Brook crossed her arms and turned away from Kakashi, angry. He fumed behind her in the living room of the small, two-bedroom house. She began grinding her teeth like she did when she was angry with him, and he spoke up.
"You'll ruin your teeth, Brook," He ventured quietly. She turned to him, angry tears welling in her eyes.
She sniffed once, and he almost broke. "I don't care. How could you do that?" She whispered, turning away again, determined to not let him see her cry. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
He took a step forward, and she tensed, so he stepped back. "I didn't think it would upset you, honey."
The dam holding her tears and anger snapped like a twig. She spun around fast enough to make her tears fall away from her burning red eyes. "Don't call me that! Don't you dare!" She screamed, tears falling freely down her cheeks. An unfamiliar redness was seeping into her cheeks. "How could you! You promised me this summer! You promised me!" She closed her eyes in fury and frustration, balling her hands into tight fists at her side. A silver ring glinted off the late-afternoon sunlight.
His hands were suddenly covering hers, and she let them be covered, smoothed out, held. He looked down at her, but she wouldn't look up. Instead, she slipped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his vest, angry and confused. Loving and hating. His arms fell around her almost naturally, pulling her tight into their embrace.
She sighed against him. "Why?" She murmured, barely audible. He pressed his lips to the top of her head, and she looked up at him with a straight face, excluding her rosy cheeks and red, puffy eyes.
"She asked me to," He replied, knowing the answer would kill him.
"You've said no before."
"Not this time."
"You promised."
This struck home with Kakashi. Yes, he had promised her the summer, and he knew it. Knew when he had accepted this task. He had planned only one thing, the thing she had asked for. Training. "I know, I know…" He pushed a stray hair from her face, which fell back in place across her right eye. The bright blue always mesmerized him. "Do you want me to get out of it?"
She thought for a moment, and then said, "You told me you never break promises."
He sighed again, pulling his mask off as she stepped out of his hold. "I'm sorry Brook. This is an important mission."
She scoffed. "Obviously it's more important than your promise to spend three months with me." She crossed her arms across her chest, her eyes starting to edge into deep, flaming red once more.
"Please don't be mad," He pleaded.
She exploded, screaming. "You expect me not to be mad? After you totally blew me off! What the hell, Kakashi? You promised me one summer of training and being with each other! A promise, dammit!" He didn't have the blessing of closed eyes this time. Her glare was fully pronounced, boring into him like daggers.
He could only come up with, "I'm sorry."
She threw her hands up. "What's this mission even about?"
"It's a training mission."
"Well! Obviously that training is good enough for you! Mine must be horrible!"
"Brook-"
"Just go then!" She yelled, closing her eyes. "Get out!"
He got defensive. "This is my house."
She opened her blue-again eyes, hurt present there. "Oh. Then maybe I should just go…" She tried to get to the door, but he blocked her way. She tried to maneuver around him, but he wouldn't let her. "Move."
"No, I won't let you go." She looked up at him, and he was struck silent. The look of hurt and betrayal in her eyes was unmistakably his fault.
The force of his embrace surprised her, and she stiffened like she did when she was preparing a defense. His embrace tightened, and she returned it this time.
"I'm so sorry, Brooklyn," He whispered softly into her ear. "I should have thought of you first. I shouldn't have taken that assignment."
She was suddenly behind him, wanting to leave. "No. You shouldn't have." When he turned she was gone, a small smoke cloud dispersing.
She jumped over the rooftops effortlessly, seeming weightless to the small children below her. She went to the Hokage's office, hoping to get in on the mission.
She didn't bother knocking; Tsunade already knew she was there. When the door opened, Tsunade was turned away from her, looking over her village. She turned around when Brook sat down, snatching the apple from the desk and biting into it.
As sweetness filled Brook's mouth, Tsunade used hers. "You can't go."
Brook swallowed her mouthful, and then asked, very calmly, "Why not?"
Tsunade sighed and eyed Brook carefully. "You have training here."
"Liar." Brook said quietly. She was going to be careful tonight.
"Brook, you're a new ANBU. We need to train you."
"Kakashi was my assigned trainer."
"He was assigned a mission."
"He should've said no," Brook huffed.
Tsunade sighed again. Brook looked up at her evenly, and the look in her eyes was scary. So incredibly emotionless that Tsunade had to smile as she stood up.
"You'll be a great hunter, Brooklyn." And with that she disappeared.
Brook got up and went home, tired and ready to say goodbye to Kakashi, who was leaving in the morning. She went to her bedroom first, where she kept clothes and weapons. She exchanged jeans and a sweatshirt for a sport bra and boxer shorts.
He was lying on his back on their bed his eyes closed, his beautiful face sparkling in the moonlight drifting through the window.
She leaned on the doorframe. He didn't open her eyes when she spoke. "I'm sorry."
Eyes closed, he replied softly. "You have nothing to be sorry for." Now he opened his onyx eyes, which didn't travel down her body, but held hers in an iron cage. "Come here."
She did, and they began to kiss. Deep, sensual, heartfelt, I-love-you kisses were shared before he rolled on top of her, stopping the kissing for a moment. He looked down at her. "You know I won't be here when you get back in the morning."
"I know." Her eyes became the craziest blue he had ever seen and she spoke the last words he would hear for three months escape her lips, aside from his name. "Make love to me."
And he did.