Valentimes with the Ninja-guys

by FictionalQuacker

Summary:

Valentine's day in Konoha is a special and stressful holiday for the Uchiha.

Notes:

• For Regolithe.

Yes this is pretty out of character and yes it is the dumbest shenanigans that have left my brain in quite a while but here it is. I hope you all enjoy a safe and as fun Valentines as possible this year 💖

Aiming to post 1 chapter per day leading up to Valentines day, all the tagged pairings will be included along the way ^^

(For those of you who follow my Flames of Peace AU; this is written as a treat for a Valentines Day! It adds nothing to the story - it’s just plain fun. It does take place the 14th of February the year Sasuke turns 20, so about six weeks before Sakura’s birthday in The Pride of the Uchiha.)

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Itachi and the pink box

It was a cold winter morning in the Uchiha’s leading household and Sasuke seemed exceptionally unmotivated to start the day.

Breakfast together was a pleasant affair, despite the slight chill penetrating the house. Mikoto’s kitchen was always livelier than most of their home and the bowls of her fresh rice porridge filled their stomachs with both energy and much needed warmth. She was very happy with having all three of her male family members gathered and her mood was positively contagious.

Itachi enjoyed it very much. Grateful for a quiet, peaceful beginning to a day he expected to be both long and tedious.

The one hick-up being the bitter, yet adorable, look on Sasuke’s face.

What could be the matter now, I wonder? Itachi thought, watching his brother with mild amusement. It was hard to take Sasuke’s grumpy tendencies seriously – it always had been.

“You certainly seem to be in a bad mood.” Mikoto said sweetly, catching on just as quick as Itachi had. Sasuke turned his eyes on her and frowned. She was not deterred. “What is the matter? Did you not sleep well?”

Sasuke’s frown deepened. He looked at her sourly, a small wrinkle forming between his brows. “It’s fine, Mother.”

“Hm…” She hummed, putting her own bowl aside and grabbing his to refill it, regardless of if he wanted more porridge or not. While she gracefully bent over the table there was a slight twinkle to her eyes and she asked innocently; “could it be you’re having troubled thoughts about today then?”

If possible, he seemed to become even grumpier than before. She caught on and hid her smile behind her hand. “Oh dear. Don’t worry – I’m sure you will receive plenty of chocolates as you do every year.”

His eye twitched irritably, and Itachi felt a powerful pull at the corners of his mouth. The borderline mischievous comment seemed to have hit the nail on the head – as Sasuke turned away angrily with his nose in the air. “I don’t care about that.” He claimed, and Mikoto nodded kindly.

“Yes, yes. It must be very troublesome for you.” She told him and gave him his bowl back. Fugaku glanced at his youngest son over the edge of his newspaper in his typical, judgmental way, and Itachi felt quite appreciative of being able to stay out of the spotlight today.

 

Another treat presented itself when he and Sasuke got to walk together towards the Administrative Division. Despite them both serving the Hokage, albeit Sasuke as a normal jounin and Itachi as an ANBU operative, their work rarely overlapped. Perhaps just as well. Itachi was none too keen on the idea of his little brother bearing witness to the darker side of his professional role, no matter how old they grew.

But walking side-by-side down the streets of the compound was a welcome change of pace. Time together seemed to always beat time spent apart when it came to his brother; and Itachi knew Sasuke very much felt the same. Even if the foulness of his temper did not seem to falter much on this particular day.

Itachi took a page out of his mother’s book – putting on his sweetest smile for his precious, moody little sibling.

“Cheer up, Sasuke. Surely it is not so terrible a day as you seem to think.”

They were approaching the edge of the compound, passing by various storefronts and shops opening for the day, when they heard footsteps quickly approaching from behind them. Itachi turned first to see a young woman he just barely recognized as Uchiha jogging towards them. Sasuke turned, too, and his face fell into an impressively blank state Itachi was certain he had copied off himself.

The girl bowed politely in front of them and stretched out a small box wrapped in very feminine, pink paper. Looking more closely, there were little white rabbits drawn seemingly by hand around the neat edges of the present. The girl seemed quite embarrassed but she pushed on valiantly.

“Uhm, this is for you! Please accept it!” She said quickly and held up the gift to Sasuke. Itachi felt a new surge of pleased amusement. Even if the woman was no one they knew it was good to see him be so well-liked by people of their clan.

