Naruto tallies the days Kakashi's been missing on a sheet of paper that he keeps on the corner of his desk in his brand new office as the Godaime Hokage.

Strange to think it has come to this.

The decision was made one month after Kakashi disappeared. Naruto had thrown himself into work because after the initial search party, he'd been forbidden from leaving the village in case this was an attack to draw him out.

And he understands, he does, which is why he had thrown himself into literally any job that the missions desk would give to him (sometimes, all they had were D-ranks, but Naruto hadn't cared, because at least it was something, it was better than sitting around at home waiting for the inevitable we couldn't find him).

He deserves so much better, how did this happen? I was gone for two minutes.

Please be okay, Kakashi.

Naruto sighs, dropping his head against the wooden surface of his desk, and he stays like that even when a subtle flair of chakra makes a new presence known inside the office.

"Welcome back, Deer."

The ANBU stays silent, waiting, and Naruto pushes himself up, looking into the eyeholes of Deer's mask. "Report."

"Our men have uncovered a small faction of nuke-nin at the border between Fire and Rain. There's a team stationed nearby that await your orders."

Naruto hums. "Who is their leader?"

"One of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, our intel leads us to believe that he is called Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist." Naruto hums, tapping his fingers against his desk in a non-rhythm.

Zabuza… I wonder if Haku still trails after him.

Decision made, he pulls his attention away from the large windows taking up the wall behind his desk. "Bring them here."

And though it's barely there, Naruto doesn't miss the tiny, microscopic shift of Deer's shoulders. "Hokage-sama?"

He lets the moment grow uncomfortable before he gives his subordinate a small smile. "Have them tell Zabuza that Kitsune would like to see him, and if the one named Haku is present, I'd like to speak with him, as well." After all, by now, Naruto feels justified in thinking of those two as… old friends. "Maybe they'll have some useful information for me."

Deer bows, chakra building for an exit.

"And Shikamaru," Naruto adds softly, "you should take a few days off after you contact them. You've been nonstop for weeks."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

I'm still not used to that.

One of his guards slips out of the woodwork, silent but insistent that Naruto pay him attention. Not that Naruto's actively ignoring him, of course, but the guards are all adamant that they follow their training, and it only reminds Naruto that his husband had been the exception, choosing to act less formally with his own Sensei-turned-Hokage.

Perhaps because Naruto's father had always been a sort of surrogate after Kakashi lost Sakumo.

He lets his persistent guard stand there for a moment longer than usual before turning to him. "My adorable student, how can I help you?"

Sasuke scoffs beneath his mask, crossing his arms now that Naruto has made a point to pick on him. "Is it possible to switch rotations with Sai after today?"

Switch rotations… He wants a few days off?

His words to Shikamaru echo in his brain.

"Wait! Sparrow-chan, are you finally going to ask that boy out?" Naruto loves that he can practically see the steam rising off of Sasuke's heated cheeks. After all, Kakashi's not here to tease their students, and somebody has to do it, or they'll get all serious and formal.

Oh. That might explain Sasuke's newfound determination. After all, the life of a shinobi is often a short one. Maybe, just maybe, he doesn't want to waste any more precious time. You never know when the person you love is going to vanish into thin air.

"Thank goodness," Naruto continues. "I don't know if I could take anymore of your restless pining, you know?"

He wonders if Kakashi's watching from a place that Naruto is unable to follow, hopes Kakashi's still breathing somewhere, even if he is unreachable.

"Alright, request granted. After your shift, find Sai and let him know that he's going to get vacation time for taking your rotation days, but that he can't refuse." Naruto glances at the clock hanging above the chamber doors. "I wonder if I can sneak out of here before my assistant catches me."

"That would be a 'no'," said assistant grouses, pushing the door open with a scowl. His little sister drops a pile of paperwork onto the desk. "These are the written mission reports we received this morning. You can leave early if you read through and sign off on all of them. And no shortcuts." Tsukiko crosses her arms, red hair swinging with her annoyance.

She really is adorable. As a child, she'd been quite a handful, but he really wouldn't have had it any other way. She wreaked havoc across the village, a breath of fresh air everywhere she went. And she certainly went everywhere. He'd found her running the front desk in a brothel once, when she was six. She's smart as a whip, so he's sure their accounts were just fine, but he made a deal with her that he'd never tell their parents as long as she never asked what went on in the place.

"Tsukiko-chan, I never take shortcuts!"

One angled eyebrow raises. "Shadow clones."

Oh. That.

"Tsukiko-chan, I rarely ever take shortcuts! Besides, the clones are still me."

Sasuke blends back into the woodwork when her hair begins to flare out behind her, and Naruto buries his nose in paperwork, all too familiar with her methods of motivation.

(But he's proud of her, so proud of her. She really takes after their mom in all the best ways. He couldn't have asked for a better sister.)

/

Shikamaru sleeps for two days straight. He hadn't realized it, but Naruto had been correct in telling him that he needs to slow down-he thinks he might have even been running on autopilot there for that last mission.

On the bright side, he gets an entire week off, which has been pretty rare ever since Kakashi-sensei disappeared. And yeah, Shikamaru wants to find him, he'll do anything in his power to help. But with every passing day, their morale dwindles. They don't have any evidence to lead them in the right direction, and everyone's beginning to think there's nothing to find.

And Shikamaru doesn't want to give up, he won't, but he's no good to anybody if he can barely think straight, which is why he's relieved to have a mini vacation.

I'm awake now, though, so I should probably get something to eat.

If he wasn't so lazy, he'd make himself something. As it is, there's a few decent restaurants outside of his apartment complex, and maybe Shikamaru wouldn't mind a little bit of people-watching today.

