Title: First Snow

Series: Naruto

Pairings: Kakashi/Iruka, slight Sasuke/Naruto

Author: Miali

Disclaimer: I don't own any anime… Or manga for that matter. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting at my computer doing this, now would I:3

First Snow

Konohagakure was wrapped in a soft, pure crystalline blanket. The air smelled of woodstoves, frozen water, and warm, fuzzy scarves. Ninja academy students hurled snowballs with surprising force as a dark-haired chuunin danced gracefully between them, dodging the frozen arsenal.

The young almost-nin laughed as they practiced their targeting skills on the teacher, their light breaths dotting the clear air in small white puffs. Snowballs were created and sent flying quickly toward the teacher, who had promised a treat to any who could hit him. However, after multiple attempts from the Hyuuga heir with her specialized jutsu byakugan, and Konohamaru attempting to sneak away every few minutes, Iruka decided he needed to lay down some rules.

Finally, recess had ended with no hits taken. (Except from student to student, of course.) The panting students followed their energetic teacher back into the bright, warm schoolhouse. Iruka then treated all of his students to small Styrofoam cups (stolen from the teacher's lounge – some were complaining from their lack of coffee…) filled with steaming hot chocolate. Moegi passed out miniature candy canes, and by the end of Iruka's lesson on growth jutsu, more than a few students walked out of the room with enormous sticks of minty sugar.

Outside, teams of three restless genin shoveled the streets of the city. All of the teams had been assigned to this D-rank mission and their jounin instructors sat idly by, discussing the weather, chattering emotionally about the winter of youth, or reading from audaciously loud colored porn novels. Overall, few were satisfied with the events of the day.

The three genin of team seven relentlessly complained to one another. Naruto, being the loudest of the three, spoke enthusiastically of spending the festival they were clearing the streets for with his beloved Iruka-sensei, and his complaints of the cold. Sakura, second in decibel rating, would occasionally punch the kitsune for any stupid remark, while the always-eloquent Sasuke simply responded with, "Hn."

His classes finally finished, Iruka stepped out of the warm classroom into the crisp, cool winter air. Iruka smiled, he loved winter with all of its beauty, the way the snowflakes sparkled in the sunlight. He loved the way every tree the village was known for seemed to be outlined in shimmering white, as if drawn by a sparkling crayon in a child's hands. It was lost within these thoughts that the chuunin didn't notice the ball of orange and yellow quickly approaching.

"Iruka-sensei!" the kitsune shouted, quickly flinging himself around the older man. Iruka barely got a 'hello' in to the boy and his teammates who had appeared behind him, before the mustard-haired boy launched into a narrative of his afternoon. Soon the speech had finished, since nothing much had happened all day, and Iruka tuned back in to the last question, "Iruka-sensei, would you take me to the festival?"

The chuunin-sensei couldn't possibly decline a request like that, but he would only agree on the condition that Naruto attend something else at the end of the New Year's festival. Naruto agreed, but Iruka's eyes had already shifted to the other two genin and their jounin instructor.

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei, would you care to join Naruto and I at the festival this evening?" All three seemed to mull over Iruka's request, and the pink-haired girl was the first to speak.

"I'm sorry sensei, I'm already going with my mother and younger sister, but I'll see you there!" The only female on the team then took the opportunity after Iruka's nod and shift in attention to head home and prepare for the festival, which would begin in only a few hours.

"Hn." Iruka assumed it was a delighted reply from the raven-haired boy and Kakashi nodded, thankful for something besides guard-duty and grateful for the mask over his face, hiding the small smile.

! -! -!

Iruka sat in the kitchen of his warm apartment gently rolling what appeared to be sushi and onigiri. A loud banging upon his door startled him from his concentration and he jumped nearly an inch from his seat.

"Iruka-senseiii!" the unmistakable voice called out. Iruka quickly brushed the sticky rice from his hands and went to open the door. There stood Naruto in a light blue yukata covered in swirls of what was seemingly the boy's favorite color, orange. His hair was a yellow mess, as always, and the fox-like grin was spread across his face. Iruka had but a few seconds to take in the sight of the boy before the kitsune had launched himself into the chuunin's arms.

"Ne, Iruka-sensei, why aren't you dressed for the festival yet?" The blond inquired as he wandered through Iruka's kitchen to plop down at the table where Iruka had previously been seated.

