Well, yeah. Tired and the chocolate I got for Christmas just made it worse, and it's SO GOOD!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

Ch.14: Discoveries and Realizations

"Mmm…"

The sun came through the window of Sakura's house. 'It's too early.' Sakura thought. She turned away from the sun, hoping and finding a shelter from the light. She snuggled into it.

'It's so warm.' she thought. Sakura froze. 'It's winter and my bed isn't normally this warm.'

She bolted from her bed and was pulled back, smacking her head into her wooden headboard. "Ow…" she whined. She let her gaze flow down the length of her body, stopping at the arm flung possessively across her waist and fought to muffle a shriek, careful not to wake the sleeping body beside her. 'Body?'

Sakura turned her gaze to the man sleeping soundly in the pillow beside her. She studied his face and noticed the scar running down his left eye. 'Scar?'

She looked up to see the shock of silver hair contrasting to the white of her pillowcase. "Eep!" Sakura froze and watched as he groaned and buried himself deeper into the pillow before he was reclaimed by the sandman.

Sakura searched her brain for answers. 'Why?! Why?! Why?! Why is he here?! In my bed?! With his arm around me?!'

'Remember? He got sick and you're letting him stay here until his fever is gone. Damn, he has a real strong grip. Wonder how else he can use it?'

'Please. Even if I wanted sex with the man, I wouldn't let him. After he scared me that much last night?!'

'And why were you so scared? Normally, you would be worried, but you would be clear-headed. With Kakashi, you were so scared, you couldn't move. The idea of him dying was so alien and shocking, you were paralyzed with fear. When he woke up, you felt like kissing him and killing him for making you worry like that. So tell me, why did you feel like that?'

'Because.'

'Because why?'

'Because….'

'Because why Sakura?!'

"Because I love him!" she shouted. She gasped and quickly pried his arm off her and ran into the bathroom, Kakashi still dead to the world.

Sakura looked into her bathroom mirror, she watched the pale reflection staring back at her and watched as a tear made it down her face to splash into the sink below. She reached into the sink and splashed water onto her face, watching the beads flow down the porcelain skin. Sakura braced herself, holding the edges of the sink for support as her frame shook with each racking sob, the shocking discovery moments ago shaking her foundation, 'I love him.'

She stared down at the water. Growing sick of the reflection, she shattered the water's surface with her hand and moved her hands, disappearing in a cloud of cherry blossoms, the petals settling where she once stood.

Sakura reappeared in a place that seemed oddly familiar. She scanned the room, taking in the black and white furniture and photos lining the walls. Her eyes paused on a small bookcase not far from her. She stepped towards it and kneeled down. She dragged the fingers over the spines and took in their color. 'Orange. That's strange. Not many books are orange. The only one I can think of is….'

She focused her eyes and read the spine, Icha Icha.

Sakura pulled back her hand like she was scalded and scanned the room again. 'No wonder it looked so familiar, I've been here before. It's Kakashi's apartment.'

She chuckled. "It seems like I can never escape him." she said sadly.

She stood and walked down the hallway, and noted each door. 'First left was the bathroom and his bedroom should be…'

"Here."

She stepped inside and sat on the bed, the mattress sinking beneath her weight. 'He really needs to get a new one.'

She scanned the walls, noting how little it had changed since she was there a few months ago. "He was one of the few constants in my life." she said to herself. She sighed and walked towards his closet.

"Might as well get some clothes for him."

She opened the door and looked inside and sweatdropped. "Is all he has in here jounin uniforms?!"

She sighed. "Of course. Efficiency is key for him. That man needs to get out more often. He needs a social life. He needs a girlfriend!" Sakura paused, her heart clenching at that thought. She sighed. "Who am I kidding? I want him for myself, but he'll never love me like that. He just thinks of me as a friend."

She threw the uniforms into a bag and crossed over to his dresser. Opening it, she froze. 'Come on, Sakura, you're a medic. You've dealt with people naked. It shouldn't be too hard, just grab some underwear for him and go.'

She looked into the drawer and blushed. "I can't do it."

'What are you? Chicken? You're a jounin for chrissakes! This is nothing. You've faced things much worse than this, now stop being a coward and get that underwear! '

Getting past her embarrassment, she looked into the drawer. She pulled out three pairs of boxers, 'I can always come back for more anyway.'

Placing them into the bag, she stood up to close the drawer when she noticed something sticking out from under the pile of boxers. She carefully pulled it out, dodging the shuriken that launched from above her. Leaping back, she quickly dodged another set thrown from the closet. Checking around for any more traps, she traced the brown leather of the object. 'A book. He obviously didn't want anyone to look at this.'

She sat on the bed, tracing the gold pattern on the book. "Looks like a photo album."

She felt her fingers trace the pages inside and heard the sound of the book opening. She quickly slammed her left hand on the cover. "I shouldn't pry. If he set all those traps, this must be private."

'What do you mean? This could be the one chance you can find out more about him!'

'He'll share with me when he's ready.'

'But aren't you curious?'

'Yes, but I don't want to intrude. I'm just here for some clothes and-' Her fingers were tracing the plastic cover of a photo, the book open in her lap.

She looked down into her lap, a woman with a warm smile looking at her, a moment frozen in time by a camera. 'This isn't right. I should look away.'

She tried turning her head away, but her eyes wouldn't leave the image. She found herself leaning closer to it. She studied the woman. Her eyes were a warm brown and raven-black hair flowed down her back. "She's beautiful."

