Work Text:
"Kakashi-sama, these expense reports were just delivered, and need to be signed off by the end of the week." Shikamaru said as he wandered into the Hokage office with a small stack of papers.
"Thank you." Kakashi replied without looking up, as he continued to write. "Just leave them with the rest of my to-do pile."
Shikamaru nodded, and placed them carefully on the desk, then stood nearby, waiting patiently.
"Hn? Is there something else?" Kakashi asked when he noticed Shikamaru hadn't left.
"Yes." Shikamaru answered. "On a personal note, I ran into Hinata on the way over here, and she wanted to know if you and Iruka-sensei have any dietary requirements that'll need to be catered to for the wedding."
"No, I don't have any requirements, I'll be happy with whatever is served." Kakashi replied warmly. "As for Iruka-sensei, I wouldn't know. He's never mentioned anything before, but it might be best to ask him directly."
"I was planning to, but I figured since you're together, you might know, instead."
"Together?" Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "Yes, we have been together more lately, haven't we…?"
Shikamaru made a strange face at his comment, but neglected to say anything.
"Well if you can't help, that's fine. I'll go and see Iruka-sensei as intended." He said.
He bowed respectfully.
"Thank you for your time."
With that, he left, leaving Kakashi alone once more, another inch of life draining from him as he stared at his endless pile of work.
Why did I ever accept this job…?
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As the days passed, Konoha got busier with the approach of World Saviour Naruto's wedding; and with that meant more late nights stuck at Hokage Tower, working non-stop; and Kakashi was even sleeping there on a futon some nights, instead of going home.
He was managing Konoha's affairs just fine, but what had really kept him busy was helping with the wedding planning. He had no idea how he got roped into it, but somehow, there he was with a huge list of guests, and a seating plan, trying to figure out where everyone should sit.
Naruto had explained that he and Hinata had been happy to let everyone sit wherever they want for dinner, but the Hyuugas were very particular about customs, and had insisted on a seating plan; and they had caved, and agreed to get one organised. Except there was no one to do it, since everyone was busy with missions and other details for the wedding; and Iruka, who had originally volunteered to do it, had caught the flu, and wouldn't be able to get it done in time.
So now, he was the one taking over and dealing with the headache.
He was very grateful for Iruka's meticulous organisation from when he'd started, because he had been able to easily see his thought process and why certain clans, and specific people within them were sitting together; and it made it a lot easier to figure out where to place a lot of the others. But there were still some difficult ones, and a lot of guests to get through, so the project was still eating up a lot of his time.
As Kakashi continued to work on it, he heard a quiet knock at the door, and looked up in surprise, wondering who was wanting to see him at two in the morning. Whatever it was, it didn't seem urgent judging by the knock, and the fact that there weren't any ANBU currently in the room alerting him of a disaster; but at the same time, it had to be pretty important if they were seeing him at this hour.
"Come in!" He called out.
The door slowly opened; and Kakashi widened his eyes in surprise, and then concern when he saw who his guest was.
"Iruka? What are you doing here?" He asked. "You have the flu. Shouldn't you be in bed?"
"I know, but… I can't help it." Iruka replied sleepily. "You're already so busy being the Hokage, yet you're stuck with even more work because of me. It's my fault you're still here, so I came by to help you with the seating plan."
"Iruka, I appreciate the sentiment, but you've already done enough." Kakashi replied softly. "Please go home and get some rest. I'll be okay here."
"But I forgot to include the stuff about the Inuzukas; and then, and then… Shikamaru said to me that those two in the Yamanaka clan are fighting with one of the ones from, uh, uh… the other clan that they're always with, and can't be near them, but I already seated them together! And, and -"
"Iruka."
Iruka stopped babbling when he felt warm hands on his shoulders.
"Go home." Kakashi repeated gently. "I'll be fine here, I promise."
Iruka gazed into Kakashi's eyes in concern, instantly noticing how tired he was; and he glanced around the room, and frowned when he saw the stack of papers to the side on Kakashi's desk, the wedding stuff right in front of him, and a futon in a darker corner of the room.
"You've been sleeping here?"
"It comes with the job."
A flash of guilt crossed Iruka's face; and he pulled Kakashi into a warm embrace, much to Kakashi's surprise.
