Chapter 6

Iruka shifted nervously from one foot of the other, his hands clasped behind his back. He frowned at the floor, lost in thought. Every now and then, Kakashi would give him a worried glance, but quickly go back to staring out the window. They were in Tsunade's office, waiting.

It had been nearly two hours since they'd last seen the Hokage. The moment they'd arrived at her office, she'd swept them. When she'd collected the sample of blood from Iruka, Tsunade had disappeared in a flash. Neither Iruka nor Kakashi had spoken to her at all during the short encounter. There had been no reason to. Iruka had already filled her in on his symptoms and she was too worried about getting the tests done as soon as possible to inquire about any changes.

"What is taking so long?" Kakashi grumbled, leaning his forehead against the windowpane.

"I'm sure that the test takes a while to complete, even if Tsunade-sama does it herself," Iruka replied quietly.

Looking over at his lover, Kakashi sighed softly and walked to him, embracing the teacher. He laid his chin on the top of Iruka's head, his arms clutching the broad shoulders tightly.

"How are you feeling?" the Jounin asked.

Iruka shrugged in his grasp.

"Nervous," he said with all honesty.

"Me, too."

Lowering his head, Kakashi softly kissed his lover's lips, the pressure sweet and loving. Iruka's hands slowly made their way up Kakashi's back, tracing his spine. The Jounin shivered slightly as the teacher started to circle his hands over Kakashi's shoulder blades. They bumped foreheads, smiling at each other. Kakashi massaged Iruka's hips lovingly.

The door suddenly clicked open and Tsunade strolled in, closing the door behind her. Both Iruka and Kakashi looked up, eyeing the folder she held in one hand. Their gazes followed as she went over to her desk and sat down, motioning for them to approach. Iruka glanced at Kakashi nervously, but was reassured when the Jounin took his hand and squeezed it.

Leaning forward on her desk, Tsunade studied the two shinobi carefully, noticing the sweet exchange. Slowly, she opened the file and glanced down at it, rereading the results.

Iruka's stomach clenched as the Hokage looked down at the papers. Every moment that passed, he grew more worried, his stares turning from ones of nervousness to anxious. He felt Kakashi's arm wrap around his waist comfortingly and Iruka leaned into his lover, closing his eyes momentarily.

He and Kakashi had wanted another child since Iruka had returned to Konoha. Male pregnancies, they had discovered, didn't take as often as they did with a female so they had patiently waited, relishing in each other's company as well as that of their son. They had been happy, but now that there was a possibility of another child, it filled their thoughts.

"Well," Tsunade said slowly.

Iruka unsheathed his claws, careful not to dig them into Kakashi's flesh. He gritted his teeth. The wait was excruciating.

"Congratulations, you are having a baby!"

The astonished teacher nearly collapsed into his lover's arms. He turned to Kakashi in total shock, clutching the Jounin's shirt. Kakashi beamed down at him, one of his hands snaking around to gently rub Iruka's pelvis. Burying his face in the crook of Kakashi's neck, Iruka took a deep breath. Slowly, his mouth turned up into a smile and he shook with happiness.

"You're three weeks along so I will be prescribing supplements and an extremely healthy diet. No ramen with Naruto for you, alright?" Tsunade laughed.

Iruka nodded into Kakashi's shoulder, too excited to turn around and face his Hokage. Tsunade exchanged an amused glance with Kakashi.

"I'll go get the prescription filled," Tsunade murmured as she slipped out the door.

Finally pulling away from his lover, Iruka glanced up at Kakashi's ecstatic face. Neither of them could stop smiling as Kakashi pulled down his mask and they gently kissed. Need rose in the Jounin and he licked at Iruka's lips, pushing his tongue in when the teacher let him. Stroking his tongue along Kakashi's, Iruka grabbed his lover's arms tightly, pulling their hips flush against each other's. Kakashi grinned and removed his hand from Iruka's torso, reaching around to grab his ass. Yelping into the kiss, Iruka groaned when he felt the strong hand rubbing his backside, the fingers gripping tightly.

"Did the thought of knocking me up make you horny or something?" Iruka laughed.

"Just happy," Kakashi snickered.

Kneeling down, Kakashi wrapped his arms around the back of Iruka's legs, one hand still resting casually on his lover's ass. He lifted Iruka's shirt just a little and kissed the tanned skin just above the waistline of his pants. Iruka gazed down at his lover and ran his fingers through the wild white hair. He hummed happily as Kakashi stared to whisper incoherent things to his stomach.

"Iruka?" Kakashi murmured, turning his gaze up at Iruka's.

"Yeah, Kashi?"

"I'm going to ask Tsunade if I can be excused for any hard or dangerous missions from now on," the Jounin replied, resting his chin on his lover's stomach.

"Are you sure, Kashi? You're a very important Jounin," Iruka said.

