Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
When Tenzou woke the next morning, he couldn't believe the weightlessness he felt. Not that he was under any illusions that he was completely safe, as Danzo had seemed far too eager to smother out his existence not to take the opportunity to do it again, but he knew his purgatory at ANBU was over. He could finally go on a proper mission, leave his room or roam around the village again. He felt like a million dollars.
Tenzou yawned loudly, threw his covers off and hopped out of bed. Genma was already awake, laying with his arms folded under his head, smiling at his teammate.
"Good morning, sunshine. Don't you look rosy."
Tenzou beamed a large, goofy grin in response. His eyes were wide and glowing for what felt like the first time in days.
"I feel fantastic. Let's go for a walk around the village!"
"Haha, easy there, rookie. We need to debrief with the Hokage before we throw away the yellow flag. Don't get too excited before you hear his verdict."
Tenzou instantly deflated. Oh shit. So...there was a chance things weren't back to normal? He was pretty sure if someone ran up behind him and punched him in the kidneys it wouldn't be anywhere near as painful as the idea of being locked up for another week.
Genma barked out a rough laugh and slapped the bedpost. "Oh, my God. Your face right now. You look like a kicked puppy. Stop with those big, droopy, sad eyes, your breaking my heart."
As Tenzou blushed fiercely Genma slid out of his own bed and stretched, scratching his stomach. "Why don't you head next door and ask Kakashi what's up for this morning? He'll know."
At the mention of his captain Tenzou's blush eased not a bit. He had forgotten about Kakashi and their...well. Whatever it was. Feelings? He remembered the kiss vaguely and decided he should think about something else. Those were thoughts for privacy, and he had no idea if he was going to have any of that even relatively soon.
Taking his teammates advice Tenzou knocked lightly on the door to his old room. As if sensing the direction of Tenzou's thoughts earlier, Kakashi answered the door mask and shirtless. Just what Tenzou needed to see after a two day Kakashi-Eye-Candy hiatus.
"Good morning." The copy-nin greeted smoothly.
"Uh...yes! Good morning!" Tenzou quipped, EXTREMELY obvious in his fluster. When Kakashi's eyes narrowed in knowing amusement, the mokuton user considered turning around and walking back to his room.
"You did a great job yesterday, Tenzou. Your scouting skills are extremely impressive."
Kakashi's compliment did the job. Tenzou forgot his embarrassment and his large, expressive eyes brightened instantly. Kakashi realized with a small pang that he had missed seeing his kouhai so lively and happy.
"Thank you, Senpai. Our mission made me excited to work with our team in the future. Your jutsu copying is incredible, I've never seen anything like it. I remember vaguely hearing you had somewhere close to 1000 jutsu in your arsenal, but I thought that was merely a rumour. You know how people can talk when they get excited about...someone..."
The look Kakashi was giving Tenzou made him trail off as his brain became a mere blip in a sea of nothingness.
"Uh...ah...yes. Any...anyway. Sorry I went on, I just haven't really worked with you yet, and I know you're captain for a reason, but seeing it myself is just...I mean...uh...should I stop?"
His captain had rested his forearm on the door frame above Tenzou, leaning on it heavily as his subordinate rambled on. The copy-nin's eyes had started off twinkling with mirth, but the more Tenzou innocently complimented him with genuine admiration, the darker and more predatory his look became. His eyes were sharp, razor sharp, and Tenzou suddenly found himself trapped and afraid for his decency.
"Okay...right. Well, anyway, I was just wondering-Oh!"
Tenzou's startled yelp was absorbed by Kakashi's strong chest as the copy-nin gripped his kouhai by the hips and whirled him around, pressing his back against the door frame and leaning against him.
"I didn't know you were a fan." he purred down at his flustered prey.
It took Tenzou a full five seconds to get his breath back enough to answer his captain. "I...I am not a fan." he sputtered indignantly, his entire face fire engine red. "I'm your team mate, not a cheer leader. I was just trying to compliment you."
The indecency Tenzou displayed did nothing to deter Kakashi's obvious enjoyment in rattling his subordinate. He leaned in slightly closer, his bare chest pressing against Tenzou's clothed one.
"It's 955."
Tenzou blinked. "Uh. 955...jutsu?"
"Yes."
"Ah. Thanks for...clarifying. I'll be sure to tell the fan club." Tenzou tried to bite back, but he was doing a horrible job at being snarky when he was so obviously hot and bothered by everything about Kakashi and his proximity.
