Hidden in the Mist
"Whoa, we're staying here?" Naruto gasped.
With the mission behind them, they could finally relax. While they could probably make it back to Konoha within the middle of the night if they really wanted to, none were in any hurry and so Kakashi had offered to use some of his payout for a night at an inn.
Most of the inns they stayed at were shabby things, always being given the bare-bones minimum to get them through an assignment. However, Kakashi had brought them to a large and spacious location with beautiful trees out front, a traditional garden on the side and…
"Is that steam?" Sasuke asked as they approached. They could see something rising just around the corner of the building.
"Yep. This place even has an onsen," Kakashi smiled, evidently pleased with himself.
"Aaaaaaalright! Way to go, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. Already he was thinking of everything he'd eat, all the things he couldn't afford back home.
Once checked in, they headed to their room. Instead of regular beds, the layout was large enough for three thick futons to be spread out on the floor. He was just about to pick the first one he came across until he hesitated. Turning his back, he acted as though he were searching for something within his weapons pouch but kept track of where Sasuke went.
As it happened, Sasuke chose the bed closest to the glass door at the back of the room, which led out to the side garden. As he'd picked the first bed, Naruto was closest to the front door, which would put Kakashi in the middle. As there was plenty of space either way, he hoped their sensei wouldn't mind.
Taking off the weapons pouch as well now, he announced, "I'm heading for the hot springs!" and was about to walk out the room when Kakashi called after him.
"Dinner's going to be here in a moment so you might as well eat first. Besides, everyone knows it's best to hit the onsen right before bed!"
No, everyone doesn't know that because not everyone has had the luxury of going to one, Naruto snapped but figured it wasn't worth the fuss. He sat down at the low table in the room, rummaging in his bag to pull out something to read. Usually, he'd bring the old battered and bruised copy of Jiraiya's book with him, the one bearing the hero with his name. But these days, he was scared it'd completely fall to pieces and opted to bring something else.
Only thing was, he hadn't scanned the cover before he shoved it in his bag. Instead of an epic fantasy adventure as he'd hoped to find, he pulled out the training techniques book that Sasuke had given him last year.
As if that weren't bad enough, leave it to Sasuke to walk by just at that moment. The Uchiha flicked his eyes over the item before doing a double-take and stopping. "Hey, that's that book…"
"It's nothing!" Naruto immediately lied, quickly stuffing the book back into the backpack, trying to find something else to hold his interest. If only Sasuke would just go the hell away! He was really starting to wish that the other teen had retained more of his aversion to being around people. Sociable Sasuke wasn't entirely preferable.
"We never did get to practice anything in there," Sasuke went on, not even acknowledging Naruto's pathetic cover-up. "I'll be in the village though for a few weeks now so there's no reason not to."
Except for the fact that the idea of being alone with you makes my skin crawl, Naruto wanted to shout at him.
At just that moment, a quiet knock on the door sounded and a young man and woman, likely husband and wife and the innkeepers, came in. Each was carrying a large tray of food that they politely sat on the table before excusing themselves and leaving again.
"Dinner!" Kakashi cheered brightly, putting down his own book from where he was reading in an armchair and coming to the table. Just before he was about to sit though, he paused, putting a finger under his chin. "Hmm…actually, I need to contact Lady Tsunade to tell her how the mission went and where we're at. You two go on and eat without me but so help me, you had better save me some!" With that ominous threat, he left out, likely to see if the inn had a phone.
And leaving Naruto alone with Sasuke.
"Guess it's just us," Sasuke shrugged casually, seating himself across from Naruto. Reaching toward one of the covered trays, he pulled the lid off to reveal an amazing spread of foods that even he'd only seen on the most important of occasions back when his clan was alive. There were fish from all corners of the sea, different types of soup, and thin slices of premium beef. He'd be lying if he said his mouth wasn't watering as the smells wafted up.
Since Sasuke seemed more interested in politely piling food on his plate, Naruto did the same, wanting to sample everything. They ate in relative quiet with only the sound of dining filling the room. In truth, it surprisingly wasn't that uncomfortable, now that he thought about it. Even with everything that was happening between them, Sasuke had never been a big talker; why would it be any different now?
At the end of the meal, both stacked their bowls and sat back. "Phew! That was delicious!" Naruto breathed, feeling like he might need a new set of pants with his full stomach. "Definitely gotta do this again! But…hey, where's Kakashi? Shouldn't he be back by now?"
Sasuke was also sitting back, a hand on his stomach and a lazy expression refusing to budge from his face. "He should," he quietly agreed, looking like he wanted nothing more than to sleep right there. "But I'm not going to worry about it. If anyone can handle themselves, it's him."
