Title: Keeping Secrets
Main Romantic Pairing: Kakashi x Sakura (because the KakaIta and KakaSakuIta is just for fun)
Pairing: Itachi x Kakashi, Itachi x Sakura x Kakashi (yes, it will be all three)
Type: Romance, Alternate History Fic (read background info below)
Rating: Eventually M, though it is only T in this chapter
Word Count: 7000ish so far
Warning: There will be yaoi and het in this fic. Be prepared for both if you are going to read it.
(This is not part of the fanfic)
Background information: In this fic Itachi Uchiha never slaughters his clan. Instead, the clan defects and eventually starts attacking Konoha. Itachi refuses to fight with them and chooses the village over his family. He also steals Sasuke away from the Uchiha before they leave, and doesn't allow his father to take Sasuke. Fugaku is vehemently opposed to this until Sasuke chooses to stay with Itachi, and Fugaku declares both of his sons dead in his eyes. The clan left the village with little bloodshed, mostly due to the fact that Itachi alerted Konoha and it was ready with many countermeasures to the Uchihas' abilities.
It was worked out between Itachi and the third Hokage that the Uchiha and Konoha would split as peacefully and with as little bloodshed as possible. There was a tenuous peace between Konoha and the Uchiha for a short time, but then the Uchiha began making strategic attacks on the village, mostly because the Uchiha were being assisted by an organization known as the Akatsuki. Thus began the ongoing, bloody battle known as the Uchiha Conflict. It has severely undermined the power of Konoha, and has left both sides with some very big scars. There is a larger scale fic in the works that will deal in depth with this alternate history, but for now this is just supposed to be a PWP for Peachandbetty over at Narutofan.
(Now onto the actual story)
Keeping Secrets
by thatreevesgirl/Lemon Drops (both me)
Part 1/2
Kakashi sat at the edge of the worn mattress. The thing was old, lumpy, and had a strong mildew odor. A tattered blanket was partially wrapped haphazardly around his waist, and he was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He had managed to sit up all by himself today. It was the first time since getting injured that he could do so without any assistance.
Sakura was usually the one to give him a hand so she could change his bandages or help him to the bathroom (which was a hundred times better than the makeshift bedpan he'd used for the first three days of his treatment). Kakashi didn't need Sakura giving him that look again, the one that was half worry, half medical tyrant. Having her hovering around him every waking moment wasn't quite as bad as being stuck in a hospital with all its sterile doom, but it wasn't exactly that far removed from that particular nightmare either. Kakashi hated hospitals, he hated the smell of antiseptic, and he especially hated being ordered around by civilians and lower ranking shinobi. He'd take a dank, out-of-the-way log cabin any day over being strapped to a hospital bed.
The cabin their team had procured was abandoned, and for good reason. They had found the previous occupant's skeleton lying on the floor by the fireplace near a rocking chair. He was probably some hunter who died of old age or natural causes. He had been dead long enough that there wasn't much of a stench left, especially since the small animal scavengers had eaten most of the flesh off of his body. The roof had partially caved in, and it was colder than hell this high in the mountains in the beginning of January. Kakashi had chosen a good team, but after this debacle he wished he hadn't sent Tenzou off to lead the mission's secondary support team. Tactically it was the best decision, but Kakashi was missing the cabins and hot springs that his kohai could produce in a matter of minutes.
It wasn't that Kakashi wasn't grateful for the team he picked, because he wouldn't be alive without them. Sakura was the best medic in the ANBU, and she had saved his life with medical ninjutsu after the battle. Itachi had saved it during the battle. A bad gut wound was something that was painful and took a lot of recovery time, but having your head chopped clean off was something even Tsunade couldn't bring you back from. If not for Itachi, Kakashi would definitely be headless right now.
"How's the pain?" Sakura asked as she pulled two small blue tabs out of her medical pouch and dropped them into Kakashi's hand.
"Manageable," he said as he brought his hand up to his mouth, but unable to hide the wince when he moved his body faster than it had wanted to go. Sakura waited and watched, but Kakashi didn't pull the tattered mask away from his face to take the pain pills. It didn't matter that it had more than a few rips and holes in it, it was the copy-nin's safety blanket, and he wasn't going to give it up. Kakashi finally grumbled an annoyed, "Do you mind?" until Sakura finally turned away from him.
