Leaves in the Wind

Chapter Fourteen: Beating the Bush

The door to Iruka's apartment slammed open and a frantic, dripping wet Chuunin darted in. His shirt flopped to the floor before he reached the bedroom, immediately digging for clean, dry clothing. "Never again!" Iruka shouted, yanking a new shirt over his head. "Damn it!"

Kakashi idled inward, letting unhindered water drip to the ground. He shut the door.

"If it's raining that hard," Iruka shouted from the bedroom, "I don't care if you tell me there's an invasion of missing nin. I'm not stepping outside of this apartment!"

Kakashi grinned, casually leaning against the door. He flipped his head to the side once to get sopping bangs out of his eyes. A soft knock on the door made him jump away from it. The rain had muffled the noise, so Iruka hadn't heard it over his own ranting. The Jounin sidled up to the door and pressed his ear against the wall. It was one person, light weight and timid. He peered through the peephole, and his eyebrow lifted when he found someone familiar. Kazahaya Isamu shifted from foot to foot, head bent with hands folded in front of him.

"Iruka," Kakashi called back through the apartment. Iruka danced past the door and then back out of view, attempting to pull his damp leg through a dry set of pants. Kakashi chuckled at the opportunity, and proceeded to boldly state, "We've got a visitor; put your pants back on!"

"Damn it, Kakashi!" The Chuunin stumbled down the hall, glaring at Kakashi as he went. His hair was tussled and soaked. Although he was fully clothed, it was wrinkled and slightly askew due to his haste. Without further delay, he threw his front door open, startling the man outside and making both of them pause. They stared. Iruka finally chanced an embarrassed greeting, tinged with a hint of irritation.

Isamu bowed and stepped inside, eyeing Kakashi with vague confusion and interest. He watched another drop of water roll off Kakashi's silver hair. The Jounin had a cunning, mischievous look about his features. "Ah, good afternoon…" He turned back to his host. "I am Kazahaya Isamu…I, ah, didn't mean to interrupt anything."

At that, the copy nin coughed and looked away guiltily.

"Perhaps I should come back later…"

"NO! NO! That man is a liar! Just ignore him. He doesn't merit attention." A hole was being burned through Kakashi's head as Iruka turned the infamous 'sensei-death-glare' upon him.

Isamu, taking Iruka's ruffled appearance and deep blush as a clue, decided to side with the man he'd met earlier. "Of course," Isamu said brightly.

The Chuunin twitched, noting that Isamu didn't believe a word he'd just said.

"Pleasure meeting you, Iruka-san."

"Yes. Ah, I'd like to know why you've come here if it's-"

"I'm so sorry! I should have said something at the door instead of so rudely barging in." Isamu bowed his head and his smile brightened as he heard Kakashi cough again. "Forgive me if I'm intruding into personal matters, but you shouldn't be embarrassed, Umino-san. It happens."

This was too much for Kakashi to take. He broke out into a fit of coughing, and he shook his head slowly, waving at them. "Pardon. I'm going to change my clothes. Got a bit wet, you know?" He stepped into Iruka's bedroom.

Iruka. Was. Going. To. Kill. Kakashi. As. Soon. As. Isamu-san. Was. Gone.

The two stood in silence. There was no way Iruka could talk his way out of this. Isamu appeared to have accepted the dirty, completely untrue fact and was ready to move on. "I apologize for him, Isamu-san…he's always been rude." A rude, cheating little bastard.

"It's fine! I'm quite used to it."

Kill. "About your coming here?"

"We should probably wait for your lo- friend."

At that moment, Kakashi shut the bedroom door behind him, having put on a dry Jounin uniform, and he shrugged on his vest, leaving it casually unzipped. He strolled over and wrapped a single arm over Iruka's shoulders in a friendly fashion, then leaned close to him and looked to Isamu. "Ok, I'm back." He spoke as if Iruka didn't notice this.

The Chuunin silently swore he would murder the Jounin in his sleep. Or perhaps, he'd poison Kakashi's next meal.

Isamu nodded, smoothing out the purple, crane decorated sleeves of his kimono. "I must be blunt and quick; I can't stay in the rain too long. But first, I wanted to offer my condolences in relation to your companion and teammate. I understand how hard it is to lose them." He offered them a short bow. "Also, I've come to offer information regarding Leiko Suzume."

