Yay! I have time for another update- it's a welcome change- I have been tied to my work all week :( !
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters.
Last time: Poor Anko and Gai! They had better watch out, I'm setting our boys loose on them! (It's lucky they love their best friends or I'd really worry for those two!) Then it's home to Kashi's for another sleepover—things are getting serious.
Lucky you, I've got no author's notes, except sorry for the delay!
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Iruka looked through his bag one more time, procrastinating, he knew, but unable to help himself. In his head, he knew Kakashi was n it for the long haul—but his heart was scared shitless. Sighing, he zipped it up, then shouldered the bag. As he headed into the living area, he smiled to himself, shaking his head and then stopping in the doorway. Only you, Kakashi. Only you. He cleared his throat, chuckling as Kakashi startled.
"Hm, I probably shouldn't be able to startle the great Copy-Ninja, so I wonder if maybe you're doing something you shouldn't and feel a little guilty, ne?"
"I was just looking." Kakashi crawled to his knees, then got up from his prone position on the floor, rifling through one of Iruka's cupboards. "You sure have a lot of these."
Iruka walked up and took the pages from Kakashi, looking at them fondly. "You know, the mark of a great teacher is that your kids can never tell who's the favourite because you treat them all equally. But we are just human and do get along with some of our students better than others—it's in our nature to click with some people, whether they're adults or children. It's a personality thing." He bent down and placed the papers back in the cupboard. "I'll tell you one thing, though. Sometimes, even if they're the harder ones to deal with, it's easier to love the ones who need you the most."
Iruka moved towards Kakashi, wrapping his arms around him. Kakashi smiled, brushing some of Iruka's loose strands of hair from his face with the back of his hand. He leaned his head forward, so that their foreheads were touching as he wrapped his arms around Iruka. "Sorry for snooping. I just want to know more about you."
Iruka smiled, quickly pecking Kakashi on the lips through his mask as he said, "It's quite all right. Those are some of the more memorable keepsakes from my kids. End of year thank you cards, and drawings they've made for me. I keep a lot of the ones that are hand made, they put a lot of effort into those and Naruto's work often made it into that cupboard. Though, once he was no longer a student, he would often come over and just put stuff up on my fridge too."
"Do you miss it?" Kakashi whispered, trailing clothed kisses down Iruka's cheeks.
"They have to grow up sometime, you know? And I'm just glad he's grown up well. He's happy, and he's a good man. That makes me proud."
"Mm. You should be." Kakashi pulled Iruka even closer, nuzzling his nose into the chuunin's neck and breathing deeply. "I am convinced it was you that saved him."
Iruka backed up a bit, glancing down at Kakashi's head on his shoulder. "Saved him?"
"He was my sensei's son. I was young back then, but I did try to keep an eye on him. You know, make sure the villagers didn't do anything too bad. Had to fight'em off more than once on the anniversary of that damned event—when the Kyuubi attacked."
"Still don't get it. What's that got to do with me?" Iruka disentangled himself from Kakashi. They still had a lot of time to kill, so he headed to the kitchen and started water for tea, taking some of his saved baking out of the freezer and thawing it with a katon jutsu.
Kakashi watched, lost in thought for a moment. "Well, I watched him for a long time. From afar, of course, I don't think he ever knew, as he hasn't shown any signs of recognising me." Kakashi slumped onto one of Iruka's stools near the counter. "But basically, that's how I know all that you did for him. Because watching him meant watching you once you two got closer. Then . . . . well, I guess I just kept watching you." He smiled a little sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "It's like an addiction for me. I've got a case of you worse than I've ever had for anything, even my books or the memorial stone." He paused again, playing with his fingers and the edges of his fingerless gloves, then murmured, "I'm sorry I didn't get there on time. That night that . . . . when you . . . . I was so scared, when you were admitted to hospital for that injury to your back. I was . . . ." He slumped further down. As he had been talking, Iruka's hand had crept along the counter, to rest on Kakashi's and squeeze it.
He answered; toying with the hand he was holding and entwining their fingers. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Goodness knows, you've done more for him than most and it wasn't your job to keep me safe."
"I wanted to." Kakashi peeked up at Iruka through his lashes. "Is that okay now?" He paused, wondering how to word it without offending his fiercely independent lover, then deciding on, "I know you can take care of yourself, Ruka, you're a survivor. But just 'cuz you can, you know, doesn't mean it isn't nice for someone who cares to help out once in a while . . . ." It was time for all of those unasked 'later' questions to be answered. After it was out, he silently wished he'd said loves you instead of cares, but figured he'd get his point across anyway.