"I've seen your stupid face before," she said in an exasperated voice. "And I've seen everything else too during this mission. I've had to sponge bathe you and assist you in the bathroom. Do you really think it still matters?"
Kakashi pulled his mask down begrudgingly slow and slipped the two tiny pills between his lips and then reached down to take the cup of water from the nightstand. When the ordeal was over--and it was an ordeal, even moving in this limited capacity caused pain to shoot from the tips of his toes to the ends of his wayward, spiky hair--Kakashi pulled the mask back up and slowly sank back into the dank mattress. He let Sakura know he was done by clearing his throat and telling her, "It matters."
Sakura turned and glared at he former sensei. He always had to have the last word in situations where she stood to give him orders. It wasn't a new behavior for Kakashi, it was how he treated most medical personnel. It was his way of establishing that no matter how hurt he was, he was still the boss. The only med-nin he didn't argue with was Tsunade, and only because she outranked him.
The door to the cabin swung open. The bitter chill of winter atop the snowy mountainside pressed urgently into the tiny cabin, and in with it came the third member of Kakashi's ANBU squad. "It's getting worse out there," Itachi told the other two ninja solemnly as he pushed the door shut.
"It'll be a miracle if we aren't snowed in for the rest of winter," Sakura grumbled as she glanced over at their bags and the very meager rations they still had. She wasn't sure if they were going to freeze or starve to death first.
"I finished the repairs to the cabin," Itachi said as he tapped the snow off of his long, black boots. His sleek, black hair was dusted with large clumps of snowflakes. They even clung to his long, thick eyelashes as he took off his standard ANBU cloak and scarf. "And I caught us dinner," he motioned to a burlap sack he had left by the front door. It had a large rabbit inside of it
"Old Guy saved us again," Sakura said with a light laugh. She referred to the dead man as Old Guy. Any other abandoned cabin wouldn't have come with trapping gear and linens. The mountainside animals had gotten into the dead man's food stores, but there were still furs and blankets in the two large trunks they found in the cabin. Those things were paramount to their team's survival.
"Let's toast Old Guy with some sake," Kakashi suggested with a pained chuckle.
And yes, they had also found sake. Sakura walked over to her patient and placed one hand on each hip as she loomed menacingly over him. "Are you dense?" she asked Kakashi, not sparing him her anger, whether it was rightly aimed at him or not. "You just had some very powerful pain medication. You do realize that, right?"
Kakashi suppressed a sound that was something akin to a giggle, but both Sakura and Itachi knew the copy-nin didn't giggle. Ever. "Yes, I know," Kakashi told her, "I can feel it working."
"Obviously," Itachi interjected. He was drying his hair with what might have been a towel. It was dry cloth, and that was what mattered. "Do we need more fire?" he asked Sakura as he peeled off the wet shirt he was wearing, hung it on the clothesline they strung near the fireplace, and then put a dry one on.
The question wasn't whether they needed more firewood, but more fire. It was just another of the Uchiha's many qualities that made Sakura respect Sasuke's older brother. "Sure, senpai," she told him as she checked Kakashi's bandages. Itachi made a few handsigns and the fire in the fireplace blazed with a renewed power. "Nice and toasty," she told him with a smile, and Itachi seemed pleased by the warmth as well.
It was too cold and was snowing too hard to skin the rabbit outside. While Sakura was giving Kakashi another dose of healing chakra, Itachi pulled up a large basin and began to clean his kill. "It'll probably go further if we make a stew," he told his two teammates.
"The broth would probably be good for him," Sakura motioned to an almost unconscious Kakashi. "He still hasn't been keeping solid food down that well."
A few precise strokes with a sharp knife and letting the blood drain was all that was needed. Itachi gripped the skin of the rabbit and pulled it carefully off of the dead animal's body. "Is there still infection?" Itachi asked as he placed the pelt off to one side. After they ate he would clean it and prepare it so they could make it into something warm and useful later.
"Some, but that's not unusual with his type of injury. I think I have it under control, but I'm still not comfortable moving him yet," Sakura explained as she fed Kakashi one last dose of her chakra, putting him successfully to sleep.
