AUTHORS NOTE: Here's the next update ^.^ Sorry it took a while, I know that reviews are supposed to make chapters magically appear… But, unbeta'd chapters don't really fit in, now do they? And since it would be a bad idea to do Beta at 3 AM… Yeah, so, sorry about that. Especially since yesterday I couldn't even touch the laptop, seeing as I was gone for pretty much the whole day.

I would sincerely like to thank Jaz for being the first to reply to the onsen-plotbunny challenge. Message received and thrown onto the 'consider' pile, and that's all I'll really say about that ;)
Anyway, you're all welcome to give me your thoughts on the Kaka/Iru goes onsen thingy, let's see what your dirty minds can come up with. Cause seriously guys, you have dirty minds, if you didn't, you wouldn't be reading three clans ;)
So, I'd love to hear from you, my trusty readers – and yes, that definitely includes the lurkers, too! It doesn't have to be smut, if you have another idea, like maybe a topic you'd want them to cover, let's hear it. I will be taking these prompts until they leave, only I have no idea how many chapters that will be. With this story, I never know how many chapters something is going to take ^.^

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Insecurities

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Monday, eight-fifty-five PM, Konoha Streets,

"So… 'Buttercup'? What else, Shino? I never heard yours…" Kakashi smiled at the boy walking next to him.

"He kinda said them all, though, you just weren't paying attention…" Walking in between Shino and Choji, Shikamaru smirked.

"Aw, come on… I'm sure I've missed a couple… You seem to have so many…"

"Then how many do you have?" Choji leaned over for a moment, looking at the silver-haired man on the other end of their line.

"For Iruka? Babe, Love… You really shouldn't hear the rest according to him, buuut… Hmmm, Blowgod, Tightness… I call him Tease, too, for quite obvious reasons… I think the rest is totally out, though…"

"Tigh- uh… Do I even want to know…?"

"I dunno, Shikamaru, you tell me," The older man chuckled, "Although you really should be able to figure it out… So, Shino?"

The Aburame softly shook his head, muttering under his breath, "Tightness… That's just dirty…" Clearing his throat, he looked up, "Loverboy and Baby, Buttercup and Honey or Hun. I do not do descriptive as much…"

"Let's hope not, otherwise 'Baby' would just sound mean," Kakashi chuckled again.

"Fine then, you've heard ours, how does Iruka-sensei call you?" Shikamaru's tone was a little too curious, or so the copy ninja decided, at least.

"Sweety, Sweetheart… If you ever repeat any of those we're going to have a problem… Hmmm, you've heard 'Sexvoice,' again, no repeating that…"

"What else, Kakashi-sensei?" Choji chuckled.

"Fine… I'll give you one more, and then we're moving away from the subject…" He worried the inside of his lip for a moment, trying to find one that wasn't too embarrassing. Unfortunately, the only pet name that currently came to mind was… "Fine… He calls me an embarrassed teenager… Not really a pet name, but…" He pulled a face.

"Is that why you're mad at him?"

"I'm not mad, Shikamaru, just… Okay, yeah, I'm a little annoyed…" He sighed softly, "Not that it's any of your business, it's a little too… Personal…"

"Alright, we get it," Shikamaru bit his lip for a second, "Kakashi, can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything, Shikamaru. Although is some cases I might refrain from answering…"

"Yeah… But, you see, I've been wondering… Why did you decide to… I think you called it 'screw yourself over' just to help us with, you know, telling people…?"

"Ah…" The older man's tone was soft. He stopped walking, dropping himself against the nearest wall, hands deep inside his pockets, "That's…" He sighed, looking up at the stars that had started to appear.

"I just… Know how hard it can be, how hard it was for Iruka and me. I guess… I wanted to spare you the pain, so… I figured a distraction would help. And that was… Honestly, that was the only plan that I could come up with…"

"But… You were so nervous…" Choji sounded hesitant.

"I was. Even more so than I let on. But… Like I said, I wanted to spare you the pain. Telling them like that, just dropping the bomb, I know it startled you. But… At the same time, there were no misunderstandings, like there were with Iruka and me at first. You know, people remarking how close we'd gotten as friends, and then joking if I'd ever, you know…" His voice trailed off for a moment, and the copy ninja sighed.

"Anyway, there were no misunderstandings, and then I immediately distracted them again, so that they wouldn't have the chance to ask further questions. I figured that by the time the treasure hunt was good and over with, they would not only have found something else to talk about but also… Well, you wouldn't be the only ones anymore, I suppose. And honestly… I started the set-up for the whole thing months ago, I was just… Scared."

"Thank you…" Choji's tone was soft, "It worked even better than you thought it would, for us at least…"

"What do you mean?"

