Verbatim (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Chapter Thirteen

Iruka Umino was smiling as he walked through the nearly empty streets of Konoha, staring up at the sky. He had just finished the fourth book of Verbatim to take to Anko for her to read. This was the final copy, so he just needed to make sure that it looked good overall before he sent it to the bookstore to have sold.

It was early, the sun only just now beginning to rise, hence why not a lot of people were out yet. The sky was mostly blue with some intense oranges and reds peeking over the horizon. The brunette turned the corner, Verbatim: Book Four in his hands as he hummed into himself.

That was until he heard the voice of no other than Kakashi Hatake, who'd (apparently) been about to walk past him.

"Good morning, Iruka."

Jump-scared by the only other person on the street he was currently on, Iruka accidentally dropped the book, immediately panicking.

"Oh, Kakashi! Good morning-"

Here I am, almost wishing that I would've let Konohamaru set me on fire with that Justu he pulled the other day... Slaughter me.

Suddenly, everything he'd done in an attempt to keep this a secret over the past year felt useless- the pen name, the anonymity, his attempts at blending in with all of his friends and coworkers who had read his book and didn't know who the author was, his skirting around the subject when someone brought up the identity of Risso or what the possibilities could be. Before he could rush to pick the book up, Kakashi did it instead.

Iruka was so nervous that he was biting the inside of his lip to the point where it drew a bit of blood.

Kakashi held the book out for Iruka to take, and the brunette let out a sigh of relief. With his luck, though, that feeling didn't last very long. "Here's your book b- Oh," Right when Iruka thought that he might've been able to get out of this scott-free, Kakashi withdrew his hand, looking down at Verbatim: Book Four with an unreadable expression- probably because, as usual, he had his mask on. "My my, is this a book of the Verbatim series?" Kakashi questioned, tone smug. Iruka wasn't sure if the silver-haired man had figured out his secret or if he'd just been teasing Iruka for owning a book with so much adult content in it, but honestly? Iruka was just praying that the usually perceptive Jonin wouldn't notice that this was the fourth book- AKA the one that hadn't even been published yet.

"Um, no?" Iruka lied through his teeth, trying to reach for the book, though Kakashi only held it above his head and stared at the cover with an incredulous look in his one revealed eye.

"Wait a minute..." The silver-haired man's visible eyebrow furrowed, and Iruka genuinely wanted to drop off the face of the earth like a dead fly off a window. Was Kakashi figuring it out?

Not wanting to risk it, Iruka reached for the book, more aggressively this time, only to end up stumbling over his feet and tripping. Just as luck would have it, he landed against Kakashi's chest, the older man wrapping an arm around his waist to catch him and keep him upright.

"Kakashi! Give it back!" Iruka protested, reaching for the book, which Kakashi still held out of his reach.

"This book hasn't even been published yet," He must've noticed the 'Book Four' on the spine, and suddenly, Iruka was cursing himself for not just giving each book of the series a different title instead of labeling them Verbatim, books one through four. "How'd you get ahold of it, Iruka?"

"How do you know it hasn't been published yet?" Iruka mumbled, pulling away from Kakashi's hold. Despite his embarrassment at the current situation, he found himself missing the feeling of his chest pressed up against Kakashi's, the ghost of the taller man's strong arm around his waist and pale hand resting on his lower back sending chills down his body. Maybe, if he got really lucky, he could pull off some lie about having early access or seeing a copy at the bookstore that morning. "I mean, I managed to-"

"I go to the bookstore where it's sold every morning, and I've been hearing rumors that the new installation won't be published and for sale for another month," Seeming like he already had it figured out, Kakashi sighed and gave Iruka the book back. Mortified, Iruka shoved the book into his back pocket and stood there, fidgeting. "And recently, I've had some suspicions about you in relation to this series, y'know. Now that I'm thinking about it, the penname... Risso... Like Risso's dolphins. Dolphin. Like Iruka. You are the author, aren't you?"

"I guess there's no point in lying to you," Iruka sighed, looking down at the ground. "Yes, that's my book series. I've been writing it for a while now. I was about to take it to Anko- she's my only beta reader."

"I could be your beta reader," Kakashi suggested, leaning uncomfortably close. Iruka's breath caught in his throat at the same time his heart began to beat so loud that he could feel it reverberate through his entire body. Their noses were almost touching, and he couldn't help but allow his eyes to meet Kakashi's.

"I might consider that, but, um..." Iruka couldn't even find the words, only taking a step back, brown eyes landing on the ground and staring at the dirt road beneath his feet like it was the most interesting thing.

"So, why'd you hide it, Iruka?" Kakashi questioned, crossing his arms and tilting his head.

"I mean, it's porn," Iruka laughed, finding it hard to say. There were numerous reasons that he was embarrassed by the fact that he wrote it- the original intent and purpose, the fact that he was a teacher, the fact that it had smut in it... "Kinda embarrassing, no?"

"Not with as talented as you are. I mean, your book is really... Phenomenal. It's quite possibly the best series I've ever read."

"You're flattering me, Kakashi..."

"No, seriously, I mean it," Without warning, Kakashi took one of his hands, gently pressing a kiss against his worn knuckles. Iruka blushed at the intimate and oddly romantic gesture, relishing in the feeling of the silver-haired man's chapped lips against his skin and cold hand holding his warmer one. "You're really talented."

"Thank you, but..." Iruka had to suppress a frown when Kakashi let go of his hand, and part of him wondered just how long he'd be able to feel the press of Kakashi's lips on his skin. He'd probably be thinking about it for the rest of the day, as much as he hated to admit it. "Please don't tell anyone about this?"

"Sure. Your secret's safe with me," Kakashi smiled under his mask, pushing his hands back into his pockets. "I'll see you around, Iruka."

"Yeah..." Iruka gave a smile as well, looking off to the side and letting out a sigh of relief. "See you around, Kakashi."