Itachi's face was normally remarkably blank, but Sakura noticed when his brows knit together very slightly. Sakura could tell Itachi was worried.
It was both more difficult and easier to read Itachi than Sasuke. Sasuke's expressions often contradicted how he really felt. The younger Uchiha was never very honest with his emotions. The difference with Itachi was that he rarely let anything slip, but when he did, it was truthful and real.
"We really are going to be snowed in, aren't we? This God-forsaken mountain is going to be the death of us," she whispered angrily under her breath. If Itachi heard, then he chose to ignore her.
Sakura was an elite ANBU med-nin, and was the first ninja in her genin squad to reach the rank of special jounin, but none of that helped her when she was stuck on a mountain with no food stores and an injured captain on her hands. Starving to death didn't sound like that fantastic of a prospect. At least she wasn't alone. Without Itachi to help her, Sakura was sure she and Kakashi would have perished by now. Itachi was very well trained in survival methodology and his fire jutsu kept her toes from falling off.
"Itachi," she called over to her older teammate. He was busy with setting a fire in the stove to boil some water, but he tipped his head up when Sakura called his name. She smiled and took a deep breath before telling him, "Thank you."
He didn't respond with a "You're welcome," or even any acknowledgment of Sakura's gratitude. Itachi just went back to his task.
Soon the hints of cooking meat filled the cabin. It made Sakura's stomach growl eagerly in anticipation of a decent meal. Itachi gave the pot a final stir and walked over to the rocking chair by the fireplace and sat down while it finished cooking. Even as he moved through the cabin he was full of grace and stealth. It seemed to be second nature to him.
"Stealing Old Guy's seat?" Sakura asked as she pulled up a bench next to the fireplace. Itachi had moved the skeleton and buried it the first day they came. It had been quite an ordeal seeing as the ground was frozen solid and covered in at least twenty centimeters of snow. Itachi had insisted, and used his fire jutsu to get the ground warm enough to dig a deep enough grave.
Sakura refused to sit in the rocking chair, fearful that it was still haunted by the spirit of the man who probably passed away in the thing. Itachi didn't seem to mind as much as she did. There was a major lack of furniture in the place. With Kakashi using the bed, there wasn't much else other than the floor, the bench Sakura was sitting on, and the rocking chair that Old Guy's body was found near.
Sakura waited, but Itachi didn't answer her question. The eldest Uchiha was a kind man, but he wasn't one for small talk. He just quietly rocked and lost himself in his own thoughts. At least Kakashi was good for some conversation. The copy-nin was a highly philosophical man. He didn't use a lot of words to communicate his points, but at least there was an ongoing dialogue between Sakura and her former sensei. She and Itachi never really conversed all that much. ANBU missions rarely gave them the opportunity, and she'd never had the pleasure on going on a mission with Itachi in any other capacity other than as ANBU.
Sasuke was probably the only person who Sakura witnessed get Itachi to speak and emote like normal people did. When Sasuke was a child, Itachi had always been encouraging to his younger brother, but their relationship had become strained over the years. Sasuke had wanted to stay with Itachi in Konoha at the beginning of the Uchiha rebellion, but as the village came to have more and more conflicts with the clan that had seceded, Sasuke found himself wondering if Itachi had chosen the right path for them. Were the Uchiha's really the monsters Itachi made them out to be?
The truth of the matter was that Sasuke lost his entire family, save Itachi, in a blink of an eye. They weren't dead, but they made it very clear that both Itachi and Sasuke were dead in their eyes. Then, the Uchiha clan began initiating conflict after conflict with the village. It had left the youngest Uchicha quite damaged, despite everything Itachi tried to do to fix their family. Unfortunately, Itachi couldn't be every person Sasuke needed. He couldn't be a father, mother, and brother to Sasuke all at the same time, but not for the lack of trying. It left Sasuke torn, and not whole as a person. The youngest Uchiha struggled with himself, and with his brother.
Sakura had spent years by Sasuke's side in Team Seven, and there was always something dark dwelling just beneath his surface. It was one of the many reasons her younger self had been drawn to him. Sasuke was mysterious and she had wanted to know how he ticked. In all actuality, it was probably less curiosity and more about how she wanted to heal his emotional wounds. She had always been a fixer and a healer, even before she gained the knowledge of medical ninjutsu.
