Chapter Text
Naruto decides that tonight would be the perfect night to raid the hokage’s office.
Tsunade was off gambling again, and Shizune had reluctantly trailed after her to make sure she didn’t lose all of her money again. The security regarding the hokage’s office wasn’t lax by any means, but the reputations Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura carry far preceded them by this point. Naruto’s relationship to Tsunade, and habit of showing up in her office at any point in time for the most mundane of things, meant no one spared them a glance as they climbed to Tsunade’s office, a singular goal in mind.
“If Kakashi’s face is so top secret, maybe the hokage has it!” Naruto decides. It seemed like a stretch, but Sasuke was willing to indulge if only because whatever file they pulled on Kakashi would be interesting to read through.
“The hokage would have copies of all active duty shinobi files,” Sakura muses. “And if it isn’t in the office, the private medical files for Anbu members are in an archive not far from her office.”
Sasuke pretended to be disinterested, if only to save face, but he couldn’t deny the curiosity he’s had since he was a child about Kakashi’s true face. The childish belief that Kakashi had something to hide, like a garish feature of some sort, faded the longer he spent with Kakashi. The man was undoubtedly beautiful, from the reactions of those who had seen his face, although perhaps Sasuke’s childhood crush colored his sharingan eyes a rose tint. The crush had festered into a true sexual and romantic attraction, and to this day Sasuke was still somewhat embarrassed about falling for a man whose face he had never seen. It would be nice to prove himself right, to see Kakashi’s obvious beauty at last, and every opportunity to unmask him was eagerly welcomed, even if he played coy in front of the others… appearing to eager would arouse suspicion, and he had no interest in them poking fun at him for his less childish interest in their juvenile pranks.
Of course, the man was crafty enough that these places have likely already been pulled of any revealing information, probably before any of them had even been accepted into the academy. As much as Kakashi enjoys teasing them about his mask, it’s clear from how even Gai hasn’t seen his face since they were children that he took this secrecy quite seriously, beyond the children he enjoyed to play tricks on.
But even if they did not find his face, the information they would find could be interesting as well. Sasuke can’t deny his curiosity about Kakashi, for there were still so many mysteries about that man that even long time acquaintances could not answer. Kakashi himself was loathe to give a straight answer about anything, so it would be nice to read something straight from the source. It’s indulgence on Sasuke’s part, to feed into his incessant desire to know more about the man who’s captivated him since the day they met, but it’s an impulse he can never bury, embarrassing as it is to show such blatant interest.
It’s the reason why Sasuke caves to Naruto and Sakura’s pleading, and it’s the reason he’s now in the hokage’s office, idly sifting through the files in a cabinet Sakura had assigned to him. Naruto was complaining loudly about how much reading he was being forced to do, then about Tsunade’s terrible filing system, and Sakura began yelling at him to quiet down so she could focus, and the two were now wrestling each other, sending papers scattering across the office. It was like dealing with particularly large and unruly toddlers at times. They even sometimes bite each other.
Sasuke ignored them. He’s learned well how to tune them out by this point. But then the wrestling suddenly goes quiet when Naruto shouts, “Hey, what’s this?”
He’s picked up one piece of paper, Sakura abandoning the headlock she had him under to look at it as well. If it captured both their attention, it might be of merit, so Sasuke moves towards them, wondering what made them stop fighting. Naruto appears confused, but Sakura’s eyes were wide.
“It’s a certificate of marriage?!” Sakura shouted in disbelief, snatching the paper away from Naruto to get a better look. “Kakashi is married?!”
“To who?” Naruto shouted back. Sasuke swears his ears were ringing, jealousy festering in the pit of his stomach at the idea that someone had laid claim to the man before he even had a chance. His heart grew cold, his pulse pounding as he struggled to control himself, and he almost missed Sakura’s answer.
“A Uchiha named-“ Sakura stutters, fingers gripping the paper so tightly she nearly tears it. “Sasuke?!”
Naruto’s eyes were bug eyed and wide, desperately trying to snatch the paper back. “What?!”
