Fanfiction - Naruto - Approval ch5
So, yeah, this is why I don’t like posting stories when I’m not totally done writing them. It’s a rule of mine, yet somehow, every year or so, I forget why I hate it so much. This story was mostly finished (done in my head, just not written out) so I figure, sure, I can keep up with it. Now, if I had done the math, I would have known that this would put chapter 4 right before school started, with one more chapter to go. *huge sigh*
Well school delays aside, life sort of intervined, but I’ve got it done now. Here’s to deathjunke for the great prompt. Also also! I got arts for it ^_^ It’s not Naruto, but it’s still awesome. Here if anyone wants to see it. Sorry for the wait, but I hope you’ve liked it!
And at last, with this story I never gave the link for a request. Although if you make a request, you probably won’t get anything quite this epic, still. Okay, enough babbling already, on with the finale!
Approval by Lily Kalanoa
Genre: Naruto - romance/humor/drama
Rating: R
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
-o-o-o-o-o-
Iruka lay on top of his sleeping bag, brooding and listening to the men outside fight. Naruto was audibly growling at Kakashi. “What are you doing out here!”
“Making sure you don’t do something stupid.” Kakashi sounded almost bored with it all, but Iruka could hear the threat in his voice. He probably looked completely disinterested as well, but those that knew him knew he was most dangerous when he looked oblivious. “Something stupid like jumping Iruka.”
“I thought we came out here to test our mettle against Nature and each other.” That would be Gai, the mostly silent observor.
“Iruka-sensei came out here to be with me! You’re not allowed to interupt us!”
“You were on top of my boyfriend. I think I had every right.”
There was a pause and scuffling sounds. Iruka could picture Naruto trying to swing at Kakashi while the taller man dodged easily. He wondered if he’d even put Naruto back on his own feet yet. Then Naruto was shouting again. “He clearly wants to spend time with me more than you!”
“You can’t date someone you still call ‘Sensei’.”
There was more scuffling and a couple of solid thumps. Then Iruka could hear someone stumbling across the undergrowth and imagined Kakashi had finally dropped the teenager. “Where do you think you’re going?” Naruto practically screamed.
“To make sure you didn’t hurt my boyfriend.” Kakashi stressed the word that time, and Iruka felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment, even hidden from sight.
“A real man would know that Iruka-sensei is stronger than all that!” More shuffling, crunching sounds, this time coming towards the tent. “This is our camping trip; that means it’s our tent and I’m going to sleep with Iruka!”
Iruka heard another soft growl, and this time he was fairly sure it hadn’t come from Naruto. Then it was Gai’s voice again, hushed as if trying to calm the other jounin. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret later. Don’t do anything that will upset Iruka even more.”
“You are sleeping with Gai tonight,” Kakashi ground out. Naruto made another noise, as if still arguing, but he broke off without saying a word and the next thing Iruka heard was the tent’s zipper being tugged open.
He didn’t look, but he could feel Kakashi’s chakra washing over him, frustration and anger more than obvious despite his usual control. The jounin took the time to zip the tent back up and then settled onto Naruto’s sleeping bag, looking at Iruka. “Are you all right?” he asked after a pause.
Iruka didn’t reply, continuing to blink at the canvas above him.
He heard Kakashi sigh and could see the man slump a little in his periphery vision. “I’m sorry. You’re probably mad that I followed you, but I was afraid Naruto would try and pull something. And I was right!” Iruka still didn’t respond. “You know he doesn’t love you like that, right? It’s just a crush, if it’s even that. He’s probably just afraid of losing you.”
Iruka turned onto his side, away from the masked man. “Don’t be like that.” Kakashi lay down close to the teacher, one arm draping over his shoulders. “Talk to me, love, please.”
“What do you want me to say, Kakashi?” There was nothing left to do here. He had Kakashi and he couldn’t stand to lose Naruto. If there was no way for the two to coexist peacefully . . .
“Say that you love-“ Kakashi stopped there and pushed himself up. He reached across the other, hand resting on his jaw and turning him so he could catch the teacher’s gaze. “Say that you won’t shut me out. That you won’t side with Naruto and walk out of my life forever.”
Iruka blinked a few times. “Then you don’t want to hear me say ‘I love you’?”
