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Iruka woke up in an unfamiliar bed, and his first thought was that this was a remarkably comfortable way to be taken captive.
His second thought was: oh God, Naruto.
He sat up, mindless of the aches in his body, and looked around the room. It was a bedroom, simply furnished, the curtains drawn against the sunlight. The bed he was lying on was still neatly made: he’d been lain atop the covers and a thin blanket had been tucked around him, now pooled around his waist. His hitai-ate had been removed and was sitting on the bedside table alongside a glass of water and a packet of painkillers. All in all, very much unlike any captive situation Iruka had ever heard about, especially considering that the woman who’d accosted him and Naruto had taken no qualms about beating the ever-loving shit out of him.
Speaking of which, Iruka now turned his attention to his body to inspect the damage. He was no longer wearing the long-sleeved shirt he’d left his house in this morning. Instead he was wearing a loose black t-shirt, which meant he could see the gauze covering a particularly nasty slice he’d taken across the back of his left forearm. He could feel a similar covering over the spot on his chest where he’d come very close to being stabbed. As it was, the wound still stung like a bitch but apparently hadn’t been bad enough to land him in the hospital.
But since he wasn’t in hospital, who the hell had taken him home and patched him up? And where the hell was Naruto?
Iruka pushed the blanket off and was about to stand up when the bedroom door opened. The person who stepped inside should not have been unexpected, and yet under the circumstances the sight of his ANBU mask made Iruka draw in a sharp breath.
“How are you feeling?” Hound asked.
Apart from the mask, he wasn’t wearing his uniform. He was dressed very casually, in grey exercise pants and a sweater, as though he were lounging around in his own home. And yet…this couldn’t be Hound’s home. Iruka wouldn’t be allowed to step knowingly within a mile of Hound’s home, lest it gave away his identity.
Yet as much as he wanted to know what the hell was going on, the first question that fell from his lips was still, “Where’s Naruto?”
“With a good friend of mine,” Hound said. He closed the door over behind him, so that Iruka barely caught a glimpse of the hallway beyond, and crossed over to the bed. “He’s safe. Worried about you, but unhurt.”
Iruka relaxed a fraction.
“Thank God. He was the target, not me. When that woman attacked us, she demanded I hand him over. Like I would!” He snorted derisively. “But I was worried she might have had a partner waiting to snatch Naruto up as soon as he was alone. If he’d been captured because I made the wrong call, I’d never have forgiven myself.”
Hound sat down on the bed next to him.
“You made the right decision,” he said. His voice was always so calming. It was deep and warm and familiar, and no matter what happened, Hound always managed to keep his cool. It was a voice Iruka could believe in; if he’d done something wrong or if Naruto wasn’t all right, Hound wouldn’t lie to him just to spare him the messy details. His respect was what soothed Iruka in times of stress like this.
“Were you on duty?” Iruka asked. “Did Naruto find you?”
Hound shook his head. “No, I was on patrol at the other end of the village, but someone came and told me.”
“Do the other ANBU know? That you look out for Naruto and…me?” Despite the blood he must have lost, Iruka felt his cheeks heat at the idea that the other ANBU were aware of whatever this strange arrangement was between himself and Hound.
“I’ve made it known that Naruto is under my protection,” Hound said neutrally, though his words were loaded with insinuation.
Iruka wasn’t naïve enough to think the prejudice against Naruto didn’t extend to those serving in ANBU, which was a terrifying thought, though he’d always known that if anything happened and Naruto needed protection, he could at least count on ANBU to do their jobs. Sandaime himself had assured Iruka of that. But coming from Hound, it somehow made Iruka feel better. He had no idea how much clout Hound had in ANBU, whether he was well-liked or respected, but at least he was on equal footing with the other ANBU. Sandaime could order them until he was blue in the face, but he didn’t hear the locker room gossip, didn’t know about all the little petty acts that happened in any organisation on a day-to-day basis. Being the leader meant you didn’t truly have a clue what anyone under you thought because no one would risk airing their less pleasant views if they were worried about their job.
Hound wasn’t like that. If he wanted to change the way people thought about Naruto he could do it in a thousand subtle, sneaky ways that would make more of an impact than any order coming down from on high. The fact that someone had run to get him on learning that Naruto was in danger meant he was having the desired effect on at least a few of his colleagues.
“I’m sure I’ve said this a thousand times, but I’m glad Naruto has you looking out for him,” Iruka said.
“Me?” Hound sounded genuinely bewildered. “Iruka, you went up against a jounin for him today. You risked your life to protect him without knowing if back-up would reach you in time.”
