A/N: Warning: one of characters here is underage but already married. No 'for adults only' moments though, I inform just in case.
"You're still up?"
She looks over her shoulder and spots him standing with one hand on kitchen doorframe. He sees a shade of kind smile on her beautiful face when she turns back to the stove.
"Okaeri, anata" she greets him like a perfect Uchiha wife should greet the future clanhead. It's simple to understand that she's preparing a late diner for him, like a perfect Uchiha wife should be, too. Despite the late hour, because it's two in the morning, he finds a loyal girl in the kitchen. If, half a year ago, he had got into the kitchen in his parents' house and had seen his mother preparing food for him in the middle of the night, he wouldn't have been surprised. But somehow, seeing his new wife waiting for him like this is different. And a little voice on the back of his head whispers that he should react somehow on this little act of generosity.
"You should be in bed right now" he says quietly, hoping that she'd notice a hidden 'thank you'. Uchiha Fugaku is a man of few words and he's not used to thanking and apologizing to people. He was in the past, he isn't anymore.
"I figured out you wouldn't heat it up, so I preferred to get up and do this much for you."
"You didn't have to" he repeats weaker this time and approaches her. He leans on the fridge on her right and looks at her softly. "Did you even get any sleep tonight?"
"I did."
"So how did you know when I would be back?"
"I sensed you."
"Of course you did" he muttered under his breath. Sometimes he forgets… who she really is.
"Here. It's ready" she hands him a filled bowl with the same smile she greeted him with. "Eat fast and go to bed. You sure need to sleep before tomorrow. Today" she corrects after a second, smirks slightly and leaves him with his dinner, occupying herself now with cleaning up the stove.
He eats her delicious food without a word, not looking away from her for one single moment. The way she moves, the way she observes things, the way she breaths… There is no doubt who she was before she was forced to marry him. Before his father informed him that he was going to get married. A ceremony took place around three months before and since then, they were living together in their own house inherited from Fugaku's deceased grandparents.
He didn't oppose, no. He always knew that one day a bride would be chosen for him, regardless his preferences or his state. And he accepted it long ago. He wasn't harmed by it at any point. In fact, everything seemed more than all right: they were getting along just fine, they respected each other… They were even getting more and more fond of each other, too. His mother was right when she said that love would come with time and there was no reason to be in a rush. If this is already love, he isn't sure. But he is definitely getting attached to this girl.
Girl. That's who Mikoto is: a girl. He still can't understand his parents' decision. The Uchiha clan was big. Huge even. There was at least a dozen of girls around his age, a dozen of polite, well-mannered girls that he met here and there during his life. But despite that, his parents chose a girl much younger than him. MUCH younger.
It's not that he didn't want Mikoto to be his wife, because he is positive he does after those months… But she was sixteen. WHY in the world would his parents pick up a teenage girl to marry him? It's not that his mother was much older when she married his father, but still... And not only a teenage girl, but this one in particular. The whole clan knew about her and her achievements. She was a pride of the Uchiha, a perfect child, a bunch of talents. She achieved the jounin rank at the age of thirteen and became an ANBU at fourteen. An amazing career was waiting for her, if she only wanted it, because there was nothing which could stop her with the skills she disposed of.
And all of that was gone. The day she married him all her shinobi life was gone and an amazing kunoichi became a housewife overnight. In accordance with tradition.
But the strangest thing was that she didn't seem to care. More: she was content. And it couldn't give Fugaku a break.
"What is it?" she catches his attention again. He sees her observing him with a shade of playfulness in her black eyes.
"Why are you my wife?"
They've never talked about it before. He has never asked her… A little smile melts from her lips and she blinks couple of times. She sigh shortly and crosses her arms, not looking at him anymore.
"So there is some deal behind all of this, isn't it?" he mumbles between bites, still watching her closely.
"I never said there isn't" she murmurs, moving again. She waves her hand, telling him to let her open the fridge and she puts the pot inside. "Do you want tea?"
"No. What is this all about, then?"
"Bad timing, dear husband" she says, and he does hear some irony in her voice.
"Did they force you-"
"No. They didn't" she responds immediately and looks straight into his eyes. "No one forced me to marry you. I was given a choice. The only one who was forced to marry someone here is you."
He would be surprised but he isn't, as too many questions are nagging him at the moment. He puts away his bowl and crosses his arms, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"So why on earth would you marry a man who's eight years older than you? Why would you marry at all if you had a brilliant career waiting for you? Why would you marry a future clanhead, when that means you won't be a shinobi ever again?"
She doesn't lose her composure in the slightest. She just reaches for his bowl and hands it to him once again before she leaves the kitchen with calm steps.
So he finishes his meal and doesn't waste a second. He leans on the doorframe of their bedroom and turns the light on to see the girl he's learning to love standing next to the wardrobe.
"Answer me" he says softly. It almost sounds like pleading, but he doesn't plead.
"And what would I get from it?" she raises her eyebrows and approaches him slowly with the very same smile he has already seen twice tonight. He reaches for him and locks her fingers in the fabrics of his clothes. But something isn't right. It's not that he sees it on her face, because he doesn't. She was an ANBU after all. It's the whole matter of their marriage that doesn't give him a rest. And the information he got earlier from her make it even more complicated.
He doesn't like it.
"Please, tell me what I want to know."
She only leans against him and puts her arms around his neck. She's hugging him calmly and he can't help but reaches to keep her close to him, one of his arms around her waist and the other one tangled in her black hair.
"You won't drag me away from this question, Mikoto" he murmurs stubbornly.
"I will tell you everything" she whispers suddenly. She's clinging to him now with her head on his shoulder and her nose touching his neck. "I promise I will. But not now. Give me time. Please."
A very, very dark thoughts make their way to his head with her words. He keeps her closer and kisses her temple, sighing heavily. Suddenly the tension of the day crushes him and all he wants to do is lie down to bed next to this special girl he's calling his wife. And it's almost as if she feels it, because she lets go of him and smiles the way only she can smile.
"Go take a shower and come to bed" she says softly, caressing his cheek for the last time. "I'm waiting for you."
"Hn."
And so, five minutes later, he's lying in their bed just behind her. He squeezes her arm lightly, just to show her he's back and lies his head above hers to sense the beautiful smell of orange from her hair. But she moves and eventually his hand is put on her belly. So he pulls her closer and kisses her head, feeling her warmth embracing his own body.
"Hey."
His eyes open lazily and he hums, waiting for next words.
"You didn't ask about my day."
He snorts softly in response.
"You can deal with it. I'll be happy to listen to you in the morning."
"You sure you don't want to talk now?"
"Mhm."
"Okay. Your choice" she shrugs lazily, but she grins, away from his eyes, and holds a laugh with visible difficulty.
He's already asleep when she presses his palm to her abdomen once again. He isn't going to be happy that she held the news from him, that much she knows. But it was his decision after all.
