Masked-Writer-In-Disguise: Alrighty then! Chapter 2 even though says Chapter 3 (because it lies to us all)! I am in LOVE with this story. Y'all have no idea. I'm sorry Kakashi is so dark right now, but I aim to fix that as things progress. We'll all just have to be patient with our poor injured jonin…

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and I'm sure it's pretty similar to several other works out there because apparently we've used up all the new ideas ages ago, but this one is mine! But not Naruto, and I'm kinda fine with that…

Inspiration: I've already told you twice, so go back and look… 'cause it's kinda lengthy to repeat.

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Stuck With You

Chapter 2: Tea

By: Masked-Writer-In-Disguise

Kakashi's eyes flew open and darted about the room. Everything was familiar; the paint on the walls was still flaking, there was a water stain on the ceiling from when the apartment above had flooded, the dresser was still leaning against the wall. The room smelled of dog and weapons' polish and incense; the faint scent of stale coffee hid beneath everything else. Moonlight illuminated everything with a peaceful silver sheen; all of it was familiar, the pictures on the shelf, the sword on the wall, the kunai from his sensei teetering on the edge of the dresser. So why was he so scared? His breath came in gasps and his hand clenched the sheets in a white-knuckled grasp.

Then the pain registered. He was lying on his arm. Why was he lying on his arm? That was just stupid. Fucking hell, it hurt. Kakashi rolled over to the best of his ability and tried to calm down. Breathing was difficult. Why was it so difficult? It shouldn't be; he wasn't wearing his mask. Why wasn't he wearing his mask? They'd never taken his mask off before. Panic welled up in his chest, threatening to burst forth in the form of a scream. Why did he have to scream? He never screamed. Not even when they-

No; that never happened. It couldn't have. He was the strong one. He never got captured, never got hurt, never got-

Kakashi couldn't (wouldn't) remember.

The jonin struggled to sit up, to get out of bed, to get some fresh air, but he collapsed because his legs refused to listen. Why wouldn't they listen? This was the ultimate betrayal, when the body refused to do as the brain commanded. He couldn't do anything; his leg hurt too badly and it wouldn't move. It was encased in plaster. It was broken. When had that happened? He couldn't remember.

Then he did remember and he wished he hadn't. Phantom memories of something striking his leg (tearing, breaking, cracking, burning) caused his back to arch and his mouth to open in a silent scream because he never screamed, would never give them the satisfaction. A wide grey eye stared at the ceiling, unseeing. Loud, panting breaths bounced off the walls and to Kakashi's ears and the jonin couldn't believe his pain was so obvious. When had he stopped being silent as a wall?

The door opened and a man came in; Kakashi didn't know them, couldn't see their face. They'd never shown their faces, but he knew all their voices. Which one was in here now? How had they followed him home? He was supposed to be safe. Home was always safe.

Warm hands grasped a shaking, pale one and then the man spoke, "Come on, Kakashi. Back in bed. You shouldn't be up right now."

It wasn't any of his captors; the voice was too smooth, too kind. Then Kakashi remembered Iruka; forceful, fiery tempered, well-mannered academy teacher. Why was Iruka here? He shouldn't be-

Right. Iruka was taking care of him; Kakashi tightened his grip on the tan man's hands like his very life depended on maintaining contact. For all the jonin knew, his life did depend on it. Iruka leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Kakashi's too-thin waist and carefully deposited the man back on the bed.

Kakashi pushed the other man away and carefully refused to make eye contact as he came back to himself. He'd broken down and Iruka had seen it. Just knowing that his weakness had been revealed had the man cringing. The jonin had never broken down in front of anyone since his sensei had died and he'd just gone and done it, not even remembering that someone else was in his apartment. How could he have betrayed himself like that?

Iruka's kind, but tired, voice pulled Kakashi from his musings.

"Kakashi-san, do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Kakashi stated firmly. He never wanted to talk about it because that would mean remembering it and that was something he would never do. Every therapist would say talking was healthy, but those therapists had probably never been in their patient's shoes. It was hard to remember because just simply remembering meant it had happened and nobody wanted what had happened to Kakashi to have been real.

"Fine," Iruka didn't push it. "Do you want some tea?"

Kakashi hesitated before nodding. He needed to calm down.

"Well, stay here then. I'll be right back."

Kakashi snorted in response.

Iruka left and Kakashi slumped forward, resting his head between his knees and threading his left hand through his hair. Right now he couldn't care less about how the position was putting pressure on his arm or how his breathing became that much harder. For some reason it was easier to calm down this way. Kakashi assumed it was because not as much oxygen was getting to the brain, so he couldn't register as much as when he was sitting up. If he was thinking this rationally then maybe Kakashi wasn't as out of it as he'd assumed. Maybe he'd be fine now.

