Fortuitous

Chapter Eight

-Beach Trip-

Three months later…

Sanosuke walked through the streets of Konoha, on his way to Talia's apartment to pick her up. They were going on a family vacation to the Uchiha summer home on the coast. Izayoi had had the idea at the dinner that his mother had held for him and Talia all those months back, and it had taken this long to arrange everything. It was pretty hard to get the whole family together and make the village safe at the same time, after all.

He smiled slightly as he thought back on that night. It was the same night he and Talia had lost their virginities to one another. Since then they had been having sex any chance they got. Not that it was often, because they were both so busy, but each and every time they did they got better at it. She'd been a little nervous about trying the new positions and techniques that he'd come up with, but once they got started she got really into it. And the first time she'd gone down on him had been a great experience for the both of them. He'd felt amazing the entire time, and Talia really liked having that much control over him, something he didn't often allow her.

And when he was off on missions, Talia would train with his grandfather. She'd been able to perfect seeing through genjutsu quite rapidly, and so far knew the basics with a sword, as well as self-defense. Sometimes Sanosuke would go with her to her training sessions and they would spar, him going easy on her of course. He was very pleased with her progress, as well as the fact that his grandfather practically adored her as much, if not more than he adored his mother. Things were progressing so well, that Sanosuke was beginning to contemplate making his relationship with Talia permanent.

As he came upon her building, he looked up at the balcony he knew to belong to her, and frowned. Through the glass, he could see Talia talking to some man who looked old enough to be her father. He had a harsh, cruel look about him, his dark brown eyes full of hate and his sandy brown hair looking like it hadn't been washed or combed in days. By their posture and expressions, he could tell that whatever they were talking about was not a pleasant topic.

Suddenly Talia left the room, and when she returned it was with a wad of cash. She shoved it into the man's hands, and the smile he gave her was far from kind as he turned and left. Sanosuke stopped in his tracks, waiting until the man had exited the complex and walked off, before going up to Talia's apartment. He knocked on the door, wondering how he would be greeted by his girlfriend.

The door flew open and, for a second, amber eyes stared at him with such hate, it made his blood turn to ice. But it disappeared as quickly as it came, "Sanosuke…" she said softly. "Sorry, you're early. You just…surprised me." she stepped aside then, allowing him into the small abode.

He gave her an odd look. "Are you alright?" he asked, drawing her close to him and cupping her face with his free hand. "You seem upset." He stroked her cheek to try and comfort her, his curiosity about the man in her apartment before increasing. She leaned into his touch automatically.

"I'm fine. Just stressed. I hate packing, I always feel like I'm forgetting something important and it drives me crazy." Talia smiled slightly, looking up at him. "I'm almost done though. Just going over the checklist one more time."

His lips thinned slightly, because this time he knew for a fact that she was lying to him. "Do you need any help?"

"Um, sure." She shrugged, pulling away from him and going to her room as she finished looking down a small list she'd made. She repeated the things softly before nodding and zipping up her bag. "I'm pretty sure that's everything."

"Just remember that if you forget anything we can always go into the village and buy it." he said, picking up her large bag with ease. "Though I wouldn't mind too much if you ran out of clothes and we were confined to our room the whole time." He smirked, giving her a chaste kiss.

She almost smiled, shouldering her second bag. "But I've never been to the beach before and I just bought a new swimsuit for this vacation."

His interest sparked. "Really? What kind of swimsuit?" he asked as they exited her apartment. His imagination was already running wild with the possibilities, as he did love her body, and the chance to show off what was his made the idea all the better.

"You'll just have to wait and see." Talia giggled, bounding forward excitedly. "Now come on! I wanna get outta here as soon as possible!"


Kai let out a relieved sound as they finally made it to the beach house three hours later. "Finally!" he said, allowing all six of the bags he was carrying to hit the ground, only one of them being his. "I thought my back was going to snap in half." He sighed, rubbing his sore shoulders.

Izayoi smiled beautifully, adoring her family summer home. "Oh how I missed this place." She took in a deep breath, enjoying the salty sand in the air. All the Uchiha children, including Natsumi, seemed to relax and become lively all at the same time. Most likely from being surrounded by sand.

