It's just that he doesn't know when to shut up.
He doesn't know when to quit, when to just back the hell up and leave him fucking well alone. Jounin are crazy, Iruka knows, but this is ridiculous. He's tired of it. He finds himself biting his tongue every time the idiot comes around, afraid of what he might say if he doesn't.
oOo
"Maa, Sensei. Up for another day of saving the village one brat at a time?"
He bit his tongue. Silent war.
oOo
Avoiding him doesn't work, because he's a jounin, and stalking's what they do.
oOo
Saturday saw him fishing in a remote corner of the forest. The air was clear and clean; birds chirped and flitted around him. Above, through shimmering leaves, perfect clouds lazed close enough to touch. Iruka let the sun shine on him as he stretched out, smiling. He deserved this. Away from school, away from paperwork, away from noise and worry and him- A frown thinned his mouth. Something was blocking his light. He opened his eyes. Grey hair. That mask.
That fake fucking grin.
"Fancy seeing you here, Sensei! Shouldn't you be doing something useful?"
He paused, flexing that fake smile.
"Maa, but I guess that would take practice."
Iruka nearly lost it.
oOo
Shouting doesn't work, because the bastard likes it.
oOo
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
"Anoo... I do have a slight allergy to horse hair."
"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"
"Ah, Sensei. You wound me."
OoO
Nothing works. Nothing. Works. It's like pulling teeth. It takes everything he has to just bite his tongue and ignore him, because blood in his mouth is better than blood on the ground, right? Right. He just has to remind himself, sometimes.
Like right now.
Kakashi stands before him, hiding something behind his back.
"Maa, sensei... I think we might be having a misunderstanding."
Silent war, Iruka thinks. Don't let him win.
"I got you flowers and candy."
He pulls them out.
Iruka tries to control himself. Really. He makes the effort.
It's just not enough.
His right hook sends a stunned Kakashi to the ground, and his foot slams into Kakashi's gut. Blood trickles from his busted lip and onto the ground as he gapes up at Iruka. Something explodes in Iruka's chest, ricochets off every bone and nerve and vein, and it feels so good.
The sensei smiles, crouches over Kakashi, and kisses him hard. Kakashi is motionless and shocked and his underneath him, and there's blood in his mouth and blood on the ground, and as far as the art of silent war goes, this is what victory tastes like.
Feel free to comment... we've seen what repression can do. SHQ