Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I am making no money writing fanfiction.

…..0…0…0…..

"Ahem."

Nothing….

Louder, "Ahem!"

Still no reaction.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

Or even recognition.

"HEY!"

The two men sprang apart, like guilty teenagers caught making out in the car, Iruka's hands dropping from Kakashi's torso, Kakashi's now thoroughly unbuttoned shirt swinging loosely around his frame.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and behind him and his impatiently tapping foot, Kakashi could see a flabbergasted Kiba looking on in awe.

"Uh…." Iruka was turning ten shades of pink as he struggled to answer, "I was helping him change his shirt?"

Naruto looked pointedly down at the forgotten button-up on the floor. "Mmhm. Yeah, right. I'm sure."

Kiba had finally snapped his mouth shut and was trying to slink off unnoticed. Naruto grabbed him by the back of the collar and held on as he addressed the two in Iruka's bedroom.

"Listen, your phone was ringing. Like, off the hook, Hatake, so I think you should probably go answer it. And Iruka?"

Iruka gulped.

"I swear if he fails me because you dump him, I'm never speaking to you again. Honestly," he muttered as he dragged Kiba away, "worse than teenagers, making out in public…."

"We're not in public," Kakashi murmured, as they heard Naruto's rant get cut off by Kiba.

"You're brother's gay?"

They heard Naruto sigh as he dropped Kiba on the floor. "You seriously didn't know?'

"Well…. I guess I kind of guessed, but…. Mr. Hatake's gay?!"

Another sigh. "Obviously."

"And, and…. They like each other?"

"Kiba, you're an idiot. Of course they do. Did you not just see them practically dripping off of each other?" Naruto could be heard walking away down the hall and Kiba scrambled up and after him.

"Do you think he'll be nicer now?"

Naruto's door could be heard closing, then there was a patter of footsteps as Kiba backtracked. He poked his head around Iruka's door.

"Hey, if you're not sexually frustrated anymore, will you be more chill in class, Mr. Hatake?"

Iruka's jaw dropped and Kakashi chuckled nervously, scratching at the back of his neck. "Um…."

Iruka recovered and hollered at the top of his lungs, "Naruto! Get him out!"

Naruto's door opened and he came back, taking one look at Kiba and growling dangerously, "What are you doing? It's none of our business if they want to fool around—" Naruto glanced up, "even if there are children in the house that could walk in on them at any moment, and I'm pretty sure Ruka won't cook for you anymore if you do keep interrupting them."

At the mention of no more food, Kiba paled and nodded, quickly mumbling an apology and scrambling out after the blond, with a final whine of, "But we're not children!"

Naruto answered shortly, "Yeah, as evidenced by your incredibly mature behaviour."

Iruka could practically hear Kiba pouting at the scathing sarcasm and he chuckled, breaking the tension in the room.

"So…."

Kakashi rocked on his heels. "So."

"You should probably go check your messages."

"Um, yeah…." Kakashi turned slightly. "I guess so."

Iruka nodded, picking up the shirt and tossing it to his guest. "Don't forget this."

"Yeah, thanks." With one last sorrowful glance backwards, Kakashi disappeared from the room. Damn! So close…. Whoever's calling me better be ready for the world of hurt I'm putting them in.

…..0…0…0…..

Iruka waited until he definitely heard Kakashi's steps head downstairs, then he left his room and knocked softly on his brother's door.

"Naruto?"

Kiba looked up as Iruka opened the door a crack. Fearing the no food threat from his friend, he apologized again as Naruto snorted at him, getting up from lounging on his bed to follow his brother to the hall.

Naruto turned to face his brother. "I told him everything."

Iruka paled. "Everything?"

"He knows."

"Naruto—" Iruka wrung his hands a bit.

"What?" the blond interrupted his brother, his voice kind, but steely. "Don't you think it's time to let go? Don't you think it's time to move on?"

Iruka sighed. He reached out and stroked a hand down his brother's cheek. "Now when did you go and grow up on me? When did you get so…. wise?"

Naruto laughed and gently batted the hand away. "I'm sixteen, Ruka, not six anymore."

Iruka smiled sadly. "You're all grown up. You don't need me anymore." He plopped his head a little dramatically on his shorter brother's shoulder.

Naruto reached up and hugged him. "I'll never be too grown up to not need my big brother. Besides, I learned from you, that's how I'm so good at being grown up."

Iruka sighed, drooping a little dejectedly. "He knows everything."

Naruto tipped his brother's face up. "And he's still here."

Iruka nodded. "Yeah…. I guess there's that." he smiled at his brother. "You're an old soul, brother, too knowing for your own good sometimes."

