The SEAL'S Kiss

Celestia193's Author's Note: Okay, so we're going to start this off with some Itachi x Neji fluff and crack. And…by the end of it, I think you'll all be quite pleased with the various turns of events. After this, comes the epilogue, and then we're done! Enjoy!

Chapter 22

Neji smirks smugly as he glances at his lover. Itachi was sitting at his desk, looking just a little uncomfortable with the way he was sitting. "I told you it would only take two or three weeks." And only a few days ago, Sasuke had finally divested himself of the sunrise colored mop, AND the silence of Hinata's bedroom had been broken as well. Which is why Neji was more than happy to find alternative places to ravish his lover. And ravish him he had. Very, VERY thoroughly.

"Figures that my foolish little brother would find a way to thwart me, even if it was a quirk of biology." Itachi shakes his head. "Though that's one bet I don't mind losing. Besides, I have pictures." He smirks. "Lots and lots of picture and great sex." He had reason to complain.

"Yes, GREAT sex." Neji kisses his lover's cheek. "And it is both a quirk of biology, and a lack of your fear of clippers." Though Neji couldn't bring himself to complain about that fear. Itachi was looking more and more handsome with every week that passed. "But keep the pictures, I'm sure that they'll garner great amusement at his and my cousin's wedding." Well, whenever that was.

"I do wonder how soon that will be, now that the results of the investigations are in, and the story will be broken to the news soon. With everything calm, Sasuke could use the media circus to make a proposal go relatively unnoticed." Neji figured that the SEAL would rather do things quietly, rather than deal with the annoyance that was the media. Of course, he COULD deal with reporters, he just preferred to avoid the hassle altogether.

Itachi shakes his head and smiles. "I don't think my foolish little brother is ever that practical outside of security." The elder man chuckles fondly at the thought. "He's probably already got the ring, but is too scared to propose. He'll likely blurt it out when the time is right."

Now THAT was an interesting thing to imagine. "Then we'll likely be uncles before Uncle Hiashi's first term is up." Neji could almost see the look on Hiashi's face the day that were to happen. The man would probably faint. "Though Aunt Emiko will certainly be pleased."

"Yes, it will be a most amusing day." He pauses and adds. "Though in the interest of safety, we should make sure he's sitting down before someone tells him about the proposal."

"Yes, sitting down would probably be best." Neji laughs as he slides over onto Itachi's lap, wrapping his arms around his lover's neck and kissing him heatedly. "Though, speaking of rings, I'll be sure to find a suitable one for you. After all, I do recall overhearing a joke or two regarding the subject between your father and my uncle."

He kisses back eagerly and then blinks at Neji's words. "A-Are you proposing?" It was so sudden and yet, not at the same time. Had the other man only been teasing though?

"Well…not just yet. But as you seem to be more bashful about the topic, I imagine that such a thing will be left to me." Neji chuckles at the slightly stunned look on his lover's face. "And as you have a tendency to hesitate, I'm sure that I'll beat you to the punch."

"I believe that you're attempting to use reverse psychology on me." Itachi looks at his lover with amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Maybe, maybe not." Neji rests his forehead against Itachi's as slender fingers brush through raven hair. "Do I need to use such psychology on you?"

He kisses Neji's forehead. "No, but i find it amusing that you are trying to." Itachi truly loved this man. He was endearing in all that he did.

"Well, good." Neji smirks again as a new idea comes to mind. "But should I find you a wedding dress, just in case?" Itachi could act like such a girl at times. Now THAT was amusing.

"Excuse me?" A dress?! "What are you implying?!" He never wore women's clothing, not that Itachi had anything against those men who did, but that had never been his inclination.

Neji shakes his head and kisses his lover. "Come now, you're supposed to be a genius. Besides, I think you'd look beautiful. You're…very in touch with your feminine side. After all, it takes a brave man to use pink and purple hair dye, and fuss the way you do."

