Character: Kakashi, Naruto

Prompt: sensei. sakura. ne. jp/ n/ kn/ 101006. gif

Rating: M

Warnings: Grief. If you continue beneath the 'NC-17 Continuation' warning, a hand-job

Quiet Comfort

"She's dead, Kakashi-sensei. Baa-chan's dead."

Kakashi froze in surprise at the unexpected voice – he had thought himself alone in his apartment. Then he registered the words and briefly closed his eyes. Ever since Pein's attack seven years ago, Godaime-sama hadn't been in her usual health. Sure, she had tried to cover everything with her Eternal Youth jutsu, but years of alcohol abuse plus her regeneration technique plus her severe injuries had taken their toll on her body.

For the past two months, she had been in hospital, getting weaker and sicker by the day. In the beginning, they had thought she had just caught some bug, but as time wore on her body simply ceased to work. First her inability to keep up her genjutsu, then small ailments that just refused to heal, and since last Monday, multiple internal organ failure.

To be honest, it was a miracle that every time Shizune and Sakura had been able to bring her back again so far. But it had been only a matter of time until they failed.

"How long?" he asked quietly. He had been asleep and hadn't heard Naruto come in. Why hadn't Naruto woken him?

Sitting brokenly on Kakashi's kitchen counter, Naruto shrugged. "Two hours? Three? She hasn't been awake for the past two days."

"You were with her?"

"Yeah."

Naruto had hardly left Tsunade's bedside once it became clear that she was seriously ill. Maybe to make up for the fact that he had been nowhere near when Jiraiya had died.

And now, it was over. Konoha would need a new Hokage. Tsunade had held on long enough to give Naruto time to grow into his early twenties, time to become a potential Hokage. Now, six years after the Fourth Shinobi War, there was no better candidate.

But he would bet that Naruto's life-long dream was the very last thing on his mind.

"Want to talk about it?" he mumbled and stepped close enough that they almost touched. Even after all these years, he wasn't one to touch or hug in comfort, but he could at least be there.

Naruto slumped forward, his chin resting against Kakashi's shoulder. There was no moisture in his eyes. He only shook his head, his blonde spikes rustling against Kakashi's flak-jacket.

Kakashi didn't know how long they stood like this, he staring blindly at the tiles of his kitchen wall, Naruto shaking slightly and staring blindly over Kakashi's shoulder.

"You should go to sleep," Kakashi finally said. Naruto probably hadn't left Tsunade's bedside for the past few days.

Once again, the rustle of hair rubbing over his flak-jacket as Naruto shook his head. "Can't."

"You can."

Naruto's shaking grew more prominent, but his eyes remained dry. He had never dealt well with people's deaths, let alone his precious people's. "Don't want to."

"Ah." There was nothing to say to that. So Kakashi kept standing there with Naruto's head slumped on his shoulder, and both of them kept staring ahead blindly and trying not to crumble beneath their grief.

– NC-17 continuation

It took a long time for Naruto to stop shuddering. Finally, there was only their calm breaths to fill the room.

Just when Kakashi was about to think of a way of how to get Naruto to bed without waking him, he was startled by a hand against his hip. Apparently, Naruto hadn't fallen asleep after all.

At first, the hand didn't do anything. But gradually, when Kakashi didn't protest, the thumb began to massage slow circles around Kakashi's left hip bone, where it was closest beneath his skin.

He sighed. "Naruto -"

The hand stopped, but didn't move away. Neither did Naruto. "Please, sensei."

"Please what?"

"Please let me forget for a moment."

It was only Naruto's uncharacteristically passive voice that didn't make Kakashi draw away immediately. "You know this doesn't help with anything. Afterwards, the world's as drab as before."

"I know." The thumb started circling again. "I don't care."

Kakashi sighed again. This wasn't a good idea. He wasn't into that whole grief-sex thing. Especially not with one of his students. Former student. "Will you go to sleep afterwards?"

"I will."

As if moving on its own, Kakashi's hand settled on Naruto's left hip in a mirror position of Naruto's on Kakashi's hip. "I'll hold you to that."

"Mhm."

Naruto's hand was the only thing that moved, slowly wandering inwards along the crease that separated thigh from torso. He still had his head rested on Kakashi's shoulder, and Kakashi was still staring at the same spot of his tiled kitchen wall. Kakashi's hand though mirrored Naruto's moves meticulously.

There was no heat or fire in their touch, only a need for human contact as Naruto's finger traced out the size of Kakashi's member through his pants. Kakashi returned the favor. Neither of them were hard, but slowly their breaths were picking up. Naruto softly ran the knuckles of his first two fingers down Kakashi's length, and when Kakashi did the same to Naruto, he earned a quiet gasp.

It was strange doing all this without looking even once. It was strange trying to memorize things from touch alone. Somehow it felt right.

Both of them responded slowly to the stimulation, Naruto a bit quicker than Kakashi. Quiet gasps echoed against his shoulder as Naruto became bolder in his exploration and Kakashi kept mirroring him. There was still no real urge behind the motions, but a solemn insistence.

Eventually, Naruto dipped his hand into Kakashi's waistband, and Kakashi echoed him. The contact of skin on half-hard skin sent a shiver through both of them. They kept up their slow exploration and their quiet gasps. They didn't move otherwise, to look down or at each other or to do anything else. It was strange, anonymous, and yet curiously intimate to feel everything without seeing anything.

The blond remained quiet, even as the echo of his actions made Kakashi pull his member out and set up a firm rhythm. Kakashi was unused to seeing Naruto so unlike his usual boisterous self. Tsunade's death must have hit him really hard, even though everybody had already known it couldn't be long anymore.

They were stroking each other, gaining speed as they gained familiarity. Naruto's head on his shoulder grew heavier as the blond instinctively used that leverage to curl up into Kakashi's hand. Kakashi, too was thrusting forward slightly, his breath hitching every time Naruto's thumb came closer to swiping across the tip.

The shudders returned, but this time they were more from the heat building between them. They were panting and rocking into each other, and it felt good. Good in the way that could continue on forever, without any urgency to end it. Kakashi didn't remember when he had closed his eye, shivering at the feeling of Naruto's hair tickling the side of his neck and his ear. Naruto shivered, too.

They didn't know how long it took, but at one time it was over. Naruto's breath had stilled and frozen completely, surprising Kakashi a bit with his sudden release. Kakashi wasn't been too far behind, painting his flak-jacket and kitchen drawers with his seed.

Afterwards, Naruto was still shivering slightly as he tucked Kakashi back into his pants. Still with one hand, still without looking, still with his flushed cheek resting on Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi did the same. Neither of them moved.

"You said you'd go to sleep," Kakashi mumbled eventually.

"Mhm."

"Then come on."

Kakashi dragged him from the kitchen counter and guided him to his own bed. It wouldn't do any good to make Naruto go home right now, and Kakashi had just gotten up not too long ago. He didn't need his bed right now.

Naruto didn't struggle when Kakashi undressed him like a child and cleaned the mess they had made, too fatigued to put up any resistance. Finally, he was settled beneath the shuriken-print comforter, only wearing his boxers as Kakashi had removed his soiled clothes.

"Sleep," Kakashi commanded.

Naruto slept.