Chapter Four: "I'm a simple man with a simple desire." ~ Skeleton, Bloc Party

It was dawn; Itachi opened his eyes and realized he had fallen asleep in bed with Yuki. He brushed a lock of black hair out of her face. He then noticed the other tiny mess of dark hair that was lying in between them. Kosuke had gotten out in the middle of the night and there was lying between them, Itachi smiled, happy to see this scene. He stood and got a small notepad to write a note before leaving them.

Yuki opened her eyes the moment the front door shut. She noticed the note and picked it up. "Will return, picking something up for Kosuke…" She whispered, reading the note aloud. Yuki's blue eyes gazed down at her son and she smiled. Yuki found herself falling asleep again. When she woke up again it was to the sound of Kosuke crying. "Kosuke?" She sat up and saw her son sitting at the foot of her bed in tears. His hands were trying to wipe up all his tears. "What's wrong?"

"Daddy's not home." Yuki smiled and sat up and picked up the notepad on her nightstand.

"Here look…" She whispered grabbing the piece of paper and pulling herself beside him. "Will return, picking something up for Kosuke." She said reading it for him. His tears came to a stop. "He'll be back soon, don't worry." She whispered and stroked his hair back. "It's early… let's go have some breakfast, ok?" Kosuke nodded and got his feet to the ground. Yuki smiled and they went to the kitchen.

Mid-breakfast, Itachi came in through the door with a small bag in his hand. Kosuke completely disregarded his breakfast and rushed off. Kosuke ran through the kitchen and onto Itachi's legs as he locked the door. Itachi was caught a little off guard by the sudden assault. He nearly tripped but regained his footing rather quickly and looked down at his son with a warm smile. "Good morning, Kosuke."

"Good morning, Daddy." Kosuke piped, earning a giggle from his mother who was still in the kitchen but watching the scene. The kitchen after all was an open space that was only separated by the island before leading off into the living room, or Kosuke's playroom, it depended on the hour of the day. Itachi looked over at Yuki and smiled at her.

Itachi picked up Kosuke and guided him towards the living room where they had a fireplace. "Let's make something alright?" He asked setting Kosuke down and opening up the bag. He pulled a small bowl, a glass jar and bag of large red beads and set them on the ground. "Sit down." Itachi said, sitting in front of these things on the floor. Kosuke said down and looked confused. He emptied the beads into the small bowl. "Put a bead into the jar for how many people are in our family." He told Kosuke.

"Well…" Kosuke started and opened up the glass jar placing the lid onto the floor. "There's you," he dropped one bead in. "And there is Mommy," He dropped another bead in. "And then there is me!" The last bead dropped into the family.

Itachi smiled. "And, I have a younger brother." Itachi dropped one more bead into the jar. Kosuke did not take this action lightly and immediately looked up to stare at his father with bewilderment.

"You have a younger brother? I have an uncle?" The three year old asked.

Itachi smiled warmly. "Yes, I do. Maybe one day you'll meet him and maybe one day you'll have a younger brother of your own." Yuki blushed at that statement and began to furiously clean the countertop.

"Can I have a younger brother?" Kosuke asked, ready to jump up and down

Itachi laughed a bit. "You can't order whether it is a boy or a girl, Kosuke. As for a little sibling, you'd have to ask your mother." Kosuke turned his attention immediately to his mother who was standing behind the island of the kitchen watching them. She stopped cleaning and began blushing a soft pink and looked absolutely flustered. Itachi couldn't help but smirk a bit at the situation.

"Mom?" Kosuke asked, trying to grab her attention.

"Huh… ask your father." She said and turned around to do some cleaning and to remove herself from the conversation. Itachi chuckled, he couldn't help but to be amused by the situation.

Kosuke turned his attention back to his father. "Your mother and I will talk about it later." Kosuke brightened up. Itachi smiled again. "And if you do have a sibling and this family grows even bigger, will you put the next bead into the jar?" Itachi asked, tilting his head slightly to the side, his ponytail falling over his shoulder. Itachi's eyes began to glaze over; he hadn't had the opportunity to talk to Yuki last night about this matter. This was one conversation he never wanted to have with Kosuke, and he was putting it as gently as possible. Yuki turned around to face them again.

Kosuke nodded, he didn't exactly understand why his father was getting so upset about putting beads into a jar but he nodded regardless. Itachi kissed the top of Kosuke's head, "Thank you."

Yuki looked was shocked, Itachi rarely kissed Kosuke's head. Usually poked his forehead or ruffled his hair, so this was a rare sight. "Go ahead, get your kite and let's play again." He said with a smile. Kosuke nodded and ran off. Yuki got out of the kitchen and approached him. "I will be the one that removes a bead if it is necessary." He whispered once she was behind him. Yuki knelt down and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Forgive me."

"You… allow yourself to die for him?" Yuki asked. Itachi nodded.

He felt her forehead press against his back. "I never thought anyone would cry for me when the time came." He whispered as he felt the droplets hit his back.

"When will the time come?" Yuki asked. "I want to know how much time we have... but, I don't want to lose you…"

Itachi tried not to sigh, tried not be emotional but instead detach himself. "Some time in the next few months. I will come visit you and Kosuke more often." There was silence between them. "This is why I was so reluctant to fall in love with you, why I promised myself I wouldn't fall in love with anyone." Itachi said. "I didn't want to hurt you when the time came."

