"Race you to the top!"
"Oy, Naruto, that's cheating!"
Seeing her two friends taking off in a ruckus, Sasuke sighs exasperatedly and also takes off towards the direction of the woods.
August is here and summer is again at its peak, as unrelenting as ever. And with it, Sasuke's seasonal friend slash rival is here. And when the blond boy is here, Kiba's energy is somehow tripled, and they make three times as much commotion as they would individually. The girl sometimes wonders why she's stuck with these two simple-headed idiots as friends.
What Sasuke wonders even more is how she gets roped into mucking around in the forest, the one just at the edge of Konoha, in this kind of heat. She also curses the fact that Hinata is off with her family on a trip to Okinawa, so she has no one to share the pain.
Ah well, at least one of us is able to actually relax during our vacation.
"Hey Kiba! Naruto! Wait up a minute, will you?" Sasuke pants out, still running. She usually has more stamina than this, but somehow her body's been out of it for a few days. And the area around her abdomen has been particularly uncomfortable.
"Haha! Sasuke you slow-ass-poke!" God, what is with Naruto and his weird made-up monikers. "Who's the deadlast now, huh?"
As usual, the jab is effective on fuelling Sasuke to make a dash and catch up with her friends. They run side by side while making sure of avoiding the occasional rocks and branches obstructing their way. When they reach a clearing at the top, the three are panting and gasping for breath.
"Shut. Up." Sasuke says in-between breaths before taking a long inhale to steady her breath. "A deadlast is always a deadlast, you idiot."
It's Sasuke's favourite insults for Naruto, just because they rile the boy up the most. The girl has taken into calling the blond boy deadlast and idiot ever since Naruto kept failing the challenges he himself threw at Sasuke. Naruto couldn't jump as far after a swing, or climb the jungle gym as quick. Sasuke took certain satisfaction seeing the boy throws a short tantrum before challenging her again.
"Who are you calling an idiot, you bastard!" Naruto shouts his usual comeback, but grumbles it off quickly and approaches the cave that serves as their hideout instead.
The three of them found the cave last year, when they were exploring deep into the forest to catch stag beetles. They had no luck with the beetles, but found this small alcove that is just the perfect size for children to play in.
At first, Sasuke was tentative, afraid that the cave would collapse on them, but it proved to be sturdy enough. They then spent the rest of that summer decorating, with the help of Hinata who was invited by Sasuke, and hanging out in their hideout.
Naruto parts the beads curtain they taped on top of the cave's entrance (they're a pretty pastel pink, kindly donated by Hinata) and ducks a little to not bump his head on the ceiling. Kiba and Sasuke follow him inside while the blond kneels next to a round tin can that has a paper written 'Treasure! Do not open!' taped on it. The can opens with a 'pop', and Naruto takes out their shared collection of Yu-Gi-Oh cards and throws them a grin.
Both Sasuke and Kiba perk up at the sight of the bundle of cards. Yu-Gi-Oh playing cards have been the craze among grade school and junior high students for quite a while, and they are also victims to that strangely addictive game.
(When Itachi found out Sasuke has also fallen to the game, he made this weird face of incredulity. Shisui-nii just laughed his ass off before asking her how to play.)
"So? Ready to be shown who's boss?" Though she hates to admit it, the one thing she can't beat Naruto in is Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Though the boy is a simpleton and sucks at any other strategy game, he's eerily good at Yu-Gi-Oh. "Who wants to get their ass kicked first?"
Sasuke and Kiba don't play as much when Naruto's not here. Sure, they often play each other from time to time, but it's not as exciting as playing Naruto. There's something with struggling to make the best moves and trying to not have Naruto one-upping them that makes their blood boil.
"Oh, you'll eat those words back, Uzumaki." Sasuke growls out, Kiba giving out a predatory grin beside her.
The two face each other and raise their fists. "Rock! Paper! Scissor!"
When they see they both had papers out, they raise their fists once more. "Once again!"
