A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! It's been a while. But well, here's a festive fic from me. As usual, reviews and comments are welcome!
Chapter 1: The Invitation
Konoha was bustling with activity as her people busied themselves with the preparations for the festive season that was just around the corner. Iruka hummed softly as he browsed through the array of Christmas decorations in the general store, trying to pick out new ones for the upcoming party at his home.
"What do you think of this, Iruka?"
The chunin turned at the voice and stared right into a greenish figurine that was held up in front of him as a small frown formed on his face.
"Is that supposed to be a gnome or some sort of a Christmas dwarf, Anko?" Iruka shook his head as he switched his attention back to the array of decorations before him. "That thing is not going up on my Christmas tree."
"You are picky." Anko snorted as she placed the figurine back from where she took it. "At this rate, you won't get everything in time for the party. Speaking of which, how far have you gone in your planning? It seems to me that you have been too busy lately to do any proper planning."
"The planning's going fine. You don't have to worry your head over it, Anko. And with the Academy letting up tomorrow for the holidays, I have plenty of time to prepare for the party." Iruka muttered absently as he dumped an ornament into the basket hanging by his arm.
"Good to hear." The purple-haired kunoichi fiddled with a piece of tinsel as she casted a sideways glance at her friend, a grin on her face. "What about the guests' list? Is it ready?"
"Yeah."
"Sent out the invitations?"
"I will be sending them out tomorrow."
"Will you be inviting him?"
The chunin paused, as the words sank in and a tinge of red colored his cheeks. He cleared his throat, trying to find the right words to say. After a few attempts, he merely shrugged and turned away.
"Hey, you did not answer my question, Iruka!" Anko scowled as she trailed after her friend. "Come on now and tell me." She slung her arm across the chunin's shoulder, a low chuckle escaping her throat. "If you are too shy, I can always help you to ask him, you know."
"Shut up." Iruka groused. "I have the ability to do that myself."
"Do you really?" The kunoichi raised her eyebrows in amusement. "From what I recall, the last time you tried talking to him, you can hardly form a coherent sentence. Even for a genius like him, he certainly did have difficulties understanding you then. That was certainly an impression you made on him. Are you sure you want to try something like that again?" Anko leaned in closer, the teasing smirk on her face growing wider. "If the same thing happens again, you will certainly convince him of your ability or lack thereof, to be an academy teacher."
"Shut up!" The red that coloured the chunin's cheeks darkened. He threw a glare at the smirking kunoichi beside him before shrugging off her arm and continued on his way.
"Aw, come on." Anko followed her friend towards the checkout counter where he paid for his purchases. "I'm right, aren't I? Or if you think that I'm not suitable enough to do this inviting job, I'm sure Kurenai would gladly take it on. Her lover is good friends with him after all."
"Stop harping on it, Anko." Iruka groaned. Handing the cashier some ryos, he picked up the bags and turned towards the exit. "Whether it's you or Kurenai, I'm pretty sure that you will just embarrass the hell out of me."
"But we are just being concerned." Anko shrugged. "You can't dawdle about when it comes to asking him out. There are so many parties going around during this period. Someone might just beat you to it!"
"And does it really matter?" Iruka gave a wry smile and stepped out of the shop. "It's not like I even stand a chance against those kunoichi. I've already lost out on the fact that I'm not a woman."
"What's with you?" Anko scowled. "Giving up without even a fight? You've liked him for so long. Surely that's enough to suffice. And besides, gay couples are common in the village. Just look at Genma and –"
"Anko!" Iruka hissed, a blush rising up to his cheeks as he casted a furtive glance at the people staring at them. "You are too loud."
"Who cares? They can listen all they want." The snake summoner snorted. "Anyway, as I was saying, you should just go up to him and invite him to your party!"
"It's not as easy as you think, Anko."Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose in mild frustration and picked up his pace, wanting nothing more than to get away from his nosy friend and back into the comfort of his home. He, however, did not see the two approaching figures as he turned the corner and he ran smacked right into a stronger, broader body.
Iruka landed on his back and he winced lightly as the things in his bag scattered around him. He blinked a few times, trying to get his vision back into focus and when he was finally able to recover, the first thing he saw was a gloved hand reaching out to him. Dazedly, he took the offered hand and felt himself being hauled to his feet.
"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei. I didn't watch where I was going. Are you alright?"
It was only at the sound of that all too familiar voice that Iruka finally glanced up at the person whom he had collided into. He found himself staring right into a masked face that he wasn't really prepared to see right at that moment. And it was only when an arm landed heavily across his shoulders that he snapped from his reverie.
"My, Kakashi. What a nice coincidence."
Iruka flinched at the teasing voice beside him and inwardly prayed that Anko would not think of taking any of her own initiatives and start spouting nonsense which will embarrass him further. Kakashi, however, merely raised an eyebrow at the kunoichi and gave her a nod of greeting.
"Good day, Anko." Turning back to the still silent academy sensei, Kakashi peered at him closely, studying him carefully. "Are you alright, Iruka-sensei?"
The chunin offered up a nervous smile. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry, Kakashi-san. I was the one who wasn't looking."
"Maa… It's fine. You look like you are in a hurry to get somewhere." Kakashi's eye arched up in a smile. "Rushing for your duty in the mission room?"
