Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sama owns Naruto. If I had the rights I would have everyone scarred for life.

Title: Holding Hearts

Rating: T-M

Pairing: Minato/Naruto

Summary: Whether it's wrong or right, Naruto didn't really care so why should Minato? Holding onto the one thing you love more than life wouldn't be so hard if that one thing wasn't his son.

Warnings: Yaoi: Male/Male pairing, INCEST, underage sex, very mild violence if at all, drama, set in shinobi world but the story line is completely off base. Itachi is innocent and in Konoha.

Note about what you're getting into: I have always wanted to write a proper romance story featuring Minato and Naruto. I'm aware of what I'm writing, I'm aware that they are father and son. But they are also fictional Manga characters and I could care less about what is right or what is wrong. You have been warned.

Chapter One

For what seemed like hours, matching sapphire blue eyes stared at one another. One pair was younger, full of life and slightly innocent and the other was matured, full of life, and not so innocent considering his age.

Their hair was almost identical, sunny blond hair that was rare amongst the villagers. The younger male sported a long ponytail with wild ear-tails hanging down the sides to shape his face perfectly.

The other older male had the same blond hair but it was more wild and wasn't as lengthy in the back, but they both shared the same ear-tails except for his looked like sharp ends touching his well aged jaw line.

Sixteen versus thirty-eight.

The thirty-eight-year-old brought his palm up to his chin and pressed his elbow to the mahogany table and continued to stare into the sixteen-year-old's adorable eyes, neither intending on letting the other win the contest of staring. The thirty-eight-year-old looked hardly older than a day over thirty and that was saying something considering he was the Yondaime of Konohagakure; Namikaze Minato quirked a lip upwards into a partial smile.

His son, Namikaze Naruto raised his fair colored thin eyebrows. Where Minato was lighter in skin tone, Naruto had a warm glowing natural tan. They had the same aquiline shaped nose but where Minato had a slightly more masculine jaw line, Naruto had developed his late mother's line.

"We going to do this all day? I mean, I can really," Minato's timber tone carried a playful air that his son matched with the only difference was maturity. "You're adorable enough to stare at, those whiskers help; I think I've deduced the length of each one."

"Say yes," Naruto rebutted softly.

"Why?"

"Uhm, cause you love me?"

Minato's partial smile became wider. "That I do, but why do I have to say yes to show I love you?"

Naruto hummed. "So you can see your only son happy, also I'm coming to you directly instead of going behind your back. That should count for something."

Minato chuckled light-heartedly and removed his hand from his chin and gripped Naruto's with his index finger and thumb. "You're telling me the full truth?"

Naruto nodded. "I've never lied."

"True, but you have left out a lot of information," Minato reminded.

"It's better than no information at all! I can't always remember the details, you know."

"I think it's more that you are a manipulative little Gaki and Jiraiya-sensei is a very bad influence on you."

Naruto scoffed. "He's not a bad influence, if he was, I'd be straight as an arrow."

Minato cocked his head to the side observing the teenager for what he was. Never in a million years, did Minato ever think that he would come out of the Kyuubi Sealing alive and he thanked the former Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen for the chance to live on with his son. He was a beautiful sunny blond Gaki that meant more to him than even the village.

"Jiraiya-sensei is not exactly one way, you know."

"Oh, don't I know it," Naruto said still not moving his eyes from his father's. He rather enjoyed staring into the depths of them; they were captivating and told so much without words. It was often rare to find Minato without a smile on his face, even through tough situations. "Can I?"

Minato pursed his lips together, he wanted to say no, really he did but the look in his son's eyes were pleading and the boy was right, he had come to him in honesty, most would hide it and come up with a false tale.

"I don't like it, Naruto."

"More like, you don't like him," Naruto reminded.

Minato chuckled. "I didn't say that," he said and it was then that the Hokage looked away breaking eye contact and blinked repeatedly trying to get some liquid flowing back through.

Naruto only had to blink once and he was fine. "But your tone, the way you hesitate..."

"I'm only concerned."

"Is that truly it, Minato?" Naruto asked.

For the last two years, Naruto had been calling him by his first name and for some reason that Minato couldn't fathom, he didn't seem to mind it. In fact, he liked the way Naruto said his given name, the innocent flare and the soft tenor.

It had never been a secret; Minato and Naruto were best friends and more than father and son. Minato never treated him like a baby after he turned twelve and he always gave Naruto a choice in his own life and path that he chose but sometimes, Minato would step in when he thought it was going too far.

Like now.

"Hmm, yes, it's about it."

"About." Naruto deadpanned.

"Don't give me that look," Minato placed his hands on each side of Naruto's cheeks. "I'm not entirely thrilled with this idea. He's too old for you."

Naruto choked. "Old?" he asked wide eyed. "Old?" he repeated and got a nod for his efforts. The teen snorted and drew away from his father. "Absolutely unbelievable, Minato. Who'd have thought you would discriminate against age."

