Disclaimer: I don't even have any worthwhile Naruto merchandise (though I'd love a Kakashi stuffie), so I definitely do not own the whole damn shebang! (Meaning I do not own Naruto or the characters.)
Author's note: Sorry for the lack of scene change line breaks—I had several in each chapter, they were asterisks, but they got erased when I uploaded. This time, I'm going to try something different—it'll be marked by kisses! (I mean Xs ;)).
Last time: Iruka wins the first challenge, he gets Gai to go on a date with him (with minimal flirting—he hasn't even broken a sweat yet!); and someone has been having naughty dreams!
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Iruka woke up in a good mood. It was Saturday and he had half a day off! Plus, he remembered as he slowly stretched, he'd won yesterday! Genma would be furious and instead of Gai being mad at him, they'd made friends! Overall, it had been a great day.
Iruka rolled over and buried his nose in the sun-warmed pillow. He rarely slept in, but every now and then, it was nice to indulge. Ten minutes, he decided, and then he'd head over to the market. He had a half-day at the missions office, the midday shift from ten o'clock to two o'clock. It was six thirty now, a half hour later than he usually got up and if he took his time getting ready, he could make it to the market by seven thirty. It was only a ten-minute walk, and that was at a leisurely pace.
Usually, he got to the market at seven on Saturdays, but he knew the merchants well and was on good terms with them, so he knew they'd save him something good even if he was a bit late. Vegetable miso and rice for breakfast today, or something heartier? Hmmm. . . . The vegetables sound nice and light. Refreshing. Yeah, that's what I'll pick up, and some fish for dinner.
Ten minutes later found Iruka under the warm spray of a shower. He was out in under ten minutes and ready to go in fifteen. As he wandered slowly up the road towards the open-air market, he had a slight, happy jaunt in his step and he hummed quietly to himself as he watched the village waking up and the birds flying in the sky.
Picking his way through the aisles, Iruka found the stall he was looking for. He chose several fresh saury and had them wrapped. As he packed them into his basket, he took a few minutes to catch up with the stall owner. Then he picked his way over to the fresh fruit stand. He made several purchases here, loving fresh fruit with his breakfast and lunch everyday. Iruka also loved to use fresh fruit to top his desserts in the evening, and he always had some out for guests, especially when Naruto came over—goodness knows the boy could use some more fresh produce in his diet. Though, Hinata was doing a good job of convincing him to eat better, then again, Iruka had a hunch the boy was down-playing his cooking skills just so she would spend the time trying to teach him—that boy was smarter than he let on.
Finally, Iruka made his way over to the vegetable stand after picking up some eggs and milk really quickly. He took his time looking over the vegetables, choosing only the freshest for his miso soup. As he rifled through the peppers, he heard a low 'mmm,' of approval coming from nearby. Looking up, he almost laughed out loud.
"Kakashi-sensei, are you enjoying your company?" Kakashi had an eggplant cradled gently in his hands and he had brought it up to his face to sniff at the nightshade vegetable.
Kakashi smiled, looking a little startled and perhaps guilty at getting caught, "They're my favourite vegetable, Iruka-sensei."
"Really now? I've never tried them."
Kakashi seemed taken aback a little. "Maa, Iruka-sensei, you mean you've really never tried them?"
Iruka scratched his nose self-consciously as he responded, "Well, no, not that I can remember, actually."
"Oh, then you must try them, sensei, I insist. At least once. On me." Kakashi placed several in Iruka's basket with a smile and patted them fondly.
Iruka smiled. "Are you sure, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Mmhm. May I suggest trying it in a miso soup? They are absolutely delicious in the light broth."
"In a miso?" Iruka scrunched his nose, "How odd you would suggest that. I was thinking of making a vegetable miso for breakfast this morning and I just stopped by here to pick up the ingredients."
"Oh, really?" Kakashi perked up, "How interesting. I suppose great minds think alike, sensei." He eye-smiled as Iruka blushed a little.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." Iruka turned slowly to walk away, seemed to pause as he considered something, and then turned back, "Actually, Kakashi-sensei, I don't have to be in the missions room until ten o'clock. How would you like to join me for breakfast?" He paused, "If you haven't had anything already, that is."
Kakashi considered a moment. "I think . . . . That I would enjoy that, sensei. Lead on." Hmmm, I think he'll make better company than eggplant, indeed. Even if they are the best vegetable ever.
Iruka ducked his head and smiled, gesturing for Kakashi to follow him. It's only polite. After all, he did offer the eggplant and I have the time and I really don't like being alone anyways. He is Naruto's sensei; maybe we'll have something to talk about.
