Author's Notes: The end of this chapter makes me smile. I hope it will make you, too! Naruto and characters belong to Masashi.

After their brief but brutal sparring match, Genma dragged Iruka out to the Sharpened Shuriken, where he knew the others had moved the party to. The pair stumbled into the bar, soaking wet and laughing, and made their way to where Raido was sitting, wedged between Asuma and Kakashi. Ibiki was beside Asuma, and across from them were Hayate and Anko. Genma put himself beside Kakashi, and the only place Iruka could fit at the table was between the young torture specialist and the coughing swordsman.

The drinks flowed freely, and all the older men at the table noticed a new lightness in Genma that hadn't been there before. Raido caught his friend's gaze lingering on Iruka for longer than usual, and a wolfish grin passed over his lips. When he caught Gen's eye he jerked his head toward their young companion and raised an eyebrow in question. Genma shook his head slightly and shrugged, not giving anything away. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing to give away as he hadn't said anything to Iruka about his feelings, but he knew that Raido would think that the fact that he had realized the bigger man had been right would be a development worth talking about.

The whole speechless exchange lasted a mere moment, and the only person who noticed was Kakashi.

Hours passed and alcohol was consumed in less copious amounts than one would expect but even so, the conversation at the table had taken some interesting turns. Iruka, Anko, and Hayate had been made the brunt end of many jokes (usually told by Asuma) as they were the three youngest until Anko pointed out that Ibiki, Asuma and Kakashi were all only three years older than her. The talk of age gaps somehow turned into how old they all were when they first experienced certain things. Kakashi had made his first kill at six, the first time Genma left Fire Country somehow wasn't until he was fifteen, Hayate had his first alcoholic beverage and eleven. Then, it turned from 'whats' to 'whos'. Ibiki's first crush had been Shizune, before she'd left Fire Country with that crazy Sannin lady, Tsunade. Iruka's very first friend had been Mizuki. It had been the old fishmonger down at the market that had taught Asuma to smoke when he was twelve. Ibiki noticed with interest that any time Iruka offered up an answer, Genma seemed to pay special attention to it.

"Hey Iiiiru-kun," Anko slurred, drawing out the sound of Iruka's name to an impossible length, "Who was your first kiss?"

Genma laughed and leaned in closer to the table. They'd never talked about Iruka's love life before, even with all those dates the blond man used to set up for him. He was thoroughly surprised to see Iruka blushing heavily, his ears and neck turning a couple shades redder than the flush that covered his cheeks. "I, um, I've never, I mean I don't," the teen stuttered.

"Whaaaaaat?!" Anko shrieked. "You mean you've never kissed anyone? Ever? You're seventeen! And you're cute! What gives, Ru?"

"You mean you never kissed any of those girls I set you up with?" Genma asked in amused surprise, talking over the shrill sound of Anko's voice. "None? Come on kid, not even Ayame? But she's so cute, and right around your age!"

Iruka's blush deepened and he rubbed furiously at his scar. "Well I, it never, we just didn't, it wasn't like," he was tripping over his words and his embarrassment had become so obvious, so big, that it had almost turned into a tangible thing. The others could feel it on their faces, could almost taste it in the back of their throats. Then Iruka grabbed the nearest drink (a bottle of some expensive, imported brew that Ibiki had been nursing for the past hour) and downed it in one go before excusing himself from the table and hurrying to the bar, blushing even more than he had been a moment ago.

"Good one," Hayate murmured as he swatted Anko over the head with a napkin. The others watched Iruka go with amused expressions before sharing a look with each other and then turning cheshire cat-esque grins on Genma. "Well, aren't you gonna go after him?" Raido asked as he prodded Genma's shin with his foot.

"Yeah, and tell him about how eager you are to be his first kiss?" Asuma added, laughing at Genma's blush. It was almost as vivid as Iruka's had been.

"Okay, okay," Genma muttered as he stood, "but if he doesn't want to come back I'm blaming you guys."

"And going home with him," Ibiki murmured, almost inaudibly. Asuma snorted and covered it by taking a swig from his drink.

Genma didn't respond to any of them as he turned and headed to where he saw Iruka posted up against the bar. Iruka turned and watched him as he walked over, his face still red. Genma grinned his usual grin and the younger man relaxed a bit, then smiled softly. "If you're gonna rib me about being unkissed, stop right there," his voice was serious, but his eyes were playful.