Minato floundered at Naruto's words. It wasn't often that Naruto set him in place and this was one of those times. "Naruto… I…"

"Out with it, if he's so old who the hell is young enough? You really want me to see someone like Kiba? Truly, I love him to death as a friend but I'm not a dog fan and Shino? I hate bugs!"

Minato chortled in shame and brought his hands to his face tiredly. "Oh, Naruto, go on and get out of here, be careful and come back to me," he suddenly said as he looked away from the teen in hopes that Naruto would take the hint and get on with it before he changed his mind.

Naruto stood stock still for a moment, unable to figure out what was on Minato's mind. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared hard at the man who continued to look away.

"Unbelievable," Naruto whispered.

Minato grimaced and shot a look at his son. "What is?"

"You are."

"Why am I unbelievable?" Minato asked.

"You're hiding something from me," Naruto deduced.

"I'm not hiding anything from you, my Naruto, why would I do that?"

"I don't know," Naruto said dropping his hands to his side and leaning in close to his father until they were almost nose and nose.

Minato smiled slightly at the gesture, knowing Naruto would start digging long and hard but he was sure that for once the mischievous sixteen-year-old would come up short.

"I'll figure you out, Minato."

Minato arched an eyebrow. "Is that a threat, my Naruto?" he asked unconsciously taking in the scent of lavender and freesia from his son's hair and skin.

"Never," Naruto murmured, "it's a promise," and it was with those words that Naruto's soft supple lips pressed to Minato's in a chaste kiss.

For a moment, Minato was absolutely rocked in the mind but as Naruto left his lips, he disappeared using the crow Jutsu that the Uchiha's had taught him.

Minato remained where he sat, daring to not move an inch.

"Did he just kiss me?" Minato asked aloud to the air and he was glad that no one was around to hear that question. It was during the sanctuary of the silence that Namikaze Minato's cheeks heated up and his heart clenched.

Naruto had absolutely no idea that with that simple innocent gesture, he had gotten his answer as to why he hated it whenever Naruto ran off to meet up with him.

Too old, what a lame ass excuse, Minato thought sagging back into his seat and staring at his half glass of sake.

How twisted was he?

-/-/-/-

Naruto dropped down onto the soft spring grass and stretched out, his eyes going straight to the white fluffy clouds.

"He thinks you want me, eh?" Kakashi asked with an air of amusement.

Naruto hummed for a second and then, "I kissed him."

"And ran?" Kakashi deduced.

"Yup."

"I wonder what he thinks we're going to do, me defile you."

Naruto chuckled. "According to him, you're old."

Kakashi scoffed. "Old? Me?"

"Uh huh, you're a regular gramps! The silver-hair in place and all."

"Least I'm not in love with my father," Kakashi teased.

"Hm, I'm a little fucked up aren't I?"

"Only a little, there's worse."

"How?" Naruto asked. "Can it possibly get worse, I mean, I'm sixteen perhaps I'll grow out of it?"

Kakashi shrugged. "It's all up to you, Naruto-kun. I don't see anything wrong with it, but then again this is me you're talking to."

"Mhmm."

"No one else should matter though, if you want something and wait around then it'll disappear and you're left screwed."

"You've been screwed plenty of times, huh?"

"More than I can count, in more ways than one."

Naruto sighed and closed his eyes on the shaping clouds. "Fact is, I'm obsessed with him and I can't get it to go away, no matter what I do. I don't see him as my father."

"What do you see?"

"I see," he paused a second and pictured Minato behind his eyelids, "a beautiful, kind-hearted man who is the protector of the village. I see someone that I desire above all else, I see someone that I can't love more than I already do, and I see his eyes, the way they sharpen whenever I leave the room, the way they lock on me and cage me in. But it's a nice cage, one I don't want to escape from. I see a man, who is not my father but someone who is my best friend. My heart pounds, my body trembles, and I – I fall."

Kakashi whistled. "I don't think it's something that will go away when you describe it like that."

"Yeah," Naruto's voice cracked and he felt an excruciating desire to cry or scream out in frustrations.

"So you know, Naruto-kun, what you are feeling is not as uncommon as you think. It's not hard to fall in love with someone so close, someone you already love unconditionally, it just grows differently and becomes out of control at times. I haven't experienced it but I know plenty who have."

"He would never feel like that about me, I'm his son," Naruto said bitterly.

He wasn't upset about Minato being his father but he was upset because of his own feelings, the want, the need, and desire that ran rampant through his body.

At first he had chalked it up to nothing but teenage hormones but then it became worse to the point of aggravation and long nights in a freezing cold shower. But his thoughts went further than sexual, they became set in stone, the hate whenever he saw a woman in the tower stare longingly at their Yondaime, the way they watched him walk and move, handed him the papers and touched his hand as they did.

Naruto found that his jealousy became so potent that his appearances in the Hokage tower had to be minimized to keep from using his Rasengan against an annoying wench hell bent on bedding Minato.

The only thing that had relieved Naruto of all of his coveted thoughts was the fact that Minato never returned those affections or advances.

"You never know," Kakashi said, "unless you try."

