Chapter 16:
Naruto woke up first, still held tightly in Kakashi's embrace. At some point in the night Kakashi's mask was pulled down. His face on full display for Naruto to gaze upon. He had a strong angular jaw with a small birthmark on his chin. His scar ran from almost the start of his hairline, down across his eyelid stopping just below his cheekbone. His lips were full and slightly pink in colour, mouth slightly open breathing through it in his sleep. Naruto reached his hand up to brush a lock of gray hair from Kakashi's face, taking in the difference in their skin tones. Kakashi's skin was alabaster white, almost the colour of marble; a stark difference from Naruto's tanned skin. Naruto felt his heart fluttering in his chest as he looked over the man, he was achingly beautiful. Naruto quickly pulled his hand away as he felt Kakashi start to stir awake.
Kakashi woke up with Naruto staring at him, a strange look in his eyes. Kakashi lifted his arm off the young man, laying on his back to stretch, "Good morning, Naruto, did you sleep okay?" "I slept fine, thank you for keeping me warm." Kakashi smiled at the blonde, "No problem, shall we eat some breakfast and head out?"
After a quick breakfast they packed up camp and were back on their way, continuing their journey west. Kakashi determined they would probably reach the border into the Land of Keys before nightfall, then it was only a short distance before they reached the ocean. The rest of the journey through the Land of Vegetables was uneventful, they crossed over a few creeks, filling their canteens as they passed by. They came across no other travelers and reached the edge of the border, as Kakashi predicted, just before nightfall. They quickly went about setting up camp as they had the night before. Kakashi decided they would have a small fire to cook on this evening, so he went about collecting tinder around the area while Naruto started prepping dinner. Kakashi was setting up the fire when he heard Naruto suck in a sharp breath. Kakashi turned to face the young man, watching as he dropped the knife he was holding and stuck his finger into his mouth. Kakashi was at his side in a flash, "What happened? Are you okay?" Naruto mumbled around the finger still in his mouth, "It was an accident, I swear.." Tears started to fill his eyes. Kakashi hushed him, "It's okay, I believe you. Let me see." Naruto hesitantly removed the finger from his mouth, the cut was shallow but bleeding heavily. Kakashi quickly wrapped his hand around the freely bleeding finger applying pressure, using his other hand to grab his medkit from his pocket. Balancing the kit on his knee he reached for a canteen, pouring water over his now bloody hand and Naruto's finger. Quickly covering the wound with a piece of gauze and reapplying pressure. He looked up at an ashen faced Naruto with a smile, trying to bring the young man out of his head. He quickly disinfected the cut and applied some ointment, bandaging it tightly to stop further bleeding. While he had his kit out, he quickly cut away Naruto's wrist bandage. The wound there was almost entirely healed, he cleaned it and applied more ointment bandaging it back up with care. "There, all done. Your wrist wound is almost healed, by tomorrow you will probably be able to go without a bandage on it. The cut on the finger is pretty shallow and as you have mentioned before the Kyuubi will heal you quickly as long as the wound isn't intentionally inflicted. I'm sure by morning that cut will be healed too." Naruto's eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, "I didn't do it on purpose, I promise…" Kakashi pulled the young man into a tight hug, "Shh, it's okay, I believe you, accidents happen. Let's finish up making dinner. You can take over setting up the fire and I finish the prep, okay?" He pulled back from the young man, hands on his arms, looking him over carefully. Naruto sniffled and smiled lightly, nodding as he got up and walked over to the firepit.
A few minutes later, they were sitting happily in front of the fire enjoying their dinner in peaceful silence. Kakashi broke the silence asking, "We will reach the ocean tomorrow, Naruto, are you excited?" Naruto's face lit up, eyes shining with joy. "I can't wait! I have only ever seen pictures of it in books. Is it true that the air smells saltier?… that the water is super cold?... if you swim in the water and let the water dry on your skin will your skin taste salty when you lick it?" Kakashi laughed loudly at the young man's enthusiastic questions, "I guess you will just have to wait and see. Come on, let's head to bed, the sooner we sleep, the sooner we can be up and the sooner we will be at the ocean." They settled onto their bed rolls and said their good nights. Kakashi rolled on his side facing away from the young man. He listened carefully for the blonde to fall asleep, he fell asleep fairly quickly. As Kakashi felt himself start to drift off he could hear the young man stirring in his sleep. Naruto had shuffled closer to him, throwing an arm around his waist. He could feel Naruto's warm breath on the back of his neck, sending a small shiver down his spine. Kakashi slowly allowed himself to relax under the embrace, falling peacefully asleep.
