Hello everyone. I bet you didn't expect me to update so soon, but like I said, I had ideas. 'Into the Darkness' has also been updated (chapter 15) for those of you who read some of my other fan-fiction. Here is the part I'm sure most of you have been waiting for. The…Hah! As if I were going to tell you. Read to find out and be prepared for some fluff.

Disclaimer: Naruto and all other licensed characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

I'm just borrowing them for a wee bit.

Chapter 6. Love

Deep blue curtains smothered all light trying to enter through the window, leaving the bedroom warm and dim. Inside, two men and a boy lay asleep, all but one peacefully.

Naruto's face contorted as he ran from the demons in his head. They growled fiercely, memories dribbling from their lips like an acidic green poison.

"Noooo!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs and exploded from his comfortable position on the bed.

Then he screwed his eyes up tightly. Rubbed them. Stared at the empty black walls around him.

'Wait a minute…this isn't the right room. Where am I?'

Two shadowy figures rose before him. Terror rooted him to the spot like a deer caught in the headlights. His heart beat rapidly beneath his chest, almost as if it were playing hopscotch with his ribcage. Ready to scream, he slowly backed away until he felt the cool smooth wall behind him.

"P-p-please." he begged, collapsing into a ball of misery and tears. "I d-don't wanna go back in the c-c-closet. No!!"

The monster's eyes began to glow from white to the purple of a plum. Dark intentions swam behind its slitted black pupils that were almost lost among the deep violet irises.

Naruto woke up, panting and slick with sweat. This time he had escaped from the dream world. One of the reasons he feared falling asleep was that the demons came when he was asleep. Shaped in the form of his previous abusers, their haunting laugh would echo through him and it turned his blood to ice every time. Reality and dreams were combined into a myriad of voices, pain, and abuse.

For a moment he sat with his ears perked to hear the softest of noises. He heard a bang so loud that it actually made him jump.

"What's going on?"

Neither Iruka nor Kakashi responded. Slowly Naruto turned to see their sleeping forms touching each other in a gesture that suggested comfort.

"They're both sleeping," he told himself. "So what am I supposed to do right now? I guess…Hmm. I could go outside and play!!"

Naruto shrugged happily into his brand new jacket before venturing into the outside world. He shut the door behind him and ran out into the falling snow. The coat kept the frigid wind out with expertise. Crunch, crunch, crunch went his footsteps in the snow.

As he built the foundation of a snowman, a moving van sidled up the street and stopped just across from Kakashi's house; a sleek engine black Camaro was trailing behind it. The larger vehicle's brakes let out a loud hiss, startling Naruto. He looked up just in time to see the back of the truck open.

A black-haired boy seemingly around his age climbed out of the Camaro, followed by a teenager with matching hair in a ponytail. Naruto frowned. The man's mouth was moving and the little boy nodding. Just then the man pointed straight at him.

Instantly a choking alarm seized at him. He clutched his stomach and tried to breathe regularly. Like the childhood nightmare demons from his dreams, his past had taught him that vans only brought trouble and pain. He had the still healing wound on his back to prove it.

Panicking, he fell down and tried to bury himself in a pile of snow. Cold wet stuff fell into the hood of jacket where it melted from his body heat and slid down his back. He was rolling around in the snow spluttering and gasping when he felt something warm touch his face.

Petrified of what might happen next, he froze in his spot and attempted to cover his neck with his thin arms.

"Are you okay? Hey…Hey!! Aniki!" a boy's fearful voice shouted.

The words were too far away for Naruto to understand, but he heard the familiar rapid crunch-crunch of footsteps on snow.

"Quiet, Sasuke." an older, definitely male voice spoke.

"I…w-who are you?" Naruto's trembling voice met their ears. "I'm okay. I'm g-good. Please...Don't hurt me."

Naruto continued to cough erratically in fear. Gasping for air, he doubled over and put his head into the snow. He bit his arm fiercely and a calm swept over him.

The older man lifted Naruto up and set him down gently upon the ground. Tearful cerulean eyes met concerned sable ones and blinked in wonder at the kind behavior.

"Hi!" said the boy through his tears. "I'm Naruto. Who're you?"

The barest hint of a smile flickered across the older man's face. The boy called Sasuke responded with a cheery "Hello."

"We're moving in across from you guyses." Sasuke continued.

"Its rude of you to speak impolitely. I am Uchiha Itachi, Itachi-san will do for you, Naruto, and this here is my otouto."

"I'm Sasuke!!" the black-haired boy shouted.

Naruto tilted his head closer to Sasuke and eyed his hair intently.

