I Would Never Have Asked Part 6
The story continues, with a date, wooo! And waste of money on ignored entertainment. *giggles* No smut, this chapter. As in... it'll be next.
Iruka was oddly nervous as he got ready for his first ‘date’ with his new lover. The few days after their first ‘session’ had gone by fast, as Iruka found himself busy with work and Kakashi wound up getting called out again sooner than expected. They spoke a few times in passing, stole a couple of moments for conversation and a kiss at the Academy, and then agreed upon a Friday night date.
The sensei was determined that his relationship with Kakashi be something more than just that of dominant and submissive partners. He’d tried that before, and it hadn’t worked for him, from either side. He was determined, now, to make things work, and to do so, he needed to prove to Kakashi that they could just have fun together like they always had, without taking a step back from the closer intimacy now between them.
Kakashi was even more nervous, and it was all Tsunade’s fault.
The entertainment of the night was a play, put on by the Fire Country Theater Society. They were even headed out of Konoha for it, into the city, which had of course required special permission.
Iruka’s request had been granted immediately, as he’d expected. Of course, Konoha wasn’t going to miss one chuunin schoolteacher from among her defenders horribly much, so it had never been hard for him to get such permission to go places, as long as his schedule permitted it.
Kakashi’s form had to go across Tsunade’s desk itself, and after she approved it, she had arched an eyebrow at him, connecting the dots between a changed mission room schedule, this new request, and Iruka’s missed day of work. “So, how are things going with the Sensei?” she asked lightly.
Kakashi hadn’t realized, when he was instructed to only call Iruka ‘Sensei’ during a scene, that it would affect him now every time he heard the title. He had to remind himself he was talking to Tsunade, and if he wasn’t his usual droll self, she’d worry about him. “Wouldn’t you love to know?” he teased, winking at her.
She leaned forward over the desk, bosom in great danger of spilling out, and grabbed hold of his hand, closing it over the stamped form she’d given him proving he had permission to leave. “Tell me how things are going, or I’ll find an ‘emergency’ that requires you to stay.” Her voice was flat, missing the teasing he’d thought was going on here.
Kakashi swallowed, hard. “G…great, Hokage-sama. He’s a good guy. This is… our first real date, though, so honestly I don’t know to tell you more than that.”
The Hokage settled back in her chair, which forced Kakashi to lean over her desk, with the hold she had on his hand. He knew better than to jerk away, as her grip could become crushing in an instant, with a simple application of chakra. He simply waited for whatever she had to say, and when she did speak, the words were so low he could barely hear. “If you’re playing the games I think you are, Kakashi, be careful. If he can help you, that’s great, but too many of my shinobi get themselves hurt that way.”
It was of course a bit of a challenge to get his eye to actually come up to meet her face, since his position made the single gray orb naturally want to be pointed down her shirt, investigating that little bit of nipple that was just visible. He did it, though, finally, and what he saw there was serious concern. He gave her a reassuring smile, agreed to be careful, and that was the end of it.
Until the night of the date, when he waited for Iruka outside the theater, this time with a little box of truffles in his hands. He’d debated flowers, but then you had to worry about those little intricacies of flower language, and he didn’t feel quite like making himself more nervous that he might fuck it up. So instead, there was chocolate, not the cheap kind you could buy anywhere in quantity, but a tiny box of really nice truffles that had probably cost just as much as the theater tickets Iruka had bought.
When the sensei made his own way up to the theater, his eyes lit up. First at the sight of Kakashi, dressed up a little, in nice gray slacks and a black button-up, a black silk scarf folded and draped rakishly over the eye, a mask also the same fine dark material. He looked almost debonair, Iruka thought with a smile. Then he spotted the chocolates, and he recognized the box, remembered having those truffles once before. He’d been a kid at the time, and they’d been his mother’s, and he had wolfed them down without understanding that it was possible for there to be chocolate around that wasn’t meant for him.
The memory made him smile, how upset he’d been when he found out he couldn’t afford to replace them, how his mother had laughed and let him buy her a chocolate bar with his allowance and they’d eaten it together.
“Thank you,” he said quietly, breaking himself out of his reverie and taking the precious little box. “You look nice,” he added, hoping he wouldn’t look like a complete slob walking next to Kakashi, in his best blue jeans and a dark green sweater. He’d tried to dress up more, but somehow he couldn’t seem to manage anything between blue jeans and kimono, and rather than just wear his uniform and get it over with, he’d thrown the jeans back on at the last second.
