sunshineverse | [Closed] I wish I could lay down beside you..

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[Closed] I wish I could lay down beside you..

Who: Yamato and Kakashi
When: December 31st an hour or so before midnight
Where: Roof of the Oolong Dragon (Yamato's apartment)
What: Yamato spends new years on his roof with good sake. Kakashi joins him.

With little past to speak of, Yamato had few traditions, but the one's he did have, he held in high regard and honored them whenever his free time allowed. New Year's spent with Tae-san over a bottle of excellent sake, was no exception and given the upheaval of the past half year, he was more than eager to politely decline all other invitations in favor of the matrons company.

They shared the tasks of preparing food and settled around the back table of the tea shop, whiling away the early evening with pots of tea and hit the sake soon after (under Tae-sans insistence).
The lantern light was soft and their conversation amicable from years of sharing the same building and each others stories and Yamato relaxed, little by little, as the night wore on.

An hour before midnight found the table clear and his kindly neighbor, hugging him tight about the waist, as she bid him goodnight and a happy new year before she retired to bed. It had been the same every year; her aversion to loud noises, fireworks in particular, having never lessened in the many years he'd known her.

So it was, that with the shop lights dimmed, Yamato snagged a blanket and the last of the sake and headed for the roof above; settling down with something like childish delight - if not a little drunken silliness - to view the fireworks and see the new year in as he'd done so many times before.

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Kakashi had been on his way home from Mika's party when he'd spotted movement on the roof of a nearby building as he passed.

The party hadn't been a complete blow out, and Kakashi had been pleasantly surprised to find he'd actually enjoyed most of it. He'd done better than the years previous - at least this time he'd actually attended the get together when he said he would instead of being a no-show.. but that was as much exposure as they were going to get out of him. Ringing in the New Year was something he'd always done at home, alone with only the company of a bottle to keep him company - just the way he liked it - and all he wanted to do now was savour he remnants of the two thirds of a bottle he held in his hand and doze through the fireworks.

But the twinkling of porcelain on moonlight caught his eye and only because Kakashi knew the layout of Konoha like the back of his hand and because he knew who that rooftop belonged to, did he steer off course to approach the blanketed figure.

"A little cold to be sitting up here alone, isn't it?" Kakashi asked as he came to a stop at Yamato's side, smiling down at him.

"That's what the blanket's for, Senpai."

Yamato flapped a corner of it for emphasis, mildly surprised to see the older man out on new years, given his tendency to stay away from celebrations in general, but his tone was jovial and welcoming despite that.

There was a slur to his words, the sake and cool air doing their jobs of going straight to his head, but Kakashi was used to his occasional bouts of drunkenness, so Yamato felt no shame in sipping straight from the small bottle still in his hand and patting the roof slate beside him invitingly.

"Care to join me for the fireworks?"

Even muddled as he was, Yamato knew it was a long shot - Kakashi was probably just checking in to make sure he didn't injure himself - but alcohol made him nostalgic and seeing his former captain now, conjured a memory of fireworks seen through the eyes of his mask; both of them younger, with winter bearing down on slighter builds and thermal cloaks, but enjoying the display of lights despite the cold and the short straw of guard duty on new years eve.

Unsurprisingly, the memory warmed him more than the sake and a happy, closed eye smile touched his features, face turned up to Kakashi expectantly for his answer.

Kakashi hadn't spent New Years in anyone's company for a great many years, even before he left ANBU the chance of him spending time with anyone as midnight rolled by was a slim chance... But there was a particular time when he had that stuck in his memory, a time when he'd looked up to watch the fireworks shatter the dark sky and illuminate the stars, all in the presence of a dear friend.

And it was with an affectionate look (one definitely not encouraged by the undefined amount of sake in his system) that he looked down at that same dear friend, now years older, and encased in a blanket rather than ANBU armor. It was that reminiscing that made his decision for him - what the hell - and he sat down beside Yamato in the place he'd patted out for him.

"How long do we have?"

The delight was plain on his face as Kakashi took a seat, clearly happy for the company, especially from the usually elusive Jounin and Yamato resettled his blanket as he considered the time.

"A little under an hour? Tae-san went to bed at eleven and I've been here since then.."
The cold hadn't seeped in yet, so it hadn't been long, but it made little difference; Yamato would stay out until the display was over, regardless of how cold he felt in the mean time.

Curious about Kakashi's appearance outside at this time of year, he gave the older man a side glance, sipping at his bottle as he did so, before giving the night sky his consideration.

"I'd have thought Obito and Gai-san would have your attention tonight of all nights..what brings you out here?"

