Work Text:
“Dad, I dare you to kiss Kakashi.”
Iruka looked up at Naruto, pushing the newspaper aside to watch the young boy, who had stopped eating his cereal to issue his latest declaration. “That’s a really serious dare, buddy.”
“Yeah, well, daring me to eat all my broccoli was really serious, too!”
Iruka hid his smile behind a hand, making a humming noise and pretending that he was thinking. So far their little game had worked out heavily in Iruka’s favor, with Iruka’s dares persuading Naruto to do all manner of things he couldn’t otherwise convince the boy of, including taking a bath, eating his vegetables, and picking up his dirty clothes. In return, Naruto’s dares included having Iruka lick a grasshopper, do a cartwheel, and build a pillow fort in the living room to have a sleepover there.
This time though, Naruto picked a tricky one. Kakashi had spent the night for the first time only a couple of weeks before, and although he and Iruka had talked things over, Iruka hadn’t yet figured out how to explain their new relationship to Naruto.
“Okay,” Iruka said finally, “You dared me, so I have to do it.” Naruto nodded solemnly, as if he knew all along that was the only possible answer Iruka could have given, and went back to his cereal.
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Iruka looked down at his phone and scolded himself for being ridiculous. It never used to be awkward to ask Kakashi to come over to spend time with them, and Kakashi was always glad to do so. Just because they were sleeping together now shouldn’t make a difference. Iruka sighed and hit ‘send’.
[text]: Are you coming over after work?
[from Kakashi]: Sure… do you want me to stay the night?
Iruka read the text a few times and wondered what it said about him that such a simple question made his stomach feel like he had butterflies. He thought about the answers he wanted to give (‘Please - I want you to do that thing with your tongue again.’; ‘Yes - I love waking up with you beside me.’) and decided to keep it simple.
[text]: Yes, if you want to.
[text]: Fair warning though, Naruto issued his next dare.
[from Kakashi]: Oh? What is it this time?
[text]: He dared me to kiss you.
[from Kakashi]: Ah. That… may have been my fault.
Iruka raised an eyebrow, wondering how that could possibly have happened.
[text]: …??
[from Kakashi]: The other night I couldn’t sleep, and when Naruto woke up from a nightmare we watched a movie together. There was kissing.
[text]: What did you watch???
[from Kakashi]: I don’t know, something that was on tv. He asked me why you don’t kiss him that way…
[text]: HA!
Iruka laughed out loud, picturing the look on Kakashi’s face when Naruto dropped that doozy of a question.
[text]: Sorry, that’s… unfortunate for you. What on earth did you tell him?
[from Kakashi]: Thanks for the sympathy. I told him a grown-up kiss is different than a family kiss.
[text]: That’s a good answer.
[from Kakashi]: Not good enough, apparently. He wanted to know why.
[text]: LOL of course he did. Sorry, go on, what was your answer to that, oh wise one?
[from Kakashi]: Ahh… well…
[from Kakashi]: I told him that all kisses are a way to show someone you care about them, but a grown-up kiss is a way to tell someone who isn’t family that you want them to stay around.
[from Kakashi]: Because even though family is always there, grown-ups can leave unless you let them know you want them to stay.
Iruka blinked at his phone for a moment, realizing what Kakashi’s explanation meant for Naruto’s dare. He felt like laughing suddenly, like buying Naruto all the ice cream he could eat, like he wanted Kakashi there to kiss right now, because Naruto wanted Kakashi to stay.
[from Kakashi]: In retrospect, I probably overstepped my bounds. I’m sorry.
Realizing that Kakashi must have made the same connection Iruka just did, but came to the wrong conclusion, Iruka fumbled to type another quick text.
[text]: No! No, it’s okay, really. That was good. Really, really good.
[text]: I’ve been meaning to try to tell him anyway. If you don’t mind.
[from Kakashi]: I don’t mind.
[text]: Okay… see you tonight then. :)
[from Kakashi]: Looking forward to it.
Iruka tried to tell himself Kakashi’s last text wasn't innuendo, then realized that if it wasn’t, it meant Iruka was the one with a dirty mind for thinking it in the first place. He put his phone away.
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“Naruto, I'll do your dare now,” Iruka spoke as they finished their dinner.
Naruto pointed a small finger at him and cried out, “Yeah! You better! I dared you!”
Iruka smiled and replied, “I'm going to, I just need to ask Kakashi's permission. You gave me a dare involving another person, so I have to ask him if he's okay with it first.” Iruka figured it was a good time to try to set that as a new rule in Naruto's mind, and the boy nodded, so Iruka turned to Kakashi and said, “Kakashi, Naruto dared me to kiss you, would you be okay with that?”
Kakashi's elbow rested on the table, propping up his chin, and he smiled at Iruka when he said, simply, “Yes.”
“Yeah!” Naruto echoed, and Iruka held up a hand to pause him.
“Wait a minute. Naruto, I told you this was a serious dare. Do you know what it means when two grown ups kiss?”
Naruto's gaze shot to Kakashi, guilty, and Iruka nearly laughed. Kakashi gave Naruto a small nod and the boy turned back to Iruka to say, “Yeeeees?” He drew it out into a question as if maybe that way he wouldn't get in trouble if Iruka wasn't happy with his answer.
Iruka just nodded and said, “Okay then, there's something I need to tell Kakashi first.” Iruka silently willed Kakashi to understand what he was trying to do. They hadn't had a chance to talk it over when Kakashi arrived, due to Naruto co-opting Kakashi to build Legos together, and Iruka being busy cooking dinner.
“Kakashi, I care about you a lot,” Iruka fiercely hoped he wasn't blushing. It was different this way than the discussion they'd had after falling into bed together. This seemed more official, more final. “I'd really like you to stick around and be a part of my life, and Naruto's life.”
“I care about you too, Iruka, and about Naruto,” Kakashi dropped his hand from his chin to lean forward across the table, intent. “You make me happy, and you make me feel like a better person. I don't deserve to be a part of your life, but if you'll have me, there's nowhere I want to be more.”
Iruka was undoubtedly blushing then, and had lifted a hand to cover his mouth as Kakashi spoke. Iruka hadn't expected him to be so… serious.
“Dad! He said he wants to stay! Just do the dare!” Naruto's voice startled Iruka, and he dropped his hand to stand up from the the table. Kakashi stood as well, and Iruka moved around the corner of the table, reaching for him. He drew Kakashi into a soft kiss, thumb brushing along his jawline.
Naruto's voice came from much closer this time, “Okay, now that you're staying we can build the Lego fort! Dad said it would take too long before.”
Iruka pulled away with a smile and a laugh, looking down at Naruto tugging on Kakashi's hand. He could only hope that the point had gotten through, and Naruto wasn't just worried about Kakashi staying to play Legos all along. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him in question and Iruka said, “Yeah, go on, I'll come help after I finish the dishes.”
Kakashi smiled and leaned back in for another, small kiss before letting Naruto drag him out of the room.