Man this is one of those things where I think I'm having a normal moment, just chilling on the balcony having a smoke and listening to music, and then suddenly BAMM. I'm standing with a half smoked cigarette, music still blasting in my ears and my mind going "Naruto.. Iruka.. Kakashi.. train station.. meeting him there and... etc..etc.." And then I throw away all my homework and spend the rest of the day writing this.
I glance at my watch for probably the hundredth time since I got here. At this point I'm not sure if it's to see when you are coming or when my train is leaving. I keep thinking about the first time we met.
"...se me."
Naruto was sitting at a bench near his platform, loud music blasting away his already damaged hearing. Iruka kept telling him that turning the volume up so loud would eventually cause him to go deaf but he chose not to listen to it. He knew his guardian meant well but he preferred his music at this level. Going deaf was a small price to pay to get away from it all. The loud noises of the trains. The crying tantrum throwing kids who seemed to grow like fungus in large crowds, not noticeable until they were there full force and then completely unwanted and certainly not welcome.
"...cuse me."
The hurtful comments from his class mates. The damn shrieking of the stupid teme's fangirl club. Oh yes going deaf was surely not so high a price to escape all that, if he went deaf he wouldn't have to hear any of it.
"Excuse me."
Naruto was jolted back to reality when he felt a presence looming over him. Glancing up he was met with the most shocking, terrifying and all in all most gorgeous sight he'd ever seen in all his 17 years.
The first thing he noticed was the shockingly silver mop of hair that seemed to completely defy gravity without any help from such things as hair-gel or the like. Naruto thought for one split second that the guy must be old but then he saw the rest of him. He was tall and would have looked awfully skinny if it wasn't for the well toned muscles clearly visible through the black long sleeved t-shirt he was wearing, even the loose fitting jeans managed to draw attention to his well shaped legs. And that was only half of it. The guy was wearing a bandanna with some kind of a leaf symbol over his left eye, making his unruly hair tilt slightly more in that direction and for some strange reason, that Naruto couldn't figure out, he was wearing a black surgical mask with a scarecrow symbol on it. 'Must be one of those germa-phobes, afraid to catch the plague in crowded places.' Naruto thought. But even though more than half of the guy's face was covered by cloth it was still the most damn sexy face Naruto had ever seen. If he hadn't already known since he hit puberty that he was gay Naruto sure would now.
When the guy just continued to stand there Naruto got his thoughts back out of the gutter and pulled one earplug out of his ear.
"I'm sorry?" Naruto's eyes turned upwards as the guy stopped leaning in front of his face and stood up to his full hight. Oh yes the guy was very tall. The stranger smirked, at least that's what his eye showed, the mask didn't reveal anything.
"Now that I finally have your attention there's only one thing I'd like to know." The silver haired god droned out in a lazy baritone with so much raw sexiness laced in it that it would surely melt the hearts and underwear of any female within a 50 foot radius, probably some mens to. Despite that Naruto didn't give in so easily, he'd been approached countless of times before by guys. Scouting agents looking for the next teen idol, agents wanting to recruit him to work at some host club or another and general perverts who were just looking for a "good time" like they were prone to put it, and this guy certainly didn't look like he belonged in the first two categories.
Naruto never bought any of it. Sure he didn't look so bad if he did say so himself. He was wearing a black t-shirt with another orange long sleeved one underneath, loose fitting black jeans that hung a bit low without having more than half of his underwear showing like some other boys and to top it off he was wearing his goggles, making his spiky hair stand more up. They were pretty old and worn out since he'd had them ever since he was a kid, they'd used to be green but he'd dyed them black when he'd gotten older. He wasn't very tall but he was well built, thanks to his guardian who taught martial arts along with some book classes in a grade school. He guessed all the commotion about his appearance had something to do with his natural blond hair and blue eyes along with the whisker like scars on his face.
