Chapter Text
A soft whine came from the foot of Houki’s bed, serving as the sweet signal to wake for the day, as it had for every morning previous, as long as the young teen could remember. He groaned, and turned in his blankets.
“Five more minutes…” came as a smothered plea from Houki’s pillow. But, his companions only persisted, both dogs wiggling their way up from under the blankets to lick at their beloved master’s face. Houki exclaimed in mock disgust before falling out in gentle laughter. Never could he actually be bothered by the pups he'd grown up alongside.
“Alright, alright! Maki, Yuuki - I’m up!”
Lovingly, he petted over each of their fluffy, brindle coats to offer his own affectionate good morning.
“Come on, then. Let’s get the day started.”
Houki pulled up from his bed with a great stretch, and the dogs hopped off, eagerly circling their tails after in anticipation of breakfast. With a yawn, Houki measured scoops of his homemade kibble to each of their bowls, making a mental note that the supply was running low, and he'd need to start making a new batch in the next few days. The dogs ate quickly, knowing what duties came immediately after. Yuuki ran outside for her morning perimeter check, black coat keeping her hidden from the last of the moonlight as she darted, and sniffed from shadow to shadow. Inside, Maki followed closely behind her master, as he made his way with tired, heavy footsteps to ready and join his fathers for their morning training. Houki changed into sweats and a thermal long-sleeve, ran a comb through the short, unruly chestnut mess of his hair, and brushed his teeth just enough to rid his mouth of morning breath.
In the mirror, he grimaced slightly at himself. With each passing day, it seemed he looked more and more like the spitting image of his Dad. His eyes set in a huge, almond-shaped stare, and the angle of his jaw setting further into the same slanted cut beneath the last little bits of baby fat on his sun-kissed cheeks. Objectively, growing into the image of either of his fathers wasn't a bad thing. His Dad was handsome enough, despite being perhaps a bit plain-looking, and Houki certainly wouldn't mind his broad, built frame, nor would he have to grow his hair down the length of his back as his Dad's hung. Even less offensive to him, would have been the thought of growing into the image of his Papa. The man certainly seemed easy on the eyes to any, and everyone they might rarely encounter - with striking silver hair that practically shone and crackled like lighting, jutting out in all kinds of angles that somehow defied gravity at the same time they cascaded down his back in a perfect mess. Houki wouldn't have even necessarily grieved the inheritance of his Papa's pale skin, the somewhat menacing sparkle of his pointed canine teeth, or the lengthy scar bisecting his left eye. Yet, it was the idea that he might end up also turning out like his fathers in other ways, too, that concerned him. The greatest thing the young teen feared, was that he would not be able to stop the forced follow of his fathers footsteps on the path to becoming the paranoid, boring, cowardly civilians he believed them to be.
Sighing, Houki made his way outside to greet the still-dark dawn, slipping on shoes and grabbing fresh water canteens on his way.
“Good morning, Houki-chan!” His Papa called cheerfully through panted breath. He broke from what Houki assumed to be the last of a spar with his Dad, crossed over to tousle his son’s hair, and took one of the canteens.
“Morning Papa, Dad…” he murmured through a yawn, and a small smile of his own.
“You sleep okay?" His Dad asked, making his way over and taking his own canteen with gentle thanks.
Houki shook his head.
“Not really. I couldn’t fall asleep.”
“Too excited for the party tonight?” His Papa suggested with the playful raise of his brow.
Houki’s eyes shot wide, anticipation jolting his body awake.
“Tonight?!”
His Papa turned his eyes toward the high branches reaching over to veil Houki’s tree house, where sat, proud and watchful, the messenger hawk of his Uncle Sasuke
Completely consumed in his joy, Houki whooped loudly, and punched a fist into the air with a few giddy jumps. Both his fathers laughed in their own happy amusement.
“When - when did it get here? When will they get here? Is everyone else still - like, are they all able to come?”
“Yes, yes. Calm down,” Houki’s Dad smiled.
“The hawk came late last night,” his Papa went on to explain.
“Why didn’t you tell me?!”
“We hoped you were sleeping! But yes, I sent out a message as soon as we received ours, and the others are all set to come this evening.”
“Inojin, too? No one is out on a mission?”