Sasuke’s own behavior was far less appreciative.

With an unnecessarily stoic “thanks” and a slow move of his hand he took the package from her and only barely waited for her to turn her back to them before shoving the box into Itachi’s hands.

“This was not for me, Sasuke.” Itachi scolded, “that was very rude of you.”

His little brother shrugged. “She didn’t see it, what’s the harm?”

“It takes courage to show someone your true feelings, you shouldn’t reject them so casually.” He replied firmly. “Surely, it is not so bad as you make it seem.”

Sasuke scowled and side-eyed Itachi indignantly. “I never asked for that kind of attention. I don’t care about something like Valentines and I don’t even like chocolate.” He grumbled, “I don’t see why I should play into all that. It’s a waste of time and gives people the wrong idea.”

Itachi changed up his face to seem more sympathetic. “Hm… perhaps you will feel differently when it’s the right person making the gift… even if it is chocolates you receive.”

He crossed his arms, his ears turning adorably pink. Itachi’s smile widened.

 

Out of decency Itachi had little choice but to hold onto the pink box. It earned him quite a few looks and chuckles in the ANBU locker room, miss Yūgao Uzuki going so far as to ask if he was planning to give it to someone special.

Undisturbed, Itachi put it away in his locker. “No. My brother just insisted I take it.”

That caused another, louder wave of laughter through the room.

 

As anticipated the day was indeed tedious, and exhausting. By the time he had wrapped up his duties and returned to his locker he was tempted to skip the change of clothes and continue directly with his plans for the evening. However, he supposed Shisui might appreciate him more if he showed up in clothes unsoiled by a long day’s work.

He remembered the pink little package and weighed it in his hand. Hm… perhaps giving it to someone special is not such a terrible idea. Being a man, he had never bought sweets on this particular day. The social rules dictated it was women who gave men chocolate on Valentines, and for men to return the favor a month later if they appreciated the offering. He and Shisui had forged their own ritual to circumvent such rules. Being two men, they had opted out of the tradition and simply exchanged favors instead. It was an excellent solution, in Itachi’s opinion.

But… he supposed there was no reason not to do both now that he was in possession of a perfectly acceptable present and had no better ideas for what to do with it. Throwing it away would be hypocritical after scolding his brother and eating it was no better. He had been cutting back on sugar lately.

Pleased with his decision, Itachi had his change of clothes and brought the package with him to the agreed upon location for this year’s exchange.

 

He was not prepared for Shisui, after all. He blinked twice, thrice, at the surprising sight of him.

“Shisui… you…” He began, uncertain of what would be the polite way to approach the topic, “you’ve… why is your…?”

He looked wretched; upset and altogether exhausted with the world.

Acknowledging the source of Itachi’s surprise and concern, he flicked a greasy strand of hair off his forehead. He sighed miserably and his face fell even deeper into depression.

His hair looked utterly ridiculous. Slicked down by what looked like a mixture of oil and wax – the usually lush locks forced flat against the sides of his head. Parted in the middle, combed straight down towards his neck. He did not even have his headband to cover up the disastrous crime against his good looks.

“I fucked up, Itachi. That’s why I have this… whatever the kids are calling it on my head.” Shisui grumbled and shook his head. “Mom got all worked up and I let slip that I had a date – so she insisted on… helping make me pretty for the occasion.”

Itachi felt the corner of his mouth twitch.

“She did not succeed.”

Shisui turned red. “I knew you would hate it, god damn it!” He snapped, trying to brush the catastrophe from his head by frantically running his hands through his hair. To his own frustration and Itachi’s great, sadistic pleasure - all that did was cause an even bigger mess.

Shisui swore loudly at the sticky state of his hands and wiped his palms on his slacks. Itachi composed himself with a slow breath, taking a step closer to his lover with a patient smile and sticking a hand into the pocket where he kept his emergency tool for these kinds of situations.

“Sit down. Here, let me –“ he said gently, placed the pink package of rejected chocolates on the ground, and swept the emergency comb out from its carefully selected hiding place in Itachi’s pants. Shisui eyed the thing bemusedly but he did as he was told.

“Really? You always have a comb on you?” He commented, allowing Itachi to run it from the tip of his forehead and back towards his neck. Itachi hummed in simple agreement.

“It maintains a better texture if combed through before it can tangle too much.”

Shisui snickered. “Let me use it on you sometime. I’d love to brush your hair in public.”

