Kakashi remained awake the entirety of the night as he waited for any signs that would signify any attempts on their lives at night As he waited, none were heard. But he never released his grip on consciousness and alert-fullness. He just sat there, almost like a statue, only moving when his limbs got too stiff.
Sasuke woke at dawn, having not had a particularly restful sleep anyway. He got up, and, with some level of distain, pulled on his pants, but nothing else. He wanted as little to do with the blood-soaked fabric as possible. He approached his sensei silent as a ghost, but he knew the other knew he was there. "If you want to sleep, I can watch your back."
"Eat. Your. Pill." Kakashi said bluntly. The words were said with an odd taint of anger and this rather humorous (if said from another's perspective) aura radiated off of him, though to Sasuke, it probably seemed malicious and with a 'if you don't I'll kill you' message within it. His only grey eye was glaring at the boy, sending the urgency of his hidden message through the roof.
Sasuke blinked, the pill having not even occurred to him until then. "Fine, sheesh..." He muttered, turning back to the next, small room and picking up the pill, he blew on it to knock away the dust and popped it in his mouth. He swallowed it dry and came back to Kakashi's side. "Happy now?"
As soon as the pill was down Sasuke's throat, Kakashi's nature immediately returned to normal. "Very, Now, I don't want to drag us down, and I promised I'd get you some water to bathe in," Kakashi said. Truthfully, he wasn't fazed by the lack of sleep, doing it so many times within his life. He doubted that Sasuke could do what he did over the night, and decided against trying. Even though it was day, and the boy was just up from a most-likely restless sleep, he was worried for an attack, and also Sasuke running off on him while he slept. He knew that there was a 99.999% chance that the boy wouldn't, but he still had to continue a mission that was given to him before.
Sasuke nodded, assuming that Kakashi's brushing off of his question was a 'no, I don't want to leave my life in your hands and sleep'. Which, he supposed, seemed reasonable at this point. And I'm not about to object to a bath... "I guess we should get going then," he said simply, gathering up his clothes. He did pull on his shoes, although the soles were soaked and squished against his feet, which was disgusting, given the liquid they were soaked in.
Kakashi already mapped out a potentially clean small body of water and began to walk towards it. The Jounin really didn't mind silence, though it was slightly different as Sasuke followed him. It felt odd, out of place and he didn't know why. He wanted to break the silence but he had no way of breaking it causally and peacefully, as not to make the situation awkward. He really wasn't looking forward to the bath...
Sasuke followed Kakashi silently, the jounin seemed... awkward today, and Sasuke couldn't place exactly why. Never-the-less, he was relieved to find water that wasn't red with blood when they arrived. He smiled a little at the tiny river, complete with a modest waterfall; it was a more than welcome sight. Kakashi could certainly pick bath spots...
Kakashi sighed as he relaxed against a rock. He needed to hold onto the scroll and few items that he had on him, as they were important for this mission. All of the adrenaline that had rushed to him had worn off, and he was itching to remove his pants as they were stiff with blood, He pulled out his book, but kept it at an angle in which he could still look at the boy.
Sasuke stripped himself of his clothing and sank into the water with relief, leaning back and letting his hair, which was crusty with the awful liquid, soak in the cold, refreshing liquid. He pulled his clothes in the water with him and went about washing, or rinsing them, the best he could. Wet clothes he could deal with -although they would cling to his body-, blood-soaked, crusty clothing he felt was a totally different subject. when he'd finished with his clothes, he went back to washing himself, his defined, and yet, subtle muscles flexing as he maneuvered in the water, letting the cold liquid wash over him, leaving his pale skin shimmering in the daybreak sun. Tempting, begging to be touched.
As Kakashi watched Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but feel a pull from the boy. It was so tempting. Though, he usually was fine with the lack of sleep, it wasn't helping that Sasuke was naked in front of him, water dripping down his body. Of course, Kakashi also wasn't worried that the boy would catch him watching, as he had a very (now) useful excuse for doing so. And any other things the boy would most likely bring up could be explained by his book. He just hoped the boy wouldn't try to... initiate anything...
Sasuke leaned back again, to his hair soak in the water, stretching his pectoral and abdominal muscles as he went, causing them to flex and pull, and stand out ever-so-obviously. His bending over backwards brought his body out of the water just far enough to show off his hip bones, which where very prominent on the teen, and only a little bit farther down... Alas, any wandering eyes were to be thwarted, as Sasuke straightened up and said delicious view was diminished. Instead it was replaced by his slender back, dripping wet as water from his hair cascaded down the snow-pale slopes. Wet hair which clung oh-so-sensually to his face and neck, dripping small crystal-clear droplets over his lips and down his chin.
