All right, dear readers, here's chapter 26. This is definitely a transition chapter, leading to a new phase in the story, so I apologize if it's not the most eventful part of the story. Still, I hope you'll enjoy it, as well as the taste of things to come. As usual, I thank you all for reading, and especially thank those who reviewed. All comments help! Anyway, on with the chapter!
26. Where My Love Lies Waiting Silently For Me
Kakashi Hatake sat in the main office at Konoha Middle School that Monday morning, reading one of his hentai novels – or at least attempting to. There was no one else in the office save a single, elderly secretary, who would occasionally glance up from her work and frown disapprovingly at the silver-haired man's choice of reading. Truth be told, though, Kakashi barely even noticed the woman, but only looked in her general direction every few minutes to peek at the clock on the wall.
How long does it take to do an interview, honestly?
Sure, it had only been a couple of minutes – ten to fifteen at the most – but the anticipation was killing Kakashi. He'd told Iruka this job was a sure thing, but he was not nearly as confident in his words as he would've liked. Sure, he had some connections at the middle school – Obito had taught there for a year before he died, so Kakashi always felt a sort of bond with the school. At the same time, though, Kakashi had never worked there himself, so his ties to the key authority figures were shaky at best.
Of course, there was also the problem of Iruka.
What was I thinking? I just met him… what, Saturday night? And somehow I'm supposed to get him a job? Sure, his kid is probably a student of mine, but what kind of qualification is that? 'Yes, he's perfect for the job! I met him at the bar, and his kid attends Konoha High. What's that? Can he teach? Well… he reads… I think…'
Shaking his head, Kakashi tried to distract himself by reading a few lines of the novel. It was one of his favorites, written under one of Officer Jiraiya's numerous pseudonyms, but he just couldn't get into it. His current circumstances were just too pressing to be ignored.
Why had he even agreed to help Iruka in the first place? Sure, Kakashi had sympathized with him. He knew how it felt to have your kid hate you – well, not his kid, but close enough. Sasuke could certainly be a handful at times…
That wasn't Kakashi's main motive, though, and he knew it. Maybe it was because of the conversation he had with Sasuke in the teacher's lounge – that talk about moving on and trying to love again – or maybe it was just a coincidence. Whatever the case, Kakashi had felt something for Iruka the moment he saw him. Something in the man's eyes as he sat down at the bar told Kakashi that he had seen a lot in his life – loss, hardship… things he could relate to. Of course, Iruka wasn't exactly ugly, either. That didn't hurt.
What am I thinking? I just met this guy! How desperate am I?
Glancing back up at the clock, Kakashi found it was half past seven. He was supposed to have been in class fifteen minutes ago – not that there was anything unusual about that. More importantly, Iruka had been in there talking to the principal for twenty minutes. What could possibly be taking him so long?
I don't care if it's desperation. I need to know!
Clapping his book shut, Kakashi shoved the dirty novel into his back pocket and rose from his chair, eyeing the door to Principal Koharu Utatane's office anxiously. Finally, he approached the elderly woman at the front desk, leanining on the counter in an attempt to look as casual as possible.
"Excuse me, ma'am? Do you know how much longer they're going to be in there?"
"I'm sorry, but Principal Utatane likes to examine her applicants thoroughly. She wouldn't want to let any shady characters in by our students," the woman said with a forced cough as she eyed Kakashi's novel in disgust.
"Well, I can certainly understand that. But isn't she desperate for someone to fill the position?"
"Of course she's anxious to find a new teacher as quickly as possible, but that doesn't mean she's going to just hire the first person to walk through the door," the secretary replied with a chuckle as she made a note on a pad of paper. "Why's it so important to you, anyway? Is that young man in there a friend of yours?"
"You could say that, I guess," Kakashi replied, biting his lip behind his mask.
Did I act too quickly? What if he doesn't get the job? It'll crush him… I shouldn't have promised something like that when I knew I couldn't deliver!
Suddenly, there was a faint creak. Kakashi's eyes darted to Principal Utatane's office, where he found it squeaking open. His heart stopped. Was it good news? Was it bad news? What was it?
Then he heard it – laughter. Iruka emerged from the door moments later, waving a sheet of paper triumphantly as he waved at the principal. "Thank you so much, Ms. Utatane. You won't regret this, I swear!"
