Archive of Our Own

If Shikadai was known for one thing other than his intellect, it was his disdain for doing anything that required him to put in actual effort. However, if there was one thing he wasn't lazy about, it was his friendships. 

He didn't ever skip out on a chance to hang out with a friend, whether they be playing video games, or just laying on the roof of the village's famous Thunder Rail train and talking. And neither did Boruto, well, at least he didn't usually .

For some reason, lately whenever he asked Boruto if he wanted to do something, the blond told him he was busy. Now, Boruto was always an energetic and active guy, but he always had time for his friends. What could possibly be keeping him so busy that he didn't even have a couple hours to spend with his best friend? 

This had never happened before, even when they finally became ninja and started getting missions, they still found time for each other in between it all to at least grab a burger. But lately Boruto couldn't even do that with him! Now, Shikadai wasn't mad exactly, he was just disappointed and concerned. 

He was worried his friend had gotten himself into something bad and that he didn't want to drag any of his friends into it by telling them or asking them for their help or being around them. Which while he appreciated not having to be involved with something that would no doubt be a huge hassle, he also found the idea incredibly stupid. They were friends for a reason after all.

As he was pondering (sulking?) over it all, he lazily flipped through channels in an attempt to find something to take his mind off it all. As he laid on the dark wooden floor of the living room, his head resting in his other hand as he scrolled, he happened upon a talk show with the exact blond who was causing all of his problems. 

He was sitting in a large cushy armchair across from a woman who was asking him questions about some movie. Was this what Boruto had been too busy with? Some kind of Q & A sessions? And about what? A movie? What movie? Shikadai was left reeling, he was used to people fawning over or hating Boruto for being the child of the Hokage. But surely they didn't make a movie about that, right?

Sitting up, the dark haired youth leaned closer to the TV, intending to see what hints he could glean from this program. 

" So, Boruto, you were the lead actor in the movie right? Was there more pressure put on you for your performance than your co-star? " The woman asked with a smile. 

" Hehe, well, I wouldn't say that the director put more pressure on me. My role was no more important than my partner's. But I definitely put more pressure on myself. Especially for the big climax of the movie, I spent hours researching what I was expected to do since it was my first time ever doing something like that ." Answered the blond, a sheepish smile on his face as he scratched the back of his head.

The woman nodded as she crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair. 

" Really? Your first time? Well, that is understandable, you are only 13 after all. I must say, your performance was incredibly convincing. Will you be acting in any other films that we should be on the lookout for? "

" Nah, I'm a ninja, not an actor. I actually only did this movie by accident. See, I didn't read the complete mission order when I agreed to it. So by the time I got there, I didn't have any clue what they were expecting from me but I had to do it cause I already said I would. "

" Wow, that is fascinating. You are certainly dedicated to your job Mr.Uzumaki. By the way, I heard you have been extremely busy lately. I'm told you did a promotional photoshoot just a few days ago in fact. Could you tell us a little about that? "

" Sure. Let's see. Well, it was my first photo shoot, so I had no idea what to do or what to expect. Really this whole experience has just been a lot of firsts for me. But it wasn't that bad, everyone was really nice to us, and they let us give our opinions on the photos they got. If we had an idea for a shot, or a specific pose we wanted, they listened and sometimes they even agreed with us. It was pretty cool, although I kind of wish I had more free time. I've been doing a lot of stuff like this lately, Q&A's, photoshoots, they actually asked us to film a short promotional teaser about a month ago and they're gonna air it really soon. They didn't want to use scenes from the movie in the trailer because they personally hate that all movies use the best scenes from their movie in the trailers to grab people. So they made a minute and a half long bonus scene and made that the trailer. But as cool as this whole thing has been, I kind of miss just being a kid and spending time with my friends, ya know? This was just supposed to be a small movie, but apparently it's gained a ton of interest from people who want to see it and other filmmakers alike, because it used real ninjas and because I'm the Hokage's kid. "

" I see, that is interesting indeed. I'm sure you will have plenty of time for your friends soon, but I'm afraid that if the movie is as much of a hit as it seems like it is going to be, then you will only become even busier. Such is the life of a star. Well, that just about does it for us. We are out of time here, so thank you once again for joining us here today. "

" No problem. Thanks for havin' me ."

" This has been- "

"Shikadai! Dinner is ready! Come eat now before I drag you in here."

The boy flinched and fumbled with the remote to turn off the TV as he quickly stood and called out to his mother that he was coming. 

A movie huh? What kind of movie was it? Why didn't Boruto just tell him that was what he had been so busy with? It wasn't anything he needed to hide, but he always seemed nervous or embarrassed whenever he was questioned on why he was busy. Playing the lead role in a movie wasn't embarrassing, it was something to be proud of. 

Immediately, Shikadai decided he would have to look into this movie of Boruto's some more later. If his best friend was in a movie, then it was his obligation as his best friend to watch that movie and congratulate Boruto on it. In fact, he shouldn't be the only one, all of their friends should watch it and congratulate their friend on his work. That was just what friends did, right?

____________________

After dinner, the green eyed boy did some poking around, he talked to Inojin, and Denki and Metal, and Iwabe, and finally Chocho. It was news to all of them except for the girl who confessed that Sarada had mentioned something about them getting a mission to be in a movie or something the last time they talked. 

But the ravenette didn't go into much detail about it, other than the fact that she apparently dies in the movie and thus that it wasn't worth watching, and as her friend she respected Sarada's apparent irritation toward the film and promptly forgot about it. 

That hadn't been much help, so he decided to go to the mission center and see if they were able to tell him anything about it. Unfortunately, they told him just what he expected, that they could not disclose any information about a mission to anyone who was not part of the squad that accepted the mission. 

This left him with only a few options, see if his dad knew anything since he worked with the Hokage and the mission office, search for more TV programs that might tell him more about it, or go to the source. 

He decided to ask his dad, this had all been way more effort than he cared to admit to having put in already. The easiest option was just to see if his dad knew anything helpful. Besides, he couldn't exactly go to the source if he didn't know who that source was. 

So, while he and his father were in the middle of a game of Shogi, he tossed out the question.

"Hey dad, do you know anything about a mission requiring real ninjas to play as actors in a movie?"

His father simply raised an eyebrow as he made his move, asking why he wanted to know about something like that, which was answered with "Boruto played the lead." and that was all it took for Shikamaru to hum affirmatively. 

"Ah, and you want to be a good friend and watch it to support him I'm guessing. Let's see, I think the name was Lust In Blood or something like that, but why didn't you just ask Boruto? Are you trying to surprise him or something?"

Knowing full well that his father would not like telling him if he knew Boruto didn't want him to know, the boy just laughed and said "Yeah, something like that." before moving his final piece to victory. 

"Thanks dad." He said as he stood and stretched. 

The man frowned as he scratched his head in bewilderment as to how he could have missed such an outcome.

"Ahh, man, I lost, what a drag. Oh well, good game son."

"You too dad, I'm going to head to bed now, goodnight."

"Yeah, night." Said the older male, as he briefly pondered whether or not his son had asked specifically to get his mind off the game and therefore let him win.

With the information given to him by his father, that being the title, he was able to find it's release date on pay per view. It was still a few months away from releasing, and it didn't even have a description of the movie, but still he called all of the other rookies and arranged for them all to meet up and watch it together. 

_______________

Turns out, a few months can fly by in the blink of an eye, especially when you forget about the anticipated event due to being so swept up in doing mission after mission. 

Sure enough, the day had arrived, and while Temari was visiting her brothers in the village hidden in the sand, Shikadai was taking full advantage of having the house to himself. His two teammates had arrived first, helping him set up the living room to accommodate so many occupants and making snacks for everyone (Even if they would mostly just be consumed by Chocho herself).

Eventually Denki, Metal and Iwabe arrived and when asked about Wasabi and Namida, they explained that the girls were still shaken up over the loss of Sumire and declined the invite politely. 

Chocho complained about being the only girl present, saying she didn't want to be stifled by so many boys while she was stuck watching some boring action movie. She even asked Shikadai if she could call up Sarada and ask her to come over, but Shikadai didn't want to risk alerting Boruto to their movie viewing, so he refused. 

Of course, Chocho wasn't happy, as she sat on the couch with crossed arms, pouting about how rude he was being to such a delicate flower like herself, but she quieted down when the movie began rolling.

The cast was introduced as a freshly graduated and appointed team. The three went on easy missions together to get their footing, such as finding lost cats, escort missions and the like. Slowly they began to grow more confident, and started taking on higher ranked missions. 

The three grew closer to the point that even when they were not on missions, they became inseparable, spending much of their downtime as best friends just training or hanging out. Though, there were times where 'Rin' needed time to herself, as she couldn't do girly things with them. 

Which left the two boys to spend time with one another and have some "male bonding" like playing video games or performing pranks and whatnot. Growing ever closer as friends, sharing innocent yet intimate touches that neither saw issue with or thought twice about. 

The movie then showed a montage of sorts, spanning an entire 2 years of the team going on missions, growing, changing their styles and coming into their own as Shinobi. This was when the team received their fateful mission to investigate a small group of rogue Shinobi who were causing trouble for passing ninja between the Hidden Leaf Village and the Hidden Sand Village. 