"Wow." Talia gasped. "It's gorgeous!" The sand was white and the ocean was a bright blue that she knew you could see through the closer you got.

"And it's ours for a week, so let's make the most of it." Akito said, walking forward. He hit Kai on the back, causing the grey eyed man to wince. "Come on pansy, your room is on the second floor at the end of the hall." He smirked, before moving and opening the front door.

Kai groaned, before picking up the bags once more and following his father-in-law. Hayate smiled. "Man, am I glad Chitose only has two, and they aren't even that big." He laughed, leading his wife inside.

"That's because I only brought what I needed." She chimed in with a giddy step. Natsumi walked through, already headed for the master bedroom to get ready for their first day. Everyone filed away and claimed their rooms, to prepare for the activities later. It was obvious that the agenda began with the beach. Talia followed Sanosuke into their room and she admired it before letting her gaze fall on her love.

"I can't believe it's already been four months."

He smiled at her as he set their bags on the bed. "I can. They do say that time flies when you're having fun, after all." He pulled off his shirt then, running his hand through his hair as he tossed the article aside and opened his bag. "So can I see your swimsuit now?" he asked, glancing up at her as he rummaged through his clothes.

"Nope." She beamed. "I have to unpack and then I will get dressed. You can go ahead and head out, that way it'll be a surprise. Plus I feel the scenery will be even better to show it off." She took one of her bags, unzipping it and beginning to place some of her bathroom items into the adjoining room.

Sanosuke pouted. "But Talia…" he whined, pulling out his black swim trunks, the Uchiha symbol sewn in to the bottom corner of the right leg. "I want to see it now. Can't I just wait for you to finish and walk to the beach with you?" he asked, taking his pants and boxers off before putting on his swimsuit.

"Nope." She said once more, continuing her task. "And if you don't leave, I'm not putting it on."

He huffed. "Fine. But it better live up to what I've invented in my head." He said, exiting the room. He walked down to the privately owned beach, seeing that his parents had already made it and were setting up. His father was putting together the volleyball net and court, while his mother laid out the towels and umbrellas for tanning. She had on a black halter top bikini with the Uchiha crest on the center back of her bottoms as well as on one of the triangles covering her breasts. Even though she'd had five children and was approaching her fifties, she still looked like a goddess.

He walked over and began to help his father, and it wasn't long afterwards that they were joined by Kanamé and Vitani. The brunette haired woman was wearing a bright blue bikini, that tied at her hips, the top a halter with large straps, fully covering her chest while only having a bit of cleavage.

"Hey Sano." Kanamé waved, in his own trunks. Most the Uchiha men went with the simple black. Natsumi looked up and brushed some of her bangs from her face.

"Hayate and Chitose are bringing out the picnic baskets." She informed them, taking her place on one of the towels.

"What's for lunch?" Vitani asked, claiming her own towel.

Hayate and Chitose walked up then, the youngest Uchiha carrying four baskets, while his wife held the cooler of drinks. "Sandwiches, fruit, and cheese and crackers, with water to stay hydrated. Though there's juice as well." He smiled, placing them underneath one of the large umbrellas so that they would stay out of the heat of the sun. Chitose set down the cooler, a smile adorning her face as well.

"Would you look at that ocean!" Noriaki called, walking out with Hikari close behind. The sun gave his jade depths a mischievous glint. The pale haired woman smiled, running forward enough to wrap her arms around her love from behind and looking around him as they continued to make their way towards the group.

"I can't wait to get in it and get wet." she giggled, giving him a devious look. She was wearing a crimson triangle string bikini, the top barely big enough to cover her large breasts as it tied behind her neck and back, the bottoms tying on the sides as they rode low on her hips.

"You two are simply disgusting." Izayoi rolled her eyes, putting on her sunglasses as Kai followed after her. The female Uchiha had on a black one piece, though it had holes along her sides to reveal her perfect curves. It dipped low on her back, but was still classy. Her dark hair was pulled up in a large, messy but stylish bun.

