Minatachi's P.O.V.

Three weeks. I've been here for three weeks. You know what I've done in those three weeks? Got a hundred damn blisters on my hands, a five-alarm sunburn, and blue balls. Yeah, that's what's been happening in Minatachi's life as of late. I want Lee. I want him so bad it hurts. And not only does he know it, but he spends the whole day egging me on. 'Just open up to me an all this can be yours' he says. 'Have a grown-up relationship with me MT, I'll make you unbelievably happy'. That I don't doubt… but still. I'm not ready. Yeah, I can totally see myself having a real relationship with him. He's a total stud, nonjudgmental, loves soccer, is into me… oh and he's smart as hell and my parents probably will love him, but that's not the point! The point is he shouldn't force me to grow up for him! Why can't we just have great sex and if it turns into something more then so be it? Ugh it makes me so mad! Him and his taunting. Even now, I'm busting my butt bringing him frames for this house we're working on, and he's watching me, shirtless and smirking, commenting on how my butt looks in these shorts, telling me all the dirty things he would do to me, he's relentless. Blue balls. My balls are blue damn it.

"You know, construction really suits you MT, you're really bulking up." I set down the frame and glared at him.

"You like what you see? Then fuck me already." I growled.

"You are so used to getting what you want. Tell me what you did to earn five hundred hours of community service and maybe I will." I rolled my eyes and pushed up the pillar so he could secure it.

"Fat chance."

"Why won't you talk about Hima and Inojin? Outside of soccer, I never saw the three of you apart." I bit my lip. He was really taking his time as I was holding up this heavy frame.

"How'd you get your sharingan?"

"Lee I already told you I'm not doing this."

"Sorry I'd like to know more about a person before I sleep with them. Tell me, is being hard-headed an Uchiha trait or an Uzumaki one?" I activated my sharingan and deepened my glare. "Uchiha, got it. Tell me more about your clan."

"No."

"What is it like being one of the few remaining members of what used to be the most powerful clans ever in existence? It must be a lot of pressure. I remember reading most of them became engineers. What are you majoring in?"

"Lee I don't want to do this. Seriously." I said abandoning the pole the second he finished securing it.

"Have you ever had sex with someone you had feelings for?" He asked as he followed me down the path to get the next frame. I had feelings for Inojin… and Hima… feelings of friendship… I guess the same could be said for Shinki… All the other ones… well I barely knew their names.

"And that somehow makes the sex better?"

"Well… yeah. Actually." I rolled my eyes again and picked up the frame. "Much better." He stopped me, giving me a look of sheer lust. "Intimacy is sexy."

I glared, trying to make myself immune to his advances. "And talking about my family or my past is going to do it for you?"

"Being vulnerable, trusting someone else, opening up to them. Yeah, it really does." I brushed past him, bringing a new frame up the hill again. "And you know it goes both ways. I'd open up to you too." I pushed the frame up and waited for him to get his tools.

"Oh yeah? You'd tell me your hopes and dreams? Your greatest failure? Your biggest secrets?"

He smiled. "Well, I just accomplished a big dream of mine, graduating with my bachelor's in structural engineering. My biggest failure is my relationship with my mom. It really could use a lot of work. My biggest secret, well, you're gonna have to give me something first." He winked, grabbing his tools.

"Your relationship with your mom?" I asked without thinking.

"We've never really clicked. My dad and I get along like gangbusters, bonding by going to the gym and sparring. I always looked up to him. But my mom… We've never really connected. When I was twelve, I found out that she wasn't the one who gave birth to me. She kept that a secret. It really put a strain on our relationship."

"My parents keep a lot of secrets from me too." He looked up from me, wanting me to go on. "You know my dad wrote that tell all book, right? About his life before me, as a prostitute, his time in jail, his drug addiction."

"I've been tempted to read it."

"Yeah well… he never told me any of it, I had to find out in some really bad ways."

"My mom didn't tell me about her past until a couple years back either. But I get it… I mean they sacrificed so much for us, you know?"

I shrugged. "A little heads up would have been nice."

"If I was any younger, I probably wouldn't have taken it too well. What's your relationship with him like now?"

I looked down, kicking the dirt. "He's mad at me most of the time. Thinks I should grow up."