"I-Iruka?" He prompted, a small blush creeping on his face.
"I'm sorry… If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be spending another night here…" He apologised into his shoulder. "Let me help you."
Kakashi carefully pulled away to study Iruka's sickly complexion; and he gently put a hand over his forehead to feel his temperature, and only grew more concerned.
"The best thing you can do to help me right now is to go home and get some sleep, so you can get better sooner. Okay?"
"But what about you? When are you going to be able to get some sleep?" Iruka asked. "You're tired, too."
Kakashi sighed, realising he wasn't going to get through to Iruka. And thinking on it a bit more, sending someone home with a fever like that and not thinking straight; and making them walk through the chilly early morning air, leaving them completely unsupervised, was not the greatest idea.
"Okay, let's make a deal." He said, gently guiding Iruka to the futon, pulling the blanket back before helping him down. "I will get some sleep, if you do first. We'll take shifts working on the seating plan, you sleeping first while I work, then me while you work, and we'll continue right up until I need to start doing my Hokage duties; and when that time comes, you go home again. Does that sound good?"
"… You're not just going to let me sleep the whole time, are you?" Iruka asked suspiciously as Kakashi helped him take his sandals and vest off, and untied his hair.
"I won't. I promise." Kakashi murmured.
"You'd better not." Iruka replied as he lay down, and allowed Kakashi to tuck him in.
Kakashi began to gently stroke his hair to try and soothe him to sleep; and Iruka obediently shut his eyes, and allowed himself to enjoy the feeling of Kakashi's fingers running through his hair.
"If you do…" He murmured, quickly dozing off as the comfort of a futon, the warmth of Kakashi's scent, and the feeling of his fingers in his hair soothed him to sleep, "you owe me Ichiraku…"
Kakashi smiled fondly as he continued to stroke Iruka's hair a bit longer, until he was completely sure he was asleep.
"Maa, guess I'm taking you to Ichiraku, then." He murmured to no one in particular.
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A few days passed since Iruka had shown up in the middle of the night; and he was back again, this time well enough to get around, and with Naruto in tow; and all three of them were crowded around his desk, studying the seating plan.
"…And by doing that, we finally figured out how to make all the clans and other guests happy." Iruka concluded. "We just have to make sure no one else gets into any fights before your big day!"
Naruto studied the plans carefully, his face scrunched up, like he was searching for something.
"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked.
"Hmm… I don't know yet, but something doesn't seem right…" Naruto mused.
"Is there something we've missed?" Iruka asked, studying the sheet yet again.
"I don't know…"
After a moment, Naruto suddenly broke the silence.
"A-HA!" He exclaimed. "Kaka-sensei, Iruka-sensei, where will you be sitting?"
"Huh? I'm over there," Kakashi pointed, "and Iruka is over here."
"Why, though?" Naruto frowned. "I thought you were supposed to be together. You're not fighting, are you?"
"No… we're not?" Kakashi answered in confusion, exchanging glances with Iruka who looked just as confused as him. "And what do you mean by 'together'?"
"Well you wouldn't be going with anyone else, would you?"
"I… I guess not?" Iruka answered, glancing back at Kakashi, still just as confused before. "I was just going to go by myself?"
"Same here." Kakashi said.
Naruto glanced at them strangely, before muttering something about them maybe not living together then, then turning back to the seating plan.
In the silence that followed, Kakashi and Iruka could only glance at each other in confusion, trying to decipher what the heck was going on, and why Naruto was acting weird. Then after a moment, Naruto spoke again.
"Okay, I've managed to fit you two at the head table near me and Hinata. Iruka-sensei is like a dad to me, so he's allowed a seat there, and then Kaka-sensei is allowed there because of him, and well, I guess because he's the Hokage, too. So it's all sorted!" He said.
He looked up at the two of them, and grinned.
"Anyway, thank you so much for helping me out with this!" He beamed as he packed up and grabbed the completed seating plan stuff. "I promise to make it up to you sometime. We'll all get Ichiraku together!"
Before either Kakashi or Iruka could respond, Naruto was out the door like a whirlwind, and long gone, presumably on his way to deliver the details to his new family; and after a moment, Iruka spoke.
