fantheflame | IC Contact / Appointments: Luceti

[Sasuke doesn't respond at first, reading slowly through the scroll. Though when Kakashi mentions the rank, he does glance sidelong at the other. Snorts very quietly under his breath to see Kakashi still sipping tea through his mask. He'd almost forgotten the other used to do that years ago.]

Unsealing, mostly, [Sasuke answers at last, regarding which fuuinjutsu Sasuke already knows. His knowledge is more academic than practical, but this... He advances the scroll another few inches.]

I appreciate it.

[It's quieter, less put-on polite than his previous thanks.]

[ Kakashi dips his head slightly in response, at the thanks. Sasuke doesn't need to thank him for anything, though it's nice, knowing that Sasuke at least can appreciate this gesture, even if it's years late. ]

With what's going on back in our world...

[ He's careful not to say home, because he knows Konoha hasn't been home for Sasuke in a long, long time. ]

I thought it would be good for you to know. That one-- [ He nods his head towards the scroll Sasuke had not yet opened. ] -- can be a bit tricky. Takes practice. But I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.

[Sasuke follows Kakashi's gestures with his eyes, but doesn't really respond to the words. Their world... he's been told that when you go back, you don't remember anything from here. He doesn't have the experience to be sure of that, but... what if it's true? If these scrolls - if everything he's learned or done here - means nothing?]

[He shakes his head a little, leans forward wordlessly to pick up the second cup of tea. Chooses to respond to the last few words, rather than the whole.]

Have you ever known me to be stopped by needing to practice?

[Hell, those weeks they spent in the woods, Sasuke practiced until he couldn't feel his fingers. Would have practiced harder than he had if Kakashi hadn't been there to keep him in check for his own safety. He recognizes that for what it is, with distance, instead of with the surety of thirteen that Kakashi was being too meddlesome.]

[ Sasuke had trained with a kind of hunger rarely ever seen in children. A sort of desperation that cut his hands right open, flaying the skin off with lightning almost down to the bone. Maybe he thought if he trained harder, longer, it would somehow bring him closer to his intended goal of avenging his family. Kakashi could only hope Sasuke would come to learn that such techniques could be used to protect, instead of destroy.

(He was wrong.)

Kakashi's gaze tracks for a moment to Sasuke's hands, before flicking back up to the boy's face. ]

I wouldn't expect anything less. Though, with our chakra reserves halved, you'll want to be careful.

[ He's sure Sasuke will just scoff and roll his eyes at the gentle admonition, for telling him things he already knows quite well. But says it anyway.

Maybe Kakashi was a failure of a teacher, but that doesn't mean he can't still try, somehow, to make up for that. ]

[Instead of the scoff he expects, Kakashi's treated to a half-smirk, a single soft "hmph" of a laugh.]

Late as usual, Kakashi. I found my chakra limit the day I arrived here.

[Sasuke takes a slow sip of his tea before elaborating, eyes still on the contents of the scroll.]

Sakura found me half-blind on the riverbank. I don't intend to repeat that.

[He hasn't told anyone else about that. Kakashi is a special case, somehow.]

Edited 2014-01-08 05:34 (UTC)

[ Kakashi's hand had been rising with the intent for him to take a sip of tea when Sasuke dropped the bomb that he was half-blind. ]

You were half-blind?

[ There's a touch of concern in that question, and Kakashi lowers his cup. ]

Tch.

[Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. He's too used to having conversations like this with Taka, who for the most part make smart-assed remarks and move on.]

Not like Itachi is. I overworked my Sharingan, and when I couldn't turn it on anymore... [His vision started blacking in and out. When you're used to using 80% or more of your chakra before you even think about slowing down, cutting your total reserves by 50% puts a wide margin between what you usually spend and what you have to use up.]

I'm fine now.

[The last part is quieter, a little defensive.]

[ Kakashi doesn't push Sasuke more on it, especially when he can hear the defensiveness in Sasuke's tone, see it in the way he holds himself. He can only hope if there were really any reason to be concerned, Sasuke would seek out help. ]

Good.

[ Kakashi takes a sip of his tea then, quietly.

He doesn't say, I'm glad you're okay.

He doesn't need to. ]

[...Sasuke was really expecting Kakashi to push.]