Kakashi's eyes did catch the very tempting and delectable view. He knew being with Sasuke at these seemingly intimate moments had not done well for his growing affection for the boy. He knew it seemed wrong, but, he didn't care. Kakashi wasn't the type of person who cared about what others thought, and it remained that way. He then, casually stood up, the book still in his hands as he spun a kunai in his hands, He let his shoes and pants drag in the cool water and walked slowly behind Sasuke. "You know..." he said as he now was directly behind the boy, "With our current situation, I think it's best to have a kunai on you at all times." He said simply.
Sasuke paused and turned partially to look at his sensei, irritability written all over his face as he splished a handful of water over his other arm. "Oh, really?" The teen snapped. "And where would you propose I keep the damn thing?"
Kakashi tilted his head almost childishly, "Well, if you turn around and stand up We might be able to figure it out..." Kakashi said and put his orange book away.
Sasuke did spin around, but only to give his sensei a scandalized look. He stared at the other, mouth slightly ajar for a moment. "Y-you... that was..." He found that words rather failed him at the moment, and ended, almost pathetically innocently. "...Dirty."
Kakashi just smirked, "Hey, but it fits right on... See?" He said demonstrating by placing the metal on Sasuke's 'pride and joy'. "By the way, your mouth is gaping. Will you close it yourself or shall I?" He asked, smirking further, but it was hard to tell from the mask that still covered his mouth.
Sasuke turned a brilliant shade of crimson and shoved Kakashi away slightly; glad the jounin's grip took the shuriken with him. The teen turned away, making sure to close his mouth firmly. He splashed his face with water, praying it cooled and Kakashi wouldn't notice the burning red on his cheeks.
Kakashi chuckled before walking up to the teen again, noting that lovely shade that Sasuke's face had turned, "Or it can go here..." He said before smacking Sasuke's ass before adding with an undertone of, "though that would probably hurt."
Sasuke's face heated even more and he turned around to glare at Kakashi. He opened his mouth to say something, but could muster no words, sadly. He tried again, no, still fail. So he looked away, trying, poorly, to disguise the red shade of his face.
Kakashi laughed before turning away from the boy, "Hurry up and finish to I can have a go, 'Kay Sasuke?" He said, throwing the metal weapon on Sasuke's direction, "I don't care where it is, as long as it's someplace near you." The man then got out of the water and removed his now-water-logged pants and began to wash them. Sasuke really was an interesting person to play with. Though, as he thought of this, he began to wonder what Orochimaru did to convince Sasuke to leave. It worried him slightly.
Sasuke sighed and nodded, splashing his face a couple more times to cool it down. He quickly finished bathing and walked out of the water, pulling on his clothes, which were wet, but now at least pleasantly so, and clung to his every definitive muscle. He scooped up the discarded kunai from the ground and motioned to Kakashi to go ahead, as he was thoroughly done with the bath.
As Sasuke motioned for him to enter the pool to rid himself of the bloody mess that littered his clothes, body and hair, he took off his vest and threw it to Sasuke, hoping the boy knew why, as the items were still on a hidden compartment on the inside of the vest. He trusted Sasuke with this much fully, without any spec of dust dirtying it. The jounin then removed his shirt (one again) and the remaining clothes that covered his lower half The last article he removed was his cloth that covered his face. His headband was taken in and the long scar was revealed to its full length, and he kept his eye closed. He finished washing his clothes before fully stepping into the water. His body was full and muscular, and scars adorned his body every so often, so display his past. He was broad - but not too much so. He was fully developed, unlike Sasuke, who was still in the growing process. His muscles were more prominent, but had the equal balance, not too much nor too little. His silver hair was unruly, but began to fall down as the weight of the water pushed it down, removing its gravity-defying properties. The droplets slid off of his hair like silver, disappearing as it rolled down his back and fell into the water. His muscled moved evidently as he moved, and if one would glance into the water carefully, the supple waves would display his lower half, though slightly distorted. Everything was relaxed and calm, graceful but not quite elegant.
Sasuke watched the other for a moment, but tore his eyes away. What the hell are you thinking, Uchiha? He demanded of himself. He'd seen Kakashi naked before, many times. As he was never allowed to leave the other's side, but something about this place was... intoxicating. But maybe that was the recent mental trauma speaking. The boy sighed, at any rate, he wasn't about to be caught starring at his sensei, or risk a hard-on in these clothes. So he averted his eyes.
