CHPATER FOURTEEN

Lilia deposited Kassia in her room where the blonde woman undressed and promptly fell into bed. She then woke Dean up enough to let him know she was back and Kakashi was with her. Dean snorted in surprise and told her to wake him when Kakashi left then fell back to sleep, leaving Kakashi on guard duty. Lilia headed downstairs to where Kakashi was waiting in her living room.

"Some guards those two are. One gets drunk, the other refuses to wake up!" Lilia watched as Kakashi examined her sparsely stocked bookcase.

"You still have a horrible taste in literature I see." Kakashi picked up a well-worn book and held it by its spine between his finger and thumb, as though touching something vile.

"Coming from the man who reads the same three porn books."

"Four, actually."

"Four! Jiraya is still writing that trash?"

"Hey, just because you can't appreciate their well-developed plot lines and characters doesn't make them trash."

"Are you saying my stories have poorly developed plot lines and characters?" She walked over to him and grabbed the book out of his hand, tucking it neatly back on its shelf.

"I wouldn't class man meets woman, woman falls for man, man falls for woman, strife happen to test their love, and love overcomes all as a well-developed plot line. A well-used one perhaps. "

"That is because they are romance novels. Besides, not all of them follow the same story line." Lilia turned her back on him and crossed to the kitchen. "Do you want another drink?"

"If you're going to continue to insist your trashy romance books are in the same league as the Icha Icha series I might need one."

Lilia uncorked a bottle of sake and pulled two glasses from a cupboard. Kakashi took a seat at the island in the kitchen and Lilia slid him a full glass of sake. She turned her back on him and put the bottle back in the cupboard. When she turned around again Lilia was surprised to see Kakashi pulling his mask down to take a big gulp of sake. For a moment her brain misfired and she stared at his throat, watching his Adams apple bob. Then her brain kicked back in.

"Woah, would you warn me when you decide to whip it out." She quipped. Taking a sip of her drink.

"It's nothing you haven't seen before." Kakashi pointed out. It was true, Lilia was one of the privileged few to have seen Kakashi without his mask. It was a testament to how close they had once been. Though he had never divulged the reasons for him wearing one, Lilia had a few theories.

Kakashi was a handsome man, she was sure anyone who saw his face would agree. He had a strong jawline, perfectly sized lips and a nose that despite having been broken more times than she could count, only had a tiny bump in the bridge. The only outstanding feature, if it could even be referred to as such, was the beauty mark just below his lip. Though he liked to refer to it as a mole as that sounded much manlier.

"Well you know, after the whole 'leaving the village and becoming an enemy' debacle I assumed I had lost the privilege." Kakashi shrugged and smiled at her. Lilia's heart skipped a beat at the sight of his slightly lopsided smile. She remembered a time when she had lived for moments like this. Moments when both of them could let down their guards. It would be easy, so easy, to fall back to that. To go back to loving him. But time had moved on and she wouldn't allow herself to be overcome by such silly thoughts.

"That seems a little petty." Kakashi mused. Lilia's mind raced trying to remember what she had said before her mind had run away. "Besides, it is much easier to drink when I am not worried about whether or not you can see my face. Much easier to eat as well." Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow, his hitate still covering his Sharingan.

"Is that a hint?" Lilia laughed. She finished her drink, put the bottle on the table in front of Kakashi who topped himself up and moved around the kitchen, fishing out a saucepan and lid and then digging through the cupboards for ingredients.

Fifteen minutes later Lilia placed a plate in front of Kakashi and one for herself on the island.

"Pasta with cheese and tomato sauce. The ultimate midnight drinking snack, guaranteed to keep away pesky hangovers." She bowed grandly. Kakashi clapped sarcastically. The two shinobi fell silent as they ate. When they had finished Lilia swept the plates away and dumped them in the sink. "I'll wash them up tomorrow." She looked at the clock on the wall and winced. It was nearing two in the morning.