Itachi raised an eyebrow, and tugged at the hair at the back of Shisui’s head. “Naughty.” He scolded shortly, but Shisui was not deterred.

“Don’t be like that. You know I would hold myself back with people watching…” Shisui murmured sweetly. Itachi tapped the top of his head with the comb in a half-hearted reprimand.

“That will not happen.” He said firmly, and used his fingers to add a slight volume before finishing off the final details; placing and sticking the waxy strands of hair into what could be deemed a decent hairstyle. Once they were in place he slipped the somewhat sticky comb back into his pocket at went to check his work from the front. Blinking again, the sight made him want to smile.

Even with an insecure expression on his face, Shisui looked immensely handsome in a backslick.

Perhaps he should take to carrying a pocket mirror as well as a comb, for if Shisui had something to see himself with he would surely have been quite pleased.

“Did you fix it?” He asked. Itachi smiled affirmingly. Relief and gratitude seemed to wash over his sweet Shisui then, and a strong hand found his. Itachi let him hold it, taking his time to enjoy the view of him so handsomely groomed.

“Ah.” He exclaimed, suddenly remembering the now twice abandoned package. He slipped free of Shisui’s grip and brought it to him – refraining from copying the young woman in the very formal manner in which she had offered it to his brother. “This is for you.” He said simply. Shisui took the package and looked quite puzzled.

“Rabbits?” He wondered, and Itachi nodded. There was indeed rabbits drawn on the paper. Shisui cocked his head, fingering the trim of the wrapping. “Okay then. Thank you?”

Itachi sat down facing him and watched him open it. It would be interesting to see what the young Uchiha woman had prepared. Considering the hand-drawn print he half-expected the candy to be homemade.

When the lid of cardboard opened, Itachi quickly determined that it was indeed an impressive gift.

Intricate details graced the silky-smooth balls of dark chocolate, lined up carefully in neat rows on top of a piece of white cardboard. Itachi nodded again – this time in approval. It was a very well-made offering indeed. Whoever the woman was he would not immediately disapprove if Sasuke changed his mind about her.

Shisui picked up a piece of the candies and popped it into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed quickly with a pleasured little hum. “Delicious. Thank you – but what gives?” He cradled the package in his lap and leaned forward. His eyes glimmered and there was a thrilled smile playing on his lips when he said, “you never gave me chocolates before… I thought you’d decided only women do that?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t decide the rules of courtship.” Itachi replied sternly. Shisui sniggered at him, so he supposed he needed the full explanation. “Actually, I –“ He began, only to be interrupted by Shisui before he could reach the crucial information to the sentence he had planned.

“Oh, there’s more?” Shisui said, pulling at what looked like a piece of fabric peeking out from underneath the cardboard bottom. He eased it out gently to not disturb the chocolates resting on top, and held it up between them to inspect it.

For a second time that day, Itachi found himself unprepared for the sight before him.

“These are…” Shisui’s mouth twitched, “uh, not my size, Itachi.”

Itachi stared at the garment dangling from the tips of his fingers.

He could not claim to be particularly familiar with the type of clothing but even for him there was no mistaking it for anything else.

It was panties.

Specifically very lacy, impractical panties.  

Itachi squinted slightly in thought.

“Hm.” He found himself muttering, “not as expected.”

Shisui laughed uncomfortably. “Well, we didn’t exactly talk this through, did we? If you wanted to give me this as a hint you could have just –“

“No.” Itachi interrupted this time. “This package was originally intended for Sasuke.”

Shock caused a severe scrunching-up of Shisui’s otherwise handsome face. Quite suddenly.

“It – WHAT?” He exclaimed, dropping the unexpected underwear and box of chocolates both. Itachi just barely caught them before they hit the ground. Reconsidering the gift, he decided that he had changed his mind on the woman. It was better if she left his baby brother alone. Looking back up at Shisui, he was faced with the full extent of the horror in his reaction.

“Ah – “ Itachi said, “I think I may have made a mistake.“

Chapter 2: Sasuke and his chastity

Notes:

Just for anyone not super familiar with Japan's Valentines traditions; women can give both 'duty chocolates' (sometimes called obligatory chocolates) which are purely platonic gifts as well as 'love chocolates' which are intended for lovers or romantic interests. Enjoy!

