#cause from what we have seen he always craved his dad's approval but rarely got it

[miirabel]

HOW COULD YOU? || I HAD NO CHOICE.

[capricornus-rex]

A Shadow of What You Used to Be (2)

Chapter 2: The Homestead | Cal Kestis x Irele Skywalker

Requested by Anon

Summary: There is another! Years after young Anakin Skywalker departed Tatooine, his mother Shmi delivers a second child—this time, a daughter. Whilst the circumstance of the girl’s birth remains unexplained, Irele Skywalker has yet to choose the true path between those laid out for her.

Tags: Fem! OC, Irele Skywalker, Force-sensitive! OC, Anakin’s Younger Sister, Skywalker! OC, Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice, Long-lost Sibling

Also in AO3

Chapters: Prelude | Previous: Part 1 | Next: Part 3 | Masterlist

3 of ?

Normally, it would take a rider on an eopie to travel from Mos Espa to the Jundland Wastes in five hours maximum. Cliegg, Shmi, and Irele saved themselves an hour or two by spurring the mounts to their full speed. In three hours, they’ve passed by Anchorhead, ending up in the Great Chott salt flat where the Lars homestead and moisture farm are nestled.

Just in the horizon, Irele could spot the white dome structure just a few more miles away. The binary suns are in full view of the sky. Cliegg grunted a command, and Shmi echoed it—thus, the animals kicked the dust at their heels, transitioning from their leisurely gait to a long-legged gallop. When the pair of eopies neared the house, a younger man—perhaps in his teens—comes out to greet the arriving pair of travelers.

“I take it that you’re done with your chores, Owen?”

“Just finished, right before you got here actually,”

Owen is Cliegg’s son, perhaps a younger shell of Cliegg as the boy has inherited his father’s sandy brown hair. The youth shifted his look from his father carrying a shut-down protocol droid to the second eopie carrying a woman and child; he watched the animal be coaxed to its knees by the female rider, the child jumped off first before her mother.

“You bought two of them?”

“You rather I separate mother and child? Would you think it right?” Cliegg quietly lectured.

The son did not argue further, for Cliegg was right. The man handed over the lifeless protocol droid to his son who carried it with great care and regard; the father whispered that it’s still in working condition, it just needed plating to protect its circuits. Irele was reluctant to approach Owen, but Shmi gently rung her arm around her daughter’s shoulder, and so the girl’s legs moved on their own following her mother’s pace.

“Hi there, I’m Owen,”

There’s a shy silence from the girl and took a pace back, blocked by her mother standing right behind her.

“Shmi, Irele,” Clieg addressed and looked at them respectively. “This is my son, Owen.”

“Hello,” the son managed a smile. “Why don’t you come in and let me show you around.”

Irele still hesitates.

“Go on,” Shmi cooed.

While Owen gave a tour of the house for Shmi and Irele, Cliegg would interject to show where Shmi and Irele would be of help around the home. Secretly, during the tour, Shmi would search for the matriarch of this household.

“Is there something wrong, Shmi?”

Shmi began with stammers and had to clear her throat.

“I was wondering where your wife is.”

Cliegg smacked his lips, preparing for an answer. Clueless, Shmi looked at Cliegg for a moment before she got a hint of the silence, she felt her cheeks burn hotter than the Dune Sea at high noon. Now feeling embarrassed, Shmi struggled to coherently apologized; Cliegg insisted that there was no harm done and briefly explained that his wife had passed. The woman expressed her condolences before moving on.

From the outdoor rotunda which intersects the different sections of the house, the combined voices of Owen and Irele grew louder and echoed through the open door frames—the noise causing both parents of each child to turn to the general direction where the kids are.

“Looks like they’re getting along quite well,” Cliegg chuckled.

Meanwhile, the two children have moved on from the living room to the kitchen—perhaps the widest Irele has ever seen in a house! She separated from Owen and ran off on her own, but the boy had caught up to her quickly and found in her the quarters hall. Scanning the area, she found three rooms, one of which was sealed off by a metal door.

The girl raises a finger pointing at the closed door.

“Is that where we’re gonna sleep?”

“Um…” Owen stuttered, before he could complete his words, Irele continued speaking.

“Is that where your slaves stay?”

Irele kept pouring questions, one after another; not leaving a space of a second for Owen to answer each one.

“So, me and mom—are we your first slaves or second?”

