~ Thinking Of You

He dropped his bag on the wooden, carpeted floor with a loud thud as he sighed lightly. This, however, did not pass unnoticed by his companion.

"Something wrong, Kaka'-sensei?"

It remained silent.

Naruto poked his head through the opening of the door, giving the deep-in-thought grey haired man an once over. He sat on top of his bag, his face deeply buried in the palm of his head as he stared in front of him. Kakashi reluctantly lifted his head up and stared at his pupil, the surprised look parent for a second, before he immediately switched it to a smile, his single visible eye crinkling.

"Hm?", he paused as he suddenly remembered where he was, "Mah, everything's all right."

The blonde haired boy pouted, raising an eyebrow and gave his superior a suspicious look, not taking the bait just yet. The two stared at each other for quite a bit, but Kakashi never looked away, never flinched, much to Naruto's displeasure. Naruto, giving up, reluctantly disappeared to search for food in one of the kitchen cabinets. Preferably ramen.

Kakashi immediately lowered his gaze once the young man had vanished. A soft sigh escaped once more as he, with much difficult, got onto his feet and simply let himself drop onto the soft and inviting bed, completely stretching out, hearing how his muscles screamed in pain as he flexed them.

They ached.

He ached.

He yearned.

He and Naruto had been on a mission for weeks, undercover in Takigakure - the mission solely succeeding on each other's trust in one another as they tried to secretly invade the country to comprehend the Hero Water. Something none had ever accomplished. And doing such a secretive mission had been proven to be most difficult. He had been paired up with one of the most loudest, brightest and enthusiastic ninja's in the whole shinobi world, and apparently - the only one available.

Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto hadn't been his first choice. In fact, he never came to mind when Kakashi first heard of the mission.

His Kohai had been, though.

They shared a past together, knew how each other worked and damn - they worked perfectly together, in sync and yet, Tenzou had declined the mission and left in a hurry. It was unusual for him. It was too… mysterious.

So - Kakashi had done the most logical thing that had came to mind.

He had faced his protege.

Kakashi waited all day outside, relaxing and reading Icha Icha until Tenzou finally came back, believing that the Copy Nin' had lost his interest and that the coast had been safe. But Kakashi conveniently appeared on the younger man's doorstep when Tenzou had entered his apartment, ready and about to shut the door when Kakashi had stopped him in doing so.

It had thrown Tenzou off completely.

And the look on his face, the subtle blush and the stuttering, it had flattered him and it had amused Kakashi. The thought of it still did.

"Maah, Tenzou, I thought you would be happy to see me", Kakashi said, placing a hand on his own hip.

"Senpai, of - of course I am…""Well, aren't you going to let me in?", Kakashi said, teasing and decided to let himself in when his protege remained silent, passing Tenzou and locking their gazes as he did. A smirk appeared when he heard the soft clicking of the door being closed behind him. He turned round and a pair of lips immediately came down crashing on his.

He faced the ceiling, reminiscing as placed his hands behind his head, as if he was stargazing.

"Tenzou…. you baka", he muttered, smirking contently as he twirled the wooden ring around his finger.