In the modern world, countries maintain the balance of power through classified international espionage. Trained men, known as shinobi, take on missions for their country in order to gain the most protected information another country possesses. They are swift, silent perfectionists, highly schooled in combat, reconnaissance, and assassination. They are undetectable, indestructible, unstoppable.
Among the major countries, it can be argued that the Fire Country is the strongest. What is undeniable is the fact that Hatake Kakashi is one of the strongest shinobi within the Fire Country. When coupled with his partner—in all senses of the word—Umino Iruka, it is said that this team is one of the best in all the world.
Today, however, their mission is compromised. This is not because the enemy has begun pursuit, or because their target is too heavily guarded—in fact, the duo is still in the jet on the runway, about to take off for the Lightning Country.
Umino Iruka was afraid to fly.
He was well aware that his arms were about to start shaking from the death grip he had on the padded armrests. It was such a tiny plane, and all the seats came in sets of two right next to the windows, so he couldn't even sit blindly in the middle because it was only empty space just like what would soon be surrounding him as the hunk of steel went hurtling through the air at speeds and heights that Iruka was sure God never meant for man to go.
"Ruka," Kakashi said from his side with obvious concern.
Iruka managed to stiffly turn his head to face the silver-haired man, willing his eyes to avoid the small window beyond. "You'd think Prime Minister Tsunade would have at least given me some sort of medication, or sedative, or something," he all but whined.
Kakashi reached out with a gloved hand to rub over the tense arm beside him. "You know that anything she could've prescribed would've had side effects that we can't afford. It's only going to take two hours to get there, and we have to be ready for action when we land."
That wasn't good news. Iruka moaned in dismay about the dreaded two hours of certain impending death, turning back to stare rigidly at nothing. He was already starting to sweat, and the plane hadn't even—oh, there it went. He made a small helpless noise as he clamped his eyes shut instinctively and even tightened his grip as the plane lurched forward into a slow taxi.
"Iruka!" Kakashi exclaimed, reaching out to pry up one of his partner's hands. "You're really starting to worry me. I can go tell the pilot now, we can still decline—"
He clutched at Kakashi's warmth almost as mindlessly. "No," he grit out, "We have to do this, everyone is counting on us."
With one hand, Kakashi lifted the middle armrest out of the way in order to pull his Iruka closer to him. He wasn't at all surprised, but maybe a little more worried, to find the other man trembling. "I love that about you," he said softly, squeezing him a little, "I love your commitment. It's inhuman."
Iruka didn't respond, only straining against his seatbelt into Kakashi's embrace.
Frowning at the restraint, Kakashi snaked his hands down to Iruka's seatbelt fastener, intending to decrease the distance between them, but being struck by an ingenious idea in the process.
Iruka bat his hands away, jerking his head toward the front of the plane.
Kakashi looked up, confused. This was a private jet used only for missions, so the only other person in the craft was the pilot. He had no idea what he was supposed to be looking at.
"Ruka, what am I supposed to be looking at?" he asked.
"The sign," came the miserable reply.
Right. Of course. The sign. Kakashi looked back up, trying to decipher what his increacingly incapacitated partner meant—oh, there it was. Next to "no smoking" and "no cellphones", the light for "seatbelts" was lit as well.
"I think that's more of a light than a sign. Besides, just a seatbelt isn't going to do you any good if the plane goes down, and even less if we get shot at—" He stopped, realizing how reassuring he was not being as Iruka began to moan into his shoulder.
"Ah…I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. But I'll tell you this. When we reach altitude, that sign's gonna go off, and I'm going to unbuckle your seatbelt, alright?"
"Why?" Iruka did not sound at all cooperative.
"Because, we're going to do some…training that will distract you from the flight."
Iruka sighed. "I don't think anything could distract me." He grasped Kakashi's hands, intertwining their fingers.
"It will," Kakashi declared. "I want you to focus on me the whole time, think of nothing else, and I promise I'll never break contact with you. I'll be your ground. You trust me?"
Iruka looked up, wincing as he felt the plane begin to pick up speed. But his eyes never left Kakashi's. "What…what kind of training is it?"
"Um….teamwork?"
Iruka smiled for the first time since boarding, and Kakashi kissed him as the jet left the ground.
An hour and 45 minutes later, Kakashi sat with his back to the window, legs stretched across both seats, a quietly sleeping Iruka leaning back into him. He sighed, leaning his bare cheek on the slightly mussed brown hair in front of him. His plan had been brilliantly successful. Iruka moaning his name instead of vaguely in fear was a great improvement. He was quite proud of himself.
Both his arms were laid over Iruka's, his hands still held in that tight grip. Kakashi smiled, lifting both sets of arms to tap lightly on Iruka's stomach.
"Wake up, Ruka, we're going to be landing soon. The seatbelt light's gonna come on any second."
Iruka turned his head to shoot his lover a sleepy look, and allowed himself to be kissed into consciousness.
"Mmm, I can't wait to land," he yawned as he sat up and stretched, freeing Kakashi's legs.
"Yeah, I know, I know, it's just a little longer," Kakashi comforted, reaching for his face mask which had been tossed away just a little more than recklessly.
"And I can't wait to finish our mission," Iruka went on, straightening his clothes and pulling his hair back into its proper look.
"Why's that?" Kakashi asked, taking his time to buckle Iruka's seatbelt with only a few unnecessary detours.
"Because," the dark-haired man replied with a playful grin, "I just can't wait for the flight home."