"Ohh… Minatachi's least favorite thing to do." Lee laughed. I chuckled too, blushing.

"It's not funny."

"It's a little funny. Is there any particular reason you have an aversion to it?"

"Like you don't already know."

"My mom is their doctor." He winked, finishing up the frame.

"I'm… not ready for all of that."

"What do you want?"

"To… play soccer, have sex, drink… smoke…"

"Sounds… a little boring."

"Seriously? Come on, you were a student athlete too, you didn't want to go pro? Have a bunch of fan girls? Live the life?"

"Well I didn't have the talent of the incredible Minatachi Uchiha. Honestly had you guys won that last game, we would have been done for. But to answer your question, being here, doing this work… it's a little more fulfilling."

"Why?"

"Seriously? Look at what we're doing. We're actually changing lives. Helping them be self-sustainable. Doing something that's not all about us. It's a thrill." Maybe… Kinda all I see is the blisters on my hands… the sunburn. I guess I've been complaining so much I've sort of made it all about me. "We're about due for a break, wanna have lunch with me?"

I smiled, I actually really did. "Yeah, I'd like that." We walked down to the food station, picked up some lunch then headed towards the lake. We climbed up a tree, sat on a large branch with a good view and ate, talked. So maybe talking to him wasn't so bad. Maybe developing feelings for him isn't the worst thing that could possibly happen. Maybe… I was throwing a bitch fit for no real reason.

"Is it easier to come out to your parents when they're… both…" He hesitated on his question, realizing how intimate it actually was. I chuckled, he's cute when he's nervous.

"Both dudes? Uh… not really. I sort of came out when Inojin told them he was pregnant by me."
"Really?"

"Yeah… it's kinda hard for me to talk about that stuff to them." I feel like any time that window opens both of their heads go back to what happened with the Akatsuki, how they were able to… manipulate me.

"So Hima was she… I mean… are you… bisexual?" I took a breath, peeling my orange.

"Hima's the only girl I've ever been with, the only female I've ever felt any sort of… attraction to. I guess if that makes me bisexual than so be it." I chuckled.

"Sorry to pry, I was just curious." He said blushing, looking away and eating his apple.

"No… it's okay, it's kind of nice talking to someone about stuff. What about you? Are you gay or…?"

He blushed further, "Yeah, I've never actually been with a girl, never even kissed one."

"Girls are… soft… in a good way. I mean to be honest, I still think Hima is beautiful. Even pregnant she has these curves and her hips… I don't know… it's just different than muscles and dicks."

"Hey I rather like muscles and dicks thank you very much." We both smiled.

"Oh trust me I do too." I said making bedroom eyes at him. He bit his lip then had to look away. "So coming out to your parents was hard I take it?"

"My mom wasn't very thrilled, me being her only child and all, but my dad was supportive, and she eventually came around."

"I think my dads just thought I was a whore. They were more shocked by who I was sleeping with than what was attached to them ya know?"

"Yeah, I could see that. So like… are you still seeing them or…" He's fishing to see if he has a chance with me, one where he doesn't have to fight my baby mamas for my attention.

"They… sort of… dumped me before I came here actually. I mean we were never really a thing, but they kind of made it abundantly clear that we'll never be a thing again."

"Ouch, I'm really sorry, that must have been hard."

"Yeah, a seventeen-hour plane ride filled with nothing but self-loathing and 'what did I even do wrongs' certainly didn't help."

"Wait you mean it was right before you left?" I nodded, eating my orange. "Don't you like… need some time to heal?"

I smirked, "I'm not even sure I know how to do that."

"Is that why you tried to hook up with me?" I tried to hook up with you because you're hot as all hell.

"Maybe a little."

"Do you want to talk about that?" I gave him a questioning look. He took a breath, looking down at his apple. "Why… you freaked out about the possibility of bottoming?" Oh.

"Erm…"

"If it makes you uncomfortable you don't have to…"

I scratched the back of my head. "I just… I've never really talked to anyone about it." Not even really Dr. Iruka. Every time he brings it up I just kinda skirt around it. But… maybe… maybe opening up to Lee might do me some good. He makes me feel… really comfortable. "I umm… how I got my sharingan… I was raped… molested really. I can't really remember if I was raped or not, but I have a lot of nightmares that are just too graphic to think that I wasn't…" I said without looking at him.