The mask was pulled down and Kakashi smiled down at him. “Now, if I told you to say it, and you did, would it really mean anything at all?” He bent, kissing Iruka’s forehead. “Besides, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I can’t beat the brat for your love. And if that’s the case, then I won’t stop you, so long as I can still stare at that great ass of yours.”
Iruka pushed the man away, smacking his arm repeatedly. “You’re not being serious!”
“Well, it’s hard to think you’ll choose that munchkin, when you said in the whole village, you’d choose me-“
“You heard that?!” Iruka flushed darkly and pushed away again. “I can’t believe you.”
“Where are you going?”
The brunette was at the door of the tent again and unziped it, slipping out into the night. “I’m getting some water from the creek.” Kakashi wasted no time following the man into the cool night air. “And you could probably use a cold dip!”
Halfway to the creek, Iruka stumbled a little, strong arms knocking him off balance. Then his feet were swept out from under him and the teacher found himself being carried. Kakashi’s mask was still down and he nibbled slightly at the teacher’s ear. “Are you mad at me?” He slipped one of his hands around Iruka’s chest, still supporting his weight and tickling at the man’s ribs gently.
Iruka gasped and thrashed a little, but he had no leverage and no way free without putting thought into his fight. “Yes, I am! Put me down.” But he was smiling, Kakashi noticed.
“Do I beat the brat?” He put the teacher back on his own feet, but kept him twisted off balance. Kakashi shifted his lips until he was nibbling at the other’s neck, his hands slowly getting more bold.
Iruka had one hand twisted in Kakashi’s shirt, the other putting up token resistance to the hand working his pants undone. “You know you did, ‘Kashi. Stop it, ‘the brat’ could be back any time!”
“Gai’s tent is more than two hundred yards away. We’ve got plenty of privacy.” Kakashi finished undoing Iruka’s pants and slid his hand inside.
Iruka gasped at the contact, trying a little more seriously to get free. Kakashi’s legs were keeping Iruka from getting his feet beneath him and without warning, he let his other hand shift. Iruka yelped, hands seeking a firmer grip as gravity threatened to pull him to the ground. The cry transformed as Kakashi closed a hand around him, and then the two were kissing.
Iruka managed to get an arm around the jounin’s neck and, no longer worried about being dropped, his other hand began to return the favor of exploring Kakashi’s body. He worked his hands under the jounin’s shirt, fingers seeking out the places that made Kakashi gasp as well.
The game of balance didn’t last much after that. Kakashi shifted and then let himself fall back to the ground, pulling Iruka on top of him. The teacher locked eyes with the man, a bit shocked at the position, but he wasn’t going to argue it. Kakashi wriggled under him and Iruka’s eyes rolled up into his head, shutting off his brain and letting his body take over. He was tired of fighting with the masked jounin, it was time to forget all about the stress with Naruto.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Naruto was fast, faster than Gai had expected. He’d managed to catch the jounin off guard at the creek, turning and running back towards Iruka’s tent, top speed. Gai hadn’t expected it and was chasing after the blonde bolt, but he’d already done the math; Naruto was reach the campground a full two seconds before Gai would be able to stop him.
The blonde burst through the undergrowth and charged the tent, swinging his arms wide and throwing his burden at the small tent before him. He’d made this mad dash with a small tub, full of freezing river water, ready to give Kakashi a little wake up call. Gai’s hand closed around his arm, but he’d already thrown the water and he watched happily as it drenched the tent. “Take that, jackass!” He cried triumphantly.
Gai pulled him back sharply. “Did it not occur to you that an attack like that will catch Iruka in its wake as well?!”
Naruto paled; he really should have thought of that. The teen broke out of Gai’s hold, frantically tearing open the tent’s flap. “Iruka-sensei! I’m sorry, Sensei!”
“Are you all right, my rival?” Gai joined the blonde at the tent, lifting the flap more so he could see inside as well. But there was no one there. The contents of the tent were drenched, both sleeping bags soaked through, but no sign of the two men that should have been there.
Naruto just blinked at the unoccupied space. “Where are they?”
“Perhaps it would be best if we leave them to their peace.” Gai knew he didn’t want to walk in on the two if they were expressing their youthful love. He was fairly certain Naruto didn’t want to see that either, but the blonde was already darting around the tent and poking his head into the bushes. The way he was crashing around, Gai was sure they wouldn’t hear any sound from the two men. But somehow, the soft moan was just as audible as the chuckle that followed it. Gai oriented on the noise instantly and Naruto paused as well, his head swiveling towards the creek. And then he was off again, Gai following close behind.
