By Airen Hitomi
A pale body writhes, tangling legs in the bed sheets. An elegant hand clasps over a cherubic mouth, stifling the moans and cries that threaten to escape. Heart thudding painfully against his chest, Hatake Kakashi dreams.
He dreams of loss; of misery and regret and pain and love. He dreams of loneliness, and it tears at his heart until tears pool in his mismatched eyes and trickle down his flushed cheeks.
"Iruka!" he cries, the force of his emotion waking him. He is alone.
Burying his head into his hands, Kakashi sobs. It was not often that the Copycat ninja of Konoha broke down, especially not for something as simple as a nightmare. But Kakashi has underestimated how much his lover means to him.
His heart slows, his tears dry, and he begins to think rationally. Iruka loves him. Kakashi knows this. He also knows, now, that he loves Iruka. The agony he felt during the dream of Iruka's death made that infinitely clear. Iruka had left him sometime in the night, knowing that Kakashi didn't like him being there when he awoke. He needs to tell Iruka how he feels, now.
Untangling his legs from the covers required all of his ninja finesse. Having managed that, Kakashi pulls on a pair of Jounin trousers and a plain black top to cover his nakedness. After he has slipped his mask on, Kakashi leaves to seek out the man who plagued his dreams.
In his modest apartment across town, Umino Iruka also dreams. His dreams are of a happier nature than those of his lover, and the moans he stifles are not of pain. It is not so much what Kakashi does to him in his dreams that made him so happy but rather, what he says. I love you, Iruka. He yearns for those words.
A disturbance at his window wakes Iruka. With a grace and speed born from years of life as a ninja, he is out of his bed, kunai in hand. He is on alert for any movement, before he recognizes the chakra of the one who watches him. Iruka is confused as to why Kakashi is here now.
Opening the window for his lover, Iruka allows the other man to enter. He is amazed to see tears staining the pale cheeks of the man he thought impervious to pain.
"Kakashi," he murmurs, unsure of how to handle the emotional man who stands before him. He dearly wishes to take the man into his arms and soothe his with soft words and a gentle embrace, but he is afraid of how Kakashi might react.
Cocoa eyes widen in shock as Kakashi wraps his arms around Iruka. This is not the embrace Iruka is accustomed to. It does not promise a night of lust and pleasure. Instead, it asks for comfort and reassurance.
"Shh, Kakashi," Iruka whispers softly against the other man's shoulder. One of his hands threads its way through Kakashi's silky silver tresses, the other rubbing reassuring patterns on his cloth covered back.
Iruka backs them up to the bed, seating them both. Arms still locked around Kakashi, he coos nonsensical words of comfort as Kakashi hides his face. They sit like this for what feels like hours, though probably only several minutes pass.
When Kakashi raises his head, Iruka can see that the man is distraught. Something terrible must have happened to distress him so.
"I had a nightmare," Kakashi whispers after a moment. Iruka is startled. How could a nightmare trouble the stoic shinobi so much? Hoping his bewilderment doesn't show, Iruka smiles encouragingly, hands still stroking Kakashi's back as he waits for Kakashi to continue.
"You died. You left me, and it hurt so much. I don't ever want you to leave me." He whispers something more, but the words are so quiet that Iruka can't hear. Kakashi lowers his head.
"Kashi," Iruka murmurs, raising the other man's chin. "What is it?"
Kakashi keeps his eyes downcast, before gathering his courage and raising them to meet Iruka's. He took a deep breath, before saying, in a slightly louder, much stronger voice; "I love you, Iruka."
Iruka is silent as Kakashi continues. "I love the way I feel when I'm around you. I love the way you treat Naruto like a little brother, despite the fact that he houses the thing that killed your parents. I love the way you live for your students; how you pour everything you have into teaching them to be excellent shinobi, excellent people. I love the way you get up at four am every morning to have your chores and exercises done before you sit and watch the sunrise. I…I love that you love me. I don't deserve a man as wonderful as you."
Kakashi gets up to leave. "Where are you going?" Iruka asks. Kakashi smiles at him sadly. "You deserve someone better than me. Someone who will always show you how much they love you. Someone who is…better," he finishes lamely.
Iruka can't contain the chuckle that escapes his lips.
"Don't I get a say in this?" he asks. "Because in my opinion, there is no one 'better' than you. Having you tell me how you feel just this once makes up for all those months of silence and confusion. I love you, Kakashi, and only you. Please don't leave me."
Those words tug at Kakashi's heart, and he returns to Iruka's side, where he belongs. His lips join with Iruka's, and he is home.
Skin slides against skin, hands searching, lips and tongues branding, marking, owning. Pleasure builds between the lovers in the silence that precedes dawn. Gasps and moans escape throats, whispered endearments enflaming heated passions.
Iruka slides smoothly into Kakashi, claiming him in a way he never has before. Kakashi writhes below him, in pain from the new experience, but also in exquisite pleasure. He loves that Iruka is the first to do this, the first to fill him, brushing that sweet spot again and again. A strangled gasp escapes him as his pleasure reaches its crescendo, and Iruka joins him in orgasmic bliss.
They lay together, comfortable and sated, and Kakashi mumbles against Iruka's chest; "Love you, Iru."
And Iruka knows.
END (and I mean the very end, it's all finished, done, over...until I start a new series.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There you have it, the end of the Kakashi Doesn't Know Trilogy (my best friend thinks I'm an idiot for not posting them all in the same story, and so do I, but oh, well, too bad.) And look! It has a happy ending...and a lime...I feel so proud. Sorry it's so short, thought. If you review I'll start my next fic right away XD. Luvs ya.
airen