Noriaki shrugged, reaching back and tickling his girlfriend's sides. "You're just jealous that my lady is the most gorgeous and sexy thing on the beach."

Natsumi huffed up, glaring back at her son. "I beg your pardon?"

"I think you're the most gorgeous and sexy thing on the beach baby." Akito said, walking over and laying next to his wife before leaning over and kissing her sweetly. "So don't worry about it."

Hayate looked around at everyone, a frown marring his brow. "Hey Sano, where's Talia? Is she not coming?"

"She is." Sanosuke said, going over to the cooler and taking out a water bottle. "She wanted to unpack before coming down here."

"Smart." Izayoi nodded. "Cause' I definitely won't do it later." She said, catching a water bottle as Sanosuke tossed it over to her.

Kai sighed. "Which means I'll have to."

The dark haired woman smiled and kissed his cheek. "I love you, my sweet salt and pepper."

"I love you too." He said.

Hikari pulled away from Noriaki, grabbing onto his hand and tugging him towards the water. "Want to go for a swim my sexy fine piece of man candy?" she asked.

He pulled her back and wrapped his arms around her, loving the feel of her body. That was until his grip loosened and his eyes widened. "Holy…"

"Shit." Kanamé finished for him. Both of the male triplets stared off towards the house, their jaws slightly slack. Everyone turned to see what had caught their attention and similar looks came to their faces. Talia was headed towards them, her blonde locks cascading around her in a shower of glittering gold. She had on large sunglass and a dark, forest green swim suit. It was strapless, wrapping only over her full and ample breasts. There was a metal U-shaped hold in the center, clipping the two ends of the fabric together and showing off a dangerous amount of cleavage. Her bottoms matched, tying at the sides with silver charms hanging from the ends.

"Hey everybody." She waved, throwing some of her hair back. It was like she belonged on the beach.

"I never knew she was that hot." Kai blinked, stunned.

"Neither did I." Hayate said softly.

Akito smirked. "Nice job Sanosuke."

Sanosuke simply stared in awe, slowly walking towards his girlfriend. "Wow." He said, placing his hands on her hips. "You look…words can't even describe how incredible that swimsuit fits you and accentuates your curves." He said, his gaze glued to her visible cleavage.

"Thanks." She beamed, looking a bit childish with her impish grin. "So was it worth the wait?"

"So worth the wait." He smiled, leaning down and kissing her sweetly.

Hikari huffed, seeing that Noriaki's gaze was still on the blonde. It was a great swimsuit, she had to admit, but that didn't mean everyone had to give her a bunch of undeserved attention. "Well I'm going swimming." She declared, pushing away from the ebony haired man and marching towards the water.

Vitani glanced at her friend before looking back at Talia, and then her husband. She frowned. "I think I'm going to join her." she said softly, getting up from her spot and following the pale haired woman, who was now muttering about the waste it had been to even buy a new swimsuit if Noriaki wasn't going to pay her any attention.

Talia giggled and latched onto Sanosuke's arm, not noticing the small glare she was receiving from the pink haired woman, or the negative feelings coming from the rest of the females on the beach. Noriaki walked up to them and pat his brother's shoulder, nodding to Talia. "You look amazing Blondie." He smiled, not sounding taunting in any way. "Good catch little bro."

"Thanks." Sanosuke smiled, keeping an arm around his woman's waist.

The older Uchiha glanced back to Hikari and sighed. "Oh come on woman! Don't get all hissy now!" he smiled, walking after her. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and didn't look back at him, continuing her strides into the water and diving beneath an oncoming wave. Vitani entered the water a bit more slowly, walking knee deep before sitting down in the surf and enjoying the sway of the tide.

Hayate laughed. "Well I'm glad Nori's finally in a better mood." He said, turning to his wife. "Hey Chichi, you wanna put lotion on one another so we don't burn before laying out?" he asked, pulling out the sun tan lotion.

"So long as your hands don't go where they shouldn't." she giggled, taking his hand and pulling him off.

