'Promise not to leave me,' Kakashi mumbled as he snuggled up against the Uchiha's leg. Itachi rolled his eyes at the 21 year old man, who slightly resembled a cat with the way he was rubbing his face on the teen's thigh.

'I promise you idiot,' he replied. Kakashi believed him. Itachi was a bit suprised. He knew the older man was sharp as a tack. Perhaps love really had blinded him.

'If I die, I want you to keep my body in your bed,' the older man said, chuckling against Itachi's leg. The teen sighed and twirled bits of grey hair around his index finger.

'The things you say sometimes are even more ridiculous than what comes out of my little brother's mouth.'

Kakashi lifted his head up and stared up at Itachi's dark eyes. 'Love makes people stupid 'Tachi.'

'Okay Kakashi. If you die I will keep your body in my closet instead. And if I die please make a shrine for me in your bedroom. I want my corpse dressed in the finest linens and a crown on my head.'

The older man smiled and lifted the Uchiha's shirt a bit. He pulled down his mask and placed a kiss on the boy's pelvis. 'Hm. I already have a secret shrine dedicated to you in my closet.'

Itachi smiled at the sweet gesture before looking up at the stars. 'I wouldn't put it past you. You are rather strange.'

'As long as I'm alive I'll do everythign in my power to keep you alive babe. I promise.'

'Please don't promise such things,' Itachi whispered, before lying back on the grass in front of the memorial stone. He was thankful the man didn't see him shed any tears that night.

Kakashi raced to the scene the second he saw Sasuke fall down next to his brother. His nin dogs ran next to him while the others tried to keep up. He needed to see Itachi one last time, even if it was just for a second. His chest tightened at the sight of his former lover lying motionless on the ground and covered in blood. "Keep the other's back Pakkun," he ordered as he dropped down onto his knees. He pressed his hand lightly to Itachi's chest and could feel a faint heartbeat. He was still alive.

"Baby, can you hear me?" he whispered, pushing strands of blood soaked hair away from Itachi's face. Itachi eyes drifted down towards his hand then back up at Kakashi. The older man understood and gently held Itachi's hand. "Please don't leave me Itachi. Everyone always leaves me. I can't lose you for good."

A tear slid down Itachi's face. He felt guilty. He didn't want to make Kakashi upset. It was fine if Kakashi hated him. He had thought the man had hated him after what he did. But here he was pleading with him to stay alive. A sob escaped his mouth, bringing blood up with it. Kakashi's eyes widened and he pulled the Uchiha's body up into a sitting position. He rested Itachi's head on his shoulder and gently rubbed his back.

More tears slid down the older Uchiha's face as he saw his brother staring at the two of them. Sasuke didn't understand what was going on. Why the hell was Kakashi holding his brother. Itachi was a monster who killed his clan for the sake of power. He even tried to kill Kakashi. So why was he touching his brother as if they were lovers.

"I'm taking you back with me along with Sasuke. I'm not letting you die here. I don't care if it's selfish on my part," whispered Kakashi.

Itachi wanted to protest but his body was too weak. And a part of him did want to go back. He missed Kakashi so much. And even if he did end up dying at least he got to spend his last moments with his little brother and his former lover. Kakashi slid his arm underneath Itachi's thighs and wrapped his other arm around his mid-back. He hoisted his body up and pressed Itachi against his chest.

The rest of the retrieval squad appeared seconds later. Kakashi ignored their curious looks and they headed back to Konoha with the two brothers. Sakura did the best she could to keep Itachi alive on the way back. They refrained on healing Sasuke incase he tried to run away again. The younger Uchiha was binded with chakra infused ropes as well as a blindfold over his eyes. They took frequent breaks to give Kakashi time to rest. Others offered to carry Itachi for him, but the man refused. He didn't want anyone else holding Itachi. The last time he held Itachi was eight years ago. He wanted to savor this.

The two brothers were passed out the whole journey back to the village. They took one last break before their last stretch to reaching the Leaf. Kakashi didn't want to take anymore breaks. He wanted to get back as quickly as possible. He was still afraid that Itachi would somehow escape before they were behind the village walls. He leaned his back against a tree for extra support. He made sure to distance himself a bit from the group.