Deep down the jonin knew that was a load of bullshit, but he could hope. If he could forget everything, then things would go back to the way they'd always been and Kakashi could get on with his life and train with his boys and not flinch at a simple touch.

A steaming mug was nudged against Kakashi's knee and very slowly Kakashi unrolled and took the mug in a still shaking hand.

"Careful," Iruka warned.

Kakashi rolled his eyes, but handled the cup more carefully, if only to appease his houseguest. The jonin inhaled the fumes and felt relief wash over him. Memories of tea on Minato's deck with Obito and Rin after a summer rainstorm infiltrated Kakashi's thoughts and the man smirked into the rim of his mug. The arguments had always been ridiculous, but they'd seemed so important at the time, catching up every member of Team 7 in a whirlwind of words with minimal effort. He could feel Iruka's eyes on him, but he couldn't bring himself to get defensive; he was just too damn tired.

"Where are you sleeping?" Kakashi finally asked, surprised by the sound of his own voice. Was he really that out of practice at speaking?

"On the couch."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "I have a futon, you know."

"No, I didn't. You were a little unconscious when I'd finally gotten my stuff moved in," Iruka smirked wryly. "May I ask where you keep it?"

"The closet by the bathroom," Kakashi replied.

A few moments of silence passed, than Kakashi asked, "How long have I been out?"

"About two days."

"Lovely… I'm hungry."

"I'd be surprised if you weren't. I can make something, if you'd like," Iruka offered.

"Would you?"

And suddenly Kakashi was struck by just how civil they were being. There was no yelling or throwing things or threats, just two men sitting up in the middle of the night having a cup of tea as though one of those men had never had a relapse into his captivity and woken the other. It was surprising to say the least.

When would they start fighting again? Kakashi wondered. It was all well and good that Iruka wasn't mentioning Kakashi's attack, but this breech in the status quo had Kakashi feeling distinctly off kilter. He didn't handle abrupt change well; if change happened at all, he preferred to keep it all smooth and simple, gradual-like. He was almost hoping Iruka would get angry at him. The jonin knew how to handle angry, but this calm, caring version of the Chunnin was completely foreign to him.

Finally the teacher stood up and left the room, talking over his shoulder as he went, "Anything in particular you'd like to eat?"

"Something mild, please," Kakashi murmured, still holding his mug to his lips. He hadn't tasted the tea, yet, just inhaled the scent, but he'd at least keep up appearances.

After a few minutes Kakashi realized he had to pee. Great. Just wonderful. How in the world was he going to do this without Iruka's help because the teacher was not going to help him relieve himself. That would just never happen. It was bad enough that Iruka had to dress the jonin; Kakashi would not add the humiliation of needing assistance to pee to the list of things that would humiliate him before he was completely healed.

Kakashi carefully set his untouched tea on the bedside table and grasped his cane. He was going to try this by himself and calling Iruka would be only a last resort, hopefully one on which Kakashi would never have to call. The jonin made his way to the bathroom, aware of Iruka's eyes on his progress across the apartment, but he didn't let that show. He entered the bathroom and managed to do his business without any help. Luckily, his toilet was in a corner, so Kakashi could lean when he needed to.

The jonin washed his hand to the best of his ability and made his way back to the main room, slowly sinking into the couch because standing was just making him shake.

"You left your tea in the bedroom, didn't you?" Iruka questioned.

Kakashi just stared blankly at the man. Of course he'd left his tea in the bedroom; he couldn't very well carry it in this state, now, could he? Iruka huffed and stomped off into the bedroom to retrieve the mug, leaving Kakashi to wonder at his odd behavior. Surely the teacher could wait until after to food was done, right? Apparently not, because as soon as Kakashi wondered at it, Iruka came marching back out, mug in hand. Well that was odd.

"The mug wasn't going anywhere. It could have waited," Kakashi felt he should point that out, just in case Iruka had forgotten.

"Oh, I know, but I would know it was there and it would drive me crazy," Iruka nodded and poured the liquid into the sink and rinsing out the ceramic.

Well, that was definitely odd, completely at odds with how Kakashi lived. Maybe this place would get cleaned up while this Chunnin was living here. The jonin hardly ever had time to himself and what little time he did have, he did not spend on housekeeping unless it was absolutely necessary. If it were just himself here, Kakashi would have left the mug to sit for a couple of days before he finally decided to moving to the kitchen. Then it would sit in the sink until Kakashi was feeling up to doing the dishes; Iruka simply washed the mug right there. Then he turned back to the rice.