"Leiko Suzume?"

The name had a sudden sobering affect on Kakashi, and his arm fell away from the Chuunin. He pocketed his hands. "Suzume, Suzume…" he said with a nearly sing-song lilt, and it vaguely disturbed the two men. His gaze flickered to Iruka once and back at Isamu. "I went to speak to Leiko Suzume and Kazahaya Isamu the day you were… incapacitated at my apartment." Kakashi's eye flickered over the cross-dresser, apparently deciding whether or not he was a remotely trustworthy source of information. He nodded. "I've been thinking about her. The name means 'sparrow', doesn't it?"

"Indeed. 'Arrogant sparrow'. As it turns out, I recall one incident during which the Kuro brothers revealed a jutsu they had been developing. It was a genjutsu type move that they decided to name after Suzume-chan. As to what it was capable of, they didn't say." He shook his head. "But, as I was returning a watering can to her today, I found her dead in her room."

Iruka looked dumbfounded.

"Dead?" Kakashi's eye widened slightly and then relaxed. "Not to be harsh, Isamu-san, but what condition was the body in?"

"Clean. No marks. Nothing unusual. There was a knife stuck in her kitchen ceiling, but it didn't appear to have much to do with anything." Isamu met Kakashi's eye. Concerned gold glinted in the dimmed light of Iruka's living room. "I believe it could have been something internal, but it didn't seem like poisoning. Looked like simple suffocation to me."

"It is." Kakashi nodded. "If there's a chance that the Harogami brothers were responsible, it was suffocation." He recalled the first time he'd come in contact with the Kuro brother's 'Dual Binding Suffocation'. He was able to negate it with a high powered wind jutsu. "The Kuro brothers have some ninjutsu that surrounds you with stagnate air, and it drains the oxygen. I was attacked by it myself."

Iruka's deep brown eyes flickered up to Kakashi questioningly. He filed a mental note to ask Kakashi about the confrontation later. He actually didn't know anything about the fight; only flashes of that day came to him -a dizzying moment when he was drunk, falling asleep in Amaya's arms. Then he remembered seeing the Hero Stone and touching his parents names. The next thing he could remember was days later when he awoke in the hospital with severe injuries. Iruka had made the assumption that he collected one too many blows to the head; it wasn't surprising, it'd happened to him before. The day Kakashi woke up was the last day they spoke of their friend's death. Kakashi hadn't been in much of a state to give him any details…. Since then, neither ninja had brought up the topic, easily dancing around the notion of death in their usual fashion. Iruka's thoughts were immediately distracted by their visitor's continuing explanation.

"She was a good woman, if not a little estranged." Isamu closed his eyes a moment. "I hate to deliver such news so shortly after your loss, but after you had come to question me, I thought you'd be the best to notify first. I managed to inquire on your whereabouts from a medical nin who was carting the body out of the apartment complex."

"Thanks, Isamu-san," Kakashi murmured. They all fell silent as they drank the situation in, plotting out their next moves. The Jounin needed more information. "Do you know why the Kuro siblings would target her? It's my understanding they were very close." He didn't forget the possibility that the twins could have been set up, no matter how unlikely it seemed.

"I don't know. I've been trying to digest and analyze everything I've observed from our past encounters." The man was straightening the giant ribbon that loomed behind him. "They often spoke in riddles, and they were usually pretty vague." Isamu grinned. "But that doesn't stop one's training from picking out details." There was a pause and the man laughed vibrantly at Iruka's shocked stare. "Yes! I used to be a Special Jounin years ago. Foreign forms of Genjutsu."

Kakashi kept his lazy composure. "Were you able to pick up anything more about their jutsu?"

"They favor wind and genjutsu." Isamu stuffed his hands into the opposite sleeves of his kimono. "I'm sorry, very truly…it's time I got back. If I stay much longer, I'm not sure I'll make it." He grinned beautifully and bowed to both of them. "Bid you well."

"G-goodbye…"

Kakashi lifted a hand and shut the door after the former Jounin. He paused and turned around, facing Iruka. A half-minute interval would pass between confusion and anger. This meant that Kakashi had thirty seconds during which he could either pray, run, or both. Instead, he laughed. This did not help his situation. "KAKASHI, YOU MORON!" This outburst only aided the man's laughter. Iruka proceeded to aim a fist at Kakashi's head.

