A/N: Another one-shot popped up while writing SoG and I knew that if I didn't get it down it would disappear. So here it is. It's unbeta'd so all mistakes are my own. Please R&R - it's not necessary, but encouraged and as always, enjoy! - Deni

Title: Alibi
Rating: T+/M
Summary/Warning: Kakashi tries dealing with the inevitable end of his relationship. Angsty McAngst Muffins. If you don't like angst muffins, then you probably shouldn't read.

The sky above Konoha hung true and clear; the sun blazed almost as if teasing the Copy nin with the warmth he was missing. The young woman beside him was talking, but he was barely listening. Instead his focus was on the tree branches, the splashes of green, and the energetic buzz around them – but not between them. It had been that way for a while now, but he figured it was just a strange occurrence; perhaps Sakura had a rough day at the hospital or perhaps he was just feeling miserable with the lack of missions and he was merely going stir crazy. Yet the feeling lingered and infested his brain, his gut, and his heart.

Perhaps the thing worse than the end of a relationship was knowing it was about to end.

Like one of those moments you see happening in slow motion, but helpless to stop.

And helplessly, he continued through the motions.

"Hey, are you listening?"

Her voice was still so gentle, a pleasant sound in his ear that jarred him from his thoughts, and he crinkled his eye at her with a rub to the back of his head. "Ah, sorry."

"Your ears seemed just fine at your last checkup. What's going on with you lately?"

Don't look at me like that.

Her viridian eyes gazed straight into him; concern furrowed her brows and he wanted nothing more than to smooth those lines away with a touch of his lips, but he couldn't bring himself to. He sighed and shrugged.

"Let's go spar!" she suggested, and then added teasingly, "You haven't taken any missions lately and I don't want you getting rusty."

She was genuinely trying to think of something to help him shake the funk, and he really appreciated it, but sparring with her wouldn't change anything. Then again, maybe he was wrong… he hoped he was wrong.

"Sure, sounds like a good idea," he replied and they adjusted their path to one that led them to the all too familiar training grounds.

Kakashi had to admit, he was a bit eager to stretch his limbs and his jutsu. Peace was a great thing; it just took away a need for his job – and he certainly didn't want to get rusty as Sakura had so put it. He stowed his book away and felt his lips twitch as he watched Sakura pull her hair up. That nagging feeling tugged in his chest again and he turned away from her, taking a moment to check his bindings and the straps of his weapon pouch. She was still so young and beautiful, but it was almost painful to look at.

"You ready?" she called across the field.

He nodded and she slid into a defensive stance. Centering himself with a deep breath, Kakashi closed his eyes and then vanished from her sight. Her scent was strong in his nose as he reappeared behind her. Her arms were firm as she blocked his attack. Her aim was precise as she raised her foot toward his side. Her eyes were so sharp and lively as she charged at him. As they danced and matched each other hit for hit, her skin became flushed and she'd smirk when she'd graze his arm or chest.

It reminded him of her when they first started whatever this was between them. She had been so alive then. It reminded him of her fire, of her grace, her strength, and her beauty.

She was beautiful. So beautiful - and it hurt him. It wasn't the same ache as it was before, the one that throbbed because he believed he couldn't have her. No, the pain was almost physical; he could feel it claw at him inside, at the ugliness he buried away.

For a while, she had helped him forget. It had been a surprise, how comforting and wise she was beneath that young skin. She was mature in ways he hadn't been when he was nineteen. She accepted him, and vice versa, and they fell into each other wholeheartedly.

Falling out was a completely different experience. He had come to care and love this young woman so much. He had desired her so strongly once, and part of him wondered if the cooling of the flames had less to do with her and more with him. She was everything he could have ever wanted in someone and yet… he wanted her less. His gut twisted as the thought rang through him like giant bells, shaking him to his core.

It was frightening, almost.

Sakura twisted away from his hands and jabbed at him; air rushed by his head as he barely avoided being struck.

"I almost had you!" she declared with a small laugh, her eyes still set in determination.

I almost had you.