"Uhh… Is it me, or was Naruto acting a little strange…?"
"Definitely." Kakashi agreed. "What do you think he meant by me being allowed to be at the head table because you'll be there?"
"I… really have no idea…" Iruka mused.
"Maa, come to think of it, I vaguely remember Shikamaru asking me about your dietary restrictions a few weeks ago, too; and he acted a bit strange when I said I didn't know, and he should ask you himself…"
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah. I thought it was because he'd assumed I'd know since we've been seeing each other more lately, and was surprised to find out I didn't; but given Naruto's behaviour just before about you and I, perhaps it's something else…" Kakashi pondered.
"Maybe it's just because we're both Naruto's senseis, and people have certain expectations or opinions about it and what our relationship should be like." Iruka guessed.
Kakashi's eyes widened in realisation.
"You don't think -" He shook his head. "… No. It's crazy. They wouldn't."
"What?"
Kakashi glanced at Iruka hesitantly.
"Ru, you don't think they think we're dating, do you?"
"Wh-What?" Iruka smiled in disbelief. "That… Hah… That's ridiculous! …Right?"
He gazed into Kakashi's eyes, his expression also showing disbelief; and after a few seconds of silence, they laughed nervously at the implication; and after it died down, there was a lingering tension in the air as the two of them continued to gaze at each other, a gentle blush slowly rising on their faces.
Before they could say anything else, Shikamaru wandered in.
"Kakashi-sama, I've got…"
He paused, instantly sensing the tension in the room; and saw Kakashi and Iruka transfixed on one another like love birds.
"Ah, sorry. Is this a bad time?" He asked awkwardly.
Kakashi cleared his throat and quickly composed himself.
"Maa, not at all, Shikamaru." He responded calmly, as if nothing was wrong. "What do you need?"
"I've just got some important documents here for you to look at and sign."
"Thank you. Just leave them on my desk."
"Will do."
With that, Shikamaru placed the documents on the desk and began to walk off to continue with his other duties; but on his way out, he stopped and hesitated, before sighing about how bothersome it was, and turning around.
"Permission to speak freely?" He asked.
"Yes. What's up?" Kakashi asked curiously.
"I know it's not my place to say anything," He began, "but if you're going to continue being together, I would recommend being open about your relationship, because the people are already talking, and I can sense a scandal coming."
"W-What relationship?" Iruka spluttered, his face going beet red.
"W-We're not dating!" Kakashi exclaimed, his heart racing, and face also growing hotter.
Shikamaru shot them both a look that said he wasn't buying their lies, only making them more embarrassed.
"Well either way," He shrugged, giving them the benefit of the doubt anyway, "it will only become a scandal if you're secretive about your actions, so you should consider coming clean. It won't be good if either of you get caught in that kind of mess."
"U-Understood." Kakashi managed to choke out.
Shikamaru glanced at the two of them, noticing how embarrassed they were; and nodded.
"That's all." He said. "I'll take my leave."
With that, Shikamaru left, for real this time, leaving Kakashi and Iruka alone once more; and after a moment of awkward silence, Iruka spoke.
"U-Um, I think I left my satchel at the academy, so I'm just gonna…"
Kakashi nodded enthusiastically.
"Y-yeah, of course. Go and get your stuff." He said, neglecting to mention, or even acknowledge in his mind that it was a Saturday, and the academy was closed on weekends. "I'll see you around."
"Y-Yeah…"
Iruka hurried to the door, and mumbled a barely audible 'bye!' before disappearing; and when Kakashi was alone once more, he all but collapsed into his chair.
"Iruka and I… dating?" He considered thoughtfully.
After a moment, he chuckled to himself.
"As if…" He joked self-depreciatingly. "He would never date someone like me."
But still… For some reason, he couldn't help but hold onto hope.
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Time flew by after Kakashi and Iruka's awkward encounter with Shikamaru; and things had been so busy that Kakashi had barely had the chance to sleep, let alone catch up with anyone; but he was finally able to have a break (somewhat) today, because it was officially Naruto and Hinata's wedding day.
