A/N: Hi again! Glad you're back. Our friends are beginning to have some trouble with this "friends" thing. Let's see where it goes shall we? Enjoy!
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Anko left her apartment and headed to Kakashi's. She went inside and found his place was utterly devoid of practically anything. The sparse furniture he had was just enough for one person. One chair at his table, one chair in his living room, one of this, and one of that. Nothing for two. This made Anko a bit sad. She thought this guy has set himself up to be alone forever. That's really sad. I guess he must not have many guests over. There'd be no place for them to sit. She went to his bedroom and saw that his bed was at least a little bigger. Two people could fit into it. It'd be a bit cramped, but what's wrong with that? She found his dresser and grabbed him a pair of sweats and a tank top. With one last look around his lonely apartment, Anko left and headed back to her own.
When she got back, Kakashi was still in the tub. She walked in with his clothes and some towels. He said, "So, what did you think of my place?"
Anko thought a minute and said, "It's so . . . singular."
"Well I'm a single guy. I'm only one, so I only need stuff for one."
"Oh. Right." Anko's mood dropped a bit. Kakashi didn't want to share his life with anybody, let alone her. Not that she wanted him to – they were just friends after all.
"What's wrong? Why the long face?" he asked.
Anko decided to just come right out and ask him about it. "So if I wanted to come over and pay my friend a visit, I should bring my own chair so I had a place to sit?"
"Well you have plenty of stuff here. Lots of chairs and couches and things. I could just come over here and visit my friend. You have plenty of stuff for two." Kakashi just didn't get it. He thought, what's going on here?
Anko said, "Don't worry about it. Let's get you out of there and dried off. You need to have a bit more food and lots of sleep." She helped Kakashi stand up and step out of the tub. He looked at her a bit concerned at the drop in her mood that was still evident in the silence between them. She dried half of his body and then handed him the towel. "You do the rest, call me and I'll help you dry your hair."
Kakashi tried to shift the mood again by calling to her, "But I don't normally dry my hair. It just kind of dries itself."
Anko stopped and looked at him. She said, "So that explains why it's so, big."
Kakashi noticed she wasn't accepting the invitation to play this time. What'd I do wrong? Something's bothering her. Was it my apartment? Or is it me?
Anko felt sullen. He's so alone. Just like me. My friend and I are alone, together. We're two people, two separate people. At least we're friends. Still, I won't turn him away. Not now that he needs my help, and not ever, if he ever decides he doesn't want to be alone anymore.
Kakashi finished drying himself and decided that he'd better quit the bullshit for a little while. Anko was obviously upset about something, so he decided to approach her a little more carefully. "Anko? I'm pretty much dry now."
Anko heard him yell to her and she answered, "You need help dressing?"
Kakashi wanted her to rush in to him, and put her hands all over his body again, slowing sliding on his sweat pants, inching his tank top over his head, but instead he said, "I think I can manage, but I'll need help with this stupid sling thing. Would you mind?"
Anko came into the bathroom and said, "Of course I don't. That's what friends do right?"
Kakashi smiled only slightly at her and thought Friends. Right.
Anko got Kakashi back into his sling and then walked him back to bed. She could tell that he was healing, because he had much more control over himself after the bath than he had before. She got him settled back in her bed and asked him, "Something more to eat then? You should have a bit more so you'll be ready in the morning."
Kakashi's mind grabbed onto her last sentence. Ready in the morning? Ready FOR WHAT?! Explosive sex? Hours of mauling? Or does she mean, ready to leave? He answered her, "I'll have a little more if you'll join me. You really look tired. Come on Anko, I can't have you getting worn out taking care of me. Maybe I should just go home."
Anko screamed in her head, NO! Don't leave! You practically just got here, and you were so hurt, and now you're almost better and I missed you more than I wanted to, and you just can't leave yet! Then she looked at Kakashi and said, "You can't leave yet."
"Says who?"
"Says me. And says Sakura. Besides, she's coming here first thing in the morning before her shift. You've got to be ready to see her when she gets here. Then she'll let you know if you're healed enough or if you need to rest some more."
Kakashi thought oh so THAT's what she means. Ready in the morning for Sakura. Ok, if that's it, that's good. That's fine. She doesn't want me to leave yet. Good.
Anko said, "Listen. I'm beat, and you need more rest. I'll get you something else to eat, but then I'm going to take one of your world famous baths."
"You should go relax for a while. You've done more for me than I deserve."
"Don't mention it. That's what friends do for each other right? They're there when you need them."
"Right." Somehow this whole "friends" thing was starting to bother Kakashi.
Anko left the room and returned shortly with a fresh tray for him. "Here ya go. When you're done, just go ahead and set it on the night stand. I'm going to go soak for a while. I'll come get it later."
"You going to be alright in there by yourself? You really look wiped out. Don't want you falling asleep in the tub."
"I'll be fine, but thanks for asking." She went over to her dresser where she opened her underwear drawer and pulled out, of all things, the "Friday" underwear. What a coincidence. Tomorrow is Friday. I wonder if he planned it this way. She tucked the underwear inside a pair of black pajama bottoms and a tank top. If Kakashi was going to see her underwear, it wasn't going to be until Friday.
