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Title: Scar Tissue
Author: JBMcDragon
Genre: Drama
Status: In progress, 11/16-ish
Rating: R for violence and sexual content
Warnings: Het, yaoi, violence, and terrible, terrible angst. Also, very, very long.

Summary: Set during the end of the time-jump.

They returned one teammate fewer. The loss of that teammate changed Kakashi in ways Obito surviving couldn't have. Kakashi remembers him fondly, speaks to him in dreams, and carries his ghost as a companion.

But his dreams and reality don't quite match up . . .

Scar Tissue
Part One
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight

Part Two
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Obito shifted, snuggling closer to the warm body pressed against his spine. He could feel sunshine slanted across his face and wiggled to try and get out of it. It didn't work. He turned, inhaling the heated scent of kunai oil and sage. If he burrowed properly, he could hide his eye from the sun. He tucked himself against skin, trying to slip back into slumber, to ignore the throbbing in his leg.

A hand rose idly, patting his shoulder sleepily before drifting down his ribs, ghosting over his spine. Obito sighed and slid his hand up a hard abdomen, curling his arm around his make-shift human pillow.

Funny, he didn't remember Anko being this sharply muscled.

Obito's eye snapped open. Not Anko. He yanked away from Kakashi, sitting on the edge of the bed and checking to make sure the man was asleep.

Kakashi shifted, sighed, and rolled over.

Obito's heart settled back to a more normal rhythm, though the warm feeling in his gut didn't go away. He grabbed his cane and heaved himself upward, ignoring his hard-on. It was a morning thing. That was all.

**

Kakashi had been awake for some time, enjoying the feel of a warm body curled up against his, when Obito fled the bedroom. He gave the man a few minutes, then stretched and lazily wandered out.

Obito was pale, dark circles under his eyes, black and silver hair hanging in his face and nearly concealing the eyepatch. "I can't find the tea," he said without looking up, single eye narrowed.

"I don't have any."

Obito looked up, gaze casting around for a moment before his limited vision found Kakashi. "You suck."

Kakashi smiled brightly. "Very well, I'm told." It took Obito a few minutes for the statement to register. Then the pale-skinned man turned bright pink, ducking his head again and letting his hair fall forward.

Kakashi chuckled. "There's coffee--"

"No, thank you," Obito muttered. His gaze traveled upward, weight shifting farther onto his cane.

"How's your leg?" Kakashi asked finally.

Obito's lips compressed into a thin line, and he lifted one slim shoulder in a shrug. "I took some pills already."

Kakashi nodded, accepting the statement for what it wasn't--it wasn't a cheerful, "Fine!" He walked to the little coffee table and started cleaning up bottles, gathering cups and carrying everything into the kitchen.

Obito smelled like himself, only stronger for not having showered. A little bit bitter, mostly clean and kind of sweet. Kakashi breathed deeply, put the dishes in the sink, and ran water over them. He turned it off without actually bothering to wash them, shifting to lean against the counter and look at Obito, who was leaning against the opposite counter and looking at him. The kitchen was only a stride across; their toes touched, legs stretched out a little.

"So," Obito said, slowly, drawing the word out. He looked down, tucked long hair behind his ear, and shrugged. "Does this make us friends?"

Kakashi smiled slightly. "It could."

"You *could* come by the bar occasionally," Obito said, straightening up and using his cane to hobble out to the living room. "Instead of making me come all the way down here, and up those fucking stairs."

Kakashi flashed a grin. Gods forbid Obito just *invite* him out. No, it had to be a complaint or a challenge or *something.* "I'll do that."

A bird out the window caught his eye, and he walked out of the kitchen and across the room swiftly, throwing the slider open. The hawk landed, dropped a tiny scroll, and took off again.

"What is it?"

Kakashi didn't answer right away, let Obito wait until he'd picked the scroll up and read through. His stomach felt hollow, and he cleared his throat to stall for time. "It seems there are dignitaries from Earth arriving today. Negotiations are delicate, and more so since we found you. Tsunade is requesting that I make sure you stay in your house."

"I have a bar to run!" Obito said, voice strangled and face flushed. Kakashi guessed it wasn't just that he had to stay home that had him upset. The Rock ninja would be a threat, even though they weren't here for Obito.

"Since your bar and your house are the same thing, I'm sure you can still work," Kakashi said smoothly. Better if Obito was working, anyway. It might take his mind off the dignitaries.