Kakashi didn’t seem to mind, as he handed the candy over and stepped close, pressed a masked kiss to the sensei’s cheek, wrapped an arm around his waist. They spoke softly for a few minutes about their plans, about their separate journeys out of Konoha, how Iruka had been delayed by a student with a family problem who had come to him for help. “I figured I would make it before you would, still, since you’re always late,” the sensei teased, his eyes sparkling.
His eye turning up in the characteristic smile, Kakashi shook his head. “Not late to dates with sexy guys like you.”
Iruka laughed, and together they made their way into the theater, he with the truffles clutched in his hands like the treasure they were, Kakashi with his arm still around his waist. When it came to hand the tickets off, Kakashi snuck a hand in Iruka’s back pocket to retrieve them before the sensei could move, which drew a blush from the younger man at the touch.
Inside the theater, they moved to the rather nice seats Iruka had gotten for them. The cost had been more than he could really afford, but he kept aside a little money to splurge on something nice once in a while, and a first date with Kakashi had seemed worth it. Now, sitting next to Kakashi and looking down at the empty stage, Iruka was glad he’d splurged, because they were very much going to enjoy this.
He’d heard of the play a couple of times before, but it was new, not one of the classics he would have been likely to see on his own. A romantic comedy of sorts.
Iruka fervently hoped Kakashi found it amusing, that they had fun, that everything went well. He had barely spent time with his new lover, so far, outside of that first day, which had been… different. Now, as just themselves, he wanted to make a good memory, to laugh together and tease each other and enjoy.
Kakashi’s arm stayed around Iruka, casually, simply moving to his shoulder now that they were in their seats. Sitting there, he mused, with his arm around Iruka and the sensei sitting with his box of sweets, he very much looked like the dominant partner in their relationship. He laughed a little at that thought, which earned him a raised eyebrow, and then whispered over to whisper in his partner’s ear. “Close your eyes, and think of how we look, right now.”
Iruka did as instructed, and found himself laughing as well, for entirely different reasons. Instead of how they looked, right now, his mind was trying to conjure up other images, involving them wearing far less clothes and a mirror, so he could see how they looked… doing other things. Pervert. You’re far bigger a pervert than he is.
Once he managed to get them in the theater together, in his mind, he couldn’t find anything funny. “Don’t get it,” he whispered back.
Which caused Kakashi to wonder what the first fit of laughter had been over, but he didn’t ask. “You know, I… um… look like the top.” He could feel the heat of a blush as he said the words, but the mask hid it, so he didn’t worry about it.
Iruka rolled his eyes as he caught on. “Don’t tell me you buy that stuff, Kashi. The way people act outside of the bedroom doesn’t tell you who does what in bed, silly. You read too much Icha Icha.”
Thanks to this little exchange, the play that Iruka had paid so much to get them nice tickets to see wound up being largely ignored by the two shinobi. Instead, what passed between them was gentle teasing and elbowing, as they made silly little comments in whispers about other theater-goers, and who likely did what to who in bed. Most of the amusement came from this one little group of young men and women sitting closer to the stage, where the game was not only who did what, but also to whom, since there was no clear sign whether these teenagers were only friends or whether there were some couples in the mix.
Afterward, they walked together, smiling and laughing still, arms linked. “Well, I can’t say much for the play, though what I saw of it seemed rather amusing, and the costumes were lush. But overall tonight has been fun, so far,” Kakashi said.
Iruka laughed. “Yeah, so much for the play. Next time we should just sit on a park bench somewhere and people-watch and save my hard-earned money.” He was smiling, though, and his eyes danced as he slid them toward Kakashi’s face. “So… are we going to head back to Konoha tonight? Or do you think you could still afford us a room after this extravagance?” He gestured with the still-unopened truffle box.
Kakashi shrugged. “Not going to buy you those every day, but the money isn’t as big a deal to me as it is to you.” He blushed a little at that, not feeling right talking about how much more he made than Iruka did. “Let’s spend the night in town, maybe even find an onsen?”
Iruka nodded. “Mm, here, I’ll show you my favorite place then, since you’re the moneybags.” He teased easily, not caring, the differences in rank and wealth not meaning anything at all to him. He let them confidently through crowded streets, resisting the urge to take to the rooftops.
Kakashi watched him curiously as they moved. Of course he knew the terrain of every part of the fire country, city and village and forest alike. But he thought of those places in terms of how to fight there, how to best defend himself and his village. Not where the nice places to stay were. “Do you spend a lot of time outside the village, Iruka?” he asked finally.