“Inojin, Uncle Sai and Aunt Ino, Aunt Sakura, and both your long-lost Uncles, too.”
A bit of disbelieving laughter bubbled out of Houki. It felt like a miracle. For every long, repetitive day spent in near isolation with his fathers and dogs in their homestead out in the middle of nowhere, there had only held the illusive hope of a irregular visitor. And here, the stars at last, had finally converged. Every one of his beloved persons would be in attendance just a few hours time.
It’d been two months since he’d last seen Inojin, Sai, and Ino. Three since he’d last seen Sakura. And nearly four years since he’d last seen Sasuke and Naruto. All of them had their various, extremely legitimate reasons.
Sai and Ino Yamanaka worked as Jonin-level shinobi living within the bounds of the great Konohakagure. Sai had been head of ANBU Black Ops since before Houki had been born, and Ino split her busy schedule between missives with Konoha's Intelligence Division, and the oversight of the several hospitals throughout the village. Their son, Inojin, only a few months older than Houki, had been kept busy with his General Education studies, until having recently become old enough to enroll in Konoha's Shinobi Academy, and beginning an education there. The family came as often as they could, being the closest and most available, though even then, visits were hardly regular.
Sakura, or Lady Sakura as she was known internationally, had a much harder time leaving the pressing demands of her duty as the Konoha's Seventh Hokage. Yet, she wrote often, sent gifts, and insisted on being the sole doctor to service Houki's household. She'd dropped everything the very few times one of them had needed the attention of a medical professional, and personally attended to each of their annual well-checks.
As for Naruto and Sasuke, they remained the most distant by necessity - the two of them serving not as shinobi only of Konoha, but for all of the Great Nations - their allegiance only to the preservation of peace, and justice throughout the shinobi world. As nomads they traveled, village to village, great and small, solving the problems only shinobi gods could solve, and serving as Kage to all nations from the shadows.
Still, they were gathering, all of them, under one roof, in the name of Houki's thirteenth birthday celebration.
Houki couldn't care less that it would be a few months past his actual birthday. He'd been waiting for that messenger hawk every day since his Papa had mentioned that a gathering might happen. He'd counted each slow hour that passed by since they'd received intel that Sasuke and Naruto had begun making their way from Suna. And the day had finally come. Houki was going to have company once again.
“We have to get ready! They’ll be here so soon!”
Houki’s Dad raised a staying hand.
“Patience. We have plenty of time.”
“Your Dad’s right,” his Papa agreed. “Let’s stick to the schedule for now, hm? We’ll have plenty of time to get ready this afternoon.”
Reluctantly, Houki agreed and moved out into their front yard training grounds, as sunlight started to peek over the dark silhouette of the forest line and spill over onto chilled, frosty grass. The little family inhaled deep, and exhaled into the regularity of their morning stretch sequences. Each of them did their best to ground themselves through their individual excitement, and nerves for the evening to come. From stretches, they moved into conditioning, and then Houki began training with the spinning, wooden sparring dolls his Dad had hand-crafted for him years ago, while the fathers continued on into triple-digit reps with ease.
As soon as the field calmed into only labored breathing and the soft sounds of morning birdsong, Houki carefully propositioned the possibility of moving into some actual spars with his fathers.
“Not this morning. Come on, let’s go take care of the garden,” his Dad said with finality.
Houki huffed, and followed after his Dad toward their greenhouse around the back of their homestead. Most mornings, he’d push a little harder for a real spar, knowing he could likely get his Papa to cave for at least one. The wooden dolls were helpful for the repetition of his defense training, though they hardly carried any of the thrill or legitimate challenges that he knew his fathers would pose. However, it was this exact reason that his fathers so often denied Houki's requests.
They’d been shinobi before Houki had been born, both of them. They'd served and retired young outside the village bounds to live the rest of their days peacefully, as civilians. And, above all else, they were raising Houki to be a civilian, too - much to his constant, compounding grief and shame. They'd trained Houki for self-defense, for evasion, and flight should a threat ever present itself, and they kept themselves sharp - ever on edge. But, that was all. And it was final.
