Chapter Text
Sakura grunted under the weight of her burden, more panting than breathing. With great effort, she realigned Sasuke's body on her back, and took another slow step towards the Uchiha manor. Her muscles seethed under the exertion, protested against the very thought of walking farther, but she was so close now – so very close. Saliva pooled under her tongue, spilled past her lips to slaver down her chin, and she cursed the drunken hunk of a man she carried. Again. Sasuke had drunk himself blind yet another time, subsequently ruining another date. The reason for this mess poured out of his mouth in a slur of words, revolving around the same goddamned person.
"Itachi –" Sasuke's voice was more rasp than anything at this point. Sakura cursed him alongside the person whose name echoed in her ears after such grating reiteration. Damn it, Sasuke… Is that the only name you know? She bit back another grunt with her curse. It came out as an ill-natured, growl-like sound, quite unbefitting a woman's throat. If the Uchiha's front gates weren't in her line of sight, she would have been tempted to sling him off and leave him right there – on the cold cement of the pavement for the morning sun to find him in all of his lame glory. A groan made its way out of her larynx as she discarded the thought before it even fully formed, but she didn't have time to contemplate it either way. A lean silhouette detached itself from the shadows, and a male voice carried on the wind, brushed by her ears, cooler than the night breeze.
"Who is there?"
Sakura stilled, suddenly wary, alarmed. Please let it not be his dad. When she could make sense of whom she was actually seeing though, she wished it had been Sasuke's austere father – anyone but the man who stood before her. Imposingly tall, despite not being all that taller than she, eyes slanted with apathy, lips a straight line, tangent to a downward curve, Itachi was there. Even though Sakura had only seen his face in photos, she could not mistake him for anyone else.
"You're…Itachi." Sakura blurted out his name before she could halt herself, laced with hints of contempt, intrinsic disrelish. If Itachi heard the notes of dislike composed into the sound, he chose to ignore it – but she could tell he heard it.
"What happened to my brother?"
His question gnawed on her nerves, chiseled the last threads of restraint left in her after tonight's disastrous events. So now he's worried about Sasuke? Raising her gaze to his level, she pinned him with a hard stare, her reply blunt, sharp-edged – and more than a little cynical.
"A severe inferiority complex towards you which then led to a high consumption of alcohol. Again."
Itachi showed no visible change in his mien, nothing but a twitch of lips when he spoke, slightly mocking, like his words themselves.
"That was awfully…insightful."
Teeth sank into her lower lip as Sakura tried not to react to his taunt. She met his eyes, undaunted, refused to lose in acerbity.
"Well, it's awfully…late, and I'm too tired to mince my words. Sasuke is passed out cold, so it's not like he'll remember any of my less than flattering remarks."
Itachi's brow rose in a thin arc, his sole reaction to his brother's condition. His eyes appraised Sasuke silently for the merest moment – and then he almost sighed.
"Thank you for bringing Sasuke back."
Sakura lowered Sasuke to the ground, settling him against the iron gates, and decided to put an end to this charade. Once and for all. If Sasuke couldn't find the courage to face his problems then she would do it for him. It was well past the time someone did.
"I'd like to say it's no problem, but I've gone down this road one too many times." Itachi's brow rose in a higher arc at her biting tone and implications, but he waited for her to elaborate, seeming mildly curious. "You know, despite all of his bravado, Sasuke is quite a delicate individual – and, yes, I can be as honest as I damn well please since he won't remember this either."
A quirk of lips, wry amusement, Itachi remained quiet. If Sakura strained her eyes, she could definitely see it. Then his mouth split by a margin, flashing teeth, too white in the dark around them. "If there is something you'd like to say, by all means, do so." He crossed his arms in a languorous motion, as if to tell her enlighten me.
Sakura's lips emulated his, tilted upwards, more of a challenge, less than a smile. "How about you give him the time of day once in a while?" Smothering her anger was becoming more and more impossible by the minute. It burst out of her, unbidden, voice clipped, harsh accusation. "It was supposed to be our date today, yet all he did was talk about you then drink an absurdly large amount of sake, and ended up like this. Again."
