#bamf naruto

He used to grab a blanket to shield his feeding from the Alpha, but for the last two months, he saw no point. He saw Sasuke’s chest the first time. The only time, he actually believed it was an accident. Afterwards, it started to feel calculated.

“You didn’t have to sit down to say goodbye.” He adjusted his hip a bit, his buttcheek feeling a little numb. His son could eat forever.

“I wanted to check on you too. You never answer my calls or text messages.”

“For one, I didn’t give you my number, you asshole, and two, I have a child to attend too.”

Naruto never showed a sign of guilt wherever Sasuke brought up the fact that he never gave him his number. It only seems to make him crave Sasuke’s attention more.

“I’d come over and help you with Karu.” He always offered help.

“Naruto, you run your own syndicate. I doubt you’d be able to help either.”

“I would make time.”

That made Sasuke chuckle. “Honestly, Naruto, I do believe that.” Naruto was his lowkey stalker at this point.

Not really wanting his mate dead, he told him no, but those blue eyes held his gaze and just nodded before heading toward a meeting his father was holding.

He has been married to his own Alpha for two years, known Naruto for one and been a mother for six months. Naruto made his interest clear to Sasuke the first time they met, and Sasuke, feeling giddy that he was still sexy while pregnant, was glad to tell he was already mated and with child.

Naruto’s reply was a whispered, “I can kill him.”

He learned from Itachi later that Naruto was half Russian and Japanese, and he grew up in Russia with his parent’s running their own gang. Naruto moved to Japanese permanently a few years ago under his Father’s orders to start his own syndicate and to find people they could work together with to do international dealings with.

It was always nice to meet other people who had similar backgrounds to him, but the man was also 7 years older than him. HIs own husband didn’t grow up the same way as him, so sometimes that was a little annoying, but their marriage was a business deal in the first place.

His mate was an undertaker and had relations to dirty cops that his father found valuable. Contrary to what some may think, his omega status wasn’t controlled by his parents. They talked at length about the marriage, and he was always told he could say no.

He was 27, and didn’t have any prospects that caught his eye. Also, his mate was nice and a gentleman. Just, who would have guessed a year later, he would have met a man with more connections than his husband and a willingness to mate a pregnant omega on sight.

“So just let me kill him, and your next child could be mine.” He joked, a dark humor joke that was also not a joke.

“You don’t need to murder my mate to get me Naruto.” He sighed. An old conversation, he seemed to always humor.

“No, but in our type of world, it makes things go faster.” He leaned over his knees. Hands clasped under his chin. “I think Karu is done.”

He looked down and saw Karu was indeed done. No longer sucking, just staring at Naruto. Sitting up and adjusting his shirt back over his shoulder, he moved Karu over his shoulder to be burped.

Karu was a sweet child. His mother said he was just like Sasuke at that age. Quiet and observant. He was thankful for that. He was exhausted as it was, he didn’t think he could handle an energetic child. He looked over at Naruto. A child with Naruto, would be energetic. That man always had energy to spare.

He looked back over at the Alpha in the room. Him watching Sasuke. Always watching Sasuke. He never hid it, his mate even noticed it whenever they had parties or celebrations within their Yakuza community around Tokyo. As long as he never physically touches Sasuke or Karu, his mate would stay silent and after a year of knowing each other Naruto never gets close enough to touch him. Always a distance.

A distance that Sasuke wonders if it will close at some point. Mating with Naruto is far from unappealing, but he has no complaints with his current mate to leave and like Naruto said, murder does make things go faster in their world.

Once Karu burps, he grabs his favorite blanket to be swaddled in and places him in the bassinet next to the chaise. Keeping one hand on him to rock him gently, he speaks to Naruto.

“It’s been a year, Naruto.” He says. Tucking his feet under his butt.

“It has.”

“You’re definitely a man, who knows what he wants and usually gets it.”

Naruto just smiles.

“I am also a man, who has high standards.” Straightening his back a bit as he speaks.

Naruto straightens his back as well. Placing his hands on the wooden armrest.

“Let’s see which one of us breaks first.” His voice sounded refined. A sign of well-bred Omega.

He watches Naruto’s eyes narrowed to slits. He thought there was some red in there, but the distance made him unsure, but Naruto’s aura, which was usually chaotic joy, started to feel heavy. Almost, ominous.

He opened the door to greet them, but the sight there made his world come crashing down. His father was holding Sasuke’s lithe, pale body, thrusting gently into him as Sasuke moaned and begged for more, crying with the onslaught of pleasure caused by the older blonde.

Tears quickly made his way down his face as he stood there, motionless. They didn’t even notice him, for they were too into each other’s loving embrace. Naruto knew then, that this was not the first time. Nor was it the last. It wasn’t some cheap fling, but and true loving bond. Naruto’s already broken heart, shattered into million more pieces, and so did his trust. Naruto quickly closed the door, unable to watch anymore and stormed out of the house. He turned round and ran, ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Away from the villagers, away from his father and Sasuke, away from reality, away from the world.

“Happy fucking Birthday, Naruto.” He murmured as he reached into the same training ground as he had been earlier. There was no one there. It was about 5 pm but the sky was already dark grey, perfectly reflecting his mood. Naruto sunk down beneath a tree as the dark grey clouds emptied themselves on him. He felt the more tears pricking at his eyes, but they did not fall.

Minato and Sasuke were the only people who showed love to him – the monster. They were the only two people keeping him alive. They were one of the few people he could trust, but now… Naruto just wondered how he could not have seen this. Was he as selfish and insensitive as the villagers said he was? Or was he simply ignorant? That he did not know. Lately his father’s eyes followed Sasuke more than him. He asked about Sasuke’s day during their dinners, never his. Even sparred with him more than he did with his own son. It was pretty obvious Minato loved Sasuke more than him. Sasuke was a genius, Naruto was stupid. He was the reason Kushina fucking died! If she hadn’t been pregnant with him, Minato would still have his beloved wife. Naruto never missed the flinch in Minato’s eyes every time he said ‘believe it’. So he stopped saying it. Thinking back, it was all so obvious.

Naruto’s heart clenched painfully one last time before all the sadness in him was transformed into raw, red anger. He stood up, his face emotionless. His normally azure orbs that were filled with emotions were now an icy blue. He shut of all emotions except the anger in him. He punched the ground, creating a large crater before proceeding to destroy everything in the training ground.

Three hours later, Naruto was exhausted, both mentally and physically. The training ground was completely annihilated. If he was going to be called a monster anyway, why not do the things people expected a monster to do? He was tired of trying to prove them wrong. He bled countless times for his home. The result: nothing changed. All 18 years of his life, he tried his best but his best just wasn’t good enough!

Tired of everything Naruto just… gave up.

He laid there for minutes, hours or eternities, he did not know. He just laid there – broken.

To say Kakashi was surprised to see a bleeding and tattered blonde in the middle of a completely destroyed training ground, would be an understatement.

“Naruto!” He called. All he got for an answer was a dead, cold stare.

The normally bright blonde with a pair of most beautiful eyes, was now a dull being with the emotionless eyes. Kakashi flinched under the steady glare thrown towards him. “Naruto, what happened? Why is the training ground like this? Answer me!” Kakashi asked, voice dripping with concern

“What is it to you, Kakashi-san?” Naruto coldly replied, before heaving himself up and proceeding to walk past the older ninja.

Kakashi was shocked, rooted to the ground. Never had Naruto been so cold to him. ‘Just what happened to him?’ he wondered, before he heard a loud thud. He turned back to see that Naruto had collapsed, most probably due to chakra exhaustion.

Three days later…

“Naruto! Talk to me, dobe!” Sasuke yelled at Naruto who had just got his consciousness back.

“What do you want, Sasuke?” Naruto asked, clearly not wanting to speak to the raven haired boy.

“What do I want?” he asked, an exasperated flailing of hands accompanying a frantic rise in volume. “I want to know why my little brother collapsed out of chakra exhaustion three days ago!”

“Sasuke, I’m not your little brother. And I don’t owe you an explanation for anything!” Naruto yelled back. His voice getting louder with every word.

“Hell yes, you do! Your part of our family. I have the right to know!”  At this, Naruto chuckled dryly.

“Family, huh? A family is not supposed to hide things from each other, they are supposed to trust each other. How can you call yourself andMinato-san a part of my family after what you have done?” Sasuke eyes widened. Naruto called his own dad ‘Minato’ – a blatant show of disrespect towards him.

