A/N: Despite reminding myself that no, I will not forget about Kakashi's birthday, I guess I did in the end. =.= Or rather, it wasn't so much about forgetting, but more about work piling up and I couldn't find the time to write it. Ugh... As I read what I have written below and re-read it a second time, I supposed, this isn't the right plot for a birthday fic, but well, I couldn't come up with anything else. _ Sorry if the atmosphere in this fic is too solemn. I swear if I could find the time, I will re-write another birthday fic, but that would be belated. ^_^
Anyway, comments and reviews are all welcomed. And my deepest apologies if there are any parts that aren't that well done because really, this is the best I can come up with within a day. As usual, no flaming for bad plot, grammatical mistakes, etc etc etc.
This fic is dedicated to all those who have supported me throughout my previous fics. Thanks to each and everyone of you. It's been a while since I wrote.
And this fic is also to wish dearest DevilishDeity for her birthday. Happy birthday to you, darling. I hope you had a great birthday bash. ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any characters mentioned in this fic.
Iruka stared at the clock as the second hand moved silently, counting down each second towards another new day. He sighed deeply and stared out of the window for the umpteenth time that night.
It was quiet outside. There was hardly anyone out and about at that hour other than the shinobi who were on guard duty. He made a quiet prayer like he had done so every night for the last one month. There wasn't anything else he could do other than to wait patiently and believing that he would come back safely.
The usually inaudible ticking of the clock's hand sounded almost loud in the unnerving silence at this very moment. Iruka closed his eyes, trying to calm his raging emotions. This cannot do. It was so unbecoming of a shinobi. But he couldn't help it.
Kakashi had been overdue in his mission for a month. It was not as if it had never happened before, but this time, no one had heard any news from him or from the team of jounin sent out with him. He wasn't the only worried one. Kurenai had been around, trying to find out some news about Asuma – who had been on the same mission as the copy nin – but to no avail.
In fact, the lack of news was worrying even the Sandaime himself.
'He will come back. I believe in him.'
The clock chimed, signaling the start of a new day. Iruka walked towards the shelf and reached for the calendar. He took the marker and crossed out yet another day. As he stared at the date of the new day, he felt a pang of helplessness hitting him square in the chest.
15th September. Kakashi's birthday.
Iruka let out a sigh of defeat. He had been looking forward to this day. In fact, he had planned it out till the very last detail two months ago just before Kakashi had embarked on his mission. The jounin had agreed that they would spend his birthday just by the two of them this year and Iruka had been elated. It was after all the very first time they would spend the older man's birthday together since they had become an official couple.
He set the calendar back in its place and turned towards the window one last time. But it was still pretty much the same as when he had seen it just five minutes ago. He stood by the window, staring up into the night sky.
'Happy birthday, love.'
Shoving his hands into his pockets, he turned away from the window and started back into his room for another long night.
=-=-=-=
"Are you alright, Iruka?" Izumo stared at his friend with concern. The chunin in question glanced up tiredly and nodded.
"Yeah."
"You look like crap." Kotetsu commented and casted his gaze to another corner of the room. "And it seems you are not the only one."
Izumo sighed as he followed his friend's gaze towards Kurenai who was sitting quietly at the other end of the mission room, her hands laced together and her face masked with worry. He turned back to Iruka and patted the chunin encouragingly on the back. "He will be fine. Who knows, maybe he would come back today."
Iruka managed a weak smile. "You think so?"
"Well, I think that's a high possibility, isn't it? Despite how Kakashi-senpai always behaves, I think he's not the type who would want to spend his birthday out in the wilds with a bunch of rabid jounin." Izumo chuckled. "Compared to that, I supposed he would prefer to come home to a loving companion, a warm meal, some sake and a birthday cake."
"I agree. And besides, this is the first time Anko actually agrees to leave Kakashi-senpai alone on his birthday so that he can spend it with you. He wouldn't give this once-a-lifetime opportunity a miss. Knowing Anko, she won't be quiet about it next year." Kotetsu grinned in amusement.
Iruka smiled softly. "Thanks guys."
"Anytime." Izumo turned solemn and gave the teacher's shoulder a light squeeze. "Don't worry too much about it. Kakashi-senpai doesn't get his reputation for nothing. There are probably some troubles and they have had to cut off communication for a while. He will be fine. You of all people should have the faith that he will returned unscathed."
"You are right." Iruka nodded at the reassurance and gave his friends a genuine smile.
"And since your confidence has been restored, it's time for you to get out of here now." Kotetsu shoved the chunin off his seat at the mission desk and dumped the teacher's bag into his arms. "I know you have a lot of preparations to make for tonight. So go on ahead. It wouldn't do if Kakashi-senpai returns home and there isn't even a birthday feast waiting for him."
Iruka chuckled and nodded. He turned towards the exit and stopped by Kurenai, exchanging a few words with her. Izumo and Kotetsu watched as the kunoichi stood from her seat and left the mission room with the academy teacher. When the two were out of sight, Izumo turned towards his companion.
