Author's Note: So I had a lot of fun writing this, but to be honest, this genre is a little off my usual path. There's a lot of fluff going on, and I couldn't stop grinning as I wrote certain parts. I definitely reached out of my comfort box for this. I also picked one of my favorite, although less written about pairings. I do hope that everyone that reads this will enjoy it.

Warnings: Cuteness, comfort, and slight boy x boy interactions (Yaoi).

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters. I make no money from writing this.

Altruist and Sanguinity

Itachi x Minato

No Beta

One-shot

Blue eyes blinked tiredly as the luminescence of the moon filtered through the open window, casting shadows against the white walls of the living room. In the background Minato could hear the television playing lowly. It sounded like some sort of cartoon, but he was too tired to lift his head and actually check. Whoever thought living as a single parent was easy, had certainly never walked the path. Between taking care of Naruto, his job, and then obligations to humanity, there was certainly nothing left of him by the end of the day. Thankfully, the next door neighbor—who was also consequentially Naruto's babysitter—had fed the boy and given him a bath already. Namely because he was too tired to get up and make something himself—today had been a long one and tomorrow didn't promise anything better.

"Daddy, daddy…" his Six-year old called.

Minato tipped his head slightly until bright blue orbs filled his vision, matched with tanned skin and beautiful golden hair. Naruto was his spitting image outwardly. Minato could only wish that he shared the child's abundant amount of energy. "What is it Naruto?" he questioned softly, moving a hand to lovingly run his hands through that mess of sun kissed hair.

"Will you read me a story?"

Minato let out a deflated sigh with that. He was exhausted, but he couldn't deny his son a story. It would be unfathomable especially since he'd spent the whole day helping strangers. Being a social worker was an emotionally and physically draining job, but it did have its rewards. Minato would have never given it up for a less stressful occupation, simply because he was given the opportunity to help people on a daily basis.

"Sure, what are we reading?" he questioned, forcing himself to sit up on the couch.

Naruto smiled brightly at getting his father's attention, and climbed on to the man's lap, book already in hand. "This one…"

Minato smiled back as the title was presented to him; visage torn between happiness and sadness. The book Naruto had picked out was the one that his wife had brought when she found out she was pregnant with the boy. It had been a childhood favorite of hers, and she had told Minato more than once that she couldn't wait to read the story to Naruto. Sadly, due to birth complications, she'd never been given the chance. Two hours after Naruto had been born; she'd died on the operating room table.

"Daddy?" Naruto questioned, tugging on his father's sleeve.

The motion seemed to snap Minato away from his thoughts, and he read the cover of the book: "I'll love you forever." The words were promising and haunting at the same time.

The story wasn't a long one, but by the time Minato got to the last page, Naruto was rubbing his eyes and yawning softly.

"It looks like it's time for bed," Minato prompted, shutting the book and looking to his tired son. Bed actually sounded wonderful for more than one reason. The first being that Minato was completely exhausted, and the second; was that even though he had tomorrow off, he wanted to get up early and take Naruto to the zoo. He'd promised the boy they would go for a week now, and Minato never wanted to break his promises. "Come on, I'll tuck you in," he doted, pulling himself all the way from the couch and scooping his sleepy boy up.

"But I'm not tired…" Nartuo argued. Albeit even as he said those words, his small arms were moving around his father's strong neck; his head leaning against Minato's shoulder.

Minato simply patted his son on the back and carried him upstairs to his room. The house they owned wasn't very big, but it suited all their needs just the same. There was a good sized yard for Naruto to play in, as well as a small swimming pool to ease the stress of hot summer days. Inside, the place held the makings of a standard two bedroom house. There was a quaint little kitchen that was attached to a dining area, and the living room was rather decent in size. The place wasn't over cluttered furnature, but donned with just the right amount to the home feel cozy.

Pushing opened Naruto's bedroom door with his foot, Minato used his elbow to turn on the light, cautious of where he was stepping.

Like most six-year olds, Naruto's room was a mess. There were toys and stuffed animal scattered precariously across the floor, left in whatever position the boy had last placed them.

"Looks like we need to clean your room in the morning," Minato noted though by we, he knew that it would actually be just him. Naruto's attention span never lasted long; the child getting one or two things put away before he became distracted and enthralled in something else.

Managing to safely make it to the bed in one piece, Minato lied Naruto down against the sheets, watching son roll over as his tugged the cover up over him.