To give the guy some credit Naruto waited until he finished what he was going to say before he'd give his answer. Sexiest man alive or not Naruto wasn't about to go anywhere with a stranger, he just wasn't that kind of a guy. Which perfectly explained his lack of a love life, he'd never been in a relationship before and he'd never go for a one night stand. He had good reasons to want to know about the people he associated with, except for a few odd cases that he liked to call his friends most people who learned his name would automatically either turn away in fright or disgust or be all in his face with mean words or pity, and he quite frankly didn't need any of those things.
And so Naruto continued to look at this weird stranger before his eyes wondering just what the guy wanted, he didn't have to wait long.
"Is that seat taken?" The baritone droned on again.
"I'm sorry?" It took Naruto a few seconds to process what the guy had said, he'd been expecting something else.
"The space of the bench currently occupied by what looks to be your bag." The guy said with a smile. Like he'd just been a big help.
Naruto responded defensively out of old habit with something that almost came naturally for him. Sarcasm.
"Why yes it is. You see I didn't really want to sit here in the first place but my bag insisted so I have to accompany it."
The guy didn't even flinch when he replied. "You know, you looked a lot cuter before you opened your mouth." Naruto was going to retort when the guy continued. "So as long as your bag occupies that spot it's ok?"
"I guess." He wasn't at all certain what the stranger meant by that. That is until the guy picked up his bag, sat down so close to Naruto that he was practically touching him all over his side, Naruto's other side getting uncomfortably close to the smelly old man to his left, and then plopped the blonds backpack in his own lap. Naruto rolled his eyes at the man when he just kept smiling at him with that damn beautiful eye.
"Jeez I was just joking but you could have been a little bit nicer about that." He mumbled reaching for his backpack. "Just give me the bag."
"Oh no. Wouldn't want to upset your bag now would I, since it wanted to sit here and all."
That proved it, the guy was way to weird for his own good. Drop dead gorgeous but way to weird to be worth it. Naruto decided to just let it go and stuck his earplug back in his ear again, drowning out anything else the guy might possibly have to say. The heat pressed against his side wasn't going anywhere though and it was doing very interesting things to Naruto's libido. And he sure had some built up tension considering he was a healthy 17 year old with not much experience. Not for the first time in his life he cursed the fact that he had to wait for an hour and a half for his next train home. It was still about 40 minutes until his train left.
x.x.x.x
x.x.x.x
I don't know when or how we actually started to get along. You drove me crazy at first and I would actually dread the time I would have to wait for that damn train. And then, without even realizing it, I started rushing here. Wanting to meet you. Practically staking out the bench if it was already occupied in the hope that who ever was sitting there would just bloody move already so I could wait for you there like usual. It was on one of those occasions that I saw a new side of you.
Naruto was standing up against the low wall of what the designers of the train station probably intended to be an oasis for the weary travelers but was in fact just a bunch of dried up and shriveled plants highlighted by a cracked and faded wall that reached up to Naruto's lower back. If anything it would just make the travelers even more depressed. Naruto didn't like this train station, he much preferred the newer one close to his school or the friendly one near his home. He just didn't have much of a choice in coming here. He lived in a suburb with Iruka and this was the only train route he could take. It was the only train station that had another train going anywhere near his school. It didn't bother him so much in the morning when he rode the train with his friends, Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji, the wait was only around 40 minutes. It was different in the afternoon because his friends all had club activities then so they didn't leave at the same time as Naruto, who preferred to not join a club with a bunch of people who didn't really like him and instead always headed home early to help out at the youth center.
They didn't live in a rich neighborhood but they still had a nice house provided by the school Iruka worked at where they lived with Genma, Iruka's boyfriend and co-worker at the neighborhood youth center. They had founded the center together along with another friend of theirs, Raidou, in memory of their friend Hayate, who had been stabbed to death while out one night. Although the area wasn't really unsafe it was none the less a much needed safe place for young teens who had no where else to go. It also gave support and opportunity to those who didn't get it elsewhere. Raidou and Genma mainly ran it but Iruka spent a lot of his free time there after he finished teaching. Iruka could pretty much turn the worst trouble maker into a mewling kitten with enough effort and everyone loved him. Naruto should know, he used to be a pretty wild kid himself before Iruka picked him up off the street and gave him a stable home along with someone who was always there when he ever needed anything. It was also one of the reasons Naruto liked helping out at the youth center. To give the same kind of stability to other kids who, just like he'd done, were using unacceptable means to get any hint of attention.
