Fifty Shades of Grey
"Holy…" Iruka hadn't known what to expect. Well, when you think of lawyers, you'd guess that they were pretty swanky and straight laced. Iruka knew better than to assume that of Kakashi, though. The man was full of too many surprises. There just hadn't been any guesses in Iruka's mind as to what kind of living arrangements Kakashi would have.
When they walked into the small home, there wasn't anything Iruka could think of that was more Kakashi.
They'd met at the nearest station after work that week and walked only a few minutes in anxious laughter. The apartment was on the quieter side of the city. There weren't many cars passing in the street, but it was close to public transit. The black painted rails and red brick were a classic type of apartment aesthetic.
And it was on the ground floor. No slipping up stairs for this tall man.
On the inside, it was just as warm as Iruka's was, but… Iruka had things organised in his own way. He put things in cupboards and tucked things away out of sight. Clean and kept for Iruka meant out of sight and out of mind.
Kakashi, on the other hand, wasn't that kind of guy. He was organised, yes, but not at all in the same way. Iruka could compare it to a few of his students. Some kids were audio learners. Others learned better by writing things out.
Kakashi was very obviously a visual kind of guy. His clustered ideas and endless train of thought were in full view to be examined all at once. Everything was out in the open or behind glass. His shoes and boots were lined up carefully on a shoe rack, notes were pinned to a corkboard near the door and the shelf under the board was filled with a handful of odds and ends. Frames and loose polaroids were hanging wherever the furniture allowed. Bookcases lined the walls with books and even electronics towards the bottom of each. And scattered around the room were random things that Iruka would have probably put somewhere else. Like the bottle of body cream by the TV or the mug full of pens and pencils on the kitchen counter.
It wasn't messy by any means. No, everything looked like it was placed there intentionally, organized in a way that Kakashi understood and was best for him. Iruka had bins. Kakashi did not.
Iruka didn't feel uncomfortable, though. It was a warm place, full of personality and life that reflected Kakashi beautifully. He just didn't know how he felt about another warmth, the one growing in his chest.
It was generally a small apartment, but the kitchen was gorgeous. Iruka could only guess that countertops were all quartz, cabinets a matching white and there was a big gas stove that looked super fancy. It also looked lived in, one hundred percent more used than Iruka's.
"Sorry if it's messy," Kakashi grinned in embarrassment and Iruka scoffed.
"This is not that bad," Iruka assured. "I once dated a guy who couldn't even find his floor."
"Wow."
"Yeah, thankfully, I got out of that real quick."
Kakashi patted the couch as he passed, heading into the kitchen. "Take a seat. Want anything to drink?"
"Sure." Iruka watched as Kakashi moved smoothly through his home, comfortable in his own space.
"I've got water, wine, juice, milk," Kakashi listed as he poked into the fridge.
"What kind of wine you got?"
"Uhm, I've got a red and this white that one of my friends left here."
"Red." Iruka ignored the couch and met Kakashi across the island counter. With their glasses full, they gave small cheers and chuckled between each other.
"How long have you lived here?" Iruka marveled at all the things his eyes wanted to study. There was so much to learn in this one space. So many memories and insight into the man standing across from him.
"About three years now, I think?" Kakashi shrugged as he took another sip and recalled, "I used to live more downtown before I found this place. A year before that, I was on the west end."
"When was that?" Iruka sat straighter.
"That would've been... About five years ago?"
"I used to live on the west end too." Iruka grinned. "Not that long ago, though. Last year."
"Yeah? How did you like it?"
"It was okay. I wasn't really paying attention to it all that much, to tell you the truth," Iruka admitted as he thought about where he was just a year ago, remembering the people and the feelings he'd felt.
"Too much on your plate?" Kakashi asked and there was something in the way he was listening that had Iruka talking more.
"My ex used to live there." The words left his mouth before he had time to catch them and anxiously waited for Kakashi to frown and get angry. But his face never changed.
"Did you live there for long after you broke up?" His face was interested, understanding.
It took the teacher a moment to find the right words, blindsided by how that anxiety snapped away. "Ah, no. No, I left the night he told me and stayed with a few friends until I found my own place."
"Did you have your own place before you moved in together?" Kakashi moved on and Iruka found himself talking about the places he'd lived. He mentioned his parents and how they lived a few hours away. He listened to Kakashi's tales of apartment hunting and how he used to live in his school's residences with his best friend.
"He snored so loud," Kakashi whined through their laughter. "I couldn't sleep for the first week of school. I even switched to night classes so I could sleep when he was gone."
"Then why did you stay for a whole year?" The playful demand was met with a pained face.
"Because he was and still is my best friend. I wasn't just going to leave." Kakashi hid a smile at Iruka's laughter and quickly added, "But I did get a single room the next year."
"Oh, best friends, eh?"
"Yes, and if I hadn't left when I did, we wouldn't still be."
Slowly, the laughter died down as they caught their breaths and drank some more.
"How about you?" Kakashi eventually asked. "What are your friends like?"
"Me?" Iruka realised for a second that he had to think about that. "They're great. I see them almost everyday since we work together. We used to go out on Fridays and drink but uh..."
The tall man made a face as Iruka slid away into thought. "Sorry, if you want to change when we meet, we can always move it up a day if you want."
"Huh? Oh! No, that's not..." Cheeks flaring up with shame, he explained with a hand motioning to the two of them, "This isn't getting in the way of anything. We just... We stopped doing that when my ex and I broke up."
Words and thoughts trailing away again, Iruka held his tongue this time and Kakashi seemed to understand.