“A-Actually, my dad doesn’t feel comfortable when he calls you people ‘slaves,’ it just doesn’t feel right to him—myself included.”

“But… that’s what we are,”

All of a sudden, Irele’s inquisitive tone became somber. The reality has sunken into the eight-year-old’s mind, having no choice but to accept that lot in life.

“Hey now, we’re not gonna let you feel like one the same you guys did back in your old owner,” Owen reassured the girl in quite a brotherly way that Irele found comforting.

Irele’s eyes turned to the droid on Owen’s shoulders. She gestured a nod at it.

“His name is C3PO, in case you were wondering.”

“Oh, this?” Owen angled slightly so that C3PO faces Irele, who giggled. “I was almost worried that I had to figure out his model name and make a nickname out of that!”

“No, C3PO or 3PO is fine,” chuckled Irele.

That same afternoon, they already started working around in the house. Having to leave their house in Mos Espa to stay in the Lars homestead was also a big adjustment—literally and figuratively. Shmi was overwhelmed with how spacious the homestead is, and she knew that she needed to get used to it. Though it relieved her that Irele was slowly feeling comfortable around the house and the people who live in it.

In the evening, Shmi prepared dinner without being prompted to. She had remembered the times Cliegg had told her when they usually have their meals; of course, Irele helped around in the kitchen while the two men of the house finished their work in the farm and the small rotunda—for Owen at least. When father and son had completed the day’s tasks, they were greeted with a table of food but only set for both of them; Shmi didn’t hint the slight puzzlement in Cliegg’s face as his head slightly shifted left and right—counting only two plates, for himself and his son. The patriarch of the house seated himself awkwardly at the front of the table, with his son sitting on his left hand side. Now that their new owners have settled for dinner, Shmi and Irele silently decided to make themselves useful someplace else in the house—the girl was thinking she could while away her time in their garage, fix things that needed fixing. Cliegg stood up, causing a confused Owen to stop in the middle of piercing the meat with his fork, and chased the tandem who were now a few paces away from the dining room.

Cliegg grunted, supposedly to call out their names to stop them; regardless, Shmi and Irele turned around.

“Where are you going?” asked the patriarch.

“Oh, we were just going to work around the house while you have supper.”

“No, no,” Cliegg waved his hand and then transitioned to a gesture of welcome. “Please, come sit, and eat with us.”

Irele’s head tilted up to her mother, shooting her a trivial look, and slightly tightened her grip around her mother’s slightly bigger hand. Taken aback, Shmi didn’t know how and what to respond. Cliegg insisted again, though gently, as he always does with his actions. When the two had joined the other pair, only then did Cliegg began with his food; his first bite of Shmi’s cooking was delightful—he chewed slowly, savoring the flavor of meat and vegetables, he never spared a second to take a second the moment he swallowed the first bite. His reaction affirmed Shmi, in her mind, she had hoped she made a good impression to him as their new servant; Cliegg gestured at the food, wordlessly inviting Shmi to help herself, as well as Irele.

Irele only revealed a smile when she put the spoon in her mouth. Her mother’s cooking was the first reason. The second reason? The warmth that she felt around this house, at this table—it was surreal. She had craved for it—in the back of her mind, she did, she just didn’t know it would come this soon and from a person like Cliegg and Owen Lars.

“Hey Irele, tomorrow morning I’m gonna fix the vaporators in the farm. And maybe we can fix up C3PO. You wanna join?” Owen engaged.

Irele looked to her mother first for some kind of approval and then she nodded at Owen.

“But you gotta be early tomorrow morning!”

“Oh don’t worry, I never miss an hour!” she chimed.

Laughter sourced from the two children, then their parents accompanied with soft chuckles.

For a moment, Irele nearly forgot her life of slavery because it felt like she and her mother had walked into a new family.

–

A few months of their tenure in the Lars homestead, rarely did they ever feel they were slaves. Helper was a kinder word, though not as demeaning as slave. Shmi and Irele worked around the house with full initiative and gusto, enjoying what liberty they have around the house—such as cooking for Shmi, and tinkering for Irele—something that was deprived of them back in that junkshop.

Remembering that promise, Irele joined Owen to the farm where he would show her the vaporators and how to fix them. Owen went ahead and started working on one of them, struggling with a wrench  as Irele watched. Slowly, she went sat closer to Owen to examine the problem.

