At five minutes until eight that night, Kakashi was still trying to extract Gai from his living room. His sometime rival was determined that now was the time for another competition and he wouldn't listen to any of Kakashi's excuses.

"But when the time for battle comes, you must be prepared," Gai protested, "and that time could come at any moment. The future of Konoha depends on you!"

"I said not tonight!" Kakashi growled as he tried to herd Gai closer to the door.

"Why not? No time like the present! Seize the day!" A knock on the door interrupted Gai in the middle of spouting clichés. Without even asking for permission from the owner of the door, Gai swung it open to reveal a rather startled looking Iruka.

"Ah, Iruka-sensei! Are you here to participate in a challenge with myself and the honorable Kakashi-sensei?" Gai boomed.

Iruka stared at the jounin and then glanced at Kakashi, who looked desperate. Smiling reassuringly, Iruka turned back to Gai.

"I'm sorry, Gai-sensei, but Kakashi and I have already begun," he paused before continuing delicately, "a 'challenge' and I wouldn't feel right 'challenging' you also." The grin on his face was so innocent and pure and completely at odds with the mischievous light in his eyes that Kakashi had to choke down a laugh.

Moved to the point of tears and oblivious to Iruka's double entendre, Gai placed a hand on Iruka's shoulder. "Of course, of course, I completely understand. Please forgive me for interrupting your challenge with my inept bumbling. I will go now and strive to think of new challenges for the future!" He paused hopefully in the doorway. "Unless I could stay and watch your noble battle?"

By this time, Kakashi thought his ribs were going to split with the effort of holding in his laughter.

Iruka smiled serenely. "I'm sorry, but it is a private challenge in order to preserve honor. You understand, yes?"

Gai nodded through his tears. "Brave men of Konoha, I salute your efforts. Strive toward your goal without ever looking back! Press onward without fear!" Iruka slowly, but firmly, closed the door on his retreating form and they could still hear him pontificating as he disappeared down the block.

Finally able to give into their laughter, the two men collapsed against the wall. When their hilarity died down, Kakashi removed his mask to wipe the tears streaming from his eyes. "Thank you for getting rid of him. He'd been here since 7:30 and I couldn't get him to leave. I'd given him every excuse I could think of!"

Iruka smiled at him and said, "I brought something that will make you feel better."

Kakashi frowned. "You didn't have to bring anything."

Holding up a bottle, Iruka said, "Even sake?"

"Ah, well, that is different. You are obviously planning to get me drunk and take advantage of me. I see your plan now." Kakashi laughed as the expected blush flooded Iruka's cheeks. "Well, come on, the least I can do is feed you first so you'll have the strength to battle bravely for the honor of Konoha!" He walked back toward the kitchen with Iruka's laughter following him.

---

Dinner was quiet, but companionable. They talked a little about nothing in particular, then ate in silence, then talked some more. As they finished cleaning up in the small kitchen, Kakashi, who was washing, couldn't resist splashing Iruka, who was drying. A small scuffle broke out, only ending when Iruka leaned forward to try to grab the towel back from Kakashi, but instead found himself pinned against the sink, Kakashi's lips moving over his, kissing deeply and desperately. Tongues wrangled for position inside warm mouths, hands tangled in brown hair and silver hair, until, finally, gasping for breath, Iruka pulled back. He brought his hands up to caress Kakashi's cheeks.

"Who are you, Hatake Kakashi? What do you want of me?" He stared seriously into the mismatched eyes.

After a long silence, Kakashi said slowly, "I don't know," but he wasn't sure which question he was answering. Iruka nodded, as if that had answered something other than what he'd asked, and pushed away from the sink. He poured more sake for both of them and wandered around the room. Kakashi followed, feeling confused and adrift.

Iruka stopped before a picture of Kakashi with his teammates. He stared at the young ninjas, so eager and sure of themselves. "You know," he finally said after a long silence, "I would have protested your inclusion in the chuunin trials, had I been your teacher."

Kakashi said nothing, his throat tight.

"I think Konoha has asked much of you, maybe too much, and I wonder what you were like before we did that to you."

