Christmas call

Christmas call


'… five two six eight two.'

The low mutter broke the otherwise unflawed silence; a few loose strands of dark brown hair were brushed aside as a cell phone was pressed against the now free ear conch.
Full, soft lips formed silent incantations while the quiet ring of the outgoing call resounded through the square object within the man's hand.
„Please be available, please be available, please..."

„Hello?"
A tired voice answered the phone, low and deep, halfly swallowing the last syllable.

The caller's face fell with relief as he pressed the cell harder against his ear, hand cupped around his jaw. Desperately, he held on to the small object.
„Oh god, I missed your voice."

A moment of silence.
Then, finally, a low sigh. The tired tone spoke volumes about its owner's condition.
„Iruka."

Iruka's eyes closed in relaxation as he processed who he was talking to. It seemed like ages since he had last heard that familiar voice, so close through the phone, but yet so far.
He missed him...
„Kakashi... how have you been?"

The answer came quick, a little too rash to be comforting.
„Maa... busy, as always."

Busy. Iruka winced as he imagined his lover's state of fatigue.
He rolled his eyes, tired of arguing for Kakashi to drop some of his shifts and pass some of his clients on to one of his collegues. The other man never would listen to him when it came to working matters.
„What's that sound in the background?"
Iruka had noticed a low hum, faint but recognizable, that accompanied his lover's comments.

„That would be a car, beloved. I'm on my way home."

Iruka frowned. His lips twitched in the silent urge to cuss at Kakashi for overworking. He scarcely refrained from it for the sake of peace, and instead thought of a way to get the matter out in a calm way.
„You're still outside? Kakashi, you're overdoing things... it's past eight!"

„I know, I know... but there was something I had to get done."
Kakashi sounded hoarse, Iruka noticed. A low cough, halfly covered by his lover clearing his throat, made the brunette hiss under his breath.

Iruka's temper started flaring.
Why couldn't his lover try to act reasonably, as everyone else did?
He himself would have taken care of that fool's health, but he was too far off. Ever since Kakashi's business concern had decided to merge their headquarters with a partner company's, far to the south, Iruka had rarely managed to see his beloved.
The man had never complained about their lack of shared time, but it had been bugging him ever since, and he missed the months they had spent living together.

„Silly, hard working man. How was your meeting, this noon?"

Kakashi's voice took him off guard, his tone keen and weary.
„Iruka."

The brunette's gaze swept up to the living room's ceiling where a bouquet of red roses hung upside down, the blossoms dried with unfading beauty.
„Mmh?"

„Let's not talk about work, now. I've missed you. How are you doing, right now?"
A low squeal of brakes in the background, followed by several sudden swears from Kakashi's mouth made Iruka wince.
„Dammit, learn how to drive, woman!", the other man ended, and Iruka closed his eyes in relief.

To find an answer to Kakashi's question wasn't hard, to bear the consequences was.
„I'm lonely."

„I know."

Iruka's mouth felt dry as he tried to remember the last time they had kissed.
It had been quite a while, but he remembered it clearly, as if it had been just yesterday.

Iruka had taken the last flight down to Kagawa on a saturday night, to see him during the other's vacation, and Kakashi had welcomed him with a bouquet of roses.
They had spent hours and hours of talking and silence on Kakashi's couch, Iruka snuggling up to Kakashi, head buried in the small of Kakashi's neck.
But the moment of goodbye had arrived far too soon, as it used to, and Iruka had shed more than a few tears-- although he had been embarassed to let Kakashi notice at first --, when it was time for him to board the plane.
The last of their shared moments for quite a while had been gone, when Kakashi had suddenly leapt over the barrier separating the boarding area from the waiting hall, and dragged Iruka back into his arms. Close, very close, had they stood there, and Kakashi had buried his face deep within the long strands of Iruka's brown hair. The functionaries had looked rather flustered, refraining from interfering but struggling not to, as Iruka's lips had found Kakashi's to seal them with one last parting kiss.
Iruka remembered the sobs rippling through his body when Kakashi had let go quite well, and the pain of separation still stung within his chest as he did so.

Kisses...
Oh, how he missed them.
More than that, though, ...
„I miss you."