“There’s something lodged in there,” Irele pointed. “Here, let me.”

“Alright,”

Her slender fingers and tiny hands managed to scrape off whatever what was lodging the small hatch of the vaporator. While she’s at it, she noticed a loose wire in the circuit box and replaced it. Owen watched, impressed at the small child who would know such things. Irele grunted when the plug had fitted neatly into the correct socket and dusted off her hands together.

“How’d you learn to do that?”

“I worked in a podrace garage and in a parts junkshop. The podrace garage is just a part-time.”

“Well, that’s impressive for a kid,” Owen chuckled, forgetting he was a child as well. “But I guess we gotta know these things at this age, right? If we wanna survive.”

“Yeah, they’ll always come in handy.”

The two children continued with their chores. Cliegg joined them briefly to teach Irele how to harvest and how some of their equipment work. When the girl caught on quickly, seeing that she was a fast learner and Owen can handle himself in supervising her, the elder Lars returned to the homestead.

There came a time where Irele had to cut her day short and return to the house, leaving Owen with the other farmers—friends of Cliegg—that day. On the way, she didn’t know what to feel, but she sensed something unusual—she could not pinpoint, however, if it was good or bad. In the back of her mind, something was telling her—no, consoling her—that things will be fine and not the way she thought it would. When she arrived to the house, she spotted that her mother behaved differently—tightly rubbing her one clenched fist with the other, and holding back a smile.

“What’s going on?”

Shmi stood up from her seat in the dining hall and walked up to her daughter.

“Mom?”

“Irele, dear,” the woman took the child’s hand, looked over her shoulder to Cliegg and then back to Irele. “Cliegg is going to free us.”

The girl’s jaw dropped and her heart burst through her tiny ribs right then and there. Elated, confused, and overjoyed—she didn’t know what to make of these emotions all at once! Shmi could feel the shakiness of her daughter’s hands, Irele looked to Cliegg—speechless, but he must’ve understood and nodded as a wordless “You’re welcome.”

That same day, Cliegg called for Owen to come home as well. And so the family hopped onto a speeder and drove to Jabba the Hutt’s palace. Not one human in that speeder knew fluent Huttese, and so they tagged C3PO along—now outfitted with metal plates, they were tarnished in color but it was better than be a biped of exposed red and blue wires. There, they were greeted by a flesh-colored Twi’lek—Jabba’s loyal butler, Bib Fortuna—and immediately required them to state their purpose while a pair of Gamorrean guards stood on either side. C3PO greeted the Twi’lek in Huttese, accompanied by a slow bow, in the humans’ behalf. In Basic, Cliegg requested an audience with Jabba the Hutt for an appeal.

The male Twi’lek’s head slightly angled in intrigue after hearing the translation.

“An appeal?” Fortuna said to himself, barely muttering the word in the other language.

C3PO furthered his human owners’ purpose by briefly explaining what the appeal is about. It doubly piqued Bib when the droid gestured to the mother and child tandem of slaves, he somewhat got the idea, and he paused to contemplate or perhaps rehearse how he will present this to his master.

Nevertheless, the Twi’lek escorted the visitors to the audience chamber, where the master of the house: Jabba the Hutt, remains unmoving in his throne—which was more or less a stage—while toothlessly chewing on the mouthpiece of what ought to be an ornate hookah pipe. Irele felt small when she entered that chamber. There were eyes on her—human, humanoid, sentient alike—when she looked around and saw them drinking and mingling. Upon facing the Hutt, Fortuna bowed before presenting the visitors, he addressed to Jabba in the latter’s native dialect before joining the Hutt’s side.

The droid took one step forward, literally standing between Jabba and the family. Detecting some sort of prompt, C3PO first greeted the Hutt to appease him, and then proceeded to relay Cliegg’s request directly in Huttese.

Jabba hummed and his pupils dilated—with the same intrigue of Bib Fortuna. In his lack of a response, Cliegg follows up.

“I would like to request the freedom of my—” Cliegg paused and turned around. He cleared his throat. “These two slaves. I bought them from a Toydarian junkshop trader. Now that they are under my name, in my home, under my wing—I have deliberately decided to free them.”

If one has lived in Tatooine long enough to know how Hutts operate in their presiding territory, it is no surprise that such a bold request requires collateral or a barter. Cliegg had prepared for this apparently: he’s prepared to give a percentage of his harvest for five standard years to the Hutt, plus an adequate sum of money.