Halfway to the nearby creek, Iruka and Kakashi were whispering to each other. Both fell silent, though, hearing footsteps coming towards them. Naruto came into view around a tree with no warning and the teen skid to a halt when he saw his former teachers. Kakashi’s mask was down around his throat and he stared challengingly at the blonde, making no attempt to hide his frown. His shirt was tugged open, too, and Iruka was resting against his bare chest. The teacher’s shirt was completely absent and his hands were on his head, gathering his hair up to retie it. Gai’s cheeks flushed, thanking his luck that the two had apparently just finished their declarations of love.
For a long time, no one moved, just sitting in silence. Slowly Iruka’s hands fell as he stared at Naruto’s face. Anyone could see the uncertainty on the teacher’s face and it didn’t fade when Kakashi wrapped long arms around his shoulders. Finally Naruto tore his eyes away, looking now at the ground. “Something happened to your tent. I . . . I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Kakashi turned his glare on Gai. “Is that so?”
The other jounin just shrugged. “A spontaneous rainstorm, perhaps. You’ll have to dry your bags-“
“Come sleep with us,” Naruto demanded suddenly, looking up at Iruka again with a strained smile. “We can make it work, and it’ll be warm and dry.” The blonde stepped forward, wrapping one hand around Iruka’s possesively. The teacher’s head dropped, looking a little panicked, but it was short lived.
Naruto was offering his other hand, not looking at Kakashi, but waiting for the jounin to accept the offer. Iruka pulled Naruto’s hand up to his face, holding him there gratefully. “Thank you.” He wondered if the blonde understood just how much even such a small gesture meant.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Walking back into the village the next morning, Iruka’s nerves were starting to wear a bit thin. He thought having Naruto and Kakashi get along would make it all easier, but this quiet, veiled competition was worse, in a way. Iruka was between the two men, fingers intwined with Kakashi’s and Naruto wrapping both of his hands around the teacher’s other arm. He knew the two kept throwing glares at each other out of his line of view, and every time either of them struck up conversation with the teacher, the other had to make sure they were a part of it as well. It was incredibly difficult to remember that Naruto was sixteen. It was actually quite difficult to remember they both weren’t twelve.
But it was kind of nice. A step in the right direction, at least.
“I think we should get some ramen!” Naruto announced to no one’s surprise as they entered through the main gates. He began pulling Iruka that way, but Kakashi’s grip tightened.
“I think we should find a nice eighteen and over bar.” Naruto growled again, picking up on the fact he wouldn’t be able to follow there. The blonde’s grip also tightened and Iruka struggled not to be ripped in two.
“How about,” he suggested without hiding the irritation in his voice, “we drop off our gear before anything else.”
Behind him, Gai patted Iruka’s back firmly. “I’ll see you all later then. Hang in there, Iruka-sensei.”
Iruka continued down the street with a mumbled thanks to the retreating jounin. They reached Kakashi’s house and the masked man opened the door for them all. It wasn’t locked and, entering the home, Iruka saw why. Kakashi stood, stunned, at the scene of his destroyed living room. There were dirty dishes and more than one wet towel strewn about and in the middle of it all, Jiraiya sat reclined on the couch.
Jiraiya looked up at the others, a bit stunned himself around a mouthful of noodles. “You . . . said I could stay,” he said around the food. “I didn’t want to leave without finding out about,” he gestured towards the three of them, clearly referring to the mess surrounding Iruka.
Kakashi continued to blink at his room. He wasn’t obsessive, but he did keep his home clean, never leaving even dirty clothes for more than one night’s sleep. Jiraiya stood, setting his bowl beside two others on the coffee table. “I found your Icha Icha collection, too. They’re all signed, now, a real collector’s piece!”
Kakashi blinked twice more, and then smiled wide beneath the mask. “Well, that changes everything!”
Naruto glowered. “You two should just go off together and leave normal people like me and Iruka alone! Ero-sennin and Perverted-Kakashi, a match made in heaven.”
Iruka dropped the pack he was carrying, trusting Kakashi would clean it up when he cleaned everything else. Without a word, he turned again to leave, but stopped when he felt Naruto’s hand on his arm. “How about ramen later tonight, okay?”