Genma leaned against the bar beside him and hailed for a drink, then laughed. "Nah kid, I don't want to embarrass you. I came over here to make sure you weren't pissed or anything."

Iruka leaned against Genma's shoulder, as he often did if he was contemplating something or seeking comfort. Then he smiled up at him through his lashes and took a sip from Genma's beer. "So you don't think I'm lame for being completely virginal?" he laughed.

"No way man, and the others don't either. We were just surprised," he answered as he grabbed his beer back. "But I won't blame you if ya wanna get outta here. They're all sorta assholish when they're drunk."

The younger of the two mulled the idea over for a bit before giving his single shoulder shrug. "Wanna go grab some dinner?"

The blond nodded and grinned, then downed the rest of his drink and led Iruka towards the door. Raido watched from across the floor with a grin on his face and a glint in his eye.

At Iruka's request, Genma had led the way to Ichiraku Ramen, but all through dinner he had felt eyes on his back. He'd searched and prodded with his chakra for anything threatening or unordinary, but he couldn't pick anything up. Iruka didn't seem to notice anything as he sat beside Genma, which was interesting because Genma knew someone was watching them, but the only person who was ever able to slip by the Chuunin's almost paranoid defences was...

Raido.

Genma almost groaned. He should have known Rai would follow them. He was nosy, had little understanding of the term "privacy", and loved meddling in Genma's affairs of the heart. But the blond tokujo didn't want assistance this time. He didn't need a wingman, and he shuddered at the thought of Iruka finding out they were being watched. Although the larger tokujo could always sneak up on the younger man, the longer he hung around the more likely it was that Iruka would notice his presence. They needed to get out of there and ditch Rai, and quickly.

Genma threw a few dozen Ryo on the table and stood, stretching. "Lets get outta here. Wanna take a walk?"

"It's still pouring," Iruka responded around a mouthful of noodles, his eyebrow arched in surprise. "You hate getting your vest wet."

"It's no big deal. Its still damp from sparring anyway. C'mon," Genma prodded, shuffling on his feet in a faked show of restlessness. "Might as well make use of the cool weather while it lasts, ne? It'll probably be too hot to leave the house tomorrow."

Iruka studied Genma for a moment before shrugging and standing. He pushed Genma's money back across the counter at him, replacing the bills with some from his own wallet, and then ducked out of the ramen stand before Genma could argue. Genma followed him out, but paused just under the fabric overhang. He looked around. The sun had set already, and the only light on the street was the soft glow coming from various food shacks. Iruka was already up the block, walking at a leisurely pace despite the onslaught of raindrops. Genma gnawed on his senbon before hissing, "Get lost Rai." He didn't know where his friend was, but he knew Raido would hear him. Then he took off at a trot to catch up to his Chuunin.

They wandered through the village, stopping at Anko's favourite Dango shack. Before Iruka could purchase himself any of the treat though, Genma pushed them onward. They stopped at the DVD rental shop and contemplated picking up a movie to watch at Iruka's apartment later, but before they'd been able to decide on something Genma had insisted that they leave. Genma dragged Iruka through the night market that the civilians set up during the summer months. Strings of lights and paper lanterns were strung up between the booths, and huge tarps and pieces of canvas had been draped over the whole area so that the stall-keepers could stay open during the rain. It wasn't cold after all, just wet, and the rain wasn't enough to keep ninja away from the sale of handmade trinkets. Iruka had wanted to buy a wind chime, but Genma pulled him away from the stall. There was another stall a block or so down selling antique senbon, and even though there had been a gleam of excitement in the blond tokujo's eyes, he'd insisted they move on before he could buy himself a set. Soon Genma had given up on moving erratically through the market and took off at a run toward the outskirts of the village. He had tried everything to lose Raido, zigzagging through areas where he knew it'd be difficult of his friend pick out his chakra, but it'd been useless. Now he was moving at a breakneck pace, hoping to outrun Raido.

Iruka trailed behind Genma, having given up on questioning his strange behaviour about an hour ago. When Genma finally stopped for breath, they were hanging out by the fence containing the Forest of Death. Iruka flopped down on the exposed root of a large tree and adjusted his leg wrappings. "So what are we running from?" He asked.

"Nothing!" Genma sputtered as he scanned the area for any sign of Raido. "I'm just feeling restless tonight. Short attention span. You know me!"

The young brunet leaned back against the tree and smirked as he watched his friend. "Come sit. You look pretty frazzled."

