Stop My Nightmare

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"AH!" Kakashi jumped awake from another nightmare, sweating and breathing hard. It had been three days since Itachi Uchiha's attack on his mind, and he still couldn't get over it. His friends had moved him to the hospital so he could recover, but it wasn't happening fast enough. It was like Itachi was still there performing the Tsukuyomi on him, giving him horrid nightmares.

"It's alright, Kakashi! You're safe!" A deep, reassuring voice said, and a strong hand rested on his shoulder.

"G-Gai?" Kakashi looked and saw Gai sitting next to his bed. How long had he been there?

"I just came from visiting Lee five minutes ago." Gai rubbed Kakashi's shoulder. "You started groaning and sweating a couple minutes after that."

"I-I…" The Copy Ninja sighed, looking away from his rival, friend, and recently, lover. "I'm fine now, Gai. And careful what you do with that hand. The walls have eyes."

"Oh, uh… right." The Blue Beast took his hand off his friend. He needed to remember that their sexual relationship was secret. "Would you like to talk about your nightmares, Rival? Sometimes it helps to just talk about things, you know."

"There's not much to talk about, honestly." Kakashi still felt out of it and dizzy, but he'd be damned if he let it show. "Flashes of light, flashes of pain, flashes of Itachi…" He lie back down on the bed, his eyes feeling heavy. He didn't want to sleep again, but it's what his body was telling him to do.

"Kakashi…" Gai wishes there was something he could do to help. Two of his most precious people were in the hospital, and there wasn't a thing he could do for either of them.

"Gai… I'm sorry, but I'm about to fall asleep again."

"It's perfectly alright, Kakashi. I'll watch you sleep for a little while." Gai whispered. Kakashi thought to himself how pleasant Gai's voice was when he was whispering.

:::

"Gods Gai, keep going."

"Kakashi, I love you." The Beast pounded into his lover and looking down at him with searing eyes.

"I always knew the spandex-wearing idiot had a thing for you." An emotionless voice said from the darkness. "He is always following you around like a lost puppy."

"What? No, not now…" Kakashi stopped Gai with his hands.

"What's wrong?" Gai asked.

"You didn't hear him?"

"Hear who? I don't hear anything."

"You were a fool for letting him get this close, Kakashi." Itachi's Sharingan eyes appeared behind Gai. "Now it's only going to hurt more when I annihilate him." A sword glinted for a brief moment.

"Behind you!" Kakashi screamed, but it was too late. Gai was sliced to pieces.

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"NO! GAI!" Kakashi sat straight up in the bed, once again out of breath and sweating.

"Kakashi, I'm right here!" Gai was beside his bed once again, this time grabbing his rival's hand to give him some sense of reality. The Copy Ninja, to Gai's surprise, squeezed his hand right back and touched his face with the other. "I'm really here, my friend. You're not dreaming anymore."

"O-Oh…" The former ANBU finally realized what he was doing and pulled his hands away. "Sorry about that…"

"Did the nightmare involve me this time?" The dark-haired man asked.

"Yes…" Kakashi remembered what Itachi said in his dream: You were a fool for letting him get this close. Even though it was just a dream, he couldn't help but agree. It was dangerous for two shinobi to be together romantically. Not only was there a risk of the other dying, but if enemies found out, they could use that knowledge to their advantage. That's why even Asuma and Kurenai kept their relationship secret (as much as they could). Kakashi couldn't deal with the possibility that someone like Itachi could find out about their relationship and… no, not like everyone else he cared about… he needed to end it with Gai. They shouldn't have even started it in the first place.

"Kakashi?" Gai reached for the Copy Ninja's hand again, but he pulled it away.

"Gai, listen. I'm…" He couldn't tell the Blue Beast now. Not like this. "I'm very tired. I think I'll try sleeping again."

"Of course. Hopefully there'll be no nightmares this time. And Kakashi…" Gai leaned in close to Kakashi's ear. "I love you." He whispered and smiled before getting up and walking out of the room. The white-haired man's eyes widened, watching the slightly taller man leave. He resisted the urge to get up and chase after him. But wait, didn't he want to break up with him a second ago? Shit, he was confusing himself. He needed rest. Real rest.

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"Gai! GAI!" Kakashi was running through the negative Tsukuyomi world, looking for his friend. "Where are you?"

"You won't find him here." Itachi's voice came from the cloudy sky. "You won't find him anywhere, actually."

"Stop talking in riddles! Where is he?" Kakashi growled.

"Don't you remember? I sliced him apart. Shall we take a look?"

"No!" The former ANBU tried closing his eyes, but he could still see the image of Gai being cut up. Closing your eyes didn't help in this world. "No…"

"Yes. He died. You couldn't save him, and he left you alone. Just like your other loved ones." Itachi recreated flashback images of Kakashi's father, Obito, Rin, and Minato dying or being killed, playing them over and over.

"No… no… no…" Kakashi looked up, seeing Gai die in that cruel way again.

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"NOOO!" Kakashi sat up in bed, practically battle-ready. He looked around, not seeing anyone. He looked out the window, the Moon full and glaring down at him. He needed to get out of here. He needed to find Gai right away. He couldn't let Itachi take him away from him. He pulled the IV out of his arm and got out of bed, pushing the window open. Luckily, he was wearing pants and his masked tank top instead of a hospital gown as he jumped out into the night, heading straight for Gai's apartment. At that moment, he was utterly convinced that Gai was in danger.

It wasn't until he reached the front door that he realized how stupidly insane he was acting. These nightmares were really fucking with him, hurting his perception of reality. Of course those dreams aren't real. Of course Itachi isn't around pulling any more strings. Of course Gai isn't in any danger. Kakashi looked through the window with his Sharingan, and of course, Gai was sleeping soundly in his bed. He rubbed his temples with his fingers. He was about to burst in there, wake the Beast up from his sleep, ask him if he was alright, and tell him to never leave him alone…

Kakashi blinked, saying that last part in his head again. Never leave him alone, even though he thought about breaking up with Gai just hours ago. So which was it? Months ago, Gai told him that he loved him, and asked that he take their relationship to the next level, and he allowed it. He could have said no, but he didn't. And now they've gotten this far; it's the longest romantic relationship he's ever been in, but he could have ended it before it even began. But he stayed by Gai's side. They had been through many hard times together. He enjoyed Gai's company, both in and out of the bedroom. And the way he ran over here to make sure Gai was alright; maybe it wasn't as crazy as he thought. Then again, for Kakashi Hatake, that kind of behavior IS strange.

Kakashi Hatake, the cold-blooded genius Sharingan-user (and he is definitely not admitting this to himself), is falling for someone. And try as he might, he can't stop falling. He can't end this relationship now, even though he knows the consequences of keeping it. Besides, there's no reason to worry in the first place. After all, it was the Noble Blue Beast who saved him from Itachi and Kisame. It was because of Gai that he, Asuma and Kurenai were safe.

Kakashi sighed and headed back to the hospital. Maybe now he could get a proper rest, and look forward to Gai visiting him the next day.

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A/N: I feel like I have creative build-up or something. I can't stop writing! No real smut in this one, sorry. The next one will, and hopefully it'll be good!