Iruka smiled, then whispered, "The same could be said for you, Mr. Lone Wolf." Kakashi grinned back, glad that had gone over well. Then Iruka looked thoughtful, obviously remembering something.
"Are you the Anbu in the dog mask?" Iruka guessed, looking at his guest out of the corner of his eye as he took out the sugar.
Kakashi looked up, surprised. Iruka continued, "He talked about you all of the time when I first met him. Don't sell yourself short; you were his lifeline, you know. When he got you as a jounin-sensei, I know he suspected, but didn't make a big deal out of it because you never claimed it was you. I think he knows now, he's far brighter than people give him credit for . . . . but it's easier to pretend that it never happened because he doesn't like remembering those times in his life. Besides, admitting it out loud would change your relationship now and I think you're both comfortable with how things are. Sometimes I think you're both too hard-headed for your own good, it might just be a good thing, bring you closer together, you know, if you talked about it. He'll never replace your sensei and his wife, as well he shouldn't—but he's his very own person and I think that if your sensei had lived, you'd be his nii-san, not me. Sometimes thinking of that makes me sad that I wouldn't have what I do now. Then I get guilty, for being happy, because it was a terrible thing that happened to the village, even if this good came of it for me. I was horrified at first that I could be glad of things, when my own parents had died in the attack. I live with it though, because they lived well, loved me and died on their own terms—they went out fighting and even though that episode in our history is like the darkest storm cloud, Naruto was my silver lining. He kind of saved me too. I could have turned into Mizuki just as easily as he could have been Gaara."
It was quiet in the small kitchen as Kakashi mulled it over and Iruka steeped the tea. He had chosen raspberry pastries, the outside was very flaky and not too sweet and the raspberry added a hint of a sour tang that he thought the sweets-averted silver-haired nin might like. Placing a plate in front of Kakashi, he leaned over the counter, making eye contact with Kakashi and lifting his face up by the chin. "You really shouldn't believe that you're facing the world alone. You were so often in his thoughts and when I heard about his hero, I added you to my prayers every night. I had my own suspicions it was you, but by the time I had clearance enough to look into the files that confirmed it, in the hospital archives about injuries you had sustained protecting him, well . . . . I was too cowardly to come up and thank you for it, then that whole fiasco happened with the exams and all. I watched you too, you know. As soon as I suspected and definitely after I knew for sure."
Kakashi smiled slightly through his mask. "Is it that obvious I'm a loner?"
"But you're not a loner." Iruka turned and got two mugs down, "Solitary, yes, kind of. But that's by choice, not because no one wants to be around you."
While Kakashi pondered, Iruka continued, "I was afraid to approach you. You just . . . . had this air about you. So I settled for Genma. I wanted to so badly, though. So badly." He turned back to face Kakashi again, nervous, the mugs in his hands.
When he spoke, it was softly. He didn't look up from the spot on the counter he was picking at. "I watched you for a long time too. I don't know what drew me to you exactly, but I think it had to do with the fact that you get along so well with almost everyone. You love so well and I—well . . . . I'm wrong. I was a ninja by six and my parents died when I was young. I don't know how to interact with people sometimes. I was scared to approach you. Funny how much time we've wasted, ne, Iruka?" He looked up, "It was the chuunin exams when it got really bad though. I wanted to jump you right there." At this, he grinned.
"Oh, Kashi." Iruka wasn't fooled as his lover tried to make light of things and he made his way around the counter and folded his lover in his arms properly. "You're not wrong. You're like the most beautiful exotic bird, but someone broke your wings so that they could keep you in a cage, all for themselves. What kind of teacher would let a six year old out of the Academy, talented or not, I'll just never understand. Babies aren't ready for our world, and they shouldn't have to be. Stay with me, and I'll fix it. I'll mend your wings. Sandaime never should have let you fight like that. I don't think he wanted too, either, but the damn council has their filthy hands in everything."
Kakashi sighed into Iruka's embrace, knowing he was home. "He didn't. It's why he made me take a genin team. And he gave me Naruto. He knew I was attached to him because of my sensei, his father." As he relaxed into Iruka's hold, his sensei rubbed soothing circles on his back.
"You're not alone anymore. We're in this together now." Iruka kissed the top of Kakashi's head affectionately.
