Verbatim (Kakashi Hatake x Iruka Umino)

Epilogue

Oddly enough, the way Iruka Umino's big secret(s) came out had ended up being relatively anti-climactic and in the form of a slip of his tongue. It had been a couple of weeks since the new book had been published, and he and Kakashi Hatake were sitting together on the brunette's bed, Iruka writing in a draft notebook that he had resting on his thighs. He was hunched over his writing on the edge of the bed, scribbling away on the lined paper with his pencil. Meanwhile, Kakashi, who had come through his window about an hour before for a surprise visit of sorts, was leaning his back against the headboard and staring at Iruka, legs crossed.

"So, you wanna try out some of that stuff from your new book, sunshine?" Kakashi, who had been reading the first book of his new series, teased. The silver-haired man closed the book, and Iruka assumed that he'd finished reading. The first installation of this was very... Explicit, to say the least, so he couldn't say that he was surprised at Kakashi's teasing of him.

"Kakashi!" Iruka scolded, turning to face the older man as he set his pencil and his notebook down on the floor next to his bed. Unsurprisingly, Kakashi slinked across the bed, moving to sit behind the brunette and wrapping his arms around his waist from behind. Despite his initial objection, he leaned back into the touch when he felt Kakashi's hands slipping up his shirt and trailing up and down his stomach, the Jonin's mask-covered lips pressed up against the back of his neck. "You're so bold. You could really stand to learn some manners, y'know."

Unsurprisingly, their relationship had been continuing as it had been for the past few months; oddly romantic displays of affection without any concrete labels or an 'I love you' from either of them, which made Iruka wish that he had the guts to say those words like he had when Kakashi was asleep (because that was just his luck for Kakashi to be passed the fuck out the one time he had managed to gather the guts to actually confess).

"You're one to talk," Kakashi mumbled, a playful edge to his voice as he took his mask off and tossed it across the room. Iruka could only assume that he'd be staying the night again for what must've been the third time this week- not that he minded. "You know, you're usually so stern, Sensei, but you let me get away with a lot."

'That's because I love you,' he thought but didn't say it.

Oh no, he didn't say it like that. Instead, he just put it into much worse, much more embarrassing words without even thinking about it- like an idiot. "I mean, I love you enough to write two different book series for you, so I'd hope you know that you can get away with quite a lot when you're around me in comparison to everyone else." As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately realized his fuck up and groaned upon feeling Kakashi freeze completely.

"Huh?" The silver-haired man asked, pulling his arms away and scooting back a bit.

"Oh shit, I just said that, didn't I?" Iruka turned around to face him, worried about what the reply would be, but Kakashi only gave him an uncharacteristically sheepish smile.

"You did. I was kinda hoping that was the case, so now that I actually have a bit of confirmation on that," Kakashi mumbled, the smile on his face turning sly as he placed a hand on Iruka's thigh and leaned in with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows. "Mind if I kiss you as a thanks?"

Ten years of pining, numerous awkward interactions, an eventual building of a friendship and a confusing relationship, and two published books later, and Iruka finally felt validated in his efforts. It was hard to describe the feeling- something akin to taking a hot shower at home after a mission spent stuck outside in the cold or opening his eyes and seeing sunshine peeking in through his curtains after weeks of nothing but grey skies and heavy rain.

"Please do," He finally answered after a pause that had been a little too long, and Kakashi didn't hesitate, nor did he even bother taking things a little bit slow so he could tease Iruka like he always did. No, he just placed a hand on the back of Iruka's neck and pulled him in for the kiss he'd asked to have just a minute or two before; passionate, messy, and not perfect in technique but more than that in the feelings it sent running through the brunette's mind and body. The hand that was on Iruka's thigh brushed against one of the Chunin's fingers, and he wondered if he could spend every day like this without it being too good to be true. "Wow."

"I've been meaning to say it back since you said it to me on that one night," Iruka's stomach dropped at first when Kakashi pulled away with those words, knowing it must've meant that Kakashi had been awake when he'd confessed his feelings after all. "What was it that you said verbatim? 'Oh, you're already asleep. Good night, sweet dreams. Love you.'," Kakashi chuckled, but rather than it being mocking or playful like it usually was, Iruka could hear that it was nothing but joy in the older man's voice. He found himself grinning at the sound, chuckling as well as Kakashi's lips touched his yet again. "Or, something like that. I love you, too. I don't know how you feel about everything in terms of labels, but... Be mine?"

Of course, Iruka knew that after everything Kakashi had been through, and after all of the years of the two of them skirting around each other and making their relationship more complicated than it needed to be, that saying that must've been difficult for him. Thankfully, he'd been able to ask what Iruka had been wanting to for the past ten years or so, and the brunette was appreciative of that.

"I love you more than anything, so yeah," He said, breathless as relief flooded through him. "I'll be yours," Iruka nodded before resting his forehead against Kakashi's, reaching over to grab the older man's hand and intertwining their fingers with a calm smile. "Always."