Noriaki stopped at the water's edge. "Woman! Don't you ignore me! Everyone in the damn world knows your breasts are gorgeous and enormous. Now stop being a jealous little pansy and come out."

Hikari stopped what she was doing and glared back at him. "I am not being jealous!" she shouted. "I wanted to swim, and that's what I'm doing. You would know that if you had been paying attention!" she stuck her tongue out at him before facing away once more and floating up and down with the waves.

He sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "If you don't come out and spend time with me, I won't give you the special surprise I have planned for tonight." He smiled crookedly.

This caught her attention, as she turned back around to look at him once more. "What kind of surprise?" she asked, her expression and tone a lot less antagonistic than it had been.

"A surprise that you will remember for the rest of your life." he promised.

It didn't take her long to consider his offer, for she immediately began to make her way back towards the shore. She walked with hurried steps out of the water, not stopping until she was in front of the ebony haired man. "Fine." She crossed her arms, lifting her bosom slightly. "I'll be good."

He wrapped his arms around her wet form and snuggled into her. "I love you my sweet. No one could ever compare." He whispered.

"I love you too." She said mumbled, returning his embrace a bit reluctantly.

Talia smiled at the sight and looked up at Sanosuke. "He does seem in a much better mood. Wonder what happened?"

"So long as he isn't taking my spot as the family emo, I don't care." Sanosuke said. "So what do you want to do?"

"Whatever you want. I could go for a swim, or play some volleyball."

Kanamé chuckled, "Talia, we play some pretty intense volleyball."

She gave the eldest child a curious stare. "Is it so much different than regular volleyball?"

"Well…" he blinked. "No. But it's much more…dangerous."

"We use our kekkei genkai." Sanosuke explained. "It makes the game more fun."

"But genjutsu doesn't work on me." she pointed out. "So how could it be hard?"

He smirked. "I meant our sand."

"So you guys cheat?" Talia sighed, shaking her head. "And here I thought Uchihas were honorable and proud of their physical abilities."

"We are honorable." Kanamé huffed.

"And we are proud of our physical abilities." Noriaki grumbled.

Hikari smiled up at him, resting her chin on his chest. "Then why don't we play using just our physical abilities?" she asked. "Talia has a point. And since she isn't a ninja, it will make things a bit fairer."

Natsumi scoffed, but said nothing as she returned to lying on her back. As if any of her children could keep themselves from cheating. They were born to win and that still applied when they were against one another.

"I think it sounds fun." Chitose giggled.

Hayate smiled at her. "I think you're right Chichi. We should play after lunch. That way we all have plenty of energy. Cause' I don't want anyone passing out from heat exhaustion or anything." He laughed.

Talia clapped her hands together and nodded, heading over towards the lunch box and grabbing some sandwiches for her and Sanosuke. "Come on Sano, let's eat up." She gestured, getting some water as well and taking one of the towels. He sat next to her on the towel, smiling slightly at her enthusiasm as he took the sandwich from her.

Everyone else moved to join them, Vitani coming out of the water and sitting next to her husband. Sitting around in a circle on all of the towels, the Uchihas, and honorary Uchihas, began to eat their lunches. And for once, things actually looked like they were going smoothly.

"You know, I'm pretty excited myself." Noriaki spoke up, looking over at his brother and sister. They nodded as well, not needing their opinions voiced since their middle triplet had done it for them.

"I'll be surprised if you actually do it." Natsumi murmured.

"Just as we'll be surprised if you do it honey." Akito smirked, nudging her playfully.

Hayate smiled over at his parents. "Mommy will only start once somebody else cheats first." He said confidently. "Cause' she's not an instigator."

They all gave him skeptical looks, except for Natsumi, who continued to eat happily. "Seriously?" Akito asked, looking from his youngest to his wife. "You really did brainwash him."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said simply, tossing the crusts in a plastic bag. "I don't instigate so Hayate is right."

Noriaki scoffed. "Please! That is such bull crap! Where do you think I got it from?"

"It's more of where we know you got it from Nori." Vitani said, taking a drink of her water.

