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Lights Left On
He didn't know when it started. This habit of his. The one where he left the porch light on. Or for that matter, when he started calling Kakashi nakama, friend, and possibly his closest. But it didn't really matter….did it?
One rainy day, when Iruka had left the mission room late, he was standing outside his door when he saw Kakashi. The copy-nin looked like he had just returned from a mission. Making his decision, Iruka quickly flipped on the light. Kakashi paused as the bright light spilled out across the dreary night.
"Kakashi! Come in!" Iruka called out to the figure standing in the downpour.
'It's not like anything matters anymore. And I don't like the rain.' The copy-nin thought to himself, excusing his actions. Drinking warm tea, the two ninja talked that night away.
'That's right.' Iruka thought, remembering the first time he invited Kakashi in, as he walked to the mission room. It wasn't the second time, or even the third, he didn't call Kakashi nakama for a while.
It was another rainy night when Iruka heard a knock on the door. Curious, since no one ever visited him before, he answered the door, pulling it wide upon discovering the copy-nin.
"Maa...sensei, your light was on and I thought…"the jounin trailed off.
Iruka smiled, "Would you care for some tea?"
It was easy going. They would talk about the little things. A kitten Kakashi had seen or the baby birds Iruka watched fly from the nest. It was just some good times together in a time where nothing seemed to be going right. Then there came a time when it finally happened. Kakashi never returned. Iruka waited. Every day he would turn on the light. As the days melted into weeks that flowed into months people stopped waiting. A year passed and Iruka had taken to leaving the light permanently on.
It's time to move on.' They said.
Be a friend and let Kakashi rest in peace.
And still Iruka waited. The light was an ever present signal. Iruka would stay awake half the night listening for a knock. And each morning came to illuminate his disappointment.
Doubt wormed its way into his thoughts. Iruka had done his duty. He had waited. Two years, it had been two years. Surely Kakashi would understand? His fingers hovering over the switch, Iruka hesitated. Was this right? Was it time to let go and move on? Then, with a decisive finality, he flipped the light off.
Owari
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