Chapter Six

Naruto's relationship with Sasuke was going steady in the months that passed by. Or at least that was what he often told himself. In truth, he found it a bit straining. He and Sasuke had decided not to tell the children only because Sasuke felt a little uncomfortable with them knowing. Naruto agreed because he honestly believed in baby steps and if Sasuke needed time to get use to their relationship, then he didn't mind. But after a month, their dating became a secret to everyone, including his parents. Even now as he sat on the sofa in his apartment watching the children play games on the Xbox One, Sasuke wasn't beside him. The raven haired man was in the kitchen cleaning up dishes. When Naruto had offered to help in hopes of getting some kind of kiss, Sasuke had ushered him away. Depressed, Naruto pouted as he sat in silence.

"Daddy?" Himawari called out.

"Yes?" He answered, dropping his gaze to her since she was sitting on the floor with Sarada and Boruto.

"Does your stomach hurt?"

"No. Why do you ask that?"

"You're quiet. Are you and Uncle Sasuke fighting again?"

"No, honey." Naruto smiled at his daughter. He patted his legs and she clambered onto his lap. He held her tightly as the both of them turned their attention back to the game. He had no idea what game Sarada and Boruto were playing, just that it was a bunch of pixel graphics and they were building things. He got bored watching them. He tapped his fingers on Himawari's side, then grinned mischievously. With her focusing on the game, he bent his fingers and tickled her. Himawari let out a screech, laughing loudly. He continued to tickle while she struggled against him.

"Da-daddy! Sto-stop! Ahahaha," Himawari laughed, her hands tugging at his fingers, "Big brother! Big sister! Help!"

Boruto dropped his game controller and jumped onto Naruto's back. He let out a fake roar, standing up as Boruto clung on. His son screamed excitedly and suddenly, the three of them were playing a game of chase. Sarada was a bit reserved to join them, but Himawari had somehow grabbed a hold of her hand, dragging her along. Naruto chased them around the living room, his hands held up like claws while he growled. Sasuke suddenly appeared to watched them.

"What are you doing?" he asked over the screaming.

"Daddy is the monster!" Himawari replied to Sasuke. "Come play with us, Uncle Sasuke!"

"Hmm, I suggest being careful. The living room isn't big and someone might hur-"

Before Sasuke could even finish his warning, Naruto's foot smashed into the leg of the coffee table, stubbing his toe. He yelped in pain and then tripped, falling face flat.

"Someone might hurt themselves..." Sasuke finished his sentence and sighed.

"Daddy!" Himawari yelled in concern as she rushed to his side.

Naruto groaned loudly as he rolled onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling, lifting a hand to rub his stinging nose. Suddenly, he was laughing. Himawari was still looking down worriedly at him. He grabbed her, pulling her into a hug as he waved off Boruto and Sarada who were looking concerned. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he said. He let Himawari go, then told them to run along.

As the children went outside to play with Akamaru, he sat up slowly. Sasuke helped him up, checking over him and fussing with a blank face as usual. Naruto chuckled at his antics. "I'm okay. My toe hurts, but I'm good. Besides..." He glanced over to the shut front door, listening carefully for the kids. When he didn't hear anything, he pulled Sasuke into his arms. He fought against him briefly, but relented when Naruto pressed a kissed against his mouth. At first, he just wanted a small kiss, but after tasting Sasuke, Naruto wanted more. He wrapped a hand behind Sasuke's head, tangling his fingers into his hair. He tugged their bodies closer till they were flushed against one another. With his tongue, he pried into Sasuke's mouth, licking and tasting more, dancing along Sasuke's hot tongue, slipping and sliding as they fought for dominance over the kiss. He needed to hear Sasuke's voice, craved it more so. His left hand deftly slipped under Sasuke's white t-shirt, grazing over smooth abs. Naruto moaned at the feel of them on his fingertips. He found his way to the hardening nub and pinched. Sasuke gasped, letting him take control of the kiss for a moment. Naruto broke the kiss while he continued to fondle Sasuke's nipple, enjoying the soft sighs and moans. He flicked his tongue to lick Sasuke's lips, dragged it to his cheek, tasting salty sweat and soap. His tongue found its way to the ear lobes, sucking them into his mouth and licking them. Sasuke moaned louder, grinding their hips together. Both their erections were an evident tent in their sweat pants.

