He'd arrived in Chicago a few hours ago and had been lazying about on his bed ever since, going back and forth on the idea of calling Sakura. Would it be weird of him to see her? They weren't as close as he was with her brother, but it wasn't like they were total strangers either.

I could just sit here and read Icha Icha. The idea was tempting, and he'd almost decided to go through with it when he realized her brother had probably already told her he was in town. What if she was expecting him to call? He knew he'd look like an asshole if she knew he was around but didn't bother to see her.

It would be awkward. When they met she was just a giddy little 13-year old who was a little immature and had an obvious crush on him. She'd made him uncomfortable on more than one occasion throughout their years of knowing each other—blatantly making her infatuation known. He had practically watched her grow up and had to deal with avoiding being alone in her presence, afraid that she might try to pull a move on him as she reached her teen years and developed an 'I'm grown up, I can do whatever I want' attitude.

Thankfully, little by little she did stop pursuing him, and once she turned 18 she moved out of Washington and went away to Illinois. Despite her parents' wishes, she was determined to show how strong and independent she could be.

A few days before she left she managed to guilt trip him into being alone with her. She sat beside him, afraid to look at him, and admitted that her feelings had never actually changed; they had transformed from being a child-like infatuation, to causing her heart to jump into her throat when he was around and her stomach to tie in knots when he wasn't. She admitted that she knew he had been avoiding her for years, probably thinking she was a nuisance, which made Kakashi's face redden. He wasn't sure how to take in her words; sure, she was technically an adult, and had grown into a beautiful young woman, but he had known her as a child and couldn't see her as anything other than the little girl who was always chasing her brother around and dying to get the attention of her parents, who were usually too focused on her older, gifted brother. Older. He himself was much older. And she was leaving. Even if in some alternate universe he was able to somehow not feel like a pervert while listening to her, she was still leaving.

He'd told her some of this: that he was too old, and that she should let go of her feelings so she could move on in the new life she was building for herself. She had cried then, nodding her understanding. He held her hand, giving her what comfort he could without making the situation any more uncomfortable for either of them. Moments later she got up and quietly walked towards the door, but before leaving the room entirely, she turned around and made eye-contact with him, giving him a teary smile and a small wave before she disappeared.

He hadn't seen her since.

–

"Yo, Sakura, it's Kakashi. Uh, I'm sure you've already heard but I'm, uh, in the area for the next day and a half and I thought it'd be nice to see you. Call me if you're free."

There. I did it. He'd been pacing the room as the phone rang and rang and eventually reached her voicemail. Her voice sounded just as he remembered it, sort of timid, sort of sassy, sort of sweet. He threw himself back on the bed, his back hitting the middle of the mattress and he stared at the wall, feeling suddenly anxious as he waited for her call.

Just a few minutes later he heard a familiar beeping.

"Hello?"

"'Kashi! Hi! It's so good to hear from you!"

"Sakura, it's good to hear from you too. How are you?"

"I'm great, 'Kashi. Things are great. Listen: what're you doing right now?"

"Uh, I'm just in my hotel. I only got here not too—"

"Where's your hotel?" she said hastily, cutting him off.

"It's on the blue line, not too far from the airport. I think—"

"Text me the location. I'll be right there."

And that was it. She hung up the phone and was coming to see him.

He decided to dress up a little more than his usual. He wasn't sure what to expect from her or what they would end up doing tonight, but he figured it was better to be over than under dressed. He put on a dark pair of straight leg jeans, a plain white t-shirt with a slight v-neck to it, and one of the black blazers he had packed for his trip. He thought about styling his hair but immediately decided against it, opting for running his fingers through his messy silver locks instead.

A few minutes later Sakura was in his room, dressed in a form-fitting red dress that made her emerald eyes pop. She was prettier than he remembered, and he found himself rehearsing their age differences in his mind as he took in her appearance. Most of her hair was tied into a loose bun, but a few pink stands fell out, framing her face. Her pouty pink lips were covered in a lip-gloss just a few shades darker than her own natural lip color, making them appear slightly bigger. The cut of her dress revealed a little big of cleavage, showing off her modest assets but leaving the rest to the imagination. She stood in his doorway for a few seconds before coming in, and they just stared at each other, smiling, hint of uncertainty present. Eventually, she spoke.

"'Kashi… it's been so long." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he pulled her in for a tight hug, wrapping his owns arms around her midsection. "Chicago agrees with you," he said softly, and she pressed herself into him tighter, snuggling her face against his shoulder.

She pulled away from him but let her hands rest on his upper arms, giving them a small squeeze. "You don't look so bad yourself. I like the blazer. Very… adult." He rolled his eyes at her, and they sat down, he on the edge of his bed and her on a desk chair. They fell into easy conversation, and about 40 minutes later, she took a quick glance at her phone and sprung to her feet. "Hungry? There's a restaurant not too far away that I'd like to take you to."

"Am I dressed okay for it?" Her dress wasn't formal, but it looked so good on her that it may as well have been; he felt like she must've been dressing up for something important.

"You might be a little cold. For the walk, I mean."

