Belated KakaSaku Week 2014:
- Heat Wave -
~ I wanted to dedicate this to Sunblaze24 and PervyOtaku. You both inspire me in more ways than one, especially these past few months which I haven't been at my best. So thank you for that ~
/ Warning: May have manga spoilers /
After opening every window of her apartment, Sakura sighed after a few minutes in dismay finding that it was absolutely making no difference to help alleviate the rising summer heat within her home.
Stepping out into her small balcony that had a small shade thanks to the apartment's balcony above her, she dragged out an old wooden lounge chair that was pushed aside and took a seat. Taking in the never ending sharp sounds of cicadas surrounding the complex, she began feeling rather sleepy regardless of having slept in this morning during her short summer break. Wiping away some of the sweat from her brow, she cringed when she felt a bead slip down her neck and trickle towards her spine.
"This is the worst summer ever," she muttered in misery, staring off towards the burning orange hues of the sun that glittered through the trees.
Konoha was known to get pretty warm in the summer like the other villages in there area, but never in her life had it gotten this hot before. She could barely stand it, and neither could her air conditioner unit it seemed. It was working fine a couple of days ago before it suddenly began to blow hot air. Now it didn't even want to turn on and her landlord seemed to be taking his sweet time getting maintenance to come by and fix it.
Melting into chair, her line of sight now hovered over the edge of her balcony wall to see the building across from her. A dark green curtain had closed just in that moment, causing her to raise a suspicious brow.
"Perverted Kakashi," she dryly joked to herself.
It truly was a joke since she seemed to be more of a pervert than he ever was despite his infamous choice of reading material. Sneaking a peek through the blinds of her window from time to time, she was usually disappointed to find him boringly reading in the living room of his apartment. She supposed it was wishful thinking to catch the man without his mask, but still after all these years a girl had to foolishly hope.
When she originally picked this place she didn't realize that he was living just across from her, but was later happy that she did. They had become closer friends after the war, and they tended to run into each other often enough to catch up and have a random lunch here and there, even sometimes going grocery shopping together which he always complained he dreaded doing every week by himself, so he would go with her more often than not if he saw that she was heading towards the market. She always enjoyed his company when he came, and some days even looked forward to it.
Hearing a soft rustle of leaves scatter from a nearby tree, she saw something large appear in the corner of her eye.
"Yo," Kakashi greeted, touching down on the balcony's floor before extending a cup to her. "You looked thirsty… and slightly dying."
Sakura tried to suppress a small chuckle. "Only slightly," she added with a smile, gladly accepting the drink. Finding it ice cold, she immediately placed it just above the diamond on her forehead. "Ahh, that feels better, thank you."
"I'm guessing your air conditioner isn't working?" he asked, curiously glancing his single eye around at all the open windows. "Or are you just trying to get heat exhaustion?"
"Yes it isn't working, and no I was hoping for a breeze."
"Might need to pray in this humidity," he mused.
Rolling her green eyes, she sat up when he started to make his way inside. "Are… you going to try and fix it for me?" she asked unsurely. "Do you know anything about A/Cs?"
"Perhaps," he replied mysteriously.
Following him into the living room, she quietly watched as he kneeled down and opened the outer plastic cover of the window unit. Glancing to the snug band of the eye patch that covered over his lost sharingan, it still took some time getting used to even after it being nearly a over a year now.
The words were always at the tip of her tongue in concern in wondering how he felt about it – if he was used it or even liked it. He had to change his fighting style slightly, but he seemed to adapt quickly to it when she last saw him train. After knowing all that she did about Obito, she never could seem to find the courage to ask him straight out. For a few months after the war, he didn't speak to anyone unless he absolutely had to. It wasn't until she learned about his history with his former teammate that could she even barely begun to understand how he might have felt. Then the losses that the entire village and allied nations suffered on top of that… it was hard on everyone.
She felt awful in a lot of ways during that time. At least with the lives she tried to save, she had some peace knowing she did everything in her power to help them. But she felt useless that she couldn't help someone who she very much cared for who was hurting on the inside. There never could be enough words to say what she wanted to, but she did the best that she could as a friend and former student.
As the months went on, she began to slowly discover who was the man beyond the bright orange wall of his Icha Icha books. It was nice being able to talk with him about something other than missions like they mostly did in the past. They were truly becoming friends.
