Love

Sometimes when he is with Ibiki, Iruka feels that his heart will burst with all the love he feels for the torture specialist. His visage is rather terrifying, and the persona that he showed to the world is cold and hard, but inside, Ibiki is like a huge cuddly teddy bear – one that Iruka enjoys cuddling up to.

Blind

Ibiki thinks sometimes that the rest of the village must have been blind to Iruka's charms. The very first time that he saw the teacher, his heart was seized. At that moment, he vowed that the man would be his, no matter what the cost.

Like? What am I five?

After a long day at school, Iruka often forgets that Ibiki is a grown man, especially if he hasn't worked at the missions' desk that day. It is only in that moment, when an indescribable expression crosses his lovers' face that he realizes he has just spoken to the head of T&I like he was five years old.

Memories

Over his lifetime, Ibiki has gathered many memories; some good, some bad, and a very rare few, sickeningly sweet. The ones that he enjoys the most however are the ones concerning his first date with Iruka, even if it did go horribly wrong.

Touch

When he runs his sensitive fingertips over his lovers' heavily scarred head, Iruka feels like crying. He cannot imagine the pain that Ibiki has lived through. He tries his best to forget that the man lying in his arms, has returned the favour, with interest, on enemy ninja from every country.

Gift

The gift of Iruka's love is the best thing that Ibiki has ever received, and his most cherished possession. There is nothing in this world that could make him give it up.

Raining

When he was a child, Iruka's mother told him that rain was the cloud's crying. He has hated the wet season ever since, but when Ibiki holds him tightly in his massive arms, Iruka thinks that maybe rain isn't so bad after all.

Windows

The eyes are the window to the soul, and in Iruka's eyes, Ibiki sees; determination, passion and an overwhelming love for everything around him. He doesn't dare to ask what Iruka sees when he looks back into Ibiki's own eyes.

Sincere

The happiest day of Iruka's life was when Ibiki looked him directly in the eye, and confessed his feelings. The face in front of him, which looked suspiciously pink, radiated sincerity. Iruka carefully cupped the craggy face with his hands, pecked the other upon the lips, and then took him out to ramen.

Romance

To Ibiki's surprise, Iruka was not at all romantic. He was practical and hardworking, dedicated to his village, Naruto and Ibiki himself, but the thought of just watching the stars together, clearly bored the man. Knowing Iruka the way he did, Ibiki knew that if he pressed the matter, then the teacher would acquiesce without a complaint, but somehow the words just never got said.

Chocolate

Iruka hated chocolate with a passion. It was sticky and sweet and made the kids in his class ridiculously hyperactive. If he could've figured out a jutsu to turn all chocolate into fruit, he would've done it years ago. However, when Ibiki surprises him with a gift-wrapped box of expensive foreign chocolates, he can't find it in himself to tell the other man about his dislike. Instead, he grits his teeth and chomps down half the box.

Yesterday

Ibiki hummed distractedly whilst pondering on the events of the previous day. He had clearly done something to annoy his hot tempered lover, again, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly it was. On the examining table, the prisoners' whimpers went unheard as Ibiki began to analyse every facet of Iruka's life, sure that the key must be in there somewhere.

Strong

As he is pulled down into his lovers lap for a passionate kiss, Iruka hopes that the horribly cheap plastic garden furniture is strong enough to hold their combined weight. To his vast disappointment, it isn't.

Change

A change is as good as a holiday, and Ibiki decides to start changing his life, by changing the colour of his underpants. Navy blue has always stood him in good stead, but he finds now, that on occasion, his smalls get mixed up with Iruka's. At first, they feel the same, but after a couple of hours, they start to ride up uncomfortably, and to pinch his intimate areas. Looking around the shop, Ibiki decides that a racy red is the way to enlightenment.

Smiles

When Iruka arrives at the Missions Desk five minutes late for his shift, he is all smiles, and his fellow ninja wonder curiously what has put him in such a wonderful mood. When Ibiki slinks in moments later, looking slightly ruffled, there are knowing grins all around – there is clearly nothing quite like the sensation of making someone else pay for Naruto's ramen.

Liars

Ibiki looks around at his staff and pronounces them all liars. He has not become sappy and brow-beaten. If he doesn't think of Iruka before making important decisions, then he is relegated to the dog-house, every choice that he makes in life, now has his sex life hinging on it. It does not, however, make him a less scary person.

Euphoria

The exhilaration of winning a spar against his lover has Iruka on a high for days. He can clearly remember every move, every jutsu and, most importantly, the look of astonishment on Ibiki's face.

Crumble

Splashing in the waves with his sun-browned lover, Ibiki watches as the sandcastle that he and Iruka laboured half the morning over, crumbles in the face of the incoming tide. It reminds him of how ephemeral life really is, and in a moment of epiphany, he sweeps his lover into his arms and plants a sloppy kiss on his salty lips.

Rumour has it…

Gossip is the cornerstone on which the Missions Room turns, and Iruka has great fun feeding tiny titbits to his colleagues about his relationship with the head of T&I. Most of them are completely made up, but a rare few are true and leave the listeners blushing furiously.

Grass

Lying in the long grass on the outskirts of the Academy, staring up through the leaves of the trees, Ibiki feels at peace. He stretches luxuriously and darts a glance towards the building, just as the bell rings to signal the end of the day. He knows that in just a few minutes, his lover will be all alone inside a big, empty, building.

Moments

It's moments like these that Iruka lives for; small, domestic moments that warm his heart and his soul. Ibiki and Naruto are sitting on the lounge room floor playing Risk whilst Iruka himself attempts to get some grading done. If only these moments could last forever.