Tiger

The Good Father

Team AU: Tiger (Avocado_Love)

Story Notes:

Prompt: Excuses

Rating: PG

Pairing(s): Kakashi/Iruka Pre-slash

Summary: Kakashi is a cold executive who doesn't know how to reach out. Iruka is the football coach who may just show him the way.

Contains [warnings]: None

Word Count: 2650

Author's Notes: Thank you mods for putting on this fest! And thank you, Illereyn, for the excellent beta! :D Many apologies for the lack of smut.

Asuma poked his head into the office. "Meeting is in ten minutes."

"I'll be on time," Kakashi said, not bothering to glance away from a stack of reports nearly six inches thick.

"Yeah, but are we talking 'Kakashi time' or 'real time'?"

Kakashi looked up to level a stare at the other man. Asuma wisely chose to duck back out and leave him in peace.

Letting out a small sigh, Kakashi returned back to his long list of figures. It hadn't been a profitable year for Hidden Leaf Greeting Card Inc, and major cuts would be required to keep them afloat. As Chief Financial Officer and all-around numbers genius, Kakashi had been given the unhappy duty of trimming the fat.

It used to be Sensei's job, but that was before.

The late fall storm pattered softly on his office window as he read through the latest budget projections, occasionally stopping to make notes. He was too engrossed to even flinch when the door to this office slammed open and Old Lady Tsunade, the CEO, strode in.

"Get up, brat. You're already five minutes late."

Kakashi glanced at the clock and realized the meeting should have started twenty minutes ago. Tsunade worked on her own time as well.

Standing languidly, he tapped the stack of papers into order along with his untidy notes. The rain continued to drum across his window and there was something important about that fact, but with his head stuffed full of budgetary projections he couldn't quite remember what.

Tsunade led the way and, tucking his papers under his arm, Kakashi followed.

*****

The rain fell steadily on Kakashi's head as he got out of his car and made his way, suitcase in hand, back to his small townhouse. The meeting had stretched for hours, and the projections for the next year were even worse than he had feared.

And there was something about the rain...

He stepped onto the sidewalk and stopped. His small neighborhood was different, today. Something not right, not where it belonged...

Pretending to bend over to tie his shoe, he did a slow scan of the street. There was an unfamiliar older model sedan idling a few spaces away. Two figures were inside, barely visible through the fogged windows.

One was a taller adult male with his hair tied back. He was bent slightly towards a smaller figure, reaching for something between them. And Kakashi recognized the profile of the smaller figure.

Instantly, all of the exhausting figures and hard decisions which had filled his head was washed away, leaving cold fury. In several smooth strides, Kakashi was at the driver's side door. It was unlocked and opened easily — he had been prepared to break the window if he had to — and dragged the man out.

He registered wide, startled eyes, pleasantly tan skin and a scar across the bridge of the nose as he slammed the man up against his own sodden car.

"What," Kakashi demanded, death in every word, "are you doing with my son?"

The other man's eyes widened further and he started to shake his head. "No, no, Hatake-san. I—" And was cut off as Kakashi slammed him again.

Then a flurry of small fists pounded at Kakashi's back. "Let him go, you bastard!" Naruto yelled. "Iruka-sensei!"

"I'm," the man gasped, his hands clutching weakly at Kakashi's arms, "his football coach."

Football coach? Kakashi's swift gaze tracked from Iruka to the car's middle console where a math book lay open. No cigarettes or alcohol or any number of other foul things in sight. Reluctantly, he released Iruka and stepped back. "Explain yourself."

Naruto immediately rushed forward to help his stunned teacher, showing more affection, Kakashi noted, than he'd ever had towards Kakashi, a year under his own roof. The look Naruto shot Kakashi was poisonous.

Iruka had clearly been taken by surprise, but he recovered quickly enough, straightening and leaning against his car for support. "Practice was canceled due to the weather."

The rain. Something had been nagging at the back of Kakashi's mind, but he hadn't spared a thought...

"I called Naruto's contact number," Iruka continued, "But it rang without an answer."

Kakashi had put his cell on silent during the meeting, wanting no interruptions. He hadn't thought to check it since.

Iruka's eyes narrowed as rain freely dripped down his face. "We waited for over an hour, and I was not going to leave him on school grounds alone."

"Iruka-sensei gave me a ride home," Naruto said, with another scowl towards Kakashi. "But, ah, I lost my key. And Iruka said I couldn't break in even though it's supposed to be my house, too. He was making me do homework." His face crinkled up unpleasantly.

