A brain child of the Kakashi Discord that I've been working on for who knows how long... Unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine.

"Hey, why aren't you guys inside yet?" Sakura's advanced kickboxing class was set to start in five minutes. Usually they would already be in there warming up.

One of the taller guys pointed behind him with a thumb. "The last class is still in there."

"What?" Sakura peeked into the large window of the studio. Sure enough, there was rows of mats laid out, a tall, broad-shouldered, silver-haired man walking around adjusting the forms of his students. 90% of which happened to be women.

Confused, Sakura checked the bulletin where the itinerary was posted. Shikamaru always made sure to give her this specific time slot to fit in with her busy schedule, and it hasn't changed in the past year she had begun teaching her classes. Sparring with her advanced students was one of her favorite parts of the week, and there was no way some bendy noodle man with great pecs (Wait, what? Focus, Sakura!) was going to mess with that.

Feeling particularly petty, she dug her notebook from her purse and scribbled a note onto it before tacking it onto the corkboard.

Hey guys!
Can we please stick to our own time slots?
It's not really fair when someone goes overtime.
Please & thank you! 3

"Oh yeah, way to get 'em, Sakura." A brown-haired man flashed his canines in a wide grin as he read the slip over her shoulder. "Don't hold back, right? Hit 'em where it hurts."

"Shut up, Kiba. They're clearing out. Go warm up before I make you lift weights."

"So mean…" He groused. Nonetheless, they all filed into the room, pulling bags and mats out from the closet that Shikamaru had designated for their equipment. Sakura waited by the door as people shuffled in and out, Kakashi following his last student out. He glanced at the bulletin, then hunched over to read the note closely before looking curiously at Sakura.

"This you?" He asked, pointing with a slim finger.

Sakura nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, that was me. I don't mean to be rude, but I have a tight schedule and I don't want my students cheated out of class time."

The man smiled sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck and hiking his gym bag higher on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I understand, I feel the same way about my students. I got here a little late—this little old lady needed help with her groceries—and I wasn't aware that there was anyone after me."

The ice in Sakura's stare melted a little. She sighed. "It's alright," she conceded. "Just try to be more aware of the time, please." She moved to walk into the room, already pulling tape from her bag.

"I'm Kakashi, by the way. Hatake Kakashi."

"Haruno Sakura. Nice to meet you." There. That was the end of that.

It was not the end of that.

Leaning against the doorway of the sweltering studio, Sakura glared at the tall man folded in half at the front of the class. As he rolled slowly up, he exhaled dramatically, palms pressed together in front of his chest. His eyes were closed, loose grey strands sticking to his forehead. And he just stood there for what seemed like an eternity, just breathing. Who needs that long to breathe?!

"And that concludes our session for this week. Thank you everyone for taking this journey with me. It can be so easy to get lost on the path of life. Namaste." His voice was deep and soothing, though Sakura felt anything but peaceful as she attempt to drill lasers through the man's forehead with her eyes. When he finally looked at her, he winked and bent to gather his things. She pushed through the throng of young women exiting and stomped over to him.

"That's the third time this cycle, Kakashi. You're impeding on my class time and my students are complaining that they aren't getting their money's worth." Behind her, the advanced kickboxing class was hustling to set up punching bags and taping their hands, eager to get on with their workout despite the oppressive temperature of the room.

"Oh, Sakura, hello. It's good to see you." Kakashi shouldered his bag and tugged at the sports cap of his water bottle. He downed half of it, not breaking eye contact with the petite woman in front of him.

"Bull. You're never happy to see me because I always yell at you." She stared resolutely back at him, refusing to give in to the urge to stare at the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he drank.

"Hmm, now that might be your interpretation of things, but I would have to disagree. Maybe I like your yelling."

Sakura snorted. "And I like the way you like to use my class time to entertain your drove of fan girls. You know they only take your class to ogle you. Do it outside."

"Oh? You think I'm worth ogling?"

"No! That's not what I—Get out, Hatake, please!"

"You know," he started, licking the stray drops from the corner of his mouth. "You seem a little tense. You should take my class, it'd be a good opportunity to work out those knots." He set a hand on Sakura's shoulder and gave her a smile that was just asking to be punched. She opted for an accusing finger in his face instead.

