A/N: It's been a long time since I have written anything. I more or less severed my ties with the fanfic community this last year, as I couldn't read fanfiction and expect to keep up with my schoolwork, job, internship, and personal life at the same time, much less write. I finally graduated, with honors, no less, so I have plenty of free time from now til August. I am so excited, I can finally get back to writing fanfiction. I will admit, I have beta-ed a little bit recently, and it's renewed my inspiration, but there's nothing like the satisfaction of finishing a chapter and getting nice reviews.

By the way, I'd like to thank my friend starlesscity for her help in working out some of the kinks in this story, she made a very effective beta for me, although I'm her beta usually. I made some stupid mistakes that she caught for me, and I couldn't have finished without her! Everyone go and read her awesome stories!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. If I did, there would be less clothing involved. Ninja wore clothing? That's news to me… ^_^

If you have gotten this far, I assume you understand that this is yaoi, meaning boy-boy action, and you have no objections to it. If you do have a problem with that, and you've read five chapters, I have no pity for you whatsoever (and think that you are a dumbass.) This is the last warning I will bother coming up with, from now on, you only get lemon warnings. Unfortunately, the lemon in this chapter is fairly minimal, so it doesn't warrant one.

Dawning Realization

Chapter 6: Kindling Flames

It's safe to say that Itachi, being one of the elite of Kyoto society, was not used to riding around in small and bumpy roadsters like Kyuubi's red Honda S2000. He didn't know whether he should be excited or nauseous as the attractive redhead took the curves at 100 kilometres per hour, and felt himself shivering due to the cold night air.

Kyuubi took no notice of Itachi's discomfort, singing, "BONN TOOO BEEE WIRRD" at the top of his lungs in his horribly pronounced English, trying to compete with the high-revving engine.

Before long, they got to the restaurant, a western steakhouse, and bypassed the long line awaiting a table, ushered in by the staff to a private dining room in the back. Itachi warmed up considerably in the cozy interior of the restaurant, and chuckled as he said, "Next time we're taking my Mercedes."

"But-but…" Kyuubi trailed off as Itachi burst into laughter.

"I don't understand why you would drive that thing," explained Itachi, "seeing as you have enough money to fund a small nation in Africa."

Kyuubi, laughing at Itachi's mock arrogance, challenged him with a snide remark- "At least my car requires some skill to drive." To which Itachi responded with a very realistic death glare.

"Aww," sneered Kyuubi, "you're so cute," pinching Itachi's cheek and provoking him to clamp down on his fingers with his shiny, not to mention sharp, teeth. Kyuubi quickly recoiled, and glared across the table.

"Do you still think I'm cute?" asked Itachi, grinning rather evilly.

"It's okay," responded Kyuubi with an equally evil grin, "you'll make up for that later."

"Oh, will I?"

"Yes, but no biting that time."

They suddenly turned when they heard a muffled giggle come from the door, and the blushing waitress came out of the doorway, obviously embarrassed by the provocative conversation she had walked in on. She was young, about seventeen, with pretty green eyes and bright pink hair, obviously a very modern girl.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, my name is Haruno Sakura and I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I take your drink order?"

"Sure thing babe," replied Kyuubi, gallant as always, and looked across to Itachi. "How about we start with your very best red wine?"

"Red wine sounds fine," replied Itachi, surprised at Kyuubi, assuming that he would spring for the hard liquor. 'Maybe this one's a keeper after all.' He smiled across the table at the handsome redhead, his opinion of him improving slightly.

The waitress was still blushing, flustered by Kyuubi's response, and stuttered slightly when she replied, "O-okay, I'll have a bottle of our finest wine brought up for you. Would you like an appetizer?"

"I think that he'll tide me over 'til the main course," replied Kyuubi, eliciting a groan from Itachi, who was now also blushing.

"I'll be back to take your order in a minute or two," stammered the cute girl, struggling to tear her eyes from the two exceptionally tasty men sitting before her.

'Damn, why do all the cute ones have to be gay?'