"Oh Minatachi… I had no idea… I'm so-"

"It's okay. I just… it really just kind of brings up those feelings again. I've just kind of closed myself off to the thought of bottoming."

"I mean, I completely understand that. I'm sorry I brought it up."

"You didn't know. You umm… you said you were a top too, there a reason for that?" I asked. He bit his lip.

"My ex… he and I… we tried it… it never really felt… good with him. I didn't totally enjoy it." Oh.

"I mean… I actually remember it feeling good…" Really good, even though I was doped up, tied down, and it was all against my will. "I mean… if… you were willing to go slow with me and… accept that I might be put in a bad place because of it…"

"Minatachi… that so intimate… what you're saying. Let's just… pin it for now. Wait to have sex… take things slow. I mean there are certainly other things we can do." He said with a naughty smile.

"You mean… you want to do stuff with me?"

He shrugged, blushing. "I really like you Minatachi."

"I really like you too Lee." He leaned in to kiss me. For some reasons I got butterflies in my stomach. I was all nervous to kiss him! Oh my gosh! I've never felt that before!

I closed my eyes and leaned in, and just as our lips brushed one another's, "HELP! Somebody please! Help us!" I looked up and across the lake towards where the civilian camps were. There was a huge fire. Oh no. Suddenly I was standing up, lunch forgotten.

"We should get Suigetsu, he might have extinguishers or something? Buckets? There aren't any emergency services for miles."

"Yeah, you do that." I said activating my sharingan.

"What are you gonna do?" I wasn't sure, I was just moving, my adrenaline on overload.

"Just go Lee, hurry!" I made a vortex, the next second I was where I was just looking. In between two burning shelters and make-shift houses. My body just moved, I didn't know what the hell I was thinking.

"Help!" I looked to my left and heard people trapped, coughing and choking, unable to escape the small poorly built house. I teleported so that I was right next to them.

"Take my hand, you'll be safe." I said reaching out to a little girl. One by one, I teleported them to my own time space. It was the safest place I could think to put them, a way so I wouldn't have to keep teleporting back and forth across the lake. I just hope I can get them all out. Once I got the last person in the room, I ran out before the structure could collapse, but the fire had spread. People were screaming. I went door to door, finding anyone I could, getting them out of there. I just got as many people out as I could, my body was moving all on its own. There were flames flying everywhere, without my sharingan I wouldn't be able to see a thing, the smoke was so thick. I think I must have been coughing pretty hard, but I barely felt it. I'm just trying to get as many people as I can out of here. How many people were in this settlement? Twenty? Fifty? I wasn't sure, but I had to find them. By the ninth or tenth structure Suigetsu and the rest of the crew had showed up, putting out the fire as fast as they could. I pulled out two more people sending them to my time space before I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Lee.

"Minatachi we have to go."

"Not everyone is safe yet!" I yelled. Before he could reply to me, I was running to the next door, breaking it down, there was no one there. I felt myself losing touch with reality again. A side effect of my time space. I felt like I was somewhere halfway between what is real and what wasn't.

"The rest of the camp is evacuated! The people you just saved were the last ones! You did it Minatachi, you saved everyone!" My knees felt weak, I was becoming more and more disoriented. But those people were still stuck in my time space, I had to get them out before I passed out.

"Not yet I didn't." I fell to a knee.

"MT you're burned." I felt myself coughing, it was harder to breathe. "I have to get you out of here."

"I have to get them out!" I called as I felt Lee wrap my arm around his shoulder, helping me up and getting me out of the burning building. I fluttered in and out of reality as he dragged me away. I could see the people, I could see Lee, but I was trapped somewhere in between. Lee took me far away from the campground, where the medics were. They put an oxygen mask on me. The fluttering between worlds became slower, I was spending more time in this one, not mine. No, I had to get them out. Now. I focused my chakra and looked at a spot where they would land safely. Come on, you can do this Minatachi.

The next instant, everyone appeared, safe and away from the soon to be extinguished flames. I fell on my back, exhausted, that really took a lot out of me. Metal Lee came to my aid, looking at the burn I had on my arm, propping my head up.

