Disclaimer: Not own'd here. 8D

Pairing: Kakashi x Sasuke

Re-Rejuvenated

By: yukuro

Stage Two: Puberty

So far, Sasuke had been lucky.

Kakashi had been steadily growing over the last few days, and at this point, he had already reached about the age of thirteen or fourteen at most. The greatest relief for Sasuke was, however, that Kakashi did not seem to be showing signs of puberty yet. At least, not that Sasuke was aware of. If he had thought Kakashi was perverted when he was older, Sasuke definitely did not want to see him in the peak of his pubescent period. The problem was, it would definitely come, and no matter when it does, Sasuke would not be prepared.

"You've gotten taller again," Sasuke commented as he sat down at the table for dinner. As it turns out, Kakashi had proven himself useful by preparing dinner for the two of them. "Did you grow more while I was out today?"

"Probably," Kakashi said with a shrug as he sat across the table from the dark haired teen. His only visible eye slowly latched onto Sasuke's face across the table. "Looks like I'll be your age soon, Sasuke."

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably in his seat, keeping his gaze unwavering from his bowl of rice. Lately, he had begun to feel more and more…exposed underneath Kakashi's gaze. Ever since Sasuke had prohibited the reading of Icha Icha Paradise, Kakashi seemed to have more time to pay attention to him. Suddenly, Sasuke had to rather miserably question himself about that decision.

They ate for a while in silence, much to Sasuke's relief. However, that did not stop Kakashi from staring intently at him from across the table. It took every last ounce of his self-restraint to keep himself from slamming his chopsticks down and pulling out a kunai to throw directly between Kakashi's eyes. Squeezing his eyes shut in frustration, Sasuke forcefully lifted more rice into his mouth while silently cursing the boy across the table.

"Do you have another mission tomorrow?" Kakashi asked suddenly, making Sasuke pause. "It's kind of boring staying here all day while you're gone. I can't go out either since others will find out about my situation."

A tinge of guilt sparked in Sasuke. As if he could have helped it, he thought to himself rather bitterly. There seemed to be an overwhelming amount of missions that needed to be done recently, and Tsunade seemed to be keen on handing said missions to Sasuke's team. He could have sworn Shikamaru and Neji's team had already been on vacation for three days.

Rather reluctantly, Sasuke mumbled with a bit of embarrassment, "Well, I guess we can do some grocery shopping after we finish eating. You can get out for a little at least. As long as you cover up, that is."

"Ah, a date at last!" Kakashi exclaimed cheerfully while dipping his chopsticks into his bowl with more energy. "I'll look forward to it then."

"It's not a date," Sasuke scowled, sinking down slightly in his seat. Over the last few days, perhaps even accumulated from past years, Kakashi had learned just how to push Sasuke's buttons. Just as he was about to open his mouth to retort again, he realized the sound of Kakashi's breathing had grown unsteady. It was another one of those.

Brows furrowed, Sasuke quickly rose from his seat and made his way around the table to kneel by Kakashi's crumpling form. Tsunade had warned him about this in the documents she had Naruto drop off the day after Kakashi's arrival. Since the state of the cells in Kakashi's body is extremely unstable, he would experience frequent breakdowns of a sort as well as contractions when his bones began to lengthen again. Once the chakra is properly flowing through his body again, he would be fine. Sasuke recalled whatever other details Tsunade had left him while allowing Kakashi to lean heavily on him. Slowly, the unnatural breathing pattern began to smoothen again.

"Sorry," Kakashi apologized sheepishly, pulling away from Sasuke. "I'm not used to being so helpless."

"But you should be used to being an idiot," Sasuke retorted, rising to his feet again. He turned to make his way back to the other side of the table, but on retrospect, he paused and mussed Kakashi's hair a bit. With a bit of embarrassment in his voice, he stated, "Stop making me worry."

"So you were worried?" the younger teen asked in amusement, suddenly beaming up at Sasuke. "You're so cute, Sasuke."

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped with a heated face before stomping back to his seat. He immediately regretted his previous actions. All the more reason to despise Kakashi and his relentless teasing.

