A/N: BAM! Another chapter! Hope you enjoy! I am sooo sorry guys! My muse was being fickle and couldn't decide what she wanted to give me inspiration on DX I kid you not, I had 7 stories open at one time because she just would not settle on which one she wanted to work on . And then I just sat down and wrote and wrote as soon as she gave me anything about Final Kill… Anyways, here's your update!
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Characters belong to Kishimoto! (And that's kind of iffy considering what he's been doing with them…)
…
He was going to do it. After a week of waiting, half an hour of arguing with Naruto, and much mental warfare with himself, Umino Iruka was going to call Hatake Kakashi, the sexy businessman.
Naruto was more than adamant that Iruka needed to get out of the house for a few hours, and he finally conceded to give the mysterious businessman a call to ask him out for a coffee. It was innocent enough that Iruka's insides did not burn from nervousness. Then again, having his little brother standing right in front of him, arms crossed, while Iruka's fingers hovered over the buttons of the phone was not helping matters at all.
C'mon! It's just coffee for Kami's sake! Iruka berated himself, trying to nudge his courage to help him dial the number. Still, he sat there frozen to the spot, looking at the phone as if it had grown tentacles. What if the other man had changed his mind already? It had been nearly a week since he had met the man and he'd been too busy with work - and Naruto kept getting into fights with Sasuke, which meant frustrated patch ups and brotherly scolding - to get up the courage to talk to the sexy businessman.
"Oh, for crying out loud, Ruka-nii!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. Before Iruka had enough brain cells to form a thought, the blond boy had ripped the phone and slip of paper from his hands and dialed the number written on it.
Horrorstruck, Iruka could do nothing but sit and stare in shock as he heard Kakashi's deep voice rumble from the phone pressed to Naruto's ear. "Hello?"
"Hi, Hatake Kakashi? Remember Umino Iruka? Yeah, this is Iruka's brother and I was just wondering if you'd be interested in helping me kick his lazy ass out of the house for a cup of coffee," Naruto explained bluntly. "Whadya say?"
Motor skills finally working, Iruka lurched forward and grabbed the phone from Naruto with a panicked exclamation. He fumbled with the phone a bit before he was able to press it to his ear. "Hi, Hata— er… Kakashi-san," he corrected himself, remembering their last meeting. "Sorry about that, my brother can be rather… uhm, forward, sometimes."
Kakashi's deep chuckle flowed from the speaker like velvet. "Not a problem at all. I'm rather glad he called, actually. I was beginning to think I'd never hear from you," he said, sounding every bit as amused as Naruto looked smug. Kakashi said something else, but Iruka was too busy glaring daggers at his younger brother to catch it.
"Wait, what?" he replied intelligently. Smooth, Iruka. Real smooth.
Another chuckle was heard from the other end of the line as Iruka mentally facepalmed. "I said, 'Coffee sounds great.' I'll meet you at the same shop as before in an hour, then." Kakashi sounded so confident, it made Iruka a little bit jealous of the other man's charisma.
"All right. I'll uhm… see you there," Iruka responded, half in a daze that the sexy businessman had just agreed to the coffee date. Could coffee even count as a date?
"See you soon, Iruka." Kakashi had practically purred his name and almost made his knees go weak at the sound of it. The line went dead and Iruka closed the phone.
He could not believe it. He had a date. Umino Iruka had a date with the most attractive person he had ever seen. What the hell am I going to wear?! His panicked inner voice wondered frantically.
The next half hour was spent combing through his closet and dresser drawers to find something suitable. What did one wear out for coffee? Would a button up be too formal? Are those jeans too worn out? Should he just go casual and wear cargo pants with a long sleeved t-shirt? Ugh, it was too nerve wracking for the little teacher. Naruto's constant commentary and snickering was not helping any.
Finally, with 15 minutes to go, Iruka settled on a pair of nice, but not exactly new, jeans and his dark grey t-shirt that had long white sleeves to cover his arms. Iruka had thought it a minor miracle when the businessman had not asked about his attire before. Even if he was wearing a button up for work, most of the teachers would have rolled up the sleeves because of the unseasonably hot weather.