"Your hair isn't really black." he stated his observation with satisfaction. "It's got purplish and bluish colors in it. Just like a raven's feather. It's so pretty!"

Sasuke eyeballed him seriously for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"I never thought about it that way. Hey, Nii-san. May I play here while you unpack?"

"Absolutely not, Sasuke. You must help too, unless you wish your belongings to end up in the wrong order."

"No!!" Sasuke stuck out his tongue. "You're not being fair. Sorry, Naruto, but I have to go help Aniki move in. Here. Give me your arm."

Naruto pulled up his jacket sleeve with difficulty. "Here."

Itachi's black eyes narrowed at the sign of the bloodstained bandages on the child's arm. Sasuke gasped and said, "What happened to your arm?"

Naruto frowned as he picked at the gauze. "I don't remember," he answered finally, expression turbulent with unreadable emotions.

"Let us go, Sasuke. You can play with Naruto-kun later. Take care."

Itachi let Sasuke ride on the back of his shoulders across the street. Naruto watched the brothers' figures longingly.

"But I have Mr. Iruka and Mr. Kakashi…" he whispered to himself.

'Still…I wish I could play with Sasuke. I wish someone would let me ride on their shoulders. I wish someone would be close to me instead of hurting me.'

Naruto shook away the thoughts before they could further leach his self-esteem. Then he remembered the dirty bandages and decided that since Iruka and Kakashi were still asleep, he would have to change them himself.

Back inside the warmth made his jacket unbearably hot. He slid it off and snuck on tiptoes to the kitchen. The first-aid kit was directly in front of a row of towels in a drawer beside the refrigerator. He grabbed it and sat himself down on a chair near the trashcan.

As he unwrapped the bloody gauze, he saw the damage that the bite had done. All around the indented mark were scratches where the scabs had been torn off.

'Ew. That looks really gross. Almost like the time I spilled hot water on my hand. Oh well.'

With a strangely candid smile he washed the wounds and dressed them up again. After that, he sat listening to the clock for five seconds before deciding that he was bored. So, as all nine-year-olds do when bored, he got up to explore.

He memorized the location of everything in the house, occasionally reaching out to feel something. From this he learned that toilet paper wasn't always rough, beds were made of giant fluffy pillows covered with blankets, and that good-tasting food actually existed in the refrigerator.

Just then his stomach growled as he was walking into the living room again. With a grin, he traveled to the kitchen.

He had just poured a package of ramen noodles into the pot when Kakashi came in. Trailing behind him was a sleepy Iruka. They looked at each other, unsure of how to approach Naruto in a way that wouldn't cause him to beat his head against a wall again.

Finally, Iruka said, "Hey there, Naruto. You know, you didn't have to be out here alone. You could have woken one of us up."

When Naruto turned around his expression was smooth and controlled.

"Go back inside." he told them. "It's supposed to be a surprise."

Eyeballing Iruka with an odd look on his face, he turned and went back to the bedroom, but the younger man stayed.

"Naruto. I can't leave you out here unattended. You might accidentally burn yourself or spill hot water on your arms. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Okay! You can stay. Just sit down and close your eyes.

Outside, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Snow fell thickly, piling on top of window and making many people miserable. The descent of darkness made it nearly impossible to see anything at all. Iruka glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that it was already approaching 7-o-clock.

"I'm done, Mr. Iruka. Could you get me a…a….those oval-shaped thingies again, please?"

"You mean a bowl?" he replied while retrieving one from the cabinet beside the sink. "Here you go."

Naruto accepted the bowl with childish glee. Apparently ramen was one of his favorite foods and so he tended to eat a lot of it. At least, that's what Iruka thought after watching him practically inhale a sixth bowl of the salty beef-flavored noodles.

"Where does it all go?" he wondered bemusedly.

He got up to shut the curtains; the view of ever-piling snow was depressing enough without having to look at the dreary night.

"You know, Mr. Iruka. I met someone today while you were sleeping."

It took every last ounce of Iruka's strength not to interrogate where, when, why, and that talking to strangers was very bad indeed. He took time to take a careful sip of broth and relax.

Naruto was obviously unharmed, which meant that whoever he'd met had had no desire to injure or maim him in any way.

"His name was Sasuke-chan and he's moving in across the street! He has a brother too. Mr. Itachi-san. I didn't see Sasuke-chan's otou or okaa-san anywhere. I don't think he has one." Naruto whispered sadly.

Iruka felt that old familiar tug on his heartstrings. How could one child, forced through the trials and tribulations of abuse, still have so much empathy for another child more fortunate than himself? He didn't know how it was possible. Still marveling at this gesture of utmost sympathy, he took another sip.

