"Come on, Baby," Kakashi pleaded, staring up at Iruka's window. The copy-nin was not quite still on his feet, not quite steady, and he smelled like cheap beer. Genma was standing near him, hands shoved into his pockets, pretending that he wasn't there, and that he couldn't hear Kakashi.

"Iruka, come down stairs. Iruka, come down. Damnit, Baby, just come down!" Sometimes the words slurred together, and sometimes they were sharp, carefully separated from one another. His eye was just a little watery, just a little pink around the edges, and his mask was pulled down, lumpy and floppy around his neck.

Iruka's window was lit, a square of light two stories up. Genma glanced from Kakashi's pale face to the window, and watched as the light flickered, then went out. Kakashi snarled next to him, yanking at his loose mask, and Genma fought the urge to grab Kakashi's arms.

"Get the hell down here, Iruka! We're not going to fight, I just want to come in- Iruka!"

"Kakashi, we should go," Genma said softly, not exactly displeased when Kakashi brushed him off. "Just... Be a little quieter, 'kay, Kakashi?"

"Just a minute, 'kay, Babe?" Kakashi said to Genma distractedly, still staring up at the window. "Iruka? Baby, I'm not mad, just come down. I just want to talk to you, we're not gonna fight. Iruka, please-"

The window was still stubbornly dark and Kakashi snarled again, glancing around. He grabbed a rock on the side of the road, curled his fingers around it, and pulled back his arm.

"Damnit, Iruka!" he yelled, throwing the rock. It arched in the air, then hit the window with a smash, the glass shattering.

"Kakashi!" Genma snapped, grabbing Kakashi's arm. The younger man pushed Genma, stumbling backwards away from the special jounin.

"Just a minute," Kakashi mumbled, looking back up at the window. "Just a minute, just a minute."

"Shit!" Genma clenched his teeth, then turned and ran, leaping up onto a rooftop and taking off across Konoha, leaping from roof to roof.

x

Iruka was standing to the side of his window in his small apartment, watching Kakashi down below. The older man was alternately begging and cursing, and Iruka felt tired just listening to him. He watched as Kakashi scrambled for something on the ground, then cursed when the copy-nin turned, hurling a stone towards the window. Iruka flinched away, covering his eyes with an arm as the window shattered, and he felt tiny pieces of glass cut into his skin, dig into his flesh.

"Bastard," Iruka hissed softly, opening his eyes to peer at the broken window. Jagged edges were still in the frame, but the bulk of the window was in small pieces on his floor and bed, glittering in the dark room. He glanced back outside and watched, with a feeling of sickness deep in his stomach, as Kakashi crouched, then leapt upwards, clambering over the railing of Iruka's balcony.

"Iruka," Kakashi said in a whisper that was far too loud, "Baby, why didn't you come outside?"

"Go home, Kakashi," Iruka said firmly, touching his cheek. He glanced at his fingers as he pulled his hand away, and there was blood on his fingertips, black in the dark room.

Kakashi grabbed Iruka's hand, and the older man's hands were cold from standing outside for so long. "You're hurt. Who hurt you?"

Iruka pulled his hand away, wiping the blood on his pajama pants. "No one, Kakashi. Why don't you go home?"

"Who hurt you?" Kakashi asked harshly, and the words were carefully pronounced, no slur present. "Iruka, tell me who hurt you."

"No one," the teacher said with a calm he didn't feel. "Why don't you go home and go to bed? We can go out for lunch tomorrow, or for dinner-"

"Who hurt you!" Kakashi was close to screaming now and Iruka clenched his hands into fists, closing his eyes as he breathed slowly.

"You did, Kakashi. Just...just calm down, 'kay?"

Kakashi reached out, grabbed Iruka's chin and forcefully turning the chuunin's head to the side, staring at the small cuts. "I did?" he asked softly. "Me, Baby?"