His plans for lunch start to go down the drain when he steps outside of his apartment and finds Sasuke leaning against the railing outside. "Is it work?"

The other man smiles a bit, shaking his head. "I'm only allowed to stop by if it's for work?"

"Have you ever come over for anything else?" Shikamaru points out, but he doesn't object when Sasuke follows him down the steps and onto the street.

"Tch." His hands disappear into his pockets. "If you asked my brother, he'd tell you I'm just shy."

"I have, and he did." Shikamaru hums. "I thought you were on rotation at the office." It's unusual for Sasuke to willingly take time off, anyway. Shikamaru's pretty sure that Sasuke hasn't taken more than a day off a week since he became a jonin, which is fine as long as he uses his free time wisely. Still a bit bothersome, but nothing Shikamaru thinks he should actually worry about.

Sasuke sighs. "I asked to trade with Sai after you left the other day. I take it the search isn't going well."

No, it really isn't.

He goes on before Shikamaru formulates a response, voice low. "Something tells me we aren't going to find him until he's ready to be found."

What is that supposed to mean?

"I just feel like we're missing something, and I'm hoping Godaime-sama figures it out soon. We can't just find somebody that vanishes into thin air."

Shikamaru silently agrees, pushing open the door to his favorite cafe. Sasuke follows him inside. The whole thing feels oddly… symbolic? No, that's the wrong word… Intentional? But that's not it, either.

They order their food and sit down to eat with a comfortable silence settled over them, and it's not until Shikamaru starts daydreaming, eyes settled on the people passing by outside that Sasuke speaks up.

"I've been thinking a lot about this ever since Kakashi disappeared." His eyes are intense, looking straight into Shikamaru's, an unreadable expression on his face.

Wait a minute, since when have Sasuke and I eaten out together? What's this about?

"Shikamaru, I…" He glances away, hands twitching, but his eyes land on Shikamaru's again after a moment. "I think you're incredible."

...incredible?

"I- ...what?"

But still, Sasuke eyes him, and Shikamaru doesn't know why he feels like they're on the precipice of something, all he knows is that getting direct attention from Sasuke like this is making his face heat, and if Sasuke sees it, then his secret's out.

The man across from him clears his throat. "With everything going on, it occurred to me that I don't want to drag my feet about this only to realize that I missed my chance."

Is it getting warm in here?

"Shikamaru, I… have feelings for you. And sometimes..., I think you might have feelings for me, too. Is it too much to hope that I might be right about that?"

Several moments seem to slip by while Shikamaru stares at Sasuke, at the man he's been pining after since he was eight years old (at the time, though, he'd been sure he didn't like Sasuke all that much), at the man who… just confessed to him.

"I… You have- ...you do?"

And he kind of feels like a pansy for getting emotional, but… Shikamaru never expected this to happen. He figured he'd let his family arrange his marriage, that he'd produce an heir and take over for his father, that he'd devote himself to the clan and never really love somebody like this.

Because he loves Sasuke.

He never imagined he'd be permitted to say so.

"I'm in love with you," slips off of his tongue, barely more than a whisper. He tries to stifle it, but his hand moves too slow, as if he's moving through sand; and maybe it's not the right time to say it, but he already has, he already-

Sasuke stands, pulling Shikamaru out of his chair. He fidgets, watching Sasuke pay their bill, butterflies erupting in his stomach even though he knows how ridiculous that is for a thirty-five year old elite ANBU of Konoha.

They've barely made it down the street when Sasuke stops and turns to face Shikamaru again, and the attention is overwhelming because he hasn't said anything since Shikamaru's confession, but he can't bring himself to look away from Sasuke's dark eyes.

On the bright side, the moment passes and Sasuke surges forward, sliding one arm around Shikamaru's waist while the other hand traces his jaw. The kiss that follows is both softer and warmer than Shikamaru expects.

"I love you, too," he murmurs into Shikamaru's mouth, their foreheads pressed together.

Oh, but I could get used to this.

/

Shisui's been trying really hard not to do something drastic. Ever since Kakashi-senpai disappeared, Naruto's been going through the motions. Like, yes, he goes to work every day, and he still treats everybody the same as he always has, but Shisui can't just ignore how thin Naruto's been getting, or the dark circles under his eyes, or the bloody cuticles of his fingers. He can't ignore the shaking hands or the practically skittish behavior. He can't ignore the crackle in Naruto's voice when he asks for Shisui's mission reports. And he hates it because it's not his place to demand anything of his Hokage, not even if he's demanding that his Hokage simply take care of himself.

How are we supposed to help him if he won't talk to us, if he shuts us out?

Itachi curls into him under the blankets, tangling their legs and pressing his nose to Shisui's chest, cold fingers slipping under his shirt. "You're thinking about Naruto again, aren't you?"

Naruto is one of the only things Shisui's been able to think about, actually, Itachi and he both know it, but he can't help it. Of course he shouldn't obsess, it's just that Naruto has been precious to him for almost thirty years, there's no way he's just going to stop caring.

It's not like he can just fall out of love.

"Did you notice he's even skinnier than he was last week?" he asks his lover, sliding his arms around Itachi's shoulders. "It's not healthy, Itachi. He's- ...we can't just pretend everything's okay. We can't pretend he's okay, Itachi."

We can't pretend that the stress isn't killing him.

Itachi doesn't reply right away, so Shisui lets the quiet linger-that is, until it's interrupted rather abruptly by a knock on their front door. Itachi tenses in his arms, but he's also the first one to slide out of bed.

Who could be at the door at this hour? If it was an emergency, we would've received a hawk.

