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Humming as he made his way through the gates of Konoha, Kakashi could feel relief coursing through his veins. He was home, surrounded by those things he found familiar and more than happy to be so after a three day mission on the other side of Fire Country. He’d never noticed it before, but after the war, the peace he got at seeing those gates and the people manning it
Stopping as the tall form of Jiraiya appears on his path to press a packed up bundle into his hands. Grinning all the while until Kakashi grasps at the bundle and Jiraiya pats him on the shoulder before continuing his journey. Something must have been going on if Jiraiya’s visit was this fleeting. Normally he’d stay longer, there was no mob following him and Kushina-nee wasn’t threatening bodily harm, so it couldn’t be that bad.
“See you next time, Kakashi, make sure you’re able to tell me what you think of it! It’s a piece of art, if I do say so myself.”
The sannin was out of the gates before Kakashi could say anything in return, the mission catching up on him and making him tired enough to want to head home and sleep for a day straight. Jiraiya was at Minato-sensei’s home a lot so he was sure he'd see the man soon enough.
Unpacking the parcel, he isn’t disappointed as the newest edition of Icha Icha stares back at him. Maybe sleep could wait for an hour or so more. If Jiraiya-sama called it a masterpiece it was certainly going to be even better than the previous edition. Opening it up at page one, letting his feet carry him home, his nose buried into the book as he went, he opened the door to the house he shared with Kushina-nee and Minato-sensei. As well as the little sunshine known as Naruto.
“I’m home!”
Steps made him glance up to see Kushina coming out of the kitchen with Naruto in her arms, grinning at him before she noticed the book in his hand. Her gaze quickly changed as she scowled at the cover of the book he was reading.
“I hope you’re not planning on reading that while keeping an eye on Naruto.”
Swallowing thickly, Kakashi closes the book and puts it away so he’d have a chance to finish reading it soon enough, before trying to make sense of what Kushina had asked of him. He couldn’t remember it being his turn to watch the little kid, as much as he loved him all he really wanted now was some sleep. Glancing at the toddler that was hanging in his mother's arms, Kakashi sighed, knowing they had no doubt waited for him to arrive back before coming out of the kitchen anyway.
He’d almost thought Jiraiya sent a toad to his student to let Minato know he was back and on his way home. There was no way they could have timed it that well otherwise, almost making him grumble and think he should just use a shinshun to appear in his bedroom next time.
Forcing a smile as he takes a seat, he knows Kushina is watching him closely, making him look away to set his sight on the toddler in her arms, his smile turns legit at the sight of Naruto staring up at him. Gama-chan, his plush toad, in his hands as he grins up toothily at Kakashi.
‘I guess it won’t be that bad to watch him, I did miss the little guy anyway’, he finds running through his mind as he concentrates on Naruto. Aware, out of the corner of his eye of Minato-sensei waving at him from the door opening to the kitchen. The traitor, despite being Hokage, wouldn’t tell his wife to let Kakashi be after several days on a mission.
Kushina-nee had stayed standing close to the table a little while longer, no doubt to keep an eye out for Kakashi in the event he did get his newest edition of Icha Icha out anyway. He wouldn’t, having learned the hard way that Kushina did not make idle threats. He wasn’t about to let his new book get burned to ashes. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. Accepting Naruto into his own arms, he sets the toddler into his high chair as to be able to keep his hands free (and keep Naruto from escaping to crawl around in the house when his food was almost ready).
The sound of the door closing, as well as Kushina and Minato’s voices sounding through it has him relaxing that much further. Fatigue made him slump forward just that little bit, keeping an eye on Naruto at all times as the little blond had shown himself capable of getting into all kinds of trouble if one lost sight of him for a second.
“What do you think your Tou-chan and Kaa-chan are doing in the kitchen, Naru-chan?”
He doesn’t get an answer, but a soggy Gama-chan to his face, making him grimace as the toy falls down onto the ground. The wet spot on his cheek felt gross, but he knew what he should be expecting given that Naruto was teething and loved using his toy as a teething ring.
Glancing at the toddler banging his hands on his high chair now that he couldn’t use Gama-chan to do so, Kakashi mourned the loss of being able to be entertained as easily as a toddler. Kushina-nee and Minato-sensei were busy in the kitchen and he hoped it was only with cooking or he might not enter there for the first few weeks. He was doubting that, as there was no need for two adults to make a toddler’s meal.
Straining his eyes, he couldn’t hear anything that betrayed his parental figures to be doing anything then cooking. He found that he wasn’t that keen to find out either. Shivering slightly, he made his mind go on another route before he was getting thoughts that he wouldn’t be able to stop.
