Chapter 15 – It's Safe Right Here In My Arms

"A photo shoot?" Ino repeated, pausing in sipping her milkshake, lips freezing at the top of the straw. Her only visible eye shot to Itachi and a faint blush made itself known. "What kind…?"

"Nothing like that," she quickly snapped, waving her hands dismissively.

"You pretended to marry him," argued Naruto, much to her annoyance and under the table, she gave him a swift kick to the shin, ignoring his yelp. "S-Sakura-chan… Why?"

Carefully, the blonde placed her milkshake down on the table, eyebrow raising and it had Sakura inwardly sighing. "Marrying Uchiha Itachi-san, huh?" she questioned, blue eye meeting Sasuke's. "How do you feel about that, Sasuke-kun?"

Great, it was starting already. Why had Sakura assumed it would be any different? Instead of being given the chance to respond, she was interrupted by Itachi as his phoned pinged, alerting him to a message. A second later and he was placing said phone onto the table, stating, "Ask him again once he has seen this photograph."

Sakura's mouth fell open at the sight of the photograph. It was of herself standing at the top of the aisle and she knew it was the exact moment Itachi was allowed to see her in the wedding dress, his entirely real reaction influencing hers.

The woman in the picture looked like a stranger. She had her features, had her distinguishable hair colour, but the expression in her eyes, the blush on her cheeks, the smile on her lips, was foreign. Seeing herself in such a way, knowing it was the reaction to Itachi's seeing her, made her stomach curl with an emotion she couldn't identify. Was it a positive emotion? Negative? Sakura couldn't tell.

But Gods, she looked so beautifully happy in the photograph.

It was a closeup, with the only visible bits of greenery and trees being blurred out, forcing Sakura to be the centre of attention. The angle of the camera, the flash, brought out the different shades of green in her warm eyes, even bringing forth a few flecks of amber she'd only ever noticed one time in the summer, several years ago. Her pale skin stood out proudly, almost appearing ethereal, especially in contrast to her hair, the single curled strands framing her face bursting with colour. Her half-bared shoulders teased the camera, as did her collarbone, but that was where the cropping had come in, refusing to give the person viewing the photograph any more skin. It demanded that her face be the main attraction.

"You look…"

"Wow, Sakura-chan."

"What else have you been up to, Forehead?" demanded Ino and there was no mistaking the pride in her eyes as their gazes met.

She smiled somewhat, still in awe of the photograph yet wary of seeming too into it. As proud as she felt, she didn't want them thinking she was arrogant or vain. "Oh you know," she began, smile growing impish. "Drinking, karaoke, stage diving-"

"Stage diving?" she repeated, gasping.

The impish smile grew. "And crowd surfing."

"No way."

"It's true," Naruto defended her with a grin. He was too busy scrolling through his phone to look at them, soon showing the blonde the video. It blared through his phone speaker, disturbing the other tables and Sakura snapped at him to turn it down, but he held the phone out of her reach. "See?"

Ino looked back to her, lips parting in surprise before she said, "I want whatever you're taking."

She chuckled uneasily. "Ino-Pig, I-"

"No, seriously," she told her and handed the phone back, crossing her legs beneath the table and flicking her hair off her shoulder. It had Sakura inwardly rolling her eyes when she caught Naruto looking downwards when Ino moved, her cleavage impossible to ignore in her halter-neck dress, especially when being held up by her crossing arms as she leaned back in her seat. "You've changed, Sakura."

Had she? If that was truly the case, she wouldn't have felt her heart sink when she stole a glance at Sasuke, upset to find that he was not immune to Ino's charms. Like she'd said: it was impossible to ignore the blonde's chest. Even Sakura would admit to checking it out from time to time, but only because it was always right there, always revealed by plunging necklines, such as the one she was currently wearing. Still, despite knowing that that was probably why her boyfriend discreetly stole that single glance, it still stirred childish jealousy within her.

"In a good way," Ino added, head dipping to meet Sakura's eye. "And I mean it."

What was she even doing there? Sakura sulkily looked downwards, unable to ignore the feeling of inadequacy. She always felt that way around Ino, who was undoubtedly perfect in every way – when it came to pleasing the eye, anyway, since her friend was all kinds of messed up. She had the naturally straight platinum blonde hair that never looked dirty. The brightest blue eyes and the longest eyelashes Sakura had ever seen, which were even prettier when coated in mascara. Then there was the picture-perfect hourglass figure that gained her so much attention.