They were told to see if they could find any information about the group's base of operations and if possible take them out. They were told that there were only 3 members that were reported and that they were not that powerful, but they were still hassling passing ninja for money and supplies as if they were some kind of toll booth.  

But once they reached their destination, and 'Akito' went in as the decoy to distract the rogue ninja, while Rin and 'Hiro' went around to investigate, they found out that there were in fact not only 3. Apparently, the team operated as one man stopping you and if you were to refuse his toll, he would call his two men in waiting to corner you. 

They only ever ambushed someone if that person was alone, most likely due to their numbers. But it seemed that report had been inaccurate, as Rin and Hiro stumbled into trouble when they were blindsided by 4 more rogue ninja. The blond watched in slow motion as they found the enemy base, only to have his friend get cut down right in front of him. 

Rin, though dealt quite the blow, was not going to go down without a fight and managed to throw down a smoke bomb and chuck a kunai into the man's head before retreating with Hiro at her side. The two made a quick rendezvous with Akito and took to the trees for coverage. Akito bandaged the girl's wound as best he could and attempted to stop the bleeding with basic medical ninjutsu, but as none of them were fully trained medical ninja, he could not do much.  

But she wouldn't let that stop her, and only insisted that she could still fight and that the cut was shallow. The boys were not convinced, they wanted to carry her back to the village despite it being days away, but she swore she was fine and would get herself proper treatment after they accomplished their mission. 

She had dreams of becoming the Hokage someday and she felt she could never do that if she failed at stopping a few rogue Shinobi. So, they pushed on, formulated a plan to ambush the men from behind while they sent in a clone as a decoy, and then go blow up their base with paper bombs.  

Of course, as it was only an hour into a 2 and a half hour long film, it did not work. The team got spotted easily and had an all out fight with all 6 men at once. They did their best, and fought their hardest, but they were outnumbered and only managed to take out 2 of their enemies before they heard Rin scream. 

She had just kicked what she thought was the real ninja, only to find out it was a clone and the real one had snuck up behind her and held her in place to be run through by his other clone's sword.  

Chocho choked on her popcorn as she saw her best friend in the whole world with more pain and fear and tears on her face than she should ever have, as she whimpered out the names of her teammates and collapsed. She knew Sarada was only acting, after all it was just a movie, but it still hurt to see her best friend dying right in front of her and not be able to do anything about it. 

Hiro screamed in anger as he shoved the guy he was currently wrestling with out of his way and threw a few shuriken at the man holding Rin. Of course the man dropped her and jumped out of the way, while Akito ran up and threw down a smoke bomb before helping Hiro carry Rin away to a cave to re-strategize and try to save her.

Sadly, that was the end for Rin. She had lost too much blood by the time they made it to temporary safety. She laid on the cold stone ground of the cave, crying and lamenting over her untimely demise. 

She hiccuped as she wished she had spent even more time with them and her family, how she was despaired to have never accomplished her dream of leading the village to a new age of peace and revolution, and most of all how she never got to experience what it was like to fall in love and be loved in return. 

She spoke of how close and important the two boys were to her, how she thought for a while that maybe Hiro was her one, but that she realized it wasn't that type of love she felt for him, he was more like a brother. She then thought it could be Akito, but she soon found he was just her best friend. She told them that no matter what, she loved them and the two of them had to make it out of this for her. 

She told them to cherish those close to them and the time they spend together and that if they had someone that was super important to them, then they needed to show that person and protect them no matter what. She then smiled sadly and said she had fun with them and hoped to get to do this all over again in another life with them, before she gave her final breath and Hiro lost it. 

As Boruto cried on screen and found comfort in Mitsuki's embrace, Chocho herself began to wail and scream. 

"Wahhhh!!! Sa-ra-da!!! Wahhhhahaha! Sarada!" 

Inojin was quick to lose his temper and tell her to be quiet, only to have her throw herself on him and cry into his chest. 

"Gah! Chubs! Knock it off! Get off me! You're getting my shirt all wet! And I don't want your snot all over me!" He exclaimed as he attempted to shove her off. 

"But-Sarada-wahh!!" 

"I know! I get it! But it's not real chubs! She's just acting! It's just a movie! So cut it out already!"

The girl glanced up in a huff, how dare he tell her that just because it wasn't real there was no reason to feel upset? She glared at the blond, about to give him a piece of her mind, before she saw something that made her scowl turn into a smirk.

"If it's 'just a movie', then how come you're tearing up too? Huh Inojin?" She teased.

The boy finally managed to shove her off, making a frustrated sound as he turned his head away and furiously scrubbed his eyes with his fists. 

Sensing that the two may break out into a fight if nobody intervened, Shikadai sighed and paused the movie.

"Hey, enough you two, if you start a fight now my parents will kill us all. Besides, we still have to finish the movie and that can't happen if you guys bust the TV."

Denki, never one for confrontations, quickly stepped up to speak as well, not wanting the two to actually get into a fight when they were all supposed to be enjoying a movie in one another's company.

"He's right, but still, it is a bit jarring to see someone you know die. I mean, we're all so young, but we're still ninjas. This kind of thing could happen any moment when we are out of a mission. It's scary to think about."

As his eyes dropped to the floor, a large hand gently clasped itself around his shoulder. He glanced up to see Iwabe giving him a small smile, pain and concern dancing in his eyes.

"Yeah, that's true, but we all knew the risks when we signed up for the academy. But it's best not to worry about stuff like that anyway. Let's just focus on how great this movie is so far, I mean, they're not even actors, but wow are they believable! Right? Come on, cheer up. Once we're done watching it, we can all go see Boruto and Sarada to congratulate them."

The boy nodded and smiled up at the taller boy in gratitude. 

"You're right Iwabe. Let's just get back to the movie guys. The sooner we finish it, the sooner we can go see the others and reassure ourselves that they're alright."

Inojin grumbled in protest, but nodded all the same, while Chocho gave a pout and nodded her consent as well. The two sat back down on the dull lime green colored couch, Iwabe claiming the spot left beside Chocho, while Denki sat on the floor next to Shikadai. 

The gang resumed the film in silence, as they watched with heavy hearts seeing Boruto break down and wail like a newborn. Chocho and Metal could be heard sobbing, while Inojin fought his hardest to keep his eyes from tearing up again. 

Denki had no issue with being seen with tears however, he openly cried next to Shikadai, who simply frowned in sympathy and patted his back. Even Iwabe had to wipe away a couple of tears at the performance. Sure, the kid wasn't a professional, but the performance had emotion behind it, and because they were friends, it made the scene even more powerful.

While the two boys on screen swore that their friend's death would not be in vain, Chocho gave a shout of agreement, as if to say that they had better complete their mission so that Sarada's untimely demise would not be for nothing. But it was as the two were exiting the cave that she went still and quiet. 

The girl looked around the room, surveying her peers to see if anyone else caught that, but when she saw no recognition from any of them, she began to question herself. Was she crazy? Or did Mitsuki's touch last just a bit too long? 

No, surely it was just because Mitsuki was a weird guy and he didn't understand social aspects like how long to give a platonic comforting goodbye touch. That had to be it. There was no way that Mitsuki actually had a thing for Boruto, right? 

The girl's mind was going haywire, but her outward appearance did not show it as she quietly sat with a stoic expression. Once again she was drawn in by her friends on the screen, as if they were really in front of her and not playing characters in a movie. The thought never once crossing her mind that the touch could have been for the camera. 

And so, she sat and stared at the screen with a fire in her eyes that could only be from determination. The heavyweight focused on every little touch and look and sound in their voices as they made their way to an abandoned cabin and went over a map to form a plan. But it all seemed perfectly normal.

She was almost convinced she was losing it, until finally, the yaoi gods smiled upon her. They must have heard her plea for some kind of confirmation and saw how hard she was working to unscramble this vague 'is it friendship or more' relationship and took pity on her, as Mitsuki cupped Boruto's cheek and leaned in to kiss his tears away. 

"AHHHHHH!!! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! It's yaoi! Boruto and Mitsuki are a yaoi!" Screamed the snack lover, as she threw herself to her feet and thrust an accusatory finger at the TV.

All the boys jumped and spun to give her identical confused looks, as if she were insane for reading the way she did.

"What? What are you talking about Chubs? And what in the world is yaoi?"

"It's gay, it's a gay couple, specifically gay guys! And Mitsuki and Boruto are gay! Why else would he kiss Boruto's tears away?"

Shikadai scratched his head and glanced at the screen, unsure of what to think or say. 

"Well, kissing away his tears was pretty romantic, and since they're both guys that is pretty gay, I'll give you that. But that doesn't mean that Boruto and Mitsuki are gay."

"Yeah Chubs, this is Mitsuki we're talking about. He's just a weird guy, he probably doesn't even know what romance is, let alone why it's gay to do that. I mean, the dude was raised in a lab after all."

Shikadai sighed and shook his head, as he heard mumbles of, "Yeah!" "That's true!" And "How dare you assume their sexuality like that! Lord Hokage kissed his best friend once, and he isn't gay!".

"That isn't what I meant. What I'm trying to say is, maybe that's just what the director wanted them to do."

"Huh?"

"You know, maybe it's that kind of movie. It would explain why none of them told us about it and why they didn't want us to see it."

