Chapter Eight

Iruka woke up on Sunday with a large case of butterflies in his stomach. He muddled his way through breakfast and making that awful milk and honey mixture to get dressed for his day. The milk crap, as he called it, worked its magic on his chakra reserves. When he did his meditation after eating instead of before, he was, in fact, able to rebuild most of his used chakra.

The sensing meditation was going better because of it, too. He could feel a slight difference between solids and liquids through his chakra, but he couldn't sense air at all. It just felt like empty space. When he tried meditating in front of a candle, though, he'd somehow managed to snuff out the flame.

Tez had laughed at him when he'd told her the previous evening. Once she managed to calm down – she didn't need to get that hysterical – she explained that because he was so depleted of energy he had sucked the power from the flame into his body. He didn't feel the difference because a candle only produced a little energy, and he'd sucked it in so fast that it could no longer support a flame. Apparently that was normal when a mage was starting such strenuous training.

It was abnormal for a ninja.

At least she'd admitted that she was putting him through the ringer. Iruka didn't know what he'd do if she hadn't. He couldn't skip training even if he wanted to. Tez was one teacher he couldn't play hooky from what with her being in his head and all.

They were blowing through material faster than a hound on a hunt, though. Each night, it seemed, she would show him a new technique and wouldn't leave until Iruka mastered it. Then, just like with the taijutsu training they did every session, she would start the next training session off with the techniques from the previous night as a review. In just under a week Iruka had mastered Shield Jumping and Moving, Teleportation, and Nuking.

Nuking was the skill that Tez and he had invented together. Basically, Iruka performed the Food Warming Jutsu, only he did it with a few extra hand seals which allowed him to target a living organism to cook them from the inside-out.

He felt horrible practicing on living things, especially when he accidentally burned down a tree, so Tez had conjured animal puppets to practice on. They were made like living animals, but they weren't actually alive. Because they were puppets they didn't scream or feel pain, but because they had meat and blood it took several hours of intense practice and adjustments for Iruka to be able to make them burst into flame. Even then he'd only managed it twice before Tez called off the practice due to Iruka's chakra depletion.

They'd also added another component to their practice: incorporating taijutsu with ninjutsu. Tez gave Iruka some technique combinations to practice, like running at her and then teleporting behind her in order to attack her unprotected back, which allowed the Chunin to practice a whole new style of fighting. These were techniques he had already been using at first, but then she started incorporating the new jutsus into it. Needless to say, this part wasn't the focus of the training. At least, it wasn't the focus yet. Eventually they would have to start sparring for real.

Tez's puppet – for that's what the male body she usually possessed was – only ever sparred with Iruka when they were practicing taijutsu. The only time it used power was when it was demonstrating something. He could remember the trepidation on Tez's face the first time she teleported. Apparently she hadn't been certain that she would be able to pull it off without being forced back to her real body or being sucked into the void. Facts like that made Iruka appreciate the risks Tez took to teach him her magic.

In fact, Tez had offered to take the evening off so Iruka could enjoy his date, which surprised Iruka. She'd popped in on Sundays before, but that had been before she could pop over at will. Apparently Sunday was the day she normally took for herself. The rest of her week she generously donated her time to her five most important jobs – defending her fairy tribe, being queen of the ocean, leading her vampire clan, taking care of her herd (whatever that meant), and keeping the peace of her planet as Chief Sage – but she always made sure to leave a day free that she could devote to her children and herself.

Iruka thought that he should really take a page out of her book. Even with reading on his lunch break Iruka barely had time for himself these days. In fact, that was the only reason he hadn't cancelled the date despite his growing nerves. He didn't need to volunteer at the Missions Office on his days off anymore, anyway, since they'd had the latest Chunin exams and had added a few new ninja to their staff. He did, however, need to get out to do something fun with someone else. A date with his Hokage did exactly that.

Although, right then he was seriously starting to think that getting drunk at a bar with Izumo and Kotetsu was a good idea. He wouldn't be this nervous hanging out with his closest friends. He hadn't really seen them much since Lady Tsunade died, so he should spend at least some time with them. He usually spent his Sundays grading papers and sleeping or covering extra shifts at the Missions Office. Causing a ruckus with those two phlegm wads was much more fun!

