Songs I listened to: Grenade by Bruno Mars, the Customized Princes song by Ke$ha, Hallucination, The Harold Song, Heart Fall Out, I Hate You (Don't Leave Me), Hungover, I'm the One, Kiss 'n Tell-all of those by Ke$ha, yeah, I'm a bit obsessed, Somewhere With You by Kenny Chesney, Marisol, Let's Be Friends, and Unaddicted by Emily Osment, Stay by Miley Cyrus, Look At Me Now by Chris Brown feat. Busta Rhymes and Lil' Wayne, I Need You To Love Me by BarlowGirl, Beautiful Dangerous by Slash feat. Fergie, Don't You Wanna Stay by Jason Aldean feat. Kelly Clarkson, If I Were You by Diagram of the Heart, Running Back To You by Matt Wertz, Born This Way by Lady Gaga, Single Girls by Laura Jansen, Roadhouse Blues by The Doors, Light My Fire by The Doors, Touch Me by The Doors, Love Me Two Times by The Doors, Love Her Madly by The Doors, S&M by Rihanna, Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol (but the version from Grey's Anatomy: The Music Event), Just Tonight by The Pretty Reckless, Blame It On the Rain by He Is We, 'Till the World Ends remix by Britney Spears feat. Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha, Rolling In the Deep by Adele, 21 Guns by Green Day, and many, many more. God, this part is always so long.

So I know that those you who are my friends on facebook know that March eighth was this story's three-year anniversary (and I'm just thinking, "Jeez, girl, get it over with!" and then I get sad at the thought of it ending) and I really wanted to update then, but then I realized that I was in no way ready to update so soon (soon, haha, right) so instead I updated The Elevator, which kinda worked out, so… Happy three years, everybody!

Also, I've sort of mapped out how the rest of this fic is gonna go (better late than never, right?) and if everything goes according to plan, then the lemon (augh, I'm so embarrassed!) will probably be in the next chapter, and LBWAUOT will probably be ending soon. That's a big bummer, but I'm thinking (THINKING, it's not set in stone) thinking of doing a sequel, or at least an epilogue. So yeah.

Was I going to say more? Probably, but this is long enough.

Naruto: Why don't you have a normal disclaimer this time?

Kisa Kisa Yum Yum: Why would you ever want ANYTHING to be normal?

Sasuke: Yeah. Like, for example, your face.

Kisa Kisa Yum Yum: I'd so say your mom as a retort, but 1.) it makes no sense, and 2.) I like Mikoto even though she's dead.

Sasuke: …. Kisa Kisa Yum Yum does not own Naruto or anything but the plot and her OCs. Nor does she own Pillow Pets.

Kisa Kisa Yum Yum: Even though I'm eyeing that cute little panda, and if I had twenty bucks, that bish would be mine!

Sasuke: …baka.

Kisa Kisa Yum Yum: ….your mom.

"I'd catch a grenade for ya…"

"….."

"'Cause baby, you're a firework…"

"….."

"Ya know we're superstars, we are who we are!"

"…."

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but chains and whips excite me!"

"…Sakura, put the iPod down."

I grinned and gently caressed the shiny new iPod touch that was my boyfriend's guilt gift. He had stocked it with the hottest songs and I had already made a mental list to add to it myself. "Never! I'm gonna sleep with it!"

"Then you're sleeping in the guest room."

Reluctantly setting down the shiny thing, I reached out for him and he came willingly (or so I'm chronicling), sitting beside me on the bed. "Have I told you how much I love…my gift?" I asked, chickening out and managing to keep my expression playful.

He smirked and brushed the back of his hand softly against my cheek, making me shiver delicately. "Well, you haven't given me a welcome home kiss yet."

"Shouldn't you be giving me a welcome home kiss?"

"Point taken," he murmured before leaning forward and capturing my lips.

Just before it got mind-blowing, a cough sounded behind us and a familiar voice yelled, "Oi, stop raping her face, Sasuke-teme, she's injured!"

Sasuke pulled away and leaned his forehead against mine with a sigh. "I know that you like having an errand boy, but if you let me kill him, we can get a better one. One that doesn't stink."

"As tempting as that offer sounds, I'd rather not suffer the wrath of Hinata-chan," I told him, then giggled at a mental picture of Naruto lying on the ground with X's for eyes and the sweet-natured Hinata chasing my boyfriend with a pitchfork.

The blonde bounced into the room with a grin and holding a large box. "Hinata-chan and I brought you a welcome-back-from-certain-death gift!"

