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Of all the things Kakashi expects to greet him the day after he returns from a mission, Iruka-sensei from the academy carrying Naruto Uzumaki over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes is not very high on the list. Luckily, he’s learned to roll with the punches.
“Your turn with the kid,” Iruka says, and offers no further explanation other than shoving Naruto through the door roughly and closing it even more so.
“Hi,” Kakashi says to the eight year old version of Minato lying on his floor.
“Who are you?” Naruto asks.
——
“You’re a better cook than Iruka-sensei,” Naruto comments that night as he wolfs his dinner.
“Thank you,” Kakashi says, hoping that it was intended as a compliment towards him rather than an insult towards Iruka.
——
Kakashi spots Iruka buying eggs at the market three days into Naruto’s stay at Kakashi’s very much not child-proofed bachelor pad, and takes it as an opportunity.
“So what’s up with this joint custody agreement?” Kakashi asks Iruka instead of greeting him.
“Do you think I’m an idiot, Kakashi-san?” Iruka asks.
“Well, I don’t really know you. The only time we’ve interacted, you threw a child at me and told me it was my turn to watch him.” And, Kakashi thinks, any man who thinks Kakashi could handle raising a child probably is an idiot.
“Let’s not do this here,” Iruka says, and hands Kakashi a slip of paper that he fishes out of his pocket. Kakashi watches him pay for his eggs and leave. He unfolds the paper.
Meet at Ichiraku’s at nine. Don’t bring Naruto.
——
Kakashi leaves Pakkun and Bull with Naruto and goes to Ichiraku’s at nine. Contrary to popular belief, he is not a mindless drone who follows any order given to him: every task assigned to Kakashi is heavily considered and weighed against his own moral code and conceptions of the greater good. And when he consulted his moral code on whether or not to go through with meeting Iruka at Ichiraku’s, his moral code said ‘could be interesting.’
Iruka actually greets him this time, and politely, so Kakashi does so back, and for all intents and purposes it seems like they’re two coworkers at a slightly awkward dinner together. A first date, for instance, although Kakashi is pretty sure most first dates happen before joint custody arrangement negotiations. Although he’s never been in a serious relationship, so who really knows.
“Let’s cut to the chase,” Iruka says after they exchange pleasantries and slip into tense silence. He glances surreptitiously for the ramen stand guy, who has disappeared into the back.
“Sure,” Kakashi says.
“I know who the kid’s father is.” Iruka’s voice is low and he glances into his peripheral. No one is there.
Kakashi raises a single eyebrow. Color him intrigued.
“It’s not at all hard to figure out,” Iruka says. “There’s no record of Uzumakis other than Kushina Uzumaki coming to the village in the past three decades. And she was the only pregnant Uzumaki before the Kyuubi attack. And the only one married to a man with blond hair and blue eyes. And her autopsy indicated that the child had been born by the time the Kyuubi killed her. And she and Lord Forth were the only people in the village who would have been able to seal a biju into somebody without needing a scroll as reference.” Iruka sips his ramen.
“Anyway, since the boy’s Godfather isn’t around—“ here Iruka makes a face— “you and I are the closest thing he has to a family.”
Kakashi cocks his head. “Elaborate.”
Iruka points at himself. “I,” he says, “am the only adult who’s ever payed positive attention to him. And you—“ he points at Kakashi— “are the former ward of Lord Forth, making you something like his older brother, legally speaking. So. Coparents.”
Kakashi doesn’t know exactly what to say. So he says nothing. He just nods.
——
“I believe in the value of family dinner,” Kakashi finds himself saying a few months later.
By then, he and Iruka have settled into a routine: Kakashi had Naruto whenever he was actually in the village, and Iruka had him the rest of the time. Sooner or later, Kakashi would probably be forced out of ANBU for his so called ‘suicidal tendencies’, and then he would have to negotiate an actual arrangement with the insane man standing in the kitchen with him, who thinks that a 19 year old living on a teacher’s salary and a 23 year old who drew first blood almost 20 years ago are suitable fathers for the mortal host of an ancient demon— but for now he’s perfectly content to have a kid in his apartment every few weeks or so. Naruto is as rambunctious as any child, and probably as rambunctious as twelve children if Kakashi is being honest with himself, but he’s a sweetheart at his core. And he compliments Kakashi’s cooking.
“We’re not a family,” Iruka says with an eyeroll.
