#chapters will continue to post as long as reviews continue

One//Two//Three//Four//Five//Six//Seven//Eight//Nine//Ten//Eleven//Twelve//Thirteen//Fourteen//Fifteen//Sixteen//Seventeen//Eighteen//Nineteen//Twenty//Twenty-One//Twenty-Two//Twenty-Three // Twenty-Four (here) 

Chapter Twenty-Four
Can we just pretend?

They didn’t talk. Even after they returned to the parking garage where Itachi had left his car. He simply killed the engine and slipped out of the little Honda, the keys still in the ignition. Sakura went without resistance when he opened her door for her and led her over to his Lexus.

She didn’t know where they were going and she didn’t ask, even as the world outside sped by. She simply sat, watching each streetlight as it came and went out the window if only to distract herself from the reality that she had just thrown herself at Itachi. She didn’t know if she was more humiliated by that or by the fact he had stopped them.

Silently, Sakura snuck a peek in his direction, only to find his attention was focused solely on the road. He kept both hands on the wheel, his gaze flickering from the pavement ahead to the rearview mirror and back again. Itachi hadn’t bothered to put his jacket back on, instead leaving it abandoned in the backseat. Without it, she could clearly see his shoulder holster now, his gun tucked just under his arm.

Her eyes continued to wander. Over his shoulders where his grey shirt fit comfortably, not too tight nor too loose, and up to his face. She couldn’t read anything in his profile but that didn’t stop her from trying.

At some point, they pulled into a residential neighborhood. It was then that she realized they were heading towards his townhouse. The very one she had gone to that early morning the day after Ino’s parents had been murdered.

Itachi pulled into a small driveway beside the house and parked the car before he led her around the side to the front door. She followed after him silently, slipping her boots off in the entryway as he headed further inside, switching on lights as he went.

The last time Sakura has been here, she hadn’t ventured inside very far. She had simply gathered the information she had wanted and disappeared back out into the dark. This time, she made her way in slowly, eyeing the craftsmanship of the crystal light fixture above and the beautiful, dark wood floors.

At the end of the hall was a staircase that led to the top floor and just before that was a set of wooden, double doors that led to the rest of the home. They were open now and Sakura headed towards them, not entirely sure where Itachi had disappeared to. Not entirely sure what she was doing there.  

He wasn’t in the living room, but she stood near the entrance anyway and gazed around. There was a rustic but modern feel to the place. She had half-expected Itachi’s house to be decorated in monotone greys but it wasn’t. All the furniture and cabinets were trimmed with wood of deep browns and auburns. The couch and large, floor rug under the coffee table were a matching off-white.

But it was the upright piano in the corner of the room that made her take a double-take. This one was tall and narrow, nothing like the baby grand piano in Tobirama’s condo. She barely saw it at all under all the piles of paperwork and miscellaneous items. More of a second table than a musical instrument.

Sakura had barely begun to study it when Itachi entered the room behind her and asked, “Do you want to shower?”

She pulled her attention away from the piano to look at him. In his hands he held a towel with a shirt and pair of sweats on top, both obviously his. She almost shook her head ‘no’ but thought better of it.

Under the spray of the water, it occurred to her that this wasn’t the first time she had showered under Itachi’s roof with nothing but his clothes to change into. Only this time it felt more intimate. Like things between them had shifted. Although, for better or for worse, she wasn’t yet sure.

Even after taking her time, Sakura’s head still wasn’t totally clear, but she couldn’t justify standing under the spray any longer after having washed her hair twice.

Itachi was in the kitchen when she finally wandered back downstairs. She paused in the doorway to watch him as he moved a kettle of hot water off the stove before he shut off the burner. It felt a little odd, not bad but odd, to be standing there in such a domestic setting.

“I know tequila is your favorite, but would you like some tea?” he asked with a quick glance in her direction before he opened a cabinet.

Sakura shot him a look. “You make me sound like I’m an alcoholic. I drink more than just tequila, you know.”

An amused smile crossed his face as he pulled out two mugs and filled them with water. The delicious scent of orange and cinnamon reached her nose as she approached the counter to accept the drink from him. On one side, the mug read: “Coffee, cause adulting is hard.”

