Tripwire

Tripwire

Summary- Kissing was foreplay. It didn't belong in the moments after this kind of sex. Boyfriends kissed and cuddled. Friends drank sake and compared battle scars.

Disclaimer- I really, really wish that I owned Naruto. Alas, it is only a wish.

AN- This is a one-shot, albeit, a really long one divided into two parts because it was almost 14,000 words long. For the readers of Rumor Has It, I'll be updating that in a few days. In the meantime, enjoy Part I!!!

*^*^*^*^* signals beginning/end of a flashback
********* signals time passing

Tripwire


Genma Shiranui was staring at his bed, debating on whether or not it was time to crawl beneath the covers for the night. It was just past midnight on a Saturday night in Konohakagure. The bars and clubs would be still be open for another couple of hours. The rational part of Genma told him to go to bed. He was scheduled for a B-ranked week long mission to Bird Country with Raido early the next morning. The irrational, horny part was telling him to go out and get laid.

Maybe the rational and irrational parts of Genma could come to a compromise. He needed to sleep and he needed to have sex. In his mind, neither was more important than the other. He liked to sleep-in on days off, he liked to have sex everyday, and he loved falling asleep after a few exhausting rounds of amazing sex. Logically speaking, he would probably sleep better if he had sex first.

He sighed in frustration. *Just drink some sake and go to sleep* his rational half commanded. *Raido will be pissed off if you show up late tomorrow morning because you had a hard time getting some clingy woman out of your apartment before you had to leave and set the security traps. Just go to bed.*

Then again, who said he had to have sex in his apartment? He could just go to *his* place and leave when done. Or, he could do it hard and fast up against the wall in the bathroom of a bar. He didn't care where and he didn't care with who, he just cared about getting some.

No, he was going to be responsible about this. He had a mission, he had a partner not to disappoint, he was going to bed. Reluctantly, he trudged to the bathroom to brush his teeth, wriggling out of his pants until he could step out of them and onto the cool tile of the bathroom. His jonin issue vest and shirt followed shortly afterwards.

His near naked state made his desire even worse. The rim of the sink against his belly, his arm brushing against the bare skin of his arm were threatening to make him hard. He wished, fervently, that the responsible part of him would go to hell and let him go get laid. Where was this sudden adult streak coming from anyway? When he wasn't on a mission or on duty, he didn't need to be so uptight. Nobody's life was on the line, no threats of death were trying to hide their chakra signals behind rocky outcrops. There had to be a balance in the life of a shinobi between work and life; a thin line divided the two, and Genma was always careful to keep them as separate as possible.

There were shinobi who didn't recognize that line. Their work was their life, and their life was work. Gai Maito was one of those shinobi. He did everything for Konoha, ate, slept, fought, trained, breathed for the village. Duty to Konoha was essential for a shinobi. They took a vow to protect Konoha and it's citizens from danger no matter what, a vow which Genma didn't take lightly.

Life was not just about Konoha, however. Genma loved Konoha desperately, having lived here his entire life. His family, his friends, his fellow shinobi that he respected were in Konoha and he would die to keep them safe. But there had to be a balance. If life became *all* about work, then living ceased and existing began. A shinobi needed personal time to edge the sting of brushes of near-death encounters, to ease the burn from the memory of deceased comrades. It made their increased mortality easier with which to cope.

That was how Genma coped with the difficult to swallow aspects of life, the moments where waking up the next morning seemed pointless. Sex. It was something he enjoyed immensely, both for the relaxing quality of it and the pure pleasure it provided. Genma had a lot of sex. He originally only went for women in this teenage years, but since then his sexual repetiteur had expanded to include men thanks to a random night of drunken sex with a friend.

*^*^*^*^*

"Whaddya say thi'stuff was again?" his friend asked. He could hear the slur in his own voice. Damn Genma and his borderline alcoholic tendencies. It was leaking over to him.

"I dunno," Genma replied, intently examining his glass like it would suddenly jump out and tell him what it was made of. Maybe it would, he thought. It was fizzing an awful lot. Kinda alive. He took a tentative sip of the murky colored fizz and grimaced. "Nasty, though."

"Huh." The world was a little off everywhere. The widows were too far away, he suddenly had more than five fingers on his hand, and his breathing was too loud. It felt good. "Pass it o'er here."

"Don' say I didn' warn ya."

