AN: Look another chapter! yayyyyy!
Disclaimer: Don't know.
A few days later, Minoru took his time walking to the mission room. He went through the double doors and was instantly greeted by Hatchi from behind the desk.
"Hello Minoru-san, I'll be showing you around today to get familiarized of how things work here.
Minoru nodded, mentally cursing his bad luck, "Thanks."
Hatchi proceeded to show Minoru around the building while explaining things as he went. Minoru took mental notes as the other man explained the different functions and systems. There were some things he already knew because of Iruka, like what was an acceptable report and what was deemed rejectable. He had a good idea that jounin had a tendency to be rude when turning reports in, but then again it was understandable. To some extent.
"Your dad said that you'll be working for a couple of hours the rest of this week, following that you'll work three to four days during the week, depending."
"Can you please not refer to the hokage as my dad?" Minoru commented, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"But he is."
A dark brow twitched in response. Minoru didn't like the the tone in the other man's voice, he didn't appreciate the seemingly fake smile, and the way he was looking at him.
"It's disrespectful."
"To whom?"
Minoru felt his eyes flicker and quickly averted his gaze, "Is that all for the tour?" He kept his voice calm as he changed the subject.
"Yes, let's go back to the main room."
It was the longest two hours of Minoru's day and he glad when it was over. After his shift he met with Genma for a training session that helped him get out a bit of his frustration.
When the end of the week finally came around, he quickly learned the ways of the mission room - including how to keep Hatchi off his back. It wasn't worth complaining to Kakashi, so he opted to grin and bear it.
After his shift, he made a trip to the grocery store. He figured it would be a good idea for Naruto to actually have food when he got back home, because for some reason the older man was terrible at keeping his fridge stocked. Minoru thought it was just a ploy to eat ramen for every meal. Even though, the thought alone made the young chunnin smile. He gathered essentials that he knew Naruto didn't have. Making sure to include fruits and vegetables because Naruto could only get so much of those from ramen.
The walk to the older man's apartment felt rather short, then again he felt rather distracted. A half gloved hand fished for the key in his pouch and unlocked the door, before moving inside. After toeing off his shoes, he moved to the kitchen and placed the groceries on the kitchen table. Dark eyes looked around as he slipped off his gloves and stuffed them into his pouch. Before anything, the window in the bedroom was opened and a nice gentle breeze moved through it to remove some of the stuffiness that has settled over the past five days. Minoru undid his hitai ate and placed on the desk, midnight blue eyes fell on the shuriken he absentmindedly drew the last time was there. A smile pulled on his lips at the memory as his finger traced the four pointed object before moving back to the kitchen.
After the groceries were put away, Minoru took out his sketch book and sat himself under the window. He flipped to a blank page and tapped his pen on it in brief thought before beginning to draw a kunai. Once deeming it done, he pressed his finger to it and channelled chakra through it, the lines briefly glowed before the kunai changed color. He pushed a little bit more chakra into it and it briefly became three dimensional before popping and turning into a flat paper cut out. He let out a sigh and tried again, and again.
Time clicked by unnoticed, and the sketchbook was slowly filled with different practice drawings. Some that Minoru was able to jutsu into a real life object for more than few seconds before it popped into a piece of paper. At least none of them so far had turned into ash.
Minoru found himself laying on the soft bed looking up and through the open window above him. He vaguely wondered what time it was when he reached up above his head and grabbed a pillow for his head. The scent of the absent man caught in his nose and he subconsciously turned his head further into the pillow. Thoughts about the blonde came into his mind as the gentle breezes from the window lulled him to sleep.
Naruto opened the door to his apartment with thoughts about showering and eating, but froze when he saw the extra pair of shoes at the the entry way. Cerulean eyes scanned his apartment and landed on a pair of feet dangling from the edge of the foot of his bed. A smile tugged on his lips as he soundlessly slipped in, shut the door, and toed off his shoes.