"That was so brave!"

"My body just moved."

"You're a hero Minatachi, you saved the whole camp. You're amazing." I coughed a little bit and finally feeling the effects of my heroics, the pain of my burns.

"You saved us! You saved us all!" A woman came up to me, hugging me followed by several other villagers. I'm not sure I was processing any of it.

"He needs a medic, he's badly burned-"

"I'm okay." I looked at my hands and the burns were already starting to heal. "Lee."

"Yes?" He asked, looking me in my eyes, very concerned.

"I might get my hard head from my Uchiha blood, but my ability to heal comes straight for being an Uzumaki." I chuckled.

Lees eyebrows rose before he smiled, pulling the oxygen mask down and kissing me. "You're an idiot Minatachi."

Sasuke's P.O.V.

"Okay, taste this." I said putting the spoon into the love of my life's mouth.

"Mmmmm Sasuke. God, you're gonna make me so fat with this."

"It's good right?"

"Incredible." Naruto said covering his mouth, chewing with glee.

"Okay now try it with a slice of prosciutto." I said creating the perfect bit for my love.

"I didn't think it was possible that could get any better, but you did it." I smiled and gave him a kiss. "You should go on iron chef or something."

"Oh yeah, sure." He wrapped his arms around me and snuggled into my neck. "What do you have for me this evening?"

"An oldie but goodie. Jirayia's favorite sake from the Land of Waves." He said, grabbing the bottle and pouring it into sipping glasses. We clinked our glasses and drank. "Remember the last time we had this?"

"Uh I believe it was in the high school parking lot, the day you slapped me."

"Twice actually."

He winked. "Yes, twice. It still stings dobe."

"Twenty years later it still stings teme?"

"Stings that I hurt you that bad."

"All is forgiven my love. Now we drink to new memories." He said clinking his glass against mine.

"I love you."
"I love you too. Always." We kissed before I made us some plates and we went to sit on the couch.

"Think about it dobe. Us cooking for each other, sharing a bottle of sake, snuggling on the couch as we watch a movie. This is what retirement could look like."

"Don't tempt me teme." He said, snuggling up to my chest.

"I'm tempted."

"65, just hold out till then."

"That's a long time from now."

"Our country needs both of us. It's too soon."

"What about our grandchildren?"

Naruto let out a breath. "Inojin will be the fulltime parent… we… will be there when they need us."

"Inojin's due date is right after the wedding, Hima's isn't far behind."

"And Minatachi's roughing it in the Land of Waves."

"Did we make a mistake, sending him away for the summer?"

Naruto shook his head. "He had to get that community service done. Then there's the hope it will do him some good."

I ran my hand through my hair, "Suigetsu is watching him. The last time Suigetsu watched anyone I ended up addicted to cocaine." Naruto cringed at the thought.

"You're just dredging up ancient history tonight, aren't you?" He chuckled.

"My mind's been there lately. I've been so happy… these past twenty years have just flown by, but I feel like… I feel like you just had Minatachi yesterday."

"Did we screw up with him?"

"We gave him a good life, an easy life. It's all I ever wanted for him." It wasn't really an answer, he and I both knew that. Before I could say more Naruto's eyes fluttered to the TV screen.

"Turn it up." I did and it was Suigetsu on the TV screen.

"Sometimes with the work we do there are inherent dangers. The fire was a complete accident, and with the semi-permanent structures that were readily combustible, the campsite lit up like a roman candle. Fortunately, with the quick actions of my crew, Minatachi Uzumaki Uchiha in particular, we were able to get everyone out with minimal injuries. This will not delay our work here. it only motivates us to work harder and we plan to be back to full production tomorrow."

"There you have it folks, thanks to the heroic acts of the clean water initiative, the village of Aquakure was saved from yet another disaster." My husband's jaw dropped, and as always, I had to figure out what was going on. I facetimed Suigetsu.

"You saw the news."

"Hell yeah we saw the news!" Naruto barked, putting his face in view of the screen. I wrapped my arm around him to calm him, then moved the phone so he could see both of us.

"What happened?" I sneered.

"Long story short, your kid's a damn hero man." The words didn't quite compute.