And Kakashi found he had nothing to say. He had completely misjudged the situation. His own initial reaction had... surprised him.

Perhaps some of this showed on his expression because Iruka turned to Naruto and said, "Why don't you go on inside and get dry?"

The boy looked briefly rebellious, but rainwater was plastering his hair to his head. Instead of back-talking as he did with Kakashi, he nodded sullenly to his teacher, took the key that Kakashi silently offered, and stomped towards the townhouse.

Iruka waited until the door had closed behind to him to look hard at Kakashi. "You need to do better."

"Iruka-san," Kakashi said, finding his words at last. "You have my apologies for--"

But Iruka waved it away. "You were trying to protect him, but you need to do better than that. Kakashi-san, you are the only parent who has never shown up to his son's practice or games. You need to show an interest."

A familiar burn started in Kakashi's chest. An old wound. "His parents have been gone for only a year. I don't— I cannot replace his father. He doesn't want that."

"Yet you called him your son when you were assaulting me."

That gave Kakashi a pause. He had?

"He needs you to be there for him," Iruka pressed. "Being a parent is more than just a roof over his head. He's a very lonely boy."

"You seem to know him quite well, sensei," Kakashi drawled.

But rather than insult Iruka, his brown eyes softened. "I was... very much like him, once."

"And a capable psychologist as well as a sports coach," Kakashi said. The rain was starting to creep down the collar of his shirt. He felt cold and tired, knowing that the only thing he had to look forward to was a long evening with a rightfully outraged pre-teen. His voice was curt. "Thank you for giving Naruto a ride home." He turned to go.

"Wait." Iruka pressed something into his hand — a math book, and on top of that, a business card. He offered a half smile in answer to Kakashi's confused look. "Being a new parent can be hard on anyone," he said. "If you ever need to talk... call me."

****

Kakashi turned down the flame so that the noodles he was making didn't over-boil. He normally didn't bother, knowing that a growing boy like Naruto needed fruits and vegetables, but he wasn't above a bit of bribery.

Naruto had gone straight up to his room, turned on the racket he liked to call music, and firmly ignored Kakashi's summons to come down to help with dinner.

Kakashi drained the noodles, added seasoning, and waited a minute or two to let the smell drift through the air. When no angry twelve-year-old appeared, Kakashi ladled a bowl and went upstairs to tempt him directly.

The music was blaring so loud that Kakashi couldn't hear himself knock on the door. After a pause, he opened it.

The bedroom looked like a tornado had passed through it, as usual. Several dresser drawers hung open, empty, with most of the clothing thrown about. Two posters were ripped off the wall and lay crumpled on the floor. The frame picture of Naruto and his parents, which normally sat at his nightstand, was slammed face down onto his desk.

The window was open, leaving the rain to blow in. Naruto had run away.

****

Kakashi knocked three times on the door before stepping back. It was some minutes before it opened, straining even his usual patience.

Iruka Umino opened the door in a wave of fresh shower scent, his hair damp and laying around his shoulders. He wore an angry scowl as he tugged the tie around his robe more securely. "Kakashi-san," he said. "I gave you that business card for emergencies only. Do you know what time—"

"Naruto's run away," Kakashi said.

Iruka's face flashed from outraged to blank surprise. "What? He—have you looked for him?"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, but even through his mounting anxiety and anger he noticed that Iruka's hastily tied robe had already come loose, showing a strip of lean, dark chest. "Of course I have." For close to four hours. "That is why I am here." The next part was the hardest to say, the bitter truth of it stinging in his throat. "It would be helpful to know where he might stay, who his friends are." Because Kakashi didn't know. When it came down to it... be barely knew the boy at all.

A new look flashed across Iruka's face. It was close to sympathy.

"I'll be out in a minute," he said, and closed the door.

****

Inside the car, the smell of Iruka's soap was stronger and more pleasant. Kakashi tried and failed to ignore it as he buckled himself in and started the engine. It had started to rain even harder. He gazed out to the slick street, imagining Naruto out there... somewhere.

He hoped wherever he was hiding, it was dry.

Iruka reached for his own seatbelt. "I have an idea. Drive toward downtown."

Kakashi cast him a glance, but Iruka didn't volunteer any more information than that. He put the car in drive. "Did he ever mention anything like this to you? Any plan of running away?"

"No, of course not. It's only..." Iruka drummed his fingers for a moment on the side of the door. "I told you he reminds me of myself at that age, and I know where I would have gone. I lost my parents when I was a little younger than he is now."

"As did I," Kakashi said quietly.

That admission caused Iruka to give him a surprised look. "Is that why you adopted him?"

