Fic: Cake, Flowers and Make-up Sex

[cloversworld]

Story Title: Cake, Flowers and Make-up Sex
Series Title: TREASURED MOMENTS
Author: clover71
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Hatake Kakashi/ Umino Iruka; Uchiha Sasuke/ Uzumaki Naruto
Rating: PG-13 (yeah, don't be deceived by the title)
Word Count: 3,900+
Description: Written for love_bingo 2013, for the prompt lovers' quarrel
Warning: Contains MPREG
Summary: It all starts with a misconception that Kakashi has kissed someone else – a woman – and his marriage with Iruka starts to go downhill.

TREASURED MOMENTS is a collection of one-shots that are set in the 'Precious Moments' universe, a peek in the characters' futures.

Disclaimer:
This fan fiction is written for non-profitable purpose and author does not claim copyright for the characters and settings used. Naruto and its characters are created and owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

Love Bingo 2013 card

Author's Note(s):
1) As I've said in the first one-shot installment, this is sort of a sequel to Precious Moments and it follows after Choices To Make, Chances To Take – which focuses more on Sasuke and Naruto.

2) I am aware that this is rather boring but it's the best I can come up with using the word prompt.

3) So not beta'ed so please excuse all mistakes.





A blur of blue and white flies straight to his face and Kakashi ducks on impulse, just in time for the projectile to soar past above his head. An ear-piercing crash follows, prompting Kakashi to look over his shoulder.

Shards of what was once a vase – maybe? – litter the floor. His eyes snap back to his attacker only to meet his husband's fiery gaze.

"Babe," he says gently and softly as if afraid that if he speaks any louder, Iruka is going to explode. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

"Why don't you tell me what's going on, Kakashi?" Iruka spits out, arms crossed over his chest and still looking at Kakashi as if he's ready to skin him alive.

Kakashi straightens up from his crouched position but doesn't move away from the same spot. "Honestly, Iruka. I can't think of a reason why you would be mad."

A snort escapes through Iruka's nose, his chin tilted up. "Who is she?" he asks with distinguishable venom in his tone that somehow causes a chill to run down Kakashi's spine.

"Who is who?" Kakashi has no clue what Iruka is onto.

Iruka's nose flares up and he looks a tad bit scary at the moment. Kakashi is not one to easily get scared, but dealing with his enraged, not to mention hormonal, husband is enough to make him recoil. "Don't pretend to be ignorant, Kakashi. I saw you earlier. With that woman. You were kissing her!"

Oh. That. The earlier scene with the woman he only knows as Mariko flashes in his mind.

"Iruka. Honey. I was only trying to gather some intel from this woman whom Tsunade thinks is a spy," is Kakashi's brash attempt to explain what happened. "And I don't remember kissing her. I was pushed into her. By your students!"

Iruka's eyes widen, arms falling to his sides. "Are you raising your voice at me?"

"You raised your voice first!" is Kakashi's rebuttal, which, he realizes belatedly, is a bit absurd and immature.

Yelling apparently isn't a good idea because their four-year-old son starts crying from the top step of the stairs, begging them to stop fighting. The slight shift in the momentum gives Iruka a chance to throw him out of the house – literally, might he add – and he lands on his butt, which is quite embarrassing for a jounin like him, damn it!

If that isn't enough to make Kakashi look like a pathetic loser, ending up knocking on Naruto and Sasuke's door thirty minutes later proves it.


=0=0=


There are two ways Kakashi can explain why he's sporting a nasty black eye and why he's sulking in the Uzumaki-Uchiha couch. One is that he can spit out a lie, make up some fundamental excuse that he'd had a sparring accident – with Gai perhaps – and can claim that he was a bit distracted.

But. Naruto doesn't buy it. He just looks at Kakashi skeptically, eyes narrowing when he says, "Kakashi-sensei. You never get distracted."

That's not true. But then again, the kid's getting smarter. Must be the Uchiha rubbing off on him. Not that kind of rubbing, of course. Kakashi so doesn't need that image in his head right now. Not when… not when…

"Now, Kakashi. Are you going to tell us why Iruka threw you out of the house?" The smart-ass tone Sasuke uses is hard to miss, making Kakashi feel like he's cornered.

So much for lying. He's not surprised that his former students can see through his deceit and have a hunch as to what has happened. They're quick to catch on. So he goes for the second option: tell the truth.

