Warnings: Non-cannon.
Pairing: Hayate/Naru
Summary: Chibi Naru has a cold, and even if he is the fox, Hayate knows what it's like to be sick so he takes care of Naruto and becomes attached to the boy.
Genre: Romance, WAFF
Rating: PG-13
""-speech
''-thoughts
Coughing wasn't an unusual sound for Hayate to experience. The bone rattling, shoulder shaking hacks as he coughed and coughed until he either was able to stop, or blood started to appear on his hand and his friends, worried expressions on their faces, would quickly escort him to a medic nin. They knew what to do to make him better; they'd been helping him for sixteen years so far.
Yes, coughing wasn't an odd occurrence in the Gekkou house, since the only child had been sick ever since birth.
But that wasn't the point, the point was that this sick, heart wrenching cough wasn't coming from Hayate, it was coming from around the corner, in an alleyway.
It was a dark, cold night in the middle of winter and Hayate was walking home alone after a day's training with his sensei and teammates when he had heard a very soft sound, which quickly began growing in volume until he could tell that it was someone coughing, painfully.
He quickly turned into the alleyway, rushing towards a small, crouched figure. He knelt down beside the small child and quickly pulled out his thermos, his herbal tea would be cold by now, but it would hopefully still sooth the child's throat.
"Here, drink this, it will help." He muttered softly, bringing the thermos to the resisting child's lips, sighing with relief when the kid slowly began drinking and his coughing began to subdue.
"Thanks…" The kid whispered, his voice hoarse and Hayate nodded his head in a 'your welcome' gesture. "Now then, why don't you tell me where you-" The kid slumped against the wall, asleep. "… Live." Hayate sighed. 'Well, I can't leave the kid out here, he'll get even more sick then he already is.' He gently picked the child up and began walked out of the alleyway. 'I wonder who their parents are. They must be worried sick.'
Then he walked out of the alley, and into the street light. His eyes widened drastically, he hadn't been able to see very well in the darkness of the alleyway, and he was shocked to find who was resting peacefully in his arms.
Uzumaki Naruto, a whole ten years younger then Hayate at six, the host for the Kyuubi, the child that practically everyone in the village age fifteen and up, hated.
'But, he doesn't look like the little terror he's made out to be, he looks… Like a normal six year old. That's it, so… That's what he is.' Hayate nodded to himself, knowing what it felt like to be the odd one out. Back in his academy years he had no friends because they all thought he was contagious, and even after his teacher had, quite obviously told the other children he wasn't contagious (She had asked for every child but Hayate to come into the hallway and Hayate could hear her screech at them.) nobody wanted to play with him or train with him, since they believed he was physically weaker than everybody else, even though he could probably beat each one of them in a spar without breaking into a sweat.
'Well he needs someone to take care of him when he's sick.' He thought to himself in determination, his pace quickening. 'And I know how painful it can be, parents away on missions when all I wanted was for okaa-san to some home, tuck me into bed and kiss it better. Being alone when you're sick sucks more then just being alone.' He gazed down at the sleeping boy and managed a small smile as he silently crept into his house, up the stairs and into his room, carefully placing the pale boy on his futon and placing the covers over him. 'There you go, Nar-' He began coughing and he quickly rushed out of the room, so as not to wake the other boy up with the racket.
'Tea, I need tea.' He ran towards the kitchen and started the kettle, feeling as though he would cough up a lung any minute.
"Hayate! Hayate honey, are you alright?" His mother probably jumped down the entire flight of stairs and in a flash was beside him, mixing together the bitter herbs that made up his tea. "Hayate, don't wait until you cough up blood, just drink it cold." She scolded, pouring the lukewarm water into the mug and pressing it to her son's lips. He drank it quickly, his eyes scrunched together as the sharp liquid invaded his senses and then, still coughing lightly he leant against the counter, his mother beginning to fuss over him.