"We kinda heard about Ino's little stunt with the mind-transfer jutsu…" Shikamaru worried the inside of his lip for a moment, "Inoichi was so pissed…"

Suddenly, the older man chuckled, "Nothing compared to me, I'm afraid… Even Iruka got angry with them… But that was just…" He sighed softly, "We had some troubles too, that night… I… I intended to show Iruka my face for the first time, but… I just," He shrugged a little uncomfortably, "I couldn't go through with it. He understood, but… Still... Anyway," He chuckled again, "Next morning, Ino pulls a stunt like that… I haven't seen Iruka get so angry at anyone in my life. Wouldn't shut up about it… It was actually kind of cute," Pushing off the wall, the copy ninja started walking again, "We're almost there, right?"

"We are," Shino came to walk next to him again.

"Right… So, can we please call it topic closed?" He sounded hopeful, a deep sigh escaping the man.

"I never meant to make you uncomfortable by asking… I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Shikamaru, I'm really not angry or anything. It's just… Usually, Iruka and me are pretty much in sync. But that kind of changed during and right after that treasure hunt. So I don't really like to think about it too much…"

"But now you're annoyed with him…" Choji threw the man a questioning look.

"Ah, well, you three didn't exactly seem in sync today, either, though…"

"Correct. Loverboy apparently gets uncomfortable when it comes to personally thanking someone…"

"Do not!" The Nara sighed, pushing his hands in his pockets, "Okay, maybe I do…"

"You're just you, Hotstuff."

"And you do not need to always be the strong one."

"I know…"

Again, the copy ninja suddenly stopped walking, "Wait, what? Shikamaru… Did you really believe that? That you have to stay strong all the time, take care of them all the time?" He studied the young Nara intently.

Shikamaru looked away uncomfortably, biting his lip. Choji shot him a worried look, obviously wondering whether or not it would be okay to hug his boyfriend right now. Shino sighed, also looking at the Nara, "Baby…"

"Can we maybe close this topic, too?" Shikamaru asked in a small voice.

"I… Shikamaru… Look, if you want me to butt out, I will. But… This is something that the three of you should discuss. And from what I can tell, you haven't really done that yet…"

"No…"

Kakashi leaned over a little, trying to look the Nara in the eyes, but he wouldn't lift his gaze from the ground, "Shikamaru… Is this... Is it something that came up during sex?"

The dark head bobbed, barely noticeable.

"Alright… That is when we're at our most vulnerable, should be at least. So it's not so strange, but…"

"I know… Can we just go now?"

Kakashi sighed. They'll just have to learn to work through these things. I can give them guidance, but that's about it. And if he doesn't want me to interfere, I won't. Not with this, at least. This is something they can and should figure out for themselves.

"Alright. Let's go."

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Monday, nine-fifteen PM, Konoha Streets,

After dropping the teens of and making a little small talk with Shino's mother, Kakashi walked back to Iruka's apartment.

They'll be alright, right? Sure. They'll make it, it's not just naiveté on their part anymore, they're actually working on their relationship, now. Makes me pretty proud, actually. And happy. They deserve it. Seems my little fit was good for something, after all. Even though I really did go too far. And then they show up with a thank-you like that…

The copy ninja smiled behind the mask.

I never in a million years thought there'd ever be even one person that I would be so comfortable around, but now I've not only got Iruka, but those three as well… Amazing…
And that coupon… Un-fucking-believable… Well kids, we'll make the best of it…

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Monday, nine-twenty-five, Iruka's apartment,

"Ah, there you are, Sweetheart. They home safe?" Iruka called from the kitchen.

Kakashi moved to stand behind his lover, wrapping his arms around the younger man as he rested his chin on his shoulder, "They're safe, Shino's mom thanked me…"

"Hmmm? Is that so weird? You walked the three of them home, didn't you?"

"Yeah…" The silver-haired man moved back, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "I'm not exactly used to people… Talking to me, I guess… Apparently they think I'm unapproachable or something…"

Iruka turned to face his boyfriend, "Well, you are a living legend, after all. And it's not like you've tried so hard to make friends over the years…"

"No…" A dirty grin crept over the copy ninja's uncovered face, "I was too busy stalking you…"

Iruka wrapped his arms around his lover, whispering in the older man's ear, "You dirty pervert… I love it."

Pressing himself tight against the silver-haired man, he moved his hips a little, softly moaning as he rubbed himself against Kakashi's leg.

"Hmmm… Babe, now who's pulling the dirty moves?" There was a small chuckle in the man's voice.

"You just feel too good…"

Kakashi swallowed, feeling his own pants tighten rapidly, "Even better without all these clothes in the way, Babe. What do you say?"