She had recently found out that her childhood friend, Naruto, was dating his classmate, Kiba, and was still beating herself up over not giving in to his flirtatious grins before that lucky boy snagged him.

Inner Sakura was indeed disappointed that all men were either dogs or gay. 'Not a single good, available man… Crap! We need to get their order. Wipe the drool off your face Sakura.'

Kyuubi and Itachi sat together, oblivious to the internal dialogue taking place in the girl's head, and shrugged when she twitched, straightened up, and walked away.

"She must not be used to gay guys," mused Kyuubi.

"Eh, or maybe her boyfriend came out to her and dumped her for a guy." Itachi giggled at the thought, he had almost done something similar to the daughters of rich businessmen his parents had arranged to marry him to when they were still alive. His smile faded when his mind skewed off the road of his conscious thought and went on a tangent into more painful memories.

The midsection of the limousine, seating Itachi and Sasuke, had been spared, but the rear seats, where their parents had been seated, were crushed, the doors jammed and flames reaching through the floor. Through the noises of approaching sirens, Itachi heard Sasuke crying out "Chichi-ue? Kaa-san? Nii-san?" He knew at that point that his parents wouldn't make it, and he knew that he'd have to take care of himself and his little brother. The smoke was choking him, he knew he had only one way to get out. He kicked out the moonroof, dragging himself up, yelling at the crying little boy- Sasuke was quickly going into shock- to take his hand and climb out of the burning vehicle.

The police determined that their driver, who had been urged by their father to rush them to Tokyo Narita International, had not been fit to drive that day- the prefecture's evidence contained a blood analysis of the driver, showing him to have been intoxicated at the time of the accident- and had run a red light just as a gasoline tanker made its way through the intersection. The tanker crushed the back of the limousine before smashing it into the light pole opposite the intersection, blocking both doors, making escape impossible. It was found that their parents had either died from blunt force trauma, or suffocated during the ensuing fire, trapped in their seats, unable to move or call for help. It was a miracle that he and his brother survived, and they pulled themselves out of the sunroof, to the surprise of the firefighters and paramedics, who had expected only the medical examiner's services to be required. They were quickly treated for their minor injuries then taken to a police station for the night, as they had no next of kin to receive them.

"Nii-san?" Asked Sasuke with tears in his eyes.

"Yeah Sasuke?"

"Are we on our own now?"

"I'm afraid so. It's just you and me little brother. Mom and dad won't be around to take care of us anymore, so we need to take care of each other and make our own future." He now had tears in his own eyes, and was holding Sasuke as sobs wracked his body.

Sasuke's sobs quieted, his breathing steadied, and he buried his head into his brother's shoulder, holding him tight. "I love you Nii-san, promise you'll never leave."

"I promise, Sasuke." He was sure that he felt the same way about his annoying little brother, although he'd never be able to express it.

Kyuubi watched as various expressions moved across Itachi's face, first amusement, then suddenly sadness, fear, hopelessness. He had never expected Itachi to hold such strong emotions, and he decided to interrupt Itachi's musings, which had already occupied a minute or two of their time together.

"Itachi? Is everything alright?"

Itachi jumped as if spooked, and looked at Kyuubi sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I kinda zoned out."

"It's alright, you looked upset for a minute, then you got this determined look in your eyes, but it kinda worried me that you had been staring into space that long, so I decided to pull you out of your trance." Kyuubi replied, grasping Itachi's hand reassuringly.

"Thanks for understanding," replied Itachi thankfully. "My darker memories haunt me, and it takes someone like you to pull me back."

"I know that you and your brother are orphans, just like me and Naruto," replied Kyuubi with a grim smile on his face, continuing, "I don't really know the circumstances, but I understand how it feels, and I'd like to help if I can."

Itachi smiled, he had definitely taken a liking to Kyuubi, he seemed like a keeper. He realized that his hand was getting a little sweaty, and pulled it from Kyuubi's grasp, receiving a frown in return. He laughed, offering his other hand.

Kyuubi smiled, pulling Itachi across the table to kiss him lightly. Itachi, however, had different ideas, for a change, and deepened the kiss, introducing his tongue lightly into Kyuubi's mouth, eliciting a sharp intake of air from him.

