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Iruka buries his face against Kakashi's chest, fists curled into the jounin's sleep shirt as hot tears soak into the fabric.
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.
The memories come unbidden at night; always at night, when the walls he pushes everything behind start to crack, before finally collapsing under the onslaught of his grief.
"Shhh, it's okay. I'm here," Kakashi says, pressing soft kisses atop Iruka’s head.
Mizuki's betrayal still lingers, and not just in the gnarled red tissue across Iruka’s back— but in the way it leaves an unseen scar on his soul, permanently etched into him forever.