A/N: For anyone still reading this, sorry this is late but I have an excuse for it! You see, I had last weekend off for prom, and before prom I was working six days in a row, that left me this week to write, and I still had to work Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Today. So… Um, Gomen!

Warnings: Nothing really, AU.

Pairing: Kotetsu/Naru

Summary: Years ago a boy gave a ring to Naruto, and said that whatever he wished for, the ring would make it come true. Naruto's been whishing ever since that the boy would return.

Genre: Romance, WAFF

Rating: PG 13

""-speech

''-thoughts

It had been so long ago when he had moved to this town, away from anything he was used to, away from the grave of his parents, away from his life at the orphanage.

He remembered that he stood on the front doorstep of his new home, his guardian pushing him inside the house. It was cold and dark inside, lifeless. And he, at the time, had wondered if spirits haunted the house, lurking in the unlit corners of every room and congregating in the attic, where his new room was to be.

He remembered the night he tried to run away, one week after he arrived. It had been raining hard and he was soaked within seconds, but he didn't want to go back to that unloving person and that lifeless house. He felt as though he'd been running for hours when he rammed into someone.

He remembered that he had stuttered an apology and got up to run away when a gentle grip on his shoulder held him back and an umbrella was held over his head.

"Little boys shouldn't go around running in the rain, you could catch a cold." The other boy had said, kneeling down to his eyelevel and smiling warmly at him. He had felt his heart beat faster when the other boy's dark eyes met his and he smiled. "Come on, I'll walk you home." The other boy had said, and Naruto, although unsure, had grasped the other boy's hand and had meekly given the directions to his home.

He remembered that when they finally arrived at his house the older boy gripped his hand tighter and gave him a worried look before giving him a reassuring smile as he slipped a ring off of his finger.

"Uzumaki…"

"If you wish on this ring enough, and put all your heart into it-"

"Uzumaki."

"Your wish will come true."

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Use it well."

'I wish… I could see you again.'

"DAMMIT UZUMAKI! WAKE UP!"

Naruto snapped to attention, suddenly aware of the chuckling going on from all areas of the room and he blushed in embarrassment.

"Uzumaki, do you know how many time that is that you've fallen asleep in my class this week." The teacher hissed and Naruto shook his head.

"Four! Four times in one week! I'm calling your parent right after school young man! I can't believe you would have the audacity to-"

Naruto had begun tuning the teacher out, finding much more amusement in fiddling with the ring around the middle finger of his left hand. It was a simple looking ring; the band was a silvery-white colour and there was a blue gemstone on the top, surrounded by a cirlce of tiny rose quartz. A very feminine ring, but Naruto would never take it off.

"-umaki, are you listening?" Naruto nodded mechanically, this teacher was always the same, detention tomorrow at lunch, calling the parental unit, the punishment never changed.

The teacher threw himself back into his lecture and Naruto's gaze was once again pinned on the ring.

'He was the first person who was ever truly nice to me, even at the orphanage I was an outsider. He cared about me, even though he didn't know me…' Naruto's eyes glanced at the clock, thirty nine seconds left of the school day.

'I don't know who you are, where you are or even your name. But I wish you'd come back.' Naruto sighed and began packing up his things. Seven seconds…

And school was out!

Naruto trudged home, the house hadn't changed much at all, it was still dark and musty, like no one had lived there for a while, and his guardian was still as distant as ever, and he still had no friends… 'But I guess that's my fault, I probably pranked everyone too much and now they all just hate me.' Naruto sighed and his shoulders slumped. 'Why doesn't anything good ever happen to me?'

"Why doesn't anything good ever happen to me?" A man with spiky blue hair called up to the sky as he walked along the street. "Oh come on Kotetsu, you're finally going back to your hometown! I for one would love to meet your relatives at this wedding!" Kotetsu threw a glance over at his best friend and partner in crime for eleven years, Izumo.

"That reminds me, why did you invite yourself along anyways?" Izumo smiled and chuckled lightly. "I thought the reason was obvious! To find that cute little blonde you always used to talk about." "What!" Izumo leaned closer to Kotetsu and grinned while Kotetsu leaned further away and sweatdropped.

"You know, the cute blonde kid you gave that ring to. When I first met you, you'd always talk about him and what a cute kid he was." Izumo clicked his tongue. "Tsk tsk, he was at least half your age at the time, what a pervert." Kotetsu's eyebrows began twitching. "I was ten Izumo, I assure you I wasn't attracted to him at the time." "That's what you say!" Kotetsu shook his head, a smile playing upon his lips. "Hey, let's go into here." He said pointing to a male's clothing store. "I still have to get a tie." Izumo rolled his eyes. "Procrastinator."