"Mmmm, yes…"

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Monday, nine-forty PM, Iruka's apartment,

"Ah, you feel so good, Babe…" Kakashi rocked his hips a little, holding his lover tight against his own body, his arms wrapped around Iruka as the younger man sat on his lap.

The brunette smiled, moving up a little, before moving back down, hearing the older man moan softly, "I love you, Kakashi, you feel so good inside me, I love you."

The silver-haired man clung to him with an almost desperate need; the need to be close outweighing everything else right now. Iruka had seen it before, felt his lover clutch him like this before. It was one of Kakashi's moods, one he could never quite figure out. As far as the chuunin knew, there was never a clear reason for them, one moment Kakashi could be playful or downright horny, and the next…

"I love you too, Iruka, I love you so much…" Tears strained the man's voice as he mumbled against his lover's neck, "Please don't ever leave me…"

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Monday, nine-thirty-five PM, Shino's room,

"Kakashi-sensei, seemed really upset, didn't he?" Choji had set himself down on the bed, looking at his lovers with a worried expression on his face.

"He did… However, it is not our right to butt in, I suppose…"

"But Honey… He was there for us, wasn't he?"

"He meddled," The Aburame's voice sounded harsh, then, softer, "But you're right… Still, that does not give us the right…"

"Sexy," Shikamaru pulled his shirt of in one fluid motion, "They're the adults, what in hell's name do you think we could possibly do for them?"

"I am not sure… Though I'd like to help the man if I can. He seemed… Incredibly sad about something…"

"Yeah…" Shikamaru bit his lip, "But he's not gonna tell us what's eating at him, and I don't want to pry too much, either. So… There's not really anything we can actually do…"

"I realize that as well… Though right now, I must admit I have other things on my mind," He shot the Nara a naughty look, "I intent to find out if we cannot draw more of those amazing sounds out of you, Loverboy."

He moved quickly, pinning the other against the wall, kissing him hungrily. He could feel Shikamaru's hands tugging at his hair, his body pressing up against him. Shikamaru's moaned into the kiss, but suddenly pushed his lover back a little.

"I'm sorry about last night, Precious…"

"Don't be, you did nothing wrong," He regarded the Nara with a questioning look, "Do you still feel anxious about it?"

"Not really… Though I think… Maybe… Take it a little slow with me?" He bit his lip nervously, shyly looking away.

"Cutypie… That's nothing to be ashamed about, you know that, right?" Choji got up, walking over to his two lovers.

After giving Shino a quick kiss on the cheek, he turned his attention to Shikamaru, letting his hands wander the Nara's bare chest as he spoke once more, "We love you, we love everything about you. And that means that we also love that little piece of Shikamaru that hides away, because it thinks that it's wrong to show any weakness. But you see, Hotstuff, it's not even a weakness, it's just you."

Shikamaru blushed, unsure what to say now, but that didn't really matter as Choji's lips covered his own in a languid kiss.

Shino took a small step back, enjoying the view as Shikamaru usually did. Cocking his head slightly, he wondered why a sight like this seemed to excite his boyfriend so. Not that he disliked seeing his boyfriends kiss, not at all. But unlike the Nara obviously experienced at such occasions, Shino did not feel anything stir in his pants, simply at the sight of the two.
I believe I would like to… Investigate this a little further…

Taking another small step back, he put his hands in his pockets, indicating that he removed himself from the equation. As he watched the two break apart, panting ever so slightly, he caught Shikamaru's eye.

The Nara slowly let his gaze wander over his lover, noting the posture that clearly stated that he did not intent to actively participate, "Are we switching perversions now, Sexy?" He asked playfully.

A slow smile crept over the Aburame's face, "I believe I would like to see how things look from your point of view, Loverboy."

"Hun… That was the lamest pun, ever…"

Shikamaru chuckled, before wrapping his arms around Choji, pulling the boy in for another kiss.
He kissed hungrily, grinding against his boyfriend. The kiss soon grew sloppy as per Shikamaru's plan, but right now he couldn't exactly remember the plan… Something about showing Shino how fucking sexy it was to watch two people make out…

Shino simply stood, watching. He loved watching the love between them, but Shikamaru's ploy was completely lost on the boy.

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Monday, nine-fifty-five PM, Iruka's apartment,

Kakashi was still holding on to him desperately, rocking his hips ever so slightly. Iruka found himself wondering more and more about what had driven his lover into this state. Sure, it'd happened before, but… Never for this long. A quick look at the clock told the brunette that his lover had been clutching him for about fifteen minutes now, mumbling about how much he loved him, and how he never wanted Iruka to leave him again. It was starting to really worry the younger man…