“You’re the one who called us coparents, sensei.” Kakashi is standing over his sink, peeling radish and pretending that he doesn’t know he’ll win this argument.
“Well, yes.” Iruka’s face is probably getting red. “But that doesn’t make us a family.”
“You said you were my family, Iruka-sensei,” Naruto says from the kotatsu, where he’s been parked with some oragami paper he’s trying unsuccessfully to turn into fish. Yes, Naruto, Kakashi thinks. Taking the right father’s side in this argument.
“I’m your family, and Kakashi is also your family, but we are not each other’s family.” Iruka sighs like he’s had this conversation before. “Do we need to start you on formal logic equations already?”
“Shinobi don’t need equations,” Naruto declares proudly, and Iruka laughs.
“Wait until he has to calculate the curve of a kunai’s path during the chunin exams,” he says under his breath to Kakashi, who chuckles.
“I swear I’m making too much for two,” Kakashi says to Iruka, while he has his attention. “And Naruto probably won’t like it as much as you would,” he adds, hoping to appeal to the part of Iruka that hates the idea of leftovers rotting in anyone’s fridge.
Iruka hesitates for a few seconds, and Kakashi gets to see the emotional journey he’s going on displayed on his expressive face in a manner of seconds. He sets his eyebrows like he’s going to fight back, then scrunches his nose like he’s reconsidering, then his eyes dart to the side in half-bashful resignation.
“One time can’t hurt,” Iruka says, shooting Kakashi an interesting look that lands somewhere between ‘embarrassed’ and ‘hopeful’. Kakashi isn’t always the best at understanding other people’s emotions, but Iruka’s face is practically a television screen with the way he broadcasts his emotions. Of course Kakashi knows he can slip into the neutral mission face any good shinobi can, but he much prefers relaxed, open Iruka-sensei.
“Perfect,” Kakashi says, beginning to chop the radish.
——
The next dinner he has with just him and Naruto seems slightly lackluster in comparison.
“It’s fun when Iruka-sensei is here,” Naruto remarks offhandedly before he brushes his teeth, and Kakashi finds himself agreeing.
He makes a mental note to invite Iruka over tomorrow.
——
Kakashi is pleased to find that family dinner becomes a thing after that. He never thought that it would be. Or that he would enjoy it.
On a mission with Team Ro, he finds himself contemplating the new addition to the rhythm of his existence as he keeps watch.
On the one hand— he enjoys his alone time. He is rather famously anti-social. But on the other hand, time with his family didn’t seem all that much like socialising. Of course there was conversation, but there was also a surprising amount of downtime.
No one would believe him, he muses, if he told them that Naruto Uzumaki and Iruka Umino were quiet people at home. But Naruto would fall silent if sat in front of a large sheet of paper and a set of crayons, and Iruka was actually a very voracious reader. Not of the same material as Kakashi, but he had his ways of changing that.
Kakashi watches the fire flicker and does his best to estimate the timeline Iruka and Naruto would be operating on back at the village. In about three hours, Iruka would rise and make his bed, then stumble to the kitchen and cook breakfast for him and Naruto. Then he would struggle with the Sisyphean task of getting Naruto out of bed, and when that finally occurred, they would eat and then walk to school together. Iruka would begin setting up his classroom for the day, and Naruto would run around the academy yard doing the taijutsu exercises Kakashi had prescribed him to work out the extra energy. Iruka would go to the teachers lounge to greet the other teachers and get a bit of coffee, Naruto and his classmates would file into their classrooms, and instruction for the day would begin. Then Naruto would be turned loose for a few hours to do as he pleased— within reason, Iruka would hasten to add— and eventually return to Iruka’s apartment, where Iruka would probably have ordered ramen for them.
Such a mundane existence. Almost civilian in its safety and routine. Kakashi sighs, very lightly. It should bore him, he knows. By rights he should be chafing at the idea of living like that. But when he thinks about the slow, calm day that Iruka and Naruto will surely lead, all he feels is a creeping sense of contentment. He can see small scenes from the day in bright, colorful detail, lit up in his mind's eye: Naruto doing his morning exercises, running around in the bright red leaves littering the ground around him. Iruka lying on the couch after dinner, grading papers with some tea in his favorite green mug sitting next to him.
Tenzo begins to stir beside him, waking up to take the next watch. Kakashi continues to stare into the darkness. He isn’t used to missing something he knows he can have back. The comfortable sense of yearning for the family dinners is new when compared to the intense grief he typically feels.