‘What is he talking about?’ Suddenly realization struck him. ‘He knows!’ He had feared this day the most.

“W-what are you talking about, d-dobe?” his voice faltered, but he kept a poker face, trying to feign the obvious.

“Don’t play dumb, Sasuke! I saw it with my own eyes! You and him…” Naruto’s eyes drifted off as the scene replayed in his mind. He was too ashamed to even say it out loud.

“No Naruto! Let me expla-!” Sasuke tried but was cut off when Naruto showed him his palm, indicating him to stop.

“Just leave me alone, Uchiha.” Sasuke flinched as his name was spat out from the blonde’s mouth like venom. “But dobe-!” he was once again stopped mid-sentence.

“My name is Uzumaki Naruto!” Naruto yelled, completely removing the Namikaze part of his name. “Just. Leave. Me. Alone.” He said, though a low strangled voice, trying to control the rage which was bubbling under his skin.

Tears pricked away at Sasuke’s eyes, but he refused to cry, his pride wouldn't let him. He quickly turned around and stormed out of the hospital.

A few hours later, he was discharged from the hospital, but not before Sakura gave him a good bash on the head for destroying the training ground. Naruto was about to lose it, but in the end was able to control himself and just walked out of the hospital with not even an ‘ouch!’ He was tired of pretending that it hurt so bad, when it was nothing compared to what he felt inside.

Sure, she was strong, but he was stronger. As walked aimlessly around Konoha, he wondered what he should do. Where would he live? He couldn’t go back to his ‘safe haven’ anymore. By far, it was the most dangerous place now. The villagers glared and spat at his direction, but it didn’t even get a reaction out of him. He simply ignored them, as he made a stop at Ichiraku’s.

He still loved ramen. Nothing could change that. Kakashi had said that his mother also loved it. Maybe he found relief while eating it due to that. “Ah! Naruto-kun. Where were you for the past few days? I had made a special treat for your birthday, but you didn’t show up!” the kind man said enthusiastically before his smile changed to a frown as he noticed something was wrong with his favorite customer.

'Speaking of which, where were Sasuke-kun and Hokage-sama?', Teuchi thought. When he voiced his question out loud, he didn’t miss the brief look of hurt that flashed through Naruto’s cerulean orbs. Teuchi knew better than to push and dropped the topic and served his favorite customer. After having only two bowls of ramen, Naruto paid Teuchi and resumed walking around Konoha with no particular destination in mind.

His previous query coming to mind again about his accommodation. “Uzumaki Naruto! Hokage-sama has asked for your presence at the tower immediately.” An ANBU called out to him, effectively breaking Naruto’s train of thought. He nodded at the ANBU as he poofed off. ‘So it’s the talk with devil, huh?’ Naruto mused, before walking towards the Hokage tower.

Naruto knocked the door to the Yondaime Hokage’s door. “Come in!” a voice called out. Naruto walked in to see his father sitting on the chair and leaning his chin on his knuckles while Sasuke was behind the man, his face tear-stained.

“Naruto, what happened? Where were you for the past three days?” Minato asked in a low, serious timbre. “Well, I had collapsed due to chakra exhaustion and therefore had been in the hospital for three days, Hokage-sama.” Minato’s eyes widened at the ‘Hokage-sama’ remark, but ignored it nonetheless.

“How did you exhaust your chakra, Naruto?”

“I was training, sir.”

“By training, you mean completely destroying a training ground?! This sort of behavior is unacceptable, my son or not!”

“From when did you start thinking of the unacceptable? Sleeping with your son’s best friend, your adopted son, behind his back is acceptable in your dictionary, I presume, Hokage-sama” Naruto shot back. He couldn’t care less that his father was now loving another man, he was happy for his father, but with Sasuke? And he took the pretense of the Uchiha Massacre to adopt the boy and worst of all, they didn’t even find it in them to tell him. That's what hurt him the most.

He knew they would spew out some bullshit about ‘not hurting you’. He didn’t even bother asking. They had already hurt him in the worst way possible. Minato grit his teeth and clenched his fist. So he did come to know. Minato knew this day was coming.

“But that it no excuse for destroying public property, Naruto!” Minato scolded. Naruto almost snorted. That's what his father was worried about? The direction the conversation was headed was almost ridiculous.

“You bet it is! Finding my father and brother screwing each other behind my back is enough reason! I trusted you.” Naruto yelled. Minato took calming breaths and Sasuke put his hand gently over the Hokage’s shoulder. Naruto cringed and averted his eyes from the display of obvious affection.

Naruto puffed out a breath of air.

“And… I wish to join the ANBU.” Both Minato and Sasuke looked at him wide-eyed. “No you can't! You are still a minor.” Sasuke spoke up, for the first time since Naruto entered the office. Terror and shock evident in his eyes. He couldn’t let Naruto become an emotionless killing machine.

“Really? How about you count again?”

Realization once again dawned upon both of them, that three days ago, it was their beloved Naruto’s birthday.

“Naruto, we are so sorry! I’m sorry! I’ll do anything.” Minato pleaded. Naruto really did snort this time.

“Stop wasting your time on me Hokage-sama. Why don’t you use it for something more productive and go fuck the Uchiha?”

Slap

The sound of the slap echoed in the large room. Naruto’s pupils dilated as his palm came up to nurse his bruised cheek. Minato had never hit Naruto before.

“Never, ever say that again!” Minato roared at his son. Naruto just chucked lowly.

“One word… one word against him and you slapped me.” He chucked maniacally. With that, he just let it all go. “Ha! What about those people who beat me to bloody pulp in the academy? What about the villagers who treat me like plague, call me ‘monster’, spit on me?! Did you even raise a finger against them? NO! 'Endure'… endure was all that you told me to do. You told me that if I just endure, people will come to see me as Naruto and not as the demon. Look where that brought me. Eighteen years of enduring gone to waste. Where is all your endurance now, huh? One word… just one fucking word was enough to make you lose control. You know what, Screw you! I’m done pretending to be something I’m not. I’m done trying to pretend to be the pathetic little fucker everyone thinks I am; that every time someone calls me a demon, it doesn’t kill a piece of me! So you can go live your fairy tale life, and you don’t have to worry about me! Because I’m not a weak brat you think you can push around! ” Naruto panted, his body trying to calm this racing heart. Sasuke and Minato sat there dumbstruck, not knowing how to react to this side of their beloved blonde.

You could hear a pin drop in the silence. Naruto turned on his heel and swiftly walked away. But not before turning and murmuring “By the way, I’m moving out tomorrow. Just so you know.”

As he got out of the stifling room, everyone was looking at him. ‘So they heard it, huh? Well, I don’t care.’ He nodded at Kakashi who was standing there, as a sign of gratitude for taking him to the hospital and left the oddly quiet Hokage tower.

For the next two years and eleven months, Naruto’s life consisted of ANBU missions, Jounin missions, eating, training, occasionally hanging out with Kakashi and more missions. Any and all, attempts at reconciliation of the dysfunctional family were shot down immediately. Soon after Naruto had joined the ANBU, Kakashi also decided to get back. Naruto was put on the same team as Kakashi.

At this time, Naruto shut off any bonds with anyone except Kakashi, even if just a little. He and Kakashi had become quite close in those years, but Naruto still kept their relationship at an arm’s length.

In those years, a new rule had been implemented in Konoha. The rule was the Konoha’s people would choose their Hokage by voting. The previous Hokage was to choose three candidates and citizens would vote.

Minato was still young, but he wanted to pass the title to someone else. There were so many Ninja more powerful than him or as powerful as him, he just had to. He chose three candidates: Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi and… Uzumaki Naruto.

The council was not pleased but they could do nothing as the power of choice rested only with the Hokage. It was quite obvious Naruto would not become Hokage, so in the day of announcement he wasn’t even present in Hokage tower. People would just rub it in his face, and that was the last thing he wanted. Besides, today was important for him for another reason.

Today was the day his mentor - Jiraya, one of the Sannin had sacrificed his life for his home. Minato had completely forgotten about it. Who could blame him? He’d got the Uchiha completely super-glued to his backside.

Naruto went to Jiraya’s grave and sat down before it, tightly clutching the handwritten manuscript of his mentor’s first book: A Tale of a Gutsy Ninja.

