Everything, every emotion flooded Kakashi's tenacious mind. Of everything that happened inside him in a split second, only one thing crystallized clearly: shock.

With a tremendous effort, at least for his physical condition, he pushed Zabuza away from him and, stumbling to the side, brought a few metres between them. "Fuck.." he whimpered and tore his hair with his back to Zabuza.

What happened here?! Why did this happen?!

"Shit, sorry, I thought.. I thought I had received signals from you all evening that you wanted something from me too. So.. I'm sorry if I went too far with this," Zabuza apologized sincerely.

Kakashi crouched down, scraped his fingernails over his scalp and let out a stifled scream.

He couldn't do such a thing! He wanted to, somehow, but he couldn't.. Because if he did, he would commit the greatest betrayal of Gai imaginable, not to mention Kina's defloration. But.. No! He couldn't blame his best friend for almost a year for the fact that they almost slept together, constantly calling him a "poof", punishing him with hatred and ignorance, only to become like that himself. That was hypocritical, the greatest hypocrisy in world history.

"Kakashi..?"

Kakashi jumped up and kicked the tire of the caravan with a roar.

"Hey, Kakashi!"

Toring hair again.

No, he couldn't! That wasn't fair to Gai. Even if, he would have to do it with him, wouldn't he? Didn't he owe it to him? And yes, for fuck's sake, he WANTED to do it with Gai. A small part of him, beaten into the sad corner of fear, had wanted to keep going, to really have his first time with a boy. And not just any boy, with Gai, his fucking best friend, who also had fun with other boys, although Kakashi.. well.. what actually? Wanted to be the only one for him?

And.. what about Sakumo? If his father knew about his thoughts, he would be right about everything. Then he would be a dirty shitdick, a pansy, a good-for-nothing, then he would be rubbish. Then everything his father accused him of would be justified.

"Kakashi.. Are you okay?"

Now he was running in circles, unable to keep his legs still.

And what about Madara? He said he would notice if he did anything witch someone. He would be punished. Tortured? Who knew. Did he want to find out? Actually, no. But he didn't want this bastard to take him in like that either. He was still his own person, making his own decisions. What could he do to him anyway?

And then Gai. What would he think if he knew about this? Would he stop him? Would he intervene? Would they.. do it?

And shit, Kina! Had he only slept with her, exposed her to this risk of pregnancy, because he wanted to convince the world that he was NOT gay?! That was– No. He had wanted to sleep with her, also with Rin. He liked women. He wasn't gay. He couldn't be. He was into tits.

Finally, he stopped and looked at Zabuza, who looked at him worriedly. So, if he wasn't gay, did this mean anything at all?

Without a word, he marched towards Zabuza, pushed him backwards against the wall and kissed him in turn. He felt the soft lips, the scratchy whiskers, the hot breath on his cheek. They both opened their mouths at the same time, their tongues met.

Kakashi gasped, broke away briefly and no longer understood the world. He liked girls, women, tits, pussies, and yet it aroused him to kiss Zabuza. That was.. How was that possible? "Fuck.." he breathed.

"What?" Zabuza asked softly, running his thumbs over his sides.

In his delusion of convincing himself of an untrue lie, Kakashi hadn't even noticed that Zabuza had his hands on his waist. He placed his own on the broad neck, ran his thumb over the Adam's apple, felt the first stubble. Carefully he put his lips on this warm skin, caressed it tenderly. It was clear, he couldn't outsmart his brain. He was just kissing a man's neck, and his crotch reacted with tingling.

Tentatively, he pressed his pelvis forward until he met Zabuza's, which came towards him after the first contact. The larynx under his lips vibrated with Zabuza's pleasant hum. The tingling sensation became stronger.

"Fuuuck..." Kakashi cursed muffled and pushed his hands higher to the back of Zabuza's shaved head, where he clawed his way into it demandingly. "Fuck..."

"Mh-mh, what's wrong?" Zabuza asked with a short chuckle.

