Work Text:
It was a slow day in the mission room. Most assignments had been handed out during the morning hours and few reports were expected to arrive that evening. Of course this didn’t mean the office got a chance to kick up their feet and relax. Instead the three chuunin on staff were taking the odd moment of peace as a chance to catch up on all the paperwork that should have been completed earlier that week.
The evening statistical reports and financial balances still sat piled hazardously at one table corner untouched. Iruka glanced at it over his current stack of reports and gave out a sigh. Looked like it was going to be a long night.
Silently the three continued to work with only the shuffling of paper and a quiet request for some scroll or page passed between them. The sound of the door squeaking open came as a surprise and called a halt to all movement as attention was given to the intrusion.
They were greeted by a head of spiky silver hair and one lazy eye. The rest of the man was covered in the dark colors of the village’s standard uniform, complete with mask and gloves. Even with so little of the man showing, Iruka was sure he had seen him before.
“Kakashi-san. Another late report?” Izumo asked with a polite smile as Kotetsu tried and failed to hide a snicker.
The jounin took the greeting as a signal to step closer and pull out a slightly crumpled scroll. “Yo.” His eye closed in a way to indicate he might be smiling behind that dark mask. But it was the slight rise of his one hand in a wave that set off Iruka’s memory.
This had been the man that had saved his life. He was not happy to see him.
Kakashi made his way towards Iruka’s side of the tables and presented the scroll, his lone eye now cracked open and studying the chuunin.
Iruka frowned in return. “If you are handing this in late the least you could have done was rewrite it on a clean scroll.” He took the scroll to glance over the rank and status for filing only to cringe at the handwriting. “…and legibly.”
“Ma, sorry about that. Things came up.” The jounin shrugged and shoved his hands into pockets as he leaned back into a slouch. Iruka noted from the corner of his eye the man was still staring at him. Maybe he had recognized who he was as well?
If so, he never said anything about it. Instead Kakashi shifted slightly in the long pause between them and finally voiced his concerns. “Is everything in order?”
“It’s good enough. Thank you for your hard work. Next time try handing it in on time.” Iruka clipped back as he stamped the scroll and set it in one pile.
It took a little while for the silver haired man to move. It seemed like he had wanted to say something more but instead gave another hidden smile and a nod as he walked back out the way he had come in.
As soon as the door shut again, Izumo slid over and hissed in Iruka’s ear just in case the famed jounin still stood on the other side. “You two got a thing going on or something?”
“What? No.” Iruka bulked as a slight blush tinted over his nose along the scar. “Where’d you get that idea from?”
“Then he’s definitely got something for you. Ko! You saw the look too right?” Izumo looked over at his often partner in crime who gave a quick nod in agreement.
“Saw it, and definitely didn’t misread it.”
Iruka picked up his current pile and straightened it before setting it aside to move on to the next. “That’s ridiculous. I barely know the guy. We’ve only met once when I was younger.”
Maybe ‘met’ wasn’t the right word. He still to this day had nightmares of that night. The village had been transformed. Streets and forests filled with fire, smoke, and screams. He had slipped from the other kids and ran towards the roars of the demon rather than away. He knew his parents were out there. Only the thought of finding them and fighting alongside them was on his mind.
That was till he was stopped and plucked off the ground by a silver haired ANBU. No matter how hard he fought or cried the teen refused to let him go, holding him tightly and carrying him far from the devastation while trying to reassure the young Iruka that ‘everything was going to be alright’.
It wasn’t like he had gone out there to die, but to be dragged away from his goal and denied at least a chance of trying to save the only family he had was infuriating then.
He still resented that man for saving him. A man who could still smile and wave casually as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“You should talk to him.”
Izumo’s comment drew Iruka from his memories. “I don’t think so.”
Kotetsu gave a confused look. “Why not? You’re into guys. He’s good looking, an elite Jounin, single as far as I’ve heard.”
“And he’s obviously got the hots for you.” Izumo added in.
“I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“Make it a fling then.” Kotetsu shrugged.
“I don’t do flings.” Irula shot him a glare.
Izumo grabbed the stack of papers from Iruka’s grip and nudged him. “Just go talk to him. Who knows, maybe you’ll find you actually like hanging out with someone outside of work for once.”
Iruka thought of at least fifty different excuses to give as reasons to not go but looked over the piles of work still spread out over the tables. “Fine.” Anything to skip out on reading through yet more appalling handwriting. “I’ll go talk to him. But only talking.” He stated sternly and quickly left the room before the other two could realize the downfall they had brought upon themselves.
Who knows, maybe this was the chance he had been waiting for to finally give that man a piece of his mind.