Author: Masqued
Title: Untimely Tradition
Summary: Sasuke x Naruto Kakashi x Iruka
Untimely Tradition
Chapter Four
"So, exactly where are you suggesting we go, Sasuke." It wasn't quite a question, nor was it a real inquiring statement. But for once, Kakashi had become uncomfortable with the silence that had settled and longed to hear someone else's voice besides the one in his head.
"The Pet Store behind the Ramen Noodles place." Kakashi's eyebrow arched in mild interest, in hope that the dark-haired boy would elaborate, but was disappointed when the silence returned again. A lazy, dead-pan expression rested across his features as he silently followed Sasuke to the pet store.
Thankfully, within in a few minutes they arrived, and the wild noise of cats, dogs, birds and other animals often found in pet stores filled the air and relieved Kakashi of his silent tension. The two dispersed around the store and Sasuke immediately was drawn to a large display of small puppies. Wild, fun to play with, and mindless. Just like Naruto – therefore it was perfect. Sasuke nearly allowed a humored smirk to flip his lips from its residential frown, but he subdued himself and then turned to call a worker beside him.
"Yes, sir, how may I help you?" He questioned, peering at Sasuke, and then at the puppies in the bin sleeping.
"Yes, I would like to buy that puppy." Firmly, he pointed down to a golden brown, very shaggy-haired dog that was lying lopsided on a black lab. A short whimper emitted the golden dog's thin lips as he was lifted from his sleeping place. The worker held the dog out to Sasuke, and for the first time in quite some time, Sasuke was a little frightened. Not because it was a dog, but because he had to hold it. And as good of a ninja he was, he could never be able to hold dogs, cats, or babies. It just… never fitted him.
Unsure of how to hold the dog, Sasuke extended his arms and the small puppy leapt into Sasuke's arms and immediately reached up to lick his face. Somewhere in the far corner of the store, Kakashi let out a loud cackle. Sasuke, knowingly, sent the scarecrow an evil glare as the silver-haired, amused sensei dipped behind a display, laughing all the way.
"Can I get a box… for this… little guy?" Sasuke asked, nearly twitching at the inconveniency of the moment. Yes, indeed, Uchiha Sasuke had become rather irritated and perturbed by the presence of a furry, cute animal in his arms. The worker hid an amused smile behind his hand as he gently took Sasuke's shoulder and led him to the front desk.
"Maureen, get this fellow here a box for this little guy?" The woman dubbed Maureen let out an amused laugh and nodded her head. In a moment, she disappeared beneath the front desk and came back with a large enough box, with holes in it, for the puppy. Sasuke gladly handed the excited puppy to Maureen and the shook his hands of all remnants of fur. Ringing up the price, Maureen told Sasuke the total for the puppy, and the dark-haired boy was relieved to hand over the money and exit the store with the hyper-active box, Kakashi in tow.
"Don't say a word, Kakashi." He growled to the silver-haired man behind him, who just gently let out another cackle of approval.
"Who do you still need to buy for?" Kakashi asked, trying to subdue his humor.
"No one, I'm done."
"As am I, let's go back to where we met." Sasuke nodded his head and the two set back for Naruto's house.
--
"This was an ingenious idea, Iruka." Naruto beamed as they slipped into the store Iruka had pointed to. Both wore rather large smiles as they paraded around the store, looking for just the right thing for Sasuke.
Yet, as they wandered around the store, a hidden idea rested at the back of Naruto's mind. A book would be nice, sure, and so would that nice leather-bound journal, but Naruto had a sudden idea to do something… well… special? Yes, special, despite the enemies they naturally were. Because deep down inside, Naruto knew he did like Sasuke.
Or love him. Same thing, whatever, right? Right.
Naruto shook of his thoughts quickly and grabbed the leather-bound journal he'd first set his sights on. Conveniently, both of his ideas for the perfect give for the Uchiha would come together with the journal, as on the front there was a wide space for a picture to be placed. Of course, it already had a picture there, and for all intention's purposes, it was supposed to stay there as it fit the dark brown journal, but Naruto intended on changing the picture.
Peering over his should, Iruka questioned the journal inwardly, but patted Naruto's back with a smile before ushering the blond to the front, his own gift for Sasuke in hand.
Iruka hadn't chosen a journal. He instead bought Sasuke a biographical book on one of the long time passed ANBU's. The cover looked worn, and old, and it was a pretty hard to find book, so Iruka's hope was that Sasuke would enjoy it.
