Note from Whims: A very heavily collaborated fic with Lang for how Genma and Raido got together in Catch Your Breath since I needed something to write and we figured all y'all would be interested in the full story. (2.6k and so much thanks to Lang for the help with it. )

Note from Lang: So you wanted to know how Raido and Genma got together? It's here. CHERISH IT. (This takes place sometime between Genma's eighteenth birthday (middle of chapter 81) and Tanabata (end of chapter 81). Between July 17th and August 7th, the calendar year after Naruto is born.)

Raidō was not surprised to see Genma looking at the window everyone used to enter (and exit) the Hokage's office—the man had hearing sharp enough he'd probably heard Raidō walking on the roof. Undeterred, Raidō slipped inside without a sound (that he was aware of), and strode to the middle of the office, in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Welcome back, Falcon," the Hokage said, then turned to Genma and dropped another file on the stack at the edge of his desk. As the Hokage bowed his head over his paperwork again, he made a dismissive gesture and said, "Please take these to the Academy, Shiranui-kun."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Genma said, and picked up the stack. Even with his arms straight and elbows locked, the files reached his chin and cut off how much he could flick the senbon around.

Raidō might have watched the sun glint off the metal as Genma walked past him, but he definitely turned his head and watched the on-duty Hokage guard leave. It was force of habit, though he knew Genma wasn't about to defy procedure just for the hell of it. ANBU reports were for the Hokage's ears only and making sure the door closed was a reasonable thing to do before speaking.

Genma met Raidō's eyes behind the mask, just for a split second. A quick grin as he fixed his senbon between his teeth and a "well, what can you do" shrug at being asked to leave. Then he was heading out.

For some reason, Raidō's brain skipped the part about keeping his thoughts to himself as he took in the view of Genma's rear—and the new pants that fit him slightly tighter than normal.

"That ass," Raidō heard himself sigh, soft but still there. The sound of that thought of all things voiced caught him with enough surprise he coughed, and then hoped the others would take it as an attempt to clear his throat.

Genma's hearing was too good, though. The other ninja's back straightened just enough to make it clear he had heard the words as he hurried out of the room.

Raidō tried not to sink into the floor. His face burned and, fuck, he could not have just said that aloud. Where had that even come from? Why did he say it? It wasn't—he hadn't… Argh! Running around with Gai in a green leotard would only be half as embarrassing. Genma was never going to talk to him again. The Hokage was going to kick him off the Guard.

"Falcon," the Hokage prompted.

When Raidō turned back to him, the Hokage stared back with a carefully blank expression—the one he used when playing politician. If he had heard, or knew anything, he did not let on.

Forcing down the shaking nerves from his voice, Raidō managed the unflappable demeanor ANBU required. His face was undoubtedly redder than the building outside the window, but his mask kept that hidden.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Raidō said, and launched into his report.

The mission had been mostly uneventful, and that allowed Raidō's attention to wander to Genma, and for his gaze to lift to the sign on the ceiling that reminded him his answers were not there.

The Hokage sat back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling with his arms crossed, as though he hadn't been listening too closely. Raidō didn't ask why, so eventually the Hokage's blue eyes alighted on him in the silence. The Hokage asked, "Is that all, Falcon?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage paused, as if he had expected a different answer, then said, with a glance out the window, "You're dismissed."

Raidō nodded, and then left through the window he came in. He needed to head home and get out of his ANBU gear, or at least drop it in his locker at headquarters. As he darted out of the building, keeping to covered alcoves and the architectural quirks of the rounded Administration Center tower, Raidō found himself pausing before he left the area entirely.

Genma stood on top of the Academy's slanted wooden roof, looking casual enough for someone capable of getting up there. His hands were in his pockets and he was leaning up against a support strut. The idle waiting stance might have worked on a street corner, but there was a big difference in "loitering" on a sidewalk and a rooftop.

Given that there were only a few people who would pass by that way, and it gave Genma the perfect vantage point to catch Raidō on his normal route home, Raidō quickly decided the weather (cloudy, with an ominous overcast of rain) was perfect for a leisurely stroll through the streets.

His ANBU uniform attracted some attention until he used a low-level genjutsu to avoid any more prying eyes, but after he left Genma behind, Raidō took to the rooftops again and made his way towards the East Gate. The increased speed did little to help with the weather. The rain decided to fall halfway to his apartment, and when he arrived, he was thoroughly soaked despite his cloak.

