Sakura had heard all of the things Tsunade was saying before, so she wasn't paying careful attention. In fact, she was rather bored sitting in the meeting. She should have been taking notes, like she was supposed to. But taking notes was almost more boring than doing nothing at all and Tsunade wasn't going to be reading them anyway.
Unlike Sakura, everyone else in the room, including Itachi was paying careful attention to Tsunade's every word. Sakura understood this. She was dropping quite a bomb on them.
She could feel how tense and unnerved Itachi seemed to be, so she kept her hand on his leg, unmoving so as not to distract him.
This was a big deal for the Uchihas. A clan that had been nearly outcast, looked down on by the rest of the village – they would now have an equal say in Konoha's political affairs. Itachi's words, his advice would hold weight. And how could anyone deny that he deserved such power?
With a pang of wistfulness, Sakura mused that Itachi would have made a good Hokage.
"He's a clan killer," Hiashi seethed. "Regardless of the reason, he's done brutal and horrifying things to citizens of this village."
"We're not going to dwell on the past, Hyuuga," Tsunade said. "Since his return he has been nothing short of gracious. It's the unfair treatment of his clan that got him into that mess in the first place."
Hiashi looked like he wanted to argue. Sakura could see the tension in his jaw as he clenched his teeth.
"What about his clan?" Chouza asked. "There are only the two of them left. That's hardly even a clan at all. They are no longer the respectable people they once were. Should we really be giving them a seat on the council?"
"The seat has been given," Tsunade said tensely. "That is not up for discussion. However, I do think you make a good point. Itachi."
Itachi, who had been sitting silently with a stony expression and fists clenched in his lap, looked up at the Hokage with dark, serious eyes. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"
"You told me when you came back that you wanted to restore your clan," she said. "Do you still plan on doing so?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
"And do you have any concrete plans for moving forward with the task?" she asked. "Like a specific girl you might have in mind?"
Sakura felt a hot blush rising in her cheeks. She knew that Tsunade was aware of some kind of relationship between the two of them. She didn't know if she knew any of the details, but it wasn't the kind of thing she could slip past her mentor.
Itachi seemed at a loss for what to say. She, too, was curious to see what his answer would be, but she could understand his current predicament. If he said her name, they would be pressured into marrying and having children as soon as possible. Though he seemed to be much bolder with her as of late, she didn't think they were ready for that kind of talk yet.
And if he said no…
"The Uchiha bloodline is strong," Gaara said from beside Tsunade. Every set of eyes in the room turned to look at him. "If you rush his decision, he might choose poorly. He will need a strong wife if she is going to be the Uchiha matriarch."
"You're right, Gaara," Tsunade said. "But his seat on this council is contingent upon his clan. No clan, no seat."
"Tsunade-sama, don't you think that's a little unfair?" Sakura asked. She felt Itachi's eyes on her, but she couldn't look at him.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at her student. "I'm hearing the feedback of the rest of the council and I think it's only appropriate for Itachi to reestablish the Uchiha clan as a prerequisite for his seat," she said. "However, because I trust him, I will allow him to have his seat now as long as he is married within the year."
"A year?" Sakura squeaked. She felt Itachi's hand cover hers in her lap. He gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"I believe that is fair, Hokage-sama," Itachi said.
"Good," she said with a tense smile. "Moving on."
Whatever else Tsunade had to say was completely lost to Sakura. A rushing sound filled her ears and for a second she thought she might have gone deaf. Did Itachi expect her to marry him within the year?
They hadn't had sex. They hadn't declared love for one another. Hell, they hadn't even been on a date. If somewhat awkward flirting and a night of sexless sleep was enough to build a marriage on, then they were all set.
Years went by quickly. A year ago she was still pining after Sasuke. A year ago Itachi was still an enemy. Could she love Itachi a year from now? Could she be his wife?
And children! The entire point of the rushed marriage would be to produce heirs, children that will carry on the Uchiha name. That would be her responsibility! Would he expect her to pop out baby after baby? Would she have to stop working and taking missions?
She felt her entire body trembling as she clung tighter to Itachi's hand still in her lap. His hand was warm and steady – the complete opposite of hers. Itachi was not difficult. It would be quite easy to love him. And if anyone deserved to be loved, it was Itachi.
"It will be okay, hime," he whispered to her, brushing his thumb over the back of her hand in soothing circles.
As long as he was there with her, it would be.
.
The meeting had gone on for another hour and Sakura could not be more ready to leave. Everyone else also seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood, though Sakura couldn't understand that. Tsunade had just given everyone a power that they did not have before, yet all they could think about was the fact that they did not want Itachi Uchiha to have it, too.
