It was a hot day in Konoha, the sun hanging high in a cloudless sky. The townspeople were hurrying in their tasks so they could get inside and cool down. Naruto was sitting outside on a park bench, shirt sticking to his back in the heat, and staring at the blue double popsicle in his hand. He still bought them from time to time and with the sun beating down mercilessly it was almost on instinct as he went into the convenience store. He had always broken it and passed the second half to one of his friends or whoever was nearby. It was nice and it always reminded him of times with Jiraiya, like a part of him was still here and calling him a brat even after the war.

But now, sitting on his new favorite bench above the village, he remembered that something was missing when his right hand failed to make an appearance and grip the other popsicle stick.

"Oh, right," he said to himself. He pouted at the popsicle, no one was around to split it with anyway, maybe he should just toss it. But it looked so refreshing. He was contemplating how messy it would be to just stuff the whole thing in his mouth when a familiar shadow loomed over him.

"Ahh Naruto, aren't you supposed to eat that before it melts?" Kakashi asked, arching a silver eyebrow down at him. Naruto smiled up at his former sensei, holding the treat up to him. He wasn't even sure that the man needed it, he looked completely unaffected by the temperature in his usual full uniform.

"Do you want the other half?" he asked. Two gray eyes stared down at it for half a second before he shrugged, reaching a gloved hand out and flawlessly cracking it right down the middle. He nodded his thanks and slumped onto the bench seat with a weary sigh, pulling his mask down to his chin.

"What brings you all the way out here Sensei?" Naruto asked, casting a look sideways at the man. He had seen Kakashi's face when they returned home from the war. He had been cooped up in the hospital and two seconds away from blowing the wall out when Kakashi had made him a deal that if he behaved, he would show him his face. Naruto had complained that he wasn't a child and he didn't need to be bribed but it had been too good to pass up. But now seeing the exposed skin so casually in the daylight shocked him, he didn't even have a need to wear his headband slanted down over his eye anymore. It was still very obviously Kakashi next to him, but it felt a little more familiar, almost intimate to be here like this.

"Discretion still isn't one of your strong suits Naruto," Kakashi said casually, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a small smile. Naruto quickly turned his attention back to the popsicle that was starting to melt over his fingers. "And I'm hiding," he sighed again.

"Being with me is probably the worst place to hide," he snorted, on most days now Naruto barely got five minutes of peace. That's why this secluded bench had become one of his favorite places.

"Exactly, so it's the last place they'll look," he stated, throwing his free arm over the back of the bench, fingers brushing Naruto's shoulder.

"And what responsibility are you hiding from now?" he prodded, throwing his senses out to see if someone was coming this way. Then he closed off the area, masking their chakra signatures from prying eyes.

"You wound me, have you no pity for your former teacher?" Kakashi pouted, and Naruto couldn't help but stare, it was a shame that his mask covered such an expressive face.

"But I'm not wrong," he smiled broadly.

"Nope." Naruto laughed and he heard Kakashi chuckle. "I'm hiding from Lady Tsunade's ANBU. I suppose it's finally time to live up to my potential." Naruto hummed, Granny's plan to step down and select Kakashi to be the next Hokage was currently the worst kept secret in Konoha.

"It's about time, Kakashi. I mean, even back when Danzo was in charge Gaara acknowledged you as Hokage." Kakashi groaned dramatically, tipping his head back and causing Naruto to laugh again.

"Are you sure you're not ready to take over? You already saved the world, leading Konoha would be nothing," he said hopefully, but Naruto shook his head.

"I'm not going to enable your laziness." Kakashi hummed, chewing on the wooden popsicle stick.

"I was obviously far too nice to you three. You were never afraid of me."

"You were plenty scary, but the porn novels kind of counteracted it," he smiled. He liked this; this was easy, it always was with Kakashi, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "And I think everyone would agree that we turned out just fine."

"How many times have you technically died?" Kakashi's tone went surprisingly serious.

"You've died too y'know," he grumbled.

"Naruto," he started, and Naruto knew what that tone meant.

"No! Shut up Kakashi!" he turned on the man and threw the popsicle stick at him. "If you're going to blame yourself for those times, then I can blame myself for being too late to save you in Pain's attack!" he wasn't sure how they turned to arguing, but he hated how Kakashi harbored things and took things as failures when they weren't. Kakashi was one of the strongest people he knew, and he needed him.

"But you brought me back," gray eyes were on his, serious and intense.

"Nagato brought you back," he scoffed.

"No, Naruto." He jumped at the cool fingers touching his. "Remember that incident with Hiruko?" Naruto ground his teeth and tried to pull his hand away, but Kakashi's fingers were tight around his. "I was dead then too. Maybe not physically, but I had been prepared for it, because I had thought it was the only option. I had given up."

"Yeah, because you're a self-sacrificing bastard," he hissed. He didn't like to think of that mission, he had almost been late then too.

"Maybe," Kakashi's still exposed mouth smiled slightly. "But it was you who brought me back. Both times, I'd be dead if it wasn't for you, you're always there Naruto. You've never given up on me," his voice was soft, and Naruto's heart seemed to beat harder in his chest as they stared at each other. A phenomenon that he noticed happening a lot more when he was around the man.

"Well duh!" he finally said, throwing up their joined hands. "Because you're the one who has always been there to catch me," he said softly and squeezed his fingers around Kakashi's. He had always liked his hands, calloused but gentle, he remembered being surprised at that when they wrapped his injury on their first mission.

"You make me sound better than I am," he shook his head.

"See, there you go again!" he yanked him up from the bench, so that they were standing toe to toe. "You're going to be a great Hokage, and you're going to send me on missions where I'll probably do something idiotic but awesome and then I'll come home and you'll lecture me and then buy me ramen," he smiled broadly up at him.

"If you say so," he sighed, looking put upon, but he was still smiling softly, his free hand came to rest on Naruto's shoulder, thumb brushing gently at his neck. Naruto felt his breath hitch as the cool metal from Kakashi's hitai-ate brushed against his forehead. "As long as you come home."

"Of course, I'll come home." The 'to you' going unsaid between them, but he knew that Kakashi picked up on it as they stood there, with his hand a comforting weight on his shoulder and their fingers still entwined. They had time to figure it out. Naruto wasn't sure how much time had passed with them standing like that, but it was still too soon that Kakashi was pulling away and readjusting his mask.

"You can stop trying to hide us," he sighed again.

"You're going to go see Granny?" Naruto asked.

"Well not right now, I still have a reputation to uphold," there was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"You going to tell her you got lost on the path of life?" he snorted. Kakashi hummed thoughtfully and tapped at his chin.

"It's accurate, but I think I've overused that one. I suppose I could just tell her that someone very important to me wanted to celebrate my promotion," his eyes crinkled in a familiar way.

"Hey, don't drag me down with you," Naruto feigned annoyance. "But I'll never say no to ramen."

"You're so easy to please," Kakashi rolled his eyes and they started toward Ichiraku's, fingers brushing as they walked. But something was bothering him.

"Ugh! I can't believe you brought up Hiruko!" Naruto shouted and shoving him hard. "I thought you were dead, and do you remember what you said to me, you ass?" Kakashi just blinked innocently at him. "Good morning! Good morning! Who sacrifices themselves and then says that?"

"Ah, well I figured it was a good morning, what with you calling my name," he leered, and Naruto shoved at him half-heartedly.

"Just for that you're paying!" he laughed.

"I was planning on it," he stated, fingers wrapping around his again.

Title from Home to You by Sigrid

thanks for reading