Kakashi cleared his throat, making a long hum sound which broke into her thoughts. Glancing to find him lightly poking at the air filter as if it that was helping identifying the problem, next he wiggled the front plastic vent back and forth before finally jiggling the on and off switch several times.
"Yep, it's what I feared," he somberly spoke.
"…What?"
"It's broke."
She sighed. "Thanks for the diagnoses, Kakashi."
"You're welcome, Sakura-chan. All in a day's work." He smiled beneath his mask. "In all seriousness I can't really help, but what I can do is offer you to stay at my place until you get it fixed at least. Unless you like…" He wafted his fingers through the thick warm air. "This sauna feeling you have going on here."
"Not exactly," she laughed. "But I don't want to intrude on you though…"
"I do have a spare bedroom I don't use, so it's really not a problem at all."
Glancing to the floor in thought, she had been over enough times to know that much was true. He used it mostly as storage since he didn't have any reason for another bed, but she could make do with just her sleeping bedroll she used on missions. "Well… if you really don't mind, I would appreciate it then."
"You will have to pay rent though."
She looked up in surprise. "What!?"
"Kidding, kidding," he repeated with wave.
Pretending to be upset, she feigned a sigh once more before going into her bedroom to stuff a few spare clothes into a single bag. After grabbing a few other small personal items, she closed her windows with Kakashi's help before they set off towards his place across the street.
When they arrived, Sakura dropped her bag beside the couch before practically falling into the cushions to enjoy the current cool air circulating around the room. Leaning her head back, she sighed in relief. "You're a life saver."
"I'm no medic-nin," he nonchalantly replied with an eye-crinkle of a smile. "So, just help yourself to whatever you need. I'm going to clean up the spare room a little bit for you."
Sitting up, she began to protest, "Ah, Kakashi you don't have to trouble yourself. I can do it."
He began pushing the white wooden door open to the room which seemed to be blocked by something heavy on the other side. Hitting the door several times with his shoulder before he could squeeze inside, he said, "Trust me, you'll want me to."
"I think you're right," she lightly laughed. Sitting up and feeling the damp sweat against her shirt, she realized she must be pretty gross. "Mind if I use your shower?"
"Go for it. There are some towels in the bottom cabinet."
"Thank you."
Once he closed the door behind him to begin his cleaning, Sakura stood up from the couch and grabbed her bag to head into the bathroom. The cool water felt great against her warm skin, washing the day's grime away. When she was finished, she dressed into some casual shorts and a white camisole top. Wrapping her wet pink hair up into a bun with a single clip, she exited with her bag to find Kakashi stirring through a few things in the kitchen.
"Can… I help with anything?" she asked, standing up slightly on her toes to peer over the kitchen's counter. She could see him crouching at the base of the refrigerator.
He hummed. "Well, I have some bad news…"
"Let me guess… no food?" she replied, dropping her duffle bag back beside the couch.
"Bingo… Unless a half spoiled banana counts."
"Gross, and I'm not surprised," she teased. "Let's head to the market in a bit then."
Kakashi tossed the rotting fruit away it in the trash, nodding in agreement. "Sounds good to me."
By the time they arrived back to his apartment from the store, night had fallen around them. Much to her disappointment the lingering stifling heat of the day just wouldn't seem to let up even in the darkness.
Taking a deep breath of the clean cool air when she stepped inside, she happily sighed. "Yep, you're definitely a life saver. I would be withering away in my apartment right now. I need to make it up to you for this."
"It's really no problem, Sakura," he said with a modest laugh, waving off her thanks as he flicked on the lights in the living room. He looked in surprise when he felt the three bags he was holding suddenly disappeared from his hand.
"Let me try and repay you with a home cooked dinner, hum?" she simply said before making off towards the kitchen.
Hands in pockets, he casually shrugged. "I suppose long as you promise it's edible."
Glaring, she shook her head. "Can we please forget the one horrible dish I made over six years ago?"
He gave her a serious look which caused her to be concerned, but only for a fleeting moment before he humorously seemed to be blanking out as if he was reliving a horrible memory. "I try to forget… everyday," he murmured.
When he failed to hide a smirk beneath his mask, she crumbled a paper towel and threw it at him. "Shush, you."
Turning her attention to the bags of vegetables before her, she began to prepare them for washing over the sink. A small flicker of light above her caused her to pause, but gasped when the lights suddenly turn off after hearing a small pop in the distance.
