AUTHORS NOTE:

I will take request for side notes throughout the main story, if there's a moment you feel like you've missed, let me know in either the reviews of by dropping me a note. I make no promises, but I'll consider every prompt ^.^

XOXOX

Side notes to
Hidden Feelings, Hidden Lives

XOXOX

Addition to chapters 113: Don't Talk About It & 114: What Sensei Doesn't Know Won't Hurt Him
Drabble title: In Search Of Candy

XOXOX

"What… the hell are you doing?" confused and not yet awake enough to process the strange sight before him, the copy ninja followed his boyfriend's inexplicable behavior from the kitchen doorway. He yawned for good measure, "It's early…"

It was, in fact, not even light out. Usually, Shikamaru would be sound asleep around this time. Kakashi would sometimes use this time to visit the memorial stone, but that wasn't on his schedule for today. Today, he'd planned to sleep in. But the ruckus coming from the kitchen had woken the silver-haired man from his much needed slumber and now he stood dumbfounded as his younger lover tore the kitchen apart.

Shikamaru ceased the emptying of the kitchen cupboards, looking up with an annoyed expression on his face, "Why don't we have any candy in this house?"

"Eh…" his brain was too sleepy to catch up, and he could only shake his head. The kitchen was littered with he contents of various kitchen cabinets, the table and chairs were all covered in foodstuffs and utensils. The counter was too. Even the floor was filled with their combined belongings. Kakashi hadn't even realized they owned this much stuff.

"Seriously, Kakashi. Why don't we have any damned candy?!"

The older man blinked, "I don't eat it. You've never asked for it before… We just never bought any?" Leaning his body against the doorframe, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, "Why are you looking for candy all of the sudden anyway?" Slowly waking up, Kakashi straightened his back and stretched before walking over to the kitchen table. He carefully emptied out one of the chairs and reached for the pack of cigarettes laying on the table.

"Ugh!" Shikamaru turned back to his earlier activities, explaining himself as he took every single item out of the cupboards, examining it for its candy-potential before setting it aside and grabbing the next thing, "Shouta. He's coming by isn't he? I always used to bring him sweets, 'cus his mom would never buy any. He's come to expect it from me. I should have sweets for him when he gets here. But I also have to get to Iruka-sensei's house before he leaves so I can borrow the shogi board and I have to set it up before Shouta gets here."

Tapping his ashes in the recently bought ashtray, Kakashi remained silent, only raising a questioning eyebrow to encourage the Nara to explain himself further. Clearly aggravated by the older man's lack of cooperation, Shikamaru let out a deep sigh, "Candy. For the kid. Shogi, because I promised him we'd finish our game. He hasn't forgotten, Kakashi. I'm willing to bet he hasn't touched the board in his room since last we played. He's been trying to figure out how to win that game because I promised him we'd finish it," the Nara smirked, "By now he must've figured out there's no way he can win with that set-up but that's beside the point. I promised him. Promises matter," his dark eyes pierced the copy ninja's, "You of all people should understand that."

Kakashi nodded as he thoughtfully took another drag of his cigarette before crushing the bud in the ashtray, "I do understand. What I don't understand is why this has to be done at four-fifteen in the morning. I can assure you Iruka's still sound asleep – just like we should be."

"I know!" Annoyed and a little embarrassed, Shikamaru turned away from the other man, looking at his lover through the reflection in the dark window, "I just suddenly woke up and I realized that we probably didn't have anything sweet and that we don't own a shogi board and – and…" his shoulders sagged, "I've neglected him, Kakashi. I've left him behind without a second thought. That's not who I am. Not who I want to be."

"I see…" Emptying out the other chair, he tapped it invitingly before sitting back down and taking out two cigarettes. The silver-haired man waited until the Nara apparently decided to take him up on his invitation, lighting both cigarettes and handing one of them to his boyfriend, "So all you need is something sweet and a shogi board?"

Shoulders moved abruptly as Shikamaru shrugged a little, "I guess…"

"Iruka is gonna wanna stick around, want me to keep him out of your hair?"

Dark eyes shot up, "Yeah…" then, softer, "I hadn't thought of that yet…"

"I kind of wanted to talk to him about something anyway," the copy ninja's tone was determined, "So I'll keep him in the bedroom and you guys can take the kitchen," he waited until the younger man nodded, "I'll make it look presentable in here, since you're… well…"

"Only gonna mess it up even more?" Shikamaru smirked, "Sorry, Kakashi. I guess I kind of freaked a little…"

"Yes. You did," he tapped his ashes off in the ashtray, "But not to worry, I can still fix this. So… are baked goods acceptable?"

"Baked goods?" confused, he took a deep drag of his smoke. His boyfriend's calm approach was helping him calm down somewhat too.

"Yeah, baked goods. Like cookies," Kakashi held up one finger, "Or cake."

"That'd work fine," he smiled softly, "Guess I shouldn't have worried so much, huh?"

