Wounds

I finally managed to get back from the A-Ranked mission. Barely. It took a total of six weeks—five weeks longer than it was supposed to last. Even if they aren't Akatsuki, taking down a group of missing-nin alone is no walk in the park.

So I finally trudged back to my apartment after sending Pakkun to report to Tsunade. Inside, I immediately headed to the bathroom to wash off the blood. I had no idea if it was mine or someone else's, but it didn't matter to me either way. I just wanted the substance off my skin and the stench out of my nose.

Slowly, I peeled off my clothes, grimacing as the cloth reopened the scabbed wounds as it left my skin. With my shoulders bruised from being smashed into rocks and tree trunks, it was a slow and painful process. Finally, I was able to collapse onto the little stool and turn on the water, gritting my teeth against the painful sting of hot water against the exposed wounds. As I adjusted to the pain, I just started at the dimly-lit floor as blackish darkness flowed across the tiles and down the drain, washing away all that was left of my enemies.

I don't know how long I sat there, but after a while I suddenly felt chakra at the window, and I saw the night sky through the fluttering curtains. I tensed for a moment, preparing to try to defend myself, but then I recognized the chakra now in the shadows of the small room.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice showing none of the pain my body felt from turning my head.

"Honestly, I didn't think you would notice me since you've hardly got any chakra left."

"After all this time, and you still think so little of me," I said before turning to put my head back under the water, marginally offended, though the pain from the small movement quickly washed away the sentiment.

"Ah… Sorry 'bout that. I just felt your chakra and, well… Now I'm here."

I didn't even bother opening my mouth to tell him what a horrible explanation that was. My curiosity wasn't worth the effort or the pain.

"I…We were worried, you know. Everyone was."

"I didn't have the luxury of time to be able to send a report."

"I've been in Sage Mode for the past three weeks…"

"You can hold it for a while now, huh."

"I was looking for you. Not training."

I gave a short nod but cringed halfway through before heaving a small sigh, though even that small movement made my battered ribs throb. The floor of the bathroom was nearly cleared of blood finally, so I reached across to grab the soap and start disinfecting my wounds.

"Just stay still," I heard him say behind me as I felt his arm reach past mine to grab the soap and a rag. "You should probably be in the hospital anyway, so at least don't move."

Any other time, I probably would have denied it, but I hardly had the energy to stay upright, let alone argue at the same time. So when I said nothing but left my arm fall back to rest on top of my leg, I heard the rustling of fabric behind me before he spoke again.

"Sorry. This will probably hurt," he said just before I felt what was probably the soapy rag sliding gently against my skin. However, to me it felt like sandpaper scraping directly against my nerves. I cringed, and my muscles tightened reflexively, only making the pain worse.

Almost immediately, I suddenly only felt water against my skin again, though the pain lingered.

"Sorry! Sorry. Just try to relax, okay? Feel free to kick me later once your energy is back."

My lips twitched to a small smile before I tried to force myself to relax. I knew that all my wounds had to be washed somehow, and obviously it was only going to be an even slower and more painful process if I tried to do it myself, and I really wanted to avoid winding up in the hospital after another mission. Even the janitors were starting to know me by name.

After another moment or two, I felt the rag against my back again. It still hurt like hell, but I tried not to think about it. Slowly, the soapy rag made its way across my skin and eventually he was kneeling in front of me. So as he washed a particularly painful gash on my calf (that explained why I couldn't help limping earlier), I watched now soggy, blonde locks hovering in front of me instead of watching my blood wash down the drain.

"Why did you come here, Naruto?" I finally asked, trying to get my mind off the pain.

"I felt your chakra," he replied without looking up.

"So…"

He paused for a few moments, unseeing eyes fixed on the wound on my calf, hands motionless before he finally started speaking as the rag ever-so lightly ran along the length of my gouged limb.

"Like I said, I've been searching for your chakra for the past three weeks. I suddenly felt it and now I'm here," he said as he worked.

"So you just came without thinking?" I asked, and he only hesitated for a moment before replying.

"That shouldn't be all that surprising, right?" he said, his voice lighter than the look the moonlight revealed on his face. I didn't say anything and just watched as he continued washing my wounds carefully, but he paused again when he got to a particularly angry-looking gash on my hip. Even in the darkened room, the gruesomeness of it was plain to see.