The younger man gave a little nod. “Well, it’s pretty much the only way for me to get away.” He continued to thread his way through the crowd, one hand on his box of chocolates, the other in Kakashi’s. “Think about it, Kakashi. If I’m in Konoha, I’m either working the mission desk, doing paperwork for Tsunade-sama, or at the Academy. In my own home, I’m fairly safe, because the rule is that anyone needing me leaves notes at the Academy, and they only contact me if it’s an emergency, otherwise I check them when I want to. But anything I’m out anywhere…”
He gestured to a group of little kids walking by, and gave a laugh. “You walk down a street in Konoha with me, and you’ll find yourself under attack, by those little creatures.”
Kakashi gave it a few minutes of thought, and decided that he’d flee the village more often himself if that was the case. Except you’re not normally allowed to. The village needs you.
“Oh, yeah, I could see that being a good reason to get out of town,” he replied, glad for his mask, that it hid the slight unease at the realization of how different his life was from Iruka’s. He could manage that, learn to deal with brat groupies, right?
Iruka might have noticed Kakashi’s reaction, but they were at the onsen, at the edge of town, and he opened the door for Kakashi this time, moving into the familiar atmosphere easily. He spoke softly to the owner, which left Kakashi standing and staring for a moment, catching sight of the Iruka’s urge to just take care of people again.
That’s what it is. Not some big power play, not some kinky sexual thing. He just likes to take care of people. But… tonight… I want to take care of him.
The thought stuck with Kakashi while they had a late snack, while they took had a short soak together, while they spoke and laughed and joked with each other. It was still there when they settled into their room, both wearing soft white robes, and Iruka settled into the bed, box of truffles in hand. “Come try some, Kashi,” the chuunin said, the grin on his face gleeful, almost childlike.
The tan hand opened the box slowly as Kakashi settled onto the bed, almost as if Iruka were keeping himself in suspense. Reaching in, the smiling man chose a single truffle, raised it to his lips, and took a tiny bite of the treat, an expression of bliss on his face, tongue slipping out to lick the sweetness from his lips after the bite.
Childlike was suddenly no longer the word, and Kakashi’s maskless face held a predatory smile as he leaned down to capture a taste from his lover’s lips.
Iruka was oddly nervous as he got ready for his first ‘date’ with his new lover. The few days after their first ‘session’ had gone by fast, as Iruka found himself busy with work and Kakashi wound up getting called out again sooner than expected. They spoke a few times in passing, stole a couple of moments for conversation and a kiss at the Academy, and then agreed upon a Friday night date.
The sensei was determined that his relationship with Kakashi be something more than just that of dominant and submissive partners. He’d tried that before, and it hadn’t worked for him, from either side. He was determined, now, to make things work, and to do so, he needed to prove to Kakashi that they could just have fun together like they always had, without taking a step back from the closer intimacy now between them.
Kakashi was even more nervous, and it was all Tsunade’s fault.
The entertainment of the night was a play, put on by the Fire Country Theater Society. They were even headed out of Konoha for it, into the city, which had of course required special permission.
Iruka’s request had been granted immediately, as he’d expected. Of course, Konoha wasn’t going to miss one chuunin schoolteacher from among her defenders horribly much, so it had never been hard for him to get such permission to go places, as long as his schedule permitted it.
Kakashi’s form had to go across Tsunade’s desk itself, and after she approved it, she had arched an eyebrow at him, connecting the dots between a changed mission room schedule, this new request, and Iruka’s missed day of work. “So, how are things going with the Sensei?” she asked lightly.
Kakashi hadn’t realized, when he was instructed to only call Iruka ‘Sensei’ during a scene, that it would affect him now every time he heard the title. He had to remind himself he was talking to Tsunade, and if he wasn’t his usual droll self, she’d worry about him. “Wouldn’t you love to know?” he teased, winking at her.
She leaned forward over the desk, bosom in great danger of spilling out, and grabbed hold of his hand, closing it over the stamped form she’d given him proving he had permission to leave. “Tell me how things are going, or I’ll find an ‘emergency’ that requires you to stay.” Her voice was flat, missing the teasing he’d thought was going on here.
Kakashi swallowed, hard. “G…great, Hokage-sama. He’s a good guy. This is… our first real date, though, so honestly I don’t know to tell you more than that.”