Kakashi smiled at up him and kissed Iruka's abdomen again, rubbing the skin softly.

"We're not going to be apart this time," he murmured. "We'll experience it together. That's what I want."

"I can't argue with that, can I?" Iruka laughed.

"Nope."

A few moments later, Tsunade returned with the pills for Iruka. She smiled when she saw the couple.

"I can't tell whether you're getting acquainted or something more sinister," she teased as she handed the bottle of pills out the Iruka.

The teacher blushed and Kakashi rolled his eyes, standing up.

"I would like to do a physical exam, if that's alright with you, Iruka," she continued.

Iruka nodded and pecked Kakashi on the cheek before turning to follow Tsunade. She led him into a room that was just off of her office. It was set up with an examination table, a desk, and a few pieces of equipment that Iruka didn't recognize. He sat up on the table and laid down as she instructed, lifting up his shirt. Lightly pressing his lower stomach, she felt the slightly tense skin and smiled at him. Iruka shivered slightly when she laid a stethoscope against his stomach, listening. She nodded to herself and shot him another smile. A few more things and she was done, telling him to sit up. Pulling up the desk chair next to the examination table, she took a seat.

"So Kakashi is going to semi-retire for now?" Tsunade asked.

"I guess you could say that," Iruka replied. "He said he was going to ask to be excluded from any missions that could be considered dangerous."

"After what happened with Asuma's death and the fact that you were missing when Shinobu was born, I can't blame him for wanting to stick close to home. As well, I feel that it would be the best for you," Tsunade said.

"For me?" Iruka asked.

"I can't really let a pregnant Ookami wander around by himself, even with Himura in custody. There are still hunters out there that would love to get their hands on you. At the same time, I don't want to add any stress or the like by giving you ANBU bodyguards when the father of your baby is a former ANBU himself," Tsunade explained.

"I'd feel better with Kakashi around rather than another shinobi," Iruka admitted.

"My point exactly. Kakashi is like a calming agent for you and you'll need to avoid stress as much as possible for the next eight months or so, especially after you start to show. I'm assuming that you're going to try and keep it under wraps as long as possible."

"Kakashi and I talked about it last night and we agreed that it was for the best to not let the public know until I get to the point where I can't hide it. We'll tell our closest friends and the other Ookami, of course, but we also want to avoid as many external issues as possible."

"The three of us are all on the same page then," Tsunade said, smiling.

Standing, she walked over to Iruka and hugged him tightly. Iruka grinned and hugged back.

"I'm so happy for you both," she said as she pulled back. "I know you've both wanted this for a while."

"Since I came home," Iruka replied, wiping away a small tear.

"Come on. Let's get back to that pain in the ass father," Tsunade teased.

Kakashi was waiting for them in the office, sitting on the couch. When they reentered the room, he quick stood up and embraced his lover. Tsunade chuckled at the protective attitude that the Jounin was displaying.

"Go on. You have family to tell," she laughed.

The couple quickly left, Iruka practically dragging Kakashi behind him. People turned to stare at them as they jogged through the streets, Kakashi quietly pleading for Iruka to slow down. They made it to the Hatake compound in almost record time. Neji was the first one to see them.

After breakfast, Gaara had taken Sayuri for the morning, allowing his exhausted lover time to himself. Neji had been sitting on the front steps, enjoying the quiet morning when he saw Iruka and Kakashi approaching. As soon as he did, he knew what had happened.

Leaping up, he ran over to them and hugged his cousin. The two Ookami rocked back and forth, grinning widely. Kakashi watched them, his attention diverted only when he saw red on the edge of his vision. Gaara came over to them, Sayuri in his arms. He frowned at Kakashi who smiled in return.

"What's going on?" Gaara asked.

"We'll explain. Come on, Iru. We should go inside," Kakashi said.

The Ookami cousins nodded and made their way into the house. Gaara followed them, walking much slower than the Konoha Jounin, who stuck as close to his lover as possible. The Kazekage recognized the protective streak, as he had it as well, but said nothing.

The rest of the family was in the living room, sipping tea. They all looked up when Iruka and Neji walked in, a bit surprised at the thrilled looks that covered the two Umino Ookamis' faces as they stopped in the doorway. Kakashi wrapped his arms around Iruka's waist, pulling his lover against him. Iruka rested the back of his head on Kakashi's chest and, reaching down, covered Kakashi's hands with his. They rested just over his lower abdomen.

"We have happy news," Iruka said.

Kakashi motioned to Shinobu before nuzzling his masked face against his lover's neck. Frowning in confusion, the white-haired seven-year-old trotted over to his fathers, standing next to them. Iruka glanced down at him and, revealing his tail, wrapped it around Shinobu's.

"So? What's the news?" Rei asked impatiently.

"Sayuri here has only eight months or so left of being the youngest Ookami," Iruka laughed.