Serendipity

Naruto sighed, his drooping eyes straining in the dim lit office, pure willpower the only thing keeping his eyes open. It had slightly dawned on him that evening had already past the moment Shikamaru mentioned something about going home for dinner. Now though? It was way beyond curfew, only the graveyard shift filled the village with life. He scratched at the hint of stubble on his chin, focusing on speeding through the stacks of folders and scrolls, not bothering with reading them thoroughly. In hindsight, when the last signature needed was the only parchment in a single sealed scroll that had his former sensei's meticulous handwriting on it he should've known something was up. Yet his exhaustion kept him distracted, the pull of sleep causing him to lose his conciousness. He blinked away the burn in his eyes when his hand stopped its flow and he looked down, pleased with himself.

Finally done with his tedious paper pushing, he stretched and collected the stack together for Shikamaru to sift through once the sun rose. He pushed back from the desk and went to rest his weary form. He slumped against the couch located on the opposite side of the room, not even entertaining the thought of going home. It's not like he had anyone waiting for him at home anyways. He went out like a light as soon as his head hit the cushion and didn't wake until a frantic Shikamaru shook him roughly a few hours later.

"Naruto! What the hell did you do?! Do you even know what this is!" Naruto blankly looked between Shikamaru's pale face and what he barely recognized as something he might've signed the evening before. "What are you...talking about?" Naruto sluggishly pulled himself up and wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"You idiot! Did you even read this before you signed it?" He shoved the scroll at Naruto without waiting for him to grab it. "Huh...what is it...?" He blinked up stupidly at his advisor, whom was scrubbing at his face, willing his Hokage to get his wits about him. "A marriage contract!" He hissed between his teeth.

"Oh..." He scanned the document over but the situation wasn't clicking for him at all. That is until Shikamaru had to literally explain it to him. "Okay I'm going to assume you definitely didn't read this, which I'm not particularly thrilled about. And I don't know what kind of idiot overrides a seal without a care in the world. But we have a much bigger problem on our hands." Shikamaru put his hands together and tapped his chin in distress.

"This specifically is a clan contract, that the council pushed at the Rokudaime in the possibility of a future marriage candidate. It's basically a promise to the village that he plans to expand his clan, since he is the last of the Hatake lineage. He tried to refuse but the council threatened to revoke some of his privileges so he ended up signing it anyways. Though this was supposed to have been archived away so I have no idea how this ended up in your possession. Now that you signed it though, l'm afraid it looks like you've promised yourself away. See, this is exactly the reason why I'm worried about leaving you alone to sign shit."

"..." Naruto was at a loss for words and he was trying to scramble for a coherent thought about how this situation came to be. Clearly he was at fault. But also how did it end up on his desk when it should've been in the Shinobi Archives. "Well, hope you weren't planning on resting anytime soon because you just filled our work quota for the day, congratulations." Naruto pouted because surely Shikamaru was being a little overdramatic.

"Go get decent, you have some people to see. And now I have to go tell my wife and kid that I won't be home for dinner. Damn, Temari's gonna kill me." Shikamaru gave Naruto a rough clap on the back before he made his leave. Naruto frowned as he read the scroll in his hands slowly, savoring each word. He sighed and rubbed at his temple as a migraine started to form. He carefully placed the scroll in his desk and sealed it. Then summoned a clone to stay in the office so he could go home to freshen up and grab a bite to eat.
_____

He was busy trying not to look anyone in the eye. He was being stifled between Kakashi and Tsunade. They were probably both contemplating his murder in different degrees and he really couldn't blame them.

"I don't understand how this could've happened. You've really outdone yourself here, haven't you Naruto." Kakashi sighed into the hand he had covered his face with in annoyance. "Now unfortunately this was signed by both of us, the current and previous head of our village, which means it's legally binding. Our hands are literally tied, unfortunately."

Tsunade rubbed at her head in an attempt to stave off an incoming headache. Of all the things that Naruto has done, this was by far the most ridiculous. Why in kami's sake was such a delicate piece of paper floating around aimlessly in the Hokage's office.

"Well, I guess congratulations are in order. You two are now doomed for all of eternity hooray. And though I wish I could give you enough time to process. It's just that there is too much to consider. There will be alot of ground to cover but...let's just focus on today for now." Tsunade took a few more scrolls out and placed them in front of Naruto and Kakashi. "First and foremost, living arrangements. Both of you are Kage, whether current or otherwise doesn't matter. Due to your...unusual circumstances, I'm willing to allow for you both to live here in the Hokage Estate. Unless you'd both rather live in one of your own homes?"

"The offer is tempting really, but I don't see a reason for us to do anything differently when we are only officially married by that damned piece of paper." Kakashi countered coolly, maintaining a calm facade in the truth of the matter.

"Why yes Kakashi, technically at this point you are only together by title. I was hoping to avoid this topic altogether since refusal isn't a valid option. So I'm afraid it's not that easy since this is a Clan Revival Act. There are certain expectations that the two of you will have to meet by a certain deadline, otherwise you are in direct violation of the contract. The council has to take strict precautionary measures to ensure that those guidelines are in place." Naruto's eyes shot up at that. Surely there was no way she was suggesting what he thought she was. No he would not entertain that thought. Kakashi-sensei didn't look at him like that...and probably never would.

"So again you brats. Where should I send my wedding gifts?" Tsunade cocked an eyebrow and the furrowed brows on Naruto's face and Kakashi's narrowed eyes. "Fine, but there is a better place that we can use instead." Kakashi stiffly rolled his shoulders and leaned back to cross his arms across his chest. To anyone with a trained eye he looked highly uncomfortable with his own suggestion. But it came off as him being broody like his former self.

Naruto gaped over him at shock as how easily he agreed to moving house and being in Naruto's space for a undetermined amount of time. "Sensei? Are you really sure about this?" Kakashi dignified his nervous gaze with a raised eyebrow. "Not at all, but a certain someone didn't really give me a choice in the matter, now did he?"

Naruto felt guilty and hid his head in shame. "Right, is there anything else I should know about?" Kakashi kept his attention focused elsewhere, refusing to let his emotions get the best of him. If he stared too long he'd feel guilty and try to comfort the poor man. Tsunade hummed in thought and glanced at the opened scrolls before she bit her thumb in vague concentration. "There is a discrepancy in the print, and I'll need to look it over. In the meantime, the only thing I need from you two is a routine physical exam and...Actually nevermind, we'll table that discussion for a later date. You may leave."

Both parties stood at the same time and Naruto felt himself shift awkwardly out of the way to give the silver-haired man room to leave the table. "I'll send Pakkun to retrieve you sometime later." Kakashi waved his hand nonchalantly at him as he walked away. Naruto let out a sigh of relief that the situation didn't escalate into an argument. He approached the entryway with Shikamaru hot on his trail. "Go on home for the day. I can handle the rest of the paperwork from here, but don't expect the same treatment tomorrow. And remember I'll strangle you if your late." He sighed harshly with a glint in his eye before dragging himself away, dreading of unraveling what other messes Naruto left for him to deal with.