"Do you think we are instilling false hopes in him? After all this time, it's not like we are really that confident anymore that Kakashi-senpai is really gonna come back. Hell, we hadn't even heard a word from them for a month. Usually that spells bad news, doesn't it?"
Kotetsu sighed. "I guess. But did you see how Iruka looked? I swear he hasn't been sleeping and eating well in days over worry for Kakashi-senpai. If we didn't say what we did, I'm pretty sure he would suffer a breakdown."
"You are right." Izumo shook his head helplessly. "I really wish there's something more we can do for both him and Kurenai."
Kotetsu smiled humorlessly. "Pray for their safe return. Or at least, hope that the search teams sent out would find some traces of their presence."
=-=-=-=
Kakashi winced lightly as Asuma pressed a gauze against the wound on his stomach. The bearded jounin glanced up at his team mate with concern.
"You alright?"
"Yes." Kakashi sucked in a deep breath. "Have we thrown them off track?"
"Guess so. Raidou and Gai are scouting the area now. If it's all clear, they should be back any minute from now." Asuma sighed. "You were pretty reckless though. What made you decide to just jump in front of us to shield us from that jutsu?"
"Ah, better for just me to be injured than all three of you incapacitated isn't it?"
"You are an idiot." Asuma scowled.
"Funny, people always say I'm a genius."
"You are still in the mood for jokes, aren't you?" Asuma sighed as he finished patching up the copy nin. "Did you realize how screwed we are? We haven't been in contact with the village for a month and we had not kept to our original route. So even if any search teams were sent out after us, they wouldn't have been able to trace our path. Under such circumstances, you do know that we would have been deduced dead."
"Yeah." Kakashi grimaced from the stretch on his wound as he shifted himself into a more comfortable position. "And I guess they are worried out of their minds now."
Asuma raised an eyebrow. "Iruka?"
"Kurenai too, don't you think?"
The other jounin sighed as he sat himself beside the copy nin. "I supposed." There was a moment of silence before he muttered quietly. "Do you miss him?"
The silver-haired jounin stared up into the star-lit sky, a small smile on his masked face at the thought of his younger lover. "Yeah."
There was another stretch of silence between the two men. Then finally, Asuma turned to his friend with a smirk. "It's past midnight."
Kakashi raked a hand through his hair. "And what about it?"
"If I didn't calculate the days wrongly, I believe it's today." Asuma smiled softly, as he played with a blade of grass. "Happy birthday, Kakashi."
The copy nin snorted. "What a birthday. I can't believe I'm spending it while fighting for my life and with a bunch of unromantic jounin."
"Well, sorry then that we are not Iruka." Asuma scowled. "Speaking of which, didn't the two of you plan to celebrate it together?"
"That would be the case if I weren't still caught up in this situation." Kakashi rubbed his temples tiredly. "If we are going to have to take another detour to shake our enemies off, forget about my birthday. I don't think we will be seeing Konoha for another month."
"Well, tough luck." The bearded jounin grinned. "Looks like all your plans of spending it together have been interrupted."
Kakashi shrugged. "Not that I mind. I don't usually celebrate it anyway. It's just another day in the calendar."
"But I'm sure Iruka put in a lot of effort. Knowing him, he must have really looked forward to it."
The copy nin sighed, but did not utter a word, knowing how true his friend's words had been. Asuma stared at the sky, keeping his silence and leaving the other man to his own thoughts.
A rustle in the undergrowth drew both men's attention. In a flicker of an eye, they had camouflaged themselves in their surroundings with kunai drawn and poised to attack.
They relaxed their stance though when they realized who it was that had just emerged from the bushes.
"What's the situation?" Asuma slipped his weapon back into his pouch as he approached his comrades.
"Good. I think we've lost them. Either that, or they find it too troublesome to pursue us further." Raidou sighed, the lines of fatigue clearly showing on his face. "I think to play it safe, we just need to use some diversionary tactics. And then, we will be able to go back to the village from here."
"That would be best if that's really the case." Kakashi took a quick glance at his surroundings before turning back to his comrades. "Alright, Raidou and Gai, report your observations. Then we can make our plans."
=-=-=-=
Iruka brought the cake out from the oven with a small smile on his face. The heaviness that had been weighing down in his heart over the past weeks had been lifted ever so slightly.
The two search teams sent out after the group of jounin had gotten back with updates for the Hokage. They had found traces of previous battles in a spot near the place where Kakashi and his team had their mission and a possible trail where the jounin could have traveled.
That brought a glimmer of hope to the chunin. He got on with his work, throwing a glance at the clock from time to time, wondering if the jounin would make it back that night. But even as he thought about it, he realized that it doesn't really matter as long as Kakashi returns safely.
=-=-=-=
The four figures flitted through the foliage swiftly, carefully hiding in the shadows to avoid being detected.
