All for the Sake of Pleasure

Chapter 17

Iruka let up a silent prayer of thanks as he handed over Saki's diaper bag to Sasuke. Oh, he loved his raven-haired brother even more than Naruto loved ramen at the moment. And that was saying something! The thought of having an entire afternoon free was such a pleasurable one, he shivered happily. Who would have thought Sasuke would have been stupid – er, kind – enough to offer to take Saki for the day?

Before the elite shinobi had a chance to realize his horrible mistake and give the baby back, Iruka was shooing them out the door with a smile and an altogether too energetic "have fun!"

Sagging against the front door, the brunet let up a sigh of sheer relief. It was not that he did not love his son with a fierceness he had never experienced before. No, it was that after taking care of Saki for almost two months without anyone else's help, he needed a few hours to himself. Now that his son was starting to move around, nothing was safe. Already, Saki had mastered his escape from the crib, the playpen, and just about any contraption Iruka could try containing him in. It was only a matter of time before Saki's cute rolling movements turned into fast-paced crawling – and then running! Was it any wonder Iruka had slept, perhaps, eight hours in the past week?

After he figured out that Kakashi was watching Saki at night, Iruka had been able to catch a few more hours of sleep so that he was not simply passing out from exhaustion, but actually sleeping. Other than that one day, however, Iruka never caught Kakashi again and, even if he had, he knew he wouldn't tell the jounin he knew about the visits.

He had the feeling Kakashi was a little skittish, and any hint that his secret had been discovered might send the jounin running.

Quickly, the teacher made a list of everything he needed to do in the few hours Sasuke dealt with his mildly demonic and quite advanced nephew. First was a much needed bath. Other than minute-long showers while Saki slept, Iruka had little time to take care of himself – and that meant soaking for at least an hour to ease his sore muscles.

Rubbing a shoulder, Iruka recalled that he had always thought he was in shape. Saki taught him otherwise. Even though his son was not even fifteen pounds yet, carrying the little squirmy baby around had done wonders for Iruka's back and arms. At first, he had felt like he had been run over. Now, his arms had a definition any shinobi would be jealous of.

After his glorious bath would come a meal that did not consist of formula or mashed foods! The mere thought of "adult" food made Iruka whimper and his mouth water.

Oh, he loved Sasuke. If it wasn't for the fact Naruto was quite possessive, he might just propose to the young jounin!

XXX

Kakashi winced as he held the deep gash on his arm shut. This one was definitely going to leave a nasty scar. Of course, the scarring would be minimal if he sought some professional help. But if he went to the hospital, he would have to deal with Tsunade. Going anywhere near Tsunade meant he would have to explain that he had been so eager to get back to the village that he had not realized he was being followed. One stupid mistake because of his impatience and he nearly lost an arm! And he was not even going to think of his cracked ribs or the mottled bruises that covered a good portion of his body.

No, there was no way he would be able to deal with the Hokage's questioning his negligence. He may just snap and yell at her for sending him on a week-long mission that kept him away from that adorable little baby. She had not given him the chance to refuse when he found out the length of the mission. She would not even consider finding someone else, not without some compelling reason, which Kakashi was not yet prepared to admit to.

Taking a deep breath, the stubborn jounin began stitching the skin back together. Thankfully, it was not the first time he had done so, so his hand no longer shook as he made neat knots stretching across his bicep. As he finished off the last stitch and cut the dark thread with a kunai, he heard a soft knock at his door.