Itachi, Sakura thought, was actually perfect. She watched him as he worked the room at the conclusion of the meeting, greeting everyone with polite smiles and firm handshakes. She knew he wasn't quite as unaffected by their words as he pretended to be.
He had much more grace and tact than she did. She sulked quietly in the corner until everyone else had left.
"Sakura," he said cautiously as he approached her. The Hokage tower had been emptied and it was just the two of them left. She had made it apparent that she was waiting for him, but he still seemed overly pleased that she had not yet left.
"Itachi," she said with a little more sting than she intended. "It's either all or nothing with you, isn't it? I don't see you for weeks and then when we meet again I'm supposed to be marrying you."
"I did not enjoy not seeing you for weeks," he said with bemusement. "If it were up to me, I'd make sure to see you everyday."
Her heart squeezed in her chest. "Itachi…"
"Come with me," he said, extending his hand to her. "I want to talk to you."
She took his hand and let him lead her out of the Hokage tower. When he turned back away from the village, she knew he was taking her to the stone faces. She used to go up there a lot to sit on the Sandaime's head when she was younger. Everyone did. It seemed to be a popular thinking spot.
He led her to Tobirama's head – an interesting choice, she thought. She sat down beside him, letting their legs brush together.
The moon hung high and the stars that peppered the sky seemed much brighter than usual. There were no clouds and for a moment it felt like they were sitting in space with nothing else around them.
Contentedly, Sakura leaned against Itachi and sighed deeply.
"I understand if you don't want to marry me," Itachi said beside her. "That is a lot to ask of you."
She turned her face toward him and if she hadn't been looking for it, she would have missed the flash of pain on his face.
"What makes you think I don't want to marry you?"
"You were freaking out in there."
"I wasn't freaking out," she defended.
"It's okay," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. He kissed the top of her head. "I was freaking out, too."
"You were?"
"Of course," he said. "Don't I have reason to? Marriage is scary – and though you know I am exceptionally fond of you, I don't feel quite ready for that yet. I know you don't either."
Sakura smiled, though she knew he couldn't see it. "I'm exceptionally fond of you, too."
"Sakura…"
"I know, I know," she said. "This is serious."
"I could give up my seat on the council," he suggested. "Then Tsunade-sama would have no way to force my hand."
"No, you deserve that seat."
"If I have to choose between you and the seat, I choose you."
She shoved him away from her angrily. "First of all, you don't have to choose. In fact, it seems like we're a package deal. Second, if you did have to choose, you should choose the seat. You have a platform now to stave off the corruption that got your clan in trouble in the first place. I wouldn't let you give that up."
"I don't want you to marry me just so I can have the position on the council."
"I never said I would marry you."
Silence settled around them, thick in the chilly night air. Sakura turned her back toward him and looked out at the village below her. They were all so lucky to have Itachi protecting them. They shouldn't be forcing him to make decisions like these.
"I have a duty to my clan, Sakura," he said, his voice low. "I have to have an heir. I have to have a family."
"I know you do," she whispered, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knee.
"You are the person I want to do that with," he continued.
Sakura felt tears brimming in her eyes. She brushed them away angrily with the back of her hand. Tsunade shouldn't have listened to everyone else. She should have let them take their relationship at their own pace.
She could love Itachi. It would be easy. But would it be a mistake to move too quickly? They hardly knew each other. What would the repercussions be?
"But I understand if you want to break this off now," he said quietly. "You have done so much for me already – I cannot ask you for something so big."
"Itachi, you don't want marriage to be a favor I do for you," she said. "And I don't want to marry you as a favor. I want to marry you because I love you. And I don't want to break this off because I think I might love you."
She turned back to look at him and was slightly amused to see a dumbstruck look on his face. She couldn't recall ever seeing a look like that from him so she felt a bit of pride knowing that she was the one who caused it.
"Itachi, don't think that my hesitancy is because of you," she said, moving to her knees and pulling his hands into her lap. "I do want to be with you. I'm just scared. I've never been a wife or a mother before, and if I marry you I'll be expected to be exceptional at both. I'll have to quit taking missions, maybe even my job at the hospital. It's just a lot to take in."
Itachi laughed and the sound surprised her. "Now you know how I feel," he said. "The expectation to be exceptional – it's unpleasant, I can tell you that."
Sakura furrowed her brow.
"Listen, Sakura, I won't ask anything from you that you aren't willing to give. If you don't want to marry me a year from now, then we won't get married. But I don't want to lose you," he said.
