[FIC] When Words Aren't Enough - chapter 7
Title: When Words Aren’t Enough
Summary: Konoha, Center for Sight & Hearing Impaired, has always been close to Iruka and now he works there as a part-time teacher. One day he meets a strange man, Kakashi, who lost his hearing in an accident many years ago. To mix things up, Tsunade-sama has come up with a dreadful auction to increase the Center’s next year’s budget. With a dread of losing dear Konoha, everybody in the staff has to participate, even her herself.
Pairings: KakaIruKaka (and GenRai if you squint)
Rating: Fluff with a hint of angst
Disclaimer: Naruto characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, the idea for this fic spawned from Naono Bohra’s Jouzetsuna Yubi manga. Go read this awesome smutty story.
A/N: *feels miserable* I did promise a new chapter at the end of June. It took few more days than I thought. I try better next time. -__- eltiteretista did the beta, thanks for that~
There were several things that woke Kakashi up far earlier than he usually did; the mattress didn’t feel quite right, the smell definitely wasn’t right and there was one large bedmate in place of many smaller ones. The feeling of disorientation was something Kakashi had taught himself to react as calmly as possible, so instead of flinching and jumping off the bed, the deaf man cracked his eye open and carefully raised his head from the pillow.
The room was dark and shapes unfamiliar, so the lack of light allowed Kakashi open his other eye, too. He soon adjusted to the dimness and started to make out the surroundings. An alarm clock showed 4 am, the green numbers glowing in the dark. Kakashi frowned a bit but didn’t bother himself on that too long and concentrated on the sleeping figure in his arms.
It was too dark to see much of the dark-haired man’s features, but Kakashi could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest as well as the slow breathing tickling his throat. Iruka was sleeping on his right side, facing Kakashi and the window, his arms curled close to his chest and legs tangled together with the taller man’s. And if Kakashi squinted enough, he could see the long hair flowing on the pillow and framing the peaceful face.
Yawning, Kakashi decided that he could do with a few more hours of sleep and snuggled closer to the warm body. Iruka stirred a bit, his hands coming to bunch the material of the T-shirt as if he wanted to prevent the pale man disappearing. With a small smile, Kakashi nuzzled him affectionately. I could get used to this…
With that he drifted back to dreams.
Hours later from that there was yet again movement in the bed, but this time it was Iruka.
The tan man blinked owlishly for few times, trying to kick the gears back on inside his head and was failing rather spectacularly in that. It wasn’t just because Iruka needed a good dose of coffee but also because he realized there were arms around him and a very handsome face just few inches away of his own.
Kakashi.
Smiling dreamily, Iruka relaxed back to the drowsy world he was occupying at the moment. He stayed, he really stayed here all night. Mmm, how can he kiss like that and that hand! Kami-sama, if a hand can make me feel so good, then the actual sex must be mind-blowing. I wonder when we have sex, hopefully soon enough. He felt nice in my hand but oh, did I take a look of his little fellow? Hmm, nope, I didn’t. Damn, have to correct that soon.
A small giggle escaped the tan man’s mouth, his sleepy mind suggesting things it normally wouldn’t. Iruka lay there for several minutes, opting between the possibilities of going back sleep or standing up to make breakfast. The larger part of him wanted to stay in bed and enjoy this lazy Sunday morning that wasn’t like all the other Sundays Iruka had spent for years - if he’d pick the former, he might even get the chance to take look of Kakashi and Iruka did not mean his face.
Since the tan man was occupied with this mental dilemma of his, he didn’t notice the black eye that was looking at Iruka, small smile spreading the thin lips.
“Morning,” Kakashi’s soft voice whispered.
Iruka was clearly surprised for hearing him before a warm smile brightened his face. “Morning, Kakashi,” Iruka said and promptly kissed Kakashi, who gasped but answered to it eagerly. “It wasn’t a dream, nice,” Iruka grinned goofily, still bit drowsy.
One silvery eyebrow rose, questioning. “A dream?” repeated with a leer.
Sure enough a small blush dusted the scarred cheeks and the brown eyes widened. Taking a pity on him, Kakashi chuckled and leaned to kiss the flushed nose. “Sorry, couldn’t resist the temptation.”
Scowling, Iruka growled at the taller man and gave a push to the wide chest. “Your breath stinks,” he said, knowing it would come out childishly no matter what.
“Don’t worry,” Kakashi grinned and both of his eyes were arched in to crescents, “your breath smells, too.”
Iruka stuck his tongue out at this and deserved another husky chuckle and peck on his nose.
“Cute.”
“Am not.”
One long finger traced the tan bicep, tickling it lightly. “Yes you are,” Kakashi insisted, grinning even wider, “cute as a button with your scar and blush. And the chocolate hair of yours and the bright, big doe-eyes that make men and women tremble in front of you.”
Iruka knew by now that Kakashi was just fooling around and he laughed as the “praises” continued to flow from the silver-haired man’s mouth. But when Kakashi started to describe his nipples as “rose tinted little pearls of pleasure” Iruka decided to take drastic actions to shut the man up. With his pillow. The attack came totally unexpected and Kakashi’s yelp was smothered against the soft projectile. The pale man automatically jumped away from the dark-haired one, nearly falling off and saw a challenging spark lighting the dark orbs, another soft weapon ready.
‘Oh it’s on,’ Kakashi signed and grabbed the pillow he had been hit in the first place.
When Naruto staggered out of his room with a jaw-cracking yawn, he stopped immediately on his tracks at the loud sounds coming from Iruka’s room. Those weren’t sounds made from x-rated activity, more like…
What the hell? Are they having a pillow fight?
Carefully the boy crept to the door, thanking Iruka’s habit of leaving the door slightly ajar. And sure enough the two men were engaged in to an intense fight of pillows, using the large bed as their battleground. Naruto saw how Iruka dodged another attack from Kakashi, who lunged in effort to tackle him but failed as the tan male deftly sidestepped and the other sailed past him.
Naruto felt a bit shocked when he saw the broad smile his foster father was showing as he crowed victoriously after managing land another blow on Kakashi’s, who bent with a grunt.
Making sure Iruka didn’t hear or notice him, Naruto left downstairs, smiling all the way. It was nice to see Iruka look so happy because some other person than him or Anko. The blond boy was already through his second bowl of cereal when he realized something:
“Damn, I didn’t look at his face!”
** ** **
“I give up!” Kakashi laughed and raised his hands in surrender, “you win.”
“Damn right I win,” Iruka grinned from his position above the taller man, legs on both sides of the strong thighs, pillow poised over his head, “I’ve got years of experience in the art of pillow fight, Kakashi-san. You’re nothing but a novice next to my enemies at the orphanage.”
‘I apologize for not being a worthy opponent to you, Iruka-san,’ Kakashi signed with a small grin, ‘it’s been years from my last match with pillows.’
Dropping the soft weapon on the bed, Iruka allowed himself to be pulled down to a very efficient kissing-session. Kakashi mussed the already tangled hair and it was only fair to return the favor; tan hands dipped in to the silvery spikes, nails raking the scalp and effectively made it stand up like even more hazardously than usually.
Giving one last kiss, the tan man rose up and watched his work, knowing too well his own hair was most likely more similar to a thorn bush. Crinkling his nose, Iruka signed. ‘Your breath still stinks, though.’
The black eye blinked once, twice, before the pale man burst out laughing louder than ever before. The rich, warm sound filled the bedroom, Kakashi shaking under the other man, who felt every single tremor against his thighs and bottom. The hands resting Iruka’s hips moved higher to pull the man down again and flush against Kakashi’s chest, making the tan man feel every move from the body beneath. Although it made Iruka blush, he melted against the slender body, muscles fitting together as the deep laughter filled his ears.
Once the sound subsided and Kakashi’s healthy eye shone with mirth, Iruka suggested to going eat some breakfast. Climbing off the bed, the dark-haired man stopped to brush his hair while Kakashi picked his undershirt from the floor to put it on underneath the T-shirt. The mask was back on place when Iruka emerged from the bathroom, brown eyes flickering to the dark fabric and his smile lessened a fraction. The silver-haired man saw this and took Iruka’s hand on his own, raising it to his hidden lips, the soft touch tickling the knuckles as a silent apology.
Naruto must have heard them coming down, because when they entered the kitchen, the blond teenager was standing next to the coffee machine, filling it for them. “Morning, dad, Kakashi-san,” he greeted, smiling brightly at the men.
“Morning, Naruto,” Iruka said back and tried to muss the spiky hair, but the boy dodged him swiftly, showing his tongue.
“I’m going for a jog soon, you need something from the store?” Naruto asked, shoving the last of his toast in to his mouth.
“No, I don’t think so,” Iruka hummed as he guided Kakashi to sit down, ignoring the resistance and the offer of giving a hand, “just make sure you don’t forget the keys, we might be gone when you come back.”
“Yeah yeah,” Naruto nodded, blue eyes watching the print on the shirt the deaf man was wearing. A cheeky grin spread on the whiskered face, which made Kakashi little concerned. ‘Nice look, Monroe,’ Naruto signed, confusing the man even more, ‘where’s McCoy?’
‘Sorry?’ Kakashi signed back, bewildered.
“Naruto, don’t tease him,” Iruka ordered and placed to two cups of coffee on the table, a quick grin flashing on his face, “even if his hair looks like Monroe’s.”
“Okay, dad,” Naruto promised, still grinning and walked away, “see ya!”
“Keys!” Iruka yelled, shaking his head with a smile when the boy jingled his keys loudly in the hall. “Do you want milk or sugar?” he asked from the still baffled man.
‘No thanks,’ Kakashi declined and took a good look of the shirt he was wearing, frowning when he saw the letters written in romaji. Ha… Hanoi…, the silver-haired man tried to read upside down, when a tan hand came to block his view and Kakashi raised his gaze.
‘It says Hanoi Rocks,’ Iruka signed and flashed a sheepish grin, ‘I bought it when they were in Japan few years back. The lead singer’s hair style, well, it resembles yours at this moment.’
One silvery eye brow arched high, and Kakashi took another look of the print. ‘No wonder I didn’t know what he was talking about, the last “music” I heard was the horrible howling of my senpai, trying to cheer us up,’ he told as a wave of bitterness curtly washed over him.
Iruka was anxious, not really sure what to say to the other man. Kakashi didn’t look as troubled as he had the other day when he had told the story behind his lost hearing, but it still made Iruka’s heart squeeze painfully when the man looked so bitter, even with the mask on. The silver-haired man had lived with his impairment so long already and it would most likely be demeaning for Kakashi if Iruka coddled him every single time the man had a bad memory.
Iruka settled on resting his hand on the larger one on the table, hoping it would help at least somewhat the silver-haired man. Sure enough, Kakashi shook his head and his eyes arched as he smiled. ‘Doesn’t matter, I’ve got something better now. So what’s for breakfast?’
Filling the table with several different foods from fried eggs to the heated miso soup from yesterday, they sat down for a long time. It was a nice and leisured way to spend the morning and the foot that moved up and down Iruka’s calf was a nice bonus. At some point Kakashi decided to ask the whereabouts of his pants and underwear. Iruka, who had started to clean the table, blushed slightly but clearly not from embarrassment and informed he had taken them for laundry and would return them, say, Tuesday? Kakashi had just grinned and inquired if a proper bribery would make it Monday.
“Mmm, what kind of bribery?” the tan man hummed, smiling when Kakashi nuzzled his cheek.