Kakashi wrapped his arms around Iruka's waist and neither noticed as their tea cooled, not caring how much time went by as they held on tight.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Gai was nervous. He stood at Anko's door, petrified into a statue-like state, his arm poised to knock, his face frozen in a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. From the bushes, he thought he heard a muttered, "Just knock, dammit." However, when he turned to look, there was no one there, the bush wasn't even moving and there was no chakra signature.
Down in the bushes, Iruka was glaring at Kakashi; hand over his mouth as he hissed, "Do you want to get caught this early? They haven't even left yet! Stealthy ninja my ass—you practically shouted that."
Shaking it off, Gai was glad at whatever had startled him out of his reverie and reached forward to knock just as Anko yanked open the door, only half-ready to go, grabbing him by the collar and jerking him into the apartment, brusquely intoning, "I can't get ready with you standing out there like a stalker. You've been here ten minutes already and didn't even knock!"
Iruka was glad his friend was so loud, or he and Kakashi might get caught, owing to their barely-muffled snickers as they took in Gai's face, now gaping like a fish out of water, spluttering and turning bright red at Anko's only half-dressed state.
Annoyed, she stalked off to her bedroom to finish getting ready while Gai stood in the living room now, still with the apartment door wide open. He was almost hyperventilating now, calmed only by his own mantra in his head, Breathe. Breathe. Breathe! as he stroked his hair and straightened out his jacket. He had opted not to wear his usual spandex, choosing instead a dark green dress shirt (he wasn't going to give up his favourite colour completely) and a very dark orange tie, almost a blood red (same goes for his second favourite colour) under a black blazer, over black slacks and dress shoes. His hair was combed back, rather than lying flat all around his head in its usual bowl shape.
Finally, after being hit by a flying twig, Where di that come from? He shrugged it off, and went to close the door, hand on the knob, but was floored again when Anko walked back in. In the bushes, the boys laughed quietly again, amused to no end at Gai's very expressive facial contortions. Iruka was ready to chuck another twig again when Gai stammered out, "Y-y-you l-look very n-nice, A-Anko-san."
Anko twirled around in her spot, looking down at herself. "Oh do I? Thank you, Gai." She was wearing her own signature purple, only in a longer skirt than usual, with a light, mint green top, snug-fitting enough to definitely show off some curve and some skin but made of a flowy, ethereal-like material. She practically skipped forward, grabbing her purse along the way as she latched onto Gai's arm and hauled him bodily out of the apartment, the door slamming behind them.
As soon as they were out of sight around the building (in Anko's building, the apartments were like townhouses, each with their own entrance to the outside), Iruka and Kakashi popped up, ready to follow. Iruka, knowing Anko knew he was there, paused long enough to lock her door for her with his spare key and, just for good measure, keying her traps with his chakra. He hoped he wouldn't get in too much trouble for behaving like a pesky little brother annoying her on her date, or he'd be in for it when she got to him.
Oh well. He glanced at Kakashi. He'd suck it up, because he knew Kakashi needed some fun tonight. Their serious talk had taken its toll on the usually stoic man. At least I'm here now; he doesn't have to deal with anything alone anymore. He grabbed the jounin's hand and they raced off after their targets, practically flying over the rooftops as they masked their chakra. Iruka knew it was probably pointless, since Gai was too nervous to notice them anyways and Anko knew, at least, that he was there, he wasn't so sure she'd pegged his accomplice yet, but it wouldn't take her long to figure it out. Still, it was part of the fun to be sneaky, so he pretended for Kakashi's sake, knowing his lover hadn't had much of a childhood like he'd had. Anko wouldn't blow it either, once she knew it was Kakashi—goodness knows she knew Iruka loved him and she was a lot more sensitive than she let on—only those close to her really knew it, though.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
His legs cramping up, Iruka shuffled in the tree they were in, positioned to see inside of the restaurant where Gai and Anko were enjoying their meal. Their long meal. He sighed, and Kakashi nudged him, chastising, "Will you hold still, please? You're going to knock us both out of this tree and then we'll be busted for sure."
"We're not going to get caught," Iruka said petulantly, then added in a low grumble, "Not all of us have as much practice as you spying on people from the trees."
Kakashi giggled, "It is a noble hobby, I have indeed, my dear. For there is no one else who can say they that they have spent quite so much time observing the interesting and glorious Iruka-sensei in his natural habitat." He grinned, patting Iruka on the head.
Iruka swatted him away and snorted.
An hour and a half later . . . .
