Last Christmas: Epilogue One
Title: Last Christmas
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Gaara/Naruto, past Sasuke/Naruto, side Sasuke/Temari, mentioned others.
Rating: T
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, GaaNaru would be canon. Believe it.
Summary: Last Christmas, Uzumaki Naruto's heart got broken. This year, he's hoping for something better.
Last Christmas
Epilogue One: Meet the Parents
"C'mon, Gaara, we'll be fine!" Naruto pulled his lover closely behind him. "Iruka and Kakashi will love you!"
Gaara looked unconvinced. He'd never . . . dated anyone before, so he'd never had to go through the ritual of meeting and getting the approval of the parents. The worst thing was that he was very serious about Naruto, which meant getting his parents to like him was all the more important. He sighed inwardly; he wasn't sure how well this would turn out. Gaara was many things, but a people person was not one of them, no matter how much Naruto managed to pull him out of his shell.
He looked up at the house in front of them. It was a modest, two-story building made of a fading red brick that made it look lived in and homey. Gaara swallowed at the sight of it and remembered his own home; flashy and huge, with a lot of modern designs that made him feel as if he was living in a museum instead of a house. He was glad that his lover had something like this to come back to; a house that was actually a home.
Naruto's smile might have been able to light up the world; he looked happier than Gaara had ever seen him. He practically skipped up the driveway and the lawn, holding Gaara's hand tightly the entire way. Gaara sighed inwardly; hopefully he didn't immediately screw this up. He didn't think Naruto would break up with him if he was on bad terms with the parents he loved so much, but Gaara didn't want to make the blond unhappy.
Naruto didn't even bother knocking on the door; he just barged right in, dragging Gaara in behind him.
"Pop! Dad! I'm home!" he called, grinning with delight. A loud thump came from the room next to them and Naruto's grin turned into a smirk.
"Dad must be cooking again," he murmured to Gaara. "He only ever does it on the holidays."
"Naruto!" A man came rushing out to meet them, hands waving frantically. Gaara was only able to take in dark hair and brown eyes before Naruto grabbed the man in a tight hug. Gaara stood off to the side, a little uncomfortable with such a show of affection and a little sad too; sometimes he wished he'd gotten that with his own family.
He looked away and then blinked in surprise as he realized another man had come in behind him. This one was taller than the first, with silver-grey hair. The bottom of his face was covered with a mask and one of his eyes was dark while the other was tinted red and had a scar running through it. He was watching Gaara with a steady stare.
"You must be Gaara," he said lowly. "The brat's been raving about you for the last few days." His lip quirked. "I'm Hatake Kakashi." He held up a hand and wiggled his fingers in a parody of a wave, his eyes curving as he smiled (or Gaara assumed he smiled. It was hard to tell with the mask if he was faking it or not). "The man being smothered is Umino Iruka," he added, looking over at the still hugging pair with affection.
"Oh!" Iruka sputtered and then tore himself away from Naruto. "You're Gaara, aren't you? It's a pleasure to meet you," he babbled, holding out a hand. Gaara blinked and stared at it for a moment.
"You're supposed to shake it," Kakashi mock-whispered and Gaara hesitantly took the hand in his own. Iruka was smiling widely at him.
"Well, come in, come in! Dinner should be ready in an hour or so. So, Naruto, how was Neji's . . . ?" Iruka led Naruto into the house, chattering with him, while Kakashi and Gaara came behind them slowly. Every once in a while Naruto would glance back at Gaara and wink at him, or throw him a thumbs up. Gaara managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes; he was worried, but not that much. Kakashi, however, seemed amused by his son's antics.
They all settled into the living room and Gaara watched as Iruka and Naruto talked. Naruto's father was as expressive as his blond was, Gaara noted; they both used their hands a lot and their faces showed every emotion. Gaara looked over at Kakashi; that man seemed to be as cool as rock, never showing anything other than mild amusement every once in a while. But his eyes, when he looked at Iruka and Naruto, were warm.
"So Gaara, how did you and Naruto meet? He hasn't told us the story yet," Kakashi drawled when he noticed Gaara looking at him.
Gaara shot a look at Naruto, wondering how much he should tell them. Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "We were both guests at Hyuuga's vacation home," Gaara said in a monotone. "We became interested in each other."
Kakashi's eyes twinkled and Naruto paled. "So, have you two-" His sentence was cut off when a book propelled forcefully at his head. Gaara's pale eyebrows slowly rose and he turned to see Naruto's hand outstretched, looking paler than Gaara had ever seen him.
"Don't you dare," he hissed, "finish that sentence, you old pervert."
Kakashi sat up again, rubbing his head. "But, Naru-chan, I just want to make sure you're well taken care of-"
"Don't call me that!" Naruto protested, blushing brightly now. "And why do I have a feeling you're being perverted still?" he demanded, eyeing Kakashi suspiciously. Kakashi gave him a mournful stare that Gaara felt was completely faked.
"I can't believe you'd accuse me of such a thing, Naru-chan! To be so untrusting of your dear, caring, sweet pop-!"
"More like perverted, disgusting, kinky son of a bitch pop," Naruto muttered.
"You wound me, Naruto," Kakashi said dramatically. "Right here." He placed a hand over his heart.
"Oh, be quiet you two," Iruka butted in, although he was smiling fondly. "You'll have to excuse them, Gaara," he said politely, "they can be children sometimes." Gaara just blinked at him.
A sharp buzzing noise filled the air and Iruka was instantly on his feet, rushing towards where Gaara assumed much be the kitchen, leaving him alone with Kakashi and Naruto. Kakashi leaned back in his chair casually.
"So, kiddo," he drawled. Naruto's eyes narrowed. "How's life?"
Naruto eyed his father for a long time. Gaara wondered what was going through his head; Naruto was so easy to read sometimes, and at other times it was nearly impossible. "Is that a subtle way of asking if I'm better now than I was the last time I saw you?" He sounded somewhat bitter. Kakashi's eyebrow rose slowly as he considered his answer.
"Yup," he said decisively. Naruto snorted.
"Well, the answer's yes," he said and then moved over to Gaara's side, curling into him pointedly. Kakashi chuckled.
