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“How’s your relationship with Iruka-sensei recently?”
Kakashi looked up from his plate to look at Obito’s curious gaze and Rin’s gleeful one. He shrugged, quickly putting his mask down to shove a bite of meat. Even if they’ve seen what’s beneath the mask, he can’t forget that he’s out in public where others would do anything to take a look at his face.
“Yeah, Kakashi. What have you done for dates? Did you visit him at the academy? Do a picnic? Oh, did you cook him dinner?!” Rin gushed, eagerly leaning towards Kakashi on the other side of the table.
All he could was rub his nape sheepishly, avoiding their curious gazes. “Well, uh, no. Just one at Ichiraku’s.”
Confused noises left Obito and Rin, mouths open in disbelief. “So what have you been up to all this time?” The excited tone of Rin lowered to a softer and disappointed one.
“Missions.”
“So you mean to tell me, for almost two weeks after the wedding, where everyone just saw you dancing away with Iruka all lovey-dovey, you decided it was a good idea to take a mission?” Obito shook his head, exasperated at his best friend’s actions. “Are you stupid?”
“No! It’s just…” Kakashi knew there wasn’t much to defend himself because, yes, he could’ve decided to not accept a mission given that Tsunade gave him time off after his assigned A-rank mission. That was the day after their dinner date (no rest for Jounins, he swears) that lasted over the course of five days. The next day was spent with him sleeping over half the day, only to wake up to a messenger bird pecking at his window—a call from the Hokage herself. He was given an escort mission that took him another three days. He’s been busy, for sure.
“Iruka-sensei’s gonna think you’re not interested in him,” Obito sang out teasingly, laughing at the way Kakashi’s visible eye widened in panic, looking like he was about to jump out of his seat.
“Obi, stop that!” Rin scolded. She looked back at Kakashi, reaching a hand forward to place it on top of Kakashi’s tense one. “But, Kakashi, maybe he’s getting worried about you.”
Kakashi sighed. He trusted his friends (but at this moment, not really Obito for his teasing remark); even he himself knew that he should be somewhere with Iruka, on a date probably. But, with his knowledge of romance only coming from novels and from the relationships he’s observed, he’s not quite sure on how he’s supposed to move forward. What else can he do? He drops his head in defeat. Real life is not like my romance novels.
However, he’s hopeful. Despite the rocky start of their casual relationship turned proper courtship situation, Iruka has been courteous. He reminisces their date, how they chatted as if they were back to how they were; there was no space for awkwardness with how Iruka kept the conversation going. He asked anything and everything under the sun to get to know Kakashi, and him throwing the questions back to Iruka. He liked the intimacy of getting to know Iruka—what makes him tick, what he likes, his interests. He hopes Iruka feels the same about him too; he hopes that he feels that same elation Kakashi does whenever he learns something new about the teacher.
He can still feel the calloused hands of Iruka when he reached over to hold his hand. He remembers the way Iruka jumped in his seat, a dark red tint blooming on his cheeks, and Kakashi smiled fondly at Iruka trying to hide his flustered state obvious by his stuttering. It was their first official date and he was glad that their day ended without any problems. After walking Iruka home and giving him a peck on his lips with the promise of taking him to another date, he looked up to the sky and released a content sigh at what he was blessed with. I can’t wait for what the future has in store for us, he thought happily.
That is, until his friends are convinced that he’s putting his relationship with the teacher at jeopardy due to his… whatever he’s lacking, he supposes, which is currently a lot.
“I don’t know what to do…” Kakashi groaned out, obvious distress heard in his tone.
“Well, maybe you should visit him first, yeah? You’ve been gone for so long he’s probably out there thinking you’ve gotten sick of him.” Kakashi was starting to hate the way Obito’s sounding right now, with his mocking tone and annoying smirk.
Usually, he’d be composed around Obito, taking his teasing jabs with his usual nonchalance, but because he’s poking at his relationship with Iruka, he can’t help but feel defensive.
“You don’t know that.”
“Oh, yeah?” Obito’s smirk widened and Kakashi gulped. “If you say so. Sad, though, I just learned something about Iruka-sensei that you probably don’t know about. Was thinking you could surprise him, but, oh well.” Obito shrugged.