Naruto couldn't have agreed more. "Alright, well, I'm gonna go get in the hot spring now. It's been years…" He trailed off and with effort, he pulled himself up to stand. On the beds was a light, cotton robe for each of them specifically for when they came out the onsen. Grabbing his, he stumbled his way out the door.
In the hall, he turned to the right and went down another hallway, opposite of the one they'd used when they came in. At the end were two rooms opposite each other with a curtain over them. One had the character for "men" painted on it and the other had the character for "women". The old him probably would've been tempted to hit a Sexy Jutsu to take a peek in the lady's side but he was too full and liked to think he'd grown up past that stage.
Actually, he would never be too old for a Sexy Jutsu. But now wasn't the time for that.
Choosing the male side, he stepped into the washroom to find it was empty. No Kakashi still. Even if he told himself not to worry, it was still hard to ignore his concerns completely. He'd give it until he was out of the hot spring for him to show up before he'd go looking for him. Yeah, that would work and should give plenty of time for their teacher to appear. Settling his mind once more, he began to preoccupy himself with washing up.
He was just finishing the last touches when he sensed a presence very close to him. Just like earlier that morning, he again sprang back, but this time he was without any blades. He didn't know how to form his chakra into points like other shinobi but he put his hands together to get ready to form shadow clones if necessary.
"It's just me, yeesh," Sasuke muttered, looking at him with a vague distaste. Not so unlike the way he used to look at him, back when they were rivals. In his hand, he held a small bag with his own washing materials. "Didn't you hear me when I walked in? You're getting really jumpy lately."
Naruto gritted his teeth, but sat back down, turning away from him. He might've been a bit of an airhead at times, but he also knew that Sasuke could move like a shadow. He had intentionally masked any noise when he came in, which was likely the same thing he'd done that morning, now that he thought about it. But why? Unless he got a kick out of scaring him half to death. Which, knowing Sasuke's still slightly twisted personality, he wouldn't put it past him.
Fuming over all of this, he again missed when Sasuke drew closer and sat right next to him. He lost his tiny window to make a run for it when Sasuke instantly grabbed his wrist, keeping him put.
"Let go of me," Naruto growled, allowing his lips to curl back in a snarl.
Sasuke's eyes fell to slits. "You'd use that kind of tone with me?" His voice was almost as low as Naruto's, a dangerous rumble. "You'd talk to a friend like that?"
"Are you my friend?" Naruto asked, staring him down though they were still sitting beside one another.
"Hmph, 'friend' was your word, not mine. But…I'm not your enemy. So I'd appreciate it if you'd stop acting like I was." He let go of Naruto's hand in such a way as though he were pushing him off.
Naruto was too shocked to leave as he had intended. What the hell was that all about? That aggression…he hadn't seen that since their final battle at the end of the war. Granted…he'd brought the hostility first. Maybe it was just his body's way of protecting himself…but from what?
Instead of having returned back to washing, Sasuke was still studying him mildly. "Hey, Naruto…that necklace I gave you. Where is it?"
Well, that was unexpected. "It's…back in the room. I left it there so I wouldn't lose it here in the bath house." The fact that he was wearing it all made him want to kick himself. He hoped Sasuke didn't have some stupid clause on the thing like to wear it all day, 24/7 or something.
At his words though, Sasuke's expression relaxed immensely. In fact, it was almost like a bubble of happiness had filled up inside him, which was probably the oddest statement he'd ever thought of related to the Uchiha. Naruto had never seen Sasuke's eyes shine quite like that before. No topic that they'd ever discussed had made him so content.
"So you do wear it," he said quietly, almost to himself. Looking up, he added, "Thank you, Naruto. That ring means a lot to me. And I've not forgotten my promise. I'll tell you what's written on it one day. Just…hold on to it for me a little longer, okay?"
Even if the item had been entrusted to him by a complete stranger, Naruto would've held on to it if it meant a lot to that person. But to see this from Sasuke, the most closed off person he'd ever met, actually made him feel happy as well, if he were to be completely honest. Sauske never wore his heart on his sleeve, and if it wasn't hatred, he didn't reveal his emotions. Those intense feelings of gratitude and they were directed towards him, of all people…
"Sasuke, I…"
"Let's go ahead and get in," Sasuke suggested, that aura of happiness still radiating but now it'd become a subdued warmth. Entranced by it, Naruto followed him to a sliding door at the back of the room, which was fogged over. Pulling it back, they were finally greeted face to face with the expansive hot spring where wooden walls enclosed it on three of the sides with large, smooth stones forming the enclosure for the pool. Even more steam than the bath house floated up at them, giving an air of exclusivity with the shrouded visibility.
