A/N: Here's the latest thing. I'm still working on my other stories, if anyone's still interested in them. I haven't given up on them. So until I get those back under control, other things will have to do. There's another Kakashi/Iruka fic in the making, so let me know how this one goes. Anyway, hope you enjoy! Happy reading! Ja!

Disclaimer: Kakashi and Iruka are not mine, as much as I wish them to be. I have a feeling I'd be fighting a lot of people for them.

Pairing: Kakashi/Iruka

Tiny, minute spoilers if you count the fate of Kakashi's father. Other than that, there's nothing.

Save

Soft sniffling first alerted him to the fact that he wasn't alone. His first instinct was to just ignore it and continue on his way, but for reasons unknown even to him he decided to investigate. In the end he was glad he did.

At the base of the tree he was currently perched next to was a boy. What the boy was doing out here he could only guess. Again, his first instinct was to keep going. As much as his brain told his legs to move, however, he found himself kneeling on the tree branch over-looking the boy.

Looking closely at the boy beneath him, he could clearly see he was trying not to cry. A closer inspection revealed a long, bloody gash along the boy's right calf. Being a shinobi of Konoha, he knew how painful wounds like that were and had to acknowledge the boy's bravery. After all, he looked to be at least a year or two younger than he was–the boy was at least five. With a sigh he realized that it was his duty to get the boy to safety. But for some reason he found he didn't mind as much as he thought he should.

Deciding to reveal himself, he jumped down from his branch, landing quietly in front of the boy. He was forced to acknowledge the boy again when, even though he was clearly startled out of his wits, he didn't make a sound as most other children would have.

"W-who are you?" the boy asked.

"Not your enemy," he replied, looking at him with even eyes. "You from Konoha?"

Hesitantly the boy nodded. "Are you?"

He pointed to his headband.

He watched in amusement as some tension drained out of the boy's shoulders. "I'm glad. I thought I'd be stuck out here for a really long time."

Walking forward, he came to kneel in front of the boy. "Can't walk?"

Mutely and with a slight blush, the boy shook his head.

"Figured," he said, taking the boy's leg in his hands to examine it. "What are you doing out here, anyway?"

The blush intensified. "I...was running. I fell."

"Running for fun? Or were you running away from something?"

The boy was silent for a moment. "Some people don't like me very much, that's all."

He nodded and gently lowered the leg back to the ground. "It's not too deep, so once it gets cleaned up it should heal all right."

The boy looked up at him with large brown eyes. "Are you gonna take me home?"

He sighed. "I can't exactly leave you here now that I found you."

"So you're gonna help me?" the boy asked hopefully.

He sighed again, giving off an air of irritation. "I have to." He held out his hand and helped the boy to his feet. Almost instinctively he slipped under the boy's arm as he stumbled. "It's not that far. Think you can make it or do I have to carry you?"

The boy blushed and glared at him. "I can make it. You don't have to help me, you know. I could make it by myself."

He looked over at the boy. Again, he was trying so hard to be brave, yet he could still see the fear in the boy's eyes. "Don't be stupid. You're hurt. Let's go."

The boy was quiet for a few precious minutes before he spoke again."My name's Iruka. What's yours?"

"Kakashi," he replied almost reluctantly.

He waited for a reaction. He was slightly disappointed.

"Thank you for helping me, Kakashi," the boy, Iruka, said, smiling up at him.

Kakashi just blinked at him for a moment before nodding. "You're welcome."

- - -

Weeks later found Kakashi frustrated, running along the roofs of Konoha. He hadn't seen the boy since he brought him home after finding him in the forest, yet he kept thinking about him. The boy, Iruka, had been the only person not to react once he learned Kakashi's identity. He had clearly seen recognition in Iruka's eyes, yet there had been no reaction to his name. He had expected something more. Not that he necessarily wanted to get a celebrity greeting, he just wasn't used to not getting one. He couldn't figure out if he was insulted or refreshed.

Curiously, he hadn't gotten much of a reaction out of Iruka's parents, either, when he brought the boy home. He knew they recognized him from his reputation as well, but they just thanked him and treated him like a normal person. A normal seven-year-old boy who had just helped their son make it back home. If he were honest with himself, he almost liked it.

However, now he couldn't get that feeling out of his head. He had felt normal. Was that what it felt like to have a friend? He had never had a friend before, so he didn't know. No one had ever wanted to be his friend before. He had never really thought about it, but now that he had tasted...something...with Iruka and that his father was gone, he realized he was lonely for the first time.

As tears blurred his vision he was forced to stop. He was wiping his face when his attention was caught by a commotion below him. He stopped to listen.

"What do you know? You're not even a Genin yet! We went to the Academy with the jerk so we can say anything we want about him. He's always been too good for us. He was always looking down on us because we weren't as gifted as he was. That guy doesn't have, want, or deserve anyfriends."