“Hey, Ero-sennin." his voice cracked horribly. "Today… today, I’ve completely failed you. I’m so sorry, sensei. But I can’t fight for the title of Hokage anymore. I gave up, sensei… I gave up! All that talk about never giving up… it was all bullshit. You must hate me so much. But, please help me. I’m lost. I have no goal, no aim, nothing to fight for sensei. I’ve… forgotten my path of the Ninja. Help me sensei.” Naruto spoke, not expecting an answer.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew over him and ruffled the pages of the handwritten manuscript which he was carrying. It came to stop at one page and the wind just died down. Naruto looked at the grave with confusion. “What are you trying to tell me?” he wondered out loud before his eyes fell on the first line of the page of the manuscript.

“Naruto, that day realized his true mission… his true goal in life.”

(A/N: The name of the protagonist in the book was also Naruto, if you remember. Quite Ironic, huh? Also, this scene is very reminiscent of the Lion King.)

He read. And reread. But nothing sunk in. He was quite dumb at these type of things. ‘See underneath the underneath.’ He chanted.

He wondered all the way back to the beginning. He wondered whether becoming Hokage was his true goal. He always wanted to be recognized for who he was, not to be seen in the shadow of a demon. He thought that maybe if he became Hokage, people would respect him and finally accept him. But that was the burden of being a Jinchuriki. He wanted to be free of that burden. That’s why he wanted to become Hokage in the first place. To have freedom to go out and speak to people without being spat upon or treated like a disease. To have a person he could return home to without them back stabbing him. That’s right, his true goal was to be… to be free.

As this realization dawned over him, a new light was ignited in his dark soul. A new reason to live, worth fighting for.

‘Jiraya-Sensei’ He felt a pang in his chest. But he felt like a huge boulder had been lifted from his shoulders. Before long a voice he knew all too well, boomed in his ear.

“Hey Kit, long time, and no hear.”

“Kurama? Is that you?” he asked, hesitating.

“No it isn’t. It’s just a ramen delivery nutcase who just happened to be living in your belly, because you eat so much of that crap.” Kurama replied, sarcasm dripping trough every pore, before he laughed out loud.

‘Same old Kurama’ Naruto thought as he smiled genuinely. ‘It’s good to have my best friend back, and NOT ignoring me.’ He may be a demon, but Naruto had grown to love the furry fox. He wasn’t bad, he was always controlled when he attacked the humans. So it wasn’t really his fault.

“Hey, stop. Your making me blush. And I ignored you for a good reason and you know that. I did not like the whiny Naruto but the cold Naruto was just scary. So I ignored. Simple. And what do you mean, same old Kurama. Most of us don’t just change our personality completely like Mr. Blondie Fishcake over here!” Kurama haughtily replied.

“How did you know what I was thinking?” Naruto asked, surprised.

Insert demon face palm here.

“I live INSIDE you, brat. Why do you think I came out to talk now, huh?” Naruto nodded in understanding. A lot of things made sense now. He continued to chat with the fox before a recognized a familiar chakra signature coming his way.

‘What’s Kakashi sensei doing here?’ As if on cue, Kakashi landed in front of him. “Sasuke won.” Kakashi said, absolutely no emotion in his voice.

“Oh! Okay. Too bad you didn’t, huh Sensei? You should be proud, though.” He said, his voice monotone. He didn’t care about the Hokage title anymore.

“Aren’t you sad Naruto?” Kakashi was pretty sure Naruto would be saddened that his lifelong dream had been taken away from him, by his childhood rival. Instead, Naruto looked brighter and healthier than he had ever looked in the past three years.

“Nah! I just realized that becoming Hokage wasn’t actually my dream.”

“Huh? Then what was?”

“To be, I don’t know… um… free. I know it sounds weird, but…” Naruto knew he had to keep his distance from people, but somehow with Kakashi… he didn’t mind.

“Free?” Kakashi asked, confused.

“You know why I joined the ANBU?” Naruto asked. The Jounin shook his head. “I joined because… in those dangerous missions, while fighting an enemy ninja, I… had a choice. A choice that was entirely my own, no one choosing for me or dictating my life. To fight or to just give up. And for those few moments, just for those few moments, no one judging me for what I chose, I felt free from the burden of being a demon. Completely free…” He said as he smiled sadly, but genuinely.

Kakashi’s eyes widened impossibly. After years, he saw a smile grace Naruto’s features. The setting sun shined on his tan skin, Kakashi could swear he had seen an angel. That very moment, Kakashi swore to himself, he would dedicate every breathing moment to make Naruto feel free again. Do anything to make him smile like that again. Never had he felt like this for anyone. But everything he did wound up to be somehow related to Naruto. All he could think about during the ceremony was where Naruto was. How he would cope up with the fact that Sasuke had won. Even after the announcement of Sasuke becoming Hokage, he didn’t stop to congratulate his former student.

Frankly he started hating the raven and disliking his own mentor after the confrontation with Naruto in the Hokage Tower. He was so pissed at them for hurting his Naruto- Whoa! Wait wait waaait! His Naruto? He did a serious reassessment of his feelings to Naruto and realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Oh Gods! He had fallen for Naruto!

Naruto sighed, before grinning sheepishly. “I know it’s twisted, but it’s the truth. I don’t expect you to understand.” He said, completely misunderstanding Kakashi’s expression of awe. Naruto got up and dusted of his pants and looked over to Kakashi who was staring at the ground, still awed at his realization.

“I do, actually.” Kakashi mumbled, very low, but Naruto’s heightened senses didn’t miss it.

“Hmm?” he asked.

“I know exactly how you feel. You know, my father committed suicide after he couldn’t bear the shame and hatred the ninjas threw at him after he screwed up a mission to save his comrades. After he died, the ninjas started showing their hatred towards me. That’s why... I started wearing this.” Kakashi said, still looking at the ground but pointing at his mask. Naruto listened carefully. He never knew much of Kakashi’s past. “After that, I followed every rule, everything to become a perfect ninja, to be free of my father’s shadow. That was working great. People started seeing me as Kakashi and not as the White Fang’s son. Then I joined Minato sensei’s team.” Naruto flinched at the mention of his father. “My teammates… I lost them. But they thought me a lesson. ‘Those who disobey rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.’”

Naruto remembered the same line that was told by Kakashi when they were team seven, and mixed feeling arose in him. “I came to forgive my father then, because I understood. But I carried around the heavy guilt of losing my comrades. So I joined the ANBU to…” Kakashi trailed off and looked up to see Naruto staring back with the same expression he knew he had on his face now.

Naruto understood him. He knew Kakashi joined the ANBU for the same reason he did. Kakashi was a secretive man. But here he was, telling Naruto all about his past, being so vulnerable and open. It made Naruto’s heart skip a beat. He wanted to know more about the man. Wanted to wipe away anything that made Kakashi feel insecure. Kakashi was slowly breaking Naruto’s walls, walls that were shutting him off from the world. Naruto didn’t seem to mind it, in fact he quite enjoyed it. Just letting somebody know him for who he was. Maybe, just maybe he could trust people again.

Comfortable silence ruled between them as Kakashi walked Naruto to his home, which happened to a small apartment a few blocks away from Kakashi’s own. No words needed. As they reached Naruto’s apartment, Naruto opened the door and Kakashi stood outside, giving Naruto his customary eye-smile.

Next, Naruto did something that shocked Kakashi. He just pulled Kakashi to himself and gave him a bone-crushing hug. 

“Thank you, sensei.” 

“I don’t really know what for, but your welcome Naruto.” He said as he hugged back. He wasn’t used to physical contact, contact during spars and fights notwithstanding. But this was something he could definitely get used to. As he pulled away, Naruto blushed. He had acted out of instincts and maybe due the fact that he possibly had developed feelings for Kakashi.

“Good night, Kakashi-sensei.”

“It’s just Kakashi. I’m not your sensei anymore. And Good night, Naruto. Sleep well, we have a mission to Suna tomorrow.” Kakashi chuckled, as a loud groan erupted from the blonde.

He quickly poofed to the Hokage tower, grinning like a mad-man. He had some threatening to do. He would make Naruto happy, if it was the last thing he did!

Next day, Naruto woke up with a smile. He didn’t have any nightmares. He took a quick glance at the clock, and his smile quickly was replaced be look a horror. He was fifteen minutes late for his mission! And after that, the morning quickly went tumbling downhill.

