The Stray

Chapter 2

Iruka knew the man could speak. He knew it, and yet beyond asking about what had happened and Iruka's identity, he'd refused to say another word. He managed to look bored and excited at the same time. He followed Iruka from room to room, just watching him, obviously and inexplicably pleased with him.

The thought occurred to Iruka, mostly since the man had called himself a stray, that he was simply a big puppy. There was really no other way to describe him, especially when he begged so prettily with his eyes for whatever Iruka had that he happened to want.

Some of Iruka's lunch. Some of Iruka's love.

Once he was up out of bed, the strange dynamic began between the two of them, and Iruka was deliriously happy. He didn't know why, but suddenly his empty little house was full, and the lonely aching in his heart was gone.

All of his normal routines were new. He sat on his threadbare couch, scrolls spread out on his lap for grading, and the stray curled up on the couch beside him, putting a pillow against his side and then settling there to nap. It felt oddly natural to pet his hair, stroke his smooth face, lightly scratch over his sides and muscular arms.

Iruka cooked dinner and the stray followed him around his kitchen, watching him so intently, beaming with pleasure when Iruka finally held out a small sample of what he was cooking for the stray to eat off the tips of his fingers. Exactly like a puppy.

And Iruka couldn't help starting to speak to him that way.

"You know, if you don't tell me your name, I'll have to give you one," he said, as they ate dinner on Iruka's bed. The stray smiled at him a bit mysteriously, leaned forward, and whispered one word against Iruka's ear.

"Kakashi," he said, smiling. Then he licked Iruka's cheek. Iruka blushed, but laughed at the stray's playfulness all the same. Just how far would they both take their little game? Iruka intended to test the waters. He reached for the stray's Lightning forehead protector—the one thing about the man that kept reminding Iruka there was a world outside his house.

"You're going to need a new collar, if you don't want to be a stray anymore," Iruka said. The stray stared at him intensely for a moment, and then removed his forehead protector on his own. Feeling strangely breathless, Iruka leaned forward and kissed him.

His stray happily kissed him back.

~*~

After dinner, Iruka pushed the game even further.

"You need a bath, Kakashi," he said. Kakashi's smirk was unmistakably challenging. Mindful of the lacerations that were still healing, Iruka gently pulled Kakashi up off his bed. Keeping a firm grip on the stray's hand, he took him into the bathroom and turned on the tap.

At first Kakashi was good. He stood behind Iruka, nuzzling against his neck, nipping playfully at his ears, and rubbing his nose in Iruka's hair. He happily let Iruka pull off his clothes, stole loving kisses as the material was removed, and for the first time in his life felt completely comfortable with all his skin bared.

But Kakashi knew how baths were supposed to go with dirty puppies. The one giving the bath never stayed dry. He sat in the water obediently for a little while, but when Iruka least expected it, he pulled him in.

"Kakashi!" Iruka protested, now sopping wet. In the tussle, an open bottle of bubbles fell into the water, and soon the two of them were surrounded. Iruka laughed, and kissed him again, amidst the walls of bubbles.

Kakashi was happy, like he'd never been happy before.

~*~

The next morning, his owner had to leave for work. Iruka had offered him clothes after his bath, but for the moment, he preferred to wear only his bandages. He'd been wearing a blood-crusted uniform for so long, he didn't realize how liberating it was to take it off.

So Iruka had woken up to a very happy, vastly recovered puppy in the morning, one without a stitch of clothing, who wanted nothing more than to play with Iruka all day. Kakashi could tell it was hard on Iruka to be responsible and get ready for work, so he made it easier by giving him lots of encouraging kisses, and by making him breakfast.

Iruka insisted he put on some briefs before he left, but Kakashi noticed with a sly grin that Iruka seemed perfectly content to let him cook breakfast for him without any clothes.

~*~

Iruka didn't want to over-analyze it. He refused to let himself over-analyze it.

It was simple. He'd found a stray in the woods and taken him in, not expecting him to survive the night, but he had and now they were unbelievably happy with each other. That was all. End of story.

He watched with a heated blush as his puppy bent over to retrieve a pan in a lower cabinet, almost completely nude with the exception of the heavy bandages wrapped around various limbs and his torso. Kakashi glanced over his shoulder, grinning knowingly at him.

Iruka knew there was a reason he'd always wanted a dog as a kid.