Iruka gestured to the sushi and Naruto eyed it hungrily. The chuunin wandered off into the bedroom to change, leaving the young genin with a word of warning against eating any of the food. The boy grumbled for a moment before heading into the living room to lounge on the comfortable couch.

Almost instantly there was a knock on the door. Muttering to himself, the boy stood and made his way to the door. Opening it, Naruto discovered a stoic Uchiha in a stark-white yukata which was dotted with the clan's symbol. Naruto quickly let the Uchiha heir into the small apartment, and the dark haired youth made his way to the unfinished sushi, picking up some rice and beginning to roll it.

The door to the bedroom creaked open, and Iruka stepped out into the main room of the apartment. Spying Sasuke in the kitchen, the chuunin smiled and extended his greetings to the boy. Iruka's tanned hands gently ran across the smooth fabric of the dark blue yukata, gently smoothing it. The light, silver stars reflected the light and glittered as he moved toward Naruto, who was reclining on the couch once more.

"Iruka-sensei, isn't your yukata a little – y'know, girly?" Iruka laughed softly at Naruto's remark and sat down on the couch next to him, his tanned fingers gently ruffling the boy's mustard hair.

"Well," Iruka began, "that's because it is a women's yukata." The teacher sighed slightly as if remembering something, but his thoughts were cut short by another knock on the door. Hiding his smirk as he stood, Iruka ignored Naruto's grumbling about not hearing the end of the story and made his way to the door.

Leaning against the doorframe was a very bored looking Kakashi, wearing a black yukata with white lining, and the ever-present mask was still obscuring his features. Tonight, however, the forehead protector was gone, and the jounin's mismatched eyes stared into Iruka's. He raised a single pale hand in greeting, "Maa… Sorry I'm late, I ran into a morbidly depressed –"

"Why, you're not late at all, Kakashi-san, please, come in." The startled look that graced Kakashi's face caused the smirk to return to Iruka's lips. The gears quickly clicked in Kakashi's head, and he realized he'd been tricked into coming on time to Iruka's apartment. He frowned slightly beneath the mask and followed Iruka into the living space.

On the couch Naruto lazed, his feet resting on the armrest and his blue gaze locked upon the dark haired Uchiha at the kitchen table. The Uchiha was just finishing up the last of the sushi, rolling the rolls tightly and stacking them in small wooden boxes for the festival. He slouched lazily in the wooden seat and the gazes of both genin turned to the chocolate-haired sensei who was making his way to the table.

"Ne, Iruka-sensei, why are you –" The boy was cut short by Iruka, who gathered up the boxes and other supplies for the festival and headed toward the door.

"Later, Naruto. All right, everyone. Shall we head out?" Iruka smiled warmly at all of the occupants of the room, who soon followed him out the door toward the festival.

! -! -!

The russet haired chuunin sighed. In his mind, there couldn't have been a better night for the festival. The sky was cloudless; the cold, bright stars appeared to stretch on forever. The air had a slight nip to it, accompanied by a slight breeze that tingled one's nose and added a soft flush to cheeks.

There were a few fires about the town, for those who just wanted to sit, socialize and warm themselves. Vendors sold hot chocolate and cider and free candy canes were given to the children. The streets were lit with paper bags concealing candles. The teachers of the academy had given the children the bags only a few days previous, with the instructions to cut whatever they wanted into the bags. A few bright lights flickered through shuriken, kunai, and leaf cutouts, while others shone through snowmen and snowflakes.

Despite the cold, the atmosphere was warm and friendly, as the nin and citizens welcomed in the New Year and wishes were made for a peaceful future. There was music and alcohol, children and families, and plenty of food. To Iruka, it was almost magic.

The chuunin spread out the group's blanket under a snow-lined tree hung with small lanterns. The ground below it was cleared of snow with a light fire jutsu and Iruka gently smoothed out the fabric's wrinkles. Iruka sat softly on the fleece, Naruto plopping down beside him. Kakashi and Sasuke kept their polite distances, sitting (and slouching) in a slightly more relaxed manner than usual.

Iruka's smile brightened as he turned to Naruto, "So, what should we do first?" The teacher's coffee colored eyes watched the boy's excitement with amusement as the blonde dragged him off toward the games and food, the stoic Uchiha and lazy Hatake following closely behind them.

