Instinct   von Cosifantutte
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                               Prolog: Windswept
                               -----------------


Neon flash lights.
Blinding brightness.
The throbbing sounds echoed through the guests' auditory canals, left them
twitching and wincing, while their voices were raised to an abnormal volume to
allow them to be heard at all over the beat that had the ground of the apartment
shaking.
One of them rose over the heads of the bystanders, all of them getting caught by
surprise.

„Who's up for a game?"

There were surprisingly many people responding to the call, closing in as a
small circle, surrounding the table that was already covered in smoke caused by
people who popped into sight out of nowhere.
Teleporters.
Show-offs!
Silently chuckling, a brunette man watched the scenario as eight people
altogether approached from all directions, impatiently hustling while they were
waiting for the drinking games to begin.

Iruka was mildly wondering how many of them might already be drunken by now, his
attention getting caught by someone patting his shoulder.
„Hey", a well-known voice calmly pressured, „you in for a round or two?"
Silently cursing, the brunette turned to see Kotetsu wink at him with one of his
eyes twitching uneasily.
Iruka's voice was quiet, yet anxious.
„Ko, how's your status? You might wanna take a break before I have to carry
you home, what do you think?", he countered.
Kotetsu's shoulders shook in silent stress as he avoided Iruka's piercing gaze.
„'s Kurenai's birthday, y'know", his usually deep voice answered with a husky
pitch, and he  hurried to continue, „might be my one and only chance to get
closer to... oh well.... y'know how 't is..."
It took Iruka only a minute to realize what his friend was talking about, and he
slowly shook his head.
„Just make sure not to overdo things, alright, Ko?"
His hand got a grip on the other's while he wrestled his shoulder free and
cocked his head to one side to draw Kotetsu's attention to a slowly approaching
person.
Kotetsu's look followed his.
Kurenai.
„Oh shi-", the dark-haired man choked out while trying to escape Iruka's firm
grip, but the brunette kept the upper hand.
He knew all too well how absolutely cowardly Kotetsu was about to behave, having
watched that manner of his for more than a dozen times, and he was rather
worried about his friend ending up alone tonight yet once again. As
uncomfortable as it might be to take a girl in while he was sharing his
apartment with Izumo, as unhappy would Ko be, waking up all alone in his bed in
the morning, realizing that his mate's side of the mattress had been empty all
night long.
Knowing all this, Iruka refused to let his friend get disappointed once again,
thus pushed him off rather gruffly to stumble right into Kurenai's arms.
Tonight's birthday child looked rather shorttaken as her hands took hold of
Kotetsu's sleeves and pulled him into an upright position.
Iruka's lips twitched happily as he watched the two of them stumble off in a
rather dowdy way, and his stomach suddenly felt lighter than before, a wave of
relief rolled over him.
Two less lonesome people tonight.


It took the crazy pack about two hours to get fully drunk, all seats surrounding
the small wooden square that had once been a table and was now laced with empty
bottles and glasses were occupied by groggy men and women. Some were still
struggling to get on their feet, others couldn't stop laughing while their
slumped bodies covered each other.
The sharp odor of body fluids, alcohol and sweat filled every corner of the
kitchen that was now abandoned by all those people who were still able to think
clearly.
Iruka winced slightly while passing the open door, slamming it shut in an
instant.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he finally reached the small balcony. His lungs
took in all the fresh air they could get, they had been desperately longing for
it.
Why exactly had he come?
Oh, right.
It was Kurenai's birthday.
Iruka's eyes closed as one of his hands untied his hair and carefully played
with some of the long brown strands.
He had never been a party animal.
Too precious was his peaceful home to him, too beloved his always-too-short
sleeping sessions.
If he was to have fun, he preferred prude ways to reach his goal: Board games
evenings, sports or simply going to see friends who he could talk to and whose
companionship was enough to keep him happy.
Why there were people who had to get drunk to feel light-headed was one of the
things he was never going to understand. All he knew from questioning Kotetsu
after having carried him home yet again one night was that people tended to feel
more relaxed and carefree when they had raised the blood alcohol level.