The moment he saw Sakura, he has glad to not have waltzed into Kakashi’s office brandishing another woman’s gift for him. She was in a terrible mood as it was, fuming, and gazing angrily at the floor as if it had personally offended her. A heavy bag dangled from her arm and he could only assume it contained her gifts for the day but she had made no indication of wanting to hand them over.  

“So – that’s the gist of it. You will be heading out to the Land of Stone in three days.” Kakashi rounded up his mission description with his usual, tired tone and unusually vary eyes glued on Sakura. Sasuke scanned the room an found that Naruto was looking at her too – with even more caution than their old teacher. Narrowing his eyes at his blonde friend he wondered; is he actually sweating? His eye twitched with irritation. Don’t tell me the dunce thinks it’s his fault she’s so pissed.

He could guarantee that it was not.

Sakura cleared her throat, hoisting open the bag and going around the room to roughly put nearly identical, square packages into their hands. When he held out his hand to take his from her, their eyes met and she quickly looked away, her angry mood faltering in an instant.

“Happy Valentines. I hope you’ll enjoy my duty chocolates.” She muttered shyly.

Feeling just as displeased about it as she seemed, he accepted the gift without a word. Bitterly, he thought of how Itachi was wrong for once – receiving a box of candy on this day felt no better coming from the right person than a relative stranger. Not under the wrong circumstances.

 

Later that day, on familiar training grounds, he and Naruto took their mid-session break. Training as usual was a given – but also served as a welcome break from everything Valentines. The grounds were the same as always, the regimen as harsh and rewarding, and Naruto was as provocative as ever.

“What is Sakura-chan’s deal today?” He complained, “can’t you just spend time with her on Valentines day for one year? I bet she would be all sunshine and rainbows if you did.”

Like I could without having half the clan breathing down my neck about it, Sasuke thought irritably, but he said something different; “I’m not going to play at romance because you’re scared of her temper.”

“Am not!” He protested far too loudly and shot forward towards Sasuke, getting dangerously close to his face. He in turn put up his hand against his friend’s cheek and made to shove him away.

“You’re too close, and don’t shout right next to me… you idiot!”

Naruto retreated with a displeased grunt. Distracting himself just a moment later, he opened up his box of Sakura’s chocolate. Sasuke watched him unnecessarily brutalizing the neat wrapping in the process.

The box contained a handful of simple, slightly uneven, square pieces of very dark chocolate. They looked homemade and very much in line with the usual, mediocre quality of Sakura’s cooking. Naruto gave a quick thanks to her as if she was there with them – and stuck a piece into his mouth.

Sasuke took a sip from his water bottle while Naruto coughed and frowned at the gift in his hand.

“Yup, tastes like she made it herself, alright. It’s not disgusting like last year’s, but it isn’t even sweet this time.”

Sasuke eyed the brown squares, quickly growing more interested in them. Unsweetened candy was something he had not encountered before.

After considering it for a moment, Sasuke stuck his hand into the box and took one of Naruto’s candies for himself. Ignoring the obnoxious objections he popped it into his mouth and was pleasantly surprised.

It really was not sweet; not even slightly. It had a strong taste of cacao and something buttery, with just a hint of sea salt coming through as it melted onto his tongue.

He chewed it thoroughly and decided it was far more enjoyable than normal chocolates, despite the admittingly lacking craftsmanship. “Not bad. She must have made it without sugar.”

Naruto furrowed his brow curiously, narrowing his eyes at Sasuke.

“Who doesn’t put sugar in candy, though? Isn’t that like… the whole point? To make something really sweet.”

It was true enough; he had specifically not let his mother talk him into letting her give him baking lessons for that very reason. Cooking was useful – you had to maintain a balanced diet for your body to grow strong, but sugary treats did not serve that purpose. They were an unhealthy luxury and he did not care for them.

That said, he wondered why Sakura of all people would leave the sweetener out. She loved sweet things.

Snatching another piece from Naruto, he rolled it between his fingers thoughtfully. Had she come up with the idea by herself? What was the purpose of that?

“Hey, quit hogging them! You got a whole box for yourself, why don’t you eat those instead of stealing from me?” Naruto said angrily and tried to reclaim the chocolate from Sasuke’s hand.

“Why do you care, idiot? You didn’t even like it.” Sasuke retorted, dodging the grabby hand. “Just give them all to me if you’re going to complain about them.”