Weddings weren't exactly the most relaxing nor enjoyable things to attend, especially one as formal as this, but at least he wasn't in charge for once, and it was a change of pace from all the paperwork he usually had to do. Plus, the reception afterwards would probably be okay - he at least got to sit next to Iruka, who'd be able to save him from everyone at their table trying to curry favour because of him being Hokage.
Kakashi started to notice more people in his peripheral vision; and he looked up to see that he was walking through an area surrounded by blooming cherry blossom trees; and that up ahead, a lot of well-dressed people were milling around, talking amongst themselves while they waited, for what he assumed was the ceremony.
As he made his way over, he looked around at the people more carefully, and found Naruto's friends sticking together nearby, along with some other shinobi he knew; and he beelined for their direction, hoping to avoid small talk with strangers.
He chuckled fondly as he got closer, because he noticed very quickly that Naruto's friends weren't just hanging around together, most of them had paired off, and were quietly announcing their relationships with one another by holding hands or just standing intimately closer to each other, some of them shyly blushing, and others confident in their display; and he found it quite cute that the couples thought they were finally telling the world that they're dating, when he'd noticed them all trying to be discrete about it ages ago. But he wouldn't tell any of them that.
A small pang of loneliness hit Kakashi as he watched all the couples in their happy relationships, because it was a strong reminder that he didn't have someone like that - never had, really; and with an age of peace just around the corner, he had been thinking that he wanted to settle down with someone special. But would that ever happen…?
Before he could dive too deeply into those thoughts, he caught sight of a familiar figure in his peripheral vision; and when he turned to look at them properly, his heart fluttered when he saw Iruka standing there, watching the kids with a fond smile on his face. He looked gorgeous in his suit; and that smile, along with the small blush on his cheeks was to die for.
I want to kiss him.
Kakashi felt his face quickly grow hot. He wanted to kiss him? Since when?! Why was he suddenly getting all these feelings now? Did it have something to do with what Shikamaru said? Did he plant the seed inside his head?
He gazed at Iruka, and a deep longing swirled in his chest.
No, it can't have been Shikamaru. It felt like his feelings had been there for a long time, just lying dormant; and then maybe Shikamaru's words, and seeing Iruka now triggered their awakening; but he had apparently liked him much longer than that, but just hadn't noticed… Or maybe he hadn't allowed himself to notice; but his heart still continued to secretly grow fonder of the man in front of him.
Shit. What now? What was he supposed to do with these feelings when he wasn't even sure if Iruka liked him back? Yeah, they had grown very close over the years, but what if Iruka only considered him a close friend, and nothing more? Maybe it was best to hide these feelings for now. It was Naruto's, and Hinata's day, after all; he shouldn't do anything that might make himself stand out or change the atmosphere…
Suddenly, Iruka noticed him; and when they made eye contact, he smiled fondly at him, a deeper blush creeping on his face; and Kakashi's heart skipped a beat.
Fuck. He's too cute.
Kakashi took a breath to compose himself, and made his way over to Iruka.
"Maa, you look nice." He commented.
"Thanks. So do you." Iruka blushed.
He looked at the kids again.
"They've all grown up so fast." He said fondly.
"It's crazy, isn't it…"
"Yeah. I remember when they were just little pre-genin kids playing pranks, and trying to skip class; and now they've been to war, gone and saved the world; and Naruto, the little boy who had been an outcast for a long time has all these people here for him, for his wedding." Iruka sniffled. "I'm so happy for him."
"Me too, Ru." Kakashi murmured. "He deserves to be celebrated like this. And be with someone who loves him as much as Hinata does."
Iruka glanced at Kakashi.
"You do, too, you know." He said.
He looked away, shyly scratching his nose.
"Deserve to be with someone who loves you like that, I mean." He continued quietly.
"Hn?" Kakashi hummed.
"Forget it." Iruka mumbled, his face growing very hot.
Before Kakashi could respond, an announcement was made that guests could be seated; and in a blink of an eye, Iruka had disappeared into the crowd, leaving Kakashi to contemplate things alone.
What was that all about? Had he heard him correctly? If so, what did he mean by that, with how he reacted? Was he just embarrassed to talk about love, or was there something else between the lines he hadn't quite picked up on?
