Collision
Kakashi sat at his desk. He looked at his phone.
6:35 a.m. No text messages. Kakashi sat...waiting.
6:40 a.m. No text messages. An eyebrow twitched. Picking up his pen, Kakashi started to grade papers.
6:43 a.m. No text messages. Kakashi sat down the pen. He wasn't going to be able to concentrate to grade papers. No use trying to convince an empty classroom he wasn't worried. Picking up his cell phone, he called Naruto. No answer; straight to voicemail.
About then, a head poked in. It was Shizune, the school nurse. With her short brown hair and large, dark eyes, her face had a kind look. Right now, it looked frightened. "Kakashi-sensei...have you heard? A student was in a traffic accident!"
Kakashi's heart fell to his stomach. "No, I hadn't heard. Who was in the accident?"
"One of our students. That's all I know."
Kakashi leapt out of his seat, only one thought on his mind. Naruto...
\/\/\/
The pain in his head was pounding...brilliant. Wincing, he opened his eyes...and quickly closed them again. What the hell happened? He could hear the chatter of a lot of people. And then, suddenly, he could feel it. The sharp, blinding, wordless pain emanating from his head. Rolling his head to the side, he dared to open his eyes again. "K...Kakashi?" he whispered, seeing silver hair. Suddenly, the world went dark again.
\/\/\/
Kakashi ran, lungs burning. He could hear the chatter, see the lights. Coming up to the ambulance, he stopped. Naruto was being loaded onto a gurney. Naruto had rolled his head to the side, and Kakashi saw blue eyes. Pushing past the crowd, he ran up to the ambulance. Looking at the paramedic, he paled. It was Asuma. "Asuma, please..." was all Kakashi could get out.
Asuma looked up, then at Naruto, then back at Kakashi, recognition dawning in his eyes. "Get in." Kakashi nodded, crawling into the ambulance. Holding Naruto's pale hand, Kakashi sat, trying to listen to what Asuma was saying to Kurenai. Both were concentrating on the teen, working on him. Kakashi did everything he could not to flip his shit and scream. Finally, Asuma looked at Kakashi.
"Is he okay?" Kakashi asked.
"Kakashi, I'm not a doc..." Asuma started.
"I fucking know that!" Kakashi snapped. "How. Is. He?" Anger, worry, and fear rolled off Kakashi in waves.
Asuma flickered his eyes at Kurenai. Sighing, he grabbed Kakashi's hand. "It looks like he has a pretty bad concussion, he's scraped up, but he should be fine. But I can't promise Kakashi." Asuma warned as Kakashi's jaw set in a thin line. Kurenai frowned. "Kakashi, you need to let the school know where you are. We can get this boy's family to the hospital. You need to go back to work." She said gently, sharing a worried glance with Asuma. Kakashi said nothing; not even seeming like he heard Kurenai.
Asuma sighed, rubbing his neatly trimmed beard, studying his friend. He didn't realize Kakashi had it this bad for the kid. The look on the silverette's face wasn't one of a lover concerned with a fling. It was pure, unadulterated fear at losing Naruto. And it terrified Asuma.
\/\/\/
Kakashi paced in the waiting room, waiting. He had texted the school to state that he was here, as Naruto's guardian was out of town. Lady Tsunade pulled the file and gave Jiraiya's number to Kakashi, ordering him to call Jiraiya. Kakashi promised he would do so as soon as he had something to tell the man. The police came, explaining what happened and that a suspect was in custody. Trapped in the waiting room, he paced...and paced...like a caged animal. When the doctor came out, Kakashi about trampled him.
"Mr. Hatake?" the doctor asked. Kakashi nodded.
"I have been given permission to tell you the situation, as you are here as a representative of the school and I understand that the boy's family is away." Kakashi nodded, not taking eye off the doctor. "He has a concussion, several lacerations, and bruises. But he's lucky. He will be fine. There is no internal bleeding. You can go see him, but he will be groggy. He will need at least a week's rest, no heavy lifting, no bright lights or loud noises. Let him be the judge of when he can do things. But he doesn't need to be alone, so his guardian will need to be there." Kakashi nodded.