He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. "You look beautiful and confused," he said.
She leaned closer to him, breathing in his scent. "I don't know what to do," she confessed.
"Neither do I," he said. "But we don't have to figure it out right now. Right now can just be about me and you."
He slipped his fingers into her hair around her face and pulled her in for a kiss. And suddenly none of it seemed important. The meeting, the marriage – it all floated away. She gripped his forearms tightly and breathed him in, kissing him with more control than she had ever cared to use before.
Itachi pulled her into his lap and turned her around so that her back was pressed into his chest. She could feel the warmth of his body juxtaposed by the frigid winds that whipped through their hair. He circled his arms around her and kissed her temple before resting his chin on the top of her head.
Sakura sank back into him and entwined their fingers together. They sat in silence for a while, watching the moon, the stars together.
"So," Itachi murmured into her hair. "You think you might love me, huh?"
"Maybe," Sakura replied coyly. "It's too soon to tell."
"Well, I think I might love you, too."
"You think?"
"It's too soon to tell."
Sakura laughed and then shivered when she felt him exhale against her ear. He tightened his arms around her. "Are you cold?" he purred. Sakura laughed again and elbowed him gently in the ribs.
"Since when do you have moves, Itachi-kun?"
"I've always had moves, hime," he said. "I've avoided using them on you. They can be a bit overwhelming."
"And jokes, too!" she giggled.
"Not a joke," he said, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I invited you up here so I could seduce you."
She giggled again and turned around in his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Is that so?" she asked.
He might have been joking – Sakura couldn't know for sure. But the look he fixed her with sent a sharp stab of heat straight through her body nonetheless. His eyes were dark and heavy lidded as he peered at her through impossibly long lashes. Sakura had seen that look before on other men, but it had never affected her until now. She yearned to just grab him by the hair and pull him into a fierce kiss, but she was curious to see what he would do next.
"I really did miss you, hime," he said, pressing a kiss against her throat. Sakura arched her neck back, pressing her chest closer to his. "I tried to visit you a couple times, but you were busy."
His hands trailed down her back and along her thighs, smoothing over the thin material of her dress. More boldly than Sakura remembered him to be, he slipped his hands underneath the hem of her dress and let his fingers skim along her bare thighs.
Sakura let out a shaky breath and rolled her hips forward. "You came to visit me?" she asked, watching him squirm beneath her. "When?"
"Not important," he said, leaning into her and pressing his lips to hers. He was torturously slow and gentle, but more heated, more intense than he usually was with her. His fingers sank into her hips, squeezing the bare skin just above her panties. He pressed her down hard into his lap.
She gasped at the pleasurable sensation, giving him the opportunity to deepen the kiss. She clung desperately to him, high on the pleasure, high on him. He pulled his mouth away from hers and began to trail hot kisses along her jaw, her neck, her bared shoulders. He grinded her down into his lap again, eliciting a groan from her.
She threaded her fingers into his hair, pulling his head down to where her shoulder met her neck. He obliged, pressing hot kisses to the skin there.
"Itachi," she whispered. It was probably a protest that she had been about to utter, but it vanished from her mind completely when she felt his hand wander out from under her dress to experimentally cup her breast.
She gasped and arched into his palm. She felt him smile against the skin of her neck. He brushed his thumb across her nipple over the thin fabric of her dress. The feeling was electric and sent a shock of pleasure right down to her core. She whimpered softly and bucked her hips against him.
"Itachi," she groaned.
"Yes?" he mumbled, nuzzling her neck.
"Are you going to fuck me on the Nidaime's head?"
He paused, likely not expecting her to say such a thing. His face was still against her throat and she felt the brush of his lashes against her skin as he blinked.
"Should we stop?" he asked softly.
"We should… we should go somewhere else," she suggested. "Someplace that's not a big, cold rock."
He pulled back to look at her. "Okay," he said. "We can go wherever you want to."
"Your place."
She saw the hesitancy on his face.
"Sasuke isn't there," she said. "He's with Naruto."
"Okay."
.
Sakura was giddy because she was pretty sure she was about to fuck Itachi. Finally! Ever a gentleman, Itachi had walked her back to his place. She felt the urgency to run there by rooftop, but that was impossible in a dress like hers, so instead she held his hand and walked calmly beside him.
Itachi seemed to sense her excitement and found plenty of excuses to touch her on the way to the Uchiha compound. By the time they had reached his front door, Sakura was quivering with anticipation.