Even the usually laid-back Kakashi was getting bored now, and he sent a wave of invisible, air-infused chakra directed towards a glass of water on his friend's table. Iruka sat bolt upright, throwing a hand over Kakashi's chest and pushing him back slightly, out of the line of sight from the restaurant window; just as both Anko and Gai simultaneously shot their glances towards the tree. Then they both turned to each other and burst out laughing. Then, (thank goodness, both the guys thought) Gai motioned to the waiter for the check.
They climbed out of the tree carefully as Anko linked her arm in Gai's, walking out of the restaurant and towards the park. Following along behind (at a safe distance, of course), Kakashi draped his own arm over Iruka's shoulders, leaning in to his ear as they whispered to each other. Up ahead, Gai gazed at the stars, pulling Anko up short to point out a few constellations.
Iruka grinned mischievously, tugging Kakashi behind a tree, then he called up a wind jutsu and sent it sprawling across the path to blow lightning bugs around his pair of friends. Anko laughed in glee as Gai hopped about trying to avoid the critters.
As he settled down, she whispered, "They're beautiful," exhaling softly as the bugs flew away on the last remnants of a gentle breeze.
"Yes," Gai inhaled sharply, looking down at Anko, "They are." She blushed as she caught his gaze.
"Oh, stop that, you!" She swatted at his arm playfully, then leaned her head against his arm as they continued their walk.
Kakashi slowly crept out from behind the tree, pulling Iruka along by the hand. They stole from tree to tree, silent as shadows and invisible as the wind, following their prey . . . . er, friends towards the pond in the middle of the park. Gai gallantly offered his lady a seat as they approached the park bench by the bridge that crossed the stream stemming from the pond. She smiled and sat down, pulling him close to her and curling an arm around his torso. He offered the moon a timid smile as he gazed up towards it and wrapped his own arm protectively about Anko's shoulders.
Iruka and Kakashi couldn't hear anything being said, though they knew their friends were speaking in hushed tones as they watched their lips move. Iruka, sensing a smooch coming, covered a chuckle with his hand, then conjured up a kage bunshin (his little brother was, in fact, a remarkable teacher—though he had quite the disregard for conventional rules and almost as great e penchant for trouble as Iruka himself) and henge'd it into a child, roughly resembling himself as a pre-teen (though with a few tweaks, Anko'd recognize him on the spot if he didn't otherwise).
Kakashi watched Iruka quizzically, then chortled as the boy scampered out towards the couple on the bench, hollering at the top of his lungs, "Hey, yous! Watcha doin? You kissin each other, cuz that's gross!" He danced around in front of them, making kissy-kissy noises as Kakashi chortled behind their foliage.
Mortified, Gai turned a bright shade of red, gaping and looking between Anko and the kid. She glanced around, nodding at the area where Iruka was concealed and smiled coyly as she let out under her breath, "Not a bad idea, kiddo."
Gai immediately shut up as Anko pressed her lips to his, and finally relaxed into it as she scooted closer, knees brushing his lap. As his eyes slid closed, Iruka dispelled the clone and sighed happily. Pranking was fun, but even when his pranks caused annoyance, he had never been malicious about them and often used them to make a point of get something done. Kakashi watched his chuunin from behind, amazed at how intuitive he was and wrapped his arms around Iruka's waist pulling him backwards behind the tree and trapping him in a good long kiss.
Breaking away for breath, Kakashi tugged his mask back into place and gestured at a slightly panting Iruka to follow him as he tailed a giggling Anko who was pulling Gai towards the pond. It amazed Kakashi, really. He had never seen this side of Anko, and it made him think more about who he was and how many people were left that truly knew him. It wasn't many, he concluded, and grabbed Iruka's hand—he would know him. Iruka smiled, then threaded their arms together, ending in joined hands.
The pair ahead of them had stopped at the water's edge, just below the bridge. They were holding hands too and Iruka leaned into his jounin, squeezing his hand affectionately. As he watched them, Iruka came to a conclusion. He was going to have to send them home together, he decided. As Iruka pulled his hand away from Kakashi and rubbed his hands together as he grinned wickedly, Kakashi backed away slightly. Something was up, and if he knew anything about his sensei, he knew that look couldn't bode well for the pair by the pond.
Iruka pushed his chakra down to his legs and did a few bobs in place, preparing himself. He may not be the most powerful ninja ever, but there was more than one reason why he never got caught and could always keep one step ahead of his kids, even Naruto. Sure, one was his devious intelligence, but the other was that plain and simple, he was damn fast.
