Title: Smile
Pairing: GenmaxIruka
Summary: Genma's thoughts on Iruka's smile.
Disclaimer: Nope still belongs to Kishi-sama.

Genma smirked as he studied his friend. Most shinobi knew how to laugh. It was often better to laugh than to think about the reality of their lives. When you were faced with death more days than not, it became a matter of whistling past the grave yard. Of course the other option was to become a humorless stick in the mud like certain old farts on the council.

But, there was usually a hint of sadness to the eyes. A crease that showed the strain of too many forced smiles. And, always, there was the pause. The moment where the nin would hesitate, indiscernible to anyone other than another shinobi. It was like they were taking the briefest of moments to prepare themself for some unmentioned pain. Rarely, but most painful, was when one would suddenly stop as though struck by some dark thought or memory.

So, when he watched the honest laughter of one of his closest friends, he was both confused and hopeful. It wasn't that the younger man didn't understand pain, he'd suffered just like everyone else. And, surprisingly, it wasn't an act.

Genma had known the chunin since Iruka was at the academy, and he remembered the time that the smile was nothing more than a facade. If you asked him when that had changed he wasn't sure he could pin down the day. It had been something that had simply happened so slowly not even those closest to Iruka had noticed. But, even in the beginning the brunette's smile had been something worth seeing. Something about the softness of the man's eyes made you /want/ to see him smile. Iruka, was just somebody who should. Above all else, Genma loved seeing him smile.