Even the attention of her boyfriend.

Finally losing her temper on the second time she caught Sasuke glancing at Ino's chest, her foot lashed out, catching his shin in the same way she had Naruto's. There was a grunt and he went to reach for his shin, though instead settled on glaring at Naruto momentarily, assuming it to be him, but once he met her hard green eyes, the glare vanished, realisation forcing him to forget his sore shin.

Was she about to stand up for herself the second time that day?

"What's wrong?" asked Ino, though Sakura knew the blonde knew what was wrong. It was in the way she leaned forward, revealing more cleavage. "Sasuke-kun, are you okay?"

"Fine."

A soft smile pulled on her lips before she reached down, picking her shopping bags up and standing. "Still not a man of many words," she said impishly. "Well, I have too much to do to sit around all day – I still need to find you a gift for your birthday, Sasuke-kun."

Sakura bristled, but stayed silent.

So did her boyfriend.

"Is Sasuke in trouble?" asked Naruto knowingly once Ino was out of earshot, raising his eyebrows at her. "Is he gonna be puni-"

"Shut up, Naruto," she snapped.

"Did I miss something?"

Stay off your damned phone and you'd know, Sakura wanted to tell him, but instead kept her hurt glare on Sasuke. "Would you like to fill your beloved older brother in on what you were doing, or shall I?"

Anger flashed through his eyes. "Why should he-"

Folding his arms behind his head, Naruto leaned back in his seat, demanding all attention when he announced, "Sasuke was staring at Ino's boobs." Opening a single eye to look at him disapprovingly, he added, "More than once."

Disbelief had Itachi narrowing his eyes on him. "Sasuke-"

"Like you can talk," he replied to Naruto, opting to ignore his brother entirely. "You still have drool on your chin."

He sat up straight at that, glaring. "Yeah, but I'm single-"

"So-"

It surprised her that it was not her own hand meeting the back of Sasuke's head, making him wince.

"Instead of trying to justify your actions with the pitiful excuses a child would make, why don't you try apologising to Sakura for disrespecting her like that."

It wasn't a question – it was an order. And while Sakura had previously enjoyed defending herself, she found her stomach warming in response to Itachi's actions.

The warming stopped, turning ice cold, when she met Sasuke's eyes, her heart breaking.

"Sakura-"

"Don't apologise to me because you're being forced to." Standing, she angrily dug into her purse, dumping her share of the bill onto the table. "I'm going."

He was on his feet in an instant, eyes widening a fraction. "Wait, Sakura-"

She didn't turn back. Mainly because of the stinging of her eyes, but also because she had a point to make. Sasuke had to know that she wouldn't put up with his bullshit anymore. They had agreed to being more honest about everything, but what about her? If they wanted their relationship to work, she had to find her backbone, didn't she?

"Leave her."

"But Sakura-chan's upset-"

"And needs time to process the emotions she is feeling – Sasuke, approaching her now will only make things worse. You know that already."

"But…"

Was it her own feelings of inadequacy that pushed her? Or was it that horrible sinking feeling of being such a goddamn hypocrite?

While Sasuke had indiscreetly ogled her supposed best friend, she had almost kissed his brother. Twice.

Attraction was such a confusing thing, Sakura thought to herself as she entered the car park for the mall, heading straight for the elevator. How could she be in love with Sasuke, but occasionally find herself attracted to his older brother? How could Sasuke love–

She sighed once on the level her car was on, heading straight for it.

She had to stop assuming Sasuke was in love with her. Yes, he felt something for her, but even she was beginning to doubt whether that was love. He was way too–

"What-"

Her bag strap slipped from her shoulder to her hand as Sakura came to a stop behind her car, the sight of her slashed tyres leaving her in a state of shock. For several moments, all she could do was stare, trying to piece together the dots, trying to figure out what the hell she was looking at because that was her car.

"Fuck," she screamed, swinging her bag over her shoulder and launching it at her precious car.

Who in the hell would have–

"That bitch," she snarled and her arms came up, covering her face, hands grabbing fistfuls of the back of her hair.

Staying calm was impossible.

All four of her tyres were slashed, completely flat as all air had obviously escaped. There was no way she could drive it – she only had one spare tyre.

Breathe, she warned herself, almost squatting as she crouched, arms touching her knees, hands still gripping her hair as she tried to calm herself down. If her anger continued to grow, there was no doubt in her mind that she was going back to the store to beat several shades of shit out of Gin.