His apartment had a clear view of the Hokage Mountain. He had wanted to be Hokage when he bought his apartment, so thinking he could see a giant himself in the morning wouldn’t have been too bad. But now, he was seeing Sasuke’s giant bosom being constructed just above his father’s head, his mood was becoming worse. He stepped into the shower and realized the landlord had decided to cut out the hot water, again. He didn’t want to deal with the fat, oily man now. He stepped out of the freezing shower and dressed up quickly. He grabbed a slice of bread an-!

SWISH!

A kunai made itself known as it lodged itself on his wooden cupboard. If not for Naruto’s fast reflexes, he would have lost an eye. A tag hung from the kunai. One look at it, and Naruto jumped out of the apartment just before it exploded. His apartment soon caught fire from the explosion. Naruto applied a water jutsu and rushed out of there. There were people groaning on the streets because for one, they hadn’t managed to hurt the Jinchuuriki and two, the houses next to his was also being enveloped in the flames. Whoever threw the exploding kunai didn’t take account for the fact that there were houses next to his.

‘Heh, amateur.’ Naruto thought dryly as he stuffed the piece of bread into his mouth while running off towards the gate. All the events of the morning didn’t change the fact that he was still late. Great! Now he had no home to return to. At least he wouldn’t have to wake and see Sasuke’s giant face every morning. Now he had to go on a mission to Suna. Damn! The blistering heat. The morning had quickly proved to be one of his worst. Oh and it seemed so wonderful a few minutes ago!

But his lips curved a little, he was going to see Gaara after forever! He missed his red-headed best friend! He met Kakashi at the gate.

“Decided to learn from the master of being late?” Kakashi said and chuckled. He just got a hum in reply, as they gave in the paperwork to Izumo and Kotetsu at the gates. That’s when Kakashi noticed. The ends of Naruto’s ANBU pants were… burnt? Something was definitely off. Naruto had opened up to him yesterday, and today he seemed more shut-off than usual. What happened? Kakashi wanted to ask but he didn’t. Suddenly demanding so much might break the fragile relationship that they had formed. That was something Kakashi definitely didn’t want.

The journey to Suna was a silent one. A very eerie silence. The mission was quite simple. They just had to deliver some scroll to the Kazekage and come back. Soon, all the trees disappeared and barren land started to show. It was getting warmer by the second. They were approaching Suna. As they neared their destination, the winds were getting dry and sand particles infused with them.

Naruto started coughing as he inhaled more sand particles. Kakashi was fine because of his mask. In all that hurry in the morning, Naruto had forgotten to take his scarf. He soon started coughing violently and they stopped. Kakashi looked at Naruto worriedly. It was not like Naruto to forget something. Something was definitely off. He reached inside his pouch and found a spare mask.

“Here Naruto.” He said as he patted the violently coughing blonde on the back. “Thanks” Naruto said as he grabbed the mask and put it on. It was a nice feeling. No wonder Kakashi liked it so muck. Maybe he should also start wearing a mask. He could hide the whisker marks at least. Besides, it had got the very comforting and dare he say it, alluring scent of the copy-ninja.

They made their way to the Kazekage tower without any more delays. As they entered the room, Gaara’s eyes lit up. It was obvious he loved his best friend as much as the other loved him back. Gaara also felt something was off. He was just itching to hug the blonde and ask him what was wrong. They soon got over with the formalities and Gaara dismissed all the ninjas except Naruto.

Without further words, he led Naruto to his chambers. Many ninjas bowed to Gaara and smiled at Naruto. They all respected him very much. Here, in Suna, Naruto was a hero. He had changed the Kazekage so much. And for that, they were very grateful.

Gaara and Naruto sleeping in the same chambers wasn’t a rare sight. They were best friends, after all. As soon as they got into Gaara’s room, Naruto stretched and removed his ANBU armor while Gaara removed his Kazekage robes. As soon as they were comfortable, Naruto flopped onto the couch. He finally removed Kakashi’s mask and sighed.

“So Naruto? How was your day?” Gaara asked nonchalantly as he poured himself and Naruto a drink. Both of them were Jinchuuriki’s so they couldn’t get intoxicated easily. But it always helped them relax. “Yea it was okay. Nothing much…” Naruto said, in a monotone voice.

“Naruto… cut the crap already. What happened?” Naruto chuckled dryly. His friend knew him so well. Then Gaara remembered that yesterday, that Uchiha was announced as the next Hokage. Was that the reason? “Naruto is it because of what happened yesterday?”

“What?” Naruto asked, before remembering. “Nah! I don’t care about that anymore. I realized that that wasn’t my dream.” Gaara listened in awe as Naruto proceeded to tell him all about yesterday. Brushing over the part with Kakashi and still blushing over it.

Huh? Naruto was blushing over Kakashi? He would have to have a little chat with the copy-cat ninja.

“Then, why are you in a sour mood?” Gaara inquired, not getting it. Naruto sighed before quickly telling Gaara about the morning like he was talking about the weather, not even bothering to lie to his best friend.

Gaara was barely keeping his rage back. If the elemental nations could see him, a former serial killer, become a hero and then become a Kazekage, why couldn’t they see Naruto, the guy who pretty much talked Pein into defeat, as a hero? Here, in Suna, Naruto was respected as much as himself. Were all the people in Konoha blind?

Naruto was slumping and sitting on the couch with a pained look plastered on his face. Gaara anger ebbed away. He had to comfort his friend first. He could deal with his anger-management issues later, even with Shukaku ranting in his head. He kneeled down before his friend and trapped him in a tight embrace. Naruto’s eyes widened, before softening and hugging back, enjoying the warmth of his best friend.

“Naruto… you can cry if you want to. And I know you do. No need to hold back.” Without another word Naruto broke down. Not a sob, nothing. Just tears flowing as he buried himself into the crook of Gaara’s neck. Gaara gently patted him on his head as the blonde trembled. Gaara knew that he’d feel better after a good cry. It always felt better when you would let emotions go. Gaara knew it because… Naruto told him the same thing years ago while Gaara sobbed painfully into Naruto’s shoulder.

After an hour or so, Naruto had cried himself to sleep. Gaara slowly got up, lifting Naruto with himself and placed him on the bed. His non-existent eyebrows furrowed as he noticed that Naruto was underweight. ‘He’s not been eating properly again…’ If only he could be with Naruto, live with him… he wouldn’t let anyone or anything hurt his blonde. But alas! The council would not approve. Two demon containers in one village, would cause power play and ultimately war.

Gaara switched off the lights, pulled up the rug and laid down beside Naruto. Naruto instinctively snuggled up to him. And Gaara slept. He could only sleep when Naruto was around, because only then would Shukaku also be in peace and let him sleep without going berserk.

Next day Gaara woke up early. His inner alarm a.k.a Shukaku ringing annoyingly. He looked beside him to see Naruto still asleep. Gaara smiled as he saw his best friend sleep peacefully. He got up carefully without waking the other. He got a paper and pen to write a note to his friend telling him that he had duties to attend to. As kept it on the bedside table, he saw a mask there that strangely reminded him of the Copy-cat ninja.

‘Strange… Naruto was wearing that yesterday, too.’ Speaking of which, he had to have a little talk with the Sharingan pervert. It seems his Naruto had feelings for him. If he hadn’t read Kakashi entirely wrong, and by the way he entrusted Naruto with his past, which Naruto refused to tell him, he added mentally while pouting - no, brooding (Kazekages do not pout)- Kakashi also harbored some feelings for the blonde here. He wanted to make sure Naruto’s feelings were reciprocated, before Naruto got hurt again.

After his morning meeting, Gaara asked someone to summon Kakashi to his room.

Knock knock.

‘Not bad… only fifteen minutes late.’ Gaara thought, surprised. Maybe Naruto’s habits were rubbing off on the man.

“Yes, come in, Hatake-san”

“You called for me Kazekage-sama?”

“Yes, well, let’s come straight to the point. Do you really have feelings for Naruto or you have do you have some motive behind your actions?” Gaara bluntly asked the copy-nin, his tone changing from carefree to deadly in four seconds. To be frank, Kakashi was quite shocked at the abrupt question. Was he that invisible? But Kakashi was a secretive man. He wouldn’t just go blabbering out his feelings to anyone, Kazekage or not.

Kakashi frowned as he answered. “Naruto was my student and now my very valuable comrade. I respect him for his courage, bravery and determination. I also like him as a comrade and friend... Is that all, Kazekage-sama?”

Gaara grit his teeth. This man...

