Questionable Loyalty

CHAPTER 23





Kakashi looked down again at the table when the Chuunin kissed his hand, his fingers tingling at the touch of warm lips. He was quite sure that Iruka would take it as another sign of shyness, but in this case it couldn’t be farther from the truth. He looked down because he felt ashamed – ashamed because he was lying at this nice, kind man, ashamed because he was using an innocent to achieve his goals, and most of all, ashamed because of the way he had spoken about his lover – Pein didn’t deserve that kind of attitude, even if it was a lie.



Suddenly there were gentle fingers underneath his chin, lifting his face up to meet a pair of warm brown eyes:



“Hey… did I say something wrong?” Iruka asked.



Kakashi shook his head.



“No. I’m sorry, I am just not used to that kind of attention much.” He offered.



“I understand.” Iruka said then the fingers under Kakashi’s chin moved to caress his stubbled cheek. “You need someone who’d treat you better.”



Since at those words Kakashi’s expression became even sadder, Iruka decided to drop the subject. Apparently the red-head from the alley had been a complete jerk. How had Kakashi even hooked up with someone like that to begin with? He was burning with curiosity, but managed to reign in his tongue and not ask. It was far too early for that.



“Come, let’s go.” Iruka said.



Kakashi reached for his pocket to pay but the Chuunin lifted his arm:



“My treat. I invited you, I pay.”



Kakashi nodded.



“Thank you.”



When he began to get up, he realized that his legs were much wobblier than he had anticipated they’d be. Apparently his alcohol tolerance had lowered after years of abstinence. Kakashi frowned and held on onto the edge of the table.



“Kakashi-san?” Iruka asked when he noticed his unsteady posture.



Kakashi pulled the mask on his face but it was too late to hide his embarrassment:



“I think I drank a bit too much.” He explained.



“Oh.” Iruka paused for a moment, thinking “It wouldn’t be good to be seen wobbling on the streets, considering your rank and reputation.”



“No, not good at all.” Kakashi agreed morosely.



“I could walk you off…”



“I live on the other end of the village.” Kakashi muttered. They’d have to pass right before the Hokage tower… and the police station. Oh, what a show it’d be.



After another short pause to think, the Chuunin proposed:



“My apartment is much nearer, you can spend the night there, if you want. There’s much less chance that someone would notice you if we don’t have to cross the whole village.”



Kakashi nodded.



“Thank you. I apologise for the intrusion.”



The Chuunin moved to wrap a steadying arm around his waist.



“No problem. You’re not intruding at all.”



The walk to Iruka’s apartment was indeed a little unsteady, with Kakashi almost losing his footing a few times, but the Chuunin readily held him up, a surprisingly strong hand steadying him every time he swayed dangerously. By the time they arrived, Kakashi felt tired and sleepy and quite exhausted, his head leaning on the younger man’s shoulder as he unlocked his front door.



“Here we are, Kakashi-san.” He said and led him in a darkened corridor, then through a living room and finally into a bedroom. Kakashi’s mind was too fuzzy to take in any detail, but the bed under him proved to be soft and comfortable to sit on.



Iruka crouched to help him take off his sandals and when he looked up he saw Kakashi’s single eye gleaming softly in the faint light, both from the alcohol and from an emotion he couldn’t put his finger on.



“Now that you have me here, Iruka-sensei… what do you want do?” Kakashi asked softly, his voice suddenly dropping an octave and taking on a hoarse edge.



Iruka stared for a moment when he comprehended the meaning behind the question, then answered.



“To put you to sleep, Kakashi-san. You’re tired and drunk.”



“So you brought me only for this?” Kakashi asked, his hands finding their way to Iruka’s strong shoulders and deftly caressing the muscles underneath his thin shirt. “I find that hard to believe.”



Iruka frowned at him then reached to pull off the older man’s mask. He leaned forward until their noses were almost touching and said:



“Kakashi, I don’t fuck in dirty alleyways. And nor do I take advantage of drunk people.” He stated calmly.



Kakashi’s eye darkened dangerously at those words, but he didn’t let go of Iruka’s shoulders.



“What do you want then?”



A soft, kind smile appeared on the Chuunin’s expressive face.



“For now, just to make you feel comfortable, so you can rest. Once we’re both sober, and our hangover has passed… well…” trailed off then and suddenly leaned in to give the older man a kiss, surprisingly deep and aggressive considering his gentle behaviour up to that moment. Kakashi’s entire body stiffened for a second then he forced himself to relax, open his lips and let the other’s questing tongue inside.



Iruka wasn’t a bad looking man and it appeared he knew what he was doing so despite the fact that all of Kakashi’s senses were screaming to pull away, not to do this to himself, to the Chuunin and to Pein, he allowed his natural instinct to submit to take over and melted into the embrace, trying to pull his partner closer between his thighs.



Iruka resisted the tug and pulled away from the kiss, gasping and panting, licking his moist lower lip as he watched Kakashi.



“Go to sleep now, Kakashi-san.” He said and got up, taking a step back.



Kakashi watched him for a moment, debating whether he should make another attempt to pull him closer or let it go. In the end, he decided to allow this to go at Iruka’s pace. As it was, he wasn’t sure if he was up for this tonight – neither physically, because of the alcohol, nor emotionally. The Chuunin wanted him and there was still time. He could wait. So he nodded and leaned back against the bed. The room had begun to spin around him.



“Thank you, Sensei.” He muttered and fell asleep.



It had taken a monstrous effort to pull away from Kakashi when he had and Iruka returned to the living room on unsteady feet, trying to pull himself together, smother the arousal burning in his groin, along with the desire to go back there, spread Kakashi’s legs wide open and fuck the already pliant man into the mattress. He knew that the Jounin would let him, would welcome it, even. But he couldn’t do that. Iruka was better than that. Nobler than that. Certainly better than the jerk who had obviously used the older man before.



He took a deep, calming breath then headed for the bathroom for a cold shower.



The Chuunin was a generally light sleeper and the uncomfortable, lumpy sofa he slept on didn’t help much either. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when he woke up at the sound of someone whimpering and crying out softly.



Iruka opened his eyes and blinked in the darkness, then turned around to look at the glowing numbers of the clock on the small coffee table by the sofa – 4.40 am – the darkest part of the night. He heard the whimpering sound again and quickly located its source – the bedroom. Groggily, he swung his legs over the edge of the sofa and got up.



Barefoot, Iruka walked up to the bedroom and quietly got in. What he saw in the faint streetlight didn’t surprise him much: Kakashi lay on the bed, the sheet twisted in his legs, his lean body trembling and jerking, moaning very softly, his mind trapped in whatever nightmare haunted his sleep.



Iruka wasn’t a stupid man. He knew that trying to wake up or even go anywhere near to a distressed, sleeping Jounin was asking for a punch in the face at the very least, should they wake up and attack on instinct the person who was touching them. On the other hand, he just couldn’t bear to look at the older man when he was in such obvious misery.



Iruka walked up to the bed and carefully slid in next to Kakashi, reaching to tug him closer in his embrace. Surprisingly, the Jounin didn’t wake up at all – if anything, he buried himself deeper into Iruka’s arms, despite the warmth of the summer night. The younger man caressed his back in gentle circles, hoping it’d soothe him and indeed it worked – soon the other was settling again in a more fitful sleep. Iruka fell asleep with his hand buried in Kakashi’s slightly sweaty, silken hair.