Dirty Little Secret

A/N: The new chapter. Sorry for the delay. Due to being sick I wasn't able to write (much) and when I did I was feeling kind of feverish.



CHAPTER 21



Naruto returned home three days later when it was already late evening. Despite the spring season, the sun still set quite early and it was already dark. Quietly, he entered his house, wondering if Kakashi was already asleep, though that was quite improbable – he had given specific orders to his pet to wait for him. Not to mention that last time Kakashi had ignored such an order he had been severely punished.



Indeed, the older man had heard him close the door, because he appeared in the corridor, wearing simple pale pants and white t-shirt. Without a word, he hurried to kneel down before his Master and help him come out of his shoes, placing a gentle kiss on the outside of each ankle once he was done.



Carefully putting the shoes away to be cleaned later, he looked up to Naruto.



“Did all go well, Master?”



Naruto shrugged tiredly.



“It could have been better, Pet. They have become indecisive and egotistical all over again. Gaara, of course, is all on my side, at least.” He muttered as he walked in the living room and sat down heavily on the sofa. Kakashi followed obediently.



“Dinner, Master?”



Naruto waved him away.



“I am not hungry, Kakashi. Just tired and annoyed.” Then he beckoned him to come closer and kneel in his feet. The older man obeyed and looked up to him again.



“Fools, all of them.” Naruto said. “But I know how to make them trust me.”



“You have a plan, Master?”



Naruto smiled at him.



“You bet I do.”



He didn’t seem ready to divulge any details so Kakashi let it go at that, content to just curl up at his feet. Naruto’s hand found his hair and began to pet him. He leaned into the touch and sighed.



After a long, peaceful silence, Naruto suddenly spoke.



“I have brought a gift for you, pet.” He said.



Kakashi immediately looked up.



“A gift, Master?”



Naruto nodded and got up, then walked back to the corridor to rummage through the pockets of his coat. He came back holding a small box wrapped in colourful gift paper and a red bow on top of it. He handed it to Kakashi.



“Open it.”



Kakashi took it gingerly and began to tear at the paper, eager to see what was inside – no one had given him any gifts of any sort ever since Minato-sensei died.



Finally, he took off the cardboard lid off the box and revealed its contents – a leather collar, around two inches wide, carrying an intricately carved silver signet in the form of a fox’s head. His fingers trembled as he ran them gently over the supple leather.



“For me, Master?” he asked, disbelieving.



Naruto nodded.



“All for you. I have decided that it’s time I claimed you officially – and made our relationship public.”



Kakashi paused at that. Their relationship was practically public by now – one had to be blind, deaf and a complete idiot not to figure out that Naruto and he were lovers. However, the nature of their relationship so far had remained completely hidden and Kakashi preferred that it stayed that way. His expression must’ve betrayed some of his thoughts because Naruto said:



“You dislike the idea?”



“People will talk, Master.” Kakashi said carefully.



“People, Kakashi, are already talking. They’ve been wagging their tongues for months, ever since you moved in here.” He stated and sat back down on the sofa. “What is the problem, Sensei? That people would find out about the kind of things you like?” he asked, voice almost mocking.



Kakashi flinched.



“You said you would keep my secrets…” he tried to protest.



“I am keeping your secrets, Kakashi.” Was the sharp answer. “I am not out blabbing to everyone how much you like a good strapping, am I?”



“But…” he tried to protest but Naruto cut him off.



“Let me make this clear, Kakashi. You agreed, when we began this relationship, to play by my rules. And my rules say that I do not wish to keep the fact that I own you hidden any longer. If you wish for us to discontinue our relationship in order to hide, very well. You know where the door is. I am going to be disappointed, but then again, I am used to disappointment, when it comes to you.”



Kakashi stared at him helplessly for a moment, then slowly crawled up to him and handed him the collar, then bowed his head and pulled his shirt to reveal his throat.



“I’d do anything for you, Master.”



‘Anything for you to keep me.’



Indeed, the collar caused more than a few shocked glances as he walked up to the Hokage tower the next morning. While most of the civilian population had no idea what it signified, the jounin and some of the chuunin were world-weary enough to be aware of its meaning. Those people stared, some even actually gaping at him as he walked with careful, slow, measured steps to his work-place. After a few seconds the initial shock on their faces passed and then the smiles began, some amused, some embarrassed, others downright gloating and malicious.



