Archive of Our Own

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bar was full to bursting, but that was hardly a surprise. 

Festivals had a way of bringing everyone in the village out to celebrate and socialize. 

It was the new year, after all. 

Asuma and Gai had insisted upon my presence this evening. Neither would let me slip away to be alone. Not tonight. 

So here I sat, at a large round booth in the corner, surrounded by my friends and their friends. Most everyone here was decently intoxicated, and so their lips were loose. Just as their guards were down. 

Kurenai, Izumo, Kotetsu, Iruka, and Anko were here with us. And the conversation became more and more ridiculous as the night went on. 

I, myself, was indeed slightly buzzed now. My belly pleasantly warm, my limbs relaxed. 

"Hey, Iruka. Do Kakashi! I want to know his, too!"

Izumo was flailing a bit, his mug of ale sloshing dangerously in my direction as I raised a curious eye to the teacher. 

That phrasing was certainly odd enough to capture my attention. 

He, Iruka, merely eyed me for a moment or two, before shrugging and shaking his head. 

"Too easy. There's no fun in it."

I frowned and regarded both men as my lips parted in question. 

"What are you talking about?"

Kotetsu perked up and joined in. 

"Iruka has a talent for guessing kinks. He's guessed everyone else's easily. And he's been right every time, so far."

The man in question leaned back against the bench of the booth, shrugging once more. Seemingly uninterested, though his small half smile gave away his pleasure. 

"They call it a talent or whatever. I call it the power of observation. There's nothing remarkable about it."

Asuma laughed and pointed to the sensei, eyes alight. 

"He even knew mine. I still don't understand how. It's not as if I've gone around telling people either."

Iruka's head fell back as his laughter floated into the air, his arm coming up along the top of the booths edge behind me. He was to my right. Asuma was directly across from us. 

"You watch the women in fishnets and stockings like a starving man stumbling into a feast. It was all too easy to tell."

The Sarutobi merely grinned. The cigarette between his lips dangling precariously low. 

"Everyone here has had theirs named. Why won't you tell us his?"

I arched a brow, my own curiosity piqued. 

"You presume to know mine, as well? Interesting. I didn't realize you were the kind to pay so much attention to me, sensei. Or to be so naughty. Tell me then, what do you think my kink is? I'm rather curious."

Bright almond shaped eyes seemed to smile at my covered features, as his arm dropped down from behind me to curl around my shoulders. He leaned in close, his nose tickling my ear, and began to whisper in a soft, yet distinctly charged, voice. 

"Your penchant is obvious, you know. It's too easily discovered. You make no attempts to hide it, after all. You like talking. I'd wager anything on it. You like dirty words. Sweet words. Moaned words. Don't you, Kakashi-san?"

I couldn't help the shiver of interest as it skipped down along my spine. But he didn't stop there and pull away like I thought he would...

Instead, he took in another breath.

"You like it when your lover tells you what they'll do to you, and what they want you to do in turn. You like the tease, the buildup, and the heat of lust and passion spoken aloud for you. You like hearing every detail of pleasure before, during, and after. You like the rush of it. You like to come when someone tells you it's finally time. It's not just moaning, but erotic, sinful, stimulating words you enjoy... It's apparent with every time you open one of those books in public. Or am I wrong?"

I clenched the bottle in my hand tightly as I struggled to remain calm. 

He was teasing me. Purposefully. 

And it was working. 

My breath was coming in small pants, and I didn't trust my own voice for a moment. He pulled away from my ear to face me. His cheeks rosy, warm with drink, and possibly our closeness. I swallowed thickly and nodded ever so slightly, once. To which he laughed once more and finally pulled away. 

It was suddenly far too hot in here. 

"Well? What is it?" Iruka shrugged and ignored Kurenai's question in favor of taking a swig from his sake cup. Though he held an air of the cat who caught the canary. Utterly smug. She frowned and turned her sharp gaze to me instead. "Is he right? I have to know that much at least." 

I looked around the table, at every set of eyes now heavily focused upon me. With the one exception of Iruka, who suddenly seemed bored. 

I wanted that hot gaze back. 

I wanted that voice back. 

But I pushed those thoughts aside, to examine later. Privately. 

I smiled instead, though they couldn't see it, and raised my bottle slightly. 

"I have two. He's named one. So I suppose his streak remains unbroken."

Those eyes returned to me. I wasn't looking at him, but I knew it to be true. I felt them just as easily and as much as I'd felt his breath upon my flesh only moments earlier. 

"What?"

All eyes moved to Iruka. But he was still staring at me. 

I turned to face him, and delighted at his confused expression. 

Adorable. 

"Is a man not allowed more than one? Or is it simply that uncommon? Either way, you've correctly named one of them. And, if it eases your mind, it's certainly the strongest of the two."

The entire group, aside from the brunette and I, burst out into raucous laughter. Loud enough to drown out the rest of the bar. 

But I remained focused on the man who was still staring at me.

Would goading work, I wonder?

"You're welcome to try and name the second... I'll be honest. You have my word."

I watched his brow furrow in annoyance as he took another sip from his cup. Feigning disinterest, I smiled in my usual way, while waiting patiently to see if he'd take up the challenge. 

His face went smooth for a moment. 

A smirk tugged at his lips, shortly thereafter. The only outward sign that he enjoyed the idea. 

Everyone else was too busy talking amongst themselves to notice us now. And I liked that just fine. It meant that we could continue this interesting game somewhat privately. 

I lifted his sake bottle up in offering, and he tilted his ceramic cup towards me in waiting. 

The meaning clear. 

Challenge accepted. 

It was my turn to look smug now as I filled his cup. 

He didn't seem too bothered. 

I'd never paid the teacher much mind before. Certainly there had been an instance or two over the years. Confrontations and conversations. Both necessary for one reason or another. But otherwise, he'd just been the average Chunin sensei. 

Yet there was something different about him tonight. Here in this bar. 

He's relaxed. 

He's challenging. 

He's intriguing. 

I didn't bother to hide the fact that I was watching him. 

The evening wore on, but still, my eye stayed with him. 

And he seemed to come alive under my scrutiny. 

His grin seemed wider. 

His words seemed more confident. 