Tenzou's thick lashed, almond shaped eyes were wide, his lips slightly parted. Kakashi felt himself sucked in like he was trapped in a storm. He had never had so little self control in his life. Suddenly, the copy-nins eyes lost a little bit of their sharpness as he regarded Tenzou, his expression almost sad.
"I missed this." he breathed.
Tenzou felt like someone had upper cut him with a metal pole. Reality turned on its axis for a few seconds before his head cleared.
"You-"
Kakashi grazed his thumb lightly along Tenzou's bottom lip, causing the mokuton user's words to catch in his throat. The copy-nin slowly lowered his head, his lips hovering just above Tenzou's. His eyes flicked up to his kouhai's, as if searching for confirmation. When the glimmer in Tenzou's eyes did not wane, Kakashi gently pressed their lips together, softly kissing him against the door frame. Tenzou felt his knees go weak as he returned his captain's kiss, suddenly brought back to their time together not long ago. When their lips slowly broke apart, Kakashi raised his head just high enough to see into Tenzou's eyes, their mouths separated by inches.
"I thought you needed time to think." Tenzou whispered, his gaze searching.
Kakashi smiled, but it was troubled."I haven't thought much...but maybe that's a good thing. Yesterday hit me hard, Tenzou. I was getting caught up in all the wrong things." Kakashi couldn't help gently running his fingers along Tenzou's jawline as he spoke. When Tenzou looked at him like that, he felt like he was a prisoner in his own body. Things happened without his permission, he had almost no say in his actions.
"When we got back...I kept wondering 'what if'. What if everything went horribly wrong yesterday and I never saw you again. Losing people terrifies me, but I'm sick of running. I don't think I could have lived with that kind of regret. I have too much already."
Tenzou's heart was singing wildly, and as he opened his mouth to speak, Kakashi kissed him again. He closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, their kiss deepening so slightly it was almost chaste. Tenzou's lips parted and the tips of their tongues gently ghosted against each other. The kiss was so slow, so gentle and slight, Tenzou completely forgot to breathe. He felt the barbed heat in his abdomen coil and turn and he almost moaned.
"U-uh...so...so are you...guys gonna...I kinda have to train..."
Tenzou was so lost in Kakashi he registered Gai's voice a couple of seconds after he spoke.
Wait.
Gai.
Gai was in the room.
Gai was IN THE ROOM?
Both Kakashi and Tenzou broke the kiss and turned their heads at the same time. The poor taijutsu master looked incredibly awkward, caught somewhere between being uncomfortable as hell as well as happy for his friends. He bounced on the balls of his feet lightly as he waited for them to finish.
Kakashi smiled pleasantly. "Sorry, Gai. Forgot you were in there."
WH-
WHA-
WHA-
WHAT?
Tenzou merely stared, jaw hanging open, as Gai ducked his head, made himself as small as possible and squeezed past his romantically occupied companions. Tenzou was so utterly, unfathomably mortified he could barely stand it. He felt like murdering Kakashi in cold blood, but he was still too turned on to go through with it. He felt his head swivel as he turned to stare at his captain in complete awe.
"You...why...why would you..."
"Ah, Gai doesn't mind. Don't worry about it."
Tenzou's expression did not change.
"You. You...I'll end you..."
Kakashi merely laughed and kissed the top of Tenzou's nose. "We'll continue this later, when we have more privacy. We should be getting our original rooms back today, though, so maybe that won't be for a while."
Tenzou's rage was starting to pierce through the fog of his humiliated brain, giving Kakashi an adorable glimpse of a murderous storm of anger in large, almond shaped eyes.
"Don't look so worried, I'll make time for us to settle things. See you later." with a wink, Kakashi was gone.
Tenzou stared at the vacant spot.
"...Fucking....prick..." he swore, for the sixth time in his life.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
After Tenzou had stewed in his own embarrassed rage for around an hour he finally felt fit to join the rest of humanity and not spontaneously combust. What a way to end one of the most romantic moments of his life, compared only to the other romantic moment he shared with Kakashi just days ago. His life sure was a soap opera. Not.
The rest of his team was waiting for the Hokage in one of the meeting rooms. When he slipped in, Gai merely shot him a large, toothy grin and a thumbs up. A quick glance at Genma showed him to be ignorant of what had transpired, much to the mokuton users delight.
Kakashi he ignored.