Naruto's first stop was an accuracy game, and the man running the booth eyed the orange ninja warily. Naruto grinned as he began to pull out his shuriken, but was stopped by a firm, tanned hand on his shoulder. Grumbling, the boy picked up one of the balls and tossed it in the direction of the metallic milk bottles. The ball ricocheted off of the target and was caught by a smaller, pale hand.

"Dobe," the Uchiha muttered before whipping the ball toward the stacked bottles, toppling them quickly. The boy was handed a stuffed creature, which he narrowed his eyes at slightly, unsure as to what to do with it.

"Hmph. I'll beat you, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto glared and grabbed another ball, throwing it roughly at the bottles, which in turn returned to Naruto. Kakashi sighed and fished around in his weapons pouch. Removing a pinkish-orange book, he flipped to the page he had left off on. Smiling beneath his mask, a slight pink appeared on his cheeks and his eyes curved into inverted us.

Finally, after about ten minutes, the four milk bottles toppled and Naruto was rewarded with a small stuffed object as well. Iruka smiled as he was handed a small stuffed scarecrow plushie, which he put into his pocket. The gesture however, did not go unnoticed by a jounin who appeared absorbed in his book.

Naruto's stomach growled for the third time in the last five minutes and Iruka glanced over at him. "Hey, Naruto, do you want to get something warm to eat? I'm afraid all I have is sushi."

With the distinct cheer of "RAMEN!" Naruto had made his way off to Ichiraku in search of something somewhat edible. Iruka smiled as Sasuke followed the blonde, in what Iruka hoped was an attempt to not let Naruto completely fill himself. Although, Iruka chuckled to himself, Naruto could never completely fill himself.

Kakashi had put away his book and was now watching Iruka. As the chuunin turned around, the tanned skin gathered a familiar shade of pink. The teacher stuttered softly, "S-shall we, Kakashi-san?"

A nod was all the dolphin received and the two turned and walked along the rows of booths, occasionally stopping at one or two to try their hand at a game or sample some food. Iruka's sweet tooth seemed to get the better of him, and he bought himself a chocolate-filled taiyaki, and a green tea taiyaki for Kakashi. Looking one last time over the flavors, Iruka noticed a new addition, and simply had to purchase it for Naruto.

With a ramen taiyaki as well as a red bean one (for Sasuke, of course) Iruka and Kakashi turned the corner to wander along between more stands.

Kakashi paused for a moment at a game, staring at a large stuffed dolphin hanging from the top of the structure. A few moments later, Kakashi caught up with Iruka who was speaking with a vendor about knitting and scarves. A large variety of woolen clothing articles and doilies, blankets, and decorations were strewn about the table. Sensing Kakashi nearby, Iruka bid the elder woman a happy new year; he stuffed a wrapped package under his arm and turned to Kakashi.

"Ne, Kakashi-san, we should probably head back to the blanket… Naruto and Sasuke are probably waiting for us."

"Hai." Iruka smiled at the simplicity of the answer, again making note of how similar the Hatake and the Uchiha were.

! -! -!

The taiyaki were finished off, as was most of the sushi, and most of the other sweets and warm goodies each had bought. Iruka packed up the bag and the four nin lay draped across the dark fleece blanket. Naruto rubbed his full stomach and sighed happily.

"SASUKE-KUUUUN!" A shrill voice cut through the cool air and Sasuke flinched slightly. The pink haired genin had appeared her yukata resembling the dress she wore frequently, red and white. Her hair was done up in two neat buns, a few tendrils of hair hanging down around her face.

Sasuke sat up as Sakura greeted all of the other occupants of the blanket. "Hn."

Sakura understood the command immediately, walking over to where Sasuke sat. "What is it Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke handed Sakura the plush thing he had received from the game and she shrieked as Inner Sakura cheered. Quickly, the rose-haired girl disappeared into the crowd, obviously off to brag to Ino. Sasuke smiled.

"Ne, Iruka-sensei," Naruto mumbled from his corner of the blanket.

"Hmm?" The teacher responded peacefully, staring up through the snow-clad tree branches and watching the stars.

"Why are you wearing a women's yukata?" Naruto smiled foxily as Iruka blushed slightly under Kakashi's curious gaze. Sasuke looked oddly at the chuunin, but remained silent.