Genma obeyed absentmindedly, his eyes still searching the canopy, his chakra still prodding at their environment. He seated himself on the wet ground by Iruka's feet, his head resting against the teen's knee. Iruka gazed down at his friend, a grin on his face, mischief in his eyes. "Don't you want to know why I never kissed any of those girls?"

Genma's gaze shot up and locked on Iruka's face. "Where did that come from?"

"You're usually so curious," Iruka said, laughter around the edges of his words, "But you haven't tried to ask me why I never kissed them."

"Okay," the blond responded as he twisted his torso to face his friend, his attention falling away from looking for Raido. "Why didn't you ever kiss any of those girls?"

Iruka's grin became that of one watching hours of plotting come to a head. "Because I've had my eyes on someone for a while now, and I've been waiting for them to make a move."

Genma felt a drop in his stomach and tried not to look crestfallen. Iruka had eyes for someone? Why hadn't he known? He didn't stand a chance of being more than Iruka's friend if the boy already had someone in mind. "Really?" he asked, forcing his eyebrow to cock up and a leer to cross his face. "Who's the lucky lady?"

"Not a lady," Iruka replied, his eyes glittering with mirth. "More of a gentleman."

Genma wanted to bash his face against the tree. Iruka liked guys, and he'd missed his chance. Great. Fantastic. Wonderful. And then a shiver went up his spine. What if Iruka had the hots for Mizuki? They had been spending a lot of time together recently. Genma had a hard enough time with Iruka just being friends with that weirdo; if Iruka wanted to date him, Genma didn't know if he'd be able to sit back and watch. He would let Iruka go without a word to any man Iruka wanted, but not Mizuki. Anybody except Mizuki.

"Well, aren't you gonna take a guess at who he is?"

"I haven't a clue, kid," Genma replied, having a hard time keeping his voice it's usual playful tone. He was terrified it was Mizuki.

Iruka heaved a heavy sigh and slid off the root to sit in the mud beside Genma. "Wanna hint?"

"No, just tell me."

And then Iruka laughed. His laugh was loud and sweet and Genma loved it, and hated that he loved it. That laugh was for some other guy, and that made his stomach twist in a funny way. But then Iruka wasn't laughing anymore and all of a sudden his hands were on Genma's face, his eyes were boring into Genma's eyes, and the grin was replaced by the softest smile Genma had ever seen on the boy's face. Iruka dropped a small, barely there kiss on the tip of his friend's nose, and then followed that up with a small, barely there kiss on his lips. Iruka's hands fell away and he leaned back against the tree, grinning at the stunned expression on Genma's pale face. And then he murmured, "Don't worry, Raido stopped following us as soon as we got into the heavy brush. I didn't want him to know what was on my mind before you did."

Genma was moving before he really realized it. He was relieved, so very relieved. His fingers wove into Iruka's ponytail and his lips were pushed against the teen's in a more proper kiss. It was chaste and gentle, but lingering, and when Genma finally pulled away he was sort of breathless. A blush stained Iruka's cheeks and his eyes were wide, but he was smiling. "I've been chasing after you for months, Baka, waiting for you to see me."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Genma whispered, his lips still so close to Iruka's that when either one spoke they were practically kissing again.

"Because you didn't know you liked me yet. But you knew today. I saw it at the lake."

"You did?"

Iruka kissed him softly again, and Genma's stomach was rolling with nervous excitement. His breath caught in this throat and his heart fluttered in his chest, and he couldn't figure out why he was reacting this way to a close mouthed kiss. "Lets go home and watch a movie, kay?" Iruka whispered against the skin of Genma's jaw. "I'm getting cold and my trap won't hold Rai for much longer."

Genma laughed and stood, pulling the younger shinobi up with him. "Sounds like a plan," he murmured as he brushed mud off Iruka's pants and vest. "You know," he mused as he jumped into the trees and took off through the branches in the direction of Iruka's apartment, "This is exactly how the guys said the night would end."

"I know," Iruka laughed as he jumped ahead of the tokujo. "Everyone knew except you, Gen. We were all just waiting for you to catch up."

Genma usually hated being the last to know anything. He hated when his friends kept trivial secrets from him. He hated being out of any sort of knowledge loop. But as Iruka looked over his shoulder and winked, then zipped ahead through rain that would normally piss Genma off, he didn't mind so much. Not knowing had actually worked out rather well for him that evening.