I hope you you are happy that I managed to write this chapter just few days after posting the last one :) I certainly am ^^ Hm, I want to apologize for this chapter's angsty feeling, but there are some important POV for the character/relationship development so please don't leave me and my story *sniff sniff* I swear it get's funny by the end and there is more fun and FUN to come in the next chapter.
So enjoy and don't forget to review as the little "competition" is on. Just 8 reviews to go until the shiny 100 where you can name a character in this story :)
Closing the door behind her she let out a shaky sigh. Wait. Just wait. She took off the bra that was still around her waist and walked into the shower. Letting the warm water run down her face and her body she let her body tremble and shake. It's okay under the water. No one can tell droplets of water apart from tears, and that's as it should be. No regrets, just memories. She gently unbraided her hair and washed it with a shampoo. After rinsing it she stepped out of the shower not bothering to dry with anything even if there were any towels and she sat down on a small stool and grabbed a hair brush.
Trembling from the cold. Or emotions. Brushing her unbraided long hair she thought about how to approach this situation. Her previous 'partner' always left after she went to the shower, understanding that it was his time to go. Better said they were mostly at his place and she left shortly after she got what she needed. She never wanted to stay in the same bed, cuddled until they fell asleep. That wasn't something she wanted. That was something people in love did. And she wasn't in love. It was just a release. The release she needed and the pleasure she took never letting it grow into something bigger.
But now? They were staying in the same room and she will need to go back to the bed eventually. Her own body had betrayed her. She was too sexually frustrated to even think straight, not thinking about all the consequences. She didn't regret the act itself just that she couldn't get away, she hated that she couldn't leave.
She waited seated and trembling from the cold until her hair and body dried. When she deemed her hair dry enough she brushed it for a last time and divided the long part of her hair into three equal parts and started to braid each one of them. Letting the last droplets of water or tears dry on her face. This is exactly why I needed that time alone I planned. But instead I'm here doing stupid things. It was today, wasn't it. I almost forgot. All I wanted to do this week was to be closed inside my apartment and drink wine and watch stupid chick flicks with happy endings. I wanted to be alone so I could get depressed and get myself back up alone, without an audience.
Just once in a while when that memory came, or the anniversary, she took a few days off and had her time alone. Remembering and allowing herself to cry and to allow the misery of her past take her into depression. That was her way for the past three years. It became a sort of a cleansing ritual for her, to have a shower that would clean not only her body, but her emotions. She needed this so she could have them in check the rest of the time. She was a shinobi and she couldn't let emotions get the better of her. She couldn't be weak. Not anymore.
Usually she was able to push back the memories and unwanted emotions but having her eyes blindfolded proved to be not such a good idea. By the end she caught herself imagining someone else under her, touching her. That is what triggered this small 'incident' as she came to call them.
Finished with braiding her hair she looked in the mirror and let the last tear drop run down her cheek. Drying it off with her hand she straitened and looked at her reflection. Straightening her back, brushing her hair behind her ear and forcing a smile on her face. Trying one more time with the smile so it would look more natural. This time she was pleased with the outcome and with that smile she pushed the storm of emotions in her back deep inside where they belonged. She felt tired, drained by this small 'incident'. She just needed to sleep it off, like a hangover and tomorrow she would be just fine.
Picking up the bra that she discarded earlier from the floor she went back to the dark bedroom. Her panties and the light green yukata lay on her side of the bed and Kakashi on the other side, facing away from her. She could see he put on a sleeveless shirt with an attached mask back in its place. Setting the panties aside she put the yukata on and slipped in the bed.
As her head hit the pillow she felt the shift in the mattress as a warm body pressed to her back and a hand pulled her closer over her abdomen.
"Are you ok?" Kakashi asked softly.
"Hm." Was Sakura's answer.
"Are we ok?" Asked Kakashi after another minute not sure what was Sakura thinking about. He didn't like the way she left the room and that she was in the shower for almost one hour. He liked her and didn't want things to be too awkward between them because he couldn't hold it in his pants. Well she basically offered herself, but that didn't mean he couldn't decline. Whom am I kidding? That pose was too damn hot to ignore and to just walk away.
"Hm." She didn't want to say more, afraid that the emotions would spill out again. The temptation to pretend it's him behind her was just too strong to counter so she decided to just close her eyes and dream just for a while.
"Good night." Sakura said sleepily as she gently squeezed his hand and moved it under her chin, wiggling a bit to make herself more comfortable against the warm body behind her.
Morning came with a faint noise of falling rain outside. It was the perfect weather and time to just laze about the whole day or just do everything on a whim. Feeling much better Sakura carefully untangled Kakashi from herself and took out her small notebook from her pack and went to the small garden. Taking an apple from the table she sat down on a small cushion under the small roof of their porch and watched the circles on the water formed by the falling rain. It was peaceful and the smell in the air was so calming she almost fell asleep while sitting.