Naruto cooing at him, reaching towards his fallen plush, has Kakashi moving in his seat.
Bending down to get the toad plushie Naruto had been playing with from the floor to set it on the table again after booping it on Naruto’s nose. Bringing a smile on the little kid’s face. It brightened up his mood as Naruto’s grins were often able to do. Making him grin as Gama-chan was grasped from his hands before Naruto started using the toy to bounce on the table; a lot less noise then his hands he had been using to do so before.
Looking around the house, Kakashi was again reminded of the fact that he lived here too. That after everything that had happened, and the losses he had been dealt with, he had a family again. He didn’t have to be alone, not even in his hurt.
Humming as he let his eye run past the pictures of the wall, of the memories both new and old that would forever stay there so they could be remembered. Feeling almost sentimental at the count of how many of those pictures he was featured in too.
When he first moved in, it was mostly Kushina-nee and Minato-sensei’s stuff that had been around. Now he could see a pair of his own sandals at the door, as well as his kunai pouch on the hook he could see Minato and Kushina’s hanging as well. There was even one left open, to be used by Naruto once he was old enough. There was a dog pillow on the other side of the room with one of Pakkun’s chew toys next to it. His pack wasn’t here right now, but knowing that they had a spot here brought warmth to his chest.
Humming as he glanced at the kitchen, hearing Kushina giggle and Minato’s voice telling her something that made her giggle in the first place. Grimacing as he tried to banish the thought before it could go any further.
“I do wonder what your O-Kaa-chan and O-Tou-Chan are doing in there, Naru-chan.”
The toddler just giggled, holding out Gama-chan towards Kakashi who took it. Knowing that he had to give it back, despite all the toys laying around, it was Gama-chan that was Naruto’s favorite.
It made them wonder if he would sign the same contract as his father and godfather, becoming a partner of the toads in what seemed to be a tradition. Kakashi was sure the toads would love him, if they weren’t sick and tired of hearing Minato-sensei and Jiraiya-sama babble on and on about their (god)son.
Just as he wanted to say something else, the door to the kitchen opened, showing Minato and Kushina coming out of the room. A soft smile on both of their faces as they walked towards the table to set down the kiddie plate with some mashed potatoes and carrots on it. As a toddler, Naruto had only just begun to eat solids, he wasn’t very good at it; but he had his own kind of fun, regardless.
“Did you behave for Kakashi-nii, Naru-chan?”
Babbling at his mother, Naruto grinned at his parents before pointing at Kakashi as if wanting to say anything. Kakashi had no idea what the kid was trying to say, even if Minato and Kushina did have an idea from the look in their eyes. He guessed he wasn’t off the hook yet, rubbing into his one uncovered eye as he sighed, knowing that sleep would still be a little while off.
“Yes, Naru-chan, Kakashi-nii is staying here with you to help you eat your food while kaa-chan and tou-chan are going back to the kitchen to make food for the grown ups.”
Kakashi didn’t have time to say anything before they were gone again, making him think of how he might have been able to go to bed if he hadn’t been reading when he entered the home. He really ought to remember to just shunshin next time, get some sleep before entering the living room and getting roped into watching Naruto.
Kushina didn’t like the literature Jiraiya-sama wrote, doing so when he returned home made him a prime target to be asked to watch after Naruto. Not that he minded doing that, but it brought with it the uncertainty of knowing when he would be able to get a moment to himself. The mission had been brutal, and no matter how much he loved Naruto, he was starting to feel it. Sleep sounds good right now, a moment to recover from everything that had happened.
Shaking his head and reaching towards the plate Naruto was trying to pull towards himself, Kakashi blew on the still warm food. He wasn’t about to let the kid burn himself.
Placing the plate of the table part of the high chair once he was certain it was cool enough, Kakashi swiped Gama-chan away from the line of fire. He knew just how messy of an eater Naruto was on a good day. No need to get the poor toad plush dirty and in need of a wash, they’d be dealing with an unhappy Naruto as soon as he realized his plush wasn’t within reach, for as long as the washing machine needed to be on. They found out about that at one point when Naruto managed to get Gama-chan so dirty that he needed to be washed. The wailing of the baby still resonated in Kakashi’s mind from where they had been forced to separate the two of them for a longer period of time.
Looking at Naruto, he could see the bottom lip wobbling as he realized Gama-chan wasn’t at his side anymore.
