#itasakusasu

[tangyansakura]

🍡🌸🍅

[sakucherry]

It has been a few weeks since the announcement of Sakura’s pregnancy. Itachi wished it had been as peaceful and delightful as the first day, but he was seriously fatigued. Sakura’s hormones had her every sort of emotion he could not fathom.

One moment she is fine. Then they speak and all of a sudden she is crying into his arms. Then he says something that normally would not elicit a reaction only for her to angrily shove him away and demand a massage.

He wondered how Sasuke handled things when Sakura was pregnant with Sarada.

The first two weeks, Itachi became ever so doting and urgently responsive to Sakura’s needs. He brewed his tea when she was not in the room. He would then air the room or sip his tea outside so it would not disturb her. Her morning sickness had taken a toll on her, and her confidence would ebb and flow with her moods.

He felt an indescribable urge to tend to her every need and to worry more about the types of food she was eating even though she was the doctor. He would only select fresh edibles, not that he didn’t do that much already, but even more so now. He also inspected them more meticulously.

Nothing but the best.

Right now, however, Itachi is not feeling the best. There has not been a restful night. Sakura’s been waking up at random hours needing something. She’s too warm, or too cold. She wants a cup of coffee. She wants this and that and it’s the middle of the night, but he indulges her anyway.

It’s three in the morning as Itachi squints at the alarm clock when Sakura taps on his shoulder. Three. In. The. Morning. She’s gently nudging him now. Easy, as if there is no urgency.

He counts to three before turning to meet her eyes, tired, but he tries his best to hide the groan. Itachi Uchiha spent much of his life without a good night’s sleep. Granted, it made him a grumpy wretch, but he could tough it out for nine months…

Especially when she looks at him with those pretty eyes and the way she’s also sleepy. She’s growing a beautiful life inside her, and that is enough to probably wear anyone out.

“Sweetheart,” he whispers, “What is it?”

Sakura hears “sweetheart” and reminds herself that it’s Itachi right next to her.

She looks at him with such tired eyes it makes any sort of irritation at being woken disappear.

“I think it’s a boy,” she whispers to him, as if she’s sharing a grave secret. A soft smile is on her face. “I just dreamt of him.”

A kiss is pressed onto her forehead, followed by Itachi’s quiet murmur. “Sweetheart, it’s just a dream. We can’t know for sure right now.”

“Don’t tell Sarada,” she says, ignoring his comment. Their daughter has been hoping for a sister.

“And if you dream of a daughter next?”

Sakura frowns. She hadn’t thought of that. “Well, then, maybe they’re twins,” she scoffs.

Itachi’s chuckling fills the darkened room. And then he’s asking her, astute as ever, “What did you really wake me up for?”

She rolls over to face him. He probably can’t see it, but she has on an almost sad smile. “I, uhm…”

“Sakura,” he says, voice serious. “Anything you want to eat is okay.” If I can give it to you, I will.

“I feel full already,” she says. He had satisfied her craving of warm corn with butter just a mere two hours ago.

She feels odd.

When she was pregnant with Sarada, her late husband would wake up any time for anything she wanted. It wasn’t so different from his brother. He was patient too and was only ever irritated once or twice, when she would ask for something impossible, such as a treat from another nation. But he was always quick to turn it all around and be understanding. He would tell her that their daughter wanted to experience the world, wanted to prepare before she came out, and it would make her laugh.

She doesn’t know how to admit it without making things possibly… awkward?

Right now, I miss your brother? Can she say that and will it be okay?

Her only experience with pregnancy prior to this is with Sasuke when she was carrying Sarada. In moments like this, late into the quiet, darkened night, she had Sasuke by her side. When she awoke a mere few minutes ago, she nearly thought she was in his arms again.

She wants to tell him that she feels sad. That pregnancy reminds her of Sasuke and that she misses him right now, more than ever. But how can she say so without possibly hurting his feelings? Without him misunderstanding?

Itachi has been wonderful to her and her daughter. There is no doubt he will be even more so when their little one arrives. She loves him and wants nothing more than to create a future with him. So much she almost feels guilty for waking up and thinking she’s right next to someone else.

