Chapter 4: Where Does Milk Come From?
To say Itachi was surprised would be an understatement... and he was rarely surprised.
Itachi's eyes widened ever so slightly when Sakura's head collided with his chest and he automatically reached up, putting his arms around her to keep her steady. Her reaction proved even further that she cared deeply for his son. He did not regret his decision.
"Hn. You are welcome," Itachi replied feeling slightly uncomfortable because he could feel Sakura's body pressing against his own and he wasn't totally oblivious to those kind of things. He was a man after all. To make matters worse, he wasn't a person that was hugged very often... by women, that is, as Setsu was very affectionate.
Still, he could hardly claim not to enjoy the feeling of her warm arms wrapped around him. Setsu was right. She was soft and warm, and he was fully able to smell her scent of sunshine and peaches.
All too soon she was leaning away from him, wiping at her teary green eyes.
"I-I thought..." she rasped, struggling to keep her tears at bay. "I thought I might have to leave him, and I didn't know what to do, I..." she whimpered, tears, now silent, streaming down her cheeks. "Oh, I must look like such an idiot," she muttered, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes.
Itachi pulled her hands from her face, and used his thumbs to wipe her tears away, using the same gentleness that he would use for Setsu. she flinched for a small moment, then relaxed, her bright green eyes meeting his black ones. Their gaze held for several seconds before she looked away. Itachi took the opportunity to look at her head of now curly pink hair and her beautiful skin.
This woman was not a woman that pretended to like his son just to get closer to him, his prestige or his money. These tears were not faked. She obviously truly cared about his child, and that was sufficient.
"I realize that I must be removing you from your position at the Konoha Child Care Facility, but you will be paid well here," Itachi said slowly, not wanting her to know that he'd overheard choice sections of her telephone conversation the night before. He watched patiently as she took a shuddering breath.
"That... Thank you, Itachi-san," she said, her voice wavering. Even after crying, she was beautiful. She was turned fully in the sofa so that she was facing him. Her hands were in her lap, and she was fiddling with her fingertips.
She seemed to have something to say. Itachi waited silently straightening his body in the sofa, but turning his head to face her.
"I... I have to tell you something..." she began. Itachi let no emotion get through to his face as he waited for her to continue. "I w-was almost fired from the KCCF last night," she admitted, not looking up. Itachi, however, was marvelling at her honesty.
"What was the reason given?" he asked, keeping his tone as bland as usual.
"I..." she faltered, her cheeks heating. "There were... complaints... that I showed... that I showed Setsu preferential treatment," she finally rushed out, looking everywhere but him.
Itachi felt a little blossom of pride. He had overheard something of the sort while she had been talking to Tsunade, but hearing it from her own lips was...quite different. He was undeniably proud that his son was able to command attention at such a young age. Another feeling niggled its way into the corners of his mind but he wasn't completely sure what it was. It did have something to do with being rather smug that the pinkette had doted on his son to the point where she was on the brink of losing her job.
"And is there any merit to these... accusations?" he asked, blinking at her downturned head. Her gaze snapped up to meet his his, her green eyes wide and panicked. Itachi carefully hid his pleasure, wanting to see how honest she was going to be with him. It would determine how much he could trust her.
"I-I confess there is... I-I did favour Setsu over the other children, but not intentionally...he was just so adorable. I couldn't bare to see how sad he was everyday and he never played or spoke, just sat by the window and waited for you to return." Sakura replied, ducking her head as a tiny blush pinked her cheeks.
Hn," Itachi grunted after several silent seconds had passed. "This behaviour from you … suits our cause quite well since you like my son the best," he said softly, black eyes looking directly into her green ones.
"Wha-... I mean... I guess it does, doesn't it?" Sakura muttered sheepishly. "I have... I... Sometimes..." she blundered, obviously trying to say something but having trouble wording her speech.
Itachi raised one eyebrow smugly as the pinkette sputtered, trying to find the right words. His smirk did not help matters at all.