His body language somehow seductive. 

But no one else seemed to notice. 

How could they not see it?

How could they be blind to the way he seemed to be blooming under the dim fluorescent lights?

Opening for me. 

Like a bird of paradise. 

Revealing a flurry of color and a scent so alluring, that it was nearly impossible to ignore. 

The way he toyed with a strand of his bound hair when he was playing coy. Not wanting to answer Kurenai about his own sexual proclivities. 

The way he licked his bottom lip to catch a stray drop of clear burning liquid that had spilled when Anko turned to Gai, and said, in total seriousness: "Let me dive into your springtime of youth." And who'd really seen that coming anyway?

The way he arched his back when he laughed at Kurenai's tale of the worst date she'd ever been on. 

The way his neck seemed perfectly sculpted as he swallowed another mouthful of his too sweet sake.

The way his fingertips seemed to caress the tabletop between us, like he was touching something else. Something that could actually feel him. 

If I wasn't careful, I'd give away the game too easily. I knew that. 

I know that. 

But perhaps that wouldn't be so bad either. He already knows one. What would it matter if he knew the other?

Better yet...

What would he do with the knowledge?

He caught my eye then, with that thought fluttering through my mind, a grin flitting over his lips as he replied to something about youth that Gai had been shouting. 

I hadn't been paying much attention, really. And I didn't really care. 

There was something in the way he now watched me as I watched him. 

Something important. 

Possibly dangerous. 

My pulse kicked up. 

That familiar spark of adrenaline wanting to spike through my blood. 

This felt like a battle. A rather intimate one. 

Were I anyone else, I would have startled when a heavy hand landed on my shoulder. But I'm not anyone else. 

The others were leaving. Asuma and Gai were bidding me farewell. 

And then Iruka and I were alone. 

Everyone else stumbling and laughing out the door and into the late night. 

He didn't move away like I assumed he would, now that there was enough space to accommodate us. 

His thigh was still pressed tightly against my own. 

"Have you had enough time to guess?"

My words were low, because the bar was nearly empty now, and there was no need to raise my voice to be heard. 

"I think so. But it wouldn't be nearly as fun to end this just yet."

I smiled and set my eye to wander over his relaxed frame. Letting my curiosity get the better of me, while I sized up my pretty new prey. 

"Has anyone ever figured yours out?"

He swallowed the last of his drink and mindfully set his receptacle down. Exceedingly careful not to show his cards. 

"What do you think?"

Those eyes flashed another challenge in my direction, and I had to resist the sudden and strong urge to touch him. 

I leaned into his personal space, instead. Making my tone and words into a caress that I hoped might match his earlier enticement of my own senses. 

"I think you like being watched. Every flick of your tongue. Every toss of your head. I think you like being the center of attention, because you're always the one doing the watching instead." 

I paused for just a moment, to consider his small gasp as well as my next words. Surely he was taken. 

"I think your lover must be very lucky, indeed. With someone so observant, whomever you choose would be given their hearts desire. Even if they don't tell you what it is that they want or need... they wouldn't have to. And that in turn would fulfill your own desire. For they wouldn't dare take their eyes off of you. And I don't need any confirmation. Don't worry. I know I'm not wrong."

He allowed me to remain close, and tilted his face towards mine. Sharing his breath with my own. Pools of chocolate flecked with gold sharpening upon me. 

"I have no lover. You're not as subtle at reconnaissance as you might like to believe. If you want to know something about me... you need only ask."

The smirk that appeared on my face was positively predatory, I knew. He shivered slightly, even if he couldn't see more than my eye. Something must have given me away anyhow. 

"Alright. Tell me, Iruka... are men in your strike zone?" Another shiver, this one stronger, and his hands upon the table clenched into fists. 

"And if they are? What would that matter to you?" His voice didn't waver. Nor did his gaze. 

The places where we touched were growing hot. 

The energy between us becoming nearly tangible in its thickness. 

Electric frisson pulsing in the minuscule space that separated the rest of his body from mine.

"Don't play coy now. If you have indeed figured out my second trigger, you know precisely why it matters."

His eyes fell to half mast, pupils dilating slightly... his lips pulling in a small sharp breath. And when he spoke again, there was a breathy husk in his tone. 

"Have you ever let a lover truly spoil you? Have you ever let them call you sweet names, while they make you writhe in ecstasy and wanton abandon? Have you ever let one just take control, so that you could do nothing but feel, and taste, and watch them? Watch them explore you... Watch them take their own pleasure from you... Watch them come undone for you? You've figured mine out so easily because you like to watch. Don't you?"

I growled deeply, but soft enough that no one else would be disturbed by the sound.

Playing coy here on my end was pointless, as well. I know what I'd like to to happen tonight.

And stating it clearly was all too easy. 

"You're trying to stoke the flame you yourself have lit... but there isn't any need. That fire is blazing. I want you plenty already."

He swallowed heavily, one of his hands moving to just barely touch one of mine. Just a small press of a single fingertip. A sliver of something like nervousness surfacing.

"You've never noticed me before... Never even so much as glanced in my direction. Why now?"

I took in his posture, which has now become slightly guarded. 

I took in the way his eyes tried desperately to read my hidden expression. 

I took in the way he began to blush, this time not from the alcohol... And it was just as pretty a sight as the one he'd made all night. 

Another color coming into his petals. 

"I'm looking beneath the underneath. And I find I can't possibly ignore the lovely sight before me. So... Won't you allow me to keep looking?"

I must've said something right. 

That sliver of uncertainty faded from him completely before my steady gaze, and his body suddenly pulled away as he scooted out of the booth to stand and stretch in a surprisingly erotic manner. 

"If you're serious... I might let you do so much more than simply look, Kakashi-san. I might even let you catch me." 

He turned away suddenly, and began to saunter towards the exit. 

I was left completely entranced with the grace in which he moved, with the swing of his hips, for a long heartbeat. 

He stopped at the door, and turned back to me expectantly.

"Are you coming?"

The poise and confidence he radiated once again was intoxicating. 

My feet were moving before my lips could speak. I did however respond when I reached him. 

"I'm prepared to follow wherever you might lead."

His laughter rang out into the open air as we stepped outside. 

