Disclaimer: READ! I do not own any of the character's, ideas, definitions, names, or symbols from Naruto. I did not copy anyone else's story. Again, this story contains guy x guy relationship thoughts and material. Please R&R!

EDIT: 7/15/07

Waking in the Cold

Itachi had raced out of Kakashi's room with a heavily pounding heart, leaving the jounin to himself once again. Gasping and still hard, Itachi put his back to the door, eyes cold with a hating, lusting, want. What had he just done? He gazed down at his hands, the same hands that had slid down Kakashi's body, the body that made his very flesh smolder with pleasure. Well, why did he just ask himself that stupid question? Itachi knew all too well what he had been doing. His pale face was unmoving and veiled behind the shadow of his cloak. The sharingan deactivated, leaving him in an empty void.

Never did Itachi think that this was going to happen. He hated everything. He didn't know how to like anything. His clan had used him as a tool, a bargaining chip in bets, and a trump card. He was more than just a subject to brag about. And that was his family who had done that. Someone like Kakashi, his enemy, was surely not something to be liked either. He focused on his anger for a while.

Itachi's mind cascaded into his troubling thoughts. He realized in irrevocable desperation that he wanted every part of Kakashi, even if it was betrayal against his own morals, his own way of life. Greedy or not; he needed that silver hair, those mismatched eyes, that sweet tasting skin, everything…. All of Kakashi's restricted power and humiliating fate made it all the more captivating…. There was another flutter in his stomach. He cursed it. Itachi craved the power that he had just had over Kakashi a few moments ago. It was an exhilarating influence. He lived for it.

He'd loose himself in those lips again if he got to close. Even if it did go against his every craving instinct, he had to be careful. That was his only weakness now. Damn Kakashi…. How could someone ever make him act like this? So apprehensive at the loss of self control…. Itachi closed his eyes, letting his head rest against his prisoner's door, before finally retreating down the rest of the corridor.

For nearly ten long minutes, the leaf Nin had been staring wide eyed at the space between him and the locked door. Eventually, as his body's activities calmed, his expression grew blank. His fists were still clenched tight as all of the images of what had happened cycled through his brain. He couldn't stop them.

There were few emotions that he could pick out of himself. Puzzlement? Curiousness? Awe? He ran a hand through his damp hair. Itachi…had touched this hair. Itachi had…touched him…again, in a way that no one had before. His fair cheeks unavoidably clouded over with a pink glow. He felt his skin heat up again and he sank miserably beneath the sheets of the bed. Why did he feel this way? Why did he keep thinking about it? Should he be disgusted? Ashamed?

Itachi had created an embarrassing uneasiness within him. Kakashi was angry that someone would ever do that to him, take advantage like that. Violated…. But on a different and guilty note, he was somewhat curious as to what brought this all on. Was he trying to manipulate him? Ridicule and mess with his mind? Damn Itachi….

This place was Kakashi's nightmare beyond nightmares. He wasn't even dead. He needed to get back to Konoha, to see if everyone was still safe. How many ANBU had been killed? Were they searching for him? He obviously found Akatuski's lair. But because of that, there was almost no chance that anyone was ever going to find him. He had a feeling that Itachi wouldn't let him go back home that easily.

If he wanted to be saved, he would have to rescue himself, and find his way back home. Finding the way back wasn't really the problem, he could track his old path easily. The thing was that he was surrounded by the enemy, and not just some regular shinobi. These were the elite, S-ranked, dangerous criminals. And he was also wounded beyond compare. He didn't want to be too late to help save the village…. The dream he'd had, he would make sure that it would never come true. Konoha would never fall.

Exhaustion overwhelmed him once again, bringing back more of his pain filled realities. His wounds itched and stung with the signs of healing. His head ached and all of his limbs seemed to be nonexistent and numb. The food hadn't had anything in it, poison wise or medicine wise. It was his own body trying to tell him that it needed to repair itself. He was scared to sleep though. He wasn't afraid of many things, but sleeping oddly was one of them now. Once he went to sleep, he would be knocked out cold. He'd be even more vulnerable. What else would Itachi do?

But he had to sleep.

His lone dark eye slammed downwards, but he was already gone before they did. His soul seemed to go into hibernation, a minor coma, while his body remained empty, grounded on earth. Maybe it was dying, maybe it was healing. He didn't quite know.

Four days had passed before he even twitched his fingers. For a long time, his mind was wandering on the brink of nothingness, flickering back and forth between his recollections and of the past. He wanted to forget everything. It was just the thought of not having to bear the burden of the deaths of all the ones he loved. Was he, himself, dead too? It had been such a long time since he'd seen any light. Nothing interesting had happened in his dreams.

But bf he just lay here, it would end up wasting time.

He couldn't just give up. He was healing. He wasn't dead in the least. He had to wake up. But he was so tired….

A finger on his right hand twitched, curling inwards.

'Wake up!' Kakashi yelled these words at himself. No matter how bad things got, he needed to face them. Even if he didn't quite understand what some things meant. Itachi… yes, he'd even go back after what happened with Itachi. He'd felt guilt and shame before. And by now, he might even be able to move, even if it was just a little. He heaved chakra through his limbs, trying to make them wake up from their frozen sleep.

