05

Kakashi was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. He had been awoken by Iruka at 6 am, only to be given a lecture that he make Naruto a proper breakfast, one that didn't involve the apple cider donuts he brought home yesterday. Iruka was a bit of a health nut (to put it nicely), and while Kakashi definitely maintained a good diet, he was more lenient with himself.

He really wanted to throw a pillow at his husband's face, to show his appreciation for being woken up so early. Of course he'd cook Naruto a good breakfast, but he knew Iruka was lamenting about the fact that he couldn't spend the morning with them, so he held back his retaliation. He didn't usually work on Sundays, but a mandatory meeting had been scheduled at the aquarium weeks in advance.

It was now 8:00, and after several hours of tossing and turning, he hadn't been able to fall back asleep. He shifted his gaze towards the window. The leaves on the large maple tree that sat in front of it had changed to a brilliant array of red, orange, and yellow. The sky contained scattered clouds, but they were white and bright, against a crisp blue sky. Aside from a couple of chirping birds and the occasional passing car, there was no other sound to be heard. He figured Naruto must still be asleep.

He stretched his arms and legs in bed, causing Pakkun to let out a groan from being disturbed.

He got up, slipped into a pair of loose pants, and clicked on Saosin's self-titled CD, a throwback to high school. He would never not love this album, no matter how old he was. Something about this time of year, made him nostalgic for those years. All of his memories were heavily associated with music. This in particular, reminded him of driving around with Itachi, Hidan, and some of their other friends, late at night with the windows down, music blaring, on their way to see whatever band had come into town that weekend.

Itachi had lied to his parents, the night they went to see Saosin. He was two years younger than everyone else, and his parents had set strict rules about going into Chicago. Itachi was so guilt ridden, he could barely enjoy the concert. They eventually found out, because Itachi had cracked, and Fugaku blamed Kakashi for being a bad influence. It didn't help that at the time, he and Itachi had been dating.

Kakashi was Itachi's first "public" boyfriend, a requirement from Kakashi if they were to date. He had always been unapologetic and confident about who he was, and high school was no exception. It barely lasted a month; they were a terrible match, but Kakashi did learn that he might have a thing for long-haired pretty boys. It wasn't all for naught though, Itachi had become his closet friend outside of his sister Rin.

He smirked to himself in remembrance, grabbing the yoga mat that leaned against the wall, unfurling it onto the wood flooring. He laid on his back, crossed an ankle over the opposite knee, and stuck his arm through the hole it created to pull his shin into his chest. Apparently, this was an invitation for Pakkun to come lick his face.

"Come on, Pak," he said, scrunching his eyes and mouth shut to avoid them falling victim to his tongue. He turned his head to the side, which only excited the dog more, causing him to jump up onto Kakashi's bare chest, his nails digging into the skin.

"Ow. Damn. I need to cut your nails," he said, lifting the dog up above his face to examine his feet. He put him on the floor and sat up.

"Alright," he patted him on the butt, "Out you go."

He ushered him to the door. When he opened it, he saw Naruto through the crack, standing in the hallway, looking a little lost.

"Oh, Naruto," Kakashi said, opening the door wider. "You're awake."

Naruto blinked at him, his blonde hair sticking out wildly in every direction.

"I need to go to the bathroom."

"Ah, well, you've found it. It's right there," Kakashi said, pointing to the door on his left. "Do you, uh, need help?" Kakashi asked, scratching at the back of his head. He had no idea when children no longer needed help going to the bathroom.

"No…" Naruto said, giving him a strange look, before closing the bathroom door behind him.

Kakashi felt his cheeks flush. He didn't know! Maybe the toilet was too high or something. Or he couldn't reach the sink to wash his hands. He felt like an idiot. A bundle of nerves twisted in his stomach. He wished Iruka were here.

In order to distract himself, he went into the kitchen to contemplate breakfast.

Naruto appeared a few minutes later, climbing up into one of the kitchen chairs. He stared at Kakashi as if waiting for some sort of direction.

"Are you hungry, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, surveying the fridge. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Cereal!"

Kakashi laughed. As if Iruka would allow cereal in this house. Not unless it was unsweetened fancy granola that Iruka had baked himself, which currently, they were out of.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that we don't have cereal. But we do have eggs and toast."

