Disclaimer: Don't own.

AN: NC-17 warning for #73

71. Obsession

Kakashi threaded his fingers into the chocolate strands, watching his fingers disappear and tangle into them. He occasionally scratched the younger man's scalp, smiling as a smile bloomed and the chocolate eyes fluttered close.

Iruka was on the borderline of sleep and wake as he felt the fingers massage his scalp, "Kakashi…" he said sleepily, "Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?" Kakashi continued to thread his fingers into the dark strands.

"Why do you like my hair so much?" he asked softly, opening his eyes to look at the older man, "Are you obsessed with it or something?" there was a tease in his voice.

Kakashi chuckled, "I like your hair…" he hesitated, "It feels soft."

Iruka gave the older man a questioning look, "What?"

Kakashi smiled fondly at the younger man, "Your hair feels soft against my fingers," he pulled his hand away and put it palm face up, "Even though their scarred and calloused."

Iruka looked at the pale hand and noticed the thin white scars along the palm and fingers. He took the hand into his and kissed the palm, "I like your hands," he said softly, a blush finding its way onto his cheeks.

"Oh?" Kakashi continued smiling at his lover, "And why's that?"

Iruka smiled against the scarred palm, "Because even thought they are scarred and calloused, and can wield a kunai expertly, they are gentle…at least with me they are."

Kakashi's eyes softened and pulled his hand away and returned to his ministration, "As for obsession…" he drawled, and kissed the younger man's forehead, "It's not your hair I'm obsessed over," he whispered against skin and moved to kiss his lover, delving his tongue into the warm mouth. The mouth and the man he just couldn't get enough of.

72. Mischief Managed

"Kakashi! Keep your hands off of those damn cookies!" Iruka said in his sensei voice.

The jounin froze and hid a grin, "Why are you making cookies anyway?"

Iruka gave a frustrated sigh, "It's a fellow sensei's birthday tomorrow, and I know her fairly well, so I thought that instead of buying her gift, I could just make cookies."

"So…" Kakashi drawled and eyed the cooling cookies, "you can't spare any?"

"No," Iruka deadpanned.

"Not even one?" Kakashi's hand itched for one, and inched itself closer. A tan hand caught it by the wrist, and he looked up, frowning. Before he could protest and try to persuade the younger man into letting him have come cookies lips met his in a searing kiss. Iruka moved forward, making him move back until he hit a wall. He groaned into the kiss and moved his hand to the back of his lover's neck to deepen the kiss. Tongues tasted each other and he felt a sudden need for his lover, but the warm mouth and body moved away.

"If you behave yourself, you'll get something better than cookies," Iruka said in a sultry voice.

Kakashi swallowed and nodded.

Iruka grinned and went back to his baking.

73. I Can't

The fingers slowly pumped into him, stretching him and carefully preparing him. He bit his lip and urged his body to relax.

"Iruka?" mismatched eyes looked at him with concern, "Relax, Ruru," the older man kissed his inner thigh in a soothing gesture.

He gave a sharp nod and tried to breathe. His body twitched when the older man pushed in a third fingers, a whimper escaping his throat.

"Iruka," Kakashi looked down at his flushed lover, "Iruka…don't force yourself, if you don't want to do this -."

"No -," Iruka shook his head, "It-it's not that I-I don't want to…"

"Iruka…," he felt the inner muscles trying to push his fingers out, "You –"

"Please, 'Kashi," his body shuddered, "I want this, if it's with you, I want this."

Kakashi looked at his lover, considering him, and checking for any doubts, "Are you sure?"

Iruka gave a sharp nod.

Kakashi leaned down and kissed the younger man as his fingers withdrew and positioned himself at the younger man's entrance, "If you want me to stop, tell me alright?" the brushed away the loose bangs on the tan forehead, "This is important, alright?" he stroked the younger man's cheek, "I don't want to hurt you, Ruru."

Iruka nodded, his eyes softening, "I-I'm ready, 'Kashi."