The jonin took a sip. Then another sip and another sip and soon the colors in the bar were bleeding together and the lights were too bright. He didn't usually drink like this, but Genma had roped him into coming out with him and a couple of friends. Raido was around somewhere. Asuma too, but he'd lost track of him.

Pretty soon, Genma was eying up the women that passed by. He slouched against the bar, legs planted firmly on the barstool to keep his balance. The senbon was between his teeth and his friend couldn't help but think it was a miracle he didn't accidently swallow it.

"Hey, sweetheart," he crooned to a redhead waltzing by with another female friend. Probably on their way to the bathroom. "You want some company?"

The one woman pointedly ignored him. The other gave him a little wave as she retreated. Genma grinned and licked his senbon suggestively. She blushed as her friend tugged her hand viciously.

"How is it that women find you attractive?"

Genma eyed Kakashi critically. "How is it you don'?" He smirked. "With your preferences I'd think you'd be comin' onta me more of'en."

"Who says I don' find ya attractive?" his friend countered. He thought about Genma's soft eyes that laughed, his smooth white neck. The silver flash of the needle between his lips. Genma was definitely hot, he couldn't deny that. The alcohol just loosened his tongue enough to let him say it.

Genma looked away quickly, lips pursed. Pretending that he wasn't uneasy with the admission.

Fuck, this is why he didn't drink.

"You think I'm hot, huh?" Genma said suddenly. His honey brown eyes locked on Kakashi's visible grey eye intensely. Nervous, but steady. "You never act like it."

"Don' wanna scare you away," he mumbled over his own insecurity and the influence of the strange drink. "I don' have many friends."

"I know," Genma sympathized. He patted Kakashi's hand in a rare show of alcohol induced caring. When he made a move to pull away, however, he was stopped by Kakashi's strong, long fingers locking around his hand. Genma could only watch, half in wonder half in unease as calloused finger caressed his scarred palm, his wrist, his knuckles. He couldn't decide if he should pull away because it was frightening strange or frighteningly good.

He guessed it didn't matter, so he didn't move.

"I don' wanna scare you," he repeated, softly.

What was it about that hand that was sending such delicious shivers up his arm? Had to be the callouses. "I'm not scared."

The hand moved farther up his arm.

*^*^*^*^*

Raido called him a man-whore. Genma wasn't offended. He was a whore. If offered, he would have sex for money. His favorite activity plus money, did life get better than that?

Not that it was about money. It was about allowing himself moments when he didn't have to think about how this could potentially be his last night on earth. Sex wipes the mind blank from everything expect blind, unadulterated feeling. He practiced sex, honed his expertise by screwing with any attractive man or woman that walked by, be they perfect strangers or good friends. And he wasn't adverse to repeat jaunts with someone who was good in the sack.

In Genma's opinion, there were relationships, and there was sex. At one point he'd decided that it would be a good idea to combine the two. And that had been a disaster. A disaster that he would do anything not to repeat.

He'd survived this long without a significant other. Why complicate a good thing?

Screw this. He was going out.

Genma rinsed the toothpaste from his mouth. He splashed on a little perfume to mask the scent of sweat from the day and went to put some casual clothes on. He managed to locate a clean shirt, but his drawers were devoid of pants. Must be a pair in the living room. He did laundry a few days ago, so something had to be clean somewhere.

As he suspected, a basket of laundry was perched on one of the kitchen chairs, overflowing onto the table and the floor. Genma cringed, remembering that he'd thrown his soiled jonin uniform in there yesterday. He really had to work on his housekeeping skills. Still, clean clothes were in there too, hopefully at the bottom where the chance of contamination was decreased. He didn't want mud on his pants tonight.

Tossing article of clothing after article of clothing onto the floor, Genma was caught off guard by the sudden flare of chakra somewhere behind him. Someone had gotten past his traps and into his apartment. In lieu of a weapon (the senbon was on the rim of the bathroom sink) he hurled a rolled up sock at the intruder with the force of a heavy stone.

The intruder caught it with practiced ease. A crinkle of amusement was visible in his uncovered eyes, his frame slouched against the door jam familiarly. "No need to be so hostile, Genma."

Genma threw another sock, this one not intended to kill. Kakashi let it hit him. It bounced off his arm and landed on the floor near his bare feet. "You irritating prick. Why do you always sneak up on me like that?"