"What I'm trying to say is..." she began again, her head drooping as she faltered. She peeked up at him through a curtain of glossy pale pink hair and continued. "Some days, it's like I love him so much... that if I don't see him... my day can't go on... He's not even my child... but to me he's... he's my Setsu, and... I would do anything for him. Anything." She stopped speaking, using one pale finger to push a lock of her hair behind her ear. Her green eyes met his beseechingly.
"Is that weird? Is that so bad?" she asked softly, her voice small and afraid.
Itachi should have been really happy that she felt so deeply for his son. Why then, was it so hard? Why was it then, that for the first time in Setsu's entire life... that he was jealous of his own son. It couldn't be! This was not at all the desired outcome of his offer to Sakura. He felt the need to frown, but kept his face straight with more effort than was usual.
"Hn. I see," Itachi replied, his tone cold as he tried to suppress the onslaught of emotions that threatened to surface. He would not let her get to him. She was his son's babysitter and nothing more. Itachi would have been able to believe the mantra if he could have managed to tear his eyes away from her lips, which she was now delicately biting on.
"It is not so bad," he finally added, since the silence was getting uncomfortable, and she was so obviously waiting on a response to her question. He should be happy she loved Setsu so much. Setsu definitely loved her a lot.
At that particular notion, and at that moment when Itachi pondered the mutual love between Setsu and Sakura, he could no longer hold back his frown. He didn't want to share Setsu's affections with her, but at the same time... he couldn't help but wonder what it might be like for a woman to talk about her love for him the way Sakura spoke of her love for Setsu.
No one had ever referred to him as 'my Itachi' before.
"Is something wrong, Itachi-san?" Sakura managed to ask when she noticed a frown marring the Uchiha's forehead. At her question he lifted his dark eyes back to her viridian ones and the pinkette shifted uncomfortably when she noticed the intensity in their depths. Itachi slowly dragged his eyes over her face, from her forehead to her eyes then her small and slightly upturned nose and finally her slightly puckered lips. Itachi found himself unable to gather his thoughts to form a coherent response. He, however, was saved the trouble when the sleepy voice of Setsu came from the bottom of the stairs.
"Sakura-chan? 'Tou-san?" the sleepy child called, rubbing at his eyes with small fists. Itachi's lips curled ever so slightly at the corners as he watched his little son approach, tiny toes peeking out from the hem of his cartoon-covered pajama pants.
"Setsu-chan, we're in here!" Sakura called from the living room and the toddler plodded into the room and promptly snuggled himself between his father and his babysitter, his head on the pinkette's lap and his feet on his Father's.
"Did you sleep well Setsu?" Itachi asked, reaching up to brush his hand gently through Setsu's messy black hair. The action caused the backs of his fingers to brush against Sakura's stomach, which was only covered by the thin material of the shirt he'd given her. Her body stiffened immediately in response, and her wide eyes shot to his, darting away the moment their gazes met. She worried her lower lip with her teeth, seemingly growing quite uncomfortable since Itachi had not stopped his soothing caress of his son's head.
"Uh huh," Setsu yawned sleepily before snuggling further into Sakura's lap and smiling up at her then over at Itachi. "I love Tou-san and Sakura-chan!" he declared and giggled drowsily. That seemed to be the last straw for the pinkette. She carefully lifted Setsu's head, which caused Itachi's hand to fall from Setsu's hair, and stood.
"I love you too, Setsu-chan but I-"
"Do you love my daddy too?" he asked, looking up at her expectantly with large brown eyes. Sakura's face went beetroot red, and she swallowed. Itachi's eyes zoned in on the movement of her throat, and the effect was so great that he forced himself to look away. He was, however, very interested in her answer.
"A-Ano..." Sakura mumbled, sending his son an exasperated look. "You... I have an important call to make, so I will tell you later, okay?" she said with a rather shaky smile. Itachi smirked inwardly. Itachi watched her make a hasty retreat and, since her back was turned, he let his smirk manifest on his face. He would find out the answer to Setsu's question.
