Author's Note: Roar! Okie...well Tyger got around to writing up a epilogue for yous, but she thinks it's rather crappy...meh...oh well, back to studying for final exams, sigh...

Epilogue

It was raining in Konoha, not that Iruka minded much. The chuunin liked the rain after all, loved to hear it, to feel it. But now really wasn't the time to be enjoying the rain.

"Ruka…" a hoarse voice croaked from the bedroom. Iruka chuckled, shaking his head lightly as he poured the hot soup into a bowl for his sick lover.

"I'm coming Kakashi!" the tan chuunin rolled his eyes as he entered the bedroom, the large bed covered with ninken and blankets. Iruka grinned at the gray shock of hair poking out from beneath the covers and scooted his way around the canines to get to Kakashi's side.

"Here," Iruka set the bowl on the nightstand, helping the jounin sit up, "Made you eggplant miso!" he smiled comfortingly. He'd purposefully made his lover's favorite; it wasn't often that the jounin was sick. In fact, nearly all the jounin had been hit with some flu. Iruka had taken a few days off to care for Kakashi since he knew how much the other hated the hospital.

Kakashi gave Iruka a tired smile; his pale skin was flushed from fever as he accepted the bowl, "Thanks." He hated getting sick, but then again, with the chuunin by his side, it didn't seem as bad as it used to be.

It didn't take long before Iruka was fussing over him again. Kakashi had had as much as the soups as he could and then the teacher was pushing him back down under the mountain of blankets.

"Ruka?"

"Hmm?"

"Tell me a story!"

Iruka blinked, "A story?"

"Yup!"

"Er…sure I guess, what story do you want to hear?"

"Oh anything you have in mind. You're a teacher, don't you know a lot of stories?"

"…"

"You don't!"

"Well…I think I know of one…can't really remember where I heard it before though."

"Tell me…."

"Gee…yes master."

"Ha! I should make you read Icha Icha!"

"Oh hell no! I'm telling you the one I'm thinking about, stop pouting."

"Fine…."

Iruka chuckled, looking down at his sleepy jounin. With a shake of his head, he lifted the blankets and snuggled down beside Kakashi.

"Now let's see….how did it go…"

"You don't remember?"

"Kakashi, do you want to hear the story or not!"

"I love you Ruka!"

Iruka rolled his eyes,

"Now, once upon a time...A lone dark blue eye swept across the cityscape, the face it was thus attached to followed it as he stood atop a cliff looking down upon the hidden village of Konoha. The figure itself would have been unremarkable were it not for the dark black mask that covered half the man's face and the silky matching scarf that obscured his left eye from view…"