"Because it pisses you off," he replied evenly. He unfolded himself from his position, kicking the sock back towards it's owner. Genma’s kitchen was a mess. Clothes were everywhere, dishes scattered on the counter, a spilled box of cereal near the stove. The living room had been no better, with blankets and pillows thrown about, magazines and newspaper crowding the coffee table. "Housekeeper on vacation?"

"Permanent vacation," he corrected blithely, throwing a dirty shirt over his shoulder. "I don't have time to clean."

"Hn," he scoffed. "You have more time than I do."

"You live in a one room apartment," Genma shot back. "What's there to clean?" Unlike the other jonin who moved out of the bachelor apartments when they saved up enough money, Kakashi was still living there. He liked the privacy of his small space.

"I didn't come here for verbal abuse," Kakashi said as he took a few steps closer, stepping delicately over the strewn clothing. "Nice outfit, by the way."

Genma waggled his hips in Kakashi’s smug face. "Kiss my ass, bastard."

Kakashi snaked his arms around Genma's waist, pulling him close in only a pair of boxers and an unbuttoned shirt. "That’s not exactly what I want to do to you ass, but if you're into that kind of thing, then I'm game too."

Genma thought about making an escape, but in reality, Kakashi couldn't have shown up at a more convenient time. He was already half undressed. "Who says I'm going to let you do anything to *my* ass?" He inquired as strong gloved hands splayed over his stomach, the mere touch sending electric signals down his spine to his groin. "Your ass is looking pretty good to me."

"Keep dreaming, Genma," Kakashi admonished, mask covered lips brushing the shell of his ear. "I don’t do uke."

Genma pushed down the growing feeling of fire in his nerves long enough to twist in Kakashi's hold. They were now standing face to face. "Pity. Guess you should find yourself another piece of ass."

This was a game they always played when it came to bedroom jaunts. Genma would fight off Kakashi’s advances for as long as he could(which wasn't very long, but he had his pride), refusing to have sex until Kakashi agreed to be uke. Kakashi would very sexily persuade him of the merits of being uke by way of an extremely talented mouth and Genma would end up on his back, or on his knees depending on how rowdy they were feeling that particular night. It was routine, a tradition between the two that was just as enjoyable as sex itself. A little bit of verbal sparring to help get the blood boiling.

The look in Kakashi's eye told Genma that he wasn't in the mood for that tonight. Even with the mask on, Genma could detect the firm line of Kakashi's lips, set in a disconcerting brood. Something had happened to the Copy-nin tonight, something that was obviously bothering him enough not to convince Genma of his subservient position. He leaned back a little, putting just enough distance between them to look Kakashi fully in the face. "Bad night?"

His sometimes lover sighed lightly. "You could say that."

"Wanna talk about it?" he persisted as he reached up to pull the mask down, revealing a face that was exquisitely handsome, but currently consumed by something unfamiliar. He looked upset. Genma remembered the last time Kakashi had been upset, and that was just two years ago, right after Sasuke left for Sound. Kakashi had come to him then as well, very much like he was doing now.

Kakashi shook his head. Genma bit his lip in thought. Whatever had happened was bothering Kakashi pretty badly and he was looking for Genma to take his mind off of it for a little while. Words of comfort were not what he was looking for, but rather the touch of another human being. As his friend, Genma wouldn't deny him that.

Without another word, Genma pulled the silver haired jonin down for an open mouthed kiss. Kakashi responded immediately, probing his tongue past the soft curve of lips and the hard lines of teeth into Genma's inviting mouth. There was a clash of heat as tongue danced with tongue like tribal warriors in a cave on a humid summer night, the feeling of closeness closing in on them, pushing them further into each other until Genma felt as if his body was going to meld right into Kakashi's.

Genma let out a low moan as the dance died down and Kakashi was taking full reign of Genma's mouth. He explored every hidden crevice with vigor, hands meanwhile roaming over the expanse of Genma’s partially exposed chest. Genma gasped as his hands brushed a nipple, groaned as his lip was nipped gently, tried to pull himself closer by wrapping his hands in the silver hair above him. Just kissing him was never enough when it came to Kakashi. He wanted, no, *needed* more than that. He needed to feel Kakashi's cock inside of him, hitting his pleasure spot over and over again.

Kakashi felt the same way. "Bed," he murmured into Genma's mouth, accidently biting the kiss-swollen flesh. Genma winced and shuddered.