“What?” Sasuke repeated, and successfully pulled the paper away from Sakura while Naruto distracted her. Naruto grumbled, but the two of them shifted to stand by Sasuke’s side, eager to look over the paper once more, as if to convince themselves their eyes weren’t deceiving them. Even Sasuke had to read the paper three times to have this information sink in, let alone believe.
But it was true. The date was barely a month after his birth, and Sasuke, too young to sign his name, had simply been allowed to stamp the certificate with his palm print. The minimum age to marry as independent adults was sixteen, so the guardian of the child being married had to sign off as well if they were not old enough; Sasuke recognized Fugaku’s steady handwriting signing off for Sasuke, who was too young to even hold his head up without support. Even Kakashi, who wasn’t quite fourteen at the time, had Minato sign for him, along with his own signature, unsteady compared to the handwriting Sasuke knew well.
A Uchiha Fugaku with a son named Uchiha Sasuke could truly be only one person. Kakashi had been married to him as infant, for some utterly bizarre reason- and equally bizarre was the fact that no one had told him this. He searches through his childhood memories for any indication that he had been told, but he thinks he would remember something as jarring as this. The idea that he had been married off immediately at his birth, and was perpetually betrothed, surely would stick out- let alone the fact that he was married to Kakashi, a man he grew up hearing faint whispers about as the dark shadow of the shinobi force, and eventually his own teacher.
“Why the hell did he marry a baby?” Naruto asked, poking at the date of the certificate. “Sasuke was still spitting up milk.”
“And why hasn’t Kakashi mentioned this?” Sakura wondered, then admitted, “Well, that answer is obvious, actually.”
Sasuke ignores them, clenching the piece of paper in his hands. There had to be a semi reasonable explanation for this- it was true that assigned marriages at birth could happen, especially between clans, but it usually only happened amongst prestigious clan heads. As the second son to Fugaku, it’s not out of the realm of possibility… but Kakashi was not from a highly sought after clan, nor was he invested in the politics of such things. Minato was shrewd, much as neither Naruto nor Kakashi ever admitted, so that likely had some hand in this, but ultimately, why did this marriage occur? What an odd pairing.
Sasuke glances down, searching for the spot Naruto must have picked this up from while they were fighting. Naruto and Sakura were arguing over whether Kakashi knew the truth or not, and Sasuke resolutely ignored them, picking through the papers until he found what he was looking for. Sakura and Naruto quit their bickering when they realized Sasuke was occupied with something interesting, and crowded around him to observe what he had found.
It was a letter from Fugaku, proposing marriage to Minato. “The circumstances of Kakashi’s acquired sharingan have greatly agitated the Uchiha community since the day he came back to the village bearing, what many believe, to be proof of blood line theft. You, Mikoto, and I know Kakashi’s character well enough to attest that it isn’t so, but I am afraid that several incidents in the past regarding the Cloud Village’s intrusion and the perceived discriminatory practices against the Uchiha has made many feel wary at best about young Hatake’s eye. I feel that the only way to keep the peace may be to propose a marriage between young Hatake and a member of the Uchiha clan. It is within custom to keep the sharingan within the clan, so if Kakashi is married and registered as a Uchiha, that should finally quell the dissent brewing…”
“I guess that makes sense,” Sakura murmured. “I mean, just a few years later, Hinata was kidnapped.”
“Were they really that worked up about Kakashi’s eye?” Naruto wondered.
“But then why were you married to him?” Sakura wondered. “Look, this letter was dated months before you were even born.”
Sasuke pulls out the folder that had been keeping record of their supposed marriage. It was quite thin despite being a clan marriage, and the only other piece of paper inside was Minato confirming the necessity of strengthening the village and Uchiha relations… through whatever means necessary. Whatever lead to Sasuke being married off was not discussed, and these pages must be included only to provide basic context for whoever was looking into their marriage for whatever reason, and proof of Fugaku and Minato’s consent to marry their son and effective ward.
Sasuke carefully placed the papers back into the folder. “I have somewhere I need to be.”
“You can’t be serious! After a bombshell like this-“
“It’s my marriage,” Sasuke emphasizes. “So this is between Kakashi and I. We can talk about it later when I get answers for myself.”
