A/N: 07/19/2021 Feelin' kinda wonky about this chapter, but ah well. Sorry I took so long to update. Started up a new job today (well, new department) and so far it's really taking off. I love it :D

Thank you so much to Amanda, Loreadana, Cheyanne, and Cynical Daydream for reviewing the last chapter, by the way! I love reading you guys' reviews and it's much appreciated!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter twenty-six: Take It From A Friend~

He doesn't sleep at all that night.

He can't, his brain is buzzing too quickly and too loudly for him to ever hope to gain any bliss from the plane of unconsciousness. When he looks back on this moment years later, he doesn't remember what exactly he thought about, any of his worries or dilemmas. Only that he felt sick all the way up to dawn. When he finally does decide to get out of bed, it's only to make coffee. Strong. Dark. Black coffee. He then continues to burn his eggs and singe his toast, and as he sits alone in his dreary home he tells himself he deserves the bitter taste of his breakfast.

He's not quite sure how he accomplishes it, but he makes it through one day without seeing Sakura.

Then another.

And another.

He starts to feel confident that he can make it a week, but of course, luck has never been a running streak for any member of the Hatake clan.

Kakashi meanders around town towards the end of the fourth day, and for no true reason at all, sits at their tree to read. He's not gone past the first page when a single leaf falls onto his book, and the rustling of leaves above catches his attention.

"Well, hello, there, Kakashi! Fancy meeting you here!"

Kakashi cringes. Guy.

The Leaf Village's famed Green Beast ceases hanging upside down from a branch (no doubt one of his many odd training methods) and hops down to meet his rival on the ground. The bowl-cut man flashes him a glinting smile, as is custom for someone like him, and greets the Copy nin with an over-exuberance that can't be denied.

"Man, I haven't seen you in ages! How goes it?!"

Kakashi blinks at the ridiculously enthusiastic thumbs up that is jammed in his face, and goes back to his book. He really doesn't have the energy to deal with him today. "It goes."

Guy freezes, expression going comically rigid; he clearly didn't expect to be blown off so soon.

"Wha- it goes? What kind of a no-good, half-hearted answer is that?! Surely you can come up with something better for your strongest opponent and deep-seeded rival!"

Kakashi doesn't react, just keeps his eyes trained on the page in front of him. "Sorry to disappoint. Not really feeling too good and whole-hearted today."

He expects Guy to simply deflate, give up, and go away, like an annoying fly, but he underestimates his fellow teammate's perceptiveness.

"Ahhh, got a case of the lady troubles, have you? Well, fear not! Because I just so happen to be a very good listener and an even better personal psychiatrist! Why, in fact, Lee's been having these dreams lately and I-"

Kakashi rolls his eyes.

Ah, to hell. Maybe it actually would make him feel better.

"Okay, fine." He interrupts, causing the older man's face to slacken. "But not here."

Guy pauses, nods, and the two Leaf ninja head for the rooftops.

"Alright, Kakashi, what's this about?"

The silver-haired man takes a deep breath as he leans against the ridge of shingles beside him, preparing himself for what he is about to say; what he is about to admit, more like it.

"Well...I've been having some problems, to put it lightly."

"Problems with a woman," Guy clarifies, smirking.

Kakashi nods. "Yes."

Silence...

"Well, you gonna tell me who the mystery lady is, or what?" Guy snaps as he holds up a closed fist, suddenly aflame with passion. "I cannot offer my incredible sage advice if I do not know who she is..."

"Well...she's someone you know."

"Someone I know? A fellow shinobi, then?"

"Yes."

"Hmm...go on."

He'll never guess who it is, he thinks to himself. It's almost comical watching his brain work overtime to try and narrow it down. But still. He kind of needs comical right now.

"I took her out for her birthday the other night, and things got...out of hand."

"Oh, my sweet God in Heaven as the Devil lies below! You took advantage of a drunk woman!?"

Kakashi cringes. Geez. Way to make an old friend feel better.

"I...no. Not intentionally."

"Kakashi...what is it you're not telling me?"