He moved some things around in the fridge.

"Yogurt. Fruit."

He spotted a glass bottle of maple syrup in the back.

"Or I could make pancakes?"

"Yeah, yeah! Pancakes!"

Kakashi grabbed the bottle of maple syrup, along with a jug of orange juice, out of the fridge.

"Alright. But you're going to have to help me. You gotta work if you wanna eat around here."

Kakashi froze. Wait. Did that sound threatening? Oh, god. He totally meant it as a joke! Do kids understand jokes like that at his age? Should he explain that he was kidding?

Irrruukkaaa, he silently pleaded in his mind. Help. Me.

Naruto was completely unfazed by Kakashi's mild panic attack. He stood up from his chair, eager to help.

"Ok," he said, simply. "What do I do?"

"Uh, oh, um… can you grab the eggs from the fridge and put them on the table?" Kakashi asked, while opening an overhead cabinet to take out the (whole wheat pastry) flour.

Naruto did as he was told.

Kakashi whisked together the appropriate amount of flour, some spices, and baking powder.

"Now grab the almond milk. It's in the blue carton, on the door of the fridge."

Naruto retrieved that too.

Kakashi brought the bowl over to the table.

"Do you want to crack the eggs, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at him, his blue eyes bugging out of his head.

"I trust you," Kakashi said, patting the chair.

Naruto climbed into the chair, coming to a kneel.

"First, gently crack it on the edge of the bowl," Kakashi said, placing a different, smaller bowl, onto the table top. "We'll crack them into here first."

Naruto wrapped his fingers around a brown egg and brought it to the edge. He gave it a hard whack, causing the shell to crumble completely, the white and yolk dripping all over his hand.

"EW!" Naruto yelped, holding his hands out before making to wipe them on his shirt.

"Don't," Kakashi swiftly latched onto his wrists, "wipe it on your clothes," he laughed.

"Com'mere."

He picked Naruto up beneath the armpits and brought him to the sink. He lifted his knee up to let Naruto balance on his thigh.

"Rinse them off well and try again."

The next one rolled onto the ground with a splat, never even making it to the bowl, which Pakkun promptly lapped up with his tongue. After two more attempts, and lots of giggling later, Naruto finally got it right.

Kakashi pulled the chair up to the stove and motioned for Naruto to climb up again.

"You wanna help me flip them?"

Naruto nodded his head, resting his hands on the back of the chair.

Kakashi ladled the first scoop in. It sizzled hot on the pan.

"I'll do the first one, and you can do the next. See those bubbles on top?"

Naruto peered over the pan.

"Yeah."

"When it bubbles like that, you push the spatula underneath, and gently flip," Kakashi said, demonstrating. "And let it cook for a minute or so on the other side. Think you can handle that?"

Naruto nodded his head vigorously.

"I think so too."

He slipped the pancake onto a plate and ladled another one in.

"Ok, this one's all you," Kakashi said, handing him the spatula.

Naruto watched it intensely, until several bubbles formed. He scoot the spatula beneath the pancake, biting his tongue in concentration, before flipping it over. Kakashi expected him to need several trial runs, but it was almost perfect.

Naruto looked up at him in awe.

"Nice job," Kakashi praised, while grabbing a cutting board and a few ripe bananas. God help him if he didn't incorporate something fresh onto the plate. He could hear Iruka's voice inside his head, reprimanding him. Why didn't you add bananas? There's even blueberries in the freezer that I preserved from when we picked them over the summer.

Well, the blueberries were going to stay there. It was too late now.

Speaking of Iruka, Kakashi reached for his phone and snapped a picture of Naruto's back, kneeling on the chair in front of the stove, spatula at the ready.He sent it to his husband in a text.

"I need more," Naruto said, twisting his torso around.

Kakashi went over to ladle in the next pancake, and they did this dance for 15 more minutes, until all the pancakes were made. Miraculously, only one was a little burnt and it was Kakashi's fault. He had been distracting Naruto, who was quick to point out the blame, when he saw the darker underside.

