A moth to the flame - Ibiki x Aburame! Reader - part 1
tagging @heavk11 @snuggleboots and @missalienqueen for Naruto content
The woman across from his is stunning, no doubt, but Ibiki cannot stop focusing on her front teeth, the lipstick marks there that she missed when she got ready. It’s such a small thing, but it ruins the smile she’s showing now. It’s probably meant to be sultry.
“You really are a hard working man,” she teases, her left hand touching his right. He almost flinches away, barely manages to keep it together. He really should get out more.
“Of course I am. A family does not feed itself.”
Her smile flickers out like a dying lightbulb. “A family?” She asks, her tone weirdly cold.
“Well, so far it’s only me and my cat, but-”
She laughs. It’s not the same laugh he’s heard before tonight, light and airy and no doubt flirty. This one is mocking and cruel.
“A family? With you?”
He breathes out, grabs his drink and takes a sip. He should have seen that coming.
“Now,” he tries to smile as fake as she is, “That’s not nice.”
“Sorry,” she giggles again, no doubt convinced that it sounds sexy. “But women like me don’t settle for guys like you.”
“Mhm,” he nods, pulling out his wallet, “And vice versa.”
-
He’s almost out of the restaurant - glad that no one’s around that he knows well enough to be ashamed around - when he spots you.
Your coat is open, a rare sight, and the dress you’re wearing modest, but it has him slow down enough to hear your conversation.
“Can you please check again? There should be a reservation under the name Yamane. Or maybe Aburame, if he used my name.”
“No, there’s no reservation, I’m afraid. Not for the whole night. Maybe you should check in with your partner. He might have just forgotten-” You obviously tense at the last word and the hostess stops, clamps her mouth shut and turns away.
“Aburame-san,” Ibiki walks over, not really sure why he’s doing it, but still urging to do so. “Seems we’ve both had bad luck tonight.”
You turn to him, dark glasses reflecting his own face.
“Your date forgot that you existed?” You ask, voice cool and smooth, like the ice cubes he puts in his drink.
“No,” he laughs softly, “But I think I would have preferred that tonight. Do you want to get something to eat? Together? Though not here, if that could be arranged.”
You sigh and pull your coat closed around you, hiding away again like he knows you.
“I think that would be nice.”
-
“Is it a Jutsu?” He asks over a bowl of Ramen, watching with odd fascination as your glasses fog up from the steaming food yet you don’t pull them off.
“No.” You pick up a Narutomaki with your chopsticks and plop it in your mouth. No lipstick stains on your teeth. “And before you ask, not every Aburame is constantly forgotten. It’s not genetic.”
“But what about-” “Ibiki?” He turns, a little mispleased that he got interrupted yet again. Genma’s standing only a few feet away, Senbon carelessly dangling from his mouth. “Aren’t you supposed to be on a date tonight?”
He’s not sure how Genma even knows about it, but he already hates him for it.
“What if I am?”
Genma blinks. “With who?”
Ibiki stares him down for a second before he points at you. Genma blinks again.
“Is she in the bathroom right now?”
“Are you blind?” He asks, “Aburame-san is sitting right across from me!”
“Oh, shit!” Genma laughs awkwardly, “Didn’t see you there. My bad. Well, I… I’ll get going then.”
Ibiki scowls and turns around. You’re sitting stiffly now and he can only imagine how much that must have hurt, especially after what has happened earlier tonight.
Being simply forgotten by someone you were supposed to go on a date with is never funny, even less when it happens consistently.
“You didn’t have to say that,” you point out, chopsticks now resting on top of your bowl. “Now they are going to assume things.”
“I’m sorry I said it,” he apologizes, “I didn’t know why… I” He sighs. “Since I couldn’t help but overhear your predicament I think it’s only fair to tell you about mine. I was asked out a few days ago. I don’t really read much into these things because so far nothing has worked out, but she said some hurtful things and… I guess I just didn’t want Genma to think I could not land a date even if I wanted to.”
Not for the first time he wishes he could look through your glasses.
“I hardly think Genma will be impressed by your choice of date,” you point out stiffly, “But I don’t condone hurtful behaviour, so I am most welcome to soothe the hurt. What was it about, if I may ask?”
He can’t help but chuckle. “I want to have a family one day. Apparently I’m not the man women want to have a family with.”
“How many kids?” You ask. He’s not surprised by your direct approach, after all, he’s gotten to know you in the last years of working together.
“Ah,” he considers it for a moment, “I think my ideal number would be three, but I’d be lucky to even have one, I guess.” He hesitates only for a second. “You?”
“Five,” you say without missing a beat, “But I could see myself compromising there, if needed.”
He almost chokes on his drink.
