Author's Note: Dialogue prompt was "She doesn't love me. She's not that stupid."

Breathing hard, Kakashi shoved the door to the gymnasium open and glanced at the time on his phone before shoving it into a pocket. He'd woken up late, so his usual, leisurely jog had turned into a flat out run that left him breathless and red faced. Adjusting the bag on his shoulder, Kakashi gathered his composure before hurrying through the second door. He hoped against hope that he might have beaten—

"You're late," Tenzo observed from the shadows of an area that was hidden from Kakashi's field of vision. He didn't give his friend the satisfaction of startling as he dropped his gym bag on one of the benches that dotted the edges.

Kakashi glanced at the clock on the wall, its bright red letters shocking in the gloom of the room, and shrugged. "I'm only a little late," he observed, unzipping his gym bag so he could dig through the contents. Without turning, he continued. "And you wouldn't believe it, there was this wreck on—"

Tenzo's disbelieving snort interrupted the next words. "Or, you stayed out far too late on your date last night."

Rolling his eyes at the insinuation in Tenzo's tone, Kakashi shed his jacket and hung it on one of the hooks on the wall. "I was home and in bed well before midnight."

Laughing, Tenzo clapped Kakashi on the back. "Yeah, but were you sleeping, or were you enjoying some company for the rest of the night?"

"Sleeping," Kakashi answered. He checked his cellphone once before tucking it into the pocket of his sweatpants. "So, what's on our agenda for the day?

"I'm going to need more information than that." Tenzo nodded when Kakashi reached for a jump rope in the jumbled exercise equipment, indicating that he was on the right track for warming up. But, the man didn't let the line of questions stop. "How did last night go?"

Kakashi rolled his wrists to loosen up before starting a series of quick single and double jumps. It didn't take long for his heart rate to rise in response to the movement. While Kakashi didn't particularly enjoy winter training, it kept his body functional for the more enjoyable activities that came when the weather warmed up. Tenzo had harassed Kakashi until he agreed to meet up at least three to five times during the week for exercise. The days varied, but Saturday was a staple because both of the men were typically free.

Once the sweat stood out on Kakashi's forehead and his body felt warm, he let the jump rope slap against the mats on the floor. He reached for his water bottle and took a long drink of the cool liquid. Tenzo watched him with a knowing look of amusement that made Kakashi uncomfortable. Deciding to draw out the other man's suspense, he grinned. "You know I don't kiss and tell."

Tenzo chuckled and shook his head. "Unless something drastic has changed, you don't kiss at all."

"Ha ha, laugh it up," Kakashi answered, aiming a quick jab at his friend's side.

Tenzo danced backward on the balls of his feet, light and elusive as ever. His movements were smooth and efficient; he'd clearly warmed up while waiting for Kakashi. Tenzo's lips pulled into a frown. "Seriously, how was it?"

Dipping his head to hide the stupid smile that tried to work its way onto his face, Kakashi shrugged. "It was fine." He lifted the carefully wound boxing wraps from his bag and started to work on his left hand without meeting Tenzo's gaze. "The dinner was nice, and the event was surprisingly well planned out."

Tenzo hummed in agreement, bouncing lightly on his toes to keep warm. "You're avoiding my question, which only makes me more curious."

"You know what they say about curiosity," Kakashi quipped, completing the second wrap on his right hand with only a little more difficulty than the left. He flexed his fingers, testing the stretch of the material before nodding.

Tenzo rolled his eyes as Kakashi put on the first of his boxing gloves. "Good thing I'm not a cat, then."

The man held up the second glove and helped Kakashi secure it around his wrist once it was in place. Kakashi sighed. "You aren't going to let it go, are you?"

Kakashi walked toward the bags hanging from the ceiling in one corner of the gym. He flexed his hands inside the glove, trying to to think of a way to answer his friend's question without giving anything away. "Sakura was lovely, attentive, and not what I expected. She's matured a lot over the past few years."

Humming with agreement presumably meant to encourage Kakashi to continue, Tenzo moved to the side to watch him work at the speed bag. A few punches in, the man smiled. "So, when will you see her again?"

Kakashi did his best to keep his tempo steady and smooth lest Tenzo read something in the movement that he didn't intend. Warmth spread through Kakashi's muscles as he continued the steady strikes until his body felt loose and light. He slowed, huffing out a breath. "We didn't talk about it."

Moving away a couple of feet, Kakashi made room for Tenzo in front of the bag. The younger man moved through the same punches that he had to warm up. Tenzo was the one of them who actually enjoyed boxing, and he made it look natural. Kakashi couldn't deny that it took the edge off frustration and anger, but he'd much rather be outside rock climbing, hiking, or going for a run. The gym was necessary evil during the colder months, though.