"Naruto...we should stop," Sauske whispered, voice trembling and hands shaking as he held on.

"Not yet," Naruto whispered back.

He released his hand from the tangle of hair, slid it down his spine, and hovered over the dipped to his buttocks. His fingers brushed over the soft elastic band, tugged, and delved in.

"Naruto!" Sasuke whispered his name hoarsely.

"Daddy!" Himawari's voice echoed through the hall of the apartment complex.

Naruto shoved his hand away, cursing under his breath. Before his daughter could get through the door, he pulled away from Sasuke, but dragged him to the bedroom. Sasuke stumbled after him, his breath heaving and lips red from the kissing. Naruto slammed the bedroom door behind them. He stood still, still breathing heavily while they waited and listened to the front door open and close. Himawari was still calling for him. He turned to Sasuke who stood behind him, noting the look of fear in his eyes for the smallest second.

"I...I'm sorry," Naruto apologized.

"Don't," Sasuke said, "if I hadn't want to, I would have tried harder to stop you."

"I know, but..." Naruto sighed. He was still aroused, but as he dipped his head, he saw that Sasuke was no longer even sprouting a tent. He was disappointed, but kept his head lower so Sasuke wouldn't see it. He trudged to the bed and sat down.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered.

"What for?" Naruto asked.

"For not wanting the children to find out. It's just...I mean, it's a little odd, is all."

"Why is it odd?" Naruto asked, irritated by Sasuke's statement. He knew he shouldn't be annoyed, but he couldn't help it. They had been together for a month already and all he really wanted to do was be able to hold Sasuke's hand in public without him flinching away or hug him in front of the children without him looking guiltily and tensing up with each touch.

"...I'm going out first. It looks like you still need to cool down." Sasuke said, turning and leaving the room.

Naruto watched in silence, anger boiling in the pit of stomach. As soon as the door closed behind Sasuke, Naruto growled in frustration. He grabbed the pillow and flung it across the room. With a sigh, he flopped backward onto the bed. Was he expecting too much? Moving too fast? He wanted to know if there was some way to calm Sasuke down whenever they were in public. It was like Sasuke expected people to suddenly glare at them at the smallest touch and scold them. Naruto rolled to his side. It wasn't like he wanted to yell to the world that he was dating Sasuke—he did a little, but that was probably never going to happen.

Closing his eyes, he let his body calm down. By the time Sasuke entered the room again, he was no longer aroused. He sat up, raising a brow at the raven haired man. "What is it?" he asked.

"Himawari went back to play with Akamaru. She said that Kiba wanted to have a hot pot party for dinner. Gaara offered his place. Looks like Lee and a couple of his friends are gonna be there too."

Naruto lit up at the announcement. "Sounds fun. Let's g-" Naruto stopped short, blinking. Sasuke's shoulders were tense, which meant he didn't like the idea. Sighing, Naruto tilted his head to the side. "You don't want to go?"

"It's just...you know, the two of us..." Sasuke's voice trailed.

Again, Naruto was irritated. "What? It's not like we're announcing to them that we're dating. I mean, I'm not going to, are you?" Sasuke visibly relaxed after hearing his words which only infuriated Naruto more.

"No, of course not." Sasuke said, relief evident in his tone.

Naruto gritted his teeth together to stop himself from saying anything that would make Sasuke angry. He told himself he was just being childish, feeling like Sasuke was brushing their relationship off as if it was tainted. He looked away so Sasuke wouldn't catch his agitation. However, he was too slow and Sasuke noticed too fast.

"You're not happy," Sasuke stated bluntly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Naruto muttered, a slight pout to his lips.

He heard Sasuke sigh and pouted some more because it felt like Sasuke was blaming him. He kept his gaze away, body stiff. He only shifted when he felt the bed dip beside him. Naruto almost looked over to him, but forced himself stay put.

"You have to understand...this is all...new to me," Sasuke explained.

It was Naruto's turn to sigh. He slid his eyes over to Sasuke, shrugging with one shoulder. "This is new to me too."

Now it was Sasuke's turn to look away. "Really? It feels like you're use to it."

Frowning, Naruto replied, "Hinata was the only person I ever loved. Meaning, she was the only one I've ever dated. What about you? You seem like you should be having more experience than me."

"I've...had casual dates. Sakura was my only serious relationship."