“This,” he whispered, masked lips trailing the earlobe, sharp teeth blunted by the fabric. “This.” A lazy circle was drawn on the T-shirt-covered stomach. “And this.” Pulling down the mask, Kakashi claimed Iruka’s unresisting mouth, a large hand cradling his head and the tongue slipped inside between the parting lips.
Moaning, Iruka met it with his own tongue, the agile muscles moving slowly around each other. The kiss was languid and calm and Kakashi was clearly set on turning the smaller man in to a boneless heap of pleasure as his hands moved all over Iruka’s body, over and underneath the clothes, blunt nails scraping the skin in the midst of the gentle caresses. The little tremors of that ran through Iruka’s body felt good against Kakashi’s own , making him also moan in to the kiss.
After what seemed a small eternity, Kakashi pulled away, stifling a laugh once he saw the dazed look that had taken over Iruka’s face.”Meet you at lunch?” he asked, feeling slightly out of breath and warm on his cheeks.
It took some time for Iruka to understand the huskily whispered words, the dark brown eyes blinking as they cleared a bit and the darker male nodded.
‘Excellent! What shall we do next?’ Kakashi beamed and poked teasingly the flushed cheeks.
That helped Iruka come down from his reverie, yelping in surprise. This made Kakashi laugh, the shocked expression that had shown on the other’s face having been quite hilarious. Iruka didn’t seem to appreciate it, though, since he wasted no time punching playfully the taller man on his shoulder, grinning childishly. Kakashi winced dramatically and started to demand that Iruka should kiss the pain away or else he would be charged from abuse. Iruka had only grinned wider and leant to peck Kakashi’s lips, who immediately deepened the kiss and they ended up both flushed and panting for air yet again.
Eventually they dressed or in Kakashi’s case just changed the shirt. The silver-haired man helped Iruka make the bed, only ending up on his back on the soft mattress with Iruka sprawled on top of him in another heated kissing session. As Kakashi watched the white ceiling he mused how they were like a pair of hormonal teenagers with Iruka nibbling his throat, creating another love mark.
It was several minutes later when they finally parted. Iruka didn’t know when was the last time his lips had been this tender and swollen, but he nevertheless felt very content as he snuggled Kakashi’s firm body. The other man appeared to share that feeling, since he all but purred when Iruka nuzzled his pulse point and the long arms were wrapped securely around the slightly smaller frame.
Half an hour later Kakashi sat in the car while Iruka started the engine. The dark-haired was carefully while driving down the street to the busier roads but he never lost his smile throughout the whole trip. The warm hand resting on Iruka’s thigh being just one reason for his good mood.
Too soon Iruka pulled next to the tall building, turning towards the masked man, who was watching him with a gentle look in his eye.
‘I’ll text you when I’m ready to go, okay?’ Iruka signed, and Kakashi nodded.
‘See you later,’ the silver-haired man signed and, just to tease Iruka, blew a kiss, making Iruka blush.
A small sigh of sadness escaped from Kakashi as he watched Iruka drive away, leaning against the stone vase, when he noticed another car that slowly rolled past him and proceeded to follow Iruka’s. Frowning, the silver-haired man remembered seeing the grayish blue vehicle not only his street but also Iruka’s last night. Intrigued, Kakashi tried to take look of the license plate but got only a partial look of it, so he took a note of other details like the model and any particular bumps just in case.
Kakashi was not a man who believed in fate but series of convenient situations, while this was more like inconvenient one. Perhaps Asuma would find something of the car if it appeared again. With that Kakashi entered the building and mentally prepared himself for feeding his pack of mutts and then taking them out of a long walk.
** ** **
Next day the bright rays of sun of yet another beautiful September day pooled inside the editorial office of Myoboku as Jiraiya walked in the midst of ten cubicles, the slightly chaotic sounds from tapping of keyboards to ringing phones and from fluttering papers to humming copy machines filling the large space. Jiraiya felt very proud of his small yet hard-working staff, nodding to Aoba, who nodded back as he dashed past, and changing few words with Shikaku.
When the white-haired man turned towards one specific cubicle, his eyes lit with a glee that usually spelled trouble and made Naruto call him Pervert with capital P as Jiraiya neared the latest source of his personal amusement. Kakashi sat boneless on his office chair, staring unseeingly at the computer screen and Akino lounged between his long legs. The curly tail wagged and the tawny dog raised its head when Jiraiya greeted the dog. Sensing Akino’s movement, the black eye turned to Jiraiya.
“Yo,” Kakashi saluted and straightened his posture just enough not to look completely lazy.
“Morning, Kakashi, how’s the article coming along?” Jiraiya smiled stepping inside the cubicle.
The masked man shrugged slightly and gave a quick look on the text. ‘All in all it’s coming quite nicely but there’s still some glitches,’ he signed with a sigh, ‘but don’t worry, I’ve written how you were brave enough not to flinch when he stingray decided to take a bite of your hand.’
‘Very funny,’ the older man signed, rolling his eyes and sat down on the chair across the desk. ‘How are things going with Iruka-chan?’ Jiraiya asked, grinning widely when the other stiffened and there was an unmistakable flash of jealousy in the lone eye.
‘Fine, thank you,’ Kakashi signed, his fingers moving a bit more rashly than normally, another sign of annoyance, ‘I met his foster-son last weekend, which reminds me…’ The visible eye curved, smiling. ‘You should probably try to avoid Iruka for time being,’ Kakashi told, looking quite smug even with the mask on.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this, waiting for an explanation, but the other just continued to smirk back. Snorting, the large man spared a half-hearted glare at his nephew. “Fine, I’ll take a heed of your warning, he said out loud, watching Kakashi for a long moment before a sly grin made a way to his face.”So, how’s the situation in bedroom? From experience I can say that Iruka has a wicked temper, which ought to show between the sheets”, Jiraiya asked crudely, waggling madly his brows.
This earned rather dark glower from Kakashi and while the mask hid any facial expressions, Jiraiya managed to read his nephew like an open book. “No luck yet, huh? Oh well, for once in your life you have to work to get into someone’s pants.”
Kakashi answered by simply flipping three fingers up. “Read between the lines,” the silver-haired man muttered out loud and scowled even harder when Jiraiya started to laugh. It must have been very loud noise, if the worrisome look from Suzume was to believe, the curly-haired woman’s face peeking from her cubicle down the hall, and from the corner of his eye Kakashi could see more curious looks that were sent towards them - even Akino rose to its hind legs and cocked head at the large man.
“You’ve met your match, brat,” Jiraiya chuckled, trying to control his laughter that threatened to start again. He rose up to his feet with ease, grinning so widely it nearly split his face in half. “I hope you got enough money, Iruka’s rather handsome and not to mention popular.”
The sharp jaw tightened as Kakashi grit his teeth at this little reminder. It was quite safe to say that Jiraiya knew a lot more about things, both Konoha and Iruka, so if even he was pointing that out, Kakashi was going to have some serious competition.
Don’t forget that mystery gift, a quiet voice reminded the silver-haired man. Somebody sent it to his house so they surely know where he works and most likely about the charity event, too.
Jealousy curled aggressively inside Kakashi and a wave of possessiveness was right behind it. Reaching for his cell phone, Kakashi started to write a text even before he had fully realized it. Kakashi stopped to take look of the large clock on the office wall, before sending the message forward. It took only few minutes for Iruka to answer back, the little phone vibrating in Kakashi’s palm almost instantly.
That was… fast, Kakashi blinked, puzzled. Had Iruka been waiting for him to text all this time? The mere mental image of the sweet, yet fiery man staring at his phone and waiting for any sign of Kakashi made the green-eyed monster lessen its claws for the time being and giving way much happier feelings.
Picking up his jacket and putting the leash on Akino, Kakashi left for his lunch bit earlier than normally, which didn’t go unnoticed. Waving his hand to Jiraiya, who just smirked and signed ‘Have fun’, the silver-haired man stepped in to the elevator, humming under his breath a tune he hadn’t heard for almost two decades.
** ** **
Iruka wouldn’t be lying if he said this morning had been the busiest one in a whole month. Although he was quite sure about being clean, Iruka had called his doctor to make an appointment to test any possible STDs, just in case. It had been a nice surprise when the nice lady in the reception had informed him there was an open time in approximately half an hour, which meant Iruka could easily go there and still not be late from work.
The rest of the morning the tan man had been running at the Konoha; he had assisted Hayate in the morning class of sign language for parents and their children from nine to ten and then Iruka had been in charge of the reading club for seniors with sight problems, where the ever-energetic Chiyo had once again tried to fool him by playing dead - Iruka still had the grey hairs from the first time she had done it. So when Kakashi had texted and asked for lunch, the tan man had broken in to a wide grin that had gotten some attention from the others; a small smile from Raidou, double set of evil grins from Kotetsu and Izumo, the former making a remark that would have made Genma proud.
Informing Tsunade about leaving for lunch break with a side note about Kotetsu’s need for bandages, Iruka left the baffled woman in her office, grabbed the plastic bag with Kakashi’s clothes and walked downstairs with a peculiar bounce in his step. Passing Ebisu and the kids in the playground, Iruka stopped to talk with Konohamaru, who wanted to know when Naruto was coming again.
Leaving the Center’s grounds, Iruka tucked the scarf securely around his throat. He had worn the dark blue fabric whole day, not really eager to show the large hickey on his throat to everybody. Iruka could almost feel Kakashi’s lips on his skin, kissing and sucking his throat. A shiver ran down his spine and it had nothing to do with the gust of wind that suddenly blew down the street. Grinning, Iruka sped his steps and tried to ignore the warmth on his cheeks.
After roughly twenty minutes of brisk walk, the dark-haired man got the café in his sight. The small grin grew wider when he spotted Kakashi standing outside the building, paying what seemed very little attention to the people passing on the street, but Iruka knew better. As he walked closer, the tan man could see how the visible eye kept scanning the area, clearly keeping an eye at the crowd. Sure enough the other turned to look right at the approaching Iruka when they were only six feet apart, the tawny dog that sat on Kakashi’s feet perked, the sunglasses glinting. The dark eye arched to reveal the silver-haired man’s hidden smile to which Iruka answered with his own.
“Hello,” Iruka smiled and promptly grouched down to pet the dog, “and hello to you, too, Akino.”
While the point-eared dog was absolutely delighted at the attention it received, Kakashi blinked at the sudden disappearance of Iruka from his line of vision, quite surprised, before he realized to look down. Akino was wagging its tail eagerly, licking the hand that was scratching its ears and once Iruka shot a mischievous grin up to Kakashi, the deaf man shook his head with a small chuckle.
“Should I be jealous?” he asked, smiling when Akino’s tail wagged even faster.
Laughing softly, Iruka shook his head as he stood up. The bright smile on the scarred face was just as beautiful as all the others Kakashi had witnessed but nevertheless it made the masked man’s heart sped up. Especially when those dark brown eyes looked at him, filled with an irresistible combination of warmth and playfulness. Should they not be in such crowded place, Kakashi would have pulled Iruka tightly against him and kissed the other with all his might to make him look dazed and relaxed just like the night before.
Unbeknownst to Kakashi, he had stared at the dark-haired man so hard that he had missed the fact Iruka had signed something. He did notice the sudden frown that crossed the other man’s face and Kakashi could only watch in wonder how Iruka stepped closer, the wrinkles on his forehead increasing.
“Kakashi?” Iruka asked out loud, a worried tone in his voice and he reached to touch the leather-covered arm.
The sudden touch seemed to wake him up, and Kakashi offered quite sheepish smile, his free hand scratching the back of his head. “Maa, I apologize,” he murmured and offered his arm, the one Iruka was still touching, “shall we?”
