Note: You can put your head back in the gutter now.
Strange
Thought I knew you well
Thought I had read the sky
Thought I had read a change
In your eyes
So strange
Woke up to a world
That I am not a part…
The mellow tones of the song drifted lazily in through one of Kakashi's ears and straight out the other. He hadn't bothered to undress, knowing full well the Anbu captain would want to have a talk with him first thing in the morning. Stretched out on his bed, Kakashi plucked at the sheets with one hand and rested his chin on the other, repeatedly over-turning all the mistakes he had made earlier. First missions are always at least a bit nerve wracking, especially for newly initiated Anbu, but Kakashi had botched his so badly he marveled at the fact he was still employed and in one piece. Angry with himself and more than a little embarrassed, he had blatantly refused an invite from Obito's family to a celebratory dinner for the two boys. In fact, Kakashi was even a bit irritated at Obito, which made him even more irate, as he knew that this irritation was completely ungrounded. His friend wasn't flaunting the fact that he had gotten through just fine and Kakashi did not—the knowledge of it was more than enough to make him feel inadequate.
…After all
What was I really
Looking for
And I wonder
When will I learn
Maybe my wish knew better
Than I did
And I wonder
When will I learn…
"What are you listening to?"
Kakashi hadn't noticed his friend creep into the room, having been too
busy stewing to be paying much attention.
Mentally berating himself for dropping his guard, which, incidentally,
was exactly what had thrown him off earlier.
"It's the radio—what did you think it was, dumbass?" Kakashi growled and pushed his face into the mattress. He heard a faint click as Obito shut off the small radio clock next to the bedside lamp. Looking up briefly, he squinted at the other's face and continued, "The last thing I wanted to see right now is your ugly face."
"Ha, ha," Obito answered sarcastically as he sat on the edge of the bed. Smirking, he produced a bottle of sake from his pack and held if aloft in front of Kakashi's nose. "I found this in the cupboard and thought you might want some."
The silver-haired ninja raised an eyebrow mostly in surprise that Obito managed to get a hold of such a thing, and partially in suspicion. Obito did not have the best track record with procuring alcohol—last time they had gotten caught. "Err…."
"My parents won't notice. They hardly ever open that cabinet."
"Somehow, I don't believe you." Kakashi rolled on to his side and leaned on an elbow. His friend shrugged with a nonchalant smile and opened the bottle.
"You outta change. Those uniforms are damn uncomfortable."
"Yeah, whoever designed these should be shot." Kakashi stood, peeled off his Anbu uniform and tugged on some plain pajamas.
"I'll bet it was Sandaime-sama. He's a total closet pervert." Obito took a drink from the sake bottle and held it out for Kakashi. Sitting cross-legged on his bed, the silver-haired ninja snatched the bottle, corners of his mouth twitching into a slight grin.
Obito grinned back and settled against the wall. "Hey…don't worry about today. The captain's a slave driver, but I'm sure he still remembers what it's like to be human."
"Yeah, yeah…. I still fucked up. I'll be lucky if I don't get demoted back to the Academy after that one." Kakashi frowned and fell silent, anxiety over the consequences he was bound to be hit with tomorrow creeping back into his thoughts. Obito didn't press the subject, knowing it would be futile to argue. Kakashi tended to have a very haughty outlook on missions and his own ability, often shouldering all the responsibility himself. They drank quietly for a while and it didn't take long for half the bottle to be gone.
Eventually, Obito broke the comfortable silence with a drawn out yawn, sliding down the wall so he was crumpled up on top of a pillow. "Well, I'm beat."
"You staying over?"
"Yeah…I better."
"Get the light then."
Obito sat up with a groaned complaint and flicked the light switch off. "Hey…Kakashi?"
"Eh?" came the sleepy reply.
"What…would you say…if I kissed you?"
"Uhh…" Kakashi tried to answer, but it came out as a nervous laugh instead. "Why?"
Without giving any reply, Obito leaned over and did just that, although in the dark he missed his friend's lips almost completely. Embarrassed, he would have moved away if Kakashi hadn't grabbed the front of his shirt and attempted to kiss him back. This endeavor resulted only in bashing their foreheads together painfully. Not the slightest bit discouraged, the two fumbled awkwardly in the dark, clumsiness of inexperience accentuated by the alcohol. Obito winced as Kakashi's fingernails dug a bit too deep into his back while he pushed eager hands under his friend's shirt. Managing to hit Kakashi's mouth with his own this time, instead of his nose, Obito pressed him back into the mattress as gently as he could, but that did not prevent the clock from getting knocked to the floor by a stray arm.
The delirium eventually subsided, leaving the two boys barely awake enough to toss their discarded clothes on the floor and crawl under the blanket to sleep.
Kakashi woke sometime in the early morning, dizzy and disoriented. He could just make out Obito's tousled head lying next to him through the sleepy haze obscuring his vision. Sitting up, he peered out between the blinds at the sparse, gray morning light. Long shadows fled slowly from the recesses of the streets, parting for a baker on his way to work and a paperboy trotting energetically from building to building. Kakashi's hand strayed absently down to comb through his friend's hair as he watched the faint light filter into the room in narrow slits. He glanced down at Obito's impassive features, a sudden pang of anxious déjà vu hitting him in the pit of his stomach. It seemed completely ungrounded, but the growing sense of dread threatened to consume everything he thought he had gained a very few hours ago.
"Obito…wake up…" he said softly, tapping his friend's cheek with one hand. The other boy didn't answer immediately, but shifted with a grunt, letting his mouth hang open slightly. Kakashi paused a moment, then moved his hand down to Obito's chest feeling the strong heartbeat under his fingertips. The silver-haired ninja felt rather silly, letting some nameless fear get the better of him, but his relief would have been evident had anyone seen his face right then. The dread had not completely subsided, but Kakashi pushed it away and ignored it, knowing full well it was pointless to worry about something one couldn't even name. He gave Obito a hearty shake to wake him and leaned both arms on his friend's ribs.
"Gu-uh…?" Obito opened on eye reluctantly to find Kakashi leaning over him. "What?"
"It's morning…. You should get home before your parents notice…."
"Yeh." Standing, Obito slipped his clothes on and dragged the blankets up over Kakashi's shoulders. "…Should I stop by before the meeting later? We can walk together and…uhh…talk about stuff…."
"Yeah, see ya later."
Kakashi didn't fall back asleep until quite some time after Obito left. He was happy enough not to notice the vague chill that had settled in his chest.
[Luna sez: Song lyrics are from 'Strange' by Tori Amos. Also, I assumed the boys to be both around 15.]