Rating: PG-13, because Genma STILL has roving hands and a potty mouth ;)
Pairing: Kakashi/Iruka Iruka/Kakashi I like my boys to switch xD same with Raidou and Genma :D
Status: WIP, but hope to finish soon... yes, I know you've heard that from me before, lol.
Summary
: Kakashi returns from a mission; Iruka patches him up and fluffiness ensues. Kinda…
Genre: WAFF, fairly mild angst (it always slips in there if I'm writing Kakashi, doesn't it?) HC
Warnings: biseinen ai, coarse language and provocative conversation, medical imagery, blah blah blah
Disclaimer: I asked Kishimoto-san for several shinobi for my birthday… I kinda conveniently forgot to put them back when I was done… So technically they aren't mine, but I think they have a lot more fun with me…

Author's Notes: Thank you to Hatochan my sane island in an ocean of insanity… you're the reason I started writing again and the reason I continue, despite my doubts and all the little bumps in the road… this is part of Hatochan's Tolerant Intolerant universe and occurs just before Hato's Playing Doctor, but works better if you read it after hers. This and Playing Doctor occur 3-3 ½ months after the wedding from her Along the Way: Ch.10 – Prancing… so it's January. They are married and living together in a house, so the old apartments are now gone... and I know it's amazing, but NO chapter notes this time...

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Kakashi had a vague impression of a large, menacing form looming just out of sight. Flames crackled, blood flowed freely, and harsh cries pierced the flickering darkness. He tried to move forward, filled with a vague sense of dread, knowing he had to get to Namikaze-sensei before...

A strong arm grasped him, shaking him, and if he concentrated, he could hear the voice calling to him. Kakashi... He stopped, held by the voice. Kakashi... It came again. The voice became more insistent and pulled him back.

He opened his eyes, blinking a few times as his eyes adjusted to the bedside light. Iruka was carefully shaking his upper arm, trying not to jostle his injured wrist and shoulder. Kakashi took a deep breath, willing his racing heart to slow. The dream had been so vivid, and he still felt the sick sense of dread and impending doom in the pit of his stomach. "It's okay, Iruka, I'm awake."

"I didn't hurt your arm or shoulder shaking you, did I?" Iruka always made a habit of waking Kakashi carefully. The jounin had never yet had a problem forgetting himself as he woke, but it paid to be doubly careful in a shinobi village. Iruka always shook Kakashi's right shoulder, signally a 'safe waking' and took special care to not wake him too abruptly soon after long or particularly hazardous missions.

"It's okay, Iruka. I guess I was just really asleep. I'm fine. How long was I out?" Kakashi stifled a yawn.

"A good twenty hours, or so. I'll help you up. It's probably a little awkward trying to sit up with your arm strapped to you like that." Iruka eased him to a seated position and helped him up. "I'll lay out some clothes and you can come out when you're dressed. I need to go finish helping Raidou and Genma bring out the food. Call if you need anything."

Kakashi made his way to their bathroom. He'd definitely be glad when he could take the sling off. The stiff canvas was chafing his shoulder unbearably, and he must have shifted in his sleep and caught one of the straps somewhere, because the tips of two fingers were tingling mildly as if they'd lost circulation. Besides, having his arm strapped firmly to him upset his sense of balance and hampered him far too much for his comfort.

He awkwardly pushed the pajama pants down over his hips left-handed and immediately cursed when he stumbled forward slightly, forgetting his right arm was no longer free to brace him against the wall as he took a piss.

He cursed a bit more fluently when he went to wash his hands… errr, hand. Working up a lather was a bit difficult, one-handed. He splashed some water on his face and reached for his toothbrush….

…and cursed again. Quite colorfully… and in several different languages. Maybe if he had a kunai? He set down the toothbrush, deciding it wasn't worth fighting with the toothpaste tube. He walked back to the bedroom and managed to don the fresh pants without more than a grumble or two. The grumble was a little louder when he realized Iruka clearly expected him to wear the waiting yukata as well, but he grudgingly admitted it would probably be a little uncomfortable wearing only the bandage and sling, even with fires going in each of the rooms, not to mention the difficulty of wearing a shirt over top of the sling, and obviously Iruka was waiting till Raidou looked at his wrist before he removed it.

He awkwardly shrugged into the robe, reluctantly leaving it hanging open. He scowled when he realized he couldn't even tie the black silk scarf he covered his sharingan with at home. His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of himself in the mirror, unpleased with the scruffy picture before him, and made his way to the dining room.

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Genma looked up in time to see a smile filled with equal parts of joy, tenderness, and possessiveness when Iruka abruptly paused in the midst of a joke at Genma's expense.

