Warning: Please be advised this story will have content of boyxboy eventually. Don't like, don't read.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters featured in this story and those rights reside with Kishimoto. These characters are being depicted as a source of entertainment in a non-profitable story.
A very small portion of the story is adapted from an original story written by Kathryn Reiss. There is no intent to profit or steal any of the copyrighted characters of material. Thank you.
A/N: Alright, so after a call to one of my buddies, I gave her my options. I had two different versions this story would go. She actually said the second version would be a little cuter. So, if, after you read the story in this format, and were curious, I will be more than happy to give you the original ending. But those changes don't really take place until next chapter. Blahhhhh, Enjoy!
Chapter 3
Naruto looked upon Midori's mother and saw she held those same beautiful green eyes Midori did. Naruto approached Mr. and Mrs. Lee and shook each of their hands.
"Hello, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. It's a pleasure to meet you both!" Naruto greeted with his trademark smile.
"OH WHAT A YOUTHFUL YOUNG MAN! IT'S ALWAYS SO WONDERFUL WHEN A YOUNGIN TAKES INTEREST IN HISTORY! I BET I COULD TELL YOU LOTS OF STORIES FROM MY YOUTH! WHAT A GLORIOUS TIME FOR LOVE!" Mr. Lee exclaimed.
"DAD! He wants to talk to mom. And please keep your 'youth' to a lower volume. We are in a museum." Midori scolded.
Naruto was subtle in bringing his finger to his eye and shaking it. He gave Mr. Lee a smile and scratched the back of his head. Mr. Lee had to have the biggest eyebrows he'd ever seen and Midori should count her lucky stars she didn't inherit them.
"Maybe another time, Mr. Lee. I am actually restoring the old Uchiha house where I understand your wife worked. I was wondering about it," Naruto admitted nervously.
Sakura had been studying Naruto with a small smile and a sense of wonderment. The resemblance was uncanny and had memories flooding back. She furrowed her eyebrows and tightened her lips while staring at the young man before her.
"Of course, I will leave you two to talk. Don't try anything funny with my blossom now. I will be wandering around." Mr. Lee finished by giving his wife a kiss and running off. Literally running. The man could move for his age.
"Alright, if you'd follow me, you two can have a private sneak peek at the new exhibit." Midori began to walk off towards the concealed section of the exhibit.
Naruto offered up his arm to Mrs. Lee and she accepted it with a smile. Naruto escorted her to where Midori had entered and allowed her to enter first.
"Alright then, I'll be off to find my dad. One can only wonder what he's up too now." Midori trailed off.
"He's probably running up and down the stairway." Mrs. Lee said as she looked at the pieces from the Uchiha house. She began taking steps toward some of the personal drawings and toward the painting of Sasuke's mother. Naruto watched her carefully and waited anxiously to begin asking questions. Sakura had a smile on her face and it would grow slightly while she saw certain things. The biggest smile appeared when she looked at a set of dolls that Naruto had found in the basement.
"Uhm, Mrs. Lee-"
"Please, call me Sakura." She said while sparing Naruto a momentary glance before returning her attention to the exhibit.
"Sorry ma'am. Sakura. I was wondering if you could tell me a little about the house and even Mr. Uchiha?"
Sakura glanced at the ground with a slight blush gracing her features.
"I'm sorry to say, but Mr. Uchiha was a rather private person. He would keep almost everyone at a distance intentionally. Honestly, only one person knew him exceptionally well and it wasn't me." Sakura turned to fully look at Naruto.
"The house, however, I can tell you a bit more about. I worked as a maid for the household and a nanny to Mr. Uchiha's daughter."
"I suppose that one person would've been his wife." Naruto said with a sense of hope that Sakura would be able to answer this mystery for him. He still wanted to know if Sasuke got his dream girl, Naru.
Sakura furrowed her eyebrows at the statement with a confused look marring her face.
"Mr. Uchiha wasn't married."
Now it was Naruto's turn to be confused.
"He wasn't married? Did he have a girlfriend or something?"
"No, not that I can think of. He stayed in the house most of the time. During the time I worked there, no women ever came to the house other than that annoying neighbor of his. But I can confirm that Mr. Uchiha held no romantic feelings for that vile woman."
Judging by the tone Sakura used, Naruto guessed the woman annoyed her as well.
"Well, he had a daughter… where did she come from?"
Sakura's face relaxed a bit as she closed her eyes.
"Mr. Uchiha's roommate actually brought her home. Her family had perished in a terrible fire and she wound up coming home with him for what was intended to be temporary. But, Mr. Uchiha ended up adopting and raising her. Lovely little girl. She adored both of them."
