Blood sprayed from Kakashi's mouth, soaking his mask and almost suffocating him. He fell to his knees and he did his best to stay up right, lest he fall and the blade cause anymore internal damage. All the commotion around him was drowned out by his rapid heartbeat. He could hear Shikamaru's faint voice and the clanging of metal. Was he dying? It's possible. He really thought he would die in a more dangerous mission. It was almost embarrassing. He felt just like he did when he died during the Pein attacks. He managed to pull his mask down, not caring who saw his face at that point. He felt like he was suffocating. His upper body swayed forward and back.

"Kakashi!"

He couldn't hold himself up any longer. He felt gravity take over and what felt like slow motion, his body fell forward. Everything went black.

-
Itachi tried to hide his yawns as he walked through the village with Kakashi next to him. He was so exhausted. He knew it was evident by his sluggish movements and the dark circles around his eyes. The weather was terribly cold and he was shivering like crazy. The whole mission had been torturous. It was hard not to pass out on the Hokage's desk after reporting in. Of course with the Uchiha policing, their compound was on the outskirt of the village. Meaning it was far from the Hokage tower. Itachi almost groaned and stomped his feet in protest.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay over?" Kakashi asked as they approached his apartment. The thought was tempting to Itachi. He lived so far from Kakashi and snow was falling quick. Even blankets of snow on the ground looked inviting to Itachi.

"I don't know. I don't want to intrude," he replied, looking out into the white distance, still unable to make out the Uchiha compound. He was afraid that he might actually get frost bite. He couldn't feel his feet and his fingers anymore. He hadn't been able to feel them for a while now.

"I guess I can stay for a bit. Maybe a quick nap...if that's okay," he added, knowing it would be foolish not to warm up a bit.

Kakashi was delighted and all but skipped to his door with Itachi slowly following. They shed their jackets and scarves at the door, leaving them in a pile at the door. Kakashi made a B-line for his fire place and started a fire. He knew the apartment would warm up in a few minutes. Itachi nearly ran over to the fireplace. Kakashi eyed how much he was trembling. He always seemed cold. He often complained about his hands, feet and legs being cold and achey.

"Would you mind if we shared the couch tonight? My room takes forever to warm up. I'll pull it out so we have room," he said, not really giving Itachi a chance to answer as he unfolded the couch. It was partially a lie. His bedroom was the last room that would get warm in the winter. But it wasnt anything he couldn't handle. He figured he would test the waters with Itachi and honestly he was curious to see how he slept when the thought of survival was not in the back of your mind.

Itachi took it upon himself to make some tea for Kakashi while he opted for hot cocoa instead. This whole thing was so weird. He never slept over anyone's house before. It was different on missions...this was just...strange. He could feel Kakashi staring at his back every once in a while but he did his best to ignore it. Was this even appropriate? They were two men with a huge age gap...sleeping in the same bed.

"You okay?"

Itachi dropped the hot kettle on the floor and managed to dodge the burning peice of metal just in time. Of course he was NOT okay. His clumsiness made it even more aparent. He picked up the kettle and finished cleaning up and preparing the drinks. He moved slowly, hoping his blush would be gone by the time he turned around.

"I'm fine. Just...tired," he replied, watching the chocolate powder dissolve in the hot water. He supposed his choice of drink seemed rather childish. But he was too tired to even think about it before he started making it. He had noticed that over the past weeks he has been eleiminating certain things that would make him seem childish. It was only around Kakashi. He rarely ate any candy or other sweets infront of him. It was almost torturous in situations but he managed. He carried some sweets with him on occasions or hid some in his nightstand.
Kakashi had stripped down to his tight undershirt and Itachi made sure not to stare too hard. He sat down at the very edge of the bed and directed his attention to the fire.

"Thank you. I'll be out of your hair in two hours," he said, handing the tea to the older man.

Itachi was out like a light the second his head hit the pillow. Kakashi couldn't sleep though. He was tired but he was too aware of Itachi's presence. He watched in fascination at his body while he slept. He was surprised at how much he moved in his sleep. He moved closed tot he middle of the bed, curious to see how close he could get to him. It took about thirty minutes for Itachi to scoot close to his body for extra warmth. His butt was pressed against Kakashi's side and the mere thought of even closing his eye was impossible. He stared intently at the smooth skin of Itachi's lower back. Carefully he turned onto his side until he was spooning the teenager. Itachi stirred a bit in his sleep but Kakashi's body heat was too welcoming. Unconsciously he pressed himself closer to the warmth radiating off Kakashi's body. Thankfully, Kakashi had managed to trap Itachi's body before his two hours were up.

'Can I seem anymore like a gross pervert?' He asked himself. He didn't expect Itachi to be such a heavy sleeper. He certainly was not on missions. Although he rarely slept more than an hour or two a night on missions. From the look on his face it didn't seem like he got much sleep anyways. He looked exhausted most of the time.