“Sasuke-“
He was already gone, body flickering away before Naruto had even finished calling his name. The predicament this left him in was very interesting, but the most important fact was that Sasuke was not upset by this news.
To say that Kakashi had been the object of his affections for sometime would be the truth. The crush had begun as a genin, impressed by Kakashi’s strength and character, his determination to save his comrades, and such might that shinobi from other villages not only knew him but respected and feared him. Yes, Sasuke was quite enamored with Kakashi on those principles alone, and the time spent with the man had only strengthened those feelings over the years.
Sasuke didn’t think his interest would go anywhere; Kakashi seemed a bachelor at heart and was twice his age. He was supposedly soon to become the hokage, once he stopped slacking, and Sasuke assumed he would be too busy to indulge in a relationship. The crush was childish, the sexual attraction was meaningless… so he told himself, to stave off the disappointment of not being able to attain what he truly wanted. Kakashi had only grown stronger and more beautiful and more certain of himself and his beliefs, and it made his interest grow ever more.
No, a marriage with him was not at all an inconvenience. And if Kakashi had done nothing to annul it in the past few years, especially after the massacre, but even more interestingly, after Sasuke went rogue, and after Sasuke came back… did it mean he was interested back? That Kakashi was a willing spouse even if the marriage came from outside influence? Was this why Kakashi had been a permanent bachelor? Was he waiting for Sasuke to grow up and become a man he could love and desire?
Sasuke shivered.
There’s an errand he needs to run, but it doesn’t take long, and Sasuke isn’t concerned about Kakashi slipping away. The man had just come back from a grueling S-rank mission- Tsunade had realized that if Kakashi wasn’t going to hurry up and take the hat, then she could milk him for all he was worth as a shinobi, and was punishing his laziness with back to back B and higher missions. It was his third S rank in the same amount of months; the man was tired, to say the least, and Sasuke knows he’s either sleeping soundly in bed or relaxing by reading his book at his apartment.
There isn’t any rush except to answer his own questions. His blood is warm as he finally make’s his way towards Kakashi’s, eager to understand the scope of this marriage and what it means for the two of them. To have him already legally bonded, to practically already own Kakashi, a step closer to achieving fantasies he thought were unrealistic, impractical, and best left in the back of his mind whenever their hands brushed, or Kakashi smiled at him, or when he would watch the lights reflect off Kakashi during the night and make him look as if he was glowing…
Well, it was a dream no longer. They were already married. The steps were taken long ago, perhaps as karma for what he had endured. Justice at last is served, and Sasuke can have exactly what he wants…
He knocks on the door, out of reflexive politeness. There isn’t the slightest sound of shifting from inside the apartment, and it’s possible Kakashi is asleep, but it’s also possible he’s simply ignoring him. He knocked again, louder, harsher, more insistent… and it isn’t until he knocks a third time does he hear an exhausted sigh, the shuffling of footsteps, and the door unlocking.
Kakashi appears in the doorway, hair mused, messier than his usual bed head. He had wrapped himself in a blanket, covering the sweats he was wearing, and he loosely held Icha Icha Paradise in one hand while the other leaned against the doorway. He did not look impressed, though Sasuke was interrupting his rest, so he didn’t take much offense.
“Unless the village is under attack, I would like to go back to bed.”
Sasuke remorselessly began to push his way inside. Exhausted, and probably at least mildly curious about what had Sasuke acting this way, Kakashi allowed it to happen, letting Sasuke push into his apartment, closing and locking the apartment door behind them. Kakashi yawned, moving away from Sasuke to sit on his bed, pulling the blanket tighter, and it was unfair how a grown man could look so cute, swaddled in a thick blanket, half lidded eyes peering up at him through his thick lashes, the slightest outline of his lips against his mask as he all but pouts at Sasuke for intruding.
“What’s got you so worked up?”
“Care to explain this?”
Sasuke fishes a copy of the marriage certificate out of his pocket, shoving it right in front of Kakashi’s face, so fast and too close that Kakashi nearly went cross eyed trying to look at it before shifting, one hand reaching up to delicately take the paper from him. His brows furrow for a moment, and briefly Sasuke thinks of Naruto and Sakura’s argument on if Kakashi knew or not. Forgery is child’s play for shinobi, after all…
“Ah,” Kakashi finally murmured. “Is this all that you found?”
