Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There probably hadn't been a more beautiful day in The Leaf's history.

It was early fall, the point of the year when the leaves were just beginning to turn. Their bright summer green softening, the late summer breeze moving through the leaves and making them dance.

To anyone, it was a beautiful day to be outside, to enjoy the weather, to bid summer farewell.

Anyone, of course, except Sakura Haruno. 

Instead, she was sitting on an uncomfortable bench (with no back support!, mind you!), hunched over her laptop, glancing now and again, at her boyfriend, sparring.

It was... uncomfortable, in more ways than one.

She would be lying if she said she hadn't been glancing wistfully at the world outside, wishing, for a moment, she could be breathing in the sounds of later summer. 

Instead, she was breathing in the smell of mats that should've been cleaned a while ago, and the presperation of at least thirty other people.

Refreshing.

In fact, the more she thought of it, she really should be outside. They'd just moved here after all, Sasuke, to pursue his MMA career, and her, to complete her Masters degree.

It was the most classic story in the world. Highschool sweethearts who'd dated through college, and now, were ready to take the big step of moving, of truly tying their lives together.

And they had. They'd moved across the country and had (kind of) settled in the warm sunny town of The Leaf. They'd moved in to their first apartment together. They spent a lot of time together. It should be cute.

She should be excited about it.

But instead, Sakura Haruno was motherfucking tired. 

Between school, and work, she was already busy, but on top of all that, she spends most of her time at her boyfriend's gym, watching (and, if she were being honest, she used the word watching, very loosely) him spar. 

If she squinted, if she really squinted, if she tilted her head, if she really scrunched her brows, she could be positive about it.

They'd just stepped into a brand new life together, things of course would take some adjusting. She was just antsy about the change.

But, if she were being honest, she was happy, with Sasuke, for Sasuke.

They'd been in The Leaf for nearly three weeks and Sasuke had been flourishing. They'd left their old town, partly because he'd needed a more challenging atmosphere. He was good. He trained hard, he fought hard, and he did well. 

But he wasn't being pushed. He knew that, Sakura knew that. So he'd wanted to move.

Sakura was looking at graduate programs by then, had wanted to take the next step in her nursing career, and Konoha University had a great program, so she'd applied.

And they'd moved.

And they'd gotten an apartment.

And Sasuke trained.

And she tagged along.

Two hours in the morning, and two hours at night.

And she was missing the beautiful sunny September day outside.

Sakura groaned, hating the self-loathing tirade she'd started herself on.

Tonight, she was sitting on the bench just outside the private rooms of Sasuke's training gym. 

It was a massive space, and the training facility it was a huge draw of the town. Fighters from all over the world came to train at Konoha, and it was a priviledge to be there. Sasuke knew that, so did she.

The gym's private rooms were lined up next to each other, each half the size of a normal sparring ring, the entire front wall made of glass.

Sakura, who sat on the benches in front of the room, understood the purpose. 

Spectators could watch in, and the fighters got a sense of privacy from the other people sparring around them.

Lucky for her, she could spend the entirety of two hours frantically finishing her school work, while watching her boyfriend go through complicated looking drills with his instructor.

The instructor in question, a tall, long haired man, had always give Sakura the creeps. It wasn't that he had really ever done anything weird, she just felt like he might be capable of it.

Regardless, she tries to keep her eyes on Sasuke. To follow the lines of his body and he moves through brutal combination one after the other.

The first week she'd tagged along, it had been cool, kinda exciting actually. But now, nearly a month later, Sakura's program had kicked into gear, she worked any day that she didn't have class, so, Sasuke's training had pretty much faded into the background. If anything, she found herself struggling to focus on him.

She had school three days a week, she worked at the hospital another three days in the week, and it left one day she had to herself, and she almost always spent it frantically trying to catch up on thigns she'd missed in her week.

So, yea, focusing on Sasuke was getting harder.

Today of all days, seemed especially hard.

Someone had taken up residence in the room beside Sasuke.

She'd been trying to keep her eyes on her boyfriend, she really had.

But something about the guy next door kept drawing her in.

It might have been that silver hair. She was a woman with naturally pink hair, maybe that was what drew her in, the recognition of similarity.

Or maybe it was the flash of a silver necklace she kept seeing, flashing in the evening light from the collar of his shirt. 

Maybe.

But that wasn't quite it. She couldn't seem to keep her eyes off of the man, and she didn't quite know why.

Maybe it was the way she moved.

Sasuke, and she knew because she'd spent a lot of time watching him, put intentional thought and effort into his movements. Each shift had the full weight of his consideration behind it. She could tell he was focused on what he was doing, thinking, planning, at every moment.

The silver haired guy was different. 

He was sparring an man with brown skin, a bowl cut, and a green leotard (maybe that was why Sakura couldn't look away, it was quite the sight), but it didn't look like a spar. 

The way he moved was sinuous. Graceful, even. 

His movements poured into one another, like it was choreographed, like it was a dance.

The leotard man would punch, and he would block, but somehow end up behind the other man. 

Sakura watched half entranced, as the man in the leotard stumbled to reorient himself, before spinning to throw a fury of attacks.

It was incredible to see. 

He did it again, side stepping a kick and stepping behind the man in the leotard, putting him right in a position to see Sakura.

She stared.

So did he.

He was pretty. 

She was sitting too far away to really get a good look at him, but his face was fine, not aristocratic, the way Sasuke was, but crafted carefully, with purpose. He had a scar running down the left side of his face, bisecting one of his eyes.

It would've made him look garish, harsh, but all it did was soften his features, make him look more human.

She was staring.

And so was he.

And then, Sakura saw it all in slow motion, the man in the leotard righted himself, noticed the silver haired man's attention was stolen, and punched his attack.

And it landed. 

Sakura watched in horror and the silver haired man took the full force of the impact, his head snapping back, his knees buckling.

Shit! That had been because of her! She'd distracted him by staring at him like he were a zoo animal.

She scrambled up, watching as the man sat up and shook his head, the man in the leotard leaning down to help him up.

She should've just focused on Sasuke! Or her school work! Or how nice the weather was.

She gathered her stuff quickly, scrambling to leave.

She'd wait for Sasuke in the car, tell him she didn't feel well or something.

And the lie would be fine.

After all, she'd probably never see the silver haired man ever again. 

Chapter Text

When it was all said and done, Sakura thought she was a pretty positive person. She was a glass half-full type of gal. She looked for silver linings, she expected the best to come... so, it was fair to say the annoyance she felt crawling up her spine was deserved.

Listen, sometimes things happened. She understood that. But, many things were happening in her life, many things like assignment deadlines, and annoying coworkers, and patients with attitude, and somehow, somehow, she still managed to make it to Sasuke's training sessions on time... all while taking public transportation!

So yea, she was annoyed. Not only because (again), she'd been thinking about how this ate up her time, but also because Sasuke hadn't yet arrived for his own lesson and it was nearly six.

Which meant she'd sat through half of an empty session for absolutely nothing.

Well, maybe not absolutely nothing.

The grey haired man was back in the same room sparring, and she'd been slightly less annoyed as she tried to ignore the way he moved through the spar with the same man in the green leotard.

Ugh. She was too annoyed to even enjoy that. 

Sasuke said he was stuck in traffic. According to him, Orochimaru, his creepy trainer, had had him doing some weird aerobic training in a facility half way across the city, and Sasuke had hit horrible traffic on the way back. 

He and Orochimaru usually trained from 5PM to 7PM in the evenings. Now, the whole thing was being pushed until 6:30PM, meaning Sakura would have to stay until nearly 8:30PM, meaning her entire evening was going downhill, and fast. 

She groaned, massaging the headache at her temple that had materialized as she frantically pulled up her calendar. 

She'd been meaning to complete an assignment tonight. 

Now, she didn't know if she would have the time.

"Fuck," she said out loud, wiping her hand down her face, she'd likely have to stay up late into the night. 

She'd been so distracted in trying to reorganize her life that she hadn't noticed the training room door open.

"Yo."

"Huh?"

Sakura looked up, slightly annoyed that her concentration had been interrupted.

Oh!

It was the man with the grey hair, standing right in front of her.

"Uh, hi," she said, scrambling to close her laptop on her lap without dropping it on the floor.

"You're the distraction from Tuesday."

Sakura laughed despite herself, a certain levity coming over her at the jovial tone of his voice.

"That is what my friends call me," she returned easily.

"Do they also get punched in the face?" he asked.

"Only the ones that suck at sparring."

"Ouch," but, there was a grin on his face, nearly wolfish, with the way his canines stuck out. 

"That looked like it hurt," Sakura said sincerely, squinting at his cheek. There was a slight bruising there. 

"It did," Kakashi said almost ruefully. He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the man in the green leotard who was doing a very complicated upside down pushup, "but it's also probably because Guy's the strongest person in Konoha."

Sakura raised a brow, "the strongest in the whole gym? That's quite a title."

Kakashi shrugged, "it's deserved."

Humble. Sakura kind of liked that.

"What's your title then?"

"Well," he said contemplatively, "Guy calls me 'asshole' every now and then, but most people call me Kakashi."

Sakura laughed, enchanted by his humour.

"My friends call me Sakura," she told him.

"Sakura," he said, as if he were testing the name out, "I've been wondering what your name was."

Sakura felt her cheeks heat. Something about knowing that this hot stranger had been thinking about her was messing with her head.

Kakashi, she reminded herself. His name was Kakashi. 

"Uh, why's that?" she asked, stammering just a little.

If he noticed, he didn't say anything, instead, he raised two fingers.

"One," he said putting a finger down, "I want to know the name of the person responsible for the first punch I've taken in a while."

Oh, now that was NOT humble. His words were filled with a sort of masculine bravado, but, and despite the cocky grin on his face, Sakura couldn't help but grin.

"And the second?" she asked trying to wipe a smile off her face.

"You're sitting on my towel."

She looked under herself and blinked in surprise to see that she really had parked herself on a grey towel. She scrambled up, yanking it from under her, and handed it off to him, her cheeks blazing.

"Uh, sorry about that," she said hoping to god he didn't make a comment about how the fabric was warm.

To her relief, he just shot her a grateful smile before slinging it around his shoulders. 

"You were here Tuesday night too," he said, lifting a corner to wipe his face, "with Sasuke."

She blinked, surprised that Kakashi knew Sasuke's name.

But then again, Sasuke had been scouted to come to Konoha. Despite Sakura knowing very little about the fighting world that Sasuke lived in, she knew enough about her boyfriend to know he was good. 

"Yep," she said sitting back down in her spot.

"You come with him to every session?" Kakashi asked, sinking down onto the bench in front of her. 

"For the most part," she said with a shrug. 

Sasuke, a man who ran perpetually hot, trained shirtless, his pants slung low on his hips, bandages wrapped up his arms.

Kakashi wasn't anything like that. He had shorts and under that, long spandex leggings. The shirt he wore was also dark and fit snug against his body. Peeking out from the collar was that same glinting silver Sakura had seen before, and if she were interested, she could probably figure out what it was by tracing the shape with her eyes.

His shirt really was that tight.

Uh, not that she'd been looking, of course. 

She watched him wipe up another bead of sweat as it trailed down the side of his face. 

"Thats some dedication," he said with a raise of his eyebrows. 

"I guess," Sakura said vacantly, "but he likes when I come so," she shrugged, "I do it."

Kakashi tilted his head at her, his eye brows furrowing slightly. Sakura tried not to squirm under his gaze.

"You in school?" He asked, notching his chin at her backpack (and surely it's contents, spilled haphazardously on the ground)

"Yea," Sakura said, suddenly self conscious of the mess she'd made.

She leaned over to shove her belongings back into the bag, "I'm getting my Masters degree on the side."

"I-" she'd meant to explain more. Tell him that she'd taken nursing in college, had worked for a year, and then decided to go back to school, but she was interrupted with a banging on the glass door behind them.

She jumped and then stared at the man in the green leotard- Guy, she remembered- as he waved manically at Kakashi. 

She was entertained, laughing into the palm of her hand as Kakashi groaned.

"Did I mention," he said with a roll of his eyes, "that Guy is also the loudest person in Konoha?"

"Technically," Sakura said, "I can't hear him right now."

And it was true, despite Guy's extremely animated waving and gesticulating, he wasn't opening his mouth, only miming his actions.

"Yea," Kakashi said, "thank god for that."

He sounded mortified, but the crinkle of his eyes told Sakura there was a deep friendship between the two of them. 

"I think that's my cue to get back in there," he said beginning to stand.

It was just as well, in the far corner of the gym, Sakura could see Sasuke making his way down the stairs to the sunken training area.

"It was nice to meet you Kakashi," she said hurriedly. She was only a little bothered that they couldn't keep talking, but, she did have work to do.

Kakashi only gave her a lazy smile.

Had she imagined his eyes drifting to Sasuke across the gym?

He stepped over the benches, towel still slung around his shoulders, and walked to the door.

Sakura did her absolute best not to stare. She turned her focus back to her laptop and all the demands of school, as she opened it.

"Oh, Sakura?"

She looked up.

Kakashi had the training room door open, his body leaning half in and half out.

"Yea?"

"Most people wouldn't call their Masters degree something they do on the side."

And then he was shutting the door and moving towards Guy.

"Most people wouldn't call their Masters degree something they do on the side."

Had she said that?

She blinked, trying to play her words back. 

He'd asked her if she was in school, she'd noticed the mess of her bag, and she'd replied with....

"I'm getting my Masters degree on the side."

She'd said she was getting it on the side?

Huh. 

Chapter Text

It was raining when Sasuke had finally finished for the evening. And, Sakura thought grudgingly, nearly 9PM. 

She had work to do, she had an assignment to complete. She had a deadline to meet.

And instead, she was sitting in the passenger's seat, her laptop dying on her lap while she frantically read through a research paper.

She just needed it to last for ten more minutes. 

Between trying to ignore her laptop's constant messaging of its current battery status, Sakura was also trying to ignore Sasuke's general gaze. He was grumpy.

To be fair, if she'd had the day he'd had; stuck in traffic, late to his training session, heading home late, she'd be grumpy too.

But to be even more fair, she also had a busy life.

In fact, most of her busy life was because of Sasuke's busy life.

"Most people wouldn't call their Masters degree something they do on the side."

She kept thinking about that.

Did she really treat her life as something she lived on the side?

When she thought about it, it kind of felt like she did.

Take for example, tomorrow.

It marked the first time Sasuke would start training in the mornings, and she'd have to re-structure her entire day around it. 

She didn't have to be at school for class until 930AM. They lived walking distance from Konoha U. She could get up at 9AM and still be on time.

Instead, she'd be waking up at 5AM.

Sasuke had a training session from 530AM to 830AM... and she was going with him.

Then they drove home together and he dropped her off at school... that was four hours of her day, four hours that she could be sleeping. Four hours that she spent just... watching. 

And hardly that. 

Recently, she'd begun doing work during Sasuke's sessions, and between trying to split her attention between watching him, and completing her assignments, she could hardly do either one right. 

It ate up a lot of her day. 

She'd been following him to sessions since... when she thought about it, she realized that it was probably since he'd started training nearly three years ago.

She had been in nursing school back then, and then, she'd been working. She'd always found time for him, had shown up to every session and paid attention.

Back then, her life had been him and school, or, him and work. Whichever combination was the most relevant at the time.

Now, she was in school, she was working part time, and still showed up to his sessions.

It was a third thing on her plate, no wonder she'd been feeling so frantic and short on time.

"Sasuke?" she said, relieved that she'd figured out the problem.

"Hm?" 

She could tell he was tired, could see it in the tense way he held his shoulders, in the way a muscle in his jaw was ticking. She could tell by the way his knuckles gripped the wheel, how he held his head. It was Sasuke, she knew him down to the detail. 

"Uh," she faltered, "that looked like a pretty solid session." 

"Hm?" he looked over at her and gave her a lazy smile, "yea, all things considered."

"Orochimaru's a pretty tough teacher, huh?"

"A tough sensei," Sasuke corrected, "that's the correct term."

"Right, my bad, he looks like a pretty tough sensei."

"He's got unconventional methods for sure," Sasuke said, rolling his shoulders, "but I think they're pretty effective."

"That's good," she told him sincerely.

They settle in to comfortable silence as the rain dances against the hood of the car.

She glanced over at him again. The tension in his shoulders had loosened. He wasn't clenching his jaw anymore. That was a good sign.

"So, I have this big assignment due and I just started it today," she told him.

"I'm know you'll be great," he told her, reaching over to squeeze her hand. 

Sakura held his hand in her lap, threading her fingers through his.

"Thanks."

"I kinda noticed though, with school and work and coming to your sessions, I'm a little busier than usual."

"Yea, baby," he agreed squeezing her hands, "and you're doing such a great job managing it."

"I don't feel like it sometimes," she said honestly.

"I actually was thinking," she started, squeezing her fingers around his, "maybe I'll come to your evening sessions instead of those and the morning ones, just to get a little time back in my day."

She squeezed her hand around his again, hopeful, but her heart dropped in her chest when he pulled his hand away from hers instead, placing it back on the steering wheel. 

"Sakura," he said her name slowly, "I thought we agreed that you coming to my sessions was a great way for us to spend time together?"

They had. Three years ago, he'd asked her to start coming to his sparring sessions, and she had.

"I mean yea, but-"

"Sakura, remember what I told you? I feel really loved when you spend time with me."

"I know, but" she took a breath, softening her tone so she didn't sound as exasperated, "it just doesn't feel like we're spending time together because we do our own thing. You're training and I'm not really training with you or anything."

All she did was watch. All the time.

"I get that," he said, frowning as he stared at the darkened road, "but to me, it feels really sweet because you're caring enough about me to make time for me, you know what I mean?"

She supposed she did. She was making him a priority. And he felt like one. It was a good thing she supposed.

"I guess," she said.

"So you'll come tomorrow?"

He reached over and squeezed her hands, his fingers slotting back between hers. 

"Yea," she told him, "I'll come."

He turned his head from the road to her, offering her a soft smile. 

"I love you," he says.

"I love you," she returns.

-  -  -

Sakura didn't give a single shit about how she looked when she and Sasuke walked into Konoha that morning.

She had stayed up late, fueling herself on caffeine and sheer spite, and had finished her assignment somewhere close to 2AM.

She'd crawled into bed beside Sasuke, finally closing her eyes, but as soon as she had, she was waking to the rude blaring of her alarm clock for 5AM.

Fuck.

She'd thought about what Sasuke had said as she worked into the night.

Ultimately, she had conceded.

If showing up was something that made him feel loved, and she loved him, then she could show up for him. She could be flexible. She could figure it out.

That was what she'd told herself at 5AM, blearily crawling out of bed, shucking on an old sweater of Sasuke's and sleep walking to the car, her brain half asleep, her backpack hanging off of one shoulder.

By the time they'd reached Konoha, Sakura's brain had finally (and grudgingly) accepted that she was awake and had slowly started to blink into consciousness.

Once she got her bearings around her, she realized with a start that Sasuke had led her through Konoha's massive layout, and through the backdoor, onto a field.

"Oh, she said blinking, "we're outside?"

Sasuke squeezed his hand around hers, pausing to smile down at her, "morning baby."

Sakura yawned, "I didn't know Konoha had a field."

"It's nice, isn't it?" he asked, leading them to an area that had been flooded with lights.

Sakura nodded, looking around.

Just beyond the field, she could see the dark blue of the early morning sky.

She kept her groan to herself.

"Orochimaru-sensei says I should start training outside," Sasuke says, leading her to a corner of the feild, "he says contact with the earth will help me ground my movements."

Sakura nodded along. Her eyes caught on a figure at the far end of the field.

If she squinted, she thought she could see a riot of silver hair next to a set of shrubs.

"I don't think there's anything like a bench out here," Sasuke said, looking around, "but maybe you can sit against that tree?"

Sakura squinted at the other end of the field. Yes! She was almost sure of it! That was a messy head of grey hair.

"Uh," she hesitated, "I could sit over there?" she asked, pointing at the shrubs.

Sasuke followed her finger.

"Good idea," he said, "it's got a better vantage point."

He nodded his head down the field from where Sakura was pointing, "we're over there."

Sakura shifted her gaze. Yup, that was Orochimaru. Long black hair, freakishly straight posture, grey, wrinkly skin.

Around him were other people who Sakura guessed where his other students. A short girl with red hair, and a massive guy who looked like the trunk of a tree, and a kid with blue hair.

"I'll see you soon?" Sasuke said distractedly, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

Sakura smiled up at him, leaning her face into his lips.

She watched him jog in the opposite direction before adjusting her backpack on her shoulder and striding across the field.

- - - 

"Kakashi! Hey!"

He had a pair of massive black headphones over his ears, so, she resorted to waving instead. 

"Kakashi!" she yelled anyways, feeling like she might resemble Guy waving from behind the door.

He must have noticed her waving like lunatic because he looked up.

She tried to ignore the way his face lit up, how a grin spread over his lips.

"Hey!" he called, waving back with one hand, the other sliding the headphones off his ears.

She jogged the last few steps over to him, "hi," she repeated stupidly as she stood in front of him.

"Hi," he responded back with a chuckle, "what are you doing here this early?

"Oh, I'm" she swivelled, looking down the field at Sasuke, "Sasuke's here," she told him, "so I'm-"

She hesitated.

"Dedicated." he finished for her.

She sighed, "exactly."

Kakashi tilted his head at her. He'd done it yesterday too, had tilted his head, had furrowed his brows slightly, had considered her.

The weight of his gaze was heavy, Sakura tried not to squirm.

"What about you?" she asked, itching to change the subject, "why are you up at the butt-crack of dawn?"

He laughed, "butt-crack of dawn?"

She felt her cheeks pink, "it's an expression."

"Never heard it before," he said lightly before sobering, "I actually have this disease," he started solemnly,

"Oh! I'm sorry," Sakura said, feeling her face flush, "I didn't mean to pry about-"

"It's called chronic-morning-person-itis."

Despite her sleepy brain and the general lethargy she felt, Sakura found herself laughing. A real laugh, one that made her belly shake.

"Sounds serious," she giggled.

"It's terminal," he agreed with a sad looking shake of his head.

Sakura crouched, sitting in front of him and crossing her legs, her bag falling over behind her, "how long have you got left?" she asked.

Kakashi squinted, training his gaze over the horizon, "at least until this evening," he said seriously, "but once the sun goes down, I turn to dust."

"Like a reverse vampire?" she asked laughing into her palm.

"It's a curse," he answered pouting.

Oh god, he was cute.

And he was funny.

And, her brain supplied, sexy.

Sakura really did try to ignore that particular detail, but, as her eyes travelled over him, she found herself agreeing with that initial assessment.

The last time she'd seen him, he'd been wearing clothes that fit tight to his body. Today, he was wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants and a zip-up hoodie.

When she'd seen him, his hood had been on, but his hair, in its silvery gravity defying way, had stuck out of it nonetheless. 

He was wearing the necklace too, she realized, the same one she'd seen the other day, the silver pendant glinting against the bare skin of his chest.

She gulped.

He wasn't wearing anything under his hoodie, and the zipper had slipped down.

She tried not to stare. 

"So," she says, glad to give her traitorous brain a distraction, "you're a morning person, huh?"

"Unfortunately," he replies with a mock grimace.

She glances around the field. There were only a small handful of people around.

"It's quiet," she remarks. 

Usually, Konoha is a bustling gym, filled with fighters, adrenaline junkies, and gym rats alike.

This morning, it was just... quiet. 

She looks down at her ridiculous Frankenstein outfit. Cotton candy print pajamas bottoms, a dark oversized sweater of Sasuke's and unbrushed hair, "thank god," she said with a laugh, "I don't know how many people I'd want seeing me like this."

Kakashi tilted his head at her again, "you look cute," he told her.

She felt her cheeks pink, felt her belly burn, "uh-"

"Your pants match your hair," he said gesturing between them, a small smirk on his face.

Trying to ignore the tingling in her stomach, Sakura glance down and wiggled her legs, "yea it's all the rage on the Paris runways," she told him sarcastically.

And then,

"What're you doing?"

He was here alone, no partner, no equipment. 

Just his sweatpants and bare chest and silver necklace.

"Mobility work," he told her, shifting to switch positions, "it's a type of active stretching."

"I didn't know there were different types of stretching," she said, peering at the position he held himself in.

He laughed, "it's an important one, keeps me loose and flexible."

Sakura thought about it. Her mind flickered to the way she'd seen him fighting. Fluid. Flowing.

It made sense.

"How long are you staying here?" she asked.

"About forty minutes, then I'm heading inside to teach."

"You teach here?" 

She didn't know that!

"Konoha's a competitive gym," she said, slightly in awe of him, "you must be really good if you're teaching people,"

Kakashi shrugged good naturedly, "or, they're really desperate for instructors."

She rolled her eyes at him, "still."

He shifted positions and she watched in amusement, "I don't think I've ever stretched for like ten minutes, let alone forty." she told him. 

Kakashi grinned, "wanna join?"

"I-" she reeled. Join him?!

"I don't want to bug you if you're trying to focus and-"

He frowned, straightening up out of the position he'd been in.

"I didn't say you'd be bugging me."

Sakura laughed self-consciously, "right, but if you're in the middle of something, then-"

"Sakura," he said her name quietly. His voice low. It sent a wave of butterflies fluttering through her stomach.

"You're not bothering me, I like talking to you."

She swallowed, "I-"

"And," he continued slowly, "it would only make my morning more entertaining."

He thought she was entertaining?

"I-" Sakura faltered, her brain short-circuiting on what to say.

She glanced down at herself, "I'm in my pajamas."

He squinted, "doesn't seem restrictive," he said thoughtfully.

He smiled up at her, his grin lopsided and sweet, "wanna join?"

This time, she didn't hesitate, didn't have any excuses on her tongue.

"I'd love to," she told him. 

Chapter Text

Sakura spent a lot of her time, thinking, about lost time.

Once she'd thought about it once, it was like she kept seeing it everywhere.

She finished classes at 3PM. Sasuke picks her up at 5PM, then they go to the gym, and then by the time she's home, it's nearly 8PM.

And somehow, she needs to squeeze eating and bathing and catching up on homework and sleeping all before 5AM the next day.

So, she finds herself behind.

A lot.

She works when she's not in school, and she's in school when she's not at work, and she's watching Sasuke's training sessions all the time.

It was bad.

Sakura's laundry had piled up, her closet was a disaster, and most days, her stomach reminded her that she hadn't made time for a meal.

She'd been at work the past couple of days, working twelve hour shifts from five in the morning, to five at night, and then Sasuke would pick her up, and she'd sit at the gym and keep her left eye on him, and her right eye on the accumulating mountain of schoolwork she had. 

And it kept building.

She felt like her life was falling apart, like every-time she patched over one problem, another one appeared.

She'd received a warning at work for showing up out of uniform. All her scrubs were dirty so she'd tried to pass off a pair of black yoga pants as scrub bottoms. No luck.

She'd had to email her professor for an extension on an assignment.

She'd gotten a 62% on a test she'd stayed up studying ten hours for.

She was burning the candle at both ends, and somewhere in the middle.  

Sakura thought about lost time a lot.

- - -

Sakura had gotten used to early mornings with Sasuke.

Well, maybe gotten used to wasn't the right phrase. More like accepted the reality of it.

She wakes to her blaring alarm clock, brushes her teeth, throws on a sweater, and hopes her brain stutters awake before they reach Konoha.

Usually, it does. 

Usually, she's got her eyes mostly open by the time they reach the field.

Today, is not the case.

Because Sakura's school schedule was all over the place, her work schedule was all over the place, meaning she was all over the place, meaning, Sakura had just worked four shifts over three days and had spent nearly all of the night before trying to catch up on all her schoolwork. 

Meaning, she was bone tired and weary.

She felt Sasuke guide her across the field, her hand in his. It was when the finally stopped moving that she opened her eyes. 

When she looked up, she was looking into Sasuke's worried expression.

"You okay?"

Not really. She felt dizzy and light-headed, and she had a wicked headache pounding in her skull.

"Feeling a little sick," she admitted, squeezing one eye shut against the bright stadium lights.

Sasuke took a step back, "nothing contagious, right?"

She sighed.

No, she didn't think so. But, she counted as a higher risk group since she worked at the hospital.

She went through this every single time she had any symptom of being sick. Sasuke worried that him catching something from her would put him too far behind in his training.

She went through her normal speil as they stood at the periphery of the field. The words were almost automatic at this point, but she found herself dragging through them anyways.

Sasuke breathed out a sigh of relief and then leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek.

"Thanks," he breathed, "I'm sorry, I know I'm being paranoid, it's just that-"

"I know," Sakura said, managing to push her lips into a thin smile, "don't worry."

He leaned in to kiss her cheek one more time before jogging off, leaving Sakura to walk to the shrubs.

- - - 

Normally, Sakura would join Kakashi during his morning stretches. 

Over the past week, she'd come to admit that he might have had a point about the mobility thing.

Normally, she would chat with him, would enjoy learning more about him.

For instance, he had a fat pug, she'd thought it was funny because it was the least Kakashi thing she could ever imagine.

She'd learned that he taught many classes at Konoha, that he and Guy were the most senior instructors in the building. 

She'd learned that Kakashi wasn't just good, he was great. 

He'd won the Konoha wide mixed martial art championship for two years in a row. Over the last five years, he'd consistently plaed in the top three (so had Guy, she'd realized), and in the last two consecutive years, he'd won. 

He was 24 and a fighting legend, she'd learned. 

She thought he might even be better than Sasuke. 

She'd learned that he was truly, and nauseatingly, a morning person. He managed to somehow be chipper and funny, even before the sun was up.

Normally, she'd joke around with him, she'd tell him about her days.

That she'd always wanted a cat.

That she was an only child.

That she'd been working at the hospital the past couple days, and that she'd spent yesterday night frantically catching up on her school work. 

Normally, she'd be sitting up and enjoying the way the sun peaked over the horizon as they finished up their movements.

Not today.

Today, she hardly greeted Kakashi.

Instead, she deposited her bag beside his, and promptly flopped down in front of it, using her backpack as a pseudo pillow.

She was tired. Really really tired.

She'd nearly missed yet another deadline for another course and she'd only made it because she'd stayed up late.

Late as in 2AM. 

She was on three hours of sleep again, and had only gotten three hours a night for the past week, so, it was finally catching up to her.

She lay on her bag and threw an arm over her eyes to try and block out the bright field lights. Maybe she could catch a nap while Sasuke trained. If she angled right, it would look like she were looking in his general direction.