He slowly walked over to his bed and his smile widened at the sight of the younger man sleeping there. Cerulean eyes studied the sleeping man for a moment, admiring how the fair skin reflected the orange hues from the setting sun, the careless stray bangs that hindered the pale forehead. His steps were soundless as he moved closer, his hitai ate joining the other on his desk. Naruto gently sat down facing the sleeping body and looked down at the younger man. He braced himself on an arm and with his free hand he brushed the back of his knuckles on the exposed cheek. A soft smile pulled on his lips when the sleeping face turned more towards him, as if seeking out his touch. He repeated the gestured on the opposite cheek, letting his thumb brush under the closed eye. The younger man's eyes fluttered before opening and slowly focused on him.
"Hey," Naruto said softly, a smile still on his lips.
Minoru's eyes widened a fraction as his mind fully woke up, his lips spreading into a wide happy smile, "You're back!"
"I'm back," Naruto confirmed, and noticed how the midnight eyes flickered.
Minoru reached up and pulled down the older man into a wet kiss, mentally chuckling at the surprised yelp the action earned him. He threaded his fingers into the blonde locks and sighed when the older man pressed closer.
Naruto felt himself break out into goosebumps when he hand in his hair moved to his jaw. The tender touch causing a pleasant shiver run down his spine. They broke apart, their breaths mingling together against their lips. Naruto smiled when Minoru's eyes open to reveal a faint swirling glow in them. And he was certain that he wanted to learn the different reactions those eyes could give him, to know what would make them glow and flicker, to know what emotion was hidden behind them. Wanted to see those reactions that were only meant for him.
"I missed you," Minoru whispered and smiled as Naruto closed the distance between their lips.
"I missed you too," he gave the younger man an amused smiled, "Did you have a good nap?"
Minoru chuckled and rubbed his eye, noticing the setting sun, "Seems like it." He reached up and cupped a whiskered cheek, "Welcome home."
Naruto felt himself blush and smiled down at the younger man, "Thank you." He grinned as he was pulled down for another kiss, one that was more chaste than before. "I could get used to this," he whispered against lips and felt Minoru's chuckle.
"Are you hurt or anything?"
Naruto shook his head, "No, just hungry."
"Oh, I stocked your fridge," Minoru felt himself blush when the older man stared down at him.
"Wait... What? You bought my groceries?"
Minoru laughed, "Yes, since you seem to never have food in this place. But, as a welcome home, I'll treat you too ramen."
Naruto beamed, "Just let me take a quick shower before we good," he brushed away stray bangs that obscured the pale forehead to give it a kiss and got up from the bed. He took off his jacket and hung over the dresser on a hook, and switching on the lights before moving to the bathroom.
Minoru laid on the bed for a while longer, listening to the pipes as they turned on, and the differentiation of sound when the older man stepped into the water. He sat up looking out the window and at the darkening sky, vaguely wondering what time it was. As he got up and stretched, dark eyes fell onto the shuriken drawing on the desk from five days ago. He sat down at the desk and slid the drawing closer, brushing his fingers over dark head tilted, and pale fingers channeled a bit of chakra into the lines. A smile tugged on his lips when he heard Naruto's whistling from the bathroom.
It was strange, even before he had developed feelings for the older man, he always felt as if something was missing when he was away. But he never worried, Naruto always managed to come back in one piece. Sometimes a bit more tired that he was comfortable with, but safe nonetheless.
Minoru blinked at the shuriken that sat on the page, and carefully picked it up. To his surprise the shuriken didn't diffuse. It worked! He tested the weight of it in his palm and it's texture almost nicking himself, It worked!
"Cool! Looks like you got it!"
Minoru beamed and looked up and felt his face instantly flush. He had to tear his eyes away from the fresh out of the shower sun kissed skin. Had to tear away his eyes from the waistline of the pants that hung low on the older man's hips. To his embarrassment, the shuriken popped and he was left with a paper cut out of it in his palm.
'Um... Yes..." Minoru managed to say and cleared his throat. He was thankful for the towel that Naruto's head was currently buried under as he dried his hair.
It wasn't anything he had never seen before, given that he had been training with Naruto for years. Then again, his eyes were always drawn to him one way or another, in the sort of way that he realized years ago wasn't very appropriate. He knew what the older man's toned body was capable of from first hand experience and working with him in the field, and right now he was very aware of how close that said body was.