Sakura felt relief wash over her as soon as she exited the living room, which had suddenly begun to feel hot and stuffy despite the air conditioning and numerous glass windows. The skin on her stomach was still tingling from where Itachi's hand had brushed it and since when had she been referring to him inside her head as Itachi and not Itachi-san? Biting her lip, Sakura forced herself to focus on her footsteps which had lead her to the kitchen. Wrapping her arm around her stomach in an attempt to stem the tingling, Sakura pulled out her cell phone and speed dialed Tsunade, desperate for a distraction.
"Yes?" Tsunade answered, the one word slurred enough to let Sakura know that even this early in the morning, the daycare owner was already deep in her cups.
"I-I called to inform you of my decision in regards to my job at the daycare," Sakura replied, her tone getting stronger with every word; she did not regret her decision. Not even slightly. Tsunade instantly became more alert once she heard Sakura's proposition.
"What did you decide?"
"I will leave KCCF as I have been fortunate enough to find a new position."
"So quickly? Were you planning to leave all this while?" Tsunade joked, but her tone was rather serious all the same.
"Well... It was offered to me, just this morning," Sakura said, a little hesitantly. The line fell silent.
"It was the Uchiha, wasn't it?" Tsunade asked quietly after a moment. Sakura felt her face flush.
"Well... yes," she murmured. "It was out of the blue, I didn't-" Sakura started.
"I'm glad it worked out," Tsunade interrupted. "I saw how attached you were to that boy. Just be careful around that father of his, you hear me?" the older female continued. "You be careful."
"I will," Sakura replied softly, touched at her boss's show of concern and care. "I will be careful."
She would be careful, Sakura promised herself after she ended the call with Tsunade. In fact, she would dedicate herself to Setsu, and try her best not to even think of his delicious father, while she still had the chance. She knew that if she let herself go, she could easily fall for him, so while she was still safe, she would try to keep herself that way. She would ignore his every attempt to get a rise out of her. She would deflect every one of his little … infuriating qualities, and she would ignore him as best she could. Setsu was never one to turn away attention, and Sakura fully intended to use that to her advantage.
"Tou-san, Sakura-chan hurry up, please!" Setsu called impatiently from his spot at the bottom of the stairs.
"Be patient Setsu-chan!" Sakura scolded, but her heart wasn't really in it and she let a soft laugh escape her lips as she descended the stairs, resting her hand on the toddler's head.
"B-but I can't be a patient! I'm not sick!" Setsu declared, looking up at her with his impatience clearly reflected in his eyes. He flapped his arms at his sides dramatically. How he was in any way related to Itachi, Sakura could not tell right now... apart from the obvious facial similarities.
"And besides if we don't hurry the ice cream will melt, won't it?" Setsu asked innocently, his eyes turned upwards to look adoringly at his baby sitter. Sakura tried to stifle another laugh but it escaped the confines of her lips once again.
"This patient means to wait. Good boys must wait patiently. Okay Setsu-chan?"
"Okay...but what about the ice cream, won't melt? Even if I wait p-patiently?" Setsu asked, a little stressed by the thought of the melting ice-cream.
"No sweetie, because the ice cream is kept in a freezer to keep it cold." Setsu's eyes widened in wonder and a large smile lit up his lips.
"Uwaaah! So the ice cream is safe then, since it won't melt when it's cold? We put ice in our freezer so that it won't melt." Sakura's smile widened and she bent down to squeeze Setsu into a hug.
"Indeed Setsu-chan, you're very smart to figure that out!"
"T'ank you, Sakura-chan!" the toddler exclaimed and flung his arms around the pinkette, the two of them laughing happily.
Itachi walked into the living room and froze at the sight of his son standing in front of a kneeling Sakura, his cheek snuggled against her breasts as she hugged him. What if that was h-
Itachi didn't finish the thought, instead making the conscious decision to move forward.
"Oh, Daddy is here! Finally, Daddy. You were taking so long, but I was p-" Setsu faltered, looking to Sakura who didn't say a word, but rather gave him an encouraging smile. "I was patient," Setsu finished, grinning proudly at the realization that he'd said the word correctly.
Itachi gave Setsu a small smile.
"Good boys are patient, Setsu," he said, the warmth of his affection for his son blatantly displayed in his dark eyes. He noticed that Setsu had not moved from Sakura's embrace, and this forced the elder Uchiha to look directly at the babysitter's chest area as he spoke to his son. He would normally ruffle his son's hair in a situation like this, but it would hardly be appropriate considering where he son's head currently was.
