Kakashi walks into the kitchen so wrapped up in thought, the smell of food doesn't draw a smile and a pleasant word for the cook as it usually would. Instead he walks over to the breakfast nook and drops down into a chair. Propping his elbows in the table in front of him, he rubs his face, then shoves his fingers back through hair still damp from his shower. Leaning back he sighs, and when he opens his eyes, he finds himself looking at a glaring Ms Mimi. He blinks at the glare, but seeing the concern around the edges, he doesn't let it get to him. Instead, he offers the older woman a distracted smile.

"Ok, talk to me. I'm sure Naruto is going to sleep for a while, but where's Sasuke? Didn't the two of you make up last night?"

Kakashi sighs at the question he didn't want to answer. "Sasuke is with Naruto. I imagine he'll be down for breakfast a bit later after he's contented himself with Naruto's safety. And yes, he and I made up our fight, if you can call it that. But we've had another rough patch this morning."

Sighing, the large woman turns and strides back across the kitchen to tend her cooking before she speaks again. "What did you do to the boy this time, Kakashi Hatake?"

Shaking his head, Kakashi mutters, "It's more what I didn't do to him that's the problem."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Listen, things are going to work out, Sasuke just needs a bit of time, that's all."

"What are you hiding?"

Kakashi frowns, feeling himself growing slightly annoyed in spite of himself. "Nothing you need to know. I understand and appreciate your concern for Sasuke, and for me, but some matters are private and I intend to keep them that way."

Ms Mimi narrows her eyes and leans over the island she was working at, eying Kakashi suspiciously. "You slept with that boy didn't you?"

Kakashi clenches his jaws to keep from snapping at the woman, making the muscles in his cheeks twitch. He sees the surprise register on her face and he feels a spurt of satisfaction that she'd noticed his displeasure. He gives himself a moment more to calm his temper before replying. "Actually, I didn't. If I had, that would be my concern, and his. Our sex life is none of your business."

Kakashi watches the surprise bloom to pure shock before the older woman slowly turns away from him, returning to her work. It takes several minutes for Kakashi to realize that she was deliberately not looking at him. Realizing this, it occurs to him that this is the first time in his life he'd ever lost his temper with the woman that was so much like a mother to him. Closing his eyes, he curses silently and shakes his head, trying to figure out what had him so grumpy. His first thought was that sexual frustration, made so much worse by Sasuke's advances, was the culprit. Stifling the urge to giggle at this Kakashi shakes his head hard, once. Leaning back in his chair he finds himself having to cover a yawn. Dropping his hand to the tabletop, Kakashi frowns and realizes for the first time just how tired he was. He'd slept well enough since Sasuke's return, but he suspected his level of stress kept that sleep from being restful.

When the cook silently places a plate of food and a cup of coffee in front of him, Kakashi looks up and catches her eye. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for being such an asshole this morning. I guess I'm more stressed out than I thought."

The cook frowns at Kakashi's choice of language, making him have to hide a grin behind his coffee cup. "I know that, Kakashi. I've known that all along. You need to keep two things in mind however, the entire family is just as stressed as you are, believe it or not. And as stressed as we may be, it's nothing to the way Sasuke is feeling right now."

Kakashi blinks at this, then sets the coffee cup back onto the table beside his plate, watching the older woman walk back across the kitchen and beginning to clean up. He knew she was right, and he felt like a fool for not having thought of it sooner. He knew Sasuke was stressed, but he could never have guessed at the level of the boy's stress. Even though he knew that the entire household had been concerned for the boys, it had never occurred to him that they might be feeling the same kind of stress he was. Knowing that they didn't just call themselves a family idly, he should have known they'd be driven by the same desire to protect Naruto and Sasuke, and stuck in the same tangle of emotion and circumstance that seemed determined to keep the boy from being protected.

Eating the food in front of him without really noticing or tasting it, Kakashi begins to run through what he had done and what he could still do. He knew that Naruto was going to need to go to the police station to answer questions, but he felt it was probably better if he had a lawyer present when he did so. Remembering the state Sasuke had said Naruto had been in, Kakashi wondered if the boy would even be able to talk to the police. He hadn't had a chance to see Naruto since he'd returned, but his actions after Roger was admitted to the hospital led him to hope that perhaps Naruto was pulling out of that well of guilt he'd allowed himself to slip numbly into. Leaning back in his chair with his coffee cup clasped between his hands, Kakashi starts making plans, not thinking about how they all hinged on Naruto's mental state when he finally woke up.

Finishing his coffee, Kakashi pushes back from the table and walks across the kitchen to the older woman. He wraps his arms around her and hugs her tightly, still feeling guilty for the way he'd been acting. When he steps back and smiles weakly at the older woman, he's relieved to see the love in her eyes that had been there since his earliest memory. Without saying anything, Kakashi turns to head off for his study. He's so distracted by his own thoughts of everything he had planned to take care of, he doesn't even see Sasuke until he nearly runs over the boy as he steps into the kitchen. Stumbling to a stop, Kakashi, blinks down at Sasuke, then impulsively wraps his arms around the younger male, pulling him into a tight hug.

The slight hesitation before Sasuke returns the hug doesn't worry Kakashi since he'd likely just scared the boy half to death. He holds him silently until he feels the last of Sasuke's tension drain away, then murmurs in his ear, "How's Naruto?"

Sasuke grasps tighter and Kakashi feels some of the tension slide back into the boy's body before he replies. "He's still asleep. He looks terrible. I guess I won't really know how he is until he wakes up, and that won't be for a while."

