When Kakashi returns from a mission with a critical head wound and no memory of his past, it is up to Iruka to look after him. How will Iruka deal with two weeks of having to live with and care for his long time crush?

A/N: Slight OOC on Kakashi's part in the beginning but, you know how it is…amnesia…

Do You Remember

-1-

Iruka frowned lightly as he gazed at the silver-haired man who was lying in the hospital bed, his head wrapped in a layer of freshly changed bandages. Iruka grinned tightly. Even unconscious, he had a mask on. The hospital staff must have respected the fact that this particular patient did not want anybody seeing his face, conscious or not. The man had returned from a dangerous mission just over a week ago, and his injuries were more serious than anybody had expected. Iruka sighed, trying to suppress his worry – the unconscious ninja probably didn't even know who Iruka was, other than Naruto's former teacher, and yet here he sat, worrying away about the copy-nin whom he had secretly been admiring from afar for years. Iruka lightly brushed his hand against the other man's masked cheek, grateful for what was probably his last chance to touch the elusive man, before turning away and leaving for class. It was the last day of school before the short two-week summer vacation, so if he was late, the class would be in an uproar.

"Iruka-sensei, Lady Tsunade will see you in her office now."

Iruka nodded at the receptionist who bowed politely and led him through into the Hokage's office.

"Ah yes, Iruka-sensei. I understand that you requested a mission to occupy yourself with during the summer vacation?" asked Tsunade, looking mildly amused at the chuunin's inability to take a break.

"Yes, I usually help out at the hospital but they had enough volunteer applications this year, so I'm free to do any work that might be available," Iruka explained. The hospital was usually short on volunteers, but this year, ever since Hinata began working there as a nurse, the male volunteers just flooded in. Iruka couldn't decide whether this was a blessing, or an accident waiting to happen.

"Yeah…," said Tsunade, flicking through the various B and C level scrolls that were available. Most of them were just quick-fix missions, which would mean that the workaholic ninja would simply return for another each time he completed it, no doubt leading to Tsunade acquiring a headache. However, she was worried that the teacher was too out of practice for the longer, more dangerous missions. Suddenly she had an idea. "Kakashi," she mumbled.

"I-I beg your pardon?" Iruka asked, his slight overreaction completely ignored by the busty blonde medic.

"Hatake Kakashi. I'm sure you know who he is?" Tsunade asked. She continued when Iruka nodded wordlessly, "Well, he returned from a mission ten days ago, critically wounded. Thing is, his is the type of injury that needs time, and not medical attention, to heal, but we can't just send him home, seeing as he lives alone. However, the hospital needs the bed he is currently occupying for other patients that are pouring in. Your mission is to look after him until he is recovered enough to look after himself. The doctors estimate that it will take about two or so weeks, which is perfect for you," said Tsunade grinning at her ingenuity at solving two problems in one go, as the hospital had approached her just this morning about having nowhere to put the jounin.

"B-but I… isn't there…" Iruka stammered.

"You said yourself that you often volunteer at the hospital, so you should be familiar with looking after gradual-healing patients. This is perfect for you. Now go get Kakashi. This is his address. I have work to do," said the Hokage irritably, pushing a slip of paper with Kakashi's address written on it into Iruka's hands and then shooing the chuunin out of her office. Once he finally left, still looking slightly dazed, the Godaime returned to her terribly important business of paperwork and sake, feeling like she'd accomplished her good deed for the day.

***

"Iruka-sensei," greeted Hinata politely when Iruka arrived at the hospital, "You're here to fetch Kakashi-san, right? Follow me, please."

"What's wrong with him?" Iruka asked as he followed the young kunoichi.

"Kakashi-san only has a slight head wound but…well, see for yourself," said Hinata gently, opening the door to Kakashi's room.

Iruka timidly walked inside, noticing that nothing had changed in the room since he had visited this morning – no signs of a get-well card, flowers, or even another visitor.

"You're the only visitor he's had, seeing as Naruto-kun hates hospitals, and everybody else is…well, busy, I guess" said Hinata sadly, looking at Iruka's slightly puzzled expression.

The silver haired ninja was sitting up in bed, looking out of the window.

"He's bandages are gone?" asked Iruka surprised.

"The physical wounds healed very quickly, but…" began Hinata.

"You were my only visitor?" Kakashi interrupted, turning away from the window and looking at Iruka, his eyes slightly unfocused. Iruka blushed, beginning to feel very embarrassed, but then Kakashi said, "Where exactly…am I…?"

Iruka stared.

"He's lost his memory," Hinata supplied with a sigh, "But, it's not permanent. He'll get better with time. Just take him around to places he knows and show him people he's met before… Kakashi-san is a strong ninja, and I'm sure that with Iruka-sensei's help he'll recover in no time," said Hinata kindly, bringing out a wheelchair. A frown appeared on her forehead, "He's currently at that stage where his limited memory will probably cause him to act a lot like a child, so I guess it's perfect that you were chosen to look after him," she smiled, "Come on mister Hatake-san. It's time to go home."