"Couch. Closer." He let Kakashi maneuver him away from the table and backwards to the living room without complaint. His shirt and Kakashi's jonin vest were pushed hastily off shoulders as they moved, too impatient to make it to the bedroom.

Genma was almost entirely naked as his back came in contact with the fabric of his couch. It wasn't fair that he was so naked while Kakashi was wearing just about all of his clothes. "You getting naked anytime soon?" he said through harsh pants. Kakashi's tongue and teeth were doing amazing things to his neck. Genma willingly tipped his head back to give him more flesh to bite. The cool metal of his forehead protector made goose bumps erupt on the skin of his neck, over which Kakashi ran his tongue, an erotic contrast of heat and chill.

"I will," he soothed, applying his teeth to Genma's collarbone. "I'm just enjoying your body first." He emphasized his point with a hand on Genma's stomach, lightly massaging his abs and feathering around his navel.

Genma retaliated by creeping his hands up Kakashi's shirt, going right for Kakashi's most sensitive body part. He rolled one of the hard nubs between his fingers insistently, dragging a low groan out of his friend's throat. Genma knew from experience that nipples were a highly erogenous zone on the male body, one which the females he was with often overlooked. But when he was with another guy, he always made such to lavish plenty of attention to the neglected area. "What if I want to enjoy your body too?" he whispered huskily.

Kakashi looked down at him lustfully, enhanced by the recent removal of his forehead protector to reveal his blood-red Sharingan eye. Even with mismatched irises and a long scar down the middle of his left eye, Genma couldn't imagine him being any goddamned sexier. There was something about the imperfection of his features that made the aloof jonin seem more human. When the mask and forehead protector were in place, he was Copy Ninja Kakashi, the man who copied a thousand jutsu. When they were down, he was just Kakashi, right there and very much an imperfect human.

His answer to Genma's query was the stripping off of his shirt and gloves at a record speed. Genma just laid back and reveled in the sight of Kakashi's bare flesh, pale and glorious right above him. Kakashi let him touch all he wanted, hands returning the favor over supple flesh. They simply touched for a while, breaths coming out in whispers and gasps. It was amazing to Genma how such a thing as basic as touch was so erotic, so sexually satisfying. Normally, he liked fast sex with instant gratification. With Kakashi it was different. He didn’t mind taking his time.

Kakashi ended their moment of slowness by raising Genma's hips to slide his boxers off. Once again Genma felt that Kakashi ought to have been more naked but he didn't have a chance to object. Kakashi’s mouth had followed in the wake of Genma's boxers, sealing off his cock in wet heat. Genma groaned at the hot pressure surrounding his erection, squirming as teeth dragged up the sensitive flesh. His tongue ran up and down the underside along the vein, teasing Genma mercilessly. He could only whimper from the attention that wasn’t quite enough to let him cum yet dangerously close. Lick, bite, suck, lick, bite, suck, each action driving him right to the brink before pulling him back. It wasn't fast enough, it wasn't deep enough, it wasn’t hot enough, and Kakashi was holding his hips down to keep him from thrusting forward into more of that heat so that all he could do was arch his back so far off the couch that he thought his spine was going to break. Kakashi smirked around Genma's cock as the whimpers escalated into heady moans of need. He was painfully hard himself determined to make his friend as desperate for him as possible before he buried himself inside that ass.

Finally, Kakashi decided that Genma'd had enough torture, however pleasurable it might have been. He kissed him deeply one last time before getting to his feet and padding into the kitchen to retrieve the hand lotion Genma kept by the sink. He never asked to be prepared, but Genma would kill him if he didn’t at least make the intrusion less painful.

By the time Kakashi returned he was already naked, pants abandoned somewhere between the kitchen and the couch. Genma was on his feet. He smirked mischievously at Kakashi and took the lotion bottle from his hands. "Sit," he commanded. "I'll do it."

He quirked an eyebrow but complied, eying Genma suspiciously. "No tricks, Shiranui."

"No tricks," Genma promised. "I just don't think you need to be doing all the work." He lathered a generous amount of lotion on his hands and moved them to Kakashi's cock, slathering it from head to hilt. "So relax," he crooned as he moved to straddle Kakashi, positioning himself precariously over the waiting cock, "and make sure I don’t fall off."