I slouched a bit and slid my hands into my pockets, but my eye stayed on him. 

The air outside was cooler, but certainly not cold. 

"Do you really mean that?"

I nodded to his question, as he took a left and began to walk at a leisurely pace... But after a moment, I felt the urge to elaborate while I met his stride. 

"How else can I possibly keep you in my sights?"

He chuckled lightly, the streetlights throwing him into half shadow as we walked along. Warm fingertips slipped into the crook of my elbow, so I walked a little closer to his side. His palm settled into place, and I marveled at how such a simple action could fill my chest with heat. Our shoulders brushed every so often. 

"And if I found that I wanted to hold you to me, to bind you to my side? How would I go about such a task?"

I pursed my lips in thought, he was looking straight ahead, as though the answer didn't matter to him at all. I was still looking only at him. 

"You may decide I'm not worth such trouble, sensei. What if the issue actually lays in you trying to escape from me?"

In the past, the few relationships that I did attempt seriously all ended in a rather spectacular fashion. I don't do well with people. 

I never have. 

I'm too blunt.

I can also be too cold. 

Too unyielding. 

On the other extreme, I am too intent on my partners. The attention and singular focus can be rather overwhelming, I've been told. 

It's why I've more or less stopped trying. 

Despite Gai's various attempts to set me up. 

Iruka's delicate laughter seemed to light up the air around him, and then his tone shifted. 

"What ridiculous thoughts you have... What if I want you to pin me down? What if I want you to see only me? What if what I desire is to be overtaken?"

My smile was small, as he turned to face me. Such a willful creature he is. 

I wanted to see what he looked like all wild, free from his typical reservations. 

It was becoming nearly impossible to wait. 

And he was purposefully pushing my buttons. He knows this is exactly what I like. 

This tease. This dance. 

The power mere words can have has always fascinated me. And he was someone quite adept at using them to draw me in. 

But two players are in this game. 

And I'm never one to be outdone. 

I let my eye wander over the set of his jaw, the bow of his lips, and the arch of his brow as I loosed my most wanting and husky tone. 

"I could do that, easily. I could pin you down and hold you there. I could make you dizzy with desire until you're begging me to let you finish. I could make you groan and sigh and shiver for me. I could find every single spot on your body that will make you crumble, and toy with them until you're well and truly soiled... utterly satisfied. Is that something you might enjoy?"

He was suddenly having trouble breathing normally, his fingers clenching at the material of my shirt sleeve. His once confident gait slowed until we were standing still in the middle of the street. 

"That, all of that, may come afterwards. I have my own ideas first. You're not the only one who will aim to satisfy this evening... If you do indeed intend to follow me."

He turned and pulled away from me, and I found my side to be rather cold without him there. 

My gaze followed him. Meticulous, careful steps up the path towards an unlit doorway. Likely his own. 

This was the second time he'd given me an out. 

An escape. 

I almost laughed. 

The decision to make was obvious.

His home, when we stepped inside, was full of miscellaneous things. But not cluttered. Simply lived in. Everything was in its proper place. 

We bent and removed our shoes, before he led me into his livingroom. 

"Would you care for some tea, Kakashi-san? Or any other refreshment?"

I felt the grin tugging at my lips pull wider. 

He was ever so proper. Before it had always bothered me, and I'd done my best to break that mask of prim politeness in the past, purely for entertainment... but here and now? 

It was entirely endearing. 

"The only refreshment I require does not come in that form, sensei... And just Kakashi is fine. I don't want those kinds of walls between us now."

He nodded, clearly pleased, and let his palm trail down my arm as he moved past me, towards the hallway to the right. 

"Make yourself at home. I'll need a moment or two, if that's alright?"

I nodded once, but chose to withhold my words. He didn't need them. 

His lovely form disappeared into that darkness down the hall, and I busied myself with removing my gloves and vest. Piling them neatly onto the coffee table. 

When he did appear again, it was in a long furisode style robe, painted in the colors of a vibrant pink and golden sunset, tied loosely around his waist. His hair was down, the line of his chest exposed, and his smile was a little shy, but mostly impatient. 

Beautiful. 

He motioned me forward, and I followed him obediently into his bedroom. Watching as his robe fluttered and flowed around his steps. 

There was an armchair in the corner opposite the door, facing his bed, which was directly across from it. I took the seat as it was obviously meant for me, while he settled onto the end of his mattress. That silk falling open in the most tantalizing way, revealing the sun kissed skin of his shoulder and left leg. A fascinating contrast against maroon sheets. 

"You mentioned earlier that my lover, whomever I chose, would be granted their hearts desire... What makes you so sure?"

He scooted back, a little further onto the bed as he spoke, and the sight of it had blood rising to the surface of my skin. 

Such graceful movements disguised in such a mundane action compelled my tongue to wet my Suna-dry lips. 

"You're a giver. It's in your nature. You give every day. You would certainly make an excellent partner in many ways. You would surely be devoted. But you don't sit quietly and wait, either. You're far from demure. You like a challenge, and you like to be challenged. That has probably been an issue for others who assumed you'd simply do their bidding with a smile." 

He scoffed a little at that, but his eyes shifted down and away, and that made me a bit sad. I didn't want to be right about that sort of thing. But I kept going anyway. 

"Some have likely tried to simply use and take from you. That was their downfall, and certainly my gain. I need someone strong. Someone who will fight me on difficult matters, if necessary. I need someone who will understand, but still point out why they are right when they think I am wrong. I am not looking for someone to walk all over. Does that suit you?"

He continued to move back, a new and playful smile gracing his soft looking lips. 

"We might argue too often for your taste... I might never agree on anything. What would you do then?"

He came to rest, finally leaning casually back against a stack of pillows piled neatly at his headboard. 

That fucking robe showing almost everything, a long line down his right side, but still somehow obscuring the things that I desperately wished to see. 

I removed my Hitai-ate, and let it fall carelessly to the floor while he waited for my answer. Taking the time to appreciate his beauty while I pulled in an answering breath. 

I didn't keep him in suspense. 