The Hokage settled back in her chair, which forced Kakashi to lean over her desk, with the hold she had on his hand. He knew better than to jerk away, as her grip could become crushing in an instant, with a simple application of chakra. He simply waited for whatever she had to say, and when she did speak, the words were so low he could barely hear. “If you’re playing the games I think you are, Kakashi, be careful. If he can help you, that’s great, but too many of my shinobi get themselves hurt that way.”
It was of course a bit of a challenge to get his eye to actually come up to meet her face, since his position made the single gray orb naturally want to be pointed down her shirt, investigating that little bit of nipple that was just visible. He did it, though, finally, and what he saw there was serious concern. He gave her a reassuring smile, agreed to be careful, and that was the end of it.
Until the night of the date, when he waited for Iruka outside the theater, this time with a little box of truffles in his hands. He’d debated flowers, but then you had to worry about those little intricacies of flower language, and he didn’t feel quite like making himself more nervous that he might fuck it up. So instead, there was chocolate, not the cheap kind you could buy anywhere in quantity, but a tiny box of really nice truffles that had probably cost just as much as the theater tickets Iruka had bought.
When the sensei made his own way up to the theater, his eyes lit up. First at the sight of Kakashi, dressed up a little, in nice gray slacks and a black button-up, a black silk scarf folded and draped rakishly over the eye, a mask also the same fine dark material. He looked almost debonair, Iruka thought with a smile. Then he spotted the chocolates, and he recognized the box, remembered having those truffles once before. He’d been a kid at the time, and they’d been his mother’s, and he had wolfed them down without understanding that it was possible for there to be chocolate around that wasn’t meant for him.
The memory made him smile, how upset he’d been when he found out he couldn’t afford to replace them, how his mother had laughed and let him buy her a chocolate bar with his allowance and they’d eaten it together.
“Thank you,” he said quietly, breaking himself out of his reverie and taking the precious little box. “You look nice,” he added, hoping he wouldn’t look like a complete slob walking next to Kakashi, in his best blue jeans and a dark green sweater. He’d tried to dress up more, but somehow he couldn’t seem to manage anything between blue jeans and kimono, and rather than just wear his uniform and get it over with, he’d thrown the jeans back on at the last second.
Kakashi didn’t seem to mind, as he handed the candy over and stepped close, pressed a masked kiss to the sensei’s cheek, wrapped an arm around his waist. They spoke softly for a few minutes about their plans, about their separate journeys out of Konoha, how Iruka had been delayed by a student with a family problem who had come to him for help. “I figured I would make it before you would, still, since you’re always late,” the sensei teased, his eyes sparkling.
His eye turning up in the characteristic smile, Kakashi shook his head. “Not late to dates with sexy guys like you.”
Iruka laughed, and together they made their way into the theater, he with the truffles clutched in his hands like the treasure they were, Kakashi with his arm still around his waist. When it came to hand the tickets off, Kakashi snuck a hand in Iruka’s back pocket to retrieve them before the sensei could move, which drew a blush from the younger man at the touch.
Inside the theater, they moved to the rather nice seats Iruka had gotten for them. The cost had been more than he could really afford, but he kept aside a little money to splurge on something nice once in a while, and a first date with Kakashi had seemed worth it. Now, sitting next to Kakashi and looking down at the empty stage, Iruka was glad he’d splurged, because they were very much going to enjoy this.
He’d heard of the play a couple of times before, but it was new, not one of the classics he would have been likely to see on his own. A romantic comedy of sorts.
Iruka fervently hoped Kakashi found it amusing, that they had fun, that everything went well. He had barely spent time with his new lover, so far, outside of that first day, which had been… different. Now, as just themselves, he wanted to make a good memory, to laugh together and tease each other and enjoy.
Kakashi’s arm stayed around Iruka, casually, simply moving to his shoulder now that they were in their seats. Sitting there, he mused, with his arm around Iruka and the sensei sitting with his box of sweets, he very much looked like the dominant partner in their relationship. He laughed a little at that thought, which earned him a raised eyebrow, and then whispered over to whisper in his partner’s ear. “Close your eyes, and think of how we look, right now.”
Iruka did as instructed, and found himself laughing as well, for entirely different reasons. Instead of how they looked, right now, his mind was trying to conjure up other images, involving them wearing far less clothes and a mirror, so he could see how they looked… doing other things. Pervert. You’re far bigger a pervert than he is.
Once he managed to get them in the theater together, in his mind, he couldn’t find anything funny. “Don’t get it,” he whispered back.