Iruka shrugged to himself and turned in a circle for his whiskered brother. "How do I look?" he asked, looking at his outfit nervously.
Naruto groaned in exasperation and replied, "You look absolutely fabulous. Now, get your butt out that door or you're gonna be late." His little brother's bluntness usually grated on Iruka's nerves, but today it gave him the push he needed to make his way out of the house to get to his date.
The entire walk to the coffee shop was spent anxiously picking at his sleeves, pants, and anything else his fingers made contact with. Snap out of it, Iruka! It's just coffee! You've already had coffee with him before, so stop acting like a nervous schoolgirl! Iruka mentally yelled at himself.
Deep within his own thoughts, Iruka failed to notice a certain silver-haired figure until he bumped right into a very muscular chest. He tried to backpedal, but strong arms wrapped around him, ceasing his retreat. "I'm beginning to think this is a regular thing for you, Iruka," a familiar, deep voice purred low in his ear. "But, I'll take what I can get."
Iruka shivered at the feel of warm breath on his ear and his face burned with the flush of embarrassment. Right behind the embarrassment and slight arousal though, was a tiny sliver of suspicion. As he had spent a good chunk of his life as an assassin, he had always been aware of his surroundings no matter how deeply his thoughts took him. How could he have failed to notice the muscular, silver-haired businessman until he was right in front of his nose? Let alone twice?
Decidedly ignoring the questions his mind was throwing at him, Iruka plastered a polite smile on his face and firmly removed the arms around him. They offered slight resistance before relenting, hands instead coming to rest on the smaller man's shoulders. "Trust me, it doesn't happen all that often," he retorted playfully. Iruka had to admit that the contact was not exactly unwelcome, but for the sake of being in public, and they being practically strangers, he took a final step backwards and around the businessman. "Shall we?" Iruka asked, gesturing to the door of the coffee shop.
A sly grin crept onto Kakashi's face and a twinkle lit in his eye. The expression was gone before Iruka could analyze it, replaced by a small smile that made his single grey eye curve in a smile of its own. How odd. The little teacher led the way into the coffee shop, suppressing the tingling sensation that skittered down his spine from having the businessman behind him. He almost felt like prey being stalked by a dangerous predator.
After they had ordered their drinks, they took their seats from before and looked at each other with a certain amount of expectation in both gazes. Iruka was unsure of what to do from here, so he began as simply as he could. He was about to ask the sexy businessman how he had been for the past week, but he beat him to it.
"So, your little brother seems like an interesting fellow," Kakashi said casually. "Is he always that eloquent?"
Iruka snorted at the word 'eloquent.' "I wouldn't use the word eloquent. Crude, brash, or pain in the rear describe him better," the chocolate haired man replied. His smile was one of brotherly tolerance and affection. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."
Kakashi let out a deep chuckle. "You love your brother very much, don't you?" It was said as a statement rather than a question, but Iruka nodded in answer anyways. "Last time we met, you mentioned not being related by blood. Would you mind my asking what that means?" he asked politely.
"Not at all," the dark haired man replied with an easy smile. It was not exactly a secret how the brothers had come to be together… unless one tried to delve too deep into their past. "Naruto and I grew up in an orphanage together since he was an infant. At the beginning of the summer, we finally completed all of the adoption paperwork." Iruka paused and chuckled a little ruefully to himself. "I would have done it as soon as I was eighteen, but there were some complications." Like being an assassin, for one.
"What kind of complications?" Kakashi asked with genuine curiosity. It seemed like a harmless enough question to anyone else, but to Iruka, it was just another thing he had to dodge. Luckily enough, it could be dodged with the truth… or a version of it, anyway.