When they were almost done eating, Kakashi's phone went off with a ding. He reached over to check the message. It was a reply from Iruka. He had sent a million crying emojis and hearts, followed by,

there was ripe bananas on top of the fridge and blueberries in the freezer. did you use them? ;)

Kakashi almost spit out his orange juice. Did he know him or what?

—

Iruka couldn't stop stealing glances at that photo of Naruto. The domesticity of it made his heart turn to mush. He ached to be home, to be wherever they were, not stuck at a meeting. He fidgeted in his seat, feeling anxious. It wasn't like him, to not want to be at work. He was the guy who always stayed late, going the extra mile, even if he was off the clock. He loved his job. But he had… he had a child now! And he didn't want to miss out on anything. They had already cooked their first meal together! Without him!

He internally groaned. He thought about what Kakashi would say, if he knew he was moping.

You have his whole life Iruka, relax. A few hours isn't the end of the world.

Iruka sighed, reminding himself of that fact. He found it funny how imagining his husband's fake advice brought him comfort, but it did. He relaxed and turned his attention back to the present moment.

"The new fish will be arriving on Tuesday, so Amazon Rising will be closed to the public for the next few days while we transition them in," his boss continued. "And finally, our new hire starts tomorrow. His name is Juugo, and he's replacing Shizune. If you see him around the penguin cove, try and make him feel welcome. We'll be scheduling some team building activities over the next several months. That's all I've got. Any questions or comments?"

She looked down the long table of the conference room, scanning everyone's faces.

"Alright. You're dismissed."

The sound of chairs scooting back filled the room, as Iruka headed for the door.

"Iruka," she called. "Can you give me a minute?"

"Sure," he said, crossing over to the window where his boss was standing. Her back was to him, her long blonde hair hung in two low pigtails, the same way she wore it everyday.

"SeaWorld's asking for you," she said, without looking at him. "Begging is more like it. They need help with one of their orcas. They're having several issues."

"You know I won't go there."

"I know. But I told them I'd ask."

"Well, you can tell them you did, and I said no."

"They would pay you generously, as they should. You're the best trainer in the field."

Iruka was used to these sort of requests, and usually he went, but he drew the line at theme parks.

"I can't, Tsunade."

She sighed.

"That's what I figured. As you wish."

Iruka turned to leave, but then he thought of a question he'd been meaning to ask.

"If I were to request vacation time, how soon could that be processed?"

"You know you have to give a month's notice. It's the same for you as it is for everyone else."

He did know that, but it was worth a shot. He wanted to take a week off when Naruto officially moved in.

"And as I recall, you've already requested this upcoming Friday and Saturday off," she added, glancing at him. "But if it's an emergency, that's a different story. You seemed distracted today, is everything alright?"

Shit, he thought, feeling guilty.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. I…" he hesitated, not having told his boss yet. He didn't have a specific reason why he hadn't told her, he just felt like… he didn't want to jinx it before it was legally official or something.

Well, now was as good a time as ever, he supposed.

"Actually, Kakashi and I are adopting a child. A boy."

Tsunade's face lit up for a second, before extinguishing just as quick.

"That's great, Iruka. Congratulations," she said, offering him a sad smile.

It tugged at his heart. Tsunade was hard on the outside, but she had a soft core, even if it rarely showed. He knew Tsunade had been wanting to start a family. That was, until…

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

Tsunade's partner Shizune, had accepted a job offer in Florida, as the lead wildlife veterinarian. It was a prestigious job, but it had created a rift in their relationship, at times a very public one. Several staff members had overheard their heated arguments, Iruka being one of them.

Tsunade tightened her fists at her sides, not taking her eyes off the window.

Iruka placed a hand on her shoulder in consolation. He knew she wouldn't talk to him about it, but he wanted to ask anyway.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, before taking his leave.

—

When Kakashi had finished cleaning the dishes and gotten properly dressed, he sat down on the couch next to Naruto. They kept stealing glances at each other, as if the other was some sort of strange alien they couldn't help but gawk at.

Kakashi was starting to feel like this didn't come as naturally to him, as it did to his husband. Generally speaking, Kakashi was a hard person to get to know. He was guarded and distant. Sure, cooking breakfast had gone well, but that was a moment. He could do moments. Moments were more like babysitting, but could he do a whole lifetime? Was he even qualified, with his history?

