Iruka only managed more five minutes with the Rain senseis before he reached his limit. He mumbled his apologies and hurried off towards the stairs, hopping over several drunks passed out in the hall on the way, climbed the three flights until finally, finally reaching his room.
Inside he found Kakashi reading 'Icha Icha Paradise' in the only chair and dripping rain water all over the floor.
"Yo"
Iruka fought, and failed, to keep the look of displeasure off of his face. Kakashi was the last person he was looking to share a room with, some of the reasons for which he would rather not be confronted with just now.
"So, how long have you been out here?" Kakashi asked idly "You're not exactly a good candidate for extended field work..."
"It's only been a week" Iruka explained tiredly "Just opening channels of communication, the rest can be done through messengers"
"Hm" Kakashi smoothed the edges of his already perfectly straight mask "Has the Hokage suddenly put you back in operation then? I haven't seen you around lately"
Iruka shrugged, eyes drifting off to one side "The academy's been busy, and I suppose with Naruto away I haven't got the excuse take an evening off"
"You can't use someone else as an excuse?"
"….I'm.. going to take a shower" Iruka sighed.
"Waters off" Kakashi supplied helpfully.
"We're in the middle of the Rain country and the waters off?"
"Pipes burst in the storm" Kakashi shrugged.
"Of course they did" Iruka slumped down on the nearest bed, instantly creating a puddle from his still wet uniform.
"You should really take your clothes off you know"
"Excuse me?" Iruka barked.
"You'll get sick if you sit about in wet clothes" Kakashi clarified, sounding amused.
"Oh, right"
"You thought I meant-"
"I thought you were making a bad joke" Iruka snapped, pulling his sandals off gingerly and beginning to unfasten his leg wrappings, cheeks reddening slightly.
"I don't make bad jokes" Kakashi said in mock indignation. "Only the good ones"
"Look will you just get changed too? You're creating a small lake over there" Iruka muttered, dislodging the tie from the tangled remnants of his ponytail.
"As long as it doesn't offend your delicate sensibilities Iruka-sensei" Kakashi said sweetly.
Iruka pulled down the bottom of one eye lid and stuck out his tongue in a perfect impersonation of a disgruntled pre-genin.
Kakashi snickered to himself as he pulled off his soggy flat jacket.
/ / / /
They proceeded to spend half an hour in awkward, drafty silence. Iruka had busied himself filling out mission paperwork, while Kakashi continued reading.
But apparently even Icha Icha couldn't distract from every situation, because after a while Kakashi tucked it away and stretched languidly. "Night cap Iruka-sensei?" he offered through a yawn.
"I know said I didn't doubt your stealth techniques, but going down to the bar in our underwear is going to cause attention" Iruka remarked dryly.
"Oh Sensei of little faith" Kakashi rummaged in his squelchy travel pack and came away with a large expensive brand of sake.
Iruka's head jerked up, but his eyes narrowed suspiciously "How did you get that?"
Kakashi peered up at the ceiling and twiddled his thumbs "It might officially be a souvenir requested by Lady Tsunade…" Iruka crossed his arms disapprovingly "…But I think she owes us one wouldn't you say?"
"How do I know that it was the Hokage's fault that you're out of money, you might have just blown it on something stupid – like expensive sake" Iruka pointed out.
Kakashi contrived to look affronted.
Iruka glowered for a bit longer, but he had only got one drink out of the whole evening, and Kakashi would probably drink it all to himself otherwise..
"Oh alright" He relented, slipping down off the bed to join Kakashi on the floor, where he was already setting out glasses and pouring himself a generous helping.
"To a welcome change of climate" Kakashi announced, handing Iruka the other glass.
"Cheers" he answered, with feeling.
/ / / /
Some time later..
"No I don't think that's a good idea" Iruka sighed vaguely, letting his head loll back to rest on the edge of the bed, a half empty glass of sake sloshing about in his hand.
"But I'm a genius you know, Iruka-sensei, I'm sure I could fine tune a fire jutsu for hair styling purposes" Kakashi reasoned from his position laying splayed stomach down on aforementioned bed, his head propped up on one shaky elbow.
"They have a strict 'no swirling infernos of death' policy here"
"Oh? Shame"
"Why not buy some gel next time?"
"And make my whole head highly flammable? How un-safety conscious, and from an academy teacher too" Kakashi tutted disapprovingly.
Iruka lifted a wavering finger in the air while his eyes drooped closed "A little first degree burning never hurt anyone" he protested "character building" he added.
"So I should use the jutsu on my hair" the mattress shifted as Kakashi sat up.
"Oh, sure go ahead then" Iruka mumbled, half asleep now.
"Hey Iruka-sensei, you're pretty impressionable when you're drunk you know" Kakashi's voice came from somewhere above.
Iruka's eyes opened slowly "I'm not drunk" he told Kakashi's upside-down face, which was hovering over him from the bed. His mask seemed to be missing.
"You are, watch, I'm going to kiss you" it informed him, as if that would clearly prove the point.
"Err" said Iruka, attempting to blink the sleepiness away "I think you're drunk Kakashi-sensei"
"Then please remind me if I don't remember this in the morning" Kakashi said, displaying an attractively wonky grin before leaning down and kissing him.
You would think upside down kisses would be a complicated affair, but, in their slightly uninhibited state it went quite smoothly. Kakashi's mouth tasted of drink, and something more tantalising underneath. Iruka spend a little too much time kissing back, strictly in an attempt to figure out what that second thing was, before he turned his head to one side and sucked in some welcome air. "Umm" he offered intelligently.
Kakashi's abandoned lips found his earlobe and began to nibble. When he spoke his breathe tickled into Iruka's ear. "Could you also tell me that it was good, and I'd like to do it again"
The mouth dislodged from his ear lobe with a sigh and Kakashi rolled across the bed. Iruka could just see him out of the corner of his eye, it looked for all the world like he had fallen straight to sleep.
"This.. This is all very suspicious" Iruka announced drowsily, but even the strange burning tingle spreading over his mouth and ear where Kakashi's lips had touched him was not enough to keep awake.
"W-when I remind you, you remind me to punch you in the eye" he mumbled before nodding off into fuzzy, curly haired dreams.
/ / / /
End.