I Like You (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Chapter Five

The mission had gone relatively well in Iruka's opinion. Even though spending a day in The Sand Village to have a meeting with their Board Of Education so they could help each other with their curriculums wasn't his ideal picture of fun, it had gone well, and Kakashi had apparently gotten the scroll he'd needed, which was surprisingly small.

It had been tense and awkward, as things in The Sand Village almost always were, but Iruka was just happy that they weren't at war with each other. He looked over at Kakashi, who he'd been walking with for the past... Well, he wasn't sure exactly how long they'd been traveling, but it had been more than twelve hours and less than a day by his estimates.

Thankfully, they were starting to get out of the desert area, reaching another heated forest after miles upon miles of walking through scalding hot sand. There were trees surrounding them again, the chirping of birds, and a stream that was only a few yards away.

"Now, this is where things get hard..." Kakashi started as he took one of the bags off of his back, unloading the tent and setting it up with ease. "This scroll is apparently important," He turned to Iruka, placing a hand over his chest, which is where he'd had the scroll hidden- underneath the stiff, green material of his Jonin vest. "We aren't allowed to open it, obviously. We have to protect it until we're able to get back, and I would recommend rushing the trip, but it's two more days and there's no way we can shorten it into a period where we won't need sleep. So, I think we should do shifts. We stop here, and you can sleep while I watch the scroll for a few hours, you can do the same for me, and then we can continue."

"You don't wanna sleep first?" Iruka questioned, tilting his head. He was tired, sure, but Kakashi looked just as sleep-deprived as him if not more so. "You look exhausted."

"I don't mind," The silver-haired man shot him down, offering a small smile, which was hidden by his mask. The only way he could tell that the smile was even there was the way the dark material of the mask curved to accommodate for the movement of Kakashi's plump lips. "Get some rest, Iruka, you need it more than I do."

"Fine, fine..." He grumbled as Kakashi gave him a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Go rest," Kakashi said it again, his tone bordering on stern. Normally, Iruka would insist on having Kakashi get some sleep first, but he had to remember that Kakashi technically was his superior, and he was too weary to start an argument. "I'll have food for you when you wake up."

Shaking his head, Iruka walked into the tent, taking his bag off and pulling out a blanket to cover up with as he laid down on the floor. He allowed his eyes to fall shut, expecting to fall asleep instantly, but... No. Of course not. He was just exhausted enough for it to bother him, but not exhausted enough to fall asleep.

And, for whatever reason, his heart was beating out of his chest. His mind went back to Kakashi, and that only made things worse.

Iruka sighed, laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling of the tent. Kakashi had been acting weird since they'd slept together the last time- which, funnily enough, was in the tent- and it was somewhat unsettling. Of course, it was only the little things that Iruka had noticed- Kakashi avoiding eye contact with him, sounding a lot more tired. The Jonin had seemed like he wasn't really there, his body right in front of Iruka but his mind somewhere far away over the past couple days. It wasn't unsettling enough to be scary, but it had certainly caught his attention, and he was a little worried.

The Chunin tried to sleep, but his mind and heart were still racing, and as much as he tried not to think about Kakashi, he couldn't help it. Why was he suddenly so nervous about the entire situation?

Trying to focus on literally anything else, he listened to the sounds outside; Kakashi's footsteps, a crackling fire, leaves crunching beneath the Jonin's feat, birds chirping. Things went quiet for a moment, and Iruka raised his eyebrows.

After a few more minutes of laying there aimlessly, he decided that he probably wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon and didn't want to waste his and Kakashi's time. So, he stood up and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders, walking outside of the tent to see that Kakashi had already set everything up. The silver-haired man was sitting on a long log, which was in front of a makeshift fire pit that he'd made, cooking what looked like two sticks of shioyaki- AKA fish on a stick. Iruka raised his eyebrows at that- they'd been traveling in the heat for hours, so if Kakashi had packed something like fish, it would've gone bad. Had he caught those somewhere around...?

Iruka sighed and moved to sit down next to Kakashi on the log, earning a questioning look from the older man.

"Sorry, I just can't sleep," He murmured, smiling when Kakashi handed him one of the fish and rested his head on his shoulder.

"It's fine," Kakashi shrugged it off, scooting a bit closer to him and pulling his mask down, allowing it to hang loosely around his neck. The fire that crackled in front of them emphasized his best features, its bright oranges and yellows highlighting his pale skin and bringing out the different shades of black and grey in his eyes. "But I managed to find food. We can eat, and then if we rush, we can find a civilian city with a hotel by the time we need to sleep. We'll be pretty beat by then, but it's not that big of a deal."

"Where'd you find fresh fish so quick?" Iruka asked, taking a bite of the food. It was hot, fresh, and tasted better than the junk they'd been eating for the past few days.

"I changed the Chakra form of my Chidori to channel it into my fingers so I could fry a few fish in the stream over there," Kakashi explained, quickly eating his fish and holding the skewer in his hand.

"That's convenient. You know I had food in my bag, right?" Iruka laughed, earning a small nod. Kakashi, who was looking more and more tired with each second that passed, allowed his eyes to fall shut as he practically cuddled into the brunette's shoulder. "Well, thank you. Want some water?"

"I'm good, thanks."

"I guess you did need rest after all... You're too stubborn sometimes. I wonder if you even know the meaning of moderation. With the way you act, I'm kinda doubting it." Iruka laughed, finishing his food as Kakashi fell asleep on his shoulder without a word. He took both of the skewers that the fish had been cooked on and set them to the side, eyes over the roaring fire as he smiled at the older man. "Sleep well, Kakashi."