The blonde didn’t let go. “Where are you going?” Iruka hasitated again, but Naruto broke away before that panic could rise again. “We can have dinner, right? You won’t forget or back out or anything?”
Kakashi was the one to answer. “He broke a date with me for of you. I don’t think you have to worry.”
Iruka just smiled and turned again for the door. He didn’t miss it as Naruto grabbed Kakashi by the arm and pulled him down to growl something in his ear. The teacher couldn’t hear, but a moment later, Kakashi was forcibly shoved toward the door and a rather grouchy looking Naruto stalked back into the jounin’s house to sit beside Jiraiya.
Kakashi just shrugged and started following Iruka. Then after a moment he looked sidelong at the brunette. “I am allowed to come, right?” Iruka nodded and when Kakashi threw him a smile, he smiled back. “I don’t think he’s happy about it, but Naruto’s always adapted quickly. He seems to be more worried than pissed at the moment.”
“At least he’s not trying to kill you.”
“Or redecorate your room.” Iruka gave him a questioning look and Kakashi just shook his head quickly. “It’s nothing, nevermind.” Then he glanced around slowly, examining the buildings they were passing. A residential neighborhood, getting further and further from the areas set aside for ninja families. “The kid raises a valid question. Where are you going?”
Iruka ducked his head, hesitant again, but he kept going down the road at the same pace. Kakashi tightened his hold on the other, hoping he wasn’t reading him wrong. But after another moment, Iruka looked up to meet his eye. He didn’t bother with a smile and tightened his grip in turn. “I’m going home.”
Kakashi blinked a moment, looking around the surrounding buildings again. Iruka’s apartment was more than a mile from here . . . “Are you sure, love?”
The teacher’s grip tightened even more. “Naruto accepted me . . . right?” Kakashi pulled him into a more firm hug, kissing the top of his head. Iruka accepted the support, still walking steadily down the street. “I’m glad Naruto was worried enough to send you after me. It’s about time you met the family, yeah?”
Kakashi kissed his head again. “And if not, I’m here to beat them to a pulp.”
“Thank you,” Iruka whispered. He smiled gently, thinking of both the men in his life and how much Naruto could change everything in only a few days. He supposed it was a good thing he’d shown up after all. “Both of you.”
-o-o-o-owari-o-o-o-
Well school delays aside, life sort of intervined, but I’ve got it done now. Here’s to deathjunke for the great prompt. Also also! I got arts for it ^_^ It’s not Naruto, but it’s still awesome. Here if anyone wants to see it. Sorry for the wait, but I hope you’ve liked it!
And at last, with this story I never gave the link for a request. Although if you make a request, you probably won’t get anything quite this epic, still. Okay, enough babbling already, on with the finale!
Approval by Lily Kalanoa
Genre: Naruto - romance/humor/drama
Rating: R
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
-o-o-o-o-o-
Iruka lay on top of his sleeping bag, brooding and listening to the men outside fight. Naruto was audibly growling at Kakashi. “What are you doing out here!”
“Making sure you don’t do something stupid.” Kakashi sounded almost bored with it all, but Iruka could hear the threat in his voice. He probably looked completely disinterested as well, but those that knew him knew he was most dangerous when he looked oblivious. “Something stupid like jumping Iruka.”
“I thought we came out here to test our mettle against Nature and each other.” That would be Gai, the mostly silent observor.
“Iruka-sensei came out here to be with me! You’re not allowed to interupt us!”
“You were on top of my boyfriend. I think I had every right.”
There was a pause and scuffling sounds. Iruka could picture Naruto trying to swing at Kakashi while the taller man dodged easily. He wondered if he’d even put Naruto back on his own feet yet. Then Naruto was shouting again. “He clearly wants to spend time with me more than you!”
“You can’t date someone you still call ‘Sensei’.”
There was more scuffling and a couple of solid thumps. Then Iruka could hear someone stumbling across the undergrowth and imagined Kakashi had finally dropped the teenager. “Where do you think you’re going?” Naruto practically screamed.
“To make sure you didn’t hurt my boyfriend.” Kakashi stressed the word that time, and Iruka felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment, even hidden from sight.
