Author's Note: The plotbunnies jumped me! I had no defense!

I bow down in gratitude, for my amazing Beta: Mswan. You are beyond amazing, beyond wonderful and beyond every other synonym I could ever come up with.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, Kishimoto does. I only own my own creativity and just a little courage.

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Just A Little Courage

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My eyes scan the inside of the dusky bar. I've never been here before, even though it's a popular place. But bars aren't really my cup of tea, so to speak, so I hesitantly let my gaze wander around. I'm looking for someone, I wouldn't be here otherwise. The air inside the bar is smoky and it smells of alcohol and too many bodies. But I try to ignore that. I also try to ignore the loudness of it all, the deafening sound of partygoers beyond the point of just being drunk.

There! Over at the table in the far corner, I find the one I was looking for. Now I must undertake the task of getting there, not as easy as it sounds. The bar is heavily packed with patrons, and there isn't a clear path to be found anywhere. So I have to push my way through, hoping against hope that the alcohol consumption at this particular table hasn't exceeded a certain point yet.

As I draw nearer, I begin to fear that my fragile hope was in vain. The people at the table I am moving towards are just as loud, if not louder, than the ones I have already passed. A small sigh escapes me, but I try to hold my head up high. I try to hold on to my withering smile, even though it's hard.

Reaching the table, I open my mouth only to have my voice drowned out by a surge of laughter. Wiggling on the balls of my feet, I wait for the laughter to die down once more, wait for someone to notice me. I'm losing my confidence, losing the patience to stand here waiting. Another small sigh escapes me, and the person closest to me looks up.

For a moment, his words elude me. I am taken in by deep, dark eyes. Unable to move, unable to comprehend. But then he speaks again, his lips forming around my name. It is impossible not to smile as his voice calls out my name, and I do my utmost to suppress the shiver running down my spine.

"Hey, want to join us?" He immediately scoots over on the wooden bench, making room for me to sit down as he picks a glass with an unnamed liquid from the tray in the middle of the table, setting it down beside himself, where he has invited me to sit.

For only the briefest of moments, I hesitate. But then I sit down. There isn't much room, so our bodies are pressed up against each other, not a bad way to sit if you ask me. Even though he hardly seems to notice, I am aware of every slight move he makes, every part of our bodies that is touching. Hips, shoulders, arms, legs – this is almost a dream come true. If all these other people wouldn't be here, if all that alcohol wasn't in his system, it would be.

There is laughter all around us, tongues thick with alcohol. I try to ignore all that, focus solely on his body beside my own, against my own. My hand reaches for the glass, an almost instinctual thing. Lifting it up to my nose, I try to guess what's inside it, but I cannot begin to even fathom the possibilities. Another small sigh, and I set the glass back down.

"Don't like it?" His elbow gently pokes me in the ribs, an amicable gesture that I don't welcome. I'd much rather he'd be less friendly and more… Intimate. But that's hoping for too much, I know.

My voice is quiet, too quiet and he leans over as I repeat myself, "I don't usually drink…"

Clearly surprised, he raises one eyebrow before bringing his lips so close to my ear that I can feel his breath. It tickles, but I make a conscious attempt to ignore that, and listen to his voice, "Then what brings you to the local watering hole, Iruka-sensei?"

I swallow, suddenly becoming aware that most of the guys at the table are staring at me. I can feel my cheeks start to burn, dipping my head down to hide that fact. The men around me are all active shinobi, while I spent my days teaching little kids which side of the kunai is supposed to go in the target. It's more than a little embarrassing when you start thinking about it like that.

Lifting my gaze slightly, I find that they are still staring, the laughter and conversations at the table have died down and I find myself at the mercy of these men. These men that live the true life of a shinobi while I, for all intents and purposes, do not. I have the lowest rank at this table, the safest job. All around are jounin and tokubetsu and I am just a chuunin. A schoolteacher. They risk their lives on a daily basis, I only risk minor injuries to my pride. They have specific, advanced skill sets, I only teach the basics. I swallow hard. This was a mistake. I shouldn't be here, I shouldn't have interrupted their night out.

Sliding off the bench, I move to stand, mumbling an apology before turning for the door. There is no way this night could get any more embarrassing. I'm so sure. But as I take my first step away, I realize: I am naïve. This night can easily become more embarrassing and I've just proven that fact by walking straight into another man, carrying the next tray of drinks over to the table. He sways on his legs and the tray topples to the side. Without thinking, I reach out my hand, stabilize the tray before the glasses fall to the floor. A chorus of cheers sounds behind me and once again I feel my cheeks get hot. As Asuma increases his hold on the tray, I quickly move around him, head for the door once again.

The bar is still as packed as ever and it takes me a while to reach the exit. But as the fresh night breeze caresses my hot cheeks, I take a deep breath and will myself to relax once more. This was a stupid mistake, but at least I didn't make a total fool out of myself, even managing to restore my reputation somewhat by saving their next round of spirits. I sigh, turning to go home when a voice calls out to me. I cannot turn around, feeling trapped inside a bizarre dream that just doesn't know when to give up and retreat back to the recesses of my mind.

"So you don't drink, you don't talk and you don't stick around? What brought you here in the first place, Iruka-sensei?"

I swallow hard, my voice barely audible and my body still refuses to turn around, "I was looking for someone."

"Find 'em yet?"

"Yeah… I found him…"

He walks up to me, standing so close I can feel his body heat in the cold night air, "So now what? You're just going to leave again?"

I worry the inside of my lip for a few seconds, unsure what to make of this situation, "Pretty much…"

"Before even talking to him?" He steps around me now, leaning over his eyes search for mine.