“Listen, Kakashi-san. I’m asking you this as Gaara, Naruto’s friend who is very concerned about him not as Gaara, the Kazekage who just wants to pry in other’s life. Because I know for a fact that he does. He’s too scared to admit it to himself.” Kakashi’s brain was trying to sink in what Gaara had just said. As he stared wide-eyed to the wall. Naruto, liked him? “He trusts you a lot. He told me about that tid-bit that happened the day before yesterday. All with a permanent blush stuck to his face.” He chuckled slightly at that. Kakashi looked at Gaara with shock. Did Gaara just laugh? Kakashi was quite convinced that Gaara was incapable of human emotions. And wait, what? If Naruto told him everything about that day, that mean he told him that…

“Oh, don’t worry. He refused to tell me about your past. He said ‘Kakashi has trusted me enough to tell me that… I can’t tell anyone that, not even you Gaara.’” He said, while a little anger/jealousy laced his words. He waited for Kakashi’s brain to comprehend everything, before he continued.

“Listen, you, me and Naruto… we all have or had daddy trust issues and I know from personal experience how it is for your own father to break your trust. I’m sure you also know how that feels. To Naruto, his father’s love was everything. It was the only thing keeping him from breaking his heart because of the shit Konoha throws at him. So when his dad broke his trust because of that pathetic Uchiha, whom he was already jealous of, thanks to you and his pink-haired girl, it broke Naruto. Face it Kakashi, you neglected Naruto during training and paid the Uchiha more attention. I don’t care why, but Naruto has forgiven you for that a long time ago. But now, he has some serious trust issues and he trusts you. So, answer me truthfully, do you love Naruto?” Gaara said, completely serious.

There was an eerie silence in the room, a pang of guilt hit Kakashi as he remembered the time he trained with Team 7. He couldn’t bear to look at Naruto and not see Obito’s and Kushina’s bright personality. A reminder of his failure to protect his comrades. So he chose to neglect the boy. He was a coward. It was stupid of him. And for that, he would never forgive himself. Adding to the list of failures already there.

But then hearing that Naruto loved him, made Kakashi’s heart flutter. He was going to answer this one, truthfully.

“I know I have neglected him, and for that I would never forgive myself. But I… love Naruto, and I will do anything for him, anything…” Kakashi said, his tone completely serious. Gaara studied the man, his one grey eye in particular. He knew the man was not lying.

“Well that’s good…” He let out a sigh. “You’re dismissed Hatake-san.” Gaara said in his business tone. Kakashi was just about to walk away, when Gaara spoke up.

“Hatake-san, people here love Naruto, like really love him. So I don’t want any people ending up in the hospital because you unleashed your wrath on them, alright?” Gaara said with a sly smile. It was so weird Gaara was showing him emotions. His brain was wierding out. Kakashi frowned but nodded as he left the room.

‘What the hell was that supposed to mean? I mean, if people here loved Naruto, I’d be more than happy to see him without the pained look in his face.’ Somehow, he felt that he had received blessings from the Kazekage. It was weird coming from a man thirteen years younger to him. Wait! Didn’t that mean Naruto was thirteen years younger to him? That was borderline cradle-robbing. But then again, he had seen marriages with bigger age gaps.

Argh! Forget it! He loved Naruto and that’s all mattered. As Kakashi came out of the tower, he bumped into a sleepy Naruto. “Oh hey Kakashi sensei.” He said as he yawned and stretched. “When are we heading back?”

“About that… we have the next three weeks off.”

Suddenly, all the sleep was knocked out of Naruto as he processed the information.

“Huh? What? How? How did you get Hokage-sama do give us three weeks off?!” He asked, still spitting out the ‘Hokage-sama’. “Maa… well, I pulled some strings.”

Oh Kakashi had pulled more than, just some strings. He sent the raven to a bitter guilt trip, almost made him break down, sent him on an emotional rollercoaster and more unpleasant details I won’t bore you with. All done in just one hour, with just words. Let’s just say the Uchiha wasn’t very happy, in fact he wasn’t happy at all. Sasuke may be Hokage, but Kakashi was more experienced in the field. He had topped the T&I exams, after all. In that moment of weakness, if Kakashi had even asked the raven to give them an entire year off, he would have but Kakashi thought three weeks should be sufficient to relay his feelings to his beloved blonde.

Besides, an important day was coming up. It was Naruto’s 21st birthday in three weeks. He knew what happened on his eighteenth birthday. He was the one who found Naruto almost dead on the destroyed training ground. He was going to wipe away all those memories from his love’s beautiful mind. Damn! He was starting to sound like a cheesy old man. He chuckled a bit at that and brushed it away when Naruto gave him a funny look.

The next few days were undoubtedly Naruto’s best. Anywhere he went, people showered him with attention. He loved the feeling of being loved. He even got free ramen! Seriously, this was paradise… just a hot, dry paradise. Yeah.

Meanwhile, the copy-ninja was having a tough time. He hadn’t understood when Gaara had told him. But now he knew. People here were all over Naruto. Literally. The jealousy was threatening was come out in a big, ugly way and Kakashi had no intention of going on killing spree. But it was hard containing all that jealousy.

Especially with that woman wrapped over Naruto like a damn slinky. He had to viciously stomp down a growl. ‘Get off my Naruto!’ Kakashi wasn’t stupid… or blind. Naruto was not your average looking male. If the people in Konoha weren’t so busy hating him for absolutely no fucking reason and fawning over that stupid Uchiha, Naruto would be getting showered with marriage proposals every day!

He was strong, so strong that he kicked Pein’s arse, royally, if he may add. And gentle and sweet and humble and hot and… God, that would go on forever. Seriously, what part of blue-eyed blonde didn’t appeal to any sane person? An amazing body, with bright sun-kissed hair and tan skin like honey and a nice ass-! Let’s not go down there. Well, you got what he meant, right?

So it was getting extremely hard for Kakashi to control. He wanted to do nothing more than to push him against a wall and mark him, show the world who he belonged to. But that would make him no different from that woman who was still all over him. But one look at Naruto’s happy and content face, all the anger dissipated. Just like that. He was a sucker to that face. Well, who wouldn’t be? And like that, the days passed.

Soon, the day arrived. Kakashi wanted it to be perfect. Kakashi had been dropping major hints here and there, and he knew that Naruto knew that he liked him. But still, it takes a lot of courage to say those three little words… you know, they come with promise, feelings and a lot of commitment included in the package. As Kakashi and Naruto got out of their own separate beds (yea, like Kakashi was going to keep it that way after today), Kakashi acted absolutely normal, not giving a hint about it being his birthday. “Morning Kakashi.” Naruto mumbled dazedly as he put paste on to his tooth brush.

“Morning, Naru-chan.” Kakashi mumbled back. Naruto flushed at the endearment. The man had been driving him crazy with innuendos. He knew Kakashi maybe liked him, but seriously, Naru-chan? Oh god! That made him sound like some pansy gay pretty boy. He was gay, but you know what he meant.

Naruto went into the shower first while Kakashi went out for a morning run. He had to do something to keep up his stamina. He was going to get missions from next week on, after all. Meanwhile, Naruto showered, and took care of his morning wood which had no intentions of dying down due to one Kakashi Hatake. Naruto had to admit, he was fantasizing about the jounin almost every night. And it was a serious problem, considering the object of his fantasies slept in the same room. God! He had to get over this!

Anyhow, he shut the tap and stepped out of the shower after jerking off, only to find that he had left the bath robe on the couch of their hotel room last night. There was only a short hand towel left. He could sense Kakashi’s presence so he couldn’t step out naked as the day he was born. The towel would have to do. He wrapped the towel around his waist. It just reached to his upper thigh, but it was still better than going completely naked. He stepped out of the washroom, just in time to see Kakashi only in his sweat pants… and his mask, of course.

He had to admit, his teacher’s body was amazing. Those lean muscles shifting under the milky white skin. All that hard work in the shower gone down the drain. Literally!

Kakashi on the other hand was frozen. Damp hair clung to the blonde’s face and neck while small rivulets of water slithered down his back and abs. He was all wet… a man ripe for taking. He wanted to do nothing more than ripping the offending piece of cloth away from the blonde. God! He just wanted to fuck the man senseless to any available horizontal surface… maybe vertical too.

But that would defeat the whole purpose of the three-week holiday. He somehow managed to get a hold of himself and gave Naruto his customary eye-smile. Kakashi walked past Naruto to the bathroom, but not before noticing the prominent bulge in the flimsy piece of clothing that Naruto covered himself up with. He smirked smugly, knowing he was the cause for Naruto’s current predicament.