Itachi's features did change then, marred with surprise, however imperceptibly. His voice teemed with disbelief and dryness. "You are blaming your failed date on me?"
"No." Sakura shook her head, eyes piercing, voice laden with displeasure. "I'm blaming my yet again failed date on you."
If Itachi was the kind of person to indulge in undignified sounds such as snorts, Sakura was certain he would have. Eyes narrowed, brows furrowed, he stared at her, as if he was finding it hard to believe she had spouted such things to his face. "You do realize the ludicrousness of your claim?"
Sakura merely shrugged. "Like I said, I'm awfully tired – of everything that has to do with you."
Itachi's next words only served to heighten her ire. "Are you certain you are dating my brother?"
"Very funny." Laughter gurgled in her throat, but it was more directed at herself. "Sadly, I can't answer that with a strongly positive answer. You realize how that sounds like?"
It was rhetorical, spoken for the mere sake of it, but Itachi answered anyway, wrier than ever.
"Pathetic?"
Itachi might have found it beneath him to snort, but Sakura had no such qualms. Dripping with sarcasm, she smiled at him. "That's one way to put it, but I'd prefer the term complicated."
"Are you implying that I am the complication in your debated relationship?" The way he intoned those words irritated her frayed nerves.
Still, she retained that saccharine smile, returned his jab in full force. "Aren't you clever?"
Itachi shrugged, graceful, nothing alike Sakura's. "If you are dissatisfied with Sasuke's inattention towards you then why not end this supposed relationship on your own?"
The gall of that man... Itachi simply knew how to press all of her wrong buttons. Sakura gritted her teeth, her fury reached its apogee. "Because I'm not dissatisfied with Sasuke. My problem lies with you – and the abnormal influence you have on him."
"You're being eccentrically hostile to a person you have never met before based on alcohol-induced hypotheses – not to mention quite judgmental as well."
Cool, sharp-witted, Itachi incited her still, but she'd be damned if she backed down now.
"No, I'm being reasonably angry towards the source of my problematic love life – not to mention justifiably as well."
Before Itachi could utter an undoubtedly irksome response, Sasuke stirred. His eyes were hazed with confusion, his voice husky with inebriation. He took one look at Itachi and mumbled under his breath incoherently. "Itachi – why are you – I…wanna talk…" Then he passed out again.
Sakura directed a victorious smirk at Itachi, though it chafed to admit that she was right, in this particular case. "You were saying?"
Neck slanted, he utterly dismissed what had unfolded before his very eyes. "This proves nothing. If Sasuke is more focused on me than you then that means you are simply not trying enough." No, correction. Not only did he dismiss it, but he dared insinuate she was not woman enough to snare Sasuke's attention.
"Did you just…?" Sakura almost frothed, mouth agape. A hiss slithered against her tongue. She spat it at him, full of indignation. "You've got a lot of nerve, Itachi."
"Likewise, Sasuke's –" He paused, as if searching for an appropriate word. "What exactly are you to him again?"
Sakura struggled not to bristle at his caustic tongue. "That would be his girlfriend if it weren't for you."
A half-smirk touched the corners of his lips, slathered with derision. "I must commend you for sheer tenacity at least."
"Likewise, Sasuke's –" She copied his example. "What exactly are you to him again?" Taunt for taunt. Fire for fire. "Surely not his brother. If you were then you wouldn't have caused his complex in the first place. Some big brother you are."
Itachi's poise stiffened, assumed rigid qualities. "At least when I insult him, I do it to his face."
It was too much, the last straw. Sakura discarded all niceties, took off the silken gloves. The fact that she had lasted this long was a miracle in and of itself.
"You're a jackass."
Itachi's smirk found its way back on his lips, one tilt of warped amusement, as if she had lost the fight just now.
"So it has come to base name calling now? I don't think I approve of you either as my brother's girlfriend." He all but hummed, thoroughly enjoying this. "And I'll make sure Sasuke knows this when he wakes up."
Sakura all but sneered, finding his threat far too inane. "You do that. I bet he'll be too ecstatic that you're actually talking to him to pay any attention to what you're saying."