Naruto was jolted back to the present when a very familiar baritone spoke next to his ear. How the hell did the guy always manage to get so close to him that he was nearly breathing down his neck without him noticing it.
"Ah those bastards. Just sitting on that bench without a care in the world for you and your school bag."
"What!?" Naruto exclaimed as he violently turned around to face the man.
"Mahh. Just chill out gaki, you looked like you wanted to make them spontaneously combust with the glare you were sending them. They steal your seat or something?"
"N-No. I wasn't really glaring, I'm just tired and..." Naruto mumbled and then stopped when a foam cup was pushed in his face. "Huh?" Was all the reaction he could muster.
"Coffee." The taller guy droned in a bored voice but his eye was smiling with the same humor filled look it had when they first met. "You know, you drink it and it can keep you warm and wake you up."
"Wow I had noooo idea." Naruto said while rolling his eyes. After a moments hesitation he accepted the cup and stared at it for a while.
"It's not poisoned you know." The silver haired stud said, as an after thought he added. "And I haven't spit in it, licked the lid or anything like that if that's what you're thinking."
"Of course not." Naruto had indeed been thinking along those lines but there was no need to let the other guy know that. Finally after taking a sip of the hot drink and finding out that it was in fact his favorite coffee drink, how the hell did the guy know, he looked at the man again. "Thank you." He almost whispered.
He wasn't used to random acts of kindness and certainly not expecting it from a weird guy who he only met at the train station, had an annoying habit of calling him 'brat' and, with no thought as to if it bothered Naruto or not, would pull up and actually read a brightly covered porn novel right next to him while they chatted.
If Naruto wasn't so used to mean looks and comments thrown in his direction he'd have immediately stood up and proclaimed very loudly that he did not know the guy the first time that book had come into view. It wasn't really a lie though, he didn't really know the guy at all except from the conversations they'd had while waiting for Naruto's train and that hadn't really revealed anything about either of them. The guy didn't seem inclined to talk about himself and Naruto wasn't about to go blabbing about his life either. For all he knew the guy could be some psycho who'd start following him around if he knew where he went to school or where he lived or something. The guy hadn't even told him his name and Naruto hadn't asked. Asking for the guy's name would require him to reveal his own and although he could probably get away with just giving his first name or use Iruka's last name like he had permitted him to do he decided it would be best to just avoid it all together. When his true name did come out, and it was bound to do sooner or later, it would only cause more trouble than if he had been honest from the beginning.
The rest of the wait had been spent jokingly insulting one another and chatting about nothing in particular while Naruto sipped his coffee drink. As Naruto's train sped away from the platform he could see a mop of silver hair making it's way to the other side of the station. Not for the first time he wondered where the guy was coming from and where he was going next.
x.x.x.x.x
x.x.x.x.x
It wasn't long after that that I realized I had fallen completely head over heals in love with you. I don't even know your name or anything practical about you and I still love you. After today things are going to change drastically though. I think this is for the best. Before either one of us.. before I fall in to deep. This is the last time I'm taking the train home at this time, I've decided to join the martial arts club with Kiba so I won't have to see you here anymore. But before I never see you again I'm going to ask you one thing. I'm going to ask for your name.
Naruto was again sitting on the same old bench, he was nervously tapping his foot and glancing at his watch every few minutes. It was an old watch Iruka and Genma had given him for his thirteenth birthday, the strap had been replaced but the childish green frog behind the glass was still the same, two tongues going from it's mouth in the center, moving between the flies behind the numbers. He knew it was childish but he loved that watch.
He didn't notice the noise of the people moving around the station, not even the crying of the kids, there was only one voice he was waiting to hear and he didn't want to miss it by listening to his music player. He hadn't used it at the station for some time now, preferring to be ready to chat with the silver haired masked man when he showed up.
