Part 2
It'd only been 20 minutes since he'd arrived, but Kakashi honestly felt as though hours had passed. He checked the silver watch on his wrist, even going so far as to tap the small crystal screen a few times to make sure it was still working, or that time in general hadn't just miraculously decided to stand still. He stared angrily at the still-ticking screen for another moment before sighing and scanning the room for the hundredth time since he'd gotten to the venue. Narrowly avoiding tapping his foot in agitation, he finally admitted to himself that his nerves were getting the best of him.
'Damn it, get yourself together. It's just Sakura.' At that thought, he let out a little huff and chuckled to himself under his breath. 'There really isn't a just Sakura, is there?' He used both hands to smack his cheeks once, the people seated at the table beside him giving him an odd look, refusing to acknowledge the man's odd behavior out loud, instead choosing to relinquish the table to him and wander towards the hors d'oeuvres. He was oblivious to them anyway; they weren't why he was in this ridiculously decked out ballroom, surrounded by equally ridiculous and insufferable wealthy donors; but the real reason seemed to be running late and all of the inane chatter involving tonight's presentations, heiress's dresses or accessories, and any imaginable kind of yacht vacations had him edging closer and closer to running for the back door and never looking back.
But then he would hear her voice in his head- Tomorrow -and recall that coy smile from the prior evening, and he'd settle back down enough to tolerate the fact that he felt as though he was practically vibrating from how out of place he felt. He rubbed a hand over his freshly shaven jaw and sighed into his it dejectedly; he wasn't sure if he could do this after all.
When a waiter came up to him, he ordered a glass of water, then when the young man dressed all in black began to turn away, he thought better of his decision, stopped the kid mid-stride and requested whatever kind of rye they had, neat. His only response was an eerie smile on the waiter's pale lips and an overly politely muttered, "Yes, sir. Of course."
If the quiet homebody of a man was going to survive even an hour of an event like this, he wasn't going to do it totally sober. From his perfect vantage point in the far corner of the event center, Kakashi could see everyone coming and going from the enormous ball room. On the other side of the dance floor that had been covered with additional white cloth-covered tables to account for all of the guests present, was a small stage set up for the stringed quartet, which was quietly playing over the hustle and bustle of people milling about and socializing over cocktails.
When the waiter came back with his whisky, he forced himself to take a sip instead of downing it straight. What he'd give to be back at his apartment in his reading chair, finishing the last few pages of the most recent chapter he'd been engrossed in. It had just been getting to an incredibly good scene, one his subconscious had automatically begun to superimpose the tall, blonde, and buxom heroine with the image of a much more petite and feistier pinkette. He was remiss he'd had to put it down at all.
As that thought dwindled in the recesses of the older gentleman's mind pleasantly, he swirled the brown liquor around in his cup, staring at the reflection of the anxiety-ridden man looking back up at him. He'd been so surprised when Sakura had shown up in his office last night; pleased, but surprised. It had only gotten worse when, in an only slightly roundabout way, she'd invited him to the event tonight, which he had already denied the RSVP for, knowing that it was really not his kind of thing. All of the managerial staff had been invited of course, but he hadn't thought his attendance to be all that important of an issue in the first place. It's not like he had the spare funds, let alone the interest, to donate to new stocks in a company he didn't work for. He had felt as though the invitation was honestly too good to be true- had she asked others in the same way? -but he'd ultimately decided to take what she'd said at face value rather than overanalyze it to death as he was usually wont to do when seemingly good things happened to him.
'I was hoping to see you there.'
Kakashi had honestly thought he'd been about to have a heart attack, fully unprepared for how bold she'd actually been. It was like something had gotten into her; something that finally pushed her to take a step closer to him, and there was no way in hell he was going to let the opportunity slip by. They had been playing around whatever this was between them for so long now, he'd come to assume that their interactions were nothing special to her; that maybe she was just mildly flirtatious with everyone and that he, himself, was nothing special to her. As tough as he felt most of the time, all it took was one look from the beautiful young admin to tear away all of his carefully constructed walls and make him feel like a pitiful teenager again, desperately yearning to have a reason to be allowed to touch her. His fingers itched impatiently at the thought.
He downed the rest of his whisky and signaled to the waiter for another, setting the empty crystal down on the tablecloth beside him, staring dazedly as condensation ran down the side only to soak into the white fabric beneath it.