Behind her eyelids, her mind continued to work, spinning and tumbling and moving at a pace so dizzying that Sakura was already nauseous.

She was spinning in her thoughts, lost between all the things on her mind, school work, readings, laundry, errands, work, patients, time, time, always so much lost time, missed deadlines, apology emails-

"Sakura?"

Her brain stops spinning for a moment, pausing, to focus on Kakashi's voice.

"Mmm?" she called from under her arm

She feels a tap on her knee.

Groaning, she pushes up into a sit. She prepares herself for how bright the world will be when she opens her eyes. She’d oriented herself away from the field lights as much as she could, but still, she reasoned, it would be intense

But all she sees when she opens her eyes, is Kakashi's face.

Their faces are close, she realizes with a start. It jostled her tired brain into wakefulness.

Up close, she can see the tan on the bridge of his straight nose, can see the jagged skin of his scar as it stretches over his eye, can smell him, earthy and masculine and clean. 

She could see the worried furrow of his eyebrows.

"That bad?" he asks. 

That bad, she wants to say, but she’s focused on the beauty mark under Kakashi’s lip.

She wonders if he’s staring at her the way she’s staring at him. She wonders if he notices the dark circles under her eyes, if he can hear her thoughts spinning through her head.

"You okay?"

It’s so gentle it almost hurts. The concern in his voice, the soft grey of his eyes.

It makes her want to tell him.

Sakura blinks, "my head hurts," she says, and then frowns, surprised, that she’d admitted that to him.

He tilts his head at her, the furrow between his brown darkening.

And then he stands up.

Sakura figures she might as well stay upright because she wasn’t really getting much sleep laying down, plus, it only seemed to contribute to her nausea.

Instead, she studies Kakashi.

He’s by his bag, the flap open. He’s rummaging inside and Sakura is too tired to figure out what he might be doing.

So she lets her eyes wander to Sasuke who’s training further down the field.

He’s shirtless, the way he always is. In the bright field lights, she can spot him easily, the pale white of his skin reflecting the light beautifully. He's always been like that, blindingly bright.

The only thing that’s not blazing about him, is his hair, so dark it’s nearly blue.

He’s wrapped his hands in bandages, the dark fabric wrapping halfway up his forearms and she watches as he moves through his forms.

He’s always been like this; black and white, a man who lived his life in the extremes.

He’d always been powerful, driven, and she loved that about him. Loved how he worked for his goals, how he pushed and pressed on with determination, loved his grit, loved his passion.

Kakashi is not black and white.

He couldn’t be more different from Sasuke. In the way he fights, the way he moves, even, in the colours he holds.

She thinks of his eyes, the same soft grey as a calm winter morning. She thinks of his hair, a busy riot of silver on top of his head.

She thinks of that chain that sees sometimes. She glances back at him, and smiles as it catches the artificial light of the field.

She studies the broad line of his shoulders, the powerful span of his thighs.

She thinks about his voice, silvery and warm, asking her if she was okay. She thinks of how his words slip, liquid and soft, against the addled mess of her thoughts, how she felt it pour over her, like cool water.

She thinks of living in the shades of his grey, just for a little.

But then, Kakashi is straightening and moving towards her and she reins in her wandering trains of though to focus on him.

He crouches down beside her, closer than usual, his knee against her hip, and holds his hand open to her.

She looks down and sees two items in the centre of his palm; a granola bar and an apple.

“Eat,” he says firmly.

She’s nauseous, and tired, and honestly, would much rather Kakashi offer her a nap, so she pushes his hand gently away with both of hers.

It doesn’t budge.

There’s a quiet strength to him, her two hands don’t even remotely move his one.

“You need to eat,” he says, a little more gently but still insistent.

“I’ll grab a coffee on the way home,” she says, trying to bargain with him, but he only relents

“Coffee,” he says, “is only going to make you feel like you aren’t tired,” he looks pointedly at the food in his hand, “you need real energy.”

She would argue, really, she would. But she’s tired, and realizing that he might be right.

She hadn’t really been eating breakfast lately, and only picked at the dinner Sasuke made for them last night, so she plucks the items out of his hands.

Kakashi seems satisfied, shifting from a crouch, to a full sit, still close to her, his knee brushing her hip.

She gingerly peels the granola bar’s wrapper open and takes a bite, chewing thoughtfully.

She feels his eyes on her as she eats, watching closely.

She tries to avoid his gaze, and instead, shifts to watch Sasuke and the way he moves. 

Determined, focused.

She finishes the granola bar and starts on the apple, and to her relief, realizes she’s not so nauseous anymore. She’s feeling slightly more awake, her eyelids don’t feel as heavy.

She glances over at Kakashi and notices a lopsided smile on his face.

“Better?” he asks.

She swallows her last bite of apple, “better,” she tells him, and means it.

Yes, she needed sleep, but he’d been right, she also needed energy, and with the food in her belly, she felt decidedly more human.

Kakashi is watching her, his head tilted, the worry re-materializing between his brows, “have you been eating?”

More awake now, Sakura hears the meaning behind his words, she knows what he’s actually asking her.

“I am!” she says quickly, she feels her cheeks flush.

“Honestly, it’s just I’m so busy and I stayed up really late to get some work done and I’ve been working a lot, and I guess everything’s catching up to me,” she was babbling, tripping over herself to try and get words out, “and honestly, I don’t really have an appetite when I’m tired so I forget to make sure I’m- you know- doing the normal human things, but-”

She paused for a breath, holding up the empty granola bar and the apple core, “thanks for this, it really helped.”

Kakashi’s face splits, his previously unimpressed expression splitting into a grin.

“You’re chatty,” he says with a smile, “that’s definitely an improvement.”

Sakura laughs, glad to no longer be subject to the heavy weight of his gaze.

“You’re okay?” he asks, lighter, this time, but insistent all the same.

“You keep asking me that,” she says with a good-natured roll of her eyes.

“So then answer the question,” he tells her easily, mimicking her eye roll.

She sighs, “I’m okay,” she says and then laughs at the unconvinced expression he gives her, “I’ll be okay,” she tries instead.

“It’s Friday,” she tells him, “I just have to submit this assignment, go to class, and then I’ll go to bed early,” she explains.

“And, follow Sasuke to his evening training session?” he asks neutrally.

She feels the flush rise up her chest again, “he doesn’t train Friday, Saturday, or Wednesday evenings,” she tells him almost vacantly.

“So you’ll actually be resting?”

She smiles and pokes his shoulder, “yea,” she tells him, “promise.”

He’s looking at her, soft and quiet, the way he had when she’d sat up, and she feels something flutter behind her ribs.

“Isn’t it time for you to go inside? Don’t you have a class to teach?” she asks, trying to change the subject.

Kakashi grins and fishes his phone out of his pocket. The time flashes 7:25AM. His class was in five minutes. He was going to be late!

“Kakashi!” she shoves his shoulder, “you’re going to be late, you gotta go.”

If he’s concerned about the time, he doesn’t show it, just stretches his arms above his head and stretches languidly.

“It’ll be fine.”

Sakura hardly hears him, her gaze catches on the strip of skin exposed as his sweater rode up.

Her eyes swallow up what they see greedily, defined abdominal muscles, a line of grey hair just underneath his belly button.

This time the flush crawls up her face and she feels her skin heat.

“Uh,” she blinks, trying to clear the image from her head, “sorry about, uh,-“

But her brain keeps replaying what she’d seen. The way his pants sat low on his hips, the dark band of his underwear, that grey line of hair.

“Sorry,” she tries again, “for stealing your morning mobility session, I-“

“Sakura,” he says, his voice low and silvery, “stop apologizing."

She feels her mouth snap shut.

“You said it the other day too,” he continued, pushing himself to a stand and loping over to his bag.

He zipped it shut before hoisting it up onto his shoulder, “that you were bugging me.”

He walked back over to her, looking down, “you aren’t. I like seeing you in the mornings.”

“And,” his eyes flashed to the granola bar wrapper and apple core, “I’m glad you’re feeling a little better.”

Sakura reached out to grab the trash, realizing she’d place it on the ground beside her. She didn’t realize Kakashi had thought the same thing, so when she’d gone to grab it, her hand bumped his, their fingers tangling for a moment.

She pulled away quickly, her fingers tingling, a funny feeling in her belly that had been put there both by his touch, and by the things he’d just said to her.

“It’s okay,” she said quickly, “I’ll throw it out.”

He shakes his head and scoops the items up in his palm, “I’m on my way inside anyways.”

“Kakashi,” she tries. Not only had he missed out on his morning session, but she’d also eaten his food! And now, he was also throwing out her garbage.

“I don’t mind,” she started, “it’s my mess, I’ll-“

But he was waving her off.

“Here,” he said, shoving his phone into her hand instead, “the password is 9-3-1-8, add your number.”

She blinked at him.

“Uh, why?”

An amused grin spreads across his face, “so I can text you?”

“Or,” he says with a shrug, “steal your identity, you’ll have to find out.”

She laughs, punching in the password he’d told her and navigating to his messaging app. She sent a message with her name to herself.

“I texted myself,” she explained, handing the phone back.

She’d glanced at the time at the top of his screen while she had his phone, “it’s past seven thirty,” she said pointedly, “you really should get going.”

He looked in the direction of the building, and then back down at her with a smile, “trying to get rid of me?”

“Trying to keep you employed,” she insisted.

He laughed, pocketing his phone and straightening.

She gazed up at him, his warm silver against the early morning sky.

“Sorry again-,” she started, but he cut her off.

“Sakura.”

Right, he’d told her to stop apologizing.

“Thank you,” she tried instead, and smiled in relief when his expression softened, “for helping me out this morning.”

He crouched down, close to her again and smiled.

She found herself smiling back, contented and happy and not so miserable anymore.

“Glad to,” he told her with a tilt of his head.

Sakura let herself linger, let the silver of his voice wash over her again.

He glanced at the building, “I should go,” he said but made no effort to straighten.

“You should,” she encouraged, making no effort to look away from him.

He looked back at her.

Was it her imagination, or did his gaze linger?

“You-“

He faltered, and she realized she saw hesitation mapping itself on his face.

“What?” she asked.

He sighed.

“You’ve got to stop putting yourself on the side,” he said firmly, his voice quiet and serious.

She felt her heart hammering in her throat.

His gaze flickered behind her, to Sasuke, she realized.

But before she could say anything, he was straightening again, adjusting the bag on his shoulder, and walking towards the building, offering her a wave over his shoulder as he walked away.

She watched him until he disappeared inside the building.

She didn’t notice Sasuke’s eyes on her at all.

Chapter Text

On the way home that morning, Sakura is feeling much better.

Sasuke is driving and she's sitting with her legs crossed in the passenger seat, watching the blue-grey sky fade into the day.

She's been thinking to herself.

For starters, Sakura thinks she needs to start eating breakfast. Maybe, she thought hopefully, she could start stashing granola bars in her bag, the way Kakashi did.

She's also thinking of Kakashi, and, what he'd said to her.

You've got to stop putting yourself on the side.

He was right, she had been.

And, deep down inside of her, she'd known it too. She'd just needed to hear it from someone that wasn't herself.

As much as she wanted to show up for Sasuke, she also needed to find time to breathe, and recently, it had begun feeling like she'd been struggling to fill her lungs.

It felt like she'd been holding her breath.

She needed to tell Sasuke, needed to talk to him so they could smooth everything over, but, she'd figure out how she would do all that later.

Right now, she preoccupied herself with daydreaming about the incredible night's sleep ahead of her.

She had it all planned out. She'd get home from school, order her and Sasuke's favorite take out, watch a movie, and dive straight into bed by a tidy 8PM.

Sasuke had training every morning, so yes, she'd need to be up by 5AM, but it would be nine hours of sleep.

She'd hardly gotten that over the past three days, it would be damn near rejuvenating.

She's busy in her mind, daydreaming about her bed, when Sasuke's voice shakes her from that fantasy.

.

"Who were you talking to?"

The question makes Sakura's cheeks burn. 

She's grateful for the hoodie she's got up around her head, it helps hide the reddening of her cheeks.

"Oh," she say watching for his reaction, "my friend."

"Who?"

She could tell he was trying to be light, trying to hold back the irritation in his voice, but she could hear it weaving its way through his consonants. 

"Kakashi," she answers, feeling like she's just revealed a massive secret.

"Mmm," he says in reply, and then,

"I haven't heard you mention him before, is he a new friend?"

Sakura listens carefully, straining her ears for that thread of tension. She doesn't think it's there. Maybe he was just curious.

"He is," she say carefully, "we actually met at the gym, around the time you started at Konoha."

"Are you guys close?" Sasuke asks.

"I guess," she replies, thinking.

She and Kakashi talked each time they saw each other, he'd been wonderfully helpful this morning. He had her number now. Did that make them close? She didn't know, but it at least made them friends.

There are six red lights between Konoha and their house. Sakura knows because she counted each one the first day they moved here.

When they were younger, Sasuke would lean over and kiss her until the light turned green. She used to track their trips by the amount of stoplights, giddy over the anticipation of how many time he'd kiss her on the way home.

Now, years later, when they had settled into their relationship, it was just a lingering habit.

Sasuke pulls up to the fourth red light on their drive home and turns to face her.

"I didn't realize he was a close enough friend for you to ignore me for fourty minutes straight."

Sakura feels her stomach churn anxiously, the granola bar and apple from the morning seeming to mock her as stares back at Sasuke. 

"I wasn't ignoring you," she protested.

The light changes and Sasuke turns back to the road.

"You were," he insists coolly, "every time I looked up, you were talking to him."

She watches his knuckles flex around the steering wheel, watches the thin skin pale as it's stretched over the bone.

"Sasuke," she tries, "come on, I was just talking with him, we stretch together in the mornings, we're friends."

Sasuke's jaw was tense, his shoulders were pinched as he drove. Sakura knew him like the back of her hand, she knew him like the lines on her palms, she knew him too well to not be able to tell. He was annoyed.

"I don't care that you're his friend, I care that you said you were there to support me. You're on your laptop most of the time you're there anyways, and I tried to brush it off, but now you're also talking half the time."

What?

What?

Sakura felt annoyance lick up her spine.

"Sasuke," she says, "how much support am I giving you if I'm just sitting on my ass and staring at you all day?"

He glances at her, "are you being serious right now?"

"Yea," she says, hurt, "I am."

She feels humiliated.

This argument is about her not watching him? She wants to roll her eyes.

She was there wasn't she?! She was up at the crack of dawn trailing after him even though she'd hardly gotten enough sleep.

She was there swaying on her feet, barely getting her assignments done on time.

No matter what, she made sure she went. At least she was there!

And she did it all because he wanted her to. 

And now the issue was that she wasn't paying attention to him? 

Come on! 

She almost wished he was jealous over her talking to Kakashi, at least then she wouldn't feel like shit.

A t least then she'd feel wanted.

"I thought we talked about this," he says hotly, "why are you bringing this up again?"

"Because you're making me feel like I'm not doing enough for you!"

"You weren't paying attention," he insists, stopping to face her at the fifth light.

"Listen," he continues, "normally, I don't care about what you do or who you talk to, but this is the one thing I'm asking you for and you're half assing it Sakura."

What did he just say?!

What. did. he. just. say?!

"Me spending three hours every morning, and then another three hours in the evenings every Sunday and Monday and Tuesday and Thursday is half assing it? Are you kidding me?"

Sasuke opens his mouth to protest but Sakura was on a roll now.

"That's a crazy amount of time, Sasuke, and I get it, it means a lot to you, so I do it, but if all you expect me to do is sit and stare, then it's just wasting all my time"

Sasuke's fingers are gripped tight around the steering wheel, his jaw is clenched so hard she can nearly hear the grinding of his teeth.

For once, she doesn't care.

She's fucking tired, and she hasn't had a good night's sleep in over a week because she's showing up to his sessions that she's apparently not focused enough during.

"I can't believe you've been keeping count," he says irritably through gritted teeth.

"I'm surprised you haven't," she shoots back, just as annoyed.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asks, stopping at the last red light to face her.

"It means you ask and ask and ask for my time and attention without a thinking about much you're actually asking for! Do you have any idea how much I've had to change to give you what you want?"

The words come pouring out of her, angry and spinning. It's everything she's thought about for the past couple days, everything she's jammed down deep in her heat.

"We agreed to move here together," Sasuke says quietly, his eyes flickering back to the road as the light changes, "we knew there would be some changes we'd have to deal with."

"Yea well," Sakura says as they turn onto the street they live on, "I'm getting pretty tired of dealing with them."

- - - 

That night, she receives her first text from Kakashi.

Kakashi: Is it too early to wonder if you're asleep yet?

Sakura is a lazy pile of bones on her couch. She'd taken an edible the moment she'd returned from school, and had felt it kicking in as she stood under the boiling shower spray. 

Now, with her brain buzzing happily in her skull, and a cool looking movie queued, she feels her body relaxing.

Sakura: it's only 7PM!

she shot back quickly, and then,

Sakura: I promised myself I'd be in bed by 9PM

Okay, so she'd planned to be in bed by 8PM but the edible was making her feel lovely, and her takeout had just gotten here, and she had barely started her movie, so, she'd pushed her plans by an hour.

She'd still be getting close to eight hours of sleep. 

Kakashi: fair

Kakashi: how was that assignment?

Oh! That was nice of him to remember, she'd only mentioned it offhand.

Sakura: it went alright, I could've used more time to prepare

Kakashi: sorry to hear that

She gazed at her phone, her heart twinging in her chest.

After her fight with Sasuke, they hadn't spoken. He'd murmured something about going on a long run and she hadn't seen him since.

She'd be worried about him, but she knew Sasuke went on these marathon runs to try and help clear his head, and besides, he was a fighter, he could surely handle anything the world threw at him.

She and Sasuke used to smoke weed together.

Back when they'd been in college, they'd welcome the weekend by sinking into the couch in a stoned haze.

Now, Sasuke didn't go near the stuff. He hardly drank. Said he couldn't risk it showing up on a drug screen, or let smoking affect his lungs.

She'd understood it. Of course she had, so she'd switched to edibles to keep Sasuke's lungs (and admittedly, her own) healthier.

Thought, she did miss the ritual of it all.

Sakura: if I can't say sorry, neither can you

Sakura: are you going to train tomorrow morning?

Sasuke would be. And she didn't want to be alone.

Kakashi: it would take a LOT to get me out bed that early on a Saturday

Kakashi: or a Sunday

Sakura: you don't train on the weekends?

Kakashi: not if I can help it

Sakura: why?

Kakashi: there's got to be a break somewhere

Sakura stared at his last messaged for longer than she probably should have.

He was right, again. There had to be a break somewhere, she just didn't know where that would be for her. 

- - - 

True to her promise to herself, Sakura had gone to bed at 9PM, Sasuke still not back in the house.

When her alarm blared at 5AM, she rolled over with a groan and found herself face to face with Sasuke's sleepy eyes.

They'd stared at each other, neither of them blinking, neither of them speaking.

She'd sat up quickly and escaped into the bathroom.

She'd felt blessedly refreshed, the sleep doing her well. She even managed to swipe an orange from the kitchen before she headed out the door. 

They hadn't talked since the argument, and Sakura found the car ride to Konoha just a little awkward, but, not unfamiliar.

Most mornings, she was still snoozing in the passenger seat anyways, so it wasn't like the morning car rides between them were particularly chatty. 

Still though, she felt the tension hanging around them.

She didn't know if she should break their silence, or if he would. They'd had fights in their past, but something about this seemed... different. 

She usually understood him, she was usually able to accommodate him, to find peace with what he wanted, but this was different.

This was him not understanding her. 

This was him not being able to accommodate her. 

She was drowning.

Between school and work, it was already difficult to keep her head above water, but now, with what he needed from her, it was like tying a weight to her ankles.

She knew she'd sink completely if she tried to keep up with him. 

She didn't need to be more understanding, she needed him to understand. So, she stayed quiet.

She didn't say a word when they arrived in Konoha, didn't say anything as they walked to the training field, and didn't say anything when he leaned in to her to kiss her cheek, almost out of muscle memory.

Sasuke froze half way into leaning to kiss her, and she looked up at him the same moment he stared down at her.

There was an opportunity here, she realized, to break the ice, to extend an olive branch to him. 

You're half assing it Sakura.

She leaned away instead and headed for the shrubs.

- - -

She'd known Kakashi wouldn't be there, so, she'd prepared by bringing extra school work to do.

She'd settled near the same shrubs and sighed to herself as she opened her laptop.

The night off had been good for her, it didn't change the fact that a mountain of work remained. 

At least, she'd be able to begin to make a dent in it.

She navigated to her most recently open tab, and her gaze, by sheer force of habit, flickered up to Sasuke.

He, for once, wasn't in the ring, he was watching a tiny red head girl and a kid with blue hair spar instead. He was watching them, and, she realized with a start, her.

It was... nice,

The part of her that wasn't irritated by him knew that he cared about her. That he sought her out, that he wanted her to want him.

And she did, of course she did, but this was too much and it was taking a toll on her.

The part of her that had just gotten enough sleep, though, was pissed. 

There's got to be a break somewhere.

And so Sakura shifted, her laptop balanced in her lap, and turned her back. 

Chapter Text

By the time Monday rolls around, Sakura has still not spoken to Sasuke, Sasuke has still not spoken to Sakura. 

She's attended his morning session on Sunday, and his afternoon one, and each time, she's sat with her laptop open, her eyes trained firmly on her screen.

She'd been turning her back to him at each session, eyes on her laptop, doing schoolwork. Normally, she tried to glance at him a couple times, to watch what he was doing, but now, she made a conscious effort not to. 

She was being passive aggressive. She knew that. She didn't quite care.

So, when Monday morning rolled around, she woke up to the blare of her alarm at 5AM, swiped two oranges from the kitchen, ignored her boyfriend in the car, and set out to sit by the shrubs and pretend she didn't care for another two hours. 

There were silver-linings; she was getting school work done at an alarming rate, she was actually getting some sleep, and, today in particular, Kakashi was also on the field. 

They'd settled into easy conversation, she told him that she'd gotten a lot more work this weekend and her mountain was starting to look more hill-like, and he'd told her that he'd had a busy weekend out with his friends.

She had been happy for him, really! But it also made her conscious of the fact that she hadn't gone out with anyone, including her boyfriend, in over a month now. 

She'd excused herself from stretching that morning, instead choosing to get cracking on a mountain of papers she had to read. Kakashi, was working his way through a kata of some sort.

She'd seen Sasuke do katas, had seen the fierce power and concentration it took. 

But as usual, Kakashi was something different entirely. The kata he did required very little ferocity, or at least, that what it looked like to her. He was moving slowly, his pace measured, each movement flowing into the next.

How the hell was he a world class fighter? 

Sure, there was beauty and grace in the way he moved, but there was nothing else that she'd seen even remotely resembling actual fighting. 

That first day with Guy had been the first time she'd seen him actually spar, and even then, she'd never seen him throw a punch. 

She wondered what she was missing.

- - - 

"You're sitting in the wrong spot."

Sakura looked up from the paper she'd just been finishing to Kakashi, who'd apparently finished going through his kata already.

"Hmm?"

"You usually sit over there," he said, pointing at a space to his left, "so you can watch Sasuke over there," he said, waving his hand in the other man's general direction.

"Since when did you care?" Sakura asked lightly, feeling slightly transparent.

"Since now I have to face the field lights to keep you in my line of sight," he said, flopping down on his back beside her, an arm bent behind his head, "and they give me a headache."

Sakura laughed at his expression, an irritated furrow between his brows, "I thought you were a morning person," she teased.

"I am," he rolled up to a sit, "that isn't the same as a lightbulb person."

"So, what you're saying is that you're dim?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at her, "you're mean."

She laughed, sliding her laptop off her lap.

"No, I'm nice," she insisted, "I even brought you a snack."

She'd been having oranges for breakfast, and today, she'd brought two, peeling both and dividing them into segments as Kakashi had moved through his kata. 

He'd given her an apple and a granola bar, the least she could do was return the favour, right? That was friendly, right?

"See?" she gestured at the container that she'd balanced on her knee.

To her surprise, Kakashi got up and jogged to his bag.

"Who's being mean now," she called after him, slightly upset that he hadn't so much as acknowledged the oranges.

"Still you," he called back, rummaging around for something. 

"You ignored my oranges," she pouted as he jogged back, his hands held suspiciously behind his back.

"No," he sinking into a sit, he leaned over the container, brining his face close to her knee, "hello oranges."

He straightened and grinned at her with that same lopsided smile, "see? not ignoring."

Ugh, he was so cute!

Sakura tried to scowl at him, feigning annoyance, but she couldn't help the smile that melted away her scowl.

"Okay," she said, "so what's the big secret you needed to go to your bag for?"

If it was possible, his grin only widened, his eyes crinkling in the corners, "I brought you a snack too."

Sakura felt something warm spark behind her heart, a feeling she'd recognized she got around Kakashi. 

He'd brought her a snack? 

"You did?" she asked, her lips twisting into a smile, "what is it?"

He straightened his hands from behind his back and presented her with a snack in each hand. In his left hand was a granola bar, the same one he'd given her on Friday, and in his right, was a jar with...

"A smoothie!" she cried, taking the items from his hands, shyly, she asked, "did you make this for me?"

He smiled that same lopsided smile and swiped the oranges from her knee, "I usually have one for breakfast," he said, popping an orange into his mouth, "figured I'd make a little extra for you."

She peeled the granola bar's wrapper away, keeping her eyes on it, unable to look at him for a second.

"Taking pity on the grumpy sleep-deprived nurse?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I gotta know you're eating," he said, leaning his head back to deposit another orange segment in his mouth, he chewed.

"Helps me sleep at night."

He’d said it lightly, between slurps of orange slices, but the weight of his words hit her all the same.

“I, uh, I’ve been having breakfast,” she said, trying to change the topic to something that didn’t make her skin flush.

She looked at the empty container in his hand, “oranges.”

He tilted his head at her, “that’s good,” he said kindly, “but you need a little more than an orange for energy.”

Sakura unscrewed the lid of the smoothie he’d made her and held it up to her nose, “what type of energy did you put in this?” she asked.

Last year, Sasuke had won the championship at his old gym, Kiri. To do it, he’d eaten nothing but chicken breast and boiled vegetables, and the most foul smelling protein shake she’d ever encountered.

She sniffed gingerly at the smoothie Kakashi had made her, and to her surprise, it smelt good!

“Fruit,” he said with a shrug, “yogurt, a little oatmeal.”

She took a cautious ship.

Oh! It was good!

“This is yummy,” she told him, taking a more generous gulp.

“Were you expecting something gross?” he asked.

“A little,” she admitted, feeling a little embarrassed, “I was at the very least expecting protein powder or something.”

Kakashi’s face twisted into a grimace, “I hate that stuff,” he told her, “makes me gassy all day.”

She laughed, her cheeks pressing upwards as she held a hand to her stomach to contain her laughter.

“Okay,” she said once she recovered, “I gotta ask,”

Kakashi tilted his head at her, “what?”

“So you’ve been Konoha’s reigning champion for two years now,” she said, and then laughed at the blush that tinted the tops of his cheeks.

He’d been resistant to admitting it when she’d asked, but she’d noticed his names on too many plaques and trophies to leave it alone.

“How,” she continued, “is that the case when you don’t train on the weekends, never spar, and” she glanced at the smoothie accusingly, “have yummy breakfasts.”

He chuckled, laying back down.

“You don’t need to be miserable to eat well,” he told her.

She made a mental note to mention it to Sasuke… whenever they started talking again.

“And,” he continued, “I do spar. It’s with a couple people you don’t know, but you saw me with Guy that one time.”

“True,” she considered, then, she grinned down at him deviously “you look like you can take a punch.”

Kakashi stretched a foot out and poked her, “mean.”

“I don’t train on the weekends,” he continued, “because there’s such thing as too much of a good thing, and, I like to actually enjoy my life.”

“What’s that like?” she asked, feeling herself deflate a little. Kakashi seemed to have a normal, balanced, happy life. Recently, she couldn’t quite say the same for herself.

He looked over at her, his brows knitting together, “bad weekend?” he asked.

Oh great. They’d been talking and laughing and having fun, and she’d ruined the mood.

She opened her mouth to apologize but then snapped it shut. Kakashi had told her to stop apologizing.

She tried again.

“It was productive,” she said, “but uh, I-“

She glanced over at Sasuke. He was in the middle of an athletic looking kata, something with ridiculously high leaps and dizzying kick combinations.

“Sasuke and I kind of had a fight,” she admitted.

Kakashi was quiet.

Had she just ruined everything?

“Want to talk about it?” he asked gently.

She sighed in relief. Would it be wrong to tell Kakashi about it? It wasn’t like she wanted to slander Sasuke or anything, she’d just been sitting in the frustration of their argument for a while now, and just wanted to get it out of her head and out in the open. She sure as hell couldn’t do that with Sasuke, so, she told Kakashi instead.

She told him how she’d taken his advice about not putting herself on the side to heart, how she’d tried to tell him that she was tired of just sitting and staring and how he hadn’t even cared that she felt that way.

Kakashi listened the whole time she talked, his soft grey eyes trained at the lightening morning sky.

When she finished, he turned to her, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Sasuke seems like he needs a lot of attention,” he mused.

“Right!?” Sakura cried, relieved to know she wasn’t insane for feeling overwhelmed, “and it’s-“

“But,” Kakashi continued, “it also sounds like he doesn’t quite get why that’s an issue for you.”

“I told him!” Sakura protested.

“You told him that coming to his sessions are a waste of your time and that you’re bored during them,” Kakashi said neutrally, “but you’re not telling him how you feel.”

“I don’t get it,” she said, frowning.

“Does he know how late you stay up?”

“I mean, not really, but-“

“Does he know that you just started eating breakfast? That you’re behind in your schoolwork and need time to catch up?”

Sakura had had protests in her throat, but she felt them beginning to melt away as Kakashi spoke.

“It’s a big thing he’s asking for, don’t get me wrong,” Kakashi continued, “but I think you should try explaining to him why it’s so big and overwhelming, it might make a difference.”

Sakura sighed. She tilted her head up and stared at the early morning sky as she let Kakashi’s words wash over her.

He kind of had a point. If she were being honest, she’d wanted to commiserate with him, but Kakashi hadn’t quite taken her side, he’d been neutral and fair and made a good point.

