FicWad

It wasn't unusual for Iruka to stay up late to keep up with his work, he did it all the time without even thinking about it. Nor was it unusual to have fallen asleep while he was correcting the latest homework done by his students.

What was unusual, however, was the fact that he woke up with the jacket on his shoulders that he clearly remembered having placed on the hanger far from the other side of the class, before starting to work.

Who knows, maybe some of his colleagues had passed by and had seen fit to cover him. After all, it was late and it was starting to get cold. It has never happened before, but there is always a first time for everything.

It was getting late, but there was still a lot of work to do and that nap had only been a waste of time. He would have to pull an allnighter this time too, to be able to get the correct homework back to his students as soon as possible.

He bent his head over the stacks of papers and it was at that moment that he saw it. It was one of the post-its he usually used to write down his to-dos. But there wasn't one of his memos on that post-it. There was only one sentence "You should take better care of yourself!" It was written in neat and precise handwriting, without hesitation. Clearly, it hadn't been written by any of his students, but he couldn't connect that writing to any of his colleagues either.

He wanted to know whose it was, but he wouldn't get any response right now. For a moment he thought about getting back to work right away, but he took that post-it note as a sign of his need for a break. He would take some time to correct them. At that moment he was clearly too tired to do his job well. In those conditions, he could have made mistakes while correcting them and it would have been to the detriment of his students, who did not deserve a wrong evaluation just because he was too tired.

He arranged the Homeworks in two neat piles and put them back in his backpack. Then he took the post-it and put that in his backpack too along with all the other piles of post-it and pencil cases that he always carried around.

The next day he arrived at work rested and in a good mood. His students were already in class, happy and noisy as usual. Many people were annoyed by that chaos, but he liked it, it made him happy.

As he approached the desk he noticed the small vase with peonies inside. They were very beautiful, he was pleased when his students gave him these surprises. As soon as he sat down at the desk to take things out of the backpack, however, he noticed that there was something leaning against one side of the vase. He took the card in his hands and read what was written on it "You should take better care of yourself!" it was written in the same handwriting as the post-it. Clearly, his students had nothing to do with him this time, but he was happy all the same. He smiled and put the card back together with the post-it from the day before.

From that day on, the post-its continued to follow him everywhere. Flowers too. Each time the previous pot withered, the next day, there was a new one to take its place. The flowers were always different and they were all accompanied by the same phrase "You should take better care of yourself!" and he had started to listen to it. He had begun to take more time to correct his homework, to sleep more, to eat better, to prioritize his health, which he hadn't actually done before. He lived better and this made him happier. Every time he saw one of those post-its or cards, his mood improved even more.

By now the thing had become so evident, that everyone had realized it, both students and colleagues, and everyone filled him with jokes and questions, but he could not give them any answers. He would have liked to know too, but he was waiting for the one everyone now called his secret admirer, to come out on his own.

Whoever he was, he had good reasons for being just a mysterious entity for the moment, Iruka knew how to wait. After all, a bit of mystery made it all the more interesting. Sooner or later he would come out on his own.

When he was a kid, there was no one to remind him to take care of himself and the fact that someone cared, so much that he repeated it to him every day even if remaining anonymous, filled his heart.

Occasionally he still had "bad days" and forgot to take care of himself, but it didn't happen as often as before.

It was on one such occasion, however, that his "secret admirer" found the courage to step forward.

The end of the academic year was approaching and this involved many deadlines, both for students and teachers, and this also brought with it a lot of stress. It is known that stress and commitments are never a good combination, but for Iruka it could have gone to an extreme.

During these times, he forgot everything that wasn't work. Even the most basic and important things, like a good night's sleep and at least two meals a day. It was, therefore, no surprise to him when he woke up one day in the infirmary after passing out during a meeting with his colleagues.

From the cot in which they had laid him, he could see the window. It was quite late now and the sun was almost setting. He had to hurry if he didn't want to be stuck there all night. He tried to get up, but someone stopped him. It was then that he realized he was not alone.

Sitting in a chair next to the cot he was sitting on, across the window, was someone he never expected to see. Beside him with his hand resting on his arm, to prevent him from jumping out of bed was Kakashi.

He stood watching him, unable to tell if he was dreaming or not. The other got up and helped him get back into bed. Clearly, he wasn't going anywhere.

He gently stroked his cheek with his bared fingers, protruding from the mittens. The contact of Kakashi's cold skin with his warmer one made him shiver. He hadn't realized that he had gone so far, he had given himself a fever.

Kakashi looked sad as he watched him in that state. he leaned over him and kissed his forehead.

"You should take better care of yourself... Iruka!"