"Really?" he asked. "Did you have fun."

Naruto hastily shook his head. "We had lotsa fun." he said cutely while bouncing on the couch. "And he wanted to play, but Mr. Itachi-san said that he had to go help unpack. Do you think he could be a…a….Oh, never mind. Its getting dark. Where's Mr. Kakashi?"

'Squeak, squeak, squeak' went the sofa as he bounced.

Spreading his wings out wide, he leapt off of the furniture in a single bound and hit the floor on his stomach. Iruka winced but the child seemed to give no further thought to it. Just then Kakashi walked in, a book of questionable origins in his mind. He had the air of one who kept secrets and hid them well.

"Oh….Kakashi. Where did you get that book from?" he placed heavy emphasis on the word 'book'.

"Who, me?" he feigned innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I just brought this from my house. Besides…" he looked about quickly. "Isn't it time for Naruto to be getting his bath?"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" the dark-clad child vanished down the hallway almost before one could blink.

"Kakashi!?!" Iruka let out a groan of exasperation. "There was hardly any need for that."

"So." he replied, closing the distance between them swiftly to kiss his lover gently on the lips.

It wasn't a long kiss, just one long enough to convey an apology and ask for forgiveness. Iruka replied by kissing him back boldly, though when he was done he was quite red in the face.

Still blushing hotly, he suggested they find Naruto together. Kakashi agreed and went off to one end while Iruka covered from the kitchen down to the spare bedroom.

All the time Kakashi kept thinking, 'How hard can it be to find a nine-year old?'

Later, as they were completing a third thorough sweep of the house, he regretted ever asking himself the question.

Naruto wasn't in the dryer. Nor was he behind the toilet or in the shower stall. The space below the computer screen was entirely devoid of a certain blond-haired child's presence.

Kakashi felt the Icha Icha Paradise book calling to him from inside his sweater pocket. Like a throbbing heartbeat, the explicit novel was vital to his survival, or so he felt. It had saved his life in the hospital. And it was autographed.

A stream of drool trickled down his cheeks. One thousand fantasies sped through his mind. Iruka didn't notice his passing out due to a massive nosebleed because he was busy checking beneath the kitchen sink for the fifth time.

When Iruka tripped over the unconscious body of his lover, he only sighed in humorous exasperation. Shutting the little romance novel while muttering about perverted men and their stupid porno, he stood up again. Just then an idea came to him. One as forbidden and condemned as it was torrid.

The couch cushions felt good against his now-sore back. He glanced quickly at Kakashi to make sure he was still unconscious before flipping to the first page. He hadn't gotten to the second paragraph before a wad of bloody tissues accompanied him in an attempt to stifle a raging nosebleed.

'Ichigo licked Meika's dusky nipple until it was pert before parting her legs and quickly…'

Iruka's shaking hands dropped the book as if it were a living creature that'd somehow managed to bite him severely on the knuckles.

"Never again…" he muttered, placing the little orange novel of unconceivable terrors beside Kakashi's unmoving form. "…Never again….'

His face was still deathly pale when Kakashi came too, immediately noticing the pallid hue of Iruka's skin.

"What's wrong, Iruka?" he touched Iruka's cheek.

"That…porn…"

'Did he look at my Ichi Ichi Paradise after I passed out…Oh kami…I think I may have traumatized him. I never should have taken that book out.'

He comforted Iruka the way might one comfort a small child who was frightened by a monster in their closet. "There, there." patting Iruka on the knee. "Its all over now."

Iruka seemed to snap out of his fear-induced coma because he looked at Kakashi and stated quite clearly, "I never want to see that repulsive object in this house again."

Kakashi was taken aback by the sudden assertion. Him? Give up something as wonderfully explicit and pornographic enough to damage brain cells? Did a personality such as his exist without Icha Icha Paradise? No way. It could never be done. But…for Iruka. For someone who loved him? Could he give up something that meant so much to him for that person?

"Alright." he said softly.

With utmost reluctance and the willingness to please his new boyfriend, he gathered up the expensive, autographed Icha Icha book into his arms. It was about to make a permanent stop at Dumpster City when a tan hand rescued it from certain doom.

"Kakashi, you don't have to give up your books for me. Just read them elsewhere. And don't leave them any place where I can find them." he finished rather sheepishly.

The wave of drama had passed with neither man suffering lifelong injuries. Now all that was left was to locate a missing blond-haired nine-year-old. That too was resolved quickly when Naruto popped his grinning head out from beneath the impossibly small space between the couch and the floor.