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks, Naruto. Is it edible?"

"Yeah! Well, not the box, cardboard doesn't taste good.. Well, Hinata-chan made the food, and I found the box in my closet!"

He looked so proud of himself that I hadn't the heart to tease him. "Arigato, Naruto. Arigato, Hinata-chan."

She blushed prettily and put the back of her hand to my forehead. "A-are you sure you're feeling alright, Sakura-chan?" she asked, worry evident in her voice. "Maybe you should've stayed in the hospital one more day-"

"Ugh, no way!" I rolled my eyes, then winced as the action made my head throb. "I'm not a big fan of hospitals. Besides, if anyone needs a hospital bed, it's Tenten. The poor girl has seen too much excitement."

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure that waking up suddenly with a broken arm and in a hospital, not remembering why you're in the hospital, then to be jumped by a weird Neji claiming undying love for you, is a lot to take in."

"Maybe that's why she punched him in the face."

I grinned. "Luckily for Neji, she was still weak, so he's only got a little bruise."

Hinata giggled and said, "But he was so happy that she was awake that he didn't care. And then she started crying-Nii-san said she was crying, anyway. She denies it."

"I would too," I muttered, then pasted on a thick smile at Sasuke's suspicious look. "So, what awesome gift have you bestowed upon me? I hope it's delicious!"

"Anything Hinata-chan makes is delicious!" Naruto proclaimed loudly, looking slightly affronted. "And you'll like them a lot, Sakura-chan!"

Pulling the box over to me, I lifted the lid off of it and cooed down at the cute little cookies. "Aww, they're adorable! Who's adorable? You are! You are!"

Sasuke performed a quite spectacular facepalm and said, "Sakura, if you want to baby-talk something, we have four kittens here."

"Kittens?" Hinata squealed, clapping her hands like a little girl. "Ooh, I wanna see them! Can I see them?"

"Um… Sure…?" He motioned to Lilac's box and knelt down beside it. "Hey there, Lilac," he said to her, reaching out a hand and petting her. She meowed and purred with pleasure, but didn't rise. All of the kittens were feeding except for Naruto, so that's the one he lifted up for Hinata to see. "This is our kitten-Naruto."

"Awww, he's adorable!" she exclaimed softly, using one finger to pet the tiny kitten. He mewled pitifully and turned his head towards her, though his eyes were still shut. "Naruto-kun, come see! Isn't he precious?"

The blonde obligingly trotted over and stared down at him warily. "He won't bite me, will he? Spell always bit me."

"She was trained to bite you," Sasuke retorted. "These are just kittens, I haven't trained them yet."

"You are not turning these kittens into mindless drones, Uchiha Sasuke," I threatened him, though it was made less effective by my mouthful of cookie and the one I was brandishing at him. "They'll run away, just like Spell did!"

"I still maintain that she ran away because you moved in."

"Nonsense. I'm a very loveable creature. These cookies are awesome, Hinata-chan, thank you! Here Sasuke-kun, try one!" I shoved a cookie in the general direction of his face, but he grimaced and pushed it away. "No thanks. I don't like sweets."

"Bull-honky, everyone likes sweets. Eat it."

"No."

"Eat. It."

"No."

I gave up and shoved the cookie in my own mouth. Then I tried to speak. "Fank woo fo' da coodies!"

Naruto looked confused. "The… cooties…?"

"Baka."

"Don't you have a dinner party to get ready for or something?"

…..

"I COMPLETELY FORGOT!" I yelled, throwing the cookies up in the air and almost falling flat on my face in my hurry to get up.

"Calm down, Sakura, I'll take care of it," Sasuke told me, trying to hold me back.

"SCREW THAT, YOU'LL FUCK IT ALL UP!"

Naruto and Hinata began edging out the room, their expressions shocked and more than a bit scared. "W-w-we're gonna go…" Naruto muttered, then grabbed Hinata's hand. "Run, Hinata-chan, she can smell fear!"

I growled and pushed at Sasuke's hands. "Lemme up, I gotta start cooking!"

"You're not cooking, I am."

"I'm cooking!"

Sasuke refused to allow me to cook. My head felt considerably better, but I still resembled a mummy, and he fussed over me as I fussed over the apartment.

"We should move this chair over there!"

"Let me do that, just sit down and put your feet up-no, not on the chair!"

"Hey, do you have any glass cleaner? This mirror has a spot right on my nose."

"Here, let me do that, the fumes aren't good for you!"

"Look at this dusty table, I'll just… SASUKE-KUN!"

