Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto
It was another cold, snowy day in Konoha. Adults were scattered about, hurrying to get to their jobs, while children scurried to school. There was a harsh snow storm today, causing delay on nearly every street, but the people of Konoha didn't give up. There was only one thing to do. Ignore it. Winter was just one of those seasons where people were just too busy to notice anything else going on around them. Winter was just one of those seasons where everyone worked their ass off.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Knock!
A pink-haired girl's eyes suddenly fluttered open, awakening to the sound of knocking on her door. She slowly rose, still exhausted from the previous day. Sakura rubbed her eyes, making an attempt to shake the drowsiness out of her. It didn't work.
Knock! Knock!
"I'll be there in a few minutes!" Sakura called out, throat dry. The nineteen-year old girl jumped off of bed and lazily dragged herself toward the bathroom. She flung the door open, but did not close it due to how tired she was. Sakura stumbled toward the sink and twisted the faucet. She watched the water speed up as it spat out of the sink, then cupped her hands. She filled her hands up with cold, freezing water until it lapped over her thumbs, then splashed it at her face. A sudden bolt of energy surged in her body, fully awakening her.
Knock!
"Just a sec!" Sakura shouted from across the room, running her fingers through her hair. She quickly, but neatly, tied her hair into an updo, then skidded out of the bathroom. The pink-haired girl sped her pace up, feeling as if the visitor was getting impatient. Just before the person shot another knock on the door, Sakura reached and swung the door open, only to find Kakashi Hatake waiting at the entrance.
"Kakashi?" she gasped, surprised to find him knocking on her door.
Kakashi confusingly gazed at Sakura. "Eh, why aren't you dressed for college?"
She looked at herself then averted her attention back at her English professor. "What do you mean? It's only five in the morning," she yawned.
Kakashi shook his head. "So you didn't know," he murmured. "
Didn't know what?"
"The snow storm today caused a power outage. It's actually seven o' clock, Sakura."
Sakura's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh no! I gotta dress."
Kakashi nodded, pointing at her sleep wear. "Nice pajamas, by the way. Pink all over…I suppose you have a pink bedroom too?" he teased.
"Ugh, I'll have you know my bedroom is red! And pink's not my favorite color either, if that's your assumption," she muttered selflessly, "Anyways, why are you here?"
He rose a hand to his head and sheepishly scratched it. "Well, the snow storm is still going on so I thought I should drive you to school, since it's safer."
She smiled slightly. "Well, in that case, come on in and make yourself comfortable while you wait for me. Help yourself to the fridge, too. That is, if you haven't had breakfast," she laughed silently.
He rolled his single eye and let himself in. He didn't really want to intrude on her, but he didn't want to wait outside in the cold and he sure didn't feel like staying in the comfort of his home. Hers felt much warmer and welcoming, now that he thought about it.
Sakura scurried to her bedroom to change while he seated himself on her couch. The silver-haired man looked at his surroundings, curious about her apartment style. It was modern, but the weird thing was that it wasn't all too girly, which surprised him. The last couple of feminine apartments he visited had many feminine-like items, like a fustian carpet or a pot of flowers. Comparing the other complexes to hers, Sakura's was very different. Cleaner than his and that's for sure.
Kakashi leaned his head against a pillow. He was exhausted, drowsy, tired, and not full of energy. He didn't get any sleep last night. His mind was haunted from the images of Sakura Haruno. Kakashi couldn't help but to think about her. She was an intriguing young girl that has a plentiful amount of friends, including him. The many moments they had together yesterday bothered him. The memories had poked and prodded at his brain, which had brought many painful headaches. She was not only a student toward him, she was also his friend. And he barely had any friends. He was usually lonely and always wanted to be, but somehow, something told him to drive her that day. That's when everything changed. And now, he doesn't even know why he offers to drive her to school. Was it growing as a habit?
Kakashi turned his head to face the kitchen. An odd, but tasty scent filled his nostrils, nearly plugging it with goodness. His eyes suddenly grew wider, feeling a wave of energy surging through him. Coffee. That was the smell. Coffee. The good, morning drink that always woke him up from a hard day of work. Coffee. He needed it.