The brown eyes were still a bit troubled but the smaller man said nothing and allowed himself to be guided inside. Ordering the day’s lunch, a fresh chicken salad, the men sat down to eat, Akino settling down next to Kakashi’s feet. Before picking the eating utensils, Iruka passed the clothes bag to their rightful owner. Kakashi took a quick glance at the insides, smirking all of a sudden.
‘Why, Iruka, where is my underwear?’ he signed with a definite leer.
The other clearly stammered something Kakashi wasn’t able to catch but nevertheless he enjoyed the blush that spread on the tan face. ‘Idiot, they are there!’ he signed back, glaring at the pale man. The real reason why he was flushing was that the idea of keeping those red boxers had crossed Iruka’s mind when he had carried the soiled clothes downstairs but Iruka had resisted the temptation.
After all, the near future promised quite free access to the cotton boxers and its siblings.
Blushing even more at that train of thought, Iruka grumbled under his breath and attacked viciously the poor salad instead of his wanted target.
Kakashi smirked under the mask, confident enough to bet his money that Iruka was thinking the same thing as he was thinking. But although the smaller man looked very hot while angry, Kakashi didn’t want to spend this short time like this. Gently resting his fingers on the tan wrist that lay on the table, the silver-haired man stroked the thin skin and the glaring eyes rose to meet the black one.
Swallowing a mouthful of the food, Iruka felt his anger diminish as the stroking continued and at the affectionate look in those dark depths. “What?” he asked softly, even if Kakashi couldn’t hear it.
“I missed you.”
As corny as the words were, Iruka couldn’t help the sudden fluttering of his heart or the cheeky grin that twitched the corners of his mouth. “I missed you, too.”
The conversation started to flow from that, the physical touch staying in form of shins touching, fingers brushing against each other and even one moment when Kakashi couldn’t stop himself and took the tan hand in his own. Their fingers intertwined together and stayed like that for few moments before parting naturally. For Iruka the time went too fast and soon they had to part. Kakashi, not wanting to leave Iruka just yet, promised to walk with the other back to Konoha.
Since Iruka was looking at Kakashi and his signing, the pony-tailed man didn’t see the man that was standing in the middle of his path. The impact was so sudden that Iruka instinctively jumped back and cried:
“I’m sorry,” he apologized and bowed.
“Do not worry, Umino-san, this is actually a delightful surprise,” a familiar voice informed politely and Iruka felt his hackles rise immediately.
“You!” Iruka hissed and his head snapped up so fast it almost gave him a whiplash to come face to face the smugly smiling Kabuto, who didn’t even flinch at the heated glare sent at him.
“Konnichi-wa, Umino-san,” Kabuto greeted with a small bow, his dark eyes flicking somewhere behind the seething man, a faked look of surprise appearing on the young face, “Hatake-sempai? Is that really you?”
The blood drained from Iruka’s face and his body went cold. Hatake-sempai? Did… Did Kakashi know Kabuto?! Shocked at this new knowledge, he failed to notice the way the deaf man stiffened, the half-lidded eye narrowing a fraction as he stared at the not-so-pleasant blast from the past. And, unlike Iruka, Kakashi saw how the tan man suddenly deflated, looking… terrified?
Hiding his confusion, Kakashi did the second best thing; looked bored. “Yo, Yakushi-kouhai, a surprise to meet you here,” he drawled, the visible eye half-lidded as it regarded the younger man.
The long coat had been left open, revealing a tailor-made, Armani suit that looked more expensive than both Kakashi and Iruka’s clothes thrown together, a fine woven, purple scarf resting on the narrow chest and the polished leather shoes shone in the sun. The man really stood out like that with his luxurious clothes but Kabuto still lacked something that Kakashi had, something Iruka couldn’t really place his finger on.
Too shocked to ponder this more, he stayed immobile and stared at the interaction between the two men.
“Pleasure is all mine, Hatake-sempai,” Kabuto smiled sweetly, the glasses glinting slightly as he cocked his head in fake surprise, “first Umino-san and now you, sempai. This seems to be my lucky day, ah, that reminds me - “
Iruka willed himself not to scoff when Kabuto turned at him, fighting back the urge to wipe off that polite, yet smug smirk from the younger man’s face with his fist.
“Umino-san, did you like my gift? It took me some great measures to find something like that and I hope it pleased you.”
The muscles in Iruka’s jaw tightened, teeth grinding so hard he feared they would break under the pressure, the vein started to throb on his temple as his anger flamed again. “I wouldn’t know because it’s not my habit to open packages from people I don’t know well,” he informed with a low voice, words dripping with danger as the well ingrained politeness lost to fury.
Kabuto did flinch a bit at this glare, which made him feel more furious than surprised. He had dealt with all kinds of people, some of them more close to animals than humans, but his, this part-time teacher dared to show more fire and disgust towards him than anyone he had ever met. It made Kabuto angry and it made him even more interested of this man in some deep, twisted level.
Next to the dark-haired man, Kakashi inhaled sharply through his nose when the pieces clicked together, a storm of several emotions rising inside him: hurt, that Iruka hadn’t told Kakashi about the little fact that Kabuto was trying to seduce him; possessiveness, that this little bastard even thought he had the chance with Iruka; anger, that Iruka had kept his secret from Kakashi when it clearly bothered him.
The other two men didn’t notice this, too engrossed with themselves and not in the good way if you asked Iruka.
Kabuto had schooled down his irritation, the respectful face more collected than the tan man’s, who looked rather homicidal. “That’s dreadful to hear, Umino-san,” Kabuto commented lightly, pushing his glasses higher, “now my money was wasted. This time. Hopefully I have enough for the weekend.” A little, evil smirk twisted that polite mask when Iruka paled noticeably, enjoying the flash of fright in those dark brown eyes.
They both missed how a one particular eye narrowed dangerously.
Using the other’s unbalance, Kabuto leant closer to Iruka, eyes gleaming victoriously when he saw the hint of fear deepen even more in the older man’s. “I’m sure the auction will be a success, even if it can’t save your beloved Konoha, Umino-san,” Kabuto whispered ominously, hand rising to touch the ashen face.
The pale fingers were inches away from Iruka’s cheek, when a hand shot out, grabbing Kabuto’s wrist in to a tight grip. Iruka blinked, eyes widening when he realized what might have happened as he stared at the leather-gloved hand in front of him.
“Sempai, is something wrong?” Kabuto’s voice asked, calm and collected, not showing any pain the tight hold caused.
Arching his eye, Kakashi twisted the hand away from Iruka. “Maa, it’s not polite to touch someone like that, kouhai,” the masked man informed lightly. He wrapped his free arm around Iruka’s shoulders in a clear sign of possession. “Especially someone else’s boyfriend, Kabuto,” Kakashi drawled, a hint of steel flashing in his eye as he coolly regarded the other silver-head.
This brought a visible hit, a sneer that did not escape Kakashi and Iruka. “My apologies, Umino-san, sempai, I had no idea you were in that kind of relationship,” Kabuto smiled sweetly, like a snake with poison dripping from its fangs.
It made Iruka’s flesh prickle uneasily, while the deaf man beside him just stared nonchalantly the rigid business man, silently egging him even more. “Yes we are,” Kakashi murmured, nudging gently the silent man next to him.
Iruka blinked but caught what the taller man was expecting from him. “As you can see, Yakushi-san, I’m taken and those gifts can stop coming,” he said firmly, brown eyes hard as flints.
Kabuto didn’t allow the grimace surface second time, the fingers digging deep in to the flesh of his palm ensuring that. “But of course, Umino-san, I have no intention harming you and your relationship sempai,” the sickly polite man guaranteed, the smile nothing but discreet.
Liar, the small voice whispered in the back of Iruka’s head and unbeknownst to him, Kakashi was having similar thoughts, his displeasure showing in his eye.
“Have a nice day, Umino-san,” the young man bid his farewell with a bow before turning to the masked man. “Once again, you’re a lucky man, Hatake-sempai,” Kabuto congratulated mockingly, the sneer twisting slightly the smile, “but be careful, your luck might run out very soon.”
Kakashi tensed, his arm tightening around the tan man and glared at the Kabuto, who turned on his heel and walked away. Iruka wasn’t sure what he felt at that moment, the combination of embarrassment and anger welling inside him and leaving him overall antsy. The strong grip around his shoulders startled the dark-haired man to look at Kakashi, paling as he saw something he hadn’t yet seen on the silver-haired man:
Anger.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kakashi demanded harshly, voice tight and controlled, ”he sent you that package, didn’t he, Iruka?”
Iruka had often been told he should learn how to back off in situations like this and not to rush forward like a headstrong bull. Too bad the scar-nosed man hadn’t managed to do that. So it wasn’t a surprise that Iruka’s hackles rose in defense.
“I said I can take care of myself,” he hissed back, breaking free from Kakashi’s hold, creating some distance between them.
Looping the leash around his wrist with years of experience, the masked man moved to sign language. ‘You don’t know Kabuto, he’s not going to back off that easily. You saw it, too, didn’t you?’
“How do you know that?” Iruka asked, eyes flickering to their sides, painfully aware they were standing in the middle of the walkway during the lunch hour, which meant they were getting more attention than Iruka would have liked.
‘I know Kabuto, he’s manipulative, selfish and cold-hearted bastard’, Kakashi signed back, his fingers moving in sharp movements, scowling openly when he saw the stubborn line Iruka’s jaw set, ‘Iruka, I’m not lying. I’m worried about you. I thought it was suspicious last night but now it’s alarming. Kabuto isn’t used to people fighting back, it only makes him even more curious.’
“So what? I can manage a bastard like him, you know nothing of my past. Who says I’m not used to dealing with men like him?!”
It was a mistake, an honest mistake fueled by Kakashi’s anger and frustration that his fingers slipped and signed the next words:
‘Like you did with Mizuki?’
Iruka froze, his eyes widening and for a moment he looked very… fragile, the fire disappearing from his eyes as well as the color from his skin. Immediately, as soon as he finished bending his fingers to form ‘ki’, Kakashi knew he had screwed up and wanted to kick himself from doing it.
“How do you know?” Iruka asked, lips barely moving.
Swallowing, Kakashi shook his head. ‘I-I didn’t understand.’
“I asked, how do you know?” the tan repeated, using sign language to make the question painstakingly clear and unavoidable to answer.
Kakashi’s mind was racing and fast, trying to come up with an answer because it really hurt him in unimaginable ways to see Iruka’s eyes so haunted and lifeless. Opening and closing his mouth, the deaf man had no idea if there was any sound coming from him. Kakashi knew Iruka was waiting for him to say something, to apologize, anything, but what could he say? Telling the truth right now would surely ruin everything they had managed to built together. No! Kakashi would not allow that to happen, not like this.
“Jiraiya,” Kakashi mouthed the name, never knowing how small, strangled his voice came out, the fear and worry visible where his face wasn’t. Biting back the not so small sigh of relief, Kakashi relaxed just a fraction when Iruka didn’t turn around and walked away but slowly raised his eyebrow.
‘He told me that you had had a bad relationship, when I asked about you,’ the deaf man signed the half-truth, half-lie, ‘but he didn’t tell why. Please forgive me, Iruka, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was, I…’
Kakashi bit his lip underneath the mask and this time his hands moved to tell the truth:
‘I don’t want to lose you, not to a man like him. I like you too much and the way he was talking to you, leaning closer, it, it just made me jealous - and worried.’
