DISCLAIMER: All Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto

Author's Note: What's up, everyone? I'm back in action! I deactivated my account a while back but I'm slowly making my way back into the world of fic writing. I'm starting by gradually re-uploading this series and adding more chapters onto it. So, maybe you've read this before I went MIA or maybe you haven't. Either way, have fun!

I've said before that I am open to several Sakura pairings and while that is true, this particular one is among my favorites. This will be a drabble series composed of random oneshots of ItaSaku. I know that SasuSaku is canon but forget that tidbit of information for this series.

This is rated T but that's just to cover all my bases for future prompts. I may change the rating as needed.

Chapter 1:

Coffee Encounters

He remembered the first time she walked into the café. It had been the beginning of April and he could even distinctly recall the cherry blossom tree outside finally blooming to its fullest. Perhaps the romantics of the world might even dare call it fate that he met a girl with hair the color of cherry blossoms the afternoon of that same day. But Uchiha Itachi would have to disagree. After all, he couldn't say that he fell in love with her the moment she walked through the café's doors, the tinkling of the bells that signaled a new customer acting as the preamble to their love story's melody.

No, it hadn't been love at first sight. He called her at least ten different names before he learned her real name. So no, maybe it wasn't love at first sight. But Itachi had certainly been intrigued.

Wearing a dress perfect for the spring weather, her entrance caused quite a stir. Patrons of the café shuffled their newspapers lower, glanced up from their laptops, and halted in the act of bringing cups of coffee to their lips.

Noticing the sudden change in everyone's behavior, Itachi paused in the process of putting a foam of milk on a customer's order and peered at whatever had attracted the others' attention.

Itachi had several expectations in mind. Perhaps an idol had entered the café, but that idea was easily tossed away when he registered the lack of prepubescent-like screaming that commonly accompanied an idol. Maybe someone of political importance? But where were the security and the chatter of business? Within a second, several ideas had taken residence in Itachi's head.

But when he finally caught sight of the person, she was nothing at all as he had expected.

Flushed alabaster skin from walking outside and a shy smile. But all those were secondary characteristics when placed in comparison to her hair and eyes. With hair as pink as cherry blossoms and with eyes a peculiar shade of green, her dress may have been white but she was surely a very colorful person.

She wasn't gorgeous. She wouldn't be the kind of girl that'd be in magazine covers nor was she wearing anything remotely revealing that would inspire lecherous gazes. But in no way was she ugly. On the contrary, Itachi had to admit that in her own way, she was beautiful. Despite her vibrant coloring, she didn't possess the kind of beauty that was loud and asked to be acknowledged. Hers was quieter, perhaps as shy as the way she looked. It was the kind of beautiful that fluttered away too quickly and left a person wondering in daze where he ought to begin the chase in order to see it once more.

She was beautiful but if you blink a second too fast or too slow, you might just not notice. It's a good thing that Itachi liked to pay attention.

"What can I get for you ojou-chan?" By now, all the other customers had returned to what they had been originally doing. Before he could be caught staring, Itachi resumed to make the coffees lined up on the inside counter. He would let Shisui handle the girl. Itachi's cousin worked the register because according to him, Itachi always acted like an emotionless gentleman. A gentleman, sure, but still emotionless. Shisui said that Itachi would only succeed in scaring away the customers if he worked anything but the coffee machines.

Though he wasn't looking, Itachi could sense the smile that accompanied the girl's words. Shisui seemed to have that effect on people. "A mocha to go, please."

"One mocha coming right up," Shisui proclaimed happily.

As he wrote the girl's order on the cup, Shisui took the time to examine the girl in front of him while asking, "And could I have your name, ojou-chan?"

"Sakura," she answered.

Shisui blinked but shook his head. "Well, Sakura-chan, after you've tasted my cousin's coffee, you'll never want to go to another café again. Plus, you'll have the joy of getting to see me each time," he added with a wink.

Sakura laughed softly, her smile causing the corners of her eyes to wrinkle and Shisui just couldn't help the next words that popped out of his mouth. "So…kawaii."