“Alright, senpai?” Tenzo asks, voice rough from sleep.
“Hmm, yeah. Just thinking about my son,” Kakashi says, half honestly and half to see the incredulous expression on Tenzo’s face.
——
When Kakashi gets back to the village, he buys a few books from a civilian bookstore about amicable coparenting. He uses a disguise just in case. Tenzo isn’t the type to talk, but he doesn’t want word traveling down the grapevine that he’s a father these days. Not that it isn’t true, but he’d rather Naruto not have more of a target on his back.
He opens the books and skims them with the sharingan, identifying every passage where the book advises the divorced parents to spend time as a family unit with both parents and the child. There aren’t that many, but Kakashi manages to highlight every line alluding to that so he can show them to Iruka later.
He does and is met with an eye roll.
“We’re not a divorced couple,” Iruka says.
“You were the one who called us coparents, sensei,” Kakashi says, trying to sound teasing. Around Iruka it seems to come naturally.
Iruka laughs. “I guess I did. All right then, Kakashi-san. I guess you and I can take Naruto on outings together. To…” he leans across the table to look at the passage Kakashi was showing him. This close, Kakashi can see the light freckles on his face, or how his lips are slightly chapped. He can smell his shampoo— something that might be eucalyptus. Kakashi swallows.
“To make sure the child does not feel like they have to pick one parent to be the ‘activities’ parent,” Iruka reads with a small smirk. He leans back and the conversation moves to something else.
Later that night, Kakashi peers into Iruka’s shower while washing his hands. Out of curiosity, really. No particularly strong interest in anything that might be there, just a passing whim.
He never knew that rosemary smelled so similar to eucalyptus.
——
Iruka is, if nothing else, a man of his word, which is what he proclaims loudly as he wraps Naruto’s scarf extra tight around his neck despite his struggling.
“I’m not gonna be cold,” Naruto grumbles.
“Oh, you will be,” Iruka says with the finality only a teacher can muster.
“This is your fault,” Iruka says to Kakashi as he straightens up. “You’re the one who’s so insistent on family time these days.”
“Sorry,” Kakashi says, not really feeling sorry at all.
“Do I have to wear the scarf?” Naruto says to Kakashi, staring at him petulantly.
“You heard Iruka.”
Naruto sighs heavily. “Why can’t at least one of you be the fun parent?”
“We decided to take you in because we hate fun and want to make your life miserable, actually,” Kakashi drawls, earning a dry laugh from Iruka.
“Ugh. Knew it,” Naruto says, and opens the door with a brief glance back to make sure they’re following.
“After you,” Kakashi says, catching the door and holding it for Iruka.
“Ooh. A gentleman.”
“I try.” Kakashi shrugs in what he hopes comes across as a playful gesture.
“Did you hear him call us his parents?” Iruka asks in a hushed tone as Naruto marches ahead of them, leading them towards the village gates.
“Couldn’t miss it,” Kakashi responds. He’s surprised to find an intense feeling of joy rising in his chest as he thinks about it. Kakashi of the Sharingan, dedicated father at 23. Who would have thought.
“I guess this was all my idea.” Iruka laughs. “Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised.”
“It was a good idea,” Kakashi says simply. “You’re a good father.”
Iruka flushes. “For all my faults, at least I can get this right,” he jokes.
Kakashi watches the wind blow a stray piece of hair escaped from Iruka’s ponytail into his face. There aren’t many faults to be had with Iruka, he thinks, but doesn’t say.
——
Perhaps he spoke too soon.
“It’s still too early for him to know,” Iruka says firmly, like he thinks he can have the final say on this.
“He will never be ready,” Kakashi hisses.
“Not everyone matures at as alarming a rate as you did.” Iruka shoots him a glare that could make weaker men cry.
“Well,” Kakashi says, stung, “like it or not, he’ll be a Shinobi one day. You can’t protect him from the truth forever. He’ll be a soldier soon.”
“He’s a boy.”
“He’s in training to become a soldier. And you’re the one training him,” Kakashi adds. He knows he sounds impartial and cold, and he hates it. But it’s certainly effective. Iruka’s eyes, face, ears, appear to burn.
Kakashi walks out and shuts the door quietly behind him. He doesn’t want to wake Naruto.