He seemed ready to begin their altercation anew at that, but another voice resounded in the dead of night, interrupted the coming mayhem.
"Itachi. What is this ruckus?"
Sakura clamped up, lost her belligerence, recognizing to whom the voice belonged easily.
"Nothing, father. Sasuke –" Itachi's glance slashed through her, bade her to remain silent and unseen, and Sakura nodded, all too happy to oblige him on this occasion. "– has returned and we were talking for a bit."
"Talk inside then. Don't disturb the neighbors." The click of the door closing announced Fugaku's retreat into the mansion. Sakura didn't even have time to exhale in relief before Itachi's voice lashed against her.
"I think you have overstayed your visit, Miss Supposed Girlfriend."
Sakura ground her teeth, but couldn't dispute him. "Take care of Sasuke." She turned her back to leave, hissed between clenched teeth. "Goodnight, jackass."
Shisui gazed at his cousin, sitting in a chair on the other side of his desk. Sasuke looked absolutely miserable – ashen complexion, black crescents under his eyes, strong aura of dejection. Leaning back in his leather chair, Shisui scribbled a few words in his notebook.
"Could you not do that?" Sasuke's voice bled irritation. Shisui threw a pleasant smile toward his cousin, unperturbed, still taking notes.
"You visit me during office hours, Sasuke."
A groan came from Sasuke's side – then he snapped. "It's break time, Shisui."
Shisui's smile remained perfectly etched on his mouth. "A consultant can't differentiate between office hours and break time when a patient needs him."
Sasuke rubbed his eyes, pondered the merits of murdering his cousin, but eventually conceded defeat. There was simply no way to win against his cousin when Shisui found a situation to be entertaining. "Alright, you've had your fun. Cut the bullshit now, Shisui."
Though Shisui didn't relinquish his notepad, his eyes flashed with mirth, validating Sasuke's theory. As long as his cousin thought it would bother Sasuke, he'd keep up the psych consultant routine. "What troubles you this fine day, dear cousin?"
Deciding to ignore Shisui's infuriating stunt for the time being, Sasuke opted for sharing what made him seek his cousin's advice. "I think I messed up again in front of Itachi yesterday, but I can't remember what happened. Sakura's also mad at me for some reason. She won't pick up my calls all morning."
"I see." Shisui's fingers slid across his jawline as he contemplated Sasuke's revelation solemnly. "Memory loss, insecurity issues, relationship problems." He gave Sasuke a curt nod. "Quite serious, indeed."
"Shisui…" Sasuke's brows twitched, his eyes gleamed with warning. "I'm really not in the mood."
His cousin tapped a finger against his chin, seeming thoughtful. "Anger management issues as well."
Finally losing his patience, Sasuke slammed his palm against the hard wood of Shisui's desk. "Damn it, Shisui!"
Shisui chuckled, abandoning the act, having accomplished his objective. Sasuke was well and thoroughly pissed, which made for a very amusing sight.
"You know, Itachi's office is four floors below, in the legal department. Are you sure you didn't just mix up the floors?" He paused when Sasuke murmured something incomprehensible, but it was uttered so low that Shisui couldn't quite catch it. Hence he resumed talking, deriving more pleasure the more Sasuke fidgeted with nervousness. "As for Sakura-chan, shouldn't you be using your break time to go over to her workplace with some flowers and apologize for what you don't actually remember doing, but appear as if you do? Women are endearing like that. All you have to do is say sorry and look pathetic while doing so – which shouldn't be too difficult, in your case."
A sullen glare clashed with his twinkling gaze. "Don't act like you don't know what's going on…" Sasuke oozed indignation, but he was too awkward. Shisui could hear the silent notes of plea meshed in his cousin's voice. "Itachi must have told you something – and Sakura…well, you know how I feel about her."
The reason for Sasuke's visit made sense now, not that Shisui hadn't guessed it already. "Ah, yes, he did mention what an ordeal it was to get you into the house undetected by Fugaku-san. Not to mention…" He glanced at Sasuke with almost pity before he completed his sentence. "You threw up all over his favorite shirt."
