It was the end of October. The weather was getting colder, and leaves were changing colors.
I was sitting on a bench, facing a nice view of a forest, not far from a training ground. I appreciated this moment of calm and quiet.
The clangs from blades hitting each other had stopped a few minutes ago in the nearby clearing. Soon, Itachi would take this way back to the Uchiha compound while the rest of his genin team would take the road to the city center.
I heard him approach. I suspected that he purposefully made noise to not startle me once he noticed me. It was a kind thought (that I wouldn't have expected from my boyfriends, to name a few).
I smiled as I looked at him.
"Hello, Itachi-kun."
He stopped in front of me and bowed his head. "Good morning, Maiko-san."
I patted the bench next to me. "How is your team? Do you like it?"
"It's nice to have a team," he replied diplomatically as he sat beside me.
I hummed, thinking about pointing out he hadn't really answered my question but I decided against it. If he didn't want to talk about it, it wasn't my place to push. Still, I gently adjusted a few strands of hair around his round and cute little face. He was still so young: nine years old if I wasn't mistaken. People predicted he would participate in a Chunin Exam next year, and everyone expected him to succeed on the first try. "You know, it's alright if that team isn't everything you hoped for," I said.
He looked up from the squirrel he was staring at, raising big but solemn eyes on me.
"I know that everyone talks about a genin team being the best team in your life, with all those great memories you share of learning and growing together, and it's great when it happens this way, but sometimes it doesn't, and that's fine. Especially for you, Itachi-kun. We both know you won't stay with them for as long as most genin. You'll grow, and you'll get other teams. You'll meet new people, who understand you and accept you better. You'll share memories and friendships. If you have to wait a little more, that's alright. I promise you it's worth it."
His stare was intense as he weighed my words to detect lies. "What if I never have a team like everyone else describes?"
"Well, that's alright too, because then you'll just have to make your own team of people you like. Maybe they won't be those you bring on a mission, but they'll be those you come back home to, and that's just as important."
He looked away as he thought it through.
I smiled and poked his nose. "See? The people you're thinking of right now. They love you and accept you. Focus on them, Itachi-kun. Love is not a competition. The number of people you cherish and who cherish you is not important."
"Quality over quantity."
"Exactly."
He nodded slowly. "I understand. Thank you, Maiko-san."
"You're welcome. You're good training for my mind-reading skills," I teased.
He looked me in the eye and stated, deadpan: "I knew you had a kekkai genkai."
I laughed. "Oh, I wish!"
Itachi lowered his head to hide his lopsided smile. I pretended not to see it.
"Ah. I got sidetracked. I meant to ask you a favor, Itachi-kun."
He straightened a little. His parents had probably warned him about doing favors for others, and he was smart enough to treat the subject with caution. "Yes?"
"You know about Kakashi's — my boyfriend — left eye, right?"
He nodded.
"Well, recently, something happened."
"About his eye?" Itachi asked cautiously.
"Yes. I'm sorry, I can't tell you much yet, but we thought — the Yondaime and I, Kakashi didn't really agree, but he didn't say no either — we thought that he could do with some help."
Itachi took in the information and asked after a few seconds: "Why are you asking me?"
"What happened to Kakashi, it's confidential. We trust you enough to tell you."
He stared at his toes. "I can't share the clan's secrets."
"Oh, I don't think you'll need to." After all, he was more likely to learn Uchiha secrets than to share any considering the secrecy around the Mangekyou Sharingan. "To be honest, you'll probably spend most of your time being Kakashi's sounding board. He mostly needs someone who can keep up with him. It won't take long, hardly a few hours."
"Can I? keep up with him?"
"If anyone can, it's you." I shrugged and shifted toward him. "I don't want to put you in a difficult situation, Itachi-kun. Think about it. If you have any doubt, just forget I ever asked. We won't be angry. Only if you want to, go to the Hokage mansion any time in the afternoon."
He nodded.
I briefly patted his hand. "If you have any questions, come and find me. If you want me to pay you in sweets, just say so. I'll owe you a favor anyway."
"I'll consider it."