"And fail to the point of a nasty bleeding shatter of my heart."

"That too," Kakashi agreed wincing appropriately.

It went quiet and Naruto concentrated on the wind that blew over his body, ruffling his hair so that it blew into his face.

Kakashi rolled over onto his side and gently pulled the pieces away and behind his ear. "You'll figure it out. You're Naruto, you always figure things out."

Naruto chuckled and scooted closer into Kakashi's arms that squeezed him. "If he saw this…"

"He'd kill me," Kakashi supplied.

"Yup." Exhaling, Naruto kept his eyes closed and dozed off with Kakashi next to him. His thoughts having turned into dreams along the way.

"You're in a tough way kid," Kakashi said to the sleeping figure, "I wonder if I can help."

"Doubtful," Naruto mumbled sleepily. "But thanks. It means a lot."

By the time Naruto returned home, it was well after midnight. The teen was wide awake, having slept most of the afternoon away before deciding to go off for some quick dinner at Kakashi's place.

Minato was fast asleep, when Naruto came into the room and he winced, hoping not to be caught and grounded for his late hour. He shrugged off the light blue windbreaker and slipped it across the sofa before taking the winding staircase up to the floor. His father's door was cracked and all the lights were out.

He passed by and heard. "Naruto?"

Naruto winced again, his cheeks flushing a radiant shade of red as he stepped up to his father's door and poked his head into the darkened bedroom. It was made up of basic elegance, in the light of the day crème and pale gold accented it, easily matching Minato's personality, while Naruto was fonder of orange and black.

"Yeah, Minato?"

He heard a breath being drawn and with the Kyuubi in him, he could see Minato almost perfectly shifting on his side in the massive bed. "You're just getting in?" It was more of a statement rather than a question.

"Uh, yeah, I dozed off."

"Right," Minato said and Naruto heard the tightness in his voice.

Naruto tilted his head. "I'm not all that tired, so I'm going to grab a snack, is that okay?"

"Why are you asking?"

"It's after midnight."

"I noticed."

Naruto shuffled a bit further into the room and the silence was thick and rather uncomfortable. "Well, I'll go now. Good night."

He shut the door all the way and grimaced at the flare of pain that cropped up in his chest along with a tantamount of desire coursing through every element of his body. He shook his head and wound up staying up the rest of the night.

(o)

Minato sighed, feeling something sick deep inside as he sat up. His son having left the room, leaving him alone and to his uncontrollable thoughts. They were haunting and he was confused, he didn't know what to do with them. The air between them had been very disturbing; Minato had never felt so uncomfortable around Naruto before. At one time, Minato had thought it were impossible to ever be strained where Naruto was concerned, boy had he been wrong.

He touched his lips unconsciously before snapping his teeth together when he thought about his former student, Kakashi had always been his favorite but right now Minato felt anything but fondness for the silver-haired Sharingan wielder.

He shook this from his thoughts and decided not to dwell on what his son may have been doing to be coming in at midnight. He chucked the covers away and slipped out of the bed and out of his room. He could hear movement downstairs in the kitchen and moved across the dark wooden flooring, careful not to let them squeak under his weight. He brushed his hand along the railing. The Namikaze Manor was made up of elegant dark wood work and the staircases had balconies that allowed a person to look over and into the sitting rooms and kitchen respectably.

Minato paused when he reached the very end of the hall, there was another staircase that led to other floors but there was only need for two. Jiraiya and Tsunade were often in and out along with Naruto's friends from Wind and Rain countries. Minato leaned against the banister and watched as Naruto shuffled through the kitchen, with an unknown grace and elegance of his own.

From where he stood, he observed the teen, taking in everything that he was and trying to find something out of place, perhaps a mark that had been left on his Naruto but he found nothing from his view.

Naruto's height was that of five foot five, a reminisced of his mother's height and his shoulders modeled hers as well. Kushina and he had been good friends and when he asked her for the favor of an heir he had no idea that she would wind up dying a week after childbirth. Naruto's chakra inside of her body had weakened her drastically.

She was a normal person, no chakra whatsoever and the clash had been too much for her to handle.

He saw a lot of Kushina in Naruto but he also saw himself and this was where the problem arose.

Naruto was his son, his only son and so why was it that every time the teen left his sights, he became distressed and worried to the point of not being able to get any work done. He was always distracted, thinking and wondering where his Gaki was and if he was alright and he got incensed when he heard rumors of him and the Copy Ninja or him and the lazy Nara kid.

One rumor after another, Minato had learned to control his raging temper to keep it bottled up but now, Naruto was old enough to do things that Minato didn't want him to do. He hated the idea of anyone getting near Naruto and wanted to rip out the eyes of those who looked at him in anyway suggestively.

Just how messed up was he? Minato questioned inwardly. He shook his head and turned his back on Naruto and went back to his empty bed.

As he lay back down, he heard the steps being taken and the footsteps down the hall, they were quiet and careful. When he heard the door shut in the room next to him, Minato let out a deep sigh.

He was so unbelievably doomed.