Sakura was startled out of her own thoughts when Itachi laid a hand on her shoulder. "I said the stew is done," he told her as he held out a large ceramic bowl. He had added a dehydrated vegetable ration package to it and some spices he had found in the cupboard that were left untouched by the animal scavengers.
Sakura shoveled a heaping spoonful into her mouth, despite how hot it still was. It was absolutely delicious, especially when she hadn't eaten anything in nearly twelve hours. Who knew Itachi could be so domestic? Sakura thought as she took another bite. Then again, he probably had to be. He raised Sasuke from the age of eight, and he had only been fourteen himself when he took on that responsibility. Sasuke still didn't know much about cooking or cleaning, so it made sense to think that much of that fell onto Itachi's shoulders.
Sakura was still enjoying her meal when she saw Itachi seat himself on the bed next to Kakashi. Like he had done with Sakura, Itachi gently laid a hand on his captain and woke him to eat.
"I can do that," Sakura said as she stood to take the Uchiha's place nursing Kakashi with food.
Itachi dismissed the offer. "You need to get your strength back too," he said as he shooed her away from the bed. "You spent most of the morning healing him, and your chakra stores are depleted. Eat and rest. I can handle this."
Sakura should have known better than to argue, but she still tried. "Itachi, I just..."
Itachi's head snapped quickly toward her and he was nothing short of frightening as he ordered her to sit and eat. Kakashi chuckled as he struggled to sit up again and motioned for Sakura to turn around and not watch. Even now he didn't want her seeing his precious face, and that hurt. She mused how that was probably why Itachi was so adamant about feeding him.
"Didn't you teach them how to respect their elders?" Itachi asked the copy-nin.
"You try teaching that one respect. I gave up years ago on Team Seven. Your brother is a brat, Naruto is extremely hard-headed, and I guess she is the best of the bunch, though that isn't saying much." Kakashi accepted a spoonful of broth from Itachi and didn't speak anymore on the topic.
Okay, yes, Team Seven was a little bit unruly, but they were a good team. Naruto and Sasuke still fought and badmouthed each other constantly, and Sakura wasn't exactly kind with her words towards them either. Despite this, they worked together well, and their mouths never really matched what their hearts felt, because the bonds between them ran quite deep.
Sakura remained silent and listened as Kakashi and Itachi kept talking. Conversations with Itachi were rare, so even overhearing one was a treat.
"How is Sasuke doing?" Itachi asked. "He still comes home frustrated with his progress."
There was a significant pause before Kakashi answered that question. "He isn't satisfied with his sharingan abilities. He still thinks he should have been able to force the third tome to appear by now. Haven't you spoken to him about how it really comes about?"
"No," Itachi said coldly. "And I won't. The dark secrets of the Sharingan will die with me."
"And the remaining Uchihas we are fighting," Kakashi reminded Itachi. "You should put more trust in him. If you don't, he'll seek out knowledge in places he has no place poking around in."
Itachi shuffled in his seat on the bed. Sakura couldn't see him, but she was sure he had that indignant look on his face that he wore when he was upset. It was an expression that most Uchiha wore when frustrated. "You think he would betray the village and seek out the family who will kill him on sight? Just for knowledge I refuse him?"
"I do," Kakashi affirmed. "He's so damn stubborn that he'll do anything in the pursuit of what he wants. You should have beaten that out of his head when he was younger."
Itachi sighed and it really tempted Sakura to turn and look at the two men. Her growing curiosity about Itachi and how he ticked mirrored her younger self's obsession with Sasuke in many ways. Sasuke wasn't the only broken man who resided in the Uchiha manor, and in her mind, Itachi was probably much more deserving of being fixed.
The only sound coming from the room now were the soft clanks of metal spoons in ceramic bowls. Itachi must have filled his speaking quota for the day, because even though Kakashi tried to revive the conversation a few times, Itachi remained silent.
