"And then she asked me if being my roommate came with benefits."

Kakashi sat across from Iruka with his head in his hands, trying to figure out what could have happened a few weeks ago during his conversation with Anko.

"I think you're thinking way too much into it, Kakashi. You know how Anko is. She could just be very well playing around," the Chuunin replies as he marks a test that his students had finished earlier that morning. "Just, let it be. If not, why don't you go ask her what she meant by it?"

Crinkling his nose, Kakashi shakes his head. "I can't let it be known that it bothers me, Iruka. I'm supposed to be the cool, unnerving, nothing bothers him type of guy." He taps his fingers against the desk. "Besides, she'd probably just lie, or something. Anyways… she's supposed to be moving in today, so, regardless of how I feel," and he feels a lot of things towards the kunoichi, "I gotta go and help her."

Iruka's head tilts and he stands as well. "Need another hand? I've already finished grading these tests, and, my next class isn't for another few hours…"

Waving his hand nonchalantly, Kakashi again shakes his head. "Don't worry. I have my dogs helping us, especially Bull." His lone exposed eye seemed to have a sheen to it now. "Although… weren't you supposed to meet Ayame for a lunch date?"

"H-How did you know?"

Kakashi rests his chin on his hand and smirks under his mask. "I checked your schedule when you weren't looking. You should probably go or else you'll be laaaate~." He chuckles and watches as Iruka leaves quickly to head to Ichiraku to pick up Ayame. Like he's one to talk about being late for anything. Kakashi waves quickly but makes no movement to move out of the sensei's office.

Why is this bothering him so much? Iruka's right, perhaps Anko IS just messing around with him. He should bring it up with her. Will he? Who knows. Maybe she'll end up making the first move.

Sighing, Kakashi stands up from his seat, pockets his hands, and leaves Iruka's office and soon the Academy building.

Suddenly, his apartment seemed so far away. He looks down the dirt pathway that leads in the direction he's supposed to go and he crinkles his nose. 'Damn it, Hatake. Stop letting this get to you. She's just a comrade. A comrade that you've had a crush on since childhood.' A huff leaves his lips as he mentally shakes those thoughts away. No use dwelling on it and he definitely doesn't want to face her wrath if he's a second late so, he walks down the pathway until he eventually reaches his building.

Staring up to the floor his room is on, he hums gently then glances into the main foyer of the building. Boxes were already placed inside. Adjusting his sleeves, Kakashi heads inside and glances around to see if there's any sight of Anko.

Behind one of the boxes there's a familiar head of purple hair. Blinking a few times, he sneaks over and peers over the cardboard boundary and raises a brow. If she freaks out when he speaks, he'll have to have a long chat with her about paying attention to her surroundings at all times. 'What is she doing crouched behind these boxes anyways', he ponders to himself. Well, time to break the silence now rather than just wait for her to notice him.

"Anko? What are you doing?"

He expected a yelp or something from her. Which is kind of what he got. Kakashi blinks lazily at her brows knitting together. Once she turns around, a dango stick in her mouth, and eyes wide open, he can't help but chuckle and shake his head. "Lunch break? We've barely even started."

Swallowing her snack, she stands up and glares at Kakashi. "I could have choked! Don't sneak behind people when they're eating! Don't you have any manners?" Anko huffs then looks to the boxes, her eyes ablaze. "Bull and I were the ones who started this! You should have been here hours ago!"

Kakashi can feel the venom on her words course through his veins like ice. Okay, maybe being late for this wasn't such a good idea. Then again, it's totally in character for him to be late to things. Well, not everything. He can be on time if he so chooses. Kakashi just decided that his meeting with Iruka to discuss what happened with Anko a few weeks ago was slightly more important. Besides, he did send Bull and the other dogs over to help out. So, it's not like she was completely alone.

He ends up ignoring her outburst and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, if you had paid attention to your surroundings, you would have sensed my chakra coming from a mile away." Kakashi's lone eye closes, indicating a smile. Soon, the smile falters and he lifts a box with ease. "I'm sorry, though. Are you okay?"

Anko just grumbles out a "Fine" and takes two boxes, hoisting them onto her shoulders. "Come on. The sooner we get these to your place, the sooner I can unpack and go and eat."

Watching as she takes two boxes, Kakashi's gaze goes to the single box he has. Pursing his lips together, he grabs another two boxes (for a total of three) and makes his way up to his level. Is he that petty to let Anko outdo him? Maybe. He won't admit it though. It's much more efficient to carry more boxes anyways! Gets the job done faster. Yeah, that's his excuse.

"I figured you'd have more… things?" Kakashi enters his apartment and glances around to see Anko already in the extra room with the boxes she brought. Apparently, she already had some things in her room. His brow rose at the scene in front of him. "Did I give you keys to the apartment already? I don't remember."

Anko smirks and stands up, fixing up her coat and walks right past him. "I may have swiped your keys from you yesterday. I knew you'd be late so… I took matters into my own hand. Or rather… I had one of your precious hounds get it for me and I made a copy. Don't worry, I made sure they went back to you in the end. I'm not THAT cruel. Anyways… Come on, let's finish this up quickly."

"Am I supposed to just ignore the fact that you had my key stolen from me? Anko… that's not right."