I look away, shuffling my feet a little, "I talked to him…"

Taken aback, he straightens, his tone slightly higher than usual, "You only spoke to me, Iruka-sensei…"

I nod, folding my hands behind my back. A sliver of my usual confident demeanor returns to me and my voice is even and strong, "Correct."

"Then what did you want from me?"

His tone is soft, and I imagine I can hear a hint of understanding creep in. But it's most likely my imagination only. I worry the inside of my lip again, my confidence has dissipated once more and I don't feel up to the task I find myself presented with now. I cannot tell him, but I don't want to lie either. Trembling slightly, I swallow once more, looking away.

"Iruka-sensei –"

"I'm not your sensei!" Annoyed, I finally look him in the eyes, "I'm not. I'm Iruka Umino."

Smirking, he extends his hand, taking the senbon out from between his lips and twirling it around the fingers of his free hand, "Genma Shiranui, happy to make your acquaintance."

As the corners of my mouth twitch, I take his extended hand. I hesitate to speak, my fingers gripping his hand in a hold that must be getting painfully tight, but he doesn't react. I become increasingly aware that proper manners would have seen me let go of his hands seconds ago, but I can't. I just… Can't.

"Iruka?"

There is a smile in his voice, but he doesn't pull away. Which is great, because I don't want to let go. Even though I know I should, I really don't want to. If only I could speak now, that would probably help. Genma's mouth twitches, and he's almost chuckling before me, softly repeating my name. Swallowing, I worry the inside of my lip. I know I should probably do something at this point, but I just can't force myself to do anything.

"What's going to happen now, Iruka?"

I sigh, but somewhere in the back of my head the decision is made now, "This," Abruptly pulling on the hand that's still in mine, I manage to catch him off balance, pressing my lips against Genma's before he has a chance to protest.

My knees are trembling, and my heart is beating so hard it hurts, and my lips are positively tingling. Genma shows barely any reaction, and it scares me to death. So I pull back, feeling more insecure than ever, not to mention the fact that I feel like the biggest fool ever. Who just up and kisses someone? What guy just up and kisses another guy? That he barely even knows!

As I pull back, I swallow hard, getting ready to run away. I've just about decided to go live in the woods somewhere, so I'll never run into this man again, but my escape is prevented by Genma's arm, wrapping around my shoulder and pulling my back. His lips reattach to mine and before I even know what's happening, his tongue runs across my lower lip and I automatically part my lips.

Somewhere in the back of my head there is a huge fight going on. On one end, there's this voice yelling that I'm kissing this man, the one that I've had a crush on for years now. The other voice is shouting back that Genma is most likely drunk, won't remember this in the morning, and even if he does, will most likely regret this ever happened.

Arms come around me and he presses his body up against mine. Unsure what to do with my own arms, I awkwardly move them around his body as well, but as Genma pulls back, I immediately drop them again.

"So that's what you wanted."

He smiles at me, placing the senbon back between his lips with something that I can only characterize as a 'definitive gesture'. I bite down on my lip, taking a small step back once more, intending to make a run for it before he can say any more. But again, Genma reaches out, his hand grabbing hold of my sleeve.

"Iruka, please don't walk away right now."

My voice comes out cracked, "What else could I possibly do?"

"Stay, come back inside. Or, if you don't want to, join me for a… Eh… Very late dinner," He scratches the back of his head, looking almost a little uncomfortable, "Although… it's really late, huh? Just – I guess what I'm saying here is – no, not saying, asking… Please, Iruka… Go on a date with me."

"I w-… Eh, wait, what?"

He takes a small step back, his confidence clearly deflating. I watch as he swallows, biting down on the senbon in his mouth. Hands are pushed deep inside pockets and Genma nervously clears his throat.

"I just… I guess I thought…" He looks away for a brief moment, "Never mind."

Turning, he clearly attempts to flee, but this time it's my hand on his sleeve that stops him. The action was an instinctual one, I have no idea what to say. But as he looks back at me, eyes wide, I try nonetheless.

"Wh-what did you think?"

Genma pulls a little face, the senbon swishing over to the other side, his tone so soft it can't even be called a whisper and I have to strain my ears just to hear him over the noise that drifts out of the various bars, "That maybe you like me… Just a little?"

He sounds carefully hopeful, and inside my head, the argument slowly quiets down, "Genma… Tell me something… Just how drunk are you right now?"

I watch him chuckle, and he steps closer to me, leaning over so his breath tickles my ear once more as he whispers, "Completely. Sober. See, I. Never. Drink," He chuckles again, continuing his punctuation on every word, "I. Have. Coffee. Now, Iruka Umino, will you please go on a date with me?"

Nodding, I whisper back, "That's what I wanted."

"You just got a little intimidated then?"

Another nod on my part, I'm really loving the way his breath tickles me, how his voice sends shivers down my spine. I love smelling his faint cologne that matches so well with the shampoo he uses. But he suddenly moves back, and I'm left feeling like a fool once more.

"Hey, Genma!" The voice calls out to him from behind me, from the door of the bar that we've just left, "You coming back in or what? Kakashi says he's got the next round!"

Before me, Genma frowns lightly, "In a minute, Aoba!" Then, softer, "Dinner? Pick you up at seven tomorrow?"

One more silent nod from me, and Genma departs. My legs warn me that they're about to give way and I stumble over to the nearest wall, leaning against it as I try desperately to calm down my beating heart, my ragged breath. I have a date with Genma Shiranui! I think… I think I might be the happiest person alive right now. No, scratch that, I'm sure I am.

On my way home, I find myself almost skipping. Just a little courage can go a long way. All the way to a date with Genma Shiranui!