Warning: OOC, weirdness, sexual references and foul language. Any misspellings or wrong grammar is unintentional. I am my own beta. I could have missed some stuff.

I do not own Naruto.

ROOM-MATE

He could see the once handsome face lurking above him, holding up a potato peeler between his eyes, warm drops of blood hitting his forehead and eyelids. Iruka found himself crying out in fright as he sat up from bed, staring at the empty room of his temporary dorm. A cold shiver ran down his spine making him wrap his arms around his stomach to huddle. There was a thick and bitter taste lingering at the back of his throat that made him want to reach back and scratch the itch.

Not completely mindful of his surroundings, he got off the bed and padded to the bathroom. He was not expecting the sight that met his eyes. Kakashi's body was half way through the shower stall, the sound of panting and throaty whines filling the small bathroom. There was a pile of towels next to the kneeling man, along with a container of flea powder. Iruka kept staring at the spectacle, watching as Kakashi gave the creature with the wagging tail a bath, the front of his white sleeveless shirt already soaked through.

The shower was turned off and mounted back up on the wall hook. Soft footsteps echoed in the sudden silence as a small brown dog made itself known in the middle of the bathroom. It shook its body, wringing the water out of its coat and stared up at Iruka.

Kakashi turned to look at him then; the little 'puppy' had launched itself on Iruka's knee, pawing at him for a cuddle. Iruka mindlessly reached down and picked up the wet puppy, getting wet dog hair all over his shirt as the warm bundle gave him a pleased bark and a lick on the side of his face. Iruka couldn't help but smile and give the puppy a belly rub, smile turning to a laugh as the dog gave him a bunch of happy licks to the face.

"I guess he likes you, mommy." Kakashi said with an amused look on his face, standing up to grab the tile detergent from the top of the sink and apply a generous amount in the shower stall before he proceeded to scrub the bathing area clean.

Iruka didn't pay Kakashi any attention, the words going right over his head as he set the puppy down to rinse his mouth. The puppy wasn't pleased with the action and continued to paw at his leg till he was done gargling with the minty mouthwash, the bitter taste disappearing somehow. Iruka knelt on the small floor space, picking up one of the towels beside Kakashi's leg and proceeded to dry the puppy. He whispered little words of his already growing affection for the creature, earning him licks in between. The action only made the already fond grin grow wider. He was gently wiping the puppy's paws when he felt the stare weigh down on him again. Iruka was glad for the puppy's distraction; he needed it after the nightmare he just had. Kakashi's stare wasn't helping him relax. Glancing up, he noticed that Kakashi was already done cleaning the shower stall.

"Pets aren't allowed in the dorms." Iruka mumbled, turning his attention back to the puppy and continued to towel-dry him.

"I couldn't just leave him in the rain last night now could I?" Kakashi countered. "You like dogs?"

Iruka gave a small shrug, giving the puppy a belly rub. "I used to have one." He answered, throat suddenly constricting. He remembered the puppy Mizuki brought home one day, claiming it to be their 'baby' since they couldn't really start a family on their own; they named brown fluff Goro. Iruka loved the dog from day one and he was able to lull himself in to the pretense that he really had a family. "But I don't know what happened to him anymore." He lied. Mizuki had left the dog dead on their kitchen counter the evening he tried to shoot Naruto in the head. He shot the dog twice in the head in anger because of Iruka's betrayal. "I - I think he's in the dog pound. I -" Iruka brought a hand up to his face, rubbing at his burning eyes, wiping away the tears that were threatening to spill out. "I never really checked. He's probably in a better home now."

The dog's whine reverberated through out the bathroom, as Iruka got up and folded the towel over the sink to step outside. A warm hand grabbed him by the forearm. "Hey." Kakashi said, reaching up to push his hair back. "It's okay. We can go find him if you want. I've got connections. It shouldn't be hard."

Iruka shook his head. He had taken Goro to the pet cemetery. The dog was loyal to him and Mizuki for four years; it was probably the reason why it didn't run when Mizuki pointed the gun him. "No, it's all right. I'm sure he's better off than he'll ever be with me."

Kakashi wrapped his arms around him then, Iruka finding himself a faceful of wet shirt. He didn't pull away and it made him wonder why so. "I've got lots of dogs. Back in my apartment. I was going to visit them today, introduce their new brother Ishi to them. They'd love to meet you. Besides, I don't think Ishi here will let me take him away from you. What do you think? Want to come?"

Iruka looked up at him then, wondering why Kakashi was suddenly completely different from what he thought he understood him to be in the past month and a half. "Why -"

"Want to come?" Kakashi asked again.

Iruka pushed away and shook his head. "No, I can't."

"Why not?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes. His hair was slicked back in to a tiny ponytail. It looked horrible because there were silver spikes sticking out everywhere. The tiny yellow rubber band was holding back the hair on top of Kakashi's head only, revealing his forehead. Kakashi was baring to him his scarred red eye. Strangely enough, Iruka found it rather fascinating and eerie - it was 'cool'.

When Iruka didn't reply and kept staring at the horrid ponytail, Kakashi reached up for the rubber band and tugged at it. It didn't come out smoothly and ended up tangling in his hair. Iruka found himself chuckling and then laughing as Kakashi started to struggle with the ball of tangled hair on top of his head.

