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Kakashi woke up to an empty bed. He was cold without his human furnace. Iruka emanated a lot of heat, and Kakashi came to rely on that heat. He hadn’t bothered turning on the heater yet, even though it was closing in on the first day of winter and nights were getting a bit nippy.
He lifted his head off his pillow and reached for his eye-patch hanging off the bed frame.
Iruka had been acting a little weird lately, they had been officially dating for just a few months and it had been wonderful. However, for the past couple weeks, Iruka had been distant. He was training much more often than he was in the beginning of their relationship.
Kakashi made for the empty bathroom and prepared for the day. It was late morning and Kakashi should have been with his students at training ground 3 an hour ago. That meant he had about half an hour until he actually planned on showing up.
Kakashi had to remind himself that technically team 7 wasn’t his anymore and to let Yamato take the reins. It was easier said than done. It was also easier when he was sent on one of the many missions Tsunade kept assigning him. His head pounded at the memory of the last one; chakra depletion was no joke.
When Kakashi finally ambled into the living room, he found it equally as empty as the other two rooms. Since his living and kitchen area were combined, it meant that Iruka had to have left. There was no where else he could be hiding.
It was unusually for the considerate man to just up and leave without a note, or a kiss goodbye.
Kakashi was a little peeved. He just got back from his exhausting mission last night, and though he really enjoyed the time they did spend together in the late hours of the night, he was looking forward to seeing his beau in the daylight as well.
No matter! Kakashi would just compartmentalize those feelings into a box and stuff that box into a closet deep in the inner recesses of his mind. It’s been working just fine for all his other negative emotions, so why not add more? He couldn’t risk losing Iruka over something so silly as his feelings.
Anyway, Kakashi was late, so he needed to get on to team 7. He wanted to keep them on their toes, never really knowing when to expect Kakashi to be there, on a nearby tree branch, reading Icha Icha while Yamato did all the hard work.
--
“You’re late!” Sakura yelled loudly right as Sai got in a lucky hit from her distraction. Kakashi winced as Sakura sunk to the ground clutching her abdomen.
“Sakura-chan! Kaka-sensei, you cheated! That’s not fair, she was distracted. Do you need help Sakura-chan?! Maybe a date would help?” Naruto blabbed. Sakura used her incredible strength and punched Naruto’s worried face away from her.
“Maa, what a scene to walk in on, eh?” Kakashi gave his signature crescent eye smile and promptly ignored the team in favor of reading Icha Icha Tactics.
“That was a good lesson, thanks Kakashi-sempai… Sakura, you can’t be distracted by anything in a battle. Focus!” It took all of Yamato’s will power to not roll his eyes at his former ANBU captain. He was trying desperately to get the team to keep even a shred of respect for their former leader.
“I thought you would be with Iruka-sensei today Kaka-sensei.” Naruto interrupted Kakashi’s reading with his loud voice and accusing finger point.
Kakashi did look up from the riveting pages at the accusation. “Why would you think that?” Kakashi didn’t know what Iruka was up to today, so how could be know if he should be a part of it. Clearly Iruka didn’t think to invite him.
“I saw Iruka-sensei this morning, alone, walking to training ground two. That’s the obstacle course one. You aren’t supposed to go there alone, and I know Gai-sensei is out on a mission with his team today. I just figured you would be the one to watch him, since you are a perv and always watch Iruka-sensei anyway.”
Kakashi could neither confirm nor deny the accusation of being a perv, but he certainly couldn’t deny that he was always watching Iruka. It seemed even the oblivious surprise-ninja Naruto noticed.
“Thank you for the information.” Kakashi politely voiced before poofing away in a cloud of smoke and leaves.
“Poor Iruka-sensei, having to deal with that man.” Sakura said, shaking her head woefully at the misfortunes of love. She knew all about that after all.
“Does love make everyone illogical and stupid?” Sai asked, genuinely curious.
“Yes.” Yamato’s quick and decisive response came out unbidden. His sempai was so annoying. “Anyway, let’s get back to it.”
--
Kakashi was hidden properly in the foliage around training ground two. There were a couple of kunoichi that Kakashi didn’t recognize at the course as well. They weren’t really working out very hard either. But who could blame them when the show was so distracting?
Iruka was in his skin-tight white short sleeve undershirt and his old, a-little-too-tight-now grey sweatpants. The ones that hugged his ass in all the right ways. Kakashi was lucky his mask absorbed the trickle of blood leaking from his nose.
