Naruto, in the process of stuffing ramen into his mouth, looked up as a shadow fell over him.
"Kakashi-sensei!" The happy greeting came out a bit muffled.
The other man simply nodded in greeting. "Do you have a minute?" he asked. Kakashi looked more serious than usual. Since Naruto had barely seen him smile since the man had become Hokage, that was really saying something.
Naruto nodded, swallowing his mouthful of ramen. It stuck in his throat, making him cough and making his eyes water. Kakashi just poured a glass of water and handed it to him without a word. This wasn't the first time he'd had to. His student wasn't the most graceful eater. Naruto gulped it down gratefully, feeling a little embarrassed at having Kakashi witness his almost-choking.
"Thanks," he said once he could speak again. "I've got time. Just need to get back to training eventually. What's up?"
Kakashi-sensei settled himself on the stool next to him, taking off the Hokage hat in the process. Naruto marveled at how his silver hair immediately returned to its usual lively style. On the few occasions in which he'd had to wear a hat or something similar on missions, his own hair had suffered from what he'd heard Ino call 'hat hair'. Of course Kakashi had no such problems.
"How's training going?"
Naruto frowned. Somehow he didn't think this was what Kakashi-sensei really wanted to talk about. Then he mentally shrugged. He would get to it when he was ready.
"Good, actually. I think I'm finally getting it. Another couple of days should do it."
Naruto was working on a new jutsu in between missions. Though there were decidedly fewer missions than before the war, now that the nations were at—relative—peace, that didn't leave him with a lot of time, but he was slowly getting there. The technique Kakashi had taught him way back when they were working on his improved Rasengan still came in handy. Especially now that he could make even more shadow clones.
"I see. That's great." The older man didn't sound as if that was great. Not that he sounded disapproving. If anything, he just sounded distracted.
Naruto waited a few moments. Still nothing. A few years ago he probably would have filled the silence talking about anything and everything. He'd calmed down a little over the years, though. At the ripe, old age of 22, he no longer felt the need to draw attention by talking people's ears off. In fact, he could do with a little less attention, he thought a little grumpily. Even now, years later, flocks of fangirls still followed him around occassionally. Being a 'war hero' had that effect, unfortunately.
When Kakashi-sensei still hadn't said anything after one full minute, however, Naruto started fidgeting. He'd calmed down; he didn't get a personality change.
"So... how 's my favorite Hokage-sama doing?" Naruto asked finally, shooting the silver-haired man a sly glance. He knew there was nothing that Kakashi hated more than being called 'Hokage-sama'. If anything could shake Kakashi out of his thoughts, it was this.
It worked. Kakashi finally looked over at him. From the look in his eyes, Naruto knew he was onto him. He couldn't stop his mouth from curling into a reluctant smile though.
Naruto was glad to see it. These days Kakashi-sensei didn't smile nearly enough to his liking. Surprisingly – or maybe not, depending on how you looked at it – Kakashi-sensei took his job as Hokage really seriously. He was never late, didn't make excuses. Nothing. That meant that Kakashi spent most of his time in the Hokage office, only getting a few hours off here and there. He had been especially busy these last few months. Apparently peace didn't decrease the massive amounts of paperwork.
A lot of people, not in the least Shikamaru and Sakura who worked with him the closest, were very relieved at Kakashi's new and improved work ethic. Naruto wasn't sure how to feel. Was he happy that Kakashi was serious about caring for Konoha? Of course. Was he surprised? Not really. Kakashi-sensei had always been serious when it mattered. Did he miss listening to Kakashi's obviously made-up excuses for being hours late? Nope. Well actually... maybe he kind of did. What he definitely missed though, was seeing the man's famous eye-smiles, and hearing those dry chuckles.
Naruto watched the thoughtful look return to Kakashi's face. He followed the man's line of sight to where his hands were lying on the countertop, clasped together. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that the older man was actually fidgeting, too.