Who else could it have been? There was nobody she had any grievances with other than Gin.

Somebody honking their horn at her forced Sakura to stand and get out of the road, apologising over her shoulder at the elderly couple trying to leave. They were shaking their heads at her in annoyance until they spotted her tyres, quickly disappearing once they had. Typical human nature, Sakura thought bitterly, heading over to her car. When someone was in trouble or in need of assistance, strangers couldn't get away fast enough unless they had a phone in their hands, recording the whole thing.

Standing around wasn't going to help, she decided. She had to find a ride home, though part of her shuddered at the thought of calling Sasuke. It was much too soon and she still needed time to think everything over rationally – when she wasn't experiencing the emotions so powerfully in the heat of the moment–

Itachi.

Biting her lip with indecision, Sakura pulled her phone out of her pocket. Was contacting him really the best thing to do? When she was, in a way, so emotionally vulnerable? Then again, what else was she supposed to do? Walk home when it would take well over an hour? Yes, she was into fitness but on a day like the one she was currently experiencing–

Screw it.

She unlocked her phone and immediately called him, heart palpitating when it answered on the third ring.

"Don't let them know it's me," she said before he could greet her. Her own words had her biting her lip and Sakura faced her car, shouldering her bag once more. "I'm in… a bit of a situation. Do you think you could help me?"

"What happened, Kisame-san?"

Kisame-san? But–

He was making an excuse to ditch them.

"My tyres have been slashed," replied Sakura, voice threatening to shake.

When Itachi next spoke, he sounded shocked, asking, "All of them?"

"Yeah."

"I will try and be there shortly," he informed her. "Try not to worry."

Try not to worry? Try not to worry? Her tyres had been slashed! Her former supervisor was a freaking psychopath. How the hell could she not worry? Damn it.

It took Itachi all of five minutes to meet with her, his expression vaguely stunned at the sight of her tyres. He inspected them closely, leaning towards them and briefly, anger flitted over his features until he glanced her way, frowning.

"Do you have a suspect in mind?"

Ah, he didn't want to outright accuse anyone. "Gin-san. It has to be her," Sakura said with annoyance, gesturing to her tyres with a shake of her head. "This is going to set me back. What am I going to do? All the money in my savings is untouchable until I go to university."

Gods, she was starting to whine, but how could she not? The whole point of her standing up for herself and quitting her job was because she had that money backing her up. Yes, she supposed she should always take precautions for unexpected bills or charges, but how the hell was she supposed to predict her psycho bitch of a supervisor screwing with her car? The amount that would possibly be needed in order to pay for the damage would take a month's, perhaps even two months', worth of money she'd been saving.

Oh, Gods. The rims–

"The area is covered by CCTV," Itachi informed her and indicated towards a camera at the far end of the floor they were on. "While it would struggle with seeing her carry out the act, you will know if it was her or not."

She rubbed her forehead. Why was he being so on the fence and refusing to call the bitch out? It was painfully obvious who it had been. "Who else could it have been, Itachi?"

His moment of pause had her looking up at him, eyebrows raising questioningly, until he sighed. "Your friend seemed unhappy with you."

Her friend–

"Ino?" Sakura demanded with a humourless laugh. "You think Ino could do something like this?"

Itachi's frown returned. "While you were too busy focusing on Sasuke's ogling her, you failed to notice Ino-san's envy."

Ino? Envious? Of her? Was Itachi losing his mind? Then again, he didn't know Ino. He didn't know what their friendship was like.

"It wouldn't have been Ino," came her firm defence. Even after all the bullshit between them, her best friend would never sink so low. "I'll admit she's angry with me for being with Sasuke-kun, but she'd never do something like this. This…" She threw her hand out towards her car, heart breaking at the sad sight of it. "This isn't her style."

"I suppose it isn't," he replied thoughtfully and turned away, beginning the walk towards the security office. "I suppose Ino-san's style leans more on the side of seducing your boyfriend – directly in front of you, might I add."

What?

What?

"Don't walk away from me when you say things like that," she snapped at him in disbelief, jogging to keep up. "Ino is-"

Vague annoyance showed on his features when he glanced to the side at her, raising an eyebrow. "Is this where you defend yet another person who hurts you with frightening ease?"

"That's not fair. I-"

But apparently the Itachi who had lectures that never ended was back, looking down on her and judging every decision she had ever made or would ever make. "You are naïve, Sakura. You continuously give people more chances, no matter how badly they hurt you."

