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Shinobis were, mostly, not surprised by anything, if not for any other reason then from the fact that a surprised nin usually ended with a barrage of weapons painfully attached on their immediate person. In that sense, it was also understandable that not many of them appreciated surprises thrown at their direction, even if they were from well-meaning friends. Civilian partners learned that pretty quickly after the first surprise party gone sideways, whereas shinobi partners knew already that it was actually considered polite to ask if having some people over would be deemed appropriate.
The other reason for them not to be surprised by anything had to do with the tons of absurdities they faced due to their profession, whether they were active on the field or did their duty within the village walls. When one could claim to have survived an infiltration mission to a warlord's mansion by using a henge of a carp and avoiding detection by swimming around in the small garden pond while gently turning down every offer to mate that came from the other fishes, hearing someone shout 'surprise' at them at the beginning of an ambush was hardly worth of rising an eyebrow.
However, surviving surreal missions didn't mean they wouldn't jump out of their skins when they entered their supposedly empty homes and suddenly clouds of sparkling confetti fell down on their stiffened necks.
Although, some argued that the heart-attacks coming from the rain of confetti could also be the result from suffering too long exposure to Maito Gai's sparkly being, but the main idea was all the same still. On the other hand, not many took well on having Maito-san himself bearing down on their necks, either, as friendly as the man was with everyone.
But, as he watched his close friend strike a good-guy pose from his custom-made wheelchair as the green-clad jounin entered the Tower's lush garden at the back of the building, Kakashi found himself idly thinking that should it be enough to make his friend and rival to gain his ability to walk again, the silver-haired jounin would happily endure many sparkly ambushes from the brightly smiling man.
“Kakashi! What a Pleasant Surprise to Receive This Youthful Invitation to Enjoy the Days of Springtime with You!” The man greeted him as he wheeled closer, the well-maintained wheelchair glinting in the bright sunlight that filtered through the canopy above their heads. The man's bowl-cut was as neat as always, the smile on his face as wide as ever, and yet there were the shadows of time and acceptance of lost dreams flickering in the sharp, dark eyes that peered under the thick eyebrows at the other jounin.
As it was, Kakashi let an easy smile spread on his masked lips at the sight of his old friend. “Maa, Gai. I merely thought the tea and pastries might go wasted on me without any company to enjoy them with,” he said and rightened himself from the slouch on the garden bench, letting his spine settle straight and true like the feared man who wielded thousand chirping birds was claimed to be in many Bingo Books.
Noticing the subtle change in his friend's posture, Gai gave a passing glance at the small tray of treats that had been placed next to his masked friend, counting the pot and the cups and the mentioned pastries, noting them to be his favorite. “Iruka-san isn't accompanying you.” Lacking were the capital letters as the man spoke, and it had not been a question that he voiced out, which did not surprise Kakashi.
The Rokudaime Hokage gave a curt nod at the other's observation, and answered the questioning look he could see passing in the other man's eyes. “Student-parent-teacher conferences all day. He'll be home before midnight, though,” the ex-ANBU noted, and then let his eyes crinkle with a genuine smile, “but I'm actually more interested to hear what has the Green Beast of Konoha been doing lately. I haven't seen you for a while, my friend. ”
At that, Gai let go of the lingering social masks he still sometimes held on his person, letting go of the tense line on his shoulders and the wide grin, and let the warm smile not many had seen on him bloom on his face. “I've been well, Kakashi. Let me tell you about the Peculiar Little Students I have watched in Lee's dojo the other day, as I'm sure you'd agree with my observations.” The man seated on his wheelchair watched as his silver-haired friend poured him a cup of green tea, and as he thanked politely when he took the offered cup, a look of camaraderie was exchanged between them when the mask was slipped off the pale face and a bratty grin adorned the Rokudaime's face at the feigned shock of his friend, the resulting laughter echoing through the yard around them.
Like that they sat and talked, the two men bred and grown in a hidden village; weapons that had honed their edges sharp on all sides; men that shared a history of amiable squabbling and shenanigans; relics of the old times that wondered about the new shades of light that shone upon the dawning new era of their kind; and they enjoyed themselves, till the last drops of tea had grown cold at the bottoms of their cups and only crumbs of the treats littered the warm stoned ground beneath their feet.
He stepped into the hallway of his personal quarters, fully awaiting to see the lights on and his lover greeting him with their night snack ready, but was instead greeted with quiet darkness. The gray eyes peered at the clock next to the kitchen window, the light of the street lamps outside showing it to tick well past midnight. Peculiar, but not alarming. Easing his sandals and the uniform off with a silent sigh, Kakashi stretched his back and shoulders, rubbing off the kinks that had taken over his upper back after all the hours he had spent by his desk when he had attempted to catch on the paperwork that had piled during his tea time with Gai.
At the thought of the man with thick eyebrows, a rueful smile spread on the thin lips that were revealed from beneath the dark mask.
Many would be surprised to know how sentimental the two of them had grown as the rays of light had shifted with the course of the sun under the Tower's garden's cherry trees. It was a good feeling he had felt in his spirit at the sight of his friend narrating animatedly about the moves and tricks that Lee's students had pulled at their spirited young taijutsu sensei, and as he had caught a glimpse of the man's proud smile when he had told about his current lover in his roundabout way and had then steered the topics to his thoughts concerning his new position and their village's future, Kakashi felt certain that the other man had felt the same.
The click of the door behind his back made the elite nin turn around, and soon enough he was greeted with the sight of an other man who he had not seen the whole day. The tired, dark brown eyes peered at him in mild surprise from the exhausted tan face, and seemingly more out of habit than thought put into it, Iruka flicked on the hallway light before closing the door after him. The two men crowded in the small hallway, silent night air lingering between them, as the jounin looked over his quiet companion who set down his leather satchel. Iruka's perky ponytail was as drowsy as the man himself looked like, the dark auburn locks swaying droopily as the tan man removed his shoes and took off his forehead protector.
"Welcome home," Kakashi heard himself say as he watched Iruka take off his uniform, revealing the dark jersey underneath.
“I thought you were asleep already,” Iruka said by a way of answering, curt and with the air of someone who had spent enough of his day talking to people, yet even though the man's slightly raspy baritone was layered with the echo of tiredness it was tinted with something else that made Kakashi's eyebrow rise a quarter of an inch.
Despite the odd tone in the other's voice that made him briefly wonder, Kakashi let a smile tug his lips at the other's gruffly spoken words and his shoulders shook off their tension as he catalogued the other's weary posture, the slump of the strong back and the slack arms that hung limply by the man's sides. “I think someone is a bit grumpy after a long day. ”
“Don't think now,” was all Iruka said, quiet yet firm, and Kakashi's eyes gave an uncomprehending blink, because at one moment, the tan man had stood roughly an arm's length away from him, and now the tokubetsu was well within the jounin's inner range, honey-toned hands having a good hold onto his pale-skinned neck and full lips devouring his gasping mouth.
The kiss was fierce, and the fingers massaging his silver-haired head were rough yet considerate, knowing where to rub, how to pull the coarse hair to make Kakashi open his mouth for the wandering tongue of the moaning tokubetsu to slip in and play with his. Within seconds, the tokubetsu's demeanor had changed from tired to passionate, like a flick of a switch was given, and the moment when the realization came, Kakashi let out a husky chuckle as he caught onto the other man's train of thought.
The jounin had thought that not many things could surprise him after all what he had been through, but the man embracing him had done just that, and as he willingly lost himself to the urgent kisses of the man who he held in the tightening hold of his wandering hands, as they made a mess on their way to the bedroom, the ex-ANBU figured that he could stand being corrected from time to time.