"You silly man. Come here." Iruka managed, still chuckling as he reached up for the rubber band and freed it from the tangle. Kakashi had to dip his head down a bit as Iruka finally pulled the rubber band away and handed it to Kakashi.

Kakashi took the rubber band and disposed of it in to the nearby trash bin. "Go get dressed. We're taking the train."

Iruka blinked and stepped back. "I didn't say I agreed to come with -"

"And then, after you've met my dogs, I'm going to take you breakfast. You must be hungry now." Iruka found himself nodding without thinking as Kakashi picked up the dog. "You can use the shower first. Do you have an appointment today?"

Iruka shook his head; his appointment with Ryuuken wasn't till Sunday. "No."

"Good. Because we're coming back late."

Iruka blinked before it finally clicked in his head. "Eh!"

XXX

The trip in the train was a silent one. Iruka remained standing and gripping the pole next to the sliding doors, the puppy wrapped in an old blanket and tucked under his arm. Kakashi remained standing beside him through out the trip. Iruka had to wonder why he agreed to come in the first place. He was starting to misunderstand himself; he couldn't pin the reason down why he was standing beside Kakashi and carrying the stray he found, or why he allowed Kakashi to wrap an arm around his shoulder as Kakashi lead him out of the train and up the flight of stairs to the bustling city. For some reason, he couldn't feel the familiar awkward aura that seemed to seep through his body pores whenever Kakashi was simply around.

Kakashi whistled for a taxi and allowed Iruka to slide in first. "Sixteenth Street, block eight."

Iruka gave the young teenager a smile; he looked like he was too young to be working, with a mop of brown hair and a pair of thick glasses. "Yes, sirs." He answered politely and pulled away from the taxi stand.

The taxi trip was just as quiet as the train trip, with Iruka occasionally chuckling whenever Ishi would swat at his finger playfully, tail sticking out from the wrapped blanket and wagging playfully. Kakashi was leaning against the window on his side, watching Iruka and Ishi 'bond'. The trip lasted fifteen minutes due to rush hour. Kakashi had given the taxi driver a generous amount, asking him to keep the change for getting them there faster than normal.

"With the current rush hour, that trip should have taken more than fifteen minutes." Kakashi explained, motioning towards a beige concrete building with dark green glass windows.

Iruka merely nodded wordlessly and followed Kakashi through the entrance and in to the elevator. He stared at the glowing button of the fourteenth-floor as they began to ascend. Ishi had moved from playing with Iruka's fingers to pawing at his shoulder and arm, the soft pads of the puppy's paws wrinkling Iruka's clothes. Ishi gave a loud bark when the elevator halted and the doors slid open. Kakashi was already digging his keys out and stopped in front of flat 14-C.

When the door was unlocked, Kakashi stepped in and held the door open for Iruka. Iruka was greeted with off-white walls, green curtains, a blue couch and a plasma screen on the wall. There was a bunch of indoor plants in one corner of Kakashi's living room along with a stack of tied up of newspaper beside them. Iruka found the house very cold and devoid of feeling. There was a thin layer of dust settling over the flat surfaces of Kakashi's furniture. The man didn't even own a rug and because he had ceramic floors, the apartment was colder than it should be.

"It's not much. But it's a roof over my head." Kakashi mumbled, placing a pair of house slippers beside Iruka's feet, reaching out to take Ishi into his own arms.

Iruka silently toed his shoes off and slipped on the slippers, following Kakashi in to the living room. "You have a nice place."

Kakashi merely gave him a nod of thanks and unwrapped the blanket off Ishi before allowing the puppy to wander around the apartment. "Have a seat." He gestured to his couch and Iruka hesitantly sat down, legs together and palms on his knees; his posture was the very epitome of a polite white-collared worker invited over to a strange and new environment. Kakashi took a more slouched and open legged sitting position, staring at Iruka as he leaned against the arm rest. "Relax, Iruka."

It wasn't that Iruka was trying to stay stiff and alert consciously. His trauma and nightmare had activated the defense mechanism in his body. Iruka was forcibly trying to relax but the effort only made his shoulders stiffen. "S-So this is your place huh? Live alone?" He asked, lamely trying to start a conversation to get his mind off the little things - like how Kakashi was staring at him in that strange way of his again.

"Yes. If you don't count the dogs." Kakashi shrugged. "Before I show them to you, what would you like to have for breakfast?"

Iruka felt awkward again, hands starting to fist on the fabric of his baggy jeans. There was something different about Kakashi's stare this time around; his presence wasn't the source of his discomfort now. "I uh - I'm not really hungry." He lied, not wanting to bother Kakashi with unnecessary things (like his own hunger. He was actually famished).

Kakashi rolled his visible eye (he was using his hair to cover half his face again) and got to his feet. "You're a terrible liar."

Iruka bristled and turned to look at him, eyes narrowing indignantly. "Excuse you, Sir Vegetarian-and-collector-of-inert-gases."

Kakashi gave him a lazy shrug. "This isn't about me. It's about you."

"I highly doubt you're in a position to accuse me of being liar when you're fake yourself." Iruka felt his gaze harden, daring Kakashi to talk back. His frustration with his room-mate was getting the better of him; it was already channeling out of the outlet Iruka left open. "You are so full of shit."