Naruto was a bit taken aback by that. That can't be right. The letters were being written to someone. And that someone was the mother to his daughter. He said so himself. Maybe Sasuke was delusional. That was the only logical explanation coming to mind.
"Just out of curiosity, how long did you work there?"
" I worked there in my teenage years for about 5 years. Two of which I cared for Mr. Uchiha's daughter."
"And you never saw a woman in the house? I don't know why but I kind of thought there would be."
"No, no woman. I'm sorry. But Mr. Uchiha didn't seem to care too much about dating. I tried to get his attention myself." She said while looking off to the side, slightly embarrassed.
Naruto looked up at the ceiling, trying to make sense of it all. He knew he was addicted. Sasuke had a secret and Naruto was privileged to know about it. But that secret was likely that Sasuke suffered from insanity.
Sakura noticed this and guessed Naruto wasn't entirely interested in the house, but more so her former employer. It wasn't a surprise. He was a famous person with more than a few secrets. She couldn't deny Sasuke was a strange man. Never settling down with a woman to carry on his family tree. He took more interest in his work and his business partner was his roommate. They were constantly working on something together. After she would go home, her guess was as good as any as to what Sasuke did in his free time. But a likely guess would be sitting in his office drinking a glass of scotch. She made a few attempts to win the man's attention but never did. Even married women tried. But he was solely dedicated to his career and that is probably what had killed him in the end.
"The house, was a beautiful luxurious home. It wasn't a typical happy home per say, but it wasn't a sad home either. Mr. Uchiha's business partner kept the place quite lively. Mr. Senju was always a ball of sunshine. Mr. Uchiha's daughter was always feeding off of him and running around the grand house. I remember Mr. Senju always making adjustments to the house. He remodeled Mr. Uchiha's room as a surprise once. After that incident' Mr. Uchiha didn't travel for very long." Sakura said with a slight laugh. She shook her head a bit.
"You remind me of Mr. Senju. I'd almost accuse you of being his great grandson if it weren't for the fact he shared Mr. Uchiha's outlook on personal relationships. It seems I can't be of much help to you and I do apologize."
Naruto gave her a smile and then drew his lips in a line bringing his bottom lip to his teeth. He glanced around before resettling his eyes back onto Mrs. Lee.
"I was curious, but did Sasuke ever have a habit about hiding things? Like letters or pictures? Small things?"
Sakura brought her eyebrows together while thinking it over.
"No, I don't think so. He was very organized. Mr. Uchiha didn't hide things from people, he just didn't share things. He was a very straight forward individual. He wasn't the kind of person to hide stuff."
Naruto took the information in and slowly nodded. So, he found letters written by someone named Sasuke, who was in love with someone named Naru, and had a romantic side to him in a house owned by a man with the same name who never married and worked constantly. Perfect.
"Thank you for your time… I should get going. I still have some things to finish up back at the house. It was a pleasure to meet you Sakura." Naruto approached her and extended her hand.
Sakura accepted it with a small smile.
"I feel kind of guilty. You know, maybe you could have some of your questions more properly answered by Nozomi."
"Nozomi?"
Sakura's smile grew.
"Yes. Mr. Uchiha's daughter. She is still alive you know."
Naruto's eyebrows shot up into his hairline in surprise. Why the hell hadn't he thought of that. Of course! If anyone knew anything about Sasuke, it'd be his daughter.
"I can get her information for you and have Midori call you with it, if you'd like."
Naruto nodded enthusiastically. He could practically see it all coming together. He had no idea how he got so invested in something that was only surrounded by a couple of letters, but come one, love is an addiction. Even if you made up the person.
"I would love that Mrs. Lee. Thank you."
Naruto left the museum after bidding the Lees a farewell with a grin. Not even the impending rainfall could dampen his spirits. Naruto made it home as the clouds started to show some darker hues that made the city darken prematurely. Naruto supposed he should work through the night. He still had to get the bathrooms in order and finish cleaning up the master bedroom and all the other rooms.
Naruto spent the next few days working diligently and at a fast pace. He had finished a good chunk of the work and the first floor had been finished. He even got the walls painted. Naruto had relocated his belongings to the second floor. He'd gone out and bought new sheets for the bed in the master bedroom since he was getting tired of that mat, and that was a comfortable bed. All the cleaning had been done and it honestly just left the kitchen and bathroom remodeling and the garden being fixed up. Naruto had installed a doorway that locked the entrance of the second floor. He'd made some progress, but it wasn't complete.
Naruto was sitting in the kitchen taking a break and eating a salad when his phone rang. Naruto looked at the number before answering.