He is not Sasuke’s replacement; they are two different people of two different temperaments and personality. She feels it isn’t fair to compare and it isn’t right for her to wake up in the middle of the night and mistake her lover for his brother. So she says, “Nothing at all,” and hopes it would suffice.

[reii-ichi]

…following the ItaSaku one, here's a polyamory with tengu!Sasuke joining the pair. 💕

[gayger]

A Proclivity for Love (ItaSakuSasu)

Hey all!

I’m here just to try and get my fanfiction out there a bit more. This is a modern AU that takes place, for the most part, in a coastal town. It is a slice of life type fic and it is long. It starts off as SasuSaku but endgame is ItaSaku. There are 23 chapters as of right now and all of them are available on both Fanfiction,net and AO3.

Posted Summary:

"Her hand was out the window, bobbing in the night wind. Her head laid back in her seat and the only thing on her mind was the feeling of simply being. The music from the radio playing loud, but she could still barely hear it over the sound of the wind and tires on the road. Rolling her head to the side, she looks into the driver's seat. A soft smile on her lips as she takes in the relaxed expression on his face. His dark brows completely evened out and one hand on the steering wheel, his onyx eyes focused on the road, while the other hand was on her thigh. Rolling her head to the other side, she stares out of the window and watches the beach fade into the choppy waves of the ocean. This was it, she was sure. This is the feeling she was longing for all of her life."

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13822288/1/A-Proclivity-for-Love

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29553666/chapters/72628875

It would mean the world to me if some of you read this and perhaps even enjoyed it!

[peebleswrites]

Current WIPs

I’ve got a couple stories on FanFiction I’m working on so I’ll just drop them here with brief descriptions and where I’m at chapter wise.

Punk to Princess

AU. Uchiha Itachi, private detective, is assigned the task of taking a street girl like Haruno Sakura and morphing her into a high class lady. Too bad he’s insufferable and she’s unreasonable.

31 Chapters. Last Updated 1.17.20

Genre(s): Romance, Action, Drama, Suspense, Comedy 

Steadfast

When an ancient deity crashes your wedding, you’d think it would be a joyous occasion. But Kaguya didn’t come bearing blessings or even a wedding gift. The Rabbit Goddess is out for blood and no one is safe. Especially Sakura.

10 Chapters. Last Updated 12.8.19 

Genre(s): Angst, Romance, Mild Comedy, Time Travel 

By My Side 

AU. To him, it was all a game but to her it was real life. Because he was the older brother of the boy sh fell in love with and she was one of his students. 

6 Chapters. Last Updated 11.11.19

Genre(s): Romance, Drama, Comedy, High School

Edit 1.17.20:

Wall to Wall

If someone told Sakura five months ago that she'd be shacking up with five irrefutably gorgeous men, she would've laughed them to scorn then promptly knocked their lights out for making such a terrible joke. A month later and it's not so funny anymore. SakuraMulti.

2 Chapter. Last Updated 1.18.20

Genre(s): Romance, Drama, Comedy, Reverse Harem

[xoxoendoh]

How about a fanfic where itachi’s dating Sakura (and sasuke’s secretly in love with sakura) so they ran away together? Pretty please :( I’ve been searching for a fanfic like this but it seems like it doesn’t exist yet 😫😫

Hi, anon! :) Sounds like you’re looking for a non-mass and maaaaybe a modern au fic, right? That’s not really my area, but has anyone else heard of a fic like this?? Gotta love love triangles. ;)

[denilmo]

let me see...

I was tagged by @awintersrose and @nikkigrand Thanks lovelies!

Rules: post the last sentence you wrote (fanfic/original/anything!) and tag as many people as there are words in the sentence.

The young Uchiha could hear the murmurs and whispers behind him from the small group of Anbu shinobi as they changed. (from the next part of At Sixes and Sevens - ItaSakuSasu)

I tag: @bouncyirwin @luna-orlha @eeearnest and whoever else wants to give it a swing.

