Masked-Writer-In-Disguise: so this one attacked me in the shower, and I couldn't not write it because I liked it so much. All that I know about it at the moment is that it will be a KakaIru story because I've recently been on a KakaIru kick and this'll make me happy… yep.
Disclaimer: I have no ownership of anyone except the plot and I'm kinda happy with that.
Inspiration: Well… Dr. House for one… a mixture of Stuck Like Glue- Sugarland, Somewhere I Belong- Linkin Park and Stuck With You- Voltaire ft. Amanda Palmer… wow, strange range of taste there, no?
&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&
Stuck With You
Chapter 1: Stubborn
By: Masked-Writer-In-Disguise
Kakashi glared at the blonde woman currently leaning over the side of his bed as if getting closer to him would drive her words into his head. Why would she do this to him? What the fuck was she thinking? She was the Hokage, goddammit, and she should know that when a shinobi came home from a mission as bad as Kakashi's last, they wanted to go home and sleep. They did not want to be stuck in the hospital with prying nurses and annoying beeping machines and idiot visitors.
Tsunade glared right back.
"Why can't I go home?" Kakashi bit out.
"Kakashi, you were tortured for two months. You need medical attention…" the woman leaned back and pinched the bridge of her nose, exasperated. "Secondly, because of that torture, I don't want you on your own until I'm sure of your mental condition."
"Why? I'm perfectly fine!"
"No, you're not." The woman reached out to touch him and Kakashi flinched back, even though he knew rationally that Tsunade would never hurt him. It was instinct by now. "See, you're too good a shinobi. I don't want to risk-"
"Me offing myself? Just like my old man, huh?" Kakashi turned his head away.
"Believe it or not, brat, in families, the offspring have basically the same nervous system structure as their parents; Sakumo was depressed and it's not that huge a leap to assume you'd be too. I'm not leaving you alone now. Especially now."
"Is there any way I could get out of here sooner?"
Tsunade stood in silence for a while, gnawing on her lip and thinking things over before suddenly shifting, drawing an involuntary flinch from the copy-nin, and saying, "I could see if you could stay with someone, their place or yours, I don't care, but I don't want you alone right now."
Kakashi sighed and closed his eyes, "And that's the only way?"
"Yes."
The silver-haired man drooped visibly and said, "Tell me who and I'll see."
Knowing that was as good as an agreement she'd get out of the man, Tsunade turned to leave. She stopped and said, "And Kakashi, I don't want to be called down here again because you won't let a doctor check you."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Kakashi bit out and flopped back much like a petulant child.
A doctor timidly entered as Tsunade left and began running his charts and checking over his wounds. Even though Kakashi wasn't doing anything to resist the pushy movements, the doctor seemed sure the jonin would start any time, never mind the direct order from his Hokage. Eventually, the invasive inspection was over and the doctor left Kakashi to his thoughts.
Now that he was gone, he could sit and brood in silence. Well, relative silence, anyway. There were still the sounds of beeping machines and families whispering and the nurses talking at the station. At least they'd been kind enough to give him his own room so he didn't have a horrible roommate that would want to talk all the time. He was not in the mood to fucking talk! Kakashi just wanted to get the fuck out of the hospital.
These places just reminded him of death. People came here to die, to give up, and Kakashi never gave up. Any time in the past, it might have been otherwise, but then he'd become a teacher and met Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura. Sai was still new, but even he wouldn't let him give up, and for their sake, he wouldn't want to. Even with the torture he'd been put through, Kakashi wouldn't give up. He was more valuable alive than dead to more than just his village. He had people that depended on him now; he'd forgotten what that had been like because he hadn't had a team that knew him since his own genin days.
Kakashi wasn't sure how long he was left to himself, and he may have fallen asleep somewhere in there, but Tsunade inevitably came back. The silver-haired man watched her warily, both hoping that she had found someone and dreading hearing the name; he was an adult, dammit and he could take care of himself. This babysitting shite was just ridiculous.