Itachi twitches. Where did he put those handcuffs? "When we get home tonight, I shall remind you how NOT feminine I am!" It was one thing to dye his brother's hair, but he was not wearing a wedding dress!

"Is that so?" Neji laughs at his lover's indignation. He was so much fun to tease. "Then I look forward to seeing you TRY." It was always more interesting to go home after he got Itachi all worked up. "After all, I do recall you saying something of the same spirit when I was fucking you into your desk last week."

"You really do have a mouth on you." Itachi shakes his head. "I should put it to better use."

The smirk grows wide on Neji's face. Wide and mischievous. "You've said that before too." And it was always rather exciting when he did. Itachi certainly didn't lack confidence when it came to keeping his bed warm.

Itachi nods at that. "Damn right, I have. Because I doubt there is anyone who is better with their mouth than you in this particular capacity." And that was the truth.

Neji chuckles and shakes his head. His love could be so prim and proper in public, but one he got worked up, well…Itachi had a dirty a mouth as his little brother. "It's a date."

Hiashi was issuing a press conference on Danzo's death. "Yes, it is shocking to realize that one of our most revered Senators was actually a criminal and that he was actually a traitor to our country." He takes a deep breath before continuing. "I wish that we knew more about what happened on the night of his assassination, but I'm afraid that we don't. Unfortunately, despite the valiant efforts of law enforcement, we still have not identified who the sniper was."

One of the reporters in the crowd raises their hand, waiting a moment for their turn to speak. "Mr. President, is it true that Senator Shimura had been running crime rings for the entirety of his political career?"

"We are not certain how far back his criminal activities stretched." He shakes his head, pretending to be saddened. "Though we have confirmed, at least one or two decades, perhaps more."

There's a great deal of muttering amongst the reporters, before another brave journalist ventures another query. "Mr. President, there are suggestions that the sniper had military training. Was this a secret move made by the Armed Forces to take out a dangerous crime boss?"

If it was a secret, it wouldn't be much of a secret, if he admitted that! "Rumors are always going to fly about in situations like this. I have no confirmation of such a move at this time." Hiashi shakes his head.

"What of Danzo's confiscated assets?" One of the reporters not caught up in the flurry of whispers and mutters flying around has pen once again to paper. After all, they did want to know what was going to be done with the proceeds of drug-dealing and arms trafficking.

"What can be traced to its rightful owners and wasn't stolen will be returned." They were like starving dogs really. "What was stolen or can't be traced is now property of the U.S. government."

Finally, the question that everyone was dying to ask, but no one had the courage to, rises to the surface. "Mr. President. Is it true that the attacks on the White House and the nightclub were organized assassination attempts against the First Family?"

"That is true." He shakes his head. "Though they were obviously unsuccessful as will any further attempts."

"Then is it true that you've hired personal bodyguards, and that they were the ones who foiled the attempts?" The questions were becoming slowly, startlingly well-informed.

"That is all classified information." Who was feeding these people their information?! "I can neither confirm or deny information about personal bodyguards."

The reporters quickly turn into a shouting mess, asking about whether or not the testimonies of the nightclub patrons that night were accurate concerning the presence of four armed persons around the president's daughter and nephew, concerning the deaths of the diplomats at the State Dinner, whether or not there was a greater agenda in the works, trying to bring down the country's government.

Fugaku, attending the conference just in case things got out of hand, touches Hiashi's shoulder lightly. "I think that it may be time to bring this to a close." The press were asking questions that they just weren't allowed to know the answers to. And that was going to lead to some very uncomfortable stories down the line.

"Yes, this conference is over." Hiashi nods in agreement as he walks off with Fugaku. "Good Lord, where are these people getting their information?" It was entirely too accurate.

"I would guess that it's because even Sasuke's team can only do so much to blend in." That was the hitch with bodyguards, really. "People are going to notice if the people around your family, even if they look like civilians, are pulling out their sidearms whenever there is a crisis."

