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Kakashi's first true visit to Iruka as his fix set a pattern. Traumatic mission, visit to Iruka, then possibly hang out with Izumo, Kotetsu, and Iruka the next day. Mizuki rarely came along. Kakashi, however, came to enjoy spending time with the odd trio- enjoy it enough that he found himself sometimes spending time with them even without a mission as a catalyst. They were nice and funny and amused him and provided a welcome distraction from his work as an ANBU. Tenzou even began to comment that he was spending more time with his Iruka and his friends than he was alone.

Which was definitely not true. It just seemed like that. Nothing was different, he was just an ANBU with a fix. Nothing strange about that.

Kakashi also found that he and Iruka developed a new way of behavior whenever he returned from a particularly bad mission. If he was injured, he would deal with it himself, and Iruka would always watch him a wary eye to make sure he was truly all right. Once that was done with, Iruka would hand him some papers, and they would grade together in silence. If Iruka had been eating at the time of Kakashi's arrival, he'd offer him something too, and he would often accept and eat his first real meal in however long. If Iruka was cooking or baking, he would let Kakashi help him, give him instructions and smile at him and watch as he cooked.

It was… nice. Just nice.

The time passed slowly, with Kakashi finding himself to be as happy as he had ever been in ANBU. Or as close to happy as someone like him could be. Tenzou noticed the change, too, and seemed both amused and pleased by it.

They also received news from Genma and Gai, though, and that… that was a constant thorn in his side.

Genma was going on more and more missions for his new group of missing nin. They were never against Konoha or Suna, which was good- as the Sand Village probably wouldn't be very happy to know that the village they had agreed would take care of this little missing nin problem was actually working against them. Meanwhile, Genma was getting more and more attached to the group- after all, it was impossible not to, when he worked side by side with men every day for months, trusting them, relying on them- and they did no harm than any other ninja did. What was more? There were civilians in the bunch, too.

Civilian families that had came along with their ninja relatives when they abandoned their village. Children, parents, siblings, lovers- the camp was at least 30 percent harmless civilians.

Kakashi couldn't blame Genma for liking the missing nin. He was starting to like them, too, and he just had the reports to go off of.

Meanwhile, Raidou was going stir crazy, with his lover being undercover for months, and as said lover's team captain, he was the one who got to hear all the way complaints. Of course, that was so enjoyable.

But time passed slowly and easily, and three months after Kakashi and Iruka had first truly spoken found Kakashi stumbling through the village, Tenzou by his side. Both ANBU were leaning on each other for support, dragging their feet and hardly managing to stay upright. Kakashi came to a stuttering halt when they reached the fork in the road and jerked his head in the direction of Iruka's house. "He's closer than my place," he grunted. "You okay to get home?"

Tenzou shrugged a little. "Hospital's closest. If not home, I'll collapse on their doorstep."

"Tenzou…"

"I'm joking, Senpai. I'll get home."

Kakashi deflated, and then the two separated. He nearly face planted, and Tenzou actually did. If Kakashi got down to help him, he wouldn't be getting up, so he just stared down at him and frowned. "Tenzou?"

"Don't worry… I'll be getting up… in a bit."

He sighed. "Tenzou, I can't just leave you lying on the street."

The wood user groaned. "Always gotta ruin it, don't you, Kakashi-senpai? …Look, there. It's a tree, Senpai- if I can just get there, then I'll be able to transport myself home with-"

"That uses Chakra. No. You'll kill yourself!"

"Not much. I'm at least better off than you-"

"I'm standing. You're collapsed. No. Gah… can you at least try to stand? I can go get help if you can't…"

Tenzou heaved a mighty sigh at that, and then planted his hands on the ground and struggled. He shook visibly with the strain and did make it a few inches, enough that he could finally use his legs as leverage. Still, Kakashi was left in suspense for almost fifteen seconds until Tenzou staggered upright, almost crashing into him. "Voila, Kakashi-senpai. I'm up!"

"Yes, I see that. You good to get home now?"