She scribbled a bit in her notebook putting down few ideas she had about the serum she was working on. It seemed alcohol lessened few of the side effects and she had an idea how to integrate it into the serum. She was so engrossed in the writing that she didn't notice Kakashi sitting on the opposite side of the open door. He leaned his back on the door frame, propping his hand on a bent knee as the other one lay stretched in front of him. He watched her for a minute silently as she had her pink brows creased in concentration. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice anything around her.
She changed, matured and I didn't even notice. I did see her but I didn't notice. It was true he distanced himself since she became an adult. The truth was he didn't know how to deal with her when she was just a girl and when she grew up it was even more difficult for him. She reminded him too much of Rin. He didn't want to teach in the first place and to get a group of genin so similar to how his team was when he was young, it stirred up too many memories. After Sasuke left he was glad Tsunade took her in as her apprentice as he was struggling a lot to teach her something useful. Thanks to the Hokage she became an exceptional kunoichi and even surpassed Tsunade as a medic.
She helped him when he came bloodied and beaten up from missions without a second glance, but after she healed him he left with a thanks. He was sorry to use her this way, she didn't ask anything in return, ever. He had too many regrets in his life and it was about time he stopped making more. Sakura seemed as a good enough woman, person to get to know better. Maybe even let her know him, if she wanted. It was a long time since he felt like letting someone in. Especially a woman. He found them too troublesome and difficult to deal with. He did understand what they needed in the bedroom department but it was too tiresome to deal with their mood swings and the way they wanted to cling to him outside the bed. He just wasn't the dating type.
He was more of a spend-some-time-outside-the-bed-once-in-a-while type. That meant that when he found someone interesting enough he is willing to spend some time with her other than on different places in his apartment, or hers. Those kind of relationships didn't last long, usually the women got bored of him trying to make him to commit more to their relationship. Maybe it was just that they weren't the right person he wanted to commit to, if he was even able to.
His mind moved to yesterday and once again he had to admit that Sakura has really, really matured. In all the right places.
"What are you scribbling there?" He asked aware that she noticed him sitting there but just ignored him and was still busy in putting down some notes.
"I'm just making a sketch of the seating order." She replied without taking her eyes off of her notebook.
"Seating order?" He asked carefully hoping she isn't really doing what she was implying.
"Do you think Ayako would mind sitting next to Genma?"
"Why would she sit next to him?"
"He is one of your best friends isn't he?"
"Yes, but why are you asking?"
"If he is your best friend you surely want him on your wedding don't you? And Kaori can sit next to Tenzou. I'm sure she will just love the whole ceremony. But we should do it as soon as possible so I don't start showing. I don't want to be marry in a big white sack instead of a dress."
"Eh, Sa-Sakura-chan?" He tried to stop her unable to tell if she was joking or if she meant what she was saying.
"Yes, Kashi-kuuun? You don't want your ex to be on the wedding?" She couldn't hold a straight face anymore as she saw the panic in Kakashi's eyes. He really wasn't sure if she was joking. Sakura collapsed in fits of laughter.
"Yes, yes very funny Sakura." Kakashi grumbled but she could hear a smile in his voice.
"Sorry Kakashi, I just couldn't resist." She replied drying few tears from her eyes. "You should have seen your face."
"Oh I have. But you didn't." He winked at her and let his famous eye crease lighten his face.
"Is that a challenge I hear?" She looked outside and as the sun broke through the clouds, the rain stopped.
"Why don't we have a spar? I could use some light training. If I win I get to see your face."
"And if you don't?" He asked and watched her intently as she slowly crawled closer to him, her scent mixing with a slight scent of arousal. She came closer and whispered in his ear.
"We can do page 95." She said in a low, sensual tone.
He almost let a drool slip out of the corner of his mouth as he imagined that scene with Sakura. He had to mentally slap himself to get back to reality.
"Let me get a quick shower." He almost ran for the bathroom and he could hear Sakura giggle as he jumped right under the cold water.
Thank you all for reading, reviewing, faving and all the alerts this story (and me) got. It's really amazing how many people read this story. It really makes me happy and I can't stop checking my email every 5 minutes after I post a new chapter :D
Anyway I never thought this story would get so big. Really, in the beginning I had only that festival scene as the base of the story and it was supposed to be a short story but it got kind of big and the whole story plot I have planned, let's just say that we are barely in the middle of the whole story. So you have a lot to look forward to :) There are still few twists and turns and surprises on the way so I hope you will stay with me until it's finished.