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Shikamaru sighed as he walked into the dance studio, wondering how it was that he always ended up being given annoying tasks like this. He ignored the small group of couples awkwardly milling around a set of double doors, which appeared to lead into the dance studio, and headed straight for the reception desk.
“I’d like to arrange a series of private salsa lessons,” he said without fanfare, causing the older man to look up and offer him an interested half-smile. “For two men.”
The instructor didn’t seem phased in the slightest and offered him a professional and courteous smile, “have you or your partner taken lessons before?”
Shikamaru felt his face color slightly at the misunderstanding. What a drag to have to sort this out. “It’s not for me,” he waved his hands in front of him, as if physically shielding himself from the misunderstanding. In so doing, he caught sight of his wedding band and found his mind drifting to his wife, Temari. It would be their two-year anniversary in a few months. He tried to think if she’d enjoy something like salsa lessons.
His wife was not a woman of middle grounds. She loved or she hated without a lot of room for in between. It was hard to know what way she’d feel about dance lessons, even if he somehow felt anything other than it being an annoyance.
Unbidden, an image of his younger brother-in-law, Gaara, flashed through his mind. Somehow, Shikamaru just knew that Gaara would probably thoroughly enjoy salsa lessons. Even if he’d have an impossible time trying to find someone to do them with him. He’d also probably be unreasonably good at them too.
Even after years of dating Temari and now nearly two of marriage, it was still weird to think that the Kazekage was his brother-in-law.
“Right,” the older man said with forced cheerfulness, “have the two men in question taken dance lessons before, then?”
Shikamaru didn’t even have to consider the question before responding.
“Definitely not.”
***
Wednesdays were sacrosanct. No matter how busy Kakashi’s schedule as Hokage might be, he always was home for dinner on Wednesdays. It was a weekly tradition that began shortly after Konoha attempted to rebuild after the War; Kakashi and Iruka would have Yamato and Guy over for dinner every Wednesday. Even after Kakashi and Iruka adopted the girls, the tradition continued, and now it was something the kids looked forward to and expected as well.
The meal had just ended—with Mei stubbornly insisting that she didn’t like pasta anymore even though she’d happily devoured it only two weeks prior—and Iruka and Guy were washing dishes together at the low sink. That too had been a post-War adjustment; everything in the public-facing aspects in Kakashi and Iruka’s house was wheelchair accessible, so their home would be as comfortable as possible for one of their oldest friends. Yamato had helped make the renovations, of course.
“Guy-ji-chan watch me!” Kohari was saying loudly, showing off the newest dance moves that she had learned at her ballet class. Next to her, three-year-old Mei was trying her best to imitate her big sister, with mixed success and lots of eyerolling from Kohari.
“Very good!” Guy exclaimed, rolling over after drying the last of the dishes so he could get a better look. “Did you know that your Papa and I took dance lessons together long ago?”
“Really?!” Two sets of bright eyes darted over curiously to Iruka who recalled the lessons with a content smile and a nod of confirmation. Guy rolled his wheelchair further into the open space in the living room, scooping up the girls and “dancing” their way around the room, complete with fancy turns and twists that only someone as strong and dexterous as Guy could hope to pull off in a wheelchair.
“Your Papa was very good,” Guy said in a stage whisper, causing Kohari to giggle loudly. Iruka dried his hands on a kitchen cloth and shot Kakashi an amused look, clearly remembering how jealous Kakashi had gotten about the dance lessons as well. Mei took the opportunity to slide down from the wheelchair and headed over to Yamato, who was examining the Kakashi household houseplants critically.
“Did you and tou-chan take them too, Yamato-ji?” Mei blinked up at Yamato, causing the man’s gaze to soften as he smiled down at her.
“Like tou-chan and Yamato-ji would take dance lessons. They’d be awful!” Kohari giggled, managing a decisive and somewhat rude assessment in the typical five-year-old fashion.
“I wonder,” Guy said in mock seriousness, looking over at his partner and his oldest friend fondly. “Shall we show them how?” He scooped Mei back up, causing her to titter with laughter, before coming up with increasingly complicated dance patterns for them to try until it was time for the girls to go to bed.
***
Two weeks later, against Yamato’s recommendation, Kakashi left a shadow clone in the office and henged into an unremarkable middle-aged man with mousy brown hair and normal brown eyes. Yamato, while more known amongst the village than he had been during their childhood, was significantly less likely to gather unwanted attention and made no effort to change his appearance.