"I get the idea, kid," he said with amusement. Naruto pouted at him and Gaara had to suppress a lip quirk (no matter what Naruto said, they were not smiles. Gaara was a big, scary bad-ass; he didn't do things like smiling). Kakashi's eyes softened for a moment before he adopted an almost mockingly obscene leer. "So, is the sex any good?"
"KAKASHI!"
Iruka lay awake that night, half-afraid to fall asleep and half-afraid to stay awake. He knew that Naruto and Gaara had gone to bed at least two hours before, but he was terrified of hearing . . . something coming from their room. Iruka flushed; he really didn't want to think about his son doing that. It had been bad enough walking in on Naruto that one time . . . .
"You really need to stop worrying." Kakashi rolled over and wrapped an arm around Iruka's waist, breath tickling his ear. "He's fine."
Iruka huffed. "No he's not! He's as skinny as the last time we saw him . . . . And who's to say that this Gaara isn't just as bad as whoever made Naruto that way, hm? What if he's making the same mistake again?"
Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "The red-head strikes me as an honest sort of guy," he said finally. "He looks at the gaki with love, 'Ruka," he added in seriously. Iruka sighed.
"I can't see him get hurt again, Kakashi," he murmured. "I just . . . ."
Iruka remembered the first time he'd seen Naruto in the state that had become normal for the past year. It had been February to celebrate the anniversary of the day that Iruka had officially adopted him. Iruka had been shocked to see how pale and thin his son had looked, and how tired. He'd tried to corner Naruto, to get him to talk about it, but the blond had evaded him entirely.
It was during their various family meetings that Iruka had managed to piece together that it had something to do with an ex. It was the little things that Naruto would say and do that gave it away, and when it came to his son Iruka was perceptive. At first he'd been angry as hell, and it had taken a good talking-to from Kakashi to get him to calm down enough not to go after Naruto and demand to know the name of who had hurt him. Eventually, Iruka had realized that Naruto would tell him in his own time, when he was ready to.
He wasn't sure about this Gaara. He'd seemed like a nice young man, maybe a touch quiet, but with Naruto that was sometimes a good thing since the blond was normally fairly outgoing. And Kakashi was right; Iruka remembered the looks Gaara had given his son and there had definitely been some love there. But Iruka still remembered Naruto's deadened eyes and too-thin frame and he wondered if Gaara would be different from the person who had broken Naruto's heart before. He could only hope so.
"You're thinking too much," Kakashi pointed out. Iruka sighed.
"It's hard not to worry about him," he confessed. Kakashi chuckled a little.
"I know," he said and Iruka's heart warmed a little. Kakashi loved Naruto as much as Iruka did, no matter how many mocking barbs they threw at each other.
"This kid better not hurt him," Iruka sighed and he felt sleep starting to wash over him. "If he does I'll . . . kick his ass," he murmured, relaxing into Kakashi's body. Kakashi chuckled.
"I'd like to see that," he whispered, but Iruka was already asleep.
Iruka watched the new couple closely the next morning. Naruto had never really been much of a morning person, so he wasn't surprised that they'd come ambling down at around noon, although seeing Gaara fully dressed had been a bit strange. But Naruto hadn't seemed fazed by it at all; in fact he was laughing and smiling, flicking bits of eggs at Kakashi and sharing his pancakes with Gaara. Iruka couldn't help but feel a little amazed; after months of becoming accustomed to a dark, dead Naruto, having his loving, lively son again almost seemed like a miracle. His eyes shifted to Gaara and he wondered what the boy had done to help the blond where he couldn't. Then he laughed at himself; was it normal for parents to be jealous of their kid's lover for being for them when they couldn't? Iruka guessed he was just so used to being Naruto's confidant and support that realizing he wasn't the only person his son leaned on was something of a surprise.
He remembered the first time he'd seen Naruto. He'd gone to Konoha Orphanages mostly out of curiosity and loneliness; he'd been thirty back then and still without a long-term relationship under his belt. Iruka had always loved children and he'd desperately wanted one of his own. He knew how hard it was for a single man to adopt a child nowadays, but he felt that he could at least try. He'd been sick of being alone.
He'd walked into that orphanage and straightaway a tiny person had smacked into him. Iruka hadn't fallen down, but the child had and he'd leaned down to help him back up. Iruka remembered big blue eyes staring up at him with surprise and gratefulness.
"Thanks mister," child-Naruto had said and he had smiled brightly. Iruka knew then that he wanted this kid to be his son.
It had been a hard and long time coming. He'd been scrutinized carefully and had to answer a serious of baffling and embarrassing questions and surveys before he was allowed to start the adoption process. He'd spent as much time with Naruto as he could during that period, sneaking off to see him before and after meetings. He'd been appalled and then saddened by the state of Naruto's life at the orphanage and had resolved to take him home even more.
The day Naruto officially became his son had been February 17th. He remembered the day well; it had been icy and snowing and cold as hell but he hadn't cared because he finally had a son! He'd immediately rushed to tell Naruto, and the look of utter joy on the boy's face when Iruka told him that he'd been adopted was something that he would never forget, not until the day he died. Naruto had pounced on him and they'd both laughed, full of joy.
Thinking about it now brought tears to Iruka's eyes and a smile to his face. He sighed, looking over at where Gaara and Naruto sat and wondered with a pang of sadness if Naruto would forget about his dear old dad now. Just as he had the thought, Naruto glanced up and smiled brightly at him, waving him over to join them. Iruka shook his head and smiled wryly. You should know better, old man, he thought. He loves me as much as I love him. As he padded over to join the couple, he reflected that he should be happy about this development; Gaara seemed to be a good influence on his son, pulling him away from whatever hell he'd been living in for the last year. But Iruka was insecure sometimes, and Naruto was his family, one of the only people he really truly loved in the world. He didn't know what he'd do with himself if his son forgot about him. I wonder if all parents feel this way, he thought, or just me.
He sat across from the couple, smiling in reflex as he watched Naruto laugh.
"So, do you two have any plans for today?" he asked.
Naruto looked over at him and then glanced at Gaara. "Nope," he said, still smiling. "I think we'll just hang out here for the day, if that's alright."
"Of course it is!" Iruka said warmly. "You know that we don't see you as much since you moved to college, Naru-chan," he said firmly. Naruto groaned.