They both jumped when they heard a gasp, and then a girlish giggle. Sakura was standing in the doorway, her cheeks tinged with a shade similar to her pink hair, grasping a bottle steadily, lest she drop a very expensive wine. That could be career-crushing.

"I'm sorry if I surprised you," she said, still blushing, "I was just bringing in your wine."

"It's perfectly alright," replied Itachi, also blushing at that point. "We shouldn't have gotten carried away in the first place." His embarrassment at being caught kissing a man by a waitress was obvious.

Kyuubi, however, kept his cool, he'd been caught doing a lot more than that, having an earlier boyfriend's parents walk in on him receiving a blow job from their son – it was lucky he lived in a strict gun-control country like Japan, otherwise he would have likely had a shotgun leveled at him – this was nothing in comparison.

"I'm glad you didn't drop that bottle, I'm definitely looking forward to it."

Itachi was surprised with the suave way in which Kyuubi seemed to handle most situations. He had obvious charisma and charm, but there seemed to be something else about him, something he couldn't quite place, an inner power that always seemed to emanate from the handsome man.

Sakura blushed again, then smiled, holding out the bottle for the two men to inspect before expertly pouring a glass for each man, decanting and aerating the rest of the bottle, and retiring.

Itachi wasn't sure what to think now, first Kyuubi had selected a red wine, but now this? The young waitress had definitely asked to have the finest wine possible sent up from the well stocked wine cellar. It was a Bordeaux, in of itself not extraordinary, the vintage, however, was cause for amazement. To any wine connoisseur, 1989 was a most excellent year for Bordeaux, and this 1989 Chateau Haut-Brion was a wonderful example of that vintage.

Kyuubi smiled as he noted Itachi's amazement at the choice in wine, one that was usually very rare and not to be found in a normal restaurant. He laughed inwardly, recalling the conversation with his friend, Houkou, the owner of the restaurant they were dining in.

He was more or less desperate, he had a date with Itachi, but being an indiscriminating drinker, usually more interested in getting wasted than tasting the alcohol, he had no idea what a classy person like that would prefer to drink. A call to his old friend Houkou, owner of the Five Elements Restaurant, was in order.

He waited impatiently while the call rang through, tapping his foot against his desk's much abused leg, making his nameplate and other trinkets rattle against the polished granite top.

"Houkou speaking."

"Houkou? It's Kyuubi. I need a favor if you have the time." Kyuubi didn't want to sound too desperate, but he didn't want to be rude either. It sounded too needy for his liking, but he knew Houkou to be a proud man, and he wouldn't get any help if he was a dick to him.

"I always have time for you, Kyuubi, we've been buds since high school." He raised an eyebrow at Kyuubi's tone of voice, it was unnecessarily friendly for his old high school friend. 'Hmm… I wonder what he wants from me. It's not like Kyuubi to call me, much less be so formal.'

"Here's the deal: I'm going out with Uchiha Itachi – I'm sure you know the name – and don't know the first thing about wine, I want to impress him, but don't want to be too over the top." Kyuubi was trying not to rush to the point, but was continually failing, having said everything in one breath. He took a deep breath and finished, "I just want to know what your recommendation is for the best wine in your Kyoto restaurant."

'Hah! So that's what he wants.'

"Sure thing, Kyu, I know just the right thing to create a very good impression. It won't even seem too rehearsed." He was always amazed at his genius. "Just ask for the very best red wine we have. I'll arrange to have a bottle waiting for you."

"As always, you're a genius!" Kyuubi was sure his friend could feel him beaming with happiness. "I owe you one."

"That you do. Perhaps you'll give me a good deal when I upgrade my restaurants' computer system." Houkou was more cunning than most, and wasn't scared to mix business and personal matters to his advantage.

"Will do, old friend." Kyuubi smiled when he heard the disconnect tone, knowing Houkou to be rather abrasive to most, not inclined to share niceties or greetings, much less farewells. They had an understanding though, and that's all that mattered.

