I'm so excited--I just got recognised for a poem of mine! Second year for poetry and third for my creative writing. So I'm spreading the happiness. Enjoy a chapter early!

"I think I could handle a class. Maybe not for weapon training, but I'm sure I could deal with them for all the other stuff. Do you think that Tsunade-sama will let me?"

"That's a question for her, not me."

"I want to do something again." Iruka said a few moments later. "I need to do something of use again. There has to be something I can do. I'm sick of sitting around; I want to do things!"

"We'll ask Tsunade-sama if you can go back to terrorising people tomorrow, if you want." Kakashi offered, balancing the bag of groceries that Iruka insisted they get after they had visited Iruka's class as he pushed open the door. Iruka glared at him, but his eyes laughed and the corner of his mouth kept twitching.

"I do not terrorise people!" He sniffed before turning serious. "I would like it if we could go visit the Hokage tomorrow."

"So we shall!" Kakashi said cheerfully, putting the mangos in the fruit drawer in the refrigerator. "And then you can go back to slapping everyone on the wrists with your ruler again."

"It's not your wrists that I'll be slapping if you can't be gentle with those apples."

"Promises, promise!" Kakashi grinned as he stood up and made the mistake of looking into Iruka's liquid and teasing eyes.

There was a knock at Iruka's door and Kakashi blinked. When had he gotten so close to Iruka? He was certain he hadn't moved…

Better think on it later and go see who was at the door.

He yanked his eyes away and started towards the door when he heard Iruka mutter "screw this" and then a sturdy tan hand that wasn't his fisted in the front of his vest and yanked him back in front of Iruka. "Wha—"

Iruka's mouth was hard and hungry. Kakashi froze and he felt the flicker of a something hot and wet through his mask, dancing on his lips.

And just as suddenly, the possessive and greedy lips were gone, leaving him reeling and Iruka was calling at the person at the door that he was coming.

Did Iruka…did he…did they…was that…

What the hell just happened?!

Vaguely, Kakashi realised that standing stone still and mentally tripping over the last few moments like that was dangerous, particularly since he wasn't really paying attention to anything around him. He also decided it was hazardous to let him be caught off guard like that… Briefly, he wondered if Iruka would pull down his mask next time…

That woke him up. He shook his head sharply. There would be NO 'next time'! This was a mission and emotions weren't allowed on missions! That lead to clouded thinking and poor judgement and mistakes and poor thinking and mistakes and…

…

"Kakashi?"

He was going to have to do something about those lethal chocolaty eyes. Iruka had come in and had effectively killed that thought process. He made himself focus on something less distracting—say, like Iruka's scar.

Which was scrunching like it always did when Iruka smiles like that.

Okay, focusing on the scar equalled no good. He zoned in on the stove. If that wasn't safe, he was in deeper trouble then he had thought. "What?"

"That was Kotetsu-kun. The Hokage wishes to see you."

Kakashi was NOT LOOKING AWAY from the stove, so he was a little bit surprised when Iruka tucked his head under Kakashi's chin. Arms awkwardly held him close and Iruka nuzzled his throat slightly. Startled, he looked down and found his nose buried in clean-smelling hair.

"I'm told I know how to make a mean Okinawa soba," Iruka said, his voice warm and intimate and only a step above being a bedroom voice. "Would you like to come back after you see the Hokage and have dinner with me?"

Mission, Hatake! Think mission! The answer's no and—

And then Iruka's mouth gently brushed the hollow of Kakashi's throat, breath hot and lips hotter. If Kakashi had thought his nerve ending were alive before, it was nothing compared to what they were doing now. Iruka overwhelmed Kakashi in every sense of the word and he forced some distance between them, just so he could think.

"Kakashi?" He made the mistake of taking his eyes off of the stove and looking down into big eyes that shimmered with hurt.

"Couldn't think."

The words slipped out before Kakashi's brain could even fathom the question.

Not that it was going to be doing any processing of any sorts soon, because the smile that split Iruka's face was warm, amused, and filled with desire.

How was it possible for the man to sauce up to him so seductively with a cane and a bum leg? "Really. Imagine how hard it's going to be to think once I tell you what you do to me and what I want to do to you."

Who took Iruka and put a minx in his place? Since when was Iruka so seductive and…

…

Damn.

"I…I…" Get yourself together!"IhavetogoseetheHokage!"

Iruka's laughter followed him as he teleported out.

xXxXxXxXxXx

"What took you so long?" Tsunade snapped irritably.

"Got waylaid by a hungry teacher." Kakashi muttered, trying very hard not to think about anything that related to a certain pony-tailed scarred teacher. He was grateful for his mask that covered his probably flaming cheeks.

She gave him a suspicious stare before tossing a scroll at him. "Konoha needs you."

Kakashi snapped to attention immediately. He didn't have open it to know what kind of mission it was. "I thought I wasn't receiving any of these until my current mission was over."

"You weren't supposed to. But this came up and I need it handled now. You're the best for this. But don't think that this is going to be a regular occurrence," she added crossly. "It's only for this once and then you're back to baby-sitting the chunin."

"I'm not baby-sitting." Kakashi grumbled, finally cracking open the scroll and scanning the contents. "How long do I have before I leave?"

"I want you gone in half an hour."

"Doesn't give me much time to find a temporary replacement for my current mission."

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "I'll send Sakura or someone to check up on him while you're gone." Kakashi nodded slowly.

"If you want to make him happy, give him some hours in the Mission Room or in the classroom. That way, he's doing something and he'll be surrounded by people in case he tries to do something he shouldn't."

"I'll think about it. Now go away!" Kakashi nodded once and vanished.

xXxXxXxXxXx

"I didn't know you were sniffing around." Pakkun said as Kakashi paused to study the sun.

"I'm not." Kakashi said shortly.

"Oh really?" Pakkun gave him a sly sideways glance. "So you go to meals with candles and soft music all the time?"

"What are you talking about?" Kakashi dropped to the ground and scrutinised the underbrush carefully.

"That chunin not only smelled like you, he was terribly crushed to find out you weren't coming to eat with him the fancy meal that he had cooked. He was also disappointed that you didn't come yourself and tell him that you weren't going to make it."

"Gai was being hard to find."

Pakkun snorted. "You didn't want to deal with those puppy eyes looking like you kicked him."

"I didn't ask you for your inane chattering. All I wanted you to do was tell Iruka that I wasn't going to be around for a while—"

"Bailing on him—"

"—Because I got summoned to do a mission and that I was asking Gai to watch over him."

"Yeah, sure." Pakkun paused for a moment. "I recommend you keep this one; he knows how to cook."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "I'm not sniffing around."

"You smell like him, too."

"Shut up."