock. As she had looked over Konoha, her gaze had fallen on Itachi's serene features as he watched over the village he fought so hard to protect. Seeing him so at peace with his surroundings, her mind had stopped filtering her thoughts and words, and she had simply blurted out 'I'm in love with you.'

While she had felt her cheeks heat up after realizing her slip up, Itachi had looked at her with shock, before a genuine smile graced his lips as he looked at her with those soft onyx eyes that had made her heart race in a second.

After that, Sakura had decided that she wanted him to meet her parents, but with her crazy hours at the hospital, and him in and out of the village on missions, they hadn't been able to find the time to arrange the meeting. At least not until four months ago.

Her parents had approved of Itachi the second he had spoken up and declared that he had been courting her for the past two years, and was pleased to finally meet them. After they had left her parent's house, Sakura had led them back to her apartment while they had vaguely talked about how, maybe, they should also tell the older Uchiha's parents about them.

The rest of the night had gone by in a flash as the two lovers basked in the other's embrace, not knowing when Itachi would come back. And when dawn had finally crept over the Hidden Leaf Village, Itachi had woken her while laying soft kisses all over her body, making his way up the curve of her neck and under her ear, before whispering those three precious words she had been desperately waiting for during the past few months.

I love you.

Sakura's heart raced at the sweet memory, unable to hold back her smile as she threw a dead leaf into the fire.

*That day had started out so well*, she thought sadly as the rest of the memory unfurled in her mind.

About an hour after Itachi had left, Sakura had been getting ready to leave for the hospital when Fugaku, and the entire Uchiha Council, had barged into her small apartment and invaded her kitchen. It had been the worst two hours of her life.

The head of the Uchiha clan had come to question her about her relationship with the heir to their noble clan. Fugaku had made it clear that a poor medic-nin, from an ordinary and nameless civilian family, should not be mingling with his sons. He had tolerated her presence as the teammate of his youngest son, since her and the Kyuubi vessel could be used as shields for Sasuke if a mission went wrong, but she had crossed the line when she had started seeking out the interest of his oldest son.

Sakura had looked to Mikoto for help, but the Uchiha matriarch had only given her a small sad smile as an apology. With the head of the clan, and the elders breathing down her neck in the kitchen, she could not speak up without seeming disrespectful. She had to support her husband's choices, even if she adored Sakura and had been ecstatic to learn that her eldest son had finally found someone special to him.

Meanwhile, Sakura had silently listened to Fugaku's degrading words, clenching her jaws shut before she insulted the head of Konoha's strongest clan. She had stood tall and proud, staring boldly into his eyes and refusing to show how much his words were upsetting her. When he had finally left with the elders and his wife, Sakura started shaking with fury and resentment as hot angry tears spilled over.

She had then taken the morning off from the hospital, leaving for Team 7's training grounds where she had meticulously leveled the field as she summoned Fugaku looking clones and pummeled them into the ground.

A bit before noon, Sasuke had found his dust-covered teammate lying in the middle of the field, staring blindly to the sky. That's when he had told her why his parents, and the Clan's elders, had barged into her house without warning that very morning. Earlier that day, after leaving her apartment, Itachi had come to the Uchiha's compound to pick up his gear before heading out for his latest mission.

Sasuke had been eating breakfast with his parents when his older brother had entered the kitchen dressed in ANBU gear. He had ruffled his little brother's hair, as he greeted his father, before kissing his mother good morning. Itachi had then announced that he would leave for a four-month long mission, and was hoping that he could invite them out for dinner to meet his girlfriend once this mission was over.

What Sasuke hadn't told her was that this wouldn't have been a problem if the Uchiha heir had chosen his words differently, even if Sasuke suspected that his older brother had known exactly what he was getting himself into when he had announced that he "wished to invite his parents to dinner in order to formally introduce them to his future wife, Sakura Haruno." Itachi had then taken the dumbfounded silence of his parents as his cue, and had swiftly taken his leave. Sasuke, on the other hand, could barely register the brilliant smile appearing on his mother's lips as he saw his father's usually stoic face turn a deep and angry crimson red. He wasn't sure if he was more shocked at the fact that his precious teammate was dating his sadistic older brother, or impressed that Itachi had just pulled off pissing their father into a blind rage in under two seconds flat.

A deep frown marred Sakura's features as she watched the flames dance over the logs. Itachi had just up and left for four months, leaving her alone to face the anger of his Clan's leader. Of course, she was way too stubborn to back down, and had shown Fugaku just how good a medic she was, before challenging Mikoto to a duel. At first, Sakura had held back, but had quickly learned that, if she wanted to prove herself to the Clan, she had to go for the kill like Mikoto had. The pink haired Kunoichi had known that the Uchiha matriarch was strong, but had still been surprised when the small and dainty Mikoto had shown speed and power that rivaled that of her sons. The fight had not been easy, and she had nearly lost when Mikoto had trapped her into a Genjutsu, only to pull through at the end.

