It turned out Itachi didn't leave that day after all. He told Hinata he would leave tomorrow, which was two days ago. But he couldn't bring himself to leave. He didn't know what it was but he didn't want to leave Hinata. Her presence, her very proximity near him, made him at ease. So many days and years of being this intimidating monster that he had to claim to be had made him so tired, so worn down. Itachi was now finding the ability to relax his body, drop his shoulders and breathe. He could think without having to calculate the amount of effort it would take to carry out a plan. Now he could just think about things in such a lighter detail and not have to retain all the baggage that was tied to it. Itachi could be a normal man.

But what was normal? Itachi thought, as he sipped a cup of tea that Hinata had made for him. Before, normal meant taking orders from Pain, to find the tailed-beasts and capture them. To Itachi, that was normal. But now, what did normal consist of? Well, Itachi thought, normal was whatever it made itself out to be. It would take time to normalize his life.

Hinata was happy to have him stay at her place. Itachi was honored that she enjoyed his company, but found it a bit interesting that she would take so kindly to someone like him. As they were sitting in Hinata's kitchen while waiting for the rice cook, Itachi put a question on the table.

"Why is it that you are so kind to me, Hinata Hyuga? After all that I have done, why does it seem so easy for you to accept me into your home and heal me?"

Hinata gave a genuine smile, her hair falling over her shoulder as she looked at her steaming cup of tea. Her reflection was vague, merely a shadow in the liquid. The steam spread over her face like the sun on a hot summer's day. She fingered the rim of the teacup, wording her response in her head.

"I believe in second chances. I know you're an S-class criminal and you're wanted by the village and your brother, but when I saw you that day, barely able to move," Hinata's eyes took a glossy look as she recounted that moment, her face taking on a pained expression," I thought you were just another person who needed help. Who am I to say whether or not you deserve help? There is no such thing as a good or bad person in this world. That is what I believe. We are based around the behaviors and actions that we take and are stereotyped because of those actions. I know you have hurt and killed many people that others would say were good people," Hinata looked at Itachi, her eyes focused and honest," But who's to say those people that you killed were any more 'good' or 'bad' than you were?" She shook her head in disbelief,"I just think you are worthy of a second chance, no matter what you have done. I'm sorry if that makes me a dishonorable person…"

Itachi sat there and let her words fall into place in his mind. She was confident up until the very end, and even still at the end. Itachi didn't know how deep this woman could be, how intense her thoughts were. It amazed Itachi that she saw him as just another person, when everyone around him saw him as a horrible person. He sat on this thought for a while, turning his cup around with his thumb. He didn't realize the rice was done until Hinata placed a heaping bowl of it in front of him, to which he thanked her.

They ate in silence, both enjoying their meal. Itachi observed Hinata as she ate. He noticed her shoulders weren't tense as if she was afraid of him. She didn't have a begrudging look on her face or any kind of expression that said she didn't want him there. Hinata looked calm, happy even. Itachi liked how her long hair framed her face and how her eyes highlighted her hair. She was a sight for sore eyes.

"Thank you, Hinata." His sudden words startled Hinata in her seat. She blushed lightly and nodded, continuing to eat her rice.

Itachi felt compelled to tell Hinata a story, to share some bits and pieces of his personality. He cleared his throat, ridding it of any blockage.

"May I share a story with you, Hinata?"

"Of course, Itachi."

"There was a time when I wasn't so brutal in my ninja ways. I wasn't a 'bad' person, as people would now consider me as. It was back in the early days of the village, when the First Hokage was still alive. This is probably when you're about Sasuke's age. Those days were calm and had the taste of promise in the wind. Before anything ever happened to my clan, I remember it being one of the best times of my life." It was Itachi's turn for his eyes to sink back into remembrance, to lean back in his chair with one arm slung over the back. "Sasuke adored me as his older brother. And I adored him. He was always so happy to see me, so full of life and energy. He always wanted me to help him with his jutsu, but I never had the time. Looking back on it now, I wish I did help him with his training. I wish I spent just a little bit more time being the older brother Sasuke thought I was. Maybe things would have turned out differently if I did. But I can't change that now. I made Sasuke despise me and build up his desire to kill me. There's no hope of us going back to siblings. Now we are just strangers to one another. I can only look back and remember the times where Sasuke was happy, and I was his older brother whom he admired and looked up to. I will never have that again, and it breaks my heart, Hinata."