"Well…" Kakashi scratches the side of his face, almost tempted to remove his mask. "He sort of caught me kissing a woman." At Naruto's appalled expression, Kakashi quickly blurts out, "But I didn't kiss her. Honest. I just…"

It's like a déjà vu, actually, similar to an incident years ago with then twelve-year-olds Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. He doesn't remember the woman's name – Hanare or something, he thinks – but she was suspected to be a spy so they had him talking to her, hoping to get some intel. She did turn out to be what they thought in the end.

What he was trying to do earlier with Mariko was similar. Tsunade doesn't trust her but she thinks having Inoichi probe her mind will be unwise so she had sent Kakashi to try and coax some information out of her. Thus, the meeting at the park that afternoon. Everything was going well until this group of kids from Iruka's class bumped into him from behind. But he didn't kiss her! Their faces may have been centimeters apart but their lips never met.

Naruto has his arms crossed, moves his head in a single nod and says, "Right. I believe you," his words leaking with sarcasm.

"It's true," Kakashi points out almost desperately. Almost. "It's not that I'd cheat on Iruka. I think the only reason he's taking it in an irrational way is because of that damn changes in hormones you lot go through during pregnancy."

Naruto's eyes grow big in a comical way. "Iruka-sensei's pregnant?"

"Yeah." Kakashi pushes his mask down and runs his hand over his face. "Two months. We just found out a week and a half ago. He was rather late showing signs."

After Naruto had his second child, Iruka has succumbed to the yearning of having another little bundle. It's not like Kakashi dislike the idea, but Ichiro alone is already a handful.

Just then, a sharp, demanding wail echoes from the second landing of the house and Naruto springs out of the couch and onto his feet. "That will be Kyouhei telling me it's feeding time. Excuse me." He disappears up the stairs in a blink of an eye then later returns with his five-month-old son. "If you're staying over, Kakashi-sensei, I hope you won't mind the noise. Kyouhei is teething so he's grumpy half the time."

"I don't mind." Kakashi pulls a smile, albeit forced, on his face. "Thanks for letting me stay. I just need to wait until Iruka cools down before I go back home."

"It's all right, Kakashi." Sasuke's hand lands on Kakashi's shoulder. "Feel right at home. I'll go get dinner ready since Naruto has his hands full at the moment."

"Actually, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto settles on the couch beside Kakashi with his son on his lap. "Do you mind holding Kyouhei for a while? I need to fix a bottle of his formula for him."

"Sure." Kakashi holds out his hand to take Kyouhei from Naruto then watches his two former pupils saunter over to the kitchen. Years ago, he never would've imagined these two men ending up being married and raising a family together. But he has watched them both grow closer as feelings unraveled and he's glad to see them both doing well as a couple now.

Tamiko approaches warily and looks up at him with a glimmer in her dark eyes – Sasuke's eyes, definitely but the puppy-dog look she wears is much similar to Naruto's. "Ka-chan?" she says then lifts her hands, two pieces of what was once a doll clutched in her fists. "Can you help me fix this please? Mama's going to give me a time out if she sees this."

"Of course, Tami-chan." He takes the broken toy while balancing a squirming Kyouhei on his lap, pushes the two parts together and gives it back to the four-year-old girl. "Here you go. Don't pull it apart again, okay?"

A bright smile – Naruto's smile, no doubt – nearly splits her face. "Thanks, Kaka-chan. But I didn't pull it apart. Ichiro did. He took it from me at the playground earlier."

Kakashi blinks dumbfounded, feeling like he's been doused with a bucketful of cold water. "Why did he do that?" He suddenly has this hyperbolic imagination of how his son took the doll from Tamiko and tore the limbs apart like a crazed maniac with a grin on his face and his eyes gleaming with evil intent. The vision sends an unnerving chill crawling underneath his skin.

Tamiko shrugs. "I don't know." Tears start to gather in her eyes and Kakashi reaches out and swipes his thumb just above her cheekbone to stop a teardrop from falling.

"Don't worry, Tami-chan. I'll talk to Ichiro tomorrow and give him a good scolding, okay?"

The little girl nods and quickly wipes the rest of her tears away with the back of her hand when Naruto comes ambling from the kitchen with a baby bottle in hand.