“No way! It’s still a gift from Sakura-chan, you know! There’s no way I’m letting you have it!” He challenged, bouncing onto his feet and prompting Sasuke to do the same.

“Come on then, loser!” Sasuke answered with a smirk, and when he popped the stolen chocolate into his mouth, the fight was on.

 

 Walking home, victorious and sweaty, Sasuke regretfully found that there seemed to be no deterring other suitors from putting boxes of unwanted candy in his hands. By the time he got home he had his arms full. Remembering Itachi’s scolding from that morning, he took the liberty of dumping all of them on his brother’s bed, only bringing Sakura’s with him to his own room.

He pondered the box with his arms crossed and a healthy dose of skepticism.

Why would you make candy without sugar, Sakura?

The answer seemed obvious, but it brought out something in him he would rather ignore.

He left the package on his drawer and turned around to go shower. Trying not to think about her.

Sakura was not his girlfriend – no matter how much they liked each other that was simply the truth for now. That would have to wait until the time was right and he could pursue her honorably; even if it pissed him off and a whole day of reminders only made it more difficult to bear.

With that in mind… a gift of disguised love chocolates made specifically to taste good to him and no one else was a far sweeter gesture than anything he could enjoy guiltlessly.

 

Just as he was about to leave his room he was ambushed by Mikoto. Surprised, he blinked at her. It was way too easy to forget how stealthily she could move when she wanted to.

“I noticed you’ve placed quite a few gifts in the hands on your brother.” She said, putting her hands on her hips. “I wish you would spare a thought for the health of his teeth the way you do the rest of him.”

Sasuke shrugged. “He brushes as meticulously as he trains. He can handle some sugar.”

Mikoto gazed at him gently, brushing the bangs from his cheek with a slender finger. Her eyes wandered across his room and landed on the drawer where Sakura’s package lied unopened. She lit up with mild interest, “you kept one?”

Sasuke did his best impression of Itachi’s blank stare; not for the first time that day. “Those were duty chocolates. I don’t mind that.” He lied.

Mikoto hummed delicately. “That so? You should have told me sooner so I could have just gotten a box from the store instead of spending all day slaving in the kitchen over your favorite side-dishes for dinner…” She said ruefully, but without any sincerity in her complaint.

Despite himself, Sasuke smirked. “I won’t cause you such trouble next time, then.”

She patted his shoulder with a soft laugh.

“Next time, why don’t you try picking one of the girls giving you all those gifts and take her out? Even with your reservations, twenty is simply too old to still be waiting for your first date.” She feigned a hopeless little sigh, putting her hand to her cheek. “As your mother I am starting to grow concerned I might never be blessed with grandchildren.”

Suddenly, Sasuke found himself wishing that either Death or Naruto would come to strike him down so that he would not have to deal with this day any longer.

Chapter 3: Fugaku and his long list of duties

Coming home for coffee with his wife was a weekly routine he cherished more than most. Between the long Friday morning meeting and the Military Police’s weekend preparations at noon he had forged a gap in his schedule specifically for Mikoto’s sake.

She had not asked him to, but she expressed her gratitude in her own ways. He knew her well enough to see how she missed their boys during their frequent and sometimes long absences from home and making time for her during lonely hours was a marital duty he would not ignore.

Mikoto was a good woman. Graceful, powerful, and deeply devoted to the clan – she was everything he could possibly desire from an Uchiha matriarch. The least he could do in return was to serve her loyally in return.

Thankfully, their sons were indeed out of the house when he arrived. He found her in her kitchen, marinating fresh tomatoes and red onions… Sasuke’s favorite.

She looked up, dark eyes smiling at him when she saw him. He bowed his head respectfully and took it upon himself to brew their coffee.

He watched her work appreciatively. Always so keen with the details – her dicing of the tomatoes and cutting paper-thin slices of onion was executed flawlessly. Even after more than two decades out of the field she had a shinobi’s grip on the knife, the smooth movements of her wrist betraying the strength in her arms she put so much effort into concealing from the world.

For good reasons, perhaps, but Fugaku almost found it amusing how easily people had been convinced that she had somehow forgotten all about her training and grown meek just because she had married and carried children.

Yes, she was a good woman. A good and handsome woman, well suited for the life of leadership.

That did not negate the fact that she also happened to be a very good wife.

“I prepared a gift for you today.” She said, breaking him free of his thoughts, albeit not his admiration.

