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I let the water run over me, but make no move to clean myself. Why is Sasuke being so blunt? Kakashi knows now. I wanted to keep this secret, not just for his sake, but mine, too. Now, Sasuke ruined any chance of that. I shut off the water and grab a towel, wrapping it tight around me. When I exit the bathroom, I see Kakashi unpacking on the bed.
"Sorry, I'll be out of here in a second," I say. Kakashi waves a hand as if it's nothing. I pull out a drawer, but find it empty. Then it dawns on me, "All my clothes are at my apartment. Shit."
"Here," Kakashi extends a shirt and a pair of boxers to me.
"Are you sure?"
"Well, if you want to sleep naked next to Sasuke Uchiha be my guest. It looks like you're already well past that point," he gives me a shit-eating grin.
"Thanks," I grumble, snatching the clothing from him.
"Anytime," Kakashi stops me before I can slip back into the bathroom, "Are you doing okay?"
"I'm fine, why do you ask?"
"You know why, Sakura," his voice is soft, that of a longtime mentor and friend, "How are you doing?"
"I could be worse," I admit, lowering my eyes, "He tries my patience sometimes, but I know he's really trying to be amicable about this whole situation. I can't put a lot of blame on him because the circumstances are worse for him."
"Are you sure about that? You know I worry about you throwing yourself into things headfirst."
"If you're talking about me sleeping with him, that was premeditated, but also kind of spur of the moment. I'll give you that one."
"Make sure you're taking care of yourself. I'm here if you need help with that," Kakashi squeezes my hand and I lift my gaze to reply but find Sasuke watching us with a guarded expression from the hallway.
"Thank you," I say distractedly and retreat to the bathroom to change. By now I'm mostly dry and once I've finished toweling my hair off I hang the cloth up in the bathroom. I reenter the room in the fresh clothes and bid goodnight to Kakashi who very briefly acknowledges me over the top of his book. I pad to the hallway then take out a bundle of sheets and a comforter from one of the cupboards. It's not fair to displace Sasuke, especially if he's still somewhat recovering. I peer over the pile in my hands to make sure I don't hit anything on my way in to Sasuke's bedroom and I can just make out the top of his head not far in front of me. I drop the sheets on the floor and as soon as I do Sasuke shuts the door and strides over to me.
His hands lock on my wrists as he pushes me into the wall and crushes my lips. Of course this was his intention. Although, I'd be lying if I said I was against it. I incline into him, undulating my hips while our tongues explore.
"You're driving me crazy," Sasuke is only a breath away from me. It reminds me of when I'd forbid us from kissing. That went out the window quick. "You and Kakashi."
Wait, what?
"Are you trying to bring Kakashi in on this?" I giggle, arching into me, "Because I don't think he'd be interested.
"You know what I mean," Sasuke growls, no humor in his eyes.
"No," I say slowly, my arousal ebbing, "I don't."
"Don't make me say it," he releases my wrists, but keeps me pinned with his hips.
"Say what?" I snap, suddenly annoyed. He drops his eyes, shaking his head, "Sasuke, what's going on?"
"I've bought into the little game you and Kakashi were playing, what more do you want from me?"
"Game, what game?"
"You flirt with him as soon as he gets here, now you're wearing his clothes," he hisses, "You were trying to make me jealous. Well, it worked. Are you pleased now?"
He buries his mouth at the crook of my neck to lave the sensitive skin there. I bite back a moan.
"Jealous? I wasn't trying to do anything," I shove Sasuke back and he staggers away from me, "You think I've got nothing better to do than devise some petty scheme with Kakashi-sensei of all people just so I can get you to admit you're jealous?" Sasuke's eyes flash dangerously but I don't back down. I'm fairly sure my fury trumps his, "You think I'm that insecure about myself? About you? We're not in a relationship, Sasuke. We don't have to prove anything to each other. It's just sex. It's meaningless."
He doesn't say anything, doesn't break eye contact, just merely stands there, towering over me, steaming. Fine, he can steam, he can be mad at me. I turn away, yanking the door open and stomping across the hall. Kakashi is still awake and immediately notes the look on my face.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm not sleeping in that room with him tonight," I say firmly. Kakashi merely nods, takes up his book and closes the door behind him. I fume, pacing the room. That childish, spiteful man. He infuriates me. Did I say sometimes? Because I meant all of the time.