"I can do that," Kakashi assured him. With a grin, Genma began to lower himself downward, letting Kakashi's arms around hip waist keep him steady. The familiar sensation of being stretched beyond his capacity temporarily overloaded his pain circuits. A gasp of pain escaped his lips as he pushed a little further, trying to get this part over with as quickly as possible. Kakashi had no idea why Genma didn't want to be stretched. Maybe he'd had so much sex that the initial pain wasn't enough to bother him unduly. Kakashi helped him out anyway by fluttering distracting kisses from his jaw down to his nipples, soothing the pain.

"Alright?" Kakashi teased, lips upturned in a smile around Genma's nipple.

His friend leered down at him. "Like riding a bronco, babe."

"Don't call me babe," Kakashi warned mildly. "I'll push you off."

The leer didn't budge. Rather, it gained solidity the next time he looked up at it. Kakashi once thought that he was the stubbornest man alive. Then, he met Genma.

"You got it." Genma said as he began to move. "Babe." Kakashi was going to have to kill him. But not now. Later. When Genma wasn't riding his cock, muscles rippling under smooth skin. When his breathing wasn't hitching in his throat. When he stopped feeling so goddamned good.

He started out slowly, still getting used the sensation. Being filled by another person was strange and wonderful sensation, a contrast of pleasure and pain, unnatural and perfectly right. Kakashi was overcome by the tight silkiness of the entrance surrounding him, feeling like liquid velvet, like warm honey, like melted chocolate.

They found a rhythm together. After six years of being on and off sex buddies, they were more than familiar with each others’ like and dislikes. Genma knew how Kakashi sounded when he flicked his tongue across his bottom lip and Kakashi knew that Genma's golden brown eyes rolled back when he sucked on his ear lobe. With each of Genma’s downward thrusts Kakashi thrust up to meet him, pushing himself deeper into the tight cavern contracting around his cock. He held onto Genma's hip so that Genma could concentrate on finding that spot inside himself, that spot that would make him groan loud enough for the neighbors to hear.

A long groan signaled that he'd found what he was looking for. The muscles in Genma's stomach tightened under Kakashi's hands as they ran up and down his body, always coming back to rest around his hips before traveling up again as he wiped away sweat and urged Genma onward.

"Oh Kami," Genma said in a breathy moan. "Oh Kami, yes. . .oh, ahh, please." He was begging for a release, from himself, from Kakashi. He was so close now, the sweet, burning fire clenching in his stomach. Everything was tight, his muscles straining as he continued to push himself up and down and up again. Kakashi aided him by thrusting upward just a little harder, hitting that little bundle of nerves deep within Genma's body. He was just as close as Genma was to letting go at this point. A few more times and he was sure that he would topple over the brink into the black abyss of emptiness felt for just a moment after orgasm where the world disappeared and all he could do was feel pleasure wash through his body muscle by muscle.

"Uuhh, Genma. Just, a little. More. Ahh, fuck."

More moans followed, some short and strangled, some long and luxurious. They had all the time in the world and yet none at all. Genma felt like his heart was beating too furiously in his chest, trying to break past his rib cage. Even so, he moved faster, faster, too fast. The world was hazy. But Kakashi's eyes were clear in all the chaos, two mismatched beacons of sanity looking at him under lowered eyelids as if there was no one else. And at the moment, there wasn't.

Maybe it was those eyes that finally did him in, combined with the heat coiling in every nerve ending in his body and the feel of sweaty friction. He came with a shudder and a half groan half scream between their bodies, coating Kakashi's already wet body with cum. The contractions of Genma's inner muscles around his cock milked the orgasm from him with a choked out moan and pulled all of the tension of waiting from his muscles until he felt virtually boneless. Genma's lost his pace as converted to rocking gently, not stopping until he was sure that Kakashi had finished completely.

Genma collapsed sideways onto the couch with an exhausted, sweaty and soon to be sticky, but contented sigh. Kakashi slumped back into cushions happily. Both parties were feeling incredibly sated. "So," Genma said lazily. "What did you come here for?"

Kakashi issued a short bark of laughter. "That was exactly what I came here for." He rubbed his thigh in a show of gratitude. "Tonight has been, well, weird."

"Hmm," Genma hummed non-commitally. It was better if he didn't push Kakashi into talking. His friend would confide in him when and if he wanted. "What do you say to some sake?" A little bit of alcohol in his system would loosen Kakashi's tongue just enough to talk without feeling like a simpering woman.