Kakashi moistened his dry palate, made room for words in his throat next to his excitedly thumping heart, and whispered, "I want you to sleep with me." He couldn't believe himself that he was saying those words, and even worse, that he meant them that way. They were no alcohol-induced mumbles, no gibberish, as one liked to say while drunk. Kakashi was drunk, of course, but he made this statement very consciously. Well, to a certain extent consciously, because it was still flickering in his skull, as if someone had forgotten to turn off the TV in the evening and the last show had been over for hours. So, it was only partially conscious. But at least consciously enough that he did not regret having formulated this sentence exactly the way he did.

"I want that too," Zabuza replied, half tonelessly, half smoky, giving Kakashi goosebumps. He resumed the few centimetres of height difference between their lips and found himself again in a kiss that quickly became more fiery, more expectant. Scratchy beard, now and then a deep hum, that tangy smell of spring, sweat, fire and roast meat, big, strong hands exploring his upper body under his T-shirt, awakening hardness pressed against his own, slowly swelling cock – yup, it was a man. God damn it, he liked it, very much, too much. He wanted more than that, everything.

The last doubt crumbled. It was clear to him that moving on meant that he was crossing the point that separated him from being gay. He would let himself fall, would surrender to a truth from which he had run away for the last year, oh, the last couple years. He had noticed Gai's looks, although he had never interpreted them correctly, but he had noticed them. His own looks and feelings got on a new layer of depth that he himself had never noticed was there. He would accept.

Was he ready for it? Was he ready to enter this new reality, which was so fundamentally different from what it needed to be? No, he wasn't. Nevertheless, he dared to take the step, overcame this hurdle, the alcohol gave him the final push, down into his arousal, triggered by a man.

He kissed Zabuza, by no means shy or cautious, no, dominant, fierce, hungry. Zabuza answered in the same way. It was a silent power game between them, in which neither of them would lose. Their lips formed their desires, which promised no restraint. Their hands held the other in place, although neither of them wanted to back down. Their bodies pressed against each other sporadically, reacting with twitching erections in both crotches.

Zabuza pulled only a whisker's length away from Kakashi, breathed heavily into his mouth, which was also panting, laughed softly and whispered so that their lips touched minimally again, "Let's head inside."

Kakashi didn't answer but allowed Zabuza to take his hand and lead him around the caravan to a door. A little further by the crackling campfire were still Podge and Stoner-Jesus. Kakashi tried not to look in their direction and thus prevent his shame from waking up. It had to stay away, otherwise he would go back. As soon as the door was closed behind him, promising Zabuza and him unobserved privacy, he took a deep breath and rubbed his hair as he tried to make out something in the darkness, but everything around him was in blackness. Maybe that was a good thing, otherwise something could have distracted him.

Zabuza's fingers found themselves in Kakashi's belt loops, pulling his hips closer to his, and their lips disappeared in another kiss, this time calmer. No demanding, no greed, just two men who knew what they were here for and who didn't want to rush it. Zabuza stroked Kakashi's buttocks, massaged his cheeks and pressed him tighter to him, no leaf fit between them anymore. He himself sporadically dug his fingertips into Zabuza's tight shoulders and felt the delicate movements of his muscles and tendons.

Next to Kakashi's rattling lungs, his heart jumped nervously as Zabuza let his fingers wander up from his jeans, took the hem of the T-shirt with him and that slightly calloused skin touched his. Kakashi shuddered aroused, deepened their kiss, now searched through Zabuza's short hair.

Smacking, Zabuza moved away a little and asked quietly, "What do you want to be?"

"Huh?" Kakashi squinted into the darkness, couldn't read Zabuza's face, let alone see it, so he closed his eyes again and gave small kisses on his bearded chin. "What do I want to be?"

"Yes," Zabuza murmured, carefully scratching the tingling skin on Kakashi's back. "Where do you want to be?"

Kakashi thought for a long time, did not interrupt his caresses of the beard. "Preferably very far away from here, free of everything. Yes.. I would prefer to be free."

"What?" Zabuza giggled and pushed Kakashi further away from him. "I meant what you.. well, whether you prefer to be top or bottom. Or do you have no preferences?"

"What, preferences?" What kind of preferences..? Kakashi didn't understand anything anymore.