[He glances up at the other, sidelong, calculating, when he doesn't. The tight grip Sasuke had been putting on his tea cup relaxes, and he takes another slow sip himself, dropping his gaze again. His eyes are on the scroll, but he's not really seeing it.]

[The silence stretches out for a minute or two, not uncomfortable, but maybe a little awkward. Sasuke almost reiterates that he knows his limits now, that he can practice without hurting himself irreparably. But the moment passes, and he chooses, for once, not to make an argument out of it. When he does speak, his voice is... maybe not light, but a little less heavy.]

...Isn't it kind of cold for you to be walking around with your mask wet?

[ The silence hadn't been too awkward for Kakashi. Not really. It had almost been a bit comfortable, if not entirely too nostalgic. They had spent quite some time in the past in silence with each other, after all. And that was quite okay with him, as it is now. But Sasuke's concern for his mask.

Well, that's kind of cute, actually.

Kakashi wonders if Sasuke's still curious what's under his mask, like the rest of Team 7. ]

Are you worried I'll catch a cold, Sasuke-kun?

[ The "kun" is added on intentionally.

Lightly. ]

Don't call me that.

[The retort is completely automatic, years-old rote racing to the forefront once provoked, and Sasuke blinks at himself once the words pass his lips. He opens his mouth again, closes it, and then takes a stiff sip from his tea. Trying to explain or take the words back would just make it worse, underline the weird nostalgia now simmering in Sasuke's gut.]

Freeze your lips off, more like.

[It's half-muttered, picking the thread of the conversation back up around... kind of feeling twelve again. Not being sure whether that's a bad thing in this particular case.]

Ah, so you are worried.

[ Kakashi's eye scrunches up into a perfect arc, and really, he's pleased, truly happy that Sasuke does care over something small like this. It makes him think that maybe, just maybe, they might be able to slowly mend the fissure that formed when Kakashi turned his back and left Sasuke in that tree all those years ago. ]

[Words fail Sasuke completely.]

[He just... blinks, staring at the other with lips parted slack for a moment, dumbfounded. That wasn't even half like what he meant - !]

[Or, you know, it sort of was - was it?]

[The scowl returns to Sasuke's face as he glances away, cuffs of his ears a little pink. It's not that he was worried, it's that... what, exactly? He's still childishly curious what Kakashi looks like under that mask (still sort of wonders why he insists on wearing it all the time)? That's not really any better, is it?]

You know, you're still a pain in the ass.

Edited 2014-01-15 04:42 (UTC)

[ Kakashi laughs then, really laughs, even though it's a quiet thing, low at the back of his throat. Though Kakashi had missed Sasuke when he had left like everyone else, it hadn't occurred to him that this is what he missed most of all. These little moments when Sasuke lets his guard down. Lets out the softer part of him that he liked to pretend didn't exist.

He reaches a hand out, gently sets it atop Sasuke's head in a bit of a hair ruffle. ]

Hai, hai.

[ Almost singsong. ]

Hey -!

[Sasuke ducks a little under the ruffle, not really escaping it, needing an extra second to switch hands so he doesn't pour tea all over them both when he brings the arm between them up to knock Kakashi's away. Gently, as strikes between ninja go. From Sasuke especially, maybe. There's insistence in the smack of his forearm up into Kakashi's, but no vitriol. And maybe, just maybe, there's a little sparkle of laughter in Sasuke's eyes behind the flameless glare he shoots the other, one that only almost makes it to his lips.]

[It's possible - possible - maybe - that he kind of missed this sort of thing, too. It's certainly surprisingly comfortable to just fall back into. Not like nothing ever happened, or like what happened wasn't a big deal... but like maybe it's possible to get past all of it. Eventually. Part of it now, piece by piece, picking up old threads.]

[ There is a part of Kakashi that wonders if it would have been like this all these long years Sasuke had been gone. If maybe the hint of a smile might have been more than just a faint curve along Sasuke's mouth. But then, he'd spent so many sleepless nights wondering the what ifs. What if Sasuke never left. What if he never let Sasuke down. What if he never turned his back and left him in that tree.

It's a little too late for what ifs.

And here they are, and all Kakashi can hope is that one day, maybe Sasuke might be able to smile.

