I Don't Think You Understand

As I'm sure you're all painfully aware, aff.net had a minor accident with their system, and so I lost a few of my updates. However, don't you worry; I have copies, and I'm reposting chapters, and in addition, with some luck and inspiration on my side, you'll have a new chapter later tonight.

We already know I don't own Naruto.

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”Ruka-kun no hentai! Nani o shiteno?!”

Iruka privately thought that what he was doing was obvious, but since Sarika-chan didn’t seem to get it--”I’m looking at the people, Sa-chan. What does it look like?”

“But, but you shouldn’t! They’re not dressed!”

Iruka snorted “So? They’re people like us; not like it bothers us to see each other naked.”
“But they’re adults!”
“So? They get naked like other people.”

Since Sarika-chan had apparently started doing her fish-on-land impression, Iruka continued to look in on the people using the open bath. He never really understood what was so amazing to look at in a naked man or woman, but then again, he was eight years old. He supposed it was some weird adult thing.

Finally, his patience was rewarded. A couple of people stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in towels, and he noted that two of them were female. With no further ado than an appreciative smile at the steam and peace, they all dropped the towels and stepped carefully into the water.

Iruka was confused. Is this what he’d waited to see? A bunch of people getting all wrinkly and pruney in an overgrown bathtub? The women’s chests were doing weird things when the water hit them, too, getting all red like that. Were they supposed to float, he wondered? They looked like small water balloons, except he didn’t think they’d explode when they hit something.

At least the men looked somewhat normal, even if they were getting all wrinkly and pruney like the women were. Iruka wrinkled his nose. If that was what adults did in their free time, sitting in a giant tub like being clean was a good thing, then he didn’t want to grow up. He hated baths.

Iruka felt like he could learn to love baths.

He loved the way the steam curled in the air, giving the whole place a mysterious, mystical feel. He liked the sound of the water bubbling softly to the surface and running gently over rocks. He loved the leafy plants growing around the edge, giving the illusion of privacy.

At the moment, he really liked the plants around the edge, because they were concealing his position.

There were days that a person just felt like returning to childhood again. Most explained that desire as a need to escape some of the pressures of adult life, like a job, cooking, laundry...the stuff a kid didn’t have to do until later on. Busy people needed ways to get away from it all, and what better way was there than to escape into happier memories of childhood?

I am so bullshitting.

No, what drew Iruka to the baths (not to bathe; he still had a dislike for the hot springs though he’d sometimes sit in them if with company) was the fact that he’d overheard that Kakashi would be visiting this particular one today, and he wanted to make sure of a few things first.

Suuuuuuure, Umino. Checking to make sure he’s got his stuff still attached is very important. Especially since we’ve never felt him aroused or anything...

Iruka hated his subconscious sometimes. He could have sworn it had started taking lessons in snark from Sasuke.

It’s not a bad thing, really it isn’t. I just...want to see him. While most of the time his thoughts toward his boyfriend were on the opposite end of the “pure” spectrum, this was one of the things he could honestly have said there were some concerns about. A man moved differently when in public, and if Iruka wanted to someday pleasure the man more fully, he wanted to make sure he wouldn’t harm him in the act by unintentionally putting pressure somewhere it would hurt.

...just keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.

Kakashi could be one hell of a stubborn man, though. During their one taijutsu match, Iruka freely admitted he hadn’t held much of his strength back at the time (and he could cause quite a bit of damage with a few hits), but Kakashi hadn’t shown much besides a wince every time one of his blows had landed.

Though Iruka couldn’t remember much beyond the blinding pain in his testicles and the healing from Tsunade-sama, he also knew the man hadn’t been moving much differently. Broadcasting to the world that someplace hurts isn’t a sound strategy for not getting attacked at that weakest point, so it makes sense that he hides his pain, but I want to be sure that I won’t hurt him unintentionally, so...

Just then, the man haunting his thoughts walked out...and Iruka forgot to breathe.

Instead of the hitae-ate, he wore an eyepatch that Iruka knew he used at home (who’d want to wear that thing while sleeping, anyway?), and his mask was still on, presumably to make sure that no one could see his face if they were peeping. Apparently he doesn’t care if his body’s on full display, though...good for me, though.

Forcibly but quietly, he reminded himself to breathe, but he lost the rhythm of it after Kakashi negligently let the towel drop.

He’s...he’s....gah...

Ninja had incredible bodies. Iruka knew this, and knew he was in possession of one, but Kakashi’s...

Saying that Kakashi’s body is incredible is like saying that Naruto is okay with eating ramen...

Yeah, the man had scars; who didn’t? Scars built character, after all, told the life story of the person bearing them, were less vulnerable now than they had been before. Somehow, for some reason, seeing Kakashi’s made his heart do a funny little twist in his chest.

The muscles on his abdomen stood out plainly, even at this distance. His arms were sleekly toned and gracefully displayed the muscle groups and the lack of fat on them. His chest was well-defined, his legs and ass were a wet dream in and of themselves...but it was the scars that made Iruka feel faint.

His body was covered in them. There were very few parts that did not have lines or burn marks or whorls of healed-over tissue, more than a few of them frighteningly close to vital areas. Yet, despite all the evidence of a life lived on the edge dancing with death, he still moved normally.

Iruka, with some startlement, felt something in him reach out to the man he found so attractive. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been in the least aroused by this sight (the blatant proof was pressing rather uncomfortably into the ground), but something in him enabled him to ignore it.

I want to kiss those scars. I want to trace them with my fingers, inspect them with my tongue, learn his history with my hands... It wasn’t a purely sexual feeling; it was the simple realization that this man needed to be touched like this, to learn that not every touch resulted in pain, to know tenderness...

Iruka had to get out of here. He was confused, blushing, overheated and yet very cold at the same time. As quietly as he could, he took one last look at Kakashi, soaking in the warmth of the water with a blissful look in his visible eye before he got away from there.

I don’t know if I feel so okay about looking at him like that even if he looked at me like that...but I don’t know what it is that I feel toward him now.

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I said what I said, but now I don't remember what I said, so it's basically like I haven't really said anything at all...but I like having my story being referred to as "being addictive, like candy." What an ego boost!