He distracted himself with the cut out shuriken, and listened to the older man move around the room as he got ready. He channeled chakra into the paper, and heard Naruto move to the dresser and open a drawer. The shuriken became solid on the desk and watched with an amused smile as the older man took it in between deft fingers. Somewhat grateful that he was now wearing a shirt, a rather nice fitted one.
"This is pretty awesome," Naruto turned the shuriken, "You said that you've fiddling with scale too?"
Minoru nodded, "It's going to take some work, but it's worth it."
Naruto studied the shuriken, "How long can you hold the link?"
Minoru tilted his head, "I've tried with smaller object, and I was able to hold it for a pretty long time." His gaze moved from the older man to the shuriken and back.
Naruto saw the flicker in the dark eyes and the shuriken turned back into his paper form. He grinned and handed back the shuriken to the younger man. "Let's go, I'm starving."
They left the apartment, and walked through the darkening streets of Konoha. As they approached the ramen shop, Minoru recognized a familiar face sitting at the bar with a couple of other people. To much of his annoyance, it was Hatchi. He reached out and put a gentle grip on the older man's wrist. Naruto turned to give him a questioning look.
"I'm sorry," Minoru hesitated, a frown finding his face, "Can we go somewhere else?"
Naruto's face turned worried, "What's wrong?"
Minoru sighed, and glanced at the ramen shop, "I'll explain later, it just involves a guy that gives me bad vibes and I don't want that feeling to spoil the night."
"Bad vibes?"
Minoru shrugged, "He's kinda a jerk and I already had to deal with him today." He offered the older man a smile, "I'll make it up to you?"
Naruto grinned, "I'll hold you to that."
Minoru stepped closer, "...I hope that's not the only thing you'll hold me to," he said just loud enough for the older man to hear him.
Naruto flushed, and stammered, and before he could respond he heard someone walk up to them.
"Minoru-san, fancy seeing you here."
Minoru's brow twitched and he hoped it went unnoticed, "Good evening, Hatchi-san."
Naruto recovered and gave the other man a once over. If he had to guess, he would say the man was around Minoru's age. He man had somewhat long brown hair that framed his forehead but not long enough to reach below his ears. The other man's gaze was somewhat piercing with his green almost teal eyes. He noticed how his gaze moved between them and it was rather unnerving.
"Naruto, right?" Hatchi guessed, "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting." He held out a hand.
Naruto took the offered hand and refrained from over squeezing it, "Nice to meet you, Hatchi-san," he said with a smile. He looked a Minoru when the other man's gaze moved to him. Although there was a gentle smile on his lips, he couldn't help but noticed the tension in the younger man.
"You two seem close."
"We are," Minoru answered simply, his smile still in place.
"Hatchi!"
Minoru and Naruto looked towards the ramen shop where the voice came from and then to Hatchi.
"Gotta go, I'll see you later Minoru-san."
The corner of Naruto's lip twitched in displeasure as he watched the other man walk away. He moved his gaze to Minoru who was giving him an annoyed looked back, "I see now..."
Minoru sighed and his expression softened to a smile, "I know of another place you would like."
Naruto chuckled, "Lead the way." He followed the younger man through the streets a few blocks before they reached their destination. It was a little sushi restaurant that they easily found seating in.
"They serve ramen here," Minoru commented, "But I guess it doesn't compare..."
Naruto smiled at the younger man and shook his head, "It's fine! But it seems that quite a bit happened during the short time I was gone?"
Minoru sighed and watched as their waiter came to their table to their orders. Much to Minoru's surprise the older man ordered an assortment of nigiri and miso soup. Which they decided was enough for both of them to share.
"So, about that guy," Naruto continued and took a drink from his tea.
Minoru sighed, "Well, the day you left I went to go help Kakashi-dad with his never ending paperwork, you know filling and storing. On my first trip, this guy bumps into me...," he trailed off, his eyes narrowing, "Now that I think about it... I wonder if he did that on purpose..." He paused considering, "Anyway, he apologizes and then ask if I'm the hokage's son...," he raised his finger at Naruto expression, "get this though, he already knew my name."
