A/N: Oooops… So this may have taken a wee bit longer than I intended. Enjoy peeps!

April Fools

Chapter Ten: Midnight Revelations

Iruka slammed the door to his apartment shut with all of his strength making it rattle in the hinges. He was still mightily annoyed even if he was having some difficulty explaining exactly why.

Denial isn't attractive. His brain rather unhelpfully supplied.

Ignoring his mutinous thoughts the brunette moved to the kitchen and began to boil some water, hoping that a cup of tea would help soothe his mind. He slipped into a familiar routine preparing the tea leaves and let his thoughts settle on the task rather than on the rather strange day he had just been privy to.

Within a few minutes Iruka had a steaming cup of chamomile tea in hand and was sitting comfortably on his couch, feet propped up on a footstool. He breathed in the slightly sweet aroma and felt his body, rather reluctantly, start to unwind.

He still couldn't quite decide if his little prank had been worth all this hassle.

At first it had been absolutely hilarious to see Hatake blushing like a school-girl and totally out of his depth, but the more the day had worn on and the more Iruka had gotten to actually talk to Kakashi the more awkward and guilty he'd felt.

It really sucked to have a conscience sometimes.

Because underneath all the cruel remarks and teasing the Jounin was actually a nice person as much as he was loathe to admit it and that made the big, six-four thousand ryo question why? Why did Kakashi act like that with him when he was perfectly capable of being civil and dare he say it pleasant with him? He'd more than proved that over the course of the day.

Realizing that his thoughts were circling back on themselves Iruka took a long sip of his tea and took a long deep breath, cursing quietly under his breath.

It was at this moment that there came a tentative knock at his front door.

Eyebrows raised in surprise the Chuunin just stared at the wooden barrier, wondering just who on earth would be calling at his home. When the second equally tentative knock sounded the brunette rather reluctantly set aside his cup of tea and moved to the door still somewhat befuddled. He opened the door slowly and instantly regretted it because there stood in front of him, thoroughly soaked and shivering was Kakashi. It didn't take much to school his face into a look of surprise, most of it was genuine, it was much harder however to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"Leiko-san, what are you doing here?"

Kakashi fidgeted on the spot, failing miserably in hiding his discomfort and embarrassment.

"Um... It seems Hokage-sama messed up my accommodation and Um... I was wondering if I could crash here as you're the only person I really know..."

Iruka's brows furrowed in confusion as Kakashi continued to ramble, why hadn't Kakashi gone to his own home? Then as he thought about it a little more he came to a startling conclusion.

He can't... I bet he uses his chakra as a key and since it's sealed...

The brunette couldn't quite resist the mental happy dance at that small victory but it was quickly quashed as he took in the silver-haired woman's sodden state.

"Come in."

The Jounin stared at him wide eyed as if almost disbelieving at actually hearing the words.

"R-really?"

Iruka rolled his eyes and pulled the door wide open to accentuate his point, almost daring the other man to argue.

"Get in here before you let all the heat out."

Kakashi didn't argue and moved as quickly as he could into the small apartment, arms wrapped around his shaking body. Behind him the brunette shut the door and quickly moved to the kitchen, clicking on the kettle and pointedly looking anywhere but Kakashi.

"The bathroom is the first door on the left Leiko-san, I'd advise a hot shower before you get sick."

The Jounin stared at Iruka and noticing the tension in his body sighed, it seemed that he was still pissed at him. Not wanting to wear out his welcome Kakashi scarpered for the bathroom, grateful that the brunette had even let him in, in the first place.

Iruka watched his guest practically flee to the bathroom and just about controlled the urge to bang his head against cupboard door. Honestly was karma out to get him today? What had he done (besides the obvious) to deserve such a horrendous run of luck?

Sighing he threw the used tea-leaves in the bin and cleaned out the pot, using the monotony to keep his mind away from the person in his bathroom with little success. It was actually quite alarming how easily the silver-haired Jounin could shanghai his thoughts and Iruka frowned deeply.

"I-Iruka-san."

Leiko's voice echoed through the apartment even though it was quiet.

"Yes Leiko-san."