Iruka reached up, grabbed Kakashi's hand, and pulled it away with gentle force, ducking his head as soon as he could move it. "Yeah, you. Why don't you go home, and you can get some sleep, and-"

"Didn't mean to hurt you," Kakashi murmured, and his fingers were soft on Iruka's. He pulled them away and touched Iruka's cheek, fingertips against one of the small cuts. "Didn't mean to. We're not going to fight, you just should've come outside, and-"

"Didn't want to," Iruka muttered, turning his head away. He stared at the floor, and a feeling of dread slowly grew as Kakashi was painfully silent. "Kakashi?" Iruka asked, glancing back at the copy-nin.

"Who was here?"

"What? No one," Iruka snapped, bristling. "What are you talking about?"

"You fucked someone," Kakashi snapped back, a half-second too slow. "You never come outside when you fuck someone. Every time, you fuck someone, and-"

"No one was here!" Iruka clenched his teeth together, then forced his voice lower. "I didn't fuck anyone, I didn't do anything, I just-"

Kakashi backhanded Iruka, a motion that was almost smooth, almost seamless. Iruka's head moved with the hit, eyes widening at the resounding slap of hand against cheek. The teacher clenched his hand into a fist, then punched Kakashi in the jaw as hard as he could, hand stinging at the impact. Kakashi reeled backwards, mouth falling open in surprise.

"Don't you ever hit me," Iruka snarled, raising his hand again. "I'm no woman, I'll fucking hit back, you bastard."

Kakashi managed a sound like a whimpering sigh, cupping his jaw, and he staggered. Iruka tightened his fist, looking at Kakashi with a mixture of anger and pity.

"Sit down before you fall down," he said, trying to ignore how he still felt sick. Kakashi fell to his knees, then rocked himself backwards so he was sitting cross-legged, still cupping his jaw carefully.

"Why?" he murmured questioning, and for a moment Kakashi sounded normal. Iruka loosened his clenched fist, flexing his fingers.

"Won't be beat by you," the chuunin muttered, glancing away. He couldn't look at the pathetic picture Kakashi made, sitting in the middle of the glass of the broken window. Kakashi made a noise, low in his throat, and Iruka looked back.

"Did I mess up again?" he asked softly, speaking carefully, jaw barely moving. Iruka rubbed his hand slowly, fingers over his bruising knuckles.

"You won't remember it anyway." He tried to ignore how he sounded bitter, how the feeling of anger flared up in his chest, hot and painful.

"Didn't want to fight, Baby," Kakashi said, and his whisper was loud again. "If you'd just come outside-"

"Go home, Kakashi," Iruka interrupted, and he just felt so tired. "Just go home and leave me alone."

"Iruka, Iruka, Iruka," Kakashi babbled, "I don't want to fight. We're not going to fight, we won't fight-"

"We're already fighting!" Iruka snapped. "Every time, it's the same. We fight every time, and you always promise 'not again, not again,' and you break your promises!"

"Baby, Baby," Kakashi said in a singsong. "Baby, I promise. Not again, I won't hurt you. Not again, never again."

"Listen to yourself!" Iruka felt the beginning pricks of tears of frustration in his eyes. His voice broke on the words and he snapped his mouth shut, ashamed.

"Iruka, I promise, I promise-"

"I don't trust you anymore!" His voice broke again and he snarled, clenching his hands back into fists. "I don't trust you, Kakashi. I don't-"

"Trust?" Kakashi straightened up, something like a frown on his face. "You want to talk about trust? You're the one I can't trust. You're the one who fucked Hayate-"

"That was years ago," Iruka interrupted. "You didn't even know me, we never talked-"

"But he's all you think about," Kakashi spat, struggling to his feet. He swayed, then grabbed Iruka's arm, yanking on the younger man. "He's all you ever talk about, you just want to go back to him-"

"Hayate's dead." It was sharp and low in Iruka's throat, and it cut like knives. Kakashi froze, confusion written on his face for a moment before he pushed Iruka.

"And who's fault is that?"

Iruka stumbled backwards, bare feet stepping on the glass. The sick feeling was worse now, swallowing him whole, and he was drowning in something too big for him to handle. He wanted to lash out, wanted to make Kakashi scream and cry and bleed and die. "Get out," he said quietly, staring at the floor. There was blood there, on the glass and the floor, and his body was burning hot and angry. "Get out. Get out. Get out! Get out! Get out!"