Without thinking, Naruto backed up a step before running full force for the water. "Cannon baaaaall!" he shouted into the night air, splashing so hard, he thought he might've drained out all the water. When he popped up, he was in the middle of the pool and steamy waves continued to burble over. He made his way to the farthest end and sank back down, sighing in total relaxation. He could easily get spoiled on this.
Sasuke instead took the time to neatly fold the towel around his waist on the side of the spring before quietly slipping in. He waded across about halfway before pausing. Naruto was on the brink of falling asleep but forced himself to stay up, just in case Sasuke sensed something coming. He looked to him for some kind of signal, but Sasuke actually only grinned before shaking his head slightly. Then, he took a deep breath and sank under the surface.
The water only came up to a little less than waist high so Sasuke didn't completely disappear. A vague outline of his profile could still be seen below the slate colored water as he moved, very lightly kicking his feet without moving his arms so that he glided fluidly. It was admittedly beautiful to watch and so Naruto didn't bother with moving as he saw the slight ripples head in his direction. He took Sasuke's playfulness to mean that everything was fine and closed his eyes again, submitting to his exhaustion.
It was exactly why he was woefully unprepared when Sasuke pounced. He knew Sasuke had swam close to him but a quick splash was the only warning he got before opening his eyes to find Sasuke had swam so close, he was straddling him across the lap. All the niceties from before vanished as his fight instinct was activated. "Rasen—!"
"Shhh…" Sasuke whispered, putting two fingers to his lips. He sat himself up to where he now looked down into Naruto's eyes, pushing himself up on his knees. "If you scream, the innkeepers will hear you. And you don't want them finding us like this, do you?"
With Sasuke's closeness, it kept him from weaving hand signs and thus the tiny amount of chakra in his hand dissipated. Clenching his teeth, Naruto struggled against the urge to outright thrash, to pummel Sasuke and maybe even hold him under water for good measure. "What the hell are you doing? Where's all this stuff coming from, huh? You keep touching me and it's just…weird! You're freaking me out!"
Sasuke seemed to consider his questions for a moment. "I don't know where all of this is coming from, exactly. I don't know if these are new feelings or feelings I've felt all along. And yet, this," he nudged himself further onto Naruto's lap, causing the other to grit his teeth tighter as their bodies rubbed together, "Feels fine to me. Just like me giving you that ring."
Without thinking, Naruto blurted, "And what about Sakura? She's liked you for years and all you do is ignore her! Never once has she stopped loving you!"
"I don't love Sakura the way she loves me," Sasuke easily replied. He brought up his right hand, gently tracing one of his thumbs down the whisker-like markings on Naruto's face. "Never once did I lead her on. I'm not going to take responsibility for her emotions all because she never knew when to quit."
"That's what you say to someone that loves you unconditionally?" Naruto spat back, now struggling to push Sasuke off but the Uchiha didn't budge at all. "She never stopped believing in you and wanting you back, even after you betrayed the Leaf. Someone like that means nothing to you? If so, then you're absolutely heartless!"
Still, Sasuke remained calm, though his face tensed at the hurled accusations. "You too never stopped believing in me," he said slowly considering his words carefully. "If I'm at fault for anything, it's for not openly telling her that I don't share her feelings. Fine, I'll do that as soon as we return if that's what you want. But that doesn't mean I should be ashamed for wanting this." He leaned in before he could be stopped and gently kissed Naruto's forehead.
"Ng," the blond flinched, again struggling back. Sasuke though linked their fingers together which made resistance more difficult.
"Or this," the Uchiha added, kissing one of the closed eyelids. "And this," he kissed the other. "Or even this," he whispered. Naruto prepared himself to wrench away, thinking he would be kissed on the mouth but instead, he felt a light peck on top of his nose.
He was starting to feel lightheaded and he wasn't sure if it was due to what they were doing or the steam. He felt entirely tense and wanted to just retreat somewhere quiet and alone to think about everything that was happening. "Why me?" he whispered back. "Why'd you have to pick me?" It was probably a dumb question but it was the one he'd constantly come back to ever since he'd begun to realize Sasuke's feelings.
Sasuke shook his head yet again, letting go of one of Naruto's hands to move aside a strand of wet hair from the boy's face. "I didn't pick anything. I can't help this which is why I'm still trying to figure it out myself. I could have my pick of nearly any girl in our class and even a few of the more adventurous boys and yet…here I am with you. The 'Number one, hyperactive, knuckle-headed ninja in the world'." Both of them couldn't help but snort as they remembered the name Naruto had bestowed upon himself ages ago.