"Whoa... Creeping much?"
Minoru laughed, "That's exactly what I told him! He then goes on saying that he's seen me around and etcetera, all the mean while I was holding his heavy box."
"Rude."
"Exactly," Minoru pinched the bridge of his nose, "it gets worse. Before all this Kakashi-dad mentioned how we have to talk about me starting to work in the mission room," he nodded at Naruto's cringe, "Guess who he assigned to train me and 'show me the ropes'?"
Naruto stared, "Your luck couldn't be that bad."
"Oh, it was," Minoru took a drink from his tea, "it really was."
Their food arrived and they started eating. They were a few pieces in before Naruto asked him to continue.
He sighed again, "I spent nearly three hours with that guy everyday for the whole week," he ran a hand through his hair, "They were the slowest hours of my days."
"I'm so sorry," Naruto said genuinely while cringing, "Don't want to tell Kakashi I'm guessing?" Dark eyes gave him a look, "What?" He asked suspiciously.
"On my first day he referred to Kakashi-dad as my dad, not the Hokage. I asked him not to, that it was disrespectful," he snatched the piece that Naruto was reaching for earning him a glare.
"Did he?"
"He responded with 'to whom'?" Minoru narrowed his eyes, "that prick," he grumbled and drank his tea.
"Hopefully you won't have to work with him often, right?" Naruto snatched a piece the younger man was reaching for with a grin.
Minoru shrugged, "I don't know, I learned pretty quickly how to keep him off my back and pretty much avoid him. He just gives me a bad vibe."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," he drank some of his soup.
Minoru briefly waved his hand that was holding his chopsticks, "Enough about that. How was your assignment? I realized you got back sooner than you said."
Naruto smiled and ate another piece, "We were able to get it done quickly, which I'm glad 'cause I wanted to come home and see you." He smiled at flicker he noticed in the dark eyes, "Oh, and Lee said that it took us long enough."
Minoru nearly choked on his soup, "oh god, don't tell me we were being that much of idiots?"
"Apparently."
Minoru felt himself blush but grinned anyway, "Well, at least we're not being idiots anymore?"
"Well," Naruto considered, "True." He watched the younger take a drink of his tea, midnight blue eyes making a quick study of the room before they turned back to him. "So..." He started trailing off, earning him a questioning look, "... Should I expect your dad to chidori my ass anytime soon?"
Minoru laughed and simply shook his head, "Why does it seem like everyone knew except us?"
Naruto shrugged, "I wouldn't know, I'm one of the idiots."
They finished their dinner, which Minoru insisted in paying, and walked the dark streets of Konoha. After a bit of convincing, Naruto let Minoru lead him to the Hokage tower. They snuck up to where the view was best and looked down upon the village. They stood in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's presence as they gazed down at the street lamps and they sparse people that were out.
Naruto braced himself on his forearms on the railing much like his companion. His gaze moved from the village to the younger man standing next to him. Cerulean eyes studied the younger man's profile with the dim lighting. Looking at him like his, it almost felt like a dream, his whole day felt like one. He wasn't entirely sure what to attribute it to, but if he had to guess it would be this man's presence.
In the past, when he would leave town, he either came home to his empty apartment or made a visit to the Hatake residence. It really depended on his physical or mental state. Never had he had the welcome home that Minoru provided this time. There had been a few occasions wherein he would find the younger man drawing in his apartment, claiming that he really enjoyed the lighting his windows provided. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if it was just an excuse to see him when he arrived home. His eyes moved to the younger man's lips, and noticed how they curved into a smile.
"Are you waiting for an invitation?" Minoru said softly and turned his head just enough to return the older man's gaze.
Naruto smiled in return and straightened to turn fully to him, and close the distance between them with a smooth motion. Minoru turned with him, leaning back slightly on the railing. His hand came up instinctively, brushing his fingers on a pale cheek as his palm cupped it, "Do I need one?"
Minoru shivered as the older man leaned in, a playful glint in the cerulean eyes, "No," he whispered against lips, "Never." His breath caught when soft lips slipped over his a tender kiss.