Small talk had never been their forte; they dealt in a balance of leading topics and direct statements, something fostered from communicating for long stretches in almost exclusively hand signs, Yamato surmised and now was no different, but his tone still held the edge of idle chatter.

"Mm-mm," Kakashi mused as he settled himself properly on the rooftop, his legs stretched out before him, crossed at the ankle. He cradled the sake bottle in his lap and unplugged the stopper, shifting it into his hand in order to take a sip when he was ready. If Yamato wasn't opting to the airs and graces of using a cup, then neither would he.

"I think they'll be much too wrapped up in each other to miss me much," Kakashi said, a genuine smile on his face at the thought, and though his words might have seemed a little downcast, his tone was light and honest. He really was content that they would inevitably be spending time together, tonight especially. "I was heading for home, but you looked like you needed some company, so here I am."

He didn't have to look at Kakashi to hear the smile behind his words and it warmed him to be able to experience this again; to know that his former captain was content and happy had, after all, been all he'd wanted after the man had left ANBU for good.
To know that all was calm between the three of them, also gave him peace and he silently hoped that the pair enjoyed themselves while the shinobi world at large was quiet.

The observation summoned a chuckle and Yamato hung his head, side glancing enough to catch Kakashi's eye and wondering at the picture he must have painted.

"Do I look that forlorn? I hope no one else noticed.."

"Oh, I'm sure the whole village noticed. You're lucky I got here when I did.." Kakashi teased, giving Yamato a side on look with his good eye as he lifted his bottle of sake up and tilted it toward Yamato invitingly.

"Though I couldn't have looked much better wandering home alone an hour before the party really gets started, so here's to looking forlorn, hm?"

Yamato raised his own bottle, clinking the two together in the toast "Here, here!" before gulping down a little more than he should have in one go and muting his splutters with the edge of his blanket.

Eyes watering, he giggled at his own foolishness and aimed a sheepish look at Kakashi, even as his mind sprawled for a topic to, not so subtly, change the subject.

"How exactly does that work anyway, shouldn't you all be together? Or do they have tonight together and then you get the next holiday or party with one of them.." A thought occurred to him "..Do you have a schedule? I mean, outside of the security risks, I've yet to get my head around how you three function.."

It was more than he'd ever dream of saying sober and even well on his way to drunk, Yamato still couldn't beat back the blush that suffused his cheeks at bringing up the subject in the first place. Still, he was curious and the wondering had been gnawing at him enough to override his sense it seemed.

Edited 2015-01-06 23:41 (UTC)

Kakashi's expression fell to one of exasperated confusion. Yamato was the very last person he'd would have imagined asking these kind of questions, and yet here he was as broad as day, asking if Kakashi had legitimately sat down with Obito and Gai and drawn out a schedule so they could all spend time together. If he was a little less flabbergasted, he might have laughed at the incredulity of that assumption - after all, not a single one of them was that organised.

"I... No, we.. I mean, I.." he started, then cleared his throat, his eyes carefully tracking the bottle in Yamato's hand. Just how many of those had he had...?

"We aren't.. together any more. Not officially, at least. There's nothing binding between us, I..." Another small cough, a frustrated look crossing his features as he tried to make his special conditions seem understandable... Then again, he supposed it didn't matter too much given how drunk Yamato was.

"I couldn't do it."

Yamato gave him an owlish look; this was all news to him after all as despite his curiosity, he'd never been inclined to pry further and had simply taken his queues from Kakashi's general well being instead. That he felt relief at the information was telling in a way that his muddled mind couldn't quite fathom, but he felt lighter with it either way.

He hummed in agreement at the last part though, bringing his knee's up so he could prop his chin on folded arms, eyes distant as he considered.

"I had wondered.. I don't think I could bare to make myself vulnerable like that to one person, let alone two and so publicly with such prolific careers? I just about had a heart attack when I heard the news.."

Yamato idly twirled the sake bottle, seemingly talking to himself as he continued.

"It's funny..everyone that heard was either happy or shocked, but none of them feared for any of you.. I guess I just don't get those bonds the way others do, not in a civilian or even icha icha sense."

He shook his head "The idea of letting anyone that close platonically has been terrifying enough, but letting some one closer, with a whole 'nother set of rules I never cared to learn? How could you be vulnerable with someone in the face of that.."

The last thought was said wonderingly, Yamato's drunken bemusement telegraphing itself in the animation of his free hand as he spoke.

Kakashi pursed his lips slightly as Yamato spoke, drinking in every word despite his reluctance to listen to something that hit so very, very close to home. It was with the end of Yamato's chattering that Kakashi slipped his mask down and took a rather large gulp from his own bottle.