"I don't need to agree at all times with the person I call mine. That would be boring, and it would be a lie. I don't like lies, Iruka. I require honesty. Even when it is painful. I prefer to know exactly where I stand with the people I care about. I've held enough secrets for a lifetime. And many more have been withheld from me. Arguing is fine, because it is honest. And besides, making up could very well prove worth the trouble of any disagreement."

Tanned fingers slid into his hair, and then down his chest. I opened both eyes as he dragged them lazily over his exposed skin. 

My mouth watered. 

His whole body trembled when his eyes met both of mine. That didn't stop his mouth from moving though. Or his light exploratory touches upon his own skin. 

"Honesty? I can certainly accommodate that. But if that is the case then be warned now... I might be a giver, but I do not share. If a person wishes to stay beside me, they must understand that I am a monogamous man. I will not tolerate infidelity. In any capacity."

I hummed in agreement. Choosing my next words as carefully as he'd chosen his last ones. 

"I have similar serious inclinations. Though I do enjoy my books, the ones you so adamantly oppose. That makes me wonder if they might fall under such a capacity in your eyes..."

His tinkling laughter rang out, echoing off of the walls around us, and I was very glad to be openly taking him in. This was a memory I'd certainly come to cherish. 

Head thrown back, chest heaving, abdominals flexing. 

"Books are hardly cause for concern to me. I'm more worried with real and breathing people. I only meant that should someone wish to treat me as a mere temporary toy, they would be swiftly disabused of the notion. I do not tread lightly. So, if by chance that is something you are seeking, I trust you remember where the door is?"

Another chance to leave. 

But really, the entire conversation was one. 

It made me wonder why he felt the need to keep offering them. 

It made me wonder who had hurt him enough to make him that cautious. 

Anger, hot and unexpected, now warred with the desire nestled deep in my gut. 

"No matter how many times you ask, or what words you use, I'm not leaving. Not when everything I currently want is on such a pretty display before me. I am a simple minded man, with no time to focus on the vast majority of people. You know this much. My friends are few. As are my needs. The question isn't whether or not I will let you warn me away. I've already told you it is whether or not you should be the one to run from me."

A soft tongue peaked out and smoothed over the seam of his mouth. 

"You don't scare me Kakashi. I'm certainly not going to run. I want those eyes on me. I want your focus... all of it."

It was my turn to chuckle, though it was slightly self derisive. 

"You feel this way now. But you might come to find me too intense. Too overwhelming. You might someday come to feel stifled by me. I'm honest but not always forthcoming. And I can be cold. You yourself are aware of it in at least one previous instance between us."

His leg moved, and more glowing skin at his thigh was revealed, his wandering hand traveling just a little lower. 

"You don't sound cold now. In fact you look and sound positively scalding from where I sit. I'm not sure what happened in your previous relationships, but I can promise I'm no coward. I'm not a pushover either. I won't blindly accept things that I dislike. We're both adults here. Capable of understanding the many implications of moving forward. The only real question left is simple. I'd like to continue. Will you be joining me?"

I answered by pulling out a kunai and cutting away my wrappings. Dealing with them later would waste precious time. They fell in fluttering ribbons to the floor, while I removed my weapons pouch and let that fall away as well. 

His gasp when I stood and removed my shirt was utterly satisfying, particularly when I watched the silky cloth barely covering his hips twitch. I sat back down slowly, giving him time to view my body as he liked. 

Those sinful lips parted, and more words tumbled out. 

"I've fantasized about you... so many times. I've always wondered how you'd touch your lover. How you'd like it. Soft and sweet and slow? Deep and heady? Primal and dominating? I've imagined you here, watching me... just like this, on so many lonely nights."

My hands were forming seals before he'd finished speaking, though they were not nearly as steady as I would've wanted. My chakra flared as I pulled it in, moulded and shaped it into three clones. 

One on the ceiling above him, one crouched beside him at the edge of the bed on the floor, and one in the opposite corner of the room by the door. 

He groaned and arched into his own touch as it slipped from my view under that infuriating fabric.

It seemed he wanted to show his distinct pleasure at my want to see him from every angle. 

He really and truly knew how to tease me. 

And fuck, but it had me so ready. 

"You're not alone now. Tell me... Which way was your favorite to conjure? Which vision of me made you the most excited?"

My words had been rough, laden with lust and held a possessive edge. He tossed his head to the side and licked his lips as he caught the eye of the clone closest to him. 

"Deep, and hard, but slow... Ahn. Taking your time. Making me beg for it. Watching me lose myself in your touch. I have always wanted to know how you sound in the throes of passion. What sorts of noises you can make..."

I hummed appreciatively. His voice dipping into a sweet tone, filled to the brim with want. His eyes flew away from the clone and back to me, as I shifted in the armchair. Making myself more comfortable.

My own hand slipping down to caress my neglected length. 

I watched his throat swallow tightly, and his occupied arm twitch harshly under that damned cloth. 

"You'll soon find out. I promise. But until then, why don't you show me a little more? I can't see your hand... and I'd very much like to know what it's getting up to under there."

He groaned, long and lewd, at my words. 

The sound shooting straight into my veins. 

His left hand came up, untied his robe, and began pulling the fabric aside.

Miles of honeyed flesh were revealed inch by glorious inch. Those pretty fingertips danced over his peaked and pink nipple, down his side... lower and lower, finally pulling that beautiful robe away completely. 

I wanted to follow their journey with my tongue. 

He was still teasing, even now... and gods but that was so exciting. 

That busy hand and the rest of his sunkissed skin were finally mine to peruse.  

He was palming himself, but not actually stroking. Just caressing with slow careful fingertips. His pretty, pink tipped, and fully aroused cock jumping under the attention.

"Do you like to take or be taken? Would you rather be the one to thrust into me? To bury yourself so deeply that I'd feel you for days afterwards? Or would you prefer to lose control entirely? To let me inside? Would you like to claw at my back, and beg me to push in deeper?" 

I couldn't sit still anymore. 

I needed to be closer. 

So I stood, stripped away my pants and underwear, and took the three steps needed to reach the end of the bed, letting my fingers reach down and gently graze his calf. 

Mirroring his own earlier ministrations upon himself. Watching his muscles bunch against this small caress as his eyes seemed to urge me on. 

The urge to claim him was fierce. 