Kiba lets out a whoop and holds up his hand in victory, still posed in the V of the scissor. Sasuke looks at his open palm, simulating a paper, in slight disappointment. Ah well, she'll just rest while waiting for them to finish.
The girl positions herself against the wall of the cave, making sure she has a view of the game. Watching a game is not as fun as playing one, but it'll make do to chase away the boredom of waiting. She watches on as the two boys handles the card and starting their game. Her hand reaches up absently to play with her pigtail, as has been her growing habit for the past few weeks. The girl has grown attached to the pigtail and has asked her brother to do her hair everyday.
"Hey Kiba, where's Akamaru?" The puppy has been on their tails wherever the trio goes ever since summer started. She's gotten attached to the little canine that the lack of barking is a little disconcerting for Sasuke.
"He's back at the vet, I think he got an ear infection, the poor baby. But it shouldn't be anything serious, and mom's taking care of him."
Sasuke lets out a sympathetic 'hnn', as her hand moves from her hair to pinch the middle part of her shirt up and down to let air in; her sweat is making the shirt sticky. Well, technically the shirt she's wearing is Itachi's. She nicked it from his wardrobe while he's out to Shisui-nii's, because she needed a loose shirt to wear. If she wore one of her own shirts, it would be easy for Naruto to guess her true gender. Perhaps. That boy is denser than a block of bricks needed to build a house, so who knows.
The thing is, after more than five years of friendship, that blond idiot hasn't found out that Sasuke-kun is actually Sasuke-chan. While Itachi grumbles over the misunderstanding, Sasuke finds the whole thing ridiculous. And so she lets Naruto be in his obliviousness and has kept up her ruse, only wearing loose shirts when she meets up with the blond boy.
Every time she imagines what Naruto's reaction will be like when the whole thing blows over fuels her to keep going. Kiba seems to pick up her plan without a say, and is in on it. As for Hinata, Sasuke thinks she doesn't even realise that Naruto mistakes Sasuke for a boy. To his defence, I'm not exactly the epitome of girlishness. But he's still an idiot.
"Oh hey, I almost forgot to ask you guys. Do you know this girl, who has pink hair?" Naruto tries to ask with his usual tone, but something is off with the way he says it. It's like the wobble in Sasuke's voice when she tries poorly to hide something from Itachi, and she knows she'll be busted.
"Pink hair?" Kiba picks a card from the deck and places a card on defence. "Must've been Haruno Sakura from Hinata's class."
Sasuke 'hnn's out in agreement. Nobody else has that shade of hair in their school. It reminds Sasuke of Popuri from Harvest Moon, that shade of bubblegum pink. The Uchiha girl's mind wanders towards the world of farming slash wife-searching RPG; she's been playing it at Shisui-nii's place and she wonders if she could borrow his old PlayStation1 and take it back home. The game is strangely addictive in a way that it can probably make Sasuke stay up for hours wooing five different girls at the same time to level up their heart status.
"Her name is Sakura? Woah, even her name sounds pretty." Naruto now sounds full out dreamy and excited; he looks like he has stars in his eyes.
Suddenly, there's a pulse from Sasuke's abdomen and ouch, that hurts. She's been feeling particularly weak today, but now her body starts to ache too and it just feels uncomfortable in general. She wonders if she's getting sick?
"Why are you asking anyways?" Sasuke manages to murmur out in curiosity. She probably already knows why, though.
Naruto starts to go on how he saw the pink-haired 'prettiest and cutest girl that I have ever seen!' and how he was mesmerised and rendered speechless by her 'ethereal and shining beauty'. Sasuke listens on with amusement as Naruto declares that it must've been fate that unites them, and insists that his friends must introduce her to him. Thank god Hinata isn't here. She would be heartbroken.
Kiba refuses on the premise that he doesn't know the girl that well, and that would just be weird and awkward.
Sasuke refuses without giving an explanation, which draws an angry complaint out of the blond. She reasons to herself that it's for Hinata. But there's this strange feeling in her chest that she dismisses instantly, and reaffirms that she's saying no for Hinata's sake.
