"Say," Anko started, satisfied from dinner and reclining not on the couch like she probably should have been, but on the back of a someone who had been just a little too quiet at dinner, "when did we first meet?"

"Chunin Exams."

"What was I wearing?"

"A black kimono with a red obi."

"What was the first thing I ever said to you?"

"You said to me, 'Senpai, I love you!'. Then you asked me to marry you and I told you to bug off."

Anko snorted, "No way. I probably asked you to fight me or something stupid."

"Ah," Kakashi breathed and he leaned forward a little, making her roll off and land beside him. "You did say something like that."

She snickered while moving closer and wrapped her arms around his waist, breathing in his scent and memorizing it. She wanted to use his lap as a pillow but she didn't think he'd go for it. He was too much of a pervert and would probably get too embarrassed. Cause he was an idiot.

Anko smiled.

"What was...the second time we met like?"

"You'll be ashamed to hear about it," he informed her dully but she detected a hint of a something else in his voice.

Was it too a bad memory?

"Tell me or I'll switch the salt and the sugar."

He chuckled, "Please don't kill me when I tell you then."

"Be honest when you do. I'll know myself well enough to know if you're lying," though she was lying herself when she said it. Anything could have happened and she would have to take him at his word. Because she couldn't remember it well, and because she couldn't remember anything well at all anymore. She pressed her face into his side but made sure not to cry.

"Well," he murmured and somehow his hand found itself in her hair, twisting and stroking it as if it was a habit he wasn't even aware of, "we met for the second time...when I was fourteen and you were...twelve. That day, your teacher was busy with his research and I took you and your teammates on a mission. It was a very...rainy mission. The forests we traveled in were constantly soaked but you never complained. Even when one of your teammates did, you remained quiet about it the whole time.

"It turned out that you had gotten blisters on your feet and while you hadn't slowed down, you ended up slipping and landing right onto the client. It was the first time I'd seen you make a mistake, and after years of hearing about a famed prodigy to one of the Sannin, it was...sort of funny. You're face lit up bright red and as soon as you recovered, you began to apology profusely. The client had no problem and didn't even try to scold you. Instead, he treated your wounds and you got a silly look on your face. As if you were happy but didn't want to show it."

"So...we didn't interact much on that mission?" Anko asked, a little disappointed.

He hummed and shrugged his shoulders, as if she could just leave it at that.

"You're holding out on me, you bastard," she muttered and used her grip to climb up his back. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her face into the back of his neck. Whispering, she said, "Tell me more of that memory. I want to remember."

Kakashi swallowed and though she couldn't see his face, she figured his expression would be a weird one.

"That night," he continued nonchalantly, "you had a fever. The one who hadn't complained at all the entire time, got sick and you started vomiting. So...rather than put the mission at stake, I had your teammates and a summon continue the escort mission and with you, I stayed."

"Sounds troublesome," she commented, but decided that she liked the story development enough to continue listening.

"It was troublesome. I don't think I've ever met a bigger idiot than you. Because of your stubborn personality, you nagged me for three days that we should leave to catch up with the others. Three days, I was cooped with you inside of a cave even smaller than our bathroom and though you were weak with a fever, you kept talking to the point that I thought you'd never shut up."

"I must've really liked you," Anko told him wistfully, "I only ever talked so much with my dad." Then, because he'd called it an annoyance, she very quietly added, "Sorry."

"No...I added to it. We both...we both talked a lot. Three days, and the entire time it seemed like neither of us wanted to shut up."

She blinked. What an absurdly funny thought. It was like pulling teeth getting him to talk to her. Not for the first time, she was envious of her past self.

"What were we talking about?" Anko asked, her face still pressed against his neck.

"Stupid things," he answered with a sigh, "Most of it arguments. Sometimes apologies. Other times, it was..." He paused.

"Kakashi?"

Silence trailed on. For a few minutes, she just hung onto him and they said nothing. He seemed done for the night and his slumping shoulders just added to her observations. It was disappointing but even more disappointing was that...well, she could recall none of it. She wanted a piece of that. Memories he seemed to speak so fondly of, and words she wanted to share with him.

"Hey," she breathed, and grinned when he shivered, "Sleep with me tonight?"

"Only if you make breakfast," he bargained.

Anko kissed the back of his neck and added softly, "Save that for when we get married, idiot."