[ladyemberswrites]

Favorite ot3s

Seikiramon( Seidou x Akira x Amon) ( Kankei x Touka x Kishou)

( Kankei x Touka x Furuta)

Griffith x Casca x Guts ( before eclipse)

Kagehinayachi( Kageyama x Hinata x Yachi)

Itasakusasu ( Itachi x Sakura x Sasuke)

Benriya ot3 ( Nicholas x Alex x Worrick)

[kendochick-moor]

February 2010 - Naruto - Secret Clothes

Again, creative urges & random pieces of fics are floating about... in my head.

Title:  ??

Author:moor

Pairing: ItaSaku(-Sasu?....)

Word Count: <1000 words

Genre: drama/romance?

Canon or AU: Canon, non-massacre

Summary: A secret is hard to keep between brothers.

AN: non-massacre, non-other things, too.

 **************************************

“Sasuke, could you give me a hand with this?”

The 22 year old shinobi heard his mother call him from the rear of their family home, and placed his sharpening tools beside him on the oil-stained rag he’d been using to clean his shuriken and kunai. Making sure they were safely out of the way –not that he was worried someone within his family would be careless enough to miss them—he got up from the autumn-lit veranda in a single smooth motion and made his way inside to find her in the rooms they normally set aside for storage.

“Yes?” he answered politely, knowing he wouldn’t get away with his usual ‘hn’ when it came to one of his parents.

She turned to look at him over her shoulder, smiling with relief. Even with her long, dark hair now showing the occasional vein of gray, the Uchiha matriarch’s graceful, feminine beauty still shone through.

“I think I forgot to collect some of your father’s things when I packed up our summer clothes; would you mind getting the bin down for me, please, so I can add them?”

Already reaching up for the baskets on the top shelves, the young man nodded easily; his mother breathed a sigh of relief and shook the dust from her sleeves.

“Thank you, it was just a bit too high for me now, and Sakura-chan advised me not to lift anything too heavy until my back’s healed. I’ll be right back.”

With that, she left the room to gather the remaining items of clothing to be added.

And Sasuke realized he wasn’t sure which over-sized box to bring down.

Himself sighing now, he took each one down and popped the top open to check inside. Neatly folded clothes (spring, not right; formal, not right; old & worn, only for mucking about, still not right…) stared back at him with each unveiling, and he’d replace the lid after each discovery. Patiently, and expecting another disappointment, he opened the next box, and his hands slowed down minutely.

Instead of precisely packed clothing, he found a set of torn, once-bloodied (faded, dried blood, he noted) white cotton bandages poking out from under an equally ravaged blanket. They’d obviously been cleaned, but not thoroughly enough to remove the most stubborn tell-tale signs. And for some reason, he found there was something familiar about them both that he couldn’t quite put his finger on: well, literally, he could feel something familiar about them, but the bandages weren’t the same quality his family kept in their usual first-aid kits, and the smell wasn’t of blood, but of some other kind of scent, and it was the scent which triggered something very familiar, almost visceral, in his memory. But what? Curious, he nudged them aside and dug a bit deeper into the bin, now looking to see what else was inside and why such things would have been kept at all instead of discarded with the usual garbage. It was rare enough for someone in their main household to be injured, let alone enough to have bled out the way those bandages had implied. His mother pulling her back when she was doing laundry recently was about the most serious injury any of them had had in weeks.

When he reached down a layer and pulled a torn, black, Uchiha-crested shirt from the pile, he grew even more confused. The shirt would have looked quite new, except for the obvious damage to it—but he didn’t remember keeping any of his damaged clothes. He normally just threw them out… But the only other person who wore the same-sized clothing as him in their house at the moment was—

“Here they are, I found them!” rejoiced his mother Mikoto as she entered the room again, brandishing the missing clothing triumphantly. Noticing him hovering over one of the bins, she grinned and inclined her head towards it. “Is that the right one?”

Questions starting to circle in his normally clever mind, Sasuke shook his head no and slid the lid back in place, sealing the evidence of something away from his mother and himself for the time being. “No, still looking.”

As Mikoto instructed her son to pull down another few boxes, Sasuke put aside the most intriguing one, determined to come back to it later to unravel the mystery of the bloody, damaged clothes. His brother hadn’t been severely injured on a mission in months—and never in his civilian, clan clothes…

So where had they come from? What had happened?