"E-ehhhhh?!? No way! That was too real! There was real feeling behind that! Like he didn't like seeing Boruto cry! There's just no way those two aren't dating!"

"Shikadai is right, they're just acting Chubs."

"They're ninja! Not actors! There's no way they could fake that feeling so believably!"

"They probably just had to shoot the scene a bunch of times until they got it right, they are acting in the movie because that was their mission, and a true ninja always gives it 100% for whatever mission they are assigned. So it makes sense, right? Though it is pretty strange they would have chosen this as their mission, i mean, i know Boruto always likes to show off and be center stage, but he clearly didn't want us seeing this because he was embarrassed, so that couldn't be it."

Iwabe scoffed as he threw a hand back and closed his eyes as he leaned back on the couch that was much more spacious now that there was one less body occupying it.

"You're forgetting that if there is one thing that always rings true about Boruto aside from his constant need for validation, it's his short attention span. He probably didn't even read the mission, just the headline and then he got stuck with it."  

Inojin clapped his hands together loudly and exclaimed "You're right! That's probably it." while Shikadai hummed in agreement. 

Denki seemed troubled by the conversation, he knew they weren't trying to be mean, but everything they were saying sounded so rude. He knew they all loved Boruto, and that the whole reason they were all here was for him, but still, did they need to talk like that? 

"Hey! Are we here to rag on Boruto, or are we here to watch his movie? It doesn't matter why they accepted the mission, the only thing we have to know is that they did, and that they are doing a fantastic job as actors, so we should appreciate their efforts and finish the movie before we start casting stones!" 

They all turned to see Metal looking serious for all of 3 seconds, before his confidence crumbled and he hid his face behind his hands. 

"I mean, uh, c-can we please just get back to watching the movie now?" 

Iwabe barked out a laugh and slapped the smaller boy on the back, while Denki placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered to him, "Well said Metal, I couldn't agree more."

Shikadai smiled as he nodded at the green clad male and looked to Chocho, who still seemed a bit lost and irritated as she mumbled to herself about how she was so sure, but didn't argue anymore. And with that out of the way, the Nara lad unpaused the movie once more. 

The children watched in a serene silence, as Mitsuki and Boruto took shifts of watching for their pursuers and sleeping, they continued to watch in silence when the two eventually split off in opposite directions planning to use clones as decoys to make their chasers assume they hadn't split up, albeit in a bit more tense silence than earlier as they were not sure if the two would both live through this ordeal or not.

All the while, the one female of the group raged internally and became lost in her thoughts, completely tuning out the movie in front of her. It infuriated Chocho that something so obvious was being brushed aside simply because the two of them were both boys. 

Holding hands and placing one hand on the other's cheek? Just a way of grounding your friend and helping him focus on the present so he will calm down. Kissing away tears? Nah, the guy is just not used to social situations and doesn't know what he's doing. Lingering touches and intense meaningful looks? All in her imagination according to them.

I swear, it's like guys will go to any lengths to deny romantic undertones if they are between two guys, it's almost like they are against gay for some reason. I bet if it had been Boruto and Sarada, they would have agreed with me. Thought the husky girl.

When the girl looked back at the screen, she realized she had entirely missed them dealing with their pursuers. She could see Boruto, oh sorry, 'Hiro', panting and covered in blood as he yanked the kunai out of the last man's chest. The lass barely felt anything as she saw another man already on the ground with a slit throat and assumed that she had  only missed about 10 minutes of the film.

The setting then shifted to Mitsuki removing his hand from one man's chest in a different part of the forest, while he electrocuted the other with his other hand. Normally, she would be repulsed by how brutal the kills done by Mitsuki were, but Chocho couldn't have cared less at the moment, she was just in too foul a mood. 

The kunoichi watched in a huff, as the boys around her however were enamored with the action scenes, they commented on how awesome the choreography was and how the directors really made full use of the fact that they had real ninja. She could see Shikadai smiling at an excitedly grinning Inojin and an even more enthusiastic Iwabe as the two boys chattered away. 

Oh sure, talk up the action scenes, that is all you boys ever care about, isn't it? You guys are such brutes! Especially you Iwabe, yeah, I'm totally on to you mister macho man. At least Shikadai and Denki don't seem to really care one way or the other for the action, in fact, Denki seems uncomfortable with it. Then again, he always has been pretty gentle for a guy. How come he hasn't been able to pick up on all the romantic undertones yet? Is it because he's just that oblivious? Or is it really just a guy thing? I swear, sometimes, I don't even know why I like men. 

Suddenly, she was snapped from her jaded thoughts as she heard Boruto screaming the name of Mitsuki's character. Apparently, the two had left the bodies of their enemies and raced toward their set checkpoint where they had decided to meet up at if all went well. 

She could see Boruto's eyes shining with fondness as Mitsuki stood waiting for him with a warm and gentle smile adorning his features. There was just no that could mean anything other than romance. 

"Thank goodness, you're okay! I was so worried, I thought I'd never see you again." Exclaimed the blond as he ran the rest of the distance between him and his teammate. 

"Have a little faith in me, would you? I already told you didn't I? I'm a bit harder to put down than that." Replied the pale male, a serene and contented smile on his lips as he gazed at his friend. 

"Hehe, yeah, you did. Sorry, you're right, I should believe in you more. But after losing Rin like that, I-I just couldn't help it."

"Well, we're both here now and we're both alive, so that's all that really matters in the end, right? Now, speaking of Rin, why don't we go get her and head home?" 

The blond nodded and gave a soft "Yeah." in response, as they gave each other tired and somber smiles. When out of nowhere, a shuriken lodged itself in the white haired male's upper arm. 

Aside from Shikadai, all the children jumped in surprise as it was revealed that there was actually one more enemy to deal with. The big boss of the entire gang that had for some reason let his grunts handle everything until now. The final villain who was never even hinted at but only seemed to appear so conveniently just to serve as one final hurdle for the heroes to triumph over. 

The youth grunted in pain, quickly pulling the offending object out of his pale limb and covering it with a green glowing hand. Both boys turned to glare at the new presence, a large man with scruffy short black hair and a sinister smile. 

The blond glanced between his friend and their opponent, slowly easing himself into a battle stance and moving to stand between them. 

"Well, looks like Rin will have to wait a bit longer, as much as I hate to make her wait, I don't think we have much of a choice."

"Yes." Replied the snow colored youth, dropping into his own battle ready pose. "It is regrettable, but unavoidable. Let's just try to be quick about this, you know she has never liked it when either of us were late."

The louder boy smirked, half fond and half sad, as he recalled all the times he had been late for a mission and gotten lectured by her for it. 

"Yeah."

With no more words between the boys, the man began screaming at them for what they had done to his peons and how he was going to make them pay. 

It was typical bad guy dialogue, but it still did the job. None of the preteens watching the film had any idea where this movie was going. It had already killed off Sarada, so they weren't going to put it past killing off another one of their friends at least. Perhaps one would sacrifice themself for the other? That was pretty common for shinobi back in the day after all.

The children watched with rapt breath as the ninja before them charged into action and began their climactic battle, screaming as they clashed.

Iwabe squealed in delight, shouting about how this was it, how this was the best part. His eyes sparkled as he watched his friends throwing shuriken and jutsu alike at the villain. The beanie clad boy leapt from his seat, throwing punches at the air and cheering his two comrades on, despite knowing it was just a movie and that they could not hear him. 

Denki chuckled fondly at his teammates actions, albeit with a twinge of embarrassment staining the sound, a nervous smile accompanying the laughter. While Metal simply gave a hesitant grin of his own and placed a calming hand on the taller boy's arm to remind him where they were. 

Shikadai didn't seem to pay them any mind, too focused on the TV, as if he knew that the brute force approach would not be enough to take out their opponent, as if he were already analyzing his friends surroundings and trying to formulate a plan to win the fight. 

Inojin seemed content to sit and watch how it all played out, not electing to react or focus too hard on it. He gave off a sense of calm, as if he didn't care what the outcome would be, despite the tightly pulled line that was his lips indicating his tenseness and worry for his friends' lives.

Then there was Chocho. Once again uninterested in the type of action appearing on the screen. Sure, she didn't want either of them to die specifically, in fact she would prefer it if they didn't, that way she could still try to prove that she was right about what she had seen earlier. 

But instead of focusing on every wound they suffered or inflicted on their opponent, her eyes locked onto any touch shared between the two. When Boruto clashed kunai with the man only to get thrown away and caught by Mitsuki, she didn't miss the almost possessive and protective way that the albino wrapped his arm around the blonds hips as the boy slammed into the other and knocked them both into a tree. 

Nor did she miss the fact that instead of pushing off the boy quickly with a hand on his shoulder, the blond elected to slowly run his hand down to the other's white chest and slowly, almost gently, push himself up from there. 

They were little things, unnecessary things to most. They would be ignored or brushed off as inconsequential by most. It could be argued that in the heat of battle, one would not pay attention to where or how they were touching an ally. 

But Chocho knew better. She knew that those touches showed care, concern, and that they came from a sense of safety that the two parties felt with each other. The girl could tell that those were touches that showed familiarity and intimacy that dictated the two loved each other, whether their minds realized it yet or not, their bodies certainly did.