"Nonsense, I'm just relieved we found such a qualified candidate so quickly. I'm sure you'll need some time to pack up your things, correct?" Utatane continued, her wrinkled eyes just barely squinting at the grinning Iruka.
"Well, yes, I guess all of my things are back in Mizu," the brunet replied with a concerned frown. "It shouldn't take me long, though. Just a few days at most…"
"Great, we'll see you next Monday, then. I already have a substitute schedule for the rest of the week," Utatane interrupted with a smile. Her face grew serious quite suddenly, however, catching the young teacher off guard. "Don't be late."
"I-I won't. Thank you again, ma'am!"
With that, Iruka rushed out of the office, nearly plowing over Kakashi, who had been waiting with his arms crossed just a few feet away. The silver-haired man looked down at his fellow teacher with one of his trademark smiles as he placed a hand on the other's shoulder. "I take it it's good news, then?"
"I got the job! Oh, thank you so much, Kakashi! I don't know how to thank you!" Iruka said, pulling the other man into a tight embrace. Moments later, he realized what exactly he was doing and quickly let go of Kakashi, scratching his head sheepishly. "S-sorry about that. I got a bit overexcited, I guess."
"No need to apologize – I'm just happy this whole thing worked out," Kakashi chuckled as he and Iruka stepped out of the office and into the main hallway. "You have no idea how nervous I was in there."
"How nervous you were? Think about how I felt!" Iruka exclaimed, causing them both to laugh wholeheartedly. Once they'd regained their composure, however, the man continued in a more somber tone, saying, "I really don't know what to say, though. If I didn't get this job…"
"Look, it's nothing really," Kakashi interrupted, patting the brunet on the back. "If you really want to make it up to me, you can meet me at dinner later this week, how about that?"
Am I serious?
"Dinner? You're serious?" Iruka asked, his eyes widening a bit.
Hastily thinking up an excuse for his little slip, Kakashi found himself laughing overenthusiastically. "Of course! We only really know each other from a few minutes at the bar, right? Might as well get to know each other, since I'm the only person you know in town. Am I wrong?"
"Well… no, not really…"
"Perfect, then! By the way, if you need any help moving in to your new apartment, just say the word. As long as it's after school, of course."
Iruka froze in his tracks, his face pale. "Apartment… I didn't even think about that! I don't even have a place to live in town!"
Kakashi sighed and shook his head, a smile hiding beneath his mask. "I should've known. Look, I know there aren't any places nearby with available rooms, but there's probably a few down on the other side of town. I'm sure you'll find one in your price range – if you don't mind a bit of a commute, that is."
Iruka looked relieved as they stepped out into the parking lot, where the sun was just poking through the clouds. "I'll start searching today. Thanks again."
"No problem. Just don't forget about our dinner, all right? I'll be expecting a call," Kakashi concluded as he waved to his friend and started for his car.
"Don't worry, I won't!" Iruka called back, heading in the opposite direction.
Kakashi watched for a moment as Iruka hopped into his car and drove away, a smile glued to his face. Once the other man was out of sight, however, the silver-haired climbed into his car and sighed.
So… I have a date – except he doesn't know it yet… I'll have to remember to thank Sasuke later…
xxxxx
Later that day, Naruto and Kiba sat in their apartment, playing Soulcalibur on their PS2. It was all for fun – a way to put off homework as long as possible without actually doing anything constructive. Shortly after Naruto's giant sword-wielding character had been knocked out of the ring, however, Kiba set his controller down, turning to his friend with a devilish smirk.
"All right – now that this whole 'I'm moving' fiasco's over with, it's time for you to fess up. What the hell happened on Friday night?"
"Come on – you already heard about it. Iruka came and started doing the laundry, and he accidentally took Sasuke's clothes, too. That's why we had to borrow yours," Naruto replied casually as he selected a new character.
"Oh, you think that's good enough?" Kiba asked, his eyes narrowing. "Here's what I want to know: why was Sasuke naked in your bed to begin with, huh?"
"He likes to sleep naked! It was raining, and I wasn't just going to kick him out in the rain…" Naruto responded hastily, avoiding his housemate's gaze.