The ninja's arm automatically lifted to block the attack. He suddenly flinched, feeling stitches rip in his arm. "Shit…"

Iruka's eyes widened. "Kakashi!" The Jounin deserved it, but, damn it, he didn't really mean to inflict physical pain. At least not yet. That was supposed to be saved for later when they were healed and this crisis was resolved. Iruka instinctively took Kakashi's arm and examined the broken stitches. Tekki had left a medical kit in the event they did something stupid like this. "I'm sorry!" The Chuunin dashed headlong into his bathroom, returning with a needle and thread. "Sorry…you want to do it or should I?"

Blood began to drip down the back of Kakashi's arm, lingering on his fingertips. "Here, you do it. I won't be able to get the angle of the needle right." He walked into the kitchen and ripped off a paper towel, wiping up the blood enough so they could see the wound. Kakashi rotated his elbow to the side so that the Chuunin had optimum access.

After running the thread through the eye of the needle, Iruka held his friend's arm steady. A careful first stitch was made. No shudder or movement was involuntarily given by Kakashi. As expected, the man was perfectly capable of blocking out this specific sort of pain. "Sorry…" The cord tugged at skin, making a soft zipping noise with each stitch. Iruka bent his head, quickly severed the thread with his teeth, and he observed his work with moderate satisfaction. "It will do."

"Thanks." Kakashi ran a finger over the carefully placed thread. There was an awkward moment when they locked gazes. The Jounin broke it. "I'll go place tape over it." He left the kitchen abruptly, stopping in the bathroom and coming back with a strip of white medical tape over the stitches. "Can't play rough yet," the man said with a crooked grin.

"Kakashi-san." All traces of concern vanished and the Chuunin became cross. "What the hell was going through your head when Isamu-san was knocking on my door?"

He shrugged. "You left yourself open. Old habits die hard, I suppose. A ninja sees an opening; they take it."

"That was completely uncalled for! The man thinks we're- we're-!" He couldn't bring himself to say it. And could he get any redder? No, probably not.

"Lovers?" Kakashi finished offhandedly as he threw the bloody napkin in the trashcan.

"YES!"

"The man is a transvestite. For some reason, I doubt it disturbs him."'

Iruka didn't find this to be any consolation. He jabbed a finger into the man's chest. "Well it disturbs me! I had a good reputation!"

Kakashi batted at his finger and turned his head away. "Well, that's what you get for 'loving' a free spirit, ne?"

"If you say another word, I'm going to hurt you. Wounds or not."

Kakashi laughed, and he stepped out of Iruka's range. "Oh come now, Iruka. With Isamu, it might have bettered your reputation."

Two strong hands gripped Kakashi's shoulders, and a potent 'sensei glare' directed itself at him from only a few inches away. "I'm really trying not to hurt you right now."

And for some reason, Kakashi goaded him forward. "You couldn't hurt me more than the way you handled last night." He was promptly slammed against the wall, but it only resulted in laughter.

"IDIOT!" Iruka's eye twitched.

Kakashi watched the flustered Iruka heave for a few glorious moments. Then, satisfied with the results he'd received for his brave endeavor, he backed down. "Yeah, yeah. You're right. I'm sorry." But that comment only merited him another good shaking and hit against the wall.

Iruka became still and finally released his friend, glancing over at his fridge. "Sorry. Violence isn't a solution to this sort of problem. I was reckless."

Only Iruka would have labeled the joke as a problem. Kakashi eyed him for a long moment and then shrugged it off. "You only teach children to kill, Iruka."

"Kakashi…" His voice was strained and exasperated. "I wish you'd stop talking."

The Jounin's lips made movement under the mask and then snapped shut.

"Thank you." Iruka rubbed at his temples. He was immediately hampered with guilt as he saw a brief flash of Kakashi's new stitches. One minute he fixes a wound and the next he's out to make ten of them. "I'm…going to bed."

"It's two o' clock…" Kakashi stepped away from the wall.

"Alright. I'm going to lie in bed, then." The Chuunin pressed both palms against either side of his head, groaning. He brushed past Kakashi, shuffling down his hallway. He paused at the door before entering. Kakashi could hear a brief thud as Iruka landed on his futon.