Kakashi began to push in, keeping his eyes on the younger man's tan face. He watched as the chocolate eyes screwed shut. He stopped, trying to keep himself in control from pushing in deeper into the tight heat around him, "Iruka?"

"G-go," came the strained response, "M-move – p-please."

"Iruka, look at me," he cupped a tan cheek and brushed his thumb along the tip of the scar, "Look at me, Ruru." His breath caught when the younger man gasped and opened his eyes, he felt his heart ache when he saw tears in the chocolate eyes. "I'm hurting you…," his voice cracked and he slowly pulled out of his lover.

Iruka tensed as the older man pulled out, and a sense of relief overcame him, "Kakashi -."

"I didn't want to hurt you, Iruka…"

"You didn't -," his eyes widened when a thumb brushed away tears from his eyes.

"Please don't lie to me, Iruka," he said softly, "I can't…we can't do this if it hurts you, Ruru."

"But - ," he didn't know what to say, feeling torn between not being able to please his lover and embarrassment, and suddenly he felt insecure, "I do want to, Kakashi," he sat up and cupped the older man's face, "I…," he dropped his gaze, "I'm sorry."

Kakashi shook his head, a small smile on his lips, "Don't be, Ruru. It's alright."

Iruka shook his head, "But you want it…and…and I can't…"

Kakashi kissed the younger man's forehead, "Don't beat yourself up over this, Iruka."

"What if…" Iruka blushed, "What if we try something…uh, smaller…"

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow, "What?"

"You know…to…uh…" Iruka stopped, his cheeks heating up.

"To what?" Kakashi was now curious.

"To…um…get used to it?" Iruka averted his gaze, suddenly feeling foolish. He was suggesting sex toys? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

"You mean a di – mmph" a hand over his mouth cut him off, the younger man giving him a mortified expression.

Iruka's blush deepened and he stammered, "I-I was thinking that w-we can try that…m-maybe…" his hand drop, "I don't know…"

Kakashi looked leaned his head and lock his gaze with the younger man, "You don't want that do you…"

Iruka looked at his lover, surprised as if he could read his mind. No, he didn't want to lose his virginity to a sex toy, he wanted to give himself to Kakashi. He didn't want a toy inside of him, he wanted the man he loves. He looked down, dejected and helpless. A warm hand tipped his head up, and soft lips kissed his, a kiss that literally took his breath away.

Kakashi brushed his lips against the younger man's, "Make love to me, Iruka."

Iruka's eyes widened, a blush finding its way back into his cheeks, "What?"

Kakashi smiled and rolled back onto the bed, pulling Iruka's on top of him, "Make love to me."

Iruka's eyes softened, "Kakashi you don't have to -," fingers against his lips cut him off.

"If it's with you, I want to."

Iruka smiled down at his lover, and leaned down, sealing their lips in a passionate kiss.

The night was passionate and sensual, and so tender that it surpassed their expectations. Kakashi learned that Iruka was a gentle, passionate lover, one that blew his mind away and made him forget his name. Iruka always made sure Kakashi came first, sometimes with only prostate stimulation. And Kakashi realized that he wouldn't have done this with anyone else.

74. Are You Challenging Me?

Iruka was wiping off his chalkboard before he headed home. He looked over when he heard someone enter his classroom.

"Yo," came the usual greeting.

Iruka smiled and returned to his erasing, "Hey."

Kakashi looked around as opted on sitting on the chunin's desk, "Are you almost done?"

Iruka nodded and moved to the other half of the board.

Kakashi looked around again, and his gaze fell on the younger man's behind.

Iruka slowly turned his head when he felt the older man's gaze on him, and blushed when he caught the jounin looking at his ass, "What do you think you're looking at you pervert?!"

Kakashi grinned despite his mask, "My prize for tonight."

Iruka blushed hotter and threw the eraser on instinct, and to his horror, it hit the jounin square in the face. The eraser bounced off and Kakashi looked at the chunin with a look of surprise. Iruka blushed hotter and tried not to laugh at the imprint of chalk on the black mask.