"I'm Naru-chan again?" he asked, holding his hands over his eyes. Gaara looked a bit amused and Iruka chuckled.
"You never stopped being Naru-chan to us," he told Naruto with a smile. Naruto chuckled.
"Yeah, I know," he said warmly and Iruka wanted to cry when he saw his son smile warmly at him again. How long had it been since he'd seen that? Far too long, he decided as he watched Naruto's face light up.
Naruto was out and Gaara was alone with the parents. Normally this would make any boyfriend anxious, but Gaara didn't do anxiety. He was as calm as the calmest ocean on the calmest day.
"Ah! Gaara, your cup is overflowing!" Gaara stared down at the water accusingly. He was supposed to be calm damnit! Calm people did not overflow their water cups! He looked up to see Kakashi eye-smiling at him knowingly and frowned.
Iruka gave him a towel and Gaara mopped up the mess he'd made before taking his glass of water back into the living room. Kakashi, to his dismay, followed him. Even worse, Iruka followed soon after, and the look on his face bespoke of a very serious conversation. Gaara sighed inwardly; he supposed he should've seen this coming. Naruto seemed to emit a kind of vulnerability that made people overprotective of him; Neji and Shikamaru (indeed, even Kiba, Hinata, and Sakura) had given him "The Talk" already, and Gaara readily admitted that he was the tiniest bit protective as well. It made sense that Naruto's adoptive parents would be just as protective of their son.
"So, Gaara . . . Naruto tells me you're not at school at the moment?" Iruka said, trying and failing to be casual.
"I graduated last year," Gaara said emotionlessly. Iruka's eyebrows rose.
"But you must be Naruto's age!" he said. Gaara frowned a little.
"We are the same age," he said quietly. "I am a few months older . . . my birthday is in January."
"That's very impressive, Gaara!" Iruka said, beaming at him. "Naruto is supposed to graduate in December . . . ."
"Yes, he's told me," Gaara said. There was a moment of silence.
"So where do you work?" Iruka said. Gaara wondered why he forcing the polite talk; he didn't seem to be enjoying it that much.
"At the moment, I'm doing some freelance journalism," Gaara said after a moment. "My major was business, however . . . . So I will be probably be looking into that."
Iruka smiled, looking a bit faint. "Our Naruto, dating an aspiring businessman!" he said. "I remember the days when he'd rant on about how stuck he found all rich people . . . Mostly due to Neji, I think," he added in fondly. Then he realized what he'd said. "Not that you're stuck up, Gaara! I just met-Uhm-Oh dear-"
"I understand, Mr. Umino," Gaara said solemnly. He looked over and saw that Kakashi's eye-smile was back. He thought that this was one of the few times that it was actually real, for Kakashi was watching Iruka and what could be seen of his face looked fond.
"I think what my dear dolphin is trying to find out, Gaara," Kakashi said cheerfully (he ignored Iruka's cry of dismay at the pet name), "is whether you're good enough for Naru-chan or not." His hooded eyes widened a bit and he was looking at Gaara seriously. The red-head sighed. Naruto, why did you have to leave me alone with them? he thought.
"I like Naruto," he said bluntly. "Whether I am good for him or not is for him to decide."
Iruka and Kakashi exchanged glances. "Well, it's just . . . Naruto hasn't made the best choices about his boyfriends in the past . . . ."
"I know," Gaara said darkly. Iruka blinked in surprise.
"You know!" he exclaimed. "How do you know? What do you know?"
Gaara stared at him. "Naruto got his heart broken," he said plainly. "By a jackass."
Kakashi grinned. "You know, I think I like this one," he told Iruka, who wasn't listening. "He's very blunt."
"You know who it was!" Iruka exclaimed. He leaned forward, staring at Gaara feverishly. "Who was it?"
Gaara looked at him contemplatively. "Naruto can tell you," he decided and stood. "I am getting more water," he said. They all knew it was unnecessary; Gaara had barely taken two sips.
"No wait!" Iruka exclaimed. "Gaara, whoever that kid is, he broke my son! I need to know who he is!"
Kakashi sighed. That year of a depressed and broken Naruto had broken inside of Iruka as well. It was time to pull back the reigns a little before Iruka went on a rampage. He wrapped his arm around Iruka's waist.
"You know that if Naruto wanted to tell us, he would've," he murmured into his husband's ear. He felt Iruka start to relax. "Gaara's respecting his wishes, which earns him a gold star if I remember rightly." He grinned when he heard Iruka chuckle. If it was a bit weak, that was okay; the goal was to get him to make the sound.
"Alright," Iruka said finally. He looked over at Gaara. "I apologize, Gaara. It's just that seeing Naruto during that year . . . . Let's just say, if I ever find out who did that to him, I'll kill him." Kakashi's arm tightened around Iruka's waist; a fierce, overprotective Iruka was very hot. He wondered if maybe he should mention that to Iruka when they were in bed to see him blush like he always did whenever Kakashi called him hot in any way.
Gaara inclined his head. "Accepted," he said and then turned on his heel and headed into the kitchen. Iruka watched him go musingly.
"You know," he said, "I think I get what Naruto sees in him." Kakashi smiled into Iruka's hair.
Naruto snuggled up happily into Gaara's side. They were sitting on the couch, staring out the window; thick snow was falling down heavily. His hands were curled around a mug of warm hot chocolate, and Gaara's hand was curled around the back of his neck, a warm comforting pressure on his skin. Across from them, Kakashi and Iruka were talking in low tones. Naruto sighed happily; he couldn't have been more content if he'd tried.
Gaara's hand moved upwards and swept through his hair. Naruto looked up at him to see that his eyes were distant as they stared out at the falling snow. Naruto burrowed deeper into his side, until they could almost be one person.
"Something on your mind?" he murmured into Gaara's ear sleepily. Gaara blinked and looked down at him. His eyes softened a bit.
"Nothing important," he said softly. He saw the flash of worry in Naruto's eyes and added, "Just thinking."
Gaara had been wondering if he could make it work with Naruto. He wanted to. The blond pulled at him like no one ever had in his entire life, and he felt that he could come to fall in love with him. But at the same time questions kept popping into his head. Where would they live? Would Naruto be okay with being the boyfriend of someone who wanted to be a businessman? Would they be able to hold each other up despite their equally bad childhoods?