Taking a seat next to Genma, Tenzou began to wait with his team. The brunette beside him leaned in and gave him a once over, eyebrow raised.
"What took you so long?"
Tenzou realized the truth was always best and came out the smoothest.
"I was just talking to Kakashi, then I got ready when he left."
"Ah." Was Genma's answer. He leaned back into his own chair and got comfortable. Score.
Fate had other plans, it seemed.
"And by 'talking' he truly means, as the youth of the day call it, 'sucking face'!" Gai exclaimed, giving Tenzou another giant thumbs up and a happy, toothy grin.
Tenzou's jaw practically crashed through the oak table. Genma swooped around in a wide, exaggerated arc and gave Tenzou a long, aghast stare.
"You...made out with Kakashi?"
"...I...I..."
"Why, yes, he did! I must say it was quite a shock. Not that they do not make the most darling couple, my rival and the new arrival, HA HA HA!" Gai continued, completely oblivious to Tenzou's suffering.
Conveniently, Kakashi had managed to slip out of the room unnoticed.
Genma looked at Gai, looked back at Tenzou, looked at Gai again, then back at Tenzou.
"I get the feeling he's NOT hallucinating."
"...I...I..."
"It seems our dear teammate is quite embarrassed! Perhaps I should have saved that little piece of information for a later date." Gai concluded, looking slightly bashful.
"...I..."
"So...hang on, you SERIOUSLY made out with Kakashi? Where the heck did that come from?"
"...I..."
"Well, Kakashi has been quite flirtatious with young Tenzou since he got here."
"Yah, but Kakashi flirts with EVERYTHING."
"I...Wait. He does?"
Genma and Gai both stopped talking and stared at Tenzou for a moment.
"Uh. Well, hey, don't take that the wrong way. I mean...err..if you two are...uh...yah know..." at a loss for words, Genma crossed his fingers together and held them up with a pained expression. "Like this? Then, you know, nothing...to worry about?"
Tenzou seemed slightly put off, but at least he wasn't stammering like a broken record anymore.
"Ah. Right. NO, I mean...ugh...I don't know...damn you, Kakashi..."
The room fell into an awkward silence as Tenzou wished for death, Genma considered what to say and Gai inwardly berated himself. It was not a happy moment.
As if answering their unknown prayers, Kakashi and Hiruzen entered the room. The intense discomfort was apparent upon arrival. Kakashi knew exactly what the source of it was and duly ignored it. Hiruzen, however...
"Ho, ho, ho! What did I miss? I thought this was a happy occasion!"
A moment of silence as everyone considered how to lie their faces off without lying their faces off.
"They're probably just tired, Hiruzen-sama. We should get on with the meeting so everyone can rest." Kakashi, as usual, saved the day with his smooth charm. Tenzou still wanted to cut his throat open with a dull spoon, though.
The Hokage took the hint, sat down, and the meeting began. Hiruzen informed them that Tenzou should be safe for a while, since it would be total suicide for Danzo to try anything on him while everyone suspected him. There was a good chance the council member would leave Tenzou alone forever, but just in case, the Hokage suggested Tenzou stick close to his team and ANBU for the foreseeable future.
"I do not want you to live in fear, Tenzou. Danzo knows his limits. However, be safe for as long as you can. Hopefully you find ANBU to be just like home, and will stay for as long as possible. You truly are safest here."
"Thank you for your concern, and everything you've done, Hokage-sama." Tenzou responded quietly with a low, respectful bow. "I will fulfil my duties to ANBU for as long as possible."
The meeting ended with the Hokage announcing that the team was back on the mission roster.
"ANBU missions are absolutely top secret, and in the case of your team, no one but me will know of your assignments, just in case. You are dismissed."
The team stood, paid the Hokage his respects, and left.
The walk back to the room was brutally awkward. Tenzou was humiliated, Kakashi was pretending like nothing was happening, Gai was totally ashamed of himself and Genma was completely confused.
Thankfully, the current sleeping arrangement worked in Tenzou's favour. Hopefully, Genma would grill Kakashi about what was happening and spare him the horror of having to do it himself. Gai, he needed to talk to regardless.
As Tenzou and Gai settled into their shared apartment, Gai clasped Tenzou's shoulder lightly to get his attention. When the mokuton user turned around, Gai was staring at him with surprising seriousness.
"My friend. I believe in my excitement I may have embarrassed you. I am truly sorry! Its just..." He choked, ducking his head quickly. His shoulders quaked.