Zabuza laughed loudly but quickly calmed down again. "Tell me... have you never had sex with a man?"

"Yes," Kakashi replied a little offended—why did that offend him? "But what do you mean by preferences?"

"Are you fucking or are you getting fucked?" Zabuza asked and now Kakashi finally understood. He opened his eyelids, only noticed the contours of Zabuza's head and his gaze flipped back and forth between his ears, because somewhere there must be the eyes. "This.. One can have preferences?"

"Of course, with two men it is not as clearly defined as with man and woman. Some only penetrate, some are only penetrated, some do both."

"You can.. do both?" A whole new area of gayness opened up for Kakashi. So far, he had always been the one who was penetrated, because Madara would most likely not let him do it the other way round, but that had also scared him a little. What if he didn't always want to be fucked in the ass, if he wanted to be the dominant part himself? His gaze was fixed on a black dot in all the blackness, as if he wanted to suck its details out of it inquisitively. "How do you do both? Do you do both?"

"Yes," Zabuza said quite unceremoniously.

"How do I know what I want?" Kakashi completely forgot what they had actually wanted to do. This information gathering was more important to his brain right now.

"So does that mean you've only been bottom so far?" Zabuza asked and after a nod from Kakashi he continued, "Do you want to be top?"

"I.. I don't know," Kakashi admitted. Right now, at this moment? If he was honest with himself, he didn't want to. To do this, he would have to have the courage to be the driving force behind sex with a man, and that would mean that he could not let himself go, not explore his confused emotions any further. "No."

"Okay," Zabuza whispered, began to kiss Kakashi again and slowly pull the shirt over his head. That topic was apparently settled, just like that. His own T-shirt was followed in a trail across the caravan by Zabuza's tank top, their shoes, socks and jeans and finally the underpants landed directly in front of the bed, towards which the two men moved kissing and caressing. There was more light here due to the three windows on the outer walls and so Kakashi could briefly feast on the pretty face in front of him between two kisses. Yep, still Zabuza and still handsome.

Again and again Kakashi's steeply towering glans stroked Zabuza's lower abdomen and he expected the same from Zabuza, was ready to fence with him, to let their lightsabres clash noisily, but nothing came from his side. Immediately, a panic rose in him, which was not completely unknown to him. What if Zabuza didn't get hard at all during their little foreplay, if he was the only one here who had a boner and sat in the nettles with it, because Zabuza might think of him as easy to impress?! And even worse if he didn't want it with him at all! As with Kina, only a man couldn't hide it. Shit, he should go..

With growing self-doubt, he let his fingertips slide down Zabuza's six-pack, towards his clean-shaven crotch, until he felt something that made him gasp in shock. There was something hard, but.. Somehow, he couldn't explain it to himself, he had fallen for this mistaken belief that most men were well-endowed, especially Zabuza, after all, he was so incredibly sexy. He only knew hard cocks from himself, Madara, his father and from porn – and they were all above average. In the boys' locker room, he had only seen flaccid penises and he had felt Gai's boner once, but had paid no attention to its length or thickness. And Zabuza was thick, at least as thick as his own, but his length was about the same as a teaspoon handle. Kakashi was able to clasp Zabuza's entire member with a fist. That was, and Kakashi would never say it out loud so as not to hurt Zabuza, depressing to say the least. Would he even be able to feel it properly? He was used to deep penetration and that stub certainly barely made it between his ass cheeks.

An irrepressible anxiety spread through Kakashi. How was he supposed to make it clear to Zabuza that he was disappointed with his genitals? Slowly he rubbed his fist over the short shaft, tried to familiarize himself with this unspectacular cock, not to let himself be taken in by a certain frustration, but he failed. And his body reacted accordingly.

He felt all the heat recede from his loins, his erection swelled off and he didn't really feel like even trying anymore. It certainly wouldn't be long before Zabuza would question his hesitation, and to avoid a possible conversation, he kissed Zabuza's neck, tightened his grip on his cock, eliciting a dark moan from him, but wasn't stoked up by it. It was over, all arousal had fizzled out.