Tenzou gave a bleary nod and began stumbling in the opposite direction. "Yes, yes. You can go on to your fix guilt free now."

"You're the one who should be guilty for not staying to help me. Iruka lives on the second floor."

Tenzou laughed in a weary chuckle. "Good luck getting up to see him, then."

"Hilarious. I'll see you in a few days, Tenzou."

"Yep."

Kakashi yawned greatly as he slowly made his way towards Iruka. This was the kind of Chakra exhaustion he hated the most- not enough to knock him out and leave him with a few days in a bed with Icha Icha, but just serious enough to keep him out of commission and put him in pain. The mission itself hadn't even been that bad- certainly not bad enough to warrant a visit to his fix- but… his apartment was so far away. Iruka was just convenient, really.

But his apartment was up a flight of stairs. That wasn't convenient at all. How in the hell was he going to get up there?

After a few moments of reflection, Kakashi glanced around, then let himself just plop right down in the middle of the road. This was fine, this was fine. He picked up a pebble lying on the ground, rolled it around in his fist- then tossed it up to Iruka's window.

It bounced off harmlessly. Kakashi watched it curiously as it clattered down to the street, then looked back up hopefully at the window. He was just about to reach out for another rock when curtains were shoved aside and Iruka himself peered out curiously, in search of the cause of the noise. His eyes widened the moment he found Kakashi and the ANBU waved cheerfully.

"Hello, Iruka!" he called up genially.

The teacher just stared numbly at him, then pulled open his window and shouted a reply back. "…Kakashi?! What on earth…"

"Ah… a little help would be appreciated, here, Iruka. Just a little. Liiiiiittle bit."

Iruka stared down at him for a few moments, clearly shocked, before his features rearranged themselves into a judgmental- and amused- mask. "Kakashi, do you, by chance, have Chakra exhaustion?"

"…Maybe."

Iruka groaned, and Kakashi couldn't see, but he was sure that the man was rolling his eyes. "I'm on my way down. Stay."

Kakashi watched as the teacher turned away for a few moments, then returned and jumped lightly out to the street. He smiled a little sheepishly while Iruka approached and crouched in front of him, appraising him with a worried eye. "Are you injured?"

Kakashi shook his head weakly. "Nope. Wasn't a bad mission, either. Just…" Translation: I didn't come here to see my fix, I came here because I trusted you.

Iruka smiled. "Well, you can stay with me. How long do you think until you're back on your feet?"

"Oh, I just need a night's sleep. Trust me, this is nothing."

"Oh, good. So, you can still come to the wedding."

Kakashi stared as the teacher hooked one arm under his knees, grasping onto his wrist and pulling it over his shoulder with the other. The teacher lifted him up bridal style, seemingly ignorant of his shock, and just walked slowly back towards his apartment building, opting to take the stairs instead of jumping up into a tree with a heavy dead weight in his arms.

Finally, Kakashi cleared his throat and asked, "Um… what?"

Iruka shrugged, as if it were obvious. "The wedding. You know, Izumo and Kotetsu. It's tomorrow. You didn't forget, right?"

Kakashi slowly shook his head. "I… of course not. But…" He was expected to come to that?

"Then what are you looking so surprised about? Oh, don't tell me Kotetsu forgot to mail your invitation out- I told him, double check that they all were put in the mail!"

"…Invitations? Mail?" Kakashi didn't even check his mail. Ever. All of his bills were automatically subtracted from his missions pay, which still left him with a rather exorbitant sum, and there was nothing else to check his mail for. Anything important was sent by messenger bird. Anything else? …There wasn't anything else.

Iruka was beginning to look confused. "Kakashi, you do know what I'm talking about, right? Izumo and Kotetsu's wedding? Been planning it for three months? Always, always talking about it?"

Kakashi nodded lightly as Iruka carried him up the stairs and to his apartment door. "Of course I know what you're talking about. But- I didn't know that I was… supposed to come…"

Iruka looked down at him in surprise. "Of course you were! Izumo and Kotetsu like you, even if you haven't known them for very long. They would love to have you there."