"Here I am!! You never found me, so does that mean I don't have to take a bath?"

Kakashi and Iruka just eyeballed each other before speaking simoultaneously.

"No, Naruto. You still have to take a bath."

Naruto's face wrinkled up in obvious displeasure. Cerulean orbs observed them vigilantly for any signs of anger or annoyance. Finding none, he gave a small smile of relief.

"…Okay!" he shouted behind him as he ran off again, this time to the bathroom to wait for them.

"I'll stay in here. You can give him a bath." Kakashi said, bringing a hand to his bruised stomach. "I know he apologized and I know he didn't mean it, but its still sore. Besides, you have a way with him, Iruka."

Iruka took Kakashi's words into consideration. "Alright." he said.

"Just call if you need me."

"Right."

When Iruka walked in, Naruto had already stripped himself of all clothing except his underwear. The boy held his arms out and kept quiet while he removed the crusty-looking bandages from his back.

"It's looking better, Naruto. Can you tell me what happened to your back? How did you get this enormous scrape?"

The flat expression on Naruto's face told him that the answer was no. Cold cobalt eyes gazed icily into Iruka's own chocolate orbs. A profound sorrow radiated deeply from them and he found himself wanting to cry.

"I was…" he started, but a glassy look overcame his eyes and was unable to continue. "S-Sorry." he said at last, depression evident in his voice.

With tears in his eyes, Iruka hugged Naruto tightly, stroking the child's soft blond hair as he cried into the man's lap.

"I'm..hic…s-s-sorry, Mr. 'Ruka."

"Come on, now." Iruka said while wiping the waterworks away from Naruto's face. He pushed Naruto further down on his lap and smiled through his own tears. "You're here and you're with us. We'll take care of you. And I promise," he said, using a finger to flick away a stray tear. ",that no matter what, nothing bad will ever happen to you here. Now, what do you say we get you all clean and in nice new pajamas?"

Naruto hopped down from the man's lap and experimentally put one toe in the water. Apparently he found it to his liking because the next thing Iruka knew he was soaking wet; Naruto had leapt into the warm bathwater with enthusiasm.

"Aye…" Iruka couldn't help but chuckle as he used his sleeve to mop the water from his face. "Was that really necessary, Naruto?" he said teasingly.

He couldn't bear to wipe the smile from the child's face, so rarely was the occasion that he actually did find him genuinely happy. Naruto was busy playing with the washcloth of which he was no longer afraid of now that Iruka had taught him that it was utterly harmless. He made it fly through the air before mimicking the sound of an explosion.

"Neorrrrrrrrrrrr! Ca-pow!! SPLASH!"

Iruka chuckled inwardly as the blond continued to play. He soon found his wet clothes unbearable and wanted to change, but didn't want to let the child alone for a moment in case something happened.

"Wash your hair, Naruto." he yawned. "It's almost bed time soon."

"Wow…." Naruto's mouth was an O of surprise. "You mean I get an actual, real bed? Those giant fluffy pillow things covered in blankets?"

"Hai. Now, lets go. Wait!" he cried as Naruto stepped out of the tub. "You forgot to rinse your hair, silly. Unless you actually want to go to bed with bubbles in your hair."

Naruto dunked his head under the water and came back up quickly, spattering Iruka with yet more water.

'At this rate, I might as well take a shower myself. Oh boy…'

The child quickly dried himself off and slipped cheerfully into a pair of blue pajamas with tiny orange kitsunes all over them.

"Done!" he called, allowing Iruka to open his eyes.

Naruto ran off to entertain Kakashi with his tales of defeating the giant washcloth monster of doom by squirting shampoo into its many eyes. Meanwhile, Iruka quickly changed into boxers, green flannel pants, and a plain white t-shirt. He attempted to brush his hair but there were too many tangles for him to bother with so he put it up in a short ponytail.

He walked out of the restroom to see Kakashi and Naruto in an animated discussion about whether peppermint or Lily-of-the-Valley fragrance was best to use after taking a really smelly crap in the toilet. Iruka merely rolled his eyes as Naruto pointed out that leaving behind the smell of peppermint in the bathroom after using it was just too plain obvious.

"Toilet rooms should smell like flowers. It fully masks the odor while leaving a fragrant scent of nice flowers that would make people want to use it again. Peppermint just says "I took a big dump and couldn't find anything but this crappy spray to use to erase the smell." and that's just plain gross!" Naruto finished with a giggle.

"But peppermint is generally cheaper while basically accomplishing the same task, which is to eliminate the foul smell of excrement and create a feasible distraction from it."