With a groan, he follows his husband to the door just as Itachi pulls it open, and-

"I'm sorry it's so late."

Shisui has no words, can't make his mouth move, but Itachi ushers their Hokage into the apartment and firmly shuts the door from the cold, goosebumps making a path along his exposed arms.

And then an idea hits, and Shisui marches Naruto into the kitchen. If Naruto won't take the time to feed himself, Shisui will just have to make sure he at least eats tonight.

"I took the day off. It's the first one I've had since I took office." Naruto folds into himself, looking so uncomfortably small that Shisui has to bite his tongue from saying anything out of line, like well, if you'd just let us help you, or maybe if you'd just eat, or your husband would be really upset to see you like this.

It's not like he wants to chase the idiot away.

"Good," Itachi murmurs sweetly. Shisui's back is to them, but he's glad Itachi's the one doing the comforting right now. He just focuses on setting up the rice cooker and boiling the water for tea. "It's good to take a day off every now and then, isn't that what you told Shikamaru the other day when he came back from his last mission? You're no good to anybody if you run yourself into the ground, right?"

"I know," Naruto replies, muffled as it is with his face buried in his arms. "But when I'm not working, all I do is worry. At least if I'm busy, I have less time to think."

"And keeping busy is a good thing," Itachi agrees, "as long as you're taking care of yourself."

Shisui breaks. "But you aren't."

Naruto keens, chokes on the sound, and his sorrow is like a knife in Shisui's chest. But he endures.

"You aren't taking care of yourself, and I'm scared." His fingers grip the edge of the counter, knuckles turning white. None of this is fair, he knows Naruto's heart is made of glass, that Naruto can't stand the loss, but they're shinobi, and loss is inevitable. And maybe… maybe, if they at least had closure, Naruto would be able to endure, too.

"I… don't know how to be alone." His confession comes out of the blue, when the room has gone quiet but for Shisui pouring three mugs of tea. He continues, voice low and choked, "you two have always been… so important. And I don't know… I don't know how to ask, but I can't pretend that I don't want…"

Huh?

"Of course you aren't alone, we're always here," Itachi soothes, practically second-nature. And it's true, they'll always be here for Naruto, but then, why is Shisui's heart doing a skip-step? Why does he feel like something else is happening here?

Naruto keens again, but it spurs Shisui to turn around. "That's not what I mean, Itachi."

"Then what do you-mmph!" He watches, hand tightening around his teacup, as Naruto reaches out and gathers the front of Itachi's shirt in his grasp, pulling Shisui's husband into a gentle kiss, just a tender brush of lips. It ends too soon in Shisui's opinion, but that could be due to Shisui's attention.

"N-Naruto?" Itachi's voice is barely there, pitched and breathy like it gets when Shisui presses him against the wall and…

There are other things to worry about right now, like 'my husband is going to leave me', or 'I'm about to be a third wheel in my own marriage and I don't even mind.'

The Hokage takes a breath, arms wrapping around his torso, an attempt at comfort. "The last time I told you I loved you, I don't think you knew that this is what I meant," Naruto explains, scarred cheeks flushed pink in the dim lamplight. "Do you remember, Itachi?"

A moment passes. Itachi gasps. "When your team was attacked by the snake… But I thought-" He pauses, glances at Shisui, tries again. "You really-" Itachi shakes his head at the blond. "You really love us?"

Us?

Us, as in…

"Naruto?" his own voice whispers, cracks.

Naruto's gaze settles on Shisui this time. "I've loved you guys for a really long time. I guess I never said… I never made it clear, because I didn't know if I'd ever be ready… But the last few years, there's just been this… this little voice in my head telling me that I was never not ready."

But if Kakashi comes home-No. When Kakashi comes home, is he going to ask Naruto to return to his arms, and only his arms?

"After all," Naruto adds, voice even softer, eyes settling on the table-top. "Kakashi told me twenty years ago that he didn't have a problem with it." He fidgets.

Twenty-

All this time, we could have-

"Then why?" slips from Shisui's mouth unbidden, and he doesn't know how to take it back.

"I kept thinking 'how can I possibly make three people happy when all I've ever done is hide?'" Naruto scoffs, shaking his head. "As if any one of you wouldn't have put me in my place when I needed you to."

A moment passes, and Shisui acts on autopilot. By the time he places a bowl of rice and a mug of tea on the table in front of their dishevelled Hokage, the silence has begun verging on uncomfortable.

Shisui sits down in the empty chair with his arms crossed. "Eat." Naruto blinks. Shisui sighs. "Naruto, I love you and everything, but you've barely eaten in weeks and I'm losing sleep over it, so please just do me a favor and eat."

Itachi slips a hand into the one Shisui doesn't have wrapped around his mug, gaze soft and hopeful. Naruto eats. It's easier to breathe. Easier to hope.

Please. Please just let us take care of you.

His thoughts betray him with an inkling of something he's never even uttered to Itachi.

Maybe… maybe, when he's home… Kakashi will let us take care of him, too.

/

At first, Kakashi's level of awareness is minimal, at best. He has a splitting headache, and his limbs are phantoms that refuse to move when he wants them to, so he drifts in the space between consciousness and sleep, hoping that when he resurfaces, things will be back to normal.

Unfortunately, his brain has other ideas. Kakashi finally drags his brain out of low power mode only to find that he's not in control of his own body-and his body is in bad shape.

If Naruto has ever let the fox take over, did it feel like this? I don't think I could stand it.

His body seemingly has its own agenda, running this way and that, and it's not until he realizes he's not even at the forefront of his own mind that Kakashi starts to think things are really weird.

There, now that everything's set up, all I have to do is find the child.

