A/N: Those who have followed my Naruto works from the beginning should know that around this time last year, I released "Code," an extremely angsty KakaIru story. Soooo…as an apology for making a ton of people cry, this year I bring you ultimate fluff.

Happy New Year, my fellow KakaIru fans! Best wishes for a wonderful yaoi-filled year.

BTW, I beat Tales of Symphonia for the first time today. Hurray!

Disclaimer:I don't own Naruto.-MeeLee

Taking the Initiative

Spring in Konoha was always a beautiful time: the wind chased wisps of clouds through the clear blue sky while the sun shone in sparkling rays through the forest leaves, playing joyfully upon the heads of the inhabitants of Hidden Leaf village. Most people, civilian and shinobi alike, were out and about, enjoying the weather and generally relaxing as much as they could.

Twenty-seven-year-old Hatake Kakashi was no exception. Seated comfortably in a tall tree that grew conveniently close to the window of a certain classroom at the ninja academy, the jounin was currently engaged in his favorite pastime: watching Umino Iruka teach his class.

Ever since Iruka had so openly confronted him in front of the Hokage during the Chuunin Exam nominations, Kakashi had had a strange fascination with the young twenty-six-year-old chuunin. At first he had chalked it up to simple curiosity: it had been a long time since anyone had dared to question his authority, him being the legendary Copy-Nin that he was, and so it had seemed natural that he would be intrigued by someone with such a rebellious nature. But as weeks of stalk—er, observation had gradually lengthened into months, Kakashi had eventually begun to suspect the motives for his interest in Iruka. He became jealous whenever he saw someone speaking with Iruka for too long. He found it harder and harder to focus on missions with images of Iruka constantly distracting him. He even began giving up his daily visits to the memorial stone so that he could make it to the academy in time to watch Iruka as he made his morning coffee in the teachers' lounge.

But Kakashi wasn't a genius for nothing. It didn't take long for him to realize that yes, he had in fact fallen head over heels in love with Iruka. Now there was only the question of what to do about the fact. And so far, the jounin hadn't done much.

Kakashi sighed as he watched Iruka tug exasperatedly at a few loose strands of hair that had managed to escape his trademark ponytail. He could easily have asked Iruka out on a date—the chuunin lived in on the same floor as he did in his apartment complex—but he was just too damn shy, afraid that Iruka would reject him or, worse, laugh. And so he could only sit here, pining from afar like the young peasant from Icha Icha Violence Volume Five, when he was lusting after the beautiful princess with luscious curves and full lips and Iruka was letting his hair down and smooth pale skin and—

Wait. What?

Kakashi could only stare as Iruka, seeming to finally have reached the limit of his patience with the loose hair, reached up and pulled out the tie holding his ponytail together. Chocolate-brown locks spilled over his shoulders, seeming to shimmer in the sunlight as Iruka ran careless fingers through them, continuing with his lecture without missing a beat.

Kakashi was sure that, had it not been for the mask, his jaw would have hit the floor by now. Iruka was gorgeous. All of a sudden Kakashi's mind clicked and he saw Iruka sprawled out on his bed, body flushed and gloriously nude, hair spilling over the pillows, begging for it—

"Shit." Noticing that a certain problem had—ahem—come up, Kakashi bamphed away as quickly as he could.

Back inside the classroom, Iruka smirked as he felt the distinct chakra presence that had been there all morning suddenly vanish. Maybe that would be the final blow, and Kakashi would finally get the guts to ask him out. Unbeknownst to the jounin in question, Iruka, being a teacher, had excellent intuition—therefore, he had figured out Kakashi's apparent crush on him months ago. Iruka himself found the jounin attractive, and wouldn't mind going out with him at all—if Kakashi would only ask. Now Iruka was losing his patience and had decided to take the initiative, and so far things seemed to be working out.

Let's see you sit through what I have planned next, oh famous Copy-Nin, Iruka thought to himself as he tied his hair back up and continued with his lesson.


Hatake Kakashi hardly ever got visitors to his home, and so to say that he was surprised when his doorbell rang that evening would be an understatement. Rising slowly from the couch, he drew a kunai, spinning it as he warily approached the door. "Who's there?" he barked.

"Anou…is that you, Kakashi-san?"

Though the voice was slightly muffled by the door, Kakashi recognized it instantly, had memorized it long ago. Iruka! What was Iruka doing here? Oh shit, he was a complete mess! And he hadn't cleaned in weeks; his apartment looked like a pigsty! What was he going to do? What was Iruka going to think? Argh!

"Kakashi-san?"

"Just a minute!" Kakashi usually saved his jutsus for battle, thinking it shameful to use them for everyday work, but he wasn't thinking about that at the moment. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Instantly ten Kakashis dove at the apartment, sweeping things under rugs, throwing junk into drawers, packing away dishes as the real Kakashi rushed to his bedroom, throwing his uniform on and pulling up his mask.

"Uh, Kakashi-san? What's all that noise?"

"Nothing, nothing! Just gimme a sec, I'll be right there!" Kakashi answered, cursing the thin walls.

"Um, y'know, if you're busy I can just come back later—"

"Ack—no, don't leave me! Iruka, wait!" Dispelling his clones, Kakashi dove for the door and pulled it open.

Umino Iruka blinked at him, confusion written plainly in his dark brown eyes. "Are you okay, Kakashi-san?"