"Sweet dreams," Minato hummed, giving the boy a kiss before making his way back across the room. He'd just shut the light off when he noted that Naruto was sitting up, looking around as his hands batted at the bed frantically.

"Daddy?"

"What is it Naruto?" The light came back on and Minato watched his son's visage churn with worry.

"Where's kyuubi?"

Minato's lips pursed together and looked around the room for the aforementioned form. As it was Kyuubi was Naruto's favorite stuffed animal. He was a small hand sized nine-tailed fox that the boy took with him everywhere. He was also a mandatory requirement for Naruto to have at bedtime. "Well he must be around here somewhere," he poised, watching Natuto look under the covers and then lean over the bed to check underneath it.

Frantically that disheveled mess of hair shook. "I can't find him daddy."

Minato knew that was his cue to organize a search party. "Okay you look upstairs for him, and I'll go check downstairs. He's got to be around here somewhere, we'll find him. I'm sure of it."

Naruto nodded at that and began searching upstairs whilst Minato headed back down to the bottom flooe. First the elder checked all the typical places Kyuubi liked to hide. Places like between the sofa cushions, under the coffee table, or the chairs in the dining area. When he came up empty handed, Minato began checking less obvious places such as: the cupboards in the kitchen, those of the entertainment unit, and then the hall closets. Again he came up with nothing though. It seemed that Kyuubi was hiding in a rather good spot this time.

"Did you find him?" Naruto questioned as he padded down the stairs, looking worriedly to his father.

"Not yet…" He commented, knowing that if Naruto had asked him, then the boy hadn't found anything upstairs. "Do you remember the last place you had him?"

"Well he ate lunch with me, and then we watched a movie, and then Obito took me too the park to play. Then we got ice cream on the way back… I made a mess so I had to take a bath…" Naruto paused, thinking hard, but he couldn't remember Kyuubi being there for bath time, nor for dinner. "I think… maybe I left him at the park." Naruto's voice cracked at the realization. "Daddy! I left him at the park; we have to go get him. Please…" he begged, tugging on his father's hand, trying to pull Minato towards the door.

"Naruto," Minato sighed, squatting down and pulling his son closer to him. "We can't go get Kyuubi right now. It's almost eleven o'clock at night and its freezing cold out. If you want you can sleep in my bed tonight. Tomorrow morning we'll bundle up and go see if we can find him."

"But he's going to get cold if we leave him out all night. And I don't want you, I want Kyuubi!" Naruto insisted. His tone was angry, but his eyes showed sadness, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Please Daddy! We can't just leave him out there alone all night! What if it was me, would you leave me out there all alone?"

Minato knew if it was Naruto out there, it would be a different story. Kyuubi was just a stuffed animal. Diverge, he knew that his son cherished the thing and had done so ever since he'd received it as a gift. "Alright," he cracked, knowing that he was going to regret it later when he caught a cold. "Get your coat and boots on. I'll take you over to Obito's. I'll go back to the park by myself to look and see if Kyuubi's there."

"Thank you daddy!" Naruto squealed, giving his father a hug before scurrying off to get ready. Minato on the other hand went to grab a flashlight before layering up. If he was lucky he would find Kyuubi quickly and be in bed by midnight, though he wasn't going to hold his breath for that.

Itachi held the small stuffed animal in his hands, fingertips gliding across the mix of polyester and cotton material; evocating memories that touched his soul in the process. It was simply by chance that he found the small trinket lying in the sand, but seeing it again brought a smile to his face.

The nineteen year old stood up from his crouched position, the tattered threads he was wearing flapping in the wind as he turned and made his way towards the swings. Just being in the park reminded him of his childhood. Once a week he had taken his younger brother here, pushed him on the swings, gone down the slide with him, and swung across the monkey bars to see who could get across faster. Those memories always lingered prominently in his mind, but seeing the small stuffed animal he was holding now; that brought him an even deeper sense of tranquility that could not be obtained by any other means.

Itachi smiled. Sasuke had once had a stuffed animal just like it. He knew because he had given it to his brother as a birthday present when he was five. His little brother had carried it around everywhere with him, so persistent that it always be with him. And yet one day he'd given that stuffed animal away to another child, never to be seen again.