“We’re married,” Sasuke begins, slowly. “And you never told me?”
Kakashi’s eyes closed, like he was on the cusp of a headache. “I figured your parents would tell you eventually… and when those circumstances changed, I decided I would tell you when you were sixteen. That is the age when you can legally marry without guardian approval, and thus legally divorce. It was only a few more years, and I had no interest in getting married during that time, besides.” Kakashi opened his eyes, giving him a slight look. “But you had left the village before your sixteenth birthday rolled around, and the past five years or so have already been so hectic.”
“Why were you married to me?” There’s a spark of hope in his chest, about how fated this must be.
Kakashi leaned back; there was a look on his face that made it clear he was thinking of Obito. It was half fond, for the boy he once was, and half remorseful, for the man he eventually became. Sasuke suppressed his jealousy; it was obvious why he was thinking of Obito, considering his sharingan is what got Kakashi into the mess of needing to be married into the Uchiha clan… it still left a bad taste in his mouth. To know Kakashi had been able to keep a piece of another man for decades sometimes drove him crazy with envy, to have a piece of himself carved into the person he loves. There were millions of reasons to dislike Obito, but that was by far Sasuke’s pettiest…
“Obito died when I was eleven,” Kakashi quietly began. “Bloodline theft was an issue that ran rampant during the third war and after, amongst all villages. The Uchihas already had a difficult relationship with the village at times, especially with Danzo’s shadow influence. There were many Uchiha who did not believe my story.” Kakashi’s sigh is a soft thing, and yet so weighted. “I can not blame them. Obito and I did not get along much, always bickering, and I had a callous reputation even at that age, for not caring for my teammates. I was enthusiastic about accruing power and strength, and I seemingly cared little for Obito. His body was left behind in a foreign land they could not retrieve, under the collapsed rocks of a cave, evidence buried and hopefully to be forgotten in their eyes. The only witness to the possible crime was Rin, who at the time had a crush on me and was not exactly unbiased. They were not good circumstances, for me to return to the village with a Uchiha’s eye in my head. And it only got worse from there.
“Rin died less than a year later, when I was twelve. It became clear to many that I was a friend killer… and so it isn’t a stretch to think I killed Obito, too. It was only Minato’s influence that kept things tame, but the growing dissent only grew worse, nearly exploding when Minato was chosen as hokage over Fugaku.” Kakashi’s finger quietly traces his scar. “It was difficult to believe Minato would be any different than Hiruzen… especially if he was letting me be his eager right hand man. But Mikoto and Kushina were dear friends, and by association Mikoto and to some degree Fugaku knew me well enough that the rumors were obviously false to them. But they could not convince others, so Fugaku suggested having me married into the clan.
“The idea was not supposed to be so long term, or close to home. They hoped to find someone my age to marry me to, and when we reached an age at a time where the clan was less nervous, we could quietly divorce and live our own lives again.” Kakashi had a strange look on his face. “The problem was that the second war had killed so many adults, children had been forced into battle as well by the third war. So many who were my age were already dead. Those left were closer to Itachi or Shisui’s age. Those older… were less inclined to marry me for good reasons.
“Those with younger children weren’t interested in tying them to someone nearly a decade older, or with such a blemished past. No one was fully certain if I was friend or foe. Fugaku was reluctant to marry Itachi to me, as his first born son and heir to the clan.” Kakashi laughed, something bitter. “Itachi’s political worth outweighed my dilemma. But they had a second son on the way. Mikoto wasn’t happy, but Minato and Fugaku eventually came to an agreement… the political power of marrying Fugaku’s son, and thus tying me to their direct branch, helped sway those agitated by Obito’s eye. They assumed the marriage could be annulled within a few years, before you grew old enough for this to even be a problem, but unfortunately tensions only grew worse, especially since Minato and Kushina were killed months later and Hiruzen and Danzo were re-established in power. Discriminatory practices and suspicions regarding the Nine Tails attack lead to paranoia skyrocketing, so a quiet divorce wouldn’t be feasible during those beginning years…”
“It was all a matter of politics,” Sasuke summarized.