Kakashi struggled to his feet, legs numb from the cold, but finally managed to stand up a moment later. He then trudged toward the kitchen with ease. Luckily, there wasn't a door toward it like in his apartment. Sakura's kitchen was exposed to the living room, which took a liking in Kakashi's interest.
The silver-haired teacher found the coffee machine and began to make coffee. He soon realized that it was recently used and had spilled a little near the sink. Kakashi cleaned the little puddle up, then continued brewing the coffee. The aroma soon filled the air and eventually snuck into Sakura's bedroom, where she was nearly done dressing…
Sakura slowly slipped her black coat on, the last of her clothing that was needed to wear. She buttoned it, bottom to top, stopping halfway on her chest to show very little cleavage. Suddenly, a wisp of energy shot past her nose, immediately catching her attention. Sakura shot her head up and gazed toward the door. Was Kakashi making something? But in order to find out, she had to exit the comfort of her bedroom. And she did.
She stopped halfway in the living room, stunned to find Kakashi making coffee for not only himself, but for her too. "How did you know I like coffee?"
Kakashi spun around to find Sakura striding toward him. He smiled confusingly and mumbled, "Lucky guess?"
The pink-haired girl leaned against her counter-top and watched Kakashi pour the dark, brown liquid into two mugs. Kakashi handed her one cup and she happily accepted it. "Thanks, but why?" she laughed, softly blowing on her drink.
"It's the only thing that wakes me up in the morning," Kakashi murmured, his mouth full of the boiling refreshment.
"But why did you make me one?" Sakura added, rephrasing her original question.
"Because this is your house and I don't want to be a burden," Kakashi gurgled.
"You're not a burden," Sakura assured, leaning closer to her teacher, "I was talking to Naruto and Hinata yesterday. They don't have you for English, but they think you seem pretty nice."Sakura managed to hide a frown from him. If she could recall correctly, she and the two made a super secret swear to not tell anyone about the incident.
Kakashi mouth curved into a smirk at the thought of Sakura talking about him to her friends. Naughty little girl.
"We should get going soon," Kakashi announced, finishing the last drop of his coffee.
She nodded in agreement as she reached to put her mug in the sink and he mimicked her action.
Kakashi and Sakura left the building and mushed across the snow, trying to get to Kakashi's blue mustang. "Ah!" The silver-haired twisted to the side in response from hearing a small yelp from his student. He only found Sakura stuck in a mound of ice, her body bent over a smaller pile.
"I'm…s-stuck, Mr. Hatake," she groaned as she barbarically threw her arms around her.
He chuckled to himself as he carefully came to the rescue. "I'm coming," he called out, nearly at his destination. Finally, he reached his pink-haired student and began pulling her out of the snow. Sakura laughed repeatedly as Kakashi grasped onto her and pulled. The two both looked like total fools. Actually, more like children.
"Sakura, the snow is too deep. Can't you dig some snow away?" Kakashi complained, struggling to free his student.
"School starts at nine! Come on! Besides, I can't dig. I have no gloves." Sakura pleaded, legs halfway out of the mound.
She was right. She didn't have any gloves, and if she did dig, she would get a frostbite.
The silver-haired man sighed and heaved again, successfully retrieving her. The two flew back and rolled over each other, almost bumping into the hood of the car.
The world around them finally slowed down and Kakashi found Sakura lying on top of him, giggling softly with her eyes cringed happily and her lips curved into a great smile. Her cheeks were tinted red, almost rosy, and some flakes of snow were on the ends of her pink curly locks.
He grinned as he watched his student try to seize her laughter. Her laughing began to slow to a small chuckle, and then held to a halt. Sakura's eyelids fluttered open and her gaze immediately flew to his face. Humiliation suddenly flared behind her eyes and he noticed that she was embarrassed.
"I'm sorry for acting childish, Mr. Hatake. I just—"
"You just love the snow…" he finished for her, his single onyx eye softening.