They finished their meal in cheerful, on Kakashi's part at least, silence. Sasuke forced himself to remain patient, a more difficult feat than he had imagined. Kakashi was having far too much fun with the situation. He was exploiting the "but I'm just a child" factor a bit too well in Sasuke's opinion. Sasuke frowned while roughly scrubbing at the last of the dirty dishes. He had to wonder yet again what he was thinking when he allowed Kakashi to stay.

Once the household chores were taken care of and Kakashi was fully cloaked from head to toe, the two made their way out towards the supermarket under the night sky. They walked in silence, except for the few times Sasuke gruffly muttered a brief "hello" to whoever happened to greet him along the way.

It was getting a bit more difficult to ignore the whispers that were surrounding them. Sasuke could no longer use the babysitting excuse. Although Kakashi was still supposedly a few years younger than him, their height was relatively close with Kakashi just short enough so that Sasuke could barely gaze over the top of his head. In other words, Sasuke was running out of excuses to explain that no, he did not pick up some kind of shady girlfriend, which had come to be the popular assumption of the masses.

It was unlike him to be careless, but Sasuke was so frustrated with his thoughts that he ran directly into a tall figure before him. He let out a brief "oof" at the contact before backing up to rub the side of his face. The sight of whom he had run into made him smirk slightly. It was about time he owed Kakashi a bit of payback.

"Good evening, Gai," Sasuke said loudly in a sickening tone of sweetness as he shot a smirk over his shoulder at the noticeably irked Kakashi.

"Ah, Sasuke!" Gai replied just as loudly with twice the enthusiasm. He paused for a second to look from side to side before leaning over to whisper, "How's Kakashi?"

"Oh, he's great," Sasuke replied with interest, reaching back to grab Kakashi's hand and drag him forward before he could escape. "In fact, he's right here. Say hello, Kakashi."

Kakashi's visible eye twitched slightly. A bit forcedly, he crinkled his eye and managed to mutter with a brief wave of the hand, "Aha… Yo, Gai-kun…"

"You've gotten big already!" Gai boomed, making Kakashi flinch slightly and Sasuke smirk with more satisfaction. He went on, making a few people look at them strangely, "The power of youth burns strongly in you!"

"Uh, yeah… Sure…"

Sasuke was enjoying this. Kakashi had a combined look of boredom and irritation on his face as Gai began babbling about one thing or the other. He had Gai may have been rivals, but that did not necessarily mean that Kakashi could take much of this. Oh, but Sasuke was far from done yet.

"How is it living with Sasuke?" Gai inquired.

Before Kakashi could mutter an answer, Sasuke intercepted and placed a hand roughly on the top of Kakashi's head. "It's great," he said loudly, fighting valiantly not to snicker. "Kakashi does house chores while I'm gone, and we sleep together at night. He's just adorable, isn't he?"

Kakashi shot Sasuke a childish glare. This made Sasuke pleased.

Leaning over slightly towards the slightly blushing Gai, Sasuke whispered wickedly, "You want to know what he wears to sleep?"

Gai's jaw nearly dropped open. The thought of such a young and cute Kakashi…at night…dressed in—… Well, that's not important. Although, his nose was close to bleeding.

Before the man could properly form a coherent response (most likely "yes," unfortunately for Kakashi), Sasuke strolled away towards the market, waving his hand slightly. "I'll be right back. Watch Kakashi for a while, won't you?"

He could feel Kakashi's gaze on his back as he made his way towards the market, and somehow, that only served to further amuse him. Sasuke felt particularly pleased with himself for the first time in days. Finally some revenge for all the times Kakashi seemed to have the upper hand, and considering their present setting, Kakashi nearly always had the upper hand.

Just as he was about to enter the market, there was a tap on his shoulder. Since Sasuke was in a terribly good mood, he turned around and was not scowling and throwing death glares at the person who bothered him. A frail looking man was behind him with a nervous expression plastered on his face. His mouth opened and closed for a second before he whimpered, "P-Please help, I dropped my wallet in the alley. It's everything I have…"

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder briefly to check on Kakashi. Noting that Kakashi was still in the same spot, being lectured—or so it looked—by Gai, Sasuke turned on his heel and faced the old man. "Which way?"

