He avoided Iruka like the plague for the next week. He knew the other man was massively confused as to why Kakashi wouldn't just pick up his already late letter at any other point during the next seven days, seeing as he had nothing else to do but take it easy and continue recovering. He didn't want to risk running into the chuunin early and having him insist upon foisting the letter on him, and thus ruining his plan to return the following Saturday. Luckily, Iruka's schedule was pretty solid and familiar. He had set hours at the academy and mission room, and didn't wander much outside of there unless he needed to stop at the market or wanted ramen instead of cooking. So, Kakashi just avoided those places as much as possible, and did his shopping during school hours.
When the night came, he tried very, very hard to wait until a reasonable time to show up at the mission room.
Okay, well, he showed up at the same time he always did if he wasn't returning from a mission – which was at the precise moment that Iruka said goodnight to the last ninja in the room and set about with his extra tasks. But he wasn't about to show himself right away. Not least of all because it would ruin his pristine reputation as a slacker who was always late. Besides, he still wanted to have some time to just observe Iruka without the chuunin knowing that he was being watched.
He tried really hard to convince himself that he wasn't a stalker.
Also, while a week should have been plenty of time for him to mentally prepare, he was still nervous about going in. Especially now that he was actually there and looking at the chuunin, who had his radio going but only hummed along quietly rather than dancing with his normal exuberance. Kakashi didn't miss the fact that his eyes kept darting to the clock, and he seemed more on edge than usual.
Iruka was waiting for him.
About an hour passed before Kakashi decided it was time to make his appearance. This time he perched on the windowsill and knocked on the frame before making his way fully inside after Iruka had time to realize he was there. The chuunin didn't quite smile, but he didn't look annoyed either when Kakashi gave him a friendly grin beneath his mask. "Yo."
Iruka nodded to him politely. "Good evening, Kakashi-sensei." He didn't seem to know what else to say, so he quickly made his way back to the satchel that he had propped in a chair and pulled out a slightly crinkled piece of paper that was folded into thirds and had his name chicken-scratched onto it.
Kakashi accepted it gratefully. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei." He immediately leaned back into the mission desk and unfolded the paper, starting to read. He could tell from the hesitation in his movements from the corner of his eye that Iruka hadn't expected him to stick around like that. But the teacher wasn't about to say anything, and eventually returned to his work at the other end of the desk casually, letting Kakashi do what he pleased.
He had been right. Naruto's letter was short, and most of it was childish whining about Jiraiya's training methods and personal vices. 'He's worse than you!' he wrote at one point, regarding the sannin's perversions, and Kakashi had to chuckle lowly. At least someone else had replaced him at the top of Naruto's list of people to complain about.
He kept staring at the letter long after he finished it, not wanting to break the comfortable silence that the two shinobi had fallen into as he read and Iruka worked. But eventually, he couldn't keep up the façade any longer and carefully folded the letter, sticking it into a vest pocket. "I'm glad to see that he still has a lot of spirit," he commented softly.
Iruka looked back at him and offered a thin smile. "Me too," was all he said. The jounin saw the brown eyes start to gloss over with nostalgia as he turned away again.
Before the chuunin could get lost too much in his own thoughts, Kakashi appeared beside him and coolly divided the remaining paperwork down the middle, scooping it down the desk and in front of him. Iruka gave a startled gasp, but Kakashi cut him off. "Let me help you with that."
He knew Iruka was gaping at him, and he pretended not to notice. Hopefully, Iruka would, in turn, not notice that he was starting to sweat beneath his headband.
The chuunin was slowly recovering from his shock enough to blush and stutter. "You – ah – you really don't have to do that… I mean… why…?"
Kakashi cocked his head just enough to smile at the flustered teacher. "I want to."
Iruka looked absolutely floored now. After another few seconds of silence, his eyes narrowed with not-so-veiled suspicion. "You… want to help… with paperwork?"
Kakashi couldn't help the rumbling laugh that erupted from him at the comment. It shouldn't have been as funny as it was, but it was the first thing Iruka had said to him since their argument that sounded normal, rather than annoyed, cold, or just distantly civil. He sounded like an old friend giving crap to someone he knew well. And Kakashi loved it.
"So suspicious, sensei!" he cried in mock offense. "I just figure it's the least I can do to thank you for keeping my mail safe."
Iruka blinked, not used to this sort of familiar behavior from the jounin anymore. But after a few beats, he seemed to decide to go along with it for now and didn't bite back with a snarky comment. "It's no big deal," he insisted, shuffling back and forth on his feet as he returned to his own stack of papers. "I apologize for not getting it to you sooner. I was just busy…"
It sounded like a lie. It's not like he had had to wonder where Kakashi was… Who was that busy for a month straight that they couldn't stop by the hospital for five minutes? Kakashi didn't press it though – this was actually going pretty well…
"Maa… no big deal," he assured.
Iruka slowly relaxed into his presence as Kakashi actually worked diligently and didn't appear to be screwing anything up, either accidentally or deliberately. He was sure the chuunin was still wondering if he was up to something, but since he had no proof of such a suspicion, he kept his thoughts to himself.
"Have you been cleared for duty?"
It was a such mundane question that Kakashi felt like a lovesick idiot for the way his heart rate skyrocketed at the words. It was merely the fact that Iruka was making conversation with him. Voluntarily. About something other than work.
Well, okay, it was technically still about work. But it wasn't something that the chuunin needed to know to file a report from him. It was pure curiosity about Kakashi's life and health.
"Yes. Got the all-clear today. Tsunade said I'll probably be sent back out on Monday. Some things have been piling up…"
He wished he hadn't said the last part as he saw Iruka's shoulders tense just slightly. He didn't know if it was from the idea that things weren't going well around the village, the general concern for a colleague going back into the field (especially when things weren't going well), or possibly, just maybe, a personal concern for his well-being. Whatever it was, it killed the mood a little. Nothing to be done about it though… It was the truth, and all shinobi knew that, including Iruka. It honestly would have been insulting to keep that sort of conversation away from him.
Iruka nodded. "I see…" He waited another moment. "Be careful out there."
Kakashi froze. He could no longer stop himself from slowly turning and staring right at Iruka – without the barrier of his dark window hiding him.
When the chuunin saw it, he blushed and became even more interested in his own work. "I don't need to find you half dead on the ground again," he spat out in full-on Teacher Voice.
That one caring comment broke the dam, and Kakashi abruptly stepped forward and leaned in, spooking Iruka into a jumping back an inch. Their faces were so close now, and the copy-nin could see every twitch of Iruka's facial muscles as he tried to tame his breathing, keep calm, and figure out what the taller man was doing now, all at the same time. "I wouldn't dream of putting you through that again, sensei."
He disappeared before Iruka could react.
Then, he watched from his favorite hiding spot outside the window as the chuunin's brain slowly ground back into gear. He relished in the way Iruka's entire face became bright red even as he tried to regroup. The teacher looked down to find that Kakashi's paperwork was completely finished and perfectly organized, compared to his own half-finished pile. He looked around, brown eyes scanning the rest of the room, but not being able to see or sense his high-level admirer out in the shadows. He gulped thickly, snatched up Kakashi's finished work and hurriedly carried it out of the room to be fully secured in the basement.
Kakashi decided he didn't need to stick around the rest of the evening this time. His sandaled feet landed softly on the ground in the exact spot where Iruka had found him 'half-dead' six weeks earlier. He smirked to himself.
Fate had always dealt him weird hands. But sometimes… he managed to make them work for him.