Chapter Text
Halfway through summer, Kakashi had to leave the comfort of Konoha and attend a summit in Kirigakure. Diplomatic missions of this kind were not out of the ordinary, but this one would be longer than usual due to the fact that all Kages were attending.
Kakashi was getting a bit of separation anxiety over it. The morning he was scheduled to leave, he held Iruka close, already half an hour late, and Iruka got swallowed up by the white Hokage robes as Kakashi clung to him.
Iruka patted Kakashi’s back. “You’ll be back before you know it.”
Kakashi made a sceptical sound against Iruka’s neck.
“And they’ve got modern phones there,” Iruka added. “You can call me when you’re done with your meetings, and we can talk before bed. And we can write each other.”
Kakashi made a slightly more agreeable sound, but he didn’t let go.
“I’ll miss our four-month anniversary,” Kakashi muttered.
Iruka sighed. “Stop calling the attack on the I&R Centre our anniversary.”
“But, honey,” Kakashi whined, “I’m your next-of-kin.”
Iruka rolled his eyes. He glanced at the clock someone had hung up in Kakashi’s living room in an attempt to make him be more punctual. If things kept going like this, Kakashi would be a full hour late, and people would blame Iruka, and they would be sort of right—he had a hard time kicking Kakashi out the door most days, but knowing that they would be apart for a few weeks made it even more difficult.
Iruka couldn’t even use his own work as a reason to get them going—the Academy would be closed for another month, and the fact that his schedule wouldn’t keep him too busy to miss Kakashi was yet another deterrent when it came to doing what he must and sending Kakashi off.
He could always get more shifts at the Mission Desk, Iruka supposed. Kakashi would probably not object to the idea, now that mission assignments had gone back to being handled from the Academy after the I&R Centre blew up. Kakashi had argued it was safer, and while his thinking was a bit flawed in Iruka’s opinion, the record was on Kakashi’s side.
Still, there would be a lot of hours Iruka would spend puttering around his flat, which now felt small in comparison to Kakashi’s place, tempted to just stay at Kakashi’s home but avoiding using the spare key in his possession because being there on his own only made his absence more acute.
“You’ll be back soon,” Iruka said, this time with less conviction.
Kakashi took a deep breath and squeezed Iruka tightly, then let go of him and stepped back. Iruka could discern the slight moue even though Kakashi’s mask was already up.
“Can you say something very schmoopy and romantic as farewell,” Kakashi asked, eyes large and pleading, “for me to think back on while I’m missing you during my trip?”
Iruka huffed a chuckle, then stroked Kakashi’s cheek. “You make me smile.”
“Kind of half-assed, but I’ll take it,” Kakashi said, then blocked Iruka’s smack to his arm. “Oy!”
“Have a safe trip, Kakashi-sama,” Iruka said sweetly, then pushed and laughed at Kakashi until the man finally gave up, donned his wide hat, and went on his way. Iruka watched him go, waving every time Kakashi turned back to check if Iruka was still leaning against the entrance. He felt like the dutiful wife and didn’t mind it one bit—at least until Kakashi flickered out of sight and Iruka was left alone in the morning sun.