His eyelids twitched and shot open.

It was still dark when he looked around. Was he still sleeping? His breathing quickened from it's resting pace. He began to think that he hadn't been able to pull himself from the realm dreams after all. But no…the lights were just off. It was still the same room. He lay in the bed, still half asleep, but visibly relieved that he had managed to wake himself up. The aches and pains in his body were minor, but he hadn't tried moving anything but his eyes yet. The thought struck him. Could he move?

He tried to lift his feet. Distorting throbs shot up his shins, but they moved, the sheets rising with them. He tried his arms. They too, moved, but with searing pain. He smiled. Finally he was getting somewhere again. He'd been out for a long time, but he wasn't sure for how long. He had no sense of time or being. At least he was alive. At least he was awake.

The jounin inspected his bandages. To his discovery, nearly half of them were gone. The only wounds that remained, apparently, were the gash in his stomach, a few deep cuts in each of his legs, and a nick on his shoulder. The rest of him was just as it was before. Someone had given him pants, another relief. They were black, somewhat like he had worn before. He sighed. He wasn't so vulnerable now.

His stomach grumbled acidly. He'd need to eat soon too.

He scanned the rest of the room and the door. Where exactly could everyone be? Slowly he sat up, wincing occasionally. It was difficult, but he was able to push the white covers away, and swing his legs over to the sides. There was now one more step left in the operation. He was awake, he could move. But could he walk?

Kakashi griped tightly to the side of the mattress to balance himself as the tips of his bare feet touched the ground. He pulled back in shock. It was ice cold. The air was cold…. He noticed now that he could see his breath in the air. He needed to get his blood moving again.

He lowered his feet to give it another try. Gasping, he bit his tongue to keep from yelling out. There was a frothy mix of pain inside him, both from the sudden strain on his muscles and the cold. This was nothing…. He took a step, wobbling and slow. It took him five minutes just to scuttle across the floor, holding onto the wall for support. He was so weak! How was he ever going to get away? How was he ever going to keep Itachi from…? His head whirled at the thought. Not even awake for ten minutes and already he was thinking about what had happened before he blacked out. The nerve.

He prayed that Itachi wasn't in the lair. The last thing he wanted was to run into him again. Or anyone for that matter.

The bronze door handle was now inside his palm. He turned it, hope filling his eyes. His wrist popped and the door handle lodged itself. Locked!? He cursed the luck. Damn Itachi and his precautions. Why did that man have to keep him locked up if he couldn't even walk properly! He was already at the pitfall of exhaustion. The energy it had taken him to get this far was almost completely drained. Anger and frustration filled him.

Shaking the door handle with his fresh angry strength, it suddenly clicked, flying outwards with a resounding creak. It wasn't locked? His eyes displayed shock. He peered out into the hallway, noticing that it was also dark. It must have been late then…. He stumbled forwards, out into the empty space.

The air out here was even colder. It sent a troop of goose bumps up his exposed skin. Kakashi struggled towards the far wall, slightly bent over with pain and effort. He needed to get some exercise. Sleeping in bed all the time was doing absolutely no good for his body, He'd healed plenty already…well at least he wanted to think so. His old thoughts retraced their way back to him. Would Akatsuki let him fully recover? He was closer to that than he was before. Every second that went by, brought him closer to his worries of the reality he was stuck in.

He had walked nearly the whole length of the hallway, now rounding the first corner. Everything was silent. There was not even a creak or gust of air to be heard. He was breathing heavily now. It hurt physically. But it hurt more emotionally than anything else. It was the fact that this simple action put so much strain on his body. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right. But at least he could move. Not like before, like when he wasn't even able to turn his head away from Itachi's kiss….

Kakashi's face contorted in dismay. He put a hand to his lips. He could feel it again. The air suddenly seemed to feel nice. His cheeks were hot. The flutter sensation in his stomach was unmistakable. He was…blushing. Damn Itachi.

Kakashi looked behind him but nothing was there. He looked into the gloom before him. His face was still tinted, with no mask to hide it. There were eyes on him, he could suddenly feel them. He strained his eyes a bit. There! There was an outline...unmistakable now. It was advancing slowly. The jounin's sore muscles clenched.

The familiar uniform met his gaze in the shadows. There was no doubt. Itachi…. Kakashi backed up a little, not sure what to do. He hadn't seen him in a while. His own eyes instinctively flicked down to Itachi's feet, but sensing no immediate danger, moved his eyes upwards, lingering unavoidably on his lips, then finally his darkened eyes. Could Itachi see his expression in the dark? Then his eyes went wide with fear.

What had he just done! He had just stared down every part of Itachi's body…. His heart skipped a beat. Had he noticed that? He hadn't meant to do that…had he? A few curious wonders entered his mind. What would it mean if he had…? But he was just being cautious! He wasn't really looking…. Damn. He had looked.

I have re-edited the rewritten chapter lol. Was it any better?