"Hey." Noriaki pointed at her. "Only my blood and Hikari may incriminate me. So you hush."

Kanamé rolled his eyes. "You don't have to be blood to be able to incriminate you." He said to his brother.

"A total stranger could incriminate you, and they'd still be right." Sanosuke spoke up, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"You're all just jealous I'm the best looking." He scoffed.

"We look exactly the same." Kanamé huffed.

"So?"

The two glared at one another, before Izayoi cleared her throat. "I don't know why you're arguing about this. Everyone knows I'm the best looking." She smiled.

"Yeah, I'd have to agree with that." Kai said, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Well I'm the cutest!" Hayate declared with a big smile, raising his hand in the air.

"Nope." Izayoi giggled. "I'm the cutest too." She said snuggling into her love's embrace.

"You can't be both sister." Noriaki huffed.

"Can so!"

Talia looked over at Sanosuke, her brow up slightly as if saying, Really? Sanosuke chuckled, kissing her brow before looking out at his siblings. "I'm the most gorgeous." He smirked, not ashamed in the least.

Hikari rolled her eyes. "So. Noriaki is the sexiest." She smiled, leaning against said ebony haired man.

"Oh God will you all shut up!" Natsumi snapped, glaring at her children. "All you five are is fragments of your gorgeous father and me. So your looks, you get no credit for."

"But dad got his looks from grandfather, and you got yours from grandma and grandpa, so doesn't that mean-" Sanosuke stopped what he was saying when he saw the glare sent his way. "I mean, you're right mom, it was a pointless argument anyways." he took a large bite of his sandwich then.

Natsumi smiled, finishing off her water. "Alright, let's play some volleyball."


"Holy crap! I so did not see that coming." Noriaki laughed. The family sat around a large table on the porch at the house. It was just past sunset, the sky still burning with orange where the sun had disappeared.

Kanamé nodded. "Talia I had no idea you were so good at volleyball."

The blonde shrugged, reaching for her glass of fruit punch and smiled. "I was just having fun. We used to play in school all the time."

Everyone was dressed in casual beach clothes, most of the girls wearing simple dresses. They guys had on t-shirts and shorts to keep cool. "She's full of surprises." Sanosuke smiled, leaning back in his chair.

"What really surprised me was that you guys actually didn't use your sand." Vitani laughed. "It was a lot of fun."

Kanamé shrugged. "Yeah it was fun…it's more exciting though when we can try and kill each other."

Noriaki nodded to his brother, a dark smirk now on his face. "Well I'll go get dessert for everyone." He offered, getting up and leaving the room. Natsumi had prepared sorbet in fancy crystal glasses, each a different color and flavor. He passed them out and finally set one in front of Hikari and himself. They had decorations on them, some had umbrellas and others had fruit.

Hikari blinked, her brow furrowing as she noticed something glittering between the two cherries in her own treat. She leaned forward a bit to get a better look at it, gasping loudly when she realized that it was a diamond ring. She quickly sat back in her chair, her right hand shooting out and grasping her boyfriend's arm to get his attention. "Noriaki…" she whispered, looking at him with wide, vulnerable violet eyes. "W-what is that?" she asked, pointing to the ring with her free hand.

He blinked, looking at her sorbet and then the cherries. "Why that, dear, would be what us rich people call a diamond ring." He said smugly. Her gaze narrowed and she grabbed him by the shirt with both hands and jerked him closer to her.

"I see that." She hissed. "But what is it doing there!" she demanded, her heart pounding so roughly she thought she might have a heart attack.

"Isn't that what people do to give their significant other an engagement ring?" he arched a curious brow, his smirk never dissipating. "Clever things like hiding it between cherries."

Her eyes widened once more, her grip on his clothes loosening. "Engagement ring?" she asked softly, looking at it once more. "You mean…you want to get married? For real?" her gaze returned to him.

Noriaki sighed, taking the ring from the sorbet and scooting his chair out. Every eye was on him, but that was okay. After all, every Uchiha was born in the spotlight. "Hikari." He said, taking her hand in his and holding the ring over her ring finger as he kneeled, making everyone's eyes widen. "You are smokin' hot. Your breasts are like two soft marshmallow mountains that I could suck on till my teeth rotted out. No one I've ever fucked has pleased me as much as your gorgeous body has."

