I'm so proud of myself... *Sniff* I grew up so fast...

T'was brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.

All mimsy were the borogroves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

"SENSEEEIII!!!" Kakashi nearly turned around, but Naruto leapt and landed on his back before he could. "AGGGH!!! DAMN IT, GET OFF!!!" Kakashi yelled, tugging at the blond boy's hands, which were clutching his vest tightly. "No! Not til you promise to teach me more jutsu!" Kakashi turned his head to glare at the boy, but stopped when he saw his pout. "Feh." He muttered, turning his head away to hide his blush. This always happened; he'd try to be rough-and-tough, try to get Naruto to leave him alone, then one glimpse of Naruto's big blue eyes trained on him in that affectionately hateful way, and he'd fall apart. 'Thank god we're in the forest, where there's no one to laugh.' "...Sensei?" "What?" "Gonna let go anytime soon?" "Wha- oh, oh sorry." He dropped his hands from Naruto's, feeling his blush deepen. They had felt so small and fit so perfectly in his... Suddenly Naruto rubbed his cheek against Kakashi's. "Wha?!" "Meh." Naruto muttered, burying his face in Kakashi's neck, "I felt like it." Kakashi stared at the blond. "..." Slowly, he reached up and grabbed Naruto's hands again, feeling them twitch, feeling the muscles tighten under his skin as he clutched Kakashi's vest more tightly. "Naruto..." 'This is it...' "Hm?" "Uh... I... I need to tell you something..." His stomach was full of what felt like hummingbirds, beating their wings against his insides, and he knew it was now or never. "I... I like you." He whispered. His shoulder felt very warm all of a sudden, and then Naruto lifted his head and kissed his cheek. "I like you too, sensei."

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that snatch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

Twilight lay like a blanket of calm and peaceful gray over the forest. The last rays of the setting sun struck between the leaves perfectly, dappling the forest floor with gold and green and dark shadow. This was not the kind of place you'd expect two people to be fighting. Naruto couldn't remember why he was so angry, but something stun him, and the jeers and laughter from his former sensei spurred him on. "Damn it, stand STILL!!!" He roared, trying yet again to (unsuccessfully) wound the silver blur speeding around him. 'Still going... how can he keep going?!' "Not til you prove you're a worthy opponent, Dunce!" Kakashi crowed, dodging another attack and landing a sucker punch to Naruto's kidney. "Damn, damn, DAMN!!!" Naruto managed, somehow, to slice Kakashi's shoulder, but it wasn't very deep, and it hardly bled. "FUCK!!!" He roared, trying for a roundhouse kick. Somehow, he found himself face up on the ground, his arms trapped underneath him, Kakashi crouched on his diaphragm. "You lost." Kakashi sneered, "Again. Tell me, how do you expect to become Hokage, Dunce?" Snarling, Naruto tried to tug his arms out from under himself, but Kakashi grabbed his arms and shoved him down hard, despite him being on the ground already. "Fool. Baka. Try again." "Maybe I will." Naruto spat, and forced himself to kick up so far his foot connected with the back of Kakashi's head. But instead of hurling his former sensei off him, it simply made Kakashi fall forward with a yelp. And then Naruto found himself staring into Kakashi's eyes, as something warm and cloth-covered covered his mouth. He tried to squeak, but his lungs seemed frozen. And then Kakashi slowly, almost ponderously, raised his mouth off of Naruto's. "Uh..." "..." Naruto stared at him, eyes wide, gaping at him. "...You..." Kakashi blushed and turned his head away. "Um... L-let's just forget this ever happened..." "...Kinda hard to do when you're sitting on me..." Naruto grumbled, finally freeing one hand, his face red. "Ah... S-sorry..." But when Kakashi scrambled to his feet, a curious feeling overcame Naruto. A wrenching in his chest, as if of something precious being torn from him. He didn't know how he did it, or how it happened, but he found himself lying on top of his sensei, whose mask was gone, and kissing him passionately. And then he remembered why he'd been angry. Kakashi had asked if he were gay.

He took his vorpal sword in hand;

Long time the manxome foe he sought-

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

Warm. Too warm. Much warmer than normal. Why? Naruto cracked an eye. He was lying in bed, as per usual. He was under a sheet, as per usual. There was an arm over his waist- NOT USUAL. He stiffened, wondering what was going on. Slowly, carefully, he turned over. Or tried to. Someone snuggled closer to him, pressing the boy (young man, really) against what was obviously another male. A head moved closer on his pillow, their breath tickling the back of his neck. He shivered a little, and squeaked as a pair of lips brushed his bare shoulder in a sleepy kiss. "Mmm... Is it time to get up?..." Murmured a sleepy, deep, familiar voice. "...N-no... but... I would like an explanation..." Naruto said, trying (and failing) to keep his voice from trembling. "Hm? You were the one who invited me ta spend the night..." Kakashi sighed, kissing the back of his neck. Several bruises on Naruto's skin tingled and throbbed with the touch, and Naruto realized that neither of them had clothes on. A blush spread across his face like wildfire, burning as it went. Kakashi resettled his arm so that his curled fist lay next to Naruto's. Slowly, ponderously, he intertwined his fingers with Naruto's. "Would another taste perhaps jog your memory?" Kakashi whispered, his voice suddenly husky and growling. "...Can't hurt..." Naruto murmured, his blush deepening as Kakashi grinned and kissed his shoulder blade, then his shoulder again. "Heh. Good."

