READ ON AO3: The Path to Us
Artwork also done by me
Summary:
The Road of Life normally was full of bumps and dips and riddled with potholes in the case of Hatake Kakashi, which was why he didn’t have a problem using said road as his scapegoat more often than not when he was late to something; it never worked as an excuse, but he had to take his little pleasures somewhere, somehow. Then he finds himself drawn to one Umino Iruka, and without him even noticing, the path he’s travelling down slowly but surely begins to smooth out, take less sharp turns, and becomes more of a pleasant stroll than a difficult hike. That doesn’t mean there aren’t moments where the road disappears beneath his feet and leaves him unmoored, lost, but Iruka’s hand is always there to reach out to him and guide him back.
So perhaps it shouldn’t have been so surprising that Kakashi would start to hunger for something more, not even realizing he was starving until he got a taste, but even he had his blind spots and Iruka occupied all of them.