Still, the candle of hope Houki held that he’d be able to spar with either his Uncle Naruto or Uncle Sasuke flickered in his grasp, and so he kept quiet for the time being, and set to his morning chores in the garden.
"Do you want to tend to the outside beds or the greenhouse this morning?"
Houki hummed thoughtfully.
"Outside beds."
His Dad nodded with an affirmative hum of his own, and held the shed door open for his son. Their shed, rather large and of course, hand-built, was used typically used for carpentry projects Houki's Dad took as contract work for his trade. Tools large and small lay, meticulously organized over tabletops and hung on peg boards across the walls. Beneath them, sat bundles of wood in various stages of development - some as freshly chopped branches and trunks from the forest, others stripped of bark and shaped into planks for assembly. Lacquers and stains lined small shelves, too, with their respective brushes still damp from having been washed out the night before. In the corner, however, on a separate set of shelves, lay the family's gardening tool belts, watering cans, and task clipboards. Houki snatched his up, and quickly made for the outdoor beds. His eyes scanned over his clipboard as he walked, assessing what herbs he'd need to pull for his and his Papa's upcoming orders. Long since passed were the days where gardening instructions had been marked alongside each order, and hardly did he even need to even glance at his clipboard to begin his work. After all, he'd been gardening, harvesting, and helping his Papa formulate teas and herbal remedies for as long as he could remember. He laid new mulch over many of the slumbering herbs, and snuck a few cuttings out from the others that had spent the season covered under a frost blanket.
“How are they looking out there?” His Papa asked with a smile as Houki took off his shoes at the door.
“Good. Looks like everything has made it through the worst of winter. But, I can't believe it's still this cold so close to spring.”
“Mah, things will warm up soon enough. Can't rush the change of the seasons,” his Papa shrugged. “Here, I’ll take your cuttings; I’m headed to the kitchen now. Shower is all yours, kiddo.”
And so, their routine carried on without hitch or deviation. Houki took a shower following his Papa, who had moved into making breakfast for the little family. Houki’s Dad came in from his chores in the greenhouse to eat first, before trading with his son, taking the bathroom for a quick wash up and change of clothes. Hardly did he take a full shower in the morning. Doing so simply made no sense for a man that filled his days with manual labor. Most of his time was spent out in his shed, or out amongst the small, neighboring towns, making himself busy as a contractor. His huge hands stayed rough and calloused, body sweaty, and clothes sprinkled with sawdust. Sure, he’d wash off his morning training as not to smell outright offensive at the start of the day, but deep cleans came before bed.
He thanked his husband again for breakfast, as well as the bento so neatly wrapped and handed to him, and was off to continue renovations on the home of a sweet elderly woman in the town a few miles to the east.
“Watch out for Jakuchō-san, I know she’s got her eye on you,” Houki’s Papa teased lightly at the door.
“Dear, I’m a man very clearly, and proudly, married to you - another man. Not to mention, she’s eighty-seven…”
“But, she still has the eyes of an eagle - and she knows a handsome handyman when she sees one. There’s no way she has actually needed that much work on her cabinetry.”
Houki’s Dad only rolled his eyes, and offered a chaste kiss.
“I’ll be sure to stay on high alert, then. See you soon - and you too, Houki-chan. I love you both.”
“So,” Houki started, hopping down from his barstool chair and bringing his dishes to the sink. “What’s first for today, Papa?”
“Hm, you pick. House chores, or medicine orders?”
“House chores.”
His Papa chuckled, shaking his head.
“You know, getting the house ready first won’t make our guests come any faster.”
“You never know - It might…”
The pair shared a grin, Houki’s Papa chuckling again, and then giving his son’s shoulder a playful shove.
“Alright. House chores first then.”
Together they tidied, taking extra care for their eagerly anticipated company. The spare leaf was added to the center of the dining table to lengthen it, and chairs enough brought out from their storage in the shed. Freshly cleaned bedrolls were folded and set aside for Naruto and Sasuke to use, as they'd planned to stay the night. Extra towels were moved into the bathroom, and Houki made sure his toiletries were tucked away in the drawer under the sink. They even pulled down the dusty boxes of fancy dinnerware to be washed and set for the rare, special occasion.