For the longest time, he'd honestly been angry with how he felt about this woman; she was too young for him; she was too outgoing and bright, too full of life for a tired old man like himself; what was he even thinking, falling for a girl like Sakura? For over three years he'd told himself to get real, get over his pitiful little crush, and that the spark that he felt between them wasn't real for her too; that she'd probably end up shacking up with the far more attractive, younger, and wealthier man that employed her. Hell, if he was interested in men, or maybe even if Sasuke just grew his hair out, he might've been tempted to go down that route too.
Tomorrow.
He allowed a nervous smile to touch his lips, just the barest twitch upwards at one corner of his mouth. When the waiter came back with his refill, he noted it was a double this time and quickly passed the young man a $20 appreciatively from his back pocket. The waiter- Sai, his name tag read -tipped his head in a slight bow, pocketed the cash and left to go tend to his other tables, giving them that same, tight-lipped customer service smile.
A very small part of his mind really wanted none of his worries to be true and criticized himself for being so self-deprecating; so what if he was older, or a bumbling dork behind his carefully constructed self-image of a retired soldier? He was here tonight because she'd asked him to be, after all. A sudden squall at the ballroom door caught his attention, and his knee started bouncing under the table; show time.
"I can't believe you made us late, Naruto, we were supposed to be here almost a half hour ago to prepare," he heard an irate voice yelling over the casual din of the crowd from near the front door and felt himself grin. She always knew how to make an entrance. He swallowed the urge struggling its way up his throat to run clear across the room and seek safe haven in her presence; she always made him feel better; feel seen.
"Hey! Don't blame just me, you were the one that refused to sit in the back seat even though I totally won the race, fair and square. Tell her, Sasuke," an equally annoyed voice responded beside her.
Kakashi just about swallowed his own heart, watching as his mysterious employer simply flicked both of his companions on the forehead and walked away grumbling while they each rubbed the offended spots, beelining towards the far corner of the room where the Hyuuga conglomerates were congregated, no doubt preparing to begin the event soon.
He watched as the woman that always did funny things to his insides nailed an incredibly solid punch on the shoulder of the tall, suited blonde man beside her and pushed him off in the direction his charge had headed with a call of, "Just go do your job, dumbass!" Naruto wandered off after Sasuke, rubbing his arm petulantly. Kakashi felt a jolt of arousal shoot through him, then wondered what exactly was wrong with him that he found her beating someone up while dolled up so beautifully, so attractive. He roved his eyes appreciatively over her deep purple ensemble and forced his knee to still with one hand.
Sakura straightened her hair out with deceptively delicate fingers and seemed to take a deep calming breath, closing her eyes to let it out through her perfect button nose, and when those forest green eyes reopened and glanced around the room, taking in the twinkling lights and elegant decor all around her, she almost immediately spotted him and began striding towards his otherwise empty table with purpose and a bright smile.
When she bumped shoulders with a passing man by accident, she paused momentarily to apologize and engage him in a quick conversation, a tight-lipped, polite smile on her face. Kakashi decided that this time it would be better not to sip and tossed back the double shot in his hands with a barely perceivable wince to prepare himself.
'Get it together, Kakashi. Try not to make too big of a fool out of yourself,' he thought with a tense breath out through his nose.
…
'He actually came!' Sakura thought to herself, feeling the rapid thumping in her chest skip a beat when he stood and started heading her direction to meet her halfway across the room. She excused herself politely from the older gentleman that had begun rambling about boats and smoothed down her skirt, carefully avoiding bumping into anyone else. 'And he looks positively delicious,' her subconscious added, taking in the tailored black slacks and matching, fitted black turtleneck sweater, clinging amazingly to his biceps as he approached; his hair, as always, was a stylistic mess. It was simple, but so very him; so familiar.
When they finally met, there was a momentary pause when she looked into his eyes that almost made everything around them feel as though it had stopped. He tentatively broke the silence, saying breathily, "Hey."
Internally, he groaned at himself. Hey? What, was he fucking twelve? When she giggled a little in response, he let go of the breath he'd been unconsciously holding and resisted the urge to cover his returning smile.
Sakura felt stupidly drunk without having touched a single drop of alcohol, fighting back what would be a decidedly girlish giggle as best she could; she really didn't want to look like a total idiot in front of him so early into the evening, but she couldn't help the surge of giddy energy that was bubbling up inside of her. 'He actually came!'