"You seem pretty excited," Itachi said cautiously as they entered his kitchen. She realized then that he was nervous. The walk seemed to have cooled him down a bit and she could see the worry in his eyes.
"Yeah, well," she began. "This Itachi with all the moves really gets me going."
He looked flustered and Sakura found it adorable. "Let me make you some tea," he said, pulling a mug out of the cabinet.
"No," she said, stepping between him and the cabinet. She pulled the mug out of his hand and set it on the counter beside her. "I don't want tea."
His eyes narrowed and she could feel heat emanating off of him. His face hardened a little and he seemed to have found some resolve. Without much warning, he hooked his hands under her thighs and lifted her up onto the counter. He stood between her legs, gripping her hips so tightly that it hurt.
"What do you want, Sakura?"
She hitched her legs around his hips and braced her hands against his shoulders to pull him into a kiss, but when their lips were almost touching he pulled back away from her.
"Tell me," he said.
"I want you."
He pulled her face in to kiss her, but this time she was the one who stopped him.
"Wait," she said, and he let go of her immediately. "Tell me what you want. And be specific."
"I want to kiss you," he said and then kissed her. She kissed him back, lingering and sweet. "And I want to touch you," he continued, sweeping his fingers along her collarbone and down her arms.
She caught his wrists and placed his hands on her waist. She wanted to ask him where he wanted to touch her, to make him tell her all the things he wanted to do to her or that he wanted her to do to him.
But then he slinked his hand away from her waist and up under her dress again, smoothing over her legs and coming back to her hip. His hand was dangerously close to an extremely sensitive bud of nerves and she twisted her body in an attempt to bring it closer.
He pressed a kiss to her temple, then her cheeks, then her lips. Sakura felt herself melting, swooning. In all her time pining after Sasuke she had never felt like this – so on fire, so electric. Her hands flew to his hair where she entangled her fingers and held his face to hers so she could keep kissing him.
She never wanted to stop kissing him. She could feel the heat from his hand still under her dress and though he was only holding her hip, she could feel his hand trembling. She edged herself forward on the counter until there was no space between their bodies.
His hand crept up toward her breasts until the fabric of her dress kept him from moving any higher.
"Just take it off," Sakura said, breaking their kiss just long enough to say it before she had latched her mouth onto his again.
Itachi complied, gathering the fabric of the skirt up in his hands so he could pull it up over her head.
"Wait, don't," she said, grabbing his hands. "You'll mess up my hair. Just unzip it from the back."
"I'm going to mess up your hair anyway, hime," he said, watching her hop off the counter. She spun around so he could unzip her. She felt his fingers at the nape of her neck and he dragged the zipper pull down the length of her back slowly, mesmerized by the reveal of her creamy skin. "How did you get this zipped up in the first place?"
"Ino zipped it," she said, her tone bordering on impatient. When he reached the bottom of the zipper, she pulled the thin straps off her shoulders and let the dress fall down to pool at her ankles.
Now, Sakura wasn't self conscious about her body. She was a kunoichi – her body was a weapon. She was toned and fit.
But she suddenly felt very nervous with Itachi's eyes on her nearly naked body. She was fit, yes. But she lacked the feminine curves that Ino and Hinata had. She didn't have wide hips or round breasts.
Itachi's eyes roved over her, lingering on her exposed breasts for some time before coming back up to her face. She found his awestruck look to be encouraging, so she took a step forward into the circle of his arms.
He brushed the hair away from her face and captured her lips in a searing kiss. She began to unbutton his shirt and she could feel her fingers trembling as she did so. In fact, it made it quite hard to work the buttons.
"Let me," he said, grabbing the collar of his shirt from behind his neck and yanking it over his head. With that one swift motion, he was standing shirtless in his own kitchen.
And now it was Sakura's turn to appreciate. And boy, was there a lot to appreciate. Sakura was no stranger to the male body and as a medic in a shinobi village, she had seen some pretty good ones. Hell, everyone she treated had a nice body.
Itachi was lean. Though he had been quite thin in Toyeiki due to his illness, Itachi had put on a healthy amount of weight since then. Those spars and training sessions with Sasuke had really paid off. She openly ogled him, marveling at the broadness of his shoulders, the defined muscles of his chest, his abdomen. She skimmed the tips of her fingers along his abs, watching them contract against her cold touch.
When she returned her gaze to his face she saw that she was not the only one distracted. His eyes were glued to lower parts of her as well.
"Too small, aren't they?" she asked, only half joking.
"What?"
She cupped her breasts, lifting them up and letting them fall. "These," she clarified. "Little mosquito bites."