He went over to his suitcase and pulled out a thick, dark red colored scarf. He wrapped it around his neck and face, effectively covering his mouth and some of his nose and cheeks. He gestured to himself, as if asking if it was good enough. She smirked, eyeing him up and down, and grabbed his hand. "S'fine. C'mon!"

They'd been walking for fifteen minutes and Kakashi was freezing. He had no idea how she wasn't shivering in her little red dress. She had a small black jacket covering her shoulders, but what could it really do for her? She looked back at him, and as if reading his thoughts, teasingly said "Cold, 'Kashi?" He crossed his arms stuck his head to the side, immaturely showing his dissatisfaction with her words. She laughed at him, which made him smile a little. "How are you not?" he said back, his voice muffled by his scarf. "You're just wearing that pretty little dress. Aren't you freezing?"

"Pretty, eh?"

He felt his face burn. He looked away from her again, not knowing what to say. "Err—"

"I live here, 'Kashi," she said quickly, cutting him off. "I'm used to it."

"There's a bar just a few blocks up," she said as she watched another shudder run through him. "Let's go there instead,"

He wanted to ask her if she was sure, to tell her he could take the cold, but truthfully he knew he could not. They walked into a nice-looking mid-size bar; the bar was to his left and there was a stage to his right. They walked further up ahead to a small table and sat facing each other. The gentleman in him made him offer to pay for her drinks.

He noticed pretty quickly that he was drinking much more than she; she would order him a new drinks before he'd even completely finished the one he was working on. She had maybe two drinks to rival his seven, and he'd thought to himself that perhaps she was trying to get him drunk. They'd been there for a good hour and half, chatting and drinking and eating shitty bar food. The atmosphere was light and fun, none of the awkwardness he had expected. They were having a good time, just two old friends catching up, when someone approached their table and broke the bubble around them, speaking directly to Sakura and completely ignoring Kakashi's presence.

"Sakura," he said before roughly gripping her arm. "Come with me." His voice was slightly raspy. He wasn't bad looking, but he gave Kakashi a bad vibe, like there was something seriously dark about him. He was shorter than Kakashi, his hair black, with eyes just as dark.

"I'm covered," she said, pulling her arm out of his grasp and raising her drink. "Thanks anyway."

The man looked at Kakashi and sucked his teeth in an annoyed tch before turning his attention back to Sakura. "I wasn't asking. Come. Now." He grabbed her arm again and yanked her out of her seat. Sakura turned around to give Kakashi a somewhat pleading look, but the slightly drunken man was already out of his seat.

"I believe she made it clear she wasn't interested."

"I don't believe I asked your opinion," he shot back. "Sakura, who is this guy?" he glared at her and pulled on her arm again, hurting her slightly. She dug her nails into his arm until it drew blood.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"I'm with someone now," she said as she linked her arm through Kakashi's. The uncomfortable-ness Kakashi had been suspecting to feel all night had finally showed up. "So don't you ever touch me again, or he'll kick your ass!"

"Is that—" a white-haired man with sharp-teeth placed his hand on the black-haired man's shoulder.

"It's not worth it, Sasuke. Let's go."

Sasuke yanked his arm out of his friend's grasp and leaned over to Sakura's ear, whispering loud enough for Kakashi to hear: "You'll regret that when you come running back to me after he dumps you." He kissed her cheek quickly before chuckling darkly and heading out of the bar with his nameless companion.

Kakashi wasn't sure what to say, so he decided to say nothing at all. She turned and looked at him, smiling apologetically, but for what, he wasn't sure. He noticed that their arms were still linked.

"Sorry you had to deal with that." She said softly, turning her eyes to the ground.

"You're sorry?!"

He caressed her cheek with his unoccupied hand, effectively placing himself fully in front of her while turning her face to his, making her look at him. "I'm sorry. Sorry that you've had to deal with that guy, and other guys like him. And for any other asshole you'll have to deal with in the future." She looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes, making her look as innocent as she had the day she left. "Some guys—no, most guys, are jerks. You women sure do have it rough." He added in a cheery tone, trying to lighten the mood.

"Don't worry about that guy, 'Kashi. I'm fine." She pulled her arm out of his and looked embarrassed, as if she had forgotten they had been linked at all. He wished he hadn't had so much to drink. "Sorry if that was awkward…" she whispered, batting her eyelashes.

"What was awkward?" Kakashi said back, swallowing a lump in his throat.

"My grabbing you like that. I just wanted him to back off, you know?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I get it. I didn't mind."

There was a paused before she spoke again. She bit her lip in a way Kakashi found seductive, and stared at him, her eyes boring deep into his own. "You didn't, huh?" He felt her hand brush lightly against his arm. The way Sakura looked at him made him feel nervous. He felt himself sobering up under her gaze.

"Sakura…" he warned.

"Well, he sure did ruin our night, huh?" she laughed awkwardly, and Kakashi knew she was trying to change the subject. "It's not that big of a—"

She cut him off. "I don't want to be here anymore. Let's go back to your room, okay?" she said quickly, reaching for his arm.

He moved out of her reach. "Sakura, I don't know…" He looked her up and down, trying to take in her body language and make sense of her tone. "I should just call you a cab. This was fun, seeing you, but—"

"Kakashi, it's fine. C'mon!" This time when she reached he didn't fight her. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door.