Kyuubi didn't remain lost in his own mind for long though, and passively observed Itachi as he picked up the glass – swirling around the dark red liquid, inhaling the intoxicating aroma – and then took a sip of the wine, savoring it before swallowing.

"This is most definitely an exemplar of this vintage," Itachi exclaimed, smiling.

"I did ask for the best, didn't I?" Kyuubi was suave as usual, despite the fact that he knew nothing about wine, and had no clue what Itachi was referring to. He proceeded to mimic Itachi, swishing around the wine, sniffing it, then taking a sip. He didn't take much pleasure in any of the ritual, although he did like the taste, and simply did it to please the young man that was looking at him expectantly.

"I propose a toast," began Itachi with a smile, raising his glass, "to a wonderful relationship."

Kyuubi smiled, clinking his glass against Itachi's, resorting to a more traditional Japanese toast –"Kanpai!" – and taking another sip of the wine.

Sakura made another appearance, this time to take their order, and found them conversing cheerfully, beaming across the table at each other. She was happy to see that they were enjoying their wine, having nearly had a heart attack when she saw the price, and wished secretly that she had a rich boyfriend to take her out to great restaurants.

Kyuubi's choice was absolutely appalling to Itachi. When Sakura asked him what he'd have for the main course, he replied, "I'll take the New York Strip steak, eighteen ounces, rare."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at the selection. It's not that he disliked red meat, but to Itachi, rare steak was akin to having the cow still kicking.

"Would you like soup, salad, or anything else on the side?"

"I'll take the lobster bisque, and mashed potatoes on the side." Kyuubi finished his order with a smile at the young lady, causing her heart to flutter.

Sakura wrote the order down quickly, reading it back to Kyuubi, then turned to Itachi. "And for you, sir?"

Itachi thought about it for a second, trying to decide between salmon or trout, and finally replied. "I think I'll go with the pan seared salmon, with seasoned green beans on the side, and a salad to start."

Sakura again confirmed the order, then smiled at the two attractive men. "I'll make sure the kitchen gets this started now."

They thanked Sakura as she bowed and exited, then turned back to each other, discussing how they could begin a partnership to produce servers and workstations from Uchiha parts with Rasengan multi-core processors. It could be very lucrative, they would be able to beat out any competition, using the super-fast processors and compact designs to make a single rack of their servers as fast and efficient as a roomful of the competition's.

They continued their conversation over their soup and salad, going over how they would introduce the proposal to their respective boards. It would not do to explain that the idea stemmed from a romantic dinner.

As soon as the main course arrived, their conversation more or less died out, as Kyuubi tore into his juicy steak. Itachi was mildly revolted by the bloody steak, and chose to focus on his salmon instead, which was delicious in its own right, and definitely more to his liking.

They both finished around the same time, and began to look over the dessert menu. Itachi was unsure, as he usually abstained from sweets, and when Sakura came back with a young waiter to remove their dinner plate and take their dessert order, he still had no idea.

Kyuubi, noticing Itachi's reluctance to order dessert, decided he could take advantage of this. "How about we split something for dessert?" He received an affirmative nod and a smile. "I think we'll split the bananas foster. Can you flambé them right here?"

"Of course we can, let me have the cart sent up, and we'll prepare it for you."

The display of preparing the dessert was Kyuubi's favorite part, as they had to pour rum on the caramelized bananas, allowing it to catch fire, flames shooting a few feet into the air, and they usually did it very artfully, sprinkling cinnamon on the flames, creating sparkles. It was definitely his favorite dessert.

Itachi was not familiar with the dessert, and watched quietly as they rolled in a cart with a portable gas stove, several bottles of liquor, bananas, and different condiment containers.

The young man cranked the knob on the stove, sparking a large ring of blue flames, and motioned to Sakura to cut up the slices of banana as he melted butter in a shallow pan. He scooped some brown sugar into the melted butter, then took the tray of banana slices and dumped it onto the pan, creating a satisfying sizzling noise. He flipped them a couple of times, allowing them to absorb the sugar and caramelize slightly.