"That's all I ask. Thank you, Itachi-kun."
oOo
Two days later, I was looking over next week's schedule with Yoshino when an ANBU appeared beside us. We looked up at the same time, and the ANBU tilted his head like an owl observing an interesting phenomenon.
"Hokage-sama is asking for you at his mansion, Maiko-san."
"Understood. Thank you." He disappeared and I turned toward Yoshino. "Let's settle on this, and we'll adjust as necessary next week."
"Agreed. If there is nothing else..."
"Nothing. Go on, don't leave your mother-in-law waiting."
"I wished," Yoshino grumbled, but she was moving back to her desk to nudge her son. Shikamaru was napping on a pillow under his mother's coat. He woke up with a grunt. "We're leaving, Shika-kun. It's time for your grandma's birthday. Say goodbye to Maiko."
I smiled as Shikamaru appeared, disheveled. I chuckled and smoothed his hair back as he came to me with half-closed eyes.
"G'night," he mumbled, faceplanting in my stomach and waiting passively for me to hug him.
I crouched to do so, patting his cheek afterward to help him surface. "Good night to you too, teddy bear. I hope those awful nightmares of yours will leave you alone tonight." Lately, Shikamaru had appeared more tired than usual, and he had been napping more and more (truly sleeping, not simply resting). Yesterday, his parents had finally managed to get him to admit he had a lot of nightmares. I wasn't privy to their content, but I was determined to drive them away with a lot of hugs.
"Mai-chan," he mumbled.
"Yes?"
He stayed quiet for a second, his small hands clenching my shirt. "Can you do that thing you did with Naruto yesterday?"
I needed a moment to remember what I had done, exactly.
"Of course." I lifted him in my arms and stood up. He settled his face in the soft space between my neck and shoulder, and I cradled the back of his head gently as I walked around. I had done this with Naruto to help him calm down after a temper tantrum, but I didn't mind giving a bit of comfort to Shikamaru either.
I met Yoshino's eye. She was putting on her coat and seemed to be taking note of how I was holding her son. Being maternal still didn't come to her naturally, but she was trying hard. When Shikamaru didn't accompany her to work, she always read a book on educational subjects during her free time — she must have an impressive collection by now. It was inspiring to see her determined to address her shortcomings. The more she felt confident in herself as a mother, the more she seemed happy. I couldn't say if she had recovered from her depression yet, but she seemed on the right track.
I smiled encouragingly, and she came forward.
"Do you want your mom to carry you, Shika?" I whispered. Once he nodded, I handed him over to Yoshino, helping her adjust their position so both of them would be comfortable. Then I went to fetch Shikamaru's coat and coaxed him into putting it on, one arm after another. "There. You're ready."
"Thank you, Maiko."
"Anytime, Yoshino. Anytime. Have a good evening. Don't let your mother-in-law bother you, you're doing great." I gave her a thumbs-up as she left, and then I hurried to my desk.
The ANBU hadn't said it was urgent, but you didn't leave the Hokage waiting when he summoned you (even if your name was Kakashi — his sensei's disappointed look was deadly).
I closed my desk, checked everything was in order in the office, and then grabbed my coat. I left by the window to jump on the nearest roof. The ANBU watching over the Hokage's office would close it behind me.
A few minutes later, I jumped down into the mansion's courtyard. I was pleased to see Itachi working with Kakashi, but I didn't want to interrupt them. I landed in front of the Hokage — slightly to the side to not obstruct his view of the Sharingan wielders. Minato was sitting on the patio with Naruto dozing on his lap. I bowed without a word to not wake the boy.
"Maiko. You did well by convincing Itachi to help, but I'm afraid it won't be enough."
I looked over my shoulder at the two geniuses sparring. It was hard to say considering their ability to hide their feelings, but they didn't seem to be very friendly. They were completely silent as they fought. "What's the issue?"
Minato rubbed his jaw. "Kakashi puts too much pressure on himself and, in turn, on Itachi too. Although he wouldn't say anything, I do not believe Itachi is pleased with the turn of events."
"Alright then, we should better end this," I sighed.
"A minute of your time before you play referee."
"Of course, Hokage-sama."
"Concerning the jinchuuriki… I sent a warning to every village sheltering one, but I fear that most of them will take the threat lightly."