"Well," Kakashi said as he pulled down his mask and tried dusting it off while coughing a bit. He pulled back his hitai ate and wiped away any that was on his exposed part of his face, "First Naruto, then you…I can see where he gets it from."

Iruak gave an embarrassed chuckle and opened a drawer in his desk, pulling out a towel he had incase of emergencies, "Here let me help," he began to wipe the older man's face and chuckled when Kakashi scrunched up his face like a child.

"What was that for anyway?" Kakashi asked when Iruka pulled away the towel.

Iruka blushed again and shrugged, "I felt kind of challenged."

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow, "Challenged?"

"You were assuming you were going to get some tonight."

Kakashi frowned, "Does that mean I'm not?"

Iruka leered at the older man, "Not the way you were thinking you were going to get it."

Kakashi blinked as a blush found its way onto his cheeks, before grinning, "Are you challenging me?"

Iruka raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk on his lips, "I don't think so."

Kakashi swallowed and felt his blush return when part of him was glad that it wasn't a challenge.

75. Mirror

Kakashi didn't like mirrors. Every time he would cross one and see his reflection he either hated it, or felt like a fool. When the sharingan eye would look back at him, he would feel a pang of guilt. When a younger version of his father looked back at him, he would either feel hate or sadness. So he avoided mirrors. He avoided his reflection. His mask helped for the most part. He couldn't do anything about the hair that made him into a mini version of his father when he was a child. But he wouldn't do anything about it. It was something he couldn't make himself do.

However, he found himself looking into the mirror as he dressed into a new buttoned up shirt and jeans. And for once, he looked at himself. Not at his Sharingan or the face that looked too much like someone he lost. But him. Kakashi. And wondered exactly what Iruka saw in him. He felt, and to his embarrassment, saw a blush grow on his cheeks when he thought about the chunin. He felt himself smile as he turned away from the mirror and walked out of his bathroom. He had an anniversary to celebrate with a certain scarred chunin.

76. Broken Pieces

Iruka walked into his apartment, tired and just wanting a long hot bath. But as soon as he entered his apartment he knew something was wrong. He frowned and shed off his flak vest and hitai ate. He heard 

scampering and hurried clicks on his wooden floor. He narrowed his eyes and walked into his kitchen and froze when he found Kakashi. Just sitting there.

"Yo," Kakashi chirped.

Iruka looked at him suspiciously, Did he just chirp at me? "Hey…" he replied slowly, looking around. He looked back at his lover and sighed, "Just tell me."

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

Iruka narrowed his eyes at the innocent tone, Something is going on…He took a step forward and kicked something, making it skid along the floor. He slowly lowered his gaze and saw a white piece of porcelain. He raised his gaze back to the tense jounin, "Kakashi?"

Kakashi growled and stodd, "Damnit, Pakkun! You didn't get all of them!"

Pakkun trotted into the kitchen, "Uh, sorry boss," he hesitated and took the piece before hastily leaving the kitchen.

Iruka watched the pug leave and watched the pale blue eye visibly twitch, the pale face in a expression of disbelief, "What did you do?" he asked slowly, afraid of the answer.

Kakashi wearily looked at his lover, "It's really not my fault –"

"What's not your fault?"

Kakashi averted his gaze, "Really Iruka, let me explain," he sighed, "I wanted to clean for you, since you told me that you haven't had much time to tidy up the place. So I started in the kitchen. I took out the dishes," he gestured at the cupboard, "and stacked them up, and put them on the table," he patted said table, "While I was cleaning, I summoned Pakkun to keep me company…," he scratched the back of his neck, "That's where it gets ugly…"

Iruka could just see where this was going.

"He started to criticize that I was making a bigger mess and whatnot, and when I swiped at his with the rag I was using he dodged it…and hit the table pretty hard."