Gaara had never doubted himself before. When he looked back on his past, he felt no regrets for the way he'd lived his life. But he'd never been in a relationship before either, and with Naruto he wanted to . . . make it work. He didn't want it to be perfect (he doubted any relationship was perfect) but he didn't want to screw it up completely either.
He looked back down at Naruto, whose eyes had closed as he relaxed into Gaara's hand, which was still running through his hair. His boyfriend was a . . . how did people describe it? Gaara remembered a boy referring to his girlfriend as a "catch" in college. He'd never understood the expression; where women fish? But now he thought he might understand. Naruto was someone that Gaara never would've expected to be in a relationship with. Now that he was . . . . It was hard to describe the joy and near awe he felt at being with Naruto. The blond brought a light to a life that he hadn't truly realized was dark before.
"You think too much," Naruto murmured, breath fanning across Gaara's neck. He shivered a little, and his lip quirked.
"Bad habit," he said, just as quietly. Naruto smiled.
"We have time to work on it," he said. Gaara pulled Naruto closer and buried his face in his hair. We have all the time in the world, he thought, and basked at feeling so completely loved.
It was the last day of their stay. Naruto couldn't help but feel a little bit sad. Kakashi and Iruka lived a good distance from him, and he rarely got to see them outside of holidays. But he needed to get back to school. Naruto grimaced at the thought; he hadn't been the greatest student in the last year because of his depression. He thought he might have to talk to his professors about that.
Iruka and Kakashi pulled him away from Gaara as his boyfriend began to load things into the car (it was one of the perks of having a boyfriend that he took care of the heavy lifting, in Naruto's opinion). Iruka, to Naruto's dismay, looked like he might begin to cry. Kakashi, however, looked as calm and collected as ever.
"We just want you to know that we approve heartily," Iruka said, sniffling a little. Naruto smiled brightly at them, and threw his arms around his near-crying father.
"Thanks, Iruka," he whispered into the man's ear. He pulled away and said, "You don't know how much that means to me." He hesitated and then added, "I feel like Gaara might . . . be around for a while." Kakashi grinned at him.
"Is he that good in bed?" He leered and Naruto went red.
"PERVERT!" He and Iruka yelled in unison. They looked at each other and then started laughing helplessly. Iruka pulled his son back into a hug and Naruto felt his heart swell. How had he ever thought he was unloved? These two people here . . . they loved him more than anyone else ever could. He glanced over Iruka's shoulder and caught a glimpse of red hair. He smiled. Maybe not more than anyone ever could, he amended as he pulled away from Iruka's grip. He turned to Kakashi, and glared at the man for a moment. Kakashi was eye-smiling at him, and he was making the gesture that read, 'little old helpless me, a pervert?' Naruto snorted and then flung himself at the man. Kakashi caught him around the waist and gave him a tight hug. They bickered most of the time, but Naruto love and admired him very much, and he knew that Kakashi felt the same about him.
"I'll come back soon, pervert," he said quietly to Kakashi.
"You'd better," Kakashi told him, equally as quiet. "Iruka misses you, you know." Naruto heard unspoken, and so do I, and smiled.
"I'll definitely come back soon," he said, more loudly, as he pulled away. "And Gaara might be with me."
"Good," Iruka said firmly. "I like that young man, Naruto. He has a good head on his shoulders." Naruto smiled.
"And he's very fine to look at," Kakashi added, eye-smiling. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Perv," he said, more affectionately. "Now, we should get going. We've got a long drive."
They headed back to the car. Gaara was leaning against the side, snowflakes in his hair. The snow was coming down lighter, but Naruto hoped that it wouldn't get any worse. The drive was bad enough without bad weather.
"It was a real pleasure to meet you Gaara," Iruka said. Gaara held out his hand for a shake, but Iruka ignored it and pulled him into a hug. Naruto grinned as widened green eyes met his over Iruka's shoulder. They narrowed again and Naruto if Iruka said something to Gaara. Iruka pulled away and Kakashi took his place instantly, tackling Gaara into a hug. Naruto grinned when he saw Gaara's reddened face afterwards. Kakashi must have said something dirty.
"You both better come back and visit soon!" Iruka scolded as he herded Naruto and Gaara into the car. "Naruto, take care of your grades! And eat well! Gaara, you'd better look after him, you hear! And Naruto, make sure he eats," he added to Naruto in an undertone. "He looks far too skinny." Naruto stifled a laugh. Iruka was always a mother-hen, but he got particularly worse when it came to saying goodbye.
"We'll be fine, Iruka," he said affectionately. He placed a kiss on his father's cheek. "You and Kakashi take care, okay?" He turned to look at Kakashi. "Take care of him, you pervert!" he added with a yell. Kakashi eye-smiled and saluted him.
Naruto slid into the car and waved at his parents until they were both out of sight. He turned to Gaara, whose face was thoughtful as he carefully drove over icy roads.
"What did Kakashi and Iruka say to you, by the way?" he asked curiously. Gaara gave him a look out of the corner of his eye. "It seemed like they said something," Naruto persisted. Gaara just raised a nearly invisible eyebrow. Naruto sighed. He doubted he could get it out of Gaara now. He smiled a little. Perhaps later he could think of an inventive way . . . .
Gaara knew his partner was scheming, but he ignored it. Instead, he thought about Iruka and Kakashi's words.
"Make sure he never ends up that way again." Iruka had whispered that into his ear. Gaara had hummed in agreement to that order. Kakashi, on the other hand, had said something a little more . . . strange.
"At your wedding, I get to marry you." Gaara had felt the blush coming to his cheeks immediately at the thought of . . . marrying Naruto. He hadn't even thought that far ahead! Gaara glanced at Naruto from the corner of his eyes and his lips quirked. Although . . . . It didn't seem like a bad idea.
"Gaaaara! Tell me what they said to you!" Naruto pouted, irritated at having to be so curious about what his own parents had told his boyfriend.
Gaara's tiny smile widened a bit. No, it didn't seem like a bad idea at all. Perhaps he'd even take Kakashi up on his offer if they got that far . . . although he shuddered to think of what the man would say as their officiator.