"That's what Sakura-chan told me," Setsu declared. "I am patient because the freezer will keep my ice-cream safe," Setsu continued happily. "Did you know that, Daddy? Did you know that ice-cream is safe in a freezer because it's cold?" Setsu asked, finally leaning away from the babysitter's breasts and looking up at Itachi.
"You may have to tell me more about it," Itachi said, interested in what his son would say. Akane would love to hear him speaking... and so intelligently too. She would probably tease him, saying that if it wasn't for her vivacious genes, Itachi's super-bright children would never speak enough for their intelligence to be shown. Itachi smiled a little sadly at the thought. Damn, but he missed her.
He still blamed his parents. If they hadn't forced him to marry... Itachi heaved a sigh, feeling a stab of guilt at the thought the moment he focused on his son's childish voice. Setsu. Sometimes, Itachi didn't know how to feel.
Straightening his shoulders, Itachi pushed all thoughts of his dead wife from his mind, suddenly thankful that his son bore his resemblance and not his mother's red-haired, brown-eyed one. Itachi was pulled from his thoughts by a tug on his sleeve and a quiet feminine voice at his ear.
"Excuse me, Itachi-san," Sakura murmured. "I need to stop at home and pick up some clothing," she continued. They had already decided that it would be best for Setsu if she stayed overnight during the weeks, and then went back to her house for the weekends. That way, Itachi would be sure that his son was safe whenever work kept him late, but he would still retain his father-son time on weekends.
Right now, however, Sakura was still in leggings and his long-sleeved white shirt, and regardless of how fetching she looked in his clothing, he couldn't expect her to wear them forever. He nodded silently at her request and took Setsu's soft blue hoodie-jacket from the coat hanger. He slid it on over Setsu's knitted black jersey, tugging it around his son's lithe body and zipping it halfway up to ward off the cold that lingered after the rain had stopped falling a few hours earlier.
"T'ank you, Daddy," Setsu said, throwing his arms around his father's shoulders.
"You're welcome, Setsu," Itachi returned, pleased with his son's now ingrained manners. A good man always had good manners. And Setsu would definitely be a good man when he matured.
Itachi stood to take down his long, dark brown, fur-trimmed trench coat from the coat-rack. He motioned Sakura closer, knowing that his dress shirt would be too thin to ward off the cold outside. She looked up at him in confusion, but took a step towards him. She didn't come close enough, so he took a step closer to her. He held the coat in the air with one hand, reaching for her wrist with the other.
He led her hand to the arm of his large jacket, and slid it into the correct sleeve. He reached around her, causing her chest to brush his body right below the pectorals as he did the same with her other hand.
She was apparently too stunned to do anything to stop him, and, since he kept his gaze locked to her face, he saw when she ducked her head to try and hide the red flush that crept up her cheeks. He smirked inwardly. He tugged the coat closed around her and stepped back.
He slid easily into his own coat and reached for Setsu, lifting his son into his arms.
"Are you ready now, Setsu?" he asked teasingly. His son's response made him chuckle despite himself.
"Tou-san... I've been ready for ages."
Itachi pulled out of the small driveway of Sakura's house and half listened to his son's chatter from his seat in the back of the car.
"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan I saw tiger and it was big and scary!" Setsu exclaimed, spreading his arms wide as he tried to describe the animal.
"Wow! That's wonderful Setsu-chan, did you know that tigers are related to cats?"
"Of course! 'Cause the man on the TV said so!" the toddler replied indignantly and Sakura smiled in response.
"Because the man on the TV said so," Itachi corrected, turning a corner and pulling onto the main road and out of the residential area where Sakura lived.
"I just said that Daddy!"
The rest of ride was filled with harmless questions about various animals and their activities. Setsu's curiosity, however, had no regard whatsoever for Sakura's comfort, and Itachi had to make the conscious decision to avoid showing his humor at Setsu's next question.
"So what do babies eat anyway? Because they don't have any teeth!" Setsu asked curiously.
