Summary: Kakashi, having finished his mission early, decides to have a few drinks to drag out his mission's completion time. He unexpectedly runs into Iruka, who had also just got through completing a mission that was to be kept secret. Kakashi gets Iruka to sit with him and get to know the young teacher better, but Iruka shouldn't linger too long in the village due to his recently carried out mission; danger could be following him and he needed to get back to the village, but somehow couldn't say no to the jounin. As they sit and chat both open up to each other and see that they both had wrong impressions of the other. Eventually Kakashi/Iruka shonen-ai/yaoi.

"thoughts"

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any part, fragment, or microscopic section, of Naruto's characters ;~;

Precarious

Chapter Two: Perplexed

"Iruka-sensei!? Why is he here?" Kakashi straightened his posture and closed his Icha Icha book (already having what page he was on memorized), placing it in an inner vest pocket. "Maa, Iruka-sensei, kon-banwa," Kakashi's visible eye upturned as the taller man smiled; "What are you doing in this village?" Kakashi was taken slightly aback by his own bluntness; however, tried not to let it show. He watched the man intently as Iruka fidgeted slightly under his question.

"Good evening to you too Kakashi-sensei," Iruka replied yet his eyes drifted to the ground. "Argh! Why did I have to run into him at a time like this! I wasn't planning on making up a story as to why I am where I am!" Iruka absentmindedly scratched his nose as he began to answer, "umm… er… I just finished a mission and was on my way back to the village." Iruka let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and waited for a reaction from Kakashi. "Please let that be good enough."

"I see," Kakashi smiled behind his mask, "well then, are you in a hurry? What kind of mission was it?" "Why must you travel back to the village at this hour Iruka-sensei?"

"Shoot," Even in his thoughts, Iruka didn't like to curse unless forced to. He bit his bottom lip as he quickly came up with a response for Kakashi, "The mission was simply to deliver something to a nearby village. I've done that and now am on my way home."

"Using such a vague word like 'something'… why is he keeping whatever he delivered a secret?" Kakashi nodded, "I see, but you didn't answer my question." Kakashi could easily pull rank and force information about the mission out of the chunin but decided against it.

Iruka's eyes widened a bit, he began to feel himself turn slightly warm, "Why am I becoming nervous!" Iruka swallowed, "a-and what was that Kakashi-sensei?"

"Are you in a hurry? It's just about nightfall." Kakashi put his hands in his pockets, now in his all too recognizable lazy pose.

"Oh," Iruka again began to scratch his nose unconsciously, and smiled, "umm well, you see…" "Oh darnit! The Hokage told me to keep this secret. I don't' know if I'm being followed or not! I really need to make my way back to the village."

Kakashi took the chunin's hesitation as just being the polite man Iruka always seemed to be. "He doesn't want to impose himself on me? This is perfect. We are both out of Konoha and won't be disturbed by any brats (be it genin or other jounin). I think I still owe him an apology for how I responded to him before the chunin exams too…" Kakashi's visible eye upturned in a smile, "Well good then, why don't you join me for a drink Iruka-sensei?"

"Waa-what!?" Iruka's mouth ever so slightly hung open in surprise. Iruka blinked a few times as what Kakashi asked him sunk in. "A d-drink?" was all the surprised teacher could manage.

Kakashi nodded, "Yes a drink. Why not let us… converse?" "Converse? What the hell? Converse." Kakashi had obviously not requested someone else's presence before. He mentally kicked himself for using such an odd word; he didn't feel it had the appealing edge he wanted it to have.

Iruka's mouth continued to hang open with surprise. Was Kakashi wanting to spend time with him? "Kakashi… wants the company of another human being? Wow…and ME at that!" Iruka, feeling his mouth become dry, licked his lips as he closed his mouth. "Umm well I wasn't really planning on staying in this village tonight…" Iruka couldn't look away from the older man in front of him. Iruka had a strange feeling inside him. For some reason Iruka felt somewhat privileged that Kakashi had asked him for drinks. He frowned on the inside not wanting to turn the jounin down; Iruka would of loved to learn more about Kakashi but needed to take his leave before someone recognized him.

"Come now Iruka-sensei," Kakashi began, his eyes watching every movement in Iruka's facial features, trying to pre-read the man, "you shouldn't work so hard on such a simple mission. Rest, we can return to the village in the morning."

Iruka felt a blood vessel in his head begin to protrude slightly at Kakashi's words 'you shouldn't work so hard'. "Lazy bastard! I knew it! Look at you! Completing a mission early yet dragging out all the time you can milk from it! And you have the gull to turn in your reports late!" Iruka closed his eyes as he felt his blood pressure raising. He fisted his hands as he tried to calm himself. Now was not the time to get into an argument and cause a scene. Iruka didn't want attention turned to him from any of the villagers.