"Hello?"
"Hi Naruto, it's Midori. My mother asked me to give you some information."
"Oh yes, uhm, Hi and thank you for calling." Naruto stood and began rummaging around for a pencil and paper.
"Are you ready?" She asked with a light laugh.
"Yes, go ahead." Naruto smiled while holding the phone to his ear, pencil and paper ready.
"Her name is Nozomi Namikaze and she is located at Konoha Assisted Living. The nurse in the front should be able to direct you to her room from there, just sign in at the desk. Their visiting hours are from 9:00am to 6:00pm"
"Thank you so much!" Naruto exclaimed into the cell phone while writing down the information.
"You are most welcome Naruto, have a nice day!"
"You too, goodbye," Naruto hung up the phone. He looked at the clock and noted it was already 5:00pm.
"I suppose I could use a break tomorrow. I deserve it." Naruto smirked. Being his own boss was a wonderful thing.
Naruto walked over to his belongings and started to search for something to wear. He didn't exactly have anything formal. He'd kind of like to look decent at least.
Then, a brilliant idea popped into his head. He jogged up the stairs to the third floor and walked to the attic entrance. He grabbed a flashlight and walked over to the trunk of men's clothing he'd forgotten about. He put the flashlight in his mouth and grabbed one of the ends of the trunk and pulled it out and brought it down to the third floor. After dragging the chest into the master bedroom he flicked on the lights and his eyes filled up with excitement.
Now, Naruto wasn't the kind of person to just go ahead and put on a fashion show, but he was a happy man when he was rummaging and pulling out old clothing. He went and set the mirror up and tried on a few of the things. Apart from a musty and old smell they had a lingering faint smell of cologne. Naruto picked out the pieces he could fit before going ahead and modeling for himself. Eventually he settled on a pinstriped vest with a traditional button down collared shirt and matching slacks. He even found some shoes and shined them up a bit. It didn't look too old, but it definitely had class. Naruto was pretty pleased with the appearance and hung the clothes up in the bathroom and started heating up the water. Hopefully the steam would take out the wrinkles. Naruto hopped into the bath and relaxed. He started compiling a list of questions he would ask Mrs. Namikaze. He hoped she wouldn't be offended or upset by some of them. This was her father he was going to be trying to figure out. His possible insanity had sparked something in him. Eventually, he got out and walked up the stairs to the master bedroom. He clicked off the light and crawled into the massive bed that smelled like newly bought sheets and aged mattress and closed his eyes for the night.
After waking up, going through his morning rituals and figuring out where Konoha Assisted Living was located, he set about to working on the master bathroom a bit. Naruto stripped the old paint off the walls, sanded it a bit and put a new layer of navy blue on it. He rehung all the fixtures and towel racks once the paint dried. After hanging the towels he cleaned up the massive clawfoot tub and decided he'd try it out tonight. It could use a new layer of polish on it but it looked fine in all honesty. If Chouji got his way, he was planning on converting it into a shower so there wasn't much use in doing all the work. After finishing that up, he looked at his watch and saw it was around noon—it was time for him to go and spend the rest of his day calming his curious nature. It couldn't be helped.
Naruto dressed in his suit pieces and glanced out the window before grabbing a hat and a jacket. It was beginning to rain. He also grabbed an umbrella for good measure before setting out. Naruto shut and locked the door and began walking to the bus stop. He should invest in a car, but he couldn't be bothered really. He liked walking.
Once the bus picked him up, he sat down in the front. He looked out the window looking at the old buildings as he passed them. Glancing a bit farther ahead he could see New Konoha. Once the bus arrived at the closest cross streets to his destination, he hopped off, giving the driver a salute and headed off.
As he approached the moderately sized one story building, he started to rack his brain for which questions he'd shoot for. 'Why were those letter's in the walls.' 'Did Sasuke ever have a secret lover?' 'Was she married?' "What happened?' 'Was he insane?' Those were his front runners. But he wouldn't mind hearing about how Mr. Stoic-Gorgeous-Face-Uchiha was in private.
Naruto walked up to the front desk and stated his intent with a smile. The nurse smiled and motioned him to follow her down the corridor.
"It's so wonderful for someone to come and visit her. She gets rather lonely. Are you a friend or family of Mrs. Namikaze?"
"Actually I am restoring her old house and had a few questions for her." Naruto answered with a nervous smile.
"Oh, well I'm sure she won't mind. She's very friendly. But, I am warning you before you embarrass yourself, she is blind." The nurse gave him a look.
The news was a bit saddening since he'd dressed up for her, but it would explain her being in assisted living.
