I do not own Iruka or Kakashi, or anything else pertaining to Naruto. It's all Masashi Kishimoto's property. The plot (is there one?) is mine, though.
Contains shounen-ai, implied yaoi and a lame attempt at humour. You have been warned.
Author's note: I'm alive!
Ahem, yeah. After a break of too many months from writing fanfiction, I decided to start working on stuff again this summer. And then I got this infernal plot bunny, so here we are, ahead of time. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.
To everyone who might be interested: as I already edited into my profile, I attempt to finish 'Selkie Heart' off this summer. So you can expect the next chapter to that during these next few weeks, and then I'll hopefully gain enough momentum to update weekly, perhaps even with shorter time intervals.
As for this one, I fear both Kakashi and Iruka might be a little OOC. Just pretend they aren't. Spoilers nonexistent, situated somewhere before the Sasuke-leaces-to-Orochimaru because a) I'm still in denial, so sue me and b) because of computer problems, I haven't been able to watch Naruto after episode 12? (probably, it's been so long I can't remember anymore). Whatever episode it was when Gaara arrived to fight Kimimaro.
Okay, enough of my blabbering and on to the actual story. I hope you enjoy. Reviews will be loved upon, flames will be consumed.
One bright, beautiful morning, when spring was in the air and the birds celebrated this by holding serenades from the wee hours of the night, making more than half the population of Konohagakure want to grab a kunai and permanently silence the source of the racket that disturbed their sleep, Hatake Kakashi and Umino Iruka woke up inside each other's bodies.
Now, neither of them could figure out how, exactly, this had come to be, especially since it was indeed not the way one might find oneself inside another during, and for a short while after, sexual intercourse - not that they were having sex anyway. They barely even knew each other! Oh no. It was the way that makes one blink, flabbergasted, at the reflection in the mirror, convinced that it definitely must be a hallucination, brought about by fatigue or a prank genjutsu, that one should find the face the owner of which one has distantly crushed on for the better part of a year looking straight back. As if it was one's own face.
After realising that yes, this indeed was happening, both parties promptly proceeded to panic. Of course, neither of them would ever admit it - except perhaps Iruka, when pestered enough, his left hand alternately going to the back of his head and to pinch the bridge of his nose, rubbing the scar there.
This called for action. Iruka, naturally, scrambled to get ready. From what Naruto had told him between slurps and inhales of ramen, Team 7 usually met at the bridge at about the same time his classes at the Academy started, and that was only half an hour away. Diligently, he made sure that he had not forgotten anything - even the nasty Icha Icha book - with the help of a mental checklist. Being Iruka, and thus marked by punctuality that bordered on obsession, it completely slipped from his mind that Kakashi was always at least two hours late. So it was that when he arrived on the bridge, right on time, all the while cursing at how difficult it was to adapt to a body with such a lousy posture, he was welcomed with three pairs of eyes regarding him suspiciously.
It was only then that Iruka remembered the sensei of this particular team was supposed to be lagging behind the schedule he set for his students.
The other one of the pair, then? Kakashi had seriously contemplated going back to bed and perhaps getting up a few hours later, first to visit Obito and then to see how his team was doing. Reconsidering this, though, he figured Iruka would kill him, or, at the very least, maul him to next Wednesday, if he heard that his classes had gone neglected. And Kakashi did not particularly want to anger Iruka... all right, he did, he thought the chuunin was adorable when boiling with fury. But when the lazy, perverted Sharingan user wasn't so crazy as to get Iruka upset over matters concerning his duties as a teacher. The man could be seriously intimidating. So he arrived at the Academy, running only a bit late, and braced himself for a long day of dealing with the pre-shinobi brats of Konoha. Adopting Iruka's manners to the best of his ability, he plunged on, idly wondering in the back of his mind whether Iruka's spine was even capable of bending into his own usual slouch.
Just for the record, the kids were mightily suspicious. Sharingan or no, Kakashi could not for the life of him do a perfect Iruka impersation.
He wanted the day to be over, now please.
Hours ticked by slowly, but finally both men were free from their respective duties. Iruka spotted the three genin shooting puzzled glances over their shoulders, and Kakashi couls awear that the students whispering heatedly amongst themselves was indeed not an everyday occurrence. Home seemed like a very nice place to be, dinner be damned.
As chance would have it, the men literally bumped into each other, both having been so deep in their thoughts - not to speak of unfamiliar bodies - their normal ninja senses were, for the moment, short cirquited. Eyes widening, they simply stared for what felt like a couple of eternities.
"So... Iruka?" Kakashi, now in Iruka's body and feeling very strange indeed, ventured. The other man blinked the one visible eye, then, suddenly, burst into laughter.
"This is so absurd! Kakashi, how did you... how did we...?"
Kakashi shrugged, then nudged Iruka's side.
"Want to go home? If this doesn't solve by itself, we can always go disturb the Hokage come morning."
A brief nod, and then they were on their way to Iruka's apartment. No more words were exchanged that night, only companionable smiles over improvised dinner. Together, they crashed into bed without even removing their clothes and sunk into sweet oblivion.
Iruka tried to block with his arm the sunlight streaming in from his window. It was a weekend, and he would like to exploit the chance to sleep in, thankyouverymuch. However, a stirring motion beside him made the chuunin blink and turn his head.
He was met with the sight of Hatake Kakashi peeking blearily at him with his one visible eye, and a grin broke out on his face. An answering smile could be seen in the curving of that single pool of deep blue. The atmosphere between them was peculiar, full of a gentle tension of a kind... enough so that it prompted Iruka to to phrase out loud a question he'd been wanting to ask for a good long while now.
"So, Kakashi-sensei, as we seem to be back to normal... Would you like to go out with me?"
At this, the smile was replaced by an intense, unreadable gaze, and he found his heart beating like that of a cornered rabbit. Had this been a bad idea? Should he apologise and tell Kakashi to forget what he said?
Just as he was opening his mouth to do exactly so, his companion nearly lunged forward, clawing the mask down - at which point Iruka's brain stopped all higher cognitive activities - and attacked his lips with such fervour that made the poor chuunin's body feel weak, head reel and his nether regions stir.
Some two hours later found them still in bed, naked limbs entangled. They both much preferred this method to be inside each other, even though the previous day's experience had been a very interesting one. It would not, however, be brought up in conversation. It had brought them together - that was that. And even while it might have been a good idea to get to know each other a little better before fucking the living daylights out of one another, neither of them was really complaining.
"You can take that as a yes."