Chapter Text
Kakashi was a fool, of that he was certain. A classically stubborn, obstinate, and headstrong fool. And one who was in love.
He may have been a fool, but he was not stupid. The evidence was right in front of him. A crumpled, bloodied, and slightly-wilted daffodil petal. He’d choked and wheezed for ten whole minutes before coughing up the unexpected flower, the stark contrast of the bright yellow petal painted with spots of red etched into the back of his eyes. A yellow daffodil. The implications were not lost on him.
He should have guessed that two-plus decades on the battlefield wouldn’t bring him death. No, that would be too easy. He should have suspected something much more sinister was in the works for his demise, kami help him.
Kakashi sighed, momentarily resigned to his fate, and wrapped the yellow petal in a piece of folded cloth, placing it in the top drawer of his desk. He’d only been inaugurated as hokage for two days and already the wear of politics was getting to him. Literally, he supposed. He’d be angry tomorrow. For now, he’d go home.
Darkness had crept upon the Hidden Leaf village long ago, leaving the village’s new leader alone with stacks of paperwork heavier than the executioner’s blade and a trio of ANBU guards. With some effort and a scratchy throat, he lifted himself from his desk chair and wandered out of the hokage tower. There was no sense in shunshining. A walk and some fresh air would do his crooked back good anyway.
His new home, the hokage’s residence, was a place he had yet to frequent. Still uncertain–to Shizune’s chagrin– whether he’d move in there or stay in his low-budget, one bedroom apartment in the newly built Jonin complex, Kakashi found himself staring up at the flashy and rather obvious mansion before huffing and turning towards his proper home. At least, as proper as a sparsely furnished apartment could be.
Up the stairs he went, knees creaking and scratchy throat from the night's earlier activities making it much more difficult to breathe than he expected. Perhaps he did not have long to live. The thought should scare him more, now that the five villages were at a temporary peace. Alas, it all seemed so tedious.
That was, until he found a chakra signature hovering in front of his apartment door. A darkened figure became painted in moonlight the closer Kakashi walked towards him.
“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” the figure cooed.
Tenzo–or Yamato now, as he still begrudgingly liked to be called–leaned against his apartment door with a kind of nonchalant air unexpected of a shinobi. His stance was more of a familiar comrade than that of a trained killer. The things that peace will do.
“Tenzo,” he acknowledged. “How kind and very unprofessional of you to show up unannounced at the hokage’s residence at such an hour.”
“Hmm,” Tenzo’s eyes narrowed at the use of his old nickname. “And how very rude to keep said unexpected guest waiting for nearly four hours. There was still light in the sky when I arrived, just so you know, Lord Hokage.”
Kakashi huffed and moved past his former comrade to pull the key from his pocket and unlock the apartment door, tips of his ears turned pink as Tenzo drawled his new title. He stepped inside and kicked off his sandals, leaving the door open as an invitation for Tenzo to follow suit. He did, without another word, kicking off his own sandals in a similar manner and removing his happori.
Kakashi caught himself staring as Tenzo shook his hair free from the thing, running a hand through golden-brown strands that sat just below his chin. He’d grown his hair out a bit since the end of the war. Due to his recovery from his injuries or his quickly designated mission to babysitting Orochimaru, Kakashi couldn’t tell. Nonetheless, the shaggier look suited him.
Kakashi’s stomach flipped inadvertently as his hair tousled, swallowing heavily to stop another impending coughing fit. He cleared his throat.
“Something to drink? Tea?” he asked.
Tenzo nodded, adding “something stronger if you have it.”
It was obvious that the younger man had just returned from his two-week period of surveillance, getting a reprieve for the remainder of the month from other designated sensor shinobi before his next cycle arrived. His standard jonin uniform was worn with mud and the telltale signs of travel and lack of wash. Though the man never smelled like anything other than damp earth and woody pine resin, and perhaps a little sweat if Kakashi’s dog-like senses reached out to Tenzo long enough.
“Rough two weeks?”
“Pff,” Tenzo snorted. “Like keeping track of a wandering toddler.”
Kakashi let out a laugh. He was glad his friend could make light of the shit situation Lady Tsunade put him in before her resignation. It was just one in a long list of things Kakashi had to be bitter about as he stepped into his new role.
If it was up to him, Tenzo would be by his side, where he belonged. Preferably in his old ANBU uniform that made his biceps swell and did little to hide that tree-trunk of a chest.
He felt pink creep up his cheeks under his mask, shaking his head of the very inappropriate daydream and busying himself with locating the sake bottle and pouring two heavy shots for the both of them.
He turned back to watch the younger man lingering in the doorframe of the veranda.
“Shall we?” he asked with a crooked smile, nodding his head to the open night. “It’s a rather nice evening to be wasted drinking indoors.”