The President sighs at that. "Alright. That's a fair point." He was just glad to be out of that madhouse.

Fugaku smirks at the rather exhausted looking man beside him. Hm…a perfect opportunity. "So, how long do you think it will be before Sasuke and Hinata are engaged?"

"AHHH!" Hiashi suddenly lands flat on his Presidential Backside in shock. "W-What?!"

Ah, scandalizing Hiashi was always so much fun. "Well, I imagine that he's forgiven Hinata by now for the prank that she and Itachi pulled. So the clock is back on until we see a ring on Hinata's finger." Fugaku knew that in Sasuke's last relationship, it wasn't really an option. But it was now, and he doubted that Sasuke would sit on something like that forever.

"You really think he was just waiting for his hair to return to its natural color?" It sounded so ridiculous. Though Hiashi couldn't entirely blame Sasuke. "I suppose that would make sense though." He wouldn't have proposed if his hair looked like some hippie version of a rainbow either.

"It's his pride that took a hit." Well, and a couple of other things. "Besides, I think that he was just to embarrassed to go out and buy a ring, looking like that." Fugaku would be too. "Most men would likely be mortified at the thought of anyone else seeing them like that. I find it rather astonishing that he went outside at all those three weeks." Though admittedly, it involved a lot of hats.

He nods in agreement. "That's true enough." Hiashi shakes his head though. "Well I can hardly object, seeing as he's saved her life multiple times."

"That, and they do make quite the interesting pair." Fugaku had his initial doubts about whether or not a woman as sweet as Hinata would be able to handle his son, but it looked like she was far more like Mikoto than he thought. "In any case, I'll say this much for Sasuke, suggesting that he and Hinata spend the day in the Rose Garden was a bold move. It would make for a perfect location for such a question, don;t you think?"

"...He's proposing today?!" Hiashi had just gotten back up and now he was on his backside again.

"Well, I would hope so." Fugaku was sure that the longer it took for Sasuke to bite the bullet, the harder it would get. But that was no guarantee that he would do it today. "He said something about recruiting Aoda's help. And then, knowing our wives, they would likely have a summer wedding prepared for right before his birthday." They could plan quite expediently when they wanted to. "Now we simply have to wait for Itachi or Neji to grow bold enough to pop the question." It was amusing, really, that his younger son was taking the initiative before his older brother.

Hiashi blinks at that. Sasuke couldn't be serious. "How is a snake going to help him propose?" Though he didn't doubt that part about a summer wedding.

Fugaku shrugs. "I'm not entirely sure, but Hinata seems fond of the animal. And it seems quite intelligent." Almost…human-like with how it managed to so effectively evade detection. "I'm sure it will be quite memorable."

"Yes, proposing with a snake...is a new one." He had to give Sasuke that much.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had to admit that he was sweating a little, even though he was smiling, sitting in the garden with Hinata in his arms. There were so many ways that this could go wrong, and even though he planned for every contingency, he thought, there were still nagging worries that made him wonder if maybe…he should try this next week instead.

But no, Sasuke had decided that he was going to do this today, even after several bouts of sneezing. He was more than willing to bet that Itachi was gossiping about him with Neji, or his father with the president, or his mother with Hinata's mother. Or his team. Or his grandfather and great-uncle. Or…yeah, lots of people liked to gossip about him.

Of course, that didn't matter very much right now, as Hinata had the day off work, and was currently sitting in his lap, his hands tightly squeezing her hips, trying to kiss his brains out, while he did the same to her.

She smiles in his arms and continues kissing him. "It's beautiful here." Especially when she was wrapped in his arms like this.

"Yes, you are." He chuckles softly, tightening his grip on her as he leans back into the grass, gazing up at her, before bringing her back down for another kiss. "You missed me." She'd been insatiable the last few days, ever since he let go of his grudge and stopped looking like a rainbow had a baby with a sunrise, which then proceeded to puke all over him.

