Personal Imp

This one, yet another deviation from my norm, was written as a gift for Kami no Noshikage. I am a fan of KakaNaru and there isn't enough of it for me so writing this little bit of fluff was a lot of fun for me.

WARNING: Two guys kiss in this fluffy little bit o'joy.

Disclaimer: Read above the author's note.

'thoughts'

empahsis


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In a clearing outside of Konoha, Naruto stared at his team captain in a way that was starting to get on the jonin's nerves as they sat up on watch duty. The copy ninja flicked a leaf off his arm and met Naruto's eyes, "Is there something you need Naruto?"

Naruto blinked and realized that he'd been staring at Kakashi again, a habit that he'd formed back when team 7 had still been whole. He usually hid it better but since there wasn't any point in pretending he hadn't been staring Naruto decided to ask a question that had been bugging him for years, "Why do you wear a mask Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi felt his jaw drop in surprise, "What?"

"Why do you wear a mask? I've always wondered but I've never been able to figure out why. I don't think you're weird looking under the mask cause that material is pretty thin so you can't be hiding anything like huge buck teeth or lips the size of Baa-chan's boobs and I don't think that scars would bug you too much so why wear it?"

"You don't think having facial scars would bother me?"

"Not so much that you'd wear a towel around your face in a hot spring with your genin team just to hide them."

"Why is knowing why I wear it so important to you?"

Naruto shrugged, "I don't know except that it bothers me that you're bothered enough to always hide your face, even around people you can trust."

Kakashi heard the unspoken 'like me' in Naruto's voice. He leaned back against the tree behind him, "I look like my father."

Naruto was silent for a moment then he met Kakashi's eye steadily, "Are you ashamed because he put his friends before a mission or because he wasn't strong enough to face the scorn of everyone for abandoning a mission?"

Kakashi's eyes widened and he stiffened, "How do you know about that?"

"After we got back from the mission to rescue Gaara I looked up the White Fang of Konoha because Chiyo-baba called you that when she attacked you."

Kakashi was completely still, "And?"

"And along with the report on his mission failure and his suicide it gave his name and the name of his son, you Kakashi-sensei."

"Hmph and what did you think about the report?"

"I felt sorry for him."

The copy ninja stared at Naruto, "You what?"

"I felt and still feel sorry for him. He spent his whole life praised and lauded by everyone and then when he put the people in his team before the mission he was scorned and despised by everyone. It was a complete one eighty from how he'd been treated before the failed mission, it must have been difficult and confusing for him."

Kakashi closed his eyes and leaned his head against the tree, "It was. He started drinking first then when the alcohol wasn't enough he began using drugs he stole from the hospitals. When the drugs didn't work any more he took that last step. You want to know if I'm ashamed of him? Yes, I'm ashamed of the man he became but that's not why I wear the mask. Before I started wearing a mask, people would look at me and see him. I got sick of being treated like it was only a matter of time until I did the same thing he had done so I hid my face and stuck to the rules of shinobi strictly, never deviating from how a shinobi is supposed to act. I was never late, never showed emotions beyond scorn for those who didn't follow the rules, and I always put the mission first."

Kakashi looked back at Naruto who had his eyes closed, thinking. The fox vessel opened his eyes and gave Kakashi an understanding look, "So the mask is so people see you not your father. I can get why you used to wear the mask but you have your own name, your own reputation now. Why still wear it?"

"Because I don't want to see his face when I look in the mirror."

Naruto fiddled with a stick, "Huh complete opposite of me."

"What?"

Naruto smiled self depreciatingly, "Every morning I stare at myself and wonder which features I got from my parents. Do I have my mom's eyes, my dad's nose? I keep trying to piece together what my parents looked like from my face but I never can because I don't know which feature I got from my mother and which feature I got from my father."

Kakashi felt the bottom drop out of his stomach, "You don't know who your parents are?"

Naruto shook his head, "I've asked Baa-chan and Ero-sennin but they won't tell me. They say it's better I don't know," Naruto looked pleadingly at Kakashi, "Do you think that's because my parents hate me like the rest of the village and don't want the Kyuubi brat as their son?"

Kakashi found himself across the clearing in an instant, his hands on Naruto's shoulders, meeting the pain filled blue eyes, "No. Naruto your parents do not hate you. I know damn good and well that they'd be so proud of you that they'd be bragging to everyone they saw how great their son is."

Bright fathomless blue eyes searched a single dark gray eye, "They're dead aren't they?"

Kakashi nodded, "I'm sorry Naruto."

"S'not your fault Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi moved a hand from Naruto's shoulder to a whiskered cheek, "You want to know what features you get from your parents Naruto? You are almost a mirror image of your father but the shape of your eyes and jaw is that of your mother's. Your compassion and kindness reminds me so much of your father but your impatience, brash words and wild nature is textbook Kushina and you got your determination from both of them."

"Kushina?"

"That was your mother's name."

Naruto grabbed Kakashi's wrist and gripped desperately, "You knew them? You knew my parents?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yes I did."

"Who were they? Please tell me."

