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“It’s late…”
The clock in Iruka’s living room quietly ticked the seconds away, every beat pushing them further away from “late night” and closer to “early morning”. Kakashi was dimly aware of it counting every moment he was able to spend in Iruka’s arms, but time had slipped somewhere past the second bottle of sake. They were just drunk enough to disregard their rankings and enjoy each other’s company, but not enough to completely forget in the morning. It was the perfect sweet spot of inebriation, Kakashi was convinced.
“Time f’r bed, old man?” Kakashi mumbled, chuckling quietly to himself. He felt the shake of Iruka’s chest behind him, bouncing slightly as the younger man joined in his laughter. “You wish.”
Kakashi sighed quietly as he leaned his head back against Iruka’s shoulder. “I have a mission in the morning…” As he made excuses against staying, he tucked himself further into Iruka’s lap, completely contradicting his words. Iruka’s hands found the outsides of Kakashi’s thighs, smoothing lines up and down the toned muscles.
“‘The mission’ this, ‘the mission’ that... ‘S not like a ninja’s never operated on a few hours of sleep.” Iruka’s hands continued their gentle movements as he smiled to himself. “Plus, I’ve never seen you like this and the fact that the Copy Nin‘s a secret snuggle-drunk doesn’t make me wanna let you go.”
It was true – Kakashi barely ever drank, and if he did, it was generally only around his fellow Jonin. Iruka and Kakashi didn’t fall into the same social circles; the only reason they interacted in the first place was because they were both Naruto’s sensei at one point or another. Polite meetings at various food stands to discuss the Genin’s development soon turned into quiet dinners alone at Iruka’s apartment. Only tonight had Kakashi finally let loose and imbibed with the Chunin. (Iruka had drank in front of Kakashi before, but falling on his ass in the middle of Ichiraku with a ramen bowl planted firmly on his head made him think twice about public intoxication.)
In his own apartment, though, Iruka was free to make a fool of himself. Like how he was drunkenly putting the moves on Kakashi, and was met with only the slightest amount of resistance. It’s not like they hadn’t sat here together and done more than just sit politely, but Kakashi never stayed the night; more often than not, his work got in the way of their so-called ‘arrangement’. Iruka wasn’t quite comfortable calling what they had a relationship yet – a few (brief, but absolutely incredible) makeout sessions on his couch in a pitch-black living room a relationship does not make, but he’d be damned if he said he didn’t want it.
Kakashi shifted yet again, his hair tickling Iruka’s nose – “Kami, would you just sit still? Y’er worse than Naruto!” – as the Jonin made an aborted attempt to coerce his body into leaving the sensei’s warm lap. The alcohol made him feel heavy, and incredibly sleepy.
“Mm… Feels so nice ‘Ru, but I really… better go…” he said, moving his hands to cover Iruka’s and pushing them up to grasp his hips as he leaned his head further back, nosing softly at Iruka’s neck. His words did not convince Iruka, and his actions only emboldened him further.
It’s now or never, Iruka thought as he slid a thumb beneath Kakashi’s black uniform shirt. He felt the muscle underneath jump and Kakashi’s breath hitch almost imperceptibly. Rubbing gentle circles on the bare skin he found there, he leaned in to whisper into his ear. “There’s only so much a gentleman can take, ‘Kashi.” The breath tickling his ear made Kakashi start to blush beneath his mask.
“Please… sleep with me tonight?”
The blunt request shocked Kakashi, but only a bit. Iruka was known for his stubbornness, after all, and Kakashi had been on the receiving end of it more times than he could count. That being said, this was different. Iruka was showing a vulnerable part of himself by coming right out and asking. Their arrangement did not include open conversation – it really made them feel like teenagers sometimes, despite being well into their twenties – and tonight that unspoken boundary seemed to be dissolving.
In the time it took Kakashi to weigh his options, the living room clock ticked on, reminding him that he was only getting closer to the mission that would take him far away from Iruka. With no promise of returning to Iruka.