… and why had he kept them?

[sakucherry]

Honestly, my ItaSakuSasu brain rot is insane. Morals be damned. Sirens in the distance.

[sasusaku-fanfiction]

Bittersweet

Rating: M

Genre: Romance & Family

“She stood between them and always would. Two brothers. One woman. A great love. Who knew love could be such a pleasure but bring so much pain? ItaSakuSasu.”

[This is actually pretty damn good. It’s Sasusaku with Itachi plot-device.]

[gayger]

"Summer in Konoha was ending and it was ending fast. With the end of that came the beginning of the end of Sakura's journey in high school. While it wasn't too rambunctious or anything of the sort, Sakura did have one regret: a high school sweet-heart. She didn't get to experience that all encompassing adoration being shown in the school halls, being yelled at by teachers for showing pda, or even the awkwardness of a first kiss. A part of her longed for that feeling - for that experience.

Those thoughts penetrated her mind as her eyes bore outside of her window, over at the open water of the ocean. Sighing, she dares to look away for a second and to her journal on her desk.

'Sakura's Dream Book!'

She smiles softly. She definitely got to cross off some of those dreams, though she wasn't sure they were the ones that she found of importance now.

Knock, knock!

"Sakura! Hey, Sakura!"

Sakura sighs, looking over at her window where one of her best friends was waiting outside patiently, perched up on the old oak tree that was beside her bedroom window.

Making her way over to him, she scowls at him slightly. Why couldn't the blond just knock on the front door like a normal person? Opening the window, big and honest blue eyes stared into hers excitedly.

"Did you forget? We're going to the beach today!" He shouts, a grin on his face. Taking in his tan sleeveless top and neon orange swim-trunks, she could only smile good naturedly. She forgot how much he was looking forward to this.

"I didn't forget, you're just early," she says as she shakes her head. "Go back down the tree and I'll get ready." Sakura pauses before she turns away, giving him a serious and dangerous look. "And Naruto?"

He gulps slightly, knowing what she was probably going to say. "Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"Don't even think about peeking or you are dead meat." She smiles sweetly, flexing her knuckles slightly. Naruto nods quickly, repeating a mantra of "Of course, anything for you - not that I was going to peek because that would be creepy!" And other things of that sort.

Eventually he had made his way down and she could hear a few of her other friends yell "Watch it!" and "Don't fall, you idiot!"

She laughs softly before getting ready.

Her highschool life may not have been everything she had hoped or wanted, but at the very least she had gotten through it with some of the best people.

~ ` ~ ` ~

"Mom! I'm heading out with some friends, we're going to the beach!" Sakura shouts, opening the front door and not stepping out until she hears her mothers resounding "Okay, be careful!"

"It's about time, forehead," snarks her other best friend. Sakura's eyebrow twitches, but she ignores the pretty blonde's snarky remark anyway. "Are we all ready to go?" She asks, a smile on her face as she adjusts her bag. It isn't like the walk is very far, it's pretty much just across the street so if they did forget something, her house was just right there. Pretty convenient if she's honest.

As they start walking, Sakura can't help but notice that a little ways down the street there was a movers vehicle in front of a big house.

"Hey! Someones moving into old man Madara's house!" Shouted Naruto, apparently spotting the same thing that she did. "Yeah, I guess so," Sakura hums out. She wonders if they were family members of Madara's or if it was simply sold. He passed away about a year or so ago, so it has been vacant for awhile now. Whoever it was, she hoped that they enjoyed living there. It was a beautiful house, Sakura had to admit.

While she was gawking at the house, her other best friend, Ino, let out a squeal.

Plugging one ear with her finger, Sakura gives her a look. "What the hell, Ino-pig?"

"Oh, come on. You aren't telling me that that super perceptive eye of yours didn't notice the really cute guy over there?" Ino swoons, "I hope he's single." Sakura rolls her eyes, but decides to take a look at who she could only assume Ino is talking about. It was just her luck that when she did, he decided to look over in their direction as well.