"Oh, just the usual trying to find a job and put myself through college to get my teaching degree. Thankfully, the caretaker at the time was kind enough to allow me to stay with Naruto and the boys. I technically had to leave the orphanage after I turned 18, but Sarutobi-sensei gave me odd jobs around the building until I had a job of my own at a local store." He grimaced inwardly as he thought of what his real job had been while working at that little shop. "After that, it was all about finding a place of my own and having a steady teaching gig before I could even think of leaving with Naruto. Even then I ended up moving a couple more times before we could even think about the adoption."
"I see," Kakashi said, contemplating his next words. "What's the name of that orphanage?"
"Konoha Boys' Orphanage. Nothing fancy," Iruka replied easily. It was surprising him how easy it was to talk to someone like Kakashi, someone with such an aura of confidence and strength. Even though there was still a sliver of unease in the back of Iruka's mind, there was also a certain charisma that surrounded the silver haired businessman and made the smaller male relax.
Iruka was taking a long drink from his coffee when he nearly choked on it from Kakashi's next question, "Do you always wear long sleeves? It's rather warm outside for that kind of clothing."
He had thought that this topic would come up sooner or later, so the brown haired man gave the prepared answer as dismissively as he could. "I wear long sleeves year round. They've always just been more comfortable to me despite the weather." Iruka could see no possible way for the other man to continue that line of questioning, but he asked a question of his own to distract him, just in case. "So, now you know about my brother and weird sense of style. What about you though? Any brothers or sisters?"
"Nope, just an only child," the businessman replied smoothly, taking a drink of his coffee.
Iruka noticed that he did not offer any other information about himself, and the silence afterwards seemed to almost drag on. Oddly enough, it was not as awkward as it should have been. Even with that single dark grey eye assessing him from across the table, the suspicion in the back of the younger male's mind was totally ignored. Then again, Iruka concluded that it could be from his self made promise to disassociate himself from anything to do with his previous life as an assassin, despite the current voice of warning trying to be heard in the back of his consciousness. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Iruka reminded himself that he was supposed to be on a date with the sexy businessman, not analyzing him as a potential threat.
Plastering a smile on his face and scratching at the scar crossing his nose, the brunette chuckled nervously, "So, uhh… to be honest, I haven't exactly done this in a while. Not too sure about what to do now."
Kakashi's eye curved in its unique arch in amusement. "Well, now that we're done with our drinks, how's about you give me a tour of the town? I haven't had the time to take a real look around yet, and having you as company would make it much more appealing."
Iruka could feel a slight blush colouring his cheeks as he nodded an affirmative. They disposed of their cups on the way out of the door and stepped into the unseasonably warm weather. As they walked and chatted, Iruka had to keep tabs on his hands as they kept trying to pick at his too warm clothing. Having said that he was comfortable in all weather, the brunette just could not bear the thought of Kakashi thinking him a liar. Then again, he was lying, but that was not the point.
Before either of them knew it, hours had passed and they had somehow managed to stop in front of the coffee shop again. Having walked all the way around the town and shown Kakashi the local hotspots and stores, Iruka felt rather satisfied with his date. The two men seemed to get along very well. A little cynical part of Iruka's mind was wondering what the catch was. There has to be more to it than this, that part said.
Feeling slightly guilty about his negative thoughts, the smaller male glanced away from his companion, missing the look of total curiosity in the other's gaze. The part of his mind that was always watchful of the surrounding area finally registered in the young teacher's thoughts. By the look of the angles of the shadows, it was getting very late… much later than Iruka had thought it had been. Time really does fly when one is having fun, Iruka thought ruefully. Oh well, it had to end at some point, right?
Iruka tried to find a way to bid his date farewell and opted for the straightforward and honest, "Well, I guess I better get going. It's getting kind of late and Naruto probably died of boredom," or curiosity, "but I had a really good time. Thanks for coming out to coffee with me, Kakashi."
"The pleasure is all mine," the tall businessman replied, a small smile playing at the edges of his lips, "I hope we can do this again sometime. Are you free next Friday for dinner? Say, around seven?"
