Chapter 2: Like Naruto and Gaara
Summary: During a picnic, Iruka reminisces about the past, when he and Kakashi were the way that Naruto and Gaara are now.
Iruka had been cooking all morning. Ingredients for various dishes were arranged by use and recipe on every flat surface available in various stages of preparation, pots were boiling, and meat was grilling, all making the kitchen smell like heaven. Cookbooks from the Wind Country were propped up on the table as he attempted to make dishes from Suna's repertoire as well as Konoha's. He wanted Gaara to feel welcome, to feel at home away from home.
Gaara was in town for meetings with Tsunade. Kakashi and Iruka already knew this, but Naruto had burst into their bedroom before dawn anyway, interrupting what would have been a delightful morning in bed with Kakashi. He'd jumped on the bed in a way more appropriate to a five year old academy student than a twenty year old sage, shouting at the top of his lungs that Gaara had arrived last night and would be staying for a whole two days!
After coaxing a grumbling, pissed off, and sexually frustrated Kakashi into taking a shower without him, Iruka had wrapped himself in a robe and made breakfast for them, listening to and chuckling at all of the plans Naruto proclaimed he would fit into Gaara's free time. When Kakashi had finished his shower, he returned to glaring daggers at the blond while casually dropping hints that an adult should know better than to burst into someone's bedroom – yes, even if he had a key to the apartment. The conversation over an early breakfast quickly deteriorated into one of their regular Iruka-custody battles as Naruto asserted his right to anytime-access to his foster father and Kakashi stated that such rights ended at the bedroom door. Iruka sighed. At least at the academy, he got paid for dealing with children.
In the quick thinking that he'd developed over years of dealing with both his students and the two men he loved so dearly, he came up with an idea that would surely get both of their minds off of the events of that morning and on to something more productive.
"Naruto, why don't you invite Gaara to have a picnic with us again?" Sure, it'd be a lot of work for him, but if he was busy cooking, he'd be left alone. Naruto immediately stopped his argument with Kakashi and offered to go to the grocery store, and Kakashi realized that his fun with baiting Naruto was over and retreated to the living room to pout and read Icha Icha.
It was because of this fiasco that Iruka had been working hard all morning, convincing Kakashi to go invite Sakura before Kakashi disappeared to go god-knew-where to do god-knew-what. By noon, most of the dishes were finished and merely needed to be kept warm. The meal had been carefully planned and included more variety than was probably necessary, but enough options to make everyone happy. Among the vast amount of food was a dish involving salted tongue that Naruto swore was Gaara's favorite, salt-broiled saury and a dish with eggplant to cheer up a certain still-sulking silver-haired jounin, and a red bean dish for Naruto to make up for the distinct lack of ramen.
Iruka had to smile as he packed the final items at noon, store-bought melonpan for him and Naruto and a less-sweet variety of dango for Gaara and Kakashi. Sakura had declined her invitation due to work at the hospital, but Iruka hoped today would be one of the best family picnics they'd ever had. Naruto didn't get to see Gaara very often and Iruka wanted today to be special.
Over the years as he (and eventually Kakashi) had watched Naruto grow up, he'd learned to see "beneath the underneath." He'd seen Naruto's reactions to Gaara's presence change over time. The blond was always happy to see the Kazekage, but things were different now. The days leading up to a visit from the redhead were now filled with nervous energy, instead of just excitement. Yesterday, Naruto had been positively unbearable when he'd returned from a mission and realized how close it was to Gaara's arrival. Kakashi had noticed that Naruto's hugs had gotten longer – but only with Gaara. Naruto could talk about him for hours and did not even realize that he grinned whenever he heard Gaara's name. It was honestly the cutest thing Iruka had ever seen. His little blond terror had grown into a young man in love.
There were two problems though. First, Iruka wasn't certain that Naruto realized how he felt. The boy was amazingly perceptive when it came to others, but when it came to himself? It was more likely for Kakashi to turn down sex than for Naruto to face the implications of his feelings for Gaara. Second, Iruka didn't know how Gaara felt about Naruto. He'd come a long way from the homicidal little boy he'd been, but was he capable of a romantic relationship? Naruto was the closest to a son that Iruka would ever have. He worried about him. He didn't have to worry about Sakura like this - that was Kakashi's forte – and he didn't want to see Naruto go through any more rejection in his life.
That's why today had become so important. The last time Gaara had been in Konoha, Iruka had been too busy to spend any amount of time with the almost-inseparable pair of jinchuuriki. He only got stories from Naruto, so this was his chance to observe the two. Iruka never knew if he should encourage Naruto's obvious attraction to the redhead – with Kakashi's help, hopefully they could determine if there was a possibility of something more
:+:
Summoning Bull to help him carry the baskets of food, Iruka made his way to the picnic site. Yes, he was only supposed to use Kakashi's summons for an emergency, but he made sure to feed the dog and if Kakashi wanted to eat, then someone was going to have to help him with the transport. Naturally, he was the first one there and set about spreading the blanket and unpacking the food, hoping that Naruto had been successful in stealing Gaara away from Tsunade.
He saw them before they saw him and he grinned when he realized that all of Gaara's focus was on the young man next to him. It was a miracle that he hadn't fallen flat on his face while walking through the forest. Already Iruka's day was looking up as he waved them over. He was even more pleased when Gaara looked surprised to see traditional Suna-style food and then actually smiled at Naruto's indignation at the lack of ramen. Iruka almost laughed as Gaara seated himself gracefully on the blanket, pulling Naruto down with him.