The silver-haired didn’t notice it but Akino, sensing its master’s distress, started to paw the jeans and whine quietly, ears drooping.
Iruka watched the other grimly, considering what Kakashi had told him, the painful feeling of being betrayed lessening at the sincere feelings the deaf man was showing. “Jiraiya had no right to tell you about Mizuki,” he whispered, a flash of anger igniting those dead eyes once again.
That was good. Anger was something Kakashi could deal with right now, not the lifeless man Iruka had been few moments ago.
‘I know, I’m sorry,’ Kakashi signed, ‘he did it just to warn me not to hurt you again. And I failed, I did hurt you.’
The pawing was now more insistent and the silver-haired man knelt to soothe the tawny dog, murmuring soft words under his breath, his gaze never leaving Iruka’s face. Akino licked the pale fingers when they scratched the white muzzle. “Sorry, boy,” Kakashi murmured and rose up to his feet, blinking when Iruka stepped closer, right against to him.
Dark brown eyes looked straight at the black one, and Kakashi didn’t dare to move when Iruka’s hand came to push the wrapping off his damaged eye, the wish clear. Iruka watched the scarred eyelid twitch and flutter open, blinking rapidly to adjust in to the sunlight, before the red orb focused on the tan man. Immediately the throb behind his left temple started but Kakashi ignored it with all his might. The silver-haired man didn’t know what the other saw in his mismatched eyes, but Kakashi could only hope he could see the regret and worry that was twisting Kakashi’s insides in to a tight knot.
After what seemed like an eternity, Iruka spoke again:
“You’re forgiven. This time.”
The tan man allowed a small smile light his face when the taller one gave a sigh of the century, surprising Iruka how tense Kakashi had been despite the ever-present slouch. The red eyes closed again and the black one remained to gaze at Iruka, looking nothing but relieved.
“Thank you,” Kakashi murmured and he slowly reached out for Iruka’s hand.
It was almost adorable, Iruka mused vaguely, how hesitant the other man was now that he was guilty. Kakashi had been careful with his advances before but now the taller man’s movements were deliberate as he entwined their fingers together. Iruka was still quite hurt and angry that Kakashi had known about Mizuki and not told him but used it against him in their very first argument. Still, the tan man wasn’t about to throw everything away just because of this. Should Kakashi do something like this again, there would be no forgiving. Besides a small part of Iruka, the most naïve one, was annoyingly thrilled at the fact that Kakashi was clearly jealous over him, enough to stand against Kabuto.
“I think I should go back, my lunch break is almost over,” Iruka just commented but he offered a small smile of reassurance to Kakashi.
Nodding, Kakashi glanced at Akino, the dog jumping on its feet, curly tail wagging eagerly now that the master was happy once again. “I’ll walk you,” he answered, taking a look of the surroundings and noticing only a few people staring at them, which was good. But when they turned around the corner, Kakashi noticed a familiar green car that passing right next to them along the street.
Scowling, he tried to get a good look of the license plate this time but a tug from Iruka made Kakashi turn automatically his head towards the other, mentally cursing when the car slipped behind the corner.
Completely unaware, Iruka just grinned at the other man, mischievous. “You know I should demand compensation for the mental pain you caused to me,” the scar-nosed man informed matter-of-factly, which caused one of the silvery eyebrows arch up.
“And what that would be?” Kakashi had to ask out loud, since his other hand was still holding Iruka’s.
A small blush colored the tan cheeks and after few moments of pondering, the brunet took out his cell phone. Kakashi watched curiously him to mutter a few words, startling when the dark green phone was all but thrust in to his face, the brown eyes looking everywhere but Kakashi. The silvery brow climbed even higher this time when the man read just what was on the glowing screen.
Iruka, the little devious bastard, grinned even wider despite his darkening blush, since it was quite an amusing scene.
“Deal,” Kakashi husked, leering underneath the mask.
** ** **
“Prick.”
“Dobe.”
“Teme!”
“Che, usuratonkachi.”
“Am not!” Naruto shouted back, jumping up to his feet, the chair clattering as it went down.
The blind teenager smirked at the loud sound. “Don’t rattle the bars, monkey,” Sasuke baited, onyx eyes staring somewhere left of the fuming blond.
“Says the cripple with cane, oh wait! I forgot, you’re blind!” Naruto called back, making Sasuke’s temple twitch with annoyance.
“Idiot, that’s the most stupid insult I’ve ever heard,” he muttered, “did you get hit in the head too many times as a kid or were you just born like that?”
“Did you get stuffed with a three foot stick since I can see it coming from your ass,” Naruto growled, smiling triumphantly when the dark glare started to burn holes in the wall.
“Dropout,” Sasuke hissed, Naruto’s insult hitting this time too close to the home and resulting him in to a petty name calling that would definitely rile the other up.
And, just as expected, Naruto’s howl of rage bombarded his sensitive ears in the empty group room, Sasuke readied himself for the impact that was to come.
“Oi, that’s enough,” drawled Genma’s irritated voice out of the blue and he caught Naruto by the collar of his shirt just on time, “where’s Iruka? He knows better than not to leave you two alone without a zookeeper.”
The blond choked slightly at the sudden pressure on his windpipe, the blue eyes glaring daggers at Sasuke, who looked little lost when no attack came, struggling to free himself for a second or two. It would be enough for him to pound that bastard’s pretty face for good. “Dad’s out with Kakashi-san,” Naruto growled, missing the way the honey-haired man’s eyes lit up.
“Kakashi, eh?” Genma hummed, releasing Naruto, “how long he’s been gone already?”
That got both the boys attention; Sasuke’s glare moved effortlessly towards the laid-back man while Naruto’s eyes narrowed in to slits.
“None of your business,” Naruto barked, causing the man to chuckle.
“Still haven’t forgiven the hair episode?” Genma smirked, senbon wagging teasingly.
“Nope.”
“Too bad, me neither - the scars are still visibe.” He hiked the sleeve little bit higher, revealing a nice row of lightly colored marks right above his wrist. “Luckily I had my shots week before.”
Sasuke could only listen to their banter with a mild confusion, since he didn’t know anything about the two’s past that involved Genma getting a “bracelet of teeths” from mini-Naruto. But even though their mocking was on the borderline of being insulting, he detected no real heat that was always in his and Naruto’s fights.
“Why don’t we call the zoo and tell one of their primates is missing?”
Naruto gave Genma the finger, before a foxy grin split his face. “Why don’t we ask Raidou-san to help you with those scars.”
Genma’s eyes widened from their usual half-lidded stare, glowering murderously at Naruto. “Leave Raidou out of this, brat,” he ordered with a hint of nervousness in his usual relaxed tone of voice.
The blond boy wasn’t taken by this but he did walk to the fallen chair, the knowing smirk still glued on to his lips. “I mean Raidou-san is so nice and he would be more than happy to help you, Genma-san,” Naruto taunted, snickering as sweat began to form on the man’s forehead as the glare began to give darken so much that even Sasuke would be pleased - if he only could see it, that is.
“There’s a saying I heard from my friend from Europe that one digs blood from one’s nose,” Genma informed lightly, “and you are digging blood from your nose with a shovel, brat.”
“Ooh, how scary~” Naruto cackled, watching gleefully the ever-present needle twitch in annoyance.
“I mean it, Naruto,” Genma just about growled, his body moving to take a step forward, when the group room’s door opened.
Once again Sasuke was lost, since he couldn’t see how Raidou stepped in, or how Genma literally froze on the spot, leg in the air, or how Naruto fell on the floor and started to laugh - the latter he did hear, though, because it was near impossible not to. Sasuke thought he heard Genma gasp “Raidou!” in a rather strangled way but it could’ve been his ears playing tricks. It wasn’t that much of a shock, since there was a idiot on the floor right in front of him and was really laughing his ass off.
“Shut up, dobe,” Sasuke hissed and poked his cane in the vague direction of the sound, smirking when he hit Naruto straight between the ribs.
Raidou raised his brow as another fight erupted between the boys, both of them most likely shouting insults to each other if he guessed right. Turning his attention to Genma, the scarred man frowned when he saw how an unusual whiteness had taken over the other man’s face. ‘Are you alright? You look quite pale,’ Raidou asked, worry immediately filling his eyes.
Genma nodded rapidly as an answer, the senbon almost falling from his mouth. ‘Yeah, everything’s ok. Did you need something?’
The short-haired man didn’t seem as convinced as Genma hoped, so he mustered the most charming smile he possessed.
Sure enough, Raidou faltered, dark eyes flickering with some unnamed emotion that was gone in a flash. ‘Shizune-san needs Iruka in the gym hall and he isn’t back yet so I thought getting the boys help her instead,’ Raidou signed and glanced at the fighting duo, wincing when Sasuke poked Naruto in the stomach and hard.
Genma turned on his heels at the loud curse, face grim and ready to unleash his anger at certain nosy monkey. “Knock it out you two!” he ordered and went to break them apart, Raidou right behind him.
** ** **
Tsunade sighed as she went through papers, the pile of bills growing higher and higher with every passing week. She felt tired, her true age showing in the corners of her hazel eyes and mouth in the form of lines. Tsunade thought morosely that she was like the captain of a sinking ship, slowly but surely going down under but she was not ready to abandon the faithful girl even if it meant losing her life - literately speaking. Tsunade’s gaze wandered to the old photo of his predecessor, the wizen face of Sarutobi Hiruzen smiling from the wall, above the framed hole.
What would have Sarutobi-sama done? How he would have fought against Orochimaru?
A wry chuckle was heard in the office when Tsunade pictured Sarutobi-sama giving a good old beating to that snake-bastard. She was one hundred percent positive that even Orochimaru would have been in trouble with the old coot.
There was a knock from the door and Tsunade pressed the intercom button to inform whoever was outside to step in, the buzz loud even inside. Turning away from the depressing paperwork, she watched Kotetsu enter her office, his hands filled with their large donation box from the entrance hall.
“Konnichi-wa, Tsunade-sama,” the spiky-haired man greeted, placing carefully the almost see-through plastic box, decorated with stickers and drawings from the children, on the desk.
“Konnichi-wa, Kotetsu,” she said, perking slightly, “is it good news?”
“Yes, people have noticed our flyers and some our families have given more than the usual for donation these past weeks.” With a small smile, Kotetsu carefully shook the box, the sound of coins and paper bills clear in the office.
Reaching for it, Tsunade felt her heart lighten just the tiniest bit. “I’ll empty this tomorrow,” she informed proudly him and locked the box in to the small safe behind her desk.
Kotetsu nodded happily but his eyes were resting on the messy piles of papers and torn envelopes. Tsunade of course noticed this, her grim expression matching the young man’s. Kotetsu opened his mouth but closed it abruptly. With a small nod he left and closed the door behind him. Sighing, the blonde woman leant her hip against the edge of her desk, rubbing her temples tiredly.
How she hoped Saturday would save them all from sinking.
** ** **
When Kakashi got back to Gamabunta, he immediately went to his booth and wrote down the details of that car. It hadn’t been at Konoha but somehow he knew the driver was somewhere near. After that, the silver-haired man opened his bank account to check just how much money he had. The teasing remark from Iruka days ago had come back to haunt him - Jiraiya’s words didn’t help the matter at all - and Kakashi was sure Kabuto would try to win him with the vast amount of money the little bastard could throw away without blinking an eye.
A wry smile spread underneath the dark mask. He wouldn’t be surprised if Iruka’s auction was the salvation of Konoha.