They made their way to Iruka's apartment quietly, but it was a companionable silence. When they passed the phone pole just outside Iruka's lobby, something seemed to occur to Iruka. He looked up at Kakashi briefly, but said nothing. Then, as he unlocked the lobby and they started to make their way upstairs, he turned slightly to face Kakashi and began, "If you don't mind my asking, Kakashi-sensei, why were you outside here the other day? Not, um . . . . not that you can't be wherever you want, it's just that, well, it didn't occur to me to ask you earlier, but I was wondering, you know . . . . Umm, you really don't have to answer . . . ." He trailed off.
Kakashi hadn't looked up yet, and he took some time to answer. Iruka actually thought he wouldn't, until Kakashi simply said, "I was reading."
"Oh."
"Gai might have mentioned that you had made a date with him and I—"
Iruka rarely interrupted, he was far too polite to, but here he interjected, "Oh, you were looking for Gai? Our date wasn't on Thursday, it was for the next day, Friday." He smiled, "It went really well, Kakashi-sensei. You are lucky to have Gai as a best friend, he is such a kind man."
"Yeah." Kakashi didn't make eye contact again, and he was quiet as they made their way into Iruka's place.
"Well, " Iruka turned to Kakashi in the door as he toed off his sandals, "This is it."
Kakashi politely took his shoes off at the door and glanced around, noting that Iruka seemed a little apprehensive. "It's nice."
Iruka smiled. "Make yourself comfortable, Kakashi-sensei, I'm going to go start on the food."
Kakashi nodded and headed towards the living area. It is nice. Cosier than home—if I could even call my place a home. Kakashi gazed over a dozen or so photographs, several newer ones featured Naruto and his team, Naruto and Iruka, Iruka and the two chuunin that often manned the gate and a larger one of the Konoha twelve plus the Sand siblings. Kakashi smiled to himself as he moved onto some older looking photographs. Iruka, the Sandaime and his family, Iruka and what looked like his parents and one of his genin team. Kakashi picked that one up. Ibiki-san was his jounin-sensei?
"My team and I," Iruka said as he brought a tray of tea in. "The soup is started, if you'd like some tea."
Kakashi replaced the picture. "Of course, sensei, I would appreciate that. I didn't mean to pry." He made his way over to the kotatsu, where Iruka was setting out the tea things.
"It's quite all right, Kakashi-sensei. You are my guest and knowing you, you must be curious."
"Knowing me?" Kakashi raised a brow as he reached for a teacup.
Iruka blushed a little and ducked his head, "I just meant that you are a genius and everything, so . . . . Well, Naruto always says that you like to look beneath the underneath."
"Hmm, Naruto talks about me? I didn't think he would do much other than complain."
Iruka looked up, startled, "You think that?"
Kakashi didn't say anything.
"Kakashi-sensei, Naruto thinks very highly of you. He," Iruka paused, thinking, "well, he may have complained at first, but that quickly turned to praise. Since he's come back with Jiraiya-sama, he has matured even more and I think he considers you a friend." Iruka peeked at Kakashi. He hoped he hadn't offended the man, or made Naruto look bad. Honestly, that boy had enough prejudices preceding him everywhere he went.
Iruka was relieved when Kakashi smiled. "I'm glad he feels that way. Perhaps I should check in on him. I really haven't had much time since he returned, I have been on mission after mission."
Iruka smiled, "I think he would enjoy a visit. You have been taking a lot of missions lately. You should be sure to take care of yourself too, though. Please excuse me, I need to finish chopping the vegetables."
Kakashi watched Iruka walk away into the kitchen. "Thank you for thinking of me, sensei. I suppose I just don't have anything else worthwhile to do."
Iruka peeked over the counter, through the open window into the living area. His heart clenched. Working in the missions room, he knew Kakashi had been taking a lot of missions lately, and high-ranked ones to boot, but he had no idea Kakashi felt so lonely. He had just assumed that the jounin was busy, or that he chose to be alone because he preferred solitude. He settled back from on his tiptoes and continued to chop vegetables, quickly and efficiently. He didn't know what to say to the man. How do you respond to that? He hoped that the silence wasn't too awkward.
"Do you need a hand?" Iruka looked up, a little startled by Kakashi's sudden presence. Kakashi smiled a little under his mask, "Sorry if I startled you. I felt useless over there, there was nothing to do."
"Oh, well, um, I suppose, if you don't mind . . . ." Iruka trailed off, looking around the kitchen. What can I ask him to do?
Kakashi noticed Iruka struggling. "How about I set the table?" He suggested, looking towards the cupboards.
"That would be nice, Kakashi-sensei. Third cupboard from the wall, to the left of the sink."