——
Some things aren’t meant to last forever, Kakashi thinks, trying his best to lose himself in the repetitive sound of an arrow hitting a target.
It would have, he reasons, happened sooner or later. His next arrow hits slightly left of center. He sighs and adjusts his shoulder position.
Their personalities were too different. The next arrow hits the center.
Iruka just had a bleeding heart. That had always been his fatal flaw. This arrow splits the previous one.
Naruto deserved to know the truth. He shifts his aim to another target, this one hidden in the treetops at the edge of the forest.
Although, maybe he did come on too callous. His arrow hits a foot below the target.
It would be a sensitive topic for Iruka as well as Naruto, after all. The next arrow slices through a leaf on its way to the target.
And Kakashi. Questions about the Kyuubi would lead to questions about Naruto’s birth parents. Could Kakashi trust himself to keep it together? Would Naruto understand the difference between himself and the fox? How does one convince a nine year old boy that he didn’t kill his own parents?
Maybe he should apologize to Iruka. Talk things through.
Iruka probably owed him a bit of an apology too, though.
Bullseye. Kakashi lets the bow fall from his hand and pauses to take a sip of water from his water bottle. He pulls the mask back up and stretches, moving his shoulder around in lazy circles. Archery is always hard without depth perception.
Before he can notch an arrow into the bow and start another round, he hears someone clearing their throat behind him. He turns around to find Iruka standing there, ponytail a bit messy and face practically on fire. If Kakashi wasn’t feeling a bit complicated towards Iruka at the moment, he might find it endearing. As it stands he has a hard time pushing down that feeling entirely.
“I should apologize,” Iruka says, eyes nervously darting to Kakashi’s and away again. “I let… I let my own emotion blind me to what’s good for Naruto. Just because I’m not ready to have that conversation doesn’t mean he’s not ready.”
Kakashi considers him. Perhaps, at the beginning of the day, he had entertained foolish mental arguments with Iruka where he phrased all of his points from the night before in a way that would make Iruka see just how right he was. Now, with the real Iruka standing in front of him, shyly apologizing, he doesn’t quite have the fire he did before.
“I’m sorry too,” he says at last. “I was thinking about it like a mission.” As the words leave his mouth, he realizes they’re true.
“Maybe…” Iruka quirks his mouth to the side. “Uh, not tonight. But tomorrow?”
Kakashi nods. “Yeah. That could work.”
Iruka swallows, nods, and walks away a bit stiffly. The argument is over, at last. There are a few apologies to be had, a few more conversations to plan, but the fight is mostly over. Maybe they’ll still be on eggshells around each other for a few days, but such is life.
Kakashi notches an arrow. He isn’t used to resolving conflict with words like this.
——
Iruka is perhaps best termed a force of nature, Kakashi reflects. That would be a sentiment shared by many, but certainly not for the same reasons as Kakashi.
No, Iruka is not a force of nature to him in the way that a hurricane, tsunami, or wildfire is a force of nature. Iruka is not a force of nature for his hot temper— which Kakashi has now been burned by— or for the mischievous nature that gave the village so much trouble when he was a kid.
Iruka, to Kakashi, is a force of nature in the way that a cliff side is a force of nature. The way that a gigantic tree is a force of nature. The way that a bear protecting her cubs is a force of nature, the way that a civilian channeling superhuman strength to lift a ceiling beam off of their loved ones is a force of nature. Iruka is the force of reaction (which Kakashi only vaguely remembers from the rudimentary physics education he received)— any force that presses upon him will be met equally. He is a force of nature because of his unrelenting stubbornness and his unrelenting smile.
Kakashi feels this force in full effect when he and Iruka finally talk to Naruto about the kyuubi. The strength and warmth that Iruka generates with just his voice is shocking. Kakashi finds his own spiky nerves soothed by Iruka’s very presence as they sit down to talk, crammed around Iruka’s small dining table.
“We have something we want to talk to you about,” Iruka begins, using the classic ‘parent about to discuss something worrisome with their child’ voice. Kakashi nods seriously.
Naruto seems perfectly happy to listen. A pang goes through Kakashi’s chest, then, a last minute shock of adrenaline. Perhaps it’s not too late to go back. To grab Naruto, wrap him in a blanket, and protect him from every bad thing that could ever happen to him. He wonders if this is how Iruka felt, the other night. If it’s how Minato and Kushina felt when they sacrificed themselves to save Naruto. It’s powerful. Overwhelming. Nearly frightening.