Fugaku watched her wash her hands and get on the tips of her toes to retrieve a large box from a shelf above the counter. “Is it duty or love this year?” He jested, and she gave him a playful smile when she turned around to face him again.

“Don’t tease. It is for you to share with the boys at the station. I’m sure not all of them are lucky enough to enjoy the affections of us women today.”

Fugaku scoffed. “Are you doubting my officers’ abilities, Mikoto?” He still took the box gratefully, putting it down near the door where he might remember it later. Her eyes twinkled mischievously.

“I know several of them are hopelessly single and wishing otherwise. Perhaps we should consider reopening the old match-making services… see if we can find them willing clanswomen to ease their sorrows?”

“I believe the ‘willing’ part of that would be difficult, it might prove even less effective than leaving them to their own devices.” Fugaku replied, drawing a low chuckle from his wife’s mouth. She tapped his shoulder playfully.

“For shame, Fugaku! Now who’s doubting them?”

He let her touch him as she pleased, even if it was an attempt to tease him. “I trust them to do a good job and keep the village safe, but winning a woman’s heart requires an entirely different set of skills – one I did not think to test them for.” He told her.

Mikoto’s chuckle turned into a giggle and she lowered the hand she had tapped him with, grabbing his hand and pulling at it.

“Mhm… Speaking of a woman’s heart; there is something I would like from you in return for all my generosity, dear husband. If you can afford to extend your break, that is.”

He should have figured the moment he saw that smiling look in her eyes. His wife had always had her desires and never been shy about fulfilling them. Courtly, he nodded and let her lead him away from the half-finished coffee and towards their bedroom.

 

The door closed with a small thunk behind them, and she wasted no time removing the apron from her body. Personally he found it somewhat unnecessary to always be wearing her housewife’s uniform the way she did, but he trusted she had her reasons. Stepping forward, he slipped his hands around her waist, gripping the fabric clinging to her and assisting in easing her dress over her head. The dark, silky hair fell gracefully back into position, though he supposed he would be ruining its perfect state soon enough.

“This, too…” He muttered, running a knuckle down her bare back, “do you wish for duty or love, Mikoto?”

“My, aren’t you bold to ask a girl such a thing?” She answered sweetly.

He cocked an eyebrow despite her not seeing his face. “You are hardly a girl anymore.”

Mikoto turned slowly, her head held high and proud but her lips betraying her lack of true offense.

“And now he thinks I’m old. I shall have to ask our deity why it is I’ve deserved such a heartless husband the next time I visit the Naka Shrine.” She complained.

Fugaku disregarded the prompt to argue, opting to brush a strand of her perfect black hair behind her ear instead. “I do not want a girl by my side, wife. That spot will always belong to you, no matter how old we become.”

She hummed delightfully, helping him get out of his uniform. Even before he was freed from its weight he found it grew difficult to concentrate on anything but her lovely, mature shape and those glittering dark eyes of hers.

She put away his vest and shirt, and moved to undo the ties to his trousers when she said almost absent-mindedly; “I think I want love today… it is the holiday for romance – is it not?”

A smile spread across his face as she finished undressing him, and he bent down to sweep her up before she could bother folding the last piece of his clothing.

Heavier than she used to be, but more attractive than ever, wrapped up in his arms and pushed against his chest. Their bare skin pressed together as he picked her up bridal-style.

“You shall have it then.” He murmured, “I would be a fool to deny you anything.”

 

After returning Mikoto’s generosity Fugaku took on the rest of the day’s duties at work with renewed gusto. The hours passed by quickly and he had more energy to burn in the station’s gym than he was used to. It seemed that reaching his middle-ages had done nothing to quell the invigorating effect intimate company had on his body. He wrapped up his work-out routine and was followed into the locker room by a handful of other men – they seemed to have been waiting respectfully for him to finish before hitting the showers. He assumed that nobody wanted to seem laxer than their chief.

Apparently, Mikoto’s influence did not stop at increasing his energy levels on this particular day.

Right after he had pulled his shirt off in preparation for the showers, Fugaku was stopped by a sudden holler from his officers. He raised a brow and looked around for the cause of the ruckus, only to find them looking very intently at him.

Inabi stood by his side and tried to contain an impolite snigger, only to fail and turn quite red.

