I do not in anyway claim ownership over the creation of Naruto, I'm just a poor High shcool student that's fooling around.

The Importance of personal space

He wondered how it happened, or, rather when it happened; he already knew why, or so he hoped; for all he knew Kakashi could be lying his head off as he often did.

The irritating, lying bastard had somehow wormed his way in to Irukas home, heart and bed. And in that exact order too.

It all started when Iruka one day came home from the academy, only to find Kakashi sleeping on his couch as if he owned the entire apartment building. One hour, one less then sane Umino and one angry sleepless landlord later it emerged that Naruto had, without knowing, put his Junin-sensei's apartment block on fire and apparently not much was left of it at all. Fortunately, Naruto could not be officially blamed as he had only started a fight between two shopkeepers that somehow escalated to a primitive form of an all out ninja war.

Kakashi had then explained that Iruka, as Naruto's "acting guardian", should take responsibility and therefore house him. Iruka had then asked why Kakashi had not chosen to stay at Naruto's personal apartment as he was to be "blamed" for it all. Kakashi had simply stated that Naruto's place was an unlivable dump that should be avoided at all costs. Iruka's temper had then once again taken the better of him and he had thrown a tantrum that would have put even Gaara or Ochimaru on their toes. Kakashi still refused to leave and said that if every day living with Iruka would be like this one, life would truly be an adventure. Iruka simply locked himself up in his bedroom and prayed that "the ---- ---- bloody cursed Jounin" would be gone by the morning. The cursed Junin was not gone by the morning or the next one.

Two months later Kakashi was still occupying Irukas much beloved couch and he made no efforts what so ever to find somewhere else to stay. Iruka had tried leaving hints, from talking about personal space to actually dumping the newspaper in front Kakashi at breakfast with the pages about housing facing him. Either the man was blind, deaf, and stupid or just very, very rude. Iruka was betting on the later.

Then one blessed morning Kakashi told him that team seven was going on an eight day long mission to find some lord's daughters kitten in the middle of nowhere. Iruka felt as if the gods had finally answered his prayers.

The eight days did not turn out as Iruka had hoped. First of all, he missed the orange, crazy on crack hurricane known as Naruto more then he thought he would; after all it was only eight days. During the third night, he had trouble sleeping, not because he was worried but because there was no soft snoring coming from his living room. And he found himself missing Kakashi's company during breakfast and all the crazy stories he had to tell about his day with team seven or about the other jounins he told in the evening after Iruka had finished his grading. Iruka considered himself cursed.

About five months after Kakashi had forced his way into Iruka's life, Iruka was constantly repressing a desire to be close to the other man. Not the desperate "I-need-to make-out-with-you-on-the-spot" close but just a basic feeling of wanting to be closer to Kakashi; small things like eating dinner together or seeing a TV-show and discussing it. Even if the other man some times was so infuriating Iruka didn't know whether to push him through a window and kill him or if he should just dare to kiss him. The only thing stopping him from doing the latter was the fear of rejection; the first he had no trouble doing. If Kakashi died by being pushed out of a window on the third floor something was very wrong with Konaha ninjas.

But the fear of rejection did not stop him from wondering why Kakashi didn't move back to his now completely renovated apartment. Iruka was, after all, a very perceptive teacher, so he noticed things, like the fact that people were again living in Kakashi's apartment block. It made glimmers of hope appear in his chest at the same time as his mind told him that the only reason Kakashi hadn't moved back to his apartment was because he needed to cook AND clean, while when living with Iruka he only had to do the latter as Iruka had officially claimed Kakashi to be the worst cook in the history of the world. Iruka himself was no master cook either but at least he knew how to fry chicken.

Little did he know that Kakashi was having similar doubts and clinging to his small glimmers of hope too. Kakashi's hope was that by not throwing him out Iruka had begun to warm up to him and hopefully somewhat liked him.

It goes without saying that neither of them ever, in any way, brought up the rebuilt apartment block only a stone throw away.