"We can try anything you like, later. Tonight, though? Tonight, I think I'd very much like to do the taking..."

He bit his lip in an attempt to stifle a surprised moan, but if it was due to my words or my sudden touch, I couldn't be sure. 

Perhaps it was both. 

My heart was thumping wildly within my chest, and my cock was aching to be surrounded by warm willing tanned flesh. 

His skin beneath my palm was soft and supple. 

The way he looked was more enticing than any other partner I'd ever held could possibly dream of being. 

Like he was made for my eyes only. 

I wanted to let him continue to drive me into madness, but it was too intoxicating. 

He was too much to resist. 

I pulled my left knee onto the bed. 

"You've mentioned plenty of things. All of which I'm more than happy to indulge, but I can't help but notice that while you've mentioned the way I might touch, or the sounds I might make, or how I'd like to fuck... you've said nothing about kissing. Is that not something you desire?"

He was stroking himself lavishly now, his grip firm, less teasing and more need, eyes boring into my mask as he whined a little. 

"I've never dared think that you'd... Even in my imaginings, I've never allowed myself to entertain the possibility that you'd show me your face. Let alone kiss me."

I let my hand move up from his calf to his inner thigh, marveling at how responsive he seemed to everything I said and did. 

"The idea excites you now, though? I can see how hard you are... how much you're enjoying the notion. Can I kiss you, Iruka?"

His back bowed and his hand stopped abruptly, squeezing the base of his length instead. His eyes slammed shut, and his breath stuttered harshly. 

"Don't come. Not yet."

My tone held a commanding sort of edge, and I nearly apologized, but the way he reacted to it seemed to be more than alright... The full body tremble and choked off groan stayed my tongue. But certainly not his, as pouty moist lips parted again. Words tumbling out in a sort of frenzy. 

"I'm trying not to but, but the thought of feeling your lips, gods your tongue in my mouth, your teeth against my skin... I want it. I won't look, I promise... please? I know I've been teasing you, but please won't you kiss me?"

And how could I refuse that?

My mask was down in an instant, but I didn't kiss him right away. 

True to his word, those eyes remained closed, even as I crawled up the bed, and bent over him. Careful not to let our limbs touch. 

Not yet. 

I let my nose drag along his cheekbone instead. Watching as he shifted restlessly beneath me, leaning towards me invitingly yet with an air of impatience. 

It was my turn to tease now.

"Kakashi... I need you so much closer."

Love is a funny thing. 

It's like... like a door. 

And yet, curiously, conversely it's not. 

Sometimes hearts are the doors. 

Doors that some try desperately to lock. To deadbolt and chain. 

Others simply leave it wide open... hoping to invite love in. 

But love doesn't work that way. 

You can't chain it out. You can't push it away. 

Just like you can't force it in. 

It comes in its own time, at its own pace.

If it arrives at your door, and finds it bolted and locked up tight, it simply slips easily through the edges. 

And though one might leave the door wide open, that doesn't mean that love will enter... or that it will stay. 

It can't be contained. 

It can only be realized and felt. 

A person may try to deny it, with everything they have... but fighting it is no use. 

It's like fighting a part of one's own soul. 

But love itself is also a door.

One that, if traversed, can lead to worlds of wonder. 

But it can also lead to pain... To cracks and splinters slowly tearing your heart to shreds. 

Here, in this bed, looking down at a man I'd thought I'd known well, yet never truly noticed before... I could swear I felt a tiny caress from the other side of my door. 

A timid brush, that could have been caused by the way his hair fanned out around him delicately. 

Or by the way his teeth pulled at his bottom lip. 

Or maybe it was because of that one single moment earlier, when his confidence broke... for just an instant. And I was allowed to see something tender in him, fragile. 

It made me want to handle him with such care. 

It made me want to turn the knob...

The noise he made as I bent to finally take his lips was enough to snap the last bit of control I'd been gripping in both fists. 

It was a moan and a whine and a sigh all in one.

And it was utterly perfect. 

He didn't wait for me to pry his lips open to taste him. He was too busy nipping at my bottom lip to steal his tongue inside my mouth. 

I groaned into the onslaught, pulling him by his waist halfway down the bed to lay beneath me, and enjoyed the force of nature that he was. 

Warm, slightly calloused hands began to blindly explore my spine. The lines of my shoulder blades, the muscles along my sides and hips, the dip of the small of my back. And then they were gently tugging, trying to pull my body down against his. 

I pulled out of our lip lock to follow the set of his jaw with the tip of my tongue until I reached his earlobe. 

"Is there something else you want, sensei?"

I loved the way he turned his head to allow me more room to explore the column of his neck. 

I loved the way he moaned when I sealed my lips around the pulse point beside his throat. 

I loved the way his hips thrust up, seeking contact... seeking me. 

"Now who's the tease?"

I laughed at his breathy complaint, as his fingers clenched around my shoulders. 

"Guilty. But you like it, don't you? You're practically dripping wet already..."

He changed tactics suddenly, his right hand blindly began to trail delicately down my body, around my hip... And then he was wrapping hot digits and palm confidently around my length. Strong slow strokes had my back bowing, my hips thrusting into his nimble fingers. 

My mouth fell open on a groan, and he shivered in anticipation. 

"There's a time to tease, Kakashi, and then there's a time to act. I want to feel you, this, inside me. I want to feel your hands and lips on every inch of my body. I want you to fuck me senseless. I want to become nothing more than a panting, sweating, satisfied mess. I want exactly what you promised me."

Strong thighs parted beneath me invitingly, and gods but the sight of him wanting, eyes closed, totally trusting, and yet completely in control, even as he was offering to give it all to me.

I licked my bottom lip and shifted my weight to my left hand, finally allowing myself the indulgence of exploring him. 

My fingers traveled over his pecks, to the peak of his right nipple. Watching as he gasped, his grip on my most sensitive parts faltering slightly. 

"You'll get it all, Iruka. Fuck, I'll give you everything, anything you want."

I bent then, taking his yet untouched nub between my lips, swirling my tongue around it. His hand couldn't reach my shaft anymore, and so it fell away, finally allowing me to fully concentrate on the beautiful body waiting like a gift before my eyes. 