She knew that this couldn't be a comfortable environment for him; he had almost always turned down the invitations to public events unless he had been asked to work security for them, and she knew that he was an incredibly private man the majority of the time. It wasn't that he was anti-social, more so than anything else, she truly believed that the rough and tumble security guard was a front and that he was just painfully shy beyond the tough, loner exterior. The fact that he'd actually shown up was proof enough to her that she was doing the right thing; that maybe, just maybe, he felt the same way she did.
"Hey," she mimicked him, her nose scrunching cutely with her amused grin. She tucked a few loose strands of delicately curled pink locks behind one ear. "I'm glad you came."
A few handsome lines crinkled lightly around his dark eyes when he gave her that customary, soft, lopsided grin that she'd come to associate with him feeling nervous. She allowed the brief thought to cross her mind that she had never appreciated working for Sasuke more, and through that, her association with Itachi. Kakashi was generally subtle, but he was still not nearly as emotionally constipated as those two were on their best days.
Was it possible he was as nervous as she was? She doubted it; he always seemed so collected when they spoke and she could practically feel her heart beating out of her chest.
A server with a tray full of champagne flutes passed by, and without thinking, he reached for two and handed her one, their fingers brushing slightly in the exchange. She bit one pretty, pink, pouty lip and tried her best not to strangle the delicate crystal neck of the glass.
He seemed to almost steel himself before responding quietly, "I had an offer I couldn't refuse."
'Better, dumbass. Better.'
She took a sip of champagne to hide the pleased expression that flitted across her face, and when he gestured back to where he'd been seated when she arrived, she weaved her free arm around his politely and allowed him to lead her slowly with him back to the empty table. How like him to find the one quiet, empty spot at a huge party. She honestly wondered how he'd managed it, spying around at the congregations of wealthy benefactors nearby.
"This isn't usually your scene, I honestly expected you to throw out one of those usual excuses about how you got stuck on the road of life and couldn't make it last minute," She said teasingly as they took their seats beside each other, their backs posed to the main stage behind them, taking pleasure in the fact that she could see the minutest of blushes gracing his pale skin when she angled her bare legs so that her knees where brushing against his clothed ones under the table.
He looked away contritely, the pink stretching onto the bridge of his nose as he scratched at the short hair at the scruff of his neck; she wanted to run her hands through it and see if the silver locks were really as soft as they appeared. "Maa, Sakura, how little do you think of me? I only do that occasionally, and only when it isn't worth showing up in the first place."
She put an elbow on the table and placed her chin on the upturned palm, looking up at him through her darkened lashes, an amused Uchiha-reminiscent smirk quirking her lips. "Gee, Kakashi, I don't know. Didn't you give a similar excuse last year for this exact same event?" Deciding she'd teased the poor man enough, she more gently added, "I'm happy you decided it was actually worth showing up this time for. Although, looking around, I'm not sure how much we're really needed."
He dragged his eyes from where her black heels were laced around her delicate ankles, up her smooth bare legs to where the short, flowy hem of her velvet dress ended mid-thigh, pausing only momentarily on the scoop of the off-shoulder neckline resting on her décolleté before meeting her gaze with his own darkening one. Without looking away, he leaned closer, placing his arm beside her own to run one hand smoothly up the long, soft sleeve covering her forearm, resting his hand loosely just above her elbow. "Wouldn't miss it."
She got the feeling that he hadn't meant the fundraiser.
'Breathe, Sakura, remember to breathe!' The voice inside her head promptly keeled over in a dead faint; so much for that advice. She felt her glossed lips part slightly with her small, shaky exhale; his touch felt like lightning. What would it feel like on her bare skin? 'That's what you get for teasing him, dummy.'
Kakashi leaned back a little further in his seat, but his hand didn't leave its place on her arm, pulling her own down so he could rest it just above her wrist, his thumb rubbing small circles on the sliver of exposed skin there. "You look beautiful tonight, Sakura."
'Well, Deidara will be happy at least.'
Summoning whatever inner courage she had left while her internal voice of reason was momentarily indisposed, she pulled her arm back slowly towards her so that her hand rested beneath his, almost completely disappearing under his heavy palm, and gave him a demure smile while she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "Thanks, it's just something I threw together."