If only they'd had more time to talk…
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Everything about Naruto and Hinata's wedding was as big as he'd imagined. The Hyuugas were very willing to spend a lot of money on the event to show off that they're an elite clan; but not only that, the amount of attendees had been incredible - everyone wanted to see the saviour of the world get his happily ever after.
It honestly felt more like a festival than a wedding ceremony, just without the market stalls; and Kakashi imagined that there would be a lot of partying and celebration all throughout the village.
He smiled at the thought. All these people celebrating Naruto (and of course, Hinata)… He really did deserve it.
You do too, you know. Deserve to be with someone who loves you like that, I mean.
Kakashi glanced at Iruka, who was seated beside him, engaged in conversation with Hinata; and his heart fluttered.
It was becoming clearer with every moment he'd spent with him that evening, that he was the one he wanted to have by his side like that. He was intelligent, caring, understanding, cute, compassionate, had the brightest smile and most emotive eyes, and just… He would die for him… And technically did at one point.
Iruka sensed someone looking at him, and when their gazes connected, it was like a spark ignited in their chests, connecting them as one; and when Iruka blushed deeply and glanced away shyly, it only made Kakashi want to watch him more. God, he couldn't get enough of this man.
The rest of the dinner went on quite similarly, with Kakashi thinking about and discretely watching Iruka, and Iruka occasionally catching his gaze or accidentally brushing legs, and becoming an adorable shy, blushing mess; then when everyone was done with their meals, and tipsy or more on the finest drinks, it was time for the first dance; and everyone gathered around the dancefloor to watch Hinata and Naruto slow dance together.
Kakashi was quite surprised to see Naruto moving so gracefully, in time with the string quartet, and managing to mask his concentration; and he suspected that the Hyuugas had been training him so he didn't mess up in front of anyone and humiliate the family. Though judging by the fondness in Naruto's expression, it was clear he did it more for Hinata, his now wife.
"Married before me, huh…" He heard a familiar voice murmur.
Kakashi turned to see Iruka standing nearby; and he inched closer to him.
"Maa, it's not too late, you know."
Iruka let out a small squeak of surprise; and his face grew red again when he saw who spoke to him.
"K-Kakashi! You startled me!" He spluttered in his flustered state.
"I'm pretty good at that." He winked.
His expression grew soft.
"Seriously though. As I was saying, it's not too late for marriage." He said. "We might be older than them, but it doesn't mean we can't settle down, too."
"S-Since when do you care about marriage?" Iruka asked, trying not to read too deeply into the ambiguous way he'd used 'we'.
"Not for long." Kakashi admitted, glancing at the dancefloor when he noticed Naruto elegantly dip Hinata. "But we're coming into an age of peace, and I don't need to be out of the village so much anymore, so I thought it might be nice to settle."
"O-Oh."
Iruka grew quiet, and also gazed out towards the dancefloor, watching Hinata and Naruto.
"Well I hope it happens one day… For both of us." He eventually said.
They continued to watch Naruto and Hinata in an awkward silence, neither of them successful in sharing what they'd really wanted to say; and before long, the first dance was over, and other couples were drifting towards the dancefloor, wanting to dance, too.
Kakashi glanced at Iruka again, and saw the longing in his expression as he gazed at the dancing couples, and the way he was fidgeting awkwardly; and he wished that he could just take his hand and lead him to the dancefloor, because he was sure that would earn him an incredible smile and blushing face.
Well either way, it will only become a scandal if you're secretive about your actions, so you should consider coming clean. It won't be good if either of you get caught in that kind of mess.
Shikamaru was right. If he darted around his feelings instead of facing Iruka, it would only lead to misinterpretation; and if Iruka didn't know what was going on, how could he protect himself in a scandal? "Hokage dating Vice Principal!" sounded like a much better headline than "BUSTED! Hokage's Shocking Secret Lover Revealed, And You'll Never Guess Who It Is! What Other Secrets Are They Hiding?"
So, taking a nervous breath, Kakashi turned to Iruka and cleared his throat to get his attention; and when he was looking at him, he held his hand out.
"May I have this dance?" He asked more confidently than he felt.
Iruka's face grew beet red; and his heart fluttered in response.