'Here it comes,' thought Kyuubi to himself, his anticipation building up as Sakura handed the young man a bottle of rum. He poured a decent amount into the pan, then allowed some to splash over the edge, setting the rum ablaze, engulfing the surface of the pan with a whoosh.

"Ooh!" Itachi had definitely found his favorite dessert. He was amazed by the flames, and his face lit up with a delighted grin when the young man brought out a container of cinnamon and sprinkled it over the pan, creating sparkles.

They were both sad when the flames consumed the alcohol and went out, but were happy that they'd be sharing the dessert, which was quickly ladled onto vanilla ice cream, with a big scoop of the leftover sauce.

"Enjoy your dessert." The young man bowed and departed, grinning at them.

"I'll be back with the bill shortly. Enjoy!" Sakura followed the young man, chatting with him as they went down the hall.

Kyuubi grabbed his spoon, scooping up some of the ice cream with a still-warm banana slice on top, and offering it to Itachi.

Although he disliked being fed like a child, Itachi opened his mouth, looking forward to what seemed like a savory dessert. "Mmm," Itachi closed his eyes, enjoying the flavor, "this is entirely too delicious."

"I'm glad you like it," replied Kyuubi with a smile, helping himself to some.

They finished their dessert with a short kiss, sharing the sweet aftertaste, and Itachi sighed as they came apart.

Sakura returned with their bill, which was placed in a leather folder embossed in gold leaf reserved for select guests. She had been horrified by the bill, totaling well over 120,000¥. These had to be very rich, important men. In fact, the redhead seemed almost familiar to her, like someone she had met a long time ago, but she couldn't quite place him.

Kyuubi didn't bother looking at the bill, sliding his centurion card, better known as a black card, into the folder, and laughing to himself.

"I don't even want to know how much that cost." Itachi grinned at Kyuubi, in the best mood he had been in a very long time. "Just promise that you'll let me pay next time."

"Deal." Kyuubi replied, amused by Itachi's formality.

Sakura made her final appearance for the night with a receipt, along with a tray of mints. "I hope you have enjoyed your dinner tonight, and please return soon."

"Thanks," replied Kyuubi, quickly writing down a sum on the house copy and handing the folder back to her, "Take care of yourself."

Sakura bowed again, retiring through the door, and opened the folder, eyeing the number Kyuubi had written. He had tipped her 20,000¥. She squealed like a little girl in her head, 'Yeah Sakura! We can go shopping with Naruto this weekend with this much cash!'

Kyuubi and Itachi, meanwhile, smiled at each other across the table, and finally stood up, getting ready to head to Itachi's mansion for the night.

Both men were suddenly nervous as they headed to the car, absorbed in their own thoughts. Itachi noticed that Kyuubi was a little unsteady on his feet, but didn't mention it.

'This will be a night to remember, Itachi. This may be the one.'

'Kyuubi, don't screw this up, this is the best thing that's happened to you in a long time.'

They got in the car, Kyuubi started it up, and they headed for Itachi's house.

They didn't make it.

A/N: Hey guys, this took me a while to write, so I am rewarding you for your patience with cookies! *throws out cookies into a small crowd*

I really hope you enjoyed the chapter, and caught my many cultural and mythical references. I tried new writing styles and methods, and switched timelines and POVs a lot this chapter, adding to its rather hectic feel. I hope I captured the essence of a first date. I really did a lot of research on fine wine, cars, and other things in order to make this chapter truly rich, even down to the amounts of cash spent… If you're curious, 121,000¥ is about $1400 USD, and Sakura's tip was 20%, or $280 USD (hah, I know, it's funny coming from a poor college student.) I do want to confess though, I put a lot of myself into this… My car, my favorite dessert. Just don't use that to track me down and kill me :D

I would like to refer you to the legends of Japan – Houkou is the Five-tailed Wolf, and a former enemy of Kyuubi the Nine-tailed Fox. I decided to make him a character, and he will be back later on. If you have any suggestions as to his characteristics, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed it, please review!