Iruka quickly checked the time and made his way out onto the street. Sundays were usually busy. All of the academy students had the day off, and usually ninja with clerical jobs did, too. Not to mention all of the ninja who were between missions and the civilians who didn't have to work that day. As a result the streets were crowded, causing Iruka to jump up to the roof in order to make it to Ichiraku's on time.

He needn't have bothered. Kakashi was late, as usual. He decided to get in line and wait, and if Kakashi didn't make it by the time it was his turn then he'd just eat without him. No matter how much of an honor it was to eat with his Hokage, and it really didn't matter that Iruka was willing to admit he liked spending time with Kakashi, Iruka wasn't about to starve waiting for him to show up.

And if Kakashi got lost on the road of life again he knew it would be at least a four hour wait anyway.

Amazingly enough, Kakashi showed up just as Iruka became the first person in the line. When Teuchi noticed the Hokage waiting with Iruka he immediately started apologizing, but Kakashi waved him off with a quick line about how he'd already used the authority of his high office to cut in line. It would be a true abuse of power if he booted someone off their stool before they could eat their lunch.

Then he'd turned to Iruka, who hadn't noticed him standing there until Teuchi had called attention to him, and kissed him on the cheek through his mask. Iruka felt the blood rush to his face, but he wasn't quite sure why. Did he really like Kakashi, or was he just embarrassed at the public display of affection? Probably a bit of both, he admitted to himself as a pair of seats became available in the booth.

Without prompting Teuchi presented Iruka with his usual bowl of pork miso ramen before taking Kakashi's order. As he left to prepare the bowl Iruka inquired as to if Kakashi had managed to complete everything he'd needed to in the office the day before.

"You know, Iruka-sensei, I didn't ask you out on a date to talk about work," Kakashi said with a broad smile. "Tell me, what's your favorite flower."

"What?" Iruka asked in confusion. What a strange question!

"I want to know what your favorite flower is," Kakashi said calmly as his ramen was placed before him. "It's just making conversation."

Iruka, in a procrastinating move, shoved as many noodles into his mouth as he could. "I like lilies, I guess," he said after he swallowed.

"You don't look like a lily kind of guy," Kakashi said, inspecting Iruka with his one visible eye. "I would have pegged you as more of a chrysanthemum kind of guy."

Iruka looked at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye. Seriously, did he look like he liked chrysanthemums? Was Kakashi crazy? "You look like a chrysanthemum kind of guy," he returned around a bite of noodles.

"Really?" Kakashi asked. "I would have thought I looked more like a cherry blossom guy, although I really like peach blossoms the best."

"I never would have guessed," Iruka said, impressed. He'd never seen a guy who would admit to liking flowers. Most were too macho to admit to a softer side. Iruka, on the other hand, loved flowers. He went to the Yamanaka flower shop at least once a week to get a couple of bouquets for his apartment. Maybe, if he was ever able to get a house, he would plant a peach tree? He'd love to have a garden, even if he didn't have any talent with growing things.

"Oh, I'm full of surprises," Kakashi declared with a smile. "The road of life is a very exciting place."

Iruka snorted. "Dude, everyone knows that your 'road of life' is a little spot directly in front of the memorial stone.

Kakashi didn't react. He stared down at his empty bowl – when had that become empty? Iruka hadn't been keeping an eye out for Kakashi's face, but he had been looking over at the older man as he ate. He hadn't even seen the man move to eat.

"I go to the memorial stone every day to talk with my friends," Kakashi said after a long moment of silence. "I miss them, and sometimes I long for them to be here. They'd have beaten me up a long time ago, but it wouldn't have taken me this long for me to find you. Rin would have set us up right after you challenged me at the Chunin exams."

"Why would she do that?" Iruka asked, intrigued despite himself. Normally they talked about work or their mutual students, but Iruka found himself sucked into the conversation.

Kakashi smiled. "Well, when she was alive she had this huge crush on me." He sounded super arrogant as he said that! "Just before the mission she died on, she'd figured out that I'm not into girls. I wasn't interested in much of anything at the time, really, but she realized that I had this huge crush on Obito. I didn't even realize it until I saw him die. I completely denied it when she confronted me before we left Konoha."