"A-Are you sure? Y-You want to dance, with m-me?" Iruka stammered in his flustered state.
"Ru, I only want to dance with you." Kakashi murmured.
Iruka let out a noise akin to a squeak, and somehow his face became even more red; and after a couple of seconds, he shyly nodded, and took his hand; and Kakashi happily led him to the dancefloor.
At first, it was a little awkward trying to get into step with one another, since they were both men and used to taking the lead; but when Iruka let Kakashi guide him instead, the two of them easily found their rhythm and began to glide around the dancefloor as elegantly as Naruto and Hinata had.
"I never thought you'd know how to slow dance." Iruka commented with interest.
"Maa, I had to learn for a mission once." Kakashi replied. "Used my sharingan to study the moves, and picked it up pretty easily after that."
"You used your sharingan to learn how to dance?" Iruka laughed. "That's cheating!"
"Well I wasn't about to embarrass myself in front of anyone." Kakashi joked. "What about you? How did you learn to dance?"
"It's an activity we do at the academy now, in preparation for the formal graduation party; and I help out from time to time." Iruka said. "The girls love it, but we have to convince a lot of the boys by saying it's a type of training that will help with their footwork on the field, and special missions in the future. That, and it will help them get girls."
"I imagine the girls was the highest motivating factor." Kakashi chuckled.
"Yep. Good old puberty." Iruka grinned.
"I can't say that would have interested me back then," Kakashi said thoughtfully, "even the promise of boys instead. I was very serious about being the best I could be, and thought that any kind of relationships would have just gotten in the way of that."
He gazed fondly at Iruka.
"Perhaps I would have changed my mind if I met you…"
"W-What?"
Iruka startled and accidentally stepped on his toes; and Kakashi gracefully guided him so no one could tell what happened.
"You're a sweet guy, Ru. Very charming, understanding, clever, caring, passionate, just an all-around amazing person with an endless list of things to love." He began, his heart fluttering wildly, and a warm blush creeping on his face. "I think the first time I started to notice you, like really notice you, was the moment you told the Sandaime you wanted to become a teacher - you had the most beautiful, striking sparkle in your eyes; and I couldn't take my own off of you. I felt like I was witnessing the moment an angel was born; and since then… I don't know when it happened, because these feelings feel like they've been around longer than I can remember; but I've well and truly fallen for you."
"K-Kakashi…" Iruka breathed. "A-Are you serious? Where is this all coming from?"
"From the moment I laid eyes on you today, I haven't been able to get you out of my mind; and I was thinking about what Shikamaru said about coming clean so as to not leave room for misinterpretation and scandals; so I wanted to make myself clear, and tell you how I feel." Kakashi murmured. "I-I'm sure this is a lot for you to take in, so I don't need an answer right away; but I hope you won't keep me waiting too long."
Before he could react, Iruka stopped dancing, and leapt into his arms, holding him tightly in a warm, loving embrace.
"You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear you say that." He murmured into his shoulder. "I've loved you for a very long time, but could never pick up how you felt about me, so I never acted on it. This feels like a dream…"
"I promise it's not." Kakashi hummed, enjoying the warmth of Iruka's body pressed against his. "This is real; and I'm yours, for as long as you want me."
"Well, then we're going to be together for a very long time." Iruka murmured. "I hope you're ready for that."
"I'm more than ready, Ru."
I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
No matter what.
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1 MONTH LATER…
"Sorry it's been so long to make good on my promise to take you guys to Ichiraku." Naruto apologised sheepishly as he grabbed another mouthful of ramen with his chopsticks.
"Maa, it's fine." Kakashi waved off. "I wasn't really expecting you to remember, anyway."
"Same here." Iruka teased. "Still, it's nice not having to pay for once!"
Naruto chuckled knowingly.
"I could never get enough when someone else was paying for it." He grinned.
He gazed fondly at Hinata, who had somehow nearly finished her bowl already, yet was eating the most elegantly out of anyone.
"But even I could never eat as much as Hinata did in that ramen eating competition." He said warmly. "She's really impressive."
"You're the impressive one." Hinata said softly, a gentle blush creeping on her face.
Iruka smiled fondly, remembering how Hinata never used to be able to approach Naruto, and often fainted when she got embarrassed. Seeing her now just proved how much she'd matured and grown.
