Prane walked out into the cooling dusk that made her sigh out in content. Curling her toes, she strolled off the deck she's been meaning to expand but hasn't had the time. School and her job took most of her time but luckily she was able to get a vacation week scheduled, so she could be with her foreign friend.
"What's on your mind? Don't try to lie out of it because I recognize that look you get." Zenda said as she stepped out of the old farmhouse they were fixing up. Well since Prane's parents were.
"Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi. They seemed like a perfect couple when I saw them; they seemed to be the one couple that would be together forever. What happened?" The brunette questioned as she looked over at her lover who was coming down the deck's steps.
"You thought the same thing with what's her name and look now. You have me." The blond said the truth with a smile. "At least he has someone and you have me." Zenda took a hold of Prane's waist, hugging it tightly as she buried her face into the shoulder. Kissing it, she listened to her friend's giggling and smiled a little more.
"True." She agreed and heard the door open once more. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the older Uchiha that was related to Sasuke walk out into the beams of the setting sun. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes. Thank you for letting us stay here while we visit." Itachi said with a bow. He'll ask later to go into town to pick up the ring since they called while he was sleeping. It surprised the Uchiha but surprises were coming into his life now.
"So what happened to you?" Prane asked as she watched the dark-eyed man as he strolled over to the railing and leaned against it.
"That depends on how I can take that question. Well I was stabbed by my estranged uncle if that's why you wonder why I look tired." Itachi answered, being a little of a smart ass toward his hostess.
"Sasuke never told me any of this but then again, he only told me he couldn't be near you guys." She explained with a smile, leaning against the woman she planned on marrying one of these days. She was the uke of the relationship but they never said the woman of the relationship can propose. "All I ask of you is that you treat Naruto with respect since he's carrying your child."
"I'm sure he will Rane." Zenda butted in as she nuzzled into the neck of the woman. Looking over at the man, she watched him for anything else.
"She's right. Why would I mistreat anyone?" Itachi asked before getting a little serious. "Can anyone take me into town?"
They perked up but the verde eyed woman nodded and got out of her lover's embrace to get the keys to the car. She could hear Naruto's snoring so she knew her friend was still fast asleep. "Sleep tight Kitsune."
It was an old nickname she gave him because of Kyuubi and his grins when he thought of something evil. It fit him well to her. It was also her own little nickname that no one else called him.
Naruto finally stirred, finding nothing of his Uchiha once his gaze was cleaned from sleep. Sitting up, he stared at the bags they dropped onto the floor and collapsed onto the bed. Itachi had to be getting a tour and getting to know Prane better. That had to be it.
When he walked out of the room he was in and into what looked to be the living room, he spotted someone. Zenda or at least that had to be her name was on the couch with her arm acting as her pillow, watching a commercial for a product that probably didn't work.
"Itachi went into town with Prane. They should be back shortly." Zenda butted out as she watched the blond from the corner of her eye. "You can sit down you know?"
Nodding, Naruto sat down on a stool, watching the television for anything interesting. It was a science fiction movie on the channel for the genre. Putting his hand on his stomach, he wondered how his child was doing inside him.
"So how far along are you?" The blond asked as she sat up in time for the dog to get up on the couch.
"Three months." Naruto beamed with his eyes showing the delight of having the child in him.
"So how did it happen? I don't really understand that type of stuff like Rane does." She asked, twirling her helix around to keep it loose.
"To be blunt, ass. That's the only way I can think it happened." Naruto said with a shrug. Looking out the window, he was greeted by a pair of cat eyes staring back at him. Jumping, he inched away from the window, hearing the woman's laughter.
"Sorry about Mimi. She's a bit of a stalker when it comes to new people and feet." Zenda apologized. Getting up from where she was, she strolled over to the door and looked over at the man. "I'll give you a tour to screw some of this time off."
Naruto nodded and followed after the woman.
Hearing Freedom by Love and Theft, Itachi felt at home in the small town. Maybe it was the fact that it reminded him of the times he spent with his parents in smaller towns for festivals.
"Itachi, how's Sasuke?"
"I'm not sure. We dropped off the pets at the place and he looked fine with Maiko. She's expecting his kid soon." Itachi said, feeling the teen's gaze on him. Looking over and meeting the stare, he continued, "she was the reason behind the breakup. Naruto caught Sasuke with her at a festival."
"That fucking sucks." Prane cursed as she stopped at a light. "So where do you need to go?"
"The jewelry store." Itachi replied, seeing the blond eyebrow rise. "I have something planned for Naruto."
"I'm curious but scared at the same time. I might as well ask though. What do you have planned?" Prane questioned as she turned her signal on and pulled into the parking lot of the mini mall that wasn't really a mini mall.
"I plan on proposing to him. It seems only fair since he's carrying my child." Itachi clarified with a sigh. Looking out the window that was down, causing his hair to move, he saw her park in a spot that was empty but was still close to the store.