She hid her smile as she sipped slowly. She could only agree with that.

The tea helped fight off the cold from her wet hair. It warmed her hands and her chest as she sipped, settling low in her stomach, but it was nothing compared to when she looked up and found Itachi already watching her.

He gazed at her over the top of his own mug. Just the two of them standing there quietly in his kitchen. Her wearing his clothes. Just being with him for no other purpose than company. They really didn’t have anything more to discuss and yet she found herself not having any desire to leave. Somewhere far in the back of her mind – or perhaps not even that far – she knew this was dangerous.

Not knowing what to say, Sakura chewed the inside of her lip. Fortunately, Itachi broke the silence, but it wasn’t exactly what she was expecting him to say.

“I’m going to shower. Make yourself at home.”

Alone again, Sakura didn’t really know what to do with herself. Her gaze wandered back over to the piano, but rather than making her way towards it, she eyed the rest of the room, giving pause when she saw a handful of photos on the mantelpiece above the fireplace. They were the only photos in sight.

With her mug in hand, Sakura wandered towards them. Immediately she recognized Shisui beside Itachi in almost all of them. Together, just doing ordinary things: riding dirt bikes on an unpaved road, playing soccer in high school or college, posing together in their nice button-down shirts at what appeared to be a wedding.

The last photo had Shisui in it as well, but between the two of them was another woman. They were all wearing matching team, baseball shirts with a field behind them. Likely at the local stadium. She was wedged in the middle of the pair, her arms thrown around their shoulders and a wide smile on her pretty face. She looked about their age, and with the same eyes and nose. Definitely a family member. Another cousin or perhaps a sister?

Sakura didn’t know. And an uncomfortable feeling began to grow in her chest, knowing she didn’t know because she had never asked. She thought back to all the times Itachi had ever asked her about herself. Perhaps back then she had thought he was prying, but now…now she wondered if he was just genuinely curious about her.

Turning away, Sakura passed the bookshelf and she paused to read a couple of titles there if only to distract herself. There was a mix of everything. From World War Two history to travel guides on places all around the world to poetry.

Still, she found her eyes wandering back to that piano in the corner. Glancing back towards the doorway, she listened to the quiet. She could just make out the muffled rush of water from the shower. Itachi wouldn’t be down for at least another few minutes.

Setting her mug on a coaster on the coffee table, Sakura wandered towards the instrument, her fingers skimming over the side in a featherlight touch before she lowered herself down onto the bench before it. She lifted the soundboard gingerly before she played a few slow keys, listening for their sound. The notes fell in tune, but she didn’t immediately continue. Instead she listened for the shower one floor above.

Only when it reached her ears did she finally raise both hands, her fingers falling on those familiar keys. Playing the song that had been buried so deep in her soul for so long, she no longer knew the name or if it even had one.

That was how Itachi found Sakura sometime later. He had heard the music from upstairs the moment he shut off the water for the shower, but had assumed she had found the radio. Only now did he realize how wrong he was.

Frozen in the doorway, Itachi simply stared, the hand towel-drying his hair stopped mid-motion. She was seated across the room, behind the instrument pushed into the corner. It had been there for so long he had nearly forgotten it was there. Her fingers moved over the keys so easily, so seamlessly. Like she wasn’t playing a piece she had memorized, but instead playing a thought, a feeling. Just lost in the gentle sound her own hands were creating.

There were no words to describe the melody. It made him feel a little hopeful, a little sad and full of such a longing he couldn’t quite remember the last time such an emptiness had settled so heavily in his chest.

With her back to him, she hadn’t yet seen him. And though he couldn’t see her face, she had never looked more stunning in that moment. Dressed in his shirt and sweats, her feet bare and her hair still wet and drying around her shoulders. Something that had nothing to do with the music rose up in his chest.

Without daring to make a sound, Itachi crossed the room towards her. He left his towel on the counter, his own bare feet not making a noise against the wooden floors. He stopped some paces behind her, waiting to speak until the song had passed its crescendo and had slowed into something softer and more drawn out.

“Where did you learn that song?” he asked. And he immediately regretted it when her fingers paused over the keys.

She frowned, seeming to seriously consider his question. “I don’t remember,” she murmured, briefly glancing at him over her shoulder. “It’s just always been there.”