"Does Mrs. Namikaze have any children, may I ask?"
"She had a son, but he passed away in a car accident some time ago."
"Oh, and her husband?"
"He passed on as well. Liver problems, if I remember correctly." The nurse smiled sadly. "She has no one anymore. But she still has a smile and makes friends here. She has a magnetic personality." The nurse's smile brightened up.
"Here you go, Mr. Uzumaki." She knocked on the door before opening it. "Mrs. Namikaze, you have a visitor."
The elder woman sat at a small table facing the direction of the window. She inclined her head towards the sound of the nurse's voice before nodding.
"Please, come in." She called over.
The nurse motioned for Naruto to enter the room which he did. He walked over to the table before stopping and introducing himself and his reason for visiting.
"You have questions about my childhood home?" She inquired.
"Well, yes. But I am actually interested in your father, Mr. Uchiha." Naruto stated apprehensively.
She gave a smile.
"And what would you like to know about my father?"
"I guess I would just like to know him, to be honest. I can't help but feel drawn to him and I would like to know more about him if that's alright?"
Naruto gave a hopeful look and said a quick prayer in his head.
Nozomi seemed to think this over.
"I don't see why not."
She took a deep breath and faced Naruto's direction entirely and Naruto waited for her to start. He would ask the questions along the way.
"My father was a very quiet man. He would spend a lot of his time working or reading a book. During his free time he would draw pictures of me and I'd accuse him of making me prettier than I actually was. Anytime he left for work, he would bring me back a present to make up for being gone longer than normal. He loved to listen to classical music and would drink a scotch before bed. He was polite enough, but he only really opened up when it was just us as a family." She paused while smiling. "We would garden together. He taught me so much and I was always thankful for that."
Seems like Sasuke was your everyday average dad.
"I don't mean to pry, but did your father ever have a girlfriend?"
Nozomi had a full blown smile at that question.
"No, he did not."
Damn.
"Perhaps, a mistress?" Naruto added playfully.
Naruto realized Nozomi had a beautiful laugh.
"No, I'm sorry to disappoint you. My father held no interest in women."
"C'mon, I've seen him. He must have had girls flocking to him. He had to choose someone!"
Nozomi shook her head with a smile.
"He did have girls all over him. He never returned their advances. My nanny tried on more than one occasion to gain his attention, but my father never batted an eye at her. Even the butcher's wife from a few houses down tried. My father would actually hide from her and avoid her at all costs. Her red hair was a dead giveaway for him to duck and hide. It was always comical. She was one of the more persistent ones."
Naruto laughed at the image of a composed Sasuke ducking behind random people to avoid being seen at all cost.
"You have a beautiful laugh, Mr. Uzumaki. It's very lighthearted and carefree sounding. I can recognize that laugh anywhere."
"Thank you. I am still confused though. I'll be completely honest with you. I found love letters written to someone named 'Naru', from your father, does it sound familiar."
Shock was written across Nozomi's. Naruto knew he was treading on thin ice water and hoped he hadn't brought something unpleasant up. Naruto bit his lip in anticipation.
"You found letters? From my father?" She gave an exasperated sigh.
"I looked everywhere for those letters once they passed away. I only found one of them."
It was Naruto's turn to have shock etched across his face. She knew about the letters and even had one of them!
"To answer your question, Mr. Uzumaki, yes the name Naru is very familiar to me. I grew up hearing that name during my childhood often. But I referred to Naru by a different name"
Naruto waited patiently.
"I called him papa."
Nozomi waited for Naruto to respond, but Naruto couldn't process the information. Sasuke was her father but she called Naru, papa.
"I'm so sorry, but I don't think I understand."
Nozomi nodded.
"I know a topic of this nature can be uncomfortable for some people, but to be honest Mr. Uzumaki, my father was gay."
Whoa. Didn't see that one coming.
"Oh, I'm actually fine and comfortable with that, but it just took me by surprise is all. Your father referred to Naru as your mother in one of the letters"
Nozomi began to laugh at the statement. Once she regained her composure.
"Yes, my papa was more of the mother out of the two of them. My father did have a sense of humor. My father would repeatedly accuse my Papa of being a woman in a man's body."
Naruto cracked a smile.
"They really were in love. They showed me what to strive for in a relationship. Because of them, I knew not to settle and to find my soulmate. They didn't start out as lovers. They actually ran into each other, literally, during a thunderstorm. My papa had slipped and fallen into my father's arms. My father carried him home once he realized my papa was sick. They first became roommates, then business partners, then friends and finally lovers. Then of course, they became my fathers."