Naruto chuckled. "As long as this old soul doesn't have to make his own dinner, we're cool and everything's all good."

Iruka joined his brother in laughter, then headed downstairs, wondering what would happen when the snowstorm was over and Kakashi didn't have to be here anymore. What then?

…..0…0…0…..

Kakashi sighed as he heard Iruka padding downstairs. There was no denying it—now that'd he gotten a taste of what life could be like…. well, not so alone anymore, he didn't want to let it go. He wondered what would happen once the magic spell of snow wore off—could they make it in real life? He hoped so.

Iruka padded into the living room, noting that Kakashi had indeed changed his shirt and was slumped on the couch looking rather dejected.

"What's wrong?" Iruka slid onto the arm of the couch beside him and rubbed his back soothingly.

"It was my housekeeper."

Iruka peered down at the silver-haired man, waiting patiently for him to continue. "And you think I'm spoiled because of my choice in alcohol?" Iruka chuckled.

Kakashi peered at him darkly, "I might cook, but I don't do chores."

Iruka couldn't help but snicker at Kakashi's glaring pout, but patted him consolingly nonetheless.

"I don't know what I'm going to do!" The silver-haired man threw up his hands in agitated frustration. "I thought everything would be fine at my place at least until they cleared the roads, but she said she left early—around lunch hour yesterday because her husband and daughter were worried about her not making it home all right from my place because it's out in the country on the highway. Which means," Kakashi sighed, "that my dogs weren't fed supper yesterday or breakfast today."

Iruka continued to rub his back. "What do we need to do?"

Kakashi sighed again. "I need to get home. I'm such an idiot." he flopped back into the cushions. "If I had just not driven my damn sports car. I should have known better. I'm thirty-one damn years old! Don't you think I should know better?"

Iruka chuckled and continued to rub soothing circles. "Don't worry, we can fix it."

"How?" Kakashi looked up pitifully.

Iruka smiled down at him. "I have four wheel drive, remember? I'm sure if we're careful, I can get you home."

"Then what? Do you really think I'll let you drive home in this alone after that? What if you get stuck on the side of the road? What if you—you freeze! And it'll be all my fault and then…. then—" as he went on and his scenarios got wilder, and voice more panicked, Iruka sighed. He slid off the arm of the couch and kneeled in front of Kakashi, then leaned forward to shut him up with a kiss.

Kakashi sighed, then looked at Iruka sheepishly. "I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

"I will neither confirm nor deny that." He smiled. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out."

The brunet pushed some of the older man's wayward hair out of his face. "I didn't know your panic attacks were brought on outside of work too."

Kakashi's mouth dropped open in mild shock. "I didn't know you even knew about them."

Iruka smiled. "I suppose that since we fight so much, I've always kind of, I don't know…. just noticed you, I guess. I definitely know you better than the rest of our colleagues…. It's hard not to pay attention to someone who gets on your nerves so easily." His grin turned mischievous.

Kakashi smirked back cheekily. "Maybe you noticed me for other reasons too?"

Iruka hemmed and hawed exaggeratedly, much to Kakashi's chagrin. Then he laughed and let a soothing hand fall on his shoulder. "Maybe. And even if I didn't before—" he held his hand up for silence, to cut off the other man in mid-protest, "I do now."

"I guess that's what matters then." Iruka hugged him round his middle and Kakashi let himself be comforted, dropping his head onto Iruka. "I thought I hid them well."

"Usually you do. That's why I was a bit surprised now."

…..0…0…0…..

"You're an idiot, by the way."

After about an hour (during which Kakashi panicked, Iruka planned, Kiba sulked and Naruto glared), things were all set to go.

The blond continued his tirade, "This is all your fault. Kurenai is tough enough when she's not pregnant. I don't want to spend the weekend at Asuma's!"

Kakashi huddled close to the wall. "I said I was sorry."

"Hmph." Naruto tugged on his boots, then his coat. "And you're kidnapping my brother. Snow days are supposed to be fun."

"Yeah, well," Kiba interjected, "at least you don't have to go spend the weekend with your sister and mom. My dad's out of town so I'll be stuck with only the girls!"

Kakashi practically whispered, "I said I was sorry."

Both boys were still glaring at him as Iruka came downstairs with an overnight bag, placing it next to the giant cooler in the entryway. Ever the careful one, he had packed the cooler full of thermoses of soup, hot chocolate, beef jerky, granola bars and bottled water in case he and Kakashi did get stuck, even in his Jeep. He had also double-checked his trunk, where he had an emergency kit, shovel and extra blankets. He had debated trying to put on his chains, but since his Jeep wasn't parked in the garage, but outside in the storm, it wasn't practical to put them on now.