"Just give me the rag and no one gets hurt!"

"I gotta go potty. Hey Sasuke-kun, would you like to wipe my ass, too?"

"…."

So he won the argument and made dinner while I cleaned obsessively. At seven-thirty, I rushed to get ready. I'm not allowed to get my bandage wet, so I was forced to wear a shower cap as I took my much-needed shower. My hair was still all sweaty, so I pulled it into a messy bun and hoped that gross sweaty buns were in this season. It seemed stupid to wear make-up for a teacher, but I applied a bit of eyeliner, mascara, and concealer for the heck of it, then broken down and put on my favorite clear lip gloss.

I dressed quickly into a white halter-top dress adorned with pretty red and pink flowers, then slipped my feet into white slippers. Sasuke's eyebrows rose at my choice of clothing, but he didn't comment. When he emerged from the bedroom ten minutes later, hair damp from his own shower, he was wearing black dress-pants and a dark blue long-sleeved dress shirt.

I was fluffing a cushion on the couch when the doorbell rang two minutes before eight. As I ran to the door, I thought wildly, 'There's a doorbell?'

"Konichiwa, uh… Itachi-sensei…" I greeted the taller Uchiha, not entirely sure what to call him.

He smiled pleasantly. "That's for the classroom, Sakura-san. Itachi-san is fine."

"Itachi-san." I returned his smile and stood aside so he could walk into the apartment. "Sasuke-kun's hiding in the kitchen. Can I get you some tea-?"

"We're out of tea!" he called out.

"Um, okay. Lemonade-?"

"Out of lemonade!"

I rolled my eyes. "Are we out of water, too?"

"…that depends on who is asking."

Itachi smirked as I made a very rude and highly inappropriate hand gesture in the direction of the kitchen. "Water is perfectly satisfactory," he told me politely.

"Right." I flushed at my rude behavior and bade a hasty retreat out of the room after saying, "Please, sit and relax, I'll just be a minute!"

Two minutes later, Sasuke's face was rearranged and I returned to the room with two glasses of ice water to find Itachi examining a photo I had place don a coffee table. "Oh, that's me," I said brightly as I set the glasses down on coaster. "I was seven or so. Sasuke-kun doesn't have many-any-photographs up, so I grabbed this one from my place."

"He doesn't have many. When our parents passed away, he was shuffled through foster homes so much that he just stopped setting them up. Then he stopped looking at them. And now, they're all in storage."

I really hated to admit it, but I sort of like Itachi. He was polite and had a good sense of humor, and I could tell that he cared for Sasuke and wanted to be closer to him. "You really care for him, don't you?" I asked softly.

He didn't smile. "Yes, I do." He hesitated, then pulled out his wallet. "Have you ever seen our parents?"

My eyes widened and I shook my head. "N-no, no I haven't. Do you have a picture?"

"Yes, I keep one in my wallet. Would you like to see it?"

Do pigs wallow in mud? "Oh yes, I would very much like to see it!"

He reached into his wallet and pulled out a somewhat small photograph. I reached with trembling fingers and took it from him, then studied the people in it. There was a tall man with brown hair with his arms folded over his chest, his expression serious, while the woman beside him was almost a head shorter than him and had long hair the color of Sasuke's and a pretty smile. There was also a little miniature Sasuke, looking exactly the same, only happier, and a teenage Itachi. My eyes watered and I sniffed. "You all look so happy. Well, except for your father."

Itachi chuckled. "He rarely showed his feelings. Now Kaa-san… She was more than adapt at getting her feelings across."

I reluctantly handed the picture back, then sat down on the couch as my head began to swim a bit. We made small talk for ten minutes before Sasuke finally made an appearance. "Dinner's ready," he announced, expression decidedly blank.

"Ah, the elusive princess finally emerges from her tower," Itachi joked, his eyes teasing.

"Hello, brother. Having fun?"

I rolled my eyes and stood carefully, ignoring the slight pain in my head. "Behave, Sasuke-kun. Did you set out the pickles?"

"Sakura, pickles don't really go with what I fixed."

"Oh I'm sorry, were YOU in a car accident?"

"No."

"Then shut up and set out the damn pickles. Sweetie."

Itachi chuckled as Sasuke sighed. "Yes, Your Highness."

The table was silent save for the clinking of silverware on plates. The tension was so thick that, maybe-I lowered my knife when Sasuke gave me that disapproving glare.

After another minute, I took a deep breath and said, "So Itachi-sensei, did you always want to be a mathematics teacher?"

