Ladies
"I liked that little shop, with the large tree by the front." Rena held out her finger, and the plastic bags that hung from her forearm slid down to her elbow. "It just looked so sweet, and I felt inspired by the scenery." A snowflake landed on her finger, and she watched as it melted against her skin.
Elin pulled the purple hood of her jacket over her head, and began dispersing a thin layer of chakra over her exposed legs. "I thought it looked nice, but the location is far from the main street. New customers may have a hard time finding you."
That thought passed through the older woman's head, but Rena felt it wasn't enough of a reason to dismiss the potential of the location. "Just need to make sure I make the pastries extra good, so word of mouth can get me people all the way back there."
"Well, then you won't have much trouble after all."
The sun had just begun to set over Konoha when the dark gray clouds rolled in replacing one lovely spectacle with another. No one seemed bothered by the surprise change of plans from Mother Nature, and the falling snow didn't slow down the diligent populace. They still hung banners and prepped their windows with decorative lights. Elin took a particular liking to the paper lanterns that brightened the streets once the sun had done its job. From the homemade ones in the residential areas, to the more elaborate pieces down by the market. Each decorative object served as joyful tribute to their newfound appreciation for life, as they celebrated their first Winter's Arrival after a terrible war.
Rena slowed her pace as a cluster of restaurants came into view. "We should get a nice meal for dinner."
They survived their day on exotic street food and tall fruit drinks, but dinner time called for some formality. Rena wanted to sit with her younger companion and eat one last proper meal before saying goodbye. "What are you craving Elin?"
The younger woman looked around, tightening the flap of her hood over her neck to keep the wind from blowing it over her head. "I wonder if they would have drunken noodles in this village?"
Rena nodded clasping her hands. "I'm sure they do." And they began the journey to find a good plate of the foreign dish.
Rena had so much to say, but every time she looked over to Elin the words clumped in her throat until her mind gave up on wanting to speak. No matter what she said, how many sweet words she could string together and saturate in delicate feelings, the outcome would be the same. Once Elin returned to Faye and her memories were reinstated, Rena's words would just seem like lies.
How could she believe Rena loved her like her own child, when she chose her biological son over the girl she raised? Why should she trusts Rena's claim that things would get better, when her own son put her in this situation? Her heart swelled with worry just thinking about Elin returning to those conditions, and her not being there to offer the girl even a glimpse of solace.
"Rena-san?"
She felt a soft hand cup her shoulder and her eyes focused on Elin's worried face. "Sorry," she laughed nervously. "I just got carried away in my own thoughts. Did you find a place?"
Elin shook her head. They reached the end of the street, but she hadn't found any advertisement for her dish. "Maybe we should just-"
"Elin!"
Two waving figures rounded the corner and crossed the busy street. She returned the greeting to the familiar duo and smiled as they reached her.
"So glad we caught you," Ino breathed.
"And this is Kakashi's mother." Shizune added from behind Elin.
Each girl gushed over Rena's beauty, assuring the older woman that she looked too young to be his mother. Rena smiled and dismissed the compliments as humbly as she could, all the while saving them deep in her memory as a good reminder when she wanted to skip on her wrinkle creams.
"So, does Kakashi-sensei look a lot like you?" Ino queried boldly. They already found his girlfriend, if they could only get a glimpse under the mask, they would unravel the mystery that surrounded Hatake Kakashi. Somewhat at least.
"Oh no," she waved the girl off. "He looks exactly like his father. Just add my beauty mark to a younger picture of Sakumo's face, and you have Kakashi."
Sakura and Ino traded looks. It wasn't the same as seeing the real thing, but it could help them put Ayame's infatuation into context. They nodded in silent agreement. Their next trip to the Hokage's tower would be a fun one.
"Enough about that," Shizune cleared her throat. "Rena-san do you mind coming with me for a bit? We need some help with decorations for tomorrow and your son just isn't the most reliable in that department."
Ino and Sakura wrapped their arms around Elin. "And we need you to help us with some stuff too," Sakura chimed.
Rena hesitated a bit. "We were just about to have dinner..."
But Shizune already had that covered. "We'll get dinner for you before starting anything, but we're sort of short on time so we need to get going now."
By the time Rena looked over to Elin, the girls were already waving at her as they guided the dark haired inn maid with them. "I guess," the older woman shrugged.
Maybe she could use some time to prepare a decent goodbye for Elin.
"Wonderful!" Shizune led the way down the busy street. "Say Rena-san, do you have the keys to Kakashi's apartment?"