Time to make a certain phone call…
** ** ** ** **
A/N: The print in Kakashi's shirt is this one
- Senna-chan
Summary: Konoha, Center for Sight & Hearing Impaired, has always been close to Iruka and now he works there as a part-time teacher. One day he meets a strange man, Kakashi, who lost his hearing in an accident many years ago. To mix things up, Tsunade-sama has come up with a dreadful auction to increase the Center’s next year’s budget. With a dread of losing dear Konoha, everybody in the staff has to participate, even her herself.
Pairings: KakaIruKaka (and GenRai if you squint)
Rating: Fluff with a hint of angst
Disclaimer: Naruto characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, the idea for this fic spawned from Naono Bohra’s Jouzetsuna Yubi manga. Go read this awesome smutty story.
A/N: *feels miserable* I did promise a new chapter at the end of June. It took few more days than I thought. I try better next time. -__- eltiteretista did the beta, thanks for that~
There were several things that woke Kakashi up far earlier than he usually did; the mattress didn’t feel quite right, the smell definitely wasn’t right and there was one large bedmate in place of many smaller ones. The feeling of disorientation was something Kakashi had taught himself to react as calmly as possible, so instead of flinching and jumping off the bed, the deaf man cracked his eye open and carefully raised his head from the pillow.
The room was dark and shapes unfamiliar, so the lack of light allowed Kakashi open his other eye, too. He soon adjusted to the dimness and started to make out the surroundings. An alarm clock showed 4 am, the green numbers glowing in the dark. Kakashi frowned a bit but didn’t bother himself on that too long and concentrated on the sleeping figure in his arms.
It was too dark to see much of the dark-haired man’s features, but Kakashi could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest as well as the slow breathing tickling his throat. Iruka was sleeping on his right side, facing Kakashi and the window, his arms curled close to his chest and legs tangled together with the taller man’s. And if Kakashi squinted enough, he could see the long hair flowing on the pillow and framing the peaceful face.
Yawning, Kakashi decided that he could do with a few more hours of sleep and snuggled closer to the warm body. Iruka stirred a bit, his hands coming to bunch the material of the T-shirt as if he wanted to prevent the pale man disappearing. With a small smile, Kakashi nuzzled him affectionately. I could get used to this…
With that he drifted back to dreams.
Hours later from that there was yet again movement in the bed, but this time it was Iruka.
The tan man blinked owlishly for few times, trying to kick the gears back on inside his head and was failing rather spectacularly in that. It wasn’t just because Iruka needed a good dose of coffee but also because he realized there were arms around him and a very handsome face just few inches away of his own.
Kakashi.
Smiling dreamily, Iruka relaxed back to the drowsy world he was occupying at the moment. He stayed, he really stayed here all night. Mmm, how can he kiss like that and that hand! Kami-sama, if a hand can make me feel so good, then the actual sex must be mind-blowing. I wonder when we have sex, hopefully soon enough. He felt nice in my hand but oh, did I take a look of his little fellow? Hmm, nope, I didn’t. Damn, have to correct that soon.
A small giggle escaped the tan man’s mouth, his sleepy mind suggesting things it normally wouldn’t. Iruka lay there for several minutes, opting between the possibilities of going back sleep or standing up to make breakfast. The larger part of him wanted to stay in bed and enjoy this lazy Sunday morning that wasn’t like all the other Sundays Iruka had spent for years - if he’d pick the former, he might even get the chance to take look of Kakashi and Iruka did not mean his face.
Since the tan man was occupied with this mental dilemma of his, he didn’t notice the black eye that was looking at Iruka, small smile spreading the thin lips.
“Morning,” Kakashi’s soft voice whispered.
Iruka was clearly surprised for hearing him before a warm smile brightened his face. “Morning, Kakashi,” Iruka said and promptly kissed Kakashi, who gasped but answered to it eagerly. “It wasn’t a dream, nice,” Iruka grinned goofily, still bit drowsy.
One silvery eyebrow rose, questioning. “A dream?” repeated with a leer.
Sure enough a small blush dusted the scarred cheeks and the brown eyes widened. Taking a pity on him, Kakashi chuckled and leaned to kiss the flushed nose. “Sorry, couldn’t resist the temptation.”
Scowling, Iruka growled at the taller man and gave a push to the wide chest. “Your breath stinks,” he said, knowing it would come out childishly no matter what.
“Don’t worry,” Kakashi grinned and both of his eyes were arched in to crescents, “your breath smells, too.”
Iruka stuck his tongue out at this and deserved another husky chuckle and peck on his nose.
“Cute.”
“Am not.”
One long finger traced the tan bicep, tickling it lightly. “Yes you are,” Kakashi insisted, grinning even wider, “cute as a button with your scar and blush. And the chocolate hair of yours and the bright, big doe-eyes that make men and women tremble in front of you.”
Iruka knew by now that Kakashi was just fooling around and he laughed as the “praises” continued to flow from the silver-haired man’s mouth. But when Kakashi started to describe his nipples as “rose tinted little pearls of pleasure” Iruka decided to take drastic actions to shut the man up. With his pillow. The attack came totally unexpected and Kakashi’s yelp was smothered against the soft projectile. The pale man automatically jumped away from the dark-haired one, nearly falling off and saw a challenging spark lighting the dark orbs, another soft weapon ready.
‘Oh it’s on,’ Kakashi signed and grabbed the pillow he had been hit in the first place.
When Naruto staggered out of his room with a jaw-cracking yawn, he stopped immediately on his tracks at the loud sounds coming from Iruka’s room. Those weren’t sounds made from x-rated activity, more like…
What the hell? Are they having a pillow fight?
Carefully the boy crept to the door, thanking Iruka’s habit of leaving the door slightly ajar. And sure enough the two men were engaged in to an intense fight of pillows, using the large bed as their battleground. Naruto saw how Iruka dodged another attack from Kakashi, who lunged in effort to tackle him but failed as the tan male deftly sidestepped and the other sailed past him.
Naruto felt a bit shocked when he saw the broad smile his foster father was showing as he crowed victoriously after managing land another blow on Kakashi’s, who bent with a grunt.
Making sure Iruka didn’t hear or notice him, Naruto left downstairs, smiling all the way. It was nice to see Iruka look so happy because some other person than him or Anko. The blond boy was already through his second bowl of cereal when he realized something:
“Damn, I didn’t look at his face!”
** ** **
“I give up!” Kakashi laughed and raised his hands in surrender, “you win.”
“Damn right I win,” Iruka grinned from his position above the taller man, legs on both sides of the strong thighs, pillow poised over his head, “I’ve got years of experience in the art of pillow fight, Kakashi-san. You’re nothing but a novice next to my enemies at the orphanage.”
‘I apologize for not being a worthy opponent to you, Iruka-san,’ Kakashi signed with a small grin, ‘it’s been years from my last match with pillows.’
Dropping the soft weapon on the bed, Iruka allowed himself to be pulled down to a very efficient kissing-session. Kakashi mussed the already tangled hair and it was only fair to return the favor; tan hands dipped in to the silvery spikes, nails raking the scalp and effectively made it stand up like even more hazardously than usually.
Giving one last kiss, the tan man rose up and watched his work, knowing too well his own hair was most likely more similar to a thorn bush. Crinkling his nose, Iruka signed. ‘Your breath still stinks, though.’
The black eye blinked once, twice, before the pale man burst out laughing louder than ever before. The rich, warm sound filled the bedroom, Kakashi shaking under the other man, who felt every single tremor against his thighs and bottom. The hands resting Iruka’s hips moved higher to pull the man down again and flush against Kakashi’s chest, making the tan man feel every move from the body beneath. Although it made Iruka blush, he melted against the slender body, muscles fitting together as the deep laughter filled his ears.
Once the sound subsided and Kakashi’s healthy eye shone with mirth, Iruka suggested to going eat some breakfast. Climbing off the bed, the dark-haired man stopped to brush his hair while Kakashi picked his undershirt from the floor to put it on underneath the T-shirt. The mask was back on place when Iruka emerged from the bathroom, brown eyes flickering to the dark fabric and his smile lessened a fraction. The silver-haired man saw this and took Iruka’s hand on his own, raising it to his hidden lips, the soft touch tickling the knuckles as a silent apology.
Naruto must have heard them coming down, because when they entered the kitchen, the blond teenager was standing next to the coffee machine, filling it for them. “Morning, dad, Kakashi-san,” he greeted, smiling brightly at the men.
“Morning, Naruto,” Iruka said back and tried to muss the spiky hair, but the boy dodged him swiftly, showing his tongue.
“I’m going for a jog soon, you need something from the store?” Naruto asked, shoving the last of his toast in to his mouth.
“No, I don’t think so,” Iruka hummed as he guided Kakashi to sit down, ignoring the resistance and the offer of giving a hand, “just make sure you don’t forget the keys, we might be gone when you come back.”
“Yeah yeah,” Naruto nodded, blue eyes watching the print on the shirt the deaf man was wearing. A cheeky grin spread on the whiskered face, which made Kakashi little concerned. ‘Nice look, Monroe,’ Naruto signed, confusing the man even more, ‘where’s McCoy?’
‘Sorry?’ Kakashi signed back, bewildered.
“Naruto, don’t tease him,” Iruka ordered and placed to two cups of coffee on the table, a quick grin flashing on his face, “even if his hair looks like Monroe’s.”
“Okay, dad,” Naruto promised, still grinning and walked away, “see ya!”
“Keys!” Iruka yelled, shaking his head with a smile when the boy jingled his keys loudly in the hall. “Do you want milk or sugar?” he asked from the still baffled man.
‘No thanks,’ Kakashi declined and took a good look of the shirt he was wearing, frowning when he saw the letters written in romaji. Ha… Hanoi…, the silver-haired man tried to read upside down, when a tan hand came to block his view and Kakashi raised his gaze.
‘It says Hanoi Rocks,’ Iruka signed and flashed a sheepish grin, ‘I bought it when they were in Japan few years back. The lead singer’s hair style, well, it resembles yours at this moment.’
One silvery eye brow arched high, and Kakashi took another look of the print. ‘No wonder I didn’t know what he was talking about, the last “music” I heard was the horrible howling of my senpai, trying to cheer us up,’ he told as a wave of bitterness curtly washed over him.
Iruka was anxious, not really sure what to say to the other man. Kakashi didn’t look as troubled as he had the other day when he had told the story behind his lost hearing, but it still made Iruka’s heart squeeze painfully when the man looked so bitter, even with the mask on. The silver-haired man had lived with his impairment so long already and it would most likely be demeaning for Kakashi if Iruka coddled him every single time the man had a bad memory.
Iruka settled on resting his hand on the larger one on the table, hoping it would help at least somewhat the silver-haired man. Sure enough, Kakashi shook his head and his eyes arched as he smiled. ‘Doesn’t matter, I’ve got something better now. So what’s for breakfast?’
Filling the table with several different foods from fried eggs to the heated miso soup from yesterday, they sat down for a long time. It was a nice and leisured way to spend the morning and the foot that moved up and down Iruka’s calf was a nice bonus. At some point Kakashi decided to ask the whereabouts of his pants and underwear. Iruka, who had started to clean the table, blushed slightly but clearly not from embarrassment and informed he had taken them for laundry and would return them, say, Tuesday? Kakashi had just grinned and inquired if a proper bribery would make it Monday.
“Mmm, what kind of bribery?” the tan man hummed, smiling when Kakashi nuzzled his cheek.