“I had to do something,” Iruka said, a little embarrassed. “There was no one else around. Hound, I think she’d been following us for a while. We always go shopping on Saturday mornings, and she caught us cutting through the civilian neighbourhood when I had my arms full of groceries. It’s probably the one time of the week when we’re not both surrounded by shinobi, when I’m least on my guard. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“I agree,” Hound said. “That’s why I didn’t take you home. Your flat might be compromised – we don’t know yet if that woman had other accomplices. It seems likely, considering she was trying to kidnap or kill a jinchuuriki; she wasn’t strong enough to do that alone. I wasn’t sure you’d be safe at home until she’s been interrogated and we’ve put protection in place. I would have brought Naruto here too if I could,” he added. “But technically even you’re not supposed to be here.”
“Wait,” Iruka said, glancing around the room again. “Is this really your house?”
“Yes,” Hound said, and he sounded very guilty. “Maybe don’t mention to anyone that I brought you here.”
Iruka was still absorbing that. He’d suspected, of course, but he hadn’t allowed himself to believe it. It had seemed too absurd to be true. He’d been sleeping in Hound’s bed. He was wearing Hound’s shirt. Hound had said fuck you to all of the rules and brought Iruka into his home to care for him.
“I had a medic look you over,” Hound added hurriedly, misinterpreting Iruka’s shocked silence. “She said you’d be fine with some rest and basic care. None of your wounds were too bad. I don’t know if you remember, but you passed out shortly after Phoenix arrived on the scene, from chakra exhaustion. I may have implied to her that I’d drop you off at a friend’s house but then I carried you back here. I didn’t really know who else to trust. In case it was an inside job, you know? And, well, I have a lot of experience with chakra exhaustion and patching up wounds, so I thought I could take good care of you.” The nervous barrage of words finally trailed off and Hound fidgeted slightly as he waited for Iruka’s response.
Iruka laughed. He couldn’t help it. It didn’t last long because laughing hurt his chest, but only Hound would do something so unbelievably kind and then worry that Iruka would be – what? Offended? Angry? As though rule-breaking wasn’t part of Iruka’s DNA.
“I feel very well taken care of,” he said. “Thank you.”
Hound looked down, almost shyly. “You won’t have to stay here for long,” he said, to Iruka’s disappointment. “I can go and get you anything you like from your house, if you need it. When you leave I’ll probably have to put you under a genjutsu to disguise the street so you can’t find your way back here. I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t think this through very well when I brought you here – I just saw you hurt and…acted on instinct.” He mumbled the last part, apparently feeling he’d said too much. Iruka tried to memorise every word.
“You know I’d always take care of you too if you needed me to,” Iruka said softly. “If you’re ever hurt or just…stressed or whatever, you can always come to me. If you wanted to.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” Hound said immediately.
“I know. But I’d like to take care of you. If you ever needed me to.”
Neither of them could quite meet each other’s gaze. Hound’s hands were resting in his lap and Iruka found himself studying them. He’d rarely seen them before without gloves. His fingers were long, his nails trimmed short, and there was a faint scar across the back of his right hand. Iruka wanted to touch it.
“I try to keep the worst of my job away from your door,” Hound said eventually, voice low.
“You don’t have to,” Iruka said. “I can handle your worst.”
He looked up then, sensing Hound’s gaze seeking his own. Their eyes met. Hound always kept one of his eyes closed, and Iruka wanted to touch him there too, to rest the pad of his finger against Hound’s eyelid and feel the flutter of his eyelashes. To know how he’d been blinded, or why he chose to half blind himself.
“The last thing I’d ever want to do is to make you unhappy,” Hound said. “My worst can be…bad.”
Iruka did reach out then. He couldn’t help himself. He laid his hand over Hound’s and felt a little jolt when Hound’s fingers twitched beneath his. It was the first time they’d ever touched skin to skin.
“I can handle it,” he said fiercely. “I want to handle it. Just like you wanted to look after me when I got hurt – that’s how I feel about you.”
It was Iruka’s turn to feel like he’d said too much. It was hard sometimes to know where the boundary of their friendship lay. How much of it revolved around Naruto and how much of it was something else entirely, that could exist independent of their shared pseudo-parental roles. He felt a moment of guilt – almost shame – as though he were forcing something on Hound that Hound couldn’t possibly want. But then Hound threaded his fingers up through Iruka’s and squeezed his hand very gently.
“I’ll bear that in mind,” he said.