"I do."
"Perfect!" Shizune smiled at her companion. "We're going to need to make a quick stop over there before we do anything."
[*37*]
"You two know Kakashi-san really well, right?"
Elin sighed as Sakura's hold on her hair loosened to a more tolerable hold. The kunoichi had been toying with her hair for the better part of her stay in the girl's apartment, and at times she could get carried away with all the wonderful things she could do to such exotic hair. Elin had to remind her every so often that just because it felt stronger, didn't mean it didn't hurt to have it twisted and pulled.
"We do," Sakura replied smoothing out a braid. "Which is why you need to trust us when we say, he'll love it."
Elin had been apprehensive about their plan from the moment Ino began explaining it. Sakura didn't understood the big deal. Elin hadn't made the cut into the exclusive inauguration ceremony for Kakashi, but she would be joining the rest of the town as they greeted him in the plaza where the public celebration took place. Something about having him sneak off from what she deemed as very important duties, didn't sit right with her, and Sakura spent the night reassuring her guest that giving him a place to sneak off to was exactly the type of irresponsible thing Kakashi liked to do.
The inn maid felt the thin end of a rat tail comb cut a horizontal part across her scalp. The top section of her hair fell over her face, and she wondered what strange hairstyle would the medic be trying now. "Well I understand that. But I guess what I really want to know is..." She winced feeling Sakura gather her tresses into another ponytail. "When you kiss someone..." Elin sighed. Why couldn't her mind put these words together?
Sakura quickly picked up on her hesitation. "It could mean that the person has romantic feelings they want to express," she supplied.
Elin's hair was moved away from her eyes, just in time to see Ino step out of the closet. "Or they want to fuck you," she added matter of factly.
"Right!" The Faye native did her best to contain her enthusiasm. "How can you tell the difference?"
"Well..." Ino draped the two dresses she had picked out over her forearm. Such deep questions usually led to endless discussions, and then good makeup sex.
Elin didn't notice Sakura crawl her way in front of her until a set of wide green eyes obscured her vision of the blonde medic.
"Did Kakashi-sensei kiss you?"
The sound of Ino squealing and dropping her dresses on the pile of rejected options, filled the room.
"Yes, but we haven't spoken since. And all I've heard from you until now, is how it's normal for him to be very sexual towards women. So..." She bit her lip nervously. "I'm just confused."
Ino hurried to Sakura's side, pushing her aside to gain center stage in Elin's field of vision. "But the important thing is, what did he do after this kiss?"
The important thing was actually to see how they could use this to blackmail Kakashi into showing his face, but Sakura couldn't argue with Ino's question choice. The more details, the better for them.
"We stayed in the lawn chair on the balcony until I fell asleep."
The kunoichi traded glances. "That's it?"
Elin nodded.
Ino sat back with a heavy sigh. That didn't sound like the perverted sensei that the entire village had come to love and accept. Could her perfectly laid out network of little bees have been wrong with their intel on the level of his perversion? She brushed the disturbing thought aside. No way. The guy read porn on the streets for crying out loud. This was just a singular event prompted by Elin's innocent vibe, or something. As soon as she got comfortable with him, she'd be joining the 'Praise Kakashi in All His Sexual Glory' train. And Ino Yamaka had the perfect dress for that!
Sakura followed her girlfriend for a second, but returned her gaze to their guest for the night as Ino lost herself inside the closet again. She would spend hours there.
"Tomorrow you'll be completely alone with him, so take the time to feel out the atmosphere and see where it takes you." She could feel her stomach church at the thought of giving her secondary father figure's girlfriend relationship advice, but it was for a good cause. Kakashi-sensei deserved some good in his life, and if this woman could turn him from a perv to a romantic, well the kunoichi would be quite proud.
"So, how do I feel the atmosph-"
"This dress!"
Sakura rejected the proposal with a boisterous, "Like hell they're going to fuck in the dress I got you for your birthday!"
"Ah!" That's why the white lace dress looked so out of place in the blonde's closet. "See, I knew I loved it for a reason... I'll be back."
"The same way you felt it yesterday," Sakura answered tiredly. "That moment that led up to the kiss, it was just an impulse that felt right, no?"
Elin swallowed, her heart already beating at an accelerated speed. She breathed out. "Yeah."
"That's it!" Sakura beamed. "You felt the moment then, so try again tomorrow and see where it leads you."
"I see." That had been pretty easy yesterday night, but Elin knew tomorrow her nerves would clutch at her chest in the same manner they had done all day. Probably worst.