"Well yes, but I hope you learned your lesson." She rests her head on his shoulder. "You were punishing yourself just as much as me."

"Maybe." He nuzzles the top of her head, smelling the sweet scent of her shampoo. "Though I must admit that I did miss you moaning for me…writhing under my touch…screaming my name as I ravish you." Something that they'd more than made up for the past few nights. The weekend had been full of nothing but sex, and the occasional break to take care of necessities, like eating, sleeping, showering (sexy showers, of course).

Hinata didn't think there was a maybe about it, but she'd indulge him anyway. "Well I missed being ravished." She blushes slightly as she enjoys the embrace.

"Yes, I'm sure that you do." Sasuke strokes her hair gently, feeling her comfortable weight on his chest as he hears the tell-tale sounds of Aoda slithering through the grass towards them. "I love you Hinata…so much. Even if you can be very evil at times."

"Only when you deserve it." She smiles at him. "Even Aoda agrees."

Sasuke smirks. "I think Aoda agrees with more than just that." He reaches out one arm, smiling at the slight sparkle at the end of Aoda's tail as the little snake curls itself around his arm, traveling up from the wrist, until he slithers over Sasuke's shoulder to flick his tiny tongue at Hinata. "He's such a good boy."

Hinata laughs and smiles. "Yes, he is." She tilts her head. "But there's something on his tail."

"Yes…" He cups her face, smiling gently. "There is. And there's a question that goes with it." Just five little words… "Picked your Honeymoon lingerie yet?"

"W-What?!" If Sasuke hadn't been holding her, she probably would have fallen on her ass in shock. "Y-You're proposing?" That was an engagement ring?!

Chuckling again, Sasuke nods. "I'd get down on one knee, but you're kind of on top of me." So…sacrifices. But he lifts Aoda off his chest a little, letting the little guy flick his tail in front of Hinata's face, lades with a rose gold engagement ring, studded up and down with diamonds, with a larger diamond nestled in the center of four studded petals. It was a question that, years ago, he never thought he would ask, but… "Will you marry me, Hinata?"

She gasps and stares at the ring in shock. "Oh Sasuke, it's beautiful!" So she did what any woman in this situation would do, she glomps him. "And yes, yes I'll marry you. I'd even marry you if you still had the rainbow hair."

He laughs softly, just barely not getting squished by the surprisingly powerful hug. "Well…the rainbow hair would have been a bit too much for my pride to handle, so I waited an extra couple of weeks before getting the ring. And there's no way I'd tolerate having pink and orange hair on our wedding day." Streaks of lavender, again, he could tolerate, but a solid mass of pink… On Sakura's head, that was fine, on his, not so much. Which was why he was glad to rid of the rainbow colored disaster.

"It was very colorful, but I do prefer your natural color." She smiles at him as she continues embracing him tightly.

Well, good, at least she didn't seem to want him to take up being a clown. "Anyway, that was a rather enthusiastic yes." He slides the ring from Aoda's tail, slipping it onto Hinata's finger. "We'll probably have…about two hours of peace before our mothers find out. Then we won't hear the end of this until…probably next year."

Hinata laughs at that. "More like a decade." She smiles and gets up, helping her lover to stand as well as she marvels at the ring.

Sasuke shrugs as he gets to his feet. "I figure that they'll calm down once they have their first grandchild. And look at it this way, they'll be eager to take care of all of the babysitting." So Hinata could continue training to be an ambassador and starting that part of her career, without having to worry about carting a baby all over the place.

"I'm sure they would." She shakes her head in amusement. "Though I would really have to get pregnant first for that to be a concern."

A smirk curls Sasuke's lips as he wraps his arms around Hinata's waist. "Isn't that what the Honeymoon is for?" Not that he was in a hurry, of course. Hinata could get off the pill whenever she liked, really. He just liked teasing her. "It's kind of a miracle that we made it through the last few months without any 'accidents'." And multiple assassination attempts, but he didn't feel like saying that out loud.