Actually, he kind of had a couple good points, much to her chagrin.

She’d been angry and sleep deprived when they’d had their argument, and, she’d been a bit resentful.

Kakashi was right, she hadn’t quite told him why she couldn’t do what he’d asked, she’d just said it was a pain in her ass.

She felt Kakashi tap her knee.

When she tilted her head back to look at him, he’d sat up and had a cautious look on his face.

“Did I overstep?”

Sakura shook her head, “no.”

“I just hate that you’re right.”

An easy smile replaced the caution on Kakashi’s face and the look he gave her was boarderline wolfish.

“Part of my job as Konoha’s reigning champion,” he said indulgently, “is to be right about everything.”

Sakura’s jaw dropped.

Up until now, he’d been downplaying his reputation, this was the cockiest she’d ever seen him!

“Still took a punch to the face, huh?” she asked with a widening grin on her face.

Kakashi snorted before leaning over to poke her shoulder.

“Mean.”

- - -

On the drive home, Sakura counted red lights again.

She and Sasuke needed to talk. Sure, she didn’t want to be the one to break their silence, but, she couldn’t keep living her life just ignoring him all the time. Plus, Kakashi had a point.

She needed to tell him how coming to his sessions was impacting her.

As Sasuke pulled into their driveway, she steeled herself.

Relationships sometime came with conflicts, she could get past this. They could get past this.

“Sasuke-“

“I’m sorry.”

They spoke at the same time, their words clashing.

Sakura stared, so did Sasuke.

He’d said he was sorry? First?

She blinked.

“Uh, you first,” she said finally.

Sasuke sighed.

He turned the car off and turned in his seat to face her.

“Look,” he said, “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to eat up your time or make you feel like you aren’t doing enough. You come to all my sessions, it means something to me.”

Sakura swallowed.

“I just-“ he faltered, “I hate fighting with you, and I really hate not talking to you, and I hate feeling like you’re ignoring me on purpose, so I want to fix it.”

Sakura felt her heart soften.

Sasuke was a proud man. She knew what it took for him to say sorry first, to admit what he just had.

“I’m sorry too,” she said, she reached across the console for his hand and to her relief, he clutched hers back.

“I have been ignoring you and I’m sorry, that’s not fair, I hate fighting too.”

He nodded, his eyes soft, his thumb stroking over her fingers.

“I-“

Try explaining to him why it’s so big and overwhelming.

“I want to come to your sessions,” she told him and felt her heart clench at the way he visibly relaxed, “but Sasuke, I’m really stressed out.”

“I have a lot to do with school and work and I just can’t spend that much time not doing work.”

“I haven’t really been sleeping the past couple of days,” she admitted.

Sasuke frowned, “I didn’t know that.”

“I’ve had to stay up really late to try and finish my schoolwork,” she continued, “and I can’t keep doing that because it’s driving me crazy and-”

She hesitated.

Try explaining to him why it’s so big and overwhelming.

“And,” she tried again, “it’s making me resentful.”

She swallowed.

Sasuke’s fingers were gripped in hers, neither of them saying anything.

“I want you to keep coming to my sessions,” he said slowly.

Sakura took a breath.

She needed time! She needed to actually get her work done and get some sleep and have the presence of mind to feed herself.

“But,” he continued, “I get that you have stuff you need to do.”

She looked up at him, hopeful.

“If you keep coming, I can try to be less, uh-“

Sasuke paused, “picky,” he said, “about how you spend your time.”

Sakura felt a lightness settle in her heart. That was great! She’d be able to actually focus on her work now, and not worry about trying to multitask. Yes, it would continue to eat up her time, but at least she could use the time now. It wasn’t the best case scenario, but definitely a step up from how it had been before.

She squeezed his hands, “I can do that.”

Sasuke smiled at her, a familiar smile that made her heart warm in her chest. Small and private and meant for her.

“I love you,” he said quietly.

He leaned over and pressed his lips into her and Sakura found herself leaning into him, cupping his face and sliding her hands into his hair to hold her against him more firmly.

This was the man she loved. Sure, things were a little hard, but they could make it work. They’d been together for nearly six years!

She tilted her head to kiss him back deeper, but Sasuke was pulling away, an apologetic look on his face, “I smell,” he said with a wrinkle of his nose.

Sakura laughed, “a little,” she admitted, “but I don’t mind.”

She leaned in to kiss him one more time, “I love you too.”

Sasuke smiled at her before pulling away.

“So,” Sasuke he said, shifting to open the car door, “your new friend is Kakashi Hatake, huh?”

Sakura followed suit, opening her door as well, trying to hide her flaming cheeks.

“Did you know he won Konoha’s championship last year?” Sasuke asked, rounding the side of the car to take her hand.

And the year before that, she wanted to say. She kept quiet.

“The guy’s kind of a legend at Konoha,” Sasuke continued, leading her up the walkway to their front door.

“He’s nice,” she said lightly, “he trains in the mornings right before he teaches.”

“Oh yea?” Sasuke asked, turning fully to her, his eyes sparking with interest.

“Any thing I could use?”

Sakura felt a twinge of annoyance. Sasuke trained every single day with Orochimaru. Wasn’t that enough?

She squashed it down. They’d just made up. She was getting upset over nothing.

“Not really,” she said, leaning in to unlock the front door, “he mostly stretches.”

Sasuke frowned, “the entire time?”

“I know,” Sakura said, dropping his hand to open the door, she walked into the foyer and began to toe off his shoes, “I thought it was weird at first too, and then I started stretching with him and I swear I notice a difference.”

“Really?”

“Yea,” she said nodding, “I feel a lot more flexible.”

“Really?”

Sasuke’s tone was salacious, a sly smile twisting on his lips. Sakura felt a familiar heat coil low in her belly.

Between their busy schedules and their recent argument, it had been a while. About two weeks if she remembered right.

“You’re working at the hospital today?” Sasuke asked, toeing off his shoes and walking over to her.

Sakura nodded.

“When’s your shift?” he asked, stepping in close, his body towering over her.

“Ten,” she told him, her body tingling in anticipation as he leaned down, his nose brushing hers.

“So we have about an hour?” he asked, his voice pitched low.

“Forty minutes,” she bargained. She could shower fast.

“Hmm,” he dipped his mouth to her neck and Sakura gasped lightly at the brush of his lips against her skin.

It had been a while.

“Then you have forty minutes,” he whispered, his hands spanning her waist, “to show me all that flexibility you’ve picked up.”

• -  -

Sakura had gotten lucky with the hospital, they needed nurses to work half shifts.

It worked well for her. Normally, nurses worked twelve hour shifts but Sakura couldn’t do that, what with her schedule for work and school and Sasuke.

But six hour shifts worked just fine! She’d be finishing around 430PM and Sasuke would come and pick her up for his session at 5PM.

On her lunch break, she texted Kakashi.

Sakura: took your advice… you were right

She sent a sad looking emoji paired with an emoji rolling its eyes.

She hoped it conveyed her message.

He replied back quickly.

Kakashi: mean

He sent the same emoji rolling its eyes.

Sakura giggled, glad that he’d understood

Kakashi: glad it helped though

She and Sasuke had made up. Once, in the car, and then twice, in the forty minutes she’d had before work.

She blushed at the thought.

Kakashi: I have a surprise for you

Sakura: ???

Sakura: tell me!

Sakura picked at her lunch. She’d got a measly salad from the hospital cafeteria.

Kakashi’s words rang in her head;

You don’t have to be miserable to eat well.

Maybe she’d get a sandwich next time.

Her phone buzzed and she thumbed it open, eager to read his response.

He’d sent her a photo of a computer screen.

She zoomed in studying it closely.

It was his work schedule!

She scanned it greedy for information.

It looked like he taught a class every day at 730AM. He taught until nearly 130PM, teaching various ages and skill levels.

Most of his teaching schedule was in the mornings, he had large gaps in the afternoons, and his evenings were blocked out for a couple hours with the words private.

He must do private sessions, she realized. It made sense. He must have been a coveted instructor.

He had several private sessions lined up on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

That made sense, she’d met him on a Tuesday night.

She peered in closer, there was a red box around his Monday evening.

Sakura: what’s with the red box?

Kakashi: they’re making me work Monday evenings

He sent a tragic looking emoji along.

Sakura snorted a laugh.

Sakura: you’re in demand!

Kakashi: not looking forward to it.

Kakashi: but, it means I’ll see you tonight.

Sakura nearly reeled, her body crawling with heat.

Oh! The surprise had been that he would see her tonight!

That was… sweet. It made her heart warm in her chest.

She was excited to see him too!

She swiped over to her calendar app. Sasuke was training from 5-7PM today. According to Kakashi’s calendar, he’d be teaching from 4PM until 8PM. Maybe she’d be able to squeeze in a quick conversation with him.

She typed her response quickly, her heart feeling joyful, her mind, finally relaxed.

Everything felt like it was finally starting to work out for her.

Sakura: cant wait! :)

Chapter Text

True to his word, Kakashi was teaching in the evening.

Sakura had arrived right around 5PM with Sasuke and once she'd settled herself on the bench, she found her eyes drifting from her schoolwork, to Sasuke... and then gradually, to Kakashi.

Today, Sasuke and Orochimaru were sparring and Sakura would be lying if she said she weren't transfixed.

She'd dismissed Orochimaru as a weirdo creep but as she watched him spar Sasuke, she realized that she'd completely ignored how talented the other man was.

He had to be nearly fifty, if not older, but he fought Sasuke with earned confidence, defending Sasuke's attacks with precise controlled movements, and launching counters that made Sasuke scramble to defend.

Sasuke was keeping up though, Sakura was proud of him. 

As usual, Kakashi was a different story.

He was teaching private sessions this evening and while she'd missed his 4PM appointment, she couldn't help but laugh as she watched his 5PM student.

Kakashi was annoyed. 

She'd expected to see him sparring with whoever he was teaching, expected to see him running drills or something.

Instead, he seemed to be in a staring competition with his student, a tiny blond kid who hardly reached his hip.

She snorted a laugh as the little boy stomped his foot and pointed outside their room, looking like he was hollering about something.

Kakashi wiped a hand down his face.

Kakashi turned his head, looking straight at her. She covered her mouth to hide her grin and shot him an encouraging thumbs up.

To her surprise, Kakashi waved her over gesturing that she should come to the door.

He wanted to talk to her? Now? He was in the middle of a session!

Even still, Sakura was kind of intrigued. She packed her laptop away, leaning her bag discretely under the bench and walked over.

When she pulled the door open, she gave Kakashi a questioning look.

"Sakura," he said, his voice filled with relief, "can you come in for a second?"

He's wearing a loose fitting t-shirt today, the back of it embroidered with the word INSTRUCTOR. 

She can see the musculature of his forearms, the way his muscles wrap around his bones, the flex and movement of each minuscule fiber as his hands move.

"Sure," she tells him, toeing off her shoes at the door.

Thank god she'd worn matching socks today.

Kakashi's student stares at her as she walks in. He's cute, she thinks. All messy blonde hair and big blue eyes and the chubbiest little cheeks she'd ever seen. 

He couldn't be any older than about six. 

Someone had dressed him up in a bright orange fox themed jumpsuit, on his hands were bright blue gloves. The whole ensemble just made him even more adorable.

"Hi," she said, waving to the kid lightly as she walked up to where Kakashi was standing. 

Kakashi quickly side steps behind her and places his hands on her shoulders. 

Sakura feels her skin heat under his palms, but before she can ask him what he's doing, he's gently pushing her forwards.

"Okay, see Naruto? I did what you asked, this is Sakura."

I did what you asked?

She looks at the kid, then turns her head to look back and Kakashi. He looks desperate.

"Now," he says, his eyes fixed on the little boy, "can we please do the first combination I taught you?"

Sakura can't help but laugh.

No freaking way did this kid just pull this off! 

He'd bargained with Kakashi and won? 

Kakashi hadn't removed his hands from her shoulders yet, and despite her amusement, she felt a flush crawl up her chest. He was close to her, closer than they'd ever been before, and she could feel the weight of his body behind hers.

"Am I your bargaining tool now?" she asked, under her breath, low enough for Kakashi to hear.

"Yes," he whispered back, squeezing her shoulders "please don't go."

She giggled at the idea of leaving Kakashi Hatake, two time champion, alone with a sweet looking six year old. 

"Sakura," she whipped her head around to face the kid. He'd called her name

"Hi," she said brightly, "nice to meet you, Naruto."

Kakashi had been nothing but helpful to her, she could absolutely return the favor a little.

Naruto walked over to her, his little face scrunched up in concentration.

When he was a few steps from her, he dropped very dramatically to one knee.

"Will you marry me?"

- - - 

Sakura tried her absolute hardest not to laugh at the little boy. He seemed so serious!

Kakashi on the other hand groaned audibly, his hands falling from her shoulders.

"Naruto," he complained, "come on."

Trying to keep her expression neutral, Sakura sinks to a crouch so that she's eye-level with little Naruto.

"I'm sorry," she tried sweetly, "I've already got a boyfriend."

Naruto's little eye brows furrowed in irritation. He looked at Kakashi accusingly.

"Break up with her."

Okay, this time, she couldn't hold in her laughter. This kid was so cute! Sakura laughed so hard she felt her balance slipping. She teetered on her toes, and then tipped backwards.

To her surprise, she didn't fall blindly into the space behind her, instead, she landed on something.

On someone.

On someone muscular and warm.

Sakura swallowed.

Kakashi.

Kakashi had slotted in just behind her as she'd teetered and she'd fallen against his very strong, very warm chest. 

Sakura breathed, lingering just a moment too long against him.

"Careful," he said, his mouth all too close to her ear, his voice low and gentle.

Sakura righted herself, falling forward on to her knees, blinking to avoid looking at him.

Her head feels heavy, her mind still processing his proximity to her, she tries to think of a response, but Kakashi beats her to it.

"Sakura can't marry you, but she said she would train with you but only if you do the combinations."

"She did?" Sakura asks, smiling brightly at Naruto, her question directed at Kakashi.

"She did!" Kakashi replies too cheerfully. 

Kakashi leans in, his mouth by her ear again and Sakura suppresses a shiver.

"I will give you anything you want," he says quietly, his voice desperate.

She swallows down the sudden heat pooling in her chest. 

"Please," he begs and Sakura almost asks him to shut up. She can't focus, can't think.

He's messing with her head and she hardly knows why.

All she knows is that she wants him to keep begging in her ear, wants to lean back against his chest again. She thinks she might do anything he asked if he said it like that. 

"I, uh," she tries, the words coming out garbled and messy. 

She shakes her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Kakashi was her friend! She was dating Sasuke. She needed to get a grip.

"I am!" she gets out cheerily, and then sighs in relief.

She fixes Naruto with a look, "but you have to listen to what Kakashi says, okay?"

Naruto, cute as a button, smiles a blinding smile at her and shoots her a dramatic thumbs up, "believe it!" he hollers. 

 - - - 

All things considered, Sakura felt bad for Kakashi. 

Naruto, as cute as he was, was a damn menace.

Kakashi had taught him a simple combination, two punches followed by a duck.

It wasn't hard.

Even for a six year old, it was a straightforward request.

Somehow, Naruto had done everything but that.

On his first attempt, he'd simply charged Kakashi, running at him at full kilter. Kakashi had been on his knees, holding a small punching bag, and Naruto had simply ducked under his arm and head-butted him in the stomach.

Kakashi had let out a surprised "oof" and had winced at the impact.

Sakura had laughed so hard she couldn't see past the tears in her eyes.

On Naruto's second attempt, Kakashi had been more weary, shifting, to guard his abdominal area.

Turned out, Kakashi Hatake was no match for the six year old.

Naruto at least considered the bag this time, looking at it curiously, before letting out an earsplitting scream. He pounced on Kakashi, grabbing on to his torso and punching with his little fists. 

Kakashi, who'd seemed braced for the impact, half-heartedly swatted at Naruto's flying fists before simply accepting his face, a bored look on his face.

By that point, Sakura was laughing so hard she was nearly keeled over.

Naruto's third attempt was the closest he'd gotten to following Kakashi's instruction. 

He'd launched a fury of uncoordinated kicks at the bag Kakashi held out and in his haste, had tripped over his own feet.

Sakura had pressed a hand to her mouth, biting the inside of her cheek hard to avoid laughing at the child.

Kakashi looked almost pleased.

"Okay! That's enough from you, it's Sakura's turn now." 

Huh?

She'd removed her socks and her sweater and was sitting at the back of the training room in jeans and a light pink t-shirt. It was hardly athletic attire. What did he mean her turn?

"But it's my lesson!" Naruto complained, pouting and stomping his foot.

"I thought you wanted Sakura to join us?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto's little eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He looked between Sakura and Kakashi.

"Maybe" Kakashi said, a little too eagerly, "you can show her what a great listener you are and cheer her on."

Kakashi was devious! She understood his frustration, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't deeply amused by the circumstances.

Naruto padded over to her, his little hands behind his back, his big blue eyes shining up at her, "Sakura?"

He was adorable, she couldn't help but lean in and ruffle his hair, "hi Naruto," she greeted him fondly.

"If I cheer you on will you marry me?"

"She'll marry you if you sit quietly for five minutes," Kakashi called flatly from behind him.

"You're too young to marry me," she told Naruto, pausing to glare amusedly at Kakashi, "but,"

"I think Kakashi would like it if you tried to listen."

Naruto scrunched his little face up, "Kakashi-sensei is boring, he won't spar me."

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura replied, correcting herself, "probably wants to spar you but he has to teach you some things first."

Kakashi was looking at her, his head tilted, a small smile on his face.

"You should try to listen to him," Sakura continued, trying not to squirm at the way Kakashi was looking at her.

Naruto glanced back at Kakashi, and then back to her, "do you want to have a turn?" he asked Sakura shyly.

Behind him, Kakashi nodded his head violently.

She could sense that both Kakashi and Naruto could use a break from each other.

She poked Naruto's chubby cheek affectionately, "sure," she told him, "but only if you cheer me on."

- - - 

"I will pay you to show up to his lessons," Kakashi says under his breath as he helps her wrap bandages around her wrists. 

She didn't think the bandages were necessary, after all, this wasn't the intensive training Sasuke did, but, she also understood Kakashi was trying to stall for time, so, she indulged him. 

"You did say you'd give me anything I wanted," she muses, watching how he wraps the fabric up and over her palms, "maybe I'll decide I want a luxury vacation."

Kakashi snorts a laugh as he secures the bandage in place.

"Are you taking advantage of me?" he says, slipping a glove on to her hand.

"You're definitely taking advantage of me right now," she replies, flickering her eyes to Naruto pointedly.

Kakashi reaches for her other hand, and begins wrapping bandages there, "he's got a crush on a pretty girl, was I supposed to deny him?"

Pretty girl.

The word seems to wrap around her and then sink into her skin. Sakura feels something liquid swirl in her chest.

She was getting too caught up, she needed to focus. He was only teasing. In fact, he was just probably repeating Naruto's words.

"You, uh," she swallows and tries to compose herself.

"You couldn't have said no?" she asks, raising her eyebrow.

"Sakura," Kakashi says wearily as he pushes her fist into the second glove, "do you have any idea how loud that kid yells?"

- - - 

Sakura feels a little silly. 

Kakashi has guided her into a fighting stance, his fingers skimming her skin.

"Hands up by your chin, elbow in to protect your stomach" he instructs, his fingers tapping her elbows.

"Feet shoulder width," he tells her, tapping this inside of her bare foot with his, "put a little bend in your knees."

She bends, feeling her body tingle at the scant points of touch.

"Good," he tells her.

He stands in front of her with two small pads in his hands, a contemplative look on his face, "you could do the same routine as Naruto," he muses.

"You want me to climb you?"

Sakura regrets the words the moment they come out of her mouth, she wants to shove them right back down her throat, she almost hopes Kakashi hadn't heard her.

"If you want," he says neutrally. Sakura doesn't miss the way pink tints his cheeks.

She thinks her face might match her hair.

He steps into her and taps the top of her fist with his pad, "this is your lead hand, you'll throw a jab with it."

She nods, glad for the distraction. Maybe she shouldn't talk to him right now... Or ever again. 

"Naruto," Kakashi calls, "do you remember how many punches did I asked you to do?"

"Two!" Naruto calls holding two fingers up. 

"At least something's sticking," Kakashi grumbles.

Sakura bops his chin with her glove, "mean," she says narrowing her eyes at him.

He blinks in surprise at the touch and shifts his gaze from Naruto down to her.

He looks down at her, a whole head taller than she was, and his lips lift into a small smirk.

Sakura feels the world narrow.

God, he was pretty. He was standing too close to her again and it was making her head spin. It was making her nervous. And not the same type of nervous she felt before a big test, the type of nervous that made her curious, that made her want to step in to it.

Maybe it was that she had seen his arms, seen the way his sinewy muscles flexed and bunched with his movements. Maybe it was because he kept touching her. Maybe it was because he'd caught her with his chest. Maybe it's because he'd called her a pretty girl. 

Whatever it was, it was making her uncomfortably warm, it was making her cheeks flush, it was making her chest swirl with a type of liquid heat.

She needed to get a grip.

She cleared her throat and looked back at Naruto, "good job!" she told him, her voice tight.

Naruto blew her a kiss. 

"To duck," Kakashi is saying, his instructor mode back up, Sakura is grateful for it, "you're going to bend your knees, not your back."

His foot taps her kneecap, "think of it like loading a spring."

Sakura nodded, testing the bounce of her knees out. It made sense, the faster she ducked down, the quicker she could get back up.

"Right," she tells him. 

Kakashi taps her back hand with his pad, "this is your back hand, you'll do a cross with it."

"So," Sakura says, trying to remember everything he's told her, "I do two punches- jabs, with this hand," she waved her front hand, "a duck using my knees, and then," she waved her back hand in the air, "and a cross with this hand?"

Kakashi smiled at her, "perfect."

He stepped away from her and Sakura nearly sighed in relief. Any more intense looks and praising and she just might have passed out. 

Kakashi held his pads out. She watched as he angled them towards her and then braced himself for her strikes, the muscles in his arms tensing. 

"Ready?" 

She breathed in, breathed out.

She needed to focus.

"Ready." 

Sakura punched once, twice, and then ducked when Kakashi's arm swung out at her. When she straightened, she threw a cross like he'd instructed and it made contact with the bag with a resounding thump.

"GO SAKURA!!" She turned her head to see Naruto up on his feet, punching the air and cheering.

She laughed at the display and it only seemed to goad him on, his movements soon turning into a full body wiggle.

Oh god he was so cute! 

She opened her mouth to call out to Naruto but instead felt a light tap against her cheek.

She turned to see Kakashi looking at her, an eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Never take your eyes off your opponent," he said with that same smirk back on his face. 

"Now you're my opponent?" she asked, raising an eyebrow back at him.

"You're a pretty serious fighter," he said, tilting his head at her.

"Think I can take your title, Mr.Two Year Reigning Champ?" 

This time, it was Kakashi who blushed, a slight pink tinting the tops of his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Sakura beamed, glad to know she could make him sweat, that he wasn't the only one feeling... whatever this was.

"You got heart, kid," Kakashi said at last, repositioning himself for her again.

This was fun! Was this how all of Kakashi's private sessions were? Did he train other people like this? The brief thought of it made her sour. She wondered if he had female clients, if he teased them, if he brushed his fingers against them, if he called them pretty.

"Ready?" he was asking.

Sakura blinked to clear her thoughts. If he did, it didn't matter because she was his friend. 

"Ready," she answered back, raising her fists.

"This time, I want you to repeat the combination as soon as you're done it," he said, "try to fall into a flow."

"Got it," Sakura nodded.

"I'll speed up as you get more comfortable, and, I'll also get you to start moving," he told her.

He raised the pads again, the muscles of his arms tensing once more, "when you're ready."

She followed the combination he'd taught her, jab, jab, duck, cross, repeat.

Jab, jab, duck, cross, repeat.

Jab, jab, duck, cross, repeat.

She repeated the sequence to herself as she did each movement, trying to find a flow. True to his word, Kakashi started moving. Now, each time she ducked, he'd pop up on her side and she'd needed to twist to deliver the last punch.

The first time he'd done it, it had thrown her off slightly, and she'd needed a second to reorient herself. But as she got more and more comfortable, she found herself tracking his movements, not closing her eyes when she ducked so that she could see where he'd pop up next.

"Good, Sakura," Kakashi praised as he sped up his movements, his arm swinging over her head with a whoosh as she ducked.

Her heart was hammering in her chest and not only because of his words, but because of what she was doing. This was invigorating! She was focused, her entire world narrowing down to her movements, and watching where Kakashi might go next. She could hear Naruto cheering in the background but it was drowned out by the sound of her fists against the pads.

Jab, jab, duck, cross, repeat.

Jab, jab, duck, cross, repeat.

Jab, jab, duck-

"Sakura?"

Sakura feels herself shock from her focus, she turns her head the same moment Kakashi does, and feels her heart drop into her stomach.

There, standing at the door with a frown on his face, is Sasuke.

- - - 

If Kakashi felt any sort of nerves, he didn't show it. Instead, he pulled his hand out of the pads, his fingers long and strong, before raising a hand to wave to Sasuke, "hey man."

Sasuke gave Kakashi a nod before turning his attention to her. 

"Hey baby, I was wondering where you wandered off to." 

Sakura feels her cheeks flame. Sasuke called her baby all the time, but it was almost always when they were alone. Hearing him say that in front of Kakashi felt... wrong. 

"You're sparring?" Sasuke asks. His tone is neutral, but Sakura hears the meaning in his words. They'd just made up that morning. He'd said he would try to be less 'picky' about how she spent her time... was this pushing it too far?

"Yea man, that's on me," Kakashi cuts in smoothly, "I asked her to help me out with..." his gaze flickers to where Naruto should've been and then widens in disbelief.

Naruto, all three and a half feet of him, is marching over to Sasuke.

Naruto plants his feet and points an accusing finger at Sasuke, "are you Sakura's boyfriend?"

"Yes," Sasuke says coolly, "who are you?"

"I'm the next Hokage!" Naruto hollers and begins punching the air with his fists, "you better believe it!"

Sakura feels Kakashi pick up her hand to unstrap her gloves and she smiles gratefully at him before shucking them off. 

"Naruto," Kakashi calls with a groan, "please, stop telling people-"

"Believe it!" Naruto screams over him and marches even closer to Sasuke.

"You're my nemeny," Naruto declares as seriously as he can.

"Nemeny?" Sasuke asks.

"Enemy, probably," Kakashi says, walking over and placing a firm hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Sakura said she was going to marry me," Naruto tells him with a smug little smirk on his face, "I cheered her on and everything."

"Naruto, stop," Kakashi hisses.

He probably looks mortified, but Sakura's eyes are fixed on Sasuke and the way his gaze has narrowed.

"Naruto," Sasuke says slowly, ignoring Naruto's believe it! in response, "is that...?"

Sakura feels like she's on the outside of this interaction. There is some sort of tension building between the two men, and it has something to do with Naruto.

"Tsunade's kid?" Sasuke says at last. 

She sees Kakashi's hand flex on Naruto's shoulder. Sees how his grip tightens, almost imperceptibly.

"He is," Kakashi says evenly.

Sakura can only see his side profile from where she is standing, but the slouch has left his spine, he keeps his gaze steady on Sasuke.

"What the fuck is he doing with you?"

"Sasuke!" Sakura admonishes her eyes wide. Cursing in front of a kid?

"Bad word!" Naruto hollers, pointing a finger accusingly.

Sasuke ignores him.

"Same thing you're doing," Kakashi says with a lazy looking shrug.

Sakura could see through Kakashi's nonchalant front. The ease was gone from his shoulders, the bored expression cleared from his eyes.

"You're training him?" Sasuke asks incredulously. 

Sakura was missing something. She could feel it.

Why was Sasuke so invested in who Kakashi trained, and why, of all people, was this tiny six year old causing him so much grief?

"Sasuke," she tries soothingly, her feet finally unsticking, she moves towards him, "what's wrong?"

Sasuke looks at Naruto, a hard look on his face.

"Nothing," he says, and then he's turning and leaving the room. 

Chapter Text

When Sasuke leaves, Kakashi's grip on Naruto's shoulder loosens considerably, his posture relaxes, the slouch returning to his spine.

Sakura is openly staring at him, she can almost see the tension dissipating from the room.

"Wha-"

"Naruto's lesson is over," Kakashi says curtly, "I'm going to walk him back and I'll meet you at the benches, okay?"

"Kakashi, what just-"

Kakashi bends to take Naruto's hand, "I'll meet you at the benches," he repeats.

And then more softly, "okay?"

Something was up, and Sakura didn't like being on the outside of it.

"Okay," she agrees.

- - - 

When Kakashi comes back, there is still tension knotting his body. He usually has a slow, loping walk, but now, his pace is clipped, his strides measured. 

She waves at him and he walks over to her and sits on the bench beside her.

"My next class is a no show," he says.

"Good," she tells him, "means you have time to tell me what just happened."

She's sitting up higher in the bleachers. From here, she can see Sasuke sparring another student, a girl with red hair. She's struggling to keep up with him.

Kakashi shrugs from beside her, "ask Sasuke," he says neutrally.

Sakura frowns, "I'm asking you."

Kakashi doesn't look at her, "I'm not the one with a problem," he says evenly, his gaze fixed ahead. 

Sakura feels uneasy. Kakashi has always been honest and truthful with her, why was he so cold suddenly? Why was Sasuke so cold? Why was his issue with a six year old? Why had there been so much tension between the two men in the room that she could hardly breathe? She needed to know. 

She needed Kakashi to tell her.

"Don't treat me like I'm stupid," she says lowly, wincing at the flicker of emotion in her voice.

Kakashi turns to her quickly, his eyes searching her face.

Sakura breathes, praying that her next words come out more composed, "I have a right to know."

Kakashi sighs and then his shoulders slouch, "you're not going to let this go, are you?" he asks with a wry smile.

"Nope," she tells him, relaxing too.

"You might not like what you hear," Kakashi tells her slowly.

She considers this. 

It must have something to do with Sasuke, then. 

Kakashi has always been honest and truthful with her. He's always been fair and balanced. She trusts what he has to say.

"Okay," she nods her head, "tell me."

- - -

Sannin, Kakashi explains, is a title reserved for people who've gone above and beyond mastery of their skill. It's a title that represents someone with renowned power.

It's an honor, he explains, to receive it. 

