Hello. *Watches tumbleweed blow across the dusty road*. Massive thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter and my thanks to those who didn't like it but were kind enough not to say so. Thanks also for the many faves and follows I've received, I'm really delighted that people are still reading this. Well, It's taken me a loooong while to get my act together to write the promised epilogue, but I am a completer-finisher, so here it is. Oh, warnings for smut.

Chapter 22 – Epilogue. Be All My Sins Remembered.

25 Years Later...

Kakashi lay on the sofa, relaxing. He had made tea and was expecting Iruka to arrive any time soon.

It wasn't long before he heard the door slide across and Iruka enter the cool room.

"Tadaima!" he called out as he slid the door shut.

It was a hot, humid afternoon outside and it seemed to Kakashi as though his lover had had another energetic day at the Academy.

Kakashi held out his arms to welcome Iruka home and the younger man sank into them.

They kissed.

"Mmm, good day?" the older man asked.

"Trying," came Iruka's slightly terse response.

Kakashi loosened the teacher's hair tie and released his hair, stroking the soft strands as he did so.

"Hmm, I see the brats are giving you more grey hairs," he commented, with an amused tone to his voice.

"I believe the term we use is 'silver', is it not?" the younger man retorted. "And, you can't talk, your hair is completely white, even if it is still as crazily gravity-defying as ever."

"And very distinguished I look too."

Iruka grinned. He leaned in to kiss the jounin again. Then they lay together, lazily sipping their tea.

"How was the council meeting?"

"It was fine. So much easier these days. Naruto comes up with eminently sensible policies and everyone agrees with them. Tsunade gets top points for being so much more flexible than the council members were in her day. I think she remembers how bloody obstructive they were. What about you?"

"Well, I had an interesting day with the pre-genin. You know I take them all for a class a week to see how they are progressing?"

"A good policy for the Academy head to adopt, I'd have thought."

"Well, they have all pretty much mastered basic cloning techniques now. I'm impressed."

"Well, they have a good headmaster who cares about the teaching standards," Kakashi commented. "Are you going to ask Naruto to visit them soon? They always like showing off in front of the Hokage."

"Yeah, he's due to visit next week. Oh, and I did have a request from the twins."

"Hmm?"

"As you know, Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan will be due to graduate to genin this year and they wanted to ask you whether Godfather Kakashi sensei would be their genin master, just like he was for their dad, seeing as Godfather Iruka sensei was their Academy headmaster."

"Are you serious?"

"They are serious. They really want you to be their sensei."

"Are they trying to kill me off? Those twins are the more hyperactive than their father and I only had one of him to handle. And I'm twice as old as I was when I took him on as my pupil."

Iruka grinned. The Uzumaki twins were good kids. He and Kakashi had often joked how relieved they were that their godchildren had inherited their mother's brains and their father's exuberance rather than the other way round.

"Who were you planning on teaming them with?"

"This year's bunch have all achieved a good standard – they are pretty evenly matched. We were thinking of teaming them up with Uchiha Hanako…"

Kakashi sat bolt upright. "What?! You're pitching me against two – count them – two Byakugan and a pre-genin who has a combined sharingan and the Yamanaka mind-body switch technique?"

"Well, little Hanako-chan's sharingan hasn't awakened yet. And I'm not sure that Sasuke and Ino have decided to teach the mind techniques just yet…"

"Have you forgotten that my sharingan is completely dead now?"

Iruka looked wistful as he nodded. "And I really, really miss it."

Iruka had never once feared that deadly eye. Over the years they had discovered a very powerful use for the sharingan. Since they had rekindled their relationship Kakashi had proved himself to be loyal and trustworthy. And the most amazing lover. Between them the pair had learned to use the sharingan to explore a sensual and erotic side to their relationship. Iruka could choose to look into Kakashi's eye during their lovemaking and share his feelings of pleasure. It was a powerful and liberating experience. But, as expected, Kakashi's sharingan capability had disappeared over time and he was now blind in his left eye.

Kakashi held Iruka close. "I miss it too," he whispered. "But I'm not completely useless yet, ne? I can think of some things we can do later tonight. If you want?"

Iruka grinned. He twisted round to kiss Kakashi, a soft kiss on his unmasked lips. The teacher had been planning and had something he wanted to discuss with his lover and considered that now was a good time to raise the subject.

"Soooo... I was thinking," Iruka declared. "It's our anniversary coming up soon."