Kiba steers the conversation to mundane topics like the newest summer animes and games that came out, and Naruto is successfully distracted away from his pink-haired infatuation. Sasuke chips in a comment or two, but she is concentrating more on this weird pulsing that's going on in her abdomen.
"Ha! Eat this! I summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" There's a slap of card hitting the ground and a groan from Kiba.
"I swear you must be cheating when you shuffle the cards, Naruto! You always get the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
"Suck it, Inuzuka! You're just jealous that the god of Yu-Gi-Oh loves me more than you!"
Naruto cackles evilly, while Kiba grinds his teeth in irritation. "You're cheating! You must be! Sasuke, tell him off for cheating!"
In her current condition, Sasuke can only grunt in reply. The pain is making her dizzy, and the heat is making it worse.
Noticing there is something going on with his friend, Kiba folds his cards face down on the ground and slowly crawls closer to her. Naruto is peeking around the other boy, trying to get a look at what's happening to their friend. Kiba thankfully lowers his usually loud voice and in an almost whisper asks. "Hey, you okay? What's wrong?"
Sasuke shakes her head to show that she doesn't know herself, and then rubs her abdomen again to somehow relieve the pain. Kiba picks up on her action, and lowers his voice even more. "Is it… that?"
Sasuke squints her eyes in confusion.
"Is it that time of the month? Um, my sister says she has really bad cramps whenever it's coming, so. Is it?"
Upon hearing Kiba's question, Sasuke pales even more. Through the haze of pain and discomfort, she has failed to realise the very obvious symptoms of an oncoming menstruation; abdominal pain, check, ache throughout the body, double check.
Thankfully, she hasn't felt any blood slipping through so she knows she's still safe. But her period can start anytime soon and Sasuke's out here without any pads and with a friend who thinks she's living blissfully as a boy who doesn't need to deal with this shark week nonsense. Sasuke suddenly wants to cry.
"… I think so." She whispers back to Kiba in horror, which only results in the dog-loving boy mirroring her expression.
"Oy, what are you guys whispering about?" Probably feeling left out by his two friends, Naruto calls out rather loudly.
Sasuke grimaces at how the blond's voice bounces through their cramped space.
"Sasuke said she's not feeling well." Kiba lies surprisingly smoothly–well he's not exactly lying, Sasuke is actually not well–face tinged with worry.
Naruto also crawls over to have a look at Sasuke, stopping beside Kiba. Seeing Sasuke listless and cradling her stomach, Naruto's eyebrows wrinkles. "Yeah, you don't look so good. Is it a stomach ache?"
The girl just nods at that–it's not like she can admit the truth of the situation.
The blond boy then stands straighter from his crawl, and turns his back to Sasuke before falling into a crouch once more. "Alright, come on."
Sasuke eyes her friend's offered back questioningly. When the blond boy turns his head and sees that his friend hasn't made any move, he calls again impatiently. "Come on, I'll give you a piggyback home!"
Something about Naruto's offer does this… not unpleasant thing to Sasuke's stomach, which she pointedly ignores. The looming reality that if she accepts this piggyback, there will a possibility she might stain Naruto's shirt in blood. And that is just too mortifying to disregard.
"No, it's okay. I'll just walk home." Sasuke refuses, trying to sound not as weak as she feels.
The crease between Naruto's eyebrows deepens. "It's obvious you're not okay, idiot. Stop being stubborn."
"Do you want me to walk with you?" Kiba's offer to cover her is touching, but it would just backfire. And so Sasuke shakes her head.
"It's okay, really. You guys keep playing. I'll be fine." The girl dismisses their concerned looks with a wave and starts to get herself up.
If she just concentrates on ignoring her pulsing organ, it really is not that painful.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Sasuke actually doubts that. "Go kick the deadlast's ass for me, Kiba."