“After you.”
Kakashi followed him out onto the veranda, sitting down opposite him in the pair of outdoor rocking chairs Tenzo had built for him as a birthday present this year. Warmth filled his chest each time he sat down in them, like he could feel Tenzo’s chakra lingering and hugging him with each rock.
Now, he felt giddy and anxious, staring at his long time friend across from him. He looked so at peace. Kakashi wasn’t sure he could ever feel that way. He knew it was his own fault, of course, stubborn mule that he was. The kids may have broken through the first layer of his hardened exterior, but Tenzo knew every little ugly truth about him. And yet here he was, keeping a sad old hokage company on a far-too late fall evening.
“Here,” Kakashi directed, handing the sake cup to Tenzo.
“Kanpai,” Tenzo said, soft smile still present on his face, as he clinked glasses with the silver-haired man.
“Kanpai,” Kakashi returned, following suit of his drinking partner by quickly downing the shot.
Tenzo blanched, causing Kakashi to smile. The younger man had never had a good handle on his liquor. Kakashi had been the one to help him through his first hangover after his 18th birthday. Yuguo had supplied him with a jutsu’d cup that never emptied. Hilarious and enjoyable it was, Kakashi reaped the consequences, holding Tenzo’s hair back as he repeatedly heaved into the toilet, childishly vowing that he’d ‘never drink again.’
Sometimes he longed for those days and everything he’d do differently the second time around.
After Kakashi filled their cups a second time, several moments of silence passed before either spoke again.
“Unseasonably warm,” Kakashi observed, the silence turning uneasy in his mind.
“It is,” Tenzo agreed. “Makes the long hours tracking through forests a bit more bearable.”
“He’s near then?” Kakashi asked.
“As near as he can be. I don’t think he’ll go too far yet.”
“I see.”
“And you? How is the office treating you?”
Though they usually talked through work, Kakashi wasn’t in the mood. Every proposal sitting on his desk waiting to be signed, approved, or declined, seemed meaningless at the moment. He gave a noncommittal grunt in response.
“That bad, eh?” Tenzo teased, bumping his shoulder with his senpai’s.
“Two days in and I already have carpal tunnel."
Tenzo laughed bright and brilliantly, a loud sound echoing through the quiet of the late night. A flutter ran through Kakashi’s stomach and up into his throat, tickling at the base of his neck.
The younger man turned towards Kakashi, lifting his second cup up to signify ‘cheers’ and poured it down the hatch. Kakashi quickly followed suit.
Tenzo seemed to sober with the second shot, eyes glossing over as he looked out onto a darkened Konoha.
“I am sorry, Kakashi,” he admitted. “That I was not able to be here for the ceremony.”
Kakashi waved him off. “It was a pointless ceremony filled with unnecessary pomp and circumstance, you know that.”
“Which is precisely why I wish I was there to observe your obvious discomfort,” Tenzo retorted with a smirk.
Kakashi huffed. “You wound me, Kohai! To think, I was starting to wish it was you in the shadows next to me instead of these stuffy young kids.”
The admission tumbled out of his mouth without any forethought, and he quickly bit his tongue to stop himself from saying anything further reckless. It had to be the drink that was making him too familiar, right?
Tenzo had gone quiet with his spiel. An apology was on the tip of Kakashi’s tongue when the younger man spoke.
“You haven’t called me that for some time,” Tenzo admonished.
Kakashi sighed in relief at his misstep being overlooked.
“Perhaps I am feeling nostalgic, old fool I am.”
A faint blush colored Tenzo’s cheeks as a slow, genuine smile curved his round face.
“Well,” he said, voice an octave lower, “you certainly are a fool.”
Normally, Kakashi wasn’t one for fantastical notions. Sure, he loved the occasional prank or his infamous “jutsu” of sticking a finger up his opponent’s ass, but there’s a great difference between being a slightly pervy prankster and believing in fairytales. Up until yesterday, he was more than certain that such a thing as Hanahaki Disease was but a whisper of the gods. A plotline in some of his most beloved romance novels.
But there was no mistaking the petal hidden in his desk drawer. And there was no mistaking the way his throat and heart equally constricted at the sight of Tenzo’s bright almond eyes basked in moonlight, nearly sparkling as they stared directly into Kakashi’s soul.
Well, it was at least obvious who the petals were for.
“One more?” Kakashi offered, bottle of sake hovering over Tenzo’s empty cup.
A warm smile greeted him. Soft pinkened cheeks and tips of ears. Eyes practically glowing. Kakashi’s breath faltered in his chest. Fuck, he was desperately in love with Tenzo.
“Why not.”
Yes, Kakashi was certain. He was a fool, and he was doomed.