Title: Glass Houses
Author: desolate butterfly
Genre: Gen, angst
Pairing: KakaAnko, Anko/Genma
Rating: PG
Summary: In which Kakashi sucks at comfort and Anko sucks at communication.
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"What are you doing here, Kakashi?"
He slouched against the fence next to where she sat, his visible eye half closed in a lazy expression. Below him, Anko kicked her feet against the ledge where they dangled and threw another rock into the river.
"Well?"
"This was on my way home," he shrugged, watching her take careful aim and send another stone whistling off into the water to hit the exact same spot as the ones before. There was a little pile starting to accumulate, creating a small disturbance in the flow of the stream.
She made a sound like a snort and kicked her feet harder, as if wishing she could put them through someone's head.
"Bullshit," she said. "Your apartment is at the other end of town. I carted you there once after that Lee kid socked you one when some idiot gave him moonshine, remember?"
Kakashi didn't deny that. He did move a bit closer as Anko readied her next stone. She could feel his closeness like a warning prickling against her skin. When it became apparent that he wasn't going to go away she sighed and turned to look at him.
"Shouldn't you be resting up for the big mission tomorrow?" she asked, a little caustically.
"You mean the one you're not allowed to participate in?" he drawled, calmly.
Ouch, she thought. Low blow.
"Yeah," she said out loud, "that one."
Her hand drew back to toss another stone, but he caught her wrist before she could do it. Glaring, she drew a kunai out of her boot and placed the edge smoothly against Kakashi's radial artery.
"Remove it, or I'll remove it for you," she said sweetly, only a hint of strain in her voice.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow and then slowly removed his hand from her wrist.
"You know," he said, "the Godaime isn't doing this to be mean. And nobody is doubting your ability as a kunoichi. It's just that—"
"Just that Orochimaru is a sneaky fuck and this seal still affects me whether I like it or not, yeah I know," she snapped. "I get why I can't be there when you guys attack Sound, okay? That doesn't mean I have to like it."
Her fingers came up to rub at the blackening mark on her neck in something that might have been self-consciousness except that her nails were digging into the skin, trying to mar the pattern. Kakashi had to crouch in low to hear her next whispered statement.
"I just wanted to be the one to hurt him this time. And I wanted to know why…"
Kakashi's hand fell on her shoulder and although she twitched, she didn't raise her kunai again.
"I think Tsunade is as upset as you," he confessed mildly. "She wanted to smack him around a bit as well. Tell you what, if I can pull Naruto and Sakura off the guy long enough to get a shot it I'll say it was from you."
Aw. That was almost…sweet, in a morbid and violent type of way. Anko couldn't help the smile, but she managed to twist it into a leer before it got too genuine.
"Why Kakashi," she cooed, "I didn't know babysitting sulky Jounin came with fairytales included! Do you get to tuck me in, too?"
She let the edge of the kunai wander up his shirt sleeve, cutting a thin line in the fabric. Her admiring glance towards the skin that revealed, and the strength in the wiry muscle of his bicep wasn't at all faked. She'd forgotten how good-looking Kakashi was when he wasn't hiding behind piles of fabric and dirty graphic novels.
Kakashi shot her a look of annoyance and took a step back. She gloated and felt cheated of an opportunity at the same time.
"You should go to bed. In your own rooms," he added quickly as she started to leer again. "I'm sure there will be lots for you to do in the next couple of weeks while most of us are carrying out the assault on Sound."
Anko scowled. "I'm not your little brat Uchiha, Kakashi. You can't tell me when my curfew is and except me to obey. Not that he ever listened to you much anyway, stupid kid."
There was a pause and then she felt him draw back even further. Without his body behind her blocking the wind it grew colder. She shivered.
"That's right," he said, softly. Then louder, "I'll leave to you continue damming up the stream then. Leave Genma alone tonight, will you? I need him bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow morning, not exhausted with strange rope burns on his chest and legs."
"No promises," she sang, waving him off with a hand.
"And Anko," he called over his shoulder as he started walking away, "when I get back, you're paying for this shirt."
Then he was gone.
She spent the rest of the night sitting in the exact same spot, flinging any pebble, rock, twig, or leaf within reach into the stream below. When there was enough junk that it actually impeded the flow of water, she threw a kunai at the structure and crushed it to the ground. Then she built it up again.
It was cold and windy and dark and she wanted to be in her apartment shower and then her bed.
She stayed anyway, splitting her fingers on dirty stones until the sun rose.
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fin.
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