She rolls her eyes. "We're shinobi, Kakashi. Calm down, okay?"

A groan escapes his lips right then and there. He really doesn't appreciate this. "Anko, you can't just take my keys. Ask next time."

Anko frowns then nods, motioning for him to follow her. "Come on. Just a few more boxes."

xXx

After all the boxes were now in Anko's new room, she glances around her new home. "How long have you lived here? If you don't mind me asking, Kakashi."

Glancing up from his beloved novel, he places his trusty bookmark between the pages and hums softly. Now that is a good question. "Ah… maybe when I was… late teens? Perhaps early twenties. I don't remember."

She sits up in her seat and stares at him, lips pursing in all their plump glory. This causes Kakashi to actually look away from her. She takes note of this but scoots somewhat closer to him. "After your dad died, right?" This earns a simple nod. "You've been alone for so long, Kakashi. That's the worst for someone to dwell in after a big change."

Kakashi finally looks at her, gaze as lazy as ever, but… something pulls at him. He can't quite put a finger on it and Kakashi doesn't like it. Does he actually want to open up? No, don't. Don't do it. This is not some type of therapy session. "What about you? You were alone after you were found on one of the islands in the Land of the Sea?" He can turn this towards her instead.

Anko's eyes narrowed. "First of all, he did not abandon me. It was my choice to stay behind. My choice…" she repeats, mostly to herself. "Secondly, don't turn this against me. I asked YOU the question first, Hatake."

"Aw, come on. We're supposed to be roommates. Friends even. Can't we be on a first name basis?" Kakashi asks, leaning back on the sofa and brow raising slightly.

She groans, a bit excessively. "Fine." A pause. "But first, get comfortable, Kakashi. It's not like you have anywhere to be right now. Take off your flak jacket. Your hitae-ate. Just… look like you actually live here."

'She does have a very good point', Kakashi thinks to himself. He doesn't have a mission for at least a few more days. However, that could change at any given moment, and Tsunade-sama certainly has a knack for calling for HIM when she needs something taken care of quickly and efficiently.

However, Tsunade did tell him that he has her word that he can rest for a few days. So, maybe he can actually relax for once. After a moment, he takes off his flak jacket and headband, but keeps his left eye closed. The gloves come off next and he places everything in the empty chair across from him. His gaze goes to Anko and his brows raise. "Is that better, Anko?"

A grin forms. She nods and leans back comfortably in her seat. "Much. You make it look like you're just crashing while I actually live here." Anko snickers and sighs out, eyes closing as she relaxes.

A nagging thought kept shooting through Kakashi's mind. Was she actually serious about being roommates with benefits? Now might be the best time to ask. But, how should he bring it up? It might seem weird for him to just say something about it out of the blue. 'Damn it, just talk about it!'

And so he does.

"Hey, Anko? What you said a few weeks back.. About, er…" Kami, he can read his books out in broad daylight, but when it comes to actually talking about it, he can't. Why is he like this.

Anko perks up as he talks but her brow twitches when he never gets to the question. "Spit it out, Kakashi."

His brow knit together and he groans. "Fine. A few weeks ago, you mentioned about does being my roommate come with benefits. Were you serious about that? Or were you just pulling my leg? And I'm not joking. I'm very serious about this. It's been on my mind these past few weeks."

The snake kunoichi bursts out into laughter, which causes Kakashi to blush and scowl at her. "This isn't funny, Anko. I'm being serious."

Sobering up slightly, but still giggling but it dies quickly, Anko looks at Kakashi. "Did you think I was really serious about wanting to exchange me living with you for sex? Kakashi, do you really think that low of me? I would never!" She places her hand on her chest and then glares at Kakashi. "I'm not some slut that sleeps around just to get what I want."

Suddenly, Kakashi feels horrible. She's right, though. He should not have thought about this in that way. She's a fellow ninja. A comrade from Konohagakure. Shit… Sighing, Kakashi runs a hand through his hair and slowly looks over to Anko. "I'm… sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I know you're not like that." Kakashi can't help but apologize and hope for the floor beneath only him to collapse and swallow him whole. Why is he like this?

He of all people knows how it feels to be judged for doing something he didn't, or rather, didn't mean to do.

Anko however was not having it at the moment. "Kakashi, I thought you were different. I thought you wouldn't judge people like this. Guess I was wrong. Why would you, like all of the other men in this village, be any different? You have no idea what it's like. You have no idea what it's like to be cat-called or have men thinking that you want sex just because of the way you dress." She stands up abruptly then starts down the hall to her room. "You certainly know how to make a roommate feel welcomed, Kakashi."

"Fuck…" he mumbles then slumps into his seat. Where did the conversation go wrong? How could he have prevented this? With a long sigh, he closes his eyes and covers his face with his hands. He'll have to prove to her that he is different. Not now, but he certainly will do it sooner or later. Perhaps sooner is better than later, though.

"Way to make a good impression on your roommate, Hatake." Standing up, he decides to leave the apartment for some fresh air. And maybe a few drinks. Yeah, a few drinks sound good at the moment. Plus, it would be a good idea to leave Anko alone for a bit, give her some space.

Kami, what he would do for a mission now.

Exiting the building, he heads to the nearest bar to drink away the events that just unfolded.