"Honey you shouldn't have been out so late, you know what the cold air does to you." "It couldn't be helped okaa-san, sensei had us train late." "We'll I'm going to have a little talk with your sensei then, who does she think she is, she should know by now that your condition doesn't allow you to be out in the cold." She was already pushing her son up the stairs, babbling on behind him. "And I'm going to need to go to the medic-nins to get you some more of that herbal tea tomorrow. Now then, off to bed you go." She opened his door and Hayate quickly went inside, lest she see the small form lying on his bed.
"Goodnight okaa-san." "Goodnight sweet heart." He shut the door and sighed. 'I guess I'm always going to be her sick little baby, no matter how much I grow up.' He gazed at the figure curled on the bed, his breathing scratchy.
'Don't worry Naruto.' He coughed into a clenched fist. 'I'll take care of you.' He curled up on his floor and fell asleep in mere moments.
He woke up at his habitual time of six in the morning, even though he didn't have training today. It took him a moment to realize why he was sleeping on his floor before his eyes snapped to the futon. He heaved a sigh of relief; he almost thought that some angry villager would take the child away in the night. 'It's a good thing they didn't, because then they'd have to deal with me.' He thought grimly, his eyes drifting to the sword that leaned against the wall before he looked down at himself and flushed in the realization that he'd slept in his training clothes, Chuunin jacket and all. 'I'll just change now, while he's still asleep, and then maybe, if mother and father have gone on missions already, I can wake him up and bring him downstairs to have some breakfast.'
He quickly changed into a pair of kaki pants and a dark blue t-shirt. And made his way downstairs, his okaa-san, being the mother hen that she is, always left a note when both she and his otou-san left for a mission.
'Ah, there it is, next to that, that stuff.' Hayate absolutely hated the 'tea' that he had to drink, but it was a lot better then the medicine he would be forced to take otherwise.
'I should probably make Naruto some tea too; just to be sure he doesn't have such a bad coughing fit again.' He put the kettle on the stove and took two mugs out of the cupboard, gingerly scooping two spoonfuls of the herbal mixture into each mug.
'I wonder what he'd want for breakfast? I should probably make him some miso soup, anything to sweet or sour might make him sick.' Hayate smiled to himself, this was his first time taking care of someone who was sick and he was sure he wasn't going to mess it up! He was a prodigy at swordsmanship, he was a Chuunin despite his chronic illness, and was almost at Jounin level while his two teammates had still failed to pass the Chuunin exam. He had been taken care of so many times, he was sure he'd be great at taking care of another!
The kettle had begun whistling and Hayate carefully pouring the steaming contents into the two mugs, quickly downing his own with a dissatisfied frown and a grimace. Before picking up the other mug and slowly making his way up the stairs, until he heard a muffled scream.
He appeared in front of his bedroom in a flash and shoved the door open, his eyes scanning the room when they caught sight of Naruto, shaking in a corner.
'I suppose it's strange, waking up in a different room then you're used to.' He crouched down and slowly moved forward.
"It's okay Naruto, I'm just going to take care of you, I'm not here to hurt you." Frightened blue eyes looked up at him and Hayate stifled a gasp at the beautiful shade of blue that they were.
"H-How do you know my 'ame?" Naruto sniffed and coughed a bit and Hayate felt his whole being fill with empathy for the boy.
"I know you're name just because I do, now drink this tea. You had some last night, remember? It should help sooth your throat, you were coughing an awful lot when I found you." Naruto looked up at him, his eyebrows scrunched together.
"Why do you wanna 'elp me?" The child asked in a strangled voice and Hayate felt fury form at the very pit of his stomach, anger at the villagers who must have mistreated him the boy's whole life. 'For him to be so suspicious at others motives, just at the age of six! What have they done to him to make him so wary around others?' He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself, but ended up doubling over, coughing.
"'ey! Are you ''right mis'er!" Naruto crawled forward and patted Hayate on the back for a moment before his eyes caught sight of the mug. "'ere mis'er, drink this." He handed the cup to Hayate, who gently took it from the younger boys grasp and downed it in one gulp, nearly chocking at the flavor.
Naruto giggled beside him. "I don'' t'ink I'd wanna drink that stuff." Hayate couldn't help but chuckle along with him.
