Here's a Valentine story. Will probably be in 2 parts.

I'm also currently working on the next chapter of "The Last Slayer"

Disclaimer : I DO NOT owe Naruto.

Iruka pressed his foot further down on the accelerator wondering for the hundredth time what the hell he was doing out in one of the worst snowstorms of the season. He knew that it was reckless but the anger that was seething inside him kept him from caring about reason. As he stared out the window into the blinding snow he let his mind wonder to the phone call that had propelled him out of his warm and comfortable apartment and into the cold and merciless outdoors.

Iruka closed his eyes letting his body flow from one stance to another effortless and seamless. His body and mind were engaged and he could feel the day's stress seep out of his body much like the trickle of sweat that made its way down the contours of his naked abdomen. His breathing deepened as he prepared to transition into Warrior II. His muscles contracted as he moved his legs further apart, his breathing steady, arms straight out, his whole body centered, his mind clear and focused when the ringing of the phone broke into his concentration. He wanted to ignore it and continue with his yoga routine but a deep sense of responsibility forced him to straighten and walk toward the ringing phone. He grabbed his towel as he made his way across the room

"Hello," he muttered as he swept the towel carelessly across his torso.

"Iruka-sensei thank goodness you answered you were my last hope. I mean I've tried to call Sasuke, Sakura, and Shino, Rock Lee, Gaara, Hinata, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, and Tenten and not one of them answered. Do you think they knew it was me and ignored it? Damn caller ID. But they wouldn't ignore me so they probably don't have caller ID and didn't know it was me, see that makes a lot more sense I mean why would they not answer if they knew it was me, you know what I mean? But why wouldn't they have caller ID everyone..."

"Naruto," Iruka interrupted what he was sure was just the beginning of a very long rant, "why were you calling everyone? What did you do this time?"

"Oh, about that, well you see I'm in jail, but it wasn't my fault. I mean if they didn't want people touching the vase they should have put a sign or something. Well, there was a sign but they should put a bigger sign maybe one with lights."

"What vase did you touch, Naruto?" Iruka asked trying to keep his breathing calm.

"Just some old vase from some dead old guy named Ming. I mean why would they have it displayed at the museum all out in the open and stuff if they didn't want people to touch it. It wasn't behind glass or anything, sure there was a rope but who pays attention to rope? And it's not like I broke the thing, and I'm almost a hundred percent certain that crack was there before I even got to the museum."

Iruka took a deep breath and counted to ten and when that failed to work he counted to twenty, "Where are you, Naruto?"

So now, Iruka was driving through a snowstorm so that Naruto wouldn't have to spend the night in jail because Naruto said that the jail didn't have a heater, and he was certain he would become a frozen Naruto if he spent the night behind bars. With another burst of anger, he pushed down harder on the accelerator. He couldn't believe that Naruto had been so reckless and irresponsible, but then again all of Naruto's life had been one reckless and irresponsible decision after another. Iruka closed his eyes for a split second to focus but that was enough for him to miss the patch of black ice on the road. Instinct had him slamming his foot down on the brakes as the car skidded sideways and into the tall snow embankment on the side of the road.

Iruka tightened his hands on the wheel as he made sure nothing was broken and nothing hurt. Once his heart stopped drumming loudly in his chest, he realized that the only sounds in the car were his harsh breaths. The radio had shut down and the engine had stopped.

"No, no, no," he whispered as he turned the key in the ignition. The car didn't even stutter. "Damn, damn, damn, come on baby you know you want to turn on," he said under his breath as he tried again and again with no results. Finally, exasperated, he slammed his fists down on the steering wheel until his hands began to ache.

Once he admitted to himself that the car was not going to start up again, he looked around and cursed yet again this time loudly and creatively. The snow still had not let up and all he could see as he looked around was a white blanket covering the earth. He reached for the space between the seats were he kept his cell phone but came up empty. Anger threatened to overwhelm him as he realized he left the phone on top of his kitchen counter. Naruto had pissed him off so bad he had forgotten to pocket the phone as he rushed out the door.

"Great," Iruka said out loud, "now I'm the one that's going to become a popsicle. If I survive this, I'm going to kill Naruto twice."

He hadn't seen any other cars on the road since he left his apartment; of course, most people were sane enough to stay indoors when it was colder than Antarctica outside. He gave a fleeting thought to trying his luck with the elements but quickly dismissed the idea as he heard the wail of the wind outside his window. As the car started to cool down he began to shiver and wondered how long it took to freeze to death.

He was thinking about what he wanted his tombstone to say when he saw the headlights. Iruka hadn't realized he was holding his breath until he let it out when the vehicle stopped.

"Thank you," he whispered to no one as he saw the door to the truck open. He rolled down his window, as he saw the driver step out, and instantly felt the ice cold wind against his skin.

Iruka only saw the glint of the badge on the man's jacket since the rest of him was covered against the cold.

"Looks like you could use some help," a gravelly voice said from behind a thick scarf.

"Yes, thank you so much for stopping, Officer. I hit a bad patch and lost control now the car won't start. Not sure whether it's the battery or something else," Iruka said.

"Sheriff," the man muttered, "the car is out of the way of the road so it'll keep till we can send a tow truck out to pick it up. I'll drive you home." The sheriff said as he turned and headed back to his truck.

Iruka scrambled out of his car and followed one of the cutest butts he'd ever seen back toward the police vehicle. He got in the truck and buckled up before he turned to look at his companion or at least he tried to, but the sheriff still had half his face covered. The sheriff removed his scarf and turned toward the half frozen brunette he rescued from the storm. Iruka turned to thank his savior, only to come face to face with a mask and a pair of mismatched eyes looking at him. Iruka blushed, willing himself to turn away from that intense stare.

"What's your name and address and I'll drop you off?"

Iruka shook his head to clear it, "Iruka. I was headed toward your office actually. I got a call from one of my friends that he was being held there."

"Name's Kakashi. The only person currently spending time in a cell is a blonde that will not be quiet for more than thirty seconds at a time."

"Yep, that's Naruto alright. He said something about no heat in the jail so I needed to get him out tonight," Iruka explained as Kakashi drove slowly back onto the road.

"Don't worry about the blonde. The jail is heated enough, and besides there won't be a judge to set bail until tomorrow morning," Kakashi said, "now the address please."

Iruka sighed, "Of course, he exaggerated," he muttered under his breath and then gave Kakashi his address.

Thanks for reading. Please review.