Naruto had dropped off his backpack at home and was now freely wondering the town, utterly bored and utterly broke, not a good combination. 'Damn it, I'm gonna have to find a job or something.' He miserably walked down the street, passing by the small stores that were scattered along the way when from the corner of his eyes he spotted- 'Nani!' Naruto whipped his head around, eyes peering into a shop window. 'I was so sure I saw- Forget it Naruto! You're just having delusions from thinking about the past to much. Besides, you can't barge into some shop looking for someone who's obviously not there!' But as he walked away he clutched the ring on his finger, hope swelling in his chest and his heart beating faster.

And that wasn't the only incident either. He had been in Math, looking out the window distractedly, when he swore to God he saw him and someone else, of course they were at least fourteen meters away and it could have been someone else. 'But how many people could have that hairstyle?'

Then there was the time he had been job hunting and had finally found himself a successful 'gig'. He had been wandering around the 'base of operations' and again he saw that unmistakably unique hairstyle. 'Don't worry about it Naruto, you're only going insane, nothing to worry about.'

And then there was that time one girl in his class was ranting about her older sisters wedding and how great it was going to be, and who was doing flower arrangements and who was catering (Naruto was appalled to discover that his first time as a catering waiter would be at the wedding the girl was going on about.) and then she whipped out literally dozens of photographs, presumably of every family member she knew was coming.

"Oh, who's this?" "My cousin, Kotetsu." "Look at his hair!" "It's so cool!" "How does it stay like that?"

Naruto had to keep himself from moving around. The girl that was rambling on about the wedding had dark blue hair and black eyes, there couldn't be a relation, could there?

Either way, he knew that if there was someone from his class at this wedding, he was going to be made fun of, definitely at school, possibly at the wedding.

What he didn't expect was to be hit on a male with straight, chin length dark blue hair and black eyes.

There he had been, casually walking around the dark, huge backyard as he was told to do, walking around and admiring the sunset, stopping once in a while if someone flagged him over, when suddenly he found a presents behind him. Well, more like felt breath against his neck, but still…

"Hey cutie, how's it going?"

Izumo was bored and alone since Kotetsu had decided to abandon him for the time being. 'Hmp, what a great friend he is, won't even keep me company in a sea of strangers.' He was sulking near a fountain, silently pondering over what he should do to his friend as payback, when bright yellow hair caught his eye. His eyes wandered over the blonde, who seemed to really not want to be there and he grinned. 'Aw, don't worry baby, I'm gonna take you away to a magical place.' He strode forward, happy that the boy was facing away from him, he could make such a nice entrance…

He leaned down, making sure the boy knew he was there. "Hey cutie, how's it going?" Narrow blue eyes glared back at him and Izumo stifled a chuckle. 'Aw, you're so cute when you play hard to get.'

"Back away from me, or I can't promise I won't hurt you." Naruto ground out his eyes darkening, much like the sky.

"Aw, come on sweet heart, most guys would love to be hit on by a sexy man like me." Izumo struck a pose and Naruto sweatdropped. "Uhh… Sorry, but you're not exactly my type." "Oh, what is your type?" Izumo asked, leaning down so that he was face to face with the un-amused boy. "Well, he's about your age, and he kind of looks like you, but his hair is spikier, and he's a lot nicer too!" Naruto finished and turned around in a huff, walking further away from the house where more exclusive couples were whispering sweet nothings to each other and further still, not taking notice of the black clouds beginning to make their way over the already dark sky.

Izumo stood still, gawking at the retreating blonde. 'Oh my God, it's him! It has to be him! I've got to find Kotetsu!'

The first few drops of rain began to fall, leaving girls scurrying for cover lest their make-up run and leaving men slowly walking up to the house, quickening their pace once the rain began falling faster.

As for Naruto, when the rain had begun to fall he was sure he'd be fine, it was only drizzling, so he marched on further away from the party, setting his tray on a stone bench and sitting beside it, it was as soon as he sat down that the rain began to pout and he inwardly cursed at his luck. He was going to be soaked long before he reached any form a shelter. 'Well, I might as well make a run for it.' He stood up and completely forgetting about his tray ran for the closest cover, a gazebo.

He bound up the steps and the hunched over, breathing heavily. 'God I need to start working out.' "Are you alright?" Naruto flinched slightly at the sound of another's voice, but didn't make any other movements. "I'm fine, just soaked." He replied as he grabbed the hem of his shirt and began to wring it out. 'His voice, it sounds somewhat… Familiar…'

"Yeah, it really started pouring. You should be careful, it's easy for kids to catch colds-" Naruto stood up and looked at the person, his mouth opening in shock, Kotetsu wasn't much better.