The two neared the front desk, and without any troubles, paid for the books and left the store.
"So, who do you still have to buy for?" Iruka asked gently placing his arm around Naruto's shoulders.
"No one, I'm done. And you?" Iruka smirked.
"I'm done too."
"Back to my place, then?" Iruka nodded and the two headed back to the house.
--
"It's about time you two got here." Kakashi joked, sliding off of Naruto's snow-covered front porch. "I was beginning to think I'd have to thaw myself out here." Iruka laughed and took hold of Kakashi's hand. The silver-haired man immediately took the shorter brunette into his arms, whipped his mask down, and gave him one of the longest kisses he could in public. Iruka melted into Kakashi's arms and nearly whimpered when they broke away from each other.
"I missed you." The silver-haired man whispered into Iruka's ear and the brunette shivered.
"I missed you too." Naruto rolled his eyes and Sasuke preoccupied himself with the box that sat at his side.
"Come on you two, let's get inside before you turn into a ice sculpture." He smirked and jogged up to his door, dangling the key in between his fingers. The other three swarmed around him and watched as he swung the front door open, then followed him inside. Each took off their coats, gloves, and scarves, then with Naruto at the head, the four entered the kitchen.
"Tea, anyone?" The other three nodded to Naruto's suggestion, and then waited for him to sit after putting the tea kettle on. "I'll be right, though." He darted to his bedroom and the sound of shuffling around was heard. A few minutes passed and the kettle whistled. Having not come from his bedroom yet, Iruka took hold of Naruto's kettle and poured four cups of steaming tea, then sat back down beside Kakashi, still waiting in silence for Naruto to return.
"I'm back!" He grinned and toppled into his seat.
"Good. Naruto, why don't you start off this little gift exchanging celebration?" The blond nodded his head and pulled the three presents out. Ironically, they were all books. Iruka was the first to receive his.
Unwrapping the paper, he peered down at a large photo album, and flipped the front cover. A very neatly, surprisingly, written note to him from Naruto. He read it aloud.
"To Iruka-Sensei, You've been one of the most influential people in my life. You showed me people can care about me, no matter what, and that I shouldn't let people's hurtful words bother me. Thank you. Here's an album of pictures I managed to get from when we were in school under you." Iruka's eyes were welt up with tears, of course. He gripped Naruto quickly in a hug, then released him to flip through the pictures.
The very last picture was Iruka's favorite. It was his arm over a younger Naruto's shoulders, just after his development of his duplication skill. Naruto had a lopsided band on his forehead and Iruka was band-less, both were smiling. Looking up to Naruto, Iruka gave the blond a thankful smile.
"Thank you Naruto," he added and bowed his head. Naruto was beaming.
"Your turn, Kakashi!" Kakashi let out a humored, nervous laugh as he was handed his present. Tearing at the paper, Kakashi's eyes widened, Iruka let out a long laugh, and even Sasuke smirked along, as he read the title aloud.
"Over-coming your addiction of porn." Iruka and Naruto laughed wildly and Sasuke even minutely had to cover his lips. Maybe this whole Christmas season wasn't the worse thing to be happy about. "Why… thank you Naruto." He snorted and put the book lazily onto the table. The blond smirked and then passed Sasuke his present.
Warily, the dark-haired boy tore the paper that was around it. The leather-bound journal was revealed, and in place of the picture that had originally been there, there was a shot of Sasuke and Naruto leaning on one another after the night they both had accomplished using their chakra to climb the trees. Naruto's head was Sasuke's, his arm over the dark-haired boy's shoulder, and Sasuke's long, thin arm was looped around Naruto's slim waist.
"Thank you, Naruto." Naruto bowed his head and Iruka patted Naruto's shoulder as Sasuke opened the front cover to find that it was a journal, the first page with a curt, neat hand-writing at the top. He read it aloud slowly.
"To Sasuke, I know you and I haven't quite had the… best of relationships, but in all honesty, I do care about you. I hope you put all of your thoughts into his journal." Naruto smirked as Sasuke bowed his head in thanks again.
"All right, Sasuke, why don't you go next." Sasuke nodded and pulled a thin card, leather-bound of course, and handed it to Iruka for him and Kakashi. In slight confusion, Iruka lifted the flap and his eyes widened as a large wad of money nearly tumbled out.
"Sasuke-" The dark-haired boy raised his hand in protest.
"Read the card." Iruka pulled a small card from the leather pouch and read it aloud.
