Chapter Text
With the soft touch of fingertips, Kakashi pushes open the glass panel window separating the cold night air, from the love of his life. He steps down onto the wooden floor of Iruka’s bedroom and takes a deep breath. The comforting smell of Iruka’s freshly cleaned sheets and sweet scented oils fill his lungs. Calm washes over Kakashi like a wave, like the feeling of home.
He takes several silent steps into the bedroom before turning towards the open doorway and down the hall. The soft golden glow of a floor lamp illuminates Iruka’s living room in a way that can only mean he's been working late at the kotatsu again.
Chuckling to himself, Kakashi pads down the hallway, purposefully making more noise than he’s used to in case Iruka hadn’t noticed his arrival. He’d learned his lesson the first time he’d surprised Iruka while he made lesson plans. Kakashi ended up pinned up against the floor with a kunai at his throat, which he could have easily countered, but Iruka claims the pervert knew perfectly well what he was doing.
Entering the living room, Kakashi leans his shoulder against the entranceway, basking in the sight before him.
Iruka was always so breathtaking. He sat cross legged under the kotatsu looking down at countless messy stacks of paper and scrolls. There's a red pen in one hand, and a test with frantic red marks scrawled over it in the other. His hair is half up in a bun, and a few stray pieces stick out from the sides and along his forehead.
He has his oldest but most comfortable sweater on, and an empty teacup sits quietly to his left. Naruto had gifted it to Iruka on their first Father’s Day officially living under the same roof. It leaks sometimes, having been dropped, cracked, and repaired many times over, but Iruka can’t find it in his heart to throw it away. It's his favorite afterall.
The floor lamp that sits in the corner behind him illuminates the edges of his body with a soft golden halo, truly a heavenly sight for sore eyes. Kakashi smiles softly, taking it all in.
Without looking up from his work, Iruka breaks the silence with a low voice.
“I know you're not walking around my floor with shoes still on, right?” Even through his annoyance Iruka’s voice is like honey.
Kakashi lurches a chuckle before leaning down to remove his sandals, tossing them in the general direction of Iruka’s front door.
“What can I say, I guess I was in a rush to see you.” Kakashi grins softly and Iruka looks up at him from his paperwork to flash an irritated glare which melts into a fond smile.
Kakashi steps over to the kotatsu, and taking the empty tea cup, walks across the small space to the stove where Iruka left his kettle to fill the cup with hot water. He places another tea bag into the cup to let it steep for a moment and turns, leaning his arms and back against the counter to face Iruka.
“Last minute grading I assume…?” Kakashi asks, even though he already knows the answer.
“Yeah….these brats even got an open note quiz and I’m STILL not sure they’ve listened to a word I’ve said…” Iruka scratches his head with the other end of his pen, if only a little defeated.
“Well…you try and focus through a boring history lesson after a full day of training and see how well that goes…” Kakashi crosses his arms, an amused smile spreading underneath his mask. Iruka looks down and marks up another line of answers and Kakashi stares, admiring the way Iruka’s nose wrinkles in his frustration.
Kakashi brings over the teacup after allowing it to steep for another few seconds and Iruka pauses to reach up and take it with both hands.
“Thank you, Kakashi.” Iruka wraps his fingers around the warm ceramic and takes in the scent before bringing it to his lips for a sip. The smell of green tea always lingers in the air when Iruka is around. Kakashi is usually partial to black coffee, but green tea will always hold a special place in his heart.
Kakashi joins Iruka under the kotatsu, scooching up close, and places some extra scrolls and stacks of exams to the side so he can better rest his elbows on the surface. They share a long quiet moment before Iruka stops writing to break the silence again.
“What are you doing here so early? I usually never see you before midnight.” Iruka interrogates before taking another sip of his tea. Kakashi lazily rests his cheek on one hand, eyes up toward the ceiling as if it were about to give him an answer.
“Hmmm…slow day at the Hokage’s office?” Kakashi replies as if it were a question. Iruka rolls his eyes, clearly not buying it.
“Right…you’re procrastinating, got it.” Iruka states plainly, picking up another test sheet from a pile to his left. He glazes over Kakashi's features as he rolls up his sleeves before leaning back on his hands. He lets out a tense sigh from deep within his chest.