I traced his dips and curves with my lips. Followed the planes of his flesh with my tongue. Lapped at his belly button, and dragged my teeth gently along his hips. Nibbled at his inner thighs and massaged his body where my mouth could no longer reach. 

Unsteady fingers found their way into my hair, and I lifted my eyes up to face him as I brought myself level with his straining and weeping member. 

Those expansive cinnamon pools were hidden away from me still, squeezed tightly closed while he worried his bottom lip between his teeth and panted through his nose. 

"Don't come."

My warning held every bit of the command that I'd used earlier, and he gasped and twitched before me yet again. 

So he truly liked it when I spoke that way. Information I'd definitely be using later. For now, I waited until he nodded before I licked a long slow stripe up the full length of his desire. 

His answering moan was loud and set my own heady arousal on fire. 

So I wasted no more time, and took him into my mouth. 

All the way down. 

And swallowed around him. 

He flailed wildly as he nearly shouted my name, his shaft pulsing and thickening between my lips, against my tongue. I pulled back slowly, keeping said lips, tongue, and the flesh of my cheeks as soft as possible while I sucked and licked at him lazily. 

The hand in my hair was tight and flexing erratically. 

He was painfully close, but he was fighting it. Desperately trying to abide by my last words. 

It was as adorable as it was erotic. 

I set a slow pace, to make sure he didn't accidently crest too soon. 

"If you don't want me to do it myself, you should hurry up and give me what I'm asking for..."

His tone was totally breathless, wrecked... his whole face and chest flushed pink. Sweat beaded along his temples, making random locks of hair stick to his skin. 

I pulled off of him with a smirk. 

"Ah, but I have been. I've been doing precisely what you asked me for... exactly what I'd promised. Or don't you like it? You're so pretty like this, you know. Right at the edge, practically begging..."

He cut me off suddenly by gently tugging the strands of my hair he still held between his now trembling fingers. 

"Fuck me, Kakashi. Please. I'm not practically begging, I'm literally begging. Please. Bury your cock inside of me and make me come. I want it now. I want to feel you, I want to make you mine. I want you so fucking badly... I can't stand it anymore."

If I wasn't careful, I'd lose it before things really even got started. That mouth of his would surely do me in. Easily. 

I groaned and dropped a kiss to the wrist beside my face as he blindly reached out towards his nightstand and a bottle of oil that sat upon it. 

I nodded to the clone beside it and he lifted the bottle, placing it into the brunettes questing fingers. 

I expected Iruka to hand it to me. 

But he didn't. 

Instead, he surprised me by opening the bottle and pulling his free hand from my hair to coat his fingers in oil. A good portion dripping down over his abs, as well. 

And then those fingers were moving, and I watched as he guided them down between his still parted legs and then pushed two into himself. 

No hesitation, no warning. 

I sat back on my haunches in awe, my eyes glued to him, to those fingers sinking into and out of that now tantalizingly slick opening. Moaning as he widened them, clearly eager to continue as fast as possible. 

My hands settled onto his inner thighs, squeezing, caressing. 

"You look positively ravishing like this. I can't wait to breach you... to push inside... to feel you squeezing around me. I want to watch you like this forever. Want to hear you call out my name until your voice goes hoarse. Want to watch you fall apart around my cock..."

I was panting, but it didn't matter. So was he... His toes curling beautifully against the mattress as he groaned and whined for me. 

I watched the way his body tensed in anticipation, the way he rode his own fingers, baring down on them as he stumbled over the syllables of my name like he was sending a prayer up to the heavens above us.

He added a third finger and I grew ever more impatient. 

It was nothing to take the bottle from his lax grip. And it took only a moment to coat myself as well, groaning at my own touch.

My voice was gruff when I spoke again. 

"Are you ready for me?"

His back arched, his thighs twitching as he bit his bottom lip to choke off a whine. 

I wiped my hand along his sheets before hooking an arm through each of his bent knees, encircling his waist, and lifting. 

It only took a moment to flip our positions, to watch him gasp as his legs fell on either side of my thighs. His robe fluttering around us. I held him aloft above me, and motioned for the clone by the door to move closer to the edge of the bed. I looked to the robe and back to the clone wordlessly. 

It took the hint and gently slipped it off and away. Then I looked back towards my soon to be lover. Hunger for him only growing. 

"Hold yourself up for me?"

A small nod and then he was on his knees, supporting his own weight. 

I smiled again, and brought a hand down to align myself with his body, humming in satisfaction as he moved closer at the first brush of my length against him. 

"Kakashi..."

I hummed again and used the hand still on his hip to gently pull him down a little, the tip of me almost pressing into that gateway to his body, but not quite. 

He whined and I couldn't help but chuckle. 

I rolled my hips a little and carefully pulled him down onto me, slowly. Watching his face diligently for any sign of discomfort. 

His head tossed back, and he let out a long low moan that shot white hot want straight through my gut, as his heat enveloped me inch by inch. His chest was heaving, sweat dewing over his sternum. 

I licked my lips and let my gaze take in everything. Memorizing the moment, and every beautiful line that his body made.  

"Open your eyes."

His face tilted back down towards me and then his eyelids slowly lifted. It was a relief to see them heavy with lust before they went wide in surprise and want. He had only enough time to flush at the sight of my face and whimper slightly before I pulled him all the way down... filling him up entirely. 

Warm hands planted on my chest, to steady himself as he groaned and swiveled his hips invitingly. 

I wanted to give him time to adjust. 

I wanted to watch him ride me. 

I wanted to watch him take his pleasure from me however he needed. 

To watch him move as he liked, to feel him lose himself in me. 

But then his lips parted...

"Oh gods, but you're fucking gorgeous..."

A gentle hand cupped my jaw reverently, and my own voice was momentarily frozen at the realization. Like he thought I was something to treasure.

"I thought the teasing was over? Weren't you going to give me what I wanted now?" 

And then my hips were slamming up into him without my consent... his question was cut off at the end by his own stilted moan. 

My hands were guiding him, pushing and pulling, but still slow and achingly deep... dragging him along the full length of my cock... only moving faster when plunging back into his body. 

"I knew you'd be amazing... Nnn... Oh, fuck..."