Kakashi had just entered the room, a pair of loose dark blue pants slung low on his hips, drawstring dangling freely. A muted blue yukata was draped across his shoulders, hanging open across a pale chest covered only in a bandage, a dark canvas sling, and a dusting of silvery curls. His hair was a bit tousled and slightly damp, and if you were looking carefully, and Iruka certainly was, you could see a faint sheen of stubble when the light fell on his face just… like… that… Scars of various ages gleamed white, pink, and red against the exposed ivory. His left eye was shut tightly and he trailed a piece of dark fabric from his unbound hand. The open eye held a look of mute appeal as he held the scarf out to Iruka. All in all he presented an unlikely combination of sexy, bed-mussed jounin and cranky toddler just up from a nap that Iruka found utterly irresistible.

Raidou caught the look also, as well as Iruka's reaction to it, and wondered who would be the first to pull a willing husband aside to an empty room, Genma or Iruka.

Iruka tied the fabric at an angle over the sharingan, and a tanned hand rested lovingly on the back of Kakashi's neck before sliding down to take his husband's free hand and lead him to the dinner table.

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Kakashi was ready to apologize to everyone and return to bed.

Iruka was seated right next to him at the table, filling his plate and ready to help with anything Kakashi couldn't reach. Filling isn't much of an exaggeration… I'll never be able to eat all this. I'd be sick if I tried to eat half of it… Genma sat directly across from them, using the excuse to sit close enough to grab Raidou under the table if the bodyguard's mottled red skin and sputtering were any indication.

He felt slightly removed and distant from the happy gathering of friends laughing and enjoying dinner, an observer apart from it all, instead of a participant. The worst of the previous night's bone-numbing exhaustion had been banished, although he wouldn't have minded another ten or twelve hours of sleep. And the vague empty feeling in his stomach reminded him he should at least try to eat some of the dinner he knew Iruka and Raidou had put such effort into. And really, a quiet dinner at home with Raidou and Genma wasn't such a chore… was a much more enjoyable prospect, in fact, than the diplomatic banquet Tsunade had so kindly 'requested' his presence at last week. But still…

He was feeling rather like the cranky toddler Iruka compared him to. He was still much more tired than he had thought he would be when he used the jutsu. Either I'm getting old or I overestimated how much the effort would take out of me… Or both. A dull ache was throbbing just above and behind his temples. Stress headache, because I'm frustrated all out of proportion by all the little things this evening. That frustration increased when he tried a mental relaxation exercise and realized the amount of effort it was requiring just to regulate his breathing and heartbeat. Pffft. Still too tired to even concentrate properly on even minor things.

Hmmm. Could I get away with just making my excuses, ripping off the sling, and crawling into bed? No, Iruka would see more into it than is there and insist on examining me further, and I'm just too tired for that. Surprised he hasn't asked me about the headache yet. He's probably waiting till I'm lulled into a false sense of security before he pounces.

He pushed the food around on his plate, only making a half-hearted attempt to eat. Doesn't taste as good as I expected. Odd. Usually, when Iruka and Raidou get together in the kitchen the food is even better than either of them manages alone. Maybe I'm just too tired to give it the attention it deserves. Of course, it was hard to give the meal proper consideration when he was expending so much effort to use his chopsticks left-handed. A burst of laughter came from across the table as Genma fed Raidou a morsel from his plate. At least it's good to see them well and whole and happy together.

He frowned slightly as a particularly wicked throbbing made itself known in addition to the muffled twinges at his temples. Great. Getting dehydrated, too. Oh well, at least I can enjoy a few sips of nice, cold beer. He lifted his glass to his lips, looking forward to the slightly bitter, malty brew and nearly choked trying not to spit the concoction out when it disappointed. What the hell? His mood was turning sour very rapidly.

Iruka patted Kakashi's back, concerned. "Did your cider go down the wrong way, Kakashi?"

"Cider?" Kakashi repeated, dumbly.

Iruka nodded. "Pear cider. I thought you might appreciate it more than water. It's really easy to drink and will help keep you hydrated. I know by now that's always an issue with you. I'll save one of the beers for you for tomorrow. You know you can't have anything before Raidou checks your wrist."

Fruit juice. Kakashi sighed. At least he didn't serve it in one of Naruto's old sippy cups.

He drank the unsatisfying cider and choked down a few more bites of tasteless food.

Bed was sounding better and better.

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Raidou and Iruka were carrying leftover food and stacks of plates and bowls to the kitchen.