Kakashi savored the chance to stroll through Konoha, unobserved and unhurried, following Yamato to the dance studio. Despite Kakashi’s best efforts to get distracted by meaningless things along the way, they were making good time and might even get there early.
“Senpai,” Yamato said in a warning tone, forcibly looping an arm through Kakashi’s and physically pulling him away from a new café that appeared to specialize in gourmet pet foods and treats.
“But the ninken,” Kakashi protested weakly, wondering what went into a single dog treat that cost three times the amount that a standard bag of them did at the store.
“It will be there later.” Yamato’s voice made it clear he was going to broach no further discussion on the point. In the end, they managed to get there right on time, a fact that clearly made the flawlessly punctual Yamato deeply uncomfortable. As he’d taught the girls, if you were on time, you were already late.
The instructor was the same good-looking man that Kakashi had remembered. The last decade seemed to have done him good; a bit of a salt and pepper look in his hair, but still tall and lean. He took pride in his appearance, and it showed. “So what brings you in for private lessons?”
“Our partners took lessons from you many years ago,” Kakashi began, looking over at Yamato to gauge how his kohai was feeling. While this wasn’t Kakashi’s first choice of a way to spend an afternoon, he was pretty sure Yamato was actively panicking under his calm demeanor. “You’d just moved into Konoha. Nearly a decade at this point.”
“And you’d like the chance to dance with them now?” the instructor guessed.
“Something like that,” Kakashi shrugged, resisting the urge to drop his hands into his pockets and start slouching.
“I’m looking forward to our first lesson,” the man said, fixing them both with a measured look, clearing collecting data points about the two men in front of him, though Kakashi couldn’t begin to guess about what. He knew the longer he kept up the disguise, the more awkward it would be, so he dropped the henge, fixing the man with his customary ‘out in public and playing nice’ smile.
“Hokage-sama,” the man gasped, his eyes wide as he realized who was in front of him. “Of course, I remember. Iruka-sensei and Guy-san.” His gaze flicked over to Yamato, his face falling into the common look that people always gave him when they reflected upon Guy’s status in a wheelchair, “my condolences--“
Yamato cut him off, saying curtly, “are not needed.” Well, that was it, Kakashi reflected. Over before it started. Guess he was going to have to buy Kohari that new ‘my-first-shuriken’ set she’d bet him that they’d never be able to successfully complete the lessons.
To his credit, the instructor blinked slowly, considering Yamato’s response, tone, and body posture before saying in a soft voice, “quite right. My apologies for the thoughtless response.” It managed to take most of the edge of Yamato’s tension, so he continued, “in salsa one person leads. Traditionally in a male-female pair, it is the male. But with two males…” His voice trailed off as his gaze flicked between the two men in front of him, “there is a choice. So, which one of you will lead?”
“Me,” Kakashi drawled lazily, just as Yamato said firmly, “I will.”
The instructor laughed, but not in a malicious way, “we will need to settle that point before we can begin, gentlemen.”
“Jan ken?” Kakashi suggested after a minute (a/n: it’s what they call rock-paper-scissors in Japan).
“Fine. Best of three.”
Kakashi won the first round with paper over Yamato’s rock, leaving him feeling confident, only to lose the second round when he threw paper to Yamato’s scissors.
“The rubber match,” the instructor teased, arms crossed across his chest, a hint of a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.
After throwing the same thing three consecutive rounds, Kakashi finally beat Yamato by throwing paper to Yamato’s rock. “Yes!” he exclaimed, immediately coloring at his enthusiastic response to his own victory.
“Well, with the remaining time we have today, let’s work through some basics…”
***
After a few more lessons, it was apparent that both Kakashi and Yamato could pick up the physical aspects of the dance very quickly. “You both move well. You execute the steps meticulously.” He paused, clearly trying to choose his next words carefully, considering the two men he was talking to. “But I’ve seen more passion from five-year-olds.” Kakashi immediately snorted, thinking of Kohari who had just turned five earlier in the year.
“Yamato-san, you need to allow yourself to get closer and looser. Feel the music. Stop fighting his lead and let a little passion out. I’m sure it’s in there somewhere.”