Her heart pounds and her cheeks flush slightly when he smirks at her and winks. "Ino, oh my god.. He saw me look - I'm screwed!" Sakura whispers quickly, pointedly looking away. The blonde could only laugh at her friend's predicament. It was just like Sakura to be put in a situation like that.

"I don't understand what the big deal is," Naruto says with a confused look. "I mean, he's super pale and his hair looks like a duck's ass."

"Nice one, Naruto," Kiba snorts, high-fiving him.

Feeling pretty embarrassed, Sakura just quickly starts walking towards the beach again - to their usual spot. Ino gave one last look in the mysterious and handsome boys direction before following her. "Hey, wait up!"

The two boys were left to follow once they were done laughing.

"So, why couldn't Hinata come?" Sakura asks as she lays out her beach towel next to Ino's. The blonde sat down, digging through her bag while answering, "Her father said that they were having family coming into town. She probably won't be able to hang out with us for awhile, from the sound of it."

Sakura juts out her lip slightly, "That sucks. She's really good at keeping Naruto calm."

"Yeah, I know - but, hey," Ino grins, "You've got me. I'm sure we can handle these two morons on our own for awhile." Both teens laugh, stretching their legs out as they applied sunscreen.

Off in the distance, Sakura noticed Naruto and Kiba going ahead into the water with no hint of sunscreen at all. She shakes her head, willing herself to not think about the atrocious sunburn both boys would be sporting later on today.

"Can you believe we are going to be seniors this year?" Ino says off-handedly, moving her blonde bangs away and behind her ear. "I feel like it was just yesterday that we were in middle school fawning over the band Akatsuki."

Sakura nods in agreement, "I know. It's honestly crazy but.." She trails off, a troubled look on her face as she recalls her journal. "I feel like it all went too fast. I didn't cover nearly all of the bases that I wanted to."

"You mean from your journal?" Ino questioned, looking at Sakura in interest. "What was left unchecked? I'm pretty sure you made it your mission to have everything done and dealt with. I mean, you have been the top of our class and our student body leader practically every year."

Sakura's cheeks turn slightly red as she looks away from Ino, hurriedly standing up. "It's.. Just stupid stuff, you wouldn't understand!" She says quickly, trying to exit the question. She practically runs to the water, Ino following after her trying to protest the abrupt end to their conversation.

As soon as the cool water reached across her feet, Sakura let out a soft sigh. She slowly walks out deeper until she's about knee deep, letting her head fall back as she relishes in the feeling of the cool water. Sakura loves the ocean. It was her calm, it was her escape. She can't count how many times she came out here just to wade in the water whenever she was troubled.

Off in the distance, Sakura could see Naruto on his surfboard riding the waves. The guy was a total goofball, but she had to admit that he was one of the best surfers at their high school. He genuinely enjoyed it. It was the only thing (other than the lovely Hinata) that he would give 100% his focus.

"Hey, Forehead. You can't just take off like that," Ino shouts with a scowl on her face as she finished tying her long hair into a bun on top. "Why wouldn't I understand anyway? We've had many of the same experiences, I don't think there is much that I have done that you haven't."

"You would be surprised, but even so.." Sakura sticks out her tongue at her, "You will never know."

"Fine!" Ino pouts, "Be like that."

Sakura laughs, shaking her head and Ino joins in. She really was her best friend.

~ ` ~ ` ~

A few hours later, the four teens are all sprawled out on their beach towels laughing.

"I can't believe you wiped out just right after you were boasting about how you are the best," Kiba howls.

Naruto scowls, shaking his fist at Kiba in protest. "Hey! It happens - you wiped out way more than I did today, anyway dog-breath!" But even with the name calling, he too cracked a grin.

Sakura only watched with a fond smile on her lips. She looks up at the sky, noting that it would be dinner time soon.

"We should probably get going soon," She hums out. She lived just across the road, but she knew that Ino lived quite a walk away and she didn't want her walking in the dark. She knows that Naruto lives a block away from her and would walk her home if it did get dark, but Sakura would rather be safe than sorry.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm beat!" Ino yawns, covering her mouth in the process. Despite all of the sunscreen she plastered on, the blonde was still beyond burnt. Sakura could only imagine the horrified look on her friend's face when she looked in the mirror later.

