A month passed in the blink of an eye. Blissfully happy for the first time in his life, Kyousuke moved through the days in a daze of happiness. When it finally got to the point that Tsunade grumbled at him something about being killed on a mission, Kyousuke forced himself out of that daze. Itachi had moved in with Kyousuke the night he was exonerated, so Kyousuke always had him close to hand when he was home, so he didn't need to spend his days with his head in the clouds when his nights were spent in heaven.

Itachi was slow to adjust back to life in Konoha, and life as a ninja. Sasuke, Kakashi and Kyousuke were all there to help ease him through the transition. Too soon for Kyousuke the time came that Itachi was going out on his first mission as a newly reinstated Konoha ninja. Try as me might, Kyousuke couldn't get the image of the way Kakashi looked when he'd returned from his last mission just over two months before. Knowledge that his wounds were already much healed by the time Itachi had gotten him back to the village didn't help. A small part of Kyousuke mind insisted that this was what he had to look forward to when and if Itachi returned. Kyousuke tried to squelch these fears, but the closer it came to the time for Itachi's departure, the bigger those fears grew.

Standing on the wall that surrounded the village and watching the sun slowly rise before him, Kyousuke wrapped his arms around himself, not because of the cold, but because he was terrified he was about to lose Itachi. He had only one more day with him before he was scheduled to head out. The fact that is was a minor escort mission, barely A-rank didn't help calm Kyousuke's nerves, he wanted to give in to those fears and beg Itachi to not leave him. He knew he couldn't do it, but each time he looked at the older man, the desire nearly overwhelmed him.

He hadn't spoken to Itachi about it, but he had a feeling Sasuke had figured it out. Sasuke would understand that fear better than anyone else, because Sasuke harbored the same fear for Kakashi, though for a much better reason. Sasuke had nearly lost Kakashi, Kyousuke was only afraid that he might. He wanted to talk to his friend about it, but he couldn't bring himself to admit to the fear. Not out loud, not even to his best friend. He was ashamed of the fear. A ninja shouldn't be afraid of anything. Ninjas didn't fear death, but ever since Itachi had walked back into his life, Kyousuke did.

Hearing a soft scuffing noise behind him, Kyousuke pulls himself from his thoughts and glances back over his shoulder just in time to see Itachi climb up onto the wall behind him. Instantly a smile spreads across his face and love warms him from the chest outward. Half turning, he looks at the older man standing there looking disheveled from sleep, hair loose and barely stirring in the faintest of breezes. Kyousuke's heart ached at the sight of Itachi, but at the moment, he knew he could let his lover go, trusting in him to always return to the village. Smiling again, he turns back to the sunrise and sighs quietly.

Itachi steps up behind Kyousuke and pulls his cloak open, slowly wrapping both his arms, and his cloak around the younger male. Kyousuke leaned back against Itachi's chest, dropping his arms to his sides, then reaching back to lightly grasp his hips as if holding him there. Itachi rested his chin on Kyousuke's shoulder, rubbing his cheek against the abundance of long auburn hair as he watched the sun slowly creep up over the horizon in brilliant gold and rose. When the sun had nearly cleared the horizon completely, he lifts his head from Kyousuke's shoulder and turns his head just slightly to look at him.

"What's bothering you, Kyousuke?"

"Nothing now. How did you know where to find me?"

Itachi smiles and tilts his head to the side, trying to see if Kyousuke was teasing him or not. Slowly the smile spreads into a grin and he turns his gaze back to the rising sun as he replies. "I was the one that showed you this spot. This was always my favorite place to go. When I woke up and you were gone, I knew that there must have been something bothering you. You were so quiet last night, but I thought you were just tired. When you were gone from the bed, I knew it wasn't that you were tired. I knew I'd find you here because I remembered just how much you loved it here. Just as much as I always did."

Kyousuke blinks in surprise, looking up slightly into Itachi's face as he listens. Slowly, memory slips into his mind and he smiles and nods. "I remember now. I'd forgotten that it was you that showed me this place. After you left, I started coming here regularly. It helped me to remember you. Eventually it became about the comfort I got from being in a place that had been so dear to you. As the years passed, it was just the one place I could go when I was upset that calmed me, helped me to think more clearly. I can't tell you how many problems I've solved over the years standing right here watching the sun rise."

Itachi nods then rests his chin on Kyousuke's shoulder again, resuming the soft rubbing of his cheek against the soft waves of Kyousuke's hair. Both watched until the sun was well above the horizon, quiet and content to just be close to one another. Tightening his arms around Kyousuke's waist briefly, Itachi stands back up and shifts his hands down to the younger man's hips, turning him slowly so they faced once another. Taking hold of the edges of his cloak, he pulls it back around Kyousuke, holding it in place with his arms wrapped around Kyousuke's waist. When he feels Kyousuke's arms slide around his own waist, Itachi smiles and leans down, brush a tender kiss over his lips before lifting his head to smile down at him.

"I forgot to tell you, I was talking to Sasuke last night and he told me a story that made me laugh."

Kyousuke tilts his head to the side as he looked up at Itachi through the tumble of bangs that had fallen into his eyes. "Are you going to tell me, or should I guess?"

Itachi grinned at the gentle teasing and tightened his arms as he spoke. "He told me about the morning after he and Kakashi finally found one another. He said he came out here to find you, to apologize for something he'd said or done. He didn't say what it was and I didn't ask. That's between the two of you. But he said as the two of you stood up here talking, that you teased him, telling him that his relationship came about because of hero worship."

Kyousuke grins as he listens to Itachi and nods his head slowly, remembering. "Yeah, I remember that. He was in love with Kakashi before he even knew it was Kakashi he was in love with. It started with him loving the man that he thought saved his life that night and progressed from there."

Itachi nods and grins a little wider at Kyousuke, pulling him as close to his chest as he can. "Well, I was thinking after he told me that story, and I remembered the start of our own friendship. Our relationship started with a little hero worship too, you know."

Kyousuke laughs and nods his head slowly, then pulls on a solemn look, eyes sparkling with laughter as he replies, "Yes, you're right of course. Our relationship started with hero worship, and it will end with hero worship when we both die, very old men years from now. I worshiped you then, and I worship you now. More than that, I love you Itachi Uchiha, and I always will."

Itachi smiles at Kyousuke, then bends his head down for another kiss. Just before their lips meet he whispers to him, "And I love you Kyousuke Rehara, for all time."

AN: And so ends the second Hero Worship story. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. My next story to be posted is something completely different. SasukexSakura But, for those that have enjoyed this version of the life of certain ninjas of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, hold on to your hope. A new story is already forming in my mind. I've a feeling that Hero Worship is going to become a regular fanfic series for me.

Oh, and for those that need to know, the new story that's forming is back to KakashixSasuke as the main couple, but it will also contain much ItachixKyousuke.

Once again, I hope you've enjoyed my story, and thank you for reading it. And a special thank you for those who reviewed and gave me hope that I really am a pretty good fanfic writer, and that someone out there really does enjoy reading my work. :)

For those that would like a sneak peek at what's coming up in the next HW story, I've posted a teaser on my DeviantArt account. Go here: http:// sammiwolf .deviantart .com/art/HW3-Teaser-Sneak-Preview-105742092 (Cut and paste and take the spaces out.)