The marred scarring joined in a perfect line over his sharingan as he closed it, and his unscathed eye regarded Yamato with an apprehensive look long after the man had finished speaking. He knew he wouldn't be able to wriggle out of this one, despite how much he wanted to make a fuss over the tea getting cold and use it as a distraction to change the subject... Yamato wouldn't let that lie. Not now.

"I..." he began, then paused. His hand shifted of it's own accord, pressing a bare palm across the back of the hand Yamato had on his face; a mirror of the way Yamato had held Kakashi's hand to his face as they woke in the new year. He kept Yamato's touch close, constant, cradling and supportive. He knew he'd need it.

"I know you forgive me for what happened, I understand you don't hold anything against me.. But I can't forgive myself for what I did. Maybe it would be better if I'd done it purposely and repented somehow, but... I didn't. I didn't think for a moment what leaving unannounced might do to you. I broke your heart, Tenzou," He didn't even spare a moment to re-track and correct the name - he was on a roll and wouldn't stop till all the words had fallen out. "And I had no idea. How could I hurt someone I care about so much, so badly, without realising?"