Title; The Right Way: A Love story in Four Acts
ACT III: Overflowing Passion
Everyone was afraid of something. Whether it was the death of people you loved, failure or those caterpillars which looked like eyebrows.
Iruka never based his pranks on fear; it was the difference between being funny and cruel. There had to be lines you refused to cross, even if they were all in your head.
Instead he based them on dislikes; disorder, being wet, being seen as foolish. There were a whole host of options, and Iruka had years of psychological training (also known as 'teaching') which made it easy to choose the most effective.
Operation 'Hysterical Schoolgirl' was now underway. And Iruka, armed with boxes of cheap construction paper and pre-made cards didn't even have to worry about covering his tracks. Far into the night he worked, hunched over paper scraps and glue, lace and calligraphy sets.
'Be Mine', 'Yours, Iruka', 'My Sweet Valentine', 'My Passionate Lover'. Even a rather horrible poem about Kakashi's hair, of which Iruka was particularly proud.
None of them said 'I Love You' though. Iruka wanted to save those words for someone special.
And so it was that when Hatake Kakashi left his apartment the next morning, he found a valentine at his door and another in his mailbox. And one in his favourite tree. Another was attached to the hydrant Pakkun liked. And another at the restaurant he went to for breakfast. That one had been under the chair he usually sat in. He'd thought it was a pressure sensitive explosive note at first; so really, it was understandable he'd reacted badly. They would probably allow him to come back in a couple of months.
The bombardment of love notes continued all morning. By the time lunch rolled around, he was feeling more than a little twitchy, and heartily wishing he'd gone home alone last night. Still, it had been so nice to feel someone for once. To feel that warmth against his side and know he wasn't alone.
He didn't know Iruka particularly well, but he'd always admired the man. For being someone the students could trust. For trying to protect them and not giving a flying fuck about anything else. For being openly caring in a village made up of masks. Even if Kakashi was discovering that there was more than one screw loose in that pretty little head.
He'd asked Sensei for advice, but all he'd gotten back was the old adage 'A man has a brain and a dick, but only enough blood to use one of them at a time'. Which he really should have remembered when he was lying there beside Iruka in the dark, thinking how nice it was to hear another breath, another heartbeat. Kakashi didn't really know Iruka, but he'd been starting to think he might like to.
He opened up icha icha looking for further words of advice and another of those damn hearts fluttered out. He'd given up wondering how Iruka was getting them to him when he'd found one in the toilet paper of the public bathroom. He made the mistake of reading it.
Your hair is fair,
Much like your face
It stands straight up
Like a field of grain
Waving with style and grace…
He couldn't take much more of this.