"Gai..."
"THE POWER OF LOVE MOVES ME TO MY VERY BONES!" he shouted, throwing his arms up into the air. Tenzou turned completely white.
"SHH, Gai, please stop!"
"BUT WHY? YOUTH IS ALL ABOUT-"
"Gai, I'm embarrassed again."
"Oh!" That seemed to do the trick, as Gai turned red and ducked his head again. "I am truly sorry, my friend. I just...get so overwhelmed!"
"Yes. Right. Well, Kakashi acted completely...like himself and really should have considered me before openly...anyway. I didn't mean for anyone to see that, is what I'm trying to say." Tenzou explained, thoroughly uncomfortable.
Gai nodded sagely. "Ah. I see, I see. Well, I shall not mention it to another soul, you have my word! If I break this vow, I will run around the village 500 times carrying you on my back!"
"...Oh. Well...okay." Tenzou thought that was a little extreme, but he would accept whatever Gai needed to never mention what he saw to anyone again.
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Kakashi."
The copy-nin went about his business, humming to himself pleasantly as he went. Genma was not even slightly fooled and he really wondered why Kakashi even bothered.
"Dude. What did you do to Tenzou?"
His captain sighed and turned around, hands on his hips. "I tied him up in my apartment and replaced him with a shadow clone. Don't tell anyone; our dirty little secret."
"Kakashi, get serious for like...five seconds, please."
"That was serious. Shh." With that, he turned back to his bed, folding the sheets back into place neatly. He was a surprising clean freak.
The senbon wielder ventured forward cautiously. "So...you're into guys? I mean, you've always been pretty elusive with your private life, and I've never seen you with a woman, but I still didn't suspect that."
Kakashi began to whistle a strange tune as he cleaned.
Genma rolled his eyes. "Okay. If you don't want to talk about it, maybe you shouldn't have kissed him in front of Konoha's Living Megaphone."
"Hmm? Sorry, I didn't hear you. The rustling of the sheets, you know."
Genma sighed harshly and flopped onto his bed. "Fine."
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
A couple of hours passed in relative silence for Tenzou and Gai. The energetic taijutsu specialist busied himself with writing some kind of strange poem, something his startled room mate was not expecting. Tenzou was particularly put off when Gai began to recite the poem out loud with tears streaming down his face. He briefly wondered if Genma and Kakashi could hear and thought something horrible was happening, then remembered how long they had known each other. They were definitely used to Gai's eccentricities. Tenzou most certainly was not.
The mokuton user flipped through a simple architecture book with attempted interest, but Kakashi kept knocking around in his brain, making it impossible for him to concentrate. The way his captain bounced from keeping him at an arms length to acting intensely interested, you'd think he was getting royally played. But, from what he had seen of Kakashi in terms of his obvious morals, Tenzou realized that was impossible. It was just...Kakashi, and his ultra quirky personality. Tenzou had no idea what his captain had been through in his life, romantic or otherwise. If Gai was allowed to be a complete psycho no questions asked, than Kakashi should be able to be a little confused about what he wanted in a very intimate situation. It was the way of the jounin.
When their 'down' time was over, Kakashi knocked on their door lightly. The two emerged, and to their surprise, were invited to lunch in the village instead of ordered to train. Tenzo did absolutely zero to hide his excitement. His eyes went so wide he could feel the skin straining around his temples.
"REALLY?" He gasped, and by the laughs his team shared, with far too much happiness. "Errr...well, I mean, it would be nice to leave the building again. It's been just over a week. You know."
Suddenly, someone appeared directly beside them with a flourish of wispy smoke. The masked ANBU bowed low and handed them a scroll.
"A message from the Hokage" came the husky, feminine voice. Kakashi accepted the scroll with a smile and the ANBU messenger disappeared. Wordlessly, Kakashi opened the scroll as his team gazed with anticipation. Seconds ticked by.
"Everyone, into my room."
They complied hurriedly, obviously intrigued. Kakashi closed the door and turned to face them once they had settled.
"We have a mission."
Jaws dropped.
"Already...?" Genma asked without hiding his suspicion, an elegant eyebrow raised.