Kakashi's visible eye rose into his pleasant half-crescent smile as Hinata helped him out of the bed. Iruka suddenly felt a surge of affection towards the befuddled man. He helped Kakashi into the chair, thanked Hinata, and then headed towards the copy-nin's house.

"So what do you remember?" asked Iruka conversationally as he walked at a pleasant pace. The jounin's home wasn't far from the hospital, as was custom for higher-ranking ninjas due to their frequent visits to said institute, despite this particular jounin's disinclination to do so as often as he ought to.

"I remember you," was the reply. Iruka stared at the messy silver head of hair before him. Kakashi looked up and back so that Iruka stood upside down in his vision. He smiled at the light blush that dusted the tanned ninja's cheeks.

"I'm sure you do, Hatake-san," said Iruka, looking away from the cute smile in Kakashi's eyes.

"I do. You're Umino Iruka, the cutest dolphin in the school," said the jounin, "And I'm not 'Hatake-san'. Hatake-san is my dad. I'm Kakashi."

Iruka was too stunned that the infamous copy-nin, who had lost his memory and barely remembered his own village, not only remembered Iruka's name but also where he worked, to realize that he had also been called 'cute'.

"I don't know why I remember you," said Kakashi, looking back forwards. He swung his legs up so he was sitting cross-legged in the wheel chair. "This is stupid. I can walk. I haven't forgotten how to talk, after all," he said.

"It is better you stay seated until we get to your home in case you did forget how to walk. It would be dangerous if you collapsed here," said Iruka.

"Bleh," was the reply. One that set a small smile on Iruka's face for the rest of the afternoon.

The walk to the jounin's home was silent, but peaceful, both ninjas pondering about the day's events, Iruka, no doubt, having slightly more things to ponder about seeing as he actually remembered them.

By the time they reached Kakashi's home, it was starting to get dark.

"Nice place," said Kakashi when they turned into the walkway, "kind of empty-feeling though."

Iruka glanced at the other man's visible eye, frowning slightly at that comment, but unable to find anything more than a dazed befuddlement in the usually dangerously conscious eye.

When they entered the house, Iruka was surprised to find that it was indeed very 'empty-feeling'. Besides the customary furniture, there were no indications that the home actually belonged to anybody. It had the air of a place that was regularly rented out to the type of people who were rarely home. There were no photographs on the wall, or any decorations at all, come to mention it. The place was neat in that 'barely used' type of way, and most of the furniture was beginning to show signs of accumulating dust.

"Guess I didn't spend much time here," commented Kakashi lightly, stretching and standing up.

"Kakashi-san, you shouldn't—," Iruka started, but the other man simply stood up easily and grinned at Iruka triumphantly. Iruka blushed slightly when he saw that Kakashi was taller than he was, and if they hugged, Iruka would be perfectly aligned with the ideal height to allow him to kiss the older man's neck… Iruka mentally shook his head – get a grip! He is amnesic, for crying out loud!

"I'm not broken. It's just my memory that's busted—," he began, but his visible eye widened when he attempted to take a step forward only to find himself tipping sideways and losing his balance. He felt arms wrap around his body and Iruka's warmth pressed up against his chest before they both lost their balance and fell forwards, Iruka managing to cushion the injured man's fall with a wince of pain.

"Yes, but you haven't walked in over a week, your muscles still need to get used to that kind of movement," sighed Iruka worriedly, checking around him to make sure that the taller man hadn't bumped into anything or hurt himself. Of course, as things are, when two people fall within close proximities to each other, especially if at least one of them feels romantically inclined towards the other, they would undoubtedly land in some questionable position, as was the case here. Iruka blushed deeply when he realized that Kakashi was directly on top of him, his hands on either side of Iruka's head, his face dangerously close, and his entire body pressed tightly to the younger man. When Kakashi began to laugh, causing his body to shake on top of Iruka's, the teacher had to do all he could to contain his moan, especially after realizing that a certain part of his anatomy was attempting to betray him by growing harder…

Iruka almost spluttered in alarm as he rolled the other man off him and stood up hastily, his erection quickly going away on account of his embarrassment. He offered a hand to help Kakashi up, who accepted the gesture and gazed at Iruka, looking slightly confused.

After helping Kakashi up and walking, Iruka seated the jounin on a couch and scurried into kitchen, attempting, and failing, to find food.

"Go take a shower. Throw your clothes out into the corridor and I'll wash them," he said overly pleasantly. The older man grinned happily and went in search for the shower that he had been instructed to take, casually adjusting himself so that his pants would stop feeling so unusually tight.