Kakashi watched as Iruka's face reddened slightly, it obviously was not a blush. "Oh no, I made him mad… What did you say this time baka?" Kakashi very quickly in his head went over what he had just said. "Iruka-sensei! I did not mean to imply for one not to work hard on his or her missions…" Kakashi scratched the back of his head as he faked a chuckle, realizing he had just admitted to the chunin that he was sluggish with his own missions and that every scolding he received from the chunin/teacher/missions office worker was justified tenfold.

Iruka took in a slow, deep breath. "I will scold you later Kakashi-sensei." Iruka put on a phony smile, "Oh don't worry, I understand Kakashi-sensei." Iruka emphasized the honorific as he continued, "But I rather stay the night in our village." Iruka's eyes widened slightly as he realized what the jounin had said to him earlier, "'Rest, we can return to the village in the morning.' Kakashi was going to accompany me back to the village if I would stay?" Iruka couldn't believe that Kakashi was being nice to him; he simply was baffled by it.

"Thank Kami he isn't going to yell at me! I don't know why he wants to travel to the village at night but… for some reason I want to know the man better." Kakashi couldn't begin to understand why Iruka was a teacher and worked at the mission's office. Kakashi did not comprehend how Iruka could have put up with Naruto as a student and actually continue to want to be a teacher. "But Iruka-sensei, it's night now. Have a few drinks with me, let's chat. I promise to return you to the village in the morning." Kakashi gave his best smile a man could manage behind a mask.

Iruka sighed, feeling weaken by the jounin's foreign kindness. He didn't want Kakashi to think he hated him. He couldn't just turn him down the way he needed to in order to be safe. Kakashi had shown next to no kindness to anyone in the village and Iruka felt that Kakashi was reaching out to him in some way. That Kakashi might be lonely and wanted some company for a change. Iruka couldn't deny the man that. He had been a teacher for quite some time now and had always had a soft heart for the socially challenged one of the group. Even if the jounin was lazy and took advantage of situations and/or certain people (hint hint Iruka), Iruka couldn't deny he wanted to know more about the older man; he wanted to understand him better. "'I promise to return you to the village in the morning' what did he mean by that? Is he taking responsibility for my possible actions if I do have a few drinks? Who does he think I am? I don't drink!"

Letting out even a bigger sigh, Iruka realized his facade was up in a sense. He couldn't avoid Kakashi's advances without bringing up suspicions about why he needed to leave his current location in such a hurry. Iruka also didn't like the prospect that Kakashi might think Iruka hated him in any way. Iruka put his own hands in his pockets and gave Kakashi a stern look as he took a step towards the man, "I do not drink Kakashi-sensei. I have to be a role-model for the children of The Village Hidden in the Leaves."

"Yes!" Kakashi had a huge grin on his face, no one but he knew of it, as Iruka had consented to Kakashi's proposal. "But of course Iruka-sensei; however, we are not in Konoha. I will not tell if you don't." Kakashi fell in stride with Iruka as they began a slow pace back into the unfamiliar village, Kakashi smiling the whole way. "Why am I so thrilled I was not turned down by this man? Why am I so eager to… 'converse' with him?" Kakashi laughed again at his previous choice of words.

"Kakashi-sensei, I told you, I do not drink." "Argh, I feel like I'm already going to regret this…" Iruka mentally shook his head at himself. The man had his hands tied behind his back though; somehow he had gotten himself into a lose/lose situation.

"But one drink won't hurt anyone Iruka-sensei," Kakashi tried to get the teacher to agree with him before they found themselves sitting in the bar. Kakashi had already had a few drinks tonight and would feel like a total loser if he would be the only one drinking again; even now that he had found company.

Iruka again felt himself weaken while in Kakashi's presence. "He is right. One drink won't hurt me and it might calm my nerves since I'm so worried over watching out for, possibly imaginary, gang members. I haven't had a drink in months. Come to think of it, I haven't had a drink since Tsunade-sama, Shizune, and I had a drink in honor of Konoha's young ninja." Referring to Sakura's progress in her medical training, Naruto's special training, and over the loss of Sasuke. "And that didn't turn out well." Iruka mentally shivered as he recalled the event. Tsunade haddrank too much too fast and was drunk before the hour had been up. He remembered how Shizune had had a few drinks herself but still scolded her best friend. The two had ended up having an all out yelling contest while poor Iruka was right between the two; he couldn't have even snuck out if he wanted to.

"Alright… Just one drink though." Iruka sighed, admitting defeat.

"Alright Iruka-sensei! Way to loosen up!" Kakashi found himself punching the chunin lightly in the arm before he realized what his own body was doing. "Oh Kami, I hope it doesn't seem like I'm trying too hard. I don't want to seem… too forward with him. What the hell am I thinking? Who cares! It's Iruka! He was Naruto's teacher; he's a chunin for Kami's sake." Kakashi kept an upturned eye smile for Iruka to see as they made their way further into town, Kakashi taking the lead heading towards the bar he was at previously.