As Tenzo continued working with the bag, Kakashi stretched in preparation for the inevitable spar that would come next. He didn't dread it as much as he thought he would. A light vibration from his pocket made his face scrunch in confusion. He reached for the feeling, then rolled his eyes at the gloves he'd just put on. Catching the velcro closure in his teeth, Kakashi pulled it loose then clamped his upper arm around the glove to pull his hand free.

Kakashi fished his phone from his pocket with some difficulty because of the wraps. He pressed his thumb against the sensor to unlock it and swiped the screen open. A single message notification waited at the top. Frowning, Kakashi opened it. It worked. I thought about you last night. A second text came through almost immediately. Multiple times.

"Are you smiling at your phone?" Tenzo's voice broke through the momentary elation that flooded Kakashi's system. "Oh my god, are you blushing?"

"No," Kakashi forced his face to wipe the emotion away. He wasn't sure how to respond to Sakura's text, so he left it for a time when Tenzo wasn't watching his every move. "It's just hot in here, and I'm ready to get this spar underway."

Chuckling, Tenzo pulled away from the speed bag. "You're a terrible liar. It's fine to say that you had a good time. Hell, it's even okay to say that you slept with her. I'm not judging."

Kakashi shook his head, sobering at the implication. "We didn't have sex. It isn't like that."

"So, it's not physical," Tenzo repeated, nodding toward the boxing ring that predominated the middle of the gym. The pair had the place to themselves today for a change which allowed them to talk freely. As Kakashi followed him through the ropes, Tenzo's grin deepened. "Damn, are you saying she's in love with you already?"

"She doesn't love me," Kakashi laughed, ignoring the flutter of his heart at the impossible thought. Rin's memory soured the fleeting desire almost as soon as it rose. "She's not that stupid."

Tenzo laughed and dipped his head before reaching out to help Kakashi get his glove back on. "You're probably right. She seemed smarter than average."

"Definitely," Kakashi agreed, squaring up against Tenzo with his body turned to the side to present a smaller target. He weighed his opponent with his gaze, wondering why Tenzo wouldn't let the thing with Sakura go. It wasn't like it mattered; they hadn't talked about dating or going out. The night had been fun, sure, but that didn't mean it was going to be anything more. They'd probably never see each other again.

Kakashi brought his hands up in front of his face and shifted his weight over the balls of his feet to make his movement more fluid. He and Tenzo had trained together for years, so he could practically read the moves before they happened. Jab, cross, jab, jab, hook. Kakashi flowed with the strikes, allowing his mind to wander. The implications behind Sakura's text were impossible to ignore, and the thought brought more heat to Kakashi's cheeks. He'd teased her about wanting her to think about him, but he hadn't meant that way. At least, not seriously.

Trying to come up with a reply was difficult. Did Kakashi respond in kind by admitting that he'd thought of Sakura as well? Did that cross a line that he wanted to keep between them? Did he pretend not to understand the subtext of the comment and ask what Sakura meant? Did he write the whole thing off and continue on the same way that he would have done weeks ago? Did he just ignore it to see if she reached out a second time?

Slipping beneath a quick right hook, Kakashi wondered which response Sakura wanted from him. Almost anything he said would make her more curious about him. Kakashi knew that he could have followed Sakura up to her apartment the previous night, and they would have crossed every line that he cared to draw between them. But, she had respected his decision to stop where they were. Did Kakashi continue holding himself away and playing the logical person, or did he give in to the pressure? Did any of it matter? Sakura's text was clearly meant to evoke a response. Multiple times, it taunted, begging him to acknowledge the unresolved sexual tension between them.

Tenzo slipped to the right and Kakashi circled with him, adrenaline burning through his veins. Boxing helped release some of the tension that wound Kakashi's body tight. He could focus on the natural rhythm of the movements without concentrating too hard on the problem with—another soft buzz ripped Kakashi's attention away from everything except wondering what Sakura said next.

Pain snapped through Kakashi's face, sharp and brilliant as a sunburst. He crashed onto the mat below him, head rebounding against the surface. Darkness swallowed the world. Then, Kakashi blinked at the ceiling in confusion with no idea why he was staring up at it.

"Shit, I'm sorry," Tenzo cursed, crouching beside Kakashi's head. "Are you okay?"

Kakashi's ears rang as he looked around the gym, trying to make logical sense of what happened. Tenzo knelt next to him, pulling his gloves off with an urgency that seemed almost comical. Fingers snapped in front of Kakashi's face, fighting to drag him back to semi-coherence but he had a hard time focusing on the noise. "Come on, I didn't hit you that hard."

"You hit me," Kakashi repeated, still in a half daze from the contact. It was so funny that he almost laughed. The sound burbled in his throat as Tenzo pulled him upright, then the room tipped and spun like a top. Nausea bubbled in Kakashi's stomach, hot and dizzying. He fought it down with a grunt that sobered him somewhat. "You hit me."