Kakashi wishes he could just pause for a moment.

What child? What's going on here?

He'd really like to know!

But then…

Then such a vile, tormented chakra brushes across his senses (so he can still feel those?), and Kakashi knows he's felt it before, but it takes him a moment to realize-

This is the night Naruto disappeared.

But how? How is that possible, and why is Kakashi-

Man, you're really giving me a headache.

His body coughs once, twice, a wet, hacking cough that leaves a metallic taste in his mouth.

Me?

If he was in control of their breathing, he's willing to bet his breath would be shuddering with the weight of what they're about to do. I'm literally about to commit treason.

"Treason? So, you're me? You've been pretty quiet up until now." His body, the other Kakashi (vaguely, he remembers that Naruto had called him Kashi Two), darts through the streets, light on his feet despite their obvious illness.

And Naruto, so young and happy, the brightest light in his life, doesn't even blink when the Other asks him to come.

I miss that blind optimism.

Hold on, does this… it doesn't work?

Kakashi doesn't have control over their body, but if he did, he'd be rubbing the back of his neck. It works. He wants to complain that the Other is the reason Kakashi doesn't see Naruto's face again until he's sixteen, but he doesn't. So, you're going to train him?

Of course, I'm not just going to leave a four year old in the woods! Are you an idiot?

Over time, Kakashi and the original version of himself get used to each other. Can he really complain when he's getting to watch Naruto learn all the things he'd never gotten the chance to teach him?

And the boy is such a breath of fresh air, a delight. He never complains, because why would I be sad, Kashi? I have you!

It's a balm to his needy soul in a way that his husband's reassurances never really are, because there's always been this underlying fear that the one who took Naruto away wasn't worthy, that nagging thought in the back of his mind that never really left, like 'what if he was brainwashed while he was away, what if he doesn't even know his own feelings from what was drilled into him?'

And he's sure as hell not going to take Naruto for granted when he gets back home.

Come hell or highwater, he will make it home.

Did you say husband?

Kakashi notes the tinge of… something in the Other's inner voice. Yes, Naruto is my husband. Er. Ours? You don't remember Sensei arranging that?

He watches from the backseat while his body traces the scars like whiskers on Naruto's chubby cheeks, the boy asleep in his lap. "I remember, but… even after all of this, after taking him from Sensei and Kushina… He doesn't take it out on you?"

He loves us, Kakashi replies. He loves us as a child, he loves us when he's sixteen, he loves us on our wedding day, and he loves us when we're forty-nine.

"He makes it. He makes it, he makes it, that's all I hoped… I didn't think about… about what that meant for me. Or, well, you." He coughs, wiping the fresh blood off of his hand onto his pants. "But he really married you? No restrictions?"

Restrictions?

"There's no underlying 'I'll only marry you if…'"

Kakashi wishes he had a head to shake in disbelief. I think your ideas of what Naruto is going to be like as an adult are pretty twisted from who Naruto is.

"Well, yeah. Coming back in time is the first time I've seen him since the funeral. I only have four years to go off of."

Kakashi's stomach turns, but-

But he feels like he needs to know what this other version saved him from, needs to know the kind of grief he might have suffered. He doesn't even need to ask for the Other to understand, to bring up what's probably his most painful memory.

(N-the child is impossibly still, but Kakashi doesn't even think when he lunges into the small alleyway, filled with relief, and pulls him into his arms, not until it occurs to him to wake the boy.

But the boy won't wake.

The boy can't wake, will never wake again.

Sensei's son isn't breathing. Sensei's son's heart isn't beating. Sensei's s-

Kakashi chokes on the air building in his chest, chokes out a sob and turns off his headset. He just needs a moment.

Naruto is cold under his hands, and now that any leftover relief has faded, Kakashi notices the bruises. And the dried blood at the corner of Naruto's mouth.

Had it been quick? Did he suffer much? Were you watching him, Father?

Kakashi can piece together what must've happened. When the people of the village realized what was going on, and saw the Nine-Tails with their own eyes, they panicked. It only makes sense that Naruto was caught in the flood of civilians trying to get away. And he's so small , it only makes sense that they didn't see him, that they trampled right over him without even noticing.

But now

Now Naruto is dead. The boy who brought sunshine into his life, who brought happiness back into his life, is gonegonegone, and Kakashi can't breathe-)

The memory cuts off abruptly, both versions of Kakashi struggling against the constricting of their throat.

Kakashi arrests all thoughts of Naruto, cold and bruised and gone, forcing himself to remember tangled limbs and bleary eyed breakfasts and a thousand kisses shared.

He's going to suffer, but so did we, he manages to grit out. Naruto is the strongest person I've ever known and I owe my life to him over and over again. But it's not just that he's wonderful, he makes everybody in his orbit feel wonderful.

He makes me feel wonderful.

The boy shifts in his lap, rubbing at his nose in his sleep, and Kakashi's heart melts because really, Naruto hasn't changed at all.

He's going to be just fine.

/

"Sometimes, I forget you were ever missing."

Naruto hums, only half paying attention to his self-proclaimed health advisor, adjusting his glasses so that he can better read the pile of reports Tsukiko dropped off this morning. "Hmm, that's probably because you didn't know me when I was little."

Shisui chuckles. "Mikoto-san and your mother are friends, so she'd bring you 'round every so often. They don't see each other as often, anymore, but I knew of you." He paces the length of the room, unused to spending so much time in Naruto's office. Itachi and Sasuke and Sai are all on Naruto's guard rotation, but Shisui prefers working in the regular jounin ranks.

Or, he had, until Naruto paid them an overnight visit and got some things straightened out.

