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Chapter 6 – When Love Comes to Town

What are you doing? I mean really, what are you doing? Are you sure you want to do this? Maybe you should go home…

Sakura paced up and down the hallway trying to gather courage to do the thing she had wanted to do for the past three days. She had been obsessing over the whole thing since that night.

After Kakashi had walked away from her, he'd made sure to not to give her any chance to talk to him or even make eye contact with him. When they walked to town, he always walked ahead of her (which she was honestly glad for – she didn't like the idea of being in front of him, feeling like he was watching her), always kept busy with some task, always talked to the other team members.

Upon their arrival to Konoha, she'd gone back to resuming her normal life, but in the back of her mind she kept replaying the night in her head and wondered if she was just being silly. There were certainly times when she'd felt foolish for believing something so implausible with so little evidence. However, she couldn't let go of that little piece of evidence.

She had to know for sure.

Which was why she finally stopped in front of one of the many doors in the hallway. She raised a trembling hand to her mouth and lightly bit the knuckle of her left thumb apprehensively and looked at the door. It shouldn't have been so intimidating really, it was just an ordinary dark green door like one would find in any apartment building. But for some reason it seemed to tower over her. Perhaps because of who was inside….

She raised her right fist and just as her knuckle was about to meet the door, she pulled it away just as quickly. She wasn't ready for this. There was a huge possibility of rejection here. Who knew where this conversation would lead? She moved a little to the side of the door in case, for some crazy reason, he chose that exact moment to look through the peephole and saw her.

Sakura leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. If she didn't do it now, it would just become ridiculous bringing it up with him at some later point. She had to do it…. Now.

Before she could stop herself, she planted herself in front of the door and knocked firmly.

Must be the take-out delivery guy.

He glanced at his watch. They were surprisingly quick today, not that he was complaining; he was starving. Kakashi shut the TV off and got up from his couch to answer the door.

Needless to say, he was quite surprised to see who it was.

"Sakura!" he exclaimed. He was too surprised to put on his usual cool-and-aloof face. "What brings you here?"

I hope it's not that. Please, don't be here to talk to me about that. Tell me anything else. Tell me I'm sick. Tell me there's a disaster where I'm needed. Tell me the Hokage wants to see me. Anything.

He pleaded with her in his mind.

"I… Can I talk to you? Are you busy?" Sakura chewed on her lip as she looked at him.

Damn it all. He did not want to do this so much that, in fact, he had been actively avoiding her the past few days. But he sighed inwardly and gestured for her to come in. He would have to get this over with sooner or later. He just wished he had more time to consider his answers/lies and practice his acting.

" Why don't you sit down. Would you like some tea? I was just making some."

"Sure," she said quietly. It would give her something to keep her hands busy. She sat on his big couch and absentmindedly thought how comfortable it would be to take a nap there. While waiting for Kakashi to come back with the tea, she glanced around the apartment. She'd been inside only once before, many years ago. It was completely unchanged except for the growing book collection.

In the kitchen, Kakashi poured the tea into two mugs. While letting them steep for a moment, he tried to anticipate what Sakura would say and tried to come up with he would say in turn. He truly hoped he would be able to keep himself together, keep from confirming her suspicions. It was just that he hated to lie. Of course as a ninja, his whole professional life was about secrecy. In private, however, lying had always bothered him – he could be a compulsive truth-teller at times. He started to panic a little. What would she think if she knew? He cringed at the thought of her looking disgusted with him, having some crush on a student.

Then he remembered the night he had walked her home before the mission. He remembered the love and admiration with which she had looked at him. At the very least he could count on her not being too judgmental. When the tea was finished, he took the mugs and walked out of the safety of his kitchen. It was time to face the music.

"So," he said, handing her a mug. "What's up?" As if he didn't know.

He glanced around the room and tried to find a place to situate himself. Exactly what position was appropriate for something like this? Sitting down next to her somehow seemed wrong, pulling up a chair to her seemed wrong, sitting in the couch across from her seemed wrong, standing seemed wrong… Finally, he decided to sit on the coffee table in front of her.

She didn't know where to start. She hadn't really considered what she would say once she got here. She took a sip of her tea.

"Kakashi-sensei, I wanted to talk to you about that night… When we were on our way back here from the mission…."