"Okay, I'm done," Kakashi announced to Sakura. She had half a mind to walk right up to him, smack the back of the head like she did so often with Naruto, and rip the mask right off his stupid face. If he trusted Itachi, then why couldn't he trust her? And not just when he was unconscious and bleeding to death and had no say in whether or not she peeked at him. When did she reach the same level of trust Kakashi had with Itachi?
Sakura bit her tongue to keep herself from giving Kakashi a good tongue-lashing, and told the two men, "I'm going to bed. The two of you should do the same."
Itachi pulled a large fur blanket around Kakashi and made sure the copy-nin was comfortable before making his way to where he slept by the fireplace. Itachi's bedroll was next to Sakura's, and she found herself unable to hide the glower on her face as he climbed into it. It was jealousy on her part, that someone could be so intimately acquainted with her sensei.
Sakura never had a good hold on her temper. It got her into more trouble than it was worth. The only exception was she was almost always levelheaded during missions. However, if there wasn't danger, then she had no problem being looser with her anger around her teammates. If she trusted a person, then it was as sure as the sun that they would experience the wrath of Sakura at one time or another. As she got older she reigned in some of that fiery spirit, and at least gained the ability to recognize when it was going to get her into trouble. Perhaps that was why she chose to ignore the current situation rather than confront it.
Sakura reminded herself that Kakashi and Itachi had fought side by side through the Great Ninja War and the Uchiha Conflict. Being comrades for so long, and quite possibly teammates, through such troubled times as those were bound to bond people together. Wasn't it the same for her, Sasuke, and Naruto? But still, Kakashi was among her teammates too. She felt the bonds with him root just as deeply in her heart as they did with Naruto or Sasuke. Wasn't it the same for him? Or was she just a responsibility more than a comrade? Perhaps she would never know.
Itachi waited until Sakura's breathing became deep and slow. It was when each breath in was accompanied by a tiny snore that he knew she was asleep. Pulling himself out of his bedroll, Itachi performed a sleeping jutsu on her just to be safe. This conversation wasn't something he really wanted her overhearing. In his opinion he had already let her hear too much earlier.
Kakashi was already awake. His injury was painful, and sleep was short and fitful for him. "Do you need some more pain medication?" Itachi asked as he sat down on the side of the copy-nin's bed like he had earlier.
Kakashi's uncovered eye was wide and shown brightly in the room's dim light. The fire in the fireplace was beginning to wane. "I'm fine for now," he told Itachi. "I'd rather have some sake."
"And if Sakura smells it on your breath in the morning she'll kill you, or me, or if she's feeling particularly vengeful, both of us." Itachi went to Sakura's medical pouch and took one blue tab from the bottle that held the potent painkiller. "You are going to take this," he told the copy-nin as he offered his hand to help Kakashi sit up a little.
"Yes, sir," Kakashi told his younger teammate with a chuckle. "I suppose you'll trick me into taking it if you don't."
Kakashi joke was eluding to Itachi's sharingan, but the Uchiha didn't find Kakashi's humor all that endearing. "I can't," he said quietly. "I used it too much in the last battle. I'm barely able to see clearly as it is."
"You should have Sakura heal the blockage for you. It's an easy enough procedure for her to do..."
"No," Itachi interrupted. "Her chakra stores are depleted as is. She needs the energy to heal you, not worry about my eyes."
Kakashi made a disapproving clucking sound. He narrowed his one visible eye and stared vigilantly at Itachi. "If you let the blockage settle in, the blindness can become permanent. You know that."
"Maybe these eyes should just wither away," Itachi responded darkly. The seriousness in his voice seemed to dare Kakashi to argue with him further.
"Perhaps they should," Kakashi said as he pulled down his mask and swallowed the blue pill Itachi offered him.
In a few minutes Kakashi would be enjoying the high that accompanied the drug. Itachi knew it caused his normally sharp, clear mind to become dull and sluggish. If it didn't make Kakashi feel so damn good the copy-nin might have refused it, but the pain was truly eating away at him. "Maybe I should provoke Sakura into punching me unconscious for a day or two."
"Well, I don't see why she doesn't do that more often, honestly. You do some pretty dumb things," Itachi said as he swept a clump of sweaty hair out of Kakashi's face. "Like taking on half a platoon without our backup, for instance."