Obito settled slightly, a frown still twisting his scars. "All right," he mumbled at last. "It's not like I really go anywhere, anyway."

**

His day could have been worse, Obito supposed as he rubbed the raw spot on his palm. The knowledge that somewhere in the village Rock ninja were wandering around had worn at him all day, as had the extra pain in his leg from too much drinking--despite the fact that he'd taken twice the amount of pain meds that he was supposed to. The weakness in his leg had kept him leaning heavily on his cane all day, and that, in turn, was hurting his hand.

Still, things could be worse.

There had been a steady trickle of higher level shinobi through the bar, mostly people he knew. He had a sneaking suspicion they were checking on him, even though Kakashi had remained there.

The ninja was good company, Obito had to admit. Easy company, even if Obito did find himself watching Kakashi stretch longs legs across the booth more than he watched his customers. Every time Obito realized he was looking--not even at Kakashi, but at Kakashi's *body*--he blushed. His heart pounded, and he remembered the way he'd felt that morning between being asleep and awake, comfortable and vaguely aroused and enjoying the other man's smell.

It wasn't that he was interested. He didn't even like Kakashi. Really.

The last time he'd said something derisive about the man, Genma had turned to look at him flatly, flicking his senbon once. "Kakashi saved my life a few years ago," he said simply. "He's not the person you remember." Genma hadn't elaborated, had just gone back to picking at his food.

It had probably been the reason Obito had been willing to talk to Kakashi when Anko told him to.

Maybe, he had to grudgingly admit, Kakashi wasn't as bad as he remembered. Stories over the last weeks had only added to that conclusion, and the night before had even been pleasant.

The hangover was not so pleasant. Neither was the constant pain in his leg. Overall, his mood had disintegrated despite the nice bits. He just hurt too much.

And then the door opened, and Rock ninja walked in.

Obito froze behind the bar, midway through pouring Izumo a beer. His breath caught in his lungs, and for a moment he thought everything was going to be fine. He just had to focus on something else.

Then one of them laughed at something the other said, and they started to approach the bar.

Beer overflowed.

"Hey, Obito," Izumo laughed. Obito heard it, and couldn't seem to hold onto it. The glass slipped out of his hand. "Obito?"

They were coming for him.

"Obito--jeez, someone--"

It was dark. Too dark. The walls seemed to close in, and he realized he couldn't *see* the edges of the room. His vision was too limited. His mind filled the room in from memory, showing him stone walls and a single cot infested with bugs, a grimy toilet in one corner.

No escape.

He staggered back. Weight on his injured leg nearly dropped him to the floor. He clutched at the counter.

"Hey, is he all right?" The voice was faint, dream-like. A dream. It had all been a dream. He always woke from those dreams. And now they were back. He couldn't breathe.

"Obito!" A hand grabbed his arm.

Grabbed his arm, dragged him from the room no matter how much he screamed and cried and begged. He kept waiting--waiting and waiting--for his team to come, and they never did. They never did, and he couldn't control the Sharingan and the only way to make it activate was to hurt him, so they did.

So he screamed and screamed and screamed. He tried to brace himself against the iron bars, but the Rock ninja only kicked at his broken leg, dragging him free. Down the hall.

He was supposed to be brave. Brave and courageous, but he couldn't do it anymore. He didn't know how long it had been since he'd been caught. Long enough for his hair to grow, to start falling in his eyes. Long enough for his body to fight off infection, for his skin to heal even if his bones hadn't. Long enough to learn to fear the arrival of the Rock ninja, because the civilians alone wouldn't remove him from the cell.

The ninja meant pain and fear and horror. He twisted in the man's grip, trying to bite through bandages wrapped around a thick wrist. It didn't work. The man lifted him, slammed him down onto the stainless steel table, catching his arms and legs and pinning them.

Obito screamed and--

--And darkness claimed him.

**

Kakashi heard the crash of glass and looked up. Obito stood behind the bar, Izumo hunched over it with a fading grin. "Obito?" Izumo said, worried.

Obito had gone ashen. His chakra sucked inward, spiraling down to a point in his chest, almost nonexistent. His single eye was focused intently on the doorway.

Kakashi turned to look at the two ninja he'd sensed walk in. No harm--he'd sensed no harm, and hadn't bothered to look up. Rock ninja. They stood there, looking concerned.

"Obito--jeez, someone--" Izumo said, and Kakashi put down his book and slid to his feet.

