Embers of a Burning Sky

Chapter Sixteen

 Nearly a day later, Naruto's hatched a very risky plan. When he pitches it to Gaara in the privacy of their bedroom, between kisses and caresses, he doesn't get his point across very well.
In the morning, as he catches Gaara's bare waist and pulls him back down into bed, he gets somewhere.
"Why do you insist on talking about serious issues in the same breath as kissing me senseless?" Gaara asks exasperated. Naruto can see the barely hidden smile as he lifts his head from where he had been mouthing at the older boy's collar.
"Sorry." he grins.
Gaara only sighs, reaching across the bed to put on his loose bedshirt.
"Now, what is it you wanted to say?"
Naruto can't help but stare at the soft, sandy-colored material as it covered Gaara's chest. It was a nice contrast to the pale skin, and the low collar only made Naruto's eyes catch on the soft slope of his neck...

"Naruto."

He snaps back to reality and meets the knowing stare with no guilt.

"Oh. Yeah." he tries, reassembling his shattered focus... "I came up with an idea to both appease the elders and to keep Nara with us!"
Gaara looks carefully interested, and Naruto continues;
"So, we can go to the meet-up, but instead of having Nara actually there, we can have someone transform into him! Then, when they take the baby, we can track them back to their base and take all of them out in one try! This way the threat is completely eliminated!"
Gaara's face has pinched into the frown that Naruto now knows as deep thought. He's actually considering..?
"Let's say we try this," he starts, "Who would pretend to be Nara?"
"Me." Naruto says easily.
Gaara's questioning stare is extremely discouraging.
"Are you sure you can manage it?" he asks, "Iruka-sensei was all too happy to tell me tales of you in the academy. According to him, you aren't exactly adept at most Jitsu."

Ouch.

Naruto practices all day long, trying his best to transform himself into anything really. He can't really remember how to do it, outside of the Sexy Jitsu, and no matter how many training scrolls he reads, he can't perfect it.
It's extremely frustrating to admit defeat.
When Gaara returns from the office with some food and a gift for Nara, Naruto can't bring himself to admit it.

After an eventful dinner full and Nara quickly dozes off in Gaara's lap, covered head to toe in soy sauce.
"We should clean him up before bed." Gaara says, and Naruto reaches out to take the sleeping bundle with a nod. Instead of handing him over, Gaara instead takes Naruto's hand and pulls him down to kiss the side of his mouth.
Naruto is taken aback.
No matter how many times they had kissed in the last few days, Naruto had been the one to initiate all of them. In the morning before Gaara left for work, whenever he and Nara would visit for lunch, when cooking dinner, in the bath, in bed...
"Gaara, you..."
The redhead is already standing, his pale skin tinged red as he retreats to the bathroom with their son.

Naruto chases them up the stairs and down the hall, kind of excited, kind of guilty...
"Gaara!" he calls, not bothering to knock as he pushes the door open and steps into the bathroom. Two sets of eyes meet his and he can't help but smile as he watches Gaara gently scrub Nara and rinse him with a small cup.
Nara sits patiently on the stool and lets him, sometimes reaching out to slap bubbles onto Gaara's clothes. When he's finished washing, Gaara wraps Nara in a towel and sort of rubs a little to dry him off. Naruto can't help but laugh, taking the toddler out of his hands and drying him properly.
"Alright, let's get him to bed because we" he gestures between himself and Gaara, "need to talk."

* * *

Once Nara is settled into bed, fast asleep, Naruto leads Gaara out into the hall and down the stairs. He takes a seat in the small living room just outside the kitchen and pulls Gaara down next to him. There's a few moments of silence while Gaara adjusts in his seat and the tension sort of settles.
Naruto has to clear his throat.
"Gaara..." he starts, his face burning and hands shaking in guilty shame; "I think we need to find someone else to transform into Nara."
It really hurts to admit; after coming up with the idea and already practically promising that he could— would be the one to pull it off. Naruto feels frustrated tears burn at the corner of his eyes.
Gaara, beside him, sort of spaces off into the rug at their feet, sea-green eyes clouded with heavy thought.

"I can call for Kakashi." Gaara finally says, his eyes still unfocused.
"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto doesn't understand the solution.
"Kakashi was a successful ANBU officer for several years, his stealth and prowess would be best for this mission."
Gaara finally looks up and meet's Naruto's eyes.
"Kakashi-sensei is in Konoha, how is he going to get here unnoticed? Aren't the Grass watching our every move?"
"Not exactly." Gaara says, standing quickly and rushing toward the small office beside the stairs. Naruto follows him inside, curious as he watches the smaller man tear apart the neat stacks of papers on the desk.
"What are you doing?" he asks after a few seconds.
Gaara doesn't look up.
"I have an idea, but it could be... illegal."
Naruto's interest peques.
"Illegal?"
"Possibly."

(Edited 8-31-2021 bu Hanayuk)