"Sorry," he finally said after staring hard at it for several long moments. Then he continued, apparently trying to be extra careful to keep from causing me any added pain, though I can't say that it helped much. I hissed in pain as the rag moved, though Naruto's expression looked like he was in just as much pain as me.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the pain again, though Naruto's tight expression remained unchanged.

"Would you rather I carry you to the hospital?"

"I never said that, I just mean—"

"I'm already here. I might as well," he said, cutting me off. His face looked even darker somehow, and I don't know if I couldn't tell the reason because of the pain of if it was because he was better at hiding his emotions than most gave him credit. Either way, I decided to keep pushing since it would at least keep me from focusing on the pain.

"That's not much of an answer."

"I learned how to make excuses from the best, after all."

"At least I was decent at teaching something," I said, trying to lighten the mood slightly, but the air only got thicker, and again silence resounded in the room.

Finally, he finished cleaning up my wounds and made eye contact for the first time since entering the room. Those blue eyes froze me in place, looking brighter in the moonlight than I ever remembered them in the sunlight, but they were also more expressive in spite of the darkness—or maybe it was because of the shadows that he allowed himself to show more of the thoughts hidden in his mind.

"You were late even by your standards," he said quietly after hesitating another moment.

Something about the way he said it made it so that I couldn't reply. I couldn't apologize, let alone give some half-assed excuse like normal, so I just sat there in the thick quiet, trying to think of something that would be able to pass through my tightening throat.

After a while, a heavy sigh and a slight weight against my thigh brought me out of my search for words.

"What are—"

"Punishment. For being so late. So don't move," he said, and I was surprised, but then my lips twitched into a small smile.

"Your punishments are pretty weak, you know," I mumbled, ignoring the pain that moving my hand to the top of his head caused.

"Don't tempt me," he mumbled.

"Yeah… Sorry," I stammered, not sure what else to say. Something about the way he said it made me worried, but more for his sake than mine.

"Hey… Can I look?" he finally said after several long, quiet moments, but I was at a loss.

"At what?"

"I haven't been looking you in the face on purpose, you know… 'Cause you're not wearing your mask, right?" he mumbled, sounding a little like the kid he used to be. I couldn't help snickering a little, but when I did, he immediately pulled back and turned away, his face in an embarrassed pout that he tried to cover up.

"Nevermind!... That was stupid.. Anyway, if you stay—"

"Sorry. You just made me remember something nostalgic. Look if you want. I don't mind," I said, trying to keep myself from laughing more, though a smile stayed in place.

Naruto stiffened when I spoke, but slowly turned his head and raised his eyes, making eye contact until I cave a small nod of approval. Then he traced every inch of my face with his stare. He stared so intently that I almost thought he was trying to memorize proportions for a statue or something. Eventually though, his eyes looked at mine again and even in the dim light, I could tell that his face had turned red.

"Ahh… Anyway… I-if you stay here, you'll catch a cold," he said, suddenly standing and rushing out of the room. Half a moment later he was back with towels in hand, and he was about to turn off the water, but I reached out to stop him, grimacing from the movement.

"Thanks, but I'd rather not move just yet," I said before letting my hand drop and slumping back onto the stool. I could just make out the small worried frown on his face before he nodded and set the towels down away from the water. I thought he was going to leave, but then I felt some soothing, warm chakra on my side, and I looked at him, surprised.

"Medical jutsu?" I asked, looking at him, my surprise narrowly outweighing the ache I felt from turning my head to look at him.

"It's really hard, though, deba. Just relax. I have to concentrate," he said, his brow furrowed with focus. I wanted to ask more questions, like when he started learning it and why, but I didn't want to break his concentration, so I just sat there watching him, piling up questions for later while studying that frowning face.

He was obviously concentrating hard, but occasionally I could see some other thought pass through his expression, and in those same moments his chakra would waver before he immediately returned to focusing on the healing jutsu. I still couldn't help wondering what he was thinking about, though, in those short moments when his eyes changed. I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't given more time to ponder.

"Any better?" he asked after a while, pulling his hands away from the gash on my hip.

"Probably, but I'm in pretty bad shape, so I can't really tell," I said as I tried to get a better look at the wound, but it still hurt too much to move, and there wasn't enough light to tell much of anything anyway.

"Maybe I should take you to the hospital after all," he said, chewing his bottom lip slightly as he looked me over again. I rustled his hair softly, ignoring the aching it caused.

