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Chapter Two: Ένας φίλος (A friend)
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It was with a heavy heart that Kakashi kept his exposed eye off Iruka's lovely crotch, which was an exceptionally difficult task considering that only two feet separated him from the subtle bulge in those... pants. He might have been able to deal with it on any other day, but today Iruka was not wearing jeans. Okay, he was wearing "jeans," but not jeans as the fair-haired psychologist understood jeans. No... today, Iruka had worn something akin to black denim tights, and all Kakashi could think about was why they had to be so damn sexy.
Was it just to tease Kakashi with the knowledge that only fabric—and perhaps social conventions—kept him from touching the brunet's (surely beautiful) cock? Yes. That was it. It was the universe conspiring against him once again. Nothing that perfect yet untouchable would be presented to Kakashi unless some being had decided to punish him on a celestial scale.
Instead, Kakashi focused on something equally as distracting: Iruka's lips. Oh, with every movement came an imagined sensation: the was a little sigh as Kakashi pressed a kiss to the brunet's wrist; trainee flexed Iruka's mouth like a lustful demand; and superior... well, that word did awful things to Kakashi's mind anyway. A sentence was a complete string of actions, and a conversation so much more than that.
But, in the end, they were only hopeless imaginings.
"...And then she dropped the cup."
The train lurched to a halt. Some people got on and off, but—unfortunately for the fair-haired man's dirty mind—the passengers at either side did not leave their seats. (Kakashi now knew what a mistake he had made when he did not force Iruka to sit down instead of him. Being at crotch-level was never a good thing.)
"She just... dropped it after three hours of trying to get the kid to pee. I understand that the boy should have known to close the lid, but come on! Hinata—god bless that sweet girl—should not be so careless. And to think, it was all because the kid said she was cute."
"I am sure that her shyness will lessen once she is on the job longer." Kakashi smiled sympathetically at the work-weary man. "Remember, even you were not perfect when you started working in the ER."
Iruka glared. "Why do you have to be so rational all the time?"
"Because you wouldn't have me any other way," Kakashi responded sweetly, earning another glare (this one was slightly more exasperated than the previous). He knew that there was some truth to his short explanation: Iruka considered Kakashi to be his voice of reason, as well as the most frank person out of all his friends. The brunet always seemed to trust Kakashi's input in any situation, which struck the psychologist as odd since he tended to see things a little... differently than most. Even when his proposals were absolutely preposterous (which they weren't often, of course), Iruka valued his opinion just as much as that from anyone else.
Iruka had yet to respond after a curiously long moment, so Kakashi decided to change the subject as silence led to staring which led to drooling which led to downright groveling... all of which the psychologist would prefer to avoid. "So, it's been a while since I've seen Naruto. What's he up to?"
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Iruka rearranged the handles of the plastic bags he held, hoping to increase circulation but failing rather miserably. Theoretically, he should have either transferred one of the loaded bags to the other hand or ask Kakashi for assistance, but the mere effort of suppressing anger/embarrassment/latent desire made Iruka wary of diverting his attention for a second. Even the steps he took—long, purposeful strides that pulled him forward at an unnatural rate—read of his frustration.
Kakashi had not commented on the curious change in Iruka's demeanor; instead, he patiently kept to the brunet's side, half-leading the man to his own apartment. He seemed as unfazed as he always was: just a fair figure of handsome mystique.
Then again, it was not Kakashi who Anko, shop owner and longtime friend, had winked at in a clear indication of approval. No, it was Iruka who has received that mischievous wink; and it was Iruka who Anko had whispered her congratulations on finally asking Kakashi out to dinner. ("You're even cooking for him? How romantic, Iruka. Maybe he'll let you cop a feel if you play your cards right!") The sly smirk as she rung up his purchases only exasperated the doctor's desire-to-ring-a-girl's-neck.
Needless to say, Iruka grabbed his bags and ran out of the grocery store the second money had exchanged hands.
Well, so long as he was working on a theoretical basis, Iruka should have known better than to bring Kakashi to Mitarashi's Fruits and Vegetables on a day he himself was already aggravated by his intern's clumsiness. Anko thoroughly enjoyed poking fun at his crush—infatuation—undying and irreversible love—whenever he and the psychologist were together. (Or, frankly; any other time she had the chance.)
Why Iruka had confided in her remained a mystery that he had yet to puzzle... although her vast collection of bloodthirsty hellspawn—err, pet snakes might have had a little something to do with it.
With an internal sigh of gratitude, Iruka rounded the corner of his block. The taste of comfort rested on the tip of his tongue like a fine dark chocolate, and a smile finally broke through his displeasure. Just as it should be, Iruka's home was a sanctuary. A place that was not the ER. A place that did not smell of illness and artificial lemon. A place where he could just... relax and not be surprised by a near-dead child or an unexpected burst of crying signaling something had gone wrong—so very, very wrong.
No. His agenda for the next few hours was clear: prepare a side or two; have the other man toss a salad; cook salt-broiled saury (Kakashi's favorite); have a delightful conversation with the handsome shrink before calling it a night. Depending on how late it was, Kakashi left or stayed in the guest bedroom, as he often did. Yes. Order. Nothing—
Ring.
Iruka stopped short, nearly tripping over the step to the entrance of his apartment building. He blinked out of his thoughts before looking toward Kakashi. "Your phone," Iruka said blandly after Kakashi ignored the second ring.