Kakashi didn't know what to say. Iruka just continued smiling at him as he set him down on the couch, then hurried away- to the kitchen, by the sound of it. "Let me get you something to eat!" the teacher called. "Light, something light, I know. Anyway, you can just sit down the whole time, if that's what you're worried about- if you managed to walk all the way here then I'm sure you'll have enough energy for that. And Zumo and Tetsu would love to have you there."

Kakashi awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, maneuvering so he could stare at Iruka's back over the couch. It had just been assumed he was going to the wedding, apparently. Not that Kakashi had ever said he wasn't, but… that was because he has just figured he wasn't expected there. That was fine with him; he had never particularly wanted to go anyway. He didn't know what to do or how to act in social situations like that. Hell, the only wedding he had ever been to was Minato's- and that was when he was eight, and his sensei and his team had forced him to come. And, all right, maybe it had been enjoyable, but… this was different. Right?

Iruka returned with a bowl of some type of steaming soup and set it down in front of him, then sat down himself on the arm of the couch. "Eat up. I'm sure you're hungry, and you need to recover some strength."

Kakashi nodded his thanks, waiting until the teacher turned away to pull his mask down and cautiously taste test his dinner. He smiled slightly; miso soup with eggplant. Iruka never disappointed him- even as ANBU fixes went, he was the best he'd ever had, without a doubt. No one else always had a hot meal of his favorite food waiting. "Sank dyou," he mumbled around the spoon, and Iruka chuckled.

"No problem. Now, tomorrow, we can just leave a little early, swing by your place, and you can get changed and we can go. Is that okay?"

This was making less and less sense. Kakashi glanced down at himself and frowned. "…Is that really necessary? I can just borrow one of your shirts… my pants aren't that bad, are they?"

Iruka's expression shifted to one of confusion, even though the teacher still wasn't even looking at him. "What are you- …Kakashi, you weren't going to wear your uniform, were you?"

Kakashi shifted awkwardly and kept silent. There was something wrong with that? This was so confusing…

Iruka laughed quietly when he didn't answer. "Oh, my, Kakashi… I'm afraid you can't do that."

"Why not?"

Iruka chuckled again. "Well… it's kind of like for festivals- you wear traditional kimonos, not your uniform. Right?"

Kakashi chose to shrug instead of reply. Actually, he just didn't go to festivals- but, yes, he was aware that you didn't wear your uniform to that. That was what Iruka was really asking, right?

Satisfied, Iruka nodded. "Yes, you see? Weddings are like that. …Haven't you ever been to one before?"

Oh, finally, something he could actually answer! "Yes- yes, I have! And I wore my uniform to that!"

Iruka frowned. "Really? That's odd… whose wedding was it?"

"Sen… Yondaimne-sama's and Kushina-sama's."

The teacher reacted with a gasp, still without chancing a look at him. His eyes widened in surprise and he opened his mouth, shut it again, then shook his head as if trying to clear it. "I- wow! That's… wait a minute- Kakashi, that was… that was over sixteen years ago!"

"So?"

"You said… you were in uniform… Kakashi, how old are you?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Twenty-four."

Iruka gasped again. "But- but that means you were- you were eight!"

"I'm still not following you…"

Iruka took a moment to collect his thoughts, then shook his head and smiled awkwardly, scratching his scar. "Ah, I'm sorry. I forgot… you're a genius. Of course you would've graduated earlier than the norm. It's just… it's hard to think of anyone being an active shinobi so young." He shook his head again and Kakashi, thrown off balance, just took in another spoonful of soup in silence.

Iruka continued then, voice now quiet and carefully unemotional. "…When did you graduate, Kakashi?"

"When I was five."

Iruka's surprised reaction was more controlled this time, but noticeable enough for Kakashi to see it. He drank a bit more soup and and stared down at the bowl, lightly dragging the spoon in a sloppy circle around the edge. He was reminded of that conversation, so long ago, when Taji had eavesdropped on Mizuki making fun of Iruka for not making chuunin until sixteen. They were from completely different worlds… and discussions like this were hard. Hard, and awkward, and just plain uncomfortable.