Kakashi just nods and holds Sasuke until that tension drains away again. Pulling back far enough that he's able to look down into Sasuke's face, while still holding the boy comfortingly, Kakashi gives the boy a reassuring smile. "I'm going to fix all of this Sasuke, I promise."

Sasuke smiles tiredly and shakes his head. "Please don't make promises you can't keep."

Kakashi frowns and draws Sasuke tightly against his chest again. "I intend to keep this promise."

"You know what they say about good intentions, Kakashi."

Laughing in spite of himself, Kakashi pulls back again to look down at Sasuke. "You've got a point, but don't doubt my sincerity."

Sasuke smiles brightly now and shakes his head. "Never again."

Kakashi starts to draw away from the boy, meaning to go to his study and begin the process of keeping his promise, then thinks of one last point that needed to be made before they parted. "Sasuke, about this morning. I wanted you to know that I appreciate your willingness to take that next step, even though I was unwilling to let you."

Sasuke's smile slips away and he sighs. "It's ok Kakashi, I understand. And I also know you're right. I think I knew I wasn't ready from the moment I decided to try. Even I could feel my actions were driven by desperation more than anything else."

Kakashi nods and leans down to kiss Sasuke lightly, relieved that enough time had passed that he didn't find himself in an embarrassing situation again, reacting to the feel of Sasuke pressed to the front of his body as they kissed. "I love you, Sasuke."

The smile returns to Sasuke's face, brighter than ever and lightening Kakashi's heart. "And I love you, Kakashi."

As he steps around him, heading for his study and leaving Sasuke to finish his reunion with the cook over a much needed breakfast, but he's stopped by Sasuke's hand on his arm. He turns back, frowning in confusion as he looks down at the boy. "Is something wrong, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shakes his head and smiles, looking a bit embarrassed which only worked to further confuse Kakashi. "No, I just thought of something I'd meant to ask you yesterday before... Well, before everything that happened."

Kakashi relaxes, relieved that it wasn't something bad being handed to him again. He frowns at himself as he thinks about his reaction, realizing that he was tense even when he thought he was relaxed, waiting for the next crisis. Shaking the negativity aside, he smiles down at Sasuke, distracting himself with a pair of soulful black eyes. "And that would be?"

Sasuke shifts his weight from one foot to the other, clearly embarrassed "Yesterday..." Pausing, Sasuke clears his throat, then tries again. "Yesterday when I woke up, I was naked and you were only sleeping in your boxers. Why?"

Kakashi grins in spite of himself, and even seeing Sasuke tense, he couldn't make the grin go away. "You walked miles through the beginnings of a blizzard to get here, your clothes were soaked. I guess you were a little too stressed to notice that. When I held you, I noticed in the back of my head, but I was just as distracted as you were. When we went to my room, you were asleep before you could even finish undressing yourself. Not doing much better myself, I managed to finish peeling your wet clothes off and tuck you into the bed before I finished undressing myself. Even exhausted as I was, I knew sleeping naked next to you wasn't such a good idea, so I left my boxers on, but I was too tired to go through the hassle of putting on pajamas."

Watching Sasuke struggle with his embarrassment, Kakashi says nothing and even manages to push away his grin. When Sasuke replies, Kakashi is so surprised he can only stand staring at the boy, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open. "So, you do want me, huh? Even exhausted and with me asleep, you were willing to molest me. You really are a pervert."

Catching sight of the look on Kakashi's face, Sasuke bursts out laughing. He laughs until tears are streaking down his cheeks, a release the boy had clearly needed. When he's regained control of himself enough to be able to speak, Sasuke giggles, "I'm just teasing, don't look like that."

Grinning now and shaking his head, Kakashi turns and walks out of the kitchen, the sounds of Sasuke's laughter following him down the hall. At one point he thinks he hears the familiar laugh of his cook as well, but decides to ignore it. Stepping into his study, Kakashi locks the door behind him and immediately moves over to his desk and flips up the lamp. Grabbing the phone, he dials a number from memory, all of his amusement and good humour fading under the stress of the situation to come. Going through the steps needed to get himself to the man he wanted to talk to, Kakashi hunches his shoulders as more and more tension pulls at him. When the voice he'd been waiting for finally comes on the line, Kakashi takes a deep breath and says grimly, "Stan, I'm going to need your help."

AN: Time to heap on the apologies. I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter written and posted. First I was distracted by a challenge I joined on Y!Gallery. I wrote two pieces to get that challenge started. My first crack piece, NejiXKiba which turned out quite funny. (I may post it here after I finish Saving Sasuke, we'll see.) Then a couple of days ago, I wrote my second piece, a lovely bit of SasukeXIruka smut. My first time doing that pairing and I enjoyed the story so much, there will probably be more. Don't think I'll post that one here though. ;) I really need to make an account for my smut pieces. lol

Anyway, all of that writing has had an adverse effect on my body that I'm sadly used to. My right wrist began hurting quite a bit, than as I was doing laundry a couple of nights ago it just gave out completely and I was in pain. Typing while in pain and wearing a wrist brace is difficult to say the least. So, I took a day off from writing (that was hard because I really wanted to work in this chapter.) then did a short writing session yesterday morning that got the first half of this chapter. I got the oter half this morning. The pain had moved from the right wrist to the left. As I'm typing this, both are hurting and I'm going to have to brace them again. *sigh*

So, what does this mean? Well, even though the next chapter in my head is strong and really wanting to be written, it's likely to be a few days. Sorry folks, but until my wrists decide to start behaving my writing is going to slow way down. It'll take me at least 2 days to write a chapter with a day off in between chapters. Hopefully, this will be short-lived, as it sometimes is. I promise I'll get the chapters written and posted as quickly as I can comfortably. And thank you for your patience. :)