Iruka's apartment had a very cozy sense of grandeur; amber light cast stretchy shadows across the walls and ceilings as a fire crackled and danced in the fireplace. Kotetsu felt more relaxed and at peace since everything went topsy-turvey less than a week ago. The place had a nice atmosphere; one very homey and content, as his eyes took in the series of potted plants and bookshelves that adorned the room. He took another sip of sake from the bottle clutched in his hand and breathed a sigh of satisfaction, feeling the tension seep out his body. He leant back on the floor, stretching out his spine and balancing the bottle in the middle of his bare chest.

Iruka had offered his facilities to Kotetsu without a second thought after bringing him home with him. He had found the chūnin sitting staring blankly into a bowl of ramen with his head in his hands. If anything, he'd have to appreciate the fact that Teuchi and Ayame were such accepting people. It was obvious that would have heard all of the rumours. Heck, Ichiraku Ramen was the haven of gossip and news that was never meant to be overheard, but they still welcomed him in with a smile and even sprung a bowl of their most special ramen for him free of charge. Maybe there were still good people in the world after all.

It only took a little convincing from the brunette to bring him back to his place. Iruka figured that keeping him around for the night away from his place would clear his head a bit. Turns out it was working, and the influence of alcohol was making him ease up even more so. He watched the fire burn and twist freely, enjoying the warmth of the golden glow across his bare skin. He had taken advantage of the shower to clean himself up and rid the feeling of the sticky saliva that he constantly felt on his face. How degrading that situation had been; how sick and twisted the villagers minds were. How prejudiced.

'How's the sake?' Iruka asked, rubbing a towel through his long hair to dry it. He had slipped into a pair of loose sweatpants and his torso naked, just like Kotetsu. In past days, he would have been quite shy about sitting in such little clothing, but the need for modesty around each other was over. They we closer than ever before and both of them looked past the outer shell. Their relationship was special, and both appreciated how important they were to each other.

'Dragonfire.' Kotetsu said, raising the bottle slightly in acknowledgement.

'It's good stuff.'

'Help yourself. I have crates of it that I have to get rid of. I think I'll join you.'

Quickly, Iruka disappeared to another room and returned towel less and a crate of sake in hand and flicking his hair back over his shoulder. With a grunt, he collapsed onto the floor and leant against the lounge, sighing in relaxation and stretched his legs out in front of fire threw a beautiful glow over his caramel skin and the warmth lowered the little goosebumps on his arms. The harsh shadows from the fire only illuminated Iruka's tribal tatto and Kotetsu couldn't drag his eyes away from it.

'Tell me something.' Kotetsu started, handling his bottle and rolling onto his stomach, his chain glinting golden from the fire.

'What does the ink stand for?'

He pointed a finger at the other man's chest and took a mouthful of his drink. Ahh alcohol. Such a beautiful way to drown the sorrow, especially when the drink lit a fire in his belly.

Iruka glanced down at his pectoral and his mouth twitched, fingers tapping against the ceramic bottle of Dragonfire in his lap.

'Its my commitment ring.' He said finally, after a quiet moment had passed. Kotetsu coked his head to the side with his eyebrows knitted slightly. Iruka couldn't help but be reminded of a puppy at his action.

'A long time ago...I was involved pretty deeply with someone, to the point where I was willing to share my entire life with them...I can't believe I'm saying this.'

'It's okay to say no-'

'No no...I think it might do some good. I mean, what's the harm in finally getting it off my chest, right?'

'Sure, that's one way of looking at it. You never know, it might make for an interesting story.'

'Hehe, well, maybe...where to begin?'

'How'd you meet?'

'Here. In the village.' Iruka shook his head lightly and smiled, lost in reminiscing his past.

'...Hey? Hey, earth to Iruka!'

'Hmm? Oh, right.

Well... We kind of bumped into each other at the academy-'

'So you were young?'

'Younger. It was a few years since I started teaching at the academy. Foolishly, I tried to carry too many things at once back home, and well, one thing led to another and I ended up crashing into them. You can imagine the mess I made; scrolls everywhere, I spilled my ink all over myself and down the hall... Pretty cliché I know, but it's what happened.

