The Trick Is Not Minding

Chapter Sixteen

Kakashi woke thinking he was dead. He felt safe . . . and peaceful. Nothing hurt. It was warm and soft and smelled nice . . . he had to be dead, because he couldn’t imagine anything more opposed to the world he’d blacked out on. “Mhmmm, like death, ‘s warmmmm, nice.” he mumbled as he snuggled further into the soft warmth and drifted in rhythm with the thundering heartbeat under his ear.

The next time Kakashi woke he hoped, perhaps, it had all been a dream. He knew where he was this time, in Iruka’s bed with his head on the chuunin’s chest. It was just a dream, he firmly told himself, a terrible overly vivid dream, otherwise how could he possibly be where he was right now. “Mmm ‘kashi, go back to sleep.” a drowsy voice mumbled, and he found himself pinned firmly against the teacher. Deciding not to fight anything that felt so good, the copy-nin once again succumbed to sleep.

They say the third time’s the charm, but the copy-nin disputed that when he woke for the third time that morning. Unlike the previous two times he’d risen to consciousness, this time he was under no delusions . . .he remembered the events of the previous day in startling clarity, and had never been more embarrassed in his life. What he must think of me, he sighed internally, why am I even here?

“Hungry?” asked a soft voice near his ear. Turning his head Kakashi looked into the widely smiling face and decided not to rock the boat just yet. Enjoy it while you can, he reminded himself, so he allowed a smile in return and reply “Starving.”

“Wonderful,” the chuunin exclaimed as he jumped out of bed and headed for the kitchen, “I hope you like tamagoyaki. It should be ready by the time you finish showering.”

Was that a hint? The jounin thought, then he glanced down at the blood and salt encrusted expanse of his chest and wryly concluded, probably. He swung his legs out of bed and shakily rose to his feet, heading into the bathroom and starting the shower. He hesitated for just a moment as he started to get under the warm spray, remembering the last time he had been in a shower, and a small shiver crawled across his skin. ‘Ruka’s not worried, I won’t worry, he finally concluded, although he still had a lot of questions he needed answered . . . like what happened after he blacked out and how he ended up here.

Distracted by his thoughts he soon found himself clean, turning off the water and stepping out, grabbing a soft towel to dry off. As he turned he caught sight of his chest in the mirror. Standing out in stark contrast to his pale skin was a catalog of his failures.

Willful bitch, disobedient slut, uppity whore . . . his hand clenched the edge of the counter and he bowed his head in shame. Composing himself he grimly made his way back into the bedroom and quickly covered the reminders of his worthlessness. Then he took a deep calming breath and went to join the teacher.

“Perfect timing.” the chuunin proclaimed with a smile, “I was just dishing this out.” He gestured towards the pan in his hand, and Kakashi’s mouth watered. “It smells delicious, Iruka.” the jounin declared as he quickly sat down. As he began to eat ravenously the teacher watched with a small smile on his lips.

“When we’re finished there’s somewhere I want to take you.” Iruka said. “Oh, where would that be?” the copy-nin queried. “It’s a surprise.” was the chuunin’s response. “I don’t really like surprises.” the jounin informed him. “Well, you’ll like this one, trust me.” the teacher declared firmly, “You do trust me, don’t you . . . I would never hurt you.”

“I . . .” the copy-nin started, then trailed off. He turned the question over in his mind, did he trust this man? The teacher had never given him a reason not to trust what he said, he was nice, and gentle, and hadn’t hurt him yet although he’d had plenty of opportunities. Once again he weighed the decision . . . trust or not . . . and once again he decided in favor of Iruka. “Yes, I trust you.” was the soft hesitant answer.

The teacher’s face lit up at the answer. This was going even better than he had hoped. Time for the next step in his plan to make Kakashi stay with him forever. “Let’s get going.” he said, as he stood and extended a hand to the jounin. When pale fingers clasped his the copy-nin was pulled into the teacher’s arms, where he quickly made the signs to transport them. “I thought,” Iruka said as they materialized in front of a quaint onsen, “we’d stay here for a few days, it will speed your recovery.” Not to mention I’ve always fantasized about going to the hot springs with you, his mind supplied.

“Iruka . . . I can’t, people will see . . . “ the copy-nin trailed off, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. He would have fled if the chuunin hadn’t still held him in a firm embrace.

“Kakashi, look at me.” the chuunin softly stated as he turned the jounin’s face towards his, “I said I wouldn’t hurt you and I won’t. No one but me will see, I would never embarrass you like that . . . besides, I don’t want anyone else ogling you.” he concluded with a smile. Then he tugged the copy-nin by the hand, “Now hurry up.”

The jounin looked around curiously as they were led to a separate small building. “Here we are gentlemen, please enjoy your stay.” the man escorting them said as he opened the door, “If there’s anything you need just call and it will be brought right over.” then he bowed and left. The copy-nin still hadn’t moved, dumbstruck by the sight in front of him. The room was large, with a huge bed and a separate lounging area and bath, but what had Kakashi riveted was the view out the other side of a small, perfectly landscaped pool, steam rising off its surface.

“I thought you’d be more comfortable with a private pool.” the chuunin said quietly, “The hot spring will help with your healing.” Then he stepped past the copy-nin and into the room, quickly shedding his clothes and grabbing a towel before heading out to the spring. “Hurry up and come join me,” he called back in “this feels wonderful.”

Kakashi watched in awe as Iruka undressed, desire rising as each inch of delectable caramel flesh was revealed. He shuddered, and shut his eyes briefly against the hot flare of lust. He quickly started to remove his own clothes, then stopped when he remembered his newest marks of shame. He knew the teacher had already seen them, but he had been unconscious at the time and didn’t know what his reaction had been. Would he be disgusted? He tentatively ran his hand across his chest. Iruka’s skin is so smooth, so perfect, he thought, and look at me . . . he trailed off, the sobering thought stripping him of his desire.

I can’t stall anymore, time to just do this, the copy-nin told himself forcefully, so he grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his waist and headed out to face Iruka.

The chuunin was already comfortably lounging in the heated water, head tipped back and eyes shut. That helps, the copy-nin thought, as he quickly dropped his towel and got in, sinking down until the marks on his chest were below the water line. “I have scars too, you know.” Kakashi swivelled to face the teacher, shocked out of his reverie by the thoughtful voice, “Here, look.” With that Iruka stood and turned his back to the jounin, lifting his hair to reveal a large jagged scar next to his spine. “The person who gave me this was . . . a friend, my best friend . . . or so I thought. I trusted him and he tried to kill Naruto, tried to kill me. He rubbed my face in it, told me how gullible I was, how worthless, that it had all been a lie.” He rubbed the scar across his nose, lost in the painful memories. “I stopped trusting people after that, stopped anyone from getting close . . . until you. You see, we’re the same, that’s why I know you would never hurt me like that, you know how it feels.”

With that he dropped his hair and turned to sit back down when he was captured in an awkward hug. “I promise I will never hurt you.” the copy-nin whispered, which made both men smile. Comfortable with each other once again, they leaned back and relaxed in their loose embrace, enjoying the soothing waters and the restful company.