Summary: As Naruto ages from a child to a man, Iruka realizes the love the boy holds for him was much deeper than familial love.

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.

I Love You

The first time he heard those words from Naruto, those three little words with such a big meaning, he laughed it off with a grin and a ruffle of golden hair.

"Iruka-sensei! Iruka-sensei!" the boy yelled with a grin so large it went on and on as he propelled his orange clad body straight into the chuunin's chest. "Time for ramen!" Naruto did not ask but demanded with a laugh as Iruka sighed but nodded happily none the less.

The energetic gennin smiled softly as his eyelids drooped and buried his nose into the crook of the man's neck, inhaling his scent. "I love you, Iruka-sensei." Naruto said his voice soft and calm as he snuggled into Iruka's embrace.

The chuunin laughed and looked down at the young boy whose spiky hair did not even reach his chin yet. "You must really want a big bowl of ramen don't you, remember I was a prankster too, back in the day, Naruto." the Academy teacher joked as the boy wriggled out of his hug.

Naruto bit the inside of his lip, shrugged and smiled. He placed his hand behind his head and laughed, "Hehehe, you almost fell for it Iruka-sensei, and forget just a big bowl I want at least five big bowls!" the boy crowed as he raced ahead, his mouth already watering and his heart still beating fiercely.

Iruka rubbed the bridge of his nose, he felt like something was off, but dismissed it with a shrug and quickly headed off to Ichiraku.

:p:

The next time Iruka heard those three words from Naruto, he was glad, he was not just a teacher who bought him food. He was a brother, a mother, a father. He was family.

"Maaaa, sorry for dragging you into this every year Naruto, especially when you have training with Jiraiya-sama to do." Iruka apologized as he checked the straps that tied his left leg to Naruto's right. He rubbed his chin, the boy's hair was tickling it, and it seems he's been doing some growing during all that training.

"Ha! No problem Iruka-sensei, I like festivals and besides the family three-legged races are the best, they give out prizes no matter what place you get in!" Naruto laughed, already envisioning a cash prize, or all the ramen you can eat prize or be the Hokage for a day would be a godsend.

Iruka smiled and placed his hand on his hip, "You mean," he stressed with a bashful grin, "Besides partnering with me that is, you could have roped Jiraiya-sama or even Kakashi-sensei to be your partner, your chances of wining first place would be better." the man teased and poked the gennin in the shoulder.

The brat gave Iruka a very dour look as if he were the teacher and Iruka the clueless student. "Hnnn, why would I do that, both of them are my teachers and you're... you're family." Naruto finished, quite lamely he admitted to himself, he always thought when he got around to saying these things it would be more dramatic.

The chuunin's eyes widened as he looked down at his former student, he bent his legs awkwardly so that their eyes were level and blinked. Naruto's face was flushed... probably the heat. "Thank you Naruto." the man said as he gathered the boy into his arms and quickly tumbled to the ground, as he remembered they were tied together.

Naruto didn't seem to mind though as he clenched his fingers into Iruka's shirt. "I always... I always thought of you as a sort of father or older brother Iruka-sensei, your my only family and I love you."

This time Iruka acted with his heart on his sleeve, "I love you too, Naruto." the teacher breathed and tapped the boy on the nose to get his attention. "Now let's go win this race. I think this year we'll win that Hokage-for-a-day prize."

"Yaatttta!"

... Iruka and Naruto were disqualified from the race because Naruto really had to go the washroom at the last minute. Iruka returned home that day with a soiled pants leg and a promise from Naruto, a free coupon for a day at an onsen.

:p:

The next time Iruka heard the words 'I love you' from Naruto he was terrified, things changed, Naruto had changed or maybe he was too blind to see it from the beginning what Naruto had meant by love.

'Their soft, their just too damn soft.' That was the first coherent thought that sped through Iruka's mind as Naruto's lips continued their assault on his. The Academy teacher swallowed a hiss as the blonde sucked in his bottom lip and gave it a nibble.

They were pressed tightly together in Iruka's kitchen as Naruto strengthened his grip on Iruka's hip while the chuunin replayed events on how this happened. The boy... no young man had returned from a solo A-class mission and he invited him over for tea, they were laughing at his latest dating mishap and... and then this.

The Academy teacher placed his hands on the youth's shoulder lightly trying to push him away but aborted the attempt when Naruto slipped his tongue into his mouth and gave his tongue a little swirl. It was too fast. It was too wild. It was too hot. 'This is wrong' Iruka repeated over and over in his head, and wondered when they had gotten to his bedroom.