The two of them stared at each other, awkward and unsure how to proceed. This was the first they ever spoke about any other relationship other than their wife. Naruto sighed again, running a hand through his hair. He licked his lips nervously. "We...we should go," Naruto said, "I think the kids will enjoy it."

"If you want to," Sasuke replied, though there was still reluctance in his voice. "I'm not much of a group person, so you have to pardon me if I'm not very...social."

"It's fine. You have me, right? You can just socialize with me." That was Naruto's honest thought. He didn't like Sasuke talking to other people. Jealously seem to spike easily whenever someone got too close to Sasuke—like when they had taken the children to the store to buy new clothes last weekend and one of the sales woman who was obviously staring at Sasuke tried to flirt with him subtly. Naruto had dragged Sasuke away, glaring at the woman before they went to a different store. Sasuke may not see it, but there were moments when he was a little too erotic for his own good; for example whenever he finished drinking a beer and licked his lips. His pink tongue would dart out tentatively, licking his bottom lip, sucking away the droplets of liquid. Just thinking about it nearly had him hard again. Shaking his head, he pushed the images away. Naruto wondered briefly when he became so possessive. He couldn't quite remember being like that with Hinata.

"Alright then," Sasuke said, nodding his head.

"Okay...then come on, I think Kiba would want us to go buy some of the ingredients. The kids can stay here and play with Akamaru," Naruto suggested.

"Sure."

After listing what they were going to buy, the two of them headed down stairs. Just as Naruto had thought, Kiba asked if they could buy some of the ingredients, to which Naruto told him he was a cheapskate since he was the one who suggested the hot pot party. Kiba merely waved it off, telling him that it was all for the kids since Lee was inviting over some of his friends and they were bringing their kids along too. Sighing, Naruto and Sasuke continued their way to the grocery store.

At the store, Naruto perused through the meat section. He had no idea what to buy. Cooking wasn't his forte as usual. He looked over his shoulder, hoping to ask Sasuke to help out, only to find that Sasuke was walking quite a distance away. He blinked, confused why he was putting so much space between them. He stopped, cart still in hand as he waited for Sasuke to catch up. When the raven haired man finally caught up to him, Naruto noted the tense shoulders once more. He rolled his eyes. "The more you act suspicious, the more people will notice," Naruto grumbled.

"I'm not," Sasuke denied miserably.

Naruto arched a brow at him. He pointed a finger at the space between them. Sasuke had taken a step back proving his point. "We've shopped together plenty of times before."

"Yeah...with the children."

"So what if two guys are shopping together. They'll just think we're friends. Besides, what does it matter what they think?"

"It..." Sasuke frowned, unable to complete his sentence.

Shaking his head, he stepped around Naruto and picked up a few packages of meat. Sighing, Naruto assumed it was the end of their conversation. However, the stifling atmosphere of their argument hung in the air. Shopping with Sasuke alone became another note in Naruto's long check list of things not to do. There was a lot on that list, but as much as Naruto wanted to confront it with Sasuke and talk it out, Sasuke always seemed on the reluctant side. He feared their relationship was already going downhill. He sighed again, shaking his head. He couldn't afford to think negatively about it. The pessimistic thoughts weren't going to help his situation.

Shopping was done quickly in silence and they returned to the apartment where Kiba, Gaara, and Shino were already setting up the hot pot. Naruto and Sasuke started the grocery aside and setting up the table. Soon, it was night fall. Lee finally came by along with his friends. He was introduced to Sai, Shikamaru, and Chouji along with their wives Ino, Temari, and Karui. Turned out his friends' children also happened to go to the same school as Boruto and Sarada. While the children played together with Akamaru, the rest of them got to know each other. Sasuke, as he had stated before, wasn't a social person and thus, he ended up being plastered to Naruto's side, talking every now and then only to questions pointed at him.