The man nodded mutely in gratefulness before shakily stepping towards the alley beside the market. Sasuke felt something nagging at him—telling this was a bad idea. As he went further into the alley, he reached down to grab a kunai and hid it in his sleeve. The man stopped suddenly and turned around to stare apologetically at him. Sasuke heightened his awareness. There were at least five others hiding in the shadows.

"I-I'm sorry," the old man stuttered, sincerely apologetic as the predicted five thieves stepped into the moonlight. "They have my d-daughter. Please forgive me!"

"Be sure to cooperate with us, nii-chan," one of the thieves piped up with a wicked grin, pulling a little girl by her hair into the light as well. When the old man let out a shout of protest, another thief kicked him to the ground as the first pointed a kunai at the crying girl's neck. Redirecting his gaze at Sasuke, he continued with a smirk, "You wouldn't want anything to happen to this little girl would you?"

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke obediently dropped his kunai with a sharp glare at the thief holding the girl captive. He dropped his defensive stance and allowed the other thieves to close in on him. With closed fists, Sasuke closed his eyes and waited. There were only a few of them. Nothing he wouldn't be able to handle.

Sasuke's eyes immediately shot open again when he felt hands patting him down. Although it was obvious the men were searching for his wallet, Sasuke felt extremely agitated at their intrusive gropes. Just as he turned to glare at the leader again, the thief smirked and pointed the kunai closer to the girl's throat. For the moment, Sasuke had no choice but to surrender attempts to escape.

A sudden sharp pain on his left arm caused Sasuke to let out a hiss. One of the thieves had cut his arm with a kunai as a silent threat. The first cut was followed by another on his right cheek. As much as he wanted to pummel the men into oblivion, he had to think of the girl's safety first. Just for now, he had to endure it a bit. Just a bit. Then when they let their guard down…

"Sasuke!"

Quicker than a blink of the eye, there was a flash and when Sasuke looked around him, all the thieves were on the floor unconscious. He instantly spun to where the girl was. Seeing her sobbing in her old father's arms with Gai at their side, Sasuke closed his eyes and let out a breath of relief. She was safe.

"Sasuke…"

Instantly, Sasuke let his eyes snap open again when arms tightened around his body. That was right. He had forgotten that he had also been saved, as embarrassing as it was. And the one who saved him was presently embracing him as if they were never to see each other again. Sasuke relaxed and let his head droop slightly.

"I'm fine, Kakashi," the dark haired teen sighed, nudging the other teen a bit in attempt to pull away. "Nothing happened."

Kakashi remained silent and only pulled Sasuke closer, surprising the dark haired teen into stiffening. Tightening his hold again, Kakashi kept his face hidden on Sasuke's shoulder. After a few moments of silence passed, Kakashi muttered quietly, "They hurt you. They…!"

Finally understanding his reasoning, Sasuke relaxed and slowly let his arms come up to lightly hold the other teen's shaking back. His eyes slipped closed again as his hold became a gentle embrace. Quietly he whispered, "I'm fine. I'm sorry for making you worried."

Beside them, Gai and the father-daughter pair watched them in silence as they continued to embrace in the moonlight.

---

They returned home in silence. In the end, Sasuke was unable to buy the groceries he originally planned on buying. After what had happened with the thieves, Kakashi refused to release his hold on Sasuke's hand. The thieves were arrested and the old man and his daughter were sent home safely after expressing their infinite gratitude for the their help. All the while this was occurring, Kakashi had not even thought of loosening his protective grasp on Sasuke's hand. Sasuke had to lower his head in embarrassment when the policeman stared questioningly at their linked hands.

Dropping his shoes at the door, Sasuke stepped into the house with a sigh. Nothing had been accomplished that night. That meant he would have to go again tomorrow, and tomorrow was a mission day. Letting out another depleted sigh, Sasuke tossed his cloak on the kitchen table along with the shopping list. Glancing over his shoulder to see Kakashi still rooted by the door, Sasuke frowned. "Kakashi," he called, "go take a bath. It's already late."

Obediently, Kakashi slipped his sandals off and padded into the house but stopped directly in front of Sasuke. "You have a mission tomorrow, don't you? You take one first."