As Kakashi indulged within this small but luxurious privilege, he turned to call out towards Sasuke, "I forgot, toss me a Kunai or something Sasuke," He said, but hopefully, the boy wouldn't throw him a stick or some other useless object. That would disappoint the Jounin greatly. Of course, while trying to calm a few parts of his body, he had forgotten to grab a kunai and hated himself for it. He was the one who was scolding the boy, and here he was, ignoring (well forgetting actually) his own advice.
Sasuke obeyed, tossing a kunai at the other. He was tempted to throw him something else, like the jounin's underwear, as he had said 'or something' but decided against it. He also decided against the tons of snarky, sarcastic comments that came to mind, regarding the jounin disregarding his own... advice, if you could call it that.
Kakashi caught the Kunai swiftly before placing it between his teeth. Not like he'd do what he did to Sasuke. That was just for humor. He was glad that Sasuke didn't decide to make such comments, well, the boy should be glad. He'd do something to make sure the boy regretted his comments. It also disappointed him slightly. He liked so see Sasuke's face painted scarlet.
Sasuke sighed and sat down on a rock, idly twirling the kunai over his fingers. He watched the dark metal glint in sunlight contemplatively, trying to keep his mind on anything but Kakashi's tempting naked body a few feet away from him. Unfortunately, this lead his mind to other, less happy places as well.
Kakashi did pick up on the boy's silence, noting that he had seemed to not like it. It also wasn't good due to the scarring images that were implanted in his brain due to the brutality of the forest they went through. Again, Kakashi seemed to feel at unease, being unable to start a conversation with the boy without making the silence even further awkward. 'Damn these emotions' he inwardly cursed, his face scrunched up for a fraction of a second.
Sasuke frowned and stopped spinning the kunai, gripping it in his hand. His mind was running all over the place, particularly lingering on the day before. What was that all about... and... why? He shuddered to think how many people died to cause such and over-flow. It would've had to be a whole damn city or something...
"Sasuke?" Kakashi said simply before ducking his head under the water and rubbing out all of the blood before coming up again, shaking his head slightly. He then walked closer to the shore but carefully, 'No Kakashi, No. Don't! ' He told himself in his mind, but his body wouldn't listen. Like it would anyway. "Are you alright?" He said before yelling once again in his mind. ' This is wrong, stop it!'' Kakashi had removed his kunai from his mouth before his spoke and it was now dangling off of his finger as he walked closer to the boy.
"I'm fine," Sasuke muttered, not looking up at the other. For one thing, he didn't feel he needed to, Kakashi knew who he was talking to. And for another... he wasn't sure his eyes wouldn't betray his lie. The boy was far from okay, just trying to collect his thoughts, forget the wretched sensations of the day before. And he knew his coal colored eyes would display his inner turmoil, which he didn't want to have happen.
"Are you sure about that Sasuke?" Kakashi said, his voice hinting that he knew otherwise. He knew the boy would not be perfectly fine after experiencing that blood-bath. But, he also knew that he shouldn't be approaching the boy like this. He knew that, even with his clothes ON he'd still have this hidden intention. He didn't want to shatter their relationship, nor did he want to hurt to boy in anyway. He couldn't really corrupt the boy, after being with Orochimaru, no, the boy was already far from being able to be corrupted now. Almost too far for Kakashi.
"I'm sure," Sasuke muttered, turning the weapon idly in his hands. He tried hard to force his face to be completely impassive, and mostly succeeded, as he turned to look at Kakashi. "Are you done with your bath then?" He asked, trying to turn the subject in another direction. He couldn't help but let his eyes wander down his sensei's dripping wet body, but he looked away quickly, his cheeks turning a soft pink tone as he let them travel just a bit too low and took notice of his sensei's hard-on. Tell me that is from his book and not watching my bathe... He thought, he really couldn't even begin to imagine how awkward that would make things. But, although he'd never admit it, it would give him a certain, unspoken satisfaction that he had such an effect on the other. If that had really been the case, which he doubted, it wouldn't've been the first time Kakashi would've seen him naked, and he'd never noticed a reaction before. Then again, he'd never known Kakashi to react to his stupid Icha Icha books, either….