Iruka's expression dropped, Only you Kakashi…

Kakashi gave a nervous chuckle, "And, well…the dishes fell…" he made a motion with his arms. He frowned, "Then I had to clean that up before you got back home."

Iruka frowned, "Did you think I wasn't going notice?"

"Well, that's another thing," Kakashi tried chuckling but Iruka's glare cut it off, "I was…uh, going to replace them with mine, you know, that ones I hardly use…"

Iruka's palm met his face, "You do realize my plates and dishes are not all white like yours, right?" he dropped his hand, "and I have more than you."

Kakashi blinked, "I did not think about that."

"Of course you didn't," he deadpanned.

Kakashi frowned, "It wasn't my fault. I'm sorry, I'll replace your broken dishes, ok?"

"Kakashi…I'm afraid to ask, but where are all of the broken pieces?"

Kakashi's expression dropped, "You don't want to know, believe me."

Iruka nodded and took his word for it.

77. Test

Kakashi rolled over in his nap, waking up to find his lover hunched over the coffee table, what he assumed, grading. He sat up and stretched, "How's your grading coming along?"

"Hmm," Iruka marked the paper he was holding, "These test…are going to be the end of them…"

Kakashi chuckled and moved to sit on the floor next to his lover, "Want me to help?"

"Sure," he divided his stack and gave it to the jounin along with a red pen, "Do you need the key?"

"Nah, I think I'm fine," he began to read over the test, positioning his pen ready to mark off any wrong answer.

A good three minutes passed, and the pen didn't move, "Uh, Kakashi? Do you need help or something?"

Kakashi slowly looked at his lover, "uh, I think I need the key."

Iruka gave him an amused grin, "Oh? Too difficult for you?"

Kakashi frowned, "You don't expect me to know mission report protocol do you?...when I hardly follow it."

Iruka sighed, "You know, do you not follow protocol because you don't know it or because you simply forgot?"

Kakashi blushed and looked away and back at the test he was trying to grade, "Can I just have the key?"

Iruka chuckled and handed him the key, maybe he'll learn a thing or two.

78. Drink

Iruka sat the mission desk and looked up as he heard someone enter. He felt his cheeks heat up when he noticed a certain silver haired jounin walk in. He rubbed the horizontal scar on his nose in a nervous gesture, and stopped as soon as he realized what he was doing, Get a grip of yourself, it's just Kakashi-sensei.

He snapped out of his musing when a mission report was slipped into his field of vision.

"Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said in a gretting sort of way, and Iruka could hear the smile in the deep voice.

"Hello, Kakashi-sensei," he took the mission report, read it over and stamped it, "Thank you for your hard work Kakashi-sensei." He smiled up at the jounin and continued his filing. When he didn't feel the jounin leave, he looked up meeting the intent gaze the jounin was giving him, "Uh…do you need something?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his neck, and averted his gaze, "Uh…Iruka-sensei, would you like to join me for a drink tonight?" he looked back chunin behind the desk, "Only the two of us?"

Iruka's eyes widened and felt his cheeks heat up again, "I – uh –"

"If – if you don't want to -," am I stuttering? Kakashi felt himself blush under his mask.

"No – I mean yes! Uh, yes I would like to join you for a drink, Kakashi-sensei," he smiled up at the jounin.

Kakashi's eye turned into an inverted-U, "Great! I'll meet after your shift. I'll see you later Iruka-sensei."

Iruka watched the jounin leave, and felt his breath hitch when the door swung closed, Did he just ask me out on a date?

Much to Iruka's surprise, Kakashi was there on time. Actually five minutes before his shift ended. Once they left the tower, that's when the nerves kicked in. Small talk started between them, that soon became a comfortable conversation as they walked to a bar Kakashi was leading them to.

They took their seat in a far corner when they arrived at the bar. Kakashi ordered sake for the both of them, and their conversation started up again as they waited. Nerves slowly died down, and Iruka realized that Kakashi was an easy person to talk to, not only was he witty but funny, and Iruka found that it added to his charm.