Kakashi took that moment before he went in to see Naruto to call Jiraiya. Answering on the third ring, groggily, Kakashi quickly summarized what happened and what was being done. Jiraiya swore angrily, stating that he was on the next plane home...then, realized he was in a blizzard in Switzerland and the airports were closed, and he swore even more. Kakashi promised he would have Naruto video call as soon as he woke up. Jiraiya swore some more, but agreed.
Hanging up the phone, Kakashi walked into the quiet hospital room silently. Naruto lay, pale, in the bed, unmoving. Kakashi came over, sitting down and gently picked up Naruto's hand. The teen looked so frail. Picking up Naruto's hand, Kakashi kissed the knuckles, rubbing his thumb over Naruto's hand. The room was quiet, and the minutes crept by as Kakashi stared at the teen. His throat was tight as his mind wandered over what ifs and might have beens.
"K...Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto's gruff voice jerked Kakashi back to the present. Blue eyes were staring up at Kakashi.
"Nar...I mean, Mr. Uzumaki...how do you feel?" Kakashi held Naruto's hand as he smiled at the boy. Naruto grimaced, but tried to smile.
"Like shit." he answered honestly. Kakashi smiled, smoothing Naruto's hair off his head tenderly as Naruto looked up at him with wide, adoring eyes.
"I need you to call your godfather. He's worried sick." Kakashi pulled out the phone, pulling up Facebook and making a video call.
Naruto frowned. He knew that Jii was going to be upset. Although, upset was an understatement. Jii looked rough, but his face lit up at seeing Naruto. After confirming with Kakashi what the doctor said and confirming that Naruto was whole and was going to be okay, just in pain, Jiraiya asked the question Kakashi wanted to know "Naruto, what the hell happened?"
Naruto frowned. "I...I don't really know. I was walking at the crosswalk, and next thing I knew, I was on my back on the asphalt, hurting. A green car drove off...I think he hit me, but I'm not quite sure."
Kakashi stepped in at that point and confirmed that that was what the witnesses said happened; this green Mustang ran a red light, hitting Naruto in the sidewalk. An observant witness had the license plate, and the police had a subject in custody as Naruto and Jiraiya were speaking. Jiraiya's eyes flashed in anger, but he nodded. After getting done talking to Naruto, Jiraiya asked to talk to Kakashi privately.
Going in the hall, Kakashi bit his lip. Did Jiraiya know...no, how could he? "Um, Mr. Hatake, I know I don't know you that well, but you seem to genuinely care about Naruto." Kakashi started to break out in a sweat. "Would you stay with Naruto until I could come home? The reports are saying I can get a flight out in three or so days. I just...I love the kid, and don't want him by himself."
Kakashi let out a quiet, relieved sigh. He had already planned on doing just that, but better to let the world think it was Jiraiya's idea. "Of course, Jiraiya. I will even stay at your house, so he is more comfortable. I can stay in a guestroom, or on the couch." Jiraiya worked out the details, demanding Kakashi stay in the guestroom as it was a three bedroom brownstone. Closing the phone, Kakashi stepped back into the room. Naruto's eyes were closed, but when Kakashi came in, he opened them. The lights were still dim.
"Mr. Uzumaki, Jiraiya asked that I stay with you until he can come home. I've agreed. I will be staying in the guestroom, if that is acceptable to you?" Kakashi held his breath. Naruto could say no...after all, he wasn't very happy with Kakashi.
Naruto's eyes slipped closed. He smiled. "That'd be nice." Kakashi smiled behind his mask.
\/\/\/
Naruto had visitors that evening...specifically Sasuke, Orochimaru, and ... surprisingly, Kurenai. None stayed long, they just wanted to check on him. Sasuke's face was closed off, but the tightness of his jaw indicated his anger. Kakashi wondered briefly why Jiraiya didn't have Naruto stay with Sasuke, but it wasn't his place to ask.