"I'm... good."
Okay... that sounded convincing. Naruto waited, but Kakashi was silent. He scrunched up his forehead. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen Kakashi-sensei like this. The older man wasn't always super talkative, but this was just plain out of character. He was getting worried, but he didn't think the direct approach ("Tell me what's going on.") would work on him. He'd have to think of something else.
As he considered his options, Naruto eyed the forgotten ramen. It was getting cold and soggy. He wondered it Kakashi's silence would last long enough for him to finish it. He sneakily reached for the chopsticks. He'd just raised another bite of ramen to his mouth when he heard a loud sigh next to him. He jumped, feeling like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar.
Not that Kakashi seemed to notice. The man's eyes were still focused on the counter.
"How is Hinata?" the Hokage asked then.
"Fine, I think. I haven't seen her in a while." Naruto shrugged. They'd both been busy. In fact, he hadn't seen a lot of his friends lately. He frowned, thoughts churning. Maybe they could all meet up for yakiniku, or go for a drink or something. He looked to his side. Maybe Kakashi-sensei would come, too.
He finally registered that Kakashi was staring at him. Surprise showed in his eyes, as well as something Naruto couldn't identify right away.
"You haven't seen her?" It was in his voice, too. Surprise and maybe a little shock.
"No, not in a couple of weeks," Naruto answered slowly. He set down his bowl and the chopsticks again. If he hadn't been confused before, he definitely was now. "Oh no, wait, I ran into her last week at a shop. Why?"
"I just... thought that the two of you were... seeing each other," Kakashi said carefully. It almost sounded like a question.
Naruto barely managed to keep from laughing. Kakashi just looked so apprehensive. Maybe even a little unbelieving. He couldn't really blame the man. At one point, pretty much everyone thought that they would end up together. Or so Sakura informed him later. Naruto hadn't gotten that memo.
It would be a lie to say he hadn't ever considered going out with Hinata. She was so sweet, and she kicked absolute ass in a fight, which was pretty cool. She'd actually confessed to him about half a year ago. Once he'd gotten over the shock, he'd thought about it. Maybe it was time to move on. Maybe he could give it a try. Maybe he should give it a try.
In the end, though, Naruto was too much of a romantic to go for it. It was possible that he could have ended up loving her, if he'd let himself. At the same time, he knew he could never fully give himself to a relationship when he was still so in love with someone else.
Naruto chuckled, shaking his head. If Kakashi only knew.
"I'm not seeing Hinata."
"Wha- but- I-"
"I'm not seeing anyone," he added with another shrug.
A beat of silence, then Kakashi-sensei gave another sigh. This one sounded different. Almost... relieved? Weird.
"Sensei, what's going on? Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" Naruto had to know. He wasn't surprised that Kakashi didn't know he wasn't seeing anyone – Hinata or otherwise. He couldn't remember ever having a conversation with Kakashi about his love life, unexistent as it was. Of course, he couldn't go to his former teacher to ask for advice either. Not in this matter. He wondered if he would have if things were different, or if it would have been too awkward. Part of him didn't think so. They'd become very close after the war; he'd even dare call them friends. They would go out for drinks or dinner (mostly at Ichiraku), or train together.
A few months ago however, that had stopped almost completely. Kakashi had told him he was too busy with the Hokage duties. Naruto hadn't pushed, no matter how much he'd wanted to. He didn't want to return to the attention-seeking days of his childhood. He figured if Kakashi wanted to spend time with him he would. He consoled himself with the thought that even if Kakashi wasn't spending time with him, at least he wasn't spending it with anyone else either. The thought made Naruto pause. He didn't mean that he was happy that Kakashi was holing himself up. But it was somewhat soothing that it wasn't personal—probably.