"Probably," I agreed.
"So far Utakata is our only real ally, which isn't enough."
"True, but then most jinchuuriki are still young, aren't they? Those who are older don't come from the most friendly villages either."
He nodded thoughtfully. "In theory, from what you told us, we have got time…"
"... but I changed the future by warning you of it, so you can't really depend on what I know."
"Indeed." Minato rubbed his jaw and sighed. "Never mind, this is for me to worry about. Go ahead and take care of your boyfriend."
His smile was teasing, and I bowed my head to hide my flushed cheeks.
" Time out! " I shouted toward the training shinobi.
They separated.
"Thank you so much for coming, Itachi-kun, it's much appreciated. It's getting late though," I explained as I stepped forward.
Itachi nodded and bowed to his silent opponent before coming to me.
"Is there anything I can do to thank you, Itachi-kun?"
"I have been looking forward to trying the chocolate cake you talked about."
"One brownie for you, you got it. Are you going to share it with your chocolate addict of a cousin?" When he only blinked in answer, I chuckled and added: "A big brownie for you then, so you can save some for your brother."
He smiled softly. "Thank you, Maiko-san. Have a good night." He bowed and went to take his leave of the Hokage.
I went to Kakashi, who was stretching with his Sharingan covered by his eyelid but not his headband.
"Go home," he said. "Don't wait for me. I'll still train for a while."
"I don't think so," I replied, ignoring his frown and his attempt to retort. I pulled down his headband until it hid both eyes. "Rest your eyes. You need to take proper care of them, and you don't need them to beat me anyway."
"I need to train the Sharingan, Maiko." He adjusted the headband but didn't push it back on his forehead.
"You need a break," I replied, removing my tessen from my obi and taking Itachi's place on the training ground. "Come on, it's fun."
It was fun for me since it was the only time I could ever hope to hit him. We had trained together a few times, and I had learned a lot from him, but it had been rather one-sided until I had the idea to give him handicaps. With one hand, it still had been too easy for him to block me. However, when he was blind, then he had to work and focus a little more.
I kept my fans folded to only hit him with blunt edges — I had managed to graze him a few times during our previous spars.
Kakashi sighed, grasped a kunai, and took a defensive position.
I attacked, trying to be as silent as possible and not be distracted by the cute way Kakashi tilted his head as he listened. In this situation, he couldn't afford to move a lot, his own movements disrupting his hearing. As such, to an outsider, our spar probably looked like I was dancing around him, like a mosquito trying to reach his skin. His blade met my fans in small tings as often as his hand protectors did with duller notes.
Although I had the advantage, I couldn't afford to be complacent: with less awareness of his surroundings, Kakashi couldn't adjust to make sure he wouldn't hurt me. More than once his kunai brushed past me when his parries were a little more forceful than necessary. Thankfully, I was flexible enough to avoid it. Stabbing me wouldn't improve his mood.
After the third time I had managed to hit him, we switched to hand to hand. It was safer but more difficult for him since there wasn't the sound of a blade ripping through the air to tip him off. I managed to hit him three more times in quick succession before he caught my wrist, twirled me around, and pressed my back to his.
He breathed loudly against my ear as he leaned on me. I waited for him to calm down, slowing down my own breathing.
"I need to master this."
"You will," I replied confidently. A shiver went through me as his nose brushed my neck. "Just give yourself time and rest, genius." I patted his hand and tilted my head to press my cheek against his. "Are you ready to come home?"
He let me go, removed his hitai-ate, and rubbed his brow. "No."
Before I could do more than swallow my disappointment, a spark of killing intent washed over us. I shuddered and went for my tessen, but Kakashi was already between me and the threat. He wouldn't be fast enough to pull a kunai and parry the projectile sent toward us (no, toward me ) though. I threw myself to the side to avoid getting in the way.
It gave me a perfect view of the spiraling void which materialized around its target, swallowing it until both completely disappeared.
Silence settled in the courtyard.
The killing intent had vanished, and a slow clapping came from the same direction. "There. You got it. Happy? Now stop worrying Mai-chan and let's go home."