"That's just it," he said, wiping his mouth on his arm before readjusting his mask. "I couldn't be vulnerable, that's why I was unhappy. The idea of committing to something so sensitive when I can't even be a consistent friend terrified me. If I hurt them now, as their friend, it would be awful... but if we were something more?" Kakashi shook his head, then dumbly took his mask down again for another glug of sake, using the wine as liquid courage to loosen his tongue.

"I don't know how to act in that situation, how to be what they wanted... so I cut it off so that they can do it properly, without any problems from me and my special conditions."

His voice went small then, leaving him staring off at a spot of the roof with his mask just over the tip of his nose. Sake had the horrible disadvantage of being incredibly addictive, so it seemed, but Kakashi wasn't paying the warning signs much mind. Yamato just seemed so carefree when he was like this, and for once Kakashi didn't fear where his mouth would take him if he embraced that same freedom.

Yamato nodded along, having long been privy to Kakashi's struggle with expectations and a his own self worth. Even now it surprised him just how deep those insecurities lay in the other man, but he understood, often felt similar pains himself, especially in his interactions with others.
Letting someone close enough to see the potential cracks in his persona, to know the dreams that kept him up at night, close enough to know his heart, to potentially be a weakness? The thought made him shiver, but the mention of 'special conditions' triggered the memory of a similar conversation..

"I think I've had this conversation with Yukimi and I much prefer her view.."
Yamato sipped his sake, gaze once again lost to the middle distance.

"She said that if you let someone close, let them know you well enough then, well..they should know what to expect of you and shouldn't put more or less expectation on you than they know you can give."
He gestured around them with one hand. "It's why we're hardly ever in the same place, but never complain about the months we go without seeing each other. I'd never expect her to settle down and give up her adventures an' she'd never expect me to compromise my duty to the village and that's the way it should work."

Yamato took another gulp of his sake, smiling at the memory of the fierce look she'd given him during their talk; someone she'd grown fond of had expected too much and she'd left in a whirl of skirts, infuriated that they'd wanted her to give up what made her most happy and sparked her animated rant.

The sake didn't pull it's punches and he peered mournfully down at the bottle, as if the porcelain held the answers he sought.
"If I ever found that again in another that wasn't her..then maybe, just maybe, it might be worth the risk." He paused for a second, considering further "..They'd have to be strong though. A Shinobi at least. Someone I could trust to keep me safe if I needed it and who wouldn't pity or look down on where I've come from, at the very least." He was rambling, but honestly didn't care at all.

Kakashi listened with his own brand of quiet, contemplative politeness that he usually saved for official meetings and mission briefing, which meant that it was clear to see he was actually listening, though he supposed it didn't matter much since Yamato probably wouldn't have noticed due to the heavy sake blanket weighting on his shoulders. Kakashi himself was starting to feel the burn of his nervous gulping, and set the bottle aside on the flat panelling of the roof for a moment, so that he could get this out while his head was still clear.

Kakashi knew Yukimi was a rock for Tenzou, someone he could depend on and trust with literally anything. He loved her unequivocally and, he assumed by the way Yamato spoke of her responses and the time they spent together, she loved him too. He was lucky to have her, probably more lucky than he realised, and Kakashi was happy for him. He couldn't think of anyone else who deserved a bond as strong and honest as that one.

At Tenzou's mention of 'another', however, Kakashi furrowed his brow.

"What do you mean 'if'? I thought you'd already found someone?"

It took a moment for the question to ease through the fog of his thoughts but once it did, Yamato turned to Kakashi, expression thoroughly confused.

"..Found someone? I'm not..with anyone like that, unless-" He cut himself off, suddenly struck with the thought of what he'd said and how it had sounded. "Did you think I meant Yukimi? I- No! She's..well, she's the most important person in my life but, she's my sister, adoptive or otherwise.."

His cheeks had been flushed from the alcohol already, but the confusion had added to their colour, casting shadows across his nose and ears in the light of the moon. Just thinking of Yukimi like that had him flustered, but confirmed or not, she was his big sister and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Kakashi's eyebrows rose with surprise, then fell with embarrassment just as easily as he realised the root of his mistake.

"Ah, so that's who you were with at the Lantern Festival..." he mumbled, more to himself than to Yamato. He should have guessed really, and - ignoring the strange feeling of weightlessness that had suddenly transpired in his chest where a feeling he couldn't name had been since he'd seen Yamato wrapped up the arms of a curly haired sunbeam of a girl - turned to Yamato with a sheepish smile showing in his two uncovered eyes.

"My mistake, I didn't realise that was Yukimi.."