“This,” he whispered, masked lips trailing the earlobe, sharp teeth blunted by the fabric. “This.” A lazy circle was drawn on the T-shirt-covered stomach. “And this.” Pulling down the mask, Kakashi claimed Iruka’s unresisting mouth, a large hand cradling his head and the tongue slipped inside between the parting lips.
Moaning, Iruka met it with his own tongue, the agile muscles moving slowly around each other. The kiss was languid and calm and Kakashi was clearly set on turning the smaller man in to a boneless heap of pleasure as his hands moved all over Iruka’s body, over and underneath the clothes, blunt nails scraping the skin in the midst of the gentle caresses. The little tremors of that ran through Iruka’s body felt good against Kakashi’s own , making him also moan in to the kiss.
After what seemed a small eternity, Kakashi pulled away, stifling a laugh once he saw the dazed look that had taken over Iruka’s face.”Meet you at lunch?” he asked, feeling slightly out of breath and warm on his cheeks.
It took some time for Iruka to understand the huskily whispered words, the dark brown eyes blinking as they cleared a bit and the darker male nodded.
‘Excellent! What shall we do next?’ Kakashi beamed and poked teasingly the flushed cheeks.
That helped Iruka come down from his reverie, yelping in surprise. This made Kakashi laugh, the shocked expression that had shown on the other’s face having been quite hilarious. Iruka didn’t seem to appreciate it, though, since he wasted no time punching playfully the taller man on his shoulder, grinning childishly. Kakashi winced dramatically and started to demand that Iruka should kiss the pain away or else he would be charged from abuse. Iruka had only grinned wider and leant to peck Kakashi’s lips, who immediately deepened the kiss and they ended up both flushed and panting for air yet again.
Eventually they dressed or in Kakashi’s case just changed the shirt. The silver-haired man helped Iruka make the bed, only ending up on his back on the soft mattress with Iruka sprawled on top of him in another heated kissing session. As Kakashi watched the white ceiling he mused how they were like a pair of hormonal teenagers with Iruka nibbling his throat, creating another love mark.
It was several minutes later when they finally parted. Iruka didn’t know when was the last time his lips had been this tender and swollen, but he nevertheless felt very content as he snuggled Kakashi’s firm body. The other man appeared to share that feeling, since he all but purred when Iruka nuzzled his pulse point and the long arms were wrapped securely around the slightly smaller frame.
Half an hour later Kakashi sat in the car while Iruka started the engine. The dark-haired was carefully while driving down the street to the busier roads but he never lost his smile throughout the whole trip. The warm hand resting on Iruka’s thigh being just one reason for his good mood.
Too soon Iruka pulled next to the tall building, turning towards the masked man, who was watching him with a gentle look in his eye.
‘I’ll text you when I’m ready to go, okay?’ Iruka signed, and Kakashi nodded.
‘See you later,’ the silver-haired man signed and, just to tease Iruka, blew a kiss, making Iruka blush.
A small sigh of sadness escaped from Kakashi as he watched Iruka drive away, leaning against the stone vase, when he noticed another car that slowly rolled past him and proceeded to follow Iruka’s. Frowning, the silver-haired man remembered seeing the grayish blue vehicle not only his street but also Iruka’s last night. Intrigued, Kakashi tried to take look of the license plate but got only a partial look of it, so he took a note of other details like the model and any particular bumps just in case.
Kakashi was not a man who believed in fate but series of convenient situations, while this was more like inconvenient one. Perhaps Asuma would find something of the car if it appeared again. With that Kakashi entered the building and mentally prepared himself for feeding his pack of mutts and then taking them out of a long walk.
** ** **
Next day the bright rays of sun of yet another beautiful September day pooled inside the editorial office of Myoboku as Jiraiya walked in the midst of ten cubicles, the slightly chaotic sounds from tapping of keyboards to ringing phones and from fluttering papers to humming copy machines filling the large space. Jiraiya felt very proud of his small yet hard-working staff, nodding to Aoba, who nodded back as he dashed past, and changing few words with Shikaku.
When the white-haired man turned towards one specific cubicle, his eyes lit with a glee that usually spelled trouble and made Naruto call him Pervert with capital P as Jiraiya neared the latest source of his personal amusement. Kakashi sat boneless on his office chair, staring unseeingly at the computer screen and Akino lounged between his long legs. The curly tail wagged and the tawny dog raised its head when Jiraiya greeted the dog. Sensing Akino’s movement, the black eye turned to Jiraiya.
“Yo,” Kakashi saluted and straightened his posture just enough not to look completely lazy.
“Morning, Kakashi, how’s the article coming along?” Jiraiya smiled stepping inside the cubicle.
The masked man shrugged slightly and gave a quick look on the text. ‘All in all it’s coming quite nicely but there’s still some glitches,’ he signed with a sigh, ‘but don’t worry, I’ve written how you were brave enough not to flinch when he stingray decided to take a bite of your hand.’
‘Very funny,’ the older man signed, rolling his eyes and sat down on the chair across the desk. ‘How are things going with Iruka-chan?’ Jiraiya asked, grinning widely when the other stiffened and there was an unmistakable flash of jealousy in the lone eye.
‘Fine, thank you,’ Kakashi signed, his fingers moving a bit more rashly than normally, another sign of annoyance, ‘I met his foster-son last weekend, which reminds me…’ The visible eye curved, smiling. ‘You should probably try to avoid Iruka for time being,’ Kakashi told, looking quite smug even with the mask on.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this, waiting for an explanation, but the other just continued to smirk back. Snorting, the large man spared a half-hearted glare at his nephew. “Fine, I’ll take a heed of your warning, he said out loud, watching Kakashi for a long moment before a sly grin made a way to his face.”So, how’s the situation in bedroom? From experience I can say that Iruka has a wicked temper, which ought to show between the sheets”, Jiraiya asked crudely, waggling madly his brows.
This earned rather dark glower from Kakashi and while the mask hid any facial expressions, Jiraiya managed to read his nephew like an open book. “No luck yet, huh? Oh well, for once in your life you have to work to get into someone’s pants.”
Kakashi answered by simply flipping three fingers up. “Read between the lines,” the silver-haired man muttered out loud and scowled even harder when Jiraiya started to laugh. It must have been very loud noise, if the worrisome look from Suzume was to believe, the curly-haired woman’s face peeking from her cubicle down the hall, and from the corner of his eye Kakashi could see more curious looks that were sent towards them - even Akino rose to its hind legs and cocked head at the large man.
“You’ve met your match, brat,” Jiraiya chuckled, trying to control his laughter that threatened to start again. He rose up to his feet with ease, grinning so widely it nearly split his face in half. “I hope you got enough money, Iruka’s rather handsome and not to mention popular.”
The sharp jaw tightened as Kakashi grit his teeth at this little reminder. It was quite safe to say that Jiraiya knew a lot more about things, both Konoha and Iruka, so if even he was pointing that out, Kakashi was going to have some serious competition.
Don’t forget that mystery gift, a quiet voice reminded the silver-haired man. Somebody sent it to his house so they surely know where he works and most likely about the charity event, too.
Jealousy curled aggressively inside Kakashi and a wave of possessiveness was right behind it. Reaching for his cell phone, Kakashi started to write a text even before he had fully realized it. Kakashi stopped to take look of the large clock on the office wall, before sending the message forward. It took only few minutes for Iruka to answer back, the little phone vibrating in Kakashi’s palm almost instantly.
That was… fast, Kakashi blinked, puzzled. Had Iruka been waiting for him to text all this time? The mere mental image of the sweet, yet fiery man staring at his phone and waiting for any sign of Kakashi made the green-eyed monster lessen its claws for the time being and giving way much happier feelings.
Picking up his jacket and putting the leash on Akino, Kakashi left for his lunch bit earlier than normally, which didn’t go unnoticed. Waving his hand to Jiraiya, who just smirked and signed ‘Have fun’, the silver-haired man stepped in to the elevator, humming under his breath a tune he hadn’t heard for almost two decades.
** ** **
Iruka wouldn’t be lying if he said this morning had been the busiest one in a whole month. Although he was quite sure about being clean, Iruka had called his doctor to make an appointment to test any possible STDs, just in case. It had been a nice surprise when the nice lady in the reception had informed him there was an open time in approximately half an hour, which meant Iruka could easily go there and still not be late from work.
The rest of the morning the tan man had been running at the Konoha; he had assisted Hayate in the morning class of sign language for parents and their children from nine to ten and then Iruka had been in charge of the reading club for seniors with sight problems, where the ever-energetic Chiyo had once again tried to fool him by playing dead - Iruka still had the grey hairs from the first time she had done it. So when Kakashi had texted and asked for lunch, the tan man had broken in to a wide grin that had gotten some attention from the others; a small smile from Raidou, double set of evil grins from Kotetsu and Izumo, the former making a remark that would have made Genma proud.
Informing Tsunade about leaving for lunch break with a side note about Kotetsu’s need for bandages, Iruka left the baffled woman in her office, grabbed the plastic bag with Kakashi’s clothes and walked downstairs with a peculiar bounce in his step. Passing Ebisu and the kids in the playground, Iruka stopped to talk with Konohamaru, who wanted to know when Naruto was coming again.
Leaving the Center’s grounds, Iruka tucked the scarf securely around his throat. He had worn the dark blue fabric whole day, not really eager to show the large hickey on his throat to everybody. Iruka could almost feel Kakashi’s lips on his skin, kissing and sucking his throat. A shiver ran down his spine and it had nothing to do with the gust of wind that suddenly blew down the street. Grinning, Iruka sped his steps and tried to ignore the warmth on his cheeks.
After roughly twenty minutes of brisk walk, the dark-haired man got the café in his sight. The small grin grew wider when he spotted Kakashi standing outside the building, paying what seemed very little attention to the people passing on the street, but Iruka knew better. As he walked closer, the tan man could see how the visible eye kept scanning the area, clearly keeping an eye at the crowd. Sure enough the other turned to look right at the approaching Iruka when they were only six feet apart, the tawny dog that sat on Kakashi’s feet perked, the sunglasses glinting. The dark eye arched to reveal the silver-haired man’s hidden smile to which Iruka answered with his own.
“Hello,” Iruka smiled and promptly grouched down to pet the dog, “and hello to you, too, Akino.”
While the point-eared dog was absolutely delighted at the attention it received, Kakashi blinked at the sudden disappearance of Iruka from his line of vision, quite surprised, before he realized to look down. Akino was wagging its tail eagerly, licking the hand that was scratching its ears and once Iruka shot a mischievous grin up to Kakashi, the deaf man shook his head with a small chuckle.
“Should I be jealous?” he asked, smiling when Akino’s tail wagged even faster.
Laughing softly, Iruka shook his head as he stood up. The bright smile on the scarred face was just as beautiful as all the others Kakashi had witnessed but nevertheless it made the masked man’s heart sped up. Especially when those dark brown eyes looked at him, filled with an irresistible combination of warmth and playfulness. Should they not be in such crowded place, Kakashi would have pulled Iruka tightly against him and kissed the other with all his might to make him look dazed and relaxed just like the night before.
Unbeknownst to Kakashi, he had stared at the dark-haired man so hard that he had missed the fact Iruka had signed something. He did notice the sudden frown that crossed the other man’s face and Kakashi could only watch in wonder how Iruka stepped closer, the wrinkles on his forehead increasing.
“Kakashi?” Iruka asked out loud, a worried tone in his voice and he reached to touch the leather-covered arm.
The sudden touch seemed to wake him up, and Kakashi offered quite sheepish smile, his free hand scratching the back of his head. “Maa, I apologize,” he murmured and offered his arm, the one Iruka was still touching, “shall we?”