“That’s… good for you, I guess. Your date tonight… Have you talked about that yet?”
“He’s a friend of a friend,” you explain, stiffening again, “I asked him out and he didn’t seem against it. We haven’t had a chance to talk about these things yet, though I don’t believe we will in the future.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But you know, we’re only 18, I guess we still have some time.”
“Right,” you nod, picking up your chopsticks again. “I heard about your promotion. Do you plan on implementing some new methods?”
-x-
“Shibi,” you ask, your eyes focused on little Shino, “How did you court Zoka?”
Shino looks up at the sound of his mother, but when neither you nor his father address him, his attention turns back to the riddle you brought. It’s a tough one, but you think he’ll get through it on his own. He’s a smart kid, even at three years old.
“Why do you ask?” Shibi asks from the table where he’s writing a mission report.
You’re sitting on the hardwood floor, can see the way he’s bent over the table. Does he not want to talk about this topic?
“I want to court someone. I don’t know how.”
“I brought her flowers. Why? The Yamanaka insist that it’s a perfect gift to capture someone’s attention.”
“Flowers,” you repeat, considering this. “Thank you, I’ll try that.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Shibi offers, but you shake your head.
“Not yet. I don’t want to… how do people say? I don’t want to Jinx it.”
“Auntie,” Shino pipes in from where he’s sitting across from you. “I got it.”
“Of course you did,” you lean in to inspect his work. “Marvelous.”
A shy smile lights up his face.
-x-
There’s a bouquet on his desk.
Ibiki stares down at it, not really processing what he’s seeing. It’s beautiful, even to his untrained eye. White lilacs and dark red carnations against a deep green.
“Kawano?” He asks the poor Chunin who’s been working as a Secretary the last two months. “Did someone put this flowers here?”
“Flowers?” The boy blinks. “What flowers?”
“The flowers on my desk.” Ibiki points at them. Kawano almost jumps at the sight.
“What are they doing there?”
“You’re the secretary, you should know!”
“I-I.. I’m sorry, I didn’t… No one was coming by for at least half an hour, I swear.”
Ibiki harrumphs. He’s not sure what to do with them now. Should he bring them over to Inoichi, ask him if he knows something about them?
From the corner of his eye he can see movement. When he looks up, you’re standing in the doorway, stiff as a board.
“I just found them,” he explains the elephant in the room and points at the flowers. “Did you notice someone coming by?”
“Maybe you’ve got a secret admirer,” you offer, your voice tense. “Aren’t flowers part of courtship.”
He laughs tersely. “In that case,” he picks the flowers up and offers them to you, “They should go to someone more deserving than me.”
-x-
“Zoka liked sweets,” Shibi remembers.
Shino’s sitting on your lap, so completely focused on your newest batch of moths that your conversation seems to go over his head.
“What kind of sweets?” You ask, already thinking. You haven’t seen Ibiki eat chocolates ever and you cannot picture him with those disgusting gummy worms Inoichi feeds his daughter.
“There’s this delicacy from the land of earth,” Shibi remembers, “I got them when I was on a mission near the border, I think. They were quite pricey, but she loved them. She called them pillows of sweetness.”
“Hmm,” you make, calling your moths to fly a formation for Shino with the flick of your hand. “Imported candy could be interesting. It’s always interesting to try new things.”
Shino claps his hands when the moths land again.
“Can I show you what I’ve learned, Auntie?” He asks, offering up his own Kikaichu.
“Of course,” you say, help him slip from your lap. He walks over to the kitchen table and your eyes get caught on the bouquet in the middle of it, the dark red and white against the deep green.
You swallow thickly, but Shino doesn’t notice.
“Are you watching, Auntie?” He asks and you refocus.
“Of course!”
-x-
“What’s that?” Ibiki musters the box in your hand. It’s fairly small, made out of a dark wood with intriguing carvings.
“It’s a foreign candy,” you explain, “I got it on my latest mission.”
“Ah, the land of water, right?” He nods. “I didn’t know you were into sweets.”
“I am not,” you explain tersely, “But I thought you might want to try them.”
He blinks. He’s never been a sweet tooth and he doesn’t know what could have given that impression.
“Ah, thank you, I guess.” He accepts the wooden box that’s surprisingly heavy in his hands. “Do you want to try together.”
Something dances over your face, something like the flickering sunlight falling through the foliage. It’s beautiful, but it’s hidden away just a second later, hidden away like your body behind your wide coat.
He blinks, chasing away the memory of you in that dress.
The candy does not look appealing in any way, twelve globs of a clear, wiggling substance. It’s moving too much to be regular jello.
“How do you eat that?” He asks. You shrug and hand him chopsticks. It doesn’t work, the gel just breaks apart.