I gaped at Genma as he jumped from the roof to land a few meters away from us. Did he just attack us to provoke Kakashi into using Kamui? And it fucking worked?! "Are you crazy?" I shouted, more shrilly than I'd like to admit.
"It was just a rock, Mai-chan," he replied with a dismissing handwave. "Even if the lazy bum had completely failed you, you wouldn't have been hurt."
I straightened and stepped forward. "That's not the issue! You just used killing intent against us!"
"Ah. That ."
I poked him in the chest, glaring at him. " That? Have you nothing else to say?"
"Mh… Sorry?" he tried tentatively. "I didn't mean to scare you, it was just to get Kakashi out of his funk. And see, it worked," he said while gesturing at our boyfriend.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Kakashi putting back on his hitai-ate at its usual place. He looked contemplative until he met my eyes and eye-smiled. "I'm hungry. Let's go home."
I groaned. "You fucking deserve each other." I raised my hands in annoyance and walked away. Those two were going to be the death of me.
"What are we eating, Mai-chan?" Kakashi shouted at my back.
"Genma is buying!" I shouted back.
"I saw that one coming," the guilty party sighed. "Alright, ramen it is. See if I ever help you again anytime soon, Kakashi."
"Maa, I didn't ask you to target our girlfriend with KI."
"Oh, come on, it was so weak I'm surprised you even considered it a threat."
"You targeted Maiko."
"Of course I did, I know you."
"And you know her , so go get food before she throws a rock at you ."
"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome, by the way. I want proper credit for that fancy jutsu of yours."
I rolled my eyes at my boyfriends' chatter and sat down beside Minato. He must have been aware of Genma's plan because he hadn't moved at all during the event. He looked rather amused by it all. Naruto wasn't around, but I could hear him in the next room (by his commentary, I believed his dog plushy and his frog plushy were currently locked into a match to the death and the dog was winning… I expected he had seen Kakashi fight).
"You make a good team," Minato commented.
"If you say so," I replied doubtfully. "I'm expecting to see my hair turn white prematurely thanks to them."
He chuckled and grinned at me. "I tell myself the same thing often enough."
"But it wouldn't be obvious on you," I pointed out while tugging on a strand of my brown hair. "You would look as dashing as ever."
"Maa, are you flirting with my sensei, Maiko?"
I glared at Kakashi as he came to sit beside me. Was he trying to embarrass me? "We're commiserating about you giving us white hair."
He raised an unimpressed eyebrow and tilted his head in a wordless answer, just in case his silver hair wasn't obvious enough.
"Oh, shut up. Your hair doesn't count."
"On what ground?"
"On the ground that it's cheating. It's not even white or grey, it's…" I gestured at his hair helplessly. "... silly."
"Silly? Interesting, I wasn't aware it was a color."
"You know what I mean."
"Do I?"
"I hate you."
"Do you?"
I was going to groan in annoyance when he leaned forward. Our noses were touching and his visible eye was staring right at me, his damned hair brushing my forehead. Flustered, I lost my train of thought.
"Are you kissing?"
I startled, but Kakashi pulled back calmly and glanced at Naruto over my shoulder. The kid had come out of the playroom with both plushies under his arms.
"Maybe," Kakashi drawled.
"Maiko-san, are you Kakashi-nii's girlfriend?"
Disturbed by Naruto's apparent seriousness, I wasn't sure what would be the right answer so I chose the truth: "Yes, Naruto-kun, I am."
I didn't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't his face lighting up, followed by him bouncing up and down. "Does that mean I can call you Maiko-nee-san?"
"Uh. Sure, if you want to."
"YES!" He threw himself in my arms, and I nearly avoided meeting his chin with my nose. "They're going to be so jealous!"
"Jealous? Who will?" I asked, completely bewildered, as I tried to make our embrace more comfortable.
"Shikamaru! And Itachi! And Iruka! And Neji! Sasuke will be angry instead, but that's because he doesn't like girls. He's a bit silly like that," Naruto explained, trying to find a good position for his plushies (the frog ended up in Minato's hands and the dog in Kakashi's to save them from a roll in the dust).
"Well, they all can call me nee-san if they wan—"
"No, they can't!" Naruto shouted. "Only I can, because you're my nii-san's girlfriend. That's why."