Naruto's eyes went wide as the comprehension of Kakashi's sentence flew by him.

"I win!" the silver-haired man said simply.

"No fair!" Naruto stuck his bottom lip out in a pout. "You used big words, cheater! I'm only nine!"

Iruka almost didn't have the heart to interrupt their little argument, but the clock was fast approaching nine-o-clock and he wanted to start Naruto on a routine.

"Bed time, Naruto. Come on, I'll tuck you in."

Naruto got up to follow him, looking back only once to stick his tongue out on Kakashi, who mirrored the process.

"Are you gonna stay here until I fall asleep. Mr. Iruka?" Naruto climbed under the covers, waiting eagerly for an answer.

"Of course. I won't let anything hurt you, okay. Do you have bad dreams?"

Naruto's expression turned solemn. In a grave voice he replied, "Yes."

"Well, then. I'll teach you a trick that my mother taught me whenever I had a nightmare. If something scary comes to get you…" he paused as Naruto swallowed nervously. "You squeeze your hand and say: Nightmare, Nightmare, You can't get me. I'm as safe as I can be." and think of something soft."

Naruto tilted his head to one side to watch the man. "You mean like….like pillows?"

"Yeah." Iruka nodded. "Like pillows. I'll tell you a secret. Monsters…they are afraid of pillows. They're afraid of all fuzzy warm things. So if you bring a pillow into you dreams, they will go away quick as lightning."

The boy watched him with awe.

"Sweet!" he said after a moment's silence. "Then my monsters are gonna get their asses handed to them on a shining silver platter!"

Iruka nearly choked. "Who taught you to say that, Naruto."

"Kakashi." was the simple reply.

'Right…Well, I'll have to have a talk with him later, that's for sure. I can't have him teaching Naruto to say things like that. He might start school son, depending on what tests say in relation to his adaptability to social situations and environments.'

"…z..z..z..."

Iruka looked down and saw that Naruto was already fast asleep, tiny fist clutching at the pillow beside him. A smile flitted across his face in pure amazement. Naruto had been through so much, shuffled through foster home after foster home, repeatedly abused, both sexually and physically, and yet…somehow he retained innocence like a sponge. His eyes held knowledge beyond his years, yet he'd previously been afraid of a washcloth.

"I don't know, Naruto…I just don't know…"

"…Don't know what, 'Ru-chan."

"Enough with the silly nickname, Kakashi." Iruka spoke to the man behind him without turning.

"Sorry. It's stuck to you now. Bwah-ha-ha."

Smack! went the pillow against Kakashi's face.

"You're a dork, you know that."

"I'm your dork." Kakashi replied somewhat testily, but Iruka knew that he was just feigning annoyance. "And besides, you never answered my question."

Iruka felt a tug at his hair before it foofed out behind him. "What're you doing?"

"I like your hair."

He sighed deeply as gentle yet firm fingers began to massage the base of his scalp, gently detangling his hair in the process.

"…thafeelsgood…" he murmered as Kakashi continued his small ministrations.

Kakashi pulled Iruka's head around and placed a soft kiss on the man's lips. Hesitantly Iruka parted his lips, but Kakashi went no further. Questioningly he pulled away, confusion evident in his deep brown eyes.

"I'm not going to rush things with you, Ru-chan. I'm going to do this right. Whenever you're ready to go further, that's fine. Don't ever feel like you need to do something just to make me happy, ok—"

Kakashi's were cut short by a mildly passionate kiss.

"You shouldn't always assume that I'm going to be the uke, either, Kashi-chan."

"Uh-oh." Kakashi faked a worrisome expression. "Enough playing around. Come on. We both look like idiots laying here on the floor like this. At least let me finish your hair on the bed?"

They both moved to the bed, kissing twice in the process. Iruka sat between Kakashi's legs, practically purring like a content kitten as the man proceeded to detangle his hair. Closing his eyes, Iruka felt himself melting against the other man. He felt that even more so after Kakashi slid a warm hand beneath his shirt and began to stroke his abs.

Iruka wasn't quite sure when he fell asleep resting against Kakashi's chest, but either way it was one of the best nights of sleep he'd ever had.

Alright, alright. I know many of you probably remembered that Iruka was an orphan in the anime, but it doesn't have to be that way here and he wasn't always an orphan. He didn't grow up an orphan if you get what I'm trying to say. Woot!! And we met Sasuke and Itachi in this story, had some fluff to satisfy the readers. I also know a few of you might be eager for some smutty goodness, so if you are, you might want to stop reading here. I'm trying to make the development of this relationship as realistic as I possibly can. Looking forward to reviews – Bottlecaps.