Still, after fumbling a bit with his apartment key and deactivating the tripwire above the door, he made his way inside. It was like hitting a wall of heat, even though he'd expected his apartment manager to cut the heat at some point in the two weeks he'd been gone. Perhaps there was some point to paying bills in advance, and in any other circumstance he'd have been grateful.

As it was, Raidō made a beeline for his bathroom, stripped off his uniform and cloak and mask, and took a very cold shower.

The next morning Raidō made his way to the training ground and was met by a grumpy, white-haired porcupine. It—or rather he—said, "You're late."

"I said noon, Kakashi," Raidō said, and glanced up at the sun. "It's barely after ten."

"Tch." Well, someone had clearly had about as much fun yesterday as Raidō had.

"Why are you even here this early?" Raidō asked as he stretched and shook out his limbs. It was Kakashi's day off too, and punctuality wasn't exactly his strong suit.

Kakashi made another noise. It very clearly communicated a sentiment of "I have a bad attitude today, and now I'm gonna take it out on you." In typical Kakashi fashion, he wanted to cut straight to the point and get to the business of stabbing one another.

Teenagers.

Raidō let it slide though. If he pressed, Kakashi would undoubtedly ask why he was early. Raidō had no intention of opening that can of worms. Anyway, he'd place fifty ryō on the fact it had something to do with Kakashi's long-term unrequited and unspoken attraction to his teammate, and her obliviousness to it.

"Let's just get started," Kakashi growled.

By the time noon rolled around, Raidō had a bruise on his shoulder from where the pipsqueak had managed to land a solid hit. Kakashi was good, but he still had a ways to go before he was close to being better than Raidō. And anyway, the hit had been a kick, which was typical of Kakashi's style and not remotely what they were supposed to be working on.

Then again, it had always been obvious that Kakashi's kenjutsu was more like taijutsu with a sharp metal object than Raidō's preferred methods. He had technique, yes, but running around like a bouncing ball with a switchblade wasn't what Raidō liked to see.

Stepping back to end the fight, Raidō rolled his shoulder to get some feeling back in it. It would hurt in the morning, but he was still good to go for another few rounds—and wanted to, but stopped. While he could continue, Kakashi could not.

Kakashi was slightly hunched over, and while he had put up a good fight, the speed boost the eye gave him had only served to burn right through his chakra. His breath came in short pants, and Raidō could see sweat staining the kid's dark mask even darker.

"Next time you use that eye, Kakashi, make sure you can win before you fall on your face," Raidō told him.

Kakashi just rolled his eye and pulled his headband over his other, then muttered very sarcastically, "I'll be sure to remember that."

The kid'd been training with Gai too much for his own sanity. Fortunately, Raidō didn't have to worry about Kakashi fainting in the street and failing to show up to work in the morning, because Obito kind of poured out of the air.

Raidō was never going to get used to the kind of shit the infamous "Team Minato" kept pulling off.

"Wonder what he's late for," Raidō said as Obito disappeared with his sparring partner with a quick wave and hasty apology.

With nothing better to do, and his plans for the afternoon cut short at about the time they were supposed to have begun, Raidō wandered back into the village. Surviving on take-out meant he rarely needed to stock up, but it was occasionally nice to have actual food. The problem was he really didn't know what to get. That was the other downside of surviving on takeout.

That little dilemma was solved when he walked down the street in the market and spotted a certain senbon-chewing shinobi staring at what Raidō was fairly certain was some kind of winter squash. Just like that, his appetite was gone.

Genma looked up, because of course he knew the sound of Raidō's footsteps. Fully intending to treat it like nothing had happened, Raidō kept walking.

"Yo," Genma said, waving with the hand that wasn't weighed down by pumpkin. "I missed you the other day."

Raidō had intended to say something coherent in return, but something about Genma suddenly made it impossible. All Raidō could do was follow the swish-swish of the senbon and feel the heat rising over his cheeks and ears. If he met Genma's eyes, he'd probably explode.

Genma's casual cheer faltered the longer the two of them went without saying anything. Finally, with his brows furrowing as though in concern, Genma broke the oppressive silence. "Raidō?"

"I think Fuse-san was looking for you, something about covering a shift," Raidō blurted out, and then in a new wave of reddening mortification, decided the roofs would be a good place to walk.