Kanamé rolled his eyes. Sometimes his brother was unbelievable. "But…" he trailed off, meeting her gaze. "If that was the only thing I loved about you, I would have never asked you to live with me and share my world. You're beautiful and smart, and even if I'm wrong you have my back and point it out to me later while other people aren't around because you know I hate that. When you sleep, you breathe so softly, sometimes I think you're not at all and it scares me because I think you might never wake up. And when you roll over in the morning and look up at me with your insane smile, it makes my heart flutter, even if you're telling me to stop being a creepy freak by watching you sleep. You're the only one…I can talk with as well as sleep with. And when we have sex…I want to make you feel good, not just me. I want to have babies with you and watch you get old and wrinkly. And even then, I'll pound you so hard my hips might break." He smiled. "Besides, it's really cute how you practice writing your name with my surname instead of your own…and I kinda like the sound of Uchiha Hikari."

"You…know that I practice?" the pale haired woman asked, her violet eyes brimming with tears of joy.

"Sweetheart, you keep your diary in the space behind the bed. Ironically where I keep those naked pictures of you and the little outfit ones too. You know those ones I said I destroyed." He smirked. "It was pretty easy to find."

She huffed, an embarrassed blush coming to her face. But she wouldn't get mad at him, not now, in this moment. "Well what are you waiting for?" she sniffed, wiping at her face a bit with her free hand. "Ask me." she smiled, straightening.

"Oh…" he actually blushed. "Right. So…Hikari…do you…" he paused, swallowing hard. After all, this was a huge commitment. "Will you marry me?" he asked softly.

"Yes!" she squealed, watching as he slid the ring onto her finger. She jumped out of her chair then, practically tackling Noriaki to the ground as she wrapped her arms around him and began to shower him with kisses. "I love you." she murmured, before pressing her lips against his own.

Natsumi blinked, everyone else in awe. "Was I drugged or something?" she asked her husband, looking down at her dessert.

"I think if anyone here was drugged…it would have to have been Noriaki." The ebony haired man said, his eyes still on the sight of his son and now, soon-to-be daughter-in-law making out on the floor.

"Well it explains why Nori's been in such a good mood lately." Hayate smiled, taking a bite of his dessert.

Vitani just sighed. "And so begins bridezilla." Kanamé nodded, eating a spoonful of his sorbet.

Kai grimaced. "She's going to be worse than Izayoi." He said, his eyes widening as he looked to his wife. "Not that you were bad honey, I thought it was cute how you yelled at everyone, and threatened that one lady." He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

The dark haired woman gave him a cold glare before crossing her arms and mumbling something incoherent. Akito chuckled, "You know surprisingly, Natsumi wasn't a bridezilla."

"Yeah right." Kanamé laughed.

But Natsumi only appeared confused. "I wasn't. I was just glad daddy let me marry him at all."

"We got married as quickly as possible, and then went all out for our honeymoon." The eldest Uchiha said, leaning over and kissing his wife on the cheek. "And what a honeymoon it was." he murmured, nuzzling her affectionately. She giggled and snuggled back.

"So much sex." She shivered.

"Speaking of which," Hikari pulled away from her fiancé. "I think we should try and not have sex until our wedding night." She said in all seriousness. "So that way it's more special."

"Yeah," Kai laughed. "Like that's going to happen."

"What?!" Noriaki practically exploded. "No!" he glared. "That's not fair!"

"But baby," Hikari cupped his cheek to try and sooth him. "Think about how great it will be after so long." She reasoned.

"No." he glared, becoming very serious. "I don't step out of my comfort zone to not have sex. This is a huge thing for me to do. Weddings take weeks, maybe months to plan and get together! I'm not abstaining that long, nor can I. So unless you want me happy and in love on that day you will take back whatever crap you just suggested and have fun planning the most romantic day of our life."