"Apparently it's been on hold for us for some time. It wasn't urgent, obviously, but it is important. We leave in three days, so we'll have some time to prepare. It's an undercover mission, pretty straight forward. We're posing as a group of friends taking part in a festival in the Waterfall village. Technically, the closest hidden ninja village is Mist, but our clients didn't want any of the ninja to be recognized. We have two missions: The first is to keep an eye on the clients son, as his father is extremely paranoid of anything happening to him at the festival for reasons he will not divulge. The second is to protect an incredibly valuable, culturally significant artifact that is being presented at the festival. This artifact is practically the backbone of the Waterfall village, and our client is a member of the Council. They have invested a hefty sum of money to ensure its safety; namely, us. They want us to be undercover to deter any 'untouchable' glamour a squad of bodyguards would produce to attract unwanted attention to the artifact. It is that important to them."
Kakashi regarded the scroll again. "The Hokage will be giving each one of us a package with our respective cover stories. Any attempts on the artifact are to be handled in a way that will not give away our true identities..."
Genma snorted loudly. "Yah. I'll just turn invisible and beat the snot out of them. I do it all the time."
"If we coordinate ourselves it is more than possible. We can have a few training sessions to work out the kinks, but I am more than confident we can protect what we need to protect without being visible. Obviously, so does the Hokage. He really wanted us on this mission; he kept it in the books for two weeks."
Genma and Tenzou whistled at the same time. Gai looked beside himself.
"THE HOKAGE KNOWS THE STRENGTH OF OUR BONDS! THE WILL OF OUR HEARTS!"
"Yah, and Kakashi's speciality is stealth and undercover missions." Genma deadpanned.
Gai looked slightly put off. "Ah...perhaps, yes, but TRULY we are a VISION of COHESION AND TEAMWORK!"
"Tenzou's insane at tracking, which we'll need if we have to keep tabs on someone without them knowing about it..."
"THE BONDS WE HAVE WILL CARRY US INTO THE FUTURE!"
"Not to mention I can sink a senbon in someones neck from a mile away at record speeds, basically with a 1% chance of missing, if I do say so myself. It makes perfect sense that he'd want to select our team, if you really think about our-"
Gai grabbed Genma by the front of his shirt and dragged him over, his face red, his eyes wide.
"DO NOT UNDERESITMATE THE WILL OF OUR FRIENDSHIP!"
"...YOU, however, are HORRIBLE at undercover missions..." Genma continued without determent, despite being centimetres away from Gai's trembling visage.
"Maaaa, you two..." Kakashi sighed, his eyes half lidded, his usual tired expression in place."We have a lot to prepare for, save it for later..."
Gai and Genma exchanged heated glares before Gai let go of his friends clothing and lightly shoved him aside.
"Gai."
The bowl cut shinobi tentatively turned to regard his rival.
"Genma is right; you're terrible at undercover missions."
Tenzou fought to keep his expression mutual as Gai basically looked like someone had told him they'd raped his puppy and sold its damaged carcass to a meat factory.
"Go to the Hokage immediately to get your cover story. I want you to be in character starting two days from now. No more shouting, no more rivalry; no more Gai."
Gai looked like he was about to cry, but took a deep, typically exaggerated breath and pounded his chest with his fist. "MISSION ACCEPTED! I SHALL BECOME MY ALTER IDENTITY FLAWLESSLY OR ITS 1000 LAPS AROUND THE VILLAGE, ON MY HANDS, WEARING AN APRON!"
And with that, Gai was gone. Kakashi sighed, looking worn already. "Right. Well, that's all there is for now. Both of you can go to the Hokage whenever you'd like. Just know your characters for the mission debrief tomorrow. That is all."
"Heh, well, this mission sounds like fun. Basically us being us, but undercover. Sweet!"
"There will be quite a few ninja at this festival, Genma. The hardest part will be clamping down our chakra almost constantly. Nothing we do can tip people off."
The senbon wielder waved his captain off flippantly. "Yah, yah. I get it. What I mean is, it ain't no Rain Country, if you get what I'm sayin'."
Tenzou was sure he just saw Kakashi shudder. "No. No, it isn't..."
Well, he was sure he'd hear about that particular mission at some point in the near future. Genma seemed satisfied and waved to both of them as he turned on his heel. "I'm gonna go grab some grub, then make sure Gai hasn't done something rash to atone for his lack of undercover stamina. Later!"
Their friend disappeared, leaving Kakashi and Tenzou alone together. To the mokuton user's surprise, Kakashi spoke up first. He turned to the brunette with a light smile. "Do you feel ready?"
"Ready? That is not a strong enough word for what I feel. I can't remember the last time I was this excited. It feels like my time in ANBU is finally starting."