Itachi had let his words fall on a whisper as the truth of his words dawned on him. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face and leaving it there. His heart began to ache in places it hadn't ached in years. Not since the massacre. It hurt, thinking about his little brother who was now out to get revenge. His actions weighed a lot on Itachi and there was nothing anyone could ever do to relieve him of this weight. It was his burden to bear, and Sasuke's to act upon. He missed his parents every waking moment of every day. Sasuke didn't know that, wouldn't believe him if Itachi told him. Because he killed them. He turned off his emotions and killed them, one after another. And Itachi fucking regretted it now more than ever.

He felt a hand bring his arm down and saw Hinata looking at him, her expression torn. The look on her face was one of sorrow, empathy. She squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back. It was the little things that counted.

"I'm sorry, Itachi. I know you did things that you regret now, and I know there isn't any way to alleviate your pain. But I want you to know that I don't blame you. I may just be one person in the world, but I am one person that doesn't blame you for what you did. And I'm sorry."

Itachi didn't know he needed to hear those words. Even though she had no idea how it felt to be an Uchiha, nevertheless one of the last surviving Uchiha, she still empathized with him. Still, she apologized for him. It was in that very moment that Itachi needed something. He needed the comfort of another person, someone who understood how he felt, even if they couldn't grasp the true definition of his pain. Itachi leaned over to Hinata and enveloped her in a hug, his face in her shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and didn't let go until he felt ready to. And the sensation that overcame him, of hugging another human being-something he hadn't done in years, decades- was like no other sensation he had ever experienced. Then Hinata hugged him back, and he felt a whole new sensation all over again.

He felt reborn. Alive. Human.

"Your words mean so much to me, Hinata. I am grateful for them and for you. You have saved me in more ways than you can imagine." He told her, whispering in her ear. The moment didn't call for regular voice volume; it was a moment of honesty, of vulnerability.

"You have saved me, too, Itachi." The way his name echoed off her tongue gave him desires. Nobody said his name who wasn't a guy, who wasn't a murderer like he was. Itachi admired this woman for her bravery to take him in, befriend him. He couldn't ask for anything else from someone.

They stayed locked in a hug for what felt like days. Time seemed boundless while they held each other, holding onto the reality that was now beginning to feel possible. That Itachi was an ex-member of the Akatsuki, that he was capable of being a kind human being, that he did have feelings. And that Hinata was a woman, even if she was only one person in this entire world, who was capable of seeing who Itachi really was and accepted him despite his past. During this moment, they both realized that they each saved each other, despite how different they both were.

Collectively, they both began to release each other, but there grasp on one another did not fall completely. They stopped when they were able to see eye-to-eye. Pure violet met mysterious onyx in this heart-hammering moment. Neither spoke a word or made a move, but they spoke a thousand words in a single moment. Without any indication of what was to come, Itachi very carefully bent his head toward Hinata, who responded with a tilt of her head in the opposite direction. With the fluttering of closed eyelids and barely a breath in their lungs, Itachi and Hinata let their lips touch in a pure and delicate kiss. They weren't in sync with each other's movements, but that didn't matter. As Itachi cupped Hinata's cheek in his palm, and Hinata placed her hand on his, they bonded in a way that surprised them both. Neither of them made a move to stop, or push it further. They sat there, in Hinata's kitchen with the sun beginning to descend, and kissed each other the way they felt the other deserved.

Itachi had never had his heart hammer inside his chest the way it was doing now. It was a stimulating feeling that he believed he could get used to. Hinata's lips were smooth and her tongue gentle. He hoped he wasn't doing anything wrong that could end this moment, because Itachi felt like his world was being put together, by this simple yet life-changing kiss.

A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter, because I loved it. I couldn't wait to write it! Itachi and Hinata are such a cute couple….they're just so different and I think that makes an adorable story to write. I try to show how they can come together through similarities using their differences. I hope you liked it, it's not the last chapter, don't worry!