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Gaara/Naruto, past Sasuke/Naruto, side Sasuke/Temari, mentioned others.
Rating: T
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, GaaNaru would be canon. Believe it.
Summary: Last Christmas, Uzumaki Naruto's heart got broken. This year, he's hoping for something better.
Last Christmas
Epilogue One: Meet the Parents
"C'mon, Gaara, we'll be fine!" Naruto pulled his lover closely behind him. "Iruka and Kakashi will love you!"
Gaara looked unconvinced. He'd never . . . dated anyone before, so he'd never had to go through the ritual of meeting and getting the approval of the parents. The worst thing was that he was very serious about Naruto, which meant getting his parents to like him was all the more important. He sighed inwardly; he wasn't sure how well this would turn out. Gaara was many things, but a people person was not one of them, no matter how much Naruto managed to pull him out of his shell.
He looked up at the house in front of them. It was a modest, two-story building made of a fading red brick that made it look lived in and homey. Gaara swallowed at the sight of it and remembered his own home; flashy and huge, with a lot of modern designs that made him feel as if he was living in a museum instead of a house. He was glad that his lover had something like this to come back to; a house that was actually a home.
Naruto's smile might have been able to light up the world; he looked happier than Gaara had ever seen him. He practically skipped up the driveway and the lawn, holding Gaara's hand tightly the entire way. Gaara sighed inwardly; hopefully he didn't immediately screw this up. He didn't think Naruto would break up with him if he was on bad terms with the parents he loved so much, but Gaara didn't want to make the blond unhappy.
Naruto didn't even bother knocking on the door; he just barged right in, dragging Gaara in behind him.
"Pop! Dad! I'm home!" he called, grinning with delight. A loud thump came from the room next to them and Naruto's grin turned into a smirk.
"Dad must be cooking again," he murmured to Gaara. "He only ever does it on the holidays."
"Naruto!" A man came rushing out to meet them, hands waving frantically. Gaara was only able to take in dark hair and brown eyes before Naruto grabbed the man in a tight hug. Gaara stood off to the side, a little uncomfortable with such a show of affection and a little sad too; sometimes he wished he'd gotten that with his own family.
He looked away and then blinked in surprise as he realized another man had come in behind him. This one was taller than the first, with silver-grey hair. The bottom of his face was covered with a mask and one of his eyes was dark while the other was tinted red and had a scar running through it. He was watching Gaara with a steady stare.
"You must be Gaara," he said lowly. "The brat's been raving about you for the last few days." His lip quirked. "I'm Hatake Kakashi." He held up a hand and wiggled his fingers in a parody of a wave, his eyes curving as he smiled (or Gaara assumed he smiled. It was hard to tell with the mask if he was faking it or not). "The man being smothered is Umino Iruka," he added, looking over at the still hugging pair with affection.
"Oh!" Iruka sputtered and then tore himself away from Naruto. "You're Gaara, aren't you? It's a pleasure to meet you," he babbled, holding out a hand. Gaara blinked and stared at it for a moment.
"You're supposed to shake it," Kakashi mock-whispered and Gaara hesitantly took the hand in his own. Iruka was smiling widely at him.
"Well, come in, come in! Dinner should be ready in an hour or so. So, Naruto, how was Neji's . . . ?" Iruka led Naruto into the house, chattering with him, while Kakashi and Gaara came behind them slowly. Every once in a while Naruto would glance back at Gaara and wink at him, or throw him a thumbs up. Gaara managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes; he was worried, but not that much. Kakashi, however, seemed amused by his son's antics.
They all settled into the living room and Gaara watched as Iruka and Naruto talked. Naruto's father was as expressive as his blond was, Gaara noted; they both used their hands a lot and their faces showed every emotion. Gaara looked over at Kakashi; that man seemed to be as cool as rock, never showing anything other than mild amusement every once in a while. But his eyes, when he looked at Iruka and Naruto, were warm.
"So Gaara, how did you and Naruto meet? He hasn't told us the story yet," Kakashi drawled when he noticed Gaara looking at him.
Gaara shot a look at Naruto, wondering how much he should tell them. Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "We were both guests at Hyuuga's vacation home," Gaara said in a monotone. "We became interested in each other."
Kakashi's eyes twinkled and Naruto paled. "So, have you two-" His sentence was cut off when a book propelled forcefully at his head. Gaara's pale eyebrows slowly rose and he turned to see Naruto's hand outstretched, looking paler than Gaara had ever seen him.
"Don't you dare," he hissed, "finish that sentence, you old pervert."
Kakashi sat up again, rubbing his head. "But, Naru-chan, I just want to make sure you're well taken care of-"
"Don't call me that!" Naruto protested, blushing brightly now. "And why do I have a feeling you're being perverted still?" he demanded, eyeing Kakashi suspiciously. Kakashi gave him a mournful stare that Gaara felt was completely faked.
"I can't believe you'd accuse me of such a thing, Naru-chan! To be so untrusting of your dear, caring, sweet pop-!"
"More like perverted, disgusting, kinky son of a bitch pop," Naruto muttered.
"You wound me, Naruto," Kakashi said dramatically. "Right here." He placed a hand over his heart.
"Oh, be quiet you two," Iruka butted in, although he was smiling fondly. "You'll have to excuse them, Gaara," he said politely, "they can be children sometimes." Gaara just blinked at him.
A sharp buzzing noise filled the air and Iruka was instantly on his feet, rushing towards where Gaara assumed much be the kitchen, leaving him alone with Kakashi and Naruto. Kakashi leaned back in his chair casually.
"So, kiddo," he drawled. Naruto's eyes narrowed. "How's life?"
Naruto eyed his father for a long time. Gaara wondered what was going through his head; Naruto was so easy to read sometimes, and at other times it was nearly impossible. "Is that a subtle way of asking if I'm better now than I was the last time I saw you?" He sounded somewhat bitter. Kakashi's eyebrow rose slowly as he considered his answer.
"Yup," he said decisively. Naruto snorted.
"Well, the answer's yes," he said and then moved over to Gaara's side, curling into him pointedly. Kakashi chuckled.