Sasuke firmly shook his head and spun Kakashi around towards the bathroom. "No," he stated decisively. "I have to make sure you're taken care of first."

"You don't always have to treat me like a child," Kakashi replied darkly before stomping off to retrieve a towel.

Once Kakashi finally locked himself in the bathroom, Sasuke closed his eyes and collapsed onto his couch in exasperation. Opening his eyes again, he stared gruffly at the wall across from him where several scrolls were hanging. "Don't be an idiot," he muttered in a slight scowl. "I only do it because I worry."

Inside the bathroom, Kakashi was sulking in the bathtub. He had actually been frightened earlier. He had just managed to catch Sasuke disappearing into the alley out of the corner of his eye. When the dark haired teen did not reappear for a few minutes, he began to worry. Whatever Gai was saying to him went in one ear and out the other. That was when he stiffly turned and charged towards the alley, heart pounding wildly.

He hated to admit it, but he had struggled slightly. His entire body was in pain the entire time he was viciously beating Sasuke's captors. No matter how hard he tried, he found he could not suppress the aching guilt of being unable to completely protect Sasuke. It was not that he thought Sasuke was incapable of taking care of himself, but more fore his own selfish reasons.

It was exactly those selfish reasons he was concerned about.

They kept getting stronger—the selfish desires to keep Sasuke to himself. It was making his time spent in Sasuke's home more and more difficult. Especially considering the phase he was presently in. Kakashi dipped his head slightly lower in the water and pouted childishly at the wall he was facing.

He had been hiding it very well, but his body was definitely undergoing its change now. Puberty had already hit in and it was making Kakashi painfully aware of Sasuke's presence everywhere. As if his previous feelings weren't already enough. Being like this was more hell for Kakashi than Sasuke, he was sure. After all, Kakashi was the one that had to sit and watch Sasuke do everything so damn suggestively and still be expected to behave. Kakashi did not have the slightest idea how, but Sasuke was even able to make washing the dishes look suggestive. Yes, the puberty speaks loudly. Very loudly.

Kakashi scrubbed viciously at his skin for a while, still slightly upset over the occurrences of the day. Just for good measure, he ducked his head into the soapy water and held it there for a bit in attempt to drain his mind of irritating thoughts. Once he brought his head to the surface again, he frowned once more at the wall was his hair drooped down over his face. After he decided he had finished being childish, he drained the tub and rinsed himself with fresh water.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, steam instantly escaping, Kakashi was surprised to find Sasuke napping on the couch. He grinned wickedly. It was oh-so rare to find Sasuke with his guard down lately. He could definitely use this situation to his advantage.

Carefully, Kakashi tiptoed over to the couch's side and squatted so that he was eyelevel with Sasuke's sleeping face. For some reason—it had to be the changing body, damn it—Kakashi felt himself becoming mesmerized by his former student's adorable sleeping face. From the time he was twelve until the present day, Sasuke's face hardly seemed to change at all.

Well, he did become a bit more adult-like and developed, making it much easier for Kakashi to imagine him in—

"What do you think you're doing?" Sasuke asked sharply, eyes open and narrowed directly at Kakashi.

"Ah, and here I thought I would have to kiss you to wake you up," Kakashi sighed aloud and dramatically, tossing the back of his palm to his forehead for special emphasis. "There you have to go and ruin my fun."

Sasuke simply rolled his eyes and sat up on the couch, stretching his arms a bit as he did so. Kakashi was watching him in silence now, but he was using that gaze that always seemed to make the hairs on the back of Sasuke's neck rise. Not particularly because it was creepy, but more because Sasuke was unable to figure out what Kakashi was thinking—which, actually, he should have been used to by now, but it still felt awkward. Stiffly, he asked, "What're you staring at?"

"Oh, you know," Kakashi replied with a careless shrug and cheerful expression. "Just the usual. Mentally undressing you and all."

Still smiling cheerfully, Kakashi easily dodged the various weapons Sasuke lashed out at him.

Sasuke was seething.

"Sasuke," Kakashi called in a singsong voice, apparently fearless, waving his hand in front of Sasuke's narrowed eyes. He smiled cheerfully when Sasuke scowled darkly at him. "You'd better hurry and take a shower. You have a mission tomorrow, after all."