He had made sure Naruto stayed in bed all day, and had managed to force some of the tea into him, and had even fed him some miso soup, although the boy began whining that miso ramen would be much better. He had told the boy to have a nap and then made his way into the outside world to buy a deck of cards. 'Maybe I can teach him go fish, or maybe rummy?' His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a yell and he quickly rushed to where the noise was coming from.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T FOUND HIM YET?" "Hokage-sama, you must understand, we're trying as hard as we can!" "Nonsense! I want Naruto found quickly!" "Hai Hokage-sama, I understand-"
Hayate let the rest of the conversation fade out of his mind as he noticed two things; the third Hokage seemed very upset by Naruto disappearance, while some of the other nins standing before the Hokage seemed to be holding back their smiles.
'They're happy that he's gone!' Realization dawned on Hayate and he once again felt anger churning at the pit of his stomach. 'Bastards!' He turned on his heel and made his way home, completely forgetting about the cards.
Once Naruto had woken up from his nap Hayate had asked if he was feeling better and Naruto nodded an enthusiastic 'yes'. "My throat don'' feel itchy at all!" He rejoiced happily and Hayate smiled. "That's because of that nasty tea you drank." Naruto face scrunched up and Hayate laughed happily.
He had put Naruto to bed at seven o' clock and he smiled as the boy's breathing evened out. 'He'll be better by tomorrow.' He quietly exited the room. 'He's such a sweet kid; I can't imagine why the others can't see that. The must be too wrapped up in their hatred.' He made his way downstairs, stopping when he heard the sound of fevered whispering. He made his way outside the kitchen door and listened carefully.
"Honey, we have to search for him, its Hokage-sama's orders." "I don't care! I will not go searching for that- that demon child!" "Darling, I don't want to look for him either, that thing killed my sister! But we have too; do you think anyone wants to look for that wicked child? No! But we have too, if he isn't found soon, Hokage-sama, he'll go mad!" "I really don't see why he likes that kid so much…."
Hayate silently made his way up the stairs, feeling tears forming. 'How can they? How can they say something so mean about-' He opened his door and gazed at the sleeping boy. 'such a sweet, cute boy. I bet he's never done anything bad in his entire life! It wasn't his fault he was chosen to be the host for Kyuubi, it wasn't his fault.' He grabbed the sword leaning against the wall. 'From now on, I'm going to train harder then ever before, so that I can protect innocent people like Naruto.' He nodded to himself and disappeared into the night to train.
Morning came too quickly it seemed, and although he hadn't had a wink of sleep Hayate felt more alive than usual as he leapt over the rooftops, Naruto in his arms, still a bit drowsy.
"I'm just going to drop you off at Hokage Tower, okay Naruto?" The boy nodded sleepily and Hayate smiled as he landed on the staircase of Hokage Tower, bounding up the stairs and into the building, dropping of Naruto in front of the third's office.
"You go and tell him you're okay Naruto, alright? He's been really worried about you." Naruto nodded and Hayate was gone in a flash.
Naruto opened the door shyly and stepped into the room.
"Hokage-sama, we're looking as hard as we can!" "How hard is it to find a child when half of this country's population is out looking for him!" "Ojii-san?" Sarutobi's eyes snapped up. "Naruto!" He quickly engulfed the boy in a hug. "Where have you been Naruto? I was worried." Naruto pulled out of the hug, a smile on his face. "I was okay ojii-san, I had an angel watching over me."
Over the years Hayate was sure to keep a close eye on the growing boy and if Naruto so much as sneezed he'd often find a cup of still-warm 'tea' on his bedside table, and if he ever truly got sick he'd find himself being whisked away from reality for a few days, and being taken care of by the man who he still didn't know the name of, so he just called him Tenshi (Angel). One may think it was odd that he never bothered to ask his name, but it seemed that there was never any time between drinking the nasty stuff, playing card games and being told that he should have a nap. Besides, Naruto liked a good mystery.
