Disclaimer: Naruto and all it's characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei, not me!

Warning: Yaoi!

"Look, Kakashi-sensei, about yesterday..." He started, using his lecture voice. Kakashi turned his face to gaze at Iruka, his eye no longer curved up.

"Yeah...?" Kakashi's heart rate increased. Iruka only used that voice when the person he was talking to did something wrong. The jounin swallowed heavily, trying to prepare himself for heartbreak.

"I...I'm...flattered." Iruka wrung his hands nervously, trying desperately to keep the tone he'd started with. His face was beet red. " But..."

"But...you don't like men." Kakashi glared at the wall.

"Well I...I wouldn't say that..." Iruka shook his head. He began glancing around nervously trying to sort out his thoughts.

"So you like men... Just not me." His thundering heart felt like it was going to burst, nothing like earlier though. This time it was a very painful feeling.

"I like you! I've just never thought about liking anyone that way." They sat at the table, Iruka's face spoke of confusion. "I...I like being with you, and...and now it's all confused. And I don't know what to feel."

"Oh."

"I...I still want to be friends." He looked up at Kakashi with a pleading look on his face. Vaguely wondering when they had become friends. "Could we still be friends?"

"Sure," Kakashi frowned, "Just know my feelings won't change." He said firmly. Iruka started, glancing up from the table to the jounin's face.

"Uh, ok." He fidgeting nervously, unable to look up at Kakashi. The silver haired man sighed, sure it hadn't gone the way he'd hoped but at least Iruka wasn't going to end their tentative friendship.

A few minutes later Kakashi left, Iruka had declared that he really needed to get his work done and he couldn't do it when Kakashi was there. Later in the night, when Iruka's work was finished and he sat, sipping tea at his table a knock sounded on the door. He rose quickly, setting his tea back down on the table and opened the door. One of the ANBU stood there, holding out a folded piece of paper.

"Umino Iruka?" The chuunin nodded, "Here." He took the paper proffered and the ANBU disappeared. Iruka stared confused at the ANBU a moment before closing his door and opening the piece of paper. He read it quickly, a frown forming on his face. 'I'm supposed to meet this person at that restaurant? It doesn't even say who it's from. What is this all about? Well...it couldn't hurt. Next Friday? That's a week from now.' Iruka shrugged to himself. He got ready for bed, slipping between the sheets and drifted asleep with a silver haired jounin on his mind.

The next morning Iruka woke with a start. Images from his dream that night quickly faded from his mind as he got up and showered. His day went as it normally would, however his mind kept drifting towards a certain silver haired jounin and the feelings that had been confessed. He groaned at his desk, the students were working quietly on an assignment he'd given them.

Suddenly a little finger tapped him on the head. He jerked up. One of his students were standing there looking terrified. "Hm? What's wrong?" He asked.

"I...f-finished my work." The little girl handed him her paper, he blinked at her owlishly.

"Good job! You can use this time to study for the test tomorrow." Iruka smiled and she smiled back, reassured and scampered back to her desk. Iruka sighed tiredly and rested his head in his arms. 'What is wrong with me? I can't stop thinking about Kakashi-sensei. Maybe...maybe I shouldn't hang around him so much. Maybe it's the proximity that's causing my chest to feel so tight.' He glanced out the window. A small sparrow flew by and Iruka sighed again. 'I wish things were simpler.'

After class Iruka was slowly gathering his books. The melancholy feeling had grown worse. A yell brought him out of his musing.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto burst into the room, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hello, Naruto." He greeted with a semi-forced smile.

"Hey, can you take me out for ramen?" He looked pleadingly at his former teacher.

"Sure."

At Ichiraku they sat in their usual spots, their ramen in front of them. Naruto at his at the usual lightening speed and Iruka just poked at his ramen a bit with his chopsticks. Naruto babbled on about his recent fights with Sasuke and whatever else he felt the need to talk about. Iruka listened half heartedly.

"Hmm? Is that Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto finally got Iruka's attention. The chuunin suddenly found himself crouched behind a potted plant in the corner of the shop, he glanced around the corner to see Kakashi's lower body walking by the shop. The silver haired man seemed to stop and ponder a moment in front of Ichiraku. He walked by and Iruka let out a sigh of relief. "Eh? Where'd he go? Iru.."

Iruka instantly clapped a hand over the boy's mouth, silencing him. "Shhh!" He glanced at the entrance. Naruto gave him a strange look and the chuunin removed his hand.

"What was that about?" He rose en eyebrow. Iruka blanched.

"Uh, nothing." He glanced around anxiously.

"Eh? It wasn't nothing! What was that? You suddenly disappeared!" He flung his hands in the air for emphasis. Iruka scratched the bridge of his nose.