Iruka glanced up from what he was doing, a question written on his face. Kakashi simply shrugged; he'd keep his observations to himself for the time being. Iruka did not need an excuse to lose his temper. It was surprising that he'd managed so far.

When the very late dinner was ready, Iruka dished it into simple bowls and brought it and two pairs of chopsticks over to the low coffee table that doubled as the dining table and a footrest. Kakashi glared at the eating utensils. They were mocking him; he could hear their laughter. They knew he had no way of using them and holding his bowl and it made Kakashi so upset. Iruka would have to feed him.

Grey eyes glanced wearily up at the brunet who had already begun eating. Kakashi sighed. He couldn't even get lower to the table so he didn't have to hold the bowl. The jonin leaned back into the couch and glared at the ceiling. The universe was deliberately making this difficult, wasn't it? His pride was taking a hard beating, but no matter how hungry he was, he would never ask for help. He hadn't in that prison; he wouldn't in his own home.

"Kakashi-san, do you need help?" Iruka asked after several minutes of Kakashi's useless glaring at the off-white ceiling.

The jonin gritted his teeth and nodded. It was one of the hardest things the man had ever had to do, almost harder than living while all of the people he cared about died around him.

Kakashi heard Iruka get up and move around the table, heard the sound of chopsticks hitting the wooden bowl and finally glanced over to see the tan man sitting next to him on the couch, holding Kakashi's dish and chopsticks. The silver-haired man slowly sat up and allowed Iruka to feed him, doing his best to ignore the fact that he'd seen Minato and Kushina do this to each other just because. His parents had done this too, before his mother had died, and Kakashi associated it with marriage and love. It was intimate and it made Kakashi uncomfortable.

Iruka didn't seem to have the same problem with it, though, probably having done this for numerous children, Naruto included, so Kakashi didn't let his discomfort show, just took the bites as they were offered, chewed and swallowed. He only made it through a quarter of the bowl before he felt uncomfortably full.

The jonin leaned back and let the Chunnin know and Iruka went about cleaning up from their midnight dinner, making Kakashi feel completely useless. Iruka had cooked the dinner, he should have to clean up from it, too, but there was no way Kakashi could help; he could barely take care of himself right now. It was a bitter pill to swallow.

"You should go back to bed now," Iruka said quietly. "You need more rest."

"I'm not ready to, yet," Kakashi argued.

"Well, that's just too bad. You need rest and you're going to get it," Iruka rinsed out the rice pan as he spoke. "I'll probably move the futon into your room, just in case."

Kakashi knew that was as close as Iruka was going to come to mentioning what had happened earlier, but Kakashi wasn't going to deny the man the right to sleep in a bedroom, even if Kakashi despised roommates, even if he desperately wanted to tell the teacher he didn't need him there. Something about going back into that room alone was utterly terrifying and Kakashi didn't understand it. Maybe there wouldn't be a problem with letting Iruka stay in there with him.

"Fine."

Kakashi got himself to his feet and limped his way to his bedroom to the sounds of Iruka pulling the futon out of the closet. The jonin settled himself into his bed, carefully leaning the cane against the wall by the bed, and watched Iruka move the futon and all the bedding that had been on the couch into the semi-dark bedroom. When everything was finally settled, Iruka went through the apartment and made sure all of the electronics were off before finally coming into the bedroom and closing the door behind him.

The jonin heard Iruka shuffle about a bit before the sounds of rustling fabric met his ears. Then there was silence until Iruka said, "Sleep, Kakashi-san."

The silver-haired man snorted and closed his eyes. He was caught completely by surprise when sleep finally jumped him. He hadn't even felt the least bit tired.

When Kakashi next woke, the sun was shining merrily into his bedroom, which faced west, and Iruka's futon was noticeably empty. How long had he been out this time? Kakashi didn't know or care. He cautiously stumbled out of bed, out of the bedroom and to the bathroom, where he relieved himself. Then he noticed something that he probably should have noticed right away.

Iruka hadn't been in the apartment.

What day was it, anyway? He was hungry again. Kakashi leaned heavily on his cane and walked back out to the main room, glancing around just to be sure he hadn't missed anything. He hadn't; Iruka was conspicuously absent. It wasn't like there were many places he could hide in this dump anyway. Kakashi rolled his eyes and decided not to worry about it. Iruka would show up eventually, but for now he'd just have to make due.

The man made his way to the kitchen and blinked at what he found on the counter. There was a plate of food covered in a towel with a note from Iruka. Apparently he'd gone shopping. Kakashi limped closer to the plate and pulled the towel off; all of the food on it was easily digestible and could be eaten with fingers, without help. That was strangely thoughtful of Iruka.