"I didn't feel the need to drag the two of you into my deathtrap," Kakashi said in all seriousness. He stared long and hard at the younger man sitting at his side. "I couldn't have let them escape with that information. You know that would have been the death for our entire northern border patrols, as well as Tenzou's team."
"Yes, I do understand that." Itachi matched Kakashi's gaze. There would be no loser in this staredown. Both men were strong and stubborn. "That's why Sakura and I saved you and fought by your side. We don't leave men behind, Kakashi."
"Who taught you that?" Kakashi asked. Even through the tattered mask, Itachi could see the cocky smirk of the copy-nin. It was such an infuriating thing to witness, because it just seemed to have a way of shattering Itachi's guard.
If Kakashi wanted to play this kind of game, then Itachi was going to go all in. He knew more than a few of Kakashi's weaknesses too. "I think it was my old senpai in the ANBU," Itachi told Kakashi. "He was a jerk who always went on and on about how people who leave their teammates behind were the lowest kind of scum. He liked to lecture me on things that were more than obvious."
Kakashi's brows rose, like he couldn't quite believe that Itachi was actually calling him names. "A jerk? Really?"
"Really," Itachi said with a very slight, quiet laugh. The smile didn't disappear as quickly as the sound from his chest did, but it eventually faded too. Itachi's demeanor just wasn't conducive with excessive smiles and happiness.
The two men sat without talking for a minute or two. It was peaceful to find how a simple blizzard seemed to blanket the world in silence as well as a foot and a half of snow. Kakashi's head started lolling to one side, and he blinked slowly. It almost looked like it might have been the most difficult thing for him to do in the entire world. "I really hate this medicine," he told Itachi. His words were sloppy, badly annunciated. "It's hot in here."
"No it's not." Itachi even made the handsigns for the fire jutsu and the flames in the fireplace roared renewed. "You probably have a fever again. I should wake Sakura so you can have another treatment."
"Oh heavens, anything but that," Kakashi exclaimed. "I'll be fine, really I will."
Itachi knew Kakashi never had much of a fondness for medical-nin. It was highly ironic that an absolute prodigy was born of the team he taught and molded. Itachi even believed her to be the best field medic that Konoha had, surpassing even her mentor Tsunade. Yes, surgically Tsunade was immensely talented, but Sakura wit and creativity had saved so many ninja on the battlefield. Itachi had a profound respect for the spitfire of a woman who was able to work so well in an area of ninjutsu he never had much of a knack for. Not only that, but she put up with Sasuke, and there were days when that was even beyond Itachi.
"Getting lost in there?" Kakashi asked.
"What?" Itachi asked as he turned his attention back to the man beside him.
"You always get lost in your thoughts 'Tachi-kun," Kakashi baited his friend. Itachi hated being called that much more than Sasuke ever did from being called 'Sasuke-kun'. It had been years since Kakashi had even dared use that name around him. It was the drugs, Itachi knew this, but it still made him extremely annoyed when Kakashi decided to be patronizing. Itachi balled one fist and tried to ignore it, but Kakashi wouldn't have it. "Tell me what's wrong, 'Tachi-kun."
"The nickname," Itachi warned, "stop using it or I promise I'll wake Sakura up this very minute and tell her you need a head-to-toe physical." Being especially cruel, Itachi added, "And I'll steal and burn that mask before I wake her."
"Harsh," Kakashi chuckled, but he knew that Itachi was completely serious. The mask was still pooled around his neck from when he took the medicine Itachi offered him earlier. Kakashi ran his fingers along the hemline lovingly. "I like this thing."
Itachi never understood why Kakashi was so obsessive about hiding his face. It was definitely a quirk Itachi didn't share. In the same vein, it took Itachi a long time to realize why Kakashi still hid so much from Sakura. If it had been Itachi, Kakashi, and Tenzou in this situation, a team common when missions required the absolute best, then Kakashi would have abandoned the thing days ago. Kakashi would have also been dead though, because neither Tenzou or himself would have been able to bring the copy-nin back from the brink of death and keep him alive while they were trapped in a raging blizzard.