After what felt like an eternity of back and forth and fighting, the two boys finally realized that they would not be able to win with brute force alone and devised a strategy to finish their enemy off for good. 

It was decided that Mitsuki would let himself get sent flying into a bush and create a shadow clone. Then Boruto and his clones would use their gale palm to launch the fake Mitsuki at the man all in plain sight. All the while, the real Mitsuki would sneak around from behind and take the man out with a kunai to the throat. 

The snake lightning crackled in the clone's hands as he flew at the man, feigning a strike that would not actually make contact. The man scoffed at the assumed attack and began weaving the hand signs needed for a mud wall, when suddenly he felt an arm wrap around him and a blade press against his throat. 

His eyes shot wide as he instantly understood what their plan had been and cursed himself for not realizing it sooner. Blood beaded down his throat as the blade began to tear through his flesh, but before the boy could cut any deeper, the man knocked the tool from his hand and spun around to catch his wrists, much to the lad's shock. 

"Akito!" 

The boy gave a quick glance at his friend, he could see the pain, the fear and the exhaustion in the other's face clear as day. This needed to end. NOW! They couldn't keep this up for much longer. That plan had been their best shot at winning, now what were they going to do? 

Suddenly, as if a light bulb had been turned on in his head, the youth grabbed onto the man's wrists as well and swept his leg underneath the towering figure. As soon as they hit the ground, the two began to wrestle and eventually Akito managed to pin the man.

"Hiro! Your clones! Help me pin him, now!" 

"R-Right!" 

At his command, the two clones pounced and helped to hold the man down, while Akito made eye contact with his own clone. The two nodded at each other as they both pumped their snake lightning into the man at the same time. It wasn't a perfect plan, as Akito himself got hit as well, but it was enough to knock the man out.

Hiro rushed to his side as his friend stood, panting like a dog in the sun, and braced him as he stumbled.

"Is..is it over? Is he..dead?"

"Almost." 

The white haired male leaned into the blue eyed boy and slipped a hand into his weapons pouch, pulling out the lad's last kunai and dropping himself atop the downed man. Without any hesitation, the albino had plunged the blade straight through the man's heart. It was done.

The children all heaved a collective sigh of relief, their friends had done it, and while battered, (Especially Mitsuki) they were both alive. Shikadai even seemed proud of them, mostly Mitsuki for his quick thinking and flexibility, even though he knew they didn't actually do anything. 

The two boys managed to stagger maybe 20 feet away from the corpse before the pair collapsed against each other. The whole ordeal weighed heavily on them, both physically and emotionally. 

"Ha...ha...Ya know, as much as I like missions that actually challenge me, I don't think I'm in any hurry to take on another one like this."

"Hah...yeah... I know what you mean."

The two lapsed into silence for a beat. The only sounds being the ambient noises of the forest and their own ragged breathing. 

"I know I said it already, but I really thought I'd never see you again. I've never been happier to be wrong in my entire life. Please, never make us split up like that again."

"I can't promise you that Hiro. I'm sorry. But you know it was necessary to complete our mission."

"I don't care about the mission, I care about you!"

The pale youth flinched and pushed himself to sit up, giving a wide eyed stare at his now crying friend. 

"...Hiro?"

"We lost Rin, Akito. Don't you get that? She's dead. She's never coming back. We are a two man squad now. I cannot lose you too. I cannot lose both my teammates, both my best friends. I just can't Akito. And if we split up, then you could be killed and I would be alone. I don't care if I have to fail a mission, I don't care if I have to quit being a ninja, just as long as I still have you, that is enough."

"...But..you have always loved being a ninja."

"Yeah, well, things change. Maybe I love you more than I love being a ninja." 

Akito couldn't understand. Everything Hiro was saying seemed so real, so intimate. What did he mean? Did he love him as a friend? Or something else? Did he really? Or was this just the trauma or losing their friend talking?

"I love you too Hiro. You're my best friend as well."

Akito watches in confusion and concern as his friend bites his lip and only looks more upset. His sky blue eyes cast to ground as he whispers in a barely audible voice.

"But what if I don't love you as just a friend? What if, I think, I'm IN love with you?"

The albino sucked in a breath. This was a make or break moment. He and Hiro had always been strangely close. Even before this mission. He had always spent his free time hanging out with either Rin or Hiro. 

Day or night, the time didn't matter, he could even recall a time where he had spent the night and forgot his sleeping bag, and Hiro had casually offered to share his bed. After that, he never bothered to being a sleeping bag to any other sleepovers at Hiro's place, and Hiro never bothered to ask why or tell him to bring one.

Was that, was he also in love with Hiro? If he were to be honest with himself, he had always known he was interested in girls. Even when their classmates had talked about prepping on the girls whenever they all went to the bath house together, he had never been interested. 

Maybe it was because he had known all along, maybe he had always had his sights set on a certain blond with beautiful blue eyes that he could stare into forever. 

With a calm smile and soft eyes, he responded.

"Then I think you better get used to seeing a lot more of me, because I love you too."

Suddenly the blond shot up into a sitting position, staring at him with wide and hopeful eyes. 

"Wait, r-really?!" 

"Yes, really. Didn't you ever question why I always wanted to sleep with you?"

The two went silent, as Akito realized what he had said and how it could be interpreted. He was just about to reword his statement, when Hiro burst into laughter. It didn't take long for Akito to join him. Soon the two found themselves wrapped in one another's arms, laughing themselves silly while also assuring themselves that this was real.

"Oh my god, I never even thought about that! It just felt natural to me to have you so close by. And I always slept so much better with you in bed with me, I never even thought to question why you stopped bringing your sleeping bag! I just expected it and didn't see any reason TO question it." 

"Really? Even though we kept doing it even after we stopped being kids and became teenagers?"

"No! I was too comfortable and used to it. By then, I think I would have only questioned it if we had stopped sharing a bed, that would have been something I would have seen a problem with."

The two pulled apart, just far enough to smile and gaze into each other's eyes, both anticipating what was to come next and enjoying the moment, until the black clad teen lifted a hand and placed it on a snow white cheek. 

The yellow eyed male gave a shocked, breathless whisper, which only earned him a confident smirk in return. Presumably stunned by the forward display after having seen the blond only acting shy until now, Akito simply sat in silence as the other male crashed their lips together. 

"AH! AHA! AHHHH!!! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! I TOLD YOU GUYS! I TOLD YOU THEY WERE GAY!" Screamed the chubby girl, as she leapt to her feet and pointed at the TV.

"Chubs, calm down. We already said it might turn out to be that kind of movie, but that doesn't mean anything. They're acting. Their characters may be gay, but that doesn't mean they are."

The kunoichi pouted and glared down at the pale blond, as he rolled his eyes at her behavior, acting as if she weren't justified in being a bit overzealous at the chance to prove she wasn't crazy.

"No! Did you not see that? Mitsuki was shocked! Like, actually, legitimately, really surprised by Boruto's actions. He didn't expect hin to place a hand on his cheek like that. Rewind it Shikadai, and turn it up all the way, I wanna hear what he whispered there!"

Sighing at the girl, he handed over the remote to her and let her press her ear against the speaker while cranking the volume all the way up. 

After a second, she hopped back to her feet and gave a proud grin.

"Boruto."

"Uh, what?"

"Boruto. He said Boruto's name! That was what he whispered! He was so stunned, he broke character!" 

"Chocho, come on, really, that's enough. Calm down."

"Yeah, Chubs, really. That doesn't mean anything."

Behind the girl, the TV continued to play the movie showing their friends kiss once more, only this time initiated by Mitsuki as Boruto teased, no, that's not right. As Boruto flirted with Mitsuki about him blushing. The two rested their foreheads against each other and slid their eyes closed, enjoying the serene moment as the camera zoomed out to show dawn just breaking across the sky.

"Don't you see that?! Those smiles are too real! They are actually happy! Why won't you believe me?! Are you guys just against people being gay?!"

Inojin was the first to fly up from his seat, fists clenched in front of him as he screamed back. 

"No! Of course not! But you don't know for sure that they aren't just really good at acting! Why are you so insistent on them being gay?! Are YOU just some obsessed Yaoi fangirl?"

"NO! Of course not! Love is love, I don't care if it's gay or straight, as long as it is real! They just feel so natural, everything about their relationship, from how they are always so close and comfortable with each other, how torn up Boruto was when Mitsuki left, how torn up Mitsuki was about leaving Boruto, everything just screams that they love each other! Those looks, those touches, those were NOT acting! Those were real! And I refuse to force heteronormative expectations on them to try and explain it all away!" 

It was that moment that Shikadai decided to cut in. Once again putting a stop to any possible fight before it could escalate to that point. 

"Well, the only ones who would know for sure are Boruto and Mitsuki. And I doubt either of them would tell us. If Boruto was so set on keeping this movie quiet, then he probably told Mitsuki to keep his mouth shut too. So unless Boruto and Mitsuki actually are dating and Boruto decides to come out to us, we'll never know. So just drop it, both of you."

Once again, the girl pouted. Shikadai was attempting to end this at a draw. But she wasn't interested in a tie, she was right and she knew it, so she wouldn't stop until they knew it too. Suddenly, she gasped in realization. Sarada. Sarada would probably know! She was there! And she was the closest person to the two boys! 