Letting go of his other hand, Sasuke draped both arms around Naruto and pulled him closer into a hug. It was stiff and awkward as Naruto refused to lift his arms to return it. "Either way, I have no complaints," Sasuke told him in his ear, very lightly running his fingers through the base of Naruto's hair. "I don't plan to keep these feelings hidden from everyone either. And maybe one day, we can move our way to this…"
His left hand dipped under the water and a second later, Naruto felt the briefest touch to the region below his navel.
"Gah! Don't do that!" he protested, covering up his sensitive area with his hands.
"Do you know that I've actually never touched myself?" Sasuke revealed suddenly, moving his hips forward. The motion only caused him to rub against Naruto's hands under the water, but both of them blushed with Sasuke emitting a quiet gasp.
"N-never?" Naruto inquired in disbelief, biting his lip as Sasuke made the same movement again. Again, both of them trembled and Sasuke buried a sigh in the crook of Naruto's neck.
"Never," he panted, digging his nails into the shoulder underneath him. "I could only ever think of revenge. I thought that wanting anything other than that was a weakness. So I punished myself by avowing to never indulge in anything like that. But now, so much has changed…" Reaching below his lap, he pulled both of Naruto's hands up, finally exposing what his flesh sought. Placing his own hands on the edge of the hot spring, he ground into Naruto's lap once again and harder than before.
"Ahh!" Naruto cried before he could stop himself.
"Mmn, N-Naruto…" the Uchiha whimpered, his head rolling back on his shoulders. He wanted to keep doing this. He was quite amazed at himself that he'd never indulged in something so amazing. But was it okay to continue? He'd only just confessed his feelings. This was probably too much for one day, definitely too much…
But he couldn't lie to himself. He wanted it and now rather than later.
He pulled back from the other boy, finally unstraddling him. He needed to act fast though if he had any hopes of keeping Naruto from bolting. Taking a deep breath, he plunged completely underwater.
Naruto found it odd that he'd suddenly disappear like that but was just about to take that moment to get out when he felt something very new that froze him in place. The water was already hot but this was a different type of warmth, one that enveloped him very personally. He looked below the surface to see Sasuke's floating black hair masking his actions but he could definitely feel it. His arousal won out, keeping him put as he watched Sasuke go down on him, using one hand to hold his erection while stroking him furiously when he wasn't taking him in.
It didn't take long and within moments, he could feel himself hitting his climax. As he felt his entire body shake with the force of his orgasm, he watched below as several white ribbons were washed away in the bubbling water.
As he tried to calm his breathing back down, Sasuke came up from the water, seemingly gasping for air. That is until Naruto noticed a rhythmic moving still under the surface where one of Sasuke's hands were clearly at. He had the back of the other hand pressed against his mouth to keep himself quiet as he worked to finish himself off, but every now and then a moan would get by, echoing in the enclosure.
The fact that no one had found them like this already was a miracle but Naruto didn't want to chance it any longer. Gathering his courage, he turned towards Sasuke and wrapped one hand along his base, easily falling into the pace that'd been set. Sasuke gave a prolonged cry of gratitude and need , closing his eyes as he concentrated on the feeling.
It didn't take him long either but Naruto could only imagine how pent up he must've been if this was his first time. Sasuke's entire body quivered, his cries reduced to only an intense, breathless gasp before he too came. Thick white ropes spurted continuously from under the water, even more than he'd given. Once finished, Sasuke collapsed against the side of the pool, likely the only thing keeping him from slipping underneath.
The spring night resumed as usual, a few thin clouds occasionally covering the moon. The only sounds now were the current of the onsen and the chirping of small creatures beyond the walls. It was peaceful and Naruto didn't want to ruin that, but he felt something should be said. "We should probably get going…"
Sasuke had rested with his back to the stones used to keep the water in, but nodded at his words. "Yeah, we need to find out what happened to Kakashi."
Well, that wasn't exactly what Naruto had in mind but now that his sensibilities weren't being overloaded, it did make sense to finally check on their team leader. He was about to say something of agreement but Sasuke leaned towards him and kissed just between his eyes, cutting him off. "This was nice," he acknowledged. He didn't wait for a response or a reaction, instead pulling himself up on the ledge to walk along the side back to the front door. He stooped to pick up the towel he'd deposited earlier before quietly slipping back inside.
Naruto gave until the count of one-hundred before following after him, hoping that Sasuke would not be waiting for him. Indeed, as he pushed back the sliding door for the washroom, he saw that it was empty. Quickly dressing, he padded his way back to their shared room.