He grimaced. Much of Kakashi's teenage and young adult life were plagued by depression. And while he had it under control now, the threat of a flare up always lurked in the back of his mind. What if it resurfaced in front of Naruto? He knew what it was like to have things from your childhood imprint on your development. What if he… what if he fucked up his child? He wouldn't be able to bare it.

He felt a familiar urge irk his mind. A desire to build a wall. To build a wall and sit comfortably behind it, where no one could touch him. But, no, he wouldn't do that. That wasn't him anymore. Iruka had blasted through what he thought was impenetrable steel around his heart.

No. Kakashi would let Naruto in, eventually. And once Kakashi decided to let you in, you were in for life.

Kakashi sighed, willing himself to look at Naruto.

He and Iruka usually took Pakkun for a long walk on Sundays, but he wasn't sure if Naruto would be up for that. Maybe he could take Naruto through Willowbrook? That Wildlife Rescue Center? It had a short nature trail and outdoor exhibits. It'd be more entertaining than a normal walk and it allowed dogs, as long as they were leashed.

And they have foxes, he thought, remembering Naruto's painted pumpkin, which Iruka had placed proudly on their doorstep.

"So what do you…"

"Can I see Sasuke?"

They had both spoken at the same time.

"Uh, well…" Kakashi started, surprised. He wasn't expecting that. He thought about it for a moment.

Sasuke still lived in the house that Itachi was raised in, which was only a ten minute walk from their apartment. Kakashi never meant to settle down in the town he grew up in, but after a brief stint of living downtown, he had decided city life was not for him. They had visited many apartments and small homes in the suburbs of Chicago, and it just so happened that the one they liked the most, was located in Kakashi's hometown. Their apartment was really just the upper half of a two story house, that had been renovated into a complete living space. It was small yet spacious, and had everything they needed. The rent was cheap and the town square was a bike ride away.

Kakashi wasn't thrilled about the prospect of interacting with Fugaku, he never was, but maybe he'd get lucky and Mikoto would answer the door.

"We can stop by and see if he's home," Kakashi said, as Naruto's face shone as bright as the sun.

—

Kakashi pressed his finger into the doorbell. When Mikoto's face came around the door, he let out a breath, not realizing he had been holding it.

"Oh, Kakashi," Mikoto smiled warmly. "Good to see you. What can I do for you?"

"Well, Naruto and I were wondering if Sasuke was around," Kakashi said, with his hands resting on Naruto's shoulders, who was chewing on the corner of his sweatshirt sleeve.

Mikoto beamed at him, indicating that she had been let in on their little secret. Itachi must have told her. Kakashi smiled in return.

"Let me see where he's at," she said, excusing herself.

A few minutes later, Sasuke appeared, clothed in a black long sleeve shirt, black basketball shorts, and white socks that were pulled up past his ankles.

Naruto dropped his sweatshirt from his face.

"Sasuke!" he grinned.

Kakashi swore he saw the corner of Sasuke's mouth twitch.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked cooly, with no sign of excitement in his voice.

"Oh, um," Naruto stuttered, looking up at Kakashi with his blue eyes, silently communicating that he needed help. What did he want?

Kakashi laughed.

"Naruto and I are going to Willowbrook. Would you like to join us?"

Sasuke rubbed one foot against the back of his leg lazily, hanging onto the door handle.

"That animal rescue place?" he asked, jerking his head in an attempt to clear his bangs from his eyes.

"Yep."

Sasuke sighed, looking at something in the distance, before flicking his eyes to Naruto's for a second.

"I guess."

"Great. We'll wait for you in the car."

—

Kakashi had to pull over once, before arriving at their destination. Sasuke was throwing a fit about Pakkun being in the back seat with him. He was utterly disgusted every time the dog threatened to lick him, whereas Naruto thought it was the funniest thing in the world, prompting Sasuke to be even more annoyed. He had moved Pakkun to the front after that, cracking the window for him to stick his head out, the only thing tempting enough to distract him from pestering Sasuke.

Kakashi hooked the leash onto Pakkun's harness before getting out of the car and making sure the boys got down alright. They skirted to the right of a brown brick building, following a paved path that winded around the outdoor exhibits.