Dragging himself to his feet, Sasuke commanded, "Go to bed."

Kakashi simply grinned back cheekily as Sasuke strode wearily towards the bathroom. Once Sasuke disappeared into the bathroom, Kakashi cocked his head to the side and stared fondly at the door for a moment. He had to feel slightly sorry for Sasuke. The dark haired teen had been through a great deal in one day. After all, this very morning, Sasuke had been so shocked by waking up cuddled up with Kakashi that he squawked awkwardly, flailed madly, and wound up on the floor with a crash. Then to make the moment even more bitterly perfect, the neighbors from the apartment below them beat on the ceiling with a broom and let out a muffled, chastising yell about keeping couple activities for nighttime. Sasuke left for his mission later with a thoroughly reddened face.

Then there was the whole attempted robbery incident, which Kakashi was still fuming about on the inside. Speaking of which, steam was presently streaming out of the bathroom. Kakashi blinked and slid off the couch. As he tiptoed closer to the bathroom, he found a wicked smirk slowly curving his lips. How convenient. Sasuke was so riled up he apparently had not realized that when he slammed the door, it bounced back and stayed open a crack.

For a moment, Kakashi paused to think about the situation. Sasuke had had a long, hard day and was probably using the shower to drown out his miseries. On the other hand, Kakashi was painfully aware of the fact that his body was driving him absolutely mad thanks very much to previously said person. Oh, the choices.

Retreating with a sigh, Kakashi sat back and leaned his head against the wall next to the door. The most irritating thing about being this way was that he could not blame everything on childish ignorance. He was still mentally an adult, and adults knew better than to spy on someone else while they were showering.

Kakashi's super hearing allowed him to overhear Sasuke let out a breathy sigh of exasperation. That was when his self-control flew out the window.

Now he had to look.

Painstakingly carefully, he edged towards the open door. Actually, the view was not as good as he had hoped. The actual visibility, that was. There was fog and steam everywhere—hardly even a chance to get a clear glance at Sasuke. Had he been more desperate, he would have used the sharingan. But he wasn't that desperate, he reassured himself. Yes. Definitely.

Hearing the water turn off, Kakashi dared another peek. Sasuke was leaning tiredly against the wall, one hand on the water knob. His sleek body was glistening with water, and his hair was dripping water down to his feet. Kakashi felt his heart beat uncontrollably faster. Had he been an adult, he was sure he could have handled something simple like this. But the way he was now, it was difficult to control the functions of his body.

Suddenly, his heart was pounding too hard and his body began to burn. Great. Just what he needed at a time like this, another one of those painful growth spurts. Squeezing his eyes shut, Kakashi backed away from the door just when he felt his spine begin to stretch. Unable to take the burning pain any longer, he crinkled to the ground, breath ragged.

Sasuke instinctively lifted his head and gazed suspiciously at the door when he heard a light thump. He quickly grabbed a towel to wrap around himself, feeling a blush rise to his face. That damn Kakashi, Sasuke thought to himself with gritted teeth as he marched towards the door. Jerking the door open, he was surprised to find Kakashi curled up pitifully at his feet, gasping desperately from the overwhelming pain.

"K-Kakashi!"

All thoughts of punishment for spying on him instantly receded in Sasuke's mind as sank down to his knees to attend to the smaller teen. Once the brief cell growth period was over, Kakashi was too exhausted to even open his eyes completely. He was completely out of breath and could only stare helplessly up at the ceiling in misery. Sasuke could only pick the boy up and carry him to the bed where he remained for the rest of the night in silence.

Switching the light off, Sasuke backed out of the room with a sigh. There were more trials to the situation than he had previously expected, and it would only continue to get more difficult. At that, Sasuke spared Kakashi one more glance before retreating to search for his clothes in the bathroom.

Inside, Kakashi could only stare blankly at the ceiling, wishing to himself he had been able to come under different circumstances.