"People fear me." Kakashi replied as an explanation.

"And I was a fool to believe your eccentric acts were real." Iruka stood up, suddenly not wanting to be anywhere near the man. Ishi came padding in to the living room right then and started pawing at Iruka's jeans to be picked up again. Iruka reached for Ishi and cradled him to his chest.

"Is this about the burger thing?" Kakashi asked, voice suspiciously sounding amused.

"This is about you accusing me of lying. I am not hungry. Stop insisting that I am. You don't know my body well enough to judge. Shut the fuck up." Iruka growled, Ishi whimpering in is arms as the dog cowered from the annoyance that was seeping out of every pore of Iruka's body.

There was a brief moment of silence as Kakashi looked at Iruka thoughtfully before he spoke up again. "Then I should remedy that."

Iruka shot him another annoyed look, wondering just what Kakashi was babbling about again. "Remedy what?"

"Not knowing your body." Kakashi shifted in his seat, choosing to cross one leg over the other as he leaned his cheek against his hand. "After all, you're right. In order to understand someone, one must know their physical strengths and weaknesses. If understood yours, perhaps then you wouldn't be so snappy towards me. Oh and I still owe you a good grope."

Iruka loosened his hold on Ishi as the puppy scrambled up his shoulders, pawing with the sleeve of his shirt. Iruka couldn't help but stare stupidly at Kakashi and his reasoning. For some odd reason, Kotetsu's silly face hovered in his mind after hearing what Kakashi just spewed. He also promptly ignored the grope bit; he pretended he didn't hear it. "Are you trying to be dramatic? Or is that just some philosophical crap you made up just now?"

"Nope, not a philosophy. I'd like to think of it as personal principles." Kakashi smiled, eye crinkling.

Iruka could feel a tick appear on his brow as he bit the urge to kick Kakashi in the balls. "It's the same meaning."

"The word philosophy is too strong for me. Principle is a nicer word. Kinda' feathery light, don't you think?" Kakashi said, waving a hand as he spoke like he was reciting poetry.

"You." Iruka pointed at him and glared. "Fuck you."

"What a foul mouth! And you're supposed to be a teacher?" Kakashi stood up, approaching Iruka from around the center table.

"The only reason I put up with you is because I need a roof over my head and I need this master's degree. I need this degree to survive and get a better life. You are a liar who likes to bother people and accuse them of stupid, stupid, stupid things." Iruka lifted a hand to his head and sucked in a breath. "How your previous room-mate survived, I'll never know."

"He was a good friend. He was taking supplementary courses for a better job. He left to get married. I think they're starting a family now." Kakashi said, rubbing his chin. "He feeds my dogs when I'm away or can't come."

Iruka felt a sense of weariness settle over him like clouds over a horizon. There was just something strange in the way Kakashi handled his anger or fear; he always knew what to say to make him forget the emotion he was feeling and just feel tired. "Yeah, fine. Whatever."

"I'll get back to that knowing-your-body talk later. Want to meet the kids?" Kakashi asked, grinning wider.

Iruka wondered where Kakashi kept his dogs. "Where are they anyway?"

Kakashi motioned with his head towards the hall and Iruka followed. Ishi was scratching against one of the doors, barking and running around in circles. Kakashi reached for the door and pushed it open. Almost too soon, there was a series of footsteps and barking and Iruka found himself on the floor beside Kakashi, a pack of dogs on top of the both of them, barking and wagging their tails happily. Iruka barely had enough time to react when he heard loud footsteps and a heavy mass settle over his middle. He gave out a cry when he found the biggest dog - almost the size of a fully grown tiger - over him, licking Kakashi's face in affection, completely forgetting that there was a body underneath his (or her) big fuzzy body.

Iruka was starting to choke for air at the weight over his chest, shoving at the dog's body with all his might when he suddenly found two pairs of yellow eyes staring down at him. Iruka eyed the large teeth he could see from the dog's partially opened mouth, shuddering and wondering if it was a real dog or some other creature he wasn't aware of that existed somewhere in the animal kingdom. He was not expecting the long lick on the side of his face. The dog had a tongue the size of a hand towel.

"This is Chibi. I think he likes you." Kakashi grinned, reaching out to scratch at Chibi's large neck.

"Get him off me! I can't breathe!" Iruka gasped, to which Kakashi laughed and patted Chibi's hind leg. Iruka found himself sucking in a long breath as the heavy weight was elevated and he finally sat up. He counted eight dogs including Ishi. He managed to finally lean against the wall, reaching out to let the closest dog - one that seemed to always bare its teeth - to sniff his hand. "And you feed all of them without going broke?" His eyes strayed towards Chibi, gaze connecting. While the grinning-dog moved on to licking his hand, Chibi took one large step and gave his face another long tongue swipe.

"You're going to need a bath after that." Kakashi nudged a lock of Iruka's hair with a finger that was slightly wet from dog drool, two dogs contently lying on his chest, a small pug somehow managing to lie belly down on his silver head.

"You should have warned me. I would have brought a change of clothes." Iruka replied, hand scratching behind the ears of the grinning dog. He was finding himself very fond that particular dog.