A grin wrenched itself onto her lips. "Yes, I love the snow."
"Hm, what a coincidence. So do I."
She laughed at his comment. "Great."
The two stayed still in their position, comfortable and warm in each others' arms. Their breathing eventually synchronized, and their heart beats as well. After a few seconds, Sakura sat up, breaking the shared heat between them. Kakashi rose as well and propped himself up with his arms.
He took an uneasy breath in. He had never let anyone come this close to him in his life but his family, who was now only a speck of dust in life. Kakashi sadly looked at Sakura and saw her itching to speak. He dismissed the odd experience and allowed her to talk.
"This is the last week until Winter Break," she whispered, voice soft, "Then comes Christmas, then comes New Years"
Her hands slowly slid to her thighs and he watched with interest. But knowing that he isn't permitted to think about a student sexually, he pushed the dirty thoughts away and concentrated on her face, rather than her gorgeous, slim curves…Shit, there he goes again.
"Christmas…New Years…I haven't been to one of those parties for two years now," he murmured, mentally cursing at himself at the same time.
Sakura uncomfortably shifted in her position. "So why don't you come to my Christmas party on Friday evening?" she offered.
"But wouldn't I be the only teacher there?" he asked embarrassingly.
"No. I invited Genma, Kotetsu, Izumo, Kurenai, Anko, Guy, and Tsunade too. They all accepted the invitation."
"Why are you doing these things?" he unexpectedly asked.
"What do you mean, Kakashi?"
"Why are you doing such nice things for me?"
"…" Silence momentarily consumed the conversation.
"Why do you even care about me?"
"Kaka-"
"Why do you want me to come to the party? I don't get it."
"Wai-"
"I don't get how someone, like you, could be friends with a stubborn, awkward man as myself. Are we even friends?"
He eventually realized that he was rambling about his most darkest emotions and zipped his lips shut. He clenched his jaw. He shouldn't have questioned her in the first place. What he should have done was gladly thank her for the invitation and accept it.
"Kakashi," she stated worriedly, "I do this stuff because I really care about you. I choose to do this because I want to make a friend. I want to be one of your greatest friends, to be honest."
He stiffened at her statement.
"You're a great man. You're a great teacher. And I don't want you to reject my offer. I want you to accept it."
The silver-haired man gazed at her peachy face and said, "I guess I can go. But right now we have to-"
"Head to school?" she interrupted teasingly. "I totally agree, so shall we head off?"
"Hm," he hummed, "of course. Now get in the car before you catch a cold or something."
Kakashi stood up and brushed the flakes of snow off, then got in his vehicle with Sakura trailing right behind him. The storm was still raging on. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as before. Now Kakashi and Sakura could arrive on time at The Leaf University without any precautions.
The car doors were slammed shut.
"Thanks for…driving me again," she thanked as she slung her backpack onto one shoulder.
"No problem, Sakura. Head off to your first class now. I don't want you being tardy. It would be my responsibility if you do," he replied with practiced nonchalance.
Sakura smiled slightly and headed off to Genma's class, Life Science.
Kakashi watched her disappear into the stormy, thick fog. A few minutes later, he began walking down the aisle in Building B. He tried focusing his mind on his schedule today but failed miserably just trying to. That damn child's image kept popping up like fireworks on the Fourth of July. Her sweet, kind personality shook and flipped his heart over every time he saw her. Whenever she showed up, he would actually try to be nice and not act selfless and gruff. Whenever she offered something, he would try to reject it but her smile just made decisions harder. And now that she invited him for the Christmas party, he felt even more uncomfortable.
Being close to her most of the time was just unusual.
First, they started out as acquaintances.
Then they moved directly into the teacher-student relationship.
And now, they're actual friends.
Of course, he was wondering how in the hell all of this happened.
A/N: Again, there aren't many changes. I'm just spacing things out, editing a few paragraphs, and changing a few vocabulary words. The plot is still the same and always will be, so don't freak out.
Reviews are Appreciated