Since Kakashi was off-limits, he usually ended up at either Iruka-sensei's place or at Sakura's whenever he wanted to talk—or complain—about his 'love life'. Iruka had been surprisingly supportive about it all. Naruto had expected more objection or at least more confusion. Iruka had just sighed and told him that he'd seen it coming. And Sakura... Now that she was with Sasuke, she'd developed a real interest in his romantic escapades. Again, not that he had any. She always said she just wanted Naruto to be as happy as she and Sasuke were.
Naruto glanced at the silver-haired man sitting next to him. He couldn't stop a snort. Fat chance of that happening.
Meanwhile, Kakashi-sensei was scratching the back of his head, looking a little sheepish. "Sorry about that... I was so sure..."
"Whatever gave you the idea that I'm interested in Hinata?" It's not her I'm interested in, Naruto added silently.
"Well, actually, I-" the Hokage stopped and looked up, seemingly realizing they had an audience. Naruto looked over, too. Teuchi-san and Ayame-san suddenly seemed very occupied with cleaning the already clean-looking stove. The blonde grinned. Very subtle.
"Are you done with that?" Kakashi asked instead, pointing at his ramen.
Naruto was torn. This bowl of ramen was definitely ruined, but he'd actually planned on having at least another bowl or two. Or three. In his defense, he'd only been on his third bowl when his former teacher had interrupted.
Well, if anyone could come between Naruto and his ramen, it was Kakashi. "Yeah, I'm done," Naruto said with a tiny sigh. Then he got up and turned towards Teuchi-san, pulling out his wallet. "See you next time, old man."
Teuchi-san thanked him and simply said they looked forward to seeing him again tomorrow. Naruto grinned. Teuchi-san knew him so well.
Kakashi-sensei was already waiting outside of the stand, hat firmly back in place. He started walking towards the east of town. Naruto fell into place next to him. As they walked, he threw the Hokage a few sneaky glances. Even in the shapeless robes, Kakashi-sensei looked as formidable as ever. The ever-present mask still hid most of his face, but the rest of it was covered in shadows because of the Hokage hat. The silver-haired man wore it as little as possible, but whenever he walked through town he was almost contractually obligated to wear it.
After a few minutes, Kakashi-sensei seemed to finally give up brooding and kept up a steady stream of chatter as they made their way through the streets. He asked him about his training some more. Then a few questions about his latest missions. And did he still eat ramen every day?
Naruto didn't even mind the jab at his perfectly healthy eating habits. He was happy to finally have the chance to talk to Kakashi this way. It had been far too long since the two of them had gotten to just... hang out. He noticed that Kakashi avoided talking about Hinata, steering them away from the topic once or twice during the conversation when Naruto mentioned a mission with her team.
After a little while, Kakashi stopped. It seemed they had arrived at their destination: the training ground where Naruto had been working earlier. The tell-tale signs of destruction were still there. He should fix that when he went home later, he thought absently.
Naruto stopped in the middle of the field and looked at his former teacher. The man was standing a few feet away, eyes fixed on one of the craters. Maybe Kakashi really was interested in his training, after all?
"So..." Naruto tried again. He let his sentence trail off, hoping that the other man would finally tell him why he'd come to see him.
Kakashi let out an awkward chuckle. "Actually, Naruto, I came to talk to you today about a marriage proposal."
Naruto froze. Rationally, he knew that Kakashi-sensei wasn't planning on asking Naruto to marry him. Unfortunately though, the rational part of his brain seemed to have taken an unplanned vacation as soon as he heard Kakashi mention the word 'marriage'. His heart started beating at breakneck speed. A small portion of his brain worried if Kakashi would be able to hear that. Or smell it. The man's nose was ridiculously good. Luckily for him, though, the Hokage didn't seem to notice.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Naruto managed to get out a strangled 'Sorry, what?'. Kakashi looked at him, a wry smile visible even under his mask.
"You see, Naruto, Hiashi-san came to see me today." Naruto just looked at him, not getting it. "He told me that the Hyuuga clan had decided on you as a marriage partner for Hinata. I figured that meant that you and Hinata had been going out for a while and that you guys were planning on... tying the knot, so to speak," Kakashi finished. He looked at Naruto expectantly, awaiting an explanation.