"That's sweet. I'm sure he'll say yes. I can tell that he loves you a lot, much of what I thought of my ex." Prane said as she put the car in park and glanced over at the Uchiha. She could tell he was daydreaming about how he was going to give the big question to Naruto. "Do it anyway you want. Kitsune wouldn't mind."
"Kitsune?" The ebony eyed man questioned, slightly moving his body into the seat and unbuckled and looked at the woman.
"It was the nickname that I gave him when I was a foreign exchange student. It fitted him at the time so that's what I called him." The brunette said with a small smile on her lips as she thought of the day that she met him. "This isn't getting the ring so let's go."
Nodding, Itachi opened the door and got out, stretching a little. It seemed different from his hometown but then again, he was raised in the country like this woman next to him. He walked ahead of her, opened the door for her which earned him a nod of thanks and a smile. Following in after her, he saw some of the jewelers perk up at the customers.
"How can I help you today sir and madam?" One of them asked as she strolled over to them.
"I'm here to pick up a ring that was shipped from Japan." Itachi answered, using the English that he took in high school. It helped since he was now dealing with international shipping.
The woman nodded and went to the back room for any shipments. She returned a minute or two with a velvet box that was ebony with the lining of it a light red. She handed it to him with a smile.
Opening it, he stared at the diamond ring that glistened in the artificial light with two sapphires sitting beside the clear gem. The band was silver with nothing special on it but the three gems. Looking up at the woman that handed it to him, Itachi thanked her and reached into his pocket to give her the money that was needed to pay for it. He paid more then half of it back home but needed to finish it.
"Thank you for the business. I'm sure she'll be a very lucky lady." The woman said with a smile.
Itachi stopped with the door opened for his new friend. Turning his head, he looked back at the woman that gave her service to him, he blurted out, "Naruto's not a girl. He's a boy." Smirking, he watched the woman freeze up and blink repeatedly at the news as he left the building.
"That was kinda random. I thought I was bad with random." Prane finally said when she got into the car with the guy that surprised the women and men in the room.
"I had to set her straight." Itachi retorted as he put the box into his pocket.
"Here's some suggestions on how to propose to him: you could put it in tonight's dinner or find someplace secleded on the farm. Don't mind the bull though, he looks like he'll skewer you but he wouldn't hurt a fly unless it was bugging his back." The verde eyed woman suggested and shrugged as she got the car started. Looking over at the man, she watched him buckle in and look at his pocket.
"Do you have anywhere that's a bit romantic?" Itachi asked as he looked out the window again.
"Well . . . let me think here. The hay field has a huge dogwood in the middle of it. It's beautiful or the grape arbor."
"The dogwood would do." Itachi said with a nod of gratitude toward the woman that was taking him back to his blond.
Naruto huffed a little as he got out of the field, watching the electric fence so he didn't get zapped again. His hand was still tingling from that sensation. He felt a nudge from one of the friendlier cows which told him she wanted another itch to be cured on her face.
Turning around, Naruto scratched her face and watched the bull even though Zenda told him that he was harmless. He still didn't trust it because of the fact that his grandparents had a horse they said was harmless and it went and tried to kick him when he was a kid. He still wanted to know what that horse's problem was.
"I'm sure they'll be back soon." The blond with ebony strips called where she stood watching the other blond scratch the cow's face.
Naruto told his new friends he had to go and walked away with his head turning to keep an eye on the bull. Getting next to the woman that was one of the hostesses, he followed her to the backyard. He saw a pen set up which told him one thing, something else.
A crow echoed through the air which made Naruto picked up speed to get to the enclosure to see chickens walking around with a rooster sitting on a perch. He missed his family's farm; it was home that made the blond smile.
"That's Spot perching and I forget the hens' names. There's too many for me to keep track." She said as she pointed to the barred rock rooster that turned to look at them. "He's a nasty bugger. I wanted to kill him but Prane won't let me even though he tries to attack her too."
"Don't you have any other roosters?"
"That's the thing, we don't. That's the reason why we keep him instead of butchering him for one of our future dinners." Zenda said as her mud brown eyes that had speckles of blue in them fell on the expecting teen. "Then in here we have Judas."
A husky that wasn't like any of the others jumped up to greet the woman with his pink tongue rolling out to lap at her hand. His fur had the traditional white with a tan and black in it. One of his eyes was brown while the other was the icy blue that husky's usually get.
Reaching out with his tanned hand, Naruto felt the wetness of the tongue greet him as the dog took interest in the new person. Looking away from the dog to the road, he saw a car slow down before pulling into the driveway.
"They're back." Zenda commented as she itched the dog's back which earned a hind leg kicking. Looking over to where Naruto was, she didn't find the teen but nothing. Turning her head quickly, she saw the teen run up toward the car which had both her girlfriend and acquaintance getting out.