“Do you know what happened nine years ago, here in the village?” Iruka asks. His voice is strong. Not a hint of a waver.
Naruto shakes his head. Kakashi’s heart twists painfully, and he has to remind himself that this was his idea. Better Naruto find out now, from them.
“Nine years ago,” Iruka continues, “a demon attacked the village. A nine tailed fox, bigger than anything you’ve ever seen before.”
He takes a deep breath and continues. “The fox… hurt a lot of people. Lots of people lost their family. Including me.” Iruka’s eyes flicker to Kakashi minutely. They had discussed this before, and agreed that it would be best to not hide any part of the attack from Naruto. Even the parts that might hurt them.
Kakashi reaches out and puts a hand on Iruka’s shoulder. Physical contact is not something he does particularly well, but Naruto is a very physically oriented person, and, well— it would be hard to miss the way Iruka turns bashful and happy when Naruto hangs off his arm or tries to braid his hair. A bit of the tension seeps from Iruka’s shoulder— which is very warm, even though his shirt and Kakashi’s glove, and very solid.
“The fourth Hokage and his wife were—” Iruka’s voice wavers for the first time, and Kakashi squeezes his shoulder lightly.
“I can take over,” he says quietly, not really intending Naruto to hear.
“The fourth Hokage and his wife were expecting a child when the fox attacked,” Kakashi says. “In fact, Lord Fourth’s wife was the host of the fox.”
Naruto scrunches up his face in confusion. Kakashi looks at the way the whiskers squeeze when he makes that expression. He’s still so young.
“There are several demons like the fox in this world,” Kakashi explains. “To keep the villages safe, very strong ninja have the demons sealed inside them. They’re called jinchuuriki.”
Naruto’s attention is flagging as they get into the technical details, and it makes Kakashi’s heart squeeze again. One day, when Naruto is an adult, he will remember this day. This moment. This is something he can’t take back.
“When a female jinchuuriki goes into labor, the seal keeping the demon inside weakens,” Kakashi says. Iruka lifts a hand to grab Kakashi’s hand where it sits on his shoulder. Like the rest of him, it’s very warm.
“The demon fatally injured the fourth Hokage and his wife,” Kakashi says, not caring if Naruto understands the term ‘fatally injured’ yet. He just needs to get to the end of this conversation.
“Because they were going to die, they had no choice but to seal the demon inside their newborn son,” Kakashi says, his own composure threatening to break.
Iruka grips his hand to nearly the point of pain. “That’s you, Naruto,” he says softly. “Your parents knew that the only way to save the village— and you— was to seal the fox inside of you.”
At first Naruto looks confused, and that’s the worst part. Kakashi had braced for sadness or anger, but not confusion. The trust that Naruto had in his perception of reality is in the process of shattering, but right now? He’s still confused. None of it makes sense.
“You’re lying,” Naruto says at last. It sounds angry, but small.
“We’re not,” Iruka says. Kakashi isn’t sure which of their hands is trembling.
“You have to be,” Naruto says, louder. “I’m not a monster! I didn’t kill those people!”
“No, you didn’t,” Iruka says firmly, the fire back in his voice. “The fox did. Only the fox. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you did anything it did.”
There are tears in Naruto’s eyes.
“In many places,” Kakashi says, aiming for gentle, “being a jinchuuriki is a point of pride. You’re protecting your village.”
“Then why does everyone treat me like a monster?”
“Because they’re idiots,” Iruka says, standing up and moving to wrap Naruto in a fierce hug. “They don’t understand the difference between a tailed beast and a jinchuuriki, because they probably can’t read.”
Under other circumstances Kakashi would laugh at Iruka insulting Naruto’s tormentors. At the moment, Iruka’s voice rings with sincerity and Naruto’s small hand is trembling where he’s clutching onto Iruka.
“Why would they do that to their own son?” Naruto asks, shaky and small.
Kakashi means to say something like, ‘they knew you could handle it’, but what comes out of his mouth is the truth.
“I don’t know,” he says. “I wish I could tell you. I knew them, though.”
Iruka’s eyelids flutter slightly in surprise, but that’s his only tell.
“I know they loved you a lot.” He stands and moves to the other side of the table, wrapping an arm around Naruto to join in the awkward hug. “Like we do,” he adds.