After, the house was practically sparkling and ready to host its' party, the two moved back into their large kitchen to prep and assemble what cuttings and orders were marked out on their clipboard for the day. Three cases of medicinal teas, a few bottles of cough syrup, and a full refill of arthritis pills later, and both Houki and his Papa found their hunger had risen to its fullest height alongside the sun at noon.
“Why not take our bentos out to the living room for today? Since the dining table is already set for tonight. I’ll get your books and meet you in there.”
Lunch came with Houki’s studies at his Papa’s instruction, as they had since Houki was a boy. Their homestead, hidden away as it was, kept Houki far, far from any kind of school building and left his education singularly in the hands of his fathers. Though, Houki had also rightfully convinced himself, that such a predicament had been quite intentionally arranged. Education fell fully to Houki’s Papa, and so daily he rotated teachings from literature, mathematics, science, and the occasional, rather vague history lesson.
“Do…” Houki started hesitantly, picking through the last bits of his bento, eyes long glazed over on the pages of the book he was supposed to be reading. His Papa’s eyes lifted expectantly from his busy knitting needles.
“Do you think… we might go back out and, you know, train a little more this afternoon?”
“Why?”
“I just thought, with the Uncles coming… and since Dad is gone for lunch today-”
He sighed, cut off by his Papa’s halting hand.
“We need to take care of deliveries, Houki-chan.”
“But-”
“Do you want to miss your Uncle’s arrival because we’re still out?”
“We don’t even have that many today!”
“Deliveries, no. But, I do have quite a few massage therapy appointments. Not to mention, we’ll need to get back and start dinner prep early tonight.”
Houki’s brow only furrowed into a deeper frown, and he groaned with a grand roll of his eyes.
“Come on,” his P apa only encouraged, setting aside his knitting needles and pulling up to his feet. “You’re done eating, and clearly done gleaning anything from your studies today. Let’s go get started. You take care of the dishes and I’ll pack the orders up.”
Houki let out a third, and final expression of his frustration, but relented, and trudged through the motions of cleaning their dishes, putting his books away, and pulling his sweater, hat, and boots on for the hike ahead.
Their walk felt as though it took longer than most afternoons to Houki. Yuuki led the way, Houki and Maki’s footsteps falling just a few paces behind, and his Papa drawing up the rear with his knitting needles back out and at work, and their pack over his shoulders.
Two small towns served as the distant neighbors to their homestead. A little over three miles to the east laid a tiny town made up mostly of once nomadic civilians that had relocated and built their more permanent settlement just a few years before Houki had been born. His dad had been instrumental in the construction of thier homes and small marketplace. Of the two towns, it contained most of the children within any kind of close proximity to Houki - though, the tiny handful of them were infants, or toddlers. Houki and his Papa would complete deliveries and appointments there first, and then, travel westward two miles further, to their other neighboring town, passing by the large public park his Dad had gifted both communities when Houki had been much younger. The second town was a little larger, being just barely over two-hundred in population, and made up entirely of indigenous families that long since inhabited the land. Most of them were quite elderly, their children having grown up and moved on in search of more adventurous, vibrant life in Konoha, more distant nations, or even with bands of nomads that had begun taking to the roads in the years since peace had been secured throughout the greater world. It was this town that held majority of patrons for Houki’s Papa’s services. Daily they ordered medicinal teas, wholistic medicines, and held standing appointments for his Papa’s unique brand of massage therapy. Houki had been told that his Papa had developed the technique when both his fathers were still in active duty as shinobi in the village, and his Dad was recovering from heavy injury he’d sustained on the field. Of course, those were the only details Houki received on the matter. And, due to the technique being one that required the careful infusion of his Papa’s lightning chakra to stimulate, massage, and heal muscle through electric pulses, it was also a technique he’d been vehemently denied apprenticeship.
While his Papa worked on his many patients, Houki offered to help with house chores, kept an eye on any babies that needed care, or simply pulled out one of his many maze puzzle books to try and occupy himself. That afternoon, however, Houki found that nothing quite helped the minutes pass any faster, as he impatiently waited for them to tick away and bring him to the evening ahead. His only legitimate distraction came in the living room of one of their regular houses.