"I keep telling you, I'm not a deadlast!" Naruto protests while flailing his arms around.
"Only if I can get him to stop cheating." Naruto squawks again at the accusation while Kiba just gives her an uncertain grin and a thumbs up, in which she replies with a shaky smile.
After they exchange their goodbyes, Sasuke ducks out of their hideout and makes the trek back home. As she avoids tripping on tree vines and lowers her head to avoid headbutting a branch, she suddenly remembers that there's no one at home right now.
Fathers's deep in a case, Mother isn't back yet from her hot springs trip with the neighbourhood aunties. And Itachi is off to summer training camp with the basketball club. Sasuke frowns at her thoughts. The idea of suffering on her own is not very appealing.
Ah well. She reaches into her pants pocket to grasp at a metallic key. I can just go annoy Kakashi.
(Before she forgets, the girl makes a stop at the convenience store. She's never been so thankful for Itachi insisting on her bringing along 'emergency money' wherever she goes. Itachi never defined what situations count as an emergency, but potentially having a bloody waterfall between her legs counts as one in Sasuke's book.)
Without even checking if anyone's home, Sasuke uses her spare key to open the lock to Kakashi's ratty apartment. She still doesn't get why the man won't move out of this old place; Sasuke knows his income as a relatively popular writer is enough to let him live in a much better place.
Granted, it's a nice enough studio apartment despite being old, not too cramped and with a bathtub too; but Sasuke would rather Kakashi live in a not so gloomy place. The younger girl has suggested to him many times to move into a house–a cosy traditional house would suit him better as writer. Her idea was always turned down almost immediately after she said it, Kakashi's reason being not needing the amount of space a house provides and that cleaning will be too troublesome.
And what did he mean by I read too much manga? Just because I find traditional houses to be a fitting place for people who need inspiration to work creatively–what has that got to do with reading mangas.
She locks the door behind her as she steps in and takes off her sandals. The first thing she realises is that the light is off. The girl toes her way pass the genkan and looks to the side where the futon is usually placed to find no sleeping Kakashi. Assured that she's alone, she flicks the lamp on.
Kakashi must be out, she notes to herself, though he should be home soon. The silver-haired man never stays out of his apartment for more than a few hours at a time; if he could get away with it, the man wouldn't even step out of his apartment for days.
Sasuke trudges across to the bathroom and sits with a heave on the toilet, pulling down her pants and panties in one go. She opens her pack of Whisper and takes one pad out of the neat row. The girl then quickly unwraps and sticks it, careful with her precision, at the center of her panties. She smiles at her handiwork. I think I'm getting the hang of this whole period thing.
Having put on her pants properly and stashed the bag of pads in the storage cupboard, Sasuke drags herself to slump next to the low table. She grabs a floor cushion to serve as her pillow, smushing her face against it as gets more and more comfortable.
I guess I'll nap until Kakashi comes back. With that afterthought, Sasuke slowly drifts out of consciousness and snoozes.
The sound of keys opening a lock stirs Sasuke out of her doze. She makes no move though, still too lethargic and heavy with sleep. The only sign of her that she's awakened is the change in her breathing. It's only Kakashi anyways, so the girl didn't even try to make a move.
"Eh? That's weird the lights are on." The voice that is decidedly not Kakashi's remarks. "Did you forget to turn the lights off before you go out?"
"No, pretty sure I turned everything off." There is a sound of rustling as shoes are taken off. "Must be an intruder."
"Intruder? Hell, Kakashi, you really should move into a safer area if you say things like expecting intruders that casually." Not-Kakashi–though his voice sounds awfully familiar, Sasuke feels she would probably recognise it by now if she's more awake–saunters into the room and stops a few feet from her. "Oh. Hello, you."
Sasuke opens one bleary eye to a grinning Uchiha Obito. The girl promptly closes it again.
"Wakey, wakey sleeping beauty."
The infuriating singsong voice and the repeated pokes at her sides annoys Sasuke enough for her to raise herself groggily into a sitting position. Not even a beat and there's a hand mussing up her hair–ugh. "…hi Obito-nii."