“Um… Kakashi, take your bath robe, there is no towel in the bathroom.” Naruto said in a strained voice because something of his was surely straining something. Kakashi ‘hmmed’ in reply and went into the bathroom after grabbing his bathrobe and sneaking a good look at Naruto’s firm ass, all the while limping slightly. Walking with a throbbing hard-on was hard!

Kakashi stepped into the shower and decided to take care of this little problem, while imagining a certain blonde shinobi. Meanwhile, Naruto was thinking of the most disgusting things possible for his erection to die down. ‘Sakura in a mini skirt!’ Naruto thought and it brutally murdered his erection. That always did.

After the relationship between Sasuke and Minato came out, people were a bit shocked, but accepted them showing absolutely no sign of hatred. Yea, who could hate poor Sasuke-kun and their beloved Hokage-sama? But Sakura, extremely sad that her Sasuke-kun swung the other way, was first into depression and then hopped right on to the next male hottie – Naruto. She still thought that he was swooning over and extremely confident that Naruto would agree to go out with her in a heartbeat. Too bad, Naruto avoided her because… well, you know, she was annoying and her feelings weren’t sincere. Whenever he was around, Sakura would act as if everything was fucking perfect and speak to Naruto in a sugary tone. Sakura showed her true colors soon enough and Naruto was fed up with her thinking she could just use him as her personal stress ball to blow off her fuse and straight out told her to fuck the hell off.Sakura was obviously shocked. He could only imagine her face when he would tell her that he was gay too. She did everything in her power to make Naruto feel bad, but Naruto didn’t give a rat’s ass. He has disliked her ever since.

Anyways, relieved that his little problem was now gone, he dressed up. Kakashi had said something about a festival today. Hmm… maybe he should wear that light blue Yukata that he had bought in Suna. It was the same color as his eyes and a really good fabric. It had the feel of cotton, but still kept one warm and at the same time not suffocating. So he slipped on his Yukata and tied the obi.

His hair was longer now, since had hadn’t tied his forehead-protector. Naruto brushed… and brushed and brushed. But his hair was just a messy as it was before. He gave up… again, sighing loudly. He’d be doing that a lot lately. He brushed his Yukata for any creases, when the bathroom door opened. Kakashi walked out wearing his bathrobe… and his stupid mask.

Naruto’s eye twitched again. ‘Does that man ever take off that stupid piece of cloth? I think he was even born with it.’ Naruto snickered at the thought and went back to un-creasing his Yukata. Kakashi, on the other hand, stopped dead in his tracks.

Oh Kami! The blonde looked gorgeous in the attire! He didn’t know for how long he was standing there with his jaw rolling somewhere on the wooden floor. It wasn’t until Naruto waved his hand right in front of his face that he snapped out of whatever trance he was in. Kakashi dressed up in his own grey and black Yukata as Naruto went down to the hotel lobby and give Kakashi his privacy.

As soon as Kakashi reached the lobby after getting ready, he could see… red. His Naruto was surrounded by a mob of Naruto fangirls and fanboys who were literally eye-raping his blonde. One of them even groped him. ‘How dare they?!’ that was the only thought that Kakashi’s mind. His KI tripled… no quadrupled. He was about to go on a rampage before the young Kazekage’s warning replayed in his mind.

“Hatake-san, people here love Naruto, like really love him. So I don’t want any people ending up in the hospital because you unleashed your wrath on them, alright?”

‘Control, Hatake…. Control!’ he repeated this as a mantra in his head. After taking a few calming breaths, Kakashi pushed in through the crowd and dragged the blonde out of the hotel. The hoard of Naruto fans ran after them. Kakashi, holding Naruto’s hand, ran at lightning speed before hiding in a narrow lane.

“Stupid blood-thirsty leeches… didn’t they ever learn not to touch what wasn’t theirs?” Kakashi grumbled under his breath gasping to fill air into his lungs, but Naruto caught it. He smiled slyly.

“What happened, Kakashi?” Naruto asked, feigning innocence. He loved putting Kakashi in a tight spot, which was very, very rare.

“Uh… Nothing… I was just… uh” Kakashi stammered, not knowing what to say without revealing his feelings. He was pretty sure the other knew, but he wanted it to be perfect. Cheesy much? “Jealous?” Naruto completed for him. Kakashi, sensing the mischief from the blonde, smirked. Two can play this game.

“And, what if I was, Naru-chan?” Kakashi replied, his name rolling off his tongue like silk, as he moved closer to Naruto’s face. Naruto, once again blushed. He had to get over that name. He didn’t fancy being red-face permanently. Kakashi chuckled at the sight of the blushing blonde, before letting him go.

“We should eat something, Kankuro said there was a restaurant few blocks from here that served a damn good breakfast.” Kakashi said, still snickering. Naruto pouted but followed Kakashi.

‘When is this man gonna make his move?!’ After eating a scrumptious meal, Naruto and Kakashi made their way to the fair. There were hundreds of people, all around the little stalls that were serving delicious food and having games to play. Naruto saw a few children crying at the corner because they couldn’t hit the target and get their plushy toy. One look at their tear-filled chibi faces, Naruto couldn’t help himself. He paid the guy at the stall and shot the targets with his eyes closed! People gathered around to see Naruto shooting the targets dead-on, without looking. Soon he got plushy toys for all of the kids there who thanked him profusely. They hugged and kissed him. Naruto had never been happier before. Their parents smiled and thanked him as they carried their children.

“Show-off!” Kakashi said and chuckled as Naruto pouted in response. “What? Anyone could have hit that target, so I had to do it Naruto Uzumaki style.” Naruto said. Naruto had really opened up again and Kakashi was more than thankful for that.

After hours of playing and eating and playing and eating, they bumped into Shikamaru and Temari. “Oi Naruto! Where have you been, man? Haven’t seen your face for so long!”

Shikamaru exclaimed. “Aah… Kakashi here managed to get us three weeks off.” A sense of pride bubbled in Naruto’s chest as if Kakashi had just single-handedly saved the world.

“Woah! Kakashi-san, you have gotta tell me how you got our Hokage to do that!”

“Maa… I pulled some strings.” Kakashi once again said. Naruto and Shikamaru gave him a funny look but he brushed it off. “By the way, Naruto Happy Bi-!” Shikamaru was going to say, but was stopped when Kakashi signaled him not to tell that, by not so softly stomping the brunette’s feet and then shaking his head.

“Happy… what do you call this festival?” He quickly, diverted. “It’s the Suna festival.” Temari spoke up. “So happy Suna festival, I guess.” Shikamaru said, before muttering his favorite line and discreetly nursing his poor feet. Shikamaru figured out that Kakashi didn’t want Naruto to know, because he had other plans. He could put two and two together faster than a normal person.

“Anyways, what are both of you doing here, together?” Naruto asked, smiling knowingly.

“We aren’t together or anything” They said in unison, blushing profusely.

‘Sure you aren’t.’

They soon parted their ways. Kakashi and Naruto had their dinner at a diner. All through dinner, Kakashi fidgeted nervously earning weird looks from Naruto. After that, they decided to go on the Ferris wheel. They climbed onto their little carriage. Naruto and Kakashi sat opposite to each other. As the ride started of slowly, Naruto stared outside the widow while Kakashi stared at Naruto.

He was so nervous! It was time to tell those three words. Oh God! Kakashi took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. “Uh… Naruto.” “Yeah?” Naruto asked, still looking outside the window. “I have something to tell you. It’s important.” Kakashi asked, his tone serious.

Sensing the importance, Naruto paid all attention to Kakashi. “I want you to know, that during our time in team 7… if you ever felt that I pushed you aside because you were the ‘demon’ everyone claimed you were… you were absolutely wrong.” Naruto’s eyes widened at the abrupt explanation, but a warm fuzzy enveloped him nonetheless. “I neglected you because I couldn’t… bare to look at you.” Kakashi confessed.

Suddenly all warmth left Naruto, leaving him frozen. ‘So he was just like them.’ He thought dimly.

“I couldn’t look at you because, the guilt of not being able to save your mother threatened to overbear me every time I saw your bright eyes, and your smile. I trained solely on Sasuke because… I could see him walking the same path that I did…” It hurt Kakashi to say this, but he had to. He had to tell Naruto how he truly felt for him.

‘Stop it! Just stop! I don’t want to hear anymore.’ Naruto’s conscience screamed.

