Work Text:
Weep not for roads untraveled
Weep not for sights unseen
May your love never end and if you need a friend,
There's a seat here alongside me
- Roads Untraveled, Linkin Park
♡ 15 ♡
“Babysitting?” The thin fabric of Kakashi's mask isn't enough to conceal how his face twists into a fierce scowl. “Seriously, Minato-sensei? Your super ultra top priority secret mission is.. babysitting?”
Minato raises a single finger and grins shamelessly. “That's right! With the rising tension between the other nations and the Uzumaki, it's important for Kushina to attend the Kage summit. Little Naruto here will need someone to look after him while we’re gone.”
The infant in question is bundled in impossibly soft blankets, the bold vermilion swirl of the Uzumaki kamon a stark contrast to the snow white fabric. Rin cradles him close and coos at the tiny curious face poking out. Obito leans over her shoulder, eyes impossibly wide with curiosity as he takes in the sight of the little spark.
Apparently, Kakashi is the only one on this team with a bit of sense.
“But Minato-sensei, we’re shinobi. We can’t be babysitting! We need a real mission!”
Minato’s grin softens to an understanding smile, but, somehow, it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “This is a real mission, Kakashi. Being a shinobi isn’t always about infiltration or assassination.”
Kakashi’s scowl deepens. Of course being a shinobi isn’t always about assassinations or infiltrations. But Minato himself has already mentioned the tense relations between the nations – especially from Suna, he’d like to point out – and spending their time babysitting instead of defending their borders and preparing Konoha for the inevitable war frankly seems like a waste of valuable time. He’d expected something serious – and perhaps even a little exciting – when Mintao first mentioned a top priority mission. Not… this.
“I know, but–”
“It’s only for a few days. Consider this a new kind of training exercise.” Minato’s tone is sharp, leaving no room for further protests. Then, with a hint of teasing, he adds, “I hear your father used to pull garden weeds for old ladies! Surely babysitting is better than that?”
Kakashi’s fingers curl into tight fists at his sides. He doesn't want to hear about his father. Not now, not after… “And what exactly are we supposed to learn from this,” he grinds out.
Something within Minato shifts the moment the question leaves Kakashi's lips. There’s an air of seriousness about him – a strictness typically reserved for the battlefield and not regarding allies. His eyes carefully search Kakashi’s face, but what exactly it is he’s looking for, the young chunin can’t be sure. “Protecting life is just as important as taking it. Especially in times of conflict.”
And then he's gone as if he'd never been there.
Kakashi controls his anger and frustration as best he can. He understands what this is really about, but he doesn't need help. Sakumo made his choices – and his mistakes – and Kakashi will be sure not to repeat them. There is no time for Minato's ‘vital life-saving lessons in wisdom and humility’, or whatever it is he's calling it these days. Not when they should be training, preparing mind and body for the war to come. How is he the only one that understands this?
Obito watches him with a worried frown, his stare not in the least bit subtle despite how hard he tries. The young Uchiha has always been like a rock tethering him to the moment with his friendship and even now, when he wants nothing more to rage and fight, he appreciates the steadfast commitment. For his friend's sake, he forces down the anger and bitterness.
“Maa, I can't believe Minato-sensei is making us watch his kid,” he comments lightly, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
Dark eyes search every inch of Kakashi's posture. Obito, Sage bless him, picks up on his unwillingness to talk about what plagues his thoughts and plays along.
“C'mon, Kakashi, it's just a baby! How bad can it be?”
As if wanting his own opinion to be known, the tiny infant in Rin’s arms stretches his mouth wide and releases an ear-shattering cry.
–
Caring for a baby, it turns out, is a whole new kind of battlefield.
Naruto screams and flails his tiny fists. At some point he manages to grab a fistful of Obito's dark hair and pulls, and suddenly there's two voices wailing at the top of their lungs. Neither teen know how to care for a child. There’s no better way to describe the situation other than an utter disaster. If Rin were here, she would know what to do - she is an older sister where they are the only child – but it's just their luck she'd been pulled away by a Yamanaka sensei Kakashi's only seen in passing.
Kakashi tries to calm Naruto with too-rough rocking, bouncing, and anxious shushes. Obito rushes to prepare a bottle, guessing that the infant must be hungry (“Kakashi, how often is it supposed to eat??” “How the hells should I know?!”). A string of shrill curses and crashing streaming from the kitchen has Kakashi wincing. There's several minutes of silence in which he's almost certain he'll need to rescue Obito from some unknown horror – or, more likely, save the kitchen from the horror that is Obito – but he soon emerges in one piece.
A single quick glance at the disgruntled Uchiha is all it takes to lift the dark mood that has settled over Kakashi since the start of their ‘mission’. His startled laugh momentarily drowns out Naruto's hungry shrieks.
The white powder of baby formula covers nearly every inch of Obito's Uchiha mantle. Somehow, he's even got it in his hair and caked over the left lense of his goggles. One of his sleeves is singed – he must have somehow set himself alight while heating the bottle – and a clump of half-mixed powder is smeared across a single cheek. An expression caught between indignation and relief twists his face the longer Kakashi laughs at his misfortune. Relief wins out and he grins sheepishly, holding the bottle out for Kakashi to take. A light blush dusts his cheeks. “I'll, um, clean the kitchen if you feed him?”
Something in Kakashi's heart begins to thaw.
(As it turns out, this wouldn't be the only time Team Minato is tasked with watching over the little menace. Rin manages to weasel her way out of the responsibility more than once – Kakashi suspects, as an older sibling, she needs the quiet time.)