"And I'm sure you didn't join him or anything, did you?" the dog-boy laughed, sitting back on the couch with his usual grin. "You're not fooling anyone, Naruto. I can guarantee you that Sasuke didn't decide to sleep in the buff on his own. What happened?"
Naruto returned Kiba's playful smirk with one of his own, shooting the other teen a challenging glare. "You can keep talking all you want, Kiba – you won't get it out of me."
"So that's the thanks I get for helping you out in your time of need, huh? Maybe you would've liked to have lunch with my mom in your underwear," Kiba pouted, crossing his arms in a huff.
"Come on, Kiba. Don't be like that. This is personal stuff! I don't feel comfortable discussing it," the blond returned, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Oh, like that's ever stopped you before. Remember that time you were making out with Sasuke right in front of me? Or when the two of you were getting it on in the shower?"
"We were not getting it on!" Naruto snapped, his face reddening.
Kiba waved his hand dismissively. "Close enough. The point is, you should be able to share these things with me – especially after I decided to lend the two of you a hand. But if you're gonna be all secretive all of a sudden, then I guess I'll just have to live with it."
Naruto knew Kiba was only trying to make him feel guilty. It was so painfully obvious that it was borderline disgusting. Nevertheless, the dog-boy's guilt trip was working. Kiba had helped Naruto and Sauske out the other day – he had a right to know what had happened, right?
Suddenly, Naruto had an idea. His lips curled into a malevolent smirk before he turned to Kiba, saying, "Fine then, Kiba – I'll tell you exactly what happened."
A nervous sweat forming on his brow, Kiba backed away from his friend with an uncomfortable smile. "Th-that's all right, Naruto. Just give me the gist of it…'
"No, no – I insist," the blond continued with an almost sadistic pleasure. "See, first we were just going to talk. We went by the park, walked by the river, enjoyed the view – good stuff. Then it started to rain, so we raced back here for shelter. There wasn't much food, but we both wanted dinner, so we shared some ramen. That's when the fun started."
"Naruto, honestly. I get it – sorry I asked."
"See, we started kissing, right? We fell to the floor making out, and then we decided to move things to my room. On the way back, we started taking off each other's clothes – by the time we got to my bed, we were in our underwear. Then we started to make out some more – it was delicious…"
Looking visibly uneasy Kiba, shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to avoid the looming Naruto's stare. Before he could offer any protest, however, the blond spoke up once again in a low whisper.
"Then, once we had explored each other fully and completely – Sasuke had this fixation with grabbing my ass in particular – we took things a step further. We kicked our underwear off to the side and sat there in all our glory. Then we cuddled close together, and gave each other the release we so desperately needed. I grabbed his–"
Throwing up his hands, Kiba rolled off the couch, shaking his head vigorously. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Too much information, Naruto! Not cool!"
Sitting back with a satisfied grin, Naruto gazed down at Kiba in triumph. "Are you satisfied, then?"
"Yes! Just… don't say any more! I already have the mental image of the two of you spooning burned into my mind..." Kiba muttered, shuddering in an exaggerated manner.
"Are we even, then?" the blond asked, extending a hand to his friend.
Hesitating, Kiba grasped the proffered hand and rose to his feet with a lighthearted laugh. "Yeah – we're even. I won't pressure you for any more personal details, all right?"
"And I won't scar you with the more intimate aspects of my relationship with Sasuke."
"Agreed."
Shaking hands on the subject, the two housemates sat down once again and picked up their controllers. They resumed their fight, their respective characters wailing on each other with oversized swords and hammers, before Kiba finally glanced over at Naruto, a gleam of curiosity in his eyes.
"So… was all that true, then?"
With a smirk, Naruto kept his eyes focused on the screen, where his character slashed through Kiba's multiple times with his enormous blade. "Oh yeah. That was the PG version, too."
As his character fell to a heap on the ground, Kiba shuddered. "Way too much information…"
A knock at the door put an end to Naruto's victory dance before it could even begin, causing him to drop his controller in surprise. "Oh, that must be Sasuke."
"Sasuke? You called him over, I take it?" Kiba asked as he set his own controller down. "Should I leave? Or are you gonna keep your clothes on this time?"