Kakashi followed after him. There was no furniture in the living room, he suddenly found the kitchen quite boring, and he didn't feel like walking in the rain again, so Iruka was an appealing choice. He sat down on his own futon set up next to the Chuunin's, and he crossed his legs. His gaze landed on Iruka.

"…Who was Leiko Suzume?"

"A very feisty woman who lived in the southern district. She was a friend of the Harogami siblings. Isamu-san was introduced to them through Tekki-san."

Iruka was staring up at his ceiling, broken arm draped over his chest, the rest of his limbs were spread out. "I see…Should Isamu-san be left alone if they're possibly going after the people they knew?"

"I wouldn't worry about him. Isamu was a special Jounin." Kakashi leaned forward on his knee, placing his chin in his hand. "If he runs into trouble, he'll find a way out easily enough. He'll come to me."

"He's a little strange…" Iruka murmured softly.

"Well, who knows what jutsu he's suffered through." Kakashi smiled, musing over it in his own mind. "It's no wonder the genjutsu specialists always retire at such an early age."

Iruka turned to look at Kakashi. "And I wonder what jutsu you've suffered through to make you the way you are." He normally wasn't so cynical, but being around Kakashi seemed to change that.

"You will never know."

"I…don't really want to know." The Chuunin buried his face in his pillow. "Mmph mrr."

"Excuse me? Didn't hear that." Kakashi leaned forward to peer down at the man.

"Nothing you needed to hear." Iruka responded testily.

"Really." Awkward silence fell once again.

Five minutes was all Iruka could handle with this man. "Kakashi, are you just going to sit there and watch me lie here?"

"Yes."

"And this entertains you?"

"I could think of other entertaining things to do." For example, his Icha Icha Violence book that was sitting with his clothing in the bathroom. He'd been saving it.

"But you're doing this instead." The Chuunin muttered, sitting up.

"Yes."

Iruka fell back dejectedly. "You're the most irritating man in existence."

Opening: "Thank you."

Kakashi wasn't an easy opponent in verbal sparing. "That wasn't a compliment." Iruka threaded his fingers through his hair, tugging at the band there. It was nearly impossible to find something that made Kakashi twitch as much as Iruka did when he was around the copy nin.

Kakashi watched Iruka's damp hair fall around his face and on the pillow. His eye looked away, and he sat up, leaning back on his palms. Their breathing matched the rain still hitting Iruka's window, a steady, rhythmic pattern of heavy to soft, in and out. Kakashi found himself pondering over when the rain would leave, but then he made the decision that he rather liked this particular storm, and he'd like it to stay. The sound had become rather comforting to him.

"Ne? Kakashi?" A tanned hand was being waved in front of him. "You there?"

Kakashi snapped back to reality, staring at Iruka's hand. The man was leaning towards him with concern in his eyes. A lock of hair slipped off Iruka's shoulder. Kakashi's eye twitched.

"Moron." Iruka rolled his eyes, sitting back again. "Go keep yourself occupied."

Oh, Kakashi was defiantly occupied at the moment. "No, I rather like it here."

"Fine, but I'm sleeping. I don't care what time it is." For the third time he fell back and this instance, he pointedly closed his eyes when his head hit the pillow. He refused to say anything else.

Kakashi attempted to divert his attention to the pictures on the walls. It landed on the dresser. A flash of Amaya laughing and cooing over pictures of a young Iruka flickered through his mind. He glanced away to the closet doors. An after image of Amaya twirled a black feather in her fingers, waving it at Kakashi playfully. His eye closed, shutting it out. He leaned his head back as he propped himself on his elbows and he looked at the window upside-down. Rain was falling upwards….

Iruka's attempt to sleep was also failing. "Kakashi, find something to DO!"

The ninja thus proceeded to twiddle his thumbs.

"Kakashi! Read your damn book! You like that sort of thing, right?" His headache was returning. Iruka moaned.

The Jounin promptly leapt to his feet. "Want some water?" He offered as a brisk pace led him to the door. His hand hovered over the doorknob.

"No." Iruka thought and then shook his head. "Yes."

Kakashi disappeared. The sound of clinking glass and running water echoed through Iruka's door. There was a moment of silence and Kakashi soon returned with two glasses of water. He set the cup in Iruka's outstretched hand and then sat down himself.