The idea of coming home to a naked Kakashi was electrifying, but he also knew that he had some nosy neighbors. Before he left for work, he wrangled Kakashi into a pair of soft, black cotton briefs.

"My neighbors might get curious, puppy, and this is for my eyes only. Rest while I'm gone, okay? I'll be home soon, I promise." Iruka kissed him, and tangled his fingers through his hair.

~*~

Kakashi was a good dog the first day. He waited in Iruka's apartment, got more sleep, and had dinner ready when his person came home. He didn't let thoughts of his village distract him. He knew nobody was waiting for him at home and it was likely nobody even cared that he was missing. He was an average ninja, highly intelligent but a loner. He had a reputation for working poorly with others. He had one signature attack that typically did more harm than good, because it left him completely vulnerable to counter-attack. He was just another face in Lightning. Maybe they would give him a funeral and maybe they wouldn't.

But Kakashi wasn't thinking about that. He would have a new life, a happier life, with his rescuer. He could forget about how hard life had been in the past. As far as he was concerned, his life began when Iruka saved him in the woods.

When Iruka came home from work, Kakashi could tell his owner was tired and a little stressed. Kakashi fed him, and then tugged him to bed.

"Wait! Before I forget...I got you something on my way home," Iruka said, a soft blush on his face. Kakashi loved Iruka's blushes. He smiled, pulling Iruka into his arms, kissing every inch of his blush. Iruka laughed. "Is that your way of telling me you like presents? Here," Iruka said, pulling something slim and black from his pocket.

Kakashi recognized it instantly, and his heart melted just as fast.

Dangling from Iruka's fingers was a soft leather collar, with a little metal dog tag attached to the clasp. Kakashi's sharp vision recognized his name, embossed on the metal in small, neat letters. He kissed Iruka passionately at the man struggled to put it on him, too happy and excited to hold still. Iruka really wanted him, enough to buy him a collar and have a tag made for him.

Despite how crazy it was, Iruka was going to keep him. Kakashi wanted nothing more than to be kept.

That night in bed, Kakashi wanted Iruka to know just how much he was loved. He worshiped his owner's body, sniffing and licking, learning every groove of bone and valley of skin. Some places were more fun to explore than others, but Kakashi was a thorough puppy, if nothing else. Iruka gasped in pleasure as Kakashi creatively used his tongue in the most intimate of places. When Kakashi finally entered him, it was slow and loving, and their happiness filled every second, no sounds except for the steady creak of the bed and the clink of the metal in Kakashi's new collar.

Kakashi knew he really loved him, then.

The next day, Kakashi didn't want Iruka to leave him. Outside their little home was a dangerous world, where silly humans killed each other for seemingly no reason—just because there was a different symbol carved in the metal on their foreheads. The world outside was bloody and painful, Kakashi knew, and he didn't want his owner to venture outside without his protection.

So he let Iruka go after making him breakfast, and then he dressed in his owner's clothes and hid his more distinguishing features—not that anyone would recognize him, or even think to take notice of him. He followed his owner's trail, very relieved to find his trail led to a safe, relatively peaceful academy, where his owner taught children.

This was good. Kakashi felt a little better. He found a good spot in a tree overlooking Iruka's classroom window and had a long nap. When he awoke, Iruka was standing underneath the tree, staring up at him questioningly.

He smiled.

"Come down, Kakashi. What are you doing here?" Iruka asked. Kakashi was glad he didn't sound angry, just a little surprised. Kakashi gracefully dropped from the tree. Before they could continue their one-sided conversation, another academy teacher approached.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei! I'm glad I caught you before you went to the missions desk. How was the memorial service? I wanted to go, but I...who's this?" the young man asked, a pleasant smile on his face.

Iruka couldn't very well say, 'Oh, him? He's an enemy ninja, but he seems to want to be my dog.'

"He's..." Iruka began. Kakashi smirked, easily reaching out and linking his hand with Iruka's. Iruka's soft blush told the other teacher all he needed to know.

"Oh! Wow, Iruka-sensei, I didn't know you were seeing anyone," the other teacher said, grinning happily. Iruka just shrugged, smiling fondly at Kakashi. The other teacher suddenly looked a little embarrassed. "I'm interrupting, sorry! Just make sure you tell me about the service later, okay? Bye, Iruka-sensei!" The man left, and Kakashi pulled Iruka towards him, wrapping his arms easily around the pleased teacher.