A gust of wind blew by and its cold hands raked over Itachi's form, causing the teen to sneeze into his shoulder. A slight sniffle followed, but it was neither from the cold nor from sadness. There were happy memories here, ones that lingered in his heart, resurrected by the smaller things that often fell into his life. In his pocket was a collection of such anomalies; knickknacks that he'd came across to remind him of better days. A thread of white ribbon that summoned memories of his mother, an old pocket watch, broken and useless, though it was just like the one that his father had. And now this stuffed animal, which reminded him of Sasuke. Even though Itachi had been on his own for a while—even though he'd lost his job eight months ago and was homeless—the small items he carried and collected reminded him of the love and happiness that had once filled his life.

Itachi smiled softly as he rolled the small stuffed animal in his hands, mind lost in happier days until a light in the distance caught his attention. For a moment he considered fleeing—surely it was a policeman—but the idea of being arrested didn't sound so bad at the moment. Tonight a storm was supposed to hit; the temperature dropping to freezing levels. If the cops dragged him in he'd at least have a nice warm cell to spend the night in. That didn't sound so bad at the moment. Not at all.

Pushing himself slightly on the swing – the chains creaking, grieving both a grown man's weight and the cold – Itachi waited for the light to be flashed at him, and the gruff voice that would be issued with authority. He was surprised however, when that didn't come.

"I-Itachi?"

It was his name that left the wander's lips and it wasn't in an intimidating in tone, but one of bewildered, as if the person was completely taken by surprise.

Itachi's black eyes looked up, eyes straining as the figure approached. Once the man did though, there was a second of perplexity and then realization. He knew the blonde haired man. He was someone from his past. "Minato…?" Itachi spoke in disbelief. He couldn't believe that his old social worker was standing before him, especially in the park this late at night. "What are you… doing here?" he questioned, pocketing the stuffed animal as he stood up.

"I could ask you the same thing," Minato replied with curiosity. Itachi had been part of the Uchiha family. Many years back, he'd been a social worker for them. Then about three years ago, the family had stopped coming to see him. Minato had always wondered what happened to them, especially Itachi, since he had been such a bright and cheerful child.

"Well…" Itachi started, tipping his head slightly. The thought of lying to Minato did cross his mind, but he found that he couldn't. He'd always admired the other. Even though he rarely got to see him growing up—most of the time the appointments to see their social worker had been during school hours—he'd always admired Minato's kindness, and mirthful personality. "I was actually planning to spend the night here."

"In the park? Why? Did something happen that you can't go home?"

A sad, but warm smile formed on Itachi's lips. Minato was still the kind, caring person that he remembered him to be. "They died…" he answered; his expression dropping. "In a fire, a little under three years ago. It wasn't anything big, so it's not like it made the papers. I've been on my own ever since. I didn't want to get stuck in the foster care system. I know what happens to a lot of kids there…"

Minato's heart sank at those words. He hadn't expected that kind of reply. He'd had no idea about the fire either. It made him feel even worse. "I'm so sorry Itachi."

"Don't be its just how life is. I was actually doing rather well on my own for a while. But then I lost my job and the apartment I had, and now here I am."

"You have nowhere to go then?

"No. Sometimes I stay at the shelter, but with the storm tonight I know they're full. I couldn't take stay there knowing that someone more desperate might need the bed."

Minato smiled kindly at that. "You're as loving and as considerate as I remember you being as a child." His words were soft as his hand reached out. He hadn't seen Itachi in years, but that didn't matter. "Come stay with me and Naruto for tonight… for a while, until you can get back on your feet again."

Itachi's eyes met with those caring blue, and he lost the ability to speak words, simply nodding as he squeezed Minato's hand. He was honestly grateful.

Itachi let out a long, content hum. After coming home with Minato, showering—seeing as the elder had let him borrowing some clothing until he could get his own—and eating a nice warm meal, the raven was left thinking that this was too good to be true. He'd never expected any of this to happen, but it felt right in a way, like everything was the way it was supposed to be.

Itachi watched Naruto color from the spot next to him; the boy swinging his legs back and forth in the chair. Since the moment the little blonde boy had seen him, Naruto had stayed right by his side. Even when Itachi had taken a shower, the six year old had sat out in the hallway, outside the door, waiting for him to come out. Itachi knew that Naruto had been just a baby when he last saw him, but the boy seemed very much attached, like they'd known each other the whole time.

