Chapter 23

Not So Subtle Differences

~Epilogue~

It was hot and Hinata felt like she was dying. Using the back of her hand she wiped the beads of sweat off of her brow. Looking around with tired eyes she felt like she was in the middle of nowhere. Even though it was almost dusk and the sun was no longer beating straight down on them, she could still see the intense heat rising up from the sandy ground.

Her feet were burning, and she felt several blisters were already forming from the darling, but highly impractical white sandals Mikoto had packed for her. While the adorable little shorts and tank top she had on made her feel like she was a model in a fashion magazine, they were hardly suitable to be crossing a desert in.

A small, rueful smile came to her lips that she had been so caught up in the moment last night when he asked her to elope with him; she never even thought to look to see what had been packed for her.

"How are you doing?" Itachi asked her as he turned concerned eyes towards her.

"I'm fine," she answered automatically as she looked away from him with a blush beginning to creep over her face. Her mind still had not fully assimilated what had happened between them last night. It had all been so new…so incredibly…wonderful.

They had only slept for about an hour when he woke her up early this morning and asked her to gather her things, there was somewhere he wanted to take her to.

If it had been left up to her, she would have wanted to stay right where she was, at least for a few days. Just the thought of his amazing body and the way it felt up against hers was practically consuming her, turning her into someone she didn't recognize. It was as if he had turned a switch on in her mind that made it impossible for her to think of anything other than…Sex, her mind whispered shockingly.

Even now in the middle of this burning hot desert, all she could think of was the way he made love to her last night, and well…early this morning too (insert blush).

And dear Kami, the way he had touched and kissed her! It was just so intimate, and so intensely wild, and sweet. He made her whole body seem to melt and burn and…oh, she released a shaky breath and looked away from him.

Adjusting her backpack on her back slightly, she lifted a weak hand and began to fan her flushed face.

Itachi bit back a smile as he knew what was inflicting his little bride as he was suffering from the same thing. Unfortunately, the cure for both of them would have to wait until later. There was somewhere he wanted to take her, and it was on the way to their destination.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hinata stumble a little beside him, he automatically put a hand under her elbow to steady her.

"Are you alright?" He asked her as he turned to look at her with one eyebrow slightly raised.

Hinata met his eyes before her gaze slid to the ground. "I'm fine…really," she responded a little breathlessly as she couldn't keep from wincing.

Itachi looked at her feet and his lips grew tight, he released a frustrated sigh. She should have told him her feet were hurting her.

He dropped his backpack on the ground and Hinata yelped a little as he pulled her down on it. Kneeling down next to her he pulled off one of her sandals and saw her foot had several painful-looking blisters on the bottom of it.

Itachi sighed as he looked at her, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Hinata looked away from him, "Hyuugas' never complain," she mumbled her family's mantra.

Itachi shook his head in annoyance and pulled off her other sandal and saw this foot looked just like the other one.

"You are no longer a Hyuuga," he reminded her firmly as he began to apply soothing healing chakra to her foot. "… and I expect you to tell me when something is bothering you."

Hinata closed her eyes as the way he was holding her feet was so gentle, it was the exact opposite of the firm tone he was using with her. She breathed out a harsh sigh as she knew he was right, it was just so hard for her to speak up for herself. Her whole life as a Hyuuga and as a ninja had trained her to keep silent and never complain; to her it was a sign of weakness to complain—and that wasn't acceptable in her family.

She met his eyes and his expression told her he was serious.

"I-I will try," she promised and knew this was going to be hard for her, but if he wanted her to do it, then she would try her best.

"B-but, I will want you to do…the same for me," Hinata told him hesitantly, knowing also that he had the same problem she did. In the short time she has known him; she had never once heard him complain, not even when all of those ninjas were trying to depants him for the ANBU challenge.

Itachi picked up her other foot and began healing it. He kept his eyes on what he was doing and was forced to admit to himself that he was the same as her. He couldn't even remember when he had ever complained about anything. He just dealt with things on his own; it was just who he was.

"Fine," he replied flatly when he realized he had no choice but to do the same for her.

Hinata gave him a soft smile. "Thank you, Itachi."