"Ita!" Naruto called before glomping the man. Hugging him tightly, he looked up to see the smile on the face and in his eyes which made his own smile widen.
"Naruto. Come with me for a second." Itachi urged as he took hold of the teen's hand and led him toward the fence line – the same spot where Naruto got his first taste of electric fence. Hopping over it and watching the wire, Itachi helped his lover over it which earned him a face to face encounter with the bull that Prane was telling him about. Reaching out, he stroked the rough fur which earned him a sound from the animal.
"So what was that about?" Zenda asked as she walked over and took hold of her lover.
"What was what about?" Prane questioned as she kept an eye on the two. Glancing at her friend, she smiled at the emotions that usually never swirled in the mud brown eyes.
"Itachi wanting to go into town." The blond said as she took hold of the shorter teen's chin and forcing her to look at her.
"He had a ring shipped over and plans on proposing to Naruto. So they're heading down to the dogwood tree in the hay field." The brunette replied as she tore her gaze away from her old friend and his lover to her own lover. Smirking, she leaned up and captured the soft pink lips of the woman.
"That lucky ass of a dog." Zenda commented as she took hold of her lover's waist and picked her up, setting her on the hood of the car. Breaking away to take a needed breath, the brown eyed woman watched the two disappear behind the tree line that helped make up the fence that separated the grazing field from the hay field.
"What are you trying to say huh Zen? Do you want to marry me?" The college student questioned as she drew the woman closer to her.
"Maybe. Maybe not. If I did then we'll have to go out of state since the fucking state doesn't give a damn it seems like. Especially after the governor said he was going to legalize the damn same sex marriage. Lying bastard." The twenty-year-old complained before feeling the woman's finger press against her lips, stopping her in her rant.
"It takes time, you know that. If it comes down to it, we'll go to your home state for it." The teen suggested.
"Yeah, Mom and Dad would enjoy seeing you since they never have. Maryland is completely different from here!" Zenda raised her voice before drawing her girlfriend closer and pressed her lips against hers again. "Then again, I wouldn't mind that."
Naruto followed Itachi into the growing grass that seemed to be close to another cutting for hay again. Looking around, he couldn't believe that this was the home that Prane left to come to Japan to be an exchange student. It reminded him of his Tsunade- obaa and Jiraiya-ojii's farm that he grew up on. Looking at the pale hand that held his, he smiled. "Where are you taking me?"
"Right here." Itachi answered as he stopped under the tree that would bloom in the spring. Reaching into his pocket, the butterflies that he was scared would come, came fluttering through his stomach. Biting his lip, he tried to calm his nerves. He had to do it for the sake of his unborn son or daughter and Naruto's.
"What's wrong Ita?" Naruto asked as he watched the hand go into the pocket of the Uchiha's pants and pull out a black box. Tilting his head, he watched the man lower to one knee, flipping open the box. It couldn't be what he was thinking it was.
"Uzumaki, Naruto will you make Miso soup for me every day?" Itachi asked as he felt the nerves that were finally calming down flustered up again. It was the moment of truth.
Looking at the man that he loved, he couldn't believe that this was actually happening to them. He wasn't sure how they were going to marry when some of Japan didn't want same sex marriage. His body moved on it's own it seemed like, glomping the man to the ground that was behind him. "Of course Ita!"
The fear of rejection faded away quickly as he heard the answer he was wanting. They'll be a proper family when the child was born. He didn't care about what people say when they say that being raised by a same sex couple would cause damage to a child. It wouldn't. He knew that.
"I wonder how it went." Prane muttered as she peeled some potatoes for homemade mashed potatoes like her father taught her. Shaking the peeler for a skin that didn't want to come off, she glanced over at her slightly flustered girlfriend. She could tell that Zenda wanted to do something to her but couldn't at the moment.
"They'll be coming up soon." She said as she stirred the noodles that were going to be used for the chicken and Alfredo sauce.
As if on cue it seemed like, the door opened and closed once with someone running through the house and into the kitchen. Both looked away from what they were doing and saw the ear to ear smile that was on Naruto's face. It told them what they wanted to find out which earned the blond to get a hug from his friend.
"I'm so happy for you Kitsune!" Prane yelled as she gave him a nuggie and hugged him some more.
Itachi walked in behind them, seeing the torment his fiancé was going through because of the news. Seeing the silver band rest on the ring finger of his love's, he smiled. He was truly happy with life for once compared to usual when he didn't have a care in the world for it.
Dogs name came from Lady Gaga's Judas. Really weird.
Will you make Miso soup for me every day is something I looked up in an old issue of Shojo Beat and found in the love issue of December 2007. It's a traditional way of Japanese men proposing.
I'm also sorry if I got it wrong about Japan's perspective on same sex marriage. If anyone knows or lives in Japan and is reading this, can you please tell me? I would so love you for it.
So a longer chapter compared to the others that are usually three pages typed. Please review.