"Which one?" Kakashi replied casually, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

"Take your pick. Ten years of marriage, thirty years of being in love or twenty five years of you not being an idiot."

"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"

Iruka smiled. "I will never let you forget that. I hope to be around to remind you that you were a complete and utter fool for letting me go for five whole years, every single day for the rest of our lives..."

Kakashi squeezed him. "How have I managed to live with you for so long?"

"You've loved every moment."

"True... except for the time that you and Naruto rigged Konoha's gates with a water jutsu and rained a torrent of cold water over me after I'd just returned from a really challenging mission."

"That was hilarious and you know it," Iruka sniggered.

"Anyway, you were saying…" Kakashi changed the subject swiftly.

"I thought that seeing as term finishes soon and it will be a while before you take on the new genin…"

"Er, I hadn't actually agreed to that," Kakashi noted, quite reasonably.

Iruka ignored him. "I think we should take a holiday."

Kakashi smiled. It was exactly like Iruka to think of something like that. It was a great idea, but he wanted to tease the Academy head just a little bit.

"Well, I have council duties and my new book is due to be published soon…"

"Your filthy books can wait," Iruka replied firmly. "I can't believe you took on the Icha Icha series after Jiraiya had passed on. It still astounds me that Jiraiya left his number one fan the rights to his books and characters."

"Well it needed a few years and a major ninja war before I could actually write anything. And I did adapt them slightly."

"You made them gay!"

"And bloody good they are too. I've been selling loads. The fangirls love them."

"I daren't read any of them. I bet you've put all your disgusting fantasies about me in them."

"Yeah. And some." The jounin grinned.

Iruka sat up, turned around and punched Kakashi playfully. The jounin pulled his lover towards him. He buried his nose against the Academy head's hair inhaling his amazing scent. They had been together so very long and yet he could never get enough of Iruka.

"So, where are we going then?"

Iruka paused. He knew exactly where he wanted to go, but a very long time had passed since they had last visited and he wasn't quite sure how Kakashi would react to the suggestion.

"Iwa?" he asked tentatively, "To the beach where we first got to know each other?"

Kakashi grinned. It was nearly thirty years since their first encounter, when he had made the call, in a split-second, not to kill the young chuunin who had been accused of turning rogue. It felt kind of fitting that they should return. And in this age of relative peace between the shinobi nations, it was no longer a dangerous journey.

"Okay."

"Really?" Iruka's eyes were shining.

"Yeah," Kakashi replied softly. His eyes arched into a smile. This felt right. "It would be good to get away. And interesting to see how things have changed." He didn't mention how great it would be to go back to the place where he first fell in love. That didn't need to be said.

"Great. Naruto has okayed it."

"You've asked him already?"

"Of course. And he's squared it with the Tsuchikage…"

"How long have you been planning this trip?" Kakashi asked, astonished that Iruka seemed to have made all the arrangements.

His husband paused. Iruka turned to look into the Copy-nin's only functioning eye, his expression filled with love. "I still remember that time so well. I know it sounds ridiculously sentimental but it was where I fell in love with you. I want us to go back there. Together."

Kakashi sighed softly as he ran his elegant fingers over Iruka's soft hair. "It would be my pleasure."

It was an uneventful journey. They had decided to travel back to the beach using the route that they had returned on all those years ago, rather than journeying via the Shaku mountain range. They had travelled those paths together, even if Iruka couldn't remember large sections of the journey because he had been unconscious, carried in Kakashi's arms, on the long road back to Konoha, when neither shinobi knew what fate awaited them.

The pair had decided to bring some of the nin-ken. None of Kakashi's original pack were still alive and even Pakkun's son was advanced in years, too old to travel any great distance. But the pair took along Pakkun's grandson, a lively pug called Rikku and Buru's great grandson, Buru (the bulldogs had never really been ones for imaginative naming) for company. Both dogs had heard their ancestors talk of the time they met Kakashi on a lonely beach a long time ago and wanted to see the area for themselves. They travelled with the shinobi, but were generally independent, exploring the route and its surrounds for themselves, occasionally joining up with their masters.

Kakashi and Iruka had kept a brisk pace, walking some of the route, but running part of it as well. Both had kept in great physical shape and were incredibly fit.

As the small group approached the seashore the landscape felt familiar and yet subtly altered. The topography was generally the same, but certain features of the landscape had changed. The weather throughout their journey had been amazing but was turning now, the clouds thickening and the temperature dropping slightly.