As he watched, Naruto wondered how Sasuke and Sakura ever talked to each other if he was always this quiet. Even when they were together alone, Naruto had done most of the talking, except when they got drunk. His mind only wandered for a bit to the thought before it was pulled back by Lee who was pouring him more sake. Somehow, along the way, Jiraiya had joined them and the party got louder. Buzzed from the alcohol, Naruto grew relaxed. He draped an arm around Sasuke's neck, pulling the other man toward him. He laughed jovially along with the others, only noting the way Sasuke had once again tensed briefly. Not wanting to ruin his own mood, Naruto had brushed it aside and decided not to let go of Sasuke. It didn't last long. Sasuke had pulled away, brushing his arm off. Annoyed, Naruto glanced over to the raven haired man. He caught the panic look which was quickly replaced by annoyance. Naruto flicked his gaze away, a bit offended Sasuke would think he would out them. Sighing, his cheery mood simmered to a somber state. Sasuke was now putting a distance between them again, making their their fingers didn't brush and keeping his eyes contact away. Seeing as his mood wasn't going to get any better, he stood up to get some fresh air. Without telling Sasuke where he was going, he made his way to the front door. After leaving and closing the door behind him, the noise became a muffled silence. The night was beginning to get humid. Summer was fast approaching which meant the kids were going to be on summer break soon. He pondered where he would take them and then thought about inviting Sasuke along. He heaved a sighed. Even if he did invite Sasuke, he doubt the other man would want to do anything normal couples would do. The thought that he had to differentiate their relationship made his heart pang.

"That sigh doesn't sound too good," said a voice from behind him.

Naruto jumped, surprised since he hadn't heard anyone approaching him. He turned, nodding to greet Gaara who came to join him. They stood side by side in silence. Gaara rummaged through his pocket, taking out a packet of cigarette. He offered one to him, but Naruto declined. He wasn't a smoker; always said it was bad for his health and since he had children to worry about, he didn't need more damage done to his health. As Gaara flicked his lighter and lit his cigarette, Naruto shifted on his feet.

"So, what's with that sigh?" Gaara asked, puffing out a billow of smoke.

"Ah, nothing much. Just...thinking..." Naruto replied, unsure how he would actually answer as the sigh concerned a certain raven haired man who wanted no one to know about them. And Naruto didn't mind if no one knew either. It didn't matter, but he wished Sasuke was more open to the small touches that everyone else probably wouldn't notice.

"Relationship problem?" Gaara asked.

"Urgh..." Naruto blushed.

Gaara chuckled, taking another drag of his smoke. He blew out another puff. "Must be hard being in a relationship with two kids on you. Not to mention, the partner is a guy."

Naruto blinked. He had to rewind the guy's words in his head. Suddenly, he was coughing and a blubbering mess. Naruto was sure he hadn't done anything for them to be noticed, unless...unless it was the arm draping thing. He cursed mentally, hoping Sasuke would forgive. "Uh, look, I mean...I think you got it wrong."

Gaara's eyes lazily slid to glance at him. It was a look that said Naruto was bullshitting. "It wasn't subtle."

"Really?" Naruto's heart dropped. Sasuke was going to break up with him.

And then Gaara smiled. "Well, it wasn't subtle to me, but I don't think the others noticed. The whole arm drape and how he immediately shifted away afterward and then you got all solemn. Yeah, not subtle, but I tend to notice the small details like that...after all, I have to give credit to my senses."

"Huh?"

"I swing that way too."

"Oh." Well shit, what was he suppose to say to that? Naruto cleared his throat intentionally. "Uh, so, you're a tattoo artist?" The change in subject was awkward and although it was noticeable, Gaara didn't seem to mind even though his lips did lift to the side amusingly.

"Yeah. You interested?" he asked.

"I think I'm a little too old to get one."

"You're never too old to get a tattoo. I can design you one."

"Really?"

"Yeah...let me see."

Naruto turned toward him. Gaara grabbed his arm, tracing fingers down to his wrist, tickling his skin. "For a tattoo artist, I'm surprise you don't have any on you."

"You haven't seen me naked." Gaara's light green eyes looked up at him from under eyelashes.

Blushing, Naruto looked away. There was no way he was being flirted with. And even if he was, he was only interested in Sasuke, though he did admit that Gaara was handsome in his own way. Suddenly, the arm being held by Gaara grew hot as if burning. Maybe he was only imagining things, but his face was definitely flushing too.

"I like virgin skin," Gaara stated.

"H-huh?" Naruto stuttered, drawing his arm back carefully and keeping a wary eye on the other man.

Gaara smiled at him, shrugging his shoulders. "I meant tattooing. I like untouched skin. It's nice to work with."

"O-oh...uh...okay."

