For the last several months he had evidently been watching the chuunin with a single mindset. Well, evident to Kakashi, that was. It was nigh becoming an obsession and one that he would rather have done with sooner than later. The question was: how could he go about accomplishing that task?

While any simple diversion would be readily welcomed, after a normal amount of time had elapsed the entertainment value would be gone and it would be time to move on to something new.

The problem was that he couldn't seem to move on. Watching Iruka gave him an almost nearly sadistic pleasure, and one for which he found he simply couldn't ignore. On more than one night he had lain awake pondering the many, many ways he could get the chuunin in an oh, so delightfully compromised position. If Iruka had wondered why Kakashi's presence had suddenly become more and more frequent around him as well as the general teasing, Kakashi doubted he would actually guess the true intent behind these "coincidences."

A mental image of Iruka blushing furiously at Kakashi's proposition both excited and frustrated the jounin. He wondered idly for the tenth time, as he crouched high in a tree and waited for Iruka's class to let out, how that honeyed skin would blush for him from something quite far more engaging than banter. Kakashi's own body flushed hot at the vivid detail of his mind but he was far reluctant to let go of his thoughts and passively let the tension flare even higher. He was pulled abruptly from his thoughts at a crucial moment by the timely sound of children fleeing their classrooms for fun and freedom.

He waited patiently until they had left, waited until he knew their teacher was nearly ready to leave himself, and set off down the road from the school. His plan, as he had perfected before, was to slow his pace to a casual slink, stopping every so often to admire his surroundings or examine a shop here and there. Then, when Iruka would be briskly on his way home, he would contrive to put himself in the younger man's way as though by accident.

Finally he saw Iruka coming up the road and Kakashi waited by a fruit stand until the other man had arrived nearly to his hiding spot before mystically appearing directly before him. Iruka jumped in surprise, dropping his bag in the street and gaped in open astonishment.

"Ka-Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing?" he demanded hotly.

"Hmm? Oh, I thought I saw a rare bird on that roof up there. I was only stepping closer to take a look. And there's only two "ka's" in my name, I-Iruka-sensei," he smiled blithely.

Iruka fumed silently, his face turning a caramel-tinged pink. Kakashi spied the coloring from the corner of his eye and secretly smiled to himself.

"Well, if you don't mind, Kakashi-sensei," he said, stressing the first two syllables of his antagonist's name, "I must be about my business."

"But of course," he replied, moving a step forward to allow Iruka free passage. Silently, he fell in step alongside the chuunin as the other retrieved his bag and began to walk away. It wasn't too long before Iruka finally stopped and turned to him.

"Why the hell are you following me?" he yelled loudly, gaining quite a few questioning stares from the nearby crowds.

"Who said I was following you? I just happened to be going this way as well," he finished, canting his head to one side and pointing along the road.

"What happened to the rare bird?"

"It wasn't there."

"I happen to be quite busy, Kakashi-sensei, so I do not have the time to play with you today," he sighed.

"Why, Iruka-sensei… one would think you didn't like me," he said with an affected frown.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" he replied in a voice heavily laced with sarcasm.

"Tch! Let me make it up to you then," Kakashi suggested carefully, his voice hinting at humor.

Iruka raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "And just how would you plan on making it up to me?"

"Hmm… well..." he scratched his head in thought. Finally, he shrugged, "I could always buy your dinner tonight. That way I could also give you an update on how my genin team is progressing."

Iruka lowered his eyes thinking it over. It would be nice to know how the kids were doing, yet Kakashi was so unpredictable at most times… In the end in accepted the proposition. Maybe Kakashi was trying to make an attempt at being civil with him after how he'd been treated over the last few months. He knew the man was a genius shinobi and highly respected amongst the community, but he had been frustrated at the jounin for ridiculing him so much. A little teasing was quite fine by the teacher, but Kakashi had taken teasing to a whole other level.

"All right then, I'll accept your invitation, but," he jabbed one finger at Kakashi's chest, "this had better not be anything more than an apology."

Kakashi placed one hand over his chest and inclined his head. "I assure you that it is not," Kakashi lied.