With so few positive people in his life, and many times where he'd be secluded with the other man as the only link to the outside world, it was only natural that he developed some sort of feelings for the older man. Of course these feelings were pushed aside in favor of pursing Sakura-chan, but they were always there, waiting in the background.
Hayate silently exited the Hokage's office his face blank. 'Referee for the preliminaries, huh?' He made his was out of Hokage tower, coughing slightly into his enclosed fist.
He decided not to rush home, after all, he heard that the flu was going around and there was that slight chance… 'I'm far to happy to take care of Naruto to be normal, it's like I want him to get sick, just so I can have an excuse to take care of him.' His feet lead him to a familiar bridge and he sighed. 'Come on Hayate, you know full well that's he's only here in the mornings, waiting for his sensei… I sound like a stalker.' He turned away from the bridge, making his way along the still-busy streets of Konoha. 'The exam begins tomorrow, I hope he'll do well on the first test.' He walked home, the house seemed a lot more empty now that his father had passed on, and his mother was still always on missions, always gone. 'I'll cross my fingers for you Naruto.'
He woke up at six and had nervously paced around until it was time for him to report for duty, he was guarding the upper division of Konoha's wall today. 'I wonder if the exam has started by now.' He allowed his eyes to roam over his village from his vintage point and he bit his bottom lip. 'There's still several days until I'm the referee, I can't ask if Naruto passed the first part without being suspicious, so I guess I just have to hope he'll understand what he needs to do to pass.'
His days were filled with a fitful misery that only lightened up when he'd overheard Izumo and Kotetsu complaining that the 'Kyuubi-brat' shouldn't have passed the first test. He was happy to hear that Naruto passed, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel anger blooming within him. 'They don't know what Naruto's really like, they don't know anything but what they perceive as reality.'
When the day when he would watch over the preliminaries of the Chuunin Exam finally came he was sure he was going to have a panic attack! Many Genin not only lost their scrolls in the Forest of Death, but their lives as well. 'I guess I'll just have to be patient, Naruto won't die, he's much too stubborn to give up on life.'
Naruto stood uncomfortably in the group Genins, half listening to Sakura ask Sasuke about some bruise and daydreaming about ramen. Umm ramen…
Then he heard a cough.
Call it natural instincts, but Naruto knew that cough, he'd heard it so many times that it was absolutely impossible for him to not know who was making the muffled sound.
His once glassy eyes focused on the man who was now speaking and Naruto felt his heart starting to race. 'Tenshi is here? I can't loose in front of him, I have to show him how strong I've become! Now matter who I go up against, Sasuke-teme, Fuzzy Brows, Sakura-chan, I won't loose!' Naruto grinned confidently, there was no way he was going to make a fool of himself in front of his Tenshi!
(Things progressed as they did before….)
Naruto practically skipped on the way home, he had fought well (sort of) and hadn't embarrassed himself (maybe) and he was sure his Tenshi was proud of him!
'I'm gonna take a nice long rest today, and then tomorrow I'm going to get Kakashi-sensei to train me!'
The streets were nearly empty and with no villagers in front of him Naruto felt it was safe to close his eyes and picture his angel's face, it looked as though he hadn't had much sleep lately. 'Poor Tenshi, I wonder if he'll ever get be-' He felt himself bump into someone and his eyes snapped open. "Ah, gomen, I didn't mean to!" His eyes widened a bit.
"That's okay Naruto, I believe you. Although it's not safe to walk around with your eyes closed like that." Hayate responded softly and Naruto blushed.
"You did a really good job back there, I have no doubt that you'll do great in the next round of the Chuunin Exam." Naruto blush grew and he looked away shyly. "R-Really? Thanks for your support!" Naruto gave him the thumbs up. "I know if you back me up I'll win for sure Tenshi!" Hayate blinked in confusion. "Angel? What do you mean by that?" Naruto turned away red in the face, not noticing that the older man had a flush on his face as well.
"Well you see, I don't know your name, and I wasn't really listening when Ojii-san introduced you." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and Hayate chuckled.