Naruto couldn't give him any. His mouth had been hanging open since 'marriage partner for Hinata'. What the hell? He couldn't wrap his head around it. It had been six months since Hinata had confessed. Six months since he'd turned her down as gently as he could.
"Well, she sure didn't mention our marriage when I ran into her last week," Naruto said, feeling more than a little annoyed suddenly. She could have given him a head's up.
Then he let out a sigh. He didn't really believe that Hinata had anything to do with this. He was actually fairly sure that she and Kiba were a thing now, or at least almost a thing. He was growing more confused by the second, trying to figure how things had turned out like this. He'd assumed that Hiashi was less of a... pain these days. He seemed more relaxed about the 'standing' of the Hyuuga clan, removing more and more of the invisible boundaries separating the main and side branches. Looks like some things never changed though...
"I wonder if he even bothered to ask Hinata if she wanted to get married," Naruto wondered aloud. "He didn't bother asking me, that's for sure."
As Naruto's expression grew more and more clouded, the annoyance getting to him, Kakashi's expression did the exact opposite. For the first time that day, Naruto saw Kakashi form a genuine smile. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man. He thought that was rather an odd reaction to Naruto's predicament, and he told his former teacher exactly that.
Kakashi-sensei apologized. He was still smiling, though.
"Sensei..." Naruto whined. A sudden thought occurred to him. "What did you tell Hiashi?"
"Well, I was a little surprised, since I hadn't heard anything about it from you. But I figured that you and Hinata were going out anyways, and that it just slipped your mind," Kakashi concluded with a shrug.
"Sorry, what?" Naruto said again, mouth hanging open in shock. "You thought that it 'slipped my mind'? You thought that I wouldn't have thought to tell you I was planning on getting married. Of course, you are only my former teacher and one of my most important people. Why would I ever bother telling you." Naruto sounded more than a little sarcastic now. The look Kakashi gave him told him the older man didn't really appreciate it.
To hell with that, Naruto thought, peeved. Then another thought struck him. He turned to Kakashi, eyes filled with horror. "You didn't mention any of this to the council, did you?"
Ever since Naruto had turned 18, the council had been hounding him with the many marriage proposals that had been sent his way since the war. Naruto had stubbornly refused to consider any of them. When asked for a reason, he simply told them that he wanted to enjoy his freedom longer. He figured he didn't need to tell them the real reason. That he was an idiot, practically pining for someone he could never have.
Another chuckle from Kakashi drew Naruto's attention. He knew of Naruto's struggles with the elders. "What do you think?" he asked the younger man. His smile had turned teasing.
"You never know with you," Naruto muttered.
"I came straight to you," Kakashi said. "I just had to know for myself. Somehow I didn't think to look for you at Ichiraku since I knew you'd been there yesterday. I looked all over, but somehow forgot that visiting Ichiraku's two days in a row is normal for you. I should have known not to underestimate your love of ramen " Naruto shot him a dirty look. "Figures you'd be in the last place I looked."
"Hah, at least you didn't betray me to the council. I really don't want to drag all of that up again. They seemed to have finally accepted that I will never marry."
Kakashi looked surprised. "What do you mean, 'that you'll never marry'?"
"It's a bit hard to get married by yourself, y'know, sensei," Naruto teased.
"Very funny, Naruto." Kakashi's expression turned serious. "You will meet someone. You're still young. And definitely popular if the size of your fanclub is anything to go by." Naruto snorted. "If not Hinata, then surely-"
"Don't be so quick to marry me off," Naruto interrupted. His mood was turning more and more downcast. Great, now even Kakashi-sensei is trying to get me married. He added distractedly, "Besides, I don't need to meet anyone anymore."