"Hokage-sama," Shisui starts again, but his tone has changed and Naruto's attention is caught. The mission reports can wait, he supposes. Shisui will just have to protect him from his little sister's wrath. "What can you tell me about the night you disappeared?"

Oh, hellfire, it feels like so long ago. I'm getting old, Kurama.

You're still an infant compared to me.

Ah. That's true.

"Well, on the night I disappeared, Kurama was pried from his previous jinchuuriki and my captor sealed him into me in order to protect the village. And then he took me into the Forest of Death to train me for a year before he promptly disappeared."

"Who was he?"

"Oh, it was a time traveler who saved my life by making me a jinchuuriki." Naruto rubs his temple, feeling like he's forgetting something rather vital about that night… but it was so long ago.

Shisui leans a hip against Naruto's desk, his arms crossed over his chest. "Well, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I believe you about the time travel, but don't you remember that you were so shy you barely looked anybody in the eyes? Why would you have gone with somebody you didn't know? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, of course not, I… I knew his face."

Naruto's heart stills in his chest, a swooping feeling in his gut.

"Shisui," he rises out of his chair, "I knew his face! He showed me his- Dammit, how could I be so stupid!" He points to one corner of the room, attention shifting. "Tiger, go to my father, tell him it's urgent but not an emergency. And Panther, I need you to find Crow and bring him here immediately." Naruto flips his tally sheet to the empty side and writes out the math, just to make sure.

"Naruto?" Shisui murmurs, leaning close now that the guards are gone. His eyes are so concerned, so warm, Naruto can't ignore the butterflies that erupt in his stomach despite the fact that they've known each other for so long. They've only been in a relationship for two weeks.

Naruto leans across the desk to kiss him, unable to stop himself from smiling into it. "Everything's gonna be okay."

"Hokage-sama?" Itachi crouches in the window sill, brows drawn together in concern.

But Naruto's chest feels lighter than it has in almost five months, and he lets himself let go of the fear and the worry and the guilt, because there really was nothing he could have done. "Itachi, Itachi, I knew his face!" His other partner inches into the room at his tone, looking confused, but less worried.

"You knew whose face?" Itachi doesn't object when Naruto drapes an arm over his shoulders, his arm circling Naruto's waist.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Shisui takes a moment to cross the floor and kiss his husband, but then they both turn their attention back to Naruto, who only smiles.

Luckily, his father comes through the door in the next moment, looking worried and tired, but no worse for wear. "Ah…" His head cocks.

Naruto waves a dismissive hand at the silent question, separating himself from his partners to return to his desk. "It's fine, we're in a relationship. But that's not why you're here. Dad, do you remember why I willingly went with my abductor?"

A moment passes while Minato thinks back, his expression blank and concentrated. And then his jaw falls open. "You knew him, it was-" He cuts himself off, relief and affection coming off of him in waves. "I was even told that the time traveler was lovingly dubbed 'Kashi Two'."

"Yep!" Naruto rubs the back of his neck. "I guess it never occurred to me that the jutsu would affect the altered version of Kakashi, too. If it works the way I think it does, the two of them are probably sharing a body, so he's probably going to be sick when he gets back, but it's nothing I can't fix with a little healing." Unfortunately, if Naruto doesn't know where Kakashi's going to land, he can't anticipate his arrival and be ready to heal him. "He's going to get back on the anniversary. Damn, it never even occurred to me that he disappeared on the anniversary."

The four of them fall silent for an awkward moment, and then Naruto's father clears his throat. "So… You're married, and you're also in a relationship with another married couple?"

Naruto coughs, shrugging his shoulders. "We love each other." And he can't help but blush a bit, too. "I mean, I kind of… spent way too much time pining, and these two were sure I didn't feel the same way…, but Kakashi thinks they're lovely, too, and I realized there's no good reason to keep pretending when we could all disappear tomorrow, you know?"

Silence falls across the office again, but when Naruto meets his father's gaze, Minato is smiling at him. "You're at least going to have to bring them around for family meals, now. I'm going to tell your mother about Kakashi, unless you need anything else, Godaime-sama?"

Naruto grins. "Thank you. And, um… maybe keep Tsukiko occupied long enough for me to escape?"

He receives one mischievous grin as his father turns to leave. "You have two minutes to get out of here."

We only need thirty seconds, Naruto thinks, sharing a look with Shisui and Itachi.

We're going to be okay.

/

Itachi is relieved when things get back to normal (that is, as normal as things can be when you and your husband are in a committed relationship with the current Hokage, whose own husband is missing-but-not and the Hokage is still worried for him and wishing he was back home).

The thing is, Itachi's worried for his senpai, too. After all, Kakashi was his ANBU captain for a short time, and a vague sort-of friend who Itachi knows would feel the same worry over Itachi if only for Naruto's sake. When Naruto had come to them in the middle of the night, Itachi had begun to fear the worst. The feeling had gripped at him, constricting his chest, until Naruto had been able to get his words out.

The fact that he came to us still baffles me.

Itachi's amazed, because Naruto had come to them even though his fear of rejection kept him from being up front with Kakashi for a long time after he had control over his abilities as the jinchuuriki.

Speaking of Naruto… Itachi takes a moment to turn his attention to the man below his perch in the rafters. Naruto is back to working more than strictly necessary, but Itachi's beginning to think it's no longer because Kakashi's missing, and more because Naruto doesn't know how to not. After all, it's far past a reasonable hour for Naruto to stop for the evening, especially with the way his little sister had poked her head in to state that she was going home, as if she was hoping he'd pack up, too.

"Crow, come down here for me."