"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, Sakura," he said, taking a step back to more fully appreciate her. She wilted a bit under his scrutiny, but the lust in his eyes sent heat coursing through her veins.
She felt cold without his body close to hers, but he didn't seem interested in re-approaching her yet. She watched his eyes as they travelled up and down her body, lingering on her legs, her breasts. Growing somewhat impatient with his staring, she pursed her lips.
Itachi caught the motion and smirked at her, highly amused. "Do that thing where you cock your hip out," he commanded. "You know, when you're being all sassy."
"I am not sassy," she said quite sassily. But she was eager to please him, so she did as he instructed anyway, cocking her hip and giving him a dry look.
Itachi laughed and scooped her up off the floor. She wrapped her legs around his waist instinctively, giggling when he pressed butterfly kisses over her throat and collarbone. He pressed her back up against the wall behind her and kissed her hard, nearly bruising her lips.
He was far less restrained than he usually would be at such a point and Sakura wondered where his change of heart about sex had come from. Perhaps it had been due to their prolonged absence from one another. Or maybe his carefully controlled urges had reached a boiling point.
Whatever it was, Sakura hoped he never stopped kissing her like this. She kissed him back hungrily, greedily, gripping his waist tightly with her thighs. The feeling of skin on skin was electrifying and Sakura bucked into him to alleviate the pressure she felt building up in her core.
Sensing her discomfort, Itachi brushed his finger across the thin cloth covering the last bit of her. She gasped and arched back into the wall, her head hitting the plaster behind her with a dull thud. He rubbed slow, deliberate circles, pressing firmly into her and then following with a ghosting of his thumb. She was going to explode. She was going to spontaneously combust. She writhed against him, moaning and arching. When she opened her eyes she found him watching her with concentration and little bit of awe.
He pulled his hand away from her crotch, much to her dismay. "Itachi, don't stop," she begged breathlessly.
But he circled his arm back around his and cupped her from underneath. She had soaked through her thin panties and she could feel his fingers already slick against her. Gently, more cautiously than Sakura cared for, he nudged aside her panties and began using his fingers to explore her.
It wasn't for purely sexual reasons, Sakura figured. He was touching her, exploring her, trying to understand this part of her anatomy than he had never seen before. Hell, it had taken Sakura quite a while to understand her own vagina, so she could understand Itachi's curiosity.
She winced when his fingernail scraped against her clit – a jolt of the most pleasurable pain Sakura had ever experienced.
"Did I hurt you?"
Sakura shook her head and let her eyes fall shut as he continued to explore.
"You're so wet," he said, breathlessly. "I didn't realize that you—"
Whatever he had been about to say was cut off when Sakura pressed her lips to his impatiently. She needed more. She bucked her hips against him – a real feat as he held her against the wall. Caught by surprise, Itachi grabbed her face, threading his fingers into her hair. She felt her own slickness against her cheek as he touched her and she had no idea such a thing could turn her on so much.
"I'm sorry," he said, wiping her cheek with the back of his hand.
She groaned and grabbed his wrist, pulling it away from her face. She caught his eye and was surprised to see him still looking quite nervous and a little confused. She had never done this before either, but she had already lost herself to the sensations. There was no worry – Itachi wouldn't judge her.
Did he think she would judge him?
Tentatively, she brought Itachi's hand to her face and took his pointer finger in her mouth. His eyes widened almost comically, and if Sakura hadn't been so heated and high she might have laughed. She sucked hard, tasting herself on him, tasting his skin, using her tongue to feel the texture of his fingerprint, the ridges behind his knuckles.
"God, Sakura," he said, releasing a shuddered breath.
She moved his hand away from her mouth and down to her crotch again. She used her hand to press his hard against her while she grinded into it, shivering against the waves of pleasure that were continuing to build up in her core.
Then suddenly his heat was gone. He dropped her to the floor and quickly tossed her his shirt from where he had discarded it on the counter.
"Itachi, what—"
"Sasuke."
With no need for further explanation, she pulled his shirt over her head and smoothed down her hair.
The front door opened unceremoniously and Sasuke entered, looking rather annoyed. With a sigh, he tossed his pack on the floor and turned toward the kitchen where he saw his half naked brother standing with his half naked teammate. His teammate who happened to be wearing his brother's shirt. Probably only his shirt.
"What the fuck, guys?" he demanded with a scowl. "In the kitchen? What's wrong with your bedroom?"
"It's not what it looks like," Itachi said.
"It looks like you were about to fuck my teammate in the kitchen."
"Oh. Then I guess it is what it looks like."