"What are you two doing?" Five year old Naruto asked looking at Kakashi and Tenzo who were glaring at each other with an intensity that Naruto imagined lightning between them. Anko was perched on his bed eating snacks and changing the TV as if it were her apartment and Naruto couldn't help but find that sight quit comforting.
Tenzo and Anko were easy to get used to, Anko more because she was extroverted and could quite relate to him with being an outcast and a pariah in the village. She had a deep deep special place in his heart, maybe because he had never had a mother or a sister and even though she would never become his mother, she could be really close. It didn't help that for his birthday, she had gotten him ichiraku ramen in several bowls which made him cry quite embarrassingly when he realized how much he missed the taste of it.
Shikamaru had gotten the three of them matching necklaces which had the insignia of the Nara clan. Choji being Choji got him a huge bag of chips and a stuffed fox. Which had made the voice in his head hmph in pride.
Naruto still didn't know who the voice was, but it appeared occasionally to him and Naruto ended up getting used to it.
Tenzo had brought him books which just so happened to be part of the Uzumaki clan. And Kakashi got him a photo album and a ...Kunai. A really really fancy Kunai that Kakashi had said belonged to the Yondaime, his sensei and Naruto's father.
Naruto had cried again at that thought and had began to keep the Kunai with him at all times with the poisoned Kunai he had gotten from Anko of course. Moral of the story was life was pretty good. He still didn't come out at all, but he was still not as prejudiced as to it before since he realized that the stares and looks truly didn't matter to him anymore.
He looked at Tenzo who sighed, "I've been relieved off duty and the next one is our youngest ANBU yet, Uchiha Itachi" Naruto nodded at that, but he didn't really know Itachi so he was confused.
Anko seemed to know, she bolted up from her very comfortable position and pat the bed next to her. He came to her and she started speaking about how great and mighty Itachi was and how he had graduated early and was the third prodigy to be ever seen since the Fourth Hokage and Kakashi.
She even went farther to say that Itachi was an even bigger prodigy than Kakashi, which would have been a joke if it were not true, Anko's words not his, and Naruto swore he had never seen Kakashi look so bitter.
"He's going to be guarding me?" Tenzo nodded and Naruto looked at Kakashi wondering what was the problem. "The kid's good, really really good. He's ten, Naruto. Ten and at ANBU level meaning that if Kakashi didn't have experience, Itachi would win. I'm pretty sure he can beat me" Anko said and Naruto's eyes widened, that was just five years ahead of him and Kakashi had joined ANBU at fourteen.
"We get it Anko" Kakashi said as he twitched and Naruto's world wide view shifted thinking about the Uchiha prodigy. ANBU at ten, that was too cool. "That's really really cool" Naruto said and Kakashi twitched again.
"Then maybe you want him to be your neighbor huh" Kakashi muttered bitterly and Tenzo snorted, whilst Naruto grinned at Kakashi's jealous look. "Eh don't be jelly Neighbor-san you'll always be my favourite" Naruto said as he went and rubbed Kakashi's back as if he were comforting a child, and Anko and Tenzo lost their shits whilst Kakashi glared clearly annoyed.
Naruto smiled faintly as he looked at the ANBU captain. He could tell Kakashi was also talking about the fact that Naruto never called him by his name. He called Anko and Tenzo by their names and it was quite easy to, he could even call them nicknames when he wanted to, but with Kakashi, Naruto just..couldn't.
Three months before, during Shikamaru's birthday, he had heard the Uchiha kid with a weird hairstyle called the pony tailed man who was also an Uchiha it seemed, his Nii-san, and Naruto concluded that he could never burden the other to be his "dad" so the next best thing was his "brother"
Shikamaru had asked him if he really wanted to call the man his "brother" as if he had known he wanted to call Kakashi his dad, but Naruto had stayed adamant. Obviously he didn't fool anyone, Shikamaru insisted he called Kakashi to what was true in his heart and Choji had nodded at that, telling him that Kakashi wouldn't mind at all.
Naruto was skeptical after that, then contemplated it for months on end wondering whether to ask or not.
He hadn't until now, and Naruto firmly decided that brother that was a more appropriate address, even though it wasn't staying true to his heart.
"Ne, Kakashi" Naruto whispered, calling him by his first name. The man looked at Naruto who was looking down and ruffled his hair as a sign to continue. Naruto exhaled, "can I call you Nii-san?" The atmosphere was silent, and Naruto desperately wished he hadn't asked. He kept on looking down, then he heard Kakashi's earth shattering words.
"You can't"
Of course...He should have never asked.
The heart wrenching pain of being denied hit him like a tidal wave, until a paper was put infront of him and Naruto looked down to see large words on it...
"ADOPTED"
"FATHER : HATAKE KAKASHI"
And Naruto's hair was ruffled, "I already adopted you as my child. I'm sorry Kid" Naruto was stunned, his trembling hands picked the paper and held it to his chest and tears fell slides down his cheeks and Kakashi hugged him gently, "Then Dad right?" And Kakashi chuckled, "yeah, I like it better anyway" and Naruto smiled through his tears.
"Me too. Me too"