"But, but-" Naruto pouts, hanging his head. "We've barely seen each other the last few days."

"Hey, Naruto, look at me." Sakura sighed, shaking her head fondly. "How about we all have a sleepover tomorrow night, okay? Then we can all spend plenty of time together."

He immediately perked up, but Kiba rubbed at his hair some in thought. "I wish I could, but Akamaru is going to the vet tomorrow. He's going to need me all night." Naruto gives him a disbelieving look but Kiba quickly waves his hands. "Don't give me that look! You know how much of a baby he is."

"Well, whatever the case may be.. I will be there and I'm sure Shikamaru and Ten Ten would be down to go, too. Ten Ten especially, she was really upset that she hasn't been able to spend so much time with us because of college and her job."

"Sounds like a plan, then." Sakura says, clapping her hands.

Heading towards the sidewalk, Sakura slings her bag over her shoulder. She's chatting away with Ino when she hears him.

"Hey."

Ino nudges her slightly, shutting the pinkette up for a moment and pointing in the direction of the voice. "Is he talking to me or you?" She asks, softly, before putting on a big and flirtatious smile.

"Hey yourself, I'm Ino," she introduces herself while holding out her hand.

The black eyes of the boy from down the street doesn't even spare Ino a glance, instead focusing on Sakura's own emerald orbs.

"I was hoping I'd catch you, I'm Sasuke." He introduces himself, giving her a small smirk and offering up his hand. Ino huffs but looks Sakura over and notices her red face. Sighing, she nudges her in the small of her back trying to get the pink haired teen back on track from her short circuit.

"I'm, uh, Sakura." She finally says, lamely, while holding out her hand. He takes it and she goes to shake, but instead he bows down and brings her knuckles up.. And he presses a small, light kiss.

Sakura could have fainted and Ino picked the worst time to pat her on the shoulder, "Well Saks, I'm gonna go ahead and head home. Text me, okay?" Before the blonde bounds off, waving cheerily.

Sakura retracts her hand, trying to regain focus, not even registering that her friend left her.

"Well," Sasuke pauses watching her face as he spoke, "I was hoping that I could maybe get your number and perhaps an agreement to meet me tomorrow?" Sakura couldn't believe her ears. For once, in her life, a cute guy was asking her and not Ino or hell, even her asking him.

"Uh, um.. Sure," she says as she pulls out her phone. She fumbles with it slightly nearly dropping it which draws a laugh from him as he effortlessly pulls his own phone from his pocket. She was starting to feel bad for all of the times Hinata has gotten nervous or messed up in front of Naruto or anyone, really. "Here," she says as she hands him her phone and his in return. They place their numbers in and once done, he gives her a cool smile.

"Alright then, I will talk to you later, Sa-ku-ra."

"R..Right," she says softly as she waves bye and he turns to leave. After he's long gone, she just stands there kind of dumbly. She couldn't believe that really happened but her mother opened the door to their house and shouted "Sakura, stop standing there like a dumbass and get inside!"

Snapping out of it, she immediately crosses the street to enter the house.

"Why were you just standing out there?" Her mother asks, shutting the door behind her. Sakura smiled sheepishly, tightening her hold on her bag.

"I was talking to someone and I was just lost in thought. No biggie, really."

"Talking to someone?" Her mother questions and Sakura nods, starting to head up the stairs.

"Yeah! But it was no one important, honest!"

Mrs. Haruno was unconvinced but let her go up the stairs. She was sure she would be able to get some information from Ino if needed.

Plopping down on her bed, her bag on the floor, she lets out a sigh. That really just happened. Pulling her phone up to her face, she notices that she has two messages. One from Ino and the other… from him.

Her face slightly pink, she opens up the one from her friend first.

From: Miss Piggy

Subject: Duckbutt

To: Billboard

Girl, you better tell me all of

the deets! Not a single bit of

information left out (6 p.m.)

Sakura snorts at the subject line. She figured that the comment Naruto made will not be forgotten anytime soon - especially since he was right, to a degree. Quickly, she writes out a response before opening the message from Sasuke.