"You're welcome," he told her as he picked up her shoes and handed them to her with a slight frown. "Don't you have something else you can wear with you?"

Hinata shook her head with a wry little smile. "Well, no, um…your mother packed for me," she told him as she put them back on her feet.

Itachi rolled his eyes as that explained everything. "You should be fine, we are almost there."

"Okay," she said as she stood up and noticed her feet felt so much better. Anticipation began to build in her as she wondered where there was…

It was almost dark when they finally made it to the town. But even though she couldn't see that well, Hinata could tell the place was very rundown, and appeared to be practically inhabited. Part of her wondered what possible reason her new husband could have for bringing her here.

"Um Itachi, what is this place?"

"It is the town of Sora-ku," he responded in a neutral voice. "Our clan stores its munitions and supplies here."

"Munitions?" She repeated, now completely baffled why he was bringing her here on their honeymoon of all things. The place was beginning to creep her out and almost unconsciously she moved closer to him.

"You'll see," he told her with a small knowing look as he took her hand and led her through the old gate.

Hinata's nostril twitched as she almost sneezed because the dank smell of the underground tunnel they were in almost reminded her of a sewer. It was stuffy too and she was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic.

She was about to ask him if they were almost there, when she saw two adorable looking cats, dressed in clothing in front of them.

"It's been a long time, Denka, Hina." She heard Itachi say, and was a little surprised that his greeting was more familiar than usual.

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise when the two cats bowed before him and began talking to him.

"Itachi-sama, what brings you here, mew?" Denka asked him.

"My father wanted me to check up on you and give you a list of munitions we need," he told him and then he looked over at Hinata with a small knowing smile on his face. "I also wanted to introduce all of you to my wife."

"Wife?" Hina said obviously surprised. "Meow, Granny-cat will definitely want to meet her. Come along…"

"Wait," Denka said as he sat up and put a paw in the air. "Did you bring us a gift?"

"Of course," Itachi replied as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle of catnip and set it before the cats.

"Meow... good," Denka said as Hina picked up the bottle in her mouth. "Follow us; we will take you to her."

As they followed the talking cats, Hinata was almost beside herself with excitement. She just loved kitty cats, and these ones talked!

"Are they ninja cats?" She whispered to him.

"Yes."

The cats led them into a huge room and Hinata could see there were supplies all around and in the middle of the room was an old woman with fake cat ears on her head, smoking a pipe.

A soft delighted noise escaped Hinata when she saw the old woman was surrounded by cats, several of them, and some were still little kittens.

Standing a little behind Itachi she watched as he bowed respectfully in front of the old woman. "It is good to see you again, Granny-cat."

"Same to you Itachi-sama, your parents and brother are well, I hope?" She asked him as she idly stroked the fur of the tabby cat she was holding on her lap.

"Yes, Granny-cat they are, in fact my father wanted me to see how you were doing and give you this list of supplies we will need this spring," he informed her as he handed her the list and some money to pay for it.

Hinata was overjoyed when several of the cats and kittens came over to her and surrounded her. Kneeling down, she reached out with a tentative hand and began to pet a few of them and they were soon climbing all over her like she was their own private jungle-jim. Her face was wreathed in smiles as she felt like she was in cat heaven.

"And who do we have here?" Granny-cat asked him with mildly curious eyes as she looked over at Hinata.

"This is my wife, Hinata," Itachi replied formally as he helped untangle his bride from all of the cats, and led her over to the old woman. As Hinata came closer the old woman's eyebrows lifted up in surprise.

"Ah, a Hyuuga. Well, well, an interesting choice, Itachi-san. I cannot wait to see the little ones the two of you produce," she told him with an amused chuckle.

"Granny-cat-san, I am pleased to make your acquaintance," Hinata said a little timidly with a small blush as she bowed very respectfully before her.

The old lady looked her over for a moment before she smiled in approval. "My family likes you, they can always tell when someone loves them," she told her kindly before directing a hard glance over at Itachi who didn't have a single cat near him.

"Isn't that right, Tamaki?" She said loudly as she motioned to a young woman, who Hinata guessed, was around her age.