Eventually they approached the cliff edge. As they peered over the side of the sheer drop, they could see nothing but swirling mist below. It was just like the time Iruka had literally taken a leap of faith and jumped into the void at Kakashi's bidding. The Academy head took the council leader's hand in his and turned to look at him, his eyes shining with excitement.

"We'll jump, ne? Just like that first time?"

Kakashi pulled the younger man towards him and held him tightly. He was feeling strangely excited about returning to this place, to seeing their cave once more and to spending some time together, just the two of them, away from the bustle of Konoha.

Eventually he let Iruka go. They smiled at each other, clasped hands and jumped into the abyss.

They fell, tensing and preparing to flex their knees as they expected to land on the rocky ledge just a couple of seconds later.

But they continued to fall beyond the expected drop. Still poised, they didn't come into contact with the ledge.

Or anything at all.

Iruka's eyes widened.

Crap. They ledge had clearly eroded away. They were going to hit the rock at the bottom of the cliff.

Very soon.

But they had no means of preparing for the impact. They had no idea when they would hit the ground. It was a long way down thirty years ago, and the coastline might have changed significantly since.

Suddenly Iruka felt Kakashi grip his hand more tightly. He pulled his lover towards him and held him very close. Maybe this was it? If they were going to be smashed to pieces at the foot of a very tall cliff, at least they would die in each other's arms.

Iruka would have smiled at the poetic romance of it all if he hadn't been so shocked. He felt a shot of adrenaline flood through him, his pulse was racing.

Iruka blacked out. When he opened his eyes, he was standing on the cliff edge once more, held tight in Kakashi's warm embrace. As calm and skilled as he had ever been, the jounin had teleported them both to the top of the cliff. He had been unable to judge a leap to the beach, so had calculated precisely how to return to the top of the cliff using his prodigious teleportation skills.

Iruka's heart was pounding. He looked up, feeling slightly embarrassed at his reaction. Kakashi was smiling at him, his expression full of love.

And a little bit of amusement.

"Thought that was it for us?" he asked, as Iruka blushed furiously.

"No. No, of course not," the teacher tried not to stammer.

Kakashi laughed and held his lover close. "I would never let anything happen to you. Shall we climb down, ne?"

Iruka squeezed him and they both walked down the cliff face together using their considerable chakra control. When they arrived at the beach, they knew they had quite a walk to their cave. The dogs had wandered off and Kakashi assumed that they would make their way onto the beach eventually, maybe via the headland at the far end of the shore.

The beach was familiar and yet had changed in many ways. The waterfall that splashed down the cliff into the natural rock pool was still there, although the natural rock pool, where the pair had first kissed, had become broader, from several years of water erosion.

They nearly missed the cave itself, as the leafy green foliage above the entrance had grown thick and bushy. Kakashi used his kunai to cut away at some of the branches and the pair made their way inside. The air smelt slightly musty.

The first thing Iruka did was rush to the back of the cave, to see if their names were carved out on the rock face. It seemed as though there had been a slight landslip, but as Iruka brushed his fingertips over the cool stone, he felt only the faintest ridges but their names were still discernable, if only just. Obito's name, carved so many years before when he was part of Team Minato, had been erased. Iruka couldn't help feeling a little glad about that.

Kakashi had been terribly hurt at Obito's sudden appearance during the war. He had spent his youth bitterly regretting not having saved his friend, only to find that that friend, and former comrade, had betrayed him, Konoha and the entire shinobi world. Kakashi had suffered a deep depression when the war had finally been won. They physical scars healed first. Iruka was there to deal with the emotional fallout.

In the early days of their relationship, Iruka had spent a long time getting to know his lover, learning about his tragic past, understanding his idiosyncrasies and, eventually, with love and patience, giving Kakashi the space he needed to exorcise his demons. He was there for him again after the war. It had been a long and difficult process, living with a person who was shouldering so much pain, and Iruka found those dark days hard going. But he never gave up on his partner and slowly, surely, Kakashi recovered.

For Kakashi's part, Iruka had saved him from a life full of bitterness and regret. The chuunin had brought joy into his world and gave him a reason to complete every mission, knowing that he could return home to the warm, loving embrace of his partner. Kakashi would always remain grateful for Iruka's love, for his patience and understanding, and for not judging him but remaining loyal and loving throughout their many years together.

Iruka turned to his husband and beckoned him to the rear of the cave. He gripped Kakashi's wrist and showed him where their names were written on that dark cave wall. The older man grinned as his fingers brushed the faint trace of the carving in the rock.