"You!" They said in unison before Naruto hurled himself into Kotetsu's arms. 'It did work, my wish did come true!'

"You came back." Naruto whispered into Kotetsu's chest before mentally slapping himself. 'Damn it Naruto, you're making it sound as though he's your long lost lover or something.'

Kotetsu couldn't help but wrap his arms around the boy, ten years later and the boy was still as cute as a button. 'But if I don't go inside soon, people are going to wonder where I am.' He looked down at the boy he was holding, snuggled against his chest wearing a black suit and… 'I can't believe he kept that ring for all these years, I'm sure most kids would have lost it within the first week.'

"Hey, we never were properly introduced. I'm Uzumaki Naruto." The boy whispered softly. "I'm Hagane Kotetsu."

They had promised to meet up in two days, right after Naruto got out of school Monday, and Kotetsu had been wringing his hair with worry about the whole situation, seeing the boy had brought back the crush he'd always had for the boy, and Izumo's grinning face definitely wasn't making anything better.

"Just what do you happen to find so hilarious about my current situation?" Kotetsu growled and Izumo sighed. "It's so cute! It's like puppy-love!" "Shut up, he's probably straight and has a girlfriend or something." "Nu-uh, I happen to know for a fact he's not straight and that he likes you." Kotetsu gave him a disbelieving stare at that point. "And how would you know this?" Izumo smiled sheepishly and replied. "Well, I sort of hit on him at the reception and he told me his type of guy, and I'm pretty sure that you match the description perfectly." Kotetsu blinked. 'Well, that certainly takes care of a couple of things, but where am I going to take him! The movies were too date-ish and Kotstdu didn't want to give him the right idea… Yet.

Thankfully Izumo was there, and being the lovable flirt that he was could cure any situation of this nature quite easily.

"Take him to the park you met, then wine and di-" "He's too young to drink you idiot." "I was speaking theoretically. Now anyways, just sit by a fountain or something and talk about life without each other." Izumo fluttered his eyelashes dramatically and Kotetsu frowned. "But that seems so simple." "Nonsense, you just don't know the inner working of the 'puppy-love' mind like I do." "If you say so…"

Apparently Izumo would always would be right when it concerned these types of matters, since Naruto seemed deeply touched that Kotetsu brought him to the place where they first met.

They had settled down on a bench and Kotetsu nervously stomped down on the urge to wrap an arm around the younger boy's shoulder. 'Not yet, can't do anything like that yet.'

"So Kotetsu, how long are you staying here for?" Naruto asked energetically, feet swinging beneath him. "Oh, for a couple more days I guess." Kotetsu replied. The feet stopped swinging and Naruto slouched against the bench. "Oh."

Kotetsu, trying to redeem Naruto's once good mood quickly answered. "But I'm sure I can stay longer than that. I'm already into my summer vacation, and I have no plans for the next several months. I can stay here with my grandparents for the summer and we could hang out all the time!" 'Gee, don't get to enthusiastic there bud.'

Naruto was trying to hide his smile by turning away. "You don't have to do that, a couple days is fine." Kotetsu moved closer, gripping Naruto's chin lightly and turning the boy to face him. "Oh, but I think I do have to stay. I have to make sure I give you the right signals and all." Naruto blinked in confusion. "Signals? What signals?" Kotetsu sighed and just decided to get it over with.

"During this summer I am planning on wooing you." "Woo?" "Yes, in other words, I am planning on making you my significant other." Naruto's eyebrows shot up. "Like a boyfriend?" Kotetsu nodded, eyes closed and in brooding mode. "Of course, it could take quite a while to properly woo you, but I'mm will to spend as much time as possible with you if it means that someday we could cultivate a suc-mruphh."

'OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod.' … At least outwardly Kotetsu remained calm and began kissing back.

Meanwhile, spying through a pair of binoculars Izumo clicked his tongue. "Honestly Kotetsu, you talk so much that the boy finally got some confidence and kissed you to shut you up. We're going to have to work on your form…" Izumo spied a tall, dark and handsome teenager to his left and grinned. "But we'll do that later, for now I must enjoy." He took a deep breath. "The hunt."

Naruto was the one who broke the kiss, blushing rather prettily at the thought of his rather oddly timed initiation.

"That wasn't a kiss to shut me up was it?" Kotetsu asked with a grin and Naruto shook his head fiercely. "Care to prove it?"

And of course, the only way to prove it was by kissing him again, and again, and again.

And once more, just to be sure that it was really a dream come true.