“A real man would know that Iruka-sensei is stronger than all that!” More shuffling, crunching sounds, this time coming towards the tent. “This is our camping trip; that means it’s our tent and I’m going to sleep with Iruka!”
Iruka heard another soft growl, and this time he was fairly sure it hadn’t come from Naruto. Then it was Gai’s voice again, hushed as if trying to calm the other jounin. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret later. Don’t do anything that will upset Iruka even more.”
“You are sleeping with Gai tonight,” Kakashi ground out. Naruto made another noise, as if still arguing, but he broke off without saying a word and the next thing Iruka heard was the tent’s zipper being tugged open.
He didn’t look, but he could feel Kakashi’s chakra washing over him, frustration and anger more than obvious despite his usual control. The jounin took the time to zip the tent back up and then settled onto Naruto’s sleeping bag, looking at Iruka. “Are you all right?” he asked after a pause.
Iruka didn’t reply, continuing to blink at the canvas above him.
He heard Kakashi sigh and could see the man slump a little in his periphery vision. “I’m sorry. You’re probably mad that I followed you, but I was afraid Naruto would try and pull something. And I was right!” Iruka still didn’t respond. “You know he doesn’t love you like that, right? It’s just a crush, if it’s even that. He’s probably just afraid of losing you.”
Iruka turned onto his side, away from the masked man. “Don’t be like that.” Kakashi lay down close to the teacher, one arm draping over his shoulders. “Talk to me, love, please.”
“What do you want me to say, Kakashi?” There was nothing left to do here. He had Kakashi and he couldn’t stand to lose Naruto. If there was no way for the two to coexist peacefully . . .
“Say that you love-“ Kakashi stopped there and pushed himself up. He reached across the other, hand resting on his jaw and turning him so he could catch the teacher’s gaze. “Say that you won’t shut me out. That you won’t side with Naruto and walk out of my life forever.”
Iruka blinked a few times. “Then you don’t want to hear me say ‘I love you’?”
The mask was pulled down and Kakashi smiled down at him. “Now, if I told you to say it, and you did, would it really mean anything at all?” He bent, kissing Iruka’s forehead. “Besides, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I can’t beat the brat for your love. And if that’s the case, then I won’t stop you, so long as I can still stare at that great ass of yours.”
Iruka pushed the man away, smacking his arm repeatedly. “You’re not being serious!”
“Well, it’s hard to think you’ll choose that munchkin, when you said in the whole village, you’d choose me-“
“You heard that?!” Iruka flushed darkly and pushed away again. “I can’t believe you.”
“Where are you going?”
The brunette was at the door of the tent again and unziped it, slipping out into the night. “I’m getting some water from the creek.” Kakashi wasted no time following the man into the cool night air. “And you could probably use a cold dip!”
Halfway to the creek, Iruka stumbled a little, strong arms knocking him off balance. Then his feet were swept out from under him and the teacher found himself being carried. Kakashi’s mask was still down and he nibbled slightly at the teacher’s ear. “Are you mad at me?” He slipped one of his hands around Iruka’s chest, still supporting his weight and tickling at the man’s ribs gently.
Iruka gasped and thrashed a little, but he had no leverage and no way free without putting thought into his fight. “Yes, I am! Put me down.” But he was smiling, Kakashi noticed.
“Do I beat the brat?” He put the teacher back on his own feet, but kept him twisted off balance. Kakashi shifted his lips until he was nibbling at the other’s neck, his hands slowly getting more bold.
Iruka had one hand twisted in Kakashi’s shirt, the other putting up token resistance to the hand working his pants undone. “You know you did, ‘Kashi. Stop it, ‘the brat’ could be back any time!”
“Gai’s tent is more than two hundred yards away. We’ve got plenty of privacy.” Kakashi finished undoing Iruka’s pants and slid his hand inside.
Iruka gasped at the contact, trying a little more seriously to get free. Kakashi’s legs were keeping Iruka from getting his feet beneath him and without warning, he let his other hand shift. Iruka yelped, hands seeking a firmer grip as gravity threatened to pull him to the ground. The cry transformed as Kakashi closed a hand around him, and then the two were kissing.
Iruka managed to get an arm around the jounin’s neck and, no longer worried about being dropped, his other hand began to return the favor of exploring Kakashi’s body. He worked his hands under the jounin’s shirt, fingers seeking out the places that made Kakashi gasp as well.