"Okay, dokey!" Kakashi eye-smiled as he made his way over to the cupboard. They worked in silence for a few minutes, Iruka stirring the soup occasionally and Kakashi taking a few trips from the cupboard to the table.
As Iruka checked the rice, leaving the soup to simmer it's last few minutes, Kakashi disappeared into the living area and returned with the tray of tea things. Iruka looked up, "Oh, thank you, Kakashi-sensei. It's almost ready."
Kakashi lifted the lid to the soup. "It smells good."
"Thank you." Iruka brought the rice to the table and made his way over to the stove, where Kakashi was contemplating the soup. There was an awkward moment as they did a quasi-dance, with Iruka trying to get past and Kakashi trying to stay out of the way.
Iruka laughed as they finally sorted themselves out and Kakashi smiled, gesturing overly gallantly towards the table as Iruka made his way by with the soup. Iruka laughed again at the exaggerated gesture and Kakashi followed him to the table.
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Breakfast was enjoyable and Iruka decided that yes, he really did enjoy. . . . eggplants. Perhaps he and Kakashi could be friends. Maybe, if he could handle it. He hoped so.
Kakashi had walked him to the missions room, he had had to pick up his new mission from the Hokage anyways, and then he headed out to check in with Naruto as promised, leaving Iruka at the missions room door in a good mood.
Iruka walked up to his desk, tucking his bag behind his desk and taking a seat. His good mood dampened a little as he saw just who was coming towards his station. Genma. Oh, joy.
"Iruka." Genma picked at his teeth with his senbon.
"Genma." Iruka grit his teeth. That really was a disgusting habit. He glared at the senbon chewer, eyes glinting at the senbon.
"Anko." Genma shifted the senbon in his mouth and looked off into the room.
"No, actually, I'm Iruka." Iruka glared stonily at the tokubetsu jounin, purposefully feigning ignorance.
"Are you really that obtuse?" Genma's head turned back towards Iruka, but instead of looking at him, he peered at the fingernails on his own hand.
"Are you really that obtuse?" Iruka shoved the hand on the edge of his desk off of it. His good mood was dissipating fast. Really fast, as was his patience.
"Screw you, Iruka. The next target is Anko. And you knew what I meant, you little—"
For the second time that day, but with far more venom and forcefulness, Iruka interrupted, "Yeah. I knew. I'm not an idiot, like you. And I think there are several people, in fact, who would like to screw me, thank you very much. You included, if I remember correctly. And I heard you. Anko won't be a problem, for me anyways. So, Genma, screw you."
"Would you like to?" Genma leered at Iruka and leaned closer over his desk.
"No thank you, definitely not. You were never any good anyways, except in your own head. I meant screw you figuratively, not literally. But I guess I should have explained that to an idiot like you." Iruka's voice got harder and more clipped with each word. His good mood was now thoroughly gone, though he was enjoying making an ass of Genma (more so than the senbon-sucker usually made of himself, anyways), if only in a twisted way.
Iruka leaned away from Genma, cocking his head to the side so that the next shinobi in line could see him. "Next!" he called, motioning said shinobi forward. The shinobi, sensing the mood and being on friendly terms with the sensei, but knowing Genma's reputation, elbowed the tokubetsu jounin out of the way and frowning at him.
Iruka smirked. Maybe his good mood could be salvaged.
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Sweat dripped off of him, onto the chest of the man below him. The man's chest was heaving, breath ragged from exertion. He lowered his head towards the man and claimed his lips in a long, heated kiss. He ground his hips into the other man, hard, and both gasped out low moans. The other, finally, had had it, and rolled them over, leaning down, taking charge and kissing him again, hard. Oh, he loved it when the other was pushy. His hands were gathered together and pushed above his head. They were held in place there by one large hand, as a wet mouth descended upon him and took one of his hardened nipples into it. He moaned again and pushed his erection up towards the other, trying to get some sort of friction. The other laughed and pulled his own hips up and out of reach. A hand pinched the other nipple and his hands were let loose as a head kissed its way down his stomach, past his abs, past his feathery trail of hair and right down to his—oh!
Not again. Fuck! He remembered the deep, rich timbre of the chuckle. It was hearty, warm, inviting. And it made him hard. So fucking hard. He tried to catch his breath as he brought his hands down from above his head where he'd been holding to the headboard tightly. Double fuck! Not even a cold shower might cut it this time. He sighed and rolled off the bed, heading towards the bathroom as he loosened the tie on his pyjama pants. He bumped into his bedside table, jostling the little glass dolphin sitting there. He closed the bathroom door behind him and took himself in his hand. Mmmmm, relief.
