Chapter Text
(I don't own any characters etc etc)
“How much do you love us?” Obito texted as Kakashi was leaving work on Thursday, February 11th.
“Depends on what you’re asking me to do,” Kakashi replied, then not checking his phone til he was nearly home.
“We’re not asking you to do anything other than check your mail,” his friend wrote back. Kakashi frowned at it as he got out of his car and went to his mailbox, finding a large, thick packing envelope.
He brought it inside and opened it after feeding Pakkun and grabbing water for himself. Kakashi cursed as he tore open the packaging to find “Romance for Dummies” inside. He called Obito as he looked at it.
“Did you get it?” the Uchiha asked when he answered the phone.
“You’re a jerk,” Kakashi snapped. “I confided in you about my problems and you send me a crappy dating book? I hate you.”
“Hi Kakashi,” Rin said, clearly on speakerphone. “Just hear us out.”
“I hate you too,” Kakashi declared, scowling at his phone.
“Fair, but give me a minute. Obito found it and while I also thought it was a terrible idea –”
“Genius, more like!” Obito chimed in.
“I looked at it and it’s not the worst,” Rin continued. “I think it’s got some helpful ideas for you since it’s been a minute since you seriously dated someone.”
“I’m not an idiot,” Kakashi countered.
“It’s for dummies, dummy!” Obito sang. “Ow, Rin!”
“Look, forget I ever said anything to you,” Kakashi sighed. “It’s all done with, anyway.”
“What happened?” Rin asked, concerned. “Did Iruka say anything?”
“No, we’re still kind of dancing around it,” Kakashi told her.
“So you’re not done? You’re still together?” Obito asked. “I’m so confused.”
“I just think anything I do will be stupid and he won’t like it,” Kakashi sighed. “Just, see if you can return the book, okay?”
“Nope!” Rin told him. “We spent time on it. See the little tabs sticking out?” she asked, and he did admit that there were some colored tabs here and there. “We went through it and marked ideas we thought were actually helpful.”
Kakashi’s mood softened a bit at the thought that his friends had put actual effort into the project, rather than sending him any old thing.
“And I wrote a message inside the cover for you,” she added. “So we definitely can’t return it.”
“Wait, what?” Obito asked, surprised. “Rin, what did you write?”
Kakashi turned to the inside front cover, to find Rin’s neat handwriting encouraging him to be true to who he is and what he likes, that Iruka will like him for that.
“Thanks, Rin,” he said, smiling at it.
“What did you write?” Obito asked again. “What did she write?”
“Goodnight,” Rin said, laughing, and they hung up.
Kakashi looked at the book, reflecting on what his original plans were for Valentine’s Day and nodded.
“Yeah, I think sticking with what I said way back when will be good,” he said to Pakkun, who rolled his eyes as Kakashi reached for his phone again to text Iruka.
____
“You all set for tonight?” Anko asked Iruka as they talked by phone on the 14th.
“Yeah, I think so,” Iruka replied. “Clothes are ready, I have a card. And a bone.”
“Uh, what?”
“He has a dog, so it’s kind of a gift for both” he laughed. “Are you sure I shouldn’t have done something bigger?”
“Of course! Didn’t he say he didn’t want that tonight?”
Iruka frowned as he thought about it. “All we ever did was confirm we were both free and would get together, I still don’t even know what we’re doing. Anko, what if he shows up dressed up and takes me somewhere fancy? I’m not even planning on wearing a suit! He might leave me on my doorstep as soon as I open the door, and –”
“Iruka!” she screeched. “Stop it! Go as you, and Kakashi will like it, and you’ll have a great night.”
“And if not?”
“Then like I said before, he’s not worth your time. There were some nice guys at the speed dating I hosted, I could probably set you up with one of them,” she mused.
“No thank you!” he quickly said. “I should start to get ready.”
“Bye, good luck! Have fun! Be naughty!” she cheered as she hung up.
Iruka showered and dressed as he tried to squash down his nervousness. It was, he told himself, because it was still early dating with Kakashi - were they actually dating, or just going on dates? He wasn’t sure. It was also their first Valentine’s together, and more importantly, Iruka had no knowledge of the plans, other than that Kakashi was picking him up at six.
Six o’clock arrived faster than Iruka would have liked, and there was a knock on the door.
Iruka opened it to find Kakashi standing at his doorstep, holding a small bouquet of wildflowers.
“Hello,” Iruka greeted him with a wide smile.
“Hello, and happy Valentine’s Day,” Kakashi replied, holding out the flowers. “These are for you.”
