Cling

By: Sisco

Beta: ZheM

Disclaimers: Meh. This is really getting tiring. I DON'T OWN KAKASHI OR IRUKA!!! Karasu is mine…and Zhe's. She's da hoe though! Lmao!

X x X

So this is why Kakashi was acting like he was walking on glass, as if he might set off something that could risk his life. Especially around Iruka. It was all rather confusing until this happened.

Iruka fumed internally as he gave a forced grin to his soon to be ex-lover standing outside on his porch. "Eight years, huh?"

Kakashi gave a nervous smile, his eye curving only slightly in an inverted 'U'. "H-Hai, Iruka-love." Even though he couldn't see the storm about to rain upon him from the Chuunin, he could sense it steadily approaching. "Iruka…huh…I can explain this."

Iruka's smile broadened as an unhealthy tick formed over his left eyebrow. "What is there to explain?" His voice was on the edge of breaking and Kakashi didn't miss it.

The silver haired-nin could tell his life was hanging by a thread the longer he stood there jabbering like an idiot. "I didn't know, Iruka."

"That's why there is certain things called protection!" Iruka finally let out in a spectacular flash of fury. "I can't believe this! You've had a son for eight years…"

"That I didn't know I had," Kakashi repeated defensively and desperately. "She told me she couldn't get pregnant when we…yah know." He scratched the back of his neck anxiously as he peered down at the unmoving boy beside him. The kid didn't even seem phased by the other man's outbursts. If anything, he seemed quite fascinated. "She was a whore for crying out loud!"

Iruka's eyes widened with disbelief. "And you believed her? Were you seriously plastered back then or severely naïve?"

Kakashi had the decency to appear insulted. He hadn't been drunk the last time he checked, and he definitely knew for certain that he hadn't been naïve... Maybe too trusting was the correct usage. "Ah…come on, Iruka. Can't we disgust this in our apartment…where people aren't staring at us?"

The dark skinned Chuunin growled viciously under his breath as he reluctantly stepped aside to allow them in. He took a cursory glance at the boy, noticing the shock of silver hair that was trimmed almost in the same style as Kakashi's. He had to admit, he was a cute kid. No! Focus! You're angry with Kakashi, remember?

Iruka watched as Kakashi made himself comfortable in the recliner next to the window, his usual spot. The child climbed into his lap to observe his surroundings, but mostly Iruka.

Kakashi appeared a bit baffled that the eight year old would choose him for sitting on. And not knowing what else to do, he wrapped his arms around the smaller frame and hugged him to his chest. "I couldn't just leave him at an orphanage, Iruka, especially if he at least has another living relative."

The Chuunin seemed dazed by the familial picture in his living room, his eyes unfocused, but softer. "Huh? Oh, no. I understand, Kakashi," he murmured. Wasn't he supposed to be angry?

"And you said you always wanted a family. What a better way, right, Iruka," Kakashi asked, obviously taking advantage of Iruka's more or less confused state. A confused Chuunin was easier to persuade.

The brunette had his attention focused on the boy in Kakashi's lap, completely ignoring anything coming out of the Jounin's mouth. He was amazed with how the boy looked so much like his father. His light blue eyes and the way they scrutinized every little thing with curiosity. Iruka suddenly found himself wanting to fawn over the child as if it were his own. Nonetheless, having a whore conceive your child wouldn't have been one of his options. Iruka found himself suddenly disregarding the thought of his lover's encounter with the whore in his past.

Kakashi watched as the other approached them and knelt down at his knee to coo sweetly at the child.

"What's his name?" Iruka asked with a captivated smile and it grew as the boy slid from Kakashi's lap and latched himself onto Iruka in a tight hug. He lifted the boy effortlessly into his arms and carried him about like a kitten.

"Er…" Kakashi started jealously. What was that brat doing, taking all of his Iruka's attention away from him? Ever since he went to retrieve the chitlin, they both had an immediate loathing for each other. It was like a surge of negative energy when they made eye contact, and now he could feel the electrical sparks just as strong as he stared at the mini him from over Iruka's shoulder. That's your future mother you're groping there, punk!

"Kakashi?" Iruka turned toward the Jounin. "You didn't answer my question."

The older man blinked before shooting up to his feet and smiling broadly. "Oh…uh… What was the question again?"

Iruka sighed exasperatedly. "I think I could have asked the boy myself." He pulled the child away from his shoulder slightly. "So what's your name?"

The mini Kakashi smiled charmingly as he responded promptly. "Karasu." He even sounded like Kakashi when he was a child, which seemed to further irritate the Jounin.

"Karasu, huh?" Iruka chuckled as he started for the kitchen. "Well, Karasu, why don't we go get you some cookies and milk?"