"Thanks for watching Kyou-chan, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto says, relieving Kakashi of the wiggling baby. Seeing Naruto act around his children is like watching a movie with the blonde shinobi playing a different role. Sometimes Kakashi still thinks it's rather uncharacteristic for Naruto to act all mature, like how he tells Tamiko now to wash up for dinner and how he settles beside Kakashi with Kyouhei cradled in his arms. But Naruto has his moments. There are still times that the unpredictable knucklehead ninja in him surfaces.

"It's no problem," Kakashi says, his eye trained on Kyouhei who seems keen on sucking milk from his bottle.

"So." Naruto's bright blue eyes peer up at him with obvious concern and curiosity. "How are you going to deal with Iruka-sensei tomorrow?"

Right. How? If he were to be honest, he's clueless at the moment. They've had fights before but trying to confront a tenacious Iruka may need a different approach. "I don't have any idea right now. Usually when we fight, I just apologize and we end up having make-up sex afterwards."

Naruto sniggers. "I don't doubt that." He shifts slightly on the couch, causing Kyouhei to whimper. "Why not bring him something he likes. Sasuke always brings me ramen from Ichiraku or sometimes he brings me sweets, like a box of cake whenever he wants to apologize after a senseless fight."

A box of cake. Not a bad idea. Kakashi does his best to pull a smile on his lips. "I think I'll do just that. Thanks, Naruto.

"My pleasure, Sensei."

After dinner, Kakashi helps Sasuke clear the kitchen while Naruto gives Tamiko a bath. And later that night, as Kakashi settles in the guest room thinking of ways to approach Iruka the next day, he hears Kyouhei's wretched cries like he's been given the whole world to carry on his shoulders. He can hear both Naruto and Sasuke trying to console poor Kyouhei, can hear Sasuke's softened voice singing but that doesn't seem to work.

This reminds Kakashi of the time Ichiro went through his teething phase. It was a nightmare for him and Iruka. The sleepless nights were too many to count.

If only he can help in some way, but Iruka is the expert in dealing with babies packed with issues such as Kyouhei right now.

Iruka.

Oh, how he wish Iruka will give him a chance to explain tomorrow.


=0=0=


Kakashi holds the box of cake in one hand while he turns the knob of his front door with the other, whispering a prayer that Naruto's suggestion will do the trick.

The first thing he hears is Ichiro's voice, babbling nonsensical things which can only mean that he's playing one of his pretend games. Then he finds his son in their kitchen with, to his surprise, Sakura who is in the process of handing Ichiro a glass of milk.

Sakura's head snap up when Kakashi crosses the threshold. "Oh, hey, Kakashi-sensei," she says, her gaze falling on the box in Kakashi's hand. "Iruka-sensei has left to see Lady Tsunade for his check up so I'm here to watch Ichiro for him."

"I see." Kakashi is partly disappointed and partly relieved. Disappointed because he's expecting to see Iruka at home since he knows that his husband is on leave from work for the week and relieved because… well, he's not quite ready to face a possibly still fuming Iruka just yet.

"I'm also supposed to bring Ichiro to school afterwards. But since you're here…" A look that suggests Sakura is hoping Kakashi will relieve her of her duty crosses her face.

"It's okay, Sakura. I'll take him." That will also give Kakashi a chance to talk to Ichiro about the doll incident with Tamiko.

"Thanks, sensei. I'll take my leave now." She ruffles Ichiro's silver hair, says, "See you later, Ichi-chan," then she dashes out of the house.

"Dad, is that a cake," Ichiro asks, pointing at the box that Kakashi has placed on the kitchen table.

"Yes, Ichi-chan. But this is for Mom." Kakashi chuckles when Ichiro thrusts his lips out in a pout. "You can have a slice when you get back from school. Now hurry up. You don't want to be late."

While walking along the block, Kakashi decides that now is the good time to ask his son. "Ichi-chan. Why did you break Tamiko's doll while at the playground yesterday?"

Ichiro displays a hint of guilt for a brief moment then a stubborn mask falls in its place. "I asked her to play with me at the swings but noooo… she wants to play that stupid doll with Ayumi and Umiko instead."

If memory serves him right, Ayumi and Umiko are Kotetsu and Izumo's twin daughters. Kakashi sighs. "Ichiro. You should understand that sometimes, girls prefer to play with each other since they know games boys won't be able to understand."

With his hands on his hips and eyebrows drawn tight together, Ichiro declares, "Well, I think girls are stupid," then stomps all the way to the pre-Academy.