Kakashi closed his eyes, "This may not be the right thing to do but you do need to know. Your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina, she was a kunoichi from the now defunct Whirlpool country. Your father was Namikaze Minato, he was...my sensei,the Yondaime."

Naruto's eyes widened and his hand fell limply from Kakashi's wrist, "My father was the one who sealed Kyuubi inside me?"

Kakashi nodded and bit his lip, waiting for the explosion only to have Naruto surprise him by smiling, "That answers one question I've been asking myself for ages."

"What question?"

"Why me? Of all the children born on October 10th why was it me? It makes perfect sense that he'd seal the fox in his son, how could he ask another parent to do something he wouldn't? He wouldn't be worthy of being Hokage if he had."

Kakashi swallowed thickly at those words. He'd always been worried that Naruto would hate Minato for sealing the fox into him but instead he was accepting and even a little proud. The copy ninja closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to meet Naruto's again, "Your father would be proud of you Naruto. Not only for the way you've shouldered the burden of the fox or the amazing shinobi you are but also for the compassionate, protective, forgiving man you've become."

Naruto gave Kakashi a bright honest smile, "Thank you Kakashi-sensei."

The copy ninja shook his head, "No Naruto, thank you."

"For wh-," Naruto's voice died and his jaw dropped as Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate up, hooked a finger in the mask, and drew it down revealing his face. High cheekbones, a well defined jaw, surprisingly delicate nose and full lips that curled up in a smile combined to form a face of incredible masculine beauty. Naruto raised a hand and traced his fingers lightly over the features of the jonin. He wasn't girlishly pretty like Sasuke or Haku, his face was too angular for that, but he was one of the most gorgeous men Naruto had ever seen.

Kakashi blinked in surprise at the small tingle left in the wake of Naruto's fingers and the awed look on the younger man's face. He watched the moonlight and the firelight play over the blond's features, struck by how the former loudmouth of his team had matured. 'When did he get so beautiful? Whoa did I just call Naruto beautiful?' The silver haired man studied his former student closer. A small smile tilted the corners of the plush mouth and the blue eyes sparkled with wonder and just a hint of mischief and Kakashi had to admit that the blond had grown up and grown up damn good looking.

Naruto kept tracing his former teacher's features, "What were you thanking me for Kakashi-sensei?"

"For reminding me that what my father did and who he was before he became an suicidal addict is something to be proud of, for being proud of your own father despite the burden he placed on you, for just being you Naruto."

"That's kind of a silly thing to thank someone for. Besides I'm not all that special."

"Yes you are special. You have a way of making people feel comforted and happy just by being yourself Naruto. It's a gift you have along with the way you change people for the better. You're vitally important to many people."

The blond snorted, "Yeah right. Like who?"

"Gaara, Neji, Tsunade-sama, Sasuke, to name just a few of the people you're important to."

Naruto's brows knit and he nibbled on his bottom lip, "What about you? Am I important to you too? As more than your old student, your nakama, your sensei's son?"

Kakashi blinked and he leaned close, "Yes Naruto. You are important to me, you are one of my very precious people."

The blond swallowed and whispered, "Kakashi-sensei? Could...could you kiss me?"

A small shock of surprise ran through the copy ninja and he was lost for words for a few moments. Naruto, taking his silence as rejection, pulled away a bit, dropping his hand from Kakashi's face, "Never mind just forget I said any-mmph."

Naruto's blue eyes opened wide as Kakashi's soft lips claimed his own gently. The copy ninja moved his mouth against Naruto's, seeking a response that wasn't long in coming. The blond closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around the older man's neck as he returned the pressure of the kiss. Kakashi cupped the back of the blond's head, fingers tunneling into the soft golden hair as their mouths moved together, absorbing the texture and taste of the other.

Naruto's lips parted to allow his tongue to flick over the seam of Kakashi's mouth tentatively. The older man opened to the gently lick and let Naruto's tongue in to explore his mouth, greeting it with his own. Their tongues tangled and danced together lazily until air became a necessity and they broke apart panting.

The Uzumaki searched the jonin's eyes nervously, worried that Kakashi might be angry now that the heat of the moment was over. The copy ninja smiled reassuringly as he ran his fingers through golden strands of hair, "I hope you're willing to deal with the consequences of getting involved with me Naruto. A lot of people won't think it's proper because I'm so much older than you and I'm not the easiest person to deal with."

A blaze of joy lit in the sapphire depths of the jinchuurikii's eyes and the blond drawled, "Noooo really? I'd never have guessed."

Kakashi tweaked Naruto's nose, "Imp."

"Mmm but now I'm your imp and I don't care what other people think as long as I've got you."

A crooked smile graced the older man's lips, "Then I'm more than happy to claim you as my own personal imp."

Naruto grinned, "Good other wise I'd have to chase after you," and leaned in for another kiss.

"Anytime you want to chase I'll gladly let you catch me."

After that words were a bit useless since Kakashi's mouth was occupied with keeping his personal imp happy.

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Well I hope you all liked it. Please review and feed the writing beast for me? Til next fic, Ja ne!