Kakashi had problems hiding his emotions around Sakura. He actually had issues keeping his feelings to himself around anyone he really cared about. Unlike Itachi, who had no issue keeping everything bottled up and hidden, Kakashi's face always betrayed him. The mask was probably the only thing helping him be the successful lier that he was. Kakashi never lied about anything that would hurt Sakura, but there were things he kept from her, and the rest of Team Seven too.
"You should let her see you more," Itachi told his friend. "I'm sure she would appreciate the gesture."
Kakashi reigned himself in, pulling his brain together enough for a rebuttal, but it was very obvious that he needed to return to sleep soon. "I'm sure she would too, but I'm not comfortable with that."
"Because she would see what you are trying so hard to hide?" Itachi asked.
Kakashi scratched a bandaged area on his chest. "Why do you have to be so perceptive?"
Itachi chuckled again. Twice in one night without sake might have been a record for him. "Because I'm me," Itachi offered, knowing that Kakashi's question was rhetorical, but he still needed to say it in despite of that fact. Itachi laid a hand atop Kakashi's. "You can't ignore the fact that she's grown up forever, and you definitely can't deny that it affects you."
"I was her teacher, Itachi, and she's just too much like..." Kakashi stopped and took a deep breath. The medicine just seemed to make him far too chatty.
"Like Rin?" Itachi offered. The Uchiha knew it was opening a different kind of wound, but it was one that had been festering for awhile. "You watch Sakura like you watched Rin, and you need to be careful with that."
Itachi left the rest unsaid. Both he and Kakashi knew what Itachi meant by his words. Kakashi blamed himself for a lot of deaths in this world, but there were two that ranked higher than the rest. FIrst, Obito, one of the few Uchiha that Itachi actually liked and wished had been alive during his clan's defection. Perhaps there would have been three Uchiha staying behind in Konoha that day so long ago. The second was Rin, and she died because Kakashi pushed her away. He couldn't handle having someone he cared about deeply on his ANBU team, so Rin was transferred to a different squad, one with a captain who didn't share many of Kakashi's ideals. Three weeks later she was dead.
Itachi knew that Rin's death could have happened under Kakashi's leadership too, but something told him that it probably wouldn't have. Kakashi would have risked his life for his teammate, because though the copy-nin never uttered the words once, Itachi knew his senpai loved Rin. Now it was important that Kakashi didn't push Sakura away. At least these days Itachi had his own ANBU squad he was captain of. He'd take Sakura into his own squad if Kakashi decided to attempt a repeat of history. Itachi definitely wouldn't complain about having such a skilled medic by his side.
"I need sleep," Kakashi mumbled as he wiggled back down into the bed. It was definitely not a graceful feat on his part. Itachi agreed and tucked in the copy-nin.
"You almost forgot something." Itachi reached to Kakashi's face and pulled the mask back up and over the strong, chiseled face of his captain. "You wouldn't want Sakura to see something she shouldn't, right?"
Itachi's fingers lingered on Kakashi's cheek, and he had to remind himself that they both needed sleep. It was hard sometimes to deny himself Kakashi, especially when it would be easy to fall back into something so familiar.
"You're an ass, 'Tachi-kun," Kakashi said with a yawn. Itachi let it slide that one slide since he'd started it by antagonizing Kakashi. Itachi stood and started heading back to his bedroll. He was about to dispel the sleeping jutsu he'd put on Sakura when Kakashi called over to him. "So where's my warm glass of milk, cookie, and kiss goodnight?"
"Are you three?" Itachi asked the copy-nin with an incredulous look on his face.
"Three and a half," Kakashi joked, but then his voice deepened into a calm earnestness. "In all seriousness, Itachi. If I weren't this hurt and we didn't have Sakura tagging along..."
"It would be like the good old days?" Itachi asked as he slowly and silently wandered back to Kakashi's bedside. "What is it about missions that gets you so riled up?"
"Not sure," Kakashi answered honestly. He reached out for Itachi's hand and pulled on it with the remainder of his strength. Itachi allowed himself to be seated again at Kakashi's side. "One out of three, perhaps?"
"I don't think I have any cookies, Kakashi. I guess you're out of luck." Itachi wasn't averse to a joke in the company of a friend now and again, but he knew it usually threw people off guard. It certainly surprised Kakashi as the older man he laughed at Itachi's wit.