Iruka looked Kakashi up and down and nodded. He had insisted the man wear some of his own winter gear (Naruto was a snowboarding enthusiast, so both brothers had multiple sets of winter clothing and Iruka had taken one look at the insufficiently Canadian-winter-proof coat Kakashi had worn the previous day and decided to borrow him some of his own thing instead, just in case…. after all, the silver-haired man was obviously a little panicked and Iruka didn't much want them to freeze either). Then he turned to the teenagers.

"Got everything, guys? Homework and all?"

Kiba grumbled under his breath, but Naruto piped up, "I don't see why I can't just go with you."

Iruka sighed. "We've been over this, Naruto. Asuma's is at most fifty feet away. Kakashi's place is almost an hour's drive and it's on some pretty icy highway too. If, perish the thought, but we do get stuck, I don't want you stuck out there in a storm alongside us."

Naruto sighed, and then glared at Kakashi, mumbling too low for Iruka to hear but just loud enough that Kakashi caught it, "I'm pretty sure it's just because the math teacher wants no interruptions."

Kakashi weighed his options. As much as Naruto was right about him looking forward to having Iruka all alone at his place until the roads were properly cleared, he sort of felt obligated to stick up for the blond, since he had basically given him his permission to pursue his brother. Since family was so important to Iruka; that meant it would do a lot of good for him in the long run to get the blond on his side. Kakashi was pretty sure Naruto wouldn't get in the way anyways, so he cleared his throat to get Iruka's attention.

"Maybe you should let him tag along, Iruka. I don't think we'll actually get stuck—you're a pretty good driver and besides, he's not helpless." he waited with bated breath for Iruka's reaction.

"Fine." He looked up from tying his laces, "But you two had better not get into the habit of ganging up on me like this." Kakashi smiled. That sounded like possible long-term material?

"Yes!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air and ran upstairs to grab a change of clothes. "No crazy pregnant cousins!"

Kiba grumbled to himself. "Lucky you."

…..0…0…0…..

Once they'd seen Kiba safely next door and were well on their way through to Kakashi's place, he began to tell them all about his family home. How they'd owned the land for generations, how his parents had built up their own businesses, how his neighbor, Hiashi, now rented his barn space and pasture to breed and train thoroughbred race horses, how he had a whole pack of eight dogs. He even showed off the scar he usually hid under the long fringe of his bangs over his left eye that he'd gotten when his tire swing had broken off and hit him in the face as a preteen, nearly blinding him. He told them how his friend, Obito had been hit in the head by the falling branch too and had been in a coma ever since.

Kakashi was nervous, which was probably why he was talking so much, he figured. Gai, the gym teacher at the high school where Kakashi worked, was his only close friend since Obito and the only person (other than Hiashi's eldest daughter, who loved the dogs and came over to play with them all the time in the yard) that ever visited.

He hoped he wasn't talking too much, or scaring Iruka off, but when Iruka looked at him indulgently, obviously sensing his nervousness and reaching over to squeeze his hand quickly, he breathed an internal sigh of relief. Social aptitude really wasn't his forte…. he was glad Iruka was patient. Then again, the man worked with children a lot younger than Kakashi's own, more independent students, so what else could he be?

As they neared the outskirts of the town and actually hit the highway, Iruka barely sped up, instead keeping the Jeep at a steady 75km, hoping to keep the SUV from slipping on the treacherous road. During the last leg of their drive, he kept his fog lights on in addition to the high beams and his wipers were working madly to keep the windshield clear. He knew the four-wheel drive was working overtime and the defog and heater were going full-blast.

Kakashi continued to share stories, but at a slower, calming pace; telling the brothers about his mother and how she used to tell him bedtime stories about ninjas and how she had died when he was nine years old, his father following her shortly thereafter.

He told them of his year training in the army as a tribute to his father who had served as a peacekeeper before settling down with his mother and starting their security business. He told them about the orchard that grew behind his house, that had been planted there by his great grand parents and he told them about each of his dogs.

In turn, Naruto opened up more and shared with his teacher about the few years before he was adopted; how he had always been picked on for being short and how Iruka had added a wooden swing to the tree house their dad had originally built for Iruka when Naruto moved in and how Iruka used to push him on the swing every night as they talked about how his day went.

Iruka explained to Kakashi that as part of his therapy after the Mizuki incident, he had taken up martial arts and even competed. Kakashi was excited to learn this and suggested they start training together, since he'd like to get back in better shape since he hadn't done much sparring himself since his army days.