"I thought you went shopping this morning- oof!" Naruto recoiled from where her elbow had landed firmly in his gut.
She turned to look over her shoulder, a scowl creeping across her face. "Shut up Naruto!" Kakashi bit back an amused huff at the exchange, but otherwise stayed wisely quiet.
The noisy blonde turned toward Sasuke, who was silently mulling about beside him. "Sasuke, she's being mean again. Tell her to stop!"
The young Uchiha CEO, to his credit, did aim a withering glare at his assistant, but followed it immediately with a smirk that was clearly biting back his urge to laugh. After glancing at his bodyguard briefly, then appraisingly down at the table where Sakura had yet to remove her hand from where Kakashi held it, he decidedly responded, "Shut up Naruto." When the blonde began ranting quietly to himself about mean pink-headed girls and biased bosses, Sasuke nudged him with an elbow, in turn distracting Naruto enough from his external musing to throw an arm around the Uchiha's shoulders amiably instead. Sasuke noticeably blanched in response. The Uchiha collected himself, straightening his tie and working his face back into his normally placid expression."We'll see you later, Sakura. Kakashi, always a pleasure." He tipped his head politely, and with that he begrudgingly allowed Naruto to continue dragging him around the room to say hello to other employees and benefactors present for the last few moments before the presentation began.
Still silently fuming, she was shocked by the sensation of Kakashi shaking slightly, and when she turned to look at him she realized he was laughing quietly. He glanced between her and the two men that had wandered over to speak with the young Hyuuga heir, a beautiful young woman with long dark hair and large ice blue eyes, then refocused on her abashed expression.
'Way to go, he probably thinks you're an idiot.'
"I didn't realize just how close you all were. You behave almost like a family," He said, laughter still shining mirthfully in his eyes. "I didn't know Sasuke could even make facial expressions."
Feeling her eyes roll against her better judgment, she allowed an amused huff to escape her lips as she stared lovingly after Sasuke and Naruto. "Well, I've known Sasuke for over six years now; he's practically like an older brother at this point. And Naruto," She paused to mull over how to phrase it correctly, "Well, he's Naruto. You know? They're good for each other."
Kakashi managed to hide his surprise well- Naruto and Sasuke? He took a moment to watch as the two of them inseparably meandered towards the podium, Naruto taking up a watchful residence behind his charge and slipping into a practiced level of professionalism he respected greatly from the exuberant man as the young CEO began doing a mic test. It was subtle, but he saw as Sasuke quickly glanced back behind him for a peek at the blonde's reassuring nod before he turned back around and readed his speech, letting out a small breath when his shoulders relaxed minutely.
Well, what do you know? His employer suddenly seemed a lot less intimidating than he ever had before. Not that he wasn't already an extremely informal leader, but Kakashi digressed.
Distantly, she recognized that the majority of the attendees had taken their seats and that the speakers had begun presenting across the room. Sasuke was giving the speech she'd proofread in the car on the way to the venue, garnering the rapt attention of the majority of patrons in the room. Kakashi didn't really seem to care about anything else going on around them, and for that, she was grateful. It was a good speech, but she wasn't terribly interested in it at the moment, instead, much more focused on the warm, rough-padded thumb still rubbing mesmerizing patterns on the top of her hand.
"So, Sasuke and Naruto, huh?" He nodded vaguely in their direction, his voice lowered to that deep, dulcet tone, and his eyes crinkled up in the way she loved most as he regarded her, almost like he was just let into a private joke.
Just above a whisper, she responded, "You won't tell anyone, right?" He mimed locking his mouth and throwing away the key and her inner groaned good-humoredly. 'What a dork!'
"How did you meet Sasuke? I know he has kind of an odd habit of hiring people in the most obscure ways sometimes. Was it a traditional interview?"
She blanched, letting out an awkward laugh to cover her embarrassment. When another server came by with more champagne, she took the opportunity for the momentary distraction and plucked another delicate stem from the tray, taking a large sip of the bubbly before deciding she wasn't likely going to get out of this. "Well…" She petered off slowly, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. "Not exactly traditional, I wouldn't say that."
Kakashi leaned in closer and placed his other hand on her knee. His eyes were inquisitive as he gave her leg a small nudge. "Oh come on, you can't start like that and not expect me to be curious. If you tell me your story, I'll tell you mine."