"Well then, I suppose it's only fair that you know who I am, I'm Hayate, Gekkou Hayate." Naruto laughed and Hayate frowned. "What?" "It's your last name, it means moonlight, it just sounds really cute!" Hayate blushed again. "Thanks, I guess…" Naruto began skipping away. "Goodbye Moonlight!" Hayate brought his hand up in a small wave, eyebrow twitching. 'Moonlight? Is that my new nickname now?'
His life was filled with piles upon piles of paperwork which he'd complete in a cramped up office space. He was constantly being told to go outside and get some fresh air by his colleagues, but if he let his focus slip from his work for one minute all he'd be able to think about would be Naruto.
Naruto's hair, Naruto's eyes, Naruto's smile… If Hayate let his concentration slip just a little he knew he'd be doomed to daydream about the kawaii boy. So even as he felt his health slipping away, he stayed cooped up with a constant supply of tea at his side.
It had been several weeks of paperwork until one of his higher ups, Shiranui Genma, had ordered him to go get a check up at the hospital, apparently he was looking 'worse than normal.' Hayate didn't know if he should be insulted by that comment, but he decided to go anyways, he was feeling a little woozy.
The walk to the hospital had been unusually strenuous and he even felt himself break out into a cold sweat. 'I must be sicker than I thought. Maybe I just didn't notice because I was too concentrated on my work.'
By the time he actually reached the hospital he felt absolutely exhausted and medic nins who were familiar with his condition were already flocking around him. 'I guess I should have gotten that breath of fresh air everyone told me I needed.'
Naruto eyes fluttered open and he gazed at his surroundings feeling absolutely exhausted. Trying to stay on top of Gamma-bunta while he hopped around was harder than he thought it would be! 'And I used up a lot of energy summoning him, I feel really tired.' His eyes closed and he tried to go back to sleep, but there seemed to be some sort of loud commotion in the room next to his. He glared at the ceiling and inwardly cursed whoever was making the noise.
"But I don't want to! Can't I just have more of that tea?" "Gekkou-san, you've let yourself slip, you don't need the tea, you need this medicine." "… But I don't want to…" There was a small coughing fit. "… I really hate that stuff…" More coughing sounded from inside the other room.
Naruto sweatdropped. 'Moonlight sounds like a whiney kid, that medicine must be really nasty if he'd rather have the tea.' Naruto frowned and shuddered, he'd only had it a couple of times in his short life, but it was by far the nastiest thing he'd ever tasted and he never wanted to try it again!
'I wonder why Moonlight's here, he must be really sick if he actually came to the hospital, I should go see him-' He couldn't seem to find the energy to move so he slumped back onto his pillows. 'Later, after a nap.'
When he woke up again the sky was dark with only a few red beams of light reaching up from the east. Naruto silently crept out of his bed and into the hallway, stopping in front of the door that would lead him to his Moonlight.
He lowly crept in, thanking any deity he could think of when the door didn't creak, and he tip toed over to Hayate's bed, peering down at him curiously. He couldn't really tell if Moonlight looked sicker than usual in the dim lighting, but he could always wait until morning. That thought in mind he curled up on the end of Hayate's bed and went to sleep once again.
Hayate groaned and turned away from the window that was letting far too much light in for his taste. He felt his feet brush against something firm at the bottom of his bed and his eyes snapped open as he sat up.
"Na-Naruto!" The boy muttered something under his breath and folded in upon himself even more.
Hayate's eyes squinted a little as he carefully observed the boy lying at the foot of his bed. 'What is Naruto doing here? He didn't get sick, did he?'
Naruto began murmuring unintelligible words as he flip onto his back and stretched out, his head lolling over the side of the bed.