"I say I'll meet you in the bedroom."

********

Ten minutes later both men were cleaned up and settled in Genma’s bed with a half drunken bottle of sake between them. Genma traded his usual senbon for a cigarette, which he smoked as an occasional indulgence. Kakashi never minded when Genma lit up after sex. It was just something he did when he was really relaxed.

Kakashi took a long swig of sake. Genma followed suit. "Is it just me," he ventured "or does sex actually get better with age?"

"It could just be sex with each other that gets better with age," Kakashi pointed out. "We have damn good sex when we're together."

"Hey, I have damn good sex all the time," Genma said as he exhaled. "But I'll admit it. You're pretty good."

"Pretty good?"

"Don't fish for compliments, Hatake. Your vanity is showing."

"Fine, I'll take pretty good." He knocked back a mouthful of drink. "But you're a liar."

"I never lie about sex," Gemna said in mock seriousness. "That's like sacrilege."

"Hn. Does faking it count as lying?"

"You'd better not be talking about me," he warned as he swiped the sake bottle from the silver-haired jonin’s clutches. "I will not hesitate to hurt you."

"Never even crossed my mind," he reassured his friend. "You fall into a whole other category, Gen."

"What, fantastic? Phenomenal?

Kakashi smirked and reclaimed the bottle. "Pretty good."

"You're a jackass." Genma snuffed out the cigarette in an ashtray and rolled on his side to face Kakashi. "Is your tongue loose yet? Cause I need to sleep soon. I can't wait forever for you to spill your fucking sorrows."

Kakashi frowned. His mask was still off lying somewhere in the living room with the rest of his discarded clothes and he felt even more naked (if that was possible as they were both completely nude). Luckily, it was only Genma. Genma had seen him without his mask plenty of times without saying a word about his father. He knew without a doubt that his friend would never do that.

*^*^*^*^*

Genma traced the sharp angles of Kakashi's face in the dark, illuminated by the moonlight seeping through the window of his apartment. Three times now they'd ended up in bed together. This time, Genma had insisted that the mask come off. He didn't want to sleep with a masked man, even if he knew who was behind the black cloth.

"What's so fascinating about my face?" Kakashi asked in nervous sleepiness. He was feeling edgy from the vulnerability of it all, the way Genma’s finger lingered near the Sharingan eye, the way he was looking at him like he suddenly understood something.

"You aren't hideous," Genma said, answering him but not really. "That's what some of the chunin say about you. That you're deformed."

"They aren't talking about my face," Kakashi said to the ceiling, the dark abyss where words dissolved in the air.

Genma understood. He'd been eleven at the time, when the news of Sakumo Hatake's suicide was made known to the whole village. His parents had toasted the demise of a shame to the name of Konoha. He remembered being allowed to drink a tiny sip of sake for the occasion. Shame.

He ran his finger down the scar, smooth and pink. What had happened to his real eye, Genma didn't know, or care really. It was just a scar. There was another one along his jaw line, chin to ear lobe.

Kakashi had a lot of scars, it seemed. Invisible ones he his behind a shroud of black.

"Hn," he grunted. "Crazy chunin."

*^*^*^*^*^*

Kakashi removed his mask for few people. Reading Icha Icha Paradise unabashedly on the streets of Konoha and in front of small children had earned him the reputation for being something of a pervert, and perverts, of course, must automatically be whores. That wasn't true. Kakashi didn't have anywhere close to enough sex (sadly) to be labeled a whore. He didn’t have anywhere close to as much sex as he would have liked. Missions took time and energy, more time and energy than he had sometimes.

So Kakashi let people call him a perverted whore. What did he care what they thought of him? The label was actually beneficial for him. It kept relationship-seeking singles looking for love from knocking on the door of his bachelor pad. Kakashi didn't do love, and he didn't do relationships. He could barely commit to sex, much less a relationship full of expectations. Be home for dinner, talk about feelings, come back alive. That part was hard. Kakashi had always come back alive, sometimes barely, but still alive. Others hadn't.

Besides, he was set in his ways by now. Kakashi was perfectly content having a few close sex partners in place of a typical relationship. They were undemanding, safe, and satisfying as long as both parties observed the rules: do not get so attached that you're offended when a partner is busy, do not expect love that isn't platonic, treat your partner like a friend and not a boyfriend, and above all, do not kiss unless you're after something more. Kissing was foreplay. It didn't belong in the moments after this kind of sex. Boyfriends kissed and cuddled. Friends drank sake and compared battle scars. Friends weren't as hard to lose as people you were in love with.