Naruto trembles lightly in their arms. It isn’t okay, and it won’t be okay for a while. But at least he knows. At least he found out from people who love him, who won’t let him ever feel like it’s his fault.
——
Leaving Iruka’s apartment that night is harder than it normally is. Naruto is finally asleep, clutching his blanket and furrowing his brow. Kakashi has a mission early the next morning, or Naruto would be on his futon at Kakashi’s house, surrounded by several ninken.
“I hope we did the right thing,” Iruka whispers, chewing at his lip. He never wears his hitae-ate at home, and the shorter layers of his hair have escaped his ponytail to curl over his forehead. It makes him seem younger, even though they’re both plenty young already.
Kakashi realizes then that not once did Iruka mention the wishes of the Hokage. None of his hesitation came from wanting to obey the decree that Naruto could not know— all of it came from wanting to keep Naruto happy. A very distant memory drifts into his mind.
“I knew your mother when I was younger,” Kakashi says. It’s a nonsequitur, and he enjoys seeing confusion turn to comprehension on Iruka’s face. Iruka nods. Clearly he understands what Kakashi is telling him. He can’t exactly reveal that he’s active duty ANBU, so he can’t explain how he knew Kohari— but Iruka has always been sharp.
“She would have been very proud of you,” Kakashi says, and hopes that Iruka can read into that.
Iruka smiles. Now that Kakashi’s thinking about Kohari, he can see the resemblance in the set of their mouths, in the shape of their eyes.
“I wish I could ask her things all the time,” Iruka admits. “Like if it’s normal to feel so… strong about your own kid. Obviously I’m supposed to love him. But sometimes it surprises me just how much I love him. It’s kind of scary.”
Kakashi knows exactly what he means. It is a bit scary.
“I feel that way too,” he says, and watches Iruka’s sharp eyes take it in. He hopes he can read the subtext there. He, too, doesn’t understand how it’s possible to be so dedicated to the safety and protection of someone he really hasn’t known for that long. Even though the whole ‘joint custody’ thing had been a surprise to Kakashi, he knew that he loved Naruto only a week into taking care of him. When he came to that realization, he had spent several sleepless nights wishing his own father were there to reassure him. At least to give him some sort of roadmap for being a father.
“Goodnight, Iruka,” Kakashi says, getting up.
“Goodnight, Kakashi.”
He leaves off the honorific, too.
——
Kakashi feels a bit guilty about being away for a month after that. He knows it affects his mission performance. Any day now, he suspects, he will be taken off the active roster.
It’s worth it for the way Naruto hugs him when he arrives at Iruka’s to pick him up. For the way his face lights up when he takes his first bite of food. For the way Kakashi finds it easier to sleep when he can hear Naruto’s breathing, rather than worry endlessly if he’s alive or not in some remote location.
The next morning Kakashi walks Naruto to the academy and shares a knowing glance with Itachi, who’s dropping off Sasuke.
This is what’s been going on, he attempts to communicate with his eyes.
Alright, Itachi seems to say back.
Kakashi is pleased to find that a few days after that, Naruto and Sasuke have become something a bit closer to friends.
“Right now every girl wants to marry Sasuke,” Naruto says as he ‘helps’ Kakashi with the dishes after dinner. “But Sasuke will only marry a girl if she can beat him in a fight. He says that’s the Uchiha way.”
Kakashi holds back a laugh. For one, Obito, may he rest in peace, never mentioned anything about that being the Uchiha way. And for another—
“I thought it was your goal to beat Sasuke in a fight, hmm?” Kakashi teases. “Don’t tell me you and Sasuke are going to get married.”
Naruto goes red. “Hey! Don’t joke about that! Shikamaru says his dad says guys marry other guys all the time!”
Kakashi actually does laugh this time. Yeah, that sounds like the kind of thing Shikaku would say to his kid to explain gay people.
“Oh, that’s not what I meant.” Kakashi laughs. “I mean, wouldn’t it be weird to marry your rival?”
“Uh, yeah.” Naruto scoffs. “But not cause we’re both boys. That’d be hypothetical of me.”
“You mean hypocritical?” Kakashi asks. “How so?”
“Yeah, that. I mean that it would be weird, since you and Iruka-sensei used to be married and all.”
Kakashi chokes on air.
“Pardon?”
Naruto rolls his eyes at Kakashi like he’s missing out on the most obvious joke of all time.