"Absolutely," came Iruka's quick reply. He blushed lightly at his eagerness and only made Kakashi's eye curve in amusement again. He cleared his throat and tried to regain some of his dignity. "I mean, yeah, sure. Friday night it is. Where will we be meeting this time?" the brunette asked. Damn Kakashi's weird eye-smiles for making me so flustered!
"Maa, but if I tell you, it won't be a surprise," Kakashi purred, leaning closer to the smaller male. "I'll pick you up and take you there." His tone was commanding and more than a little seductive. The mere deepness of it was scrambling Iruka's thoughts. He found himself nodding in agreement before he had even fully decided to. "Terrific. I'll see you then, Iruka."
Much like he had over the phone, the way Kakashi partly purred and growled his name made his knees go weak and his mind fuzzy. He could not stop the gasp of surprise when he felt warm breath suddenly on his lips before they were claimed in a light kiss. Iruka had wondered sometime before how soft those sinful lips would be, but he never thought they would feel that good. Before Iruka could even think to kiss back, the lips were gone along with their owner. The tanned teacher blinked in confusion and whipped his head around to search for a familiar shock of silver hair.
Kakashi had vanished.
Sighing in frustration, Iruka noticed the odd looks we was getting from passersby. The brunette immediately turned beet red in embarrassment. Iruka had been used to getting weird looks because of his scar or choice of clothing, but it certainly was not every day he got kissed in public by another male! He quickly turned on his heel and made his way through the throng of people to get home. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up in warning. Someone was watching him. Well duh! We've already established this because of that blasted kiss!
Iruka shook away his instincts, sure that he knew the cause of it, and never once noticed the eyes full of malice and loathing that followed him from the crowd of people.
. . . . . .
Iruka had yet to even take a bite of his lunch before being called down to the front office. Three guesses why, he thought as he stalked to the room that held two teenage boys, an angry teacher, and a very harassed looking principal. At least Naruto had the sense to actually look sorry, whereas Sasuke just looked away from the group of people with disinterest, his mouth set in a slight scowl.
"Iruka-sensei, this is the last straw!" yelled the enraged teacher. He pointed directly at Naruto before continuing his tirade, straightening his spine and looking down his nose at Iruka. "Not only does he disrespect the school with his shenanigans, but you as well! Fighting is just unacceptable! How can you stand there and just let this little punk—"
"Be careful what you say sensei," Iruka spat coldly, effectively cutting off Ebisu in mid-rant. Of all the teachers in the school, Naruto just had to piss off this one.
As a teacher he did his job very well but, according to Naruto, Ebisu had had it out for his little brother ever since they had moved here for seemingly no reason at all. He was constantly ragging on Naruto about this or that and talking down to him if he answered a question wrong in the halls between classes. Iruka could, and did more often than not, listen to Naruto rant for hours on end about Ebisu's supposed verbal mistreatment of his little brother, but to hear him actually insult the only family he had got Iruka's blood boiling immediately. Nobody insulted his family. Nobody.
He narrowed his eyes at the bespectacled man and spoke in a low tone, daring the taller male to contradict him, "Now, as far as I can tell, there are two boys sitting in this office. Not just Naruto." The tension that lined his shoulders was the only indication of his anger. Anyone who knew Iruka well enough would know that this was the time to back down and apologize with their tail between their legs. As it was, Naruto visibly shrank further into his seat nervously and even Sasuke flicked his eyes in Iruka's direction due to the furious aura that was rolling off of the young teacher. Ebisu, on the other hand, looked unimpressed and returned the glare challengingly, obviously thinking himself to be superior, and further fueling Iruka's rage.
Just as the brunette was about to snap at the other teacher, Naruto spoke softly, trying to calm his brother down before he did something stupid, "Iruka, stop." Watching the older man carefully, Naruto rose from his seat and held out his hands in a calming gesture. "It's all right. It was my fault anyway, so just calm down, okay?" Naruto could not stand the thought of Iruka losing his job over something so stupid. Sure, this Ebisu guy pissed everyone off to no end, but there were always people like that no matter where they move to.