His look had turned introspective, as though he'd become lost in his thoughts. Iruka reached over and placed his hand over Kakashi's in as warm a way as he could. Kakashi gripped his hand briefly before shaking himself back into the present. "Anyway, I saw Rin set up some of her other friends, so I think that once she got over me she would have started playing matchmaker. And, since she liked the romance of two enemies becoming lovers despite the very opposite reality, I'm sure that she would have tried to set me up with you after you challenged me. Or she would have tried to put me with Gai a long time ago.

Iruka chuckled and let go of Kakashi's hand. "I can picture that. Of course, I think I'm going to go blind from the image, but the two of you would make such a… cute… couple." He drew out the last few words for effect. Apparently it worked since Kakashi turned toward him slowly, his only visible eye huge with horror and his jaw obviously dropped despite his mask. Iruka broke into his most charming smile and cocked his head to the side in his most cute – and disarming – look. "Just kidding!"

"Good," Kakashi said. "I've seen him naked before." He shivered with disgust at the memory.

"Why would you do that?" Iruka asked with amusement.

Kakashi shrugged, but refused to look Iruka in the eye. "We are –were – teammates on occasion. We're also good friends. I've gone to the hot springs with him and I've tended to a few of his wounds on the battlefield. Also…" this time the hesitation was palpable, "One time he did challenge me to see who had the larger dick."

"I'm assuming you won," Iruka said. "You always win the infamous Gai challenges."

Kakashi turned red and scratched his ear in his discomfort. "No, I lost. He's the green beast because he's huge."

Iruka felt his eyebrows climb up towards his hairline in amazement. "Seriously?"

"Just for the record, I have nothing to be ashamed of!" Kakashi defended. "He's just… I pity the women he's slept with. That's got to be painful."

With a laugh Iruka stood up, reaching for his wallet. Since they were both finished eating he figured that they ought to move aside to let someone else in line space to eat. He felt a hand on his elbow so he looked up just in time to see Kakashi throw some money on the counter. "Thank you, Kakashi-sama, but that's not necessary."

"Maa, Iruka-sensei, I invited you on the date! Therefore it is my job to pay for anything we buy. Should you invite me on the next date, then you get the dubious honor of paying. Agreed?"

What could Iruka say to that? "Um, thanks?"

"You are very welcome, Iruka-sensei! What shall we do next?"

"What do you mean?" Iruka asked. "We ate lunch. Isn't the date over?"

Kakashi just gaped at the brunette for a whole minute. "That was the start of the date, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said seriously. "Now I figured we would go shopping or watch a movie or something."

"Oh." It just showed how naïve he was. With Mizuki they would go out to eat and then go back to one of their apartments to fuck. Other than that, they just hung out together a lot. It was really more of a casual relationship, only a touch more official than a sex-friends relationship. "I'm sorry; I haven't been out on many real dates, so I'm not exactly sure what's expected."

"Was there anything in particular you wanted to do today?" Kakashi asked as he led Iruka away from the ramen stand by the elbow. Iruka was surprised at how cold Kakashi's hand was on his bare skin. It felt pleasant on his own heated flesh, but he wasn't expecting it. He'd always assumed that they would give off the same body heat. He'd never noticed a difference between anyone else.

"Well, I was planning on stopping by the market to buy some food," Iruka said. "I can just do that later, though."

"No, we can go grocery shopping," Kakashi offered as he hauled Iruka off in that direction. "I need a few things, too. Then afterword we can drop your things off at your place and you can come over to my house. I'm sure my pack would love seeing you again."

Iruka perked up. He'd gotten to meet some of Kakashi's pack of ninja dogs during the Pein attack, but he hadn't had the chance to see them since. "I'd really enjoy that," he said.

"Great! Which stall do you want to go to first?"

Iruka set the last grocery bag on his kitchen counter and heaved a sigh of relief. Shopping with Kakashi had been more of an ordeal that he'd originally thought. It had started out easily enough: they'd quickly visited the merchants carrying the things Iruka needed and he had picked out his items with a speed which belied how used to the whole process he was. He'd been shopping for himself since he was eleven, for crying out loud! Of course he could pick out good tomatoes from the bad ones with just a brief glance!

Kakashi, on the other hand, was a mass of failure. Clearly he didn't go shopping on his own very much. In fact, he admitted that he usually had a pre-existing order with the local merchants and had his groceries delivered to him every week. Therefore, it took him a half an hour to pick out the vegetables he wanted. Then it took another ten minutes to pick out his meat – and only ten because Iruka lost it and chose for him. Iruka had then summoned a few clones to help carry all of the groceries back to his apartment.