---

For a while, they slept on the same bed for space saving purposes. But when Kakashi hit puberty—not that Sasuke was aware of yet, of course—he decided to finally get around to asking Sasuke for an extra futon. Sasuke readily agreed. After all, it was difficult to forget the time Naruto decided to swing in from the window to call Sasuke for their mission only to see the two curled up neatly in bed together. Naruto teased him for weeks. In fact, the blond still was not over that little incident yet.

Sasuke had slept on the floor the previous night since Kakashi occupied the bed. Kakashi felt slightly guilty since the dark haired teen did have a mission in the morning and he really should have rested more comfortably. He was awake when Sasuke woke up and prepared his various weapons and scrolls. Kakashi watched his former student through his lashes. Of course, he should have known that Sasuke would know he was awake.

"I'll be back tonight," Sasuke called as he grabbed his headband from the dresser. He did not even have to look to know Kakashi was awake, although pretending to be asleep, and watching him silently. Pausing at the door, Sasuke glanced back over his shoulder in well-disguised concern. Turning his head back, he sighed before slipping out, "Take care of yourself, you idiot."

Kakashi opened his eyes and sat up after Sasuke left. He turned slightly to look out the window, watching until Sasuke met up with Naruto at the foot of the stairs and the two took off to meet their other cell members. Once they were completely out of sight, he turned to kick the sheets off and dangle his feet over the edge of the bed. Time for another dull and boring day without Sasuke around.

Much to his surprise, however, hardly after he had dressed himself and stepped into the kitchen there was a knock at the door. Kakashi paused for a while, unsure of whether or not to answer. After all, he had been strictly warned against revealing to others his current situation. The knock sounded again, and this time a ringing voice joined it.

"Kakashi-san, are you in there?" Iruka's voice called from the other side of the door with another knock. "I'm aware of the situation. Will you open the door please?"

Stiffly, Kakashi edged towards the door and pulled it open a crack. He very slowly and carefully tilted his head to peek out through where the door left its frame.

Sure enough, Iruka stood patiently at the doorstep, gazing down questioningly at him with a slightly surprised expression. Kakashi was sure his present state was enough to make a few questions arise, but he hardly doubted that. Seeing that Iruka was sincere, Kakashi pulled the door open just wide enough for the adult to slide in.

"I heard from Sasuke, but I really don't think I was prepared to see you like this," Iruka said with a laugh as he patted the top of Kakashi's head. As he presently was, Kakashi was still at least a head shorter than him. Iruka grinned. "I suppose I don't need to call you 'sensei' anymore. How about 'Kakashi-kun'?"

"What exactly are you doing here?" Kakashi asked, more out of curiosity than to be rude. For Sasuke to tell Iruka about the situation, the circumstances must have been serious.

"Sasuke and Naruto came by to check in before they left for their mission," Iruka began, making his way towards the kitchen, "and Sasuke simply asked me to keep you company while he was gone. He said you were complaining about it before."

At that, Kakashi felt his heart skip a beat. So Sasuke had been thinking of him after all. The very thought made Kakashi smile to himself just a bit more.

"He cares about you very much," Iruka commented with a smile, noticing Kakashi's pleased expression. "Not just as a teacher, but as a friend as well. I could tell he was embarrassed when he told me about your case." He laughed at the memory. "He actually blushed, and Naruto pestered him about it even after they left."

Kakashi wished he could have seen it.

"Iruka-sensei," Kakashi piped up rather suddenly, making the older man blink in surprise. Serious expression on his face, Kakashi declared in a firm voice, "I think I'm in love with him."

Iruka blinked a few more times, attempting to fully process his words. Then, his jaw nearly dropped open. A blush instantly covered his face as he sank miserably down into a chair at the kitchen table across from Kakashi. "Hold on, just a minute… This is sudden—"

"It's not sudden," Kakashi cut in immediately. "As an adult, I kept thinking of how cute he was, but the way I am now, I'm really starting to think I like him. Whenever he walks around the house all—"

"I see where this is going," Iruka cut in similarly to the Kakashi previously had. Slowly he brought a hand up to his forehead as he let out a sigh. "By any chance have you hit your puberty stage?"

"Is it that obvious?" Kakashi asked, cocking his head to the side.

"And is Sasuke aware?"

"No," the teen replied with a shrug. "I've been hiding it from him."

