The rest of the date went uneventfully, if by "uneventful" you meant "promising, entirely pleasant, and man can he do some inspired things with his tongue."
They'd stayed at Ichiraku, lingering over their empty bowls long enough to begin feeling slightly awkward about taking up the stools. Iruka had suggested a coffee shop nearby, where they'd then remained long enough there to order two rounds of drinks and close the place down.
They'd talked. And flirted, and occasionally allowed limbs to nudge, fingers to brush… but mostly, they'd talked. Iruka found out what sorts of things Kakashi enjoyed (other than Icha Icha and stalking Iruka, of course) and Kakashi, in turn, learned things about Iruka he hadn't known even with the stalking.
"Could I see your face?" Iruka asked, as they finally arrived, by a rather circuitous route, at his doorstep. As much as he'd been having a lovely time, he did have work in the morning, and he'd already be paying for the sleep he'd missed.
Kakashi seemed startled, but recovered quickly. "I don't know. Will you still respect me in the morning?"
"Just as much as I respect you now." Iruka responded, deadpan.
Kakashi's visible eye smiled back at him as he rejoined, "Oh? And just how much do you respect me, Iruka-sensei?"
"Weeeell…" Iruka rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't make out with just anyone on my doorstep."
"We haven't made out on your doorstep," Kakashi pointed out. He did not sound adverse to the idea.
"That," Iruka replied, "is because you haven't taken your mask off yet."
"Done," Kakashi said, suiting actions to words.
Iruka, however, didn't get more than a glimpse of a long, pale face before they were on each other like Naruto on ramen. Like bugs on an Aburame. Like an Akimichi on an all-you-can-eat-buffet. Like Tsunade on a bad bet.
Like… two males of a certain age who hadn't gotten laid in a while and were rather attracted to the other party.
It was only with extreme reluctance and a certain pressing need for oxygen that they finally separated.
"I should…" head in, before this goes a little farther than I'm ready to go.
"Yeah."
"And you should probably…" leave before my willpower crumbles like withered autumn foliage.
"Yeah."
There was a pause as each considered what words might be appropriate for the situation. In light of the extreme closeness of their bodies, which had extended to the region of the lower torso, both had no strong doubts that the other had been having a good time. A very good time.
Not that the earlier conversation hadn't been nice, too. Just, y'know, not well-shit-I'd-better-take-a-cold-shower nice.
"It's not that I don't…" want to get you out of those pants as fast as humanly possible.
"I know."
"It's just that I've got…" class tomorrow morning, and some reluctance about sleeping with you on the second date.
"Yeah."
"Friday night?" The third date, on the other hand…
"Yeah."
"Eight. My place." I'll have to change the sheets.
"I'll bring takeout."
"Done," Iruka agreed, before turning to head inside.
"Do I get a goodnight kiss?" Kakashi asked, his voice slightly plaintive.
Iruka turned back around, surprised. "What do you call what we just did?"
Kakashi paused while he considered this. "…A haddock!" he announced triumphantly. "Now about that goodnight kiss…"
Iruka rolled his eyes.
Then gave him one anyway.
The next day, Kakashi came in to the mission room a few minutes after Iruka started his shift. He lingered for a few minutes, leaning against the wall while reading an orange book, then handed in a newly copied mission report and sauntered back out.
A minute or two after he'd left, and after Iruka's heart rate had returned to normal and he'd made sure he hadn't embarrassed himself with any overtly… besotted gestures, Iruka found the bento box newly stashed under his desk. Kakashi was good.
Of course, when Iruka had gone to check and file the mission report, he'd found that while the handwriting was neater than usual and the paper didn't look like it had personally survived any dangerous S-class missions, it was covered with little "Kakashi + Iruka" doodles.
Since in this case, discretion was definitely the better part of valour, Iruka decided this time he'd just recopy the mission report himself.
And, in a thought familiar to generations of students… he wondered exactly how long it would take for Friday to come.
A/N. See? Told you I hadn't forgotten Outclassed. Thank you all for your kind reviews and panicked/threatening emails.
Outclassed is, however, drawing to a close. I expect it will be ending in another chapter or two (And yes, before you ask, they will be longer chapters than this one.). I have wonderful readers, and I'd like to thank you for sticking with me this long, and I hope you'll continue to read my works.
Oh. And I'll be wandering around Otakon this year. Feel free to say hello if you see me.