I Like You (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Epilogue

They'd been together for two and a half years.

While Kakashi didn't really see the point in celebrating anniversaries, he would be lying if he said he didn't keep track of every day he had the privilege of dating Iruka Umino.

...Nine hundred twelve days and twelve hours, to be exact.

Their relationship had flowed pretty normally after they'd finally talked things out and made everything official. Their friends knew and accepted it, and Naruto... Well, he'd learned to live with it.

Speaking of Naruto, Kakashi figured that the Jinchuriki was the only reason he'd woken up to an empty bed.

A year into their relationship, after Naruto had failed the graduation exam again, Iruka and Kakashi had decided to buy a house and move in together and had ultimately moved Naruto in as well. The blonde shouldn't have been living alone in the first place, and he clearly needed extra help with school.

Of course, having the eleven-year-old in their house wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. He'd hated Kakashi, presumably because the silver-haired man was taking a lot of Iruka's attention (even though Iruka provided Naruto with plenty of attention, it was understandable that Naruto would lash out), he'd acted out in class all the time and some minor behavioral issues, and worst of all, he had nightmares. Terrible nightmares... Nightmares like Kakashi and Iruka had. Nightmares that an eleven-year-old shouldn't have been dealing with. It wasn't uncommon for Iruka to have to comfort the blonde through the night.

He was twelve now, so he'd adjusted, and he was doing better with everything. He was nicer to Kakashi, both because he'd grown used to his presence and because the Jonin was his new squad leader following his graduation from the academy. He was a more competent student. He still acted out, sure, but he was making progress.

...And, he still had nightmares. That was the one thing that hadn't really improved.

So, when Kakashi had woken up at three in the morning to feel that the bed was cold and that he was tucked into the blankets particularly tight, he'd known what happened. Iruka had woken up at some point because of one of Naruto's nightmares, slipped out of bed, pulled the blankets over Kakashi to make sure that he was warm, and then left the room.

He couldn't really sleep when Iruka wasn't there, so he figured that he may as well get up and make sure that they were both okay. So, he tossed the blankets off of himself and stood up, padding out of his bedroom and down the hall to where Naruto's was.

He leaned in the doorway, sighing as he took in the sight in front of him. Naruto was sleeping in his bed, Iruka splayed out on the wooden floor, staring at the ceiling, which was littered in bright yellow glow stars. When Naruto had moved in, Iruka had put a ton of effort into encouraging the blonde to customize his room and providing the money necessary for him to do so- probably a gesture to make him feel more welcome. So, the ceiling had glow stars, the walls were almost entirely covered in posters, and there was a messy shelf in the corner where Naruto kept most of his ninja tools and books.

Upon noticing Kakashi's presence, Iruka sat up on the floor, looking at him with a tired smile.

"Hey," His voice was low and quiet, probably to prevent Naruto from waking up. Team Seven had a mission in the morning, so the Jinchuriki would definitely need as much sleep as he could get.

"Hey, love," Kakashi spoke, offering a small smile as well. It was weird to be in Naruto's presence without his mask on, but then again, the blonde was asleep. "You two okay?"

"Yeah... He just had another nightmare. I woke up a couple of hours ago and had a bad feeling, so I came to check on him to make sure he was doing alright, and I ended up waking him up from it. He wanted me to stay in here with him."

"I'll be right back."

Knowing that Iruka wouldn't move from that spot until he had to go to work in the morning, Kakashi decided that he'd go get something to put between the brunette and the hard floor so he could actually sleep comfortably. The trip to their shared bedroom was quick, and he returned with a few comforters and pillows, which he laid out on the floor by Naruto's bed. Iruka sighed in relief and laid down across half of the makeshift bed, Kakashi joining him and taking the other half.

"Thanks, Kakashi," Iruka tossed an arm over his waist, pausing for a moment- probably to listen to Naruto's obnoxiously loud snoring to make sure that he was still asleep. You could usually tell that the blonde was about to wake up when the snoring was suddenly cut off. Thankfully, it resumed, so Iruka continued to talk. You're a life-saver. I know you have to take Naruto and your team on a mission in the morning, though, so you should go back to bed. I don't want you to sleep on the floor- it's bad for your back."

"It's bad for your back, too."

"I know... I'll make you both breakfast in the morning and put it in the fridge before I leave," Kakashi sighed again. Iruka had to leave earlier than they did so he could get to the academy, so Naruto would wake up alone, and then walk into the kitchen to see Kakashi, which would inevitably disappoint him. "But can you make sure he's okay when he gets up? Make him stay home if he's not feeling well?"

"Iruka," Kakashi spoke, tone stern. The brunette was worrying a little too much. He moved to hold the younger man's spare hand, gently stroking his thumb along the rough, tan skin of the back of it.

"I know, I know... I'm just worried."

"It's okay to worry but try not to do it so much. One of these days, you're gonna give yourself a heart attack. I can already feel your blood pressure rising."

"Shush," Iruka muttered, clearly embarrassed as Kakashi pulled one of the blankets over both of them. "Are you actually gonna sleep here?"

"Why not?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"You know Naruto won't like it if he wakes up and sees you with me."

That much was true, but thankfully, the dynamic between him and Naruto was better than it had been at first. Now, instead of seeming incredibly jealous and despising him, Naruto would probably just make some childish comment about Iruka having bad tastes in men.

"He'll live."

"I guess you're right..." Iruka sighed, snuggling closer to him. "One of the things I've always liked about you is that you're so relaxed about everything. It's funny that it kinda pissed me off when I first met you... And when we had that fight before the Chunin exams."

Kakashi preferred not to think about that fight, which they'd had because he'd recommended Naruto for the Chunin exams before Iruka thought that they were ready. It had only lasted a day, and they'd managed to talk through it, but it didn't change how angry Iruka had been at him over it. He blinked, pushing the fight to the back of his mind as he pressed a kiss against the corner of his lover's lips.

"I like you," Kakashi whispered, interlacing their fingers. "I like everything about you- love everything about you."

"I love you, too," Iruka smiled, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "But we should sleep. Good night."

"Good night."