"You can do it, of course, but..." he smoked from his pipe inspecting the two nervous teenagers. Or well, the teenager and the young adult "Are you sure you want this?"
(Y/n) played nervously with her fingers while she looked at the floor, nodding shyly whereas Kakashi didn't look away from the Hokage, nodding with determination. Hiruzen sighed.
"How long have you been together?" he asked. Kakashi blinked, taken by surprise, and (Y/n) blushed even more.
"It'll be 2 years in five months" Kakashi answered with his ninja tone.
"How long have you been dating, not known each other" the Hokage corrected himself. Kakashi finally broke eye contact with him and looked away, embarrassed. But neither he nor (Y/n) answered because the truth was that none of them knew at what point they started having feelings for each other. They just naturally started acting like that towards each other. Hiruzen sighed again, but he started rummaging through some papers "You know, your parents also married after 2 years of knowing each other, Kakashi" he said while he signed a few papers.
(Y/n) looked at the jonin and he swallowed, discovering for the first time that piece of information. Something about it made him more excited. He seemed to have paralyzed for a moment, and (Y/n) who had been looking at him noticed. She took a step closer to him and held his hand, gripping it gently and making him finally react.
"I don't have anything against this," Hiruzen said again "but you two are very young. I would hate to see that you married due to (Y/n)'s circumstances, and not—"
"I love her," Kakashi interrupted him, taking the courage to do so by tightening (Y/n)'s hand "(Y/n)'s circumstances... are only a mishap in something that was inevitable"(Y/n)'s heart tightened upon his decisive words, and so she hanged closer to his hand an arm. Hiruzen maintained his stare at both of them for another minute, and in the end, he slid two papers down his desk.
"If that's what you two want... Here are the papers for you to sign," he said. (Y/n) and Kakashi approached them, reading them carefully, and inevitably getting more and more nervous the more they read.
Kakashi was the first one to pick up the pen. He took a quick glance at (Y/n), and it was enough to set his heart at ease. He signed his part, and passed it to her, looking at her anxiously. She picked up the pen with almost trembling hands, and read the paper. Her chest started to burn, and she felt like crying. But it was a weird sensation, nothing like the way she used to cry. Her eyes were becoming wet, but she wasn't sad. She was scared, of course, but if some tears escaped, be sure they were from joy and excitement.
She finally signed her name next to Kakashi's, making his lips curve into a smile bigger than he barely smiled. But before they could say anything else, Hiruzen slid another paper to (Y/n). Both (Y/n) and Kakashi read it carefully, but (Y/n)'s mind started to drift when she reached the middle of the text.
If she signed it, she would drop her surname and instead have Kakashi's. She thought it was cute, and her skin tingled upon the thought. But at the same time, she couldn't help but think that if she were to give up on her surname she would stop being herself. She frowned, thinking of his father for it was his surname after all. Kakashi, who had been intently staring at her, realized she was hesitating. So he slipped his hand into hers, intertwining his longer and colder fingers with hers.
"You don't have to sign it now," he spoke lowly, breaking her train of thoughts "You can change your surname anytime you want, if you want" And as easy as that, she finally signed it.
The question was simple, really. Should she share a surname with her demon sister, and horrible father? Have the same surname as those who only wanted the worse for her? Or instead, should she have the surname of the man who cared for her and loved her? She saw it clearly when Kakashi said those words, so softly and patient with her, worried for her own thoughts. After all, if she was who she was now, it was thanks to him and definitely not those who shared her surname. Or well, her past surname for she was now (Y/n) Hatake. She blushed when the name resonated in her mind.
"Signing this doesn't mean you are officially married yet," Hiruzen spoke, taking back the now signed papers "As the Hokage, and because someone underage is involved, I need to talk to both families. In this case, only with (Y/n)'s father"
"But I thought—" (Y/n) began, now scared that not even this would be enough.
"Let me finish," The third spoke, and she shut up despite her face screaming how much she wanted to express her worries "Normally, if the families agree, the papers are immediately signed and you would be..." he hesitated "husband and wife... right now. However, if the families don't agree, the process takes a little bit longer"
"Her father wanted to force her marriage by the end of the month," it was Kakashi who spoke now, as worried as (Y/n) but sounding definitely more composed than her "Will it be done before then?"