"Do I even want to know what you did?" Kakashi questions as he shakes out the sheets on the floor for his makeshift bed. I ignore him and slip under my own covers. Turning my back to him, I shut my eyes. "I see you really took into consideration what I said, but I'm afraid you had it backwards. See, I was warning you not to let the moment pass, but it seems you were trying to encourage it to go."
"Don't talk about things you know nothing of," I sulk.
"Actually, I would say this is my area of expertise."
"I'm not taking advice from somebody who considers a perverted Saanin a role model."
"Even if that person has your best interests at heart?"
"I doubt that."
"Doubt it all you want," Kakashi says with a hint of smugness, "Sooner or later, you'll realize I'm right."
I open my mouth to protest but something stops me. A distant memory floats to the forefront of my mind. Kakashi once told me that seeking revenge would do nothing to fill the void left by my family. He warned me about going down that path of destruction and urged me to think about the consequences it would create with the few people I still had in my life; Naruto and Sakura. I swallow thickly. For the most part, he was right.
Stop it. This isn't the same.
I squeeze my eyes shut tighter, begging for sleep. Eventually it comes, but the lingering guilt from accusing Sakura and the anger from Kakashi's words sends me twisting into a dark, restless void.
I've slept for far too long, I think, as I open my eyes wearily. The sun is high in the sky, streaming through the slats of the shutters. I stretch my arms out, yawning deeply. At least I caught up on some sleep though. Soft chatter filters up the stairs. I slip out of the bed and begin to pick up my clothes from yesterday, but decide against it. Kakashi's baggy clothes are incredibly comfortable and the fact that it irritates Sasuke is just an added bonus.
When I come downstairs, I find them well into breakfast, or possibly lunch by the looks of it. The guards are already playing board games around the living room. I peer at the clock on the wall. Kami, it's one p.m. What time did I go to bed?
"You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you," Kakashi smiles, his mask off as he eats. Sasuke regards me cooly, not hiding the way he loiters on my sleepwear, "Sasuke left a plate for you in the oven."
"Thanks," I beam at both of them, ignoring Sasuke's attitude and pull the food out of the oven. As usual, it's fucking delicious. I don't bother sitting down, instead just focus on shoveling it into my mouth as I lean against the counter. I know Sasuke's watching me and out of the corner of my eye, he looks like he wants to say something. I don't think I want to hear it right now.
I want to apologize. She seems to bring that out in me. But I also want to rip those clothes off her and either fuck her or make her wear mine instead. I stop chewing for a moment and look down at my plate. That's quite a big gap between one urge and the other. Did I mean both? Fuck her, then give her my shirt. Why? She's confusing me again. I don't like it. And what's worse is I admitted that I was jealous to her before I'd even reconciled it with myself.
The thought forces its way into my head again; I trust her and I rely on her. This is not unheard of to me, but it's not something I've dealt with for many, many years. And, it scares me.
I watch as she steps through the kitchen collecting the pans I haven't washed yet, light on her feet. With a sense of determination, she ties her hair up, then rolls up the sleeves of Kakashi's shirt. It sounds wrong even as I process it. It's almost like she went to bed with him last night.
"See something you like?" Kakashi smirks but speaks quietly so as not to be heard by Sakura over the faucet. Dutifully, she focuses on the task at hand and pays us no mind.
"Yes," I admit, already growing tired of his smug attitude.
"Go after it then. Or in this case her," Kakashi stands from the table, carting his empty plate over to the sink.
Kakashi had enough foresight to bring a deck of cards with him and so we sit in the dining area, playing. Sasuke refused to participate and merely watches us. It feels like a classic lazy Sunday spent doing nothing in pajamas, though truthfully I've lost track of the days since this all started.
A knock on the door pulls us out of the game. I peer around the corner as a guard opens the door, my heart beginning to thump wildly. Shit, I really am horrible at my job. I haven't performed a checkup on Sasuke yet. But my anxiety is assuaged as Naruto walks through the door. Kakashi drops everything and runs to Naruto to hug him, digging his knuckles into the top of his head. Naruto laughs and shoves him off before attempting a poorly choreographed play-fight. I almost race to Naruto as well, before I remember where we left things. Naruto approaches us, patting Sasuke's shoulder as greeting and then turning to me.
"Can we talk?"