“Don’t be sad, Naru, Gama-chan is going to keep you company from the middle of the table. We wouldn’t want him getting dirty, after all.”
As if proving a point, Kakashi sets Gama-chan against an ornament Kushina-nee keeps on the table for whatever reason he never bothered to understand. This is also the moment he realizes that Kishina and Minato have gone back to the kitchen. They might have mentioned it to him, but he is exhausted from his mission and didn’t hear it if they did say something. It makes him wonder what two grown-ups needed to accomplish if they were needed to make food together.
Seeing Naruto reach out again, he attracts the kid’s attention to the plush and where he has left it in Naruto’s sight, but not even close enough to get dirty, not even if Naruto starts to throw food.
As if seeing the stuffed toy sitting there, reassured that the toad isn’t gone or taken away, Naruto laughs again. Slamming his hands hard enough on the table that Kakashi keeps a keen eye on the plate with food to make sure it doesn’t go flying.
That had happened way too many times before, but always when Kakashi wasn’t the one keeping an eye out. Glancing at the door, he wonders what Kushina-nee and Minato-sensei are doing behind it. It can’t possibly take this long to cook dinner for three adults, but he decided not to bother them. They do also need their time alone, and as before he doesn’t want to let his mind wander too close to the truth. There are certain things he just doesn’t want to know.
Looking at Naruto again, Kakashi sighs as he sees that the kid has managed to use his hands in his mashed vegetables, putting them into his mouth but making sure to smear it over his hands and his whole face.
He doesn’t interfere right that moment, knowing that Naruto would just keep doing it. It was better to let him eat and clean him up later. They had learned that the hard way, and Kakashi made sure to learn from those mistakes too.
The little kid seems to be having fun too, going by the smile on his face, it makes Kakashi think about someone else who also always wore a smile like that on their face. It’s moments like this, when he feels at home and accepted in this family, that he thinks about his late teammates and how they can’t be there to enjoy this with him. He hated that they couldn’t be here to see all of this with him, that they weren’t featured on the pictures except for the one of Minato-sensei with his team (before it all went to shit).
Obito and Rin would have been so happy that Kushina-nee and Minato-sensei were married and had a son. A healthy baby boy like they always talked about having, in a new chapter in their lives with Kushina as one of Konoha’s best teachers and Minato as the Hokage entering a never before seen era of peace. To see what it was they had all been fighting for, and what had been achieved at the end of it.
“Sometimes I wish you could be here to see this with me. To see what happened after the war. To see what you both died for.”
Wiping at his eyes as he feels tears gather, Kakashi tries not to make them fall. He misses them the most on days like this, especially when he is tired and his mind just whistles from one thing to the other. Emotionally exhausted as he was, he just didn’t have the energy to keep a mask on. He missed his friends, the people he grew up with, and those that should be here to enjoy these moments with him.
Obito would be so happy to be here, to babysit Naruto, he loved children and while the odd one out in his clan he was the designated babysitter for almost everyone in the Uchiha clan. He’d put Naruto before the children of his clan even, as Minato-sensei had been rooting for him all along. The Uchiha not so much, even if they had changed their tune after he perished. Biting his lip as if thinking if this would be a good idea, Kakashi uncovers his sharingan eye and opens it, feeling the burn on his reserves but persisting to make sure this was captured. Taking the time to look at Naruto eating and burning it on the retina, hoping that his eye is still connected to Obito in a way and his best friend can see the baby their sensei and his now wife had and how great he’s looking.
“Even if he’s making an artwork of himself with all the food he’s smearing all over him, he’s amazing Obito.”
He sighs, before adding, “I hope… I hope that at least you and Rin are together again. That you can look at everything that is happening here and that you miss us as much as we miss you.”
As happened before, his eye starts to hurt before a small stream of blood starts leaking out of it. Groaning, Kakashi covers his eye up again, taking a napkin to dab at the blood and hope it doesn’t leave a trace on his face.
Futile as it is, he still tries, before looking at Naruto and being shocked at the way the little boy is looking at him. His gaze was intense in a way that Kakashi wasn’t expecting, almost as if he was making sure Kakashi knew his pain was meant to be felt.
“I’ll be fine, Naru.”
A toothy grin was all the answer he got, and all the answer he needed, before Naruto went right back to eating his meshed vegetables. Most of it had managed to make its way to his mouth, luckily.
Chuckling, Kakashi leans on his hands to look at Naruto as he eats some more.
“They would love you, you know. Obito and Rin, they would be ecstatic to see you and to know that Minato-sensei got his head out of his ass enough to be able to get you.”