“We had to do this whooole unit on how Shinobi can be born to civilian families,” Naruto says, “and we had to read this stupid book about how families come in all shapes and sizes.” He dries the final dish and hops off of the stool, walking to the living room. Kakashi follows.
“The book,” Naruto says, “said that sometimes people live with one parent part of the time and their other parent the other part of the time, and that’s called having divorced parents. Which means that they aren’t married anymore,” he says as an afternote, like Kakashi is an idiot who’s never heard of divorce.
“I know how divorce works, Naruto. But Iruka and I were never married. We’re just friends who happen to be coparents.”
Naruto gives him a look like he’s grown another head.
“Never married?” He repeats.
“Yeah.” Kakashi settles into the couch and pulls out a (appropriate for public consumption) book.
“Why not?”
——
Why not, indeed? Kakashi spends the next few days thinking about it.
And thinking about it.
And thinking about it some more.
And lying in a tree with a convenient view into Iruka’s classroom so he can think about it even harder.
Iruka is probably a good candidate for the man whose photo goes next to ‘husband material’ in the dictionary. Well— there are a few other stand-up guys in the village that Kakashi could think of who would be in line, like Gai or Asuma, but they’re missing a certain je ne sais quoi.
Iruka takes a bite of the lunch he’s packed for himself. The sun shines through the window and illuminates the side of his face. If Kakashi was a few feet closer, he could probably see the way it reflected off his dark hair. It almost sparkles in the sunlight, really. If he pressed himself to the window, he could see the way Iruka’s brown eyes lit up in sunlight. If he was even closer— say, across the desk from him— he would be able to see the freckles on his nose.
Kakashi shifts. Well, clearly the physical attraction wouldn’t be an issue. He hasn’t exactly thought of it before, since most of the time they spend together is dedicated to the son they share, but upon reflection? He wouldn’t mind seeing more of Iruka. In the literal sense. He knows that Iruka, as a Shinobi, stays fit, but knowing conceptually is an entirely different matter from knowing from personal— shall we say, tactile— experience.
He swallows. Okay, best not to get ahead of himself. His reputation as a pervert is bad enough as is.
As a person, there is no doubt that Iruka is wonderful. Strong, kind, hard working, the walking embodiment of the Will of Fire. His only flaw, in the eyes of the administration, is that he’s too kind and big hearted. Kakashi, former child soldier that he is, has a very deeply hidden appreciation for soldiers who refuse to kill children. His actual flaws— disregard for authority, blazing temper, spotted past, overprotective nature, perhaps a bit cocky— are hardly flaws, either. If anything, they add a needed edge to someone who would otherwise be a disarmingly wholesome person.
Does Kakashi have romantic feelings for him, is the question. He ponders this.
Specifically, he ponders the idea of a life with Iruka. The idea of waking up beside him, human furnace that he is, every morning. Of cooking dinners for him. Kissing him just because he can, not because he necessarily wants it to go anywhere. Taking off his mask around him, casually. Reading together. Even having more arguments. Kakashi runs through a list of possible scenarios in which they could fight, and finds that it’s not insubstantial. They have quite a few differences, after all. But for every one of those scenarios, he finds himself imagining another reconciliation like the one they had at the training ground. A fight, a cooling off period, and eventually a talk where they iron everything out.
In the end, he envisions a day in which he wakes up beside Iruka, eats breakfast that Iruka makes with him and Naruto both there, then walks the two of them to the academy. He trains, maybe takes a day-long A-rank, and brings Iruka lunch. After school lets out they set Naruto loose (maybe force Itachi to watch him with Sasuke?), go to the bookstore, and Kakashi will try to force Iruka to buy a copy of Icha Icha Violence. Iruka will roll his eyes playfully, then they’ll go home, Kakashi will cook for them, and then they’ll get into bed and go to sleep, knowing that even if the next day is slightly different (with Kakashi’s sporadic schedule, it’s bound to be), they’ll at the very least wake up next to each other.
A surprisingly sharp pang goes through Kakashi’s chest when he realizes that that is not, in fact, his actual routine, and that the next morning he will wake up to a bed that holds only him.
Why aren’t they married, indeed.
——
The next evening Kakashi arranges for Iruka and him to go pick up the ramen together while Naruto stays home. It is, he will admit, an unconventional arrangement, at least when it comes to them. He hopes it doesn’t stick out to Iruka as terribly suspicious.