The embarrassment had burnt off a little of the alcohol, but that was soon fixed with the last swig he took, polishing off the bottle of sake as he gave Kakashi a questioning look.

Realization was soon to strike though.

"Ah! So that's why you ignored her call after you..I did wonder, I know for a fact that your hearing isn't that bad.." He scoffed, clearly amused and nudged Kakashi with his elbow "You know you'll have to make it up to her, right? She won't forgive you otherwise."

His amusement turned into a bashful grin and Yamato dropped his chin, tugging the blanket closer again "..Were you worried about intruding?"
He couldn't quite fathom why that sort of consideration made him happy, maybe because it showed him that Kakashi cared? perhaps. Either way the warmth in his chest grew at the thought and he hugged his knees close self consciously.

Kakashi balked a little at the nudge; after all, he hadn't seen or heard from Yukimi beyond what Tenzou had relayed from her letters in over ten years, how was he suppose to make it up to her? And what was he even supposed to be making up? He honestly hadn't heard them!... Well, that was kind of a lie. He'd heard, but the last thing he'd wanted was to spend time or even greet what he'd thought at a glance was some relationship Yamato had been hiding. He felt silly for jumping to that conclusion now, especially since he should have really recognised the curly hair a mile off.

"I.. I thought that if she was your.. girlfriend, and you were hiding her away, only visiting her at the festival.. that you might have wanted to keep her a secret.." Kakashi muttered into his mask, then slipped it down to take another mouthful of sake, trying to ease the hot burn in his cheeks at admitting to his foolishness. "So. Yes, I suppose I was."

"Keeping a secret at a festival that most Konoha shinobi attend? I'm not that good a liar, Kakashi."

He giggled at the other mans assumption, genuinely amused that Kakashi had thought he'd been hiding a pretty girl all this time and reached for his sake bottle - only to find it woefully empty - and so set it aside with an exaggerated pout.

The cold was starting to creep in and it must have been approaching midnight by now, surely? Yamato huffed an impatient sigh after that, peering at the sky expectantly as he huddled into his blanket more and finished his thought.

"No, there's never been any midnight kisses waiting for me, Senpai." It was said with a smile, with no intention of sounding mournful.

Kakashi noted the pout, and with a wry smile brimming with affection he passed the remainder of his bottle over. He was pleasantly tipsy, enough to offer up the last third or so of his sake to chase that pout away should Yamato accept.

His words brought a silence to Kakashi, and considerations he probably shouldn't have been entertaining but ones that the sake deemed fit for a short moment of thought swam in his slightly hazy mind. He settled back a little more, casting a look skyward while he thought about his next words. Eventually, he spoke up.

"Have you ever come close to letting anyone in as close as you have Yukimi?" he muttered, his tone conversational, but his tone was quiet, almost fragile.

Any sulk that was brewing, evaporated at Kakashi's offer and he accepted the bottle, before giving it a smalls shake to assess it's content.
The murmured question gave him pause though and the sake bottle fell with his gaze, to settle awkwardly in his lap.

"Yeah, there's another.."

Yamato trailed off, swallowing thickly and unable to meet Kakashi's gaze. Of course he had, the man was sitting right next to him, always seemed to be within arms reach now, especially after so long apart but..

"..They broke my heart though. E-even before I knew that it was something you could give without realizing.."
He paused, swallowing again and smiling despite the sudden phantom ache in his chest. All of his emotions felt far too close, difficult to control, to hide in the manner he was used to, but he supposed it didn't matter now, inebriated as he was. He forged on.

"But they keep surprising me lately, as if they want to fix the damage..haven't been doing a half bad job either.."
Yamato laughed at that, a weak sounding chuckle and grasped his blanket in a death grip, even as he noticed the dampness collecting along his lashes.

Kakashi listened, waited, the sense of trepidation thick in the air and leaving him feeling like a small child waiting for a secret to be divulged. It was strange, hearing Yamato talk about feelings so freely, but he supposed it was equally strange for Yamato to be sharing these things equally with Kakashi. Sake could be a horrible mistress, but she certainly made honesty much simpler between them.

At Yamato's words, Kakashi's skin went cold with a strange shiver, as if it had only just noticed the coldness of the wind breezing over the rooftops.

Immediately his mind jumped to one person, and his mouth opened to suggest the name, but paused before it could form any resembelance of a word. It couldn't be Obito, could it? Kakashi knew all of Yamato's friends by proxy, and the only ones he was close enough to were himself and Obito. Naturally Kakashi's mind went straight to Obito, but something Yamato had said earlier - "Someone I could trust to keep me safe if I needed it and who wouldn't pity or look down on where I've come from, at the very least" - stuck in his mind and made the words catch in his throat.