"I get the idea, kid," he said with amusement. Naruto pouted at him and Gaara had to suppress a lip quirk (no matter what Naruto said, they were not smiles. Gaara was a big, scary bad-ass; he didn't do things like smiling). Kakashi's eyes softened for a moment before he adopted an almost mockingly obscene leer. "So, is the sex any good?"
"KAKASHI!"
Iruka lay awake that night, half-afraid to fall asleep and half-afraid to stay awake. He knew that Naruto and Gaara had gone to bed at least two hours before, but he was terrified of hearing . . . something coming from their room. Iruka flushed; he really didn't want to think about his son doing that. It had been bad enough walking in on Naruto that one time . . . .
"You really need to stop worrying." Kakashi rolled over and wrapped an arm around Iruka's waist, breath tickling his ear. "He's fine."
Iruka huffed. "No he's not! He's as skinny as the last time we saw him . . . . And who's to say that this Gaara isn't just as bad as whoever made Naruto that way, hm? What if he's making the same mistake again?"
Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "The red-head strikes me as an honest sort of guy," he said finally. "He looks at the gaki with love, 'Ruka," he added in seriously. Iruka sighed.
"I can't see him get hurt again, Kakashi," he murmured. "I just . . . ."
Iruka remembered the first time he'd seen Naruto in the state that had become normal for the past year. It had been February to celebrate the anniversary of the day that Iruka had officially adopted him. Iruka had been shocked to see how pale and thin his son had looked, and how tired. He'd tried to corner Naruto, to get him to talk about it, but the blond had evaded him entirely.
It was during their various family meetings that Iruka had managed to piece together that it had something to do with an ex. It was the little things that Naruto would say and do that gave it away, and when it came to his son Iruka was perceptive. At first he'd been angry as hell, and it had taken a good talking-to from Kakashi to get him to calm down enough not to go after Naruto and demand to know the name of who had hurt him. Eventually, Iruka had realized that Naruto would tell him in his own time, when he was ready to.
He wasn't sure about this Gaara. He'd seemed like a nice young man, maybe a touch quiet, but with Naruto that was sometimes a good thing since the blond was normally fairly outgoing. And Kakashi was right; Iruka remembered the looks Gaara had given his son and there had definitely been some love there. But Iruka still remembered Naruto's deadened eyes and too-thin frame and he wondered if Gaara would be different from the person who had broken Naruto's heart before. He could only hope so.
"You're thinking too much," Kakashi pointed out. Iruka sighed.
"It's hard not to worry about him," he confessed. Kakashi chuckled a little.
"I know," he said and Iruka's heart warmed a little. Kakashi loved Naruto as much as Iruka did, no matter how many mocking barbs they threw at each other.
"This kid better not hurt him," Iruka sighed and he felt sleep starting to wash over him. "If he does I'll . . . kick his ass," he murmured, relaxing into Kakashi's body. Kakashi chuckled.
"I'd like to see that," he whispered, but Iruka was already asleep.
Iruka watched the new couple closely the next morning. Naruto had never really been much of a morning person, so he wasn't surprised that they'd come ambling down at around noon, although seeing Gaara fully dressed had been a bit strange. But Naruto hadn't seemed fazed by it at all; in fact he was laughing and smiling, flicking bits of eggs at Kakashi and sharing his pancakes with Gaara. Iruka couldn't help but feel a little amazed; after months of becoming accustomed to a dark, dead Naruto, having his loving, lively son again almost seemed like a miracle. His eyes shifted to Gaara and he wondered what the boy had done to help the blond where he couldn't. Then he laughed at himself; was it normal for parents to be jealous of their kid's lover for being for them when they couldn't? Iruka guessed he was just so used to being Naruto's confidant and support that realizing he wasn't the only person his son leaned on was something of a surprise.
He remembered the first time he'd seen Naruto. He'd gone to Konoha Orphanages mostly out of curiosity and loneliness; he'd been thirty back then and still without a long-term relationship under his belt. Iruka had always loved children and he'd desperately wanted one of his own. He knew how hard it was for a single man to adopt a child nowadays, but he felt that he could at least try. He'd been sick of being alone.
He'd walked into that orphanage and straightaway a tiny person had smacked into him. Iruka hadn't fallen down, but the child had and he'd leaned down to help him back up. Iruka remembered big blue eyes staring up at him with surprise and gratefulness.
"Thanks mister," child-Naruto had said and he had smiled brightly. Iruka knew then that he wanted this kid to be his son.
It had been a hard and long time coming. He'd been scrutinized carefully and had to answer a serious of baffling and embarrassing questions and surveys before he was allowed to start the adoption process. He'd spent as much time with Naruto as he could during that period, sneaking off to see him before and after meetings. He'd been appalled and then saddened by the state of Naruto's life at the orphanage and had resolved to take him home even more.
The day Naruto officially became his son had been February 17th. He remembered the day well; it had been icy and snowing and cold as hell but he hadn't cared because he finally had a son! He'd immediately rushed to tell Naruto, and the look of utter joy on the boy's face when Iruka told him that he'd been adopted was something that he would never forget, not until the day he died. Naruto had pounced on him and they'd both laughed, full of joy.
Thinking about it now brought tears to Iruka's eyes and a smile to his face. He sighed, looking over at where Gaara and Naruto sat and wondered with a pang of sadness if Naruto would forget about his dear old dad now. Just as he had the thought, Naruto glanced up and smiled brightly at him, waving him over to join them. Iruka shook his head and smiled wryly. You should know better, old man, he thought. He loves me as much as I love him. As he padded over to join the couple, he reflected that he should be happy about this development; Gaara seemed to be a good influence on his son, pulling him away from whatever hell he'd been living in for the last year. But Iruka was insecure sometimes, and Naruto was his family, one of the only people he really truly loved in the world. He didn't know what he'd do with himself if his son forgot about him. I wonder if all parents feel this way, he thought, or just me.
He sat across from the couple, smiling in reflex as he watched Naruto laugh.
"So, do you two have any plans for today?" he asked.
Naruto looked over at him and then glanced at Gaara. "Nope," he said, still smiling. "I think we'll just hang out here for the day, if that's alright."
"Of course it is!" Iruka said warmly. "You know that we don't see you as much since you moved to college, Naru-chan," he said firmly. Naruto groaned.