Iruka was currently on the monkey bar section of the course, and his arms were on full display. Kakashi licked his lips under his mask as Iruka reached for the next metal bar in the series, his forearm tensing as his grip tightened on the next bar. His back was to Kakashi and the masterpiece of his traps, lats, and rhomboids as they flexed and recoiled was mesmerizing him like a genjutsu.
When Iruka reached for the last bar, his front was facing Kakashi and all he could see was chest. Iruka was sweating and his white tank was becoming see-through from the moisture. Iruka’s perfect dusky nipples were prominently showing through the thin material and so were his shapely pecs. When he reached the last bar, he lifted himself slightly so his feet could reach the platform and the action made his biceps bulge and his chest muscles pop obscenely. How could anyone workout with this display? He would have to complain to the Hokage.
Iruka wasted no time and started sprinting on the high platform toward the balance beam. It was an easy task for any ninja, especially one of Iruka’s caliber, but Kakashi could tell that Iruka was not using any chakra for this exercise. Kakashi could also tell that Iruka was tired, they didn’t get a lot of sleep last night after all. The balance beam was the end of the course and who knew how many times Iruka had already been through it this morning.
Naruto implied that he saw Iruka here an hour and a half ago when he first entered the grounds, so it was anyone’s guess as to how long Iruka was working up that delicious sweat.
Iruka was breathing very quickly as he started walking across the balance beam section. It was long and it ended with a section of tightrope.
Iruka held his arms to his sides like a bird, giving Kakashi a full and glorious view of his tight ass in those sweatpants. It was completely immobile with the tension of the workout. Iruka had a great ass at the worst of times, let alone in the throws of a hard workout. Iruka bent his knees slights as he sped up on the balance beam. It made the cotton material on his thighs stretch over his muscular thighs. Kakashi could see the definition separating his quad from his hamstring and it had Kakashi salivating.
Iruka was about to transition to the tight rope when his bear feet slipped, the beam was slick from the morning dew and, the more probable culprit, Iruka’s dripping sweat.
Kakashi sprung into action, he jolted from his hiding spot and grabbed Iruka out of the air before Iruka even had time to adjust his position for a safe landing.
“Kakashi!” Iruka exclaimed, face red from exertion and embarrassment, not that Kakashi could see it, since he had Iruka slung over his shoulder. He didn’t mind the view of his ass though. “Damnit.”
Kakashi landed on the ground just outside the perimeter of the obstacle course. The women voyeurs whistled to themselves, pretending they weren’t just completely enraptured with the scene that unfolded. Without putting Iruka down Kakashi walked to a more private area of the surrounding woods.
“Kakashi! I can walk, put me down.” Iruka wiggled in Kakashi’s grip until the man complied.
The second his feet hit the ground he wobbled slightly, clearly lightheaded. “You need water, you’re clearly to tired for so much exertion.” Kakashi said, pulling out a scroll of emergency supplies from his vest and procuring a water bottle.
“What I need is to train harder.” Iruka said, irritably as he snatched the bottle and took some much needed sips. Kakashi tried to not be distracted by this throat as Iruka leaned his head back and drank. The bob of his Adam’s apple was spellbinding and the flex of his neck muscles enchanting. ‘FOCUS!’ Kakashi’s brain rang, trying to make sure its vessel listened to his partner as well as looked at him.
“What do you mean, Iruka? You’re perfect.” Kakashi said it like it was a fact, unarguable and rigid.
Iruka looked up at Kakashi, eyes shining slightly. He quickly looked down when Kakashi’s eye met his and wiped the dewy drops away.
“I’m not perfect, Kakashi. I’m barely enough as it is.” Iruka sunk down to the ground, squatting, head hanging between his arms, hands gripping the back of his head.
Kakashi was broken from his spell at the motion. He sat down on his knees next to Iruka, rubbing his hand down Iruka’s back in what he hoped was a comforting motion, trying to ignore how the hard, ropey muscles twitching under his ministration made him feel.
“You are more than enough.” Kakashi said, he wasn’t trying to make it sound so lewd, but even he could tell the tone was way off. “I mean, you are wonderful. The village would fall apart without you there to take care of the brats and do the mission room paperwork! Who would yell at the jonin if not you?” That sounded better to Kakashi’s ears at least.
Iruka didn’t lift his head though. Kakashi could just make out him muttering, “but I’m not strong enough.”
Kakashi was confused. “Iruka, you’re plenty strong. What is this really about?” Kakashi was a master of underneath the underneath, but he was really distracted right now, so he needed Iruka to be his normal straightforward self.