Itachi lands lightly, just behind Naruto's right shoulder, but the Godaime Hokage spins his chair and pulls Itachi closer, pressing his face into Itachi's belly with a sigh. And what can he do but card his fingers through his lover's hair, ignoring the twinge of confusion from the other guard in the room?

After all, Sasuke doesn't know everything about his beloved older brothers (even though they know everything about him).

"You're overworking yourself again," Itachi murmurs, unbothered by the arms wrapped around his waist. "Shisui will come in here and demand you take care of yourself again."

A groan. "I'm eating, I'm sleeping, and I haven't made myself bleed in seven days. I think that's an improvement." It all comes out muffled against Itachi's armor, but at least ANBU armor isn't hard or uncomfortable.

He fights a smile, thumb stroking the whisker-like scars on Naruto's right cheek. Before he can say anything, though, they both tense at the chakra signatures coming down the hall. Itachi doesn't recognize two of them, but the third is Sasuke's new boyfriend.

Naruto pulls away, pressing a kiss to Itachi's hand before turning back to the small stack of paperwork on his desk.

Is this why he's working late? Itachi thinks, slipping back into the woodwork.

The three of them shift slightly at the knock on the door.

"Enter," Naruto calls, but then he forms quick hand signs and suddenly, standing beside him is a perfect replica of himself back when he went by Kitsune.

Deer steps in accompanied by two shinobi with crossed out hitai-ate. The taller one has bandages wrapped around the lower half of his face and wary eyes-the smaller one looks feminine, but then, people have said the same about Itachi.

"Hokage-sama," Deer bows his head. "Momochi Zabuza and Yuki Haku, formerly of the Hidden Mist."

Naruto gives the three of them a smile. "Thank you, Deer. You may go, if you'd like, but you're welcome to stay."

"I'd prefer to stay," Deer responds, moving to stand at Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto's smile never falters, he never even seems worried about hosting two missing-nin. Sure, Itachi knows that Naruto called this meeting, but he is a little surprised that he's being so laid back about it.

"Maa, Crow-chan," he utters toward Itachi's hiding place, "why should I worry? You and Sparrow and Deer are nervous enough for both of me."

He watches the one called Haku mouth those words to himself, brow furrowed. And then he blinks, face smoothing out, and kneels.

When Zabuza sees this, he sinks to a knee, as well, though Itachi can't quite tell if he's caught on, or not.

Naruto's glee is loud in the quiet of the room, though he makes no audible sound. "Now, now, we're old friends, there's no need for that!" His clone, looking like Kitsune, slips off his mask to reveal a younger version of Naruto, still missing one eye.

"Welcome to my home," the clone adds when both missing-nin are looking up at him in reverence. How well do they know him? "When I was told you were at the edge of the country, I thought maybe the two of you were looking for a new home. What can you tell me about the group you've been traveling with?"

Naruto dismisses the clone, gesturing for the two of them to come closer.

"They're refugees," Haku finally answers. He smiles, too. "It's good to see you again, Kitsune-sama."

The Hokage nods, looking pleased. "Well, you and your refugees are welcome here in Konoha for as long as you'd like. Any who want a permanent living situation will be taken care of, and if either of you would like a place in my ranks, you need only say so." He stands. "But, Haku-chan, you've always been kind. If you choose to stay, there's no obligation to continue being a shinobi. You can live a civilian life, if that's what you would prefer." Naruto's eyes slide over to Zabuza. "Now, you wouldn't have to join, but I'm pretty sure you like being a shinobi, Zabuza-kun."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

After a moment where he simply studies them, Naruto closes his eyes, letting his Kyuubi Chakra Mode settle over his skin, clothes glowing along with his features. He smiles after several seconds of silence. "I believe you." The cloak falls away and Naruto waves a hand toward his left. Sasuke drops to the floor. "Sparrow will take you to get your new hitai-ate and the needed paperwork. And he's going to play nice, or else he'll be taking over the next guard rotation, as well."

A cough. "Hai, hai, Hokage-sama."

/

Kakashi comes around to a stark white ceiling and similarly plain walls, though his surroundings are dim and he assumes it must be late. His nose tells him it's a hospital and not a torture chamber. His body tells him he's achy from illness but no longer ill. His ears tell him there's a voice at his bedside, talking in low tones.

"...let Sasuke take some time off, too, so they've been together ever since. I haven't spent too many nights at home, though, because it's too empty without you. Ne, Kakashi~, Shisui declared himself my personal health advisor and won't leave me alone if he thinks I'm getting too thin. Or not sleeping enough. I'm pretty sure Itachi's giving him reports when he's on duty." A sigh. "By the way, Tsunade-baa-chan came back to the village for Sakura's wedding. I didn't tell the kids where you were, just in case something really awful happened, you know, and Sakura was really devastated that you couldn't be there, but Ino was tired of putting it off for somebody who'd already been missing for five months."

Pressure against Kakashi's wrist reminds him that the voice is attached to a person, and that person is touching him, and Kakashi can finally feel it. He can feel the pressure instead of the impression, because it's his body.

Home. He's home, with memories of two lifetimes and not enough space in his head, but he's not upset because if he's home, that means he's home. And home means Naruto.

"Ohaiyo."

The hand wrapped around his wrist twitches almost imperceptibly.

"I take it you healed my lungs," he continues, letting his head roll so that he can see his husband's face. "Thank you."

Naruto's eyes are glassy in the dim light, but he smiles. "I missed you. How was your trip?"

"Maa, getting to see chibi-Naru-chan again? I have no big complaints. It's not like I had control over my own body, but I got to witness a piece of your childhood I really missed out on." Kakashi wraps his hand around Naruto's, giving it a squeeze. Now that he's more alert, he can smell more than antiseptic and bleach, which means he can smell his husband, which also means he can smell the other people on his husband.