Her fingers returned to the keys as Itachi lowered himself down into the seat beside her. Only this time she played softer. More like background music. He simply watched her play, unable to draw his eyes from her fingers as they danced so effortlessly across the keys.

Then she stopped again. “Do you have a sister?”

Blinking, Itachi lifted his head to meet her gaze. A little confused. Wondering where that question had suddenly come from. Still, he shook his head. “I have a brother.”

“And he’s CIA?”

“No, he’s a helicopter pilot in the Army.”

She didn’t seem to know what to say after that and so resumed her song. Only this time she played slower like she was thinking less about the music and more about something else. Eventually she said, “You don’t talk about yourself very much.”

Neither did she, but he didn’t point that out. Merely canted his head. “What do you want to know?”

Sakura opened her mouth only to close it again. Like she couldn’t decide what she wanted to ask. Her uncharacteristic shyness was so charming, Itachi couldn’t resist smiling.

Then he pursed his lips, thinking what to tell her.

“My birthday is June 9th,” he finally began slowly. “I was born in Maryland but moved to New York at ten when my parents got stationed here. I have three Bachelor’s degrees.”

Sakura’s brow rose. She looked like she was going to ask one question but changed it mid-thought. “What else?”

Itachi hummed thoughtfully. “I can speak Hebrew and enough Arabic to get by. In the morning, I need at least three cups of coffee to function, and you…” he started, his voice trailing off for a moment. “You have the most beautiful emerald eyes I have ever seen.”

Sakura’s fingers faltered on the piano. She stilled before she turned her head to look at him. He met her gaze unabashedly, a small smile pulling on the corner of his lips. She seemed like she didn’t know what to say, but her gaze dropped down to his mouth as she worried her own bottom lip between her teeth. Like she knew what she wanted to do but wasn’t sure she should do it.

Itachi made the decision for her. Ducking his head, he pressed his mouth to hers, starting where they had left off less than an hour before. Sakura responded without pause, shifting on the bench to better reach him. Her fingers wrapped around his wrist as he slid his hand across her jaw to angle her face towards his.

This time, there was no rush. No adrenaline to cloud their judgement. No worry or concern. It was simply them and all the emotion that had been building since longer than either of them were aware. He kissed her slow, taking his time to familiarize himself with her. Her taste, her feel, her scent. Only now he could only smell his own shampoo in her hair and his body wash on her skin.

Something primal reared in his chest. Adjusting his grip, Itachi pulled her closer until her legs were on either side of his hips. In one movement, he stood with her in his arms, her thighs secured around his waist. They only made it as far as the couch, his mouth never leaving hers as he lowered them both down.

There, they spent most of the night. With only soft moans and sighs to fill the quiet. His hands and lips traced every inch of skin, paying particular attention to the bruises still on her wrists, her stomach and her hips. Where the memory of her attackers would soon fade. His touch left her breathless and yet he gave her everything she wanted. When he finally pushed inside her, their bodies moved as one. Working together to find that release that made the rest of the world and all its problems fall away.

Itachi brought them to climax there and then again some time later after their hearts had settled to something less frantic before he brought her upstairs to his bedroom. Then they did it all again.

It was only much later when the horizon began to lighten did they lay still. Sakura rested half-across his chest, her head on his shoulder with her breath ghosting across his neck. Itachi dragged his fingers through her hair in lazy strokes, the action lulling him to sleep as much as her.

“This complicates things,” Sakura murmured into his skin after the silence had stretched on for several minutes.

Itachi frowned but didn’t stop the gentle motion of his hand. He liked the way her silky strands fell through his fingers. “I know.” Then he added, “I still do not regret it.”

“Neither do I,” she murmured. “But we both know this can’t end well.”

Itachi’s grip around her tightened minutely. “Says who?”

“Itachi…”

He didn’t answer her right away. He tried to remember the last time he had felt this content. He knew Sakura was right. Those very same words had been in the back of his mind, just waiting to spring forward. But he didn’t want to talk about it right now. Right now, he just wanted one night.

Rolling them over into their sides, Itachi pulled her flush against him, until their breath matched every inhale and exhale, and their hearts found rhythm together. “We have plenty of other issues to concern ourselves with,” he told her. “Just for tonight, can we pretend this isn’t one?”