When Iruka didn't seem to know what to say, Kakashi quickly spoke up, trying to guide the conversation to lighter topics. "So, what does my age have to do with Yondaime's wedding?"

"Oh, right! That!" Iruka smiled again, though he still seemed a little distracted. "Well, Kakashi- you said you were eight… that's the age when everything you do is cute. To the general public, anyway; I've seen enough of their shenanigans this year to know that it's really not cute at all. So they probably saw you and went 'awww, look, a mini-ninja!' Something along those lines, ne?"

Kakashi frowned. "…There was a lot of 'awww' going on… that's what that was about?!"

"Well, probably." Iruka laughed quietly and shook his head. "Well, the point is, Kakashi, you're a bit too big for people to call cute now. Although I do think it's kind of cute."

"Cute?!"

Iruka laughed again. "Yes. I've never met a grown man so… I don't know, socially awkward. It's very endearing."

"But… b-but…" Cute. He was cute?! "I can't be- I'm not supposed to be cute! I'm… a ninja! In ANBU! We're not cute!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend the big, bad ANBU."

Kakashi swallowed the rest of the soup in one big mouthful in the midst of Iruka's laugh, then tapped on the table sulkily and pulled his mask up. "…I am not cute."

Iruka looked up at the tap, taking the empty bowl from him. "Of course you're not. Of course you're not."

Kakashi huffed as the teacher went back to the kitchen. "Okay, do you have any formal civvies?" Iruka called over his shoulder as Kakashi began unlacing his armor, to leave nothing but black pants and a singlet. "If you don't, then I have some stuff that's probably your size."

"Uh… nope. No formal civvies." Actually, no civvies at all…

"Okay, that's no problem. I'll look for stuff tonight and show it to you tomorrow; you probably just want to sleep, huh?"

Kakashi replied with a tired yes, already sinking back against the suspiciously warm, soft couch. It had taken a lot of work, in the beginning, to convince the teacher to leave him on a futon or the couch on the nights when he was too hurt or tired to make it home himself. In the end, it had taken him telling Iruka that it partly helped, after the more traumatic missions- he didn't want to disrupt anything or cause any trouble; just wanted to observe Iruka in his regular patterns. Iruka hadn't wanted to do anything at all that would end up being potentially harmful to Kakashi after those awful missions and had reluctantly relented.

In truth, Kakashi just didn't want to bother or disrupt Iruka- it had nothing to do with the bad missions. He didn't know why he felt slightly guilty for lying- after all, Iruka had the bed.

Iruka returned, then, handing him the blanket folded up on the end of the couch, as well as a set of pajamas that he had once insisted Kakashi bring over on those rare nights he slept over. It was just an old black sweatshirt and a pair of holey pants- warmer than his usual sleeveless shirt and boxers, but Chakra exhaustion made him cold. And Iruka knew that.

It seemed like almost no one knew him quite as well as Iruka did…

"Are you too tired to change? Just want to go to sleep?" Iruka asked, watching him worriedly, and Kakashi gave a weary shake of his head.

"No, I'll change. Be fine. Go on to bed."

Iruka nodded easily and tossed him a water bottle. "All right. Just shout if you need anything."

"Mmm."

And when the teacher left, Kakashi realized that he had somehow agreed to going to the wedding tomorrow- without ever actually agreeing to it.

Damn it! How was Iruka so good at that?

"…Iruka?"

"Yes?"

"I… don't think I did this right."

Kakashi heard Iruka approach the closed bathroom door and just kept on staring at himself curiously in the mirror. Somehow, he didn't think this was what he was supposed to look like. First of all, Iruka hadn't looked at all like this, and second of all…

Well, he just looked plain stupid.

"What do you mean, Kakashi?"

"Um…"

"Just let me see."

Kakashi hesitated, then slowly, hesitantly, opened the door.

