What Luck Brings: A Promise Kept
Sakura couldn't take it anymore. With what had just happened with Naruto she needed to talk to someone. That someone was going to have to be Kakashi, whether he liked it or not. Stubbornness be damned, this weird feeling between them had gone on long enough. She was falling apart at the seams, and she needed him.
Which is why she didn't hesitate to knock on Kakashi's bedroom door. There was a rustling of cloth, then footsteps, then…nothing. Sakura could feel her heart beating wildly in her ears. Her whole body was one big nerve.
"Yes?" Kakashi finally asked from behind the still closed door.
Now that she was here, she didn't know what to say. 'I miss you. I need you right now.' She shook her head free of the thoughts. No way she was leading with that. It was a miracle she was making the first move to begin with.
"Can you just talk to me?" Sakura said with a desperate sigh. More silence. She put her head to the door, her confidence and determination beginning to wane. She wasn't ready when the door suddenly swung open.
Sakura stumbled into the room, just barely catching herself before going face first into the floor. She quickly straightened herself and looked to Kakashi. He was wearing black sweatpants and a soft grey T-shirt. The only time she saw him wearing that was when he mourned for a week over his ruined porn. Sorry...ruined art.
She cleared her throat nervously and said, "I want to talk to you." Her eyes still stung from unshed tears.
Kakashi looked at her, "As you've said," his voice and expression were completely blank.
"Look, what you saw downstairs…" she began picking at the edge of her shirt, "…with me and Naruto. It's not what you think." Sakura couldn't bring herself to meet his piercing mismatched eyes.
He crossed his arms and silently watched her.
"We're not like that," she said to fill the silence. The weight of it quickly become unbearable.
"Again," he said, "not my business and I don't care to know." His voice was now cold and distant.
Sakura couldn't hold them back anymore. Tears began to slowly fall, and there was nothing she could do to stop them. She was scared. Scared of the dangerous stranger that haunted her dreams. Scared she had ruined her relationship with Naruto. Scared that Kakashi would never return to the perverted infuriating old man that he was before. Sakura was utterly overwhelmed.
Through her fear, she stoically wiped the tears from her face. Sakura lifted her head to meet Kakashi's gaze.
"You lied too you know," her voice was quiet but didn't waver, "where is the Kakashi who promised to be there for me?"
In the blink of an eye, Kakashi seemed to deflate. He knew that it was true. He let himself get carried away and took his frustration out on a friend. Kakashi walked forward and wordlessly brought Sakura into a hug.
"I'm here," he said.
Whether it was the texture of his voice or the feeling of safety that washed over her, something finally broke. Whatever resistance she had desperately clung onto was gone and the flood gates were open wide. What started as a trickle turned into a waterfall.
Returning Kakashi's embrace Sakura sobbed.
After a good five minutes, her well finally ran dry. She was embarrassed for falling apart like that but, at the same time it felt so good. A great weight was lifted from her shoulder. Even if it was only for a short time, she was grateful.
Sakura pulled away from Kakashi and lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Wow, that was a total chick flick moment," she sniffed and wiped self-consciously at her nose. 'I must look like a reck,' she thought.
He gave a short laugh and put his hand on her shoulder, "Men are allowed to have emotions too Saku. They can even talk about them."
"Yeah well, don't encourage me. All I am is a ball of emotions right now," she said.
"If you still want to talk, we should probably make ourselves more comfortable," he said while nodding towards the bed. Kakashi went and sat down, then patted the empty space next to him. He finally had that familiar sparkle in his eyes again.
Sakura sat down and noticed the room around her for the first time. "Don't you ever clean in here? It's a mess." His desk and chair were buried under piles of papers and books. Clothes littered the floor, she tried her best to ignore a pair of dark grey boxer briefs lying close to the bed.
'I wonder if those are the same ones I saw him wea–' the thought was thankfully interrupted before she could blush.
"Hey," he said with fake hurt in his voice, "You are not in a position to be judging me." Kakashi wiped an errant tear from her cheek. "I'll just get my maid to clean it for me."
"Jerk," Sakura laughed and did her best to ignore the way her cheek tingled after his touch was gone. She let out a long sigh before continuing, "I'm sorry I lied. I don't want to keep it from you anymore. I'm actually…" she paused.
'What was I just going to say!?' she thought, 'I can't tell him who I really am. He'd hate me if he knew and I'm not ready to lose him again. He'd kick me out. He'd-'
"Saku," Kakashi's voice halted her spiraling thoughts, "Are you trying to tell me you like men?"
"Yes, that's it," Sakura exclaimed, "I…I like men." Even she knew how awkward it sounded. Technically she wasn't lying, but she wasn't being completely honest either.
"It's okay," he said while nodding slightly, "I can see the appeal."
Well, she wasn't expecting that.
"Oh? I thought you were a total chick magnet." Sakura said a bit skeptically.
"You're not wrong," Kakashi winked at her then shrugged, "I experimented a little in my younger years. So did your calculus professor Genma. But you didn't hear that from me." He brought his finger to his masked lips in a shushing motion.
Kakashi was just full of surprises tonight. His teasing manor encouraged her to have a little fun of her own. She deserved to have fun after this past month. And nothing beats a long cry to put you in a better mood.
Sakura turned towards him and sat with her legs crossed on the bed. Her knees barely brushed his upper thigh. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin on her folded hands.
"So," she said in a mockingly sultry voice, "you're not nervous about living with someone who's attracted to men?"