"It took me longer than it should have to remember where the hell you were. Like, I know that you were with me pretty much the entire time you were gone, because I remember it, but before that, I… Well, I had a hard time functioning." Naruto presses a kiss to Kakashi's hand, head bowed. "I was scared, you know? I'm supposed to be so strong, right? But I couldn't do anything for you, I had no idea where you were, if you were okay, if you were even alive." He clears his throat. "I'm really glad you're back."

"I'm glad I'm back, too," Kakashi murmurs, squeezing Naruto's hand. "You know, before… Before, I had this fear in my mind that maybe that first year, somebody had brainwashed you. Maybe it had been me, but I wasn't myself anymore, you know? And until I got there, and I saw with my own eyes what really happened, I couldn't shake that feeling that you were only with me because you believed you had to be." He keeps going when Naruto starts to protest, heart in his throat. "I know you aren't brainwashed, now. I trust you, I always have, but now it's easier to accept that your feelings for me are real, and I just want you to know how much it means to me that you're still here with me." With that being said, Kakashi wants to move onto lighter topics, because his husband has probably shed enough tears for both of them. "What did you get up to while I was gone? You've told me about Sasuke and Sakura."

His husband turns pink. "Um. Shikaku nominated me for Godaime? So, uh. You're now the Hokage's kept man and no longer on active duty. And, I… spoke to Shisui and Itachi."

Godaime… Hokage?

Something flutters in Kakashi's chest at the idea of being Naruto's kept man, but he'll stay silent about it for now. "So, you finally told them?"

His husband nods, quick and blushing. "But… you know, Kakashi… I don't think I'm the only one in this marriage that's interested."

Kakashi's heart pounds once, twice. He clears his throat. "Maa, Hokage-sama, you know I would never lie to you." He would never lie, maybe, but omitting the truth? About this? Perhaps. Naruto deserves to be loved, but Kakashi… is the reason both of his teammates nearly lost their lives in the war. Is the reason Sensei and Sensei's wife lost out on twelve years of their son's life.

He blinks himself out of his thoughts when he realizes Naruto is leaning over him, blue eyes intense and burning. In this moment, he feels like prey to Naruto's predator. And Naruto is most certainly at the very top of the food chain.

"Kakashi," he says in that tone that suggests he's disappointed, but unsurprised, and maybe a little bit hurt. "After everything I've done, all the hurt I've put you through, do you really think I deserve what I have? I don't think I do, personally, but I'm not going to pretend that I don't love you, or Itachi and Shisui. I know your mind, Kakashi. I know you think that you don't deserve me, or the other two, but I'm yours. And if you open your eyes, you'll see that they are too." He dips a little closer, their noses almost touching. "Why should you deny yourself, when you've encouraged me time and time again to confess?"

Can it really be possible, though, that those two would want Kakashi? And will Kakashi be able to expose his softer parts to people who aren't his husband? Is he ready for that? Is he ready for more affection than he's ever received in his life?

I should deny myself because…

I should deny myself for Naruto. For the promise I made his parents, for-

But Naruto doesn't want me to pretend.

And he has never pretended. His masks are always down for me, and maybe now for them, too, and I…

Lips brush against his temple. "I made my vows to you, Kakashi. If it truly troubles you, we can go back to the way it was, and I won't hold it against you for changing your mind."

He can always sniff out a lie. Kakashi knows when somebody is lying, so he's pretty sure that Naruto never lied to him, not once. Not even as Kitsune.

He's not lying now, either.

But Kakashi doesn't want him to end things with those two, he doesn't. Because he loves Naruto. And maybehelovesthemtoo.

"Naruto." His arms, heavy as they feel when he moves them, pull Naruto onto the bed with him, his husband settles against him as if he'd never left. In a way, he hadn't, he supposes. "They're not expecting you to leave them, are they?"

The newest Hokage hums. "They try to hide it, but I think they still feel like it's temporary. Even though I've told them more than once that I had your blessing twenty years ago."

Kakashi breathes Naruto in, letting his eyes slip shut. Now that he thinks about it, he can sense Naruto's ANBU guard in the crevices of the room. They're familiar…

Sasuke? Tenzo?

He sighs, letting the ANBU slip from his mind. He'd join the rotation if he was permitted, but then, as the first gentleman, he's really not allowed to risk his life unless there are no other options.

"Maybe they'll start believing it when I confess, ne?"

He gets a kiss for choosing vulnerability instead of comfort.

I've never had to confess to anybody else, before. Still, Naruto has always been shy, but he confessed to them. Perhaps it won't be as hard as it seems.

Or, maybe it will be much, much worse. After all, Naruto has always been braver than Kakashi, too.

/

He's reading Icha Icha Innocence for the umpteenth time (even though it isn't his favorite), when the door to his recovery room slides open one morning a few days later. He doesn't glance up, mostly because he trusts his nose more than he does his eyes sometimes, but also because he might actually be regretting his decision on the grounds that he doesn't actually know what he's supposed to say?

Has Naruto told them what Kakashi wants to say? Was he even the one who sent them over?

"We thought when Hokage-sama returned to work that it meant you were recovering okay," Itachi explains softly. Gentle. "And we were hoping you wouldn't mind some company, senpai."

Kakashi hums, setting his novel on the nightstand while directing a smile at the pair of Uchiha who've wormed their way into his heart. "I don't mind at all."

"We're not interrupting your book?" Shisui snorts, pulling up one of the chairs at the edge of the room and sitting backward so that his arms are draped over the backrest. "We can always come back another time."