Getting self-conscious, Iruka started to backpedal. “We don’t have to do anything. I just... want you here tonight.” Iruka mumbled as he toyed with the hem of Kakashi’s shirt. He was taking too long to respond, and now Iruka was starting to doubt his own interpretation of the evening. Perhaps he’d crossed a line and made Kakashi uncomfortable. Maybe the alcohol wasn’t as potent to Kakashi as it was to him. He’d done it once again, gotten too drunk and made a stupid spur-of-the-moment decision and if Kakashi wasn’t going to leave earlier, he definitely would now ––
“I’ll stay.”
Iruka let out a sigh, smiling and closing his eyes in relief. Kakashi turned slightly in Iruka’s lap as he cupped Iruka’s face in his hand, gently smoothing over the scar that crossed the teacher’s nose with his thumb. Iruka hummed and leaned into his touch, and Kakashi used this moment to pull down his mask. Iruka slowly opened his eyes, and the lidded expression on his face quickly morphed into one of surprise as he saw the bare face before him. “You didn’t have to…!” Iruka exclaimed as Kakashi started to chuckle.
“Maa, you were vulnerable with me. I think it’s only fair that I’m vulnerable with you, too.” Kakashi squinted in his trademark eye-smile, but this time Iruka could see the corners of his lips tug upwards in a smirk as well. Without a shred of self-awareness, Iruka’s eyes stayed locked on Kakashi’s mouth, the small beauty mark below it adding even more interest. The Jonin – slightly more sober than he had been 10 minutes ago – purposefully mimicked his gaze, the slow tick, tick, tick of the clock only adding to the tension in the air. Like magnets caught in slow-motion, the two leaned closer in until their lips met and they sighed into each other’s mouths. They continued kissing for a few moments, hands shamelessly roaming until Iruka pulled away to look into Kakashi’s visible eye.
“Thank you. For staying.”
There was so much more he wanted to say, an unspoken wish for both of them to stay safe in that moment forever. The looming presence of Kakashi’s mission only made Iruka hold onto him tighter, and Kakashi did the same. Tenderness was not common between them, but neither would say no if asked whether they wanted it to continue. True vulnerability was an uncommon experience in the shinobi world altogether and Kakashi could swear he was getting drunk on the feeling all over again.
“Thank you for asking.” Kakashi’s sentence was punctuated by the clock dinging quietly 3 times – 3 AM.
“Guess that’s our cue, huh?” Iruka nervously scratched the back of his head. “I believe so,” Kakashi answered. “Bed is calling––” he pushed himself off the couch with little grace and reached a hand out to Iruka “––and I don’t think it’s the first time tonight, either.” Iruka took the hand offered to him and let himself be pulled into another embrace.
“I’ve got extra pajamas you can use, they’re in the top dresser drawer…” Iruka’s sentence petered off as Kakashi put a finger under his chin, tilting it up to kiss him slower, dirtier than a few minutes before. Iruka happily returned the energy, making Kakashi growl quietly before he pulled back and looked Iruka in the eyes. “I don’t think I’ll be needing pajamas tonight, sensei.” Iruka averted his eyes from Kakashi’s gaze and blushed furiously, a phenomenon he would try to blame on the alcohol the next morning.
“What, suddenly you’re all shy? You suggested this, you know…” The smirk from before played at Kakashi’s mouth, and it equally made Iruka want to both roll his eyes and pin him to the ground to kiss him senseless.
“You’re one to talk, Hatake! All the times we’ve made out and you never made a move beyond it!” Iruka poked Kakashi’s arm in emphasis and pouted. “Plus, like you said, you have a mission in the morning. You need your sleep.”
“Maa, but if I recall, somebody told me that any good shinobi can function on minimal sleep.” Kakashi leaned in to mouth at his chin, his jaw, his neck… “I think I’ll manage,” he mumbled against Iruka’s collarbone before laying a particularly wet kiss on it. A shiver ran down Iruka’s spine as he felt himself being gently guided toward his bedroom. Clearly Kakashi wasn’t set on wasting any time, and for that Iruka was thankful. There were only a few hours between them and the mission, after all.
A little beauty rest can wait.