"Oh darn," Kakashi said playing along. "That's just too bad."
Kakashi's hand traced up Itachi's arm slowly, following the lean muscles up to his shoulder. Then long, strong fingers crept around his neck and pulled him down to Kakashi. Neither of them bothered removing the mask at first, because their kiss was just barely there, but it grew and the rough material of the mask created an interesting barrier between soft lips and tongues. Soon enough Itachi's fingers wrapped in the hemline and pulled it down. He liked feeling and tasting Kakashi. Kakashi was one of the few people that he really ever let himself get lost in.
Itachi's kissed and licked up Kakashi's unshaven jawline. He didn't complain, he liked the feel of stubble beneath his lips. He nipped at Kakashi's ear and whispered ever so quietly, "You know what we'd be doing right now if you hadn't tried to be a maverick, right?"
The copy-nin grinned, pleased with himself. "I'd have you bent over that rocking chair screaming my name," Kakashi offered.
Itachi bit down hard on a sensitive part of Kakashi's neck just beneath his ear. "When have I ever screamed your name?"
Kakashi sucked in a broken breath as Itachi laved the pain of the bite away. "A guy can dream, can't he?" Kakashi enjoyed the feeling of Itachi's mouth working over the skin of his neck for a few more moments before grumbling. "I really...hate this medicine," he told Itachi tiredly.
Itachi moved to kiss Kakashi's lips one more time. "It's okay," he spoke quietly against Kakashi's lips before pulling away. "We needed to stop anyway. Get some sleep, Kakashi."
He assisted Kakashi with putting the mask back on, and covered his friend back up. After he was satisfied that Kakashi was comfortable and near sleep he walked over to his bedroll and undid the sleeping jutsu after crawling inside. Sakura's sleeping sounds were still steady and quiet. He knew she would wake in a few hours to check on Kakashi.
For once, Itachi was actually glad Kakashi was adamant about wearing wearing his mask. It would hide most of the evidence of what he and Kakashi had done, specifically the bitemark a few centimeters below Kakashi's ear and the bruise he'd caused a few centimeters to the left of that.
Itachi wasn't sure this thing between him and Kakashi was something Sakura should find out about yet, even though it had been going on for years and years. It wasn't what most would consider serious, because neither Kakashi nor Itachi really believed in any kind of relationship, and definitely not with each other. But Itachi couldn't lie. It was nice getting lost in a person he trusted. Especially with someone like Kakashi.
Itachi was only human after all.
It didn't take long for Itachi to fall asleep after dispelling the sleeping jutsu. Sakura tried her best to remain quiet and sound sleep-like for quite some time past that. She might have even attempted to sleep herself if her mind wasn't reeling with a thousand different questions. Did she really just overhear all that? About herself? About Kakashi and Itachi? Did they really do what she thought they did?
She felt a little guilty listening in on a conversation that they both purposefully tried to leave her out of, especially because she didn't think it was going to end the way it did. She chalked it up to them underestimating her abilities again. She was a talented genjutsu user, and repelling a simple sleeping jutsu was child's play to her. Even when she had to chant "Kai" silently without Itachi noticing her and while still faking sleep.
Still, she wasn't sure she'd made the right choice. She wasn't sure how she was going to face either of them, especially Kakashi. She never thought the reason he pushed her away was because she was already too close. After an hour or so of mulling it all over, and becoming extremely exhausted, Sakura finally allowed herself to sleep. She would figure out this predicament later, because she needed her strength to keep Kakashi healthy. No matter what happened between them, she promised herself to keep him alive and well. The rest she would sort out when it became necessary.
Author's Notes: Once again I'm sorry for not updating some of my other fics. It has just been such a long time that I feel slightly detached from them. I really will try and get an update done to Underwear, Complexity, and some of the others. And if you are wondering why I didn't list this as KakaIta, it is because Kakashi and Itachi have never had anything serious with one another. Kakashi is hiding his feelings for Sakura. Itachi just happens to be available during missions when Kakashi has needed to get laid before. They're fuck-buddies, plain and simple. If I could list all three, then I would, but I can't. So therefore, I list this as KakaSaku (as it will end, and I don't have qualms telling you all that now).