There was some hesitant shuffling from behind the bathroom door.

"Um... My clothes are soaked; do you have anything I can wear?"

Iruka's brain screeched to a halt then promptly plummeted into the gutter as the words hit home. Kakashi... Leiko was naked behind his bathroom door. He felt a weird tingling in his stomach at the thought, face flushing slightly as he retrieved a spare uniform from his bedroom and left them in a small heap.

"Uh... Yeah, they may be a little big though, they're outside the door."

The brunette quickly retreated to the safety of the lounge and began fiddling with his couch. If someone had asked him when he'd bought the rickety old sofa-bed just who exactly he'd planned on having sleep over Hatake Kakashi wouldn't have even featured but it seemed fate had other plans.

You really should stop being so fatalistic.

Ignoring the little voice, which sounded suspiciously like Naruto, in the back of his head (Something he'd gotten quite apt at over the course of the day) Iruka continued to make up the sofa-bed, completely oblivious to anything going around him. That was why mere minutes later he jumped a foot in the air when a voice sounded behind him.

"Is that an invitation Iruka-san?"

The brunette blushed madly and spun around a denial primed and ready on his lips but stopped dead when his eyes fell on the owner of the voice. Apparently being in something resembling normal attire had done wonders for Kakashi's confidence and she shot him a wicked grin. The retort was still on his lips but Iruka couldn't force the words out, he'd been struck dumb by seeing Kakashi in his clothes. There was something small part of him that was utterly thrilled by the image before him and another, much larger part that was attempting to beat the smaller part into submission.

"Iruka-san? Are you okay? I was only joking there."

Suddenly realizing that he was being spoken too and being incredibly rude by gaping like a fool Iruka gave a small cough and scratched the back of his head nervously feeling incredibly awkward.

"Sorry Leiko-san… I kinda spaced out there."

Kakashi's grin fell into a sincere smile and the brunette felt his stomach twist unpleasantly.

"It's okay Iruka-san; it has been a somewhat tiring and unusual day."

You have no idea just how unusual. Was the thought that crossed both of their minds simultaneously although both of them were unaware of this fact.

Iruka nodded at the far too true statement and headed toward his previously discarded tea and picked it up taking a long drink from cup. It had gone lukewarm in the time it had taken to make up the sofa-bed but it still had the calming effect that the Chuunin sorely needed right at the moment. He drained the cup in one gulp allowing the herbal flavor to wash over his tongue. Kakashi watched him still somewhat concerned, he knew he shouldn't have made the wise crack but he just hadn't been able to resist and know he was fairly convinced he'd made the other man uncomfortable. He repressed a sigh and shook his head at the turned back of the brunette, it seemed that nothing wanted to go right today.

"Well goodnight then…."

The silver-haired man started at the sudden comment and looked intently at the uncomfortable figure before him.

"Goodnight?"

Wearied brown eyes met the uncovered grey.

"Yeah, like you said it's been a tiring day and I'm sure you need to get your rest."

Kakashi went to protest but was cut off by a body-wracking yawn and blushed in spite of himself, Iruka chuckled but it sounded hollow and didn't push the point the he had been right. Instead he turned wordlessly and headed toward his bedroom trying to ignore the piercing stare he could feel boring into his back. Finally making it to the sanctity of his room the brunette threw himself onto his bed and fought the urge to scream into his pillow in frustration at himself. He'd been cowardly making such a lame excuse and he knew it but having Kakashi in his personal space had been just a bit too much for him to bear. He needed to relax himself and get to sleep otherwise the little demons he called students would eat him alive tomorrow but his mind just refused to shut off, firmly fixated on the situation. In a last ditch attempt he cast a sleep jutsu on himself and allowing the softness of the mattress to calm his mind Iruka quickly fell into a deep slumber.

Iruka awoke feeling warm and somewhat fuzzy-brained, slowly opening his eyes he took in his surroundings and let out a small sigh.

Ah, a dream…

Instead of being safely ensconced in his room he was laying on a starlit beach, horizon shadowed by the full moon. It was peaceful and calm and quite unlike what the brunette had actually expected his inner mindscape to be like. To be honest he wasn't quite sure what his frazzled mind could've cooked up but he was glad for the tranquility.