Kakashi looked on helplessly as his Ruka took off at a run, almost too fast to see anything but a ninja uniform-coloured blur, knocking into Anko and landing her in the pond. He had debated between knocking her or Gai in, but decided it was better to go for her, since she wasn't as sensitive and more likely to thank him later, once the gambit paid off. Plus, he'd get the wanted reaction out of Gai, whereas Anko wouldn't have behaved the same way. As he ran back to a slow jog and came up behind Kakashi, his silver-haired lover looked at him like he'd lost his mind.
"What exactly—" Iruka shushed him with a wave of his hand as he caught his breath, then took him by the hand and propelled him forward, strolling towards the other pair by the water's edge, where Gai had thrown himself into the water to 'save' his fair damsel.
Coming up on the couple struggling in the water, Iruka said nonchalantly (as if he hadn't just pushed his old friend in), "Hi, guys! I thought your date was this weekend? And what are you doing in that pond? It really isn't that clean, you know."
"You don't say," Anko said, voice dangerously low as she levelled Iruka with a deadly venomous stare.
"Mmhm. As a matter of fact, I would suggest getting cleaned up right away. Don't you live around here, Gai? Maybe you could be so kind as to offer the lady a hand, ne?"
Gai turned his attention to Iruka for a moment, pausing his fretting over his date. Then his head snapped up and he said, "Why, of course! Of course I shall offer my beautiful damsel help! What kind of gentleman would I be if I left her floundering alone?"
Iruka smiled as Gai removed his jacket, wrapping it securely around Anko's shoulders as he led her out of the pond. "Iruka is correct, Anko-san. We shall continue onto my abode, as it is closer and you could catch your death of a cold in those wet clothes."
Iruka's ploy began to dawn on Anko as she looked up at Gai, smiling as she realized that chivalry wasn't dead and here he was, standing right in front of her. She leaned up and pecked him on the cheek in the middle of his speech, "—and then you shall warm up, my dear. Of course, I will walk you home and then—"
Kakashi marvelled at the situation as Iruka calmly waved to their friends, who were making their way down the path. The sensei then led his quirky lover towards Gai's apartment, to keep an eye on the pair as they settled in for the night.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
The men watched from a tree near Gai's window as Gai led Anko in, fetching her a towel with an exaggerated run. Anko smiled affectionately after him and mouthed a silent, Thank you, towards the window. Iruka nodded to himself, then continued watching the apartment.
After handing Anko the towel, Gai appeared to speak animatedly, then disappeared into the bathroom. As he reappeared a few minutes later, he gestured to her and she went in, and he closed the door behind her. Once she was ensconced in the washroom, Gai quickly made his way into the kitchen, putting on water for tea and then rushed into his room, where he stayed for quite a while before coming out with a set of clothes. He knocked on the door, then passed the clothes in when Anko reached out.
Gai took a few minutes to prepare a tea tray and bring it into the living area, placing it down on the kotatsu and then making his way back into the bedroom, where he remained for a little bit, coming out with a large quilt in his hands and meeting Anko at the bathroom door. Draping it around her small frame, he guided her towards the couch and poured them some tea as she settled herself down. He smiled warmly as she shuffled about in the clothes that were obviously two sizes too big. Anko made it a point to cuddle into Gai's side as they began to talk and smile together.
Satisfied, Iruka tapped Kakashi on the arm and gestured away. Before leaving, Iruka tossed a few exploding tags into the air, each sprinkled with a different kind of powder, then shot a few quick katons into the air, igniting each tag and creating an impromptu fireworks show outside of Gai's window. Gai looked down towards the pair on the lawn, finally cottoning onto all of the coincidences, then wrapped an arm protectively around his new sweetheart. Anko, for her part, squished in happily.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
As Kakashi unlocked his window, he mused to himself how he was having a bad influence on his sensei, who used to be so adamant about the use of doors. Then recalled all of Iruka's pranks and decided that perhaps the naughty trickster didn't really need his help to be a naughty sensei, then finally, he giggled gleefully to himself as he contemplated that last bit. Naughty sensei. Haha! If I'm lucky, he'll be extra naughty tonight. Or maybe I will and he'll have to punish me! Kakashi snorted lecherously out loud at that thought, which earned him a questioning glance from his houseguest.
He grabbed both of their pairs of sandals and headed towards the door, while Iruka sighed and stretched languidly in front of the window. Turning back towards him, Kakashi eyed him appreciatively, enjoying the silhouette he cut against the moonlight streaming in. He moved forward predatorily and was on the teacher before he knew what hit him.
TBC. . . .