"How long more?" Raidou turned to look at his companions, who were focusing intently on the path ahead, neither faltering in their steps.
"If we keep this up without any troubles, we should be able to reach the gates before midnight." Kakashi muttered.
"I have a bad feeling. This seemed to be going too smoothly." Asuma frowned.
"There's nothing to fear, my honorable comrade. They may come, but we will take them all down." Gai flashed a quick grin and a thumbs-up.
"Enough of that." Kakashi sighed, as he stretched out his chakra to sense his surroundings. A sudden slight disruption in his chakra startled him and he landed on a branch quietly, focusing on the spot where he had felt an unfamiliar presence even as he prepared himself for the impending danger.
"Someone?" Asuma crouched down beside him, his senses heightened to detect the slightest movement.
Kakashi's eye narrowed. "Yes. And they are coming."
The four jounin got into their positions, anticipating the attack that was fast approaching. A slight movement caught the eye of Kakashi and he moved forward silently, crouched in an offensive position.
The anonymous person who had been trailing them emerged from the thick foliage. The silver-haired jounin changed his angle and thrust the kunai in the direction of the intruder.
"Woah, watch it, Kakashi!"
The movement halted mid-air. Kakashi narrowed his eye as his vision adjusted to the image before him. His eye widened when he realized just who it was.
"Genma?"
=-=-=-=
The minutes ticked by. Iruka glanced up tiredly as the minute hand of the clock moved ever so slightly. The dishes left forgotten on the table had long turned cold. It was fast approaching midnight but yet, there was still no a sign or indication that Kakashi would be coming home.
Kurenai had turned up two hours ago, informing him that the search teams had sent back good news. They had found Kakashi and his team members and that they would reach the village in the next hour or so. The news had brought great relief to Iruka and before he realized it, he had found himself waiting expectantly for Kakashi to turn up to join him for a late dinner in celebration of the jounin's birthday.
But as the minutes ticked by and there was no sign of either Kakashi or the search teams, his anticipation was fast turning into disappointment and slowly evolving into a new bout of worries. Had anything happened that had caused the delay? Were they involved in yet another battle with enemy shinobi? Was Kakashi badly injured?
The last thought had him jolt out of his seat almost instantly. There was no point in fretting it out at home. He turned towards the door, ready to head out to Kurenai's to find out if she had heard of any updates regarding the group.
His hand was just reaching for the door knob when the sound of keys could be heard from the other side of the door. He paused and watched as the door opened, revealing the person on the other side.
Iruka broke into a smile when their eyes met, the tears of relief rolling from his eyes as the anxiety finally lifted itself from his mind.
Kakashi locked the door behind him and stepped forward, enveloping the younger man in a warm embrace, inhaling the intoxicating scent which he had missed for the last weeks.
"Welcome home." Iruka voice trembled as he clutched on tightly to the jounin's vest. And that was all he could manage to say. The overwhelming emotions were choking him so badly that it took all of his control to not break down in front of the older man.
Kakashi pulled back and tugged down his mask. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against the younger man's. Tongues explored each other, savoring the other's taste as they unleashed their weeks of longing for each other.
Kakashi pulled away first and leaned his forehead against Iruka's.
"I'm home."
"Are you injured?" Iruka gazed at his lover with worry.
"Nothing that can't be treated with a little antiseptic and bandages." He smiled softly. "So, am I still in time?"
Iruka chuckled softly as he turned his head towards the wall clock. Turning back to the jounin, he pressed a light kiss on the other's lips. "You still have fifteen minutes. Come on. The cake is waiting."
The jounin sat himself at the dining table as his younger lover placed the cake on the table. At the younger man's prompting, he closed his eyes in a silent prayer. After a moment, he reopened them and gave an amused chuckle.
"I can't believe I'm making my birthday wish just right after having my narrow escape with death. And come to think of it, I haven't done this since I made jounin."
"Good to reminisce sometimes, isn't it? So what wish did you make?"
"Wouldn't it not come true if I say it out loud?"
"True." Iruka grinned. "Now go and take a shower. I will heat up the food for you."
The jounin stood from his seat and headed towards the bathroom, but was halted by a hand on his wrist. He turned around, surprised when Iruka wrapped his arms around his waist.
"Happy birthday, Kakashi."
The copy nin returned the embrace. A comfortable silence stretched between them, both just content to be in the other's arms. Finally, Kakashi broke the silence.
"My wish, is to always have you to come home to."
Tears welled up in the brown orbs. Iruka laughed softly as the tears rolled down his cheeks. "Idiot. Didn't you say it will not come true if you say it out?"
"On second thoughts, I think that if I know you are aware of this, it will spur me even more to come home safely to you." The jounin drew back slightly and gave the younger man a smile. "Because I know you will be waiting."
Iruka closed his eyes and leaned into the warmth enveloping him. "Always, love. So come back to me."
=-=-=-=