"Pretty much yeah," Kakashi said before he added, "though, that isn't the subject at hand now is it? Changing the subject does rather indicate that you want to avoid the subject, therefore it is saying you are not alright does it Sasuke?" He was smirking now, and loving how that blush suited Sasuke well. His well-rounded and intelligent self kept warning him to not do this, but he couldn't help it. The jounin knelt down, seemingly completely oblivious to his nudity and his member that refused to remain calm, "Now what is bothering you Sasuke?" His voice was soft and caring but a little too caring for a teacher-student relationship.
Sasuke bit his lip; he shouldn't let Kakashi talk to him that way, it made him weak. He turned his head away; Kakashi's face -gorgeous as it was- did little for his strength on the subject. He opened his mouth to say that nothing was bothering him, but knew if he did, Kakashi wouldn't let it go, so he needed to find a better way to answer, one that would divert his focus.
"Sasuke." Kakashi said, his voice more firm. Both of his eyes were open for this brief moment, as if to scold the boy and he moved his hands - as he shouldn't - and turned Sasuke's head to face his. "Tell me what is wrong." His voice was certain and steady, not portraying his desire to kiss the boy again. How those lips felt against his. He did want to felt it again, but he wouldn't. He wouldn't.
Sasuke cursed himself for meeting those eyes; they were steady, forceful, yet concerned. He hated them, because they made him feel like a child. They were penetrating, like as though in all his years of training he still could hide nothing from the older man. His will wavered, just for a second, but that was all it took. "What do you think," he murmured, trying to break the eye contact by lowering his eyes, but his face was still held in the jounin's grasp. 'What do you think is bothering me' was about the most dignified answer he could muster, he'd caught himself in time to prevent himself from gushing everything on his mind to the older nin, although he was sure Kakashi already knew. Aside from the things involving Orochimaru, those, those he told no one. Ever. But... he still had failed to remain silent, which he inwardly cursed himself for.
"Why don't you tell me," Kakashi pressed, his eyes still looking stern at the boy. After a second he blinked and closed his eye. The Sharingan was draining his chakra fast, and he couldn't afford to waste anymore. He remained still, his hand firmly placed on the younger nin's cheeks. He held his will strong, even as it tried to waver.
Sasuke glared at the elder. "Why should I? You know," He muttered. He really didn't want to get into it. What was he supposed to say? 'Yeah, I'm just a teeny bit bummed about you know, being soaked in blood and that whole gruesome thing with disembodied heads on my person, and such.' It seemed... a rather obvious, not to mention awkward sort of thing to say. And of course... the whole thing was just dragging his soul through the mud with the amount of memories it so vividly dragged up. Sasuke wasn't about to say it, but the woman, whose head they'd found, she resembled his mother, in far too close a way to be comfortable. All that long black hair... Sasuke shuddered, but he wasn't sure if it was visible or not.
He wouldn't. He wouldn't. He mind refused to give in to a simple pleasure for himself. He couldn't. But as he looked into Sasuke's eyes, he noticed the confusion and sadness in the boys eyes and he removed his hand off of Sasuke. In the fraction of a second as Sasuke was there, a decision was made and the Jounin wrapped his arms around Sasuke, still not caring for his still-wet body or his nudity. He wanted to comfort the boy, and knew that he'd probably be pushed away at any moment.
Sasuke's eyes widened, and he pressed his hands against the other's chest to shove him away, but then he stopped. He wasn't sure why. He learned fast not to shove Orochimaru away when the sannin got too close for his liking - that never ended well. But he wondered, was it that same fear that kept him so close to Kakashi? Or did he genuinely want the contact, more that he could bring himself to admit? Either way, he let his hands slip away, and his head relaxed against the other's shoulder, he didn't embrace the other back, and it was too soon for that. But neither did he shove him away, he just allowed the other's warm embrace give him solace.
Kakashi's eyes closed when he realized that Sasuke was, in a way, accepting Kakashi's gesture of comfort. He felt the hands on his chest, almost expecting to be pushed away. He was ready for that. The thing he didn't expect was for Sasuke to accept it. He knew that a return would be virtually impossible, and he was okay with it, "I'm sorry you had to go through that..." He whispered against Sasuke's hair, his hands still but still held the boy. It wasn't possessive, nor was it afraid or strong. They were gentle yet firm, ready to move when Sasuke was. Kakashi felt like adding something but everything he thought of didn't seem right. This silence seemed to be comforting, not awkward or disturbing. It was gentle, almost caressing.