He sighs, and looks up to the setting sun. "What is there to tell? That I made a mistake? That I've wasted the past four days wishing I could go back on it? That I spent the past few years building up some semblance of a solid relationship with this person only to have it all fling back in my face? Or that the only one I have to blame is myself because I just can't seem to get anything right? Please, Guy, enlighten me, because I have no clue."

Silence follows his tirade, and the wind gently picks up on their hair and rustles their clothes. Guy's own expression mirrors his friend's, bitter and somber, and for the first time since Kakashi has known him, he offers no immediate words of comfort. Instead, the two men sit on the rooftops of Konoha amidst the setting sun and simply exist for a while, no thoughts or worries or feelings expressed between them.

The red sun passes over the tree line and bathes them in shadow from the chest down, and eventually, darkness begins to set in. Kakashi's not sure if it's because he's finally thought of something to say or if it's simply that he's deemed enough time has passed to speak, but Guy locks gazes with him and smirks in his classic 'prepping to give a pep talk' way, and he knows right then and there that he's done for.

"Well, now that that's all off your chest...are you going to tell Sakura that you love her?"

Kakashi's heart seizes and his eyes bug from their sockets, to which Guy only barks a laugh.

"Haha! Surprised I figured it out, are we? Oh, man, you should see your face!"

Kakashi can only blink. "I...w- what? How did you know?"

He knows he never alluded to her by name. Perhaps the birthday scenario had been too specific?

Guy smiles triumphantly, giving himself a thumbs up as he all-too-smugly replies, "Please, Kakashi, we've known each other for years. Don't think you can pull the wool over my all-seeing eyes! There has been no other woman with whom over the past few years you've developed such a close bond with as Sakura. And I know just as well as anyone who has seen the two of you together; nothing can break that bond."

Except Hisashi, his mind echoes bitterly.

"Except Hisashi, you may argue!"

Oh, hell.

"But Kakashi, please listen to me when I say that this is merely a fleeting fling! I can tell you with the utmost certainty that Sakura is hardly invested in the relationship! And within a few weeks, I predict that they will be through."

He smiles wickedly, a twisted, knowing kind of smile, but it hardly lifts Kakashi's spirits. He can only give a deadpan reply.

"Yes, that big 'maybe' is veeeery comforting..."

Guy's face freezes, then twitches with exasperation. Kakashi doesn't even bat an eyelash; he expects this. He doesn't expect to be hit upside the head with enough force to nearly send it rolling from his shoulders.

"YOU IDIOT! DO YOU KNOW NOTHING?! HAS EVERY PIECE OF ADVICE I'VE EVER GIVEN YOU GONE IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER?!"

Kakashi shakes his head vigorously to recover from the slap, and only then does Guy's voice return to normal volume. Well...normal for him.

"I swear, one of these days I am gonna ring your neck..." Guy takes an exaggerated breath of calm before continuing, though Kakashi can still see the vein pulsing in his forehead. "Kakashi. You know just as well as I do that youth is a fleeting thing. And love can be even more fleeting; if you do not act upon your feelings, Sakura will think you are uninterested and will eventually be forced to move on, and you will be left with nothing but heartache and regret."

"Thanks, Guy. Your infinite wisdom has truly helped me in a way you'll never fully understand."

Whether he chooses to ignore his sarcasm or it just goes right over his head, Kakashi can't be certain, but Guy extends his arm in a dramatic show of appreciation and gives him a thumbs up as well as a shining smile.

"You're very welcome, dear friend. But there's really no need to thank me, I just call 'em like I see 'em."

Oh, God.

Kakashi sighs and stands to his full height, brushing off his pants even though there is no dirt.

"Feel better?" Guy asks with a wink.

Kakashi honestly has to think about it. "…Yeah. I suppose so, yes. Thank you, Guy."

"No problem! Now feel the power of youth flowing through you as you go and tell the woman you love your true feelings!"

Overcome with emotion, the leotard-clad ninja leaps off into the night to God knows where; though probably to go irritate one of his pupils at an unreasonable hour. Kakashi heaves a long, heavy breath as he stares after him, then remembers the book in his hand. Birds of Thorn hangs in his palm, gently cradled in his grip.

Sigh…dammit.