Sakura crawled back to her previous spot, and twirled a thin comb between her fingers. "Look I know his perverted side may be intimidating, but rest assured he's still very respectful." Elin's black locks slid through her fingers, and the Konoha native enjoyed the smooth and foreign texture against her skin. "That's the one thing I can guarantee from Kakashi-sensei; He's still an honorable man at the end of the day."
That sounded more like the man she had come to know during his stay at Divinity's Inn, and Elin felt some comfort in the young woman's words. She lowered her head as she felt the familiar tugging begin, and closed her eyes letting her mind wander as Ino emerged from the closet and engaged her girlfriend in some idle chatter.
Feel out the atmosphere... Maybe she would replay the memory of yesterday night in her head... For studying purposes of course.
[*37*]
The dewy grass varnished the leather of Rainy's brown boots as she walked from the main house to the pink storage barn in their backyard. It wasn't a long road, but the rare trip to a foreign town made the medic want to take full advantage of the sights that were so rare to a city girl such as herself.
She wanted to remember the crisp smell of winter over an open plain, the assorted melody of the many feathered creatures that fluttered through the cloudless morning sky, and the towering hills that seemed to be just a fingertip away. It all seemed so beautiful, so natural.
The sudden loud groan from the wooden door startled Rainy. It grew louder the further she pulled it apart and as soon as she saw her chance to slip through a decent sized crack, she did.
"What the-" Sari's blue eyes widened, and the little color held by her face vanished. "What are you doing here?" She finally asked.
"I'm here to win you back." Rainy didn't have it in her to beat around the bush.
The younger woman tilted her head, loosening her grip on the glue gun in her hand. "By trying to kill me with a heart attack?"
"Of course not." The sound of her heels on the dusty wooden floor echoed through the small space.
Sari pulled her legs closer as her former lover approached the counter.
"I thought you'd like this little surprise."
"Hmm." She slid the glue gun down the black cutout of a fairy, and stuck the design to the inside of a clear mason jar. "It's definitely unexpected."
The answer sounded good enough to Rainy. She cleared of a bit of the dust and hay, careful not to disturb Sari's crafting materials, before stepping on a stool on climbing on the stone counter. The medic felt the cold through her jeans, and she realized that it may have been the reason Sari had chosen a blanket to sit on.
"I'm sorry." Clean, short, and full meaning.
Sari reached for a crown of plastic flowers and a pair of scissors. "Things didn't work out with him?" Gently she cut around a daisy.
Rainy sighed taking in the view of the leather saddles, farming tools, and dusty barrels. The space felt so cramped, and yet so cozy. "We only kissed once, and I know it doesn't change how much it hurt our relationship, but I never got a chance to tell you that it never happened again."
Sari tucked a purple clematis at the base of her ponytail. "I guess that's a good thing." She cut another daisy from the crown and gathered up her selection.
"What do you want me to do Sari? I'm here, I'm open to-"
For the first time since accepting the presence of her ex lover in her safe haven, Sari looked up from her crafting project. Eyes saturated with intensity, the younger woman made Rainy feel like a frightened child.
"You messed up Rainy Kane, and on top of hurting me you want me to come up with a solution for your mistake?"
"Of course no-" Fuck! It hadn't been five minutes and her grand plan had gone to hell.
Sari breathed out, returning her gaze to the materials in front of her. She pulled a small can and worked the lid off. "For a second there, I felt hopeful," she admitted.
Rainy groaned, raking her nails through the mess of hair she had been too tired to fix. "I'm sorry," she tried again. "It's just that I'm an idiot, and you're always right about fixing things in the most romantic ways so I hoped to follow your lead."
Sari dipped a thin brush and began painting vertical glue stripes on the jar. "If you don't win me over, then this is good practice for leading yourself through a mess," the author replied. "And if you do, then it's good practice to help me out, because I don't plan on carrying the burden of romance for the both of us in the long run."
Her pure and gentle voice made Rainy's heart melt. Maybe she needed to spend her holidays in a secluded barn from now on, specially if she would end up as level headed and cool as her companion.
"Really, I'll sponsor you if you decide to switch to a science related field." She smiled.
"I'll stick to literature, thank you very much."
Carefully she filled the outer layer of the jar with thin strips of glue and Rainy watched with curious eyes as she wrapped a white sheet over it. She pressed it against the jar, turning and twisting it until it fit just right.
