Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
A/N: This is probably going to be the place where I dump all the ItaSaku things bubbling around in my brain. Because I sit in class & my mind wanders & ItaSaku is the thing it lands on (at least, that or food or how damn cold it is or how frickin' amazing Mommy-bear is or- well, you get the idea). Probably not going to be related, either. Maybe they will be. IDK.
A/N2: The book I refer to here is Soulless by Gail Carriger; & damn is it amazing. Seriously, if you like good plot, vampire, werewolves, humor, & steam-punk you have to check this thing out. OMG.

Itachi marched through his warm, extravagant, quiet house tiredly. The only thing that kept him from slouching and grumbling under his breath was the thought of how embarrassing it would be to let Shisui find him as such, and so his back was straight and lips pressed together. He was wary however, because the house was never this silent, even at seven at night. His mother should be bubbling around or Sasuke and Naruto cursing one another out, but everything was still and lazy about the air.

Or at least, it was until Shisui popped out.

"Hey there, lil' cous'," Shisui grinned, his shaggy raven hair flopping about his equally dark eyes with every bouncing step he took. "Wassup?"

"The house is quiet."

Shisui laughed, bubbling and powerful and Itachi admired how full of life his older cousin always was to himself. "Naruto and Sasuke are in the basement, so their shouts can't reach us here, aunt and uncle went to go see a movie, Tobi's asleep on the living room couch, and crazy ol' Marada's out again." He paused, his grin growing mischievously wider and he slung an arm around Itachi's shoulders. "Oh, and our favorite little blossom is reading in the library, if you're curious."

Itachi smiled slightly to himself, shrugging Shisui's strong arm off of him. "Why would I be curious?" He said, playing the apathetic college student when they both knew he was anything but. Shisui laughed softly, darkly to himself and left his cousin to his perusal of the bookworm pinkette easily. Messing with the boys sounded like a good idea, especially since that involved kicking their posteriors to Mars and back on Super Smash Melee.

Shisui's badly faked innocent whistling had long faded from the halls by the time Itachi made it to the library and he pushed open the door silently. The room was lavish and expansive, with large floor to ceiling bookshelves and a wide open space with three armchairs and a large plush couch surrounding a coffee table. In the corner sat a mammoth oak writing desk, on which the papers and pens there were solely for Itachi's use. But this wasn't because he had decreed them his, it was because no one else used the library for work, they mostly used it as a place to avoid Mikoto when on a rampage, to take a quick nap, or to play hide and seek, even though they were all a tad old for the game now.

Itachi spotted the girl's vibrant pink hair peeking over the back of the couch immediately and he stealthily made his way there, though he didn't have to worry about her noticing him; if she was in the library she was heavily submerged in one of her books and wouldn't be resurfacing for a while on her own. Upon reaching the couch he bent over it, nearly holding his breath, and smiled genuinely at the image Sakura made.

She was curled up like a cat on her side, knees tucked close to her chest with her head supported by an overly fluffy pillow cushion, her back a good foot or so from the couch back. What surprised him, however, that he didn't notice immediately, was that she wasn't actually reading; the book was haphazardly caught with her fingers tangled in the pages and her eyes were closed. That only made Itachi smile more visibly and the cliché thought of how adorable she looked while sleeping slipped through his mind. Her jeans were scrunched around her knees and she periodically shivered in her bright red tank top, it was nearly 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside but Sakura was insistent sometimes on her attire, though her shivers betrayed how cold she actually was.

Undisturbed Itachi kicked off his shoes and pulled his hoodie jacket up over his head, leaving them in a pile behind the couch without a care. In his own pair of jean and a black t-shirt he hoisted himself over the back of the couch, plopping down behind the slumbering girl. He wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling his face into her silky, violet-scented hair, and felt all the tension of the day leave his body completely. Unfortunately his semi-violent addition to the couch awoke Sakura and she shifted, pressing back into the warm body behind her before she fully became aware of the person there.