The Hokage stepped into the room and grinned a disarming grin, "After much discussion with your team, I have decided that should you choose to leave the hospital, you will be in the care of Iruka Umino. He's agreed to this, should you choose to accept."
Kakashi blinked. "The academy teacher?"
"The very same," Tsunade nodded.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Kakashi sounded hurt.
"I am. It's not every day I get to arrange living arrangements for my shinobi."
"Which one of my students is responsible for this?" Kakashi grimaced and closed his eyes.
"Naruto, naturally," Tsunade replied. "You're not allowed to hurt him."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Kakashi grumbled.
"Wonderful. You don't have to decide right now, but I would like your answer by tomorrow's check-out and no later, otherwise you're stuck here, brat."
The woman left and Kakashi sighed. Of course she'd decide on the one person in the entire village that hated his guts. If someone even tried to deny that fact, all Kakashi had to do was point them to Team 7's first Chunnin Exam. The little academy teacher had dared to question Kakashi's judgment in front of his peers and the Hokage. Then the third had told him to stand down and Iruka never forgave Kakashi for that.
Of course it was Kakashi's fault.
Now the jonin couldn't go into the mission's room without getting an earful from the fiery sensei, and quite frankly, Kakashi was sick of being chewed out over something as trifle as spelling. In the grand scheme of things, how a mission report is filled out is rather insignificant. Not handing a report in at all is a justified reason to get angry, but not half the things Kakashi did. None of the other shinobi were subjected to the same amounts of public humiliation.
But it was either face the music and allow himself to live with Iruka or stay in this godsforsaken excuse for a hospital. He was honestly torn between the two options. Kakashi felt that as much as he hated the hospital, getting yelled at by Iruka-sensei all day was a poor alternative.
Even if he was allowed to check out himself, he wouldn't be able to do much; he was too badly injured. His right arm was too badly mangled to be of any use with the dislocated shoulder and the pulled muscles; his left leg had been broken in three places, two of which were in the femur; he had open wounds peppering his entire body and he needed his right hand to do most everything. Not to even consider how they'd used him; those memories would be buried very deeply and no amount of therapy would ever bring them to the surface. Kakashi just would not dwell on that thought; having to live through it was bad enough. He would not remember it, too.
All in all, the thought that he'd be totally dependent on the school teacher rankled his pride, but what choice did he have? An existence surrounded by nurses that spoke to their patients as though they were children and invasive questions and inspections? As a private person, those things were almost as bad as being a source of ire for an academy teacher, the very one who had managed to tame Naruto.
After deliberating the night away, only sleeping when a nurse had come in and drugged him, Kakashi finally came to a decision. When Tsunade came back followed by her ever present assistant and the pig, the jonin was ready to answer her.
"So, do you have an answer for me?" Tsunade stepped into the room and looked over his charts; then she inspected the monitors; then she turned her full attention to the patient himself.
"I'll go," Kakashi ground out.
"With Iruka?"
"Obviously."
"Good, I'll let him know and send one of your boys to get you some clothes," Tsunade was all business. "I expect you to behave yourself, Kakashi. Try to get along with the man because you'll probably be spending a lot of time together. Your injuries aren't going to heal over night."
"I'll do my best not to piss him off. I'll sit completely still and silent and hope that my blinking doesn't offend his fragile sensibilities," Kakashi retorted.
"This attitude doesn't suit you, brat. I expect you to have cleaned it up by the time your boy gets here… we'll probably have to fit you with a cane because crutches would be ridiculous and you'd never allow yourself to be confined to a wheelchair."
Kakashi sighed and asked, "When will I be able to use my arm again."
"With the proper rest, a week."
The man huffed and slammed his head back into the stiff pillows.
"You can still use your hand, but don't strain it, or it'll take longer."
And the woman left, Shizune and Tonton hot on her heels. Half an hour passed and Naruto came in, carrying a bag containing Kakashi's civvies.
"Hey, sensei! How're you feeling?"