The game of balance didn’t last much after that. Kakashi shifted and then let himself fall back to the ground, pulling Iruka on top of him. The teacher locked eyes with the man, a bit shocked at the position, but he wasn’t going to argue it. Kakashi wriggled under him and Iruka’s eyes rolled up into his head, shutting off his brain and letting his body take over. He was tired of fighting with the masked jounin, it was time to forget all about the stress with Naruto.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Naruto was fast, faster than Gai had expected. He’d managed to catch the jounin off guard at the creek, turning and running back towards Iruka’s tent, top speed. Gai hadn’t expected it and was chasing after the blonde bolt, but he’d already done the math; Naruto was reach the campground a full two seconds before Gai would be able to stop him.
The blonde burst through the undergrowth and charged the tent, swinging his arms wide and throwing his burden at the small tent before him. He’d made this mad dash with a small tub, full of freezing river water, ready to give Kakashi a little wake up call. Gai’s hand closed around his arm, but he’d already thrown the water and he watched happily as it drenched the tent. “Take that, jackass!” He cried triumphantly.
Gai pulled him back sharply. “Did it not occur to you that an attack like that will catch Iruka in its wake as well?!”
Naruto paled; he really should have thought of that. The teen broke out of Gai’s hold, frantically tearing open the tent’s flap. “Iruka-sensei! I’m sorry, Sensei!”
“Are you all right, my rival?” Gai joined the blonde at the tent, lifting the flap more so he could see inside as well. But there was no one there. The contents of the tent were drenched, both sleeping bags soaked through, but no sign of the two men that should have been there.
Naruto just blinked at the unoccupied space. “Where are they?”
“Perhaps it would be best if we leave them to their peace.” Gai knew he didn’t want to walk in on the two if they were expressing their youthful love. He was fairly certain Naruto didn’t want to see that either, but the blonde was already darting around the tent and poking his head into the bushes. The way he was crashing around, Gai was sure they wouldn’t hear any sound from the two men. But somehow, the soft moan was just as audible as the chuckle that followed it. Gai oriented on the noise instantly and Naruto paused as well, his head swiveling towards the creek. And then he was off again, Gai following close behind.
Halfway to the nearby creek, Iruka and Kakashi were whispering to each other. Both fell silent, though, hearing footsteps coming towards them. Naruto came into view around a tree with no warning and the teen skid to a halt when he saw his former teachers. Kakashi’s mask was down around his throat and he stared challengingly at the blonde, making no attempt to hide his frown. His shirt was tugged open, too, and Iruka was resting against his bare chest. The teacher’s shirt was completely absent and his hands were on his head, gathering his hair up to retie it. Gai’s cheeks flushed, thanking his luck that the two had apparently just finished their declarations of love.
For a long time, no one moved, just sitting in silence. Slowly Iruka’s hands fell as he stared at Naruto’s face. Anyone could see the uncertainty on the teacher’s face and it didn’t fade when Kakashi wrapped long arms around his shoulders. Finally Naruto tore his eyes away, looking now at the ground. “Something happened to your tent. I . . . I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Kakashi turned his glare on Gai. “Is that so?”
The other jounin just shrugged. “A spontaneous rainstorm, perhaps. You’ll have to dry your bags-“
“Come sleep with us,” Naruto demanded suddenly, looking up at Iruka again with a strained smile. “We can make it work, and it’ll be warm and dry.” The blonde stepped forward, wrapping one hand around Iruka’s possesively. The teacher’s head dropped, looking a little panicked, but it was short lived.
Naruto was offering his other hand, not looking at Kakashi, but waiting for the jounin to accept the offer. Iruka pulled Naruto’s hand up to his face, holding him there gratefully. “Thank you.” He wondered if the blonde understood just how much even such a small gesture meant.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Walking back into the village the next morning, Iruka’s nerves were starting to wear a bit thin. He thought having Naruto and Kakashi get along would make it all easier, but this quiet, veiled competition was worse, in a way. Iruka was between the two men, fingers intwined with Kakashi’s and Naruto wrapping both of his hands around the teacher’s other arm. He knew the two kept throwing glares at each other out of his line of view, and every time either of them struck up conversation with the teacher, the other had to make sure they were a part of it as well. It was incredibly difficult to remember that Naruto was sixteen. It was actually quite difficult to remember they both weren’t twelve.