"I should get going." Kakashi said, rising from his seat.

"You're welcome to stay here." Lilia said, offhandedly as she walked into the living room and slumped onto a sofa, placing a hand on her overfull stomach. "I ate far too much," She paused. "There is a spare room so you can have a bed." She added when she saw the dubious look on Kakashi's face.

Really, Kakashi wasn't worried about having a bed, Lilia's sofa looked more comfortable than his own bed. No, Kakashi was worried about how easy the evening had been. How easy it was to make conversation with this woman. He worried about how much he wanted to go and sit with her, to keep talking until the sun came up. Kakashi tried to convince himself that it was the alcohol but he knew it wasn't. With Lilia back it had become harder for Kakashi to keep up the act that he was angry with her, that he hated her.

Of course he had been angry and hurt when she left but if he was being honest with himself, he knew he had let go of most of the anger years ago. When she came back he had been so desperate to still hate her as he knew he could so quickly fall back to her. Her betrayal gave him the excuse to convince himself he didn't want anything to do with her. With that excuse gone, Kakashi found himself unable to stay away.

"Come on, I'll show you the room." Lilia pulled Kakashi from his thoughts as she rose from the sofa, walking up stairs.

Kakashi followed and Lilia took them past two shut doors that he assumed belonged to Kassia and Dean. She opened a third door and moved inside, switching a light on. Kakashi entered the room and looked around. It wasn't large but it certainly wasn't small. A double bed sat in the centre of the room and one wall had two large wardrobes, separated by a chest of drawers. All the furniture looked new and he could still smell the faint scent of paint.

"You're welcome to crash here. I am the last door at the end of the hall, Dean and Kassia are in the two rooms we passed and the bathroom is the next door on the right." Lilia stood in front of the bed and turned to smile at him. Kakashi said nothing, he simply nodded.

"Ok then. See you in the morning." Lilia walked passed him, briefly placing a hand on his bicep, and left the room. Kakashi only let out the breath he had been holding when he heard the soft click of her bedroom door opening and closing. He sighed and sat on the bed, rubbing a hand across his face.

It would have been so easy to kiss her.

The next morning Kakashi awoke to the smell of cooking bacon and eggs. He rolled on his side and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was just before eight in the morning. Kakashi groaned and rolled out of bed. He really should remember that he wasn't as capable at dealing with the aftermath of drinking as he used to be. Wrinkling his nose, he realized he had slept in his clothes. Now he would have to go back to his home before meeting the team later that day. Kakashi pulled his mask up over his nose, left his hitate where it was on the bedside table and headed downstairs.

Lilia was in the kitchen, dumping a pile of bacon and eggs onto two plates. She was dressed in a pair of loose fitting trousers and a vest top, her long hair was wet and tied into a messy bun.

"How are you so alive?" Kakashi groaned as he took a seat at the island. A cup of strong smelling coffee was shoved under his nose.

"Three sugars." Lilia said brightly. Kakashi grunted in surprise that she had remembered. "I suppose those few years between us makes all the difference when it comes to hangovers."

"It's not a hangover but the lack of sleep. It's only eight and I take it from your wet hair you have been up long enough to have already showered." Ignoring how hot the coffee was, Kakashi pulled his mask down and took a large sip.

"I have been up for about an hour already." Kakashi looked at her in surprise and Lilia shrugged. "I don't need much sleep."

Lilia placed a pile of bread on the island and pushed an empty plate toward him.

"I'm about to go and wake up Dean and Kass, it will probably take me a while so you might as well start eating." With that Lilia left the room and headed upstairs leaving Kakashi to place a few pieces of bacon between two slices of bread. He began eating, lost in his thoughts.