The girl arched a brow but otherwise, did not comment. Shisui wanted to groan aloud. She probably thought he was some sort of creep now. Swallowing awkwardly, he proceeded, "Uh…we'll have your order ready over there in a bit, Sakura-chan."

Thankfully, Sakura still looked every bit amused as she accepted the change and moved to stand at the corner. But not before glancing at the name on the small plaque pinned to his shirt and saying, "Arigato, Shisui-san."

Shisui could be excused for the light brush of pink on his cheeks.

And in perhaps the shortest wait for a coffee that Sakura had ever experienced, her name was being called out.

"Sakura-san."

Moving deftly to the counter to retrieve her coffee, Itachi offered the necessary words that Shisui always reminded him to tell the customers. "Arigato and have a nice rest of the day."

"Arigato." He had not expected the customer to return his words with another "thank you." Most simply shied away or tended to be intimidated by Itachi that they simply nodded and offered him a weak, if not forced smile.

Looking up from the next coffee order he had already begun, he was surprised to see the pink-haired girl. She gave him one last smile before setting off to depart.

So her name was Sakura? Perhaps her parents had simply been unimaginative or perhaps they had been surprised when their daughter had been born with strands of pink atop her head. Either way, a big part of Itachi could not believe that a couple would name a pink-haired child Sakura.

"She's cute, isn't she?" Shisui said while leaning against one of the coffee machines.

"Hn."

"Think I have a shot with someone as cute as her?"

"Hn."

Shisui sighed exasperatedly at his cousin. "If you don't think she's cute then you really need to get laid, Itachi."

"Hn."

It would not matter what he thought. If the girl decided to return to their café, then she'll soon become another regular customer to memorize along with her regular order. She'll just be another person in the long list of names that Itachi calls out from morning to night.

Itachi didn't see her until another two weeks later. Wearing another dress, she walked in. Some of the patrons looked up, but most of the regulars remembered her and continued with their own private affairs.

"Konnichiwa!" Shisui greeted. In the two weeks since he had last seen her, Shisui had come to the conclusion that she looked like a princess. A very colorful princess. "Another mocha to go?" he asked, prepared to write the order down.

"Iie. Not this time. A caramel macchiato, please," she amended.

Nodding, he wrote down her order. "I haven't seen you for a while."

"Do you promise not to be upset if I tell you the reason why?" she asked playfully.

Shisui raised a brow but nodded with a smile.

Leaning forward as if she was planning to impart some kind of dangerous secret, she whispered, "I tried out a bunch of other coffee shops for two weeks."

Shisui pretended to look aghast. "I can't believe you didn't take my word for it when I said that we had the best coffee in town!"

"I know, I know." She put her palms up in a mock gesture of peace. "But I ended up back here, so I suppose everything turned out your way in the end."

Laughing, Shisui agreed and asked for her name. He didn't want to accidentally put the wrong name on her cup even though he was pretty sure he already knew her name. After all, it was hard to forget someone with pink hair.

But when she offered her name, Shisui wasn't sure if had misheard. "What was that again?" he asked.

"Shiro," she stated with a sly smile.

Odd. Shisui could have sworn her name was Sakura.

But he didn't argue since someone else was in line behind Saku–Shiro-chan. Waving her to the side, Shisui just shook his head in confusion. He must be getting old.

"Shiro-san."

Itachi was slightly puzzled when the pink-haired girl was the one who moved to take the drink. Sakura smiled at him and in turn, he blinked not once, but three times at her. Hadn't her name been Sakura?

Itachi was just about to inquire when she leaned forward to peer at his clothes. Knitting her brows, she said, "You don't have a nametag. How am I supposed to thank you properly if I don't know your name?"

None of the other customers had ever asked for his name and Itachi was a bit taken aback. Unlike Shisui, he never wore a nametag because he worked the coffee machines. He didn't take part in the casual conversations that occurred regularly at the register.

And why did it matter if she knew his name? Weren't pleasantries nothing more but attempts to fulfill the societal expectations of being kind? Surely she didn't need to know his name to do so.

