It's so rare for me to update so quickly XD But here's the next chapter! If there are any errors, please tell me :)

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''Is he asleep?"

Asami looked over to Madara who was lying on the couch, again with that book in his hands. She hummed, walking over to him. ''Just how much did you make him run?'' She chuckled, sitting down on the edge of the cushions. ''I've rarely seen him that tired after playing outside.''

Madara didn't move his gaze, keeping it steady on the page. ''I haven't done anything.'' He replied. ''He wanted to run so badly.'' Even if he had a neutral expression on his face, Asami could hear the slight amusement in his voice, something that made her think about what Keiji said before he left. He definitely didn't talk like this when he first got here.

Asami's eyes went from Madara's face to the book he was reading. The cover didn't have an image on it, it was simply dark blue with the title written on the front and on the spine of the book. It looked very familiar to Asami. She had definitely read it before, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember what it was about.

''What are you reading?'' She asked, leaning a bit closer, hoping to see more of the pages that way. ''You were also reading that this morning.''

''A book.'' Madara replied, still not looking up. Asami had never seen him so intrigued in something before. It made her incredibly curious.

Rolling her eyes at the answer, she took the book out of his hands and turned it so that she could read its contents. While Madara let out a grunt, letting her know that he wasn't exactly pleased with her actions, Asami ignored him and scanned over the words. ''Ah, I remember now.'' She mumbled, a small smile forming on her lips as she turned the page. ''You have good taste.''

Madara grumbled, taking the book back and returning to the page where he left off. ''Of course, I have.''

Asami raised an eyebrow at his arrogant remark, but decided to brush it off shortly after. ''Though,'' She continued, standing up from the couch that was mostly occupied by Madara, leaving only little space for her. ''I think you'd like this one better.''

Madara watched her as she took a few strides to the bookshelf. There was only about seven books; three thick ones and four thinner ones. The one Madara was holding was also pretty thick. While a lot of people prefered to read books that wouldn't take very long to go through, he never cared about the amount of pages, as long as the story was good.

Asami had to stand on her toes to reach the highest shelf and she also needed to use her nails to pull the thick book with a black cover from the shelf. With a gratified sigh, she turned around and smiled at Madara, holding the book in the air. ''It's similar to the one you're reading now.'' She said, walking back to him. ''But this one's got more suspense and it way more unpredictable. It's one of my favorites.''

Madara sat up, resting his back against the armrest while his legs still took up a big part of the couch. Asami sat back down and turned her body so she was facing him. ''Do you want to read it? I'm sure you'll like it.'' She held out the black book to him, but Madara didn't instantly take it from her. He first looked at the one he was currently reading and noticed he was already reaching the end. 

Since the book was heavy, Asami felt her arm beginning to ache slightly. ''Well?'' She asked, starting to get a bit impatient. ''If you don't want to, I'll put it back on the shelf.''

Only a few seconds after she said that, Madara took the book out of her hands and put it down on his stomach. He was still busy with the other book after all. ''I can give it a try.''

Asami's smile returned. ''So why are you suddenly so into books?'' She wondered out loud. ''I've never really seen you read anything else than paperwork.''

''Why do you read books?'' He asked, tilting his head to glance at her. He was sure that they shared the same reason. ''You seem to have read all those already. I've also never seen you read before.'' Asami looked over her shoulder once Madara waved his hand at the bookshelf behind her. ''Ah, the books?" She mumbled, turning back. ''Yeah, I've read them all, and there are more of them upstairs.''

''As to why, it can get pretty boring here.'' Asami continued, using her hands to make clear that she meant the house that was built a long time ago in the middle of nowhere. ''When I read, time seems to pass quickly.''

Madara closed the book, remembering the page number before placing it on top of the one he took from Asami before. ''Exactly.'' He sighed, leaning his head on top of the backrest. He felt a bit listless. Never did he think that doing nothing could make you so tired.

''Though, it's been less dull since you came back.'' Asami murmured happily, placing her hand on his leg, giving it a slight squeeze. ''I love being able to talk to you, and I still have a lot I want to tell you.''

Now this actually piques his interest. Since his eyes felt heavy from all the reading, he didn't mind listening to her. ''Like what?"

''Mostly about Kouta, obviously.'' Just thinking about telling him about her experiences as a mother, both good and bad, made Asami beam with genuine happiness. ''About how I spent my sleepless nights trying to rock him to sleep, about the times when he just wouldn't stop crying,'' Asami stopped when she saw Madara frown and she laughed softly at his expression. ''I know it sounds bad, but I can look back at it with a smile now. It was totally worth it after all.''

Not only was her gentle voice nice to listen to, Madara also liked it to hear more about Kouta. The kid was his son, but he barely knew anything about him.

Madara kept listening to her as she continued to talk about Kouta as a baby. About when he pulled at her hair sometimes when she held him in her arms and many more things. But her face lighted up even more when she started to talk about when Kouta spoke his first words and took his first steps. This made Madara realize even more that he missed out on some special occasions which were only one-time occurrences.

He never got to experience those, and he'll never get the chance to. It's something that happened only once, meaning that it would never occur again.

''Sometimes I wish I could go back to that time, though.'' Asami mused, looking at her hands. ''He fitted perfectly in my arms when he was just a baby.''

Madara could easily tell that she was overcome with nostalgia. She yearned for the past, while she had everything she could ever wish for in the present. Asami thought it was unfair for her to think that way, though, she had always hoped that she could experience all that together with Madara. Things were already excellent now, but it would have been so much more perfect if he had been with them from the start.