Kakashi glanced around the kitchen and noticed the conspicuous lack of coffee in the coffee pot. The jonin frowned. Could he manage that without fucking up, needing help? He wasn't sure, but he figured he'd try. He made his way to the pot and very carefully leaned against the counter before reaching into the cupboard with his good arm to pull out the can of coffee grounds and the filters.

So far so good. The water was a bit tricky, but he only needed enough to make about two mugs, so he could carry the water in his right hand because it wasn't too heavy. He'd just made it to scooping the coffee grounds when someone disabled the traps at his door. It had better be Iruka or one of his boys, otherwise he was fucked.

Grey eyes dilated as they watched the door open. Tension that had been gathering in Kakashi's muscles disappeared as soon as Iruka's familiar hairstyle poked around the door, followed shortly by the rest of the Chunnin, heavily laden with paper bags full of groceries. Iruka kicked the door closed and took off his shoes before finally looking up.

Kakashi sighed. He'd just made Iruka angry at him. He'd learned to recognize the signs long ago. Iruka's brow crinkled and his mouth drew into a thin line. Then the glare came.

"Kakashi-san, just what do you think you're doing?"

Well, at least the teacher wasn't yelling yet.

"Making coffee."

"Coffee is the last thing you need right now. Go sit down. You need to eat something."

Iruka set the bags down on the counter and shooed Kakashi away from the counter against which he was leaning.

"Are you addicted to anything, Iruka-sensei?" Kakashi asked mildly as he allowed himself to be herded to the couch. "I'm addicted to caffeine and when I don't get that caffeine, I get bitchy and I'd rather not send you running for the hills just yet."

"Then I'll get you some caffeinated tea; it's better for you than coffee, anyways."

"No. it's not the same. You can't taste the caffeine when you drink tea. Plus, it's a comfort thing. Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon. That's how it's always been," Kakashi explained as he sat on the couch. This man was not taking away his coffee. Two months was quite enough, thank you!

"It's really that important to you?" Iruka came back to the couch with Kakashi's plate and set it down on the table.

"Yes. I've gone two months without it, probably more, now that I think about it, and I want some," Kakashi said firmly.

Iruka sighed, "Fine." Then the man went back to the kitchen and finished what Kakashi had started.

"You really shouldn't have been moving around so much, you know," Iruka admonished as he unpacked the bags.

"Probably not, but it couldn't really be helped." A pause. "I think I need to have my bandages changed… maybe a shower, while I'm at it."

"I changed you bandages earlier this morning; you were still pretty out of it, but I think I could arrange a shower."

"Lovely," Kakashi smirked. Then he set about eating what he could from the plate while the scent of coffee slowly permeated the air. After a few minutes of silence, broken only by the sounds of opening and closing cupboards, Kakashi asked, "Could you bring me my book?"

"Porn, Kakashi-san? Really?" Iruka looked simply put out, hands on his hips, frown marring his tan features. "I don't think that's suitable reading material, all things considered."

Kakashi did know to what Iruka was referring, but the jonin didn't want to read porn. He simply wanted a book: Shakespeare, Tolkien, Lewis, Dickens, Salvatore, Eddings. He didn't give a damn. He wanted to read.

Something must have been revealed on his face because Iruka's eyes softened a little, the furrow between chocolate brows melting away.

"Well, aren't you just a poor, misunderstood porn addict?" Iruka teased. Then the man shook his head. "Shower first. Then you can read to your heart's content, as long as you're in bed."

"I guess I hadn't realized how badly you wanted to get me into bed, sensei," Kakashi teased and watched Iruka's face turn a wonderful shade of red. Good, things were going well, then, and Kakashi hadn't completely lost his skill at irritating the teacher. Sure, sometimes, being yelled at was tedious, but not when it was deliberately provoked.

"Kakashi, I do not think that those remarks are appropriate."

"That was a disappointment, sensei. I was expecting something a little more explosive, louder definitely."

Iruka glared. Kakashi smiled innocently.

"Do you want your shower today?"

"It would be very much appreciated, yes," Kakashi leaned back and closed his uncovered eye.

"Then behave!"

And with that, Iruka finished his task and stomped to the bathroom to get the water going.

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Masked-Writer-In-Disguise: And there's chapter 2! Yay! Kakashi got some of his teasing back towards the end, but he is most definitely not out of the woods yet. Showers happening next chapter! Yeeeayyuh! That'll be fun… -rubs hands together- What else was there…? OH, yes! The entire last half of the chapter, I couldn't stop picturing these two speaking with British accents… I don't know why, but it seemed kinda important insight into my mind as I made a note of it in the rough draft, but now I don't remember what I was thinking… Yeah, anyway, thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it!