Without any sort of explanation, the girl tore out of the room and down the hall to the phone sitting on the end stand. She ignored the calls of her name and questions of what she was doing, as she dialed the Uchiha family's number. She knew Sarada was off today, and that she had planned to spend her day reading at home, so she knew she would pick up.

"You've reaches the Uchiha household, this is Sarada Uchiha speaking, if you are looking for my mother, she is-"

"SARADA!"

"..Chocho? What is it? Is something wrong? Why are you screaming like tha-"

"Why didn't you tell me that it was THAT kind of movie?!"

The other girl in the line went silent for a moment, before whispering back, a "So you found out about that huh?" and sighing into the phone. 

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you Chocho. But it wasn't exactly something that I was at liberty to talk about. Especially with you."

"Ah, ch, bu- what?!"

"Oh come on, don't act so surprised. You are my best friend Chocho. But we both know that you are a huge gossip. And Boruto practically begged me not to tell you, because even he knew that if I had, then Shikadai and Inojin would have found out too. After that, Inojin probably would have let it slip to Denki and Iwabe and Metal too. And Boruto was pretty embarrassed about the whole thing. I mean, he always wants to be the center of attention, sure, but for his big screen debut to be that kind of role? He just wasn't ready for that kind of teasing from all the guys. I mean, can you imagine? You know how Inojin teases you, it would be a thousand times worse for Boruto. First for not reading the scroll properly, which I already gave him an earful for, but then he would also get teased for how his character acted, and how his first kiss was with another boy for a movie. And it wouldn't just be Inojin, I'm sure Iwabe would join in too, maybe even Shikadai, that's just how boys are. So you can't blame Boruto for being so cautious."

"...Well, yeah, but still…" 

"..Did you tell any of the guys? Or did you call me first after watching it?"

"...We all watched it together. I'm at Shikadai's house right now. He was the one who found out about the movie being a thing and got us all together except for you guys so that we could watch it together."

Sarada sighed once again, shuffling and clattering of things being moved around could be heard from her end, most likely her shutting her book or looking for something.

"Great. Boruto is not going to be happy about this. And of course I have to be the one to break the news to him."

"But, Sarada, I don't get it. Shikadai said that he found out about it because he happened to catch a talk show promo about it. Why would Boruto agree to be interviewed about it if he didn't want people knowing?"

"Probably because he's an idiot and he can't make up his mind. You know, originally the directors and producers were going to make it a straight romance. They didn't want their movie to not do well or be typecast as just some boy love movie made for girls. But they changed their minds. They wanted to show that something mainstream could be popular for all the normal things, like action and plot, while still being inclusive and progressive. They wanted to show that there was nothing wrong with being gay, and that it was normal. Not something to be sectioned off as a small thing that affects a small minority of people. They made this movie to be entertaining, fun, suspenseful, and educational. They didn't want people to view homosexuality as something weird or gross anymore, and the only way to get people used to it, is to show them. If any kids saw a show that just seemed like your regular Shonen show and it ended up with the two main boys being a couple rather than the main boy and girl, it would show that it doesn't have to be something that is overly dramatized and that it can occur just as naturally as a heterosexual relationship. I mean, some people still think that love has no place in a Shinobi lifestyle anyway. May as well hit two targets at the same time, right?" 

Chocho was silent for a moment, as she considered her best friend's words. It was just like what she had been saying to Inojin and the others earlier. It was great to know that there were people out there fighting with their own way, to show that love was love. 

"Hey, Sarada, speaking of love. Are Boruto and Mitsuki actually dating?"

"Huh? Why would you ask that?"

"In the movie, they were acting so real, their emotions felt real. And when I think about how they always are with each other, and how they were when Mitsuki left, it just all makes sense, you know?"

The girl on the other end snorted, as if Chocho had said something ridiculous.

"Yeah, but they're both just idiots. Mitsuki doesn't know what he's doing, and neither does Boruto. They're just dumb boys Chocho, they don't realize how they're coming across. Although, now that you mention it, they have been acting weird lately. They have been whispering behind my back a lot and Boruto has been laughing more. I just assumed they were making fun or me or something and ignored them. But maybe you are on to something. Though, if they are dating, they certainly haven't told me about it."

Aha! See?! She wasn't crazy! Sarada agreed with her! It was just those dumb boys who weren't perceptive enough to pick it up!

"Uh, um, Chocho, why are you calling Sarada?"

At the sound of another voice, she spun around to find Denki standing there, nervously fidgeting with his fingers as he waited for her to answer. The other must have sent him as the messenger to see what she was up to. He was the easiest going of them all, so he was the perfect choice if they were trying not to upset her further. 

Wait. Now that she thought about it. Denki and Iwabe were pretty close too. Maybe Denki was the perfect one to talk to about all this. He may side with her and be able to convince the other guys.

"Thanks for the information Sarada. If you find out anything more about them, let me know."

"Sure, I have to admit, you've got me pretty curious myself now. I may just go do some snooping and then confront them with any evidence I find."

"Bye-bye Sarada."

"Later Chocho."

As the girl hung up the phone, she turned a determined stare onto the boy with her, intending to have a nice long talk with him. Her intentions showed through a large toothy smile, one that had the poor lad shaking. 

__________________________

This was definitely not how Sarada had expected to spend her day off. Stalking her two teammates to find out if they were dating or not? The thought had never even crossed her mind. Leave it to her overly romance invested best friend to bring it to her attention. 

It wasn't even so much that she cared if they were or not, gay, straight, single, taken. It didn't matter to her in the slightest. But the idea that they could be hiding it from her, that they didn't trust her enough to tell her? That upset her. What? Did they think she was some kind of homophobe who would shame them for their natures? You can't help who you're attracted to. You don't choose who you fall in love with. 

So, she hid within the leafy canopy of the big oak tree in the park, watching from above as her two teammates sat below and chatted happily while Boruto chowed down on a crepe. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary with them. Maybe she and Chocho were just being silly about all this after all. 

Perhaps this was all a waste of time. She had been at this for two hours since she had gotten off the phone with Chocho, and she had seen nothing even remotely romantic between them. They were just hanging out like they always did. 

Besides, what was she even doing? Abusing everything she was taught in the academy and spying on her teammates, her friends, just to see if they've got a secret relationship? What was wrong with her? If they had a secret, that was their business. Sure, it hurt that they may not trust her enough to tell her, but it could also just be that they have nothing to tell her.

God, she didn't even ask them! Her first instinct had been to follow them around and watch them without even having THOUGHT to just try talking to them first! She was a disgrace of a ninja! How could she ever hope to become Hokage if she misused her abilities for such sketchy things? 

The ravenette shook her head and waited for the blond to finish his food and throw away the wrapper, watching as Mitsuki got up and followed him, the two boys heading out of the park. Once they were out of sight, she dropped down out of the tree, sighing as she thought of just approaching them to tell them everything she had done and apologizing, but she quickly decided against it. 

She had done enough for today. Besides, the two seemed to be having a good time right now, why ruin it with what would most definitely be a fight? She could just ask them tomorrow and confess everything. 

They had a mission to do the next day anyway. It would be a good excuse to tell them that their friend's had found out and watched the movie while they were out of the village, that way Boruto would have time to cool down before they got back, and she would have more time to think, and he wouldn't be able to stay mad at her because they would need to work together for the mission. 

Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. So, with a clouded mind, the young Uchiha turned and made her way back home. 

_____________

"She stop followin' us yet?" Asked the blond, arms crossed behind his beg in a carefree manner despite the attitude dripping from his voice.

"Yes, it would seem that she has finally given up and decided to go home." Replied the smiling albino, a small white snake wrapped around his arm to relay the information to him.

"Geez, what did she even think she was doing anyway? What reason could she have to follow us around like that?"

"I don't know, but this is Sarada we are talking about, and she never does anything without a reason. Perhaps she has caught onto us?"

The blond snorted, the back of his hand smacking lightly against the other boy's chest. 

"Don't say that while we're in public, what if someone heard you?"

Mitsuki tilted his head to the side quizzically, eyes clouded with confusion as he stared at his boyfriend.

"But, Boruto, if there were anyone around, one of my snakes would have alerted me about their presence the second they caught their scent."

"Yeah, that's true, but still. Let's just hurry up and get out of here before somebody does show up and overhear us. Do you wanna go back to your place or mine?"

The pale lad smiled then, happy to have been steered back to something familiar that he knew how to respond to. 

"Whichever one you want to go to Boruto."

With a sigh, the blond shook his head.

"We talked about this Mitsuki. When I ask what you want, you are supposed to tell me what YOU want, not what you think I want or defer to me."

"Oh, right. Then yours, I like your mom and your sister, they are both quite friendly and kind, and they remind me of you."

Boruto gave a short groan of annoyance, quickly realizing that going to his place would mean that most of their time would be spent entertaining his younger sister. Or being supervised by his mother. Meaning they wouldn't get much privacy. 

"And here I was hoping to finally get some alone time with you. Ugh. Fine. You're lucky you're cute. Come on, let's get going." Grumbled the black clad youth, hand shoved in his pockets as he moodily began to shuffle on home.