''He looked exactly like how I imagined you as a baby.'' Asami murmured, smiling in response when Madara knitted his eyebrows together. He actually couldn't picture himself as an infant. It was weird to think that a tall and broad man like him was once so small and fragile.

''However, I don't think you had such round chubby cheeks as a child.'' She chuckled, her hands reaching for his face. Madara immediately saw what she was trying to do and firmly grabbed her wrist, preventing her from pinching the sides of his face. Knowing that she couldn't win against someone like Madara, Asami made the wise decision to stop messing around for now. Madara didn't let go, though, thinking that she may try to do something childish like that again once he'd release her.

Asami grinned softly, finding it pretty funny how cautious he was being and leaned forward, pressing a lingering kiss against his lips. ''You can let go now.'' She whispered, a peculiar smile gracing her features. ''I won't squeeze you.''

Madara raised one of his eyebrows, questioning whether or not she was trustworthy at this moment. That odd smile of hers wasn't helping. Eventually, he unwrapped his fingers from her wrist, but he kept them close to her hands in case she'd try something again.

Asami noticed this and laughed quietly. ''I already said I wouldn't do anything like that.'' She said, brushing her fingers against his. ''Do you dislike me touching you?''

''I dislike you trying to bruise my face.'' Madara muttered.

''Now you're exaggerating.'' Asami said, trying to make her fingers to come in contact with him again, but Madara was quick to react, taking her hands in his, holding them even tighter than before. Asami saw this as a challenge, while it was actually a warning.

''Will you stop that?'' Madara grunted when Asami tried even harder to reach his face, starting to find it annoying.

''Just let me.'' She relaxed her arms, letting him know that she'd stop struggling if he let her have her way. ''Only for a bit.''

With a sigh, Madara let go once again. ''Don't try anything funny.''

Asami smiled slyly and made sure that he saw it. Messing with him was something she never really dared to do in the past, but now she didn't care anymore. He was hers now. Hers to love, hers to comfort, and also hers to tease. Asami never really saw herself as a possessive person, but she was definitely not letting Madara go so easily again.

''I would never.'' Asami murmured as she started to run her hand through his hair, enjoying the feeling of the soft strands against her skin. The Uchiha's eyes softened, but he kept watching her closely. 

''You know,'' Asami spoke up, running a finger down his temple. ''I've always wondered how things would be if we both stayed in Konoha.''

It wasn't a question, but she was silently asking him to share his thoughts about this with her and Madara knew it. He heaved a sigh, looking at the ceiling. He honestly didn't want to think about it.

Asami swallowed thickly when she realized that the subject was taboo. The name of the village was mentioned in earlier conversations, but none of those talks were fun to look back at. They were mostly arguments. Things may have looked pretty good for Asami if they stayed. She had connections to Hashirama, being his sister-in-law. Even if she was carrying the child of the 'ruthless' leader of the Uchiha clan, everything may have worked out, but she was still sure that most people would look at her in disgust and that Kouta would be treated the same. As for Madara, he'd definitely be unhappy. His own clan doesn't want to listen to him and people were afraid of him for unfair reasons.

Asami absolutely didn't want that.

She'd do the most unimaginable things to make sure that he's happy, not living a life full of negativity. He didn't deserve to suffer like he did. After everything he's done for his clan, for the village, he deserved respect and admiration, not the loathing he somehow 'earned' instead.

Asami often thought about whether or not she'd be able to fill up the emptiness inside of him, to take away his pain. The things he had to go through were unquestionably unmerited.

Asami brought both hands to his beautiful and flawless face and cupped his cheeks,  stroking his incredibly soft cheeks with her thumbs. ''Living here with you and Kouta gives me more happiness than I could every ask for.'' She mumbled, speaking with so much sincerity that Madara didn't doubt her words for even a second. ''You know that, don't you?''

Now Madara was the one who reached out, and unlike him, Asami didn't resist at all when his hand caressed the side of her face, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear shortly after. Even though she didn't expect such a gesture from him, it still made her heart flutter. Asami relished his touch; the softness of his skin and the gentleness he used when he moved his fingers across her cheek.

This was exactly why she fell in love with him. From the outside, he looked intimidating, cold and unapproachable, but she knew very well that he had a heart so big and so tender. It's because of his upbringing that he never showed this side of him often, that was what Asami thought. He learned to fight, not to love, not the kind of love she taught him. He did know how to care, though, since cared so much about the people close to him, especially Izuna, the brother Asami had heard so much about. She wished she got a chance to meet him, and Madara shared the same wish.

''I do.''

Asami blinked. It took him a while so reply, so she didn't think she was going to get an answer at all. It already spoke for itself after all. Nonetheless, his words brought a smile to her face once again. 

''Good.'' She murmured softly, brushing a few strands of his dark hair away from his forehead. Leaning down once again, she pressed another kiss on his lips, this one lasting a little longer than the previous one. She liked the slowness of it, it made her stomach tingle.

Goosebumps rose on her skin once she felt Madara's hand run down her back, finally settling on her waist. 

Keiji claimed that she did things to him, changed him. When he said that, she felt as is she had some kind of power over him. 

But in situations like these, when he held her so close, just a simple touch of his fingers made every hair on her body stand up and his words were able to make her heart swell. He wasn't even trying to make her feel that way, which made her incredibly curious. She wondered, what would happen if he were to try?

. 

.

The power he had over her, she had completely underestimated it.

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As always, feedback is very appreciated! What can be improved or what should I pay more attention to?