"Thanks." Iruka wanted to take a long desired nap. He mentally scoured for suggestions of what the Jounin could do in the mean time. However, as soon as a legitimate answer came to mind, Iruka dismissed it. "Kakashi, what do you want to do?" It was a simple enough question.

Kakashi flinched out of Iruka's view as one thousand things suddenly rushed through his mind at once. "Nothing really." He pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his feet, feeling almost mentally violated. Perhaps Iruka was right, he indulged in Icha Icha Paradise a bit too much, but he couldn't help but feel a small jerk of desperation inside of him. It was strange, Kakashi noted to himself. He knew it had been building for quite some time now, but he'd missed the breaking point somewhere along the line.

The Jounin's eye looked over Iruka's body, as if it could somehow answer a nagging question. Instead, he found something a bit deeper. It was intangible, really -a something that he could relate to by some deranged standard. Maybe this was the way a real friendship worked. A sort of bond formed, and then everything else just fell into place after that. It was mildly disturbing. Again, that word 'disturbing'. Iruka had used it so harshly…. Kakashi let out a deep breath and closed his eye.

"…Eh…" Well, so much for an attempt at normal conversation. It was ironic that Iruka had attempted a 'normal' conversation with Shiringan no Kakashi, but he couldn't help his optimistic side. "Stitches holding out alright?" Ah. Lame. He wanted to hit himself.

The Jounin jumped on the common, safe ground. "They're fine. You did a good job at it." It was the first time that Kakashi felt the need to indulge in small talk. He shifted, taking hold of his still full glass of water. "I'm ah… going to… bring the cups back…"

"No, just leave them." Iruka waved a hand through the air over his head, shifting to lean with his back against the wall. "You look ill." He noted. Even with a mask on, the Chuunin teacher still had some super sense that could pick up on every twitch. It obviously came with many years of practice of pinpointing lying students.

"I'm fine."

"Come here." A hand beckoned him over.

Kakashi shook his head. "No, no. I'm fine."

"Damn it Kakashi, you probably have a fever from the rain, but you're too thick to actually register it." He sighed and scooted over, sliding a hand beneath Kakashi's hitae-ate and frowning. "Well, you're a little warm, but I guess it's nothing to worry about."

Kakashi looked upwards at the arm that led to the hand that was now pressed against his head. He swallowed. "Like I said, I'm fine."

"Yeah, well you don't look fine. Lie down." Iruka gently pushed at the Jounin.

Kakashi resisted, but was suddenly pinned in place when Iruka decided that this was the way things were going to be.

The Chuunin's stare was triumphant. Finally Kakashi had done something he told him to do, AND there was a possibility the man would shut up long enough for him to sleep. "We're both injured. I know you have to be tired, even if you don't show it. Rest isn't so bad, Kakashi. You'll set a bad example for your students."

The Jounin shook his head and attempted to get up, but the Chuunin's hand lay flat against his chest. Kakashi wasn't willing to fight Iruka. "I'm fine, Iruka. I know when I've crossed my limits."

"Kakashi. Stay down and shut up." A long, horrified pause followed this. "I…I sound like Tekki…" the pressure on the Jounin's chest seemed to lighten up as the shock registered.

"Now do you understand why I'm not listening to you?"

"…I sound like Tekki-san." Iruka leaned back, shaking his head. "I'm too far gone…I'm too far gone, Kakashi…"

Kakashi slowly sat back up, noting his sore muscles as he did so. "It's fine."

Iruka really didn't know what to say after that. He could open his mouth and spout orders in exactly the same tone Tekki did or he could attempt small talk again. "I don't think the rain will let up by tomorrow." Small talk it was…

Oh god, he brought up the weather. This was hopeless. Kakashi stood up and took the glasses in his hands. "I'm going to sit in the kitchen so you can sleep." And without letting the Chuunin say otherwise, he slipped out of the room.

Iruka laid back down with a deep sigh. However, Kakashi's absence didn't have the relieving effect he had hoped it would. Instead he was left with the feeling that something had been left unsaid or unfinished. He rose, shuffling out his door, down the hall, and over to his table. It was a small shock that he found Kakashi doing dishes. There weren't many to be done, but it was the principal of the matter. "Th-thank you, Kakashi. You didn't have to do that."