“You drive a hard bargain, Lars,” Jabba croaked in Huttese. There was a pause from the family and the Hutt continued. “Though, I appreciate the fact that you have prepared this. And to show that I am a generous leader, and that I have no qualms with you farmers nor your families: keep the money and give me fifty percent of your harvest.”

The Hutt’s generosity is rare, but it’s not surprising that he is not harsh towards people who have no qualms but it’s the safest route to appease him. Cliegg bit his tongue and gave a grateful bow.

“You are most gracious, Jabba.”

Jabba returned the bow and dismissed the family, as if second nature, Bib Fortuna saw them out the same way he escorted them inside. Once they have gotten through the massive metal gates and the echoing clang signaled the end of their business, Shmi turned to Cliegg—her blush concealed by a mask of a mild sunburn.

“Thank you, but I don’t know how I can ever repay you,”

“But I felt like it was the right thing to do,” Cliegg then turned to Irele, who was still elated from the entire ordeal. “A slave’s life is not a life for a child and her mother.”

Irele didn’t speak, but she smiled back at the remark.

[lemonloveheart]

Voltron Superhero!AU (worked on with @demosiac on IG)

Allura

Known as Enchantress when she goes out into the field

Has the ability to manipulate perception, so she changes what people see

Her father had the ability to manipulate emotions and her mother could read minds, which resulted in her ability to manipulate perception

The head of Altea, the company that sponsors the team, Voltron

Inherited the company from her father, Alfor, who got bipped by Zarkon, a former business partner and friend

Essentially an older sister to Lance

Coran is basically her stepdad, was romantically involved with Alfor after her mother left, but they never had time to get married

Always tries to appear professional around the team but occasionally breaks under pressure around the team

Lance

Known as Maelstrom when he goes out into the field

From Atlantis, a kingdom under the sea

Atlantians were a race of “mermaids”

They mostly communicated through singing

They were never supposed to hear their own singing voice because it sounds hideous to them and hurts their ears

The only part of an Atlantian’s voice they can hear themself is their screams

He was rescued by Alfor and Coran when Atlantis was destroyed in a freak earthquake created by Zarkon, who then got booted from Altea for destroying the civilization

Zarkon formed his own company, Galra Tech, and lives for getting revenge on Altea

TLA (The Last Atlantian) and was a prince, so lmao that sucks

Controls ice mostly, water sometimes, can control water temperature, and can heal others and himself, but only himself when he really really needs it (you’d be surprised how much it happens)

Absolutely could freeze a person’s blood/ control him, but it nearly kills him

Has a siren like voice that invokes powerful memories in those around him

His singing in the shower causes the team to gather around the bathroom door in various stages of distress

Also has a sonic scream (like the sonic wave gun on the blue lion) that he rarely uses because it’s super harmful to anyone around him and himself because it invokes the worst memories of all

Sometimes Lance’s voice sounds like someone else’s to a person, especially if that person craves to see/hear the other (i.e. allura hearing alfor after nightmares)

Grew up alongside Allura and trusts her immensely, despite years of playing tricks on each other

Treats everyone like family (especially keith)

Hunk

Known as Oobleck when he goes out into the field

Can control the density of his body and can temporarily change the density of other objects

Got his powers from a Doc Ock type accident when he was showcasing a device that would teleport objects by altering their density

He was so confident in his invention (as he should be, hunk is a genius) that he tested it on himself, but something went wrong and made his body’s density constantly fluctuating

His family shut him out after that, as coming from a genius family that worked hard for their prestige, he would be seen like a stain on their record after that incident

He blocks out those memories and doesn’t dwell on them anymore

Is the only person who always hears Lance’s voice as Lance because he only wants lance from lance (if that makes sense)

Is the unofficial chef and always makes sure that everyone eats and drinks enough

Has a huge crush on the head nurse, Shay, and always brings her lunch when she forgets

Keith

Known as Dynamo when he goes out into the field

A literal hothead

Controls fire, has firebreath (it hurts his throat though), sparks occasionally, can create lava if extremely distressed/angry, high heat and fire resistance

Was born with his powers and was taught from birth to never let anyone take him for his powers

His birth dad died and his mother disappeared soon after

He was taken into an orphanage and was adopted by thace and ulaz

Had a pretty good life from then forward until he was about 16 and started having discipline issues and getting in fights with thulaz