"Uh, well. I'm kindofavoidingKakashi-sensei." He blurted out.

"Huh? Why would you do that? Did he do something?" Naruto glared in the direction the jounin had gone. Iruka shook his head frantically.

"No, no. It's complicated, I'm avoiding him because of something he said. And before you say anything, he didn't say anything bad!" Iruka exclaimed.

"So he said something good and you're avoiding him? I don't get it." Naruto made his thinking face, the one that makes him look constipated. Iruka grimaced.

"When you put it that way it sounds really silly. I'm not sure how I want to take his words, so I'm avoiding him." Iruka nodded in satisfaction with his answer.

"What did he say?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not telling you!" The blonde stuck his tongue out at Iruka's words.

Soon they parted ways still confused about what Iruka was thinking. Naruto was worried about his former teacher, if he went insane then there was no hope for the rest of them. Iruka's strange feeling hadn't dissipated yet and he was even more confused then before. He walked slowly, lost in thought. His brain elsewhere it was no wonder he ran into Kakashi on the street.

"Uh?" He glanced up at the other man, upon realizing who it was he blushed and shifted his gaze to the ground.

"Hello, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi greeted jovially, his eye curved up.

"Hello, um I really need to be going, I have work to do and a lesson to plan, and I need to clean. Um, I gotta go. Good-bye!" Iruka dashed away from the silver haired man without even letting him say good-bye.

"Bye?" Kakashi stood in shock for a moment. 'What was that all about? Have I done something wrong?' He frowned, not sure what had just happened but hoping it wasn't anything too serious.

He continued on his way home. He shut the door behind him with his foot and slipped his sandals off. He took a quick shower and lazed around his house in a bathrobe the rest of the evening.

The next day, bright and early, Kakashi left to meet his team at their usual training grounds. He stalked up silently and was about to make a surprise entrance he overheard Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura talking. The word that caught his attention was 'Iruka-sensei.' He quietly sat in a nearby tree, listening.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Iruka-sensei just up and disappeared! He said that he was avoiding Kakashi-sensei because of something he said. He said he didn't know how to take his words. Whatever that means. He wouldn't tell me what those words were though." Naruto said, nodding.

"Idiots." Sasuke dead panned.

"I wonder what Kakashi-sensei said to upset Iruka-sensei so much!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Me too." Naruto agreed.

"Probably something stupid." Sasuke rolled his eyes. Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of them in a puff of smoke.

"It was not stupid!" He said, his tone daring any of them to say otherwise.

"GYAH!" They all screamed.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura accused.

"Sorry, I was helping an elderly lady find her nail clippers."

"LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed.

"What wasn't stupid?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmm?" He replied.

"You suddenly appeared yelling that it wasn't stupid! So what did you mean?" Sakura explained impatiently.

"Oh, What I said to Iruka-sensei." He grinned under his mask cheerfully, remembering just what he had told Iruka but really the kiss that followed.

"What did you say!" Naruto shouted.

"I'm not telling you!" His eye curved up cheekily. Naruto howled in frustration.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI YOU BASTARD!" Sakura grabbed onto the blonde to prevent him from attacking their laughing teacher.

After training Kakashi entered his home and plopped down on the couch. He was sitting barely four minutes when there was a knock on the door. He stood quickly and opened the door. One of the ANBU stood there holding out a piece of folded paper. Kakashi took it, closing the door after the retreating ANBU.

He flipped open the note, skimming it quickly. 'I'm supposed to meet them at that restaurant? What the...Friday? Huh, couldn't hurt.' He tossed the paper into the trash after memorizing the time and place.

Kakashi had really begun to worry, a day before Friday, when he would be meeting this mystery person at that restaurant. He realized that Naruto hadn't been lying when he said that Iruka was avoiding him, he had quickly begun trying to talk to the other man. Every time Kakashi managed to engage Iruka into a conversation he slipped out of it and dashed away. It was really beginning to get on his nerves.

Hadn't Iruka said that they could stay friends? So why would he avoid him so obviously after saying something like that? Had he changed his mind? Kakashi desperately hoped not. He walked down the street, knowing Iruka would have to pass that way. Surely there was some way that he could get Iruka to talk to him like he had before Kakashi declared his love.

Kakashi caught the chuunin's eye, he was about to go over to him and try to talk but the expression on his face stopped him. Iruka really looked panicked and unsure. Kakashi smiled sadly and waved, walking in the opposite direction. Maybe Iruka just need his space?

HUZZAH! I finally finished it! XD I was worried for a moment there that I wouldn't get it done for the time I set for myself. (which was today)Here it is! I hope I didn't disappoint anyone...now I need to work on the NEXT chapter! Yay! Thank you to all my reviewers! The twelve seconds you take to say 'update' make me very happy! So please REVIEW!