She bit her lip. That was very tempting; hardly anybody knew the real story behind Kakashi getting his job; it was sort of a legend that had dissolved into a mass of petty workplace rumors over the last five years that stemmed from his reputation of being a grade-A hardass. She let out a defeated sigh, curiosity beating out her embarrassment.
"You win; but you better not back out afterward!" She pointed a stern finger at his chest and he lifted the hand from her knee to raise it palm out in a sign of contrition before gently settling it back, and with a sigh she began, "So it started when I was still in medical school. Back then I used to have a pretty bad temper." He arched an eyebrow, as if to say 'Used to?' To his benefit, he remained blessedly silent at her exasperated pout. "Well, I was having a really bad day. I had just dropped out of school and was working part-time at this coffee shop, right? Then this complete asshole came in and ended up setting me off over a straw, a fucking straw. So I raged out, told the customer to go fuck himself with it and stormed out. There was this pile of bricks from some construction that was going on outside, and without thinking, I just grabbed one and chucked it as hard and as far as I could. Turns out I can actually throw a brick pretty damn far, and it went straight into the windshield of this car that was parked up the street. This prissy man in an expensive suit was just standing next to it, completely dumbfounded by this brick lodged in his windshield. He ended up asking if he could buy me a coffee, and we talked for probably three or four hours before he let me know he was looking for a new administrative assistant. Turns out he'd let his last one go because she was too afraid to stand up to him, and just like that I had the job. Came into the office the next morning, and never left." She shrugged one shoulder, reminiscing fondly. "Never really wanted to leave, I guess."
He was shaking silently again, and asked, "A brick? You were angry and decided to throw a brick at a random car?"
She fumed a little, embarrassed, then pushed his shoulder teasingly. "Yes! A brick. It worked out in the end though. So whatever."
He nodded a few times and resituated so their hands now rested delicately on his lap, his elbows comfortably propped on his thighs. With his head to the sky, he bit back a laugh at her expense. "Sounds about right for you."
Nudging him under the table with one foot, she responded in a loud whisper, "Hey! What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
Around them, the audience of people situated around the room started clapping. They briefly joined in before returning to almost the same comfortable position as before. Vaguely, and only a little guiltily, she realized that Sasuke had already finished, the Hyuuga heiress having already begun explaining some chart projected up on the screen behind her, and that they hadn't heard a single word.
"Nothing bad, I swear. It just makes sense to me that you've always had this larger than life personality." His rumbling laughter was drowned out by the last few seconds of scattered applause as another Hyuuga took the stage, and she felt herself mellow out almost instantly. How could he do that to her so easily with just a few words?
"Oh." She bounced her knee for a second, biting her lip to contain the carefree smile threatening to break out across her face. "That's okay then." She nudged him again, moving to have her free hand join its sibling in his loose, gentle hold; briefly she noted that both of her hands fit in one of his, and it made her stomach do a somersault. Tugging gently on his hands, she admonished, "Your turn, you promised."
He chuckled again at her, eyes crinkling and a dimple appearing in one cheek. "I did, didn't I?" He paused to think pensively for a second. "I'm not sure it's as good as your story is, but I promised, right?" He teased, and she blushed, feeling a little childish and embarrassed when he threw her words back at her. "I came onto the team about five years ago now, just a little after you did. I was a security guard at the Konoha museum, just low level and no big deal, but I'm also retired military. I was a captain in the canine unit on the frontlines during the last war with Amegakure back in '09." She raised her eyebrows in surprise, she hadn't known that about him; but it honestly made perfect sense. He had this general air about him that told you that he knew how to handle himself, and she'd always thought he had above average organizational skills; except for his workspace that is. She giggled under her breath at the thought. He tilted his head to the side in confusion and placed his other hand on top of both of hers, caging them between his.
"I was just thinking about how that makes sense, everything you do has this structure to it; except for your desk, that is. That's always a complete mess." She scooted a little further in her seat so her legs could rub against his, looking down for a moment, and back at him through her lashes, her lower lip caught between her teeth.
He rolled his eyes at her, but continued, "I was walking one of my dogs down the street one day after my shift and, completely unprovoked, he just tore off and got away from me. He ran a few blocks, and I chased him, but by the time I'd caught up he had already managed to tackle this man to the ground."
