A/N: I know, I know! It's been a while. Life has been busy - two kids and whatnot. This plot bunny attacked my brain while driving back from taking my mom to the airport and wouldn't leave me alone since. It's just a short little thing, meant to stand alone as the moment Kakashi finally gives in to his feelings and was inspired, shockingly enough, by a country song. I know.
Let's hope I don't wait so long to post again (read: I'm writing again, attempting to salvage from year and a half old memory a Neji/Sakura fic I lost on my old phone when it busted -_-")
Disclaimer: Don't own, not making profit. Just playing in the sandbox, because Kaka/Saku. Forever.
It had been raining for the last two days. His waterproof gear had long since given into the deluge and he was soaked through and his hair hung wet and dripping in his eyes, but at the moment, it didn't matter. He had pushed himself beyond necessity to get home for one very simple reason: there was something he needed to tell someone very important.
His breath came out in heavy, visible pants from behind his bloody, waterlogged mask. His eye socket throbbed painfully. Two ribs and one of his wrists were fractured and he felt himself sway slightly from exhaustion. Slowly he looked up the side of the apartment building, counting windows until he found hers, still lit with warm yellow light, despite the hour. Good, she's still awake.
It took a moment, but he mustered his strength and pushed off the ground, leaping and landing lightly on the fire escape. A quiet tap at the window alerted her to his presence and she pulled back the curtains slowly, then slammed the window open when she recognized him, half dragging him in through the opening, dripping - and quite possibly bleeding - all over her carpet.
She didn't hesitate in the slightest to start divesting him of his clothes, though she was respectful enough to leave his mask in place, the last great mystery between them. They'd been dancing around each other for years now, her boldly reminding him of her feelings, while he did everything he could to keep both her and himself away. But now…. He finally couldn't take it anymore. He grasped her wrists firmly to stop her probing hands already hard at work healing the damage done to him and gathered her up in his arms to kiss her. He growled at his mask being in the way and reached up to rip it off, letting it land with a heavy squelch among the rest of his soaked gear. He kissed her fiercely then, hugging her warmth tight against the chill of his wet, cold skin.
"No...no, Kakashi, stop." She whispered forcefully, prying her way out of his grasp, "Your eye is bleeding, you've got three fractures, you're soaked and freezing and probably in shock.
"I just wanna feel something," he managed, before his body finally gave in and he knew nothing but the inky blackness of unconsciousness.
A cool hand on his brow slowly brought him back an unknown time later; he knew it was hers by the feel of her chakra gently probing his throbbing eye socket, a coolness following it that eased the pain. Kakashi lifted his hand slowly, reaching for her. Gently, she pushed him away and cradled his head in her hand, lifting him up slightly and pressing a glass of water to his lips, patiently helping him drink his fill.
Kakashi didn't feel strong enough to speak much louder than a whisper, "How long?"
Her smile lifted his spirits, "Six days. You were lucky I was here." She pushed his hair back from his forehead again and let her fingers drag down his bare cheek, catching on the facial hair that had been left there to grow. "I managed to save the Sharingan, though it still needs time to heal. Your book, however, might be a total loss, I've done my best to get it dry, but the spine is still a bit waterlogged."
To hell with the Sharingan. To hell with Icha Icha. He pressed into her touch, her skin warm and soft and inviting. "I just want to feel something," he repeated his sentiment from before his venture into unconsciousness, "Something real - something that proves to me I'm still alive..."
"Oh, Kakashi," she leaned down and pressed her lips to his rough cheek. They were warmer than her hands.
She didn't push him away this time when he reached for her, easily following him when he pulled her into the bed with him, curling into his side automatically, as though it were second nature to her. Her warmth flooded him and he held her tighter, greedily soaking it in, "Never let me be so stupid for so long ever again, Sakura."
"I won't… I'm glad you're home and I'd stay in bed with you all day, but Naruto is expecting my daily report, and Tsunade will want to know you're awake as well, if for no other reason than to try and hassle you into the hospital."
Reluctantly, he let her go, pulling himself up slowly to sit, muscles stiff from disuse. "I brought you some clean clothes and your shaving kit from your apartment, if you're feeling up to showering and I'll bring lunch back with me, any requests?"
"Anything but ramen," he said good naturedly, tilting his head and smiling at her crookedly as he swung his legs out of bed.
Sakura halted in her tracks, mouth slightly agape and her eyes transfixed on his face.
"What?"
"I-I've never seen the whole picture before," she tilted her head slightly, "It suits you; the tan line is pretty awful, though."
He was left to his own devices then, deciding he would in fact like a shower and a shave. He felt much better afterwards, his stiff muscles hammered loose by the hot spray of the shower and his jaw once more cleanly shaven. He wandered her apartment aimlessly, until he found his orange bound book splayed open on her kitchen counter beside a hair dryer. The pages were a bit warped from water damage, but the ink hadn't run, although the still damp spine was disheartening. He wouldn't give it up as a total loss yet, though. His forehead protector felt heavy and painful over his eye, so he went rummaging around in the kitchen drawers for the first aid kit he knew Sakura kept there, using a roll of bandages to cover the Sharingan instead.
"Better," he decided aloud. Having nothing else to do, Kakashi situated himself at the counter with the hair dryer and started fanning it over his book slowly, hot air fluttering the pages back and forth noisily. Occasionally, he would poke at the inner edges of the pages, fussing over the dampness trapped there, but nodding with approval that it was a bit dryer than when he'd started.
He set the hair dryer aside when he heard the door open, "Kakashi, I'm back!"
The smell of hot take out made his stomach grumble, but for once, there was something he wanted far more than a hot meal after a long mission. She'd hardly had time to deposit the bags on the table than he'd dragged her into his embrace and crashed his lips into hers. When no objections came from her, he led her away to her bedroom.
"You know," she remarked, some time later, curled up beside him under the sheets, "Lunch is stone cold now."
"Then let's heat it up and call it dinner."
Sakura's laughter filled the room and made him feel warm from the inside out. He couldn't believe he'd been denying himself this for so long. This was warm. This was real. This was love.