“I’ll get spoons,” you offer, rushing to the little coffee station they’re not actually supposed to have but hide very well every time the Hokage threatens them with an inspection.
Ibiki digs the spoon into one of the globs, realising this one has a faint green color to it. It’s cool on his tongue and tastes vaguely fruity. He holds it in his mouth for a second, not sure if he should bite it or swallow it whole.
Your eyes, hidden behind glasses, don’t tell anything, but your mouth is pulled into a line that tells him you’re equally displeased with the experience.
Eventually, he decides to bite into it, only to realize that it changes the taste. And the texture. It’s prickly now and his tongue starts burning. He wants to swallow it, get rid of it, but the way his tongue feels, almost as if it’s swelling up, tells him to do the opposite.
You stiffen as he spits it into his coffee cup. His tongue feels furry in the worst way, and double its size.
“I think I might be allergic,” he offers weakly.
“Do you need me to get a medic?” You ask, hands hovering.
“A glass of water would be a good start.”
-x-
“Jewelry,” Shibi offers over a game of Go, “Though I doubt it will work for you.”
“Why not?” You ask, making your next move even though you know you’ve already lost. Your attention is elsewhere, and it’s not on Shino, who’s napping on a pillow next to you.
“If the other things didn’t work, I doubt it will work.”
“I doubt he realized what I was doing,” you say, deeply dissatisfied with today’s outcome. Ibiki did have to see a Medic and as far as you know he’s still unable to speak properly.
Shibi looks up.
“That’s the most important part, though,” he says, “You cannot court someone if they don’t know you’re the one courting.”
You hesitate, Go piece in your hand.
“I just…” You start, the words painful enough that you don’t want to say them out loud. But you must, to get over them. “I don’t want to be forgotten again.”
“If you’re courting him, he must be worth it, right?”
You hesitate.
“Maybe.”
“Think about it,” Shibi offers, taking the piece from your hand and putting it where it belongs. “You’re still young. You don’t have to know today who you want to marry. You still have time.”
-x-
They could have done with some more people on this mission, Ibiki thinks as they race through the forest. He trusts you and he knows you’re going to do your job the way it needs to be done, but he would feel safer with at least one more person at their side.
They only rest in the early morning.
“I’ll take first watch,” he offers. You shake your head.
“I don’t have to sleep yet. I’ll go first.”
He hesitates for second before he nods. “I trust you with this.”
They hardly talk, a comfortable, focused silence between them.
It’s only on the way back, hands still caked with dried blood, that he slows down.
“Let’s rest earlier tonight,” he points at the formation of rock and trees. “We can get a good sleep and travel quicker tomorrow.”
You nod, offering to gather herbs, berries and wood while he sets up a sleeping place and some matters of defense.
He’s halfway through putting up the shitty tent that’s in every mission scroll when you approach him. There’s a white flower in your hands, one he hasn’t seen before.
“What did you get?” He asks, not sure if you want to show him something poisonous or edible.”
“This is for you,” you say, voice higher than he’s ever heard. “It reminded me of your eyes.”
He stares. “My eyes… are brown.”
“The biggest part of the eye is white,” you insist, pushing the flower into his hands. You’re stiffening again. “Though it may be a sickly yellow if you don’t have a healthy lifestyle, I-”
“Why are you gifting me flowers?” He asks, an idea creeping up his back like a slow spider.
You shut your mouth, breathe loudly through your nose. Ibiki wishes he could pull off your glasses, just once get to see your eyes.
“I like you,” you say, mouth pulled into that thin, almost pouty line he only sees when you have to admit something you don’t want to admit, “I am courting you.”
“Oh.”
Your back is as stiff as a board now as you turn, the flower dropping to the floor in your haste to get away.
“It’s alright,” you insist, “Forget about it. I’ll get us firewood and food.”
-
It takes you a long time to get back.
Long enough for him to gather his thoughts. And some supplies.
It’s nothing much, nowhere near the stuff he could get in Konoha, but he’s trying his best.
He’s covered the bedding in the tiny white buds of wild garlic, the aromatic smell filling the tent. He’s found a bush of wild strawberries too and even though he’s only managed to pick three ripe ones, he thinks they count as something sweet. Candy, if you will.
“I was supposed to bring the food,” you point out stiffly.
“Oh yeah, that’s not…” He can feel his heartbeat in his chest, realizes with a pang how uncomfortable you must have felt before. “I want to court you too.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.” He waves at you to sit. “I know how it works, I just… I don’t know yet if we could work, but I like you. I’d like to get to know you. So… if you’re not allergic to garlic or strawberries, this is me courting you back. Just don’t… don’t tell it back home, okay? I’ve got a reputation to lose.”