She trudged into the bathroom and ran the water. The whole time she thought about the may lying in her bed. He's so strong, and brilliant, but so alone. I wonder why he doesn't let anyone get too close to him? I know he lost everyone he ever cared about when he was younger. But why doesn't he keep trying? Losing someone is probably just too painful, so he chooses to stay alone. That's just so sad.
The water pounded into her tub and she decided to throw some scented bath salts in the water. A wonderful clean smell engulfed the entire bathroom. She breathed deeply as the warm clean smell made her feel relaxed already. She soon shut the water off and slipped out of her clothes that she'd worn the night before, chucked them in her hamper and slipped into her tub. She relished the penetrating heat that threatened to put her to sleep. But she'd heed Kakashi's words and not fall asleep in the tub. There was a chance that if she did, he wouldn't know, and wouldn't come get her if she slipped below the water accidentally.
She washed herself vigorously trying to keep awake a little longer. She washed her hair quickly and grabbed a small towel to wrap around it. Then she sat back and just soaked herself, again thinking about the man in her bed.
Anko hadn't been gone for five minutes when Kakashi became concerned. Stop it Kakashi, he said to himself she's fine. Leave her alone. She needs to have some alone time. She's not used to taking care of anyone but herself. Just like that guy you look at in the mirror every day. Kakashi fought with himself again. He wanted to go to her, just to be in the same room with her. He felt comfortable around her, which is a big change from the way he used to feel around her. He used to just want to fuck her sideways, and play risqué games with her. He still wanted to do those things of course, but the past day he'd spent with her had made him see her a bit differently. She was the same person he'd been having wild animal sex with before he'd left for his mission, but he found that there was much more to Anko than sweat and passion and sex. Leave her alone dammit. She'll be back soon.
Anko put a washcloth over her eyes and put her head against the back of the tub. She could barely think she was so tired. She was grateful that it was almost time for bed and that she only had to get up in the morning to let Sakura in to check on Kakashi. She was glad she didn't have to go to work. All these thoughts went through her head and not once, not for one second, did she even notice Kakashi standing in the doorway looking at her.
God, you're weak. You should have left her alone. He fought with himself again. He wanted her to rest. He wanted her not to worry about him anymore. He wanted her in bed with him, and not just for sleeping. He just wanted to make sure she was ok, and maybe just look at her a little bit. He thought to himself, I sure as hell hope she doesn't know I'm here. I might scare the shit out of her. I'd better leave her to it. I'll check on her in a few minutes if she doesn't come out. Reluctantly, he forced himself back into her bedroom with one final look over his shoulder. He climbed back into her bed and waited, his ears trained on the bathroom waiting to hear the water move.
The washcloth began to slide down Anko's face. She started; she had actually almost dozed off. Water's tepid, she thought. Get me outta here and into some warm clothes. She stepped out and dried off. She carefully unfolded her pajama pants and took out the "Friday" underwear and slid them on. He's going to be in for one hell of a surprise tomorrow if Sakura says he's ok. I really hope he's ok. I don't think I could take it if he wasn't. She pulled on the rest of her pajamas and dried her hair with a towel a bit then blew it mostly dried. She shook it out, ran her fingers through it and said, "Good enough for bed." Bed. Kakashi's in my bed. I hope he's asleep. I don't want him to see me looking so disheveled. Unfortunately, Anko did not get her wish.
Anko had planned on sneaking in on a sleeping Kakashi, taking the tray she'd left for him, putting it in the kitchen and then sneaking back in and snuggling up to him as he slept. This plan was not to happen entirely the way she'd planned. She snuck in to find Kakashi sitting up in bed waiting for her. "Hey. Feel better now? You look tired."
"I feel better, I look terrible."
"I didn't say you looked terrible."
"I saw myself in the mirror. I look terrible, but it's ok. I'll be fine tomorrow. Let me take the tray,"
Kakashi stopped her, "Leave it."
"Why? It's empty I just want to,"
He took her wrist and pulled her on to the bed and said, "Leave it. It'll be there tomorrow. You've done enough. You need to rest, or I'll be taking care of you next." Both ninja had terribly naughty thoughts dance through their heads about the whole "taking care of" business, but both kept their ideas to themselves for the moment.
Anko said, "You're right. I need to sleep." She stood up and shut out the light, and the faint starlight and moonlight illuminated her room slightly. She could make out Kakashi's silhouette against her pillows and she could see he was scooting down to lay down with her. She slid into bed next to him and was quite surprised when he held out his arm to her. His left arm was still in a sling, but he managed to reach out for her, allowing her to lay the length of him against his side. She was even more surprised at how tightly he pulled her against him. She loved the way he felt against her, the way his skin smelled – clean and masculine all rolled into one attractive aroma. She sighed heavily into his chest and felt herself slipping away into a welcomed sleep.
Kakashi could make out the outline of Anko lying next to him, his right arm kept her tightly held against him. He'd rested enough and wasn't really tired so he decided to watch her sleep for a while. She's been up almost 24 hours taking care of me. Because of her I'm still alive. I felt her cling to me last night. Tonight, I'm not letting her go.
After some time of contemplation about how grateful he was that Anko was his friend, Kakashi fell asleep.
A/N: Anko and Kakashi both seem to be trying to figure the other out, and what this "friendship" really means to them. They're grateful for each other, but to what extent? Review please!
Next up: Kakashi's diagnosis and the lemon you've all been waiting for. See you soon!