His politeness went on a rampage. He could never tell Zabuza the truth, he had to break this off in some other way. In a hurry, he could only think of one method that didn't seem so far-fetched. Weakened, he dropped his hands from Zabuza's shoulder and penis and sighed heavily. "Shit.." he growled against Zabuza's larynx and deliberately put a drunken lyre into his voice. "I think the alcohol is kicking now."

"Hm," Zabuza snorted amused, "are you too drunk after all?" His hands groped around in Kakashi's crotch and encircled the only half-stiff shaft. No rubbing or stroking brought back the hardness. "Too bad, I would have liked to make you happy."

'With that desolate mini-willy?' it almost shot into Kakashi's mouth and he bit into the crook of Zabuza's neck to keep himself from all the mean comments his crude brain would have liked to formulate. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, still pretending to be absolutely blitzed. "I'd rather sleep now."

"No problem, then we'll just sleep."

Zabuza took half a step to the wide bed, which completely occupied the small space behind the sliding door except for a narrow strip at the foot end, crawled in on the mattress and lay down on his back, his arm raised invitingly.

Kakashi smiled vaguely, snuggled halfway against his muscular upper body and was careful not to touch this puny boner under any circumstances. But Zabuza pushed his pelvis closer to him with his hand on his buttocks, Kakashi's thigh grazed the hard stub and Zabuza pinched his cheek briefly. "You've got a really hot ass, Kakashi, if I may say so."

"Mh," Kakashi said and loathed himself more than ever. He was a bad person, he knew that.

With a last kiss, Zabuza wished him a good night and when shortly afterwards his soft snoring filled the room, Kakashi rolled out of the half-embrace, stared at the dark ceiling and barely suppressed an unnerved "Fuck."

Because of his hubris, he couldn't even find out whether his gay tendencies were due to alcohol or not. He pressed his hands to his face. If he was honest with himself, and there could hardly be a better time for it than this, in the bed of a man with whom he had voluntarily wanted to sleep, then he wanted nothing more than clarity about himself and above all his sexuality. Was he gay or normal? Was he into women or men? Did he love Gai or was it just this deep connection he felt towards him?

He knew he missed Gai, but he also knew that he couldn't just be friends with this boy, or.. didn't want to. He wanted more than they had had before, yes, he wanted sex with him. But at the same time he didn't want that, after all, he wanted breasts and a pussy. Could one have both, sex with men AND women? Could one enjoy both? Tonight, he would have wanted to find out, but then the question dug to the surface whether Zabuza, even apart from his equipment, would have been the right person for the job.

Without a doubt, Kakashi was into him, he didn't need to lie to himself anymore, to label it as superficial admiration or whatever. But would sex with him have helped him in his self-discovery? Because again there was this problem that he also had with girls: He wanted sex that meant something to him. Would it have been that with Zabuza? After all, they didn't know each other, this attraction between them was purely physical.

Was there actually anyone left with whom he could have good sex? The only one he could think of with whom he had felt at least a hint of this fulfilment was Gai. What had been between them back then had been raw, shattering, real. But would it still be if they did it right? And did Gai still want him after everything that had happened between them, after the way Kakashi had treated him the past few months? It was all far too uncertain, far too confused. He didn't know if Gai wanted to get involved with him, but hadn't he been the one who had suggested something in a possible direction like this? He had said they couldn't be the same as they used to be, but maybe something else. Did he mean something like that? Like.. a relationship? Or rather "only" friends, without the "best" in front of it, quasi fleeting acquaintances?

Roughly speaking, Kakashi knew only one thing: He didn't know anything. Except that he absolutely had to talk to Gai. This fucking mushroom head was the only one who could bring him to clear thoughts, calm the storm in his head, reduce the uncertainty in his heart. And they would have wanted to chat anyway, wouldn't they? Now they had at least one topic that urgently needed to be addressed. What that between them was and wanted to be and could be.

However, before Kakashi could sneak away so that he could avoid an embarrassing awakening next to Zabuza and find a phone, his mind surrendered to drunkenness and fell asleep, but woke up, as it seemed to him, barely a minute later.

Grumbling, he rolled onto his side, at first didn't get where this strange smell of spring deodorant came from, after all, he didn't use deodorant.