"Absolutely," I nod, standing and leading him towards the backyard to speak privately. We face each other and take a breath, "I'm sorry."
"That's what I was gonna say," Naruto shakes his head and laughs, "I'm sorry, I got carried away."
"It's okay, Naruto. You're my friend and I appreciate that you're looking out for me."
"I just worry about you being here," he crosses his arms and regards me fondly, like one would a sister.
"You and Kakashi-sensei," I shake my head, "You both worry too much. I can take care of myself. As much as I love you and I value you your opinion, you need to trust my judgement about how I live my life a little bit more."
"Understood," Naruto smiles, "Consider it done."
I pull him into a hug.
"Thanks for worrying about me."
"Anytime. But please tell me if he does anything stupid to hurt you," he tightens his grip a bit more before we release each other and exchange wide grins. Making up with Naruto is the easiest thing in the world because most of the time it's a mutual stupidity that causes our fights. We always apologize to each other and usually that's all it takes.
Sasuke on the other hand. . .
He's hopeless.
We unintentionally force the soldiers out of the living room, spreading ourselves out over the furniture there. I look around the room with the silliest grin on my face; I have my boys back.
Team 7 is reunited.
Sasuke and Naruto speak idly while Kakashi occasionally chimes in before returning to his erotic novel. I watch the scene like a spectator, joy filling my heart just to see us all in the same room again. This is more than I had ever hoped for when I brought Sasuke back.
Sasuke catches me staring and smirks. I almost scowl until I realize he's not mocking me; his eyes are gentle. I think he knows how this makes me feel. I smile somewhat sheepishly and focus on the tale Naruto is spinning. But as I sit curled on the couch, watching the exchange between brothers, mentor and students, I find it almost brings sweet tears to my eyes.
"I'll be right back," I excuse myself, intent on going to the bathroom. But as soon as I enter my bedroom, I hear somebody coming up the stairs behind me. Turning around, I see Sasuke looking disoriented. He makes a point to close the door and immediately my temper flares as I assume he's going to try to get in my pants. Naruto and Kakashi are right downstairs!
"I'm not sure if you're still mad at me but I think you are and I don't like it. I hate the way I felt last night so I want to say I'm sorry," he clenches and unclenches his fingers seeming at a complete loss as to what to do with himself.
"How did you feel last night?" I prod, partly out of my own curiosity, but also to investigate and see if he's truly apologetic.
"Bad," he sounds unsure, like he's trying to find a word I want to hear.
"What else?"
"Guilty," he admits and swallows hard, but succeeds in keeping my eye.
"For what? For belittling me? Accusing me of something small-minded?"
"Yes. And for thinking you capable of it in the first place."
"So you're apologizing because you felt bad last night?"
"Yes," he says, then catches himself as he realizes his mistake, "I'm apologizing because I upset you. My feelings were just a result of how I'd disturbed you. I don't like you being angry with me."
"Thank you," I nod, but he doesn't budge, "Is there anything else you want to say?"
"Please put some other clothes on," he blurts out and it looks as though a huge weight has lifted off his shoulders. "I can't stand to see you in that shirt and I can't tell you why; I have no idea.
"My clothes are at my apartment," I bite my lip to stifle the laugh that wants to break free, "I don't have anything else to wear."
"Will you wear mine?"
"No," I shake my head but smile softly at him, "Our cover is already blown with Kakashi-sensei and Naruto caught us kissing so if we can, I'd like to keep him in the dark just a little bit longer. Not to mention everyone else sharing this space with us. And Tsunade-sama."
"Fine," a resigned scowl falls over his handsome face. He doesn't seem all that shocked to learn that Naruto might know. Maybe it doesn't bother him. With calculated steps, I tread up to him, my heart fluttering as it replays his words. He's being possessive and for some reason I like it, but I can't let him know that. And I can't let it affect me as much as it is, because I know this is only temporary. He grabs my waist and tugs me the rest of the distance until our lips are pressed together. He doesn't invade my mouth, nor nip or suck. Sasuke's lips are gentle against mine as if passing another apology, this one silent, to me. When he pulls away, he doesn't go far, "I'm sorry."
"I accept your apology," I say, smiling and peering up at him, "But you don't own me, Sasuke. Making me wear your shirt isn't going to change that."
I slip out of his arms and retreat to the restroom. I savor the stricken look on his face before closing the door.