"I wasn't expecting them to love you like this." Kakashi shrugged, giving Iruka an almost apologetic look.

Iruka himself was getting very fond of all the dogs. The grinning-dog moved to drape itself over Iruka's middle, head nuzzling on his shoulder while Ishi moved to jump on the sleeve of his jacket and drape himself over Iruka's other shoulder; the dogs were very sweet and Iruka couldn't stop the affectionate smile from gracing his lips. "What's this guy's name?" He asked, wrapping an arm around the grinning-dog's neck and giving the smooth golden-brown coat a gentle rub.

Kakashi smiled at Iruka, eye slanting in fondness. "Koushi."

Iruka quirked an eyebrow at the name then took a good long look at Koushi's teeth. "I suppose the name makes sense."

"He's the got the best teeth amongst all of them. The sharpest." Kakashi answered, reaching out to give Koushi's ears a loving ruffle and scratch. Iruka glanced at the small pug lying quite comfortably on Kakashi's head, a fixed frown on the dog's features. Kakashi caught his stare and jerked a thumb towards the pug's direction. "That little guy is Pakkun. He's generally nice to strangers if he knows he can mooch food off them."

Iruka laughed at that, making Koushi and Ishi nuzzle his neck and cheek. He spotted another dog, head and neck wrapped in bandages; its head was resting comfortably on Kakashi's thigh. "What about him?" Iruka asked, looking at the bandages with a slight frown. "Is he hurt?"

Kakashi shook his head. "You know, dogs are like us humans. They have their quirks and preferences. This guy is Miira. I found him on the streets with his neck area in a bad condition. He looked abused so I took him in, had the vet check him up. The hair never grew on the abused area again, and Miira gets a bit insecure whenever his bare skin is exposed."

"And how do you know that he's insecure?" Iruka eyed the bandages again; the name was fitting. Half of the dog resembled a mummy.

"Oh lots of things. He chewed my furniture, ruined a few of my books, wouldn't eat and always picked fights with his brothers." Kakashi gave Miira's nuzzle a light thumb stroke before smiling at Iruka again. "He's feisty. But he's also gentle. He didn't bite my hand off when I tried to feed him. Not like this guy." Kakashi pointed at another dog that was sandwiched between them, tail wagging. "This guy is Manju."

"Manju? Why Manju of all things?" Iruka asked, staring at the dog, trying to figure out why Kakashi would name the dog after a steamed-bun.

"Look at his face." Kakashi said, lifting Manju's head up to face Iruka. "It's squished and all chinky like. Doesn't he remind you of a steamed-bun?"

Iruka found no logic in what Kakashi said. The dog had a pinched look, its eyes naturally narrowed. "The pinched look?"

"Yeah." Kakashi nodded, giving Manju's ears a light ruffle. "So now you've met Chibi, Pakkun, Koushi, Miira and Manju." Kakashi gestured to the last dog, a pair of sunglasses clamped against its teeth, tail wagging a mile a minute as it remained sitting on its hind legs beside Manju. "This one is Megane."

"Sunglasses fetish?" Iruka asked, giving the dog an amused look. Megane's tail merely wagged even faster if possible.

"Exactly. I found him in the rain, protecting that very same pair of glasses. I tried to take it away and he went nuts. So I let him keep it. I only wash it now." Kakashi said, rubbing the back of his head. "How do you like my kids?"

Iruka chuckled and lifted Koushi's head to kiss the top of the dog's head. "They're beautiful. Though why is Chibi so big? Is that normal?"

Kakashi shrugged. "He was a victim of animal-experimenting. He was very small as a puppy. I wasn't really expecting him to grow this large. Out of the litter, he was the only one who survived."

Iruka felt his heart go out to the large dog; he was always against animal experimenting or testing. Whatever chemicals they fed Chibi, it must have been quite strong to increase his size to such an extent. "I see." He gave Chibi a sympathetic look and earned him a lick to the side of the face. "They're a wonderful family."

"They are." Kakashi nodded, giving a short whistle that made the dogs immediately stand up in alert. "Go sit in the living room and behave yourselves. No dinner if you start chewing on my throw pillows."

Iruka watched in amazement as how the dogs hung their heads low and quietly padded to the living room, scattering themselves comfortably (he could see Megane paw his sunglasses back and forth from the edge of the couch). "They are surprisingly well behaved. They actually listen?"

"I trained them well." Kakashi chuckled, getting to his feet and pulling Iruka up with him. "Go take a shower. Towels are on the third shelf. I'll leave clothes out by the sink."

Iruka felt his cheeks flush again. "No, I'll just head back and -"

"While smelling like dog drool?" Kakashi gave his shoulders a light squeeze and stirred him towards the bathroom's direction. "Go on and take a shower so we can go eat."

