A late entry for KakaSaku week 2016 - Here's my first AU for them! Prompt: Salty!
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Morsels
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Late again! Sakura snapped at herself as she hurried to sort away the last of the patient files and save the open document on her computer before closing down the lid and stuffing it as carefully as her hurried hands would allow into her shoulder bag, Hinata's going to kill me! Well… she probably won't, but Ino surely will! She thought to herself as she took three steps towards her office doorway before stopping, glancing back to her lab-coat slung over the back of her chair and turning back to hang it properly on its hook. If anything was sure to elicit a sigh of irritation from her friends, it was her exacting nature — a rather necessary quality for a doctor, in her opinion — though it always seemed to be completely overlooked by her friends and, on the odd occasion, even her patients.
She flew out of the door to the hospital, as well as her rarely-seen heels would allow and was barely a street away from the bar before she suddenly stopped as realisation dawned on her — where in the hell was Hinata's birthday present? Instinctively she looked around as if she'd, moments before, dropped it, though this was little more than a demonstration of her moment of panic. She knew exactly where Hinata's present was — still on her dresser, beautifully wrapped, all the way on the far side of Konoha and Sakura was already… seventeen minutes late! She looked around for a plan b, before her eyes spotted a small patisserie, almost hidden between a book shop and petshop. It seemed vaguely familiar, though Sakura did not fully recognise it, as if it were something she'd walked passed on countless occasions but never paid any real attention to. Hinata, Sakura knew, had a strong sweet tooth, though it was something that the politician's daughter had always worked very hard to hide.
Sakura hurried over to it, and stepped inside; it was narrow but warm in the cool autumn air and smelled heavenly. Her eyes immediately glued to the owner behind the counter, a mass of shaggy grey hair would have obscured his face were it not for a scarf pulled up high over his nose and a book firmly claiming his attention. He was reading… Icha Icha Tatics? Sakura resisted for a moment, wondering if she had, in fact, wandered into an "adult" bakery, when the man finally noticed her,
"Ah, hello," He spoke, his voice was deep and as warm as the shop he inhabited, "What would you like?" He folded the book away and lifted a hand to gesture at the myriad of displayed cakes, pastries and fancy chocolates. He stood up to his full height and, despite the scarf about his face, was dressed in only a thin, long-sleeved shirt which gladly told of a well-exercised body beneath it. Sakura shook her head — she was on a mission, dammit! And it was to find a last-minute present for Hinata, not to check out the surprisingly good looking shop-keep — she lifted her eyes to meet his and it seemed for a moment, that he didn't have irises, as dark as his eyes were, which bore down on her from beneath his grey, spiky fringe.
"Um… I'm a bit late for my friend's birthday party and I left her present at home, do you have anything fancy?" Her eyes couldn't help but dart over to the enclosed display case just to his right, which contained many exquisitely crafted chocolates, some painted with gold, or dusted with brightly coloured sugar crystals and curling fronds of moulded chocolate, and all of which sat upon their own, diminutive squares of gold coloured napkins. "…I mean… especially fancy?" She corrected, cringing to herself as she swept her hand through her long pink hair, trying to brush the wayward strands off her forehead. The owner's eyes crinkled slightly as she spoke, signifying that he his smile, though whether it was one of condescension or honest amusement, Sakura couldn't say.
"I think I understand, tell me, does she prefer brownies, biscuit or just chocolate?"
"Any, I think,"
"Does she like caramel?"
"Yes," Sakura answered, as the man nodded, as if to himself; he drew a breath as if to speak again, but a buzzer sounded from somewhere in the shop,
"Sorry, I'll be just a moment," He disappeared through a doorway Sakura hadn't initially noticed and returned several award minutes later with a tray of what looked — and smelled like — brownies, they were all arranged in perfect order, all exact distances from each other, and Sakura couldn't help but offer a small smile of satisfaction. Orderly people will inherit the earth.
"There's a new recipe I've been playing with, I heard a variation of it when I was last in the Sand City," He explained, "Salted caramel biscuit brownie squares…" Before he lifted various pots and cooking implements from seemingly nowhere. In a flutter of practiced, graceful movement, he lifted a pot of molten caramel and drizzled its contents generously over each square of brownie, before sprinkling each one with a handful of crumbled biscuit,
"Salted caramel?" Sakura asked in horrified confusion, "I thought caramel was supposed to be sweet," She took a step closer to him, he looked keenly up at her before apparently smiling again,
"Just wait," He murmured, his voice full of knowing anticipation, he returned his attention to his craft and layered the brownies again with a more modest dose of caramel before salting them carefully each with an odd, pink salt. As skeptical as Sakura was, they did look and smell divine. But rather than give straight in, she folded her arms, cocked her head and narrowed her eyes,
"They do look good, but you're not playing a trick, are you?"