"What you need to pee or something?" The voice droned from behind him.
"How on earth do you do that!" Naruto snapped at the guy as the man came around the bench and like the first time they met, picked up his back pack and sat back down with it. Naruto had long since learned not to ask for it back, the guy never gave it to him until it was time for the blond to leave.
"I'm a ninja." The sole visible eye closed in an arc as the guy, most likely, smiled.
"Yeah and I'm a nine tailed demon." Naruto threw back as he fought the urge to role his eyes, he didn't have to worry about it for too long because suddenly he was staring crossed eyed at a familiar shape of a foam cup in his face. How the guy had any idea when Naruto was tired and in need of coffee he didn't know. It was the eighth time the guy had brought him his favorite coffee. Unlike the first time Naruto took it right away and started drinking it, an almost silent thank you escaping his lips. The guy never drank anything with him though, he'd never taken off the mask and he was always wearing that bandanna over the same eye. Naruto had noticed a scar running from his cheek and up under it once, making him think that maybe the guy had lost his eye. It only made the guy even more fascinating.
"So what's with the mask and thing anyway?" Naruto couldn't help but ask. He'd never get a chance to after today. Of course the person asked didn't give a straight answer.
"I'm a ninja, I have to cover my face so people don't recognize me." If Naruto was reading his eye correctly the guy was actually smirking.
"What's with the scars?" The man shot back.
Naruto hated nothing more than to be reminded of the event that lead to his scars. He'd sensed a similar kind of feeling from his companion when he asked about the mask so he followed his example and answered half jokingly.
"I'm a demon, it's the mark of my ancestors." The guy would have no idea how close to the truth that remark had been. He quickly decided to change the subject.
"So if I ask you your favorite color or something like that you'll give me another stupid answer?" he looked at the taller man again. He'd concluded that he was probably around the same age as Iruka, somewhere between 25 to 27. About ten years older than him give or take.
"Why don't you just try and find out?"
"Alright, what is your favorite color?" Naruto felt stupid while he asked. He felt even more annoyed when the guy answered.
"What you can't see by my all black attire that I just love pink." The guy leaned even closer to Naruto, who was pushed nearly into the lap of the woman sitting on the other side of him. The woman obviously annoyed at the loss of personal space stood up and left. As Naruto watched her leave the man returned the same question to him. Unlike the obvious liar next to him Naruto decided to answer truthfully to that one.
"Orange. And unlike someone in the vicinity I'm not making childish lies, how old are you anyway?" He retorted at the man.
"65, can't you tell by my gray hair?" The guy evaded the question again. "And you?"
"17. Turning 18 next October. Again not a lie." He said as he glanced at his watch again, it was time for him to leave. As he took his bag from the mans hands the guy gave him a smile.
"Any more questions you'd like to ask?"
Naruto started making his way down the platform, he turned around and looked back at the man he was running away from. "Just one." He called back. "What's your name?"
The guy paused for only a moment before he called back. "It's Kakashi, and it's the truth this time."
Naruto smiled. That was all he wanted to know. He turned around and darted into his train, the returned question drowned out by the sound of the train and the people getting on and off.
He got a spot near the center of the train where he could hold on to one of the leather straps hanging from the iron pole. As he looked back at the platform when his train started moving he saw the man he loved standing right behind the white line that you shouldn't cross when the train was in motion. He watched him get smaller and smaller until the train turned the corner and he was lost from his view for the last time.
Kakashi. The name fit him perfectly.
So.. should I continue this? should I leave it at that? Should I stop my over active brain from coming up with new stories (I currently have 5 not including the once in progress here) and just get my ass to do the homework I'm supposed to finish and focus on writing late - early and savior...
I have some ideas about how to continue this story but it was originally thought of as a one shot so I'll leave it open to debait. Therefore the rating will be T unless, if I continue, I decide to throw my brain in the gutter and, dare I say it, write anything lemmony. and the status will stand as in progress.