"Ah, well, you see," Iruka began, "This yukata belonged to my mother. It was her favorite of the few she owned and she would always wear it to this festival every year. When I was younger, she bought me one in a similar color, but without the stars on it. Every year she would embroider another star onto the fabric, as she would do hers. However, my yukata only received a total of seven stars before my mother died…" Iruka's voice trailed off softly and Naruto frowned. "Unfortunately, I haven't seen my yukata since the night of the Kyuubi attack, but my mother's survived the burning of our house somehow."

Iruka seemed to have finished his memory and Naruto marveled at the intricate designs on the fabric. "Iruka-sensei, a lot of these stars look different than the other ones…"

"Yes, that's true, Naruto. How very observant of you." Iruka ruffled the blonde's hair. "Since that day I have been embroidering two stars onto it on this day every year, one for myself and one in my mother's memory. I've also added along the bottom a dolphin next to her seashell."

Naruto smiled and moved closer to his teacher, "Well, it looks good on you, Iruka-sensei." Iruka smiled and blushed slightly before ushering everyone off of the blanket and folding it.

"Shall we head back to my apartment for the rest of our celebration?"

! -! -!

The inside of Iruka's apartment was warm and bright; a fire glowed and crackled softly in the fireplace. There was a mountain of candy in a dish on the coffee table in the middle of the living room. The pile slowly dwindled at the hands of Naruto, who was currently playing chess against the silent Uchiha on the couch.

Outside on the balcony, Iruka and Kakashi stood, vigilant. A pair of chocolate and mis-matched eyes scanned the surrounding skies which were studded with sparkling jewels. Suddenly, an explosion of colored light erupted and the glowing embers fell toward earth. Iruka had turned around to call Naruto, but the blonde bolted from the building, leaving the chess game before it could be finished. Sasuke followed after and the four watched the sky explode in color.

Naruto smiled and hugged Iruka. "You're right, Iruka-sensei, it was better to come back here… We have the best seats in the whole world!" Iruka laughed softly and tousled the boy's hair gently, his smile reflecting a similar grin on the shorter boy's face. Both of the more solemn shinobi smiled as well, although an outsider would consider Sasuke's expression closer to a grimace.

Iruka's eyes shifted to the dark haired boy and his smile brightened. Wrapping his arm around the young Uchiha, he brought the two boys to the front of him. Amazingly Sasuke didn't resist, seeming more absorbed in the fireworks than anything.

Soon the fireworks ended in a luminous display of color and booms, and all over Konoha people cheered and clapped. Naruto raced back inside to the unfinished game of chess, calling Sasuke after him. The boy followed and they proceeded to shout back and forth over the game.

Iruka's ears picked up the soft sound of the grandfather clock inside his apartment. He smiled, eager to bring in the New Year. Next to him, Kakashi smiled as well, looking out over the peaceful town.

Gong. Iruka shivered slightly in the moonlight, both from excitement for the year and cold.

Gong. Kakashi stepped a little closer to Iruka, looking a bit concerned. "You cold?"

Gong. "A little," Iruka responded, smiling wider, blushing slightly.

Gong. "You should go inside and warm up."

Gong. "No, I think I want to be out here for this."

Gong. Kakashi nodded and the two resumed watching the town in silence.

Gong. Inside, Naruto and Sasuke yelled back and forth to one another.

Gong.

Gong. Iruka shivered again.

Gong. Kakashi took another step closer to Iruka, the two nearly touching.

Gong. A slender silver hand pulled down the piece of black fabric covering his mouth. Iruka's eyes widened as he saw Kakashi smile.

Gong. "Happy New Year!" The city of Konoha cheered as Kakashi closed the small distance between them and gently brushed a kiss across Iruka's lips.

The kiss ended nearly as quickly as it came, Kakashi not bothering to hide his smirk. Iruka blushed furiously, but blamed it on the cold. "Happy new year," they both whispered as the first snow began to fall softly around them.

! -! -!

Well, there you have it. This was actually the first idea I'd ever come up with for a Naruto fanfiction.

To all my readers, sorry for putting Plushie no Jutsu on hold – I really wanted to finish this up. (8 pages : whee:) I've also lost my internet for an unknown period of time, so I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update. I'll do what I can though, all right?

Reviews and criticisms are always welcome, but flames will be used to toast my marshmallows. :3