Naruto's eyes lit up, and Sakura knew exactly what he was thinking. But after pouring the drinks and handing them each a hefty cup, Kakashi turned around from Sasuke and Naruto, pulled down his mask quickly, and took a large swig. Naruto looked completely crestfallen.
"Aw c'mon! If Sakura gets to see what you look like under that mask, then Sasuke and I should too!" Naruto complained.
Kakashi turned around, his mask back on. "Nope, that privilege is only for her," Kakashi said with a clear smirk under the thin material. Then Kakashi turned to Sasuke, with a more serious tone, "A lot more people than you might think actually care about my private doings…when I tell people that I'm dating Sakura, I have to do it the right way. I want you both to promise me that you won't go around telling anyone about us."
"Of course," Sasuke said, "as long as you two promise to keep us a secret as well." Naruto nodded next to him, agreeing with his boyfriend's statement.
"Why exactly are you guys keeping your relationship a secret?" Sakura wanted to know.
"Well, it's not easy telling people something like that dattebayo," Naruto said, his cheeks turning pink again, "I mean, I never really thought I was gay until…" Naruto blushed uncontrollably and didn't finish his sentence. He looked like he would like to hide behind Sasuke.
"Until what?" Sakura asked, her interest peaked.
"Until Sasuke kissed me," Naruto confessed, feeling totally embarrassed saying it out loud. The memory of that kiss still gave him butterflies. Sakura smiled at him, it was good to see that he was genuinely happy. "If I tell people in the village that I'm dating Sasuke, people will laugh at me." Naruto took a sip of his sake then to hide his blushing face.
"You really think your friends and comrades would disrespect your life decisions like that?" Kakashi asked him. "You've proven yourself to be the village hero, I doubt anyone will laugh at you for being gay. You and Sasuke are happy together, your friends should understand that."
"Thanks for the cheerful pep talk Kakashi, but in reality things never go the way you expect them to," Sasuke said sourly. "I'm still away from the village most of the time, and I don't want nasty rumors going around about Naruto and I while I'm not there. I'd like to handle this my own way. We were planning to tell you both first actually, the next time we got the chance." Sasuke looked into his cup of sake with slight disgust, but decided to take a sip anyways. He blinked his eyes in surprise and muttered, "hmm, this is actually quite good."
"Listen, we won't tell anyone about you two, but I think you should tell all our friends soon. Kakashi and I are planning to let out our secret after this little vacation. The spring festival is in a few days, we were thinking to go as a couple and tell everyone there." Sakura admitted. She took a big gulp of the sake, letting the smooth liquid warm her body. Kakashi refilled everyone's cups without asking if they wanted more or not. Sakura shrugged and took another sip.
"Maybe you two could come as well," Kakashi said, thinking about this as he spoke, "The spring festival is a big deal, and you haven't been back to the village in years Sasuke. Wouldn't you like to come by and say hello to everyone?"
"Tch, I've been gone from the village since way long before the Great War. I lost contact with almost everyone there. The only people I really care for there are you three," Sasuke said, realizing too late his admission of affection for team 7. Naruto sighed lovingly and started rubbing Sasuke's back. Sasuke gave him a look but did not make any movement to refuse the backrub.
"Well, think of it as part of your repentance, don't you feel you owe the people of Konoha an apology? It's never too late to reconnect the bonds between your old classmates and sensei." Kakashi said. As the hokage, it was his duty to keep the peace among the village.
"I think it's a great idea!" Naruto piped up. His cheeks were already tinged pink from the alcohol.
Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto, "you really want to announce to the world that you're gay at a spring festival?"
Naruto looked taken aback for a moment, but then defended his stance, "Well, I'm honestly tired of keeping it a secret dattebayo. I mean, I've been the town loser before, if that's what happens again, I can handle it. Sometimes it's a lot of pressure being known as the hero of the Great War haha," he admitted.
"That wouldn't happen," Sakura said, somewhat defensively, "I wouldn't let you two get picked on for something like that. Your sexual choice is your own. If you two make each other happy, then everyone else will see that and should accept it."
"That's…quite a different stance from your anger earlier," Sasuke said, surprised by her willingness to back them up.
"I forgive you guys, of course. I think I always knew anyways. The way you two talked about each other in the past…it was more than just friendly talk. You two care about each other deeply, anyone can see that. I'm happy for you two," Sakura rambled on. The sake was starting to get to her a little.
Naruto blushed, feeling a tad self-conscious by her empowering words. "So, you're really okay with us dating?"
"Yeah of course," Sakura said.
Naruto eyed Kakashi questioningly, and he nodded, "Of course we accept it," Kakashi said. Naruto jumped up and hugged the two of them, grateful that they didn't judge Naruto or Sasuke for their sexual preference. He realized he had nothing to worry about with them. They were his best friends after all.
"We accept your relationship, and we're happy for you both," Kakashi restated, "but I for one hope to never listen in on your love making ever again," he added.
Sasuke and Naruto both blushed a dark crimson. Sasuke grunted in reply, "Well I hope I never have to listen to you two either. All that 'sensei' and 'teacher' stuff was disturbing." Sasuke downed his drink at that moment, not wishing to be sober anymore.
Sakura laughed nervously, "haha, yeah, we –um- role play sometimes but-"
Kakashi cut off her awkward sentence with a wave of his hands, "Can we just not talk about this anymore?" he asked.
"Yeah that would be good dattebayo," Naruto agreed.
"But-" Sakura said hesitantly. She took another sip of the sake, not sure if she should continue. It seemed like something was still bothering her.
"What is it?" Naruto asked.