There were three Sannin. Kakashi lists them slowly.

Jiraya, he explains, was a mountain sized man who was famed for his ingenuity in the fighting world. He'd invented techniques and methods that were still alive and well in the fighting world today. He'd died nearly a decade ago, leaving only two sannin remaining; Tsunade and Orochimaru.

Sakura's eyes widen at the second name.

"The same creepy Orochimaru who's training Sasuke?" she asks incredulously.

Kakashi chuckles lightly, "the very one."

"What was he known for?" Sakura asks him.

There is a look that passes through Kakashi's eyes, dark and distrusting. 

"He had unconventional methods," Kakashi says at last, "he's raised some pretty powerful fighters over the past couple years, but..." he trails off and looks away.

"But what?" Sakura asks, her mind flittering to Sasuke.

Kakashi gives her a reassuring look and reaches over to squeeze her hand, "it's nothing," he says comfortingly, "he's just a weirdo."

Sakura nods. She feels unconvinced, but there's more to the story so she quiets so that Kakashi will continue.

Tsunade is the last Sannin and she recognizes the name from when Sasuke spoke it.

According to Kakashi, Tsunade is renowned for her strength. There hadn't been a person in the world since Jiraiya who could rival her power, and, not a single person since would ever dare to. 

Understanding clicks in Sakura's head, "and Naruto is?"

"Tsunade's son, yea."

"There are rumours that Jiraiya is the father," Kakashi says with a small lopsided smile, "but Jiraiya died about four years before Naruto was born, so-"  Kakashi shakes his head, "it's not possible."

So Naruto was a descendant of the legendary Sanin. That was a big burden for a small kid.

"So, Orochimaru works here and trains students," Sakura said, repeating what she understood, "what does Tsunade do?"

A wry smile spread over Kakashi's face, "she owns Konoha."

Hokage Kakashi explained, was a title given to the strongest fighter in Konoha. Before Tsunade, the title had been Jiraiya's. When he'd died, he'd bequeathed the position over to her. 

"Hokage," Sakura repeated moving the word around in her mouth, "Naruto used that word."

"Yea," Kakashi nodded.

"Why did it seem to piss Sasuke off so much?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi hesitates.

Sakura presses her shoulder into his, "tell me," she insists.

Kakashi rolls his eyes, "mean," he murmurs, but then he continues.

"Hokage is a position of both skill and lineage," Kakashi explains, "if Tsunade hadn't had a kid then the position would've gone to Orochimaru, and he could've challenged her for it."

"But when Naruto was born, he got in the way of that. Technically," Kakashi says, "Naruto has the right to be Hokage over Orochimaru."

Sakura gaped at him. Naruto was only a kid! Who in their right mind would make Naruto Hokage?

"He's too young!" she cries.

"He is," Kakashi agrees.

"If Orochimaru wants the position of Hokage, then there are three ways he can get it."

Kakashi holds up his pointer finger.

"When Naruto is old enough, Orochimaru can challenge him to a fight. If he wins, he gets the position over Naruto."

"What's old enough?" Sakura asks, her mind flitting to little Naruto's chubby cheeks and bright blue eyes.

"Twenty-one."

She let out a breath in relief. That wouldn't be for a while.

Realization dawns on Sakura, "is that why you're training him?"

Kakashi nods sombrely, "exactly."

Sakura feels her heart clench in her chest. Naruto was just a baby. To have that type of responsibility on his shoulders was... unfair. 

"That's not..." Sakura struggles for the words, "right."

"I know," Kakashi says quietly.

The sit together in silence for a moment, both of them swallowing down the weight that Naruto will unknowingly carry.

"The second way," Kakashi says at last, raising his middle finger "is if Tsunade dies and Naruto is still underage. Then the position would automatically go to Orochimaru, since Naruto wouldn't be old enough."

Sakura shivers at the thought. Orochimaru has never done anything to her personally. She still had a bad feeling about what he would be like as Hokage.

"So," Sakura says trying to collect everything Kakashi has told her, "Orochimaru wants to be Hokage, he can either challenge Naruto when he's old enough, or hope Tsunade dies while Naruto's still young?"

"Correct," Kakashi says with a small proud smile.

Sakura feels warmth bloom in her chest.

"You said there were three ways," Sakura remembers, "what's the last one?"

Kakashi sighs heavily. 

"Tsunade wants to retire soon."

Sakura's eyes widen, "then Orochimaru would get the position of Hokage automatically!?"

"Right, but there's a loophole."

Sakura tilts her head, "what is it?"

"Tsunade appoints a proxy."

"There might be a chance that Naruto isn't ready by the time he's twenty-one. Twenty one is young," Kakashi says with a grimace, "I only placed first in the last two years."

"You were twenty-two," Sakura says pointedly.

"Still," Kakashi shrugs.

He continues, "If Tsunade were to retire, she can appoint a proxy Hokage. If Orochimaru challenges her proxy and wins, then he would become Hokage," he holds up his ring finger to signify that this was the third way.

"She needs to choose someone who can trump Orochimaru on the basis of skill, but also someone who will abdicate the title to Naruto when he's ready." Kakashi said

Sakura understood. Tsunade could retire as long as she chose someone who had unyielding loyalty to her. Someone who wouldn't try to steal the title from Naruto, but also someone would could defend themselves from Orochimaru.

"Does she have someone in mind?"

"She does."

"Who?" Sakura asks, curious.

Kakashi pauses.

Then sighs.

"Me."

- - - 

"You?!" Sakura cries, her eyes wide, shock reverberating through her body.

"Shhh," Kakashi hisses, hushing her. 

"You?" she says again, albeit quieter this time.

"Me," he repeats, looking deeply uncomfortable. 

"Is it because you've won the Konoha Championship the last two years?" she asks.

"Yes," he says, his ears turning pink, "and because Tsunade and I go way back. She doesn't doubt me."

Kakashi had been downplaying not only his skill, but his importance to Konoha.

"So," she says trying to lift the heavy mood, "if you're going to inherit this place, it looks like you'll have the funds to take me on luxury vacations," she tells him grinning madly.

"Don't get too excited," he says with a roll of his eyes.

"Hokage Kakashi Hatake," Sakura says slowly, savouring the words on her tongue, "I kind of like that."

He turned to look at her, his gaze heavy. She watches his throat bob as he swallowed, "that makes exactly one of us," he said.

Sakura frowned. Why was he so reluctant? 

"Is it,-" she hesitated, "is it because you're worried about Orochimaru?"

She was worried he'd be offended, that she was pushing for too much information. Thankfully, Kakashi seemed relaxed.

"No," he said, shaking his head. 

"You think you can beat him if you had to?" Sakura asks. 

She glanced at Sasuke who was now sparring a massive man with a riot of curly red hair. The man was easily three times Sasuke's size. Somehow, Sasuke still seemed to have the upper hand.

"Yes," Kakashi says without hesitation, "but I wouldn't have to. Orochimaru broke both his arms in a car accident years ago, he's better now, but he'll never be at the calibre he needs to be able to win against me."

The words were pure fact. There was no boasting, no ego, behind what Kakashi was saying. 

"So you're in the clear," Sakura says, breathing a sigh of relief.

Kakashi doesn't say anything.

Sakura's mind flits back to the encounter in the sparring room between Kakashi and Sasuke and Naruto.

"Wait," she says, remembering her original reason for asking him, "what does Sasuke have to do with all of this? Why was he so angry about Naruto?"

Kakashi sighs, "I was hoping you'd forget about that."

Sakura frowns, "why?"

"Remember how I said you might not like what you hear?"

Sakura nods.

"Well..." he trails off.

"Look," Kakashi says quickly, "me being the next Hokage, it's not a well known thing, okay? Tsunade knows, Orochimaru knows, I know, Guy knows, and now,"

He looks at her, "you know."

"It doesn't leave you and me."

It's an order. Sakura feels the seriousness of his request.

"Of course not," she says laying a hand on his arm, "I swear."

"Not even Sasuke," Kakashi says pointedly.

She shakes her head. Definitely not Sasuke

"I think he's waiting for Tsunade to step down so that he can challenge me," Kakashi says slowly.

"But, Orochimaru isn't an idiot," Sakura watches Kakashi's gaze flirt over to Sasuke. Watches how it lingers on Orochimaru as the other man watches Sasuke spar. 

"He knows he can't challenge me alone," Kakashi says, "he knows he needs a champion. Someone who can compete with me the way he no longer can."

Kakashi gaze stays fixed over at where Sasuke is training. The large man Sasuke is sparring seems to be getting tired, his movements sloppy. Sasuke, in comparrison, is light and lightening fast.

Sakura follows his gaze and understanding smashes into her.

Sasuke. 

She's almost afraid to ask.

"Orochimaru wants Sasuke to be his champion?"

"I don't know," Kakashi says honestly, "but Sasuke has beaten out all of the rest of Orochimaru's students in an unprecedented amount of time."

He's watching as Sasuke delivers a final blow to the giant man, "if I were him, I'd choose Sasuke too."

- - - 

"Why was Sasuke so upset with Naruto?"

Kakashi looks over at her and then squeezes her shoulder, "that's the one answer I don't have for you," he says gently.

"It could be that Orochimaru's feeding him nonsense and has somehow made Sasuke angry at a child, it could be that Sasuke's projecting Orochimaru's anger with Tsunade. It could be something else entirely."

"Either way," he says, retracting his hand, "that's something you'll have to ask him, not me."

Sakura sighs. 

If she asked Sasuke, would it be like it was with Kakashi? Would he explain everything to her with the same depth and patience that Kakashi had? 

She hoped so.

But then again, she'd never seen him behave like that.

He'd cursed in front of Naruto. He'd been so cold. She had hardly recognized him. 

"Kakashi?" she asks him quietly.

"If you had to fight Sasuke, do you think you could win?"

She doesn't know if she wanted to hear the answer.

Kakashi looks over at her with a wolfish grin, "what? You've got that little faith in me?"

She laughs at the bravado in his tone, relaxing a little.

"I'm being serious!" she insists.

Kakashi squints at Sasuke. He is saying something to Orochimaru now, his hands gesticulating wildly. Sakura can see a fine sheen of sweat on Sasuke's body.

"Sasuke's good," he says soberly, "but there's something still unpolished about him..." he trails off.

Kakashi shrugs, "who knows though, Orochimaru has raised some pretty good fighters, Sasuke might just rise to the occasion, and-"

"Kakashi!"

Sakura had been watching Kakashi so intensely that she'd hardly looked away. At the sound of his name, they both straightened. 

Coming towards them, was none other than Orochimaru, Sasuke trailing close behind.

Sakura swallowed the nerves dancing in her throat.

"Orochimaru," Kakashi said with a nod of his head, "nice to see you."

Kakashi is nonchalant as ever, his posture slouched, his elbows leaning on his knees. But still, Sakura can see the tension in the back of his neck and the joints of his fingers.

"You look good, child," Orochimaru says with a serpentine smile. 

Kakashi shrugs, "you too."

Orochimaru did in fact, not look good.

His skin was abnormally pale, almost grey. His hair looked greasy, his eyes jaundiced yellow. He looked a little like a walking corpse. With the rattle in his breath, Sakura thought he sounded like one too. 

No wonder he gave Sakura the creeps.

"Sasuke here," Orochimaru said in that slinking way of his, "hasn't quite found his teammates challenging enough lately," he says. 

Kakashi glances at Sasuke, "pity." 

"Pity indeed," Orochimaru agrees.

"It's truly egregious," Orochimaru continues, reaching a grey hand back to clasp Sasuke's shoulder, "that there are no other fighters capable enough to challenge him."

Sakura suppressed a shiver. Something about Orochimaru was disturbing. It was bad enough he looked like a corpse, he also talked like someone had resurrected an evil villain from the Victorian Era. 

"Truly," Kakashi drawled.

Sakura watched Sasuke. His eyes were trained faithfully on Orochimaru.

"Anyways, child," Orochimaru says, sighing melodramatically, "I was wondering to myself who in this gym would be an appropriate challenge for Sasuke here."

Sakura's skin prickled. 

Was he about to ask what she thought he would ask?

"Hmm," Kakashi hummed.

"Who better than Tsunade's champion?"

Sakura swallows. 

Tsunade's champion. 

She didn't miss the implication. 

Kakashi was Tsunade's champion. Sasuke, was his.

Fuck.

She feels her fingers tremble at what Orochimaru was asking.

"You want me to fight you?" Kakashi asks his gaze trained on Sasuke.

Sasuke tears his eyes away from Orochimaru and focuses on Kakashi. She knows Sasuke like the back of her hand. She knows him like the lines on her palms. She knows him too well not to know him.

"Yea."

Sasuke's gaze is hard. His voice is cold.

Please, she thinks, please refuse.

Kakashi is quiet, his eyes hard. There is an intensity that is radiating off of him in waves and Sakura is nearly dizzy with panic.

Refuse, she thinks, please.

Kakashi stands and Sakura's heart sinks in her chest.

Kakashi cracks his neck, the vertebrae of his spine popping and crunching.

When he straightens, the look he has is calm. 

"Alright," he says, "ten minutes."

Chapter Text

Sakura watches as Orochimaru grips Sasuke's arm and wretches him non-too-gently in the direction of the change-rooms.

She wants to call out to Sasuke, but her mind is preoccupied with Kakashi and what he has agreed to.

This was not simply a friendly spar. 

It was a political play. 

Orochimaru had chosen his champion. And it was Sasuke.

"Kakashi," she says urgently, standing beside him, "you have to back down."

If Kakashi hears her, he doesn't show it. His eyes are trained on the back of Sasuke and Orochimaru's heads as they head to the change rooms.

"Kakashi," she tries again, her voice louder.

He is still staring after them.

"Kakashi!" she says and grips his bicep with her hands.

It has an effect. He snaps out of his haze and stares down at her, his eyes flickering first to her hands on him, and then to her face.

His muscles are warm under her hands, and, she realizes, incredibly tense. Had he been like this the entire conversation? If he had, he'd hidden it deceptively well.

He's still looking down at her Sakura realizes with a start, she's still clinging to his arm, she thinks she might be shaking.

"You okay?" he asks, his eyebrows furrowing.

Was she okay? What about him! 

"You need to back down," she says urgently, her voice shaking, her nails digging into his arm.

"Woah, Sakura," he reaches over to gently pry her hands away, "what's wrong?" he asks.

But Sakura is shaking, her mind racing.

She'd never seen Sasuke like this. Last year, when he'd won the championship in Kiri, he'd been laser focused and driven. He'd hardly spoken to her about anything but the matches for the week he was competing but something here was different.

His intensity was red hot, Sasuke was a man who burned to get the things he wanted. 

This Sasuke, was cold. Hard.

He was numb.

She didn't know how Orochimaru had been training him, but something was off about him. 

"Sakura," Kakashi says, his voice soft, gentle, "you're shaking."

She feels his hands, powerful and soft, grip her arms and guide her down to the bench.

She must be shaking because her teeth are chattering, she feels freezing cold.

"Sakura?" Kakashi is asking, she feels him shake her lightly and it snaps her back to herself.

She blinks, trying to focus on something, anything. Her eyes fix on Kakashi's. December grey skies. 

She takes an experimental breath through her nose. It fills her lungs and the oxygen begins to help clear her head. 

She does it again, and her mind feels less panicked.

"Kakashi," she says her voice trembling, "Sasuke doesn't want to do this."

She knows Sasuke like the back of her hands. Like the lines on her palms. She knows him too well not to know him.

"He's not like this," she insists, "when he wants something, he's fierce, Oro-Orochimaru's making him do this."

Kakashi's hands are still on her arms. She's still cold and the heat of his palms, the weight of his grip, is a comfort to her.

Kakashi ducks his head, catching her eyes, "are you sure?" 

She wasn't. She truly wasn't. 

She didn't recognize this Sasuke, but she'd known him for six years of her life. Something just felt wrong. 

She shook her head.

"Something's off," she whispered, "if Sasuke wanted this, he would've asked, I know it."

Kakashi was watching her something stirring in his grey eyes. She hoped to god that it was trust in what she was saying.

"Please," she says, her voice thin, "don't hurt him."

She has never seen Kakashi fight. She knows he must be good. Sasuke is also good, but Kakashi knew what he had at stake. Sasuke didn't.

She didn't want Sasuke to get hurt because Orochimaru was using him as a pawn.

"I know this is a political game," she says, she thinks she sounds desperate.

"I know you can't let him win, but please, don't hurt him."

"Hey, Sakura," Kakashi is pulling her into his chest, his arms wrapping tightly around her. She breathes him in, the smell of springy grass and laundry detergent and strength. She's still cold, still shaking, but Kakashi is warm and solid and strong and she leans into him to borrow some of his strength.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Kakashi says soothingly, stroking a hand across her back.

Sakura sinks deeper into him, lets her weight rest against him. His voice washes over her, silver and clean. Reassuring. 

"I promise," Kakashi says drawing back.

She swallows.

Kakashi has always been honest with her, has always told her the truth. She breathes in the lingering smell of him. Breathes out her fears.

She's nodding, her head bobbing just a little too much.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Kakashi repeats, squeezing her arms before dropping his hands.

She's staring up at him. At the soft grey of his eyes, at the messy hair that's falling onto his forehead. 

At his straight nose, at the beauty mark below his lip.

At the creases by his eyes, at the light pink scar down one eye.

There is stubble by his cheeks, just growing in, silver, just like the rest of his hair.

She has an urge to feel it, to drag her palms against his cheeks.

She curls her hands into fists instead.

"Thank you," she tells him instead, "thank you."

- - -

Word spreads fast in Konoha.

Kakashi Hatake is going to spar Sasuke Uchiha!

Orochimaru's kid? 

Hatake hasn't sparred since last year, you think he can keep up?

Think the new kid can take Hatake?"

Can you save me a seat?

Sakura is nearly beside herself with worry.

Both men have disappeared into the changerooms, and she has sat as close to the ring as she can possibly get, her body vibrating with tension. 

Sasuke and Kakashi are set to spar in the big arena. A space reserved for the Konoha championships. She doesn't know what strings Orochimaru has pulled for this to be possible, but there will be an audience and Sakura is all the more nervous for it. 

There is a decent sized crowd around them, she keeps hearing Sasuke and Kakashi's names and it's driving her crazy.

Someone thinks Kakashi might actually loose this one. No one has seen him spar in months. 

Everyone has seen Sasuke fight.

Another person thinks Sasuke's a jackass for challenging Kakashi in the first place. After all, Sasuke was new to Konoha.

Someone else thinks that it's just a dick measuring contest. That both men need to fuck off.

Sakura tries her best to ignore it.

At last, Kakashi emerges and a ripple of conversation breaks out over the crowd that has gathered.

Kakashi has changed into what she'd seen him in that first day. A long-sleeved fitted black shirt, shorts, and spandex leggings underneath. 

He stands in one corner of the ring, the floor beneath him coloured red.

Home, the scoreboard reads. 

He's wrapping his own wrists, winding bandages between his fingers, over his palms, and up his arms. 

He must hear his name. Must hear the whispers and the taunts and the words of encouragement people are throwing his way. 

He doesn't seem bothered.

There is a coolness to him, an unshakability. He doesn't seem to hear the crowds, doesn't seem to mind the noise. He is almost meditative with the way he moves. 

Sakura watches him, trying sync her nervous breathing with the flow of his movements. She tracks how he winds bandages up his hands and wrists, trying to calm herself down with each loop of fabric.

He's secured his left hand, and then his right.

He rummages around in a bag beside him, withdraws a small blue container, and shoves something into his mouth.

A mouthguard, Sakura realizes, her eyes fixing on the flash of blue between his lips as he adjusts.

He's pulling his gloves on next, securing the straps tight around his wrists with his teeth.

He knocks his gloves together and then, once he's determined that he's got them on right, he crosses his legs and sinks down to sit, his eye closed, his hands folded lazily in his lap.

He begins a series of deep breaths. This is how Kakashi prepared for fights? Breathing exercises? Meditation? Just exactly who was he?

The scoreboard counts down the minutes as more and more people trickle into the room. Sakura watches as the empty seats begin to disappear. 

Hatake's a fucking pro!

He's not even phased!

Do you think he's bluffing?

Where's the other guy?

Sakura tries to block out the chatter around her but finds herself agree with some of it.

Where is Sasuke?

Sakura continues to watch Kakashi, syncing her breathing up with his. She had no idea how he was so calm in the centre of all of this. 

There is a commotion in the crowd and Sakura hears Sasuke's name float through the mouths of the crowd.

She whips her head around and sees Sasuke stride towards the ring, his chest puffed, his shoulders back, determination written across his face.

It makes Sakura nauseous. 

He's feeding off of the cheering of the crowd, pumping his arms as they chant his name.

He is a star, blindingly bright. And she cannot seem to look away. 

Orochimaru trails close behind and Sakura, had she not been shaking, had she not been swallowing down her nerves, would've slapped the man in the face for what he is making Sasuke do. 

Sasuke stands in the opposite corner of Kakashi, the floor pained blue, the scoreboard stating Away.

He's saying something, his eyes on Kakashi, spitting something through his mouthguard. Sakura wishes she could hear it.

This Sasuke, she recognized. Fierce and bright and burning. 

Kakashi doesn't move. Doesn't even acknowledge he can hear Sasuke. His hands are in his lap, his eyes are closed. He is simply breathing. 

A hush settles over the crowd. Sakura thinks it's because the fight is about to start, but then she catches people turning towards the front of the auditorium, craning their necks to see.

She turns too.

A woman walks in, her blonde hair loose down her back, a green robe over her shoulders.

She moves like she expects the world to part for her. Like she could move mountains. Like she could create earthquakes with her palms.

She walks on stage and even Sasuke's energy seems to pale in comparison to her.

Sakura strains to see. The other woman is lush, an easy, classic beauty. 

Sakura realizes with a start that she has the same big blue eyes she'd admired on Naruto.

This, must be Tsunade.

The respect her presence commands almost confirms it.  

Tsunade says something that Sakura, despite her proximity to the ring, can't hear. Kakashi hears it though. He opens his eyes and stands up, bowing deeply to Tsunade, and then to Sasuke.

Tsunade repeats her phrase, her eyes cutting harshly to Sasuke.

Sasuke bows quickly to both of them.

Tsunade says more words and Sakura strains to hear. She needs the crowd to stop talking! She needs to be closer. She needs to drag Sasuke out of the ring and beg him to stand up to Orochimaru.

Both men approach the centre of the ring and Tsunade raises her hand in the air. 

The arena seems to fall quiet, everyone holding their breath. 

Tsunade drops her hand straight down, her red nails catching the glinting stadium lights.

Sasuke flies at Kakashi.

- - -

Sasuke is fast.

He launches a fury of attacks at Kakashi and Kakashi evades them, moving backwards step by step.

Sakura thinks there might be lightening in Sasuke's veins, his speed is vicious, his strikes are brutal.

For each of Kakashi's blocks, the resistant impact sinks through Sasuke's exposed skin, the muscles bunching and clenching to counter the strike.

Kakashi's arms and legs are covered. Sakura aches to see him too.

Kakashi evades Sasuke, side stepping him, countering his blows, but never throwing a single punch, only deflecting what is thrown at him.

I won't hurt him.

His words echo in Sakura's head and she nearly sobs in relief. 

He's staying true to his promise. He isn't laying a finger on Sasuke.

Sasuke continues to swing, his movements jerky, and almost frantic. He puts the full force of his strength behind his blows and Sakura watches as Kakashi grunts to resist him.

There is a fine sheen of sweat coating Sasuke's torso and Sakura thinks Kakashi must not be any better.

Still, he continues to block and evade, his pacing matching Sasuke's.

They're evenly matched, Sakura thinks, but then she remembers that Kakashi has not yet throw a single attack.

Was it because of what she'd asked him? Was he going to let Sasuke win?

She feels like she is watching their match in slow motion, time seeming to crawl around them.

Sasuke swings at Kakashi's temple and he ducks, springing back up only to block the hammer-fist that Sasuke aims at his head.

Sasuke shift and aims a kick at Kakashi's midsection and Kakashi braces for the impact, absorbing the blow with the line of his arm and shoulder.

Sasuke uses the momentum to switch legs, aiming a kick to the center of Kakashi's chest.

Kakashi side steps it, stepping to the inside of Sasuke's body.

Later, when Sakura is laying in bed and playing it back. She will think back to this moment and remember the way Kakashi had faltered.

How he'd frozen, standing on the inside of Sasuke's kick, close to Sasuke's body.

It was only for a moment.

Later, Sakura will wonder why he'd done that. 

Sasuke had been recovering from the kick. His hands had shifted, leaving his chin and chest exposed.

It would've taken nothing to strike him.

But Kakashi had faltered. 

For a moment.

That scant second was exactly the hesitation that Sasuke had needed.

He stomped on the outside of Kakashi's knee and Sakura watched in horror as Kakashi's leg crumbled, his body falling.

Kakashi managed to catch himself with one arm, preventing his back from being exposed to Sasuke, but it was no good.

He'd dropped his guard, his face and chest completely open.

Sakura watched in horror as Sasuke pulled his fist back, and launched it at Kakashi's face.

- - - 

Kakashi had stood on the red side of the ring.

Home, it said.

Kakashi and Sasuke are sparring in the blue side of the ring when Sasuke's strike lands

Blood splatters across the floor, a bright burst of crimson against the cool blue of the floor.

Kakashi stumbles backwards, falling, his glove pressed against his face, blood coating him.

Sasuke leans over him, cruel and malevolent, a blinding light, a burning star.

He raises his fist again to strike Kakashi's face and Sakura hears a, "No!" tear from her own throat.

But Sasuke's strike never lands. 

Sakura can hardly believe what she sees.

Tsunade, blonde and beautiful and unwavering has caught Sasuke's punch in her palm, stepping in front of Kakashi faster than Sakura had registered.

She shoves Sasuke back with her grip on his fist and Sasuke stumbles backwards.

Sannin is a title reserved for people who've gone above and beyond mastery of their skill. 

There hadn't been a person in the world since Jiraiya who could rival Tsunade's power.

Tsunade glares viciously at Sasuke, her eyes cutting daggers into him. 

She raises a hand in the air and calls something out.

The crowd erupts into applause and cheers.

The first round has ended.

Sasuke has won. 

- - -

Orochimaru drags Sasuke out of the ring, and into the change-rooms.

Kakashi is slumped on the side his face bleeding, his head hanging heavily.

He's hurt.

She wants to move but she's frozen to her spot, fear chilling her bones. Had that been because of her? Had Kakashi been hurt because of her? Because of what she'd asked him?

Damn did you see that?!

Uchiha's fucking good huh?

Do you think Hatake was just bluffing?

No one risks a knee over a bluff, dumbass.

Tsunade is bending over Kakashi, she barks an order and a bucket of water and a stack of white wash-clothes appear near her.

She shakes Kakashi and his head lolls.

Sakura's chest is tight. He was hurt badly. 

She watches as Tsunade lightly slaps his cheek and Kakashi's eyes drift open.

He struggles to sit up straight, his body flexing and clenching with the effort.

When he spits his mouthguard out, there is a pool of blood in his palm.

Sakura watches in contained horror as Tsunade wipes his face with damp clothes, her touch surprisingly light, her hands moving methodically. Sakura strains her eyes to survey the damage.

Sasuke has delivered a brutal punch.

Kakashi's nose is bleeding and the left side of his face is beginning to swell something nasty.

Tsunade is speaking to him in low, hushed tones, and he's replying back to her, his eyes seeming to clear of the haze that had been in them.

Tsunade is wiping his face, the wet towels soaking through with blood as his nose continues to bleed.

When Kakashi speaks, his gums are bright red.

Sakura heart is twisted so tight in her chest that it hurts. 

She watches with her heart in her throat as Kakashi pushes to his feet, stumbling slightly, and then shaking his head to right himself. . Tsunade is watching him intently. Kakashi stumbles, once, and then shakes his head, righting himself.

He takes a step forward, and then another. He checks the strength of his knee and then winces.

Tsunade is watching him intently. When Kakashi nods at her, she pulls another mouth guard from his bag and offers it to him.

He was going to keep fighting? 

But he was hurt!

Tsunade leans into him and says something in his ear.

Kakashi nods his head sharply.

And then, just as he had before, Kakashi lowers himself down to a sit. He doesn't cross his legs this time, he leans against the ring and stretches his injured knee out.

Sakura stares at it as it tints red. She thinks it must hurt like hell.

But Kakashi doesn't seem to mind it. He just closes his eyes, and he breathes.

 - - -

When the next round starts, Kakashi bows first again, deeply to Tsunade, and then similarly to Sasuke.

Sasuke bows rigidly.

Kakashi was hurt and now he was going to fight again. Sakura feels sick. 

She'd been such an idiot. She'd asked him not to hurt Sasuke and now it was Kakashi who was hurt! 

Sakura's heart is hammering in her throat as Tsunade lifts an arm into the air.

The arena seems to hold its breath.

When Tsunade drops her arm, Sasuke flies at Kakashi once more.

- - - 

Sakura almost doesn't look, she can't see that again. Can't see Kakashi bleed, can't see him hurt.

But she forces herself to watch.

If something happened this time, she'd run into the arena, she'd stop Sasuke, she'd wipe the blood off of Kakashi's face herself.

But something has changed between Kakashi and Sasuke.

Sasuke is just as he was before, his attacks swift and brutal and dangerous, but Kakashi is not dodging him strike for strike anymore.

In fact, he's hardly evading Sasuke; he pours, his body following itself, joint after tendon, muscle after bone, vertebrae after vertebrae.

It's not that Kakashi is avoiding Sasuke, he's not trying to, it's just that Sasuke can't touch him. Kakashi is just flowing.

Sakura feels her heart light up in her chest.

She'd seen Kakashi like this before! With Guy, that very first time.

He had had the same flow to him, the same easy movement. The same sinuous sway.

Sasuke is swift, he is powerful, he is angry, but he cannot touch Kakashi.

Kakashi is slipping around Sasuke, his movements unpredictable, his body liquid.

He is favouring his good leg, he's favouring the right side of his face, even Sakura can see that, but he is natural, moving around Sasuke, weaving in and out of his attacks.

Sasuke's temper is creeping up, his movements are rushed and sloppy, his arms swinging wildly.

Even with her limited knowledge, Sakura knows he is leaving himself wide open.

It is in one of those openings that Kakashi strikes, his fist connecting squarely with Sasuke's abdomen.