Another awkward silence ensued. Naruto thought of a hundred excuses to go back inside, but didn't know how to say it without sounding rude. He shifted on his feet again. He could just say he was going to check up on Boruto and Himawari, but then they were surrounded by other adults, so he didn't need to worry. He suppressed another sigh. Lately, he had been sighing—and didn't that say a lot about his life?

"So, are you interested?" Gaara asked.

Blinking, Naruto tilted his head. "Huh?"

"You don't pay attention very well, do you?"

"Yes, I do!" Naruto frowned.

"...tattoo. Do you want one?" Gaara asked again, an exasperated sigh on his lips.

"I don't know. What would fit me?"

"How about a fox?"

"A fox? Why a fox?"

Gaara shrugged, reaching out again and turning him to the side. Naruto followed along, watching with curiosity. Gaara had placed a hand on his shoulder blade and swept across then down.

"I think it would look nice," he mumbled.

"You think so?" Naruto looked over his shoulder, but couldn't see where Gaara was pointing, though he could feel the placement of where the red head was planning to put the tattoo and it was a large area on his back. Naruto wasn't too keen on the idea of getting a tattoo just yet. It looked painful. And tattoos weren't exactly acceptable to society. Nowadays, the younger generation were seeing them as a fashion sense and many places were tolerant as long as if it was covered up, but the stigma of tattoos still remained at large as gang related. If he got one, it would add a whole new set of trying to be socially accepted. Although, it wasn't as if he cared much about that either. "May-"

The sound of a door opening and closing interrupted Naruto. He tried to turn, but found that Gaara hadn't moved, making it much harder for him. When he did, his feet stumble. He practically fell into Gaara's arm.

"Naruto?" Sasuke's voice called out to him.

Hearing Sasuke's voice, Naruto pushed away from Gaara quickly. He apologized sheepishly as he turned to face Sasuke, only to find him glowering. Naruto blinked, suddenly feeling guilty. He knew there was nothing to be guilty about, but he did feel remorseful for leaving him alone when he knew Sasuke wasn't good with socializing. Gaara headed back inside, a hand brushing his arm as he walked passed.

"Think about it," he said cryptically before he disappeared back inside.

Naruto stood, squirming under Sasuke's scrutinizing gaze. They were quiet as Naruto didn't know what to say to him. A part of him really did feel sorry for leaving him, but another part of him almost felt pleased as a revenge. But as soon as he realized that, he felt guilty again.

"We need to talk," Sasuke said, breaking their silence.

Arching a brow at him, Naruto waved his arm in a sweep, indicating they could talk now. No one was there with them and he doubt the others could hear them. That didn't seem to satisfy Sasuke. The raven hair turned on his heels, heading upstairs. Naruto sighed again, taking that as his cue to follow. He wordlessly trailed behind the other man, noting they were going into his apartment. When they were inside, door shut, and settled, Sasuke raised a brow at him.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Don't play dumb," Sasuke replied.

"Even though you call me dobe."

"Because you are one at times."

"Then I can act like one right now."

Sasuke huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose, clearly annoyed by him. "We're adults. Can't we act like one?"

"Well, if you can be more specific, then I can reply like an adult," Naruto answered, arms crossed against his chest.

"What were you and Gaara talking about?"

"What's it to you?"

"You said you would answer like an adult if I was specific." Sasuke glared at him.

"Tattoo." Naruto replied, smirking inwardly that he got Sasuke riled up.

"What?"

"Tattooing. Gaara offered to ink me."

"Don't."

"I think I get to choose what I do with my body."

"Right. While you get to do that, you risk getting your children ostracized by other children their age because you happen to have a tattoo and the parents would think you're associated with the Yakuza or something. And of course, that means they'll get bullied."

Sasuke's voice dripped with scorn. Naruto was pissed. He threw up his hands, letting out a frustrated huff. "I didn't even agree to it! And why do you care so much?!"

"I don't know! Maybe because you're flirting with someone else!" Sasuke's voice raised which was often rare.

"I wasn't flirting! And this is coming from the mouth of the person who drew away from me when I merely had my arm draped around them!"

"You said you wouldn't out us!"

"And I di-uh..." Naruto stopped himself. Gaara had noticed them. He wondered if that was considered outing them. He bit his bottom lip.

"What?" Sasuke growled.

"Uh...Gaara may have...noticed..." Naruto's voice dropped, muttering under his breath. The silence that came after his confession was pure tension. He could feel Sasuke's anger writhing.