The brown eyes were still a bit troubled but the smaller man said nothing and allowed himself to be guided inside. Ordering the day’s lunch, a fresh chicken salad, the men sat down to eat, Akino settling down next to Kakashi’s feet. Before picking the eating utensils, Iruka passed the clothes bag to their rightful owner. Kakashi took a quick glance at the insides, smirking all of a sudden.
‘Why, Iruka, where is my underwear?’ he signed with a definite leer.
The other clearly stammered something Kakashi wasn’t able to catch but nevertheless he enjoyed the blush that spread on the tan face. ‘Idiot, they are there!’ he signed back, glaring at the pale man. The real reason why he was flushing was that the idea of keeping those red boxers had crossed Iruka’s mind when he had carried the soiled clothes downstairs but Iruka had resisted the temptation.
After all, the near future promised quite free access to the cotton boxers and its siblings.
Blushing even more at that train of thought, Iruka grumbled under his breath and attacked viciously the poor salad instead of his wanted target.
Kakashi smirked under the mask, confident enough to bet his money that Iruka was thinking the same thing as he was thinking. But although the smaller man looked very hot while angry, Kakashi didn’t want to spend this short time like this. Gently resting his fingers on the tan wrist that lay on the table, the silver-haired man stroked the thin skin and the glaring eyes rose to meet the black one.
Swallowing a mouthful of the food, Iruka felt his anger diminish as the stroking continued and at the affectionate look in those dark depths. “What?” he asked softly, even if Kakashi couldn’t hear it.
“I missed you.”
As corny as the words were, Iruka couldn’t help the sudden fluttering of his heart or the cheeky grin that twitched the corners of his mouth. “I missed you, too.”
The conversation started to flow from that, the physical touch staying in form of shins touching, fingers brushing against each other and even one moment when Kakashi couldn’t stop himself and took the tan hand in his own. Their fingers intertwined together and stayed like that for few moments before parting naturally. For Iruka the time went too fast and soon they had to part. Kakashi, not wanting to leave Iruka just yet, promised to walk with the other back to Konoha.
Since Iruka was looking at Kakashi and his signing, the pony-tailed man didn’t see the man that was standing in the middle of his path. The impact was so sudden that Iruka instinctively jumped back and cried:
“I’m sorry,” he apologized and bowed.
“Do not worry, Umino-san, this is actually a delightful surprise,” a familiar voice informed politely and Iruka felt his hackles rise immediately.
“You!” Iruka hissed and his head snapped up so fast it almost gave him a whiplash to come face to face the smugly smiling Kabuto, who didn’t even flinch at the heated glare sent at him.
“Konnichi-wa, Umino-san,” Kabuto greeted with a small bow, his dark eyes flicking somewhere behind the seething man, a faked look of surprise appearing on the young face, “Hatake-sempai? Is that really you?”
The blood drained from Iruka’s face and his body went cold. Hatake-sempai? Did… Did Kakashi know Kabuto?! Shocked at this new knowledge, he failed to notice the way the deaf man stiffened, the half-lidded eye narrowing a fraction as he stared at the not-so-pleasant blast from the past. And, unlike Iruka, Kakashi saw how the tan man suddenly deflated, looking… terrified?
Hiding his confusion, Kakashi did the second best thing; looked bored. “Yo, Yakushi-kouhai, a surprise to meet you here,” he drawled, the visible eye half-lidded as it regarded the younger man.
The long coat had been left open, revealing a tailor-made, Armani suit that looked more expensive than both Kakashi and Iruka’s clothes thrown together, a fine woven, purple scarf resting on the narrow chest and the polished leather shoes shone in the sun. The man really stood out like that with his luxurious clothes but Kabuto still lacked something that Kakashi had, something Iruka couldn’t really place his finger on.
Too shocked to ponder this more, he stayed immobile and stared at the interaction between the two men.
“Pleasure is all mine, Hatake-sempai,” Kabuto smiled sweetly, the glasses glinting slightly as he cocked his head in fake surprise, “first Umino-san and now you, sempai. This seems to be my lucky day, ah, that reminds me - “
Iruka willed himself not to scoff when Kabuto turned at him, fighting back the urge to wipe off that polite, yet smug smirk from the younger man’s face with his fist.
“Umino-san, did you like my gift? It took me some great measures to find something like that and I hope it pleased you.”
The muscles in Iruka’s jaw tightened, teeth grinding so hard he feared they would break under the pressure, the vein started to throb on his temple as his anger flamed again. “I wouldn’t know because it’s not my habit to open packages from people I don’t know well,” he informed with a low voice, words dripping with danger as the well ingrained politeness lost to fury.
Kabuto did flinch a bit at this glare, which made him feel more furious than surprised. He had dealt with all kinds of people, some of them more close to animals than humans, but his, this part-time teacher dared to show more fire and disgust towards him than anyone he had ever met. It made Kabuto angry and it made him even more interested of this man in some deep, twisted level.
Next to the dark-haired man, Kakashi inhaled sharply through his nose when the pieces clicked together, a storm of several emotions rising inside him: hurt, that Iruka hadn’t told Kakashi about the little fact that Kabuto was trying to seduce him; possessiveness, that this little bastard even thought he had the chance with Iruka; anger, that Iruka had kept his secret from Kakashi when it clearly bothered him.
The other two men didn’t notice this, too engrossed with themselves and not in the good way if you asked Iruka.
Kabuto had schooled down his irritation, the respectful face more collected than the tan man’s, who looked rather homicidal. “That’s dreadful to hear, Umino-san,” Kabuto commented lightly, pushing his glasses higher, “now my money was wasted. This time. Hopefully I have enough for the weekend.” A little, evil smirk twisted that polite mask when Iruka paled noticeably, enjoying the flash of fright in those dark brown eyes.
They both missed how a one particular eye narrowed dangerously.
Using the other’s unbalance, Kabuto leant closer to Iruka, eyes gleaming victoriously when he saw the hint of fear deepen even more in the older man’s. “I’m sure the auction will be a success, even if it can’t save your beloved Konoha, Umino-san,” Kabuto whispered ominously, hand rising to touch the ashen face.
The pale fingers were inches away from Iruka’s cheek, when a hand shot out, grabbing Kabuto’s wrist in to a tight grip. Iruka blinked, eyes widening when he realized what might have happened as he stared at the leather-gloved hand in front of him.
“Sempai, is something wrong?” Kabuto’s voice asked, calm and collected, not showing any pain the tight hold caused.
Arching his eye, Kakashi twisted the hand away from Iruka. “Maa, it’s not polite to touch someone like that, kouhai,” the masked man informed lightly. He wrapped his free arm around Iruka’s shoulders in a clear sign of possession. “Especially someone else’s boyfriend, Kabuto,” Kakashi drawled, a hint of steel flashing in his eye as he coolly regarded the other silver-head.
This brought a visible hit, a sneer that did not escape Kakashi and Iruka. “My apologies, Umino-san, sempai, I had no idea you were in that kind of relationship,” Kabuto smiled sweetly, like a snake with poison dripping from its fangs.
It made Iruka’s flesh prickle uneasily, while the deaf man beside him just stared nonchalantly the rigid business man, silently egging him even more. “Yes we are,” Kakashi murmured, nudging gently the silent man next to him.
Iruka blinked but caught what the taller man was expecting from him. “As you can see, Yakushi-san, I’m taken and those gifts can stop coming,” he said firmly, brown eyes hard as flints.
Kabuto didn’t allow the grimace surface second time, the fingers digging deep in to the flesh of his palm ensuring that. “But of course, Umino-san, I have no intention harming you and your relationship sempai,” the sickly polite man guaranteed, the smile nothing but discreet.
Liar, the small voice whispered in the back of Iruka’s head and unbeknownst to him, Kakashi was having similar thoughts, his displeasure showing in his eye.
“Have a nice day, Umino-san,” the young man bid his farewell with a bow before turning to the masked man. “Once again, you’re a lucky man, Hatake-sempai,” Kabuto congratulated mockingly, the sneer twisting slightly the smile, “but be careful, your luck might run out very soon.”
Kakashi tensed, his arm tightening around the tan man and glared at the Kabuto, who turned on his heel and walked away. Iruka wasn’t sure what he felt at that moment, the combination of embarrassment and anger welling inside him and leaving him overall antsy. The strong grip around his shoulders startled the dark-haired man to look at Kakashi, paling as he saw something he hadn’t yet seen on the silver-haired man:
Anger.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kakashi demanded harshly, voice tight and controlled, ”he sent you that package, didn’t he, Iruka?”
Iruka had often been told he should learn how to back off in situations like this and not to rush forward like a headstrong bull. Too bad the scar-nosed man hadn’t managed to do that. So it wasn’t a surprise that Iruka’s hackles rose in defense.
“I said I can take care of myself,” he hissed back, breaking free from Kakashi’s hold, creating some distance between them.
Looping the leash around his wrist with years of experience, the masked man moved to sign language. ‘You don’t know Kabuto, he’s not going to back off that easily. You saw it, too, didn’t you?’
“How do you know that?” Iruka asked, eyes flickering to their sides, painfully aware they were standing in the middle of the walkway during the lunch hour, which meant they were getting more attention than Iruka would have liked.
‘I know Kabuto, he’s manipulative, selfish and cold-hearted bastard’, Kakashi signed back, his fingers moving in sharp movements, scowling openly when he saw the stubborn line Iruka’s jaw set, ‘Iruka, I’m not lying. I’m worried about you. I thought it was suspicious last night but now it’s alarming. Kabuto isn’t used to people fighting back, it only makes him even more curious.’
“So what? I can manage a bastard like him, you know nothing of my past. Who says I’m not used to dealing with men like him?!”
It was a mistake, an honest mistake fueled by Kakashi’s anger and frustration that his fingers slipped and signed the next words:
‘Like you did with Mizuki?’
Iruka froze, his eyes widening and for a moment he looked very… fragile, the fire disappearing from his eyes as well as the color from his skin. Immediately, as soon as he finished bending his fingers to form ‘ki’, Kakashi knew he had screwed up and wanted to kick himself from doing it.
“How do you know?” Iruka asked, lips barely moving.
Swallowing, Kakashi shook his head. ‘I-I didn’t understand.’
“I asked, how do you know?” the tan repeated, using sign language to make the question painstakingly clear and unavoidable to answer.
Kakashi’s mind was racing and fast, trying to come up with an answer because it really hurt him in unimaginable ways to see Iruka’s eyes so haunted and lifeless. Opening and closing his mouth, the deaf man had no idea if there was any sound coming from him. Kakashi knew Iruka was waiting for him to say something, to apologize, anything, but what could he say? Telling the truth right now would surely ruin everything they had managed to built together. No! Kakashi would not allow that to happen, not like this.
“Jiraiya,” Kakashi mouthed the name, never knowing how small, strangled his voice came out, the fear and worry visible where his face wasn’t. Biting back the not so small sigh of relief, Kakashi relaxed just a fraction when Iruka didn’t turn around and walked away but slowly raised his eyebrow.
‘He told me that you had had a bad relationship, when I asked about you,’ the deaf man signed the half-truth, half-lie, ‘but he didn’t tell why. Please forgive me, Iruka, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was, I…’
Kakashi bit his lip underneath the mask and this time his hands moved to tell the truth:
‘I don’t want to lose you, not to a man like him. I like you too much and the way he was talking to you, leaning closer, it, it just made me jealous - and worried.’
The silver-haired didn’t notice it but Akino, sensing its master’s distress, started to paw the jeans and whine quietly, ears drooping.