"At least you get to see them at work," Kakashi provided with a smile and Iruka relaxed again into his seat, but not for long.
"Here, let me show you the rest."
Kakashi led the way through the book-filled living room towards the other doors Iruka assumed were the bathroom and bedroom.
"This is the bathroom."
Iruka was just a bit disappointed, seeing how Kakashi didn't have a tub. Iruka didn't have one either and was hoping to be able to have a soak sometime soon. His attention was quickly drawn away to the other door as Kakashi led Iruka in. It was kind of funny that he'd forgotten he was in his dominant's home and hadn't been curious as to what secrets it held. He was even kind of anxious as Kakashi did, mind going to dirty places easily. What awaited just beyond that door...
"And this is the bedroom." Kakashi shrugged as he stepped inside, pulling off his tie and hanging it up on a rack of ties in his closet.
"Nice." Iruka leaned on the tall dresser near the door. Again, he was just a bit disappointed but not surprised.
Studying the room, there was a large space between the closet on one side of the room and the bed on the other. The four braces in the ceiling were very interesting too and Kakashi noticed where his attention was.
With a smooth smirk, he nodded to the braces. "One day we'll get to use those, maybe."
Iruka could only scoff and roll his eyes playfully as he stepped back out of the room. "Maybe, huh? You're going to ask me to help you hang some plants?"
Kakashi doubled over in a scoff as Iruka went on with a suppressed smile, "Aren't tall enough to reach them by yourself? Asking me to give you a lift with my giant biceps? Because I'm totally the one here that works out regularly."
"Yes," Kakashi gasped through tears. "Just lift me off the ground. My hero."
They were giggling and quipping back and forth as they headed back to the kitchen for their drinks.
"Speaking of strong men," Iruka brought up as he sipped, feeling comfortable as if he'd visited many times before. "Do you remember the second time you came over?"
"The second time…" Kakashi hummed, leaned in from across the counter. "That was a while ago…"
"The night we went over our contract." Iruka hinted and watched Kakashi eyes fog over in memory, a sly smile breaking out on his lips.
"Ah, yes, that night."
"Yes," Iruka held back a smile of his own. "Well, you lifted me up onto the counter as if I didn't weigh a whole human's worth."
"You're not heavy." Kakashi rolled his eyes.
"Yeah. Well, for you no, but for us normal humans, it's a lot," Iruka countered. "It's actually really cool. All the hard work you put into yourself."
The compliment pulled a soft smile to Kakashi's lips and he said, "It was… More a way to keep busy but… Thank you."
Iruka clinked their glasses again with an equally soft smile. "Thank you too."
"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Kakashi asked hopefully and Iruka didn't hesitate.
For the first time in a long time, he agreed to have dinner with a man he was having sex with.
"Yes, please."
It was one of the best hang outs he'd ever had, if he was honest with himself. He mostly sat at the island, watching Kakashi move expertly around the kitchen with his sleeves rolled up and an apron protecting his white shirt.
"I can't believe you've never seen Lord of the Rings," Iruka mused between bites of delicious pasta.
"It's on my list. Just haven't had the time." Kakashi shrugged and poured himself another glass.
Usually, on Friday nights like these, they would be busying themselves with other things so Iruka couldn't doubt that fact. Thoughts strayed back to the bedroom and the simple braces in the ceiling. His curiosity bubbled up, wondering what else Kakashi had under his sleeves.
Well, Iruka could technically see the answer to that question. Although, strong forearms were not the answer he was looking for. They definitely were a welcomed view. The real question was what other kinky stuff was Kakashi hiding?
"So," Iruka began after he swallowed the last bite. He bit his lip when Kakashi hummed through his drink. "What would you use those braces for? Like, specifically."
Eyes turned to him and the glass was set down on the counter slowly, sending a shot of doubt through Iruka's spine. It went away just as quickly when Kakashi turned in his seat to face Iruka fully. "Would you like to see?"
With a hitch in his chest that tightened all the way up his throat, Iruka bit his lip and nodded.
"They're called pad eyes. I had a contractor come and install them," Kakashi explained as they stood in view of the loops.
Feeling daring and excited, Iruka boldly asked, "Why don't we try them out tonight?"
The smile on Kakashi's face sent shivers through him, but the other man didn't move closer and his tone went serious, "Not tonight."
"Why not?" Iruka pushed, but Kakashi answered calmly.
"We're not ready for that. Neither of us." The lawyer explained clearly, "I don't have a lot of experience with that. I'd like to learn and practice before we even try the simple stuff. There are classes and conferences I'd love to go to... It's really dangerous to suspend someone."
"Yeah? Like falling, right?" They sat down together on Kakashi's bed.
"Yeah. Fainting too. Throwing up. Rope burn. Bruising. Cutting off circulation. If you have a medical condition..." Kakashi drifted off when Iruka nodded slowly, the weight of possible injury falling onto his shoulders. They were quiet together, looking up at the pad eyes when Kakashi stood. "Here."
He went to the closet and pulled a large plastic bin out from its hiding. Inside, Iruka caught a glimpse of what looked like climbing gear. There were heavy rolls of all kinds of rope and a bag of carabiners. A few of those were pulled out. Boxes sitting at the bottom were left untouched to Iruka's curiosity, but he quickly focused on what Kakashi brought out.
"Have time to talk about what I know?" Kakashi asked as he sat back down.
Despite the worry of what could happen in the future, Iruka nodded. This was what had to be said and Iruka was so grateful he hadn't needed to ask. So, he listened to every word coming from that smart mouth.