A sweet lady, not too many years older than Houki’s fathers, by the name of Azumi, was one of their regulars. She stood just a head taller than Houki himself, with a bright, wide smile, rich chocolate eyes with glittering flecks of gold, and a dark complexion that looked as though someone had carefully sprinkled freckles like they might sprinkle cinnamon over hot cocoa. Were he not afraid it would insult her, Houki would have lovingly called her “Granny”, for the way she welcomed the pair of them into her home, chattered on in jubilant small-talk, and insisted on serving a tray with doilies under a cup of hot coffee for Houki’s Papa, and a plastic cup of juice next to a small bowl of hard candies for Houki.
“Thank you very much, Azumi-san,” Houki smiled, taking a hard candy out of kindness. “How’s your back treating you today?”
“Oh,” she admitted with a sigh, shaking her head. “Not too good. Though, I suppose it’s my own fault.”
With a helping hand from Houki’s Papa, she laid out as she knew to, belly down on the travel futon cushion they brought and unfolded over the floor.
“I’ve been doing my best to keep my hands warm,” Houki’s Papa cautioned quietly as he removed his gloves. “But, it has been rather chilly out, and I apologize if my hands are cold at first. They should warm up as soon as I get going.”
Gently, he slid his hands under the hem of her blouse and onto the low of her back.
“Oh! Azumi-san, what have you been doing? You’re all out of alignment.”
“Well, I’ve been busy getting things ready, you know. Been a lot to wash and arrange. Shopping to take care of. Which reminds me, Houki - could I borrow those big muscles of yours for another favor? I need to pull a few furniture pieces out of my back room and move them into my spare.”
“I can get them as soon as I’m done.”
“I can handle it, Papa,” Houki insisted, hopping to his feet. “Just tell me what you need, Azumi-san.”
“Sure - there’s a set of shelves, and a chest of drawers. I emptied them, but this old useless back of mine wouldn’t let me move them.”
“You’re having company come soon?” Houki’s Papa asked, adjusting the position of his hands and beginning to smooth deep, steady circles with his thumbs up Azumi‘s spine. “Is it your sister? Didn’t she move out to Suna a while back?”
“No, didn’t I tell you? My new foster teen is coming tomorrow.”
Houki’s Papa froze the work of his hands, his breath pausing with them. Houki too, found himself dumbstruck with the drop of such sudden news.
“Your new foster teen?” He asked, desperate not to let any of his immediate excitement run away with itself before he confirmed the details.
“Oh, surely I told the two of you! I applied for that program of Konoha’s former Kage a while back. You know - not the pink-haired girl they have now - the one before, I think-”
“I remember you telling us last year that you were considering applying for Konoha’s foster program, but not that you actually did…” Houki’s Papa interrupted. Where his son had been doing his best not to let slip the depth of his premature excitement, he was instead doing his very best to conceal the depth of his own premature terror. “And we definitely didn’t know you were receiving a teenager… tomorrow…”
“I’m sure I told you,” Azumi insisted. “I did end up applying then - the system is just too efficient! Too many people are fostering, or just outright adopting! And there have also just been far less orphaned children in Konoha all together.”
She chuckled to herself, and Houki’s Papa sucked his lips behind his teeth.
“Anyway - it’s not that I see that as a problem. That’s really a beautiful thing. But, it took nearly year for them to reach out and need me. I got the notice about a week ago. They couldn’t tell me all the details, but the paperwork said there was a rogue group of bandits, or criminals of some kind that was found and taken down, and she was the only child found among them.”
“She?” Houki asked, still stricken and hovering in the threshold of the living room and hallway, having forgotten all about furniture, and even about counting the minutes until his own house guests were to arrive. “How old is she?”
“Were her parents among the rogues brought down or taken in?”
“Um, she’s fifteen, I think. Her name is Sumire. And, no, as I understood it from the report, she was an orphan the rogues had either taken in, or kidnapped, or something like that. It was hard to tell since most of the mission report was listed as confidential.”
“Could I look at the report?”
“Papa…”
“Sorry,” Houki’s Papa backpedaled, forcing a smile after. “Just curious is all. That’s very exciting, Azumi-san. I’m sure she’s going to be overwhelmed with your loving care. I’m very happy for you both.”
