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Iruka sat next to Kakashi clutching a stuffed dolphin and sucking on a dried squid. His father had largely given up on trying to stop Kohari from feeding him bar food for snacks since he liked it so much. As long as Iruka didn't try to kiss anyone, no one would have to suffer his breath.
Kakashi ignored Iruka and his musty fishy breath and turned the big flat package in his hands. The paper covering it was bright green with little trains filled with candy and presents racing all over. His name was carefully written on a train-shaped name tag and he couldn't help but to smile a little. He knew what a hard flat shape meant.
“Kakashi, hurry!” a high-pitched voice called.
He turned just in time for a damp and slightly chewed squid to slap him on the cheek. He made a face and pushed it away.
“Gross, Iruka,” Kakashi grumbled. “Put it away!”
Iruka shoved the squid into his mouth and sucked on it, cheek bulging. He mumbled, “I wan she.”
Kakashi held his package away from Iruka and gave him a stern look. The brunet knew he liked to take things slow. Iruka just liked to tear his presents open and make a mess––had already done so a few minutes prior. Kakashi liked to save the paper and fold it into neat squares.––“You already opened yours,” he told the other boy.
Iruka stuck his tongue out around his squid and aimed his dolphin's nose at Kakashi before making a muffled 'pew pew'.
“Don't shoot me when you have squid in your mouth,” Kakashi told him, primly sliding a finger under one of the flaps.
Iruka chewed his squid faster, eyes focused on Kakashi's fingers, trembling with excitement as he squeezed his dolphin tighter. He bounced on his knees. Kakashi was always so sloooooow.
Kakashi peeled the train paper away with agonizing slowness; so slow that one of the adults almost rushed forward to tear off the paper herself.
Kakashi, Tsunade groaned to herself. You're slower than the Earth!
The face that appeared under the top flaps of the paper was one of a strange looking creature. It had skin sagging all over its body, its face almost completely obscured by its own wrinkles. It was love at first sight.
Kakashi flipped the book over and the face of a pug greeted him, odd smile on its flat face. He frowned at the strange looking dog. Next to it was the fluffy body of a sandy colored dog and behind that was a white one.
“You like dogs, right?” A big man with white hair crouched down next to the toddler.
Kakashi blinked and looked up before nodding. Jiraiya grinned at ruffled the boy's spiky hair, just turning a silvery color. To him the kid was kind of blur, but his hair was a personality unto itself.
“Ugh, thank the god of time,” Tsunade mumbled. “I was getting old.”
“You are old,” Jiraiya shot, adjusting his lab coat and pointing at the cardiology director. “Get over it!”
She flicked at eraser at his head and rolled her eyes. “We're the same age, you old coot,” she grumbled.
"I am not an old coot," Jiraiya countered. "I am a virile male specimen!"
"I'll show you a virile male specimen!" Tsunade bristled.
Kakashi ignored them and carefully folded his wrapping paper at the seams before putting it by his father's feet. Sakumo, used to his son's odd ways, picked up the paper and tossed it on the desk Tsunade was sitting on. Kakashi opened the book and carefully perused the pictures of the different dogs, Iruka leaning over his shoulder and chewing his diminishing squid remnant.
“Oi, kid,” Tsunade mumbled, nudging Kakashi's leg with her toe.
Kakashi looked at her foot, then eyed her with reservation, carefully easing away from the offending appendage. She rolled her eyes.
“Here, catch,” she deadpanned, tossing a lumpy package at him. He caught it with more dexterity than most 3-year-olds possessed and she had to admit to being mildly impressed though she would never tell anyone.
“A present?” he asked.
“No, it's just a bunch of rubbish I taped together,” Tsunade said. Kakashi looked at her. “Of course it's a present! Geez.”
The paper on the present was covered in dice and taped to an impossible degree. There would be no saving it. This package required surgery.
“Cut it,” Kakashi said, holding his hand out for scissors.
“Ah! Don't... Don't cut it,” Tsunade said, scrubbing at the back of her head. “I mean, I didn't tape it so hot or anything, but don't cut it.”
“Why do you have to make things so complicated,” Sakumo muttered. “They're just kids.”
“I'll do it!” Iruka shouted, eagerly snatching the present away from Kakashi.
Kakashi shrugged and let Iruka have at it, watching curiously as the other boy's fingers found all the untaped spots and dug in. Small bits of paper flew in the air and Iruka grunted as he yanked at the tape itself.
“Thank god it's not something alive,” Tsunade muttered to herself as Iruka's yanking strangled whatever was in the package with the tape noose he'd formed.
“If you wrapped something alive like that, it wouldn't be alive anymore,” Jiraiya countered smugly, arching away as her fist shot out towards his head.
“Kakashi, pull!” Iruka commanded, holding out the ruined looking present, an odd bulge semi-separate from the bottom. Kakashi gingerly squeezed and the bulge depressed with soft resistance. He frowned and dug his fingers into the tape webbing.
Iruka grinned and yanked backwards, snapping the tape and sending them flying in opposite directions.
“Oof!” Kakashi grunted as he fell back and found himself staring at his father's bemused face. There was a faint pattering of feet and Iruka appeared, huge grin plastered across his face.
“Kakashi,” he sang. “Guess what you have!”
Kakashi, still staring at the ceiling, began to squish the thing in his hands. It had hard beady things and odd fuzzy folds. There were thinner tubular parts and a little nub. He held it up and came face to face with the wrinkled flat face of a plush pug.
He couldn't help it. He smiled. He smiled so big his cheeks hurt.
Iruka rolled over next to him and cooed over the doll, making his dolphin talk to the dog and kiss it on the nose. Kakashi growled back using the dog.
“Kakashi-kun,” Sakumo interrupted. Dark grey-ringed eyes stared up from the floor.
“What do you say to Auntie Tsunade?” he prompted.
Kakashi clambered up shyly clutching his new doll and shuffled towards an amused looking Tsunade. He scuffed his foot a little before darting forward and giving her leg a brief hug.
“Thank you for Pug-kun,” he mumbled, cheeks heating before he ran away to stand by Iruka who laughed and hugged him, waving his dolphin at his face and making kissing sounds.