Iruka found himself in the middle of a blue-tiled bathroom and the door closing behind him. He sighed and untied his hair, the strands sopping wet and sticky from all the licking the dogs gave him. He stripped off his clothing, folding it and placing it by the sink. He turned the warm water on and rinsed himself mechanically, grabbing Kakashi's shampoo to get the smell out of his hair. The smell of mint felt foreign to him; he didn't mind the scent but he couldn't help but feel he was invading someone's privacy. He heard the door open and saw Kakashi's arm sticking in, leaving a pile of clothes beside his dirty ones before closing the door again. He hurriedly rinsed the soap and shampoo off himself, turned the tap off and reached out for the towel to dry himself. He changed quickly, finding the jeans and shirt Kakashi left for him a bit too big for his tastes (a glance at the back of jeans-label told him that Kakashi was a thirty-four; four sizes bigger than him. Iruka felt rather embarrassed since he wore a size thirty for the baggy look). He had to use his own belt to hold the pants up. He was surprised that Kakashi was bigger than he looked; Iruka always had the impression that Kakashi was skinny. The clothes seemed to state otherwise.

Stepping out of the bathroom, he found Kakashi prancing about shirtless, placing a water dish beside Ishi's food. "I'm done." Iruka mumbled, towel drying his hair.

"I'll change and we'll head out." Kakashi said, pulling a comb out of his back pocket and handing it to Iruka. "Make yourself at home."

Iruka nodded and started to comb through his hair, watching as the dogs ate from their respective dishes. Pakkun had abandoned his food to sit beside Iruka, pillowing his little head on Iruka's knee. "Hey, Pakkun." Iruka whispered, stroking the dog's back. "He must really love you all hmm? To take you all in and take such good care of you. He's nice, isn't he? Not a weirdo?" Iruka mumbled, the dog merely giving him a throaty whine in response. "You little boys are just very lucky to have a kind master like him. It must be really nice." Iruka heard the bathroom door open after a few minutes and Kakashi's footsteps approach him. "I hope we become good friends, Pakkun." He mumbled, picking the small pug up and hugging him close to his chest. Pakkun seemed smart enough to not lick him anymore and nuzzled Iruka's cheek with its flat nose instead.

"Will you look at that?" Kakashi smiled, wearing a different pair of jeans and shirt than what he came with. "Pakkun never lets anyone coddle him except me."

Iruka gave the pug a surprised look which only earned him another affectionate nuzzle. "Ah, well. He probably thinks he can mooch food off me."

Kakashi gave Iruka a quiet look. "Maybe." Kakashi turned and disappeared in to his bedroom, coming out with two jackets folded over his arm while he ran his fingers through his hair. "Here." Kakashi said, handing Iruka a dark blue hoodie. "It might get cold. We'll be walking since I don't have my bike."

Iruka accepted the jacket, slipping in to it easily. It was lose and airy, but enough to keep him warm if he huddled and kept his hands in the side pockets. "This is too much trouble. I should have -"

"Hey." Kakashi gently grasped Iruka's elbow, shaking his head. "It's fine. You look good in my clothes."

Iruka followed Kakashi to the door, slipped his shoes on and stepped out in to the apartment lobby, a light blush finding semi-permanent residence on the bridge of his nose. As they took the elevator and descended, Iruka caught a proper glimpse of himself in the mirror. The clothes looked very different on him. The dark jeans and hoodie combined with the soft green t-shirt was a soft contrast to his tanned skin. Compared to Kakashi's black high collared jacket and dark-gray t-shirt, Iruka looked and felt earthy, unlike Kakashi's stormy colors. The clothes felt warm against his skin like a pair of lover's arms holding him and keeping him safe.

He briefly wondered if the cause of the feelings was because he was wearing Kakashi's clothes.

XXX

Kakashi led him to a quiet cafe four blocks away from the apartment building. Iruka caught a good glimpse of what the neighborhood was like. It was a rowdy place, with teenagers playing and listening to music off their motor bikes or cars. There were kids who skidded past them in skateboards and rollerblades, mostly in large groups. It was quite a colorful neighborhood too with the trash bins graffitied with spray paint and old brick walls covered in abstract paintings. Iruka couldn't help but wonder if majority of the residents in the area were artists. He had to pause in his walk twice to admire several of the art done on the trash bins. While the place looked like a rebels' hangout, it was fairly clean. There wasn't much greenery but the art made up for the lack of anything nature-based.

The cafe itself was cozy with soft pastel interiors. Iruka found himself sinking comfortably in to the velvety cushions of the booth Kakashi picked, the place warming him.

"It's a lovely place." Iruka commented, staring at the swirl-patterns of their marble table.

Kakashi merely hummed in his direction as the waitress appeared and handed them their menus. She introduced herself a Miko, told them that she'd be serving them and left them to decide what they wanted. They both pulled out the foldable menu, browsing through the columns of food.

Iruka couldn't decide what to order and ended up allowing Kakashi to order for him. He absentmindedly leaned his head against the cool wall beside him, arms snuggling in to the lose confines of Kakashi's jacket. He was quite hungry after having thrown up everything he ate. The piercing weren't really irritating him much since he applied ointment on the swelling area to quicken up the process of healing. It wouldn't hurt unless someone tugged at the jewelry.

Kakashi remained slouched on his chair, knees nearly touching Iruka's from under the table. Iruka took interest in admiring the table, aware of how Kakashi's gaze swept over him.

"Why do you stare at me all the time?" He asked, growing tired of being the object of Kakashi's staring.

"Who said I was staring?" Kakashi asked in an amused tone.

Iruka understood then that it'd be useless to push the matter and dropped it altogether. "Nevermind."