“Hm?” Fugaku demanded. The man seemed to cave. If it were due to his commanding gaze or an uncontrollable need to laugh, Fugaku could not say for sure. He did however manage to point at his chief’s chest with a trembling finger.

Fugaku looked towards where he was pointing.

Then he sighed.

Mikoto… you minx.

Sly as she was, she had managed to brand him right on his left pectoral without him noticing it. A bright purple oval marked him, and he was certain it was done in revenge for his comment on her age.

Even if she’s not a young girl anymore, she certainly is capable of acting like one when she want to.

Rolling his shoulders and suffering none of the embarrassment a younger man might have felt, he shut down the commotion with a strict word and continued to undress. Inabi still seemed to struggle to hold himself back, however. Fugaku locked eyes with him before reprimanding him.

“If this is how you handle marital duties then I am deeply sorry for your wife.”

Another round of laughter rolled through the room, and this time Fugaku let it pass without interruption.

Chapter 4: Mikoto and her family

It seemed all the men in her life had tired themselves out. Well, Fugaku seemed cheerful enough but that was to be expected. More worryingly, Itachi had come home at the very last minute before dinnertime and his eyes kept wandering towards Sasuke the way they did when there was something bothering him. Her eldest son had an impressive control over his body language, but when it came to his younger brother the façade tended to falter and his worried nature shone through.

Sasuke himself was even easier to read. She was certain he rarely tried to hide his feelings from her at all, let alone with enough commitment to make it convincing.

Now he seemed to be sulking. Oh, she thought, did I step on a nerve earlier… or is this truly such an awful holiday to him? He could be so sensitive and proud; having a harder time than most to handle embarrassment and shame. Sometimes she wondered if that was why he seemed so held back when it came to intimate matters. They could render anyone vulnerable, so it was no wonder if it made him tense.

Still. It really was quite unexpected for a boy as handsome and well-liked as hers to not have had so much as a fling at almost twenty years old – and she simply did not believe that he was as uninterested as he wanted people to think.

Although… it was possible his father’s influence factored in as well as personal hang-ups.

She looked at her oldest again. He was still eyeing his brother, hints of tension in his brow betraying the unexplained concern he was holding back.

Itachi had his own reasons for not bringing home a sweetheart; though she wished that he would. After everything he had lived through it would do him good to feel some happiness and love. But the last time he had gotten close enough with a girl to get his mother’s hopes up he had ended up losing that girl, so it was possible that it was simply too painful for him to pursue that again.

But… it was always conceivable for there to be another explanation as well. Eleven years was a long time to grieve a childhood girlfriend to the point of closing your heart to new love, even if she had meant a lot to him.

Mikoto wanted to sigh. However much it would please her to finally see her boys find good girls to introduce her to it was ultimately not in her hands if and when they did so. Uchiha did not force their own into submission; loyalty and love both should come freely, or it was bound to falter. Because of that she and Fugaku both were resigned to simply wait and hope they would make wise choices for themselves and the clan.

Snapping herself out of fretting over the apparent chastity of her sons she ordered Sasuke to help her set the table and got to starting up today’s special dinner.

 

With everything out on the table, Mikoto could not help but feel a certain pride over today’s work. Everyone’s favorites had been carefully included. Grilled beef for her husband, eggs for Itachi, and plenty of vegetarian side-dishes for Sasuke. Roasted, boiled, marinated or steamed; she had never met another child as enthusiastic about eating his vegetables as him.

They dug in. Maybe not happily, but even when their moods were not great her boys thankfully still had healthy appetites.

Mikoto watched them as she ate. The savory, meaty flavor of the beef melted onto her tongue as she chewed slowly and purposefully. As a girl, she never would have guessed a group of silly men would come to mean so much to her, but she was happy she had them.

It was indeed unfortunate that two of them seemed so bothered by something.

Even with a mouth full of marinated tomato and red onion her Sasuke somehow managed to continue his sulking. She swallowed the piece of meat in her mouth and tried to catch his attention with a small wave of her chopsticks in the air between them. “It’s been a whole day and you still seem to be in a bad mood. What on earth is bothering you so much?”

He paused, locked eyes with her, then looked away to swallow. “I just don’t like Valentine’s day.”

“That so?” She replied gently, prompting him for an explanation. He did not take the hint and instead tried to resume eating, picking up a clump of rice and lifting it towards his mouth when she interrupted him. “Does it bother you to be single after all?”