"This is what I meant." Sasuke turned away and putting up the same walls which had caused the children to force them to make up.

"It wasn't my fault!" Naruto yelled. "In the first place, if you hadn't moved away, Gaara wouldn't have noticed."

"In the first place, if you hadn't put your arm around me, none of it would have happened!" Sasuke yelled back.

"So I'm not allowed to put an arm around a friend?!"

"But I'm not a friend!"

"But they didn't know that! It wouldn't have mattered!"

"How can you be fine with this?! We were married! We had a wife and we have kids! How can you be okay with...with this relationship?! People would look at us and they would only see abnormal."

"Who gives a fuck?!"

"I care!" Sasuke turned back toward him, face filled with guilt.

Naruto was taken aback. He stumble backward, losing all words and trail of thought. Exhaustively, he walked over to the couch and slumped down on it. Resting his arms on his knees, he folded his hands and bent forward, eyes cast to the floor. He didn't think Sasuke would care how society would view them. If one thought about it, being a single parent wasn't accepted much either, especially being fathers. Most would expect them to at least remarry so the children would have some sort of maternal care giver.

"Naruto..." Sasuke whispered, his voice hoarse and tired as well, "I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want this. I do want this relationship to work. And I try...I really do, but sometimes it's hard to not think about what others will think of us. I want what's best for Sarada. That includes Boruto and Himawari too."

"The children are strong. Boruto and Sarada wouldn't take shit from others kids and if anyone tried to hurt Himawari, Boruto would protect her," Naruto said, eyes still on the floor.

"And what? Just let the kids handle that all on their own?"

"Of course not! If it got too far, I'd definitely do something. I'd even put all my money in for private schooling if I have too!" Naruto looked up at Sasuke. His hands were gripped together tightly. "It's just...I'm not asking us to reveal our relationship. Hell, no one needs to know our private lives."

"If you keep doing what you do, it might."

"Doing what? A touch here and there that any men would do? An arm drape, a hand pulling, a smile? Look...all I'm saying is we shouldn't care what others think about us. So what if they look at us in scorn when they see us hold hands or hug. It doesn't affect their lives. And I'm not saying we should go around telling everyone who looks at us in disgust to accept us and use it as a means to justify what I do and shoving it down their throat. If I did, it would be no different than a person shoving their belief onto me. All I want is to be happy...and that means being able to be in public with you, not caring how others look at us.

And I know it's hard. The society we live in haven't fully accepted it. People can read about it in mangas, novels, and see it in movies or anime, but it's fiction. To them it's a fucking fictionalize thing and it would never happen in real life. But it's real, we're living in it, the only difference is it's not going to always end where everything gets wrapped up nicely. We're going to struggle, that's life. But when we do achieve it, it'll mean so much more. When the trouble comes, then we'll fight it together. It doesn't have to be just you alone."

Sasuke was quiet, but he hadn't closed off. Naruto watched him intently for any reaction. Instead, Sasuke walked over to him, sat down, and pulled his hands into his. "I still don't get how you can accept this so easily."

"It's not easy. It's a struggle for me too. It's my first time with a guy...it's my first time in any other relationship other than Hinata. But one thing I want is happiness. That's all I want. And if it means being with you, who cares what others think. As long as the people I care about accept me, I'm fine."

"And what if they don't?"

"But then I'll have you, right?"

"I wish I could be more like that..."

"Baby steps. But baby steps doesn't mean hiding all the time."

"...I'll try...but you'll have to forgive me every now and then if I mess up."

"I will."

"I still don't get it. It's almost like you understand this hardship already."

Sasuke was looking at him now, curiosity brimming in his eyes. Naruto looked away, but then brought his gaze back to him. This time, he held Sasuke's hands, bringing them to his chest. He leaned forward, placing a small kiss on the other's lip. "I have a story to tell...would you listen?" he asked softly.

Sasuke nodded. "Yes."

"Much like you, I also lost my parents when I was young. Well, I mean my biological parents. My mother died in childbirth and my father died in an accident. I was up for adoption. Iruka adopted me. And you know Iruka, I tell you a lot of stories about my dad. What I haven't told you is that the parents I grew up with are same sex couple. Yes, I have another father. His name is Hatake Kakashi. They met in college and fell in love. Because there is no law for same sex marriage, Kakashi adopted Iruka, making them a family. In turn, Iruka adopted me. We became a family of three.