Looking at the door again, almost expecting Kushina to appear as he said ass, he grins.
“As amazing as your father looks right now, he wasn’t always like this. I promise to tell you all about it at one point. To tell you what an amazing man he was as a sensei, and what a dork he was as soon as your mother got close to him before they were officially dating. It was cute."
Part of Kakashi was glad that Naruto would grow up in a time of peace, on the other hand, he hated that to get to peace he had to lose so many people close to him. Coming out of the war and Minato becoming Hokage did mean that Kakashi was assigned a Yamanaka therapist, who did help him to see that he had a lot of unresolved issues involving his father’s death too. The scare they had at Naruto’s birth was enough to make them realize that losing her or Minato so soon would have broken a part of him that he didn’t want to think about. Ever since knowing, Kakashi made sure to spend time with the people he now saw as family, that it was ok to leave off his masks for a while and to just enjoy these times together. As much as he hoped not, one could never know when times of peace could be over.
Looking at Naruto and the fun the kid was having with mashed vegetables and trying to get them into his mouth, missing it by a mile and smearing it all into his face, Kakashi couldn’t help but think that Rin and Obito would have loved to see this part of their life too.
Both of his late teammates had loved children, and had both mentioned wanting children of their own when they were old enough. As that wouldn’t happen for a good while when the subject came up, he figured that had they been here today they would have been delighted in seeing Naruto sitting there.
Glancing back at the kitchen door, still suspiciously closed, he knew that both of them would be so very happy for Kushina and Minato too. All three of them had seen the relationship between them grow, to know that they would eventually marry and have a child was a joy to think about.
Of course, thoughts like that we clouded by the fact that neither Rin or Obito were here to see it. Both of them had died in the last war, or the aftermath of said war. It hurt, and made him stretch his arms out in front of them, before folding them together and resting his head on it. It weighed heavy on Kakashi’s mind, both of their deaths something that his therapist often talked about or got him to talk about. He wished he didn’t have to, but moments like these put it all into perspective just how often he did think about Rin and Obito. How often he found himself thinking that the both of them would have loved to see this or that, that they deserved to see this or that.
Feeling the weight of the sharingan he now sparted, Kakashi almost wished he never had to cover up his eye to begin with, that he could use Obito’s Sharingan to keep a log of everything that was happening while they weren’t here. Hoping, partly, that it was still connected to Obito in such a way that he at least could catch a glimpse of Naruto and of the future he helped secure by giving up his life.
Sighing, he decided not to do this, blinking when a small hand patted the table and made him look up. Keeping (and failing) to keep a snort at bay at the sight of Naruto’s mashed vegetables not on the plate anymore, but also not inside of his mouth where they should be.
“You managed to make quite the mess of yourself, didn’t you.”
All he got was a giggle as an answer, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth as Kakashi unfolded himself from the chair he was in and went to get a wet washcloth. Keeping an eye on Naruto at all times, as the little tyke had shown that he was quite the escape artist. He didn’t want to chase after a little one that was covered in mashed vegetables and would leave a trail all over the house (of course if he did, it wouldn’t be so hard to notice where he went). He was too tired to also clean up after a crawling toddler right now, so keeping an eye on the little one was all he needed to do now.
Moving fast to get the washcloth wet, Kakashi moved back towards Naruto’s high chair, happy to note that he was happy looking at Kakashi instead of trying to escape the high chair on his own. Reaching forward to wash off Naruto’s face, he had to suppress a sigh as he felt something damp press against his mask, almost the exact same spot as Gama-chan had landed not too long before, followed by a shrieking giggle from the little blond in front of him.
How could he forget that Naruto really loved faces right now, he would try to press his hands against the face of whoever visited, making sure to explore on touch and find it fascinating all the same. Especially a covered face like Kakashi’s was even more worth exploring as he couldn’t see what was going on beneath the cloth.
As children, especially toddlers did, Naruto also didn’t know that he shouldn’t do that with hands covered in whatever. Maybe it was a good thing that it was only mashed vegetables and not something else (that Kakashi didn’t want to think about).
“Really Naru?”
He got another giggle, as the hands went on to explore, pressing from his chin all the way up his nose. Making him sigh, before continuing to wash off the mic of carrots and potatoes on Naruto’s face, before taking one of the hands still making a mess of his mask to clean it up.
Finding that when he took the other one, Naruto went right back to patting at his mask with his clean hand, making it sticky once more.