The Jounin jumped slightly and turned around to see Iruka. "Uh… Oh, it's nothing I just-" decided to clean dishes? No, he was meditating…

"Is it Amaya-chan?"

"Mm? Huh?" Kakashi turned back to the sink and watched the water flow over a dish. He picked it up and scrubbed gently with a cloth.

"You're distracted. It's not…normal. For you." Iruka stepped a bit closer, unsure if he was intruding on some private thought. Kakashi always seemed distracted, but he always had his attention on things that were usually important. It just seemed different right now.

"Oh, well…" The copy nin left it at that.

Iruka sighed, lightly touching Kakashi's shoulder. "I can't really say anything to help…"

Kakashi smiled at him over his shoulder. The action caught Iruka off guard. "Oh, I know." The Jounin made no move to shrug Iruka off, only went back to his work.

The Chuunin tugged on a lock of hair with his free hand. "Kakashi…" But the man just let his name hang in the air for Iruka to toy with. The teacher automatically leaned forward. "Kakashi?"

Kakashi turned off the water and tilted his head toward him. "Mm?"

The presence so close to him distanced itself. Then it returned and Kakashi found Iruka patting him on the head and ruffling his silver hair. The Chuunin had pulled on a half smile. "I can't stand seeing people close to me so down."

He turned away from the sink and instead leaned against it, laughing lightly. "I can tell."

Kakashi's hair was really, really soft…. "Here. I'll do the rest of these. You dry them, alright?"

"Ok." He looked down at Iruka for a long moment, forgetting to move.

"Neh…Kakashi?"

Kakashi blinked and shook his head quickly, sidestepping so Iruka could get at the last two plates. He nabbed up a dishtowel and quickly got to work drying the cups he'd just done.

Iruka had come to the conscious decision that this particularly nasty situation had just been solved. This lightened his spirits on a certain level, though he still felt disturbed. One plate was handed to Kakashi, then the other. His hand dipped into the water and a -thung- sound resounded from deep in the sink. Water started to seep downward slowly. At first the motion wasn't detectable, but it eventually turned into a raging whirlpool at the bottom of the sink. "The cabinet to the right of the stove. Right." The water disappeared.

Kakashi stacked the plates on top of one another and walked across to the defined cabinet. He reached up, sleeves falling to his elbows with the stretch. The dishes were placed back in order and the cabinet closed gently. "Right…done."

"Thanks." Iruka had a pleasant glow to his features now. It faded slightly as he faltered for something else to say. It was oddly difficult, talking to Kakashi. Well…no, it was always difficult. This, to the contrary, was just…awkward. Iruka did the only thing he could think of doing. He coughed.

This cough, being the secret jutsu 'kai' of all awkward situations, suddenly dispelled the moment and Kakashi laughed, shifting from side to side. It was strange, this laughter he'd been so eagerly letting go. As a ninja, he knew all too well that laughter was a sign of nervousness. He slipped out of the kitchen into the bathroom, placing a few belongings in the bag that had been left there. His clothing was still hanging up next to Iruka's. Soaked, of course. He took the bag into the room and set it next to the futon.

Kakashi jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder.

And there it stayed. Iruka just…stood there, leaning downward, with a hand on Kakashi's shoulder wondering what the hell he was doing.

Kakashi had tried so hard. Why did Iruka always have to mess everything up? He didn't move. It was like some terrible genjutsu. Both were frozen and neither dared make the next move.

"Er…." Iruka said at length.

Kakashi let out a deep breath and then turned slightly to look up at Iruka. The gaze that had turned upon the Chuunin was one that seemed to analyze him to the core. Then again, it wasn't a harsh analyzing, just a gaze that seemed to see right through to Iruka's innermost thoughts.

Iruka's face flushed bright red. He scratched at his scar with one hand, swallowing. "K-Kakashi?"

Where there should have been a response from Kakashi, the rain pounded instead. The analyzing continued for some time longer before something clicked in the glint in Kakashi's eye. It was as if he'd made up his mind, or he had found what he was looking for. Iruka found himself being drawn closer to Kakashi and the Chuunin came to his knees in front of the Jounin.