“Something like that.” The slight apprehension in Kakashi's voice is enough to clue Iruka in to what was really going on.
In the weeks after the end of the war, a more organized chaos ensued while Kakashi was pulled back and forth from board meeting, to board meeting before eventually crash landing in the Hokage’s chair. A lot of post-war decisions had to be made, none of them very easy, but it was nothing that Kakashi couldn’t handle.
What really bothered him though were the decisions he would have to make regarding his ex-student, Uchiha Sasuke, and what exactly they planned to do with him. They couldn’t exactly let a terrorist roam free, regardless of Kakashi's personal feelings towards him.
Naruto had begged Kakashi to let him see Sasuke who was locked up and blindfolded deep below Konoha, but given that he was still considered a major threat, not even Kakashi had the authority to give him clearance. He found himself in the very precarious situation of having to choose between the village he loved, and someone he considered to be family, even if Sasuke would never feel the same.
Iruka knew deep down that Kakashi held immense fondness for his misguided student, one that even the old “tough love” act couldn’t hide. Kakashi loved his team with every fiber of his being, even if they gave him more trouble than they were worth.
Kakashi stares up into the ceiling again, a vacant look in his eyes. Whatever he’s thinking about must be hurting him a great deal. Iruka looks down into his teacup and watches as tea leaves gently caress the surface of his drink.
He decides against prying anymore for tonight. When Kakashi is ready to talk, he’ll be there to listen.
Iruka goes back to his work and Kakashi looks over at him, placing his elbows on the kotatsu again. His eyes trace down Iruka’s forehead, across long dark eyelashes, down the bridge of his nose, finally coming down to rest at his lips. He feels at ease again.
Kakashi reaches over and silently takes a loose strand of Iruka’s hair, gently twisting it between his fingers. Iruka really was so beautiful.
Although pretending to ignore the sudden touch, a blush dusts over Iruka’s scar at Kakashi’s silent gaze of adoration which earns him a small, knowing smile.
“Well…I’m happy you’re here. I’ve been meaning to ask you abou- '' But before Iruka can finish his sentence, Kakashi wraps his fingers around the back of his neck, and pulling down his mask, presses his lips softly against Iruka’s.
Taken by surprise, Iruka’s eyes widen before he allows them to flutter gently closed, leaning into the kiss a little more firmly. Moving apart, they press their foreheads against one another, and they share a breath for a moment before pulling away. Iruka grows slightly more red in the face and Kakashi just smiles fondly back at him. It had been a while since they’ve been able to touch one another like this.
“You’re an ass…. I was in the middle of a sentence.” Iruka half chides before smiling back at him. Kakashi just laughs.
Iruka yawns and stretches his arms and fingers upward before abruptly stopping with a sharp yelp, the muscles in his back and neck cramping painfully. Alarmed, Kakashi straightens himself.
“Iruka, are you alright, what happened?” Iruka's face is strained but he's fine otherwise.
“Yes yes I’m okay…” He trails off rubbing circles into his shoulder with his thumb, pressing into a knot. “...I’ve just been sitting at my desk and on the floor for so long my back is starting to ache…”
Kakashi relaxes understanding now and chuckles a bit, much to Iruka’s annoyance.
“Hmm…why don’t you lay down for a bit and let me massage you?” Kakashi mimics a kneading motion with both hands. “It will only take a few minutes, then you can get right back to work.”
Iruka crosses his arms and side-eyes him suspiciously.
“Hatake Kakashi…You and I both know that the likelihood of that happening is slim to none…” He leans his neck in as though to accentuate his accusation. Kakashi raises an eyebrow in confusion for a moment before it clicks and he smiles a wide toothy grin. He clutches his metaphorical pearls and throws a hand across his forehead for dramatic effect.
“How lowly you think of me Umino-san….. I am WOUNDED!” He throws his head to the side laughing to himself. “...To think that the very light of my life would accuse me of such indecency!” Iruka rolls his eyes, crossing his arms tighter, no stranger to Kakashi’s over the top theatrics.
“Yeah, yeah whatever you say you pervert…” Iruka laughs into the back of his hand before crossing his arms on the table.