Kakashi merely continued to smile in response. "That will wear off with a few missions, trust me. Especially the assassination ones. Maybe it's just me..." the copy-nin trailed off here, his eyes suddenly becoming vacant. "...I always feel a little empty after those. Depending on who the target was, normally."
Tenzou felt slightly honoured for being privy to Kakashi opening up and offering any kind of personal information. "Yes...I see what you're saying. My genin team and I had one assassination mission. Our Sensei did the actual assassinating, but...still. It seemed almost cruel. That was the first time I ever felt like "the enemy". Or, unjustified."
Well, that brought Kakashi back to the war. "Your genin team had an assassination mission...?" Those things were A rank, B at the lowest.
Tenzou laughed lightly, obviously without real mirth. "Well, I think it was because of me. My Sensei and I did all of the real work; my other teammates acted as scouts or back up. My Sensei qualified our team for the chuunin exams after that mission. I was the only one who was promoted."
Slowly, the two gravitated towards each other, until their toes lightly touched. Tenzou had barely noticed the transition, but now that there was a moment of silence, felt the heat from his captain so strongly he nearly flushed crimson.
"Do you still talk to them?" Kakashi asked softly, his eyes catching Tenzou's with confidence. The mokuton user wondered if his captain ever got embarrassed.
"Not...really. I wasn't with them for very long, and I was kind of...tacked in at the last minute, so we never really had a chance to bond." Tenzou answered, finding himself ashamed despite knowing that Kakashi was generally a lone wolf. He had never really felt like he fit in, and that wasn't normally something one took pride in.
Kakashi's eyes seemed to glow with understanding. "How old were you when you joined the academy?"
Tenzou glanced down. "Eleven. I skipped three grades and was placed directly into the graduating class."
Wow, that was old. Kakashi assumed he had been trained, in private, before he was allowed to join the other students. He was sure putting Tenzou into the academy was more of a move to make him feel more normal and rejoin him with society than for any actual educational value.
"Well, don't feel too out of place, kouhai." Kakashi coaxed, his smile warming significantly. "I graduated from the academy when I was 6. I didn't have much of a childhood either."
Tenzou's head snapped up, his eyes wide. "...6...? You were put in a genin team at 6?"
"Yes. I became a chuunin the next year. A jounin a couple of years after that. When my Sensei became Hokage, I think I was about 13 or 14, I joined ANBU."
Well. That definitely made Tenzou feel better, and actually, kind of like a whiny little baby if he was honest with himself. His captain had been a ninja his entire life. Tenzou wasn't sure which situation was worse, but he felt like comparing them was unnecessary.
Back track. Kakashi had been in ANBU since he was 14. Holy shit. They didn't call him a genius for shits and giggles. Oh, and the friggen Fourth Hokage was his Sensei? Yah. Things made sense.
"How..." Tenzou began, extremely hesitant for reasons he could not fathom. Perhaps learning about Kakashi's history was bad, because he was feeling slightly star struck and it would probably get him into heaps of trouble with his extremely shameless captain. "...how old are you...?"
Kakashi didn't seem offended, at all, by the question. "23. I read your file, I know you're 19. That's pretty old for a chuunin who was promoted when he was twelve years old. You could have easily made jounin years ago."
Tenzou shuffled uncomfortably. "I know that." he bit back, his eyes finding the ground again. Their conversation was beginning to make him feel self conscious, despite knowing the reasons for his extended chuunin title. It didn't help that Kakashi had just revealed he'd been a jounin at the tender age of like, 9, when Tenzou was still being home schooled and counselled for potential psychotic tendencies. He had been deemed 'not a threat' at 10, and put into the academy the next year.
"I wasn't...you have to be nominated to take the jounin exam. They've held back my nomination, no matter how many missions I successfully completed. For some reason, I am fit to be ANBU, but not jounin. Don't ask me why."
"ANBU are monitored more closely than jounin."
That made Tenzou glance up, his heart seizing. Kakashi's eyes bore into his own, revealing his understanding. Kakashi wasn't judging him, he knew what was going on. He just wanted Tenzou to talk about it. The mokuton user didn't know how that made him feel. But it definitely made him feel.
"Did they make you my captain because you could handle me if I was a threat?"
Kakashi completely closed the gap between them, his stare hard and confident, forbidding Tenzou to look away. The mokuton user felt his chest tighten, his stomach flutter. It took his breath away how easily Kakashi could command his very being. He felt trapped, almost...spell bound.