“And maybe it ended up being for nothing, after all.” Kakashi’s finger lingers on the edge of his scar, the part that dipped below his mask. “Well, I am sorry that this was kept from you for longer than I meant, but like I said, the last five years were quite hectic, to say the least. Now, however, we can quietly file for a divorce, and you can move on and meet someone you would actually like to marry.”
Sasuke shifts. Was Kakashi saying that to play nice? Or a ploy on his guilt complex, believing he didn’t deserve Sasuke? Was it a tease, to see what Sasuke was truly thinking?
Now was his chance.
“What if I don’t want to be divorced?”
That seemed to actually surprise Kakashi. His brows furrow in confusion, head tilting slightly, peering up at him with uncertainty. “I don’t follow.”
“What if I want to stay married to you?”
“But… why would you want that? If you’re married to me, you won’t be able to marry anyone else. It would be a burden to your future. And it’s easily reconciled. Tsunade is not old fashioned enough to deny a mutual divorce.”
It’s almost endearing, seeing Kakashi struggle with the very obvious interest Sasuke is implying. So it is the self pity routine Kakashi was employing, believing himself to be a burden for Sasuke…
“Tell me this- have you ever tried to get this marriage annulled?”
Kakashi frowned. “… no. Like I said, Minato-sensei and Kushina died not long after. I was… inconsolable and otherwise distracted for a time. Besides, Hiruzen was back in power, and the Uchiha tensions were fraught, so it wouldn’t have been wise to make a fuss when the point of the marriage was the opposite of that.”
“And after the massacre?” Sasuke pressed.
“… I was busy with the Anbu. And then after, as my genin, you were close enough to sixteen that I might as well just wait.” Kakashi waved a vague hand. “And then everything else happened.”
“You don’t have to make excuses. I know you were waiting for me. You don’t have to wait any longer.” Sasuke stands next to the bed, looking over Kakashi, who peered at him through half lidded eyes. “All this time, and you made no effort to break our bond. You were waiting for me to grow up.” Sasuke sits on the bed, creaking slightly under his weight. “And you were waiting for me to love you back.”
“What?”
“Do I need to spell it out for you? You really are hopeless. I don’t want to divorce you, because I love you.”
Kakashi is frozen by the declaration, eyes wide with surprise. Did he think so little of himself, that the idea of reciprocation had never even crossed his mind? Anyone would be out of their mind to willingly divorce Kakashi and miss out on something so beautiful. Sasuke had been such a fool not to pursue this earlier. The moment he came back to the village, he should have staked his claim and made Kakashi his, for poor Kakashi had been waiting all this time, and it was cruel to make him wait a moment longer. Now, he could make it all up to him.
Sasuke reaches forward, a hand cupping Kakashi’s cheek. The touch brings Kakashi back to his senses, and he pulls away, flushing faintly. “I think you’ve misinterpreted something. This is a marriage of convenience, and nothing more.”
“It is convenient, isn’t it?” Sasuke pushes closer, growing bolder. “I never bothered to woo you because I thought I never had a chance. But now we can skip all that nonsense, of seduction and dating and fiancés, and get right to business as lovers, can’t we?”
“What?” Kakashi shifts backwards. “You’re not joking?”
“Is it so hard to believe I like you back? I never thought I had a chance with you, so I haven’t been very affectionate. I guess I’ve been too cold. Perhaps I can rectify that now.” Again, Sasuke reaches his hand out to cup at Kakashi’s cheek, thumb rubbing slow, gentle circles into his plump skin, a mild attempt to reassure him. He guides him forward, letting their eyes meet, hoping Kakashi understands the need and desire simmering in his gaze; Kakashi’s eyes are wide in return. His thumb brushes at the hem of his mask, eager to end this conversation to kiss like lovers do.
But Kakashi pulls away once more, shaking Sasuke’s grip away. “What has gotten into you?”
“Are you really so dense? I feel like I’m being obvious in what I want.”