Tired of him walking two steps in front of her, she grabbed his arm, spinning him around and they came to an abrupt halt. Green eyes clashed with dark and she showed her unhappiness in her scowl.

"Would you rather me be alone?" asked Sakura. "If I gave up on people – when sometimes, it's a genuine mistake – I'd have no-one left."

"Has Naruto-kun hurt you?"

She frowned. "Well, no-"

"Have I?"

The words had her lips pursing, gaze dropping to the space between them. It was going to get dangerous again, wasn't it? Yet again, she was emotionally upset, riled up by the events leading up to that exact moment. To the moment where she chose Itachi's help over Sasuke's. To the moment where they were standing with barely a foot of distance between them, her heart hammering away in her chest, palms sweating, stomach pooling with a warmth she didn't want to acknowledge as Sakura realised that she'd almost automatically called Itachi rather than Sasuke when she needed help.

"…No," she all but whispered.

Something about her made his ambush retreat somewhat, softening his next words, "Then you will never be alone."

What was that supposed to mean? That she should dump her boyfriend for checking someone else out? After everything she'd been willing to move on from? So, it was okay for him to force himself on her, but if he ogled another girl, then it was over? How in the hell did that make any sense?

"Sasuke-kun's trying."

But even to her ears, her argument was weak. "And how long will this last before he loses interest or patience?" When she refused to look at him, gentle fingers brushed beneath her chin, tipping her head back, forcing their eyes to meet. "What happens next time he is under pressure, or stressed, or simply annoyed? Would you continue to stand by his side if he hurt you again? How long will you blindly follow my foolish little brother?"

"I don't know."

And the answer frightened her.

"Please," he quietly begged, her breath catching when the fingers beneath her chin skimmed over her neck, coming to her hair, unknowingly setting her skin ablaze with sudden sensitivity. "Please, do not become my mother."

"Itachi…"

He sighed. "Forgive me, Sakura." Before pulling away, he stunned her by gently poking her forehead, smiling somewhat. "It seems I was caught in the heat of the moment."

Was he teasing her? She rubbed at the spot, frowning up at him. No, the expression on his face, in his eyes, was too sincere for him to be teasing her. So, had Itachi poked her forehead to lighten the tension?

"Maybe we should go check the CCTV now," she said unsurely.

His only response was to take the lead.

"Why didn't you call me?"

The angered demand of her boyfriend had Sakura sighing, gazing towards the door of his gaming room and wondering how discreetly she could leave.

Being in his gaming room again assaulted her with a myriad of feelings, ranging from understandable uncertainty to damn near overwhelming fear and then to the confusing thrill. It all swirled around within her chest, refusing to allow Sakura to keep hold of one emotion long enough to figure out why she felt that way.

She'd forgone sitting on the sofa she'd been pinned against, instead feigning interest in the gardens as she sat on the windowsill, occasionally putting on a look of curiosity whenever she felt it was necessary. And like herself, Sasuke was not sitting on the sofa, although he leaned back against it while sitting on the floor.

Could he understand the uncertainty? Did he feel the same way as herself? Was he uncomfortable sitting there while memories attacked him in the same way he'd attacked-

Attacked her? Sakura frowned, hiding her expression with her hair as she looked outside once more. Saying Sasuke attacked her sounded way too aggressive to her, but was that what it had been?

"She could've been waiting around for you."

"But she wasn't."

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and Sakura discreetly looked that way, biting the inside of her cheek when she spotted Itachi approaching the pool with Shisui by his side. They were in their swimming trunks, towels hanging over their shoulders. She'd thought they'd been in the gym, but it seemed they were moving onto a more relaxing workout.

Shisui was the more muscular of the pair, it seemed and his wavy hair was a total opposite to Itachi's neat, straight hair. Then there was his tan – a clear indication that he saw more of the sun than his cousin did. Itachi, however… She wasn't sure how to describe it. Her eyes were simply drawn to him, admiring the low rise of his trunks on his trim hips, his abs, the defined 'V' that-

Well, they were certainly new, Sakura noted. They'd always been faint, but now they were well defined. Had Itachi decided to workout more regularly following their photo shoot? It definitely showed, she thought. He was-

Embarrassment shot straight through her chest when her eyes drifted upwards, meeting humoured dark eyes that were staring right back at her. She quickly looked away, fighting back the blush.

Tossing aside the controller and sighing, Sasuke said, "That's not the point, Sakura."