A chilly gust of wind grasped the edge of Iruka's shirt, heavily trying to drag
him over the balcony's balustrade and into the seemingly endless darkness
below.
The brunette shivered slightly, only now realizing how cold it actually had
gotten.
„You've got goose bumps covering your arms. Are you sure you should be
standing here, playing wind chimes? Your teeth could be heard by opposing
shinobi, you know."
Iruka's head turned as if someone had hit him. When had the still unknown person
stepped past him without him even noticing?
One dark blue eye happily beamed at him while pale fingers held Iruka's own
jacket out to him.
„Kakashi-sensei?", the brunette gaped at the other man in surprise. „How
come you are here?"
The other's mask shifted slightly and Iruka was fully aware of his invisible
smile. As much as the dark cloth usually covered, there was still enough to be
seen if one was carefully observing. Iruka was about to get upset with the other
man for laughing at him being cold as he realized how rude his last words must
have sounded.
It was unusual to see Kakashi amidst other people unless he was preparing for a
mission and it had simply taken Iruka by surprise to meet the jounin on
Kurenai's balcony in the middle of the night.
Suddenly feeling uneasy, the brunette stepped aside, forcibly causing the two of
them to stand further away from one another.
„I...", he stammered, „... I didn't mean to... I.. uh."
The mask twitched again.
„Don't... don't you laugh at me!", Iruka spluttered, his tongue feeling numb
all of a sudden, „I... I just... .. I'm surprised to meet you here.  You've
never really attended a birthday party before..."
As the masked quivered again, Kakashi's visible eye curved up into an honest
smile.
„Stop being so flustered, Iruka-sensei. You didn't hurt me with that comment.
I was being serious though. You're going to catch a cold if you don't get that
jacket of yours on."
Iruka silently sighed, his breath showing in small clouds in front of his face.
He shuddered.
As hesitant as he was to admit it, Kakashi was right. His arms were freezing
already, goose bumps had started to spread all over his body, and he was more
than glad to be offered his jacket.
It took the brunette a moment to realize that Kakashi was staring at him again,
and he hurried to get his arms into the long sleeves of his coat.
„Thank you", he simply said, wordlessly eyeing the other's pale face, as his
brown eyes met the single blue one that was concentrated on his mimic.
Kakashi's smile was still on his lips, making Iruka wonder what he had thought
about that was happy enough to create such a steady mood.
Now that the shivering had stopped, Iruka finally started watching the other
more carefully, and he noticed how Kakashi's nose kept twitching into his
direction as if there was some distinct smell coming from him.
Hesitantly, the brunette rose a hand up to his face to push the still loose
strands behind his ears. It took him only an instant to fetch a tiny bond from
his jeans' back pocket and tie his hair up to where it used to be.
In opposition to what he had expected, Kakashi didn't seem relieved in any way
but let out a quiet growl.
Iruka froze in place.
That sound... he was sure to have heard it before, but he didn't find a clue as
to where that impression might have come from.
And it wasn't just the noise itself.
If he hadn't known it any better, Iruka would have watched out for some kind of
a big carnivore.
The low snarl Kakashi had just let out had sounded rather unhappy.
Irritated.
Nervous.
Hungry.
Iruka took a small step back, but the growling was gone.
Kakashi's blue eye kept smiling happily at him, while one of his hands had
clenched into a fist.
A low huff escaped Iruka's lips.
„Kakashi-sensei, if there's anything bothering you, why won't you let me
know?", he demanded, taking a step into the other's direction.
Kakashi backed off, his hands raising to his chest's level.
„I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei. I guess you got me wrong there. I was... hm. You
looked quite appealing with your hair down."
Iruka's mouth gaped widely open as the other man took two more steps back.
„As I said, I'm sorry. I probably should've stayed home tonight."
The second part of Kakashi's comment came out in a loud sigh as if there was
more of a meaning to the initiator than there was to Iruka.
Feeling dumbfounded, Iruka watched the silver-haired man walk away through the
balcony's doors, the brunette's lips still partially opened in surprise. He
turned around to stare at the nearby roofs, his head spinning wildly.
The moon's pale light lit the silhouettes of Konoha's buildings against the
black sky, single stars had started to show up along the canopy.
The wind caught Iruka's sleeves, pulled his suddenly limp body against the
balustrade and reminded him to breathe.

'Appealing'...
Kakashi found him... found Iruka... a man... appealing?
How was he supposed to react to that?
Iruka had been told that his appearance was quite attractive, that women liked
his gentle features and polite manners. He knew that others praised his
knowledge and experience when it came to theoretical discussions, and he had
gotten used to hearing the quiet murmur that followed him whenever he crossed a
street.
Being told how he seemed 'appealing' to another man, though, made shivers run
down Iruka's spine, and he couldn't even tell if he was feeling uncomfortable.
Was it a bad thing to be complimented like that?
It was, if you felt absolutely certain about your sexual orientation, Iruka
reasoned and lightly cocked his head to one side.
If it was not him who was hitting on another man, though, did that mean that the
infamous Copy-ninja, who had just complimented him in the aforementioned way,
felt attracted to him?
Slowly, Iruka turned around while trying to find the right words to say, but the
other man had taken his leave already.
The only proof that kept the brunette from thinking it might all have been a
dream were the long dark red curtains that were still quivering in the light
breeze.

„Damn you, Kakashi", Iruka breathed out, a loose brown strand brushing lightly
across his heatened cheeks, „Damn you and your weird kind of humour!" - and he
was sure to hear a low chuckle echo from the nearby forest.

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