“Thank you, and happy Valentine’s Day as well!” Iruka said, smiling wider as he accepted them and breathed in their scent. “Do you want to come in while I put these in water?”
Kakashi nodded and followed him inside, lingering in his living room as Iruka disappeared to his kitchen. He glanced around the room to take in this side of Iruka, noting it was clean but cozy, with an arrangement of knickknacks and books here and there.
“There we go,” Iruka said as he came back into the room, setting a vase on the coffee table. “Thanks again,” he repeated. “Do you want to hang out here for a bit, or –”
“We should go, dinner is on the clock,” Kakashi said, and Iruka nodded.
“Am I dressed okay for it?” he asked, and Kakashi looked him up and down before nodding quickly.
“You look great,” Kakashi assured him, appreciating Iruka in fitted dark pants and a black sweater.
“Thanks, so do you,” Iruka shyly said, for while Kakashi still had a coat on, a maroon dress shirt collar peeked out, complementing his dark jeans. He grabbed his own coat, the card already in the pocket, and they left, getting into Kakashi’s car. “So, what’s the plan?”
“You’ll see,” Kakashi said, and they drove off, making small talk about their week.
They parked on a street that had a number of restaurants and eateries, nothing too fancy, Iruka was relieved to note. He started to get out of the car, but Kakashi paused him.
“Um, just stay, I’ll be back in a minute,” Kakashi said, and Iruka nodded, watching the other man close his door and walk away.
Iruka sighed as waited alone, wondering what to make of it all.
Soon enough, Kakashi came back with a takeout bag and passed it to Iruka when he got in to drive them off.
“What is it?” Iruka asked, trying to peek.
“Nope, another surprise,” Kakashi said, laughing as Iruka huffed with frustration.
Their nerves began to individually increase as they drove, as Kakashi wasn’t sure Iruka would like his plans, and Iruka wasn’t sure if he should have done more for Kakashi.
A short time later, they parked in a residential area, and looked at each other.
“I thought we’d do something small, have dinner at my place, maybe watch a movie,” Kakashi finally told him, and Iruka smiled.
“That sounds nice,” he said.
They got out of the car and walked up, both now nervous to be in Kakashi’s place - would Iruka like it, Kakashi wondered?
Iruka did like it, and was more than excited to meet Pakkun, who curiously trotted over as soon as they entered.
“So, I got us takeout from a ramen place I like, Ichiraku’s,” Kakashi finally told Iruka as he led them to his kitchen to eat at the dining table. “I may have asked Obito to ask Sasuke to ask Naruto what you might want.”
Iruka grinned, surprised. “You did all that?”
“Yeah,” Kakashi admitted, feeling bashful. Was it too much, now that he said it out loud? “I remembered that you like ramen, and I usually just get myself food from there if I’m home alone on a day like this,” he said, wincing suddenly at how that sounded.
“I love ramen,” Iruka assured him. “This is great, Kakashi, thank you!”
“Good,” Kakashi sighed, relieved. “If you like this, we can go back sometime, get you starting to work through the menu.”
Iruka nodded and they sat to eat, talking about a range of topics while Pakkun ate as well. After, they moved to the living room to watch a movie, and Iruka passed Kakashi the card and bone.
“It’s for Pakkun more, I guess,” Iruka admitted nervously. “I wanted to get you something, but didn’t know what. You don’t seem like a flowers and chocolate guy, but maybe I was making assumptions,” he blurted out, embarrassed.
“It’s great, thank you,” Kakashi said, smiling. “Pakkun will feel special, and I appreciate you thought of me like that.”
It was Iruka’s turn to feel relieved, and they watched Pakkun begin to tear into the bone as they moved to the sofa to watch something.
“Any suggestions?” Kakashi asked, but Iruka shook his head. “Maybe a romcom, then, there’s a non-racy Icha Icha movie.”
“Is it Icha Icha if it isn’t racy?” Iruka teased, and Kakashi shrugged.
“Jiraiya has a large range,” he mused, making Iruka laugh as they settled in. Pakkun joined them a short time later, getting attention first from Kakashi, then moving to Iruka. Iruka, in turn, pet him with one hand as he held Kakashi’s with the other.
After a bit, Kakashi looked at Iruka, finding him fast asleep, head lightly on Kakashi’s shoulder as Pakkun was asleep, curled up on Iruka’s lap.
Kakashi grinned at the sight, feeling a weight lift off of him at how comfortable and content Iruka (and Pakkun) looked.
“Guess we figured out Valentine’s Day after all,” he whispered, gently kissing the top of Iruka’s head before turning his attention back to the movie, figuring he’d wake him up afterwards. “Can’t wait for our next date…”