They passed hawks and eagles, raccoons and opossums, even a bobcat, before stopping in front of an enclosure that held two red foxes. Both of the foxes were asleep; the closest one was curled inside a niche carved out of a log.

"Why are they in a cage?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi detected a hint of sadness in his voice. He contemplated how best to explain it to an eight-year old.

"Well, you know how humans, er, people, have accidents sometimes? We can fall and break a leg or get cut by something. Do you know where people go when they get hurt?"

"A hospital?"

"Right. Well, animals can get hurt, too. They can break bones, get caught in a soccer net, a bird can fly into a glass window, and sometimes, sadly, they can get hit by cars. When they do get hurt, they come here."

"This is a hospital for animals?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Yep, right there," Kakashi said, pointing to the brown brick building they had passed earlier.

"For wild animals, not for pets like dogs or cats. Animals that are only found in Illinois. But sometimes, no matter how hard the vet, um, the animal doctor tries, the animal might not heal completely or properly. Animals need a specific set of skills to be able to survive and hunt for food in the wild. If they aren't healthy enough to be released, they try and give them permanent homes here. These foxes, for example," Kakashi leaned in to read the information plaque tagged to the cage as Pakkun sniffed at the air, "one has neurological damage, and the other is missing a leg."

Kakashi glanced at the two boys. Naruto was staring at the foxes, while Sasuke's stare was glued to Kakashi in rapt attention. When their eyes met, he darted his gaze somewhere else, feigning like he wasn't interested.

"That's nice," Naruto said, breaking the silence. "That someone takes care of them. Do you think they're happy?"

"How could they be happy in a cage?" Sasuke said, kicking at a pebble on the ground. "They look bored."

"Actually, Sasuke, red foxes are mostly nocturnal. They sleep all day. As for whether or not they're happy," Kakashi began, staring at the fox in contemplation. Assigning human emotions to an animal was too anthropomorphic for him, but he wasn't about to get all technical.

"I think if they can't be in the wild, this is the next best thing."

Naruto seemed satisfied with that answer.

—

After walking by all the exhibits and through the nature trail, they had circled back around to the brown building.

"Inside those doors, there are some animals that need special temperatures to live. Do you want to go check them out? I can't bring Pakkun in, so I need to wait out here."

Kakashi wasn't sure if it was okay to let two eight-year olds wander the building unaccompanied by an adult (it probably wasn't, he knew), but he didn't want them to miss out either.

Iruka's worried face flashed inside his mind. Well, he didn't have to tell his husband everything.

"Yeah! Come on, Sasuke!"

Sasuke didn't say a word, letting himself be dragged away by Naruto instead.

—

Once inside, they passed a reception desk whose chair was currently empty, and a small interactive center for children; a tiny table whose surface was scattered with books and plush toys.

After venturing a little farther in, they came into a narrow room lined with glass aquariums and wire mesh cages built into the walls. One side housed small birds, the other amphibians and reptiles. Naruto ran to a tank with a picture of a frog on the front.

"Sasuke! Look!" Naruto said, sitting down onto the cold tile to get a better view.

Sasuke crouched down beside him.

"Wait. I don't see anything!" Naruto pouted.

"It's right there," Sasuke said, unimpressed.

"Huh?"

"Beneath that leaf. On the ground."

"Where?" Naruto whined.

Sasuke picked up Naruto's finger and poked it into the glass.

"There, idiot."

Naruto focused in, still not seeing anything, getting ready to whine again, when suddenly…

"Ha!" he exclaimed, moving excitedly, knocking over Sasuke from his crouch in the process.

"Can't you control your emotions?" Sasuke asked, getting up to rub at his butt. "That's the second time you've knocked me over with your stupid outbursts."

"Sorry I'm not a mopey jerk!"

"I don't mope," Sasuke sneered.

"Mopey jerk," Naruto repeated, his laughter echoing throughout the hall.

Sasuke fisted the front of Naruto's shirt in his hand, when a volunteer approached them from behind.

"Hi, boys. Everything ok over here? Where are your parents?"

