grow roots, weather storms

rating: t
genre: romance/adventure
pairings: kakasaku
POV: Kakashi
warnings: emotionally immature idiots, mild swearing
other notes: written for Kakasaku Week 2015, Day 7: Shut Up and Dance With Me
word count: 1,096

In hindsight, it's really stupid of him to approach her. She's seven months into a deep-cover mission and he calls her by her first name? He isn't exactly a rookie. It's a stupid fucking move.

"Sakura?"

The redhead's shoulders stiffen minutely, barely perceptible if not for the backless dress and eight years of reading her body language. She doesn't turn around immediately, as if she doesn't recognize the sound of that name on his lips as her own, but does finally relent to his presence.

She turns and startles, as if she wasn't completely aware of who was standing behind her.

"I'm sorry, you must have mistaken me for someone else." Her voice is huskier than he's used to, pitched closer to an alto than her usual mezzo-soprano. The change is less striking than the red hair; almost bloody compared to her trademark pale pink. It's discomforting, like seeing a stranger wear Sakura's face.

She's better at undercover than he'd expected; her movements and facial expressions almost foreign. If he didn't know her as well as he does, Kakashi doesn't think he'd recognize her.

"My apologies," he offers, one stranger to another. Underneath the polite facade, however, he allows her the shadow of a wince. He is sorry. He never should have even hinted that he recognized her.

Sakura's eyes glance from his face to over his shoulder and back again, a fleeting flicker of her gaze, but whatever she spots, it prompts her to relax her body language into something more open and accommodating.

"Akiko," she offers. "My name is Kita Akiko."

Kakashi frowns at her, briefly, wondering what she's playing at, but gives back, "Hatake Kakashi, of Konohagakure."

"Oh!" Sakura exclaims. "Are you a ninja? How exciting! I've never met anyone from a hidden village before, you must tell me about it. What are you doing here in the Fire Daimyo's court?"

"Diplomatic business, for the Hokage," he allows, because it's the truth. He's here for Tsunade and her annoying assistance that he'll need a good relationship with the Daimyo if he's going to be the Rokudaime. Kakashi doesn't want to be the Rokudaime, but he knows that he really isn't going to have a choice in the matter, so he better make the most of it.

Although, finding Sakura here makes Kakashi question if Tsunade was just using the latest trade agreements as an excuse to get him out of Konoha and into Sakura's presence.

He's been more ornery since she left, he knows. He just hadn't expected the Hokage to pick up on his continuing bad mood, let alone figure out the reason for it.

"Well, Hatake-san, we should dance and you can tell me all about the exciting life you must live!" Sakura takes one of his hands and tugs him towards the dance floor.

"Heh, heh. Kita-san," he rubs the back of his head sheepishly, refusing to be pulled along. "I'm not much of a dancer."

Sakura stumbles, as if his resisting weight has pulled her off balance, and knocks into his chest. She pretends to take a moment to steady herself so that she can whisper in his ear. "Hatake Kakashi, so help me, you are going to shut up and dance or my cover is going to be blown and I will kill you. Well, I'll kill you once we get out of here. And then I will revive you so that you can explain to Shishou why my seven months spent under cover went to shit because you couldn't walk away. And then she will kill you again. You will be dead twice over. And what the hell? You couldn't walk away? You had a pretty easy time doing so before I left!"

Kakashi winces at her accusation, and then realizes that they've been locked together for far longer than is appropriate. His gaze passes over the small group of guards watching them cautiously, the group of women shooting them curious looks.

"Right. Dance. Let's do that."

Sakura pulls him all the way onto the dance floor as a new song begins, the tug of a scowl at her mouth.

When they pause to get situated, Kakashi pulls her close so that they can keep watch over the room from over each other's shoulder. It will look perhaps overly intimate to observers, but they'll be able to speak without being overheard.

"Tsunade-sama sent me here to discuss some minor changes to trade agreements with Earth and Sand. I didn't know you'd be here. Sorry. I never should have approached you."

"No," Sakura spits at him. "You shouldn't have. What were you thinking?"

Kakashi sighs. "Is this the best time to get into this?"

"I don't know, Kakashi. You tell me. It's not like you're interested into getting into 'this', whatever 'this' is, when we're both safe in Konoha."

"Sakura," he pleads. For what, he isn't quite sure.

"Fine, later," she concedes. "It's actually a good thing you're here. I was going to send a message to Shishou anyway to let her know I needed backup to finish up the mission. Since you're here, you can help me out. You can take the documents back with you, I'll stick it out a couple more weeks before vanishing, and then I can let this awful dye wash out of my hair."

"Sounds good. What do you need from me?"

Sakura outlines the plan as they dance, speaking quickly but concisely. Kakashi is impressed by all that she's managed to accomplish the past few months.

Sakura finishes before the third song ends, so they continue to dance in silence before they can part without suspicion.

The music ends, and Sakura pulls away.

"Well, thank you very much for dancing with me. And such exciting stories you tell, Hatake-san!" Sakura enthuses. "I should get back to my escort, but I hope that we will see each other again."

Kakashi raises her left hand to bestow a careful kiss to her fingertips. "The pleasure was all mine, Kita-san."

Sakura blushes, and Kakashi doesn't think that it's an act.

As he brushes by her to go speak with a merchant he recognizes, he whispers to her, "I'm sorry about running away when you kissed me, Sakura. But at least I didn't run all the way to the Fire Daimyo's court. We'll talk when you get home. Maybe even go dancing?"

Sakura's little gasp follows him as he moves away. Kakashi smiles. They both have a tendency to run. Maybe together they'll figure out how to stay.