"Yes my sun." The snake boy practically sang, as he happily padded after the other boy like a puppy. 

While it was normal to see this sort of behavior between the two, the air between them was completely different, at least to the two of them it was. Even without saying it or showing it, the two could sense each other's feelings of love and loyalty bubbling just below the surface and they would share it with one another once they were away from prying eyes.

___________________

Meanwhile, back at the Nara residence, an all out debate had erupted. 

On the left, Chocho and Denki.

On the right, Inojin and Iwabe.

And in the middle of the whole thing, reluctantly trying to mediate the whole thing, Shikadai and Metal. 

Chocho had managed to convince Denki that she was right. He had seen it all too, all the soft smiles Mituki always gave Boruto that were definitely affection and admiration and not just not understanding social situations very well. 

He had noticed that recently, Boruto had been much more comfortable and accepting of Mitsuki's weird acts, and while he had brushed it off as him just getting used to it, Chocho's explanation would explain it as well.

Of course, the second she got him to admit that she may be onto something, she had marched him back into the living room and told him to talk to Iwabe. He hadn't wanted to, Denki was always a pretty non confrontational kind of boy, but in that moment, the fear of Chocho's wrath was greater than that of Iwabe.

So he had tried to talk to the older boy, but that hadn't gotten far before Inojin had screamed about Chocho putting him up to it and the two had began screaming and then Iwabe joined in to back Inojin up, and he had not liked seeing Chocho getting tag teamed, so he had joined in to back her up. 

It was then that Metal had tried to talk his two teammates down, while Shikadai had just groaned about what a pain the whole thing was. 

Metal had done his best to get them to stalemate and agree that maybe Boruto and Mitsuki were a thing, but maybe they weren't, but at that point, both teams had turned on him and yelled at him, telling him that if he wasn't on their side, that he should just butt out of it. And of course, having all eyes on him and being yelled at, the boy had shut his mouth in an instant.

"Sarada is on our side, and she is the closest person to them! So if she thinks they're a couple, then it must be true!" 

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard! That's like saying if Shikadai said you weren't fat, then it would be true, just because he is on our team and knows you well!" 

"Yeah, and that clearly isn't true! Boruto is no gayer than Lord Hokage is!" 

"Iwabe! That was rude! Apologize to Chocho!"

"Alright guys, enough, seriously. Didn't Sarada say she was going to get to the bottom of this? Why not just drop this for now and wait for her to update us on the whole thing? Or, better yet, I can go ask Boruto. He is a terrible liar. If this is really going to be this big a deal, then I guess I can do my part. Anything to keep this from becoming an even bigger pain."

That had finally seemed to do the trick. It was a compromise to end the fighting, but it would ultimately lead to an answer. They had all glared at each other in silence, but nodded at the lazy lad.

"Okay then, I guess I'll confront Boruto, but no matter what the answer is, you all have to promise that you're done fighting about this. Got it?"

Once again, they all nodded, not taking their eyes off of each other. Shikadai sighed and scratched the back of his head. 

"Okay then. Metal, if they start fighting again, then just put them in their own corners until I get back, and tell them that won't get an answer if they keep it up."

"Uh, r-right!"

With that, Shikadai moved to the front door, slipped on his shoes, and headed for his best friend's house. 

Right at that moment, his home's phone began to ring and Chocho raced to go get it. Leaving poor Denki all alone to deal with the scathing glares from the other two boys.

"Sarada? Is that you? Did you do it? Are they dating?"

"That's actually what I called to tell you about. I spent hours following them around and spying on them and they didn't do anything out of the ordinary at all. I guess I was just mistaken earlier, and now I feel terrible for invading their privacy like that. This wasn't why I became a ninja, I shouldn't have abused my skills like that, how am I ever going to become Hokage if I do such lowlife things as spy on my friends and assume the worst of them? Lord Hokage would never have done this, he believes in his friends no matter what. I'm sorry Chocho, but if you really want to pursue this, you're on your own. I just can't do it. I'm going to tell them everything tomorrow. I only hope that Boruto won't be too mad at me."

"What?! But, wait, Sarada-!" 

She had hung up. Sarada had hung up on her. Sarada was giving up? Seriously? Sarada never gave up on anything, Sarada was too proud to give up on anything! But she gave up on this? Why? So what if she spied on her teammates a bit, there was nothing in the academy that told them that was wrong. So there shouldn't be anything against that drilling Sarada's hand.

With a sigh of resignation, Chocho returned to the living room. 

Looks like it's all up to you Shikadai. I sure hope you can get something from this, even though you probably don't think you will, I know I'm not crazy here! You have to get something, please! I don't think I could take it if you didn't. 

___________

Well, he had two options here. Either go up to the door and ask Me. Uzumaki if Boruto could come down and talk to him for a bit, or just go straight to Boruto's window and bypass having to waste time with a middleman and dealing with the blond's younger sister. 

...Window it is.

So, the lad hopped up onto the overhang above the front door and skirted around the window sill until he was right in front of the other boy's room. He took a moment to gather his thoughts and form a plan of what to say as he took a deep, grounding breath. He was just about to knock on the glass, when he heard voices coming from inside and paused to listen to what they were saying.

"No way! We Are not telling her and that's final!"

"But if we did, then she could help us. She is our teammate, we should have more faith in her, should we not?"

"Yeah, well, she should have more respect for us first! She never should have been snooping on us anyway! We haven't done anything suspicious enough to make her spy on us like that, so much for trusting your own team!"

"Boruto, I believe you should calm down, you are beginning to yell. Your mother may hear you and come to check on us if you keep it up, or your sister may overhear you."

"I don't care if they know or not anymore. I was only ever worried that one of them would let it slip to my old man, and he's an idiot, so he may say something to Shikadai's dad or Sarada's mom, and then everyone would know. But my old man is never home for either of them to say anything anyway. And sooner or later, I'll have to tell mom and Hima anyway, I don't like keeping secrets from them."

"But you do not mind keeping secrets from your friends?" Mirth danced across the albino's voice, as he spoke, clearly knowing just how to press the other boy to actually get him to think and without setting him off.

"...Shut up."

He could hear the chuckles from the snake boy as a body thumped against what could only have been the bed. 

"Then would you perhaps like to go and tell your family now?"

He heard a groan that may have been more of a whine than anything, obviously coming from Boruto and meaning he would rather do anything other than what was suggested. Maybe his laziness was contagious and it had rubbed off on the blond.

"Nah, not right now. That's way too exhausting to even think about doing right now. I mean, I'm sure it will all go over fine, but I'm in way too bad a mood to go and have such a serious talk. Besides, we finally got some alone time, so I'd rather do something with that. Maybe you can come over here and calm me down?"

He could once again hear the pale lad's laughter chime through the glass of the window that he found himself eavesdropping from. 

"As you wish, although you do not seem to be in that foul a mood to me. If you were, then you would either be screaming or we would not be in your room right, we would be out at the training grounds."

The blond whined again, a drawn out call of the other's name pulling even more giggles from said boy. 

"Very well, what would you like me to do to please you Boruto?"

"Don't say it like that, you make me sound like some dirty or man or something. I just want you to lay down and cuddle with me is all. And stop saying things like 'as you wish' that makes it sound like you're my slave or something!" 

" Very well, as you wish my sun."

"Ugh. You're really lucky you're so cute. Otherwise, I'd knock that smirk right off your face."

"Whatever you wish, my sun."

"...I hate you, you know that?"

"I love you too."

He heard the creaking of a mattress, as Mitsuki laid down atop the blond, drawing a sigh of content from the more vocal of the two.

"Do you really think we should tell them?"

"By 'them' do you mean your mother and sister?"

"No, I mean our friends. I mean, I trust them all, I do, really I do. I would trust them with my life if it ever came down to it. I just...I don't want anything to change, ya know? Even if they accept it, and I'm sure they will, I don't want them to see me any differently. I don't want them to treat me any differently. What if they suddenly start acting weird with us, like they don't feel comfortable with us anymore? I'm sure none of them would say anything, but the guys might not want to be around us because they'll just see us as gay. That means Shikadai would wanna spend the night anymore, and our gaming sessions might end. And even if they don't get uncomfortable with us for being gay, they may be uncomfortable just because they're all single and we're a couple! They might feel like third wheels around us! I just...i guess I just don't want to risk losing anyone. I mean, I don't like having to hide this from them, but I don't want to not hide it and then have everything change either! Ya know?"

"I am confused Boruto. You say you trust them, yet everything you say makes it sound as if you don't. How can you be sure that they will be okay with it, if you also believe they will be made uncomfortable by it?"

He could hear Boruto scoff at the question, yet Mitsuki wasn't wrong.

"I'm the Hokage's son. They can't not accept it."

"Then you believe all your friends are only your friends due to your status as the Hokage's son?" 

"No! Of course not!"

"Then why do you not have faith that they will continue to be loyal and true to you after receiving the news? If they care about you now, and they care about you for you and not your status, then they will not change their minds after they know, right?"

"Well, yeah...but still, what if they do?"

"They will not. And if they do, then they do not deserve you anyway my sun. And if you wish, I could always kill them for you."

Boruto snorted as he laughed, his serious and worried tone, turning lighthearted and relieved. 