Kakashi looked surprised by Iruka's screaming, and he tilted his head, opened his mouth. "Iruka, Baby-"

"Get out!"

x

"Shit, Asuma, you need to do something," Genma panted, crouched on Asuma's window ledge. Asuma was sitting on the edge of his bed, rubbing his face roughly, and he looked up at Genma slowly.

"What is it? God, it's three in the morning. Have you lost your mind?"

"Kakashi's drunk, and he's yelling at Iruka. He broke a window, and he's mad, and I don't know why, but shit, he's going to do something stupid, he always does when he's drunk. Asuma, you need-"

"Damnit." Asuma grabbed his pants, pulling them on quickly. "Genma, why'd you leave him-"

"He wasn't listening to me," Genma said desperately. "I tried, but he just kept calling me 'Babe' and telling me to wait. He doesn't listen to me, not ever."

Asuma pulled his shirt down over his head, then stepped forward, pushing Genma off the window sill. Genma grabbed the edge of the sill with his fingertips and flipped himself upwards, scrambling for the rooftop. A moment later and Asuma was next to him, then gone, leaping to the next roof. Genma pushed chakra to his feet and leapt after Asuma, throwing himself forward until he caught up.

"Genma, make sure Iruka's okay after I get Kakashi out of there," Asuma said over the wind whistling in their ears. Genma nodded and Asuma turned to the right, dashing towards the west district. "Don't let him see you or he'll blame Iruka."

"Yeah," Genma said breathlessly, and he peeled off from Asuma, leaping up onto the roof of Iruka's building as Asuma dropped off the roof of a building over, catching himself on the balcony outside Iruka's front door.

Asuma knocked on the door, pounding on it, and leaned in close, listening. After a few seconds he began pounding on the door again, and the door was yanked open from the inside. Kakashi leaned against the door frame, staring at Asuma blearily, and lifted his chin.

"What do you want?"

Asuma shoved his way in and Kakashi stumbled backwards, narrowing his eye.

"What d'you want, Asuma?"

"I came to take you home," Asuma said, glancing at Iruka. The teacher was standing across the room, next to the broken window, and Asuma gave Iruka a faint, sad smile. "Iruka-sensei. You alright?"

Iruka looked at Asuma for a few moments, silent, then glanced at Kakashi. "I'm fine," the teacher said stiffly. "Kakashi, why don't you go with Asuma?"

Kakashi followed Asuma's eyes to Iruka, watching the teacher. "Don't trust you," Kakashi spat. "You'll just go fuck-"

"Kakashi," Asuma interrupted, "you're being a jerk. How about you leave before Iruka kicks you out?"

"He wouldn't-" Kakashi began, but Asuma interrupted him again.

"For good, Kakashi. Do you want that?"

"Iruka, Baby, we won't fight. Everything's alright, isn't it? Tell Asuma, Baby. Baby, we're not going to fight." Kakashi's voice was wheedling and Iruka glanced away, looking out the window.

"Why don't you go home," he said softly. "I'm tired, and we can talk tomorrow. We can go to lunch, or something."

Kakashi stared at Iruka for a long minute, then turned, stalking out the door. Asuma mouthed an apology at Iruka, then turned, following the copy-nin. Kakashi walked down the stairs slowly, in a nearly straight line, and Asuma walked a step behind, ready to grab Kakashi if the man tripped.

"Where did Genma go?" Kakashi asked in a too-loud voice when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Asuma grabbed his elbow and steered Kakashi to the right, following the road.

"He had to go home," Asuma lied carefully. "He stopped by my apartment on his way home, so I came. Didn't think you'd want to walk by yourself."

Kakashi let himself be led, watching the blocks of cement beneath his feet. "Yeah? Did he? Thought he'd wait..."

Genma watched Asuma and Kakashi walk away, talking, and he slipped off the roof, swinging himself into Iruka's broken window. The glass crunched under his sandals as he crouched on the windowsill.