"Sorry for worrying you. I'll be fine," I said, trying to look as reassuring as possible as he looked up at me, but he just continued chewing his lip, and worry along with several other unnamable emotions floated in his eyes. Something about those mysterious thoughts and feelings that I could see but not identify made me want to ask more questions.

"Why did you stay in Sage Mode so long? It's not like it would have helped, since I'm sure you went out on other missions."

"I just started it when I came back from a mission and realized you weren't back yet, but I haven't really been on any other missions since," he said, suddenly finding the drain fascinating.

"Tsunade-sama gave you three weeks off? Were you hurt during your last mission?" I asked, suddenly concerned, looking him over for evidence of injuries. I thought that maybe I'd been so wrapped up in my own injuries that I hadn't noticed his.

"Ah, no. I'm fine, and anything I may have gotten would be long healed by now, deba," he said, looking at me again, obviously trying to calm my worries. I absently wondered if I became more expressive the more tired I was, or if my former student had just come to know me well enough to know.

"Then how did you get so much time off?" I asked again. I knew that there was no way such a powerful shinobi would be off duty for that long unless there was a good reason for it.

"I haven't been off, exactly. Just doing border patrol and gate duty," he said, again finding the floor interesting.

"Did you make her angry again?"

"No! No, deba. I asked for those assignments."

"Since when do you want assignments with so little action?" I asked, almost more confused that I was to begin with, but then he looked up at me, and somehow that look caused some of my questions to just vanish from my grasp.

"You were gone! And she wouldn't let me go after you! What the hell was I supposed to do?" he shot back, though his voice was no louder than a whisper as he looked up at me. I just stared back at him blankly, too surprised and confused to even know what to say, so before I could figure out what to do or say, he spoke again.

"Like I said, I wa—we were all worried. We thought… We were afraid that you were..." he trailed off, looking away from me again as he went back to chewing his lip. I sat there, quietly watching him for a while longer before I again let my hand fall gently to his head, mussing his soggy locks.

"Sorry for worrying you, Naruto. Thanks for your concern," I said quietly. He stiffened a little beneath my hand, but then I felt him lean into it. Something about that small movement made my face heat slightly. I really wasn't normally one for affection, and no matter how boisterous he was, I knew that he wasn't one to easily accept or give affection either. So with one small movement, he was doing both, and though I knew he had just helped me with wounds, this was much, much different than the light, cautious touches of caring for an injury. Nor was it a movement showing concern or to relieve worries like the purpose of my small gesture, and it wasn't a gesture to alleviate concern or for "punishment" like Naruto lightly leaning against me earlier. No, this was a small, careful movement that was simply for the sake of being closer because he enjoyed the feeling. It felt like the purest of gestures which felt suddenly terribly out of place after washing six weeks of filth off of the hand that he was leaning into, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to pull away either.

"Kakashi…sensei, I'm really glad that you're okay," he whispered, still leaning into my hand. The near-drop of the honorific didn't go unnoticed, but I couldn't help smiling a little. I wasn't sure why he was suddenly pushing to get closer, but for some reason I didn't mind it. Perhaps I was just too tired to keep up all the carefully constructed space and barriers that I'd built between myself and everyone else, or maybe the blond had managed to knock down those barriers, just like he seemed to do with everyone he'd ever met. I didn't know, and in that moment, I didn't really care either. Some part of me, and apparently the controlling part, just wanted to go with the flow of it, so my hand slowly slipped from the crown of his head to the back of his neck, letting my thumb run across those defining whisker marks on his cheeks.

He looked up at me again, finally, his face full of surprise and confusion among several other emotions, but he still didn't pull away and just leaned in a little more, making my smile widen slightly.

Slowly, though, the emotions in his eyes changed, and out of the many to be seen, I recognized anxiety, but I also trust. He just stared at me like that for a while, but then, cautiously, he leaned forward and just barely rested his forehead against my chest. His hair tickled my skin, but the warmth of his head was comfortable, and though normally I would have looked for an excuse to escape, this time was the exact opposite. I wanted to feel more of his warmth and feel cleansed by the purity of his actions instead of pulling away, afraid of tainting him.

