"You really need all of this?" Says Izumi as she hefts a heavy box of Sakura's work instruments, setting it in a room designated for the pink haired woman's projects.

"Yes," Says Shisui, setting a box down beside hers. "She does."

Fugaku had insisted they move somewhere safer than Sakura's house, assuring her that it would be watched in the time that she was gone.

The Uchiha base is drafty.

To Sakura, it feels like a prison.

"I'm sorry again, Fugaku-sama," Sakura starts for the millionth time but the Clan Head holds up his hand for her silence.

"You are going above and beyond your duty. Itachi is alive. You don't have to apologize "

The Uchiha had blocked her request for a transfer. She suspects Shisui to have a hand in it.

Itachi is still sleeping soundly and she hopes his dreams are sweet. The chakra she put in his system to keep him unconscious would be filtering through and fading soon.

"One more thing," Says Fugaku. "Did my son do that?" He asks, gesturing to the scabbed over bitemark Shisui had left while he was viciously nailing her.

Shisui's frame stiffens, but she can't see his face. Izumi eyes her with no small amount of curiosity.

"He was scared," Sakura says. "I was wrong to try to subdue him the way that I did."

"Do you want some salve for it? It looks like it hurts."

The Godaime's apprentice shakes her head. "It's a reminder to be more careful in the future."

Fugaku seems perplexed but mollified, going back to whatever it is he's working on.

Sakura returns to the room assigned to her, leaving the door open as she rifles through her books and notes. She hears the soft, click, as she's closed off from everyone else.

Turning to face the source of the sound, she comes nose to nose with Shisui. His hands grip her biceps and they're so big, they cover the entire section of her upper arms.

His lips are unyielding as he steals kisses from her mouth, shoving her onto her desk. Her knee comes up to his stomach and he pauses.

"I'm still sore, asshole."

Strangely, this information seems to please him. Sakura realizes she may have inadvertently awoken something in Shisui that she wasn't ready for.

"Take your stiff dick and cold hands somewhere else."

"I missed it, did I?" They both turn to the omega in the doorway. He looks small and pale.

But Sakura is glad he's alive.

She wedges her toes in place of her knee between herself and the bigger alpha. His gaze burns her, makes her feel like she's already naked under him.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He hardly budges when she pushes him. It's just enough for her to slide off the desk and inch around him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," Itachi says.

"You really gave us a scare," Says Shisui. "What were you thinking?"

Itachi's lips part. "I.."

They wait patiently as he fidgets with his shirt.

"I just wanted it to be over."

Shisui and Sakura look to each other. It feels different this time.

The pink haired alpha doesn't like it. But there's no way to walk whatever they had back over the lines crossed.

For better or worse, things have shifted between the trio.

She wonders if Itachi feels it, too. She can tell Shisui definitely does.

Fugaku comes up behind them and she expects the Clan Head to yell at the omega. Instead, his arms wrap tightly around Itachi. Sakura turns her gaze away to give them privacy.

"This," Says Shisui, "Isn't over."

"It's going to be when I crush your nuts in my hand." She whispers back.

"Fuck, that's hot."

"Your nuts being crushed?" She asks.

"No." He snorts. "Thinking about your hands on them while your mouth is full of my-"

"Lady Fifth seemed to be under the impression you were planning on taking in a second omega," Says Fugaku. "Could you shed some light on this?"

"It was Itachi's request. An old debt he wanted to pay. But it may be prudent to wait until a better time."

"Chichiue," Says Itachi. "This is really important to me."

He pauses. Sakura knows the younger Uchiha has sway, considering the attempt he made on his own life.

"Is he going to provide me trouble?" Asks Fugaku.

"No, Chichiue."

xXx

Itachi is sleeping soundly between them when Shisui's arm slides under the omega's pillow to tangle in Sakura's hair.

Her eyes open and she's met with a single, lazily spinning sharingan. The other side of his face is hidden by Itachi's profile.

It occurs to her that she made a mistake by telling him she would be leaving their lives. Sasuke had talked in the past about Uchiha withholding their feelings.

He'd mentioned that once feelings were gained, it ran deep and with an intensity that scared many people away.

No wonder Shisui Uchiha was single. A batshit powerhouse who had killed omega without batting an eye. A thrill runs down her spine and she isn't sure if it's fear or excitement.

Itachi shifts to face her and she nuzzles him, tucking his head under her chin. This, in turn, draws the dark haired alpha closer.

The palm of his free hand rubs up and down over Itachi's side.

"I told you," He says apropos of nothing. "You aren't leaving us."

Itachi's hand reaches behind him, tangling his fingers in curly hair. "I thought I would spare everyone the trouble. I can't be saved."

They had both thought he was deeply asleep.

"The only person who can save you, is you," Agrees Sakura. "We here to provide support until you can stand on your own."

He pulls back, almost headbutting Shisui. "How can I stand if I keep being undercut every time I try?"

"I don't know," Says Sakura. "But don't give up on us, yet. Because that's what you're really doing when you start thinking that way."

Itachi's gaze turns inwards and Sakura cups his cheek, startling him back to her. "Let us love you."

His brow furrows. "Sakura." His eyes dart back and forth. "The things I did and were done to me--"

"Are in the past," Says Shisui. His arm wraps across the omega's chest at a diagonal. "It doesn't make you dirty. It doesn't make you less valuable." His lips press soft kisses to the back of Itachi's shoulder. "Just trauma to work through."

Itachi's confusion reaches an all new high when he spies Shisui's other hand in thick pink hair. "What happened in the twenty-four hours I was incapacitated?"

"Forty-eight." Sakura corrects.

"Sakura here thought she was going to transfer you to another rehabilitator."

Hurt flashes across his face but he's quick to hide it away. It creates a gnawing pain in Sakura's chest. "I was afraid I was making your trauma worse. I'm tired of walking you into situation after situation that starts an episode for you."

"I want you as my alpha," He says softly. "I want it to be you that I come to and rely upon."

"Then actually rely on me," Says Sakura. "Rely on us!"

He draws in to himself just slightly. "And if you find me to be weak?"

"You are one of the strongest people I've ever met," Says Sakura. "You deserve to be weak some times."

"Especially right now," Says Shisui. "With everything you've gone through. Just lean on us."

After a long pause that makes them think he's fallen asleep, he says, "Okay. But don't let me fall."