The final straw was when he got suspended and had a huge fight with his dads and went to bed extremely angry

He set fire to his room in his sleep, and subsequently the house

Tried to save his dads, but they were already crushed beneath timber

He sat there and cried tears of lava until Allura’s people came for him

His ‘don’t let anyone take you for your powers’ mentality kicked in and he fought until he had to be sedated, tied down, and muzzled which led to some funny pictures on lance’s phone

Eventually calmed down enough and joined the team

Constantly afraid of hurting those he loves

Lives in fear of hurting Lance (who is really weak against fire due to controlling ice and basically being half fish)

Pidge

Known as Codex when they go into the field

Essentially Iron Man but tiny, green, and not an alcoholic

Controls technology and plants

Hacked their way into the military to go with Shiro and Matt

Got separated from them on a mission to Galra Tech, the boys got kidnapped, and Pidge got attacked by Haggar (who is still a witch)

Their heart was weakened, so they basically made an arc reactor

They had been in a greenhouse when attacked, so they connected with the plants when Haggar attacked them with magic

Made their own suit, which can fly, shoot vines, and turn invisible

Has a lab and a garden where they grow ingredients and such for Hunk

Was contacted by Altea and joined up immediately to try and further their progress to find their brother (and his boyfriend but whatever)

Shiro

Known as Paladin when he goes out into the field

Controls electricity, i.e. lightning and such, emotions can manipulate sources of electricity and light, has super strength and a way higher metabolism than most humans

Was in the military with Matt and Pidge when he and Matt got kidnapped

They were modified and magicked to become the perfect living weapons as a team

Shiro was Champion, the supersoldier that could deliver hard and heavy hits to overpower enemies

Eventually broke free of Galra Tech’s control and escaped

Was found by Altea and taken in immediately

Became the leader of the team but anytime they go on Galra missions, he’s at risk of being controlled again and used against the team ;)

Is really withdrawn at first, but once Matt is introduced to the team, he loosens up

Matt

Known as Rogue when he goes out into the field

Controls darkness, has super speed and an astronomically high metabolism, can also shadow travel

Was in the military with Shiro and Pidge (he didn’t approve of their hacking at all, but he was definitely impressed)

Matt was Rogue (kept the name because he liked it), a speedy hitman that could deliver sneaky and quick strikes to incapacitate enemies

When Shiro escaped, the Galrans upped the ante on Matt, making him into an assassin that was basically untouchable and untraceable

This also makes him a good medic because he knows all the pressure points and places to make someone bleed out and how to identify them

When the team came face to face with him, Shiro trapped him and he was captured

At first he tried to do anything to escape, but when he realized he couldn’t, he verbally assaulted anyone that came near, targeting their weakpoints after spying on them during Galra missions

He knew who Pidge and Shiro were and attacked them the worst

Eventually he was snapped out of Galra control when Keith was interrogating him and whispered “Patience yields focus” under his breath

He came to and instantly apologized for everything he’d said and done and was eventually introduced to the team

Is actually a really sweet and nerdy guy and once he was recovered, him and Shiro reuniting was the sweetest thing

Is really good at comforting people, especially keith and shiro, after nightmares

Was updated on memes by Lance

The Lions!

Black is a Maine Coon that hangs out in the rafters of the training deck and only comes down when Shiro or Matt train

Red is a Sphinx that Keith found that loves how warm he always is

Blue is a Russian Blue that hangs out by the pool and harasses Lance for food

Yellow is a yellow tabby cat that hangs out in the kitchen (Hunk feeds him too much)

Green is Pidge’s cat from home that they trained to bring them parts in return for treats. She can also kind of talk due to the device Pidge made for it

Allura also has her mice and she handmade colored collars for them

Hi! If you managed to read through all of that, good job! I’ve had a lot of fun developing this with Caleb, and I’m excited for Angie to draw the characters in the superhero suits. (She’s on DA as thedragoncurve and IG as tastyphilosophy) This basically started out as an Avengers!AU (see Pidge), but we developed it and made it our own, and I’m so proud and happy to see it finally get out there.

If you have any questions, message me and I’ll try my best to answer them.

Also, we have oneshots and stuff that we’ve got the plot for already so when we feel like writing them out, I’ll post them here and on Wattpad most likely.