Despite how infuriatingly slow Kakashi was at the market, however, he was kind. He had offered to pay for Iruka's groceries. Iruka had refused, though, on the grounds that these were his meals for the whole week and were his responsibility anyway. It didn't stop Kakashi from trying to pay, though. In the end they'd race to get their money on the counter in front of the clerks first. Iruka was happy that he won the speed contests more often than naught, much to Kakashi's obvious surprise.

It appeared that his training was already paying off!

Now he was home with all of his food in bags on his counter. He banished all of his clones except for one so he could put his things away faster. Once that was done he herded Kakashi out of his apartment and locked the door. The place was a little too messy to have such esteemed visitors – or any visitors, really. The place was a sty.

"Maa, Iruka-sensei, I was wondering what that tea was that you made for me the other day?" Kakashi asked once Iruka had stopped pushing him down the street and he had started walking under his own power again.

"Oh, you mean this?" Iruka asked as he pulled a box of teabags seemingly out of thin air. He'd hidden it up his vest when Kakashi wasn't looking just so he could do that. Kakashi didn't appear surprised, but then he wouldn't. Most ninjas tried to hide their surprise so that the enemy (or evil best friends) wouldn't realize when they'd pulled one over on him. "I got this for you the other day, actually," Iruka admitted, holding the box out to Kakashi. "It's a thank you for the compliment you left me when you dropped by."

After a brief hesitation Kakashi accepted the box. "You know, I didn't compliment you in order to get my hands on your… green tea?"

"Well, I figured," Iruka admitted. "That brand of green tea is a little different, actually. The shop owner only makes it for me since nobody else would buy it, but he adds vanilla leaves and a couple of matté leaves to broaden the flavor. I'm glad you liked it, though." He wasn't about to add that he'd only served it to the Hokage because he'd run out of all the other flavors he usually kept. He'd been desperate for a trip to the market for a while.

"Ah, this is me," Kakashi said as they stopped in front of a large house just on the outskirts of the town past Iruka's apartment. It was very large with the traditional sliding doors and wooden porches raised above the ground. "It's not nearly as grand as the Uchiha compound, but my family usually married into the other clans instead of staying localized here. I think that my blood ties to the other major clans got me my job as Hokage more than my skills as a ninja."

Iruka followed Kakashi into the main room of the house, being careful to take his shoes off before going inside. He sat down at the table while the other man quickly put his groceries away. In a moment Kakashi came out with a tray full of cups, but no pot of tea. "It'll be a few minutes for the water to heat up. I figured I'd call up Pakkun while we wait."

"Sure," Iruka said with a soft smile.

Kakashi quickly bit his thumb and performed the summoning jutsu. As he did it Iruka wondered if Pakkun would ever agree to be his summons as well, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Summoning wasn't really his thing, and training to be a Jounin was going to be tough enough without having to train for a summons as well. Tez was enough, even if she didn't count as a summons.

"What's up, boss?" asked a gruff voice as the smoke from Kakashi's jutsu dissipated. The little pug looked from Kakashi to Iruka and back again. "This doesn't look like an emergency or training."

"It isn't," Iruka said after it became clear that Kakashi didn't intend to say anything. "He summoned you so that we could have some tea and chat.

Pakkun's head swiveled to look at Kakashi with wide eyes. "This isn't what you do on a date, boss!" he whined. "You're supposed to be alone with your wannabe mate, not inviting your summons to…"

The pug would have continued scolding the Copy Nin, but Iruka had reached out and started scratching him behind his ears. Sure enough he had regressed into puppy mode and was soaking up the attention. Iruka chuckled and said, "I just wanted to say thank you for helping to save me that time."

"It's no problem," Pakkun said as he rolled onto his back so Iruka could scratch his stomach. "Kakashi really seems to like you, and we didn't want to see him hurting over you."

"I doubt that," Iruka said. "We barely knew each other then."

Pakkun rolled off of his back and looked up at Iruka with the most curious look. Iruka couldn't identify it, but the pug seemed to be searching him for something. "Sometimes you can just tell when two people are meant to be mates."