"Hey," said a voice somewhere above him, still very rasped from sleep.

Kakashi jerked his head, looked at the body next to him with swollen eyes and then he processed the memories of the previous evening. Groaning, he dropped his chin on Zabuza's shoulder, regretting every single decision that had brought him here. Alcohol, drugs and a strange man until late into the night? And all this for nothing?! He was so stupid. "What time is it?" he mumbled with a blocked jaw.

Zabuza pushed him back slightly and gave him a little kiss. "Are you among the living again? It's almost six," he grinned shrewd.

"Mhh," Kakashi grumbled, turning on his back again and rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes. Well, at least he hadn't overslept, although his body would like to add a few more hours. "I'm sorry that nothing happened." Rather, he was sorry that he had given in to the illusion that he could explore his sexuality.

"Are you ready for another attempt?" Zabuza asked with barely audible eroticism in his voice. He gently stroked Kakashi's nipples, which erected curiously, his hard, thick teaspoon touched Kakashi's hip and killed every slightest thought, whether he had only imagined the absence of certain things like a proportional size or generally more than ten centimetres. But no, there was something rubbing against him, which he towered over by twice as much even in a flaccid state. Kakashi dug his powers of persuasion from every corner of his tired brain and muttered, "I'm afraid I'm too hungover to fuck. Besides, I have to go to work soon." Both were true.

"I see," Zabuza replied so goddamn empathetic that it tore Kakashi's soul in two. Why did he have to bathe in this damn lie?! He should simply address it, simply explain to Zabuza that he was hot from his face and upper body, but his cock just didn't impress him – but then he would have to explain why he was so hesitant, and whether Zabuza didn't perceive the realization that he had spent the night primarily exploring Kakashi's sexuality as a personal attack, Kakashi didn't want to find out. Zabuza was not a bad person and did not deserve this form of brutality.

Meanwhile, Zabuza had let his hand sink deeper, now caressed his left nipple and massaged the soft shaft with practiced movements. "May I still taste you?" he asked timidly against Kakashi's chest, which stopped breathing for a moment. There was nothing in a blowjob, was there? So, he scratched Zabuza's neck in agreement and gradually began to enjoy his finger and tongue play.

Just at that moment, Zabuza stopped and pushed himself up a bit. "Absolute mood killer, I know, but are you tested?"

"Tested for what?", Kakashi probed.

"You know, HIV."

"Oh.." How was he supposed to explain that now? "I'm not infected, don't worry."

"Sure? I don't want to catch that shit." Zabuza seemed serious, which made Kakashi feel insecure. He had never particularly concerned himself with AIDS, stamped it as part of Madara's attention to detail, but among normal people, i.e. other gays, it was apparently a big topic. He smiled reassuringly. "Yes, I'm sure. My.." – what even was Madara for him? – "well, the man I usually sleep with pays close attention to it."

"Okay." With that, Zabuza resumed his stroking and kissing, and Kakashi had time to think about a consequence that hadn't even occurred to him before. That he was convinced that Madara wouldn't find out what he was doing here was one thing, but if he were to associate with strange men more often in the future, he would definitely have to be careful. That's when sourcing suitable condoms became an unexpected priority. On the one hand, he would avoid scenes like with Kina, and on the other hand, he would not expose himself and Madara to the risk of an HIV infection. Because one thing was certain: If he became infected and transmitted this virus to Madara, he would no longer be lenient.

But enough about Madara, Kakashi shouldn't even think about this wanker at the moment. He was with Zabuza, whose mouth had arrived in his groin, where half an erection awaited him. With skilful sucking, kissing and licking, he helped the corpora cavernosa to develop their potential and from below a short choking reached Kakashi's ears. "Gosh, you have a really huge cock," Zabuza said with a mixture of admiration and envy.

Kakashi threw down a wry grin. "Have you ever had one like that?"

Zabuza shook his head and smiled lasciviously. "No. You said you didn't want to be top, but honestly, I would like to feel it. Can you imagine swapping roles one day?"

Kakashi had absolutely no answer to this question, so he honestly said, "I don't know. I'm used to being a man's fuckhole."