Kakashi decided not to reward that question with a response and simply sat glaring at the blond.
Naruto, who was usually so oblivious to such things, took on a suddenly serious expression and met Kakashi's glare with the no-nonsense eyes that Kakashi was used to seeing on Iruka.
"Quit your bitchin', sensei. Iruka's not gonna kick you when you're down. He's not that bad a guy and if you show him you then the two of you won't have a problem." Naruto stepped forward and began pulling out the clothes he'd brought.
"Iruka also knows how to make nightmares go away," the blond added as an afterthought.
"What makes you think I'll need that particular skill?" the silver-haired man asked and he struggled to a sitting position so Naruto could help him dress.
"I was on the retrieval team, Kakashi. I know how you were when we got you out of there and I saw how you were kept." Serious blue eyes met Kakashi's hooded gray. "Now, take your pride and shove it up your ass and let yourself get some help. I'm not losing you to your own mind, you hear?"
Kakashi kept his eyes carefully flat and nodded, knowing Naruto would take it as a promise to behave and the blond would hold him to it. If Kakashi so much as refused Iruka's aid, Naruto would hike to wherever they were going to be and make Kakashi do whatever it was that man didn't want to do himself.
The jonin took careful, deep breaths as Naruto began removing the hospital gown. While the man knew Naruto would never hurt him, it was difficult to tell his body that and it tensed despite the familiarity of the blond. Dark thoughts leaked into the jonin's mind and his fingernails dug into the palms of his hands. Naruto noticed and began talking about nothing, just whatever happened to pop into his head. Kakashi focused on his student's voice because the sound more than the surroundings reminded him of where he was and Naruto's voice reminded Kakashi of ramen and laughter. They were good memories. The darkness retreated.
When he was clothed, Kakashi swallowed and backed away from the contact as quickly as he could without alarming his student. Fuck! He hated this, hated how his own body was afraid of everything! How the hell was he supposed to get through this?
With Naruto's help, Kakashi swung his legs over the edge of the bed and waited for the doctor to come in and get him something to walk with.
"How're you gonna walk?" Naruto asked after several minutes of tense silence had passed.
"With a cane."
"You can put pressure on your leg?"
"I am not getting in a fucking wheelchair and crutches would be impossible," Kakashi shrugged. "Plus, it was Tsunade herself that did the surgery on my leg and she's the one who told me I could walk with a cane, so I'm assuming she's done something so I won't upset the work she's done."
Finally the doctor came in with a simple metal cane and preformed the customary check-ups and made sure Kakashi could walk with the instrument before he even considered letting the jonin out of the room.
"Is there any pain?" the doctor asked.
"A little, but I'll be fine."
"Sensei…" Naruto sounded very much like a parent scolding their child.
"Naruto, I'm serious."
"I want you to walk as little as possible. Even with what Tsunade did, there is still a chance you'll screw something up. Stay in bed for about two weeks unless it's absolutely necessary that you move." The doctor met Kakashi's eyes. "I mean it, Hatake-san. If the Hokage wasn't allowing your release, I'd keep you here for at least three more weeks. Don't push it."
And then the doctor allowed the man to leave, Naruto trailing along behind, trying to look natural, but Kakashi knew he was there in the event that the jonin should need assistance. He pushed the bitterness out of his thoughts and continued on.
In the lobby, the two shinobi were met by a smiling academy teacher who had just finished signing Kakashi's release papers. The nurse handed over a folder and told Iruka that should there be any problems, not to hesitate to call. With that, they were on their way, Kakashi and Iruka walking side by side.
"We are going to your place first, right?" Iruka asked after they had walked a-ways.
"That would be helpful," Kakashi replied shortly. Even though the sun felt good and the air smelled fresh, rather than tainted with the scent of blood and urine and fecal matter and sex, Kakashi still found it difficult to not be angry at this man. In reality, the jonin was angry at his situation, but Iruka just happened to be the embodiment of Kakashi's frustrations.