“The marriage means nothing,” Kakashi insisted. “It was just politics at the time. You and I- we’re not actually lovers.”
“But we should be.”
“You’re serious?” Kakashi looks downright baffled by this turn of events. He runs one hand through his hair, a deep sigh escaping him. “Sasuke, I’m twice your age. There must be someone you find more appealing than me.”
“Of course not.” Sasuke scoffs at the idea. “I’ve been interested in you since I was a child. No one else has ever held a candle to you.” His hand settles on Kakashi’s thigh as he leans closer. “What more could I want? You’re powerful and beautiful. Your personality could use some work, but I like a challenge.”
Kakashi tries to push his hand away, but his grip tightens. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’ve admired you for being the Copy Ninja of Konoha, a name across all households in the five great elemental nations. I’ve admired you for your body, skillful and graceful and beautiful. I have even admired you for yourself, in your steadfast conviction to protect those you love.” Sasuke makes deliberate eye contact once more. “I have felt this way since the moment I met you, and I have never stopped feeling like this. This marriage is not a burden to me- it is exactly what I want.” His hand slides across his thigh, fingers ghosting over sensitive skin hidden under soft fabric. “I’m actually grateful to know that you’ve belonged to me this entire time. I was worried someone else would see your worth and snatch you up. But I see now you’ve been waiting for me to become a real man and perform my duties as your husband.”
“Sasuke-“
“You don’t have to wait any longer.” Sasuke’s close enough that their noses were centimeters from touching each other. His hand was resting in the dip of his thigh and his hip, squeezing slightly to emphasize himself. “I’m going to take care of you now.”
Kakashi pushes back, a hand resting on Sasuke’s chest, forcing him farther away. There’s an unsettled look in his eyes as he says, “Sasuke, I don’t love you. This was just a marriage of convenience. I wasn’t… waiting for you to become a proper husband. I was waiting for you to be old enough that we could properly divorce. Don’t you get it? If I confused you somehow through all of this, I’m sorry. But I don’t want to be married to you, because I don’t love you.”
The words make Sasuke’s blood simmer. Of course he was playing hard to get. Kakashi could never do things the easy way.
Sasuke grabs Kakashi’s arm, pulling him closer. “Don’t lie to me.”
“Don’t treat me like that.” Kakashi yanks his arm out of his grip, pulling back. “Look, I couldn’t divorce you when you were a child because that defeated the purpose of marrying you in the first place. It was just to soothe the tension in the village. I was going to wait until you were sixteen to tell you the truth because sixteen is the age of consent to marry, and thus the age of consent to divorce. You would be old enough to want to have relationships of your own without me as dead weight. I didn’t tell you when you came back to the village because I simply forgot after everything that’s happened since before and after the fourth war. It’s not because I secretly love you, or whatever you’re thinking.”
“You’re so stubborn,” Sasuke mutters. “It’s so annoying when you’re that way over something unreasonable.”
“I’m unreasonable?”
“I know what you want. I know what you need. But clearly, all this time without a proper husband to satisfy you has made you an unruly wife, hasn’t it? You need me to prove myself as your lover. And you need me to prove that I truly want you.” It was impressive how a man of Kakashi’s caliber has such dreadful self esteem. “By the end of the night, you’ll understand.”
“You haven’t listened to a thing I said.”
“Because it’s all lies and nonsense. You’re just trying to push me away, because you think you don’t deserve me.” He reaches for his chin, pinching it between his fingers, forcing eye contact. “I’m sorry I’ve made you feel so neglected. But I’ll prove how much I love you.”
He really has been such a terrible husband. He deeply regrets that no one had told him of this role, but he was more than eager to finally fulfill it. Kakashi had been waiting so long for him, a patient blushing bride left at the altar, and it was time for Sasuke to prove himself as a man worthy of such devotion and patience. Kakashi’s lack of self esteem was a mild obstacle to overcome, but Sasuke was certain he could convince the man the purity and strength of his own love in turn.
Sasuke knows what he has, now. And he has no intention of letting it slip through his fingers, no matter what it takes to convince Kakashi the devotion he’s been carrying since his childhood.