The ever constantly pounding rain seemed to recede to the back of their minds, falling to nothing but a soft hush. Kakashi leaned forward, fingers still entwined in the front of Iruka's shirt. The Chuunin's heart suddenly leapt into his throat and for a single, racing instant, he was about to push the Jounin away. The panic instantly diminished as Kakashi's lips touched his through the thin layer of a mask. Iruka let out a deep, shaking breath and his eyelids dropped to cover half of his glazed look. Inches then rested between the two as the copy nin watched Iruka's emotions fight for dominance in his expression.

Iruka's jaw finally slackened and his mouth hung open. Apparently, he had settled on 'stunned'. "K…K…Kaaa…" this was hard. "Kaaaa…"

Kakashi's hand lifted and his index finger carefully traced Iruka's tan cheek. He didn't quite realize what he was doing himself, but he just… had to do it. Just had to see what it was like, even if this was all he ever got until the day he died. If Iruka pushed him away now, he would accept defeat and continue with his life as he always had, but right now… he needed it.

"Kaaaa…" The Chuunin seemed to be struggling with himself. His hands were twitching. The one still holding onto Kakashi's shoulder tightened very slightly. His head dropped slightly in attempt to hide his betraying face, but his chin was tilted upwards and their gaze locked. The Jounin wouldn't let him hide; the man wanted to know something. "Kakashi-" at finding the name, he paused for breath. "W-what-?" He swallowed hard, raising his other hand. It stopped in midair.

Kakashi gulped, a lost, hurt glint in his eye. "I…don't know…" he whispered.

Iruka closed his eyes, instinctively licking his dry lips. "It-" He felt Kakashi's fingers thread through his hair once. "Idiot Jounin…" Iruka's fingers were curling into Kakashi's shirt, and another hand brushed against the soft fabric that lined Kakashi's face. "….moron…" Iruka disregarded common sense and hooked a finger over the rim of fabric.

Kakashi moved into the touch.

Enough said. Iruka timidly peeled the fabric away. His eyes opened slowly and landed on Kakashi's unobstructed face for the first time. His fingertips trailed across the soft skin of the man's jaw line, then trailed across pink lips, lingering before trailing longingly to the base of Kakashi's neck. Again, he swallowed and could only stare for a moment. "I shouldn't…" He bit his bottom lip, but made no effort to move away. In fact, he merely leaned forward, pressing his nose against Kakashi's and eyes closed. The Jounin was so warm…

Kakashi tilted his head, and their lips grazed together once. It was as if a drop of water suddenly touched the dry tongue of a dying man. Kakashi pulled Iruka closer, hand slipping to the back of his neck, locking. What they had expected to be just an experiment of boundaries quickly escalated into a project as they became more entwined in each other, passion increasing with each second that ticked by.

Iruka frantically made a fist over the cloth of Kakashi's shirt, twisting the threads around his fingers. The Chuunin tried keeping a level head but found his efforts futile. He felt the sheets press to his back as he was gently guided by Kakashi. His clamped hand pulled downward, pressing their heaving chests together. Iruka felt as though he was trespassing on some forbidden grounds, as if he was breaking some unspoken law, but he wouldn't -couldn't- stop himself from begging for more. "Kakashi…" Iruka breathed against the man's mouth. "I think-"

"Don't," the Jounin warned him. "Trust me; you won't want to." He kissed him once again, hand trailing down Iruka's arm. "Calm down," his breathy whispers were hot against Iruka's skin. "Shh, shh. You're tensing up." A hand returned to Iruka's neck and pressed down on a bundle of nerves.

Iruka gasped, tilting his head back against Kakashi's hand. It felt as though he'd been dunked in hot water, and the tension faded away immediately. "I have a feeling I'm going to…going to kill you….later." The Chuunin sighed deeply, attempting to slow his pace. "You realize how-" their lips met in small kisses as Iruka spoke, "-undeniably-" another, "-wrong-" again, "-this is?"

"Hardly," Kakashi's breath fluttered. Their eyes met, bodies pressed together, and hearts pounding. Kakashi leaned in once more, the feeling of his kiss lingering as he pulled back for what would be the final time. The rain faded back into their minds as they both caught their first grip on reality. It was as though they'd discovered a new, heavy drug.

And though neither would admit it, with a single sample, they were addicted.

God, it felt so good.