Sighing once again, looking at the door of the kitchen, debating if he should just take off his mask or not, Kakashi debated with himself before doing just that. Unhooking it from where it seamlessly attached to his shirt and pulling it over his head while trying not to get any of the orange food into his hair.
Grinning, as Naruto stared at his now uncovered face, a treat as Kakashi never really felt the need to uncover anymore. Something that had started ages ago became such a second nature that he didn’t think not doing it would make that much of a difference. For Naruto, naturally, it did. The little guy was so fascinated by all the different people he had around him that something new or odd took away his attention in an instant.
Booping him on the nose, it got Kakashi a shriek and waving hands. Making it easy to capture one after the other to wash them off and get Naruto as a whole cleaned up. Making use of the kid’s fascination with his uncovered face to ensure he didn’t have to keep cleaning up after him.
Once he was certain Naruto was clean, he picked him out of his high chair and placed him onto his lap. Grinning at the slight weight as the toddler settled, and pulling the plate closer to him to use the spoon Kushina had left with it to scrape out the last of the mashed veggies and feed them to Naruto, to make sure that at least some of the food made it where it was supposed to be.
It was something that he enjoyed doing, even if he wouldn’t admit to it, but he adored these little moments. Even dead tired as he was right now, Naruto was a true sunshine in the way he interacted with everyone around him. Kakashi, living in the same house and his honorary big brother as Minto and Kushine were to be believed, was one of his obvious favorites in that he was always getting a smile from the toddler whenever he passed by.
He wouldn’t say it out loud, but he knew that Minato and Kushina were glad that he was here, and not just for the free babysitting he could provide.
They too had seen the toll the war took on him, and the way Naruto of all people seemed to relieve some of that burden from his shoulders.
“Say Naru, what do you think your o-tou-san and o-kaa-san are doing in the kitchen?”
Instead of an answer, which he wasn’t expecting, a giggle sounded through the living room. Making Kakashi snort, “Yeah who knows…”
Washing off Naruto’s face one last time as he finishes feeding him, Kakashi holds the toddler on one hip as he sets about cleaning up. After Naruto had managed to get himself covered in mashed veggies, it wasn’t that surprising that the table and the high chair weren’t looking any better. The ease at which he did it, showed that he had been doing this much too often at times.
Concentrated on what he was doing, and nuzzling his nose into Naruto’s cheek whenever he could, Kakashi wasn’t at all prepared for the giggle that sounded from the kitchen door. Startled, he looked up to see Kushina and Minato standing there, a huge smile on their faces as they stared at the two of them constantly.
As soon as they realized Kakashi had noticed them, Kushina took a step closer to scoop Naruto out of his arms.
“Were you a good boy for Kakashi-nii, Naru-chan?”
As expected, the little one just giggled, patting his mother on her cheek before getting engrossed in the rich red hair she sported. Tangling his hands into it just to hold, never hurting her, as his eyes roamed over her face, before doing the same thing to Minato who was standing a bit further away.
Kakashi hesitated a bit, before mentioning, “He tried to eat by himself again, but ended up giving himself a carrot scrub and trying to do the same thing to the high chair and table.”
This had Kushina laughing, while Minato started to smile, shaking his head as he often did when something funny happened with his kids. Oddly enough, Kakashi could recognize the look as being directed to him a couple of times in the past. It made him feel warm inside, getting the affirmation that he truly was a part of the family, that he could call himself Naruto’s big brother. Even if Minato was something of a cross between a big brother and a father figure, that didn’t take away that he never expected to feel like this anymore.
As if knowing what he was thinking, Minato looked up from where he was looking at his wife and child to lock eyes with Kakashi.
Those gentle blue orbs brought with it a sense of peace and security, they didn’t even look odd that Kakashi wasn’t wearing his signature mask. Just gently looking him over, before taking the few steps that separated them to pat him on the shoulder.
“Thanks for looking after Naruto, Kashi.”
Blushing slightly, Kakashi shook his head, “It’s not like it’s a hard task to complete, not with a little sunshine like him to look after.”
He followed up that statement with ticking the underside of Naruto’s feet, making him shriek and giggle all the more, turning back to Kakashi and waving his little hands in what was obviously joy at what he had done.
“I sure hope he can keep that smile, sensei.”
Minato’s hand pats him on the shoulder again, “I’m sure with a big brother like you watching over him, that won’t give a problem.”
He smiled at that, leaning into the embrace that follows when Minato’s hand comes to wrap around his shoulders to pull him into his side. The feeling of family and togetherness warming up Kakashi, knowing that he found his space right here. Despite everything that happened, moments like this make it all worth it.