With Ichiro at school, Kakashi thinks the privacy will do him and Iruka some good.

He thought wrong.

As soon as Iruka arrives, Kakashi barely gets a word out before the cake – with its strawberry toppings and strawberry cream icing – ends up smashed against Kakashi's face.

"I don't want to hear a word from you, Kakashi," Iruka says in a way that will make even the most ruthless shinobi scamper away in fear.

"But Iruka. If you'll let me explain—"

The door slams against Kakashi's face, leaving him stunned and lost.


=0=0=


"You should've brought flowers instead," Tsunade says after hearing Kakashi's predicament.

"Don't flowers work only for women?" Kakashi asks, feeling rather dumb that he – the copy ninja who has faced the likes of Zabuza and most, if not all, formidable members of the Akatsuki – cannot even confront his pregnant husband without being dismissed prematurely or, in an elementary manner of speaking, being thrown out of the house before he can say anything.

"That's not entirely true," Kurenai says. She and Kakashi have been called in for a meeting to discuss the security measures they need to take for the upcoming chuunin exams. Now that they're done, they settle in for a lighter conversation. "Haven't you heard of the language of flowers? Each kind carries different meanings. So it's a good way to express your thoughts and feelings, you know."

"Really?"

Following both women's advice, Kakashi drops by the Yamanaka flower shop and with Ino's help, he leaves fifteen minutes later with a bouquet in hand. He marches down the streets of Konoha with a confident gait but that confidence diminishes as soon as he steps inside their house.

Iruka is on the couch, reading a book. He lifts his head the moment Kakashi glides through the door, his dark brown eyes boring holes on Kakashi.

"Hey honey," Kakashi says steadily with a few drops of hopefulness and a dash of remorse, glazed with a generous amount of affection. When he gets no reaction from his husband, he takes a step forward, and another, holding out the bouquet as if he's offering his own life.

"Look, Iruka. I need to explain what happened," are the only words that escape Kakashi's mouth before Iruka snatches the flowers from his hands and smacks it right across his face. Kakashi swears he feels a thorn or two piercing through his skin.

Then he's out the door, where he always, always ends up with a kunai landing right beside his foot if only to punctuate that Iruka doesn't want to see him.


=0=0=


"That. Is. It!" Naruto bellows when Kakashi offers to scrub the kitchen floor. "Look, Sensei. It's not like we don't appreciate all your help. But you're bordering on O-C-D, you know."

It's been three days since Kakashi has started staying at Naruto and Sasuke's place and he thinks the least he can do in return for their hospitality is to shoulder some of the chores. "What's wrong with scrubbing the floor?"

"Sensei!" Naruto's hands close around fistfuls of blond hair. "The floor is squeaky clean. You just polished it this morning. Don't you think you're overdoing things a bit?"

"What exactly am I overdoing?"

Releasing his hair, Naruto drops his arms at his sides and sighs. "The bathroom is oozing with the smell of bleach. The stairs are a bit slippery from all the buffing you did. The—" Naruto's shoulders sag. "Never mind. Kakashi-sensei, don't you think you should try getting back to Iruka-sensei's good graces or something?"

Kakashi cocks one eyebrow up. "Is that your subtle way of asking me to leave?"

Naruto shakes his head with an exaggerated vigor. "No. What I mean is… what I mean is…"

"What Naruto means is if you don't take drastic measures to ease the situation between you and Iruka, a more colossal problem may arise in your marriage," Sasuke says as he strides into the kitchen.

"Thank you, Sasuke." Naruto's eyes slide back to Kakashi. "That's exactly what I mean, Sensei. I know! I'll try to talk to Iruka-sensei first. I'll ask Sakura to help."

Before Kakashi can protest, Naruto has already disappeared, leaving white and gray dusts in his wake.

Kakashi watches Sasuke fill a pot with water, every ounce of skepticism radiating off of his steady gaze. He couldn't help but think that his former students are ganging up on him. "You know, it would have saved Naruto the trouble if you just throw me out."

"It's not that, Kakashi." Sasuke opens the cupboard and grabs two teacups. "Look, we don't mind having you here. But the fact that you've started to personalize our guest room is a tad creepy, you know."