Yuki's tears wouldn't stop. "Why can't you just tell Sasuke the truth? Tell him, we'll all live here, we'll be safe."

Itachi smiled a bit. "I have thought about that… however it wouldn't clear the Uchiha name and it wouldn't make Sasuke feel better, it would just direct his anger towards the village. I can't allow that." Itachi broke out of her embrace and turned around cupping her tear-stained face and placed his forhead against hers. He smiled, "Don't worry about it right now." He kissed her, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, not wanting to let go and his hand rested on the small of her back.

They tore apart when they heard Kosuke's small feet coming down the stairs. Itachi stood and Yuki placed the jar and the bowl of marbles onto the mantle of the fireplace. Kosuke rushed to Itachi and held his hand the kite in the other hand. They walked out into the clearing of the forest to fly the kite once more. Yuki stared at the jar. She picked up the bag and decided that there was nothing she could do. She disposed of the plastic bag and went outside to watch her lover and son.

That night Itachi had dinner with them and got ready to leave. He was knelt down at the door so he could look at Kosuke at eye level. The boy was fighting back tears and the man smiling trying to hide his sorrow. "Protect your mother, I know you can because you will become a great shinobi." Itachi patted Kosuke's head. "And don't worry, I will visit more often."

"Why do you leave so often and for so long?"

Itachi sighed. "Because, I have a hard job. One day you will understand. Ok?" Kosuke nodded. Yuki picked up Kosuke and Itachi stood up on his feet. "Good bye, Yuki, Kosuke." He whispered. "I will see you both soon." He gave them one last smile and went off, down the little path towards the fence of their home. Yuki held her son tightly in her arms.

"He promised, he'll be back, no need to be upset." She whispered. The boy nodded once his father was out of sight.

She gasped when she saw him in her apartment, now she was about four and a half months pregnant and showing. Itachi stood perfectly still and gave her a moment to regain herself before explaining the purpose of this visit. He was demanding that she stopped working and relocated to a more secure location. Yuki didn't understand the obliviousness of her state was mildly comical. Itachi spent a majority of the afternoon explaining to Yuki about his enemies and how dangerous they were and if they found out about her and the child… well, he wasn't sure what would happen to them.

It upset her, that was expected, but she accepted it. He asked her to pack her things and be ready for the next day. With that request he disappeared. Yuki spent the whole night packing and organizing her few belongings but the apartment seemed very bare and she suddenly felt very out of place. Itachi came again that afternoon, this time by knocking on the front door. She didn't have much enough to fit into two bags. He smiled when he saw that. "I'm a minimalist…" She whispered. They debated for a short period of time whether or not she could hold one the bags. Itachi had won in the end, putting both bags on his shoulders. Yuki couldn't stop looking at him with guilt in her eyes, he smiled, a rare sight for even her. He placed his arm around her and asked her to close her eyes. She heard a popping sound and felt a burst of fresh air and the smells around her changed. When she opened her eyes, to her surprise, there was a house before her and they were surrounded by woodland.

Three weeks passed before Itachi showed up again. It was a rainy and stormy night and Yuki was settling Kosuke into bed. He would wake up early now and usually sit the window every morning for an hour before going about his normal day but because he woke up early he would sleep early. Yuki stroked back Kosuke's hair as he went in and out of sleep. "When Dad comes back I'm going to show him what I learned." He muttered.

"I think he will be very proud of you." She said with a smile.

"I hope so…" The boy whispered and finally he was asleep.

Yuki leaned down and kissed his forehead. She pulled up the covers and got up. She closed the door behind her and went to her room to get some sleep herself. When she opened the door and gasped when she found Itachi sitting on their bed. "You scared me." She whispered. Itachi smiled and stood up.

"Not too much I hope." She shook her head. "How have you been?"

She pulled her hair over one shoulder and nodded. "Well… thank you for being here." Itachi nodded. "How have you been?"

"Worried." Itachi said and took a moment before he began to elaborate. "My brother is nearly due for the reanimation technique with Orochimaru… I hope that it is as I predicted and that Sasuke will kill Orochimaru." He whispered. He raised his head and Yuki walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. He's your brother, I have never met him but I am certain that he will prevail."

Itachi studied Yuki's blue eyes. "Are you certain?" He asked, momentarily trusting luck and her motherly intuition than anything else.

Yuki smiled warmly up at him, "I am."

He kissed her. He embraced her tightly, laying kisses against her lips and the side of her face. She smiled, he had kissed her like this once before the day Kosuke was born and knew it as Itachi's way of expressing happiness. "Thank you." He whispered. "I never got to express how sorry I am for all I will put you through." He whispered.

"Itachi… it's fi-"

"I would like another child." Itachi whispered, almost hoping she wouldn't hear him. Yuki's eyes widened and Itachi took a step back away from her shocked that he even said it. He looked down at the ground and she looked up at him, blushing. "Sorry, I spoke without thinking. I've already burdened you with one son… god forbid I-"

"He isn't a burden. He's the joy of my life." Itachi looked at her. "I would be honored to give you another child." She could help but let a small laugh escape her lips. "Déjà vu, right?" She smiled, noticing how similar this situation was to the situation three years ago. "If I have a son… the difference in age will be the same as you and Sasuke."

The raven-haired man nodded. "I suppose they will." He whispered a small smile on his lips. "A new pair of Uchiha siblings… hopefully."

She smiled at him and he smiled back. "But can I ask… why?"