To his surprise, not only was Sasuke there, but Kakashi as well, all three now dressed in the identical robes given by the inn. Other than that, it was as though nothing had changed with their leader. Kakashi was back to sitting in the armchair next to the sliding door in their room, reading an old copy of one of Jiraiya's books. The food that'd been left on the table had been cleared away. "Hey, there you are!" he greeted, as though his absence had only been due to a casual stroll and not a mysterious two hour time gap.
"Where were you?!" Naruto blurted, storming forward. "You said you were calling Granny Tsunade! It doesn't take that long, does it?"
Kakashi waved his hands guiltily. "Heh, you're right, I didn't talk to Tsunade that long, though she was pleased with our progress and expects a full report tomorrow. Instead I…had another call."
Naruto had retreated to his bed, ready to finally get some sleep but became very still as Kakashi said this. Had something happened back at the village? Was there another mission they needed to do? He was preparing for the worst.
What he was not expecting were Kakashi's next words: "I'm now a father."
There was only the briefest of silences before Naruto screamed out, "Whaaaaaaat?!"
"Congratulations," Sasuke said politely, his face an expression of only mild curiosity.
"Thank you," Kakashi replied anyways, looking very pleased. "Iruka and I knew the little one was due any day now but the baby was delivered to our home just today. Iruka refuses to tell me if it's a boy or a girl so I find out tomorrow."
Naruto frowned and scratched his head. "Huh…you and Iruka? Since when?"
"Since always?" Sasuke told him with a "no duh" attitude, the same sass he used to always give. "Everyone knows they're together. They got married last year, you never noticed the ring?" He pointed to Kakashi's left hand, visible on the armrest of the chair. Around the second finger was a basic silver ring.
Noticing it now, Naruto screeched, "How come you guys never invited us to the wedding? Don'tcha think we might've wanted to go?" he fumed, knowing he sounded childish but didn't care. This was his first team leader, the one that'd really taught him what working together was all about. And Team 7 had been the first squad that Kakashi hadn't failed on day one. He figured they were important enough to be invited to a wedding. Unless…it was just him that hadn't been invited. But that'd be ridiculous! Right…?
"Iruka wanted a small wedding," Kakashi shrugged. "He's shy and I'm not fond of a lot of attention either. Besides, we didn't want to drag out the engagement. So, we got married at the courthouse. But Naruto, seriously…the fact that you could go this long without knowing should almost be called a gift!"
Sasuke outright snorted, burying his face in his blanket though his shaking shoulders gave him away. Naruto felt his face flush but muttered, "Yeah, well, I've had a lot on my mind." And then, something else crossed his mind but Kaskashi was already ahead of him.
"Let me guess, you're now about to ask how two guys can have a baby, right?" His voice was relatively patient now, indulgent.
"Well…yeah," Naruto admitted, feeling dumb now that the question was out there. He heard Sasuke snicker again, which he tried to silence him with a cold glare, but the Uchiha was completely impervious to it.
Kakashi only sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, two men can't produce a baby," he answered. "However, even before the war, Iruka and I were working with an agency that helped us to find a surrogate mother. She willingly had a baby for us in return for us covering the medical expenses. I suppose you could actually say that's where our wedding money went."
"Okay then…"Naruto nodded, trying to process the information. "So, will the baby look like either of you?"
Kakashi tilted his head, considering his question. "Well, we gave both of our DNA but there's always the chance the baby could take after the mother the most. Iruka's interested to see if the baby will have my prowess, especially if a gifted Sharingan can be passed on."
Immediately, Sasuke sat up straighter, locking onto their teacher with his dark eyes. "If so, that means…"
Kakashi nodded to him. "Yes, the Sharingan wouldn't simply fade from existence. You're the last full-blooded Uchiha but without another of your clan, the chances of passing it on are halved. And that's even assuming you want children. So long as I have these eyes, they're a part of my genetic code so maybe our child has a slim chance of inheriting them too. But of course, I'm thrilled either way," he added, smiling again. "Even if the baby has absolutely no chakra, I couldn't be happier." Kakashi drifted off smiling to himself, so obvious, it could be seen even behind his mask.
Naruto considered what Kakashi had said and was definitely happy for him too. Before long though, Naruto felt his eyelids growing extremely heavy. There were so many things he wanted to sift through and think about, but his mind was shutting down, beseeching him to leave it for another time. He felt no compulsion to resist, content to fall freely into the arms of sleep.
Onsen smut…I couldn't resist :)
And I've always inexplicably shipped Kakashi with Iruka (I say inexplicably because the two rarely cross paths in the show...). But I figured now was as good a time as ever to finally have them in a story.