"Fine then. I do have a task I must complete over at the mission's office, but where would you like to meet at?"

After thinking it over, he grinned and turned back to Iruka. "Your place," he said cheerily.

"Do you know where my apartment is?" he asked warily.

"Yes."

"How do you know where I live?" he growled in suspicion.

"Naruto."

Oh. Well, that was buyable…

"My place, then. In two hours."

"Of course," he agreed, tilting his head forward in acceptance.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"No tricks."

"Of course not!" Iruka grunted then walked away. Kakashi waited until he could no longer make him out, and then casually went about finding a distraction for the next two hours. At least it had gone better than even he had expected.

~*~

Forty minutes past the appointed time, he finally showed up at Iruka's apartment. When the younger man opened the door glaring Kakashi gave him a winning smile in greeting.

"You're late," Iruka said flatly.

"Ah, yes. See, I was-"

"Save it," he opened the door wider. "Come on in."

Kakashi grinned and entered the apartment, taking an immediate cursory look. It was orderly but lived in and completely over-powered by that feel of "Iruka." The warmth of his personality was evident in all the little details of his home.

"Please make yourself comfortable." And after a pause, "Would you like some tea, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked politely.

"I'd like that very much." He sat down at the small table and watched Iruka move to the kitchen nook and prepared their tea. It was a companionable silence and one Kakashi was reluctant to break with nonsensical banter. Iruka had been irritated with his habitual lateness but had not seemed to take it to heart. At least that part was going his way, he thought to himself. But of course, the little chuunin couldn't have expected him to deviate from his traditional tardy habits, even if the man was a teacher.

In what seemed as no time, Iruka had brought the serving tray to the table and quietly placed an empty cup in front of Kakashi before filling it with the light-colored tea. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei," he said softly. He could already smell the strong aroma wafting up from the hot liquid and reverently bent over his cup before bringing it up to his face to savor the pungent flavor.

"You're welcome."

Iruka really had not notice when Kakashi had finished his tea, so quickly had the older man ingested the drink. He shrugged mentally, thinking how commonplace such an occurrence really was in a village full of ninja. Of course, he felt cheated not having that prized chance to see the mysterious jounin's face. Such was life, he thought sardonically. Of course, he could always have more opportunities during dinner.

"So, did you have a preference for tonight's meal or do I choose?" Kakashi finally asked, lifting his head from his empty cup and facing Iruka with a crooked eyebrow.

"I have. There's a small restaurant not far from here that has a good variety and food that always tastes pretty good. I thought we could go there. It's not too loud inside so we can talk comfortably."

"Sounds decent enough!" he stood up quickly and waited as Iruka rose from his seat. "Ready?"

In answer, Iruka inclined his head and made his way to the door.

~*~

Iruka was taking this much better than he had expected, really. He'd expected the younger man to argue over the location or choose a rather pricey place. Instead, the restaurant they entered was quaint and smallish and, from glancing at the prices, fairly inexpensive. He was almost wary that Iruka might actually be up to something, but the darker man made no indications that he was.

Grinning in spite of himself, immensely enjoying their small side talk, he made his selection and stated his order. He noted that Iruka ordered a simple pork ramen and quirked his one visible eyebrow. "You order ramen a great deal and I'm beginning to wonder if you're not just as bad as Naruto is." Iruka flushed in embarrassment, of course, he couldn't exactly say why he felt embarrassed about it. He chocked it up to all the sudden attention from Kakashi and grinned good naturedly. "Guess that's just something in common we share. It's always nice to have something in common with those closest to you."

Kakashi grunted in agreement and sat back in his chair, sprawling on the hard wood as though completely at ease. "What other things do you share in common?" he asked, keeping his tone light and friendly. Gentle and subtle to win him over and before you know it he's melting in your hands…

"Many things, actually. Some pleasant and other's not so. But…" he tilted his head and smiled. "Pranks. In the academy Naruto masked his inefficiencies and loneliness by pulling pranks. For much the same reasons, so did I."

"Oh, really?" Kakashi enquired. Now this was fascinating.

