Haruichi had hit some sort of barrier in logic in his erh... discussion with Hoshi and knew he was admitting defeat by glancing away, but couldn't help it. His glance to Kakashi sent a clinical little undertone of 'no, of course I'm not bloody well jealous' darting along the back of his mind and he quashed it pretty quickly by focussing on the hand gesture while Hoshi hit the winch on the bed and propped up the top half even more as she settled in.

Hn. He'd realised. Haruichi glanced to Hoshi, who was busy stealing most of the blankets and pillows, and looked back at Kakashi with his face angled so she couldn't see. "I burned out. I'll be fine." It was the short answer, the only one Kakashi or anyone would ever get from him, but Kakashi had been teammates with Rin-sensei and he'd know... when medics burned out it wasn't quite the same. More than a few from the class Tsunade had trained, his cousin's class, had died from it - but Haruichi hadn't been anywhere near that level of exertion. Obviously, or else it'd be him with the chakra wards plastered over every visible inch of skin - rather than under his shirt, which was where they were right now. Out of Hoshi's sight.

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Burned out? How fast had Haruichi run them home? The last memory Kakashi had was a dizzy impression of breaking apart in leaves while Haruichi had told him to shut up and made him do just that with a handful of delicate green chakra. Haruichi who'd run for twelve hours already, healed Kakashi as much as he could, and half drowned before he could finish. Not to mention cutting down ninja Kakashi could only remember by the feel of their hands, the cadence of their voices, and the oily touch of their chakra. That and the sound of his arm breaking again.

The same arm as Haruichi's, come to think of it.

"And you... say I'm the martyr," managed Kakashi, in a voice like crushed gravel. Questions crowded his mind, each demanding to be said. What had really happened? How long would they be in hospital? How bad off was Haruichi? But the one that finally rasped out of his mouth made Pakkun snort with laughter. "Why do you... have a fiancée?"

Because really, some things were too weird.

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Haruichi looked at Kakashi like he was an idiot. Which wasn't very different to how he usually looked at Kakashi, but there it was all the same. "Because she said 'yes'," he answered, his voice even sounding slightly confused as to why Kakashi needed to ask.

Said 'she' was curled up at the top of the bed now, having fortified her position in an ensconscement of blankets and taken the pencils and notebook out of her pocket, ignoring the chair she was supposed to be sitting in. She'd be sketching or doodling or whatnot for hours now, Haruichi knew, and he couldn't have been more relieved about it. She wasn't worried or upset if she could do that.

He supposed Kakashi might have meant how did he get her to agree to marry him, how did he even get her to agree to talk to him? Even if Haruichi had been the type inclined to answer he wouldn't have, and couldn't have. He didn't know. He reached down to gently unsnag his beads from the IV in his left arm and supposed he took it on faith.

But he realized, looking at the bruises on his arm, what else Kakashi was trying to ask. And it wasn't something he wanted to answer then, or perhaps any time. He shifted his heavy, plaster bound arm out to his side and judged how much space Hoshi had left him to lie down in. "You should rest, Kakashi. And put your oxygen mask back on, it was there for a reason."

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Which probably translated to 'shut up, and stop asking awkward questions'. Haruichi seemed to say that a lot. The 'shut up' bit, certainly. Kakashi was too tired to argue with him. A hefty combination of drugs, exhaustion, and healing seals eating his chakra was already tugging him back under the surface of sleep. He was more willing to go this time, now that there was much less risk of waking up dead.

It took Pakkun's help to hook the mask up over his face, which was frankly embarrassing, but the pug settled carefully down on his uninjured shoulder and tucked his small warm body against Kakashi's neck, nose resting against the pulse of his throat. He heaved a faint, contented sigh, blowing hot air over the copy-nin's bruised skin, and Kakashi forgot about Haruichi completely for a moment. It was amazing what being warm and safe could do for your focus, even if you still hurt.

"Glad you're not dead, brat," rumbled Pakkun, finishing the ritual that ended every mission.

Kakashi's fingers twitched enough to scratch the soft fur between his ears. "Hmm," he agreed, eyes closing.

"And you," added Pakkun a little louder, for Haruichi's benefit. "Even if you are a pain in the hindquarters. Could you tell your girl I'd like a blue cape? Maybe with my name on..."

Kakashi snorted softly, and fell asleep before he heard the answer.

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