"Your dog got away from you?" She eyed him up and down in disbelief. He nodded in response.
"His name was Bull. He was a mastiff, and honestly one of the best behaved dogs I've ever had, so this was totally unlike him. I had worked to train him for years, so he was a really good guard dog and a good friend. He's passed since then, but I have others that help fill his shoes a little." He smiled fondly, and she got the sense that his dogs meant a lot to him; she definitely needed to remember to ask him about them later.
She pulled one hand from his and urged him on with a small wave, it was unlike him to be so forthcoming so she planned to take full advantage of it, took a decent sized gulp of her room temperature champagne and quickly returned her hand to its rightful place. He had really nice hands; so warm, only slightly roughened by callouses, and decorated with a few small, white scars that smoothed over his knuckles in a few places. Idly, she linked her thumb through his, blaming the alcohol and atmosphere for his talkative mood.
His ears turned a little pink, but otherwise he controlled his reaction and began again, "Turns out the guy Bull took out was Kabuto." She nodded and made a mildly disgusted face, but didn't interrupt again. She remembered that snake weirdo a little too well. "He was Sasuke's old shadow still at the time, and he didn't see Bull coming at all; just completely blindsided the guy and pinned him down. I think that might be the only time to this day that I've seen Sasuke laugh outright at something, actually. He didn't hurt Kabuto or anything, but Sasuke just said the dog had good senses and that he assumed the trainer did too. He saw my uniform, and we talked for a few minutes, then after a while he gave me his business card and told me to call if I was interested." He sat back and finished his glass with one final drink, then leaned back in his chair far enough that his knee was pushed fully between hers. She plucked idly at the material of his slacks, pulling at invisible lint for a moment before she settled with resting her hands there. "So? Live up to all of the rumors?"
She scoffed with a small snort, "Hell no, but it's definitely better than any of the ones I've heard."
All of the people around them began standing and gathering their belongings from the tables, ambling calmly towards the coat check at the door in a small mass. How long had they been talking?
Startled slightly, they both looked around, and Kakashi at his watch, and realized that they'd managed to miss the entire presentation. She looked into his eyes, noting the spark of amusement and that little note of something else from before that made a small shiver go down her spine every time. She shrugged slightly and moved to stand, grabbing her small purse from where she'd hung it on the back of her chair.
"Oops," he offered wryly, not at all genuinely abashed to have missed everything, and moved to follow her. When they began walking towards the door with the last few stragglers still left in the ballroom, he sprawled his hand along the small of her back, noting with a small gulp that her dress was backless when his fingers brushed against skin even smoother than the velvet had been, stuffing the other into his pocket nonchalantly. Sakura jumped slightly; that damned lightning.
When they reached the coat check, he helped her into her black peacoat and quickly slipped on his tan trench coat. She automatically linked her arm through his and they began walking towards the parking lot together. They'd just made it out of the building and out into the chill night air, their breath fogging out in front of them and the smell of cigarettes littering the crisp breeze from the people who still lingered near the entrance smoking, when Sakura's phone went off loudly. He paused to allow her to pull it from her bag, and when she opened the message and immediately busted out laughing in response he stepped a little closer to peer over her shoulder. She turned the small device around to face him and he leaned down to get a better look, curious as to what could make her laugh until she was speechless like that.
Want to come wreck some of Uchiha's stuff? Party at the apartment 2nite, bring friends! ~ Deidara
He looked down at the top of her head, fighting the sudden urge he had to kiss it, while she responded quickly and forwarded the text to a couple of coworkers that were also leaving the event. When she was finished, she plopped it back into her purse and motioned that she was ready to go finally. Her heels clicked quietly on the asphalt as they walked, echoing slightly around the remaining cars.
"Are you going to go over to Sasuke's place after this?" He asked, not wanting to assume.
