Spin

Chapter Four

"So you're really sure you can't just, you know, push them out early. Or something."

Glancing over her shoulder, an amused smile on her face, Sakura shook her head at Ino. Though her best friend turned rival turned best friend again often liked to complain, loudly, about her condition, they both knew that she was excited to be a mother and was mostly tired of the waiting game. At seven months, Ino was hugely pregnant with twins and was teetering dangerously close to bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy. It was only because her husband pampered her and practically tied her down when he left for work each day that she had eluded it so far.

"Ino, you know twins are usually premature anyway. We don't want you having them any sooner than we have to." Pausing next to her, Sakura rubbed her belly and smiled. "We want your babies to be plenty healthy."

Rolling her eyes, Ino exhaled heavily and draped her hands over the top of her stomach. "As if they could be anything but. Shikamaru bitches at me day and night if I even think about lifting a pillow for myself."

Chuckling, Sakura dabbed oils on her hands and rubbed them together briskly. "It's nice that he cares about you so much."

"He damn well ought to!" She exploded, raising one hand and clenching it into a fist. "Or he's never getting sex again."

Kneeling, Sakura began to massage the oils along Ino's calves, and earned a heartfelt, pleasured sigh in response. "After he sees you giving birth, he just may not want to."

Ino tipped her head back. "My man's a lot of things, but he's no weenie. Well, except when it comes to his toes. He hates when anything happens to his toes."

Pulling Ino's foot into her lap, Sakura gently kneaded it, raising an eyebrow as she glanced up. "That's a weird quirk. But then, he's married to you, so.."

"Hah, hah." The blonde didn't bother to lift her head. "Ugh, I guess everyone else could see it all along, but it scared the shit out of me when I realized we were perfect for each other."

Sakura smiled again, reaching for her oils and slicking more along her palms. She remembered that day well. "I think I got that, what with you running into my house with your hair standing on end and no make-up on. What was it you said? 'Oh my God, I have to marry him!'" She chuckled, using the tips of her fingers to trace small circular patterns up the surface of Ino's leg. "And I thought you were pregnant then."

Ino roused herself to kick at Sakura, but the attempt was only half-hearted. "Shut up."

"It's cute. I was a little jealous." Ducking her head so that her hair obscured her expression, Sakura added, "But at least I get to spoil your babies."

"Are you kidding? Shikamaru and I have discussed just having you move in. I'm afraid I'm going to kill them without another woman around to take charge and let me regain my sanity when they start screaming."

Sakura started on the other leg, shook her head. "You'll be fine. You're going to be a great mother. And Shikamaru will be a great father too, as long as he doesn't overthink things."

"Yeah, and that's like asking the sun not to shine."

"Ino, don't be so pessimistic. You guys are going to be fine." Glancing up, Sakura patted her knee, mused that Ino wouldn't have been able to see her comforting expression over her massive stomach even if she'd been looking. "And your babies will have plenty of honorary aunts and uncles to dote on them, since most of us are still depressingly single."

"Oh, yeah." Grunting, Ino braced either side of her stomach with her hands and shifted so that she cool peer at Sakura over the top of it. "So when are you settling down anyway?"

Dryly, Sakura responded, "I'd have to go on a date first to do that."

Ino arched one brow. "Exactly. When's the last time you went on a date? Oh, yeah. Before I got pregnant. That's just sad, Sakura."

Rising, Sakura wiped her palms off on her apron and pinned her friend with a killing look. "Not all of us have the privilege of being lifelong friends with the man we're going to marry. And there are a lot of creepy guys out there."

"Tell me about it. I dated half of them." Wheezing out a breath, Ino looked like she was debating standing, and then decided against it. "I can set you up with a couple of non-creepy potentials."

Walking softly over to her sink, Sakura scowled. "I don't need you setting me up with the men you dumped, thanks. I'm perfectly capable of finding a boyfriend if I want one."

"But you aren't even looking." Ino's voice was trembling perilously near a whine. "Come on. Dating is fun. Hell, I'd date, except Shikamaru would kill me and I would have to let him."

"Don't even joke." Sakura lathered her hands up thoughtfully. "You two were made for each other. That's wonderful, but I don't think it happens for everyone."

"Oh, now that's just going to piss me off. And you do not want a big, fat pregnant woman mad at you."

"No, really." Turning, Sakura rested her hip against the counter, looked seriously into the face of her friend. It was something she'd given a lot of thought to, especially after her last earnest attempt at the dating game. "I'm not interested in happily ever after anymore. That just gets my hopes up too high, and I'm always disappointed by the men I date."

Glaring from across the room, Ino demanded, "Why shouldn't you get your hopes up? You're smart and pretty, you've got a good job, and you can damn well take care of yourself without any man's help. You're a great catch. Men would be lining up at the doorway asking you out, except you turn them all down."

Lips turning downward unhappily, Sakura crossed her arms at her waist and looked away. "I'm not really interested in seeing anyone right now. I never get that spark, you know? I just think, here's something else I need to fit into my schedule."

"That's because you're obviously dating the wrong men. Just let me set you up on one blind date."

"Ino, no." Sakura would have said more, but there was a quiet knock on her front door. Frowning, because she wasn't expecting anyone, she said, "Just a sec." and headed that way.

She opened the door and blinked. "Kakashi-sensei?"

Framed by sunlight, he seemed a little embarrassed to have shown up at all, and was dressed far more casually than she usually saw him. No vest, and with small pouch at his hip that she assumed contained one of those perverted books he was always reading. He scratched the back of his neck with one hand, looking down at her, before he spoke.

"Ah, Sakura. Can I come in?"