The elder Uchiha looked up from his plate and smirked. "No. I wanted to be a male stripper-but I can't dance or work a pole, so I was fired."

"O-oh.. Well…"

"He's kidding," my boyfriend assured me with a scowl at his brother. "Can't you stop lying for a couple of hours?"

Itachi sighed. "Sasuke, I was just being humorous. Or could you not recognize something so close to happy?"

"So Itachi-sensei, have you ever gotten a root canal?" I blurted randomly before Sasuke could retort.

"Umm… No?"

"Ahh, good, good. So… have you ever counted the spots on a giraffe?"

Sasuke slammed his glass down and rounded on his brother. "I am happy. With Sakura. Most of the time. When she isn't cracking her skull open!" he growled. "But you've never seen me happy! In fact, up until a couple years ago, you hadn't really seen me AT ALL!"

An angry pink had flushed Itachi's cheeks as Sasuke ranted, and now he said, "I've told you before-they wouldn't let me be your guardian-"

"But you could have visited more!" Sasuke yelled, seemingly forgetting I was in the room. "You could have fought for me! But no, all you cared about was going to college-you called once a month and visited only on holidays-"

"I was still a kid too, Sasuke! Yes, I gave up too easily. I didn't keep in contact as often as I could've… but I was young! I was a confused, grieving adolescent boy who wanted to run as far away as possible-away from Konoha and the memory of our parents-and in doing so, I alienated you. You were so much like Father-silent and quick to scowl-with Mother's eyes and her rare smiles-it hurt to be around you."

With a start, I realized that he was right. The woman in Itachi's picture had the same smile I'd witnessed on Sasuke, full of tenderness and genuinely beautiful-and the man had seemed so like Sasuke…

"I needed you, Itachi. I needed my big brother. And you chose to…" Sasuke cut off and ran a hand through his hair before he seemed to realize that he was standing and yelling. Taking a calming breath, he sat back down and shook his head. "Never mind. I don't want to have this argument now."

"It's not good to hold your feelings in, Sasuke-kun," I told him in a half-whisper. He just shook his head again and speared a piece of broccoli with his fork.

The rest of the dinner passed in silence, though I tried to break it with more random questions and idle chitchat that didn't really work. Twenty minutes later, our plates were mostly clean and I smiled at Sasuke. "That was a really good dinner, Sasuke-kun."

He didn't seem to hear me, or if he did, then he ignored it. The two brothers rose at the same time, but didn't move away from the table. They stared at each other for so long that I almost interrupted several times, but swallowed back the urge.

"I just want you to be happy, Sasuke," Itachi said finally, maintaining eye contact with his brother as they both stood poised over the kitchen table laden with dirty dishes. "All of our past difficulties aside, I love you and want what's best for you."

I held my breath and glanced between them as Sasuke apparently warred with himself at the proclamation. After a moment, he replied, "I am happy. With Sakura, I mean. She is what's best for me."

My Sasuke-lovin' heart melted at his words, and I barely felt Itachi's gaze on me or heard him say, "I'm sure she is. Well, I'm sorry to eat and run, but I have a large stack of papers to grade and a rowdy class to prepare for. Teenage boys shouldn't be placed in a room together for large amounts of time, they get antsy."

Then he said to me, "I see that you are indeed alright, Sakura-san, and I am deeply sorry not to have asked how you were earlier."

I started; I'd completely forgotten about the accident in light of the brothers' tension. "That's alright, Itachi-san. I'm almost completely okay! Just got a little hair problem, that's all."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at this. "Whether you're okay or not, you're tired, I can tell. Go lay down in the bedroom. I'll show Itachi out and clean up the kitchen."

I started to protest, then gave up. "Whatever you say, oh master." But I said it around a yawn, so I'm sure that the sarcasm didn't come through. Standing somewhat shakily, I smiled. "Thank you for coming over, Itachi-san. You're welcome anytime. Just call first, so I can run around in a panic, dusting."

He smirked. "Thank you. Goodnight, Sakura-san, and sleep well."

I would have said more, but I was yawning again, and then Sasuke practically pushed me towards the bedroom. I went pretty willingly. "Goodnight, Itachi-san. Hurry up, Sasuke-kun," I mumbled, shuffling into the bedroom and shutting the door behind me. I heard muffled voices out in the apartment, but I was too tired to eavesdrop. Clumsily shedding my dress and slippers, I pulled on one of Sasuke's shirts and let my hair down with a grateful sigh. Then I slipped into bed, and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

After what seemed like seconds, I woke up to the sound of a door closing quietly. I looked up just in time to see my boyfriend disappear into the bathroom before he shut the door behind him and the room was dark once more. Yawning loudly, I turned to look at the alarm clock and frowned. It was almost midnight.

