It was amazing how the water flowed through the stream that night. No matter what happened, its gentle flow remained unimpeded, endless. It didn't make any sense to the brown haired man watching the stream that day, and he had concluded that it never would.

I won't be able to move on. It's just not possible…

His hair was tied back into a tight ponytail, and his face bore a single, clean cut straight across the bridge of his nose. He wore a blue headband over his forehead, with a single plate of steel covering it. Engraved upon the metal surface was the ancient leaf symbol.

You mean everything to me…Why can't you see that…?

These thoughts were endlessly swarming through the brunette's mind, crashing together to spawn worse and worse ones over time. The schoolteacher's brown eyes had focused beyond the water flowing so swiftly past, to the point where he wasn't registering anything that he should have seen. Everywhere he looked, he saw a man with beautiful, shining silver locks of hair and a pitch-black mask over his face.

…Well, at least he'll be happy. My smile always seems to scare him, and he always seems so confused when I blush. He'd be much happier with a woman like Tsunade…

Iruka's focused moved back to the river. It was amazing how quickly it carried everything away. It all left over the horizon and was never seen again. How perfect. If Kakashi didn't want to hear from him again, that's the way it'd go.

He got up from his crouched position by the river and stared blankly into the water, as though looking death in the face.

…But should I tell him…?

He glanced forlornly over his shoulder…only to see his beloved Kakashi staring him straight in the face.

"Uh…Hey, Iruka." He offered Iruka another of his beautiful, sheepish, mask-hidden grins as a single drop of sweat rolled down his cheek. "I'd heard that you were just sitting here, and I thought you might be lonely."

Iruka's heart skipped a beat. Kakashi, here, now. It was almost impossible to believe, that Kakashi had come to send him off. It ignited every emotion within the schoolteacher's heart, both good and bad, and for a moment, these feelings threatened to tear him apart. It was maddening, how he longed to say so much, but he knew that he couldn't possibly tell his love any of it. It was driving him crazy, and he didn't know what to do.

That's when Kakashi threw his arms around the man and gently held him close.

"And Iruka, there's something I've been meaning to tell you…"

And so Iruka's heartbeat resumed as usual, though tears had begun to well up in his eyes. He held back a sob and choked out, "Y-yes, Kakashi?"

"Uh, well…We've…both been senseis for a while now…Er…damn it!"

Iruka raised a slender brow as he looked at his beloved's confusion. "Yes?"

Kakashi continued to fumble awkwardly with his words a while longer, eventually muttering something that sounded strangely like 'Screw it.' The silver-haired ninja pulled down his obsidian cloth mask and gently planted a kiss on the other's cheek.

Silence passed between the two of them for several moments afterward. Every insect ceased its nightly sounds, as though listening intently to the two. A silent gust of wind blew aside a tree branch overhead, allowing the beautiful glow of the moon to shine down on the two.

"I-I love you..."

Iruka slowly opened his mouth to say something, and at the same time, let loose a deluge of tears from his tender brown eyes. Were they tears of guilt for his thoughts moments ago, or tears of joy as these words finally graced his ears? He didn't know.

"I love you, too, Kakashi." And for the moment, that was all he needed to know.