Work Text:
Kakashi Hatake can't say that he enjoys the insane obsession that so many people in The Leaf Village have developed with trying to unmask his lower face. Admittedly, they're painfully unsuccessful, all too clumsy and unskilled to rip the cloth from him by force, as well as unconvincing in their attempts to talk him into taking it off of his own accord. Most of them are children, too- his students, their friends.
That's why the newest insane obsession has been so peculiar. Iruka Umino, Chunin academy instructor, has been bothering Kakashi about his face for weeks. Why? Well…
"The students won't stop talking about it!" Iruka exclaims, frowning into his bowl of ramen. The two of them are sitting together at Ichiraku, side by side, an odd Saturday afternoon that has developed between the two men over many years. They've never talked about it, but every Saturday around noon- outside of the time periods that they're gone on missions, of course- the two of them find themselves here, eating together. "Seriously, I'm going to get today and tomorrow off, and then I'm going to go back on Monday and have to listen to them beg for eight hours, and then another eight on Tuesday, and then-"
"Beg, hm? I suppose it makes sense that they'd linger on it after I came and gave my chakra nature demonstration… Honestly, though, I thought they'd find me boring," Kakashi hums. He very intentionally scarfed his food down as soon as it arrived while Iruka was looking away, pouring and mixing sugar into his tea. Ever since, he's just been sitting on his stool, listening to the Chunin complain about his unruly students while dragging his chopsticks through the remnants of broth in his bowl in a repetitive motion. "What have they been saying, exactly?"
"Ugh, don't even get me started," Iruka groans. It's actually quite cute how he pouts, soft cheeks slightly puffed out, brown eyes soft in the slivers of sunlight that manage to pour into the stand no matter how intimidating he tries to make them look. Fuck. Where did that come from? More of them have been cropping up lately; fleeting thoughts about how Iruka is… Well, perfect. Cute, handsome, pretty. Intelligent, strong, brave. Sweet, hardworking, compassionate. So many things that Kakashi is not, and even more than that, too. "I get that you have some… Thing about your face. I wouldn't ever try to rip your mask off without your consent or make you show it to a class full of kids. They're mean, and would probably poke fun at you, but could you please just show me your face? If I could at least give them a description, they'd probably leave me alone."
"Couldn't you just lie? Tell them that you saw me and make up some description? If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you are looking for an excuse to see my face."
Secretly, that's what he hopes it is. He wants Iruka to be curious. To want to see him.
"I'm not going to lie to my kids," Iruka insists, firm enough that Kakashi knows he won't be dissuaded. "And so what if I'm curious? We've known each other for years and I've never seen it. Can you blame me?"
He pauses, considering it. No, he can't blame Iruka at all. Most people who know him are curious to some degree, and that doesn't necessarily have to mean anything. Still… There is a part of him that wonders if he could spin this just right to…
"You know, you really are insistent," Kakashi sighs, feigning mild irritation as he protectively holds his mask over his face and shoots Iruka a half-hearted glare. Then he puts enough on the table to cover their tab and stands, bidding Teuchi and Ayame farewell before putting his hands in his pockets and walking off. Iruka, always so predictable, follows close behind. Kakashi glances back at him from over his shoulder and says- "To be completely honest with you, the only people who have ever seen my face since I've been an adult have had to meet a very specific condition, Iruka-Sensei."
"Condition?" Iruka asks with a raised brow, catching up to walk by Kakashi's side. "Okay. And what would that be? I'm sure I can do whatever it is."
"Well, I only really take my mask off to eat, but even then, I'm careful to hide my face, and we just ate," He explains. For dramatic effect, he lets a long and- for Iruka, torturous- moment of silence pass by. "And then… When I'm kissing someone."
Kakashi can not remember the last time that he has kissed someone, but it's not like anyone else needs to know that.
"So, what?" Iruka asks, tilting his head. They're already approaching Kakashi's apartment, and for whatever reason, Iruka doesn't think to stop, only continuing up the stairs with Kakashi like this is normal when they've never been to each other's places before. "Hypothetically speaking, if I kiss you, I get to see your face?"
He says this as if it's simple and not completely and utterly repulsive to him, which takes Kakashi by surprise. They stop by the door of his unit, Kakashi turning to look at Iruka with- for the first time in a very long time- a surprised expression on his face. It is, quite frankly, not the reaction he expected. Does he want to kiss Iruka? Yes. Had he fully anticipated Iruka calling him disgusting, scolding him, and smacking him over the head for suggesting such a thing? Also yes.
"S-Sure," Kakashi stammers, embarrassingly. "Hypothetically."
"Then, if it means getting the students off of my back, I guess I'll just have to kiss you so that I can see your face," Iruka grins, bright and warm.
"Oh. Okay," Kakashi doesn't think that his heart could possibly beat any harder, or faster. He wonders to himself if Iruka can hear it. "Go ahead."
Then, Iruka is looking around to make sure that no one is watching and entering Kakashi's space as if it's familiar. The most shocking part is that Kakashi actually lets him without question, too stunned to question what's happening. Iruka is already pulling his mask down. Though Kakashi raises his hands to rest them on top of Iruka's, he does not move them, only holding them to his cheeks. It's so unfamiliar and odd, having such tender hands on his skin. That sensation is quickly overridden by lips pressed to his, tasting of sugar and tea.
Kakashi is just starting to kiss back when Iruka withdraws, smiling up at him, thumbs stroking over his cheekbones.
"I knew you'd be handsome. I'll keep the details minimal when my students ask about it, though. I'd hate to ruin your mysterious allure," Those wonderful, gentle hands drag his mask up back over his face. "I'll see you next Saturday, Kakashi."
"Yeah," Kakashi whispers. He can't help it, how his hand rises to rest over his masked lips as Iruka turns to leave. "See you next Saturday, Iruka."