“And for that… I would never, ever forgive myself. That day, when I saw you broken and tattered at the training grounds, I thought I had lost you forever, and you hid yourself behind a cold mask. And that day before we came here, was the day I saw you a little bit of the real you flickering, I swore that I would do anything to make you happy, that day that I realized that my world, my dreams, everything had narrowed down to one single point…”

Naruto kept his head low, the memories of the past reeling in his head. Why was Kakashi telling him all this? Why today? Why now? Everything was going just great. So why was he ruining it? Were all that feelings that he thought Kakashi had for him just an illusion? Was he that delusional?

“You” Kakashi completed.

Naruto looked up at the man, his eyes filled with emotions. Mostly hurt, surprise and uncertainty.

“I… love you, Naruto.” Kakashi said, his voice full of truth. Naruto just sat there, not moving a muscle. He studied the man with wide eyes, searching for any sign that this whole thing was just some sick joke. Kakashi averted his eyes to the window, afraid of what the reaction would be, before a choked sob pierced through the air.

Kakashi, frightened that he had hurt the blonde, snapped his head back to the blonde who had tears flowing down his face, albeit a smile gracing his perfect features. Kakashi could hardly control himself, before he kneeled down and trapped Naruto in a loving embrace. The movement made the carriage wobble dangerously but Naruto smiled into Kakashi’s shoulder as he wrapped his hands around Kakashi’s torso, squeezing him tightly.

“This is not a dream, right? Naruto asked, uncertainty lacing his voice. Kakashi pulled back, pulled his mask down and kissed Naruto full on his lips. It was a tender kiss, but was enough to relay his feelings to the other. No lust, no need, nothing just pure love. Just two kindred spirits that had found a place in each other’s heart.

“Is this real enough?” Kakashi asked, as he pulled away smiling as Naruto stared at his unmasked face. Naruto kept blushing as he stared at Kakashi’s gorgeous features. Could a man this beautiful, this perfect really love him? Another mind-blowing kiss from Kakashi wiped away all the doubts. Naruto felt so good, like nothing would ever break him down.

“Oh and before I forget…” Kakashi said as a small box magically appeared into his hand. He opened it to reveal a shiny, silver ring. Naruto once again, felt beautifully elated as Kakashi kissed the back of his palms and slipped the ring onto his finger.

“Happy Birthday, Naruto.”

Naruto stared at the silver ornament smiling with a dazed look. Kakashi kissed Naruto again, before pulling his mask up and settling down. For the rest of the ride, both of them sat next to each other, their fingers entwined and shoulder brushing against each other.

As the ride ended, they both got off and made their way to the hotel. Naruto blushing and smiling all the way and Kakashi grinning like an idiot behind his mask.

Once they entered the hotel room, Kakashi, at once tenderly kissed Naruto before deepening it, passion fueling it as Naruto kissed back. They both fell down onto the bed, still kissing. Naruto entwined his hands in Kakashi’s surprisingly soft, silver hair, as the older man ravaged his mouth, they broke apart, panting as though they had run a marathon before joining again. Kakashi slowly undid the obi of Naruto’s yukata, which resulted in it slipping of Naruto’s shoulder and pooling near his waist. Kakashi almost forgot to breathe as he took in the sight of a flushed Naruto.

He had seen Naruto naked many times, the last time being that very morning, but with the yukata slipping beautifully of his body, a sheen of perspiration covering that tantalizingly golden skin, and a bit of drool from those luscious lips… It was just too much. This beautiful creature was his.

He swooped down for another hungry kiss, his self-control shredding at an alarming rate. Naruto kissed back just as hungrily. He was a natural at this! Kakashi quickly divested himself of all his clothing and ginned smugly at the hungry but self-conscious look that they younger man was giving him. Kakashi proceeded to lick a wet trail down his jaw-line to Naruto’s bronze neck. Naruto instinctively tilted his head back, giving the older man better access to his neck. He worshipped every part of the angel in front of him, kissing, sucking and nibbling occasionally.

Beautiful sounds poured from Naruto’s parted lips without his consent as Kakashi sucked particularly sensitive spots. Kakashi then proceeded to leave a wet trail from his neck to Naruto’s nipples. He latched on to the dusky flesh and sucked at it while his fingers pulled at the other one. Naruto arched his back every time Kakashi bit down, moaning Kakashi’s name uncontrollably. Kakashi soon gave the other nipple the same treatment before moving down to Naruto’s abs.

Naruto’s body had really developed in those two years, thanks to the ANBU training. Every ounce of premature, baby fat had been flushed away leaving behind an Adonis, just for him to worship. He licked and nibbled at every hill and valley of his muscles before delving his tongue into Naruto’s navel. Naruto’s eyes widened as his arousal suddenly increased ten-fold. He needed release now. He had to tell Kakashi now, but he was embarrassed. What if the other man would laugh at him? But the throbbing need in his pants was far more important than his pride.

He lifted his hips against Kakashi’s chest, hinted that he needed some attention down there. Kakashi understood the need, but being the sadistic trust freak that he was, didn’t comply. He wanted Naruto to say it, without shying away, he wanted Naruto to entrust himself to him. Naruto was getting fed up and more aroused by that wondrous mouth working wonders on his chest and abs.

Kakashi was supposed to be a master at looking underneath the underneath, why can’t he just look beneath him, like right now! Oh god! Kakashi was going to kill him this way. ‘What a way to die, no?’ His conscience snickered. He looked down at Kakashi who was looking back to him, smirking as he kissed Naruto’s exposed thighs. Naruto knew that look. Kakashi wanted him to spell it out for him. ‘

Stop being a pussy and tell ‘im. A man has needs!’ His conscience once again, interjected. Naruto sometimes wondered if his conscience was more evil than Kyuubi himself. Okay, here goes nothing…

“Kakashi, I know that you know. But please, just please you have to touch me or I’ll go crazy!” Naruto said, all in one breath, his cheeks heating up. “I was under the impression that I was touching you Naru-chan.” Kakashi slyly replied, with a smug, wolfish grin super-glued to his stupidly gorgeous face. Naruto threw him a half-hearted glare. So he wanted to play it this way. You want me? You get me!

“Kakashi, I need you to rip off my boxers, and touch my manhood that is practically scorching its way through my boxers. And do it fast before I change my mi- Oh Fuuuuuuck!” Naruto howled as Kakashi did just that and took the engorged organ in his wonderful mouth. Kakashi sucked on the flesh like it was a candy, earning loud moans and praises from Naruto. Kakashi was pretty sure the entire hotel could hear Naruto screaming out his name.

Good! Now they’ll know not to touch what was his! The possessive green-eyed monster doing a victory dance in his head and if he wasn’t too busy pleasuring the blonde, he would’ve joined the dance too.

Naruto was floating on cloud nine, as he felt his orgasm approaching faster than a bullet train. All his nerves apparently had firework show going on, and every muscle in his body was tensing up as Kakashi bobbed up and down on his length. He could feel the tension coiling up in his gut before it snapped when Kakashi scraped his teeth on the over-sensitive flesh.

“Oh Fuck, Kakashi!” was all the warning he could give the man, before he released in the older man’s mouth. Every cell in his entire being spasmed continuously, as he rode out his glorious orgasm, his back arching of the bed. He flopped down on the bed, as his body struggled to take in oxygen to his lungs. Kakashi sucked him dry and gulped down the slightly bitter liquid. He sat back on his ankles, and got off the bed.

Kakashi went to his table drawer and pulled out some strawberry flavored lube and some condoms. Meanwhile, Naruto tried to calm his breath. Jerking off was one thing but this, damn! Kakashi returned and kissed Naruto the lips chastely before whispering.

“Naruto, I’m gonna have to prepare you, alright. At any point, you feel any discomfort and I mean any discomfort, you will tell me. Tonight, it’s all about you, what you want. You are the birthday boy, after all.” Kakashi said, slightly smiling. Naruto flushed and nodded. “Okay, can you get on your hands and knees for me?” Kakashi asked as though he was speaking to a child. Naruto was new at this and he didn’t want to scare the boy away. The first time was always crucial. Naruto got on his hands and knees, blushing profusely. He had never felt so exposed before. He looked over his shoulder to see Kakashi, searching for any sign of disgust.