"Oh most definitely, I can't pass up a party planned by his brother's friends. They always have the best after parties." She paused thoughtfully for a second, gathering her wits about her. She looked up into his eyes, her own doing a poor job at hiding the hopeful look meandering behind them as she rested a hand on the crook of his elbow. "Would you like to come? I mean, I know parties aren't really your thing any more than big ballroom fundraisers are, but it could be fun. There'll be free beer, and music; but I totally understand if you're kind of over it after all of that, I mean it was just a bunch of talking about a lot of nothing from business people and I know you don't really-"
"Sakura," Kakashi said in a voice that rivaled the velvet of her dress and she cut herself off mid-sentence; mid-breath. He let his hand slip down to intertwine his fingers with hers and slowed them to a stop in the mostly empty parking lot. When she finally let out the breath she'd been holding, he turned to her, his free hand coming up to cup under her jaw, thumb sliding once across her cheek, just barely brushing against her soft lips, and gave up on resisting his earlier urge. He leaned down slowly and pressed his mouth to hers. It was over before she could even react beyond closing her eyes, just the faintest brush of his lips against hers for the faintest of moments. When he pulled back, she could see the amusement pulling at the faint lines around his eyes. He seemed pretty proud of himself. "I'd love to come. Do you need a ride?"
She could only nod dumbly in response, allowing him to begin gently pulling her slowly towards where he'd parked his vehicle. Along the way, she managed to regain a modicum of bodily function aside from putting one foot in front of the other and wrapped her arms around his bicep once again, refusing to relinquish the interwoven hold he had on her hand.
"So what exactly do some of these rumors say about me?" He asked as they walked in front of a few cars with their headlights on, beams blaring brightly into the night and casting long shadows as they stepped past them. Despite the chilly night air, the warmth spreading from his hand in hers had her feeling like she was on fire.
Suddenly, Sakura leaned down and banged her flat palm on the hood of one such vehicle, pointedly looking inside at where Sasuke sat beside Naruto in the driver's seat for a second while he stared at her confusedly, then continued on. When Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her in question, she waved her hand at him dismissively and leaned her head onto his firm shoulder as she delved into the wild and horrific stories that she'd heard about him from Ino.
…
'So that's what Sasuke would look like with long hair,' Kakashi mused silently to himself from his seat on the comfortable leather couch in the living room. Itachi approached him, dressed casually in some tapered black jeans and a maroon flannel, handed him a can of beer, then sat politely beside him and crossed his legs. 'Uchiha genes run strong. Why are they all so damn pretty?' That particular train of thought left him feeling awkward, so the stoic man popped the tab on the drink and chugged half in one go, then quickly pulled a pack of smokes from his coat pocket from where it was draped over the back of the couch. "Do you mind?"
The artist shook his head slightly, "Not if you share."
"Deal," Kakashi agreed easily, handing him one and offering the light before returning it to his own and taking a smooth drag, feeling his shoulders drop a notch in response. Sakura hadn't been wrong before; parties were even less his scene than ballroom venues, but seeing how she'd lit up when he'd agreed, not to mention how glossed over she'd looked from a simple peck, it had felt worth it at the time. He wasn't even sure what exactly had come over him; taking another drag and holding it for a second before breathing out slowly, remembering the desire he'd had to see what other expressions he could draw out of her, he mentally corrected himself. He knew exactly what had come over him. Now that he was here, he felt decidedly less sure about his lust-driven decision.
The two sat in comfortable silence, smoking their cigarettes and ashing on the small dish set out on the coffee table as they watched the first few party goers around them assist Itachi's blonde friend Deidara, and a few others he couldn't remember the names of, while they finished hanging up some last minute decorations. At the sprawling island that separated the kitchen from the spacious living area, a petite red-headed man was sitting at a laptop that had been hooked up to several fancy speakers nearby. Within a few minutes, loud music began pouring out of them, the redhead seemingly satisfied with himself, blanketing the room with a steady beat of a song Kakashi didn't recognize.
"It looks great in here, Dei! You've really outdone yourself this time," Sakura shouted over the music at the blonde as she worked her way out of the back hallway and around the arm of the couch. Deidara flashed her a winning smile, which Kakashi thought could easily rival Naruto's cheekiest grin, and flipped the overhead lights off at the master switch, casting everything in a multicolored glow beaming from the LED lights he'd strung up around the room. At that, he took a deep, dramatic bow, then headed towards the coolers in the kitchen, tapping away furiously at his cell phone.
Sakura motioned for Itachi to scooch over, which he did with a muted eye roll, then plopped herself right in between the two quiet men. He noted that she'd changed clothes during her bathroom trip, now sporting a comfortable pair of flared jeans, some white sneakers, and an oversized navy hoodie that hung off one shoulder. Her hair had been pulled back into a high ponytail, the curls bouncing slightly as she situated herself, revealing the long, pale column of her neck and her small round ears that were adorned with multiple studs. She'd even washed her face free of the makeup she'd had on earlier. Kakashi realized that he'd never actually seen her dressed so casually at the same moment he felt a jolt of arousal shoot through him at the thought; she looked the prettiest he'd ever seen her.