"Get them out of here," he murmured to a seated ninja as he moved past. "Obito," he said lazily, trying to get that gaze riveted off the other ninja.

Obito didn't seem to hear him. As Kakashi got closer, he could see the man's pupil was blown.

The Uchiha took a fumbling step back without his cane. He staggered as his weight came down on his injured leg, nearly collapsing altogether. Kakashi ran, leaping the counter as he heard one of the Rock ninja ask, "Hey, is he all right?"

"Obito!" Kakashi snapped, wrapping a hand around a slim arm to keep him from falling. He sensed the other ninja leaving, clearing out, as Obito began to struggle. "Get to the hospital," Kakashi said to Izumo, eyes on Obito, who'd gone cold. The Uchiha's Sharingan spun to life behind black hair and scars, and there was a burst of chakra into that single eye.

This, Kakashi realized as he shot down blocks, feeling the world try to drop away into illusion, could get dangerous. "Tell them we have an incoming Code Blue," he added.

"Code Blue's for ANBU," Izumo said uncertainly. "Are you sure--"

"Do it!" He pulled Obito from behind the bar, feeling the man's heart start to race at nearly dangerous speeds as chakra spiked and coalesced. Blown pupils, racing heart, unresponsive, rapid breathing--he was having a flashback. Kakashi didn't know if they'd make it to the hospital before the man gave himself a heart attack.

"Obito," he called, trying to break through.

Then Obito started screaming. His heart rate tripped faster, pulse pounding against his throat.

Kakashi grabbed the man, slinging Obito over his shoulders and flying out the door. The screaming never lessened. He took to the rooftops, launching himself from one to the next, racing against Obito's own body. His heart couldn't take this abuse, not for long, and he wasn't calming down. Trapped in a flashback, reliving something that made him scream and babble, hands wrapping around Kakahsi's bicep before his leg twitched and his hands released.

Chakra pouring into his legs and muscles, Kakashi flung himself from one building to the next, grateful when two medical ninja flanked him, keeping his path clear.

Code Blue was for an ANBU flashback, and ANBU were dangerous. They didn't want anyone hurt in the transportation.

Teeth closed on his shoulder as he reached the hospital roof. There was already a team with a stretcher there, combat ready in case Obito fought.

Kakashi twisted, spilling Obito down onto the stretcher. "Watch his eyes--" he started to say, a breath too late. One of the nurses had looked into his face; she began to scream. Someone else wrenched her away, breaking the illusion the Sharingan shouldn't have been able to cast without a jutsu.

Sometimes, when the person was in danger, bloodline limits were unpredictable.

"No--no please--" Obito begged, voice gone frightened and young.

"Sedate him!" Kakashi snapped as the medics attempted to pin his arms and legs. Damn it, they were supposed to be good at this! Kakashi grabbed Obito when the man sat up, fighting for all he was worth. For an instant he made eye contact, and saw a large man forcing him to the table, fastening thick leather straps around his wrists, someone in the background tapping air bubbles out of a needle, a large image of the Sharingan behind him--

Then the image was gone. Kakashi breathed, aware suddenly that he'd stopped, and looked around.

A medic he recognized but didn't know--a Nara, judging from the clan jutsu--had arrived and grabbed Obito in a shadow-hold. The other medics managed to sedate him. Two other medical ninja were on the roof a distance away, one sitting and the other lying down. "Are they all right?" Kakashi asked, trying to shake off the illusion.

"Sharingan shock. Are you all right?" the Nara woman asked.

Kakashi nodded once, sliding his hands in his pockets in an attempt at being casual. A close look at Obito showed the man's pulse had already slowed.

"All right. We'll put him in a room. You can wait there, if you like."

"I'll be there when he wakes up," Kakashi said after a moment's pause. He had a feeling he was going to have to explain to Tsunade why he hadn't quite managed to keep Obito out of the Rock ninja's sight.

**

He woke fuzzy headed and disoriented. The smell of antiseptic and the soft beeping of machines in other rooms were his first clue to his location.

He flinched out of sleep, single eye opening and casting around the room, trying to take in everything through his thin tunnel of sight. Then he saw Kakashi watching him, book forgotten in his hand.

"We sedated you. You might feel a bit strange," Kakashi said quietly.

Obito swallowed the cottony feeling in his mouth down, struggling up onto his elbows. He took the cup of water Kakashi offered, drank, let it absorb into his body. "What happened?" His voice was rough, like he'd been screaming.

