A/N: Thanks to all of you who are still reading. I know this fic isn't being updated quite as fast as my other fic, Valentine's Day Approaches, was when I was writing it, so thanks for hanging in there! My internet was being funky and not letting me post stuff, so I had to wait, but here's the fic.
xxx
Chapter 2 – A Favor
Iruka sighed. He was glad it was a Saturday. He wasn't feeling up to teaching. He wasn't feeling up to doing anything for that matter.
He was so tired of cooking that he thought he'd never want to cook in his life again. And the sad part was, he wasn't anywhere near to being finished. It was 4:36. He was waiting for Kakashi to knock on the door, checking the clock every few seconds.
The clock now read 4:37. Iruka realized sheepishly that Kakashi was usually late, and would probably arrive around 5:30, if not at 6:00. He groaned. Naruto was coming at 6:00 and if he didn't get Kakashi's help with preparing dinner, he didn't know what he would do!
Iruka sat down dejectedly at the table. After Kakashi had left after breakfast, Iruka had been summoned by the Hokage, only to have the mission she had in mind for him canceled. He had rushed back to his house immediately, set on starting cooking right away, but had realized that even though he had went out to buy groceries earlier when Kakashi was asleep, he still didn't have enough ingredients for the ramen he was preparing. So he had rushed out to the store once again, bought what he needed, and rushed back, only to find Naruto waiting on his doorstep. The blonde ninja had explained that not only was he bringing Sasuke, Sakura and Lee, but also Tenten and Neji. Iruka had shooed him away and finally got down to cooking.
Iruka held his head in his hands. If only all his time hadn't been wasted by silly errands! He'd only just managed to finish the ramen, but that wasn't enough, was it?
Suddenly he heard a tap at the door. He stood up, a bit shocked. Kakashi's early? But that's completely unheard of—he's always at least an hour late . . .
Nonetheless, he walked to the door and opened it, standing back to let the grey-haired Jonin into his house. Kakashi's visible eye was curved into a half-moon, an indication that he was smiling brightly beneath his mask. "Iruka! Why do you look so down? Sorry I'm late—" Iruka was taken aback. Kakashi wasn't anywhere near as late as usual and he was apologizing? "—but I was preparing some food for dinner. Here it is!"
Kakashi set the stuff down on the counter and put his hands on his hips, leaning against the wall smugly. He looked over at Iruka and blinked. "What's wrong?"
The Chunin's mouth was hanging open. "What . . . why did you do this? I mean—"
"Because you asked me to help you, silly," Kakashi replied, poking a finger at Iruka. "So, now that dinner's taken care of, let's do something to relax before Naruto and everyone comes over, hmm?"
Iruka was still standing there in shock. He shook himself and closed the door. "Sorry . . . I was just so worried about everything. I didn't expect this," he said with a sigh, shaking his head but smiling slightly.
"I'm always willing to do a favor for a friend," Kakashi murmured, taking the Chunin's shoulders. Iruka looked up at him. The two were silent for a moment before Kakashi continued. "You need to relax. Come here." He dragged the other ninja into the living room and made him sit down. "Can I get you anything? Make you some tea? Give you a massage? What do you need? Would you like—"
"What? N-no, I'm fine . . ." Iruka stuttered. Kakashi ignored him and went into his kitchen, opening random cupboards and poking around noisily.
"Where is the tea, anyway? Oh, never mind, I found it . . . what kind would you like? . . . Iruka?"
The Chunin raised his eyebrows. "Uh . . ."
"Fine, I'll pick for you." There was the clatter of porcelain against wood and the sound of water pouring from the kitchen, and then Kakashi came back into the room holding two mugs. "Here you go," he said, holding one out to Iruka.
"Thanks," the brown-haired ninja murmured, taking the cup and bringing it under his nose. "Mmm, this smells good."
"You have good taste in tea, my friend," the Jonin replied, sitting down across from Iruka and closing his eyes.
Iruka smiled and sipped his tea. "So how's your house? Still flooded?"
Kakashi lowered his visible eyebrow dolefully. "Yes . . . I managed to rescue some of my stuff, but it's still pretty bad—still flooded. If I had been here when the storm hit, none of this would have happened, but of course I was away on a mission," he explained, sighing.
Iruka frowned in sympathy. "So where are you going to stay? You could sleep here until your house is taken care of if you want."
Kakashi's visible eye opened, his eyebrow twitching almost unnoticeably. "Really? You wouldn't mind?"
The brown-haired Chunin shook his head. Kakashi smirked slightly beneath his mask. "Thank you, Iruka. That's very kind of you."