When no reply came from Kakashi, Naruto looked over at where he was standing. The man just stood there, head cocked slightly to the side. He knew that expression. It meant Kakashi was mulling something over in his mind, something he was very curious about. The last time he'd seen that look was when Yamato-taichou had made a passing comment about a kunoichi he'd gone on a recent mission with. By the time Kakashi had finished with the team captain, they'd discovered that Yamato was seeing her. A fact which they'd planned on keeping secret for a while. Naruto just hoped that seeing that expression again wasn't bad news.
"What?" he asked warily.
"If you don't need to meet anyone anymore... does that mean... that you've already found the person you want to marry?"
In sharp contrast to seconds earlier, Kakashi-sensei's face was completely blank now. Naruto considered his answer very carefully. If he'd still been 16, he probably would've just confessed right here and now. Loudly and with a bang. But he wasn't 16. And this wasn't just a crush anymore.
He could lie, say Kakashi had misunderstood. But the man was pretty much a living lie detector, even without his sharingan. Half-truths then. Offer as little information as possible.
"Yes."
"The person you want to marry?"
"Maybe. Ideally."
"Ideally," Kakashi repeated. "So you and she aren't planning on getting married soon?" At least the older man was still assuming it was a woman. The less he knew, the better.
"No, not at all."
"So it's not serious yet?"
Naruto shook his head. "He doesn't even know." Naruto wanted to slap his hand over his mouth. What did he just say!? Seriously. He cursed his unthinking brain. Maybe Kakashi didn't notice, Naruto thought a little desperately. He peeked up at the silver-haired man.
Kakashi was looking thoroughly stunned. Of course he'd noticed.
"He?" The question was posed almost casually, but the look in Kakashi's eyes was anything but. There was a definite glint there. Kakashi took a step towards Naruto. "Do I know him?"
Naruto gulped. "Maybe." His voice was little more than a squeak at this point. He briefly wondered if he could take Kakashi's lack of disgust and apparent interest as a good sign, or if that was stupidly optimistic.
Kakashi fired another set of questions at him. From the look on his face, he wouldn't let up until he discovered the man's identity, aka himself, or until Naruto passed out from stress. Maybe both.
After about two minutes of almost Ibiki-level questioning (minus the torture), Naruto threw his hands up in frustration. "Okay, fine. It's you. All right?" he almost shouted the last part. "You happy now? It's you. I like you. I... love you." He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to postpone the inevitable rejection for at least a few moments.
When no reaction came, Naruto carefully opened his eyes and shot a quick glance at the other man. Yeah... Kakashi looked stunned. He hadn't really expected anything else. Maybe a little bit of revulsion? Then again... Kakashi-sensei was too nice for that. Shocked silence sounds about right though.
"It's not like you wouldn't have figured it out," Naruto muttered after another couple of seconds of dead silence. Was Kakashi breathing? "I can't help it that I've been in love with you since... forever. It's not my fault, okay." Naruto didn't know why he sounded so peevish. Then again, the imminent doom of rejection wasn't the nicest feeling.
"So, if there's nothing else... I will just go train," Naruto said and spun on his heel. He headed for the nearest crater. Maybe he could bury himself in the hole. Maybe he would get a concussion while training and forget all about his conversation. Maybe he could give himself a concussion.
He hadn't walked five steps before he felt a hand on his arm. Resigning himself to his fate, Naruto allowed Kakashi to turn him around.
The look of shock was gone now. He also couldn't see any revulsion or disgust, which was a good sign. Instead, Kakashi looked almost... hopeful? Naruto's heart fluttered.
"I'd hoped... when you said 'he'..." Kakashi stopped. Naruto was almost proud of himself for having stunned Kakashi into speechlessness so many times today. "Do you mean it?"
Naruto didn't dignify that with an answer. Sure, he'd risk years of friendship by lying about this. Kakashi seemed to know what the younger man was thinking.
