Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or it's characters. This is a slow burn KakaIru AU.

"Sweet Jesus," Midori said in a sweet drawl. "I swear, you're the reason I'll go up a pant size. I'd kill for your caramels."

Iruka looks up from the quartz countertop to take in the male resting against the glass display. All around them are glass jars filled with a variety of caramels, brittles, chocolate, and gummies. Iruka has only been in town for eight months and has been running his candy and gift shop, Little Blue Dolphin(1). He still has to pinch himself to prove that he was there at all.

This afternoon was one of those times.

Midori looks deep at Iruka and Iruka — nearly twenty-six and arguably intelligent — goes weak in the knees. Midori is thirty, tall and incredibly handsome, and Iruka defies his inner unicorn to maintain his composure when Midori is around.

When Midori recognizes when he has Iruka's full attention, he throws a heart-stopping grin that nearly makes Iruka believe that it's meaningful. Iruka knows better. He may not have known Midori for long, but it had only taken him a few minutes to pin Midori as a heartbreaker. Since coming to Konoha, Iruka has watched a handful of men and women flash through Midori's life, and come to the regrettable conclusion that Midori has as much stay power in relationships as a piñata at a child's birthday party.

It sucks because Midori is really something to look at.

Iruka pulls himself back into business with a sigh. They were alone in the shop since Iruka's part-time cashier was off taking care of real-life problems. It's the middle of September so the tourist season has mostly tapered off and there aren't any customers browsing the colorful aisles for a treat to sweeten their day.

If anything, this makes Midori more flirtatious.

But Iruka doesn't want Midori to know just how deep his gaze penetrates and decides to look exasperated. "The caramels are still a little soft when I make them," Iruka explains turning from Midori's gaze. "I just can't figure out where I went wrong."

"Not a single thing if you ask me." He deliberately grins teasingly and slowly pops another sea salt caramel into his mouth. "They're perfect, just like the man who created them."

Midori could've have gone all day without using that word and that makes Iruka nervous. He scowls slightly as he turns to pull out a new box of tissue paper from the supply cupboard. In the past year, Iruka has watched his "perfect" husband take up another woman, his "perfect" marriage crumble to pieces, and his "perfect" life dissolve. It's not his favorite word, no matter who says it.

Iruka protests, "I'm not perfect. Nobody is."

"Well, you're close enough, Iruka." Midori steps away from the counter and grabs a chair from the seating area. "You work way too hard. Why not leave all this and come away with me?"

Iruka has been working hard since his mother's death six months ago. Actually, both his parents had passed, and he can't exactly figure out why they had left the shop to him in their will. And sure, he'd loved working here with them as a kid, but so had some of the high school teens during the summer, and some cousins may have been a more obvious choice than Iruka, especially since he gotten his teaching license. But Iruka was their only child and was the one they chose, and Iruka isn't going to rebut their wishes.

"How about it?" Midori asked.

"Away where?"

"I don't know. Maybe Hickory Kist for a sandwich? I'd venture to guess that you haven't had lunch yet."

"Well, you're right." Iruka said with a reluctant smile, "but no thanks. You're lucky I'm not some young romantic idealist. Someone else might have taken "going away" to mean more than walking down Center for a sub."

He sobers and the lazy-bedroom look Midori gives Iruka makes him think things. "For you, lunch would only be the beginning."

Iruka's thoughts are definitely moving toward treacherous territory now. Anticipation sends a thrill all through him but Iruka doesn't want Midori to know that. "Really?" Iruka asks, doing his best to sound bored. "What's next? Dinner at Pollo Loco?"

"Not for you, Iruka, you deserve better."

Midori sounds serious enough that Iruka spares him a look. He flashes a smile and reaches for another caramel piece. Midori knows the effect he has on people, and he definitely uses it his advantage. Iruka just can't figure out why Midori would use it on him.

Iruka doesn't understand why he's responding either. He's suddenly more aggravated with himself than anything else, so Iruka slaps Midori's hand away. "I asked you to taste test, not eat the whole batch."

"Come and eat lunch with me and maybe I'll stop eating it."

"Tempting…" Iruka said aloud. "But no thanks. I have too much to do."

"Do it later."

That's another problem with Midori, he has no sense of responsibility. "I can't," Iruka said. "I still have to put together gift baskets for six. In fact, don't you have things to do before the meeting."

Midori gives a lazy shrug, "I left Hayase in charge of the store for a while. It'll be fine."

"You hope." Hayase isn't Iruka's preferred person either. But he's Midori's friend and his best employee so that means to tread carefully when speaking about him. Steering away from that topic, "You're ready for the meeting then?"

Midori's expression grows serious for the first time that afternoon. He'd been debating with the city council and the Historic Downtown Alliance over the changes he wants to make to the Senju Festival(2) for weeks. His motion included expanding it from two days to four and moving the highlight of Senju Days(3) to the middle of town. His ideas have stirred up a storm and split the town in two.