In the distance he could see a fire burning like a beacon on the desolate beach and slowly he stood and walked toward it, seeing as it was the logical thing to do. As the light grew brighter Iruka could see that there was a person sitting beside the fire and he stopped as he recognized the mop of shoulder-length silvery hair that had been burnished gold by the dancing flames.

Leiko… Kakashi…

What on earth was his brain playing at?

He'd fallen asleep to try and forget about what had happened during the day but it seemed that his rebellious psyche had other plans. He stared at the female incarnation of the Jounin and felt something tug in his stomach, Leiko looked so sad just sitting there by herself. Shaking his head Iruka plonked himself on the ground not wishing to play his fucked up minds little game.

"You should go and talk to her you know."

The brunette started in surprise and whipped his head around to find the source of the voice. His eyes widened as he spotted a lone figure perched atop a large rock that hadn't been there when he walked past minutes before. The distinctly male Kakashi raised an eyebrow, silently watching Iruka from his lookout and the Chuunin felt his temple begin to throb as he became even more confused.

"Why would I do that? You're the same person."

"Are we?"

Iruka thought about this for a moment and came to the rather startling conclusion that they were essentially the same person, just possibly different facets of Kakashi's personality. He locked eyes with the piercing mis-matched gaze determination and stubbornness rearing their heads.

"Yes you are."

There was a quirk of an eyebrow and the silver-haired Jounin jumped down from the rock and strode toward him, falling to the floor when he came close. Iruka felt something crawl up his spine and he pushed down the shudder as they came face to face.

"So why don't you like us both equally?"

The question stung more than Iruka cared to admit. He did like Leiko more than Kakashi but Leiko was Kakashi just a much more pleasant version.

"Leiko is… nicer, more pleasant. You, you just tease me all the time."

There was a flicker of hurt in the miss matched gaze.

"Have you thought about why I tease you? Like really thought?"

Iruka frowned of course he had, Kakashi teased him to assert his superiority and generally be a jackass right?

Right?

As he looked at the Jounin he couldn't help but feel that he was missing something, some important part of the equation and the more he thought, the larger the niggling doubt became. Honestly Kakashi's behavior reminded him of his students, constantly attention seeking…

Iruka's brain screeched to a halt and he felt a flare of annoyance.

Kakashi was trying to get his attention?

For Kami's sake he was a grown man, not some child with a crush…

Oh fuck.

Mind officially reeling Iruka gaped, surely he had to have misread this? But the more he thought about it the more his brain was coming to the same conclusion. Kakashi liked him and being the idiot Jounin, with zero emotional skills, that he was, was acting on his feelings in the only way he knew how. Seeing that Iruka seemed to have come to some kind of realization the dream Kakashi leant forward almost brushing his nose against Iruka's and smiled as the other man blushed furiously and drew away.

"Y-You can't… It's not possible…" The brunette stuttered, suddenly uncomfortable with the close proximity of the other man.

"Why not?" Kakashi asked glibly, leaning further forward to negate Iruka's retreat.

"Because… because…"

"That's not an answer Iruka…"

Iruka struggled to breathe, the Jounin was so close invading his personal space and loathe as he was to admit it he liked it. He liked the feeling of Kakashi's breath brushing teasingly across his face, liked the feeling of the large palm resting on his leg. His head was swimming and his heart was pounding and suddenly his mind became very, very clear as all the little pieces slammed rather forcefully into place. Their faces were so close, and he could see what he thought was desire swirling in Kakashi's eyes, and… and…

BREEP. BREEP. BREEP.

Brown eyes flew open as the alarm blared and Iruka twisted and fell out of bed, cursing under his breath. Suddenly the remnants of his dream hit him full force and he felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment as he let his head fall to the floor with a thunk.

He was screwed.

~End Chapter Ten~

A/N: And so the Iruka torture continues! Originally the 'dream sequence' was going to be smutty but I dunno… it just didn't feel right to put it in there *Shrugs* Leave us a review if you enjoyed or hated or whatever XD.