Sasuke stayed in the other's hold for awhile, enjoying the comforting silence. He frowned slightly, wondering if he should pull away or not. He assumed that as long as he was willing to stay there, Kakashi was, too, and he didn't want to keep him standing there, naked, for too long. On the other hand, he didn't want Kakashi to feel rejected, should he pull away.
Kakashi just waited. He was never one to be impatient. He didn't mind being naked, or wet. Nothing seemed to feel off. Kakashi wondered how Sasuke thought of him. As a father? A point to pass? A figurehead? A teacher? A friend? Or... did he think of him as something more? Did Sasuke share his unusual affections? He wouldn't let his hopes up. He didn't know, because the boy was so young. He didn't know even if the boy would stay with him, as the young typically tended to be fickle... though Sasuke wasn't a typical teenager was he? He was a ninja, he was forced to hide his emotions and mature quicker than the usual ones. And, he was an Uchiha. He was forced to watch his parents' and family's death over and over. He was driven to slay Itachi. Sasuke wasn't an average teenager, not an average ninja and it scared Kakashi a bit. 'Maybe... Sasuke isn't capable of love...' He thought solemnly.
Eventually, Sasuke let his pride get the better of him and he pulled away, gingerly. He made brief eye contact with Kakashi, and offered him the softest of smiles, almost as if to say 'thank you', and show that he was not upset with the other, but to spare himself having to actually say anything. He turned away and cleared his throat. "I guess we should get going."
Kakashi returned to smile, knowing that it helped Sasuke, though the worry still bothered him. He didn't know of the inner workings of his student anymore, and it felt odd. He never knew what really went on within Sasuke's head; he didn't know how the boy clicked. He didn't even know if Sasuke's intent on killing Itachi was as strong as it used to be, or if it was even stronger. Sasuke was too much of a mystery to his past-sensei, and he didn't like it one bit.
Sasuke waited for Kakashi to dress before addressing him again. "Where to from here?" he asked, tucking his kunai away in his side pouch.
As Kakashi pulled up his mask, he pulled out his compass, as he waited for the needle to calm. He pointed to his left, "Over east. I'm trying to avoid the road as much as possible." He said before tucking the small, circular object into his vest.
Sasuke nodded and followed Kakashi off the path, glad to feel clean again, and now they could finish this stupid mission and get home. It felt strangely comfortable to refer to Kakashi's house as his home.
Kakashi continued to follow his mentally (and physically) drawn map to the new village. It had only crossed the road at the very end. Hopefully, they would not run into any trouble along the way.
As Sasuke walked alongside his sensei, he couldn't help but wonder Kakashi's exact motives for that hug. Had it just seemed appropriate? Had he not been able to think of anything better to do to comfort Sasuke? Or had he had other reasons behind hugging Sasuke, wet and naked in a secluded area? The teen frowned. When he put it that way, anything sounded bad...
Kakashi was currently avoiding looking at Sasuke as he moved; the reason being was because of the way his clothes stuck to his body... especially below the waist. How it clung to his supple ass, showing of its perfect shape and form... and in the front... 'STOP IT!' he yelled into his mid. It was wrong to think of Sasuke in this manner and he knew it... but why, why did it feel so right?
Sasuke frowned, his head swimming. If he looked at it that way... the hard-on made sense. Kakashi HAD reacted to him bathing and had taken advantage of his moment of weakness to pull the boy in close. The teen shook his head. He was bitter, jaded. He knew that his experience with Orochimaru had ruined his opinion of people. He'd always been the last to trust, and the first to doubt, but after Orochimaru... he'd never look at anyone, particularly people in higher positions of power over him the same again. He thought of it just as truth, and he brushed it off as shinobi not needing emotions, such as trust and love. But honestly, truthfully, he was a misguided teenage boy, who was just scared to be hurt again. Enough people had let him down in his life so that he could rationalize that it was normal to treat people coldly, and with distance. But Sasuke didn't do enough soul-searching to think of things this way. He simply tried to stay away from it entirely. Concluding that he was, in a sense, ruined for love, and that was just life. But if he wanted so badly to stay away from love, altogether, then what the teen couldn't understand was why. Why he felt pulled to the grey haired jounin next to him. He glanced up at Kakashi and frowned, not at all liking the tickling sensation it gave him to remember the embrace. He's my sensei. He was just doing whatever he could to comfort me, he thought sternly. There was nothing in it. At all. And it won't happen again. He wasn't quite sure if that last thought was disappointed, or just determined.