"I love you," he whispered into the sleeping Uchiha's ear. Thankfully no one noticed it besides Pakkun. And thankfully no one paid much mind to the fact that Kakashi's hand was now touching the Uchiha's ass, while his other hand moved up to hold Itachi's head against his shoulder. Itachi didn't seem to grow that much more since the last time they fought in Konoha, maybe a few pounds and an inch. But the longer Kakashi held him the more tired he grew and the more Itachi's body would sag towards the ground. His feet were a few inches from touching the ground now. He bent his knee and let Itachi sit on it for support while he stretched his arm.

It didn't take long for Kakashi to feel everyone's eyes on him. It's not as if he was doing a very good job of being inconspicuous. He was still clinging onto Itachi even though he could have easily lied him down. Naruto was the first one to speak up.

"K-Kakashi Sensei. Did you and Itachi know eachother back in the day? You seem a bit too attached to him. Plus aren't we supposed to kill him? Not try and keep him alive?," he asked, clearly uncomfortable and unsure if he should even be asking.

Sakura cut in. "He is an S rank criminal afterall. I'm not saying that we shouldn't take care of him. Of course I've helped keep him alive this whole time, but you've never treated any criminal like you're treating him."

Kakashi was a bit taken aback. He didn't expect his students to say anything outloud. "He is still a ninja from our village: S rank criminal or not."

"Yes, but what about everything he did to Sasuke!"

"May I remind you that Sasuke is also a missing nin. Who if I recall attacked you guys as well as Sai and Yamato," Kakashi said. "The only reason I'm handling Itachi is for your own safety purposes. Besides you get to guard Sasuke. Has that not been fun for you? Since you've spent so long wallowing over his disappearance?" He added in, with a smile. His two student looked at eachother, unsure of what to say back. They just nodded and went back to minding their own business.

After resting for a couple more minutes everyone was back on their way towards the village. Kakashi let himself fall behind so he could have a bit more privacy with the Uchiha. His arms were a bit achey from carrying Itachi, but just a bit further.

Itachi's eyes slowly opened for the first time since he was at the demolished Uchiha compound with Kakashi and Sasuke. He panicked momentarily when he couldn't see anything. But it took him only a few seconds to remember that Kakashi was carrying him and that he infact was now blind. That didn't ease his panic. He was being brought back to a village filled with shinobi who wanted him dead. Would Kakashi let him be executed? Probably. Kakashi was a loyal shinobi to his village. If that's what the people wanted than that's what would happen. Despite the history the two shared. This wasn't how things were supposed to be though. Kakashi had ruined everything. He was supposed to die by the hands of his brother. Not be killed by shinobi of the Leaf.

"I'm not going back to a village to be killed by people I never hurt. Sasuke was supposed to kill me. He deserved at least that," Itachi mumbled.

Kakashi sighed and hoisted Itachi up higher to prevent his feet from getting caught on a tree branch. "Can you wrap your legs around me? " he asked, trying to ignore the statement.

"I can move on my own," Itachi responded. He knew that was alie and even if he could move, he would probably end up flat on his face after falling out of a tree.

"I don't wanna risk you trying to run away from me."

"Where would I go? I can't see," he replied. Kakashi raised his brow and forced Itachi's head up and saw infact that his eyes were a cloudy grey. The older man couldn't help but frown. He was going to miss Itachi's eyes. A little part of him was excited to see Itachi's big dark eyes again. That was how he remembered Itachi so long ago. Itachi could sense the shift in Kakashi's mood. He added in, "If you help me I can hold on. I don't have the strngth to lift my legs up. Or you could alawyas just carry me on your back. That would seem like the more logical way to do this. I pegged you to be more intellegent Kakashi."

The Copy Nin smirked and pulled Itachi's legs up. "Hold onto my shoulders and I'll keep your legs up. How bout that?" Itachi nodded and grabbed onto the jounin's shoulders. He couldn't help but smirk at the thought of them being in this same position so many yearrs ago. "Are you thinking the same thing I am?" Itachi's smile only widened and he shook his head.

"Wake me up before we get there. I'd like to have heads up before I'm killed," Itachi mumbled, before resting his head back on Kakashi's shoulder and drifting off into a deep sleep.

"I'm not letting you get killed. Even if I have to hurt people in the process," Kakashi mumbled before placing a cloth covered kiss on Itachi's ear.

A/N: Ahh I'm horrible. Writing three stories at once? Shame on me. I can't help it though. I need to keep my mind working on different projects so I don't get bored or get writer's block. Such a shame that Kakaita isn't a popular pairing. :( Comment por favor.