But it was kind of nice. A step in the right direction, at least.
“I think we should get some ramen!” Naruto announced to no one’s surprise as they entered through the main gates. He began pulling Iruka that way, but Kakashi’s grip tightened.
“I think we should find a nice eighteen and over bar.” Naruto growled again, picking up on the fact he wouldn’t be able to follow there. The blonde’s grip also tightened and Iruka struggled not to be ripped in two.
“How about,” he suggested without hiding the irritation in his voice, “we drop off our gear before anything else.”
Behind him, Gai patted Iruka’s back firmly. “I’ll see you all later then. Hang in there, Iruka-sensei.”
Iruka continued down the street with a mumbled thanks to the retreating jounin. They reached Kakashi’s house and the masked man opened the door for them all. It wasn’t locked and, entering the home, Iruka saw why. Kakashi stood, stunned, at the scene of his destroyed living room. There were dirty dishes and more than one wet towel strewn about and in the middle of it all, Jiraiya sat reclined on the couch.
Jiraiya looked up at the others, a bit stunned himself around a mouthful of noodles. “You . . . said I could stay,” he said around the food. “I didn’t want to leave without finding out about,” he gestured towards the three of them, clearly referring to the mess surrounding Iruka.
Kakashi continued to blink at his room. He wasn’t obsessive, but he did keep his home clean, never leaving even dirty clothes for more than one night’s sleep. Jiraiya stood, setting his bowl beside two others on the coffee table. “I found your Icha Icha collection, too. They’re all signed, now, a real collector’s piece!”
Kakashi blinked twice more, and then smiled wide beneath the mask. “Well, that changes everything!”
Naruto glowered. “You two should just go off together and leave normal people like me and Iruka alone! Ero-sennin and Perverted-Kakashi, a match made in heaven.”
Iruka dropped the pack he was carrying, trusting Kakashi would clean it up when he cleaned everything else. Without a word, he turned again to leave, but stopped when he felt Naruto’s hand on his arm. “How about ramen later tonight, okay?”
The blonde didn’t let go. “Where are you going?” Iruka hasitated again, but Naruto broke away before that panic could rise again. “We can have dinner, right? You won’t forget or back out or anything?”
Kakashi was the one to answer. “He broke a date with me for of you. I don’t think you have to worry.”
Iruka just smiled and turned again for the door. He didn’t miss it as Naruto grabbed Kakashi by the arm and pulled him down to growl something in his ear. The teacher couldn’t hear, but a moment later, Kakashi was forcibly shoved toward the door and a rather grouchy looking Naruto stalked back into the jounin’s house to sit beside Jiraiya.
Kakashi just shrugged and started following Iruka. Then after a moment he looked sidelong at the brunette. “I am allowed to come, right?” Iruka nodded and when Kakashi threw him a smile, he smiled back. “I don’t think he’s happy about it, but Naruto’s always adapted quickly. He seems to be more worried than pissed at the moment.”
“At least he’s not trying to kill you.”
“Or redecorate your room.” Iruka gave him a questioning look and Kakashi just shook his head quickly. “It’s nothing, nevermind.” Then he glanced around slowly, examining the buildings they were passing. A residential neighborhood, getting further and further from the areas set aside for ninja families. “The kid raises a valid question. Where are you going?”
Iruka ducked his head, hesitant again, but he kept going down the road at the same pace. Kakashi tightened his hold on the other, hoping he wasn’t reading him wrong. But after another moment, Iruka looked up to meet his eye. He didn’t bother with a smile and tightened his grip in turn. “I’m going home.”
Kakashi blinked a moment, looking around the surrounding buildings again. Iruka’s apartment was more than a mile from here . . . “Are you sure, love?”
The teacher’s grip tightened even more. “Naruto accepted me . . . right?” Kakashi pulled him into a more firm hug, kissing the top of his head. Iruka accepted the support, still walking steadily down the street. “I’m glad Naruto was worried enough to send you after me. It’s about time you met the family, yeah?”
Kakashi kissed his head again. “And if not, I’m here to beat them to a pulp.”
“Thank you,” Iruka whispered. He smiled gently, thinking of both the men in his life and how much Naruto could change everything in only a few days. He supposed it was a good thing he’d shown up after all. “Both of you.”
-o-o-o-owari-o-o-o-