*^*^*^*^*

"Kakashi-kun," the Fourth said lightly, carefully. The thirteen year old was just up ahead, standing in front of the monument where Obito's name was carved last week. He didn't make a move to indicate that he'd heard the blonde jonin.

He was worried about his former student. After Obito's death in Grass Country, Kakashi was skittish, edgy, unfocused. Losing a comrade was hard for all ninja, but Kakashi was so young still. Thirteen and already a jonin, same as him. Thirteen and unable to handle the emotional tax of death.

"Kakashi-kun," he ventured again, coming to stand besides the boy. Kakashi didn't move, didn't blink. He was a half an hour late for their scheduled lunch date. That was what sent the Fourth looking for him in a panic. Kakashi and late in the same sentence? Obito had always been the late one, pissing Kakashi off to no end. "Did you forget about lunch?"

Kakashi shook his head and the Fourth contained a sigh of relief, happy that the boy had responded. Still, he wished the boy would give him an explanation. His silence was too heavy.

"He's not here because of me." The young boy's voice cut through the Fourth's heart like jagged metal. He touched the forehead protector drawn down over his replacement eye, touched the name on the stone. "Dead."

The Fourth crouched down to Kakashi's height, placing a comforting hand lightly on his bony shoulder. The boy was thin yet, muscles a process in the works. "He died because he cared about you," he explained. "That's what friends do for each other. We have to protect the precious people in our lives."

"I didn't ask to be his precious person." His voice was cold, too cold, trying to freeze tears before they fell. "I didn't, sensei."

"I know." Carefully, the jonin pulled the boy into a hug. Kakashi didn't return the embrace, but he didn't push him away either. That had to be a good sign.

"I didn't ask for this, sensei." The already frail voice was splintering into a thousand pieces, flying everywhere. "I didn't ask him to do it."

The jonin just hugged Kakashi tighter. His heart was pounding in his chest. "We never do," he whispered in return.

*^*^*^*^*^*

Genma understood the rules perfectly. He never asked for anything more than a night of good sex and a cup of tea the next morning if they both had the time. They would fuck, drink, smoke, talk, fuck again, and feel safe with the knowledge that there were no strings attached to the arrangement. If one of them got up and left, they could come back two weeks later without penalty, anger, jealousy, or resentment. For that, Genma was allowed to see the face under the mask more frequently than anyone else. He was, in Kakashi's experience, the perfect sex partner.

Yes, Genma understood the rules. Kakashi understood them too, lived by them. Until tonight.

"Fuck," Genma scowled as he lit another cigarette. "Maybe you should chug the whole damn bottle. Will that make you talk? 'Cause seriously, I need to hit the sack soon."

Kakashi thieved the cigarette from Genma with nimble fingers. He took a deep drag and exhaled slowly. He didn’t smoke often, but tonight the cloud of smoke gave him a sense of security, like a screen. "I made a mistake."

Genma took back the proffered cigarette. "Hn. Well, isn't that something?"

This was harder than he thought. It was strange enough admitting to himself that it happened. Saying it aloud was going to feel too tangible. Kakashi would have liked to keep it a secret. Unfortunately, it wasn't simple enough to remain unspoken. "I slept with Gai."

Genma abruptly choked on smoke. "You *what*?" he strangled out between coughs.

He was not going to repeat himself. Saying it once was painful enough. Genma's coughing fit subsided gradually. Damned Kakashi, catching him off guard like that. Couldn't he have eased him into something so, so, mind-blowingly shocking? "Why?!"

Kakashi shrugged. That was a loaded question. Gai was more than just his rival. He was one of Kakashi's closest friends. Sure, he was strange, dramatic, and in desperate need of some tweezers, but he was unfailingly there for support when Kakashi needed him. Kakashi trusted him with his life.

Earlier, they had done something that friends shouldn't do. They had sex.

Genma sighed and took a long swig of sake to sedate his brain. "Explain yourself before I kick you out. It's almost one."

"It's a long story," Kakashi warned. "You sure you need to hear this? I know you value your sleep."

Genma looked at the clock, then turned back and grinned ironically. "Hell, I'm already up, right?"