Sasuke stumbles, his feet tripping over themselves.

Tsunade steps back into place between them, shouting a declaration, her arm flying back into the air.

The second round is over.

Kakashi has won.

- - - 

For the second time that evening, Sakura feels the urge to go to Kakashi.

Orochimaru has dragged Sasuke into the change-rooms again. She knows she should be worried about Sasuke. That he is her boyfriend.

But Sasuke's gums were not shining blood red. He was not limping.

So she watches Tsunade tend to Kakashi instead. Tsunade settles Kakashi down on the floor, pulling his gloves off his hands, helping him unwrap his bandages.

When Kakashi spits out his mouthguard, there is blood in his mouth and Sakura's heart hammers in his chest. Had he been bleeding that entire time?

He's unwrapping the bandages from his arms as Tsunade wipes at his brow with a wet cloth again, a furrow in her perfect brows.

She draws back and asks him a question.

Kakashi rolls his eyes at her.

She glowers.

Sakura watches the entire interaction transfixed.

Tsunade and I go way back.

She wonders just how far back they go.

- - -

When Sasuke returns for the third round, he looks noticeably refreshed.

Orochimaru has changed the bandages wrapping up his arm the way Tsunade has done for Kakashi, Sasuke has even changed his shorts.

There had been a splattering of blood on his chest and up his arms, likely Kakashi's, but that too has been wiped clean of Sasuke's pale skin.

This is a match to two points; Sasuke and Kakashi are tied. The next point will win this match.

Sasuke looks like he's nearly vibrating with energy. He's thriving, beating his chest with his gloves, his energy seeming to thrum and flare to the pulsing pattern of his name being chanted. He is blindingly bright, a living supernova breathing and roaring.

Kakashi is as before, sitting down, his eyes closed, his breathing even.

Sakura wonders if this is a ritual for him. Wonders if he does this before each match.

She imagines him like this, a year ago, before they'd met, at the Konoha Championship, centring himself preparing to fight.

She watches as Tsunade stands between the men.

She turns her head and barks something at Kakashi. He springs quickly to his feet, and then winces as there is too much weight put on his bad knee.

He was still in pain.

Would he be able to win this last round?

Was his knee okay?

Sasuke is nearly incandescent, the energy he carries rolling off of him in waves. His chest is rising and falling harshly with his panting. 

Tsunade's arm raises in the air again, and Sakura holds her breath for the third time that evening.

Tsunade's arm falls, sharp and sure, and the third round begins.

- - - 

If it is possible, Sasuke is more violent than before. When he rushes Kakashi, his fists are flying, he is sweating, his skin shining, his chest heaving.

Kakashi is tired. Sakura can tell by the way he heavily favours his good leg, how there is a slight frenetic edge to the way he is moving.

Still, Sasuke, for all his energy, cannot touch Kakashi.

Kakashi is hurt, yes, but no less graceful. His body makes up for its own lack. He fights with his good side forward, weaving in and out of Sasuke's body, filling the spaces Sasuke lurches out of, twisting out of the spaces that Sasuke is trying to occupy.

He is nimble, agile, cat-like in his grace, and Sakura feels her heart soar. 

Kakashi was going to win.

Sasuke is wild, his arms launching blows anywhere they can, but, Sakura notices something is different.

Before, he had been aiming for Kakashi's head, had settled for his torso, had all but avoided Kakashi's lower body.

Now, Sasuke was kicking, his combinations dizzying, his legs arcing high, his kicks powerful. Not a single attack aimed for Kakashi’s head.

What had changed?

Sasuke’s attacks favoured Kakashi’s torso, his kicks aimed for the outsides and backs of Kakashi’s knees.

And something clicks for Sakura.

She knew Sasuke. As well as the back of her hand, as well as the lines on her palm. She knew him too well not to know him. 

Sasuke was going for Kakashi's bad knee. 

Kakashi throws a jab and Sasuke leans into it, deflecting the punch and stepping into Kakashi's attack.

Sasuke raises his leg and stomps brutally on the outside of Kakashi's bad knee.

Sakura rises to her feet, her body moving of its own volition.

Kakashi crumbles to the floor, a pained expression etching itself over his face.

Sakura is watching and it's like deja-vu.

Sasuke's fist pulls back to punch him, Sakura's heart clenches tight in her chest. 

This is it. 

Sasuke is going to win.

Kakashi is going to loose.

Orochimaru will have his champion.

Tsunade will loose her position as Hokage.

And what about little Naruto?

This is all her fault. 

She should've stayed out of it.

She should've never asked Kakashi what she'd asked him.

She watches, unable to close her eyes.

Sasuke launches his attack, she waits for the moment it makes contact.

But the moment never comes.

Kakashi, fluid and graceful and perfect, has rolled out of the way, and is on his feet.

Sasuke, for all his violent swinging and angry bravado, for all his speed and lightening reflexes, does not expect this.

Sasuke stumbles, his momentum driving him forward, and Kakashi is there, at Sasuke's side, his bad leg held at an awkward angle, his fist pulled back.

Sasuke tries to orient himself, but when he turns his head to look at Kakashi, he's turning into a flying glove.

Kakashi's fist connects with the side of Sasuke's head, and Sasuke stumbles back.

The third round has ended.

Kakashi has won.

Chapter Text

THIS HAS BEEN A DOUBLE UPDATE. Please go back ONE CHAPTER to check that you've read chapter 9 before this!! <3, B

The arena is busy when the fight ends, Sakura is dazed trying to orient herself in the loud moving crowd.

Kakashi, her brain tells her, she needs to find Kakashi.

She needed to make sure he was alright.

Her eyes flirt between the people in the ring, Sasuke and Orochimaru, Kakashi and Tsunade.

The political centres of Konoha.

Sakura watches the way blood continues to drip down Kakashi's face, how he's limping as he puts weight on his bad leg. 

By winning this match, Kakashi has ensured Tsunade's security as Hokage. He's shown Orochimaru that he has no champion, and no chance at the title.

At what cost? Sakura wonders.

Sasuke is being guided to the same change room as before, Orochimaru's hand on his shoulder, a twisted, furious look on his face.

Sakura should go to Sasuke. She should make sure he's okay. 

Kakashi is being led through a set of double doors on the opposite side of the ring, Tsunade's arm around his waist.

Sakura hesitates.

The crowd is beginning to pour out, and Sakura knows she needs to make a decision now.

She presses her eyes closed and takes a breath.

She holds the air in her lungs willing the oxygen to clear her head. 

When she opens them again, she retrieves her backpack from her feet, swings it onto her shoulder, and strides towards the set of double doors.

- - - 

"Kakashi!"

She sees him just ahead of her, "Kakashi!" she calls out again.

He turns.

And so does Tsunade, a curious look on her face.

Sakura feels a flush tint her cheeks, feels her skin prickle at the weight of Tsunade's gaze.

She'd caught Sasuke's deadly punch in the palm of her hand.

She'd wiped the blood off of Kakashi's face.

Now, Sasuke's girlfriend was yelling after Kakashi. How would that look to her?

"Sakura," he says quietly, his eyes wide.

Sakura sees Tsunade's eyes flicker at him.

She takes a tentative step forward, he's at one end of the hall long hallway, she's at the other.

"I, erm, how are you feeling?" she calls.

The question is a stupid one, she can tell by the way Tsunade scowls.

Not fucking great, her brain answers for her, but her feet are moving, dragging, but moving, and she's getting closer to him. That's all that matters.

"Fresh as a daisy," he calls languidly, a small grin beginning to grow on his face despite the puffy side of his head and nose. 

It makes Sakura's heart hurt in her chest.

She's about ten feet from him when he tilts his head, and asks, "what are you doing here?"

The action is so familiar that it aches, he's done this before, tilted his head, smiled a lopsided smile at her, given her the weight of his consideration. She can't believe he's doing that now, hurt, the way he is.

"Sasuke just looked so... awful," she tries, the words coming out weak, "and there was so much blood, and your leg, and the crowd was so loud, and I wanted to go to you, and-"

"You wanted to come to me?" he interrupts.

She glances up at him, meaning to go on and explain, but she stops talking. There is a soft look on his face, it's one he's directed at her before, but she hasn't quite let herself linger on it... until now.

Kakashi shifts in Tsunade's grip and Sakura's cheeks flush at the realization that she hadn't even acknowledged the other woman yet.

"Uh, hi," she says meekly, "I'm Sakura."

She doesn't know whether she should extend a hand out for Tsunade to shake, or whether she should just turn around and go but Kakashi is still looking at her in that soft way and she feels like she can't move.

Tsunade raises an eyebrow at her, "Sakura," she says slowly.

"I hear my son is pretty intent on marrying you."

Sakura feels her jaw drop at the same time that Tsunade's face breaks out into a massive grin. Kakashi just groans.

"Oh," Sakura says stupidly, "yea Naruto is super adorable and uh,-" 

She broke off.

She was doing terribly at this, she'd meant to make sure Kakashi was okay, she still hadn't got her answer, and even worse now, she was embarrassing herself in front of the Hokage!

If Tsunade thought so, she didn't say anything, if anything, she seemed mostly amused.

"I'm uh, I'm sorry that you're hurt," she said, glancing at Kakashi, unable to meet his eyes.

"What did I tell you about apologizing?" he asks with a wry smile.

"I know, but-"

"Why are you sorry?" Tsunade asks.

There was a small smile across Tsunade's lips and despite the grand reputation that this woman carried, Sakura found herself relaxing just a little.

"Uh, because Sasuke-"

"is a disrespectful little shit," Tsunade answers for her.

Sakura swallows down the rest of her sentence, "-is my boyfriend."

"Honestly!" Tsunade continues, "I don't know what that rat Orochimari is teaching him, but going for a second punch after you're already down?!" she asks incredulously, talking half to Sakura and Kakashi, half to herself.

"It's just bad sportsmanship. And, not to mention, he refused to bow?"

Sakura swallows down the lump in her throat. He had?

"And," she says rolling her blue eyes, "he's sloppy. Like a fucking animal with all that swinging and snarling. No respect for the sport, no respect for technique."

Sakura's eyes are wide, her jaw sitting open in a small 'o' of surprise. Should she say something?

"And despite all that," she says fixing a glare at Kakashi, "he landed a hit on you."

Sakura's jaw drops completely now. She was giving Kakashi a dressing down? After he was already so hurt?

"What?" Kakashi says with a laugh, "don't think I can take a punch?"

"Oh I know you can take a punch, brat," Tsunade says and it almost sounds like a familiar threat. 

Sakura tunes out the rest of Tsunade's words, her gaze flickering over to Kakashi.

Sakura knows he's trying to lighten the mood, trying to make her laugh, but she's worried about him all the same. His nose is swollen, so is the side of his face. He's leaning on Tsunade heavily, keeping the weight off his bad leg. And despite it all, he's laughing. 

He's joking around with Tsunade.

Sakura swallows. Was Kakashi okay? 

She needed to hear it.

"Are you," she asks hesitantly her gaze drifting to the swelling around his knee, "are you okay?"

She tears her eyes from his leg, she lets her eyes linger on his face, "you look-"

Hurt.

"Stupid," Tsunade supplies, but she turns her head to look over at Kakashi all the same.

Kakashi stares at Sakura a long moment, his eyes soft grey, a lopsided smile on his puffy face.

"I'm okay."

"I promise."

Sakura feels a heat rise in her chest at his words.

She'd poked his shoulder in the field all those mornings ago when she'd been exhausted. She'd promised him she would rest.

He'd held her in his arms only scant hours ago, promised her that he wouldn't hurt Sasuke.

The weight of what he's saying isn't lost on her. 

"This," he says glancing down at himself humorously, "is just an occupational hazard. I've taken far worse."

Sakura feels nausea twist in her stomach at the prospect of that. He'd been worse than this? She scarcely could stomach the idea. 

Her phone buzzes in her pocket and Sakura jumps nearly a full foot in the air. 

"Sorry," she mumbles, glancing at the screen. It's Sasuke.

"Shit," she says under her breath, she looks up at the pair of them, "I'm sorry, it's-"

"Important," Kakashi finishes for her, "don't worry."

You're important too, she wants to say, but her phone is buzzing maddeningly in her hand.

"Sakura, why don't you take that? I'm taking Kakashi home, he's got an ice bath to get into and we'll have to do something about that swelling," Tsunade says, surveying Kakashi's body.

"Sure," Sakura says.

She almost does something stupid like ask if she can go with them.

"I'll, uh, see you tomorrow?"

"Fresh and early," Kakashi says with a good natured roll of his eyes.

And then, he's turning, Tsunade's strong arm around his waist, and Sakura watches them exist through the double doors.

- - -

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?"

Sasuke is sitting in the driver's seat, a piece of gauze taped to the side of his face, a foul mood hanging in the air around him. 

"Fine," he grunts, starting the car.

The side of his face is swelling purple, there's a bloom of red on the gauze pad. Other than that, he's pretty intact.

Sakura suspects that it's his ego that's bruised most severely.

Sasuke has been in a mood since they've left.

She'd picked up his call as she watched Kakashi and Tsunade leave.

"Sasuke?" she'd said into the phone.

"I'm at the front doors, where are you?" Sasuke asks. 

"I'm, uh, I'm on my way," Sakura lies.

"Try to hurry, Sakura," Sasuke says, "I want to get home, I feel like fucking shit."

"I'm coming," she tells him and then ends the call.

She walked through Konoha's gym numbly, her ears picking up the sound of the chatter around her.

Think Hatake's lost his touch?

Nah, I think he just took it too easy that first round.

He didn't even have to try the next two rounds.

Sasuke's pretty good, huh?

Oh yea, I wonder what Orochimaru's secret is.

She wishes she was back in the quiet hallway with Kakashi and Tsunade again. Wishes she didn't have to hear all this.

She walks with her head down, her backpack heavy on her shoulders, to Sasuke. 

- - - 

There are six red lights on their way home. Sasuke turns to her at the third one, finally breaking his silence. 

"Kakashi's a fucking bastard, huh?" he says with a humorless chuckle.

Sakura feels anger rising in her stomach. She swallows it down.

"Why do you say that?" she manages to ask neutrally.

"He fought two rounds on a bum leg and won," Sasuke says with a twitch of annoyance.

Sakura's mind flashes to the pained expression on Kakashi's face. She thinks of the way he leaned on Tsunade. She feels bile rise in her throat.

"Not as strong as I thought he'd be," Sasuke says thoughtfully, "I don't even think my face is swelling up that bad," he muses, angling his jaw in the rearview mirror.

I begged him not to hurt you, she thinks vehemently.

She'd asked the wrong man.

She tries to centre herself, tries to breathe the way Kakashi had before each round. It helps.

"Hey," she tries a little calmer, "I uh, wanted to ask if you were okay?"

And it was true. She did.

Orochimaru had not seemed gentle when he'd yanked Sasuke off stage. Despite her worry for Kakashi, Sasuke was her boyfriend, and, she loved him.

She wanted to make sure he was okay.

Sasuke's expression softens, reaching across her console for her hand.

He faces the road as the light changes, "worried about me, baby?" he asks, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.

"Of course," she admits, and then, less truthfully, "you fought well."

Sasuke presses a second kiss to the back of her hand.

"Orochimaru says it was a pretty close match."

Tsunade's words ring through Sakura's head.

Disrespectful little shit.

"He says that with a little more training, I could probably beat Kakashi."

Alarm bells ring through Sakura's head. 

"He's not like this," she remembers telling Kakashi, "when he wants something, he's fierce, Oro-Orochimaru's making him do this."

"Sasuke," she says urgently, squeezing his hand, "is that really something you want?"

Sasuke removes his eyes from the road to glance at her.

"Well yea," he chuckles, "that's the whole reason I'm at Konoha."

"I know," she says delicately, "but you just got here, you know?"

"You don't have to do everything all at once, no matter what Orochimaru pushes you to do, and-"

"Pushes me to do?" She sees Sasuke frown. 

"What do you mean?" he asks. 

"Well," she said quietly, "he prepositioned that fight on your behalf, right?"

"Yea," he says nodding slowly, "but I asked him to do it."

What?

Sakura feels her heart sink in her chest.

She knew Sasuke. Like the back of her hand, like the lines on her palms... at least she thought she did.

"Why?" she asks out loud, her mind spinning, trying to understand. 

"Well, you heard Orochimaru," Sasuke says with a light shrug, "none of my teammates really challenge me, he said it was a good idea to find someone who did."

Sakura swallows down the bile that's crawling up her throat. It had been Sasuke's idea?!

He'd wanted to fight Kakashi??

Then it hadn't been an act! That hadn't been to impress or appease Orochimaru... that had been Sasuke. Angry and wild and ferocious. Stomping on Kakashi's knee, twice. Trying to hit him when he was already down.

That had been Sasuke.

"Kakashi's good," Sasuke says appreciatively, "slippery."

Sakura's head is still spinning.

She didn't know it was Sasuke's idea. She'd thought he was being manipulated by Orochimaru, but that had all been him.

What else was she in the dark about?

"Sasuke," she says. She feels a sense of urgency. There are two stop lights left before they are at their house, "why were you rude to Naruto?"

"Rude?" he repeats haughtily.

"Well you did swear at him," she says, trying to be light.

Sasuke shrugs, "I didn't swear at him, just around him, it's not a big deal."

"Still," Sakura presses, "why?"

"It's complicated, baby, don't worry about it."

Irritation rises in her throat, angry and hot at the prospect of being dismissed, "I'm not stupid, so you could at least try to explain it to me."

Sasuke looks over at her wearily.

"I know you aren't stupid," Sasuke says soothingly, and then sighs.

Sakura sees the familiar shadowy shapes of their street in view.

With a jolt, she realizes that they're almost home.

Sasuke kills the engine and turns to face her.

"You know that blonde lady in the ring?"

"Tsunade? The Hokage?" Sakura replies.

Sasuke pulls back, genuine surprise on his face.

Sakura shrugs, slightly pleased at his reaction, "I've been doing my research," she says with a smile.

Sasuke nods appreciatively, "you have."

"Naruto's her kid."

Sakura nods, "I know that, why were you so upset by him?"

Sasuke's expression darkens and Sakura can't help but lean in a little bit.

"Tsunade only has the position of Hokage because of a technicality, Orochimaru should have gotten it but he got hurt and so it defected to her."

Sakura frowned. That wasn't true. Jiraiya had been Hokage, he'd died, and appointed Tsunade. Orochimaru had only hurt his arms years later.

"And what's that got to do with Naruto?"

Sasuke sighed irritably, "he's supposed to inherit the title after her, just because he's her kid, it's fucking stupid."

That wasn't true either. Kakashi would be Hokage, and then Naruto.

"Apparently," Sasuke says with a roll of his eyes, "talent means nothing to anyone any more, a fucking kid can be more entitled to the position of Hokage than someone who's actually worked for it."

Was he talking about himself? Or Orochimaru?

Tsunade's words ring through Sakura's head.

No respect for the sport, no respect for technique.

"Doesn't matter, it's whatever," Sasuke says shaking his head, he fixes her with a look.

"Can't lie though, it's sexy that you went out of your way to learn about what I do."

Sakura felt herself blush fiercely. 

Since their uh, reconciliation that morning, Sasuke had expressed that he was very much inclined to reconcile more often.

"I'm pretty sad about loosing," Sasuke says, his voice pitched low and suggestive.

He leans across, his face close to hers, "I think I'm going to need some intensive care from my nurse."

- - -

Sakura had said she was too tired.

It hadn't completely been a lie.

It had been a day. 

She'd made up with Sasuke in the morning, had gone to work, had met little Naruto, had learned about inner political workings of Konoha, had watched Kakashi bleed, met Tsunade, and then had gone home with Sasuke.

And it wasn't even 10PM yet. 

It had been a fucking day.

All she wanted to do was to fall into bed and sleep for the next week and a half, but it was only Monday. 

Sasuke had another training session in the morning, she had work the next day.

Life was going to move on, whether she was ready for it to, or not. 

Sakura stands in the shower, the hot water beating a soothing rhythm against her tired body. She washes her hair, lingering under the spray, wishing it could wash the rest of the day away too.

She exits the shower, dressed in her comfiest pyjamas, braiding her short hair on either side of her head. That's when she sees a text from Kakashi.

Kakashi: did you get home okay?

Her heart twists in her chest. He was worried about her?!

Sakura: forget me, are YOU okay?

Sakura: how's the leg?

Sakura: and the face?

Sakura: :(

Kakashi: I feel like you're making fun of me.

Sakura laughed to herself, settling on the couch.

Sakura: not at all!

Kakashi: that's new

She rolled her eyes.

Sakura: mean

Sakura felt a dopey grin stretch across her face. She didn't make fun of him all the time! Or did she?

She didn't think so.

They had a really fun back and forth, a great banter, a comfortable, friendly dynamic.

Friends.

The word sat heavy in her mind.

Friends. 

That's what they were, right?

Sure, she'd chosen to check on him before Sasuke, but it was because Kakashi was more obviously hurt. It only made sense.

Kakashi: hey, it's kind of hard for me to text right now

Oh.

She felt disappointment in her chest, just a little, but then reasoned with herself quickly.

It was getting late. He was probably tired. 

She should probably go to bed too, and-

Kakashi: can I call you?

- - - 

Sakura didn't realize that by call, Kakashi meant video call.

She'd just replied to him, affirming that she could when the icon popped up on her phone.

She was a little self conscious.

But then again, she had met Kakashi in her pyjamas, her hair unbrushed, only half awake.

It was nothing he hadn't seen before.

In retrospect, she should've worried less about herself.

When she thumbed open his call request, Sakura nearly dropped her phone at the sight of him.

He was naked.

"Hey," he said, the phone shaking as he tried to balance it on the ledge of the tub.

Sakura felt light headed, her mouth watering, her eyes struggling to see.

He was in a bathtub, on video call with her. 

Naked.

Sakura's mouth watered.

"Hi," she said, a hot knot of something twisting low in her stomach.

"Sorry," he laughed, "I'm too cold to type, but I can still chat."

Funny, she was currently too hot to type, or think, or breathe.

Kakashi had positioned his phone in a way that kept him decent, everything below his chest safety out of view.

But that left everything above his chest on full display.

Sakura drank him down greedily.

He was strong. The muscles of his arms and chest were well defined, each one standing out from its surroundings, lean and long and proud.

He'd draped his arms over the sides of the tub, his posture easy and relaxed.

She could see grey armpit hair, and a smattering of grey chest hair too.

Fuck. 

He was beyond sexy.

He was still wearing that silver chain that she'd noticed before, but now, without his clothes, she could see the necklace fully.

It led down to a pendant, diamond shaped, and etched with something she couldn't quite make out with the camera's resolution. The pendant sat right at his sternum, between his peach-pink nipples.

"Hey? You there? I think you froze." 

No, she had not frozen, she was just staring.

"Uh, is this better?" she asked, jostling the camera slightly.

Kakashi squinted, leaning in, "yea, much better."

Sakura swallowed, willing herself to focus.

This was borderline pornographic.

"Uh, what are you doing?" she asked, as if it wasn't fucking obvious.

Kakashi dipped a hand into the water, and to her surprise, held his palm out to the camera. In his hands were ice cubes.

"Ice bath," he said.

"You're sitting in ice?" she asked, her voice surprisingly calm despite the frantic heat she felt dispersing through her body.

"For the next fifteen minutes," he said with a grimace, "it's not fun, so, I figured I'd call my favorite distraction."

My favorite distraction.

Sakura's brain nearly imploded.

My favorite distraction.

"Why are you in an ice bath?" she asked. 

Just keep talking, she told herself, and for the love of god, stop staring. 

"It helps with recovery, it's especially good for my knee," he said with a wry smile, "Tsunade's orders."

"How's your knee feeling?" she asked, desperately trying to get her mind to do something other than count the beauty marks on his body. Apparently the one under his lip wasn't the only thing one he had.

"Cold," he laughed, "but less sore."

He had four marks. Five, if she counted the one under his mouth.

There were two, side by side over his left pectoral muscle, another right in the centre of his sternum. The last was on the inside of his bicep, slightly large than the rest of them.

Sakura thought about pressing her tongue against each one.

"Hows your face looking?" she asked, desperate to turn her traitorous brain off. 

Kakashi leaned in to the camera, "you tell me," he said with a lopsided grin. 

Thank god, she thought. With his face taking up most of the view, there was less of his body to distract her.

His nose, previously straight and long, was now puffy, less than was before for sure, but still not as it had been. The swelling on the side of his face had gone down considerably though.

"Better," she told him, "a little bruised."

"It feels better," he said, leaning back, the muscles in his chest and arms shifting as he did.

Sakura bit back a scream.

"Tsunade damn near waterboarded me, but at least I don't look like an eggplant anymore," he said with a laugh.

Speaking of eggplants...

Focus, Sakura told herself firmly. He was hurt, he was trying to recover. All she was doing was objectifying him! She needed to focus on him, whether he was okay or not. 

"Is Tsunade with you?"

A goofy grin spread over Kakashi's face, "well she's not in the bathroom, but I am at her house."

That, helped wake Sakura up from her haze.

He was at her home? In her bathroom? How close were the pair of them? How far back exactly did they go?

"Wait," she says, "you're at her house? I thought-"

"Kakashi-senseiii?" sing-songed a familiar voice.

Was that-?

"Naruto, go away."

If Sakura had doubted that Kakashi was actually at Tsunade's house, then there was truly no better proof than Tsunade's own son.

"Kakashi-sensei are you talking to Sakura?"

"Hi Naruto!" she called.

Kakashi glared at her.

"I'm not," he called back.

"I can hear her!" 

"No you can't!" Kakashi insisted

He dragged a hand down his face, and then winced as it brushed over his tender cheek.

"Careful," Sakura warned him.

"Kakashi-sensei let me in or else I'll tell mom you're taking a bath with Sakura and you won't let me see her!" Naruto hollered from the other side of the door.

"I'm not taking a bath with Kakashi!" Sakura yelled urgently into the phone.

She winced. That was loud, she didn't want to wake Sasuke.

She stood up, taking her phone with her out to the porch.

"I don't care," Kakashi called back.

"Kakashi," Sakura hissed, now safely outside the house, "don't let him tell Tsunade that I'm in a bath with you!"

"He's not going to," Kakashi said waving a lazy hand in her direction.

"And," he said with a good-natured glare, "you brought this on yourself."

"Kakashi!" she cried, "you're so mean." 

"Kakashi-sensei I'm opening the door!" Naruto hollered and Sakura laughed as Kakashi's eyes went wide.

He whipped around to the door and it exposed nearly the entire back of him.

Sakura's eyes widened, capturing everything she could, greedy for as much of him as she could get.

The muscles in his back were defined, just like his arms and chest. Wide and striated, they pulled as he moved.

He had even more beauty marks on the back of him. Dark and round, they sprinkled like stars down his back. 

She wanted to trace them with her fingers.

"Naruto, what the hell, get out!"

Naruto's little face, popped into the view of the screen. In his hand was a flathead screwdriver, "hi Sakura."

Despite her distraction with the back of Kakashi, Naruto made her laugh so hard she was sore. Judging by the screwdriver in his hand, Naruto must have twisted the lock from the outside. She loved this kid!

"Hi honey," she cooed, "how are you?"

Kakashi glared daggers at her in the background.

"I'm good," Naruto said dreamily, leaning over the bathtub so he could see her.

"Naruto, get out."

"No! You're hogging Sakura," he said frowning at Kakashi.

"Bathroom time is private time," Kakashi said through clenched teeth.

Naruto looked at Kakashi and then straight down into the water.

"Hey!" Kakashi cried, scrambling.

Naruto looked back up at Sakura, "he's wearing shorts, all his privates are covered, Sakura."

Sakura was laughing so hard she was worried a neighbour would hear her! God this was too cute. 

Naruto was a pest, sure, but he was devastatingly endearing and it was beyond entertaining to see Kakashi, so normally cool and composed, so flustered and annoyed by the six year old.

"Kakashi?" called another voice, a decidedly older, female voice.

Oh fuck it was Tsunade!.

"In here mom!" Naruto hollered.

Sakura's eyes went wide, and then, Tsunade's face popped into the screen next to Naruto's.

"Hi Sakura."

Sakura wanted to die. 

This was mortifying.

Sure, seeing Kakashi's deliciously (almost) naked body was a treat, but Tsunade knowing that she was on the phone with Kakashi while he was in a bath?

She wanted to wither away.

"Hi, uh, Tsunade," Sakura said, her voice thin.

"I sent Naruto to tell you you had five minutes left in here," Tsunade said, her face disappearing from the screen as she moved away.

"He broke in," Kakashi replied, annoyed.

"Look!" Naruto held up his screwdriver.

"I wanted to talk to Sakura," Naruto said, pouting.

Tsunade's face popped back into the screen, "you've got quite a fan-club," she said with a toothy smile.

She turned to Kakashi, "four minutes."

Tsunade had this way of diffusing the situation, quietly, but expertly, and once again, despite her absolute mortification, Sakura found herself relaxing.

Okay, she reasoned, this was slightly better. Kakashi was only in a bath, he wasn't bathing. And he was at Tsunade's house because he was hurt and she was the Hokage and she was taking care of him because Kakashi was the future Hokage. 

That explained a lot. 

"What's happening in four minutes?" she found herself asking, talking to Tsunade more than Kakashi.

"She's going to wrap my knee," Kakashi explained.

"I make a special ointment and everything!" Tsunade called excitedly from off screen.

"It smells," Naruto added. 

Sakura found herself leaning in and enjoying their dynamic. 

Kakashi had said he and Tsunade went back a long time, and watching him, she believed it.

There was an ease about the way they moved around each other. Tsunade treated Kakashi almost as if he were her son, not her champion.

It was heartwarming to see, and she was happy to know that Kakashi hadn't gone home, alone, and sore, and broken.

He had someone taking care of him.

It had been a day. Her nerves had felt frayed and raw, but seeing this? It was good for her.

She felt a wash of peace settle over her.

"Hey, Sakura? I'll have to let you go," Kakashi said, leaning into the camera, "I'm about to be mummified."

"Brat!" Tsunade called offscreen.

"Okay," she said, a warm feeling glowing in her chest, "I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

Kakashi smiled at her, warm and soft and private, "tomorrow morning."

Chapter Text

When Sakura had walked onto the training field the next morning, her usual groggy morning mood and messy hair to boot, she wasn’t surprised to find Kakashi was there. She was, however, endlessly fascinated to find him upside down.