From: Sasuke Uchiha

Subject: Meeting

To: Sakura

How about tomorrow at the ice

-cream parlor up the street at 1?

(6:10 p.m.)

Sakura thinks to herself quietly, trying to map out a time-line for tomorrow. She knows tomorrow that it is the sleepover which means most of them will be coming around 4 or 5, but she also knows that Ino likes to get a head start above everyone else which means she could pop in at any time.. This was tricky, but maybe she could time it just right. Besides, it's just for ice cream. It's not like they are going to be there for hours.

Quickly, she types out "Sure! Sounds great :)".

She deletes the smiley face a couple of times, but at some point she accidentally sent the message while it was on there. Innerly she cursed herself, but what could she do? It already sent.

"Honey?" Sakura's father knocks on the door, opening it up. He was finally home and Sakura couldn't help but smile as she stood up from her bed. "Dinner is ready, come eat."

"Coming!" Sakura says cheerily, meeting her father to walk down the stairs.

Her father worked in the oil field, so he was only home one or two weeks out of a month. So family dinners were precious to her heart. She just wished he was home more, but she understood why he chose that field. While it wasn't reliable, it paid pretty decently. It paid the bills and allowed them some luxuries. One of those being Sakura's growing college fund. It is because of this that Sakura felt a little more pressured to make sure she succeeded and did something worthwhile. She didn't want all of his hard earned money to go to waste.

She just hoped it wouldn't be for nothing.

~ ` ~ ` ~

Sakura knew what she was expecting to see when she woke up in the morning. The very same view that greets her every morning: her ceiling with her stars and solar system stickers. Instead, she got bright blue eyes staring her in her soul and a cage made from blonde hair. Accompanied by a headache, of course, because why would Ino do anything quietly?

"Get your lazy ass up, forehead!" Ino yells, hands on her hips as she pulls back from her face.

Sakura groans, rolling around onto her side and stuffing her pillow onto her head. "Go away."

Ino tsks and the only thing running through Sakura's head is shit. Ino grabs a hold of her foot and yanks as hard as she could, dumping Sakura on the floor by her bed. Sakura glares up at the blonde, scowling. She was having a good dream.

"Damn, it is never this hard to get you up. You're usually up before sunrise to watch it," Ino mumbles out. Sakura blushes, shaking her head. Ino didn't need to know that she stayed up practically all night with anxiety as an obnoxious bubble in her chest.

"Sorry," Sakura mumbles nonchalantly while her eyes look for her clock. Her eyes widen when she realizes it says 12 p.m. Hurriedly, she scrambles up, panic clear on her face.

"Woah there, what has got you so eager to get up all of a sudden?" Ino questions, eyebrow raised as she watches the pinkette hurry to her closet and pull out outfit after outfit. Then it clicked. "Oh. My. God!" She squeals before enveloping Sakura into a tight hug. "You're going to meet him aren't you?! That's why you were acting all weird last night when I was trying to see when I could come over!"

Sakura's face is bright red and she taps her arms to get her to let go. "Fine, yes. We are supposed to meet at the ice cream parlor at 1."

"Then there is no time to waste! Here, let me help!"

~ ` ~ ` ~

It took a matter of 30 minutes, but Sakura was well on her way down to the ice cream parlor. She didn't want to run because she could just hear Ino griping in her head about how her 'perfect' work would be absolutely ruined. Nervously, Sakura tucks a loose strand behind her ear. The parlor comes into view and she quickens her steps, grateful that she opted for simple sandals that fit her comfortably instead of Ino's bright idea which was heels. Her feet would be killing her, she is not like Ino who could dead-sprint in stilettos.

She could see him outside of the parlor, leaning against the wall. His eyes catch hers and her heartbeat quickens as her cheeks flush. Sakura stops in front of him and he gives her a small smile.

"Hey," he says and Sakura's genius murmurs a quiet, "Hi."

Sakura looks anywhere but him for the simple reason she felt very self conscious, but it all stopped momentarily when he offers her his hand and he leads her inside the parlor.