Kakashi told his student how the neighbour's daughter was about his age and how she was planning on finishing her high school degree a year early to go into the very competitive nursing program. They talked almost the whole hour-long ride and by the time they reached the crumbly stone and iron gate to Kakashi's family property, even Naruto felt like they were old friends who'd known each other forever.

"Hey, Kakashi?"

Kakashi turned round to look into the back seat.

"Sorry I caused so much trouble in school. I'll do better, I promise."

As he watched the blond fidget, he smiled and replied, "Hmmm, I don't think I'd mind you getting into trouble every now and then, because you know I'd have to call home then…. And your brother might just have to come in for a special meeting."

The blond laughed out loud as they pulled up to the house, his brother and teacher joining him as Kakashi peered out the window. "Yeah…. Any meeting with you two would be some kind of special all right."

Kakashi straightened up and said to the other two, "Well, this is it. I wonder why the front lights are on?"

Kakashi motioned for Iruka to pull into the large, open garage, then the made their way over to the front door. Kakashi made a face and motioned the other two to stay behind him as the door easily swung open, obviously unlocked.

They set their things down quietly in the hall and Kakashi made a shushing motion with his hand as the tiptoed into the mudroom towards the kitchen where the lights were on. Kakashi grabbed a broom from the mudroom on the way and brandished it like a baseball bat.

"What are you going to do with that?" Iruka hissed, "It's probably only your housekeeper."

Naruto chimed in, "You'll give the poor old lady a heart attack."

Kakashi shook his head vigorously. "She said she was at home and was only calling to make sure I had gotten home safely and taken care of the dogs."

As he pushed open the door and jumped through it with a mighty exclamation of, "Ha!" Kakashi heard a girly shriek and his eight dogs' nails scurrying across the hardwood.

He blinked owlishly and turned from side to side, surveying the kitchen. His dogs, obviously excited to see him, were now prancing around the door; trying to sniff at the two strangers behind him and there, in the corner-was his neighbour's daughter, crouched behind the table with her hands over her head.

"Hinata?" He lowered the broom slowly.

"Mr. Hatake?" She peeked out from between her fingers.

Kakashi extended his hand to her and helped her get slowly to her feet as he asked incredulously, "What are you doing here?"

"W-w-well, your housekeeper called and said you were stranded at another teacher's house and that your dogs hadn't been fed in days!" She practically wailed the last part, then took a breath and continued, "I couldn't just let them s-s-starve, Mr. Hatake, and dad has the key because of the horses and everything, so I snow-shoed over with my cousin. I didn't th-think you'd mind as long as all we did was feed them. But what are you doing home, Mr. Hatake? The housekeeper said you were panicking because you didn't think you could get home to the dogs, which is why she thought to call us."

Kakashi flushed as Iruka pushed his head into the room around Kakashi's shoulder and scolded, "You never called the housekeeper back? In the whole hour it took us to get ready to drive here?!"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It never crossed my mind?"

Iruka harrumphed and elbowed his way all the way into the kitchen. Naruto, not one to be left out, tumbled in after him and laughed as the dogs crowded around them to say hello.

Plopping himself right down on the floor, and making himself at home easily, Naruto looked up at his math teacher and grinned hugely, "I like your dogs, Kakashi!"

Hinata took one look at the noisy boy on the floor and the loud man behind her neighbour and peeped out a tiny, "Oh!"

Kakashi smiled. "Sorry, I should introduce you. Where's your cousin—you said he came with you today?"

"I-in th-the barn. He went to check on the horses before we leave."

Kakashi motioned Iruka forward and began, "All right then, we can just do another round when he gets back. The blond on the floor is Naruto. " Naruto looked up and paused playing with the dogs to salute her as Kakashi continued, wrapping his arm around Iruka's shoulders, "And this is Iruka, who was kind enough to drive me home in this awful blizzard." he squeezed gently.

Hinata nodded politely. "Guys, this is Hinata. She's my neighbour. The one whose dad I told you about that uses the stables."

Iruka smiled and extended his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Hinata."

She took his hand and smiled, "Likewise, Mr. Iruka."

"Oh, just Iruka's fine." Hinata nodded again, then a gust of wind blew through the room as the mudroom's door swung open, revealing a tall, fluffy jumble of blue winter parka.

"Neji!" Hinata squeaked, rushing to push the door shut behind him.

In the wake of the blowing snow, Kakashi tightened his grip around Iruka and Naruto huddled the smaller dogs onto his lap.

"Oi! It's cold out there!" The newcomer looked down at the indignant blond.

"You're telling me," he answered curtly as he unraveled a scarf from his face. "Who're you?"