Pitch black, she fumbled her hands towards the unfamiliar tiled edge of the counter. "The hell?"
"You alright?" Kakashi asked in concern.
"Yeah, I'm okay… I just literally can't see anything."
"You and me both," he sighed. "Looks like the entire village's electricity went out. Stay where you are... I have some candles in one of the cabinets."
Biting her lip, she wondered if she should help search for them, but figured he would be able to find them faster than she ever could right now in the dark. Staying still, she listened to his approaching footsteps and occasional bumps into furniture which was followed by cursing.
It made her inwardly giggle.
"Are you… laughing?" he suddenly accused aloud.
Immediately slapping a hand over her mouth in surprise, she wondered if she had chuckled out loud without realizing it. Her cheeks instantly became flushed. "…No."
Kakashi skeptically hummed, continuing once more from the living room towards the kitchen.
Feeling his hand caress across her back, her heart stopped when she felt a tingle sweep up her spine.
"Ah, sorry," Kakashi casually apologized, immediately maneuvering around her while trying not to bump into her again.
"D-don't worry about it. No worries," she stuttered out a bit too quickly, immediately feeling like an idiot saying not to worry about it twice.
Touching her burning red cheeks, she felt rather thankful for the black out so that he couldn't see her so caught off guard. It wasn't very often they would touch besides a playful punch or friendly pat when they went out, but when he did it never failed to make her heart skip a beat.
After torturing herself with conflicted reasons of trying to figure out how she truly felt about her former sensei, she realized how much had changed between them throughout their history together. It wasn't as if she suddenly had developed feelings for him out of the blue. It was the gradual process of their relationship evolving throughout the years. Then before she knew it, every time she heard the mention his name or saw him in a crowd, she couldn't help but smile.
Sakura certainly had a crush on him, but always managed to keep her feelings in check for the sake of their friendship. It was too hard to imagine him ever feeling the same way towards her. She was convinced that there was just no way. Never in a million years. Not that she had any idea how to tell if he did like someone, but she was pretty certain. She was too scared to even ask about his former or current love life by thinking she would somehow give away her secret feelings. It was probably the only subject they didn't talk about.
Besides, if he did like her, then he wouldn't be so casual about inviting her to stay the night. Wouldn't any normal guy try to forcefully swoon their way with her into the bedroom? Not to mention the fact he spent half an hour cleaning up his spare room just for her to sleep in by herself. Other men would probably make excuse for her to sleep in the same room, peeking at her during her shower or who knows what else. He didn't care because he only saw her as a friend.
Right?
He was always a gentleman around her, and deep down she had to admit she felt slightly disappointed by it. She was forever a friend. Forever a former student.
Jumping at hearing the strike of a match, she turned to see Kakashi carefully lighting a candle. Once he blew out the match and placed it on the counter, he knelt back down to the opened cabinet he was standing in front of, pulling out a few more small candles out of a small box before getting up again.
He hummed. "I think I have a few lanterns around here somewhere."
"I can finish lighting these while you look search for the lanterns if you like. And um… about dinner…" She bit her bottom lip in thought for a moment. "I guess I'll have to make sandwiches instead. Is that okay?"
Scratching the back of his silver hair, he nodded. "Yeah, that's more than fine, Sakura. I'll go see if I can find a few more lights."
After he disappeared into the darkness with lone candle to light his way, Sakura arranged the few that were left behind around the kitchen and living room to better see the space before making their dinner. By the time Kakashi had returned, he managed to find one lantern which he placed on the dining table for them to share.
Placing their sandwiches on the table, Sakura sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck which was uncomfortably beginning to sweat and itch. "I hope they'll be able to get to electricity up and running again soon."
"I hope so, too," he replied, taking a seat at the table while he motioned for her to do the same. "Thank you for dinner, Sakura-chan."
She made a depressed sigh, poking at the edge of her sandwich. "It's hardly what I call dinner."
"Hey, I'm not too picky… and now I can rest easy."
Taking the chair beside him, she looked up with a raised brow. "Rest easy?"
"Very high chance it will be edible," he teased.
Grunting with a glare, she pulled his plate back towards her. "No dinner for you now."
"I was just kidding."
"Apologize."
"I apologize," he replied, lightly drumming his fingers on the table towards the plate for her to return it. "Pretty please, Sakura-chan."