She blushes and huffs slightly at the use of the word accidents. "Well you seemed so startled about it in the shower the other day, I didn't think you wanted to try for a baby so soon." The bluenette snuggles into his embrace. "Though, knowing you...if I didn't take anything, I'd probably be pregnant before we got back from the honeymoon."

Sasuke chuckles softly. "I only reacted that way because I hadn't really thought about it before, and because the timing was bad. We did still have a crime boss on the loose who tried to kill you. Not a great time for you to be pregnant."

"Well that's true." Hinata concedes, though she smiles. "The baby would be adorable though."

"WILL be adorable." Because…well, now that there wasn't a dark cloud hanging over them constantly, Sasuke found that the idea did have appeal. "Adorable enough to distract their grandmothers and get us some alone time."

She smiles at that thought. "I know. I hope that he or she takes after you though." Hinata laughs as she rests her head on his shoulder. "Those bubble eyes will be more than enough to distract everyone."

There's an instant frown on Sasuke's face. "I do NOT have bubble eyes." He'd never have been taken seriously as a sailor if he did.

"You had them when you were a kid." Hinata's eyes shimmer with laughter as she looks up at him. "You just grew out of them. Now, they're bedroom eyes."

Sasuke raises an eyebrow in surprise, before his eyes narrow in amusement. "I see…" Well, he could live with that. "Then maybe I should be making better use of them." He glides his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up a little more, drawing her into a seductive kiss.

She smiles and returns his kiss. "You've always made VERY good use of them." There was no denying that.

"Good." And Sasuke would get a lot more use out of them this afternoon.

Fugaku was smirking as their families sat down for dinner. Lately, they'd taken to eating dinner at the White House, before the Uchiha family and Sasuke's team returned to their various homes. But tonight was special, he knew that much. And why was it special? Because he noticed something that no one else had.

A certain piece of jewelry now adorning the hand of a certain Hyuga Princess. Now, to question Sasuke subtly, or to announce it like a bullhorn?

…Bullhorn. "So, when's the wedding?"

That immediately stirs several gasps and demanding questions. Their formerly quiet meal was now almost deafeningly loud!

Sasuke stuffs a finger into one of his ears, trying to block out at least some of the noise. "Way to be subtle…"

Sakura's eyes fall on the beautiful ring adorning Hinata's finger, feeling…happy and sad at the same time. Sad, because she was losing Sasuke's affection forever, at least that kind, but happy, because someone she loved had popped the question. Even if it wasn't to her. Still, this place was getting kind of loud. "Hey! Everybody be quiet!"

Everyone wisely goes quiet, not wanting to incur Sakura's wrath. "Thank you." Hinata rubs her ears as it quiets down. "Yes, we're going to be married." She smiles at Sasuke.

Mikoto glances at Emiko, grinning from ear to ear. "It looks like we'll be planning a summer wedding!" She could see it now, all of the decorating that would have to be done for the White House. They'd have the ceremony there, of course. Out in the Rose Garden, the weather would be perfect for it.

Hinata holds Sasuke's hand and her lips brush against his ear. "I'm a little scared now." Their mothers...were plotting their wedding. It was terrifying.

"You should be." Sasuke shakes his head, squeezing Hinata's hand and kissing her cheek. His eyes drift to Itachi and Neji for a moment, seeing no sparkle anywhere. "Be glad that they're not planning a second wedding on top of that." That would be a truly terrifying sight to behold.

"Well I suppose in the interest of not having the White House destroyed twice." Itachi smiles at Neji and slides something onto his hand. "Perhaps a double wedding is in order."

Neji blinks bemusedly, staring down at the new ring on his finger. Then he shoots a dirty look at Itachi. "Well done, you used your brother's engagement to get around an actual proposal." And prevented Neji from doing it first. At least HE was thinking about grand romantic gestures. Itachi, apparently, was not. Though…he had to admit that the platinum ring, studded all along the center with small diamonds did look rather nice…

He chuckles at that and smiles. "I figured it would be best to save my creative energy for our Honeymoon." Itachi tilts his head. "Though if you like I can get down on one knee."

