"We had a blowout." It will occur to him, much later, that Gaara will probably assume that Minato meant tire. Oops. For now, though, he reaches into the diaper bag, pulls out a pacifier, and pops that into Naruto’s mouth. Immediately, the boy quiets, watery blue eyes fastened on Gaara’s face. Minato gives them both a thumbs-up.
Naruto says, “ghee,” while drool bubbles at the side of his lips. "Don’t hold him like a bomb, Gaara-kun. He’s already exploded, so you should be safe." Now, if he could just find the file from last Tuesday…
A blowout - what? - the incessant whining distracts Gaara far too much to make sense of anything until the toddler latches onto his pacifier and quiets down, but even then he's gained little confidence. On Mr. Namikaze's urging, he pulls Naruto closer to his chest, then returns to his previous lock-armed position, then hovers somewhere in between. The string of drool threatens to spill over his wobbly chin, and he smells like powder and strained peas. How did one hold a baby?
But his counselor shuffles through his desk with not a glance spared for the other two guests in his office. Gaara blanched.
-- "What do I do with it - him?"