Rainy sighed leaning against the cool wooden wall. She always felt like the student when Sari spoke in the simplest yet wisest words. And now, as she watched her former lover complete her crafting project, the medic knew Sari was just waiting for her to put all she learned throughout their relationship to good use. Just like any good teacher when she loved her student.
"It shouldn't have taken such drastic measures for me to appreciate what we had, but I'll hold the mistake close as a reminder of just how low in the stupid spectrum I could reach." Rainy closed her eyes. "Now I can't promise that I'll ever reach your level of romanticism, but I've already made it my goal, and we both know just how ambitious I am when it comes to reaching those."
"What good are your ambitious goals to me if I have to worry about an ex lover who has so much power over you?"
"He doesn't have any powers over me," she clarified. "I love you, and I can say that without an ounce of hesitation." And while looking straight at the lavender haired woman, even if her eyes refused to rise and meet Rainy's.
For a person who had craved those words for so long, Sari felt quite out of place. She wanted to keep her composure, but the blood rushing to her face gave away her nerves in the form of a bright, pink mist. The way she smiled, and her hands tightening around the base of the jar, over the white cloth, none of that she could control.
Rainy sat up, ready to continue enforcing her momentum. "Our story is done, and we're both happily conscious about it. You know who he's in love with?"
Her eyes shot up, joyful to have a moment of distraction.
"Elin."
Rainy slid to the edge of the counter and Sari gasped.
"Oh my..."
She landed on the floor with a loud 'thump', bringing them both to the moment at hand. "We can talk about them later" she proposed kicking the stepping stool closer to the other woman. "But now I want to continue focusing on us."
Her figure towered over Sari's, and it took the younger woman all her willpower not to laugh. They were in the middle of a critical bridge, closing in on the relationship she always wanted for them. And yet just having her stand so close, her warm, trembling skin just a touch away, and the promises of a future together hanging from her lips...
"What do you want from us?" Sari had to verify just one more time that this wasn't a dream, that they were speaking the same language, and wanted the same thing.
Rainy didn't hesitate. "First, to acknowledge that we are in a proper relationship. That you're my girlfriend, and I'm your girlfriend, and we should have more than just a drawer in each other's room."
Sari let her hand be taken, and she even turned to her companion. She had never been shy before, and yes she may have been startled earlier, but the moment felt too good to not dedicate her full attention to.
"So you want to move in together?"
Rainy shrugged, softly running her thumb over the smooth skin of her partner's hand. Sari had always been comfortable with the idea of sharing one living space, and took the medic some time, but now she somewhat understood the benefits of nurturing a relationship under one roof.
"I think it's a logical step in our transition towards a more stable relationship." It was the answer her companion had been looking for, and Rainy almost melted as she felt the hands of her lover snake around her waist.
Sari rested her head on Rainy's chest, and they both released a tense breath that had been stuck in their chest for over a week now. "I've always resisted the urge to clip the real estate announcements in the newspaper." Oh but she'd make up for it now. As soon as she could get her hands on a newspaper from Faye, Sari would start looking.
Rainy tightened her grip around her lover, kissing the top of her head gently. She missed scent of her hair, which now carried a bit of nature's own aroma, so much. It was rather appealing to the senses. "Go wild," she laughed. "Within a restrained budget."
Renting in a nice area, plus decorating, and buying appliances would be rather costly with just Rainy's income, but she'd try her best to let her girlfriend feel satisfied with their new living environment.
Sari nodded quietly.
Maybe she had been too impulsive in forgiving Rainy that day, but Sari had been trying to work through that fault of hers for some time now. She still felt proud that she stood her ground in the first encounter after the incident. The fact that she could do that and not be the first to look for Rainy counted as a note of progress. But she missed the hard headed medic, and wanted nothing more than to hear a heartfelt apology coupled with a clear cut promise that it would never happen again. Her wake up call had been heard clearly, and Sari could finally admit to feeling relieved.
"How about we go to Ame to wait out the New Year?"
The younger woman chuckled getting lost in the soft feel of Rainy's fingers running through her hair.
"I swear I won't mope if you choose to write instead of cuddling me when it's thundering."
Rainy felt the vibration of a joyful laugh against her chest.
"That a yes?"
Sari nodded tightening her hold around her partner's waist. She would give her points for exceeding expectations on her first day. But Sari always knew Rainy had that potential. Even as an emotional dunce, Rainy was still a genius, and when she truly loved something, she dedicated herself whole.
"Yes."
And that's all the young author had ever wanted.