Sakura lead Kakashi to one of the tents, almost shoving him inside. It seemed the 'bandits' were little more than a bunch of scared men, women and children, and he had caused quite the commotion barging in on them the way he had. There was an explanation he needed to hear at some point, but for now all he could focus on was the woman in front of him.
"Sakura," he said, just to make her look at him.
The tent was dimly lit, but her eyes still found his for a moment before she once again pulled him into a hug.
"I've missed you," she murmured into his chest, and he felt something lost in him click back into place. His arms circled around her, moving slowly but wrapping her tightly against him. 'Missed' didn't seem nearly strong enough for what he had felt the last few days.
"I thought you were dead," he said simply, and Sakura's body stiffened for a moment.
"I was lucky. There was water at the bottom of that chasm, and I managed to not break my neck when I hit it." She laughed a little, clearly trying to downplay the experience, but Kakashi's heart lurched with fresh terror for her.
She must have heard it in his heartbeat, because she pulled back from him to look him in the eye once more. "I'm okay, really. I got out eventually and ended up here, but that's kind of a long story and the last time I saw you, you were badly wounded. Let me take a look." She gestured to a mattress on the floor.
Kakashi had seen her in 'medic mode' enough times to know that there would be little he could get out of her until she was satisfied with his treatment. He laid down obediently, but didn't take his eyes off her. Part of him was still afraid she would disappear.
She switched on a solar-powered lantern and moved to kneel beside him.
"Did the people in Reed take care of you?" she asked, peeling back his bandages.
"Yes."
She examined the wound, clicking her tongue. "Well it's not infected, at least. I'll help it along with a little chakra tonight, but you could probably use some stitches before we leave tomorrow."
She began forming the healing seals, the sling making her slightly clumsy. Kakashi reached out and wrapped his fingers around her hands. "Don't you need to conserve your chakra for your own injury?" He nodded at her arm.
"Oh, this? I set the bones already, so it's not too pressing. Besides, I'm the medic, it's my job to make you feel better." She smiled at him again, but Kakashi couldn't return it.
"And I'm the captain. It's my job to keep the medic safe." And I failed. "Just leave it as it is, it'll keep until the morning."
"Doesn't it hurt?" her eyes were wide with concern, but Kakashi could have laughed. He doubted he would ever feel something as petty as physical pain again.
"Seriously, don't worry about it. That's an order."
Sakura smiled, gently replacing the bandages she had disturbed. "I always worry about you, Kakashi."
Stop worrying about me! he wanted to say, even as his traitor heart soared. He didn't deserve her worry, and all that smile implied.
"Sakura, about that conversation we had in the cave…"
She cut him off before he could continue, turning away from him to fiddle with the lantern.
"We don't have to talk about that. You made your feelings clear, and I respect them. It won't change things between us." She flashed him another, brief smile before the light went out, but this time it was too-cheerful and did nothing to mask her reddening cheeks.
She flopped down on the bedroll as far away from him as she could possibly get without physically rolling off. "Sorry it's so cramped. Sleep well."
After that, she fell so silent she could have actually been asleep. But Kakashi knew better, and refused to leave things as they were.
"I only brought it up because I wanted to apologise. You were right, of course I had thought about…you. I just didn't want to admit it, because then everything would change and maybe it would ruin what we already had." Sakura remained silent, but he knew she was listening.
"But then, everything changed anyway. I honestly thought you were gone forever, Sakura." He swallowed. "And I hated that I'd lost my chance to change my answer. Maybe I've still lost my chance. Maybe that's the price I pay for getting you back. You said yourself you weren't going to run after another stupid boy who doesn't know what he wants. But I needed you to know that I want you. I'm sorry it took losing you for me to figure that out." Now it was his turn to blush. He'd never been good at talking to people, especially women. Sakura was usually the exception to that rule, but suddenly he had an awful premonition that she would laugh in his face.
She didn't laugh. He could barely turn his face in her direction, even in the dark, but a hand touched his cheek and gently pulled him closer. He knew what she was about to do, and the anticipation of the moment heightened every detail his remaining senses could pick up: the feel of her calloused hand on his bare face, the sound of her uneven breaths in his ear, the smell of her hair as it fanned across the rapidly closing distance between them, and finally, the exquisite taste of her lips on his.