"Muh," Kakashi sulked. "But what about me, Iruka-love? Don't I get a treat…that doesn't necessarily involve cookies or milk? More along the lines of…you?"

Iruka glared at the other as he followed them around the corner into the kitchen. "Kakashi, don't say things like that around your son. That's vulgar!"

"He's not only mine now," Kakashi muttered irritably. "He's ours. I thought I already established that earlier." The kid hadn't even been there for an hour and he was already causing problems…like possessing a certain Chuunin's full attention. "Or we could try for our own," he grounded out between his clinched teeth. Maybe it wasn't too late to return the brat to where he came from.

"You know you can't be saying or reading anything filthy around him, don't you?" Iruka would have smiled in relief to the thought. It was nerve racking watching his lover read those orange books at the dinner table or in their bed while he was trying to get intimate with the said pervert. And Kakashi would always come up with the excuse of calling it 'pleasure tips' just so he could finish reading it. Iruka didn't care how useful…and pleasuring those tips were, he could only take so much and their now recent addition to the family drew the line.

Kakashi sighed as he absently brought out his orange book and started reading it in front of his son and Iruka. He almost didn't notice the steak knife being flung at him until he lowered the book to see what that soft whistling sound was. His visible eye widened in trepidation as he dodged it by ducking to the other side of the wall. "Ai, Iruka! I'm sorry. I did it out of habit!"

"Well you better start breaking the habit," Iruka exclaimed, a pretty little pulse point throbbing at his temple.

"H-Hai," Kakashi muttered as he looked to his right at the tip of the steak knife sticking out of the wall, barely grazing his shoulder. He should have really thought twice about going and retrieving the child…or maybe his mother shouldn't have gone off and gotten herself killed. That ungrateful… It wasn't like she was a ninja or anything special like that. Oh no! She just had to be one of the pedestrians that got in the way during a battle. And what's worse, the boy didn't seem all that bothered by the fact that his own mother had been killed. Was she that bad of a mother? He looked up from his contemplation when he heard an insistent knocking at the door. Now who could this be, interrupting his little family time?

"Oi, Kakashi-san. Tsunade-sama has requested to see you. It's about a mission," Genma's voice responded from the other side of the door.

Kakashi's shoulders slumped at the sound of his comrade's voice. How did that senbon-chewing prick always know when he was home? Well, the door wasn't going to answer itself. He gradually made his way to the door and opened it, only to be met, not just by Genma, but by Raidou, Kotetsu, and Izumo as well. "Does it require all four of you to get me?"

"Ur," Raidou started nervously. "Tsunade-sama warned us that you might not be willing to cooperate after just retrieving your kid from Port City. You'd probably want to spend all of your devoted time with Iruka and your son now that…" He trailed off when Kakashi was staring at him as if he had grown two more heads. "Am I wrong, Kakashi-sensei?"

The silver haired-nin shook his head as he stepped out of the apartment and closed the door behind him. "No, you're right. I do want to spend time with my family. But there isn't much I can do if Tsunade-obaasan wishes to see me," he growled, using Naruto's favorite title for her and ignoring the shocked expressions flittering over his comrades faces. He faintly heard Iruka calling for him on the other side of the door, but acted as if he didn't hear. "You guys go on ahead. I promise I'll be there as soon as possible. I need to take care of a few things."

The four jounin stared at the silver haired-nin warily before deciding to believe him and were gone in a flash, all except Genma. The shorter man scrutinized Kakashi for a moment. "You better keep to your word, Kakashi-san. Just because you have a kid now doesn't make you any more special than the rest of us." And with that, Genma was also gone.

"Bastard," Kakashi muttered as he reentered the apartment to confront his lover. "Iruka, I need to go. Tsunade-sama has a mission for me." His voice dripped heavily with disappointment.

Iruka met him around the corner of the kitchen with a concerned frown. Apparently, he didn't miss the tone. "Well…I wish you didn't have to go so soon after returning home."

"The same here," Kakashi smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "I wanted to spend some quality time with you." He nuzzled Iruka's neck as he wrapped his arms around his waist and could feel the heat rise to the Chuunin's neck from blushing. He started to sway with the brunette in the middle of the hallway, as if dancing with him to slow playing music. "I'll return as fast as I can," he whispered against the other's shoulder.

"And that better be alive," Iruka murmured.

They both pulled apart slightly, Kakashi smiling charmingly and Iruka blushing shyly.

Iruka tried to sound stern as he chastised his lover. "Or I'll bring you back to life and kill you again myself."

Kakashi feigned hurt as he buried his face into Iruka's chest. "My own lover learning a forbidden jutsu! I never thought I'd see the day!"