Kakashi thought he would blow his load right here, right then. Once Kakashi saw Naruto in the position, looking back at him shyly, reached forward pecking Naruto on the lips, to brush of any uncertainty. “Naruto, you are beautiful, you don’t need to feel shy or insecure about your body because you are… perfect.” Naruto looked at him, wide-eyed before and red flush adorned his entire body. Seriously, Kakashi was making him feel like a God, or something. He clearly wasn’t one to talk, considering the copy-ninja was a god himself.

Kakashi placed his hands on Naruto’s butt cheeks before parting them to reveal his pink rosebud. He dipped his hands into the lube and rubbed it between his fingers to make warm. He was tempted to make Naruto suck on his fingers, but he doubted saliva would make a good lubricant. He slowly lined the crack of Naruto’s butt before circling the entrance teasingly. Naruto hissed at the cold fingers. Suddenly, without warning, Kakashi pushed his finger in, getting the initial pain over with. Naruto bit his lips to muffle the groan of discomfort. Kakashi looked up at him worriedly but he got a nod in return. He pulled his finger out before pushing back all the way in and slowly setting up a comfortable pace. Another finger was soon added, pumping in and out. And then the third and final finger, joined its companions.

By this time, Naruto was nothing but a moaning mess and was pushing back on those miraculous fingers. Suddenly, Kakashi hit a spot in Naruto that made white dots dance in his vision and scream out. His hands gave away and his head flopped onto the pillow. ‘What was that?!’ Naruto wondered through his hazy mind. Kakashi, on the other hand smirked smugly and abused that very spot till Naruto was complete pile of goo. He teased the blonde some more and deemed he was ready. Kakashi pulled his fingers out and reached over to the bedside table to pull a packet of condom.

Meanwhile, Naruto flipped back on his back and stopped Kakashi from doing so.

“I want to feel you, Kakashi. Not some rubber layer.” He said. “But…” Kakashi started. “Kakashi, I’m a virgin so it’s obvious that I am clean. And I’m pretty sure you are too, considering your ANBU exams said so. Now shut up and fuck me without the rubber. Besides, Kyuu will not let either of us get any diseases as long as you are mated with me.” Kakashi stared at him with surprise and sighed. Naruto and normal didn’t gel well. He gave in to the persistent eyes of the blonde and decided forego the rubbery material.

He positioned himself at the blonde angel’s entrance. He pushed in slowly, all the while looking at Naruto’s face, searching for any sign of pain or discomfort. All that he found was a fiery look of love and lust. It was gentle, yet had a slightly dangerous gleam to it. Inch by inch, Kakashi eased in while Naruto sucked in calming breaths to adjust to Kakashi’s girth. Three fingers were one thing, this was totally another. After pushing all the way to the hilt, Kakashi stopped letting the younger Shinobi adjust.

For Kami’s sake! This boy was tight! It was taking all of Kakashi’s willpower not to pull out and slam back in the force of the Rasenshuriken. Naruto shifted slightly, giving the silver haired man the green light to start moving. Kakashi happily complied as he pulled out of the tight orifice almost till the tip and pushed back in. Naruto’s back lifted off the bed in a perfect arch and Kakashi swore it was the most erotic sight he had seen until he was proven wrong a few moments later when the silver haired ninja hit his magic spot. Naruto moist plump lips parted as he let loose a beautiful moan, his face twisted in pure pleasure and his eyes blown wide with pupils dilated.

Kakashi thanked whatever god was up there for making this creature in his arms so beautifully sensitive, as he abused the same spot with every thrust. Both of them could fell their much needed release approaching at an alarming rate. Kakashi saw how Naruto was trying to swallow him back up every time he pulled, almost like a silent testimonial that he had completely accepted the silver-haired ninja.

Moans turned into euphoric screams, thrusts became erratic, hands clawed at each other. It was all a hazy blur as Naruto came with a silent scream of his lover’s name. Kakashi came soon after, almost sobbing on rapture as those delectably velvety walls clenched him impossibly tighter. Kakashi collapsed on Naruto, panting hard as his lover also tried to come down from whichever cloud he’d been floating on. Kakashii always thought that he was a man of small pleasures, but it seemed his body and mind had accustomed and already craving for this humongous amount of pleasure he felt by the blonde.

“That was…“ Naruto started, but was unable to find proper word.

“Amazing” Kakashi finished. “And something I could definitely get used to. Every Night.” Kakashi said before letting out peal of laughter. Naruto breathlessly joined him before saying an ‘I love you’ and kissing Kakashi, once again. Kakashi pushed himself to lie down beside Naruto pulling out not-so-gently in the process. Naruto hissed as his hips, butt and thighs wailed in pure throbbing agony. So this was the aftermath of mind-blowing sex?! Pain? It sure was a harsh world, but he wouldn’t give it up for anything.

He kind of understood what Sasuke and his dad must have been feeling. I mean, come on, Kakashi and he had an age gap of thirteen fucking years! He was a pervert, lazy, secretive and his former sensei on top of that! But did he care? No. No, he did not. Love cannot be decided or chosen like which ramen flavor you like the most, it just happens. He understood that now.

Maybe, Sasuke and Minato could be forgiven, even if a little. Those were his last thoughts as he snuggled up to his lover.

They returned to Konoha two days later, and everything went back to normal. Though the blonde looked a lot happier and Kakashi spent a lot less time reading that orange book.

Things slowly got better, when Naruto saved thirty civilians from a psychopathic maniac on one of his missions. No matter how much they had hated him previously, those villagers saw him in a new light that day, and they were truly indebted to him.

The real change, however, happened in the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Almost all hope was lost when the Kages were defeated at Madara’s hands. And then Naruto came in like bouncing ball of sunshine and well, Madara got his ass handed to him, by a very pissed off blonde while Kakashi took care of Obito. (A/N: Was tempted to write Naruto came in like a wrecking ball but then you guys might think I’m some Miley Cyrus obsessed fan which I’m not. So bouncing ball it is. To be fair, that song was quite nice.)

All the other villages started respecting the blonde even more and even Konoha was subjugated to the mightiness of Naruto. It couldn’t be helped as the Hokage, the strongest ninja in the entire village got his ass beaten to the ground by Madara whose ass was royally kicked by Naruto.

Now, two years after the war. “Kakashi, can you buy some more tomatoes? Our great Hokage here, finished up twenty fucking tomatoes and still demands for more.” Kakashi sighed for the umpteenth time that day as he left to buy more of those vicious red things that the Uchiha loved so much. Maybe moving in with Minato-sensei and Sasuke wasn’t such a good idea.

But, the blonde finally made up with them, and had his family back, though a few changes had been made. He was officially going to be added to their family after he and Naruto got married this fall. Their engagement had been epic. All the women were groaning as the four most attractive men in the entire village were gay!

Kakashi and Naruto could hear grumblings about a ‘homo invasion that affected hot dudes’ which had them snickering through the entire ceremony.

Moreover, Sasuke was his Mother-in-law! Ugh! He shuddered. What was with the fucking age difference?! First, getting blessings from Gaara and now Sasuke. Having a Hokage as your mother-in-law was not a good thing. He kept putting Kakashi through the shitty trials to prove that he was worthy of his baby Naruto which included going to the market fifty times a day to buy the precious Hokage-sama tomatoes.

Which was pretty ironic, cuz’ remind me, who was it that broke Naruto’s trust and all, again? Seriously? This whole thing was making his brain hurt.

But, Kakashi loved his world.

Naruto was free of the harsh laws placed upon him by Danzo and the others in the council. He had fulfilled his dream. Naruto got promoted to the ANBU security chief, which was just below the Hokage’s position. Naruto was free to make any major decision regarding security matters and was more often engaged in cool battles and chasing missing ninjas than not. It was so much cooler than the Hokage’s job which consisted of sitting on your butt ninety percent of the time signing papers and evading paper cuts.

Kakashi remained as an ANBU Captain, and mostly Naruto’s right-hand man. Kakashi walked into the house grinning idiotically behind his mask.

“Aah! Your tomatoes are here, Okaa-sama.” The name rolled of Naruto’s lips like silk while he had a shit-eating grin on his face.

The Uchiha promptly choked on his spit, gagged and ran out of the room mumbling something about ‘Hokage jobs’, giving Kakashi and Naruto their much-needed privacy.

‘Huh?’ Kakashi thought with his mouth hanging open. ‘Wow, that’s a new one.’ He couldn’t wait to see their faces when they went to receive their blessings on their marriage. The blonde walked towards him and placed his lips on his own after lowering his mask. Oh! He had missed this.

“God, I love you, Naru.”

“Love you too, Baaka.”

“Hey!”