Author's Note: This was supposed to be a little 300 word drabble for a break while working on a requested piece but it kind of turned into its own thing.

Sweat burned Sakura's eyes as she dodged to the right. Kakashi followed on the balls of his feet, agile as a cat. She ducked beneath his jab, pirouetted to the side. and struck his shoulder. At least, she should have connected. Somehow, Kakashi dropped into a roll with fingers braced on the ground. The shift in gravity gave him the opportunity to sweep Sakura's feet from beneath her.

Air exploded from Sakura's lungs when she hit the ground. She paused there for a moment, admiring the brilliant blue overhead while struggling to breathe. Then, ignoring Kakashi's outstretched hand, she sprang onto her feet. "Again."

Kakashi started to speak, but Sakura shoved him backward with a punch toward the solar plexus. His chin jerked up, throwing sweaty silver hair out of his eyes as his arms crossed high to ward off the next attack. A flash of red at Kakashi's hips caught Sakura's attention as he flexed. She landed in a half crouch starting at the place where the color had disappeared.

The impact of the man's kick sent Sakura sprawling across the ground. Kakashi's surprised grunt echoed over her ringing ears when she finally slid to a halt. He appeared at her side in an instant, frowning. "Why didn't you dodge?"

Sakura shook her head to clear the fuzzy thoughts, fighting the blush that threatened to rise on her cheeks. She pointedly didn't look at Kakashi's hip, now covered in charcoal fabric instead of the tantalizing strip of red. "I was distracted."

"Distractions will get you killed in battle," Kakashi observed, teasing lilt entering his voice now that he realized Sakura was okay. He brought one hand up between them. "How many fingers do you see?"

Sakura shoved to her feet and dusted the grass off of her shorts. "Enough to remember that I know more about concussions than you do."

Kakashi's chuckle ended abruptly when Sakura launched herself forward. He blocked three quick strikes toward his midsection, allowed the fourth graze his ribs, then caught Sakura's wrist as she tried to spin away. She used the momentum, bringing a knee up between his legs. The pressure on her arm disappeared as Kakashi flipped backward to avoid the connection.

The fabric of Kakashi's shirt rode up, revealing the cut of his hips and the unmistakable red that hugged both sides. Sakura barely noticed the peek of hard abdominal muscles alongside the foreign color. Kakashi pulled his follow-up punch at the last second, fingers inches away from Sakura's cheek. He exhaled hard at the effort of stopping and stumbled into her. "You're going to get hurt if you don't start paying attention."

If you only knew. I'm paying too much attention. Sakura mentally shook herself and danced backward two steps. Her gaze slid to Kakashi's partially hidden face and heat rushed into her cheeks. The world spun. Before Sakura could come up with a proper excuse, he closed the distance between them. "It's too hot to train, your face is so red-."

"Just like your boxers?" Sakura blurted, unable to erase the image of Kakashi's hips from her mind. Her hands clasped over her mouth to halt any other revelations from slipping out.

Kakashi stopped short, his forehead furrowing at the words. Sakura considered sinking into the ground and disappearing with an earth jutsu, but she couldn't make her mind work enough to form the signs. Kakashi offered a tight eye smile. "We better call it a day and let you get some rest. You aren't making any sense."

Could it be that easy, Sakura wondered, clutching at straws of hope. Faking heatstroke was preferable to admitting that her entire world had ground to a halt at the glimpse of Kakashi's-No, don't think about it. Sakura nodded quickly and rubbed a hand across her sweaty face. An uncomfortable warmth settled in her stomach when he slid an arm over her shoulders to steady her.

They walked in companionable silence until they reached the village. Sakura's convenient escape to her apartment was imminent when Kakashi chuckled in the back of his throat. The sound carried more amusement than Sakura was used to. "I thought red was your favorite color."

Sakura opened her mouth to respond but no words came out. Vaguely, she wondered if she could disappear without answering. She could pretend to faint keeping with the heatstroke alibi. but Kakashi would wait until she woke up and that would be a whole other level of awkward. Slowly, logic broke through her embarrassment. "Wait, were you expecting me to see them?"

"No," Kakashi laughed, pink skimming above his mask as he stepped backward. Wariness stood out in his shoulders, but playfulness as well "It was a coincidence."

Humming under her breath, Sakura nodded. She started to turn away, then paused and looked back at Kakashi. He offered a sheepish smile that she could read despite the mask. Sakura grinned and stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "My favorite color is green, just so you know."

Kakashi's stunned silence met a swirl of leaves as Sakura shunshined to her apartment. She couldn't face that conversation, not today. But, one day soon, maybe-