She glared back at him and lowered her hand from his face. "Fine." She said, getting up from the floor. "If you will all excuse me, I'm going to go and get started." She walked around Noriaki and went into the house then, the door shutting hard behind her.

Kai whistled. "Yup, way worse."

Noriaki just rolled his eyes and walked off the porch towards the beach, causing everyone to look at one another. "Well I think I'm going to head to bed. It's been a long day." Natsumi sighed, gathering up the dishes and placing them in the kitchen.

"I'll help." Hayate said, picking up the rest and following her. Akito stood, going inside to go up to his and Natsumi's room.

Vitani yawned. "I'm pretty tired too." She said, covering her mouth. She smiled then and laid her head on her husband's shoulder. "You may have to carry me upstairs."

Izayoi scoffed, standing. "Why would he have to do that? You have two legs and a heartbeat." She said, before heading around the table with Kai behind her. "Goodnight all." She said before disappearing.

Talia blinked. "So…why is Hikari so pissed? Didn't the impossible just happen?"

"Who knows." Vitani said a bit dejectedly, straightening and getting up from the table. "I'm going to sleep." She kissed Kanamé on the forehead before walking inside.

The eldest sighed as he watched her leave. "I must go speak with Noriaki. Sano…will you…?" he smiled slightly, hope lighting his gaze.

"No." the younger man crossed his arms, remaining firm. "I am not getting involved in something that doesn't concern me. If she wants to act like a spoiled brat on what should be one of the happiest days of her life then it's her problem."

"Aw come on." Talia nudged him. "He's your brother."

"And Hikari is his problem, not mine." He said. "Why do I have to talk to her anyways? Why can't you make Vitani do it? They're friends."

Kanamé sighed. "Because, you understand Noriaki the best."

He glared at his elder brother. "Do not." He denied.

Talia smiled. "I think you do. You guys fight so much cause' you're so similar."

Sanosuke sighed. "Whatever." He stood. "I'm only doing it so you'll get off my back." He told his brother, before going into the house. He went up the stairs and down the hall, stopping before the room he knew Hikari and Noriaki to be staying in. Not bothering to knock, he entered the room, finding the pale haired woman sitting at the window and staring out at the ocean.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked, not even looking at him.

"I came to ask why you're being a bitch." He explained, walking over to her and leaning against the wall.

She frowned, tearing her gaze away from the form of her love and looked at him. "Why do you even care? All you ever do is antagonize Noriaki and make him feel bad. Not once in the entire time I've known him have you ever been nice to him. Even on his birthday."

Sanosuke looked out the window and saw that Kanamé had caught up with the other triplet. "It's the easiest way…for Nori and I to interact." He explained. "Besides, this is about you, not me. You should be grateful that he even asked you to marry him. Because everyone who knows him knows how much he hates commitment of any kind."

"I am grateful." Hikari's frown deepened, before it disappeared. "I just…I wanted our wedding night to be special." She shrugged, looking back out at her love, who now appeared to be arguing with his brother. "I mean, we have sex every night. I wanted something to set our wedding night apart from all the others. I wanted it to be as memorable as the night I gave him my virginity was. But all he cares about is the sex." She rested her chin on her hand, placing her elbow on the windowsill. "Shouldn't he be happy anyways that we're married?"

The Uchiha blinked. Were all women this complicated, as well as dense? He certainly hoped not, because he didn't know what he'd do if Talia ended up being anything like this. So far she wasn't showing any signs, but he was still going to keep an eye out for it. "That's stupid."

"Excuse me?" the woman asked, straightening and glaring at him. "No it's not."

"Yes it is." Sanosuke said, meeting her gaze. "Noriaki cares about the sex so much because it's the best way for him to express his feelings to you. You saw how hard it was in there for him." he gestured back out her door. "The fact alone that he chose to do it in front of our entire family, if at all, speaks volumes. And to him, the night will be special because it will be your first time as a married couple." He explained. "The first night in which you completely belong to him, and he to you."