"What? Oh—yes, I'm fine," Kakashi said, realizing he was breathing hard. Straightening, he relaxed and forced his body into its customary slouch. "So what can I do for you, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka bit his lip and shook his head; Kakashi could swear he was trying not to laugh. "Ah, well, I have a favor to ask…I was wondering if I could use your shower? Mine's broken, and I'm a total mess."

Kakashi had to agree; the chuunin was covered almost from head to toe in mud, dirt and grime. "Long day with the kids?" he asked, voice completely nonchalant as he moved aside to allow Iruka into the apartment. Iruka's gonna shower here! Iruka's gonna shower here! Inner Kakashi was doing a happy dance.

"Yeah, that about sums it up," Iruka said, stepping inside and toeing his sandals off. "I'm sorry to bother you like this."

"No, it's fine," Kakashi said, using a foot to kick a stray Icha Icha book under the table as he pointed down the hallway. "Bathroom's that way." And would you mind leaving the door open?

"Okay, thank you," Iruka said, bowing as he headed for the bathroom and shut the door.

Very slowly, Kakashi sank onto the couch, twitching as he heard the shower come on. Iruka was in there…naked…only a few feet away from him. What should he do? He wanted desperately to take a peek—who knew if he would ever get a chance like this again—but what if Iruka caught him? Gods, the chuunin would probably hate him for life, and then how was he supposed to win Iruka over? But if he didn't peek, he'd lose the opportunity of a lifetime. But if Iruka caught him—argh!

At this point, Kakashi was distracted by the sound of the bathroom door opening and turned just in time to see Iruka step out, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, his wet hair dripping as it hung over his shoulders.

The chuunin laughed nervously. "Anou…sorry, Kakashi-san, but you seem to be out of soap…"

And Kakashi's brain promptly imploded.


It wasn't until hours later, after hot wild sex, a shower, more sex, food, and still more sex that something finally dawned on Kakashi.

Turning, he poked Iruka in the ribs. "Hey."

"Ungh." The chuunin turned, peering at him through messy brown locks. "What? I told you, I'm too tired for another round."

"It's not that," Kakashi said. "I put a new bar of soap in last night."

Iruka stared at him for a very long time. When the stare became a very smug smile, Kakashi finally realized it. "Oi, you set this whole thing up!"

At this, the chuunin burst into uncontrollable laughter. "Took you long enough," he wheezed between breaths.

Kakashi glared. "That's real low, you know."

The laughter died, and Iruka frowned. "Are you regretting it then?" he asked, unable to conceal the hurt in his eyes.

"No, no," Kakashi said quickly, "It's just…" He sighed. "I'm supposed to be a genius," he whined.

Iruka laughed again at that, kissing at his new lover until Kakashi finally stopped pouting. "You can't be good at everything, Kakashi," he said.

Kakashi sighed. "I'll bet your shower isn't broken either," he muttered.

"Nope, it works just fine," Iruka said. "Oh, and before I forget, if you really want to watch me in my classroom, wouldn't it be easier to henge as a student or something? Trees aren't that comfortable to sit in for prolonged periods of time, you know." He laughed at the look of utter surprise on his lover's face. "Honestly, Kakashi, I'm a fully-qualified chuunin. You thought I wouldn't notice?"

Kakashi buried his face in Iruka's neck. "And I thought I was doing so well too," he mumbled.

Iruka grinned. "There's nothing you can do that can surprise me anymore, Kakashi," he said.

Kakashi lifted his head. "Really?"

"Really."

The jounin grinned.


"Chakra damage can be painful, and sometimes permanently debilitating. Therefore, it is imperative that you keep track of your chakra levels at all times. Putting too much stress on your chakra system can lead to serious impairment, both physical and mental. The best way to avoid this is to carry chakra-replenishing items, such as soldier pills or chakra powder. The pros of using soldier pills are—"

Iruka paused at the sound of a knock on the classroom door. Before he had a chance to respond, however, the door slid open.

The entire class, including its teacher, stared as Hatake Kakashi, the legendary Copy-Nin of Konoha, walked briskly across the room to stand in front of the teacher's desk, facing the class. He held up a small package wrapped in bright orange paper.

"I made this lunch," he said. "Does it belong to any of you?"

When only silence answered him, he shrugged and turned to face Iruka. "Oh. Guess it's for the sensei then. He is my boyfriend, after all."

The classroom instantly filled with accusatory oooh's and aaah's when Iruka's face turned red to the tips of his ears as he accepted the package. "Uh, thanks, Kakashi-san," he said.

"No problem, Iruka-chan," Kakashi answered, grinning as he turned and walked away. He was halfway out the door when he stopped and turned back. "Oh, I forgot your goodbye kiss," he said, loudly enough for the entire class to hear. Taking two broad strides to the teacher's desk, he turned so that the back of his head was facing the class, pulled down his mask, and kissed a stunned Iruka thoroughly as the class burst into snickers and cat calls.

"Surprised?" he whispered as he stepped back, pulled his mask up, and high-tailed it out of the classroom before Iruka could smack him.

The chuunin was currently trying to decide whether to be deliriously happy or raving mad. He settled for a combination of both.

"What're you staring at?" he roared at his class. "Early lunch! Get out of here!"

When the classroom had emptied, he sank into his chair, shaking his head as he slowly unwrapped the package. Stupid Kakashi, he thought, before smiling. Just wait until I bring out the handcuffs tonight…

FINI


A/N:
The last part was pure inspiration. I liked it though, didn't you? Oh and I forgot to mention that the lunch scene was inspired by a similar scene from the Korean movie "Windstruck."