It's kind of a songfic... (SHHH! Don't tell!) Still, I hope it turned out alright. Why don't you see for yourself?
"You Are The Moon"
by 'The Hush Sound'
Shadows all around you as you surface from the dark
Emerging from the gentle grip of night's unfolding arms
Darkness, darkness everywhere, do you feel all alone?
The subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone.
The wind whistled hoarsely in his ears as he swept over the rooftops. The sky overhead was a dark, glum grey, and the threat of rain loomed large and menacing amongst thick layers of cloud. Kakashi sped up.
The downpour was sudden, erupting down from the sky in a vicious affront. The jounin took refuge on the roof of a closed shoe store, directly under a balcony of the neighboring building where it was relatively dry.
There really was, he reflected, no use in trying to wait it out.
He wasn't in much of a rush anyway.
The street in front of the shoe store, he noticed, was unusually crowded for such a rainy day… He looked a bit closer, then closed his eye.
It was a funeral march.
Most of the people were wearing black, many of them crying or holding back tears. A large number of children were there as well, clinging to the sides of their parents as they sobbed. A single blank faced woman in the front of the crowd was carrying a jar painted with bright green flowers.
The ashes, Kakashi thought. He noted distantly that they were heading towards Cemetery #9- one of the kid graveyards.
Generally for genin.
He waited while the procession passed, leaning against the cement wall patiently while streams of precipitation drip-dropped steadily before him. The sky was so dark, he thought. Why was the world being sympathetic now? It was a bit too late for that. The crowd passed and Kakashi pushed himself of the cool stone surface.
The run over to Iruka's apartment passed in a blur of falling water and shadowed sky.
You don't see what you possess, a beauty calm and clear
It floods the sky and blurs the darkness like a chandelier
All the light that you possess is skewed by lakes and seas
The shattered surface, so imperfect, is all that you believe
Iruka arrived at the door to his apartment.
He wasn't surprised to see Kakashi there. He wasn't much anything- only wet, and tired. Very…very tired. He did not shed his dripping black attire or touch the dark brown hair that had escaped from his ponytail and become plastered onto the sides of his face. With shaky, mechanical movements, he merely walked over to his worn, light orange couch and sat down.
Kakashi watched as he brought a single hand up to rub at his eyes.
"Reko was very brave, you know. Saved the rest of her team."
His voice was very quiet, barely audible. Iruka lowered his hand to rest limply in his lap. It was much too pale, a far cry from its normal caramel hue. Kakashi wondered how long he'd been out there in the rain after the funeral had ended.
"I didn't believe it when they said she'd used a Water Break jutstu to do it- it never came to her easily."
"She had a good sensei."
"Kakashi-"
Iruka opened his eyes. They were dark, dark, dark against his too pale skin. They were tired, too- just like the rest of him. The sensei shook his head, not knowing what to say to convey what he felt. His hand gripped the midnight fabric on his lap as he continued to shake his head.
Kakashi knew, though. He understood.
He padded up to Iruka until he was directly in front of him, then got down to his knees and took the two shaking hands into his own. Iruka hung his head wearily, wet hair escaping to form dark curtains. Small drops of water were clinging onto the hanging strands, almost glowing in the dim lighting of the room.
Kakashi understood when Iruka flinched at the kiss on his damp cheek.
He understood when the pale hands did not stop shaking, and when Iruka did not make eye contact with him.
He understood that guilt made a person feel so alone, understood that the feeling of failure made a person feel even worse.
I will bring a mirror, so silver, so exact
So precise and so pristine, a perfect pane of glass
I will set the mirror up to face the blackened sky
You will see your beauty every moment that you rise
Iruka drew his hands away and wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck, tucking his head under the masked chin. Kakashi returned the embrace fully, rocking them gently back and forth. Outside water washed over the night, lapping at windows and rooftops.
"You're not alone," Kakashi whispered. Iruka didn't answer- he just held on tighter, tighter. Kakashi continued to whisper to him, though- continued to tell him that he wasn't alone, that his work had saved two lives. His voice was clarity and comfort, which was exactly what Iruka needed.
It remained steady even when Iruka let go, and the tears came for what Kakashi knew was the first time since the child's death.
Even when the sounds of his lover crying ate away at the silver haired male.
He ran his fingers through dark, wet hair and kept whispering to him, held him close and tight.
Because he wasn't alone.
Because he'd failed no one.
Because Iruka was special and beautiful in a world where that was much too rare, and did more for the world than he seemed to understand-
Eventually he quieted.
He stopped flinching from his kisses and his hands stopped shaking. As the rain outside ceased its constant thrumming, Kakashi silently swore that he would make Iruka see what he truly was. He would make Iruka see that he was beautiful, and that he would never be alone.
Review and I will totally rock out to your awesome!(that didn't make sense, did it? Oh well!)