One thing Kakashi didn't suffer with was memory loss. No matter how much he drank he would always remember the night before with perfect clarity. That meant he could recall how much he had enjoyed talking with Lilia and how much he had wanted to kiss her. Attempting to examine his behavior logically, Kakashi decided it was simply too much alcohol that had been the cause of the feelings. Alcohol mixed with confusion over what their relationship was. Were they friends? Were they team mates? Were the acquaintances being forced to be civil?

A loud bang sounded from upstairs. Kakashi finished the last bite of his sandwich and replaced his mask as Dean trudged down the stairs. The large man looked half asleep still and Kakashi rose as he entered the kitchen, pouring a cup of coffee from the freshly brewed pot.

"Sugar?" He asked and Dean nodded, sitting in the chair Kakashi had vacated. Kakashi added a spoonful of sugar to the coffee and popped the cup in front of the man who crossed his arms on the island and lay his head on them.

Lilia entered the kitchen a short while later.

"Kassia won't be joining us for a while." There was a hint of laughter in her voice.

"She that bad?" Dean asked, finally sitting up straight and taking a sip of his coffee.

"Yeah, I have given her a big glass of water but not sure that it going to help anything." Lilia sat down at the island and placed a fried egg between two pieces of bread. Kakashi was certain they would have gone cold but Lilia didn't seem to mind. Dead helped himself to bacon before finally seeming to realize Kakashi was there.

He paused in his sandwich making and looked up sharply. Dean looked first to Kakashi and then to Lilia and back again. Kakashi raised an eyebrow and looked at Lilia who rolled her eyes and glared at Dean.

"Separate beds, don't start." Dean opened his mouth to comment but Lilia threw a piece of bread at him. Dean, wisely, remained silent but smirked at Lilia. Considering Kakashi's earlier confusion he didn't feel he wanted to be a part of this speculation. Lilia obviously felt the same way as she rose as soon as she had finished her breakfast. "Dean, keep an eye on Kass, I'm going to go to the stream to read for a little while." She dumped her plate in the sink and Kakashi noticed the plates from last night were still sat there. She always was a bit messy.

Lilia wandered into the living room and grabbed the book Kakashi had pulled out last night from the bookshelf. She glanced over at Kakashi.

"Do you want to come? There is a beautiful spot a bit further into the compound that is perfect for reading."

Kakashi shrugged. "Sure." He had plenty of time to kill now that he was awake. Lilia offered to wait for him whilst he went back upstairs and collected his hitate and book.

Lilia's reading spot was perfect. It was far enough removed from the village that little of the everyday noise could reach it and what little did was drowned out by the gentle sounds of the stream flowing. They sat on the grass in the shade of a tree, both with their backs leant against the trunk.

They stayed there for hours, enjoying being comfortable enough with someone else that conversation wasn't necessary. Eventually Dean and Kassia tracked them down and joined them. Neither of them read but just lay in the sun, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere.

Kakashi was almost disappointed when Lilia reminded him they were due at the training ground in a couple of hours. He was surprised how quickly the time had gone.

"Ah, I should probably go home then. I need to get changed and I wouldn't want to be late." Kakashi snapped his book shut and rose.

Lilia snorted a laugh. "Uh-huh." Kakashi offered a hand and Lilia grabbed it, using it to help pull her up. She sprang lightly to her feet and dusted herself off. "I'm going to make some lunch. Do you want some?"

Kakashi's stomach rumbled and Lilia laughed. He rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly at her, closing his eye. "Some lunch would be lovely."

"Yes, please!" Came the chorus from Dean and Kassia. They didn't move to get up from their spots in the sun, however.

"I assumed you two would want food." Lilia folded over the corner of her page to mark it. Kakashi couldn't help but wince. He hated it when people did that to books. Lilia either didn't see him wince or decided to ignore it. Most likely the latter. "If you guys want food you better come back to the house." She turned in the direction of the house and started walking.

Kakashi followed.

A/N - Hope you are all still enjoy the story! I appreciate all the love from you guys it makes me feel fuzzy :) please leave me a review, I love reading what you think!

- Quinn Thomas