"Her highness finally graces us with her presence. Did you sleep well, my princess?"
"No." Sasuke replies curtly. They wake her up at the worst of timings; now Sasuke feels even more tired than before she slept.
"Gasp! The princess is in a foul mood today, whatever shall we do! Please, do not send me to the guillotine!"
Sasuke bats at Obito's arm, earning a laugh. "Knock it off, Obito-nii…"
"Alright, alright! Is that how you treat someone you haven't seen for a while?"
Obito went to the same university as Kakashi, a local university not far off Konoha, and had majored in economy. Unlike Kakashi, Obito had moved to Tokyo after graduation to look for employment. The young man had landed himself a secure job as a white-collar worker who aims to climb high up the corporal ladder.
When Sasuke heard of it, she was a little surprised. Being the vibrant person that he is, Sasuke thought Obito would find a more… interesting job, whatever that would be. Her father had commented that her cousin is lucky to even find a stable job like this, with the current economy, so Sasuke left the subject alone.
The girl sits straighter only to lean her head against Obito's shoulder. "Welcome back home, Obito-nii."
"I'm home, Sasuke-chan." The hand that was poking her is now patting her head.
There is the sound of the refrigerator opening and when Sasuke blinks the sleep out of her eyes, there are two cans of Asahi beers and a bottle of Green Grape Qoo–her favourite–on the low table. –
"Sasuke, are you alright? You're looking a bit pale." Kakashi presses his palm against Sasuke's forehead to check for her temperature.
The girl shrugs her shoulder. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."
"I've seen you being 'a little tired' a thousand times, kiddo. Try again."
Sasuke winces inwardly and deliberates whether she should tell the truth. She decides to just give it up; Kakashi will just pester her until she fesses up eventually anyways.
"I'm not sick, really. It's just… pre-menstrual syndrome. Cramps. You know." Sasuke knows that this is a natural thing; but that doesn't stop her from curling up more into herself in embarrassment.
"Pre-mens–Oh." Obito stops mid-sentence, catching the awkward from his young cousin. "Oh. Okay. Wow."
Sasuke jabs his thigh for that. Seriously, his reaction is not helping. Kakashi on the other hands, looks unfazed, and just blinks in response.
"Can you bear with it? Do you want painkillers?"
The girl shakes her head in refusal after a moment of considering. It's really not that bad–what she really needs the most is rest.
"Alright. But just tell me if you need some, okay?" Kakashi gazes straight into Sasuke's eyes as he opens his can of Asahi.
"Okay."
"Even little Sasuke-chan is having her period already." Obito follows Kakashi and opens his can too, taking a sip straight away. "God, I feel like an old geezer."
"You already are an old geezer." Kakashi steals the line out of Sasuke's mind, hiding his smile behind his beer.
"Shut up! Take that back! And hey–you're the same age as me, dammit!"
Sasuke takes comfort in the back and forth of their bantering, and opts to just listen when they fall into a light conversation–sipping her Qoo every once in a while. She almost falls into a doze again until Obito shifts.
"Sorry to disrupt your beauty slumber, Sasuke-chan. But I really should get going now." Obito tips his beer back and finishes it in one go.
"Already?" The girl now rests her head on top of her folded hands on the low table, and looks up to face her cousin. "But you just came back."
"Yeah, I was planning on staying for the weekend, but I got a message from my superintendent to get my ass there, ASAP." Obito scowls at his own explanation. "The bastard even threatened to drop the proposal I've been working on if I refuse."
"The corporal ladder sure is working you hard." Kakashi nonchalantly comments, also finishing his beer.
"They sure do, but one day I'll show them." Obito's voice is spirited and determined again–which Sasuke thinks is all that matters. No matter what kind of boring desk-job you do, if it gets you all passionate like this, Sasuke's sure Obito's on the right track.