And boy had she been angry. Furious even.

Mikoto couldn't help her, and Sakura understood that, but as the days passed Sakura's rage only grew as she resented Itachi for leaving her in this mess. Sasuke had tried giving her pointers on how to present herself to the Patriarch, while keeping this entire mess a secret from Naruto, but it hadn't been easy.

Her growing frown and continuous silence pushed Itachi to speak some more.

"When I arrived in Konoha, I visited your apartment first. I didn't know you were supposed to go on a mission."

"I wasn't, Naruto dragged me and Sasuke into it."

"So I've heard. Thank you for protecting Sasuke."

Sakura merely shrugged at his words, this small talk was calming her nerves : "They're my family, my teammates, Itachi."

Silence fell again as he seemed to hesitate in his next words : "You know, I've always been jealous of you three. But mostly of you." At that statement, Sakura actually turned her gaze to him, surprised by his admission. What could the great Uchiha Itachi, shinobi prodigy, ever be jealous of?

"I've tried protecting my little brother from the Clan, but he was always clinging on to our father, wanting to fill in the mold of 'the perfect Uchiha'. He was stubborn and proud, reluctant to mingle with the other kids… and then he entered the Academy and became a member of Team 7."

She couldn't take her eyes off him. Itachi was so calm and serene while he talked about his precious Otouto. She had rarely seen him this open, but it had been that side of Itachi that had made her realize just how much this man was special to her.

"He opened up to others, grew wiser and quickly understood that the Uchiha Clan wasn't all that flawless, and most importantly he learned to rely on you two instead of only himself. Naruto never followed the rules, Sasuke followed Naruto into his antics, and you were always the one to bring them back on track. You got them out of trouble, followed protocol, scolded them, and yet, you were the first one to break the rules if it was to cover for them. I thought you were just another soldier like me, and when I looked closer, I saw how wrong that assumption had been. I saw just how much freedom you took to complete your missions without ever going against your own beliefs, never backing down from your choices. For that, I've always envied you."

Sakura could only blink at his words. She was floored. Itachi had never spoken so much, and she began to wonder if this was some kind of illusion. Maybe she had failed her jutsu in that rusty old cell and she was actually delirious from the blood-lost and would soon die.

"You're a strong, stubborn and beautiful woman. That I've known for a long time, but lately I had forgotten that fierce loyalty you held for what you loved and cherished. When I arrived in Konoha and you weren't there, I left for the Compound and my mother came to meet me at the entrance."

He let out a breathless laugh as a fond smile found his lips.

"I think she gave me the biggest scolding of my life, before kicking me out. I had forgotten how scary my mother could be."

The orange light from the fire seemed to dance inside his dark onyx eyes, Itachi had rarely seemed more alive to her. And happy.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with the Clan without me. I'm sorry I left for so long without warning you beforehand. I'm sorry I tested you over and over again when I was the one so hesitant to open up to you."

Sakura felt her throat close up at his words, only to notice that she had started crying when Itachi leaned over to frame her face with his warm hands, his thumb slowly wiping at a tear.

"And thank you. Thank you for fighting my father, thank you for not dumping me the second the Clan closed in. Thank you for always setting me straight in that adorable stubborn way." He took in a shaky breath, leaning his forehead onto hers as he closed his eyes.

"And thank you for loving me.", he whispered to her.

Suddenly, Sakura couldn't remember why she had cursed his name, why she had been so angry that he had left. For the life of her, she wouldn't have been able to give a single reason as to why she had refused to talk to him up until now, and truthfully, she just felt plain silly for the way she had acted earlier when they had met in Kabuto's lair.

Once again, this man had bested her. She never could win against this innocent and socially awkward Itachi. He had always been the big bad ANBU Captain, but when he let his walls down around her, her own iron defenses seemed to vanish in a puff of smoke. He had let her deep into his heart, or maybe she had been the one to punch her way through, and Sakura had discovered the soft heart of an innocent boy that had been taught to kill all emotions since his birth. Most saw a confidant leader in Itachi, but he also had a very fragile side to him. One where he was clumsy, shy and nervous around the people he cared for, hiding his discomfort behind teasing and mind games. She remembered his pain and how he had cried when he had told her about Shisui's death. How proud he was whenever he talked about his little brother, or how soft his eyes would become when he talked about his mother.