"Neji," Hinata chastised, "They're Mr. Hatake's guests."

Neji looked at Kakashi, seeming to only take notice of him now. "You're back?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah. We just got here. Sorry you went to all the trouble of coming over."

The youth shrugged. "Uncle made me. Said to make sure the horses were settled in. I checked them last night too. This one," he indicated his cousin with an incline of his head, "insisted on checking on the mutts, even though she can't handle the walk."

At his abrasive words, Naruto looked up and ground out, "Hey, she's here, isn't she? That means she made it. You ought to be nicer to your own cousin."

Hinata regarded the boy on the floor and tinged pink. Her cousin, on the other hand, stepped forward menacingly, "Excuse me?"

Naruto jumped up and lunged towards the youth, who was at least a half a head taller than him. "You heard me, jerk face!"

Iruka went to grab Naruto, but Kakashi tightened his grip and pulled him back. Iruka looked up at him puzzled, but Kakashi just shook his head.

"Hm." Neji looked down at Naruto disdainfully.

Naruto grabbed him by the parka and growled into his face, "Excuse me."

Hinata gasped.

Iruka reached forward again, but Kakashi interrupted. "Mr. Hyuuga."

The dark-haired boy looked up. "Yes?"

It was obvious the only reason he was even being quasi-polite was because Kakashi was an adult and the owner of the house. "I would appreciate it if you were a little more considerate of my guests."

"Hm. Whatever." He shook Naruto off. "Hinata, get your coat. We're leaving."

She nodded quickly and turned to leave the room.

"Actually," Kakashi interjected coolly, "Would you like to stay for tea, Hinata? It was very kind of you to worry so about my dogs."

Neji turned to glare at the man. "I'm not staying."

Naruto glared. "Well, it's a good thing he didn't ask you then, isn't it?"

"Hm. She can't stay either. She'll never make it home alone. She'd probably freeze in the storm." He looked at his cousin with a sneer.

Naruto glanced at her, watching her face fall. Remembering getting picked on when he was a kid, he stalked over to Neji and got right up into his face. "I'll walk her home then. Or she can just stay here, away from you."

Neji turned his nose up haughtily in the air. "Suit yourselves."

…..0…0…0…..

As they sat down to tea, Kakashi turned to Hinata and apologized, "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot there like that, you really didn't have to stay."

"It's all right," Hinata stole a glance at Naruto as she peeked up from her cup, "He's angry like that all of the time, no matter what anyone does or s-s-says."

"Well that's just dumb." Naruto smiled at her. "You shouldn't let him talk to you like that, you know."

Iruka looked at Kakashi and smiled. He lowered his voice and leaned in close, "You let that happen on purpose. You knew this would happen."

Kakashi smiled and wrapped his arm around Iruka. "Someone like Naruto would be a good friend for her; she needs a boost, don't you think?" he winked, "And Neji really needs to be taken down a peg, and I figured someone like Naruto would be perfect for that."

Iruka laughed. "I can see that the boy definitely needs an attitude adjustment. And you sure know us well."

Kakashi squeezed him tighter, leaning in to kiss Iruka on the temple. "Told you I'm a genius."

Iruka laced their fingers together. "That you did."

…..0…0…0…..

After tea, Iruka decided it would be a better idea to drive Hinata home than to let her and Naruto walk in the storm, so they got back near dinner time and enjoyed the evening in front of a warm fire in the living room; with home-cooked pasta—Kakashi had a variety of sauces that he had canned himself over the summer (apparently, every summer) and they'd opened some pesto and marinara—topped with real, moist, Italian-imported mozzarella. Kakashi had teased Iruka that he didn't have the good stuff like he and his globe-trotting dad, but they shared some Irish coffees (Naruto's was hot chocolate, sans the alcohol) instead.

When it was time for bed, Kakashi showed Naruto to one of the guest rooms and walked down the hall to another empty one. He looked at Iruka and murmured lowly, "You could have this room. It's got a nice, big window and plenty of blankets."

"Or…." he tugged Iruka all the way down the hall and glanced upwards towards the third floor, "You could stay upstairs. That room has a fireplace, a huge bed…. and a built-in heater."

Iruka raised an eyebrow. "A built-in heater, hm?" he laced his fingers with Kakashi's. "I'm intrigued. How does this heater work?"

Kakashi smiled. "You cuddle it."

"I cuddle it?"

"You cuddle me."

"You?"

"Me." He arms were wrapped around Iruka now. "I come with the upstairs bedroom, and I'm very warm."

Iruka laughed. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay." he nodded, turning and pulling Kakashi after him by the hand.

Kakashi grinned. "Okay."