"Yes," and finally, Kakashi and (Y/n) let out a breath of relief, relieving as well their tight hold around each other's hand "And even if it wasn't. You've already signed the papers, it cannot be changed unless one of you changes their mind before it's official" he made a pause "You will be married to each other. It will only take a while later —assuming your father doesn't approve of this"
(Y/n) looked down, knowing that as usual, his father would have something bad to say of this. She would have liked to just be automatically married to him without her father knowing, or anyone else. It was her life, after all, and no one else had anything to say on the matter. But she knew, that as much as she'd like it to be that way reality was different.
Kakashi and her finally left the place, and even though they were happier than they seemed, they also couldn't help but feel disappointed. Especially (Y/n) who had been absent-minded since they left the Hokage's office. And Kakashi, despite having been reading from a new book (Y/n) gifted to him, noticed her state. But he didn't say anything as he didn't know what he could possibly say to ease her mind. So instead, he settled with something different. He continued to read from his book with one hand, and he took the other hand that he kept shoved into his pocket to hers until he deftly and softly slipped his hand into hers.
She finally seemed to react and looked at him. And at last, she seemed to find comfort when he made his closed-eye smile. Not only that, but walking while holding his hand also offered a new way of comfort she would have never imagined. Especially because she wouldn't have imagined him holding her hand publicly like that. But unlike she thought, he didn't care at all. He only cared about her well-being. After all, he had married her out of love and worry for her, holding her hand was nothing compared to that.
"Do you like it so far?" (Y/n) asked about the book. Kakashi's eyes went back to the pages and he nodded "I'm glad you do, I was afraid you wouldn't read it since it's not porn" she said with a teasing smile that managed to make him blush.
"It's not porn, it's erotica," he said quicker than he would have wanted, losing his usual cool temper for a moment. It made her chuckle "And I read more genres besides that" he huffed but without letting go of her smaller hand.
"Like?"
"Like..." he had to think for a while, getting more embarrassed "Action" (Y/n) burst out laughing.
"That's just an euphemism for porn," she said, making fun of him while she did gentle caresses on his hand with her thumb. His cheeks turned even redder, but luckily, his mask gave him the perfect cover.
"That's not—!" he got nervous. (Y/n) giggled but pushed herself closer to him, giving him a quick peck on his masked cheek. He didn't get any less nervous, but he decided to let it go for now.
"Do you remember the book I was reading the other day?" she changed the topic when she separated from him. Kakashi nodded, now bothered that she had made him flustered and trying to think of a way to take his revenge, making her flustered in return "There was very interesting information. For example, did you know that everyone in the world is connected by a maximum of 6 people?" Kakashi shook his head in denial, not knowing the fact "Or the fact that humans share 44.5% of DNA with a banana?" Kakashi's brow arched, unbelieving of the fact. He shook his head in denial again "There was also a study that said couples start resembling each other as time passes" she said, this time thoughtful. Kakashi didn't say anything for a while, and he remained thoughtful as well until he looked at her, having stopped reading a while ago.
"Will I be beautiful like you, then?" he said with a smirk, knowing that she would get flustered by his words. And exactly, she blushed with a cute smile that she tried to repress, only making her all the more adorable. His hand tightened on hers, making her even shyer, but she didn't say anything, just got closer to him after they finally reached their apartment. Well, it was hers, but they always seemed to spend time there so she considered it theirs.
Once there, they didn't do much more besides what they were already doing. They ate lunch, read, and cuddled together while also reading. At least until there was a knock on (Y/n)'s door. They looked at each other as if perhaps one of them knew who it could be. But of course, neither of them was expecting anyone, and so, (Y/n) ended up getting up to answer. And similarly to a few days ago, she regretted her action instantly because not only the person behind the door was her father, but he also seemed more furious than he usually was. So much, in fact, that (Y/n) didn't dare bear a frown or say anything.
"How dare you" he said, surprisingly not screaming. Which only made the hair in (Y/n)'s body stand up more in fear.