"Right. Yes, of course," I replied to avoid a tantrum. I wisely decided not to mention Izumo. Who knew if my cousin would be accepted as family or as competition?
After a few minutes of placating Naruto's need for attention, Minato took charge. Naruto giggled from his perch on his father's shoulders and waved at us as we made our goodbyes.
Genma was waiting for us at my apartment. He watched me warily. "Are you still pissed?"
"Did you get me gyoza?" I wasn't super fond of ramen, so my order was usually quite light but with some side dishes. As the one in charge of ordering food, Genma knew my little habits by now, but he sometimes forgot — usually when he met someone he knew at the restaurant and got distracted, which was common enough since he was familiar with about a quarter of Konoha's population somehow.
"Yes…"
"Then I'm not," I concluded, passing by him to get to the food.
"No, you're still pissed."
"What?" I frowned and glanced at him as I held out the bowl of ramen with extra leek to Kakashi. "No, I told you, I'm not."
"You are, or else you would have kissed me," he pointed out, his senbon moving agitatedly.
"I'm just hungry, you idiot," I sighed fondly before stepping forward, removing his senbon and kissing him.
His arms went around my waist, pressing me against him while he deepened the kiss. I hummed, surprised by his sudden passion.
"Love you," he murmured once he let me go.
I pushed back a few strands of my hair and blinked at him in surprise. "Love you too," I replied, distractedly glancing at Kakashi who had sat down on the couch and already started to eat. "... Did you eat half of my gyoza?!"
"I'm hungry," Kakashi said without batting an eye.
"I can't believe you! Do you inhale food?! It can't be good for your digestion, seriously," I hissed in annoyance, batting his legs away so I could sit on his other side. I collapsed on the couch, grabbed my food and chopsticks, and dug in, ignoring them until I had satisfied my growling stomach (at least ignoring them as much as I could when I had to defend my gyoza from Kakashi).
"Are you happy now?" Genma asked Kakashi. "You got that jutsu to work."
"I still need to train with it, but yes, I'm satisfied for now."
I was drinking the last of the broth when Kakashi leaned into me. I shivered as a hand went up my hip under my shirt and glanced at him, suspicious. It couldn't be about the food, I already had finished it. Then he tugged on my sleeve, kissed the skin uncovered, and I understood. "You too," I sighed. "Shouldn't you be tired? It has only been a week since you left the hospital."
"Maa," he breathed against my neck, giving me goosebumps, "small victories get the blood pumping."
I pushed him away and stood up. "No. I'm still hungry since you ate my gyoza. I want dessert. Make out with Genma since you're both so horny."
"Aren't I good enough for dessert?" Kakashi whined.
I rolled my eyes and ignored him in favor of the fridge. Finding a yogurt, I fetched a spoon and sugar before looking back. My boyfriends were indeed making out. I hummed around a spoonful of yogurt and tilted my head, trying to understand how they had managed to entangle themselves without falling off the couch. Elite shinobi and their supernatural feats…
"I'm done. Do you want me to bring you something?" I called after throwing the pot into the trash and the spoon into the sink.
"You," they replied together.
"Well, that definitely can't be good for your digestion," I jested as I came closer.
They caught me by the hands and pulled me on their laps, which didn't simplify the tangle of limbs at all.
Kakashi pulled my shirt over my head without warning. Disheveled and bare-chested except for my bra, I glared at him. A second later, my hair fell on my shoulders, and Genma put away the tie and bobby pins I had used to tame everything into a bun.
With both of them working together, I had a feeling I was in for a wild evening…
Genma went to open my bra, but I pulled away.
"Ahah! This relationship is based on equality!" I reminded them. I couldn't make it too easy for them.
They removed their vests and shirts without complaint.
"Alright, now you can proceed…" I smiled smugly at my barechested boyfriends and burst into giggles when they jumped on me.
oOo
In the morning, I woke up to the sound of Kakashi leaving the bedroom. Barely awake, bleary-eyed and unstable on my feet, I followed him into the living room where he stopped and stared at me.
"You can't go train yet," I mumbled. "I have to massage your burns."
"It's fine, I can do it myself. Go back to sleep."