Kakashi swallowed thickly.

Had he been the one Yamato had unwittingly given his heart to, and had he been the one to break it? Kakashi was so used to overlooking himself that it didn't seem possible, and yet there was no way it could be anyone else. For once logic overcame his insecurities and left him quietly speechless. In all honesty Kakashi had known all along, he'd known in ANBU and he'd known when Yamato cushioned himself against Kakashi in the hospital after their fight. He'd known when Yamato had held out his ANBU mask to him, and he'd known when he'd invitingly patted the space beside him on the roof... but something about hearing it from Yamato's mouth, even if it was just the suggestion of an admission, was staggering in a way Kakashi hadn't expected.

"...Does that mean you forgive them?.. For hurting you?.." he asked, quiet like a whisper on the wind, all thoughts of masking the affect the news was having on him gone. "And you don't.. expect anything from them?"

Edited 2015-01-09 02:09 (UTC)

The tears slid down his cheeks, prompted by the immediate nod of his head at Kakashi's tentative query.

Of course he did, he wanted to say, but the words stuck in his throat, blocked off by emotion and salt water.

He'd forgiven Kakashi the moment he'd stayed; not a day back into the village and he'd been drunk and hurting just like now and the older man had brushed slim fingers through his hair and for the first moment since he'd left..everything had felt okay again.

And that was it, wasn't it? Yamato had never once had to justify himself around Kakashi, not how he felt or what he thought, he could be foolish and weak without fear of reproach, even as far back as their first mission in ANBU and it was probably why he was finally able to admit this now.

A watery smile touched his lips and he drew up enough courage to meet the other mans eyes, ignoring the tear tracks down his own cheeks and the broken state of his voice.

"..I forgive you.."

Kakashi's breath all but stopped at that sight. He'd never seen Tenzou cry unless it was from a great deal of pain, but this was emotional and real and directed at him.. and Kakashi couldn't help but feel like all the wind had been knocked right out of him as he stared into Yamato's dark eyes. It was oddly beautiful, seeing someone so strong break down in a moment like this, and though it hurt Kakashi's heart to see him cry, he knew he wasn't doing it out of sadness, and that lifted his spirits like nothing else could. With Yamato's words, Kakashi heard something he didn't realise he'd been craving to hear since he'd left ANBU, and all he could do was stare.

Not for the first time, Kakashi tentatively rose a hand to delve into the hair at the back of Yamato's head, the action almost automatic as a response to seeing the man in some form of distress (usually a drunken one if their track record was anything to go by) as if he were stuck in a trance. In this position he couldn't exactly encourage Yamato to sleep off his sadness like he had when the pair had last been drunk and emotional together, so instead Kakashi dawdled on making any more moves and just ran the tips of his fingers through Yamato's hair for a moment, his uncovered palm enjoying the sensation as his brain tried to process everything that was happening all at once.

He wasn't sure when his brain had pushed his next move into motion until it was much too late to stop it. He had pushed forwards, the hand in Yamato's hair an anchor to reel the other man in closer as Kakashi shifted and finally, finally pressed their lips together. His were still covered by the fabric of his mask, but it didn't matter as the heat of Yamato's breath still seeped through the fabric, and over a decades worth of tension seemed to bleed from his frame.

The touch was more than welcome and Yamato leaned into the careful brush of fingers, letting his lashes flutter closed.

The tension between them was palpable, reminding him of the wait for the first strike in a battle, but when the next movement came he didn't even attempt to defend himself.

Breath first, then a brush of familiar fabric, covering the press of a warm mouth he'd never expected against his own. His breathing stalled and Yamato held perfectly still under the pressure, because wasn't this just the stuff of long squashed dreams..perhaps that was why he suddenly felt so terrified.

It started with a tremble in his hands. The blanket, the sake bottle, both sat forgotten in favor of reaching out to grip the fabric of Kakashi's shirt, seeking
reassurance even as he pressed the minutest amount back into the kiss.

Kakashi's body felt detached from the kiss, like he and Yamato were a million miles away from the two shinobi sitting on the roof of a tea house together, and the only thing anchoring them together was the join of their lips. He felt the tremble in Yamato's hand and probably would have pulled away had it not been for the small reciprocation the other man offered in the form of the slightest press of lips returned to him.

The hand in Yamato's hair stayed resolute, keeping him close. It was then that the sudden explosion of fireworks pierced the dark sky, but Kakashi didn't and wouldn't pull away. If anything his kiss became more insistent, his mind swirling in an excited haze, unable to ignore how romantic this seemed... how perfect it was.

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