She stepped aside to allow him in out of habit rather than actual consideration, and asked, "Is something wrong?"

He eyed her curiously. "Does something have to be wrong for someone to stop by?"

She frowned at that, because even though it shouldn't have been true, too often it was. "Of course not. I just thought.. never mind. Ino and I are in the other room, you can come in. We just finished up."

He followed her silently, and they were both in time to see Ino struggling to lift herself to a standing position. With a helpless laugh, Sakura moved forward and took both of her arms, pulling her easily to her feet and grinning.

"Thanks. God, I can't wait until I'm skinny again." Peering over Sakura's shoulder, Ino looked surprised and demanded, "What're you doing here?"

Kakashi seemed amused. "Hello."

"God, Ino." Releasing her friend, Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'm a medical nin, remember? I'm helping Kakashi-sensei after his last mission."

"Who works at the hospital, hello. I told you, you've got to stop doing house calls. They're never going to leave you along because they know you'll never make them stop."

Cheeks pinkening, Sakura hissed, "It's not a problem for me, Ino. Drop it."

"She's right."

Both women turned and stared at Kakashi with varying degrees of shock in their expressions. He seemed uncomfortable with the scrutiny, and shrugged. "Everyone needs time off."

Ino nodded, looking triumphant. "See? It's not just me. You need your own life, Sakura. So, I'll call you tomorrow, and we'll work out the details of your date, okay?"

Kakashi looked between the two of them as Sakura snapped, "You can call me, but I'm not going on any date."

Waddling past them, Ino patted Kakashi on the arm and smiled. "Thanks for agreeing with me. See you later, Sakura!"

The door closed soundly behind Ino and left the two of them standing in her kitchen, Sakura very obviously trying to contain her frustration, Kakashi simply looking thoughtful.
"You know, I'm really tired of people meddling in my life." With bad-tempered jerks, she began to replace her collection of aroma therapy oils. "It's my business if I want to treat people at home, or go on a date, or not go on a date."

"Hm." Though it was more a murmur than anything, it seemed to be all the encouragement Sakura needed.

"Who is she to try to babysit me, anyway? I'm a grown woman!" Wheeling around, temper hot in her eyes and cheeks, she jabbed an accusing finger at him. "And you, agreeing with her! I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and I realize very well that rest and recuperation are required for every human being, thank you. I only make my living taking care of other people."

He held up his hands in a defensive position, tried for a cajoling tone. "Ino is just worried about you."

"I don't need her to worry about me! She should be worrying about herself and staying healthy for her babies, and Shikamaru, and what kind of parents they're going to be. It's very important they're unified on that, or it can really mess things up, you know."

When she swept past him, he angled his body, gave her space so that she wouldn't accidentally -- or perhaps on purpose -- ram him with her shoulder. "Does it bother you when people worry about you?"

Without thinking, Sakura blurted, "Yes!"

He hesitated, then asked, "Why?"

All at once, her anger drained, and she stopped halfway through the motion of kicking a take-out box across the floor. Why did it bother her? Maybe because she was used to being the one who did all the worrying. Ever since she'd been a child, she'd always tried her hardest to be someone that the adults around her could rely on to take care of herself. She had taken so much pride in being considered independent, had gleaned more satisfaction from the praise of her teachers than she had any indication of favor from her peers. Was it just habit to shoulder all of her own concerns and focus on other people?

Probably, but why should it make her feel so uncomfortable to have other people worry about her, when even now that was what she did every day? Being a medical nin, she saw so much misery and pain, and she couldn't help but want to fix every little ache that she saw. Maybe she hadn't changed as much as she'd at first thought.

Dropping her hands to her sides, she turned slowly, looked up into his face. Honestly, she replied, "I don't know. I guess... I guess I just don't like it."

He fingered his chin, gaze calm and even on her face. "You're too used to worrying about everyone else."

Her face heated again, and she asked, "Is that such a bad thing?"

He shrugged. "Yes and no."

Throwing her hands in the air, she demanded, "Would it kill you to give me a straight answer to one question?"

Stepping forward, he gently cupped her wrists, slowly lowered her hands. "Yes because it makes you abrasive and difficult to talk to. No because you have an enormous, caring heart and the people you love benefit."

Her breath caught in her throat, and she wasn't sure it was just because of what he was saying. His closeness, coupled with the loose grip he still had on her wrists, caused her heart to beat faster, her palms to suddenly go damp. The change was reflected in her eyes with a sudden confusion, and he seemed to read it, instantly recognize it, and back away.

Lifting her hands, she flexed her fingers and marveled at her body's sudden and intense reaction to Kakashi's proximity. There, she realized, was the spark she'd mentioned to Ino that she just hadn't been able to find.

Stepping forward where he had retreated, she began, "Sensei, I-"

"I should go."

The statement was abrupt enough that it startled her into stillness. "What, why?"

He didn't meet her eyes, and instead seemed to find interest in her window once more. "You work tonight, don't you? I'll leave a light on."

He was back-pedaling rapidly, and Sakura couldn't think fast enough to come up with an excuse to force him to stay. "Yes, I'll be by, but-"

Facing her once more, he smiled. "I'll see you later, Sakura."

Curling one hand into a fist, she brought it up to her heart as she watched him leave, oddly crushed by the loss of his company. The visit had been so fleeting, and she wanted answers for whatever it had been that had just passed between them. If anything, Sakura knew she wasn't the only one who had felt it, and that made her want to know even more.

Still, she resisted following him to the door, and instead dragged a hand through her hair. Her heart was still stuttering from the encounter, and she wondered what that meant.

Narrowing her gaze at the window, she murmured, "What's got you running scared?"