"Yeah. Naruto's grown up completely alone and I freely admit I will never know what that's like. I at least had a mother and father for a time until they were killed. In that, yes. I do know what it's like to be alone, unseen, and needing the acknowledgement of your existence from anyone that you can. Pranks are just an easy way to gain attention. Children act up all the time and the more a child does the more evident it is that they are feeling neglected."

Kakashi could empathize; he knew what it was like to lose your family. He himself had not chosen to act up, rather, he had utilized what gifts he already had and excelled. But wasn't that sort of the same thing? In the end he had only wanted attention.

"I know what that's like," he said soberly.

Iruka found himself caught off guard and responded automatically, "What?"

"Being alone. The loneliness." He watched the light fading outside from the window, watched the wind play with the trees.

"You lost your family as well?" Iruka said in a low voice.

"Yeah." Someone walked in front of the window and the movement brought Kakashi's attention back to the table. "So, I guess that's something that we now have in common, eh?" he grinned endearingly, the material from his mask pulling from the upturned corners of his lips and the raised cheeks and making the smile seem even bigger, more profound. Iruka blushed an even deeper shade than before. Damnit! He had better control over himself than this…

"I suppose we do," he chuckled, attempting to cover up his colorful reaction. He failed. Kakashi's half-closed, hawk-like eyes had spotted the coloring and filled his mind with giddy thoughts of victory.

Appropriately, the food arrived at just that moment and provided just enough of a distraction to allow each of the men to reorganize their thoughts. For the first few minutes they gave great attention to the food by commenting on each dish and eating a healthy portion. Iruka had not realized how hungry he had been and had already eaten a third of his ramen before glancing at Kakashi. The man's food was already half gone but at the moment he seemed more interested in watching Iruka and his bowl.

How the bloody hell did that man eat, so fast, with that damned mask on? Iruka's mind raged silently.

"The udon really is good, Iruka-sensei. Would you like a taste?" he asked innocently.

Throwing caution to the wind, Iruka shrugged, "Why not?" Before he could reach for the bowl, Kakashi had already lifted his chopsticks again and gathered a small bite. He pushed the bowl near Iruka and held his hand before the chuunin expectantly. Iruka stared at the outstretched hand and slowly slid his eyes to meet Kakashi's face. "You're not serious."

"Of course I am! Come on Iruka-sensei, you know you want a taste. It's just a little one." He nudged his hand towards Iruka in an inviting manner. "Taste," he smiled that face stretching smile.

Iruka let his eyes drift back to the food before him, giving it his full attention before slowly leaning forward, parting his lips and moistening them before placing them squarely around the end of the proffered utensils. He flicked his eyes back to Kakashi as he pulled away from them, bit by bit, before slurping the rest of the noodles into his mouth and closing his eyes as he chewed.

It must be noted that during this Kakashi's pants became quite excruciatingly tight and he found a need to change his sitting position to both ease the pain and strategically cover himself. He watched transfixed as Iruka wiped his face, oh god, picked up his own chopsticks, gathered a bite of ramen, and held it right before Kakashi's own nose.

When Kakashi made no move, Iruka spoke up. "Come now, you know you want a bite. Just a little taste," he said innocently.

If Iruka thought he could turn the tables on Kakashi, he was most definitely wrong. Kakashi was the teaser, Iruka the teased. Although, as his pants reminded him, reversed roles could be quite thrilling…

Kakashi brought one gloved hand up to his face, slipped a finger beneath the topmost part of his face mask and steadily watched Iruka's face as he revealed smooth, pale flesh inches at a time. He saw that tanned hand twitch just the teensiest bit, but it was enough. He finished easing the mask down to his neck and smiled, sighting that bite of food held just before him and bit at the chopsticks with his teeth. White teeth pulled at the food until it was free of the utensils while one stormy, gray-blue eye watched chocolate ones burn.

It was definitely lust in those dark eyes, a gleeful Kakashi noted. Score one for Kakashi! his groin cheered. He slurped the rest of the noodles into his mouth, in much the same manner Iruka had affected, but rather than to wipe away the residue broth from his mouth he flicked his tongue out between parted lips and quickly licked away all he could reach.