"To my two teachers. Take this money, go on vacation, you two need and deserve it." Iruka smiled and Kakashi shook Sasuke's hand in appreciation.
"Thank you Sasuke." He nodded his head. Naruto peered to the boy as he reached down and pulled the wiggling box up onto the table. Iruka and Naruto stared at in complete confusion as the blond leaned forward and read the card on top.
"Naruto- People underestimate you, including me. I guess you could say this is from the heart, because well… you do matter to me." Naruto gave Sasuke a smile but the boy was looking down at his journal as if to ignore him. Naruto smirked and lifted the box top and let out a nearly-girly like scream as the small, adorable puppy looked up at him.
"Aw!" He dragged it from the box and was nearly thrown off of his chair as the puppy hopped onto his lap, laughing, playing and licking his face. Naruto laughed and hugged the puppy to his body. Placing the puppy onto the floor, Naruto stood to his feet, and surprising all around the table, grabbed Sasuke into a warm hug. "Didn't know ya cared, Sasuke!" He smiled and let Sasuke go, as he'd become a rather shocked piece of pale cardboard, and then dove onto the floor to play with the puppy.
"All right, it's Iruka's turn." Naruto stated after catching the puppy and sitting back into his chair. Iruka smirked and handed Sasuke his present first. Carefully tearing away at the paper, Sasuke's eyes examined the book that he held.
"Thank you Iruka, I've actually wanted this book for quite some time." Iruka smirked and bowed his head to the dark-haired boy as he flipped the front leaf and then began to skim the pages.
Now it was the more embarrassing present. A roaring blush came over Iruka's cheeks as he reached down into his bag for the small, circular, wrapped present and handed it to Kakashi. A smile, hidden of course, journeyed across Kakashi's lips as he slowly unwrapped the present.
Naruto began to cackle relentlessly as Iruka hid his face in mild shame of the present. Kakashi, on the other hand, was rather fond of the present, and placed them onto the table and pulled his koi into a kiss.
"I suppose I shall have to put those to use later." He whispered, causing Iruka's blush to increase as he attempted to hide behind his hands. Naruto continued to laugh, and yet again, Sasuke, over-taken with all of the emotions of Christmas, hid a warm smile behind his fingers. Kakashi was placing soft kisses over Iruka's cheek as Naruto began to subdue his laughter.
"All right, all right… me!" He grinned and Kakashi and Iruka smiled to one another.
"Naruto… we have a special present for you." Kakashi nodded to Iruka, who pulled out a few pieces of paper that had both of their names signed at the bottom. Naruto, confused, took the papers into his hands and skimmed them in interest, eyebrows nearly knitted together as he read. Suddenly, his eyebrows arched and his eyes welt up with tears.
"You… you want to…" Kakashi smirked as Iruka stood beside Naruto and took him into a tight embrace.
"That's right Naruto, we want to adopt you." Naruto's eyes twinkled as he let a few single tears drip from his eyes simultaneously. He couldn't believe his ears! He, Naruto, was being adopted! He was going to have a family! A father… well, two fathers, but who cared? He was going to have a family – he was accepted – he was someone!
"Thank you so much!" He gripped Iruka tightly. Naruto loosened his grip and then grabbed Kakashi in a tight hug, who reciprocated and smiled as they let go. "Thank you so much… you have no idea how much this means to me." He wiped away the few tears that clung to the corners of his eyes.
"Well, we care a lot about you Naruto. A lot, if you couldn't tell." Iruka smiled, wiping his own tears away. Naruto slid down into his seat with a warm smile playing over his lips. Sasuke, having stayed silent throughout the entire ordeal, nodded his head to Naruto in a short congratulation.
"All right, let's move on here. Kakashi, it's your turn." Naruto wiped a last tear from his eye and then turned to the scarecrow.
"Well, you got my present Naruto, so Sasuke, this is for you." Kakashi handed the dark-haired boy his present, the small box wrapped in a red bow. Tugging at the trim, Sasuke lifted the velvet top and a smooth band was revealed, the inscription of his name in the center. Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed.
"How on earth did you have the time to do this? I was with you the entire time." Kakashi smirked beneath his mask and waved the boys questioning out of the air with his hand. Letting out a rather irritated sigh, Sasuke tugged the ring from its holder and placed it onto his ring finger. It was a perfect fit. "Thank you, Kakashi." They bowed their heads to the other.