Iruka blushed. "Well, um, do you need to get your stuff?"
"No, my bag is by the door—I was planning on staying at a hotel so I packed some things I'd need."
"Oh. So you won't have to go back to your house then?"
"Nope."
Iruka paused, looking sidelong at the Jonin, who was still holding his mug in his hands. "Hey Kakashi, are you going to drink your tea?"
"Hmm? Oh! Right, my tea. Yeah . . ." Kakashi looked down at his mug. Iruka watched him closely—wouldn't he have to take off his mask? He would, wouldn't he?
The Chunin gasped. Kakashi had indeed unfastened his mask. It wasn't like he had changed, but the sight of his face still did something funny to Iruka's stomach. The Chunin made himself stare down at his hands.
Kakashi sipped his tea, leaning back and resting his feet on the low table in the center of the room. He smiled. "Ah, this is relaxing." The Jonin glanced over at Iruka. What is going on with him? He's blushing again. Hmm, maybe he really does like me. The grey-haired ninja grinned. "Well, Iruka, how have you been lately? How's the Academy?"
The Chunin looked up hesitatingly, meeting Kakashi's eyes and blushing again. It was strange to talk to a mask-less Kakashi. "I-I've been doing well . . . uh, yeah, I'm glad that it's the weekend though—work recently has been really exhausting." He leaned forward, resting his chin in his hands. "Genin have a knack for making me tired these days."
Kakashi's eyes widened slightly, almost worriedly. "Then don't worry about tonight—I'll do everything. You should just relax."
Iruka shook his head. "You're my guest." He started to stand up.
Kakashi was over in a flash with a hand on the Chunin's shoulder, gently pushing him down. "Relax, Iruka." He sat down next to the brown-haired ninja, an arm still around his shoulders. "You've been stressing out so much lately. It's been worrying me."
Iruka turned to look at Kakashi but then his head snapped back—their faces had been so close, barely inches apart.
"I have?" Iruka said, but it came out as a whisper. He coughed. "Um—" Kakashi put a hand over his mouth and pulled him closer. Iruka rested his head on the Jonin's shoulder, his body still tense. "Kakashi, what are you doing?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong."
"Then relax," Kakashi replied with a faint smirk.
Iruka sighed, letting the tension in his body go as he leaned against Kakashi. Soon his eyelids were drooping and his breathing had quieted. The Jonin checked to make sure he was asleep and moved closer, burying his nose in the other ninja's hair. He sighed. It was nice to hold Iruka in his arms, and he didn't get to do it that often. He savored the moment—the warmth of Iruka's body, the smell of his hair, the sound of his breathing.
Finally, the Jonin got up from the couch, gently moving Iruka so he could lie lengthwise on it. Kakashi walked into the kitchen and unpacked the food he had brought. He made sure everything was ready for dinner, set the table, and even swept the floor. Smiling once he had finished, he went back to the living room, sitting down next to the sleeping Chunin.
Iruka blinked as Kakashi smoothed his hair out of his face. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I went to sleep? Oh no . . . I really need to set everything up for dinner!"
"It's all done."
"What?! Why . . ."
"I told you before, I'm always willing to do a favor for a friend."
Iruka blushed. "How many times are you going to say that?"
Kakashi smiled. "Sorry. I just like repeating what you say."
The Chunin sat up, fixing his ponytail frantically. "What time is it?
"6:15."
Iruka groaned. "Are you sure everything is ready?" He dashed into the kitchen and looked around, breathing a sigh of relief. Kakashi came in after him, raising an eyebrow.
"See? Everything's fine."
Iruka closed his eyes in gratitude, smiling. "Thanks, Kakashi. I was really worried about all this."
Suddenly there was a gentle knock on the door, followed by a couple of loud crashes. Iruka opened it to see Naruto with his fist raised, about to knock again, and Sasuke trying his best to stop him. Sakura and Lee were laughing, but Tenten and Neji were just raising their eyebrows at the blonde ninja.
"Naruto, he heard you already! Stop!" Sasuke growled.
"Fine, teme, fine," Naruto muttered, hugging the Uchiha and grinning.
Iruka smiled ruefully. "Well, come in then."
xxx
A/N: Aww, Iruka is so cute. I love him. And by the way, yes, this fic is NaruSasu as well as KakaIru! XD
Next time: um, the plot continues?? Yeah . . . other than that, I'm not sure what happens. Sorry.
Review! THANKS! I LOVE YOU! (those of you who review, that is . . . lol)
- Snow