"Oh." The fair-haired man delicately pulled out his cell, putting it to his ear without checking the Caller ID. Iruka took the opportunity to put his heavy bags down.
"Hello?" Kakashi said nonchalantly before a sudden transformation churned his passive expression into one of sour poignancy. "Yειά σου, Eugene. Aυτό που εσείς θέλει?"
A few seconds. "Oh. Ξέχασα για τη συνεδρίασή μας απόψε."
Iruka watched silently as the slightly older man listened to "Eugene" speaking, wondering what was it that made Kakashi's lips pucker so distractedly. Iruka took it as a personal offense that anyone made Kakashi that affronted: it should be illegal to do someone that pretty.
"Αυτό που εσείς με θέλει για να κάνει?" The man on the phone's voice steadily increased until even Iruka could hear the harsh crash of words spitting out of the cell.
"Είμαι με έναν φίλο.—
"Αριθ.
"Ένας φίλος.—" Kakashi's voice chilled as he glanced quickly into Iruka's confused eyes before turning his gaze down the street.
Iruka grew instantly uncomfortable, as if he was witnessing an extremely private moment between strangers—Kakashi's foreign tongue, although entrancing, made Iruka entirely uneasy; as if Kakashi and his mind full of languages and words and worlds Iruka would never understand separated him from the psychologist indefinitely. It was a disheartening thought.
But Iruka did not—could not—leave. He wanted to watch Kakashi and this side of his voice—mouth—stance—eye: the cold, distant, and unattainable man Iruka would never have.
"Ναι, είναι άτομο.
"Αριθ.
"Δεν εξαπατώ. Μην με κατηγορήστε για αυτόν.
"Eugene, nα είστε δίκαιος.
"Μην πέστε αυτού για το φίλο μου.
"Το σταματήστε, Eugene.—" Just as suddenly as the terse tone had swept over him, Kakashi sighed in defeat. His fingers threaded languidly through his hair before making a small adjustment to his eye patch.
"Eugene.—
"Είμαι ξεχασιάρης, και ξέρετε αυτό. Και λυπάμαι. Αλλά δεν θα ζητήσω συγγνώμη για την κατοχή ενός αρσενικού φίλου, και αρνούμαι να κληθώ εξαπατώντας ψεύτης.
"—Εντάξει.
"—Πρόστιμο.
"θα δω τι μπορώ να κάνω.
"Κάποτε απόψε.
"Εντάξει. Αντίο."
Kakashi hung up with a hard snap. Awkwardly, Iruka offered a supportive furrow of his eyebrows. "Kakashi? Is something wrong?"
Kakashi smiled lightly, picking up one of the plastic bags. Iruka did the same. "Myah, Iruka, don't be so concerned about me. It was just Eugene."
"Eugene?" Iruka opened the front door to his apartment complex, holding it open for his friend. They entered and started their way up to Iruka's place.
The psychologist frowned at the question. "He's the guy I've been seeing."
"Oh. Lover's quarrel?"
"You can say that. I forgot we had planned to meet up tonight."
Iruka's heart clenched. He stopped halfway between step seven and eight of the second flight, giving Kakashi a clearly dumbfounded look. "Kakashi!"
"Yes?" The brunet grabbed his bag from the other, pushing the older man down the stairs. "What are you doing, Iruka?"
"Go be with your boyfriend!" Iruka ordered despite his own inclination to have Kakashi stay with him (forever and ever and ever). "I will not have you standing anyone up for a simple saury."
"But—"
"No." Kakashi looked up at the frazzled brunet. Iruka imagined a flash of disappointment crossing his friend's exposed eye; it would have fooled him if it was not gone the next second.
"Are you sure?" Iruka nodded. "But you bought the ingredients already."
"More food for me, then," the brunet joked. "Don't worry about me. I have Shuu to keep me company. My cat's attention is more than enough for me. Have a good night, Kakashi."
Kakashi hesitated, but eventually whispered a short, "Okay. Have a good one," before turning around and walking down the stairs he just climbed.
With the handles of his plastic bags digging into his hands, Iruka sighed as deeply as Kakashi had over the phone.
His plans for the night were ruined.
GREEK TRANSLATIONS
1. Hello, Eugene. What do you want? /
2. Oh, I forgot about our meeting tonight. /
3. What do you want me to do? /
4. I am with a friend. / No. / A friend. /
5. Yes, he is a man. / No. / I do not cheat. Do not accuse me of that. / Eugene. Be fair. / Do not say that about my friend. / Stop it, Eugene. /
6. Eugene. / I am forgetful, and you know this. And I am sorry. But I will not apologize for having a male friend, and I refuse to be called a cheating liar. / Okay. / Fine. / I will see what I can do. / Sometime tonight. / Okay. Bye.
Author's Notes: This chapter is extremely belated, I know. I was having terrible difficulties with the chapter (turns out, I just had to switch the POV...) and between fests, moding my comm(s), communication with the wonderful kita, and, well, RL, this was put in the back of my mind. However, I decided to post this now because my f-list (as well as myself) has seen some rather hard times lately. I know that this in no way makes the problems you are facing fixed and such, but I hope that I can at least get a little hint of relief. You are all in my hearts.