"That's not true!" a familiar voice cried, startling him. "That's not true at all so you take that back!"

"What?" the first voice growled.

"Take that back!"

Kakashi finally couldn't take any more and looked over the edge of the roof he was standing on. His eyes widened when he saw Iruka surrounded by three boys he had gone to the Academy with. A moment later his eyes narrowed as he took in a hand-shaped bruise on Iruka's upper arm.

"Kakashi isn't anything like that! He's a good person! If he thinks he's better than you, then I agree with him! He helped me when I was alone and couldn't get home. He's nice and he's my friend so you take back what you said. He deserves friends more than you do!" Iruka glared defiantly at the older boy.

Kakashi stood in stunned silence. Iruka had just called him his friend. Iruka, the boy who he hardly knew, who treated him like no one else ever had, had just stood up for him against three older boys that have him pinned against the wall. No one had ever stood up for him before. Iruka...

The sound of flesh meeting flesh snapped him out of his thoughts. His eyes darted down to see Iruka holding the left side of his face, tears of pain welling in his eyes.

The older boy in front of Iruka trembled in rage. "You...you're never going to say anything like that again."

Kakashi saw Iruka flinch as theother boy's fist came at him again. Before he was even aware of what he was doing, Kakashi let himself fall from the roof to land in front of Iruka. Automatically his hand raised to catch the incoming fist.

Iruka opened his eyes after he didn't feel the impact of a fist hitting his face. It took only a moment for him to realize what happened. He beamed. "Kakashi!"

The other boys paled drastically.

"If I ever catch you anywhere near him again I'll make sure you never reach Chuunin."

They gulped audibly and nodded. As soon as the ring leader's hand was releasedthey took off running.

Kakashi turned to find Iruka still beaming at him. "You all right?"

Iruka nodded happily. "Yup! Thanks a lot for chasing them off. Not that I couldn't have handled them," he added quickly. "I could've taken 'em."

Kakashi rolled his eyes, amused, despite himself. "Did..." he started after a moment's pause, then trailed off.

Iruka looked at him questioningly. "Did what?"

"Did you really mean what you said to them?"

At this Iruka looked slightly uncomfortable. "A-about what?"

"Being my friend."

He could no longer fight the blush that was fighting to blossom, but he answered anyway. "Yes. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

Kakashi looked at the ground. "I'm your...friend?"

"If you wanna be," Iruka said, suddenly shy.

Kakashi considered this for a moment. "I've never had a friend before. I don't know what to do."

Iruka smiled at him, shyness overcome. "That's okay, neither have I! I just know that friends can talk to each other whenever they need to. And they hang out and stuff," he added after a moment's thought.

Kakashi nodded. It made sense. For the first time since his father died, Kakashi smiled.

- - -

Iruka sighed in annoyance. "Of course I remember when we first met. You saved me from my own stupidity."

"I never thought you were stupid. I thought you were being brave."

Iruka blinked. "You what? How could you think that? I had been running through the trees from a bunch of bullies and I missed a branch. That's not exactly the smartest thing I've ever done."

Kakashi sighed. "That's not what I meant. You were obviously in pain, but you were trying so hard to be a good shinobi and not cry. I thought you were being brave."

"I still think you're crazy."

"You've always thought I'm crazy," Kakashi pointed out with a smile, which widened when he saw Iruka trying to hide one of his own.

"Yeah, yeah. Any other times you thought I was 'brave'?"

"When we met for the second time."

Iruka paused, thinking back, then huffed. "You saved me that time, too. I was about to get beaten up again."

"You were standing up for me, which had never happened before. As you might remember, not many kids were very fond of me at that point."

"No one liked me either. Besides, I really did consider you my friend. I was just doing what I thought was right."

"Brave," Kakashi said simply, leaning forward to kiss him lightly.

Iruka smiled when they separated, but it faded as Kakashi started to adjust the bandage on his arm. "You're always saving me," he said quietly, watching as the wound once again disappeared under the white cloth. "I've never saved you."

Kakashi looked up in surprise, noting the depressed aura that surrounded his lover. "Iruka..." He quickly abandoned his bandages to look in the younger man's eyes. His own eyes saddened at what he found. "You don't understand, do you?"

Iruka just looked at him in despair.

Kakashi took his hands and held them tenderly in his own. "Iruka, you are everything to me. You were my first friend, the only one besides my sensei that was there for me when my father died. You've stuck by me through everything that we've been through. You're my best friend, my lover. You're the light that I return to when the darkness gets too much. I love you more than anything in this world."

Reaching up, he gently wiped a tear from Iruka's cheek. Even when it was gone, his thumb lingered in a soothing caress.

"Iruka, you save me every day."

- - -