"Now… Iruka, it's your turn." Kakashi stood his feed and grabbed Iruka's hands, bringing him up with him. Taking Iruka's left hand into his own, he tugged out a box from his pocket and stepped down so he was leaning mostly on his left knee. Iruka was already blushing in the anticipation of what this all meant. Popping open the velvet case, Kakashi smiled and showed Iruka the delicate band.
"Would you marry me?" Iruka let out a soft, squeamish, delighted noise from his lips and then grabbed the scarecrow into his arms. Tugging at the mask on the taller man's mouth, Iruka leaned up and planted a soft kiss onto his lips.
"Yes, Kakashi, I would be more than happy to marry you." Kakashi smiled and placed the ring onto Iruka's finger, then pulled him into a heated, lover's kiss. Naruto clapped, as well as Sasuke, but then cringed.
"All right, no more of that spit-swapping in my kitchen. You guys can celebrate later, in your own house." Kakashi smiled and sat down, dragging Iruka onto his lap in the process.
Looking up and around the table, Naruto truly felt at home. Iruka, his first teacher, and best friend. Kakashi, his current teacher, and someone that he mostly looked up to. And then there was Sasuke, who he could feel no animosity for as he sat at the table with him. For some reason, Sasuke seemed like a human to him now – like someone he could sit and talk with. And for a brief moment, when Sasuke's eyes met Naruto's, the blond Kitsune felt like he was something more. Naruto shook his head lazily and looked back to the two others around. Everyone was smiling, everything was happy, everyone was glad to be there.
And for the first time, Naruto was probably the one most pleased.
--
"Naruto, you're burning it." Sasuke leaned over Naruto's shoulder and prodded the vegetables that were sizzling in a frying pan. Naruto grumbled beneath his breath as he side-stepped out of Sasuke's way so he could take over. Instead, Naruto returned to a pot of boiling sauce and noodles that he'd put on. After stirring it, the blond stepped to the small hole in the wall that allowed him to look into the living room and he smiled, watching as Iruka and Kakashi whispered to one another with lover's smiles over their lips.
"They really are happy." Naruto murmured and strode back to his pot, a smile over his lips.
"Hn." Sasuke replied, eyes shut as he stirred the vegetables in the pan. "I'm sure you're happy as well, now." Naruto looked up to Sasuke for a brief moment, slightly taken a-back by the dark-haired boys cold tone, but realized it was something regular and familiar by now. Naruto wouldn't let the cold boy's mood affect his own mood and continued to smile.
"Yes, I am." As if to add irony, the small puppy Sasuke had bought him was swarming around his feet as he stirred the large pot. "Thank you, Sasuke. I needed something like this." Sasuke turned a rather surprised glance to Naruto before turning the fire off from beneath the pan.
"You're welcome." He offered meagerly and then placed the vegetables onto a plate. "Turn off the fire, before that boils over." Naruto did as he was told and brought the entire pot onto the table, Sasuke at his heels with the vegetables and a few cups.
"Kakashi, Iruka, food!" The two men looked up to Sasuke and Naruto and ambled toward the table, fingers locked together. The four all sat down to eat and, surprisingly had pleasant and calm conversation.
--
"G'night, Kakashi! Night Iruka!" The two sensei's exited Naruto's house after giving a peck to each other beneath the mistletoe that Iruka had put on the doorframe. The two waved their arms over their heads as they wandered down the street toward Iruka's apartment.
"You can stick around if you want. It's not like I have anything going on, and I could use the company for the night." Glancing over his shoulder at the empty, dark streets illuminating with white snow, Naruto shut his door and gave a smile to Sasuke. "And I'm sure you could too, seeing as it is Christmas night." The dark-haired boy had already begun to reach for his scarf, which he was now fighting the small puppy for, and turned his attention to the blond that had inquired of him.
"I wouldn't want to impose." Naruto waved his hand in the air to dismiss the matter.
"Don't even think of it like that, Sasuke." He took the boy's shoulders in his arm and smiled as he pulled the both of them back into his apartment and kicked his door closed. "'Sides, I need help naming this little critter, and I can't think of anything to call him." Sasuke shrugged Naruto's arm from his shoulders, but nodded his head.
"I'll help you clean up." He offered, and the two walked to the dining room to gather the dishes. As Naruto followed, he felt slightly uneasy with his request for company – maybe he'd moved in too soon? Who knew! He wasn't entirely sure of himself, but he'd decided to keep the boy around, so now he had to run with what he had.
"Hey Sasuke… why don't you usually do something for Christmas?" Naruto asked curiously while scooping up a few dishes and then moving toward the kitchen with a pan.