"Oh," he replied. "What about it?" As if he didn't know.

"What about it"? Why was he playing dumb? Of course he a flash, Sakura's facial expression changed from embarrassment to annoyance to anger, and then finally settled on contemplative.

She still had no idea what to say. She could tell him what she had observed, she could ask him if they had meant anything, she could ask him how he felt about her. But she was already tired of all this. She just wanted to be honest with him. If things didn't go her way and she ended up completely humiliated and heartbroken, at least she would have no more questions or doubts. So instead, she went with this –

"Kakashi, there are a lot of things I could say and ask right now, but I don't want to beat around the bush, so I'm gonna do this instead." She looked down at the mug sitting in her lap and took a moment and to gather her courage and her thoughts. She took in a deep breath and just let it out.

"Kakashi, I'm in love with you. I have been for a while now…"

She looked up at him again. His face was completely blank but his eyes were alert.

Oh god… there's no turning back now. Just keep going.

"I know it's wrong but I think about you all the time. I've never said anything up until now because I assumed that nothing could ever happen between us… I assumed… that you couldn't possibly feel anything for someone… like me… But, the past few days I've noticed… some things. And I couldn't help but wonder…"

She flashed her intensely beautiful eyes at him, full of uncertainty, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Do you have any feelings for me?"

He was stunned.

He could not believe what he was hearing. This woman he had loved for all these years, this beautiful woman sitting right in front of him, loved him?!

There was so much to digest, he didn't know where to start. He got up and walked to his window. The sun was setting in Konoha, casting an orange glow to the town. He crossed his arms and leaned on the window frame. He carefully thought about what he should say at this point. Should he lie and tell her that she was mistaken? Break her heart and send her on her way?

On the other hand, he knew as soon as she had started talking that he couldn't do that. She had been so refreshingly honest, and so incredibly mature it astounded him almost as much as her actual confession. He couldn't help but smile at himself a little. It was so like her, to put all the cards on the table, prepared to deal with any of the painful consequences. If he was in love with her before, he was that much more in love with her now. Besides, now that she was here in his home, he wasn't sure he could look her in the eyes and deny what he felt for her.

"Sakura," he started, half turned to her, half looking out the window. He took a moment to think about what he wanted to say. He sighed.

She could see how conflicted he was. He didn't want to hurt her… She felt the ground beneath her begin to crumble.

"When you first came here, I'd already decided that I was going to say. But then you came here and…." He gave a quiet, amused laugh. "How could I do that now after how brave you've been with me? I think you deserve more respect than that…

Hope was cautiously rising within her.

"The truth is… Sakura… I've been in love with you for a long time now, too. I don't know why you thought I couldn't love 'someone like you.' You obviously don't realize how amazing you are. "

Her heart soared.

"But…"

And then took a nosedive. But?

"But, I too had my reasons for not telling you. Honestly, Sakura, it was almost impossible to see you every day and not tell you how I felt. But I knew that I shouldn't because even if you did return my feelings, which I now know you do, I couldn't do that to you. You shouldn't tie yourself to someone like me."

It almost hurt to say that out loud.

What on earth was he talking about?

"What do you mean? What's wrong with you? … I think you're incredible…"

Incredible? Focus, Kakashi, focus.

"It's really not that hard to see, is it? You even said yourself, just now, that you knew it was wrong to have these feelings for me. I'm all wrong for you. I'm thirty-two, you're eighteen and barely legal – I'm a whole fourteen years older than you! And I'm your former sensei and your current team leader who has known you since you were a mere twelve years old. Haven't you thought about what people would say, especially about me? I've already got a reputation as an eccentric pervert. Sakura, you're young and beautiful and… perfect. You should find someone who's less complicated, someone… who deserves you…"

Those were all valid points, of course. These were things she had already thought about. But at this moment she could only focus on one thing.

"You think I'm perfect??" she asked him with a shy smile.

Now he just looked frustrated.

"Haven't you heard anything I said?!" he almost shouted at her. "Sakura, listen to me. We're wrong for each other. We shouldn't be. It would be best for you to forget about me. And it would be best for me to forget about you."

Eyes open wide, she just stared at him. Neither said anything for what seemed like eternity.

"Don't you think," she said, as tears started to well up in her eyes, "that I've tried to forget about you?! For six years I've done nothing but that. Don't belittle my feelings for you like that."

