Beware a Kakashi with Dangos

Sorry, no lemon yet. Easing into it. hehehe Lemon cuming (pun) next chapter.

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Kakashi came home tired. Cleaning up after another team was tiring and annoying. He just wanted to sleep even though it wasn’t long after sunset. He lay down on his sofa for a moment, just to regain enough strength to fix something to eat. He finally levered himself up and searched his cabinet for something fast and easy. Instant ramen. God, how old is that? Kakashi groaned. He’ll just go to bed hungry.

Then there was a knock at the door. It better be someone bearing food. I even be happy if it’s Gai as long as he has something edible.

It wasn’t Gai.

“’Tachi?”

Itachi raised a bag of take out. “Are you hungry, Sempai?”

“Itachi, I love you.” Itachi blushed. “I’m starving.” He practically yanked Itachi into the house.

Kakashi pulled down his mask and let his face be freely exposed in front of Itachi. He didn’t talk until the pain of his hunger was appeased and then he could slow down. Itachi didn’t say anything and looked a bit withdrawn.

“Something wrong? I thought you’d be spending the day with your brother.”

“I spent most of the day with him. But I just had to get out of there.”

Kakashi didn’t want to pry, but he was curious; he said nothing.

“My father came home and started in on me for . . . for a lot of things. I nodded, remained silent, then left before anyone could stop me. I don’t want to go back at all tonight. Though that will just make things harder tomorrow. I just need to stay away for a few hours. Thought I could bribe you to let me hang out here ‘til then.”

“You don’t have to bribe me. But tonight, I would have demanded food anyway. You recover well?”

“Yes, thanks to you. I’m just a little sore today.”

Kakashi looked at him a little closer. Itachi was always quite and subdued, but even more so tonight. Then he saw what he was trying to hide behind the hair that was not gathered in the ponytail. A welt. Kakashi leaned forward and moved the hair out of the way, startling Itachi slightly, but he only pulled back an inch. He had a developing welt on his right cheekbone.

“You didn’t have that yesterday.”

Itachi looked down. “My father backhanded me when I talked back to him. I told him I wasn’t a child for him to order me around anymore. I’m in ANBU, doesn’t that count for something? But he told me I was a child and an Uchiha, not to mention, his son, and I will do everything he tells me. At least Sasuke didn’t hear or see that. I said ‘yes, sir’ with as much sarcasm as I could, went outside and jumped to my window. I got my wallet and stuff, told Sasuke I wouldn’t be home until very late and he shouldn’t wait up for me, and left.”

Kakashi got up, dug out some ice, bundled it in a towel, and gently placed it against Itachi’s cheek.

“Thank you. Do you think I’m still a child?”

“I have to keep reminding myself you’re only thirteen. I guess, no. But you are only thirteen. Was this the first time he hit you?”

“No. But it’s only started recently. I’m getting sick of him telling me what to do. He expects too much of me. He thinks of me as a child he can order around, but then he expects more from me than he should a child. I wish I could run away. I thought joining ANBU would free me of his influence, just a little. He doesn’t give me a choice.”

“Well he is the leader of your clan. Really it’s no different than just being a shinobi: we’re assigned missions and we complete them. You can reject to do the mission, like my father, but look how that ended.”

Itachi looked up at him. “But your father preserved the lives of his comrades. At least that’s something.”

“Rightly or wrongly, he was blamed for later losses. And then he killed himself. I was left alone. If that were to happen to you, think of your brother.”

“You’re forgetting; any day we can be killed on a mission. But you’re right. You know what my main goal in surviving is? Protecting Sasuke from father’s expectations.”

Kakashi finished his meal. “Is it the marriage thing? Or has he also decided you’ll head he Police like him? Got your whole life planned out?”

“Something like that. He also wants me to do missions for the clan in addition to my ANBU missions. It’s impossible.” He toyed with the last pieces of food in the box. Kakashi had never seen Itachi’s emotions so close to the surface. “My mother saw all that though. She knows there’s nothing she can do. She objects to what my father’s doing to me, but she can’t do anything. My cousin thinks I’m being a brat about it. I can’t talk to Sasuke, he doesn’t understand, and I don’t want him to understand.”

Kakashi leaned forward, pulled the ice pack from Itachi’s cheek, then pulled Itachi forward. Itachi let out all the emotions he’d been holding in for months now. Kakashi kept one reassuring arm around his back while the other hand caressed and gently mused his hair, eventually working out the band that held the ponytail.

Kakashi was made fully aware of how young Itachi was, but at the same time, he wanted to possess him more and more. It wasn’t just lust anymore; he was falling in love with the little raven. Maybe it was the fact he was falling in love with him that prevented him from taking advantage of Itachi’s venerability now.

Itachi calmed, but he didn’t pull away. He felt safe and somehow like he could cry on Kakashi’s shoulder without him thinking less of him. His mother had held him like this, but never his father. Always stern and distant when it came to affection. Kakashi’s embrace was comforting.

“You can always come here when you need to. Even if I’m not here, you can hang out for a while.”

“Thank you, Sempai.”

He pulled back and Kakashi put the ice pack back in place. “Want to get rid of that as quickly as possible.”

“I think you’re the only one who would recognize that I got this after yesterday’s mission. See you tomorrow.”