He didn't need to be harsh, to yell at her, the way his eyes squinted at her was enough to impose fear on her. She blinked a few times, not knowing what to say, and not even knowing what he was referring to. But then, he threw a folder at her. It fell on the floor, scattering around the few papers inside, and although (Y/n) looked at it. (Y/n) looked at them, immobile, and noticed that the papers and even the folder seemed to have been previously crushed. But she couldn't quite see what they were about, and she definitely didn't feel safe or comfortable enough to crouch down and pick them up, despite that being her father's intention probably. She swallowed and took two steps backward, scared. So shaken, actually, that she had completely forgotten of Kakashi's presence inside her apartment.
"What is this?" he asked again "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he spoke again, now taking a step closer to her and into her apartment with every step she took farther away from him.
His voice was starting to raise, but he suddenly stopped talking and walking, and even his anger seemed to a halt when someone else than his daughter crouched in front of him, between her and him. Kakashi picked up the almost broken pieces of papers and stood up, reading them for himself.
"These are marriage papers," Kakashi finally spoke, looking at her father with uninterested eyes while he made sure (Y/n) was safely behind him. And when he talked, (Y/n) felt her skin tingle because as much as she was uncomfortable, she was also grateful for Kakashi to be there, or else she knew this wouldn't end up well for her "I thought you'd know given the fact that you wanted to force (Y/n) into marrying any simpleton with a bit of money"
(Y/n)'s brows arched and her breath got stuck in her throat upon Kakashi's words. She couldn't believe his father had been told those words, but she was also scared of his reaction.
"And who the hell are you?" (Y/n)'s father spoke irritated, squinting his eyes at him but definitely less harsh than what he would have been with (Y/n). He also snatched the papers out of Kakashi's hands. But he didn't seem the least affected by it. In fact, Kakashi's dark eyes stared at him as uninterested as earlier.
"I'm Hatake Kakashi; the person who is marrying (Y/n)" he spoke simply.
At his words, her father's brows stop knitting, and instead he looked at him surprised. Not only was he baffled at the mention of the name, but also about his statement. His eyes traveled to his daughter behind the jonin.
"(Y/n), what is this?" he asked her instead as if he thought this was some sort of set-up.
(Y/n) flinched a little bit, and Kakashi took a step back towards her, getting between his sight of her more in order to make sure she never felt intimidated by him again.
"He told you already," was her answer, finally looking at his eyes thanks to the courage Kakashi's calm yet protective presence gave her. For a while, he didn't say anything else, as if his brain wasn't able to process any of this.
"Are you two even aware of what marriage means?" he asked Kakashi, losing his calm again for he did not understand why he would choose his younger daughter. Neither of them answered, but they continued to look at him with decisive eyes, making him even more confused. He couldn't even understand how did she know him.
"I'm so aware of what it means, that I would never force my daughter to marry someone she didn't love" Kakashi spoke, making her father's brow twitch. He even pushed his tongue against his inner cheek, madly annoyed that (Y/n) was frustrating his plans like that.
"I swear, if you two are playing a role—" he began, but he was cut off by Kakashi who bore a frown, starting to get bored of him.
"I love (Y/n)," he announced, making her blush. He then held her hand, pulling her to him. And in a swift movement, he pulled down his mask and kissed her right in front of her father. And it wasn't even a short peck "I will marry her," he said over her lips and looking at her (e/c) eyes, making her blush more and making her forget about how embarrassing it had been to be kissed like that in front of her father "and I'll do it before you can get her married to somebody else" he added this part looking at him again, his soft eyes now turned into cold and determined ones "If that is what it takes to keep her free, I'll do that and more"
(Y/n)'s father looked at him and at her, his lips pursing together and moving as awkwardly as he felt. It still was too crazy to think that the Kakashi was with his daughter. But he had to admit that it did look legit... and if it was true, it would be even better if (Y/n) was married to him instead of a wealthy family like the Tachi's. After all, Sho was a regular citizen and he was Hatake Kakashi... So in the end, after long hesitation and with difficulty, he sighed.
"Fine," he mustered. (Y/n)'s eyes snapped open, shocked "But don't come crying when this doesn't work" he said, looking at (Y/n) before turning around and leaving.