Naruto sighed into the kiss when a hand moved to the back of his neck, threading into the hair there. He licked the younger man's bottom lip tentatively, earning him a gasp. He took the invitation, and slipped his tongue inside. The action earned him a soft hum of approval.
Minoru lost himself in the kiss, vaguely aware of where they were. And when they finally pulled away, he was glad to see that he wasn't the only one that was breathless. "I have to ask," he brushed his fingers on a whiskered cheek, "How did you get so good at that?"
Naruto chuckled, "I was going to ask you the same thing," he smiled, noticing the faint glow that stayed in the younger man's eyes.
Minoru grinned and draped his arms over the older man's shoulders, "It seems I'm full of surprises." Naruto gave him a soft laugh in response and strong arms wrapped him in a warm embrace that he returned with no hesitation. The older man buried his face into the nape of his neck, and he had to suppress the shiver it caused. But couldn't stop the goosebumps from raising when he felt Naruto's sigh against his skin.
Minoru leaned his head against the blonde's, smiling when he felt Naruto relax against him.
"Maybe we should get you home soon."
The whisper ghosted over Naruto's ear, the gentle voice relaxed him further, "Soon."
They stayed at the tower for a while, until Naruto began to nod off. They walked the way back to Naruto's apartment in a comfortable silence, and parted ways when they had to go separate directions. Minoru belatedly realized that he had forgotten his hitai ate and sketchbook at the older man's apartment. He back tracked and made his way down the streets. Part of him thought that maybe he would need it, better safe than sorry. He quietly knocked on the door and looked down the hall as he waited. After a moment the door opened to reveal the older man in a tank top and sleeping pants.
Minoru gave him a sheepish look, "Sorry, I forgot I left some stuff here." Naruto gave him a lazy grin and let him inside. He quickly toed off his shoes as Naruto let out a yawn, "Sorry, were you already sleeping?"
Naruto smiled and shook his head, "I was just getting ready to."
Minoru retrieved his book and hitai ate from the desk and turned around, to find Naruto giving him an amused look.
"You could've picked those up tomorrow morning."
The lazy tone and the amused grin made Minoru's face heat up,"I -," he swallowed as the older man closed the distance between them and he found himself half sitting on the sturdy desk.
"I hope you don't think you need an excuse to come over?"
Minoru knew, he already knew that he didn't need his hitai ate or sketch book right away. He knew that he could have passed by the next morning for them. He knew that that wasn't the reason he back tracked when he was almost home. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he was there, and Naruto was standing very close to him.
Naruto's eyes locked with the midnight blue pair, and witnessed the faint glow that slowly illuminated them. It always managed to amaze him, despite how many times he saw it happen. Pale fingers reached out and pulled him closer by his tank top. Those warm hands came up to cup jaw, thumbs gently brushed against his cheekbone. Fingertips traced against the skin on his jaw and down his neck. He had to remind himself to breath, the tender touches were causing his skin to tingle in their wake. Illuminated eyes followed their path, down to his clavicle, following the bone to his shoulders. Dark blue eyes moved back to his as the fingers continued down his arms, down his biceps and he couldn't suppress the shiver that pleasantly ran down his spine. Theirs lips gravitated towards each other, the hands continued their exploring, moving down to his forearms -
Scratch Scratch Scratch
They both froze and stared at each other.
Scratch Scratch scratchscratchscratchscratch
Brows furrowed as the scratching became more urgent.
"What...," Naruto moved to his front door and hesitantly opened it. Whatever it was was in the apartment in a quick blur.
"Pakkun?" Minoru asked confused and straightened himself, "What..." He trailed off when it seemed that the pug glared at him.
"We sensed when you were outside, and then you left! We were worr-" the pug stopped. And looked back and forth between the two men.
He sniffed.
The speed in which Minoru moved across the room, slipped on his shoes, gave Naruto a chaste kiss, scooped of the pug and departed left Naruto feeling a little dizzy. With a confused expression Naruto locked his door and moved to his bedroom. A smile tugged on his lips when his eyes fell on the hitai ate and sketchbook still on his desk.