Work Text:
Kakashi looked down at the blood dripping onto genkan, slight splatters interrupting the otherwise perfect circles on the floor. He knew Iruka wouldn’t mind, but he still made a note to clean it up later.
The jounin made his way into the living room, being careful to stay off the carpet. Blood was much easier to wipe off a hard surface. He saw Iruka sitting in the large armchair, a pile of papers next to him as he graded and corrected his students' work.
Kakashi caught Iruka’s eye when the other man looked up and waved his hand at Iruka’s raised eyebrows. “Not mine,” he assured and Iruka nodded, looking back down at his work.
Grateful that he didn’t need to engage in conversation quite yet, Kakashi moved towards the bathroom, stripping off his vest, sandals, leg wraps, pants, long-sleeved shirt, mesh undershirt and finally his mask and headband until he was left only in his briefs. A few months ago Iruka had suggested they keep the washer directly in the bathroom and ever since then, Kakashi appreciated that he could dump his pile of dirty clothes directly into the wash.
He had done a quick physical appraisal out in the field, but now Kakashi took the time to go up to the mirror and inspect his back more carefully. He could see a few scraps from where he had skidded against the ground and a bruise on his left side, but other than that he was fine. Physically at least.
He turned the shower on and stepped into the cold water. Iruka always looked horrified when he jumped in without waiting for the water to heat up, but the shock of cold was grounding for Kakashi. It pulled him out of his head so all he could focus on was the icy water pelting his body. He tensed as the cold penetrated his muscles, but allowed his shoulders to fall as the water gradually warmed up to comfortable heat. Iruka would still say it was too cold, but then again Kakashi was convinced that the younger man preferred his skin to be seared off in the shower.
Most of the enemy blood had been on his clothes, so it didn’t take long for the water to run clear at his feet. He scrubbed at his hair with his scentless shampoo, one of the few things he had brought with him from his bachelor apartment when he moved in with Iruka. Iruka had suggested they simply use the same soap, but Kakashi had insisted that he use his own. Iruka hadn’t questioned it, but he had a feeling it was because Kakashi liked being able to come home and pull Iruka into a hug and smell the familiar coconut aroma after being without it for the day (or week or weeks.)
Kakashi didn’t wait for the hot water to run out lika Iruka tended to. Once he was clean he stepped out and roughly ran a towel over his body, shaking his hair as he went. When he was dry enough he pulled on the dark blue yukata that hung on one of two hooks on the back of the door.
He padded out to the living room to see that Iruka hadn’t moved. He looked at the second armchair that sat next to Iruka, but instead was drawn to the small cushion on the floor next to Iruka. He made his way forward and sank down to his knees next to the man who still didn’t look up from his work.
Kakashi arranged himself so he was comfortable and quickly felt Iruka’s free hand carding through his damp hair. Iruka continued grading with his other hand and the strokes were almost subconscious.
Every few strokes, Iruka would drag his blunt nails gently against Kakashi's scalp and the jounin felt himself sinking deeper and deeper into the floor. His shoulders sagged and he allowed his head to rest on Iruka’s thigh. His sharingan was already closed but he felt the other eye slide shut, the light tug of his hair lulling him into a comfortable peace. This was his favorite place to be after a mission. In their home, basking in Iruka's steady presence.
The two of them had discovered this method of calming down Kakashi by accident. One night after a particularly tough nightmare, Kakashi had lashed out in bed and almost pinned Iruka to the headboard with a kunai. When he eventually came back to himself, Iruka had reached out slowly and stroked his forehead. The response was immediate and Kakashi’s muscles gave out all at once as he leaned into Iruka’s touch.
They had tried a few times to do this in bed, but one of two things would always happen. Kakashi would feel guilty that he was taking Iruka away from something else to tend to him, or they would spend some quality time together which, although was always very satisfying, was not particularly relaxing for a high-strung shinobi.
Eventually they found that the best solution was Kakashi leaning against Iruka’s thigh as Iruka continued whatever he had been doing. Kakashi didn’t feel like a burden and there was no added pressure of anything else to come out of interaction. It was pure and simple and everything Kakashi needed.
In his half asleep state, Kakashi heard Iruka click his pen and shuffle his papers off of his lap and onto the side table. The fingers in Kakashi’s hair tightened their grasp minutely before releasing him and moving down to rub the back of his neck.
“Time for bed?” Iruka asked above him and Kakashi nodded against his leg, taking another moment before standing up and following Iruka to the bedroom, pausing in the doorway.
Iruka slipped into the bed and lifted the covers for Kakashi to join him. When Kakashi didn’t move, Iruka frowned. “Kashi? Everything okay? The mission…?” He asked slowly, still holding open the blanket. Sometimes Kakashi had trouble focusing on one thing at a time, and he struggled to pull himself out of his thoughts.
“Kakashi…” Iruka started again and the man in question shook his head, his focus coming back. He saw Iruka’s inviting position and he moved forward, slipping into the bed beside him. Kakshi immediately wrapped a possessive arm around the teacher and pulled him close, his chin resting on Iruka’s shoulder.
“With me again?” the voice above him asked and he hummed in acknowledgement. A few moments later Kakashi could feel those clever fingers running through his silver locks again and he allowed his body to go limp. The light tug of his hair and the steady breathing of his love allowed Kakashi to drift into a deep, dreamless sleep.