Part Three

Love

It was the dead of night when he finally returned from his mission. He was tired, and every muscle in body ached, but the thought of being home again brought a bit of life back.

Before he did anything else, Itachi headed to the bathroom down the dark hall of his private apartments on the clan's grounds and washed his hands thoroughly. It had become a ritual to clean his hands of blood, even if it only metaphorical. The entire Uchiha grounds could be covered in the blood of its enemies, but not this house of his.

Next, before entering his own room to sleep, he went to the living room. A single candle's flame still flickered at his window. Below it sat Mayuri wrapped up in a thick blanket sleeping soundly against the wall. A tired smile stretched across his face as he blew out the candle. He gathered her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom where he set her gently down on the futon laid out at the center of the room. Quickly, he changed out of his dirty and worn clothes into a clean set for sleeping.

He crawled into bed next to her and waited for her habitual snuggling.

"You're back," she acknowledged, half-asleep as she rubbed her face against his neck.

"I'm back."

She flipped around so that her back pressed against his chest, their bodies conformed to each others, her soft curves melted into his hard planes. Under the covers his fingers slid down her forearm to her hand. Holding it he gave it a gentle squeeze and rubbed his fingertips against the smooth skin. It had become a habit of his to play with her fingers whenever they held hands. The long length of pale fingers and perfectly manicured nails fascinated him and stimulated his nerves. He slid his fingers in between hers and looked down at their hands, identically adorned with a single silver band around their ring fingers. Hers decorated with a simple red jewel.

It only took him three long years of stubborn, obstinate perseverance to finally wring the approval out of his father. As a last resort, he had been prepared to win a duel with his father and even cut himself off from the Uchiha clan in order to marry Mayuri.

Luckily though, when Mayuri had secretly, by her own means, met with the elders of the family they immediately took a liking to her. It was actually Itachi's grandfather, the chief of the Konoha police force, who consented to the union.

"With all these gloomy descendants, we're in desperate need for someone as bright as Mayuri-san," he has said with his face scrunched up in a wrinkly smile. Since it would be a show of disrespect to the head, Fukaku quickly changed his adamant mind and approved.

It hadn't been easy for Mayuri to live with the Uchiha. Being not only the only foreigner, but also the first outsider to marry into the family, she had been alienated by most of the younger and middle generations of the clan. The younger males of the family, though, were found to accept her much easier than the females, which always put Itachi on the edge, though he was confident she would never betray his faith and love. Children adored her, and the elderly enjoyed her music.

"Snuggle a bit closer to me, won't you love?" he whispered lovingly in her ear.

His breath tickled the sensitive nerves of her face and she sighed contently having fallen back asleep. With her hand still in his, he wrapped his arms around under the slight swell of her breasts to hold her closer to him as he buried his face into the luscious mass of golden hair.

She smells so nice, he thought as the warmth of her supple body seeped through the light fabric of their clothes and heated his body. She wedged one of her thin legs in between his, tying them in a knot of limbs and cloth.

"I love you," he muttered as he started to drift.

"I love you too," she repeated before both of them fell asleep.

In the morning, before his wife woke up, Itachi crawled out of bed. Though he had slept late, this morning was special and he had made special plans which called for early rising. After changing and washing up, he heard he quiet cry of a babe waking. With his plans in jeopardy, Itachi quickly jumped out of his room and into the room across the hall where his four month old child woke.

Yukimura, who Itachi's mother claimed looked exactly like his father as a baby, stretched his short limbs as he cooed and made baby noises. His father scooped him up with large strong arms and laid him against his strong shoulder.

"There, there," Itachi murmured quietly as he patted Yuki's soft round back. "Don't fret too much. It's not a manly thing to do. Daddy will get you something to eat. But you must promise Daddy you won't make a sound, otherwise my surprise for Mommy will be ruined."

Quickly and efficiently he changed Yuki's diaper and clothes and fed him. Itachi strapped Yuki to his back so he could keep an eye on his treasure while he worked on breakfast for himself and Mayuri. He looked in their pantry and decided it'd be best to go with a traditional Japanese styled breakfast, since Mayuri had bought dried ingredients in bulk.

Old habits die hard, Itachi mused. Mayuri had been raised to buy dehydrated items of food in large quantities by the nomads that have brought her up. When one is constantly on the move, one never knows when one will reach another town to buy food. Slowly though, she was getting used to a settled life where she slept in the same bed every night, ate food made with fresh ingredients, and the benefits of a steady income.

With hot miso soup, lightly salted grilled fish, and a vegetable side dish prepared and arranged neatly on the table, Itachi sat down with his son as they waited for the rice to finish cooking. He played with, teased, and imitated Yuki for nearly a half hour before the baby became sleepy eyed and dozy. With a fatherly smile, Itachi kissed his forehead and placed him in a small wooden rocking crib Sasuke had fashioned himself as gift for Yuki's baby shower.

Making sure his baby was soundly asleep, Itachi checked on the rice. It was perfectly cooked, fluffy and glowing. I'd make a great chef, he thought with a smug smile on his face.

He went to their bedroom and a sudden wave of delight washed over him as he saw his wife lying in his bed with her lustrous golden hair tossed and gleaming in the sunshine from outside. Watching her almost made him want to crawl into bed next to her again and slowly make love to her while she was still in the erotic state of being half-asleep.

But he held himself back.

He tucked the hair that had spilled over her face behind her ear and bent down to kiss the corner of her eye and then move down to kiss the corner of her lips. She moaned quietly and shifted a little under the light pressure of his lips.

"Mayuri," he whispered in her ear. "Wake up, love."

He shook her gently by the shoulder causing more wakeful moaning and mild tossing. With more tender coaxing from her husband, Mayuri finally opened her eyes to see an easy smile spread on Itachi's face.

She angled her head in the way she knew he liked and smiled flirtatiously. "Morning, handsome."

He kissed her lips playfully. "Good morning. I made you breakfast."

"Oh?" She said as she sat up slowly, her eyes soft and smoky. "Is it you?"

That caused him to choke back a laugh, though it still flooded out and filled the house with merriment. Mayuri made a face like a child deprived her of her favorite sweetie since her attempt at flirting was received in such a way, which caused another wave of laughter from Itachi.

When tears started coming out, he took a large breath and calmed down. "I'm sorry. So sorry," he said between hiccups of laughter. He saw her baby face and kissed her nose. "I meant food food. But I like the sound of your idea too. Maybe tonight, we can tumble a little. I have more than a couple of wicked things I would like to try with you after Yuki's asleep."

A blush spread across her face like red flowers blooming across a wide field, her eyes wide, dumbfounded. Itachi leaned it for another kiss when they heard Yuki cry outside. They both turned their heads in the general direction of the kitchen.

"I just fed him, so he may need to be burped," Itachi said and got up. "I'll go."

"Okay."

Mayuri watched he walk out the room and admired his strong back and long legs. With a content smile she went to the bathroom in their room and washed her face and brushed her teeth.

When she came out changed and refreshed Mayuri felt her heart take a leap in her chest as she watched Itachi pat Yuki's small back while murmuring encouragements and endearments of how handsome and smart Yuki was. It was impossible for her to ask for more. Simply because she had everything she ever wanted, she ever needed right in front of her.

When he spotted Mayuri standing at the entrance of the hall, Itachi took Yuki off his shoulder and cradled him in his arms. He took his son's small arm and waved it at his mother. Seeing yet another familiar face, Yuki cooed and giggled the adorable way babies do.

"Happy birthday, Mayuri."