Lavender eyes roll, before Neji presses a kiss to Itachi's lips. "Fine, but it had better be a damn good Honeymoon." Otherwise, there was no way that Neji was going to let his fiancee get away with such a cop-out of a 'proposal'.

"Only the best will do for you. I was thinking about Paris, Venice, Athens, or perhaps Hawaii." Itachi smirks at his fiance.

"Hawaii." Neji knew that it was the best choice without a second thought. "If we went to the other cities, it would be a waste not to go and see the sights." After all, Itachi likely wouldn't let him sneak out of the room for anything.

Itachi smiles at that and caresses his cheek. "Good, an excellent choice." Not that he had expected any less.

Fugaku snorts at the sight, shaking his head. "Well Hiashi, it seems that events are proceeding much faster than even I anticipated." At this rate, he expected that they would be seeing grandchildren within the year.

Hiashi chuckles at that. "Yes, that does seem to be the case." It was amusing watching Itachi and Neji bicker.

Fugaku raises his glass, swirling around the wine within. "Well, Hiashi, do you think that it will be Itachi and Neji adopting, or Hinata becoming pregnant that will give us grandchildren faster?"

"Probably Hinata...adoption can take quite some time." He shakes his head. "And stop trying to traumatize me.

"But it's amusing." Fugaku really did love to make people squirm. It was one of the most entertaining parts of his job. "And you aren't half as shocked by the things I say as you pretend to be."

He rolls his eyes. "Perhaps, it shall be your hair that gets altered next." Hiashi would stand his ground.

Fugaku shakes his head. "And what would the citizens think? Seeing their president engaging in such childish games…it is beneath both your dignity, and mine." He was NOT going to suffer the same fate as Itachi and Sasuke. The best way to avoid that, was to not go through a pointless little war.

"They don't have to know that I was the one that did it." Hiashi smirks triumphantly. "And even if you said I did it, most wouldn't believe it."

The director's eyes narrow. "Then keep in mind that I retain a similar fall-back to Sasuke. I was a SEAL myself, and have no fear of unfortunate hair disasters." A small smirk quirks his lips. "You, on the other hand…do not."

"You are a horrible man sometimes." Hiashi grumbles.

"I am simply preventing a war that doesn't need to happen." And saving them both a lot of time, annoyance on his part, and humiliation on Hiashi's.

Mikoto rolls her eyes. "I hope so." She loved Fugaku, but she was not a fan of military hair regulations. "You look God awful in a buzzcut."

"Then why did you marry him?" Emiko giggles.

"Well mostly for his body. I was willing to overlook his formerly awful haircut because I was distracted by his cute butt and I am a sucker for a nice pair of abs." Mikoto smiles at the memories. "Though also for his work ethic and he is highly intelligent and not afraid to spar verbally with me, even if he loses."

Fugaku sputters indignantly at his wife's verbal assault, his calm facade brought down in an instant by his ex-CIA agent of a wife. "Mikoto…"

Sasuke looks away from the amusing sight of the parents bickering, turning back to Hinata. "Well, that was more than I needed to hear."

Hinata giggles and rests her head on Sasuke's shoulder. "I think it's cute. She's just trying to get a rise out of him." She did did the same thing sometimes. Just in private.

"More like emasculating him…" Sasuke shakes his head, scoffing quietly. "You don't think that our fathers would really do all that with the weddings coming up, would they?"

"She was complimenting him." Men could be such babies sometimes. "Mostly. And no, I don't think they would."

"They'd better not." The short war with Itachi had been bad enough, but Sasuke didn't even want to know what these two would do to each other if left to their own devices. Besides, their mothers were about to go crazy. They really didn't need their fathers getting any worse.

Sasuke would much rather focus on Hinata…