"Certainly doesn't look like it." Another voice joined into the conversation. Iruka turned his head towards the source of voice, only to see Asuma crouching on the ground, studying a reindeer ornament before he slipped it into the bag. Straightening himself, he handed the bag to the academy teacher. "Unless you are going to decorate the mission room with those things?"
Before Iruka could utter a word, Anko chirped in happily. "Those are the decorations for his Christmas party next week!"
Kakashi and Asuma nodded in acknowledgement. The grin on Anko's face grew.
"By the way, Kakashi, Iruka has something he would like to ask you."
The chunin's eyes widened while the copy nin raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" Kakashi shifted his gaze towards the surprised academy teacher. "So what is it, Iruka-sensei?"
Iruka turned towards Anko, a befuddled look in his brown eyes. The kunoichi, however, merely gave him a wink, a nod and a devious grin. And that was all it took for Iruka to understand what exactly the snake user was hinting.
His jaw dropped.
"Iruka-sensei?"
The chunin slowly turned his attention back to the taller man before him, his mind whirling with a hundred different thoughts. First and foremost in his train of thoughts was that, the moment Kakashi and Asuma leave, he would kill Anko, bare-handed. However, right at this moment, the more pressing issue was probably how he should get the question across.
"Ah well…" Iruka fidgeted nervously as he shifted the bag from hand to hand. "Um, well…"
Kakashi nodded, patiently waiting for the younger man to continue what he was trying to say. He turned amused as Iruka scratched the back of his head, his gaze shifting from the left to the right nervously as a tinge of red colored his cheeks.
"I… You know, I was just thinking, um…. If… Well… Uh, next week if you are free, uh, would you um…"
Anko tapped her foot in impatience at her friend's hesitancy. Asuma stared at the usually confident academy teacher in amusement as he tried to hide the laughter that was threatening to escape. Kakashi nodded a few times, trying to encourage the chunin to speak up, while at the same time, trying to comprehend what Iruka was trying to tell him.
"Just get it over with, Iruka." Anko hissed, her patience wearing thin. Iruka glared at the woman in annoyance, before he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
'You can do this, Iruka!'
Garnering a little more self-confidence, the chunin turned his attention back to the silver-haired man. "Uh, Kakashi-san, what I was trying to say is that if you are free next week, would you like to come for my Christmas party?"
Anko beamed. Asuma's eyes widened while Kakashi stared at the teacher in surprise.
After a moment of silence, Iruka felt the confidence that he had managed to gather began to ditch him. Trying to prevent further embarrassment on his part, he shook his head and forced a smile.
"Ah well, I was just you know, um, asking… If you aren't available then… Uh, I mean, you are so popular, there would be many others who are asking you to go for their parties." Iruka blushed a deep red. "No, I mean, um…"
"Thanks for the invite, Iruka-sensei. I will be there." Kakashi cut in smoothly, stopping the chunin from babbling further, as his single eye arched up into a smile.
Iruka's head snapped up in surprise. As the words set in, a relief smile formed on his lips.
"Is that so? Um… I will look forward to it then."
A cawing messenger bird circling above them disrupted the conversation between the four shinobi. Kakashi and Asuma raised their heads, staring at the bird for a minute before they turned their attention back to the two before them.
"Well, looks like Tsunade sama's calling for us. We will take our leave then. I will see you around, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi smiled, as he raised his finger in a two-finger salute. Then, weaving his fingers through the seals, he and Asuma disappeared in a puff of smoke.
The moment the two jounin were gone, Iruka let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. The conversation that had just taken place replayed itself in his mind as he slowly recovered and he turned a glare towards the beaming kunoichi beside him.
"Anko!"
"What?" The purple-haired lady smiled at him brightly.
"I told you to stay out of this!"
"But he agreed to go, didn't he? You should thank me!" Anko grinned.
An eyebrow twitched. "Thank you? Did you realize how embarrassed I was?"
"But it turned out well." Anko rebutted.
The twitching grew worse. Iruka glared at the kunoichi.
"Anko."
"Yes?"
"Run."
=-=-=-=-=
The smoke cleared as the two jounin landed smoothly outside the Hokage's office. Kakashi turned towards the door, ready to enter the room. Asuma, however, remained at his spot with a thoughtful look on his face.
The silver-haired jounin turned to look at his friend.
"What?"
"It goes exactly the way you want it, isn't it?" Asuma grinned.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"You knew he would ask you, didn't you? Was that the reason why you decline the entire village's maidens' invitations to Christmas parties?"
"No." Kakashi shrugged. "I just wasn't interested in those parties."
"And you are interested in Iruka-sensei's party? I don't see any difference in his from all the others."
"Yeah, you are right. There are no differences in the parties." A small smile formed behind the mask. "What's different is in the host."
Asuma stared at his friend for a long moment, before he nodded in acknowledgement, knowing that it would be wiser to avoid probing any longer and leave the other man to his own privacy. Not that he would be able to find out more from Kakashi either way, seeing as how the man is always so god damn secretive about his own life.
Clapping an encouraging hand on the copy nin's shoulder, Asuma sighed and walked towards the door.
"I'm not going to ask what exactly you are thinking. But I seriously hope you have put enough thought in this. Either way, turning down all those previous invitations, how did you know he was going to invite you?"
"I didn't." Kakashi smiled as he stepped up beside the bearded man. "I should say, that was a nice surprise."
=-=-=-=