"No," I protested, rubbing my eyes and pushing back my hair. "Rin said it's better when someone else does it. I'm gonna do it. Sit down, I'm getting the cream."
"Maiko, it's fine."
"I'm gonna do it," I repeated, going to the bathroom to find the moisturizing cream. "I can't stop you from training too much, but you better believe I'm going to make sure you get the right care," I mumbled, rummaging into the medicine cabinet. "Where the hell is it?"
"Here." Kakashi was shaking the cream pot with an amused lopsided smile.
I huffed and closed the cupboard, shuffling on my way back, but he didn't move, looking at me fondly as I leaned into him and pressed my face against his shoulder.
He kissed my hair and breathed in slowly. "Thanks."
"Uhuh. You can pay me back by cuddling with me on my day off." And, because I wasn't foolish enough not to take advantage of his fondness, I tilted my head up with my lips pursed in a clear invitation. Once I had gotten a kiss, I brightened somewhat and patted my cheeks to wake up a little more before shooing him toward the couch. He chuckled and complied.
"Are you still planning on looking for a new flat tonight?"
"Yes, and you still don't want to come with us, do you?"
"Nope," he confirmed cheerfully.
I shook my head while I rubbed my hands together to warm the cream. "Fine, but you won't have the right to complain if you don't like it."
"We agreed on how many rooms and which district, as well as the shared rent. Anything else doesn't matter."
"So you say."
Genma came out of the bedroom as I rubbed Kakashi's thigh. He leaned into the wall to watch us. "Damn, is it tonight we're looking for flats?" he asked between yawns.
"Don't tell me you planned something else because you forgot."
"I didn't plan anything else… I just forgot."
I sighed. Mundane matters were so below their pay grade that they couldn't be bothered to care. They would have been happy to stay in a too-small apartment until they were fed up with being in each other space and it provoked unnecessary tensions. I wanted to prevent that, but they weren't really eager to change their habits… which was how I was reminded that I was technically older than them and a more experienced adult.
"Promise me you won't overdo it tonight?" I tried to ask Kakashi once I had finished the massage.
He eye-smiled, leaned forward to kiss me, and walked away toward the kitchen. He didn't promise. I wasn't surprised.
I stood up to go to the bathroom, but Genma intercepted me. With a hand under my elbow, he leaned close to ask: "What about you? Did you forget about this weekend?"
"Of course not. Sushi restaurant for your mum's birthday, Saturday at noon. You're paying. I wouldn't forget that ."
He snorted and kissed my forehead. "You'll get along well."
"I certainly hope so."
"Noriko-san is cool," Kakashi announced from the kitchen.
"Of course, she's my mom," Genma replied.
"No, I mean cool … cooler than you."
"Excuse you? What's that supposed to mean?" Genma grumbled good-naturedly, walking to the kitchen.
Knowing how that was going to end — by groping passing for a scuffle — I snorted and went to the bathroom.
I was hoping that my first 'meet the in-laws' experience would go well.
oOo
I knew, from a few words dropped here and there by Genma, that he had lost his father and three older siblings to war. They had all died when he was young, however, which meant he hadn't known them well and their loss wasn't something that haunted him. It was nothing particularly unusual in Konoha, where you learned to make a new family when yours was diminished.
He often said that being raised by a single active mother made him who he was: a responsible and independent boy from a young age, sociable by necessity since he often was at his neighbors' houses, which happened to include the Namiashi (I wasn't surprised to learn that Raidou and he were childhood friends: those two were like brothers).
"And yet you can't cook," I had pointed out.
"Darling, I can't inherit everything from my mom. Her good looks and great humor are already quite a lot. What's more, I think that being charming enough to get other people to cook for you should count for something."
The worst part was that he was right.
I also knew that his mother hadn't been single anymore for a few years: Genma had grumbled quite a lot at the time, about the man not being good enough for his mom. It was cute (at least for the first weeks: after that Raidou and I had banded together to get him to shut up and go have dinner with the man so he could learn about him, and it had worked: now they were good friends). Genma's stepfather was a civilian, however, a merchant with whom Noriko had had a lot of interactions since she was working in the Logistics Division. He was regularly away, like today.