Were they really still on about that? "Sasuke-kun, please-"

"No, listen to me," he snapped in a low growl, surprising her. "What if you got there before she left and saw her in the act? She could have used the weapon on you."

"What happens next time he is under pressure, or stressed, or simply annoyed?"

There was no stopping her flinch of anticipation when Sasuke stood up, one that was seemingly unnoticed by her boyfriend.

"What would you do then, huh?" he demanded while advancing on her.

"Would you continue to stand by his side if he hurt you again?"

She shrunk back against the window, back flat against it when Sasuke placed a hand on either side of her thighs, leaning closer and closer and closer until she could feel his breath on her face, his nose almost brushing alongside hers. Instinct had her head turning to the side, breathing growing shallow.

"How long will you blindly follow my foolish little brother?"

How could he continue his actions, knowing how it affected her? Sakura swallowed hard, eyes glued to his white knuckled hands, threatening to fill with tears as the memories of the last time she was in the gaming room bombarded her. Chest rising and falling fast, she warily met his gaze, willing herself to stay calm, to be strong, to stand up for herself.

"What would I do?" came his angered question.

"S-Sasuke-kun," she whispered.

"You-"

"Sasuke."

Her heart rejoiced at the sound of Mikoto's calm voice, for just a second before she inwardly demanded why the hell the woman sounded so calm. She'd walked in on him intimidating her, cornering her, all but yelling in her face. Why wasn't she reprimanding him? Why wasn't she defending her?

"Your father wishes to speak with you."

The annoyance in his eyes had Sakura looking anywhere but him, her relief immediate when he pushed away from her, storming out of the room without pause.

It was only then that she could breathe once more, sucking in sharp gulps of air. Hands coming to the edge of the windowsill, she leaned forward, shutting her eyes as she tried to collect herself.

"How long will you blindly follow my foolish little brother?"

"Sakura-chan?"

Uneasily, she looked to the woman who remained standing near the doorway, having only stepped inside the room to allow Sasuke to leave.

Was that her future? Poorly concealed bruises, personality stripped away, sometimes only seeming like a shell of her former self? Flinching whenever her husband's voice was raised? Isolated? Afraid? Trapped?

The perfect Stepford Wife?

"I'm glad I have a moment alone with you," stated Mikoto and she offered a small smile. Had it always been so fake? So… so perfected? "Fugaku and I have picked out an outfit for you for the party."

Like hell–

Realisation shot down her spine, freezing her in her hunched over position.

Several times in the past, Sasuke had surprised her with a brand new outfit for one of their dates, but… He hated shopping, let alone shopping for her. There was also the fact that he was never the one who arranged their dates. Mikoto booked everything for him. She would have been the one to choose her outfit, knowing the dress code.

Green eyes were drawn to the design of Mikoto's dress as she slowly straightened. The strategically placed neckline that rested low enough to show off her collarbone and the pendant of her necklace, but no cleavage. The loose material that kept all possible curves hidden, refusing to even tease the eye. The skirt that fell to knee height. Then, she thought of all the dresses that had been purchased for her when she accompanied the Uchiha family on business related occasions. Many – if not all – of them were designed similarly, albeit tweaked for a much younger woman.

She met Mikoto's eye, jaw clenching.

This is your future, a voice warned her. She is your future.

"I have an outfit," argued Sakura politely. No matter what, she knew she could never disrespect Mikoto. "Thank you, though, Mikoto-san."

Indecision rippled through her eyes as they darted to the side, like she was trying to glance at the door behind her. "I must insist, Sakura-chan."

Had it been Sasuke who presented the dress to her, she would have fallen for it – without a doubt.

And it worried her.

How long had they been controlling her like that? Deciding on what she was going to wear and when? Having Sasuke pretend to be the one who got her the outfit so that she'd wear it?

"I'm dead-set on my outfit," she said, somewhat firmly.

Oh, she was dead-set on it, all right. Only, it wasn't going to be the pencil dress with the respectable skirt. No, she was going to go all out. Ino-style. Cleavage. Curves. Short. Paired with impossible heels.

Like hell she was going to let them put her in a box.

Was that fear on Mikoto's features? She felt a pang in her chest, sympathising, but just as she uttered her name, another spoke up, appearing in the doorway like her own personal hero.

"There you are," he said smoothly, entering the room. "Kurotsuchi-san would like to meet with us." He looked to his mother. "Unless now is a bad time?"