"Naruto, wake up." Hayate crawled forward and began poking the boy. "Come on, you have to tell me why you're in the hospital." Naruto's eyes opened and he mock-glared at Hayate. "Why are you in the hospital?" He crossed his arms, pouting and Hayate sighed. "I'm a little more under the weather than usual, what about you." Naruto sat up and gave him the peace sign. "I was completely drained of energy, but I feel fine now!" "Oh, that's good…"
Naruto grinned up at Hayate, a suspicious looking twinkle in his eye. "Hey Moonlight, guess what!" "… Umm, I don't know." "Now I can take care of you for once, just like all the times you took care of me! And I'll start by making you take your medicine." He jumped off the bed and picked up a transparent vial of a reddish/purple liquid. "That is your medicine, right?" Hayate turned away and frowned. "Maybe…" "HA! That means yes!"
Naruto pounced onto Hayate and in an effort to keep him still straddled the struggling man's waist. Hayate's cheeks heated up immediately and Naruto pressed a hand to his forehead. "Well, you don't feel hot, but your face got really red all of a sudden, dattebayo!" 'Oh, I believe it alright.' "Naruto, would you mind getting off of me?" "Will you take your medicine?"
Ah, so it was going to come down to a battle of wills was it? Well neither of them felt like backing down. Hayate absolutely hated that medicine (and he didn't really mind Naruto hovering over him like he was) and Naruto wanted to make sure that he could nurse Hayate back to health.
Man, it was a good thing no one had walked in on them yet, that would be awkward.
"Moonlight! You're going to take this medicine whether you like it or not!" "What did I ever do to deserve this?" "Hey, you made me drink that tea while I was sick, and now I'm going to make you take your medicine!"
While they were mindlessly bickering Naruto had come up with an almost perfect plan! It would cause some personal sacrifice, but he was almost positive that he would get a good reaction! 'Time to do the unthinkable!' He popped the lid off of the vial and poured the contents into his own mouth, he would have smiled when Hayate went still beneath him, but now was not the time for that, he had to get the disgusting liquid out of his mouth!
He quickly pressed his lips against Hayate's and pried the other man's mouth open and forcing the medicine into the older man. He pulled away, both of them gagging.
"Ewwww, no wonder you didn't want to drink that stuff, it's horrible!" Naruto loudly exclaimed, feeling his cheeks heat up. 'I can't believe that I kissed him… But it was nice.'
Hayate stared up at Naruto with wide eyes. "If that's how you'll make me take my medicine, I think its okay for me to be si-" Hayate covered his mouth and inwardly screamed. 'I CAN'T BELIEVE I SAID THAT OUT LOUD!'
Naruto blinked slowly and leaned down until they were nose to nose. "Really? Does that mean if I you're ever sick you'll have your medicine if I give it to you like that?" Hayate blushed and nodded and Naruto grinned.
"I hope you get sick more often then, I like playing doctor with you!" Hayate started having a coughing fit and Naruto leapt off of him. "Gomen! I wasn't crushing your lungs or anything was I?" Hayate shook his head and heaved a sigh of relieve when the coughing subsided.
"Naruto, do you know what playing doctor is?" Naruto rubbed his chin for a moment, his eyes squinting. "Hmm… Nope, but if anything I've heard is true, it means I have to kiss you better. So… Where does it hurt Moonlight?" Naruto clasped his hands together and fluttered his eyelashes while Hayate nervously began to wring his hands. 'This is getting to be a fairly awkward situation.' "Come on Moonlight, just tell me where it hurts and I'll make it aaaalllllll better."
Hayate backed away nervously, but Naruto just leaned in closer, a serene smile playing upon his features.
"You know Moonlight, I really like you." "I like you to Naruto." "You were really one of the first people to actually care about me. A-And, I really, really like you."
Hayate carefully studied Naruto blushing visage. 'Does this mean that my affections can be returned?' "I really like you to Naruto, so much that it borders on being twisted." Naruto's smile didn't vanish as the young boy leaned in closer. "But I was always told that nothing mattered when you were in love, so a decade of age difference shouldn't mean anything." "Love?" "Yes, love." Naruto blushed and leaned even closer.
"Now then Moonlight, tell me where it hurts, I want to take very good care of you" He said in a hushed whisper before pressing his lips to Hayate's in a soft and simple kiss, and, feeling confident that he wasn't going to be receiving any more medicine using this method for now, Hayate kissed back.