He'd tossed his head back, and came face to face with the clone crouched on the ceiling above us, his body constricting around my throbbing length in the most tantalizing way... and then his eyes shot to the other two, before coming back to rest upon me.

His face was heavily flushed, lips parted around sighs and gasps, eyes filled with so much heat that I thought I might come undone from that look alone. 

"They're all watching you... memorizing every little sigh you make... every tilt if your hips, every time you arch your back for me... I want to see it all... Tell me, Iruka... Are you gonna come for me? You're so tight, so good..."

His body seemed to melt against me, pulling me in deeper with every word I uttered... And his cock jumped as he whimpered, his hips moving faster, picking up speed. 

"More... I can't, I need more... faster, please? I need you. I need you so much closer..."

I growled and pulled him down against my chest, flipping us over and baring down on him, thrusting my tongue into his mouth. Dominating him entirely. 

Mine. 

He wants to be mine. 

And then he was wrapping himself around me... arms clinging to my back, legs curling up around my waist but still widening for me, welcoming me eagerly. 

I pulled back from the kiss to drag my tongue up his jawline and suckle at the pulse point just under his ear. He was speaking. Words slurred and broken, but I understood. My hips fucked into him faster, harder, gave him everything that he pleadingly asked for. And my blood was singing.

I slid a hand under him, onto the small of his back, to brace him against the onslaught of my thrusts, lifted the other the curl around his hard and weeping cock, and grunted words of encouragement into his ear. I was close, but I wanted, no I needed to make him come first. 

"I love the way you're opening for me... love the sounds you're making... love the way you take me... wanna watch you like this, all the time... want to see how pretty you become when you break for me..."

His fingers dug into my back and he was suddenly shouting. Shaking everywhere and lips tripping over my name as hot fluid pulsed out from him in time with my heartbeat. I milked his pleasure, rode him through it with a single mindedness usually reserved for battle. I wanted to make it so good that he couldn't even move. 

And then his legs squeezed around me and gentle fingers slid into my hair as hot puffs of air carried his satisfied voice into my ear. 

"Kakashi, my toes are tingling... gods. Can you feel me shaking still? Uhnn... you kept your promise, but I want to feel you shatter, too. Want you to make me yours. Want you to come because of me... I need it... Can't I watch you break for me, too? Won't you let me see you come? You said you'd give me anything... Show me what you look like when you come inside of me for the first time."

And then he licked the shell of my ear and fucking moaned as his heat seemed to try pull me in even deeper and I was lost.

Sparks and electricity shooting from my abdomen throughout my entire body and then pouring out into his. 

A sound somewhere between a growl and a moan escaped me... and I couldn't breathe. I held onto him for dear life as his hips moved against me. 

Soothing fingers stroking up and down my spine. 

It was some long minutes before I returned to my senses, and we were both still panting. 

I knew we had to separate, if only to clean up, but I didn't want to. Not yet. So I buried my nose deeper into his neck and hugged him closer. 

A happy little sigh escaped him. 

Another few minutes passed before a different hand grazed my shoulder blade. I looked up to my clone, who was offering a damp cloth, and sighed gratefully. I took it from him before dispelling all three in an instant. 

The wave of their memories flooded my brain, and despite my being well and truly sated, I felt my cock attempt to stir. 

Iruka gasped at the feeling, and I chuckled. Pulling away to gently clean him up, before wiping myself down as well. 

He didn't seem to mind that I threw it carelessly away so that I might settle next to him and fold myself around his frame once more. 

Not if the happy hum he loosed was anything to go by. 

His hands returned, gently caressing my disheveled silver tresses lazily. And it was there in his bed and in his arms, that sleep claimed me. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been almost six months since that glorious evening. 

Almost six months of stolen kisses around the village. 

Almost six months of candlelit dinners, and warm, lazy breakfasts. 

Almost six months of amazing sex and late night talks and laying close for hours on end, our limbs entwined. 

It's been the best time of my life. 

And I am terrified. 

I've never had a relationship last this long. 

Ever. 

By now I'm usually single once more, and bemoaning my own stupidity. 

But I've been very careful so far. 

I've kept most of my impulses in check. 

I've tried my best not to overwhelm him or to repeat any of my usual mistakes. 

I don't want to lose him. 

But I must have made a error somewhere anyway. 

Some miscalculation. 

Iruka isn't speaking to me... And I don't understand why. 

It isn't our anniversary yet, and I certainly haven't forgotten. 

I haven't broken any of our plans. 

I haven't burned anything in his house, or caused any disturbance, or done anything that I can think of to draw his ire. 

Yet it is there, all the same. 

I sighed and ducked my head as I strode into the mission's room, taking my usual spot against the wall, and pulling out my favorite volume of Icha Icha to pretend to read. 

Iruka was yelling at someone.

Which was not new. 

But gods above, he was beautiful, even then. 

His face was a lovely shade of flushed red, his brows pulled together tightly, the muscles in his neck corded as his lips carefully formed his loud words. 

I fought the urge to take his opponent down. 

To pin the swine to the ground, smile up at my lover, and ask if he'd like me to do anything in particular to change this flea's attitude.

The urge was ridiculously strong, and only grew the longer he yelled back into my precious Iruka's face. 

I'd already put my book away before I'd even noticed, and stepped forward towards them before I could stop my own feet. 

Many eyes shifted towards me. 

I paid them no mind. 

Instead my legs carried me over to the spot where they stood, only a desk separating them. 

My rage was building with every spiteful word aimed at my ridiculously kind partner. 

But to my credit, I did nothing until the piece of trash reached up and grabbed Iruka's vest violently.

It wasn't my fault that my instincts kicked in at his aggression.   

It wasn't my fault that he didn't sense my chakra levels and killing intent rising dangerously behind him. 

He's a Jounin, and should fucking know better. 

It certainly wasn't my fault that he spit in Iruka's face. 

So, when I knocked his legs out from beneath him, pinned him to the floor with a knee in his chest, and held aloft a chidori in my right palm... Well, it wasn't through any fault of mine. 

I don't remember pulling my Hitai-ate up.

But I know I was using my sharingan.

The sudden fear in his expression as he looked up at it was marginally gratifying, at least. 