His stomach lurched when he felt Naruto tug at his pants and with a grunt he pushed the boy... no this was a man, off of him. The two ninjas were silent, the chuunin thinking of what to say while he subconsciously dug at the scar on the bridge of his nose. The jounin tried to relax and dismiss the excitement and heat that formed in the pit of his stomach.

"Iruka-kun." Naruto began softly while the chuunin wondered for the life of him when the blonde had stopped calling him sensei. "I'm sorr--."

"Just what the hell did you think you were doing, Naruto? You know I'm already seeing someone and besides you may have forgotten my age but I remember yours, I'm a little too old fo--"

"I'm not a kid! And I know our ages and our age difference... I may suck at math but I sure as hell can use a calculator." the blonde sniped as Iruka realized his face was no longer round and childish but sharp and hard where the features... when had Naruto become so handsome?

Iruka rose from his place on the bed and gently but firmly took the youth's wrist, "Naruto you should go, we'll straighten this out in the morning," the older of the two said and quickly ushered the boy to the door. He hoped all could be settled and back to normal.

The jounin wrenched away from the chuunin and latched onto his first mentor with such desperation. The teacher noted that Naruto was almost just as tall as him. Naruto urged Iruka to snuggle his head into the crook of the blonde's neck, "Iruka-kun... Iruka I love you. I love you."

The brunette allowed his eyes to droop as his whole body shuddered and pressed lightly into the youth. It was warm and comforting and Iruka thought with a wry smile on his lips that of course something that felt this nice, this good, just couldn't be right.

For Naruto's sake and his own, this, whatever this was had to be nipped in the bud. "That's Iruka-sensei, Naruto." the scarred nose man said loud and clear, and nudged the jounin out the door and with a quick ruffle to the hair, an immature gesture befit for a child, Naruto was dismissed.

:p:

Things changed: the village, the people, alliances and even himself. The one thing he wanted to change was Naruto's love for him, his silly, foolish, no longer one-sided love... well it was never one-sided. He was just one stupid man who thought he was protecting a loved one. The next time Naruto uttered the words 'I love you' he would not be disappointed with the response.

"One more time, Naruto, I didn't catch the last part." Iruka slurped through a mouthful of ramen, his former student was nice enough to bring him some dinner after work as he struggled to finish marking a few reports. It seemed, to get on his bad side, that most of kids decided to write in garish pink and purple pens, see how they like it when he used his red.

Naruto snorted, his whiskers wrinkling as he puffed his cheeks, the look no longer effective with all the baby fat gone. "I was asking if you would like to come to my apartment for... drinks." the blonde asked, like he has been asking for years and years. He rocked back and forth on his heels as he hunched his shoulders, bending his tall frame, a frame that was an inch or two taller than Iruka's.

The teacher tapped his chopsticks together and offered the man a mulish stare. Naruto stared back his nose twitching. With a smile that made both their stomachs flip, Iruka nodded and tossed the Styrofoam bowl in the garbage. "That would be very nice, Naruto." he grinned placing his papers into his bag.

The blonde's blue eyes widened, his face breaking out into a pleasant grin and as if he were twelve years old again he propelled himself into the teacher's chest, both of them landing quite noisily onto the floor.

"Naruto, get off, your too heavy and the chair is digging into my spine." Iruka grouched playfully and elbowed the jounin lightly in the side. "Hmm, what was that?" the brunette's ears twitched as he heard his superior muttering something.

"I love you. I love you Iruka."

"Naruto." the teacher's tone was clear and sharp, and alert blue eyes landed on his face with a wary look. Iruka placed his hands on the man's cheek, enjoying the feel of the whiskers as he pinched the flesh and stretched it till Naruto made a toothy grin. "Naruto, I love you too."

"Iruk--"

And with a kiss, Naruto was promptly silenced and grinned freely... without having his cheeks pinched.

Author's Rant: Hooray my dare-not-speak-its-name OTP fic has been completed. This was my first Naruiru story, hell it was my first Naruto story. Now comments, reviews, critique and sure flames why the hell not, are welcome... but just a favour, does anyone know where I can find a beta whose willing to go over Naruto/Iruka stories, this would be greatly appreciated because my grammar truly sucks and no matter how many times I self-check I still miss many things. Thanks for reading my rant.