"'Tachi?" She mumbled, her fingers flexing, causing the book to tumble to the ground forgotten. But it wasn't forgotten at all and Sakura frowned at the thought of extracting herself from the comfortable position and her very warm space-heater. Fortunately Itachi sensed her distress, feeling the irate stiffing in her back, and reached down with his muscular arm to pick up the book, depositing it back at her stomach as he replaced his arm. "What 'ime is it?"

"A little after 7."

His breath tickled the back of her neck where his nose was buried and she giggled sleepily. After a second of quiet contemplation that seemed the only question on her mind for the 21 year old and she returned to her book avidly. They rested in silence after that, an occasional hum or giggle from Sakura as she read while Itachi dozed in and out of sleep lazily. After one particularly large bout of laughter from Sakura Itachi's usually suppressed curiosity got the better of him and he leaned up on one elbow to peak over her shoulder.

"What are you reading," He asked finally, when he didn't recognize the title. "That is so obviously interesting?"

Sakura tilted her head back so she could meet his eyes from the corner of her own, her smile infectious and neon bright. "Something Temari tossed my way this morning; it's placed in 19th century London, only everything's steam-punk and there are werewolves, vampires, and ghosts in society. The main character is a spinster without a soul who accidently kills a vampire because her not having a soul counteracts the supernatural's powers with one touch. The dialogue is absolutely hilarious and the woman is too, along with the vampire friend she has and the Scottish werewolf who has a love/hate relationship with her."

If Itachi had been any other person at all he might have blinked rapidly at all the information that had been thrown at him, but luckily he was completely on par with Sakura's mental abilities and simply hummed. "Sounds like something you would like," He agreed, letting his eyes scan the page. Sakura was still fairly early on in the book, but most of the page was taken up by the description of a very flamboyant vampire in pink high heels who liked to talk in italics.

Yes, that was definitely Sakura's kind of book.

Sakura gave him a particular look, one that read she knew what was going through his mind and she didn't really like it. "You should read it; I think you would like the language and the humor, Itachi." Itachi hummed senselessly in response, not really denying but not really agreeing either. Sakura sighed, taking that as the only answer she would get on the matter, and promptly went back to reading the book intently.

Or, at least she started to until her stomach grumbled loud enough to be a miniature gorilla on rampage. Then she flushed bright red, more so at the man behind her and how he laughed unrestrained into the back of her neck at her stomach's loud display of annoyance than with any actual embarrassment about being hungry.

"Dinner time, baby?"

Sakura tried to scowl at the man, but his face alit with mirth when it was usually so blank or tired was a sight she couldn't deny. Instead she bit her lip, knowing of everyone's previous endeavors with the kitchen and their endings. "Your mom's not home, though…"

"Pizza then," Itachi said, made cheerful by the red-rose blush fanning over Sakura's cheeks in addition to her presence in general. He stood up, dragging the younger girl energetically by her arm until they were standing, Sakura flush again his chest. Sakura gave him a slightly confused blink, raising one pink eyebrow at him; though she didn't comment or care about how they were pressed against one another so intimately, she rather liked it.

"Why are you so perky all of a sudden?"

Itachi grinned, swooping down to place a chaste kiss on the tip of her nose. She scrunched up her face cutely but a smile peaked around her teeth nonetheless. He was grinning down at her in a way that she found much more Shisui-like than Itachi-like, all childlike shadows and blinding erratic impulses. Sakura found she rather liked the expression on him, though she hoped it didn't have the same kind of consequences as it did on his cousin; she didn't particularly want to bail him out of jail any time soon.

"You make me happy," He said simply, his chest warm and fuzzy. Sakura's blush this time was wholly focused on the embarrassment she felt and she resisted the urge to glare at him for making her turn such a bright red. Instead however she found herself grinning helplessly back at him, arms twining around his neck to lever herself to his height on her tippy-toes. She pressed her lips against his own, murmuring her replay into his chapped devious smile.

"You make me happy, too."