"Yes, we've covered that." Tenzo snapped his fingers again, drawing Kakashi's attention to them. "How many fingers do you see?"

Kakashi stared at the wavering image for a second, blinking to clear the immediate blurriness in his vision. "Two."

The hand changed shape. "Now, how many?"

"Three," Kakashi answered, continuing to suppress the nausea that flooded his stomach and throat. He squeezed his eyes shut to push the thought away from him. If he didn't think about it, it wouldn't happen.

When Kakashi opened his eyes again, Tenzo had moved back to give him some space. "Do you think you can get up?"

"You're not a prize fighter or anything. I'm fine," Kakashi grumbled, pushing his hands against the mat to try and stand. Even so, he knew that Tenzo's punches were powerful. The man could have gone on to make a career out of it if he'd wanted to. He usually pulled his punches in spars, though.

Kakashi pushed into a standing position, and the room wobbled with him. The ground pitched under his feet when he tried to move. Tenzo bumped against Kakashi's shoulder, supporting him until they reached a corner of the ring where he could cling to the rope for balance. Kakashi closed his eyes against the dizzy sickness in his stomach. "Mostly fine," he amended, sinking onto the stool that Tenzo produced from somewhere.

It took Kakashi a couple of startled seconds to realize that Tenzo had knelt in front of him and started to remove his gloves with familiar ease. "What are you doing," Kakashi asked in confusion.

"You're done for the day" Tenzo pulled the gloves off and laid them aside, starting to work on the hand wraps. The task was made difficult by the similar wraps on the man's hands.

Kakashi pulled away and started unwinding the fabric on his own. "I just need a minute, then we can get back to—"

"I'm ninety-five percent sure you have a concussion." Tenzo finished pulling off his second wrap without bothering to wind them the way that he normally did. Kakashi wondered if it was frustration or worry that sped his friend's fingers through the movement. "I think you should go get checked out."

Kakashi laughed and shook his head, immediately regretting it when the nausea returned. "No, I'm fine. I didn't even lose consciousness. It was just a lucky punch."

Tenzo leveled Kakashi with a flat stare, then rolled his eyes. "It was a left hook that I telegraphed, but you never noticed. And, you were out for at least a few seconds after it."

"Look at you, using knockout punches in a friendly spar," Kakashi teased, trying to organize the thoughts that were crowding in the back of his mind. He didn't feel great, but he didn't feel terrible either. Surely he would have felt something more than a vague pain in the back of his head after a concussion. "You're growing up."

"You didn't even try to block it," Tenzo complained, shaking his head in frustration as he gathered his equipment from the mat and slid through the ropes to the floor. "You were distracted. You know better than that."

Distracted? Kakashi tried to dredge up the moments before the punch, but they refused to come. Sighing, he followed Tenzo from the ring, bobbling only a little when the room pitched under his feet. "I'm sorry," Kakashi mumbled, rubbing his sore jaw.

Tenzo sighed, worry creasing his features. "You really should go see a doctor, just to make sure everything is squared away. If you won't go to the hospital, at least let me get Tsunade to have a look at you."

Kakashi tipped his head to the side, considering the words for a long moment. Tsunade-shishou would. The memory came slowly; the pieces fit back together in a picture that left Kakashi feeling oddly off balance, even more than the concussion. He ran his tongue across his lips, surprised to taste the coppery tang of blood. "I'm not going to the hospital. If it's a concussion, they'll tell me to rest."

"Which you'll undoubtedly ignore." Tenzo threw his equipment into his bag with an overly dramatic eye roll. "Do you think you have a concussion? Or, did it just rattle you?"

Raising one shoulder in a shrug, Kakashi packed up his wraps, gloves, and jump rope. "I mean, isn't that pretty much the same thing?"

Tenzo pulled a black hoodie over his head, then slung his bag across one shoulder. "You know that you got the finger count wrong, right?"

Kakashi blinked at the words, and the soft pain in the back of his mind ramped up to a slightly more noticeable stab. He sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine, I might have a concussion, but the point still stands. All the doctor is going to tell me to do is to get some rest."

"You lost consciousness, briefly, but it still happened. You had double vision, your balance is off, and you're in pain, sick to your stomach, or both." Tenzo ticked off the points on his fingers, and Kakashi studied them to make sure the number matched the reasons.

Kakashi frowned. "How do you know I'm—"

"The way you squeeze your eyes and tense your jaw every few seconds," Tenzo interrupted, with a rueful shake of his head. "You've got a pain tell, old man."

"Hey, woah," Kakashi chuckled, holding up his hands as if deflecting another blow. "Isn't it enough that you already knocked me out once today?"

A grin slid onto Tenzo's lips as he shook his head and threw an arm around Kakashi's shoulders. "Come on, let's get you checked out, then I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day, probably."