"Iruka?" he asked softly. The younger man ducked his head, then turned, giving Genma a smile that was far too wide.

"Genma-san. Can I help you with something?"

Genma slipped off the sill onto the floor, more glass crunching, and he reached out, touching Iruka's arm. "Are you alright? Did Kakashi-"

"I'm fine, Genma-san."

Genma let go of Iruka's arm, walking around him. "If you're sure," he said, moving to the far wall. He glanced down the wall, then found the light switch and flipped it on. He looked back at Iruka and something between a grimace and a frown pulled on his lips. "You're bleeding."

Iruka glanced down at his arms, turning them over thoughtfully. "I am," he said softly. He gestured to the window, then watched as a thin trickle of blood trailed down his arm to the crook of his elbow. "The window, when it broke, some glass hit my arms."

"And your face," Genma put in gently. Iruka reached up, touching his cheek, smearing blood across his face, and blinked.

"I forgot."

The look on Genma's face was a frown now, etching deep lines along his forehead. "Did you forget you were standing in the glass, too?" He was standing by Iruka now, sandals breaking the glass into smaller pieces, and he grabbed Iruka's bloody hands, pulled him forward and off the glass. Iruka gave Genma a shame-faced smile.

"I'm afraid I'm a mess, Genma-san." He slipped his hands from Genma's, and Genma watched as the teacher limped to the small bathroom.

"I'll-" Genma cut himself off, then started again. "I'll clean up the glass." Iruka nodded, not looking at Genma, and Genma hissed, glancing around the room. He grabbed the sheets on the bed, pulled them off, and shook the glass onto the floor. "Iruka?" he asked, shaking the blankets a few more times. The glass chinked as it hit other pieces of glasses, and Iruka made a polite humming sound over the sound. "Do you have a broom?"

There was a moment of silence, then the sound of a sigh. "In the closet by the table. There's a dustpan in there, too."

"I'll just sweep up," Genma said needlessly. Iruka was silent in the bathroom and Genma rummaged through the closet, dragging out a broom and dustpan. He swept the glass up into the dustpan, and then dumped it in the garbage. He looked around helplessly, then sat on the edge of the bed. After a few minutes Iruka limped out of the bathroom, and he looked vaguely surprised to find Genma still there.

"Thank you," the teacher muttered, glancing out the broken window. "You can go home, I'm fine-"

"Did he hit you?" Genma asked frankly, feeling something in his stomach twist. Iruka glanced at him sharply, then shrugged.

"I hit him back. He's slow when he's drunk." Iruka scratched at a bandage on his arm, staring at it. "Slow enough I can beat him, if I need to."

"Yeah?" Genma shifted on the edge of the bed, glanced at it. "You have any more sheets, or..." He trailed off and Iruka shrugged again.

"I'll find some. I think I have some clean ones." He sighed, then shifted on his feet. "Do you need anything else, Genma-san?"

"Why?" Genma stared at the floor, tensing the muscles in his legs, then loosening them. He heard Iruka shift again, and he scooted over on the bed.

"He's nice," Iruka said after a moment, sitting a few feet away from Genma. "It's just when he's drunk that he's- But he's nice, he's a good guy. You know, you've been on his team before. He's nice-"

"He's a bastard when he's drunk," Genma interrupted. He leaned back, propping himself up on his hands behind him, and resisted the urge to touch Iruka. "He'll kill you someday, and then-"

"I can take care of myself," Iruka said firmly, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, head cradled between his hands. Genma glanced at him, then reached out, punching Iruka in the shoulder lightly.

"You ever need a place to stay, you can come over," he said, and Iruka gave him a sidelong glance. "Raidou would like the company, and- Shit, I don't know. Just...you know, if Kakashi gets stupid, or something."

"Yeah? Thanks." Iruka rubbed at his face, then let his head hang, fingers digging through his hair. "Thanks, Genma."

"No problem," Genma said lightly, and he ignored the way Iruka was shaking, and the way blood was shining wetly on the floor, and the way light was casting a sickly yellow light on the teacher, making the younger man look half-dead. After all, everyone in Konoha was a little fucked up.

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