Their coffees came first. Iruka occupied himself with stirring the three packets of sugar at the bottom, idly listening to the other patrons as they ate and chat. Most of the people who came to the place were either students or business men grabbing a bite. Iruka found himself liking the very casual and friendly atmosphere, the conversations around him somewhat relaxing him from the silence that hung between him and Kakashi.

Iruka felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and excused himself (more out of habit than anything) to answer the call. A glance at the screen showed him that it was an unknown number. Curious, he pressed the answer button and winced as the loud voice pierced through his ear, making him hold the phone away, a smile slowly worming itself to his lips.

"IRUKA-SENSEIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

"Yes, yes, it's me. You can stop screaming now." Iruka answered, looking up at Kakashi and holding the phone away. "Please excuse me for a moment. This won't be long, I hope."

Kakashi's expression settled between curious, sour and polite-happy. "Sure thing, 'Ruka."

Iruka gave him a nod as he slid off the booth and headed outside the cafe and around the building to lean against one of the brick walls in the alley.

"I saw you got sick! I saw that you have to go to doctors again! Are you okay, Sensei? They wouldn't tell me anything so I had to go see for myself and - and you got doctors' bills and - and did someone hurt you?"

Iruka had to hold the phone away, hearing every single word clearly. He didn't know whether to feel angry that Naruto was breaking in to his own company's files to stare at his medical expenses or to be happy that Naruto was concerned and even bothered to call him. "Naruto, have you been sniffing around the insurance files again? You know, if you just ask, they'll give it to you. It is your company."

"Are you sick because of me?"

Iruka felt himself go quiet. Naruto knew and saw what happened to him during the time Mizuki tried to put that plan of his in to motion. Iruka knew just how Naruto was heartbroken at the sight of the teacher who tried to protect him lying on the bed and using the wheel chair for months. "No, Naruto. I'm not sick because of you. How many times did I tell you to stop thinking that way?" Iruka leaned heavily against the brick wall behind, sliding down so that he was sitting on the asphalt, head dipped low and holding a leg against his chest. Motorists passed by down the street, the clacking of the passerby's' shoes echoing off the asphalt; Iruka heard none of it except for Naruto's trembling voice. "Stop crying, Naruto. I told you it's not your fault."

"I wanted to come! I got beaten up during taijutsu training after school when I told old-perv-Jiraiya that I wanted to go see you. He s-said I can't b-because I have exams all w-week and t-the trip to Konoha w-would o-only s-slow me -"

Iruka bit his lower lip, trying to figure out what to say to calm Naruto's crying from the other line. "Naruto, please. Didn't you promise you wouldn't cry anymore?"

"I'm not crying!"

The sobs and sniffing that came after that proved that Naruto was just trying to be brave. "I'm fine, Naruto. Do you want me to come visit you sometime?"

"W-We have this festival i-in school i-in two weeks. O-Our class is d-doing a h-haunted house ice-c-cream parlor. N-No o-one wanted t-to do the ha-aunted house b-because they s-said it w-was for k-kids w-when I-I suggested it."

Iruka felt his heart break at the tone of the boy. Being in junior high was tough and being in the midsts of rich children whose parents' are the owners of companies rivaling Uzumaki Corporate, Iruka knew that Naruto will never have it easy. Iruka knew that there were kids in Naruto's class who lost family or close relatives during the Nine-Tails terror. No matter what quality service Uzumaki Corps provided, it wasn't enough to erase all the bitterness away. Naruto was the one taking the entire blow; no one liked him.

"I think the haunted house is a brilliant idea."

"Right? Right? They agreed on it after Shikamaru convinced them. Remember Shikamaru, sensei? T-The lazy kid who you always threw c-chalk at?"

Iruka smiled, hoping against all hopes that Shikamaru's act was genuine and not out of duty since the Nara Industries merged with the Uzumakis for better health-services. "Yes, I remember him."

"I made the costumes! Everyone was happy with theirs. I'm going to be dressed as the Kitsune-shrine-god."

Iruka's smile grew wider as he leaned his head against the wall, a sigh of relief passing through him. "That's wonderful Naruto. It sounds like you're enjoying yourself."

"Can you come, sensei? I know you're busy and - and you don't have to promise to come, but can you t-try? There's g-going to be fireworks. You don't have to come on the first day. The fireworks are on the last day. It's a Friday."

Iruka did a mental checkup for all of his appointments. "I think I can make it by Friday. I finish classes early anyway."

"So you'll come? Y-You don't h-have to if you're n-not feeling well. I want to see you so bad! I wanted to bring stuff over! They won't let me! I don't want to study figures and stocks! I wanted to come see you!"

"Don't worry, Naruto. I'll come to your school festival on the last day. I promise you that."

"Will you be better by then? You won't need doctors anymore two weeks from now, right?"

Iruka felt his chest tighten. He didn't know how long it would take to fix the current mental problem he was facing. He just hoped that within two weeks, he would at least get himself together and be strong enough to suppress the memories and not allow it to take control over his thoughts anymore. It was wishful thinking, but he was willing to try.

"No, I doubt. I'll be all better when I come see you. You'll see!" He lied, just to pacify the boy.

"Okay. Promise?"

Iruka found himself closing his eyes and free and gripping his lose hair tightly. "Promise."