Kakashi woke up first; in the night Naruto had pressed himself even closer into Kakashi's back. His arm was tightly wrapped around his waist, Naruto's head buried in his neck. He could feel the rise and fall of the young man's chest against him. What drew his attention lastly, was the pressure of Naruto's groin pressed firmly against his backside. Naruto was murmuring in his sleep, hugging Kakashi tighter, his hips shifting slightly brushing his morning erection across Kakashi's ass. Kakashi's breath hitched, feeling his own erection stirring at the contact. He tried to steady his breathing, willing himself to calm down. His mind was raging though, he imagined bucking his hip back into the blonde's groin, rolling over and pinning him down, kissing him all over… STOP. He shouted to himself in his head. He had sworn to take care of the young man, protect him and help him. He was NOT going to take advantage of him. He loved the young man deeply and apparently had fallen for him at some point, but that didn't change anything. He would protect Naruto and never let him know of his deeper feelings. Kakashi relaxed under the weight of Naruto's arm, pretending to still be asleep. A few moments passed and he felt the blonde start to wake up, heard him breath in heavily through his nose and sigh contently. Kakashi felt the erection pressed into his backside pulse slightly, stirring arousal in his stomach. The young man seemed to finally realize what he was doing as Kakashi felt him twitch and roll away from him. Trying to spare him embarrassment, Kakashi stayed rolled on his side pretending to still be asleep. "Kakashi?" Naruto quietly whispered. Kakashi remained silent. He would give it a few minutes then make as if he was just waking up. Kakashi was not prepared for what he heard next. Naruto's breathing was still quiet but was becoming slightly labored, his exhales coming in short bursts. Kakashi could hear the light rustling of fabric. Naruto's breathing became a bit louder, more urgent. Realization hit Kakashi like a ton of bricks, the young man was masterbating directly behind him. Guilt washed over him, he shouldn't have pretended to be asleep. He cursed himself, trying to figure out what to do. A low moan from behind him made his brain backfire. He didn't move, could barely breathe, his own aching arousal throbbing in his pants. He tried to keep his breathing even as he listened to the blonde. Another small moan, "...kashi…". Kakashi's eyes shot open, Naruto had moaned out his name. Oh fuck, he bit back his own moan as he could hear the young mans breath hitch one final time with a low grunt. He tried to regain his composure and regulate his breathing as he listened to the blonde panting lightly behind him. A few seconds later and Naruto was quietly moving about, eventually exiting the tent. Kakashi could hear the young man's footsteps retreating a short way from camp, he let out the breath he had been holding, rolling onto his back. What the fuck just happened. His body ached with the need for release, his boxers soaked with precum. He closed his eyes, sliding his hand into his boxers, gripping his length firmly. He hissed out a low breath at how sensitive he was. He quickly stroked himself as silently as possible, imagining that it was the honey-skinned blondes hand bringing him to completion. He stifled a moan as he came heavily, thick white ropes spilling all over his t-shirt. Kakashi took a moment to regulate his breathing, then quickly cleaned himself up and made his way outside the tent.
Naruto was a few paces away from camp, collecting some tinder. Kakashi made his way near where the young man was standing, "Good morning, Naruto." Kakashi had apparently surprised the blonde. Naruto jumped, dropping all the tinder he had collected. "Shit, you scared me, I didn't hear you coming." The young man's breathing was erratic, his eyes slightly wide, pupils dilated. Kakashi tried to push back the memory of only a few moments ago, he imagined Naruto's current expression would have been close to what it was when he was pleasuring himself. Kakashi gave him a wide grin, "I'm sorry, didn't mean to sneak up on you. I think it's just the years of being in the ANBU that has made me so light footed." Kakashi dropped down to help collect the tinder. "Alright, let's make a quick breakfast and head for the coast."