She’d watched, tilting her head dramatically to the side as she observed his newest mobility routine.

Kakashi had his entire bodyweight balanced precariously on one hand. He'd had the foresight to tuck his sweater into the waistband of his sweatpants so Sakura was disappointed to note that she wasn't exposed to his abs.

But then again, she'd had quite an eyeful the night before. 

“Kakashi?” she tried.

"Mmm?" he returned with great effort, his arm trembling as he teetered slightly.

“What are you doing?”

“Technically resting,” he grunted cryptically, his face reddening with the effort of the pose we was holding.

Technically resting, was a phase that Sakura had never heard in her life outside of that morning, and she’d spent the next twenty minutes trying to decipher just exactly what that might mean.

She didn't know many people who counted insane feats of acrobatics as any form of rest... but he was staying off his legs, and she supposed that was what mattered.

Over the past month they’d known each other, he’d begun to insist on bringing her breakfast. According to him, her ‘terrible judgement on what constituted a whole meal’ was driving him insane.

She had laughed at him, and then noticed the scrunch of his nose, he only did that when he was trying to be serious. That was how she'd known he’d meant it so she hadn’t protested.

He'd brought her, another delicious smoothie and two boiled eggs, and she watched, throughly impressed, as he did his modified mobility routine, balancing on his palms and flowing through a series of complicated looking balance poses.

She'd long abandoned the prospect of getting work done while they were together. They just tended to talk too much... not that she was complaining.

Seeing Kakashi each morning had become almost ritualistic for her. She would grumble for the first couple minutes, he'd try and make her laugh, he'd succeed, and she'd slowly warm up to the day.

It him put a warm feeling in her heart... and a full feeling in her stomach. By the time he was waving goodbye to teach his first class, Sakura had breakfast in her, was less grumpy, and would start her work as the sun began to warm the world.

It was approaching November in The Leaf and while it never quite got cold, there was definitely a chill in the air. Even Sasuke had started training in a t-shirt.

She was still comfortable in her hoodie-pyjama combination, and Kakashi seemed to be comfortable in his sweaters and sweatpants. She'd noticed that he'd also started layering shirts underneath, no longer going shirtless underneath his hoodies.

The seasons were changing, time was moving on, Sakura was feeling more settled in Konoha. It was strange to think she and Sasuke had moved here only two months ago.

She heard the soft sounds of Kakashi dropping form his position, and turned to look at him framed in the early morning sun. He was turned away from her, so she let herself linger on him a little. At the way he rolled his wrists free of any tension, at the messy mop of grey hair on his head, at the way his clothing hung from his frame.

She turned her head quickly as he shifted, finding the bottom of her smoothie suddenly outrageously interesting. 

"Yo."

Sakura snorted a laugh. It was such a Kakashi thing to say. He'd flopped down beside her, his injured knee extended out, his arms pillowed behind his head.

She was familiar with him now, with his mannerisms, his humour, even, she thought with a flush of embarrassment, the beauty marks down his back. But then again, that wasn’t anything she’d been lingering on… much.

At least, not today.

Today, she had other things on her mind.

She had a question for Kakashi.

She'd been thinking about the question nearly all morning, and if she were being honest, all night, too.

After her and Kakashi’s call the night before, she had laid next to Sasuke, her mind wandering back to their spar.

The moment was trapped in her had and she couldn't, for the life of her, seem to see past it. 

Kakashi had hesitated.

She was sure of it.

And she, for the life of her, couldn’t figure out why.

She’d drifted into a fitful sleep, her mind spinning and tumbling through all the possibilities of why Kakashi had hesitated… and, whether it was her fault.

After all, she had asked him not to hurt Sasuke. Was that why he’d paused?

Had she been the reason he’d gotten hurt?

She almost didn’t want to ask. Almost wanted to ignore the question burning in her chest.

But every time she had tried to, she just spiralled through all her terrible possibilities and had to stop herself. She needed to just ask him. She needed to hear his truth.

The air around them was light as Sakura stalled for time. Mornings with him were always like this; joyful in a quiet, familiar way.

She was about to ruin it.

“I have to ask you something,” she said, picking at the grass beside her.

“I’m not taking you on a luxury vacation,” he said, and Sakura could almost hear the smirk on his lips.

“What about a mediocre one?” she teased back.

“Attend more of Naruto’s classes and I’ll think about it,” he said with a shrug, and then, “what’s the question?”

Sakura took a breath. She wished she could just ignore it. Then, she could just laugh and joke around with him all morning instead.

She pushed on anyways,

“It's kind of something I need you to be honest about," she told him hesitantly.

She looked over to see him frown. 

Kakashi straightened, his core flexing so he could sit upright, "what's up?"

Just ask him, she told herself. It was Kakashi!

He was honest with her, her was kind, he was fair.

She took a breath. Let it out. Paused.

Then she spoke.

 
"Yesterday, during the match," Kakashi's frown seemed to deepen and Sakura couldn’t help how the webs of anxiety tied themselves tighter in her chest. 

"In the first round," she continued, not looking at him. She raked her hands through the springy grass instead.

"Right before Sasuke hurt your knee, there was a moment where... you hesitated."

She felt him shift beside her and she couldn't look over. Not right then.

 
"Was it-" she swallows the lump in her throat, "because I asked you not to hurt him?"

Sakura feels shame rise in her throat. She wants to shove her words back in, wants to run far away. 

She'd been too cowardly to ask her real question, but she feels the weight of it hang in the air between them all the same.

Did you get this hurt because of me?

She felt like she already knew the answer.

To make matters worse, Kakashi hasn't answered yet.

She raises her head, her neck struggling with the weight of her shame, to look at him.

To her surprise, he’s hardly looking at her. Instead, he's looking over at Sasuke. 

She wonders if she should clear the air. Tell him she knows he did, tell him she's sorry she asked him to do that, and then ask him to forgive her.

Would he forgive her?

"The honest answer,” he says finally, turning away from Sasuke, “is no.”

That's not what she'd been expecting.

Was Kakashi lying to her?

"But you-"

"Hesitated, right." he says for her.

"I did," he turns his head fully and gives her that small lopsided smile, an impressed look on his face, "I'm surprised you caught that."

Of course she'd caught it! She'd hardly blinked the entire time they'd been sparring!

"I-" Kakashi turns away, gazing back out across the field at Sasuke.

"I made a bad call," he said at last.

He was being cryptic. What was the bad call? Listening to her? Not throwing an attack when he saw an opening? She needed to know.

“Because of what I asked?”

He leaned over and bumped his shoulder against hers, and Sakura found a small smiling inching its way across her lips, “it’s not your fault.”

Sakura looks pointedly at his bad knee.

“It feels a little bit like it is.”

Now, Kakashi looks over at her. The hard line of his mouth softens, his eye crinkles, the scarred tissue pulling upwards over his cheek.

“Sakura,” he says her name gently, like he’s aware that she’s anxious about this conversation, “you aren’t responsible for the things I do or the choices I make.”

She holds his words against her heart.

It was incredible how, in a single sentence, he’d alleviated the dense, bubbling, worry that was sitting in her chest.

“So then,” she continues, her voice slightly stronger, her spine slightly straighter, “why did you hesitate?”

Kakashi is looking over at Sasuke again. Kakashi, as usual, is incredibly composed, his posture slouched, his joints loose. But Sakura has learned that he carries tension in the back of his neck, and the way he holds his head is a dead give away.

He opens his mouth and Sakura expects him to answer, he doesn’t.

“I left the balm Tsunade made in my bag, can you please get it for me?”

“Are you deflecting the question?” Sakura asks, trying for humour.

“Entirely,” he says, indulging her, “I also want to rewrap my knee before I go in to teach, so I’ll answer as I do it.”

- - -

Sakura tries not to stare at the length of his fingers as they flexed to fold the fabric of his fleece pants up above his knee. She tried even harder to not stare at his leg and the way he slowly revealed the solid musculature to her. 

"The spar Sasuke wanted was not the spar I thought we were going to have," he says carefully, his dexterous fingers working to gingerly tuck the fabric above his injury.

“When you ask to spar someone, you're asking for an opportunity to learn,” Kakashi began the process of unwrapping the long bandage, his hands working the gauze over and then under his leg.

“That, was him looking for an opportunity to win."

Sakura frowns at the way he keeps jostling his leg as he unwinds the bandage, "here," she says, lifting his hands away, "I can help."

Kakashi gives her a long look, one that she tries her best to ignore as she scoots over to his knee and begins the task of unwrapping, taking care to avoid touching him as she maneuvered the gauze wrappings over and under his knee.

"There's a difference?" she asks, her focus on her hands, prodding him to continue.

"There's a difference," Kakashi affirms.

Sakura finishes removing the bandages and sits back on her heels to survey his knee.

She feels bile rise up her throat.

It wasn't good.

The joint was still swollen pretty badly, the skin tender. Sakura guessed there was some sort of free fluid around the area, judging from how distended and puffy the skin was. Around the injury, was a kaleidoscope of colors, a sickly, putrid yellow at the periphery, a furious red-purple in the centre.

Sakura feels tears prick her eyes and she swallows hard to try and tame them back.

She was a professional, she had seen worse at work. He was a professional, this was his whole world, his whole life. She needed to hold it together.

She keeps her gaze trained on his knee, not trusting herself to look up at him. She watches as his hand wraps around hers, squeezing once before letting go.

"It feels better than it looks," he says gently.

"It doesn't look good though," she told him, trying to keep the tears from her eyes.

“You know,” he muses, "I've never had a girl react this badly to something in my pants," he says and despite the worry twisting in her stomach, Sakura finds herself laughing.

"You're awful," she says with a grin, raising her head finally to look at his face.

Kakashi seems pleased at the smile on her face, he throws a quick wink at her before opening the container of balm.

"I can-"

"You don't want to," he says with a sniff, "this stuff really does smell."

He gingerly scooped out a generous portion with three fingers and Sakura watched as he deposited the gooey looking mixture on his knee.

"The difference," he says as he gingerly begins to massage the area around the joint, "is that I held back an attack."

"When you spar," he explains, "your goal is to help one another improve, man to man."

He glances up at her with a small smile on his lips, "or woman to man."

"Or man to Naruto," she grins back.

Kakashi scowls at her. 

"When Sasuke kicks, he drops his guard, his elbows flare out, his back hand slips," Kakashi said it methodologically, as if he was giving a report.

"Normally, I would try and help him see that during a spar, and if he still didn’t get it, I’d straight up tell him afterwards.”

Kakashi looks up at her, his knee now fully covered in a thick layer of Tsunade's balm, "that's why I hesitated. I was figuring out how to correct it in the middle of the match, I was thinking of how I could help him realize, and that's when-"

He breaks off to look at his knee.

Kakashi shrugs, "bad call."

"I'm sorry I asked you not to hurt him," Sakura says quietly.

"What did I tell you about apologizing?" he asks, feigning annoyance.

"You were worried about Sasuke," he adds, "you didn't overstep, didn't ask for anything outlandish. Just that I wouldn't hurt him."

Sakura thinks about his arms around her. At the warm, strong way he'd held her. How he'd smelt of laundry detergent and grass and the early morning sun. How she'd wanted to just lean into him, just for a moment longer. 

Kakashi fixes her with a look, "and just so you know, Sakura, I wouldn't have."

"This," he says, glancing to Konoha's massive facility behind them, "is a sport, just like anything else. It's not about violence or domination. It's an art, it deserves to be treated like one."

There's a certain reverence to the way he speaks. It reminds her of what Tsunade said about Sasuke.

No respect for the sport, no respect for technique.

"Are you upset you got hurt?" she asks almost timidly.

Kakashi glances over at her with a wry smile, "I told you, I've taken way worse than this."

Sakura hugs her knees to her chest, "I really hate that."

Kakashi is looking at her, a contemplative look on his face, "can I ask you something honest?"

He says it quietly, as if saying it any louder might take negate the honesty he'd asked her for.

"I don't think I could lie to you," she tells him, bumping his shoulder with hers.

He looks down at her, soft, considering.

“After the match, you said-"

"Kakashi! Hey!"

The loud yelling of Kakashi's name seemed to break the bubble of vulnerability they'd been sitting in, and Sakura looked up a moment after Kakashi to see Sasuke running towards them.

Sakura felt a lick of anxiety nudge her.

What could Sasuke want?

- - - 

Sasuke looks awkward.

When they'd met, all those years ago in their first year of college, she’d been drawn to him almost instantly

He seemed untouchable, like some sort of distant star, seemingly unconcerned about the sheer magnetism he possessed. It had drawn her in with gravity.

One they'd gotten together, she’d gotten a deeper understanding of him, of who he was beyond the surface of him.

Still though, even years later, that same exterior remains, uncaring and unshakable.

Except right now. 

Sasuke was shifting his weight on his feet, his gaze darting around. Sakura watches how it lingers on Kakashi's unwrapped knee

“Yo,” Kakashi greets with a small wave.

Sasuke nods at the greeting. He scratches his arm. 

“Uh,” he looks pointedly at Kakashi’s knee, “hey man, I'm sorry about your leg,” he says finally. 

Sakura stares.

Who was this man? Never in her life did she think she’d see Sasuke showing any sort of regret or remorse, and especially, didn't think she'd live to see it come unprompted.

“Uh, and the face,” Sasuke adds. 

Kakashi’s face is at least not puffy today. There is however, lingering colour around his eye.

Kakashi waves his hand at the cut high on Sasuke’s cheekbone, “yours isn’t looking too great either,” he says with a wry smile, “it’s all good.”

Sakura thinks she sees a flicker of annoyance pass over Sasuke’s features. A press of his lips, a momentary furrow of his brows. 

“What’s up?” Kakashi asks.

Sasuke shifts again and Sakura thinks, there it is there again! That awkwardness that seems so foreign on Sasuke. She wonders what could've possibly put it there.

“I was uh, going to ask for a favour,” Sasuke says. He stumbles over the words, hesitating at each consonant.

What favour? Sakura wonders. Sasuke hasn't told her anything of the sort. 

“I was wondering if you could train me.”

Sakura blinks.

What?!

Why would Sasuke want Kakashi to train him? Wasn’t Orochimaru enough?

“If you have time,” Sasuke adds hesitantly, “if that’s okay.”

Hesitation. Apologies. She felt the way she had in the car last night, driving back from the gym and learning that Sasuke had wanted to spar Kakashi.

What was this? Why didn’t she know him?

She glances over to Kakashi. 

He is tilting his head. She can tell he’s thinking.

He should refuse. Kakashi should absolutely refuse to train Sasuke. 

“Sure,” Kakashi says instead

Sakura feels her head spin. Had she woken up this morning in an alternate dimension or something? Sasuke Uchiha, her boyfriend, was asking her…. friend, Kakashi, the guy who’s knee Sasuke has fucked up, to train him? And Kakashi was agreeing?

What the fuck!

“Oh great, man thanks!”

Sasuke is nearly bouncing  in excitement, she can see his eyes sparking in anticipation. 

“I’m good to train tonight if you want?” he’s saying hurriedly.

“I’m teaching until 8PM,” Kakashi tells him, “but that’s too late for-“

“Oh it’s not too late for me,” Sasuke says, nodding eagerly. 

“Yea,” Kakashi says slowly, “but won’t Sakura be with you?”

Sakura blinks, feeling like she’s just been observing the worlds strangest TV show up until that point 

She looks at Sasuke the same moment he looks at her. 

"Yea?" Sasuke says looking back at Kakashi with a frown. 

Kakashi turns his head to look at Sakura and she tries her hardest not to flush. Up until that point, she had felt like a fly on the wall of the conversation, now, with Kakashi’s heavy gaze on her, she feels like she’s been thrust onto centre stage.

"Don't you have readings due tomorrow?"

Sakura swallowed and nodded her head, yes, in fact she had a lot to do… she just wasn't used to any one asking her. 

"Right," Kakashi says turning back to Sasuke, "so 8PM is way too late for you guys, besides," he looks empathetically at his knee, "I can't really train you like this."

Sasuke follows Kakashi's gaze, "oh, right."

"I have a free hour after my session with Naruto next Monday," Kakashi says thoughtfully, "it'll be 6PM."

Sakura feels like her head is still spinning.

"I'm training with Orochimaru at that time," Sasuke says.

Kakashi tilts his head, "pity."

"I'm here on the weekends," Sasuke tries, "if you're available, then maybe-"

"I'm not," Kakashi says leaning over to rewrap his knee. Sakura thinks maybe she should help him the way she had helped him unwrap it, but she feels like she might be frozen in place.

There's a silence that stretches between the three of them as Kakashi slowly secures the bandage around the joint. Twice, she watches Sasuke open his mouth and then snap it closed.

When Kakashi is finished, he rolls his pant leg down his leg and then leans backwards on his palms.

"So, what'd you say, Sasuke? Next week at 6PM?"

Kakashi is easy, Sakura can't even see the tension in the back of his neck. Sasuke, in contrast, is evidently miffed. 

She watches him twist his toe into the grass, "I guess," he grits out.

- - - 

At point, Sakura thinks she should anticipate a bad mood from Sasuke each and every time he interacts with Kakashi.

On their drive home, Sasuke's fingers are clenched tight around the steering wheel. Sakura waits until they reach the first red light to ask him.

"So," she tries neutrally, "now was training this morning?"

"Fine," he says distractedly, and then he turns to her, "is Kakashi a good friend?"

Sakura blinks, taken a back by the question. Had Sasuke seen her unwrapping his knee? Did he have an issue with that?

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"I mean,"  Sasuke says irritably, "he's kind of a dick."

Sakura frowns, "he's agreeing to help you, Sasuke," she says.

'After what you did to his knee,' she wants to add. 

"And," she continues, "for free."

She'd once inquired at Konoha's front desk how she could book a private session with Kakashi. Not that she’d wanted to! She was just curious after learning he’d been scheduled to teach Monday nights as well. She'd been informed that Kakashi had a waiting list at least eight people long, and that a single hour long session with him was in the three figure range.

"I said it was a favour," Sasuke says with a shrug, returning his eyes to the road as the lights change colour.

"So how are you returning it?" she asks lightly with a laugh. Sasuke frowns.

"Listen," he says, and Sakura watches him roll his shoulders stiffly, "Kakashi agreed because he clearly sees potential in me. He clearly thinks it's worth his time, and if he thinks I can win then-"

"I don't think he thinks that."

Sasuke's head whips around to look at her, his eyes momentarily leaving the road.

"What did he say to you?"

Sakura flushes, wishing for the second time that morning, that she could shove all her words back down her throat.

"Nothing," she replies a little too quickly, "I'm just saying he's probably more interested in helping you learn than anything, at least, from what I know about his teaching style."

Sasuke stops at the next red light. 

"I guess," he says.

He doesn't look at her.

- - - 

That night, she texts Kakashi.

Sakura: guess who finished their readings?

Sakura: early!

She sends a picture of a small stack of text books with a thumbs up in the foreground of the picture. It's nearly 11PM. 

Kakashi: I'm asleep, you should be too

Kakashi: proud of you kid

Sakura hugs her knees to her chest and pushes her books further across her desk. He'd called her kid before. Back when he'd taught her a combination during Naruto's session. 

She knew he'd only been teasing her, both then, and now. It put a warm feeling in her chest all the same.

Sakura: you text in your sleep?

Kakashi: when it's important

She was important.

Sakura shakes her head and laughs at herself. She was reading way too far into it.

She contemplates her next text before sending it.

Sakura: thanks for agreeing to train sasuke btw

She watches as Kakashi's text bubble bounces before he replies.

Kakashi: sasuke can't say thank you for himself?

Sakura stares wide eyed at her phone screen.

Her mind flashes back to the field. Sasuke hadn't said thank you! She groaned, her skin prickling with embarrassment. 

Kakashi: anyways, about that mediocre vacation

She breathes a sigh of relief. Kakashi had spared her from having to thank him on Sasuke's behalf.

Sakura: ?

Kakashi: will you keep coming to Naruto's sessions? Next Monday at 5pm? He’s more manageable when you’re there.

Kakashi: I know you’re busy, so if you feel like you can’t, please don’t feel any pressure to come.

Kakashi: Just know that if you do, I’ll take you to Jamaica

I know you’re busy, so if you feel like you can’t, please don’t feel any pressure to come.

She re-reads his text five times.

He’d done this earlier in the day too… Sasuke had asked Kakashi to train him and Kakashi’s primary reason for saying no had been… her.

Even now, with the request he was making, he made it clear that he wanted her to put herself first.

The feeling was foreign.

She’d been so used to shouldering her own struggles and accommodating everything outside of her that the prospect of someone else thinking about her THAT much seemed just shy of overwhelming.

She shakes her head, and reminds herself that there’s more of to his message.

Sakura: I’ll come :)

She'd love to see Naruto again! The little knucklehead was so CUTE!

Sakura: I'm thinking somewhere in Europe

Sakura: all expenses paid

Kakashi: taking advantage of me in my state of injury?

He sends along a dejected looking emoji, and Sakura laughs at how tragic it looks.

Sakura: don't try to cheap out on me mr.future hokage

Kakashi: i should've never told you...

Kakashi: does this count as blackmail?

Sakura: I'm thinking Spain. France works too.

She can almost hear Kakashi groan. 

Chapter Text

By the time Monday rolls around, Sakura is almost excited to see Naruto again.

As it turned out, the little boy was also excited to see Sakura. 

He was jumping up and down excitedly as she picked her way over each row of bleachers. He was saying something that she couldn't hear from behind the glass wall... Kakashi already looked tired.

Trying to hide her grin, she opens the door and braces herself for the flying mess of limbs that will be Naruto, but it never comes.

Instead he continues his little jumping dance, a huge grin across his face, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Guess what!" he hollers.

Sakura notices he's holding his hands behind his back.

"What?" she asks him, crouching in front of him.

"I got a surprise for you!" Naruto says jubilantly his grin stretching impossibly wider.

Sakura feels herself leaning into Naruto's infectious enthusiasm, "really!" she replies.

Naruto nods empathetically, "you have to close your eyes!" he says nearly bursting with glee.

Sakura glances at Kakashi, who, despite everything, watches Naruto fondly.

Sakura files the expression on his face, soft and amused, away for later.

"Okay," she agrees, covering her eyes with her hands.

She hears Naruto shift. She hears Kakashi make a sound of approval.

"Okay," Kakashi's voice says, silvery, and full of mirth, "you can open your eyes now."

When Sakura does, she's greeted by the sight of Naruto, his little cheeks blushing bright red, his hand held straight out. 

Held between his hands is a small vase, and in it are five beautiful pink peonies.

Sakura hears herself gasp as she stares and stares at the flowers.

"Naruto," she whispers, "they're beautiful."

Naruto seems to beam with pride.

"Me and mom picked them before class,” he says shyly.

The flowers look fresh, their petals open and vibrant, the blooms fat and beautiful, "I love them," she says and means it.

"It's been so long since I've gotten flowers," she laughs, "they're perfect."

"Kakashi-sensei says you should do nice things if you want to marry someone," Naruto says seriously.

Sakura laughs, "does he? Kakashi-sensei must be an expert then."

She glances up at Kakashi and to her surprise, finds him frowning down at her crouched position.

"What?" she asks, almost automatically. She didn't recognize the look on Kakashi's face. Sure, this was another strange one of Naruto's quirks, but it was a cute gesture on Naruto's part... why did he look so... annoyed.. and why was it directed at her?

Kakashi shakes his head at her question, his face settling into a neutral expression.

"Kakashi-sensei's not that smart," Naruto says with a roll of his eyes.

"Or that nice," Kakashi adds, shoving Naruto a little.

"Hey!" Naruto cries as he stumbles. He glares up at Kakashi, "you'll hurt Sakura's flowers."

"Kakashi's mean," Sakura agrees, glaring at Kakashi who almost looks amused with himself. She gently pulls the vase from Naruto's death grip and buries her face in the sweet blooms. 

"Thank you, Naruto," she says, "I love them, I'll put them on my desk so I can see them every day."

Naruto puffs at her words, his blue eyes sparkling, "my mommy sometimes puts flowers in her hair," he looks up at her hopefully, "maybe you can put a flower in your hair."

Sakura giggles, her heart full and happy. Naruto was devious but so sweet! 

She picks one of the flowers, breaking the stem short, "why don't you help me?" she suggests, holding it out to him.

Naruto tries, he really does. His little tongue sticks out of his mouth in focus as he tries to tuck the flower behind Sakura's ear but it keeps falling. Sakura sees his little eyes well in frustration.

Apparently, so does Kakashi.

"How about you go and get your gloves and helmet on, Naruto?" he asks cutting in smoothly, "I'll help Sakura and then she can watch you spar me."

His tone is light, and the levity is clearly what is needed to stop Naruto's impending meltdown. Instead, Naruto brightens, "you're going to watch me?" he asks excitedly

"The whole time!" Sakura tells him with a warm smile.

Naruto shoves the peony into Kakashi's hand and skips to his bag, Sakura laughs as she stands up.

Naruto unzips his bag and overturns the whole thing, his gear falling out.

She turns back to Kakashi who is now standing close to her, he’s always been taller than her so she cranes her neck up to look at him.

"He's sweet," she says with a smile.

"He's obsessed," Kakashi says, returning her grin.

Sakura is watching Naruto sort through the disaster that is his bag. From what she can see, spare changes of clothes have tumbled out, several packs of snacks, a helmet, mismatched pairs of socks, and a plastic water-bottle. She laughs, meaning to tell Kakashi but instead her laughter dies in her throat.

Kakashi's fingers, long and strong and gentle, are under her chin, his thumb pressing against the front of her chin to help turn her head towards him.

Sakura wonders if he'd noticed the heavy way she'd swallowed, if he can hear the erratic beating of her heart.

"Look at me for a second," he murmurs, his gaze roving her face.

Sakura thinks her skin must be flushed as pink as the blooms.

Slowly, he lifts his hand, the stem of the peony pinched between his fingers, and maneuvers it behind her ear.

His hand doesn't drop her chin. His gaze never leaves hers.

Sakura feels her skin tingle at the scant points of contact; where his fingers brush against her ear, where his thumb grips her chin lightly. 

There is something coiling behind Sakura's breastbone, something warm and sweet and... wanting. 

It almost knocks her over.

She focuses on trying not to tremble as Kakashi smoothes her hair into place, tucking it just behind her ear.

"There," he says quietly, his fingers still under her chin, "perfect."

He says it reverentially. Like he might be seeing god in front of him and not her.

Sakura swallows around the lump sitting firmly in her throat. She needs to get a grip, needs to somehow regain her footing.

"Wh-what," she stumbles out, "was the look on your face for? When I said you must be an expert."

The question comes out shaky.

Kakashi's fingers are still underneath her chin, his eyes, a warm winter sky, do not leave hers.

They're standing in front of one another, so close that Sakura might bump into his chest if she scoots forward just a little.

She needed to know why he'd looked at her that way. Was he mad with her?

She didn’t think she could bear it if he was.

"I-" 

"Kakashi-sensei I need help!" Naruto calls and Sakura's gaze flickers to him to see him punt his helmet across the room in a frustrated kick. 

Kakashi's hand had dropped from her chin when she'd turned her head and when she'd swivelled back to him, his head is turned and is also looking over at Naruto with a wince on his face.

"I'll go help him."

Kakashi sighs heavily, shifting to move away but Sakura's arm shoots out and grabs his hand.

He stares at her, and then at her hand over his.

Sakura doesn’t let go. Her hand is wrapped around his, the pads of her fingers pressed against his palm. She needs to know.

Kakashi glanced back at Naruto who was now charging his helmet, looking like he was ready to fight it. Kakashi glances back at Sakura.

"Tell me," she presses, her heartbeat hammering in her throat.

"That look," he says slowly, "was me wondering why your boyfriend isn't doing nice things for you."

- - -

As Sakura watches Naruto spar- she uses the word spar very generously- she runs Kakashi's words through her head. 

"That look was me wondering why your boyfriend isn't doing nice things for you."

What could he have possibly meant by that?

A part of her brain rolls its eyes at her. Wasn't it obvious? She had said she couldn't remember when she'd last gotten flowers, the comment, while true, had probably rubbed Kakashi the wrong way. 

After all, a six year old was bringing her flowers, her adult boyfriend was not.

Even worse, she probably had made Sasuke sound like he didn't care about her.

Sasuke loved her. She knew that. She didn't need flowers to know that. They'd been together for six years, that was 25% of her life! They'd established a life together that she could find comfort it. It was familiar, she knew what to expect. 

Were things a little different now? A little more strained? Yes, but it was because she had so much going on between work and school and Sasuke's schedule... and he had a lot on his mind with his training. She knew it would get better over time as they settled more.

Sakura's eyes slip from Naruto, who was miraculously doing some version of Kakashi's combination, to her own reflection in the mirror. 

Her eyes linger on the peony tucked behind her ear. She thinks of the man who put it there. At the gentle way he'd angled her face. At how he'd looked at her once he'd placed it there. Her mind wanders to early morning laughter and a packed breakfast. To text messages that always made her laugh. 

She looks back and Naruto and pushes the thoughts aside.

- - - 

"For this combination," Kakashi is saying, "you'll have to dodge a punch."

Kakashi has already helped her wrap her wrists and push her hands into gloves. Naruto had stood beside them, stomping a foot about how it was unfair that Kakashi got to hold Sakura's hand. 

"Maybe Naruto could help," she'd said encouragingly, giving the little boy a smile.

"Maybe we could be here all day," Kakashi said dryly. 

Sakura had pulled her hand from his, her wrist only half way wrapped, and had pinched his forearm, "mean," she said narrowing her eyes.

Kakashi rolled his eyes.

Now, with her hands up by her chin, her knees bouncy, and Naruto's faint words of encouragement in the background, she feels herself focus on Kakashi's instruction.

"You start with a block," Kakashi tells her, swinging an arm out at her temple. He's taught her to block this by driving her elbow upwards to protect her ear, "good," he says when she stops his punch. 

Next, he wanted her to do a cross, with her back hand, she remembered, and then follow it up with a jab (with her lead hand, she remembers).

After that, she'd have to side step him, block on the opposite side, jab again, and then duck.

Block, cross, jab, side step, block, jab, duck

Kakashi led her through each movement, slow and controlled, until she found a steady rhythm, repeating the words to herself under her breath. 

Block, cross, jab, side step, block, jab, duck

It was meditative, to follow the actions Kakashi had taught her. She found her body sinking into the familiar flow of the movements.