He got about as far as the next roof before he stopped and muttered to himself about how stupid his excuse was. He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, groaning aloud. The Inuzuka woman would have no idea what Genma was talking about, and then Raidō would have something else to dodge Genma over.

The rest of the week passed, and Radio managed to maintain his cool—running short-term missions and reporting to the Hokage without another incident. Although they had known each other for years, the looks that week Raidō got from Genma were unreadable. The other man could feel the sudden distance between them, Raidō was sure of it, but never actually said anything. That damn senbon danced around his mouth and then sat there while Genma pondered something the second Raidō noticed him looking.

He took the opportunity for a day off when it came up to wrap his head around the impending spectacular end to the waiting game he had managed for so long. There was no chance Genma had missed those two words, or the meaning behind them, and Raidō would eventually have to stick around long enough to let the other man say something.

But hell if he was gonna face that. Raidō spent the morning pacing inside his apartment, banging his head on the metaphorical wall. When he wasn't pacing, he sat on his futon with his back to the wall, rubbing the scar that stretched over his face as though it was new and itched like hell. A nervous habit he'd almost broken, over the years, but now it was back in force.

What he felt for Genma, what he wanted from—with him, was more than the one-night stands Raidō was used to. Sex was an easy thing. No attachments if he didn't want or need them.

And then there was Genma. Honey eyes and easy smile, a quick remark in any available ear and a low, reassuring laugh. Raidō knew Genma's movements and tells as perfectly as his own, and Genma in turn seemed to have memorized his footsteps and his heartbeat. They'd been in sync until this week, and it was Raidō's fault. Just because he couldn't stop staring.

Raidō doubted Genma finding out he was interested in men would ruin their friendship. Genma reacted to unexpected events—up to and including getting his leg broken—with a kind of easy humor that Raidō had never cared about quite so much. As for the question of whether Genma would return the feelings that had driven that remark… As far as Raidō knew, Genma had never had a serious relationship, which was good or bad news depending on the day and the way Raidō's brain wanted to flop.

This was a bad day.

His thoughts seemed to chase themselves in circles forever, but stopped as someone knocked on the door.

Raidō grumbled something about getting up, and then reached the door quick enough for most people, but stopped short as he opened it to a blond man with an expectant look on his face. By reflex, Raidō stammered, "H-hello, Hokage-sama."

"Emergency meeting, Namiashi-kun," the Hokage said with a cheerful smile, and then slammed a hand down on Raidō's shoulder.

Fwish.

Raidō regained his balance from the sudden teleportation, and looked around the Hokage's office as the clone that had brought him there dismissed itself in a puff of smoke. Of the Hokage Guard, only Genma stood in the room.

Hands in his pockets and a smug smile beneath the knot of his bandana, Genma clamped the senbon between his teeth with a slight metallic click, eyes wide. He turned to the Hokage sitting at the desk, opening his mouth to say something—

Poof.

That Hokage dismissed itself as well.

An idiot would be able to figure out something was going on. Raidō had an idea, but it wasn't one he was going to say aloud. So, he turned back to Genma and asked, "What's happening?"

"I didn't think the Hokage would actually do it," Genma said, still stunned.

Raidō felt his heart start to beat faster. Lub-dub, lub-dub. "Do what?"

"Lock us in a room so I could talk to you." Genma shifted his weight from foot to foot, glancing everywhere in the room except for directly at Raidō. Then he explained, "You kept running off, leaving me to stare at your ass instead of complimenting it."

There was no missing what Genma meant by that, and Raidō could feel himself try to sink into the floor. The heat rising over his face and ears and neck was going to burn him alive. Worse, he was almost anchored to the spot by the sudden realization that no, he wasn't about to lose a friend to his thoughtlessness.

In fact, he might have gained something. Raidō would be sure to appreciate that sentiment once the mortification passed.

"When you finish dying from embarrassment, want to go get sushi?" Genma asked. Somehow, through the faint reddish flush to his cheeks, Genma managed to keep his voice light. With a quiet laugh that sent Raidō's heart pounding, Genma said, "I got Fuse-san to cover my shift today."

"Why would she—oh," Raido said, and then rubbed his scar awkwardly once he realized his brain had momentarily shut down from sheer relief. He managed to say, "I'd love to!" on the second try.

Genma's grin was nearly blinding. "Great! Now, help me figure out how to break out of this office. 'Cause I don't think the Hokage's coming back for us."