Furious brown eyes met pleading blue and finally softened when the teen flinched ever so slightly. Seeing Naruto even slightly afraid of him snapped the brunette from his anger. Iruka willed his posture to relax as he stepped towards Naruto and placed a comforting hand on the blonds' shoulder. He took a calming breath and borrowed strength from his brother's presence before turning to address his boss, a short man with thin grey hair. "What happened?" he asked, his voice steady and anger tamed.
The principal cleared his throat to stop the impending outburst from Ebisu, and said, "I'm not sure what caused it since neither boy has spoken up about it, but Ebisu-sensei found them physically fighting near the staircase to the roof and shouting insults at each other. We've given them warning after warning, Iruka-sensei, and I'm afraid I agree with Ebisu-sensei. Enough is enough. The fighting has to stop, even if I have to take them out of school."
"I understand," Iruka said, bowing his head. How could he get them all out of this mess? The principal obviously hated the idea of expelling anyone, and Iruka had no inclination to move again. An idea came to Iruka then that could satisfy the principal's need for peace and save Naruto and Sasuke from possible suspension or expulsion. "Sir, if I may be so bold," Iruka began. "Would you consider overlooking this altercation and allow me to talk to the boys myself?"
"That is actually the other reason I called you down here. As Naruto's guardian, I needed you to escort him off of the premises. However," the older man paused for a moment, thinking something over, "I can smell good ideas from a mile away. You two are off the hook, but this is the last time. Do I make myself clear?" He glared pointedly at the two teenagers who quickly nodded their understanding, Naruto energetically and Sasuke as stoically as ever. Then, he pointed to Iruka, "Don't make me regret this, Iruka-san."
"You won't," Iruka promised. Bowing to his superior, he gestured for the teens to go on ahead of him before walking past a flabbergasted Ebisu. The brunette would not have been able to stop the triumphant smirk on his lips if he tried. Leading the silent males behind him, he contemplated the wisdom of what he was about to do. Iruka opened the door silently and ushered his new test subjects into his classroom.
Naruto was the first to break the thick silence, "Iruka-sensei, I am so sorry. I was being an idiot and—"
Iruka abruptly held up his hand in the universal signal to shut up, and cut off his little brother's explanation. "I don't care about that. After spending the last week and a half helping you with your scrapes and bruises, I just don't care about the reason anymore. I just want it to stop. So, as of right now, you two are going to be partners in all assignments and projects. No buts!" He killed Naruto's protests. In true Uchiha Sasuke fashion, the black haired teen merely glared in annoyance. "If you two fight again, you will fail immediately. Understood?"
The look in Naruto's eyes told him he was in for an earful when they got home, but he wisely kept quiet and grudgingly nodded. "But just so we're clear," the blond gritted through clenched teeth to his new partner, "this in no way makes you the boss of me!"
"Whatever," was the dark haired teen's only reply before he turned and strode to the door.
"Sasuke-kun," called Iruka, making Sasuke stop and glance over his shoulder at the teacher. "I'm going to have the principal inform your parents of the situation after school today."
"Che…" Sasuke scoffed. He opened the door and took one step out before saying, "Good luck."
Wondering what the boy could have meant, the brothers watched as the door closed behind him. Now that they were finally alone, Naruto snapped. "How the hell could you pair me with him?! It's obvious that we don't get along, so it's just setting us up to fail! That bastard is probably going to think he's the boss of me and try to tell me what to do!" he yelled.
"What else would you have me do, Naruto?" Iruka asked, just as loudly. "It was either this or both of you getting expelled for fighting. I know you're more mature than this, so you just need to suck it up and learn to deal with it. You are going to meet plenty of people that rub you the wrong way in life, and some of them you are going to have to work with. You can't go around quitting or getting fired just because you don't get along with someone." Taking a calming breath, Iruka softened his voice to a gentle tone that showed just how tired he already was of arguing with his brother. "Don't you understand? I'm just trying to do what's best for everyone."