When Obito is about to leave, Sasuke blurts out a question. "When are you coming back?"
"Aww, do you miss me already, Sasuke-chan?" The man just grins at Sasuke's glare. "Hmm, I'll probably be busy for a while, especially if my proposal got accepted–so I'm not so sure actually."
"Be sure to come back in November for Rin's birthday." Kakashi drawls lazily.
"Oh, yeah! Won't miss it for the world!"
Pretty sure anyone in Konoha who knows Uchiha Obito also knows that Uchiha Obito has always had a thing for Nohara Rin–Kakashi and Obito's other childhood friend. The crush had started when they were still young, and has lasted until now. Obito is never shy and openly flaunts his feelings for the young nurse.
But Kakashi's birthday is in September. Sasuke frowns. Dammit, Obito-nii.
Where almost everybody knows of Obito's affection (Sasuke knows for a fact that Rin does too), almost no one knows of Kakashi's.
"Bye, Kakashi! Bye, Sasuke Ojou-sama." With his usual sunny laugh and a wave, Obito once again leaves for Tokyo.
There is a thick silence, after Obito's departure. Kakashi grabs the remote and turns on the TV, apparently ignoring Sasuke's level stare.
"Are you okay?"
Kakashi hums. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You know why I'm asking, don't be obnoxious."
Eyes still glued to the TV, Kakashi pats at his lap–or that's what Sasuke assume he's doing, because her view is obstructed by the table.
"…I'm not a kid anymore, you know." Though Sasuke is grumbling, she still crawls to the spot next to Kakashi and rests her head on his lap.
Kakashi absently cards his fingers through Sasuke's hair, like he always does to comfort Sasuke ever since she was small. But he's not going to distract Sasuke away from this–and so Sasuke pinches his thigh.
"Ow! Hey, stop that." Sasuke's hand gets batted away, and she lets out a long sigh. It's annoying how Kakashi gets all difficult whenever this topic is brought up.
"I meant what I said. Why wouldn't I be fine, hm?"
"Because you have deep, unresolved feelings for your childhood friend. Which, I must point out, is very unhealthy."
"If I knew you are going to pester me about this every time I hang out with my very platonic friend, I wouldn't even have told you." Kakashi taps his palm against the girl's forehead. "And my feelings are hardly 'deep' nor 'unresolved'. You're being dramatic again."
Sasuke sticks out his tongue. "I would've found out even if you didn't tell me anyways."
And Sasuke believes that to be true. Even if Sasuke hadn't managed to pry into this matter in the past (she needed solid reasons on why Kakashi wouldn't marry her, and somehow pressured Kakashi enough to tell her of this), it's not like she wouldn't put the pieces together with that sad gaze Kakashi keeps throwing at Obito whenever the other man isn't looking.
The other thing is that Sasuke has read the first novel Kakashi has written–the one he got that prestigious award for, and helped kickstarting his carrier as a writer.
The book isn't about romance, not really. It's a fairytale-like story about a boy, who met a fairy who has this glowing lantern that emits warmth. The boy was enchanted by this lantern, and had wanted to steal it from the fairy and keep it for himself–to ward off his cold and lonely nights.
But as the story moves on, the boy sees how important this lantern is to the fairy, and decided not to take the lantern. The boy watched the fairy live happily with the lantern, surrounded by friends. And though sometimes he would join in the gathering to appreciate the lantern, at the end of the night the boy will go back to his desolate home.
The first time Sasuke read the book, she fell in love with it. It's such a magical story, and Kakashi writes it in a way that makes you can't help falling in love with it.
The second time she was utterly heartbroken.
Just like how the boy longs for the lantern's warmth, Kakashi longs for Obito.
What is this book if it isn't Hatake Kakashi's beautifully written, staggeringly painful love letter to Uchiha Obito?
'Not deep nor unresolved' my ass. And he calls me the dramatic one.
After her moment of realisation that night all those years ago, Sasuke had run straight to Kakashi's apartment. The girl had hugged the tall man and cried and cried, even though her initial intention was to comfort her poor friend.