Zabuza raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Fuckhole? That sounds pretty pejorative. You're not a fuckhole, Kakashi. You are a person with feelings and needs."

Kakashi just shrugged. He didn't want to discuss it, because surely a confession of what Kakashi did for Madara and how he treated him would pull the plug on his erection and now he was finally hard, so he wanted to cum. "Do you want to continue or should I wank my boner on my own?" he asked shrewd.

Zabuza snorted, shook his head slightly and bent down again to blow Kakashi. And shit, he did well. He didn't manage much length, but the technique of his tongue was breathtaking. Unconsciously, Kakashi saved a few of the movements in order to be able to use them on Madara – for example, this millimetre-by-millimetre stabbing with the tip of his tongue into the raphe, that was fucking awesome. So, it took less than five minutes for Kakashi to feel his orgasm approaching.

A lot of arousal had been building up in him for days and he hadn't masturbated for a long time. He reared up, held Zabuza's head tightly to unconditionally cum inside him, moaned an "Oh fuck yes.." to the low ceiling and ejaculated, emptied his balls, his pelvis jerked up several times.

Exhausted, his arm fell down on the thin mattress next to him and he moaned again, deeper, quieter as Zabuza lifted himself off his cock. "Could it be that you were pretty horny?" Zabuza teased. "I didn't expect so much cum so quickly. This fountain almost made me puke. But tastes good. Do you eat pineapple?"

Kakashi lowered his gaze, and the swelling of his member stopped. Zabuza knelt there between his legs, his short, dark hair dishevelled, the six-pack so incredibly well-lit in the faint light that made it through the bright yellow curtains, and a trickle of jizz between the corners of his mouth and beard, over which he wiped with his knuckle. Shit, this sight made him horny. He was indeed so fucking gay! "You know what? Fuck it. I want you. Fuck me."

Zabuza grinned, laughed growling and stroked Kakashi's inner thigh dangerously close to his testicles, with the other hand he worked his own cock. "If you ask me so nicely, I'll be happy to do it," Zabuza murmured. He leaned forward, elegantly pushed Kakashi's left leg up with his knee, supported himself with his right hand, and guided the index and ring fingers of his left to Kakashi's taint, which he used as a runway for his true target.

Without any effort, and Kakashi was a little horrified at how loose he seemed to be down there by now, Zabuza slid into him with both fingers to the hilt. Gasping, Kakashi stretched his pelvis towards him. "Yes..."

"Yes?" Zabuza asked playfully, circling his fingertips on Kakashi's prostate and caressing his neck, which Kakashi offered him willingly.

"Fuck yes," Kakashi moaned louder, clawing at the sheet and Zabuza's shoulder. It was precisely there, exactly this spot, that made him question everything. How could he ever have thought he was normal when there was this spot in him that made him see stars? He spread his legs wider, opening up to Zabuza, who moved away from him and put on a condom that was ready under one of the pillows. "Actually, I would have stretched you even more, but I think you're horny enough, aren't ya? Because shit, I absolutely am. I want to fuck your ass, Kakashi. You're making me way too hot."

Kakashi nodded wildly, didn't know what to think anymore. After this sheer arrogance in the night, he would never have expected that he would now be so helplessly hungry for this short cock. But he needed it right now, even if it was only a short immersion. He needed certainty as to why he was rock-hard under a man, even though he liked to see tits so much. He finally had to know if he was gay, if he could really enjoy sex with a man, that's all he wanted.

But his expectations were not met, because when he already felt Zabuza's glans at his entrance, someone hammered on the door. Both men growled sullenly. "Don't dare to run away," Zabuza admonished, plucked off the condom, got up from the bed, slipped into his underpants and trudged barefoot down the narrow hallway.

Kakashi sat up, hid his crotch under the thin blanket, which was only a loose cover, and peeked around the corner. Next to the small kitchenette and the fold-out table, he saw Zabuza in the glow of the falling morning sun, a shallow bump on the groin. "Morning, what's up? I'm busy."

"Morning, we have a problem," Jinin's voice wafted over. "The cops are here, they say we're not allowed to camp here."