"Not bad. They do have good ramen here, Iruka-sensei. It almost rivals Ichiraku's," he teased.

"Hmm," he agreed, "Almost but not quite. But here, you missed a spot," he said, motioning to an offending dribble of broth under Kakashi's lower lip.

"Here?" Kakashi asked, pointing at the complete opposite part of his face. Iruka's lip quirked slightly. The ploy was far too evident, but Iruka couldn't resist the childish play.

"No, here," he said again pointing to the same spot.

"Here?" Kakashi pointed above his upper lip.

"No, idiot, here!" he pointed again and then growled, grasping Kakashi's face within one of his dark, calloused hands and wiping at the wayward broth. He wiped gently at the rest of Kakashi's lower face, making sure to clean it properly, slowing over the lips in an almost caress. It was during one of these passes that Iruka looked up from the face strangely near his own and caught the open, honest, and intent look in Kakashi's eye.

"Kakashi-sensei?" he asked softly. Kakashi only grunted in reply. "I'm done eating and if you are, would you like to leave now?"

Kakashi smiled warmly. "Most definitely."

~*~

They made it as far as Iruka's front entrance and the key in the slot before Kakashi pushed him against the door and crushed Iruka's mouth in a heated kiss. Iruka had just the peace of mind to turn the key and open said door for the two of them to stumble inside. They broke apart momentarily for Iruka to shut the door and for the both of them to remove their shoes.

By the time Iruka was standing on his own living room floor, Kakashi had already divested himself of his jacket and shirt. He watched until Kakashi removed his hitai-ate and Iruka forced his feet to head towards the bedroom. He divested himself of his own jacket and shirt before reaching the bedroom and finding a quite naked Kakashi wrapping his arms around his waist while pressing hot lips to the back of his shoulder.

"How long have you wanted me?" Iruka asked, blushing at his own shamelessness in asking it.

Kakashi smiled genuinely, although Iruka couldn't very well see it. "Months." He slid one pale hand up to lightly squeeze a nipple, gently rolling it between thumb and forefinger as the other hand teased at the skin just above Iruka's belt.

"I know I've… wanted you for weeks now," Iruka gasped.

"You did well at hiding it," Kakashi frowned. "I never picked up on it until tonight."

Iruka turned in Kakashi's hold, slipping his arms around the jounin's neck and pressing his own groin against Kakashi nude and hardened cock. "Your teasing was exasperating! But after a while I found it rather cute. And you are, to be quite honest," he whispered against Kakashi's mouth, "quite fucking hot."

He sealed their lips and kissed Kakashi fervently as the other man undid his pants and pushed them down, letting them free-fall the rest of the way. Iruka took a moment to step out of the pant legs and then Kakashi pulled them together, running his hands down Iruka's back, smoothing over firm buttocks, and Iruka found himself lifted hard against Kakashi's body. He wrapped his legs around the trim waist as the older man carried them to the bed, easing them down to the covers and rolling on top of his younger lover in a finality that broke no questions.

~*~

It was several days later that Kakashi realized, the thought forming subtle in his brain as he crept into the shower of one dark-skinned chuunin and nearly shocking the man witless at his appearance, that one night just simply wouldn't be enough. It was a good thing Iruka whole-heartedly agreed with him, as was evident by his warm smile, the lean arms sliding around his back to embrace him, and that very hard "something" pressing very close to Kakashi's own very hard "something." He brushed dark tendrils back from a darkly flushed face and pressed his hungry mouth over inviting lips.

"Nice to see you, too," husky words whispered across Kakashi's lips.

"Let's get something to eat later," he smiled, sliding his hands over Iruka's slick skin.

"Sounds good to me." If Kakashi needed an excuse to stick around, far be it from Iruka to deny him. Besides, he'd already decided himself that Kakashi's company was warm and brilliant.

He'd just wait until Kakashi realized the same was true for himself. Even in this world of the here and now being all important, he could afford to be patient.

~owari~