"Yes Granny," she said cheerfully, agreeing with her with a firm nod of her head.

Hinata smiled happily, "Oh, I do love them," she replied in a quiet emphatic voice as she picked up one of the little ones purring around her ankle and began cuddling it. "B-but my father doesn't like animals… so he never let me have one."

Granny-cat almost looked affronted when she heard that, and she stared at Hinata in a considering manner for a moment. "Well then, I will have to give you one as a wedding gift," she told them as she puffed on her pipe and looked over at Itachi with a slightly devious grin on her face.

Itachi blanched at the thought of having a mangy cat in his house, his mind automatically wanted to decline. But as he looked over at his wife's glowing face, he knew the old woman had him over a barrel.

There was no way he could say no to her; he had to let her have a cat.

"One of my cats recently had a litter, they should be able to leave their mother in a week or so, you may pick one of them," the old woman told them, and motioned for Tamaki to take them to the kittens.

"How are you Itachi-sama?" The young woman asked shyly as they walked across the room.

"Fine," he replied and introduced Hinata to her as she took them to a room that had five little kittens in it. Itachi saw, with a sinking feeling in his gut, that the mother cat was a Persian, with lots of long dark gray hair.

Hinata looked at all of them with a soft expression on her face and would have loved to have all of them. Three of the kittens were white with some gray, and one of them was all gray, and the last one was gray with black stripes on it like a tiger cat. She picked up that one because it was sleeping, and it looked so calm.

Even though she was completely absorbed in the kittens as she cooed and played with all of them, something made her look over at Itachi and saw his expression looked normal, but to her it almost looked too normal. Her shoulders drooped slightly when she could tell he was hiding his emotions from her.

Cuddling the adorable and purring kitten to her chest, she knew she had to make up some excuse and refuse. She didn't have to be a genius to know Itachi would absolutely hate having a cat in his house. With a sigh, she placed the kitten back on the ground next to the others.

"Hinata?" Itachi asked her with a slight frown when he saw she wasn't going to choose one of the kittens. "Don't you want one?"

She bit her lip and tried to look cheerful. "Um, not right now, I want to get settled with you first," she prevaricated telling him only part of the truth and stepped out of the room to tell Granny-cat that she couldn't accept her gift right now.

"Tamaki, after we leave, tell Granny-cat we will stop by in a few weeks after our vacation and pick up the gray-striped one," Itachi told her quietly.

"Aw, that is so nice you; I can tell Hinata-san really likes cats..." she said before giggling in a knowing way. "...and you don't."

"Just tell her, Tamaki-san."

"I will, Itachi-sama," she replied with a soft smile and then began to blush. "Could you please tell Sasuke-kun, I said hello when you see him again."

Itachi nodded firmly and then went to go say goodbye to Granny-cat and to see if she had some more practical ninja sandals for Hinata to wear on the rest of their journey.

Hinata was a little down as they left, but her feet felt better after Itachi had bought her some comfortable ninja sandals more like the ones she was used to wearing.

She placed her hand gently around his and looked over at him. "Thank for bringing me here, I like how your clan is allied with ninja cats."

"I thought you would like to meet them and it was on our way," he responded impassively with a small shrug of his shoulders.

Hinata smiled, well, I still thought it was sweet of you, she thought as she looked at him with a sideways glance before looking at the ground in front of her. I just wish I could have taken one home with me and… you were more open with me.

Even though she knew he was more open with her than he was with most people, she knew this was probably something they were going to have to spend a lifetime together on.

They walked out of the tunnel in silence.

After they reached the gate, Itachi turned toward her with assessing eyes before asking her, "Do you mind if we push it the rest of the way? I don't want to miss our boat."

We are going on a boat! She thought excitedly. "Um, I don't mind, I feel fine," she told him, even though she was starving and beginning to feel tired from barely getting any sleep last night and travelling all day.

Itachi looked over at her with approval and something else in his eyes. Hinata saw that look in his eyes and felt her pulse begin to speed up.

He kissed her hard and quick before they took off, they didn't have time to do anything else.

Hinata stepped off of the huge passenger boat and saw there was a smaller one waiting for them and the captain of it had a long pole in his hand.