Thanks to his father's taste, Little Blue Dolphin is a part of a cluster of old buildings that line Konoha's downtown and date back to the establishment of Konoha. The store and kitchen take up the entire first floor. Storage rooms and a large, airy meeting room — a courtroom for most it's early days — occupy the second floor. Iruka's apartment fills the third and final floor. He'd offered that second-floor for the meeting going, still wasn't ready for the crowd coming in.

If they were fortunate, they'd influence enough of the Alliance to make a difference at the next city council meeting. Although Iruka had an ulterior motive for wanting to host the meeting. In a few weeks, the council would be voting on whether or not to renew the contract that allowed Little Blue Dolphin to provide gift baskets for visiting dignitaries.

The contract had been nothing special when Iruka was a kid, but Konoha was garnering a fair share of traffic from Tani(4) and Yu(5) these days, and they need the exposure. If his parents were still alive, contract renewal wouldn't be in question. But they were gone, and Iruka been out of the candy business too long. People consider him an unknown variable.

Business had dropped severely right after his parents' car accident, and Iruka is desperate to rebuild the clientele up again. Maybe people were skeptical of him, maybe they thought he needed time to mourn — which he did — but he also needed the income.

In response to his question, Midori shrugs, "I'm as prepared as I'm gonna be."

Considering how much he has at stake; his answer seems indifferent. "Oh, yeah?" Iruka replies. "I'm not. I haven't had time to set up anything for the meeting. Even if I was ready to run away with you, I absolutely couldn't."

Midori's scowl fades and a teasing light dances in his eyes. "Come on, Iruka. Fuck the council. Little Blue Dolphin has always made VIP baskets, and anybody with a brain knows that. Those shortsighted assholes have no business making you beg for the job."

Iruka tosses him a modest smile and arranges a few peanut butter toffee balls in a box. "First," Iruka said, "I'm not begging. And my father always made the baskets, but I've never done it. If the council members want to make sure the quality of our candy hasn't slipped, I can't object."

Midori growls, "Most of the council are idiots, and the ones who aren't stupid are dangerous." Iruka would have argued with him, but Midori holds up a hand. "Admit it, Koharu Utatane doesn't like anything, and Homura Mitokado doesn't breathe unless she tells him to."

Iruka certainly can't argue with that. He can't figure out how Koharu, who probably won't recognize the truth if she was hit over the with it, had ended up in a position of authority.

"Okay," Iruka said grudgingly, "but they are not the only people who will vote."

"Don't tell them that. Koharu is convinced she's the queen of Konoha. You don't believe me than just look into her eyes some time when you speak to here."

Iruka can't argue with that either. "It's not Koharu I'm worried about," Iruka tells him. "It's Danzō Shimura. He can be persuasive when he wants to be."

Midori rests both arms on the chair's back and tilts it on two legs. "You'll keep the gift-basket contract, so try not to worry so much. The Senju Festival…? That one I don't know about."

"Some of the council members think escalating the festival is a great idea." Iruka said, trying to sound encouraging. "And half the Alliance agrees."

"Because some of you have brains, Iruka. I don't know what the rest of them think with, but I can take a guess." He smirks at Iruka's look. "Archaic thinking is going to kill this town. You know that as much as I do."

He happens to agree with Midori, but plenty of people don't. Iruka's friend, Suzume, is an example. If you ask her, expansion is going to kill the town. She avoids new and trendy restaurants and refuses to shop in any of the specialty stores that have sprung up in the past few years. She still gets his coffee at the Coffee Pod on Bulldog Avenue, and she grumbles almost repetitively about having strangers underfoot.

Suzume and Midori have argued a handful of times over their differences at town meetings, but Iruka thinks Suzume objects to Midori more than his ideas. Iruka isn't sure why she hates Midori, and Iruka hasn't asked. Some topics are better left alone.

"If the council members overhear you talking about them like that," Iruka said, turning away, and pulling another stack of gift-boxes out, "you'll lose votes."

Instead of looking concerned, Midori pitches another of his heart-stopping grins. "What are you saying, Iruka? You think I need to change my approach?"

His smile makes Iruka wonder if he was really so smart for keeping Midori at arm's length. But flattering as the attention is. Iruka isn't stupid and he know his reign at the top of Midori's list won't last. Iruka can't afford to overlook that. "I don't think changing your approach will hurt anything."

"You want me to play nice."

"I just believe that if growing the festival is so imperative then it's not smart to upset the people who'll make the decision."

"You want me to kiss ass."

"Actually, I was thinking more of something between kissing up and in-your-face."

With a laugh, Midori lets the chair fall flat on the floor. "Not in this lifetime, sugar. In-your-face is the only thing some of the people in this town will pay attention to."

He is probably right. Konoha is an odd combination of old and new, and nobody ever seems to settle on exactly what they are and what they want to be. Half the folks in town share Suzume's view about the changes taking place, even though most of those deviations have been good for the town and the people in it.

In his own way, Midori is a lot like Konoha. He's a successful businessperson — at least by Konoha standards — and he usually dresses as if he's ready to mingle with the rich and famous. On the other hand, he talks as if he has to scrape manure from the soles of his designer boots. Adding to his image is, Reef, the Doberman pinscher that's Midori's best friend and the inventory retrieval specialist for the men's clothing store Midori owns. Midori likes to brag that he'll never require an expensive security at the store with his dog around, he's undoubtedly right.