"No, I wasn't aware I had been named guardian in the will until Minato and Kushina—" Kakashi broke off as pain twisted his heart anew. "When I was alone as a child, Minato took me in. I thought... It would only be fair to repay that debt when his son needed me."

"Naruto is more than a debt," Iruka said with a sharp edge. "He is hurting and he thinks there is no one left in this world who loves him. That is why he acts out."

Kakashi lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "He resents me. I understand it. It was the same with myself and Minato, for a very long time."

To his surprise Iruka laughed. "That's quite the excuse. Are you sure you're talking about Naruto? He doesn't have a resentful bone in his body. Turn left here."

Iruka led Kakashi down several-side streets and then into a parking lot of what looked like a 24/7 restaurant. Ramen Ichiraku. Sure enough, visible through the brightly-lit windows was a very familiar blond boy.

Kakashi idled the car for a moment, relief and frustration and a whole new feeling that might be paternal affection coiling in his chest. "How did you know he would be here, Sensei?"

Iruka looked surprised. "He talks about it all the time during practice. His father used to take him here. You didn't know?"

He shook his head and opened the door to get out, but Iruka caught his wrist. The warm feel of his fingers sent an unexpected thrill into his heart.

"If you want one last piece of advice," Iruka said. "Don't be hard on him. He's done this because he's hurting."

Kakashi had no intention of taking Iruka's advice — until he walked in, caught sight of the large stack of bowls by Naruto's side and the dried tear-streaks that the boy hastily tried to wipe away.

Kakashi still paid the bill and dragged him out by the scruff of his collar, but he was kinder about it than he could have been.

****

Another day, another meeting. The deadline for budget cuts was looming and Kakashi should have been paying attention. But instead of taking diligent notes as Printing Department Head, Gai, launched into a Very Passionate Speech about protecting worker healthcare rights — Kakashi found himself doodling.

Before he was a feared Chief Financial Officer, Kakashi had started in the company as an artist. Nowadays he worked with numbers more than with a pen, but he had kept up his hand.

The boy he sketched out was not Naruto. He had Naruto's swagger, though, and smiled as he had in the time before Minato's death. He also held a football under an arm.

Underneath the drawing, Kakashi wrote a single word: Excuses.

It could be a humorous card, he thought, with a little work, perhaps even an apology. When he was an artist, he had worked primarily in the romance line, but with some tweaking—

"What do you say, my Esteemed Rival?"

Kakashi jerked his head up to see everyone in the room staring at him. Knowing it would be career suicide to let onto the fact he hadn't been paying the least bit attention, Kakashi affected a disinterested slump to his shoulders. He nodded, a hand reaching over to cover the page and his drawing. "I think your ideas have some merit."

Gai's eyes filled with manly tears and Kakashi wondered what he had just agreed to.

****

With his accidental concession, the meeting wrapped up early for once. Kakashi looked to the sky, saw the sky clear of clouds, and remembered that Naruto had another football game today.

He knew he shouldn't go. Minato had never missed a game and Kakashi had no right — no right at all to try to take his place like that. Iruka was wrong. Naruto would resent him even more than he did now.

Then the image of the boy he had drawn during the meeting flashed in his mind. Was he right... or was it only an excuse?

Somehow, Kakashi found himself in the crowded school parking lot. When he stepped out of his car, it was Iruka's voice he heard even above the cheering crowd. It sounded like he was bellowing orders, making his unruly team run laps before the start of the game. The man had a set of lungs on him.

He wondered, idly, if he was a screamer in bed.

Kakashi joined the stands. It was a small stadium, and his hopes of blending in with the crowd unseen were dashed when Naruto's sad gaze turned to the bleachers. Kakashi braced himself for the anger and resentment he knew would come.

Even from this distance, he saw the boy's face go blank, then his eyes go wide. He smiled hugely, showing teeth, and turned to punch the shoulder of a dark-haired quarterback, exclaiming something he couldn't hear.

Iruka came over at once and bellowed them back into discipline. He threw a quick glance into the stands and Kakashi's heart did a funny little flip as they briefly locked eyes.

The referee blew the whistle and the team jogged to the field.

Kakashi watched his adopted son take the field with the seed of something growing in his chest. It might have been hope. He wasn't sure how to reach out to Naruto, or if he should at all. It would take time, years perhaps, for matters to be comfortable between them. But this was a start.

Win or lose, after the game he was going to take Naruto to Ramen Ichiraku's. Maybe, if Kakashi suggested it just right, Iruka would come too.

~ Fin ~

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