"Of course not!" He jerked upright, his eyebrows almost disappearing into his hair line, "I'm not trying to fool you, these really do taste delicious — here, try one," He pushed the tray ever so slightly closer to her, "On the house," He smiled again and Sakura could no longer resist, she stepped forwards and picked up the central brownie square and took a bite. It was still warm from the oven and her fingers were instantly sticky with dripping caramel but the taste! It was delightfully sweet, the soft warm browning contrasting with cool crunchiness of the biscuit before the sweet caramel overrode the whole thing — though rescued at the last moment by the odd tang of the salt. It was something beyond heavenly and she almost moaned in the sheer pleasure of it, though she managed to rescue herself of that indignity before stuffing the rest of the small brownie into her mouth and sucked the remaining caramel off her fingers. Her eyes flicked up to the owner's as she did so,
"My. Sweet. Kami… that was amazing!"
"I told you," He replied through his good-natured chuckling, "So you'd like a box?"
"I think I'd like the whole tray," Sakura muttered to herself before she could think better of it, "But, I think I'd be best off with a box, please," He nodded in acknowledgement and walked away to find a brightly coloured cardboard box, he placed a good number of the brownies inside, covered them with a small square of golden coloured paper and folded box together,
"What did you say these were called?"
"Salted Caramel Biscuit Brownie Squares... but... I might... change that," He answered a little awkwardly, eliciting a breath of laughter from her,
"I'm… Sakura, by the way," She introduced,
"Kakashi," The man replied as he lifted the tray with the scant few brownies left away and out of sight, this close, she saw even his eyebrows were grey… or was it silver? It did seem odd for a man as young as he appeared to have grey hair but it suited him, somehow. Who was she to talk? She was the only one walking around Konoha with naturally pink hair. She handed him a few notes and he stabbed awkwardly at the buttons on his dinosaur of a till until it sprang open with an aggressive ping, almost making her jump at the suddenness,
"Ah… sorry, I'm not so good with technology,"
"I wasn't either, but I guess I've had time to get used to it," Sakura offered as she accepted her change with the barest brush of his fingertips on her palm, she stuffed the coins into her pocket and picked up the small, but precious box.
"Oh?"
"I'm a doctor, we've had a lot of technological upgrades recently. Thank you." Sakura admitted, suddenly feeling as if she was bragging with out meaning to,
"Ah," Kakashi replied, his eyebrows raising, "An admirable profession… can't say the same for me, I'm afraid… I've served in the military in the past, but I got tired of all the rules,"
"Understandable… besides, what's wrong with feeding people?" Sakura asked, though Kakashi merely raised a single eyebrow in teasing defiance,
"I would have thought that a doctor would have something to say about all of these sweets,"
"Haha, well, its good to eat something delicious — mental wellbeing is important too… as long you don't make a habit of it, though I can see how that might be a challenge for you," She offered with a short laugh,
"Well, believe it or not, I don't actually like sweet things,"
"What?" Sakura rebutted with an incredulous tone, "No way!"
"Its true," He chuckled back, "I much prefer making them to eating them,"
"Well, I'm hardly a connoisseur, but I think these are particularly delicious,"
"Thank you," He — presumably — grinned back; Sakura could sense the stall in conversation and her mind was brought back to its original mission,
"Well, I should be going, I wasn't kidding when I said I was late," She offered a last amiable smile and walked towards the door,
"O-okay, well, goodbye," He replied awkwardly, apparently surprised by her abrupt departure,
"But… I am pretty damn sure I'll be back soon for another box of those brownies," She offered with a last grin,
"Hai, hai," Kakashi laughed back with a fake salute. She stepped out of the shop and was suddenly back in the col air, the last light of the day already gone, she couldn't resist a glance over her shoulder to find his dark eyes still glued to her form through the window of the shop.
Was there anything in that shop that wasn't candy of some sort? She thought to herself as she reluctantly hurried away to find her friends at the pub. She might have ignored that shop in the past, but she was pretty damn sure that was going to abruptly change.
Wow I'm rusty... but it doesn't show, right? ~sweats nervously~