"You're bottling up too much stress," Iruka sighed. "Don't you think these feelings of yours have been created by the moment? I mean, I know you have strong feelings for him—he was your student, after all. Don't you think you may have mistranslated them a bit?"

Kakashi simply stared at him in response. Iruka was sure he was thinking about it. Well, at least, he hoped Kakashi was thinking about it. He was admittedly a bit concerned about Kakashi's dangerous development toward his student, but Iruka also believed in properly following one's own emotions. He just wanted Kakashi to be sure of them before he acted on them.

"Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said suddenly, breaking the man out of his trance. With an innocent smile plastered on his face, he asked sweetly, "Do you have a picture of Sasuke?"

Blinking, Iruka asked in confusion, "Why do you need one?"

"Sasuke's doing his laundry tomorrow morning," Kakashi explained a bit dully but still with an innocent expression and tone. "That means he won't have much left to wear and when he's like that I always get—"

"Stop right there!" Iruka jumped in, flushing slightly in embarrassment. While Kakashi continued to grin lopsidedly at him in a very mischievous way (Iruka was somewhat reminded of Naruto at that), Iruka dropped his head in exasperation. It seemed whatever he had previously said seemed to go in one ear and out the other.

"I'm kidding," Kakashi said with a cheerful laugh. "Well, mostly, but that's beside the point. I really am grateful for your company, Iruka."

As Kakashi's expression grew more sincere, Iruka smiled back and was completely reassured. As long as it was Kakashi, Iruka was sure he would be able to find an answer for himself.

"Good," Iruka declared loudly. "You can help me with my paperwork."

Kakashi instantly pouted.

"…cheapskate."

---

When Sasuke returned home from his mission, Kakashi and Iruka were playing cards in the kitchen. From the sound of Kakashi's smooth laughter and Iruka's frustrated sputters, Sasuke gathered that Kakashi was likely to be winning. He ducked his head a bit lower to smile to himself. At least Kakashi had not been too lonely while he was out today. He made a mental note to invite Iruka back the next day as well.

"Well, it seems Sasuke's back," Iruka declared, dropping his cards onto the table. Sasuke had just disappeared into the bathroom for a shower. While his card companion reorganized the deck, Iruka rose to his feet and stretched his arms out. When Kakashi looked up at him, he smiled. "I'll be going then. I trust you'll behave yourself?"

"Define 'behave,'" Kakashi replied very seriously.

Iruka simply laughed as he stepped away from the table and made his way towards the door. Before he slipped out, he called "Thanks for helping with the paperwork. I was serious about behaving yourself though! Good night."

Kakashi gave a wave and turned towards the bathroom the moment the front door clicked shut. He had learned his lesson last time and would refrain from spying on Sasuke in the shower. Instead, he hopped off his chair only to flop himself onto the couch, waiting impatiently for Sasuke to reappear.

It only took a few minutes for Sasuke to finish his shower and reemerge from the bathroom. He blinked in surprise when Kakashi bolted up from his spot on the couch and leaned over the back to grin innocently at him. Feeling slightly unnerved, Sasuke turned his head and draped his towel over his head to dry his hair while stating, "You can use the shower now."

"I took one before you got back," Kakashi replied cheerfully, hopping lightly from the couch to tail Sasuke into the bedroom. He almost laughed when Sasuke twitched at the sound of the door closing behind them. Sasuke could be so cute and paranoid, although he was probably given good reason to be. Kakashi fought hard to keep a chuckle from escaping.

It took a moment for Sasuke to regain his nerves, after a quick shake of his head, and he sat at the edge of his bed with a sigh. He instantly froze again when Kakashi stood calmly before him, towering over him with a rather suspicious expression. To Sasuke, Kakashi may as well have been wearing devil horns and a tail. An awkward blush rising on his face, he turned away yet again to face the wall. "D…Did you have fun with Iruka today?"

"Oh, about that, thank you," Kakashi said with a sincere smile on his face, making Sasuke turn back towards him just a bit. Slowly, Kakashi leaned forward to lightly finger the end of Sasuke's bangs that hung limply at the side of his face. Still smiling, he went on, "I had fun, but I still rather have you home."