And as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

"Hey Naruto!" Naruto stopped and turned. "Hey, Sakura-chan! What's up?" He greeted his former teammate. He'd long since given up on her and his dream of Hokage, though he was one of the serious candidates. Twenty-two years old, a jonin, in the Black Ops, and widely considered a cutey, it was also known by everyone, including the girls who constantly asked him out, that he had no interest in females whatsoever. "Naruto, I need advice. See, there's a guy I like, but he's older than me, an' I don't know how to get him to notice me..." "Hmmm..." Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Who is it? I know pretty much every guy in Konoha... shouldn't be hard to find his weakness..." Sakura blushed and scuffed her feet. "Um... It's Kakashi-sensei." Immediately, Naruto's face hardened. "No. Don't even bother with him." Sakura stared at her teammate, who'd gone from 'Scheming-a-plan' to 'Get-your-mitts-off-my-sensei,-bitch'. "...Eh?" "Trust me, you don't want him. He's even more of a perv than he pretends he is, an' he's got the rep to prove it. If you'd heard even half the stories, you'd be running home screaming. The bastard's obsessed with sex, an' he has no concept of personal space. He pries into everything, he spouts your secrets to your friends, he-" "Not ruining my good name, I hope?" Both shinobi spun around. On the roof above them, Kakashi sat, smirking at their expressions. "And I thought we had something..." He drawled, hopping down to the street below. "We never did, we never will." Naruto spat. Sakura stared at him. 'Is he... oh my god, he's BLUSHING!!!' And, to her eternal horror, Kakashi put his arms around Naruto, nuzzled his hair, and said mournfully "Pity me, my boyfriend is a jealous bastard and practically everyone wants to get in bed with me."

One, two! One two! And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head,

He went galumphing back!

"Sensei... I did it..." Kakashi stared at the wreck of a boy teetering on his doorstep. "What..." Naruto grinned up at him, blood on his face dripping down his chin to pool on the doormat with the stream from the wound in his leg. "I got Sasuke-teme to come back... Heh heh... now who's the hero?..." And he blacked out, falling over. Kakashi lunged and caught him, then slowly and carefully picked up the unconscious boy. "You are." He murmured as he closed the door, then nuzzled Naruto's hair, "You're the hero. You're my little gaki."

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

Oh, frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"

He chortled in his joy.

Laughing, Naruto flung himself onto his sensei. "I DID IT!!! I MASTERED TOAD SUMMONING!!!" Kakashi chuckled and hugged the boy who was squeezing all the air out of him. "I knew you could. I knew it." He murmured. Naruto pulled back and grinned at his sensei, whom he wasn't mad at anymore. Jiraiya, A.K.A., Pervy-Sage, had told him that Kakashi had set everything up; the disaster with Ebisu, the release of the seal, the perfection of the water-walking technique, and the signing of the Toad-Summoning contract. He was actually a little proud of his clever sensei, and quite a bit grateful. "Hey, hey, sensei, how'd ya know I'd master it?!" "I knew because I knew you'd never give up and work yourself to exhaustion, just trying to get out of the tadpole stage. Obviously, you did it." Kakashi smiled at Naruto, and was a little surprised when Naruto hugged him again, clinging to him tightly. It was uncomfortable, and seeing as they were in the hospital, where anyone could see, it was a little embarrassing. "...Naruto? Um... mind letting go?" "No." Naruto tightened his hold on Kakashi, and the jonin noticed that the front of his vest was wet. "Hey, you crying? H-hey, why you crying?! Please stop!" Naruto's shoulders were shaking with sobs, but he was laughing too, laughing at Kakashi's rising panic. Slowly, he pulled away again, and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "Sorry. Sorry." "Nuttin' to be sorry about." Kakashi said gruffly, but Naruto could tell he was relieved. "..." Naruto leaned his head against Kakashi's shoulder, and felt him shift his grip so as to be able to support Naruto's weight more comfortably. "I'm proud of you," Kakashi said softly, and Naruto could hear his pride, "I'm proud that you mastered summoning, and I'm sure your father would be just as proud."

T'was brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.

All mimsy were the borogroves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

Note: 'Jabberwocky' was originally published in 'Alice in Wonderland'. Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice in 'Through the Looking Glass' that 'brillig' means 4 o'clock, the time you start broiling things for dinner, 'slithy' means 'slimy' and 'lithe', 'toves' are badger-lizard things with corkscrew characteristics (the nose and tail are curly in the illustration on the cover of my copy), 'gyre' means to go in a circle, 'gimble' is to make holes in the ground, 'wabe' is the area of grass around the base of a sundial (apparently Toves live under sundials), 'mimsy' is flimsy and miserable, 'borogroves' are a type of bird, "Sort of like a live mop" as Humpty put it, 'outgribing' is "Something between bellowing and whistling, with a sneeze in the middle", 'rath' is a type of pig, and 'mome' "I think it's short for 'from home', meaning they'd lost their way, you know.". Read the book(s), it's interesting. Kinda kooky, but hey, aren't we all? (*The world loves you*)