She blinked, before looking back out at her fiancé's silhouette against the water, Kanamé's already having disappeared. "I…never thought of it that way." She admitted, before standing. "I need to go talk to him." she said, moving towards the door. She stopped then and went back over to him. "Thanks Sano, for being the voice of reason." She smiled, kissing his cheek before flitting out of the room.

He blinked, a small blush coming to his face from the compliment. He heard the screen door open and close downstairs, and so looked back out the window. He watched Hikari run towards his brother, leaping into his arms when he turned to acknowledge her. Seeing the couple kiss, he smiled to himself as he turned away from the window to give them some privacy as he made his way to his room. It was kind of nice to help out, but that didn't mean he'd do it all the time. He went into his room and looked around. "Talia?" he called, wondering if she'd come up to bed yet.

"Hey Sano." A voice said. Talia emerged from the bathroom wrapped in nothing but a towel. She was damp and her hair was being dabbed with another towel. "How'd it go?"

"Good." he began to undress so that he could shower as well. "The way things appear, they're going to wind up having sex on the beach." He told her.

She shivered. "Gross."

He chuckled, walking over to her and kissing her forehead. "At least the chances of us hearing them tonight have decreased." He explained, going into the bathroom and turning on the water. "You should have waited for me." he called back to her. "We could have saved water." He stepped in then, drawing the curtain closed as he began to wet his hair.

Talia giggled. "Sorry. I didn't know how long you'd be." She said, dropping her towel and going into the bathroom as she looked into the mirror. She brushed out her hair and began to braid it, tying it at the end. "Your brother was so cute when he proposed. As unwanted as some of that information was, it was adorable." She smiled, leaving the bathroom once more and pulling on a silky nightgown.

"Well he had to beat Kanamé and Hayate's proposals. Even Kai's." he said, washing his hair. "We're a pretty competitive family." He rinsed out the shampoo and put in conditioner, letting it sit as he began to wash his body.

She laughed and couldn't stop the words before they left her mouth. "Well I guess that sucks, huh? You're the last one to get married, so yours will have to be unbelievably earth shattering."

His eyes widened and he froze. She was right, he would be the last one. But did that mean that she wanted to marry him? Was she trying to hint that she wanted a proposal? They'd only been dating for a little over four months, and on top of that, had never even said they loved each other. The closest they got was the first night they were together, and since then the subject had never been brought up again. "…yeah."

He quickly rinsed off, turning off the shower and grabbing a towel, wrapping it around his waist before pushing the curtain back. Stepping out, he went into the bedroom to grab his pajama bottoms from his bag before nearly running back into the bathroom to dry off and get dressed. He didn't want Talia to see anything that could be portrayed on his face before he could get a handle on himself, after all.

He didn't even know if he loved her. Well, that was a lie. He was pretty sure he did, and as far as potential mates went, she was perfect. Smart, beautiful, witty, not to mention the kekkei genkai that would be passed onto their children, making them all the more deadly. Talia was his perfect match in every way. He just didn't know if he was ready for such a commitment, because the moment he told her of his feelings he could never take them back. And putting himself in such a vulnerable position did not sit well with him.

Dressed in his black pajama pants, he hung up his towel and went out into the bedroom, turning off the lights. "So what do you want to do tomorrow?" he asked, trying to change the subject as he joined her in bed.

"I dunno." She shrugged, turning on her side with her back to him. "Whatever your family wants to do I guess. It was fun playing with them on the beach."

"Okay." He rolled to face the opposite way she was and closed his eyes. "Night."

Talia stared at the wall, straining her ears as she listened to him. She could tell when he was asleep by now, and he definitely wasn't. "Sano…" she whispered.

It took him a while, but finally he answered. "Yeah."

"Will you…hold me like you normally do." she blushed. He probably thought she sounded so needy now and after the marriage comment, she didn't know how he'd react. She almost thought he would say no, but then she felt the bed move, and soon Sanosuke's arm wrapped itself around her, and he kissed her neck before laying his head behind hers like he always did.

"Better?" he asked.

She nodded, smiling as she placed her hands over his, intertwining their fingers. "Goodnight Sano."

"Goodnight Talia."