Kakashi laughed out loud at the disgruntled look on his kohai’s face at the instructor’s critique. He knew it was right, which made it sting all the more. “And you, Hokage-sama,” the instructor spun neatly on the ball of his foot to stare Kakashi down, giving him no opportunity to avert his gaze. “I’m sure you attend meetings all day long with the same bored look on your face.” Kakashi pointedly ignored Yamato’s nods of agreement, clearly having seen Kakashi’s ‘I’m mentally here but only just’ look on many occasions. “The salsa is a fiery dance. You need to make your husband feel that passion from your face and your lead!”
Adequately chastised, Kakashi and Yamato took their places again, each beginning to implement micro-adjustments based on the feedback they’d just received.
***
“Remind me why we thought this was a good idea?” Kakashi asked, looking down at the tight fighting black clothes and picking at them absentmindedly.
“Because we were manipulated by your three-year-old and five-year-old?” Yamato said, his voice far away as he eyed himself in the mirror. Against his better judgment, he’d been bullied into wearing small amounts of makeup. The man has earned a proper performance, don’t you think? He’d never worn blush or color on his lips and wasn’t sure he would again.
It made him feel too…noticeable.
Kakashi somehow had walked away only with minimal amounts of eyeliner.
Shikamaru’s help had been needed again to settle the logistics of getting Iruka, Guy, and the girls there without spoiling the surprise. A small table had been set up in the studio, laden with a fancy meal ordered in for the adults and oya-ko-don for the girls, complete with sparkling juice. Both Iruka and Guy’s eyes had been blindfolded until they were seated and Kakashi could see the mix of confusion and anticipation on their faces as he waited in the wings with Yamato.
“Now or never,” their instructor said cheerfully, pushing the two out of the wings and into the studio just as the music was beginning.
“Tou-chan!” Mei said happily, making a move as if to rise from her seat and to give Kakashi a hug. He saw Iruka gently pull their youngest over into his lap as Kakashi took Yamato’s hand into his own and started the dance.
Rather than lose his nerve by catching the eye of his husband or daughters, Kakashi kept his gaze firmly fixed on Yamato, unsurprised to see that his kohai was doing the same with him. They moved effortlessly across the floor, hands and legs moving perfectly in time with the music and just enough sexual tension levered in to keep things interesting. Of course, neither felt anything for the other, but after being ANBU operatives for as long as they had, they would have been very poor operatives indeed if they couldn’t fake a little seduction.
Towards the end of the number, Kakashi realized Yamato was heating up a bit in a way that didn’t feel forced and realized that the younger man’s gaze had drifted to Guy’s. Though Guy would never be able to dance with Yamato like this, Kakashi could tell he was just a conduit for whatever was happening between the two purely through eye contact.
He risked a glance at his own husband, enjoying the slight flush to the Academy Principal’s cheeks, a sure sign that he was feeling the heat of the performance as well. As the music came to a close, Kakashi dramatically dipped Yamato, causing Guy to applaud embarrassingly loudly from his spot at the table. “BRAVO,” he boomed, earnest as always.
Kakashi and Yamato pulled apart, each making a beeline for their respective partners, clearly needing affirmation.
“You’re a fool,” Iruka chuckled as Kakashi pulled his husband in close. “Did you do this just to prove Kohari wrong?”
Kakashi looked mock hurt, “you didn’t care for our performance?” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Guy tearing up at the gift that Yamato had given him, complete with Mei and Kohari underfoot and fawning over Yamato, exclaiming that they had no idea Yamato-ji was such a good dancer.
“It was certainly more…heated than I thought you two would be capable of,” Iruka melted a bit into Kakashi’s arms, accepting a quick kiss before glancing over at the girls who were creating their own forms of dance across the stage.
Kakashi turned Iruka around so he could see the girls better, draping his arms across his husband’s chest and pulling him back against Kakashi’s front. “I could be talked into an encore later,” Kakashi purred, smirking as Iruka shivered at the feeling of Kakashi’s breath on the back of his neck.
“Promise?” Iruka practically whined, causing Kakashi’s sense of self-satisfaction to grow immensely.
“I’ll even put both girls down tonight, so you can get in the right mindset,” Kakashi promised, planting a kiss on the back of Iruka’s neck before heading over to tease Guy and sweep Mei up into his arms to theatrically dance with her.