"You're so warm," I murmured quietly, pulling him slightly closer as my thumb continued caressing his cheek. Looking down at him, I could tell he smiled a little, and I watched as his shoulders relaxed with relief. I closed my eye, enjoying the relaxing quiet despite my aching body. Next, though, I felt his arms gently wind around my waist, carefully avoiding all my wounds, and somehow I started relaxing into the light embrace. I still had questions flittering about my mind, but Naruto spoke before I had the chance to ask any.

"Sorry…I should probably have forced you to go to the hospital. I just… wanted to be selfish," he mumbled, and I felt a shiver go down my spine in contrast to his hot breath on my side as his forehead lightly nudged against my ribcage.

"What are you talking about, Naruto?"

"We were—I was so worried this whole time, and when I sensed your chakra finally, my body was already racing towards you before I could even think about it. I just wanted to see you so badly that I couldn't stand it, and then I saw you and I just… I wanted to be with you for a while… at least until my head got back in order," he said quietly, finally giving a suitable answer for my earlier questions. I was surprised, not really sure how to react beyond that, but I moved my other arm to drape over his shoulder, ignoring the twinge I felt in my back from twisting to do so.

"And how's your head now?"

"Better," he whispered, but he tightened his grip around my waist. "But do you mind if I stay a while longer?" he asked quietly, and felt him tense slightly, preparing himself for my answer, and something about that reaction made it impossible for me to reject him.

"I'm in no rush," I said. I felt him relax almost immediately, but I couldn't help wanting to tease just a little. "But in exchange, you have to answer more questions," I said, and the nervous tenseness that came back made me have to stifle a chuckle. Still, he nodded against me.

"You were acting strange around me before I left too, you know. Was there a reason?"

"We—well, you know, it's been a while. It's not like I remember everything, 'tebayo. It was six weeks ago, after all," he mumbled, though his body language told me the exact opposite of his words.

"Maybe not everything, but I'm pretty sure you remember the reason," I coaxed, getting more intrigued by all the mysteries he was holding the more he tried to hide them.

"Well, I, um… I kind of…" he stammered before heaving a big sigh. Then, much to my disappointment, he pulled away some. Then he looked up at me and moved one hand from my waist to run it through my soaked head of hair, and I couldn't keep myself from leaning into the touch just slightly as I watched the emotions swimming behind his eyes.

"Can I just call you Kakashi?" he asked suddenly, but the emotions in his eyes as he asked were deep, so much that I felt that I could drown in them if I watched for too long, though I was unable to look away.

"If you answer my question," I replied. He stared at me calmly, weighing my seriousness with his own resolve before taking a big, slow breath, and suddenly I was anxious to hear his answer. His hand slid from my hair down my face, slowly tracing each curve, before sliding down my neck, my arm, my wrist until he slipped his hand over the one of mine that was caressing his face.

"I want to be with you, Kakashi," he barely even whispered, but the feelings in his eyes were loud and clear. Then, slowly, he moved my hand to his mouth and placed a single gentle kiss on my palm, but I felt the heat of that kiss radiate through my entire body like shockwaves and rendered me speechless.

"I was so worried while you were gone. I started to think that I—" he paused, looking away for a second when his voice cracked, but then he looked back at me with eyes full of resolve. "I was afraid that I'd never get to tell you how much you mean to me, Kakashi. I was afraid I'd never be able to tell you how much I love you," he finished, his voice strong but quiet. Then, slowly, he got up on his knees and moved closer, keeping eye contact the entire time, studying me as his face approached mine. And no matter how much I knew that I would normally turn him away, I was enchanted by those blue eyes shimmering with silver in the moonlight.

It was agonizing, waiting as he approached, and when he was just about to make our lips finally connect, he hesitated. I didn't allow him to hesitate for long, though. I pulled my hand out of his and placed it back on his cheek, moving my other to the same spot on the other side before pulling him to me, leaving him no chance of escape.

It was a soft kiss at first, but slowly my hands tangled into his hair, pulling him closer to me, and he did the same, though I could tell he was still trying to be mindful of my wounds. Wanting more, I opened my mouth and gently sucked his bottom lip, getting lost in the slightly sweet taste before feeling his tongue slick against mine. I pulled him closer and earned a quiet moan from him as my teeth grazed his lip.

That sound had more of an effect on me than I ever imagined it could. Suddenly, overwhelming need poured over me as my hands started wandering his exposed torso, wanting to feel every inch of that tanned skin that I could reach.