"Are you alright?" She asked Itachi and had noticed on the journey over; he didn't talk much and looked uncomfortable. A small shocked smile formed on her face when she saw him eyeing the smaller boat almost with reluctance.

"I'm fine," he replied stoically.

"You get sea-sick, don't you?" Hinata whispered to him as they stepped into the small boat and put their backpacks down by their feet. She bit back a smile because she also felt a little sorry for him.

"Yes," he admitted irritably, his weakness always bothered him. He was just glad the trip was going to be a short one, as he could see the island they were going on was just across the channel.

Halfway there he was feeling very ill and he was doing everything possible to keep from throwing up. Hinata kept looking over at him with compassionate eyes as she held his hand. The ocean was a little choppy and it took them longer to get there than normal.

"Oh!" Hinata exclaimed out as a large splash of water came over her side of the boat and drenched her from head to toe. Itachi looked over at her and Hinata began to laugh in frustration as it just seemed she was always getting something all over her.

"Well, at least it is warm out tonight," she said in a cheerful voice even as she shivered a little.

"We are almost there," he told her as he put his arm around her and pointed toward the island.

She looked at their destination in the darkness and gasped in pleasure as she could see lit up against the hillside was a large mediterranean style hotel overlooking the ocean. Around the hotel grounds were several small villas with private patios and balconies, and all of them had stone steps that led down to the sandy white beach below.

"Oh Itachi, it is so beautiful here," she breathed out in awe as she looked at him.

The corner of his mouth uplifted as he looked at her and reached out and pushed some of her wet hair off of her face.

"I am glad you like it," he told her and was relieved to see they had made it to shore. Reaching out a hand, he helped Hinata get out of the boat.

As they stepped onto the front porch of their lovely villa they both breathed out a sigh of relief. They were both exhausted. Hinata was wet and tired and she felt gritty as sand had blown over her and was sticking in her wet hair and well…all over her.

Itachi was tired and irritated because when he checked them in, he found out the Hokage had sent a message to the resort owners telling them he would pay for her gambling debts from her last visit. Even though he had anticipated that she would try something like that, it still annoyed him.

He opened the door and turned on one of the lights and Hinata's tired face lit up as she took in the lovely villa with its natural stone floors, beautifully framed windows, with softly flowing, white sheer curtains that went all the way down to the floor. The small villa was decorated in a way that was light and airy, immediately making one feel at peace.

To him, the look on her face, made all the things they went through today worth it.

A soft light came into his eyes as he watched her head into the bedroom with the connecting bathroom to get cleaned up. All day long there had been a sense between both of them that they were waiting—waiting for this moment…

Itachi opened the door to the bathroom and saw she was already taking a shower. After brushing his teeth, he stripped off his clothes and opened the shower door and stepped inside with her.

As soon as Hinata heard him open the door, a sense of relief flooded through her, she had been hoping he would join her. When his lips touched hers, she knew this was what she had been waiting for all day.

She woke up to the scent of jasmine; and the soft clicking of a bamboo ceiling fan as it gently rotated and wafted a light breeze over the room. Squinting her eyes a little, she could see the early morning light peeking through the closed shutters on the bedroom window.

A lovely sense of well being came over her as she saw on the bed beside her lay her husband; his nearly black hair was a stark contrast against the soft white and beige tones of the linens around him.

Hinata's face softened as she watched his even breathing and saw he was still sleeping. Her eyes glanced at a clock on a dresser across the room and saw it was still very early. A contented and lazy sigh left her as she snuggled closer to him, and remembered that they were on their honeymoon, and they didn't have to get up if they didn't want to.

As she felt his arm come around her and pull her closer to him, she smiled and her last thought before she began to drift back asleep was about getting out and exploring and seeing everything...Itachi's hand began to slide over her stomach slowly and soon thoughts of sleeping or doing anything else were far from her mind.

A few hours later Hinata woke up, and reaching out a searching hand she felt his side of the bed was empty. Stretching her arms out lazily she looked around and could tell by the light in the room it was almost afternoon time.