Coyly smiling, she wordlessly pushed it back towards his hands. His fingers briefly brushed against her own, causing her to immediately retract back as if she had just touched fire. Fumbling her hands back to her dish, she tried to play it off like her sudden reaction was meant to pick up her sandwich.
Intently staring down towards her plate to hide the sudden warmth of her cheeks, she could swear she could feel his lone eye critically watching over her as silence stretched between them. Her heart tightened.
What if he knew how she felt?
Mustering the strength to look up, she found him facing towards the shadows. Seeing that the food from his plate had disappeared, she assumed he was quietly eating it. Her heart eased slightly, turning her focus back to her own plate until several more minutes passed.
Why won't he say anything?
Whatever positive mood he was in seemed to have dropped completely. She was beyond confused why. Was it something she said? Was it the sandwich? It wasn't that bad, was it?
Nearing the final bites of her dinner, she took in a deep breath before asking, "Did… I do something wrong?"
"Huh?" Returning towards her after pulling his mask back up in place, he said, "No… why would you… Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize how quiet I was. I was just thinking." Sitting up from his chair, he reached over to grab her empty plate. "I'll take care of the dishes. It was very delicious by the way."
"Oh, okay… and thanks," she murmured, feeling a bit strange and a little empty as she watched him carry the dishes over to the kitchens sink. Wanting to pry further of what exactly he was apparently thinking about, she looked down towards the table, tracing the patterns of the wood's finish with her fingertips. As the water of the sink turned on, she tried to begin, "Um, so…"
"-I think I'm going to hit the hay early," Kakashi cut in, clanking the dishes as he washed them. "But um, like I said before feel free to use whatever you need."
He probably didn't hear her trying to say something…
Intertwining her fingers together, she placed her hands below her chin before looking up with a pressed smile. "Oh, okay."
After turning the faucet off, he quickly placed the dishes on the drying rack before offering her an eye-crinkle of a smile. "Goodnight, Sakura."
"Night, Kakashi."
She watched as he took a candle before slipping into his darkened bedroom, closing the door tightly shut behind him. Her smile faded.
Trying not to feel upset, she couldn't just shake this feeling that she had done something wrong. Unclipping her hair to let it fall around her face, her hands slowly slipped into the pink strands as she sunk towards the table. Taking in a deep breath, she felt a bead of sweat roll down her forehead and towards her nose.
Dragging the chair back, she sat up and walked towards her bag that was left by the couch to bring it to her room that Kakashi had prepared for her to stay in. Blowing out the rest of the candles except the lantern to use, she stepped inside the bedroom and saw that a futon that had been prepared for her.
Feeling a bit guilty as she glanced to her bag which had her sleeping roll, she placed aside and kneeled on top of the futon. It was a bit hard to see in the dim flickering light of her lantern, but she could make out a neat pile of various boxes and bins carefully stacked at the other side of the room to give her more ample space.
Carefully setting the lamp down in the middle of the floor, she blew out the flame before curling into the bed. She had hopes she would feel somewhat cooler after changing into the clothes she picked after her shower, but against the warm heat it hardly seemed to help at all.
She sighed, rolling to the other side as she forced her eyes shut. How was she going to sleep through this?
A few minutes passed before she opened them again, feeling sweat form across body. She shifted her position several times, feeling comfortable for a few fleeting moments before feeling uncomfortable again.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed as she stared towards the black ceiling above while tossing and turning, but she felt so miserable in more ways than one. Hearing footsteps stir outside in the small hallway, she slowly sat up and brought her knees to her damp chest, wondering if she should bother him.
Tired of the heat and sitting around, she stood up and cautiously made her way through the dark to the bedroom's door. Cracking it open, she peeked through to find a small glowing amber of a light that had Kakashi's tall silhouette moving along the walls towards the kitchen.
Stepping out, she shyly fiddled her fingernails as she approached.
"Can't sleep either, eh?" Kakashi asked.
"Not even a wink," she replied.
"Come here," he said, motioning for her to stand beside him in front of the refrigerator.
Confused at first, she crossed her arms as she walked towards him. She watched as he opened the freezer, taking out what looked like a dark blue ice tray.
"This will probably all melt by the time morning comes," he explained as he popped out a decent sized cube, holding it out for her to take. "Might as well not waste it."
Accepting it, the ice was already quickly melting inside of her warm cupped hands. Placing it against her forehead, she groaned in sweet relief. "That feels so much better, thank you."