The thought crossed his mind of what she might look like wearing his sweatshirt, which morphed into the image of her wearing nothing but his sweatshirt, and he shifted uncomfortably. He needed to stop doing that or he was going to have a very noticeable problem, very soon.
"What've you got there?" She asked curiously, pointing to the drink still clutched in his hand. Rather than answer her, he simply held the can out to her and watched raptly as she accepted it and took a healthy sip, cigarette hanging loosely from between his lips. She perked up at the taste and passed what remained of it back to his waiting hand. "That's pretty good. Want another one?" She asked, standing to go get one for herself, using the knee of both men to push herself off of where she'd sunk into the plush cushions. He nodded and leaned forward to extinguish the stub of his cigarette, happy to watch her as she walked away; the way those jeans fit her was downright sinful.
'Damn it, dumbass. You're not some sex-crazed sixteen year old. Hold it together.'
Itachi mimicked his earlier motion, seemingly oblivious to Kakashi's whirling inner monologue, leaving the butt behind in the ashtray beside the few already resting in it and leaned back to throw his arm onto the back of the couch. He turned an inquisitive dark gaze onto the older man beside him, watching as Kakashi quickly lit another smoke, fumbling slightly distractedly. With a knowing smirk plastered to his face, he accepted the next one held out to him graciously and continued to side-eye his mute companion. "Anxious?" He clicked the borrowed lighter on, briefly illuminating the amused glint in his obsidian eyes.
Kakashi puffed himself up, then, after only a second in which he glanced over to where Sakura was taking a shot of clear liquor with Deidara and some massive man with blue hair, smiling vibrantly and chanting along with the two men in some sort of cheer, he felt himself visibly deflate. While he'd never actually met the man before, he'd heard a bit about Sasuke's elder brother from Naruto during their biweekly sparring sessions at the office gym. He was a supposed genius; an extremely talented one, if not a bit eccentric, but he supposed that came with the territory of being a painter. The two brothers seemed to be quite similar in a lot of ways, but Itachi was clearly much more astute than the younger Uchiha. Kakashi doubted much ever got past him without his knowledge of it.
In a completely separate thought that only mildly disturbed him, watching as Itachi brushed his long bangs back from his face and wrapped his lips around the white stick perched in his fingers, he also begrudgingly admitted to himself that he was definitely the prettier brother. Rubbing at his face firmly with one hand, he determined that he must really be needing to get laid.
Deciding it wasn't really worth it to be anything but honest with the guy, he shrugged slightly and took another deep drag, breathing it out through his nose. "Yeah, I guess I just feel a little out of my league. I haven't dated in a long while; especially not someone like Sakura."
The hidden implication didn't slip past Itachi's carefully tuned ears; someone as young as Sakura; perhaps he also meant as attractive or as sexy, but when that thought slid across his mind, he felt a shudder go down his back; the girl was practically his little sister.
"Ah," Itachi replied with a small nod of understanding. He looked over at Sakura as she began heading back towards them, saying hello and chatting amiably in passing with several of the people that were now milling about his living room. Her green eyes seemed to glow slightly in the dim lighting whenever she would occasionally glance over at Kakashi nervously, her pink lip caught between her teeth. Standing and taking the rest of his cigarette with him, he casually turned to regard Kakashi over his shoulder, "I wouldn't worry too much about that. Thanks for the smoke."
When Sakura brushed past the elder Uchiha brother, her brow lifted quizzically at the knowing smirk stretching his lips. She handed him one of the cold drinks that she'd had clasped in her arms in front of her chest. "Itachi?" She asked simply.
Taking the frosty can from her, he leaned down to whisper in her ear and she noted that he smelled strongly of cologne and tobacco. "Go easy on him, Sakura. Hm?" He patted her shoulder once then headed towards the front door, a stream of smoke rising steadily from his lips, where Hidan, an obnoxiously large, violet-eyed friend of his that had just arrived, was cursing up a storm while trying to throttle Deidara.
...
Okay, I lied. Review, like, follow for part 3