"You said you'd make a bunch of delicious food, yet the most delicious food of all isn't here! Lies! All lies!" Iruka couldn't suppress the frustrated sigh. Yes, ramen was delicious, that's why Iruka loved it almost as much as Naruto. But Iruka had explained multiple times why man couldn't live on ramen alone, and he was about to explain it again when a lazy voice interrupted him.
"Maa, Iruka. Let the kid refuse to eat. That means more of your delicious cooking for the rest of us." And cue the eye roll as Naruto turned his wrath on his other sensei, grumbling about "lazy perverts" and how "people who get lost on the road of life don't need to eat" and they should've eaten without him. Once Kakashi had seated himself as close to Iruka as possible without actually sitting on him and removed his mask (as the rules of the family picnic dictated) so that he could eat properly, everyone was finally able to dig in to the food that had been taunting Iruka with its delicious scent all morning.
:+:
As Kakashi and Naruto slipped into their standard harassment of each other, finding common ground in joking about an absent and therefore defenseless Sakura, Iruka caught Gaara in a conversation about the reason for his visit to Konoha. The Villages were attempting to set up a student exchange program, so Suna could improve their medical training and Konoha could improve its wind abilities. He answered Gaara's questions about and posed some of his own on the feasibility of such a plan, while watching Gaara closely.
The young man had become quite good-looking and the Kage robes made him look very refined. With his blood-red hair, pale skin and lean frame, it was unsurprising that Naruto found him attractive. In fact, he and Naruto made a beautiful couple. Their looks complimented each other: tan and porcelain, gold and red, blue and green. Their personalities did the same. Naruto's voice and laughter filled the silence that surrounded Gaara. Naruto's passion and people skills combined with Gaara's cool logic and diplomatic skills made the two an unstoppable team. Iruka could only imagine what they would accomplish once Naruto succeeded Tsunade as Hokage. Add to that, Gaara, as a former jinchuuriki, was probably the only person who would ever really be able to understand Naruto completely, the only other person he knew who had ever felt such an intense loneliness. The two were perfectly matched.
But the question remained: Did Gaara love Naruto in return? Iruka was starting to think that maybe he did. But did Gaara realize it?
Did Gaara realize that he slightly leaned toward Naruto when seated beside him? Did he realize that his eyes glanced to the side every time he heard Naruto laugh? Did Naruto realize any of this?
Did Naruto realize how similar he and Gaara were to Iruka and Kakashi years ago?
As Iruka's conversation with Gaara ended and Kakashi began his efforts to gain and keep Iruka's attention, Iruka wondered just how similar Naruto and Gaara really were to he and Kakashi. Was Naruto like Iruka and worried about not being good enough? Was Gaara like Kakashi in his fears that he would eventually lose every good thing in his life? It had taken Naruto to bring Iruka and Kakashi together as friends and it had taken Naruto to bring them together as a couple as well. Iruka and Kakashi had developed a friendship after Naruto had left with Jiraiya, relying on each other to cope with the absence of their students. But neither of them had been willing to face the risk of losing such a good friend. Iruka remembered what that fear of rejection felt like. Would Naruto and Gaara be the same? Would they ever get to be as happy as he was?
Iruka was forced from his thoughts as Kakashi attempted to feed him some of the strange smelling salted tongue dish that he'd agreed to cook for Gaara. As adorable as Kakashi was behaving, there was no way in hell that Iruka would allow that to pass his lips. When the offending piece of food ended up in Iruka's lap… well, Iruka was even more distracted from his thoughts when Kakashi decided that he wasn't going to let the food go to waste…
:+:
After the leftovers had been repacked into the baskets and the dessert brought forward, Iruka allowed himself to relax into the arm Kakashi had wrapped around his waist as they shared a skewer of dango. His ears barely caught the soft sigh that escaped from Naruto and he looked over in time to notice the blond glance between his foster fathers and the young man beside him, destroying any idea that Naruto may be unaware of his feelings for the redhead. Naruto was normally so brave, jumping into any situation feet first. His hesitation only proved how much he cared about Gaara. Would the risks always outweigh the benefits in this case? Iruka and Kakashi still occasionally faced issues with acceptance, and there would be even more problems for Naruto and Gaara as the Kages of different villages in the future. Naruto had to be aware of that. Was that what was stopping Naruto from acting?
Iruka let out a sad sigh as he looked between the two young men, causing the strong arm around him to tighten instinctively and a grey eye to look at him in concern. How could Iruka show those boys that the love he saw in that eye every day was well worth any trouble that the world could throw at him? That the happiness he felt when he woke up next to Kakashi was worth any pain?
:+:
Later, that night, as Iruka lay curled around Kakashi with that muscular arm wrapped protectively around his waist once more, he told his love what he'd been thinking all day. He told him about his hopes and his concerns, and asked him what he thought about trying to encourage the two young men.
"They know." Well, that certainly wasn't what Iruka expected in response and he was far too tired to understand Kakashi's cryptic statement.
"Who knows?"
"Gaara and Naruto." Now Iruka was even more confused. "It'll work out soon enough."
"Wait. Gaara and Naruto know what? That I want to play matchmaker?" Kakashi answered as he pressed a kiss to Iruka's hair.
"That they love the other as much as I love you." He kissed Iruka softly before lying back on the pillow. "And that's why it will work out."