Completely forgetting his intended question, Itachi smirked and grunted, "Hn."

She visited the Uchihas' quaint little café four days later on a Friday. It was a very busy day and it was lunchtime and people seemed to prefer coffee over actual food.

When Itachi called out the name, "Hajime-san," he barely registered the person who took the cup of Americano from the counter. That was, until he heard his own name being returned.

"Arigato, Itachi-san."

Itachi snapped his head upwards so quickly that he may have hurt his neck in the process. But by the time he had looked up to search for the telltale signs of pink, he only caught a glimpse of her profile as she exited through the door.

Looking to Shisui because he would be the only reason why she would know his name, Itachi narrowed his eyes when his cousin waved sheepishly at him.

Itachi was having an incredibly taxing day. He did not know how (but he will be sure to find out who did it, so that he could throttle them on a later day), but somehow, his fangirls had located his workplace. Hordes of them had come barreling in early (too early) this morning. Itachi much preferred when the customer shuffled away nervously and quickly upon retrieving the designated coffee. Anything was better than the shrill voices of fangirls constantly asking for his number and address.

Sighing, Itachi was more than glad when the day had began to dwindle into quietness.

The tinkling of the bell above the door indicated a new customer, specifically, the pink-haired girl.

But before she could reach the register to order, another patron entered the premises. Instead of heading towards the counter as expected, the man surprised everyone when he dropped in front of the pink-haired girl and bellowed, "Haruno-san!"

Said girl blinked and Itachi tucked away the new knowledge of her family name into the confines of his memories.

"Haruno-san! Please be my girlfriend!" The suddenness of the question caught Itachi's attention wholly and he registered Shisui coughing in surprise as well.

"Lee-san," she began.

He had a bowl-cut hair and was wearing an odd match of a green running suit with orange leg warmers. But his most prominent features were his eyebrows. Bushy and dark, had his eyes not been big as well, his eyebrows would have surely hidden them away.

"Lee-san," she repeated. Looking softly at the boy, she shook her head with a kind smile.

But the boy didn't seem hindered nor overly letdown. Instead, he stood from the ground and positioned a thumbs-up before yelling, "Do not worry, Haruno-san! I will strive to be more youthful so that I may become deserving to call himself your boyfriend! By the power of youth, I promise this. And if I cannot become your boyfriend next time, I will do two hundred pushups as punishment."

Sweatdropping, she watched Lee run out of the café with every intention of improving his youth.

Meanwhile, Shisui had caught the slightly disgruntled look adorning his cousin's face since the boy with thick eyebrows had asked their pink-haired princess to his girlfriend. Knowing that he ought to nurture even the littlest of emotions displayed by his cousin, Shisui walked up to Itachi and whispered, "If you don't act soon, she'll end up marrying that bushy-brow sooner or later."

Shisui had the pleasure of watching his cousin's ears turn pink and mumble something about needing to make coffee.

Needless to say, Itachi barely glanced up when "Ryuko-san" took her order and thanked him by his name.

Three more times that week, she visited the coffee shop, each time ordering a different drink. On the third time, Shisui approached Itachi as she departed with her coffee.

Wiping his hands on his apron, Shisui said, "You know…she's never given the same name twice. Makes me wonder what her name really is."

Itachi grunted in agreement. "Perhaps you should ask her," he suggested.

Shisui shook his head. "I think you should do it."

Itachi raised a brow inquiringly, silently asking why. But Shisui just laughed and clapped him on the back.

Shisui had seen the softer look that Itachi adopted whenever he served their nameless (or should he say, nameful) customer her coffee. It was like the ever-present stoicism that Itachi always wore was peeled away with every meeting. Besides, she was the only one who can look Itachi straight in the eyes without turning into some weird fangirl. In turn, she was one of the few people outside their family that Itachi allowed to call him by his first name.

Itachi may not know it yet but he and…their multi-named customer were meant for each other.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun," she said. "I forgot something in the car. Can you go ahead and order for me already?"

Sasuke nodded and handed her the car keys. Before she could step out, he asked, "The usual?"