"Well... they have to drink a lot," Sakura said.
"But, what do they drink?"
"Milk," Itachi supplied when Sakura faltered. "You drank a lot of milk when you were a baby, Setsu," Itachi said, his amusement evident in his voice.
"I did?" Setsu asked, his eyes wide. "What type of milk? Where did it come from?" he asked, leaning forward as much as his car seat would allow. Itachi noted that Sakura's cheeks were red, but he pretended not to see her when she turned to face him, eyes wide and begging him to change the topic.
"Breastmilk," Itachi said simply, smugly watching Sakura's expression of horror as he answered Setsu's question.
"Tou-san... Can you explain?" Setsu asked, his intelligent eyes blatantly seeking new information to add to his already large reserves. Itachi smiled wickedly... even if only on the inside.
"Sakura is a woman... So maybe she should answer that," he said, calmly turning another corner. Sakura's eyes widened more than he he thought humanly possible as Setsu's attention turned to Sakura.
"Well..." Sakura started, her mind reeling. Damn that Uchiha bastard and his games. Willing herself to keep to her promise to herself, Sakura continued. "Female mammals, like humans, get milk in... in their breasts when... when they have children," she explained. "This is so that they can feed their children since babies don't digest food as well as grown-ups," she said, wishing Setsu had chosen another topic to be curious about.
"So... where does the milk come out of?" Setsu asked, eyes wide with wonder. Sakura groaned softly. Setsu... Why did he have to be so curious about this particular topic now?
"Well, the milk is stored in the breasts," Sakura managed, even more flustered since Itachi had taken his gaze off the road and pinned it on her.
"Oh, okay," Setsu said, nodding to show he understood. His brows furrowed as another question resulted from his processing of the information. "But... but how do the babies get it out?" Sakura covered her face with her hands. She couldn't answer this.
"They have to suck it out," Itachi said blandly, saving her from answering.
"So... if you were my mommy, would you get milk in your breasts?" Sakura's eyes widened and she sputtered, trying to find a suitable way to answer Setsu's question. She couldn't. She sent a pleading stare at Itachi, knowing her face was beyond red at this point.
Noticing the pinkette's discomfort Itachi smirked, he had been given perfect opportunity and he was going to take it.
"If she was, yes. Very good Setsu, you are extremely smart to be able to make such a good connection from an explanation to reality." There was only one downside to this topic.
He now could not seem to get Sakura's breasts from his mind... and neither could Setsu, if the way he craned his neck to see was any indication.
Itachi was never so relieved to see an ice-cream store before. As he pulled into the parking lot, he turned his mind away from Sakura's breasts, and towards the sweet treats inside the store.
He'd underestimated his baby-sitter, however. He'd underestimated her sharp green eyes, or the hidden aspects of her temperament.
"Did you know, Setsu-chan," she said, with a slightly maniacal tone in her voice. A tone Setsu would not pick up. "...that ice-cream is made from the breastmilk of cows?" As Itachi's mind careened toward breasts again, one fact became known to the older Uchiha.
Sakura was vindictive.
After parking the car, Itachi helped Setsu out of his car seat, waited for Sakura to come out, and headed to the ice cream shop after locking and arming his car. As they trio made their way to the shop, the two adults became extremely aware of all the stares they were attracting. Setsu, of course, remained oblivious.
"Oh, such a lovely little family," they heard an elderly woman with a sweet face say. She smiled at the trio. Setsu was skipping in between Sakura and Itachi, one of his hands enveloped in one of the hands of either adult. He was singing the theme song to his favorite cartoon, his voice slightly off key, but close enough for the song to be recognizable.
"Tell me something, son," the elderly woman said as they moved past. "How long have you been together? You look so lovely together. Your son... so happy. It is good when the children are happy, you know," she went on, smiling.
Before Sakura could open her mouth to correct the woman, Itachi spoke. He wasn't entirely sure why he said what he did, though.
"Four years now," he said, offering the woman a small smile before walking on. No one had to know that he was referring to himself and Setsu, and not Sakura, himself and his son. No one reallyhad to know that she was the babysitter and not...
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