Chapter Text
He gapes, nose twitching, as he stares into the blue(?) eye of the Copy-Nin sitting on the roof of Genma’s house. Genma, noticing the unnatural pause of his movements and still angry over the story, reaches around him, pulls Kakashi in, and swats him roughly over the head. The albino doesn’t flinch, jus stares calmly at Iruka as though Iruka hadn’t just dumped his heart all over the floor and then found Kakashi examining the pieces it was missing.
“I thought something was fishy when I spotted you staring a hole in my house. I guessed you were planning a prank on Iruka when I saw him too, but I bet the truth is a lot funnier, huh?” Genma scowled, stepping indiscretely in between Iruka and Kakashi.
The man’s mouth opens a little, barely more than a crack, and a low rumble escapes. It’s much deeper than Kakashi’s voice and it takes Iruka a minute to decipher it.
“It’s a misunderstanding.” He says, eyes locked on Genma’s but fingers twitching in Iruka’s direction. Their heads tilted in almost exactly the same motion and Kakashi frowns angrily.
“What?”
“I said, it’s a misunderstanding. Thirteen years ago, the marks’ color, your feelings, my feelings, everything.” Kakashi’s voice glows with the same colors Iruka had just explained to Genma, and the man flopped back into his armchair to Iruka’s disbelief.
“Explain.”
“Genma!?” Iruka snapped, fear making his temper rise exponentially. He didn’t want to hear the other half of the story all of a sudden; he didn’t want to hear how wrong he’d been all these years, how he could have potentially reached out and said something.
Kakashi and Genma ignored him, waiting until he’d settled onto the couch again with a huff and crossed arms. Kakashi began his story.
-*-
“Thirteen years ago, I was an ANBU tasked with rescuing victims trapped or injured under the wreckage. I pulled you from a field, correct? You were that boy, the one by the- right. I didn’t think about it until later, but my Mark turned brown just about the time the fox attacked. I asked a psychologist about it and he said that sometimes traumatized people or people who’ve just experienced a great loss will decide they don’t want to feel that loss again so they cut everyone off, including their soulmate.
I couldn’t remember who the boy was exactly until a few minutes ago, hearing your story, but I was still a child, no matter how high-ranked. It hurt, thinking that someone who’d never met me didn’t want me, so I retaliated and decided I didn’t want you either. This ended up confusing the both of us later, with you unable to remember the decision you made and I unable to accept my own.
In the end, I fell in love with you without any need for soulmarks and decided to pester you so you’d pay attention to me. I was confused and upset when I realized you were my soulmate, but I tried to make sure today and ended up making you unhappy and I’m sorry.”
-*-
Iruka is reeling. Maybe everything he heard just now makes sense and tilts his world a little, but that’s nothing to the fact that Kakashi wants him. Kakashi wants him enough to chase him down and acknowledge the awkwardness that is Iruka, enough to try to explain his actions in front of judge and jury, and to Iruka that’s something meaningful.
-*-
They’ve settled in for the night (Genma is generous and allows them to camp at his place that night, seeing as Kakashi doesn’t want to leave Iruka’s side and Iruka’s not comfortable taking him home) and Iruka’s seated on the porch, warming his hands with a cup of coffee that Genma keeps just for him, seeing as Genma doesn’t drink coffee. Kakashi is on the other side of the porch, pretending he’s looking at the stars but instead watching something much brighter.
“I can’t believe it,” Iruka muses, leaning down a little to blow on his coffee. Kakashi tilts his head towards him in question. “I can’t believe we went so long without questioning it or trying to get an explanation before.” He keeps saying ‘we’ but really he means ‘I’. Kakashi nods, having grasped Iruka’s insinuation: I care about this. I want you to care about this. I’ve cared about this for ages; almost thirteen years without realization or thought have gone by, and now it’s time to wake up.
And Kakashi agrees.
“I can’t believe it either.” He says, struggling not to smile. I love you. And I want this too.
-*-