He really could use a massage, and he supposes some quiet time with Kakashi wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world either. He looks up at Kakashi who meets him with the biggest, roundest, puppy dog eyes, lip perfectly pouted.
Damnit. Iruka gives in.
“Ugh, fine…20 minutes…But if you try anything funny you're getting smacked do you hear me?” He moves to stand and Kakashi happily follows, trailing behind Iruka like a dog as he makes toward the bedroom.
******
Iruka points towards his bedroom as he steps past the hallway, Kakashi following closely behind.
“Just wait for me in here while I find my good lotion.” Iruka ducks into the bathroom and opens up the medicine cabinet.
“Whatever you desire my darling…” Kakashi replies in a mocking tone, batting his eyelashes some more. Iruka chucks a cotton ball in his direction and Kakashi dodges it, shuffling into the bedroom.
There's that smell again, like the sweet essence of green tea with honey mixed with the forest on a rainy day. It's intoxicating and Kakashi can never get enough.
This is the smell that's welcomed him home many times before, after those particularly hard missions, when Kakashi thought he might die if he spent another second behind that mask. The smell that lulled him quietly to sleep after another nightmare. The smell that wrapped him in its embrace every time he felt the entire world caving in.
And though the war has come and gone, the scent always remains, ready to welcome him home once more.
He takes one more deep breath before sitting down on the edge of Iruka’s mattress, letting his weight sink in, inch by inch. A few minutes pass before Iruka finally returns with lotion in hand. Kakashi nearly faints on the spot.
Iruka is stripped down bare, save for a pair of cheeky black briefs that hug his hips and backside like a second skin. The light in the bedroom is low, and the glow from a bedside lamp casts shadows against the soft curves of Iruka's toned body. Iruka tosses the lotion onto the bed before raising his arms to pull his hair back into a bun.
Kakashi makes a strangled sound deep in his throat. Despite all the many years they've been together, that view, quite frankly, will never get old.
“Oh grow up….” Iruka mutters through the hair tie between his teeth. “...I don't want to get lotion on any of my clothes.” He finishes his hair off in a messy top knot before coming to sit down next to Kakashi. He grabs the bottle of lotion again and looks up as Kakashi gathers the energy to pick his jaw up off of the ground. Iruka rolls his eyes.
“Now get up so I can lay face down.” He presses the lotion into Kakashi's hand, urging him to stand. Kakashi shakes his head back into focus and rises slowly, making a big show of pretending to wipe sweat off his brow as he does.
“Sorry…” He says, sounding short of breath. ”...I don’t know what's coming over me…. something soon I hope…” He feigns lightheadedness and Iruka throws a pillow at Kakashi’s face before lying face down on the mattress, arms tucked neatly under his head.
Kakashi takes this moment to admire the expanse of skin spread out before him, like a meal fit for a king.
He trails both eyes along the edges of Iruka’s toned back and leg muscles, which despite not taking active field work in years, are still as strong as ever. Iruka was never one to slack on training despite teaching children all day, if anything, it definitely helps to stay agile during pre-genin shuriken training.
Unlike Kakashi, who is long, lean, and angular, Iruka has a lovely softness to him, his limbs and core more thickly built and round than Kakashi’s own. And though Iruka’s muscles are more softly defined, there is a great strength behind them.
Kakashi removes his gloves and outer uniform vest, draping the garments over the chair in the corner of Iruka’s room before returning to him again. Kakashi carefully climbs on top of Iruka’s laid body, hiking up a leg to straddle his thighs for better access to his partner's upper and lower back. Squirting a generous amount of lotion onto his hand, Kakashi rubs his fingers together, coating each one properly before leaning over and ever so slightly, with either hand on the sides of Iruka's back, slides them upward using light pressure.
Iruka melts into the mattress and lets out a relieved sigh as Kakashi continues his kneading motion over and over, moving slightly higher up Iruka’s back with each stroke. As Kakashi reaches shoulder blades, he switches to press his thumbs in circular motions at the taught muscle there, feeling around for any knots. He repeats this motion until he feels Iruka's tense body finally start to relax under his fingertips.