Kakashi stilled and lowered his hands as she swung at him again; he easily side-stepped the attack, hooking his arm around hers to keep it still. He had enough time between her next punch to deftly lower his mask. Her fist hit his open palm; his fingers curled over hers and then he was pressing his bare lips to hers.

He kissed her hungrily, with a deep desperation that he hoped didn't show through his eager tongue. She had been shocked at first, but she returned the kiss in kind, relaxing against his body.

His hands traveled over sweat-dampened skin, remembering the smoothness and the way she'd wrap herself around him. He had wanted that, craved it. But even now, it was different. If he could just convince himself that he was wrong - that he still felt the same race of his heart at her touch, that he could get lost in her for hours: in her eyes, her smile, her voice. That he still needed and wanted her. That he still loved her. That she still felt the same for him.

The grass pricked and tickled his bare thighs as he sat down, her weight settled in his lap. Her fingers dragged across his skin, leaving marks on his back while he cradled her head and devoured her mouth and the moans slipping from it. She was hot - a molten paradise - around him as she aligned their bodies and sank onto him. She held his face as she moved, slow and sure. Her fingers were gentle, lightly rubbing across the stubble on his jaw. She was tight and wet and the fire inside her was enough to consume them both.

And Kakashi wished it would.

So he wouldn't have to feel this way.

As much pleasure as she bestowed upon him, he felt equally guilty.

But his blood rushed and his name filled his ears and her hips worked against his – still slow, but more heated now. And he wanted to let go; he wanted to soar with her and hold her close and tell her again and again how much he adored her. He wanted to remain tangled with her and stay by her side in all the ways he could be. But his soul felt disjointed from his body and no matter how hard he wished or prayed for it – pleaded for it - it just wouldn't happen.

As his body tensed with the first ripple of bliss, a heavy sadness filled him. It was odd to feel both great pleasure and misery at the same time.

With both eyes open he studied her. Sakura's eyes were half-lidded, cheeks pink, and lips parted to draw in ragged breaths and heave out sighs and trembling moans. He threaded his fingers into her hair; it was dampened with sweat, but still silky soft. Her skin glistened under the sun and he pulled her against him, wanting to feel her flush with him again. He buried his nose into her neck, breathing in her scent of soap and spring.

His chest jumped at the memories the smell provoked and the Sharingan eye welled up. He clenched it shut, pushing the silly tears out and gasping as she fluttered around him – gasping at the heart-wrenching feeling that took hold of him.

"Kakashi, I'm… ngh… I'm gonna… Come with me."

Her pleading voice pierced through his ears and he groaned against her as her quivering body only added to the blissful buzzing feeling of his skin touched by hers.

He grunted as he felt himself teeter on the brink of euphoria. Her body, her passage, hugged him tightly. Her whimpers echoed in his perfect ears and he couldn't hold on any longer. His body tightened and then released, his seed spurting forth as she shook atop of him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding onto her and holding back the grief that threatened to swallow him.

Her hips felt delicate under his hands and her curves were soft pressed against him. While Kakashi was gathering his breath, he knew that this was it. There wouldn't – couldn't – be another time. The thing he had feared the most was happening. It was over between them; every part of him could sense it – but not that she had noticed it as well.

A small warm splash on his shoulder brought him back to the here and now. He realized how stiff Sakura's back was and that her breathing was not normal – not even for what they had just done.

"Sakura?"

Her shoulders shook and after gasping for a breath, she stilled. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

His fingers drew her hair back over her shoulder. "For what?"

"I can't… we can't keep doing this." She laughed humorlessly then. "I thought that it would just fix itself."

Another drop of wet warmth fell onto his skin and rolled down. Had he been so obvious?

"I don't know what it is, but it's changed. My feelings for you, about us, they've just changed… I thought that if I just acted like how I always did, it would go away. We'd get out of this rut, but…" Her voice faltered and she didn't speak again.

Kakashi closed his eyes. So he hadn't been the only one to feel that way. Even though her admission should have made him feel better, it didn't. Had he really been so caught up in his own storm of emotions that he hadn't noticed she was unhappy?

"I'm sorry, too," he said softly.