I knew my parents were different when I saw other children have a mom and dad. And when the other kids found out I didn't have a mom, I was bullied. For a while, I did hate Iruka and Kakashi for having that kind of relationship because it made my life harder too, but I realized it didn't matter what the gender of the person you love is...all that mattered was that they loved each other and was happy. When I realized this, I thought how unfair the world was to my parents. I sometimes picked fights with those bullies who made fun of my parents, but then I also realized no matter how much violence I used, it didn't change anything. So I would ignore the ones who were always trying to pick a fight with me and soon, most of the children just started to ignore me. That's just how it was...and yeah, things quieted down after that. Iruka and Kakashi still struggled against societal views, but they were fine and I knew without a doubt they loved each other and they loved me. That was what mattered. I grew up seeing their struggles, but I also saw the positive things. There will be people who will be tolerant, people who will accept it, people who won't agree, and those that just don't care."

Naruto exhaled slowly. This was the first he ever spoke about Iruka and Kakashi to anyone else other than Hinata because Hinata had known. She grew up with him and had known their struggles too, but Hinata was always kind and accepting. She loved Iruka and Kakashi as if they were her own family and cared for them too. Naruto had loved her more for that.

But now, he held onto Sasuke's hands tighter, hoping he wouldn't turn away like all those other people did who found out through rumors. For a single moment, it was as if the world had stopped and it was only the two of them. Their quiet breath, heaving in and out, brushing on skin, their body moving slowly, melding into one. Sasuke's nose buried into the crook of his neck, his hands tangling into his short cropped hair. He breathed in Sasuke's scent, his anxious pounding heart slowed to a calm beat. And it was that perfect moment of understanding, of knowing what the future would bring them and their small family, but knowing the other wasn't alone in the battle. Sasuke leaned back, his hands cupping his face, bring Naruto's gaze to meet his. Narutp blinked, searching Sasuke's face for any rejection. All he received was a kiss, slow and sweet, but demanding and passionate, filled with all their insecurities and promises. The kiss broke, but they stayed close, forehead touching. Sasuke's hand never fell away from his face.

"For you...for you I will do whatever it takes," Sasuke whispered, voice near cracking.

"Not just for me. For you, too. For both of us. Let's find our happiness together," Naruto replied hushed. And they kissed once more, sealing their promise in a vow.

When they returned to the party, Gaara gave Naruto a knowing look. Avoiding the red head's gaze, Naruto tried to scoot away from Sasuke, but Sasuke grabbed his arm, tugging him closer and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Surprised, he glanced over to the raven haired man tentatively. Sasuke's lips lifted in a small, shy smile. He mouthed 'baby steps.' Naruto smiled in return, finding comfort in the arm around him. He grabbed a can of beer, cheering with the others and taking a swig. Naruto's mind started to wander once more. He didn't want to ask again, but the question kept tugging him from the back of his head. Finally, he caved. He turned toward Sasuke, leaned in, but not too close, just enough for Sasuke to only hear his voice. "So...when do we tell the kids?"

A/N: Wow, this chapter turned out to be a bit longer than I expected.

I try my best to research into Japanese culture, so I can at least get the cultural aspect correctly. In this case, I looked into the view of homosexuality and tattoos in Japan. I don't think I did a thorough research, but I concluded that while some, the younger generation mostly, are becoming accepting, there is still an ignorant view that for gay men, they mostly think of them as okamas—in others words, the men who act very feminine. It gets hard in trying to correct this image as they are also depicted as this even in their media. I also read that while there are mangas and such about the topic, it is only seen as fiction and when it is a reality, it is not fully accepted. There were also a few experiences of where some were fired from their jobs after the superior found out they were a homosexual—a lot of it relating to the collective harmony cultural part of Japan.

As for the tattoos, I read about the experiences. Although tattoos nowadays are being seen as fashion, there is still the stigma of it relating to the yakuza or anything criminal. In most experiences, it seemed that as long as tattoos are hidden (use of bandage, wraps, long sleeves, etc.), then it is fine. Some places will not mind tattoos, while other places do not want tattoos to be exposed.

As such, despite my one day research, it may not be all correct. DX Please let me know if you have more information to include. I would gladly like to expand my knowledge! :)