But in all honesty he didn't invite Itachi over for any perverted intentions. That would be nice but he invited him over because he didn't want him walking home in the snow when he was so tired. Well not at first...but he would never force Itachi into anything. He was just curious to see how far he could go with him before rejection occured. So far Itachi had not objected to his subtle touching and flirting.

Itachi's eyes shot open when he felt a hand on his bare stomach. He heard the crackling of the fire and the soft rustling of bed sheets. When had they become like this? He wondered if Kakashi was even fully aware of their positions. He also wondered how he would get out of this situation without making it awkward. Afterall they had been sleeping for 3 hours now and it was time for him to head back home. He was sure that his parents were wondering where he was as well.

"You can stay the whole night I'm not kicking you out," Kakashi mumbled, not making the effort to even detach himself. Itachi swalllowed the lump in his throat and closed his eyes. He couldn't sleep now though. It was too weird. He was too self aware of every movement he made.

"Why are you hugging me in my sleep?" He finally managed to ask.

Kakashi merely said, "I wanted to know what it felt like." How was he supposed to take that? WHat a simple answer.

"I'm sure you've slept like this with a girlfriend at one point," he replied. "I'm not a girl so this position is inappropriate," he added, scooting a few inches towards the side of the bed.

Kakashi knew he had pushed it too far. He slowly got out of the bed, knowing that staying there would make Itachi feel even more uncomfortable. "My room should be nice and warm now. Please stay until sunrise," he said, before walking to his room and closing the door behind him.

-
It was bright outside when Itachi finally woke up. The smell of pancakes and syrup really got him going. He shot up from bed and saw Kakashi messing around in the kitchen. Two plates were set out on the kitchen table and he felt a pang of guilt for kicking the man out of bed. Thinking back on it Kakashi had been too kind to him. What had he given him in return?

He had treated him to coffee and tea so many times that Itachi lost count. He had treated him to lunch and would occasionally buy him food to bring home to Sasuke even though he'd never met him. He even bought him a scarf on the way back from their mission. It was expensive ontop of that. He wasn't sure why Kakashi was so adamant about spending that muich money. Of course it was very nice quality but he didn't need to do all that. Now he was making him breakfast.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked.

Kakashi sat down at the table and gestured for Itachi to join him. Of course Itachi scurried over there as quicky as he could. He was starving and those pancakes looked amazing. Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest and waited. HE already knew what Itachi wasnted to ask him. He figured he'd stop tip[toeing around the situation.

"WHy are you doing all these things for me? Not that I don't appreciate it, but I don't see you do this for your other friends," he said, as he cut his pancakes. He kept his eyes focused on the food not wanting to make things anymore awkward.

"It was my lame attempt to get your attention," he simply replied.

Itachi nearly choked on his food. Why was he saying things so casually like that?! "O-oh...I see." Breakfast was silent after that. Itachi ate slowly hoping that Kakashi would say something else. But the man kept his mouth shut as he lazily flipped through a newpapaer. It felt weird. This was what couples did in the morning right? His mother and father would sit together for breakfast. She would serve him breakfast and he would read the paper. They sat silently most of the time but they didn't seem bothered by the silence. Itachi was mentally freaking out though. THis silence was nearly killing him. He didn't understand Kakashi's feelings. He was almost eight years older than him. He was a man that was admired by so many women. The man probably didn't even realize he had a fan club. He was an honorable man. 'He wanted my attention? I'm nothing but a two-timing traitor," he thought as he put his utensils down.

'It's nice though. To have someone treat you like this with no evil ulterior motives. When you hang out with him you don't worry about the clan or the village. YOu don't think about the horrible shit you do behind everyone's back. You can have a few hours of relaxation. You can stop worrying so much and act like a human being. But I dont deserve him. I don't deserve him as a friend or even anything more than that. He's a good man. I'm scum. I'm lying, deceiving, pathetic scum,' he thought as he got his things together. Kakashi watched him. His movements so calculated.

"You know...I don't want you to think that you can't come to me for anything. I might not be what you want but I'm here as a friend. I just thought that we could spend time with one another to forget the things that eat away at the back of our minds. I won't touch you or make you feel uncomfortable. I apologize for earlier it was inappropriate. I'm embarrassed for how I acted. If you want to avoid me I will udnerstand as well. We can keep it strictly business," he said, his face hiding behind the newspaper.

Itachi felt even worse for leaving now. He stood at the door, his hands holding the scarf. He felt like he should give it back. He didnt deserve gifts from this he didn't want to come off as a snob. He carefully approached the man from behind. He didn't understand why Kakashi felt the way he felt for him. He was nothing special. But he was grateful that someone worried about him outside of his family. "Thank you," he whispered, walking over and placing a kiss on the top of Kakashi's head.