Sighing slightly, Kakashi flicked through his book. For some reason these days, he seemed to be constantly distracted and could not keep his mind on anything that required too much thinking. Kakashi closed his book with a snap, and shifted his position slightly on the seat he was curled up on. He could sense a presence lurking behind him; a slight flutter in the still air and a tell-tall hint of a moving shadow someway to his left. He narrowed his brown eyes thoughtfully as he took a brief moment to decide whether it was a "threat" worth doing anything about. Too late..
"Kakashi!!" A flurry of movement and a loud voice screamed excitably at him as Kakashi was grabbed suddenly from behind. Kakashi's breath left him in one low gasp as he turned to grab his "attacker".
"Iruka, do you really insist on creeping up on me like that? Can't you just be normal and say hello like most people do?" Kakashi said as he pulled Iruka onto his lap; holding him as if he was some treasured item of his, which in a way, he was. Iruka tugged playfully on Kakashi's tuft of hair, grinning broadly up at him.
"Aww, you're no fun at all Kakashi!! You love me really!" Iruka pouted causing Kakashi's heart to flutter and a small smile appeared across his face. This quickly disappeared though Iruka, who was quick to pick up on these kind of things, noticed and poked Kakashi in the face.
"I'll bite if you do that again, Iruka." Kakashi warned pushing Iruka off of him and getting to his feet. Iruka circled his lean arms around Kakashi's waist. "Oh, is that a promise?" He whispered into Kakashi's ear; his breath tickling the older ninja's neck. Laughing, a rare thing for Kakashi, he pulled Iruka round to him, his mouth locking tenderly with Iruka's. "I'll promise you one thing Iruka; I'll be here for you forever, I'll always love you." Kakashi whispered tenderly. Iruka's heart quivered happily; it was unlike for Kakashi to express his feelings into words. Without even a second's hesitation he followed Kakashi into his bedroom; both very willing to demonstrate the strong love they felt for each other.
"Forever.." Iruka whispered. "You said forever.." He opened his hand that was clenched tightly around a pink poppy; it fluttered slightly in the cool breeze before falling to the dry ground. Iruka's eyes followed it for a second before turning to look up at the clouds floating across the sky. His memories of Kakashi were still strong in his mind, but the last night they had together would always be the strongest in his heart. He shivered slightly despite the sun's strong rays as he dragged himself towards the mound of earth before him. Kneeling before it, he brushed his hand across the slab of stone set atop of the mound. "Why...did you have to leave me? If I could; I would trade with you, I would..you..I.." Iruka's voice trailed off as he sighed. It was no use sitting around here, hoping for what could have happened, wishing for what he could not change.
"Kakashi..why did you have to die? You said forever...forever..." Iruka whimpered. His heart stopped as he watched the pink poppy that he had left on Kakashi's grave twirl through the air and land before him. Bending down he picked the slight flower up in his hands, and stroked it thoughtfully. "No! No more!" Iruka suddenly sprung to his feet. Cutting his hand with his kunai, he held out a closed fist that was now steadily dripping blood onto the ground that hungrily drank it. "I swear that I will avenge you, my dearest. I will never give up, and I will keep breathing. I will breath for both of us! And one day, one day I will come find you, find you waiting for me up there between the clouds." Iruka stared blankly at the sky for a moment, hoping for a sign that Kakashi had somehow heard him; waiting for his mocking laugh that never came. Tears dripped down his face silently as Iruka stared on at the grave of his former lover and friend.
For a brief beautiful period of time Kakashi and Iruka had been blissfully happy; they shared a love for each other that was insatiable and both seemed to understand exactly what the other needed. Kakashi; the ever dominant one, had provided the level-headiness in their relationship, where as Iruka had balanced this out with his playful attitude and manner. Together they had been like turns of a coin; each needing the other to survive, each complimenting the other with their opposite personalities. However, now that Iruka was truly alone; he wasn't entirely sure how he would manage. He felt as if someone had torn a massive chunk out of himself leaving a nasty gaping hole.
Iruka stood silently for several hours; though to him it felt as if he was there for only a few minutes. Through his mind raced images of Kakashi; of their first date at the ramen store and Naruto staring blatantly at them holding hands, of their first mission together where Kakashi became overly possessive of him and wanted to plaster his every single bruise and scrape so they ended up taking forever completing their mission, of their first time together at exploring each other's bodies and Kakashi's oh so gentle touches as he feared of ruining Iruka's first time. Yes, these memories stung Iruka to think of them, seeing as he would never be able to relive any of them again. Yet, still he held them close to his heart fearing that he would ever forget them. But how could he even dream of forgetting Kakashi...after all Kakashi was everything to Iruka.
Iruka shook his head trying to rid the thoughts of Kakashi that plagued his mind. Good thoughts yes, but not useful when he was trying to suppress the pain he was feeling. His eyes glinting, Iruka silently swore to himself, that the people who took Kakashi's life would never be free from him; he would stalk them until he could be happy that he had avenged his lost lover's life.
"Kakashi. You promised me forever. And forever you will stay; in my heart you will remain true. Until the day we meet again. Until then my love, remain true to me!"