Taking one for himself, he placed the tray back inside the freezer before placing the small ice cube against his own forehead. "Not a problem," he murmured, glancing to her with a faint look of regret. "Sorry about all this…"
"About what?" she asked.
"My place didn't turn out much better."
"Unless you made the power go out, it's not your fault at all, Kakashi," she said with a small laugh. "I do appreciate it though… for trying."
Nodding, his eye lingered to hers before forming an appreciative smile beneath his mask. Turning towards the freezer again, he opened it to grab another pair of ice cubes. "Here you go," he offered.
Taking it, she began to run the dripping ice along her damp neck, slowly sliding it across her collarbone and over the small spaghetti strap of her shirt to her shoulder. Switching it towards her spine, she grumbled at the curse of her short arms. "Could you get my back? If you don't mind of course…"
"Oh, um… sure," Kakashi replied, looking a bit hesitant as she turned around in front of him while pushing aside her hair. Using the ice he already had in his other palm, he barely pressed it across the top of her back as if she was as fragile as porcelain.
"You can do it a little harder," she encouraged, hearing him strangely clear his throat in response. Closing her eyes, she felt the sharp cold burn against her skin slowly dance across her back, causing her to quietly gasp and wiggle from the tingle every time he found new untouched skin.
Before she knew what hit her, Sakura's heart was beginning to flutter within her chest at a rapid pace as his fingertips would brush along her spine with the ice. Leaning unconsciously against his touch, she quickly began to realize this was a horrible idea when her knees felt weak.
She was getting turned on, and was having a hard time trying to fight it. Hiding her feelings for so long, this wasn't the time or the place to become unraveled by something so meaningless.
Feeling his hand casually dip behind the fitted fabric of her shirt to reach more of her spine, she bit her bottom lip thinking how close she was going to lose her mind.
"Sakura…"
Opening her eyes half way to find his lone one staring down above her, only then did she realize she seemed to have pressed herself completely against his chest. Fear immediately welled up inside of her, opening her mouth to say something, anything, but no words would fall out.
He sounded shocked as he strained to say, "I-I never thought… you…"
Mortified, she pulled away out of embarrassment, but before she could even get two steps away towards the door, he had grabbed her wrist and spun her towards him.
Taking in a breath to protest, her eyes widened in disbelief when he suddenly leaned in and pressed his masked lips against hers. Feeling the fabric slip away between them, she was fairly convinced that she must had been dreaming or delirious from the heat, but didn't want to wake up from whatever this was as she eagerly kissed back.
Their exchanged kisses were slow and unsure at first as she strained her neck and pushed from her tippy-toes to keep meeting his lips, never realizing exactly how much taller he was than her before. He leaned more forward, slipping his lips down to the nape of her neck which prompted her to gasp and shudder in delight, clenching her fingers against his chest to pull him even impossibly closer.
Kakashi's hands found their way to the small of her back beneath her shirt, his fingers still cold and damp from the melted ice that he slipped across her skin just a moment earlier. Feeling herself being lifted and placed on the kitchen's counter, she took the opportunity to wrap her legs around his hips.
Pulling his sleeveless shirt up from up and over his head, the mask that he had pulled down was tossed away along with it on the floor. She had always daydreamed about what he looked like for years, but nothing could have ever prepared her to how charming his smile was.
Reaching up as he hovered over her to kiss her, she gently cupped her hands against his bare cheeks and traced the most adorable dimples which brought a grin to her face.
"What?" he sternly whispered, casting a serious look which greatly contrasted from the playful lopsided smile he failed to hide.
Nervously biting the edge of her lip, she said, "Your smile… it's very charming."
He chuckled, leading a trail of kisses along her throat towards her lips. "Are you trying to flatter me, Ms. Haruno?"
Stealing a kiss, she replied, "Maybe."
"Are you trying to seduce me, Ms. Haruno?" he huskily asked, shifting his fingers beneath her shirt to explore across her lean stomach.
She grinned. "Maybe."
The End
[ Author Note: I'm not sure how cruel I am just leaving it there, but I think yall can use your imaginations, right? :0 (and this was supposed to be a drabble…Just never happens)
This was meant for KakaSaku week which was going on in the beginning of June. I really meant it when I said you can post these themes whenever. *fist pumps at my nearly two month delay*
Hope yall enjoyed it in someway and thanks for reading. ]