Kakashi winked, "Guess not. So… how about I clean up here, while you get some more sleep? I'll wake you up in time to catch Iruka before he leaves and in the meantime I'll see what I can do about baking something good to feed the kid. How does that sound?"

"It sounds great, Babe," Smiling, he crushed his bud, "I'm really sorry about all this…"

"Not to worry. Want me to make some healthier snacks too? Or just the cake?"

"Food is good," Shikamaru frowned a little, "Kid seems to always be hungry…"

"Oh? So he's like you?" smiling softly, Kakashi motioned for his boyfriend to get up, "I seem to like this kid more and more already. You go get some sleep, okay? I'll fix this thing right up."

XOXOX

He was just getting ready to start whisking the batter when a voice behind him complained, "Didn't you say you'd wake me in time?! What time is it?"

"Hmm? It's just after 6 AM, Cuteness. Iruka won't be up for another half hour at least."

"Oh…" he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry…"

"It's okay," continuing his work, Kakashi didn't look up, "There's stuffed riceballs in the fridge and I've got some cookies in the oven. This here is going to be a strawberry cake – only it's raspberry because that's all we had. Think that would work?"

Shikamaru shrugged uncomfortably, looking around the sparkly clean kitchen, "I'm sure it'll be great, Kakashi… Look," he started, uncomfortably hovering just inside the door, "I –"

"Don't mention it, Shikamaru. It's fine. You help me out and I help you out, right?" Not looking back, he continued whisking the batter, "Also, I didn't have enough milk left, so it's going to be a small cake, just big enough for one. Best I could do."

"I…" he dropped himself on the nearest chair, "Thanks."

"Hmm-mm," pouring the batter into a cake tin, he checked to see if the cookies were done yet. They still needed some time, so Kakashi dropped a clean cloth over the tin instead before joining his boyfriend at the table.

"So are you gonna talk to Iruka-sensei about it?" he didn't look up from studying the tip of his cigarette, his voice sounding almost disinterested.

"I'm gonna try," Kakashi reached for the pack of smokes only to find it empty. Getting back up, he got another from the kitchen drawer, lighting it with the matches that lay on the counter, "I'm not sure if he's ready to talk about it yet, though."

Shikamaru frowned, "Izumo's being an ass. You know it, I know it and Iruka-sensei had better have realized it by now too."

"Oh, I'm sure he has, Cuteness," walking back to the table, Kakashi sat down once more, "But Iruka tends to want to take care of his own problems. He doesn't take kindly to people butting in. That's why our friendship has worked so well for so long. I'm insatiably curious, and he's a very private person. He's the only one that could deal with me for the longest time. Well," Kakashi smiled fondly, "Him and Gai."

The Nara nodded, "But you've changed – "

"He hasn't. He probably never will," Kakashi's tone was definitive, curt.

"But –"

"You seem to forget that he was all alone for the better half of his life, Shikamaru. Iruka doesn't know how to rely on anyone else – he's always been the one that other people relied on."

"But that's why – "

"Drop it. Either I get through to him today, or Gai manages to do it tomorrow. We'll both keep trying until he lets us in. But you…" Kakashi let out a small sigh, "If you butt in too, Iruka's going to shut down completely. We can't box him in like that. You just stick to Shouta and leave Iruka to me."

"Alright…" letting out a small sigh, Shikamaru reached for the cigarettes once more, "About Shouta…"

"I won't butt in if that's what you mean. He's your cousin. I've had enough contact with your family for now, thank you very much."

He smirked, "Mom didn't really react that bad though…"

"No, but still…"

"In any case, that's not what I meant…" Shikamaru took a deep drag, his eyes fluttering about the room, "Shouta's known I'm gay for a long time now. He accidently figured it out and he's been sworn to secrecy but… he's going to immediately assume that I left the compound to stay with my boyfriend. The second he sees you, that is."

"Ah…" carefully tapping his ashes into the ashtray, Kakashi contemplated his boyfriend's claim for a moment, "Apparently he knows how to keep a secret though…"

"Yeah… Your point?"

The silver-haired man shrugged, "If that's the case, do we really need to hide from him? I kinda don't want to…"

"This again? I said I'd get to it when I get to it…!"

"You did, and while I've been incredibly patient with you, I'd sooner not lie to a child. Especially one that's as smart as you are – I don't see how it could even work, considering that he already knows about you anyway."

Shikamaru shrugged uncomfortably, "Yeah… you're right. But I don't wanna make a big deal about it like with Gai-sensei, okay?"

Raising an eyebrow, Kakashi chuckled, "You were the one who kissed me all of the sudden. I never intended to make a big deal about it, mister-oh-so-flashy."

"Well, okay… yeah… I guess you're right…" glancing at the clock, Shikamaru shot up, "I have to get to Iruka-sensei's place before he leaves. I gotta run!"

Kakashi watched him go, a fond but slightly insecure smile on his face. He sat there, reminiscing for a moment, thinking on how much Shikamaru had grown into this relationship, how much he had too. Until… "Oh fuck, the cookies are burning!"