I Like You (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Chapter Nine

Iruka Umino found himself uncharacteristically nervous as he walked through the streets of The Leaf Village, no other than Kakashi Hatake by his side. There was an awkward silence between the two men that the brunette found himself wanting to break, but he couldn't think of exactly what he would even want to say.

The day before, they had gone to the lake that was a couple of hours away from the general area where they both lived in The Leaf Village on foot. Iruka had attempted to seem like he had been in a particularly good mood that day, but if he was being honest, he'd just been trying to hype himself up and act as okay as possible to avoid letting Kakashi know how conflicted he truly was. Kakashi had actually seemed down in the dumps through the duration of the time they'd spent together, and though the silver-haired man certainly wasn't the dramatic type, if you got to be in his presence enough, it was easy to tell when he was upset about something- especially when he wasn't wearing his mask.

Maybe Kakashi had gotten so used to having that mask on to cover what he was really feeling that he didn't know how to suppress certain expressions that gave everything away when it was off.

Yeah, that must've been the case. Kakashi had been off the entire day and even throughout the morning, letting an occasional frown slip or averting his eyes and tuning out whenever Iruka talked to him. When Iruka had tried to ask what was wrong, Kakashi had managed to change the subject- usually to praising the brunette for one thing or another, whether it be how caring or perceptive he was, because Kakashi had apparently mastered the art of taking attention off of himself when he didn't want it.

When they'd went swimming, they'd had a small scare- some footsteps and voices catching their attention from somewhere in the forest near the loch. Though they'd brushed it off as some kids who were probably exploring because of the rumors that had been bouncing around about that area for the past few years, Kakashi hadn't had his mask on, and they'd been making out in the water, so they'd rushed inside, but...

That had made Iruka think about things in depth. What if someone saw them one of these days? Would Kakashi care? Would he want to end things? Would it even bother him at all? Even Iruka himself wasn't quite sure of how he felt about their arrangement, let alone what would happen if other people were to find out about it.

The rest of that day had been relatively normal, though. Kakashi had carried him inside, they'd messed around some more before having sex in the Jonin's bed, then they'd had a round two in the shower and made dinner. After that, they went swimming in the lake again (thankfully, no one was around that time, but Kakashi was sure to wear his mask, and a second makeout session never occurred), went inside and ate dinner when the weather turned cold, and subsequently went to bed.

That morning, they'd woken up, gotten ready for the day, eaten breakfast, packed their things, and left the cabin to walk back to The Leaf Village.

Iruka was still in thought as he realized that they were in a much busier area of the village, the roads now filled with businesses and people going about their days; shopping civilians, playing children, traveling ninjas.

"Iruka?" Kakashi spoke, snapping Iruka out of his thoughts, and the brunette hated how he felt his face burn at the way his name rolled off of the silver-haired man's lips like that.
Even the sound of Kakashi's voice was starting to make his head spin, and Iruka was at a point where he was starting to realize that this was not just friends with benefits for him. The peculiar interest that he'd had in the older man for the years leading up to it had been haunting him for the past few days and the epiphany that whatever he felt towards Kakashi might've been what he was trying to avoid the whole time was terrifying. Agreeing to something so non-platonic yet long-term was reckless and scary, and completely out of character for someone as cautious as Iruka. Still, Kakashi's allure was irresistible, and he was just along for the ride.

"Yeah?" He responded just a little too late, earning a suspicious glance from Kakashi as he nervously pulled at the neck of his vest. Had it always been so hot where they lived, or were his feelings getting to him?

A crush. Iruka didn't want to have a crush, and he'd been telling himself that it was anything but a crush throughout the course of their newfound (not romantic) relationship, but... Well, the instances that made him fear otherwise were starting to pile up. Of course, he didn't want to get invested in someone as unpredictable as Kakashi, and he'd made a habit of subtly distancing himself from the people who tried to get close to him to avoid the risk of losing them and getting hurt. He supposed that was immature, but it was just how he had lived life for the past ten or eleven years, and he knew that letting his guard down would be difficult.

'I don't like him, I don't like him, I don't-' Kakashi looked at him, and though his mask was covering his face, Iruka could tell that he was smiling just by the bright sparkle in his charcoal-hued eyes. His thoughts immediately continued in the opposite direction they had been just seconds before. 'Goddammit, I do like him, don't I?'

"Iruka? Are you okay? Earth to Iruka." When Iruka blinked again, Kakashi was still next to him, now waving a gloved hand in front of the brunette's face in a clear attempt to catch his attention. It was then that he realized that they'd stopped walking and were standing in front of his apartment building. Had they already arrived? He must've really zoned out...

He opened his mouth to speak, letting it fall shut and repeating the action a few more times before finally mustering up a response. "I'm fine, just... Don't worry about it."

"Oh, okay," Kakashi shrugged, and Iruka realized that whatever feelings he'd had before were only increased tenfold now that he was actually aware of them. "See you later?"
"Yeah," He answered, giving a weak smile and a matching wave. "I'll see you later."

With that, Kakashi smiled under his mask before turning around and walking away- probably in the direction of his own apartment. Once Kakashi was out of sight, the brunette placed his hands over his face, groaning into them.

What had he gotten himself into?