The walk to his apartment was long, much longer than it had ever seemed before. His hand went to his pocket, fishing for his key and shoving it in the lock when he finally stopped in front of his door. He could hear a melody coming from behind the door. It was a very familiar song, one that he'd come to almost crave to hear in the past few months. It calmed him, made him feel happy. It was her voice, his love. His heart clenched in anticipation of seeing her.
Her voice got louder when he swung open the door, her voice a ray of light in his darkness. He followed it, his tired body screaming at him to just sit down.
She was in their kitchen, wearing only a long shirt. His shirt. Her hair was tied into a sloppy bun on the top of her head, a few unruly pieces falling and curling around her face. Her face was bare and on her nails was a fresh coat of red polish. She was beautiful this way, more beautiful than anything he'd seen in all his years. She didn't hear him come in, not over the song she was singing. She kept dancing, a piece of fruit in hand. She twirled a few times and came to stop just in front of him, her eyes wide.
"Kakashi," she whispered, slightly out of breath. She stepped back an inch and dropped the apple onto the counter with a thud. "When - when did you get home?"
He leaned heavily against the counter, his eyes crinkled in a genuine smile. "Just now. I wanted to enjoy the show while I could."
Her face and chest burned red and she crossed her arms over her chest. Kakashi just chuckled and pulled her against him, crossed arms and all. He could smell the soap she'd used to bathe in, the scent of vanilla wafting over him like a wave. She was warm and soft and Kakashi didn't think he'd ever felt anything so comforting. Finally she unwound her arms and placed them around his neck, hugging him back just as tightly.
"I missed you," she whispered. "I know it was only a short mission but I did."
Kakashi rubbed her back with his gloved hand softly. "I missed you too," he admitted. "I'm home now, though, and more than ready for a shower, don't you think?"
She pulled back slightly, their arms still wrapped around each other, and crinkled her nose. "I was wondering if you were going to say something about that," she joked. "I'll go run you a bath. Who knows, maybe I'll join you when you've cleaned yourself up a bit."
Kakashi smiled again. "Could I be that lucky?"
She leaned forward and rubbed his masked nose with her own. She pulled away from him and padded toward the bathroom, turning to give him a playful wink. "Only one way to find out, handsome."
"Well," Kakashi said, more to himself than anything, "who could refuse that offer?"