[ramennoodlesandnarusasu]

A kiss never forgotten

*Chap 1: A drunken night*

*Chap 2: A blurred night*

*Chap 3: The bath house*

*Chap 4: A Thousand pieces*

*Chap 5: Heart beat*

*Chap 6: Surprise*

*Chap 7: Sunsets, trees and you*

*Chap 8: What now?*

*Chap 9: Healing the unfixable*

*Chap 10: So, this is it?*

*Chap 11: What now?*

Chap 12: Kids and kisses

Naruto was anxious, his breathe unsteady. This would be the first time seeing his kids since the official break up, and from what Hinata had said on the phone both of them had no intention of speaking with him or Hinata. Naruto wasn’t sure how to handle a situation like this, he was as confused as they were. On top of all this commotion, Sasuke had been out on a mission for a couple days and Naruto was missing his warmth and snickering smile.

Naruto looked towards the desk in his room were his hokage cloak hanged cleaned and untouched. Kakashi had agreed to fill in for Naruto until he was back on his feet, with Shikamaru also helping him Naruto knew the village was in safe hands. He didn’t like taking time off; to be Hokage means to fully devote yourself to the protection of the people. But he just didn’t have it in him, his energy felt drained and his heart felt enormously heavy in his chest.

He knew his kids were going to be an issue, on top of that, he was unsure when to announce that fact that he was dating Sasuke, well actually was he? Neither of them had talked about it yet, they just drunkenly confessed their bottled love for each other. But Sasuke nor Naruto had yet said the ‘boyfriend’ or ‘dating’ word, which made Naruto extremely frantic and scared that Sasuke could leave and expect Naruto to have known it was casual from the beginning.

Naruto let the thought slide into the back of his mind, right now his kids were his priority, then Konoha and lastly Sasuke. He couldn’t let that dark haired, extremely handsome, eyes made of dark gold that could consume you in one glance…”God dammit Naruto. GET YOUR SELF TOGETHER! This is no time to be thinking about Sasuke.”

With a quick lecture to himself, he was out the door and off to see his children for the first time. He was determined to make them understand that this changed nothing, that Naruto would be the father they needed. He stepped outside to be greeted with a cool gentle breeze, a refreshing start to his morning. The trees rustles in the distance as the wind brushed fallen leaves across his feet. Naruto took in a deep breathe, ready to take on the day.

-

Naruto sees a door he is all too familiar with. That door was considered the entry to his home for years, and now he was a stranger to this door which left his chest feeling heavy. As much as Naruto was happy in the choice to call it quits with Hinata, he missed coming home to his children a great deal. He only wished with time, that he could start a new family, one that could include all those he cared about.

Naruto started pondering this dream of having a big family with Sasuke. Having Boruto, Himawari and Sarada all in the same house hold with Hinata and Sakura also being a part of this family, and being happy for Sasuke and Naruto. But dreams are not reality and Naruto surely knew that.

Naruto knocked on the door. The handle swiftly turned to reveal a house which he could no longer could call home. “Hinata, how have you been?” “I have been okay Naruto, but it’s been very hard on the kids. They refuse to eat or come out of their rooms, I don’t know what to do. They barely want to talk to me, and they refuse to go with you next week. I am so torn Naruto, I knew it would be hard, but… not like this.” Tears started to fall down Hinata’s cheeks, automatically Naruto went to hug her and tend to her tears. As he wiped away the last tear Naruto realised he was hugging Hinata, he wasn’t sure if Hinata would want them to be so close after being divorced for nearly a week.

“Hinata, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to invade your space.” “No Naruto, it’s okay. Thank you. I do care for you Naruto and no mater our divorce, I will always wish for your happiness. So being civil and generally caring for each other, is the way I wish we could be.” “We can be like that Hinata, that’s what I have been thinking as well. I just wished that we can be one big happy extended family at the end of the day.”

Naruto held his tongue before he could slip in the part of adding Sasuke, Sarada and Sakura to the addition. He took off his shoes and walked into the room that filled him with familiar scents, a smell he didn’t realised he missed till that moment.

Naruto patted Hinata on the shoulder assuring her with silent words that this would be okay. He let himself take in a deep breath giving him enough courage to walk upstairs and enter the games room.

