Title: T-Shirt

Author: AppleL0V3R

Beta-reader: SymphoniaFreak

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: Uchiha Itachi and Haruno Sakura

Rating: T

Type: One-shot – Complete

Summary: Sasuke was getting sick of Sakura taking his shirts so he improvised. "Sakura, why are you wearing my shirt?" Itachi asked with intent eyes.

Word Count: 1,615

Disclaimer: If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.

Edited on: December 1, 2011

Black eyes narrowed slightly when the door opened to reveal the owner of the house. It wasn't the fact that her hair was mussed and her eyes half open, both telling him he'd woken her – in the middle of the day no less – that bothered him. Or even the fact that her shorts were even shorter than short-shorts. It was the oversized shirt that almost covered her pink shorts. She was wearing one of his shirts again.

He recalled letting her use it when they were finishing up a mission because she'd torn hers in half. Not one of the males of Team Seven had wanted to travel the rest of the way with her in only a bra and skirt, even if the sight was nothing new to any of them. And since Sasuke was the only one of the group who had a shirt that would fit her and that she wouldn't complain about, he had grudgingly handed one of his spares over to her.

It was a situation he was used to. In fact, if he never bothered to actually retrieve any of the clothes he let her borrow, he was pretty sure he'd be missing half of his wardrobe.

After years of it, he'd gone from uncomfortable and at a loss to nonchalant to annoyed. He wanted her to stop taking without returning them promptly. So he was going to put his foot down this time around and put an end to it.

"Sasuke?" Green eyes blinked back at him, "What's up?" She opened the door wider so as to allow him entrance to her home. He took it without a word, and made a bee line for her couch as she headed for the kitchen. "Tea?"

Normally he wasn't one to beat around the bush, but as much as he wanted the shirt thievery to end, there was an actual reason for him turning up on her doorstep right then. "Don't tell me you worked late again."

She shrugged almost lazily by way of answer – a sound yes. "I'll take that as a yes."

He snorted softly; no doubt she'd worked another graveyard shift because one of her nurses had suckered her into doing their shift for them. The rosette was just too softhearted to say no, even though her analytical nature refused to let her be fooled by the crap he'd seen her underlings give her. They did it because she let them get away with it most of time, not that he had room to talk. He was rankled with her right now because he'd let her get away with taking his shirts without returning them.

When she came back in the vicinity of him with two mugs, instead of grabbing the proffered drink, he grasped the bottom of the shirt and tugged, "You're wearing one of my shirts again."

Sakura smiled happily, "Mhmm, I love how comfortable your shirts are."

He huffed softly in turn, letting the shirt go in favor of the mug before she took it back. "Sakura, either return the shirts you borrow or stop borrowing them."

Green eyes blinked. "You're the one who lets me borrow them as I recall."

"And then you never return them unless I come and get them."

Sakura looked him straight in the eye. "Does it bug you?"

He met her gaze evenly. "I would like it if half my wardrobe didn't look like it was missing."

She paused for a moment. "Alright. I get better about giving you back your shirts after I borrow them, satisfied?"

Black eyes didn't even blink as he nodded curtly and moved directly into details about their upcoming mission. Because he knew that even though Sakura had agreed to compromise, she was going to remember it for the next time around.

Which meant he was going to have to come up with a way to get her to actually stop.

And he had a pretty good idea of how to go about that.

It was only by chance that he saw her right then; he had originally planned to be home earlier that day, but had to delay. And because of it, just as he was heading back to the main house after reporting, he'd seen his little brother's female teammate walking down the main road toward the exit of the compound.

Such a thing normally wouldn't have caught more than a passing glance from him. He'd dealt with the woman before, at family events and when they'd both been at house at the same time. And on the odd occasion he took her on a mission. She was one of the few who had managed to earn his respect and he considered her almost a friend.

Sakura was known to come and go because his parents had already accepted her as one of their children along with Uzumaki. And since they weren't directly passing each other, he normally wouldn't have taken notice of her. But as she walked past him, he saw the dark blue skirt she wore along with the strikingly familiar black t-shirt. His t-shirt.

He paused for a split second, glancing at the few houses he had left. Deciding it wouldn't take more than a moment, he doubled back to catch up to her. "Haruno."

She stopped in her tracks and turned to him, a surprised look settled on her face. "Uchiha, do you need something?"

He glanced down pointedly, "No. I am merely curious as to why you are wearing one of my shirts."

Surprise turned to shock and she quickly looked down and then back at him with confusion. "I…" Itachi raised an eyebrow in askance. "I borrowed this from Sasuke on a mission we just got back from."

Dark eyes stayed carefully blank as he considered that piece of information. He could think of more than one occasion when his younger brother had grumbled about his teammate taking his shirts without returning them. Which meant that this was his solution to making her stop. Knowing his brother the way he did, Sasuke had probably told Sakura to quit, but the rosette hadn't managed to completely break her habit. So he had resorted to putting her in a possibly uncomfortable situation to make sure that it wasn't going to repeat itself any time soon. The thought of having a talk with his precious otouto about his choice of persuasive methods, crossed his mind, but he decided there was a better way to go about this situation.

He was left with one simple question: how to proceed with such knowledge in mind.

Itachi tilted his head, letting black hair spill over his shoulder in the process. "Is that so?"

She nodded numbly, pink eyebrows drawing together, and he could see the gears turning in that bright mind of hers. Slowly her green eyes started to narrow as she, too, came to the conclusion that he had. And the young doctor didn't seem too happy with the realization, if her reaction was any indication. "My apologies, Uchiha. It seems I need to have a talk with my teammate." Sakura paused for a moment, as if remembering something. Tipping her head backwards, she gave him a sunny smile. "I will have your shirt back in your possession before the end of the day, I promise."

He too paused, deliberating for a moment. A curiosity crossed his mind and he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he were to act on it. "That's quite alright. As I said, I was curious why you were wearing my shirt."

She froze for a moment, her face going blank in the process. He found it more than a little interesting how the lack of expression obviously stemmed from lack of thought. Just as quickly as it had happened though, she was reanimated once more, her dumbfounded surprise tucked away. Instinctively, he knew it was so she could analyze it once the two of them parted. The bright smile returned to her face, but this one with hints of curiosity and suspicion. "Thank you, Uchiha."

With one curiosity satisfied, another seemed to grow in its place. "You are wearing my shirt, Sakura. I doubt we are truly on a formal basis anymore."

The Uchiha heir was beginning to find that watching her face go slack with surprise like that was an entertainment he didn't think he was going to tire of any time soon. Dark eyes glanced in the direction of his home again, then back to the petite woman before him still clearly grasping for something to say.

How curious.

Perhaps this was part of the reason why his little brother kept this one particular female so close to him. And if it was, what were the other reasons Sasuke always protected and cherished her? Sable eyes narrowed thoughtfully, even as he made his next decision.

He deliberately stepped to the side and held out an arm for her in a gentlemanly gesture. "It would seem we are heading in the same direction, Sakura." Itachi kept his eyes focused on her face as he watched her continue to react.

All she could manage was nod, her green eyes still wider than normal and her speech inaccessible.

How curious indeed.