"What kind of icecream do you like?" He asks her as they approach the cashier to order. Sakura hums, thinking, and she smiles before answering: "chocolate as of right now."

Sasuke laughs quietly, "As of right now?" He questions and looks at her amusedly.

"It changes," she supplies before looking up at him, "How about yours?"

"Strawberry."

They didn't stay at the parlor long, instead they found themselves at the beach. They walked along the waves, Sakura's sandals in one hand and the other hand locked with his. The sunlight against their skin was refreshing and added to the warmth of the situation, the wind carrying her laughter as they talked.

"So.." Sakura trails off, her eyes slowly looking up towards his, "What brought you and your family here?"

"My great uncle left it to my brother Itachi in his will, but it's a big house and he wanted to share it with the rest of us." Sakura hums, watching the brief coldness flash in his eyes when he mentioned his brother. She didn't question it, this date… Was that what it was? This date was going well and she didn't want to ruin it by prying into his family life.

"I had no idea he had any relatives, if I'm honest," Sakura says thoughtfully and smiles. "But, I'm happy to find that he did. My friends and I made it a habit to drop gifts and say hi during holidays." Sakura rambles, leaving out the 'because he seemed so lonely' due to her not wanting to offend him.

"Yeah.. He wasn't much for big family gatherings."Sasuke shrugs and then looks down at her, taking in the way the sun brought out the many different shades of greens and spots of blue in her eyes.

"You have very pretty eyes."

She blushes, looking away. "Thank you," she says softly and can feel her chin being lifted up by him. His gaze was heavy and the world stopped around her, nothing but their breathing and her heart beating ferociously could be heard with the gentle lullaby of waves.

"Don't look away from me, Sa-ku-ra." His thumb gently rubs against her cheek and she half expects him to kiss her but instead, he drops his hand and re-takes her hand in his.

"Shall I walk you home?"

Her mind is blank and it takes a minute for what he said to process. A little bit of disappointment bubbles in her, a fear that maybe she said something wrong. "Oh, uh, sure," she says softly and she guides him to her home which is across the street.

Once they arrive, she lets go of his hand and fidgets, unsure of what to do now. Sighing, she looks down at her feet before slowly looking up at him. "Look, I'm sorry if I said something wrong-" Her words die on her tongue because he does something so unexpected and peculiar.

He poked her forehead with his index and middle finger, effectively catching her off guard.

"I had fun, Sa-ku-ra," he removes his fingers and Sakura watches, dumbfounded. "Let's do it again sometime."

"Okay," she replies and a pretty blush forms on her cheeks, she shyly watches him leave with a small smile on her face.

She turns around and briefly catches blue eyes peeking through the blinds of the living room window and she sighs, shaking her head. Of course she would get no privacy.

Stepping inside the house, she is greeted by her mother and Ino laughing obnoxiously on the couch. Not at all suspicious. Sakura places her hand on her hip, looking at them expectantly.

"Did you guys sate your curiosity looking outside the window?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," her mother states innocently before her expression turns devilish. "Buuuutttt, since you're here. Mind sharing the details?"

Sighing, Sakura gives in and decides to tell them about everything - with the exception of what happened near her front door. That, she had decided, would stay secret for her sake. Or as secret as it could, considering she was being watched the entire time they were out there."

- "A Proclivity for Love" chapter one.

Want to read more?

You can find it on AO3 and Fanfiction,net. There are 23 chapters!

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13822288/1/A-Proclivity-for-Love

[philosopas]

I FOUND IT

Gaaaaaaah!!!! So years ago, when I was still new to the naruto fanfic unierse, I came across this fanfic where Sakura and Itachi are penpals and then for some twisted fate in the universe, Sakura then meets Sasuke and they have this love-hate relationship (and thats all im telling y’all) and gah I think I found it -- finally -- or else this post will be embarassing for posting a different fanfic. But I couldn’t contain myself and I just had to share my happiness with you guys behold, the ItaSakuSasu fanfic that is just cute and genius and gah and I think I’m overselling this fic too much so I’ll stop lol forget what I said just go read it~ giving looooove, philosopas

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12119333/1/War-of-Hearts