Iruka watched the other grimly, considering what Kakashi had told him, the painful feeling of being betrayed lessening at the sincere feelings the deaf man was showing. “Jiraiya had no right to tell you about Mizuki,” he whispered, a flash of anger igniting those dead eyes once again.
That was good. Anger was something Kakashi could deal with right now, not the lifeless man Iruka had been few moments ago.
‘I know, I’m sorry,’ Kakashi signed, ‘he did it just to warn me not to hurt you again. And I failed, I did hurt you.’
The pawing was now more insistent and the silver-haired man knelt to soothe the tawny dog, murmuring soft words under his breath, his gaze never leaving Iruka’s face. Akino licked the pale fingers when they scratched the white muzzle. “Sorry, boy,” Kakashi murmured and rose up to his feet, blinking when Iruka stepped closer, right against to him.
Dark brown eyes looked straight at the black one, and Kakashi didn’t dare to move when Iruka’s hand came to push the wrapping off his damaged eye, the wish clear. Iruka watched the scarred eyelid twitch and flutter open, blinking rapidly to adjust in to the sunlight, before the red orb focused on the tan man. Immediately the throb behind his left temple started but Kakashi ignored it with all his might. The silver-haired man didn’t know what the other saw in his mismatched eyes, but Kakashi could only hope he could see the regret and worry that was twisting Kakashi’s insides in to a tight knot.
After what seemed like an eternity, Iruka spoke again:
“You’re forgiven. This time.”
The tan man allowed a small smile light his face when the taller one gave a sigh of the century, surprising Iruka how tense Kakashi had been despite the ever-present slouch. The red eyes closed again and the black one remained to gaze at Iruka, looking nothing but relieved.
“Thank you,” Kakashi murmured and he slowly reached out for Iruka’s hand.
It was almost adorable, Iruka mused vaguely, how hesitant the other man was now that he was guilty. Kakashi had been careful with his advances before but now the taller man’s movements were deliberate as he entwined their fingers together. Iruka was still quite hurt and angry that Kakashi had known about Mizuki and not told him but used it against him in their very first argument. Still, the tan man wasn’t about to throw everything away just because of this. Should Kakashi do something like this again, there would be no forgiving. Besides a small part of Iruka, the most naïve one, was annoyingly thrilled at the fact that Kakashi was clearly jealous over him, enough to stand against Kabuto.
“I think I should go back, my lunch break is almost over,” Iruka just commented but he offered a small smile of reassurance to Kakashi.
Nodding, Kakashi glanced at Akino, the dog jumping on its feet, curly tail wagging eagerly now that the master was happy once again. “I’ll walk you,” he answered, taking a look of the surroundings and noticing only a few people staring at them, which was good. But when they turned around the corner, Kakashi noticed a familiar green car that passing right next to them along the street.
Scowling, he tried to get a good look of the license plate this time but a tug from Iruka made Kakashi turn automatically his head towards the other, mentally cursing when the car slipped behind the corner.
Completely unaware, Iruka just grinned at the other man, mischievous. “You know I should demand compensation for the mental pain you caused to me,” the scar-nosed man informed matter-of-factly, which caused one of the silvery eyebrows arch up.
“And what that would be?” Kakashi had to ask out loud, since his other hand was still holding Iruka’s.
A small blush colored the tan cheeks and after few moments of pondering, the brunet took out his cell phone. Kakashi watched curiously him to mutter a few words, startling when the dark green phone was all but thrust in to his face, the brown eyes looking everywhere but Kakashi. The silvery brow climbed even higher this time when the man read just what was on the glowing screen.
Iruka, the little devious bastard, grinned even wider despite his darkening blush, since it was quite an amusing scene.
“Deal,” Kakashi husked, leering underneath the mask.
** ** **
“Prick.”
“Dobe.”
“Teme!”
“Che, usuratonkachi.”
“Am not!” Naruto shouted back, jumping up to his feet, the chair clattering as it went down.
The blind teenager smirked at the loud sound. “Don’t rattle the bars, monkey,” Sasuke baited, onyx eyes staring somewhere left of the fuming blond.
“Says the cripple with cane, oh wait! I forgot, you’re blind!” Naruto called back, making Sasuke’s temple twitch with annoyance.
“Idiot, that’s the most stupid insult I’ve ever heard,” he muttered, “did you get hit in the head too many times as a kid or were you just born like that?”
“Did you get stuffed with a three foot stick since I can see it coming from your ass,” Naruto growled, smiling triumphantly when the dark glare started to burn holes in the wall.
“Dropout,” Sasuke hissed, Naruto’s insult hitting this time too close to the home and resulting him in to a petty name calling that would definitely rile the other up.
And, just as expected, Naruto’s howl of rage bombarded his sensitive ears in the empty group room, Sasuke readied himself for the impact that was to come.
“Oi, that’s enough,” drawled Genma’s irritated voice out of the blue and he caught Naruto by the collar of his shirt just on time, “where’s Iruka? He knows better than not to leave you two alone without a zookeeper.”
The blond choked slightly at the sudden pressure on his windpipe, the blue eyes glaring daggers at Sasuke, who looked little lost when no attack came, struggling to free himself for a second or two. It would be enough for him to pound that bastard’s pretty face for good. “Dad’s out with Kakashi-san,” Naruto growled, missing the way the honey-haired man’s eyes lit up.
“Kakashi, eh?” Genma hummed, releasing Naruto, “how long he’s been gone already?”
That got both the boys attention; Sasuke’s glare moved effortlessly towards the laid-back man while Naruto’s eyes narrowed in to slits.
“None of your business,” Naruto barked, causing the man to chuckle.
“Still haven’t forgiven the hair episode?” Genma smirked, senbon wagging teasingly.
“Nope.”
“Too bad, me neither - the scars are still visibe.” He hiked the sleeve little bit higher, revealing a nice row of lightly colored marks right above his wrist. “Luckily I had my shots week before.”
Sasuke could only listen to their banter with a mild confusion, since he didn’t know anything about the two’s past that involved Genma getting a “bracelet of teeths” from mini-Naruto. But even though their mocking was on the borderline of being insulting, he detected no real heat that was always in his and Naruto’s fights.
“Why don’t we call the zoo and tell one of their primates is missing?”
Naruto gave Genma the finger, before a foxy grin split his face. “Why don’t we ask Raidou-san to help you with those scars.”
Genma’s eyes widened from their usual half-lidded stare, glowering murderously at Naruto. “Leave Raidou out of this, brat,” he ordered with a hint of nervousness in his usual relaxed tone of voice.
The blond boy wasn’t taken by this but he did walk to the fallen chair, the knowing smirk still glued on to his lips. “I mean Raidou-san is so nice and he would be more than happy to help you, Genma-san,” Naruto taunted, snickering as sweat began to form on the man’s forehead as the glare began to give darken so much that even Sasuke would be pleased - if he only could see it, that is.
“There’s a saying I heard from my friend from Europe that one digs blood from one’s nose,” Genma informed lightly, “and you are digging blood from your nose with a shovel, brat.”
“Ooh, how scary~” Naruto cackled, watching gleefully the ever-present needle twitch in annoyance.
“I mean it, Naruto,” Genma just about growled, his body moving to take a step forward, when the group room’s door opened.
Once again Sasuke was lost, since he couldn’t see how Raidou stepped in, or how Genma literally froze on the spot, leg in the air, or how Naruto fell on the floor and started to laugh - the latter he did hear, though, because it was near impossible not to. Sasuke thought he heard Genma gasp “Raidou!” in a rather strangled way but it could’ve been his ears playing tricks. It wasn’t that much of a shock, since there was a idiot on the floor right in front of him and was really laughing his ass off.
“Shut up, dobe,” Sasuke hissed and poked his cane in the vague direction of the sound, smirking when he hit Naruto straight between the ribs.
Raidou raised his brow as another fight erupted between the boys, both of them most likely shouting insults to each other if he guessed right. Turning his attention to Genma, the scarred man frowned when he saw how an unusual whiteness had taken over the other man’s face. ‘Are you alright? You look quite pale,’ Raidou asked, worry immediately filling his eyes.
Genma nodded rapidly as an answer, the senbon almost falling from his mouth. ‘Yeah, everything’s ok. Did you need something?’
The short-haired man didn’t seem as convinced as Genma hoped, so he mustered the most charming smile he possessed.
Sure enough, Raidou faltered, dark eyes flickering with some unnamed emotion that was gone in a flash. ‘Shizune-san needs Iruka in the gym hall and he isn’t back yet so I thought getting the boys help her instead,’ Raidou signed and glanced at the fighting duo, wincing when Sasuke poked Naruto in the stomach and hard.
Genma turned on his heels at the loud curse, face grim and ready to unleash his anger at certain nosy monkey. “Knock it out you two!” he ordered and went to break them apart, Raidou right behind him.
** ** **
Tsunade sighed as she went through papers, the pile of bills growing higher and higher with every passing week. She felt tired, her true age showing in the corners of her hazel eyes and mouth in the form of lines. Tsunade thought morosely that she was like the captain of a sinking ship, slowly but surely going down under but she was not ready to abandon the faithful girl even if it meant losing her life - literately speaking. Tsunade’s gaze wandered to the old photo of his predecessor, the wizen face of Sarutobi Hiruzen smiling from the wall, above the framed hole.
What would have Sarutobi-sama done? How he would have fought against Orochimaru?
A wry chuckle was heard in the office when Tsunade pictured Sarutobi-sama giving a good old beating to that snake-bastard. She was one hundred percent positive that even Orochimaru would have been in trouble with the old coot.
There was a knock from the door and Tsunade pressed the intercom button to inform whoever was outside to step in, the buzz loud even inside. Turning away from the depressing paperwork, she watched Kotetsu enter her office, his hands filled with their large donation box from the entrance hall.
“Konnichi-wa, Tsunade-sama,” the spiky-haired man greeted, placing carefully the almost see-through plastic box, decorated with stickers and drawings from the children, on the desk.
“Konnichi-wa, Kotetsu,” she said, perking slightly, “is it good news?”
“Yes, people have noticed our flyers and some our families have given more than the usual for donation these past weeks.” With a small smile, Kotetsu carefully shook the box, the sound of coins and paper bills clear in the office.
Reaching for it, Tsunade felt her heart lighten just the tiniest bit. “I’ll empty this tomorrow,” she informed proudly him and locked the box in to the small safe behind her desk.
Kotetsu nodded happily but his eyes were resting on the messy piles of papers and torn envelopes. Tsunade of course noticed this, her grim expression matching the young man’s. Kotetsu opened his mouth but closed it abruptly. With a small nod he left and closed the door behind him. Sighing, the blonde woman leant her hip against the edge of her desk, rubbing her temples tiredly.
How she hoped Saturday would save them all from sinking.
** ** **
When Kakashi got back to Gamabunta, he immediately went to his booth and wrote down the details of that car. It hadn’t been at Konoha but somehow he knew the driver was somewhere near. After that, the silver-haired man opened his bank account to check just how much money he had. The teasing remark from Iruka days ago had come back to haunt him - Jiraiya’s words didn’t help the matter at all - and Kakashi was sure Kabuto would try to win him with the vast amount of money the little bastard could throw away without blinking an eye.
A wry smile spread underneath the dark mask. He wouldn’t be surprised if Iruka’s auction was the salvation of Konoha.
Time to make a certain phone call…
** ** ** ** **
A/N: The print in Kakashi's shirt is this one
- Senna-chan