"And there were complaints about noise pollution last night," Ameyuri added.

Immediately, Kakashi crawled to the window and peeked through a slit in the curtains. Next to the campfire were two patrol cars and four uniformed policemen had spread out around the remaining Swordsmen, some of whom were in pyjamas and Stoner-Jesus and Podge were visibly hungover.

"Shit, I'll come right away," Zabuza muttered and closed the door of the caravan again. His gaze wandered straight to Kakashi, who understood and rose. "Shall I go?"

"I'd like to ask you to stay, but I know stuff like that, it's going to take longer. Besides, we'll probably leave soon anyway."

Kakashi, the boxershorts already in place and one leg in his jeans, looked at Zabuza depressed. "Leave? Do you mean you get out of Manchester?"

"Yes," Zabuza replied with a wistful curl of his lips and also put on more clothes. "The Winchester was our last gig in the city, today we're going on to Leeds and then back to London. Our tour will soon be over."

Kakashi came to him, picked up his T-shirt, which was lying in front of the small refrigerator, and weighed it in his hand. "Will we see each other again sometime?" He didn't want it to end just like that. Not after experiencing this strong sexual chemistry between them. He had never felt anything like that before, neither male nor female, and it overwhelmed him beyond measure.

Zabuza laughed softly, even if it didn't sound particularly humorous to Kakashi's ears. "I'm not out of the world. I mean, if you like, you can come with us."

Kakashi's head jerked up. "Really?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes, but that's just an idea," Zabuza mumbled embarrassed. "I like you, Kakashi, I'd like to sleep with you, and even without that – you're a really good singer and I imagined yesterday so completely naïve what it would be like if you went to London and replaced Ameyuri as lead singer. I think our voices fit together very well, and if you train, you can go very far. Of course, hopefully together with me. Then we wouldn't have to dissolve the Swordsmen and.. well. It was stupid, I'm sorry."

"No," Kakashi said quickly and without thinking much about it himself. "It's not stupid. It's a nice offer, it's just.." Nervously, he let the white cotton fabric slip through his fingers, played with the seams. "I'd like to come along, leave Manchester behind me. You need to know, I was expelled from school and therefore have no reasonable future prospects anyway, I can only get my A-levels rocked at night school and my job is shitty. But at the moment there is still too much lying around here that I have to do. My dad's sick and I have to get this over with this man and stuff like that." He looked up at Zabuza's hard-to-read face. "When that's over, I'd like to come back to it. Such a life in music corresponds exactly to my taste. I always wanted to be a music producer and well, I already had the dream of a band as a teenager."

"Really? Or are you just saying that to please me?"

"A little bit of both, I guess," Kakashi joked and was glad that the mood was loosening up again.

Zabuza laughed again, this time more sincerely, pinched Kakashi's shoulder and gave him a kiss. "Think about it, the door at Kijin is always open." He sighed in conclusion. "Well, see you sometime, Kakashi. I'll keep the place warm for you."

"Thank you," Kakashi smiled, put on his T-shirt and left the caravan before Zabuza, careful to get out of sight of the people as quickly as possible. He jogged to the Winchester, where his Beetle was still parked, sat down in the driver's seat and was startled because a hard object pressed into his leg. He took the demo of the Swordsmen out of his pocket, gave it a quiet smile and put the cassette into the fresh deck, which played the song Back to Life, which he had already fallen in love with yesterday in clean quality.

He didn't find it difficult to imagine a future in the ranks of the Swordsmen, to produce songs like this, to sing, to go on tour with the guys. As he said, a life in music was just right for him. And even though he didn't want to be in a relationship with Zabuza, he still liked to be close to him, there simply was this connection between the two, this pure chemistry. Even outside of highly compatible pheromones – rarely had he gotten along so well with someone right away. In his blooming imagination, he already saw himself standing at Zabuza's side on small stages all over England, performing their songs, adored by girls, perhaps even by guys, when he was fully immersed in his element.

And Gai? He simply took it with him, squeezed the flabby-brow into the trunk, and was able to spend his life with everything he loved. That way it would actually be perfect.