Her body felt deliciously languid, but her stomach was telling her she needed to get up and eat something right now. She hurried into the bathroom and put on a peach colored camisole and some tan shorts. After going into the main part of the villa she headed out the French doors onto the patio and felt like she stepped out into a private paradise.

Her eyes grew wide as they took in the stunningly lovely stone patio surrounded by a profusion of brightly colored potted flowers. Connected to the patio was small slanted stone swimming pool that didn't have steps, instead it sloped downhill and the water gradually grew deeper as you walked out into it. Tucked in next to it, was an in-ground Jacuzzi.

Wearing only black shorts and seated at a small iron wrought table, Itachi was watching her reaction to the place with a profound sense of satisfaction.

"Oh Itachi, I love it here," Hinata told him in softly awed tones as she stepped out onto the balcony to look at the ocean. Lifting her face towards the sun she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply the sea air intermingled with the scent of flowers.

"How long do we get to stay here?" She asked him in a quiet voice and prayed it would be more than just a few days.

"Two weeks," he told her with a half smile as he admired the way the sun glinted off her hair as she looked around her.

Hinata breathed out happily and her eyes were delighted when she came over to him and kissed him.

She laughed when he pulled her into his lap; but before long, her eyes grew huge as she saw the enormous breakfast on the table in front of him. Her mouth began to water when she saw the platters of delectable-looking fruit, pastries, toast, and a pitcher of fresh orange juice.

Itachi watched in amusement as his starving bride quickly removed herself from his lap and sat in the chair next to him and began loading up a plate. After pouring some orange juice in a glass for herself, she automatically refilled his.

Hinata set the pitcher down and looked at him with shining and slightly curious eyes, "How did you learn about this place?"

"The Hokage told me about it," he replied blandly before taking a drink of his orange juice. "Apparently, it is an exclusive resort that was created a few years ago for the leaders of the ninja world to meet and try to resolve problems in a more relaxed, less formal setting."

Fascinated and impressed, Hinata raised her eyebrows as she thought a place like this was a good idea to help keep everything peaceful. Especially as she considered the last few years of peace in their world, she realized it must be working.

"It was pretty thoughtful of Lady Tsunade to send us here," she mused out loud just before she took a bite of one her pastries.

Itachi didn't want to tell her the other reason the Hokage sent them here was to force him to pay off her gambling debts, he didn't want to disillusion her view of their leader.

They ate their breakfast in a relaxed and contented silence, and Hinata tried not to think about the way his foot was caressing hers under the table or the lazy way he was watching her.

Warmth began to creep up her cheeks as she took a few more bites and found she wasn't hungry any more. She pushed her plate away and looked over at him and attempted to make conversation with him.

"So, I was thinking that we could um…go explore the island this morning…" she began telling him, and her breath caught in her throat when he reached over and began sliding his thumb over the pulse on the base of her wrist.

After lifting her eyes toward the sky, her eyes met his and he raised one eyebrow calmly telling her he was listening.

Feeling an irrational urge to laugh, Hinata took a shaky breath before continuing. "Um well, I noticed there are a bunch….of trails… and I thought we could go hike to the other side of the island...and look at the view."

The corner of her lip began to turn up slightly as she saw he had silently moved his chair closer towards hers while she was talking.

"Yes, we could do that…" he responded agreeing with her, before his mouth began to trail light kisses up her arm. "Or…we could stay here…" Itachi told her, his voice clearly letting her know what he preferred.

Hinata melted in her chair; after all of the years of neglect from her father and feeling unwanted by her clan, it felt wonderful to have someone care for her and want her so much. Here they had a beautiful island to explore and none of it mattered to him, he only wanted to be with her.

Laughter bubbled in her as she felt herself hauled back onto his lap. With her eyes shining with joy, Hinata twined her arms around his neck, "We could do that," she told him with a playful smile touching her lips. "It's too warm... to explore right now anyway."

A small gleam entered his eyes as he looked at her. "We could go later if you want to…" he compromised before brushing his lips over hers back and forth in a light, teasing kiss.

"Mmm," Hinata sighed against his mouth as she began to respond to him. All thoughts of going anywhere else rapidly were disintegrating from her mind as she began to cling to him as their playfulness rapidly turned into desire.

