Ryuzaki was late. He tried to blame Kakashi sleeping in, but in reality they’d spent just a bit too much time snuggled in bed together that morning. Tsunade was peeved, she had a grocery list of tests to run, much to Ryuzaki’s dismay. She started with the basics, blood pressure, heart beat, verbal evaluations. Then moved on to blood, urine, lung capacity; about the time she started talking about ultrasounds, Ryuzaki started to protest.
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“Tsunade,” he started carefully, “you know where the problem areas are.”
“I am checking, to ensure nothing else flares up.”
“Give it a day, it’ll flare.” He kicked a leg, gesturing to his knee.
“You realize this disease could lead to inflammation of your urinary system? Kidney failure, liver failure, appendicitis; they’re all possible with this disease!”
“But I don’t have that yet, so why are we worrying?”
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Ryuzaki ended up leaving as Tsundae shouted at him. He wasn’t in the mood for her doom’s day talk. He’d just had a fantastic day and she was bringing him down. But, he couldn’t ignore the dull ache in his knee as he walked back to Kakashi’s apartment. He let himself in and called out to Kakashi who hurried around the corner from the kitchen.
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“I made dinner for you.” He seemed excited.
“Wow, thank you. It was a rough appointment.”
“Are you okay?”
“Just the usual. You know Taunade, ever a pessimist.”
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Kakashi left it at that, choosing to make up two plates as Ryuzaki set up the kotatsu. Kakashi helped him sit and, ever astute, noticed him favouring his opposite leg.
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“Does your knee hurt?”
“Yeah. It started hurting when I walked back.”
“Do you need something for it? Some ice or maybe-“
“Let’s just eat.”
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Ryuzaki had said it maybe a bit too sharply, by the way Kakashi seemed to linger before settling adjacent to him. He watched for a moment as Ryuzaki started on his bowl before starting on his own quietly. He reached under the kotatsu carefully, placing a hand on Ryuzaki’s knee, to which the other jumped. He went to protest but his words caught in his throat when Kakashi squeezed, just a bit, and Ryuzaki dropped his chopsticks in a clamour, gripping the edge of the kotatsu.
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“It's already pretty swollen, Ryu. Is that why Sasuke walked with you so slowly earlier?”
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Ryuzaki swatted at Kakashi’s hand, trying to go back to his meal as Kakashi stood and headed to the kitchen. He rummaged around in the freezer for a moment before returning with an ice pack and a towel. Ryuzaki fought him half heartedly as he stuffed a pillow from the bed under his knee and wrapped the ice in the towel.
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“You need to ice it, Ryu, you’ll only make it worse.”
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Kakashi was being as gentle as possible, which infuriated Ryuzaki. He wasn’t made of glass, he could handle the pain. It's not like he jumped and hissed at the ice pack when it touched him, even through his pants. And it definitely isn't like he wanted to cry because of how caring and sweet Kakashi was being. He crossed his arms, trying to not pout, and waited for Kakashi to finish his mission of dressing his wound.
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“There, does that feel better?” Kakashi asked, smiling.
“It felt fine before.”
“You couldn’t hardly bend it before, and it did hurt. How does it feel now?”
“... Better. Thanks.”
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Ryuzaki blushed as Kakashi chuckled, leaning forward to bump their foreheads together.
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“There’s no shame in admitting you’re in pain.”
“That’s rich coming from you.”
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Kakashi laughed, which made Ryuzaki feel a little better. He blushed as Kakashi gazed into his eyes, smiling fondly while resting his cheek on his hand.
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“So, any diagnosis?” He asked.
“No, I left while she was shouting at me. It’s fine though, no anomalies, just a cold front moving in. Hurts my bones.”
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Ryuzaki gave his best impression of an old man with his last comment, to which Kakashi laughed, adjusting pillows for Ryuzaki to lean on.
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“Well then, maybe Old Man Ryu should lean back and relax.”
“Maybe he should.”