Guilt suddenly prickles his skin and Kakashi feels rather sheepish. "I guess Naruto's right. I should do something about Iruka, maybe force him to listen to me. I just don't understand why he's being so difficult. He's never been like this," he gripes, no longer caring that he's practically pouring his heart out. Let Sasuke think he's acting out-of-character for all he cares.

Sasuke lets out a low, almost hard to hear snort. "I think you're missing the point. Iruka's pregnant, Kakashi. Remember how irrational—well, more irrational than usual—Naruto was when pregnant with Tamiko?"

"He wasn't like this when he was carrying Ichiro."

"Well, Tsunade-sama did say no two pregnancies are alike. Naruto wasn't as emotional and fickle when he was pregnant with Kyouhei," Sasuke reasons out. "Tea?"

"Yes, please."

Sasuke doesn't say anything more about Iruka while having tea. He talks about the Military Police Force instead, about Naruto possibly starting his apprenticeship with Tsunade soon and about his children.

It's almost sundown when Naruto returns. The smile on his face gives Kakashi a bit of optimism. "Well Kakashi-sensei," Naruto starts, throwing an arm around Kakashi's shoulders even though it looks awkward 'cause he's still a lot shorter. "Iruka-sensei has agreed to talk to you and just so you guys won't have any interruptions, I took the liberty of bringing Ichiro to Itachi. He has agreed to look after your son for the night."

That should keep Ichiro in his best behavior. His son is somehow intimidated by Itachi.

"Fine. Let's just hope this works."


=0=0=


Iruka has actually prepared dinner, something Kakashi didn't expect. Though Iruka isn't throwing him out like he's been doing for the past three days, the ambiance is a little less than friendly. But Kakashi swallows his uncertainty and joins Iruka at the dinner table.

It's funny how, in such a harmless environment, Kakashi feels like he's about to be persecuted and stoned to death. Dinner is spent mostly in silence, with one-word remarks bouncing off between the two of them to break the ice once in a while.

Once dessert is served, Kakashi decides to dive into the reason why he's there in the first place. "Iruka," he starts only to be silenced with Iruka's finger on his lips.

"If you're going to apologize, Kashi, don't. I think I should be the one to apologize. I… I didn't even give you a chance to explain."

"About that, I—" The rest of Kakashi's words are hindered by Iruka's finger on his lips once more.

"I know the truth, Kakashi. Even before my students and Naruto told me." Iruka lowers his hand to grab Kakashi's, his eyes falling on the embossed surface of the mantle. "I uh… I guess I was just hoping you'd exert more effort in trying to get me to forgive you. That was silly and immature, I know. But you haven't exactly been… um, affectionate lately. And I thought pretending to be mad will help you pull the romantic card."

Kakashi can only stare and if the lower half of his face isn't constrained by his mask, his jaw would've dropped and created a crater on the floor – figuratively, of course. All this for seeking romance? Well, he's certainly going to show Iruka more than affection tonight.

Iruka peers up at him through his dark lashes and says, "Say something," in a pleading tone.

"I guess I'm at fault too." Kakashi grips Iruka's hand and brings them up to his lips. "I've been away too much these past few weeks and always too tired to even spend time with you and Ichiro."

"Not only that." A tinge of distress surfaces on Iruka's dark brown eyes. "When I told you I'm pregnant, you… you became distant somehow."

Kakashi is struck with a searing realization and Iruka's words burn right through his conscious mind. It's true he's been somehow detached lately but it's not like he's doing it on purpose. He has a lot on his mind and to add the thought of raising another child while dealing with Ichiro's mischief has left him in a state worse than being caught in Itachi's tsukuyomi.

"Sorry," he says with the utmost sincerity he can muster.

"I'm sorry too." Iruka raises his other hand to hook a finger on the edge of Kakashi's mask and pushes the material down. His thumb slides across Kakashi's lower lip. "It's embarrassing how Naruto and the others got involved, even went through all the trouble of getting us together."

Iruka's touch is doing things to him, making his lower half stir to life. "Well, let's not waste their effort," Kakashi says, sucking Iruka's thumb into his mouth. "Why don't we skip dessert and jump right into the best part?" He makes sure every word is dripping with innuendo and seeing Iruka wedge his lower lip between his teeth hints that it's working.

Kakashi takes advantage of this, pulls Iruka out of his chair and leads him to the bedroom. They can clean the kitchen later. Right now, he wants to make up for all those times he's been, as Iruka claims, distant.


=0=


thank you for reading – clover71