Obito nudged Rin to stand up from her seat, hand placed lovingly on her lower back as he stood up alongside her. “Well, thanks for this, but we’ll be leaving now.”
He watched Obito leave him some ryo to settle the bill. Ugh, fine, he’ll swallow his pride.
“Wait!” He hates the way he can see Rin giggling at her friends’ antics and Obito’s mischievous smile.
He sighs and in a soft tone, he asks, “What about Iruka?”
Iruka knows how important missions are to the village, and that’s why shinobi should always be prepared for any mission that they get assigned to, especially for highly ranked ninjas. That’s why he tries to reign in his worries when he can’t find Kakashi around the village, can’t feel the thrum of his chakra that he’s learned to distinguish from the rest of the ninjas. He’s probably just off on another mission, he reassures himself daily, but it’s not enough to console him. The day after their date, he was excited to look for Kakashi, maybe invite him over for dinner, but was disappointed when he saw Kakashi’s genin team with Guy instead.
That was enough of a sign for him that he was not in the village, tasked with a mission that would take who knows how long. Maybe next time, he thought hopefully, only for that hope to be whisked away like leaves in a storm when Kakashi has not returned for over a week. He can’t help the doubts plaguing his mind; he was sure that their first date went smoothly, with Kakashi even promising another date after giving him a soft kiss as they parted.
He slapped his cheeks to wake him up from his miserable thoughts. He’s an important and capable Jounin, so it should be no surprise that he would be assigned to missions that require his skills to accomplish. But, still, he can’t help but miss him. Now, rather than his despondent thoughts on their relationship, he thinks of how Kakashi needs a break, at least for a few days.
He reigned in his thoughts to focus on his lesson plan at the faculty in the academy. He took his pen again to write notes on the side of his paper. He finally settled back into the flow of his work, finishing his lesson plan to move on to grading his students’ tests, only for his concentration to be interrupted by the sound of tapping on glass. His gaze immediately went to the faculty door, thinking another student was trying to get his attention from the window on the door, only to see no head peeking over. Then he turned in his seat to look at the faculty window. There, he gasped to see Kakashi—oh, how he missed Kakashi—squatting on the ledge of the window.
He rushed over, but before he can open the window. His eyes trailed over the familiar mask and eye smile of Kakashi, then it landed to his head. The smile he had when he saw Kakashi at the window dropped and he gaped at him. What did he do to his hair?
“Kakashi?” Iruka whispered, confused yet entranced. He’s completely forgotten about Kakashi still on the other side of the glass, only to squeak in surprise when Kakashi waved in front of his face, pointing at the lock on the window. His fingers shook as he unlatched the lock, and finally, Kakashi hopped inside.
Immediately, Iruka noticed the way Kakashi stood straighter, gone was his unbothered slouch. He was tense, and Iruka can guess why. Despite his mask covering his face, Kakashi’s (visible) cheek reddened over his mask, spreading to the tips of his ears. Iruka wished he wasn’t wearing a mask to see how red he was getting; it would definitely be a sight to see such a composed Jounin getting flustered at his own antics.
Iruka smiled at him, then a laugh passed through his lips. “Kakashi, what’s all this?”
Kakashi rubbed at his nape, an unconscious habit that he did when he was nervous, Iruka learned. “Maa, well…” Kakashi trailed off.
Iruka raised an eyebrow at him, hip jutting to the side as he leaned on his right leg. “Yes, Kakashi, care to explain?”
“I… I heard you—you like it when people are well-kept…” Kakashi mumbled.
Ah. No wonder. Rather than Kakashi’s messy mop of hair, it had been flattened down and slicked back. Iruka can’t deny that he did look good with his hair styled in a way he’s never seen Kakashi sport before.
“And where did you get that idea, hm?” Iruka stepped forward, hands cupping Kakashi’s face, and rubbed his thumbs over his clothed cheeks. Kakashi leaned forward, digging his face deeper into Iruka’s hands, eyes closing with a hum from his throat.
“Obito said that Genma told him who was told by Izumo.”