"Noo! What did I tell you? I don't like guys who kill. Besides, they're your friends too, and it's wrong to kill your friends." He said lightly, as if he knew the other boy were joking just to cheer him up, but he also sounded touched, as if he really did believe that Mitsuki would go so far for him. 

"But you're probably right. No, I know you're right. It's just scary, ya know? But I can't not tell them. What if we end up getting married in the future? Can you imagine how angry and hurt they'd all be if we never told them and that was how they found out? Sarada would kill us! They would all be so hurt that we didn't trust them enough to tell them, that would be a terrible thing to do to our friends." 

"I do not mind. Tell them or don't, I will go along with whatever you choose. I only care about whether or not you are happy."

" I'll tell them, just not just yet. Soon, I'll tell them soon, I promise. I just have to figure out how I wanna go about it. Would a group be best? That way nobody feels left out and they can all find out at the same time? Or would it be better to do it one on one? Start with Shikadai since he's my best friend and then Sarada and the others? Ahh, geez, this is so much work! It's such a pain!"

"Now you are starting to sound like Shikadai."

"I am, aren't I? I guess I just need to stop acting like him and start acting like myself, huh? No more hiding from this! And who even needs a plan? I'm Boruto Uzumaki! And I do what I want! When I want! And how I want! I charge forward and never stop rolling! So I'll do just that! Who cares if it's tough? Not me!" 

"The best things in life are, and you certainly have never let the difficulty of a situation stop you before."

"Exactly!"

"Just like when you did all that work just to kiss me."

"Yeah! Just like when I- gah, Mitsuki! That's embarrassing! Don't just say something like that out of nowhere!"

He could hear the snake teasing a flustered Boruto as the two spoke of how they had gotten together and how neither of them regretted it, they spoke of their plans for the future and how they would always be together, ending it off with declarations of their love and faith, as Boruto whined that he was even more tired now and wanted a nap. 

Needless to say, Shikadai was lost. He had no idea what to do with all that information. He had promised to confront Boruto and get an answer. But he had ended up eavesdropping instead. He had still gotten his answer, but the way he went about it left an unsavory taste in his mouth. It just didn't feel right to tell the other's what he had learned now. 

It was Boruto's right to wait to tell them if he so chose, and it was Boruto's right to be the one to tell them when he finally did, in whatever way he felt best. Going and telling them behind his back was just not what a good friend would do. 

With a shake of his head, Shikadai resolved to just leave things to the couple and head home. And just as he began to move to do just that, the curtain was pulled aside. He was met with a pair of steely yellow eyes staring him down. He could see that the two were in bed, with Boruto laying on top of the slightly taller male, one of Mitsuki's arms wrapped around his back as he snored away. 

Mitsuki's other arm was stretched  all the way to the window to hold the curtains back, as he gave Shikadai a meaningful glare. He lifted the hand that rested on the small of the blond's back and held a single finger to his lips. 

Shikadai blinked in surprise for a second, before he smiled back and held a finger to his own lips, giving a thumbs up with his other hand. Mitsuki smiled at him, nodding his head in approval and released the curtains, letting them fall back in place to obscure the two from the world.

Having gained Mitsuki's trust as well as the truth, now all that remained for Shikadai was for him to return home and figure out what he was going to tell the others. Whether it be a lie or just nothing at all, he wasn't sure yet. All he knew was that he wasn't telling them anything he had heard during his time out. Ah well, he'd figure it out by the time he got back.

___________

He hadn't figured it out. The second he got back, he had been bombarded by the entire group, especially Chocho. She had screamed something about how Sarada had failed her, and that she said she was giving up and would tell Boruto everything during their mission tomorrow. 

The tears in her eyes showed how much she was relying on him to validate her claims, she really was adamant that she was not wrong, and to be fair, she wasn't. It honestly made him feel bad for what he had to do next. 

"Well, sorry to disappoint you further, but I didn't get anything either."

No sooner than the words left his lips, did a chorus of cries and annoyed remarks fill the air.

"What?!"

"Aw man."

"I thought you said you were going to confront him!"

"I tried, but when I got to his house, he wasn't there. His mom let me hang around for a bit to see if he'd show up, but she said he had left a few hours ago and didn't tell her where he was going or when he'd be back. And I certainly wasn't going to waste my whole night waiting for him to show up, so, I just told his mom to have him call me whenever he got the chance. That way, whenever he calls me, I can get in touch with you guys and we can all meet up to confront him together. Which reminds me, Chocho, you should tell Sarada not to tell Boruto anything tomorrow. She shouldn't have to take the rap for everything by herself, she might as well confess her sins to him with all of us present so he can split his anger equally among the responsible parties."

The friends all seemed shocked and confused at first, looking around with wide eyes and mouths agape, but eventually they came around. Smiles of anticipation and excitement and they planned to meet up in 2 days after Boruto and his team got back from their mission. That would be the moment where everything went down, that would be the moment where they found out whether or not the two boys were dating or acting.

_____________

The team's mission had come and gone pretty uneventfully, they hadn't been able to get anything good since they had skipped out on the B-rank mission last time. So it was just a simple mission to stop a bear from tearing up some farmers fields. And since it was so easy and boring, Boruto had plenty of time to think. Time to think about how and when to tell his friends. 

Now the time had come to do just that. He had ended up deciding that he would tell them all as a group so as not to upset any of them with the order of who was told first, and that he would just talk to his closer friends solo afterward to see how they felt and what they thought. So, he had called them all together, they all picked up some Thunder Burgers, and then headed to the park.

Once there, he announced that he would like to tell them all something, pacing over to Mitsuki's side and nodding at the boy to stand beside him. He took a deep breath and turned to face his friends, some of them looking confused, others curious. 

Mitsuki, sensing the boy's nervousness, reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a light squeeze and drawing the blue eyes he loved to himself to see his encouraging smile. Boruto, squeezed back and smiled to him in return, before facing the group once more and declaring their status.

"Mitsuki and I, well, we're dating ya know!"

Everyone was silent, dead silent. Sure, they had been silent before, but now it was a tense silence. The kind of silence where you could hear a pin drop. Boruto almost didn't have the courage to say anything else, but he figured an explanation was in order, otherwise they may think this was all just a bad joke or something.

"Some time ago, I accidentally accepted a mission to do some movie because it requested real ninja to be the actors so that they could use real jutsu instead of special effects and stuff, and it turned out that the movie was a boy love movie and Mitsuki and I would have to kiss and I had never kissed anyone before, so I did some research and watched some movies to learn how to make it look convincing and the more I thought about it, the weirder I felt, and then my dad came home and talked to me and then Mitsuki and I finally kissed and I had realized I liked him and he kissed me a second time because he liked me too and since then we've been dating in secret because I was afraid you guys would be uncomfortable with us if you knew and that's not fair because I trust you and I know I should have believed in you more and I'm sorry for taking so long to work up the courage to tell you, and for forcing Mitsuki to stay quiet about it, but this isn't a prank or anything, I swear!"

By the end of his rambling explanation, he had bowed his head, both in fear of what kind of look he would see on their faces, and out of guilt for not truly trusting them and taking so long to tell them. He wasn't sure what he expected to happen, or who he expected to speak first, but it certainly hadn't been Chocho that he thought would break the silence.

"AHA! I KNEW! I KNEW IT! I TOLD YOU GUYS! I TOLD YOU I WAS RIGHT! AHHH!! I KNEW I WASN'T CRAZY! This is the best day of my life!"

At the sound of her excited cheering, Boruto was shocked enough to look up. 

"Uh, what?"

He could see an approving smile from Shikadai, a somewhat surprised gaze from Sarada, a relieved sigh from Denki and Metal, and Chocho was practically dancing around in joy. He turned to see Iwabe with his head in his hands, and Inojin looking somewhat frustrated as he scratched the back of his head.

"I'm, guys? Inojin, Iwabe, you look upset. Do you want to say something?"

At once, Iwabe snapped his head up, looking shocked, and waved both his hands in front of him as he shook his head.

"Oh, no no  it's nothing like that Boruto! You guys are fine, I'm happy for you, I swear!"

Instantly, Inojin jumped in to back him up. Crossing his arms and pouting at Chocho for her display as he spoke.

"Yeah, we aren't homophobic or anything, so don't blow a fuse or anything. We're just surprised is all. We didn't think anything Chubs was saying held any water. We thought she was just crazy or seeing things that weren't there."

Iwabe nodded and spoke again.

"Yeah, I mean, we just didn't want her spreading any rumors about you being gay just because of some movie. I mean, your dad kissed his best friend and he wasn't gay, so why should you kissing yours for a job be any different."

"Mm-hm, and we figured you probably didn't read the whole mission description before accepting it, so when she said that you wouldn't have taken the job if you weren't gay, we just brushed it off. Everything she brought up, we just brushed off. Although, now that I think about it, that probably just made it worse. Denying and invalidating her opinions probably just made her even more desperate to prove that she was right. So we're not upset about you being gay or anything, we're just a bit bummed that she ended up being right. Of course, if you had just told us all sooner, none of this would have happened, so you really did drop the ball there."