Smiling, she nodded.

Unknown to the two of them, the two other Uchihas working at the café had watched the entire exchange with deep interest.

"Sasu-chan! You know Shizuku-chan?" Shisui asked; he had used the name she had given on her last visit.

Sasuke frowned. "Don't call me that. And what are you talking about? Shizuku?"

Nodding enthusiastically, Shisui said, "The girl you were with. She comes here a lot."

"Her name's not Shizuku."

"We are aware of that, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked towards Itachi who had approached the register to join in the conversation. "Aniki," he greeted.

"She always offers a different name with each visit," Itachi explained.

Smirking, Sasuke placed his hands in his pockets. "Sounds just like something she would do."

"We'd be much obliged if you could tell us her real name," Itachi continued.

Recognizing that he possessed a very vital piece of information, Sasuke smirked even further. "Why don't you ask her yourselves?" he dared to both Shisui and his aniki. "In the meantime, I'll have a black coffee and she'll have a white chocolate mocha."

Itachi bristled at Sasuke's refusal to help but just as he prepared to make the two coffees, something about what Sasuke said stopped him.

"How do you know what it is she wants to order?"

Sasuke looked confused. "What do you mean? It's her usual."

"Shizuku-san does not have a usual."

"Probably because Shizuku doesn't exist."

"Hn." Sasuke could be very frustrating at times.

"Sasuke-kun!" Walking to said boy's side was the current subject of conversation. She greeted Shisui on the way before stopping to stand beside Sasuke. Bumping her hip to his, she asked, "Did you get my order?"

"Hn."

Long accustomed to the Uchiha trademark grunt, she smiled in understanding.

When their coffee arrived, she made sure to thank Itachi by his name with one of her big smiles.

Sasuke blinked when Itachi proffered a small smile of his own. Looking back and forth between his friend and his aniki, Sasuke decided to put a plan in motion – partly to test a hypothesis but mostly to annoy his aniki.

Grabbing their coffee, the two of them turned to leave. Sasuke also chose to hang a loose arm over his pink-haired friend's shoulders. She swiveled her head to smile endearingly at him.

Glancing back, Sasuke smirked wickedly when he noticed the tick on Itachi's jaw and narrowed eyes focused on his careless arm draped around the pink-haired girl.

"Shisui," Itachi called out.

"Hmm?" Shisui asked while placing the customer's money into the register.

"May we switch positions for a few minutes?"

At this, Shisui finally looked up curiously at Itachi. "You do know that working the register means talking to people, right? And being an actual human being, right?"

"I am not an imbecile, Shisui," Itachi retorted. Nevertheless, a torn expression stole across his face. "But yes…I am…aware of the repercussions."

Shisui couldn't believe that Itachi would willingly ask to man the register. Unless, of course, he had an ulterior motive. Sparing a glance towards the area of the door, Shisui smiled impishly when he saw the pink-haired girl approaching through the glass windows.

"Why…my dear cousin…are you…planning on flirting with our elusive customer?"

When Itachi coughed and stared at a corner tile of the ceiling, Shisui guffawed but consented to Itachi's request. "Go get the girl, tiger," he cheered on.

For a moment, Itachi experienced a mingle of doubt and fear. But he quickly squashed those emotions away. As an Uchiha, he was taught never to waver from his decisions. He had decided to speak with the girl and ask for her name. He would not back away now.

Which was why the pink-haired customer was very surprised when it was not Shisui but Itachi who greeted her at the register.

"Itachi-san? Why are you at the front today?"

Itachi gulped but answered as stoically as possible. "Shisui and I are trying to learn each others' responsibilities today."

"Ah," she nodded in acceptance, oblivious to the muffled chortles of Shisui from the side.

"What will you have?"

"A cappuccino, please."

Writing her order on the cup, Itachi asked, "Your name?"

"Satsuki."

She moved to pay when Itachi's voice stopped her.

"Your name?"

She blinked in confusion. "Nani?"

Itachi inhaled deeply before saying, "You have visited this café enough times to be considered a regular customer. You have never ordered the same drink twice and you have neither offered the same name twice. So I must ask, your name?"