Which caused Kakashi to wonder what the first fit of laughter had been over, but he didn’t ask. “You know, I… um… look like the top.” He could feel the heat of a blush as he said the words, but the mask hid it, so he didn’t worry about it.
Iruka rolled his eyes as he caught on. “Don’t tell me you buy that stuff, Kashi. The way people act outside of the bedroom doesn’t tell you who does what in bed, silly. You read too much Icha Icha.”
Thanks to this little exchange, the play that Iruka had paid so much to get them nice tickets to see wound up being largely ignored by the two shinobi. Instead, what passed between them was gentle teasing and elbowing, as they made silly little comments in whispers about other theater-goers, and who likely did what to who in bed. Most of the amusement came from this one little group of young men and women sitting closer to the stage, where the game was not only who did what, but also to whom, since there was no clear sign whether these teenagers were only friends or whether there were some couples in the mix.
Afterward, they walked together, smiling and laughing still, arms linked. “Well, I can’t say much for the play, though what I saw of it seemed rather amusing, and the costumes were lush. But overall tonight has been fun, so far,” Kakashi said.
Iruka laughed. “Yeah, so much for the play. Next time we should just sit on a park bench somewhere and people-watch and save my hard-earned money.” He was smiling, though, and his eyes danced as he slid them toward Kakashi’s face. “So… are we going to head back to Konoha tonight? Or do you think you could still afford us a room after this extravagance?” He gestured with the still-unopened truffle box.
Kakashi shrugged. “Not going to buy you those every day, but the money isn’t as big a deal to me as it is to you.” He blushed a little at that, not feeling right talking about how much more he made than Iruka did. “Let’s spend the night in town, maybe even find an onsen?”
Iruka nodded. “Mm, here, I’ll show you my favorite place then, since you’re the moneybags.” He teased easily, not caring, the differences in rank and wealth not meaning anything at all to him. He let them confidently through crowded streets, resisting the urge to take to the rooftops.
Kakashi watched him curiously as they moved. Of course he knew the terrain of every part of the fire country, city and village and forest alike. But he thought of those places in terms of how to fight there, how to best defend himself and his village. Not where the nice places to stay were. “Do you spend a lot of time outside the village, Iruka?” he asked finally.
The younger man gave a little nod. “Well, it’s pretty much the only way for me to get away.” He continued to thread his way through the crowd, one hand on his box of chocolates, the other in Kakashi’s. “Think about it, Kakashi. If I’m in Konoha, I’m either working the mission desk, doing paperwork for Tsunade-sama, or at the Academy. In my own home, I’m fairly safe, because the rule is that anyone needing me leaves notes at the Academy, and they only contact me if it’s an emergency, otherwise I check them when I want to. But anything I’m out anywhere…”
He gestured to a group of little kids walking by, and gave a laugh. “You walk down a street in Konoha with me, and you’ll find yourself under attack, by those little creatures.”
Kakashi gave it a few minutes of thought, and decided that he’d flee the village more often himself if that was the case. Except you’re not normally allowed to. The village needs you.
“Oh, yeah, I could see that being a good reason to get out of town,” he replied, glad for his mask, that it hid the slight unease at the realization of how different his life was from Iruka’s. He could manage that, learn to deal with brat groupies, right?
Iruka might have noticed Kakashi’s reaction, but they were at the onsen, at the edge of town, and he opened the door for Kakashi this time, moving into the familiar atmosphere easily. He spoke softly to the owner, which left Kakashi standing and staring for a moment, catching sight of the Iruka’s urge to just take care of people again.
That’s what it is. Not some big power play, not some kinky sexual thing. He just likes to take care of people. But… tonight… I want to take care of him.
The thought stuck with Kakashi while they had a late snack, while they took had a short soak together, while they spoke and laughed and joked with each other. It was still there when they settled into their room, both wearing soft white robes, and Iruka settled into the bed, box of truffles in hand. “Come try some, Kashi,” the chuunin said, the grin on his face gleeful, almost childlike.
The tan hand opened the box slowly as Kakashi settled onto the bed, almost as if Iruka were keeping himself in suspense. Reaching in, the smiling man chose a single truffle, raised it to his lips, and took a tiny bite of the treat, an expression of bliss on his face, tongue slipping out to lick the sweetness from his lips after the bite.
Childlike was suddenly no longer the word, and Kakashi’s maskless face held a predatory smile as he leaned down to capture a taste from his lover’s lips.