Sakura didn’t respond, but after a moment, he felt her nodded against his chest. Itachi smiled against the crown of her head before he finally let his eyes slip closed. The warmth of her heat and the softness of her skin lulling him to sleep.

xx

When Sakura awoke in the morning, it was to a muffled shuffling somewhere nearby. She forced her eyes open abruptly, her mind already racing for where she had left her gun. Only to relax when she spotted Itachi across the room. The events from last night flooded her memory but there were no feelings of regret or embarrassment. Only a fullness she couldn’t quite explain. It was still there when Itachi finished buttoning his jeans and turned to see she was awake.

“Hey,” he said with a soft, albeit apologetic smile. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

“No,” she lied, dragging a hand down her face. Then she glanced out the window. The sun was still out. “What time is it?”

“Almost three in the afternoon,” he told her as he grabbed a shirt and pulled it down over his head.

Which wasn’t surprising. They hadn’t fallen asleep until sunrise.

“I wish I could stay but my work called. I have to go.”

Sakura was surprised to see real guilt on his face. As if he honestly felt bad for leaving her there. She was just as surprised to feel disappointment rise in her chest. But she hid it behind a teasing smile.

“Or you could stay. Tell them you broke your phone,” she offered.

The guilt vanished to be replaced with amusement as he approached the bed to sit on the edge at her hip. “Unfortunately, it is important. But stay as long as you’d like. There is coffee already made and food in the cabinets.”

Sakura cocked her brow. “You tell me that like I actually know how to cook.”

“Surely even you can boil water for instant noodles.”

“I think you have more faith in me than you ought to.”

Itachi laughed – a true, honest laugh – before he leaned down to kiss her. He lingered for a moment before he pulled away and stood. “I have to go. I’ll leave a key on the counter.”

Then he was out the door.

Sakura laid there for a few minutes, just listening to the silence of the townhouse echoing back at her and her own breathing. It was this quiet she was used to waking up to. This stillness that echoed back at her. But never did she feel lonely. Not until now.

A long, heavy breath passed between her lips. She raised both hands to her face, her palms digging into her eyes. What did she just do? She had told herself only yesterday morning that she couldn’t get involved with Itachi and then the very same night she had jumped into bed with him.

She didn’t regret sleeping with him – Gods no. But she did regret sleeping with a CIA Agent. Kakashi had been annoyed when he had found out she had shared a bed with Tobirama. He would lose it when he found out she had done the very same thing with Itachi.

There were no outcomes of this that she could think of that would end well. The CIA didn’t exactly operate completely within the bounds of the law but they were still a government entity and she was an international criminal.

Dropping her arms back against the pillow, Sakura stared at the ceiling. Itachi hadn’t seemed too concerned about it. But then again, he had more to gain from this arrangement. Though she didn’t think he was using her. She had been manipulated enough times in the past to recognize it. Rather, she and Itachi were just strangely drawn towards one another. Like magnets, it had only been a matter of time before that invisible pull snapped them together.

But just as Itachi had said, there were plenty of other things to worry about. This one fell somewhere near the bottom of the list. At least for now.

That was enough to draw Sakura out of bed. She showered again, cleansing the stink of sweat and sex from her skin and replacing it with Itachi’s clean scent before she dressed herself in her clothes from yesterday. She grabbed her gun from under the mattress where she had stored it the previous night before retrieved her phone from the nightstand and headed downstairs.

Sure enough, there was a key sitting on the island counter. She pocketed it and took a sip of coffee from Itachi’s unfinished cup. Only to freeze as something caught her eye.

The piano, the one that had been so full and cluttered last night, lay bare. All the books and old mail that had been laid abandoned upon it were gone. There wasn’t even a trace of dust left. It had been wiped completely clean. Spotless.

Sakura knew without a shred of doubt Itachi had done it for her. Something settled in her chest. So heavy and full, that it felt both like happiness and sorrow. Her fingers itched for those keys. To feel their weight under her fingertips. To touch it and caress it as Itachi had done to her last night.

Sakura took one purposeful step back. Then she turned and made her way out the door.

to be continued…