“There are so many bad people, so many strong, bad ninja, after Naruto. You are going on mission after mission, and I know Yamato is incredible, but with you coming home exhausted so often and Naruto being a bull-headed masochist, I just… I need to be more.” Iruka looked up finally. His face was set, jaw clenched with determination. He looked so handsome, Kakashi wanted to jump on top of him and… ‘FOCUS!’ his brain was desperately trying to help him.
“Er… Iruka, you are a good ninja. There are plenty of us in the village that don’t want any harm to come to Naruto.” Iruka glared at Kakashi’s clearly fib. “OK, OK, there are enough of us. And Naruto is really strong now. You should see him in training. Jiraiya really did a good job on the boy. Please, I promise to always protect him.”
“But can you also protect yourself? I don’t want to lose you.” Iruka looked down, rocking onto his butt on the mossy ground. Kakashi was shocked. Iruka didn’t want to lose him. But it was Kakashi who always lost people.
“I don’t want to lose you either.” Kakashi admitted freely. “I would die to protect you.”
Iruka looked up in alarm, “no! No! I need to be strong enough to protect you all! I couldn’t help my parents, I couldn’t even defeat Mizuki, either time. I am weak, Kakashi. I thought that if I worked out more, I could be a better ninja, a better protector. All this,” Iruka jestured to his ripped body, “is just a façade. No substance.”
Kakashi pulled Iruka into an embrace. He wasn’t used to touching people, let alone hugging them, but it felt right to hold Iruka in his embrace.
So, underneath the underneath, Iruka was suffering too. The man hid it well, better than Kakashi for sure. What could he do for Iruka? The man was using working out as an unhealthy coping mechanism for his anxiety. How could be convince this perfect man that he was fine just the way he was? How could he try and get him to relax and take better care of his body?
“I love you.” The words slipped out of Kakashi unbidden and Iruka stiffened in his embrace. Kakashi just held tighter, not willing to look Iruka in the eye or accept a potentially negative response.
“Yes, I do. And it happened long before Naruto left. You weren’t even at the academy. It was love at first smile. You were asking Hiruzen-sama to be assigned to the academy, to pass on the will of fire. You were beautiful. You still are. Iruka, you have touched so many lives without even lifting a muscle. Truly. You are all substance.”
Iruka clung to Kakashi, his head pressed into Kakashi’s chest, tears soaking into his vest.
“You know, they say muscle-heads are only good for their bodies, but I can say you are good for much, much more than that. Although, I can think of a couple of good uses for your body.” Kakashi smirked, hoping to break the serious atmosphere.
Iruka pulled away, smacking Kakashi playfully on the chest, laughter overcoming the tears. “You really are a pervert.” Iruka chuckled, wiping away the tracks of his tears, eyes only slightly puffy.
“I missed you this morning.” Well, Kakashi had already started the confession train, and it seemed like the break line was cut. No going back now. “I miss you when you aren’t near me. Will you relax and spend the time we have together, together? I know I would regret missing one moment with you that I could have had.”
Iruka hiccupped a little as he huffed at Kakashi, but the smile on his face widened. “I have work and should still keep up training. I have a reputation now after all.”
“I would love you even if you let yourself go. If fact, I may like it even more. You would be full of my cooking and people would stop staring at you. I wouldn’t of course.”
“Don’t be jealous Kakashi, green was always a better color on Gai than you.” Iruka breathed in, only a slight hitch left in his throat from crying.
“I’ll always be jealous of anything that takes your attention away from me.” Kakashi looked around, they were truly alone, so he pulled his mask down and kissed Iruka, hard and passionately.
“I love you, too.” Iruka said as he pulled away from Kakashi’s warm lips. “I’ve loved you ever since you talked to me about Naruto all those years ago.” Kakashi’s eye widened at the confession.
“Maa, Iruka, I guess I wore you down, huh? It took a full year from when I fell for you for you to fall for me.”
Iruka smiled and Kakashi thought that those muscles on his face were the most beautiful and perfect of any other on the sensei’s body. Well, his plump, perfect rump was a close second of course, but he was getting distracted.
“Let’s go home. I could use a shower and you promised to feed me if I'm not mistaken.” Iruka said, stood and held his hand out to Kakashi, still on his knees on the forest floor. His heart was in his throat. Was it because Iruka had called his place home? Or was it the thought of Iruka in the shower? Probably a little of both.
Kakashi grabbed Iruka’s hand and let the strong man pull him to his feet. The second he was upright Kakashi wrapped his arms around Iruka’s waist, pulled him into another fervent kiss, and body flickered home. Home. It really did feel like home now.