"Okay. I'll wait for you! You can bring your friends too! Ko' and Zumo'-san can come too!"

"I'll pass the invitation to them." Iruka said, smiling a bit sadly at himself. He could hear a loud crash from the other line along with doors banging and hurried footsteps. "N-Naruto?"

"They found me! I was ditching speech classes. All they do is talk!"

Iruka sighed; nothing changed since Naruto left primary school. "Naruto, I told you never to ditch your private classes anymore! You're the heir! And you have to learn all -"

"Let go! Hey - Hey! I'm still talking! IRUKA-SENSEIIIIIII! THEY TOOK MY PHONE! I'LL CALL YOU BACK!"

"We're sorry for the disturbance, sensei. But it's orders from above that we bring the young boss to the head no matter what. Please excuse our rudeness."

Iruka was far too used to the scenario and merely sighed. "Just don't hurt him. Tell him it's okay."

"IRUKA-SENSEIIIIIIIII! LET GO YOU BIG BULLY! I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR SKINNY ASS -"

"Excuse us, sensei."

Iruka dropped the phone down his ear as the line went dead, head starting to throb. He took a few minutes to clear his head before getting back on his feet, chuckling all the way back to the cafe. He was lucky that the waitress was just setting down their orders as she made space for him to sit down.

"Problems?" Kakashi asked, smile a bit forced.

"No. Not really." Iruka said, smiling happily. Naruto's phone calls were always colorful. Despite how the company's employees would literally drag Naruto to his private-classes after school, Iruka knew that they'd never hurt him. As much as they tried to remain strict, some of the employees would let Naruto hide under their desks just so he can make a few phone calls, play his video games or sometimes enjoy a box of sweets in peace without the trouble of the Head breathing lessons down his back.

"You seem happier." Kakashi said as the last plate was set down and the waitress left them to enjoy their meal. The blush made its way up Iruka's face as Kakashi waved his hand. "I was worried that I might have to steal you away from whatever that was distracting you."

Iruka looked up, stared and blinked. "Huh?"

Kakashi grinned. "Eat up, sensei. After this, I'm going to take my dogs for a walk. You're coming."

Iruka could only stare dumbly again. He couldn't help but feel that he was the dog and not the different breeds in Kakashi's apartment. He didn't appreciate the fact that Kakashi was jerking him around and pouted. "Hey, look. I think you've got nice dogs. But you can't just jerk me around and do things you want to do." He reached out for the syrup and dunked a generous amount over his plate of waffles.

Kakashi was watching Iruka smother his breakfast in strawberry syrup. "Jerk you around?"

"Boss me around. Order me around." Iruka grumbled, still pouring the syrup. "Bitch me around. Take your pick."

"Aren't you putting a bit too much?" Kakashi asked, the waffles now soaked in reddish syrup.

Iruka shrugged and reached out for the chocolate syrup on Kakashi's side of the table and squeezed some on to his plate. "So? Why are you jerking me around like some dog?" He set the syrup bottle down and started eating his waffles.

Kakashi said nothing further about the syrup but can only frown as Iruka chewed and swallowed the sugar goop on his plate. "That's a very harsh way of putting it. Is that how you see things?"

"No, that's how I see you do things to me." Iruka said quietly. "In any case, there's roughly a month and a half left till I can move out and get out of your hair once and for all. I know you want your privacy back." Iruka can't even put to words how much he wanted his own privacy. "But can we just - just get along or something till that time comes? I'm frankly sick of you jerking me around like you own me. Which you don't, by the way."

Kakashi forked his sausage and took a bite of it, watching Iruka as he chewed. "So you want to be friends?"

Iruka wanted peace but if Kakashi wanted friendship, he wasn't the type to say no. He liked people and loved making friends. A part of Iruka's mind reasoned that he was making a deal with the devil, the nutcase, the joker and the lunatic of all loons himself if he agreed. The other part reminded him just how many times Kakashi picked him off the floor (literally) to get some help or treatment without saying a word. "Sure."

"So I can hug you and touch you like Izumo and Kotetsu?"

Iruka would have shoved his plate full if syrupy waffles up Kakashi's face if it wasn't for the innocent and sincere tone he used to ask the question. "You want a hug?"

"Well, I'm assuming if being friends with you means I get the same treatment like those two, yeah." Kakashi nodded, hair bobbing as he did so.

It didn't make sense to Iruka. He didn't want to make sense of it because if he tried, he knew he'd probably grow a brain tumor and end up killing himself. He didn't answer right away, weighing his options. When he got tired of thinking for more than five minutes, he looked at Kakashi and shook his head.

"You want me to be honest?" Iruka asked, wondering why he never tried doing this before.

"Of course." Kakashi nodded, waiting patiently.

"I don't really like you. No wait. I don't like you at all." Iruka said, half tempted to say that he was terrified of him as well but bit his tongue on that part.

"I sorta' figured that out." Kakashi said, not batting an eyelash. "Is it because of my hammer?"

As much as Iruka wanted to mention about the posters, jars and all the lies and quirks, he simply nodded. He wasn't sure how Kakashi would react if he got a bit too honest. "Yeah."

"Oh I see. But my hammer is really strong. And big!" Kakashi exclaimed.