"You had a flashback."

Obito winced. "In my bar?" In front of his customers?

"It was all right. We took care of it."

He didn't know what that meant, exactly, but decided not to press. He drank some more water. "I don't remember the flashback."

"That's probably for the best." He heard rustling cloth, sensed Kakashi stand up. "Shall we?"

His cane was elsewhere. Kakashi found him another one, an ugly metal monstrosity that belonged to the hospital. It was better than leaning on the taller ninja, though. Obito hated being dependant. "Who's taking care of the bar?" Obito asked again as they were on their way home. "You didn't just kick everyone out, did you?"

"No," Kakashi said innocently. "I gave them keys to the register and told them how to get to the stocks in back."

Obito's cane caught on the curb. He turned to look at Kakashi in horror, and was met with the visible curved eye. "You asshole," Obito said, laughing grudgingly. They walked on, the cane thumping heavily with every step. Obito's palm ached. His stomach quivered, memory of the flashback held in his body if not in his mind. Suddenly, he didn't want to go back to the bar. "How bad was it?" he asked, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk.

Kakashi paused next to him, as if it was perfectly normal. He looked skyward, scratching his chin. "Not bad. I've seen worse."

For a moment, Obito was satisfied. He knew Kakashi, knew the kinds of things Kakashi had seen--and then he remembered that sixteen years had passed, and he didn't really know Kakashi anymore. People respected him, admired him. Were occasionally in awe of him, which was just a little weird. Kakashi wasn't the boy he'd grown up with.

"How much worse?" Obito asked, hoping that he hadn't made a fool of himself in front of everyone. People brushed by.

"Oh, much worse," Kakashi said blithely. "You didn't hurt yourself or anyone else. You weren't responsive, but that's pretty normal with a bad flashback."

Obito chewed on the inside of his cheek, considering that. He didn't know what to think about it. He couldn't really remember things like this from when he was little, had no frame of reference to judge what he'd done with what was acceptable. A kid ran past, bumping into Obito's arm and nearly knocking him off balance. Kakashi caught him absently, steadying him. When the ninja moved his hand away, Obito thought he could still feel heat. He blushed.

"It really wasn't that bad," Kakashi said, looking at him closely.

Obito swallowed. "Sure."

"There's no reason to be embarrassed."

He thought the blush was because--? Obito blushed harder. "Damn it, Kakashi," he muttered, hating his traitorous skin, and began to cane away as fast as he could. *Why* did the Jounin have to be so attractive?

Kakashi, of course, kept up. "What'd I do?"

"Nothing." He crossed in front of Kakashi to get across the street, nearly tromping on the man's toe. He wasn't interested. He wasn't.

Kakashi followed him, hanging close still. Close enough to smell. To see the way cloth shifted over muscles--damn it! He wasn't interested! Not lustful in the *slightest*!

"Obito," Kakashi said quietly, and put a hand on Obito's arm.

Obito froze, skin still pink and heart pounding. Heat seemed to radiate from Kakashi's hand.

"Whatever I did, I didn't mean to."

"I--I know." He flushed harder. Kakashi didn't mean to move gracefully, or smell good, or be unfailingly helpful even when Obito was being an ass. He didn't mean to sit quietly in the back of the bar, silent support, easy conversation when the bar was empty. He didn't know that just being there when Obito woke in the hospital was more than the Uchiha had ever hoped for, year after year in a cell.

"Then what's wrong?"

He stared at the toes of Kakashi's boots. "Nothing. I need to get back to work."

Kakashi released him, stepped away, sliding his hands into his pockets. "I'll walk you."

Of course. Because Kakashi was supposed to keep an eye on him, anyway.

They walked. He could sense the other man beside him, half a step back, flanking his blind side so that no one would surprise him. It left him unable to see Kakashi, just listening to the quiet shush-shush of cloth and the almost silent trod of steps. He could smell him, tantalizing, the scent vanishing when the breeze picked up and appearing again when it settled. He imagined he could feel the warmth of the other man's body, head and shoulders above him, but was sure he couldn't really. His heart pounded.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Kakashi was a guy, and Obito was a guy, and there was a plumbing issue right there. And--what would people think? And it was *Kakashi.* He'd spent so long hating Kakashi that . . .

He chewed on the inside of his cheek. He was so confused.

************