Iruka was in danger of dropping the pot of stew because he was laughing so hard. "I'm sure that's exactly what Genma was thinking. Aoba was just here to drop off another proposed change for ANBU training. Every time someone gets a brilliant idea for 'new and improved' training, she sends the scroll to Kakashi first. Shizune doesn't even complain that Tsunade's letting him take care of the filing."

Raidou joined in the laughter, knowing the jounin wouldn't hesitate to place some half-assed ridiculous goat-screw scheme into the circular file, where it belonged.

"How's he adjusting to everything, lately? No more incidents like last year? He was fairly quiet tonight." Raidou had grown much closer to Kakashi since Genma and Iruka's disastrous mission last summer. Recent events had only made their bond stronger.

"About as well as you, I suppose. More accepting some days than others. And no, that hasn't been an issue lately. I think he finally learned that sharing a problem and talking about it doesn't make him weak, and that I'm more than strong enough to share his burdens. I guess he was a little quiet at dinner, but it was a long journey back, so he's probably just really tired. I don't think I've ever seen him quite that exhausted without being on the edge of total chakra depletion." Iruka transferred the leftover food to plastic containers and placed it in the refrigerator as he spoke. "You will make sure he didn't damage anything permanently with that jutsu, won't you?"

"I don't think that's even possible, Iruka. But yeah, I'll make sure nothing else is wrong other than his wrist. You're worrying too much about him lately. I know things have been rough the last year, but give him some credit for being able to take care of himself. He's been a jounin for well over fifteen years, now. He's been running missions for ANBU off and on for almost as long." Raidou smiled, "He's all grown up and old enough to be married, Iruka. Even Genma can manage to take care of himself with lots of supervision."

They chuckled as the object of their mirth entered the door from the garden, covered in snow and dragging the previously forgotten pack. "Don't think I didn't hear that, Raidou." Genma shivered, quite ostentatiously. "Next time, you can get the pack, I don't care what you promise. It's cold out there." The tokujou started stripping snow-covered garments off by the kitchen-hearth.

Iruka hung the damp fabric before the fire to dry.

Genma ran his fingers through his hair, trying to dislodge the flakes rapidly melting in the sudden warmth. "I'm gonna get a towel. Gotta take a leak anyway."

"Okay. Tell Kakashi we're having dessert in the living room. He should appreciate that, it's a lot warmer and more comfortable in there; the dining room's a little drafty." Iruka grabbed a stack of firewood from the pile by the hearth as Raidou carried a tray with dessert, a pot of tea, and a bottle of sake.

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Genma stuck his head into the dining room. Nope, no Kakashi here. He checked in the guest bathroom. Empty. Hmmm. Come out, come out wherever you are… He wondered if Kakashi had ever done anything as normal as play Hide and Seek for fun. Probably not. If he had, his opponents would never have asked again. He just would have summoned his ninken and treated it as a tracking exercise. Genma wondered where Kakashi could be. Oh well, I'll just grab a towel from Iruka's bathroom and tell him I couldn't find him. He's probably in the living room already.

Genma was reaching for the door handle when a quiet sound made him stop. He could hear the soft sound of running water, but just beneath it… He leaned closer to the door and could just make out the quiet retching. Ohhhh. Sneaking off so Iruka won't know he's losing what little he ate of dinner… Bad idea, Kakashi, he'll find out. The chibi's perceptive. He always finds out… The sound ended, and the running water became louder. Shit. He'll close up and hide everything if he knows I heard. Genma hurried back down the hallway and called Kakashi's name, as if he were trying to find him.

Kakashi slowly walked from the bathroom, face still wet from hastily splashed water. "Genma?"

Genma walked up to the tired jounin. "Hey, Kakashi, Iruka sent me to tell you dessert is in the living room." Yep, he was definitely sick. Doesn't take an Inuzuka nose to tell that… Talk about stubborn… anyone else would still be in bed, sleeping off the effects. Oh well, if he hasn't realized it yet, Iruka's more stubborn than he is. He'll break him of the habit soon enough, Kami knows he straightened me out. Oh wait, he's shaking just a bit, too. Maybe he did overdo it with that jutsu. "I'm just gonna grab a towel. Snow got my hair wet. I'll catch up with you in a sec."

Genma snooped around the bathroom. Can't smell blood or anything else other than him puking up his toenails. Hmmm, doesn't smell like any of those nasty poisons from Grass, or anything. I'll make sure Raidou and Iruka know, but at least it isn't urgent. He grabbed a towel, vigorously drying his wet hair, and walked down the hall after Kakashi. Good thing Raidou made okayu. It should settle Kakashi's stomach quick enough.