Block, cross, jab, side step, block, jab, duck

She felt her mind wander as her body reacted outside of it to the pace of Kakashi's training.

Block, cross, jab, side step, block, jab, duck

It was November, she had a massive mid-term check in soon. It was a presentation with her supervisor, as well as three other faculty members that would dictate whether or not she was suitable to continue in her program.

It was kind of a big deal

Block, cross, jab, side step, block, jab, duck

She'd been preparing as diligently as she could, had even started rehearsing her presentation. But, with school and work and Sasuke in her way, she found herself, as usual, short for time

Block, cross, jab, side step, block, jab, duck

She'd stayed up an extra hour the night before rehearsing, groaning at how inadequate her presentation felt. Was she behind? Was she preforming at the same calibre as other students?

Block, cross, jab, side step, block, jab, duck

She had a sinking feeling she wasn't.

She'd kept stumbling through her presentation, she'd had to keep stopping to adjust her slides. 

Block, cross, jab, side step, block, punch, duck

She was still about five minutes short on her presentation. There were parts that she felt were underdeveloped and unclear, maybe she could use the extra time she had to elaborate?

Block, cross, jab, side step, block, punch, duck

But then again, she had no clue where she needed to elaborate. She'd been immersed in her own work for so long that she could hardly see past her nose.

Block, cross, jab, side step, block, jab, duck

Maybe she should leave it alone. Let it simmer and sit and then she could return to it.

After all, a fresh perspective might help.

Block, cross, jab, side step, block, punch, - WAIT, what was next?

It was only a moment she'd faltered, but Kakashi had set a fast pace for them, and she froze.

His swing lands, and when it does, Sakura's face erupts in pain.

- - -

She feels her knees hit the floor, the sound dulled by the foam mat. Her face is pulsing with pain, her eyes are watering, she tastes blood in her mouth.

Something is welling in her chest and she's trying to ignore it for the pain in her face. She's trying to see, trying to hear, trying to figure out how to make the burning stop, but all she hears is Naruto's frantic yelling in the background... and, something else.

Her name. 

Soft and smooth and silver.

"Sakura," she's sniffling, but all that does is move the blood back into her throat and it's in her mouth and she can't stop tasting her own blood.

It's making her nauseous. 

It's making her scared. 

"Sakura," she hears again, and then she feels something cool wiping across her face.

Her hand is being guided by someone else's, someone strong and warm, and she's trying to see but her nose hurts and she's dizzy and she's trying to wipe her eyes but there's blood and snot and she thinks she might be crying.

"Pinch here."

It's the same silvery voice, the one guiding her hand to her face, and she grasps blindly for her nose, grunting in pain as her fingers close around the bridge. 

She's pinching it the way he's instructed and he keeps saying her name.

"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura."

"Are you okay?"

"Sakura."

She tries to calm down so she can listen to him. She's always loved the way her name sounds in his mouth. Sweet and easy. Safe. 

Like she could crawl between his teeth and make a home there. 

Theres something cool and wet mopping across face again and Sakura tries to breath through her mouth, she tries to open her eyes. 

It doesn't taste too badly of blood anymore. 

When a pair of warm callused hands cup her chin, she leans in, sighing as she rests her face in the safety of his cupped hands.

His hands are warm, his fingers gently stroking her cheeks. His touch is so safe, so soft, she almost thinks she is making it up, so she forces her eyes open to be sure. 

Kakashi's eyes, stormy grey and ringed with worry, are staring into hers.

"Are you okay? he asks, "I'm so sorry, Sakura, are you okay?"

His thumbs are still on her cheeks and his palms are still so warm so Sakura tilts her head and presses her cheek more snuggly into his hand.

She must look ridiculous, blood on her face, tears down her cheeks, but he doesn't look at her like she is. He looks worried. Like there is a storm brewing behind his grey eyes, like there is regret and sorrow and tenderness.

Sakura stares and stares and stares.

"Sakura," he's saying his fingers caught in her hair, "hey, are you okay?"

She thinks she is. Her face doesn't hurt as bad, she thinks the pressure on her nose might have stopped the bleeding, she thinks the cool cloth on her face has helped calm her down.

She takes deep breathes through her mouth, the pounding of her heart quieting as she does. Kakashi's eyes are fixed on her, his gaze surveying her.

"I'm okay," she tells him, nodding her face in his hands.

She blinks and tries to clear her head and to her relief, she feels her world rebalance itself.

"I'm okay," she affirms, and then, she's hit with embarrassment.

Oh god, she'd just been crying when she was hit in the face... for something that was her own fault! She hadn't been paying attention. 

"I'm sorry," she says babbling, her cheeks heating, "I was distracted and wasn't paying attention."

To her surprise, Kakashi pulls her into him, his arms wrapping around her shoulder and back, his grip on her strong.

Sakura is still pinching her nose so she can't breathe him in the way she had before, and she wants to, but he is warm and solid and she still feels a little dizzy so she leans into him.

His skin is cool, or maybe her face is just hot, but she presses her cheek to against him all the same.

"Don't apologize," he says fiercely, his words puffing against her hair, "I'm teaching you, it's on me to make sure you don't get hurt."

He sounds so sincere. So remorseful.

"It's okay," she murmurs, pressing her forehead into his neck, "it was only an accident."

She presses her cheek more securely into his chest. The chain of his necklace bites into her cheek, his skin is cool and smooth under her and-

Wait.

What?

Sakura opens her eyes and is met with his chest. His very bare, very naked chest.

It shocks her back into herself.

Where was his shirt?!

Despite all the residual pain in her nose, she can't stop looking down at him. At the fine musculature weaving across his torso, at the definition and fold of his abs. At that shock of silver hair below his bellybutton, at the way his pants are slung sinfully low on his hips, at how she can see his hipbones. 

Forget her nose, Sakura is worried she might go into cardiac arrest.

Maybe Kakashi would have to take off his pants to save her.

He's pulling back from her, his arms slowly retracting and Sakura prays to every god she's ever heard of that her cheeks are not on fire. 

"Let me see," he says and his hand pulls her from her nose, he leans in to peer at her.

Sakura holds her breath.

"It's not bleeding anymore, thank god," he says, relief flooding his voice.

Sakura's brain is screaming one singular thought, where was his shirt?!

He cups her face in one large hand, his broad palm nestling against her cheek, and she watches as he raises a wet cloth to her face again. She closes her eyes as he drags it gently across her face, up the side of her cheek, under her nose, across the top of her lip.

He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear before he withdraws and Sakura feels her stomach flip.

"I'm sorry," he says quietly, and Sakura feels her heart pull in her chest.

She reaches for his hands, clasping them tightly in her own.

"I'm okay," she says again. She tries not to stare at the way his abs taper down into his pants. She tries extremely hard.

He doesn't seem convinced, his brow still furrowed.

She reaches out and touches the slightly yellow skin that's still on the side of his face. It had only been a week since he'd sparred Sasuke. What had happened to him was legions worse than her bloody nose.

"We're even now," she says trying for humour, but the way he looks at her, remorseful and shameful and sad makes her heart hurt.

"Sakura?" A little voice calls from beside him and she drops her hand from Kakashi's face to look at Naruto, his blue eyes shining.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his lower lip trembling slightly. 

"I'm perfect," she says and smiles as widely as she can at him.

"I think I'll feel better if you give me a hug," she adds, holding her arms out.

Naruto steps into her, his chubby arms hugging around her neck as tightly.

"Careful," Kakashi say gently, his gaze smouldering as he looks at Sakura.

Naruto lifts his little head to glare, "you hurt Sakura!" he says accusingly before burrowing his head in her neck once more.

"I'm okay, I promise," she says, looking at Kakashi. She hates the look on his face. 

She scans for something to say that will make him laugh, something that will assure him she's okay.

But all she keeps thinking about is his body. At the expanse of muscle he's revealed to her, at the way she wants to trace her fingers over him.

"What happened to your shirt?" she asks, not meaning to. 

She feels her cheeks flame, but thankfully Kakashi doesnt notice. He reaches to his side and picks up a balled up piece of fabric. She can see the word INSTRUCTOR embroidered on it in white. She spies a bloodstain across the white lettering. 

Kakashi looks at it, a rare, embarrassed expression on his face, "uh, I panicked," he admits scratching the back of his head, "I just threw some water on it," his lips twist into a half smile, "not very hygienic," he adds. 

Sakura feels her laughter bubble up inside of her and then before she can stop, it's bubbling out of her, buoyant and bright.

He'd ripped off his shirt to wipe her face! It was so sweet! So funny!

She tries to contain her laughter with a hand over her mouth but it only makes her laugh harder.

To her relief, she sees Kakashi crack a smile.

"I can't believe you panicked Mr. Future Hokage," she teases her giggles finally ceasing. 

Kakashi rubs the back of his neck a rueful smile twisting across his lips, "yea well..." he says and she feels a jubilant feeling burst in her heart at his sudden timidity he was showing.

Naruto leans back from his hug with her before she can say anything else.

"Hi," she says.

His blue eyes are watery but no longer filled with worry.

She feels Kakashi's eyes on her.

Naruto's little hands press against her cheeks, squishing slightly, "are you okay, Sakura?" he asks quietly.

He is six and while Sakura wants to humour him, she can see that he'd genuinely concerned about her. So she answers him seriously. 

"I'm very okay," she tells him, nodding, "you and Kakashi did a great job of healing me."

Naruto looks pleased with himself.

"Was it my hug?"

"Definitely," she tells him seriously, she reaches a hand up into her hair and finds the flower still tucked away behind her ear, "and your flower."

Naruto still stays well within her space, but he looks at Kakashi curiously, "it stayed," he tells him, almost suspiciously.

"Kakashi is an expert," Sakura says, ticking Naruto's sides lightly, "I bet he puts flowers in all the girls' hair."

She ignores the sour taste in her mouth.

Kakashi grins so wide she can see the sharp point of his incisors peeking from beneath his lips, he looks at her before he speaks.

"Only the girls I like," he says easily.

He's still shirtless. She's still staring.

Naruto is between them and Sakura is almost grateful for the little boy. There was a certain gravity around Kakashi. She'd noticed it more and more, and now, after she'd been pressed against his bare skin, it seemed like she couldn't help but be pulled in even more. 

She watches Kakashi relax, shifting from his knees to a sit, his legs splayed out. He's still close to her, he's still watching her. 

"Why were you distracted?" he asks gently.

Sakura eases Naruto from her and he seems happy to sit beside her, his little head leaned on her arm.

"Oh," she says "I just have some stuff on my mind."

Kakashi reaches behind himself and retrieves his bottle of water. He unscrews the cap and holds it out to her.

Sakura takes it gratefully and drinks the water down, flushing the last of the taste of blood from her throat. 

"What stuff?" he asks 

Sakura's cheek is still tingling from the scant touch of his knuckles, she's glad for the distraction.

"I just have some big committee meeting soon and I'm thinking about it," she says, hoping she sounds causal about it. 

Kakashi tilts his head, "thinking about...?" he prods.

"Things I've missed, things I still need to do, things I think I'm going to suck at," she tells him with a small laugh.

"Okay," he says, shifting to lean back against the mirror, "so tell me."

Sakura thinks she almost heard him, but he's crossed his arms across his chest and she can't stop staring at the way the muscles in his biceps bunch and flex. 

"A-about my committee meeting?" she asks, tearing her eyes away from his still very bare torso.

"Yea," he says, "it's a presentation, right? Present it to me."

Sakura blinks.

"It's fine," she says waving her hand at him, she didn't want him to have to listen to her out of some guilty obligation.

"Come on," he says, nudging her foot with his, "I want to know."

"I don't want to waste your time," she tells him, nudging her foot back with hers, "besides it's Naruto's lesson, and-"

"You're never wasting my time," he says and she almost has to close her eyes at the tone of his voice. Honest, gentle, kind. 

"Plus," he glances pointedly over at Naruto who has leaned his head on Sakura and has seemed to drift off to sleep, his eyes closed, his body rising and falling with his breaths.

Sakura looked down at him fondly. She hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep.

"Tell me," he says again and she sighs as his voice washes over her, silver and smooth and calm like flowing water.

"Well," she begins, sitting back, "I thought I'd start like this."

Chapter Text

If there was a God that existed, Sakura was positive that they had a sick sense of humour.

After all, what type of empathetic altruistic evangelical being would make her watch Sasuke and Kakashi... again.

Shirtless. 

And, whoever this God was, they must have made Sakura their official punching bag, because not only was there an audience watching, but Sakura was also seated behind to a group of girls who were debating on which man they would rather fuck... Loudly.

Sasuke, one of them says, nearly purring. He's so pretty that I'd be on top just so I could stare down at him.

She should definitely say something, but then again, admitting she was eavesdropping on how this other girl would fuck her boyfriend somehow seemed worse.

Me too! Agrees another girl, I just know he'd keep going until you were fucked out.

Sakura resists the urge to crumple into a pool of embarrassment.

Nah, I'm fucking Kakashi, the third one says, look at him! I just know his dick is-

"Hi Sakura!"

Sakura swallows the wet heat that had found a home in her throat at the mental image of... never mind.

She turns to see all three and a half feet of Naruto standing on her left with Tsunade.

Kakashi looks like he'd make you beg for it and-

"H-Hi Naruto!" Sakura greets just a little too loudly, hoping the girls below her could take a hint, "hi Tsunade," she added.

"Can we sit?" Tsunade asks, eyeing the completely empty bench next to Sakura.

The answer was very obviously no. After all, there was a gaggle of girls below her talking about their sexual fantasies for her boyfriend and Kakashi.

If that wasn’t bad enough, she was also swallowing down vomit at the prospect of seeing Sasuke and Kakashi in a scenario that resembled their first spar.

So, she shot Tsunade a shakey smile and lied through her teeth, "yes I'd love that."

"I call sitting on your lap!" Naruto cried, running over and clambering on.

Tsunade gave Sakura an apologetic look, "I can get him off you if you want," she said with a tired smile.

Despite Naruto's pointy elbows and wiggling torso, she found herself wrapping her arms around the little boy as he settled himself in her lap.

"I don't mind," she told Tsunade sincerely, she leaned forward and gave Naruto a hug, "he’s growing on me."

Naruto beamed at her.

Tsunade sat down gingerly, a wary look on her features. She leaned into Sakura, "sometimes he grows on people like a rash, be careful"

Sakura threw her head back and laughed as Tsunade settled in her seat. There was deep love and affection in her tone, but also, a genuine warning.

"So," Tsunade started, squinting at where Kakashi and Sasuke had bent their heads together in conversation, "this must be fun for you."

Hardly. Sakura was worried. She couldn't bare to see Kakashi hurt. Not like that. Not again. 

“I’m kind of nervous,” she admitted hesitantly.

“I-“ she paused as Naruto leaned forward on her lap to introduce himself to the gaggle of girls in front of them.

“I don’t want to see him hurt again,” she says quietly, feeling oddly vulnerable.

She thinks Tsunade must sense it because the other woman keeps her eyes fixed on the ring.

“He’s good to you?” Tsunade asks quietly.

“The best,” Sakura says without hesitation.

She laughs as Naruto bats his eyelashes for the giggling girls in front of them.

“He’s kind,” Sakura says. She’s thinking about how Kakashi had listened to her recite her presentation for nearly half an hour. He’d stopped her every now and then, tapping her knee to indicate that he had something to say.

He had stopped her to ask for more explanation, he stopped her to tell her when something didn’t make sense, stopped her to tell her when something did.

The whole time, he’d been engaged, had watched her talk with that small lopsided smile and a tilt of his head.

It had made her warm. It made her want to lean in.

She thought about how he brought her breakfast, how he made her laugh each time she was in a mood. She thought about how softly he had held her face, thought about the tingling trails his scant touches left on her skin.

“He’s kind,” she repeats smiling to herself.

Tsunade turns and gives her a warm smile, “that’s good, how long have you been together?”

Sakura frowns, “I met Kakashi like three months ago,” she says, confused.

Tsunade raises a brow, her lips pulling into an amused smile, “I was talking about Sasuke,” she says, “your boyfriend.”

Sakura feels her face flush beet red, “oh,” she says dumbly.

Tsunade seems to be even more amused by her reaction, “wishful thinking?”

Sakura wants to die. Truly, and actually, die.

Maybe, if she was really lucky, a stray bolt of lightening would just put her out of her misery.

“I, uh,” she scrambled to produce an intelligible sentences, “sorry, I was just thinking about Kakashi since he was injured more than Sasuke last time, and I guess I was distracted and, uh, yea.”

It is probably the least graceful sentence that had come out of her mouth in a while, but thankfully, Tsunade takes her seriously.

“That was a pretty nasty injury,” she agrees soberly, “it’s a miracle he’s that functional in such a short amount of time.”

Fear gnawed a hole in Sakura’s gut at the words, “do you think he’ll be okay to-“

Her eyes flit to the training room where Kakashi is still speaking to Sasuke.

Sasuke’s eyes are narrow, his gaze untrusting.

“He’ll be okay,” Tsunade assures her, “if it makes you feel any better, this is going to be a no contact situation.”

Sakura looks back to her training room, and to her surprise, sees Sasuke unwrapping his wrists, the dark blue bandages unwinding and falling to the floor.

Neither man reached for a helmet or gloves.

Kakashi was leaning over fiddling with the waistband of his pants.

His posture was relaxed, his joints loose, his hair flopping into his forehead.

Sakura lingered just a moment too long when his fiddling caused his waistband to slip down a sliver.

“What’s Kakashi doing?” She asked, doing her best not to keep staring at him.

Tsunade folded her arms, a feline smile growing across her face, “the bell test.”

- - -

The bell test, as Tsunade explained, was a type of training exercise Kakashi had picked up from his father.

Sakura hasn’t heard Kakashi talk about his family yet, so she leaned in, eager to learn more.

“It’s a straightforward exercise, really,” Tsunade explained, “Kakashi has bells on his pants, Sasuke’s goal is to take them.”

“That’s it?” Sakura asked, confused. It didn’t sound that hard.

“It’s not as easy as it sounds,” Tsunade replied, “especially if it’s Kakashi you’re trying to take them from.”

She watched as the men stood across from each other. Sasuke held himself in a loose fighting position, hands open, knees bent

Kakashi scratched his bare chest, bored.

He’d taken his necklace off and placed it by his instructor t-shirt, the blood stain standing out against the white embroidery.

It was her blood on his shirt, she realized. She should probably offer to wash that for him.

She smiled at the idea, she had a feeling he’d just raise an eyebrow at her, give her that same lopsided grin, and refuse.

“Alright,” Tsunade said, leaning forward. Her Hokage robe spilled over her lap and Sakura took a moment to glance at the blonde woman. There was a carefully controlled look of interest on her face.

Who was it directed at, though? Sasuke? Or Kakashi.

“They’re starting,” Tsunade says.

- - -

Sasuke’s first move is fairly simple, in fact, it’s exactly what Sakura would do.

He lunges forward, reaching for the bells.

Kakashi moves neatly out of his way, and Sasuke stumbles forward with the force of his momentum.

A small ripple of laughter breaks out across the audience and it sends colour to Sasuke’s cheeks.

Sakura presses her lips together trying not to smile.

Sasuke lunges at Kakashi again, his speed and movements more sure and serious, but Kakashi easily evades him, his hands tucked neatly behind his back.

Sasuke stumbles again.

Sakura watches as Sasuke rights himself, shakes his head, and lunges at Kakashi again.

Over and over, they repeat this, Sasuke’s movements quick but ineffective at removing the bells from Kakashi’s pants.

The audience gets more and more amused at the pair of them, Sakura hears chuckles and laughter each time Sasuke misses.

Finally, Sasuke lunges, misses, and then falls forward from the force of his momentum.

A ripple of laughter breaks out across the audience and Sakura can’t help but clamp a hand over her own mouth in amusement.

From her left, Tsunade lefts out a loud guffaw, “I should record this and watch it when I’m having a bad day,” she says happily.

“You’re terrible,” Sakura said from behind her, biting her cheek to keep from laughing.

Sasuke is angry, she can tell by the way he’s curled his hands into fists, how there is tension in the too-straight posture of his spine. She feels her own amusement fading as she watches him shake his head to refocus himself.

Kakashi waits, his gaze on the other man.

What was he doing?

Was he just trying to humiliate Sasuke?

Sakura feels a frown work its way on her face.

Sasuke is getting nowhere with this, and, the audience laughing at him only worsens his foul mood. Was this really Kakashi training Sasuke?

She feels her throat close as a familiar figure walks to the centre of the stage. Long hair, grey skin, a serpentine smile.

Orochimaru.

Sakura watches as he knocks against the glass door and both men’s attention snaps to him. Orochimaru says something, gesticulating wildly at Sasuke who is nodding in response.

Kakashi shrugs.

Sasuke nods and follows Orochimaru out of the room. Sakura follows them with her eyes, noting they’re heading in the direction of the changing rooms.

“Boo,” Tsunade says from beside her, “and I was just starting to enjoy myself.”

But Sakura hardly hears her.

If Kakashi was only trying to humiliate Sasuke and not train him, she needed to say something. It wasn’t fair.

“Excuse me,” she mumbles, gently sliding Naruto off his lap.

The little boy goes easily, squatting down so that he can continue to charm the girls in front of him.

Sakura stands up and begins picking her way down the bleachers.

- - -

“Yo.”

Sakura is struck, just for a moment, at how beautiful Kakashi actually is. Especially like this, the strong sinew of his muscles exposed, the curve of his abs, the flex of his arms. She is silent as he tips his water-bottle into his mouth. She watches the bob of his throat as he drinks deeply.

He swallows and turns back to her, his lips still shining with water.

She swallows the urge to wipe it off for him.

“What’s up?” he asks as he twists the lid back on to his bottle, “you having a good time?”

Sakura shakes her head to clear her mind from the very persistent thoughts of the way his abs taper into his pants.

“Are you trying to humiliate Sasuke?”

Kakashi’s brows furrow.

“Not at all,” he says slowly, “why?”

Sakura swallows, slightly taken aback by the shock and honesty in his voice.

“I just think,” she turns back to glance at the audience behind them. Naruto waves maddeningly at her.

“I just think,” she repeats, “he’s not getting whatever it is you’re trying to teach.”

She hesitates, “neither do I.”

Kakashi regards her, a tilt of his head, a small quirk of his lips.

Sakura swallows nervously, was she in the wrong here? Kakashi was trained and sure of himself, this was a technique he’d inherited from his father. Was she in the wrong to question him like this?

“Alright,” Kakashi says and Sakura strains her ears to listen for any irritation in his voice, “what does it look like I’m doing?”

There’s none. It’s just simple curiosity, a desire to understand.

Sakura feels herself relax.

“Making him stumble” she says with a small laugh.

Kakashi’s lips curl, “and?”

“Frustrating him,” she says with a smile.

“And?”

“Amusing Tsunade beyond belief” she says and Kakashi throws his head back to laugh.

“Anything else?” he asks, righting himself.

“Not that I can see,” Sakura says with a small shrug.

Kakashi is watching her, his head tilted amusedly, his strong arms crossed over his bare chest.

“Okay,” he says with a wry smile, “I’ll try it a different way.”

- - -

Sakura picks her way back up the bleachers, her heart feeling lighter in her chest.

Kakashi, as usual, was completely different than anything she’d ever expected, from anyone she’d ever met. How many times had she brought up an issue with Sasuke only to settle? Only to have it half solved?

Kakashi takes her seriously, he considers her… he listens to her.

Sakura feels that warm liquid swirl in her chest again, that feeling of… something she couldn’t quite name yet.

Whatever it was, the feeling was even more salient lately.

“Hey!”

She glances up to find the four girls who’d been talking about Sasuke and Kakashi waving frantically at her.

“Hey!” the same voice calls again and Sakura squints her eyes to see if maybe they’d mistaken her for someone else.

Nope. They were still waving at her.

Sakura thought about it. They hadn’t known Sasuke was her boyfriend, it wasn’t like they’d said what they’d said on purpose. Maybe they were calling out to her because they wanted to get to know her. It had been months in The Leaf and the only person she’d really befriended was Kakashi, she could use some girlfriends.

So, she veered off her path a little bit to head towards them.

“Hey!” she called back as she approached them, “I’m Sakura.”

“Cool,” said the girl who’d originally called out to her, Sakura recognized her voice as the one who’d fantasized about Kakashi’s…. uh

“I’m Karui,” she said gesturing at herself, “this is Tenten, Temari, and Tayuya,” she said, gesturing at the other girls in turn. Sakura waved to them.

“I noticed you were talking to Kakashi,” she said slowly, her eyes slipping behind Sakura to Kakashi who was alone in the training room waiting for Sasuke.

There’s a look in Karui’s amber eyes, it reminds Sakura of a panther hunting its prey.

“Are you guys friends?” Karui asks with a toss of her deep auburn hair.

The warm liquid feeling swirling in her chest seems to freeze, its spectacular light melting into something colder.

“Yeah,” Sakura says, hesitant.

A feline smile curls on Karui’s lips and she grabs Sakura’s hands pulling her forward, “Amazing!”

“Could you do me a favour?” she asks, digging around in her purse for something, “I think he’s so hot, like unreasonably hot,” Karui says, she pulls out a scrap of paper and lets go of Sakura’s hand to jot something down on it.

“Would you give him my number?”

She holds the scrap of paper out to Sakura, her number scrawled on it, her name written just below it, a heart substituting the dot of the ‘i’.

There is ice in Sakura’s chest.

“I, uh,” Sakura stares at the paper stupidly.

“I mean,” Karui continues, waving the paper empathetically, “you get it right?”

Sakura did. Of course she did. She’d done this before, played matchmaker, been the silent middle man in a beautiful blossoming relationship.

This should be fine. She should be completely okay with hooking Kakashi up with an obviously beautiful girl who clearly wanted him.

But then she thinks of Kakashi's hands on Karui's smooth brown face, she thinks of him tucking a flower behind Karui's long auburn hair, she thinks of his eyes, a warm winter sky, locked with Karui's stunning amber ones.

Something dark and possessive burns in her stomach.

So, Sakura doesn’t think twice when she pushes Karui’s hand away, “I’m sorry,” she says quietly, “he’s involved with someone.”

When Karui’s face falls in disappointment, a wicked part of Sakura rears its head to roar in satisfaction.

“He is?” Karui asks, crestfallen.

“Yea,” Sakura says, “it’s kind of serious.”

The lie sends a prickling feeling down into her fingers and toes. A type of tainted victory.

“Oh well,” Karui says, sitting back and shoving her number back in her purse, “it was worth a shot, right?”

“Exactly,” Sakura says. She glances up at where Tsunade and Naruto are sitting a row up.

“I’ve got to go,” she says quickly, “um, but I’ll remember you if anything changes between Kakashi and his…” Sakura falters, “situation,” she says at last.

Karui brightens, sitting up straight, “really? That would be great!”

Sakura nods and plasters a smile on her face “no worries!” she says.

She bids the girls farewell and picks her way back to her seat, her entire body thrumming with the heavy weight of what she’s just done.

Chapter Text

When Sasuke returns, his mood is clearly elevated, there is a levity to him, his frustration having melted away. Sakura recognizes his posture, the gait of his walk, the way he beats his chest, the way the audience cheers at his energy.

It makes her stomach twist.

Tsunade must notice it too because the other woman crosses her arms over her ample chest, “this,” she says narrowing her eyes, “should be interesting.”

When Sasuke enters the room, Kakashi approaches him, his spine straight, the slouch missing. Sakura realizes that Kakashi must notice the change too.

He says something to Sasuke, his hands gesticulating softly between them, Sakura tries her best to understand what’s happening but there’s just no way for her to read their lips with the distance she was at.

She watches instead, trying to read their body language. To her surprise, Kakashi plucks the bells from his own waistband and hands them to Sasuke.

“What’s he doing?” she says to no one in particular.

“I’m wondering the same thing,” Tsunade murmurs back.

Sakura watches as Sasuke tucks them into his own waistband. Judging from the dreamy sighs below her, so does the gaggle of girls.

Kakashi nods once, and then steps away, standing in an open stance.

Sasuke stands opposite of him nearly vibrating with tension.

Sakura feels anxiety gnawing the side of her ribs.

The last time this had happened, Kakashi had been hurt.

Badly.

What would she do if it happened again?

Sakura watches them with her heart in her throat. When the match begins, it’s all she can do to not look away

- - -

This time, it’s Kakashi who lunges at Sasuke, his hand aimed at the bells hanging from Sasuke’s waist.

Sasuke twists out of the way, his movements not as graceful as Kakashi’s.

Kakashi doesn’t pause to readjust the way Sasuke has, instead he pressures the other man, side stepping him to grab at the bells again.

Sasuke stumbles, backing away as quickly as he can. Kakashi’s hands just miss the bells.

Kakashi presses Sasuke again, darting jsut behind him to tap the other man’s back, before stepping to the side of him and tapping his ribs.

Understanding begins to dawn on Sakura.

When Sasuke kicks, he drops his guard, his elbows flare out, his back hand slips.

Kakashi was methodically showing Sasuke where his vulnerabilities were.

“I get it,” she says, watching as Kakashi flows in that way of his, tapping Sasuke’s rib again, ducking to tap his back foot.

Sakura feels Tsunade shift beside her, “genius, isn’t it?” Tsunade replies.

“It’s why he’s going to be a fantastic Hokage,” Tsunade says quietly, deep affection evident in her voice.

Sakura only smiles, watching as Kakashi seems to dance around Sasuke.

She hadn’t quite understood why Kakashi had offered to train Sasuke at first, but now, she was gaining some clarity. Kakashi viewed fighting as an art form, something that was worth teaching, something that should be shared.

“When you ask to spar someone, you're asking for an opportunity to learn,” Kakashi had told her.

Sasuke had asked him for just that.

Refusing someone an opportunity to learn just wasn’t who Kakashi was.

This, was who he was, she realized. A man so deeply rooted in the goodness of his character that he’d hardly hesitated to help someone who’d carelessly hurt him. That he could look past all that to see an opportunity to truly teach Sasuke.

The warm liquid feeling returns to her chest, swirling and dancing in time with Kakashi’s movements.

“He’s going to be incredible,” she breathes softly, agreeing with Tsunade.

Sakura watches as Kakashi works his way around Sasuke, focusing less on getting the bells, and more on exposing where Sasuke was leaving himself wide open to attacks.