"Hiruzen assigned you to my team so I could help you." Kakashi whispered, and Tenzou felt his eyes go wide and his heart flutter. Hiruzen...why was he being so kind...
"I...you have, Senpai..." the mokuton user began, but found it hard to talk around his constricted throat. "I can't believe how far I've come, with everything...you're completely different from anyone else who has ever taught me."
Tenzou tried to look down, his embarrassment gripping his muscles and overpowering them, but Kakashi tilted his chin up and forced their eyes to lock with his controlling gaze. Tenzou took a deep breath.
"Thank you..."
Tenzou had only a moment to see how strongly his words reflected in the depths of Kakashi's expressive eyes before their lips met. The kiss deepened instantly and Tenzou felt himself stumble until his back hit the wall with a light 'thud'. Everything around him was white noise, his mind felt like it was floating on cotton. Kakashi's hands were in his hair and his arms were around his captain's neck. They kissed fast, hard, their obvious desire burning between them, down their chests and into their groins. Tenzou felt Kakashi's knee between his legs and he practically sank down onto it, thankful for the wall at his back and his captain's strong shoulders. He was starting to understand what the big deal about falling in love was, starting to understand passion, chemistry. Tenzou had never felt so alive.
Their lips parted just enough for them to take a break and catch their breath. Tenzou realized with slight embarrassment that his hands had clawed their way up Kakashi's shirt, hard muscles and smooth skin under his finger tips. Kakashi was unbelievably sexy and Tenzou had no idea what his own appeal was. He was going on the assumption that his captain had fairly good taste.
"I want to do this right, Tenzou..." Kakashi murmured, his breath ghosting Tenzou's lips. "I don't want any more regrets."
The mokuton user gave a slight nod, his eyes captured by Kakashi's once again. He never thought drowning would feel so good. "Of course..."
"Slow and steady."
Another little nod, his head bumping against the wall slightly. "Slow...and steady..." come out as a breath, a whisper, as Kakashi bent his head enough to capture his lips again. It was a chaste, smouldering, lingering kiss. It was an assurance from his captain; a way to say he really meant it.
"Perhaps you two should consider rooming again..." came the obviously uncomfortable advice to their left.
Tenzou groaned loudly and, unfortunately, sank down onto Kakashi's still firmly planted knee. With a loud yelp, he jumped right back up again. Wow, that...was great, but bad...
Gai scratched the back of his neck as his two friends untangled themselves from each other.
"We will probably do just that, Gai. For now, focus on getting in character."
Kakashi had gone right back to his usual casual, bored demeanour with seemingly zero effort. Tenzou had no idea how the hell he did that. HE was still plastered to the wall, dishevelled, blushing and humiliated, AGAIN.
"Right..." Gai muttered. He suction cupped his arms to his body, slunk past the two shinobi and ghosted into his room without another word. When the door was shut, Tenzou slapped his hand onto his forehead and peeled it down his face.
"We REALLY need to stop doing that in public..."
Kakashi merely shrugged. "Public, private...they both start with "p"."
Tenzou gawked at his captain incredulously and Kakashi merely grinned in response. "It's just Gai. He'll forget about it in around three minutes."
"Not before he blurts it out to Genma, though." Tenzou deadpanned, obviously unimpressed.
Kakashi's expression clouded over slightly. He stepped closer to Tenzou, lightly cradling his jaw in his hand. "Are you ashamed?"
"NO!" he blurted, then cleared his throat. "Ashamed is entirely the opposite of the word I would use, really. It's just...it's kind of weird. Is all."
Kakashi laughed, once, his head ducking slightly in amusement. He flicked his eyes back up to Tenzou, serious but not overly so. "I know. This is why I was hesitant at first. But...it's better this way. Secrets never go over well in a team."
Tenzou couldn't help but smile. "Yeah. You're right..."
"Why don't you go get your assignment from the Hokage? By the time you get back, Gai will have forgotten how flustered he is, and everything will be fine."
With a final nod, Tenzou flashed another smile his Senpai's way, then headed for the Hokage's wing.
SLAP.
"YEEP!"
Tenzou whirled around, eyes wide.
"What?" Kakashi blinked innocently. "I was just saying goodbye."
Ignoring the smarting pain in his abused ass, Tenzou threw himself at Kakashi and repeatedly play punched him in the stomach until his captain finally threw him off.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Teeeheee. Hope you liiiiiiked!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
