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You had an awful night sleep. Your eyes felt scratchy the moment you awoke from your restless slumber, struggling to peel them open when the songs of early morning birds graced your ears. Your limbs felt like they were made of lead, tangled between your sheets as your mind stirred and your eyes finally cracked open. A pitiful groan tumbled from your lips when you were greeted to the morning rays of sunshine, your eyes burning against the sudden onslaught as the warmth caressed your face. You rubbed your fingers under your tired eyes, flicking away specks of sleep that clung to the corners of your vision as you slowly rose. The mattress beneath you groaned in protest as you yawned loudly, teeth bared as a long and lethargic sigh blew past your lips.
You felt like absolute shit. A rough night sleep was to thank for that. You couldn’t recall how many hours you had actually slept. It didn’t matter. A long night of constantly waking up and falling back to sleep would ruin whatever little few hours of peace you had managed to obtain. Your mind was still defrosting as you shuffled towards the edge of your bed, flinging the bedsheets from you and retreating from your warm nest of fluffy blankets and pillows. Since you were awake, you decided you may as well get up and have something to eat. You doubted it would actually help but your stomach was growling so loudly that you couldn’t just ignore it. You slipped your favourite pair of fluffy slippers over your feet before standing up.
You were disoriented for a long moment, mind slowly swirling and vision hazy as you wobbled on your legs. You had to wait for a moment for the floor to stop feeling like it was shifting beneath you before you even dared to move. Even when you did, your sore muscles ached in protest, the burn resonating deep in your bones as you dragged your feet to your bedroom door. You rested your hand on the cool, metal handle, fingers loosely gripping it as you took a deep breath. You hummed softly when the smell of freshly cooking food tickled your senses.
…Wait a minute. You lived alone.
Your eyes slowly widened as your lagging mind finally snapped to attention. Your grip slowly tightened on your door handle, the tips of your fingers tingling as you stared at the wooden frame of your door. Your head was starting to spin, one hundred and one different scenarios running through your head all at the same time as you tried to comprehend what was going on. Why could you smell food cooking? Who the hell was in your house? Your eyes quickly scanned your room and you snatched the closest item to you before sneaking out of your door.
You clutched your hairbrush tightly to your chest as you crept through the hallways of your home. It felt so unnatural to be sneaking through your own home, but fear of the unknown set your teeth on edge. You were acutely aware of every small noise. The creaking of the floorboards beneath your feet. Your own, baited breath. Your pulse filling your ears like the loud beat of a drum as your heart lodged itself into your throat. You could smell cooking oil and hear the crackling of food being cooked as you cautiously approached your kitchen, body pressing against a wall as you tried to peer around the corner and get a look at who was in your house. All you could see was their static shadow. Before your mind could conjure up any more ridiculous thoughts, you heard someone speaking, their voice echoing down the halls as they called your name. You froze, shoulders jumping up to your ears as your heart almost came to a screeching halt.
"Ah, you’re awake. Come in here and sit. Breakfast is almost ready."
The familiarity of Itachi’s calm voice was a soothing balm and the tension abruptly left you. You were still a little skittish as you approached, hairbrush still tightly clasped in your grip as you finally rounded the corner and stepped over the threshold of your kitchen. You blinked owlishly at the sight before you, mind still frazzled as you stared. You briefly wondered if perhaps you were maybe still dreaming. You didn’t expect to see you boyfriend standing in front of the stove, long, raven hair tied back in a neat bun and a frilly, pink apron tied around his waist. He turned towards you as you rubbed your hands beneath your eyes, irritating the puffy skin around the lids as you tried to clear your vision.
"Am I dreaming?" you questioned, voice tapering off into a slur.
A small smile tilted Itachi’s lips as he slowly shook his head. "No. You’re awake."
You still continued to stare at him, completely dumbfounded by the sight before you. Itachi didn’t pay any mind to your blatant staring as he continued with his task, the smell of freshly cooked eggs and toast wafting through the air. Your mouth was starting to water and you were ashamed at how fiercely your stomach was growling.
"Sit" Itachi repeated.
His command broke you out of your stupor as your mind abruptly returned to reality. You smiled bashfully as you followed his order and sat at your designated spot at the table. Everything had already been set up and your food had already been cooked, ready and waiting to be eaten. You could feel your face start to heat up, your chest feeling light at the heart-warming gesture. It wasn’t uncommon for Itachi to occasionally cook for you but it felt a little extra special to you after the awful night you had just had. It felt like he really cared and you honestly thought you were about to start crying as you reached for the jug of freshly squeezed orange juice to pour yourself a cup. You also poured one for Itachi as he finished cooking, the stove turning off with a soft click as he joined you for breakfast. As Itachi sat down his eyes flickered to the brush you had placed on the table, a hint of amusement tickling his voice when his sharp gaze travelled back to you.
"I hope you were not thinking of warding me off with a simple hair brush" he said, a hint of teasing lacing his voice.
Your ears burned hotly at his remark. "It was the closest thing to me" you grumbled into your cup as you took a sip of your drink.
Itachi hummed softly, eyes slowly scanning your face as you tucked into your meal. You looked exhausted, face haggard and eyes looking like they were ready to fall out of your head. He could tell you had a horrible night sleep yet he didn’t want to prod you for further information. You could talk about that after you had eaten something.
"I thought you were an intruder" you continued, knife gently prodding the perfectly cooked egg sitting in front of you. "How did you get in?"
You were certain that Itachi didn’t have the keys to your house. It wasn’t because you didn’t trust him. It was just you only had one set and you were kind of a bit lazy to get another set cut. And besides, Itachi still lived with his own family. He didn’t particularly need them anyway. When you looked to Itachi for an answer all he did was raise a single eyebrow in response to your question. It took another long moment for your brain to catch up and you inevitably answered your question.
"Ahh. Right. Part of the Anbu. Dumb question" you mumbled before promptly stuffing egg and toast into your mouth to shut you up.
"How is it?" Itachi asked.
You hummed in content and gave him the thumbs up, lazy smile stretching your lips as you happily munched on your breakfast. You swallowed your bite as Itachi took a bite of his own with much more finesse than you could ever manage.
"So good. You should cook me breakfast more often" you said with an airy chuckle.
Itachi hummed in thought as he swallowed, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he gazed at you fondly. "Perhaps I should" he mused to himself.
You didn’t quite catch what he had said as you continued eating, the hot meal already doing wonders for your body. You still didn’t feel the best, but Itachi’s food made it better and right now, that was all you really needed in your life.