It’s a nice evening. Colder than the ones they’ve had the past week or so, but it’s not snowing, and the chill in the air is nice. It makes Iruka’s cheeks flush nicely, anyway.
“So sensei,” Kakashi begins, fiddling with the strap of the plastic takeout bag. “Why aren’t we married?”
Iruka nearly trips, but recovers with grace.
“Married?” He repeats.
“Yeah,” Kakashi says. “You, me. Could be interesting.”
Iruka whips his head around, clearly about to yell at Kakashi. But something nervous, or sincere, must be showing on what little is visible of Kakashi’s face, because Iruka’s words die out before they’re born.
“You’re serious,” he says. His face is quite red. It’s adorable.
Kakashi nods.
Iruka exhales shakily. Like he’s still trying to wrap his head around it.
“I didn’t think you wanted anything like that,” he says at last.
“Well. To be honest, neither did I,” Kakashi says. “Until pretty recently. But, uh.” He swallows. His words feel like they’re stuck in his throat. “You’re… uh. I’m.” He makes a noise of frustration low in his throat. “I guess I’m in love with you,” he manages.
Iruka’s smile is so beautiful, Kakashi wishes he had a hand free with which to reveal the sharingan. It’s a bit hesitant, a bit shy, but mostly just a lot like the way he looks before he’s about to laugh with pure joy.
“That’s good,” Iruka says through a giggle, a few seconds later. “Oh, that’s really good. I guess I’m in love with you, too.”
——
Declarations of love aside, Iruka says he wants to take things slow. Which is fine. Kakashi may have been jumping the gun a bit, in hindsight, by leading with a marriage proposal.
That being said, he does shove Kakashi into the bathroom after Naruto has gone to sleep, pull down his mask, and attack his mouth while muttering a string of affirmations about how beautiful and strong and remarkable Kakashi is. He really does try to keep his ego in check, but... it can be hard to not get a bit of a big head when a devastatingly handsome man is whispering that he’s never seen anyone as hot as you into your mouth. Kakashi tries his best to compliment Iruka back and accept that right now, he’s just along for the ride.
Eventually, though, their brains catch up to the rest of their bodies and they remember that the son they share is sleeping just a few feet and a very thin wall away. So they reluctantly detach from one another.
The next morning, Kakashi is pleased to find that waking up next to Iruka is every bit as fulfilling as he had imagined. Maybe even a bit more.
“Good morning,” he mutters, and Iruka mutters a greeting back, and, oh, Kakashi hasn’t even considered Iruka’s morning voice. How delightful.
“How do you think we’re gonna explain this to him?” Iruka asks in a hushed voice, indicating Naruto’s sleeping form with his head.
“Meh. Let him figure it out.”
Iruka smothers a giggle. “Kakashi!” He admonishes.
“He’s a smart kid, he’ll get it eventually.” Kakashi runs his hand up the side of Iruka’s torso. It’s not like he’s trying to solicit him, or anything like that— he just enjoys the physical proximity. How warm and solid Iruka is beside him. How he can smell that rosemary shampoo all over his sheets.
“We’re going to have an actual sit-down conversation about this,” Iruka whispers.
Kakashi snorts. “Says the guy who threw a child through my door and told me we had joint custody.”
Iruka snakes an arm around at an odd angle to poke Kakashi’s ribcage roughly. “Says the guy who proposed before the first date.”
“Mmm. I guess I did do that.” Kakashi can’t really find it in himself to be ashamed, so he focuses on burying his face in the back of Iruka’s neck and inhaling the smell of that damn shampoo.
Iruka chuckles, and the sound and vibrations eventually lull Kakashi back to sleep. Who can blame him? It’s a beautiful weekend morning. The sun is shining through his windows, his kid is sleeping peacefully, and there’s a soft, warm, handsome man in his bed. There isn’t much else he could ask for.
——
“Oi, pervert.”
Kakashi wakes up for the second time to the feeling of Naruto’s evil little hand flicking his forehead. He groans.
“What’s Iruka-sensei doing in your bed?” He asks, petulant as ever. Kakashi heaves a great sigh and elbows Iruka into full body awareness.
Iruka groans as well. “What is it?” He rasps. Mmm. Morning voice.
“What’re you doing in Kakashi’s bed?” Naruto asks him, and Iruka’s eyes shoot wide open. He sends a pleading look to Kakashi, who just chuckles.
“Your turn with the kid.”