My Sunshine

Boyfriend - Iruka

"I don't know, Kakashi. I'm trying to help, but I don't know what I'm doing. We were so close to at least fooling around last night, but then... she stopped. She said Ryujin crept into her head. She still fell asleep in my arms, but..."

His voice trailed off. Kakashi took a sip of his sake.  Haru was off training with Might Guy this evening, so he had taken the opportunity to go out with Kakashi and get a drink.  What had happened last night was still fresh on his mind, bothering him still.  Having not been intimate with anyone in a while made him unsure of himself, and Haru being in such a delicate spot made his uncertainty even worse.  He wasn't sure why, but he felt slightly disappointed.  And what made him feel worse is that he had no reason to.

"If you're asking if you did the right thing, you did. Without a doubt."

"Oh, I know I did. I would never force or coerce her to do anything she's not comfortable with."  She did seem anxious, though, as if I might say something to her after she stopped our play."

"It sounds like she's a lot less scared than when she came home with you. It may seem discouraging to you, but from the outside, her turnaround has been remarkable, and some of that can be attributed to you.  You're a good man, Iruka. Give yourself some credit."

Maybe Kakashi was right. She had come so far in such a small amount of time.  But, it did feel like Haru had arrived in the village a lifetime ago.

"Focus on the positive, Iruka. She's eating, she's talking, she's opening up, and she loves you."

"That's honestly enough for me. I guess I was just overexcited."

"Besides, you probably gave her an amazing gift last night. For someone who has spent the last ten years being forced into having sex and raped, you listened to her voice when she said no."

Kakashi's comment took his breath away. He hadn't even thought about that. All he knew was that she said no and he immediately backed off. Why wouldn't he?

"I shouldn't have gotten so worked up last night.  I hope I didn't make her too uncomfortable."

"Kakashi chuckled.

"You are a man, after all. It's hard getting worked up and nothing comes out of it. I'm sure it was a huge disappointment. But, I know that if anyone could figure this out and help her, it would be you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kakashi."

Iruka stayed and finished his drink, talking a little longer before leaving the bar and heading home.  Kakashi was right, she had made remarkable progress in the past eight months.  And it was okay for him to feel a little disappointed as well.  His feelings were valid, and she never had to know about them.  

But, his love and respect for her far overshadowed his feelings of disappointment.  He really did mean what he said: no sex.  Just getting to be near her was enough.  Just having her in his house was enough.  He loved to talk to her and laugh with her and spend time together, and he wouldn't trade that for anything.

On the way home, Iruka picked up a dozen yellow roses from the Yamanaka flower shop. Sai was there tonight with Inojin, who was toddling around the shop, touching the flower buds as he passed.  She wouldn't be done with herr Taijutsu lesson for a little bit, so he had some time to make things nice for her.

As Iruka returned home, he made her bed and straightened up her room. He also put her laundry away and placed her roses in a vase, setting them on her bedside table. Once everything was done, he went to work on waiting Academy paperwork.

"Iruka? I'm home!"

Haru's melodic voice wafted joyfully through the apartment. He got up and stood in the hallway.

"Welcome back. How was your time out?"

She was taking her cloak off, shaking the snow off of it and hanging in near the door.

"Tiring, but good!  Guy Sensei said I'm getting very good with my Taijutsu."

She was beaming, seemingly having let last night and this morning slip off of her.

"How was your day, Iruka-kun?"

He shrugged.

"I met with Kakashi for a bit tonight, and then came home and cleaned up and worked on paperwork. Nothing exciting."

She walked to him, hugging him tightly and giving him a little kiss.

"I missed you today, though."

He gave her a smile, returning her hug.

"I missed you, too."

She giggled.

"You taste like alcohol."

"We went to the bar."

Giving him one more kiss, she headed to her bedroom to change.

"Oh, Iruka!"

He poked his head into her room. She was smelling the yellow roses.

"They're beautiful! I love them!"

"Yellow roses for my Sunshine.  I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you.  You were uncomfortable last night and stopped.  I know that probaby wasn't an option you had before, and I'm so proud of you for speaking out.  I love you and you mean the world to me."

She ran into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"I've been thinking a lot about it.  I was scared that you might be mad at first, but you weren't.  And now flowers.  I love you so much.  You really are the best boyfriend."

Boyfriend.  There was a word that no one had used to describe him in many years.  The word made him blush.

"I-I'm your boyfriend..."

She stopped."

"Oh, do you not like-"

He stopped her mid sentence, kissing her passionately.  She wrapped her arms around his neck, returning his kiss wholeheartedly.  their tongues danced slowly and made his heart pound.

"I haven't had someone call me their boyfriend in a long time.  It feel nice."

"I've never had a boyfriend; you have a lot to live up to."

He chuckled.

"I hope I can live up to the hype in your romance novels."

She laughed that perfect butterfly laugh.

"You're doing an amazing job."

"You're perfect, Haru-chan."