"So where was it we first made love?"

Iruka laughed. He turned to look for the rocky ledge and Kakashi grabbed him by the waist and pulled his lover towards it.

"Do you remember that night when you were soaking wet because you'd insisted on getting those herbs for me? And I told you to take your clothes off and lie next to me?"

Iruka laughed. "I was in such a bad mood. And you thought it was funny."

"It was."

"You are so awful," Iruka said indignantly.

"I was already in love with you then and I really, really wanted to look at you as you took your clothes off. The thought of seeing you naked was so deliciously tempting."

"But as I recall it was completely dark," Iruka pondered. "There's no way you would have…"

He stopped.

And thought for a moment. Then he gasped as realisation dawned, "You could have seen me in the dark. I didn't know about your sharingan and what it could do then."

Kakashi grinned.

"You filthy pervert!" Iruka shouted.

Kakashi didn't say anything. Instead he picked Iruka up into his arms and carried him to the ledge where they had spent so many days sleeping together all those years ago.

He laid Iruka down but instead of moving in to kiss him he reached for his travelling bag. He fumbled inside temporarily and then removed a small pouch, inside which was a deflated inflatable mattress. In one breath, he inflated it, then laid it down on the ledge beside his lover. Iruka climbed on top and laid back, waiting to see what Kakashi wanted to do.

"There's no way I'm spending any time sleeping on hard rock. I think we deserve a bit of comfort now we're older."

"Oh, you were planning on sleeping?" Iruka commented mischievously. "I thought we might spend the evening making love. But if you're too tired, old man…" He rolled over, and closed his eyes, pretending that he was going to doze off. "Well, night then," he yawned.

Kakashi was immediately beside him. "Don't imagine for a moment that you are actually going to get any sleep tonight, " he purred. "I have plans for you."

Iruka turned to face his lover, a naughty expression in his wide eyes. "Oh? And just what did you have in mmmnnf…"

The Copy-nin kissed him, plunging his tongue into Iruka's mouth with a desperate need. The younger man responded immediately. Kakashi pulled the teacher towards him, his hands tugging at his clothes, pulling out his shirt from his waistband and loosening the ties to his trousers.

Kakashi's fingers slipped underneath the fabric of Iruka's shirt and his calloused hands roamed over the teacher's tanned torso. After so many years the jounin knew precisely where his lover liked to be touched and he never failed to be delighted by Iruka's responses to his caresses. During the course of their relationship they had explored many sides to their sexuality – and Kakashi had discovered that his quiet unassuming lover was actually a tiger in the sack – but their love was always based on mutual respect and a desire to please the other.

It wasn't long before both shinobi were naked, hard and ready to make love. Which they did. For hours. Eventually, they slipped into a deep, contented sleep, lying in each other's arms.

The next morning Kakashi awoke to find that Iruka was not beside him. It occurred to him that the teacher might have wandered off to forage for fresh food – maybe to catch some fish or pick some plants. The pair had brought with them sufficient supplies to last the journey, but both of them had recalled, with some fondness, those days on the beach where they had to find their own sustenance. And being beside the sea, the prospect of fresh fish was altogether too tempting.

Not bothering to dress (he could see that Iruka's clothes were still lying on the floor of the cave where they had been carelessly discarded the night before) Kakashi made his way towards the beach. Although it was clearly a lovely day but the foliage dangling across the entrance ensured that the cave remained dark and cool. As he reached the leafy bushes, a thought occurred to the silver haired man.

He poked at the branches and leaves, tugging at them and shaking them slightly.

Sure enough, a great pile of sloppy wet seaweed descended and fell with a plop at the jounin's feet.

Kakashi smiled to himself. He wasn't going to fall for that old trick. He then pulled the green leaves aside and walked confidently onto the beach. As he did so, a second batch of sloppy seaweed landed on his head.

Damn, that bloody teacher.

Kakashi gazed across the beach to see Iruka sitting on a rock, laughing at him.

He cast his mind back to that time, thirty years ago, when Iruka had played all those pranks on him in an effort to cheer him up. He vaguely recalled a pool of quicksand, mere steps from the entrance to the cave, which he stepped into and ended up waist-deep in sopping wet soggy sand. So he leapt over a couple of metres of sand in front of the cave…

… only to land in a pool of sopping wet soggy sand. Iruka had foreseen that Kakashi, once covered in a headdress of soaking seaweed would have remembered his prank, so had positioned the pool of sand just a bit further out, perfectly anticipating that the jounin's next move would be to leap over to where he thought he could avoid the trap.