"I'll tie you into a knot, Hatake. Back off." Sakura gritted through her teeth. "And don't go over time next week!"

The man held his hands up in surrender. "Yes, ma'am. Understood." He ambled towards the door, shooting her one more wink before slipping away. Sakura flipped a bird after him, accidentally catching her incoming assistant instead. She smiled sheepishly at Tenten, who merely shot her a weird look before tossing her bag down beside Sakura's and throwing an arm behind her head to stretch her triceps.

"Hello to you too." She teased.

"Sorry. You know that wasn't directed towards you." Sakura lowered herself to the ground, extending one leg and reaching towards her foot. "That damn yoga teacher is messing with my schedule again. God, I hate him."

"That's a strong word. Besides he was only five minutes over today. It's an improvement?" Tenten pulled the tape out of her bag and began wrapping her knuckles.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "It's disrespectful! If this happens again, I'm telling the landlord. We all rent this space, and I'm getting cheated."

"Sakura, you've said that every time he goes over since he took the slot before us. Admit it. Hatake is fine, and you don't wanna tattle." Tenten punched her lightly on the arm, earning her a scowl from the pink-haired girl.

"The only fine thing here is the needle I'm gonna use to poke his stupid eyes out."

"Hey, that's not nice! I was actually thinking about taking his classes for a session. I heard the girls outside talking about how great of a teacher he is."

"Ugh, I bet that old perv just uses yoga as an excuse for his perviness."

"Real eloquent, Sakura." Tenten mused. "Let's face it. He's hot and if he asked you to bend over, you wouldn't think twice." She punctuated that last statement with a wink.

"Will everyone please stop winking at me?!" Having had enough of Tenten's insight for one day, she turned her attention to the rest of the class. "Hey! Come on, we're already late! Drills first, let's go!"

Everyone hurried to their usual places, the loud chatter dying down to the last whispers of conversation. Tenten led the class through their opening routine, Sakura walking around to correct form.

"Psst, Forehead!"

Sakura swiveled to find two blonde-haired women beckoning her over to the corner of the room. They switched stances and Sakura wandered over, adjusting Ino's foot as she stepped backwards. "What are you doing here? Did you even take the beginner's course?"

"Well, duh." Ino flipped her long ponytail over her shoulder. "I passed last month, and the intermediate course last week. Didn't Tenten tell you? She said I had a lot of pent up aggression that apparently translated well into my fighting style. Anyway, I saw you talking to Kakashi! Do I sense some tension? He's totally bangable, you should go for it. And if you don't, I just might. By the way, this is Temari, she's Shikamaru's girlfriend."

Ino's thoughts ran a mile a minute, and while anyone else would've been confused, Sakura had plenty of practice keeping up. "First of all—no, twist your wrist the other way—no, Tenten didn't tell me. Though anybody could tell you're always ready to fight someone, just didn't think you'd wanna break a nail. Hello, Temari, it's nice to finally meet you. And no! There's nothing going on between me and that hippie dippy sloth. Why does everyone think that? Hit it if you want, I don't care."

"Nooo, that was supposed to spur you into action! I saw the way he looked at you, he's totally into you! Admit it! Admit he looks good!"

"I'm walking away now, Ino. And great form, Temari, you've done this before, haven't you?" Sakura gave the other blonde a warm smile before walking away to attend to the rest of her students.

"You didn't deny it!" Ino hissed after her.

She clapped her hands twice as Tenten finished the last rep of her warmup. "Alright, pair up! Let's lay out the pads. Half of us will spar, the other half can use bags to work on technique. Ino, come here, I wanna beat you up." A cry of protest was heard from the corner. "I'm just kidding, now come here!"

Kakashi wasn't constantly late, but it was enough to make Sakura want to grind her teeth and pull her hair out.

"Sorry, Sakura! There was a cat stuck in a tree!"

"These little men in suits stopped me to ask if I had ever heard of their lord and savior, Hashirama."

"I got a little wrapped up on the way here. See, these guys were carrying this big sheet of cling wrap, and I walked right into it, and naturally…"

"I was coming to the gym, and all of a sudden, these two ninja jumped out of a puddle and attacked the old man I was walking with, and I defeated them, but then this dude with a huge sword showed up and I barely escaped with my life!"