"He's here to help me unpack, so you're fine," Naruto replied, stepping towards the door. "There was something else I wanted to talk to him about, too. We'll be in my room if you need us."
"Got it," Kiba said with a flippant wave of his hand. He picked up his controller and proceeded to practice against the computer.
With his roommate effectively distracted by his game, Naruto turned his attention to the door, which he threw open in a flash. There, standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, was Sasuke, who looked mildly concerned.
"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke greeted as he stepped inside. "You said you needed my help with something?"
"Yeah, actually," Naruto responded, shutting the door behind the Uchiha. "It's not a big deal or anything – I just have a lot to unpack. I was hoping you could lend me a hand for a minute."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, clearly not thrilled by the proposal. "I'm here to do manual labor?"
"From what I understand, manual labor is more what you guys were doing the other night," Kiba interrupted from the sofa, making a suggestive, stroking motion with his hand.
The Uchiha balked. "He knows?"
"I might have told him about what happened. We did promise to fill him in, after all. It's only fair," Naruto admitted somewhat guiltily.
"Oh, yeah – that reminds me," Sasuke began, digging into his backpack. He soon pulled out a wrinkled set of clothes, which he tossed at Kiba's face with incredible accuracy. "Thanks for the loan."
"Hey! I was winning, you bastard!" Kiba snapped, slapping the clothes off his face. He stared in dismay as his character was repeatedly stabbed in the chest before falling off the edge. "Fucking Raphael…"
"My bad," the Uchiha said exaggeratedly before he and Naruto started down the hall for the blond's bedroom. Once they were out of earshot, he leaned into his boyfriend's ear, saying, "All right, I know you didn't ask me to come all the way over here just to unpack your stuff. What's going on?"
"Nothing! Really, I just wanted to spend some time with you, that's all."
"Tell me the truth, Naruto. I can tell you're hiding something."
He's good. I guess that's one problem with being boyfriends – you learn to see right through each other's lies…
"No! I'm serious!" Naruto insisted, waving his hands defensively. "It's just, when I thought I was going to be moving… I don't know why, but it felt like I was going to be saying goodbye forever. Right now, I feel like we dodged the bullet – but who knows when fate will send another obstacle our way? I just want us to appreciate each other's company as much as possible… just in case."
Sasuke considered this for a moment, studying the vulpine boy intently. Finally, he sighed as he pushed open the door to Naruto's room. "You're right. I guess I had a similar fear myself… it would be a waste if we didn't take advantage of this gift."
Stepping into the bedroom, Naruto paused for a moment to look around. It was barren. The shelves were empty – no photos, no random action figures, no knick knacks – and the floor was similarly bare with the exception of several cardboard boxes scattered about the room. Even the bed had been stripped of its sheets, leaving only the mattress lying on the frame. It looked almost ghostly. Only Gama remained out of the box, sitting perched on the nightstand.
I was really ready to go, wasn't I? Even before I went over to talk to Sasuke, I was convinced that this was my only option. We really are lucky…
"These are the boxes, then?" Sasuke asked, snapping Naruto out of his reverie.
"Oh, yeah. The ones on top are full of clothes – that's going to be the hard part. The others have some more junk in them. We can save those for later."
Slumping down on the floor, Sasuke grabbed the nearest box and tore open the top, taking a moment to study its contents. Finally, he pulled out a stuffed fox, which he gently tossed to his boyfriend. "I found Paul."
Catching the fox, Naruto grinned and placed it on his nightstand, situating the plushie so it faced his bed. "I forgot I put him in there! I didn't want the little guy to get crushed…"
"You must not have cared about him that much," Sasuke interjected, removing a pair of polka dot boxers from the box. "Looks like the rest of this box is full of undies."
Snatching the boxers from his boyfriend, Naruto blushed slightly. "You say that like it's a bad thing. As I recall, you didn't have much of a problem with them on Friday."
"Of course not – you weren't smothering me with them," the Uchiha replied without missing a beat as he yanked a pair of heart-patterned boxers from the box.
"Well… where would you have put him?" Naruto asked indignantly as he continued to fill his dresser with underwear. "He was the last thing I packed, and I didn't exactly have a lot of options."