"Where do you want to stay? My place or yours?"
"I don't care," Kakashi sighed.
And he really didn't. He really didn't have much of a say in anything right now. His life belonged to his Hokage and right now Tsunade wanted Kakashi to get better while living with someone who didn't like him much. Life was just peachy, at the moment.
Kakashi climbed, with some difficulty, up the steps that led to his floor of the apartment complex and made his way to the door that marked his domain. Sure, everything behind the door was run down and he only had a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen/dining room/living room area and most everything in those rooms to his name, but it was home and it was relatively safe and familiar and while he normally hated this place, he realized he wanted to stay here during his recovery. He'd missed his home and he wanted nothing more than to open the door and walk as quickly as he could to his bedroom and fall onto his well-worn mattress; he'd have to wait to call his dogs as his chakra was too low.
But should his caretaker decide he wanted to go back to his house, then to Iruka's they would go.
The jonin disabled the traps that ensured his home remained untouched, mildly surprised Naruto had bothered to re-do them, and entered after two months of absence. Iruka followed. Kakashi began to move around slowly, his lack of speed the only testament to the pain he was in, and began to gather things he would need. Only when he slowly sank onto his worn couch did the man notice Iruka had been watching him as he'd gone about packing.
The look in the teacher's eye made Kakashi mildly ill. Pity. The man was pitying him. Kakashi hated pity. He'd hated it when his father had committed suicide, when his entire genin team had died, when his Kushina and Minato had died when Kyuubi attacked Konoha; he'd lost everyone and the village pitied him. It was the one emotion Kakashi could not stand, not when directed at him because he'd always been the strong one and now he wasn't.
"We can stay here if you'd like."
"I can walk just fine. I'll not be the one to remove you from your comfort zone," Kakashi replied.
"What do you mean? You're injured."
"But I'm not broken. Just let me pack and-"
"Kakashi-san!" Iruka bellowed in his best teacher voice. "Sit your ass down."
Kakashi wisely did as he was told.
"You're too hurt to keep up this moving. We're staying here! You are going to march into that bedroom and go to sleep and I am going to get Naruto the Dead Lasts to go a pack up my stuff so I can keep an eye on your stupid ass," Iruka was getting his angry blush now.
"I don't need your pity!" Kakashi shouted back.
"And I'm not giving it! I'm worried for your health and you are not going to kill yourself being a stubborn ass!" Iruka pointed at the bedroom door. "Now get in there and I'll be in shortly to make sure you're doing as you're told."
Tense silence echoed through the apartment and Kakashi's jaw grinding was the only sound that could be heard. The two stubborn men glared at each other across the room, neither of them backing down for several minutes. Finally, Kakashi dropped his gaze as exhaustion caught up to him.
Who was he kidding? It was only through sheer force of will that Kakashi was even still holding his eyes open. He needed rest and food and a shower, in that order, and arguing with Iruka was just wasting his already dwindling reserves.
So lost in his self-chastisement, Kakashi completely missed the softening of Iruka's eyes, but he did notice when Iruka carefully slid strong arms into the tired jonin's armpits and carefully began to guide him upwards. Kakashi's entire body tensed.
Then Iruka said, "Come on, idiot. Let's get you to bed."
Kakashi wearily got to his feet and allowed Iruka to take most of his weight. While the contact still freaked him out, the man was just too tired, both mentally and physically, to care. So he didn't protest when Iruka stripped him and helped him into a pair of sleep pants or when he was helped into bed and covered with the thin summer blankets. The jonin knew Iruka still pitied him and his dropping of a challenge would only serve to strengthen that feeling, but what was done was done.
Then man allowed sleep to finally pull his drooping eyelids shut and the stillness took over his mind.
&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&
Masked-Writer-In-Disguise: Well, there you have it folks. Chapter one of Stuck With You! Tell me what you think. Did you love it? hate it? want to give me ideas? Do you see that review button down there? That's how you can let me know! Thank you for reading!