Too soon, though, his lips left mine, but I quickly forgot my disappointment as he trailed his lips down my neck and torso, taking extra care to avoid causing pain while being sure to leave me with chills of pleasure. As his lips trailed down my torso, one hand meandered over my back, his fingers leaving goosebumps in their wake. At the same time, he maneuvered himself to be in front of me, rather than off to one side, making it easier to pull him to me, but I realized his true intent of that positioning the farther his kisses trailed.

"Kakashi… Can I?" he asked, looking up at me. And never before that moment had I realized the full potential of the blond's sex appeal. He was shirtless and soaked, and his voice was huskier than I ever thought it could become. But what really got me were his eyes. Though honest and brimming with feeling, I had no idea the color of the oceans could be filled with so much heat.

"You don't have t—" I started, but I couldn't continue as I inhaled sharply when I felt the hand that wasn't on my back trail up my leg, and then he ever-so lightly stroked my inner thigh with his fingertips, leaving me twitching with a desire stronger than I'd ever felt.

"Please? I want to, Kakashi," he whispered, and the heat from his breath caressed my skin while the heat in his voice left me shivering in comparison. All I could do was nod. His face lit up, giving me a smile before kissing my lips again as his hands slowly trailed their way around my wounds to more sensitive areas.

I gasped into the kiss when I finally felt fingertips reach their destination. Then Naruto's mouth gradually trailed away from my own again as his hands touched and teased, leaving me with having to weave my hands into his soaking locks to keep myself rooted to reality.

His lips trailed and meandered, leaving me twitching with anticipation. By the time his lips connected with my most sensitive skin, my breathing was already erratic, and the pleasure from that small contact was amplified when I saw him glance up at me, trying to reconfirm that my want was as heavy as the desire burning in his eyes. I didn't get to watch his eyes for long, though, because I could hardly keep my eye open as he returned to his light, teasing touches.

He stroked and fondled, licked and sucked, never sticking to one motion for long as he explored and gaged my reactions to each movement. My toes curled under as heat traveled from all my nerve endings to pool in my abdomen. Still, no matter how much heat would gather, the torment wouldn't end. Every time my muscles started to tense like the heat coiled in me, his hands would wander elsewhere and his lips would place a chaste kiss before trailing to tease somewhere else or in some other way.

"Naruto," I breathed, finally unable to stand it any longer. I hunched over him, gripping his hair, silently begging him for release. Apparently he understood because his teasing ended and his touches hastened and roughened, and with the change in his touch, pleasure burned through me, making every muscle tighten until I could only struggle for air.

Then, suddenly, white filled my vision as all my nerve endings seemed to turn into fireworks. I gasped for air, feeling my body clench around the man in front of me briefly before every inch of me just seemed to melt.

I stayed there, leaning on Naruto for a short moment, trying to regain control of my body, before sitting back up and releasing the painfully tight hold I had on his hair. Once I was holding myself up with my own strength again, I looked down at him just in time to see his tongue slide over his thumb, removing the last of the evidence of what he'd done to me. And in spite of all the porn I'd openly read throughout my life, my face still heated as I watched him swallow.

I tried to think of something to say, but my mind was still in a haze. I couldn't do anything but stare until his eyes finally met mine again. Then, before my mind could catch up my body was already hunching over to make my lips crash into his again.

"You really are a fox," I mumbled once I pulled away, resting my forehead on his as I tried to catch my still-uneven breath. He laughed quietly before wrapping his arms around my neck, kissing me again quickly before he released me and stood up. He shut off the water finally and grabbed a towel.

"Fox, wolf, I'll be whatever you want," he said quietly as he started drying me off while I sat there, feeling more relaxed that I had in a long time, but I caught his hand as it ran the towel over my shoulder and I pulled it to my lips, kissing it softly.

"I want you by my side," I mumbled against his hand. I felt his hand stiffen in mine for a brief second before he suddenly wrapped his arms around me, squeezing softly.

"Absolutely."

Well I hope you liked it! Since Red and Black is pretty tame in this area, I really wanted to write something at least a little exciting for this pair. Thanks for reading!

Edit: Sorry for all the typos the first time around! They should all be fixed now, but let me know if you find any more. Also, my goal is to have a new Red and Black chapter up this weekend. Sorry for neglecting it for so long!