They shared a kiss.

"Are you going to follow me all day? I have to go to a shift in the mission room now. It'd probably be better if you went back home," Iruka said. Kakashi pouted. Iruka, still in the warm circle of Kakashi's arms, kissed his chin. "I'll give you a treat later?" he offered. Kakashi looked interested. A quirk of his eyebrow asked, 'What kind of treat?'

"You know what kind of treat. A really, really good treat. But you have to be a good puppy," Iruka bribed. Kakashi stole another kiss, and then nodded. He let his owner go, casually waving over his shoulder as he ambled back towards their home. He knew Iruka watched him until he couldn't see him anymore.

~*~

Iruka still had giddy butterflies flapping around in his tummy when he reported to the missions desk. Genma was the other ninja working, and he raised an eyebrow and Iruka's small, persistent smile. That was new.

"You look happy today, Iruka-sensei," Genma drawled. The school teacher seemed surprised, and then he smiled. Still grinning, he brought his things to the table.

"I guess I am. It's a...very good day," Iruka said. Genma perked up in interest. What could possibly have the Chuunin so happy? As far as Genma knew, the brat he was so fond of—Naruto--was still out of town. It had to be something else.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Genma asked, as Iruka got situated and set up his pen and ink. The other man's grin widened—almost mischievously.

"New boyfriend," he said shortly. Genma was surprised for a moment, and then laughed.

"Finally someone caught your interest, huh? So when do we all get to meet this mystery man? Anyone I know?" Genma asked. For a split second, some of Iruka's happiness dimmed. What if they did know him? What if he'd killed one of their comrades, or stolen an important scroll from one of them, or...anything was possible! "Hey, why the long face all the sudden?" Genma asked. He winced. "Is he not the type that wants to meet your friends, or does he want to keep it secret?"

Genma hoped it was the latter. There was nothing to spice up the village like a secret romance. Iruka, however, was shaking his head.

"No, it's not a secret or anything. I guess I just hadn't thought about him meeting everyone. I wanted to keep him all to myself." Genma looked amused.

"Didn't peg you as the possessive sort, Iruka-sensei!" Genma joked. Iruka didn't laugh, though. He pulled out some of the scrolls he always seemed to be grading and just shrugged.

"I'm very possessive of him. He's mine. I think it's going to be forever, you know?" Iruka said. Just the thought of someone recognizing his stray and trying to take him back was enough to make Iruka raise his hackles.

"Wow, how did you get so serious with someone without any of us noticing you were even dating?" Genma asked, impressed with Iruka's stealth if he really had been keeping such a big secret. Iruka just shrugged again. He wondered what Kakashi was doing at home.

"So if it's not a secret, what's his name?" Genma asked.

"Kakashi," Iruka replied softly, a hint of a smile returning. "I don't think you'd know him."

"Kakashi, huh? Well, I'm happy for you, Iruka-sensei. You'll have to let me know how it goes," Genma said. Iruka nodded noncommittally and the conversation was ended by the arrival of ninja to turn in their reports. Iruka read as many as possible, desperately searching for any that might mention brutally defeating a Lightning ninja. No luck.

When Iruka finally made it home, the stress of worrying about Kakashi's secret identity all afternoon had worn him a little thin. But then he opened his front door, and Kakashi instantly swept him off his feet, a huge grin on his face and a million kisses ready for him.

No matter what happened, he'd keep Kakashi safe, he vowed. Kakashi was his responsibility now, and he was going to take care of him. He wouldn't let anyone put Kakashi back in the condition he'd found him in—nobody would hurt his little stray like that ever again.

A/N: Alright, so who's on bottom vs. who's on top (as you saw in this chapter) is flexible. Iruka will top later. Iruka is the dom in this relationship, though, as the next chapter will explore more thoroughly. I'm trying to do something kind of different with this story, and I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. I'm usually pretty wordy as a writer, but I've tried to simplify my writing style for this one and write something...bare, I guess is the word I'm looking for. Ha, I'm probably just thinking about it too much and getting to artsy fartsy, but I really do use fanfiction to try and improve my writing, so let me know what you think of the style. Not satisfying enough? Need more details, or more length? I can flesh it out more if it's not really working. So, yeah, penny for your thoughts!