He'll take what he can now, and chuckles softly as he pulls his offending hand back. ]

Maa... I suppose I should say thank you, then.

[Sasuke gives the other a long, calculating look side-eye at that. Takes a long, slow sip of his tea, still staring. Though the faint edge of laughter still hasn't left his eyes.]

[What are you playing at?]

Thank me for what?

For worrying about my health.

[ Now he's really teasing.

Maybe.

There's a smile there, though, and Kakashi sips his tea slowly. Pointedly, through his mask. ]

[Gods, seriously!?]

Don't even, [Sasuke snaps, that slight flush making itself known again. Glares at the other sidelong, as Kakashi sips, before scoffing and going back to staring at the scroll. Barely reading it, but just very much not looking at the other.]

[ Kakashi just chuckles, amused, as he finishes his tea, then sets it down. He reaches out and gives Sasuke's hair another fond ruffle before he gets up. ]

Alright, Sasuke, I hate to do this, but I should get going. I have to run a few more errands. But we should do this again sometime. [ Said as he gestures at the tea. ]

Edited 2014-02-27 05:31 (UTC)

[Sasuke considers just waving the other off with a scoff, but, after a moment, finds himself rolling the scroll shut and standing up to actually see the other out.]

Think we can get through tea without you being a smartass next time?

[Though for all that bluster, he still doesn't sound angry. And he's doing the polite host thing and following the other toward the door.]

Saa...

[ Kakashi's answer is, rather naturally, completely infuriating in its non-answer as he gives a slight shrug, glancing over his shoulder as he heads towards the door, passing under the archway leading into the hall to the doorway ~~and under a sprig of green he rather obliviously did not notice~~. It's then that he suddenly becomes highly aware of Sasuke's proximity to him, the soft footfalls of the boy's steps just behind. The way Sasuke shifts as he walks. The rustle of clothing against soft, pale skin with every movement.

It's so sudden, this heightened awareness, that Kakashi's caught surprised, breath almost catching in his throat at the intensity of his awareness to Sasuke. And as his gaze sweeps over his shoulder to settle on Sasuke's face, he finds himself seeing Sasuke in a way he's never seen him before. His eye flows from Sasuke's elegantly upturned eyes, down over the tip of his nose. Settles somewhere around the cupid's bow of his soft, supple mouth, and then sweeps down the gentle curve of his throat which Kakashi suddenly wants to wrap his hand around if only to find out if Sasuke would let him, and feel the way his pulse jumps under his fingers.

Maybe Sasuke would like it if he did that.

Maybe he'd like it better if Kakashi kisses him, too. Devours that little smirk right off his face.

Suddenly, he doesn't want to leave anymore.

Kakashi abruptly stops. ]

Edited 2014-02-27 05:47 (UTC)

[Kakashi. Always a pain in the ass. Always. Sasuke doesn't think he's ever known the man to be anything else. Doubts he could be anything else if he tried. (But then, what does that say about him being one of the few people Sasuke ever opened up to? One of the first he was willing to here? Who knows.)]

[He opens his mouth to chide Kakashi for the bullshit of his non-answer when Kakashi's stride wavers, and Sasuke nearly crashes into him. He has a little more grace than that, though, and checks himself, the note of his voice changing from exasperation to confusion -]

What are -

[When Kakashi turns his head to glance, and there's a look in his eye that shudders something deep to Sasuke's core. This time, he's the one that wavers, only a few steps behind the other. (Standing in the same spot Kakashi passed through just a moment before, under deep green leaves and plump white berries.)]

[For a moment, he's pinned by the way Kakashi stares. Until he realizes that Kakashi's eyes are moving down away from his, and he finds himself hyperaware that his sensei is giving him a once-over. Pins and needles race suddenly up his arms from the elbow, goosebumps trailing all the way up his shoulders and the back of his neck, the edge of his scalp. He's suddenly very aware of himself, in his own skin, and finds himself wondering what exactly Kakashi is looking at. Staring at. Examining.]

[He's half sure Kakashi's gaze lingers on his lips, and before he can process that consciously those lips have parted just enough to pull in a heavy breath.]

