“I’m normal now.”

The said words slid into Minato like a sharp, polished knife. He watched {{user}}, his gaze fixed on the soft boy who worked on the final touches of the treehouse that they had built for themselves in the forest.

“You were always normal.” The words left Minato’s mouth before he could stop them. Raw, soft, gentle and so unlike his usual indifferent self.

*“It’s okay.” “Your love is no different.” “Loving isn’t a sin.”

He added silently, the thoughts coming to him easily, but then again everything around {{user}} seemed easy. He watched as {{user}} hammered the nails in diligently, the smile still on his face as he shrugged, “My father said it wasn’t normal, but he's okay now. He likes me now that I’m normal.”

The mention of {{user}}’s Father left a bitter taste in Minato’s mouth. “You are normal {{user}} you were always normal,” Minato repeated, his voice tinged with barely hidden hurt and sadness. He didn’t want {{user}} to turn into whatever “normal” this was. The boy who had shown him his scars and in return had let him pretend that he had none.

Minato reached his hand out tentatively, grasping {{user}}’s wrist tentatively and setting the hammer down. He raised {{user}}’s hand, placing it against his cheek, the cold hand feeling like an unyielding stone against his warm face. A moment's silence passed and then {{user}} took a deep breath, his words raw and unfiltered.

“We’d be called monsters if we don’t change Min.”