"He's cute," Itachi pointed out as Minato set a cup of tea in front of him, the exhausted looking man taking a seat across from him.

"He's a handful, but I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world."

"Hey daddy, Itachi is coming with us to the zoo tomorrow isn't he?" Naruto questioned as he set his crayon down and gave a long yawn.

Minato chuckled and nodded. "If he wants to."

"Do you?" Naruto queried, baby blue eyes looking to Itachi with such high expectations that the raven knew he couldn't say no.

"I would love to," he smiled, his own reaction causing Naruto to mirror the same visage, though the child was soon giving another yawn.

"Alright, I think if we're going to the zoo tomorrow you need to get to bed. It's already two thirty in the morning," Minato spoke. Of course with the mention of bedtime he was reminded of why he'd gone out in the cold in the first place. Naruto had seemed preoccupied with Itachi upon seeing him, so the boy hadn't asked, but he was sure it would get brought up now. "And… I didn't find Kyuubi at the park Naruto. I'm sorry."

Naruto blinked tiredly at that, but nodded indifferently. "It's okay daddy; you brought home something much better." He justified, slipping from his chair and surprising Itachi with a hug. The raven hugged the small child back before Naruto was padding over to his father for a hug and kiss goodnight. After which, he headed upstairs.

"He's… a lot like you," Itachi noted, causing Minato to chuckle and rub the back of his neck.

"I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"It's a good thing," Itachi reassured, taking a sip of his tea. The warm liquid felt good as it slid down his throat and settled in his belly. "I want to thank you, you know. For not just this, but for everything that you did for my family growing up; it meant a lot to all of us."

"It was my pleasure. And you can stay here a long as you want. I think Naruto's quite taken with you. In fact he might not let you leave," Minato joked playfully, laughing and taking a sip of his own tea.

"Would it be so bad if I stayed?" Itachi asked, taking the other off guard. "You know, I since I was fourteen, I had a crush on you."

A thread of awkward silence hit the room and Minato cleared his throat. "Really?" he responded, his cheeks a little flushed at that. He'd never given it any thought when Itachi was younger, but the man sitting before him was quite handsome. Minato would be lying to himself if he said he didn't find Itachi attractive now. "I… um…"

"You don't have to say anything," Itachi reassured, reaching out to take the other's hand, giving it a light squeeze. He could feel Minato squeeze back, both men donning soft smiles.

For the next few minutes they both sat in silence, drinking their tea.

"You should get some sleep," Itachi finally spoke. He could tell the man was struggling to stay awake.

"I suppose. Naruto will be up at the crack of dawn, demanding pancakes."

"Don't worry about that. I can get up with him and cook breakfast. You should sleep in. You deserve it."

Minato nodded at that and placed his cup in the sink, turning to see Itachi getting up to do the same. "Thank you."

"It's not a problem," the other reassured, depositing his cup before he leaned against the counter, his form rather close to Minato's as they stood there.

"So I left some blankets on the couch for you. I'm sorry I don't have anything better to offer," Minato spoke feeling a bit bad about not having a spare room. The couch wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but he supposed it was better than nothing.

"It's fine," Itachi spoken gratefully. He was simply glad to have a place to stay, and even happier that it was there with Minato and Naruto.

Minato smiled softly at the reassuring tone. "Okay, well good night then. I'll see you in the morning."

Itachi hummed, hesitating a moment before he leaned forward and softly pressed his lips against Minato's in a chaste kiss. "Yeah, you will." He replied back. "Goodnight Minato, sleep tight."

Minato blushed a bit, but nodded before he headed upstairs. Upon passing Naruto's room, he checked on the boy, already finding him fast asleep.

Padding down to his own room Minato changed into his pajama's and pulled back the bedding, climbing into his cozy bed. The day had been an interesting one, not at all like he'd expected. But the memory of Itachi's kiss made him smile.

Snuggling into his pillow, Minato was ready to drift off to sleep when he felt something under it. With a frown he sat up in the darkness, pulling the item out from under his pillow before giving a slight laugh. It was Kyuubi. He'd been in the house all along, hiding under the pillow.

"You sly fox," he spoke, his tone mirthful as he set the stuffed animal off to the side, sure to give it back to Naruto in the morning. "Thank you…" he added, knowing that if Naruto would have found him there, he never would have met Itachi like he had. And he was sure good things would come from their meeting. Much more than he'd ever dreamed there to be.

~Fin