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Ryu sighed as he leaned back, bringing his arms behind his head as Kakashi cleaned up their dishes. Between the comforting warmth from the kotatsu, and the dissipating pain in his knee, Ryuzaki was falling asleep. His restfulness had attracted a ninken or two, and once Kakashi had finished washing up, he joined the party as well. He snuggled up next to Ryuzaki, slipping an arm around his waist and leaning his head on Ryu’s chest.
__________
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Ryuzaki woke to a fluttery feeling around his neck. He blinked his eyes open and was met with Kakashi’s mop of silver hair tickling his nose. He chuckled, pushing Kakashi’s face away from his neck being littered with butterfly kisses. Kakashi pushed back, gently pinning Ryuzaki’s hands to the cushions. Ryuzaki blushed, trying to hold in his giggles and smile.
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“What, you don’t like the attention, now?”
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Ryuzaki bit his lip, refusing to answer and tossing his head to the side, trying to feign disinterest. Kakashi hummed in mock annoyance, leaning in and nipping at Ryuzaki’s neck, whispering in his ear.
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“Let sensei take care of you.~”
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Ryuzaki couldn’t help the snort that escaped him, followed by a burst of laughter. Kakashi leaned back, pouting.
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“What’s funny?”
“That was so weird!” He laughed.
“What! I thought it sounded cool!”
“Did you get that from Icha Icha? Eww!”
“Eww?! It- I-“
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Kakashi was blushing now, flushed red and embarrassed. Ryuzaki had to cover his face, taking even breaths to quell his laughter. Finally he could speak and patted Kakashi’s chest fondly.
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“Kakashi, I’m older than you. Also, it's so weird when I know your students!”
“Don’t bring up my team! I was trying to be all sexy, you know, roleplay!”
“I know what you were trying to do-“
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There was a knock at the door and Kakashi whipped his head around, glaring at it.
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“Oh, shit. I’m late for our mission briefing.”
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Ryuzaki remained in place as Kakashi scrambled to his closet.
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“Oh, you have a mission?”
“Not me, the team. But I was supposed to brief them on it. It's barely a C rank.” He mumbled the last part.
“You’re not gonna let them in?”
“No, they’re nosy, the lot of them. Better if they wait out there.”
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Ryuzaki rolled his eyes and chuckled, leave it to Kakashi to try and hide something that isn’t a secret. Ryuzaki stood as Kakashi finished tying his headband. He swooped in, pulling Kakashi by his vest into a deep kiss. He left him with a few pecks before straightening his vest and smiling as his shocked expression.
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“See you later, kouhai.”
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Kakashi flushed and opened his mouth to retort but stopped as Ryuzaki opened the door. Kakashi yanked his mask over his face, trying to will away his blush as his team looked between the two men.
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“A-ah, sorry I was late I-“
“I don’t want to know.” Sakura dragged Naruto by his ear.
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Kakashi gave Ryuzaki a halfhearted glare as he followed his team down the apartment steps. Sasuke turned to him, giving him a quick once over before smirking cockily.
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“You seem a little warm, sensei.”
_________
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Ryuzaki made his way to work soon after Kakashi had left. Though things seemed a little more tense than usual in the admin offices. Tsunade hadn’t left her office in a few hours and Shizune seemed distracted. Neither had spoken much to Ryuzaki, aside from greeting him and asking him about paperwork and forms they required. He didn't mind too much, the lack of interruptions allowed him to finally catch up on the mountain of papers to notarize and sign for Tsunade. He had finished early and was looking for something else to do when Shizune poked her head into his office.
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“Tsunade said you could leave early, but she’d like to speak with you before you go.”
“Oh, okay, what about-“
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Shizune was already headed back down the hall, to her own office. That was strange. Ryuzaki made a face and headed to Tsuande’s office. He knocked once and started at how quickly she opened the door. She ushered him in, looking focused but bothered.
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“Is everything alright?”
“Remember what I said in my last letter to you? Before you came back to Konoha?”
“Um, sure, you said that you felt the village was safe now and that I should come back.”
“And that I’d be looking into further restoration matters?”
“Yes?”
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Tsunade pursed her lips, drawing in a breath, thinking.
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“Well, I looked into it.”
“...And?”
“And… I invited someone else to… return home.”
...TO BE CONTINUED...
(I will edit this chapter to add on later!)
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