She blinked again before a small smile slowly spread across her face. "What makes you think that Satsuki isn't my real name?"

Itachi bristled but dared, "Is it?"

She allowed a second to pass before shaking her head. "But isn't it a bit unfair, don't you think so, Itachi-san?"

"What do you mean?"

She pretended to appear incredibly offended. "You never gave me your name yet I figured it out without your help. Shouldn't you extend the same gesture then?"

She really was…unlike any other girl he had ever met. He had to know her name. He needed to know her name.

"I…I asked my otouto the other day but he proved to be of no help. He suggested that I ask you myself."

"Sounds just like Sasuke-kun."

"If I may ask…how do you know my brother?"

"We go to the same university and we went to high school together. But I've never seen you around the Uchiha compound before," she admitted honestly. "I only recently learned that you were the famous aniki that Sasuke-kun always talks about."

Ah. He had already moved to the university's dormitories when Sasuke had reached high school. He probably visited the compound whenever she was not around.

"Hn."

She laughed. "Just like Sasuke-kun." She placed the money for her coffee on the counter and said, "The first one."

Itachi knitted his brows in question.

"My name. The real one. It was the first one I gave you."

Fortunately, Itachi had not forgotten the day of the first time she had entered the café. Neither had he forgotten the first name she had given.

"Sakura," he whispered more to himself, but she heard him and smiled sweetly.

Grabbing her coffee from an overly zealous Shisui who kept repeating her name over and over simply because he now knew it, she prepared to exit the café.

"Sakura-san?"

She stopped mid-step and turned to glance at Itachi who had spoken her name.

"Are you…are you in a relationship with my otouto?"

This time, Sakura laughed so loudly that the other customers turned to stare at her. Wiping fake tears from the corners of her eyes, she shook her head and just to make sure there would be no misunderstandings, she reiterated her response with a loud, "No."

Sakura watched animatedly as relief appeared on Itachi-san's face. Deciding to be brave, she re-approached the counter, and thankfully, no other customer had followed after her purchase.

"Itachi-san," she said.

Leaning forward on the tips of her toes, Itachi still had to bend down to be of equal height to Sakura. Heat flooded his cheeks, his neck, and his ears when Sakura moved her face so that her lips were resting near his ear.

"Are you in a relationship with anybody, Itachi-san?" she whispered.

From the corner of her vision, she could see his Adam's apple bob upwards prominently as he swallowed. Slowly, he shook his head, becoming redder in the face when the action caused Sakura's lips to brush softly against his skin.

When Sakura pulled back, a sincere smile was pasted on her face. Backing away, she had already reached the café's door when she paused and turned to the still red in the face and unmoving Itachi.

"Itachi-san!"

He jolted into movement at the sound of her voice and she couldn't stop the giggle that escaped from her throat.

"Ne, Itachi-san. Let's grab coffee together sometime!"

Itachi didn't find the words he needed to say until she had already been long gone. Sighing because he wanted to do nothing more than chase after her, he settled for closing his eyes and breathing deeply several times.

When he opened them and peered downwards, he was surprised to find a cup of coffee sitting between his splayed hands.

Had Sakura-san forgotten her coffee? Searching for the name and the order, he finalized that she had indeed forgotten her coffee. But to his absolute wonder, a small card fluttered to the floor when he had picked up the cup. Bending down to pluck the piece of paper from the ground, he instantly recognized it as a calling card for a university tutor.

And to his great joy – and for the rest of the day everyone would wonder why the often stoic Uchiha Itachi was smiling – the tutor was none other than Haruno Sakura.

She had left her number for Itachi.

In the background near the coffee machines, Shisui couldn't help but think that he was right all along. His cousin and the once multi-named customer did in fact belong together.

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed that. Ratings and reviews are much appreciated, and as I've said in my bio, flowers magically appearing on my doorstep are also accepted wholeheartedly. This particular oneshot was a fairly long one in my opinion. Please do not expect all of them to be of this length. Most of the next ones will be much shorter.