"It's nice, you know. I have been independent for years. Being alone for a few weeks here and there allow us to have some space for ourselves, and when he's back we missed each other enough that the reunions are… quite lively, if you know what I mean," Noriko explained enthusiastically in between some sushi.
We were in a very nice restaurant. The food was excellent. I was dressed as well as I could be… and I wanted to flee. I cleared my throat, thankfully not blushing, and hummed in confirmation.
"Of course you do," she continued with a mischievous smile, "your life must be quite lively with both of those boys."
"Mom," Genma sighed, "stop trying to make her blush. I know she's pretty when she does, but if she refuses to see you ever again, it's on you."
"Oh, I'm sorry, honey," Noriko immediately apologized to me. "I didn't mean to really make you uncomfortable. I have the bad habit of teasing people a little too much when I like them, even when I just met them."
I smiled tentatively, wondering how to respond to that, when Kakashi suddenly leaned into my space and stole my last maki. I retaliate by stealing his last sushi, glaring fiercely while he blinked innocently at me.
Noriko giggled at our antics and immediately launched into an anecdote. She had thousands of them. To be fair, all were quite funny or interesting. She was a really good storyteller.
I needed a few seconds before it occurred to me that Kakashi had managed to change the subject for my benefit. I glanced at him, met his eye, and knew he had done it on purpose. I put my hand on his thigh under the table and squeezed to thank him, before turning back my attention to Noriko. She was mentioning Genma's bad habits as a toddler, and I was all for that kind of cute stories and blackmail material.
"Did I tell you we found a new apartment, mom?" Genma said as soon as he had an opportunity to change the subject in his favor.
"Did you?"
"In the same building as Kurenai, actually."
"Oh, a lovely place, and good neighborhood."
"On the last floor."
"So they can jump easily from roof to roof like the heathens they are," I piped up, exchanging a smile with Noriko.
"And so you can have a garden on the roof," Genma added.
"Oh, do you like gardening, Maiko-chan?" his mother asked.
"I do, but unfortunately I didn't have either time or opportunity before," I admitted. It was one of my hobbies in my previous life, but living in Konoha was quite different from living in a suburb with a nice garden.
As we settled into an easy discussion, it occurred to me that it felt right.
This was family.
oOo Genma and Noriko's PoV oOo
"She's lovely, Genma," his mother said as he paid for their meal while Kakashi and Maiko waited outside. "And I admit I was a bit skeptical of you being in a relationship with Kakashi, but it seems you all manage to make it work."
"Yeah," he agreed, waiting for the waitress to come back with his receipt.
"You have matured too, and you're happy. I'm glad. You said she only has her mother left, right? At the Senju Nursing Home? I should go and meet her, see her opinion about weddings."
"Mom," Genma groaned.
"I know, I know, it's not on the table yet, and neither are grandchildren, of course. You're all too young still, but those kinds of things need to be prepared, darling."
"You're just fishing for excuses. If you want to meet her mother, just talk to her about books. You have the same tastes."
"Do we? How nice… I'm thinking of a September wedding. Early September, when the lotuses are still blooming," Noriko babbled excitedly.
Genma rolled his eyes and threw an arm around her shoulders. He kissed her temple fondly. He knew where this came from: his mother had been deeply hurt by the loss of her three oldest children, and she was just excited to have more family again.
She leaned into his side. "What would you prefer, darling? Sons or daughters?"
"Either is fine," Genma replied indulgently. "I'd love them anyway."
"Of course, you would. You would be a great father. Do they have preferences?"
"I think Maiko would like a daughter, and I'm pretty sure Kakashi would rather have sons."
"Well, you can have both. Maiko have quite good hips, she would have no trouble—"
"Alright, mom, don't get carried away. If she hears you, it's me she's going to chew out," Genma interrupted, nibbling on his senbon agitatedly as he glanced over his shoulder. He met Maiko's eye as she waited outside, and he waved in answer to her smile. Kakashi had a book in hand, which was a sure sign that they were taking too long. "Do me a favor and don't talk about weddings or making babies where they can hear you, or they're going to combust in flames."
"If you insist… Did you start thinking about names?"