"I'm Naru-chan again?" he asked, holding his hands over his eyes. Gaara looked a bit amused and Iruka chuckled.
"You never stopped being Naru-chan to us," he told Naruto with a smile. Naruto chuckled.
"Yeah, I know," he said warmly and Iruka wanted to cry when he saw his son smile warmly at him again. How long had it been since he'd seen that? Far too long, he decided as he watched Naruto's face light up.
Naruto was out and Gaara was alone with the parents. Normally this would make any boyfriend anxious, but Gaara didn't do anxiety. He was as calm as the calmest ocean on the calmest day.
"Ah! Gaara, your cup is overflowing!" Gaara stared down at the water accusingly. He was supposed to be calm damnit! Calm people did not overflow their water cups! He looked up to see Kakashi eye-smiling at him knowingly and frowned.
Iruka gave him a towel and Gaara mopped up the mess he'd made before taking his glass of water back into the living room. Kakashi, to his dismay, followed him. Even worse, Iruka followed soon after, and the look on his face bespoke of a very serious conversation. Gaara sighed inwardly; he supposed he should've seen this coming. Naruto seemed to emit a kind of vulnerability that made people overprotective of him; Neji and Shikamaru (indeed, even Kiba, Hinata, and Sakura) had given him "The Talk" already, and Gaara readily admitted that he was the tiniest bit protective as well. It made sense that Naruto's adoptive parents would be just as protective of their son.
"So, Gaara . . . Naruto tells me you're not at school at the moment?" Iruka said, trying and failing to be casual.
"I graduated last year," Gaara said emotionlessly. Iruka's eyebrows rose.
"But you must be Naruto's age!" he said. Gaara frowned a little.
"We are the same age," he said quietly. "I am a few months older . . . my birthday is in January."
"That's very impressive, Gaara!" Iruka said, beaming at him. "Naruto is supposed to graduate in December . . . ."
"Yes, he's told me," Gaara said. There was a moment of silence.
"So where do you work?" Iruka said. Gaara wondered why he forcing the polite talk; he didn't seem to be enjoying it that much.
"At the moment, I'm doing some freelance journalism," Gaara said after a moment. "My major was business, however . . . . So I will be probably be looking into that."
Iruka smiled, looking a bit faint. "Our Naruto, dating an aspiring businessman!" he said. "I remember the days when he'd rant on about how stuck he found all rich people . . . Mostly due to Neji, I think," he added in fondly. Then he realized what he'd said. "Not that you're stuck up, Gaara! I just met-Uhm-Oh dear-"
"I understand, Mr. Umino," Gaara said solemnly. He looked over and saw that Kakashi's eye-smile was back. He thought that this was one of the few times that it was actually real, for Kakashi was watching Iruka and what could be seen of his face looked fond.
"I think what my dear dolphin is trying to find out, Gaara," Kakashi said cheerfully (he ignored Iruka's cry of dismay at the pet name), "is whether you're good enough for Naru-chan or not." His hooded eyes widened a bit and he was looking at Gaara seriously. The red-head sighed. Naruto, why did you have to leave me alone with them? he thought.
"I like Naruto," he said bluntly. "Whether I am good for him or not is for him to decide."
Iruka and Kakashi exchanged glances. "Well, it's just . . . Naruto hasn't made the best choices about his boyfriends in the past . . . ."
"I know," Gaara said darkly. Iruka blinked in surprise.
"You know!" he exclaimed. "How do you know? What do you know?"
Gaara stared at him. "Naruto got his heart broken," he said plainly. "By a jackass."
Kakashi grinned. "You know, I think I like this one," he told Iruka, who wasn't listening. "He's very blunt."
"You know who it was!" Iruka exclaimed. He leaned forward, staring at Gaara feverishly. "Who was it?"
Gaara looked at him contemplatively. "Naruto can tell you," he decided and stood. "I am getting more water," he said. They all knew it was unnecessary; Gaara had barely taken two sips.
"No wait!" Iruka exclaimed. "Gaara, whoever that kid is, he broke my son! I need to know who he is!"
Kakashi sighed. That year of a depressed and broken Naruto had broken inside of Iruka as well. It was time to pull back the reigns a little before Iruka went on a rampage. He wrapped his arm around Iruka's waist.
"You know that if Naruto wanted to tell us, he would've," he murmured into his husband's ear. He felt Iruka start to relax. "Gaara's respecting his wishes, which earns him a gold star if I remember rightly." He grinned when he heard Iruka chuckle. If it was a bit weak, that was okay; the goal was to get him to make the sound.
"Alright," Iruka said finally. He looked over at Gaara. "I apologize, Gaara. It's just that seeing Naruto during that year . . . . Let's just say, if I ever find out who did that to him, I'll kill him." Kakashi's arm tightened around Iruka's waist; a fierce, overprotective Iruka was very hot. He wondered if maybe he should mention that to Iruka when they were in bed to see him blush like he always did whenever Kakashi called him hot in any way.
Gaara inclined his head. "Accepted," he said and then turned on his heel and headed into the kitchen. Iruka watched him go musingly.
"You know," he said, "I think I get what Naruto sees in him." Kakashi smiled into Iruka's hair.
Naruto snuggled up happily into Gaara's side. They were sitting on the couch, staring out the window; thick snow was falling down heavily. His hands were curled around a mug of warm hot chocolate, and Gaara's hand was curled around the back of his neck, a warm comforting pressure on his skin. Across from them, Kakashi and Iruka were talking in low tones. Naruto sighed happily; he couldn't have been more content if he'd tried.
Gaara's hand moved upwards and swept through his hair. Naruto looked up at him to see that his eyes were distant as they stared out at the falling snow. Naruto burrowed deeper into his side, until they could almost be one person.
"Something on your mind?" he murmured into Gaara's ear sleepily. Gaara blinked and looked down at him. His eyes softened a bit.
"Nothing important," he said softly. He saw the flash of worry in Naruto's eyes and added, "Just thinking."
Gaara had been wondering if he could make it work with Naruto. He wanted to. The blond pulled at him like no one ever had in his entire life, and he felt that he could come to fall in love with him. But at the same time questions kept popping into his head. Where would they live? Would Naruto be okay with being the boyfriend of someone who wanted to be a businessman? Would they be able to hold each other up despite their equally bad childhoods?