-

Naruto opened the door slowly and quietly. He stepped inside without a word. Steadily he knelt all the way down the ground. By this moment both Himawari and Boruto had noticed his presence. Both children stayed in their place far away from Naruto. As Naruto started kneeling down, Himarwi and Boruto’s expressions grew more confused. Mixed emotions surfaced both of their faces, but Boruto showed more signs of anger. “Kids, I want you to listen. Don’t interrupt me until I am done. Got it?”

Both kids unwillingly replied with a stubborn “hmph” with forced nods of approval to allow Naruto his time to speak. Naruto had a small smile of gratitude, but also didn’t lower his ‘dad’ figure just yet. “Kids, I want you to know that me and mum did not do this to hurt you, we love you more than words can describe. We are doing this for our happiness, both of us have been extremely unhappy and have tried our best to make this work. I want you know that me and mum are still friends, we are happy in our choice, and I know this will take time to understand but we hope you guys can help make this easier for me and mum.” Naruto looked into both of their eyes for moment. Sadness filled the air, but there was an under-layer of understanding.

“We love you, and we will try to make you two happy separately. I know as well I haven’t been the best dad, but I plan on spending a lot more time with both of you, I want to make sure I don’t make the same mistakes as many fathers have in the past, which is concentrating so much on my job and not having any time for my kids.” Naruto started to tear up, something he rarely did in front of his children. Both Boruto and Himawari were shocked by the scene that played before them. Himawari was the first to jump up and run to her crying father.

Himawari embraced every inch of Naruto, letting her tears fall onto her arm as she attempted to squeeze harder. 1 minute later Boruto walked towards Naruto, looked him in the eye and smiled. “Dad, I promise I will surpass you and make you proud, no matter what. I will be the best ninja their ever was, and this isn’t going to stop me, just you watch!” Naruto let out a small chuckle. Boruto jumped into the pile of mushy hugs and tears, until time had seemed to slip away.

-

By the time Naruto left his old home, he felt bitter sweet. Progressed had been made and both of the kids had seemed to simmer down. He managed to get them to eat dinner and agree to try and make this work. Hinata seemed ecstatic over the progress and Himawari and Boruto ended up apologizing and smothering Hinata in hugs for a solid 20 minutes. Naruto was glad he left on a positive note, but what rang clear in his head was the fact that he was leaving. That sinking feeling hit him hard, and the realism that he was no longer part of that house and part of the picture was the thing that caused knives to dive into his heart and make him feel utterly powerless. As much as things with Hinata were never well off, Naruto valued family, he loved the idea of family. Seeming as he never had one when he was young, he loved to believe he could create a loving happy family. To see it fade away after years was as disheartening as having to leave after dinner to his separate home.

Naruto was sure that one day he would achieve that paradise he was looking for. A place were all his happy places finally met. “Heaven.” The only word that rang in Naruto’s mind for the next ten minutes was heaven. A place Naruto is sure he still hasn’t seen and he feared how his heart would cope if he was ever so lucky to be taken there.

-

Naruto walked to his home, which was some bland space he was renting out for the mean time. The room had no life or colour to it, the walls were painting grey and most of the furniture was either a dull black or grey to match the walls. Every time he stepped inside he felt his heart sink a little bit more. He was so desperately happy sitting on a table eating dinner with his children, he was even happy to have Hinata there. The energy in the room felt warm and genuine, nothing fake nor manufactured. It felt organic and Naruto craved to stay longer. But Boruto and Himawari had to go to bed and once they left Naruto felt like a slice of his heart went with them.

Naruto changed into his hokage uniform, finally deciding it was time to make an appearance at his work place, but he was determined to set up rules and boundaries that allowed him to spend more time with his children. He was going to keep his promise this time around.

Naruto stepped outside his depressive apartment, with his colourful hokage uniform ready to become everything he promised his children he would be. As he locked the door behind him, he could notice a black figure down the corridor. Instantly Naruto’s chakra kicked in, his senses had doubled and his hair stood on edge. The black figure creeped closer and closer. Every step closer Naruto would slowly get closer to his kunai.

“Now look at this, has the hokage finally returned from his slumber? I heard you’ve been slacking off whilst I was working hard.” Naruto was full of 100 emotions. He knew that voice like the back of his hand, but he was fuming at the black figure for scaring the living day lights out of him. “You scared the shit out of me Sasuke, what the hell are doing here two days early?” The black figure immerged into the light, revealing a porcelain man that never looked better in ninja uniform. “Is that a proper hello to your boyfriend?”