Iruka's expression went blank.

His new… outfit wasn't that bad, actually. Parts of it were actually passable. The pants were normal, just a little tighter than he liked- but he could hide a kunai holster on his ankle. The shirt was okay, too- dark blue and loose enough to hide a chest belt, and the black jacket hid the tanto strapped to his back. The color of his mask even matched the shirt, pants, and jacket.

But then, there was the…

"Oh, Kakashi…"

"In my defense, I didn't realize I'd need my Sharingan to tie this thing correctly," he muttered.

Iruka bit his lip. It looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh.

"It's not that funny…"

"…It really is, Kakashi." He snickered.

Kakashi frowned.

Biting his lip to not burst out into laughter, the teacher walked around to stand in front of him, and began to try and loosen the ridiculous, oversized knot Kakashi had wrangled the tie into. "You've never worn a tie before, have you?" he asked softly, smiling all the while.

"…"

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"I'm not embarrassed!"

"Then why are you blushing?"

Kakashi opened his mouth, then shut it again and frowned. "Just show me how to tie it, please."

Iruka gently loosened the knot until he could free Kakashi from the strangling tie, then grinned at him. "Here. Like this. You adjust it so this wide end is about twice as long as the narrow end, and…"

Kakashi watched suspiciously. He had his doubts about tying things around his neck, especially in complicated knots when it didn't even look that good at all and there seemed no reason for it whatsoever, but… whatever Iruka wanted, right?

It took all of his self-control not to break the teacher's wrist when Iruka tightened the knot and it instantly felt as if he were being strangled. "Gack!" Kakashi jerked away, fingers scrabbling to get under the knot and create some space between him and the unspeakably uncomfortable thing around his throat. "What the hell is this?! How can you people wear this all the time?!"

"What? Kakashi, what is it?"

"It feels like it's choking me!" Kakashi pulled at the knot again until there was no restriction on his breathing and let out a relieved sigh.

Iruka stared at him in surprise. "I- well… it does feel a bit uncomfortable the first few times, but you get used to it really quickly…"

Kakashi scoffed. "Sorry, but I don't think I'll get used to something constricting my throat anytime soon." He pulled at the knot again, then slowly rearranged his masked features into what he hoped was a placating smile. "Ah, sorry, Iruka… is there anyway I can go without wearing this?"

Iruka blinked, then smiled softly and nodded, pulling the loosened tie over his head. "Of course there is, Kakashi. After all, it's black tie optional- you can just go like that. Besides, Izumo and Kotetsu aren't formal or pretentious or anything; they're not going to be standing at the door checking dress code. Well… if that's all, then, I guess we're ready to go. You sure you have enough energy for it?"

Kakashi nodded confidently. "Oh, yes, definitely. I'm just a little sore. I'll be fine."

Iruka frowned. He lightly rested the back of his hand against Kakashi's forehead and looked him over worriedly. "…I don't know… you feel a little cool. Maybe we should stay home and-"

"No, no- I'm really okay, Iruka! Don't stay here just for me. I'm okay, Iruka; getting out and about will be good for me. It's not serious; if it were serious, Lion would've come along by now to force me into the hospital. Or one of his lackeys."

The teacher continued to frown, then gave a quiet sigh and shook his head. "Okay, okay. But if I see you falling asleep at the table or anything, I'm taking you home. And don't do that weird thing you do when you eat; you'll probably just throw it up the way you are now-"

"Iruka! I'm really okay, I promise! But I give you permission to yell at me if I do fall asleep or throw up."

Iruka rolled his eyes as he led him towards the door. "Don't worry. I'll do more than yell. Now, hurry- if we're late to our friends' wedding, then said friends will kill us. I'm Zumo's best man, anyway, so he'll be furious if we're late!"

Kakashi allowed himself to be hustled out the doorway, but his eye was wide and he was staring in disbelief. Our friends?

He had friends?

Yes… he had friends.

He smiled, and it was genuine. Who would've thought. Big, scary ANBU captain had found friends.