The last bit was said with a teasing edge and smirk, most likely to try and comfort the other blond with some form of light banter and normalcy, to show that things wouldn't change just because he had a boyfriend. And after taking everything for a moment, Boruto spoke up once more.

"So you're really not mad? You all don't mind at all?"

Sarada stood, pushing her glasses higher on her nose and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"Boruto, we're your friends, we're not upset with you for being true to who you are. If you guys are happy, then we're happy for you. Although you really should have known that already and told us sooner. But we understand that things like this aren't always the easiest to share about, even if you have the utmost trust in your friends. So we'll get over it."

The boy sighed and smiled in relief. He was glad that everyone was okay with it, and even more relieved that this was all over. He had been up for most of the night planning what he was going to say and how he would say it. But in true Boruto fashion, he had decided to just wing it and speak from the heart or whatever, saying whatever first came to mind.

"Isn't that great Boruto? They accept you."

"Yeah, just like you said they would. You were right Mitsuki, I was worried for nothing. Hey, wait a minute, Inojin, did you guys say you saw the movie?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, we all got together at Shikadai's place and watched it together a few days ago. That was when Chubs started screaming about how you two were obviously into each other, because your acting was too real or whatever."

The whispered boy went bright red, immediately sputtering out nonsense noises of embarrassment, as well as words of dismissal about how good the acting was, as he had not known he liked Mitsuki until the end of the movie.

"It doesn't matter if your brain wasn't in the know yet, your body definitely knew what was up. I could tell. Every touch, look, smile, the proximity. You two were pinning hard for each other the whole time."

The boy couldn't speak, he felt like he had cotton balls in his mouth. All he could do was blush and flounder about for some kind of response, all the while, Mitsuki lifted his other hand to cover his smile with a sleeve, chuckling lightly at the scene. Boruto was quick to catch on to the sound and spun on his lover.

"H-Hey! Mitsuki! She's talking about you too you know! You're supposed to be helping me out here! Not laughing at me! Say something you bastard!"

"My apologies Boruto, but why would you like me to say? It would be pointless to deny our feelings toward each other after just having come out about them, wouldn't it? Besides, that would be lying, and you told me that killing and lying are bad."

"W-Well, yeah, but still...You could at least say that we weren't like that at the time."

"But what if we were? I cannot be sure my body did not already know and act accordingly during the filming. Nor do I see why it matters if we did or not. In the end, we are still together, aren't we?"

"Y-Yeah, you're right. Fine. Geez, you really need to stop being so logical Mitsuki. It's not fair, you're supposed to be my boyfriend and agree with me, not fight against me."

"I do not understand. You said before that we are a good balance because I remain calm and rational even when you are being too emotional."

"S-Shut up! Not in front of the others!"

While Boruto blushed even darker, his friends all got a good laugh at his expense, including his partner. Of course, Boruto didn't appreciate being the butt of the joke, and he definitely didn't like that Mitsuki had betrayed him like that, so he threw down his boyfriend's hand and crossed his arms in a pout.

Sarada seemed to take pity on him as she cleared her throat and spoke up. She still felt guilty about the other day, and she wanted to apologize and come clean. 

"Um, Boruto, speaking of confessing, I-"

"Yeah, I know."

"H-huh?"

The boy turned around, showing her his back as he glared at the stone beneath them.

"This is about you following us around the other day, right? We already know. And it's okay. I'm guessing it was because of the whole movie thing, am I right? I bet Chocho said something to you about it  and you being you, ya got curious and couldn't help but try to figure it out. It's fine. That's probably on me for not telling you guys sooner anyway, so just forget about it. It's water under my old man's bridge, just don't do it again, 'kay?"

The girl was shocked speechless. How did he know she had been tailing them? And was he SERIOUSLY not going to get angry and blow up at her? She would be furious if she was in his place. He had a right to scream at her and be absolutely livid with her for her actions. But here he was forgiving her before she could even begin to apologize. 

She cast a look at Mitsuki, her gaze filled with so many questions, and he simply smiled at her as a small white snake slithered out of his sleeve and looked at her. Ah, yes, how could she forget. Mitsuki's snakes would tell him if they detected a scent of anyone around him that he may not be aware of. 

So they had known the whole time, and they just let her get her fill and waited for her to leave instead of confronting her. That means he had known during the whole mission as well. And the way he was speaking earlier with Mitsuki about how he keeps him from being too emotional, did that mean that Mitsuki had dealt with the other boy's anger for her and calmed him down already?

"You're really going to forgive me just like that? You're not going to yell at me or get angry or anything?" She asked in wonder.

Suddenly, Boruto spun around and jammed an index finger into her forehead, his head tilted up so he could sneer down at her as he spoke.

"Huuuh? What's that? Do you want me to be upset? Do you want me to treat you like you treat me whenever I mess up? Are you that desperate to be called an idiot, idiot?"

The girl brushed in frustration as she batted his hand away. She could see the cheeky grin on his face as she yelled out "As if!" He chuckled at her mischievously as she sighed and tried to reign in her temper by reminding herself that she deserved at least a little ribbing.

"So, you're really not mad then?"

The boy smiled and stepped around to pat her in the back in a friendly manner.

"Nah, not anymore. Of course I was then, I didn't know what you were thinking spying on us like that, or even why you were spying on us like that. But I get it now. And I've had plenty of time to cool down already, so I'm over it. Just as long as it doesn't happen again."

"Right. Of course it won't. I promise on my name that I will not invade your privacy like that again, thank you Boruto. I'm glad that this is all over."

The two smiled at each other, before Boruto's turned somewhat sinister, letting her know that even if he forgave her, he wasn't letting this go just yet. He probably planned to hold it over her head for the rest of their lives or something, he would most likely use it in an argument whenever he messed something up.

"Not so fast Sarada. This isn't all over just yet. Just because I've forgiven you, and you've apologized to me, that doesn't mean this is all good."

"I knew it was too good to be true. What do you want Boruto?" She ground out, arms crossed in a half defiant, half worried fashion.

"I think you've forgotten something here, or more accurately, someone."

"What?"

"I'm not the only one you wronged ya know, you spied on me and Mitsuki together. That means you wronged him too. But you only thought about me and how I'd act if I knew. You never once thought about how he would feel, and I'm not gonna lie, I'm insulted. I think that has me more upset then the fact that you spied on us in the first place." 

He spoke casually, yet his voice carried an edge to it, as he padded back over and draped himself over his partner's shoulders. Mitsuki simply turned his head, smiling at Boruto, as if no matter what happened or what was done by anyone, he was happy just to have the blond near him. 

Perhaps that was why she hadn't given much thought to his feelings. Because he always seemed fine as long as Boruto was taken care of. He always just said that he was doing what he wanted to do by doing whatever Boruto wanted to do. 

"Oh my gosh, Mitsuki I'm sorry sorry. He's right. I didn't think about you at all! I was just kicking myself for misusing my shinobi abilities and worrying about whether Boruto would ever forgive me or not, and I never even stopped to think that you might've been hurt too."

The boy turned his smile back to her, he looked completely content, which honestly scared her even more. He had a right to be angry as well. In fact, she would have preferred it if he was! At least then she could somewhat gauge what he was thinking and feeling. 

"It is fine Sarada. I did not mind then, and I do not mind now. As long as Boruto is okay, that is all I care about."

"Ah, y-yes, of course. But, I mean, are you sure you're not upset with me? Not at all? I mean, I didn't just wrong you by invading your privacy, I completely discounted your involvement and didn't even realize that I had wronged you too."

"As I said, I do not care what you did or did not do. If Boruto has forgiven you, then I see no reason that I should be cross with you."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you Mitsuki. I promise I will not let this happen again." 

The girl bowed to him as he simply smiled at her with his usual calm demeanor. Boruto whined to Mitsuki about how he had let her off too easily, and how he could have seriously used it against her to get something from her or just to make her feel worse. The ravenette had responded with a fist to his head and a stern order for him to be quiet. 

He had whined right back at her that if she had felt she had done so wrong, then she should not be hitting him. But she just brushed it off, saying that he couldn't use that against her anymore because he himself had already forgiven her. So, he settled for calling her mean. 

The spectators behind them burst into laughter at the display, and soon the two found themselves laughing along, happy with the way things had turned out that day. 

Shikadai, shifted his gaze away from the two and focused on Mitsuki, he gestured with his eyes to Boruto, asking if he should tell him, but Mitsuki simply shook his head and held up a finger to his lips again. So he took it as a sign to not ruin the good mood by embarrassing the blind all over again.

If he really wanted to tell Boruto, he could do it when they were alone. Even if he felt like he should do it In front of the others, since he had lied to them, he supposed it didn't really matter anyway. It hasn't been their business to begin with, they had all just assumed it was their right as friends to know. But even friends kept some secrets from each other, and he hadn't meant to eavesdrop on Boruto and Mitsuki anyway. 

Oh well, that was a problem for another day. For now, he was just going to take Mitsuki's word for it. Maybe he would wait until the other's all left and tell Boruto then. Or maybe he wouldn't. Maybe this would be his secret. Either way, he was just happy to see this chapter come to a close. 

In the case of Mitsuki and Boruto, dating or acting? In love or just friends? Faking or making? The answer was now clear and it couldn't have been a better one.

They were definitely, 100% in love and happily dating. 

THE END