♡ 21 ♡
“Tadaima,” Kakashi calls as he shuffles into his shared apartment, struggling to peer overtop the paper bags filling his arms. A low, harsh shhh! chides from somewhere deeper within. Curious, he deposits the groceries onto the kitchen table and pads toward the living space.
The first thing he notices is the mess.
It’s as if a child-sized hurricane had snatched every available toy between here and Water and flug them about the room. Colorful building blocks, wooden kunai, and little figurines litter every available inch of space. There's even an Uzushio scroll rolled out and stretched across the floor. Its surface is covered in childish doodles and messy kanji. At the epicenter of all the chaos is Obito and Naruto. The six year old is fast asleep, cradled close to the Uchiha and surrounded by a dozen blankets. A plush Kurama – stitched together with love by Rin – is clutched close to his chest.
It's the most Kakashi's seen the child at peace since his parents died a year ago.
The Kyuubi's attack had been sudden and unexpected, stealing away many lives in the dead of night. Among those lost were the Yondaime and his beloved wife, their lives sacrificed to seal the fox spirit within their young son, ending its rampage on Konoha. Naruto had been sullen and lost. He sought comfort in Kakashi and Obito's company and it wasn't long before the couple took him in, however unofficial the adoption was. It seemed to ease the boy's mind and make his loss easier to process, but he'd lost so much of his vigor that Kakashi began to worry – it reminded him too much of his own struggle after his father's suicide, of the dark place it trapped his mind.
The mess is a welcome sight. It's tangible proof their little spark is healing.
Kakashi – carefully so as to not wake the child – steps across the field of toys and settles beside his partner, brushing his lips against Obito's forehead. His heart swells with love at the Uchiha’s sweet smile.
(Several months later, they marry. Naruto insists the stuffed Kurama must be involved in the small ceremony and neither men protest.)
♡ 27 ♡
The mission goes horribly wrong.
He'd been so determined not to repeat his father's mistakes. Shunned him, even, just as the rest of Konoha had. Now, he understands. Sometimes, it isn't the mission that matters. Sometimes, it's your husband and best friend on the battlefield. It's the people you care about risking their lives, and sometimes the risk is too great.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, no matter how loud you scream and cry and beg, you can't save them.
Kakashi's desperate for a bottle of the strongest sake Konoha has to offer. Desperate to drink away his sorrows, to forget the agony clawing at his lungs and burning at his eyes. Losing Rin had already been a blow, but to lose Obito too…
His husband's desperate plea of run, please, and save Rin! still rings in his ears. His hands are clean, yet all he can see and feel and smell is Rin's blood coating his fingers.
Sage, he wants to sleep and never again open his eyes. But he can't. He can't, because–
The couch dips as a weight settles at his side. A small hand reaches up and carefully brushes away the tears trailing down his left cheek, right below where his new Sharingan spins.
“I miss him too,” Naruto whispers. His face is open and honest, filled with every bit of emotion a twelve-year-old feels. He's crying, too, but puts on his best brave voice. For Kakashi's sake. “Rin-nee will keep him safe.”
So much strength for such a young spark.
Naruto accepts the crushing embrace. They mourn together until long after the sun sets, whispering familiar stories of their lost companions.
(How our little Naruto has grown. Are you watching, Obito? Are you proud, Minato-sensei? He still carries that plush everywhere he goes, Rin. Please… keep him safe.)
♡ 32 ♡
Obito is alive.
The realization is a heavy blow to Kakashi's heart.
He is alive, but he stands at Madara's side as an enemy to the shinobi nations. Not once had he sought Kakashi out: For some inexplicable reason, he's chosen a path of hatred. The realization stings – leaving him behind had been one of the hardest things the Hatake has ever done. Still, the Uchiha speaks of lost love and betrayals. He looks at Kakashi as if seeing through him, an angry slant of his lips the only indication he recognizes his husband.
Kakashi feels himself shattering into a million little pieces. Beside him, Naruto is equally broken. It's for his sake that Kakashi grits his teeth until they threaten to crack and forces himself to stay strong.
He may have failed Rin and Obito, but he will not fail Naruto.
–
It's over.
Madara, Zetsu, Kaguya – they’re all gone, banished from this world one way or another. The shinobi alliance celebrates. Those lucky enough to survive clutch each other close and cheer.
Kakashi cannot share in their joy. Kneeling at Obito's side, he's painfully aware of the part he's played in their losses.
“I wasn't strong enough to save her,” Kakashi chokes out as he desperately clings to his dying husband. “I couldn't save you. I'm so sorry, anata.”
“It's not your fault,” Obito whispers back, burying his face into Kakashi's shoulder. “I told you to run. Rin.. Rin made her choice. I let Madara’s words poison our memories together.”
They share precious moments in silence, observing the reunited families with wistful eyes. A familiar voice rises above the clamor. At the center of the gathered shinobi, Naruto is revered as a hero.
Their son in all but blood.
“He sure has grown up… hasn't he, K?”
An impossibly soft smile graces Obito's exhausted face. He's missed so much of their little spark’s growth, but it seems Kakashi's done well in raising a fine young man. He'll be able to rest in peace knowing his little family, however broken and imperfect, will find a way forward, even without him.
“Thank you, K. For loving me as you did.”
There's nothing left to say. Kakashi rips the mask from his face. They share one last, desperate kiss, Obito's fingers trembling where they press into Kakashi's cheek. Everything they could never say is shared in that solemn press of lips.
The hand slips away, but the smile never fades.
Kakashi's left kneeling alone amongst the ashes of what they could have been.
(No matter how long it will take, Obito will wait. He keeps vigil over his husband and their little spark, glowing with pride at the difference they make for the people of Konoha – for the world at large. And when it’s their time to pass into the Pure Lands, Obito will be there to guide them every step of the way.)