Sakura noticed something oddly familiar and looked closer. 'There's something about her…'

She studied the smile, vaguely familiar in its form. She traced the smile with her finger gingerly. 'Where have I seen it before?' An image assailed her mind, a man smiling behind a mask, the smile directed at her. She gasped; covering her mouth with her hand as the one tracing the smile froze. "Kakashi's mother."

She quickly closed the book and threw it onto the bed. She closed the dresser and grabbed the bag, running out of the room as fast as possible; the air in there, suffocating.

She ran out into the living room, tripping over herself. She pushed herself up, the tears threatening to fall. She choked back a sob. 'I should have never done that.' she thought as she pushed herself up, only to collapse again. She struggled to get onto the couch and fell back on it, spent of her energy.

She stared at the ceiling as she tried to catch her breath. 'What a day. Just one thing after another.' she thought as a bitter laugh made its way to the surface.

She sat up and clasped her hands together in front of her as she stared at the coffee table. Her eyebrows raised when she spotted a music box. She gingerly picked it up from the table and blew away the thin layer of dust on it. She traced the pattern on it, the smooth surface and pattern entrancing her. 'Looks like the one at home.'

She shook her head. "Must be coincidence." Placing it back on the table, she grabbed the clothes and left in a flurry of flower petals.

Sakura reappeared in her living room. Dropping the clothes haphazardly onto the couch, she went into her bathroom.

She quickly stripped herself of her clothes and entered the shower. She reveled in the feeling of the water against her skin and bent down to squeeze the some shampoo into her hand.

After the shower, she quickly dried herself off and went into her bedroom to see Kakashi awake. She placed her hand on his forehead and frowned. "You still have your fever. I think you might have a cold or flu, judging from what you said yesterday. I'll make you some soup."

She got up from the bed. "I also went over to your place and got you some clothes. I don't think you'd like wearing the same thing everyday. Well, actually, you're just in some boxers right now, but-"

Sakura felt a tug on her hand and whipped her head behind her, mismatched eyes staring into hers. "Sakura, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she smiled. He wasn't convinced. "Sakura, tell me."

"Kakashi, it's nothing." she said softly.

"Sakura."

She patted his hand. "Stop worrying and get some sleep." she said, exiting the room.

A spoon clinked against a ceramic bowl. "Was it any good?"

Kakashi smiled. "It was great, Sakura." he smiled.

She blushed. Now that the smile was visible, it made her feel warmer than usual. 'That smile….'

Her smile fell as she recounted what had happened earlier. "Sakura?"

She snapped her head up. "Huh?"

He gripped her hand. "Sakura, something's wrong and you're not telling me."

"I'm fine Kakashi, really. I-"

"Bullshit."

"Wha?"

"Bullshit. I can always tell when you're hiding something and you're one of the worst liars I've ever had the pleasure to know, so I know when something is wrong with you. So, are you going to tell me or what?"

Sakura sighed and put the tray with the empty bowl on the ground. Kakashi scooted in the bed to make room for her. She sat down and ran a hand through her tresses. "You know how I went to your place to get you some clothes?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Well, I found something I wasn't supposed to."

Kakashi's eyes widened and sighed. "You mean the photo album, don't you?"

"I tried to stop myself, I really did, but I found myself staring at this picture of…."

"Of?"

She stared him in the eye. "Of your mother."

A long silence hung between them before he raked a hand through his hair. "Anything else?"

"I ran out of there as fast as I could. Oh Kakashi, I'm so sorry. I never should have-"

He held a hand up. "It's alright, Sakura."

"But I-"

"Really, it's alright."

Kakashi looked towards the window as the sunlight streamed in, dancing on her carpeted floor. "It's one of the few pictures I have of her, you know. I never knew her. She died soon after I was born; some illness or complication from my delivery. When my father died, I was told to sort through the items and came upon her pictures. I recognized that smile and realized who she was."

He took a breath. "I never got to know her and kept wondering things like who she was and if she loved me. I spent so much time trying to figure out the answer, that soon, the pictures became too painful to look at and I sealed them away."

He turned towards Sakura. "As time grew on, I realized I couldn't keep running from her. She's part of who I am. Literally. So a few years ago, I put her in a photo album. All my important memories are in there, along with pictures of you guys. Actually, most of it is you guys. You learn that, as time goes on, it gets more precious and at the end of the day, the memories are all you got."

He clasped Sakura's hand. "I don't mind that you saw the photos. It was about time they were seen by someone other than me and-"

Sakura brought her head closer to his. "Yes?"

He smiled and placed a strong hand on her cheek. "I'm glad it was you."

Sakura felt a weight lift of her chest. 'I should've just told him in the first place. He's not mad at me at all. I shouldn't be so scared in sharing my feelings with him. Maybe, when time finally lets me, I'll tell him how I feel and won't be as scared as I was. Maybe he'll even accept it.'

She let a hand ghost over his chin. "I'm glad too." She realized how close she was to him and looked up questioningly. "Kakashi?"

"Shh..." He let his hand trail behind her head and pulled her closer in.

Her eyelids became heavy as she looked into his eyes. "Kakashi."

"Sakura." He pulled her closer and their lips melded. She let her hand trail to his head as he cupped her head, angling it to kiss her deeper.

After a few minutes, she pulled away for air, her head spinning. She looked into his mismatched eyes and blushed. "I think I'll get you your clothes now." Before he could answer, she was already out the door. She placed her hand over her rapidly beating heart.

'I think I just fell for him a second time.'