At that moment, Reef is laying on the sidewalk outside the front of the shop, enjoying the late-September sun. Ever vigilant, he keeps his head up, and his ears twitch as shoppers pass him by. Most of the locals are used to Reef, but occasionally someone will cross the road to evade him, and Midori never ceases to find this entertaining.

Iruka slips a small piece of mint chocolate truffle onto a scrap of tissue paper, nudging it toward Midori, and begins moving the remaining squares onto trays for the night's meeting. "If you play your cards right, everything will be decided tonight."

Smiling a thank-you, Midori shifts the candy to his table. "Everything will be decided whether I play my cards or not. People have been dragging their feet long enough. The festival is just six months away. If we're going to change, we need to decide now."

"I agree with you. I just think you'd be smart to back off a little. Don't hit people over the head with it all the time. Inspire them to see the things you see… and maybe stop calling them idiots in public." Iruka closes a box and slaps a gold-edged Little Blue Dolphin label on it as a seal. "You might even contemplate acting as if you're taking their views into account."

The bell over the door rings, and Mrs. Bansai and her sister, two elderly ladies with nearly identical heads of grey hair come in. They catch Midori's attention briefly. When he looks back at Iruka, his face is expressionless. "You know what they say about opinions?" he asked. "They're like—"

"I know what they're like." Iruka said. The sisters are religious, who carry their scriptures wherever they go. Iruka is positive they wouldn't appreciate Midori's thinking. "Everyone has opinions. All I'm stating is that you'd probably have less problems if you have a little bit more tact."

Midori grins as if the Festival and its detractors don't matter. Midori stands and leans over the counter. He gets close enough that Iruka catches a hint of mint and chocolate.

"But I'm now worried. Nobody takes me seriously ever."

There is something Iruka can't read coming from Midori, but he isn't sure if he wants to delve into it too deeply. "I hope not," Iruka whispers back. "At least, for your sake."

He pulls away from Iruka and looks down at him from his height advantage. "My head is on straight, Iruka. Don't worry about that. I know what I want, and I know how to get it." He rakes a long and slow gaze across Iruka's face, and his face grows serious once again. "Speaking about things I want, how about you and I get together after the meeting?"

The invitation surprises Iruka, but he can't say it didn't please him. He's five-eight and packing more on his stomach and thighs than he'd be comfortable with. Most of the time his brown hair is falling out of his ponytail and he's covered in sugar and flour but in this moment, he feels attractive.

To give Iruka's heart a chance to slide back down from his throat, he swipes at the counter and tosses the towel into the sink behind him. "Midori," he finally began when he trusts himself to speak, "if I didn't know better, I'd think you were asking me on a date."

The smile on his face grows wicked. "Yes, I was thinking about La Jolla Groves. How does that sound?"

Was he joking? La Jolla Groves is one of the best restaurants in town, and by far one of the most expensive. Iruka could exist happily for weeks on their brown butter sage gnocchi. Every excuse he had for keeping their relationship platonic flies away. He grins back while mentally diving through his closet for something nice. "I think I can handle that."

"I'll see you at seven then." He tilts his chin toward Iruka on his way out the door, and Iruka stands there with a silly grin until Mrs. Bansai drift toward him with a question.

Iruka had a couple of unsatisfactory relationships before his marriage, and a pretty rotten relationship during his marriage. Iruka knows from experience that a good chin-chuck delivered with meaning has it all over a dozen roses delivered out of resent or duty.

He continues to watch Midori and Reef leaving his store until he notices Ms. Bansai staring at him strangely.

Iruka has three hours to wait until closing, four until the meeting and the longest afternoon of his life stretched in front of him.

(1)-Little Blue Dolphin is a sweet store in Downtown Konoha. Iruka's parent set it up and ran the place naming it for their son. (originally I had named the store Amai-Shuga but as I wrote I liked Little Blue better.)

(2)-Senju Days is a two-day, fun-filled even in Konoha. It's part of a celebration for the finding and establishment of Konoha. People bring family and enjoy the Leaf Carnival, visit food vendors for snow cones, a Sand Storm, corn on the cob, a Turkey Leg, and many other international treats. Shop the vendors for handmade crafts, jewelry, quilts, and many more unique items. Enjoy live entertainment with a wide selection of musical genres and visit the art exhibit.

(3)-Senju Festival produces more than twenty-five educational programs and community events each year. The Festival include Leaf Award Gala, Senju Days, Fine Art Show, Balloon Fest, Grand Parade, Shadow Run, Cries of Fire, Colonial Fest, and the Arena of Fire. The Arena of Fire — the Festival's signature event — takes place before an audience of 50,000 in the Hashirama University's Hiruzen Sarutobi Arena in Konoha. The Festival is recognized as one of the biggest celebrations, drawing in hundred of thousands of spectators every year from all states and other nations.

(4)-Tani is a town based on the Village Hidden in Valleys of the Land of Rivers.

(5)-Yu is a town based on the Village Hidden in Hot Water of the Land of Hot Water.