"Really?" replied Sakura before Mikoto could speak up. She feigned excitement, grinning at him. "I've been dying to hear from her since the photo shoot."

Guilt. Heavy, suffocating guilt showed in the older woman's eyes until she bowed her head respectfully and excused herself, leaving Sakura to fall back into the window, hands gripping the ledge once more.

It was with a wary glance over his shoulder that Itachi shut the door, though he remained standing in front of it, eyeing her momentarily.

Then, he said, "I came when I saw…"

Horror laced through her stomach, knotting together and making her feel sick. Of course Itachi had seen Sasuke intimidating her – she'd been stupidly ogling him through the window moments before.

Maybe that was her karma? She'd been a shameless slu–

No.

While Sakura knew that ogling Itachi had been wrong, it didn't excuse Sasuke's actions. It wasn't karma. It was him losing his temper. Again.

"Your parents have chosen my outfit for Sasuke-kun's birthday," she told him, addressing yet another problem from the never-ending list.

"I heard." There was obvious disapproval in his features. "I'm glad you're starting to stand up for yourself."

Weakly, she smiled. "Even if it results in my tyres being slashed?"

He sighed at that. "It frustrates me that there's not much I can do to help."

After witnessing the CCTV footage and spotting Gin making a trip in the general direction of her car, Sakura had thought that was that. It was done. Her fate was sealed. She had to pay for the damages. However, it was left in the hands of her parents' insurance providers – much to their unbearable anger and disappointment. Oh, they'd been livid with her. For quitting her job, for supposedly picking a fight with her superior, for destroying their no claims bonus, for snapping at them that Gin would never be her superior and storming out.

That was why she was currently staying with Sasuke.

Yes, she had crumbled and decided to spend the night there.

Sasuke had been there within fifteen minutes of her phone call, his mood already sour. Once she'd shown him the photographs of her car and informed him of the CCTV footage that showed Gin approaching it, it was safe to say his mood had gone from bad to worse.

"You dropped everything when I called," she told him quietly, wary of someone listening in. "And you calmed me down. That's more than enough, Itachi."

"Yet your car remains in disrepair."

"My problem," stated Sakura, eyebrows raising. Then, to try and change the subject, she asked, "So, Kurotsuchi-san called?"

There was another sigh and Itachi sat on the sofa, unknowingly making her skin crawl. She wondered how he would feel knowing that that was where it happened. Would he continue sitting there knowing Sasuke had forced himself on her exactly where he was sat? Would he eye it with disdain like she regularly found herself doing so?

"Kurotsuchi-san would like to meet with us both at some point in the next two weeks," he said. "However, I must apologise, as I will be busy with the company starting from tomorrow. I'm unsure when I'll be available."

It was clearly something he was reluctant in doing, Sakura noticed, though didn't mention it. To do so, when it clearly wasn't all that private, was like she was asking for a family domestic to occur.

"I can wait," she replied easily, smiling. "Although, I wouldn't be against more sneak peeks."

"What sneak peeks?" The door was pushed open fully, annoyance written all over Sasuke's face as he looked between them. Was he still in his bad mood? Her heat leapt into her throat and she subconsciously drew into herself, eyes averting their gaze. "Well?"

"For the photo shoot," reiterated Itachi and he stood, waiting until Sasuke moved aside before he went to leave. Just as she assumed he would do so quietly, he paused by his brother's side, looking to him out of the corner of his eye. "Before I leave, Sasuke."

Sakura's heart skipped a beat and her stomach somersaulted at the uncertainty in Sasuke's eyes. What expression was Itachi wearing to make her boyfriend feel that way? Part of her didn't even want Itachi to turn around, for fear of it shattering her image of him.

"Just because you did not resort to violence this time, it does not mean your actions are just," he told him smoothly, quietly. "You of all people should understand what that behaviour does to a person."

Indignation. Shock. Uncertainty. He glanced in her direction, silently accusing her. "How-"

"You had Sakura pinned to the window," Itachi muttered and she could feel the glare in the air around them, eyes widening a fraction at the way Sasuke responded to it. When had her boyfriend ever backed down? "You are headed down a dangerous path, Sasuke. Change it before you lose the one person you truly care for."

A/N - This chapter is dedicated to my friend Adelaide and her daughter Emilia, who has been so poorly recently with a horrific kidney infection. Thankfully, she's doing much better but this chapter is to help Adelaide unwind a little. Please keep them both in your thoughts x