Friends and Further: Drabble Eight
by thatreevesgirl/Lemon Drops
A small girl stood in the entranceway of Naruto's apartment. Her face was dirty, her smile crooked, her clothing hopelessly mismatched, and she seemed to bounce with ceaseless energy. Naruto quickly realized why, it was because Gaara had fed her sugar. The girl was chewing on a piece of taffy that she held in one hand while she clutched a tattered, old bear in the other.
"I need help," was the quiet murmur of the Kazekage. The exhaustion seemed to pour out of him as he slumped against the doorframe, shooing the toddler inside.
Naruto was completely silent as he watched his lover herd the three year old girl over to the couch, giving her an evil eye which warned her to stay still. When she opened her mouth Gaara's glare deepened and wordlessly told her silence was a better choice.
"This is Kari, she's an orphan of the Sand village," Gaara began, slouching into a spot beside the girl, sighing each word as if they were unbelievably difficult to utter in his state of fatigue. Naruto's smile was so wide that Gaara was very nearly too scared to continue. Naruto knew exactly where this was going. "I adopted her," Gaara finished.
Naruto's eyes quirked curiously, the grin still plastered to his face. When Gaara didn't say anything else he prodded his lover with a curt, "And?"
"And I need help."
That was beyond obvious. Kari was a mess. She was a horrible disaster of a child if left to Gaara and his parenting methods. Naruto directed his smile at Kari this time. It was warm and inviting. Naruto even motioned quietly for her to come join him on the comfy chair by his desk. The blond shinobi's voice cracked slightly and his heart raced as the girl rushed over to him. "Hi, Kari, I'm Naruto. It is very nice to meet you."
She smirked back at him, thrusting the teddy up into Naruto's face. "This is papa Gaara's, but papa Gaara said that Burty could be mine."
Naruto muffled his laughter, this child was too perfect in all her imperfections, especially with Burty by her side. "Burty, eh, Gaara? That's cute. I can't believe you still had this old thing. I never imagined you to be the sentimental type."
Mess with Gaara's teddy, meet the Kazekage's wrath. If you tease Gaara about his teddy...well, let's just say that you should really pity Naruto at this point since Gaara held his grudges for longer than any ninja Naruto knew.
Kari grinned and hugged the bear tightly to her body again seeing as introductions were done. She now offered Naruto some well slobbered on taffy. Naruto politely refused and asked if Kari wanted to go to the park and play a game of tag or something. The little girl nodded excitedly and toddled toward the door, focusing on trying to reach the doorknob which was just out of her reach.
Gaara slumped further down on Naruto's couch, his eyes narrow and directed right at his lover. "I'm not sure I was cut out for this parenting stuff," he whispered, the words silent enough that Kari didn't overhear.
Naruto nodded knowingly, because Gaara had done this for him. Naruto wasn't allowed to adopt a child on his own, but they'd both been talking about a family for quite awhile. Just as Gaara had imagined, Naruto took to the child immediately, showing the kazekage what a wonderful father the leaf-nin could be.
"Good thing you have me then, isn't it, Gaara?" Naruto murmured as he placed a light kiss on Gaara's throbbing temple. "I suppose it's about time that I talk to Baa-chan about that transfer to Suna. That will be a tough battle to win, that's for sure."
Gaara nodded emphatically, but his resolve to have Naruto in Suna with him was greater than whatever resistance they received from the Konoha council. "They knew it was coming," Gaara said assuredly, "They will manage with losing you, especially if the Konoha-Suna treaty is in jeopardy if they refuse."
It was shocking to hear that come out of Gaara's mouth. Gaara would risk his most trusted alliance to have Naruto by his side? Naruto let that thought sink in and then he kissed Gaara's forehead one more time, which was quickly interrupted by the shrill whining of a three year old.
"Papa Gaara, Naruto, I though we were going to the park," Kari's voice pierced through the thick seriousness of the adult conversation. Kari wasn't interested in such things, she wanted to play. She especially wanted to play with Naruto, who seemed so much more fun than her beloved papa Gaara who had saved her from the boring orphanage.
"Forgive her, she's been in the orphanage for half of her life. She hasn't had real parents to teach her to behave," Gaara gritted out, the frustration in his voice clear as a bell to Naruto, but slight enough to hide it from his adopted daughter.
Naruto chuckled warmly, running his hand through Gaara's short, crimson bangs once before replying, "Trust me, I know how that is better than anyone."
Sweeping up Gaara's daughter -- no, his daughter -- into his arms, Naruto quickly opened the door and made haste to the park, leaving Gaara behind to enjoy a brief nap on the couch. No one had ever had faith in Naruto's ability to be a parent, but that first day with Kari was proof enough that Naruto was a wonderful father despite what the council thought of him.
Naruto loved being a father, just like he loved Gaara.