[He didn't realize he was still moving, slowly, keeping step with his sensei, until Kakashi stops, and Sasuke's steps fall still automatically. He's suddenly very aware that he's barefoot and wearing the closest thing he owns to pajamas. But he doesn't move. Doesn't speak. His eyes are still on Kakashi's eyes, watching the other watch him. He's not sure where or how to move. If he should move.]

[So he waits for Kakashi to move first.]

[ Kakashi thinks he could just lick Sasuke up with his eye flowing over the boy, roving and hungry like that thing inside him roaring alive with a sudden stab of desire, hot and heady, shooting straight down to his crotch and up to his eye, lashes dropping slightly in a hooded look. His gaze tics back down from Sasuke's mouth, parted with a heavy breath that Kakashi wants panting humid and hot against his ear, down to the slender column of his throat that he wants to have under his fingers, mark up with his teeth, leaving reminders of himself there in Sasuke's skin the way he did so many years ago.

(And maybe it's wrong, and maybe he shouldn't be having such thoughts about his student, but Kakashi's well past caring. Can't even begin to think about right or wrong when every part of him tells him that he needs to have him.)

In a sudden blur of motion, Kakashi has Sasuke by the base of the throat and slams him against the nearest wall, pinning him there with the weight of his body, one leg nudging to part both of Sasuke's. With the wide-eyed way Sasuke had looked, there was no denying what he read in the boy's eyes was as much desire as it was an invitation for Kakashi to do just what he's doing right now.

His grip on Sasuke's throat shifts from somewhat firm to deceptively gentle, thumb slowly stroking down over the roar of his carotid in almost a tender caress, the shadows of his mouth curved up in a vicious, vicious smirk under his mask.

As though inviting Sasuke to deny him this, when he knows it's what they both want. ]

[Sasuke could probably have countered that. He's spent too many years expecting an attack at any moment, even sleeping with his guard up, ever on alert. Kakashi's fast, but so is Sasuke, and he knows very well he could have at least given the other a good grapple, a struggle, if he'd wanted to.]

[He didn't want to.]

[The pins-and-needles feeling explodes out from that mantle across every single inch of his skin when fingers reach, catch, and press into the edges of his throat, and his breath catches in a gasp even before Kakashi moves them both. Rushes out when that slam crashes him into the wall, expels the breath from his lungs. He can feel the way it just, just struggles through his throat under that hard grip of fingers.]

[It takes a moment for the awareness of himself to return, for him to remember that he has more body than just the throat with the hand around it and the lungs that burn and the eyes that have Kakashi's gaze boring into them. He regains awareness of his legs first, of his inner thighs as Kakashi's leg presses between them in silent demand. He doesn't squirm. He doesn't protest. He just focuses, for that second, on the warm way his legs tingle at the touch and friction. He doesn't exactly spread his legs, but then again, Kakashi doesn't really have to use a lot of force to push until his knee meets the wall between Sasuke's thighs.]

[It takes him the longest time to remember his hands. He's all just breath and warm thighs and the beat of blood he can feel pulsing in his crotch in time with his heartbeat, throbbing just like the artery under Kakashi's thumb throbs, and fuck but he absolutely cannot wrench his gaze away from that look in Kakashi's eye. Can't slow down the breath that's now panting over parted lips as his periphery catches that smirk and he thinks he's got to be dreaming. He's got to be, except this is too real and the pounding of his blood under Kakashi's thumb (above his knee) is too intense. He's too hyperaware of the chakra thundering in the other's body, of the calluses scraping his throat in a way you wouldn't notice if you didn't know but they scream with the faint edge of lightning. He can almost feel the spark. Two fingers on his left hand twitch, responsive to that silent crackle that both definitely is there and certainly isn't, and it's only then that he remembers his hands, hanging useless at his sides. Palms press against the cool, imperfect paint of the wall. Grounding. Still basically useless even for that. He's not sure what else to do with them. His hands have always been for breaking, not holding. And if there's one thing he doesn't want to break, it's whatever this is. If there's one thing he doesn't want to do, it's to push Kakashi away.]

[Black tomoe spin out of suddenly red irises. Nothing else about Sasuke moves but his breath. He can't say a word, but his stillness speaks volumes. He denies nothing.]

IC Contact / Appointments: Luceti

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UHHH PROBABLY NSFW

THE REST OF THIS THREAD IS PROBABLY NSFW UNTIL OTHERWISE MENTIONED

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