Author's Notes: I'm unreliable. I'm trying. I'm improving.
Also I have a special place in my heart for honest love stories, and that's what I'm hoping this can be for all of you.
You're ripped at every edge but you're a masterpiece.
There was nothing quite like home, Nora thought to herself, pushing open the wrought iron gates. Nothing like a fresh breeze brushing against her skin, the crisp autumn air coursing through her lungs. A tree to her left had outgrown her since she'd planted it ten years ago. Its branches curved overhead, the leaves just in the beginning stages of brown, red, gold, and orange. She'd picked the best time of year to come home.
She cringed each time her white shoes kicked up dust. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before heading for the Hokage Office, fighting a desperate urge to gather up the pleated skirt in her hands. It wasn't brushing against the dust but pulling it up soothed the fear of ruining the burgundy fabric.
She was no longer with her family, she told herself. It was no matter if her shirt had a slight wrinkle in it or if her shoes were dirty. Still, when she arrived home, she would scrub the clothes until they were spotless.
No. She wouldn't have to. Kicking off her shoes, she gathered them in her hands and walked into the plush grass surrounding the ten-year-old tree. She'd wanted to go straight to her family's abandoned home, but it was still early in the day and the weather was beautiful.
Noting the lack of moisture on her feet, she dropped her bag and nestled in the grove of the tree. There was nothing like a crisp, autumn day to fill her lungs and fling her hair. As she sat, a leaf, brown with death, fluttered to the ground. Before it could reach the dust, it gracefully landed in an open hand.
"I'll stop loving you the minute this tree dies," he'd spoken back then, as if it were the easiest words to say. He had patted the mound of dirt once more before standing and clapping way the excess dirt.
She'd given a half-hearted smile. "You should be careful, Iru. Such words are rather powerful."
He'd wrapped a dirty arm around her, diminishing the gaping hole between them with a solemn kiss. "I mean it, Nora. I'll never stop loving you."
She'd kissed him back, leaving the words "I love you too," on his lips. It was the best she could give him. Forever was a long time.
It was a different time, yet she, herself wasn't so different now than she was then. Though the younger version of her didn't cringe at the sight of dirt quite as much.
Digging in her bag, she pulled out a small orange book and opened to the bookmarked page. Pink tinted her cheeks as she reread the paragraph she'd left off on. It wasn't a tasteless book by any means, but she couldn't stop turning the pages.
Sometime in the middle of a very specific scene, the hair on her arms raised. It went on for a few more pages, before she closed it with a sigh, and slipped it between the clothes in her bag.
The sun had climbed higher into the sky, nearing or around noon, doing little to quell the chill in the air. Winter was gaining purchase on the village. Fortunately, the Land of Fire didn't get much colder than this.
"Nora," a familiar feminine voice carried through the wind.
Said girl looked up, coming face to face with a masked man. Her eyes widened, heart rate spiking. The silver haired man hadn't been who called her, but she couldn't look away from the way he perched on the back of a bench, staring down at her with his uncovered eye.
"Um, hello," Nora stammered, pulling her eyes away from his thick, muscular thighs.
The ninja pointed to her, his finger uncovered by the fingerless gloves he wore. "Nora," he questioned, his voice deep and smooth.
"Yes," she said. Did they know each other? He was familiar, but she couldn't quite place him.
"Kakashi, quit staring at her like that, you pervert," Kurenai appeared beside the masked ninja, her eyes shining like rubies. "Nora, I've missed you," she said, a gentle smile turning the corners of her mouth up.
Nora stood, wrapping her arms around the woman's waist. Her chin could barely reach the top of Kurenai's shoulder. "I've missed you too, Kurenai," she whispered, tears stinging the corners of her eyes.
"No need to cry, kid," Kurenai chuckled, placing a hand atop Nora's head.
Pulling away, Nora shrugged and looked over to Kakashi, who had pick pocketed the book she'd shoved in her bag. "Hey," she protested, reaching for it.
He pulled it just out of reach. "This issue hasn't reached Konoha yet," he insisted.
"You read that smut?" Kurenai asked.
Nora winked at the kunoichi before turning back to the thief. She pointed a finger at him, "Do not lose my place."
The skin by visible eye crinkled, promising a smile beneath the mask. "Never." He vanished with a puff of smoke as colorful as the mop of hair on his head.
"May I introduce to you, my lovely girlfriend, Nora," Iruka dramatically gestured his hands to Nora. Her deep blue eyes downcast, stared at her slip on shoes.
"Hello everyone," she smiled, looking up and breaking a hand away from nervous twisting fingers to wave, only to revert back again. She bumped her palms together with stiff arms.
"Don't be scared," Iruka leaned down to whisper in her ear. "They'll love you," he reassured her with a kiss on her cheek.
Her hands ceased fiddling and traveled to her arms, where she let them rest.
She'd only met him once, she remembered, watching the wind chase away the smoke. A shiver ran down her back, and she ran her hands over her arms.
"Come on," Kurenai said, placing a hand on Nora's shoulder. "Let's get some lunch."
Nora nodded, picking up her bag and following the woman. She looked back over her shoulder at the empty bench.