Since then, every time Kakashi is in the same room as Obito, Sasuke can't help but feel wary. It's like when you're aware of something, you won't be able to unsee it–like when you're told not to think of a pink elephant, the more you will be able to imagine it.
"You know, you really should go out a little more." Sasuke suggests in a murmur. "Socialise. Find a boyfriend."
The girl can't see it, but she knows Kakashi is shrugging his shoulders. "I don't really have the time. Deadlines and all that."
That has always been Kakashi's excuse–writing is a full-time work. You don't have a book, you don't get to eat, or something along that sense. Even though all he does is procrastinate and beg Kurenai-san for extensions.
"The only person who has the spare key to your apartment is an eleven-year-old girl. I weep for how pathetic that makes you."
"Ah, but this eleven-year-old has proposed to me. Maybe I should take up her promise to take care of me for the rest of my life."
Sasuke groans at the reminder of her failed marriage proposal all those years ago. "We're not talking about my unsuccessful attempt of first love–and just so you know, I'm glad it didn't work out with you; I don't want a bum as a husband –and don't divert the topic."
Kakashi is the closest thing Sasuke has that is akin to a first…love? Crush? For the very least, Kakashi is the first person outside of her family she wants to spend the rest of her life with. After that crushed attempt of a proposal–from which Sasuke learns that the fact that she's a girl already puts her off Kakashi's list of romantic candidates–nothing really changed between them anyways, so Sasuke isn't overly bothered by it.
All she wants now is to see Kakashi happy.
"Do you even try to look for someone you might actually like?" Sasuke asks, sounding suspicious.
Sometimes Sasuke thinks it's not that Kakashi can't move on, but that he won't–because Kakashi is really that stupid.
"Like I've told you, I barely have time with my deadlines."
"Don't you have any omiais to attend? Maybe that will help you find a partner."
"Sasuke, they don't have any omiai for gay relationships." Kakashi sounds amused at her suggestion.
"Then go to a gay bar or something. Get Kurenai-san or Asuma-san to introduce you to someone. I think if you bare your thighs at Guy–seduce him a little bit, he'd agree to date you." Sasuke shoots ideas after ideas, still refusing to give up.
"There are no gay bars around here, actually, so tough luck on that. Kurenai and Asuma have washed their hands of my relationship issues a long time ago. And Guy–really? You couldn't think of anybody else?"
"Ugh, I dunno. I don't even know what your type is except that they have a dick."
"Can we please drop this?" Kakashi sighs tiredly. "Why don't you just tell me what you did today. Is Naruto in town yet?"
Feeling that pursuing on the matter will be fruitless anyway, Sasuke accepted Kakashi's change of topic grudgingly.
They fall into an easy conversation about Sasuke's day, Kakashi's new novel that he's writing (it's apparently a series on ninjas, Sasuke can't wait), and makes dry comments on the drama they're watching–Kakashi's addiction to evening-time drama is rubbing off on her.
Sasuke is telling him about the weird love rectangle her friends are getting into when Kakashi asks. "Huh. I guess you guys are at that age already. And what about you?"
"What about me?" Sasuke munches on the chips Kakashi has brought out. It's seaweed flavour–again, her favourite. The man really does pamper her.
"Don't you have a crush on someone? Or have you not moved on from me, oh you poor girl."
Sasuke throws a handful of chips at him, earning a chuckle. He really won't stop bringing that up, will he? Jerk.
"Shut up." She huffs. "Don't cry when I find a boyfriend first before you do."
Having a crush seems too complicated and energy consuming– just look at Kiba and his monthly wailing over Hinata's inattention towards him; and though Naruto's crush has just budded, Sasuke would guess it would be as handful. At least Hinata's quiet affection makes Sasuke not completely put off by the notion of romance.
And anyways, they're still young. There is no need to rush. So Sasuke would rather stay neutral in this whole matter, thank you very much.