At that point a whistle came from the kitchen and Kakashi disappeared into the adjoining room only to reappear moments later with a pot full of steaming water. He set the pot down in the middle of the table with the cups – and bowl for Pakkun – and returned to his seat. "Well, I guess I did kind of like you back then. More accurately, I suppose you could say I was interested in you. You know, aside from Naruto you are the only person to openly disagree with me since the Fourth Hokage died."

"Really?" Iruka asked, impressed. That's a lot of people to say yes when they really meant no.

Pakkun nodded. "He didn't like the false respect, but since he's right a lot I guess it makes sense. He just liked you're balls."

"Well, he was right that time, too," Iruka muttered.

Kakashi grinned at him and reached forward. "So, now that you know how I feel, what do you think about me?"

"Boss!" Pakkun barked. "Don't ask Iruka-sensei that! The pup doesn't have to tell you until he's ready to…"

"It's all right, Pakkun," Iruka interjected smoothly with another pet behind the pug's ears. "He can always ask whatever he wants. It doesn't mean I'll answer if I don't want to."

"But, Iruka-sensei, you're too polite. Of course you'll answer, and you'll also say whatever you think Kakashi wants to hear. You're too nice like that!" Pakkun said with a whine.

"No he doesn't," Kakashi said defensively. He glanced briefly at Iruka but quickly turned his glare back on the pug. "For your information, he's the only Chunin the Jounin have any respect for, and he's the only one on desk duty they allow to yell at them when their reports aren't completed correctly."

"You know, Kakashi-sama, until recently that included you," Iruka said with a wry smile.

Kakashi grumbled something unintelligible as he reached for the pot to pour the tea. He handed one cup to Iruka while he placed a saucer on the floor for Pakkun. Nimbly the little pug took a few polite laps at his bowl while the humans sipped from their cups. It was the tea Iruka had given Kakashi just a few moments before.

"Nice tea," Iruka said with a little smile. "I wonder where you got it."

Kakashi shrugged, but didn't say anything.

Conversation flowed easily while Pakkun was there. Iruka got the low-down on the rest of the pack. Kakashi really didn't say much while Pakkun was there. He seemed content to simply listen in while Pakkun did most of the chatting. After a while Pakkun decided to go back to his home, so with a little lick to Iruka's hand he disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

"He likes you," Kakashi said.

Iruka smiled. "I like him, too."

"But seriously, do you like me?" Kakashi asked seriously. He looked almost… anxious.

Iruka shrugged. "I do like you," he said casually. "I respect you as a ninja and as my Hokage and I certainly enjoy your company, but I'm not too sure if I like you romantically. Before you asked me out I hadn't even thought about it."

"Do you think you could like me romantically maybe someday?" Kakashi asked. He looked like a little puppy looking for someone to give him loves.

Impulsively Iruka crawled around the table and gave Kakashi a quick peck on the lips over his mask. "Let me put it this way, I'm already halfway to being able to give that a question a definite yes."

Kakashi leaned forward and kissed Iruka back, much longer this time. When they parted he said, "That's all I'm asking for right now."

It was such a sweet thing to say, Iruka found himself leaning in for another kiss when he found that his lips didn't meet mask, but this time they met skin. His eyes flew open and he started to lean back in shock when Kakashi's hand grabbed his head and pulled him back in so the older man could deepen the kiss. Iruka felt a tongue on his lips gently asking for admittance, so he opened his mouth.

And, oh. My. Gawd. He could taste the tea in Kakashi's mouth. It tasted differently than the aftertaste lingering on his own tongue – a little richer and a little smoother. And Kakashi knew how to kiss. Their tongues danced in and out of their mouths gracefully, and for once Iruka noticed that the other tongue in his mouth didn't feel slimy at all. It felt… nice.

They held the kiss for a time before breaking apart. Both Iruka and Kakashi were panting a little hard. Kakashi backed off slowly, as if he needed to give himself some space. Iruka certainly needed it. He was about one second from jumping forward and tearing Kakashi's shirt off. Damn that man was handsome beneath his mask!

"I was thinking," Iruka said when it became clear Kakashi wasn't going to say anything. In fact, Kakashi's eye was looking around the room as if searching for something to say. "Do you want to meet up at my place next week? I'll make us some dinner and we could watch a movie."

Kakashi grinned and Iruka was dazzled by white teeth. "That would be wonderful!"

"Good. It's a date."