Kakashi's face twitched for a split second, then a predatory glint appeared in his eyes.
"I don't mind," he said matching her tone. Kakashi leaned towards her, put a finger under her chin and lifted her face. "As long as you don't mind me stealing you away from your blonde boy toy." Their faces were only inches apart.
Sakura's face instantly ignited with heat. From her neck up she was as red as a strawberry, if not redder. She should have known what happens when you play with fire.
She pushed him away, almost falling off the bed in the process. "He's not my boy toy!" she yelled.
"Whatever you say," he chuckled. Thankfully for Sakura's racing heart, he leaned back to a safe distance. "I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to be. What that boy lacks in brains, I bet he makes up for in…enthusiasm." Kakashi wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Sakura discovered a new shade of crimson in that moment. Her head was about to explode. "That's. Not. Funny." She not so lightly punched at his shoulder between each word.
"I beg to differ," he said while batting away Sakura's barrage of fists. "You should know I'm a wonderful tease by now."
"Well, you don't have to be so good at it," she huffed and turned her back to him. Sakura couldn't stop herself from smiling.
The bed shifted behind her as Kakashi stood. Sakura peaked over her shoulder to see him stretching. His arms were folded behind his head, lifting his shirt up just enough to show a sliver of skin. His sweatpants were riding deliciously low...
The heat from her face was quickly making its way lower. It was painful to look away. Kakashi gave a soft grunt as he stretched a bit farther, then moved towards the door. He tousled Sakura's hair as he passed by.
"You hungry?" he said looking back at her.
She was very hungry, in more ways than one. Sakura shrugged, "I could eat."
"Well, you are in luck. My maid makes a great sandwich," Kakashi said. She could see his wide grin even from under the mask.
"I'm not putting that damned apron on you perv."
After minimal protest, Sakura made sandwiches. They didn't bother with sitting at the table. She was perfectly content sitting on the kitchen island while Kakashi leaned against the counter next to her.
"Why are you always wearing that mask?" Sakura asked between bites.
"I'm not wearing it right now," Kakashi retorted.
"You know what I mean," she said and smacked him in his side with her foot. Sakura was highly aware of his state of 'undress'. She had seen his face once before, but it was still incredibly difficult not to drool.
'Thank god for the distraction of food,' she thought.
"If I'm being completely honest," he took a bite of his half-finished sandwich before he continued, "with a face like mine, I wouldn't be able to walk down the street without being mobbed by my many, many adoring fans." Kakashi's voice dripped with fake sincerity.
Sakura snorted. "Yeah, sure thing old man. I totally believe you."
A comfortable silence settled over them. Sakura's thoughts were pulled to a certain blonde-haired buffoon. She felt a sharp twist in her heart and was hit with a wave of nausea.
'What am I supposed to say to him? How do I fix this?" her thoughts were racing again.
Kakashi spoke up, "You have that constipated look on your face again."
"What? I don't have a constipated face," she protested.
He furrowed his brow and pursed his lips, copying her expression. "Yes, you do," he said. "What's on your mind?"
Sakura sighed and reflexively relaxed her face. "I don't know what to do about…you know…Naruto." Saying his name reminded her of the moment from earlier that night. It felt so long ago, but she could still fell the way he held her, hear the desperation in his voice.
She expected Kakashi to tease her again. Instead, he seemed to be deep in thought.
"Do you care for him?" he asked.
"Of course. He's my best friend," she said.
"You sure it's only as a friend?"
"I don't know…" she trailed off.
"If you want my opinion," he paused and looked to her. She gave a small nod for him to continue. "As a professional, I'd say you both seemed to want more than friendship."
She knew he was right. "But what if I just got carried away in the moment? I can't risk losing him over something that wasn't real."
"Sounds like you're being a bit selfish," he said while finishing his last bite of sandwich.
Sakura was taken aback. "How is that selfish?" she demanded.
"You only seem to be worried about what You could loss. You're not giving yourself a chance to consider how Naruto feels. What if the moment was real? Imagine what the both of you could gain." As Kakashi spoke, he seemed to be somewhere else, lost in his thoughts.
"Fine, I'll at least consider it," she grumbled, "but that sounds way too wise to be coming from someone like you."
"Hey, words hurt you know. I thought we just had a breakthrough," he whined.
Ignoring his continued whining, Sakura hopped off the island. "Yes, we had a wonderful moment," she said. "Thank you for…stuff," she made an inarticulate hand motion between them. Feeling embarrassed, she quickly turned and began heading to her room.
"You know," Kakashi called after her, "it's still early…and we haven't watched a movie in a while."
She turned back towards him. "It's 2 in the morning," she said in confusion.
"…and?" he was already in the living room, turning on the TV.
Sakura shrugged and joined him. She plopped herself down onto the couch while Kakashi was picking out a movie. "This is why you're always late isn't it," she teased.
He chuckled and said, "One must enjoy the path of life while they have the chance to be on it."
Hey there,
I hope you all enjoyed chapter 12! It was definitely a joy writing it. There are some upcoming moments in the next few chapters I'm really excited to share with you all! XD
I hope everyone had a great January and takes time to love themselves this coming Valentines day, no matter what your situation is. With that said, I'm contemplating writing a short Valentines day special for the occasion. What are your thoughts? Is there anything you'd specifically like to see happen?
As always feel free to PM/review about any questions, comments, or concerns.
-Night TimeSki09