Kakashi made a significant effort to ignore the whole circus and pretend he didn’t notice anything – after all, he had a long experience in ignoring annoying bystanders who were weirded out by his appearance, this was no different, or so he tried to convince himself.



The day in the tower was especially excruciating though – most of the jounin who came to visit first stopped by the door to stare at him in shock, then looked at Naruto, then back at Kakashi, then minutely shook their heads and snickered quietly. All the while his Master looked as smug as the cat who had eaten a whole flock of canaries. He actually had the nerve to preen at the amazed glances.



Kakashi, in the mean time, wanted the floor under him to open and swallow him whole – he felt incredibly embarrassed under the intense scrutiny, even if he pretended that he didn’t notice it. His private life had always been just that – private, safely hidden from the public view. He always played the role of the laid-back, lazy porn-reading pervert who turned into a killing machine onto the battlefield. Now he was forced out of both roles and it confused and frightened him more than a little. The fact that he had always feared the exposure of his private life didn’t make things any better.



It was already evening when Gai showed up, looking dirty and bruised and tired, apparently coming back from a mission to report directly to the Hokage. He was so exhausted that it took him almost a full ten seconds to notice Kakashi’s new acquisition, but when he did, he stared openly, then as everyone else did, looked back at Naruto and then again at Kakashi. Gai, however, didn’t appear even remotely amused by the situation – if anything, his face darkened. In Naruto’s presence, however, he said nothing. After he was done with his report he turned to Kakashi again:



“Your shift is over, is it not?”



Kakashi nodded hesitantly.



“Then, my eternal Rival, please do accompany me to my house – it would not do have the Green Beast of Konoha to keel over in the middle of the road from exhaustion – it’s bad for morale.” He turned to Naruto and added “If Hokage-sama doesn’t mind?”



Naruto’s expression was kept neutral, but something dark and ugly lurked in his eyes when he nodded.



“Certainly. Kakashi will help you.”



Feeling distinctively uncomfortable, Kakashi followed Gai out of the tower, feeling Naruto’s eyes boring in his back.



His friend waited until they were full two blocks away from the place before he spoke:



“I haven’t expected this of you, Kakashi.”



He was immediately angry:



“My personal life is none of your concern, nor it is your place to judge me!” he hissed defensively.



Gai shook his head:



“You misunderstand, Kakashi. It does not bother me that you chose to enter this kind of relationship and it doesn’t not concern me at all that you prefer to take on the submissive role. In fact, knowing you, it makes a lot of sense.”



“Hey, what is that supposed to mean?” he asked but Gai ignored him.



“What bothers me is that you’re doing it with the Hokage.”



“I assure you – his reputation will not be sullied by this – as you so eloquently put it – I have taken on the submissive role – Naruto need not worry about how the rest of the Kages would perceive him.”



Gai looked like he wanted to slap his forehead:



“I don’t give a damn how they perceive our Hokage, Kakashi.”



“Dangerous words.” Kakashi muttered.



“I do, however, worry about you…while you were at the hospital…there were rumours, about Naruto-sama.”



“Rumours?”



Gai looked uncomfortable.



“Rumours about prisoners of war brought to his quarters – middle-aged but pretty, never to be seen again. Since all of them belonged to either Ame or Danzou’s band of captured traitors, no one cared about what happened to them – so none of the rumours could be verified.”



“Naruto has always treated me with respect, Gai.” Said Kakashi.



“Has he?”



As far as Gai was concerned, very few of Naruto’s actions towards his friend were in any way respectful, but he wasn’t about to argue that point. As a jounin, he was used to pick the battles he thought he could win. This wasn’t one of them, at least not here and now.



“I don’t want you to get hurt, Kakashi.” He said, voice surprisingly gentle for his usual exuberant personality. Then again, ever since Lee’s passing, Gai had become a shadow of his former self. And even if he was a lot less annoying and head-ache inducing, Kakashi preferred his old friend back. However, it was only one of the things that he preferred to be as they were before – an impossible wish as far as he was concerned.



“I am fine, Gai. I really am.” He lied.