He flowed easily, just as he had in the first spar with Sasuke; his body following itself, joint after tendon, muscle after bone, vertebrae after vertebrae.

It reminds Sakura of his voice, smooth silver, the way it seemed to pour over her like spring water.

She’s watching as Kakashi moves around Sasuke, tapping and ducking and twisting and stops staring at Kakashi long enough to notice Sasuke.

He’s furious.

There is tension running through the coils of muscles lining his arms and abdomen, frustration radiating off of him in waves.

She is almost not surprised when Sasuke roars and throws a punch.

He is gloveless, both men are helmet-less, throwing that kind of attach would have serious consequences had it not been for Kakashi’s quick reflexes, his elbow flying up to deflect the attack.

It’s the same block he’d taught Sakura to do in Naruto’s lesson.

Sakura’s eyes don’t move from the training room.

Kakashi lips move, both men frozen in place, locked against each other. Kakashi is saying something to Sasuke, the muscles in his jaw and neck tense.

Whatever Kakashi says, it doesn’t seem to work. Sasuke swings again, and this time Kakashi steps out of the way, neatly avoiding Sasuke’s powerful attack.

What was Sasuke doing?!

Sasuke lunges at Kakashi, launching attack after attack, lightening fast and vicious. He and Kakashi are both unprotected, Kakashi is dodging and blocking neatly but Sakura’s heart is beating maddeningly against her ribs. This was supposed to be a lesson! Now, Sasuke was attacking Kakashi!

“That little shit,” Tsunade grits out, her fists curled against her thighs.

Sakura feels like she’s hearing Tsunade from underwater, the entire scene feeling distant and far away.

Sasuke was going to hurt Kakashi.

Panic knots itself behind Sakura’s heart, seeming to send venom directly into her bloodstream. Would she be able to stomach it if something happened to him again?

Would she be able to forgive Sasuke?

She watches, her entire body cold with terror as Sasuke throws a roundhouse kick, aiming for the side of Kakashi’s head.

Kakashi, lightening fast, ducks below Sasuke’s leg, and emerges behind the other man.

Sasuke spins, angry.

Sasuke swings, a fury of punches and jabs, and Kakashi, smooth as spring water, blocks them with ease.

It’s when Sasuke throws a cross, his back hand flying, his hips twisting with power, that Kakashi blocks, his own front hand easily deflecting the blow. Sakura watches as Kakashi steps into Sasuke.

The last time he’d done this, Sasuke had stomped on his knee.

Fear grips Sakura’s throat.

Kakashi, moving faster than she’d thought possible, threads his back arm around Sasuke’s neck, hooking with his elbow and dragging Sasuke’s head in tight.

It’s all over in a moment, Sasuke is bent over, his head neck trapped between the crook of Kakashi’s arm and his ribs, his back bowed as he struggles to get out of Kakashi’s choke hold.

Kakashi squeezes and pulls upwards and she watches as Sasuke is forced to his toes, his face reddening in Kakashi’s chokehold.

There are gasps rippling through the crowd.

Serves Sasuke right!

Oh shit, maybe Hatake was holding back!

Did anyone get that on video?

Sakura watches, her heartbeat returning to normal as Sasuke taps Kakashi’s bicep frantically.

Kakashi releases him instantly, and Sasuke stumbles back.

Kakashi, despite what has just transpired, looks composed.

Sakura feels furious.

Sasuke rights himself, his face burning bright red, his hands massaging his throat. Sakura watches his chest rise and fall heavily, watches the way he sucks down air.

Kakashi says nothing, just watches Sasuke.

He says something that Sakura cannot hear and Sasuke’s head snaps up.

Kakashi holds out his hand.

Hanging from his fingers are the bells.

When had he had a change to grab them?!

Kakashi gives Sasuke a long look.

And then, with his head held high, his gaze unwavering, Kakashi strides out of the training room.

- - -

The car ride home is silent and Sakura is glad for it.

She has too many feelings swirling through her chest to try and figure out what to say to Sasuke.

The most obvious one is anger. She’s furious with him. How he had the nerve to ask Kakashi for help, and then turn around and attack him was completely beyond her!

Not only that, he’d let his temper get ahead of him, again. Kakashi had tried to teach Sasuke something and he’d squandered that opportunity the moment it was handed to him

Sakura doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know how to speak to Sasuke without yelling at him. So, she texts Kakashi instead.

Sakura: you okay?

He replies quickly.

Kakashi: not really

She feels her stomach churn with worry

Her phone buzzes and she frantically thumbs it open.

Kakashi has sent her a picture and she nearly drops her phone at what she sees.

He’s sent her a photo of him, angled high up so that she can see the full length of his naked torso. Her mouth waters at the sight.

She’d seen his shirtless body all day today, but this, a photo on her phone, something she can hold on to, something she can return to, makes her head spin.

She thinks he is beautiful.

The lighting is damn near sinful, it captures the way his muscles twist and rope around his limbs, highlights the swell of his pectorals, the rise of his biceps. It catches on the taper of his abs down into his pants, the vee of his abdominal muscles, the jut of his hipbones, the way his waist whittles down, narrow and powerful.

He’s shooting the camera a lazy thumbs up.

There is a wet heat in her throat and Sakura struggles to swallow it down.

Kakashi: Tsunade’s about to kick my ass

Sakura’s cheeks flame as she realizes Tsunade is in the background of the photo. She’d changed out of her typical business-casual wear and Hokage robe combination to don workout gear. She had on a pair of black gloves, black shorts, and a black sports bra, her impressively defined abs on display.

She’s shooting a peace sign over Kakashi’s shoulder, a wicked smile across her face.

Sakura had hardly noticed her.

Kakashi: you getting home okay?

Sakura glances up, they’re one stoplight away from home. She and Sasuke haven’t spoken yet.

Sakura: yup

Sakura: tell her not to do too much damage

Kakashi: like that’ll work

Sakura smiles to herself.

She pretends it’s nothing when she thumbs open the picture he’d sent her.

- - -

Dinner is a quiet affair.

Sasuke re-heats them leftovers from the night before and they sit across from one another in silence.

Sakura knows she needs to say something, but she’s mindful of how Sasuke must be feeling. She needs to talk to him about that, about how his temper keeps overtaking him, but, she realizes this might not be the best time. Composing herself, she tries something different.

“So-“

“So-“

She stares at him. They’ve interrupted one another.

“You first,” Sasuke says, reaching for his glass of water.

“I have a big committee meeting coming up,” she says, “and I’m kind of nervous.”

“Oh?” Sasuke tilts his head, “nervous why, baby?”

Sakura feels herself relax a little.

“I’m just worried I’m going to mess something up,” she says with a small laugh, “I’ve been practicing all week and most of last night, but I’m still worried, even though-“

Even though Kakashi thought it was great, she thinks, even though he gave me some pointers and helped me identify some areas I was shaky with so I know where to focus my efforts.

“Even though,” she continues, “I touched up the presentation a little bit.”

Sasuke nods so she continues.

“Anyways, I was wondering if you could listen to it for me and see what you think.”

 Sasuke gives her a warm smile and reaches a hand out to squeeze hers.

“Baby,” he says fondly, “you’re going to be incredible.”

Sakura smiles at him. She feels a familiar warmth sparking in her chest.

“I know you’ve probably thought of everything and gone over it a million times,” he says easily, “you don’t need me to tell you it’s good.”

Those sparks die as quickly as they start.

Kakashi had pressed her to tell him, had listened to her for nearly half an hour, had tapped her knee when he needed to interrupt. Sasuke hadn’t even bothered to hear her out.

Sakura swallowed down the tears welling in her throat.

She plastered a smile on her face instead, “thanks,” she said, squeezing his hand back before retracting it.

Sasuke shot her a rare smile before straightening, “can I tell you my news now?”

She nods, “yea, what’s up?”

Sasuke’s mood is clearly brighter, he leans back in his chair, “so, some of my friends and I were thinking of renting a cottage for Christmas.”

“Oh?”

“Yea,” he says, excited, “We were thinking of going to the next town over, Suna? They have great sandy beaches and it’s a little warmer than here so it’ll be great for swimming.”

Swimming. Sun. Sand. This would be Christmas time so she’d be done with school.

Sakura feels the idea warming in her chest, it would be a great way to hang out together, to take a break and reset and then head back to school completely refreshed.

A vacation might be just the thing she needed!

“Thats a great idea,” she says sincerely, “when do we leave?”

Sakura watches Sasuke’s face fall and knows his truth before he speaks it.

“Oh,” he says quietly, “I didn’t realize you wanted to come.”

Sakura huffs a laugh, her stomach tight, her appetite fading, “why wouldn’t I want to come?”

“I just figured because it was my friends and I, that you wouldn’t-“

She told herself she was going to be civil, that she was going be mindful of how Sasuke was feeling, but that was all she ever did. Thought about him, accommodated him.

He couldn’t even be bothered to think about her.

“Wait,” she says, interrupting him, “so you need ‘quality time’ with me for like four hours a day where I sit on my ass and do nothing-“

“Sakura,” he says exasperated, pinching the bridge of of his nose,

“No,” she says, her voice hard, “but the minute you want to leave for a week to do fuck all, then suddenly all that quality time you need so badly is gone?”

“Sakura it's not my fault my friends want to go-“

“I don't even have friends Sasuke!” She all but yells. She thinks of the four girls in the stand, how she’d gone over to them in the hopes of finding some sort of companionship. It was almost pathetic.

“We moved here three months ago, the only friend I have is Kakashi!”

At the mention of Kakashi’s name, Sasuke’s eyes narrow.

“Some fucking friend he is,” Sasuke sneers.

Sakura feels her anger swell, “pardon?”

“The guy’s intent on humiliating me, Sakura.”

She barks a laugh out, “you’re kidding me, right?”

“You saw what he did to me, I’m surprised you didn’t say anything,” Sasuke says, cold.

She had said something! She'd asked Kakashi to change his technique and he'd listened to her. As fucking usual, Sasuke had no clue what she was doing for him!

“He tried to teach you something.”

“What?” Sasuke asks, sharply, “how to waste my fucking time?”

Sakura stands up, her chair clattering back noisily.

“You’re so self-centred, Sasuke,” she hisses angrily, “it’s not always about winning, it’s not always about what you want.”

Sasuke stands, mirroring her, his chair scrapping agains the floor, the noise ugly and grating.

“Yea, I want to not be embarrassed in front of the whole gym, apparently, I’m asking for too much.”

Sakura huffs, “yea, and I want to stop wasting my fucking life.”

The words fly out of her, angry and wicked and honest.

Sasuke’s eyes narrow.

“Excuse me?”

She should stop, but she’s too far gone now. Her fury burns in her chest, hot and indignant, demanding to be acknowledged, she’s watched Sasuke stomp on Kakashi’s knee twice, she watched him swung at Kakashi when he was trying to teach him. She’s angry. It’s been three months of being ignored by Sasuke, of being disregarded, of pushing her own feelings to the side and she’s sick of it, she’s angry.

“Yea,” she says, fury lacing her words, twisting around her tongue, “I want to stop feeling like all I do is tag along behind you and wait on you and sit on my ass and pretend to give a shit."

“You said you wanted to keep coming,” he says quietly.

“I don’t,” she spits.

“I don’t want to keep watching you loose your temper, I don’t want to watch you give your time and attention to every fucking thing but me.”

“Of course I care about you!” Sasuke shot back, “if this is about me not thinking you’d want to come to the cottage, then-“

“What do I do at school?”

Sakura waits.

Sasuke doesn’t answer.

“What’s my boss’ name at work? When do I have class? What did I have for breakfast today?”

The questions rush out of Sakura. She knows Sasuke doesn’t have the answers.

“Exactly,” she says into the awkward silence.

“I know everything about you, Sasuke, I literally plan my entire life around you and you-,”

She falters, listening to her own words for a moment, hearing the frustration and hurt in her own voice.

“You won’t even taken twenty minutes to listen to my presentation!”

Sakura and Sasuke stare at each other, both of them breathing hard, the air around them thick with tension.

Sakura swipes her phone off of the table and backs up, shoving her chair out of the way with the back of her legs, “I’m going to bed,” she says.

Sasuke says nothing.

It isn’t anything she's not used to.

She marches to the bathroom, slams the door shut behind her, sinks onto the closed toilet lid, and begins to cry.

- - -

She’s been cruel.

Yes, she was mad at Sasuke, yes she’s been feeling neglected by him, but what she said wasn’t kind.

Sakura sits on the closet toilet lid, a wad of crumpling toilet paper clutched in her fist.

She’s had her phone pressed between her thighs and had ignored it’s vibrations for the past twenty minutes.

Sighing, she thumbed it open.

It was Kakashi.

She manages a watery smile as she navigates to his message

Kakashi: just took a punch to the face

Kakashi: that hasn’t happened since you

Kakashi: must be loosing my touch

He’s attached another image, much more conservative this time, a single butterfly bandaid pinching a gash on his cheek closed.

Tsunade’s blurry red fingernails hover at his cheekbone. Sakura leans in and surveys his face, relief flooding her when she determines that he’s not swollen up too badly. He’s pouting at the camera, his sweaty grey hair plastered to his forehead. Even rumpled, he looked good.

Sakura: ouch! You okay?

Kakashi: I’m fading fast

Sakura laughs, feeling a levity come over her for the first time all night.

Sakura: dramatic

She sends an emoji rolling it’s eyes to strengthen her point

Sakura: you’re right, you ARE loosing your touch

Kakashi: :(

Sakura stalls, chewing on her cuticle

Sakura: what are you doing right now?

Kakashi: finishing up, I’m heading out to see some friends soon

Kakashi: why?

Sakura sends her next text without thinking

Sakura: can I come?

She reads over her message and then stares at it, horrified

Sakura: you can say no

She frantically types another message

Sakura: sorry if that’s weird

She watches Kakashi’s text bubble bounce as he types a reply

Great. She’s probably come across as some clingy weirdo. It wasn’t Kakashi’s responsibility to entertain her, he had a whole life outside of her.

Kakashi: why would that be weird?

Sakura gnaws her nail

Sakura: idk

Kakashi: everything okay?

Sakura exhales a long suffering sigh. How was he so good at that? Kakashi seemed to have this freaky ability to just… get her.

No matter why she thought or felt or worried about, he always seemed to be one step ahead of her, always managed to soothe any anxiety she felt.

That realization was why she probably told him what came next.

Sakura: not really… me and Sasuke had a fight

Sakura: a big one

Kakashi’s response was swift

Kakashi: want to talk about it?

No, she absolutely did not

Sakura: not at all

Kakashi: fair

Kakashi: do you like beer?

Sakura: I’m alright with it

Kakashi: what if I told you it’s warm and mostly flat?

Sakura laughs, her mind flirting fondly back to her early college days

Sakura: sold

Kakashi: great, we were going to spend the night at the bar

Kakashi: the beer’s shit, the company is fantastic

Kakashi: you game?

Sakura: as long as no one minds that I’d be tagging along

Kakashi: they won’t

Sakura: okay

Sakura: thank you

Sakura: :)

She smiles at her phone. A night out was exactly what she needed. Away from Sasuke, away from her anger, away from everything but the one person who always seemed to make things right.

Sakura: where should I meet you?

She figured she could order an Uber to whatever bar they’d be at.

Kakashi: text me your address, I’ll come pick you up

Kakashi: can you be ready for 8?

Sakura peeks at the time at the top of her phone screen. That gave her about forty minutes to shower and look mildly presentable.

Sakura: yup

Sakura: see you soon :)

Chapter Text

Kakashi was right, the beer at the bar, Drunken Fist, was absolutely piss poor.

At least, that’s what Sakura had thought about her first beer. The second one went down easier, the third, she hardly tasted, and by her fourth beer, Sakura was very comfortably drunk.

And, very comfortably pressed against Kakashi.

Kakashi, she’d learned quickly, had a huge group of friends.

Guy, his brown skin and booming voice, was the only familiar face in the room. Outside of him, everyone else was new.

There was Tenzo, a reserved man with a broad, brawny build. Anko, a short curvaceous woman who’d been keeping the table laughing all night. There was Iruka, a tall man with a ponytail who’d been ordering plates and plates of food for them, Mei, a stunning redhead who kept teasing a very obviously flustered Tenzo. And, Sai, a man with dark hair and skin even paler than Sasuke. Sai was currently fretting over Sakura’s favorite; Ino.

Ino was a beautiful platinum blonde with long, thick, cascading hair. She was draped over Sai, her cheeks tinted pink with drunkness.

“I LOVE THE FLOWER IN YOUR HAIR!” She hollered across the table with the type of volume that would give even Naruto a run for his money.

“THANKS!” Sakura hollered back.

“MY PARENTS OWN A FLOWER SHOP!” Ino called back. Poor Sai looked beside himself with her volume, “DID YOU KNOW PINK PEONIES STAND FOR ROOOMAANCE?” She cooed.

“NOW I KNOW!” Sakura yelled back.

She presses her shoulder into Kakashi’s.

“Hear that?” she asks Kakashi, leaning up to his ear, “Naruto looves me.”

Kakashi smiles his lopsided smile down at her, “you needed Ino to tell you that?” he asks, his gaze roving across her face all the same.

Sakura is snuggled in close enough to get a noseful of his cologne. He smells delectable, of soap, and vetiver, of sandalwood… and, slightly of beer. Though maybe, that was just her.

Their table of eight had made quite the ruckus, their noise level even louder given that they were sitting in a long strip down the middle of the bar.

Sober Sakura understood, they were pretty loud, and it was a Monday night.

Drunk Sakura wanted another beer.

She looks around the bar trying to make eye contact with one of the waitresses. Kakashi follows her gaze and then shakes his head.

“You need to eat something,” he says, leaning across the table to pluck a basket of nachos from the centre. He places it in front of her.

He looks at them pointedly.

“I need another beer,” Sakura pouts.

“Eat that, and I’ll get you all the shitty beer you want,” he chuckles.

Sakura beams, a blissfully delicious, very cheesy tortilla chip on its way to her mouth.

Kakashi smiles at her fondly. She doesn’t look away.

Actually, all night, she hadn’t looked away from him.

He’d texted that he was outside her door at ten past eight. Their house was dark, the lights off, Sasuke nowhere in sight. Sakura was grateful for it.

She slipped out the front door, locking it behind her as she exited.

Kakashi was leaning against the passenger side door, his long legs crossed at the ankles.

She spares a moment to gaze at him in the dim light of the streetlamp.

Sakura had never seen him like this, so casual, so normal. She could almost pretend he was just another guy and she was just another girl and they were just on their way to a bar together.

He’d worn dark jeans, the material hugging tightly at his thighs, and falling straight down his legs. He’d worn dark black boots that laced up to his ankles, and a dark green linen button up with the sleeves rolled up, the top buttons undone, his silver pendant glinting softly in the light of the streetlamp.

Had he been just a normal guy, and she were just a normal girl, and they were meeting for the first time at her doorstep, she might ask him to come inside, she might suggest skipping the bar all together.

She tries not to be greedy. Tries to keep her eyes off him, but she keeps finding things to stare at as she approaches him. The little butterfly bandage high on his cheekbone, the silver glow of his hair, the metal glint around his knuckles.

She pauses, were those rings?

She’d never seen him wear them before.

By the time she reaches him, her toes at the curb, she feels a flush crawl up her cheeks.

“Hi,” she says, suddenly shy.

“Hi,” he parrots.

Sakura thinks he might be staring too. She feels his gaze linger on her, at her hips, at the strip of exposed tummy, at her breasts, and then finally, at the flower behind her ear.

“Nice touch,” he says, smiling at the peony.

Sakura reaches up to touch it self-consciously, “thanks,” she laughs, “it goes with the outfit.”

Technically, it did.

It had been so long since she’d had a fun night out, Sakura had gone a tiny bit overboard. She’d worn dark blue jeans that fit her snuggly through her hips and bum, they flared out stylishly at the bottom over a pair of pink strappy sandals.

She’d changed her top nearly six times, digging through her closet in frustration. She’d eventually settled on a pink halter top, liking the way it made her breasts look, full and proud, but nothing too indecent. It cut a little short over her stomach, and with her jeans sitting midway up her hips, there was just a tiny strip of skin of her stomach exposed.

Sakura crossed her arms over her middle, suddenly self-conscious, “maybe I should change,” she mused, “it’s kind of cold outside.”

It was November! She’d hardly worn a shirt!

“Don’t,” Kakashi said straightening and pushing off of the car door, “you look perfect.”

Sakura’s entire body erupts in gooseflesh and it has nothing to do with the weather.

“Thanks,” she says shyly, watching him carefully as he walks up to her. Even with her standing on the curb, he’s taller than her. She tilts her head back to look up at him.

“I brought an extra sweater for you,” he says pointing a thumb back at the car, “just in case.”

Sakura swallows the warm feeling in her throat. He was so good at this, thinking about her, remembering her.

She reached a finger out and poked his chest, “thanks,” she repeats, trying not to linger on the way her finger pressed into the bare skin of his chest.

Kakashi looks down, his gaze lingering on her fingertips, “you painted your nails?” he asks with a smile.

She fans her fingers out in front of him, pleased that he’d noticed, “yea,” she tells him, “terrible idea actually, trying to put mascara on with wet nail-polish is a nightmare.”

He leans in, his eyes searching hers, “you did a good job,” he says quietly. Sakura swallows as his gaze slips momentarily from her mascara lined lashes, to her lips.

She can’t tell him thanks again, at some point, she needed to produce a better reply.

She glances at his fingers, “I’ve never seen you wearing rings,” she tells him.

To her relief, (and slight disappointment), he steps away, reaching behind him to open the passenger side door for her, “what can I say,” he says with a smirk, nodding for her to get in, “I’m a stylish guy.”

She slides past him into the seat, blushing furiously as he winks at her before closing the door behind her.

Kakashi climbs into the drivers seat and starts the car, “temperature’s here,” he says, showing her a dial, “and you can connect to the bluetooth, here,” he explains.

“Play whatever you want,” he says, leaning back to survey their surroundings before turning the wheel to pull the car out from the curb.

A devious smile stretches its way across Sakura’s lips as she connects her phone to his car, “I hope you like Taylor Swift,” she says smugly.

Kakashi groans.

- - -

Kakashi had lead her through the front of the bar, his hand high between her shoulder blades, his palm warm against her skin. Sakura tried not to squirm.

He led her to the table and then introduced her as “Sakura, the girl I mentioned,” with a slight pink across his cheeks.

Four beers later, Sakura learns from a similarly drunk Guy, that Kakashi had mentioned quite a bit about her.

“Sakura’s hair is so pink, like a fairy,” Guy croons from Sakura’s left, “and Sakura wears cute pyjamas every morning,” he continues dramatically.

“I do not say that,” Kakashi says, his cheeks flushing bright red.

Sakura shoves anther nacho into her mouth, “you think I look like a fairy?” she beams.

“The word I used was pixie,” he says, obviously embarrassed.

“Pixie?!” Sakura squeals.

“Pixie!” Guy declares, “yes dearest Sakura, that is the word he used!”

Kakashi groans, “I’m cutting the both of you off,” he says, swiping Guy’s beer from in front of him.

“Kakaashi,” Guy groans, leaning over Sakura to try and get his beer back, “don’t be cruel!”

Kakashi raises Guy’s drinks to his lips and swigs it back.

He drops it to the table and sticks his middle finger at Guy, “then shut up,” he says good naturally.

To Sakura’s surprise, Guy reaches out and grasps Kakashi’s hand, splaying his fingers open in front of her.

“I get him a ring and this is how he treats me,” Guy cries, holding his brown hand dramatically to his chest.

With Kakashi’s hand in front of her, she peers closer, looking at the silver ring on his left hand. It was placed around his fourth finger.

“Are you guys married?” she asks Kakashi with wide eyes.

“No,” Kakashi says flatly in the same moment that Guy cheers a dramatic, “Yes!”

“They’re married,” Mei calls from across the table, “when we’re not looking, I swear they run away to go make-out.”

“Mei,” Kakashi groans.

“He’s a passionate lover!” Guy says, loud enough for the whole bar to hear.

Mei continues to yell with Guy about the torrid love affair he and Kakashi are so obviously involved in. Sakura turns to a very flustered looking Kakashi.

“Did he actually get you a ring?” she asks him, trying to alleviate some embarrassment.

Kakashi rolls his eyes and lets out a long suffering sigh, “yes.”

Sakura feels a wide grin work its way across her face, “and you wear it?” she prods, “in public?”

“I hate you,” Kakashi says, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

Sakura giggles in satisfaction, her chest filled with something sparkling and bright, “mean,” she tells him, shoving his shoulder with hers.

She scoots her chair closer to his, leaning her head on his shoulder. The nachos he’d insisted she eat are doing their thing and she feels slightly less drunk than before.

“You doing okay?” he asks, looking down at her.

“Very okay,” she tells him, “I’m having a lot of fun.”

Kakashi grins at her, his expression is so warm and tender that it rivals the alcohol buzzing pleasantly through her system. Their faces are close together. If she raised her face just a little, she thinks her nose would brush his chin.

“Kakashi?”

“Mmm?”

“Did you really say I look like a pixie?” she asked.

“I’m going to kill Guy,” he murmurs, the tops of his cheeks tinting pink.

He raises a hand and strokes a curl of hair behind Sakura’s ear, just behind where she’d tucked Naruto’s peony.

“You do though,” he says quietly, “it’s one of the first things I thought about you.”

She’d done her hair in a rush. Sakura had sported short hair for most of her life, never letting it pass her collarbones. Sasuke had suggested a couple times that she grow it out, he’d said it might be a welcome change, but she’d always liked her hair short.

Tonight, she had curled it frantically and pinned most of it up, taking care to neatly arrange a couple pieces around her face.

She’d never been happier about her decision.

She lifts her head from his shoulder and sits her chin in the palm of her hand, “what else do you think about me?”

Kakashi grins wolfishly, his pointed canines peeking from between his lips, “I think,” he says slowly, “that you’re a lightweight.”

Sakura feels her jaw drop, “Guy’s drunk too!” she protests.

“Guy has had enough alcohol to knock out a small village,” Kakashi says with a snort.

Sakura glares at him.

“I think you’re funny,” Kakashi says, softening.

“Really?”

He nods, his eyes crinkling.

“And I think you work really hard and you deserve more fun in your life.”

Kakashi’s words his her square in the chest. She did deserve more fun in her life. Why had she only realized it when she was here? With him? Laughing drunkenly in a bar.

She fixes her gaze on his eyes, staring at his features in the dim lighting of the bar, “like this?” she asks him, not looking away.

Kakashi holds her gaze, “just like this,” he tells her.

- - -

She’s nearly done her basket of nachos (and, has snuck a couple swigs from Guy’s drink, much to Kakashi’s chagrin) when someone calls Kakashi’s name.

She turns the minute he does to see a beautiful brunette standing behind them.

She’s got long brown waist length hair, olive skin, and big eyes rimmed with kohl. In the dim lighting, Sakura can see a streak of purple going through her dark hair.

She’s wearing a t-shirt with the bar’s logo, Drunken Fist, on it, and a pair of dark shorts that only emphasized the long line of her legs.

Kakashi waves an easy hand at her, “hey Rin.”

“You guys look like you’re having fun,” Rin says with a grin.

“You know how it is,” Kakashi returns easily, “never a dull moment with this group.”

Rin is standing to her left, Kakashi is sitting to her right. Sakura finds herself trapped, quite literally in the middle of their conversation.

Sakura leans back in surprise as Rin leans past her to tap the butterfly bandage on Kakashi’s cheek.

“Bad spar?” she asks, tilting her head in concern.

Okay, who was this girl? And why did the sight of her touching Kakashi make Sakura’s stomach churn?

“Just Tsunade,” he says with a shrug, “you know how she can be.”

“I do,” Rin says with a smile.

She did? How did she know about Tsunade?

She gazes at him, “you look good, I like the shirt,” she says appreciatively.

Yea, of course he looked good! Why did she need to tell him that?!

Kakashi glances down at himself, “thanks,” he chuckles.

In the next moment, he shifts and drapes an arm around the back of Sakura’s chair, his knuckles just grazing her shoulder.

Sakura feels herself reel, emotional whiplash making her head spin.

“How’s school going?” Kakashi asks, shifting closer to her. Sakura feels his thigh press into hers.

“It’s going,” Rin tells him with a light laugh, “the kids miss you,” she cocks a hip, “you should come by again, they keep telling me they’ll skip recess if you do.”

She was a teacher? Perfect. Apparently, in addition to being beautiful, Rin was also great with kids.

“I’ll try to squeeze it in,” Kakashi tells her.

Rin peers around the table, “can I get you all anything?” she asks, smiling a blinding smile at Kakashi.

“One more round would be great,” Kakashi tells her, he spares a second glance at the end of the table where Tenzo and Iruka have draped an arm over each others’ shoulders and are swaying slightly, “maybe just water for those two,” he amends quickly.

Kakashi’s hand cups her shoulder and he pulls her into him. Sakura gulps at the sudden proximity, her heartbeat racing wildly in her chest.

He dips his nose to her ear, the long proud line of his nose bridge brushing her earlobe, “hungry?” he asks, his voice pitched low.

Sakura nods her head, unable to form words, too focused on the puff of his breath against the sensitive skin of her ear.

“What would you like?” he asks, his voice sinfully low, a whisper meant just for her.

“Anything,” she manages to get out.

You, her brain whispers to her.

Kakashi raises his head from her ear, leaning away. Sakura’s head is spinning.

“A giant soft pretzel for her,” he tells Rin.

Sakura glances up to see Rin’s eyes fixed on her, squinting as if noticing she was there for the first time.

Kakashi’s hand is still cupping her shoulder.

“Nothing for you, honey?” Rin asks Kakashi, her voice saccharine sweet.

Sakura tries not to glare.

“Nothing but water, please,” he holds his keys up and jangles them slightly, “I’m driving.”

Sakura whips her head around to look at him. She realizes that he hadn’t been drinking all night. Well, save for the big gulp of Guy’s beer, but that hardly counted.

“You’re sober?” she asks him.

He strokes a hand down her arm, trails it back up, and squeezes gently, “how did you think I was going to get you home safe tonight?” he asks.

He hadn’t been drinking because of her? She feels heat rise up her already flushed cheeks. She’d already intruded on his night out with his friends, now, he couldn’t even relax because he had to drive her home!

She shoves her half full beer at him, “have it,” she presses, “you should have fun too, and you shouldn’t be responsible for me, and I can take an Uber, and-“