Naruto smiled at the story. He honestly wished he could find his soulmate. Hearing love stories like theirs made him realize it was in fact possible.
"When my papa fell into my father's life, my father had just lost his brother. He was all alone in that house. My father firmly believed my papa was placed in his life at that time to steer him in the right direction. My father had lost all hope and will to carry on. If it hadn't been for my papa, my father wouldn't have seen the light and be the man he became. They had to hide their relationship, but even in public, you could see they were in love if you caught them looking at each other. It was a stressful secret to keep, but I never felt the absence of a mother because I had two wonderful fathers."
Nozomi had a look of pride on her face. Her fathers had accomplished a lot. They honestly had. Back in their day, homosexuality wasn't tolerated and they probably would've been shunned. But they made it work. She had every right to be proud of them and Naruto felt privileged to have gotten a glimpse of how much. They were lucky to have found each other.
A flash of light lit up the room outside and then Naruto heard the thunder. Nozomi took a breath before smiling.
"Anytime the weather was like this, my father would put music on the phonograph and he would dance with my papa. I would sit with my blanket and watch them. It always brought a smile to my face. I can never hate rainstorms because it always held happy memories for me. Sometimes I would join them, but just seeing their dancing, with smiles on their face, looking into each other's eyes with happiness, made me happy. They'd always kiss after the end of the song. I brought that tradition with me into my own marriage."
Naruto imagined it. He could see Naru and Nozomi sitting on a sofa or armchair in front of the fire, Sasuke walking in and putting the music on and dancing while holding each other. He really envied their love and wanted it for himself. He couldn't help but be in awe and a bit jealous.
Nozomi spent the next few hours telling Naruto stories of her fathers. About how Naru rescued her personally from the her house, them gardening together, the butcher's insane wife, the one and only party her father threw when her and her husband moved out, eating ramen at Ichiraku's, a few of the favorite Holiday moments and sentimental stories.
Naruto had to admit she had a happy childhood. But there was still something that bothered him.
"Nozomi, if you don't mind me asking, why did your father hide the letters in the walls and other parts of the house? They hadn't been opened."
"My father was strange to a degree, but the only thing he hid was his relationship with my papa and that was to protect him. Hiding stuff, was actually my papa's thing. He hid swirls all over New Konoha as a sort of trademark. He was a clever man, I never could find my birthday presents and my father couldn't find his either. We tried but my papa, undeniably, had a talent for hiding things. I wouldn't be surprised."
So that was it. Naru did get the letters. He was the one that hid them. But, why?
"Why would he hide them?"
"I honestly don't know. I knew there were a few of them hidden. But if I had to make an educated guess, it would probably be that my papa wanted to keep their love in the house forever. That was just how he was. He was sentimental, which may have been one of the reasons my father teased him about secretly being a woman." Nozomi said fondly.
"Do you mind if I ask one more question?"
"Anything at all."
"The letter you found, what was written in it?"
"My father described how he saw their wedding. I actually based my vow renewal off of it. It was beautiful."
Naruto looked at the ground solemnly. He was definitely going to wait for Mr. or Mrs. Right, however long it took for them to appear.
"I should probably let you go, the rain doesn't seem to be letting up and I'd hate for you to catch a cold."
"Thank you so much for sharing your stories with me. I really do appreciate it. I would love to come and visit again."
"I wouldn't mind in the least Naruto."
Naruto stood and grabbed her hand, placing a kiss on it before making his departure.
He walked down the corridor, heading for a soak down. He had no idea that he had just met his paternal grandmother.
Naruto checked his watch as he waited for the bus. Once it pulled up, 5 minutes late, he practically flew onboard the bus. He dropped his change into the box as he got on and sat down. He was drenched. Umbrellas were sometimes useless. When the bus pulled up to his stop, he braced himself for the onslaught of what now sounded like hail. He was going to be pelted by ice, slapped in the face by wind and have to dodge lightning. Naruto turned to look at the bus driver, who spared him a glance of sympathy before making a sprint for it. He made a beeline straight for his street. After a few minutes of full speed running, Naruto made it to his street and began running down it.
He was getting beaten by hail and he could barely see. Lightning struck down, hitting the metal sign across the street from him, surprising him and caused him to lose his footing on the already slippery ground while he went crashing to the ground. Naruto felt the area where his head struck the ground and felt something warm and wet and decided he needed to get into the house and fast. He got back up and fumbled to get the house keys out before his vision started to blur and dot. As Naruto reached the steps to the house, he slipped on a piece of hail and pitched forward into something solid. He felt a pair of strong arms encircle him before his vision went completely black.
The last thing Naruto heard was "Are you alright?" before he became unconscious.