Outclassed
Chapter Eleven
WinterOfOurDiscontent

Someone strolling by Ichiraku at dusk would have seen two shinobi sitting next to each other. Someone paying more attention would have been able to deduce that they were there together, because at a stall with several empty stools they had still chosen to sit next to each other. Someone paying a little more attention than is potentially healthy...or a ninja, the observant little buggers... could perhaps have noticed that occasionally their hands would touch, their shoulders brush, or their knees bump. A ninja strategist who cared to do so and had a bit too much free time could have sorted out that that perhaps, just perhaps, one or both parties were engineering these brief points of contact, as higher level ninja are usually very careful in their movements.

"You're brave, you know," Kakashi suddenly said, with the air of someone letting go of a secret or imparting ancient wisdom.

"Huh?" Whatever Iruka had been expecting, it wasn't that. Actually, after the companionable silence during which they'd been eating, anything would have felt a bit like a non sequitur. But that was still a bit much. He turned to look at Kakashi. "I don't know what you've heard about teaching, but really, the kids aren't that bad..." he said, chuckling lightly to cover his sudden embarrassment.

Kakashi shook his head lightly. "Not that. This." He waved his hand to indicate he was including the entire village in his defintion of 'this.' "You could have chosen to shut yourself off after the Kyuubi attack. I know people that did. Knew." He corrected himself before continuing. "But you didn't. You tried, and you kept trying. And then Mizuki-sensei... when he attacked you and Naruto, you could have decided not to trust. But you didn't. Instead, you chose to bring Naruto into your life. Knowing he might die like your parents or betray you like Mizuki. That, Iruka-sensei... that takes balls."

If Kakashi had been more socially ept... which is of course the opposite of inept... he might have had the sense to stop there, while Iruka was still reeling under the force of such a compliment. Or the simple fact that that was probably the most words Kakashi had ever said to him at one time.

But then, Kakashi wouldn't have been Kakashi. Thus, to the direct and immediate detriment of his sex life, he continued speaking.

"And, of course, it's hard not to respect someone who's lazier than I am." Kakashi's visible eye curled upwards into a smile.

"What?" Iruka couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

"You're lazier than I am. And I put a fair bit of effort into being lazy."

"What? I'm not..."

Kakashi raised one hand to silence him. "Lazy people want to avoid work, right?"

"Right..." said Iruka hesitantly, torn between annoyance and a potentially masochistic desire to see how Kakashi would continue this.

"And you always do things on time or ahead of time."

"Well, yes, otherwise I'd never get them done."

"...and if you didn't do them on time or ahead of time, you'd be rushing to finish them at the last minute or after, correct?"

"...yes..." Iruka wasn't sure exactly where this was going, but he had a bad feeling about it. Maybe it was the glint of approaching victory in Kakashi's eye.

"Because finishing things at the last minute is always more work and more stress than just doing them ahead of time."

"Of course."

"So you're saying you chronically do things on time because it's less work, whereas I chronically wait until the last minute, thus creating more work for myself." Kakashi's grin was visible through the mask. "I'd say that makes you the lazy one."

It's just as well that Iruka was a mature adult, because otherwise he would have lobbed something at Kakashi right about then, probably the empty ramen bowl. Kakashi, of course, would have dodged the bowl reflexively. But seeing as there tends to be that little bit of broth left on the bottom of the bowl after you've had ramen, Kakashi probably would have been splashed slightly by the bowl as it flew by. Seeing a droplet of ramen broth running down Kakashi's fingers might have then inspired Iruka to take Kakashi's hand in his before bringing it to his mouth to lick away the salty moisture, tracing the path of the droplet down Kakashi's long fingers with his tongue... But, of course, Iruka is a mature adult.

Since Iruka is a mature adult who doesn't go lobbing ramen bowls at anyone, even obnoxious yet sexy jounin, Iruka just glared at him for a minute before dissolving into laughter.

Talking with Kakashi made his head hurt. And looking at him made other parts of his anatomy ache a bit, as well. Especially now that he'd seen him in civilian clothes.

He'd actually been really sweet for a second there, before...

Kakashi was annoying. Potentially infuriating. He was... cute. Internal sigh. And the fact that he was finding such traits endearing told Iruka that he was probably in a great deal of trouble.

Of course, he was also attractive and smart and talented, and he made Iruka laugh. So really, maybe it wasn't so bad...

Ha! The second date was going well! Iruka had even been the one to ask him out this time.

If he'd had a plan, Kakashi would have used all of this as an excuse to rub his hands together and say "all is going according to plan" while laughing in a sinister fashion. (Being a high-level ninja meant he'd seen this routine enough times from enemies to be able to mimic it in a reasonably convincing manner. At least, Team Seven had looked horrified the one time he'd done that in front of them. They were so cute. Kind of like puppies.) Of course, he hadn't had an actual plan beyond the initial Stal... Observe Iruka Mission. But in spite of this lack of plan, the not-plan was still going according to plan.

Sometimes, it was very cool to be him.

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