"My da.. um, my… someone…" Naruto stuttered, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

Sasuke watched Naruto's face contort as he struggled to put into words who Kakashi was. He felt bad for Naruto. Or, wait, that wasn't right. It wasn't pity he felt, it was more like… he was mad at the world, knowing Naruto had gone through life alone. And you know what, he was mad at this stupid volunteer too, for asking Naruto about parents.

"He's waiting for us outside," Sasuke snapped, letting go of Naruto's t-shirt. "He has a dog. He couldn't come in."

Sasuke glared at the young man, daring him to kick them out.

"Oh, well… I can show you around then. We have some snakes over here. I could take one out…" the volunteer suggested, already lifting the top off the tank.

Both boys crowded in closely. Naruto jumped back, latching onto Sasuke's arm, when the snake's tongue darted out of it's mouth.

"Do you want to hold it?"

Sasuke reached out his arm in response, trying to shrug Naruto off his other one.

"Naruto, let go."

The volunteer put his arm next to Sasuke's, and the snake glided over.

"You can put your hand in front of it's face, to prompt it to keep moving."

Sasuke did, and the snake switched arms, coiling up and around his wrist.

Naruto gaped at Sasuke, as if he was the coolest person in the world.

"This is a Dekay's brown snake. They don't get much bigger than this, the average size being about a foot long."

"What do they eat?" Naruto asked quietly, chewing on his sweatshirt again.

"Blonde-headed little boys," Sasuke smirked, as the snake switched hands.

"He couldn't swallow me! I'm too big," Naruto replied.

"Well, obviously, idiot," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.

"Then why did you—!"

"They eat mostly insects and earthworms," the volunteer cut in, moving to take the snake from Sasuke, in case the boys decided to wrestle again. He gently put the snake away and led them over to a glass window.

"Here is our nursery, where you can see some of the staff taking care of the baby animals."

Naruto pressed his hands to the glass, watching a woman in a smock feeding a tiny squirrel with a syringe. She smiled, noticing them, and moved closer to the window, so they could get a better look.

Naruto watched as the squirrel sucked and pulled at the rubber nipple, kneading it's paws into the side of the syringe.

"Where are it's mom and dad?" Naruto asked.

"We get a lot of orphans. If something happens to the mom, we raise them here, until they are old enough to go out on their own."

Naruto bit his lip in silent understanding.

Sasuke watched Naruto out of the corner of his eye. Something happened to him when Naruto got sad. Something in his chest. Something that made the bottom of his throat feel like it was swelling shut. He attempted to soothe it by swallowing, before reaching out to tug at a piece of blonde hair at the back of Naruto's neck.

"Let's go. Kakashi's waiting."

—

Sasuke spent the whole drive home silently staring out the window, as Naruto rattled on to Kakashi about the frogs and snakes. He kept thinking about Naruto's face, when asked about his parents. He couldn't get it out of his mind. Sasuke's parents weren't the most affectionate, and they were far from perfect, but they were still his. He still loved them. But Naruto… Naruto didn't have anyone to love, or anyone to love him back.

He brought his eyes to the silver-gray hair on the back of Kakashi's head. He'd known Kakashi since he was a baby, so it was kind of weird, thinking of him as a dad, especially since he was much younger than Sasuke's own father.

"I'm going to walk Sasuke to the door, Naruto. Stay here with Pakkun," Kakashi said, jostling Sasuke out of his thoughts.

"'Kay," Naruto said. "Bye Snake boy!"

"Idiot," Sasuke murmured, as he unfastened his seatbelt.

Once he was out of the car though, he allowed himself to smile.

When they reached the front door, Sasuke turned to Kakashi.

"Are you going to adopt Naruto?" Sasuke asked him, seriously.

Kakashi blinked at him, surprised by his bluntness.

"Uh, well, yes."

Sasuke relaxed his fists at the answer, not realizing he had tightened them in the first place.

"Would you like that, Sasuke?" Kakashi grinned, giving him a knowing look.

Sasuke's cheeks flushed the faintest of pinks.

"Tch. Doesn't matter to me. I was just wondering," he said, before opening the door and going inside.

Kakashi stared at the door that had just been shut in his face.

Well, this is interesting, he thought before turning on his heel towards the car.