He lifted his mouth off of hers and as they looked at each other they shared a smile as they both knew they weren't going anywhere for quite a while…

The sun was going down and Hinata sat in front of him on a large lounge chair in a bikini (Mikoto didn't pack any of her one piece bathing suits for her) on the secluded beach in front of their villa.

They were sipping frozen daiquiris' and Hinata wasn't sure what was making her feel more relaxed, the delicious alcoholic drink, or the incredibly breathtaking scene in front of them. Or it could have been the soft breeze that flowed over them as they watched the waves break along the shore, against a pure blue sky backdrop, mixed with a kaleidoscope of colors.

It could have been all those things, but she had a feeling it was mainly because of him. Just being with him was making her feel so peaceful and amazingly happy.

"Itachi?" She asked him as she absently rubbed her finger down his forearm. "Are you awake?"

His eyes remained closed, but his lips quirked slightly as he felt her hand tangle with his. "Do you want me to be?"

She smiled thinking it was nice to see him so relaxed for once. "Yes…I was just wondering…what made you come up to me that day in the library when you first helped me with my medical training?"

Itachi thought about how she looked on that day, she was so anxious and frustrated, and it had bothered him. Even though he had admired her for a while, he had never seriously planned to get involved with her. Without even knowing exactly why he had done it, he just went over to her and offered his help.

"You looked like you needed help," he responded impassively without even opening his eyes.

A soft smile formed on her lips as his unromantic answer did not surprise her, he was always helping her.

A small sigh escaped her as she thought how even now; a part of her was still a little in awe of him. After all, she had to work very hard for everything she got, while practically everything came easily to him. He was just so exceptionally brilliant in so many ways it was hard for her not to be.

Yet, he never made her feel inferior, instead he made her feel like she was necessary to him. The way his eyes always searched her out when he entered a room, and the way they would stay on her was a constant reminder to her of his feelings for her.

For most of her life she had tried to accommodate the people around her and be the person they thought she should be. It wasn't necessary with him—he liked her the way she was.

To him, she was beautiful.

She looked around her and saw all of the beauty around them, and thought how he took her to see the kittens, and she knew he didn't care about any of it. But he knew she did, so he set all of this up for her.

Just to make her happy.

Hinata's face grew solemn as she thought about how others viewed him and thought him cold and unapproachable, and she knew to some degree they were right. She also knew if he loved you, then his love was unconditional and all encompassing.

He wasn't a person who did things in half-measures—with him it was all or nothing.

It was the same with her, in the beginning she had tried to play it safe, and love him just a little, but found that it was impossible with him.

She had to love him completely, as if the bond between them required everything she had.

Her thoughts grew solemn as she thought of how she almost settled for less in life. Her previous plans were all about conforming herself to fit into someone else's dreams and plans. It had all been about Naruto and his quest to become Hokage.

As she lay up against him and saw that the sky was rapidly growing darker, her mind was deeply grateful for whatever force brought Itachi into her life. She knew whatever dreams or plans she made, he would meld them into his, and they would belong to both of them.

He was just wonderful like that.

"Hinata, are you ready to go back?" Itachi asked her as he opened his eyes from resting and saw it was dark outside.

"Yes," she sighed almost reluctantly, it was warm outside and even in the dark it was still very lovely and soothing listening to the waves as they broke along the shore.

"We can come back tomorrow night," he told her as she moved off of him.

Hinata looked at him with soft eyes, "Okay."

Itachi took her hand and they began walking back to their villa.

"Itachi?"

He stopped and turned to her with questioning eyes. "Yes?"

Her eyes lingered over his face for a moment before she answered him. "I'm glad you helped me that day in the library…I-I don't think I could be this happy with anyone else," she admitted quietly as she looked up at him.

He pulled her into his chest and breathed out. "Same here, Hinata."

As he took her hand and they began to walk back to their villa, he was filled with a sense of peace and gratitude for the whim that made him go help her that day. He knew, however, that if he hadn't of helped her on that day, it would have happened eventually.

He wouldn't have been able to resist her…sooner or later he would have talked to her.

FIN