Wide-eyed, drenched in disbelief, Sasuke dropped his guard. "I…didn't, did I?" It only lasted a moment. "If you're messing with me again, Shisui, I swear –"
Shisui was shaking his head before Sasuke could even finish, truly pitying him now. "Not this time, Sasuke."
Just like that, Sasuke deflated, all the fight wrenched out of him. "I'm screwed…"
A sigh slipped past Shisui's lips. "It's because of that attitude that you keep getting into these messes."
Sasuke's head snapped toward him, quizzical, that plea for help slathered on his features, and Shisui had no choice but to give in. His cousin was just too hopeless to be left to his own devices.
"You were never close with Itachi since you hardly ever saw him. He went to a private boarding school then left to study in the States, so you don't actually know him. Now he's back, and you've spent the whole last year tiptoeing your way around him. Fugaku-san might have pressured you with Itachi's accomplishments and urged you to be more like your perfect older brother, but you never took the chance to try and form a relationship with him, only try to catch up to him."
His helping hand was brushed aside by Sasuke in his ignorance. "So you're saying this is my fault? Itachi's never cared for me either. I only saw him on holidays and such, but he never acted as a big brother. Ever since he came back, he spends most of his time working. What am I supposed to do?"
Shisui sighed again. Sasuke was simply beyond any help, but Shisui just couldn't leave him alone – not when Sasuke was looking at him like a kicked puppy. But he also couldn't not tease him a little bit either.
"Walk into his office, demand his attention, and be the huge pain in the ass we all know you to be yet love you despite of it?" His eyes flashed with a wicked glint, half-smirk on his lips, insinuating this was what his cousin was doing at the moment – to Shisui. "Sounds familiar?"
"Thanks, Shisui." Sasuke's tone couldn't be more sarcastic even if he tried.
Shisui winked at him, as if Sasuke had paid him a compliment, humoring his cousin's scowling face. Then a thought struck him about the whole affair as he recalled Itachi's side of the story when they'd had their morning coffee together.
"Itachi isn't as scary as you think him to be. Admittedly, he was pretty pissed about the whole mess, but he was also amused. Do you happen to know why? He mentioned something about whipped dogs and short leashes and hissing cats that made no sense whatsoever…"
Brows knit into a frown, Sasuke was taken aback for the barest moment – then he groaned. "I think he must've been talking about Sakura…" He clutched his temples with despondency. "What the fuck happened last night?"
Shisui was tempted to attempt unveiling this mystery, but he was having too much fun to take it upon serious deliberation. "Have you considered mediating your drinking habits? There's a wonderful program for alcoho-"
"Save it, Shisui!"
This time, it was a fist Sasuke banged against Shisui's desk. If glares could kill, Shisui would be six feet under. Still, Shisui smiled as if nothing had occurred in true Shisui fashion. Then he took it one step further, trod into territory best not be trespassed.
"Talk to Sakura-chan, Sasuke – and while you're at it, why don't you try being honest with her? As in, finally coming clean with her? How much longer do you plan on stringing her along?"
Sasuke reeled back at that, clammed up like a shellfish. "That's none of your business…" His features took on a pallid shade, torn between wanting to talk and dreading the matter at the same time. "You don't know her, Shisui. Sakura is…well, she's –"
"Scary?" Shisui provided, ever helpful and smiling.
"She's my friend." Sasuke cut him with another glare, riled up but quite vulnerable about the subject. "She's the only one who's been there for me whenever I need her. I can't just tell her that I'm…you know."
Shisui did know, but unless Sasuke brought it up on his own, he'd be subtle. Just this once. "But she thinks you're more than just friends. If you keep this up, you're going to lose her." Then he stretched his muscles, putting an end to the discussion, since it seemed Sasuke wasn't ready to indulge in that discussion yet. "And break time is over. I'll be more than happy to continue this conversation, though."
"No thanks," Sasuke bit out as he stood to leave, secretly thankful for Shisui's perceptiveness.
Shisui's voice stopped him in his tracks as he was about to exit his cousin's office though. "Sasuke, I gave you my professional advice, but if you want my personal advice?"
"Yeah?"
"Grow a pair."