[FIC]Versa Vice

From where Kakashi was standing in the empty mission room, even the limited amount of tanned skin Iruka bared was sufficient; it took all his willpower not to reach out and touch the cheeks he’d been responsible for reddening.

Muscular shoulder blades twitched in humbled embarrassment and Iruka's oh so irresistibly squeezable bottom, raised high in the air tensed slightly. Looking over his right shoulder, he quickly lowered his gaze to the ground saying, “I’m sorry Kakashi-san, this was my fault. Trust me, I won’t let it happen again.”

Iruka’s voice, so rich with just the right amount of contrition struck a chord of need deep within Kakashi.  Realizing he could no longer suppress his secret desire to . . . well, show exactly how he felt, Kakashi had to say it.

“Iruka” . . . he whispered roughly.

“Yes, Kakashi-san?” came Iruka’s barely audible response.

“Iruka, you really should watch where you’re going.”

That flush of embarrassment gave way to a crimson stain of irritation, and sable brown eyes narrowed.  “Perhaps if you hadn’t stuck your big foot out and tripped me, I wouldn’t be on my hands and knees trying to gather up all these files.  Now quit smirking like an idiot and come help me!”

"I am but yours to command, Iruka-sama," he said bowing deeply.

Behind the twinkle in Kakashi's eye, and the smirk beneath the mask, Iruka immediately understood what Kakashi wanted, and desperately needed.  "If you're trying to rattle me Kakashi," he calmly said, “you’ve failed miserably."  Rising to his feet and crossing his arms over his chest as Kakashi dropped to his knees, he said, "Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson...again."

The knot of tension between Kakashi's shoulders slowly unraveled.  Looking up at the man who had done what no other could, he grinned, "I'd like that, very much."

"Well, then," he smiled, "let's get this place cleaned up and head back to my house."

Before Iruka could snap his satchel closed, every file was gathered together and neatly placed in the center of his desk.

As they walked toward the exit, Kakashi was practically vibrating with excitement; at last, the chance to release the frustration he'd bottled up for two agonizing weeks was literally minutes away.

"Don't look so smug," Iruka joked.  "I don't understand why you're being this stubborn Kakashi.  Would it kill you to  admit you've finally met your match?" Halting at the doorway, he grabbed the grinning jounin by the elbow and gave him the once over.   "I won't hold back tonight; you've earned a good thrashing, and that's exactly what you're going to get."

Kakashi smiled and said nothing, for he was equally determined to turn the tables on the overly confident chunnin and give him a taste of his own medicine.

After all, Kakashi's reputation as Konoha's reigning Shogi champion was on the line.

NOTE:  Shogi is a game of strategy; Japanese chess.