And the silence in the room rang loud enough that my enraged whisper carried like I'd shouted the words, the sound bouncing off the walls. 

"I don't know who taught you respect, but I'm certainly willing to reiterate that lesson now... Do you think you can attack another leaf shinobi simply because your rank is higher? Do you think you're stronger than him? You'd be wrong either way, but... Shall we test that theory with someone like me instead?" 

The look of shock and fear etched into his features as he vehemently shook his head birthed a pleased feeling within me, soothing my anger a little more, as it swirled low in my gut. 

"He deserves your respect, as does everyone else in this room... and you have shamed yourself in front of all of them today. You will apologize to my Iruka-sensei, and then you will report to the Hokage, and inform her of your actions. Is that understood?"

He sputtered and nodded, hands open and empty, showing complete submission. 

"Good. Do it now."

I let the chidori in my palm dissolve into harmless Chakra and bleed back into my body as I stood and waited. 

He followed suit and bowed to my beloved, and did as I'd bade him. Then he bowed to the rest of the room and did the same, before disappearing into a puff of smoke.

But I paid that little mind. 

Iruka was the important thing here. 

I was crouched on the mission desk before anyone else could move, my hands cupping his jaw and carefully cleaning the filth from his face. Speaking to him softly now, so no one else would hear, my shoulders drooping.

"I know I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry for the commotion. I also know that I've already upset you somehow, and I know you're not likely to forgive me now, but I couldn't just sit and watch... I'll leave you to your work, though. And, I won't do this agai-..."

His chakra flared and we were suddenly in an empty filling room, somewhere else within the tower. 

"You called me 'your Iruka'..." His tone was soft but otherwise unreadable. 

I nodded once, and prepared to move away, but his fingers sliding into the cloth of my vest prevented the motion. 

"You called me yours, in public. Everyone will know now..."

I nodded slowly, though not really understanding his point. 

Unless?

"Was I wrong to call you mine? Are you through with this? With me?"

My heart clenched painfully for an instant as ice cold fear washed through my veins. But suddenly he was laughing. Pulling me close and running soft fingers through my hair. 

"I thought you didn't want anyone to know."

I frowned at his words and pulled my mask down so that he might see it, while I leaned into his familiar touch. 

"Why wouldn't I want them to know? I've not been hiding it in any way..."

His face contorted into something like pain and my arms were around him in the time it took to breathe. 

"You're not hiding it, but... you haven't... Gai and Asuma told me about your other relationships. That you'd tell everyone... Warn them away. That you'd become overly protective, and highly romantic, and leave little notes and gifts for your previous lovers everywhere. They told me that you're so sweet when you're serious about someone... I thought that maybe, since things weren't like that with us, that perhaps you weren't quite so serious about me."

My frown deepened, and I sighed. 

"Those things are what destroyed every other relationship I've ever had. I don't want to push you away with them. I don't want to lose you. So, I've been trying not to commit the same mistakes."

He laughed again, the sound like music to my ears, and kissed me sweetly. 

His words pressing into my lips. 

"I told you before, didn't I? I want them... I want all of it..."

I growled lightly at the heavily pleasing thought, and backed him against the closed door, staring intently into his eyes. 

Trying to ascertain his level of sincerity. 

"You don't know what you're asking for. I'm too much. Too clingy. Too smothering. You won't be able to stand it..."

My tone was pleading, though I wanted nothing more than to give in to his request. 

He nibbled at my bottom lip, a challenge igniting his gaze. 

"I can take anything you throw at me, Hatake."

I slid a leg between his, and pressed forward, my hands falling to his hips. 

"I'll annoy you. I'll follow you relentlessly in the village. I'll assess everyone near you for threats, constantly. Ward off every suitor you've ever had. I'll give too many gifts. Write too many notes and letters. You'll never have any space, and you'll feel trapped... and I don't-, I can't ruin this. I need you."

His chuckle was soft, gentle, as he kissed along the column of my throat up to my ear. 

"Mmm... gods above, but you're sexy. Fuck. I don't want space. I don't want half of what you have to give. I want what you promised me six months ago. I want... Everything."

My blood ignited. 

My cock was hard and I wanted to pierce him with it right fucking now. Wanted him to take that and everything else he desired, here in this tiny room, that blissfully afforded us some small amount of privacy. 

But another Chakra signature materialized behind the door at his back. 

"So, uhh... I dunno if you're both aware, but there's definitely a rule written somewhere about no sex in the tower... and your Chakra isn't exactly helping to hide what you're getting up to in there."

I roared back in frustration. Knowing that Izumo was right, but grinding into my lover anyway, because heavens knew that he was irresistible. 

I also knew that my Chakra is the one giving away my current intent, and that anyone within a kilometer could tell. 

Iruka giggled.

Literally giggled. 

"For your information, we're not having sex... but if you'd arrived any later, that statement would likely be untrue. I'll be back out in a minute, alright?"

There wasn't a verbal response. Though I can't say I blamed him for that. Were I in his place, I might feel a little awkward, too. But... A flare of Chakra spiked and vanished, and then we were truly alone again. 

He kissed me deeply, groaning sensuously against my tongue... and pulled back far too soon for my liking. 

"I'm going to ride you tonight. Slowly. And you're not going to be allowed to move until I say so. And when you come, it'll be because I told you to... so, wait for me."

I roared again, this time in approval... but he just flickered out of my arms. And I was alone, heavily aroused, and absolutely panting with desire. 

Oh, how I loved him. 

Asuma knew all of the best places for picnics. I'd have to ask him for the location of the spot he'd taken Kurenai to a few weeks back... apparently the sunset was breathtaking there. 

Gai would gladly help me pick a thousand wildflowers today, if I challenged him. 

The Yamanaka shop surely carried at least one bird of paradise, as well... it'd make the perfect center flower. 

Or perhaps I could hang it on his door?

If I moved quickly, I could even hang notes for Iruka in the shape of paper cranes on every tree along his route home before he finished working...

Hmm... paper dolphins might be better, though. 

I grinned and flickered home to begin writing. 

Asuma wouldn't be around until the afternoon anyway. And Gai's training would keep him at the training grounds for a while yet. 

Yes, there was plenty of time. 

~~~~~~Owari~~~~~~