The two brothers stared at each other for a long time. At last, Naruto was the one to break the eye contact, sighing and looking down at the floor. "You're right, Iruka," he sighed. "You always are." Naruto looked back up to the teacher's scarred face and gave him his signature face-splitting grin. "Thanks for standing up to Ebisu for me. Even though you got kinda scary… thanks."
"Of course," Iruka shrugged. "Family's gotta stick together, and nobody messes with us." Puffing out his chest, the chocolate haired man made a silly face that had peals of laughter rolling out of the teen. Most days, Iruka lived for that sound, and he really needed it after the scare in the office. If Naruto had gotten expelled, Iruka was pretty sure there were no schools close enough to take him to, meaning they would have to pack up and move again.
Letting out a sigh of relief, he ruffled the blonds' spikes affectionately and gave him a little push towards the door. "Go eat your lunch. You don't have much time left, and I don't need you eating your homework out of starvation," he teased.
"As if! Paper isn't filling at all and it tastes disgusting!" Leave it to Naruto to think of that logic. The ball of endless energy darted out the door in search of his food, leaving Iruka alone to enjoy his own.
. . . . . .
Friday night finally rolled around and Iruka found himself to be a nervous wreck. Kakashi had called a couple of days beforehand to get his address and would be there to pick him up in a couple of hours. He had already showered and shaved any stubble that dared sprout on his cheeks, dressed in a lightweight green sweater and khakis that were both nice and casual, and he must have looked at the clock above the stove a million times as he paced back and forth with nervous energy.
Not only was tonight the night of his date with Kakashi, but Iruka had assigned a large project in class that the boys needed to work on at home, meaning the warring teens would be left alone… in his house… trying to work together… Visions of bloody knuckled and screamed curses flooded the young teacher's mind.
Ughh, I don't need this stress right now! he thought, momentarily kicking himself for ever making the boys partners. He quickly shook his head of those thoughts. They needed to learn how to work together rather than fighting all the time. Speaking of which, Sasuke would be there any minute to work with Naruto, who was currently in the shower. Damn him for being so careless about the time…
Iruka quickly ran to the living room to tidy things up because he knew his brother could not care less what Sasuke would think of him or his house. Just as he was finishing, three rapid knocks sounded at the front door. Straightening his clothing and checking to make sure he was presentable for company, Iruka opened the door to find his raven haired student.
"Good evening, Iruka." Sasuke gave a short, polite nod in greeting, completely contradicted by his lack of honorific. Iruka ignored this, too busy worrying about what state his house was going to be in when he returned. Normally, the stoic teenager wore clothing of the newest styles and carried nothing but the books he would need for class. Standing on Iruka's doorstep, he was now wearing a weathered looking t-shirt and grass stained jeans with a backpack hanging off of one shoulder. The project he had assigned was a rather messy one and Iruka cursed himself again for it. He would definitely have a mess to clean up later.
"Hello, Sasuke-kun. Come on in," Iruka replied, opening the door wider in invitation. He noticed the dark haired teen take a cursory glance around the room as he stepped over the threshold, and was glad he had tidied the room.
Just as he was about to close the door, a familiar deep voice stopped him. "Mind if I join the party?" Iruka whipped around at the velvet voice and was met with a muscular body leaning lazily on the doorjamb with an amused smirk donning the silver haired man's face.
What's Kakashi doing here so early?
. . . . . .
A/N: And there you have it! Again, I am soo sorry this is so late! I don't exactly have a set schedule of when to post new chapters like most people, but a month is just too long! I promise I'll try to update sooner.
I know this might seem like an odd place to end a chapter, but I figured one fail of a date per chapter was enough xD the next chapter is going to be the 'surprise' date and boy is there an emphasis on 'surprise'… but not in the way you're thinking! I'm evil, I know.
Anyways, please review! I'm almost to my goal of 5!