Five minutes later, he exited the bathroom and switched the light off, but not before I caught a glimpse of his bare chest. My heart fluttered at the sight and all vestiges of sleep went out the window. I heard him cross over to the dresser, pull out a drawer, rifle around in it for a few seconds, then shut it once more. Then came the rustle of clothing, and less than a minute later, he was slipping into bed next to me.

"Sasuke-kun. It is midnight. What took you so long?"

I felt him smile against my skin as he pulled me close to him and buried his head in the crook of my neck. "I was cleaning. You're all warm and fuzzy."

"I'm not a Pillow Pet, Sasuke-kun."

"You're as soft as a Pillow Pet," he mumbled. "Just go back to sleep."

I snuggled closer to him and sighed peacefully. He was so tired that he could barely keep his eyes open, and I let him doze off for a minute before speaking my mind.

"…Sasuke-kun?"

He mumbled something, so I pressed on. "Um… So, I was thinking, and…. We should definitely have sex tomorrow night."

1...

2...

3.…

"WHAT?" he practically shrieked, bolting up and out of his near-sleep like a rocket and sending me tumbling to the floor. I cried out in pain as my face, for the second time in as many days, hit the floor.

"Damnit, Sasuke, watch what the hell you're doing!" I growled as I slowly raised myself up and grasped the edge of the bed, glaring at him. "What's crawled up your ass?"

Sasuke grabbed onto his hair and yanked, which can't be good for sexy Uchiha hair, and stared down at me as if I'd transformed into a winged bat before his eyes. "You-you can't just say the word-well, you know-out loud like that and not expect me to flip the fuck out!"

"Okay, Sasuke-kun, that language is not necessary-"

"You say it all the time!"

"Yeah, but I don't yell it at myself! Have a little respect!"

He made some sort of sound that was part moan, part shrieking cry, and flopped himself face-first onto the bed, which made me feel partially better. "I'm dating an idiot, I'm dating an idiot," he groaned repeatedly, twisting and writhing on the bed.

"Correction: You're dating a sexy idiot and-Wait, did you just call me an idiot?"

"Just… Just shut up for a minute as I try to locate my brain…" he mumbled, then writhed a bit more for the hell of it. I rolled my eyes and pillowed my head on my arms next to him on the bed. After a few minutes, he finally looked up. "Are you serious?"

"About what, being this incredibly sexy, or having se-"

"Don't say it!" he groaned. "But yes, that part."

I shrugged. "Well, yeah, sure I'm serious. I wouldn't have said anything if I wasn't serious. You're pretty hot, and I'm pretty hot, and we'd have awesome babies-"

"I'm not having babies with you!"

"Not now, dummy. But, well…" I blushed and covered my face with my hands. "I want to, okay?"

He sobered quickly and grasped my hand in his. "Sakura, you know that you don't have to-to sleep with me, right? I mean, I'm not one of those guys-"

I shook my head. "I know that, Sasuke-kun. But I still want to. I mean, you're a really good kisser, and that makes a girl… Presume things. I would like to confirm these presumptions."

Sasuke sighed and unconsciously began stroking his fingers up and down my arm. "Well… If you really want to.. I guess I can't say no."

I grinned. "Well, you could, but I'd just get some somewhere else."

"Over my bleeding carcass." He pressed a kiss to my lips, then settled himself more comfortably on the bed beside me. "Alright then. It's a date."

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun," I whispered. The irony of the situation did not escape me-a girl, practically forcing her boyfriend to sleep with her? Almost unheard of.

It might seem like we were moving too fast-but I love Sasuke-kun, and I want to give him everything I have. Besides, I want to drop the L-bomb on him sometime, and this would give me a perfect opening.

Sex with Sasuke? The blood is leaving my brain just thinking of it.

It was a date.

Finally! Next chapter is the lemon-but don't expect too much. RubyStorm has been helping me out in that department (thanks, hun) but I'm still waaaaaay too embarrassed to make it extremely detailed. If my timeline goes the way it should, I'll have three or four more chapters left of this story. I know, I want to cry, too. But enjoy anyways. Sorry if there are mistakes or it's rushed, it's almost five in the morning here and I'm tired, but I want to get this up. That, and I'm working on an original project (check out my facebook for details) Also, friend request me on facebook, link's in my profile, I love having friends, and I love bouncing ideas off of you all lol Review, please!