Iruka's eyes widened at the unexpected physical contact he had just received from Kakashi. "Wow, Kakashi is almost being 'too' nice to me… it's kind of creepy." "Umm Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes Iruka-sensei?"

"I'm sorry if this sounds strange but… have you already had any sake?"

Kakashi felt a sweat drop down the back of his head, "Nani? Why would you assume such a thing Iruka-sensei?" Kakashi laughed slightly at the chunin, amazed at how he hit the nail on the head. "Is this so out of character for me? To want the company of a fellow shinobi?"

"Gomen-nasai, Kakashi-sensei. Forgive me, it was nothing." Iruka blushed slightly at his absurd assumption he made about the jounin. "He may be lazy but that doesn't mean the man drinks in his spare time."

Kakashi didn't reply, how could he? The younger man was right after all. Kakashi began to realize that the young chunin had been right in more instances then just the current one; recalling many previous encounters during the past years revolving around the mission's office. Kakashi turned the corner and approached the entrance of the bar he had previously been in. He cursed on the inside wishing the small village had more than one bar, recalling how he didn't tip the waitress. "Maybe with luck she left."

"Welcome," a young lady in a black Kimono began to greet Kakashi and Iruka as they entered the bar. The woman's fake excitement quickly faded as she gazed at Kakashi and added "-back" to her greeting.

"Welcome back?" Iruka watched as Kakashi scratched the back of his head, fidgeting.

"Did you bring more money this time sir?" The woman motioned for the two to sit at the exact table Kakashi was at minutes before. "Did you bring enough for a tip?"

"Why is this woman acting in such a manner… wait. It seems she knows Kakashi. He didn't tip her?! He was here earlier drinking! That sounds so like him!" Iruka was shaking his head as he sat down at the tall table that was towards the back of the bar. He watched Kakashi as the jounin began to dig in his vest.

"Maa, but of course!" Kakashi gave a fake grin to the young lady who was lingering at the table. Kakashi sat himself in the stool and reached for his wallet in his vest. "Dammit, it can't be helped. I have to tip the bitch now." Kakashi gave a few bills to the angered waitress. "A bottle of sake please, with two glasses."

"No problem," the woman snatched the bills of the masked man's grip and stomped off.

"Kakashi."

Kakashi grimaced at the sound of his name coming from Iruka's mouth without the honorific attached. He gave the young teacher a raise of his visible eye brow.

"It seems that young waitress knows you." Iruka kept his gaze on the table's top, noticing the wood was quite worn from what looked like numerous bar scuffles.

"Maa, Iruka-sensei; she must have me confused with someone else," Kakashi scratched his nose as he smiled at the chunin.

"Kakashi."

Again, Kakashi didn't like the sound or tone of voice Iruka used as he said his name with no honorific. "Nnn?" He simply replied.

"You are one-eyed and wear a mask." Iruka then meet his gaze with Kakashi's.

Kakashi felt a chill come over him and he shivered. "Oh look the sake!" Kakashi quickly bowed his head with thanks to the now delighted young waitress as she placed a bottle of sake on the table. Kakashi poured a cup for him and for his new company. He smiled as he pushed the cup towards Iruka's side of the table, noticing the man's hands were in his lap. "Here you are Iruka-sensei, your one drink." Kakashi raised his cup in a 'kampai' gesture and took a sip through his mask.

Iruka took a deep breath as he raised his hands, which were previously fisted, from his lap and took the sake in his grasp. "What am I doing here?" Iruka smiled as he mildly returned the cheers and took a sip of the warm sake. "Mmm this is very good tasting sake."

Kakashi smiled as he saw Iruka's eyes wonder to the table again. "Oh he's upset with me hee hee." "Soo… Iruka-sensei."

"Nnn?" Iruka let his eyes return to Kakashi's visible one. He took another sip of sake.

"How odd is it for us to run into each other in a village between missions?" Kakashi was already pouring himself another cup of sake.

Iruka coughed slightly as he accidently took a breath in when he was supposed to swallow. Recovering, he took another sip of sake before answering, "I agree. Low odds; this is such a coincidence." Iruka made sure to take note of each person that entered the bar, not wanting to be caught off guard if any gang members were to enter.

"Nnn, a nice coincidence." Kakashi took a sip of his newly filled cup of sake.

Iruka felt a slight blush grace his cheeks as he heard Kakashi's words. He kept his gaze focused on the groves in the table as he took another sip of sake. "I agree Kakashi-kun… a nice coincidence indeed."

Author: I'm soo happy with how this chapter turned out! I'm glad I got to write one a little bit longer then the first chapter! I want to thank those who reviewed chapter one and know that you helped me push this one out! Please note that the last line is Iruka's thoughts! . Please review! Thank you so much for reading! I am currently moving into a new apartment so I'm so sure when the next update will be but your reviews made me want to make you happy in a day's time! So I beg of you to review! ::tears of joy:: Thanks again!