Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

And I present you with another chapter. It's getting longer!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews. x3 They're the sweet candy that keeps me writing.

And I can't thank Shiruy enough for beta'ing/sharing her wisdom/forcing me to write. XD


He sits in the dark kitchen alone. The only thing keeping him company is the ticking of a clock. His fingers hit the table in a rhythm and every imperfect timing only manages to feed his irritation.

It does not sit well with him, his situation. People refuse to understand him, twisting his words to their own liking. And just when they got him thinking that perhaps what he is feeling is wrong, making him want to drown himself in the ocean of paper that still remain in his place of work, they force him back into this place that holds the mixture of his and his son's scent.

Perhaps he is starting to turn slightly frightening, he admits this much. Lack of sleep has never suited him well. The level of annoyance is high and the ones below him are on the edge when the strongest man in the village is like a ticking time bomb.

That being the reason they hid behind Tsunade when they made her tell him to get the hell out of the office and get some sleep.

But he can't sleep, even if his eyelids are begging to close. His mind is filled with worries and questions and it makes his head ache.

He knows that Jiraiya knows that he does not joke around like that. And he knows that the amount of respect Kakashi has for him has never allowed his student to miss a single word that leaves his mouth.

But their act of ignorant bliss has left him wondering if they silenced because his confession is just too much or if they are saying that it is okay as long as he stays quiet about it. And he frowns because something so simple is being made so complicated.

(In Minato's world, there are people he wants to protect and people he needs to kill in order to do so. It's simple and he doesn't waste time hesitating and people praise him for it. And Minato can't see how this is any different.)

"Dad, I'm home!" His son's timing in barging inside the house makes cold shivers run down his spine.

Naruto hits the lights on and stops at the kitchen entrance to stare at him. He finds his head too heavy to move and does not turn to look at his son, only closing his eyes.

"What the hell are you doing sitting in the dark?"

His only response is "Nothing," and having said that, he expects Naruto to just shrug and mind his own business.

But it is not in his son's nature to ignore such things, and so a grin crawls on his face and "Aren't you too old to be sulking?" leaves his mouth. After that his son takes a few steps towards him and he finds the sound of Naruto's bare feet tapping against the floor far more teasing than the just said words.

And he says "Don't come near me," both hoping that Naruto won't and wishing that he will. But he knows that both of them know that Naruto will never listen to such a thing, and the younger blond is standing right beside him, his hand coming to brush his shoulder just enough to make him snap.

It surprises them both how Naruto is suddenly forced on his back on the kitchen table, but his eyes soon gain a darker shade of blue as he feasts on the sight of his son beneath him.

("I want him," Minato's mind keeps on screaming, "I want him so badly.")

Naruto's hand is on his cheek before he has any time to go further with his intentions, stopping his head that has lowered enough to make their breaths mingle. And then Naruto smiles, rising his head to press his lips against the corner of his mouth.

"It's okay, dad. They told me you were going to be like this," Naruto says and then gathers enough strength to push his unresisting body off him, sitting on the table while he is left standing beside it, staring at his son tiredly.

He misses the "It's okay," Naruto repeats, because the kiss they just shared only manages to leave a bad taste in his mouth. It is not nearly enough to satisfy his screaming needs. And Naruto keeps on smiling as if he gets it.

"You really ought to get some sleep. At this rate you'll mar your good looks." Naruto frowns and points at the wrinkles between his eyebrows to demonstrate what is going to happen to him. His son jumps down from the table and starts to go towards his bedroom, stopping at the door when he doesn't move at all.

"Are you coming?"

He raises a questioning brow and asks "You'll be sleeping with me?"

Naruto just stares at him for a while and then says "If that's what it takes to make you sleep," and comes back to him, taking his hand and dragging him into his bedroom.

And Minato can't help but let a disturbing smile grow on his face when Naruto's bare back is presented to him as his son takes his shirt off in front of him. It's like gravity is pulling him towards his son, and he stops right behind him, pressing his still grinning lips on Naruto's shoulder.

"Dad?" Naruto asks a bit unsurely, not turning around.

He inhales deeply, concentrating more on keeping his hands from feeling every part of the body before him rather than what his mouth is doing to the skin it is still touching. The next few exhales make him calm down though, and he feels his son shiver when he whispers "Good night" into his ear.

It makes his son a bit hesitant to follow him when he withdraws and goes to lie on the bed, closing his eyes. But the bed finally creaks when extra weight is added and his ears can barely catch the silent "Good night," that his son wishes.

He is willing to be satisfied with that for now and tries to get lulled to sleep by the surrounding silence. But Naruto seems to be more restless than he and shifts every now and then, his tossing and turning accidentally making their feet brush together.

Even though the contact is small, it makes his heart go impossibly wild, and when Naruto does nothing to erase the contact they still have, he doesn't know what to think.

The silence continues for awhile but then Naruto pushes himself even closer, his legs and breathing so close to his skin that it's almost enough to make him insane. And it's like his body is moving on its own when he turns around to face his son, their faces so, so close to each other.

The moonlight that keeps penetrating the bedroom window is enough to reveal how Naruto bites his lip when he sneaks an arm around his son. And he relaxes his muscles because by the speeding up heart beat of the other, he feels like it is okay to keep it there for the rest of the night.

(But even if his mind keeps repeating "it's okay, it's okay," his heart refuses to calm down.)


To Be Continued...

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