Iruka sighed and shook his head. He can trust his friends to remember things he says without much thought during their drinking hangouts. He himself doesn’t even remember what the question was that urged him to answer in such a way.
“Do you like it? My hair, I mean”
“Well, I can’t deny you look rather dashing.”
He can see the gears turning in Kakashi’s head, taking what he said into consideration. He stepped even closer to Kakashi, chests (vests, really, with how there’s always something in those pockets) pressing close together until he could feel each other’s chests rising and lowering. His hands dropped from Kakashi’s face to caress his neck, down to his arms, and around his waist to lock themselves on his lower back. In return, Kakashi gripped his hips, giving him an affectionate squeeze.
“Kakashi, I don’t even know why I said that. But, I can assure you, it has nothing to do with your hair,” Iruka told him, chuckling as he tried reassuring him. “Besides, your hair is a part of you. It’s your charm, really, how you can still look so good. No one can pull it off like you can.”
Iruka ran his hands through Kakashi’s hair, removing them from their flattened state and fluffing it up. He can’t deny Kakashi looked different in it, a good kind of different; maybe in the future, he’d ask Kakashi to recreate it. But for now, he’s here to soothe Kakashi’s thoughts and insecurities, and he’d do anything to appease any doubts he has of himself. Kakashi is his to love and Iruka has an infinite amount of love ready to give.
“So, you have no problem with my hair not being ‘well-kept’?” Iruka could see the way Kakashi’s lips protruded from his mask. He was pouting and Iruka couldn’t help but lean forward to leave a soft peck on his lips.
“No, Kakashi, I don’t.” He gave him another peck, this time on his clothed cheek. Then, without warning, Iruka lightly slapped his back. Kakashi yelped, his eye wide in surprise. First, they were being all so sweet, and now—?!
“This is the first time I’ve seen you in days, and this is the first thing you do?!” Iruka yelled.
All Kakashi could do was let out a low whine of his name, head drooping. “But, I missed you… I just wanted to do something for you after being gone for so long.”
“I missed you, too. Please, tell me next time if you’re leaving. I don’t like not knowing if you’re avoiding me or if you’re out there on a mission.”
“I could never hate you, Iruka.” Kakashi pulled him close, head leaning on his shoulder, and burying himself close to Iruka’s neck. He breathed in his scent, committing it to memory. “Just wasn’t sure how to go about this.”
“Me too,” Iruka said as his arms squeezed around Kakashi’s waist. “We’re taking this slow, yes? So let’s take it as slow as we want, do whatever—it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s with you.”
They stood there for moments, not caring that they’re standing in an empty faculty room. They swayed to their own beat, basking in one another’s presence. The warmth that Kakashi emitted calmed Iruka; having him close brought thoughts of the future. He imagines waking up next to him in the morning, cuddling under the sunlight. Cooking breakfast together, eating in silence because each other’s company was enough. Walking together, being domestic; it filled him with love. But for now, he was okay with this. The future will always be uncertain, but he knows he wants Kakashi to be there in every moment.
It was Iruka lightly pushing his body away from Kakashi that stopped their silent dance. He looked into Kakashi’s eye and smiled. “You want to go to my place and have dinner?”
“Yeah. I’ll cook, my treat.”
“It’s not really your treat if you’re using my ingredients.”
Iruka walked back to his desk, clearing his papers and stuffing it into his satchel. He’d grade them later. Kakashi took his bag from him, hanging on to his own shoulder.
“You’re so clever, sensei. I’ll treat you next time, believe it.”
“Stop that. Don’t talk like Naruto. You’re not funny.”
Kakashi let out a low laugh at Iruka’s grimace. “But, sensei. I can’t help it. I’m stuck with him.”
“More like he’s stuck with you. Now, be quiet, and let’s go home.”
They walked out the academy hand-in-hand. It was mostly Iruka chatting about how his week went, Kakashi choosing to listen intently at how Iruka’s tone changed to various emotions during his storytelling. He missed this, he missed hearing his voice—he missed everything about him. Kakashi leaned closer to him, arms brushing against one another. He’d think about what to do for their future dates next time. And maybe not listen to Obito, too.