"I don't know – I don't have a stuffed fox lying around in my room."
"You know what I mean, Sasuke! If you had a treasured object like Paul, wouldn't you save him for last like I did?" the blond pressed as he opened a new box. "What about your sword?"
"My sword?"
"You know – the katana your parents gave you. That's something you treasure, right? Something you'd save for last?"
Sasuke paused, not only in his speech, but in his actions as well. It was as he he'd frozen completely, having been taken completely aback by his boyfriend's questions. "I don't know. We've never had to move… I suppose I'd save it for last, though."
"Well, there you go! It's the same thing… though Paul is much easier to move than your sword, I suppose…" Naruto began, placing a hand to his chin in thought.
"What about Gama?" Sasuke asked hastily, indicating the metal frog on the nightstand. "Didn't you pack him, too?"
"No. I kept him with me. I wouldn't trust him in some box – he's too precious."
"Too bad you can't really do that with a sword," the Uchiha responded with a weak laugh. "People tend to notice when you're walking around with a katana."
Placing some shirts in another drawer, Naruto chuckled. "You have a point. I guess that would make a difference."
They were silent for a second, save for the occasional rustling as they unloaded the boxes. Naruto shot Sasuke quick, furtive glances, having noticed that something was amiss. Much to his chagrin, though, the Uchiha's eyes were devoid of any emotion – as if he'd zoned out completely.
Was it something I said? Maybe that sword's a touchy subject… what am I thinking? Of course it's a touchy subject! His parents gave it to him!
"I'm sorry, Sasuke. I should've known better," Naruto said, breaking the silence as he shoved the drawer shut.
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked, looking genuinely confused.
"The sword… I didn't mean to upset you."
Much to Naruto's surprise, the Uchiha laughed. "Upset? Is that what you thought?"
"Yeah," the blond replied, studying his boyfriend curiously. "Was I wrong?"
"No, not at all. I was actually amazed that you even remembered that sword, to be honest…"
"Then… why were you so quiet?"
"Isn't it obvious? I was honored," Sasuke said, blushing somewhat as he pulled out a pair of jeans from a new box. "I mean, you remembered that sword just because I mentioned it that one time, when I haven't even shown it to you…"
Perfect! Here's my chance! All I have to do is say it just right…
"We… could change that, you know," the blond replied tentatively. "After all, I've never even seen your room. Whenever we meet up, we always end up coming here."
The raven-haired teen paused, biting his lip nervously. "I don't know about that. I mean… Itachi–"
"Itachi doesn't scare me, Sasuke. He's seen us make out for Pete's sake. I know the two of you don't get along all that well, but we don't have to be around him. It's a big house – we can avoid him, right?"
"I still don't know, Naruto…" Sasuke replied, looking visibly torn.
All right – time to break out the big guns…
Turning to his boyfriend with his best sad puppy face, Naruto pleaded, "Come on, Sasuke. Just once, I'd like to see what your room's like. Just once."
After hesitating a few seconds more, weighing the options in his mind, Sasuke sighed. "All right, you win. I'll show you tomorrow, okay?"
"Thanks, Sasuke! This really means a lot to me," Naruto replied, embracing the Uchiha heartily.
"No… problem," Sasuke responded, gasping for breath through the blond's bear hug. "But… could you let go of me?"
"Oh, sure thing," Naruto said, releasing his boyfriend with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that."
"No problem. Just… try not to kill me in the future."
Nodding, Naruto went back to work, tossing yet another empty box onto the bed as he dug into a fresh package. Even as he focused on the task at hand, though, the blond's mind inevitably wandered back to the thought of what the next day might bring. It seemed childish, but for whatever reason finally seeing Sasuke's room meant the world to Naruto.
It's gotta be a big step for him… I doubt he ever lets anyone into his room. Maybe Shikamaru… but that's it. Now he's agreed to bring me there – I'm worthy of seeing the most intimate part of his world. He trusts me. Well, don't worry, Sasuke… I won't let you down.
And, there you have it! How will things go with Kakashi and Iruka's date? Will Naruto like what he finds in Sasuke's room? And what about Gaara's relationship with Lee - how are things developing on that end? Find out in the next installment of For Naruto, Whenever I May Find Him.