I Like You (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Chapter Seventeen

Iruka Umino was beyond pissed as he quietly slid open the window of no other than Kakashi Hatake, a huff leaving his mouth. He used the opening to tumble into Kakashi's bedroom, and unsurprisingly, the silver-haired man had an expression of shock, which normally would've been covered by his mask.

It was almost five in the morning, so it made sense that Kakashi would be surprised by his sudden appearance.

Three days prior, the Jonin had confessed his love without any warning whatsoever after one of his impromptu visits, and then, he'd left as soon as he possibly could, not even giving Iruka the chance to respond. The brunette had thrown some clothes on as soon as possible, running out of his apartment and through the village, earning some stares like he was an insane person as he'd frantically searched for Kakashi to no avail. In the following days, Iruka had tried to run into Kakashi, but it hadn't happened.

Eventually, he'd realized why he couldn't find Kakashi- the silver-haired man was avoiding him so he wouldn't have to deal with confrontation. During the day, he'd probably been working or hiding somewhere in the village since he was never at his house or any of the local places he usually frequented. During the night, he'd probably been occupying himself with extra missions. So, Iruka came to the conclusion that the only time he'd be able to catch Kakashi would be during the early hours of the morning.

Desperate, he'd decided that Kakashi's window would be the best option- the older man always left it unlocked, and Iruka knew that with how avoidant he was being, he wouldn't have opened the door.

So, now, as he walked up to the silver-haired man and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him out of the chair he'd been sitting in, he was pissed- pissed that Kakashi had confessed his feelings and cut things off so abruptly after hiding them for so long, pissed that Kakashi had run off before he'd gotten the chance to say it back, pissed that Kakashi had been avoiding him and drawing this out for much longer than it really needed to be.

Then again, he realized he was being a hypocrite. He'd hidden his feelings, too. He hadn't known how to handle them. But, he knew that if he had ever gathered the guts to confess beforehand, he would've had the decency to wait for a response.

Kakashi was stronger than him and he knew that, hence why he was surprised that the Jonin hadn't pulled away yet, still allowing Iruka to hold him by his collar.

"Kakashi-"

"Iruka, I thought I made myself clear already," Kakashi spoke, face screaming defeat as he pointed to the window with a weak smile. "Also, that's kinda my move."

Frustrated, Iruka released his grip and crossed his arms over his chest, face burning red as he watched Kakashi smooth his shirt out.

"Are you stupid?"

"Are you?" Kakashi retaliated, also crossing his arms as he quirked an eyebrow.

"I like you, Kakashi," Iruka admitted, dropping his arms and placing a hand over his chest as relief flooded through him. Kakashi loved him. He loved Kakashi, and he'd finally gotten the chance to tell the Jonin that. There was no reason for them to not be able to develop an actual relationship. "It's not just physical for me. Don't you get that by now? If you would've waited for me to respond the other night, you would've known that I love you back, but you thought that it'd be a good idea to run away instead."

"Oh..." Kakashi let out a small chuckle, appearing somewhat guilty. Thankfully, though, his posture had relaxed more since Iruka had barged in, the tension seeming to have left his body. Iruka figured that he was relieved, too. "Well, that's a pleasant surprise."

"Just a pleasant surprise?"

"Don't make me embarrass myself more than I already have," Kakashi sighed, taking Iruka's hands in his and interlacing their fingers. "You know I love you."

"How long?" Iruka asked, smiling when Kakashi pressed a kiss against his forehead.

"How long...? Well, I'm not really sure. I came to the realization that I had this repressed crush on you prior to all of this and that's why I started the whole friends with benefits thing, and that probably sounds really fucked up, but-"

"Yeah, no, me too," Iruka cut the older man off, almost in disbelief that their situations had been so similar. "I had this weird interest in you that I couldn't really understand until this happened, and it kinda just hit me like a brick in the face that I'm in love with you."

"God, I'm in love with you," Kakashi reiterated, letting go of Iruka's hands, only to rest his own on the brunette's back. He allowed his palms to drift further and further down, nimble fingers brushing over Iruka's clothed skin until they reached his ass. He knew what Kakashi wanted, but he also didn't know where his ninken were- they weren't in the room, but this hadn't been planned at all, and Iruka wouldn't be surprised if they were somewhere in the house. Considering that they were basically humans in dog bodies, he was positive that he didn't want them to hear what Kakashi was clearly getting at with his suggestive movements. "You're so cute."

"Kakashi..." Kakashi leaned in for a kiss, but Iruka only laughed, raising a hand and holding a finger to the taller man's soft lips, which earned him a playful frown. "Aren't your ninken here?"

"Oh, right, they are... They're all napping in the living room." Kakashi sighed, pulling back. "Wanna just cuddle instead?"

"Yeah," Iruka took Kakashi's hand again, feeling his heart flutter as he kicked his shoes off, removing his headband and setting it down on the older man's desk. "That sounds great." With that, they both walked to Kakashi's bed, tumbling into it with the both of them giggling along the way. As soon as their bodies hit the mattress, Kakashi was flipping the brunette onto his back, moving to lay on top of him. "You're heavy," Iruka muttered, the pressure of Kakashi's head on his chest, upper body resting on his stomach, and lower body between his legs, all very noticeable but somehow comforting. Kakashi went to move away, but Iruka pulled him back, relishing in the smell of his cologne. "It's nice... I love you."

Kakashi settled again, and Iruka moved a hand to run his fingers through the Jonin's hair.

"I love you, too."