Naruto was released the next day. Kakashi made arrangements to have a substitute that week, explaining to Lady Tsunade the situation and the request of Jiraiya. Lady Tsunade was more than happy to oblige...after all, Jiraiya was quickly becoming a favored patron of the school, having donated money to improve the library, as he was impressed with Kakashi's progress with Naruto.
Helping Naruto into his home, Kakashi sighed. He didn't want to leave Naruto, so he had asked Guy to bring him some clothes from his home, along with toiletries. Guy had agreed. Kakashi secretly wondered if it was so he could see Naruto. The look on Guy's face upon seeing Naruto proved Kakashi's assumption true. Pushing Guy out of the door with a thank you, Kakashi shut the door, locking it.
Making sure Naruto was settled in his own bed, Naruto quickly fell back asleep. After checking on Naruto, Kakashi went to the guestroom, unpacking. He had spoken to Jiraiya, and Jiraiya would be flying in Saturday night, barring more snow. Kakashi had called Rin to let her know what was going on. Rin thought it very sweet and noble that Kakashi was doing this.
Sweet and noble. Kakashi laughed to himself in a very depricating way. If she only knew.
\/\/\/
Wednesday morning, Kakashi woke up, the sun shining in his eyes. Taking a moment to orientate himself, he remembered what happened. Getting up quietly, pulling on sweatpants, he padded quietly down to Naruto's room. Opening the door quietly, he checked on the boy. Naruto was on his stomach, his hair plastered to his head, a line of drool dangling from Naruto's lip. Kakashi swallowed hard and stepped out, shutting the door behind him. Going down to the kitchen, he figured he would make some breakfast in case Naruto was hungry when he woke up.
Pulling out ingredients, he started making chocolate chip pancakes. As he finished putting them on the plate, he turned and saw Naruto standing in the doorway in an oversized tee shirt and cloth shorts. "It smells good." Naruto admitted, squinting. Kakashi smiled.
"Here." Digging in a drawer, he pulled out some dark sunglasses. "The doctor told me these would help." He handed them to Naruto, who gratefully put them on. Sitting down, Naruto poured some juice in a cup. Handing Naruto a plate, Kakashi sat down across from him. Naruto grinned and started eating.
Good to see that it didn't affect the boy's appetite. Kakashi noted. They ate in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. Upon finishing, Kakashi got up, putting up the butter, syrup and the like. Running water for the dishes, he was surprised when Naruto got up, grabbing a towel to dry dishes. Kakashi glared at Naruto. "You are supposed to rest. Go, sit down."
Naruto frowned at Kakashi. "I'm not made of glass. I can help. I can't lay around and do nothing." He took a wet plate and began to dry it. Kakashi frowned, but did dishes. The men worked in companionable silence doing the dishes.
Afterwards Kakashi looked at Naruto. "Did you want to wat...well, they don't want you with too much screen time right now. Did you want me to put some music on in the living room and fix the couch for you to lay on so you can rest?"
Naruto shrugged. "You don't have to make up the couch, but listening to music would be nice." Kakashi nodded. Going into the living room, he made sure the blinds were closed and turned on some quiet music. Naruto had sat down. Kakashi grabbed a book and sat on the other side of the couch and started reading.
The room was quiet, dark, and cool, the only light a small lamp by Kakashi. Naruto cleared his throat. "Uh...d...do you mind if I lay down?" Naruto asked.
"Of course not. Here, let me get up." As Kakashi started to rise, Naruto put a hand on his shoulder.
"No...don't, please. I...can I lay next to you?" Naruto looked shy. Kakashi smiled and nodded. Naruto beamed and laid down, putting his head on Kakashi's thigh. Closing his eyes, Naruto pulled up a blanket and soon was asleep. Looking down at Naruto, Kakashi smiled softly. Naruto was gorgeous, and looked so adorable and vulnerable laying there asleep. Turning the page, Kakashi started reading, his hand unconsciously going down and running through the blonde hair in his lap.
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