If you left now, I'd lose my nerve. "Maa, I've read it plenty. Besides, it's not my favorite." Itachi perches on another seat, tucking his hands under his knees. When he scents the air, he understands that they're nervous, but unfortunately, scent cannot tell him why. Beneath that, though, he scents affection and warmth, and relief nearly as strong as Naruto's.

Had they really been worried for him?

He rubs a hand over his eyes, annoyed that he's so tired despite having been stuck in bed for days. He's an elite jounin, former ANBU, he's better than this!

"We're glad you made it back," Shisui murmurs, knuckles turning white against the plastic chair. "Until his memory got jogged, Naruto-Hokage-sama-" He cuts himself off, teeth cutting into his bottom lip.

"We were worried that he'd end up in the hospital," Itachi finishes.

Kakashi understands Naruto's pain perfectly. "I guess I can't be angry at him for not taking care of himself. I wasn't much better when he was missing." He tries for another smile. "Thank you for taking care of him."

Shisui shifts. "We can… We've offered to step back. He's your husband, and we…"

It takes a moment, but it finally occurs to Kakashi that Shisui's asking for his blessing to continue their relationship with Naruto. Butterflies erupt in his stomach as if he isn't fifty years old, which only serves to fluster him even more, on top of the fact that... He kind of missed being deferred to.

"Do you remember the night Naruto restored your eye, Shisui-chan?"

Shisui nods, brow furrowed.

"I've known about your feelings ever since. Both of you," he adds to Itachi, whose cheeks flush pink in the morning light. "And I gave my husband my blessing that night. See, the thing is, the three of you have always had a bit of a relationship, anyway. Besides, even if he hadn't told me when I woke up, I could smell both of you on him." He shrugs his shoulders, mostly content with the turn of events. "I'm never going to ask you to leave." A moment passes. He clears his throat. "I don't want you to leave."

It's not a confession. Not really. He knows that, of course he does, but-

But then, why does Shisui's breath hitch? Just a little, just after Kakashi falls silent, but it happens. He trusts his ears. Most of the time.

And Itachi shifts ever so slightly, as if he's physically on the edge of his seat.

His heart pounds.

"My husband is not the only one who has held his tongue for too long." The admission is both a weight off his shoulders and a pit in his stomach. After all, despite Naruto's assurances, Kakashi doesn't know how they feel. Affection and relief could mean any number of things, right? They could just be relieved he's back for Naruto's sake, right?

Sure, I've spent plenty of time with them, and I've been pining for a generous amount of time, but does that really mean anything?

"Kakashi-senpai?" Itachi whispers into the silent room. Apparently, he's the bravest out of them. "What have you been…?"

"What is it you're saying?" Shisui finishes, gaze intense. Kakashi can smell the blood from his abused lip, and the maniacal side of his brain wants him to lick it away, but then, he doesn't have permission for that, does he?

Oh, but I want permission.

At least he has permission from one out of three, right?

"I'm saying… that I have a confession to make." He fidgets with the blanket that's pooling in his lap, heartbeat frantically pounding in his chest. I wish Naruto was here. "You see, a long time ago, I realized something. And I just kept thinking, 'if I don't deserve this, at least he does.'" Kakashi hums. "He said he doesn't think he deserves any of us, but it never stopped him from wanting us."

It's hard to look at them, even if he hasn't simply blurted out the truth, because they're smart men and he's sure they've figured him out.

"After everything you've been through, Kakashi," Shisui declares, his voice rough, "and everything you sacrificed to give us a better life-don't even try to protest, because I got the full story out of Naruto. You think-" He cuts himself off again, taking a deep breath. "I wish that you didn't think yourself unworthy."

But Naruto is the one who sacrificed everything. His family, his home, all for the good of the people, all because Kakashi told him to. He's unworthy because he turned his most precious person into a tool against the forces of evil and he didn't even stay behind to help.

An image flashes behind his eyelids; a child, cold and broken, blue eyes empty, reflecting the sky.

If I hadn't gone back, he would be dead.

Before he can respond, before he can reject their idea that Kakashi is some kind of hero, Itachi's fingers brush his knee.

"Did you not sacrifice what's most important to you?" he asks kindly. And he's right, he's right, because Kakashi sacrificed Naruto. Naruto and all of his innocence, his freedom, his unburdened heart.

And maybe he saved Naruto's life, but he sacrificed him, too. He gave him to the darkness of the world even though he'd wanted nothing more than to be selfish, to keep Naruto's light for himself. Kakashi spent years and years hoping for the right clue. Of course he wouldn't have found him, because it was under Kakashi's guidance that Naruto learned how to evade him, even while in plain sight. And he's amazing.

If Naruto is the sun, are they like the moon? And if Naruto is the sun, and they are the moon, then Kakashi must be the darkness where they cast their light. They shine on him and he feels like living, like holding them up and letting them shine for the whole world to see.

Because he loves Naruto. And he loves them, too.

The air punches out of his lungs, choking him for a moment, but he thinks of sunshine and moonlight and knows that he's going to be okay.

He says, "I love you," and means it. And means it, and means it.

Because there's always been one, but now there are three. And all three have a claim over his heart, even if there's only one that's been permanently lodging there since his birth. The other two still managed to make a home in his chest, tucked in beside his sunshine and his lungs and his heart, nestled safely for the rest of his life.

The following embrace is messy with tears and an air of I can't believe this is happening, but Kakashi will take it. He'll take it, he'll thrive, because he knows that their sunlight is only a moment away, that when push comes to shove, none of them will be alone ever again.

...

and at last can grant a name
to a buried and a burning flame
as love and its decisive pain
oh, my sunlight, sunlight, sunlight

Sunlight - Hozier