That morning, I slid out from behind the joke.

'Take a coat' I said

It was freezing that morning,

And the ice storm warning gave me cause to be concerned about your safety.

I still find it funny how an 'I love you' can be reduced to a weather report.

- Shane Koyczan 'Weather Reports'


The sound of a cell phone was what woke me. Lifting my head to glare at the bedside table that I always claimed when I was over at Kakashi's. Seeing that my phone was laying quietly on the table, I groaned before letting my head fall back onto the pillow.

"It's yours." I said irritably.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he sat up and turned to grab the offending object. Glancing at the screen, he sighed. "It's Iruka."

I huffed. That usually meant it was work. Iruka, while not Kakashi's superior, was usually given the job of telling him to get his ass down to the station for one reason or another.

I got up to use the bathroom while he talked over the phone. I shivered when my bare feet touched the bathroom floor tile. It was freezing. The toilet was just as cold.

I both loved and hated Winter. I loved it for the snow and the christmas break that I got. But I hated it because of the fact that I had practically zero tolerance for the cold.

I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror as I washed my hands, and groaned. How my hair always managed to turn into a rat's nest overnight was beyond me. Grabbing the brush from the side of the sink, I did my best to tame the snarls.

I heard a chuckle from the doorway, and turned to find Kakashi leaning against the doorframe wearing his favorite set of sweat pants, slung low on his hips. He smiled at my attempts to fix my hair.

"I still don't understand why you get so worked up over your hair." he said.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I don't get worked up, I get annoyed. Just once I'd like to wake up and not have my hair imitating yours."

He shook his head. "Well, that one way of putting it."

I set the hairbrush down. "So what did Iruka want?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "You've probably already guessed. I've got to go into work. A bunch of the traffic lights are out downtown owing to some fallen power lines. I've got to help supplement that until they can get them fixed."

I scrunched up my nose. "What the hell? You're not a traffic cop. Hell you're not even a beat cop. What's up with them delegating that to you?"

The silver haired man shrugged. "Don't know. But it's orders from the captain, so I'm not about to argue. Do you need me to drive you anywhere this morning, before I head out?"

I shook my head. "I figured I'd spend the day here, I could have a hot meal waiting for you when you get back, if you want."

He crossed the short distance and hugged me, kissing my forehead. "I really don't know what I did to deserve you, blossom. And yeah, I'd like that." he murmured, kissing my forehead.

I giggled. "Just take your shower, dummy."

He let me go, and I heard him starting up the shower as I left the bathroom. Yawning, I grabbed a shirt of his off the floor to wear so that I wasn't walking around stark naked.

I then walked out to the kitchen, craving the sweet caffein delivered by the coffee pot. As I passed it, I grabbed the remote for the kitchen's small tv off the counter before opening the cabinet to grab the coffee grounds. Kakashi seemed partial to this african blend that was really rich, and I was grateful because it meant that even if we ran out of creamer, it didn't taste like tar.

As I filled the glass pot with water, I clicked the tv on. The only station Kakashi ever used on this tv was the news station, so I wasn't at all surprised when the local weather report popped up.

I half listened as I waited for the coffee to be ready. By the time I was filling up a thermos for Kakashi when I was shocked into paying more attention.

The man on the screen was talking about a winter storm warning the station had received. Snow, freezing rain, maybe even hail would be falling from the sky. Along the bottom of the screen was a banner that showed the counties that were under warning. Anxiously, I watched, hoping that we weren't on the list.

My anxiety reached it's peak when I saw that we were.

"Figures the day I have to direct traffic is the day that this crap happens."

I jumped, and turned to find Kakashi standing in the doorway in his uniform. His expression was annoyed.

I hated his uniform almost as much as I hated his detective's badge. Sure, the handcuffs were nice every now and again for some bedroom spice, but whenever I saw the whole ensemble together, I just felt worried. I hated having to wonder if this was the day he wouldn't come home. And now there was this storm.

Silently, I handed him the thermos I'd filled for him.

"Thanks, blossom." he said, kissing my forehead again. "I'll be back tonight."

"Okay." I said quietly, following him out of the kitchen to watch as he grabbed the keys to his squad car. As he reached for the door, I felt three little words bubbling up my throat.

I wanted so much to tell him I loved him, but my cowardice won out as I changed my words at the last minute.

"Take a coat." I said