Kakashi relishes in the feeling of Iruka's plush skin underneath the pads of his fingers. The stark paleness of his own scarred hands clash against the dark bronze of Iruka's skin. It was mid-winter now, and yet Iruka remained just as golden. He lays his hands flat and applies light pressure to Iruka's mid back. Hypnotized by the motion of his own kneading, Kakashi is snapped out of his daze when his fingers catch along raised and uneven skin.
He stops for a moment to take in the deep brown gash that runs along the expanse of Iruka's upper spine, given to him by a giant traitorous shuriken. A quiet reminder of his sacrifice.
Unbeknownst to him at the time, Iruka's willingness to give his own life for Naruto had single handedly saved all of Konoha. Had the shuriken gone any deeper, Iruka’s spine would have been severed, killing him instantly. And yet here he lays, scarred and anxiety ridden, but alive nonetheless.
Kakashi's heart sinks deeply with overwhelming dread at the thought. The fact that he could have lost Iruka before he even had him haunts him in his nightmares.
He swears that if he ever gets his hands on that Mizuki, not even the gods themselves could prevent what would happen next.
Kakashi runs the tips of his fingers along the scar gently and Iruka, who had begun dozing off, shivers suddenly at his touch. Kakashi's heart swells, but with a different kind of emotion, one that he found hard to place. He looked at his partner stretched out pliantly below him and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. In a seemingly endless existence of nothing but loss and emptiness, it was because of Iruka that Kakashi found he had a life worth living
This scar, etched between strong shoulder blades, had given Kakashi everything he’d ever wanted, everything he’d started to believe he no longer deserved. Craning his neck softly downward, Kakashi places a gentle kiss onto its center.
Iruka lets out a soft laugh at this. He turns his face away from the mattress below him.
“What are you doing back there?” He wiggles his shoulders up and down, the light graze of air from Kakashi's lips tickling him slightly. Kakashi plants a row of gentle kisses all the way up Iruka's spine to his nape. He tucks his face into the crook of Iruka's neck before planting one final kiss to the sharp edge of his jaw.
“Just admiring…” Kakashi purrs lowly against the shell of Iruka’s ear and he trembles, his face and neck growing hot. Kakashi begins to rub gentle circles at his back again, pushing deeply against the resistance there. He nibbles and kisses the soft skin at Iruka’s shoulder blades, hands massaging further and further down as he goes. Then, as he reaches just above the hemline of Iruka's briefs, Kakashi stops, not going any lower. He returns to the inside of his neck again, kissing him feverishly until red flecked marks begin to bloom just beneath the skin. As if against his will, Iruka cranes his neck to the side giving Kakashi better access as a shiver runs through his body.
“Kakashi…” Iruka arches his lower back upward, his backside coming to meet flush against the front of Kakashi's hips. He sighs, worshiping sweet nothings into the nape of Iruka’s neck.
“You’re so beautiful Iruka…” He breathes out, almost like a prayer. “...there's no one on this earth as perfect as you…”
And Kakashi means it more than anything in the world.
Iruka whimpers quietly, heart swelling. The vibration of Kakashi's low, gravely voice rocks through him like an electric shock. He snaps his hips forward, rutting against the mattress below him uncontrollably. Iruka presses his ass against Kakashi’s front again, feeling the swell of arousal grow through 3 layers of clothing. It slots perfectly between the mounds of his buttocks.
“Iruka I-….” Kakashi groans low in his throat, snapping away from the haze of his arousal, suddenly remembering their agreement. He leans backward, moving his body away from Iruka, feeling slightly guilty.
“You have work to do…I shouldn’t have-” Trapping Kakashi with his legs, Iruka reaches backward grabbing him by the forearm. He pulls Kakashi back down on top of him in one swift yank. Kakashi gasps, his chest falling heavily against Iruka's back. Between heaving breaths, Iruka glares over his shoulder, a scorching gaze igniting Kakashi’s core.
“If you’re going to act like a fool, you better finish what you started…” Iruka commands. He's panting and red all the way up to his ears. “If we're doing this, we're doing it on MY terms…” His voice is firm, conviction unwavering.
Kakashi stalls, hypnotized by Iruka's intoxicating gaze, soft brown eyes now dark and half lidded in lust. He buries himself in the crook of Iruka's neck again and smiles against his skin.
“With pleasure…”