"A hero?"

"He just… ran into the face of danger. He had already saved about twenty, thirty people before I even got there."

"You let him run into a fire!"

"Not so much run as like… teleport. But like he really did it, he saved basically the whole village."

"Is he okay?" Naruto asked.

"He was burned… ummm… pretty bad actually. Inhaled a whole lot of smoke…"

"Suigetsu!"

"Call Kakashi, we're getting on a plane." Naruto said moving to get up, I wouldn't let him.

"He's fine! He's fine! He'd be fully healed by the time you got here anyways. It's okay, really."

"Put him on the phone."

"Sasuke."

"Put him on the phone Suigetsu."

"Okay, but it looks worse than it is." I flashed my rennigan at him. "Here he is." Suigetsu gave the phone to my son.

"Hey dad, daddy." He had a bandage around his head and cheek. Part of his eyebrow was burnt off.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah… I'm okay."

"What happened?"

"My… my body just moved." He looked a little shaken up and… disoriented. Like he was dealing with some harmful side effects of his sharingan.

"He doesn't seem like he's all there." I whispered to Naruto.

"No daddy, I'm here… I'm here. I had a small break with reality but I'm good."

"A break with reality?" Naruto looked back at me.

"You know how scary that sounds son."

"I know… I'm not too good at staying grounded yet. Can you… can you teach me?" I was shocked. He's never asked me to help him with his sharingan. Mikoshina and I have worked on her's hundreds of times together, thousands. But not once has Minatachi asked me to work on his. I wasn't sure what it meant. I always thought he resented it, hated me for giving it to him, or by how he got it. Not asking me to help him advance it was an act rebellion or something. Naruto clutched my wrist in shock. Yeah, I felt it too.

"Of course, Minatachi." He nodded, staring of into space a bit.

"You don't look so good, do you need us to fly down? We can be there in… twelve hours." That's a stretch. Fourteen if the weather's clear and we speed the whole way.

"No, I'm good, I'll be back to work in a day or two."

"Someone needs to watch you. Stay with you through the night and check on you."

"I volunteer! Your son will be safe with me Mr. and Mr. Uzumaki Uchiha." A voice came from behind the phone. Is that…?

"Metal Lee! You're working on this project?" Naruto perked up as we watched Sakura's son sit next to our son and wrap his arm around him. Oh dear.

"I'm the lead structural engineer for this project. Just graduated a month ago. Suigetsu trusted me enough to use my designs."

"That's amazing!"

"Yeah, so he's gonna watch me. Don't worry, I'm in good hands." My son said with a blush.

"Well alright, call us tomorrow, and don't exert yourself! You need time to heal!"

"Yes dad. I love you guys."

"We love you too Minatachi."

"And… we're proud of you son. Very proud." I said. The look on his face was like he was going to cry. He didn't expect that from me. But I was proud of him. I needed him to know that.

"Thank you, Daddy. I'll talk to you guys soon."

"Bye son."

"Bye." I hung up the phone and squeezed my husband.

"Did you see the look on his face when you told him you were proud of him?" Naruto said in awe, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Well I am."

"He's been waiting so long to hear that from you."

"Far too long."

"And the way his face lit up when Metal Lee came over."

"The way his face lit up when that boy came over." I growled.

"I think he has a crush."

"Why Sakura's kid?" I chuckled to myself, almost loathing the irony of it all.

"Cause he's older. He's always been forbidden fruit." Naruto praised, snuggling further into my chest.

"A soccer star, did you see that haircut? Of course our foolish son would be smitten with him."

"Foolish huh? Wasn't that Itachi's word he used to describe you. His foolish baby brother?" Naruto smirked, straddling my lap.

"Now who's reminiscing from the past?" I laughed, "If our son gets Sakura's son pregnant, we're really done for."

Naruto's clear blue eyes widened. "She'd kill us."

I nodded. "She really would."

Naruto took a deep breath. "Should we call her?"

I thought about it. I really did. "We have no proof."

"I mean… our son doesn't get everyone he sleeps with pregnant right?" I'm… not 100% positive of that.

"We should give her a heads up."

"I'm too young to die Sasuke."

I pulled him into a kiss. "We can tell her later then."