"How's life as newlyweds?" He asked, taking a bite of some sliced pork.
"It's been wonderful." Naruto answered warmly. "Hinata is an amazing wife; and I'm very grateful to have her in my life."
"Naruto has been wonderful, too; and I'm very happy living with him." Hinata said gently.
"Aww, I'm glad you guys are happy." Iruka said fondly. "I hope the feeling stays, and you guys have a lifelong, wonderful marriage together."
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei." Naruto replied.
Suddenly, his eyes sparkled mischievously.
"What about you guys?" He teased. "When's your wedding?"
"W-Wedding?"
Kakashi nearly choked on his broth.
"U-Um, we only just started dating about a month ago, so it's a bit early to talk about that…" Iruka stammered, a bright blush creeping on his face.
"Huh? There's no way you've only been dating for a month!" Naruto exclaimed. "The wedding was a month ago, and you were dating before then!"
"Uhh, no we weren't." Kakashi said.
"Yes you were? Everybody was talking about it, right, Hinata?"
"It was a hot topic for a while." Hinata agreed.
"W-What?" Iruka spluttered. "But we weren't dating!"
"So you never showed up to the Hokage Tower in the middle of the night, while you were sick, just to see Kaka-sensei, and then ended up sleeping in his futon after he tucked you in?" Naruto asked. "I heard he was stroking your hair, too."
"W-What?! H-How do you know about that?" Kakashi spluttered, he and Iruka's faces growing a deep shade of red.
"With all due respect, Kaka-sama, you're the Hokage." Hinata reasoned, as she placed her completely empty bowl on the table, having just finished off the broth. "I would expect that you're never truly alone, especially somewhere like the tower; and a lot of shinobi love to gossip, and are always on the lookout for something new and interesting to share."
The group fell silent for a moment.
"So you mean to tell me," Iruka began, "that the entire village thought we've been dating since then?!"
"Not exactly."
"H-How long has everyone thought this, then?" Kakashi asked.
"Ehh, several years now, I think." Naruto pondered thoughtfully as he chewed the last of his noodles.
"Years?!" Kakashi and Iruka exclaimed simultaneously.
"W-Why didn't anyone ever bring it up?" Iruka asked.
"Ah, well, when I first heard the rumour, I wanted to ask you about it," Naruto said, looking at Iruka, "but I just thought maybe you didn't tell me because you wanted some privacy, and would say something when you were ready. I guess the others thought the same."
"Oh my god…" Iruka mumbled, his head in his hands. "I thought I'd hidden my feelings well, but they must have been really obvious if everyone thought we were dating…"
"Apparently it wasn't just you, Ru..." Kakashi sighed, his ears tinged pink. "To think that I used to be an ANBU…"
Naruto sculled his broth, and placed his bowl back on the table happily.
"Well, it doesn't really matter." He shrugged. "You’re together now, and that's all that matters."
He looked suspiciously at Kakashi.
"But Kaka-sensei, you better treat Iruka-sensei right." He warned. "Or I'm going to beat you up!"
"Maa, you don't need to worry about that." Kakashi said, holding his hands in surrender.
He turned to gaze at Iruka fondly.
"I would never do anything to hurt the man I love."
Iruka's face grew beet red, and a smitten smile crept on his face; and he leaned in and pecked his cheek.
"I love you, too, 'Kashi."
God, that felt good to say.
Why had he ever been so afraid before?
"You guys are acting more like newlyweds than we are." Naruto teased. "Seriously, when's the wedding?"
"Maa, you want me to marry Iruka that badly?" Kakashi asked, putting an arm around Iruka, a smirk creeping on his face. "Even after knowing how much I love Icha-Icha?"
Naruto's eyes widened in horror.
"Y-You... You perv!" He exclaimed. "Don't you dare do anything to violate Iruka-sensei!"
"What if I already have?" Kakashi winked.
As Naruto started yelling about how gross he was, and that he changed his mind and won't let Kakashi date Iruka anymore, everyone laughed at his antics, a warm fondness swirling in their chests; and Kakashi pulled Iruka closer, and discretely kissed his temple.
It was good to be part of a family again.