The Chuunin waved his arms about frantically, trying to keep his balance. "Ah! Kakashi, stop it! You're being silly." He was finally able to place his hands firmly against his lover's shoulders and tried to push him away, while at the same time laughing as the Jounin tickled his chest by rubbing his nose into it.

There was a cough from behind Iruka, causing both men to tense and look up at the boy.

Kakashi gave a bemused expression from over Iruka's shoulder and snorted. Brat. He pulled away from his lover to approach his son and knelt down to his level. He gave a fake grin as he patted Karasu on the head, running his fingers through the silver tresses almost affectionately. "I have to go on a mission, squirt. So I want you to take care of your new…mother for me." He had to restrain a snicker when he could feel Iruka's glare boring into the back of his head. "You got that?"

Karasu resisted the urge to turn his head away and sulk indignantly. Who did his father think he was? Him? He would definitely take care of his new mother. At least this one was willing to take care of him in return, unlike his real mother who couldn't have given a flying rat's ass about him. He gave a curt nod and a frown, but it didn't stop his father from giving him another pat to the head. He wished everyone would stop treating him like a dog. Karasu watched as the Copy-nin stepped away from him and approach Iruka once again.

"And I'm trusting you to take care of my son," Kakashi teased with a grin. He then leaned in until his lips were brushing over Iruka's ear and whispered, "And I love you."

Before Iruka could respond to that, Kakashi was gone in a puff of smoke. "…you…too?"

Karasu sighed. His old man didn't even have the decency to wait for a response. He could already see he would have to be the one to keep this family in order, even though he didn't have much experience with one. He approached the tanned Chuunin cautiously before reaching out to take his hand and wrapped his fingers tightly around it.

Iruka looked down at the boy with a smile, if not a bit of shock. He wasn't expecting the boy to try and comfort him like that. "Are you finished with your snack?" he asked. "I can take you to the park if you like."

"No, it's alright. I'd rather stay here with you." Karasu smiled sweetly before tugging on Iruka's hand to lead him into the living room.

Iruka blinked. "Wouldn't you like to get to know other children your own age?" He was a bit baffled when the boy didn't respond and just urged him down onto the couch and then approached the bookshelf. "Karasu?"

The boy still didn't respond. He was looking through a collection of books, which fortunately weren't Kakashi's set of Icha Icha. Iruka thanked what ever deity there was mentally. The outrageously orange books had been placed on the very top shelf where they would barely be noticed by roaming eyes when they had guests over. He looked up from his contemplation when something solid and flat was placed on his lap. It was an ordinary, brown, child's book with golden lettering that read The Dog Who Loved a Cat. It was actually a bizarre love story between two animals that couldn't love each other because of their species. It was Kakashi's childhood book, if Iruka recalled his lover's words correctly. 'It was my favorite story when I was a kid. Mother used to read it to me all the time.'

"I don't want to know the other kids," Karasu spoke, breaking through the man's mental barriers again. "I'll do that when you enroll me into the academy. Can you read to me instead?" Karasu climbed onto the couch and snuggled up against Iruka's side, as if he had done this a million times before. Apparently, he was taking advantage of this family situation.

Wait! Enroll him into the academy? "You want to be a ninja?" Iruka asked as he wrapped his arm around Karasu's shoulder and leaned back into the couch.

The boy nodded with an 'uh-huh'. "I want to protect people…like father does." Even though he didn't take it as hard as he should have when his mother died, he still felt a pang of guilt for not being there with her when the attack took place in the village. Images of people trying to flee and others dying had slightly troubled him, even if he hadn't been there to witness it. And though she didn't show any signs of acknowledging his existence, she fed him, clothed him, and gave him a bed…he at least owed her some vengeance for that.

Night slowly rolled in, taking the morning's place and decorating the skies with its stars and bright white globe. Iruka had always preferred the night. It was much more brilliant than the day, especially when the stars were shining clearly and he could see the streaks of shooting stars. Too bad he couldn't stay up all night to witness the nighttime activities. He had school in the morning…which was going to prove difficult because he would need someone to watch over Karasu if Kakashi didn't return tonight.

Iruka moved away from the bedroom window with a sigh and sat on their shared futon. He peered over at the boy snoozing peacefully and gingerly ran his fingers through the soft, silver tresses. Ours. Kakashi's words practically sung into his head. "Ours," he repeated with a small smile.

To Be Continued.

A/N: This was going to be a one-shot, but ended up turning into a two-shot. XDDD Okay, I know it's not that funny. XP The next chapter isn't going to be as long…I don't think. Either way though, if you enjoyed this, please leave a review and tell me if I should update or not. If no, then I really don't see the point of putting up the second part and I'll just delete it, thinking it was sucky. XD