"Right, sorry. It's just that I can't believe it. I'd never dared to hope that you would feel this way." Hope? "I mean, just this morning, I was sure that I would have to watch you marry Hinata. I've been looking for you to ask you, and then I couldn't find you." Kakashi took a deep breath and gave a soft chuckle. "Shikamaru must be so pissed. I've missed an entire day of paperwork."
Now it was Naruto's to be speechless. Well, almost. "You've been looking for me all day?"
Kakashi chuckled again. "Yeah. I always just missed you. You have no idea how glad I was to finally find you at Ichiraku."
"You didn't look glad." Naruto remembered Kakashi's strained face as the Hokage entered Ichiraku.
"Can you blame me?" Kakashi asked. "I thought I was going to have to see you get married to someone else. I mean, I'm happy if you're happy, but that's just..."
"Sensei... you know that I'm always a little slow on the uptake." That spark of hope that he'd squashed resolutely a little while ago was back. In full force. Surely he wasn't misunderstanding anything now. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"Do you think I'm saying that I love you, too? Because you'd be absolutely right." Kakashi's eyes looked straight into his. They looked warm, soft even. Naruto had never seen anyone look at him quite like that.
"I love you, Naruto."
Naruto's heart stopped for a split second. Then the happiest smile bloomed on his face. He threw his arms around Kakashi's neck. When he felt Kakashi's arms go around him as well, he snuggled closer.
It felt... right. They'd never been this close, not in this way. But it felt incredible, amazing. He felt like his entire body was warming up. Naruto squeezed a little harder. His heart picked up speed when Kakashi's arms tightened as well. As he breathed in Kakashi's scent, he could feel himself turning into a warm puddle of happy goo. Pretty soon, Kakashi would have to sweep him up and carry him home. One part of his mind actually approved of the idea. A little privacy in the comfort of one's own house never hurt.
When Kakashi's grip loosened slowly, Naruto tightened his in silent protest. He didn't think he was ready to let go just yet. Kakashi chuckled. The sound was deliciously close to Naruto's ear. He gave a happy sigh. He'd always loved Kakashi-sensei's voice.
Kakashi squeezed once, then let go some more. Reluctantly, Naruto also loosened the vice of his arms around Kakashi's neck. He was going to pull away entirely, embarrassment kicking in just a little, but Kakashi's arms wouldn't let him go too far. Naruto stood flush against the older man's body.
He peeked up into Kakashi's eyes. The look he saw there caused him to smile again. He never would have thought this morning that he'd be so ridiculously happy just a few hours later.
Kakashi's eyes moved to focus on a spot on Naruto's face, below his eyes. It took him a moment to realize that Kakashi was looking at his lips. He watched, holding his breath, as Kakashi lowered his head. His head went blank. His mouth went dry. His heart was about to beat out of his chest. Kakashi went slowly, giving Naruto more than enough time to object. Not that he would have wanted to, but even through the haze in his head, he could appreciate the gesture.
Then he felt clothed lips press against his. Their lips moved together slowly. The kiss was languid. Warm. Kakashi's lips left his for a moment but returned immediately for another kiss. Then two. His breath felt hot against his face, even through the mask. Another kiss. One of Kakashi's hands moved up to cradle Naruto's face, turning it just so. Another soft kiss, and another. This one against the corner of his mouth.
Kakashi's hand moved away for a split second. When the next kiss came, Naruto felt a tiny shock at the contact of bare skin against his. The mask no longer covered Kakashi's face. No matter how good the kiss had felt even with the mask, it felt a thousand times better without it.
They stood there, in each other arms, for what seemed like forever, but which was probably only a few minutes. When the kiss started to get a little more heated, Kakashi pulled away. The look on his face told Naruto that that was actually the last thing he wanted to do.
Naruto wondered how he looked. If he looked even half as dazed and blissfully happy as he felt...
Then a sudden thought popped into Naruto's head.
"Do you think we should send a thank you note to Hiashi-san?"