Naruto was gone at this point, if the man spinning a kunai around his finger walking sensually toward him wasn’t enough, then the fact that Sasuke just used the words ‘boyfriend’ had definitely done it. Naruto honestly believes he blanked out for a moment, because the last thing he remembers is standing by his door way.

Naruto’s reflexes were so quick that in less than a second he had Sasuke pinned to a wall, his eyes glowed neon blue in the dark corridor. Sasuke smiled cheekily, knowing his taunting was stirring up Naruto. “You missed me that bad, huh?” “You wish.” Naruto let his lips skim Sasuke’s without actually pressing down. He knew how the game was played and he was prepared to win. “Tch, you tease.” “You have to wine and dine me before you get any of this. Wise words from a very sexy friend of mine.”

“Friend?” Sasuke’s eyes seemed pent up with both rage and lust for the man who was slowly walking away back into the light of the street. “You heard me lover boy. Friend. We shall see how well you wine and dine now that you are back.” Before Naruto could fully cross the light that separated him from the street Sasuke had him pinned down harshly against a brick wall. He spared no expense of chakra seeming as half the bricks split into pieces and started crumbling on the floor.

“You’re paying for that.” “Tch, gladfully.” In an instant Sasuke’s lips were digging deep onto Naruto’s, the kiss was hot and heavy with steam circulating between the two men. The kiss sooner or later lead to a full make out session, with the world around them becoming a blurred hot mess. Naruto didn’t hear the street that was centimetres away from him, he didn’t sense the bricks which pressed against his shirt and he sure as hell didn’t sense a living soul around them, besides the one that currently held his heart on a silver platter. Naruto twisted and turned with Sasuke, digging his fingers deeply into his hair. He didn’t want this bliss to end, but alas it was Sasuke who pulled away with half lid eyes full of raging lust. “So still a friend?” “Hm, border line.” Naruto winked at Sasuke, but this motion just turned Sasuke into a full on monster.

“Look here Hokage, if you wish to keep this friendly, I can do that, but let me tell you. If we start this war, you will have to do a lot more than wine and dine me to get anything out of me.” “Wooooh, isn’t someone a bit upset I won’t call them my boyfriend? Fine boyfriend Uchiha, wish to join me for drinks?” Sasuke had a soft and triumphant smile on his face but suddenly turned a soft shade of pink. “Uh Naruto, you might have to wait, I still have a bit of a situation down there.” Naruto followed Sasuke’s eyes and then was struck with the fact that both of them were quite turned on from that. “Yer, agreed.”

Naruto embarrassingly laughed it off, until their bodies turned stone cold as the finally noticed they weren’t alone. Naruto and Sasuke turned around to look who was down the corridor firmly leaning against the wall with a book in his hand. “Kakashi?”

“Hello.” Naruto gulped down painfully, terrified of exactly what he heard and what he saw. “Uh Kakashi, how much of that did you see?”

“Enough. To be honest I’m not that surprised, I am madder that I have been doing your job whilst you are here making out.” “Hey! Sasuke just got here from a mission!” “Hm, I know he came to me first, thinking you would be there. As soon as he saw me he went from showing actual human emotion to stone cold bitch once again. So naturally I was curious where he was going in such a rush and alas I found him here.” Naruto didn’t know what to feel, he was terrified of all this coming out to soon for Hinata and the kids to handle, he was desperate to plea with Kakashi, to keep his mouth shut.

“Now, I will keep quiet about all this, if you buy me dinner and the new icha-icha paradise/tactics book.” Sasuke coldly asked back “is that all your highness?” “Uh Mr. Uchiha, I would be careful speaking like that to me I do hold a big leverage over you so be nice to your sensie.” Sasuke just let out an irritated huff, unwilling to partake in Kakashi’s games, but Naruto would do anything to keep him quiet.

-

*The ramen shop hadn’t seen the dynamic 3 eating together in a long time. And by god, was it not like the old days. There was a loud and vibrant Naruto trying to fill the air with conversation, a moody Sasuke who did not want to be there and lastly Kakashi who was extremely content with his new book and free bowl of ramen, enjoying the power he obtained over the two. All that was missing was a flirtatious Sakura, which is convenient, because tables have turned and Naruto wants him 100 times more than she ever did back in the day. Having the two fight over Sasuke’s attention would surely make for an interesting dinner*

*Chap 13: Its time*