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Shady Ramen
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Even before he sat down, Kakashi could smell how bad the ramen was. The smells drifting over from behind the counter did nothing to whet his appetite. Indeed, it made him want to run the other way. Suna was not famed for their ramen. The flour and pork were hard to come by. But this place was suggested by their Kazekage, no doubt for Naruto's sake, and as a guest, Kakashi was obligated to come along.
The one merit to the small stand was that it did provide a canopy of shade. It was not yet noon and already Kakashi could feel the soon to be harsh midday heat. He immediately felt relief upon entering the stand and seating himself at one of the stools. Naruto chatted excitedly about having ramen, but Kakashi knew by the pinched tone of his voice and the twitch in his smile that he was not looking forward to the meal anymore than he was. But Naruto knew how to recognize a kind gesture when he saw one. He would not turn down the Kazekage's kindness.
The two young men sat down and poured over the menu. Kakashi was content to sit back and try to find the only non ramen items available. He was relieved to find fried rice as an option. Naruto meanwhile poured over the menu with an uncharacteristic thoroughness. At Ichiraku he would shout out his order before his bottom hit the seat. Here he checked each name, the ingredients and even seemed to consider the price. Gaara was just as patient.
Kakashi marveled at Naruto's lack of honesty in this situation and pondered what made Naruto so different towards Gaara than any of the others. Not famed for his social sensitivity at times, Sakura could attest to the numerous incidents a few inconsiderate or brash, honest remarks earned him a punch in the face. But with Gaara, Naruto was all caution and attentiveness. He wondered if perhaps Naruto thought him special. Special in the sense that Gaara was sensitive in ways that others were not. But Kakashi was certain that Gaara was the only one who could get Naruto to sit down and eat bad ramen.
"Have you decided yet?" an older man asked them. He wiped his hands on his white apron, looking from face to face expectantly.
"I'll take a side of rice and dumplings," Kakashi smiled. "Too hot for ramen just now." The man nodded and looked at Naruto and Gaara. Naruto looked up and put on his winning smile.
"Two shiro ramen!" he exclaimed with less than heartfelt excitement. Kakashi chuckled because he knew Naruto never ate shiro ramen. His favorite was miso. But from the smell of things, the usual soup bases were less than savory and shiro was the hardest one to mess up. Kakashi was right. Naruto didn't trust the ramen at this joint.
Their cook began putting things on the stove and throwing stuff in pans as Kakashi watched carefully to make sure he wasn't getting poisoned. There were few people on the streets, mostly running errands or doing shopping and a few that waved to the Kazekage along the way. But mostly the streets were quiet and only Naruto's chatter filled the silence. The Kazekage smiled in amusement as Naruto regaled him with tales from his missions or the usual mishaps back home. He seemed entertained by the tales or perhaps the telling of them. Naruto was all gestures and facial expressions, his pitch and tone a mini rollercoaster in his narration.
Kakashi wondered if Naruto treated Gaara differently because he was the only one willing to sit through Naruto's tales quietly. Kakashi would take off as soon as he was able and Sakura would frequently interrupt him to point out the exaggerations or illogical conclusions. Sasuke would ignore Naruto altogether. But here, Naruto had a captivated audience, even if it only consisted of one.
His rice and pan fried dumplings were served first. They looked fine from what he could tell and so he quietly apologized for eating first and, with two boys caught up in their own stories, Kakashi ate in peace. The dumplings weren't bad, but he drowned them in vinegar and sauce anyways. The rice was a little greasy, but he liked it that way. He imagined they both had to be better than the ramen.
By the time the ramen was served Kakashi was already finished eating. Naruto grumped about failing to see Kakashi without his mask, again, but then quickly went about adding everything he could to his bowl. He showed Gaara how to add the oils and sesame seeds and spices as well. When he was ready, he took a deep breath and then took up his first mouthful of noodles.
Kakashi watched him carefully. He was eating quickly, but that could be because he didn't like the taste. You can't taste what you swallow whole. And when there was no great exhalation and sounds of content, Kakashi tried not to chuckle. He looked at Gaara who was struggling just as much to slurp up all the noodles and realized that Gaara probably hated this dish more than Naruto did. He had never seen the Kazekage eat ramen before and wasn't sure if he even liked the dish. But both boys persevered, shooting anxious, forced smiles at one another as they complimented the quality of the food.
Naruto took a bite of pork and chewed it thoughtfully. It wasn't the usual color of pork and he seemed to notice something was off. "This is unusual pork," Naruto commented. "Where is it from?"
Gaara took a bite of his own as if to test Uzumaki's statement. "It's goat," he stated matter-of-factly before finishing the piece. Naruto choked on his food at the response. Kakashi, failing to hide his mirth, pat him on the back and pushed his glass of water closer.
"… Oh. It's… tasty." He forced another piece into his mouth and chewed it vigorously. Gaara paused, put down his chopsticks and stared at Naruto carefully. Kakashi could see that he was considering something and had not yet reached a conclusion.
"You don't like it." Gaara reached to take the bowl from him, but Naruto protested and dragged it closer to him. Gaara was not convinced. He grabbed the bowl and began to pull it away, but Naruto overdid it and when he yanked on the bowl once more the rest of the contents went flying. The noodles landed on Naruto and what soup didn't seep into his clothes had no problem wetting Kakashi's.
Everyone was silent.
The owner of the stand noticed the mishap and offered them a towel to clean up. Kakashi was interested to see that Gaara looked slightly upset. The kazekage was rumored to be anything, but sensitive. He said nothing, but rose from his stool and thanked the owner for the meal. Placing a few bills on the counter and leaving his unfinished bowl of ramen, Gaara quickly began walking away.
Kakashi was slightly confused about what he was expected to do. He knew he was obligated to follow, but he had had the feeling that the Kazekage wanted to be alone right now. He seemed upset, more than Kakashi thought he should be for what was technically Naruto's blunder. But he didn't make it far before Naruto cursed under his breath, hopped up and, quickly swiping off most of the noodles, ran the few yards to the Kazekage.
"Gaara wait! It wasn't your fault." He turned the Kazekage to face him, hands firmly on his shoulders, but Gaara refused to meet his eyes. He stared at the floor and Kakashi was amazed to see how young he really looked. "I'm sorry, okay? You meant well and I botched it up." Naruto's tone was firm, but gentle- conciliatory. The Kazekage continued to stare at the floor. Kakashi stayed where he was, incredibly amused. If the idea wasn't so preposterous, he'd swear they were having a lover's spat. Naruto's tone remained gentle, consoling as he whispered things that were too low to hear clearly. He raised his hand and pulled the Kazekage's chin up. Anyone other than Naruto would have been charged with insubordination, but the Kazekage only raised green eyes to him slowly, still upset but seeming to relax a bit more at Naruto's words.
The owner of the ramen stand was interested in what was going on as well, but he hid behind his attempt to clean up the mess the two boys had left. Kakashi continued to stare as Naruto coaxed a smile out of Gaara. It was at that moment that Kakashi realized that his idea wasn't as preposterous as he'd first imagined. The image of the two boys smiling at one another- the way Naruto smiled at Gaara was enough to understand exactly why Naruto treated Gaara so differently.
Kakashi, bemused, chuckled to himself. He only hoped they'd be more discreet about their public displays, but who was he to complain? If anything, he was grateful; for Naruto just gave him the perfect excuse for why, next time, he shouldn't join them for ramen…
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