A harsh bark of a laugh broke from Kakashi. "Not all of my problems can be laid at the feet of Konoha."

Iruka turned to him, rich chocolate-brown eyes heavy with emotion. "No, I guess not." He turned back to the picture. "Neither of us has much experience with a normal family life, do we?"

"Is that what you want? A family?"

Iruka nodded. "Yes. It's what I've always wanted, but never quite managed to achieve."

"But what about Naruto?"

Iruka's face was sad as he turned to look at Kakashi once more. "I think I could have had a family with Naruto, if I'd noticed him sooner, if I'd realized how he was suffering, if I hadn't screwed everything up by misjudging him the way everyone misjudged me." He ran his hand tiredly over his face and sat down on the sofa.

Kakashi sat carefully down next to him. He didn't understand what was going on, but he sensed that he needed to walk through this conversation carefully. "I don't think you screwed things up and even if it seems that way, you fixed it in the end. Naruto admires you; he loves you."

"I know that and I love him, but we waited too late to begin building a deeper connection. We'll never be family, not the way I want…the way I need. And now, more than ever, Konoha will need him to be a ninja and he'll leave more and more until he's gone more than he is here."

Understanding began to creep into Kakashi's brain. "You want…to fall in love," he speculated quietly.

Iruka looked deep into Kakashi's eyes. "I do. I mean, not with Naruto, but with someone. I thought, once, that I had, but then things…went wrong."

He looked so serious, so sad, that Kakashi ached to touch him, to sooth the pain, but he knew that until this matter was settled between them any touch would be taken as a promise and he didn't want to promise what he couldn't fulfill. "What do you want from me?" he asked gently, knowing the words sounded harsh, but not able to think of another way to phrase them.

"I want you to know that I like you and that I'm afraid this friendship will be ruined if we try to force it into something else, but that I'm also afraid that I'll miss out on the possibility of something beautiful if I try to keep things from moving forward. I want you to know…" Iruka's voice faltered as he blushed, "I want you to know that my body yearns for you in a way I haven't felt in a very long time and it scares me and it thrills me and when you kiss me my mind goes blank and I can't think about anything other than how to get you to do it again." He jumped up from the sofa abruptly and turned his back on Kakashi. "I want to know if I'm asking for something you can't give me or don't want to give me and I want to know why you didn't just tell Gai that you had a date!" His voice rose, full of hurt and confusion.

Kakashi sighed, but didn't stand up, afraid he would lose Iruka completely if he moved. "Because I was scared," he admitted. When the other man turned in surprise to look at him, he nodded in confirmation. "I was scared to jinx this. I don't know where this is going and I haven't the faintest idea of how to keep from screwing it up completely."

Iruka sank back down on the sofa. "Neither do I."

They sat in silence for a long moment. Kakashi reached over and intertwined his fingers with Iruka's, his thumb rubbing softly along the soft skin of Iruka's hand. He leaned over to rest his head on Iruka's shoulder and felt Iruka's cheek brush against his hair.

"Maybe," Kakashi began hesitantly, "maybe we're having trouble because, well, because we're used to being able to think our way through a problem or fight our way through a problem and neither of those options will work here. Maybe we just have to…to let this, this feeling wash over us like…like chakra, but we can't try to control it or manipulate it or…whatever…" His voice trailed off, uncertain he'd said the right thing or said it in the right way.

Iruka was silent for so long that Kakashi began to think he really had screwed it all up. He sat up, ready to try to repair the damage, only to have the words freeze in his throat when Iruka turned to him, grabbed his face in both hands, and kissed him, long and hard. When they finally came up for air, Iruka smiled at him, a brilliant, radiant smile which made Kakashi feel like he was basking in the sun after a long winter.

"You're right. You're absolutely right."

Kakashi was surprised to feel himself blushing. "Well, I am a genius."

Iruka laughed and kissed him again. Leaning down to pick up his sake, he raised it and said, "To friendship…in whatever form it might take."

Kakashi smiled. "To friendship." But instead of touching his cup to Iruka's, he leaned and stole a kiss. "In whatever form."