Now she was the one getting frustrated. She damned herself for crying again, but she already knew she wouldn't be able to stop herself. Frustration, she knew, made her cry more easily than sadness or pain. She set her mug down and stood up to face him.

"Would it be that easy for you? And of course I heard what you said. And they're all good reasons… but I think the pain of being talked about or rejected by the town… couldn't compare to the pain of going another six years just watching you from afar… And now that I know that you feel the same way, do you really think I could just go home and forget?" she bit out between sobs, too heated to feel embarrassed about what she was confessing now.

"I know," she said after taking a few breaths to try to calm herself, "I'm being selfish, I don't like the idea of people talking badly about you… I think you deserve better than me, too… but…"

She didn't know how to go on. She couldn't go on. Luckily, she didn't have to.

He sighed, walked over to her and wrapped her in a hug. He rested his chin on her head and stroked her hair gently.

Déjà vu,he thought with a small smile.

"Sakura," he said softly, "please don't cry. I hate seeing you do that. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled... I was just frustrated."

Finally, she got the crying under control, mostly because of the joy of feeling his arms holding her.

"I think," he said after some time, "that you could never be selfish when it came to me. Because I honestly don't care what people say about me. I just don't want you to be the one dating the guy who people think is a creepy pervert.

"And, I don't want you to think that I was belittling you. I think I just didn't understand how strongly you felt. But now that I know… to tell you the truth… all the things I thought would be major obstacles for us don't seem like such big deals anymore…"

Her big, green eyes looked up at him.

"Really?" she asked while placing her hands on his chest.

"Really," he nodded.

"You really don't care what people might say?"

"Nope," he replied, still stroking her hair.

"And you don't care about the age issue?"

"Hmm… well I suppose you are eighteen… and I think you're probably more mature than some people I know who are much older than you are. Don't you care about how much older I am?"

"Honestly, I think it's kinda kinky, don't you?"

"What?!"

She burst into laughter.

"I'm just joking. Your age isn't an issue."

He grumbled, but she could tell he was trying not to smile.

"And you don't care about my… book collection?"

"Well, this time… I really do think it's kinda kinky…" she said, blushing profusely, "I don't mind that you enjoy… reading."

He was shocked. She really was brave. And mature.

"So," he looked into her eyes, "are we really doing this?"

"I hope so."

"Sakura," he said, not breaking eye contact with her, "I love you very much. I don't think I could explain to you how happy I am right now."

"I think I might have an idea…" her voice faded when she saw his face.

Serious.

Uncovered.

How did he remove his mask so quickly?

With wide eyes she finally saw the reason why people blushed at the mere sight of his face. He was so handsome it almost hurt to look at him, she didn't even realize she was holding her breath. All these years, the mask had been covering a perfect, masculine jawline and nose, and soft lips.

Lips.

Her body started to awaken with adrenaline when she realized what this meant. She bit the side of her lip from nervousness. She'd never done this before.

He lowered his head to hers, ignoring the rush of blood in his ears. God, he had wanted to do this for so long. He turned his head slightly and closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of her cheeks radiate towards him. He desperately hoped she would meet him the rest of the way.

She wasn't quite sure what she was doing, but she hoped that she'd figure it out as she went. After a moment of hesitation she closed her eyes and let her love for him take over.

When they met, she felt her heart would tear into two, it felt so full. It was almost unbelievable that she could be so lucky. His hand gently cupped her face, the touch making her pulse race even more. She moved her arms from his chest to wrap around him and pulled herself closer to him.

It was gentle, passionate, and just like the rest of him – perfect.

With one last kiss on her lower lip, he pulled away before he lost control – he wanted to keep this sweet and gentle. He smiled at her and lightly kissed her forehead. It sent a shiver from her head down her back. He held her for a moment and tried to remember how to breathe.

Ding dong!

"Are you hungry? I ordered dinner... there should be more than enough for both of us. Will you join me?"

She felt too lightheaded to do anything but nod once slowly.

He smiled and went to open the door.

Whew! I hoped everybody liked this one, cuz finally, we're getting somewhere!

Isn't Sakura so cool? I wish I could be more like that. Haha.

Anybody have any thoughts? Corrections? Suggestions? Please do review, I'd really like some feedback on this chapter. :D