Iruka was aware of how all the girls in the cafe started giggling and how the businessmen stared at their table. "O-Oi."

"I bet if you just hold it, you'd change your mind." Kakashi said, leaning closer, the smile on his face turning in to a grin.

Iruka knew innuendos when he heard them. He's been around Mizuki and Kotetsu too long to not recognize them in a heartbeat. "I bet." He grumbled, looking at the salt shaker on their table, not wanting to meet any of the stares directed at them. He was going with the literal meaning - that is the hammer-tool itself as opposed to what the innuendo suggested -and not rising to the bait.

"But if it makes you feel better, I'll keep my hammer hidden. I won't show it to you unless you're ready." Kakashi said, nodding more to himself rather than at Iruka.

Iruka nodded without really listening returned to his food; he didn't know why he even bothered. "Yeah, okay. Whatever."

"Okay." Kakashi grinned and tucked in to his plate.

By the time they were done eating (four cups of coffee later), Kakashi took Iruka to the beach with the dogs, allowing the canines to run free in the breezy afternoon. The beach was empty that afternoon because the winds were a tad bit cold; this was not enough to rob the dogs' off their fun as Iruka tossed a Frisbee back and forth. He was most impressed by Miira and Koushi along with Ishi's effort in trying to catch the Frisbee as well. There were times when Ishi and Pakkun would bump their heads midair as they attempted to catch the orange toy.

For the rest of the day, Iruka lost himself in the mindless fun of tossing the Frisbee and chasing the dogs around in the golden sand, laughing as he got tackled more than once onto the ground. Kakashi remained sitting and at a safe distance from the entire romp; Iruka didn't care. He was too busy enjoying himself to even pay attention to Kakashi.

It wasn't until sunset came around and dark clouds started to rumble above their heads did Kakashi gather all the dogs to head back to his apartment. They didn't make it as far as half way before the rain came pouring. As they rushed across the streets with the dogs, Iruka couldn't help but chuckle at the situation.

"What's so funny?" Kakashi asked, waiting for the crossing signal to turn green, hair already plastered to the sides of his face from the rain.

"Whenever I'm alone or with you, I always end up getting soaked in the rain." Iruka smiled, shaking his head at the silly realization.

"Maybe it's a sign." Kakashi said, looking completely serious as he tugged the dogs along when the light turned green.

"Of what?" Iruka asked, blinking away the rain-water from his eyes.

"That I should take care of you and be more than just a friend."

Iruka found himself staring at Kakashi's back as he tried to keep up with the slightly taller man's pace. He didn't know if Kakashi was joking or being serious because he didn't get a chance to ask as Kakashi took a turn and entered his apartment entrance. Iruka dismissed it as another one of Kakashi's random lies.

As they started to dry dogs and usher them back in to the separate room where Kakashi kept them all in, Iruka couldn't understand the frantic fluttering in his stomach whenever Kakashi looked at him or spoke to him. He found it odd that for some reason, he wasn't feeling afraid.

He could confidently label the emotion he felt as 'safe and protected'.

That terrified him the most and as a mental defense mechanism, he clammed up and shut himself out from everyone and everything around him. Whenever he felt 'safe and protected', things just never turn out right.

TBC

Notes/Credits:

Miira - means mummy. Looked it up in an online eng-jap dictionary. If you look at Kakashi's summons, Miira would be the one in bandages.

Koushi - means 'pearly white teeth' according to the said dictionary. There's a grinning dog that shows TOO much teeth; check the official picture.

Megane - means 'glasses'. There's a dog who owns a cute pair of shades.

Ishi - is the second smallest dog of the lot (after Pakkun).

Manju - steamed bun that belongs to the dim sum family. It's got that pinched top swirl thing. Taste heavenly too.

Chibi - Chibirisuchan named the biggest dog Chibi. Too funny to not use and is just too fitting, so partial credit for her creative use of name. It just stuck ever since I read her works.

The Taxi driver was Kenpachi from Gintama. He belongs to Jump and the creator. Not mine.

The idea of the school festival along with Shikamaru standing up for Naruto, the haunted house ice cream parlor thing was taken from a SasuNaru KakaIru doujinshi called Rocket. You can find the scanlation over at the aarinfantasy boards. It's a LOVELY and CUTE read. The situation fit in to my storyline too well. Credit to Saki Otoh for the wonderful inspiring doujin and to Acute Girls/Fire Works for the scanlation.

So now there's a bit of insight of Naruto's personality and his type of relationship to Iruka. Naruto does play a significant role here and we will, hopefully, see more Naruto-Iruka fluff action soon. I am no longer typing as fast as I used to during break, but hopefully, I'll update every week with longer content (this was 16 pages on a font 11 in WordPad).

I've been keeping a log of Iruka's personality in this story. Just to make a few things clear, he's not weak. If anything, he's stronger than almost everyone (exag!). But I want his 'weak' side to gradually bleed out through the story slowly before he becomes the man ... I see in my head.

No ending it sight as of now; I'm already have the sequel mapped out even. As the author, I'm finding this AU way too fun. Thank you for your continued support. I welcome all your thoughts and 'rants' (especially Taita and demonrubberducky. You guys are so much fun in your reviews).