"If you have, let me meet him first before you let Itachi and Fugaku-san kill him." Kakashi reaches out for the bag of chips, so Sasuke repositions the opening towards him.
"…you don't think that will seriously happen, do you?"
Being the youngest child and the only daughter, Sasuke knows even by normal standards her father and brother are excessively overprotective. Her father, in his melodramatic and over the top way; her brother, in his quiet but watchful way.
"Ah well, nothing to worry about now, right? Oh, and do you want me to send you back home later? Or are you staying the night?"
Apparently her father and brother's overprotective radar turns off when it comes to Kakashi. Sasuke doesn't know whether it's because he's gay or because they trust Kakashi enough to let her stay over in his place.
"I'll stay." She can't be bothered to walk all the way back home, even though it's really not that far. "If it's okay?"
When Kakashi writes, he gets distracted easily with another person's presence. Usually Sasuke refrains herself from coming to play if he needs to get some work done.
"It's alright. Go call Itachi and tell him you're staying."
"Itachi's at training camp." Sasuke moves to grab the phone anyway to call her parents. "He'll be gone for two weeks."
"Basketball club, huh. How's he taking it?" Kakashi asks, taking two sets of futon out of the storage closet.
"I think he enjoys it. I've seen him in a match before, he and Shisui-nii are pretty good." The girl punches in the phone number of her house and waits for it to dial.
"And you? How are you taking Ikebana and Chado?"
Sasuke started doing the traditional arts a while back. Her mother has asked her to consider it over and over again –probably thinking she feels pressured to do it–but Sasuke assured her that she's doing it out of her own volition.
What she didn't tell her mother is that she's also doing it out of spite.
There was one day when Sasuke caught their older relatives (the nosy grandmothers, as Sasuke likes to call them) whispering around their family's back. The girl has learned to ignore it until it became about how it's such a waste that the main branch oldest daughter is such an unladylike child–that they'll never get her to marry.
The next day Sasuke asked to be enrolled in Ikebana and Chado classes.
"It's not bad. I have them with Hinata."
It's the burden daughters of long established, traditional families like them have carried for years. Hinata's sister, Hanabi, will also join their lessons soon.
"And there's this interesting girl–Karin. She's Naruto's cousin, and the Uzumaki family's heir. She's quite fun." The red-haired girl complained and made witty comments whenever she thought their tutor isn't looking–she even made Hinata laugh. The girl's occasional conspiratory whispers to sneak off from the back makes the painstakingly long lessons more tolerable.
Kakashi just 'hnn's and rolls out the futons side by side, while Sasuke asks her mother for permission to stay over at Kakashi's. Her mother lets her with the condition that she eats a proper dinner.
They both ordered ramen before turning in for the night.
The girl knows that Kakashi has spent the money and effort for an extra futon just for her, but the knowledge doesn't stop her from sneaking into Kakashi's futon from time to time. She couldn't get rid of the habit of having someone warm next to her—she blames Itachi for letting her sneak into his one too many times.
Kakashi never complains though, and just wrap his arm around Sasuke as she happily curls against his warmth.
"Good night, Sasuke-chan."
Kakashi's whisper is the last thing she hears before her breath evens out and she drifts out of consciousness.
A/N: I just really really really like Kakashi-Sasuke interaction. And as I promised, Naruto making an appearance~ I hope you guys liked it!
Oh, and I'm wondering, when I write a sex scene (when not if, because I have something in mind, though I haven't gotten around to writing it, it's still quite far far far away into the story) do you want me to gloss over the details or just go crazy with it? Am I even allowed to do that here or should I just post a PG-13 version here and post a more mature version in AO3…? Or should I just skip it as a whole and just mention it? I hope you guys will give me some feedback, if not by review then through PM, because I'm a bit worried people will be really averse to it :S (and I'll take liberty as the author and go crazy with it, like seriously, so might as well stop me while you can lol) Tell me what you think about it!
And as always, thanks for reading, people!