Kakashi for one liked to talk to the chunin more than he expected, he had funny stories about his students and namely about Naruto, and combated his teasing with his own remarks. Not only did he find that their conversations were easy and natural, but he felt comfortable with him.

When their drinks arrived, Kakashi poured sake into a cup but Iruka decline.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei, but I'm not much of a drinker," he said a bit embarrassed, feeling that he should of told the older man sooner.

Kakashi tilted his head, "Oh? Not even a bit?"

Iruka shrugged, a smile on his lips, "Sometimes, but I have to teach tomorrow."

"Ah, I see."

"But please, feel free to drink."

Kakashi leered at the younger man, "Trying to sneak a peek, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka blinked, before he blushed and stammered, "N-no! That's not what I meant – "

Kakashi chuckled, "I only tease, Iruka-sensei. But at least have one drink with me?"

Iruka smiled sheepishly at him and gave a small nod, "Alright, only one." He took the offered cup, they raised their cup to each other, and he averted his gaze to give the older man his privacy.

"I appreciate your respect, Iruka-sensei, but I don't mind if you look."

Iruka blushed and finished his drink, before looking at the older man. He gasped and felt himself blush hotter. He shouldn't be surprised, he had a feeling that Kakashi was handsome under his mask but he didn't think he was gorgeous. The scar that came from under the hitai ate ended about mid cheek, pointing to a strong angular jaw. Iruka's eyes dropped to the pink lips that looked so -His eyes widened when he noticed he was staring and averted his gaze, "Ah, sorry Kakashi-sensei, I didn't mean to stare."

Kakashi smiled, "I don't mind, Iruka-sensei."

"You're…you're very handsome, I don't know why you hid behind that mask of yours."

Kakashi felt himself blush, and blush hotter when he realized his mask wasn't hiding it, "Thank you, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka stole another glance at the older man, and blushed when he noticed the older man blushing.

"Can I ask you something, Iruka-sensei?"

"What is it?" Iruka raised his gaze and looked at the older man, and tried not to stare.

"If you're not much of a drinker, then why did you accept my invitation?"

Iruka gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed his scar in a nervous gesture, "I…I wanted to get to know you better."

Kakashi tilted his head, a smile on his lips, "I wanted to get to know better too, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka raised his gaze again, and met the single blue eye.

"But if I would have known, I would have asked you out to dinner instead."

Ask me out? "Kakashi-sensei…is this a date?"

Kakashi suddenly felt nervous, "If you'll let it be."

Iruka smiled and nodded, "I'll like that."

79. Starvation

Kakashi came to Iruka's apartment after a long mission. It wasn't harsh, no, it was just long. Iruka smiled at him and pulled him into a hug.

"Welcome back home, 'Kashi."

Kakashi returned the embrace and nuzzled his lover's neck, "I'm back."

Iruka pulled the older man into the bathroom, and smiled warmly at him, "Shower, I'll get dinner ready."

At the mention of food, Kakashi's stomach grumbled. The mission was long, yes, but lacked food.

Dinner was satisfying, but his hunger was still there, it was a whole different type of hunger. And as Iruka washed the dishes, Kakashi pressed along his back as his hand kneaded into the tan hips, his lips brushing along the tan neck.

"Seconds?" he whispered into the younger man's ear, "Thirds?" He felt Iruka shiver and he knew he wasn't the only one that was starving.

80. Words

"I love you."

Three simple words that just didn't hold enough meaning for what he felt. Those three simple words that felt too simple.

But when his lover heard them he didn't just hear "I love you", he heard all the unspoken emotions that didn't have words, that didn't merit words because they were too precious. Words that they tried to convey through actions, instead of words. But every touch, and every gesture spoke the phrase "I love you", "You mean everything to me", "I'm the happiest I've ever been", "I'll be with you forver, as long as forever is for us", "I'll always be here for you, with you", the list went on. Words weren't enough. They preferred actions anyway.