Gaara had never doubted himself before. When he looked back on his past, he felt no regrets for the way he'd lived his life. But he'd never been in a relationship before either, and with Naruto he wanted to . . . make it work. He didn't want it to be perfect (he doubted any relationship was perfect) but he didn't want to screw it up completely either.
He looked back down at Naruto, whose eyes had closed as he relaxed into Gaara's hand, which was still running through his hair. His boyfriend was a . . . how did people describe it? Gaara remembered a boy referring to his girlfriend as a "catch" in college. He'd never understood the expression; where women fish? But now he thought he might understand. Naruto was someone that Gaara never would've expected to be in a relationship with. Now that he was . . . . It was hard to describe the joy and near awe he felt at being with Naruto. The blond brought a light to a life that he hadn't truly realized was dark before.
"You think too much," Naruto murmured, breath fanning across Gaara's neck. He shivered a little, and his lip quirked.
"Bad habit," he said, just as quietly. Naruto smiled.
"We have time to work on it," he said. Gaara pulled Naruto closer and buried his face in his hair. We have all the time in the world, he thought, and basked at feeling so completely loved.
It was the last day of their stay. Naruto couldn't help but feel a little bit sad. Kakashi and Iruka lived a good distance from him, and he rarely got to see them outside of holidays. But he needed to get back to school. Naruto grimaced at the thought; he hadn't been the greatest student in the last year because of his depression. He thought he might have to talk to his professors about that.
Iruka and Kakashi pulled him away from Gaara as his boyfriend began to load things into the car (it was one of the perks of having a boyfriend that he took care of the heavy lifting, in Naruto's opinion). Iruka, to Naruto's dismay, looked like he might begin to cry. Kakashi, however, looked as calm and collected as ever.
"We just want you to know that we approve heartily," Iruka said, sniffling a little. Naruto smiled brightly at them, and threw his arms around his near-crying father.
"Thanks, Iruka," he whispered into the man's ear. He pulled away and said, "You don't know how much that means to me." He hesitated and then added, "I feel like Gaara might . . . be around for a while." Kakashi grinned at him.
"Is he that good in bed?" He leered and Naruto went red.
"PERVERT!" He and Iruka yelled in unison. They looked at each other and then started laughing helplessly. Iruka pulled his son back into a hug and Naruto felt his heart swell. How had he ever thought he was unloved? These two people here . . . they loved him more than anyone else ever could. He glanced over Iruka's shoulder and caught a glimpse of red hair. He smiled. Maybe not more than anyone ever could, he amended as he pulled away from Iruka's grip. He turned to Kakashi, and glared at the man for a moment. Kakashi was eye-smiling at him, and he was making the gesture that read, 'little old helpless me, a pervert?' Naruto snorted and then flung himself at the man. Kakashi caught him around the waist and gave him a tight hug. They bickered most of the time, but Naruto love and admired him very much, and he knew that Kakashi felt the same about him.
"I'll come back soon, pervert," he said quietly to Kakashi.
"You'd better," Kakashi told him, equally as quiet. "Iruka misses you, you know." Naruto heard unspoken, and so do I, and smiled.
"I'll definitely come back soon," he said, more loudly, as he pulled away. "And Gaara might be with me."
"Good," Iruka said firmly. "I like that young man, Naruto. He has a good head on his shoulders." Naruto smiled.
"And he's very fine to look at," Kakashi added, eye-smiling. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Perv," he said, more affectionately. "Now, we should get going. We've got a long drive."
They headed back to the car. Gaara was leaning against the side, snowflakes in his hair. The snow was coming down lighter, but Naruto hoped that it wouldn't get any worse. The drive was bad enough without bad weather.
"It was a real pleasure to meet you Gaara," Iruka said. Gaara held out his hand for a shake, but Iruka ignored it and pulled him into a hug. Naruto grinned as widened green eyes met his over Iruka's shoulder. They narrowed again and Naruto if Iruka said something to Gaara. Iruka pulled away and Kakashi took his place instantly, tackling Gaara into a hug. Naruto grinned when he saw Gaara's reddened face afterwards. Kakashi must have said something dirty.
"You both better come back and visit soon!" Iruka scolded as he herded Naruto and Gaara into the car. "Naruto, take care of your grades! And eat well! Gaara, you'd better look after him, you hear! And Naruto, make sure he eats," he added to Naruto in an undertone. "He looks far too skinny." Naruto stifled a laugh. Iruka was always a mother-hen, but he got particularly worse when it came to saying goodbye.
"We'll be fine, Iruka," he said affectionately. He placed a kiss on his father's cheek. "You and Kakashi take care, okay?" He turned to look at Kakashi. "Take care of him, you pervert!" he added with a yell. Kakashi eye-smiled and saluted him.
Naruto slid into the car and waved at his parents until they were both out of sight. He turned to Gaara, whose face was thoughtful as he carefully drove over icy roads.
"What did Kakashi and Iruka say to you, by the way?" he asked curiously. Gaara gave him a look out of the corner of his eye. "It seemed like they said something," Naruto persisted. Gaara just raised a nearly invisible eyebrow. Naruto sighed. He doubted he could get it out of Gaara now. He smiled a little. Perhaps later he could think of an inventive way . . . .
Gaara knew his partner was scheming, but he ignored it. Instead, he thought about Iruka and Kakashi's words.
"Make sure he never ends up that way again." Iruka had whispered that into his ear. Gaara had hummed in agreement to that order. Kakashi, on the other hand, had said something a little more . . . strange.
"At your wedding, I get to marry you." Gaara had felt the blush coming to his cheeks immediately at the thought of . . . marrying Naruto. He hadn't even thought that far ahead! Gaara glanced at Naruto from the corner of his eyes and his lips quirked. Although . . . . It didn't seem like a bad idea.
"Gaaaara! Tell me what they said to you!" Naruto pouted, irritated at having to be so curious about what his own parents had told his boyfriend.
Gaara's tiny smile widened a bit. No, it didn't seem like a bad idea at all. Perhaps he'd even take Kakashi up on his offer if they got that far . . . although he shuddered to think of what the man would say as their officiator.