Although his motives were somewhat questionable, Kakashi seemed to have a more relaxed expression than how he was the day before. It put Sasuke at ease a bit more—enough so that he somehow failed to notice the loving way Kakashi was playing with his hair. Closing his eyes, he said with a very slight smile, "At least you seem better today."

At that, Kakashi felt his heart beat just a bit louder and before he could control himself, he pulled a surprised Sasuke into his arms pushed them both back onto the bed. Hugging the dark haired teen tightly, Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut. The childish instincts were taking over again. "Sasuke…!"

"I guess you're still just a kid at heart," Sasuke commented with a sigh from his upturned lips. Reaching out, he pat Kakashi's back lightly before attempting to push himself up. When Kakashi did not budge and pushed him back down on the bed again, Sasuke figured he should start being a bit more concerned about their present positioning and the fact that he was half naked. Flushing brightly, Sasuke pushed vainly up at Kakashi's shoulders. "K-Kakashi! Get off now!"

"No," he mumbled, lifting his head enough to gaze deeply into Sasuke's widened eyes. Leaning back down again, he pressed his lips gently against the dark haired teen's while effectively pinning him down. Sasuke had gone completely rigid in shock, and Kakashi did not want to waste the opportunity. "Sasuke, I…"

After finally recovering from the shock of being suddenly kissed, Sasuke blushed wildly and flailed his limbs angrily. Again, he attempted to push Kakashi off of him, but his actions were almost useless as Kakashi easily dodged every swing at him and was hardly affected at all by the hits that did connect. Sasuke was just a bit frightened. "S-Stop! Get off me, Kakashi! You're just a kid! How can I let you—…!"

Kakashi stiffened visibly. Dropping his head low, he sat up straight and let Sasuke free. Climbing off the bed, Kakashi backed away from Sasuke, who was still staring bewilderedly at him. Gazing almost forlornly at him, Kakashi asked with a bitter smile, "Is that what bothers you? I guess age does matter after all."

Sasuke remained immobile from where he was on his bed. When Kakashi changed his smile to a cheerful one yet again, he felt guilt and concern flood into him. Slowly, he began, "K-Kakashi…"

"Sorry about that," Kakashi laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It must be the puberty kicking in, you know? Anyway, I'll sleep on the couch tonight. Good night, Sasuke!"

Although he was smiling, Kakashi was clearly hiding something. Despite how Sasuke wanted to say something condoling, he found he lacked the words to do so. Instead, he closed his eyes and decided to forget anything had happened. It was the least he could do for him.

"Good night."

Tsuzuku.

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A/N: Man, divider tool isn't working. x.x; Ahem. Sorry this chapter took so long to get out! It's just extremely long, so...yes, that's my excuse. Aha, forgive me, ok? Anyway! The plot thickens! And will continue to thicken into the next chapter and the one after that :D I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter!

Oh, and to make up for being late, I offer a cheap apology gift:

Next Stage Preview:

"Oh, and Sakura-chan's coming back for her extended mission today."

Kakashi froze.

"Oh, a date?" Iruka teased, nudging Naruto lightly.

"It better not be!" Naruto exclaimed firmly, crossing his arms. "Well, I doubt it anyway. I mean, if Tsunade-no-baachan wanted both of them for something, it's probably work related. Although, I am kind of worried."

"About Sasuke or Sakura?" Iruka teased again with a wider grin.

"Iruka-sensei!"

The two at the front door were so busy teasing each other, they failed to notice how tense Kakashi had suddenly become. There was something extremely unnerving about a mix between Tsunade, Sakura, and Sasuke. Especially Sakura and Sasuke. Kakashi most definitely could not forget Tsunade's original intention for him to stay with Sakura since she was a medic and could better provide for his situation.

Staying with Sakura meant he would not be able to stay with Sasuke anymore. And not staying with Sasuke anymore meant he would not be able to tease him, watch him sleep, wait forever for him to finish his showers, and bother him all the time. Kakashi did not like this at all. He may have been acting self-centered, but he decided to blame it on his child form later.

"I'm going."

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I said it was cheap, didn't I? XD

Thanks for reading! Please review if you can! I will love you forever if you do. 8D