Kakashi, dripping wet, and not a little uncomfortable from the sandy pool, looked across to his lover who was laughing so hard it clearly hurt. The jounin raised his hands to form a jutsu and Iruka started running down the sandy shoreline.

The jounin created a clone which immediately started pursuing Iruka while Kakashi hauled himself out of the pool and brushed himself down. His clone was doing an admirable job chasing his lover down, and Iruka was clearly running swiftly in order to escape him. The older man had another plan though. He was going to make sure his lover would be well and truly punished.

He teleported, right in front of Iruka, who stopped immediately and turned in his tracks, only to run straight into the waiting arms of into Kakashi's clone.

Iruka struggled but he couldn't escape the clone's tight grip. Kakashi's copy spun the teacher around and gripped his upper arms, while the real jounin sauntered across the sandy beach towards him. He took his time, he knew his lover was now trapped and at his mercy.

Iruka gulped. He was aware that he was in trouble but was also very sure that he was most definitely likely to enjoy his punishment. He observed the naked ninja advancing towards him and looked appreciatively at his body. Kakashi was lean and his body toned. He was damned hot.

When the white-haired ninja reached his prey, he leaned in to kiss the teacher. His tongue forced his way into Iruka's welcoming mouth, pushing insistently.

The jounin gestured to the clone, who picked Iruka up and then sat himself down, bringing the younger man to rest on his lap. He refused to relinquish his grip on Iruka's arms – holding him gently, but firmly, he waited to see what Kakashi intended to do next.

Kakashi had a terrific sense of humour. It had taken Iruka many months to discover it but the teacher had come to realise how lucky he was to have a lover who both cared about him with a fervent passion and could take being on the receiving end of any number of pranks. He didn't realise that it was the younger man who had finally given Kakashi the opportunity to relax for the first time in his life. He had spent his entire childhood and adolescence fighting for his village and had lost everyone he had ever cared about. He had been scared to let himself love Iruka, but somehow the chuunin's joie de vivre had had a profound effect on Kakashi's outlook on life.

The Copy-nin took his time. He was very much going to enjoy punishing his lover.

As Iruka was confined by the strong embrace of Kakashi's clone, he was powerless to do anything about the relentless teasing the older man had in mind for him. Kakashi knelt in front of his lover and leaned in for another long, slow, kiss. Iruka responded immediately, but Kakashi pulled back. He sat up on his heels to admire his lover. Iruka looked utterly gorgeous and was already becoming aroused. The older man grinned then leaned in once more and started licking softly at Iruka's neck – soft, wet strokes that sent shivers of pleasure down the teacher's spine. Iruka knew what his lover was up to and began to anticipate the most delicious agony.

Kakashi started working on pleasuring Iruka's body, kissing, nipping and licking at his tender flesh. He used his nimble fingers to mercilessly pluck at Iruka's pert pink nipples. The teacher moaned at the contact, he was so sensitive. It wasn't long before he was fully hard.

Kakashi sat back on his heels and admired his handiwork. His lover was reclining in the arms of the jounin's very hot, naked clone, face flushed and panting heavily. He had a wicked grin on his face.

Years ago, Iruka would have blushed and looked away, embarrassed to have the older man stare at him. But he was really rather enjoying this and wasn't afraid to show his lover how much he enjoyed his attentions.

The jounin raised an eyebrow as he glanced downwards to notice that the teacher was now fully hard.

"So," he whispered as he trailed his fingers slowly over the teacher's rock hard abs, "You want more?"

Iruka nodded. "Then you shall have more," Kakashi promised as he leaned in to lick his lover's arousal. Iruka gasped at the contact. Kakashi smiled to himself as he heard the younger man's breathing quicken, then took his lover's erection fully into his mouth. Iruka cried out. He loved the sensation of Kakashi pleasuring his cock. He relaxed in the clone's embrace.

Without pausing for a moment, the jounin then signalled to his clone, who reached up and pulled Iruka's hair tie away, handing it to its maker. The jounin took it and let the elasticated tie slip over his hand and onto his wrist. Iruka noticed the handover and looked mildly quizzical for a second but didn't let his lover's action worry him. He was enjoying himself far too much.

Kakashi continued sucking and licking at Iruka's engorged arousal. He listened to the amazing sounds his lover was making. It always pleased him to hear how much Iruka was enjoying his attentions but he hadn't forgotten that he was meant to be punishing his lover for his pranks. He listened carefully. He knew exactly when the younger man was about to reach his climax.