"Well…I want to know what you think about Kakashi and I dating? I mean, is it really weird? I know there's an age difference and he was my sensei once, but it's not like we had romantic feelings back then. Things changed when I was older and when I started working for him more. Our relationship of sensei and student changed into something different," Sakura rambled on again. Sake had this strange ability to open her up more than usual.
Naruto's eyes sparkled with tenacity, "Are you both happy together?" he asked with seriousness.
"Yes," Kakashi and Sakura both answered simultaneously.
"Then that's all that matters. Age is just a number really. And Sakura old enough to make her own decisions about who to give her heart to. I'm glad she chose you Kakashi, I know you would never hurt her," Naruto said. Sakura looked close to joyful tears at his heartwarming words. "Don't you agree Sasuke?" Naruto asked, looking towards him for support.
"Yeah. I'm fine with it," Sasuke stated simply. That was all that Sakura needed. She felt like a heavy boulder had been lifted from her chest. She was so worried that her friends wouldn't accept her when they found out that she was in love with her former sensei. She thought people might tease her and say she was being 'used' by Kakashi for sex. She was so happy to hear that her two best friends understood and accepted their relationship.
She couldn't hold back the cascade of tears that ran down her cheeks. "Sakura, why are you crying?" Kakashi asked, trying to wipe away her tears with his thumb.
"I'm just so relieved. I was worried that no one would understand our love. I have hope now that we can reveal our secret to others and things will be okay," she said through whimpers. Kakashi smiled and pulled her close to him. She sniffled one last time, not wanting her emotions to get the best of her.
"Haha," Naruto laughed brightly.
"What's so funny usuratonkachi?" Sasuke asked.
"It just feels like old times, but in a different way dattebayo. Sakura was always crying about something, and usually Kakashi would know the right thing to say. And I was always chasing after you. We've all matured in our own ways, but in other ways, we're still the same," he said.
"That makes no sense," Sasuke stated.
Kakashi chuckled, he felt like he could understand Naruto's meaning through his jumbled statement. He felt the same way. There was a sense of closeness, a deep bond, between the four of them that nothing could tear apart. Even awkward situations like this could be mended. They always came out on top, and always stronger and wiser than before.
Kakashi lifted his half-full plastic cup up, feeling bold all of a sudden. "Cheers," he said, "to team seven." They all clinked their plastic cups and took a sip, Kakashi turning around again to hide his face from Sasuke and Naruto.
"Where did you get this sake anyways?" Sakura wanted to know. She noticed that it was an extremely expensive bottle as Kakashi poured them all another full glass each.
"It was a gift from Lady Tsunade when I became hokage. I promised her I would drink it with her…but I wanted to have something nice for our evening…and now the four of us are drinking it," Kakashi explained. He hoped Tsunade would someday understand.
"Hey wait, and there's cake!" Naruto exclaimed, remembering the almost forgotten dessert. He took a bite of the chocolate cake and moaned with delight. "Mmmm so good," he said with a mouthful.
Sakura laughed at him and grabbed a slice for herself and Kakashi. "Thanks again," Naruto said, indicating the crumbs on his plate.
"Yeah, no problem," Kakashi said before turning around to take a bite of his own slice.
"It does feel nostalgic, doesn't it?" Sasuke commented, "The four of us haven't been together like this in a long time."
"Yeah dattebayo, that's what I was trying to say," Naruto agreed. "This sorta reminds me of that one time we had to stay at that spooky hotel for a mission. I remember wanting to stay near you three in case there were any ghosts haha!"
"You were such a loser back then, how is it possible that a ninja is afraid of ghosts?" Sasuke asked with a rare smile. He took another sip of the sake, allowing a rose tint to form over his cheeks.
"Hahaha! He's still afraid of ghosts, aren't you Naruto?" Sakura asked mockingly.
"No! I'm definitely not dattebayo!" Naruto cried. Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke laughed at him, and then Naruto joined in, unable to control the contagious mirth.
The tension they had felt before was completely gone, they were able to laugh it off and enjoy themselves. They continued to reminisce about old missions and memories, laughing about the good times they shared together all those years ago. They also kept on drinking, feeling nice and toasty. It was the first time in a long time that team seven felt completely at ease and open with one another.
As the night wore on, they also began to feel the drowsiness of the alcohol. It was getting late as well. "Naruto –hic- I think we should get back to our room soon," Sasuke said in a slurred voice. He turned to his lover and was shocked to see Naruto snoozing on his shoulder. "Ah, when did this happen?" Sasuke asked, mostly to himself.
Sakura laughed, it was pretty cute seeing those two acting lovey-dovey. She felt pretty tired too though, and she was also quite tipsy. Without saying a word to anyone, she let her body fall back onto the bed. She immediately began to doze off.
Kakashi took one look at her and then glanced back to Sasuke. "Well, looks like I'm going to sleep now," he said.
"Hmm, I'll have to carry Naruto. How annoying," Sasuke muttered. Kakashi was snuggling himself up next to Sakura, placing a protective arm over her, not really listening to Sasuke.
Sasuke attempted to scoop Naruto up in his arm, but he stumbled along the way. The room was spinning fast, so he carefully laid down on the floor, placing Naruto next to him. He figured he would wait until the spins left him before trying to carry Naruto again.
He closed his eyes in an attempt to help the dizzying effect of the alcohol. Before he knew it, he was in a deep slumber next to his blonde lover on the floor of Kakashi and Sakura's inn room.
…
Author's Note: I'm debating if I should end the story here or continue and write a chapter or two about them revealing their secrets at the spring festival (which I made up haha- not sure if that's a thing in Japan/Naruto-verse)? Thoughts? I wrote this as a short fic but I'm having so much fun writing it that I kind of want to keep going, but not if there's no demand for it…if that makes sense. Anyways, I appreciate all the lovely reviews! Thanks!