Sakura slammed a hand down on Shikamaru's desk, but he didn't even flinch. "Intimidation tactics don't work on me, Sakura. Have you met my girlfriend?"

Sakura paused, puzzled at how such a seemingly composed woman like Temari could strike fear into the heart of the second-most aloof man she'd ever met… The first of which was why she was in this office in the first place!

"Come on, Shika, there's gotta be something that you can do. I'm going to start losing students if he keeps cutting into my time."

Shikamaru sighed heavily. Leaning over to the intercom microphone, he drawled, "Kakashi, to the main office please. Hatake Kakashi to the main office."

"What are you doing?! And how did you even know if he was here?"

"You two are going to sit down and talk this out. Now."

"Shikamaru!" Her protests were interrupted by a quick knock on the door followed by a shock of silver hair peeking through the crack.

"Yes?"

"Sakura wants to talk to have a little chat. You got time?" Without waiting for an answer, Shikamaru pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his desk drawer before ambling towards the door. "I'll be back in a few."

Sakura's gaze shot back and forth between the two, incredulity on her face. "Wait, you're leaving? What happened to being the mediator?"

"Not in my job description." And then he was gone, and Sakura was alone with a tall, sweaty… slightly breathless Kakashi… who was staring at her. As she was staring at him. Fuck.

The smirk he gave her was infuriating. "You know, if you wanted to ask me out, you didn't have to get Shikamaru to—"

"Over my dead body, Hatake." Sakura growled, turning away from him. He chuckled deeply, the sound sending a shiver down her spine.

The chair scraped against the floor as he turned it to face her. She cursed inwardly as he perched his elbows on his knees, leaning into her personal space. The smell of his clean sweat fogged her mind. "What can I do for you, Sakura?"

(Ah, shit, he smells good… Wait! No! Bitch, think, ohmygod.)

"You can start by backing up a little." That came out breathier than she intended. "And you know what my issues with you are, Hatake. Stop going into my class time. I've asked you nicely and not nicely and I don't know what else I can do to make you understand." She looked at him and was taken aback by the genuine concern on his face. "...Why are you looking at me like that?"

He didn't respond right away. She watched as his dark eyes flitted across her face, all too aware of her heart picking up speed. Finally, he shifted in his seat and sat up, his towering height apparent even though he was sitting. "Are you busy before your class?"

Sakura shifted in her seat to face him. "Umm… This week?"

"Any week. Every week."

"Why?"

"Come take my class. For free." Kakashi smiled to himself, as if he were proud of this brilliant, groundbreaking idea.

Sakura gave him a disbelieving look. "And why on Earth would I do that? I'm a busy person, Kakashi."

He didn't seem to let her cynicism deter him. "No, look. You carry a lot of stress— Wait, before you yell at me, let me finish." He held up a finger to cut her off before she tried to interrupt him. "As I was saying. You carry a lot of stress here—" he reached over to place his hand at the connection between her shoulder and neck. "—And here," moving his fingers to brush up against her jawline. "Yoga can help with that, if you let it."

His skin was extremely warm and Sakura gravitated towards him as he pulled away from her, trying to ignore the now obvious absence of his heat. He fixed her with that look again. "I just want to help. And yes, I will try to be more conscious of the time. Though I'm sure you'll remind me, should you decide to grace my class with your presence."

This needed to end. Soon, Sakura decided, before she did something she regretted. And the quickest way to that was… "Fine. One class. And I'll definitely be keeping an eye on the clock."

She wished she could smack that smug look off his face, but before she could tell him so, he rose from his chair and strode towards the door. "See you later."

"Wait!" It was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. He turned and looked at her expectantly. She didn't even have anything to say, so she blurted out the first solution that came to her. "I'm going to your class, so come to mine. It's only fair."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "You just want to beat me up, don't you?"

Sakura shrugged. "The thought honestly hadn't occurred to me, but now that you mention it, it does sound nice. So you'll come?"

Pondering on it for a moment, Kakashi hummed his approval. "Yeah, sure. It's a date. See you Wednesday, Sakura."

"Wait, it's not a—" The door closed behind him. "It's not a date…" she grumbled.

In the back of her mind, she had an inkling that Wednesday couldn't come fast enough.

Thank you for reading!