As Kakashi continued to pleasure his lover with such expert skill, Iruka's heartbeat quickened. He could feel his impending orgasm building up. Eyes closed and panting heavily, he tensed, ready for blissful release.

But just as he was about to come, Kakashi released Iruka's erection from his mouth and slipped the teacher's hair tie over his hot, wet, penis, letting it come to rest at the base of his cock. The tie constricted the blood and prevented him from finding that sweet release. Right on the edge of the most amazing orgasm, Iruka couldn't come.

He cried out, "No! You tease!"

Kakashi sat back, looking smug. He then signalled to the clone, who vanished momentarily then reappeared immediately, the teleportation so swift that Iruka barely noticed that he wasn't reclining in the clone's arms for a second. Kakashi's double, having teleported to the cave, tossed the lube at its maker then continued constraining Iruka, complying with the jounin's wishes to ensure that the teacher remained as highly aroused as possible, stroking his soft skin and teasing his nipples. The younger man moaned softly, succumbing to Kakashi's sweet torture.

Kakashi grabbed the tube and squeezed a small amount of cool liquid into the palm of his hand. Then, slowly, he lubed his achingly hard erection, enjoying the sensations of his own touch, but never losing eye contact with his lover. His expression was naughty and he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Kakashi decided not to prepare Iruka but to enter his lover directly; he was powerful and confident, thrusting insistently. Much as he wanted to hold back and tease his lover further, as soon as he felt the tight velvety warmth of Iruka's body he increased his pace. He could feel his lover tense and his breathing was becoming increasingly ragged as the pressure built up.

He glanced at the teacher, who was clearly enjoying himself, but Kakashi soon realised that Iruka wasn't going to last much longer. As Kakashi felt his own climax approaching, he reached down to remove the hair tie. Freeing Iruka's engorged erection, he pumped it relentlessly.

The lovers came together, each finding sweet release.

They lay, panting, in each others' arms for several minutes. They had always enjoyed the most amazing sex, but they were most fond of the time they spent together afterwards, holding each other, embracing. And murmuring to each other how much they loved the other.

"So you had time to prepare pranks. Have you prepared breakfast as well?" Kakashi eventually asked his lover.

"No. My job was pranks, your job was breakfast," the teacher replied with a naughty grin on his face.

"You really like to live dangerously, don't you?"

The teacher smiled and the scar across his nose wrinkled in the most adorable way.

Kakashi leaned slowly across Iruka's body, pinning him down, then reached downwards to the younger man's waist and tickled him mercilessly. It amused him enormously that Iruka was so ticklish and he loved to feel him squirming beneath him, trying desperately not to giggle. Iruka loved how affectionate Kakashi was.

They weren't especially hungry. Lying together in each other's arms, basking in the morning sunshine, they could not have been happier. They had served many years of duty to their village, engaged in battles and wars, endured injuries, lost comrades. Loyal to their village, loyal to their friends and fiercely loyal to each other.

"It was a good time, wasn't it?" Iruka smiled as he rolled over onto his back to look up at the fluffy clouds in the pale blue sky, recalling those days in Iwa thirty years ago.

Kakashi looked amused. "No it wasn't. It was bloody awful."

"Well of course there were the chakra drains, the poisoned kunai, the awful weather, loads of battles with that awful brute, that wretched scroll to retrieve..."

"My point exactly," Kakashi agreed.

"...but those days on the beach. When we finally had the scroll and spent those wonderful days together, fucking all the time. I was really in love with you."

Kakashi loved how Iruka could always see the positives in everything. He was right. While that time had involved worry, stress, fear and injury, it had – eventually – brought them together.

Kakashi replied, "I was in love with you too. Have been in love with you ever since. Think I'll be in love with you forever."

And that's it. Before I forget – some people have commented on the chapter headings and title of this story. I'm afraid I'm a thief (as much as I am for using characters from Naruto and playing with them the way I have). The chapter titles have come from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the famous To Be or Not To Be speech. It's a beautiful piece of writing about Hamlet questioning the meaning of life and trying to work out whether he should carry on, despite the troubles he has faced, and his uncertain future. It kinda felt right. Okay. Well, I think that's me done for now. I can't believe that I've (eventually) managed to write two novel length stories (the other being An Unfree World). I have probably run out of steam for now. But maybe – just maybe - a cute and inspiring lagomorpha will hop my way. We'll see. Thanks again. Ja mata.