Kakashi cleared his throat with a quiet huff, his craving clear in his tone.
A low knock at the door made Iruka look up in surprise, but he dropped back against the thick cushions in an instant as the knocking dropped out.
Christmas mail, probably.
He didn't want it.
„I miss you, too."

It took Iruka a moment to recollect himself.
Kakashi missed him, too. That made things even worse.
God, why couldn't they just be together?
He had refused to think of this year's christmas eve, but they had merely 24 hours to go until then, and Iruka couldn't imagine what christmas would be like without his lover.
Still, he was rather worried about Kakashi's condition than his own festivities.
„Kakashi... don't strain yourself. You sound exhausted."

„As do you."

The brunette choked back a sad laugh.
„I have a bunch of children to teach geometry to, while most of them are, above all, particularly interested in throwing paper beads at one another. I'll be free over christmas, but I've spent my day preparing the lessons for the first week in january already."

Kakashi let out a quiet chuckle, as he apparently imagined Iruka's class running wild with their christmas holiday in mind.
„Don't you love your students?"
Another quiet cough
Iruka flinched.

„I do, more often than not. Still, they seem to get more impatient the further christmas approaches. It's been a pain lately, really."
It was no wonder the children had been on edge during their last days of school. Iruka knew and prepared for that kind of behaviour whenever he saw it coming, but even that didn't help with the consequent headaches.

„Maa, Iruka..."
Kakashi's voice barely hid the low chuckle belying his solemn tone.
Iruka rolled his eyes.
What kind of cheesy joke did Kakashi remember this time?

„Hm?"
It was more of a sigh than a real reply, but Kakashi wouldn't spare him with his humour either way.

The answer, though, took the brunette off guard.
„Would you attend to the door, please?"

Iruka paused, irritated.
The door?
Right, someone had knocked before.
„Ah, of course."

It took Iruka quite an effort to get up from the couch, legs swinging idly before he finally got to his feet.
Kakashi's breathing resounded evenly through the cellphone, and the brunette's thoughts drifted southwards to where his lover must be driving home right now.
Southwards...
Why did it have to be Kagawa, out of all places?
Kagawa was so far away from Tokyo, where Iruka was staying on his own now.

He had nearly reached the door, fingers only an inch from the handle, as Iruka's eyes widened.

Yes, Kagawa was far away.
As Kakashi should have been.
Iruka froze in place.
„…wait. How did you know there was someone at my door?"

A low chuckle echoed through the wooden material right in front of the brunette's face, and Iruka's breath caught, as he grabbed the door handle with sudden agitation, his brown eyes wide with shock.
The hand holding the cellphone dropped carelessly as Iruka ripped the door open to stare into the corridor.
His mind refused to process what he saw, face going blank and eyes blinking stupidly; once, twice.

Kakashi.
Dear god.

The silver-haired man offered a tired smile, one hand raised in a silent greeting.
His voice sounded huskier than ever although he was clearly enjoying himself as he choked out a quiet 'Hey' and watched his lover's reaction.

„You were... 'on your way home'... oh god.", the brunette processed slowly, before he couldn't hold back anymore.
Iruka exploded with joy. A fit of relieved laughter burst through his lips, throat and chest burning with pent-up craving. The brunette's arms were around the other man in an instant, and he released an outcry full of elation.
Kakashi was here.

„B-but how... and why!?"
Iruka composed himself with an effort, lips twitching with helpless relief.
His heart was pounding against his chest, breathing fast and agitated.

Kakashi's lips twitched up into a heartwarming smile, the corner of his right eye crinkling as he cradled Iruka closer against him.
„Secret", he smirked, urging Iruka back through the flat's door.
The brunette's head dropped heavily against his lover's chest, carefully listening to the low rumble within his lungs and the strong beating of his heart.

A secret it was, and an amazing one, indeed.
Iruka didn't even care how his lover had managed to make it on time for a shared christmas eve-- all that mattered was the here and now, and Iruka couldn't have been any happier.
They sure would make up for the loneliness of the past months.
Christmas mysteries remained christmas mysteries, and the two of them shared their days as they shared their nights until there was nothing left to desire.