"Don't have anyone to celebrate with." Naruto felt slightly subdued by the comment, and nodded his head.
"Yeah, me either." Sasuke was thrown off by the reply. He'd never exactly stopped to realize that he wasn't the only one that didn't have a family to sit around Christmas with. And, if he wasn't mistaken, this and possibly the year prior were the only years that Naruto had had. At least Sasuke had years from when he was younger. Before it all happened, of course.
The two cleared the table in silence for awhile, and Sasuke walked to the edge as to pick up the last two pieces of silverware and began on his journey back to the kitchen. Naruto, who had just bent over to place a few strewn pieces of food left on a plant into the garbage, stood up quickly in a sharp turn and then, sadly, the two collided. Naruto landed directly on top of Sasuke, who had clumsily allowed the few pieces of silverware to topple onto the floor beside him as he collided onto the rug.
After overcoming the shock of falling onto him, Naruto rubbed his nose and then examined where he'd landed. A soft 'eep' emitted his lips as he further realized at his two arms were crushed beneath Sasuke's back and he was basically trapped unless Sasuke moved. Sasuke let out a groan as he stared up at the boy that was above him and tried to move and yet was surprised to find that Naruto had a good amount of weight on his lean body.
They both struggled to get free, and in the result ended up even more tangled. And unfortunately for them, but fortunate for anyone hearing this tale, their noses poked down and nabbed each other. Naruto's eyes were locked with Sasuke's and he began to realize that his breathing was becoming more and shallower and that Sasuke's own breathing had begun to hitch. Licking his now completely dried tongue over his lips Naruto felt, in a rather husky voice, that he whispered something to Sasuke.
"I'm sorry…" He muttered gently, and Sasuke looked up in mild surprise.
"For what?" He asked in irritation, attempting to wiggle free from the other's embrace.
"For this." And that's when it happened. That's when Naruto dipped his head down and made his lips collide with Sasuke's. Sure, Naruto had kissed people before, so he knew what it was he was doing. And once Sasuke opened his mouth in surprise, Naruto slipped his tongue into the cavern, prodding Sasuke's, which to Naruto's surprise began to react in a similar way. And they immediately fought an oral battle in attempts to conquer the other, in many other things they did to one another. Conveniently placed beneath Sasuke, Naruto slid his hands up Sasuke's neck and into his dark locks, tilting his head to give the dark-haired boy better access to his mouth. Sasuke's arms gripped Naruto's waist as he held the boy tightly above him. They both, simultaneously, broke free from the kiss and looked at one another, realizing that in the process of the kiss, they'd freed themselves from the other's embrace.
Naruto, the first to realize he was free, pulled himself off of Sasuke, who immediately whipped his upper-body up as the blond scooted to lean against the wall. In silence, the dark-haired boy stood to his feet and the blond realized he'd probably done the worst he could have ever done.
Without looking at Naruto, Sasuke strode to the door and grabbed his coat and scarf, then quickly exited the doorway. Slamming his head against the wall, Naruto hopped onto his feet and ran to the door and grabbed his own coat, immediately racing after Sasuke. How could he have done that to him? He knew neither of them were – or truly ever would be – ready for something like that. Well, at least, Sasuke wouldn't be. How could he? Oh, that was how. And as Naruto froze in his thoughts and steps, he realized just how he could do something like that.
He, Naruto, was in love with Sasuke.
Now he needed to find Sasuke… and fast.
--
"How could you let something like that happen?" Sasuke muttered to himself and wiped his hand over his lips. He shouldn't have – he couldn't have. But indeed he did – he'd given in. Given into something he'd long since tried to keep hidden.
He, Sasuke, cared maybe even loved Naruto. And he still hadn't been able to come to turns with it.
As he wandered the forest, he found himself at a familiar clearing. Something he'd probably come to one night during training. Despite the reminiscence, he froze to glance around, and then turned when he heard steps behind him. Of course, it was Naruto coming into the clearing.
"Sasuke – let me apologize." He began and Sasuke stared directly at him.
"Don't take it back, Naruto." He looked down to the snow. Naruto sighed.
"I don't want to." Sasuke lifted his head in mild interest, eyeing Naruto for a moment, waiting for the blond to elaborate. "Sasuke…" Naruto fidgeted, running nervous hands through his hair. "Sasuke, I love you."
--
That's the end of chapter four! More coming soon.
Ta 3's
Masqued.