Sasuke scoffed, not dignifying his mother’s inquiry with an answer.

Peeved by the lack of respect, she decided to remind him that he was not in charge and should remember his manners around her. Fugaku seemed to be on the verge of reprimanding him as well but Mikoto was quicker. She opened her mouth and told him; “well, for both of you, your lack of female company should be an easy problem to fix... In fact, your father and I just discussed reopening the clan’s old match-making services earlier today.”

His eyes shot right back to her face then – blown wide by shock and very much alarmed. The rice fell ungracefully from his grip onto the table. Calmly, and a little bit maliciously, Mikoto allowed her words to sink in. Even Itachi stopped and stared in complete silence; seemingly quite caught off-guard by the notion himself. My, Mikoto thought amusedly, it seems I managed to scare the poor boys.

Playing innocent, she looked between them and smiled. “Oh, don’t worry. We ended up deciding against it.”

Fugaku looked at her knowingly while relief washed over their sons’ faces. They both tried to hide it but were much too late – she had already seen it as clear as day and took a mental note of their bewildered reactions to the threat of being set up for dates with suitable clanswomen.

Hesitantly, they did their best to resume with dinner even if it was with far more skepticism than before.

 

“Did they enjoy the sweets at the station?” Mikoto asked her husband while they had their after-dinner tea. Sasuke was drinking his more quickly than he should, and Itachi seemed just as eager to leave the table as him – despite still enjoying the small box of chocolates she had gotten him for his gift.

Fugaku, ever stoic, met her gaze comfortably. “They greatly enjoyed both of your gifts,” he told her.

Just as planned then, she thought, smiling into her teacup.

“Thank you for everything, Mother. If you don’t mind I’ll be excusing myself now… there’s something I need to do.” Itachi said neutrally, closing the box she gifted to him and getting up to leave.

Sasuke looked curiously after him, and after putting their cups among the dishes he followed his brother’s lead and excused himself as well.

“Let me take care of the dishes today, you’ve spent enough of your time working in this kitchen today.” Fugaku offered, and Mikoto was quite happy to accept.

Walking down the hall she heard a ruckus by the stairs to Sasuke and Itachi’s room. It sounded like they were arguing, all harsh tones and heavy footsteps. Getting worried, she followed the noise and found Itachi hauling a heavy garbage bag down the stairs with a bemused Sasuke at his tail.

“You did the right thing by leaving this to me… do you swear this is all of them?” Itachi said sternly, and Sasuke seemed even more perplexed.

“It is! Just tell me what you’re planning to –“  

Itachi silently stepped into his shoes and left the house. Sasuke quickly followed, and out of sheer curiosity Mikoto did the same.

Once out on the street Itachi walked up to the very center of a broad crossing and dropped the bag. It fell to the side, and to Mikoto’s astonishment several colorful packages fell out. Familiar packages, even.

“Those are the gifts Sasuke left on your bed,” she commented at the sight of them. Unexpectedly, Itachi took a step back from the bag and pile of gifts and took a deep breath.

He did a familiar sequence of hand signs and formed a circle with his fingers by his mouth.

“Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!”

The flames that erupted from his lips engulfed the packages – instantly setting the pile on fire that devoured the dry paper and cardboard as well as their sugary contents. Within moments the gifts were destroyed and reduced to little more than smoking, smoldering ashes and severely burnt chocolate residues. Mikoto had no idea what to say. She could not think of a single reason for such a dramatic display of destruction of harmless packages of sweets.

Itachi turned to his younger brother.

“If you happen to receive another gift from someone you don’t know, do not open it under any circumstances.”

Sasuke cocked his head and put his hand to his hip, looking absolutely puzzled. “You told me to accept them… what’s changed your mind?”

A shudder ran through Itachi.  

“A terrible, terrible mistake.”

Notes:

There we go! Happy valentines everyone - I wish you all the (safe) love and appreciation you can get today! Be it with your partner, crush, friends, family or just on your own I hope you'll have a better day than these loveable fools!

The wrap-up for this made me very happy and I hope it’s as entertaining to read as it’s been to write. I actually made this as a gift for my partner but I hope it comes across how much I want the people reading my fics to have a good time despite everything going on in the world right now. Take care of yourselves today and cherish your loved ones!

Have a great day everyone, take care!

💖 💖 💖

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 4 of Fanning the Flames of Peace: short stories