"I still want to kick your ass, Uchiha.", her tone was light as a half smile showed him that she was just teasing.

"Well, miss Haruno, I'll let you know that my mother refused to let me back into the Compound until I made up for my actions. So I had to find a solution before nightfall if I wanted to sleep into my bed that night."

Now she felt a grin stretch across her features, amused to hear that Konoha's scariest ANBU Captain could still be bullied around by his mother.

"Really? And how did that work out?"

"I bought an apartment."

He had said it in his typically blunt and straight to the point Itachi Uchiha way, and Sakura couldn't help the fit of laughter that suddenly took over, making more tears roll down her cheeks. In the back of her mind, she knew this man would be the death of her, but strangely she didn't care; she hadn't felt this light and happy in months and laughing felt great, exhilarating even.

Sakura felt him sit back, the palm of his hands brushing away a strand of pink hair as she dried her eyes with the back of her hands. Taking a few deep breaths to calm down, Sakura turned fully towards him, their knees brushing against one another's. She heard him clear his throat, catching her attention as she noticed that he had turned serious again.

"Sakura, would you move in with me?"

For the second time that night, she could only blink stupidly at him as her mind took way too much time to register the words. But Itachi Uchiha was a patient man, and watching shock, bewilderment, confusion, realization, and finally joy pass over her features seemed to be the most interesting thing to him.

She flung herself onto him, her arms wrapping themselves around his neck as her lips locked with his. The kiss was fierce but all too short as she leaned back a little, a blush spreading across her cheeks as she smiled brightly at him.

"Yes, Itachi."

She leaned back in for another kiss, feeling his lips stretch into a smirk under hers as he brought his hands to her waist, pulling her into his lap.

"And when are you going to tell your teammates about us?"

His words had been a bit muffled by her lips, but Sakura stilled before pulling away reluctantly, sending a mild glare towards the irritating Uchiha.

"You really want to talk about this now?", she asked skeptically, her earlier blush fading fast as she looked down to him, her arms still hooked around his neck.

"Sakura, I've been courting you for the past two years, when are you going to tell them?", with him craning his neck back to see her face, and the slightly annoyed crease between his brows, he almost looked like a pouting child.

Sakura winced at his words. Itachi was right. They had told their parents, she had literally sweat blood and tears to get Fugaku's approval, Sasuke had given her his blessing after warning her that his older brother was a sadistic popsicle, and now the man of her life wanted them to move in together. She didn't have any more excuses to hold back the news from her blond haired, blue eyed and very very loudmouth teammate.

Sakura had told herself many times over the past year that she would tell her teammates about her relationship with Itachi when the time was right. Strangely, the time never seemed to be right. She had told Ino, who by god knows what miracle hadn't blurted the information out into the village's rumor mill. Sasuke had learned the info when Itachi had announced his plan to their parents, but had kept his mouth shut in front of Naruto. And Naruto…. Well, it had taken him 19 years to figure out that the Hyuga heiress had a crush on him, so he was probably completely blind to the matter. No later than last week had he announced just how pleased he was that his Sakura-chan wasn't with a 'shinobi that wasn't worthy of her'. The blond idiot had clearly spent way too much time hitting the clubs with Lee.

She knew that Sasuke wouldn't say anything as long as his precious Aniki was happy. She also knew that Itachi could hold himself against Naruto if the blond came at him for a fight, and she could send the energetic blond flying over Konoha if he pestered her too much; but she just hadn't found it in her to tell them.

Letting out a defeated sight, Sakura yielded.

"All right, the moment we enter Konoha, I'll tell him. But we're doing this my way. I don't want them getting crazy ideas before I even get to explain our relationship. I don't want any misunderstandings."

Itachi smiled, but Sakura ignored him as she continued : "AND, you're on your own to handle Naruto. That includes keeping him out of our apartment at night."

Now Itachi as sprouting a full on grin that made a little warning bell ring in the back of her mind : "No deadly jutsus allowed.", she added while eying him suspiciously, but when his grin didn't falter, she added stubbornly :

"Itachi, it's not because you already know the answer to a question, or how something is going to unravel, that you can't ask or warn me about it beforehand. We're a team now and this isn't a top secret ANBU mission. We need to share information, even the smallest ones, if we want this relationship to work out."

She had been very serious in her statement as she saw Itachi's smile grow wider. The pinkette, suddenly too tired to play his mind games, had brushed it off as him being pleased that, once again, he had gotten his way with her.

When she'll enter Konoha two days later, she would grimly tell herself that she shouldn't have been surprised, really. After all, she'd known him for almost ten years now. She should have seen it coming; he just couldn't keep things simple, could he?