'I'm not going to say that it was love at first sight, because it wasn't. If it was, then things would have ended up differently. But, I didn't get my fairy tale ending, as you can tell, but I'm not upset about it. At least I like to think I'm not.

'Anyways, I looked like a complete dipstick, covered in paper and ink on the floor and I guess the look on my face was just as bad because they didn't laugh - well, not immediately- but they just shook their head and helped me pick up everything. It was embarrassing, but then when I said I was alright, that's when they laughed. And then with a little wink, they were off, and I didn't see them for a very long time.'

'So then when did you meet them again?'

'Delivery mission to Takigakure, in an attempt to strengthen ties with the land if fire. It was school break and I needed some fresh air. So anyway, I was paired up with this person again. Never did I expect to see them again, let alone be thrown into a position where I had to spend time with them.'

"Why is he only using royal terms?" Kotetsu thought.

"That's a little weird, but okay."

'We grew very close very quickly...you know the kinds of people that you can just get along with so easily, it's like you've known them your entire life? Well, that's what happened...in a way. We stayed there for a while and things were getting very serious between us. I was truly and madly in love, and everything seemed like life was going be perfect. So, we made the pact to get a commitment ring like they do in Takigakure, which are these.'

Iruka brushed his hand over the tattoo absentmindedly.

'They're unisex tattoos. The circle represents eternity and the spikes are the "flames of passion". Traditionally, the male gets them on their chest, and the point of them is to represent the fidelity and commitment between the two...'

Iruka trailed off for a moment and silence filled the gap between them, broken only by the cracklings and popping of the fire beside them.

'...So I went along with it, but when I came back, they were gone. All I got was a piece of paper and a short message saying that they couldn't go along with this and I never saw them again.'

'That's harsh Ruru...I'm sorry to hear it.'

'Yeah, well, that's not the worst part.'

'What is?'

'...I see them every day now...and I still love them.'

Kotetsu's eyes grew as he took a mouthful of sake, trying to figure out what he would do if he was put into that situation. It seemed like a worse deal than he had. At least he knew that Izumo loved him back, despite their rocky beginning.

'...why don't you tell them?' He asked, trying to amend the silence.

'I can't.' Iruka said weakly, feeling very deflated.

'Why not?'

'Because they don't love me back. I can't bring up the past. For all I know I was just some kind of trial, and I think that's what hurts the most...that's how it all feels.'

'...Shit.' Kotetsu concluded lamely.

'It's not a big deal. I've moved on now, sort of.'

'Mm.' Kotetsu grunted, passing another bottle of sake to Iruka.

'Alcohol helps for a little while.'

'Cheers.' Iruka chuckled lightly, taking a large swig from the bottle and breathing a harsh sigh from the burn.

'So, how did you two get together?'

'Tsch.' Kotetsu tutted, before the corners of his mouth twitched into the tiniest of smiles.

'Oh, what's this?' Iruka mused at the raven-haired.

'Do I detect a smile?'

Kotetsu's prodded his face with his hand, and felt his muscles evolve into something that felt so foreign and abnormal. There it was, plain as day. A smile.

'It was a terrible concoction of Rickety Kate, sake and forbidden fruit syndrome.' He smiled, looking back and realising how silly the whole thing must have looked to a third-party. At the time it was the most horrible experience of his life, but that thought has been knocked out of the park since.

'Forbidden fruit?' Iruka asked, now his turn to cock his head to the side in confusion.

'I knew it was wrong, but it was so addictive that I couldn't stop myself from craving more.'

'Ahh...so the sex was good then.'

Kotetsu flushed a pink: one part the alcohol and two parts embarrassment.

'Yeah okay, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. You wanted to know how we got together, right? Well, it's a case of going right back to the beginning.'

Iruka glanced at the vintage clock hanging overhead the fireplace.

11:26pm.

'We've got time.' He said idly, shuffling over as Kotetsu grunted lightly and crawled over to sit next to the brunette, dragging the crate of sake in his hand,

'Sit tight. It's a long story.'