“Maybe we could come visit tomorrow. I’d love to meet her,” Houki blurted, finally letting the true joy of such impossible information wash over him.
“That would be lovely, sweet Houki,” Azumi agreed jovially. “I’m sure she’ll need a friend.”
“Yah, and I’m the only other teenager for miles! I could-”
“Houki-chan, I think you’re forgetting, we have our own company coming, too,” Houki’s Papa interjected pointedly. “Company we’ll be late to receive if we don’t hurry along here.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I don’t mean to keep you gentlemen.”
“Nonsense. You’re just fine, Azumi-san. Houki, why don’t you go get that furniture settled, hm?”
On their walk home, Houki’s mind reeled with possibility.
A teenager. Someone new. Someone close. Sumire.
Similarly, Houki’s Papa managed the reeling of his own mind, his eyes fixed forward, unblinking, on the outline of his son.
The pair of them made it home, dogs running ahead with eager barks and wagging tails, at the same time as Houki’s Dad had with fresh groceries for the night’s feast.
“I hope you’re not attempting to start cooking, Dad,” Houki teased with a smirk.
His dad sighed, feigning annoyance that was immediately betrayed by a breaking smile, and soft chuckle.
“No, no, of course not,” he insisted, raising the knife and potato in his hands innocently.
“Good. You stick to prep.”
“Although, I do think I should be allowed to try again one of these days.”
Houki and his Papa shared a wide-eyed, crinkle-nosed look of speculative disbelief.
“Oh - come on!” He went on, tossing aside his freshly diced potato and reaching for another. “My cooking isn’t that bad! To be banned for life?”
“Dad - remember that one time you confused salt and sugar in my birthday cake?” Houki prompted, earning a bright blush from his Dad, and light snickers from both his fathers. “Or the time you caught the stove on fire trying to boil water? How did you even manage to do that?”
Snickers grew into full, rolling laugher, taking the little family as it often did over warm waves of peace and comfort together.
For every bit of compounding frustration Houki felt towards the inflexibility of his fathers, for every moment that he felt isolated from their pasts, and stifled from his own future, there were a dozen instances of similar warmth. His Papa carrying him piggy-back when his legs felt too tired to make the hike back home, humming soothing tunes into his ear. His Dad presenting month’s worth of his loving labor in the form of hand-crafted figures, or puzzles to play with. The three of them playing board games late into the night. Each of these sweet moments served as a balm over each of their individual wounds, and stitched them back together where they might’ve started to come apart.
“That was an issue with the gas - and I fixed it!”
“Yah,” Houki’s Papa added, pouring a glass of wine and taking a taste. “But, there was also the time you served boiled chicken for dinner - without any seasoning of any kind…”
“That’s not fair - that was ages ago! Before we were even married!”
“And then, you did it again - last year, too!”
“We were out of the seasoning I like to use!”
“Dad!” Houki objected, barely able to bark the word out between fits of his laughter, and the pinch of a cramp to his side. “What are you talking about?! Our herb gardens are bigger than our whole house!!”
All three of them fell out then, cackling until Houki’s Dad reluctantly raised his hands in surrender once more.
“Alright, alright! I’m banned for life, then.”
A kiss came to meet the side of his head from Houki’s Papa, and a glass of wine was traded out for his knife and cutting board.
“That’s my man. Now, drink that, and go clean up. You smell like you’ve been sweating all day - and not in the good way.”
About thirty minutes later, the ovens filled, candles lit, Houki’s Dad having reemerged in clean clothes, wet hair pulled back in a low pony, and a clean shave over his sharp jaw, Yuuki and Maki began to stir once again. Their ears perked first, and then their tails began to wag fast and furious as they ran for the door with happy howls that were better described as emphatic screaming. With them, Houki perked up from his stirring at the stove.
His Papa smiled brightly, and peeped a glance out the front window.
“Go on, then. You and the girls go tackle ‘em.”
Before the words had fully left his Papa’s lips, Houki was flying for the door, apron thrown down who-knew-where behind him on the way. The dogs burst out in front, though he was quick to keep pace - all of them with eager eyes set on the two men just barely visible behind the thick tree line, and finally making their appearance.
“Uncle Naruto!! Uncle Sasuke!!”
