The Important Things

The Important Things

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Kakashi sat with piles of fabric surrounding him, ripping out yet another seam that wasn't quite right. His mask was pooled around his neck, and several pins were poking out of the collar of his vest. He had been lucky to find as much of the red and orange thread as he had. If the spools had been even slightly different in color, it wouldn't have looked right.

Now, however, he was cursing his design; who knew curved stitching was harder to do than straight lines. The crows and wheat had gone quickly; the scarecrow had been a little harder, but he'd been able to paint most of it. It had taken him nearly five months to get as far as he was with the red and orange sky, and he still had most of the right sleeve to do.

Shaking his head, the silver-haired man bit off and tied the length of thread; he decided then that he could just skip the design that he'd had planned for his. The simple blue and white kimono would have to be good enough.  He'd never finish both before their anniversary, and it would look worse half finished than left as it was.

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Iruka's eyes went wide as he carefully removed the kimono from the tissue paper. "Wow..." The single word was all he could manage as he took in all the details. There was no doubt that it was Kakashi's work. He'd seen the same tiny, precise stitching on his dogs' gear. What he couldn't figure out, was when his lover had found the time.

He didn't realize that he was crying until Kakashi brushed the tears away. "I'm glad you like it," the jounin said, understanding perfectly.

"Can I?" Iruka asked, holding it up to himself. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to wait until they were ready to go to dinner, or if he was allowed to wear it immediately. His lover nodded, and Iruka laid his gift on the bed and began to undress. It surprised him that Kakashi settled for watching and didn't try to 'help' him. His boyfriend was showing a surprising amount of restraint, which only served to make him feel nervous. The tense way Kakashi held himself as he watched made Iruka feel like he was the other man's prey.

Blushing, he lifted the kimono and slipped one of his arms in; and, before he could get the other in, Kakashi was beside him sliding it over his shoulders. Iruka picked up the dark green obi and handed it to Kakashi. The man's pale hands slid the fabric around his waist, tied it, and then promptly pulled him backwards. He let himself be drawn into the embrace, leaning against the older man's chest and enjoying the way Kakashi wrapped his muscled arms possessively around him.

"This must have taken forever..." He couldn't even begin to imagine the time something like this would take.

"Meh, it was worth it," Kakashi whispered, nuzzling Iruka's neck. "It looks good on you."

The fact that his lover didn't even try to cover up how much effort he'd put into it spoke volumes to Iruka. Kakashi only lied when it wasn't important. Which meant he wanted Iruka to know that he was important. Not that he didn't already realize that, but it was nice to be reminded.

"You know we're not going to make our reservation right?"