“Houki!!!!” Naruto bellowed back.
Immediately, he paused his stride, white-caped body popping out into a wide stance and revealing the heinously vibrant orange clothes beneath. He gave a loud, singular shout, and his body burst into the blinding blaze of his Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak.
In the time it took for Houki to startle and restart his sprint, his knuckle-headed Uncle had already blasted up to meet him, and launched his disoriented body up, about a thousand feet in the air. Behind both of them, Sasuke trod on at his own, steady pace, and offered a somewhat sheepish, half-smirk at the sight of Houki’s fathers coming out from their house.
Naruto jumped to catch Houki mid-air, brilliant fire from his heels rocketing him far further than any human should naturally be able to, and with far less subtlety than any shinobi should purposefully allow. The two fell out in shouted laughter as they careened back to earth, and broke into playful rough-housing as soon as their feet touched down.
“Look at you, Houki! You’re huge - datte-bayo! I bet you’re about ready to face me in a real spar! Come on - put ‘em up! Let’s see what you’ve got!”
“Careful, Dobe,” Sasuke cautioned his husband as he drew up to join them, without shred of true concern. “You’re going to get him in trouble.”
“Uncle Sasuke!”
Houki threw himself forward and into the stoic Uchiha with a laugh. Sasuke grunted, admittedly still a little startled at how freely Houki embraced him without reservation, but then wrapped his single arm around the boy in the best hug he could give. He hoped, from the pit of his stomach, that the fullness of his affection might be translated. The beaming smile Houki shot up to him after did much to assuage his nerves on the matter, and he offered his own meek smile before kneeling to greet both dogs with gentle pets.
“I missed you both so much! You have to tell me everything about your travels!”
“Everything?” Came the voice of his Papa from behind. “Mah, I’m sure that would take more than the time of their whole visit to try and recount. How’s about we let them get inside and relax a bit? I’m sure they’re both quite ready to kick their shoes off, and have some hot sake.”
Naruto laughed, nodding his blonde head in agreement and flashing out of his Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak once again. Still, to the others, he looked much like he was glowing simply with the radiance of his spirit alone.
“Talk about an understatement, datte-bayo!”
His arms came out wide, and then clapped tight and hard around Houki’s Papa. The embrace returned around Naruto and lingered with a squeeze. Then, it moved without a word onto Houki’s Dad, whose arm only came up to pat a few affectionate times on Naruto’s back before embrace broke with wide, deeply sincere smiles between them. Sasuke stood, nodding his head in a slight bow towards the pair, and found both of his shoulders clasped in lieu of another hug he might not be able to accept. Grateful for the mercy, and still slightly uncomfortable looking upon the full, sweet softness of Houki’s Papa’s smile, the Uchiha bowed his head again and shifted his gaze into the grass.
The interaction, silent as it was, overwhelmed Houki’s young heart.
His fathers were often kind and smiling, gentle and caring. But, the depth of such simple greetings, the great strength so evidently clear outside the massive physical prowess of the men shown in intentional, communicative affection - it was something Houki only saw from his fathers when they stood amongst peers from their past. There was something far greater than companionship, or even esteem passing from his uncles onto his fathers, and it both awed and vexed Houki to behold. Desperately did he long to see his fathers with the same clarity and respect, and simultaneously, did his gut twist in confusion as to why two god-level shinobi would be the ones to look at his prematurely retired, paranoid, cowards of former-shinobi in such a weighty reverence.
“Come on,” Houki’s Papa said, turning back toward the house. “Let’s get you that sake.”
“Do you need help with your bags?”
“No, thank you. Sasuke's got ‘em,” Naruto smiled to Houki’s Dad.
"You sure?" Houki's Papa teased. "I don't know if you've noticed - but he only has one arm."
Sasuke tsked loudly.
"Very funny, Sukea. Better my one arm than your husband using that busted shoulder of his."
"Sasuke!” Naruto scolded with a rough shove. "I'm sure Kinoe's shoulder has long since healed from that!"
Houki's eyes shot wide.
"Healed from what?"
His Papa simply raised a hand to once again quiet his son's curiosity, his other hand wrapping snugly around his husband's waist.
"A story for another day. For now, let's get back inside, shall we?"